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talesofarcadia78 · 3 years

Text

Our Time || One shot

Summary: Douxie’s remembering the good old times.

Warnings: angst, mention of character death, that's it I think?

Word count: 1,735

Everything was set. The lanterns were hung up on the trees nearby, providing light to Douxie for the night. The campfire was crackling just a couple of feet away from the round dining table and chairs that Douxie had set up not too long ago. The plates were also ready on the table, waiting to be filled with food.

Douxie magicked up a bouquet of roses, and placed them in the vase that was in the middle of the table.

Suddenly, he heard a twig snap behind him. He quickly spun around, staff and bracelet ready, only to see Archie looking up at him in his cat form.

"You seriously thought that I was danger?" Archie questioned with an eyebrow raised.

Douxie magicked his staff away and deactivated his bracelet, "Hehe… yes."

Archie rolled his eyes at his familiar's response, "Do you not remember that you put a ward around this whole area?"

Douxie just shrugged and went back to doing last minute preparations.

After a few minutes of silence, Archie cleared his throat to gain Douxie's attention.

"Yes, Arch?" Douxie asked, turning his gaze to the cat.

Archie pointed to the two figures in the distance heading towards them.

Douxie's eyes widened at how time flew by quickly. He didn't even have time to get changed!

He quickly got behind a tree and used a spell he had recently learned, and changed into a black dress shirt (sleeves rolled up of course), black pants and shoes, keeping his signature skull necklace.

He stepped out from the tree to see Archie fly away. His eyes wandered around until they landed on both you and Jim getting closer. You were wearing a stunning black A-line lace dress that went down to your knees with half laced sleeves and beige heels.

You were blindfolded as Douxie had requested Jim to do to you so you had a surprise.

Douxie could hear you complain to Jim how you didn't like being blindfolded. Jim just rolled his eyes at your antics and told you that all would be revealed in a matter of moments.

Douxie walked up to you two siblings and took you from Jim.

"Thank you, Jim. I'll take her from here," Douxie smiled and took your shoulders.

"No problem, Doux! Tell me the end result!" Jim waved and walked off.

"Douxie, where in the world am I?" you asked.

"Shhh. Be patient, love. All will be revealed," Douxie reassured.

After a few moments, the blindfold on your eyes was taken off.

You took in your surroundings. The trees were decorated with lanterns, a dining table was set and a campfire was already lit. Everything was beautiful.

You spun around to see Douxie holding out a rose for you to take, which you, without a doubt, accepted.

"Shall we, m'lady?" Douxie inquired, holding his arm out.

You nodded and you let him take you to the table.

~~~~~

Douxie had prepared f/f for dinner, and for dessert, an apple pie.

Now, the two of you were quietly sitting on a blanket at the campfire, leaning on each other.

"Love?" Douxie asked.

You hummed in response, letting him know he had your attention.

"Remember the first time we met? I had spilled a drink on the ground in the cafe and you rushed to help," Douxie remembered.

"Yeah," you nodded, memories flooding back.

~~~~~

You anxiously tapped your feet on the ground, waiting for your order to arrive.

You were in a big rush.

Mom had called to tell you that Jim was in the hospital. You knew that he was the Trollhunter, so he had gotten a lot of injuries, though, he didn't need to go to the hospital to get them treated, so you knew that this was serious.

Abruptly, you heard a crash from behind you. You turned around to see a drink had spilled all over the floor. The waiter was already on his knees, trying to clean it up.

You got up from your seat and ran over to help him. You kneeled in front of the guy to hear him faintly say, "Fuzzbuckets". You saw a faint sky blue spark come from his hand.

A wizard.

You placed a hand on his arm, making him look up into your e/c eyes. You mouthed ‘no’ and shook your head, telling him not to perform the spell. He stopped and sighed before cleaning up the mess the old fashioned way with your help.

After helping him, you returned to your seat.

Just when you were about to leave, getting fed up of the wait, the same waiter you had helped rushed up to you, order in hand.

"Hey! You were the one who helped me with the spill a couple of minutes ago, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," you nodded and then added quietly, "And the one who stopped you from using magic as a shortcut."

You smiled and took your order from him. You headed out but got stopped by the same guy.

"Hey, I never got your name. I'm Hisirdoux Casperan, but you can call me Douxie," Douxie winked and held out his hand for a handshake.

"Y/n, Y/n Lake," you replied, shaking his hand. "I'm really sorry, but I really need to go."

He nodded understandingly and waved goodbye.

As you walked to the hospital, you opened the bag that had your food in it, as well as a note. You took it out and read it:

Hey, stranger, who I probably got the name of!

I was wondering if you would grab a bite with me tomorrow at the cafe. 4 pm sharp.

Don't be late.

Yours truly,

Hisirdoux Casperan.

You smiled. You had finally found a fellow magic wielder.

~~~~~

"Then, the time when Jim got a bit overprotective of you when you were at the bookstore."

"A bit?"

"Okay, extremely overprotective of you."

~~~~~

The sun was shining high in the sky, your hair moving along with the gentle breeze, and a nice cup of coffee in your hands while you and Jim made your way to GDT Arcane Books.

Jim opened the door to reveal Archie, Douxie's familiar lying on the ground near the fireplace.

"Hey, Archie!" you greeted.

"Hello," Archie called.

You turned your attention away from the cat and to Jim, who was looking around in suspicion.

"Jim, what is it now?" you asked, placing your hand on your brother's shoulder.

"It's just… why does this store seem so… magical?" Jim inquired.

"Because a magical being owns the bookstore," you replied.

Jim nodded in response.

"Hello!" a new voice spoke.

You turned around to see Douxie coming out of the back. From the corner of your eye, you saw Jim's gaze harden at the sight of the wizard. He pulled you a bit closer to him.

Overprotective brother mode switched on.

"Hey, Doux. Did you call us in for some help?" you inquired.

"Yep! There's only so much a 900 year old wizard can do by himself," Douxie nodded.

Douxie told you and Jim what he needed help with.

Jim was sent off to get some supplies from around town, to his dismay. He wanted to keep an eye on you and Douxie, but alas, he had to go shopping.

Before Jim had left, you heard him send a death threat to Douxie.

"Don't do anything funny with my sister, Casperan. I won't hesitate to slice your head off with Daylight."

Your eyes widened. You knew Jim didn't like Douxie, but you didn't know that he hated him so much to actually threatened him.

Geez. He's way too overprotective.

You made your way over to Douxie as soon as Jim left the store.

"Don't mind him. He's just overprotective," you told Douxie.

"Uh-huh," Douxie nodded slowly.

~~~~~

"We know each other so well, made so many wonderful memories, we've spent so much time together," Douxie sighed. "And I want to spend more time with you."

You turned your head towards him, silently asking him to elaborate.

Douxie moved away and got up. He lent you his hand, which you accepted and followed suit. He took a deep breath and got down on one knee.

"Y/n, love, we've been through so much together. Good and bad. Sad and happy. And I'll continue to. You made me the most happiest man when you became my girlfriend and I thought I couldn't be any happier. But today may prove me wrong," Douxie expressed.

You gasped and clasped your hand over your mouth as Douxie took out a golden ring with embroidery and held it out.

"Y/n Lake… make me the happiest man in the world. Will you marry me?"

You had tears in your eyes at this point. Douxie looked at you with hope, love, admiration, and so much more as he waited for your answer.

"Yes."

Douxie's eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning, and quickly got up. He grabbed your waist and brought you close. He leaned down and softly kissed you as he slipped the ring onto your finger.

~~~~~

Douxie stared at the photo of you two on your wedding day. You were wearing a short lace white dress and beige ankle strap heels and Douxie was wearing a white dress shirt, black tuxedo, black tie, black pants and a rose attached on the left as you two stood in front of each other, hand in hand while Douxie was kissing your forehead.

Douxie placed the photo back and glanced down at his wedding ring. It was simple, a silver band with swirl embroidery as you had the same, but gold. He remembered the feeling of your hand in his. Your giggling. Everything. But alas, ever since you had passed in battle, he couldn't seem to bring any of those memories back.

Tears formed in Douxie's eyes as he remembered the good times.

Suddenly, the door opened to reveal Jim and Claire.

"Hey, Teach. What were you--" Claire started before she noticed the tears streaming down his face.

Douxie wasn't going to cry but as soon as he saw the wedded couple, he couldn't help himself.

Jim and Claire rushed over to Douxie and enveloped the wizard in a hug, attempting to comfort him. He sobbed into Jim's chest as Jim ran his hand through his hair and Claire rubbing Douxie's back.

Nothing was going to be the same without you.

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archies-litterbox · 3 years

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Whumptober No. 1: All Trussed Up And Still Nowhere To Go

“You have to let go” | barbed wire | bound

Summary: Douxie and Nari escape a containment facility, but it goes wrong. Painfully wrong.

Words: 2.9k

A/N: This is my first whumptober piece ever! I’m so excited to share. I Hope you like it! I’ve tagged Zouxie, but they’re not the main relationship of the story - that’s Douxie and Nari. He loves his baby sister. :)

[CW: Blood, Hand Injury, Captivity, Swearing, Escape, Mutilation]

It hadn’t been more than a week or two, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t miserable.

What started out as a normal day with Nari, which Douxie had been spending trying to get the forest demigod further away from the ever-encroaching Arcane Order, ended with black-suited goons throwing them in some underground cell in a facility in the ever-so-specific middle of nowhere.

But not before cuffing a magic inhibitor around his wrist. It would’ve made for a nice addition to the ensemble of bracelets that hung around his forearm, matching nicely to the temporarily-obselete gauntlet on his other arm, had it not been for the awful shock he got every time he tried to bring magic forth to his fingertips. And as much as he was used to electrifying sparks with Zoe, it was quite the inconvenience now.

But for Nari… the most powerful suppressant was her environment itself. With the cement walls around her, disconnecting her from nature and not allowing so much as a potted plant in their containment area did plenty to weaken her, whether these captors knew it or not.

Douxie tried to smile, “At least the Order won’t find us here.”

Nari shook her head.

“No one will…”

Douxie shrugged, “I wouldn’t put it past our friends. Zoe would make a firecracker out of anyone who’d hurt us, and Archie can track down anyone’s scent, with that dragon-y nose of his…”

He booped her nose, but she wasn’t very responsive to it.

“...I do not belong here, Douxie.”

Douxie sighed, “I know. I’ll get you out of here, I promise.”

“I mean… I am disconnected, and I feel… sick.” she said, “I’m getting weaker with every day I am not in contact with nature.”

She looked up to meet his eyes.

“I cannot stay detached, Douxie.”

And he knew that. It was an awareness that made both his heart sink and his mind think that much harder about a plan of escape.

“...Well,” Douxie looked up as he considered, “I can ask veeery nicely for a little plant to keep in here. Maybe catch a guard in a nice mood. Think that would work?”

Nari giggled, a frail thing.

“That would be nice.”

Douxie stretched his legs out to make a little pillow for the little forest goddess that had become a little sister to him. There wasn’t even a mattress to speak of here - most inhospitable captors, he thought.

Nari got on her side and rested her head on Douxie’s lap. Her antlers sort of poked into the wizard’s torso, but he didn’t mind as he ran his fingers through her hair, between the criss-crosses of green that went down into her braid. She hummed a little in contentment, and it was enough to make his heart swell.

He loved his little sister so much… and as he lolled his head against the wall to get some rest himself, he only thought about how, if - no, once he got the chance to get her out of here, there’s nothing that would stop him from taking it.

He just hoped that chance would come soon, for who knew how much longer she could go on like this, out of her element…

Well, it wouldn’t be long.

Douxie was pulled from a light slumber by the sound of electricity surging. Fuelled by panic that his nullifier cuff was going off, his eyes snapped open only to be met with darkness. The flickering, glaring light that shone from the fluorescent bulbs into the room that had been Douxie and Nari’s somewhat home as of late had gone out.

An outage? A blackout?

Immediately, his mind started firing on all cylinders trying to think of how to seize this chance. The first thing he did was try to use his magic, but -

Bzzzzt!

Douxie hissed and grit his teeth as his wrist stung from the shock.

Oh, of COURSE that still works!

Alright, no magic then. What could he, what could he-

Electricity thrummed near him again, and he feared the power was already back on, and his chance for escape was gone as soon as it arrived, but it was only by the doors, kept shut by an automatic mechanism. The new power that seemed to only stick around that area made the cell doors pull open, and in the surging electricity, Douxie could distinctly see a certain hue.

A pink hue.

Zoe!

Finally, thank fuzzbuckets. Zoe, Archie, his friends - they must have tracked this place down. And before the order, too!

Despite his nerves that fuelled a sense of urgency, Douxie made sure to be gentle when he nudged Nari awake.

“Mmh…” she rose her head, “Douxie?”

“Look!” he said, pointing to the doors, “All the lights went out, but the doors opened up! And the power’s pink! Zoe caused a black out!”

She rubbed her eyes and stood, instantly livening up (as much as she could, weakened as she was) when she saw the chance to escape.

“Then what are we waiting for?” She asked, but Douxie was already getting up to take her hand and show her the answer: nothing.

Douxie took Nari’s hand in hers - so small, so… tiny - and took her running out the door. They could hear the commotion of the personnel that made up… wherever this place was (seriously, he thought area 49B had left behind their whole “imprisoning the out of the ordinary” thing after the Tarrons, so what was this? Did it matter?), and he needed to know where to move. If someone got the idea to activate that damn wristband of his remotely-

He looked up and saw one of the fluorescent lights flicker on again, just to his left. Like with the doors, he saw the pink hue. He took off to his left, and as that light flickered off behind him, the one ahead of him lit up. The same thing happened again when he and Nari ran forward, and again, and again. Not only was Zoe lighting the way, but she was turning off the other lights as soon as they weren’t needed, so they’d be harder to spot.

My darling’s a bloody genius!

Nari, winded by the sudden sprinting in her weakened state, started to stumble. Douxie swept up the little goddess and carried her bridal-style as he kept moving, kept moving moving moving -

Finally, he burst through an exit and the cool night air hit his face. Taking in a breathful, he saw the open yard of some hundred feet or so, cut off by a barbed-wire fence (with a high-voltage sign on it, although Douxie knew that Zoe had likely shut it off when she caused the blackout, standing between the facility and open forest.

On the other side of that fence, he could make out his pink-haired, married-some-fifty-times-over-in-the-past-millennium wife and his familiar next to her.

But he also saw what was possibly a more relieving sight; grass. Nature. Real nature. Exactly what Nari needed.

As if reading his mind, Nari’s energy returned within only a few of Douxie’s strides.

“I can run! I can run!” she squeaked. In a fluid motion, he put her down but kept hold of her hand so he wouldn’t lose her. It was a simple precaution, for his legs were gangly, and she was rather short for a demigoddess.

“Took you long enough!” Douxie shouted when Zoe was in earshot.

“You try tracking down a knockoff 49B like this, Casperan!” she shouted back.

“The fence is off!” Archie called, “Just avoid the barbed wire!”

Well, he’d try his best.

When Douxie heard the sound of guards and personnel pouring out the doors on their heels, it only fuelled his adrenaline further. But it also fuelled his drive to protect Nari, so he guided her in front of him, so any attempts to slow or stop the two of them would affect him first, and hopefully, affect him only.

The more he ran with Nari, the shorter, shorter, achingly shorter the distance got between them and the fence - between Douxie and his family.

But he could also hear the guards getting dreadfully closer.

Finally, Nari was close enough to get over the fence.

“Go!” he said before she could try to make him go first, “Go, GO!”

Reaching out to a nearby tree, she lengthened its branch, grabbed onto it, and used it to get over the fence. Once she’d crossed, she let go, and Zoe caught her and set her on the ground.

Nothing felt like more of a relief in that moment than seeing her on the other side of that fence.

But something else would overwhelm him and drown out that relief soon enough.

Since he’d already had a well enough running start, Douxie crouched down and leaped up once he got close enough to the fence. He could see the mesh blur in his vision as he got higher in the air. His outstretched hands went over the curls of barbed wire, and he could feel the freedom at his fingertips, and-

Something wrapped around his ankle.

The air got ripped from his lungs as he felt it stop his jump.

No.

And it pulled him down.

No!

And his hands, his hands, his hands, they went right into -

“AAAAAAUUUUGH!”

The scream ripped from Douxie’s throat easily could’ve rang out for miles.

He could barely hear it past his own scream, his own agony, but he could hear Archie gasp; he could hear Nari cry out; he could hear Zoe swear as she conjured her lightning (his eyes were still squeezed shut as tears streamed down his cheeks, but he could hear the power surging) and sent it down the line around his ankle, electrocuting the guard.

He started to fall back to the ground, but his hands - oh, sweet heart of Avalon, his hands - were still stuck in the mesh of metal, and the added weight made them burn. He dug his feet into two of the chicken-wire holes in the fence to keep himself up. Finally, he opened his eyes, blurred with tears.

Not to look at his hands - no he couldn’t bear to, not yet - but to look at his family. Zoe looked furious - not with him, but for him as the residue of her lightning sparked from her fingertips. Archie was saucer-eyed behind his glasses.

And Nari…

The poor little goddess trembled in the grass, where she should have been thriving, as she shook her head, her hands clamped over her mouth as her eyebrows upturned.

He could feel - Gods, he could feel the dripping down his wrists, uncomfortable but the most comfortable sensation in his arms right now. And he knew why they were dripping.

He drew his eyes up, and the sight nearly made him vomit.

His hands looked almost as bad as they felt; with his fingers curled and straightened in-between merciless barbs, there was more deep, deep crimson on his hands than the normal, pale hue of his skin.

Oh, sweet heart of Avalon, they were a mess.

But he couldn’t worry about them - not when he could hear the sounds of more guards from behind him.

“There’s more coming! You have to go!”

“No way, Casperan!” Zoe said. Archie shook his head fervently. Oh, curse them and their loyalty!

He looked right to Nari - to his poor, poor little sister that looked at her with tears already streaming down her cheeks.

“Nari, you have to run!” he screamed, “You must keep moving! Don’t stop running!”

Nari looked at his hands, and her face changed, adapted, accommodated for a rare look of resolve.

“...Forgive me, Douxie.”

She raised her arms. Vines sprung up from the ground by her feet.

No.

He felt them wrap around his wrists.

He felt them tighten.

He felt-

“AAAUGH!” he screamed again.

-He felt his hands rip out of the metal.

The wind snatched his cry from his throat as he was pulled into the air and over the fence, just barely landing on his feet to stumble forward.

Before he could register how much it hurt when his flesh tore away from the barbs, both vines were replaced by one of Zoe’s hands around one of his wrists and Nari’s holding onto his hoodie sleeve that lay around the other, pulling him along until he fell in stride and kept running, just like he’d been doing with Zoe this whole time.

And he didn’t stop.

Despite the agony dripping from his hands, he didn’t stop.

He couldn’t.

Not until the shouts of those agents were far behind him and those he loved.

Zoe and Nari slowed, and Douxie naturally followed suit.

“We’ve lost them.” Archie said, more grave than relieved. And it wasn’t hard to understand why - not when the adrenaline dissipated from Douxie’s body, and the pain he couldn’t register before wracked him now.

He fell to his knees, not even letting himself put his hands to the ground to steady himself. No, he could only bring his hands to his face so he could rightly see the mess.

He’d been left with two large, jagged slashes on both his palms, making blood pool in his hands, and his fingers were sliced into generously - but really, was that the right word? Generously? Was any of this truly generous?

Well, perhaps, but only in the fact that there was obviously a lot of pain to spare, and Douxie’s hands were the agonized recipients.

Shakily, he stood up.

Zoe stood in front of him and held out her hand, “Let me see.”

Douxie was reluctant, of course.

“I wont touch the cuts.” she said, “I just wanna get that cuff off.”

With that goal in mind, Douxie nodded and held out his shaking arm.

About thirty seconds and a lot of grunting and swearing from Zoe later, and the cuff snapped off. Douxie welcomed the feeling of unrepressed magic in his veins, so much so that it almost overpowered the awful stinging sensation that came with the fact blood was still trickling out of his veins right now, soaking his agonized palms.

Almost, though. Not enough.

He started to try to use his magic to improve the condition of his injuries, but using his hands to try to heal his hands was as painful as it was counterproductive; it only made his hands feel that much more like they were on fire, and after a few seconds, he stopped and shook his head.

“No, no, I can’t do it.” he said through gritted teeth, “Not yet.”

“That’s alright.” Zoe said, though Douxie wasn’t so sure, “I figured they might’ve roughed you up, so I brought supplies. Should work well enough.”

And so, Zoe got to work sanitizing and bandaging Douxie's hands while Archie circled around his feet and Nari stood a few feet away, watching on as if she were hesitant to approach her big brother.

Douxie looked at Zoe while she wrapped his fingers. After a few minutes, she’d had both his hands wrapped, finger by finger, from nail to wrist.

“‘S been a minute since we held hands, eh?” Douxie said.

“And it’ll be another minute yet, you know.” Zoe rolled her eyes, but Douxie could hear the fondness in her voice, “They’re pretty mangled, but those bandages should work fine until we get to a doctor.”

“Perhaps we’re still close enough to Arcadia that we could see Dr. Lake?” Archie suggested, however unfeasible. It was probably a joke.

But Douxie ignored the pressing issue of where to go for the moment, and instead, he walked over to Nari.

“I know being down there was starting to do a number on you…” he crouched down so he was at eye level with his baby sister, “Are you feeling better?”

“Yes… and no.” Nari said.

She brought her gaze down to his hands.

“...I am sorry, Douxie.” she said, “I know you said to run, but I could not bear to leave you. I could never keep running without you. If there had been a gentler way…”

But there wasn’t. There were never enough gentler ways to do things in this world.

“I know you would have done it.” he said.

He started to bring out one of his wrapped hands to put on top of her head, but pulled it back with reluctance.

He couldn’t touch her. It… it would hurt his hand too much to try to touch his baby sister.

And Nari knew it. That must’ve been why she hugged his waist without hesitation. Finding the least painful spot on his hand, he trailed the back of his index knuckle down the criss-crosses in her hair.

Douxie sighed.

He thought he’d be more relieved when they got out of there - exhausted, but nonetheless extremely relieved. And to an extent, he was.

But now that the dust was settling, all Douxie could think about was something he never thought he’d ever have to miss.

He thought about only minutes before, when he’d been running his fingers through Nari’s hair, in the spaces in-between the criss-crosses that went down to her braid…

And before his guitar, his hand spells, or anything else crossed his mind…

He only thought about when he’d be able to do that again, and if this sting in his hands would ever completely leave if he did.

“Please,” he smiled a pained smile as he looked down to Nari, unable to even return her hug, “Don’t blame yourself…”

But he knew that, just like when he told her to run and leave him there, she would not listen to him.

And that was the only thing that hurt worse than his hands.

#whumptober2021 #no.1 #barbed wire #tales of arcadia #fanfic #blood #injury #captivity #douxie #hisirdoux casperan #nari #nari of the eternal forest #toa archie #toa zoe #zouxie

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sisterspooky1013 · 3 years

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Only One Choice, Chapter 5

Read it here on AO3 / Tagging @today-in-fic

They’re sitting in the car outside her mother’s house, and she’s stalling.

“Are we going inside?” Ethan asks with a confused smile, and she nods wearily.

She’s been dreading telling her family. Well, not her mother; Mom will be thrilled, as will Bill. Charlie will act appropriately happy but doesn’t actually care that much. But Missy….Missy will see right through her. She always does.

They exit the car and make their way to the front porch, her stomach twisting in her gut all the way. Ethan knocks, casting her concerned glances intermittently. She knows she’s not playing the part of “recently engaged” very well. She’s told Ethan that it’s just nerves, and that she hates making big announcements, which is true. She’s still trying to convince herself that’s all it is.

The door swings open and Charlie greets them with smiles and quick hugs, and they make their way to the kitchen where Mom is still finishing up dinner.

“Grab some wine and take a seat,” she directs them as they each kiss her on the cheek, “Missy should be here any minute.”

She pours herself a very full glass of wine after asking Ethan if he can drive home, then plants herself in an armchair that only seats one. She’s been craving personal space lately.

Ten minutes later, Missy breezes in the door, giving Dana a skeptical glance; leave it to Missy to immediately pick up on something being off. They better get this over with soon.

They all sit down and say grace. Missy holds her left hand and she can feel the moment her fingers make contact with the ring. Missy yanks on her arm and gives her wide eyes as everyone else at the table thanks the lord for their daily bread. Dana glances at her briefly and then looks away. It will all be out in the open momentarily.

“Before we dig into this lovely meal Mom has prepared for us,” Ethan begins, “Dana and I have some news to share.”

Oh god, here it comes. Maybe the huge glass of wine was a bad idea.

“Am I gonna be an uncle, D?!” Charlie says excitedly, and both she and Maggie shoot him an unamused glare.

“Not just yet, Charlie,” Ethan says with a cautious smile. “Dana and I got engaged. We’re getting married!”

