#oh my lord seriously inside out 2 is worth the watch

[destiny-in-the-universe]

I’m trying desperately not to spoil this movie so soon. I will not accept any slander on Anxiety’s design, but- Inside Out 2 made me cry. I deeply related to Riley, and jeez that movie struck deep and especially when they actually did a brilliant depiction of how anxiety works

… almost tempted to do a RC9GN x Inside Out crossover but mrrs

[cas-kingdom]

Dad

A/N: Thank you to my anons for helping me come up with some perfectly Geralt-like explanations of parenthood. <3

Despite the summary, Geralt doesn't outright call Akela his daughter in a couple of these, but the point of the story is to show how he can call her that without actually saying it, if that makes sense. Still fluffy and (dangerously) sweet! Also a nice little Yennefer-Geralt scene here.

While writing number 4, I listened to 'Scared' by Jeremy Zucker.

Title: Dad

Summary: Three times Geralt called you his daughter, and the one time you called him ‘Dad’.

Words: 4607

1)

“I knocked it off the cart.” You crossed your arms over your chest. “Why would I try to steal something I have money to pay for?”

The old man’s face turned sourer, if that was at all possible. “Oh, you have money?” He expectantly stretched his hand out, palm up as his fingers twitched. “Pay me, then!”

You rolled your eyes. “But I’m not buying them!”

“You tried to steal them!”

“I did not!”

“I saw you!”

“What you saw,” you spat out, leaning forward, face the picture of anger, “was me bumping against your cart and knocking a couple apples off—which I apologised for.”

A noise somewhere between frustration and rage spewed from the man’s mouth and he shot his arm forward like a snake striking to attack, grasping the front of your tunic and tugging you forward. “Listen here, girl—”

You clenched your fists and readied to bite back, but before you even had a chance, the man’s hands were ripped from you, and he was shoved away.

“Get your hands off her,” a stony voice ground out, voice brooking no argument. Geralt stood tall and menacing in front of the hunched old man, head tilted slightly to the side as he glared at him. He knew you were often capable of looking after yourself, proven clearly when you stepped beside him and a look of smugness appeared on your face, but he also knew that that would likely never change how much the anger flourished inside him when he saw someone lay their hands on his child in a way such as this.

The old man pointed a shaky finger at Geralt. “You stay out of this, Sir!”

You scoffed, and Geralt spared a glance down at you, briefly raising a brow. “What, exactly, am I supposed to be staying out of?”

“The little bitch tried to steal my produce!”

“I didn’t!”

“The little bitch,” Geralt said, holding out an arm to stop you from lunging, “is my daughter. And if you ever speak in that manner to her again, you won’t be able to speak another word.”

The man looked ready to respond with vigour, but at the last moment his eyes averted to the sword and the daggers at Geralt’s waist, and the cogs in his brain began to turn as his vision wandered up to the white hair and the amber eyes. He shut his mouth and stepped back, resigned.

“Forgive me,” he said. He appeared as though he was ready to run before he grabbed one of the apples you had knocked off his cart and pressed it into your hands, a forced and nervy smile showing on his lips. “Here, take this!”

Your eyes lit up and you smiled victoriously, taking a bite from it and turning to walk off as you called back a quick, “Thank you!”

Geralt sighed deeply and hummed, giving the man a final glare before following after you. “He was right. You are a little bitch,” he remarked.

You grinned and tossed the apple in the air, the sunlight glinting on the green fruit as though in triumph. You handed it to him and watched as he relented with a roll of his eyes and took a bite. “Waste not, want not!”

2)

“What’s it like?”

Geralt lifted his head to look at Yennefer. She was lying on her side opposite the fire, her head resting in her hand, and she seemed contemplative. Curious, in a way, which was odd for her, though what could he really say about that? It wasn’t as though he’d known her long.

“I’m sorry?” he asked.

Yennefer jerked her head in the direction he’d been staring in for the majority of the past ten minutes, where you were fast asleep, curled under blankets, head beside Jaskier’s, who was wandering in the land of dreams himself.

He looked at you a moment longer before turning back to the mage. A hint of his own confusion danced in his eyes, but she spoke before he could open his mouth to question what it was that she meant.

“Parenthood,” she clarified, her voice softening. “What’s it like?”

Geralt rose an eyebrow, briefly floundering for words at the, quite frankly, surprising question. For a woman who was all invulnerability and strength, it was something he hadn’t expected to come from her. Not to mention he didn’t often think about what she’d asked.

He glanced away and shook his head. “More trouble than it’s worth,” he told her with a short breath of a laugh.

The corners of Yennefer’s lips drew upwards. She fidgeted with a stone on the forest floor. “I’m serious.”

His other eyebrow shot up. “So am I,” he assured her. “She may seem sweet, but underneath it all is the monster I’m most afraid to go up against.” He offered her a rare smile, which she returned, and for the first time in a while both mage and witcher felt peaceful. It was blissfully quiet—the only sound being Jaskier’s snores and incoherent mumbles—and it was dark, giving the two the serenity they needed after the trials of the previous days.

“It’s… hard,” he said seriously, despite the fact he was admitting that he, the infamous Geralt of Rivia, found something difficult. “You learn new things every day.”

“What kind of things?”

“Everything. About yourself, about her, about the world in general… you make decisions you probably would never have thought about before. You have responsibilities you wouldn’t have believed would ever be associated with you.” He let his eyes wander over to your sleeping form. “You don’t know what the hell you’re doing most of the time. You can feel so… so lost at it, right until you start to realise the only thing that’s keeping you grounded is the same thing that gave you the title of father. It…” He paused, leaning forward to poke a stick into the dying fire. “It gives you something to live for, and at the time I found Y/N, that was what I needed most.”

Yennefer’s lips curled into a smile as she slowly sat up, tucking her legs underneath her. “It sounds tiring,” she said, glancing down for a moment, and Geralt nodded.

“It is. But the rewards outweigh the difficulties. It’s something you’d give up everything to keep.” He looked across at her, noticing her loosened shoulders, and realised for the first time that he took his title of father for granted. Yennefer’s mutations had made her sterile, and though he was the same, he’d still somehow found a way to get past that, even though he’d never once pondered on the possibilities of it before he’d found you. Yennefer hadn’t been so lucky, and as he looked at her, he found that that reflected perfectly in the eyes he now viewed as… sad.

“You’ll feel that someday,” he said without thinking, and when she glanced up, he nodded in your direction. “When you have your own.”

Yennefer gazed at him, violet eyes piercing the amber of his. They stared at each other for a moment, no words passing their lips but every meaningful word being said nonetheless, until Jaskier snorted in his sleep and the both of them ripped their eyes away, returning to their stone and their stick.

“Thank you, Witcher,” Yennefer spoke up a moment later, and Geralt nodded once.

“You’re welcome, Mage.”

3)

Geralt turned his head down to look at you. You were standing beside him, absently tugging on the neckline of the dress you’d bought from a market that very morning. You were clearly irritated, sighing in annoyance and muttering under your breath every so often.

When you noticed him looking, you shook your head, face every bit unhappy. “I don’t want to be here,” you ground out.

He rose an eyebrow. “Clearly.”

“Why are we here again?”

“Lord Lyon invited us.”

“And how do you—” You scratched at the back of your neck, the foreign material rubbing it raw—“know Lord Lyon?”

Geralt glanced down again and frowned, slapping your hands away from your red neck. “I saved his sister from a werewolf,” he said, instinctively tucking a few strands of hair that hadn’t made it into your plait behind your ear, “and he insisted my attendance at his feast tonight.”

You rose an eyebrow at that, finally relenting in your fiddling and letting your arms hang loosely. “Your attendance,” you picked out. “I could have stayed at the inn.” He ignored that, as you expected, and you sighed, shoulders slacking. “You never usually care for extra repayment,” you said. And it was true. He didn’t. He preferred to do his duty as a witcher and not stick around to see the aftermath of his hunt, except to accept his money. He didn’t care for physical shows of thanks. It was better that way, for you and for him. But he’d, for once, genuinely been concerned for the lord’s sister, so he’d accepted the invitation with the intention of only staying long enough to gain information on her wellbeing before leaving.

Geralt lifted his chin as he noticed a familiar man enrobed in silk and jewels walking towards you. He took in a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the conversation ahead of undoubtedly mindless babble about his life and anything else the lord wished to ask him.

“And you never usually say no to free food,” he remarked quietly to you before forcing a tight smile at the open-armed, freely grinning man when he stopped in front of him.

“Geralt of Rivia!” he greeted, and you turned your head to meet him, only just refraining from raising your brows at the sight that met your eyes. You weren’t used to seeing royalty or regality of any sort, so you were never one to shy from your overly dramatic opinions of how these people dressed and carried themselves. You were quite certain all the clothes on your body wouldn’t amount to the price of a single ring on his finger, even though you’d had to beg Geralt for weeks to buy you the new leather boots on your feet now, just about hidden by your long dress.

Geralt had made an attempt to dress nicely, too. He’d washed and brushed his hair—and made several mock lunges (and one actual one) for you when you’d continued to tease him about it—and was wearing clothes that, though giving him an extremely regal look of his own, seemed unfamiliar to you. You much preferred him in his loose tunics and trousers, hair muddy and tangled in knots that he wouldn’t give a shit about until he needed to (which was barely ever, unless you were counting surprise and sudden invites to feasts such as this).

“Lord Lyon,” Geralt said with a small nod. “How is your sister?”

The lord reached forward to clap him on the shoulder, and this time, you did raise a brow, knowing your witcher’s dislike for such actions. Sure enough, Geralt’s smile grew tighter, and you could see the lines on his forehead become more pronounced. Perhaps in different circumstances—definitely in different circumstances—you would have laughed at his predicament, despite his clear discomfort, nevertheless this time you had to do with quickly turning your head to the side and stifling a grin.

“My sister fares well!” Lyon told him, not removing his hand. “She’s been asleep since you returned her safely to me, but the healers assure me she will make a full recovery. Thank you again for your unforgettable help, my friend!”

“Thank you for inviting me here tonight.”

Lyon stepped back, finally letting his hand drop to his side, and the corners of your lips twitched when Geralt subconsciously rolled his shoulder. “Well, this is the only other way I could think of repaying you when coin did not seem enough. A good meal!” It was at this moment, when you were shuffling from foot to foot in boredom, almost reverting back to your scratching and tugging, that Lyon noticed you, and he rose both eyebrows, glancing between you and Geralt. “And who might this be?”

“Y/N,” Geralt introduced, stopping you with a firm hand to your shoulder. You looked up at the lord, offering a smile. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought her.”

Lyon tilted his head slightly to the side in obvious interest, disregarding Geralt’s last sentence with a wave of his hand. “You mean she’s yours? Your daughter?”

You continued to stare at the man in front of you, unbothered. You were well used to being called his daughter—it was easier for him to agree when people asked if you were, and you sometimes wondered when exactly he’d given up on correcting people. If he’d ever corrected people in the first place.

“Your daughter?” Lyon repeated at Geralt’s lack of response.

“Yes.”

“I thought… well.” He looked a little sheepish, but Geralt was all too aware of what was coming. “I was always told that the trials witchers underwent made them—”

Geralt interrupted him before he could continue. “They did. I am.” He squeezed your shoulder. “She’s not mine by blood. But she is mine.”

Lyon stared a while, thinking to himself, before he abruptly smiled in acceptance. “Very good. Though I would never have taken you for the parent type.”

“My apologies,” Geralt said, inclining his head, “but you don’t know me well enough to make that assumption.”

A soft smile graced your lips and you glanced down to the ground, your heart swelling with love you could only ever feel for him.

“Quite right.” Lyon was clearly apologetic. He opened an arm out and motioned for the two of you to follow him. “Come, let us eat. You can tell us all exactly how you killed that werewolf!”

The hilariously dismayed look Geralt sent you after that made you snort.

4)

How had it come to this?

“Geralt?” you whispered, daring to edge closer. He looked so pale, even in the short rays of moonlight radiating down. His skin was pallid, white hair muddied and hanging in knots around his face. His eyes were shut, his lips were set in a straight line, and even as you shook his shoulder, he did not move.

He did not move.

Geralt always moved. He had long since trained himself to wake at the first sound or touch that did or didn’t come from you. And yet now, even as you doubled your attempts and shook him so hard you were sure he’d be disorientated were he awake… he remained still. Still and silent. Completely dead to the world.

Dead.

Your heart soared, not for the first time, and you sat back on your haunches for a moment, staring with eyes as wide as the yellow moon looming over head. It was almost as though your unconscious mind was waiting for him to wake up. Willing him to wake up. Because you knew good and fucking well that without him, the point of remaining in the living was completely lost on you.

Reluctantly, your mind swiftly hurled you back. Back into damn memories of the swings of his sword and his shouts of exertion and pain as he fought with the monster that had suddenly stormed where you’d been resting. You should have stayed behind the rocks as he’d ordered… you shouldn’t have listened to the clash of metal hitting sturdy skin and bone… and you certainly shouldn’t have jumped up from behind the rock and screamed his name, leading him to whirl around in panic and giving the beast time to throw him against a large boulder. You could still remember the sickening crack of his head hitting the solid stone. That would have been the perfect time to scream his name, but you’d found that no words had been able to escape your clenched throat. You’d felt like you were being strangled, and your heart had stopped beating for the longest second as you’d watched with absolute terror…

He’d been telling you a story. You’d been lying beside him, exhausted eyes staring up at the starry sky as his voice lulled you to sleep. You couldn’t even remember what the story had been about, all you’d been focused on was the comfort his voice offered, and for that reason you had not registered at all when he’d abruptly stopped speaking. He’d waited a moment, eyes narrowed, before quietly standing to his feet, picking up his sword as he went. All his senses had been alert, and were he an animal, his ears would have been pricked up and forwards, listening for any noise that sounded at all abnormal.

He’d taken calculated steps forward, hands tight around his sword’s hilt, boots making no sound as he stepped over fallen leaves and twigs. And then he’d stopped, standing completely still, save for his eyes, which roved the area in front of him. He’d turned his head the slightest bit and harshly whispered your name, but it had not been enough to rouse you, and you’d stayed sleeping until less than three seconds later when what you now believed to have been a kikimora burst from the cover of the trees, screaming raucously and lunging towards Geralt. You’d bolted upright and he’d yelled at you to hide yourself as his sword came clashing down on the thing, not waiting to see if you’d done as was asked before moving to attempt to lead the monster away.

That had been only three minutes ago. One and a half minutes ago, he’d been thrown against the boulder. One minute ago, he’d managed to use the last of his strength to pierce the beast’s hide with a cloying crunch, mixing with both his and the kikimora’s shrieks of agony. You had looked on with trembling hands as it fell to the side, completely unmoving, and watched, waited, for Geralt to stand to his feet.

When he hadn’t, you’d taken one trembling step forward, hands cold and in fists at your sides, before running the rest of the way, not caring in the least that there was a possibility the monster might still be alive. All you’d cared about was the possibility that Geralt might not be.

You stared at him now, hopefully waiting for his eyelids to flicker, or a finger to twitch… but there was no movement.

You shook him again, harder now, but it didn’t work, and with a desperation you had never felt before, and your breathing quicker than ever, you hurried closer towards him, grabbing the sides of his face and shaking him, slapping him, hitting him… anything that had a chance of waking him.

“Geralt!” you shouted, voice cracking. You slapped him again, pausing only when you felt something wet and sticky coat your right hand. When you pulled it back, the sight of red met your eyes.

You stared at it for a moment, hands shuddering, before the red and the blackness of everything else melded into one as tears filled your eyes. A tightening of your throat and a short intake of breath was all that was heard before gut-wrenching sobs tore through your chest and you fell forward, clutching your bloody hand to your chest and squeezing your eyes shut as your grief poured from you in an onslaught of irrepressible tears.

“Please, please, wake—wake up!” you choked out, your forehead resting against his chest, hands gripping his ragged tunic. “Please! I can’t—I can’t—Please! Geralt! You can’t die! You’re a witcher! Witchers don’t die! Wake up!”

But he didn’t.

You harshly breathed in with as much effort as you could muster, and the smell of blood overpowered your senses… yet, at the same time, there was still that hint of forest and greenery which made him Geralt. The scent that was often the only thing that could make you fall asleep. The scent that you only had to catch for a moment before you immediately calmed. The scent that, even now, amidst your hiccups and sobs, caused the briefest feeling of serenity to swirl through you before it vanished as the new, metallic aroma abruptly tickled at your nose.

Another sob racked your body when the scent disappeared and you shook your head. “Daddy…” It came out as a mewling whine, so broken and utterly devastating that it would have made even the heartless cry along with you, but there was no other sound… no other noise in the darkness of the forest around you except the guttural cries wrenching from your throat.

It was the feeling of being alone which scared you the most. The feeling of… being without the one person who’d ever made an ounce of sense to you. The one person you loved more than life itself and who probably loved you even more than that.

You would rather die alongside him than live in a world you knew he no longer walked in.

A moment passed, and you sat there, hunched over with your head on his chest and your tired hands slowly slacking in their hold on his tunic. Your eyes were red and swollen, cheeks wet and tracking the mud and blood which had inadvertently transferred from his clothing to your face, and you were shaking so much that when a slight tremor rippled beneath you, you took no notice of it whatsoever.

At an exhausted yet almost incoherent groan, you blinked, opening your eyes despite it doing nothing against the blackness of you face pressed to him. You tried to silence your cries as much as you could, holding your breath, not quite willing to believe it but hoping more than you’d ever hoped before all the same.

“Fuck…”

And you bolted upright, your eyes blinking against the blurriness. You wiped at them, your heart thumping, blood pulsing through your distraught and exhausted body, and looked on with shock as Geralt—yes, Geralt!—slowly raised his arm and brought his hand to the back of his head. His eyes squeezed tightly shut as his brows furrowed in obvious pain.

“My fucking head,” he rasped out, and you let loose a noise of relief, suddenly and without warning bursting into tears once again. You launched forward, wrapping your arms around his neck and burying your face in his chest. He groaned and finally opened his eyes to peer down at the mop of hair in his line of vision.

He gulped down the sickly feeling in his gut as best he could, trying to make sense of his surroundings, and after a moment the memories returned to him, causing him to shut his eyes once more at the force of it. He returned his attention to you, lowering his hand to place it on the back of your head.

When your sobs grew, his frown deepened and he tried to lift his own head, swallowing back bile when the throbbing ache increased. He felt nauseatingly terrible and instead dropped his head back to the hard rock below him. “Hey…” he whispered. His voice was hoarse and he didn’t really trust the words coming from his mouth. “It’s alright.”

You shook your head. “N-no! It is-isn’t! I thought you were dead!”

He sighed unsteadily and moved his trembling fingers through your hair, trying his best to block out the discomfort (which was a nice word for agony). “I’m not dead,” he told you, and you finally lifted your head, showing him the extent of your hysteria. You looked as though you’d been bawling for years, and he shook his head softly, raising his other arm to wrap around you and pull you back towards him. His head was pounding, he knew he was bleeding in more places than one, but to be perfectly honest, he was simply happy to be alive, and to be holding his child in his arms, however much he would be covered in tears and snot by the time he finally gathered the strength to push himself up.

“I thought you were,” you croaked out, and he rubbed his thumb across your temple. You reached up, grasping his hand, and he narrowed his eyes, blinking at the sight of blood coating your own.

“Is th-that yours?” he asked, the words feeling funny on his tongue as he stumbled over them. You sniffed and glanced to where he had turned your hand over in his.

“No,” you said, “it’s yours.” At that open revelation and reminder, you lifted your eyes, haphazardly wiping your hair from your face and blinking against the tears that still didn’t seem to be stopping. “It’s from your head. Does it hurt?”

Geralt’s face contorted into one of pain yet again as he reached his hand to his head, bringing it back and intaking a sharp breath once he saw the blood. “Damn,” he grumbled. “Yes, it hurts. Like hell.”

You unconsciously bit at the inside of your cheeks and watched him as he lowered his arm and shut his eyes. Your heart continued to pound and every so often your ragged breaths were interrupted by a hiccup. “I’m sorry,” you muttered after a short while.

He blearily opened his eyes to look at you. “Why?”

“I called your name,” you told him, “and you turned around.”

He nodded faintly in remembrance. “Why?” he repeated.

“I don’t know.” You swallowed thickly, tears fogging your vision again. “I was stupid. I just… got so scared, and I didn’t—I didn’t want you to… to…”

At your rising distress, he pulled you down to his chest again, ensuring your ear was conveniently placed over the left side of his chest. His heart was slow—perhaps a little faster than normal yet still slow all the same—but in the silence of the forest he knew you would be able to hear it and let it soothe you.

It worked, and the two of you stayed there for a while. Geralt fixed his attention on his own breathing, trying to match yours as he felt your pulse through his hands. He wondered briefly how far the nearest village was and if he could risk asking for medical help. Perhaps he could reach Triss in Novigrad, and both he and you would have a safe place to recuperate.

