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luvdsc · 5 years ago

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too hot! hot damn!

what do you get when you mix red and blue together?

pairing :: lee taeyong x reader genre :: fluff / boyfriend au word count :: 2,121 words warnings :: a tiny paragraph about making out playlist :: cherry kisses (chungha) ⋆ daft pretty boys (bad suns) ⋆ hands on me (taeyeon) ⋆ crash my car (coin) ⋆ shy (hunny) author’s note :: to the insanely talented goddess who wrote the first nct fic i ever read nearly 3 years ago and still love to this day!!! i didn’t think i’d ever get to be friends with one of my favoritest writers on here, but here we are :’) ily els @taeyongtime ♡

“It’s hot.”

You’re draped across the old, yet still very plush couch, the kitschy pattern spread across it now fondly regarded as one of the things that transforms this dingy little place from a shoebox apartment into home. The thin spaghetti strap of your faded tie-dyed tank top from your old sorority days hangs limply off of your shoulder, threatening to fall even more when you slump over to the left. The simple drawstring shorts you have on barely cover your legs, but you contemplate tossing them off still because it’s just. So. Damn. Hot.

“It’s hot!” you whine even louder, throwing your arms up in the air before letting them flop down onto the cushions dramatically. The nearby open window only blows in a measly little breeze that does nothing except dry the sweat on your skin for a few glorious seconds before it reappears like a stubborn stain. Your boyfriend only raises an eyebrow at you from his spot on the floor, sprawled out in front of said window and using one of his Nylon magazines as a makeshift fan.

Taeyong agrees, flapping the glossy pages in front of his face desperately. “It’s too hot.”

Two days consisting of barely surviving the power outage creeps into a third, the prospect of having AC again anytime soon becoming extremely bleak. The transformer had completely blown out, and the electric company finally sent out a crew to fix it earlier this morning. The estimated restoration was initially set to noon, but it was pushed back until 3 p.m., then 6 p.m., then 10 p.m., then 5 a.m., and now the big black bolded letters spelling out “undetermined” mocks you from the screen of your phone that's already set to the lowest brightness setting to conserve battery.

To make it worse, your city was suffering a heat wave, temperatures spiking to 105 degrees Fahrenheit every single day and simmering down to 80 during the night before climbing the thermostat again. The raging thunderstorm that plagued last night only resulted in unexpected humidity, making your clothes stick to you like a second skin.

“Make it less hot,” you moan, blowing air upwards towards your forehead in an attempt to cool down in the slightest way possible.

“I can’t control the weather, babe, but I can get you a popsicle?” Taeyong sluggishly pushes himself into a sitting position to face you. The shiny magazine in his hand still flounders around until he gives up on it and tosses it aside.

You turn your head, cheek pressing into the couch cushion, as you squint at him. “We don’t have any left. We took all our food from the fridge to Doyoung’s place. I can’t believe that bastard has a gigantic generator and is flourishing in his stupid air conditioned apartment and making frozen sangrias, while his best friends are about to die from heatstroke.”

You had sent back a rather crass Snapchat back to Doyoung after he sent one earlier of his perfect, Instagram story worthy, iced alcoholic beverage. It’s honestly a miracle that he didn’t toss your beloved brown sugar boba ice cream bars out onto his pristine balcony with picture perfect potted plants to perish. That man can still hold onto a grudge even after he’s on his deathbed and descending into the fiery pits.

Taeyong stands up and slowly ambles towards the refrigerator. “I saved two popsicles in the freezer. I figured it’d stay cold enough and not melt if we ate them soon.”

“Oh my god, that’s the sexiest thing you’ve ever said to me.” You struggle to push yourself up into a sitting position before finally being able to, watching your boyfriend open the freezer and pull out the last two saving graces.

“Do you want blue raspberry or cherry?”

He holds out the two icy sweets in front of you, one in each hand. You already know that he secretly wants the red one; it’s been his favorite ever since he was five and tried his very first one from the ice cream truck that still comes around his parents’ neighborhood. But you also know that he always lets you choose first and wouldn’t complain if you take that one.

You reach out and pluck the blue one from his grasp, and he smiles happily, eyes crinkling in the corners as he eagerly unwraps the cherry flavored one and shoves it in his mouth, tossing the wrapper into the nearby wicker trash basket.

He drops down onto the empty space next to you, reclining back and slouching in his seat. The two of you sit there peacefully, side by side and enjoying the cold snacks, until he wordlessly slides over, pressing the side of his arm and leg against yours.

“Move back,” you complain, shoving him over to his original position. “It’s hot, and you’re making it worse.”

“So are you calling me hot?” Taeyong wriggles his eyebrows at you before taking a bite of his popsicle, much to your horror. He moves closer to you again for the sole sake of annoying you.

“First off, I’m calling you sweaty. Secondly, did you just bite your ice cream?” You throw him a dirty look before moving over and turning to sit with your back against the arm rest, throwing your legs over his lap.

Taeyong slightly pouts at you, munching on yet another chunk of his popsicle and ignoring the way you wrinkle your nose in disdain. “What’s wrong with that? It’s melting, and I don’t want it to drip and get my hand all sticky.”

You can’t believe that you just discovered your boyfriend is a psychopath. He’s going to the same circle of hell as people who pour milk in before cereal and those who hate mint chocolate chip ice cream once he leaves this earth (He can even say hi to Doyoung as he descends to eternal damnation).

“Why didn’t you say anything about this before we started dating?” You are absolutely appalled. Horrified. Disgusted. This is the biggest relationship deal breaker you have ever come across.

“Next, you’re gonna say you hate me because I don’t like pineapple on pizza,” he says as his free hand settles on the top of your thigh, gently tapping rhythmically against it absentmindedly.

“Oh my god, you absolute heathen.” You really thought Taeyong was the perfect man of your dreams, but you unfortunately realize belatedly that even he has flaws. Some inexcusable ones, in fact.

In the midst of your lamenting, you fail to notice melting sugar slowly trickling down until it leaves a sticky mess all over your hand. Desperately, you toss the empty popsicle stick into the nearby waste basket before licking off the remnants of your icy blue treat from your fingers.

“See? It melted all over you. I told you so,” Taeyong childishly sticks out his tongue as he waves his clean hand and empty popsicle stick around as if to emphasize his point.

“Your tongue’s red,” you say, chuckling slightly, and his eyes widen at this newfound revelation.

“Wait, stick out your tongue,” he demands as he throws away the wooden stick, and you comply with his request. He grins, delighted. “Yours is blue!”

He sticks out his tongue again, almost going cross eyed as he tries to catch a glimpse of his own. At that, your eyes zero in on his cherry stained lips, and an ingenious idea pops up in your mind as the sudden urge to kiss your boyfriend silly makes itself very known.

“Hey, wanna play a game, Yongie?” you ask slyly, and his attention immediately turns to you at the word “game,” interest piqued and eyes fixated on you.

“What kind of game?” he inquires cautiously, taking note of the mischievous glimmer in your eyes. You look like you’re up to no good, and your boyfriend wouldn’t be surprised if you have something up your metaphorical sleeve (Because nobody sane enough would be wearing something with sleeves in this weather from hell. In fact, you’re 66.6% percent certain that those fiery pits are probably cooler compared to here).

“Too hot.”

“Yes, it is,” he acknowledges, shaking his head in agreement, and you laugh, fanning yourself with your hands. “No, silly, I meant the game.”

“It’s called ‘too hot’?” He raises an eyebrow at you, and you confirm, nodding your head. The expression of skepticism on his face says it all, so you throw in your bargaining chip.

“I hid a chocolate bar in the freezer’s ice chest. The winner can have it.”

His doe eyes immediately light up at the mention of his favorite sweet, and he grabs your hand, squeezing it tightly. “Okay, how do I play?”

“We kiss,” you start, and he’s already pulling you towards him enthusiastically, causing soft laughter to bubble up from your throat, before you swat his hands away. “Hey, hey, hey, I wasn’t done explaining it yet! There’s no touching allowed.”

“That’s no fun,” Taeyong whines, lips jutting out into a tiny pout that you want to kiss away already. “You said this is a game. Games are supposed to be fun.”

“But you’re getting kisses, and it’s already hot so it’s better this way,” you coax, and he relents with a drawn out sigh, and you quietly cheer. “Okay, ready?”

Taeyong gives you a tiny nod, and you grin before leaning in, eyes fluttering close. You gently place your lips against his, and he holds still. But then, a few seconds later, you feel his fingers barely grazing your cheek, and you immediately pull away with a frown.

“Baby, I told you that you can’t touch!”

“That rule is dumb,” he complains, crossing his arms over his chest like a petulant child. You frown at him, pouting until he gives in again because it’s you and he’d cross oceans and climb mountains for you.

“Okay, let’s try again,” he grumbles, glowering as he absentmindedly cards his hand through his hair, and you positively beam at him, and the sulking expression on his face softens almost instantly.

“What if we do baby steps first?” You pull your legs up onto the couch, sitting up on your knees and facing him. He fully turns to look at you, head cocked to one side.

“What do you mean?”

You lean forward and peck his cheek before moving back to your original position. “Like that. Now your turn.”

A lightbulb goes off in his head, and Taeyong leans forward and gingerly places a kiss on your forehead with an endearing smile. You inch forward and kiss his other cheek. He plants a tiny kiss to the tip of your nose, and you lean in to delicately leave a kiss on the corner of his mouth. He presses a kiss to the corner of your lips, and you do the same to the opposite side, much to his utter frustration.

This time, Taeyong chases after you when you pull away. You let out a noise of surprise as he gently tugs you forward, crashing his lips against yours and muffling your laughter, and you find yourself straddling your boyfriend. Your hands wind up tangled in his hair, while his arms lock around your waist and hold you close, game be damned.

You can taste a faint trace of cherry, causing the corners of your mouth to curl into the minutest hint of a smile before you press your mouth against his more firmly as he kisses you back eagerly until you both run out of air, pulling away breathlessly with identical smiles.

“You lost,” you tease, poking his cheek with your finger as your other hand curls around his shirt. He makes a face at you, his hands still resting on your waist, and you find that you don’t mind the warmth of them against your skin even in this ruthlessly blazing weather.

“But you’ll share the chocolate, right?” he mumbles, face still flushed and lips redder than before. He traces soft patterns against your hip as you tilt your head to the side, faking your hesitation.

“Hmm, I don’t know, should I? I won fair and square.”

He sticks his tongue out at you. “Meanie.”

You laugh, sliding off his lap and onto the empty seat next to him (albeit a little unwillingly, but it’s still hot as hell unfortunately, and conserving body heat together isn’t helping at all). Your boyfriend frowns, mostly because you’re no longer sitting in his lap, but partly because he doesn’t understand why you’re laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

Your grin widens, eyes sparkling like you know something he doesn’t (because you do). “Baby, your tongue’s purple.”

Taeyong turns a shade brighter than his favorite popsicle flavor.

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wheelsup · 4 years ago

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moreid as a cheesy high school teen movie romance | headcannon

(this really got away from me, it is incredibly cheesy. derek and spencer are the same age (but one year apart) in this au. tw: mentions of anxiety, mentions of homophobia. 1.4k words because like i said, it got away from me)

spencer, a sophomore, shows up on the first day of school in one of derek’s junior-level classes. derek remembers him from the summer, when he had to come to school for off-season practice and spencer was there for chess club tournaments, he passed him a few times in the hall. he’s gotten taller since then, and his cheekbones have come in. he looks good. not like the awkward freshman he remembers.

spencer’s always getting called on in class, and derek can see him panicking every time he has to speak up.

each time spencer’s anxiety kicks up after he talks in class, derek leans over and tells him he did a good job. that he didn’t look as nervous as he felt.

spencer starts speaking up more in class, not just because derek’s reassuring him and easing his anxiety, but because he knows it will get the boy will talk to him. even if for just a moment.

after class one day, derek stops spencer as he’s walking home and asks for his phone number. he says it’s so they can talk about homework, but derek knows that it’s the only thing he won’t be texting reid for. spencer has to pretend his hands aren’t violently shaking when he types his number into derek’s phone, he’s afraid he’s going to drop it with how sweaty his palms feel.

spencer waits for derek to text him, but nothing comes through. two days go by without a message, and spencer’s stomach is turning inside out and he’s so sad. on the third day, derek finds him in the cafeteria at lunch and corners him, asking why he hasn’t been responding to his messages.

“why haven’t you texted me back?”

“i never got a message?”

“well i sent you like seven of them”

that’s when they figure out spencer gave him the wrong number. he was so nervous and shaky that he hit a zero where it should have been a one. both those boys spent three days thinking that their crush was unrequited. in reality, derek had sent him seven texts and spencer was crushing so hard he couldnt even type right.

reid’s contact name is obviously pretty boy

spencer hates phones but he turns his notifications on just so he never misses a text

dereks mature and texts back normally, spencer is insecure and tries to wait to reply so he doesn’t look like he was waiting for a text

even though the mutual crush is so obvious, they still pretend like their texts are nothing to speak of. they’re nervous.

them staying up past midnight texting is just because they’re “buds”. derek telling spencer what his favorite movies are, which spencer saved onto his netflix list, and spencer sending derek song recommendations that he saves into a playlist, is definitely just “buddy” stuff.

it’s the day before the big homecoming game, and derek’s going to start. he wore his letterman jacket around all week to show his pride, like football players are supposed to do the week leading up to the game.

it also rains really hard that day, and spencer shows up to class looking like a drowned puppy with his sweater completely soaked. he had to walk across the entire campus to make it to class, and he couldn’t avoid getting caught in the rain.

derek sees him, shivering and pale, and slips him his letterman jacket to wear in class. he does it so casually, like it wasn’t even a question for him to give it up, but, he’s nervous that spencer’s not gonna wanna wear it, even if he is fighting hypothermia. he has to actively try not to smile when spencer accepts the jacket.

it’s so much bigger than spencer is, and so, so warm.

after class, spencer hands it back to him and thanks him for letting him wear it. derek tells him to hold on to it for now.