Dana holds up her left hand with a thin smile, and Maggie and Charlie both provide appropriately big, happy reactions complete with hugs and congratulatory slaps on the back. Missy raises her eyebrows and looks at her baby sister with a bemused expression.

“Oh, this is such happy news, I wish your father could be here,” Maggie says, clutching her hand to her chest. “We’ll have to call Bill and Tara after dinner.”

Dana forces bites of pot roast down her throat and avoids her sister’s eye for the following twenty minutes, then leaves Ethan and her mother to share the news with Bill as she escapes to the back porch. Charlie, as usual, finds his way to the couch with a beer.

She’s sitting on the steps of the porch, working on her second glass of wine, when she hears the creak of the screen door behind her. She doesn't need to look to know that it’s Missy; she can hear the swish of her flowy skirt and the jangle of her stacked bracelets. Missy sits down beside her and they are quiet for a few minutes, the dark night illuminated by a waxing crescent moon.

“Is this really what you want, Sis?” Missy asks in a tone that’s soft and concerned.

“Of course, Missy. Ethan and I have been talking about getting married for years,” she says, hoping it sounds more convincing than it feels.

“I know. But…” she trails off and sighs.

“But what?” Dana prods her.

“Look, Sis, Ethan is great. I love him, and he’ll make a great husband. I’m just not sure he’s the right one for you.” Dana can feel her sister looking at her in the dim light, but keeps her eyes on the blooming hydrangea bush at the bottom of the stairs.

“He’s a great guy, Missy. He’s kind, and generous, and he has a stable job. He treats me really well. There’s no reason NOT to marry him,” she offers, taking a big gulp of her wine. “Dad loved him, he’d be so happy to know we got married,” she adds.

Missy scoffs. “Two years underground and you’re still trying to please Dad?”

“He was cremated, Missy,” she replies deadpan, avoiding the point.

“Okay, so two years underwater, then. Doesn’t change the fact that Dad liking him isn’t a reason to marry someone. Neither is them being great husband material. The only reason to marry someone is because you want to marry them. Do you want to marry Ethan?” She can feel Missy’s eyes on her face.

“Yes,” she says in a weak voice, unwilling to elaborate.

Missy sighs. “Okay, if this is what you want, I’ll be here to help you in whatever way you need. But if you change your mind-”

“-I’m not going to change my mind, Missy,” she cuts her off.

“Well,” Missy continues, “whatever happens, I’ll be here. Thick and thin, right?”

Dana looks at her sister then, and smiles as they clasp hands. “Thick and thin.”

The following week, she takes herself out for Sunday afternoon coffee to one of her favorite places near the apartment. She likes to go out alone for coffee or lunch sometimes, just to have some space to think. Lately, she’s been needing a lot of it. The cafe is bustling with the after-church crowd, which makes her feel guilty for not going to mass with her mother. It’s difficult to talk to Mom right now; all she wants to do is talk about the wedding, and that’s the last thing Dana wants to discuss. Ethan wants to get married soon, this fall, and the whole thing is so overwhelming she shuts down every time they try to talk to her about it. She wishes she could pause life for a while, until she can sort out her feelings.

“Fancy meeting you here,” she hears a familiar voice call from beside her, and she looks up to see Mulder, dressed casually in jeans and a grey T-shirt.

She smiles reflexively, the first time she’s felt a real smile tug at her lips in a week or more.

“Mulder, hi,” she says, genuinely pleased to see him. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, this place is right near my dealer’s house,” he responds, and flashes her that boyish grin at her shocked expression. “I was actually just checking out a record store around the corner and decided to grab some coffee. How are you?” The question feels so real, like he actually wants to know how she is. She doesn’t want him to leave.

“I’m well, would you like to sit down?” she says as she gestures to the empty seat across from her, pulling her hand back when she realizes that he’ll likely notice her ring. She surreptitiously slips it off her finger and tucks it into her pants pocket.

He sits, and she can’t help but take in the way his shirt hugs his broad shoulders, and the hint of defined pectorals underneath. He is a seriously good-looking man.

“So, whatcha been up to?” He asks, taking a sip from his to-go cup.

She should tell him the happy news that she’s gotten engaged, but she very much doesn’t want to.

“Not much, just cutting up dead bodies and teaching others how to do the same,” she responds dryly.

“Slicin’ and dicin’,” he says with a nod, and she feels a sense of relief at being able to make such a crass joke to someone who understands the kind of work she does.

“Exactly. How about you, working on anything interesting?” she asks, and never has a social nicety been more genuine.

“That depends on your definition of interesting, I suppose,” he begins, “we’ve got the face mutilator, the acid thrower, and the super-stabber, who you’re familiar with.”

“Quite the line up,” she retorts.

“I realize I didn’t get the chance to ask how you ended up at the Academy,” he inquires.

“Oh, um I was actually recruited out of medical school,” she replies, taking a sip of her coffee.

His eyebrows jump and he leans forward a bit. “You’re a doctor, then?” he asks, and she gauges only that he’s impressed, not surprised, which is a nice change of pace. People don’t seem to realize that it’s not a compliment to express disbelief that she, of all people, would be a medical doctor.

“Mmhmm, all pathologists are trained medical doctors,” she confirms with a nod.

“Your parents must be very proud,” he offers, and she makes a face.

“Not exactly. My father actually passed away a couple years ago, but he was less than pleased with my decision not to pursue medicine as a career. My mom is moderately more supportive, thankfully.”

She catches his eye and is surprised by the intensity of the look he’s giving her.

“I’m sorry to hear about your father,” he says as though he knew the man, and it catches her off guard a bit. She changes the subject.

“What about the X files, anything interesting happening there?”

“Well, no, given that they don’t exist anymore. You wanna hear about an old one I investigated?”

She nods emphatically.

“There was this team of researchers up in Icy Cape, Alaska. They were geophysicists, drilling ice core samples. They’d been up there a few weeks when there was an odd video communication received from one of the research team members saying “we are not who we are” before he shot himself in the head, then all communication went dark.”

“What happened to them?” Scully asks, leaning towards him. She’s immediately drawn in.

“Well, that’s what we went up there to find out; myself a physician, toxicologist and a geologist. When we got there, the whole crew was dead, only a dog that belonged to one of them survived. He appeared to be rabid, and he attacked me and our pilot. When we examined the dog, he had these black nodules on his skin.”

“That sounds like a symptom of bubonic plague,” Scully offers.

“That’s what Dr. Hodge thought too. Anyway, the pilot ended up getting infected as well, and we had to restrain him and remove this worm-thing from his neck. He died immediately after we removed it.”

“A worm-thing?” Scully asks, “what was it?”

“I’m still not entirely sure. The geologist found an ice core sample that was probably over 250,000 years old, and I think the worm came from the ice. Some kind of prehistoric parasite that overtakes its host. We eventually figured out that to kill it, you have to introduce a second worm into the host, and they’ll destroy each other.”

“Why haven’t I ever heard about this? It seems like the kind of discovery that would make the news, at least in the science community,” her mind is reeling, now with excitement.

“Well, that’s the thing. After we were evacuated, they destroyed the drill site and all the evidence.”

“They?” she inquires. “Who is ‘they’?”

Mulder smiles knowingly and she has the overwhelming urge to touch him.

“That’s the million dollar question, Scully. That’s what the X files sought to answer. Who, or what, is behind the mass coverup of information that would prove the existence of extraterrestrial life?” He says it so casually, like it’s the most irrefutable fact in the world instead of some half-cocked conspiracy theory.

“Huh,” she sits back in her chair. “Are there a lot of cases like that one? In the X files?”

Mulder’s mouth quirks, and she can tell that he’s pleased by her interest in his old work.

“Hundreds, though I only have about fifty in my possession. I took the juiciest ones, of course.”

“What else is there? Tell me about another one,” she asks unabashedly. She’s fascinated.

Mulder looks at his watch and makes a face. “I wish I could, but I have a prior engagement. I have them stored at my apartment, I could show you sometime, if you’d like. Do you like cats?”

Her eyebrows lift. “Is there an X file about cats?” she asks, and he laughs.

“No. Well, actually yes, but I’m asking because I have a cat. You aren’t allergic, are you?”

“Oh, no,” she says as she feels her cheeks warm.

He reaches into his wallet and hands her his business card. “Give me a call, or shoot me an email. I’ll show you what the FBI doesn’t want you to see,” he punctuates this with a wag of his eyebrows as he stands. “It was really good to see you, Scully,” he says with an earnest look, those eyes seemingly seeing right through her.

She swallows hard. “You too, Mulder,” she replies, and watches him walk out the cafe door.

She looks down at the business card in her hands:

Fox W. Mulder

Criminal Behavioral Analyst

Behavioral Science Unit

She wonders what the W stands for. She wonders why she cares.

#the x files #txf #dana scully #fox mulder #gillovny #msr #sculder #x files #alternate universe #x files fanfic

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topazy · 3 years

Text

Silent bloom

Pairings: Bellamy Blake/reader Finn Collins/reader

Warnings: Mentions of blood, and vomiting

Chapter: 1.12 (Bellamy’s pov)

1.02

"Cut it out!" Y/N snapped, which took me by surprise. She seemed so quiet. "The only thing that matters right now is finding Jasper! Bellamy, stop moaning. You’re coming with us and that’s the end of it."

"Excuse me?" I was irritated by her tone.

Y/N walked closer to me, with a look of disbelief on her face. "You want to lead? Then lead. You’re the only person here with a gun, and those kids out there won’t follow you unless you give them a reason to."

"She’s right." Clarke chimed in. "Because you want them to follow you and right now they’re thinking only one of us is scared."

"Fine."

I watched as the bossy girl froze just before she reached the camp gates. It seemed like she was telling Finn to get lost. The last thing I needed was any more drama in camp. I had a feeling the girl with the scarred eye would cause it.

—

"So how did you earn the nickname angel eyes?"

My ears perked up when I heard Murphy shamelessly trying to flirt with the girl walking beside him. It was hard to figure out if she was enjoying his attention or not. "The only person who calls me that is you, Murphy."

"How did you get the scar?" I listened in, as I was curious myself about how she got it.

"Fist fight in a bar. You should have seen the other guy." She had a dry sense of humor, "I fell and cut it."

"Can you see clearly out of it?" He asked, standing closer to her.

"Yes, and I know what you are doing!" She snatched her wrist back, laughing. Murphy just shrugged. "I’m not giving it to you, so you and your little king can stop trying."

I glared at Y/N when she turned around to face me. I had nothing to do with Murphy trying to take her bracelet off. It wasn’t my fault if he wanted to try and show off.

"Did you hear that?" Wells asked, "It sounds like a moaning pain."

"Jasper!" Y/N gasped before running off in the direction of the noise. "He’s over here!"

"Y/N wait!"

She didn’t listen to Wells. What a stupid girl. She was going to get herself killed. I watched as she suddenly disappeared. I lunged forward to see what happened to her. Y/N was hanging onto the grass to stop herself from being killed, "Help me up!"

"Y/N? Bellamy pull her up!" Finn yelled just as I grabbed hold of her wrist. Clarke and Murphy helped us pull her up.

Y/N landed on top of Finn before quickly rolling off him, and glared at me. "What the fuck was that about?! You almost got me killed!"

Clarke shook her head and stepped forward before she could reply. "This isn’t going to help. The grounders are setting traps to catch us. We all need to be more careful."

The ‘princess’ was right. Y/N continued to glare at me. Was it my fault? Did she think I was going to let her die? I didn’t care about her, but we needed all the bodies on earth we could get.

—

"Stay here, I'll be back shortly." I watched the girl curiously as she walked towards the fire pit.

"Hey, John?"

I was expecting Murphy to kick off at being called his first name, but he looked amused. "What?"

She held up her wrist, "fancy freeing me?"

"Anything for angel eyes," Murphy said, grinning.

I watched her pick up a stick of meat and head towards her previous spot, but Finn and Clarke stopped her. I couldn’t hear the full conversation, just bits of it. I didn’t get Finn’s obsession with her. I wondered if they knew each other on the ark. "Yes, I am aware of that. Now if you don’t mind, can you move out of my way?"

"Then tell me, why did you take it off?" Finn demanded, not moving out of her way.

"Some of us don’t want to get punched in the face...Plus, It was hurting my cut wrist."

Her comment didn’t bother me, but Finn bothering her did. Also, I felt slightly bad that she cut her wrist while we pulled her up. I was getting ready to intervene when she walked away from Finn and sat back down beside a young girl, and handed her food. She had taken off her own wristband to feed someone else. Not many people would have done that, not even me.

1.03

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Finn storming towards Y/N, or whatever her name was. "Is it true?" She ignored him, "Well! Is it?"

She shrugged, "I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m a little busy here, Finn, so if you don’t mind."

"Please tell me you didn’t spend the night with Murphy." I noticed how offended she looked by his accusation. "You are so much better than that Daze. Why would you do that? Don’t you have any self-respect?"

"At least Murphy is flying solo."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Clarke asked from behind him.

"Nothing... it means nothing." She turned to walk away when she caught me staring. It didn’t seem to phase her much as she turned back to throwing knives.

I waited until Clarke and Finn were gone before approaching her. Even if she had screwed Murphy, neither of them had a right to judge her. "Y/N right?"

"Yeah," she answered without taking her eyes off the target. "But I go by Daze or Daisy."

That made sense. It suddenly occurred to me that this was the same girl that my sister wouldn’t shut up about. Somebody with her aim would be good at hunting. I wondered if she would be interested in joining us. "Useful to know. You have a good aim. Any interest in killing?"

"I’m not leaving the camp until Jasper is better," she replied, "maybe next time."

"Do you hear that?" I asked. "He’s dying. Don’t get your hopes up."

She scoffed at my comment, "enjoy the hunting trip."

I left her alone to practice. I wasn’t pointing out the obvious to be cruel, I just needed people to be prepared for the worst. When Jasper dies, the rest of us will still need to go on living.

—

I noticed Daisy walking out of the drop-ship, which surprised me. I thought she would have been celebrating her friend surviving. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I just needed a moment... I’m sorry about Atom."

I stared down at the ground to avoid eye contact with her. The last thing I wanted was anybody to see me get upset over Atom. He was my friend who trusted me, and I had let him down. "I don’t think Octavia is feeling sorry for me."

"She’ll come around. She’s just upset. Give her time," Daisy said with a smile.

"I’m glad you never came hunting with us." I confessed out loud, "Like I said, you have a good aim. It would have been a shame to lose someone with such skills."

I could see a smile pulling at the corner of her lips. "Yeah, yeah. Goodnight Bellamy."

—

"Finn move aside," I snapped.

"I can’t do that."

I pushed him out of my way as I walked into Daisy’s tent. I had to see for myself if she was still alive. When she never came back with Wells, I decided to look for her and saw her laying on the ground with a knife in her stomach. I thought she was dead.

Kneeling down beside her bed, I noticed how fragile she looked. Clarke had worked a miracle by saving her.

"Bellamy, you need to leave now!" I stood up again, and faced Finn. I found it ironic that he only cared about Daisy after she almost died. "If Daze gets an infection, she will die. The more people she comes in contact with, the higher the risk."

"Whatever," I shoved past him. "When Octavia comes, you will let her in."

1.05

I had just disposed of the god-damn radio when I felt something bang into me. I was surprised to see a slightly confused Daisy standing behind me.

"Y/N, what are you doing out here?"

"Me and Clarke came looking for you."

Was she joking? Nobody had seen her in hours. If she wasn’t back by the time I returned, I was going to go look for her myself. If anything, it was to stop Octavia from going off on her own. "Looking for me? Octavia was worried sick when she couldn’t find you last night. Where the hell did you go?"

"Bellamy Blake? They’re looking everywhere for you."

Fuck. The brunette had survived. I should have made sure she was dead before I stole from her. As Clarke, Finn, and the new girl lectured me, I noticed how unusually quiet Daisy was. She didn’t seem interested.

—

"It’s no use, it’s gone."

Daisy rolled her eyes at me, "That’s not a good leader’s attitude."

"Guess I’m not a good leader then. You’re really not going to ask why I did it?" I was curious.

"It’s not my business." She shrugged. When Daisy removed her jacket, I noticed how badly her stomach was bleeding. She must have burst her stitches open.

"Hey," Raven said, stepping closer to her. "Your bleeding is pretty bad."

I stood awkwardly trying not to listen to the two girls' interactions. It was clear they didn’t like each other. I just wanted Daisy out of the water before she passed out.

—

"Hey, have any of you seen Octavia?"

Clarke shook her head. "No, I mean...it’s Octavia. She’s probably chasing butterflies."

Daisy frowned at the comment. I imagined she didn’t like Clarke’s attitude either. I thought back to the conversation I overheard with Daisy and Finn earlier, and wondered if she was looking for my sister because she needed a shoulder to cry on. It wouldn’t have surprised me. I couldn’t believe she was sleeping with Finn while leaving the rest of us to worry about her.

1.07

"What the hell, Bellamy? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Your aim is off."

"Thanks." She rolled her eyes and turned back to face the tree. "Don’t you have anything better to do than sneak up on me?"

I probably shouldn’t have walked up to someone holding a deadly weapon without making my presence known beforehand. I couldn’t tell by her tone if she was mad at me as well. "Who we are and who we need to be to survive are very different things."

"Seriously Blake?" She scrunched up her nose, "A line like that might work on others, but not on me."

Daisy walked over to the tree and let out a whine when she pulled the knife out. I rushed over to her and grabbed her hand, concerned she’d cut herself on the knife's edge. I was relieved to see it was just a small splinter in her hand, "It’ll push itself out."

"I know that...I just can’t quit thinking about how painful it must have been for Finn."

I stared blankly at her. I couldn’t get my head around the fact that she cared for the spacewalker so much, especially when he took her for granted. It was obvious that she cared about him more than herself. Hell, she even burst her own stitches while having sex with him.

"You got stabbed in the stomach," I pointed out. She shrugged. Daisy hadn’t been able to look at me since we brought the grounder back to camp. "I’m not sorry we saved Finn, but I am sorry for what you saw me do."

"Are you ready to go?" Clarke asked, walking towards me. I nodded in response. She turned to face Daisy. "Daze, Finn was asking for you."

Of course he was. I was going to ask Daisy if she wanted to join us while looking for weapons, but I knew she’d never come with Finn wanting her attention. "You better go run off and find him then."

She smiled at us, "be safe out there."

As she walked away, Clarke stood beside me, saying, "You didn’t ask her, did you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Good question. "We are better off with just us two. She would have slowed us down."

Clarke leaned into me, "you know, that was a very fake smile she just gave us."

1.09

As we walked towards the gates, I noticed movement outside camp. We slowed down until we got a better look. Clarke suddenly ran over to the couple, "Daisy!"

On closer inspection I could see why she ran over to them. Daisy was violently throwing up. Clarke held her hair back while she continued to vomit. "What’s wrong with her? Is she the only one sick in camp?"

Finn shook his head, "She was just high for the first time."

"What?" I snapped.

Finn shrugged, "Yeah, most of the camp is high. They ate some bad nuts, I guess."

Clarke continued to rub Daisy’s back, saying, "Bellamy, I'm going to take Daze back to her tent, then I'll meet you in the drop-ship."

I frowned at Finn, who seemed to find the situation amusing. "Grounders are out here," his smile faded. "You’re just lucky you didn’t get her or yourself killed."

—

I noticed Daisy finally emerging from her tent. She looked slightly better than the night before, but still hellish. "Hey, you good?"

"Yeah, I’m good. Enjoying unity day?"

I pointed towards the rest of camp, "somebody needs to be sober while the rest have fun."

She chuckled, "Everyone deserves to have some fun, even you Blake."

She had a point, but my idea of fun would be different from hers. Although I found myself tired of sleeping with a different girl every night, they all bored me once the sex was over. "I’ll have fun when the grounders come."

"Dark as always," she laughed.

I smiled, "you look a lot better than when I last saw you."

The moment the words left my mouth, Daisy’s face turned red. I had accidentally embarrassed her. I gulped down before changing the subject, "What did you get arrested for anyway?"

I noticed she wasn’t listening to me by the way she was watching something else, "It’s Finn."

I tried my best not to groan. I honestly didn’t understand what was so special about bloody Finn. He had Raven, Daisy, and Clarke wrapped around his finger. I doubt he cared that much about any of them. Lost in my thoughts, I almost missed Daisy going to leave camp. "Where do you think you’re going?"

"To get Finn, he’ll get killed out there on his own."

"So could you." I paused for a moment before letting out a sigh of defeat. I could tell by the look on her face that she was going after him regardless of what I said. "I’ll come with you."

"No...Somebody needs to stay here in case the grounders do turn up. If I can’t see where he went past the tree-lines, I’ll come back."

I clenched my jaw with frustration. I didn’t like this one bit. "Fine. But if you are gone too long, I’m sending out a search party."

—

"Bellamy?"

"So much for staying in the tree lines," I frowned.

Daisy rolled her eyes as she pulled me into my tent. Was this really happening? Was she trying... "Whatever, look, Finn set up a meeting with the grounders to call a truce."

"He did what?" Finn had quickly gone from being a little annoying to a real pain in my ass. He was going to get himself killed. I just hoped when that happened he didn’t drag anybody else down with him.

"We spoke to Lincoln... the grounder who stabbed him. He’s going to set up a meeting between our people and his. Finn and Clarke are getting ready to leave."

I stepped closer to her so I could speak in a lower voice, "Why are you looking for me then?"

She seemed nervous the closer I got to her. Her lips parted slightly as she looked up at me. "I’m going to follow them, and you’re coming with me."

"Anyone ever told you that you have a bossy side?" I preferred the bossier side of her.

"We should wait five minutes," she answered, ignoring what I said. "Finn doesn’t know that we are following them."

"Why not?"

She knotted her fingers together, and looked down at the ground. I made a mental note to remember she did that when she was lying. "Because Lincoln told us not to take any weapons, and I don’t agree with him. But Finn does. We are going to be their backup."

I didn’t see the point in arguing with her when it was already happening. "Okay, I think we need one more person to come with us."

1.10

"Not now Finn, we don’t have time for this. The grounders are coming and arguing among ourselves is exactly what they want. " I watched Finn’s face twist with anger when Daisy butted in. I just hoped he was smart enough not to say anything back to her. "I’m going for a walk. You guys are giving me a headache. Murphy better be alive when I get back."

"Seems I’ve got a fan club starting in camp Bellamy. Who knows, maybe she likes me more than you." Murphy said before spitting out blood.

"Go float yourself."

"Happily," he scoffed. "But I don’t imagine angel eyes being too happy when she finds out you’ve killed me." Finn stormed out of the drop-ship, mostly likely to go look for Daisy. "Looks like I’ve upset her boyfriend. My bad."

"They aren’t together," I snapped.

A look of amusement spread across his face. Being covered in blood only made him look more sinister. "Ohh... I see what it is."

"What are you talking about?" I mentally slapped myself for even entertaining Murphy. I should just kill him before he hurts anybody else.

"You care for her... and she’s in love with spacewalker."

I glared at him, "Shut the fuck up."

"Don’t worry Bellamy, I’ll keep it our little secret. For now."

—

"Bellamy, you're sick, okay? I'm just trying to help. Here."

If it wasn’t for the fact that I was so weak, I would have flung Murphy across the room by now. "When I get better, if you're still here--" I frowned when I saw Daisy walking towards us. The last time I saw her, she was throwing up blood. "Why are you up? You should be resting."

"I’ve got this one Murphy," she smiled and took the cup from his hand. "Thanks for saving my life and all that."

When she sat down next to me, I noticed the way Murphy looked at her before leaving. "What are you now? His best friend? After-"

“Murphy is an ass," she cut me off. "But he never hurt me, and I believe in second chances."

I took a drink of water before she started wiping some of the blood off my face. Daisy suddenly stopped and squinted at me, "something you want to talk about?"

"You and Finn-" I was cut off by a loud noise from outside the ship. I sat up as Clarke ran into the room, "They did it."

"I became death, a destroyer of worlds. It's Oppenheimer, the man who built the first-"

"I know who Oppenheimer is."

"Who cares about him?" Daisy shrugged. "I want to know what the hell caused the explosion."

"Raven..." I glanced down at her. "I thought O told you? Raven and Finn went to blow up the bridge to slow the grounders down."

It was worrying that Daisy couldn’t remember. I was honestly surprised she was still alive by this point. Between being stabbed and catching the virus, I’d say she was very lucky to be with us. Daisy must have noticed me staring because she was frowning, "I’m sure they are fine."

Looking back out of the drop-ship, I sighed. We would need to wait to see if the grounders got scared off or not.

1.11

"Like that star of the waning summer who, beyond all stars, rises bathed in the ocean stream to glitter in brilliance." I saw Daisy sitting on her own again and thought I’d give her some company. "I thought your post finished hours ago?"

"It did," she shrugged. "I like being out here at night. The sky looks beautiful from down here."

I never would have guessed she would have enjoyed stargazing, this girl was full of surprises. "I suppose it does."