His muddled mind was interrupted when he turned his head and noticed the kikimora for the first time, lying in a rotten clump on the ground a couple feet from him. He swallowed the knot in his throat and shut his eyes, remembering all too clearly what had happened and, more importantly, how close it had been to getting you. Unconsciously, his hands tightened around you, and he slowly breathed out, calming himself before he let his emotions reign over him. You didn’t need to see that.

“It’s alright,” he said softly, more to himself, but it assured your all the same.

“Next time, I want to fight with you. I don’t want to watch. I’ve been trained for these moments.”

“We’ll talk about it later.”

“I thought you were going to leave me.”

“Leave you?” He shook his head. “No, no, never…”

He shut his eyes. He knew that the day he left you would be the day the stars burned out and the world became shrouded in darkness. To leave you would be to leave his heart, and that was the one thing that, no matter how battered and bruised, he would hold onto and keep safe with every fibre of his being.

It was his duty, after all.

As your father.

Witcher Masterpost

[myblueeyedbuggers]

My Boys

Chapter 7

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14

Pairings: Reader x Steve Rogers (best friend) Reader x Bucky Barnes

Word Count: 1780

Warnings: Slow Start, Language, Tiny bit of Fluff

Summary: After being abandoned by her parents in Brooklyn in 1929, y/n makes a living for herself by working for the Црни лабуд gang until she meets two boys in a back alley and her life slowing begins to change

Hi again, so yesterday definitely didn’t go plan at all, I was caught up in way too much work and by the time I’d finished it all it was 4 in the morning and I had to get up at 6 for college. My apologies for the lack of a chapter yesterday, hopefully this was worth the wait though :) Enjoy Everyone!

Readers POV

It was sometime in the early morning when Becca same flying into my room, I could feel my mood change from one of complete and utter boredom to one of happiness, I swear down this little girl could manage to make the grim reaper smile. Her black hair bounced behind her as she hurried to climb up the bed, instantly crushing me with a tight hug, “Y/n! I missed you so much! I’m sorry for not coming sooner but Mama and Papa said you needed more time to rest” her bright eyes glossed over as she rushed out her apology.

I actually felt my heart clench at her words, which to be honest was a bit concerning, her little face scrunched up into a frown and I instantly pulled her into a hug, “Sweetie there’s nothing you need to say sorry for, if anything I should be saying sorry for leaving you for so long with those silly boys! I can’t imagine how bad they must have smelled! Oh, my lord I’m feeling faint even thinkin’ about it!”. Instantly the frown on her little face vanished, her giggles echoed in my ear as she fell backwards onto the bed clutching her stomach, my smile was almost wide as Bucky’s ego. Almost.

Once she’d managed to calm down enough, Becca crawled back up the bed and climbed under the covers before cuddling up next to me, my arm instantly wound around the younger girl as I placed a small kiss on her hair and in that moment, I felt at ease, finally complete as the little girl cuddled further into my side.

Mrs Barnes POV (Surprise!)

A gentle smile spread across my face as I watched my girls, both excitedly chatting back and forth about their favourite things, the half-completed scarf forgotten to me as my mind wandered to the talk George and myself had last night. Both of us agreed that we would never be able to pay y/n back for protecting our boys, but we both noticed one particular trait about her, she tended to protect everyone but herself. It was almost as if she valued everyone else’s life above her own, it made me worry about what she’s had to have gone through to value herself at such a low rate, maybe it’s my motherly side coming out but there’s this constant urge to protect her. The knowledge of her not having a family weighed heavily on both my soul and my heart, even thinking about it broke my heart, and that’s when George and I made our decision. We wanted her to be apart of our family, protect her in the same way she tried to protect both our family and our boys, after everything the poor girls been through it’s the very least we could do.

After a while I noticed the room was unusually silent, my head turned towards the girls and my eyes were met with a sight that made me want to weep with joy, both of them had fallen asleep, Y/n’s arms were wound around Becca protectively as the younger girl cuddled closer to y/n’s side. I kept my gaze on the girls, committing the moment to my memory as my heart swelled with delight, a wide smile played on my lips as I picked up the scarf started to work on it determined to give y/n a welcoming gift.

Time Skip

Steve’s POV

“Yeah sure Buck, like I actually believe that!” Bucky was goin’ on about he fought off 10 guys at once in school today, the way he was tellin’ it had me in stiches as he claimed he “knocked em down with the strength of the devil” before finishing the fight with fireworks goin’ off behind him. “I’m bein’ serious Stevie! You shoulda seen their faces when I pulled out my sword and started chasing em…how much of this you belivin’?” he finally stopped his rambling when he glanced at my face, completely blank as I looked at him with my eyebrows raised.

Seconds of silence passed, “You can’t letta a guy be dramatic for one second?!”, I’ll admit I didn’t expect him to fall to the floor and start waving his arms and legs about while cryin’ about me bein’ a spoil sport, but I’d be lyin’ if I said I wasn’t funny. I was doubled over with laughter, nearly crying as I joined Buck on the floor, the pair of us struggling to breath from laughing so hard.

The sound of a door opening along with an exasperated sigh made us both shut up immediately, glancing up I was met with the sight of Mama Barnes, a small smile on her face as she looked at the both of us expectedly, waitin’ for us to get off the floor. “Normally I would ask both of you what on the name of earth you were doin’ on the floor, but I’ve seen you do some stupider things so at this point I’m not surprised”. Buck shared a look with me before facing his mama, a sheepish grin on his face as he tried to explain why we were acting dumb, Mama just shook her head at us and ushered us inside y/n’s room, tellin’ us to keep quiet.

3rd Person POV

Both boys entered the room, softly shutting the door behind them as they turned around, neither expecting to see the sight before them, Bucky and Steve’s younger sister was curled up next to y/n, both girls had a relaxed, peaceful expression on their faces. The blankets were wrapped around them both, the younger of the two using the older girls chest as a pillow shifting slightly as the older pulled her closer to her side, unconsciously wrapping both the blanket and her arms around her in a bid to keep her warm.

Soft smiles graced the lips of both boys, watching the two girls as they slept peacefully, the blonde-haired boy noticing the older girl shiver a tiny bit from the change in temperature, as quietly as possible he made his way towards them. Carefully, he unwrapped a small part of the blanket from the younger girl and repositioned it over the two of them equally, tucking the edges into the bed frame before glancing behind him at his friend.

The boy with the brown hair hadn’t moved an inch, his entire body refusing to move in case the sight in front of him suddenly disappeared. His blue eyes never left the face of the older girl, taking in her immense beauty was enough to stun him for hours, his gaze roamed over her face in a leisurely way, absorbing how perfect she looked when sleeping. Any attempt to gain his attention failed, his mind too clouded with the image of her, a soft warm feeling settled in his heart, growing stronger with every second he stared at her.

Once the blonde-haired boy realised that he wasn’t gaining the attention of his friend anytime soon, he followed his friends line of sight, letting out a small chuckle as he turned his head towards the boy’s mother, sharing a small knowing smile as she watched her son from the corner of her eye.

Time Skip

Readers POV

The veil of sleep slowly cleared from my mind, hushed voices grabbed my attention as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, my eyes made contact with Mr and Mrs Barnes, the sound of the lads doing somethin’ stupid filled the background. Both of the parents smiled at me, I wanted to sit up but Becca was still asleep, and I couldn’t find it in my heart to disturb her from sleep, “Y/n, sweetheart, the doctor came in while you girls were sleeping, he said that you’ll be able to leave tomorrow after a few more check ups and tests, and we wanted to ask you somethin’.” I felt my head tilt to the side in confusion, maybe it was about the medical bills, I mean a stunt like this couldn’t have been cheap…

“Sweetie, we were wondering if you’d like to join our family, there is nothing in this world we could offer or do to thank you for protecting our family, so we only ask that you let us return the favour and protect you.”

I could feel my jaw drop to the floor, my eyes watered with tears as I nodded my head frantically and pulled them both into a hug, crying into Mrs Barnes’s chest while thanking her over and over again. The bed dipped even more as two more pairs of arms joined the hug, the hole in my soul left as I came to the realisation that I finally had a family to call my own, a sudden shout of excitement broke us all out of the hug as Becca tackled my side, knocking me flat out on my back.

“I FINALLY HAVE A SISTER! YAY! MAMA I HAVE A SISTER!” Becca’s joyful cries made us all laugh, quickly clambering off me she started running ‘round the room, only stoppin’ to do the odd celebration dance. A tap on shoulder distracted me from Becca’s antics, “So how’s it feels to be apart of the Barnes Clan?” Steve’s face met mine with a joyful smile, I not so subtly rolled my eyes at him before bumping my shoulder with his, “Thought I joined the clan the minute your friend over there carried my ass to the front door”.

Steve let out a small snicker as Bucky’s head shot up as he playfully glared at the pair of us, choosing to make his way over while his parents were distracted with Becca, “What was that Doll? From what I remembered I oh so bravely carried you to my home while you pelted with punches and cute little threats” excuse me, CUTE ?! there is nothing cute about me threatening to rip your soul outta your body Barnes!

A cocky smirk appeared on his lips as I narrowed my eyes at him, “you do realise that you’re now stuck with me now Barnes? If I was you I’d be sleeping with one eye open” outta the corner of my eye I saw Steve bring a hand up to his face and cover it while shaking his head, since when did that bugger get sassy?! Instead of taking my threat seriously, Bucky smiles as his puts his arm around me with a shit-eating grin on his face, “You know you love me doll, heck how could ya not look at this face!” now it was my turn to facepalm.

What the hell did I just agree to?!

Things have finally started looking up for the reader! Thanks for Reading :)

Rose xx

[old-hyper-super-clover]

Omoi yo Hitotsu no Nare

Feelings, become One

Part 2 of 2

find part one here

Writer's block is being rough on me, so the only thing I was able to create lately was a short story of my MC Clover and Leviathan. It shows their adorable friendship as they experience an idol live show together.

Enjoy 🧡

"Wooaah... I can't believe I'm really here..."

Her mouth opened wide, Clover looked at the Tokyo Dome with big, sparkling eyes. Taking in the astonishing view, her heart was beating fast already. "Look at how many people are here...!"

Levi gave a nod. "It's impressive, isn't it? Normally I would hate being surrounded by so many people, but it's different for such events. Everyone came for the one and same reason."

Clover's lips curled into a smile.

"To cherish what we love."

When making their way to the entrance for their seating section, the mass of people grew denser the closer they got to the Dome. Eventually, Clover had troubles staying next to Levi's side, which let anxiety to rise within her. She was afraid of getting separated, especially since she hasn't taken Solomon's translation potion yet. The sorcerer warned that the magic could wear off a little too soon, so Clover wanted to drink it right before the live would start.

Hence her panic, as suddenly it seemed like a literal train of people crossing their path would separate her from her demon friend.

"L-levi!!" she screamed on impulse while fiddling to grab his coat's sleeve.

"Uwah, Clover!" Levi huffed, turning towards her in irritation. Being used to go to events all alone, he had kind of forgot for a second that he should match his pace with Clover's.

But even now as he had slowed down, the girl wouldn't let go of his clothes.

"U-uhm... I panic when getting separated in places I've never been to..." Clover explained as she noticed Levi's confusion. "It calms me when I feel you're here by my side, so..." she gently tugged on his sleeve while unintentionally giving him her biggest pleading face. "Could we stay like this? Just until we're at our seats of course."

A little flustered, Levi played it cool and gave a shrug. "S-sure, if you feel safer that way..."

And so, the two continued their way, the demon hiding how soft this whole ordeal had made him inside, while Clover was following along like a mildly frightened puppy.

Once inside the hall, Levi and Clover had no troubles finding their seats. Thus, they were quickly established, and while the Otaku explained some insider facts about the Tokyo Dome (that he might have googled beforehand as he was afraid to sit there in awkward silence), the hall was steadily filling with more and more fans.

The anticipation was almost painful, Clover really had to put energy into calming herself down. Especially since Levi wasn't a help at all. He was a strong fan of idols, so naturally his hype was increasing at least as much.

The two were almost bouncing in their seats, as finally, the lights dimmed, and a live orchestra started playing the anime's main theme...

Talking about the full concert would truly be a task too big for this little story (even though I could surely gush about it for hours straight).

But there were a few highlights worth mentioning.

Beforehand, Clover had been worrying over whether her shy personality would allow her to cheer and sing with all she had. But when the idols appeared on stage, all doubts were blown away immediately. Crying in overwhelming happiness, she sang along and shouted from the top of her lungs to Aqours' songs, Leviathan of course doing the same next to her.

They were enjoying themselves so much.

There wasn't a single moment where they weren't.

Oh, well, maybe there was a split second for Levi.

One of the idols had a call and response which animated the crowd to hug a person next to you.

And so, while Levi was preparing emotionally to ask Clover for a hug, said idol called out her catch phrase. But as Levi turned to his human friend, he saw how Clover was turned to the person on the other side.

It appeared the stranger next to her had asked her for a hug, and, awkward but nice as she was, Clover couldn't reject the request.

It broke her heart into pieces as she quickly turned the other way around afterwards, checking on Levi and seeing his disappointed expression.

"Don't worry sweetie, you'll get a hug too!!" She called out and wrapped her arms around him with almost too much force.

"I've been planning to give you a biiig hug since we started practising the call and responses...!"

Gosh, I really want to fangirl about these amazing idols for longer, but I will not torture you with that.

But there is one last event I have to address.

About in the middle of the live show, the girls were dressed in the outfits for a very special song.

A song they have been avoiding to perform after a member broke into tears in the middle of the performance.

Still, there she was, Rikyako, next to a piano once again.

And let me tell you, the crowd was going WILD. Levi and Clover were by far not the only one's in awe over how on the big screens, you could see how Rikyako was giving her fellow members a confident nod.

Then she started playing while the others were beginning to sing the song "Omoi yo Hitotsu ni Nare".

Clover was already in tears at this point, proud to see Rikyako was about to conquer this piano piece once more.

Then, however, Rikyako suddenly stood up, but the music was continuing to play a soft piano medley.

Visibly at the edge of tears, too, the pianist made her way to her friends, and by now Levi (and probably all other fans) have lost it as well.

Rikyako, as well as the other eight members, had gathered on the central stage, to then put their hands together, their eyes glistening in determination.

"Sh-she's joining the performance?!" Levi squealed.

"No way!!" Clover cried. "This is so cute oh my lord I cAN'T-!"

And they sang, the performance now officially beginning. It was a song about being connected, being there for each other. There couldn't have been a more fitting gesture to show this than bringing the pianist, once struggling, into the performance.

And while Clover listened in to their singing, to the message they conveyed...

She truly understood what had been going on the last few weeks.

"Kakegae no nai hibi o sugoshitetanda"

'I was amid days that could never be replaced'

She was down, broken, had felt miserable.

She had been trying to hide it, deal with it in her own.

But her friends had known.

And they've been by her side.

"Imasara wakatta hitori janai."

'I finally realized I'm not alone'

Even when she had somewhat pushed them away, they where there.

Somehow it occurred to her only now that their small gestures, everything up to the invitation to this live show,

They haven't been coincidences,

But were doing this explicitly to cheer her up.

Clover turned her head to look at Leviathan.

"Kakegae no nai hibi o tsumi kasanete"

'Those irreplaceable days continued on'

And to her surprise, Levi had been looking at her, too.

When their eyes met, he smiled.

A small smile, but warm and gentle.

So, with hot tears rolling down her cheeks,

Clover smiled back.

"Imasara wakatta..."

'I finally realized...'

The girls on stage grabbed each others hand, And so did Levi bashfully move his hand to link his pinky finger with Clover's.

They exchanged a tiny nod.

"... hitori janai!"

'... I'm not alone!'

And went to cheer their hearts out for the rest of the live show, too. Connected by the hands they did not part until the end.

Late in the evening, the oldest brother Lucifer was waiting at the portal to the human world to welcome the two back.

While Levi was looking fine, he was shocked to see Clover with swollen red eyes, tired as if having run a marathon just now.

"Are you alright?" Lucifer raised an eyebrow, mustering the girl.

Having only like five percent left of her voice, Clover assured him that she was more than fine.

"I cried so much" she laughed in a hoarse voice. "It was amazing."

"You really cried SO much more than I did lol"

The avatar of Pride didn't quite understand the connection between "crying lots" and this being "amazing", but he saw how truly satisfied both of them were, so a content smile spread on his lips as well.

"Then let us head home" Lucifer said. "It appears both of you could use a good night's sleep."

At the house of Lamentation, Levi had checked his D.D.D., and something must have prompted him to hurry back home as he had left the two to walk alone for a bit.

Clover took this opportunity to address the oldest brother in this quieter moment.

"Lucifer? Thank you for letting us go to the human world today. It means a lot to me."

Eyeing her sparkling expression, Lucifer couldn't but let out a happy exhale.

"I am glad your spirits have lifted. I was displeased to see you in this saddened state, but it seems like my brothers took great care of you."

Clover smiled, watching how Levi was urging to open the mansion's door.

"They really did."

The smile seemed to be contagious, as soon, Lucifer wore it too.

"However, you should thank Levi thrice as much. You don't want to know what measures he took to convince me to let you two go out today."

The girl's eyes widened, glistening with gratitude.

"Yes, I will."

And so she dashed after the avatar of Envy.

She reached him in the entrance hall, where he was arguing with Mammon over whatever.

As soon as this had been resolved, Clover dashed into Levi to hug him yet another time.

"E-eh?! Seriously, Clover, y-you can't just hug people whenever you like-"

"Thank you, Levi" she interrupted him in a gentle tone. "I'll never forget this."

Blushing, Levi returned the embrace.

"It wasn't much, really..." He mumbled bashfully.

But Clover shook her head.

"No, I mean it." She mumbled into his clothing.

"I'll never forget your kindness."

And with that, she pulled back...

But placed a sweet, little kiss of gratitude on his cheek before quickly making her leave.

"Good night, Levia-tan!"

Holding the place where her lips had touched him, the demon looked after her.

"Good... night..." he mumbled in a baffled response.

But ultimately, he smiled, knowing that he, the anti-social, shut-in Otaku, had not only managed to cheer someone up,

but also felt how he had grown closer to a person very dear to him.

----------------

Here's a link to the song's performance in case anyone wants to watch the one for 'Omoi yo Hitotsu ni Nare' (and there are a bunch more of Aqours, go support them they're precious 🥺)

[shabre-legacy]

I abandoned this original story a while back, might be worth dusting off

Darkness surrounds the palace as people crowd the courtyard, silent and somber in the late hours of the night. The moon couldn’t be seen through the clouds, the stormy black sky adding to the dreadful atmosphere surrounding  the palace as the people in the courtyard waited, candles their only source of light, for news of their king. 

    Inside the tension sat heavy through the halls, thick enough to choke on. The king had been ill for years and had taken a turn for the worse days ago, and the Council of Lords and the Queen were at odds. Every knight and guard in the royal court were on watch to ensure peace and safety during this stressful time and Vanora was no different. She was one of the most trusted of the Queen’s Knights. She took pride in being one of the best. Vanora had been knighted 6 years ago, not long after Queen Kalliste had married King Reynar. Within a year she had been selected for the Queen’s personal guard and had been there for the last 5 years. Guarding the royal family was an honor she was quite proud of and a responsibility she took seriously.

    Tonight Vanora stood guard with 2 members of the Royal Guard at the entrance to the hall to the royal chambers, ensuring that no one could enter or leave without permission. The others were leaning on the wall dozing. With most of the palace staff standing vigil and the physicians and Council of Lords with the king, the palace sat quiet and still, easy enough to fall asleep at this late hour. Vanora wasn’t going to relax tonight though. She tended to be quiet and pay attention and she had noticed the growing tension between the Queen and the Council and the Council’s manipulations had increased since the King had fallen ill, giving them even more power than the vast amount they already had. No one was going to get in without killing her first.

    She scanned the hall in front of her and tensed when the sound of quiet footsteps echoed from behind her. She turned half-around to look at the girl standing behind the other guards, they stirred and straightened to face her. The young woman was one of the Queen’s handmaids, she bowed her head in acknowledgment of Vanora’s rank and stated in the clear, precise manner that Vanora had come to expect from the girl, “The Queen requests the presence of Ser Vanora in her chambers immediately.”

    Vanora nodded, she hadn’t planned to leave her post tonight, but who was she to deny the will of her queen, and she would never pass up an opportunity to see her anyways. She looked to the other guards. “Watch the hall and don’t let your attention fade for a moment. I’ll return as soon as I am able” Vanora stepped away as the others moved to take her place. She followed the maid through the halls towards her Queen. As she entered the queen’s chambers, she paused and took stock of the room as the maid announced her, The handmaids were crowded the baby princess and her nursemaid in a corner of the room. The princess wasn’t quite a year old and she was already the pride and joy of her parents. It was no suprise to Vanora that on a night like tonight, with the king so close to death, that Kalliste would choose to keep Syletra close. She turned slightly and bowed low to her queen. Kalliste sat on her bed, blonde hair curled around her shoulders and her green dressing gown pooling gently around her. 

