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brunchable · 3 years ago

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Part 1 - Drawn to You || Doctor Strange x f!reader.

Word count: 2.7K

Warning: References to Multiverse of Madness. Flirtatious Banter, First meeting, mild profanity.

A/N: This will be my first full story and this will be following the storyline of Multiverse of Madness while adding my own twists in it. I hope you enjoy!

***Strictly do not: claim, repost, copy, translate my stories anywhere else***

Dandelions - Part I: Drawn to You

Context: Stephen meets you at Christine's wedding, to his surprise, he finally found the girl that he couldn't impress.

Next Chapter

•••

You sat comfortably in front of a well-lit vanity while the make-up artist Christine hired for her wedding did your eyeshadow. You could hear Christine sigh for the fifth time in a row, and you took the opportunity to peek at her while the artist grabbed another brush.

“Christine, are you okay? You can’t seem to stop sighing.” You asked softly and reached over to her chair to place your hand over hers.

She let out a nervous laugh as she shook her head and stared at her reflection in the mirror, “Yeah, I’m just feeling all sorts of emotions right now. One minute I’m excited and the next I’m a nervous wreck.”

“Oh love, that’s normal. Just take a deep breath. This is you and Charlie’s special day.” Emilia, also one of the bridesmaids, gave Christine some reassurance. There was no doubt in your mind that the look in Charlie’s eyes every time he sees Christine, was something you’d love to have as well someday.

“Mhm, plus he’s so whipped for you, I can’t imagine him getting cold feet.” You nod your head while you trace a heart in the air with your fingers, causing Christine to laugh.

•••

The Bride's party has gathered outside of the cathedral, waiting for the organizers to provide you with further instructions. You and the other bridesmaids were standing in line by the door looking very sophisticated in your tulle Bardot dresses and the small bouquets of flowers that you each carried.

When the doors to the cathedral opened, everyone got ready for their turn to make their way down the aisle. As soon as the song "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Kina Grannis started playing, the guests turned in their seats to see the bridesmaids as they made their way down the aisle, one by one.

You were the last maid to walk. You find it kind of funny that you were supposed to get married too but everything changed after you blipped, and now you think fate is mocking you by making you walk as a bridesmaid at all of your friends’ weddings.

Your train of thought was cut short when the event organizer asked you to proceed on your way down. When you entered the room, people's eyes fell on you, so you made sure to keep your head up and flash a faint smile. You tried walking as gracefully as you could while keeping time with the song, and the short train of your dress trailed behind you as you went.

While you were making your way towards the altar, you daydreamed about the day when it would be your turn; you pictured the person who would be waiting for you at the end, and you imagined that everything would be perfect.

When you reached the altar, you stood at the very end next to your friend. You were both anticipating Christine's entrance; you had the brightest smile on your face as you watched your friend walk down the aisle, filled with overwhelming joy that she had at last found the person who was meant to be her partner for life.

•••

Stephen got a letter from Christine inviting him to her wedding. After reading the invitation, his heart shattered, and he even considered not going because he still had feelings for her. However, because of their history together, he didn't want to disappoint her any further by not attending the wedding. Thus, there he was present in body but not in mind, suffering through Dr. West's tragic life story while seated a few rows from the back of the room.

The song began with an instrumental part played on a guitar, and everyone, including him, turned their heads as the bridesmaids began walking down the aisle. Stephen recognized several of the bridesmaids due to the fact that the majority of them had worked alongside him and Christine in the past.

Stephen looked down as the music broke out into the song, fully expecting that it was going to be Christine's turn to walk down the roe-petal-covered aisle. He was mentally preparing himself for the pain of seeing Christine in a white dress. What he wasn't ready for was the fact that you made him lose his breath.

You had your head held high, holding the flowers close to your chest. You had your hair done up magnificently, and it showed off your features excellently. Your eyes reflect the sunlight beautifully, making them shine brighter.

‘Wow,’ he thought. Stephen was so drawn to you that his eyes, head then body followed your figure as you walked past him. He had this feeling like he had known you for a very long time, because you looked very familiar to him. However, he was unable to recall how or why he got that impression from you.

You had no idea that Stephen's encounter with you had been completely captivating for him. You didn't pay much attention because he was just another face in the crowd.

You were attentive to the ceremony that was occurring before you, and while Christine and Charlie exchanged vows to each other, you still wore that same smile on your face.

You couldn't help but feel that someone was watching you. Your eyes shifted away from your friend for a moment, and you locked eyes with Stephen, who was seated at a distance and observing you with curiosity.

You quickly averted your gaze and pondered the subject of his gaze, 'What is he looking at?’

You switched your gaze back to him, and even now, his eyes were fixed on you. You made a gesture to Stephen that meant, "What are you looking at?" by having to raise your eyebrows at him.

You were aware that he laughed and turned his gaze away from you at that moment. After moving your bangs out of the way, you focused your attention on the couple in front of you. You sneaked a peek to see if the man was still watching you, but to your relief, his attention had moved on to something else.

•••

Amongst the crowd, you held the bride's bouquet while you watched Christine and Charlie cut the cake; once again, you were the one who caught the flowers, even though you avoided it. You slammed the flowers over the counter, and you asked for some shots.

"Two shots of tequila please." The bartender looked a bit concerned at your request, "What?" you asked.

"Isn't it too early?" He asked.

"To be all up in my business? Definitely. " You retorted sarcastically, your eyes glistening with sarcastic humor.

"Ouch. Can't I worry about my cousin? Jesus (Y/N)." Eric pretended to be hurt. Thanks to your recommendation to Christine, he was able to get this job.

"Don't worry about me, worry about your... eyebrows." Your eyes scanned his face and noticed his eyebrows were unkempt, which was unusual.

"OK. Now that's a low blow. " Eric turned around to get you a bottle of tequila to drink, "Are you alright though? I've seen healthier corpses. " He asked and slipped the shots of magic gold liquid that would make you forget all your miseries.

You let out a breathy chuckle at his comeback, "I'm stoked, look what I got." You picked up the bouquets and waved them lightly.

"Again? And still, you're not married." Eric scrunched up his face.

"I was supposed to, but then I got dusted, remember?" You smiled bitterly at the memory and wrinkled your nose. Eric wasn't paying much attention to you as he formed a naughty smirk on his lips as he looked over your shoulder.

"Tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed bachelor at twelve o'clock, approaching you as we speak. It looks like the flowers are doing their magic." Eric leaned over the counter to whisper to you and winked at you before beginning his slow retreat.

"Don't you dare ditch me!" You demanded but Eric didn't give you a chance to threaten him.

"You're not the only guest here, so good luck." Laughing, he turned his attention to the other guests.

"Is this seat taken?" The man asked, he got a breath of the last cigarette on his teeth, which turned you off.

"No, go ahead." You said as you took your shot while glaring at your cousin.

It was then that the man cleared his throat and took his position next to you, his body slightly facing your direction, saying, "I must say, you took my breath away when you walked down that aisle."

You furrowed your brows and stared at him suspiciously. Then you noticed he was one of the groomsmen, "Thanks, I tend to have that effect on people."

He laughed and offered you a hand to shake, "I'm Richard, Richard Rider." You simply took his pointer and carelessly shook it, which made the other person laugh even harder.

"Nice to meet you, I'm (Y/N)." You smiled. You found him very handsome, but you weren't interested. You were more interested in the conversation you were hearing behind you.

"I wish it would've been different– I never stopped caring about us, but I had to make sacrifices… to protect you, I’m sorry." You heard Strange say to Christine. You discreetly turned your head to make sure you were hearing things correctly.

You were too interested in eavesdropping, you couldn't pay attention to what Richard was saying. As your friend made it clear to Stephen that they were never going to be able to work things out between them, you were shocked. Oof, that one probably stings. You were not aware of the fact that the thoughts you were thinking were representing the expressions you were making.

"Why not?" You heard him ask. The fact that he didn't object during the ceremony was a surprise to you.

"Because Stephen… you have to be the one holding the knife, and I've always respected you for it but I couldn’t love you for it."

Your peripheral vision allowed you to catch a glimpse of the couple, and you could make out Christine leaving. You pretended that you weren't listening as you grabbed the bottle of tequila from the bar and poured some for yourself.

“... I was wondering if I could have your number?” Richard asked, “(Y/N)?”

“Huh?” Your attention landed back on Richard, who was anticipating your answer.

“Your number?” He repeated, “Can I have it?”

"No." You spat before you even paused to think.

“Oh. Okay, this has never happened to me before... Um, can I ask why?” Richard tilted his head, as though he were offended.

“It’s because she isn’t interested in you, dipshit. Get a clue.” Strange, who was now in a sour mood, butted in. It looks like you weren’t the only one eavesdropping. He was so taking his frustrations out on blondey.

“Excuse me, I don’t remember you being part of this conversation,” Richard replied to Stephen in a smartass tone.

“And I don’t remember her wanting to take part in one with you, let alone give you her number.” Stephen was quick to refute. You sat quietly, your gaze ricocheted between them.

Richard scoffed, “Who do you think you are?”

“Doctor Strange.” Stephen proclaimed arrogantly, as he stood in front of Richard, and he smiled mockingly at him, “Now you know who I am, you’re free to leave the lady alone.”

He looks at you, rolls his eyes, and then walks away without another word.

“Wow, just Doctor Strange, huh?” You blinked innocently, not knowing what to make of what just happened.

“What did you expect me to say? Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist?” Stephen then took a drink of the martini that he had ordered for himself.

“Are you?” You cocked your head to the side.

“Am I what?”

“A genius, billionaire, playboy, philantropist?”

“Billionaire and playboy? Nah. A Genius and a Philanthropist? Yes.” Stephen moved over to the seat that was on the opposite side from you.

“Really? And what things have you done to help create a better world? Doctor Strange?” You asked as your eyes drifted downward and your fingers traced the edge of your glass.

“Protecting our reality, not to brag, but I also helped you dodge that cotton-tip.”

“Oh… so you’re that Doctor. Why do I sense that you have some ulterior motive?” You narrowed your eyes at him because he felt compelled to bring up the fact that he rescued you from Richard.

Stephen was about to take another drink, but he paused to laugh, “A woman of intuition? I guess I can’t hide nor deny that I feel somehow attracted towards you.”

You couldn’t hide a flattered smile at his boldness, and to be fair to Stephen, your conversation with him has turned to be far more interesting than that guy Richard.

“Is that why you were staring at me during the wedding ceremony?”

“Maybe.”

“I usually don’t go for my friend’s exes.” You blurted out and glanced towards Christine, who was slow dancing happily with her husband, using it as reference, “Or men who has a lot of baggage to unpack.”

It seemed to Stephen that you had been listening in on his recent conversation with Christine. "You eavesdropped?" he asked.

