#once again! nina apologism on the dash!

[saintlesbian]

okay I know I hate Willow but. imma be a lil sad if she actually dies since I was hoping she’d be able to have some kind of relationship with Nina 😅 also nina will go completely insane if Willow dies um.

[metatronhateblog]

As you all know by now

Metatron is sus af. And if you haven't noticed, or you live under a rock (no judgement here) I'm here to add some interesting things I have noticed as someone so obsessed with this show I can only see in the colors and outlines of Good Omens at any given moment.

Fair warning, the only theories or analysies I see are sent to me by my sister, or appear on my dash (and I don't follow many Good Omens blogs that theorize.) So if any of this has been stated or pointed out before, apologies. I'm trapped in tunnel vision mixed with an aching brain.

This one's a doozy and a conglomeration of stuff that I have noticed that I'm not sure actually hold any significance so hang in there, it's worth it.

SO. Let's dive in.

First things first, lots of different theories going around, not sure I believe a lot of them but am fully willing to indulge, and admire the effort people put it. I'm not a huge fan of the 'Metatron poisoned Aziraphale theory' but I have a feeling this post might possibly give those girlies a little 'W.' We'll see, I have various points to touch on.

Something fucked is going on with Metatron. For starters it's very uncomfortable to me, and hits very strangely that no one recognizes him (except Crowley.) Which is so strange because we previously see Michael, Uriel, Gabriel, and Saraqael all in a meeting with the Metratron about....oh maybe ten minutes prior, not to mention Muriel and Crowley were there witnessing it also??? Hello? Why does only Crowley recognize this person that this group of people have seen (Saraqael and Muriel only moments before at the same time as Crowley.)

So how come Crowley is the only one who recognized him??? Sus to me. Any thoughts as to why cause I have none....

But then things to me seem to get a little weirder. I enjoy playing with audio, cutting out background audio and emphasizing little things that might sounds strange to me. And I went through checking all of episode 6 for any weirdly placed miracle noises or waving of hands, and I came up with three things (one of them was actually from episode 5 though).

1.) There's a miracle noise after Aziraphale asks Metatron what they'll be doing in heaven and Metatron responds with 'It's something we call the Second Coming.' This one, with a lot of back tracking and examining other scenes, I've come to the conclusion is simply the elevator being summoned, though I do find it strange to hear the noise yet not see that miracle happen.

2.) In episode 5, during The Ball ™️, Maggie walks up to Nina who is sitting in a chair and offers a hand to dance. Aziraphale, my beloved, is watching so happily and excitedly from the side while holding a tray of hors d'oeuvres. Right when Nina grabs Maggie's hand there's a miracle noise. I'm not sure if it's part of the overall thing Aziraphale has cast over the bookshop, or if it's him from the side and we once again don't see it...(which feels weird) but it's there. And if it is because of the overall miracle cast over the shop then why don't we hear that sound every time something happens that is effected by said miracle. Something is weird about that one to me, but that's not Metatron related sorry. (Here's a screenshot from the exact moment if anyone is wanting to go looking for it.)

And 3.) My big one. This noise is...so unsettling to me. The first time I heard it I flinched. I still cannot figure out if it's part of the soundtrack or if it is a separate noise that segues into the soundtrack or not. But this one. So when Metatron originally enters the bookshop there is obviously a commotion and then once he gets everyone to leave, he looks at Aziraphale and tells him he wants to speak with him or have 'a chinwag' (weirdly Earth term if you ask me) and then offers Aziraphale a coffee who then takes it and sips it blah blah blah we all know that part. But then Metatron says something...weirder. He mentions that he's also consumed things before...which...makes something about him feel all the weirder. He then again asks Aziraphale to chat with him. Aziraphale hesitates and looks to Crowley who is lounging behind him who tells him to go ahead because the 'day can't get any weirder.'

Immediately following that is where I am horribly sus. Aziraphale looks at Metatron who gives him this kind smile and ushers him forward, and once Aziraphale can't see them anymore, Metatron turns a glare onto Crowley, who I'm not sure if we see him acknowledge this sudden cold change.

But that's not the sus part. In my opinion the sus part is the audio. THE MOMENT his demeanor changes to glare at Crowley. We get this little....noise that sounds like a deep kinda dark little twinkle of some sort (and holy shit I'm screaming over this noise because upon checking the official soundtrack the noise is not there) that sounds like magic is happening. And it just. I have listened to the dark way the soundtrack picks up and listened to it through over and over searching for any more signs of that out of place noise and I CAN'T FIND IT. So because I care deeply and am not going to make you people go hunting for this one, I have a screen recording of the audio clip. I kinda took the audio of an actual miracle noise first (I was using it as my reference) and then all the audio surrounding that noise and reduced it, but kept that noise kinda emphasized by not touching it at all. (My apologies now because my editing audio isn't the greatest, I'm no professional, and I did get the first notes of the soundtrack starting in there too.)

HOLY SHIT????? HELLO???? What was that dark little sound there??? I don't know if anyone else has pointed it out but if you have you're amazing and I love you.

BUT WHAT THE FUCK???? I'm sitting here trying to figure out what that strange little audio blip is right there because if I'm correct and when Metatron tells Aziraphale 'the Second Coming' followed by the miracle noise I believe to be summoning the elevator???? Then what is that sinister little???? Almost miracle sounding noise there???? My goodness.

That being said, I did check through the audio in other places, trying to listen real close (and if anyone else is good with audio and can actually find it, then please share I wanna know) and I heard no miracle noises during their kiss scene or when Crowley gets in the Bentley and the Nightingale starts playing. (Disclaimer that could just be because of my hearing loss, so if it is there and you can isolate it, I'd love to hear.) I tried, I searched endlessly to try and help you guys with your theories but I found nothing. I will say though, a bell tolls very frequently in the show when something significant happens and there's a bell toll right as our beloved angelic beings pull away from their kiss.

Now that I've pointed out the strange little audio things I personally have noticed, I want to move on to more colloquial audio and less background noises.

I wanna talk more along the lines of this post by @meatballlady (sorry for tagging you I wanted to give you credit where it's due.)

After seeing this post and doing a rewatch of the show, I have been working more at trying not to make assumptions and trying to think of the ways different things can be taken.

Well the Metatron says something that I think maybe we should focus more on the different things if could mean???

This thing is said (i believe during Aziraphale's retelling of what the Metatron said to him) but also right after another one of those moments of misinterpreting the meaning of what someone's being said. This happens after Muriel interprets Crowley's 'Us time' to include them.

The line I'm thinking of here is

"I've been idling back on a number of your...previous exploits, and I've seen that in quite a few of them you've formed a de facto partnership with the Demon Crowley. Now if you wanted to work with him again, that might be considered irregular, but it would certainly be within your jurisdiction to restore your friend...Crowley...to full angelic status."