    Kalliste smiled softly and reached a hand toward Vanora. She moved across the room and leaned down to gently kiss Kalliste, before sitting next to her. Kalliste smiled and took a breath before drawing herself up. Vanora could tell she hadn’t been summoned to provide comfort to the queen, but because there was something that needed doing. Kalliste finally spoke “Vanora, my love, I’ve been quite worried the last few days… The council has been gaining power for several generations and have accelerated that in the last few years since Reynar took ill. I’m afraid that if Reynar dies tonight, I will not live to see the morning” 

    Vanora grasped Kalliste’s hands tightly, everything in the background fading to a grey fog, present, but unimportant in the face of Kalliste acknowledging what she already knew. The world faded until nothing but Kalliste was in focus. “I will protect you, my lady. No one will hurt you. I won’t allow it.

    Kalliste raised one of her strong, yet delicate hands and gently cupped vanora’s cheek,  Vanora leaned into her touch like it was a lifeline. “I know you’ll defend me, my love, but I need to to instead protect something far more precious to me.” She looked over to the corner of the room. “If something happens, my daughter may be the only hope the kingdom will have. She is the most important part of my life and I NEED her to be safe” Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she swallowed deeply, staring into Vanora’s eyes. “ I only trust you with this task, my love.” 

    “ But, my lady, I wish to protect you. I don’t want… I can’t live in a world without you. You are my entire world.”

    “I know darling, and I love you so much, you have become so very important to me. But Syletra needs you more than me now. She needs your protection and I need to know if I die, my daughter is safe. Please,, be the knight I know you are tonight and protect my daughter.”

    Vanora gazed back into Kalliste’s eyes….The love and fear for both Vanora and her daughter were reflected in the blacky depths through to the depths of her soul. She sighed knowing this battle had been lost as soon as Kalliste had made the request, Vanora would do anything for her. She wasn’t just her Queen. She was also her lover. Anything Kalliste asked, Vanora would do. She lifted Kalliste’s hands and pressed a gentle kiss to them, resigned to the choice she was making.  “As you wish, your majesty.” 

She hated this, hated that this was the position she was in, but… she understood. Kalliste wasn’t only a mother afraid for her child’s life, she was also a queen and had to think of the future of the kingdom and do what it took to protect it and ensure the future of Vraeria. Vanora had made this choice years ago when she had pledged herself a knight,when she had become one of the Queen’s knights, when she first became the queen’s lover. This was what being the Queens Knight meant and she was going to see this through, she would not fail Kalliste.

    Kalliste leaned forward and pressed a love-filled kiss to Vanora’s lips, pulling back, kalliste centered herself. “Thank you,darling. Now I must go and deal with the Council. While I attend to that, I need you to take Syletra to the Atrium. There is a passage out of the castle, hidden under the large chest by the eastern window. It leads to the river. I took the liberty of having your horse saddled and in place, right outside the tunnel. If you have to run, take Syletra to the Temple Divine. I have made arrangements with the priestesses there to take care of her”

    Vanora nodded, still leaning in towards her queen, stealing another quick kiss. “ I understand, my lady. You can rest easy. I will protect the princess as I would you.”

A small sigh of relief escaped the queen as a fraction of the tension left her face. “Oh my Vanora, who am I that you should love me so”

Vanora managed a weak smile, “You are my queen” she stated clearly. As though that one phrase held all the answers of the universe.

[clan-sayeed-fic]

Business (Kamilah Sayeed & MC)

Reposting because of the issue with tags, hopefully it works..

Book: Bloodbound (property of Pixelberry Studios)

Pairing: Kamilah Sayeed & MC: Amy (I do not own those characters, they're the property of Pixelberry Studios as well)

Warnings: none

Rating: Mature

Author's note:  I'm not a native English speaker, I'm sorry for any mistakes (feel free to correct me).

Finally, the first chapter is out for you to read 😂 Forgive me for so many descriptions in this one, but I really want to make everything clear for you.

Also, prepare yourself for a slow burn throughout this story 💕

~ 1500 words

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Chapter 1

The world has never been a peaceful place.

The rule of hierarchy was present between species since the dawn of time. But finally, the opportunity for humans has arrived, making them lords of the earth. Somehow the evolution decided to let those fragile creatures gain the knowledge that put them above others.

So humans kept enjoying life to the fullest, drawing benefits from the earth. But year after year, they were not giving anything in return. The dominant species became the direct danger to the planet, which gave them life.

That's when nature decided to speak up.

When the sky above humans' heads was peaceful, the danger crept up in the shadows. A new species created in the image of humans placed itself at the end of the food chain.

Bloodsucking monsters started walking the earth, killing those to whom they belonged not so long ago. But the perspective had been irreversibly changed since the day of their rebirth as immortals.

Worth remembering is that nature always finds a way to keep the system in balance. That's how another rule has been created on the purpose of this new world.

It says that even the best hunter may one day become the prey.

***

Kamilah Sayeed was working late in her office.

Over the years, she learned that the best time for her to work was during late hours. Especially after, the building emptied itself, leaving her alone, free from unnecessary conversations with coworkers.

New York was sleeping sweetly behind the windows when the CEO of Ahmanet Financial was still very much awake. The sound of fast tapping of the keyboard filled the room as Kamilah's eyes were moving quickly on new documents in search of any mistakes.

Her mind was lost in work, focusing all attention on the bright screen in front of her.

She was just looking through the database of her company when the phone ringing pierced through her ears, killing the silence she was worshipping so much.

The woman sighed deeply, taking a quick look at the phone. She stopped tapping right after noticing Adrian's name on the screen, realizing that the call must have been urgent. Otherwise, he would not bother her at this hour.

"Yes?" Kamilah spoke after putting on a speakerphone, hardly hiding her icy tone.

"I'm sorry for interrupting," he said politely, listening to the noise of tapping, "your work process, I assume."

"Get on with it, Adrian," she scowled, rolling her eyes.

Kamilah was thankful that her best friend was not able to see this reaction of hers. She was already imagining a sarcastic comment he would make about her attitude.

"It's about tomorrow's meeting," Adrian knew too well when it was the right time to end teasing. "Something came up out of sudden, so, unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Paine won't be available."

The woman sighed again, clearly annoyed this time, leaning back on her chair. Hands moved to her hair as she brushed it with her fingers, trying to remain calm.

"So the meeting is canceled," she stated, about to hang up, but Adrian intervened just in time.

"No, no," he paused, making sure she was still there. "They informed me about their absence, but the meeting is still on the top list of our day."

The words got her attention as she looked at the screen once again, composing herself on the seat.

"How is that possible?" she masked curiosity with her emotionless tone.

"They will send their daughter in return," Adrian answered, patiently waiting for her feedback.

Kamilah's eyes moved from the phone, wandering over the desk to the documents she had prepared for the meeting a while ago.

"Then, so be it," she answered shortly before hanging up.

A sly smile danced in the corner of her mouth when she created a new file. Her fingers were hitting the keyboard faster than before, disturbing silence of the night.

A spark grew in her eyes as she muttered to herself.

"Finally, something exciting."

***

Kamilah was standing near the window in the conference room, looking down at the street. Her eyes stopped at the long, black limousine which was shining in the brightness of the sun right by the enormous building of Ahmanet Financial.

It was just a matter of time when paparazzi went entirely crazy over their point of interest, just getting out of the car. A young woman hidden behind shaded spectacles, with her body covered with a big scarf, was carefully escorted by her personal security guards.

Immediately, the pavement glowed with intensely flashing cameras from every side of it. Reporters kept taking pictures long after the whole crew disappeared inside the building as if they were still hoping for a good photograph for their articles.

"Guess who's just arrived," Kamilah turned to Adrian who smiled cheerfully.

Surname Paine was well known in New York City as the most successful investor. Their fame went back in centuries. Generation after generation, family members were proving the worth of this name, making them highly valuable associates.

They had been working with vampires for ages. And by doing so, Paines remained as the only family in the city that could stay alive with this kind of knowledge. What's interesting, not many were aware of what started their cooperation with the vampires' world to begin with.

But... there was a catch.

Because of the threat that came with this kind of business, Paines had restricted rules when it went to choosing the companies they would decide to work with. It was not so easy to gain their trust, and it took a lot of patience.

Kamilah Sayeed was always prepared when it went to her new, potential associates. Also, in this case, she took her time to gather all valuable information about Mr. and Mrs. Paine. Everything about their educational and career path. She knew their family tree as if it was her own.

The CEO of Ahmanet Financial used to study her business associates in a way as she thought of them as both: her future ally,

or enemy.

What she was not prepared for in this situation was their daughter.

She could not find anything significant about this girl, so everything came down to her age. She was 22 years old, just graduated college, this part made Kamilah particularly anxious about the meeting since she expected to be taken seriously.

And hated having her time wasted.

Paines made sure that their daughter had some privacy, even though it was the hardest part to achieve. Because of the kind of life they lived, the girl was daily exposed to speculations created by paparazzi.

In their eyes, she was rated as another spoiled by influential parents kid.

What's more, the girl was always seen in the company of at least one bodyguard. With her face covered as much as it was possible, not even showing her eyes.

Paine's daughter was indeed a mysterious human thing.

At that moment, the doors were opened by the assistant who invited guests to the conference room. Kamilah turned away from the window, facing this average height woman who stepped inside. At the same time, Adrian stood up to greet the whole crew with a smile and warm words.

Only after the doors were closed again, Paine's daughter started slowly taking off her scarf and glasses. By doing so, she revealed her long, wavy, blonde hair that fell freely on her shoulders and back. Her skin was light and a little blushy from the rush that she was in earlier while trying to avoid the paparazzi.

Her eyes green, radiating.

The girl mumbled a quiet, thank you, to the guard who took glasses away from her. After doing so, she turned all her attention to both CEOs standing in the middle of the room.

Mesmerized by the view.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," finally Adrian snapped out of his astonishment and took a few steps toward the girl. Her security guards tensed slightly, watching his moves, "Amelia Paine," he extended a hand to greet her.

"Oh," she returned the gesture, shaking his hand lightly. "Please, just Amy."

She smiled delightfully, spreading warmth all over the room. The girl had this unusual for her age confidence going on. It was clear that this situation was not making her uncomfortable or nervous. As if she was prepared for this from the moment of her birth.

Her eyes moved behind Adrian's back eloquently, searching for another person she was supposed to meet with.

The woman approached her gracefully, intensely staring at the girl with her chestnut eyes, searching for a hint of hesitation. Kamilah was well aware of how influential she and Adrian were in this industry.

And yet, it made no impression on this girl.

"It is a pleasure, indeed," she said skeptically, keeping eye contact. "May I introduce myself..."

"Kamilah Sayeed," Amy's soft voice echoed in woman's ears, piercing deep inside. "Don't worry, I did my homework for today."

Truly bold words followed by the most innocent look.

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Next chapter: 2

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tag list: @cheeto-choices @kamilah-is-queen @ariaminsinclair @helpconfusedpersonhere @ayushixo

[andsotheuniverseended]

cephas my beloved

so i don't know if what you meant here was "answer all thirty of the dnd meme questions for cephas" but that is how i'm interpreting it so i'mma go ahead and put it under a cut

(also for those not in the know, Cephas (they/she/him/any pronoun you like) is my stone construct witch. yes those are both homebrew things I found online. i use this witch and just recently updated them to the 3.0 version and i'm very excited about it)

1. if one of their friends was jumping on a bed and asked your character to join them, would they?

Yes, absolutely, of course. The bed would then immediately break because Cephas is a couple tons of solid rock, but that's on their friends for not thinking it through. Or maybe that was the plan. Either way, Cephas is on board.

2. would your character carry around a tiny bath and body works hand sanitizer? if yes, would it have a specific scent?

I mean, Ceph does carry around smelling salts enchanted to smell like whatever would make someone feel better in the moment? Which is kind of the same thing? But anyways the real answer is Probably Not unless it was a gift, because Cephas has no sense of smell and has no need to sanitize.

3. does your character paint their nails? do they wait for them to dry fully afterwards?

Technically he doesn't have nails but Cephas will happily allow themselves to be painted over any part of their body, and will stay completely still until it's dry. I know because the party his done this to them before.

4. if you cut open your character’s heart and there was something inside, what would it be? why?

Hm. I mean. Literally speaking, no heart, you just find stone in there. Figuratively speaking... a jade earring. representative of their first steps towards freedom.

5. do/would your character carry lots of hair ties on their wrist?

Nah, not unless one of the other party members asked.

6. what parts of your character’s voice/manner of speaking are distinct, if any?

Hm. Mostly just that their voice is pretty rough and low. Otherwise I think they talk pretty normal??

7. what’s the first thing your character’s eyes are drawn to on a map?

New places. To all the parts of the world they haven't seen yet, and want to.

8. how did your character feel when they left home for the first time?

Okay I'm going to go with the definition of home that means Cephas has to feel like it's home, which would mean the place where they lived with their BFF Effie. And I think the first time they left there, with an intent to go out and adventure, they felt really excited, happy, and like they were finally doing what they were meant to be doing. They'd been feeling very restless up until that point, so it's kind of like scratching an itch. Very satisfying.

9. where does your character look when they’re the only one walking down a road?

All around. She likes to see everything and doesn't get particularly worried about other people or robbers or things like that, so there's a lot of being generally distracted by whatever scenery they're passing through. Sometimes he'll just stop and pretend to be a statue on the side of the road and people watch for a while, if there's time for it.

10. does your character have tattoos? were they alone the first time they got one?

Being made of stone, my darling Cephas can't get tattoos. If they had actual flesh I do think they'd wanna get some.

11. if a button came loose from your character’s shirt, would they make sure the replacement matched?

Cephas doesn't wear clothes, and if they did 'matching' would not be the thing they cared about, so for sure No.

12. how loudly do they cry?

Gods I feel like a lot of these answers are just "Cephas is a stone construct and therefore cannot/does not do the thing" but like Cephas is a stone construct and cannot cry. There have been a lot of times where they wished they could, but their body wasn't built for it. Typically if they're sad, they're quiet about it, reserved.

13. does your character like holding hands? do they do it often?

Yes! But he doesn't do it very often at all. Stone isn't comfortable for other people to hold, and they have to be careful not to hurt people when touching them, so it's generally more dangerous for whoever they're holding hands with than its worth.

14. is your character more likely to wear a necktie, a bowtie, or a bolo tie? (if any at all)

Again, no clothes. But I think Cephas would enjoy a good bolo tie.

15. have you ever said something as your character that stuck with you for a while after? what was it?

Oh lord. Uhhh... hm, well there was this one thing but it is very dependent on the context of the moment. Which is that they were talking with another character who was frustrated about not knowing things, and talking about how in order to be people you have to ask questions even if you don't get answers, you have to keep asking questions. And then they discovered something that was a step in a mystery they'd been trying to deal with and Cephas said "and sometimes you do get answers" and I don't know why but that one did stick with me.

16. what does getting flustered look like for your character?

Stuttering. Awkward hand movements. Maybe reverting to the old "I am but a simple construct with no consciousness" trick if they're really feeling out of sorts.

17. does your character have to glance at their hands to remember left and right?

Ha, no. Cephas knows what they're doing, unlike me.

18. does your character have stuffed animals? would they if they could? what kind?

Hm, no, xe doesn't. But I think they would if they ever settled down and stopped traveling. Even if Cephas can't really feel the softness, they would like it. And they'd be very careful with them too. As for the kind... I'm thinking those, like, huge round ones? Fuck there was a name for them. Squishables?? I think???

19. does your character walk or run down stairs?

Walk, typically. Running could damage things lol

20. if your character saw a turtle stuck on its back, would they flip it over?

Oh yes 100%. And also try and talk to the turtle and see if it needed any further assistance.

21. has your character ever climbed out of a window? would they do it again?

I don't have a moment in mind specifically, but there's no way Cephas hasn't, and they would absolutely do it again.

22. what’s your character’s ideal way to wake up? what usually wakes them up?

Cephas doesn't so much sleep as... go into Obedient Construct mode for four hours, which is to say they will obey any order given to them. Ideal way to wake up from that is in some weird/compromising position because it means his friends were messing with them and they love that. And they can't be woken up unnaturally, so its just that after Four Hours something in their head goes Ding and they're back.

23. what’s the pettiest thing your character’s ever done?

Dyed a nobleman's hair bright pink because he was kind of rude to them when they were pretending to be a normal construct.

24. what made your character the angriest they’ve ever been?

Cephas... doesn't really do anger, generally. But! There was a man who pretended to be a prophet of a god, and collected a small group of true believers. And then he took over a town, and made the townsfolk slaves. And that really got to Cephas, in a very personal way. (They did take care of the man and they still have mixed feelings about doing it.)

25. how does you character smile?

With great effort. Cephas wasn't built to emote, so any facial expressions are subtle and take a lot of concentration and effort to make happen. Over time they've gotten more practiced at this and can do it almost without thought, but it's still the smallest movements for a great amount of toil.

26. does your know the names of their constellations? how did they learn them?

I think, some of them? Cephas lived with her best friend's family for a long time and I think they would've learned some of them there. But then they also definitely made a game out of making up constellations and naming them whatever they wanted, so it's a toss up whether what they know is a real constellation or one they made up and then forgot they made up.

27. do/would your character draw or write on themself?

Oh yeah, for sure.

28. would your character race someone to the top of a tall tree for bragging rights?

Not for bragging rights, but absolutely yes Cephas would race someone. And they would lose because they are big and heavy and not made for climbing, but its more about the fun of it than the winning or the losing for them.

29. is there an artist whose style you associate with your character? (visual or otherwise; poets and musicians, etc. count)

Hmm... not really?? I don't really associate artists with my characters. My friend drew Cephas once, so I think that's the closest I'm gonna get to that. Maybe Delta Rae? I feel like Delta Rae has got those witchy vibes, and that makes me think Cephas.

30. how has your character’s first impressions of their party members changed since they met them? have they stayed the same?

Oh this is delightful because when Ceph first met the party, they were pretending to be a normal construct, so the DM was 'playing' them. Which meant I got to sit there and watch, and so I wrote down what Cephas was thinking. They only met the first three members of the party that day, but I literally have it written down that it was three "good first impressions" because one of them stole a book, another one turned invisible to draw a face on a trash can, and the third called Cephas 'interesting'. Overall impression? A group of messes who just went through something tough and are not dealing with it super well.

Current impression? A surprisingly competent group of messes who are working through some stuff, and very much don't like talking about their feelings. Also, I'm invested.

Seriously though it started out as Cephas thinking they seemed fun and wanting a distraction, and now Cephas is like actually really invested in all of them and their growth and wants to help them as much as they can.

[sunneinsplendor]

Chef Jeff Bread Pudding

Yes, I  took the time to recreate the bread pudding Jeff Blim’s chef character in 911 was making when he got impaled by an exploding whip cream canister, what’re you doing with your degree in quarantine? :p

All seriousness this was fun and I enjoyed doing it, so here’s 

a) a recipe for my best approximation of Chef Maurice Malone’s bourbon bread pudding with as many photos as I could do. 

b) some bonus features that you can add to this recipe that will make it better. I’m not telling a character that spent a minute and some change doing his best before being a table prop how to do his job.....except that I am. Sorry, but bourbon alone doesn’t make a winning dessert, fight me, Jeff chef.

c) a sidenote: I’m not using one of those nitro whip containers. They’ve literally killed people and you’ll never see one in my kitchen. Seriously. The death narrowly avoided in this episode happened to someone in 2017. Don’t use those fucking canisters. 

everything recipe-wise under the cut. It’s gonna be long.

OKAY. WELCOME to cooking in the fanbase!

First thing: Wash your hands. Not pictured but I’m sure with the pandemic we all know how to wash our damn hands.

Second thing: Gather our ingredients.

You will need:  Nutmeg, cinnamon, half and half, vanilla, two eggs, white and brown sugar, a loaf of bread that’s preferably a little stale, and bourbon. All the bourbon. 

his is for enough bread pudding to fill the containers shown, which are two little ramekins and one medium sized one. If you have no ramekins, congratulations, you made it this far in life without them! A muffin tin will work fine but won’t look the same. Cuz they’re bread pudding muffins now. Don’t worry about it, it’s gonna taste GREAT. 

Third thing: Making the batter. 

1 cup of half and half. You can sub out alternate milks for this probably but since I’m recreating a recipe done by a fake chef on a fake cooking show I’m assuming he’s going for gold here and making the richest dessert he can get away with. So. Dairy. Pour that in the bowl. Add 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg. whisk all that together until the cinnamon stops being unsocial and actually combines with the milk. Add the two eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, and about 1 Tablespoon of bourbon. You can add more bourbon. Its ok, no one’s judging, but too much is gonna screw with the ratios so adjust if you need to for your intake, perhaps less vanilla?