“I wouldn’t call it eavesdropping when you’re literally right there, where I can hear everything. What do you want me to do? Block my ears and sing?” Leaning on the table, you mimicked his raised eyebrow and placed your chin on your hand.

Stephen chuckled to himself, “Fair enough.”

“Mhm.” You replied. There were a few moments of silence before Stephen opened his mouth to speak.

“So what kind of man do you go for? Asking for a friend.”

“I already told you.”

“No, you told me what kind of man you don’t go for.”

“Take the opposite of that and what do you get?” Your lashes flutter as you smiled smugly knowing you caught him at the corner again.

Stephen was about to oppose you, but you came to accept that you had a point, so he just nodded.

“And tell that friend of yours that I still remember the night he stood me up when Christine set us up for a blind date a few months ago.”

Stephen cocked his head to one side while thinking back to the time he decided not to show up for a blind date, his eyes widening in surprise when he added things up, “That was you?”

You nodded, “Yup, surprised Doctor?”

“Dumbfounded.” He confessed, and the air between you suddenly felt awkward and cold.

You snorted and shook your head at his reaction. It was visible to you the moment where his soul left his body, knowing that he had just blown his shot, “Don’t worry, I’m over it. At least I got to eat some great steak that night. Nice try though, Doctor.”

You smiled at him like you had won an award and patted his shoulder. You stood up to leave, but before you could, he stopped you, “(Y/N)? Right?”

“Yes, remember that name okay?” Your lips curled into a confident smile, leaving him by the bar to join your friends. Stephen, on the other hand, was left with his mouth ajar. He had the urge to bang his head on the table for his previous choice.

“I must say, I felt some chemistry there.” Eric who had been drying off glasses the whole time while you and Stephen were exchanging banter in front of him, commented.

“And who are you?” Stephen narrowed his eyes at the younger lad.

"Hello, I'm Eric—" A loud crash from the street interrupted Eric's words. As Stephen rushed towards the balcony, with a glass of martini in hand, he watched chaos unfold in the streets, caused by something unseen for the naked eye.

Before putting the glass back on the server's tray, he downed the alcoholic beverage immediately. He reached into the pocket of his blazer and pulled out his cloak, then leaped over the railing and twirled off the balcony. His cloak landed on his shoulders as he transformed into his blue tunic through magic.

You peered over the guardrails as Stephen plummeted down, his cloak carrying him straight to the source of the trouble. You attempted to make your way through the crowd of people that were heading in your direction so that you could make a quick escape back inside.

You hurried quickly down the hallway while undoing your hair and letting it fall over your shoulders by itself. Eric chased behind you and grabbed your wrist to try to prevent you from going. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I will try to help."

"Are you crazy? You have absolutely no idea what kinds of abilities you possess yet!" Eric got closer to you while yelling at you in a whisper.

•••

"Well, if that's the case, I guess we'll find out today!" You quickly removed your arm from Eric's grasp while giving him a wink.

Next Chapter

TAG LIST: @simp4fictional @praetorrara @poor-unfortunate-soul-85 @elicheel @vintageroses10 @sherlux @hueanhdang @graniairish @lucywrites02 @stanny-uwu @frostandflamesfanfic @jamiethenerdymonster @sokoviansorceress @zdhunn @captaincarmel164 @justsomecreaturewandering @soiopathicdetectivekid @fan-of-fic @stephenscloaak @gaitwae @shit-post-things @seasonofthenerd @patbrdac @evelynrosestuff @singhfae

#stephen strange #benedict cumberbatch imagine #stephen strange x reader #stephen strange x you #marvel x you #benedict cumberbatch x reader #benedict cumberbatch #benedict cumberbatch x you #doctor strange imagine #doctor strange x you #doctor strange #doctor strange x reader #dr strange x reader #dr strange x you

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violettssims · 1 year ago

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JATN (Just Another Thursday Night)

#dont mind brytani cho throwing a tantrum in the bg #thats all she ever does in every one of my saves lol #this is kina in game #shes so stinking cute i love her and her bunny teeth ;;#Kina Rowe #and this is her gf #Devi Chandra #sims 4 gameplay #my gameplay #v #evergreen save

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benthicsbelow · 2 years ago

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I made a thing.

I had a crazy inspiration a few weeks back.... “what if I could make like faberge eggs... but with, like, sea eggs!!!”.

I KNOW RIGHT!!??

The theory was this:

if I can pull this off, its going to be super doops pretty.

doing an activity like this brings some of my crafty roots back into m'life and I could maybe even sell them??

focusing on such specific and delicate movements is a great outlet for my hyperactive mind

In Aotearoa we call these lil creatures kina, and y'all in other places call them sea urchins. When I'm out freediving I see lots of them in the nooks and crannies around the reef. I normally cant help but collect a few and stuff them down my wetsuit gloves in an attempt to bring them home on one piece (which is not always successful!)

I have soooo many kina shells at home now, so I decided that only way to test my theory was to order some crystal diamantés (I made sure to buy glass not plastic ;)), and get out my jewellery tools when they arrived.

At the weekend, while feeling very very tired, I finally sat down and started to experiment. The shells are sooo delicate that even a teeny bit of pressure can make them crack. However after a few fails, I finally managed to hand file every little white bump on the main rows (where the kina spines are attached to the shell) off this shell, and then carefully 'drill' a tiny hole (again with a needle file) in their place, so I could glue in the diamantés.

Did it take me a few hours? Yes, but it was worth it!

So here we are: 'Test' subject number one (shout out to all you marine enthusiasts that who got that joke btw).

Now I just need to figure out how to drill the perfect hole size so all the little sparklies sit perfectly flush against the shell.... ahhhhhhh pipe dreams.

#sea urchin #kina shell #aotearoa #ocean treasures #faberge #crafty mc craft face #new zealand #sea sparkles #diamantes #hyperfocus on the daily

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bm-pacific · 3 years ago

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Spirit Figure, 20th century, Brooklyn Museum: Arts of the Pacific Islands

Standing figure made of peat moss. Arms at sides extending down towards hips. Features fashioned out of moss: large ears project at sides; broad irregular nose; gaping open mouth. Features inserted into and added to surface: series of top and bottom row teeth; strings of glass beads and white seeds around neck; cord with suspended elements including fragments of animal bones (pig and opossum), pieces of shell, and Kina shell pendant; black woven yet tied across waist as loin cloth. Material has spongy yet brittle texture which gives form abstracted and abbreviated contours. Color: brown. Condition: Fragile, expected due to the nature of the material. Size: 20 x 8 3/4 x 8 3/4 in. (50.8 x 22.2 x 22.2 cm) Medium: Plant matter, teeth, glass beads, white seeds, cord, pig and opossum bones, shells, kina shell, woven net

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/148093

#artsofthepacificislands #brooklynmuseum #museumarchive

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steverogwrs · 4 years ago

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can we kiss forever? | feel loved. (1) | s.s

pairing: sebastian x fem!reader.

summary: you and sebastian like each other a lot but you had to separate due to personal conflicts, but in one night you meet and the feelings come back to the surface.

warnings: heartbreak, angst.

a/n: hello! i was inspired by the songs can we kiss forever? by kina and feel loved by thomas reid. i hope this doesn't flop and i hope you like it. and if you enjoyed any of these, please reblog and comment. feedback is always appreciated!!

notes: i do not allow the reposting, rewriting or translating of my fics. these are works of my own and i do not give permission for any of the acts stated above.

series masterlist. || masterlist.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

it was raining like never before, every drop of rain could very well hurt someone, my shoes were already soaked and my coat was extremely wet and i would definitely come home with the flu, i let out a sigh, there was endless traffic on the street and several rows of cars of all kinds, ready to go to their respective homes, i should be home. my house. on the sidewalk of fifth avenue i could only hear the noise of the rain, i start walking towards the lighter side of the city, looking for shelter until the rain stops. i take long strides on my way to the crosswalk, and wait for the light to turn on to cross the street, look at my watch and it's already past nine in the evening. when i look up i notice that a man across the street was paying attention to me, his pale eyes were surprised and at the same time melancholy. he straightened his hair quickly and nodded embarrassedly, as i paid attention to his face i recognized him and it was at that exact moment that all the emotions surfaced, all the laughter and all the sadness, all the fights and all the times his arms came around. my body when i needed it most. i take a deep breath and after a few seconds i wave back. he was the great love of my life, the man i dreamed of every night, the man i longed to spend the rest of my life with, the man i said i love you to for the first time...but life plays tricks on you and there are times you find the right person but at the wrong time, he was that person of mine. at that moment i felt all the butterflies back in my stomach and god i hated them always because i knew that at some point they would disappear and they were at the moment i waited the most, the moment he decided to leave, the moment he said goodbye for us and decided to leave us in the distant past, but at that moment for the first time i didn't mind the butterflies coming back because i knew i still loved him and would always love him, he was part of my life and was always in my moments well, at times when i got the job i wanted so much in a job, at times when i fulfilled almost all my dreams, at times when he almost asked for my hand...when i saw him standing there across the street i wanted to run and go to your presence maybe to give me a hug or maybe to kiss your lips that i missed so much, i missed waking up in the morning and feel your lips on mine wishing me good morning, i missed him. for a few moments i feel my breath catch and i keep watching his features, he remains the same, the same man i had fallen in love with years ago, the same man i loved unconditionally...and then the car's horns catch my attention, warning that the signal was released and that it was time to cross...

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

thank you for reading!

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inventors-fair · 3 years ago

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Deck the Hauls - ‘Tis the Season Runners-Up

As mentioned in the winners post, competition was fierce, and several cards got swapped on and off the podium as I wrote commentary. However, @hiygamer, @hypexion, and @nine-effing-hells should be very proud of their entries this week. Let’s get into it!

Maelstrom Tribute - @hiygamer Very rarely is the first submission of the week one of the strongest, but alas, here we are. I vaguely recall seeing an earlier version of this card with some much more unwieldy flavor text, and I’m glad you changed it, because this scans so much better. It’s very obviously placed on Alara, and the implications are very interesting. So the maelstrom needs maintenance of some sort, and the folks of Alara have turned it into a holiday? And they choose champions to… give up their magic? That part is a little unclear to me, but you know what, I like it that way. As a standalone card, this would encourage me to scour the rest of the set for clues, or go hunt down the online story to see what happens. That’s exactly what I wanted from this contest. The effect is nothing super splashy, but it fits really nicely as a cross-shard celebratory effect, one that gets stronger if you have a representative from each shard (or just one five-color creature to do everyone’s job, I guess). It’s a very good card, and probably should have been a winner, but it was just up against some very stiff competition.