"You suppose? It’s the most amazing sight in the world. I honestly have no idea why people used to use drugs to live in a distorted reality, when the earth is just-" I could not help but smile at the way she talked about the sky. It was the first real conversation we had that didn’t involve anybody else. "What?"

"Nothing," I shook my head, smiling. "I’ve just never heard you talk so passionately about something that wasn’t to do with your friends."

"You don’t know me very well, Blake."

I knew much more than she thought. The girl with the scarred face was much more interesting than I first thought. "You're a good shot. We have the same taste in books, and you don’t know who Oppenheimer is."

"Touché, I’m guessing you’ve read the Iliad a few times then?" I nodded, "How do you know we have the same taste in books?"

"Octavia has mentioned it,” I lied. I had heard Monty and Daisy talking one night about books they liked to read on the ark, but I wasn’t going to admit I listened in on their conversation.

I noticed her shaking slightly. She was cold. I removed my jacket and placed it on her back. "Thanks..."

"No problem."

Sitting with Daisy was nice. It didn’t feel awkward when there was silence between us, although I wouldn’t have minded talking a little more. But I didn’t want to force her to spend time with me.

"So this Oppenheimer, who is he?"

—

"Bellamy!" I heard Daisy call out. Before I had a chance to finish getting dressed, she barged into my tent. "Bellamy I-"

"Daisy, what the hell happened?" I asked her. I stepped out in front of her when she tried to walk away. She was covered in blood and had an arrow sticking out of her leg. "Daisy, what happened out there?"

"Grounders attacked us."

Raven stepped out of my tent, "Finn... is..."

“Myles got hit with a few arrows. I don’t know if he’s dead or not. They took Clarke and Finn.I have no idea where they went."

Fuck, fuck, fuck. I didn’t miss the look of disgust on Daisy’s face or the way she pulled away from me when I reached out to her. I had no reason to feel guilty, but I did.

—

"I never told him."

I stopped when I reached the outside of Daisy’s tent. "Told who what?"

"I lied to Finn. I told him I tripped and fell, I’m only telling you so you don’t mention it later on."

I stepped back. We wouldn’t be ready to leave for a couple of minutes, so I didn’t need to interrupt them just yet. My opinion of Daisy was always changing. I thought she would have been a spoiled brat when I met her, and assumed she got her scar in a pointless fight, but now... now I know she was a good person. She lied for Raven even when it caused her so much pain. She would do anything for her friends, including Octavia. Maybe Murphy was right, maybe I was starting to care for her.

1.13

"Bellamy!" I looked up to see my sister barging into my tent. She looked worried. "I haven’t seen Daisy!"

"Okay," I shrugged. "She’s probably in her tent or the drop-ship. You know she can’t go far until her leg heals."

"She’s not there! I’ve checked with Jasper and Finn. Neither of them have seen her all day. I’ve checked everywhere bell!"

Shit. This was bad. People didn’t just disappear from camp. Unless the grounders take them, or worse. "When did you last see her?"

"She was going to Wells' grave. She had found some flowers to put down."

"Octavia, go get Clarke and meet me at the drop-ship in two minutes."

We didn’t have time for a search and rescue with the grounders closing in on us, but I was sure as hell not leaving Daisy out there to die.

#the 100 #bellamy blake #bellamy blake x reader #slow romance #slow burn #bellamy blake/reader #the 100 fanfiction #the 100 fandom #bellamy the 100 #bellamy blake/you #Bellamy Blake x oc #Bellamy Blake/oc #finn collins #clarke griffin #Raven Reyes #the 100 x oc #the 100 x reader #grounders #Bellamy Blake pov

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kimoralov3 · 3 years

Text

Love to Hate Me

Requested by: @NuclearPizza84

Word Count: 2314

Pairing: Erik Lehnsherr x mutant!black!fem!reader

Warnings: swearing, fighting, fire, use of mutant abilities, Erik being an ass

(Y/N)'s POV

Picking up my book, I flipped through the pages. Yeah, I'll leave the science stuff to Charles.

"(Y/N), I would like to introduce you to my new friend Erik. He'll be staying with us while I build up the school. Erik, this is my younger sister (Y/N)." Charles said as he walked into the living room. I looked up, waving at Erik.

"Hello, nice to meet you." I got up and held my hand out for him to shake, but he just looked at it then looked back at me. Well that was rude.

"(Y/N), do you know where Raven is?" Charles didn't seem to notice his new 'friend' being a dick.

"Last time I checked she was in her room. She might be taking a nap right now though." I explained as I pointed in the direction of the bedrooms. Charles nodded and made his way down the hall, leaving me and Erik alone.

"So do you have any abilities?" Erik finally spoke up. So he does speak. Good to know.

"I can control and create fire. You?"

"Now why would I tell you that?"

"So I tell you mine but you're gonna bitch about me knowing yours? Seems totally fair." I sassed as I crossed my arms over my chest. Erik rolled his eyes, brushing past me and going in the same direction as Charles. Asshole.

----

6 months.

6 months of having to deal with that asshole named Erik Lehnsherr. Surprised I haven't 'accidently' killed him yet. Charles had gotten the school set up to open in the fall, so me, Raven, Hank, Alex, Seth, and him have been perfecting courses for any possible mutation our future students might have. Erik was supposed to be helping, but he spent most of the time complaining about the way things were playing out.

"I'm glad to see that all our hard work has paid off." Erik announced as he walked into one of the training rooms. This specific one was made to withstand high temperatures, so it was perfect for me and Alex to use for practice.

"Your work? You ain't done shit this whole process." I said as I took off my gloves.

"Like you have? Every time I run into you you seem to just be standing at your desk." Erik scoffed.

"I'm the one who's been hiring all the builders and chefs, Erik. I'm the one who's spent 20 hours a week contacting parents and trying to convince them that we can properly care for their child. And what have you been doing? Walking around and putting your unwanted opinions in the air. So don't come to me talking about how I'm the one who hasn't done any work."

"Is everything alright here?" Charles asked as he walked in.

"Your sister is being a bitch." Erik said calmly.

"I'm being a bitch? Real mature." I rolled my eyes, turning my attention to what I was doing before Erik interrupted me. As I was getting a mannequin from the storage room, I felt a pull on my bracelet. What the hell? I looked up to see Erik holding his hand out in the general direction of my arm. "So you're seriously gonna do this?"

"(Y/N), Erik, enough. Now is not the time." Charles warned. Before he could step in, Erik used his powers to push him out the room, locking the door.

"That's better. Now, shall we begin?" Erik asked as he took off his jacket and threw it on the floor. I took off my bracelet, throwing it at him.

"I'm not wasting my time with this, Erik. I have training to do."

"So you're backing out, just like that? That's a shame. I thought (Y/N) Xavier would have more courage than that."

"You want to fight, Lehnsherr? Fine, let's fight." I huffed out as I summoned a fireball, purposefully missing him by an inch. He dodged it, although it wasn't going to hit him anyway.

"There we go! Come on, don't hold back." Erik shouted as he slipped my bracelet back onto my arm, pulling me towards the wall. I focused all the heat in my body to my wrist, melting off the bracelet. That was one of my favorites. I made a trail of fire around the room, taking it up and down the walls and around the ceiling. The final curve made a circle around Erik, trapping him where he stood.

"Is that good enough for you?" I asked as I dusted my hands on my pants. Erik tried to step closer to me, causing it to grow high enough to reach his waist. "Is this what you wanted? For you to be 6 steps away from catching fire? Because if so, all you had to do was ask."

"Oh don't be like that, (Y/N). You know this is all in good fun." Erik gasped out.

"Do I? Because the whole time that we've known each other, you've been an ass. I tried to properly introduce myself, you ignored me. I offered to show you around the grounds, you called me a silly girl and walked off. I even offered to help you train, but you just pushed past me. I have tried multiple times to get to know you, yet everytime you act like a dick. So no, Erik Lehnsherr, I don't know that this is all in good fun, because I don't know you at all!" I shouted. Each word I got closer, and each sentence I became more and more upset. The fire grew bigger, the circle around Erik closing more and more the angrier I got. Erik didn't speak, he just hung his head down in shame. Pathetic. "So now you have nothing to say?"

"(Y/N), I didn't-" Erik was cut off by the sound of the doors swinging open, Charles and Raven standing there. I extinguished the fire, brushing past the two of them and running to my room.

----

Erik's POV

"Why can't you just get along? What's the point of the useless bickering and fighting? What has she done to deserve this kind of treatment?" Charles shouted as he paced back and forth in front of his desk.

"Charles, you know I never meant for it to get as bad as it did just now. I thought that I was helping her." I explained as I watched him pace.

"I know that Erik, but you can't expect the woman you've treated like gum on the bottom of your shoe to know that. Why can't you just tell her the truth? (Y/N) is very understanding."

"It's not that simple, Charles. Especially after all this time. She hates me."

"You'll never know until you try. At least start with an apology. While you're doing that, I'm going to go asses the damage in the training room. I wish you luck, my friend." Charles patted me on my shoulder, walking out of the room.

This is not going to go well for me.

----

(Y/N)'s POV

"What's going on between you and Erik? I mean, I know the two of you have never gotten along that well, but it's never gotten to the point where the two of you use your abilities against each other." Raven asked as she sat on my bed, handing me a cup of tea.

"There's nothing going on between us, that's the problem. Ever since he's gotten here, he's done nothing but pick at me. I've tried to be nice to him, but he always shuts me down. It wouldn't be so annoying if he wasn't so fucking hot." I grumbled as I took a sip of tea.

"What did you just say?" Raven asked as she looked at me in shock.

"What?" I didn't say anything out of the ordinary.

"You just called Erik hot." Shit.

"What? No I didn't." I avoided her eyes, setting my tea on my dresser. Wow, that's very nice wood work. How have I just now noticed this?

"Yes you did! I definitely heard you say it." Raven said as she moved to stand in front of me. I sighed, rolling over so I was facing the window. "(Y/N), tell me the truth. Do you like Erik?"

"Maybe." I whispered.

"Well why haven't you asked him out yet?"

"Did you not see what happened earlier today? Erik clearly hates me, and I don't think that that's ever going to change. So why even bother." I explained as I rolled onto my back. Raven laid next to me, putting my head on her chest and rubbing my back.

"I don't think he hates you, (Y/N). I just think he doesn't know how to properly express his feelings. He's been through a lot, so it might take a lot to bring down those walls. Just give him time, I'm sure things will fall into place."

"You sound like our brother." I mumbled as I closed my eyes. She giggled, patting me on my arm.

"Well, I am the one who has to sit there and listen to his stupid thesis, because somebody just so happens to be asleep whenever he needs opinions."

"Yeah, well you spend enough time listening to Charles and you'll learn how to avoid his 3 hour long thesis."

----

It's been 2 weeks since the incident, and Erik hasn't even attempted to make it look like he hasn't been avoiding me. I went back to helping make final preparations for the start of school, and Erik went back to whatever the hell it was he was doing.

"(Y/N), Charles said that he wants to talk to you in his study." Alex said as he walked up to.

"About what?"

"He didn't say, just said that it was urgent." He walked off, leaving me to make my way to Charles' study. Wonder what he wants now. I knocked on the door, pushing the door open slightly.

"Charles? What's up?" I asked as I stepped in. Charles wasn't at his desk, but there was someone sitting in front of the desk. Erik.

"He isn't here."

"Yeah, I can see that. Guess I'll come back later." I said softly as I moved to leave the office.

"(Y/N), wait." Erik called as he softly grabbed my hand. I looked at him, then down at our hands. We've never actually touched before. "I want to apologize for what happened a few weeks ago. And for how I've been treating you ever since we met. You've done nothing to deserve that."

"Apology accepted, I guess. Is there something else you need?" I asked as I looked him in the eyes. I think I just found my new favorite shade of blue.

"Yes there is. I guess there is no time like the present." Erik said as he looked down at me.

"What are you talking about?"

"Follow me." He said. He didn't give me much of a choice, he just grabbed my hand and pulled me somewhere more private. He walked towards the stairwell, taking me onto the roof.

"What, are you gonna push me off the roof or something?" I joked as I looked over the ledge. It is a pretty far drop.

"Why would I ever do that?" Erik asked as he stepped closer to me.

"I don't know, maybe because you hate my guts." I said nonchalantly. Something flashed across his eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

"(Y/N), I would never do anything to hurt you." Erik whispered.

"Really? Why have you been treating me the way you have then?" I crossed my arms over my chest, tilting my head to the side slightly.

"Because I think I love you." He said softly. My heart skipped a beat, causing my breathing to slow a little.

"What?"

"I said I think I love you. And I think I fell for you the moment that I saw you. That's why I was such an ass; I wasn't sure how to properly show you how I felt. That's not an excuse for my actions, though. You don't have to accept my confession, but I just thought that I'd let you know. I'll leave you alone for now."

Before Erik could walk away, I grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him down so we were eye to eye. I looked in his eyes, then to his lips, then back at his eyes. "If you're going to kiss me, go ahead and do it." I said softly I gave Erik a slight smile. He leaned down some more, our lips brushing. I pulled him down more, our lips finally meeting. I've been waiting for this moment for almost 7 months now.

"Sorry, I didn't realize that I was interrupting something." Charles' voice called from the entrance to the roof. Erik and I pulled apart, turning our attention towards Charles.

"You're always messing something up, Charles. What was it you needed?" I asked, not stepping away from Erik.

"It's not important. Carry on you two." Charles said as he made his way back into the house. I turned to Erik and slapped his chest lightly.

"You didn't think to lock the door?"

"Well to be fair, most normal people don't go onto the roof when they're looking for someone." Erik explained as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

"We both know that Charles is far from normal. He probably used his telepathic abilities to find us." He said as he looked back at the stairwell door. I giggled, turning his head back to face me and giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"Or he set this up to get you to confess your feelings." I said as I leaned my head against his chest. He seemed to mull over the thought for a second before letting out a scoff.

"That little shit."

#erik lehnsherr #erik lehnsherr x reader #xmen #erik lehnsherr x mutant!reader #erik lehnsherr x black!reader #erik lehnsherr x you #marvel #x reader imagines #x men universe #x men fanfiction #x men #x men first class #x men movies #lokis-reindeer-games

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mego42 · 4 years

Text

Shamelessly stealing @foxmagpie’s monthly rec thing without the ability to get my life together to do these on a monthly basis so, seasonal recs! So excited to see if I manage to do this again with anything remotely resembling consistency but i’ve been keeping the notes for approximately 43 years (or since ~september, whatever that means) so by god i’m gonna use them.

found my thrill - s_t_c_s / @sothischickshe

Turner POV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

guys turner is SO OBSESSED with Beth and Rio

both canonically and in this fic

it’s gr9

also features a weirdly soothing and relatable cord untangling moment as a metaphor

truly disturbingly relatable turner pov tbh

relentless boomer disdain, always a plus

led to the creation of this monstrosity, not sure what kind of a monster would do that

War In My Mind - mintletters16

Backread!!!!

post-213, gorgeous character study

guaranteed to make you feEl stUfF

I really love the like, cyclical, fractured pattern of Beth’s internal monologue, it gives the whole thing a really affecting at times dreamy, at times haunted vibe

the end twist is *chef’s kiss*

mourning bells - Ejunkiet / @ejunkiet

Backread!!!!

Later s2 era, Rio’s at a funeral, gets drunk and calls Beth

V short, kind of…..mmm, not sweet, but almost? Idk

It’s got a wistful sort of almost/i can be quiet with you vibe that i go extremely bonkers for

delinquents - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie

Lol are any of you actually not reading this yet?

g o d ch 8 where do i start

First off how ABSOLUTELY VERY DARE for the tragic angst that is delinquents!beth boland. This poor baby, this precious bean. MUST PROTEC

SHE’S TRYING HER BEST AND I LOVE HER

zero percent deserves dean’s clammy hands, no i have not forgotten, tattooed on my brain, will never forgive

I also love love love love LOVE the ruby/stan subplot happening

(and ruby’s mom!!!!!) (seriously though you write the best moms)

oh god and baby beth starting to have confusing feelings about rio?????? *chef’s kiss*

p sure i was just like, straight screaming the entire end of the chapter

the dugout is like, pure serotonin

I can’t even talk about the closet

tHe teNsiOn

thank you i will take eleventy billion

don't give it a hand, offer it a soul - medievalraven / @medievalraven

am a desperate heaux for any fic that features rio and mick friendship

you are all incredibly shocked i know

still would not be mad if this swerved into rio x mick fake dating but beth x rio is cool too i guess

Speaking of things i am a desperate heaux for: DIANE!!!!!!!!

and DATING ANNIE???????????? Blessed

honestly this fic is worth it purely for the assertion that mick watches queer eye

Why don't we go to Venus? - watermelonriddles / @bensonstablers

another grief study!

apparently i was working through some stuff in september, idk, that was like 4 years ago

considering it’s the premise of the fic, i don’t think it’s a spoiler to say this fic is canon divergent and working with the premise that rio killed beth in 302

he is uh, not coping well

extremely haunted you might say

lots of marcus and rhea which is a delight!

rhea is to good for him tbh

i said what i said

truly top notch dream (nightmare?) sequences

the conversation at the end is extremely uncalled for

drop the game - Ejunkiet / @ejunkiet

Backread!!!!

Am going to die mad Beth and Rio didn’t hook up in 211 but luckily this fic scratched the itch

(temporarily, it’s a fairly permanent itch)

Bonus rec: missing scene series i wanna do bad things to you featuring 2x02 and 2x04

Viva Voce - zetuslapetus / @querenaxx

Whoops we woke up married Vegas shenanigans!!

So cute!!!!! So sexy!!!!!

What more do you want?

am desperately obsessed with how beth can’t help stalking rio

feels right, feels organic

this makes me feel a lot of stuff about how they could be without their canon garbage between them

🎶 we could’ve had it aaaaaaaaaaall 🎶

you showed me colors (i can't see them with anyone else) - gild_fire / @gild-and-fire

really into the use of color to illustrate beth’s emotional state, i feel like there’s a word for that but idk what it is

UNIMPORTANT

really nice job capturing beth’s inner vulnerability balanced by her outer stubbornness

am DESPERATELY into Mick playing matchmaker

more please???????

Both Sides of the Law - JoeyLee / @joeyjoeylee

LAW SCHOOL AU! I suuuuuuper love Beth and Rio here (alt pov!! a gift!!!!) I love how initially prickly they are, I love how it’s evolving into a grudging respect, I love how INCREDIBLY AND HILARIOUSLY OBSESSED WITH EACH OTHER THEY ARE and neither one of them seems to see it

listen I know we’re all already foaming at the mouth over this one but as it’s gonna go down as one of my all time favorites it bears repeating/rereccing

cannot stress enough how masterful the use of POV is here, both voices feel completely true and distinct and I love how the alternating chapters revisit, reveal and emphasize pieces of each other

i can’t talk about this fic without hyperventilating

I LOVE IT SO MUCH YOU GUYS

the slow burn is going to ACTUALLY KILL ME

rip, no regrats

Earned It - wakeupflawless / @wakeupflawless

spanking

that’s it that’s the pitch

H O T

living for beth’s exit in the first chapter, rio and i are both incredibly into it

second chapter also features violently possessive Rio who cannot deal with anyone messing with his girl so if that’s your thing boy howdy get on it

shake, baby, shake - openhearts

backread!!!!!

according to my bookmarks this was a reread but ???????

must’ve read it in the fugue state that followed reading for a moment we were strangers which is gr9 and I believe I have recced it before. If not, horrible oversight, reccing it now

beth and Rio POV lead up to the bathroom break, beautifully done, low-key feel bad reccing it bc the end point of both chapters makes me want to throw things but it’s super worth it for the tEnsiOn. ENJOY

What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have - flashindie / @pynkhues

I’m assuming all of y’all are already reading this

If not OH MY GOD FIX YOUR LIVES

P I R A T E A U

I’m sorry maybe you didn’t hear me piRaTE aU

meticulously researched, brain-meltingly vibrant, already painfully sexy slow-burning PIRATE AU

god where to start okay so first off, the world-building here straight up breaks my brain, sophie’s put in the work and it SHOWS

second, the atmosphere. i’m generally a pretty like, vague mental picture sort of reader but the sensory detail here grabs you by the throat and like, forcibly hauls you in whether your brain’s wired that way or no

and hey speaking of throats if you, like me, go a little funny about the knees at the idea of beth holding a knife to rio’s throat (he’s fine, calm down), there’s a v excellent beth-in-a-barrel moment for you

oh christ and the sexy tension

it’s gonna be a race to see which slow burn takes me out first, this or law school

Stunner - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie

Another high school AU, this time with baby Rio absolutely head over heels for his older sister’s bff

stunner!Rio has an emotional earnestness about him that I feel like delinquents!Rio has already outgrown and it’s so SWEET I can’t get enough

Desperately cute!!!!!!

alL he waNts iS foR beTh tO bE hiS girL

also unreasonably angsty???????

ANN ARBOR IS NOT THAT FAR MEGAN

A Heart's A Heavy Burden - tooshyforthis / @bathroombreaks

Howl’s Moving Castle AU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Howl’s!!!!!!!!!!!

perfect opp to roast Rio for being a Dramatique Heaux

and it’s gonna be 9 chapters?????? H Y P E

author’s note boldly presumes I did not know I needed this AU when the reality is I did in fact know I needed this AU, I just wasn’t expecting anyone to deliver

so blessed

author also claims to not be team nose stud and yet it features prominently in all its magnificent glory

what is the truth dot gif

A Bit of a Stretch - septiembre / @septiembur

SO????? CUTE?????????

would be on this list for Rio calling Beth E alone tbh

really really really really really love this Rio POV of being settled into a relationship with Beth

It manages to be sweetly domestic af while still holding the edge that makes brio brio which is a neat trick

@septiembur may be a witch

beth’s approach to getting rio to do yoga with her is hilarious and exactly right, canon-typical amounts of subtlety

1000000/10

Post Break-Up Sex - femalegothic / @bethsuglywigs

stg this was called Hit Shuffle

no matter

h O T

with a side of damn i’ve made some questionable choices in my life haven’t i introspection

(no regrats tho)

(esp not with this fic)

not the point of the fic by a long shot but i’m also extremely obsessed with Weed Eddie, so real

She drains my soul... she drains it not - niham87 / @niham87

ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED WITH THIS CONCEPT

am a complete sucker for paranormal world building that satirizes bureaucracy

Is that a trope? If so that’s my favorite

I did it. I’m picking a single favorite. You know what that is growth dot gif

ANYWAY i love the concept, i love the humor, i love beth instantly clicking with annie

I love her and mick’s sort of grudging professional courtesy

Love beth as a champion of environmental responsibility and all of the underworld being like …...okay??

cannot wait to see where this goes

Nine-Tenths - riosnecktattoo / @riosnecktattoo

*INCOHERENT PTERODACTYL SCREECHING*

sometimes i think about rio putting beth’s hair in a ponytail and have to go lie down

science please explain why this rUinS mE

wait hold on i skipped ahead

HEY KIDS DO YOU LIKE UNBEARABLY CUTE DOMESTIC TENDERNESS

opens with rio sleepily holding beth’s hand to his heart so that’s the kind of thing you’ll be dealing with

uGH theY’RE sO CUTe

idk why precisely but rio adding hair ties to his bracelet collection is my undoing every time

Missed Call - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie

Rio doesn’t come home from a job when he’s supposed to. Beth (and I!!!!!!!) slowly loses her mind

Truly a masterpiece of rising tension

Will literally never forgive her for calling this light angst

I was SO STRESSED OUT

The first person to point out there was an author’s note at the beginning I obvs didn’t read is getting blocked

crush - foxmagpie / @foxmagpie

Listen even though this is centered around two OCs, they are OCs FROM a (n iconic) brio fic AND Beth, Ruby and Rio all make cameos (I mean, Rio’s pretty present since he lives in Mar’s mind rent free bc they are THE SWEETEST MOST ADORABLE BEST OF FRIENDS so idk if i’d call it a cameo but whatever)

and even if it didn’t feature any official GG characters I’d still rec is bc that’s mY SON AND this fic is TOO CUTE

I have so many feelings over mar and rio growing up and not knowing how to cope with girls becoming a Thing in their life and how it affects their friendship and mar feeling left behind but (SPOILERS) at the end of the story rio starts feeling that too and it’s so poignant knowing how that’s going to continue in delinquents

while mar may be my son, i also claim elena’s #1 stan status

before you’re like meg you’re only reccing it bc it’s a bday present ask yourselves do i really strike you as the kind of person that wouldn’t be equally obnoxious about this either way?

truly cannot fathom how hard i have fallen for these OCs i don’t normally do that

@foxmagpie is definitely a witch

The Ottoman - Niham87 / @niham87

look i will be the first to admit that i don’t go near as bonkers over the ottoman line in 308 as y’all do

(don’t get me wrong, i love it!!! I love that he laughs and i love that she’s pleased it just doesn’t hit my lose my whole mind button like idk, the dubby or the 306 convo, idk why)

BUT i v v v much love the context this delightful Rio POV pwp gives it

am also absolutely feral for 209 missing scene fic

and anything that captures the complexity of Rio’s s3 feelings for Beth and how twisted they’ve become

so this scratches a bunch of itches, is what i’m trying to say

Bet On It - zetuslapetus / @querenaxx

*INCOHERENT PTERODACTYL SCREECHING*

That’s what my brain does when I think about Beth and Rio meeting in ch 1

am DESPERATELY OBSESSED WITH the tension between the two of them in this fic

I love how it plays with the ways they have to rely on but don’t trust each other

plus FAKE DATING and BED SHARING (fair warning hasn’t happened yet but the set up is there)

originally supposed to be 2 chapters, already up to 4, prayer circle it goes on forever

do you like drugs (tonight) - s_t_c_s / @sothischickshe

v important focus on hydration, other fic should take note

extremely about the use of cut to and then flashback to enhance the ‘we were on drugs’ vibe

speaking of, beth and rio absolutely would take ecstasy to prove they are fun bc they are the exact kind of idiots that would peer pressure themselves

so glad beth kept her purse, got a bit stressed there for a second, clutches in that kind of circumstance are A Risk

not that i would know

FLAWLESS USE OF VOICEMAIL TBH

really love the ongoing denial that they are remotely into each other while proceeding to demonstrate how they are in fact, extremely into each other, great vibe

rio dances

I know my brain broke too

mmmm bacon

Navigate A Broken Path - flashindie / @pynkhues

*INCOHERENT PTERODACTYL SCREECHING*

I have a long standing tradition of getting unreasonably obsessed with side characters so i’m not like, entirely surprised by how obsessed i am with both Mick and Mary Pat but i never in a million years considered them as a ship

AND Y E T

they fit????? so perfectly?????? It’s amazing how she developes them individually enough that i look at them together and think ah yes this makes perfect sense for both characters

and they’re such an amazing foil to Beth and Rio?

can ships have foils? do i know what a foil is?

unimportant

GUYS you dON’T uNDERStAN d

hell i don’t understand

how absolutely very dare you make me care about YET ANOTHER set of gg ‘verse children

do not read this fic if you have no interest in feelings you zero percent asked for

wHA t hAPPeNED iN aLASkA?????????