Fourth thing: Bread.

Again, pretty sure you can adjust this for gluten free etc by switching out bread etc, but recreating Jeff Chef, so full-flour bread from wherever you wanna get stuff from. Any bread will do, lord knows most of us have decided to make bread at least once during this pandemic, so use that if you have it. I’m using about three fat slices, like so:

cut off loaf. Watch your fingers and use a serrated knife, you’ll get cleaner cuts and not want to tear your hair out with the loaf being squished or tearing or whatever.

Cube up. Repeat at least 2 more times. squish all that bread into all that battery goodness. Cover in plastic wrap after making sure all of it’s gotten a good soak in the batter, let it do it’s thing for a half hour at the shortest. 

BONUS FEATURES: If you want to add extra stuff to it like berries or whatever you can do that when we squish it all in the ramekins or muffin tins or what we choose to use. What I’m adding to mine is my favorite, and I feel like Chef Jeff would approve. SO. What you need is about a handful of dried cherries, some orange zest and about a shot glass full of bourbon.

Oh yeah. That’s the stuff. 

So what you’re gonna do with that is slow simmer it for about 5-10 minutes til most of the bourbon has been either cooked off or absorbed into those sexy little cherries. Put it to one side in a cup or something when it gets there, we need that pan back cuz we’re making bourbon caramel sauce.

Yeah buddy. 

Fifth thing: Caramel. Smallish caramel batch is gonna be: 1/2 cup white sugar. 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar. I’m using dark but it doesn’t matter much, I just like the molasses content of the dark more. Also we’re using a tablespoon of water. Yes the water is important. Sugar scorches if you glance at it wrong and the little bit of water makes it less likely to do the thing. So. Medium high heat to start, then a nice middle heat once everything starts cooking together. DO NOT LEAVE THIS ALONE FOR A SECOND. DON’T DO IT. DO NOT. Sugar is the most persnickety motherfucker to ever motherfuck and it will go from a gorgeous caramel to the thing that the fire alarm is gonna tell everyone you fucked up SO FAST. This shit gets WATCHED. GOT IT? Good. 

So when it looks like this (let’s say 15 minutes in? Something like that, you’ll know when it hits this color) you take it off the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of whipping cream that’s at room temperature. Yes that’s important. The colder the whipping cream is the more it’s gonna steam when it hits that molten lava we’ve just been coddling on the stove and it will burn the absolute fuck out of your hands. Room temp. Save your hands. Trust me. Stir fast but pour slow, it’s ok to have to add this in intervals. Return the pan to a really low heat and keep stirring until the inevitable sugar blobs have turned back into a smooth, pretty caramel.

Should stick to the back of a cold spoon like this. Add about a shot glass of bourbon to it and stir some more. The steam is gonna slap you in the face with alcohol flavor but don’t worry, most of it’s gonna cook off. Once all that’s mixed in, take it off the heat, let it hang out on the stove, it’s done for the moment. 

BACK TO THE BREAD PUDDING! 

Sixth thing: Put the bread pudding stuff in your containers for bread pudding!  Protip: Butter the insides. If you HAVE to use pan spray that’s fine but butter is better. Ghee or something similar will also be fine but I’m french chef trained and will go to my grave telling you to use fucking butter.

look how cute they are! The little guys are straight Chef Jeff ones but the big one is the Bonus Content one, that’s where our simmered cherries and orange zest went, mix it in with your hands when you’re portioning it all out, k?  OVEN TIME! The little guys are in at 350 degrees for 15 minutes then ratchet that oven up to 400 for another 15 minutes to finish. 

Lookin’ good, guys. Ok. Let those cool, we’ve got whipped cream to not get murdered by. 

1 cup whipping cream. 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar. Bourbon. Whip the shit out of it. Remember why you hate parts of your fucking major. Throw the whip in the sink and bust out the damn eggbeaters because screw continuity your forearms hurt. 

Voila. Whipped cream that no one got a nitro canister in the chest over.  Sidenote: If you wanna just get a can of Reddi Whip or whatever no one’s gonna judge. It won’t taste the same but it’s easier and frankly after a certain point you’ll wonder if the whipped cream by hand is worth it anyway but it is really goddamn good. 

PLATING! THING THE LAST!

(With apologies to the food stylist on 911, as I have no white plates and am making do with my green ones)

We did it, guys! Chef Maurice Malone’s (Chef Jeff’s) bread pudding, with no near deaths! Go out there and make your own, cuz this thing is DELICIOUS. 

[pulaasul]

Luck and Order - 4

The Wizard Shazam, who was once a Lord of Order, that something was amiss. The balance between luck and misfortune was in disarray. So he implores his young Champion - Billy Batson - to investigate and correct the Balance.

Set years after the series Finale of Justice League Unlimited.

1 I 2 I 3

FFN I AO3

---------

Monday morning, Alya was waiting for Marinette by the school’s entrance, like she usually did, while busy viewing and reviewing her the video she had uploaded a few days before. The video about Captain Marvel’s arrival in Paris.

Not a moment later, the aspiring reporter noticed her best friend, Marinette, running to school as usual.

“Come on girl!” Alya gestured at Marinette. “Hurry up!”

Not before long, Marinette arrived on school, just in time for her trip unto a lone rock in the sidewalk into the hands of one model, Adrien Agreste.

“Nice catch sunshine!” Alya praised.

“H-hey A-adrien. Marinette greeted, still on Adrien’s arms. “T-thank you for ca-catching me.” She expressed her gratitude while picking herself up clumsily.

“You’re welcome.” Adrien smiled. “You should really be careful.” He cautioned his friend.

“Seriously girl you need to watch where you’re walking.” Alya teased. “Or was that intentional on your part?” She whispered.

“Alya!” Marinette pouted. “You already know that’s not the case.” She hissed as she and her best friend walked towards their classroom.

“What’s not the case?” Adrien’s questioned as he walked behind the two ladies.

“Oh you know.” Alya shrugged. “How there’s now three heroes in Paris at the moment.” She stated as she played the video of her interview with Captain Marvel.

“I am kinda surprised that he still defends the Justice League.” Marinette voiced out. “After Superman refused to take his suggestion into account and got into an all-out brawl.”

“Girl! You’re well informed!” Alya praised. “How’d you know that?”

“I kinda checked up on Captain Marvel after watching your interview with him.” Marinette admitted.

“Neither the Justice League nor the Marvel Family confirmed why he left though.” Adrien hummed. “I just thought that he didn’t have time to be a member of both groups.”

“Still it’s kinda baffling how he knows a lot about the Miraculous.” Alya hummed. “Both Ladybug and Chat Noir had yet to comment about the Miraculous and this new guy shows up and gives more info than our local heroes have told us.”

“Maybe he’s one of the guardians?” Marinette offered.

“But he doesn’t have the symbol that the previous Miraculoous heroes had.” Alya pointed out.

Before Marinette could even reply, the three of them had already arrived by their room. They proceeded to their sits, Marinette beside Alya and Adrien just in front of Marinette.

“Okay class we’re going to have a transfer student in class.” Mme Mendeleieve started. “Mme Bustier has called in sick and I’ll be your substitute for today.” She explained her presence. “M Batson if you would.”

A boy in a red sweater and blue jeans went inside the room and stood in front of the class.

“Good Morning Everyone, I’m William Joseph Batson, I came from Fawcett City and I’m here for the exchange student program.” He informed the whole class. “It’s nice to meet you all.”

“M Batson if you have any questions, you can ask the Class Representative.” Mme Menedeleive informed the new student.

“Marinette, please help M Batson around.

“Yes Mme Mendeleieve.” Marinette stood and approached the new boy.

“Hi!” Marinette greeted. “I’m Marinette.” She introduced herself.

“William Joseph Batson.” Billy returned the favor.” Just call me Billy.” He smiled at girl.

“M Batson, you can sit beside Mme Lila Rossi.” The teacher instructed. “Lila please raise your hand.”

The girl in question didn’t even hesitate and raised her hand gleefully.

“Marinette, please escort M Batson to his seat.” The teacher continued.

“Right this way Billy.” Marinette instructed the new student and offered her hand.

“Thank you Mme Dupain-Cheng.” Billy expressed his gratitude.

“Just call me Marinette.” Marinette smiled.

“Well then.” Billy grinned back. “Thank you Marinette.”

“You’re Welcome.” Marinette responded. “You can approach me during lunch if you have any questions or want me to tour the school with you.”

As soon as Billy was seated, Marinette, although filled with pity for the new boy, left him as the teacher reviewed their lessons before starting a new lesson.

“You’re from Fawcett City, right Billy?” The girl beside him asked. “Did you know that Captain Marvel and I were best friends?” She shared. “Well his wife and I go way back, you know Mary Marvel?”

“W-wife?” Billy stuttered. “I didn’t know that Captain Marvel had a wife.”

“Oh they actually wanted to keep it on the down low.” Lila shushed. “Please don’t tell anyone I told you that.”

“Lila please share your book with M Batson and please refrain from talking any other thing while we’re in class.” Mme Mendeleieve ordered.

“Will do Mme Menedeleive.” Lila nodded as she scooted next to the new student and gave let him borrow her book.

---------

Billy was caught off guard with the mention that his heroic alter-ego had a wife. He was even more perturbed when that supposed wife was his twin sister’s champion form.

What’s more was that this Lila person also claimed to “go a long way” with his twin sister.

That was when he noticed a very small purple orb that escaped from the girl’s mouth and made an attempt to make contact with him.

An attempt.

The purple orb disintegrated when his shirt gave off a small arc of electricity. It was probably his magic defending him from whatever that purple orb was.

“Gorgons according to the many Greek epics were immortals.” Mme Mendeleieve discussed. “One of them was just a regular mortal who incurred the wrath of Athena, the supposed goddess of wisdom.” She continued.

The bell suddenly rang, bringing the discussion to a halt.

“How was the hero Perseus able to defeat in his bout against Medusa?” Mme Mendeleive questioned. “Did he blind Medusa or did he let Medusa look at her own reflection?” She continued. “That will be your homework for Mme Bustier’s subject.” She added. That will be all for Mme Bustier’s subject.”

Mme Mendeleieve started gathering Mme Bustier’s things as she headed towards the door.

“You have a few minutes to proceed to the Science Classroom.” The Science teacher instructed.

---------

Lunch Break came and Billy saw how her first seatmate immediately latched onto the class’s teen model – Adrien Agreste. He looked closely at his seatmate and the boy he latched onto and sure enough, a very small purple orb exited her mouth.

He looked at the orb and it made contact with boy’s silver ring and promptly disappeared.

“Billy right?” Alya asked him. “You can have lunch with our group until Marinette comes back.” She offered. “She usually eats her lunch at her home because it was near.” She explained. “Alya Cesaire.” She introduced herself to him. “

“Hey, why don’t we let Lila tour you around Billy?” A girl in pink shirt with blond hair suggested. “She’s super friendly.” She added. “I’m Rose Lavillant, everyone calls me Rose.”

“They were seatmates Rose.” The girl with black and green clothes pointed out. “I even noticed that they were talking to each other.” She added. “Alix Kubdel, call me Alix.”

“Sorry Rose, I need to get Adrien home and then I have to go to my mother’s office.” Lila apologized. “It’s about a trip to Gotham City and I really don’t want to go.”

“Don’t tell me, you’ve got into a fight with Damiboo?” The muscular boy in red jacket grinned. “Only you Lila, only you.” He chuckled.

“He’s right.” Rose nodded. “I wonder if Damien Wayne is as good as Prince Ali.” She added. “If he was, I would’ve earned their friendship and won’t fight with them.”

Billy watched as this Lila person talked and responded to her classmates’ words and questions. While there were no small and indistinct purple orbs coming out of the Rossi’s mouth but rather a tinge of pink smoke appeared on his new classmates’ head, as if she was already in control of their thoughts.

The only ones who didn’t have that tinge of pink smoke over their heads were Marinette and Adrien – the boy Lila was clinging onto.

Wait were they talking about the Damien Wayne?

As in Bruce Wayne’s son, Damien Wayne?

“These girls.” Alya shook her head. “Offer still stands Billy, you can eat with us until Marinette finishes her lunch.”

“Sure” Billy nodded.

“B-billy, I need to go home first, could you eat your lunch while you wait for me?” Marinette asked after approaching the new student.

“Got you covered girl.” Alya assured. “Billy’s eating with us.”

“Yeah, Alya already offered.” Billy confirmed. “We’ll go with the tour any time you’re back.”

“Thank you.” Marinette expressed her gratitude before running home.

“That girl needs to slow down on her commissions.” Alya chuckled. “She barely comes to school on time.” She shook her head.

---------

Everyone has managed to introduce themselves to Billy, from Nino to Max and Kim to Ivan.

In Billy’s frank opinion, they were an energetic bunch, artistic and energetic. They were all in track for the art course once they finish their Collège.

Considering his status as an exchange student, it probably didn’t matter which classroom he’d end up with. Can’t say he didn’t like the arrangement considering his primary objective.

“So I’ve been meaning to ask this.” Alya voiced out. “Despite being an American, your French is impressive Billy.” She praised. “Were your parents French?”

“About that…” Billy trailed off. “I’m an orphan.” He admitted.

“Oh my gosh!” The entire class gasped. “I’m so sorry!” Alya apologized.

“No it’s okay.” Billy smiled weakly. “They died in a dig site in Khandaq as archaeologists.”

“That does beg to question how your French is impressive.” Max voiced out as he fixed his eyeglasses.

“Would you believe me if I said I was self-taught?” Billy asked.

“Not a chance dude.” Nino chuckled. “But if you’re uncomfortable with answering the question it’s fine.”

“Worth a shot.” Billy grinned. “Although I kinda want to keep my teacher a secret if that’s okay.”

“It’s fine.” Alya shrugged. “But I’m going to find out who your teacher is.”

“Alya.” Nino sighed.

“What?” Alya pouted. “If Billy can speak French fluently then his teacher can teach me so that I’ll also be fluent in English.”

---------

A few more moments passed and a Marinette Dupain-Cheng arrived at school, out of breath while a certain Adrien Agreste went inside the school as calm as he can be.

Billy noticed that there were red and black something that went through the school’s wall, near the door to the men’s bathroom.

“B-billy, are you ready for the tour?” Marinette ran towards Billy.

“Breathe girl.” Alya instructed. “How many commissions girl?”

“A few.” Marinette admitted.

“Tell you what Marinette, let’s have the tour after classes.” Billy offered. “I kinda need to use the restroom now.” He admitted sheepishly.

“That works great for Marinette.” Alya responded immediately. “That way she can rest for the time being instead of rushing into things.”

“Alya! You know Jagged’s deadline is this Friday.” Marinette protested.

“And today’s Monday.” Alya fired back. “Girl you need to rest or you’ll burn out.”

“While we ignore these two dudettes, the male rest room is right in front of us.” Nino directed. “Be back before class dude.”

“I will” Billy nodded as he went inside the bathroom.

Billy rushed to the bathroom, went inside a stall and locked it from the inside.

“Shazam!”

As soon as Billy yelled the wizard’s name, lightning bolt came crashing from the ceiling, but did not damage the school in any way, and transformed him into his heroic persona, Captain Marvel.

As soon as he transformed two floating things phased through the stall’s walls and he was face-to-face with the kwamis of Creation and Destruction,

“Lord Plagg, Lady Tikki.” Captain Marvel greeted.

“Huh, you were right sugarcube.” The black kwami stated. “He really is a champion of order.”

“Why did the Lord of Order send you champion?” Tikki asked.

“Sugarcube’s right.” Plagg agreed. “We’ve been handling the Hawkmoth and Mayura issue pretty well if I do say so myself.” He bragged.

“Speak for yourself Plagg!” Tikki huffed. “Your chosen’s been acting out of character lately.”

“Really?” Plagg asked. “I hadn’t noticed.” Plagg admitted. “A-bwah.”

Green bubbles came out of Plagg’s mouth as if it was hindering him from ever saying something.

“It’s a spell to keep us from revealing our wielder’s names.” Tikki explained.

“He has been doing pretty fine, puns and all.” Plagg informed the two.

“You really haven’t noticed?” Tikki asked worriedly.

“What’s there to notice?” Plagg questioned. “My kitten’s doing his best supporting his lady.”

“Do you notice anything different whenever you’re pulled inside the Miraculous?” Captain Marvel asked his own question.

“Now that you mention it…” Plagg trailed off. “It’s like wrestling control of the Miraculous from someone.” He admitted. “But that’s easily quelled considering I am tied to the Miraculous and all.” He shrugged.

“Anyway, why are you questioning me?!” Plagg pointed at the new hero. “Is this an interrogation?”

“No Plagg.” Tikki shook her head. “Chat Noir’s been acting out of character lately.” She repeated her statement from earlier. “Instead of supporting Ladybug, all he does is flirt with her.” She informed the black cat Kwami.

“He said he’d give up on Ladybug.” Plagg narrowed his eyes.

“The magic inside Chat Noir is chaotic.” Captain Marvel informed both kwami. “You’re unconsciously fighting off that something even when you’re powering your chosen.” He added.

“Do you know what’s causing it?” Tikki looked at Captain Marvel expectantly.

“I have a hunch.” Marvel nodded. “But there’s a catch, to snap Chat Noir back to his senses, he needs to get shocked briefly.”

“What would that do?” Plagg narrowed his eyes.

“It’ll only disperse of what I believe was absorbed into your Miraculous.” Captain Marvel answered. “Or at the very least expel what you’re fighting, but it’ll be absorbed back into the ring after he depowers.

Before anyone else could even respond, yells and screams were heard from outside the restroom. Some were even hiding inside the stalls of the room.

“Another Akuma?” Someone from Marvel’s right groaned. “I have some deadlines today!”

“It’s not like you haven’t lived in Paris for the past year.” Another offered. “Hawkmoth sends an Akuma like every other day, if he’s not planning something big.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it!”

Plagg and Tikki nodded to each other before they flew towards their chosen.

Captain Marvel on the other hand stepped outside of the restroom before flying towards the direction the people are running away from.

[itsanerdlife]

It’s Complicated 15/25

Pairing: Clint Barton x Fisk Niece!Reader

A/N: Reader is Wilson Fisk’s Niece. I’m tired of the same old villains so keep your eyes peeled for who just might be the one lurking in the dark.

Warning: This is very match and lighter fluid type of burn. Feels of abandonment. Talks of Psychopaths. Overprotective male. Lies. Secrets. Language. Kidnapping. Violence. I think that’s about it.

Sometimes in life there are just certain people worth breaking the rules for. No matter the hell that may rain down. Is it possible to fall in love with someone in just a matter of one conversation? To be utterly and completely obsessed with someone in a matter of weeks? But what if they aren’t who you think they are? What if one day the person you love, they just disappear? Learning to live again is a bitch. Specially just when you think you’re doing fine, he shows up on your doorstep. Wanting to explain his secrets. But now you’ve got your own secrets but do you really ever just get over that type of love? Can you really just move on and pretend it never happened? Even when you’re carrying around proof inside you?

Tag List Is Open

“Do you want to sit down?” Buck asks.

“No.” She swallows.

“This is who I am. This is my life. This is my family.” Clint shrugs.

“An Avenger.” She laughs, it sounds close to tears.

“Pretty much.” He sighs.

“Oh god.” She drops a hand from her hair, to her belly. “Fucking lord.” She scuffs, picking up the pacing once more. “I got knocked up by a fucking Avenger.” She mutters. The others smirk, Clint’s head tips, wondering where she’s going with this. “My kids going to have some mutant, freaky power.” She throws her hands up. 

“Wait,” he starts.

“Oh god he’s going to end up six feet tall, blonde and have wings or something.” She scuffs.

“Um.” Tony’s brow pulls down.

“Oh god he’s going to end up running around New York in tights.” She mutters.

“Whoa!” Several of them claim together.

“Why does everyone assume we run around in tights?” Sam scuffs.

“Because Steve did in the 40’s.” Nat snickers.

“I mean Peter’s suit looks like a giant onesie.” Buck smirks.

“Fuck off, metal man.” Peter scuffs.

“Off topic people.” Clint calls.

“Right.” Buck clears his throat.

“Does she not know?” Nat asks looking at him.

“Does this look like a face or belly that knows?!” Y/N throws her hands up.

“She has a point.” Wanda smirks.

“I don’t have a super power.” Clint smirks.

“What?” She blinks at him.

“Clint’s mortal, all human.” Peter chuckles.

“What the fuck are you doing as an Avenger than?” She snorts.

“Ohp!” Peter laughs.

“Someone finally asked.” Buck laughs.

“Shut up.” Clint looks over at them.

“Wait a second.” She turns looking at Sam and Peter.

“Peter is Spiderman and bedding my best friend. But what the fuck is Sam Wilson, who escorted me to my interview.” She folds her arms over her chest, glaring.