Effigy of Yawgmoth - @hypexion You know, I’m honestly surprised that we haven’t seen more effigy-inspired cards in Magic. It seems like a very easy way to combine real-world holiday rituals with spooky arcane magic. The Effigy of Yawgmoth is just a solid common, a decent blocker that adds a little more damage when it finally dies. I like how it alludes to Yawgmoth, who had a whole identity relating to life loss and payment, but I find there’s just a small disconnect in the flavor, where people celebrate the destruction of the effigy. Is the life loss supposed to be a good thing? I think if it turned into a drain effect, it would come off a bit more clearly, but that might just be a me problem. The flavor text is also a bit long, but ends on a bang. I honestly think you could’ve shortened it to just mention the Legacy Celebration, and then ended with the last sentence. Nitpicks aside, this is a very solid draft chaff common, one that would find a home in a lot of limited decks.

Xenagalia - @nine-effing-hells This is a very fun card. It has a lot of strong modes, but they’re tempered by the fact that it’s a 6 mana enchantment, and by the fact that you can’t choose which one you get. Making it trigger on ETB as well as upkeep is a solid choice, since a 6-mana investment that makes you wait a whole turn cycle for payoff kina feels bad. The modes also all feel suitably revel-ish, with the impulse draw, the destruction of property, and more folks joining the party. Obviously you’re going to want the land destruction 9 times out of 10, but the fact that you can’t choose it makes it a lot more fair. It also leads to some hilarious (if sucky) moments where you roll the second mode several times in a row, leaving your opponents wondering if they should double check your die. Honestly, my one main nitpick is… you didn’t need flavor text. Sometimes less is more, and I think this is the sole submission this week where I got everything I needed to know from the name alone. The flavor text doesn’t give me any extra information, and it makes the rest of the card look a bit cramped. Without the flavor text, this card honestly probably would have secured a spot as a winner.

And that’s my second contest all wrapped up with a bow! I’ll see y’all sometime soon for commentary.

judge @naban-dean-of-irritation, chilling out

#inventors-fair #custom Magic card #runners up #tis the season #naban-dean-of-irritation #mtg

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wkemeup · 5 years ago

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Take My Hand (Take My Whole Life, Too)

summary: Bucky waits at the end of the aisle for the love of his life (heavily inspired by that scene in Crazy Rich Asians) pairing: bucky x reader warnings: a ridiculous amount of fluff a/n: This was written for @mermaidxatxheart‘s 500 follower challenge! I had the song prompt of Falling in Love with You by Elvis Presley, though I was really drawing off the cover by Kina Grannis in the link in the summary. Congrats on 500(+) Jamie!! 🌸

Bucky’s hands were stuffed into his pockets, pulling at the seams of expensive threads as if the unraveling string could release a piece of tension in his chest, let him breathe a little easier, let his head feel a little less numb. Leather wingtips of his shoes were tight around his toes, the tie draped around his neck a little too snug, sweat beading at his temples. His breaths were heavy in his chest, thick like anvils on his lungs as he swayed from one foot to the other.

It smelled faintly of lavender and incense as he managed to take in a shallow breath; memories of Sunday mornings with his Ma and sister traveling into the city adorned in baggy suits and frilly dresses, a pout on his face through his teenage years. Stained glass windows to his left, marble statues to his right; colorful light filtered through the room and touched against the faces of stone, sun kissed, heaven sent.

His hands gripped to fists in his pockets and Bucky gazed out to the rows of old, wooden pews. It was filling up quickly with women dressed in beautiful gowns and men in black ties, talking quietly amongst themselves, stealing looks to the back of the room and then up to Bucky. Nervous excitement, joyful smiles he wasn’t used to be on the receiving end of.

“You alright there, man?” Steve asked to his left, nudging his shoulder teasingly. Bucky nodded quickly, maybe a little too quickly, because Steve started to chuckle under his breath. “There’s still time to run for it if you want? I can get the car started.”

“Not a chance,” Bucky replied without hesitation, his voice rough and raw like stone, unused all morning. He nodded to himself, pulling in a deep breath as he stared down at the double doors at the end of the aisle. “I’m marrying the love of my life today.”

“Yes, you are,” Steve nodded, smiling to himself as Bucky kept his gaze focused on the wooden doors. He patted Bucky gently on the shoulder. “Take in all in, buddy. You deserve it. After everything you’ve been through, to come out of all of it and find this? Love and happiness and all those things you never thought you’d see again? Who would’ve thought, huh?”

Certainly not Bucky.

But Steve nudged Bucky’s side because he believed from the very start, from the moment he’d introduced the two of you the day you moved into the tower nearly a year prior and he saw the slight part of Buckt’s lips, the rendered shock on his face as he stood frozen, staring at you as you extended your hand to him. Something had changed in him that day, like a spark igniting a flame, a drop to a desert, the cry in a first breath.

Your hand slipped into his, a shy smile on your face as you met his eye, and Bucky didn’t know what to say. His voice was sandpaper in his throat and Steve was the one who told you his name, though Bucky was almost certain you already knew. Your eyes only flashed to the reflective panels of his left arm once upon walking up to him and even then, it had been in admiration, never fear, never disgust.

Your name was honey on his tongue and he repeated it a few times after you left, as he held his hand close to his chest where you’d touched him, like velvet and silk, and he wondered how something so tender and kind could stand to touch the flesh of a monster.

You turned over your shoulder as Steve guided you around the floor, introducing you to the team, and your eyes kept returning to Bucky from the distance, even as you met Sam and Wanda, then Tony and Natasha.

He’d met your eye from across the room and for the first time in years, he felt the corner of his lips push to his cheeks; aching in their disuse, a little worn for wear, but it made you smile even wider, crinkling up by your eyes, chewing on the edge of your lip. It warmed like the heat of a gentle fire to his chest, a relief sweeping through the tension he carried. It was your smile that started to pull him from the darkest parts of himself.

He wasn’t quite sure how it happened, how you managed to start peeling away at the wall he kept built carefully around himself, fortified under brick and stone and standing so tall he no longer could see sunlight around him.

Brick by brick, they started to disappear with the smell of coffee filtering through the kitchen as the sun rose and he’d stumble out of his room after a night of restless sleep to find you waiting at the table with two cups of freshly brewed coffee, tapping your fingers against the wood anxiously, a bounce of your knee underneath. So sweetly nervous until the moment you saw him and everything in your body seemed to relax.

He lost a brick from the walls around him as he sat down beside you each morning, first under comfortable silence, until enough mornings passed and soon, the kitchen was filled with laughter before the sky had filtered to an even blue.

The bricks disappeared every time you laughed, every time you smiled at him from across the room when you thought he wasn’t paying attention, every time a flush would touch your skin as he’d catch you staring and you’d look away bashfully, only to return home to ocean blue and he’d smile back for you.

They disappeared as your hip pressed up close to his on the couch and you fell asleep against his shoulder on movie nights, a bowl of popcorn slipping from your fingers. They crumbled with every soft snore, every time you curled against him, finding comfort in the cool embrace of his left arm as he brushed the hairs from your eyes.

Brick by brick, you managed to dig through the cement under brittle nails and calloused hands, tearing away another piece of the protective guard he’d mounted in his decades under Hydra until suddenly, steady streams of light started to peak their way into the darkness, until the touch of it warmed his skin, stung a little in his eyes, until the shadows no longer had a home around him.

The first time you’d kissed him had been an accident.

Something so innocent, so familiar as you pulled back from the warm hold of his embrace under fuzzy blankets and movie marathons, and touched the sides of his face. Lost in the way he was watching you, caught up in the dim lighting of the kitchen, the haze of sleepiness, you’d kissed him.

Short and gone in an instant once you realized what you’d done and you raced off to your room with frantic apologies under your breath. He tried to go after you, tell you how badly he wanted you to kiss him again like that, but there wasn’t time. He had a mission in the morning and you’d boarded yourself up behind the walls of your room.

By the time he returned a week later, the line bordering between friendship and something more was all but shattered as he stumbled off the quinjet with a limp on his right side, a nasty scar over his forehead and an exhaustion dragging him under after four days of no contact, no reassurance, and complete radio silence.

You had raced into his arms in tears and threw yourself to his embrace, holding onto him like he was your only lifeline. He had stumbled back a bit at the impact of it, surprised, and you didn’t give him a chance to question it before your lips were on his.

The start of it all, the tailspin into the unknown.

It all happened so quickly after that. The nervous dates with pretty red dresses and disheveled ties, the hands intertwining as you walked together for hours through Brooklyn under starlit skies, the kisses outside your bedroom, the cozy embrace on the couches.

The ‘I love you’s. The falling between sheets, bare and desperate for one another. The question that scared him more than any mission ever could. The ‘yes’ that changed his life forever.

He fell in love with you faster than he knew how to catch himself.

It was a freefall through the heart of an open abyss. It was stepping off the ledge knowing there was nothing securing you to the surface. It was a leap of faith, an instinct of trust, a determination of love. When he fell for you, there was no fear, no panic. There was only absolute certainty.

He loved you. You loved him.

There was nothing else. No amount of time that could make his love for you more real, more acceptable to what others deemed appropriate for this level of commitment. He spent too much of his life not being able to make decisions for himself, too much of his life without the autonomy to say ‘no’ or ‘yes’, his freewill stripped from him like a piece of his soul.

So, this was his choice, every day. Every morning, every night, every hour. He chose you.

“Anyone check on Y/n yet?” Sam quipped up from beside Steve, tugging at the neck of his tie. “We sure she didn’t make a run for it?”

“Sam,” Steve warned, but Bucky started to laugh, feeling the tension slip away.

“I’m just saying,” Sam shrugged with that teasing grin of his, “I’m pretty sure we were all shocked she agreed to a lifetime with this nutjob. I wouldn’t blame the girl for jumping ship.”

“She’s coming,” Bucky replied evenly, a soft smile on his face as he kept his eyes on the back doors. “She’ll be here.”

There was no doubt, not a single trace of it running through his bloodstream. The tension faded from his shoulders and he realized with a quick look in Sam’s direction, that he’d done it on purpose, reminded Bucky exactly why he was standing where he was to begin with, reminded him of the unbreakable trust he had in you.

A moment of peace, of ease, and then—

The soft strumming of a guitar began to filter through the church, high up into the arches as a hush fell over the crowd. Bucky’s stomach fell, like at the highest peak of a free fall, and he straightened his back, tried to fix his already perfectly straightened tie, hands shaking just a little. The guests all turned to the doors as wooden archways slowly parted and Bucky exhaled a shaky breath.

“You’ve got this,” Steve whispered beside him. “Best day of your life, right?”

Bucky nodded, turning to find Steve smiling at him, Sam giving him a short thumbs up with that cheeky grin of his. His brothers, his family. He exhaled again, this time more even, like a weight of release on his chest, and turned to the parted doors.

