#like yeah. some of it didn’t age well but dear GOD this was so good

[carbonateddrinks]

“And I mean, hell. If you’re have to live the rest of your life in a memory… ya might as well make it a good one.”

[arc-misadventures]

An Arc’s Revenge

Juniper: So… Let me get this straight… There’s a kid at school named, Cardin Winchester?

Jaune: Yes.

Juniper: And, this kid tends to bully you at school.

Jaune: Among others, but it’s mostly him.

Juniper: And, he’s been bullying you by knocking your stuff over, shoving you around, and general blackmail you into doing his school work.

Jaune: He also shoved me into a rocket launcher, and sent me flying.

Juniper: H-He did what?! Okay, no… let’s, let’s just put that on the back burner for now.

Jaune: Okay.

Juniper: So, you decided to come up with a plan to get revenge on, Cardin for all the things he has done to you. Now, instead of coming up with some elaborate prank that would totally humiliate him. You decided to go the opposite route… and, fuck his mother?!

Jaune: Yeah, pretty much.

Juniper: Why the hell would you do that?!

Jaune: Well, at first at went to, Carla…?!

Juniper: Mrs. Winchester! You are not getting on any friendly ground with her bucko!

Jaune: Okay… I went to, Ms. Winchester, and asked her if she could give me any information on, Cardin. What are his biggest fears, secrets he doesn’t want exposed, things like that. She understood I wanted to get revenge for all of his bullying. But, then, Ms. Winchester purposed a plan that would really upset, Cardin.

Jaune: That I fuck her.

Juniper: Wait! This was her plan?!

Jaune: Yep. Apparently she wanted to teach, Cardin a lesson too, and she thought, ‘What better revenge can a guy get, than fucking his bully’s mom.’

Juniper: Are you kidding me?! That seriously can’t be the reason behind why she slept with you?!

Jaune: Well, she also mentioned some things about… a dry spell, sexy blonds. And, something else afterwards about being sexually satisfied? I wasn’t sure what she meant by that.

Juniper: Good gods! Okay, I’m going to have a word with, Ms. Winchester. Acheius, you go talk to your son I… oh gods…

Acheius: Jaune, I can’t believe you would do something so childish!

Acheius: Nice job out there son! That’s a pretty dame you bagged out there!

Jaune: Ehhh… What?

Acheius: And, with a woman twice your age too!

Acheius: Juniper actually wanted me to bang her to get back at the husband for what she said to, Juni. He died before I could.

Jaune: Mom wanted you to do what now…?

Acheius: I can’t believe that my son would stoop to something so low, and depraved! Didn’t I teach you better?!

Acheius: Your mom would have done it herself, but she was pregnant at the time.

Jaune: You didn’t teach me any…?! Wait, Mom would have done it?!

Acheius: I can’t believe my son would do such a thing… I am so disappointed in you…

Acheius: I’m so proud of you! Here’s 200 Lien, treat the lady to a nice dinner!

Jaune: Okay…?

Acheius: You are ground for a week… No! A…?!

Juniper: Jauney~!

Acheius: Uh oh…

Jaune: Y-Yes?

Juniper: After much consideration, and discussion with, Carla. I approve of your relationship with her.

Jaune: You do?

Acheius: Beg pardon?

Juniper: Yes, Carla is a kind, and caring widow who is searching for a lover to share her life with, and we both agree that you are that man!

Jaune: Okay…?

Juniper: So you two go on, and have a wonderful time together, okay dear?

Jaune: What the hell is going on…?

Juniper: Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to have a world with my new BFF~!

Jaune: ‘BFF?’

Jaune: Dad… What the fuck just happened?

Acheius: I have no idea… One moment she’s screaming at you for bedding a woman twice your age, now she getting all buddy, buddy with her; I haven’t the faintest clue what just happened.

Juniper: Oh, Jaune?

Jaune: Yeah?

Juniper: Remember: If you use a condom your pee-pee will fall off! Okay? Bye~!

JA: …?

JA: Ohhhhhhhh…

Jaune: That certainly explains the 180 she just performed.

Acheius: Yeah. Your mother has always had a thing for babies…

Jaune: I know…

Jaune: She’ll kill me if I don’t knock, Carla up within the month won’t she?

Acheius: Maine you at worst.

Jaune: Shit…

[dreamcatcher92]

Chapter 3: The Date

Summary: Reader falls head over heels in love with her neighbor after a bad break-up. Will he also turn out to be her knight in shining armor as well?

Warnings: smut, language, sex, alcohol use. 18+ only!

You keep checking to see what time it is, but time seems to be moving at a snail's pace right now. It is making you frustrated because you are so anxious to go out with Billy tonight. Things are racing through your mind about how this will go.

Should you eat a little something before, so you don’t look like a pig when you eat? No, because what if it upsets your stomach? Should you bring up the relationship you just got out of? No, just no!

You have about an hour left to finish getting ready. You’ve shaved literally everywhere that was needed, brushed your teeth twice for good measure, and put just a dab of makeup on. You settled on wearing a dark red quarter sleeve tunic top, paired with black leggings, and chestnut brown knee high boots. Fall was drawing near, so you wanted to dress a bit warmer just in case. 

            Now, at quarter till seven, you sit on your couch anxiously waiting for Billy.

*Ding*

            Your phone goes off with a new text message. It’s Billy! Your heart skips a beat, and you quickly open the message. 

“On my way, see you soon.”

            AAHHHH!!! Now your heart is really pounding. You do your best to calm down so that you don’t act like an absolute idiot in front of Billy. You already really like him, and you’ve only just truly met. 

            A few minutes tick by and there is a knock at your door. You squeal like a little girl and jump to your feet. You run to the door, pause to take a deep breath and fluff your hair, then open the door. 

“Hi!” you say excitedly.

Billy chuckles and smiles at you, “Ready to go?”

Smiling from ear to ear, you turn to grab your sweater and purse then turn back to face the tall, dark haired, sexy man in your doorway, “I’m ready.”

          Billy takes your hand as you two make your way down the hall to the elevator. You have so many butterflies in your stomach. You just want things to go smoothly this evening. 

          Billy takes you to a nice restaurant and lets you choose a bottle of wine to share. Nobody has ever treated you like this before. You really didn’t know how to act, but you stayed calm and did your best. 

As you two eat your meals, you engage in a conversation about several different things. You laugh at all his jokes, and he smiles as he gazes deep into your eyes. Everything is going great. 

“You really have never been on a rollercoaster before?!” you ask as you giggle and take a sip of wine.

Billy shakes his head and laughs, “No! Never really wanted too either.”

“I guess I just assumed everyone has ridden one before at some point in their lives.” you laughingly say, but the laugh was cut short when out of the corner of your eye you see a familiar face and you suddenly feel sick.

The man is staring right at you and smiles a menacing grin at you. He takes a drink from his glass and then sits it on the table. After laying some cash onto the table, he gets up and starts walking towards your table. 

You feel a huge lump in your throat and start to freak out inside. What the fuck is he doing here?! Please dear God do not come over here! The man continues toward you but passes by without saying a word. You look and feel a small sense of relief. 

Billy sees the abrupt change of expressions on your face, “Something wrong?”

You snap back to reality, “What?! Uh, y-yeah! Everything is fine!”

Billy let it go for now, but he definitely was not going to let that go. Billy is a very protective person and does not like to be lied to. He learned from a young age that he needed to know everything and be in absolute control.

Billy motions to the waiter for the check, “How about we get outta here? My place for another drink?”

Your heart flutters and you smile, “Sounds great.”

The two of you arrive at Billy’s apartment and he begins fixing you both a drink. You’re over by the window looking out at the city skyline and staring up at the stars. You try to forget about who you saw back at the restaurant but are quickly reminded about it moments later as Billy walks over with drinks in his hands.

“So, you gonna tell me who you saw back there or am I gonna have to do my own investigating?” he says with a bit of sass in his voice as he hands you your cocktail.

You take a shaky breath in and decide to be open and honest with Billy, “It was my ex’s best friend Jake.”

“I’m assuming by the look on your face that wasn’t a good thing.”

“I don’t really know honestly. I don’t even know why he would have been there.”

 “He not from here?”

“New York, yes. The city, no.”

“So why are you worried? You think he’ll do something?”

“I don’t know. My ex is, well, not a good person.”

“How so?”

You hesitate to answer because you don’t want to ruin things with Billy. Tonight was amazing and you don’t want to fuck things up by bringing up your abusive and manipulative ex-boyfriend. However, you can tell Billy is not going to stop until he gets it out of you. So, you give. 

Taking a deep breath in, you begin, “Spencer, my ex, was very abusive in every aspect of the word. He controlled everything that I did and if I did something he didn’t like, he would hit me over and over. I loved him, but I couldn’t stay anymore. The day before I left him, he beat me so badly that I thought I was going to die. Both of my eyes were black, my lip was busted, and he cracked three of my ribs. I stayed with a friend until I saved up enough money for my own place and got a restraining order against Spencer. He was arrested but made bail days later. Nothing was ever done to him because they gave him two years of probation and called it a day. I’m so sorry that I come with so much baggage, and if you never want to see or talk to me again, I will completely understand. I know it’s a lot.”

You were crying at this point and felt so ashamed. You wanted to go hide and not come out. You’ve probably just ruined every chance of being with Billy after this.

Billy looks at you for a moment, then takes your drink and sets it on the coffee table. He turns back and wraps you in his arms. You wrap your arms around his waist and look up at him with tear filled eyes. He looks back at you, then without hesitation, he presses his soft lips against yours. His tongue massages yours and you hum with delight. After a few moments, he pulls away to look at you once more. 

“I’m not going anywhere sweetheart.”

[bobbin-buckley]

Cairo Sweet Comfort Headcanons

Cairo Sweet x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Angst, fluff, comfort, Cairo being manipulative, mentions of writing porn, R being sad, Mr. Miller

Requested

(This kinda became more of a Drabble than headcanons but it is a list of how she comforts reader)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cairo may have always been mean. Mean to anyone infact. But she never tries to be mean to you.

-For the longest time Cairo denied her feelings for you, saying they were wrong and that she was confused.

-Her feelings for you wouldn’t go away though, she pushed you away at a young age and you came back with a massive glow up. She fell even harder. Her new best friend Winnie tells her maybe you are the one instead of her professor, Mr. Miller.

-Ever since Mr. Miller brought up a madman’s love she’s been fascinated by how he described it. She felt things for him then. Winnie urged it on with how a older man’s pride is his sex, how he takes virginity well. It corrupted Cairo.

-You on the other hand, we’re jealous and disgusted at this. Irritated some old guy could manage to make her be so obsessed. You’re irritants caught Cairo’s eye, seeing how you’d challenge Miller during his lectures or how you’d send glares at him.

-Besides this. After all this, Cairo was certainly confused. She came to you, crying and claimed she wanted you. She needed you after Miller rejected her. Even if she lied to you and maybe even used you, you still took her back into your arms.

-Along the lines of becoming girlfriends, she’s been good about giving you the affection you should receive in a relationship. She tries to make you feel loved and cared for while you do the same for her

-There are moments where she just can’t take it anymore and bursts her anger out at you, calling you names, insulting you, making you feel bad about being with her

-It breaks your heart when she acts like this, though you let it slide most days when she does apologize. Which is rare…sadly

-As you being a wonderful girlfriend you’re always there for her. Giving her the chance to be in your open arms if she needs it, and she does come to you sometimes.

-She has a hard time opening up, too. She’s never really talked about herself, how she likes life, how she feels mentally and physically, or about her parents. Yet she’s opened that up to someone who didn’t even want her, Miller of all people. It made you rage.

-Although you gave Cairo time to talk to you, respected what was meant to be kept hidden. One thing that bothered you is that she’d always be in that journal of hers, writing god knows what. More porn? More fantasies with Miller? Talking shit about you? You never know and are afraid to ask

-Cairo is also a scary person. She’s always terrified you, even as a kid. Her threats always become real, she’s incredibly manipulative and can destroy you in a week. You prefer to keep off her bad side.

-One time you angered her so much she combusted and threatens she’d harm you. Physically too. It never happened luckily, that just says how much she cares for you without you even knowing it.

-And Cairo, could never ever ever harm you physically. Mentally, yeah probably. She can be selfish at times. But she never will hurt you physically, it would break her heart if she ever laid a hand on you.

-Let’s get into that category. If Cairo ever did harm you physically, wether it was a slap across the face, a shove or maybe even a punch. She’d have so much regret right after.

-There was a time she wasn’t having it. She slapped you, and dear god did it hurt. Left a red mark on your left cheek, making you hold back tears because you didn’t want to seem like a baby in front of her.

-“Wait, my love I didn’t mean it. I swear I didn’t mean it.” She’d say immediately after she’d regret it. Kissing you on the head if you let her, caressing the spot she smacked gently. She’s lay down with you and kiss you all over, explaining why she did that.

-She wouldn’t let harming you slide by her, ever.

-Now Mentally. It hurts, it honestly hurts worse being hurt on the inside rather than the outside sometimes. With Cairo having that ability to make someone so upset, it can hurt real bad. She broke Winnie’s heart, real bad. And if she did it to you it’d take time for her to regret it, depending on what you did or how she feels

-When you we’re both younger, she pushed you away because of her parents. They were strict, and when they had a fight with your parents they immediately blocked you out. But that didn’t stop you from seeing Cairo

-You went to her house, sneaking into her bedroom. She was found sobbing while trying to sleep, and it was late at night:

“Cairo?” You spoke above a whisper. She recognized your voice, sitting up as she looked over at you in shock. “What’re you doing here? My parents told you to stay away.” She cried, hiding her face. “And don’t look at me, I look awful.”

Cairo wasn’t an ugly crier at all, she just hated crying in front of people. “Cai, just because you’re parents push me away doesn’t mean I won’t stop seeing you.”

“Yeah well maybe that’s what’s best.”

Those words hit you like a truck going eighty miles per hour. Cairo never talked at you like that before, especially basically telling you to leave her. “But Cai, I can’t leave you. You’re my best friend, I love you.” You confessed. Though those words meant nothing to her then.

They do now

-Every time Cairo sees you with those glistening eyes, filled with tears she always thinks of that night. That night she told you to leave. To never come back. And it hurt her when you listened, but she never came to you when it hurt.