“Well, you see.” Sam chuckles, scratching the back of his. “Clint asked me too.” He throws Clint under the bus.

“Yeah, I got that impression. So what are you?” She nods.

“Falcon.” Sam smiles.

“Isn’t a Falcon just a fancier version of a Hawk?” She looks between them.

“I see why you knocked her up.” Nat grins.

“Yeah, that wasn’t on purpose.” Y/N winces.

“How did that happen?” Tony looks between them.

“Did you never have the sex talk, or do you mean how did he convince me to sleep with him?” Y/N blinks at him.

“The later.” The team replies.

“I have no idea.” She sighs.

“I thought you were on birth control?” Clint’s head tips.

“Ha. Funny story.” She nods.

“Funny Ha. Ha. Or funny not really funny?” Clint wonders.

“I know.” Peter grins.

“How the fuck?” She looks over at Peter.

“MJ told me.” Peter shrugs.

“Remind me when I’m done burying your body, to kill her next.” Y/N looks over at him.

“What do you know, Peter?” Clint watches him.

“Ah her sleep medication, canceled out her birth control. Turns out there are a lot of medications that actually do that.” He nods. Wanda’s eyes widen, as she stiffens up.

“Oh yeah and when you don’t know that, this happens.” Y/N waves a hand at her belly. “Talk about shock.” She snorts.

“I need to text Banner.” Wanda mumbles, turning she speed walks out of the room.

“What’s a Banner?” She looks over at him.

“The Dr. Jykle to Mr. Hyde.” Tony smirks.

“Oh okay.” She spoke slowly.

“So does Fury know you knocked up your assignment?” Steve asks.

“Assignment?” Y/N looks from Steve to him. Buck slaps a hand over his face. Clint winces, squeezing his eyes shut. “This baby, must be affecting my hearing.” She laughs. “He didn’t just call me your assignment. Like you were what tasked with watching me. Right?” She laughs, its panicked and unstable sounding.

“Bet, Barton wishes he was superhuman now.” Peter scratches the back of his neck.

“You were my assignment, in our mission to take down your uncle.” Clint nods.

“Take down my uncle. You put my uncle in prison?” She glances around.

“We did.” Buck nods.

“I don’t whether to say thank you or hug you.” She nods slowly.

“Not the reaction I was expecting.” Steve nods.

“They didn’t get along.” Sam explains.

“Understatement.” She snorts.

“Look I was just supposed to make sure your uncle didn’t use you in any way or pull you into his crimes.” Clint sighs.

“And doing that, meant getting me to fall in love with you? While sleeping with me, making me think this was an actual relationship.” She nods, hurt is written across her face.

“No, that wasn’t it.” He steps forward, she steps back.

“How do I get out of this place?” She swallows looking away from him. He sighs, feeling defeated.

“Y/N, right?” Nat steps forward.

“Yeah.” She nods, sniffing. A small smile on her lips suddenly, it’s sad. “You smell like blossoms.” She comments. Buck grins at her.

“Wow, that’s some intense smell.” Nat laughs.

“Pregnancy.” She nods.

“I’m Nat.” She puts out her hand. Y/N shakes it.

“You’re Clint’s sister, right?” She nods.

“I am.” Nat smiles. “And you’re the girl he fell in love with in one conversation. I’ve been dying to meet you.” Nat grins. “You said, boy, right? I’m getting a nephew?” She asks.

“Yeah, twenty one weeks along. I found out last week.” She nods, chewing her bottom lip.

“You don’t want to leave. It’s okay. Being angry, hurt, mad as hell. I’m mad too.” Nat nods, Y/N’s eyes snap up. 

“Why?” She asks.

“Because he kept you to himself, left you in the dark. I would have explained things, I would have taken his place had he told someone other than the other moron Bird Boy.” Nat smiles.

“Hey.” Sam scuffs.

“Is she really wrong?” Buck snorts. Sam mutters to himself.

“Do you like tea?” Nat asks, Y/N nods “Let’s have some and talk. There’s too many people standing around watching.” She nods.

“Find something else to do, people.” Steve nods, everyone shuffles off.

“I just didn’t know I was just an assignment.” Y/N sighs following Nat out of the living room.

“Sit down. Let her smooth it over.” Buck looks at Clint.

“Just an assignment you’re cute.” Nat laughs softly, filling mugs with hot water from the heated water taps, Tony had for coffee and tea instantly.

“Okay, I’m good. What did I miss?” Wanda joins them at the island.

“She thinks she’s just an assignment.” Nat smirks, pouring a third cup as well.

“Awe you’re cute. Funny and cute.” Wanda grins. “How did you end with our brother?” Wanda asks.

“The other sister?” Y/N asks looking over at him.

“Wanda.” He nods.

“The one you were on the phone with when you were late to our date?” She nods.

“Seriously?” Wanda gaps. “Why didn’t you just hang up?” Wanda asks.

“You were fighting with your boyfriend.” Y/N smirks, picking up her mug.

“Well it worked out right, we’re getting a nephew.” Wanda winces, grinning.

“Smooth Red.” Buck snorts.

-----------------------------

Everything Peaches 2/6/19: @xmtd5 @mo320 @all1e23 @courtmr @avxgers @eliza-kat @izzy--lee @irepeldirt @dumblani @crist1216 @a--1--1--3 @alyssaj23 @allyp1023 @joannie95 @nishanki1 @bugalouie @kolakube9 @rileyloves5 @sarahp879 @sea040561 @sexyvixen7 @pcterpvrker @pigwidgexn @doctoranon @tomhardy41 @abschaffer2 @justrae9903 @bookluver01 @teller258316 @callie-bear15 @nickimarie94 @wandressfox @amandab-ftw @carostar2020 @henrietteoaks @nea90sweetie @circusofchaos @itsagalaxystar @bettercallsabs @miraclesoflove @lucifersnipnips @queenkrissy11 @this-is-mycrisis @sadyoungadult @destiel-artemis @xrosegoldwolfx @paintballkid711 @isabelcrichards @iwillbeinmynest @sweet-honey15 @chanelmadrid13 @mellxander1993 @killerbumblebee @spookygrantaire @geeksareunique @supernatural508 @sammysgirl1997 @itzmegaaaaaaan @booksbeforebois @optimistic-babes @childishhoebinoo @elizabethaellison @aspiringtranslator @mariekoukie6661 @pure-princess-97 @capsheadquaters @samanthasmileys @nerdypinupcrystal @atlas-of-the-world @youclickedthislink @futuremrsb-r-main @lovemarvelousfics @notyourtypicalrose @petersunderoos96 @loving-life-my-way @buckystolemyheart @booktvmoviefangirl @supernatural-girl97 @thefridgeismybestie @dumbbitchenergytm @abbypalmer14-blog @fanfictionjunkie1112 @meganlikesfandoms @awkwardfangirl2014 @supernaturaldean67 @xqueenofthecraziesx   @queenoftheunderdark @writingaworldofmyown @supernaturallover2002 @daughterofthenight117 @mustbeaweasleyginger @mcuwillbethedeathofme @sprinklesandsugarcubes @whothehellisbucky-1930 @verymuchclosetedfangirl @for-the-love-of-the-fandom @ocaptain-mycaptainmorgan @wonderlandfandomkingdom @crazy-little-thing-called-buck @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @stupendoussciencenaturepanda @jamesbarnesappreciationsociety @supernatural-strangerthings-1980

Marvel Tag List 2/6/19: @lumelgy   @dottirose   @jcc04220 @rockagurl @mizzzpink   @jade-taillia @coley0823 @widowsfics @bookluver01 @thelostallycat @shield-agent78 @dtftheavengers   @ilovetvshowsblog @capsheadquaters   @iamwarrenspeace @thefridgeismybestie @whenallsaidanddone @deanwinchestersrifle @fandomsstolemylife00   @daughterofthenight117 @lilmissperfectlyimperfect  

Clint ‘Destory Me, I’ll Thank You’ Barton: @ml7010 @coley0823 @yavanna80 @lakamaa12 @boltsgirl919 @feelmyroarrrr @what-a-fantasy @mrsseizetheday @honey-bee-holly @marvelfansworld @mybarnesmyhero   @the-real-mary-jane @dumbbitchenergytm @agentsinstorybrooke @stuckyandsciencebros @x-whyareyoureadingthis-x @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory

It's Complicated: @amberkay284 @capandbuckylvr @optimistic-babes @jennmurawski13 @marvelfansworld @bradfordbantams @natromanoffsboys @thosesexytexasboys @thebitchiestnerdtowalktheearth

[the-foxes-fangs]

I Wish I Was the Moon: Epilogue Pt. 2

Read the main fic and interludes at a03 

Tagging the lovely @otomediary, @you-mass-effect-my-dragon-age, @louveau, and @wingedtreecookiesludge 

                                       ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The ride to Echigo had been pleasant, she was in buoyant spirits despite the muddy road and chilly mornings of the early spring, but he felt the anxiety in her back and shoulders as they gained on Kasugayama. 

“Cold feet so soon, little mouse?” He asked teasingly, holding her close with one arm wrapped around her waist and the reins loose in his free hand. 

“About you? Not one bit. About Kenshin? Well...” She answered, trailing off apprehensively. “The last time I saw him he did put his sword to my throat. I’m not completely sure he’s the best choice for a potential father-in-law. Ieyasu might have been a better option, after all.” 

The sky was a mass of pewter clouds that rolled on into a bank of mist, obscuring the mountains and the horizon and threatened to soak them, but all he could feel was the warmth of her against him and some stray strands of her hair tickling his face when he kissed the top of her head. 

“Let’s not be hasty my dear, could you really look Ieyasu in the eye at our wedding banquet and call him ‘father’? I think he would expire right then and there of the indignity,” He said with a low laugh that she answered with one of her own. 

“Good point, there’s no way I could do that with a straight face.” She said and laughed again. “Still, Kenshin is unpredictable. I’d rather our wedding not become a war zone if we can avoid it.” 

He urged the horse onward as the crested the last hill between them and the castle town, and a misty rain began to fall. 

“He’s got a code of honor as rigid as his sword, whatever else you might find to say about him.” Mitsuhide answered lightly. 

“Oho--” she said with a derisive snort “So that’s the game. Don’t get overconfident though, Sasuke tells me that Shingen is pretty slick, and Kenshin kept up with him all those years.” 

“Ah but Shingen is a tiger! What dragon ever noticed a fox running circles around his feet?” He asked, pulling her coat tighter around her against the wet chill. 

“I defer to your judgement on this one, with reservations.” She said, and blew out a soft sigh. 

They made it to the castle as the rain began to beat down in earnest, tearing the new leaves off of the trees and plastering his hair to his forehead. He slid out of the saddle and caught her, blowing on her frigid fingers to warm them as the guard opened the gates for them. He ignored their prying eyes and held her tightly, kissing her deeply enough to make her breath hitch, though not nearly enough to satisfy either of them. 

Kenshin was standing under the eaves looking like an ice sculpture as usual, with a disapproving Sasuke by his side.

Yoshimoto stood gracefully in a doorway and looked them over with elegant amusement on his delicate face.  

“Welcome. It’s a shame that you arrive accompanied by a snake.” Kenshin said coldly, but reached out to take her hands so gently it looked as if he expected her to shatter. 

“Well, it is a breath of fresh air to see you.” Sasuke said happily, with what passed for a smile as he greeted her. 

“We come as a set, I’m afraid.” She said and offered him a gracious bow. 

"Why, that’s no way to talk about your soon to be son-in-law.” Mitsuhide interjected airily, with a jaunty bow that earned him a scowl and snort in reply.

 “You just don’t know when to quit, do you? It’s like the man said-- you’d face god and walk backward into hell.” Sasuke muttered by way of greeting, shaking his head. 

“You do have such a quaint way with a turn of phrase, squirrel.” Mitsuhide replied with a wink. 

“I was making fun of you.” Sasuke answered and gestured at her, laughing demurely behind her sleeve. 

“Enough pointless chatter.” Kenshin cut in, gesturing for them to follow as he turned toward the shadowy interior of the castle. They filed inside, Kenshin at the lead, and in spite of confidence, he stayed close to her side. 

“The lady is looking a bit like a little drowned mouse, and I’d like to get dried off myself before we begin the formalities, if you don’t mind showing us to our quarters.” Mitsuhide said as they paused at the door to the audience hall. 

“Someone ought to have beaten a polite tongue into your head long ago, Akechi, and when the lady is my daughter, I just might.” Kenshin snarled at him, ice in his face and tone. 

“A term of endearment, I assure you.” Mitsuhide answered, palms up placatingly. 

“Show her to her room.” Kenshin said to Sasuke, and then turned to look him up and down with withering contempt. “You’ll be in the house with the other single men.” He said with a flash in his sharp eyes that brooked no argument. 

“Very well, my lord.” Mitsuhide said, hiding his rising irritation despite having been prepared for exactly this sort of treatment. 

“Wait, I--” she began to object, only to catch his eye and the faint shake of his head, “uh, I wanted to thank you for your generous hospitality and kindness.” 

She bowed again and gave him a questioning glance before she turned to follow Sasuke around a corner. 

“What an absolutely lovely woman.” Yoshimoto said with a gentle wave of his fan as he watched them leave.

“Isn’t she just? A woman you’d do anything for.” Mitsuhide replied with acid in his voice. 

“Is that right? But you were always capable of stooping to any low, so that’s a bit of an insult to the lady, don’t you think?” Yoshimoto said smoothly, fanning himself gracefully. 

A retainer who had been summoned to show him to the barracks stood watching the scene with wide eyes. 

Kenshin looked between them and curled his lip. “Settle it with your blades or shut up. You both bore me, all talk and no blood.” 

“Well I’d hate to be boring, heaven knows.” Mitsuhide answered him, and bowed crisply. “If you’ll excuse me, my lords.” 

He nodded at the retainer and followed him down the hall. 

                                               ∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

“So you’re absolutely sure it’s too late for me to dissuade you from marrying Mitsuhide?” Sasuke asked, handing her a cup of tea. 

The room that had been prepared for her was almost stifling in its opulent beauty, books and scrolls, paintings, flowers, even an elaborately made sewing kit and bolts of conspicuously bright fabrics of the sort a young unmarried woman would wear, giving the impression of an overcrowded birdcage. 

It was warm but not warm enough to chase away the chill of his absence, of the warmth of his lips on hers that she longed for to drive her fears away, his low teasing laugh that made it all seem like it wasn’t worth worrying over in the first place. 

“Sasuke, you cannot be seriously asking that after you helped engineer such a beautiful reunion and proposal.” She answered, and sipped her tea, her hair wrapped in a warm towel.

“Against my will! Let the record stand that it was 99.9% against my will!” He answered, adjusting his glasses primly. 

“It’s that last fraction that counts.” She answered and patted his hand soothingly. “I see you haven’t lost your taste for outdated memes.” She added with a snicker. 

“Absurd situations call for absurd references.” He replied, but there was brotherly warmth in his eyes.��“You do look as happy as I’ve ever seen you. I don’t know how you live with him, but you look well.” 

“I could say the same for you and Kenshin. Is he still threatening to kill you three times a day?” 

“It was actually up to six for awhile, but we’ve settled at an average of two, so I think he’s forgiving me.” 

“I’ve got to admit, I was surprised that you suggested this to Mitsuhide. It’s not like they particularly like each other.”  She said, nibbling on one of the beautiful sweets that had been prepared for her. 

Sasuke’s eyes flashed behind his glasses, and he crossed his arms firmly. “I absolutely could not allow him to torture Ieyasu. Kenshin is the only one who stands any chance of keeping that man in line, the way I see it. And they both love you, so there’s some common ground.” 

She nearly spat her tea, sputtering and coughing until tears sprang to her eyes. “I’m sorry did you--” she coughed hard, “did you just say Kenshin loves me?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I should have been more exact in my phrasing--” Sasuke said, slapping her back as she finished coughing, “he’s not in love with you, but you impressed him as much as I’ve ever seen anyone impress him that day, and I think it’s fair to say he loves you in his own specifically Kenshin way.” 

“Thanks, Sasuke, psych 101 just bubbled up from the depths of my mostly drunken freshmen memories and took me on quite the ride there for a minute.” She said, waving him back to his seat across from her as she composed herself. 

“My apologies, I didn’t mean to cause you to revisit your brief but passionate affair with Tequila in such an unfortunate way.” He replied, deadpan. 

“I forgive you, just let Mitsuhide be the one who surprises me, if possible. So you think this will all go off without a hitch?” 

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and swept the hair out of his face. “I thought a hitch, as in getting hitched was the whole point.” 

“That was an appalling pun. Wretched. Unforgivable.” She said and they both broke out into peals of laughter. 

“Speaking seriously, I think that as long as Mitsuhide can avoid antagonizing Kenshin, everything will be fine.” 

“Oh, is that all? Well when you put it that way.” She shot back with a shake of her head. “Please be a pal and tell Mitsuhide where to find me, he gets an itchy trigger finger when he sleeps alone.” 

“Now that’s a euphemism.” Sasuke said with his voice caught between admiration and horror. 

“Oh, good lord, Sasuke, that’s not what I meant! Seriously, though, I’m sneaking out to see him if he doesn’t get here first.” She said, drumming her fingers on the table nervously. 

“As much as I’d like to be of assistance, I have to, with the greatest affection, ask you not to be as much of a reckless idiot as usual.” Sasuke shot back, and held up his finger. “No sneaking out. No creeping through the halls, and don’t even think about trying to get through the ceilings, I see what you’re looking at.” 

“But--” she began, only to be stopped by a vigorous shake of his head.

“I mean it. Nothing that would alert the guards. As of now, you’re officially visiting the family, and unlike a trip to stay with cool uncle Nobunaga, someone will be disinherited of his head if you don’t exercise the utmost discretion. Mitsuhide knows it, that’s why he didn’t argue.”

“Oh, fine.” She replied moodily. “I feel like I’m shut up in a dungeon. A very nice dungeon.” 

“Please don’t give Kenshin any ideas, he’s got his own very weird ways of showing his affection.” Sasuke said with a pained look. “Just try to enjoy the party tonight, and see if you can get the two of them talking... I don’t know, tactics or weapons or something.” 

“I’m no diplomat, but I’ll do my best.” She answered with a sigh. 

[chid-sen-gan-blog]

My Reaction to GoT 8.04 (”The Last of the Starks”)

Hello, everyone! So, I’m back once again for another recap/review of the latest GoT epsiode. I’m sorry this took so long, but I spent most of my week in a deep depression over it, so I only got around to editing it now…

Anyway, this review is as much of an emotional roller coaster as the actual episode was, so read at your own risk. 

Once again, these are my thoughts from my first time viewing it (I read the leaks prior to seeing the episode, but I took them with a grain of salt, so everything written is based purely on my own emotions), and, once again, it features running commentary from my Dad and Brother because I love them and they’re amazing.

WARNING: Spoilers for the episode, if you haven’t seen it yet. Though considering how late I’m posting this, the warning may be irrelevant

WARNING #2: Please excuse my emotional state throughout. This show is designed to break me in many, many ways

Thanks you to everyone who supported the first three installments! I hope you enjoy the fourth!

Considering there are only two episodes left in the series (not counting this one), I think it’s kind of pointless for me to say that I’m still not used to the opening credits. If they haven’t grown on me yet, then they’re not going to in time for the finale

Every time I see D&D’s names at the start of an episode, I die a little inside

YES!!! I CAN SEE ACTUALLY SEE THIS EPISODE!!! (#still salty about squinting in 8x3)

Ugh. Dany. On second thought, I’ll take the poor lighting back. Please? Thank you

Aww, Sansa giving Theon her Stark pin. *tears up*

*quickly wipes tears away* Nope, not now, I’m saving my crying for later

I really hope that I’m not going to have to bring out the tissues for this episode even though all the leaks are pointing to it

Yikes. That’s… a lot of bodies

And just think of how many of them could still be alive if the dragons had just lit some ice zombies up instead of getting lost in a snowstorm

Or if the Dothraki hadn’t charged right into the Army of the Dead when they could hardly see where they were going

Then again none of us could really see anything with last episode’s lighting, so…

#still salty about squinting

Noooooo! Ghost!!! My poor baby’s covered in wounds!!!

“Alright, which of those undead creeps beat Ghost up that badly?! Because I will kill them all over again!” – My Wonderful Dad

“By the looks of it, he did a lot more fighting than the dragons. Point: Team Direwolves.” – My Wonderful Brother

Once again, just when I think Jon can’t look any more tired, he raises the bar

(at this point he could probably list “being tired” as one of his skills on his resume)

So, with this lighting, I can finally find out who survived. Okay, so let’s see… Jaime, Brienne, Davos, Gendry, the Hound…

Good speech, Jon. I’m surprised Dany let you take the reigns and make it

The score is fantastic once again. I can’t express how happy it makes me that Ramin Djawadi always brings his A-Game

(even when certain members of the crew don’t seem to *cough D&D cough*…)

Okay, this scene is really touching, I admit

Though I’m honestly a little confused why we still have to burn the bodies with the White Walkers gone, but, oh, well…

Oooh, a feast. Nice. I’ll stick to my potato chips and gummy bears, though

Gendrya’s canon and I’m glad

I wonder who curses more: the Hound or Bronn?