Holy shit there's a lot to unpack in that, both for Aziraphale and us. this whole thing could be interpreted multiple ways, I think, and that's why I've included this whole quote rather than just the specific line. It's a lot said in one go with multiple things that are....worded interesting. For a start.

Exploits -

Several different meanings both in the words form as a verb and a noun, and Metatron puts an emphasis on 'previous exploits.' So how is he using the word? Noun meaning bold and daring? Probably not a software tool. What about a verb? 'derive benefit from' is an interesting way to put it. 'Use a situation or person in an unfair or selfish way.' There's plenty of options here. And to say that he is using one specific meaning of the word would be assuming that you know for sure what he's saying. And when it comes down to it, we don't. After all doesn't this season play a lot with the misinterpreting of what someone is saying?

Let's continue.

de facto partnership - is technically an informal arrangement generally for business, formed by two or more parties.

Which is cool, but that's not the emphasized word here. The word Metatron seems to hang on is 'partnership.'

Partnership -

At this point it feels like an almost sterile way to talk about their very clear relationship together. But strange that he hesitates on the word.

The thing I really wanna talk about is

"...restore your friend...Crowley...to full angelic status."

Restore -

Now everyone, Aziraphale included seemed to interpret this as 'reinstate' your friend Crowley. And again it would be very presumptuous to think that it could ONLY mean giving Crowley a position in Heaven next to Aziraphale.

One of those meanings in there says something along the lines of 'to return it to its original condition.' And we all immediately go 'well that would be an angel of course.' But we forget to take the time to realize that...as an angel, Crowley wasn't a demon. He didn't have all the memories and experiences as such. In fact, it feels hinted at throughout this season that Crowley doesn't have all his memory from his time as an angel. And who's to say that if he was restored to angelic status that wouldn't mean wiping him of his memory of his time on Earth? Who's to say that the Metatron isn't implying here that this is another way to make Aziraphale compliant while also keeping him separated from Crowley.

We all know as a team those two will 'raise Earth' for lack of a better term against Heaven and Hell to prevent Armageddon. They are their own side. And I think Metatron knows he has no chance of the Second Coming if those two are still working together.

Who's to say that Metatron wouldn't put limitations or a status quo on the allowances of Crowley returning to Heaven. He can't ensure that Crowley wouldn't cause problems, he can't ensure his trust.

Sorry if all of this has already been said and pointed out, but I personally haven't seen any of it and needed to get it off my chest before I exploded.

[fluffmugger]

RIGHT

*Slams hands on balcony railing* I  AM GONNA SAY THIS HERE RATHER THAN SHIT UP SOME POOR REBLOG THAT CROSSES MY DASH AND I’M GONNA SAY IT LOUD.

Apologies as it will land on the public tags, but I’m tagging stuff as Good Omens 2 as some followers are blocking the tag until they catch up. I PERSONALLY FUCKING HATE THE DRUGGED COFFEE THEORY AND I FUCKING HATE THE OMELAS THEORY AND HERE’S WHY (Brought to you by 3/4ths a bottle of baileys)

1) Drugged  coffee to ensure Aziraphale’s compliance resulting in him deciding to go with the Metatron completely destroys his agency.  It’s a BAD plot contrivance that offers a piss-easy out and I ain’t having it.  The dude fucked up of his own accord. Accept it. Was the coffee a tactic? absolutely.  Just in case you missed the whole shaming in the first season of how Aziraphale polluted himself,  they went out of their way to reinforce a major schism between the forces of heaven and hell and Aziraphale and Crowley : They do not imbibe human food or drink.  It’s gauche at best.  There’s repeated moments with Muriel refusing a drink, Gabriel losing his shit when he finally tries hot chocolate for the first time, it’s presented as an actual temptation by Crowley to Aziraphale (and boy oh boy did he take after that shit like a disgraced vestal virgin at a bacchanal) and even in flashbacks we see Beez and Gabs, even while cheerfully violating every other unspoken rule that they literally tried to melt Aziraphale and Crowley for refusing to drink a beer and eat a bag of crisps.   And all of a sudden the literal voice of god rocks up with an incredibly bougie coffee - that he’s clearly ordered before given how thoughtlessly he rattled it off  - going “yeah man, I drink this shit all the time, it’s awesome, we’ve changed, we’re cool, come join the gang az”. Whether its a manipulation tactic or a genuine attempt to show good faith in an attempt to change remains to be seen, but drugging it?  Fuck offffffffffffff

2) OMELAS OMG Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach!!!!   Ok.  What’s the point of that.

Honestly. What. Would. Be. The. Fucking. Point.   We are literally discussing biblical heaven here, not a sociopolitical commentary on capitalism.  It doesn't run on someone literally being continuously shat on (sit down catholics), the only figure who fits that messianic role - and I use the term messianic very deliberately - is friggin’ christ if you’re a christian and the Passion’s been and gone my bitches. So what would be the point of it? Oh no, Aziraphale the lamb to slaughter! Oh my bby~ Oh no! Crowley must rescue him!!!  NO.  Again, it’s a wipe of agency and it frames Aziraphale as this agentless silly thing NOT TO MENTION that whole trope would rely on Crowley once again slavishly running to rescue him and after the shit that went down in s2 ep6?  No.  That shit’s not romantic, it’s toxic.  It’s the same crap Nina just got out of.   It might work in a fanfic but in S3 it would just be shit storytelling.

Thus concludes my rant, I am now hurling my baileys bottle into the front yard and breaking up an overexcited cat fight in the loungeroom.

[tamales78]

Us? Offenderman X reader: Splendorman X reader pt: 2

This is part two of the You’re mine! Splendorman X reader SMUT. However, this well focus on Offenderman and the readers best friend (again see part 1 to understand)

(Spl/g) = Splendors girlfriend

(Sl/g)=Slender girlfriend [Part three might be for her. Who knows? ;) ]

Its been a few weeks since (Y/n) fought with Offender. She was in her bed going through her Instagram, then she gets to her ex’s profile

She used to date Jeff, but broke up with him as she found out he was sleeping with Nina. She has been sad, and really down. Her friend (Spl/g) knew that, so she went to her place.

“(Y/n)! Where are you?” Her friend yells as she enters her place.

“Up here!” She yells from her bed.

(Spl/g) walks up the stairs and finds (Y/n) laying down in her bed. (Spl/g) sighs and sits next to her.

“How are you doing?”

“Well, I and Offender fought and my ex is flaunting the girl he cheated on me with. Take a guess.”

“*sigh* Come on, (Y/n). One laying down and looking at that won’t help. Two...what did you two fight about?”

(Y/n) was about to speak but then she remembered what he and she had told one another. She tears up and quickly wipes them off. Her friend hugs and comforts her.

“Shhh, it’s okay. Look, if you want we can go out. Plus, don’t you think it will be fun to have a fling?~”

“*giggle* Thanks, (Spl/g).”

“No problem, bestie.”

Offenderman P.O.V

Offender was out at the bar....drinking.