A Moment’s Silence - femalegothic / @bethsuglywigs

*makes sign of the cross*

y’all are gonna make me rediscover religion

extremely appreciate the author’s note approach to backstory top notch prioritization

listen it’s basically 3k of beth deep throating rio idk what more you need me to say about it

it is…..good stuff

bless the kinkmeme or fest whatever we’re calling it

praise - civillove / @blainesebastian

I mean you had me at “three times rio calls beth a good girl and one time he really means it”

ephemeral rio

I left that note for myself in here in the middle of the night and haven’t the foggiest what i was thinking but i stand by it none the less

okay okay i think i know what i meant, this fic (as do all of my fav civillove brio fics) has this sort of like, liminal, in the quiet moments feel to them that makes the moments and feelings somehow feel like i’m catching a glimpse of something secret and precious???

idk i just really like it okay

Heart and Soul - riosnecktattoo / @riosnecktattoo

oh look more unbearably sweet domestic tenderness, this time to music

thank you ma’am for my life

rio remembers beth used to play piano and gets her one and revoltingly cute shenanigans result

also hilarity

and sexiness

this fic has it all, truly

shout out to mick who sees no reason to keep rio’s feelings to himself

good girls tumblr fic - prettylittlementirosa / @hypermania

cheating and reccing a whole series

It’s my list and i can do what i wanna

stop crying about it, it’s four fics and they’re all AMAZING absolutely impossible to pick a fav

truly flawless characterization, next level ability to capture evocative mood, cannot get enough

three’s a crowd: who knew ballroom dancing while dean watches and grinds his teeth could be so sexy

(trick question everything about that premise sounds A++++ and boy howdy does it live up)

feel it on the way home: rio tries to break up with beth, it goes about as well as you’d expect

(thE angSty tenSioN)

i want to play the game: [from the floor] i’m still not ready to talk about it

(rio/turner, missing scene, 10000000% a taste of what went down in that hotel room)

june after dark: pitch perfect annie pov, really really love the take that Annie is the baby whisperer, can’t fully explain why but it feels incredibly right

(ANNIE X NANCY COULD WORK SO WELL YOU GUYS)

#fingers crossed these links are right i did not double check #i like to live on the edge #truly mind boggling amount of fluff on this list i surprised myself on that one #no i will not at any point get my shit together enough to write out thoughtful commentary this is a shit posting blog first last and always #fic recs #gg fic #nbc good girls #i'll come up with a tag for these if i ever do them again #check back 37 years from now #or ~~~~~~march #whatever that means

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fanfalc-616 · 4 years

Text

The Rights Of A Nindroid

Chapter Fifteen

(Prevoius Chapter Here)

(Discord Here)

Been a while since I’ve posted, sorry about that-

I’m supposed to be in school rn lol

When finally taken back to the lockers, after thirty exhausting hours, Cryptor feels as though he’s on the verge of a forced shutdown.

The damn brat had switched out with someone else, claiming something about an internship. And that had at least meant that the one hurting him no longer had a personal vendetta, but it was still painful.

Cryptor hates how close he had come to actually asking them to hurt Zane instead, but he didn’t. Though judging by the way the other looks when the two of them are put in the locker, they hurt him anyway.

DID THEY GIVE YOU A CHOICE TOO?

Zane doesn’t answer for a moment, likely out of surprise or maybe exhaustion.

I DIDNT GIVE IN

Cryptor snorts. Of course he didn’t. He’s a self-sacrificing dumbass, and it had been that knowledge that had allowed Cryptor to hang on himself.

HOW LONG A BREAK DO YOU THINK WELL GET?

It’s a morbid game, really, but the two of them had taken to guessing how long they would get before dragged out for testing or torture.

AT LEAST SIX HOURS WE WERE THERE FOR OVER A DAY

Mulls over the words, Cryptor considers the idea. Zane’s probably right, but he feels like arguing.

OR THEYLL WANT TO BEAT IT INTO US WITH A SHORTER ONE

There’s a pause, and Cryptor takes a moment to hate himself. Yes, start an argument with his one friend, that’s a wonderful idea.

IS SOMEONE HAVING A BAD DAY?

Cryptor snorts. Good, Zane can tell when he’s only pretending to argue. Probably picked that up from his teammates.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

The friendly banter continues for a while, but Cryptor can eventually feel himself shutting down from exhaustion.

He taps out a goodbye and a quick explanation before falling asleep, hoping- but not expecting- that they’ll get today off.

{ { { { { { { { { { ~ } } } } } } } } } }

Jay is starting to lose his grip.

Kai had gotten himself under house arrest by breaking into the government building- which he neglected to tell them the location of before doing so- and since they live on the Bounty, they’re stuck grounded so that the police can make sure that Kai’s not leaving.

Also he’s been sulking the whole time.

It’s already been almost two months, but he still has another four left, and everyone on the ship is going crazy from it.

“I am this close to renting a hotel until his house arrest is over.” Nya holds up her hand so that her pointer finger and thumb are almost touching.

Cole sighs, shaking his head. “I’d join you, but at this point I’m scared of leaving him unsupervised.”

Jay laughs a little. “Honestly, what could he do that’s worse than what he’s already done?”

The two immediately snap over to looking at him.

“Are you trying to jinx it?!” Cole groans. “You know full well how crazy he can get when it comes to protecting us.”

Wincing, Jay accepts the point. “That’s fair. But I doubt he would-“

Lloyd comes running into the room. “Kai left the ship. He tied his house arrest bracelet to the roomba so it would move, and I don’t know where he went.”

Jay blinks. “I stand corrected.”

Then they’re all scrambling to their feet, rushing off to try and find the dumbass hot head that is Kai.

Cole runs outside, probably off to go look at his usual hiding places- he’s run off before, but never under house arrest.

Nya goes to her computer, most likely going to try and track his phone- that’s her usual go-to for when one of them goes off to do something stupid.

He’s not entirely sure where Lloyd’s going, but he probably has some kind of plan.

But before Jay has the chance to come up with his own, his BorgPhone rings with a number that he doesn’t recognize.

A flash of fear takes over him. Oh, Kai better not have gotten captured. What happens if he has? They might hurt him, he might go to prison, he could get into all kinds of trouble!

With shaky hands, Jay hits accept and holds the phone up to his ear.

“Hey, this is Jay Walker. Who is this and how have I ruined your life?” Somehow, he manages to keep his voice from shaking.

“It’s more of your boyfriend who’s doing that.” Sentry grumbles. “I found Kai sneaking into Borg Tower- he was trying to find more hints of ways to rescue Zane. Please come and get him before he gets caught- I shoved him in a back room to keep people from finding him, but he’ll probably find a way out pretty soon.”

Jay curses softly. “Of course he did. Okay, I’m on my way.” He starts to head out even as he speaks, silently complaining about how reckless his boyfriend can be. He loves him, he really does, but sometimes- like now- he really wants to slap him.

It takes him around fifteen minutes to make it to Borg Tower, and when he steps inside, Sentry is standing right next to the door.

“He escapes from the room, so I put him in the timeout corner. He’s handcuffed to the wall, but I’m pretty sure that-“

Jay blinks a few times. “Wh- why do you have a timeout corner? And why does it have handcuffs?”

Sighing, Sentry shakes his head. “The white nindroids were created recently and are pretty immature,” he explains, “so a timeout is a pretty effective way to get them to behave. The handcuffs are for when they still don’t listen- now come on, we should hurry before he finds a way out.”

So Jay lets the nindroid lead him through the tower, trying to stop the way he’s nervously jittering. It- it’ll be fine, it’ll be totally and completely fi-

They come into a back room where Kai is in a chair and in handcuffs that are attached to the wall, forcing his hands above his head.

Jay glances over at Sentry. “Uh-“

“We have two timeout corners. This one is for the nindroids who cause trouble repeatedly. Or in this case, the ninja who does that.” He glares at Kai, but the red ninja looks utterly unapologetic.

“I need to rescue Zane. And you didn’t have to call someone to pick me up, I’m not some child in a school’s principal’s office.” Kai huffs, shifting in his bonds.

Jay starts to try and tell him that he’s totally acting like he’s just got his parents called in an office, but Sentry shakes his head, and speaks up.

“There’s a back door you can take him out so that he doesn’t get caught, but keep a better handle on him next time. We really don’t need him getting an actual prison sentence.”

Glancing at his boyfriend, Jay thinks for a moment, trying to figure out if he’d actually be able to get Kai out of here without being seen.

“I’m going to call Cole,” he decides, “he’ll be able to carry him out of here.”

“I can walk!” Kai protests, looking betrayed. “I don’t need to be carried-“

Sentry nods. “Probably a good idea. He might put up a fight on the way out.”

“I can hear you, you know! I’m right here.” Kai sounds annoyed and frustrated, and Jay sighs, feeling himself cave a little.

“It’s okay, Fire-Hazard. I’ll talk Nya out of murdering you, so long as you promise to actually stay on the ship this time.”

At his words, Kai pales a little. It’s clear he hadn’t thought about how his sister would react to him running off.

“I’ll behave.” He grumbles, clearly unhappy about it. “But I can’t just do nothing.”

With a start, Jay realizes that he’s right. The reason that he keeps doing stupid things is because he needs to be doing something to help- if he doesn’t, he’s going to feel like he’s failing Zane.

So they need to come up with something that he could work on, some way he could get them closer to freeing him.

Maybe if he was working on part of the plan…

Jay looks over at Sentry. “We’re looking for legal loopholes right now, right? Could he help you try and find some? From the computer on the ship, I mean.”

Kai perks up a little, and Sentry looks like he’s considering the idea.

“Will that keep him out of trouble?” He sounds hesitant, but Jay quickly nods.

“He just wants to help, give him a way to do that and he’ll be fine.”

The nindroid looks over at Kai. “Is he seriously going to be able to look through legal documents for longer than thirty seconds?” He sounds unamused, but he pauses again when he sees Kai’s determined expression.

“I looked through a ton of them to break in. I’ll do whatever it takes to get him out.”

After hesitating for only a moment longer, Sentry nods. “Alright,” he agrees, “I’ll send over some I haven’t gotten to yet.”

So Jay ends up only calling Cole so that he can let the others know that Jay found him, and Kai actually walks back without putting up a fuss.

It takes a bit of work to get him on the ship stealthily enough so that any potential cameras couldn’t see, but they manage it.

However, when they step onto the bridge, the three others look annoyed beyond belief.

After a pause, Kai chuckles nervously. “On a scale of one to ten, how much trouble am I in?”

“Eleven.” Nya’s smile expresses anything but happiness, and Cole and Lloyd look only slightly less upset.

Somehow, Jay manages to uphold his promise, talking Nya out of giving Kai some five hour lecture that would probably make him regret existing.

Lloyd grabs Stabby and re-attaches the house arrest bracelet, and it’s not long after that the red ninja is in front of the computer, having about seven files open that he’s comparing and researching.

Later, Cole comes up to him. “The research thing was good thinking; it’ll keep him distracted while still allowing him to help.”

Jay flashes him a smile. “What can I say? I actually have good ideas sometimes.”

Cole smirks. “That’s debatable.”

“You literally just told me that I had a good idea.” Jay reminds with his own grin.

With an overly thoughtful expression, Cole strokes his chin. “Did I? I don’t remember that.”

“Wow, and here I was with the idea that elephants never forget.” Jay snarks back, barely containing his snickers.

Mock gasping, Cole puts a hand over his chest. But as he starts to teasingly reply, his smile fades, and he looks down.

“... Zane loved mock arguments.” He murmurs softly, pain suddenly written on his face.

Jay feels his own cheerfulness drain a little. “It took a while to teach him how, but he got pretty good at them.” He quietly agrees as he remembers the difficulty Zane had used to have with humor.

“He got pretty good at them though.” Cole’s smile is more pained now, but it’s there.

With a soft chuckle, Jay nods. “Absolutely trashed us with them.”

But then the emotions are over taking him, and Jay feels himself shaking at the thought of his titanium boyfriend. Who knows what they’re doing to him, from Kai’s recount they’ve been outright torturing him, he-

Cole puts a hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be okay.” He speaks softly, and his voice is uncertain, as though he’s not really sure of himself, even though it sounds like he’s trying to keep it steady.

Jay nods weakly, feeling tears burn at the back of his eyes. “It’ll be okay.” He repeats softly, desperately trying to believe the words.

In the end, Cole has to coax both him and Kai into bed with gentle reassurances and promises that he sounds slightly unsure of, but at this point, Jay’s too desperate to think about how he might be wrong.

He just wants Zane back… is that really too much to ask for?

Apparently, because it doesn’t seem that they’ll be getting him back anytime soon.

That night, even when cuddled in the arms of his other boyfriends, he cries himself to sleep.

Zane will be okay. He has to be okay.

Jay won’t be able to take it if he’s not.

#the rights of a nindroid #ninjago zangst #zangst #ninjago fanfiction #psychological torture #torture #trauma

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panharmonium · 4 years

Note

(1/3) Heya! A while back you were discussing Morgana's character and Merlin's relationship with her WRT magic and mentioned "gaslighting." I know for myself when I refer to Merlin gaslighting her it's not in regards to him not outing himself, but that 1) Pre 2X03 he goes along with Gaius in pretending to not believe that her visions are true and giving her the sleeping draughts. And Post 2X03, after reassuring her that they're still friends, he just doesn't really talk to her again until 2X12.

Hi! So, I will preface this by saying that I normally don't have a chance to respond to asks in this much depth, but luckily I had some free time over the past couple of days, and there's nothing I like better than writing incessantly about Merlin, so I took the liberty of doing a deep dive. :)

My impression (because these asks don't actually include a particular question for me to answer) is that I'm being asked to expand/defend my own analysis from my original post with regard to the above points. And I'll be honest and say that I won't always do that for folks on demand, because I really am of the school of thought that I don't write meta to convince anybody of something or "prove" a point - I really am just talking to myself in my own room for fun, and it isn't important to me to make a case to anybody who would rather approach from a different angle. Like - if we’re on different pages, it’s chill; I don’t feel a need to discuss it or like...change someone’s mind. (In all seriousness, I really have just been writing these things for myself and a couple of friends. Prior to three days ago, when some kind of a bizarre surge happened, I had no followers who were here specifically for Merlin.)

But there are definitely some things referenced in these messages that I do have strong opinions about (though as I always say, that doesn't mean anyone is obligated to agree with me!) And since I have the free time and am actually interested in this topic, I figured I'd try to address these things one by one (though I can't promise to do so in order.)

I'll put everything under a cut, because this did get quite long.

disclaimer: as always, whenever I write meta: these are just my own thoughts, and I don’t expect anyone to share them. If we are on different pages, feel free to scroll past and keep having fun in whatever way is most enjoyable to you!

1) “after reassuring her that they're still friends, he just doesn't really talk to her again until 2X12″

So first, I have to pose a question.

Why does this say "[Merlin] just doesn't really talk to her again" after 2.03?

Specifically, that framing.

Merlin doesn't talk to her again.

Because what actually happens, from 2.03-2.10, in an objective, this-is-what-we-see-onscreen way, is this: Merlin defies Gaius and tells Morgana that he believes she has magic. He sends her to the Druids so they can help her, tries to distract the attacking knights so she can escape from Camelot with the Druids permanently, and, when that fails, he makes sure to come to Morgana's room and tell her that he supports her and her secret is safe with him.

Then, from 2.04 through 2.10, they don't have screen time together.

Not "Merlin just doesn't talk to her."

They don't have screen time together. You could say "Morgana just doesn't talk to him" and it would be just as true.

But somehow we immediately frame our discussion of this as Merlin not doing something. And that is what I am pushing back against.

Merlin takes massive risks to help Morgana in 2.03. He makes it very clear that he is there for her and he will never tell her secret, and Morgana, for her part, is shown to be very appreciative of that. It's clear that she trusts him and believes him. They part on a very positive note, at the end of 2.03.

Why, then, do we automatically frame the objective, unattributable-to-any-one-character fact that they don't interact onscreen after that as being somehow a failing on Merlin's part? Why do we frame the simple fact that "they have no scenes together" as something for which we can lay blame? (On Merlin, of course. Never on Morgana.)

It's not as if we see Morgana reaching out and failing to get a response. From 2.04-2.10, there are zero scenes of Morgana trying to approach Merlin and being rebuffed. There are no scenes of Morgana wishing for guidance and being turned away. And, with the exception of the Witchfinder episode (where Merlin already does literally everything in his power to expose this dangerous man and protect Morgana from his machinations) Morgana is not, in fact, shown to be getting "more and more freaked out and isolated."

I want to pause and address that, because I know we've all sort of...collectively decided to imagine that this is what happened (because as a fandom we've tried to just fill in with fanon what feels like a blank left by the writers), but onscreen, in terms of the source material: it is false to say that “in the background you kind of see Morgana get more and more freaked out and isolated as the season progresses.” It just doesn’t happen.

With the exception of "The Witchfinder," Morgana is never shown to be having any inner conflicts about her magic, not until 2.11. Episodes 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 - absolutely nothing. There is one scene in 2.08 where she mentions having trouble sleeping, but then that issue is immediately resolved for her when Morgause gives her the healing bracelet and cures her nightmares. There are no scenes of Morgana worrying about her magic. No scenes of her needing help. No scenes referencing her position as a person who is struggling with being a secret magic-user. No scenes referencing her magic at all, in fact. She is not shown to be getting more and more freaked out and isolated; rather she appears to have integrated back into her old life, comfortable now in the knowledge of who and what she is. It’s like what she told Merlin at the end of 2.03: "I know now who I really am. And it isn't something to be scared of. Maybe one day people will come to see magic as a force for good."

And we can of course debate whether that was really an appropriate writing decision, to have Morgana be fine, fine, fine, until suddenly we hit 2.11 and it's like, 'oh, suddenly not fine,' but we also can't evaluate or judge Merlin based on a fanon image of what we imagine was happening in Season 2. We can only evaluate him based on what actually happens onscreen (whether we feel like it was well-written or not), and what actually happens onscreen is that minus her fear in The Witchfinder, which Merlin already takes decisive actions to address, Morgana is not shown to be distressed or isolated or conflicted until we hit 2.11.

She appears, as far as Merlin and the audience can see, to be doing just fine.

I’ve got to be clear on this: "Merlin just doesn't really talk to her again" is a loaded sentence, when the phenomenon we're really trying to describe is "Merlin and Morgana have no scenes together." It inherently assigns responsibility, agency, and blame for any non-interaction to Merlin, when there is nothing in canon to support that framing.

If Morgana wants to talk to Merlin, she can come talk to him. She knows Merlin is on her side. She is shown to trust and appreciate Merlin without reservation at the end of 2.03. And even if she had been shown to be spiraling into a bad place in 2.04-2.10 (which, as discussed above, is not the case) she could have come to Merlin at any time. It is literally not Merlin's responsibility to pursue Morgana and press her to talk to him. He has done his due diligence. He makes sure she knows he is on her side, that he supports her, that he believes her, that he will never reveal her secret. And she is shown to believe him when he says that. If she needs him, she knows she can approach him. And if she chooses not to do that - then that is on her.

This is a tough pill for even the in-universe characters to swallow, but Merlin is not responsible for the well-being of every single person in Camelot. It is not his job to make sure that every single person in his orbit is 100% okay at all times. It is not his job to read his friends' minds, or anticipate every single one of their needs, or to offer himself to them constantly, repeatedly, every time he has a spare moment, especially when they seem (like Morgana from 2.04 to 2.10) to be doing well. Merlin has already been placed in a position where he is expected to devote almost all of his energy to serving someone else's interests. When we expect him to also worry about and monitor and manage the health and happiness of all the other people around him, we are perpetuating the same damaging narrative for which we criticize characters like Kilgharrah, Gaius, etc - that everything is on Merlin, and if he can’t manage to juggle it all, then the negative consequences that ensue are his fault.

A personal illustration of how this would play out in real life:

I live with my sister. I am a pretty stoic person. And when something is the matter, I sometimes don't tell her about it. I just pretend like everything is fine. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she would listen to me and support me if I ever came to her with a problem, but sometimes I don't do that. And if that’s the choice I make, then that’s fine, but I have to take responsibility for it. It's not okay for me to get angry and BLAME her for not helping me, when I never gave her any indication that I needed help in the first place.

So - flipping the narrative, what if we reframed the original statement to an equally loaded but equally accurate “post 2.03, Morgana just doesn't talk to Merlin.” The two of them go through a harrowing experience together, where Merlin takes deadly risks to try to help Morgana escape Camelot and find her true self, where he offers his continuing support to her after it's over, and then she just never takes him up on that offer. She retreats back into her comfortable position as Uther's noble ward, and stops associating with Arthur's lowly servant. When Merlin helps save Gwen from the bandits in 2.04, Morgana never thanks him. When Merlin is framed for theft by Catrina and hunted down, she doesn't stand up for him or try to help him. When Gaius is arrested and tortured by the Witchfinder, she never stops by to see how Merlin is doing and check if he's okay. When she's approached by a total stranger who wants her to steal a "weapon" for him, she doesn’t talk to Merlin at all, but rather agrees to steals the Crystal of Neahtid without ANY understanding of what it actually does or what Alvarr's plans are for it, leaving Merlin completely in the dark about why she's suddenly sneaking around acting so strange and suspicious.

Think back to Season One. When Gwen is accused of sorcery and sentenced to death, Merlin confesses himself in order to save her. Despite enjoying none of the protections Morgana has as Uther’s ward, Merlin still confesses himself in order to protect a friend. But when Merlin is accused of sorcery in 2.07 (and when Gaius is then sentenced to be executed), Morgana does nothing comparable. She just lets them take the fall. Merlin allows himself (and Gaius) to be accused, even though he could easily have ratted Morgana out instead, and Morgana, despite knowing that Merlin is keeping silent to protect her at his own expense, never says a word to defend him, or approaches Merlin about it afterwards. She sees Merlin dragged out of the Council Chambers screaming after Gaius is sentenced to death, but she says nothing. She knows Gaius is going to be burnt at the stake, but she does nothing, not even making her usual appeal to Arthur.

Does that mean we should assume that she was being negligent? That she was abandoning Merlin when he needed her most?

For clarity - I'm not saying that the answer to that question is yes. I’m saying that I’ve never seen anybody assign intention/bad faith to Morgana when it comes to her non-interaction with Merlin from 2.04 to 2.10 (even though that particular read is actually far more justified by the text). There is no reason to assign intention to Merlin, either.

Ultimately, I just want us to be aware that saying “Merlin just doesn’t really talk to her again” inherently assigns agency and blame to an agentless fact. Morgana and Merlin not being on screen together from 2.04 to 2.10 =/= "Merlin just doesn't really talk to her." The phrase "Morgana just doesn't really talk to him" is an equally true statement, but one we don't hear nearly as often, because in the Merlin-verse, everything is Merlin's responsibility. And therefore, when there’s a problem, everything is Merlin's fault.