Oh, shoot. Dany, no. No, don’t call to Gendry…

NO!!! WHO TOLD THE WHITE-HAIRED DEMON THAT HE WAS ROBERT’S SON?! WAS IT YOU, DAVOS?! IT WAS YOU, WASN’T IT?! YOU AND YOUR OBSESSION WITH HER “GOOD HEART”!!!

I SWEAR TO EVERY DIREWOLF THAT’S GONE BEFORE GHOST THAT IF YOU LAY A HAND ON GENDRY I WILL TWIST YOUR DOUGH HAIR INTO A NOOSE, DANY!!!

Anyone else think it’s rather telling how everyone looks absolutely terrified when Dany’s speaking to Gendry?

“If Gendry dies, I will riot.” – My Wonderful Brother

Wait… Dany legitimized him?

No, there has to be something more to this. Dany never does things unless it’s for her own benefit…

Aaaaand there it is. Typical. Figured it was some ulterior motive

(my Dany bitterness is seriously at an all-time high tonight, and I’m not quite sure why)

Jon smiles more around a kid he barely knows (Gendry) than he does with Dany. And that’s the tea

“Sure, Dany, you just told everyone in this room now that Gendry has a claim to the Iron Throne that supersedes yours, but, yeah, you’re soooo clever.” – My Wonderful Brother

Even Tyrion looks done with her at this point. ‘Took him long enough

Jaime putting his hand on Brienne’s reminds me of a similar scene with them from S3, E6 (“The Climb”). *sighs* Ah, the early seasons. Those were good days…

Aww, the way they look at each other. *heart melts*

I’ve never been much for shipping, but when it comes to Jaime and Brienne, I’m shipping trash. And I’m proud

“JUST KISS ALREADY, YOU TWO!!!” – My Wonderful Dad (edit: apparently, I’m not the only one who’s shipping trash)

“Just nudge Brienne a little closer to him, Pod. Just enough for their lips to meet.” – My Wonderful Brother (edit: my whole family is shipping trash, and I couldn’t be happier about it)

Ah, Davos, Tyrion. Discussing Melisandre, are we? Pour one out for her on my behalf, would you? I owe her for lighting things up last episode

#still salty about squinting

Good question… what does R’Hollor want? Not that I expect D&D to explain it, but still…

Bran’s still a robot. Wonderful

Please tell me he has some purpose in this show other than creeping out his family and their guests

You know how you have that one friend that just won’t take no for an answer and tries to talk you into all the worst things and then acts like they’re doing you a favor? Yeah, that’s Tormund

Aw, Sansa encouraging Jon is everything. Even if it’s encouraging him to drink

Tormund, why would you toast to Dany? Why would you hurt me like that? Is it because I ship Braime? I always said Briemund was fine, too!

(though some Briemund stans that I’ve met… less so)

Dany toasting to Arya. Wow, it certainly looks like someone read their kiss-up handbook, doesn’t it?

“That woman is saccharine, spice, and nothing nice.” – My Wonderful Brother

The Hound barely acknowledges when Gendry’s named a lord, but is visibly amused when Arya’s mentioned. Oh, Sandor, you softie…

Seriously, though, the fact that we have Northmen, Free Folk, Southerners, Starks, Lannisters, and Varys (from Essos) all together in one room is amazing. And beyond that, they’re happy; they’re not fighting, they’re not trying to kill one another – they’re celebrating. Together. It’s actually making me tear up a bit

Well, we were all happy until Sansa saw Dany and left

I can’t blame her there, though. Wanting to book the moment you lay eyes on Dany is a personal mood of mine

Okay, confession time: I really want to play the drinking game one of these days with my family (though I’ll substitute the wine with something non-alcoholic)

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I adore Lannisbros, and I always will

Like, Tyrion’s charm has been lost on me since S5, but whenever he’s with Jaime, I can’t help but fall in love with him all over again.

And whenever Jaime’s around Tyrion, it always brings out a sweeter, softer side of his personality that we don’t normally get to see, and I live for it

Honestly, I can’t credit Peter and Nikolaj’s performances enough

Honestly, I can’t credit the entire cast’s enough

(especially in this season where the acting is pretty much the only thing worth watching for)

(well, the acting and the score)

“I can’t believe Jaime’s seriously using the drinking game as a way to show Brienne he remembers what she tells him.” – My Wonderful Brother, with a mile-wide smirk on his face

“The guy’s such a dork. I love it.” – My Wonderful Dad, smiling like the proud papa he is

I honestly can’t help but laugh at how Pod seems to be enjoying this as much I am

Okay, drunk Tormund’s funny. I admit

Tormund really seems to be intent on making Jonmund canon, I’m just saying

Awww, how I’ve missed Jon’s smile

… is that a Starbucks coffee cup?

Is that why they had such poor lighting in the last episode? To cover up coffee cup cameos?

#still salty about squinting

*opts to ignore it for now*

“A madman? Or a king?” Very telling words, Tormund. Very telling, indeed

And as if to confirm it, the score gets sinister, the noises muffle, and Dany starts to get… uncomfortable, for lack of a better term

Kudos to the cast and crew on this scene; it’s chilling my bones more than anything in the last episode did

Varys sees. Varys knows. And what Varys sees, Varys doesn’t like. Trust Varys

Back to the drinking game, and my children are still acting as dorky as ever

So, I’m curious. How did Tyrion and Sansa’s marriage get annulled, exactly?

*Jaime smiles at Brienne* // *Brienne smiles back at Jaime* // *my heart stops*

Woooooah. Tyrion, too far. Too far!

Pod grabbing a drink and downing it uncomfortably is me right now

And Jaime trying to cut Tyrion out is my wonderful Brother, who’s saying “stop” in the most warning of tones

And Tormund to the… rescue, I guess?

Tormund’s joke didn’t make me laugh, but Jaime rolling his eyes at Tormund’s joke sure did…

… while Jaime blocking Tormund’s path when the latter tried to follow Brienne only added more mirth to my mood

Tormund’s expression of rejection and anguish is the same one I wear whenever Dany’s being lauded onscreen

Yep. Drink up, buddy. You did your best

Pod’s smile gives me life. That is all

Me: *sees Tormund talking to the Hound about his heartbreak* // Me: *spits out soda two seconds later*

(And now I want to write a fic where the Hound’s a psychologist. Someone help me)

“No, really… could he have picked a worse person to talk to about his feelings?” – My Wonderful Dad

It took Tormund approximately two minutes to get over Brienne. … yikes

So… to everyone who said his feelings for Brienne were simply lust, I just want to apologize for ever doubting you. *shakes head* Really, Tormund, I had more faith in you

Oooh, Sansa and the Hound. This should be interesting. I don’t ship SanSan in the slightest, but I always did like their dynamic

“Broken in rough”? Really? *sighs and rolls eyes* That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one

Okay, so just to be clear, the show basically just said that it’s a good thing that Sansa was abused all those years, ergo implying that – on some level – someone who’s been abused should be grateful to their abusers. *flings confetti listlessly* Quality writing, everyone. From the minds of D&D

“With sentiments like that, it baffles me how there hasn’t been a petition to fire D&D yet.” – My Wonderful Dad; a man who gets it, who I will forever love and forever stan

Ugh. Well, that scene was a train wreck. Time to try and get back on course

(sadly, that’s become my motto for most of these episodes recently)

Oh, good. Gendrya. Save me, Gendrya

And of-fricking-course she’s in BAMF Arya mode. Because when is she not anymore? *groans in annoyance*

Honestly, why do writers feel compelled to turn every single female warrior into variations of smug ninjas? I mean, is it too much to ask for a powerful woman who’s both in-tune with their emotions and a fighter?

(on a side note, that’s why I love Brienne; because she’s both)

I have unpopular opinions. I’m sorry

Gendry… Rivers. Rivers? Seriously?

His surname is WATERS. Every fanfic writer worth their salt knows that

“Please tell me Joe Dempsie accidentally got the line wrong and that D&D didn’t actually write the wrong surname into the script.” – My Wonderful Brother

“To echo what you told me last week, you’re asking for waaay too much.” – My Wonderful Dad

Anyway, let’s try to get back on track, shall we?

Tip #1 for using a fork, Gendry: Stick ‘em with the pointy end

This has to be the dorkiest proposal of all time, and I love it

… yeah, I knew she was going to reject him. But, hey, the score’s still pretty

*heartbreak level: 1000*

Ah, Brienne, I missed you… even though it’s only been a few minutes since I last saw you, but I digress

So, moment of truth: I’m in love with Oathkeeper, Brienne’s sword. Like, unnaturally so. I would fricking marry that sword, and regret absolutely nothing

*instantly loses all followers because I’m crazy*

Ah, Jaime, I missed you, too… even though, again, it’s only been a few minutes

Okay, series, so Jaime shows up at Brienne’s door significantly more disheveled and drunk than he was earlier, and you just expect me not to question how he came to be that way? Nice try, HBO. I know you have footage of him pacing and drinking in the hallway like a nervous wreck until he finally mustered the courage to knock. Release it

………… Yep, nothing like casually taking off your clothing with a lame excuse like “it’s hot in here” to set the mood. Sheesh, Jaime. You’re so awkward you’re making me cry

(on the other hand, to everyone who told me he’d be suave-as-suave can be when trying to flirt… I win. Prepare to part with your money)

Even when these two are going back-and-forth in flirtations, they’re still arguing like an old married couple. I love it

Hey, Mr. I-Hate-the-North? Yeah, sorry to be the breaker of bad news, but you’ve hardly stopped smiling since you got here. So, don’t give me that

Don’t know why, but Jaime admitting he doesn’t want things growing on him kind of breaks my heart…

… As does Brienne seeming surprised that Jaime sounds jealous of Tormund. Seriously, these idiots are going to kill me

And again with the “hot in here” excuse. Really, Jaime needs to get some flirting tips from Tyrion

These. Two. Dorks. That is all

Like, Jaime has no chill, and no idea what he’s doing despite being the, erm, “experienced one”. And Brienne is so rough-around-the-edges but so fricking gentle, too, I just… ah! These two will be the death of me, seriously…

On another note, I’ve been paying so much attention to how adorkable these two are that my mind didn’t register what was actually happening until right now and………… *screams and squeals like a group of pigs*

“OH MY GOSH, IT’S HAPPENING!!! STAY CALM!!! STAY FRICKING CALM!!!” – Me to Me, clearly not heeding my own advice

*meltdown intensifies*

(*briefly notices that D&D didn’t give Brienne her scars from fighting a bear but opts to ignore it for now*)

*meltdown seriously intensifies because, aside from Jygritte/Jongritte, this is my fricking OTP and I’m going to enjoy it, because, dang it, I’ve earned it after S7… and the last episode*

(#still salty about squinting)

Brienne looks so darn majestic and Jaime looks like a lost little puppy and I just… Really, it’d be sort of hilarious if it weren’t so cute

AND THERE’S THE KISS!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!! I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS SINCE SEASON 3!!!!!!!

(random note, but I love how it’s sloppy and awkward. It’s believable, and it’s sweet, imo)

“WELL IT’S ABOUT DARN TIME!!!!” – My Wonderful Dad, who just jumped out of his seat to cheer

“NEVER STOP!!! NEVER. FRICKING. STOP!!!” – My Wonderful Brother, who’s also abandoned his seat to cheer

I love them so much. Bless them

I love everything right now, honestly

OH COME ON, SERIOUSLY?! NOT NOW, DANY!!! NOT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

My Wonderful Dad: *turns the tv on pause* “Nice try, Dany, but we’re celebrating first!”

Which is why I’m now typing away while eating a giant ice cream sundae made by my wonderful Dad, bingeing on excess candy, and drinking a liter of pineapple soda as both he and my wonderful Brother dance around to “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” blasting on the laptop

Can you believe we’re all completely sober? Because we are, we’re just nuts

I really adore my family

*twenty minutes later*

“Okay, party’s over. Time to suffer through Dany.” – My Wonderful Dad

“Daddy, the party will never be over. Even if Dany is present.” – My Wonderful Brother (huh, and I always thought he was a cynic)

Dany: “Are you drunk?” // Jon: *stumbles in response* // Dany: Oh, good, time to manipulate you

Honestly, this woman reminds me of Cersei more and more every time I see her, but with none of the charm

Ewww. No. Stop kissing. Stop kissing this instant

Oh, thank goodness

(can’t believe my OTP’s scene got cut off for my NOTP’s scene. Yes, I’m petty. Sue me)

Oh, brother. She’s really complaining about how she’s not happy? Like: Yes, Jon, your entire life was a lie, but let’s make it all about me, shall we? Give me a break

I mean, okay, you’re upset. That’s fine. But how about adding an “I can’t imagine how you must feel” or “it must be even worse for you” to the end of your sentence to at least show you care? That’s just relationship 101, honey

Sheesh. And I thought I was self-centered

So, does anyone else notice that Kit is acting oddly akin to how he did in that scene with Jon and Littlefinger? The little sighs and the head motion and all? Or is it just me?

“Kit’s kind of acting like he did in that scene with Jon and Littlefinger in the crypts.” – My Wonderful Brother, confirming my thoughts

Well, congratulations, Dany. Now you know how Viserys felt in S1. Don’t think that’s a good thing, though…

Ugh. Okay, so Jon and his whole “you’re my queen” schtick is annoying as all heck, but I can’t deny that it’s pulling at my heartstrings. Whether political!Jon is real or not (and I’m sure by the time I post this, so many of my wonderful mutual will have made new posts explaining how it is), the sheer desperation in the guy’s voice is horrible. It’s not the voice of a man in love, or a man who would do anything for his SO. It’s the voice of a man who’s terrified, who’s trying to do everything in his power to keep the peace, who would do anything to keep the people he truly loves safe. And – political!Jon or not – to see someone who we’ve known and watched grow since the start of the series be broken down to such a pitiful extent is heartbreaking

I mean, the guy’s on his knees claiming that he doesn’t know what else she wants from him, and, instead of comforting him or trying to work things through with him, she takes his face in her hands and tries to swear him to secrecy? To swear his “brother” and his best friend to secrecy? How can anyone ship this?! How?!

And to top it off,  her telling him to never tell anyone who he really is has to hit hard even on a personal level, too; given that his greatest insecurity in life has always been finding out who he really is, and if there’s anywhere where he really belongs. But, then again, I wouldn’t expect Day to know that, considering the guy never reveals anything personal about himself to her! But, no, they’re sooooooo in love. How adorbs uwu

No, Jon, don’t just tell Sansa and Arya. Pick them up and run away with them. Take Bran, too. Take all the redeemable characters and hightail it out of this terrible relationship and show and never look back

(it would be so ideal, if not for the fact that there must there always be a Stark in Winterfell)

Oh, nice victim-blaming there, Dany. You’re right, though. Sansa’s not the girl Jon grew up with. She’s better

Funny how Dany’s tears magically disappear the moment she thinks she’s getting what she wants

Wow, would you look at that. Dany trying to cut Jon off from his family, and giving him the “me or them” ultimatum. It’s a beautiful parallel to other such great moments, such as Balon telling Theon to choose between the Starks and the Greyjoys in S2, Cersei telling Jaime to choose her and Tywin over Tyrion in S4, and Joffrey forcing Sansa to pick sides between him and her family pretty much throughout the entireties of seasons 1 and 2. I mean, can anyone say life goals?

“So… where am I supposed to call if someone fictional I love is trapped in an abusive relationship?” – My Wonderful Dad

On a happier note, my OTP is together. I’m happy

(and maybe I’m wearing my shipping goggles, but Jaime looks like a man who just realized that he’s in love. Fight me)

Now why D&D won’t give me more of them, I’ll never know. Oh, wait… it’s because they hate their fans

Aaaaaand… this might be the tensest war council ever. How will Jon try to keep the peace this time?

Anyone ever notice that people tend to handle Dany like they did Joffrey – which is to say, like you would a petulant child?

And on today’s episode of “Let’s Just Listen to Sansa”, Sansa says something sensible and everyone ignores her… again

Okay, so I can already hear everyone calling for Jon’s head for apparently snapping at Sansa, but just from a different perspective, the look he gave her seems less like someone who’s taking sides, and more like someone trying to keep their family member out of trouble, imo. In fact, it resembles the look my wonderful Brother gives me whenever I get carried away with my big mouth (which is often)

Sansa knows, Brienne. That is all

Yes, Dany. Go get the throne already. But when Cersei kicks your lizard butt, don’t say Sansa didn’t tell you so

Finally! All the Starks together!!! (and, yes, until Jon starts saying “burn them all”, I will continue to view him as a Stark, thank you very much)

And on today’s episode of “Jon Tries to Keep the Peace”, Jon has to realize that he doesn’t need to shoulder everything on his own

Yeah… no offense, Arya, but I don’t really think we needed Dany and her scaly babies all that much. They were pretty much useless in the fight. At least from what I could see…

#still salty about squinting

Oh, boy. Arya saying Dany’s not one of us. I can already hear the D stans screaming how she’s pocket-sized assassin Donald Trump

Awww, Sansa coming to Jon’s emotional aide and assuring him he’s Ned’s child as much as the rest of them are

Awww, Arya coming to Jon’s emotional aide and telling him he’s her brother – just her brother, nothing less

“Darn it, kids! Just hug it out! Hug!!!” – My Wonderful Dad

This is seriously tearing Jon apart inside, and Kit is nailing it with his acting

Yes, you are family. Never forget that *tears up*

So, I kind of wanted Sansa and Arya’s reaction to the news, but since I don’t trust D&D to effectively  write such a powerful scene, I’m okay that we didn’t get it

(fanfic writers, on the other hand – please, work your magic)

I want a spin-off series with Jaime and Tyrion hanging out. I said what I said

Jaime being an awkward dork in love is my aesthetic. Again, I said what I said

It’s probably just me, but the fact that Jaime didn’t fully loosen up with Tyrion until the latter said something snide kind of pulls at my heartstrings. Like, he was fully expecting to get mocked – he was fricking waiting for it, almost – and that look of disbelief when Tyrion said he was happy for him… I just… *curls in a corner and cries*

Can I please just give everyone in Westeros a hug. Please? The Starks (Jon included), the Lannisbros… heck, I’ll even hug Cersei and Dany, why not?

(I’ll hug them with less gusto, though…)

Bless the acting on the show and its actors, who help me forget how much I absolutely detest the writers

And Ramin Djawadi. Bless him, too

And his score

*sighs* Oh, Tyrion. Leave it to you to turn a nice, normal conversation into something dirty

Wait……… what the heck is Bronn doing here? How did he get here? Where did he come from?

Judging by how the Lannisbros are reacting, apparently, I’m not the only one confused

“Great. Now Bronn’s a ninja, too.” – My Wonderful Brother

“I still stand by what I once said: Bronn should’ve been written off in “The Spoils of War”.” – My Wonderful Dad

Tyrion gets punched in the face. Jaime immediately gets to his feet for a fight. As it should be, and I love it

So… remember how I asked who curses more between the Hound and Bronn? I think it’s Bronn, going by this conversation

Bronn: Cersei’s screwed // Jaime: *message checked and read at 9:58pm*

A.k.a. my boy doesn’t care and I’m living for it

Hey, Bronn… kindly refrain from shooting arrows at my problematic child’s head. Thank you

Yep, this is definitely a D&D episode. Even if I didn’t look at the opening credits, I could’ve figured it out. Want to know why? The abundance of manhood jokes

So, what I’m getting is that Bronn basically just came by to see if his ship was confirmed and to negotiate for a castle. Sounds legit

Arya accompanying the Hound on his journey was Beric’s last wish, so that she may continue their legacy of buddy-cop movies

(or, at least, that’s what I’m telling myself to overlook the fact that Arya heading off to tick names off her kill list is a huge step backwards for her character)

Yeah, Dany, stop smiling. Rhaegal still has holes in his wings. If you really loved your “child”, you would let him recover completely before dragging him into a war

Wow, Sansa is really ticked. Like, really, really ticked. I’m expecting some very interesting metas on the subject…

Yes, Tyrion, you’re afraid of Dany. Admit it. There’s no shame in it – I’d be afraid of her too, if I knew she sucked everyone’s purpose and personality out of them just by interacting with them

(which I do, so I guess I’m scared of her, too)

Alright, so I can already hear the Dany stans bashing Sansa for “betraying Jon’s trust”, but she promised not to tell if Jon told her. Bran told her, so therefore, loophole

Also, she’s doing it to protect Jon. A nice little foil to how Dany tried to make Jon keep the secret earlier, knowing full well it would hurt him

And got to love how Sansa adds “someone better” to the end of her statement. She believes in Jon, and not just when it comes to drinking

*sighs* It feels like all the Starklings are leaving, and it saddens me

“When Jon Snow cares more about Rhaegal’s well-being than Dany does, take warning.” – My Wonderful Brother

Tormund: *makes quip about Jon’s weight* // My Wonderful Dad: “You know, now that he mentions it, the guy could stand to eat more. Matter of fact, so could Jaime. And Bran. They all need to go see Hot Pie, stat. Seriously, doesn’t anyone feed these guys?”