A gentle voice carried over the hushed whispers of the crowd, light and breathy, heavenly, as Peter took his first step into the church.

Wise men say only fools rush in But I can't help falling in love with you

Awkward smile as he tried to make eye contact with every phone in the crowd, a slight flush of pink in his cheeks as he walked a little too quickly down the aisle. He wore a tie that matched the color of the flowers pinned to Bucky’s suit jacket and he paused for a moment by Tony and Pepper’s aisle as she begged him for a picture.

Shall I stay? Would it be a sin? If I can't help falling in love with you

Wanda stepped out into the open doors. Long, flowing brunette hair over her shoulders, braided in a crown from her face, she carried light pink roses and white dahlias in her hands. Dressed in a beautiful shade that reminded Bucky of cherry blossoms, she gave a soft glance to the crowd before she took her place beside Peter leading up to the alter.

Like a river flows surely to the sea Darling, so it goes some things are meant to be

Then, Natasha. Lethal and cunning, dressed in soft pinks and a subtle smile on plump lips, an enigma within herself. She looked up to the woman sitting on the edge of a stool at the corner of the room, the one singing the beautiful song that had Bucky’s heart stammering so fast in his chest, he wasn’t quite sure how he was still on his feet.

She began to make her way down the aisle, a subtle glance to Steve from the corner of her eye before she found her place beside Wanda, leaving him to cough back a blush rising on his cheeks.

Then, a silence came over the crowd, the music lingering up into the highest peaks of the church as Bucky held his breath. A soft echo of the guitar nestling into his chest and falling into a pristine silence, Bucky watched as the crowd stood from their pews, turning to the back door, his heart pounding like thunder, loud enough that even the furthest row could hear it.

You stepped out into the opening and everything just... stopped. Time dissolving around him, the gasps of the crowd numb to his ears, and you paused under elaborate archways, framing you like a portrait to be admired amongst masterpieces. Dressed in a gown that touched your skin, floated along your curves, your body, the way his hands had; with a carefulness, a tenderness, unlike he’d ever seen.

Then, you smiled at him; something soft, subtle, filled with every rush of emotion swimming in his own chest. Stunning. Magical. The most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life.

A calmness swept over him, the nervous stuttering of his heart falling back into a gentle rhythm, his breaths even and full in his lungs. This was where he was meant to be.

You took your first step into the aisle.

So take my hand

Tears welled in Bucky’s eyes, blurry as he tried to take in as much of this moment as he could. You chewed on the edge of rouge stained lips, disregarding the room full of people, of family and friends, as you kept your focus on Bucky in every step. He was the one you always ran to, his arms you sought out in a crowded room, his watchful smile to calm your nerves, and he was waiting for you. He was always there waiting for you.

Take my whole life, too

In every step, he saw the days he spent curled up on the couch beside you, the nights pressed against you under sweat damped sheets from the demons in his sleep. He saw the dates at the sub shop in Queens and the coffee joint in Brooklyn. He saw the trust he put in you, the instant devotion, the internal instinct to give every piece of himself to you. He saw the free fall.

He saw the bricks you dismantled from the walls around his heart, the way you so carefully nurtured the most vulnerable pieces of him to something stronger, something protected and adored until he believed it himself.

For I can't help falling in love with you

You were within reach now and he extended a hand to you. Your fingers slipped into his palm, warm and soft and everything that every grounded him to this earth by a tether, and he guided you up the stairs to the alter beside him.

He let out a heavy breath, smiling through the tears in his eyes as he chuckled quietly, still unable to process how quickly you’d fallen into his life, how easily you turned him upside down and brought forth the pieces of himself he’d lost over the years.

Your hand touched the side of his face, gently wiping away his tears with a smile that must have ached from how constant it was, how all-encompassing and infectious, full of unbridled joy and love. This was where he was supposed to be, where everything in his life led to – this moment – where you mouthed ‘I love you’ because you couldn’t stand to hold it back another second.

He kissed the palm of your hand, an intimate gesture shared between you witnessed by friends and family in the crowd, and he whispered, “I love you, too.”

His home. His sweet girl who reminded him who he was under years of fortified walls caging him from sunlight. His whole heart.

A new start. A new life.

For I can't help falling in love with you

Thank you so much for reading! ❤️ If you enjoyed this fic, please consider supporting me at my ko-fi account ✨

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x you #jamies500writingchallenge

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jess-the-vampire · 4 years ago

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Sky And The Forces Of The Multiverse, Chapter 45

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It was hard to get everyone comfy, especially since King Lucitor was keeping watch, the demon waiting for janna to finish so he could properly rest with the others. It was so many people to pack into this room and not everyone seemed to be able to get as comfy as they wanted. Sure, they had Jackie and Kelly guarding them but at this point they wouldn't be surprised if a sneak attack happened.

No one felt safe, there was no security anymore.

Even if nora's family just up and left they couldn't guarantee they'd be safe, it was an uneasy feeling all around. If no where was safe then was there any point in even trying to go anywhere else? At least here they had a magic user...well a whole bunch of magic users to protect them, but their debate in all this already left nor a a nervous wreck, not knowing how long she might be with her friends anymore.

And it wasn't just her.

Sky had woken up in the middle of the night and she just found herself mostly keeping an eye on judas and angel overall, since she was the most concerned about them in particular. Angel wanted to put himself in danger for the sake of their plan and judas well...he had a lot going on in his head, and his want to get over his issues was something he needed to work on.

Basically right now both of them had a lot going through their heads and now sky was just worried about the both of them.

She hoped they could rest easy despite all this, frankly they probably needed it more then her.

She just wanted her friends to get some time to relax and taker care of themselves, was that really too much to ask for? She might as well have gotten a front row seat to watch them all descend into complete madness while also being sent into complete panic attacks that someone in a mask would pop out and destroy them in their sleep. That of course wasn't including the parenteral issues.

God they would need therapy after all of this.

Like, LOTS of it.

But at least they were all ok physically.

For now.

"Sky?".

The princess turned to find nora nearby, wide awake, "My parents told me angel's mother has finally had her parasite drawn out of her, it was weak enough so...they may of had to uh...magically pull it from her body...she's not awake yet, she's resting and well...she might not exactly be the same as before but...y'know, hopefully she'll be awake by the time angel's father arrives".

"Wait, angel's dad? He's coming?".

"Did eclipsa not tell you? i know you saw her earlier, so i just thought-?".

Sky clutched at her forehead, "Honestly i might of been too distracted by meteora to remember if she told me that or not but...yikes, angel has more on his mind then i thought, his dad isn't terrible or anything but it's gotta be awkward with everything that's gone down".

She rubbed her face, nora trying to be comforting but knowing this was all a lot of deal with,

"But...I was told i'm getting me book back...now that have time, i can focus on judas...so that's really good news, i missed that cluttered thing!".

She seemed happy to help still with judas, though that's when it hit sky.

Right, judas had considered trying to control his arm instead of remove the curse after speaking to eclipsa, he must not have told nora he had this new idea on how to deal with it.

Nora probably wouldn't take any offence to that but judas might panic about getting nora to spent so much time on him only for him to go off and figure out another idea and ignore the time she spent.

He had probably been too distracted to really mention in all yet.

Nora's face dropped though, seeing sky's.

"What's wrong?".

And sky was quick to come up with another answer, judas needed to spill the beans, not her.

"Oh uh...just felt bad for uh...landon...with bernard and everything?".

Actually that wasn't a total lie, that entire situation must've been rough because landon set up his bed pretty much away from everyone else. Bernard already back on earth with his parents, but this time they had company. Honestly no one could blame the parents too much for wanting bernard off mewni but having hekapoo and rhombulus there was enough to tell landon he wouldn't be welcomed back at their home for now.

This entire uproar had gotten their attention, it wasn't ignored.

And star hated even getting them involved after the trail but they needed strong figures to protect everyone and at the very least it kept them from spying on them if they were off dimension. She just hoped Rhombulus didn't accidentally start anything while he was there, the Bonderios were already shaken up at this point, and having them around was only agreed upon because of defense purposes.

As long as they didn't break anything, they'd probably be fine.

But landon, having seen his crush be dragged away from him after such an event, and a failed confession attempt, wasn't.

He barely even got to see him after he was saved. He was landon's best friend and he wasn't even allowed to see him after he was kidnapped for so long, he was only able to get in a few words with him and some glances. Even Bernard clearly wanted to speak to him, and got frustrated he wasn't allowed to. Was it because of his markings? Did he do something wrong?

He couldn't even bring the nerve to text him, what if his parents confiscated his phone?

God, imagine he confessed and his parents were the ones to see it.

He felt embarrassed already and no confession had even happened at this point.This all could not have gotten worse and landon found himself touching his face as if his marks were somehow something he could feel, He'd never felt magic surge inside him like that and just processing the thing was driving him nuts. He found himself wondering if he could do it without the wand like his mom did if he just could figure out how, maybe.

His mom could do it, so he had to be able to do it too.

Did he have to dig deep down inside of him or something to use this kinda magic? He never really questioned how his mother did it before because he never cared so much before, he had just accepted...if angrily, that he wasn't as powerful magically as his brothers. That he didn't have the kinda power they did, and now he was left wondering just how powerful he could get.

Maybe more powerful then his brothers.

It was a scary feeling, but a feeling he also couldn't help but find...intriguing, he never had...power before.

Power that came from his music either, if the fact his wand was a violin seemed to mean anything. He almost wished to borrow a wand again just to see what else he could do but his parents were not going to approve and he had already learned his lesson enough from sneaking around and getting himself in serious trouble as a result. He sure knew the stuff sky did with magic that were less then ideal.

But he couldn't help but think about it either.

What could he do? If he had help...if he had sky's help to train him with the wand a little? Not that sky was currently sure about giving him her help with his current anger but still.If he had known sooner, maybe he could've prevented this kidnapping from even happening to bernard, saving everyone so much trouble. Though maybe that was his dumb teen boy side of things, just trying to picture himself as a hero saving his crush from evil, with how things had gone so far, he probably would've been blasted aside and bernard would've been taken anyway.

Or maybe he would've instead.

It was hard to rest with so much in his head, even though he really needed sleep since he barely got any the night before. He nearly considered leaving to another part of the safe room to try and see if he could get his magic to work but with a room full of people, he was bound to get caught pretty much immediately. He wasn't surrounded by idiots and they were well aware of what he might do.

Maybe he could considering getting eclipsa to train him?

She might be able to teach him some things without having to worry about his parents getting on his case, unless she and his parents talked more then he thought they had. He could ignite a small flame in his palm, staring at it within the dark room. He wasn't sure how to activate sky's kina of magic but he could feel his cheeks puffing up as he concentrated on the flame.

Maybe he could turn it a different color? Or freeze it? or make it water if he thought hard enough about it?