-Because that’s who she is, how she’s always been. She hated sharing her feelings, the only way she would share her feelings, is by making people suffer with her. That’s how she did it with Winnie, Mr. Miller. You.

“I don’t understand, why can’t you just talk to me?” You asked, standing in the middle of her bedroom.

“Because I don’t want you to know. It’s something I keep to myself.” She replied, her left hand holding her journal, and the other with a pen.

“But why? You can talk to me, if you don’t talk to me maybe counseling is better off to help you.” She scoffed at your words, she’d rather vent to a beetle than a therapist or a counselor.

“I write in my journal, that’s where my story goes.” Well that makes you relieved. She isn’t talking shit about you or writing about her fantasies with someone else.

“I understand, but I’m here for you. We’ve been together for six months, and I am still waiting to hear your voice even if it sounds broken when you speak.”

Cairo though to herself. She knew how much she was hurting you mentally by not talking to you, telling you she was either okay or not okay.

“If you can at least tell me if you are okay or not okay. That’s fine.” You pause, “I love you, Cairo. You’re the moon to my Saturn.” Tears were running down your face. “And it hurts, hurts knowing how I think I’m not good enough for you. If it’s my fault that you’re scared. I’m scared too, Cai.”

It was silent, but only for a moment.

“I’m sorry, Y/n.” Cairo sobbed, “I just don’t want to push you away. I love you too, I love you so much. And all the bad things I’ve done, have made me stop talking about them or my problems.”

-That very day Cairo opened up to you. You held her the entire time, comforting her, rubbing her back, kissing her tears away. Telling her it’s okay to not be okay. She talked to you slowly about things, only opening so much and you kept that respect.

-You gave her one big kiss after each session. You were her lover, her therapist, her best friend, her girlfriend, her future wife, her everything. She loves you. But sometimes love is hard to show when you’ve had a broken heart for quite some time.

-Most nights were kept peaceful, sad, private and loving. Wether it’d end with promise kisses or making love.

-Her comfort is nothing but a song that started as a melody and become stronger as you promise to be there for her. As well as she’d return it.

-Maybe replace that all with a madwoman’s love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I really hope this is good because I felt like I did fast, I even reread it over and over to make sure I got everything I could possibly put in 😭

But I was also emotional making this, I got way to into it

I also had more time than I thought I would lmao

@btbubuini

[thedvilsinthedetails]

rosekiller microfic band au pt3

heyyy pt3 is here yayyy

I haven’t rlly read it thru again and I’m feeling pretty tired today so if there’s a quality dip that’s why but also we have some nice Barty POV which I find easier to write sooo balances out ig

also we have some Marlene in this one (u can thank @good-oldfashioned-lover-girl because I wasn’t gonna put her in but she loves Marls [not that I don’t] to and yk she’s the boss so 🫡🫡🫡 Marlene is in the fic and I’m actually glad bc I love her part in this)

oh also Reg is autistic in this [in my mind] so when I mention him wearing headphones it’s bc he wears headphones on public transport/often in public/during gigs to help block noise <3

oh also all the skittles have matching nail polish and little tattoos on their wrists (idk if I actually mention it here but just so u have it in ur mind)

Tags for ppl that (I think?) wanted to be tagged <3 : @depressedtheatrekiddo @blu3stars @picklerab23 @lady-stardust-incarnate @always-reading @no-names-work @y0url0verb0y @2bluetwo85 @idk-what-to-put-here-123 @weirdtinkerbellversion @lulublack90 @nikholascrow (please please do tell me if you don’t want to be tagged bc idm and obviously won’t be upset but I just don’t want to tag ppl that don’t actually want to be tagged so I’m just sort of guessing by who commented last time so um yeah)

Link to previous part

link to part one

link to next part

(Cw: lil bit of homophobia in here sorry)

***

By the time the train arrived at their station both Barty and Evan had dozed off. Arms wrapping around each other, bodies curled into one another like a jigsaw puzzle. Evan didn’t wake up as gently as he fell asleep though because he was woken by Regulus kicking his seat aggressively. Once he finally opened his eyes he turned to face him. He was wearing his headphones, big and black originally but covered in splodges of spray paint from when Barty had offered to ‘customise‘ them for Regulus. He’d pushed them back though, now that the majority of people has filtered out of the little compartment.

“Hurry up and get your stuff.”

Regulus ordered before following Pandora and Dorcas who had already left.

Evan turned and tapped Barty gently to wake him up. Then when that didn’t work he shook him till he opened his eyes with a start. 

It took Barty a moment to realise where he was but even once he did he just grumbled.

“Ev don’t make me get up, please.”

He pouted, eyes wide and dilated in some kind of cheap attempt at cuteness.

“Come on you know you have to get up baby- Barty!”

Evan gaped, realising his mistake just too late. A slip of the tongue and he’d gone and fucked everything up.

“D’you just call me baby?”

A grin spread on Barty’s face and he poked Evan gently and laughed.

“You’ve been single too long Rosier.”

“You- you’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad, baby?”

Barty winked, clicking his tongue as he got up and shuffled past Evan with a wicked smirk.

•••

Barty was going insane. 

Evan had called him baby. Baby. And fuck his reaction had been visceral. But like…in a good way? It made him want to bite down on something hard but that thing was the muscles on Evan’s arms. Or bruise something but that thing was Evan’s neck…with a hickey or two. 

Something about the way it had slipped out so naturally, so warmly. It just made Barty’s heart flutter. Made him want to grab Evan and shake the sense out of him enough to like Barty. Something along the lines of ‘kiss me, ruin me, dear God I’m begging you.’ Ah well, nothing you can’t really do about these kinds of situations except get on with it. Lying was something Barty had gotten very good at from a young age and not stopped since. Some might call it acting but those were the types of people who were just trying to convince themselves they were good and moral. Barty didn’t really care enough about that kind of stuff to bother. White lies this and how it contrasts with malicious lies that, like someone trying to section off a gradient in two. You can’t, it’s all the same monochrome blur in the end. 

Barty was lost in this little daydream when he heard Pandora roar.

“WHAT?!”

Now Pandora didn’t often roar, maybe laugh maniacally every now and then yes, but yell? Scream? That was never her type of thing. Save for some rare occasions that Barty could probably count on one hand. Pandora yelling meant it was time to stop daydreaming about Evan’s curls or Evan’s hands with their chipped green nail polish or Evan’s fucking tight t shirts. Yeah time to stop thinking about that and listen up. So he did.

“I do not intend to offend anyone by it.”

Riddle raised his hands up defensively with a cheap sleazy smile that immediately made Barty dislike him.

“I’m just saying that this venue prides itself on a distinct lack of…untoward behaviour. It’s not a massive deal, I think your lead and backup singers can use separate microphones for two nights of a six month tour. 

“What the fuck man?”

Barty stepped forward immediately hands curling into fists, Riddle was pretty short, he could definitely take him if that’s what it came to.

“Barty stop, that isn’t the right way to solve things. Come on let’s just- let’s come back later ok? See if we can talk to someone else, not this piece of shit.”

Dorcas spat out the last three words as she pulled Barty back to the group.

He was going to argue till he felt Evan put a hand on his shoulder, instead he just left Evan guide him away after the rest of the group.

“We’ll figure it out ok?”

“Fucking- Ev we can’t play there. They’re fucking homophobic.”

“Barty the O2 has been your dream since-“

“I DONT BLOODY CARE!”

“Barty shut the fuck up. I said we’ll talk about it and we will, we will figure it out but stop acting like a goddamn CHILD.”

Barty looked over at Evan who had his teeth bared, slightly wild look in his eyes. He was seething too, clearly. Just more mature than Barty.

“Ok, yeah.”

He breathed in.

“I’m sorry Ev.”

“Hey it’s alright. It’s just important the band shows a united front against this you know? We can’t split up or in fight because then, well then we all lose.”

“Yeah. Yeah you’re right Rosie. But we will do something.”

“I promise you they’re not getting away with this.”

Evan nodded. He tossed a hand over Barty’s shoulder, pulling him in just a little bit closer as they walked. Barty wasn’t complaining. 

•••

“You don’t get it Marls, we can’t just not play the O2. We’d lose way too much money off it, probably too much to be able to continue with the rest of the tour. Plus venues will think we’re unreliable and might cancel or pull out. Riddle is such a fucking dick, he only told us when we went there for a tech practice literally today.”

“Fuck yeah that’s shitty.”

Marlene was sat next to Barty on the floor of his hotel room, helping him repaint his nails. The entire band had them matching, a bright toxic green, his had started to fade though. 

“What if you just…ignore them? Do it anyway?”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s not like they can drag us off stage mid performance.”

“Not without exposing their homophobia.”

“Still…I wanna make a statement. Something big you know? Show them they can’t straight wash us.”

Marlene looked up at Barty, eyes twinkling mischievously.

“I might have an idea then.”

•••

Evan was sat in an alcove in the hotel corridor watching Regulus patiently braid and unbraid Pandora’s hair on the sofa opposite him. It calmed them both down whenever they were stressed. And Barty and Marlene, locked up together in Barty’s hotel room. Both raging homosexuals dead set on never following rules talking amongst themselves just before the biggest gig of the band’s history? Yeah that was a reason to be stressed. That’s when he heard the tell tale clump of Barty’s docs down the corridor. And he was walking with purpose.

As soon as he came into view Evan noticed the way his eyebrows were knotted together yet his eyes were glimmering with excitement. Evan had no clue what Barty was going to say next but it wasn’t that.

“Marlene thinks I should kiss you.”

Barty announced and Evan dropped his jaw, staring at him agape.

“What?”

“And I agree with her.”

“What?”

***

OK HOPE U LIKED IT

xxx BYEEEE

pt4 probs gonna come soon bc I swear this fic has a life of its own

[bonefall]

While we’re talking changing who appears in places- can we change the cats helping out with Sunbeam’s rock trial? I was so confused why the cats selected to help were selected. Sure Cherryfall because she was going to be the one opposing Sunbeam, why not, anyone can do that though honestly and not who I take issue with being there. But Alderheart was there? The medicine cat? Don’t you think he has better things to be doing than pushing a rock around? Where’s Lionblaze aka “I may as well still have my god given super strength”? He could easily be the cat that gets pissy for Sunbeam “not listening to senior warriors” and maybe with age feels that she doesn’t respect him, head of patrols, enough to warrant her staying this sabotaging her in the third trial. I felt robbed that Plumstone who seemed to be established as another bg strong cat was absent. Sure sending Sunbeam with all the strongest cats would make it easy but it’d also be making it safe considering Ivypool didn’t want the rock to hurt anyone and it’s a pecking rock. Why not send your strongest cats to deal with it?

I feel very strongly about this trial, can you tell?

I'm a bit dissatisfied with certain trials in general. Most of the time I LOVE the new trials they made, I think they've been super creative so far, but some have been so lackluster that I need to shine them up.

Namely Berryheart's active attempts to get challengers killed. Someone has to get ACTUALLY hurt by one of those, instead of them just being generally unfair and no one raises an objection about it. I did not like the spring-powered adder that went BOING out of a log.

I will say that I would like to expand on Plumstone in this arc, plus her whole little family. They're in an interesting place, with Bumblestripe coming back from Ferncloud's Parting while leaving his father with the Tribe, Blossomfall still reeling with emotional abuse she suffered at the paws of the impostor, Stemleaf's death and Spotfur raising his kits, and Shellfur's mateship with Fernstripe.

Plumstone ALSO has some stuff going on. She's besties-maybe-dating Thriftear, Bristlefrost's sister, and yet she's one of the more outspoken cats about how she's getting tired of the ThunderClan nepotism. She's strong, reliable, and a competent warrior-- so HOW is it fair that Nightheart keeps getting all these undeserved "chances to prove himself" when SHE is here, SIGNIFICANTLY more orange, and wants her own chance to shine??

I still see her personality as being "a dear" lmao, she's not mean, but she's also not willing to bite her tongue either. She will say what's on her mind, and point out unfair treatment when she feels it.

Thriftear supports this. Yeah, she's a descendant of Firestar and a great warrior, but she EARNED the respect she gets. Bristlefrost did too. Nightheart doesn't even want his legacy, why is this clumsy humbug still getting special treatment?

Good-cat bad-cat pair type thing going on.

So I'm probably going to let them both act as a unit, since BB's Dewnose isn't in ThunderClan and that was a really random pair-up anyway.

("wait! Elder Bones! Where did Dewnose go?" Probably ShadowClan, here is the BB!ThunderClan family tree. There's been shuffles; the Cloudbright kits are now Whitewing, Foxleap, and Icecloud, 3 "singlet" litters, spaced out over years.)

Quickie thoughts on touching up the trials;

(DISCLAIMER: NOT SOLID. WE DON'T REWORK UNTIL ARCS ARE COMPLETE.)

Berryheart's are going to need serious overhauls. Nightheart's were really cute and I enjoyed them, but BB is supposed to be about how her group is escalating towards violence. I do not want them to stay so "cute" for the story I'm telling.

I also don't want to keep Nightheart failing his last one on purpose. I want his growth to be more based in self-realization than trying to let Sunbeam "save face."

I kinda want Fringewhisker to get injured during one of her own, and then Antfur dies as collateral damage in Nightheart's last. I'd like Nightheart leaving to be half him realizing that his BEHAVIOR is a problem, and half for his own safety.

In ThunderClan, I'd like the boulder one to be more about Sunbeam assembling a team, almost like she's a patrol head.

Since it's her second trial and she displayed some pretty fantastic leadership skills with her first one, I've got an inkling of an idea that Squilf actually talked with Ivy about wanting to legitimately assess her talent.

Like, "We both know that this whole trial-system was just to appease the other Clans. These are meant to be easy because idgaf. But wow, Sunbeam was actually impressive with those kits. What else can she do, if we give her the chance?"

I really like writing Squilf as she's described in Bramblestar's Storm, where her good leadership comes from being attentive of details and making everyone feel useful.

Man... maybe ill save Rosepetal for this arc and let her be deputy during this. Something feels very Rosepetaly about this. Maybe even have Rosepetal be clearly treating her as if she's a Secondary Apprentice, preparing her to take over her reputation of being a prolific mentor... Nightheart comes back from his trip only to find Sunbeam with twice as much respect as status as he ever had.