“aren’t you supposed to wear it for the game tomorrow?”

“how about you wear it. give it back to me after i win.”

he blushes so hard and he’s so in love with derek, but spencer’s scared to wear it to school the next day.

nobody would say anything to derek, but the homophobic assholes could easily pick on spencer. they already ragged on him enough, he didn’t want to give them any more reasons. he tries it on and takes it off a hundred and one times in the mirror before going to school.

he ultimately doesn’t wear it to class.

it would just make him too easy of a target, and he wanted to so badly, but he’s scared of the bullies.

he’s also scared to face derek. he avoids him all day, hoping he doesn’t see that spencer didn’t wear it to class that day like he was supposed to. he avoids him in the hall. he hides in a seat in the back of the classroom.

it doesn’t work. derek turns around in the front row, eyes scanning for spencer. he’s absolutely crestfallen when he sees him, sans jacket. and spencer’s clearly been avoiding him today, and so he gets the message. spencer doesn’t like him like that.

the sun was out that day, and the wet grass field was gonna dry up in time for the big game, but derek’s whole world felt dark.

spencer tries to talk to him after class, but derek’s nowhere to be found. he texts him as he walks home alone and doesn’t get any response. spencer tries to convince himself derek’s just at practice, and he doesn’t have his phone on him, but he knows that practice doesn’t run that long.

it’s 7pm now. derek’s big game is about to start, and spencer’s sitting on his bed, staring at the ceiling and hoping he didn’t just ruin his chance. derek looks over the bleachers before the coin toss and he doesn’t see the only face he’s looking for.

bullies have taken so much from spencer, and he was letting them take his first (potential) boyfriend away from him too. spencer wants to stay in bed and cry, and he does for a bit, but if ever spencer was going to take a stance, he decided it should be now.

he shows up to the game five minutes before half time, just enough to see derek in action. he’s never seen anything so impressive. as the team is huddled up and the marching band is playing, derek by chance glances over the bleachers and sees reid. front row with that big jacket over his shoulders.

derek’s heart has left his body, ascended into the sky. he plays even better that second half, but he feels like he’s floating on air, even when he’s getting tackled and rammed.

reid, who has never seen a game of football in his life, is learning everything he can as it unfolds before him.

he’s clinging onto every play, cheering when derek does something good (really, the whole team did it, but to reid derek IS the whole team) and booing when the other team was up.

sometimes he doesn’t know what happened and why the crowd is cheering, but he cheers anyways.

the game is over and people are leaving but spencer is glued in place. the team lost and everyone’s disappointed, but spencer is the proudest he could ever be.

because the first derek does is walk off the field and towards the bleachers. to him.

they don’t kiss. not here. in front of all these prying eyes and bright lights, not in a place where they couldn’t savor it.

derek does hold spencer’s hand, though. it means everything that he came. it means more that he wore the jacket.

and he’s scared, too. he might be the school’s beloved football star, but this is the first boy he’s ever liked and he doesn’t know how to handle it.

they leave the game together. derek’s team is wondering where he went because he was supposed to come get drunk with them to forget the loss. but derek won tonight.

derek and spencer tell each other they might not know how to do this, but they wanna figure it out. it’s worth enduring a bit of pain for this much joy. the bullies couldn’t possibly kill off the butterflies in spencer’s stomach every time he even thought about derek.

they kiss at spencer’s front door, under his dimmed porch light. the world falls away around them, all that exists is derek’s hands caressing spencer’s face, and spencer’s arms wrapping around derek’s waist.

spencer keeps the letterman jacket. he’s going to wear it to class on monday.

taglist: @ellesgreenaway @suburban--gothic @sturmmhond @ssa-sarahsunshine @mediocre-writer @hotchgans @ssa-m-187 @calm-and-doctor @drayshadow @makaylajadewrites

#moreid #derek morgan #derek x spencer #spencer reid #hc #headcannon #criminal minds #my fic #derek morgan x spencer reid

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allthefilmsiveseenforfree · 4 years ago

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Old (2021)

Oh you guys. You guyyyyyys. Buckle the fuck up, I am so pumped to tell you about this absolutely GONZO mummified deuce of a movie. Spoilers will be had in this one, because you need to know everything.

Old is the latest from M. Night Shyamalan and like....I think we all know M. Night’s track record. For every Sixth Sense, we also get a Happening or a Village. In some ways, he’s the most exciting director working today because every new film is a 50/50 coin toss, and mama loves living on the edge. The gist of this latest roll of the dice is that a group of different families who have all come to stay at a remote luxury beach resort get invited to go to a secluded private beach for the day, and after they arrive they discover they can’t leave. That’s not great, but the bigger problem is that they seem to be aging rapidly - like 2 years older every hour or so. That’s a solid “how are we gonna get outta this one” bottle episode premise, and in the hands of a better writer, it could be a fun sci-fi romp. M. is NOT that writer.

Some thoughts:

I should have known it would all go wrong from the terrible foreshadowing starting at the very beginning scene. The mom of our main family, Prisca (Vicky Krieps) says “You have such a beautiful voice, I can’t wait to hear it when you’re older.” The dad, Guy (Gael Garcia Bernal) says, “Don’t rush this moment, enjoy the present while you can.” BECAUSE THE CHARACTERS WON’T BE ABLE TO LATER, DO YOU GET IT? dO yOU GEt iT? Wife leaned over and said “look at all the ferns - the oldest plants!” That last one was probably her projecting, but the point stands: there is nothing subtle about Old.

There’s a lot of just like, shouting out loud the things that are currently happening onscreen. “She’s having a seizure!” “People who go back the way we came black out!” “The rust has entered your bloodstream; it acts like poison!” That’s how you tell stories, right? Just having characters point out events that are occurring right in front of their stupid fucking faces with no other commentary or reflection?

An additional element that feels woefully ignorant at best and malicious at worst is the inclusion of a black male character (Aaron Pierre) who 1) is a rapper 2) is named Mid-Sized Sedan [I’ll give you a moment to deal with that detail emotionally] 3) says the single line of dialogue “Damn.” at least 4 times and 4) suffers the bloodiest, most violent onscreen death at the hands of a racist white man who is revealed to have paranoid schizophrenia. There are other gruesome deaths onscreen, to be sure, but the worst are body horror nightmares that could never occur in the real world - a woman whose bones are breaking and setting in the wrong position nearly instantaneously until she resembles a horrifying spider creature, and the aforementioned rust-in-the-bloodstream trick that leads to a Jeff-Goldblum-in-The Fly-bubbling-skin infection kinda deal. But Mid-Sized Sedan just gets stabbed in the chest repeatedly, brutally, a bunch of times by a white guy who pleads fear for his life even though MSS posed no danger to him, and it all happens onscreen when so many other characters are offered the mercy of offscreen deaths. I’m not sure if M. is trying to throw some real-world horror in and he’s just shit at it, or if it really didn’t occur to him how malicious this inclusion feels in a fantasy narrative, and I don’t really care. If you have a black character in your story and they die, you better think really long and hard about how it happens and what it means and it’s clear no one did that here.

Nothing to do with the film itself, but it did tickle me that someone brought a tiny infant to my pretty packed screening. The baby was very chill, thank goodness, and as far as I know did not age up to a kindergartner during the course of the film.

There is a Very Good Dog, a Yorkie, present for the first part of the film, but unfortunately the dog dies. It occurs offscreen, and given the premise of what’s going on on this beach, it’s not a shock when it happens BUT STILL.

The old age makeup, at least on Prisca is pretty great. Good job makeup department!

At one point, Guy gets attacked by another beachgoer, and his eyesight is failing so he has a hard time fighting back. But you are surrounded by sand, my dude, and you can still see blurry shapes. You’re not gonna throw some sand in the eyes until you’ve been stabbed like 10 times? Not gonna try to push him down, or sweep the fucking leg, or do anything but just keep raising your arms and getting stabbed while yelling “I’ll protect you!” I’ve seen stale tuna sandwiches with better defense mechanisms than you.

Like most fantastical premises, there are only a certain number of ways this narrative can end that really make any sense. It reminds me quite a bit of 2019’s Brightburn which was like “what if Superman but evil?” Either everyone is gonna die, or someone is going to improbably survive and you better have a real neat explanation for how that’s possible. Oh M. Night, when will you realize that your explanations are never as clever as you think they are? There’s no “twist” here really, simply a reveal, and it’s the equivalent of eating one of those sugar-free, gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free snack cakes I broke down and ate out of desperation when I was on Weight Watchers. That shit is “food” in the same way that the climax is a “logical explanation for all this.” Big Pharma is luring sick people to the resort through targeted ads, then arranging these excursions to the wacky time beach in order to test how medicine they secretly slipped into the guests’ drinks works over decades of life. These sneaky medical breakthroughs are saving hundreds of thousands of people’s lives, we’re told, and the scientists offer a moment of silence for each fallen group of unwitting human lab rats after they inevitably die. Because if there’s one thing the world needs right now, it’s more distrust of pharmaceutical companies and the ethics of modern science! I can’t think of one possible reason we’d want to portray molecular biologists, immunologists, and virologists in a positive light right now, can you? When will those assholes get off their high horses and stop being universally trusted and beloved by everyone, am I right??

My saddest takeaway, tbh, is that this is a stacked international cast, with at least half the roles going to POC - this is the future liberals want, etc etc - and the result is THIS.

Did I Cry? Of course not.

Not all is terrible! It’s a beautiful movie to look at, because M. Night’s direction is never the problem, but combined with the script, the acting, and the absurd narrative leaps needed to make this story make even a little bit of sense, the whole thing turns into a mess. Unfortunately, getting Old with M. Night is less “leisurely retirement at a plush resort in Florida” and more “rancid can of Ensure and a poop-choked pair of Depends.”

If you liked this review, please consider reblogging or subscribing to my Patreon! For as low as $1, you can access bonus content and movie reviews, or even request that I review any movie of your choice.

#121in2021 #old #old movie #old 2021 #m. night shyamalan #old review #vicky krieps #gael garcia bernal #alex wolff #aaron pierre #movie reviews #film reviews

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eisforeidolon · 3 years ago

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Thank you for answering my question! I was the one who asked if it was the norm for this fandom to use the LGBTQ+ community as a defense for their very disgusting behavior. Thank you for being honest about this fandom. I noticed the hate towards the actors and other people involved with making this show a few times, but I really got into this fandom a few weeks ago and saw how many people hated on Jared and Jensen after the latest con. (1/2)

Honestly the things Jared said were not really offensive, at least to me, but I Honestly the things Jared said were nice to hear. It was pretty cool seeing someone defend the Platonic love presented in spn openly. It just seems strange how some people weaponize sexuality, which can and is very important to a lot of people to make a point about fictional characters. Can you recommend any blogs to follow? I'm thinking about making a Tumblr.(2/2)

********************************

Sure! To be as fair as is possible, the answer Jared gave wasn't particularly direct or coherent. However, I think anyone who cares to understand what he was trying to say can understand it pretty easily, though: there are many different kinds of love outside of sexual attraction and the show was always about those other kinds of love. Especially in the context of Jared having said before that he particularly liked how Supernatural was never centered on romance. I think he got tangled up a bit in his words trying not to offend or devalue other interpretations like that of the person asking, which was awkward, but there was nothing objectively offensive or unexpected in what he said.

The problem is that those certain D/C shippers (we coined the term 'destihellers' to refer specifically to the entitled bully contingent of the ship) were never going to accept any answer but, "Yes, Castiel's confession was 100% romantic and Dean understood it that way and would absolutely have reciprocated if given the chance." They've spent years insisting the real One True Story of this show was a D/C romance, feeling superior for their ability to decipher all the totally intentional elaborately hidden clues to that secret storyline (like Dean looking at someone wearing tan meaning he was pining for Castiel) and mocking, slandering, and harassing anyone who didn't agree. Part of that has been spending a year as of today insisting there was literally no other possible interpretation of what Castiel said - even though had the writers simply substituted "in love with" for "love" it would have removed all ambiguity. So Jared's answer acknowledging that the scene left room for other interpretations and wasn't explicitly romantic just because Castiel said the word love is completely unacceptable and made them disproportionately angry.

This is not remotely this first time this has happened. Generally, after either J says anything about D/C not being the point of the show or Misha not being a lead equal to them, this particular group of fans manages to find *something* to be deeply offended by. Heck, right now? Some of them are angry that Jared trended last night for tweeting about Walker because they saw his very existence on SM as encroaching on their intent to spam today on the anniversary of that episode's airing.