Though the flame remained itself.

Demon magic came more naturally to him, it was...easy despite his issues with it, and that's only because he was surrounded by a family of demons to learn from and to teach him how to do demon magic. Butterfly style magic usually had the wand for a reason, to help them practice and control it, and without it he was basically trying to row a boat without a paddle.

The flame went out, the grump demon pressing his face into his pillow and growling.

He could hear the sounds of fluttering wings nearby and sitting up suddenly he saw mason watching him, out of bed and sitting comfortable close by, his wings moving around to stretch as the boy was startled by his brother sitting up and seeing him there. Landon now felt more embarrassed, was mason gonna spill what he was doing while he was at it?

But he instead looked sad, and landon realized he hadn't seen his brother much since he went to earth after being caught red-handed, and he was left wondering how much mason had been told about...what happened when he was gone. The small boy almost trying to hide his face in his hat and run back to where he was sleeping, having been caught.

But landon just crossed his arms, his moodiness still there but he didn't want to upset his brother anymore then he might have already.

"W-what are you doing here?".

"Why are you conjuring fire?", he asked, both sadly and curiously, not really making eye contact with landon at all and just looking to the ground, landon rubbing at his arm and looking to see if anyone had noticed yet. But considering it was janna now in charge of he watch, his father fast asleep, naturally she didn't seem to care at all about them talking, texting on her compact and laying on the couch.

"I uh...nothing...just wanted light", he lied, not wanting to deal with this right now.

"I heard you have...", he pointed to his own little cheeks, squishing them together playfully,

"The marksssss...". Landon suddenly feeling more embarrassed and pulling up his covers, "Y-yeah...so?". Guess it figured mason would find out soon, though at least he wasn't being weird about them or anything, the boy blinking at him for his answer and reaching out to touch landon's cheeks.

Much to landon's dismay.

"Where are they?".

"I dunno...they vanish or whatever...like mom, like i'm not sure how to activate them exactly...i mean they showed up when i got upset and eclipsa saw them...but".

And that's when it hit him.

He nearly forgot how much magic was effected by emotions, that what a spell did could change depending on how the person conjuring it felt, like how sky destroyed that chandelier, oh his father's anger issues. Maybe that's what he was going to need, he would need to find something out emotionally in order to possibly trigger his magic, maybe.

But mason's curiosity continued to peak, crawling over closer to his brother , his wings folding up behind his back. He blinked at him with his warm brown eyes and landon knew he was getting the puppy dog stare, "What are they? Did you get moons? Suns? I always thought flame markings could also be really cool but i also think violins might make more sense for you-".

"They're crosses...", he said with a grumble.

"Oh? Why?"", he asked to the blushing demon.

"Look, i dunno, the queens don't really pick their marks or anything...though sometimes it does seem convenient their marks matched their interests. But whatever...that doesn't matter...look...i don't know much about having them or anything, i've never had to care that much before, there's n point in asking too much...i don't have much answers myself...this whole wand and markings thing is new and weird and i have no idea how it even really works".

That seemed to cool his brother down a little bit more, landon did have to admit, there was something nice in mason finding him cool...well, mason always thought he was cool but maybe for once landon actually believed it because he felt he was actually cool...or at least a little cooler then he did before this whole mess, he couldn't exactly deny having a wand and markings in a way was actually rather neat...because not many could say they had that kinda ability. But he needed to pull himself together, getting back to his grumpy self, "You uh...you better go back to bed...we have a lot to do tomorrow...so better we rest i guess...", which was saying a lot since he was very much not trying to rest.

But Mason ignored him.

"What was your wand?".

Mason was just not one of those people you could just shake off, no matter how much you tried. You had to tell him everything or he'd keep pestering you until you spilled all your secrets. Seeing no way out of this whole thing, landon gave in, at least if he kept mason entertained a little he'd maybe stop soon and leave the demon to his privacy and rest.

"A violin...it was golden...and whatever...", he sounded like he was trying to make it seem so unimportant but even landon knew at heart the wand he had was a lot more then

"Whatever".

The boy seemed to light up at that, "So the wand knew how amazing you are at violin! That's so cool, I wonder what would happen if you played any of your music on it, like would it make a spell or just be a normal violin? Just...i've never herd of a wand being an instrument before...that means it can't fully function like sky's or anything, it's gonna have it's like...own quirks".

"Well it did ok when i used it...", landon trailed off, "Like i'm not amazing at magic but...i got it work...even if i was doing what was a hard spell. But i mean, i guess that's something worth asking...i haven't even had to try". Guess if he ever got his hands on a wand again he'd have to check that idea out, maybe, he didn't wanna risk something bad happening if he tried either.

God forbid he made an attempt and caused an apocalypse situation by merging dimensions or killing off countless beings or something just because he didn't know how his own wand even worked. But now he actually was more eager to actually practice these new abilities, his sadness was still there about the bad events that went down but maybe this gave him strength that he could get passed everything.

And that was something, landon wasn't much for hope after all.

"Well...i think that was really cool, you didn't have to do any of that...even judas never tried to use the wand before", landon ruffling his younger brother's hair affectionately,

"Well...bernard was in danger and no one else could do it...so...it was better then me sitting there and doing nothing when he could've been hurt, even if it was stupid".

He kinda felt he blurted it out without thinking really, that he was so desperate that he was willing to try anything at this point to save his crush. Not that he regretted it at all, if he hadn't bernard might've still been in that cell, and landon could not have handled that.

Though he wanted to think with enough time the human would've broken himself out after learning about the key swallowing.

A smile creeping on his face at the thought, bernard was way too cool to him honestly, he didn't care what anyone thought. No guy he knew could seem to be that smooth or stay that calm while being taken hostage by a maniac in a mask, bernard seemed to think he was disappointing and worry about impressing everyone or living up to expectations but landon already felt he was perfect...no matter how weird he might be.

Most people with crushes would blush over their crush doing the silliest and most adorable things, like tripping or laughing, or just doing something sweet. Meanwhile landon was blushing over his crush swallowing a key and managing to cough it back up in order to try and escape after being kidnapped. Guess judas and sky were right in saying he had...interesting taste in guys.

"Thinking about him?", landon had nearly forgotten mason was staring at him, the tiny boy smirking to landon who coughed into his hand, trying to hide his red face quickly. "Yeah uh...anyways...", but he couldn't figure out what to change the topic too, instead becoming silent, mason blinking at him as his red cheeks returned. "I need to confess...i know...though after this...and how upset his parents were...maybe it's not meant to happen...".

Mason's face dropping.

"What? But you should! He's your friend!".

"I know but...i don't know how he feels, his parents just had a kidnapp scare that only happened because he and i were friends, and with everything going on maybe it's a bad idea...i just...i know i should but...", but mason pressed a hand to his mouth, looking at him stubbornly, wings outstretched, "Then confess to him like you think you'll never see each other again! If you think you might not get another chance better to do it now then like...when you can't..."

Landon was baffled, seeing his brother get like THIS before.

Usually he was a ball of fluffy sunshine, but here he almost seemed more like celeste. He was kinda angry and fierce and more pushy then he usually was, but not in a mean way either. In a way that showed this really mattered to him and that he cared, that he wanted the best for his older brother even if landon had been a little mean to him before at times.

He felt bad all of a sudden, he'd never seen mason so aggressively care about him this much.

"Mason, i-".

"If you're worried you'll never see him again, then you HAVE to confess, or he'll never really know how you feel! He'll live the rest of his life never knowing you felt that way about him and you might never have a chance with him! If you don't do it now you'll never do it!".

Guess mason had a point, which was weird for him to admit.If he might not be sure what'll happened with their relationship past this point, maybe it was better to let everything out in the open. At least if he did, he wouldn't have to carry the pain of not saying a word and Bernard wouldn't risk hearing about it from someone else and things getting even more uncomfortable. He had to admit though, it didn't make him feel any better.

It'd get it off his chest...sure, but...he was terrified about his reaction, even if he knew bernard wouldn't be mean to him about it.

But mason was right, he was just going to have to get it off his chest, no matter how much he didn't want to, though maybe he needed some time to think about his approach. Otherwise he risked making everything more awkward between him and bernard by not thinking things completely through before he decided when to confess and how to confess.

"Can i help...this time?".

Mason twiddled his thumbs, "I know before i was pushy maybe about your crush and it was not ok of me...but this time, i'm going to ask you first. So...if you want me to help you...y'know, make things easier...i'd be happy to". Landon bit his lip, he didn't really want anyone involved in this private affair but at the same time he knew having company was a good thing because of how awkward it already was.

"I'll think about it...ok?".

He rubbed at his eyes, now suddenly tired and not in the mood when it came to magic and wands and cheekmarks. He was going to need some rest if he was going to work on this properly and not look like a complete idiot, he must've looked tired too because mason crawled over and hugged him suddenly, a thankful smile upon his cute demon face.

"Thanks landon, get some sleep ok?".

"Yeah...you too, try to rest...and we can talk more later...ok?".

His younger brother seemed rather giddy and actually very excited, and landon actually felt...happy about that. Usually he was the least likely to get this kinda reaction out of his brother and it felt...nice. Mason fluttered his wings before heading back to his sleeping bag, trying not to wake anyone else up from the large bunch of sleeping adults and teens.

Landon lying back down in his makeshift bed, his brothers could be annoying but they did have his back all things considered.

Maybe he really had been too harsh on them in the past to an extent. Judging them just because they seemed to get more attention and didn't seem to suffer like he did, yeah that was annoying but his brothers were never mean to him, and they did care about him. They never had to be that nice to him either, especially with his attitude all things considered.

He'd have to figure out more of his feelings tomorrow, finally managing to drift himself into a nice sleep.

This was the largest gathering to a breakfast any of them had really ever had before, even more then regular royal breakfasts. It was a lot of mouths to feed but really it just felt like a big sweet family breakfast, everyone seemed actually in a better mood after they got some sleep. Maybe having a plan to work off of did them some real wonders emotionally.

It was still in the butterfly safe room though, not ready to head out just yet. Not to mention star had put protection spells all over the walls and no one was willing to touch the door just in case she hadn't turned them off for the moment. But the sleep in general seemed to refresh everyone, though that wasn't to say there was no tension at all right now.

Judas was clearly still worried for luna.

Angel was worried to see his dad and potentially his role as bait.

Landon was still thinkin about...a lot.

And Sky was worried about all of them, even more then losing her own wand it seemed.It was funny that way, her wand was broken but it felt so minor to her in comparison to everything else going on. She found herself more worried about her own friends then if she got it back, like her focus had derailed from her thoughts on being a certain kinda queen and more on the people around her that she cared about. Making sure they were ok and came out with some sanity left.