I can always axe Rose later to get Ivypool in... But I also REALLY love all the Ivypool Deputy Drama with how there's a conflict with ShadowClan... man. why are there so many interesting girls.

Maybe Rose doesn't have to be deputy, but Ivy assigns Rosepetal as the only "mandatory member" of the Boulder Patrol. Like a tutorial tip lmaooo

Sunbeam: "I think I will pick......................" STARES AT ROSEPETAL, "aaalderrr-" Rosepetal frowns "--pluuuuumstone??" Rosepetal nods, "Wise choice."

And lastly. The final Sunbeam trial. Ngl hated it. It felt really boring compared to the previous two, which were super interesting and excellent ways to give some spotlight to background characters.

Riddles don't even feel like a ThunderClan thing. Idk that was a very RiverClan (philosophy) or ShadowClan (trickery) kind of thing.

I think I'll hold off on thinking about it though; I think it would be SUPER cool if I totally overhauled that last trial to make it foreshadow the later books, somehow.

I DO want to keep that disney channel ass Cherryfall being a bitch part though. I love her so much. I'm so glad she's walking in her father's pawsteps and becoming the snot-nosed brat of ThunderClan.

I will definitely be changing how Sunbeam HANDLES it though. Hate the way that the books emphasize never telling anyone anything.

In fact, I kinda want to make Sunbeam approach Sparkpelt for advice, to show she finally has a figure she feels like she can trust.

Explicitly contrast the way that she NEVER felt like she could approach Berryheart, and that so much of her appeasing, avoidant behavior had been because she didn't feel safe or respected.

Here, in ThunderClan, she has family. She begins to realize that even if Nightheart came back and dumped her, Sparkpelt and Finchlight would NEVER kick her to the curb.

So she goes to Sparkpelt about how she is being bullied by Cherryfall, and they TALK ABOUT OPTIONS.

Like, you know,

Spark: "We could go to Squirrelstar or the deputy."

Sun: "I don't want to cause a fuss if I don't have to... besides, idk, I don't want to set the peat on fire, it would be nice if I could be on good terms with Cherryfall later."

Spark: "that's very wise of you, but just remember that Squilst is a very fair person. We can always go to her. Do you want any backup at all or do you want to do this on your own?"

Sun: "I think... I think I actually do need to do this on my own. If I was being confronted, I think I would just double down if I was being attacked in a group. That was right with Brambleclaw because you weren't trying to convince him, but... what do you think?"

Spark: "I think Cherryfall's just like her father and her ego is everything to her, so I think you're right on the mouse with all this. Honestly, I don't even know how much I'm helping here!"

Sun: "Oh but you are helping! You're helping a lot! StarClan... it feels so nice to just... have someone to listen. Thanks, Sparkpelt."

Basically, tweak the trials to bring them more in line with the themes and messages of BB, y'know? And also beef up the Clans themselves, by stressing the various personalities that are at play here. Especially since I quite like how Sunbeam in ThunderClan has some super neat traits she wasn't expressing in ShadowClan.

Like... it feels like it could be a really cool story to tell about how supportive environments can make you really shine. How you can suddenly seem like a brand new person, just by having people who have your back and encourage your autonomy.

[acircusfullofdemons]

DAYDREAMTOBER 2024 [02 / NEW MEETING]

╭──→ 💭 ──  DAYDREAMTOBER 2024

│ 🌫️ PROMPT ❞ 02 / new meeting

│ 🌫️ PARAS ❞ genevieve eyler, juliette eyler, stacy eyler, macbeth torrence

│ 🌫️ PARACOSM ❞ eternal labyrinth [phantasmagoria — i’m not the one]

│ 🌫️ WORD COUNT ❞ 968

╰──────────── 🤍

This is a rewrite of a very old piece of writing that I did back in 2019. I’m not sure if I ever publicly shared it — I think I only showed it to some folks on discord. But it’s old and very outdated, so don’t worry about it. Also this isn’t proofread or edited sorry ✌️

“USELESS!” Glitch screamed, throwing balls of electricity at her sisters. Both jumped out of the way, flinching. “Absolutely useless! How are you both so pathetic?!” 

Juliette kept her head down, saying nothing. Though she was older, Glitch was far stronger than her now. Stacy, their dear baby sister, still hadn’t caught onto whatever shift had happened to Genevieve, instead trying to plead with her. 

“Genny—”

“Don’t call me that!” Their sister snapped, throwing another electric ball. This time, it unfortunately hit Stacy. “Ugh. I swear to god, your brain is full of static!” Juliette looked at Stacy with sorrowful eyes. She would get up and help, but Glitch was far too angry to try moving without permission. Still, she needed to say something before Stacy’s brain actually turned into static. 

“Perhaps—” Glitch glared at her. Juliette swallowed, continuing. “Perhaps it might be…easier if, uhm, we expanded.” 

“Expanded.” Her sister repeated flatly.

“...Yes. If we, uh, had another person on our…team, then we’d be more productive. I’m sure of it.” Glitch hummed, looking her over. Probably deciding which form of torture to use for speaking out of turn. 

Shakily, Stacy stood up. “You could—urg—you could have an army, even! Just think, a group of people devoted just to you.” A small smile escaped Juliette’s lips. Maybe Stacy was more clever than she initially thought. 

“An army…” Glitch muttered in amazement. “Maybe you two aren’t useless after all. Wait here. I’m going to do some recruiting.”

━━━━ 📼⚰️📼 ━━━━

Matthew cringed as he watched the blood pour out of the crow. Something had shot it, leaving the poor bird a helpless pile of feathers on the ground. Good thing he was there, then. He had been given the role of “The Healer”, and he intended to make good of that title. If only the job wasn’t so…gorey. 

Nevertheless, Macbeth waved his healing staff around. One of the perks getting assigned a healer, he supposed. The staff allowed him to heal virtually anything, including death. Useful for a situation like this. As he waved the staff over the crow’s dead body, it slowly twitched. Bones snapped, feathers ruffled, and soon the crow was back on its own two legs again. 

“There, isn’t that better?” Matthew said. The crow did not speak, for it was merely a bird, and a virtual one at that. It flew away without so much as a ‘thank you’. Not that Matthew expected it to speak. In fact, he’d be more freaked out if it did. 

What did freak him out, however, was the sound of clapping behind him. He turned, and there was a girl, around his age if he had to guess. “Bravo. That’s a neat little trick, isn’t it?” 

“Uh, thank you?” He leaned away. Something about her — her eyes. Blue with white irises. This didn’t feel right. “Who—who are you?” 

She smiled. A friendly smile. A too wide, showing too many teeth smile. “I’m Glitch. How are you enjoying Arcadia so far?” 

“It’s, uh, fine. Do you…know Vee?” 

“Oh, yeah.” She stepped closer. “We go way back. Why, she even created me!”

Matthew relaxed a little. “O-oh. Okay.” Well, if Vee made her, then maybe she wasn’t so bad…

“Did—did I do something bad?” 

Glitch tilted her head. “Hm? Oh, no. I mean, are you using your abilities to your full potential? No. But how you experience Arcadia is your choice.” He tried not to be too hurt at that statement. He tried not to show it, at least. 

“Then, uh, why are you here?” 

“Simple! I’m here to offer you an opportunity. You see, I’ve been watching you, Matthew. And you show promise. Have potential. But you’re never going to get there without some guidance. Join me, and I can help you—” 

“No thanks.” 

“...What.”

Ah, shit. Probably shouldn’t have cut her off. That was rude. “I-I mean, I’m thankful for the offer. I really appreciate it. But I kinda like just wandering around and helping those I come across. It’s more fun that way.” 

Glitch’s smile faltered. “‘Fun’? You’re going through all this effort and not even getting a reward. How is that entertaining?” 

“Well, just knowing people are doing better because of my help—”

“God, you’re pathetic.” Glitch looked him over. “But, not totally useless. I guess I can use you.” 

“E-excuse me? That’s a little rude, I think we should call Vee and—” 

“Shut up.” Wires shot out from nowhere, wrapping around Matthews limps. To his horror, the more he struggled, the tighter they became. Soon they were so tight he couldn’t move. Glitch was right in front of him, grinning. “Still want to reject my offer?” 

He gave one last tug to try and free himself. It was, of course, in vain. That was all Glitch needed. A bolt of electricity surged through Matthew’s body, causing him to scream out in pain.

“How about now?” Matthew’s bug-like wings dissipated. 

He groaned in pain. “You’re crazy!” 

More electricity. Matthew let go of his staff. Actually, from the corner of his eye, he could see it change shape. The tip was getting longer, sharper. A scythe? 

“And now?”

“Let me go! Please!” He pleaded. Of course, it was no use. Electricity took over his body, causing it to phase in and out. As it did so, more of Matthew’s appearance changed. Gone were his green tunic and pale skin. In their place formed a dark cloak, skin decaying into a sickly gray. Most notable change of all were his eyes: now a light purple, instead of their previous dark brown hue. 

“How about now, Matthew? Would you like to join me now?”

“...Yes.” 

“Wonderful.” Glitch smiled. “Though, Matthew is a bit lame. What about…Macbeth? He was a king, right? Well, that’s perfect, because soon I’ll be queen of this world.” 

[imdoingsortagay]

For the Valentine’s Day prompts: 26 with Agatha <3

The Little Things in Life

26. “This reminded me of you.”

word count: 1.1

Love just never seemed to be in the books for Agatha and she had grown used to that. The many years of hiding out from people who wanted to harm her taught her that all that she needed was herself and no other person, that is thought until she had you one day. 

It felt like something in all those cheesy romantic Comedies if she has to be honest. Agatha has volunteered to grocery shop for Wanda while she and vision were at home enjoying being brand new parents to twin sons. She didn’t have anything else do to since she was off work for the day so might as well be helpful to her friend. After a good 10 minutes of shopping and you had gotten her attention by looking at all of the different options for milk. She didn’t blame you cause there was alot. 

“ you know for a beverage like milk, I don’t get why we need so many variations,” Agatha says and you jump a little at not seeing her approach you. 

“ Oh my god,” you squeal, not noticing the brunette pop up next to you, too zoned out in the milk section trying to choose one. 

“ Oh my god, I didn’t mean to scare you-” 

“ It’s fine all fine miss,” you pause to let her introduce herself.

“ Harkness, my name is Agatha Harkness and you must be new in town dear. I know practically everyone in town and I don’t recall seeing you”. 

“ y/n, and yeah this is my second day here in town but this is my first time shopping for groceries without a roommate to help me. Never thought I'd struggle to buy milk of all things.” 

Though Agatha had gotten all the groceries for herself and the Maximoffs, taking some time out of her day to help you wouldn’t hurt at all. 

That one conversation leads to what she considers to this day to be a love story ever after years of just being on her own. She never failed to mention her love for you every day and today was one of those days, as she made her weekly trip to the flower shop in town the owner of the shop had just recently gotten a new order of flowers. 

“ Are these new flowers today Mr. Mansfield?” 

“Always a good eye to notice new things, Harkness,” he says, “ Lucy got a recommendation from our grandson to plant these for a crush of his and we decided it would be a good idea to add them to the shop as well”. God did the older witch love this flower ship and the flowers they had?

20 more minutes of small talk and the witch left with a bouquet for you, one of your favorite drinks, and a cute little stuffed animal that you talk a lot about and she heads off with a smile on her face. Her way of showing her love to you was always gifted and she never failed to notice the way your eyes lit up and how happy her heart felt when you gave her a big hug. 

Once she comes back home, Agatha is greeted at the door by Ebony, who purred in delight to see her back before leaving her to go do his daily exploring. She searches for you all over the house until she finds you in the garage, getting some laundry done. While she would have wanted to surprise you, the sound of the door opening immediately got your attention to greet her with a hug. 

“ Aggie my love bug,” you squeal in delight, always missing her even when she’s been gone a couple of hours. 

“ Did Ebony make sure to protect you from any harm while I was gone ?” 

“ Well, he did until the Minimoffs came over to pick up some stuff for their mom and he just had to act all cute,” you dramatically roll your eyes, and your girlfriend giggles. For a cat who always tried to act like he ruled the house, he seemed to crumble when it came to little attention.

“Ebony,” Agatha starts while grabbing the young cat,” how many times do I tell you that you need to protect my woman here from any danger? I might just have to reduce your pay from a couple treats a week if you continue with this work ethic my dear ebony,” and the cat meows back at the older woman. You giggle at how a strict, mean-looking woman like Agatha Harkness could look so soft and adorable lecturing her cat. 

Once Agatha made sure the Cat understood that she met business, your girlfriend took your hand to lead you to the kitchen where you saw a bouquet of purple Peony flowers, another squishmallow to add to your growing collection, and what seems to be one of your favorite coffee drinks from the local coffee shop. 

“ Did you buy me all this?” and she nods. 

“ Agatha my love, you didn’t even need to buy me all this stuff,” You say looking at the beautiful bouquet she got, the pretty light purple catching your eye. A small squishmallow that you had been looking to buy for the past couple of weeks but never seem to be able to find as everyone seemed to want it and an iced coffee from the shop you go to before heading to work. 

“ This reminded me of you,” she starts,” coffee to treat my baby, the silly stuffed animal that I know you’ve been trying to find in your free time, and the bouquet of Peonies to show all of the love that I have for you. All these little things just remind me about my infinite love for you and I wanted to treat my best girl.” 

Both of you were standing in the kitchen crying, Agatha had always been so fearful and scared of love that when you had come into her life that day in the grocery store, she was forever thankful that she had you in her life after years of being alone. 

Before Agatha started talking more, you placed your lips on hers, showing her that she was loved by you, and how much you appreciated her. After a couple of minutes of an intense makeout session, she pulls you away from her, needing to get some air and she giggles at the look on your face. 

“ I love you aggie,” you tell her. 

“ Love you too sweet y/n,” she says back.

At this moment Agatha realized that It was all the little things that made her so happy to have you in her life.