It's a great thing that fandom can be a more inclusive space where people from various groups can feel safe revealing aspects of themselves that face widespread discrimination IRL. It's not a great thing that some people have seen this as the perfect way to win petty fandom arguments, insisting anyone who disagrees with them must be -ist/-ic towards the whole group they belong to.

I don't think I'm really the person to ask for recommendations, as I haven't kept great track of which blogs I follow are specifically just the bro bond and not bro bond plus wincest, because as the core canon content focus is similar there's a lot of overlap. So I'm gonna toss this one to my followers/people who see this post if they wanna make any suggestions on good blogs to follow for celebrating just the canon platonic relationships. Anybody?

#destihellers #mention of wincest #askboxery #anonymous #long post

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agl03 · 5 years ago

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Finale Predictions

Well guys, it's been quite the ride and here we are ready for the finale. First and foremost I have to thank you all for sticking with me over the years. Sending the asks, supporting the theories, dealing with my sometimes crazy metas and predictions, that sometimes hit and sometimes didn’t. And trusting me to be the Fandom Mom.

As is now an annual tradition I’m putting up my post of Finale Predictions before going dark until after the finale airs. This is for fun as I always like to see how well I did. Please no pitchforks if I am wrong on any of these.

So here we go:

Everyone’s favorite villains, Nathaniel, Kora, and SIBYL will all make it to the finale while Garrett will be killed or locked up by the end of the first hour (and it will use some of Fitz’s tech).

SIBYL will eventually get herself a new body.

Nathaniel will turn on Kora and try to take her powers and/or kill her.

Kora has already turned on him and he/we just don’t know it yet. Either betrays him and helps her sister or tries to kill him herself in revenge for her mother. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Daisy will be the one to end Nathaniel and it will be oh so satisfying giant fight scene….even if we have to wait until the second hour for it. Bonus points if Sousa get a hit in first too

Coulson, May, and Elena are able to get to space thanks to Coulson’s new computer Genius Super Power OR Garrett is ordered to bring them so they can lord their victory over them all.

Even though they have pretty much ended Shield and Hydra in the “hot mess” timeline SIBYL and Nathaniel set their sites on the OG Timeline and/or Fitz once they realize he has come into the mix and ruins their plans in the hot mess timeline.. As they are both aware he is the one who ends their little party.

The Chronicoms will not all be super thrilled with what SIBYL has been up too or her methods. This could be another thing that drives SIBYL into the OG Timeline.

The battle between SIBYL and Coulson seems to have gotten a bit more personal so my money is on Coulson being the one to take her down. Close second goes to May and Fitzsimmons.

Diana didn’t only block Memories of Fitz it took out the memories of people associated with him. IE she is not going to remember her friends or Deke.

Deke will earn her trust quickly and be an A+ overprotective grandson of his Nana as they are rescued and get back to the team.

The team will rescue Deke and Jemma, take out a few Chronicoms, and Independence Day their way out of there.

While it won’t be the romantic Philinda some fans want we will see some quality Philinda banter over the finale as it seems they’ve settled into a good place between the two. Coulson has also passed the torch of “team parent” onto her.

Philinda will not end as a couple.

At some point Sousa is really going to question what is going on and his life choices. AKA He looks around stunned at what is going on.

More quality Dousy flirting and banter….they will kiss again and I do see them being a couple when things end.

Fitzsimmons family feels just a lot of them over the whole finale. Iain and Elizabeth are going to murder us with feels. I mean Fitz with his little girl. I shall perish.

Despite not knowing everyone Jemma is going to be super insistent on building or activating a device (that has been stashed on the Zephyr) that she doesn’t know what it does but just knows she needs to build and activate it. She will be the only one who can activate it and possibly it will take something very personal of hers to turn it on. IE how she was hiding Fitz’s ring/necklace in Season 6 she might have the key hiding again. But lets all freak out that Jemma will literally be the key to getting Fitz.

We won’t see Fitz until near the end of 12 if he is not the cliffhanger.

That Bar place in the promo pics is either Keonig’s Bar or the Playground of the hot mess Timeline. Seems to be some sort of secret Shield Base or what is left of them after the big attack as there are some random Shield agents milling/wth/who are these people in the background. We know The Playground was off the books in the OG Timeline and would make sense it was also in the Hot mess.

Jemma will have her memory resorted relatively quickly after Fitz Kool Aid Man’s in all Star Lord from the portal thing Jemma activates. And it’ll be the freaking power of her love for Fitz/her Family that overloads her (Gimme my Framework fix here). Or Fitzsimmons have a fail safe password. BUT GIMME TRUE LOVE.

CUE THE SECRET CHILD REVEAL!!!!!!!!!! Yes, I will be screaming. The team will be stunned.

I’m sticking to my theory that they will give their daughter a “celestial” or astronomical name to pay off “One of these days we’ll find something magnificent out in space,” thing from Season 3 (especially if she was conceived on the way back from Kitson). Or a name that is very reflective of their Scottish/English roots.

Everyone needs to hold onto their hats because once Jemma has her memories back it will be because they are gonna want to get home to their Little Girl like yesterday and have one hell of a plan that involves saving the world and taking care of Nathaniel, SIBYL, and the Season 6 Finale attack on the Lighthouse.

This is likely where a ton of the Flashbacks come in.

Where has Fitz been? He’s been back in our OG Timeline. The finale confirmation for me came last week when Nathaniel revealed that SIBYL’s time stream couldn’t see him….or their daughter, and that thing sees EVERYTHING in the HOT MESS Timeline. This would also be why Jemma’s messages didn’t reach him, she couldn’t get them to cross into the OG Timeline and this was something she would have known but Diana blocked as part of hiding where Fitz was.

How has Fitz been watching the Chronicoms? Insert incredibly complicated timey whimy thing the writers came up with that me and my Marketing degree can not fathom so just go with it okay, via the using the Framework in the OG Timeline to get into the Chronicom’s system. Little pay back for what SIBYL has been doing in the Hot Mess Timeline. Him being connected to the Framework explains why he was so exposed. Because when someone is hooked up to that thing they can get their heads cut off and not know it.

Now reunited and having dropped the baby announcement Fitzsimmons will present the plan for the “Final Mission” the team must embark on to save the world….again.

And oh baby is it complicated.

Part of said plan will have them back at the Lighthouse during the Chronicom attack.

The dudes that showed up with Jemma at the Temple will be explained. IE I think its some of the team and they cleared out of the Zephyr before the time travel party got started. They also may have grabbed other hunks of the monoliths.

The fight will take place in both the Hot Mess and OG Timelines

We have not seen the last of the Monoliths. The fact we are jumping timelines and have Flint in the mix over in the OG timeline makes me think they are gonna need Mr. Swirly’s help in doing said jumping (Mr. Swirly is the Grey Monolith). Or they really go with the OG and its Harold (Black Space one) that allows for it. Kind of fitting the Monolith that tore Fitzsimmons apart is now the one that reunites them.

We will for sure see Enoch (via Flashback), Davis (please not by Flashback #davislivesagain), Piper and Flint as returning Favorites.

If they have Davis back to life I just gesture exhaustedly at the Monoliths again. Not even gonna try to explain it.

Small chance we run into the Hot Mess’s Timeline Enoch but he will have no relationship or connection to the team and will make me cry.

Top Picks for SURPRISE not on the Press Release faces to pop up if we get them: Ward (I mean really how have we not seen him again yet), Mace, Robbie, Bobbi, Hunter, Koenig (any of them) and Mike. REALLY WANT IT BUT WON”T GET IT! Dadcliffe

Who was keeping Fitzsimmons Daughter safe:

Top Pick: Piper and Flint: Given Fitzsimmons would have run into them picking up the Zephyr and they could have been the “we had help” they talked about.

Second Place Because I Badly want him back: Uncle Enoch 2.0

Left Field Surprise Option: Huntingbird

LOLA RETURNS

We will get a lot of really fun callbacks to past stories or even lines IE “I’m just the Pilot” For May.

“What We Are Fighting For”: Family. The team family….and the Fitzsimmons family. Also they will have gone 13/13 in that someone will say the titles name at some point in the episode.

We will see old weapons and tech from previous seasons make one last appearance, we’ve seen 2 so far in promos and will see more.

Shotgun Axe gets a proper send off in battle (this one is for Kiddo 3)

Bear will deliver the most amazing soundtrack that we’ll never get to buy.

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story (Sorry Couldn’t Resist)

Nathaniel: Dies, and we will all cheer.

SIBYL: Dies, and we will all cheer.

Garrett: Dies or locked up, won’t make it to the second hour.

Kora: Toss a coin. If she dies she killed for trying to take down Nathaniel. If in her betrayal of Nathaniel she helps Daisy get Jemma and Deke back that could be a good starting place for the sisters to work thing out. Starting place, she has a long way to go to get in good with Daisy and setting up an 11th hour redemption arc.

Mack: Still so nervous for him based on how he has been in interviews, especially the SDCC ones last year. He was so clearly upset by it. So Mack either falls or does something so out of character (Bails before the finale battle which just is not making sense to me Mack is in such a good place right now) for Mack that Henry was upset by it. Essentially I am very confused because what I am seeing on screen now isn’t matching with how Henry was talking as Mack has really come around since his Endgame stage.

Elena: Easily lives. If Mack doesn’t die, wherever he lands she’ll be with him. They’ve been a steady ship all season and I see no reason for them to break up outside of death. And while I have a mountain of concerns for Mack, I have none for Elena.. I also see her still being a presence within Shield, she’s become a good solid agent, and bonus points if she keeps Flint with her….and he gets all the tacos he wants.

Sousa: Totally lives (they might give us a good fake out though because he and Daisy are becoming a thing)I can still see him being Director of Shield if Mack falls or steps down. He’s a good Agent in a new time but he said he is right where he is supposed to be, at Daisy’s side. Where she goes he goes. IE he’s not letting her get away and will always be there after she runs into a wall. So if Daisy leaves Shield, so will he. If she stays so will he. If she opens a coffee bar he’ll learn to make an espresso.

Daisy: Totally Lives, but there will be something about her ending that some fans won’t like and some fans are going to love. Staying with Shield or no whatever she does will involve Inhumans be it the Secret Warriors are up and running again, she is mentoring and training new Inhumans coming into Shield, or my favorite option still is she reopens Afterlife. I’ve been feeling that option for most of the Season and feel like it was really set up with Jaiying as was Daisy looking out for her little sister should the chips fall the right way. The SS Dousy will be sailing right along. IF Kora survives I can see her being in Afterlife as well, Daisy taking her mother’s passion that Kora has a good heart to heart herself.

Deke: Okay this one is weird because I feel like we are going to lose him somehow, but he won’t die. I didn’t get the vibe from Jeff, Elizabeth, or Iain that he died and those three are pretty tight. However, in that I don’t think I’m going to get my Fitzsimmons Family all settling down in a giant castle in Scotland together. They set up for him to make a sacrifice, he’s grown, and has something he’s really truly fighting for. I have loved seeing how close he and Jemma have gotten and how fiercely he’s protected her and her secret. Even in the face of torture he didn’t betray her. It will come as no surprise if he doesn’t sacrifice himself somehow. Either in taking a hit for his family or doing something similar to what he did in Season 5 to make sure they got home. Bringing things full circle. He also expressed that he wouldn’t mind being stuck in the hot mess timeline in ‘83. He built himself a nice life there and Nathaniel did a pretty good job of taking out Hydra...with just a bit of Shield hanging on. So if it comes down to it I don’t see him minding if he gets stuck there. Sure him saying goodbye to Nana and Bobo is gonna hurt like Hades but if he ends up alive, I’m good.

Fitzsimmons: Both live, yes they will scare the crap out of us more than a few times especially after we know about the daughter, but they will live. Totally peace out, we’ve done our time, leaving Shield with the adorable daughter and its Perthshire or Bust. They’ve sacrificed enough and will not be willing to risk it again.

May: Lives and reminds us all that she is one hell of a pilot. If Mack decides he wants to step down, dies, whatever I’ll throw her back in contention for Director, especially as I see Sousa Following Daisy if she leaves. Coulson seemed to have set her on that path and at the very least passed the “Team Parent” torch onto her, that it would be her job to give the Coulson talks to those who needed it. If she’s not Director, she’ll be whomever is right hand, or I still have that option for the Academy being up and running and she’s running that, training the next generation.

Coulson: Lives.I know SHOCKING. I think he was very ready to throw in the towel after spending 20 months in the TV but then Enoch’s moving words in his death were what changed his mind about ‘powering down” when this is all over. Coulson realizes that yes, while it is hard to be the one to leave it is harder for the ones that are left behind but it's also necessary that they move on, and live for those they have lost before. Like Sousa and Fitzsimmons, he’ll be another that they’ll fake out death a few times. I see him leaving Shield though, taking Lola and finally just going and seeing the world, watching the history he loves so much happen. We get to see him driving around or even off in Lola for the last time. Other options include he does something that will allow him to totally run with his new super computer super power. The final thing I can see him doing is being the coolest professor at the newly rebooted Academy.

Flint: Get’s his tacos.

Piper: Keeps being awesome.

Davis: Better live dang it.

Kiddos Predictions:

That weird device Jemma makes brings Fitz

Deke sacrifices himself for Fitz

Fitzsimmons and their kid have to leave Shield

Mack leaves shield

Fitzsimmons, Dousy, Mackelena all stay together

Daisy kills Nathaniel, Daisy needs to quake him up

May or Nathaniel will take out Kora. But if she survives we want Daisy to take her in.