‘I’m a fucking bastard.’ Was all he thought as he was remembering his fight with (Y/n).

He didn’t mean all those words. It’s just....

He loves her. And he has loved her since he can remember. He was just really pissed off that she was seeing that bastard...Jeff, and that he hadn’t valued her. Not to mention, he had a HUGE fight with his brothers. That was before he tried to seduce (Spl/g). First, he had a fight with Slender and Trender, then with Splendor, and now with the woman he loves.

He hasn’t even went back ANYWHERE near them. 

He takes out his phone and goes through a pic of him with her. He sighs and goes out to take those thoughts out of his mind.

At the club

(Y/n) and (Spl/g) enter the club and go for some drinks. (Y/n) was still a bit down, but let me tell you as soon as alcohol enter her system... SHE WENT ALL OUT!

She and her friend went to the dance floor and instantly got men flirting with them, however (Spl/g) was not intersted since she was already seeing Splendor. 

(Y/n) was dancing when she felt some arms be wrapped around her ass. She gives a fuck and the guy wraps his arm around her waist, and even starts getting closer to her neck.

“What a beautiful rose you are, beautiful.~”

That voice...

(Y/n) turns around and realizes the men was Offender! They both look at one another and clearly he too didn’t know it was her.

“(Y-Y/n)...?!”

“O-Offender?!”

They look at one another and she dashes to the bathroom. Once she gets there, she hears vomiting, she goes to check it out and finds (Spl/g).

“(Spl/g)?”

Her friend turns and wipes the liquid off of her mouth.

“Oh, sorry.” She says getting up and going to the sink.

“Are you okay?”

(Spl/g) looks down and (Y/n) approaches her. She was upset cause of what just happened with Offender, but now all she worried about was about (Spl/g).

“*sigh* So, remember what happened the other time?”

“You mean the time Splendor hit Offender and threatened to leave him with no hands?” She says nearly laughing.

“Mhm.”

“What about that time?”

“Well, Splendor and I...”

“You did the dirty? Oh, fucks sake (Spl/g) its alright. Its normal to do that. Shit, even (Sl/g) does it with Slendie!”

“Its not that! It’s...*sigh* I’m  pregnant!”

(Y/n) was left stunned. 

“Well, um....was the...um...you know...baby planned?”

She nods and sighs.

“Look, you’re the first one other than Splendor and I that knows.”

“Wait! So you have known for a while?!”

“Yes, I’m so sorry. It’s just that I and Splendor were planning on telling all of you next week during the party.” She says nearly tearing up.

“H-Hey, don’t worry it’s okay. There’s no need for you to apologize, (Spl/g). I’m...I’m just happy for you, you’re going to have a baby!” (Y/n) says cheering (Spl/g) up.

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

(Y/n) gets home after dropping (Spl/g) off at her place. She drops her bag on her couch and starts removing her clothes and shoes. She enters her bedroom in her underwear and is shocked to find Offender!

“W-What the fuck?!”

He turns around and quickly looks away as he sees that (Y/n) was wearing only her underwear.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” She says reaching for a blanket.

“L-Look I just came to talk, (Y/n).” He says looking down.

“Well?”

“Huh?”

“Leave my bedroom! I literally need to change!”

“I will only if you talk.” He says smirking and teleporting closer to her.

(Y/n) glares at him, and grits her teeth, that’s when she starts crying.

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

She and Offender used to be good friends. Want to go talk? He was there. Some guy catcalls and/or touches her? He’s there kicking ass. Someone to cheer you up? He was there! The point was they were both always there for one another.

However, that all changed when (Y/n) started dating Jeff. Offender stopped calling, or even seeing her! She tried contacting him, but nope. He wouldn’t answer. Next thing she knew he was back at his old ways. Getting drunk and fucking random chicks. Not only that, but he also started being a full-on asshole! Eventually, one time she went to his place and only found him with a random prostitute. She wanted to help him, but he just pushed her away from him, and blamed her.

“Please! Offender, please tell me what’s wrong?!!” She says crying.

“None. Of. YOUR FUCKING BUISNESS! JUST LET ME BE!”

She teared up and left. Then, Jeff cheated on her with Nina! Offender, changed a little bit once he found out she and Jeff weren’t together anymore.

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

Offender places his hand on her cheeks and wipes her tears off.

“(Y/n)...”

“*sniff* Why?” She says her voice breaking.

“Why are you a asshole? WHY DO YOU WANT TO FUCKING SEE OR EVEN TALK TO ME AFTER ALL THAT FUCKING SHIT YOU’VE DONE TO M-”

Offender shuts her up pulling her into a deep kiss. She doesn’t know why, but...she kisses back. 

‘What is she doing? After, all the bullshit he’s done she’s kissing him?’

Just then Offender pulls away and pulls her into a hug. She hears crying and sniffing, making her look up.

He was crying and holding her tight.

“Forgive me. P-Please forgive me, you’re right I was and AM a asshole. It’s just.... I couldn’t help it seeing you with him! It pained and angered me seeing you with that asshole.”

“Offender....so you left cause you were jealous I was dating Jeff?”

“Well...now that you put it that way it does sound pretty stu-”

She kisses him, leaving him stunt and then pulls away.

“You fucking asshole, I’ve loved for so fucking long!” She says hitting his shoulder.

He chuckles at this and pulls her for another kiss.

Next part might be a smut ;)

[roleplcyheaux]

what did kelly do to you that was so terrible that person witnessed?

i’m assuming you mean the person who messaged amanda about me when you said “that person”? truth be told i’m not sure what that person witnessed because i’m not sure who sent that in. i spent almost 4+ years being friends with kelly and in that time span a lot of people came into the fold and left it and i don’t know all their stories. or what they saw in that time. i only know my own story and it’s long and convoluted but i’m gonna share it. before i do though, i want to say this isn’t a call out post. or well, it’s not meant to be one. i’m not a fan of cancel culture and i don’t believe anyone is beyond the point of redemption. 

i’ve forgiven kelly for a lot of the stuff that’s happened between us and i also acknowledge a lot of our problems were because i never was honest with her when she asked if things were alright. for the sake of keeping the peace and not starting drama i never said a lot of things. if anything i enabled her. that’s why i’m compelled to answer this question. it’s not my place to judge whether kelly is a bad person or not. it is my hope that she’ll read this and realize she’s capable of hurting people more than she realizes. it’s my hope that seeing these words come from someone who knew her for years and thought the world of her will make her realize that the stuff that’s being said about her isn’t just coming from bitter, fake woke, negative people who are making things up to make her look bad or evil.

it’s important to note that kelly was one of my best friends in the whole world. both online and off. i was 18/19 when i met her. basically just graduating high school and still impressionable and kelly was there for me a lot through those formative years. she made me feel accepted and loved in a time where i felt anything but due to another group of friends who exiled me for being who i was (a woc who practiced islam). literally for the first year or so of knowing her (and ace, kaisi, whoever else was in our friend group at the time) i was lying about my identity. essentially catfishing them to the point where i’d have a friend i knew irl send snapchats for me. the closer i got to them the more the lie i was living weighed on me. i tried to distance myself from them out of guilt because of it but kelly always reached out and when i finally revealed i was lying and showed them who i really was they accepted me.