[gumnut-logic]

Sweetapple | Dear Mr Tracy | Along the way - Part 1

This is a reblog of the beginning of Part 3 of Alexander Sweetapple. I'm reblogging it becuase of the recent interest in the two previous fics and this not being available on Ao3. I do know I have written more and a lot is planned out, but my writing mojo was hit by a train awhile back and I haven't written anything in ages, despite attempting a few times. Bit burnt out over the last five years, I guess. But! I will give it another go at some point and see what I can do.

::hugs the lot of you:: Thank you for all your wonderful support. It has been an amazing five years.

-o-o-o-

“Me and Alex, what?”

Virgil continued to roll up the long electrical cable that had served to connect Thunderbird Two’s generator systems to the ski lift’s safety mechanisms

Since the ski lift was now mostly in a ravine, thankfully minus the three families Virgil and Gordon had snatched from it, it was no longer needed.

Cold wind blew up the escarpment and despite the insulation of his uniform, Virgil shivered.

Gordon, as usual, was a spot of warmth off to his right stowing Virgil’s toolkit. Hopefully in order.

“Well, you guys do seem to have hit it off.”

Virgil concentrated fully on his task using far more neurons than necessary. “In what way?”

“You know…when boy meets boy…”

“Your point?”

“Hey, I’m just happy to see you happy.”

Virgil grunted. “Alexander Sweetapple is an employee of Tracy Industries.”

“So?”

He straightened and cracked his back. “Gords, Alex is a friend. A good friend. Nothing more.”

Gordon stopped what he was doing and stared at his brother. You do know that Alex is gay, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Make a move.”

“Why?”

Gordon groaned and flopped dramatically over the stowed toolbox. “Oh, I don’t know.” He waved a hand towards the aether. “Because he’s smart? Because he wants to save the world just like you do? Because he has a crush on you big enough to sink the Titanic? Because he makes you smile?” Gordon sighed. “Pick one.”

Virgil turned away. “I will not take advantage of an employee.”

“Oh god.” Gordon ran his hand through his hair, only to have the wind mess it up a second later. “You have the love life of a monk, Virg. He’s a nice guy, ask him out.”

Virgil didn’t answer, his eyes still focussed on the yellow cable that he was rolling up. Alex was a nice guy, in every sense. He did make Virgil smile. He had lost count of how many times in the last six months the man had dropped something in front of him in surprise. Virgil had become an expert at the quick catch. But beyond that, they definitely clicked in the lab. The man was an inspiration, his mind capturing a situation and finding the most original solutions, fast and intuitively.

A hand landed on his shoulder. “Virg, he makes you happy. Happier than I’ve seen you in a long time.”

“We’re friends.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Gordon opened his mouth to say more, but then closed it. There was something in his eyes as he looked at Virgil.

A squeeze of his shoulder and Gordon was hugging him. “Whatever works, bro.”

Then Gordon was off, packing up the pod he had deployed earlier, leaving Virgil to stare at the long line of yellow cord still winding up on its spool.

Whatever works.

-o-o-o-

Jeff strode into Thunderbird Two’s hangar as the great machine glided to a stop atop its massive turntable and began its slow spin.

As ever, he was impressed with his sons’ capabilities in the huge vehicles. Scott wore One like a second skin, even more closely than Jeff had ever adopted a machine. That was definitely a case of the son exceeding the father.

With Virgil it was similar, but different. Where Scott was part of his machine, Virgil used Thunderbird Two as gracefully as he used any tool. Elegant, strong and ever reminding him of his beloved Lucille.

Paintbrush, technical equation, even the family car - they had all been tools and a means to an end for his wife. She created what she needed out of the tools around her.

As did her son.

He shook himself and tapped his cane on the concrete beneath his feet.

Focus.

He had a tendency to drift back into his mind and visualise what he wanted to see. Long term habit to add colour to a monochrome world.

Thunderbird Two’s engines whined slowly down to silence, heat dissipating in a haze into the venting systems of the hangar. He could almost count the time required for post-flight. With Gordon on board, there would be professionalism laced with the occasional ribbing.

He smiled to himself. His little fish had grown into an amazing young man. Jeff’s heart hurt at the thought of the challenges Gordon had had to tackle in his relatively short life, but his spark had not been dimmed. Watching him with Virgil, stirring his quieter older brother, provoking smiles and commentary.

His sons were so tightly knit together.

The germ of selfishness deep in his soul worried how he was ever going to fit back into his family puzzle. But he had been welcomed home, wrapped in his boys and, honestly? He could not believe his luck.

Two’s forward hatch lowered with his two boys bickering about something. Looked like Gordon had a bee in his bonnet and wanted to make honey with his big brother - who was refusing adamantly.

“Gordon, I’m not going to give him one of your pet fish.”

“Why not? Could be an ice breaker.”

“There’s no ice!”

The two men strode towards Jeff, both intent on the other. Virgil’s glare was nuclear.

Yeah, definitely stirring his older brother.

“Boys?”

They both startled, almost shooting to attention as they realised his presence.

Gordon recovered first “Uh, hi, Dad.” He waved a hand in his father’s direction. “Hey, maybe you can convince Virg.”

Uh, oh.

“Gordon!” Virgil’s voice echoed around the cavern.

“Hey, I’m not the only one worried about your love life.”

“What?” Virgil’s eyes darted between Gordon and Jeff. “This is not up for discussion.”

Jeff frowned. Sounded like this was going a little far…

“I’m taking a shower.” Virgil eyed his father and waved an apologetic hand in his direction before stalking off towards the locker rooms.

Jeff stared after him for a solid moment, aware of the frustration bouncing on his feet beside him.

“What did you do, Gordon?”

“Nothing! I just suggested he ask Alex out.”

“Alex?”

“You know the engineer Virg has been ‘seeing’ at Māhia.”

“I thought they were just friends.”

“They are.” Gordon bit his lip and looked briefly off into the distance after his brother. “I don’t know, Dad. Scott, Virg and John, they don’t have anyone, you know?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I just want them to be happy.”

Jeff stared at Gordon. He had been surprised when he and Penelope were revealed to be a couple. But he had been even more surprised to find that none of his eldest sons had formed attachments, much less gifted him grandkids.

It was understandable considering their careers over the last eight years. Living on an isolated island didn’t help and, in John’s case, space wasn’t providing much in that direction either.

And yes, Jeff had no doubt that it was his fault. It had been him who put his boys on their current path, after all.

But at the time it had seemed the right thing to do. Scott had lost everything; he needed a goal. And Lucy, dear Lucy, there had been so many other mothers and sons and daughters and fathers out there who needed help.

He still remembered the fire lighting up in Scott’s eyes.

And the fear in Virgil’s.

Yes, it was his fault.

He cleared his throat. “Do you think Alex is interested?”

Gordon stared at him as if he had a third eye. “Have you seen how the guy falls all over Virg?”

Honestly, Jeff had thought the man had a nervous condition.

But it appeared Gordon didn’t need an answer, starting out on a rant that had obviously been building for some time.

“He has stars in his eyes for Virgil, Dad. Which isn’t unusual, I admit. But what is usual is that Virgil is clueless. Alex is a great guy. He’s smart and the two of them get on like a house on fire. You should see them together! Heads down, butts up, working the engineering stuff. I might as well not be there. In fact, I’ve left the room in the past and come back hours later and they haven’t noticed.” Gordon dropped his hands pleading at his father. “Do you know how often Virg has been to Māhia lately?”

Jeff blinked. “I haven’t been keeping count. Your brother’s business is his business.”

Gordon groaned. “Dad, twice last week I launched Two and had to pick him up on the way.”

A frown. “If you think your brother’s activities are impacting on International Rescue-“

“No, no, no, no, no! Dad, the guy needs a life, I get it. I want him to have one. One beyond what little camaraderie he can find online, beyond family, beyond International Rescue. It is great to see him having fun. But he should take the next step. He needs the next step!”

Jeff opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off in mid thought by another son.

“International Rescue, we have a situation.”

The reflex was automatic. Not a word was said. Gordon hurried ahead while Jeff made his slower way across the concrete floor to the elevator.

Entering the lounge, the scene was as he expected. Four sons staring somewhat religiously up at their fifth, projected from orbit.

Scott was in his uniform, having only returned shortly before Virgil and Gordon. Virgil was in a towel, his hair dripping wet. Apparently, he had meant it regarding the shower.

Gordon stepped up beside his older brother, a smirk on his face.

Virgil didn’t bother to even acknowledge him.

As Jeff joined the circle, Alan shifted towards him. His youngest was still wearing his green tee and shorts. There had been no space missions as yet today.

“Gisborne appears to have taken the brunt of the earthquake. Scans are telling me there are several collapsed buildings. However, surrounding towns, including Tracy Industries’ Māhia Complex have been affected. Director Thompson is requesting assistance.”

Jeff glanced at Virgil, as did Gordon, but there was nothing but professionalism on his face

Scott turned to his team. Because his brothers were his team. “Virgil, Gordon and Alan. Take Two to Gisborne. John, liaise with Gisborne emergency services. I’ll take One to Māhia.”

A mutter of FABs and his sons were moving.

A flush of pride washed over him, but as Virgil turned his back to his chute, Jeff caught the expression on his son’s face.

And his heart sank.

-o-o-o-

TBC

[thetinyblossom]

ੈ✩‧₊˚ All is well ੈ✩‧₊˚

🌙Content🌙

-Hurt/comfort + reassurance

-Vox Machina (Crit Role campaign 1)

-Regressor Scanlan Shorthalt/Caregiver Pike Trickfoot

🌙AO3 Link🌙

Scanlan is a bit… bad at dealing with his emotions, this is a known fact to his group, he is the “funny guy”, the “flirty bard”, that’s his personality, well… at least part of it.

He is also caring and emotional, a father, a husband and a good friend. All those facades of Scanlan are loved by his group of friends, by his love, Pike, but, everybody has their secrets, including the bard.

Growing up, he found a little side of him that he felt ashamed, his age regression (gods he didn’t even know that it had a name!) is a topic he avoids talking about as much as possible, it does feel lonely, but when Pike brought it up, as she was explaining to the group about Grog's own regression, it dawned on him… He himself regresses

“No, no, no, it’s just some stupid feelings”

He thought to himself, but the more time went by harder was to ignore those feelings. Everybody has so supportive of Grog, would they be also supportive with him? Would Pike still love him?

“That’s silly Scanlan, grow up”

“Grow up” and he pushed those thoughts way, he accepts being a caregiver, he enjoys being able to take care of his friends but, when it comes to him, he just ignores as much as possible.

That’s his secret… well… it was a secret, until today.

He had an awful day and he can’t shake off the feeling of being a little boy, wanting comfort and to have a pacifier in his mouth, of warm hugs and being held, being the one getting comfort instead of always comforting….but he felt so ashamed, so vulnerable… but he has no energy to fight those feelings of shame for long, he toss and turns on his and Pike’s bed.

Restless.

He feels useless, he can’t help but hug a pillow and suck his thumb, looking for some comfort as he softly cries.

Pike softly wakes up at wearing his soft sobs

-Scanlan? Dear? Is something wrong?

She asks a bit sleepily, not sure if he is awake or having a nightmare. Her sweet voice brings some comfort to Scanlan, who looks at his lover, his face tear-stained, and can only mumble a bit as he wipes away some tears that keep pouring

-Pike… you know that… that thing? That regression that happens to Grog? Yeah… that’s it and I just… can’t help it

-Oh Scanlan dear

Pike coos him, her tone so soft and caring

-It’s ok, I understand, come here, my love

She pats her lap for him to rest his head on it, the bard does so and clings onto the cleric’s soft and motherly touch

-It’s ok, shhh, you’re alright, mama is here ok? Let me take care of you my sweetheart

Pikes words are exactly what he needed to hear, he hugs her and she embraces him, holding him close to her…

…So comforting, so soothing, like heaven…

Pike cradles her little boy, softly humming and singing a lullaby, making sure Scanlan is comfortable and feeling safe

His tears cease, he feels at ease, suckling on his thumb as he hears Pike’s comforting words and sweet melodies, he feels like baby…. Her baby

And all it’s safe

All it’s well

The night is like a mantle, safely holding him and his dearest love, his dearest cleric, his dearest mama

Soon they fall asleep, cuddling

And all is safe

All is well

All is perfect…

-Goodnight, little one

-Goodnight, mama

…So perfect

[tranquilpetrichor]

a heart that still beats

— when in the midst of despair, do you lose all hope?

synopsis: the year is 2080. in a world destroyed by climate change, there is only one hope left for safety, and of course it is one exploited by the rich and famous—make it to the airships that are fueled by oxygen on earth. unfortunately, you are neither, but you are a skilled mechanic who is separated from your companion by yet another flood.

lonely, bitter and lost, you eventually find a purpose in being the mechanic for 10 boys that have an ambitious plan to shut off the machines that fuel the cities above the earth, being welcomed as one of their own.

but this mission is their most crucial one, one that could cost them their lives. and as you think about your leader, daeyeol, you're inspired by his courage, but very nervous for the upcoming events to transpire.

cast: gn mechanic!reader x daeyeol ft. golden child members and mentions of sf9's youngbin

genre: sci-fi, dystopian!au, end of the world!au, loosely based on golden child’s ra pam pam mv, angst with comfort if you squint

wc: 6.6k (6,674)

warnings: mentions of death, gunshots, blood, flames, pollution, lots of cursing, reader cracks maybe one dirty joke (which is only dirty if you understand it), we get pretty existential here. lmk if i missed anything

a/n: reader has habit of calling everyone older hyung as that's what they've decided they're comfortable with (just y and daeyeol here), ignore the fact that it’s y on the banner LOL this is for aesthetic purposes. there's a few perspective switches near the end, and of course i always end up making the relationship ambiguous. also why is the plot so messy.. ugh i just want to get this fic out. yes this is the second time sf9 youngbin makes a cameo in my fics. i think daeyeol said he had no same age friends and i’m like oh wait who else is a 93 liner? so yeah, enjoy, because this took way too long to do.