“Not since Dany burnt the wagons of food, apparently.” – Me

“And now part of me wants to ship supplies to Westeros.” – My Wonderful Dad, making a joke that I laughed way too much at

Cue my wonderful Brother and I sharing a smile over how protective our wonderful Dad is of his fictional grandchildren

Awwwww… Ghost. My poor baby

Yep, Tormund’s still trying to make Jonmund happen

Jon instinctively knowing Gilly’s pregnant brings me so much joy, for some reason

On another note… GILLY’S PREGNANT! SAM’S GOING TO BE A DAD!

(shout-out to @cantfightfatetoo, who speculated with me. You’re amazing!!!)

Aw!!! Baby Jon and Little Sam!!! My heart…

“I hope it’s a girl”. Yet again, another arrow through my heart – but this one not as joyous. Jon just comes off as so broken down in this episode, I can’t help but feel badly for him . It feels like I’m watching someone trapped in a toxic relationship while the rest of the world keeps moving on around him. It just feels like he’s at his lowest point, imo… even lower than when he came back to life. And that’s just sad

Good thing he still gets the best hugs, though

“WHAT?! REALLY, JON?! YOU’RE JUST GOING TO LEAVE GHOST LIKE THAT?! REALLY?!” – My Wonderful Brother

“TAKE HIM! HE’S WORTH MORE THAN ANY DOOFY DRAGON!!! JUST TAKE THE GOODEST BOY IN ALL OF WESTEROS!!!” – My Wonderful Dad

Okay, so a part of me wants to believe that if Jon did properly say good-bye to Ghost, he’d never again muster the strength to leave Winterfell and his family. Another part of me is really ticked. And another part of me still is annoyed at the fact that this was all to cut down on the CGI budget, most likely… even though it was totally fine to spend the cash on that dragon-riding scene from episode 1

*sighs* ANYWAY…

On the less depressing side, it’s sort of like Jon left his past behind to figure out his future. Ghost, Sam and Gilly, Tormund… they’re all physical manifestations of who he was, and he has to come to terms with who he is, so……….

Nah, frick it. YOU SHOULD’VE SAID GOOD-BYE TO GHOST!!! DARN IT, D&D, LET THE MAN SAY GOOD-BYE TO HIS DIREWOLF!!! LET HIM!!!

#JUSTICE FOR GHOST

*ten minutes later*

So… I’ve calmed down. Now, where were we?

Grey Worm smiled. That definitely means something bad is going to happen

Oh, dear. Tyrion told Varys. Welp, there goes that secret. Good

No, Tyrion. Everything that happened didn’t happen because Lyanna didn’t love Robert back. It happened because Rhaegar was the literal embodiment of Mambo #5

“She’s his aunt.” Thank you, Varys. The last of only two sane people left in Westeros

Tyrion is trying waaaaay too hard to convince himself that Dany’s a good person/a good ruler, and I respect him less for it

“Look, Tyrion. Jaime saw the warning signs with Dany, Varys sees the warning signs with Dany. They both served under Aerys personally. If you were really as clever as you like to boast you are, you’d hear them out.” – My Wonderful Dad

Tyrion, the #1 Dany stan, everyone. *Blackfish voice* I’m disappointed

Say what you will about Dany and her reptile children, but their score is epic. Unfortunately

Oh, shoot! Rhaegal got shot?!

(I mean, I’d read it in the leaks, but I didn’t think it was true…)

So… a dance of dragons 2.0 with just one dragon? I wonder if musical chair rules apply in deciding who gets to ride it

Euron makes the creepiest faces

NOPE. SCRATCH THAT. DANY DOES

Aaaaaaaand… she just left everyone behind. Inspiring

“Did a ship mast just land on Tyrion’s head?” – My Wonderful Dad

“Good. Maybe it’ll knock some sense into him.” – My Wonderful Brother

Grey Worm looking for Missandei is breaking my heart all over again. Especially if the leaks are to be believed

And back in King’s Landing with Cersei, and… ACTUAL VIBRANT CLOTHING OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!

Lena Headey, you are rocking that red

Euron and Cersei still have more chemistry than Jon and Dany, and that’s disturbing

Ah, Qyburn. I had this really weird dream that he and Cersei were a thing, and… well, never mind. I have really weird dreams

(For instance, there was this one time when Jon and Jaime opened up a restaurant called “J&J’s” and all the other characters were their employees. Let’s just say it was chaos)

Soooooo… Cersei’s baby. Is there a baby? Was there ever a baby? Why does she seem all disoriented when the baby’s brought up? Tell me about the baby!!!

Nooooooo. Not Missandei. *resolves not to cry because, dang it, I know I’m going to sob later*

Oh, hi, Dany. Yeah… I’m not in the mood for you right now

Varys, you’re my third favorite character. Congratulations

Man, I knew Varys cared about the people, but I had no idea just how much. Seriously, why has no one made this guy the hand of the king yet?

Oh, yeah, because every person he’s served thus far has either been evil or an idiot. Or, in Dany and Joffrey’s cases, both

…… Dany’s talking about destiny now. First official villain achievement, unlocked

Talking in third person. Second villain achievement, unlocked. All she has to do now is spin a globe… or stroke a map, considering these are medieval-esque times

So, Dany’s going to save the world from tyrants by… becoming a tyrant. Okay, then

Bravo to Emilia Clarke’s acting, though. She’s nailing Dark!Dany

Varys echoing what I said about destiny speeches being in a villain’s wheelhouse. Thank you

(Turns out I really did learn something from binge-watching multiple animes)  

Dany’s convinced she’s here to save us all, a.k.a., she has a savior complex. And yet my extended family laughed at me when I diagnosed her with that during our Thanksgiving get-together. It’s going to be fun to see them again this year

(Now I just need Varys to confirm that Jaime most likely has PTSD, and I’ll be completely vindicated)

No, Tyrion, Jon “bent the knee” because he needed flying, fire-breathing lizards to help him destroy undead popsicles. Not because he wanted to give up his crown for lolz

Any more manhood jokes and I’m going to pull a Tommen right out my bedroom window

Varys is me. Varys has always been me. I love Varys. The end

Okay, I’m starting a petition to get Jaime some new clothes. Who’s with me?

Yipee. Cersei’s winning. And if she wasn’t winning, Dany would be. I. Just. Can’t. Win *bangs head against wall*

Oh, no, Sansa. I still think you’ll have your crack at Cersei. At least, you’d better

No, Jaime. No. I know that look. That’s your “I’m about to do something so ridiculously dumb that no one else would ever dare to do for reasons” look. Don’t even think about doing what you’re thinking of doing

In other news, has anyone else ever noticed how the guy seems to age about twenty years whenever Cersei's in the picture (or mentioned)? Just saying…

Brienne has super-hearing. Take that, wights from the last episode who could hear droplets of blood

Jaime, no. What are you doing, you idiot…

Awwww, Brienne. The way she just straight up takes his face in her hands and tells him how much she believes in him… it’s just… *tears up*

And the way he looks at her like he wants to believe her even if he doesn’t fully believe it himself… I mean…

(Don’t even try to tell me that this isn’t a direct parallel to Jon and Dany’s scene before, because I won’t accept it)

No no no no no no no… don’t cry, Brienne. Jaime, listen to her. She loves you, she really does. Don’t make her cry…

Nooooo… the way he holds onto her wrist and strokes it and looks down. I can’t…

Jaime, you know you want to stay. You know you do. So stay

Oh, shoot. There’s that heartless façade he used with Edmure in S6. Oh, no… not against Brienne. Don’t use it against her, no matter what the reason

Yeah, yeah, Cersei’s dandy. You did a lot of terrible things for her. We know. That doesn’t mean we’re just going to accept you leaving

You would’ve killed everyone in Riverrun for Cersei, but you didn’t kill anyone in Riverrun… because of Brienne. So there

“She’s hateful, and so am I.” Yeah, maybe I’m just putting you on a pedestal, pal, but I don’t think that’s entirely true

I mean, you love Tyrion when you could’ve hated him just as much as Cersei and Tywin; you saved a city from being blown to smithereens because you couldn’t just sit by and let innocents burn alive; you jumped into a bear pit with no plan and no defense to save a woman who up until that point hadn’t done much for you except call you by your name; you rode North to fight an army of undead popsicles to protect the people of the Seven Kingdoms – most of whom detest you and would be perfectly happy if you died. So are you hateful? Nope. Bitter, yes. But hateful? Try again. (I mean, you’re, like, the only member of your family who’s never killed anyone on-screen for vengeance. Honestly, for all that you claim to hate, I think the only thing you sincerely hate is yourself)

Ummmm… sorry, what was I saying again?

Honestly, though, this whole scene is just heartbreaking. I mean, Gwen and Nik just nail it. Give them their frickin’ Emmys already

(If they don’t win any, I’ll riot. And, for the love of all things good, give one to Lena Headey, too)

I’m crying my eyes out right now. My wonderful Dad and Brother are crying their eyes out right now. It’s a tearfest

I still have faith in you, my problematic child. But in D&D’s writing… not so much

If they built all this up just to have Jaime die with Cersei I’m seriously going to be ticked

Honestly, out of all the ways I would like to see his ending go, that is at the literal bottom of my list with “burnt alive by Dany”. Jaime deserves better

So does Brienne fight me

Well, I can’t really see straight because I still have tears in my eyes. But I still know Varys looks like a boss

“Umm… Cersei. You have all those scorpions and Drogon’s right there. Why not just shoot him?” – My Wonderful Dad

“Who cares? He’ll probably be written off next week, anyway, for the CGI budget’s sake.” – My Wonderful Brother

So, what I’m getting from this meeting is that the battle for the Iron Throne has come down to the war of the two pyromaniacs. Lovely

Tyrion doesn’t want to see the city burn, yet he’s still rah-rahing for Dany. I have no words

Cersei, once again, doesn’t kill Tyrion when she has the chance. Then again, she hasn’t killed Drogon yet, either, so…

Tyrion claiming Cersei’s not a monster, yet I have such little faith left in his judgement that I don’t believe him

Got to say, red really brings out Cersei’s green eyes and golden hair

(at least one of the Lannisters still has their blond locks)

And… they’re not seriously going to end things like this, right? Right?

And… they did

Just like that, it’s over

So… Missandei’s last word was “Dracarys”. How utterly terrible

And they killed Missandei. Just to further Dany’s plotline. Jorah and Rhaegal and the Dothraki weren’t enough for her to snap, oh, no, they needed to kill Missandei, too

I would rage, but I’m sure there will be plenty of metas already written about how wrong this is by the time I post this, so I won’t bother anyone with my anger

“Screw you, D&D.” – My Wonderful Dad

“Yeah, thanks for ruining everything.” – My Wonderful Brother

I share the same sentiments

They’re lucky their cast is so wonderful, otherwise I’d honestly quit watching

Meanwhile, Dany’s officially on the brink of turning dark. I do wonder what her stans will say to justify things this time

If I had to guess, it’s that she has a good heart. Haven’t heard that one 60,000 times before

Welp, that’s the end of the episode. I miss Bryan Cogman and Dave Hill

Thank you every single actor who made this episode worthwhile. I love you all more than you’ll ever know

I’m going to go eat some more ice cream

[pseudinymous]

Doing Math on the River Styx - 1

Phic Phight / Team Ghost / word count not final

Prompt by Zainymusings:

In an effort to keep Danny from failing out of Casper High and becoming Dan, the ghosts band together to tutor Danny in various subjects (Technus in math, Ghostwriter in Language Arts, etc.) Shenanigans ensue.

Chapter Index: 1 / 2

“I, TECHNUS, GHOST MASTER OF ALL THINGS ELECTRONIC AND BEEPING, COMMAND THE GHOST CHILD TO FIND THE VALUE OF X!”

The Ghostwriter looked vacantly at Technus as if his brains were about to leak out of his ears, and for the first time in his life Danny felt as if he might agree. The three of them had been locked away in this library for all of fifteen minutes and they were already getting on each other’s nerves, but anything to prevent Danny from turning into the dreaded Dan Phantom was worth it. So here they were.

“You can’t just command him to find the value of x, Technus. You actually have to teach,” said the Ghostwriter, somehow keeping his patience. “Not everyone has a way with numbers, you know. He can’t just magic the answer out of thin air.”

Technus stared at him, dumbstruck. “Really? Human children can’t do that?”

“Most people can’t do that,” the Ghostwriter lamented, head within his hands. “Look at him, he’s just staring into that piece of paper as if the world itself is coming to an end. That’s not the look of someone who has clarity on a topic, Nicolai.”

“Fine then, you teach him!”

“Me? Teach math? In what universe? Christ, I’d pass out.”

“Will the both of you just shut up?!” Danny finally yelled, his voice shuddering the non-existent library foundations and sending them both silent. “Maybe I can do this! But we’re never going to find out if you just keep arguing with each other!”

Both ghosts suddenly realised their position in all of this — namely having gotten out of their chairs in the heat of that mildly passionate debate — and retook their seats quickly in their own embarrassment. “Sorry,” muttered the Ghostwriter, quietly. Technus didn’t apologise. What a surprise.

“… So, what part of this equation do you not understand?” said Technus, eventually.

“X,” said Danny, and Writer let out a smirk from the background. “I mean where are you even supposed to get the x from?”

Technus was feeling confident.

“You start with the first part of the equation, then you do the equation in your head, and then you only have x leftover.”

Danny’s head hit the desk. “Are you joking? That doesn’t make any sense at all!”

“He’s right, it doesn’t,” said the Ghostwriter, matter-of-factly. Technus glared at him. “If it’s any consolation, I’d like to use my keyboard to bend reality such that he would learn everything he ever needed to know in an instant, but unfortunately he destroyed it last Christmas.”

“Don’t remind me,” Danny moaned. “I can’t take much more of this, I gotta go home.”

Technus wasn’t having a bar of this. “The value of x is 16! 16!” he yelled, as if that would make his point clearer. “See! Now you can do this type of problem! Now you can find the next value of x!!”

Danny stood up from his chair about as calmly as he could manage. “Thanks, but I think I’d rather just learn the normal way from Lancer. I’m—”

“—What about literature?” the Ghostwriter cut in desperately, after watching his afterlife flash before his eyes. “Math might not be your strong point, but there’s more than just one subject.”

Danny looked at Ghostwriter as if he, too, had as much of a hole in his head as Technus. “Really? And are you gonna be any better at this than the Lord of Electricity over here?”

“I’m legitimately qualified to teach. Unlike the Lord of Electricity over there, as you so aptly put it.”

“… What? Seriously?”

“You don’t honestly think I made any money writing novels, do you?” asked the writer, looking a bit too wry for Danny’s liking. “No one does. I would’ve starved without a side job.”

Technus suddenly stood up. “ACTUALLY HE NEVER PUBLISHED ANY NOVELS, HE—”

A book came out of nowhere and smashed heavily into the back of Technus’s head. Danny watched him arc gracefully through the air, face aghast and twisting as he went, before he was gracelessly plastered all over the wooden library floor. The Ghostwriter’s brow was raised. “Oh,” he said. “How did that ever happen?”

“TELEKINESIS ISN’T FAIR GHOSTWRITER.”

“And why not? You’re perfectly capable yourself.”

“YOU KNOW IT’S ONLY ON TECHNOLOGY! BUT WE’RE STUCK IN THIS PLACE WITH ALL OF YOUR THINGS, YOU—”

A book mysteriously slid off its shelf and landed on straight on top of Technus, striking his head a second time. “Oh, it seems after three decades I’m still having accidents, I’m very sorry about this Nicolai.”

“LIKE HELL YOU ARE!” Technus screeched back. Another book struck him. The Ghostwriter grinned in delight.

“Dude, you’re enjoying that way too much,” said Danny eventually, his eyes wide open. “I thought you didn’t like to fight.” “A series of unfortunate events is not a fight,” said the Ghostwriter. He was far too happy about this situation, and he showed it with two long rows of very sharp serrated teeth. “Shall we say, it’s been a long time coming.”

“But can’t he… I dunno, kill you or something?”

The ghost shrugged. “I don’t know. Can he? Or did he accidentally become part of a pact in which he agreed I wouldn’t come to harm, then act like a monumental prat such that I might like to make every book in this god-forsaken library slide off its shelf and hit him? I suppose we’ll never know.”

… Danny refused to unpack any of that. Technus remained unmoving on the floor as if this might be the best course of action while the Ghostwriter simply stood there, apparently contemplating homicide. This was beyond messed up. But what the heck had he expected when he’d agreed to tutoring sessions in the Ghost Zone?

… Ghostwriter kind of had a point about Technus’s math teaching skills, though.

“Now that we have some peace and quiet,” said Writer, whose teeth were clenched on each of those final descriptors and whose gaze was also fixed precisely on Technus, “Perhaps you could enlighten me as to what you need to study in English class.”

Danny breathed. Maybe they could do this. Maybe it was still possible. “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” he said, staring at the sheet of paper in front him, covered in mathematics so poorly executed it was a wonder it didn’t shift the fabric of space on its own. He swapped it quickly for his English book. “I got to sort of skim it at home, but ghosts kept attacking during Lancer’s lectures.”

The ghost sat down again, slowly. “… Orwell? Very well… A bit dry, but that’s fine. They’re after an analysis essay, I’m guessing?”

“Yeah.”

“Well,” the Ghostwriter began, “Those are reasonably straightforward. All you really have to do is read the question, make something up, and argue it.”

Danny’s eyes narrowed. “Lancer said we shouldn’t make stuff up.”

“Funny how in an analysis on fiction, the writing of which is the very act of making stuff up, you’re asked not to make anything up at all. No, that’s a misconception. What you actually need to do is pretend you’re the author and lie.”

“Lie?”

“About everything,” said the Ghostwriter sagely, tapping his finger on the desk. “You can’t know for sure what was in the author’s head unless they tell you, which is fine, because it means the English teachers don’t know the difference either.”

The little cogs and gears inside Danny’s brain started to fall into place, but it wasn’t a place they’d ever fallen into before. He felt attacked, almost as if stuck in some kind of weird trap, like his fight or flight reflex should be going off. “… That seems pretty suss, why should I even listen to advice like that?”

Ghostwriter seemed almost bored. “You do realise I have a vested interest in not seeing you going insane and killing everyone?”

“Yeah, that seems kind of bad,” Technus chimed in from the floor.

“Even I’m not vindictive enough the jeopardise my own existence.”

Danny turned from his paper and looked from one ghost to the other. Were they... suddenly more tired? “… So…” he began, slowly. “Did Clockwork put you both up to this?”

Technus finally managed to peel himself away from the floorboards. “Came knocking on both our doors. Said we had to do something so that That Future didn’t happen. It’s like, as if you failing classes is tied up in the cosmos to you becoming a mass murderer or something.”

Great. Fantastic. Passing his classes was the one thing Danny didn’t seem able to do, and that was apparently the tightrope that stopped him from becoming an evil megalomaniac who murders his family members and god knows who else. Perfect. Would’ve been nice if Clockwork could’ve given him a heads up about that one before his grades started slipping into the D- range. He stared at his empty English book page and groaned.

“God,” Danny muttered. “We’ve gotta make this work…”

Chapter Index: 1 / 2

[moonshxdows]

book 2 trailer analysis

ill be posting some screencaps of the trailer sometime tomorrow as well so keep an eye out!