2) “pre 2X03 he goes along with Gaius in pretending to not believe that her visions are true giving her the sleeping draughts”

Okay, this is just my own opinion, but - I personally think it is unreasonable for us to expect Merlin to correct every single bad choice that the people around him make, and it's unfair to transfer the blame for other people's choices onto his shoulders.

If Gaius is making bad choices prior to 2.03, then they are Gaius's bad choices. Merlin, in 1.07, has just arrived in Camelot within the last couple of months. Gaius has lived in Camelot all his life, and has been dealing with Morgana for two decades and Uther for longer than that. Gaius is a trained physician. He is in a position of authority over Merlin, and he has far more experience with the royal family than Merlin does, and when he tells Merlin that the safest thing for Morgana right now is to help her sleep through the night without having potentially-prophetic nightmares, of course Merlin listens to him.

But five minutes into 2.03, immediately after Merlin learns that Morgana actually has magic (not just dream-visions, which this show states to be a separate gift) he is arguing with Gaius, saying that "you need to be honest with her." At the fifteen minute mark, he is in Morgana's chambers telling her how to find the Druids.

I cannot get on board with transferring blame that belongs to other people and dumping it all on Merlin's overburdened shoulders. He directly defies Gaius's orders so that he can help Morgana, as soon as it becomes apparent how serious her situation is. He leads Camelot's army on a chase through the woods in an attempt to help her run away, putting himself at extreme personal risk to do so. How would he explain that, if he were caught? If he were seen?

He does more to help her with her gift than anyone, and he puts himself at risk of discovery and execution to do it. The standards to which we hold him, and the number of responsibilities we expect him to assume, and the ways we hold him accountable for choices that other people in positions of power have made, even when he ultimately corrects their mistakes - are impossibly unreasonable, and they certainly aren't the same standards we use to evaluate Morgana’s actions.

3) “while I don't think Merlin owed outing himself to anyone IMO was a really nasty undercurrent in the writing of ‘crazy/hysterical woman with her volatile lady feelings can't be trusted’ even after he's known her for like a year compared to Lancelot, Gilli, Daegel etc. being a-okay.”

Comparing Morgana to Lancelot, Gilli, and Daegal as a way of saying that Merlin underrates Morgana's trustworthiness in favor of theirs doesn't make sense.

Merlin doesn't choose to out himself to Lancelot at all. It's an accident.

Merlin doesn't choose to out himself to Daegal, either. He's put in a situation where it's either "use magic" or "we both die."

Gilli has a little more wiggle room in terms of "was this an active decision on Merlin's part," but it's also not accurate to interpret this situation as arising out of Merlin's personal desires/level of trust in Gilli as a person. Merlin reveals himself because he feels like it is the only way to get through to someone who is going to get themselves killed looking for revenge. (And I've written previously about how I think Merlin's choices in this situation are in fact directly influenced by the decisions he didn't make with Morgana, and how making the opposite choice here in an attempt to "do the ‘right’ thing this time" doesn't actually change the ultimate outcome, but that's neither here nor there.)

None of these three instances are moments where Merlin looks at these characters and goes, “these people seem way more trustworthy than that crazy, volatile lady i know; i’m gonna reveal myself to them!" He is forced into all of these situations, against his will, and is outed either by accident or necessity.

Additionally - the above is really the more important counterpoint, but I do think it's worth mentioning that Morgana, as far as the closeness of her relationship with Merlin goes, also can't be meaningfully compared with the other three characters on this list because her position as a noble places her in a totally different category altogether.

Merlin legitimately likes Morgana in the early seasons, and he's thrilled to be her friend. But Merlin is also class-conscious - he has to be, given his position in society; and moreover he's spent the first twenty years of his life being best friends with a dude who is both hyperaware of and hypervocal about the inequalities of the current social system. Merlin is ALWAYS aware that Morgana is on a different level than he is, and he is perfectly justified in being slightly more reticent around people who aren't cut from his own cloth, in the same way he is justified in being slightly more careful around Arthur, who also leverages his power and privilege whenever "equality" becomes inconvenient for him.

Take the comparison between Lancelot and Morgana, for example. Merlin has known Lancelot for slightly less time than Morgana (Merlin meets Lancelot in 1.05), but he cleaves to Lancelot more quickly, and it is only natural that Merlin would do so. Merlin is a peasant farmer. He is literally as low on the social ladder as you can get without being one of the itinerant poor. Morgana is, in essence, a princess, and Merlin isn't wrong for feeling more comfortable around Lancelot than he is around her, because Morgana, for all that she is generous-minded with the servants, is SO far above the level of people Merlin is used to associating with, and she has SO much more influence than he does - it's a power differential that can't be erased, no matter how friendly Morgana is with him. And it’s a dynamic that isn't limited to Morgana, either - it exists between Merlin and Arthur, too.

This is an element of the show that I don't necessarily see discussed often when it comes to Morgana and Merlin (and Gwen, for that matter), and most of the time it seems to be ignored in favor of like...“Morgana doesn't see class! She's friends with Gwen and she's friends with Merlin!" And I'm not disputing that she considers herself to be friends with them at first, but I also am not going to pretend that she doesn't then weaponize her class against them as soon as the situation changes.

In S3, she leverages her privileged position to threaten Merlin with execution if he tries to reveal her misdeeds, because she knows that no one will believe a servant even if he tells the truth ("Just think how Uther would react if he learnt that a serving boy had tried to poison his beloved ward"). She is horrified at her vision of Gwen taking the throne in 3.10, saying "How can that be? She's a servant." She mockingly calls Gwen "My lady" when capturing her in 5.06, and, when offering Gwen a drink of water, says, "Is it too good for you now that you're queen?" She scathingly criticizes Helios’s capture of Merlin in 4.06, saying, "And you bring me how many men? Or should I say how many servants?" She tells Merlin, "You are Arthur's servant, nothing more" later in that same episode. She dispenses with all semblances of equality with Gwen in late Season 2 whenever Gwen's in the way, instead snapping at her, ordering her around, and booting her out of the room. And in "The Dark Tower," she drags Gwen behind her on a rope.

Morgana in the early seasons is committed to an "I'm not going to lord my social status over my lower-class friends!" attitude. But that doesn't mean her social status doesn’t exist, or that the power differential has vanished. And when the chips are down - when Morgana feels like she's getting less than she "deserves" but her former servants are getting more than they themselves do - she falls back on the power she has as a noble. The ways in which Morgana interacts with Merlin and Gwen, after Morgana's falling out with Camelot, don't manifest as just "you betrayed me and we're not friends anymore," they express themselves in ways that specifically target Merlin and Gwen's "lowly" status, in comparison to Morgana's lofty one.

4) “I also hate the Merlin and Gaius talk in 2X12 where they more or less write her off as using her powers for eviiiiil when she hadn't consciously used her powers for ANYTHING yet.”

I suppose this could be subject to personal interpretation, but I’m pretty sure Gaius and Merlin think Morgana was consciously aware that she was the source of the magic.

They don't know that she wasn't consciously involved. The audience doesn't even know that, frankly. What Morgana is actually aware of is left undefined by the show. (I personally always got the vibe that Morgana obviously knows it has something to do with the agreement she and Morgause made, but that she doesn't exactly understand the details of how it's working.) But that's still never actually stated.

Merlin, (after Kilgharrah tells him the magic is coming from Morgana), assumes she is aware of what's happening. And I personally think it’s impressive that even given this, he covers for her the entire episode. At first he doesn't even suspect she has anything to do with it at all, not even after what she did in the previous ep - he makes up that story about Gaius having given her a potion to cover for her, assuming her magic is what's keeping her awake. It's not until Kilgharrah tells him what's going on that he realizes the truth, and EVEN THEN, he continues to lie for her.

If she was afraid - if she was in over her head - if she regretted her actions and wanted to change her mind - she could have confessed to Merlin and asked him for help. Literally everyone in Camelot was incapacitated, and as far as Merlin knew, Morgana’s plan was to let them all die. It's not that I'm happy about Merlin's choice to poison her, and neither is Merlin - but I'm also not comfortable blaming him to the exclusion of Morgana or critiquing him for feeling like Morgana did something bad. She did do something bad! She made her own choices. Merlin didn't make them for her.

Erasing Morgana’s responsibility erases her agency. She makes decisions to get where she is in 2.12. She makes an agreement to help Morgause without doing her research and without getting the details about what would actually happen to the people around her, just like she made an agreement to help Alvarr retrieve the Crystal of Neahtid without finding out what it actually was or how Alvarr planned to use it. Merlin didn't make Morgana do any of those things.

Re: the Merlin+Gaius talk in 2.12 - I personally don't read that conversation with Gaius as Merlin "writing [Morgana] off."

Merlin doesn't think Morgana is irredeemably evil. He apologizes to Morgana when she returns in 3.01. Even when she displays shame and self-recrimination about her own actions, he doesn't say one word condemning her for anything she did in the last season. All he feels is sympathy for her suffering. He tells her, sincerely, "I am so sorry for everything you've been through." He holds absolutely no grudge for what she did in 2.12. None.

And even when he finds out she's betraying them again - he first approaches her as a friend. He begs her to stop. He tells her, "It doesn't have to be like this. We can find another way." He answers "no" when she asks him if he believes she deserves to be executed for who she is. Even as she's trying to kill them all.

And when she snaps, "Good!" in response to his statement that women and children are dying and the city will fall, he responds, "You don't mean that." That is not the response of someone who's already written her off as evil. He doesn't believe she wants all this violence. He is trying to reach her.

She doesn't ever reach back. And that is not Merlin's fault.

5) kilgharrah indiscriminately kills people

I don't think I can really address Kilgharrah in any meaningful way, because personally I don’t feel like dragons operate on or can be evaluated by human moral standards. Other folks can take a different tack with this, obviously; there's no canon information one way or another. That's just my own personal approach.

6) “[Kilgharrah] and Merlin are bros again by 3X02 but Morgause and Morgana and Kara killing knights and guards (who work for Uther/Arthur) are OMG murderers, have crossed a line, etc.”

Okay, look, let’s be honest here - this issue is a real philosophical question raised by the show, but Morgause and Morgana are not just killing knights and guards. Morgana, with Morgause at her right hand, literally orders her crossbowmen to murder a bunch of civilians in the street, as if shooting fish in a barrel. She tells her forces to “burn [the people’s] crops.” She raids Ealdor, a poor peasant village that isn’t even within Camelot’s borders, at the end of Season 4, and at the beginning of Season 5, Morgana’s Saxon army is attacking innocent peasant villages in Annis’s kingdom and capturing the villagers to be taken as slave labor to Ismere. Later in Season 5, Morgana kills other magic-users like Finna and Alator, who have been just as wronged by Arthur/Uther as she herself has been.

Kara - I've already written extensively about how she did nothing wrong and Arthur deserved to be deposed, so...same page there!

To wrap this up -

Nobody does everything right in this show. Everybody screws up somewhere. And the degree to which various people are both victims and villains is something we all have to decide for ourselves, and not all of our conclusions will be the same, which is perfectly fine.

But in the end, for me, the difference between Merlin and Morgana is that Merlin owns his choices. He believes he is the one to blame for what happens not just to him, but to the people around him. He literally says to Morgana, "I blame myself for what you've become." And while I don't necessarily think that's even true, he certainly does. Despite the fact that there are so many factors limiting him and forcing his hand and trapping him into certain courses of action, he never cites those factors as excuses, or seems to recognize their existence at all. He takes responsibility for himself, regardless of any extenuating circumstances. He looks back at his choices, and he feels remorse for some of them, and at the end of the day, when things go badly, he blames himself.

But when things go badly for Morgana, she only ever blames others. When something is wrong, it's because Merlin or Arthur or Gwen or whoever didn't help her (even though she never asked them for help in the first place.) We never see her acknowledge a mistake or regret a decision, even though she obviously makes her fair share of bad ones. She is never shown to be sorry for anything. The closest we get to remorse is her interaction with Mordred in 5.09 ("I hope one day you find the love and compassion which used to fill your heart"), and that brief moment of inner conflict never goes anywhere (which is so unfortunate, as a writing decision, but again, in a piece like this, I can only evaluate what actually happened onscreen, not what I wish had happened).

So, all this being said, I personally am very careful about assigning more blame to Merlin than what he already assigns to himself - especially when he doesn't deserve it (for example, see Part 1 of this piece). Merlin makes his share of mistakes, but we are generally much quicker to hold him accountable than we are Morgana, and we outline impossible expectations for him that we don't expect from any other character on this show. We hold him to a different standard, one which is, frankly, pretty much in line with how he's treated in the canon: that everything is his responsibility, and when things don't work out, everything is his fault. And I can’t get behind that mindset, because a) it isn’t fair to him, and b) I don’t think it holds up under scrutiny.

#sorry this got so long! i get going about merlin and like...time ceases to exist lol #apologies #putting most of this under a cut to spare your dashes #the once and future slowburn #meta #replies #sometimes you've got to do what is right

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wlsonsaraharchive · 3 years

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❛ HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! ❜

WHEN: May 9th WHERE: Delacroix, Louisiana CHARACTER(S) MENTIONED: Bucky, Sam, Aaliyah, AJ, and Cass TRIGGER WARNINGS: None, aside from general Mother’s Day things for those who have asked for those sorts of things to be tagged.

❛Aye, keep it down. Y'all are gonna' wake her up with all that ruckus.❜ Sam's voice pipes up in the kitchen, where there is a lot going on. He's put the old record player to use, the sounds of "Trouble Man" by Marvin Gaye drifts through the house as everyone is enjoying the early hours of the morning. The kids are still tired, but they wanted to wake up early enough to put together breakfast for Sarah. She deserved to have a day off every once in awhile, so why not now of all days? With Sam and Bucky helping Captain the metaphorical ship, everyone had a hand in helping out. Though, some of them kept stealing bits of food here and there. Who could blame them? ❛I come up hard, baby, I had to fight. Took care of my business with all my might. I come up hard, I had to win. Then start all over and win again. I come up hard, but that's okay. 'Cause trouble man don't get in my way.❜ Aaliyah and Sam sing along to the music as the chorus rolls around, both of them dancing around and even bumping hips with one another. Laughter spilling from the pair a moment later as they set back to work once more. Aaliyah has been given the task of making pancakes, putting their artistic skills to good use. Pancakes created in different shapes and patterns, even some in shapes of different Avengers. They're proud of their handiwork, flipping the final pancake onto the stack that piles up on a plate on the counter. Meanwhile, Bucky is situated at the kitchen table. He's glaring daggers at the macaroni art in front of him. It was supposed to be a macaroni necklace, one that was supposed to match the macaroni bracelet that AJ had made for Sarah. But, it really just looked like a cluster of macaroni glued together haphazardly. ❛That's not how you're supposed to do it.❜ AJ's voice pipes up behind him, causing Bucky to turn towards the young child with a frown. ❛Yeah, I know, kiddo. I just don't know where I went wrong.❜ AJ settles down at the table beside Bucky, having finished up his duties of helping grab clean dishes from the cabinet. He wasn't allowed to do much in terms of cooking, so they gave him the easiest task possible. With a gentle sigh, Bucky turns towards AJ. ❛Do you think I can fix this?❜ AJ frowns slightly, picking up the still drying bundle of glue and macaroni. He shakes his head, tossing the mess into the trashcan not too far from him. Taking a seat back into the chair, he glances at Bucky. ❛Don't worry, we can just start over. We have a lotta' time before she wakes up... I think.❜ AJ wastes little time in helping Bucky out with the necklace. Soon, they're focused on their own conversation, one where AJ is carefully instructing Bucky on the proper way to glue the pieces together onto the thick strands of yarn they had used to make the necklace. In the end, they had come out with a colorful macaroni necklace. ❛Hey, look! This one turned out a lot better. Next time, you just ask the pro.❜ AJ nudges Bucky with his elbow, to which Bucky responds by tugging him into his arm to nuzzle his flesh fist against his head in a noogie. Breakfast had been taken care of, though the mess left behind would have to be cleaned up later. Meanwhile, Sarah had finally awaken from her slumber. One hand reached over to check the time on her digital alarm clock. ❛Eleven o'clock? I know I told 'em to let me sleep in today. But, boy... This is out of my comfort zone.❜ She stretches carefully, gentle yawn falling from her lips as toes stretch and parts of her body crack to release the tension. A gentle hum of appreciation falling from her lips as she rubs the sleep from her eyes. She's awake and ready to start the day, even if she wasn't doing too much working today. That was the whole point of the day, to take time off and really relax, while everyone else handled things. That was a task easier said than done when it came to Sarah. ❛She's awake. How much longer do we need?❜ Bucky pipes up from his spot downstairs, leaning against the doorway of the kitchen. Perks of being a Super Soldier meant that a lot of his senses were farther enhanced than that of a normal human. ❛Just getting everything plated up and put on a tray. Go distract her or somethin'.❜ Sam grumbles gently, much to Bucky's amusement as he shuffles up the stairs to check on Sarah. He carefully picks at dried glue from his fingers and hands, leaving no trace of evidence, before he knocks carefully. Only after Sarah responds, does he carefully and slowly enter the room. ❛Good morning, sleepyhead. How'd you sleep?❜ His words are soft and gentle, as he takes a seat on the edge of the bed beside her. ❛Mm, good morning. I slept pretty well, never slept in this late before. Though, I gotta' admit, it was well worth it.❜ She grins cheekily, glancing up at him through sleepy eyes. Even now, in her sleepy and half-awake stupor, Bucky thinks she's the prettiest thing ever. He leans down to steal a gentle kiss from her, one that she meets him halfway for. A gentle hum falling into the kiss on her end, laughter following in its wake. ❛You sure do know how to wake a girl up.❜ She plants another kiss onto his lips, just as someone knocks soundly on the door. Bucky rolls his eyes, easily identifying that the knock belonged to none other than Sam. A moment later, the door is shoved open as the rest of the household spills into the room. ❛Surprise! Happy Mother's Day!❜ The four of them wear matching toothy grins as Aaliyah walks in with the tray full of food. Sarah sits up against the pillows, which are carefully fluffed by AJ and Cass, who go all out to ensure their mother is comfortable. Aaliyah and Sarah share a tight hug, before Sam follows behind with a hug of his own. Leaving a sloppy cheek smooch for his sister in the end. Much to Sarah's chagrin as face scrunches up in distaste. ❛Ugh, you know I hate when you do that!❜ She calls out, wiping at her cheek before surveying the food before her. ❛Would you look at that? Looks like you guys went all out on breakfast, huh?❜ She shoots a glance towards everyone in the room before AJ hops up and down. ❛Oh, oh! I wasn't allowed to cook anything because I'm still too little. But, I helped put everything on the plate!❜ AJ's excitement is palpable, something that causes Sarah's smile to turn into a full blown grin. ❛Oh, honey. Thank you so much. Mama loves it, it's perfect.❜ She plants a smooch atop his head, tugging Cass into the hug as well. Kisses for both of her favorite boys before she allows them to run off to go back to bed or to simply enjoy their breakfast together. With the youngest two of the bunch out of sight, it's Sarah's turn to appreciate her newest child. The oldest of the trio of children. Though, Aaliyah was no mere child. In fact, Aaliyah was an adult. But, that didn't make them any less Sarah's child. ❛Thank you for all of this, Li-Li'. Really, it's delicious.❜ Sarah's taking a long sip from her apple juice, only after a mouthful of a pancake in the shape of Sam's shield. Aaliyah leans over, presses a kiss to the crown of Sarah's head with all the warmth and tenderness. It fills Sarah with pure pride and joy that Aaliyah had warmed up to the family. The two share a brief moment together, before Aaliyah is chasing after the two youngest boys who make a beeline downstairs. Sam and Bucky both left chuckling as Sarah glances towards her brother. ❛Have I mentioned that you're the best big brother ever? Seriously, words alone could never say how thankful I am for you. Thank you, Sammy. For everything.❜ Sam rolls his eyes, shoving her lightly as she bites into a piece of bacon. ❛Don't go gettin' all sappy on me, lady. You deserve this. Enjoy it while you can.❜ He squeezes her softly, before leaving her alone with Bucky as he heads downstairs as well. ❛Happy Mother's Day, Sarah.❜ Bucky leans over, a lingering kiss stolen on his end this time. One that Sarah leans into happily. She adores him so much, they both decided to take a leap into their relationship. Both decided to adopt Aaliyah together just a few short months ago. Sam may have found him to be annoying at times, but Sam truly did care for Bucky. He was cautious of their relationship at first, Sarah had already been put into harms way because of Sam once before. Now, add in that of the man who was once known as The Winter Soldier. It was just asking for trouble that much more. But, Sam knew Bucky would keep his family safe when he couldn't. ❛Thanks, B'. I appreciate it. Truly. You hungry? I've got enough food here to feed a village.❜ Laughter spills from her lips as he settles into bed beside her. The pair sharing what remained on the tray together in comfortable silence. After much needed naps for everyone who had been on early morning duty, it was finally time to unveil the presents each of them had gotten or made for Sarah. Each bag and gift opened carefully and full of love and warmth. The first gift had been from Sam, two roundtrip tickets to Hawaii, with all expenses paid and a resort room ready to book whenever she was ready. A gift he decided to give her because she deserved a proper vacation, where Sam would stay behind to take care of the rest of the family. The second present had been from Aaliyah, a gift certificate to the local spa in New Orleans. Something that Sarah would be putting to good use soon enough. Finally, what appeared to be the final gift was from Cass. A picture frame with the word family burned into the wood in multiple languages. Inside the picture frame was a photo of all of them, Sam and Aaliyah, AJ and Cass, Bucky and Sarah. They say the best kind of family are the unexpected ones. The dysfunctional ones. The ones so full of tender love and care that it almost hurts to breathe. This was Sarah's family through and through. She loved each and every single one of them with every single inch of her. Perhaps even more, if that were even possible. ❛Wait, wait, wait!❜ AJ came huffing and puffing from running up and down the stairs a few times already. Inside his hands was a box as he took a moment to catch his breath. He took a puff or two from his inhaler, waving a hand slightly. ❛This one-- This one is the last one!❜ He walked over, carefully handing the box over to Sarah who carefully unwrapped and opened it. ❛This one is from me and Bucky! Do you like it?❜ AJ glances at Sarah with a slight look of concern on his face. Sarah taking her time to appreciate the gift thoughtfully. ❛Do I like it?❜ She pauses just briefly, carefully pulling on the macaroni bracelet and necklace. She smiles fondly, glancing towards Bucky and AJ who stand a few feet away. ❛I love it! Thank you so much. These are all the best gifts a lady could ever ask for.❜ She pulls all of them in for the biggest and tightest group hug she could possibly manage. Pouring out every ounce of love and affection and warmth she could spill into each and every single one of them. There was never enough love to spill for her family. Never enough words to tell them how much they truly meant to her. But, she cherished them all with every fiber of her being and she truly hoped that they knew that.

#drabbles tbt #tw mother's day #mother's day tw

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cinaja · 4 years

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Before the Wall part 43

Masterlist

TW: Panic attack in the first scene (in case you want to skip it, it starts after the conversation ends)

----

Queen Ravenia of the Black Land requested another meeting. Tomorrow, two hours past midday, in the Lake Palace. The letter was polite but cold, not a hint at what she might want this time. Drakon wanted nothing more than to throw the letter into the fire and ignore the summon. Whatever this meeting is about, it won’t be good for him, and going feels like he’s playing into Ravenia’s plans. But at the end of the day, it is better to know about whatever it is Ravenia is planning in advance than to be caught unawares.

So Drakon goes to the meeting. Alone again, even though he longed to ask someone else to accompany him. But Miryam is the only one to know about the sword (and even she knows only that it exists), but she is caught up in a council meeting. Besides, he could never have asked her to face Ravenia for him.

When Drakon arrives in the Lake Palace, Ravenia and Artax are already there. They are standing in the centre of the room, still as statues. The image is unsettling enough that Drakon involuntarily pauses in the doorway, unwilling to go any closer.

"Majesty," he says without inclining his head. He usually manages to mess up Continental etiquette even without meaning to, but this time, he is impolite on purpose and he hopes Ravenia notices.

"Your Highness." The queen doesn't incline her head either - Drakon isn't sure if she means to insult him, or if she's just reacting to his behaviour - but she gives him a small smile. Artax, standing half a step behind her, offers the barest nod.

Slowly, Drakon walks over to them, never taking his eyes off Ravenia. He can’t spend the entire meeting hiding by the door, but going any closer to them is deeply unsettling. "What is this meeting about?" He asks.

"I believe you know," Ravenia says, still smiling. "Do tell me, how is Erithia faring lately? I hope everything is well."

Drakon digs his nails into his palms and says nothing. He might have played into Ravenia’s plans by coming to this meeting, but he will not play along with her taunts.