[d-7]

you watched and gave a small nod of approval as your rc car (which jangjun had decided to name damdadi for some reason) wheeled across the tiled floor of the hideout. bomin and sungyoon were examining the oxygen tanks, but your main focus was on your tech.

ah, good. it works. and it's quiet too.

damdadi, like your other projects, was carefully crafted, because god knows you couldn’t afford to make any mistakes with your mechanical work—not that you liked to make mistakes with anything anyways. everything you did got a quality check at least twice.

nevertheless, you were nervous about whether the oddly-named damdadi would be able to complete its task of surveillance or not and with the lives of friends on the line, you certainly had no time to lose.

to the side, you picked up yet another rc car (bomin decided he'd name that one genie) and checked if it was in working order, because as a dear friend named youngbin had reminded you long ago, “it’s best to have backup plans in case any bullshit happens.”

"and bullshit will always happen," you finished the phrase easily.

as the phrase came into your mind, you wondered what had happened to him after a flood separated the both of you about a year ago—the occurrence of natural disasters was not uncommon, but that didn't mean it was any less devastating each time one occurred.

god, you remembered it so well. he had gone on a mission to gather supplies for your camp when the flood occurred. from the wreckage, you had emerged confused, tossed around like a ship lost at sea.

then, it turned into denial that he was gone, anger at circumstances you couldn’t have controlled, and then reluctant acceptance that you couldn’t find him. it wasn't like you couldn't survive on your own, but without someone to ground you, you'd be talking into a void of nothingness. still, you didn’t know if anything could fill the even deeper void in your heart.

youngbin said once to you, “loss is inevitable. remember jaeyoon? you know i would have done anything to save him, but i can’t control the fact that the soldier shot him in the damn chest, but i tried my best, and yet the feeling of not being able to save everyone fucking hurts. losing someone you love… ah, fuck. sorry if this was depressing. but if there’s anything i’d prepare you for, it’s that."

inevitable.

that word alone carried so much weight to it.

and from then on, you reminded yourself that nothing is permanent, not even the companionship of a friend. it’s the only way you got yourself through your separation.

after the flood, you were on your own for a while, trying to find youngbin. however, an annoying little shit named jangjun found you after you stole some supplies from a soldiers’ base. apparently he had the same idea.

after this incident, he took you back to meet the other 9 members of the crew you were part of now. although initially reluctant to trust them, you found their company to be likable enough. you assumed the role you always did, finding spare parts that could be repurposed as you always used to do with youngbin.

you knew youngbin and daeyeol were two separate people, but you couldn’t help but see one in the other and think that they might get along. thinking about the two of them together made things so much harder.

thinking about those days, you sighed. you couldn't believe a trip down memory lane could randomly be triggered by one glance at an rc car, but it would be unwise to stay there for too long. of course, you allowed yourself those brief moments of distraction in your memories, and then focused on the task at hand again. it was a reasonable way to live.

yes, you did miss those you had lost, but now was definitely not the time for that.

don't get too distracted. you have work to do. you have to keep going.

despite the gravity of the situation you were in, you couldn’t help but crack a joke in your mind about being good with your fingers as you fiddled with some more machinery. some things never changed, like your less-than-appropriate humor that either got you lighthearted scolding (from sungyoon and daeyeol, and of course, youngbin) or laughs from people who liked your occasional jokes (mostly jangjun, and surprisingly bomin too).

while examining a control panel, you felt a soft tap on your shoulder, which could only possibly belong to one person out of the group you currently lived with—lee daeyeol. he spoke with a gentle tone but it had a sense of authority. “could i talk to you for a second?”

mentally, you prepared for hell because whenever he used that familiar tone, he was being nice but definitely meant business and may the gods help whoever tried to get in his way. “of course, what did you want?”

he placed folded diagrams on the table. "i just wanted to check on your progress on that rc car, although knowing how fast you work i’m guessing you’re almost done. we've finalized a plan about how to shut off the machines.”

ah yes, he was talking about the machines of project aether, or better yet, a way for those with enough money and power to save themselves and leave the poor and helpless to rot. the act of using the oxygen on earth for airships to create a "paradise in the sky" for some while damaging the atmosphere down below made you scratch your head at the backwards logic.

it was starting to get a little sweaty in the room, and you fanned yourself with an old newspaper. "things are going well, dae. this rover should be ready in a few minutes for jaehyun and jibeom to take when they need it. better early than late. you ready to do this?"

he glanced at you, and let out a deep sigh, one filled with what you interpreted to be as deliberation. "it doesn't matter how i feel. this needs to happen soon."

as the leader of the group, daeyeol was required to handle many burdens and although you and the boys were usually with him, no one could never completely understand what was going through his mind. there was a special spark that was required to lead.

sometimes, you wondered how tired he really was, but he didn't like to show that side of him, always wanting to be the helper instead of the helped.

and of course, that reminded you of youngbin, which wasn't such a great path to take your mind to. so you'd put it upon yourself to move on from him, which you had done semi-successfully.

of course, he still had a designated space in your mind, no matter how hard you tried not to think about him.

you put down what you were working on to focus on daeyeol's words, knowing it wouldn't be good for your mind to go off on more tangents today. "alright then, let's go over the plan once more. i figure you want to run through it again. i just need to hear it too."

he nodded and opened one diagram, which you recognized as it was labeled project : aether (floor plan), with a picture of the air machine itself. you remembered researching machinery for that. he pointed to the spot where it said passcode entry point.

"because of you, seungmin and donghyun, we were able to get the password that controls the fuel source of the cities. as you know, we need to enter the password at that location in order to shut the machine off. but we're unsure of the exact situation with guards and their patrol routes, so we're going to send the rovers with the camera attached in order to assess it. the last thing we need is for there to be surprises we didn’t expect.”

he probably hadn't changed any aspects to the plan, but you asked for confirmation. "it's just you going, right?"

"yes. the rest of the group looked uncomfortable with the idea and as concerning as the idea of going alone is, i can't risk anyone else's life.” his lips set in a thin line. "and there's a limited supply of oxygen tanks, anyways."

you let out a humorless chuckle, knowing just how brutal it was out there. "dae, we're clearly not as selfless as you. no one asks to potentially get shot at by assholes in hazmat suits.”

not being able to hide your true thoughts, you quietly added, “and honestly, i’m probably the most selfish of you guys.”

out of the corner of your eye, you saw him frown. "now don’t say that, you help in your own way. you've been invaluable in developing the technology for this mission. remember, nothing goes unnoticed by me."

you still did get a little flustered whenever people mentioned your skill, and you brushed his words off with the lazy swipe of a hand. "oh, i can't take all the credit for this stuff. seungmin helped me a lot." the mentioned guy was currently fiddling with the screen on the wall to make sure it actually worked.

yeah, you knew you were decent at what you did, but it's not like you wanted the spotlight for it, preferring to remain behind the scenes most of the time. to put it simply, you liked working in the shadows and only showing up when necessary to report something.

"you sell yourself short, y/n," he said with an amused grin on his face.

"do i, dae? if you want, i could just start bragging about myself all the time."

he laughed, and oh, how you took the sound in like nourishment. true laughter was hard to come across nowadays, as a lot of things were. "now let's not jump between extremes, okay?"

you made a salute as if you were on some pirate ship. “aye-aye, captain!” damdadi was still turned on, and you maneuvered it next to daeyeol, just to demonstrate the functionality, before turning the power off.

“god, imagine being pirates. we’d be the worst pirate crew ever. imagine trying to wake up bomin and get him to do anything but sleep prettily!”

daeyeol shrugged. "well, i could probably use captain privileges to boss him around, anyways."

"as if! he listens to no one, especially you."

the two of you grinned, sharing a moment. there were times when you forgot that the air was polluted, the rich were assholes and food was hard to find—now was one of those times. it was nice to not think about that for a bit. you were aware however, that the cold reality waited around the corner like a gunman waiting to fire.

you rested your head on his shoulder, an action you had grown more comfortable with gradually after he told you it was okay to do it. it seemed to say a message without words, i don’t know what the future holds, but at least i’m here with you.

daeyeol closed his eyes and spoke his next sentence quietly. “hey, i know i told you guys i’d be prepared for anything and we're aware of how this might end. it might go badly. if i’m honest, it’s been very nerve-wracking to prepare for this. i just wanted to say that i will protect you guys. whatever it takes. i think we have a chance to end this once and for all.”

won't you protect yourself? won't you be selfish too for once? that's all i need. you thought, but didn't say aloud.

you, who never thought you'd shed a tear since getting separated from youngbin, who didn't like getting very sentimental in front of others, embraced daeyeol. "hyung, sometimes i wonder how people like you can exist, so full of hope and all that optimistic stuff. shit, i promise i don't mean it in a bad way, but...” you trailed off.

"it's hard to have hope, right?"

"you could say that."

from the moment you had met him, he had struck you as someone who wouldn’t give up. all of the group did, but especially him. to keep fighting, one had to think that things would get better someday. one needed hope.

he rested one hand on your shoulder, as if he were transferring his wisdom over to you merely by touch. “until the moment i die, i won’t stop having it. it’s the only way we’ll be able to keep pushing through. call me optimistic, but if there seems to be no hope, we have to create it for ourselves. i don't want live hopelessly knowing that i could have tried to make a better future."

you played with a screw in your jacket pocket. "hope's short in supply sometimes, i admit.”

“it is. but all you need is a bit of it to survive.”

you felt your chest rise and fall, acutely aware of your breath. if you really thought about it, it was dangerous to risk it all on one mission, a singular chance to get this right before the soldiers could wipe you all out.

but you thought of the boys you had come to know over months of time, and everything became clearer.

joochan deserved a chance to sing in air that was truly clean. donghyun would get to dance outside without fear of being shot. jibeom and jaehyun could simply mess around with the rc cars you and seungmin made instead of just sending them out into the dangerous world outside their base. most of all, daeyeol would be able to breathe easily (quite literally and metaphorically), after the mission was over.

and of course, you wanted to take that first breath of air with each and every one of them.

hope brought a world of possibilities to think about, so close and yet so far away. it would fuel you, so long as you believed it still existed—and although you didn't really consider yourself as much of an idealist as daeyeol, you needed to be, especially now.

you brought up your hands to your head, which happened to hurt a little, and his voice brought you back to the present.

“hey, y/n, you seem like you’re lost in thought. all good?”

as expected, he can tell what goes on with you.

“just thinking about our upcoming mission. can't help but stay awake...”

he frowned. “it's late, take a rest too. i can't let everyone else in the team deprive themselves of sleep. don't overwork yourself, y/n.”

and before you had known it, he left and came back with a bit of water he had saved. water was difficult to come across but the group was fortunate to have some, so you savored every drop you got to taste. “thank you, daeyeol.”

“always.”

although you continued working, you knew these coming days would be difficult, and later you finally decided to take daeyeol’s advice, eventually letting yourself slip into a dreamlike state on the smooth metal beds.

(you wouldn't have known anyways, but daeyeol glanced at you several times while you were asleep.

you'd be alright, he knew. still, it was nice for him to make sure. he smiled, and got back to work.)

[d-3]

the main room, with all 11 of the crew, wasn’t outwardly panicking, but it contained a nervous energy that simmered and quietly stirred everyone's feelings of anxiety. the crew always worked hard, but this particular week needed everyone's dedication, whether it was finding spare parts, to looking over diagrams, to last minute research.

despite these demands, you were impressed with everyone's resilience.

youngtaek shrugged his shoulders in an attempt to relieve tension. he turned on the medium-sized screen that was inside the hideout, which currently was connected to a phone you and seungmin had built together. "the camera works fine, i see the footage from it showing up.”

you sighed in relief. it was good to know that something worked.

"ow, my feet," jibeom interjected, as damdadi rolled over them.

"alright, thanks youngtaek!" jaehyun grabbed the phone from him and affixed it onto damdadi. he then gestured to jibeom. “come on, let’s go send the rc car to survey the terrain, before y/n does that annoying thing where they yell at us for using their tech all wrong.”

“okay well, you can't just use damdadi to run over jibeom's feet, we got a mission!” you yelled from across the room, where you were working on a drone.

jaehyun smiled innocently at you. "yeah, well it'll be fine and we'll get it done. i think we're very capable. or at least, i am—"

"hey, take that back!" jibeom glared at jaehyun. “i hate you."

the two continued to bicker like children. "okay. jibeom, just so you know, if the guards come and you run too slow, i will be leaving your ass behind!"

these two argue so much, it's almost as if i'm watching a tv sitcom.

"just go already, guys," you said, amused by their antics. "and don't die, of course."

“have a little faith,” jibeom whined. jaehyun laughed at him again, and with the turn of a knob, damdadi rolled to the door with them.

after they left, you went to talk to daeyeol, showing him a few of the drones you had made with seungmin. “i was thinking that i can use these to divert the soldiers' attention so that they're less likely to shoot at you. couldn't hurt, right?”

"hm, good idea, just make sure your drones take a different route to the location. you thought of me that much?" he added, lightly teasing you.

your cheeks warmed slightly, but you kept your face impassive. "well, precautions are necessary, are they not?"

he was serious, but you could sense a bit of amusement coming from him. "they are. you always think ahead, don't you?" and with that, he approved of your addition to the plan.

you let out a sigh of partial relief, and continued to test out another drone.

"just say you love him or something, because even i can tell." seungmin, who had been working next to you muttered this after daeyeol left to wake up bomin. he screwed in another bolt. "you might as well remind him before...."

he doesn't finish the sentence, but he didn't need to. the two of you looked at each other in understanding. survival was never guaranteed in a world as wrecked as this one. he looked away for a second and closed his eyes briefly before continuing to talk.

"never mind. anyways, let's just keep working—we're making good progress. after this, we'll have 4 drones to use. it’s always useful to have something that flies, i suppose."

you obliged, figuring it would be better to shut up and just continue doing what you were always good at—attempting to ignore anything not related to your job. but seungmin's words still lingered and you would do anything to get them out.

later, seeing a frightened jibeom and a tired jaehyun return with news that a soldier had captured the rc car was enough to make you quietly simmer with rage (it was precious technology, after all), but you were almost thankful for the feeling.

at least you still felt something.