AAAAAAAAAAA ITS HERE!!!!!!

okay so a quick rewatch before I go through it frame by frame and just. god im so excited i love this show so much

anyways everything's gonna be under the cut bc its long and spoilery if u havent seen the trailer yet

okay so the opening clip looks like its in a human town. dragang is being chased across the bridge by some angry humans with pitchforks. raylas wearing the human cape. they got caught?

some clips from s1

okay. ezran ellis and zym are outside this white building. its shaped similarly to the star elf buildings we see later on. did they have to sit out some stuff that rayla and callum got to see? or is this like. lujanne's house or something

the fire (?) dragon is coming down on "a town of katolis" that soren is in. im assuming this isnt near the castle and claudia is there but out of frame, so did they get caught up in something on accident or were the dragons drawn to them because of the spell? lujanne recognized it, the dragons might too

wife (sunfire knight)

if my blog wasnt more cool toned that would be my new header oh my god

in the upper left corner of the screen theres a castle. there aren't any human kingdoms that are on the banks of a lava waterfall so is that an elf castle? or is this the place where all the royals got that fire background?

im dumb thats probably a halfway castle and the lava river is the border i forgot they said border over this

fuck off vitriol

elves attacking amaya and her squadron. these are likely the sunfire elves at the border, since amaya is also at the border. the castle in the last shot is probably more of a fortress

wife kicking ass! w her cool ass sword

something i noticed about the sunfire elves, or at least the warriors. the headdresses they wear are actually armor to protect their horns! they also have markings/tattoos like moonshadow elves, but they seem less elaborate (at least on their face)

does this mean horns are as important in all elf races or just sunfire elf races?

opeli ur the only bitch in this house i trust. is viren keeping the missions w the brodigies under wraps or does opeli think that's not enough?

boat! are they on their way to evenere?

awe

star elf bitch there u are u sexy bastard. zi @moonxadia made a fantastic theory on that elf here, but tl;dr that's elarion being shady (as much as ive liked the aaravos theories i dont think thats him)

viren being shady (spell had similar look as star elf from last clip)

RAYLA I MISSED YOU

zym i would die for you

the background to that looks interesting- are they having a big dinner of some sort?

ik other people have said this but that's definetly runaans strike crew from early s1. the very dead strike crew. zombie elves!

also if they touch a hair on aanyas head i Will Cry she looks so small in that throne...

(altho they dont really seem to be attacking her at all?)

okay so i know people have been saying the on fire shot are elves but i really dont think so. none of them have horns or the sunfire headdresses. i think that's a human army

AZYMONDIAS THE FUTURE MOST POWERFUL BEING IN THE WORLD I WOULD TAKE A BULLET FOR YOU IN A HEARTBEAT

(its another moon moth. same one as from earlier in the trailer?)

so in the shot of dragang on The Bird, callum looks really upset. like, seriously upset. this might be part of a joke bc hes holding bait, but im worried

ezran baby boy. hes so worried

zym!!!! i love you!!!!!!!

these pillars look real cool. is this a magic place?

okay so runaans deceased elf crew again, but pre-zombification (or post?) did lujanne summon them? is it a moon elf thing? why are they stars? is it a star elf clearing?

so zoom out, theyre in these... gazebos? made of starlight? nothing to comment it just looks real cool

hey claudia maybe... not.

im very concerned that when claudia said "you take creatures that are born with magic inside and squeeze it out of them" it panned over zym briefly

callum looked concerned so im hoping its a flashback of some sort? but they look like theyre in an elf place... idk. im worried about him this season

i know i said what i said but dark magic claudia is hot

wtf was that thing tho

rayla is suspicious™ (and she should be tbh)

sword fight!! im both excited and scared

callum is having a rough time and i want to hug him

thankfully raylas there

so a lot of people have said this but i do think thats because of harrow, not the dark magic. idk why i think that but. shrug

so i wanna talk about the audio playing over these last few bullets real quick. rayla says they cant trust soren and claudia, followed immediately by lujanne saying "real trust is about accepting the dark parts we will never know" which makes me curious. did brodigies and catch up with dragang while they were still with lujanne? since the group splits sometime during the season

if it is the case im curious how theyre gonna go from hating elves to being in a traveling party with 2 of them and a baby dragon

and if thats not the case, what is lujanne talking about?

wait i just had a really horrible thought what if they lied to win dragang's trust and rayla is the only one that's suspicious

moving on,

rayla and callum both look Real Concerned wtf are they talking about

so it looks like lujanne is leading callum to some Elf Thing; maybe its right before she shows him the star elf ghosts? it does look to be around sunset

DRAGON QUEEN???

even if its not tHATS THE POSTER DRAGON HELLO!!!!

rayla i will never not love you

EZRAN I WILL NEVER NOT LOVE YOU

sarai Hes Not Worth It

im excited about flashbacks though 👀

hello lord voltron. perish.

okay so thats the same fire dragon from earlier, but w its face all cut up. soren was prepared to go sword vs dragon and i think he won

"watch yo fuckin dog bitch" "he dont bite" "yES HE DO"

thats the vibe coming from that wolf/badger thing. also that guy screaming at the cat in his backyard

but fr what is that

thunder kinda looks like voldemort from this angle ngl

okay. okay. dark magic callum is a go

buddy what the FUCK do you think youre doing

ive seen some things saying that he's being controlled but i dont think so. i think he listened to claudia and im very curious to see how this affects his relationship with rayla

i think he was missing being the mage? which is why he tried to learn primal magic from lujanne but failed ultimately

depending on the theory, i wonder how people will spin half-elf!callum for this

i dont actually know if elves can even use dark magic fjnshfk like i assume they can but?? who knows

fire golem?? and who has the sword

my bad theres soren v dragon i thought it was earlier

mr fire dragon sir how the fuck did you lose. you have teeth? claws? wings? presumably fire powers?

AAAAAAAAAA TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!

[kristallioness]

21 Questions about ATLA

I was tagged by @atypicalkataangist. Wow, thanks for including me in this quiz! I've seen others reblog a list of numbered questions similar to these, expecting to receive some asks that they could answer in return. But now I get to do them in one go.

1) Who's your favourite male character?

I'm unoriginal and gonna say it's Aang. Not only because of him being the main character, but also because he was the first boy in the show who I immediately started to like (Sokka was second, Zuko was third in the beginning since he was a villain and I grew to love him more and more along with his character development), the way he balances his carefree, childish personality with his more mature, responsible side, his back story and peaceful culture.. Most importantly, without him, there wouldn't be the second half of such a lovely couple like he and Katara are.

2) Who's your favourite female character?

Katara. She's not only my favourite female character, but favourite character of them all, right from the start and until the end. The moment I saw her I fell in love since she looked really pretty and she wore a braid, just like me. Seeing what a caring, motherly, fierce personality she had (like mine) only fuelled my love for her.

3) What's your favourite quote?

Since Katara's my favourite character, then my first choice would be: "I will never, ever turn my back on people who need me!" Because that's sort of who I am and what I'm like, too. It's almost like a motto that I live by without thinking about it twice. I'm self-sacrificing and try to help my friends whenever they need it and as much as I can. I just remembered another good one, a quote that affected me on a more personal level. I'm pretty sure that only 0.0000000001% of the fandom would choose this one: "I don't care what I look like. I'm not looking for anyone's approval. I know who I am." The best part is, this is something that Toph says to Katara after she's been made fun of for her appearance by a bunch of prissy Upper Ring Earth Kingdom girls. How did this affect me? I started crying when I first saw this scene. Why? Because this was something that I'd been struggling with for years. I'd been bullied for my appearance at school. It used to make me feel worthless, unlovable, alone, probably also the reason why I turned into such a quiet person who doesn't know how to be around real friends. Hearing a blind, tomboyish, badass earthbender say what I needed to hear all along made me understand that it's not true - my appearance does not define my worth or who I am inside.

4) What's your favourite fight?

I knew you answered Katara and Pakku's duel @atypicalkataangist (and that one came to my mind, too, since it is one of my favourites because of reasons), but since I recently rewatched "The Serpent's Pass", I'm gonna pick Aang and Katara beating up that huge serpent. That was some awesome bending teamwork there! I went through all of the episodes in my head, and I gotta say that I also really like the duel between Aang and Zuko in "Bato of the Water Tribe". And one of the first ones where Haru and his father Tyro, along with the rest of the earthbenders, fight their way to freedom in the prison. The ending of that episode always leaves me with such a powerful feeling.

5) What's your favourite episode?

The big finale, "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang". I sobbed practically throughout the entire episode when I first saw it. The soundtrack playing in the end is so beautiful to listen to and it still brings tears to my eyes. This episode concludes everything the show set up in the most unexpected ways possible. I mean, did any of us foresee Zuko being crowned the new Fire Lord (after you watched the first episode)? Did our hearts break into a million pieces when Katara and Aang kissed and became a couple in the end? Enough said.

6) From which nation would you like to be?

I'm not sure whether this is cheating or not, but since the story of ATLA continues in the comics and during Korra's time, I'd really love to be from the United Republic of Nations. I just love how it's a nation of mixed cultures, I am in LOVE with Republic City (as well as its 1920's aesthetic) and the capital reminds me of my own (Tallinn is also near the sea, has a marvellous silhouette, 4 seasons). Or if not, then my choice would definitely be the Water Tribes. I've explained it pretty well under the description of this drawing of mine.

7) Which element would you like to be able to bend and why?

Easy, I'd pick water since my 2nd choice when applying for university 5 years ago was to become a doctor. I'd like to use my healing abilities to cure people and my graceful waterbending to battle bad guys like Katara!

8) Favourite animal in the Avatar Universe?

I'm probably unoriginal, but I'm torn between the sky bison or the dragons. Oh, and the ostrich horses!

9) Who would you like to be your teacher and why?

I'm thinking it could be either Katara, Aang or Zuko, in this exact order. Katara and Aang would both be really supportive and I consider Zuko to be really wise (remember what he said to Korra before departing? he learned so much throughout the years).

10) What was the saddest moment in the show?

I have an entire list of the scenes/moments that made me cry, let me check.. *reads* Which sad moment made me cry the most, I'mma pick that one.. Okay, I can't decide because there are a few, let me name them: * the ones that stand out the most are all 3 finales * when Katara thought that her mother was alive in the swamp * when Aang enters the Avatar State and wants to kill the sandbenders, but Katara doesn't run away and instead grabs his hand and pulls him back down into her embrace and they cry together * Iroh singing the lullaby to his deceased son on his birthday (my parents have always said that one of the worst things a parent can live through is the death of their own child, so when I saw this scene, I understood what they meant and started crying) * Jet's death * Aang unlocking his heart chakra * almost the entirety of "The Awakening" (because everything seemed so hopeless and going the wrong way, when Katara and Hakoda talked), seriously, this is the most depressing episode in my book and that's why I love it so much * Sokka talking to Toph about how he's forgotten what his mother looks like and Katara is the one who's taken her place * when the invasion fleet was defeated on the Day of Black Sun and Katara knelt down beside Aang to comfort him * Zuko and his uncle Iroh's reconciliation and his speech to Team Avatar before they departed

11) What was the most shocking moment in the show?

You answered the same way: Aang getting shot with lightning. It came out of nowhere. When I saw Katara's face full of hope I thought that now they were going to make it since Aang had the power to face the Dai Li as well as Zuko and Azula. In a split second, everything changed and took a turn for the worst.

12) What was the funniest moment in the show?

There are so many good jokes, how do you expect me to pick just one??? Okay, umm.. when Sokka tried to fight against the villagers who believed too much of Aunt Wu's fortunes with logic and rational thinking (I can relate to him, poor Sokka).. How Aang messed up and unintentionally made Katara upset by insulting her instead of giving her a compliment when they were lost in the caves. Or the time Sokka and Katara had to pose as Aang's parents to go to the principal's office after school.

13) What was the most unforgettable moment in the show?

Maybe the whole scene before Zuko's coronation starts, "Peace" playing in the background, we see friends and family reunited, happy, alive. We witness something few of us could've predicted: the last person we ever thought, who went through and learned so much, is crowned the new Fire Lord. It's such a victorious moment and never leaves me without emotion.

14) Which one is your favourite book?

I have a weird system concerning this. Book 1 was sort of like the start of their journey, the world was slowly being built and introduced to us. Book 2 became much more serious, the characters gained more depth and the stakes began to rise. When I thought it couldn't get any better, I was proven horribly wrong. Book 3 became far more emotional than I ever could've imagined. So it's like my love grew with each book, and I kind of love the last one the most for this reason.

15) Who had the greatest character development in the show?

Everybody developed so much, but I'd definitely say it was Zuko. At first, I didn't really care much about him. Just another villain trying to capture someone for his own personal gain, I figured. But that all changed when I saw his back story in "The Storm". I started to look at him from a completely different angle. I began to understand where he came from, why he was doing this. I saw how much he struggled, how many wrongs he committed. The climax was when he faced his own father and told him: "No! I've learned everything! And I've had to learn it on my own. Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history and somehow, the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was! The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation! They don't see our greatness, they hate us! And we deserve it." This is what he learned by spending time as a refugee in the Earth Kingdom, by witnessing firsthand what his nation, what this war was doing to others. And he was determined to set things right by joining Aang and his friends, teaching him firebending and stopping his own homeland from going down this path.

16) What do you love most about Avatar: The Last Airbender?

The story that Bryan and Michael came up with. I have NEVER cried so much, laughed at so many original jokes, heard such gorgeous instrumental music made by Jeremy Zuckerman, the raw emotion behind the voice actors.. every little bit is what makes this story and this series so amazing, fulfilling and perfect.

17) What do you hate most about Avatar: The Last Airbender?

I don't hate anything about the show per se, perhaps more about the way the fandom can act sometimes.

18) With which character do you identify most?

Like I answered in question 2, Katara. Her personality reflects mine the most, we share similar values in life, I love her family (Hakoda and Sokka) because they have such loving relationships with each other (Katara and Hakoda made me emotional several times, and they only had a few scenes together!).

19) Is Avatar: The Last Airbender your favourite cartoon/anime?

Ever since I discovered it, and I think it'll remain as my favourite cartoon for the rest of my life. Nothing can ever impact me as much as Avatar has.

20) Would you want to be the Avatar?

Thinking just how messed up our own world is right now, how my aggressive eastern neighbour has occupied parts of 2 independent countries, how helpless and angry I feel that I can't do anything about it - Y E S. I want to bring peace and balance back to our world, too. And if I had my own loving, supportive partner (like Aang) by my side, I'd do it again in a thousand lifetimes.

21) What's your favourite ship?

I personally ship everything that has been or is currently canon. My OTP is obviously Kataang, though I'm also one of the few friendly multishippers out here. Which means that I don't mind seeing beautiful stuff about Zutara either, for instance. (Seriously, you should check out my tag, there are so many lovely gifsets there, be it romantic or platonic.)

To sum up, thank you once more for tagging me! I'm not gonna tag anyone specific, but if any of you would like to do this, too, then go ahead! It was really fun to reflect back on why I love this show so much.

[blueares]

Ruination Rewrite: Interlude III

A lone figure walks through the remnants of the kiilash village, chains rattling with every step. Around him, the ghosts of the village’s former inhabitants stare silently… All but one. A single vastayan kneels on the ground, struggling in the grasp of his kin.

Ponjaf: “Release me! I am your chief! Are you all siding with that traitor!?”

Thresh: “Oh dear, poor little vasyatan. Betrayed by your son, then by your pack. How delightful.”

Ponjaf: “Grr… I will claim your skull as a trophy!”

Thresh: “Ah yes, your people are so very fond of trophies, aren’t you? I’m rather fond of them myself.”

Thresh raises his lantern. Ponjaf’s eyes widen as he struggles harder.

Ponjaf: “Wait, please! I can still be of use to you! You need my skills to find the fetters!”

Thresh: “The fetters? Hahahaha! There’s only one fetter of interest to me, and she is MY prey. Don’t worry, you’ll meet her soon enough, Chief Ponjaf.”

The lid to Thresh’s lantern opens and its light washes over the old kiilash. The other kiilash quickly retreat as Ponjaf’s soul is imprisoned, his cries of despair still audible until the lantern closes again.

Thresh: “The soul of a vastayan… Such a rare treat. I will take EXPECIALLY good care of you, Chief Ponjaf.”

???: “I see you are enjoying yourself, warden.”

Thresh and the other ghosts all turn around. A massive figure looms over them, and the kiilash quickly fall to their knees.

Thresh: “Ah, my lord. Such a pleasure to see you.”

???: “Do not waste your pretenses with me, warden. I raised that kiilash from death so that he might serve me, not entertain your twisted desires.”

Thresh: “And he has served his purpose, my lord. Thanks to him, you now have a village’s worth of these vastaya at your beck and call. Surely one old tiger is of no consequence now, when the entire pack heeds your command.”

???: “Indeed, the kiilash are now subservient to my every whim, which is more than I can say for you.”

Thresh: “You know I would not betray you, my lord. I seek the king’s downfall, and you alone can make that a reality.”

???: “Indeed. I will bring an end to his pathetic reign, as well as anyone who dares to stand against me. Now come, warden. Our business here is done.”

Thresh: “Indeed. The time of your triumph grows near, my lord. I can hardly wait to witness it for myself…”

You wander the Sentinel base at night alone at night, unable to sleep. Memories of your encounter with Thresh in Kumungu haunt your mind and the Chain Warden’s wicked laughter echo in your ears. You decide to venture outside for some fresh air in the hopes of clearing your head. The sound of the waves and the stars above help to put your mind at ease a little, but then…

Lucian: “Evenin’ Rook.”

“Bah! Stop doing that!”

“Oh… Hello, sir…”

Lucian response 1: “Hmph. You seem even jumpier than usual.”

Lucian response 2: “Well that’s a pretty damn dour response.”

Lucian steps closer and puts a hand on your shoulder.

Lucian: “Look, you’ve been down ever since we got back from the jungle. Can’t say I approve of you wanderin’ off like that, but you got a fetter and brought back a new Sentinel. I figured you’d be happier about gettin’ to play the hero for once, but you were quiet during that whole victory celebration.”

“…”

Lucian: “Rookie, you said it yourself: we’re a team, and that means we’ve gotta trust each other. So come on, what’s eating at you?”

You take a deep breath and look Lucian in the eyes. Ultimately, you agree to tell him how you really acquired the fetter in Kumungu. As you talk, Lucian’s face gets more and more pale.

Lucian: “Thresh… This is serious, Rook. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

“I’m sorry! I really am!”

“I didn’t have a choice! He had me trapped!”

Lucian: “Damn it… This is bad. Really bad. If he’s targeting Senna again…”

“Why would he be targeting Senna?”

“Why does he care if Senna’s a fetter?”

Lucian: “That ain’t your business, Rookie! All I know is: now we HAVE to keep Senna out of the fight. If Thresh and Viego are BOTH hunting her, then…”

“Now you’re the one keeping secrets.”

“What happened to trusting each other?”

Lucian: “…Listen, Rookie. Not a word of this to the others, got it?”

You nod your head and watch as Lucian walks to the coastline, staring out across the sea.

Lucian: “Truth is… Senna’s half-dead. She… Got her soul taken. By Thresh. It was a long time ago, and I spent years huntin’ that bastard across every corner of Runeterra to get her back, but he always managed to slip away. Eventually I tracked him back to the Shadow Isles themselves for one last showdown. I planned to bring Thresh down even if it killed me, and it nearly did…”

Lucian pulls one of his guns from his holster and examines it.

Lucian: “Eventually, I got a clean hit on that lantern of his and set a whole bunch of souls free. One of those souls… Was Senna.”

“So you saved her life.”

“OK, but how did she become a fetter?”

Lucian response 1: “Not just hers. Turns out there was another soul mixed in with Senna’s. Isolde. The Ruined King’s bride. Supposedly, it’s her soul that’s keeping Senna’s body together. If she loses that peace of the queen…”

Lucian response 1: “Turns out Senna already had a piece of Isolde’s soul slumberin’ inside her. I still don’t get it myself, but they’ve been together since Senna was a kid. Now, that ghost queen is the only thing holdin’ Senna’s body and soul together. If that’s taken away, then…”

Lucian falls silent for a time before holstering his gun.

Lucian: “We can’t let that happen, Rookie. I can’t lose her again. I won’t. I know she’s strong and I trust her, but damn it, those years I spent without her were hell. Much as I hate to admit, I almost get where the Ruined King’s comin’ from…”

“We won’t let her be taken, Lucian. Maybe the Relic in Shurima will help.”

“Even if she falls, we have a secret weapon to help revive her…”

Lucian: “What, the thing Thresh told you about? You don’t seriously believe that, do you? A relic that brings back the dead?”

“He seemed pretty determined to stop me from telling you guys about it.”

“I found a scroll in the vaults. I think it might depict the weapon Thresh is talking about.”

Rengar: “A hunter must use every tool at their disposal!”

Lucian: “What the-!? Where did you come from, cat? How long were listening!?”

Rengar: “I’ve heard enough. This Thresh seems like a cunning foe, but arrogant. He enjoys toying with his prey too much, and that is a weakness that can be exploited.”

Lucian: “So you think he meant it? That there’s a weapon in Shurima that can bring back the dead?”

Rengar: “I do not know, but I prowled the sands of Shurima for years. That land has many ancient relics and ruins housing mysterious powers.”

Lucian: “…Alright. We’ll look for this secret weapon, but I don’t wanna drag Senna or any of the others into this, especially if it turns out to be a waste of time. Rookie, get that Wayfinder ready. We’re goin’ to Shurima. Cat, you’re coming with us.”

“Are we sure this a good idea?”

“What will we tell the others?”

Lucian: “I know it’s not a great plan, but… Look, if everything works out, we can be back before sunrise and no one’ll know we were gone. Now, let’s get to the map room and head out. The sooner we find that weapon, the better.”