they understood! it was as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and i was closer to her than ever cause i knew that since she had been so cool with it, that everyone else would take her lead and be cool with it too. that’s the thing about kelly, she has that effect on people. she’s so sure of herself, confident, full of life and people just follow her lead cause she’s charismatic. i knew that since she accepted me everyone else would and i could live my truth finally. after that i essentially felt indebted to her. i loved her. she was honestly like a sister to me. an older sister i wanted to prove myself to and impress. there were a lot of things throughout the time i was friends with her that could have been considered red flags that i ignored. a lot of things she did and said that didn’t sit right with me that i did nothing about. i always gave kelly the benefit of the doubt because that’s what she had given me. but that changed. there was really one defining moment in our friendship where i had my breaking point but even before then there were things:

she asked me to join a group with her as a twin to her nina dobrev and then got mad at me for plotting with people and began accusing me of trying to compete with her even though she’s the one that asked me to join the group. i immediately apologized for trying to steal her thunder and offered to leave the group. i remember messaging lana about it separately and being upset that kelly compared me to an rper we mutually didnt like at the time and who i thought was trying to compete with me on the dash and copy me.

there was an instance where i told a mutual friend that she ended up wanting to do a plot similar to one kelly and i were planning to do for our ship so we decided not to do it. no big deal right? apparently not cause kelly was furious at me for telling this friend this information for some reason? she made a big deal about it and told me she didn’t like people talking behind her back so then i became terrified of saying anything about her even in passing to someone for fear that she’d be mad at me about it.

i learned recently that she used her closeness to me and our bond to make that friend (the same friend from the bullet above) feel excluded. [SCREENSHOT ONE], [SCREENSHOT TWO]. this is someone who she introduced me to mind you. someone she encouraged me to get along with. she would initiate skype calls and then go silent on us so we would continue chatting, not thinking much of it. then later she would accuse us (only to me) of ignoring her and intentionally leaving her out. i remember apologizing for this even though, once again i had zero idea what i did wrong. i also remember that me & this person started to just call/talk to each other directly instead of in the chat cause we didnt want kelly to be mad at us for getting along. 

after that, kelly made a gc excluding this friend without their knowledge. Kelly asked this friend if everything was okay between them and they responded saying they felt a little shitty because they were being intentionally left out. after that, kelly blew up in the gc. she was so angry she left the gc. at this point, she didn’t know who in the fc had told this person about it and i was so scared that i literally prayed before i could message her to tell her that it was me. That night was so scary to me that i honestly don’t remember how the conversation ended, but we managed to patch things up by the end of it.

I recently found out from said friend that kelly knew it was me all along, which can only mean kelly pretended not to know to test if i’d really tell her or not?

this person eventually just cut me out of their life all together simply to avoid kelly. which meant i ended up losing someone who was becoming a really good friend. [SCREENSHOT THREE]. 

one time there was a plot involving my character’s family member. a plot, which was kelly’s idea, where ace’s muse would die. he was my muse’s twin brother. this plot was huge and i started trying to plan the aftermath cause my character would obviously be affected. only the closer it got to the plot happening they kept changing what would happen. one day he would for sure die. the next he wasn’t going to. etc. when it was set in stone he was gonna die i began plotting with other people based on this huge event that was going to happen

but then last minute they changed their minds and he wasn’t going to die but be in a coma. i don’t remember what my reaction was really but kelly didn’t like it and she messaged me angrily accusing me of trying to make everything about my muse and make ace feel bad about not wanting to kill her character. she said something about how i already had all these other plots and i was being selfish. i apologized and explained i was more than okay with micah living and that i just was upset cause i already planned things in advance but i could easily alter stuff to fit the new plot. at the end of that conversation i think i was more upset about how she approached me about the situation than the situation itself.

that’s something that can be said about all of the situations above. it was never what kelly was upset about that made me feel shitty. it was how she chose to talk to me about it. constantly it felt like when she came to me with an issue she was having that she’d either use ace against me to make me feel like not one, but two of my closest friends were mad at me or she’d come in with an energy where it felt like i was guilty until proven innocent. it wasn’t a conversation between friends trying to solve a problem. it was like defending yourself to a judge until the judge decided that you weren’t at fault or at the very least gave them the answers they wanted from you.

none of this stuff is really in order and i can’t be sure when this incident occurred but kelly apparently said horrible things about me and our friend to a person she invited to join a group we were all admining together. i didn’t find out about this until literally today after i already started answering this ask. [SCREENSHOT FOUR], [SCREENSHOT FIVE], [SCREENSHOT SIX]

i also witnessed kelly be unfairly judgmental over someone who joined one of our groups as her wanted connection. the closer i got to this person the more critical kelly grew of her and how she played the character. to the point where the girl could feel her hostility and constantly sent me messages inquiring what she had done wrong to make kelly hate her. [SCREENSHOT SEVEN]

eventually i decided to open a group with this person, lana, and another girl i’d gotten close to toward the end of the group i was admining with kelly & ace. 

this is what led to my breaking point. friends have disagreements. they have fights. and everything up until that point i easily got over because we always managed to resolve the issue and see where the other was coming from. but this fight wasn’t like the others. i had never ever in my life ever felt so hopeless and like nothing i could say would calm her down or make her see things from my side. she came in guns blazing in a way i’d never witnessed before. to the point where i literally got sick and threw up. all while being on a call with my fellow admins who were lost at what to do to help me. i’ve lived with anxiety my whole life but that night was when i had my first full blown panic attack. [SCREENSHOT EIGHT],[SCREENSHOT NINE].

after that i confided in ace. our mutual close friend. i said something about how i couldn’t understand how she handled when kelly got mad at her like this so well because i was falling part. i apologized for seeing the way kelly treated her and never saying anything about it cause i understood how it felt now. i want to say at this point ace was genuinely trying to comfort me and calm me down. she gave me advice. she said give kelly some time. even though kelly told me that ace was upset/mad at me too ace was being so kind and understanding and hearing me out. then, the scripted flipped. i dont know what was said between her and kelly but suddenly ace was against me as well. i was accused of trying to come inbetween them. and i distinctly remember being called childish for being upset about the fight in the first place which hurt me even more (i would provide ss for this too but i cant find them]. ace unfriended me on skype. i never responded to kelly’s last message. and we didn’t really talk for a year or so. 