Ravenia frowns at him. "I'll admit," she says, "I have a hard time understanding your intense loathing of me. Our political opinions might differ, but I have never treated you with anything other than politeness, nor given you reason to believe I would mistreat you upon our marriage."

Drakon could have pointed out that she had his family murdered, him tortured and his country invaded, all of which gives ample reason to hate her. But he has no doubt that Ravenia would simply claim all of this was a direct consequence of his actions. Besides, none of these replies would quite cover the truth. After all, his initial dislike of Ravenia was never about him.

"I'd be a terrible person indeed if all I cared about was my own wellbeing," he says. "You own thousands of slaves. You murder and torture children. Innocent people. Your entire country is built on the suffering of thousands. If there was any justice at all, you would have long since drowned in all the blood that was spilled in your name."

Ravenia doesn't look overly impressed. She turns to Artax, who gives her a wry smile.

"Very dramatic, Your Highness," Ravenia says. "If you were a little older, you would understand that political marriages rarely factor in the individual opinions of the participants."

She doesn't even pretend to take him seriously. "I factor in individual opinions, though," Drakon says, "And I'm not going to marry a mass murderer and slave-owner."

Ravenia shrugs with one shoulder. "If you are dissatisfied with this arrangement, you ought to blame your father, not me. He is the one who sold you to me in exchange for trading rights." She absentmindedly plays around with one of her bracelets. "If it is any consolation to you, I would have far preferred a partner who is a little older. I do not fancy marrying a child. Especially not one who has as little care for etiquette and traditions as you do. Had it been up to me, I would have chosen one of your sisters, but your father insisted I could have neither of them."

Drakon doesn't quite manage to hide how much her words hurt him. He always knew that his father didn't need to pick him for this marriage - knew and understood, since his sisters were far too useful in Erithia to marry them off to a foreign queen - but hearing it like this from Ravenia makes it hurt worse. Somehow, she has a talent to turn her words into arrows, and she rarely misses.

"No one is forcing you to marry me," he snaps. It's a weak argument, but at least it buys him time to compose himself.

"You know why," Ravenia says lightly. "And you'd spare us both a lot of discomfort and embarrassment if you just gave in. We both know that you don't have the strength to refuse me forever."

Drakon shakes his head. Is she truly this arrogant? "I don't need to refuse forever," he says, "Just until we win this war. And considering how it's going now, that will be sooner rather than later."

"Not within the next three days, though.”

Drakon stares at her. Dread settles in his stomach. He doesn't know what Ravenia is aiming for, but her tone makes him pause. Artax smirks at him like he is immensely enjoying himself.

"And what, precisely, happens in three days?" Drakon asks. He can’t quite shake the feeling that he stepped into a trap and it’s about to snap shut around him.

Ravenia smiles at him like she just got exactly what she wanted. "We're getting married, of course."

She nods to Artax, who produces a parchment scroll from a pocket in his cloak. He hands it to Ravenia, who passes it on to Drakon. Slowly, he takes the scroll from her.

"Our engagement contract," Ravenia says. "Specifying the terms of our marriage. One of the terms being that we are to be married at latest seven years, seven months and seven days after the contract was signed. That date will be reached three days from now."

Drakon's fingers shake, he nearly drops the paper. "I'm breaking the contract," he says, trying hard to keep his voice steady. "You don't really think I'd marry you because of a piece of paper, do you?"

"You might wish to take a look at the end of the page," Ravenia says lightly. "You'll find your signature, written in blood. Should you choose to confer with that half-breed piece of trash you call friend, I'm sure she'll confirm to you that this contract is magically binding."

Drakon forgets how to breathe. No, he didn't sign a binding contract. He would remember if he had. Binding contracts are no small thing, he wouldn't have mindlessly signed one. Never, not under any circumstances, would he ever have been this stupid.

But he wasn't around for the negotiations of the marriage contract. His father oversaw them and only gave Drakon the final draft to be signed. And his father was six hundred years old, he wouldn't have missed anything as vital as a contract being made to be binding. Nor would he have made Drakon sign one without his knowledge. He wouldn't have. And yet, Drakon’s signature is there, at the bottom of the page.

"You know the punishment for breaking a binding contract, of course," Ravenia says. "So I assume you will prove that you actually do have the ability to be rational and do as you promised."

Yes, he knows the punishments. He'll be lucky if he only loses his magic - if the contract is one of the harsher ones, the price will be his life. And with him being Prince, it wouldn't be uncommon for the fallout to affect Erithia as well.

"I'm not unkind," Ravenia says, "So I will give you time to prepare. As I mentioned, you have three days left until you will be punished for breach of contract. I'll have the marriage planned for that very date, and I'll expect you to meet me here and accompany me to the Black Land in two days."

Drakon doesn't manage a reply. He can't even nod. He keeps staring at his name on the paper, tying him to the contract. He can't breate, can't move.

"I'll see you in two days," Ravenia says. "Keep the contract if you want." With that, she pushes past Drakon, Artax trailing after her like a loyal shadow.

The High Witcher of the Guild pauses next to Drakon. “If I were you, Prince, I’d do as she says,” he says lightly. “It will save you a lot of pain. And besides, I will find that island you are trying so hard to protect with or without your help eventually. I can sense the wards around it fraying, and it will only be a matter of time before I know where it is.”

Drakon begins shaking. Artax is still watching him, head angled slightly to the side. When Drakon doesn’t reply, he shrugs and follows Ravenia out of the room.

As soon as they are gone, Drakon's legs give out from under him and he falls to the floor. Pain flares through his knees, but he barely feels it. He gasps for air, but his lungs won't draw breath. He stares down at the contract in his hand. Shackling him more surely than any iron could have done. He's back in Ravenia's dungeon, trapped in the dark. The world is tilting around him and he can't breathe.

He tries to focus on the world around him. He isn't in a cell, isn't being tied up and beaten. But he can't manage to concentrate on his surroundings. His focus keeps slipping, his chest feels far too tight and he still can't breathe properly. His vision is turning black around the edges. He’s trapped, this time for real. There’s no way out of this.

----

There are days when Miryam doesn't mind the council meetings. Today is not one of these days. Sitting in the council chamber, listening to complaints while she knows Drakon is meeting with Ravenia, is grating on her nerves.

"Would you kindly explain to us, my Lady, what General Jurian was thinking?" Emperor Shey asks in a tone that hides sharp edges under faked pleasantness.

"It may have escaped your notice," Miryam says, "but I am no longer co-commander of Jurian's camp and therefore not privy to the reasoning behind his decisions. Should you wish to see them explained, you should speak to him, not me."

She is tired of being the one the council goes to whenever Jurian makes a mistake. She will always care for him and wish to help him, but she isn't responsible for his actions. For all her efforts, at the end of the day, it is Jurian who chooses his actions, and Miryam isn't always able to explain his reasoning.

In this special case, she thinks she knows why he did it, but that doesn't mean she's able to find a reasoning the council will accept. And the council has been unruly enough as of late, some of the Fae pushing back against her every word. Her position is getting more and more difficult, and if she lets the blame for Jurian's actions fall back on her, that might well harm her standing beyond repair. (There have been new marriage proposals, too, and Zeku tells her that she cannot refuse forever. The thought terrifies her more than she's willing to admit.)

"Where is General Jurian, anyways?" Another councilmember asks. "Why isn't he here, answering to us himself?"

"I'm sure he's busy in his camp," Nakia replies brusquely. “None of us were informed this would be a trial. If you had sent out a notice in advance, I’m sure he would have come.”

Zeku leans back in his chair. “No one wishes to put the General on trial,” he says, “And all of us have the utmost respect for his past achievements. But his current behaviour is putting people in danger, and that is unacceptable. Whether you like it or not, this discussion needs to be had.”

A few of the humans shift around on their chairs. Nakia glares at Zeku. Most of the Fae mutter in agreement, though. Miryam suppresses a frown. Damn Zeku. Why did he of all people have to steer the conversation in this direction? For the sake of their alliance, Miryam cannot openly oppose him, but she cannot agree either.

They haven’t coordinated their stances for this meeting in advance, but Zeku must have known that any action against Jurian goes against what most human councilmembers want. Jurian is still well-respected amongst the humans, especially the soldiers see him as their biggest hero. (The Fae like him far less, especially since his stance has become more radical lately.) This problem cannot go before the council. No matter what choice they make, it will not go over well.

Nakia glares at Zeku. “And what type of discussion are you aiming for, Grand Duke?”

Miryam cuts in before this can get any worse. “A discussion needs to be had, but not in this council. I’ll go talk to Jurian.”

One of the Fae snorts. “You, his former lover. I can imagine what type of conversation that might be.” He smiles suggestively. A few people laugh. (That they do is a bad sign in itself. A few month ago, no one would have gone along with such a comment against her.)

She waits for the laughter to die down, then says, “I will talk to him on behalf of the council. There won’t be a repetition of what happened yesterday.”

Even though she knows she can’t guarantee it. She promised never again once already, and it didn’t work. If it goes badly this time, it will fall back on her, and rightly so, but what else is she supposed to do? Even if there was less controversy around Jurian in the Alliance, Miryam could never support political action against him. She might not have been able to help him through his pain, he might hate her for it, but she would never betray him like this.

“And if there is?” The High Lord of the Night Court asks.

“Then we can discuss,” Miryam says as pleasantly as she can manage.

Many of the Fae seem dissatisfied. Half a year ago, they would have accepted her decision with far less complaint. Miryam needs to get this under control, and soon, or her entire position will be put in jeopardy.

The meeting, at least, ends soon enough. It's long midday now and Miryam desperately wants to have someone winnow her to Erithia so that she can check in on Drakon. He must be back from his meeting with Ravenia by now - if everything went well, that is - and Miryam needs to see him. She needs to know that everything is alright, that Ravenia didn't do anything to him.

But there's also Jurian. Jurian, who is slipping away from them further and further. Jurian, who is suffering so badly and is putting them all in danger with his actions. She needs to talk to him first, see if she can find a way to help him. Whether he wants to see her or not, she should never have left him on his own devices for this long. Maybe if she had insisted they keep contact…

“Lady Miryam.” Suddenly, Zeku is standing next to her. She didn’t even notice him approaching. “May I have a word?”

She inclines her head. “Of course.”

She follows Zeku to one of the private meeting chambers. He closes the door behind them and Miryam sits down one of the chairs.

“I hope you aren’t offended that I spoke against Jurian today,” Zeku says. “I do value him as a person, but in the current political climate and with how he has been acting, I deemed it the wiser course of action to suggest acting against him.”

“I see,” Miryam says. She cannot truly blame him for his reasoning, but she can’t quite accept it, either.

Zeku inclines his head. “That aside, Jurian is not what I wished to discuss with you today.”

Miryam nods. She guessed as much. It is beyond clear that she is in trouble, it is only natural for Zeku to want to speak to her about it. “The council,” she says. “They are displeased with me.”

Zeku finds glasses and a bottle of wine in one of the cupboards. He pours himself a glass and offers Miryam a glass of water. “Displeased is not quite the word I’d use,” he says. “They are nervous. You are an unknown piece on the board, no formal alliance to anyone and no set goals for once the war is over. And you are far too powerful to be ignored.”

Miryam pretends to be very interested in her water and doesn’t answer. What is she to say? She assured Zeku time and again that she has no political ambition for after the war. All she wants is to free her people. But saying that never really changed anything, and she is tired of repeating herself. She needs to speak to Jurian. She wants to go see Drakon.

“I know you don’t want to hear this,” Zeku says, “but you ought to reconsider your stance on a marriage. Marrying into a royal family would offer you the protection you currently lack.”

So they are back to that old game.

“What if I still chose not to?” Miryam asks. The idea of marrying some almost-stranger who just sees her as a way to increase his power terrifies her. It’s like there are shackles already closing around her wrists.

“I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice,” Zeku says. “Not if you wish to survive this war.”

Miryam chokes on her water and starts coughing. Zeku warned and warned her that the council considered her a threat, but he never so openly suggested that they might murder her. She long since accepted that she might not survive this war, but she never considered that she might get killed by her own allies. “Trust” has always been a relative word in Continental politics, and there are few council members Miryam actually trusts, almost all of them human. Still, there are certain rules that go with being allies – one of them being that you don’t murder each other – and Miryam did trust that all of her allies would keep to it.

She swallows around the lump in her throat. “I will consider it,” she says.

----

Jurian knows he messed up. He sees it in the way his soldiers look at him, like they are somehow disappointed with him, like they don't know if they can still trust him to lead them. Any elation of their victory has long vanished and left nothing but emptiness and cold, hard anger behind. Andromache hasn't returned to their camp, hasn't even sent word. Jurian assumes she is angry. How could she not be, when he got so many of her soldiers killed?

Like a coward, Jurian hides in his tent. He cannot face the disappointment of his soldiers, who trusted him to do the right thing. Cannot bring himself to go to the council meeting and explain what happened. A defiant part of him wanted to go, to meet their anger with scorn. Did they not win not won, but two victories due to his actions? Is he not the only one in this war who is brave enough to act while everyone else just sits around and argues? Yes, he went against orders, but it turned out alright in the end.

Still, the shame won't go away.

Alone in his tent, he stares down at the maps, notes and reports strewn out over every surface. Tiny victories. That's all he ever seems to win against Amarantha. As long as he doesn't defeat Amarantha, no victory will ever be true. They can never win this war if he doesn’t first get rid of Amarantha, he just knows it. And to do that, he needs to get her to stop this cat-and-mouse game and face him outright. But how?

Something rustles at the tent's entrance. Jurian whirls around, hand going straight for his sword.

"It's just me," Miryam says and closes the entrance behind her.

Jurian quickly lets go of his sword, freezing. He is suddenly acutely aware of the sorry state his tent is in, papers, empty wine bottles and a half-eaten tray of food lying around. He himself doesn’t look much better – his hair is a mess and he hasn’t bathed in… well, in a while. Jurian half-heartedly wonders when he stopped taking care of himself.

“What do you want?” Jurian snaps. His voice is sharper than he meant to, maybe because he is embarrassed.

“To talk to you.” Miryam in her elegant, long-sleeved court dress seems startingly out of place in this tent. There was a time when she belonged into this camp, no matter what clothes she wore, but now, she is an outsider, almost a stranger.

“I don’t want to talk,” Jurian says. “Go away.”

Miryam doesn’t obey. “I’m worried about you,” she says. “I realize that things have been difficult lately, and I want to help – “

“Oh, don’t pretend you are here because you care about me,” Jurian bites out. If Miryam is wearing a dress, she came here straight from a council meeting without changing first. And if she comes from the council, that means that she is likely here to chide him for what happened yesterday. “You just want me to stop acting out, that’s all. You aren’t here to talk, the council sent you to reprimand me. Give me a slap on the wrist, get me back in line.”

Miryam, for once, doesn’t hide that his words hurt her, but Jurian couldn’t care less. He just wants her to leave. Can’t she see that having her around like this makes it worse? Doesn’t she understand that looking at her feels like being stabbed in the heart? She left him behind. The one person who was always there, always by his side, and she left. Even now, she isn’t truly here, isn’t really there to help him. She’s just doing her job.

“This isn’t true,” Miryam says softly and takes a step towards him. “Of course I care about you. I’ll always care.”

“And you still left,” Jurian snaps.

Miryam flinches. Looks down at the ground. “I’m sorry,” she says. No further explanation. No comment.

They stand around in awkward silence for a while. Jurian turns abruptly to his table. He finds a half-finished wine bottle in the mess and takes a swig. Miryam, for once, doesn’t comment. She doesn’t leave either, though.

“We’re winning this war, you know,” she finally says, breaking the silence. “It is nearly certain now.”

“And?” Jurian challenges.

“And I think it might be for the best if you stepped away from the fighting for a while.” Jurian whirls around to her, spilling wine on his tunic as he does. Miryam continues, “Our position is secure enough that we could afford it. And you have been fighting without pause for six years now – more, if you count the time before the war officially started.”

Jurian stares at her, not quite believing his ears. She isn’t suggesting that. There’s no way she’s telling him to step down. He spent his entire life fighting for this. Every day, every hour, he fought and fought so that they might one day be free. And now that victory is close, she tells him he isn’t needed anymore? Like he is a broken weapon – no longer useful, so he gets discarded.

Miryam seems to sense his anger, because she takes another step towards him, hand outstretched as if she wants to reach for him. “I’m not suggesting this because I want to push you aside or replace you. Believe me, this is the last thing I want.” She shakes her head. “But Jur, don’t you see…” She makes a vague gesture at the tent, at Jurian. “It can’t go on like that. Not for my sake, or for that of the Alliance, but for you. This war is killing you, can’t you see?”

Jurian shakes his head. “So you think I can’t take it anymore?” He asks, voice biting. “That I’m not dealing with my problems correctly?” He lets out a bitter laugh. “That’s rich, coming from you.”

He takes a step towards her. Now, they are standing almost toe to toe. “If you want someone who can’t deal with their problems, who should not be fighting in this war, go find a mirror, Miryam.” His face twists into a bitter smile at the shock on her face. “You dare tell me I’m not dealing with my problems properly? You can’t even talk about yours. All the years we’ve known each other, and you never once managed to sit down and talk.” Anger rises in Jurian, bubbling and hot. “You have the nerve to tell me I am no longer fit to fight this war? When you are the one who can’t ever sleep more than two hours at a time, who wakes up screaming every night. When you are so terrified of your own powers that you are barely able to use them, and can’t even get into a dress without shaking.”

Distantly, Jurian is aware that he is crossing a line. That he should stop before he breaks something beyond repair. But he is too angry to care. How dare Miryam come here and tell him that he can’t do this? What gives her the right to look at him like she pities him and pretend she is any better?

“You are just like me,” he says, each word sharp as a knife. “Just as angry, just as ruthless, and just as broken. The only difference between us is that you are a liar. You, with your pretty clothes and faked smiles – just because you pretend to be fine doesn’t mean you are. At least I am honest.”

Miryam’s face has gone entirely still. Whatever she feels at his words, she doesn’t let it on. Not a flicker of anger or hurt. (He wonders if she realizes that by no reacting, she is proving him right.) Then, she slowly steps back.

“I don’t think this conversation leads to anything,” she says. Her voice is carefully neutral. It’s the same one she uses in council meetings. “I’ll leave you to think about what I said and come back in a day or two. Maybe then, we can talk.”

Without another word, she turns around and walks out of the tent. Jurian watches her go. Just like that, his anger evaporates, leaving him cold and empty.

He shouldn’t have said those things. Why did he ever say that? He doesn’t want her gone, not really. For all that he might tell her to leave, he doesn’t actually want her to. All he wants is for her to stay, and stay for real. But why would she, when he speaks to her the way he did just now?

Fingers shaking, Jurian turns to his notes. He needs to fix this. Somehow, he needs to fix this. He has to kill Amarantha. Amarantha and Clythia both. Once they are gone, everything will go back to normal. It will be fine. Then, he will be better and Miryam will see… She will see that…

He just needs to finish off Amarantha first. And for that, he needs her to stop playing games. If he could just… He pauses.

Revenge. This is what got him to chase after Amarantha in the first place. It’s why he hasn’t been able to let go since. But Amarantha doesn’t have a reason to want to face him. She doesn’t hate him, it isn’t personal for her.

Maybe it’s time for him to change that.

----

Miryam walks through the halls of Erithia’s royal palace. From the first time she visited, she liked the Erithian royal palace. The entire structure is built from the dark, shimmering wood of the trees that grow in the surrounding mountains. It is pleasantly light, all open archways and huge windows, the wood artfully carved. Nowhere near as obtrusive as stone structures tend to be. The guards incline their heads to her as she passes, servants and courtiers pause and stare, but she barely notices. Jurian’s words are still ringing in her head.

She knows Jurian only spoke out of anger and pain, knows he said those things to push her away, but that doesn’t make what he said sting less. Especially because she knows, deep down, that he is right. Just because she can pretend to be fine doesn’t mean she actually is. And maybe if she had ever managed to be open about her problems, things between her and Jurian would have gone less wrong.

She tries to tell herself that at least she has gotten better about talking, but it doesn’t feel like much. She can talk to Drakon with little problem by now, but that just shows that she could have learned to talk to Jurian, too. If only she had tried harder.

But regardless of her own mistakes, regardless of his sharp words she needs to find a way to help Jurian. Maybe she should ask Drakon, he might have an idea. Although if she can ask him depends entirely on how his meeting with Ravenia went. The guards at the front gate told her he is back in the palace, but that doesn’t necessarily mean everything went well.

The guards in front of Drakon’s suite on the highest floor of the palace let Miryam through without a word. She finds Drakon in the drawing room. He sits on the couch, knees drawn up to his chest and wings tucked in closely to his body. Nephelle and Sinna are also there, they both look grave. Miryam’s chest tightens.

“What happened?” She asks. She isn’t quite able to keep the panic out of her voice.

Drakon looks up, startled. His eyes are red, like he was crying. Miryam quickly walks over to him and wraps her arms around him. Drakon presses his face into her shoulder. Over his head, Miryam meets Nephelle’s eyes. She shakes her head softly.

“She has a contract,” Drakon whispers. His voice sound muffled because he still has his face buried in Miryam’s clothes.

“What?” Miryam asks.

“Ravenia,” Drakon says and straightens. “She has a marriage contract. Magically binding.”

A jolt goes through Miryam. Her first thought is, This is impossible. Drakon can’t have signed a binding contract. It’s just not possible, it… She frowns. It is actually not possible.

When several of the Continental royals started showing interest in her, she read up on marriage contracts. Binding contracts, although rare, were also touched upon in the book she chose. So she just happens to know that Continental law explicitly forbids anyone under the age of twenty-five from signing a binding contract. She also knows that Drakon was still twenty-four when he got engaged to Ravenia.

“You signed it?” She asks.

Drakon nods. Miryam flips to the end of the page, and indeed, there is his signature. His father’s is suspiciously missing. Only Drakon and Ravenia signed. No one else.

“Why didn’t your father sign in your stead?” She asks sharply. This is what should have happened, in any case.

“I don’t know,” Drakon says. “I…” He shakes his head, looking unhappy.

“Because he’s a fucking bastard, that’s why,” Sinna snaps. She is glaring daggers at the contract and looks like she would happily murder Drakon’s father herself if he was still alive.

Miryam is inclined to agree, but Drakon already looks upset enough at Sinna’s comment that she doesn’t say anything. Everything is bad enough already and the last thing Miryam should do is to make things worse for him by starting a pointless argument. If Drakon still wants to pretend that his father was a good person, she won’t stop him. Miryam straightens, forces a relaxed calm to replace her panic.

“Okay,” she says, glancing down at the contract. “And what exactly does that mean?”

“I have to marry her within three days,” Drakon says. He stares down at his fingers, but doesn’t seem to see them. His eyes are strangely empty, like he really isn’t processing anything at all. “If I don’t, I’m as good as dead, and there will probably also be consequences for Erithia.”

Miryam’s throat tightens. Magical contracts, like bargains, cannot be taken lightly. And they cannot be broken by any outside force – not even by a witch. With a bargain, Miryam might have stood a chance, but not with an actual contract.

“And…” Miryam begins, but has to pause. Her voice sounds too thick and she has to clear her throat before she can continue speaking. “And what are we going to do about it?”

Drakon doesn’t reply – Miryam isn’t even sure if he heard her – but after a moment, Nephelle answers. “There’s nothing to be done.” Her voice is soft and she doesn’t meet Miryam’s eyes as she speaks.

Miryam shakes her head. “No,” she says. Shakes her head again, as if refusing adamantly enough will make the world bend to her will. “No, there has to be something. There’s always some way. Have you looked through the contract?”

“Of course we have,” Sinna snaps. “Do you think we’re stupid?”

Miryam doesn’t reply. She looks down at the contract in her fingers, fighting the absurd urge to tear it to shreds. Her heart is racing, blood pounding in her ears. “We’ll look again, look more closely. There has to be a way.”

Drakon puts a hand on her arm. “There isn’t one,” he says softly. “There’s no getting out of this.”

Miryam brushes his hand off and jumps to her feet. “Don’t you dare give up,” she snaps. “This isn’t over yet.”

She hates how resigned Drakon sounds, hates how neither Nephelle nor Sinna disagree with him. Her power rumbles awake inside her, a great beast opening an eye. She tries to soothe it, but she is far too upset to even come close. Her power just spirals further and further. She keeps imagining how smug Ravenia must have looked when she told Drakon, how she must now be sitting in her palace, surrounded by her slaves, and drink with Artax to their success.

“Miryam,” Drakon says and reaches for her.

She steps back. She can’t take the look on his face, can’t take the fact that he is trying to calm her. Suddenly, there is far too little air in the room, the walls are pressing in on her and her power is roaring inside of her.

“I need to get some fresh air,” she gasps and all but runs out of the room. The guards look at her strangely as she rushes past them, but they make no move to stop her.