[d-day]

this was going to be rather interesting.

lee daeyeol was not supposed to be scared—or at least, he was not supposed to show it. in fact, he was the one whom people looked to for comfort, strength, guidance, and sacrifice (even if no one would say it aloud). if he looked scared, it would set the tone for this mission. who would believe in them? in their cause?

so he shouldered his burden of shutting off the machines of project: aether with calm determination, trying to steady himself despite his accelerating heart rate and the vague feeling of the world swaying beneath his feet. “i’m going out the route we discussed. send the drones out a different exit and wait for the radio signal from me to go up. if something unexpected happens, only one of you should check first."

"got it. stay safe, hyung." sungyoon checked daeyeol's oxygen's tank one last time, sighing to himself.

daeyeol looked to you, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "do you have the ring?"

you wordlessly got up to grab daeyeol's ring from the table, and watched as he slipped it on carefully. the piece of jewelry was special for him, as it was a gift from a childhood friend he had kept for his whole life.

to him, it signified many things, but he could never deny the fact seeing the ring gave him hope.

your voice was soft yet full of conviction as you gave him words of reassurance. "stay strong. we'll be waiting. but even if you don't return, i want to thank you, for everything. i love you, in every sense of the word."

daeyeol closed his eyes. you weren't usually the sentimental type.

it was times like this where he found it hard to walk away. if he let his heart take over, he would stay safe with you against the harsh reality of the world. but he knew that first, he had to carry out his plan.

he extended his arms towards you, pulling you into a tight hug. "you as well, y/n. remember, i'll be with you, always."

he double-checked the levels in his oxygen tank, affirming that they were alright. now, it really was time to go.

"if you don't stay safe, hyung, i'll kick your ass all the way to the sky," jangjun yelled.

"got it," he said, a small grin on his face. of course jangjun would be the one to joke around.

and with that, he turned away, walking towards the entrance of your hideout with conviction. the doors opened, and he stepped out, leaving behind the people he loved most. it would be painful for him to turn around now, and so he chose not to.

at least, if he thought of his team, full of people he wanted to give the world to, he had something tangible to fight for.

as daeyeol left, the 10 of you stared at the door and no one dared say a thing, for fear of it being wrong, but a distinct sigh came from bomin, who could not hide his frustration as the youngest. that's when you knew it was time to do your part, just as daeyeol would do his.

slightly trembling, you got into position and used the camera on the one of the drones to help examine its surroundings and navigate it through the twists and turns of the hide out.

sungyoon, much to everyone’s surprise, stood up a minute later. “i'm not letting him do this alone. lee daeyeol, i swear if you go alone at this point.."

"take care, hyung," bomin said.

he nodded in response.

you buried your head in your hands. it's not like you needed his life at risk too. but sungyoon could be rather stubborn at times, and you weren't trying to argue with him at a time like this.

besides, it's not like he couldn't handle himself out there.

he went to grab an oxygen tank, put its heavy weight on his back, and exited the hideout. but with his running skills, the team knew he would catch up to daeyeol soon enough.

outside, the chemicals in the air gave the impression that everything was a fatal orange, the orange that burned from that pillar of fire daeyeol saw in the distance. it seemed like it would burn straight to his soul and consume him.

but daeyeol found he could run faster than even he anticipated, fueled by a fire of his own.

above the flames, the floating paradise of the rich taunted him, as if they were situated in the heavens and looking down upon people like him, those who couldn't make it up there with what they had in their pockets.

those who were left to perish amongst the ashes.

daeyeol kept going.

unbeknownst to him, sungyoon was making his way over, navigating past abandoned trailers and trying not to alert the presence of any guards—he was quite aware of their patrol routes now.

after a few minutes, he found daeyeol, whispering, “hyung. i’m here."

the older boy looked over in surprise. "now that i think about it, i'm not surprised."

sungyoon's presence had revitalized him completely, a blessing that he wasn't to take lightly. daeyeol gave sungyoon a nod of acknowledgment, and they headed for the passcode entry point together.

as they did, a group of 3 soldiers ran across an elevated ledge.

"we gotta go!" dayeol exclaimed, pointing upwards. they sprinted towards the tower that felt so close, and yet, was still feet away.

a bullet punctured sungyoon's oxygen tank, and the hiss of air leaking out could be heard.

shit, daeyeol thought. he needed to do something, and quick.

they took cover some medium-sized storage crates as he removed his oxygen mask and put it over sungyoon's face, transferring the tank as well.

then, covering his mouth, he ran as fast as he could towards the tower. only a few feet away the tower, the soldiers shot him in the back. and yet he ran, bleeding through his denim jacket.

he inputted the correct code into the security screen.

3-2-6-4.

as sungyoon rushed over to him, daeyeol pushed the lever to shut off the tower off with all of his remaining strength. the pillar of fire emerging from the tower's base shut off, and the smoke in the area began to dissipate.

"you really did it, hyung." sungyoon said, looking around in awe. he sat beside daeyeol. the older boy smiled back.

i can rest, at least sungyoon is fine. no one else had to suffer.

he blinked several times to try and stay awake as sungyoon took off his vest, pressing lightly against one of daeyeol's wounds.

a few minutes earlier...

back at the base, your body felt frozen, except for your fingers, which were the only thing moving. it was quite difficult to steer a drone with the intense weather conditions outside and turmoil within you. but this was your responsibility, and you had to carry it out to the end.

"maybe a little higher," you muttered to yourself as the drone continued to fly. there was a smaller phone next to you, which allowed you to see out of the tiny camera on the drone. seungmin, tag and bomin had drones too.

“i see guards.” seungmin said sharply. “oh wait, i think daeyeol and sungyoon are in the distance too.”

jangjun spoke up. "okay, i'm going up to the warehouse building. i just need to safely observe what's happening outside in case your drones go down."

"someone, hand him a radio! i only have mine." seungmin yelled. "and remember, keep yourself hidden."

donghyun gave the remote to jangjun, who thanked him and left the base quickly.

amidst the chaos, you continued to maneuver the drone, trying to stay in control. the guards appeared to aim their guns in the general direction of the tower, which was where daeyeol and sungyoon were headed to.

you knew the guards were mostly there to prevent people like you guys from shutting off all the technology rich people had paid for. disgusting and vile.

“ah, shit, gotta steer away from there,” you muttered, your hand grasping the right controller stick. the drone flew slightly off to the side, and from what you could make out, the direction some of the guns were firing in changed.

oh god. there's a ton of soldiers. damn.

in all honesty, what happened next was chaos. a few of the screens lost connection. on a screen that was still intact, you saw blood, or at least, you thought you did.

the world blurred around you, but then came into focus again, but you knew that you couldn't collapse, not now. thankfully, your bottle had some water left.

"something's wrong," you say, fidgeting with your hands.

"of course something is wrong!" seungmin said, groaning. "what the hell is happening?"

youngtaek observed the surrounding area through his drone, but soon he had to find somewhere to land it, making sure it was well out of view before doing so.

he groaned shortly after. "great, the camera on the drone is almost dead. but from what i was able to see outside, i can tell someone shot sungyoon and daeyeol as they were headed over. i don't think they'll be coming back soon," he remarked. "so, maybe three to five of us should go out and help. we'll need to treat any wounds."

"do we even have enough medical supplies for this?" you asked, your mind racing. you began to sort through the stuff in the emergency backpack, making sure you could pack as much as possible.

shit. are daeyeol and sungyoon going to die? damn it, those two—

your thoughts were interrupted because over the radio, jangjun’s voice resounded, loud, clear and... somewhat excited? “come. look outside. i can't fucking believe it! we’ll finally be able to breathe the fucking air! you gotta see for yourselves! oh my god... is this real?”

his voice got faint, so you assumed he was busy staring at the sky, and how could you blame him?

everyone looked at each other with shock and disbelief. it's been a while since you've stared out the windows of the warehouse, but whenever you did, it was always the same—a sea of orange and the menacing presence of security drones. seeing something different would be a relief, a sign that daeyeol had gotten the job done after all.

still, you didn't want to be get too excited.

seungmin spoke into the radio. "alright, be there soon, hyung, but we have to go check on daeyeol and sungyoon afterwards. by the way, stop cursing so much, you potty-mouth.”

you heard a crackling sound before he responded, “fuck no.”

ha, he certainly is something.

afterwards, you took the radio, greeting jangjun with a laugh.

"hey, jangjun! is the air really as clear as you say it is?" you said, rolling your eyes. "you get fired up so easily and exaggerate. how do we tell you're not just messing with us?"

jangjun sighed once, one of those sassy why-don't-you-listen-because-i'm-right type of sighs. "just look at the damn sky before you come out, okay? i took off my mask and it felt okay, but don't take my word for it. bring the surgical masks if you're really worried."

you shrugged. "we'll be there. but let's be careful."

then, talking to the rest of the team, you said, "help me grab medical supplies and weapons. once we meet jangjun and get outside, we have to make sure there are no soldiers or drones."

"alright, i'll go ahead with jaehyun to go check on daeyeol and sungyoon and give them necessary medical attention," youngtaek said.

you found a pistol and picked it up. "got it."

"found the surgical masks!" jaehyun exclaimed.

everyone headed out, feeling mixed emotions of fear and anticipation. bomin was by your side. “y/n, will it be okay?”

to be honest, you weren’t the greatest at comforting people, but you tried your best. he was the youngest, and although you knew he was an adult and could handle himself, you still had a bit of a parental instinct.

“i don’t know. i trust that they did their job. we can have a bit of hope, can’t we?”

“yeah. i guess we can.” his breathing became steadier, and you were grateful.

soon enough, you were ascending the steps of what used to be functional escalators. light shone through the tinted glass ceiling, so oddly colored and dirtied that it was difficult to tell what life was like on the outside.

jangjun was leaning against a column, his gaze turned towards a sky that was finally more blue than orange for the first time, devoid of the flame tower in the air that everyone had grown so accustomed to.

you walked beside him, quietly waiting for him to acknowledge your presence. while continuing to stare, he shook his head rapidly, as if trying to wake up from a dream. "i still can't believe it. damn. it seemed like yesterday that there were drones swarming outside the window."

you laughed. "believe what? that we're alive? that this stupid machine is off? that the sky is blue?"

"all of it."

it was rare to see jangjun's contemplative side, but it was certainly present right now. you weren't sure that you believed it either. maybe you dreamt this entire incident up too. unless anyone said otherwise, though, this was real.

you shrugged. "well, there's been crazier things in this world."

"you're damn right about that."

the crew talked quietly amongst themselves, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere that was established by the strange stillness outside the window.

"i think we should go out now." seungmin said to the group, still in a state of shock.

everyone walked out towards an outside balcony where people probably used to hang out long before you were alive. apparently there was a time when the outside air wasn't so dangerous.

as you stepped out of the building, you found a place to stand. after a few minutes, you felt comfortable removing your mask.

you took a breath in, slowly. then, you exhaled. surprised at how easy and yet difficult it was, you repeated the action. it wasn't perfect air—the atmosphere would probably never return to 100% normal—but it was certainly something.

you tried to spot the telltale red lights of enemy drones, but you couldn't find any, to your shock.

there'd be no point in sending them anyways, you surmised. the job's been done.

of course, your heart felt conflicted with the absence of sungyoon and daeyeol, especially the latter. you'd need to check on them soon, just to see how they were doing in person.

you leaned against a white ledge, alone with your thoughts for just a second.

it'll be okay. surely, they'll be okay, you thought, trying to be optimistic.

and yet, there was still a part of you that wondered if you would find their lifeless bodies. but even that would be better than not finding them at all.

that's highely unlikely, of course you'll find them.

you looked at joochan, who had found a place beside you. he was humming softly. the two of you weren't as close (hey, it was hard to get to know the ten others in your crew equally), but you knew he loved music and saw it as his life. through song, you felt as though you understood whatever emotions he wanted to convey.

"wow, i think i'm dreaming," he says, his words riding softly on the breeze. "i never really understood why people sang songs about blue skies until now."

you laughed, despite yourself. "you're not the first to think that we're dreaming. maybe we'll wake up in a few minutes. but for now, this is our reality."

you heard youngtaek's voice over the walkie talkie in your hand. "daeyeol was shot in the back, so he's our priority right now. sungyoon's not in critical condition, but he does have a few bruises and needs to rest as well. make sure you secure the area you're in—we'll let you know when we're done here."

conversation broke out amongst the group.

"why did he do this by himself again?"

"i can't believe it..."

"hyung, you really are crazy for doing this."

meanwhile, you tried to process the news yourself. you weren't doubtful of youngtaek and jaehyun's medical capabilities, but after hearing about this, you knew that it would take a while for him to heal.

you told the group that you were going to go check how sungyoon and daeyeol were faring while they finished scanning the area.

after crossing between a maze of storage crates and covering a long stretch of flat land, you finally made it to the base of the tall tower.

despite all of the hardships you had been through, the sight of the tower without a flame made you smile, even if just for a second.

you spotted daeyeol sitting on the stone floor, his back against the control panel and sungyoon beside him. jaehyun and youngtaek were busy giving them medical treatment. they were obscured on two sides by large crates, which was good.

you were glad sungyoon and daeyeol had survived, but you couldn’t stand to see them in pain, especially your leader.

it only made you feel like you had failed as a companion in protecting him.

first, you talked to sungyoon, who seemed to have a few bruises and was panting heavily, but otherwise, seemed to be alright. he stood up

"i'm glad the two of you weren't alone," you said to him.

sungyoon nods. "he says he can do things alone, and although it's probably true, i wanted to be by his side."

you think of youngbin, and how you lost him. the feeling of deep loyalty isn't unfamiilar to you.

"i... understand."

you wish you were still by youngbin's side.

"here's some water," jaehyun said to sungyoon. luckily, he was able to drink on his own.

next, you looked over at daeyeol, whose eyes were set in a solemn gaze.

on closer inspection, you examined blood trickling from several places in his body. you hated seeing him like this, wanting to give him whatever strength you had.

you approached him slowly, not wanting to overwhelm him. “hi, daeyeol. how are you holding up?”

his response came in slow, short sentences. “i'm fine, for now. need… water. it’s good... to see you, y/n.”

you pulled an extra bottle of water out of your bag and slowly poured it in his mouth. you weren't the medical authority amongst your team, but you knew it wouldn't be good if he was required to move, considering the fact that he had been shot.

“it's good to see you too.” you laid a hand on his shoulder and continued speaking softly. you wanted to envelop him in a bone-crushing hug, but you were sure there'd be time for that when he was fully healed.

when, not if, right?