How had she become such a mom all of a sudden? Typically that was judas, not her.

Speaking of moms, hers were scarfing down sugary waffles like they hadn't eaten in weeks, probably to get a head start on the day but sky was sure for her mewman mom it was to cope, her granny coming over was not something to be taken lightly. If she was coming then that meant Star had screwed up BADLY and there was nothing she could do to tell her mom otherwise.

Basically it meant she had failed somewhere as a queen.

Something that freaked her out, but at the same time wasn't too shocking to hear either since what was going on was...painful. She'd have been more shocked if her grandmother hadn't shown up after all of this went down, sky's mom might not have burned down the kingdom but it felt that way sometimes with how mad and terrified toe people of mewni were.

Though in the back of sky's mind she almost felt angry at her grandma, would she really have done a better job in this position? Because somehow sky actually highly doubted she would've. She knew her granny could be harsh but for once she kinda wanted someone to give her mom a break, this was all stressful enough without grandma moon making it more stressful.

Hopefully Queen Star's eating didn't make her sick, she really didn't need to vomit up sugar in the middle of handling all of this.

"We're going to interrogate luna today...", Marco sipped on their coffee, eyeing their oldest son, "Judas...you'lll be coming since you're her friend, and sky too...after that...sky can work on her costumes sunny mentioned...and you'll be having your checkup you missed yesterday". Judas still felt bad about missing out on that, but it wasn't technically his fault luna ended up in prison at that very same moment either.

They didn't protest, nodding.

"You gonna use a truth potion on her? Cause she has no reason to really lie to us, i mean unless you're assuming she might have other motives?", the truth potion they had was important, they didn't want to waste it. Luna could lie to them but at the same time judas didn't know what she'd gain from it if she knew they were going out of their way to help her,

But his mom had to explain, even though they didn't want to use the potion either for similar reasons.

"Well it's better safe then sorry, besides, she trusts you...I'm honestly not sure how much she trusts any of us considering she left the moment we had knowledge of what happened.", i guess when they put it like that, they had no idea for sure just how much luna trusted the adults with whatever info she was holding on her person. Though perhaps it was best to ask if luna wanted to use it first...just to be careful.

Luna might be a little mad if she figured out they slipped her one secretly.

Just a little.

"Uh...is meteora going to be there?", hey turned their attention more to sky, who looked suddenly a bit anxious, "She uh..let us know she's in charge of luna and her investigation...like a LOT, so maybe i might just be a bit nervous about running into her and having her around when we're trying to have a private conversation about something she kinda can't know about?".

Star's eyes seemed to widen, she hadn't known meteora was in charge of the investigation, just that she was assigned to get luna.

Oh Dear.

"Look, we'll do the interview, not tell meteora everything, and if she decides to go in, let her potion wear off before meteora even gets a question in. Nothing against meteora but well...this matter is best left without her knowing, she tends to kinda...well...do what she wants", Tom butted in however, placing a comforting hand on marco's shoulder, "What my love is saying is meteora and them haven't had the best relationship and they personally don't want it becoming more messy if you can prevent it".

Marco was flustered and embarrassed but no one was really teasing them either, it wasn't something any of them could really protest over.

"Well, guess we'll see how things go then-", judas said, going back to eating his eggs, looking rather nervous. He had no reason to be, he and luna were friends, but he had to admit things were still shaky between them and he wasn't sure what to expect when he went to speak with her next. Luna had an aura around her that made everyone nervous, and she was a mystery in general.

He didn't know if he was scared about what'd she say or if he was just scared her thoughts hadn't changed from when he last saw her the day before.

Could always just be a combo of both.

But as they cleaned up and had to leave the others in the room to go with his mother and sky, he quickly tried to take hold of himself, he needed to be strong, needed to keep pulling himself forward. This was important and he needed to focus and get this task completed, and at the very least he had his best friend and his mom just in case he needed support or anything.

And if he needed to leave the room and take a moment to himself he had permission to do so, no one would make him stay if this whole thing got to him.

He felt thankful, his mom kissing his cheek and checking on him outside of the room luna was kept in. The sooner they spoke to her the better, before anyone else could get their hands on her and make her spill her secrets, mot to mention they could warn luna about anything that may happen after they leave so she'd be more prepared about how to handle it.

As long as she hadn't tried to run away already of course.

Though with the guards parting the door for them to enter, they could see they were very much expected, luna sitting on the bed, eating what seemed to be cold soup and crackers, her expression not changing at all as trio came inside to see her. They were bound to come in soon anyway, and she wasn't surprised who was the ones selected either, though she may of almost been expecting either of her own moms.

It was sometimes chilling how calm luna could be under these kinda situations, though underneath judad felt she was freaking out just as much she had been when she was still unused to the changes of a new universe that sent her into a meltdown she had tried to hide.

If he could read her mind he almost felt inside would've been luna screaming internally.

"Hello".

They all just kinda stared at her, the girl setting her food aside and sitting with her hands in her lap, she wasn't wearing the costume anymore, but had changed into what seemed like pjs, her costume probably taken to be tested. They could still spot the ring on her finger, glistening and grabbing all of their attention, they nearly had a heart attack thinking it was stolen.

They almost felt they had to stare at it just to reassure themselves.

"So...what do you want to know?".

She was ready at this point, she saw it coming from a mile away, better to get this all over with.

"Um...wait...why aren't we doing this in an interrogation room?", judas looked to their parent, marco shaking their head, "We considered it but the costume isn't here and we don't want people to know who was under that mask right now so moving her would just mean more risks. So we have to keep her in this room for now and talk to her like this...the room is soundproofed, don't worry".

"You're lucky i have a bathroom in here...", she said, eyeing a nearby door.

"You would've probably made one if you didn't...the castle has so much magic activity no one would've noticed your use that much".

Luna shrugged and got them back on topic. "For the record, i had tried doing charms to ward off any evil spells before i went to sleep, i did not go unprepared after i gave you that charm judas...i did everything i was supposed to do in a situation like this...so don't assume i just let this kinda thing happen to me, i least wanted to have my own body taken over by anyone...and i'm not pleased it happened despite what i did".

"Yeah...well...who exactly wants their body taken over anyway...?", sky was mainly joking but honestly living the life of someone now going through the problems she was currently going through actually sounded not all that bad. Though considering who took over luna's body, maybe she really outta rethink that, it's not a good feeling to have your own body be put in any kind of danger that you can't prevent.

Just imagine if luna's body had been thrown off a cliff or something while she was unable to control it.

That only made her more happy that she hadn't possessed someone like angel in all this.

"They really got passed all your prevention spells? They'd have to know a counterspell for that to work!".

"Oh i'm well aware, trust me...my notes had a lot to do with the fact they had knowledge in some forms of magic i hadn't known much about before, they seem to be rather powerful...but at the same time...rather dumb if you ask me, everything i've gathered leaves me with the impression they don't know what they're doing much at all, and the only reason we haven't caught them is because we're making equally rash choices...".

"You think they're...dumb", marco crossed their arms, raising an eyebrow and not yet convinced, "They've diverted us too well, how could they really be that foolish if they're able to get passed all of us so many times and outfool every single kingdom? Sure maybe they did some stuff irrationally but so have we, thinking on the fly is a thing that tends to happen sometimes".

"Because most of their plans and choices feel unplanned...", she grumbled, "Sure there's some planning, like they obviously planned the heist, and the break in, but as far as i can tell, they're doing random things for the sake of it...what exactly was the point of these break ins? For objects with no use? Then after they're a criminal they just come right back in !".

"Luna, i get what you're going for...honestly some stuff does feel...random...but...we need more...evidence to claim this".

Judas agreed, "For all we know there might be something more behind this we're unaware of...though yeah, some of these choices might of been...a little dumb for a villian to do, like if you're going to get help from someone to do bad stuff...angel would not be a logical first choice...even if he was easy to convince in the first place...he's just...not powerful enough...nor really evil".

"it's not just that, they tried to murder him, in an open field, ignoring all the problems they'd gain from harming a royal member of a kingdom, that entire situation could've easily gotten the attention of anyone, instead of simply taking over his mind or wiping it, they clearly had gotten mad and considering murder before really thinking about it, an on a whim choice".She wasn't wrong about that either.

"It feels to an extent they act out on their emotions, do things based on impulse to get out of a current unfortunate conflict, and it leaves me with the thought we're being danced around by an utter fool rather then some tactical genius with the powers of a god, whoever this is...they're winging most of this...i must give them props...but these are some pretty foolish mistakes on their part too".

Sky had never seen someone be both so nice and so mean about a person before in her life.

"So...what are you proposing with all of this...exactly?".

She stretched her arms, yawning, "I'm saying it provides weakness, and weakness means capture...of they really are like how i think they are they should be easy to fool into a trap, the important part being to predict their moves in case they catch on...they think quick after all...so you need to be prepared for any choice they might back to get out of any situation suddenly".

"Yeah...well..we're working on that...", sky mumbled, "So we'll catch you up on that later...but...um...we have to ask more about what you got up to and uh...we need to know if you're ok with taking a truth potion for us". Someone was going to have to get it out soon so better now before they forgot about it, marco holding out a small vial of the stuff, the liquid swirling around inside.

Again, luna didn't seem surprised one bit.

There was a real likelyhood she had been through something similar to this before back wherever she was from, luna seemed like the type to use truth potions often to get stuff she wanted out of people. Even she would have to admit if she were in their place, she'd probably take out one of these potions too, even if it's results weren't always the definition of perfect,

She nodded, "I'll take it, i have nothing to hide at this point, you might as well...". Though this was done for the purposes of questioning her about her capture, judas had other questions in mind in the back of his head, and so did sky. Luna had a lot of secrets, stuff she kept from the others, and it made her harder to trust, now was the time to finally get answers from her.

About her marks, about her family, about why she was like this.Honestly judas was surprised she was just...ok with this, he felt a little taken aback, he had been expecting luna to protest a little or ask to only ask specific questions and avoid others or find a loophole. Even sky looked a little shocked luna was allowing them to just ask whatever it was they wanted, it seemed luna had done some thinking at some point before making this choice.

But they couldn't help but still feel a bit hesitant.

"Are you sure?", judas asked rather seriously, looking right into her eyes, "Nothing to hide?".

She closed her eyes, thinking hard about this, before letting out a deep breath.

"Nothing to hide...".

She only took a little of the potion, not wanting to be like this for long, but it would be long enough for now. After she was finished she sat rather relaxed, like the calm before a storm, getting luna to open up to anyone was hard, but now she was just letting them do so, They were free to ask her anything they needed to know, and they had much to ask.

"So...what should we ask first?", the demon looked to sky, and then back to his mom, before sky chimed in.