Fitz takes down SIBYL

Piper is watching the Daughter

The daughters name is Olivia

Robo Coulson will sacrifice himself

GHOST RIDER HAD BETTER BE OUR SURPRISE CHARACTER (this was literally shouted at me). Kiddo 3 voted for PIkachu (Lincoln)

Have no idea what will happen to May

We will get a “flash forward” ending showing what the team that is still alive is doing

Flint gets his tacos

They save the team and have a full out war at some point in time

The episode is going to be super good

Mom is going to cry

Well there it is. We’ll check back in on Thursday to see how I did!

#aos spoilers #aos finale spoilers #aos finale predictions #one last time

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snappedsky · 5 years ago

Text

Fanatics 74

Squee, Johnny, Devi, Tenna, and Colton are forced to embark on a fantastic quest.

*Links to previous and next chapters in reblog*

The Imaginary Quest

Colton grumbles grumpily to himself as he descends into his basement. “‘Clean the basement, Colton’,” he says in a mocking tone. “‘You can play your guitar later, Colton.’ Dad just doesn’t get it.”

He sighs bitterly as he reaches the basement floor and looks out at the stacks of boxes, left abandoned since they moved in.

“What the hell am I even supposed to do with all this crap?” he groans as he starts unstacking. He opens random boxes, looking through them for anything interesting, before pushing them to the side again. Most of them are filled with old toys and other things they don’t use anymore. It can all go to the dump for all he cares.

But after a few minutes, he spots something interesting in a seemingly random box and his face lights up.

“Ooooh, I gotta show this to Squee!” he exclaims as he grabs the item and races upstairs. He dashes out of the house, through the yard, and knocks rapidly on his neighbor’s door.

“Eh?” Johnny grunts as he cracks open the door.

“Hey, Johnny,” Colton smiles, bouncing up and down on his feet. “Squee around?”

“Hey, Colton,” Squee calls out from somewhere in the house. “Come on in.”

Nny sighs with annoyance but holds open the door for Colton, who bounds in. Granny Cammie is sitting in her wheelchair next to the couch, where Devi, Tenna, and Squee are resting while they all watch TV. Colton steps in front of them and presents his prize. “Look what I found in my basement!”

Squee leans forward as he reads the name on the old board game box. “Caves and Creatures?”

“Yeah!” Colton chimes, “it’s an old roleplay game. It takes place entirely in your imagination.” “Sounds lame,” Tenna snorts.

“Sounds cool,” Squee grins.

“It is!” Colton agrees, “I completely forgot I even had this. Wanna play?”

“Yeah,” Squee nods and stands up. “But let’s do it outside. It’ll be quieter.”

“Are you saying we’re loud?” Devi scoffs.

“A little,” he admits as he and Colton head out the door.

“I mean, he’s not wrong,” Cammie shrugs.

“How long are you staying here,” Johnny grunts at her.

Outside, Squee and Colton sit at their usual spot on the curb and Colton opens box. Inside is a bunch of papers and pencils and a rather thick guidebook.

“Not much of a board game,” Squee comments.

“Like I said, this takes place entirely in your imagination,” Colton explains, “the guidebook is full of different stories we can follow- or we can create our own. And we use the papers to detail our characters and their adventures, keeping track of their progress, treasures we find, and enemies we kill and whatnot. Oh, check it. My old character sheet!”

He hands Squee a sheet of paper. On it is a rather crude drawing of some kind of buff, humanoid creature and next it in barely legible scribblings is the characters information.

“Name: Fartbutt the Smelly?” Squee questions.

“Hey, man, I was like seven,” Colton shrugs.

“Level 2 orc warrior,” he continues, “special power: knocking enemies out with his farts. Wow, brilliant. So you sticking with this one or…?”

“Nah,” he laughs as he flips open the guidebook. “I’m gonna start a new character. Here, this is the character guide.”

They spend the next hour or so creating their characters, taking turns flipping through the guidebook for all the proper information. When they’ve finished, they’re both beaming with excitement.

“Alright, okay,” Colton says as they look over the story index. “We’ll introduce our characters in the story. So, which story should we do?”

“Oh, this one,” Squee replies, pointing at a story titled ‘King of the Cursed Forest’. “Love a good forest setting.”

“Okay,” Colton smiles and flips to the beginning of the story. He gets ready to read but stops and hands the book to Squee. “Here, maybe you should read instead. You are a story teller.”

“I mean, I’m actually just a writer but,” he shrugs as he takes the book. He quickly skims the first couple paragraphs before clearing his throat.

“Two adventurers arrive at a tavern in a small town called Darkside, on the edge of a twisting forest cloaked in shadows,” he begins, “since the small establishment is mostly empty, the adventurers acknowledge each other as they approach the bar and introduce themselves.”

He nods at Colton. “After you.” “I am Fariti,” Colton says in a ridiculous, fake-girl voice. “An elven archer. My hobbies include archery- at which I am quite skilled- and hair styling, as you can tell by my glorious, purple locks.” Squee snickers as Colton mimes tossing back long hair over his shoulder.

“I am Neetch,” Squee says in a slightly regal voice. “A half-elf rogue. So we have something in common.”

“Ha!” Colton scoffs. “You are merely a half-elf. You are not even good enough to lick my shoes.”

“Too bad. They are nice shoes.”

The two break character as they start giggling. Then Squee clears his throat and continues to read.

“The tavern keeper approaches the adventurers.” He puts on his best gruff voice. “What can I do for ya?”

“Have you any elven wine?” Fariti asks.

“‘We may have some in the back’ the tavern keeper replies wearily before turning away,” Squee says.

“Never mind,” Fariti sighs. “I would prefer information.”

“On what?” the tavern keeper questions.

“The treasure of the Cursed Forest.”

“Oh,” Neetch says with interest. “Seems we have more in common as I am interested in the Cursed Forest as well.”

“You aren’t the only ones,” the tavern keeper says, “many adventurers go after the legends of the Cursed Forest and never return.”

“Then you must know a lot about it,” Fariti muses.

“I may know something…for a pri-.” Squee breaks character as he starts coughing. “Oh, man,” he says in his normal voice. “Doing that voice hurts my throat.”

Colton laughs and after a short break for Squee to clear his throat, they continue.

After bribing the tavern keeper with some coin, the two adventurers learn many legends of the Cursed Forest, one of which being the treasure is guarded by a horrible king. The two agree to work together to find this treasure and enter the forest.

Squee and Colton spend hours playing their game. Their characters make steady progress through the Cursed Forest, fighting their way through dangerous foes, gather amazing items, and meet interesting individuals.

Squee enjoys it the entire time. It’s seems so simple, but it’s the most fun he’s had in a long time. And they both get so lost in the story, they don’t notice anything going on around them.

Inside the house, Nny, Devi, Tenna, and Cammie don’t notice anything going on outside either. And neither does anyone else on the street. Nothing much happens on Grave Road.

But Shmee, who was left resting on the coffee table, senses what’s happening. Without Squee, he is not able to move to look out the window. But he can feel it. A great change is taking over. And it worries him deeply.

Finally, Fariti and Neetch defeat the King of the Cursed Forest and claim the treasure. Squee and Colton both cheer and pound the air.

“Woo, that was awesome,” Colton grins as he leans back and looks at the sky. What he sees causes him to freeze up.

“Yeah,” Squee sighs and leans forward. He suddenly feels exhausted. “I didn’t expect it to be so…immersive. We should definitely play it again.”

“Colton?” he questions when his friend doesn’t respond. He’s looking around with a mixture of shock, fear, and awe. When Squee looks up, he quickly realizes why.

They are surrounded by giant, dark trees with twisting branches and trunks. The thick canopy of leaves overhead is completely blocking the sky, the sun just barely leaking in through the cracks. The thin trunks are bending around the surrounding houses. Odd creature noises can be heard somewhere in the shadows.

“Uh-um….” Squee croaks.

“How long have we been playing?” Colton asks, “do I have an ancient beard?”

“Did…did I do this?” Squee questions as he stands up. His knees just about give out underneath him and he crouches down to steady himself.

“Are you okay?” Colton asks worriedly.

“I-I don’t know,” he replies, “I suddenly feel really…weak.” He looks up at the surrounding trees that looks just like how he imagined the Cursed Forest. “Aw, man. I did do this.”

“What? How?”

“With my…imagination powers,” Squee replies, “I got so engrossed in the game I accidently created…the Cursed Forest.”

A guttural growl is heard from the shadows nearby.

“Aw, jeez,” Colton squeaks.

“Help me up,” Squee orders, sticking out his hand. “We have to get inside.”

Colton helps him to his feet and they hurry into the house.

“Nny!” Squee exclaims, startling everyone. “I-I really screwed up!”

“What’d you do?” Johnny questions. “Did you blow up another convenience store? I keep telling you to keep your bombs and your wallet separate.”

“No, Nny, I…just, go look outside,” Squee demands as he hobbles to the kitchen. “I need to get something to eat.”

The adults all get up and walk to the door- except for Cammie, who rolls. They are immediately flabbergasted as they look outside.

“I’m staying inside,” Cammie grunts and rolls away.

“What…” Johnny breathes, stunned.

“Wow,” Tenna comments, “I know Nny hates to mow his lawn, but I didn’t think it would get this bad.”

Devi glares at her incredulously.

“I’m just trying to lighten the mood, man, this is fucking weird.”

“What happened?” Nny asks as they hurry back to Squee, who’s busy scarfing down a sandwich while Colton stands nearby.

“We were playing that game and I got super into it,” Squee explains between mouthfuls, “and I think I accidently manifested all of that with my imagination.”

“You created an entire world by accident?” Devi questions.

He shrugs. “Sure looks that way.”

“It’s pretty awesome when you think about it,” Colton smiles.

“Not when you consider we’re living in the Cursed Forest with all its dangerous creatures,” Squee points out.

“Ah. Right.”

“Can you change it back?” Tenna asks.

“I don’t know,” Squee replies, “if I knew how, I would’ve done it already. But I’ve never…destroyed something I’ve created before.”

“What if you just…will it to disappear, like how you will it to appear?” Nny suggests.

“I’ll try,” he shrugs. He closes his eyes and thinks super hard about the forest disappearing. “Is it gone?”

They peek through the window and still see the overhanging branches and leaves. “Nope,” Nny replies.

“Okay…” Squee sighs.

“What if we just completed the quest?” Colton suggests.

“But we already did that,” he points out.

“Our characters did, but we didn’t. Maybe if we defeat the King, it’ll give you, like, closure or something.”

Squee shrugs. “It’s worth a shot. I’ll call the guys.”

He grabs his phone and sighs with disappointment. “I have no reception.”

“I guess the Cursed Forest doesn’t have good cell service,” Colton remarks.

“Looks like we’re on our own this time,” Squee grunts as he pockets his phone and faces everyone. “You guys up for a quest?”

“I guess,” Nny shrugs.

“Yeah, I wasn’t doing anything today,” Devi adds.

“Sure, sounds fun,” Tenna nods.

“Count me out,” Cammie replies, “forests aren’t usually wheelchair friendly. I’ll just stay here with the cat.”

Nugget meows in agreement as she hops onto Cammie’s lap.

“That’s probably for the best,” Squee agrees, “okay, let’s gear up.”

Squee slings his bag over his shoulder and rests Shmee on his head. Johnny throws on his coat. Devi and Tenna dig around in his closet before grabbing a bat and brace knuckles, respectively. And Colton grabs the Cave and Creatures guidebook.

“It’ll help us find our way through the forest,” he clarifies.

“Then let’s go,” Squee demands.

They exit the house and head down the street where the woods get thicker. The trees seem to have just appeared out of nowhere- which they essentially did. They aren’t bursting out of the asphalt; more like they were gently placed on the roads and sidewalk. The trunks have grown around houses and vehicles, causing almost no damage.

Civilians have noticed the sudden change as they step out of their houses in bewilderment. They don’t pay Squee and the others any mind as they pass by.

“You really do have an active imagination, Squee,” Devi comments.

“Too active apparently,” he remarks.

They’re suddenly stopped by shouts of terror and a group of people race by frantically.

“Uh oh,” Squee grunts as they turn to whatever it was they were running from.

Three creatures fly into view. They’re like large snakes with feathered wings and fangs protruding from their top lip. They hiss angrily at the group, their forked tongue flicking about.

“Winged serpents!” Colton exclaims, “cool!”

“Less cool when they’re attacking us,” Squee argues. “Duck!”

He shoves Colton to the ground as the serpents swoop at them. Then he draws his knife and slices through the wing of one. It immediately crashes and Squee quickly steps on its trashing tail and slices its throat.

The other two split apart, one going after Johnny, the other going for Devi and Tenna. The girls duck and Devi swings her bat, smashing the serpent’s snout in and knocking it to the ground. One final swing crushes its head.

Simultaneously, Nny makes quick work of the final serpent with one quick swing and slices its head off.

“That was easy,” Tenna comments.

“They are the lowest level creatures in the forest,” Colton points out, “but we should keep moving. Their blood is gonna attract predators.”

After quickly cleaning off their weapons, the group continues their progress through the forest. They don’t get very far though, before they hear movement in the surrounding shadows.