“i know you're probably thinking about the next step in all this, but.." you hesitated. "let us take care of you a while longer. you've already done so much for us."

he laughed, the sound strained. "i won't do anything drastic, don't worry."

you sat down in front of him, fingertips inches away from his. suddenly, you were a little tired as well. "please, let me know if there's anything that you need.

daeyeol took your hand. "you're here... for me, that's enough."

the golden ring on his hand glimmered in the sunlight. he said it reminded him of many things—your team, as his duty as a leader, the memories you've all shared.

you had always been more of a realist. youngbin was too, accepting that things were the way they were, and taught you that there wasn't much you could do except try to survive another day and solve things practically.

but daeyeol taught you something too, that hope was something that could be cultivated, even in the face of struggle. you took a glance at your friends, feeling a weight lift off of your shoulders.

no, problems weren't going to magically disappear. wounds took time to heal. work still needed to be done. you could lose it all at any moment. it was scary, to not know what came after this moment.

but as long as you had a heartbeat, as long as you were alive, you could have hope, even if it was faint.

"yes," you said, gazing at the endless sky above you. "it's enough."

taglist: @restlessmaknae

[baura-bear]

HEY POOKIE BEAR !! HOW ARE YOU!!! was diggin through my drafts and i found this cowboy au thingy.. it was my own interpretation of how jack and davey possibly met but then you posted your version and i just fell in love with it and didn't pay much mind to my draft.. however i think it's pretty fun so here it is :3

Dear Mama,

All is fine. Sarah and I started working at a local store–I work at the register, she stocks the shelves. (If she isn’t slacking off, that is…) I haven’t met anyone interesting yet. To be fair, the folks here aren’t very fond of newcomers, but that’s to be expected from a small town out West.

Well, I suppose that’s all for now. I’ll write often, as I promised. Do tell me how you and Papa are coping with your eldest children gone.

Love,

David

*

David glanced at his pocket watch for what seemed like the hundredth time this hour, and he sighed dramatically. Sarah was late to work. Again. And the shelves weren’t going to magically fill up with all the goods.

“I swear to God, I’m taking her salary when we get paid,” he grumbled to himself, tying his apron tighter as he walked out from behind the cash register. He headed out back, where all the crates were, all of them intact. He took a few of them at once and went back inside, all the while cursing quietly under his breath.

He started with the canned products first. Kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, peaches, pineapples. Thinking of how much he disliked their new home helped speed the process up a bit. The people weren’t welcoming, their employer treated them like some sort of scum, they haven’t even managed to get a proper house yet (mind you, sleeping at a saloon room was an absolute nightmare for several reasons), and Sarah was never doing her job. David didn’t even know where she was off to the majority of the time, and her explanations (or lack thereof) definitely didn’t help. All in all, David missed home so far, missed the comfort of his own bed and the familiar noises of New York’s bustling city life, missed his parents, missed his… Well, okay, he didn’t really have friends, so that remained unchanged.

When David was about halfway done with restocking, a customer walked in, and so of course he had to come back to the register.

“Good morning, sir,” he greeted with a forced smile. “What do you need today?”

The stranger waltzed around the store, looking at the wares, and David took the opportunity to get a good look at him–a man his age, maybe a few years older, really fancy. A brimmed hat which made him look like a card shark, a nice, checkered vest, underneath it a white dress shirt, and some striped pants. He didn’t look like trouble, David decided, and so he eased a little, simply letting the man look at the products.

“I don’t suppose you sell, say, ammunition, perhaps, good sir?” the man asked, a kind, almost cheeky smile on his face as he finally walked up to the register. He looked past David, at the back of the store, and he definitely noticed the sturdy door which led to the room in which all the money was stored, in an iron safe.

“We do, for revolvers and rifles,” David nodded, and he started turning around to reach for a small cabinet behind the register, where the ammunition was hidden. Safety measures, or whatever the boss said.

“Alright, thank you, sir,” the man said and tipped his hat, but strangely enough, he started walking out of the building without buying anything. “Stay safe, yeah?”

David creased his eyebrows and watched the man closely. “Yes, thank you,” he answered half-heartedly, and waited for the man to come back or for literally anything to happen. When a few minutes had passed and nothing happened, David decided to let it go. He went to get another crate, this time filled with ammo, and started placing the little cartons in the cabinet.

Then, he heard the door open again, the little bell ringing, and a pair of heels on the wooden floor. He figured that since he could hear the strong clink of the heels, it must’ve been Sarah.

“Sara, znów się spóźniasz,” he scolded his older sister without turning around, using their native tongue. “Przysięgam, jeśli jeszcze raz będę musiał za ciebie wykładać towar, to biorę twoją pensję–”

The words quickly died in his throat as he heard a click. That was, undoubtedly, a gun. As he slowly turned around, a man came into his vision. A cowboy. Of course.

“This is a robbery, good sir,” the man said with a strong accent, pointing his gun right at David, and David felt his heart speed up significantly, his eyes going wide, his hands shaking as he let the crate drop to the ground. “Just stay where you are an’ you won’t get hurt, yeah?”

David nodded, or at least he tried to, frozen in place. He raised his hands in a defensive motion, watching as the cowboy approached. It was now very clear that the heels were just his cowboy boots, moreover, David could now hear the noise the spurs made as the man walked closer. He had two holsters, one of them obviously empty, and if that amount of guns wasn’t enough, he also had a double-barreled shotgun on his back, and given by the stern look in his eyes (the rest of his face being hidden by a red bandana), he was ready to use it and blow a hole into David’s chest.

“Now, give me the money from the register,” the robber commanded as he got close, the barrel of the gun aiming directly between David’s eyes.

David didn’t take long to comply, because he decided that he isn’t paid enough to risk his life. He opened the cash register, struggling a little, given how his hands trembled and how he had trouble with seeing straight, but eventually, he handed the register's contents to the cowboy–a generous wad of money and a few coins.

As the cowboy quickly eyeballed the amount of money, he let out a disapproving grunt, shaking his head. “C’mon, I know it ain’t all,” he said, his finger resting on the revolver’s trigger. “The room in the back, it’s there, ain’t it? Won’t you be helpful and open it?”

David swallowed thickly and started walking backwards slowly, all the while holding his hands up and looking right at the man. He dug in his pocket for a moment and fished out the key eventually, then made quick work of the door lock and eventually opened it, immediately stepping aside.

The man walked into the room, but when he saw the safe, he scoffed. “Son of a… ‘Course,” he said, mostly to himself, and stuck his head out. “Race! Get inside and help me, would ya?”

“You said I was s’pposed to be on the lookout!” a voice from outside the store yelled.

“And now I’m tellin’ ya to get your ass over here!”

David couldn't do anything but watch on as the two partners in crime yelled at each other, which continued even as the other man walked inside. David couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw that it was the same card shark guy from before.

“Howdy again, good sir, excuse my dumbass of a partner there,” said Race, which was what his partner called him.

“Damn it, Racer, shut up and tie the damn guy before he runs outta here and gets the sheriff to intervene!” the man instructed as he struggled with opening the iron box, his ear right next to the lock as he listened to its clicks.

How am I you ask? Upon seeing this in my ask box I immediately burst into tears 😋 thank you my friend for this because 🤲🤲🤲 I needed it and it made my day so much better and like ???!!!!! It’s so good??? You say you fell in love with my version but like !!!! I just fell in love with this!!!!! It’s so perfect 😭 we get David and Sarah bickering and Sarah doesn’t even enter the scene which is so amazing and Jack and Races dynamic??!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh it’s so good it’s so so good oh my gosh… also hot cowboys tying up the helpless cashier 👁️👁️ pretty gay if you ask me. Anyway if I were at my usual functioning level this would just be me in all caps screaming but I’m very tired so just imagine this is in all caps with a lot of exclamation points and key smashes. This is everything I love it so much Dave so so much gah! And Jack’s guns??!! He’s so cool gosh darn 🫶🫶🫶‼️

[an-ivy-covered-summer]

dude i know i'm preaching to the choir here but you're so right. obviously if they were the best books ever written it still wouldn't excuse bigotry but the biggest goop of all of the harry potter defenders in this day and age is that the books aren't even fucking good. and i was *the* target audience at the time, i was twelve when the first one came out and grew with the series as it was released, i harry potter roleplayed online for so many years in my teens. but reading back as an adult, they are so poorly written.

and it's not even like well you're an adult and they were written for the youths because i've read ella enchanted about a hundred times and it still holds up.

also like... keep reading your books if you want? no one is stopping you? just STOP GIVING HER MONEY FOR NEW THINGS OH MY GOd.

[i'm sorry to potentially bring hate down on you you don't have to respond publicly i just saw your tags and was like yes all of that]

YES, EXACTLY!!!!!

i was the target as well, and it was a huuuuge part of my personality for a long time (to the point that i’ve had to make clear statements nowadays that i haven’t been a fan for a while so i don’t get a present related to it from people who don’t really know anything about her or something bc the whole thing just feels super icky to me) but come on, it only takes reading, like, any one other middle school saga to realize how poorly written they are, how often she backtracks, how uninspired is the worldbuilding, how poor is the character development, how shallow is the plot!

and like you said, this doesn’t come from a place of “i’m an adult who only reads serious adult literature” AT ALL. i read the percy jackson books in my twenties!!!! and i’m always a sucker for any cool saga having kids and teenagers come together to save the world with their wit and friendship!!!!! but harry potter is just not it, so it sucks even more that some people are so staunch on defending it when it’s not even a good work!!!!!! it’s mid at best!!!!!!! my little cousin was so unimpressed by it when he was like 8 that he didn’t even finish it, AND HE HAD ALREADY READ AROUND 30 BOOKS BY THEN!!!!

and nostalgia is not worth compromising the life of trans people!!!!!!!!!

so, yeah, we’re preaching to the choir, but a good rant is always necessary when the subject shows up. again.

and lastly, my dear reny, don’t worry about me. i’m openly a swiftie, cubs, braves AND dodgers fan. i thrive on potential hate [insert :emoji_1: here]

[elyndafae]

Queen Lucy - Chapter One

To tell the whole story of Nantrelor would take several volumes, for it is a history that reaches back into the mists of legend. Perhaps we shall learn something of that history as we go along. But, for now, we are to relate the story of Queen Lucy.

It is not for nothing that the country folks still refer to the eastern wilds of the kingdom as the 'Enchanted Forest'. The old magic, so they say, is still very much alive there. And here and there may be found many curious relics of past ages...

Nobody is quite sure who built this place, or when, or for what purpose. Locals believe it to be the haunt of kindly spirits from another age, remembering perhaps that happy Arcadia where the mothers and fathers of mankind once danced and played in the innocence of their childhood. Not a place to be disturbed with noise, but rather a place for tranquillity and quiet meditation.

At least, that is the case most of the time…

“Wunderbar!”

"Most extraordinary!"

May we introduce Doctor Hans Vanderling, late of the University of Simstadt, philosopher and historian. Elderly, bespectacled, rather dapperly dressed: he appears to be just what he is, a kindly, mild mannered old scholar. But he is a little bit more than that, as we shall presently learn. For now, we shall say he is an inquirer into mysteries. Both ancient and modern.

And if things were were not extraordinary enough…

“Still in one piece Doc? I told you I could work these things, didn’t I. And now I’ve saved you a long, bumpy journey by coach. Believe me, those mountain roads are no joke! Don’t I always take care of you?”

“I never doubted you Anthea. And I assure you there was no need for you to give me such a push, it quite set me off balance. And I was quite ready to step through of my own volition”.

“Sorry Doc, I just thought you needed a little encouragement. And I promise you I wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t absolutely sure it was safe. Yeah, I used to get around using these things all the time, but there ain’t so many of them left now”.

“This place is quite fascinating, I wish I had time to examine it more closely. I hadn’t expected to find a Greco-Roman influence here. Some kind of shine or sanctuary, I would say. And this, the god Apollo I would guess, patron of the arts. A later addition, I would think”.

“I s’pose. It doesn’t look much like him though”.

“Indeed? I suppose you are now going to tell me he’s yet another of your old acquaintances”.

“Hardly that Doc! Sure, I did run into him one time, but I didn’t stick around long enough to get acquainted. Let me tell you, Doc, you don’t want to get on the bad side of those old Olympians, they’re a touchy lot. No sense of humour, any of them!”

“Meaning he didn’t appreciate any of your little pranks. Any more than did the Emperor Charlemagne, or Ivan the Terrible, or was it Vlad the Impaler? Really I lose track of your many misadventures Anthea.

“But now I really must sit down for a bit. My old legs feel a little wobbly after that journey, brief though it was.

“And whilst we’re on the subject, Anthea, I want you to be on your best behaviour whilst we are here. None of your usual antics now. You know I don’t like to nag you my dear, but we are here upon serious business, and not a mid-summer fairy frolic. We must proceed cautiously and not call undue attention to ourselves. Do you understand?”

“Well, okay Doc. But this looks like being a dull kind of adventure from where I’m sitting. I mean what are we supposed to do here anyway? The place seems like Snoresville, so far as I can tell. I doubt if anything exiting has happened around here since the time of the old Witch Queen. This place wants waking up”.

“We are here, first and foremost, to keep a promise Anthea, remember that. And as for waking things up, well you ought to have learned by now that there are some things that are best left undisturbed. And some other things will only wake up when they are good and ready”.

“Come along now Anthea, the afternoon is wearing and there is much for us to do. And do not look some gloomy, liebling, I daresay things may liven up soon enough, and you will find plenty of interesting things the occupy you.

“As for me, I shall first need to go shopping. There are some items I need to acquire. Travelling light may suit a fairy, Anthea, but a gentleman does not go adventuring without so much as a toothbrush or a clean shirt collar.

A short walk later...

“Brelor Castle at last! Beautiful, is it not? Alas that I come at such a sad time. Oh, my dear friend Robert, would that you were here to greet me!”

“I loved him too, Doc. And I’m not kidding around this time, I truly have met a few kings in my time, and a few queens too, and he wasn’t just one of the best, he was truly the best”.