"Well, let's just see if it's working right first...ask something minor...?", they seemed to agree to that so sky proceeded to ask her first question as luna decided to take a drink of tea, knowing they'd be here a bit. Though luna would soon regret this as sky crossed her arms and gave luna the most smarmy look she had probabaly ever given in a long while.

"So uh...whose ashton?".

Luna coughed as tea spilled from her mouth onto the floor, looking extremely embarrassed.

"W-what? Why is THAT your first question? Don't you have anything else you'd rather-? I...I don't...". Sky gave her a look and luna felt the potion kicking it more as sky looked to her company, "Look, i hate people comparing me to the queens, luna compared me to this dude one time when she was mad with me...wanna know how comparable we actually are".

Actually that seemed to amuse judas, especially since it seemed to get a big reaction out of luna, who had not been expecting that kinda question at all.

Guess that's what she gets for having outbursts like that.

"A...companion...of mine...who works under me but also mutually as well, is rather critical of my actions, and um...i'm simply very fond of", the friends looked at each other and back to luna, unimpressed. She was telling the truth but she was also being extremely vague about the truth as well, so it didn't seem she was as well...into this as she claimed.

Though sky seemed to relish a little in seeing luna like this considering how many people she had hurt, including her.

"You mean like a crush?', she asked, reminding both judas and marco a little bit of her human mom with her smile, the words only bothering luna even more, her face even more red then before.

"I am fond of him", luna answered angrily, "Now, move on...".

"Well, i guess we don't have a lot in common then, you sure ain't fond of me", sky said, snorting and sitting back in her chair, luna trying to pull herself together. Judas did find the fact luna had any friends back home rather interesting though, everything about luna seemed like she was more of the loner type of person, not someone with a lot of company.In fact he swore at points she denied having friends much at all.

But that wasn't important, though to some extent it did make judas a little sad to hear, guess her rough relationships did extend back home as well, not just with her parents either. Luan seemed happy to move on from the topic though, but judas wanted to ask at least one more question he felt might've been necessary. "Luna, i hope it's ok to ask but...why do you have...such a rough relationship with your moms?".

Luna looked at him for a split second, but the question seemed a lot more comfortable to her then the last funny enough, though it clearly was something troubling luna.

"We're...dealing with a conflict back home, a conflict started by them...one i'm mostly dealing with the situation because they never leave the castle anymore...they keep telling me how much they wish to connect with me and help me...but they put me into a scary position and i had to grow up fast...and then have the nerve to complain about it. I'm just...it's a very complicated situation...it's why i know memory spells...i had to learn them for...my cause".

She clutched her fists, more angry then anyone had even seen her before, which was saying a lot considering who luna was, she seemed on the verge of hurting someone, or even worse.

She was even shaking a little and sky was worried she was about to combust or something. There was no telling how much all of this pained luna, but it was clearly enough to scare everyone in the room.

"They broke me...my marks...aren't normal...because of them, i never would've had to prove myself to not be some bug if they hadn't broken me before i was even hatched".

"You were hatched just like me...", sky mumbled, touching her own marks.

"And broken like me...", judas mumbled, marco in the back shifting to judas's words.

Luna huffed, "I know you'll ask and i don't...know why my marks...work like that...glowing on one side sometimes...it's just something that happens when i use powerful magic...if it's more light the white one lights...if more dark...the dark one does...your guess is as good as mine as to how that happens...it's been a thing for as long as i can remember but it's certainty not supposed to be that way.".

"I'm sorry...".

"No, honestly...i'm actually a little happy to say it to someone...i rarely talk about it...for...reasons.", and indeed she looked like a large weight had left her chest, "I'm not going to get too into everything because it's not something you need to worry yourself about, my world, my problems, but...i guess if you wanted the "Full luna story", take it, it might help you defend me out there if you need to".

"You sure you're ok with us knowing?", it was worth asking, luna had kept this from them for a reason, they were worried they might have gone to far with this whole thing, and no matter what luna was like, they still felt better knowing this was what she wanted.

"I have nothing to lose at this point if i do tell you, now i'm in deep trouble...this...this is no longer a time i can prioritize my needs", her voice grew stern though, "I didn't want to say for reasons, but i feel i have no choice if i'm getting out of this mess...not to say any of this will help but it's better you know just in case you actually have to know any of it".

"And if we don't need it-?".

"Consider it a serious sign of trust...i wouldn't say this to just anyone, and i wouldn't say this if you were someone i didn't trust to any extent. I know i've been a locked box since i arrived here but i'm not so stubborn i'd put this over maintaining my safety...so i'll...learn to deal with it", luna didn't share anything to anyone since she'd been here, it'd all been secrets with her, she had been a locked safe and refused to even hint at what went on in her mind. The fact she even told them at all was shocking enough, but her saying she even trusted them at all was...another level.

Sky would almost find this sweet if it wasn't well..coming from someone like luna.

But it'd have to do, they were lucky she said anything at all, she easily could have not and risked her fate in the hands of people who didn't know her secrets.

Judas, probably still processing luna saying she trusted him, worked to ask something else to continue their conversation before they got distracted away from the reason they were even here.

"What happened...since you left?", Judas had to ask, he wanted to know more, there was so much that could've went on he had no reason to know about, and maybe there were clues somewhere they could use. Luna seemed to be thinking back, it had been awhile since she left without a word, and she had to find a good starting point if she was going to talk about this.

"Well, i was quick to set up camp...nearby in the woods, i had already gotten food from the kitchens to last me a few days, was able to stay in some monster ruins and spend the next few days investigating. I remembered awhile back when we helped that child they seemed to remember the masked figure, having seen them in the woods, and i felt maybe it was a good place to investigate myself", she reached up to clutch her chin in thought.

"I did not find anything easily...there were rumors helped from the monster town nearby, though a lot had more to do with well...your spider friend, however it made it more clear where i outta look for a hideout. That it could only be in woods in close proximity to angel's kingdom, but also close enough to where the monster town was and near enough to where they could take advantage of the secret tunnels to the underworld...", and the three looked to each other, having not considered much of any of that themselves in their search.

"Did you-?".

"I found...what remained of that old hideout...by the time i got there they clearly bailed, i assume they thought angel would rat out their hideout so they were quick to grab everything to go find somewhere else to plan and scheme.", but she didn't seem upset by this, folding her hands together and looking directly at marco, "But then you found their new hideout...so i guess in the end it worked out...i'd been tracking for a good while but by the time you found them i had only dimmed it down to a few other locations where activity had been high".

"We only really found it because we had help...not to mention we well...tracked bernard's phone", luna raised an eyebrow and marco coughed into their hand, "Janna tracked my phone a lot back in the day and i learned how to counter it...it figures i might pick up something out of it...almost makes her creepiness actually worth having...almost...don't tell her i said that".

"Anyways of course i ran into you judas and by the time i found out about you finding the place it wasn't long before i went to rest and found myself here...confused and maybe a little scared.".

"How'd you know about eclipsa's little...home area?".

"I knew about it a few weeks before, saw eclipsa coming from it at one point, and knowing her, she'd have a stash of food somewhere all to herself, thought i'd help myself considering she sure doesn't mind invading my privacy in the slightest, so she probably doesn't mind if i do the same and take what i need out of it", her bitter tone was almost reminiscent of celeste.

"How'd you eat before that point?".

"Hunting, foraging, i've done this stuff before...in fact so had ash back home as well...not to say those meals were amazing by any chance but hey...it's not that bad if you know what you're doing and fish is rather wonderful with berries". she then smiled a little sheepishly, but then back to something more devious, "I also might've raided eclipsa's actual kitchen as well, i don't think she ever noticed considering how much globgor eats".

"What else did you find out about this...person?", marco hated to interrupt the fun but they needed to focus on the masked person at hand, and get whatever they could get if luna had more information to share about them, the sooner the better. Luna sighed to herself and got back on point, "Well, they're sloppy...and they either want to be seen on purpose or maybe they found out that outfit doesn't help them "Blend in" the hard way...because they get spotted often".

Marco suddenly had flashbacks to hearing all those mole people go off about the witch who had been running around, yeah, they weren't the peak of subtlety. They might as well have been holding a lighted sign pointing to themselves with "Evil villian" in flashing red lights. No one in their right mind would walk around dressed like that regularly unless they were from one strange dimension.

"Well i mean, i guess the idea about them doing this for attention had been floating around...", though judging by marco's tone they had been really unsure, it had been mostly guesswork on motivations. But luna had more to say, "Honestly, it feels like they have it out for sky in particular...she seems the be the one they're mostly framing, mostly attacking the friends of, and so on...i get the impression sky is someone they're purposefully trying to affect and ruin. The fact she is in the spotlight so often just feels...strange...".

"Even with the spiderbite attack?".

"Well around that time judas and sky apparently snuck out to see nora and spend time with her before her book was stolen, so it seems likely, i mean they have yet to touch a kingdom that wasn't related to sky like that...and even hid out in one sky never went to...i mean, it's a likely theory...". her eyes bore into sky's as if sky would start listing potential suspects.But sky just said nothing instead, just making a sickly face and avoiding eye contact with her own sister, thoughts swarming her head.

"Oh and as a bonus...i heard...about angel's mother...and the pest...she consumed...", the girl seemed to smile a little, quite eerie considering the harshness of the situation. "Being so close to his kingdom for a bit it seemed the news had traveled a bit fast...so...it appears the citizens are under the impression the spiderbites poisoned her as some racist attack...though i have some other suspicions...".

Leaving the three to share worried looks, wait, luna had gathered information relating to that? How? Did they want to know what the truth was?

"I only looked into it just in case it tied back into masky somehow, but...it turns out not long before she started getting sick, there had been a big dinner celebration sharing cultural meals between other kingdoms...now obviously angel had been banned from attending ceremonies outside his kingdom, but that didn't mean other kingdoms couldn't come to him-".

"Wait wait...are you claiming-".

"I just said i didn't think it was the spiderbites...and it couldn't have been, the only kingdoms that attended were monster ones, it was apparently the last part of any kind they've had, and turns out...globgor and meteora were there...with the knowledge of meteora being a spy...my suspicion is she was very likely to have been in another dimension before this...and might've dragged something back with her...on accident or on purpose.".The three were stunned in silence and the blonde had to quickly make her point.

"I know this is a bold claim...VERY bold...but i only went in for information about it because i thought it might be helpful, it wasn't a big event, well maybe it was for the monsters...but there's at the very least a decent likelyhood she had been infected there if only because of just how many people from outside the kingdom had attended...it's decently likely it attached to someone and ended up there or someone didn't know any better bringing it in".

"Yeah but...why meteora? People go in and out of dimensions all the time, if we're to assume she got sick because of this whole party, then anyone could've dragged something in!"., granted, this was assumptions even from sky, she really didn't know how often anyone left mewni, dimension hopping was fun and all but there was always a safety at being in your own home dimension.