“Who’s there?” Devi snaps, raising her bat.

“When has asking ‘who’s there’ ever produced an actual answer?” Nny chides.

Whatever it is, it’s crunching the dirt just out of sight. Everyone strains their eyes as they struggle to see into the darkness.

A shiver shoots up Squee’s spine and he tackles Devi and Tenna out of the way. “Watch out!” he cries just as something comes charging out of the shadows. Johnny and Colton shout with surprise as it brushes by and skids to a stop before facing them again.

“A monster boar!” Colton exclaims.

It is indeed a giant boar with large, stained tusks and fangs and beady red eyes. It scrapes its hoof along the ground before charging again towards Squee and girls. They scream as they barely dive out of the way.

“What do we do?” Devi yells.

“Uh-uh-ge-get into the trees!” Squee orders.

The three quickly scramble up the nearest trees as the boar charges them again. They manage to get just high enough to be out of reach of its tusks. But it slams into the trunks and nearly knocks Tenna loose.

Before it can try again, a rock hits the back of its head.

“Over here, you big pig!” Johnny barks.

The boar turns to face him, snorting angrily. It scrapes its hoof against the ground, preparing to charge. Nny faces it head-on.

The boar takes off. Nny doesn’t flinch and raises his knives, ready to attack. But before he can get the chance, an arrow flies out of the shadows and connects with the boar’s right, front tendon. It squeals in pain as it collapses, skidding across the pavement.

Before it can try to recover, a figure flips out of the shadows, lands on the boar’s body, and slices open its throat with two daggers.

Johnny stares at the figure with surprise but keeps his knives ready as they step off the boar. They’re quite tall and slender, but lean, with short black hair and pointed ears. They’re dressed in leather clothing with many knives hanging from their waist and slung across their chest.

“Is that-?” Squee questions but before he can finish, an arrow hits the trunk just inches from his face, making him squeal.

Another person exits the shadows, brandishing a bow. They have very long, thick purple hair that spills down their shoulders and back. Poking through it are two very long, pointed ears. They’re also dressed in leathers with a quiver of arrows slung across their back.

“Fariti!” Colton exclaims.

“And Neetch,” Squee breathes.

“State your purpose,” Fariti orders, in an absolutely ridiculous, high-pitched voice.

Devi and Tenna immediately burst into laughter while Colton buries his face into his hands. “Why does she sound like that?”

“That’s the voice you gave her,” Squee points out as he drops out of the tree and faces Fariti. “Uh, we mean you no harm. We are adventurers.”

“Really?” Neetch asks with a voice that sounds a lot like Squee trying to sound older. “You seek the treasure of the forest?”

“Mostly the king,” he replies.

“Then we shall travel together,” Neetch declares, “the more, the merrier. Right, Fariti?”

“Very well,” she sighs, lowering her bow. “As long as they do not slow us down. And cease their guffaw.”

“S-sorry,” Tenna snickers behind her palm while Devi takes a few deep breaths.

“Then let us continue,” Neetch says as he starts marching. Fariti follows in-step while Squee and the others stay a little behind.

“Do they know they’re, you know, make-believe?” Colton asks quietly.

“I don’t think we need to tell them,” Squee replies.

As they walk through the forest, Neetch looks over his shoulder at them. “So, why is it you seek the King of the Cursed Forest?”

“Um,” Squee hums with uncertainty as he and Colton glance at each other before responding, “glory?”

“Ah! Me as well,” Neetch replies, “I wish to bring my half of the treasure to my village, where I will celebrate richly with my friends.”

“He’s pretty campy,” Nny comments quietly.

“That’s kind of what I was going for,” Squee shrugs.

“I, on the other hand, require the treasure to free my family from poverty, and attain the life of luxury I so deserve,” Fariti adds.

“Sounds like a classic backstory,” Devi comments.

“Hey, the classics are great,” Colton argues.

“Halt!” Fariti orders as she and Neetch come to a sudden stop.

“Wh-what is it?” Squee asks nervously.

“We are being watched,” she replies, “prepare yourselves.”

Everyone readies their weapons, their eyes carefully scanning the surrounding shadows.

“I don’t hear anything,” Tenna points out.

“Yeah, it’s quiet,” Nny agrees, “for the first time since we’ve been here.”

“An eerie silence,” Colton muses and flips through the guidebook. “That’s the first sign that we’re nearing the King’s domain.”

“Excellent,” Neetch comments, “let us proceed with caution.”

They start moving again, carefully, constantly checking over their shoulders. And then, just as suddenly as the silence began, it ends with sinister giggling.

“What’s that?” Devi asks, raising her bat.

“G-goblins!” Colton exclaims, “the King’s minions!”

“Watch your backs!” Squee orders, “they’ll surround us.”

They stand back to back, weapons raised just as a large group of creatures leap out of the trees around them. They’re short- barely four feet- and green with large ears, little fangs, and claws instead of fingers. They land on the adventurers, grabbing their heads and shoulders as they spit and snicker.

“Ah! Fuck off!” Devi barks.

“Release me, foul creatures!” Neetch shouts.

“Not the face!” Colton cries.

“Watch the hair!” Fariti snaps.

Johnny grabs the one clambering on his face and throws it at a tree with enough force to snap the creature’s spine. Then he grabs one nibbling at his shoulder and uses it like a club to smack off another clawing at Squee’s face. With that distraction gone, Squee grabs one of his knives and stabs the other one clawing at his back.

Meanwhile, Fariti managed to block most of the goblins with her bow. She quickly throws them off and loads a couple arrows before shooting the ones attacking Neetch. Then, he grabs some throwing knives and turns to Devi and Tenna. He whips the blades and they all strike the goblins in their backs. They jerk a second before falling dead.

Finally, the only goblins left are the two on Colton, who’s blocked most of their attacks with the book. Devi quickly smacks them away with her bat.

“Is that all of them?” Neetch asks.

A still-living goblin suddenly leaps at him from behind. Before it can connect however, Tenna punches it out with her brass knuckles.

“Boosh!” she cheers and grins. “Now it is.”

“Let’s keep moving,” Fariti orders, “before more show up.”

They step around the bodies and continue on their path while Colton flips through the guidebook.

“Okay, let’s see,” he muses, “first the eerie silence, then the goblins. That only leaves one more barrier.”

“Which is?” Devi asks.

Both Colton and Squee gulp fearfully as the ground starts shaking beneath their feet. “The forest troll.”

The trees are knocked over like tooth picks as a large creature approaches, quaking the ground with its footsteps. It’s over eight feet of rippling muscle in nothing but a loin cloth. It carries a large club on its shoulder and glares at the adventurers with the beady eyes on its disproportionately tiny head.

“Watch out!” Squee cries as it lifts its club. “It’s a one-hit killer!”

Everyone dives out of the way as the troll swings its club down, leaving a small crater in the asphalt where they were standing. Before it can decide who to attack next, a couple arrows pierce its left shoulder. It snorts as it turns to face Fariti. She looses two more arrows into its chest, but it barely seems to notice as it charges. She quickly rolls out of the way of its club.

“This thing just ate our attacks when we fought it,” Colton points out.

“Yeah,” Squee agrees, “but remember how we beat it?”

He smiles shakenly and nods. “Yeah.”

“Neetch!” Squee calls out, catching the half-elf’s attention. “You and Fariti keep it distracted!”

“Understood!” he nods before throwing a knife at the troll. It pierces its right shoulder, but again the troll doesn’t seem to care.

“Nny,” Squee says as he draws his knives. “Go for the joints.”

“Got it,” he smirks.

With the troll’s back turned to them, its focus on Fariti and Neetch, Squee and Nny charge its back. Squee slices its ankle tendons while Nny does the back of its knees. It immediately cries out in pain as it falls to the ground, its legs now unable to support its tremendous weight.

“Now finish it!” Squee orders.

Johnny starts to swing for its neck but stops when he notices the dropped club. He grins and he pockets his knives.

“What are you doing?” Devi asks.

“Just a sec,” he replies and grabs the club’s handle. Exclaiming with exertion, he manages to lift it over his head and, smirking, brings it down on the troll’s head, smashing it like an egg.

“That works,” Squee shrugs.

“Well done!” Neetch cheers, “you are much more capable adventurers than I originally thought.” “Uh, thanks,” Squee replies awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

“I admit, your skills and knowledge surprise me,” Fariti adds.

“We are very knowledgeable,” Colton smiles.

“Now, let us continue,” she orders, “the King’s dark palace awaits.”

With the trees knocked out of the way, they can see their destination in the distance. It’s gotten a bit of a makeover- darks vines now cover most of the exterior- but it’s still recognizable.

“The mall,” Squee declares.

“Where evil lives,” Nny snarls.

They approach the building quickly. Anyone who was outside when the forest emerged is now cowering inside their vehicles. Anyone who was inside is banging on the windows, begging to be freed. The automatic double doors are sealed shut by the thick dark vines crisscrossing the walls but they are easily chopped away by Johnny’s knives. As soon as the doors are open, a mob races out, crying with relief.

The adventurers peek inside. The power must be out because it’s completely dark; not even the emergency lights are on. There doesn’t appear to be any life with the civilians gone.

“The King awaits,” Fariti says darkly before they step inside.

“Where do you think he is?” Tenna asks.

“Most likely on the second floor,” Squee replies, “somewhere he can have a throne.”

“The furniture store?” Devi suggests.

They climb the stairs to the second floor and approach the furniture store, and sure enough, right in the doorway is a large easy chair. Lounging in it is a tall, well-built elven man in robes made of plants and flowers. Flowers also stick out of his long black hair and he is holding a scepter that looks like a thin tree trunk with a green orb at the top.

“Who dares approach my sanctum?” he demands, his voice echoing off the walls.

“King of the Cursed Forest,” Neetch booms, “we have come to defeat you and take your treasure.”

“To have traversed my forest and defeat my minions is quite a feat,” the King says as he stands up. “But your adventure ends here.”

“Let’s hope so,” Squee remarks.

The King lifts his scepter and vines smash through the nearby walls and ceiling, charging the adventurers like giant snakes. Everyone immediately dives out of the way.

Squee quickly reaches into his bag and slaps on his goggles before activating his rocket wheelies. He nimbly zips around the vines and rushes to the King, knives raised. He doesn’t even see Squee coming until they’re face to face. Squee swings his blades but instead of hitting the King, he hits an invisible barrier. His attack backfires and he flies backwards, slamming into the wall.

“Ugh, dammit, I forgot,” he groans as he gets up on his elbows. “We have to destroy that orb on his scepter. It’s the source of his power.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Colton says as he cowers behind a couch. “I should’ve mentioned that.”

“Then we shall aim for the scepter!” Fariti declares as she looses an arrow. It flies straight for the orb but a vine comes up and blocks it.

“He won’t make that easy,” Neetch points out.

Snarling, Squee gets up on his feet and zooms to the King again. But before he can get close, giant vines burst out of the ground and wrap around the King like a protective cocoon.

“Did you think you could use the same trick on me twice?” the King jeers, his voice echoing out of the planet barrier.

Another grouping of vines swing at Squee and he zips backwards, dodging them, and ducks behind the couch next to Colton. Meanwhile, Johnny, Devi, and Tenna keep their distance and dodge the swinging vines.

“What now?” Devi asks.

“I mean,” Nny shrugs, “maybe we can’t because of like magic of whatever, but what if we just…burned them?”

The girls look at each other with realization while he reaches into his coat and pulls out of a lighter.

“Fuck it up,” Devi nods approvingly.

Nny lights the lighter and tosses it into the onslaught of vines. As soon as the flame makes contact, the vine lights up like dried grass. Everyone watches with surprise as the fire quickly spreads around the plants and the King cries out in pain.

The barrier around him spreads apart as he swings his scepter and he glares through the burning vines. Squee glares back over the couch.

“Shmee, get the scepter,” he orders.

The bear dives over the couch and deftly slips around the flames. The King spots him coming and raises his free hand. Small, thin vines extend from his robes and catch Shmee. He thrashes about, snapping most of them but more keep coming. When he manages to free a leg for a second, he kicks the scepter.

“No!” the King exclaims as it’s knocked from his hand to the floor. Immediately, Fariti shoots an arrow at it and Neetch throws a knife. But before they can hit it, more vines bust through the floor and knock the scepter out of the way.

“I will not be defeated!” the King exclaims. The vines lunge towards them but they easily jump out of the way.

Squee leaps over the couch and charges for the scepter. The King spots him and summons more vines beneath his feet, shooting him into the air and over the second floor balcony.

“Squee!” Shmee exclaims. He rips off the rest of the vines holding him and dives after him.

Johnny, Devi, and Tenna briefly glance after them before Johnny glares at the King. “I’m going for the scepter.” The girls stare after him as he rushes towards the still-burning vines.

Nny easily weaves around the plants and makes his way to the scepter. The King sees him coming but before he can attack, an arrow and a knife pierce his side. He cries out in pain and turns to face Neetch and Fariti.

“Impudent wretches!” the King barks and lifts both his hands, pointing one at Nny and the other at Neetch and Fariti. More vines burst from the ground, lifting them off their feet and wrapping around each of them.

“Dammit!” Johnny snarls as he struggles in the plant’s grasp.