“And in that castle dwells one who will miss him more than we Anthea. For no child should lose both mother and father at so tender age, be she princess or no. And she must now bear a heavy burden upon small shoulders. Whatever else may betide, she will want our help. We can do no less for our dear departed friend”.

“And now, Anthea, I must employ your singular talents. Go now, fly to that castle and 'case the joint', as you would say. But on no account let yourself be seen, not even by the queen. Not yet. We must proceed cautiously. And first we must learn the lie of the land, so to speak”

“You mean you want me to spy on them?”.

“You may call it reconnaissance, if you prefer. You must, of course, use a measure of discretion, and you must certainly respect peoples’ privacy. Just listen and observe. Learn what persons attend upon the young queen, their characters, and how they are disposed towards her. Most particularly I wish to know whether she has any unsuspected enemies there. I shall expect a full report when I come. Now off you go, and be good”.

“I go, I go, see how I go. Swifter than arrow from the Tartar’s bow. Wee!”

At this point the reader may not be too surprised to learn that a certain Robin Goodfellow, sometimes called Puck, is also one of Anthea’s old ‘acquaintances’. They have much in common.

And so it begins.

“Be good” the Doctor says. Well, when Anthea is good, she is very good. And when she is bad – watch out! Things may soon liven up rather a lot in Nantrelor. Especially if Anthea has anything to do with it.

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Long-Term Relationship Masterlist

2014 (ao3) - outphan

Summary: Relationship talk is something they have to do sometimes.

2019 (ao3) - outphan

Summary: Dan and Phil's tenth anniversary.

a dreamt earth for your mind, love (ao3) - deathlytireddan

Summary: The earth is wet and alive under Dan’s hands. Damp, humid dirt clings to his skin. A drop of water slides from a pillowy fern onto his palm. He watches it slide down his hand and fall onto a clump of moss.

AKA Dan is stressed, Phil dreams him a forest, they talk.

A Year in the Life (ao3) - TwistedRocketPower

Summary: To celebrate ten years together, and moving into their forever home, Dan and Phil decide to release a self-made documentary of the past year. Unlike anything they've ever done, this video will show the good, bad, and everything in between.

all the memories i hold dear (ao3) - Ablissa

Summary: "It's not really our anniversary, though," Dan reasons against his own will.

"It's one of our anniversaries," Phil argues.

Dan snorts. "Yeah, one of like, ten."

"Four," Phil corrects him, fondness seeping from his voice.

--

Nine years after meeting Phil for the first time, Dan thinks it's alright that they'll be spending October 19th apart.

But is it really?

because we're young (and love is a worthwhile fight) (ao3) - buzzbug82

Summary: Delicious cake, beautiful flowers, champagne to die for—and the way the grooms always look at their brides when they walk across the aisle; Phil thinks maybe that is why people get married.

But no, because truthfully what marriage is--

Colour Me Free (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: At age 25, Dan Howell doesn't want to hide anymore. The problem is, it's not exactly easy to tell your boyfriend of 7 years that you're not a girl.

Fifty Years Ago - insert-sugar-here

Summary: Dan and Phil are on vacation at the beach, when Explorers by Muse plays. This triggers slow dancing and singing. 

holding on to me so tight (ao3) - deathlytireddan

Summary: “Phil.”

“What.”

“That is...that’s really not how you should wrap that.”

Phil gives him a do I look like I care expression and cuts an uneven line across the roll of paper.

#IPreferDan (ao3) - ellisonavenue

Summary: He never planned on keeping the pill a secret from Phil because he never planned on Phil and him living together so comfortably for over 3 years. He'd banked on a year maybe a year and a half before they went their separate ways. He'd only banked on 2 months max before Phil found out what the pills were for. Dan couldn’t believe it was 2015 and Phil didn’t know yet.

Or the one where Dan was born female and refuses to tell anyone.

It's Been Years (Thirteen) (ao3) - BLUEGREYKIM

Summary: It’s been years, Dan thinks. Twelve of them, by now. Thirteen, in October. They’re in their thirteenth year. God, he’s gotten older. Less than ten years to go before he’ll have known Phil for longer than he hasn’t.

It's Like We're Going Under (ao3) - Nefertiti1052 (Succubusphan)

Summary: After a very rough year in their relationship, Dan is not sure if he should quit or keep trying to salvage what they had.

Koi No Yokan (ao3) - cold_cereal

Summary: Phil proposes to Dan.

Like You - daddylikeydummy

Summary: Its 2019 and there’s a wedding. Phil’s saying something, but Dan isn’t really listening, his mind’s elsewhere…that “where” being ten years ago, in 2009

Lion Heart (ao3) - Babel_Fish

Summary: Phil and Dan have been in a long term relationship since they met, though only their close friends know for sure. Things are going very well for them professionally and privately. Something comes out of the blue that rips them apart. They have to find each other will they be able to survive the obstacles thrown in their way.

Looking Back - velarisstars

Summary: Dan and Phil, old and gray and in their eighties, still make the most out of life, despite some difficult changes. Told through their present day and very domestic flashbacks, Dan and Phil will be together forever. Phil promised.

love in all its purity - summerohnine

Summary: dan and phil celebrate their ninth anniversary.

love song, remixed (ao3) - frostbitten_cheeks

Summary: They’ve been together for over a decade. Love isn’t the photogenic illusion movies advertise, at this point.

Or: love in its realest form, presented in ten acts.

Meet Me In The Hallway (ao3) - CanDanAndPhilNot (enbycalhoun)

Summary: Dan is seven years old when he meets Phil Lester and friendship comes easy for them. Over the years they meet each other in the hallway despite what life throws at them.

nine years of love - secretlywritingstories

Summary: There are a hundred ways to say I love you and a dozen of word for love. It might not even require words. Actions can speak louder than words, so every little touch, every shared glance, every joyful laugh, every tear shed and every seemingly normal moment.  It should be the most fun you’ve ever had and for two boys it had been exactly that. Nine years of love. Shared struggles and successes. They had shared ten 19th of October in each other’s company with no sight of stopping yet.

Not just any anniversary (ao3) - f1agus

Summary: It’s October 19th, 2019. Dan and Phil’s tenth anniversary.

When Phil announces he has to go up north to visit his dad, Dan most certainly doesn’t expect the day to turn out the way it did.

Or, where Phil surprises Dan for a full day :)

On His Fiftieth Birthday - chocolatesaucelester

Summary: Phil has turned fifty and such a milestone calls for some reflection. 

only angel (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: dan never wanted to admit this would happen to them, and when phil no longer remembers who he is, it takes away a piece of him.

Right Where We Are (ao3) - thatsmistertoyou

Summary: Dan’s feeling lonely between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, so Phil invites him to stay with his family for a few days.

save your eyes (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: phil's eyes have gotten worse over the years and he misses reading. so dan decides to read to phil.

Serendipity (ao3) - philsmeatylegss

Summary: Dan and Phil are a generic, cute suburban couple when a brief apocalypse decides to happen

Testing the Waters (ao3) - thatsmistertoyou

Summary: Dan joins the Lester clan on their semi-annual vacation to Florida. The phandom takes notice.

the scariest part (is letting go) (ao3) - huphilpuffs

Summary: Dan's journey with sexuality continues long after he meets Phil.

The Sock Thing (ao3) - Ablissa

Summary: "Phil," Dan begins and then falls silent, suddenly unsure how to proceed.

"Why are you giving me my sock?" Phil asks after a pause.

"Because it was on the kitchen counter!"

(Phil leaves his socks everywhere, and it's a bit of a problem.)

Through the Wire (ao3) - breatherepeat

Summary: While on the US tour, Dan receives multiple calls from his grandmother.

No worries. Grandmother is fine. She just has an important question for him to answer.

Set in the same universe as Everything. Don't need to read Everything to enjoy this one though.

Walking on Eggshells (ao3) - thatsmistertoyou

Summary: Dan and Phil feel the pressure and stress of being soon-to-be-published authors, and it puts a strain on their relationship when they consider our side.

Worth the Wait - midnightskydan-archive

Summary: In which Dan wants to wait until marriage, but he’s worried Phil won’t want to wait that long.

you (ao3) - deathlytireddan

Summary: Set in vague points during the year Dan created BIG.

I only want to help you, but sometimes I forget you have to be allowed to help yourself.

[mlobsters]

supernatural s10e12 about a boy (w. adam glass)

oh i just noticed the episode title. is this where we get de-aged dean? lol not surprisingly i've seen that in fic a decent amount :P i didn't realize he looked so young in this episode

SAM Caught a case. Apparently something is taking people. And leaving their clothes. DEAN Hmm. About time this gig got an “R” rating.

meta snark?

SAM Look, I know you’re worried about the mark. DEAN Yes, Sam. I am. Between what I did to Charlie— SAM Charlie forgave you. How about you forgive yourself? DEAN Because I’m not exactly batting 1,000 here, you know? SAM Yeah, I do know that, but staying locked up in here, sitting on the ground reading the same lore books over and over and over again, it’s not helping you. You need to get back in the game for your own good. You can beat this, Dean. DEAN Do you really believe that? SAM Yeah, you’re damn right I believe that.

the words are there but i am not feeling it

DEAN You know, you also believed in the Easter bunny till you were 12. SAM No I didn’t. [SAM pauses] Look, I was 11. DEAN And a half. SAM And a half. Right.

little cute sibling bickering to help the medicine go down

it's hard for me take their conversations seriously when we swing into some goofy fucking music and plot shenanigans. i don't think it's just the edible talking that i've just been too aware they're Acting because the tone of their personal drama and the World Outside they have to deal with are clashing so hard.

and now we get this kid again for dean who is tiny but at least he's playing a more believable age (i looked it up after his appearance in s9e7, this episode he's supposed to be 14, 16 in s9e7)

snippet from my recap this show likes to swing from one extreme to another with the people playing the kids. first 18 year old dean here (who looks like he's in his 20s) with ~supposed~ 14 year old sam and now this kiddo playing dean is 18 but looks quite young and is.. 5'6.5". was looking at his imdb pictures at from about a boy (so he's next to sam) lol

dear lord i paused the episode because i wanted to look the young tina actress up because she reminds me of lara jean's friend in 'to all the boys i've loved before' (one of my favorite romcoms, fake dating hello and it's so sweet, good rewatch) and got completely sidetracked and decided to ramble about all that shit above

reminds me of her for good reason lol. but also she was fray on the magicians?? sad to say i completely forgot about that part. i've rewatched s1-2 a bunch more than s3. she was also in s11 of the xfiles of the re... revival? which i watched and have zero memory of other than that awful wig application they did on my beloved gillian

to all the boys i've loved before (2018) madeleine arthur as christine / the magicians s3e12 the fillorian candidate - madeleine arthur as fray

god, nic. stfu.

yes please show us sam getting unhinged over dean being missing

i feel for this little man having to act like jensen!dean. i can hear it! but it's still weird. habits i can sort of roll with due to affection for our regular dean are harder to swallow (the noisily eating kidnapper provided cake thing) with someone i don't have that builtin

TINA You know, before…I thought you were just another drunk. DEAN I prefer functional alcoholic.

ha ha. it's not funny because it's true

padalecki is doing a good job selling him being freaked out. damnit they used a sound that's totally a sound also used in x-files score arrrrgh

spn s10e12 / the x-files: fight the future (1998)

(because i know that movie so well i knew this sound was at least in scenes at the jiffy pop poppers and the big ship at the end)

flustered and flabbergasted sam is chef's kiss

the look down to his crotch made me laugh, gotta admit

SAM What? Don’t—Wait, wait, wait. Wait a second. Talk to me. DEAN Really, Sam? Now? I got no grass on the infield, and a girls’s gonna die. Sorry if I’m not in a chatty mood. Look, you wanted me back in the game. I’m back in the damn game.

truly living for the variety of faces padalecki is giving us

it's like watching a fic come to life. de-aged teenager dick problems and all

DEAN My voice is weird, and I’ve got like nine zits, and I have zero control over this. [DEAN gesturing to his crotch area.] I mean, it’s up. It’s down. It’s up for no reason. SAM That’s enough. Yeah, thanks. Uh [Clears throat] that's just called puberty.

crotch mentions: 2

SAM Wait a second. Are you saying you want to stay like this? DEAN No! No, but…if it’s between being a psycho rage monster/borderline demon or a teenager, well… SAM Really? DEAN Look, I’m not a fan, either, but…Sam, this is problem solved. And I’m still me. I can still hunt. I’m just, you know…dewier. SAM Okay, look, y-you have a point, kind of, but, dude— DEAN I know.

so i'm curious what, if anything, they had in mind there. but me, being the sap i am, was like. then sammy might die first 😭 (obviously not but still, that's where my brain was goin). could be taken in a variety of directions.

SAM Dean, I’m way too big to fit in that. DEAN First time you ever had to say that, huh?

crotch mentions: 3

SAM Big talk coming from the dude wearing underoos.

burn. and crotch mentions: 4

(god as ever, the musical score is just random mediocre hodgepodge. it makes me sad)

insert tiktok "i just a baby"

s10e12 / downton abbey s3e5 - lesley nicol as mrs patmore

omg mrs patmore can't get out of the kitchen 😭 woof. this keeps getting campier by the second.

did dean just burn the hex bag they need to turn the girl back? okay well i can see the appeal of starting over as it were, but looking that young and having no identity is a lot.

workin the beautiful lighting

DEAN Look, I know what you’re going to say, okay? But you were in deep. SAM I know. I know. You saved me, and you saved Tina, and…pulled a Dean Winchester. Thank you. DEAN Anytime. SAM Look, man… do I wish the mark was gone? Yes, of course. Absolutely, I do, but… I wanted you back. And now here you are, and you didn’t Hulk out, so… [SAM shrugs] I’ll take the win. As for the rest of it—the mark, everything else…we’ll figure it out. We always do. DEAN Damn right. Let’s get out here.

very sweet. dean being awkward about being thanked as expected

seriously truly unreasonably pleased at dean embracing the taylor swift song. i'm not a Fan or anything but i do like some of her music a lot. and shake it off is a fuckin banger and has one of the cutest videos ever. you can like all kinds of music! i don't care what motivated that decision behind the scenes, i'm tucking it in my pocket with a big fat smile

(after i watch her music video again for the hundredth time ;)