But Luna had more to say on that.

"The people who were attending were mostly royals, How many other royals attending really go to other dimensions? Especially ones with THAT thing lurking around? Especially when not everyone has scissors out there? But anyways, It's an idea overall so i'm not going to claim it to be true...though i won't rule out a possible assassination, everything i know about this kingdom is that it's both weak and invaluable...if they really wanted to do some damaged they should've poisoned your friend, the prince, breaking the line would've been much worse, but neither of the others had been affected...meaning she either had been singled out...or it had been an accident and she just so happened to have been the one that got hit".

There was no denying, she had a point.

There was nothing anyone could gain from doing this to the queen.

Not unless she had made some serious enemies, but this was a kingdom trying it's damnest to be friends with everyone, even at the expense of their own prince. Whatever, it was only a theory anyway, an interesting theory but just a theory. There was no confirmation any of this was actually the case, though it did get sky thinking a little, because really, how his mother got infected mattered less then saving her.

But now she was really thinking about it.

Really, how had something as dangerous as this from another dimension just end up at their kingdom? It was well worth asking, and with everything else going on no one had considered it to be tied in all that much, and for good reason, it started awhile ago, much before the girls, the masked person, everything. It was much more likely the situations weren't related, unless some serious planning had been going on.

And the idea of doing all this to just mess with angel or manipulate him was a stretch, there was too much that had to go into play for that to even work and even then , it didn't really end up working out at all in the end.

Still, it was worth keeping in mind, maybe to ask meteora about next time they saw her, if maybe meteora did know something about that dinner.

"Is there anything else you want to tell us about? The potion might not last too much longer...".

And Luna took a moment to see what she could remember, before parting her lips thoughtfully, "That i feel i was being watched, not just by meteora, but the masked person too, i think they knew what i was up to, that i was close and looking for them...i can imagine they wanted me to get out of the picture as fast as they could and this whole set up was perfect...but i'm not sure if they know...who i am or not".

"You mean like...from another universe?".

"Well, it's obvious whose under the mask is a magic user so...i would imagine...they would have assumptions about me being one to pull it off, if not that then they'd be a fool to use me as someone to frame...basically i'm just a little suspicious, it sorta depends on how smart they actually are...but even then, if they knew i was magic they should've gone for my wand or something".

Good point.

There was more they could dive into, but their time was growing shorter by the minute and last thing they needed was for someone to walk in right in the middle of this, the group in silence as the adult in the room clapped their hands together. Judas had to go to his check up after all and sky had other places to be, and Marco had to get them moving."Well, i think that's a good start for now...though be careful...meteora wants to speak to you next, and well...she's not in on the group exactly. I'm not sure what she might ask you and how she might do it-", though luna didn't react much at all, shrugging, "This isn't the first time i've been interrogated, trust me, i can handle it and anything she might try and throw at me...".

She seemed confident, then again, she seemed confident she wouldn't have her mind taken over either and that didn't really work out for her. Regardless, they couldn't stay, she was just going to have to handle that by herself. Marco stood up, processing what luna had told them to report back to the others, same as Sky and Judas though the demon lingered on her, worried.

He was a worrying person at times, he couldn't really help it, he wanted to make sure his friends were ok and luna was a friend.

But luna was ushering him to leave, to get going and he sadly turned away from her and to join sky and his mom.

"Good luck out there judas...".

He paused, not quite looking at her but moving his head a little, his ear twitching.

"Same for you...".

The door shutting behind them with a thud.

"Heyo sunny...", sky said, entering her room to spot the cheerful girl sitting on her bed, wiaitng for her, "Judas and his mom left for his checkup so we're finally going to get this whole costume idea you got working on...and uh...". Sky rubbed at her eyes, seeing Galexia had also been invited, scribbling on the floor, pages all around her, "Oh uh...i guess we have three of us now...".

"Well jackie's guarding us today and she said it was cool...so...i thought lexi would love to help out since she's also very artistic!".

Well, sky couldn't argue that.

Plus, she said lexi should and could help them out and she wasn't going to protest against that, shrugging and heading off to get her materials ready, "Yeah ok...so...i hope you have a idea of what you wanna do...because like...making costumes takes awhile and we don't have years to do this, not to mention disguises...or did you have something ready for me?".

"Actually...i remembered something...that they perform...at that place, i remembered talking about it with landon once but he was clearly not interested in it, but well..."."Yeah?"

"Well, maybe i can perform there!", she was practically giggling from ear to ear and sky had to protest despite her cheer.

"Sunny...take this seriously...like i know you like performing and everything but-".

"I am, it's a perfect way to hide in plain sight...we can go in as performers! It's a good idea for a cover, you might be able to listen to things backstage and stuff!".

Actually, that wasn't a bad idea, if they really wanted to go in looking for info, maybe having people as performers might be beneficial. Though Sky wasn't sure how this spying thing was going to work, it was all to see if they can hear more gossip from some well...unruly types and that was all by chance. Granted, this was the place that apparently led landon to fae and a clue so maybe there was more then meets the eye.

"Are you sure about this spy thing? I mean it might not even work, this is kinda all up to chance...".

"That's true...i guess the reason it feels like a good spot to go is it's a place were you said meteora went to get info on her missions, and was where fae went when landon found her...it might be at the very least, a place of some useful activity, at worst...we go somewhere else after all. Besides. we all don't even have to go...only a few of us are needed...".Sky still looked nervous, like even she hadn't been sure of her own ideas.

"Sky...think of it this way...it's an idea, and an idea is better then nothing...if you hadn't made any suggestions who knows if we'd have come up with anything. At this point, we all need to try something, if we get something out of listening in for info, it'll be all worth it, trust me, besides, mewmans and demons love to gossip, just imagine what info they might be passing around we never hear about!" Sunny was trying to pump her up and sky could at least be grateful for that.

"I guess it's ironic...the person we're after seems to not know what they're doing and neither do i...just throwing anything at the wall and seeing what sticks...".

She felt her sister behind her, patting her shoulders in comfort, "Hey no, don't be so harsh on yourself, truth is...it's hard to be a leader...to do everything perfectly and have perfect plans. We all sorta have to make sudden choices or sometimes do things without thinking too hard, i know it's rough though...i'm only 14 and everyone comes to me for advice all the time...and it's kinda just a lot of pressure to know so much and do so much for everyone".

"Wait...really? I didn't know it was THAT bad for you, no offense, i just assumed because you were so young people wouldn't come to you for so much...", sky was only a year older and people didn't go to her like that before all this mess.

The small girl nodded, sheepish, "I'm a child prodigy...back home everyone practically sees me as like...a tiny adult and they go in expecting me to know so much and be so great and...sometimes it gets overwhelming...". She took a seat on the floor, her tail moving around under her dress, "Everyone expects a lot out of me and i think it hurts more when i can't be as great as they want...i'm just...a kid still, a smart kid...but..".

"I'm sorry sunny...".

"It's ok sky, that's my issue, not yours, i'm just saying i know what it means...it's not embarrassing to not know everything, i sometimes get the same way...overwhelmed and unsure of myself", sky took a seat next to her sister, and now it was her turn to comfort sunny back. "Yeah...it's a lot of pressure...to put on you...and me for that matter...i know we're both going to be queens but...we're still like...normal kids...we're not well...like luna".

"Luna struggles too...i mean she's in well...well actually you just saw where she was...i guess maybe she's just the least open about y'know...being imperfect...she seems to really prefer to seem flawless compared to everyone else...it's hard to get her to really admit her issues or insecurities", sunny's ears flickered, "I know she doesn't completely like me, ever since she saw me use my powers and everything, i think she might feel like i'm more powerful then her despite not having the wand for so long...".

"Sunny that's-" cut off as sunny's hand pressed against sky's lips, giggling .

"It's ok sky, i've had that assumption for a long time and i've had to deal with it. I could kinda always tell luna felt a little weird around me...for the record, i'm not mad at her...she has her own issues and i can't blame her if she feels upset, cause sometimes...even i don't want to be so powerful". She stood up and looked over Galexia's drawings, her face now a smile.

"But y'know, it's ok, because you and judas and lexi don't care about how powerful i am, you guys like me outside of that...it's really nice being around people who don't care about that and see me as a kid and stuff. I don't tend to hold grudges...and i don't hold one to luna, because she's troubled, like us...like celeste, like lexi, like judas and angel and nora...even landon...we don't have to agree with her or get along with her...but we can try and understand her more...".

"It's pretty noble of you to not hold a grudge...", sky mumbled.

"I think of people as complicated...i don't like...think it's ok for luna to well...be mean to you and landon and celeste, but with everything that comes with being queen...sometimes it's hard to deal with it without becoming cold like that...it's not a fun job...not unless you choose to do it in your own way. And you know...your way right now isn't perfect, but it's you...".

"Thanks sunny.".

The demon princess handed sky some blank sheets and markers, before getting lexi's attention, "C'mon, enough sad talk, we're gonna make outfits and it's going to be awesome! We're going to go out there and show them all whose boss!". The small girl pulling them in for a little hug as they all got started brainstorming ideas between the three of them.It might take some time for them to fully connect with luna, but at the very least they could say this was a step up from how she had been before..

A step forward.

They all had work to do and hopefully the best was yet to come between all of them.And that not only applied to them as not far away a young demon boy sat to himself, violin in hand as he went over his music sheets over and over again. A lot of thoughts running through his head, some better then others. One in particular caught his eye as he began to play by himself, his eyes closing as he was swept away in the music, more focused then he'd ever really been.

He'd done this before of course, but this time it was different, far more different then his usual practice sessions.

Something about this felt more personal and intimate, and with new context it felt like he was breathing new life into the piece he hadn't before.

He could feel his mind start to drift as it did usually with music, at a point it became less about making sure he hit the notes and more about getting lost in his own music, his fingers working instinctively like they were separated from him, playing everything perfectly. The prince humming to himself as well, this had been what felt like the 100th time he played today, testing for results.

No reaction yet.

But this song, this song had the best chance if any.

He made it for him after all, if anything was going to work it had to be this one, he had gotten himself worked up just creating it after all.

He just needed to focus and not stress so much, needed to push back his anger and keep focus, like his father did with his magic and his mother did as well. Taking slow breaths as he played, keeping his mind focused despite the struggle and sure enough he felt his face warm up and saw light, his markings were glowing due to his playing and emotions.

Though as quickly as they came they went, he had gotten distracted,

But rather then get mad, he smiled.

"Alright, let's do that again".

#sky and the forces of the multiverse #star vs the forces of evil #tomco bby #starkie bby #janstar bby #spiderslime #tomstar bby #ostar bby #marco diaz #marco #janna ordonia #my art #fanfiction #fanfic

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