She gets lost almost immediately. All she knows of the palace is the way to Drakon’s quarters, and right now, she ended up in a wing of the castle that she never visited before. Her power is still rushing through her, she feels light-headed. For the first time in months, her grip on it is slipping. If she doesn’t find a way to control herself, she’ll bring the entire palace down around them. And hard as it is to anger Drakon, she thinks he might be a little annoyed if she accidentally destroyed his palace. She needs some air, and an open sky above her. Right now.

“Excuse me,” Miryam says to one of the guards who stand along the hallways. She’s out of breath even though she wasn’t running and her power keeps surging. “There’s a roof garden here, right? How do I get there?”

“My Lady.” The soldier bows deeply. “I’m sorry, but I can’t just – “

“Please,” Miryam says. The ground is shifting beneath her feet and she doubts she will be able to control herself much longer. “You can go to Drakon for confirmation, but it would really be easier…” Her magic surges and she doesn’t manage to finish the sentence.

The soldier surveys her, then seems to decide that chances of Drakon being angry if he lets her into the garden are indeed low.

“This way, my Lady.” He walks ahead, and Miryam quickly follows him.

The garden is beautiful, overflowing with colourful flowers, but Miryam barely has eyes for it. Her head is spinning.

“Thank you,” she manages. “If you would leave me alone, please.”

She barely notices the guard bowing again, then leaving quietly. Between the flowers, she drops to her knees, presses her palms against the ground. Breathe in. Breathe out. Ghost taught her to soothe the power like it’s a frightened animal. But today, she cannot. Ravenia’s face keeps appearing in her mind.

“Come on,” she whispers.

With a start, she realizes she still has the contract in her hand. The parchment is crumbled in her fingers and she quickly lets go. Her power surges again and this time, it hurts. Burns like fire. Miryam gasps for air.

“Shit,” she whispers. It has been a while since her power last hurt her like this. She almost expects the shadows to reappear.

Something moves and Miryam flinches, but it’s only a hummingbird that flies over and starts swirling right in front of her face. It’s about the size of her thumb and coloured in vivid blue and green colours. Miryam smiles at it and stretches out a hand.

“Come here,” she whispers.

Something in her chest seems to ease as the tiny bird sits down on her palm. It is beautiful, a perfect, tiny creature. Carefully, Miryam runs a finger over its feathers. She barely dares to touch it; it seems so breakable. The bird rubs its head against her finger. Slowly, Miryam’s power seems to settle.

She keeps watching the hummingbird, focusing only on it. A second one swirls over to her. This one is a bit greener than the last one, and it settles on Miryam’s knee. Miryam smiles and watches the birds. They are the only thing in the world, all he needs to care about. She breathes in slowly. Her power is almost calmed down now.

“All good,” she whispers, looking at the bird. “Thank you, you two.” She smiles after them as the two hummingbirds swirl away.

Her smile fades as her attention returns to the contract, though. Now that she can think straight again, she realizes that she shouldn’t have stormed off like that. She should have stayed and found words to comfort Drakon, not run off like she was the one who ought to be comforted in this situation. She should go back to Drakon, find words to make things easier for him.

Her eyes drift to the contract. Going back now might be the right thing. But it would also amount to admitting defeat. None of the others are willing to try. They think it is impossible to get out of the contract, and maybe they are right.

But if there’s one thing Miryam has learned these past years, it’s that impossible is an illusion. Impossible is a sixteen-year-old runaway slave from the Continent’s cruellest country starting a war all over the world and becoming leader of half the Continent. Impossible is a human girl being a witch. Impossible is breaking into Ravenia’s palace and stealing her most valuable prisoner from right under her nose. Impossible is a spell that effectively cleaves the world in two.

Miryam long since stopped believing in impossible. And she isn’t about to start now.

She spends the next hours sitting over the contract, trying desperately to find the loophole in the contract. She doesn’t understand all of the words, which makes it difficult, but there has to be a loophole. There’s always a loophole.

Over her, the sky turns dark and Miryam has one of the soldiers bring her a candle. By its flickering light, she keeps working. The moon has reached its highest point already when she finds it. A small paragraph, easy to dismiss, and yet it changes everything. If only she can manage one small trick.

----

Ever since Drakon managed to return to Erithia, he has been strangely calm. It’s like he’s separated from his surroundings by a thin wall. He can see and hear anything around him, but it only reaches him in a muted, less vibrant version. He can’t even feel panic or terror.

He is, of course, aware that this is just a strange reaction to shock. His body is shutting down, he is going numb. But it makes things so much easier.

Miryam hasn’t returned. He doesn’t know where she has gone. Maybe back to Telique. He desperately wishes she was back here with him, but at the same time, he understands if she needs space. This is probably just as much a shock for her as it is for him. (Sinna glowered a bit at her disappearance, but largely let it pass.)

They sit together for most of the night. Nephelle fishes a bottle of liquor out of one of the cupboards. They pass the bottle between them, none of them speaking a word, until they emptied a bottle.

It’s long past midnight when Nephelle falls asleep, head resting against Sinna’s chest. Sinna absentmindedly runs a hand through her hair.

“You could refuse,” she says, voice barely more than a whisper. “The magic might leave you alive. And we can face any other consequences.”

Drakon shakes his head. “You know that contracts ruling families sign tend to affect their land as well. I cannot risk that.”

Sinna nods and doesn’t say anything else. They sit in silence for another hour until Sinna finally falls asleep. Drakon isn’t tired at all. He remains sitting on his couch, knees drawn up to his chest. With a start, he realizes that this is his second-to-last night in Erithia. In two days, he will be in the Black Land. He needs to see to it that his affairs are settled. Name a successor. Talk to his council. Leave orders behind.

His stomach lurches and Drakon barely makes it to the bathroom before he throws up.

He spends the rest of the night lying on his back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. He wonders what will happen once he’s married to Ravenia. She’ll likely make him take her to Cretea, to the cave. She will take the sword, and she will take Erithia. What she will do then, Drakon cannot imagine, but he doubts it will be good for any of them. He doubts he will ever know. He doubts Ravenia will kill him, but she will certainly lock him up somewhere and throw away the key. (He tries to tell himself it doesn’t matter. That if what Artax said is true, they would have found Cretea and the sword eventually with or without this contract. But knowing this doesn’t help. It doesn’t help at all.)

He’s so scared. For himself, but mainly for the rest of the world. The humans, Erithia, the entire Cauldron-damned Alliance…

He cannot let this happen. It isn’t just about him and his country. If Ravenia gets her hands on the sword, they will all be doomed. And Drakon would rather die than allow that to happen. He just doesn’t know how to stop her.

He must have fallen asleep after all, because he startles awake when the door slams open. Sinna is already on her feet, hand reaching for a knife.

“I’ve got it!” Miryam says as she storms into the room.

Her hair is in disarray, standing wildly up from her head. Her eyes are bloodshot and her clothes ruffled, but she is smiling wildly. There is an almost frantic energy radiating off her, power sizzling through the air.

“What?” Drakon asks. The memories come back abruptly, like a slap in the face. He sits up.

“I’ve found a loophole,” Miryam says. She waves the contract in front of their faces. “Here, section four.”

Drakon’s hear misses a beat, then races on with twice its usual speed. “Really?” He asks, slightly out of breath. Nephelle is on her feet as well now, any tiredness vanished.

Miryam nods. “I knew there would be something,” she says. She lets herself fall on the couch next to Drakon and points to a passage in the contract. “Here, look.”

Drakon reads the passage and feels his heart drop. He already knew about this particular exception; it is common for any and all Continental marriage contracts. But he won’t be able to use it.

“That won’t work, Miryam,” he says as softly as he can. “I’m only except from having to follow the contract if I find a mate, and as far as I know, I don’t have one. Even if I do, I certainly won’t find them within the next few days.”

“I know you don’t have a mate,” Miryam says, waving the comment off. “But we could change that. I mean, I could. Being a witch has to be useful for something, doesn’t it?”

Drakon stares at her. “You mean…” He breaks off.

“You want to create a mating bond?” Nephelle asks, eyes wide.

Miryam nods. “It won’t be an actual mating bond, but it will look similar enough that it should fool the contract.” She reaches for his hand. “If I can convince the contract’s magic that we are mates, you won’t have to marry Ravenia. It will all be fine.”

Hope flutters in Drakon’s chest, but he forces it down. Much as he would want this, much as he loves Miryam for being ready to do this for him, they can’t go through with it. “Just having a mate wouldn’t be enough, though,” he says. “The contract requires I marry that person.”

Miryam’s smile fades and she nods, suddenly serious. “Yes. I suppose it does.”

----

Tags: @croissantcitysucks

#from here on things are moving towards the climax... well not quickly but somewhat directly #it's basically a chain reaction from here on #also #I'm very proud of finding a way to get around the mating bond #and explain the early marriage #before the wall #miryam #jurian #drakon #nephelle

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soft-sunflower · 4 years

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Flower of Evil Thoughts: Part 1- Episode 11

OKAY. FIRST OF ALL. WAS I RIGHT OR WAS I RIGHT? ABOUT MANY THINGS. I KNEW we were in for a massive emotional blow from Hyunsoo. I KNEW we were in for getting our hearts utterly wrecked by him and Jiwon. I know mine is. I KNEW who the accomplice was. I just... KNEW. I love that so many of my theories were correct from the get go. Alright, on we go to this week's episode thought post made by yours truly.

Alright so, we begin our episode at the hospital. OMG!!! Our little baby girl Eunha had just been born!!! Jiwon is overcome with all kinds of emotion. One of the things she says is "I'm grateful that she made it." It makes me wonder if there were complications during Eunha being delivered? Hyunsoo is trying to understand the reason for his wife's tears, and expresses to her that he's worried when she asks what's on his mind. I have a pretty good idea of what he's worried about, but obviously he cannot say this to Jiwon.

"What if she doesn't like me?" Translates to

"What if she resents having me for her father? What if she ends up like me, unable to express or understand emotions? What if she ends up like my father? What if she doesn't have your personality? What if I fail her the way I was failed growing up?"

Of course he can't say this because he doesn't even really know nor understand it himself. Then their baby girl starts to cry. Hyunsoo looks curiously at her and asks Jiwon

"Why did she suddenly burst into tears?"

Jiwon explains she probably shares their feelings.

"There's a lot she wants to say, but she can't put it into words yet."

I feel like this is important to pay attention to. A lot she wants to say, but can't put it into words and this is why she's crying. Hmmm...

Alright, so back to Haesoo discovering the green bracelet back when the hospital opened, and she hears a strange sound outside. I have to admit, when she ripped open the curtains, it gave me a jumpscare haha. I thought something BAD was gonna be out there waiting for her! They sure do a good job at keeping the suspense up! I wasn't sure what was going to happen. lol You never can tell in this drama. It's always got me on my toes. Haesoo is getting closer and closer to the accomplice. She can feel it. I can too, but it has me worried.

OKAY so, we finally pick back up at the scene in present-day for Jiwon where last week's episode ended with Detective Choi Jaeseop confronting Jiwon about Do Hyunsoo's identity. I felt a very strong, almost brotherly aspect from Detective Choi here with Jiwon, but he still frustrated me unbelievably. I get it, he's a cop. Just doing his job, but still... please use your brain on this rather than taking a cold case at face value. There's A LOT more going on he does not know. I have to give him props for covering smoothly for Jiwon. I know he isn't doing this to hurt Jiwon. That this is his job, but I don't have to like it. I just hate how he acts on his gut feeling and what he's "heard" or hearsay rather than working with Jiwon to uncover the truth that Do Hyunsoo did not kill the village foreman.

Also excuse me?? I'm sorry, Detective Choi, but her emotions are VERY VERY real. Whether you want to believe that or not. Jiwon knows so much more than you do about this entire ordeal and you should stop riding on your own emotions for a moment and work with your teammate rather than telling her she needs off the case. Such as, finding out the real Heeseong is NOT dead. He's been comatose for 14+ years and now he's wide awake and talking. This is one case she HAS to be on no matter what. Because he is so dearly misinformed. I'm getting a little tired of this "He's deceiving you" crap about Hyunsoo because we all know this isn't the truth. Yes, he kept his real identity secret, but he never faked anything around her. He showed her openly who he really is and can be. He was NEVER Baek Heeseong. He was ALWAYS Do Hyunsoo. A good person.

When Jiwon fell to her knees pleading (Moon Chaewon's delivery of "Sunbae, please!" and "I'll put my life on the line to prove his innocence!" hurt so much that if I had been standing, I would've went to my knees too *sob* Well done, girl) to him. I do like how he wanted to try and protect her by saying "You don't know anything." I have to give him some credit for that.

"It's obvious how the world will see him. Everyone will throw rocks at him and taunt him indefinently."

Oh Jiwon... he's already been through that. LITERALLY. *glares are freaking Moojin* But we definitely don't want that happening to him again. He's a GOOD man and he deserves for the world to see that he's good and he's innocent. You are going to be the one who can prove who he is to the world. And no, Detective Choi... she won't thank you. Not now or ever for arresting any innocent man that also happens to be her husband. I'm sorry, but no. She won't.

We cut to Hyunsoo and Moojin together in Hyunsoo's car... I knew from the start that this operation was too well put together. There's no way that transaction was gonna flow as smoothly as Hyunsoo hoped it would. Though I'm glad that Moojin did come along for help and I'm glad that Hyunsoo had a plan B if things went south, which they ALWAYS do because hello? This is Kdrama world haha. The bugging device was clever on Hyunsoo's part, and I'm glad he was thinking ahead on that one. This stuff is never bound to go right. And once again, clever clever with turning on the switch AFTER he'd been ran over with the detector. Nice one.

Alright, Detective Choi earned more redemption from me here when he smoothly lied to their fellow teammates about "Eunha being sick and in the hospital." I will give him more credit here. Credit where credit is due, but I am SO proud of Jiwon for not backing down on this, stepping in and taking charge. Girl, GET. IT!! Protect your man!!!I LOVE her fierce determination here. You aren’t gonna stop her, sunbae.

YES!!! Moojin has the address to where the people captured by the human traffickers are waiting! I'm so glad for this honestly. I'm really glad Hyunsoo bugged that bag. Jiwon gets the call from the "informant" (Moojin pretending to be Hyunsoo, which YES she IS needed on this case THANK YOU very much) and now they know where they can rescue those kidnapped people while busting the trafficking ring.

"You want me to just stay in the office and wait!? What would you do in my shoes?"

And it seems Detective Choi has a moment of conscience here because what WOULD he do? He's got a wife too, right? What would HE do if this were HIS wife that he so dearly loves??? That's right. He'd be just like Jiwon. Who wouldn't??

Ahhh, just as Yeom Sangchul is about to hand over the photos of the accomplice to Hyunsoo, his phone rings... and guess what it says on the screen? BAEK. Yep. That's right. Freaking BAEK. And it's the unfather. It's Baek Manwoo calling to not only put a hit out on Hyunsoo but to tell the trafficker that he's working with the police to catch them and offers him TWICE the money he's already giving them if they kill Hyunsoo... I mean REALLY??? WTF you shady bastard! I had a BAD feeling from him since the very first episode and those bad feelings just continue to be confirmed to me. This whole Baek family are nothing but creepy, shady, untrustworthy assholes covering up some major shit such as WORKING WITH HUMAN TRAFFICKERS. Down to the point that Yeom Sangchul called him "Sir." UGH. DISGUSTING.

Heeseong is "scared" of Do Hyunsoo? Oh please... Why I do I feel like a lot of this that he's pulling off is a big act? I dunno. I could be wrong but I do not trust him in the least.

And now Noona!? Girl what are you DOING!? Haven’t you ever heard the term Stranger Danger? Well, these are strangers and this is danger! Watching her go behind those iron gates just gives me this creepy "point of no return" vibe. You know? She is far far too trustworthy... Was it smart to tell them her name?? And that Hyunsoo is her brother?? The look on Heeseong's face SCREAMS guilty when he hears Haesoo speak her name. I'm JUST saying. He's fucked. He KNOWS who Haesoo is after all.

YESSSS!!!! So gratifying watching the cops BUST that trafficking ring! Thank you, Hyunsoo!! Your tip off just saved A LOT of lives. I really hope the cops so eager to imprison him realize this too on top of his innocence. Jiwon and Jaeseop's chase of the bartender on the bridge was awesome. I loved watching Jiwon switch directions with both her and Jaeseop have him surrounded on that bridge. When I saw Jiwon get stabbed I screamed. I really screamed. Because I thought for sure she was hurt, and thank GOD she had protective gear on. I love how she reemed Jaeseop's ass for not wearing his. HAH! And you didn't want her on this case! My girl is a legit badass.

Then when Jaeseop told her not to butt in in the future, and asked if she knew how scared he was (awww like a big ole brother protecting his sister), Jiwon tells him "I have no future." Oh god... *chokes* Yes you do, baby girl. Yes you do. You just don't know it yet. They capture the guy, are about to head back and she tells him "I still have something to do." YESSSS Queen. Go get your man! He's still wearing his watch. You'll find him so go get him out of that dangerous place!!!

Annnnd now the big moose trafficker guy working with Yeom Sangchul is beating the holy hell out of our Hyunsoo. I knew this was bound to happen. NONE of these things ever go properly or smoothly in Kdrama and of course it's for dramatic affect, but still. It's hard to watch him get tossed around and beaten like a ragdoll. Hyunsoo tries to fight back, but it's almost like no will is there. He's just going through the motions. He throws Hyunsoo into a shelving unit and slams his head off of a glass bottle, shattering it and busting his head open. And then he slams his head through a glass cabinet door. Again... another head injury. (This poor man seriously needs to get thoroughly checked and evaluated for head injury, fractures, contusions, concussions, etc... because with how much he's hit his head... goodness!!!)

Awww, Moojin... you tried really hard to save Hyunsoo, didn't you with the fire extinguisher act? That's definitely a redeeming quality for you here. I'm grateful you did that, even if it wasn't very effective. He can't get out, Moojin.. he's had the shit beat out of him and now he's tied up. But I so appreciate your efforts in trying to rescue our protagonist. Why does Lee Joongi have to be so incredibly gorgeous, even when he's got bloody head wounds and is all tied up. Gosh. My brain is thinking lots of things. Okay let's FOCUS.

THIS WHOLE BAEK FAMILY IS A SHADY, FAKE, LYING SACK OF SCUM. PLEASE, Noona... PLEASE do not fall for this. HAH. Well, their son isn't comatose anymore. He's wide awake. Also, took pity on Hyunsoo!? No they didn't. Not even CLOSE. They used him to their advantage. They're worried Hyunsoo will get caught up in it? HAHA! BULLSHIT. And you KNOW he isn't a criminal and yet you treat him like one!? Why not just leave the him TF alone. He doesn't want your son's identity anymore. You're putting hits on him with a human trafficker and you're gonna act like he matters? Noona, please... PLEASE don't fall for their act.

Oh she's telling them too much. WAY too much. She's giving them too much vital information, and I'm really afraid that this is going to be somehow used against her... especially in regards to the accomplice... who I believe is also CHEWING HIS NAILS ON HIS LEFT HAND. JUST LIKE I SAID HE WAS DOING IN THE PREVIEW. WHICH IS ANOTHER LEAD TO HIM BEING THE ACCOMPLICE. Those left nails. Chewed off. Nervous habit obviously, but STILL OBVIOUS OKAY. The real Heeseong IS the accomplice. Look at the way the whole Baek family behaves. They're a horrible, scary, shady family trying to cover their murderous son's ass.

Ohhhh CRAP, Moojin!!! He is getting the holy HELL beat out of him and he's getting it on video on his phone too! Like WOW!!! People are seeing this stuff live!!! This is absolutely crazy!!! No good stomping the phone, bro. All of that was just broadcast live. Good luck getting out of your lil trafficker ring hideout on time. You're gonna burn Hyunsoo alive??? Seriously??? That's pretty cruel. At least Hyunsoo tries to be clever by also trying to weasel the name out of the guy that ratted him out. Oh if ONLY Hyunsoo could find out!! That's MORE valuable information to help clear his name! That the shady unfather put a hit out on him. He deserves to know that this man is out for his blood.

YASSSSSSSSSS JIWON!!!! GO QUEEN!!! GO AND SAVE YOUR MAN!!!! GET HIM OUTTA THERE AND BLOW THAT TRAFFICKER'S HEAD OFF!!!! Obviously this isn't going to happen. Jiwon wouldn't kill unless absolutely necessary is what I believe. She is a police officer after all, but there was NOTHING like watching Jiwon have her gun to that piece of garbage excuse for a human being gang punk bastard's head while looking at her husband saying "Sweetie, are you alright?" It's a whole.fucking.ass.mood. I'll reiterate my statement from earlier. JIWON IS A LEGIT BADASS. She is such an amazing lead female. The look on Hyunsoo’s face... It’s like he’s in a state of shock.

YAY!!! The victims are FREE!!! Thank god In Seo is okay!! And yes, sweet precious baby boy. You can go home. You most certainly can go home and don't ever EVER run away from your mother ever again. You stay next to her and both of you need to protect each other and keep each other out of any dangerous situations, y'know, like showing up in shady places that involve a human trafficking ring. No more trying to take on fake jobs that will "make you lots of money." That's the first sign it's a dangerous situation and non-legit. Also, I love how the team leader knows Jaeseop is lying to him, but that he wouldn't do it without good reason. And I'm glad he's still keeping it up. I like that he's still protecting Jiwon. Even if that means lying to their team leader. He's going to make his arrest in the morning, but he's going to let Jiwon and Hyunsoo have the whole night together... oh god, my heart. Please don't imprison an innocent man...

Oh, Hyunsoo... oh honey. You can see emotion beginning to brim the surface here as he stumbles out Jiwon's name saying "You knew...?" Yes, sweetheart. She's known for a little while now, and she was completely unsure of what to do or how to tell you until she got the truth of it all. And here she is. Getting you out of there. Rescuing you and protecting you. Jiwon is your fiercest protector. That much is clear. And OMG DO NOT PUT YOUR GUN AWAY JIWON. GET YOUR CUFFS BUT DO NOT... OH NO!!!!

Gangster piece of SHIT is attacking her!!! And Hyunsoo is LOSING it because he's tied up and he can't get to his wife! So what does he do while he watching this nasty bastard try to kill her? ADRENALINE SURGE! He literally BUSTS the handles off the cabinet with tied up arm strength alone because the idea of his wife being choked to death in front of him has sent him into a frenzy, gets his hands free and beats the ever living deserving SHIT out of Yeom Sangchul, to the point that he's seeing RED and he's going to kill this son of a bitch for daring to lay a hand on his wife. He's in full blown protective husband mode and it's actually pretty hot. I can't help it. It is. Whenever JG fights, he is like fire hot sexy af, and I LOVE every moment of it.

Okay, so Jiwon pulls him off of Sangchul and here we go... she's telling him. He's telling him she knows. She's telling him that Detective Choi has evidence that he's Do Hyunsoo, and the way she tells him he can't go home (omg his FACE at this words...) keeps telling him to go, slaps his chest and shoves him back, tells him to run and never come back to her again, and the look on his face breaks my heart, because I feel like this tells him she knows and doesn't want him anymore. She knows your real identity and this is why she wants you gone. She doesn't love you anymore, she wants you gone. The person Do Hyunsoo is not worth the love of a woman like Cha Jiwon.

“You’re good at running and hiding!” Ohhh ouch, Jiwon... I truly believe that this is how he feels because that's how he's lived all of his life. Believing himself unworthy of love because of all the adults who failed him in his life, the adults who didn't help him, teach him, show him what it's like to be loved, what love feels like, what the emotions that accompany love feel like. He's emotionally shaken. It's written all over his face, his eyes, and his body language. The man who supposedly can't recognize emotion is getting very emotional. He's lost. He doesn't know what to do. Jiwon is just as equally crushed. She doesn't want to lose her husband, but of course Hyunsoo does not know this. He believes Jiwon doesn't want him anymore. So he does as he's told and leaves the room with his head bowed. All Jiwon can do is cry over her retreating husband. That was hard to watch...

Moojin rushes in to find Jiwon on the phone asking for backup and Yeom Sangchul unconscious on the floor...

To be continued in Part 2

#flower of evil #lee joon gi #moon chae won #do hyun soo #cha ji won #lee joongi #moon chaewon #do hyunsoo #cha jiwon #joonchae couple #episode thoughts #flower of evil episode 11

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years

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Survey #390

“i am the enemy, here to save the day!”