we ended up letting bygones be bygones and accepted kelly into the revamp of the exact group she had been mad at me for opening. it was my honest intention to rekindle our friendship and leave everything in the past but i couldn’t go back to seeing kelly the way i used to. i couldn’t help, but feel like everything she said or did was suspicious due to our history. evidently, i wasn’t over what had happened between us and i still let her into my life again because i genuinely wanted to fix things. for stuff to go back to the way it used to be! and for a while we were all really good at pretending like it was but kelly would consistently do stuff that would drain me. mostly it just felt like once again i wasn’t allowed to have friends outside of her. she and ace always found something bad to say about the people lana and i were close to. 

kelly would constantly message me being “worried” about “stepping on toes” even after i would tell her over and over again that these girls had nothing against her. she accused one of sending her anon hate but provided no proof. after opening a group they accused the same girl and our close friend tee (who were both admining with us) of being competitive and bubble rping on the dash even though it had been ONE DAY. 

ace blindsided me one night asking if i was available for a call only to go on a tangent about these new friends. attempting to gaslight me by saying i was being “bulldozed” and how they knew i was so sweet and trying to make everyone happy and that these people were “taking advantage of me” it got so overwhelming that i literally sent lana sos messages cause i didnt know what to say or how to react until she joined the call to give me some sort of back up. ultimately that was what made me distance myself. it genuinely felt like even though kelly claimed to have changed we were still having the same problems. her approach was different but underneath the issues were the same. 

i spent a year finding my own path in the rpc instead of following her down hers and when we were reunited it felt like i was expected to fall back into place. to be the same girl who took her at her word and had blind loyalty. when i wasn’t that girl i felt like i was being manipulated into trying to become that girl again. i couldn’t do it anymore so i stopped responding to her messages. i have so many good memories with kelly. so many late night laughs. inside jokes. beautiful muses and plots and characters we created that i still look fondly back on, but i also know that she made me feel helpless, dumb. it messed with my head, made me question my own judgement, and brought out a side of me that i didn’t like. one that was paranoid, anxious, and desperate for her approval. she wasn’t a terrible person to me but sometimes she made me feel terrible and ultimately that’s why we’re not friends

[crazyrandomfucker]

Marichat May Day 23: Confession

Summary:

Someone stole Marinette's chocolates from her secret stash and there are four possible culprits. Who could be the thief?

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

Even before she met Tikki, Marinette used to have a secret stash filled with chocolates she'd snack from time to tiem whenvere she felt really stressed or she was feeling down. After she met Tikki, she had to create another secret stash for Tikki and  warned her several times no to touch Marinette's since she reserved those for her emotional emergencies. Unfortunately, Tikki once mistook the stashs and ate something from Marinette's, but when she saw her error, she immediately told Marinette and apollogized to her, barely managed to avoid her anger, but even then Tikki understood how serious Marinette was about her sweet and bitter consoling chocolates.

One day, Marinette checked on her own stash to see if any of the cocolates had gone ad to replace the, but instead, she found that someone had emptied half of her stash. She went furious instantly. Tikki, surprised by Marinette's behaviour, went to check what was happenning and saw the stash. She grimaced and turned to Marinette, who was muffling her screams with her giant cat pillow. When Marinette calmed down enough to talk and not shout, she turned to Tikki with a questioning look. Tikkki began to sweat like crazy as she shook her head, hoping that she would believe her. For a moment, Marinette stared intensely Tikki, but then she stormed out of the room without uttering a word.

She got inside Marin's room and went straight towards Tekke. "Tekke, did you eat chocolates from a secret stash in my room?" asks Mariette.

"Uh? I haven't eaten one ounce of chocolate this week" says Tekke. "May I ask why? What happened before? We heard some noise coming from your room".

"Uh-Oh. Don't tell me someone touched your own stash" says Marin.

"YES! Someone dared to eat half of my whole stash!" says Marinette, losing it a bit. "Tikki says she wasn't and Tekke also says the same. I don't know who did it and it's driing me crazy!"

"Alya knows better than to do that and Nina hasn't come for quite some time, so they can't be either" points Marin. "I honestly don't know who could have been. Have you asked dad or maman? Maybe the chcolates had gone bad and they throw it away".

"I haven't yet, but they usually don't go through our things, so it's unlikely" says Marinette. "Anyway, I'll go and ask them".

Just seconds after Marinette leaves, sommeone knocks on Marin's trapdoor and he goes to open it to see who's there. When he opens the trapdoor, Kitty Noire waves her hand at him with a playful smile on her face. Marin gleams as he let her inside his room, happy to see her again on that week. Kitty Noire enters his room happily and sits on Marin's bed, ready to engage a conversation with him like usual while he's also busy doing something and doesn't notice her stealing glances at him.

"How's everything?" asks Kitty Noire. "I heard some noise just now".

"Oh, that was Marinette. Someone snacked on her secret chocolate stash, one she keeps for emotional crisis, and she's now seething with fury" says Marin. "Today she was quite more calm than usually thought".

Kitty Noire audibly gulps. "Oh no" says Kitty in a low voice and staring at the floor.

"Don't tell me it was you" says Marin deadpaning.

"It wasn't me! Well technically" says Kitty Noire defensive. "It was my brother who offered me chocolate from a box he had found over another box".

"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you" says Marin turning around as if Kitty was already gone.

"Please Marin, this is serious" says Kitty worried. "I didn't know that it was hers, or that she value it that much. What can I do?"

"Hm... If you and Chat Noir apologize now, buy her some chocolates as an apollogy and explain her everything before she discovers it was you two... Who knows? Maybe you'll have a chance to survive her anger".

"I'll take that chance. So, see you! THankyoufortellingmeandsorryfornotstayingbutanywaysI'llloveyougoodbye!" says Kitty in a hurry as she climbs up to the trapdoor and leaves in a flash.

"I hope she survives this" says Marin, but then he thinks again about what she said. "Did she just say that she loves me?"

Kitty Noire had never traveled across Paris that fast. She practically was flying as she only touched ground for some miliseconds to impulse herself into the air once more. If normally she needed around fifteen minutes to reach the Dupain-Cheng's household, she did it in five minutes instead. She wuickly detransformed as soon as her feet touched the ground of her room and run downstairs to Adrien's room. She bursts through the door and grabs the shocked boy, shaking him as she repeatedly asks him why like a maniac, without even letting the boy know what was going on. When Adrien manages to react, he pushes her away.

"What's going on sis?!" says Adrien a bit annoyed.

"What's going on?! We've fucked up! That's what's going on! Marinette is going to obliterate us!" exclaims Adrienne.

"WHAT?!" asks Adrien very confused.

"Remember those chocolates you offered to me from Mari's room? Well those where from her secret emotional chocolate stash and she's furious now!" says Adrienne desperate.

"Oh no!" says Adrien realizing his mistake. "What can we do now?!"

"Marin told me that we should go asap to buy her chocolates, explain her and apollogize" says Adrienne. "I think we should also pray for our lives".

"Okay, I'm getting my wallet right now!" says Adrien moving already. "Let's buy her the best chocolates we can find and hope that it will suffice!"