“Nny!” Devi exclaims as he’s lifted higher and higher.

“This may be it, partner,” Neetch says.

“Then it has been an honor to adventure by your side,” Fariti replies.

The King laughs triumphantly as the vines begin to squeeze. “Did you really think you could defeat me? My power is unfathomable! I will never be defeate-!”

He stops suddenly as the sound of smashing glass seems to resonate around them. Everything freezes and he turns around to see Colton kneeling beside his scepter, the orb crushed to pieces beneath his guidebook.

“N-no,” the King stammers, trembling. “I-it’s not…possible.”

“I need to say a really cool one-liner here,” Colton whispers as he stands up and faces the King. “You know what they say. The pen is mightier than the swor-.”

Before he can finish, the entire building starts shaking. The vines are sucked back into the ground and Johnny, Neetch, and Fariti hit the floor hard.

“We are victorious!” Neetch cheers.

“What about the treasure?” Fariti asks.

A large chunk of the ceiling crashes to the floor beside them.

“We will worry about that later,” Neetch replies, “for now we must retreat!”

“The building is coming down!” Tenna exclaims.

“No shit!” Johnny snaps as he scrambles to his feet.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here!” Devi orders.

“Wait for me!” Colton cries.

Everyone races away, leaving the King in shock as the mall collapses around him.

The adventurers escape safely and turn to see the vines that were wrapped around the walls are also being pulled back into the ground. They watch for a second as the building crumbles from the force before Johnny looks around worriedly. “Where’s Squee?”

“Hey, look!” Tenna exclaims, pointing at the surrounding the forest. All of the trees are beginning to fade away into sparkles that disappear in the wind.

“Neetch! Fariti!” Colton gasps. The two adventurers are meeting the same fate, but seem completely oblivious to it.

“Looks like we’ll have to do some digging for our treasure,” Neetch comments.

“We’ve worked this hard for it,” Fariti shrugs, “what’s some more hard work?”

They both smile as they fade away.

“Adventure on, you two,” Colton says with a salute.

“The forest is gone and everything’s back to normal,” Devi observes and looks at the collapsed mall. “Well…almost.”

“But where is Squee?” Johnny asks impatiently.

“Hang on,” Colton says as he takes out his phone. “I have service again.”

He sends Squee a text and receives a quick response. “He says he’s outside and okay. He’ll meet us at home. He just needs a break.”

Johnny sighs with relief. “Alright. Let’s get out of here then.”

They all turn and begin the quest back home. Meanwhile, on the other side of the mall, Squee is sitting on the ground against a building, Shmee in his lap. He sighs heavily as he looks up at the unobscured sky.

“That was kind of fun actually,” he comments, “still, I can’t believe I created like a whole world. That’s…wild.”

“Indeed,” Shmee agrees.

“Well, I guess I’d better head home,” Squee says and starts to stand up.

“Squee, wait,” Shmee orders and he stops.

“What?” he questions.

“Let’s just…stay here a little longer. It’s not often it’s just the two of us anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Squee asks with mild amusement. “It’s like that every night.”

“Yeah, but even then we have the cat with us and you need to sleep,” Shmee points out.

“Alright,” he shrugs and settles back down. “I don’t mind.”

Squee rests his hand on Shmee’s body and Shmee holds him back with his stubby arms.

“Squee, tell me a story,” Shmee says.

“Okay,” Squee replies, somewhat uncertain. “What story?”

“Tell me about when we first met.”

Squee smiles. “That feels so long ago now. Well, it was another normal, crappy day. The kids made fun of me at school. Mom forgot I existed and didn’t make me dinner and Dad yelled at me to get a job so I could buy my own food. So I was feeling pretty lousy when I went into my bedroom.”

“And then I saw a brown teddy bear on my bed. I was so happy. I ran back out to thank Dad but he said he had no idea what I was talking about. When I went back into my room, the bear was sitting up on my bed and its smile seemed to widen. Then it said, “hello. I’m your new friend.”

“I was even more happy. I didn’t care where you came from. You were my first friend.”

“And now you have lots of other friends,” Shmee says, “you’ve really grown and changed a lot since then. You’re so strong, so brave. Even more so than you think. You don’t even need me anymore.”

“Don’t be silly, Shmee,” Squee scoffs, “of course I need you.”

He doesn’t reply and Squee glances at him. “Shmee? Are you okay?”

“Squee, listen to me very carefully,” he orders, “I don’t have a lot of time.”

“What? What are you-?”

“Just listen. You are extraordinary. You possess unique and special powers. And the Daydream doesn’t believe you need protection anymore. In fact, they view you as a lost cause and would prefer to separate from you entirely.”

“Wait, what-what do you-?”

“This forest was the final straw. You are growing more and more powerful. They’re gonna take me away. I have no say in the matter.”

“What?” Squee exclaims, “no, Shmee, you can’t-!” “I don’t agree with them,” Shmee continues. “You are not a threat nor a lost cause and I would much rather stay with you. But…I can’t.”

“Shmee!” he cries and lifts him up in front of his face. “You can’t leave!”

Shmee smiles sadly at him. “You don’t need me anymore. You have lots of friends now. And you’re braver and stronger than you think.”

“B-but, Shmee, you’re my friend too!”

“I know. And you’re mine.”

Shmee squeezes Squee’s hands with his own. “I’m so proud of you, Squee.” It feels like a breeze blows by and Shmee falls limp. Squee stares at him in shock, at the light, lifeless body with its soulless, white eyes and empty smile. Just an old, ratty teddy bear.

Squee flings his hands away and screams.

#invader zim #invader zim fanfiction #johnny the homicidal maniac #johnny the homicidal maniac fanfiction #iz jthm crossover #myart #myocs

6 notes · View notes

searchingwardrobes · 5 years ago

Text

Happy birthday, @onceuponaprincessworld ! You are a lovely presence in this fandom, making beautiful picsets often for no other reason than your love for a particular fic. You have supported me and encouraged me personally as a writer, as you often do for so many. I hope your day is wonderful!

As I was contemplating your fic, I was inspired by this song by Grace Potter that plays at the end of Tangled. Tallahassee, of course, is one episode with massive Tangled vibes. A line in this song reminded me of Killian’s line in that episode that everything they need is right in front of them. So here is an alternate ending to that episode. I tried to make sure the character of these two is still intact, especially at this point in their relationship, but I did take dramatic liberty with the plot and dialogue of the episode. I hope you enjoy it!

Summary: There is a treasure in this room that you need but don’t want. Find it, and the way out will be revealed to you.

Rating: G

Words: 2,700

Also on Ao3 and part of my Fandom Birthday Playlist

Tagging the usuals :@snowbellewells @jennjenn615 @kday426 @let-it-raines @teamhook@kmomof4 @bethacaciakay @profdanglaisstuff @resident-of-storybrooke @thislassishooked @tiganasummertree@whimsicallyenchantedrose @snidgetsafan @delirious-latenight-laughs @winterbaby89 @distant-rose@shireness-says @xhookswenchx @optomisticgirl @spartanguard @branlovestowrite @welllpthisishappening @hollyethecurious @stahlop

It's so easy to make believe,

It seems you're livin' in a dream

Don't you see that what you need

Is standing in front of you?

Everything we need is right in front of us. Emma grinds her teeth at the thought of the pirate’s words. She’s surprisingly gotten over the shock that he’s Captain freakin Hook and has gone straight to complete irritation. Tying that bandage with his damn teeth. Seriously, this guy is so full of it she’s surprised his shoulders can support the weight of his head. She huffs when she sees him lift a gold coin and smell it with a rapturous expression.

“How long do you think giant knock-out powder lasts?” she snaps.

“I’ve no clue,” he replies casually.

“That’s my rush,” she clarifies through gritted teeth.

“Ah, right you are,” he agrees brightly, tossing the coin aside. She’s honestly surprised that he agreed with her so easily.

What happens next is a chaotic blur. Emma sees the tripwire a moment too late, and then the floor is falling beneath their feet. The drop isn’t a long one, but piles of coins, mounds of jewels, and gold knick knacks of all shapes and sizes rain down with them. Her shoulder colliding with the floor doesn’t hurt quite so much as the metal pelting her from above. A hand grasps her other shoulder, and cool metal brushes her bare skin where her shirt has ridden up. Her eyes fly open as the muscular chest pressed against hers registers.

“You okay, love?” Hook asks, his brow creased with surprising concern.

Emma blinks and scrambles backwards, rubbing at her sore shoulder. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Hook groans as he struggles to his feet, massaging his own arm and rolling his shoulders. He looks up at the hole above them with a grimace. “I evidently triggered a booby trap.”

“Ya think?” Emma snaps.

Hook offers his hand to help her up, but she slaps it away. He frowns, his blue eyes turning thunderous. “So this is my fault.”

“Well for a pirate you’re not very good at sneaking into a treasure room.”

“Maybe I would have been more observant if someone wasn’t nagging me to hurry up.”

“You’re not taking any of this seriously!” she’s practically shouting now, her fists clenched tightly.

“Oh believe me, lass,” he retorts, stalking towards her in a predatory way, “I know how serious the situation is. Breaking trust with Cora isn’t something a man takes lightly.”

Emma refuses to back down, even when he comes chest to chest with her. She lifts her chin to meet his gaze. “Or maybe you’re playing us.”

He shakes his head, and Emma almost swears that she sees hurt in his eyes. “You still don’t trust me.”

Before Emma can reply, the ground beneath them begins to shake. More treasure sprinkles down into the hole they are in. Emma reaches out instinctively to steady herself, grasping Hook by his biceps. Very toned biceps, actually -

Get a grip, Emma! Now’s not the time!

Hook’s hands come up to steady her as well, and he leans forward and says in a low voice, “It’s the giant.”

Emma glances up at Hook, and she isn’t sure if her pounding heart is from fear or the amazing bright blue eyes staring back at her. She swallows, then whispers, “Should we try and hide?”

The pounding stops, and a shadow falls over them. Hook presses his eyes closed and sighs. “Too late.”

“Humans after treasure again? After all these years?” a voice above them roars.

Emma turns and tilts her head. She is surprised by two things. One, the giant she had thrown the sleeping powder at earlier isn’t the fearsome monster she had assumed he was. Now that she can really look at his face, he seems more like an ordinary man who just happens to be extremely large. If she isn’t mistaken, that even seems like loneliness and sorrow in his eyes. Two feelings she is much too familiar with.

The second thing that surprises her is the protective posture Hook is assuming, wrapping his right arm around her and pulling her a hair closer while lifting his hook in front of her. Completely unnecessary, of course, but . . . huh. He really is an old-school gentleman.

Emma pushes her way out of Hook’s loose embrace, despite the warnings he hisses at her under his breath. She locks her gaze with the giant above them, hoping she hasn’t read him wrong.

“Look, we’re not here to hurt you -”

“Oh, so knocking me out earlier was what? An accident?”

Emma shakes her head. “Sorry about that -”

“What are you doing?” Hook mutters behind her, but she waves at him to be quiet.

“We heard that you weren’t exactly friendly, so we thought that sleeping powder was our only option. We heard wrong, didn’t we?”

The giant narrows his eyes. “No, you heard correctly, and don’t try to charm your way out of this. I fell for that once. I won’t do it again.”

Emma searches his face carefully. “Humans betrayed you, didn’t they? That’s what really happened here, isn’t it?”

“Victors are the ones who get to tell the stories.”

“Exactly!” Emma agrees. “The war, it wasn’t the giant’s who were the bad guys, it was the humans. They invaded. And now . . . “ she bites her bottom lip as she looks into the giant’s eyes again, “you’re all alone.”

The giant’s face goes soft for a moment, but then his jaw clenches. “I’m still not gonna trust another human.”

“Listen, the way I see it, we could have killed you before when we used the powder, but we didn’t. Aren’t you wondering why?”

“I’m listening . . . “ the giant mutters hesitantly.

“It’s because we’re only here for one thing. We’re just looking for a magic compass. That’s it. We put you to sleep, we get the compass, we’re out of here. That was it. I swear.”

“What do you need it for?”

Emma takes a deep breath and answers with complete sincerity. “To get home to my son. He’s in another realm, and I only just got him back. This compass is my only chance. Please, help us.”

The giant looks at her for a long, silent moment, then he turns away from the hole. Emma glances at Hook, who regards her with an arched brow. Only a moment later, the giant is back.

“Catch,” he tells her, tossing something into the hole. Emma reaches up and grins when a golden compass falls into her open palms.

“You’re amazing,” Killian whispers over her shoulder, “bloody brilliant, lass.”

She turns towards Hook, unable to keep the broad grin off her face. She’s surprised to see his own lips turn up into a genuine smile, his gaze upon her and not the ornate compass in her hand. Flustered, she quickly turns away from him to look back up at the giant.

“Thank you! So, so much! Now could you, um, get us out of this hole?”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

Emma frowns. Had she read him wrong this whole time? She’d been so sure . . .

“Why ever the bloody hell not?” Hook cries out next to her.

“Hook,” she whispers in a warning tone.

“I would if I could, believe me,” the giant explains, “but this trap was enchanted years ago, before I was even born, by an enchantress. The only way out is to solve the riddle.”

Hook groans beside her. “What riddle?”

“There is a treasure in this room that you need but don’t want. Figure out what it is, and the way out will reveal itself to you.”