When was the last time you woke up in the middle of the night? I do this LITERALLY every night. Do you write? (Songs, poems ect..) RP posts and rarely poetry. What is the easiest type of YouTube video to binge watch? Probably a good let's play of a game I'm really into. Do you color Easter eggs still? I haven't in years. I would if it was offered up, though. Do you prefer to decorate with pastel colors or bright colors for Easter? Pastelllll. Do you own a cross necklace? I did in the past, but I don't now. What color is your favorite pair of shorts? I don’t wear shorts. Do you prefer bright colors, dark colors, or pastel colors? Pastels. What’s something that makes you tired? Socializing. Like it's physically draining to me. Do you like drawing or painting better? Drawing. Do you own any foreign coins? No. Do you prefer soft tacos or hard? I hate tacos. Any recent purchases? My niece's birthday is coming up, so I bought her a Disney version of a board game from my childhood called "Pretty Pretty Princess." She's going to love it. :') Do you ever make mixed CD’s for anyone? I never did, no. Are you into gory movies? Yeah. Have you ever been locked in a room forcefully without anyone knowing? omg no Do you have the same color eyes as your mother? No. Do you know anyone who has overdosed? Me. Though I obviously didn't die. Have you ever been put to sleep for surgery? Twice. What is your favorite online smiley face to you? I think I use (: the most. What is something that freaks you out no matter what? Seeing babies move in their mother's stomach makes me want to shriek and vomit. Do you have any fetishes? No. Do you take a lot of photos? Sigh, not as much as I used to... I just don't know what to photograph anymore. Never leaving home doesn't help. Do you have big ears? No; I actually have very small ears, as has been pointed out to me. Do you have a laptop, desktop or both? A laptop. Have you ever met an online friend in real life? Yes! :') There are more I wanna meet. What would you say is your favorite color, out of them all? Baby pink. Have you ever attempted suicide? Yes. What are you most known for? In my real life, my art "skills." Online, probably my obsession with meerkats. Do you have a problem with body hair? Nope. The stigma of it needs to fucking stop. If you bathe yourself and keep your hair groomed, who the actual fuck cares what YOU do with YOUR body. Have you ever been so depressed, you were put on medication? I've been medicated for depression since the 7th grade. What is one thing you think is gross about the human body? Fluids like pus gross me out. Have you ever witnessed someone being murdered? Jesus, no. o_o At what age do you plan to get married? I'd like to as a young adult, but it's not that big a deal for me because I don't want kids (I wouldn't want kids 'til marriage if I did). Do you have any candles in your room? No, but a wax warmer. Ever make a friendship bracelet for someone? Yeah, as a kid. What have you been made fun of for the most? People love to pick on me always being on the computer, when I REALLY wish they fucking wouldn't. I'm aware it's an issue that I've had before I was even a teenager and it makes me SUPER self-conscious. When you’re visiting a site, do you still type ‘www.’? No; I kinda forgot that was a thing, lol. Can you still read the time if an analogue clock doesn’t have numbers on it? Yeah. To whom will/did you first talk about the first time you’ve had sex? My mom, I think. What is something you didn’t like about being thirteen? Acne lmaooo. What can you hear right now? "Girls" by Marina. It's really been jammed in my head lately. Do you think it’s okay for kids to have cellphones? Depends on the age and the phone, imo. I personally am for the idea of (slightly older) children having some sort of cell phone with limited applications, just because emergencies happen, and if I was a mom, I'd want my child to ALWAYS be able to reach me like if they were at a friend's or something. I'll tell you right now kids don't need extravagant iPhones, though. Again: limited applications, also to prevent addiction. Do you have any siblings? If so which one of them do you get along with the best? I have one brother and technically five sisters, but I know nothing of one of them. I don't really know who I get along with best...? I'm sadly not exceptionally close to any. What’s your favorite TV show? And who’s your favorite character from it? My favorite show of all time is Meerkat Manor, wherein my favorite character was Mozart. What kind of signs do you use when you pose for pictures? I usually don't make any, but I'll sometimes do a peace sign. What math subject is your favorite? Um, none? How about science? Genetics. Do you have a favorite Youtuber? If so, who? And what is your favorite video by them? Markiplier, obviously. :') Favorite video... I think it's gotta be the first video of the Dark route in "A Date With Markiplier." It's, uh, special to me lmfao. What’s your favourite Mexican dish? I just like quesadillas. Have you ever ordered a specially made cake from a cake shop? Yeah. Well I mean, Mom has. What’s the name of your first real boyfriend or girlfriend? Jason. Have you ever dated a model? No. What is your ultimate goal in life? To be happy and satisfied with what I've done. Have you ever visited someone in prison? No. What months were you and your siblings born in? I was born in February, my younger sister in April, and my older sister is a June baby. Do you write down your passwords in a physical place to prevent losing them? No. x_x Do you have any injuries at the moment? No. Are you tall, short or average? Would you change this? Average. Nah. Have you ever taken an acting class? No, not my thing. Have you ever worked in a store while someone shoplifted there? Yikes, no. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to eat? Venison. Basically anything hunted primarily for sport. If you killed something that did not need to be killed to provide for yourself, I'm not touching it. Have you ever lived in university/college campus housing? No. Who was the last person you complimented? I think my mom? She's doing great with her diet, and I can tell she's lost weight. Do you like spring rolls? Yeah, they're decent. What do you live on in terms of a street, road, crescent, place, court etc? Court. What’s your favourite type of curry? I don't know if I've ever tried any. Have you ever had casual sex? No. Not my jam. If your phone rang right now from a number you don’t know, would you answer? Nope. What was your first pet’s name and how did you pick that? My first personal pet was either my guinea pig Squeak or Chinese water dragon Shadow. I could NOT tell you why I named a green lizard "Shadow," but I called Squeak "Squeak" because he, well, squeaked, lol. How tall are your highest heels? Not high at all. What’s your favourite flavour of frosting? Chocolate. Last thing you looked up on Wikipedia? It was a band that needed a Wikipedia link to go on the Silent Hill wiki. Someone pointed out in trivia that Tears of Mankind covered a SH piece. Should guys keep their shirts on at shows? Unless there's a good reason, like you're seriously overheating, I think so. What about girls? The same as guys. I do think women should keep their bras on though mostly for their own protection because people are pigs. Do you have multiple playlists on YouTube? Yes. What is a goal that you have trouble accomplishing? Losing weight, apparently... What color is your Easter basket? I don't have one anymore. My childhood one was a light tan basket with a baby pink frill around it. What do you need to get from the store right now? Mom just got groceries the other day. What is something that you used to feel ashamed of, but now you don’t? I can't think of anything. EVERYTHING embarrasses me, so. What is your favorite part of growing older? Uhhhhhh. Are you hypersensitive? If so, in what ways are you hypersensitive? Yes, to textures in food. What’s a drug that’s made you gain weight? Paxil was the first, but I worked it all off and got in the best shape of my life. Then Abilify absolutely destroyed my body as far as my weight is concerned because my doctor was an absolute, utter fucking idiot that I will never forgive. Is there a piece of jewelry you have your eye on right now? No. Do you believe that people can be asexual? Bro the fuck, of course I do. What color is your Bible, if you have one? I don't have one. When are you at your happiest? When I first wake up and get on the computer. New day, same shit, but don't tell me that. :^) Do you prefer to spend your time indoors or outdoors? I mean, it really depends on my mood as well as the weather, but generally, indoors. Can you honestly say that you love yourself? Nope. Where did you go, the last time you left your house? My sister's house to celebrate her husband's birthday. Do you like your singing voice? Meh, it depends on the song I'm singing, but usually, no. Have you ever done a psychedelic drug? If not, would you ever consider it? No to both.

#survey #surveys #questions #lyrics: ''brand new numb'' by motionless in white

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talatomaz · 5 years

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a shattered mind | lena luthor x arias!sister

a/n: i’ve been down a lot recently and i know it’s because of my anxiety but it’s still a struggle sometimes (based on my personal experiences, except I just deal with it by myself)

warnings: anxiety

word count: 1.7k

masterlist | request list | request rules

i do not give you permission to repost or translate my fics on any platform - likes/reblogs are okay and are much appreciated

Nobody realised how broken you were. They just didn’t. Every morning, from the moment you opened your eyes, all you would do is wait for the next time you could close them. You felt empty. It was as if everything you were, everything you had inside of you was just gone.

Nothing survived the war inside your head.

It had been like this consistently for the past month. It used to happen when you were younger too. For a few weeks, you would be happy. Carefree. But one day could ruin it all.

You were fine one minute then crying the next. But you dealt with it because you had to. You didn’t want to burden your family or friends. It would get better soon. You knew that. Hell, even maybe by tomorrow, you’d be okay.

It wasn’t depression, that you knew. Your doctor had told you that it was your anxiety playing up and had given you medication to manage it when it arose in times of stress.

You couldn’t contain your laugh. Your whole life was one big stress. You weren’t even being dramatic either.

Over this past month, you had to deal with the many attempts on your girlfriend’s life and on yours by association. You had to deal with the fact that your sister was, in fact, an evil alien who wanted to kill...everyone, basically. You also had to hide out with your niece in your girlfriend’s brother’s mansion where yet another attempt on your life was made.

The only thing that helped manage your feelings now was that it was all over. Reign had been destroyed, giving you your sister back and your niece, her mother back. Your girlfriend was thriving, managing both CatCo and L-Corp. The Danvers sisters were good. Alex and Maggie were happy. As was Kara. Everyone was good. Except you.

You knew everything was better now but that didn’t stop you waiting for the other shoe to drop.

***

You were able to manage it alone.

If, after making plans, you felt like you weren’t up to it, you’d make up an excuse about having to work overtime. No one really questioned it. They knew being a lawyer came with odd and lengthy hours.

But you couldn’t hide it this time. You had to face everyone. You couldn’t cancel as much as you wanted to.

It was your birthday party after all.

Everyone had gathered at Sam’s house, including you who had arrived with your girlfriend. Truth be told, you were okay. For the first few hours anyway. You laughed with the Danvers sisters. You joked with Maggie, Sam and Ruby. You flirted with Lena. You were good.

But it was like something just switched.

Almost as if your own “Reign” had taken over.

You had momentarily detached yourself from the disagreement that had ensued in the group about the best female comedy and suddenly felt overwhelmed with a rush of sadness.

Quickly regaining your composure, you continued arguing with the group but your heart wasn’t in it anymore.

You thought no one had noticed.

But Lena had.

She always noticed.

***

You all were halfway through watching Ocean’s 8, now at the part where Nine Ball had hacked into the security department’s system.

You were cuddled up against your girlfriend, her arm wrapped protectively around your waist, giving no indication that she knew about your inner turmoil.

You began to feel the air around you constricting so you politely excused yourself from the group and made your way to your sister’s guest room, reserved for whenever you stayed over.

Unbeknownst to you, Lena followed.

Walking into the room, you sat down on the edge of the bed and whispered to yourself.

“Come on. Breathe, y/n. Breathe. You’re okay.” You tried to regulate your breathing, focusing on your different senses. When you got to ‘sound’, you heard a gentle knock on the door.

Panicking, you stood up, smoothing your hair and began rummaging around in the drawers, already formulating an excuse.

“Come in.” You answered.

Turning to face the door, you saw your girlfriend enter and gently close the door behind you.

“Hi, Lena. What’s up?”

“Nothing. Just wanted to see where you had gone.”

“I was looking for my bracelet. I think I left it here the last time I stayed over.”

“You mean the one you’re wearing?” Lena asked, her brow arched at you in question.

Looking down at your wrist, you sighed. It was a good excuse as well. Sitting back down on the bed, you stared back up at your girlfriend.

“Why are you really here?”

“I told you. I wanted to see where you had gone.” She hesitated for a brief second, “I wanted to see if you were okay.”

Your heart dropped to your stomach. How did she know? You never showed it. You opened your mouth but no words came out but that was okay because Lena spoke for you.

“What’s wrong, y/n?” Lena asked, still leaning against the door.

“Nothing, I’m fine.”

“Y/N, seriously. What’s wrong?” She repeated.

“Nothing, Lena. I’m fine.” Now getting frustrated at her persistence.

“Y/N, what’s wrong?” She said, still calm.

“Nothing.”

“Y/N.”

“Lena.”

“Y/N.”

It went on like this before you just...snapped.

Tears running down your face, you began to raise your voice.

“You want to know what’s wrong? Really? Well, I just want a moment to breathe. I just want to be happy. To stay happy. No more tears. No more waiting for the other shoe to drop. I just want the pain to disappear. I can’t take this. I want to be stronger than I am. I want to be who you all see me as. Happy. Carefree. I just need to be okay again.”

You ranted, tears now carelessly streaming down your face and you made no attempt to wipe them.

Lena’s own eyes filled with tears at your outburst. She made her way to sit on the bed beside you and took your hands in hers.

“There is no finish line, y/n. It’s not possible to get to a certain point in life where your problems have disappeared. It’s just not reality. And it’s unhealthy for you to think like that. No, let me finish.” She added when you opened your mouth to interrupt her.

“There is no finish line,” she repeated. “But you do have the capacity for recovery. You can set manageable expectations and goals. You can focus on your capacity for recovery and be proud of each step you take.”

You were speechless. You had never thought about it like that. You knew she had most likely paraphrased an article she had read, but you were grateful nonetheless.

When you felt that you could speak without your voice wavering, you did. “It’s like I’m...Like I’m numb. But at the same time, I feel everything. It’s hard to explain.”

Lena moved to brush your hair away from your face, tucking it behind your ear. Sucking in a harsh breath, you met your girlfriend’s clear green eyes. And saw perfect understanding there.

“God, I’m so sorry. I know you’re going through so much right now and that I shouldn’t be feeling like this. I’ve got Sammy back and we’re great too. I don’t know why I’m like this.”

“Hey. Hey.” Lena lifted your chin with her finger.

“It’s not a competition and don’t ever apologise for your feelings.”

You nodded, not trusting your voice, more tears sliding down your cheek. “I can’t breathe.”

Lena rose to her feet, beginning to panic believing you were having an anxiety attack.

“No, I’m okay. I just meant that I feel like I can’t breathe. Sometimes I just feel like I’m being suffocated.”

Without saying another word, Lena brought you to your feet and wrapped her arms around you in a tight embrace.

Before long, you were sobbing in her arms, finally allowing yourself succumb to your feelings and the overwhelming need to cry.

Lena still didn’t say a word. She just soothed you by stroking her hand through your hair and down your back.

Once your tears stopped, you attempted to remove yourself from Lena’s arms but she just held her arms tighter around you, resting your head back on her chest. Relenting, you relaxed against her, placing a soft kiss against her collar bone.

“Thank you for listening.”

She moved you both so you could lay together on the bed.

“Thank you for telling me.” Her arms were still wrapped protectively around you.

You lifted your head and placed a soft kiss on your girlfriend’s lips.

“I’m so glad you’re in my life. I love you, Lena Luthor.”

“I promise I’m always going to be here for you. And I love you too, Y/N L/N. Now go to sleep, for my sake.”

Opening the door quietly, Sam and the rest of the super-friends peered in the room, their faces softening at the sight of you in Lena’s arms, your face serene.

Lena opened her eyes and raised her brow, as if daring one of them to make a sound.

Sam put her hands up in defense before whispering a soft ‘thank you’ to her best friend and then closed the door gently behind her.

Turning around to face the rest of her family, she spoke, “I’m grateful Lena’s in y/n’s life. She’s been so down lately and she’s always struggled with it by herself just like when she was younger.”

Ruby walked up to her Mum and clung to her waist, leaning up to kiss her cheek. Then everyone else joined in until they were in one large group hug.

They all knew you were struggling.

And they all knew you tried your hardest to hide it from them.

But they knew.

Because they were your family.

And you wouldn’t have it any other way.

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tazanna-blythe · 5 years

Text

Done

Chapter 1

Marinette had an awful week. A week full of Marinette we need this, Marinette can you make this?, Marinette plan this, Marinette schedule this , Marinette fix this and etc. And when she'd say no or that she's busy they call her lazy and petty. And this is just her so called classmates and miss bustier did nothing to help her and just said to do it.

Oh and let's not forget the constant bullying and abuse they do outside of school and the constant taunts of lie la and the dismissive looks Adrian give her when ever she disagree with him on something.

She can' t take this anymore . She's exhausted mentally and physically and this is affecting not only on school but on ladybug most fight's she had with akuma's last only minutes now its almost an hour which is bad and its taking a toll on her.

She needs this to stop , she needed a plan. A plan to stop all this ,a plan to finally give her the peace and relaxation she so deserves not only for her insanity but also for her future.

While Marinette ponders on tikki is furious ,so mad that she's wishing someone's death! Which is not like her, she's the type that believes that everyone deserves a second chance to redeem themselves. The caring, loving and forgiving kwamii never gets truly mad at anything is now bloody red from thinking of how everyone treats her chosen to the point that she readily helps her chosen on her plan and a wicked plan it was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The 2 of them finalized there plan until they saw the sun rises and the hurried foot step of her parents preparing for the morning rush of the bakery.

"Well tikki if we need this plan to succeed i need a lot of money, time and patients. Which the first 2 don't have"

"yes , we do!"

"What?? Where ?? When? How??"

" Marinette did you forget I'm the goddess of creation, i can just create some money for you easy peasy" . As tikki was getting ready to create money out of thin air.

"Tikki no!!! This is wrong and we don't know how long its gonna last and how much energy your gonna use and the money we need isn't small you know! And most of all this is ILLEGAL!"

"Then what are we gonna do??"

"How about you make me mini camera with Hd quality lenses and audio?"

"Sure Marinette?! I can do that, how many do you need??"

"Just 2 and make it look like my hair tie???"

Just as Marinette orders 2 identical hair tie's appears in thin air that looks the same as her old one's . Without any hesitation she opens it and saws a mini camera in side with 2tb (terabyte) SD card each inside. With that she gets ready for the day and went down stairs with a new hair tie and confidence .

Marinette left the bakery with no one noticing her and hurriedly walk to school. while she was almost at the top of the stairs.

"How could you!" Alya screamed at her " you were supposed to babysit my sister last night so Nino and I can have a date!!"

Marinette raised her eyebrow "Babysit? How can i babysit when no one told me to and I was busy"

"What can you be busy of? You don't do anything special and you have a lot of free time and most of all I'm your best friend and friends have each others back !!"

"Bestfriend so it means i have to do your job??"

"Yes! And where's the interview with ladybug you promised me? Its been weeks all ready and I don't have anything new about ladybug."

"First of all I didn't promise you anything second why don't you just ask Lila about the interview she's ladybug's best friend I'm sure she'd love to help you"

"Oh that's right ill just ask her at least she'll help me unlike somebody i know" with that she walks inside looking for Lila.

*sign* Marinette slowly but surely walks to the classroom and sat on her sit, puts her head down and fallen asleep.

*Rings*

Lunch break its lunch break and no one even notice Marinette was sleeping alone at the back . Slowly Marinette opens her eyes and walks out of the classroom and see's most of her classmates surrounding Liela and telling a new tall tale about who knows what. At this point she doesn't care anymore.

She walked to the vacant table and starts eating her croissant.

"Yes, damiboo loves me so much that he even bought me this beautiful bracelet, i told him not to buy me this but he insisted on it so who am i to say no hahahaha" everyone started looking at her bracelet in awe.

" ahhh Lila this is beautiful and is this damiboo your talking about is Damián Wayne right?" Alya ask with twinkle in her eyes

"Aw yes but please don't tell anyone this is suppose to be a secret we don't want people getting the wrong idea"

"That's so sweet ,where did you meet Lila" rose said sweetly

"We are childhood friends I've know each other since we were 6 yrs. His family just adores me and practically wanted me to just move in with them but my mom said we were to young so she'll have to keep me for the time being"

"Awwww...that so romantic I wish I have that" rose send with hearts in her eyes

While everybody flocks on Liela there's 3 people looking at the group in disbelieve. And the 3 would be Marinette, Chloe and Adrien all 3 of them knows with one look that the bracelet is fake and by the looks of it very cheap mostly likely a fashion jewelry.

" I cant believe people actually believes utterly ridiculous "chloe said seriously

Marinette looks up from her table and saw Chloe approaching her and sitting down at the table right next to her.

"What are you doing here Chloe"

" I know I'm grade a bitch but i can't stand stupid people i mean look at it with just one glance you would know that bracelet is fake and it's not even that beautiful i just don't get why their flocking at her. And i rather be here with you than hear another ridiculously story about who knows what"

"You and me both Chloe"

"So are you going to exposure or what"

"Yes of course I just need time and help"

" I'll help you in one condition you need to sign the contract to work in my mother's company ezpz right a win-win for both of us"

Marinette raised eyebrow "Joking right! Why on earth would you want me to work with your mother, do you know what that means ha Chloe. It means will be together a lot more than usual"

"Do you think I'm stupid? Of course I know that and I think its better actually. Your a dork who know fashion has talents ,hates liars and my mother likes you. And unlike those stupid and so called friends of ours I know who is better and real people and most of all you never gave up and loyal and that's hard to find"

"What about Sabrina?"

"She's was loyal to me of course then she suddenly believes everything Liela said and you know the rest"

"So all I need is to sign the contract and you'd help me?"

"Yup"

Marinette ponders a bit "Deal! As long as you are not allowed to call me anymore weird and awful nickname ,no more mocking, no more trash talk, be your real self with me and I have to read the contract first" and I reach my hand to her for her to shake

"Deal, so later after school come with me to the hotel" Chloe said with a real smile plaster on her face

While the 2 of them have a heart to heart talk someone's watching them from a far with a confused face but he dismissed it and just eat with his friends while trying to listen to what everyone's saying. This is for the better and when Marinette finally sees what he means everything will be back to normal and everyone's gonna be happy again. With that thought he had a funny weird smile on his face imagining his perfect world while plagg's busy trying to contact tikki or ladybug.

When lunch is over everybody's going back to their classroom. Marinette sits at the back without even giving a glance at her classmates then Chloe sits next to her and giving her a small smile. Everyone's shock of what just happened then just gossip with each other in hush tones about how weird its is which is still heard by Marinette and Chloe. Which they just ignore.

The class end everyone's starts packing there things then Alya stomps her way to the back of the class

"You!!! What do you think your doing?" She points aggressively at Marinette with a fierce glare.

"I'm packing my things"

"Don't be pretend you don't know! you threatened Lila in the bathroom"

"Why would I do that and when did I do that?"

"Your just a jealous bitch you know that ,Lila never did anything to you and you just can't stand that's she's more cooler than you"

"Alya you didn't answer me when did I threatened her?"

"At lunch, Lila said so!"

Marinette looks at Alya disbelievingly " How can a threatened her when you guys where with her all the time??"

"Are you calling Lila a liar?"

"No I'm telling you to use your head. Come on Chloe lets go" just before there leaving

"And why the hell are you hanging out with Chloe? Don't you remember your sworn enemies and don't you there bail on me again you are babysitting my sisters today!"

Marinette looked directly into her eyes then said "she is my friend and I'm not your slave so get away from me"

Alya was taken by surprise by the sudden coldness of Marinette eyes "No she's not and I'm your best friend "

"Are you really?"

"Yes !!"

"Then tell me when was the last time you called me or texted me?"

Alya smiled and directly opens her phone and looked ........" last night! I texted you multiple times you didn't answer me"

"Try calling me again"

Alya was skeptical but called her anyway

"Sorry the number you have dialed is invalid please try again"

Everyone was stunned at what the phone said. Alya called again and the same thing happened ,automatically the other students followed suite and called Marinette but the same result . Adrien tried to but no luck.

"If you are really my friend you would know that my phone brooked 3 weeks ago so would you excuse as we have some business to attend to"

With that both Chloe and Marinette left the classroom with their stunned classmates. before they even walk out of school Adrien stopped them

"That wasn't nice of you, I'm disappointed in you Marinette you are our everyday ladybug your supposed to make everyone feel safe and happy that's your job and it is your job to keep our classroom in order. didn't we already discussed this Lila is a liar but she never hurts anybody. you need to get your priorities straight do you want Lila to be akumatized again. I know you you are better than that"

While Adrian was taking he had forgotten that Chloe was their with them listening to every word he said.

"You knew and you didn't do or said anything at all you just let that slimy, ungrateful, psychopath wag her disgusting tongue about this and that and creating rumors tall tales about Marinette that isn't true and would most likely end her career in the future . don't you know the meaning of slander? or toxic friends?, abuse?. because as Marinette had said just now she's not anybody's slave she has her own life she can fucking do whatever she wants to do and you nor anybody in that classroom can say anything about it capisce.... so if I were you I would get my head out of my ass and wake up from that fantasy of yours because this is the real world …. come on Marinette we're leaving"

Chloe grabs Marinette's hand then pulled her into the limousine while leaving a stunned Adrien at the top of the stairs.

In the limousine:

"Thank you"

"No problem"

"Are you ok? I thought you like him?"

"I did but that was a long time ago . You?"

"Same"

Both *sign*

"At least know I have a really friend"

"Friend? You want to be friend's with me?"

"Yes and I already forgave you a long time ago so friends?"

"Friends... so tell me about that plan of yours" smiling evilly

While the 2 talk's Jean Chloe's butler smile at them and thanks the heavens above that now his mistress has a real friend and maybe she'll help her mend the rift between the mother and daughter.

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#ml au #adrien agreste #chloe's redemption #ml salt #marinette and damian #marinette x damian #miraclous ladybug #plans #marinette deserves better #marinette and chloe best friends #Done #chapter 1

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