They went out untransformed and dashed as quickly as they could to the nearest confectionery. After a qucik delieration and some help from the clerk assistant, they bought three different packages of chocolate and run away to a deserted alley. They transformed into Chat Noir and Kitty Noire carefully not to be seen and then jumped away, heading towards Marinette's balcony. In the blink of an eye, they were already in front of Marinette's trapdoor, uncertain if they were ready to do this. Building up some courage, Chat Noir knocked thrice on the trapdoor and stepped back, lucklily avoiding the trapdoor almost bursting out when a bloodeyed Marinette open it ten seconds after Chat's knocking.

"Uh... Hello?" says Chat Noir grimacing. "We have a confession to make".

"You, me, down, now" says Marinette dryly and then goes back inside her room.

They comply and stand on their kneels in front of her, postrating to make her know their regret. "Marinette, we ate your chocolate without knowing it was important and we're really really sorry!" says Kitty.

"We bought you some in exchange for the ones we ate and some more to apollogize!" says Chat as he extends his hand without stopping postrating.

Marinette took the bag with the chocolates and opened one of the packages, munching down some of the chocolates. "I am very disappointed with you two! Even if I usually let you eat whatever I have around, it doesn't means that you can take the liberty to go through my stuff and eat my chocolates!" says Marinette clearly angry. "Do you even know how shocked I ws when I saw that half of my chocolates were gone?! Half of them! I use those to calm myself whenever I'm too stressed, too nervous, too angry or too sad! I need those! And now I'm even more stressed because of you two!"

"We're sorry Marinette, we didn't know they were so important to you" says Chat.

"It's not that easy Chat. I suffer a lot of stress, I have depression and my life is a constant producer of anxiety and the one thing I have to help myself was suddenly gone!" says Marinette. "Just so you know, I won't give you anything else to eat until I forget about this and I don't even want you to come in the ext weeks until I can properly myself down!"

"W-We understand" says Kitty Noire as her ears and Chat's fall down.

"Look, I know that maybe I'm exaggerating all of this, but this is something really important for me. You probably don't know but Marin and I have been suffering bullying for years and we've developed some quirks to deal with it. I stress-eat chocolate because it's the only thing that calms me down, just like Marin chews liquorizce and I'm talking about the plant, not the candy" says MArinette eating more chocolates. "Goddamn, this chocolates are the best! But still, I'm very mad at you!"

"D-Do you want more? We felt like we didn't get you enough to apollogize and now I think that's it's not even nearly to be enough for it" says Chat Noir.

"Yes. But you have to understand that I'm not going to change my mind about this. I'm angry at you two and not even this delicious chocolates can make me change my mind" says Marinette eating more. "Where did you say you bought these?"

"At Leonidas, the chocolaterie" says Kitty Noire. "It was the best place to buy you something to apollogize".

"Gods, I think it may be the best chocolaterie in Paris. I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to my supermarket bought chocolates" says Marinette. Now more calm, she sees how scared look Chat Noir and Kitty Noire when looking at her, worried about her not wanting to see them anymore. "Ugh, I really can't stay mad at you two, can I?"

"You can't?" asks Chat Noir hopeful. "I mean- You definitely can"

"No, I can't stand to look at you two making those miserable faces" says Marinette sighing. "Come here you idiots and give me a hug, I forgive you".

Kitty bounces at her and hugs her tightly. "Thank you so much for forgiving us Marinette! I really didn't want you to stay angry at us and never be our friend anymore" says Kitty with one or two tears on the corner of her eyes.

"I'm really sorry for all of this Princess. If only I hadn't opened that boxx!" says Chat hugging Marinette tightly as well while he cried openly.

"It's okay. I forgive you two, so stop crying before I start crying too" says Marinette feeling emotional with some tears on her eyes already.

But they didn't stop crying and Marinette joined them, the three of them crying themselves a river as they let out all of their pent up emotions. From the noise they were making, Marin went over to Mari's room and saw the scene displaying in front of him. Sighing, he smiled happy that the cats and her sisters seemed to still be in a good relationship. He put away the liquorice he was chewing and went over to mediate and console the three weeping teenagers. Minutes later, the three of them were more calm and Marin was more exahusted, he also was back to chew the liquorice stick and Kitty Noire was awfully interested in that, wondering what kind of flavour it had.

"How does that taste?" asks finally Kitty.

"To me? Great. To most people? Disgustingly strong. It basically tastes like the candy liquorice, but ten times more concentrated since it's the raw thing" says Marin.

"Could I have a taste?" asks Kitty curious.

"Are you asking me for an indirect kiss?" asks Marin teasingly.

"Well, maybe I was, but now I don't want to know" says Kitty pouting.

"Kitty, is there something you have to tell us?" asks Marinette playfully.

"Do you perhaps have something to confess?" teases Chat Noir.

"Yes! This!" says as she grabs Marin's face, kisses him and runs away.

"Ah- I- What?" says Marin dumbfounded.

"That was surely a clear confession" says Marinette impressed as Chat rolls in the floor laughing.

[onedayiwillflyfree]

When the Sun Begins to Fall Chapter 6: Brothers

Read the full story here:https://archiveofourown.org/works/21255530/chapters/51332665

Also: I am apologizing in advance for this...

If it was up to Gilbert, he would make small talk against the law. He detested sitting in most formal settings, talking about unimportant topics like sermon or weather. To him, it was a waste of time. But since he wanted to be successful going forward in his career, he had mastered the art of keeping himself active in the conversation without actually caring what is going on. It just so happened to be what he was doing as Rachel Lynde was gossiping to a particularly disheveled Mrs. Barry. 

“Honestly, I still am in disbelief that the Pye’s let Josie go off to study in America. Alone, no less.” Mrs Lynde gabbed as she switched her needle to continue knitting her scarf that was already about five feet long. 

“Yes, quite shocking indeed,” Mrs Barry responded half-heartedly, not looking at all interested in the gossip at this particular moment. She, in truth, looked almost as bad as Diana, her hair falling in strands, each curl frayed and pointing all different directions. Her skirt was covered in the same sludge as Diana’s, but luckily it appeared to have remained intact. Honestly, Gilbert was surprised at how calm she was behaving, half expecting her to have dragged Diana out of here by her ear. But when he caught the glimmer of a single stray tear, he realized she must have been informed of just how gravely ill Anne was. 

She turned to Sebastian, who until now seemed to have gone unnoticed in the conversation, and politely asked how Dellie was doing. “I half expected her to come running down the hall when I heard you come through the door.”

“Ah, me mother decided to teach her how to make apple loaf this morning,” Bash smiled as if the thought amused him. Dellie, who was as smart as Gilbert, strong as Mary, and witty as Bash, had certainly given Hazel Lacroix a run for her money over the last three years. She would often try to scold the young girl only moments before they would break down into a fit of giggles. Throughout the years, she had truly turned into a loving and fun grandma, teaching Dellie all about spices and traditional recipes, and would chase her all about the orchards. It was truly a sight to behold. “She wanted to be here, fighting me tooth and nail to come see Queen Anne, but of course, she needs her rest now. ” Bash peered over to Gilbert sitting beside him on the couch, tension still brewing.