“Are you serious?” Emma rubs at her temple.

“Afraid so,” the giant sighs, “but I’ll bring you some dinner in the meantime.”

Emma frowns up at him. “Thanks. I know it isn’t your fault.”

The giant gives her a sad smile in return. “My name is Anton, by the way.”

“Emma Swan,” she tells him.

“Captain Killian Jones.”

Emma turns her head towards her companion in surprise. He’s even bowing to the giant, the drama queen. She had honestly forgotten that he had given them another name - Killian Jones. His real name. Not Hook.

It suits him, actually.

*****************************************************

Emma tosses aside a string of pearls as she curses under her breath. On the other side of the room, Hook matches her frustration with colorful language of his own. Her jaw clenches so hard her ears almost pop and anger surges through her. She mindlessly grabs a velvet pouch of jewels and hurls it against the rocky walls of their prison.

“We’ll find a way out of here, Swan, I’m sure of it,” Killian tries to encourage her, but he doesn’t sound all that convincing.

“I told Mulan to chop the beanstalk down if we weren’t back by sundown.”

Hook shakes his head, his eyes blinking. “You what?”

Emma rubs her face wearily. “Don’t act so surprised, you’re a pirate. I had to protect Mary Margaret. One of us has to get home.”

Killian’s eyes look thunderous. It’s surprising how often in the last half hour she’s thought of him by his given name.

“I thought we already had this conversation.”

Emma tilts her head. “It really bothers you that I don’t trust you?” What the hell did he expect?!

“What the bloody hell did I expect?” he asks rhetorically, his entire body deflating.

Emma’s jaw drops. Either he seriously has mind reading powers, or -

“Anyone hungry down there?”

They both look up at Anton, who’s grinning down at them. Yeah, definitely not a flesh eating monster. She and Killian affirm that they could indeed use some sustenance, and Anton sends a bucket down on a rope. When Emma grasps it, a thought comes to her. She finds Hooks eyes on her, and he shrugs as if to say, “it’s worth a shot.”

Emma sets the bucket on the ground, and then Killian springs with surprising agility onto the rope Anton is still holding. Yet before he has climbed even a foot up the rope, a pulse of magic emanates from it and he’s sent flying backwards. Anton can’t help a small chuckle as Hook groans and struggles to his feet.

“I should have warned you not to try that,” the giant laughs.

“I’m glad you find it so entertaining, mate,” Hook growls.

Emma shakes her head as she reaches down to help Killian up. “Thanks for the food, Anton,” she calls over her shoulder.

“Wish I could do more,” he tells them as he pulls up the rope, “but enjoy the meal.”

“You don’t hesitate to take risks, do you?” Emma asks Hook as she kneels down next to the bucket of food.

“Well,” he says amiably, “as you said, I am a pirate.”

Emma nods as she takes out thick ham sandwiches, grapes, wedges of cheese, and two jugs of ale. “Yeah, I guess a cautious man wouldn’t make it on . . . what do you call it? The high seas?”

Killian raised a brow at her as he tossed a grape into his mouth. “You don’t know much about piracy, do you?”

Emma settled onto the cold stone floor with a sandwich clutched in her hand. “Nope. Just what I’ve seen in movies.”

He tilts his head at her in a way that reminds her of a curious puppy. “Movies? What are those?” He so sincere, so completely clueless when he asks, that it’s almost endearing.

“It’s like . . . a play, but the people aren’t actually there. They take . . . pictures that move and project it on a huge screen.”

Killian’s eyes widen. “Incredible, and they say your land has no magic!”

Emma can’t help but smile at his awe over something that to her is so commonplace. They fall into an easy silence as they eat and drink. Emma polishes off her sandwich, and after a swig of ale, her gaze drifts once again to the tattoo just peeking out of his shirt cuff.

“Tell me about the tattoo.”

He startles, and she isn’t sure if it’s from the question itself or the silence she has broken. His jaw clenches as he looks down at his wrist, and she knows he won’t answer. Again.

“You loved her, didn’t you?” she says softly.

Killian simply nods.

“And she’s the reason you need to get revenge on Rumplestiltskin?”

He sighs. “Aye, but I don’t really wish to relive that pain at the present.”

“I get that.” Emma munches a few grapes. “Besides, it’s not like you’re the only one with an ax to grind with that guy. I can fill in the blanks, believe me.”

Killian chuckles sardonically at that, and they both fall silent again.

“You know I can’t let you kill him though, right?” Emma adds. “I mean, as the sheriff I have to uphold law and order and all that.”

He studies her so intently, that she as to look away. “You weren’t always on the right side of the law. Were you, Swan?”

Emma’s head snaps up at that. “How do you do that?”

He shrugs. “I may be a pirate, but I’m not stupid. Orphans don’t get the easiest lot in life. I would wager that you did what you had to in order to survive.”

Emma narrows her eyes at him. “I get the feeling this isn’t just something you picked up from a bunch of lost boys.”

Killian rubs at the back of his neck and a light blush stains his cheeks. “Well, perhaps I’ve seen it in the mirror as well.” He shrugs and laughs as if it’s of no consequence, a casual air she knows from personal experience is a defense mechanism.

“Oh,” is all she can manage to say.

They finish off the rest of the food and the ale. They really should get back to figuring out that damn riddle, but she feels drowsy from the meal. She pulls her knees up to her chest and studies Hook’s profile. She bites down on her lip before breaking the silence once again.

“I admit, I have been in love.”

He turns to her, eyes widening slightly in surprise. A small smile lifts his lips, but it isn’t teasing or self-satisfying. It’s just understanding. “I assumed as much.”

Emma sighs and rests her chin on her knees. “It’s hard for me to love. It was even hard at first with Henry. I see my parents- they want me to love them, but it’s hard. I need to try I guess.”

She glances at Killian, and his eyes are piercing in their intensity, but this time she doesn’t look away. He’s an orphan too, and it makes her feel as if perhaps he understands. He’s a pirate, he’s done things that she’s sure are horrific. She knows she can’t fully trust him, at least not yet, but that doesn’t mean he was wrong before. They do make quite the team, and he really does seem to have an uncanny ability to read her.

“They need to be patient,” he finally says, voice low and warm. “Maybe what you need is not someone begging you to love them, but someone who will wait patiently until you’re ready.”

Emma feels a gasp lodge itself in her throat as his words sink deep and take root. The air feels charged, but not with the sexual attraction she’s felt earlier. Before she can analyze it, the room rumbles beneath their feet, the walls shake, and a crack runs down the length of one wall with a loud clap like thunder. Dust and debris rain around them, but when it clears, light pours through a cavernous hole in the far wall. They both scramble to their feet, laughing with joy.

“What?” Emma asks. “How?”

“I don’t know,” Killian laughs, “but don’t question it, love.”

With the compass clutched in her hand, Emma races out into the sunlight on Killian’s heels. What happened in the cave has her mind whirling with so many questions, the main one surrounding the riddle they had unknowingly solved. What treasure did she need even though she didn’t want it? Or was it Hook’s treasure?

She pushes all of those thoughts aside as they scramble to descend the beanstalk. Sundown isn’t far away . . .

She's a girl with the best intentions

He's a man of his own invention

She looked out of the window

He walked out the door

But she followed him

And he said, "What'cha lookin' for?"

#cs ff #cs canon divergence #tallahassee #fandom birthday playlist #for onceuponaprincessworld #on her birthday

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gimmemorespirk · 5 years ago

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I was tagged by @cowboyjimkirk. :)

Rules: Answer 17 questions and tag 17 people you want to get to know better.

Nickname: Gimme and a few others, but they’re too close to my real name.

Zodiac: nope on this one

Height: 5’6” though I feel like I’m shrinking. :-/

Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw

Last thing I googled: the image for the meme of the alien facehugger holding up the sign, “free hugs.” Sent it to all my family, while cackling.

Song stuck in my head: Toss A Coin. It’s so damn catchy. Of course I also use it to annoy my kids cuz I get it stuck in their heads too. Win-win.

Following: uh, I’d have to exit outta the app, but I think around 150 or so? I try to keep it manageable.

Followers: around 500 I think?

Amount I sleep: average of 8 but I rarely feel rested.

Lucky Numbers: 7

Dream Job: something I love doing that I can make a living at? I don’t really care what it is, just being happy doing it would be awesome. But I’d probably be happiest doing something with animals.

Currently Wearing: blue tank top and soft, straight-leg, kinda yoga-type pants. Basically super fucking comfy.

Favorite songs: too too many I love, but let’s go with some fave bands instead: Five Finger Death Punch, X Ambassadors, The Score, Imagine Dragons, Shinedown and Godsmack.

Favorite Instrument: Cello or the hurdy gurdy

Random Fact about Me: I know I put this out there several times but, I can belch the ABCs.

Favorite Authors: all my fellow fanfic writers out there. As far as published books: Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, Nora Roberts/JD Robb

Favorite Animal Noises: cat purrs, puppy howls and a horse’s happy snort.

Aesthetic: oh hell ummm, idk? Anxiety ridden bi/pan disaster, who attempts to look real laid-back and at ease. Otherwise, probably just comfortable. I want my place and things and what I wear to just be a source of comfort.

And tagging 17 peeps, not gonna happen, but I’ll tag a few: @rabidchild67 @fortheloveoftrekuniverse @punkspockispunkrock @jimkirkachu @burning--amber @allthingsspacehusbands @fandombaker96 @yaoichan and @julianbashir . As always, no pressure. Also, anyone else who wants to do the thing. Tag me back so I can see the answers! :)

#cowboyjimkirk #gimmemore speaks #asked and answered #ask meme

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peacefiresky-archive · 5 years ago

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the siren and the sailor

Let me tell you a story.

First, introductions. Now, my name is Jayr. I ain’t no professional writer, but I think this is a story that needs to be told. I’ve been sailing on the Saint Martin for six years, and I’ve been on the seas far longer than that.

See, folks think I’m dumb, but I have a... a ritual of sorts. My ma and da taught me about Hermaeus Mora when I was a lad to try and scare me away from being a sailor. They told me that his child, a giant, beautiful, terrifying siren, lurked the ocean depths, seeking to sink ships and drown sailors and claim ‘em all for their own. It didn’t scare me off, but it sure scared me.

So, whenever we set off for some distant port, I gave that siren a gift. An appeasement of a kind. Little bits of jewelry, some coins, and sometimes I’d just stare in the water and talk to them like they could hear me. I convinced myself that if I could befriend the siren, they’d protect me.

And I like to think they did. From the seas, at least.

See, there was a mutiny on the Martin one day. Some folks decided the old Captain wasn’t fit for duty, on account of him bein’ one of them Argonian folks. So they threw him overboard (which was dumb, seeing as how we weren’t more than five miles off shore, and them Argonian folks were made for swimming, and they can breathe underwater). Unfortunately, they threw off everyone else who didn’t help with the mutiny, either. Your old friend Jayr included.

Us Nords were made for sailing the seas, not swimming in them. I was underwater before I could say my prayers and I knew I wasn’t gonna come back up. I just closed my eyes and let the darkness take me.

Then there was this... This voice, resonating in the sea. It was humming to me. An old Nordic lullaby that my ma used to sing, called ‘The Dragonborn Comes’. I had sang it to the siren, sometimes, looking over the deck. It made me feel all... warm and fuzzy, and I tried to open my eyes to see what was humming but the voice told me not to, to just trust in them, that they’d take me somewhere safe. So I kept my eyes closed.

The voice faded.

And I slept for a long, long while.

When I finally opened my eyes, I was on a beach. The sun was blisteringly hot overhead. A worried high elf dressed in fancy green-and-black-and-gold robes was bent over me, asking if I was doing okay. They told me that their name was Aldra, that they’d found me drifting near shore and pulled me to safety, here on the shores of the Summerset Isles. They took me into a nearby village and gave me enough Septims to rent a room for a few nights and get back on my feet and then they just... left.

When I thought back on it that night, I realized that their robes weren’t wet when I was soaked. And the little gold embellishments looked like eyes. And that I had heard their voice before. And that when I was tossed overboard, we were near the arctic northern coast of Vvardenfell, nowhere close to the Isles.

I’m back to sailing now. I’m finally captain of my own ship, the Old Mora. And every time we set sail, I make my crew leave something for the siren. Be it secrets or small treasures or a conversation. It might just save their lives.

#char: aldra #tes #apocrypha #<-- my tag for stuff that isn't exactly Character Stuff as opposed to like. kinda world building

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sachi-nerd · 6 years ago

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My Predictions for the Battle of Winterfell

I’m gonna give a name and then the reasons why they are on my list may or may not die. If I get anything right, I’m gonna cry. I guess here’s my potential spoiler warning…

Okay, First off… who is a hundred per cent dead by the end of episode 3?

Greyworm - As much as I hate it, I think he’d be the first to go. Just because my dude is on the front line and this show has not been kind to POC.

Ser Jorah Mormont - I think he’d do alright for the first half of the battle and then when shit starts to get worse, he’ll do something heroic for Dany, Missandei or even Lyanna before dying.

Podrick Payne - Firstly, I’m just going to put this out there. I love Pod. I don’t want him to die. Yet, I think his death will be one for us to cry over the following days. Why? He gonna die either in the most gruesome way (on par with Oberyn’s death) or he’s gonna take his last breath in Tyrion’s arms. This draws parallels to the scene in the Battle of the Blackwater.