Unfortunately, the pair hadn’t had a moment alone to finish their conversations from the previous evening. Gilbert was woken up, before the sun had even begun to kiss the horizon, when he was pounced on by an over excited three year old, who wanted to introduce him to the farms newest calf. “Gilbur, Gilbur! See Nina, see Nina!” She had chanted all the way out to the barn, where they proceeded to play with the calf until the sun finally decided to wake. However, by then, it was time for Gilbert to greet Doctor Ward and Winifred at the station.

“Well she is very fortunate to have such a...wonderful relationship with...” Mrs. Barry’s voice caught. She couldn’t seem to say her daughters beloved friends name, fearing she might start to cry.

“Anne,” Mrs. Lynde finished for her, as she began pearling the new row. “For Lord's sake, she’s sick, not dead.” Conversation ceased after that, the silence broken only by the sound of Rachel’s needles clacking against one another.

A gentle pair of footsteps sounded down the hall as Marilla stepped through the entrance of the parlor with a tea tray filled with cookies and slices of  Hazel’s apple loaf. Winifred trailed closely behind, anxiously watching as the tray shook with each step. “Miss Cuthbert, I really insist you let me carry this.”

Streaks of tears stained Marilla’s cheeks and her eyes puffed so much, Gilbert was unsure of how she could see two feet in front of her. “Nonsense,” Marilla sniffed. “You are a guest in my household and I will treat you accordingly.” She gently placed the tray down on the table, flipping over each teacup carefully. “Please sit, Miss Rose.”

Winnie hesitated, looking desperate to help in anyway. “Miss Cuthbert, I honestly...” Marilla shot daggers towards the young woman.

“Winnie, I wouldn’t argue with her on this,” Sebastian warned, standing so that she could take her place next to Gilbert. Winnie hesitated only for a moment before she decided the fight wasn’t worth it 

“Very well.” She smoothed her skirt before she settled into the spot next to her fiancé.

Marilla cleared her throat as she picked up the tea pot, the lid rattling from her unsteady hands. Her eyes had begun filling once more as she attempted to pour the tea. Gilbert felt his breath to catch when he noticed daisies elegantly placed within the porcelain. It was the teapot that Marilla had promised to give to Anne for her own parlour one day.  

“This has always been her favorite.” Tears began to stain her cheeks once more as Mrs Lynde exchanged a look with Gilbert. “I figured it may bring her luck...” Her hands were uncontrollable now as Gilbert and Rachel stood.

Gilbert stepped forward, placing a tender hand over top of the sobbing woman. “Marilla, I believe that you forgot the honey. It would taste most wonderful with the apple loaf, would it not?” He slid the pot from her hand, holding it tightly within his own. 

“Yes, honey, of course. How silly of me. I’ll be back in a...” Another sob escaped her lips as Rachel held onto her, slowly guiding her from the room. The room was silent once more, the sound of Marilla’s sobs echoing throughout the house. Gilbert cleared his throat, turning his attention towards the cups and began pouring a fair amount of tea in each, knowing that he had stopped being a guest at Green Gables long ago.

“Mrs. Barry, how do you take your tea?” he asked politely, just loud enough to drown out Marilla’s cries.

“Oh, a little milk, please,” she whispered, tears welling within her own eyes. He did as requested and handed her the cup along with his handkerchief. “Thank you.” 

He smiled, turning back towards the tray where he prepared everyone else’s tea from memory. Winifred a dash of milk and a single cube of sugar, Bash no milk and three sugar cubes, handing them each their cup before filling his own. Silently, he wished he had grown out of his sweet tooth as he plopped six sugar cubes into his tiny cup. Just as he was about to take his seat, Mrs. Lynde returned to the room, waving a hand at him to sit while she prepared her own tea. As she took her seat, Gilbert noticed the sobs had subsided and the room was silent once more.

Each person sipped their tea, no one wanting to speak first until finally, Mrs Lynde took the initiative. “So Winifred...” Winnie straightened, all of her etiquette training making an appearance. Gilbert brought his cup to his lips, only slightly relieved that he wasn’t the one to be addressed. “How have wedding plans be going?” she asked, taking a small sip of her tea.

Gilbert choked, tea spilling from his mouth back into his cup. How could he have completely forgotten once again that he was supposed to be sitting with Winifred’s parents in Charlottetown? The wedding was still nine months away, two weeks after his graduation, but it still continuously slipped his mind. All eyes shot to him as he put down his cup on the table and wiped the corner of his mouth. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Hot.” No one questioned it, despite all of their tea being poured around the same time. The only one who didn’t seem to believe him was Bash, who stared at him just a few seconds longer than necessary.

Winnie smiled at the silliness of her fiancé before turning her attention back to Mrs Lynde. “Truth be told, between all the travel and his studying, we simply haven’t made the time,” she replied politely, taking a small sip from her cup. “We were due to be meeting with my family to discuss florists and possible venues…”

“You’re not gettin’ married here?” Bash interrupted, the women in the room glaring at him. The question had been directed at Gilbert more than Winnie but she answered for both of them.

“Well, it had been considered but we wanted to keep our options open,” she continued calmly. “There is this most lovely church up in Nova Scotia…”

Bash interrupted once more. “Did Gilbert tell you that every person in his family has been married in the orchard for the last seventy five years?” Gilbert glared at his brother, unsure of where these outbursts were coming from. 

“Well, yes he did…” Frustration was creeping into her voice as she peered over to Gilbert looking for support. 

Bash’s eyes met Gilberts, anger simmer behind them. “And you’re okay with breaking that tradition, Blythe?” Gilbert swallowed as all eyes in the room fell to him once more.

“Uh, well if that’s what my bride wants, then yes,” He tried his hardest to hide the disappointment in his voice. Truth was, when Winnie first brought up where they should get married, he had suggested the orchard. But her mother had quickly shot down any thoughts of them getting married in Avonlea, claiming it would be too far for their family to travel. Bash shook his head in disbelief as he sat back in his chair, pulling himself from the conversation.

“Well, I think it is lovely that Gilbert wants to appease her,” Mrs. Barry spoke for the first time, breaking the awkward tension. She continued, addressing Winnie. “You said you were supposed to meet with your parents this weekend?”   

“Well yes, but when we heard about...” her voice trailed off not desiring to bring the tension back into the room. “Well, I phoned them to cancel but they decided to come anyway, so I will be joining Charles on the six forty five train out this evening. My mother is worried we will run out of time.” She giggled, as if the wedding was still years away. “At the moment, I am more worried about Gilbert and his studies.”

“Ah yes of course. And Gilbert how are your studies going? Well, I assume?” Rachel asked, turning towards him.