Tormund Giantsbane and Dolorous Edd - Another two of my faves. I could totally see them die defending each other. Wildings and the Night’s Watch, once sworn enemies, fighting for the living and dying together.

Theon - Oh what a rollercoaster we’ve been on with Ned Stark’s ward! But his story is at an end. He is back where he said he’d be with Robb in Season 1. Defending Winterfell (Bran) in the godswood. His story has gone full circle. What is dead may never die.

Ser Davos - The father figure of so many, I think the Onion Knight’s luck has run out.

Gilly and Little Sam - THEY ARE IN THE FUCKING CRYPTS! WHOSE BRIGHT IDEA WAS IT TO HAVE UNARMED PEOPLE DOWN IN THE PLACE FILLED WITH DEAD PEOPLE?!

Shireen 2.0 - This sweetie is defending the CRYPTS so yeah, she dead.

Beric - Won’t die in the way you expect. More on that later :)

Whose death is a coin toss?

Ser Jaime Lannister - Here’s the thing. It is my personal belief that Jaime’s arc isn’t done until he settles down with Brienne on Tarth with 10 sword-fighting kids and/or he will be the one to fulfil the prophecy of Azor Ahai (I still on the fence about this theory - in the books, yeah but the show, nah). However, Jaime has come along way from season 1 and like he said to Brienne, “I’m not the fighter I used to be.” So if he dies, he is dying in the arms of the woman he loves, Ser Brienne. Again, calling back to their bath scene in Season Three.

Ser Brienne of Tarth - Like I said before, I want her to have a future with Jaime. My hope is that she survives everything and becomes the new Lord Commander of Sansa’s Queenguard. So THIS BREAKS MY HEART to write; the way the writer wrote Brienne and Jaime’s scenes in the second episode leads me to believe that it’s the end of the line for the pair. However, since she’s a fan favourite, she might make it.

Arya and Gendry - It has to be one or the other but I think Beric will trade his life force for whoever is dead or the Red Women will appear out of fucking nowhere to revive whoever. Arya hasn’t met Melisandre as well! I need my assassin and her blacksmith to live and explore what is west of Westeros. BUT IF THEY DIE, I WILL RIOT!

Lady Lyanna - I’d love for her to have a heroic death if she has to go. But I think this badass will make it. (Alternate Reality: If Rickon was still alive, Lyanna will definitely survive so the writers would pair those two off in the epilogue.)

Varys - I want to say he is definitely dead but for some reason, I think the showrunners will keep him on and kill him in the 5th or 6th episode. Maybe at the hands of the Red Woman? But I feel as though he has done his part and should kick the bucket.

Tyrion - Even with the things I wrote with Jaime, I think these brothers are two sides of the same coin. One must die while the other will live. If Jaime lives, I think Tyrion will die and then Arya will take his face and complete Cersei’s prophecy about a younger sibling killing her. If Jamie dies, Tyrion will play the final part in killing Cersei.

The Hound The reason they’d keep him alive: Cleganebowl The reason they’d kill him: To save Sansa or Arya or both.

Missandei - I’m really on the fence for this one. Because if Greyworm dies, she is the last POC that is actively on this show. It’d be downright cruel to kill her off too. I want her to live.

Bran - depending on the Iron Born’s ability to keep the undead away. But I believe has a bigger part to play in the final episodes.

Rhaegal - I think the dragon will die to even the playing field for when they have to vs Cersei (see my prediction below)

Ghost - will die if Nymeria doesn’t show up for battle.

If Bronn shows up, he’s dead. If stays back until the fighting is done, he’ll live.

Who’s gonna live?

Jon Snow and Daenerys - These guys have plot armour so thick that even dragon fire can’t get through them.

Sansa - She’s my person who will sit on the Iron Throne

Nymeria - She better show up with her pack because remember “The lone wolf dies while the pack survives”.

Drogon - At least one dragon has to survive this battle.

Samwell - He’s the dude who writes the Song of Ice and Fire. So yeah, he’s got that nice thick plot armour.

Other predictions - The dead will rise from the Crypts - The living will have to retreat south and go to Greywater Watch. Reuniting with Meera Reed. - Night King won’t be at the Battle of Winterfell. He’s gone down to King’s Landing. - He’ll crash through the roof of the throne room and the final scene will be turning Cersei into a white walker with her memory intact somehow. She would become the Night Queen. Her eyes would turn blue and screen to and the screen cut to black. - Therefore Qyburn and the Mountain’s fates are unknown - probably be wights or white walkers. - Yara will be safe at the Iron Islands. - Euron will either join the dead or sail away with the golden company so that he can come back later and try to take the Iron Throne for himself when all the fighting is done.

Prediction for Next episode:

- Dany will get the confirmation from Howland Reed at Greywater Watch that Jon is Rhaegar and Lyanna’s son, not Ned’s.

- White Walker Cersei will kill the Night King (Causing all the wights and white walkers under the Night King to die) She will kill the people of Kings Landing and then raise them to be wights. (REMEMBER: There are over a million people living in and around the Red Keep) Then she’ll go after Dany and Jon by riding on the back of Viserion with her undead following behind.

SOMEONE SAVE ME.

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ellanainthetardis · 7 years ago

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Greetings to my favorite writer!(That's you :)) Here's a prompt. Can you do one where Haymitch accidentally calls Effie "my love". Its like Haymitch is in deep thoughts about his feelings for Effie and he didn't realize she's been trying to get his attention. And Effie's like "Hello! Earth to Haymitch!" And then Haymitch goes "Yes, my love?" What happens from there is up to you. (Oh, and may I ask how long is your prompt list by now? I just want to have an idea to where I stand on the queue :D)

Well it was probably a long wait. Sorry! [x]

Never Boring

Plutarch did love to hear himself talk, Effieuncharitably mused, drumming her broken nails on the edge of the briefingtable. Coin was listening to every word, her milky grey eyes riveted on theformer Head Gamemaker, her face a blank mask that didn’t even reflect a hint ofpolite interest. She had noticed Thirteen’s leader had very little patience foranything that wasn’t related to war butshe had also noticed a shift lately, as if Coin had finally understood she needed to work on her image if she wanted toupgrade from leading a District to leading a country.

Which was why Plutarch was rambling aboutapproaches, speeches and possible propos that they needed to be careful aboutbecause Katniss had to remain the face of the rebellion after all. It wouldn’thave done to confuse people now.

It was all a sound plan in Effie’s opinion butshe would have summed it up in a fifteen minutes briefing instead of the halfhour long tirade Plutarch was on.

She was pretty sure Boggs was sleeping. Withopen eyelids, yes, but he looked asleep.

Beetee was doodling on the little notebook hecarried everywhere with him. It might have been a new invention, it might havebeen a caricature of the Capitol man who was cheerfully talking, apparentlyunaware everyone around that table was bored.

She chanced a glance to the left, hopingHaymitch might turn out to be a source of distraction – because, let’s behonest, it wouldn’t have been the first time they would have discreetly (and ina most foolish manner) teased each other under the table, safe from preyingeyes, during a boring briefing – but he was staring into the distance,absent-mindedly tugging on the battered golden bangle around his wrist withoutever entirely slipping it off.

She let out a small sigh and focused on herdrumming fingers. The sight made her cringe. Most of her nails had blackened,some were chipped and painful when she accidentally hit them against the wood.

She didn’t like thinking about her first fewhours in Thirteen. The rebels had stripped her off everything that made her her. They hadn’t hit her, they hadn’traised their voices at her, but the threat had been there all the same. Theyhad taken all her jewelry, they had taken most of what had been in her purseexcept for the silver lighter she had fearlessly clung too, claiming they couldtake everything else but that becauseit was a heirloom – and that hadtaken some convincing – and then they had asked her to surrender wigs andfrills to slip on the grey monstrosity she was now forced to wear.

It had only taken her a few seconds to decideshe hated military districts even more than she hated poor ones. She wasn’texactly fond of the dangerous games of appearances in the Capitol either but,at least, she knew how to survive in thatparticular fish tank.

She hadn’t had the first clue how to survive ina place where strangers tore off your lovely fake nails without skills or careon your very first day there.

Most days, she was still trying to figure thatout. Relying on Haymitch for protection worked up to a point but she was alwaysanxious of doing the wrong thing, of sayingthe wrong thing. She tried to fit in, she did, but she stuck out like asore thumb. The fact that refugees kept tossing her dark looks and spat insultsher way wasn’t helping her settle in and Haymitch’s tacit refusal to take herdefense unless there was a physical threat stung.

She understood, of course. It was the very samereason he had always let the other victors make fun of her up to a point. Shewas an escort, she had done terrible things in the name of the Capitol – and inher own name, for her own glory – she deserved what she got. The fact that he had chosen to see past that, to seebeyond the escort’s mask, didn’t mean he didn’t respect other people’s reasonsfor hating her.

Somehow, even knowing that, it still hurt herwhen he stood by and let someone mutter an insult in her wake.

They were less likely to do it when he wasaround though, she had noticed, and a few people had actually been morewelcoming and nicer than she had expected, thanks to his open friendship andKatniss’ family’s willingness to include her, but he always told her to ignoreit and walk on when someone called her out on her escort’s past.

Or present.

She wasstill the Mockingjay’s escort, after all.

Even if her current job felt more like beingPlutarch’s personal assistant rather than Twelve’s escort.

“I will take it under consideration.” Coindeclared. Effie realized with a startled jolt that Plutarch had finally reached his conclusion. Everyonelooked at Thirteen’s leader hopefully and the woman rolled her eyes. “We willtake a fifteen minutes break.”

It seemed that everyone couldn’t bolt out ofthat room early enough.

Even Plutarch left, murmuring something aboutbeing parched and needing some water.

Effie stood up and discretely made hershoulders roll, hoping to relieve the tension that had gathered there. Haymitch,she noticed, hadn’t moved one inch, his gaze was still lost. Whatever he wasthinking about, it must have been fascinating.

Still, she thought he would be sorry he hadmissed the break.

She gently placed her hand on his shoulder,careful not to been seen as a threat. She had learned long ago that hissubconscious didn’t react well to that sort of things. “Haymitch?”

His hand shot up to cover hers. “My love?”

His voice was faraway and it was plain to seehe was still lost in his thoughts but the word took her breath away all thesame. He had hinted at it lately,vague allusions as to why he had had her brought to Thirteen when shecomplained, claims that he had made sure she wouldn’t get a roommate, muttered explanationsthat he liked sleeping with her at nights better than he liked lying awake inthe compartment he shared with Plutarch because she made everything bearable,small touches and soft words he wasn’t usually in a habit of offering…

She cleared her throat and squeezed hisshoulder hard enough that he jumped a little and blinked out of hisdaydreaming. He looked up at her, glanced around and made a face. “He’s finallydone? I spaced out.”

“I noticed.” she hummed, a pleased smilefloating on her lips. It was obvious to her he had no clue what he had calledher, which made it all the more precious. “What were you thinking about?”

His mouth twitched into one of his familiarsmirks and he wiggled his eyebrows, tilting his head a little to watch her withthat impudence she really shouldn’t have found so attractive. “Wanna guess?”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t call him out onhis lie. She could grant him his pretences, he had humored hers often enough.

“I hope it was a particularly fruitful reflection.” she teased. “Iwill expect something imaginativetonight.”

His chuckles were immediate and strangelydevoid of their usual bitterness. “You’re finally bored with me, Princess?”

“Isn’t that my line?” she retorted withamusement, taking back her seat.

“It’s a stupid question anyway, yeah?” heshrugged, his teasing smirk softening into fondness. “I’ve got this feelingwe’re still gonna be right here in forty years. Fighting, fucking and driving each other insane. No place for boring in there.” He paused and snorted.“Assuming we survive this shit, thatis.”

Her heart was beating so hard in her chest italmost hurt.

“Forty?” she repeated. “That’s ambitious.”

“Probably.” he admitted. “My liver’s gonna kickthe bucket long before that.”

She refused to consider the reality of what hisalcoholism may have done to his body. The Capitol did miracles with illnessesanyway. The war wouldn’t last forever and… They would cross that bridge when and if they came to it.

“I meantthe sex.” she countered, careful to keep her tone casual. “You think we willstill have sex when we are in our eighties?”

“Hell,sweetheart… I’m still gonna want to fuckyou if we reach a hundred.” hemocked. “That’s what those blue pills are for. We’re gonna be that kind of oldpeople who have a dirty kinky sex life.”

The idea that he had been thinking about whatsort of life they could have together was more shocking that hearing him callher his love. She didn’t try to make the conversation more serious or to getmore than he was willing to give. From him, this was already huge. A lot more than she had everexpected.

“We will break our hips having sex.” shepromised, fighting a laugh. “Won’t that be embarrassing to explain at thehospital…”

“See?” he challenged, reaching out to place hishand on her thigh. “Never boring.”

“Never boring.” she echoed.

#hayffie #effie trinket #haymitch abernathy #prompt #mj time #movie!verse #d13 #coin #plutarch #fluff #funny one #established #haymitch with feelings

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agl03 · 5 years ago

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Final Predictions: How did I do?

What I got will be in BOLD and if I feel I need to add notes they will be in italics. Might have to toss in a keep reading line because it is long.