If you mean getting three hours of sleep an evening and forgetting to eat most days well, then yes, they are going well. He politely replied, “Yes, they’re moving along rather well. The semester at Sorbonne and all the seminars truly helped expand my knowledge. There is still much for me to learn, but that will be ongoing my entire career. Medicine is ever changing and evolving.” He suddenly felt giddy, he was in his element. “Oh, did you know that a man recently discovered an antitoxin for diphtheria? He even won an award for it...” Winnie cleared her throat, pulling Gilbert from his rant to notice Mrs. Barry and Mrs. Lynde looking utterly confused. “Oh, apologies, I tend to ramble...”

“His professor adored his passions,” Winnie cut him off, saving him as she so often did. “Some even offering to keep him at Sorbonne for the rest of his studies.” Gilbert shot a look to Bash, who suddenly seemed to be interested in the conversation again. 

“Well, it seems that Blythe seemed to neglect that in his letters...” Bash mumbled, slowly bringing his cup to his lips.

Winnie laughed stiffly, fearing that she was beginning to say too much. “Oh well, you know Gilbert. Always the humble one.” She looked over to him as he reached forward for his own cup, needing something to ease his anxiety.

“Well he should have every right to boast about himself,” Mrs. Lynde continued, oblivious to all the tension that was somehow building itself back up. “He was the smartest student in all of Avonlea, say of course minus Anne, but he was also known to be the most handsome boy around.”

Mrs. Barry nodded in agreement. “Absolutely, a part of us had always hoped our Diana would catch his eye, but you beat her to it Miss Rose.” Winnie smiled proudly, bringing her cup to her lips.

Gilbert shifted uncomfortably, he despised being spoken about like he wasn’t in the room. He sipped his tea as Mrs. Lynde chuckled lightly to herself. “Why, between the two of you, I suppose you will have the most beautiful children in all of Avonlea.”

Gilbert choked on his tea once more, only this time, he began to wheeze as it shot down the back of his throat during a cough. All four pairs of eyes shot to him once more as he put his cup down on the table, trying to catch his breath. 

“Are you alright?” Winnie whispered to him as he held up his hand. He cleared his throat, feeling some relief.

“Yes, quite,” He managed to whisper before having to clear his throat again. “Apologies.” Winnie smiled, placing her hand gently on top of his in comfort.

Mrs. Lynde stared at the pair stunned. “My apologies if I have spoken out of turn, I simply assumed that the pair of you wanted children.” 

“Well, of course...” he mumbled, unsure of how to finish his answer without creating tension.

Winnie, unaware of the consequences of her words could cause, finished for him. “It’s just that we will not be returning to Avonlea once Gilbert finishes his studies.” 

Oh no. Gilbert’s attention immediately went to Bash. 

“What?!” Bash’s voice boomed, slamming his tea cup on the table beside him, causing everyone in the room to jump. Winnie cast another glance over to Gilbert, biting her lip, realizing she had said too much.  Marilla ran into the room with a jar of honey in her hands, her face a darker shade of red than it had been only a few moments prior.

“What is the meaning of this, Sebastian?” Marilla questioned, looking to anyone for answers, but no one spoke. 

“What do you mean you aren’t returnin’ to Avonlea?” he cried, ignoring Marilla as he rose from his seat. “Nine months, that is what you told me when you left. Nine months and then you would be back in time for harvest.”

Gilbert stood, slowly stepping towards his brother. “Bash...”

Bash was now pacing about the room, trying to not let his temper get the better of him. “But I suppose since you already skipped out on that, I shouldn’t be surprised that you want to skip out on us forever.”

“Bash, if you would let me explain…”

“Why?” Sebastian stopped pacing, looking to his brother accusingly. “You just going to spout more lies?” 

Gilbert winced. “No, I wanted to tell you in person...” 

Bash held up a hand, stopping Gilbert from continuing. “Save it. I need to get back to the farm, our farm.” He turned to leave, stopping only to place a gentle hand on a stunned Marilla’s shoulder. “Apologies for the commotion Miss Marilla, if you need anythin’, don’t hesitate to ask.” He glared over his shoulder. “We’re family after all.” 

“Bash, please,” Gilbert stepped towards him once more, reaching out to stop him but he was too late. He had already made his way to the door, not even stopping to grab his coat before he slammed the door behind him. 

“My…” Rachel held a hand up to her chest. “I never knew Sebastian to have quite a temper.” Mrs. Barry looked on horrified as Marilla threw herself into a chair, confused and exhausted.

Winifred stood, placing a gentle hand on her fiancé’s shoulder. She squeezed it apologetically before she whispered, “Go.” 

Gilbert didn’t hesitate as he ran to the door, stopping only for a moment to grab Sebastian’s coat before leaving behind his fiancé to mull over the whole situation. 

—————

“Bash!” Gilbert called as he sprinted down the path leading away from the house. Bash had already almost made it to the fence, each step filled with purpose. “Sebastian, please!” His voice cracked as Bash continued to ignore him. He continued his pace despite the burning sensation forming in his lungs. When did I get so out of shape? “Stop!”

He caught Bash’s shoulder. Without slowing down, Bash ripped his shoulder from Gilberts grip, attention still focused on the gate that stood ten feet away. Gilbert slowed his pace before stopping fully to catch his breath. “Would you just let me explain?” No response. “I’m your brother, aren’t I?”

Bash halted, hands clasping into fists at his side as he turned to meet Gilbert’s gaze. A mixture of fury and heartbreak played on his face as he spoke, every word dripping with sadness. “I thought you were.” Gilbert thought he saw glistening in the other man's eyes, but he was too far away to tell. “But ever since you left, I don’t know you anymore. And it’s more than you lying to me about when you were coming home.”

“What are you talking about?” Gilbert questioned despite partially knowing what his brother was referring. 

“Oh don’t play dumb with me Blythe,” he stepped closer as he spoke, closing the gap with a few large strides. “When I saw you yesterday I didn’t even realize it was you at first. And it was more than just that stupid hair style of yours, which just so you know, made you look ridiculous.” 

“It makes me look more professional.” Gilbert replied defensively. 

Bash let out a throaty chuckle. “It makes you look like a schmuck and you know it.” Gilbert bit the inside of his cheek, trying to remain calm and keep the anger at bay. Bash smiled, realizing he was dancing on a nerve. He took one more step, squaring his shoulders to Gilbert’s. “And the only reason you are wearing it like is because your rich girl thinks it will help you fit in with her schmuck friends..”

Gilbert’s cheek began to bleed. “Well, if I want to be taken seriously by my peers…”

“Do your peers know you’re an orphaned farm boy?” Bash continued, his anger becoming increasingly apparent. “Or about your black niece who would crawl into bed with you whenever she had a nightmare, because me slipping your mind, well that is forgivable, but Delphine? The Gilbert I knew would be braggin’ about her to anyone who would listen.”

Shame consumed him as he realized Bash was right. Over the last nine months, he had made no mention of his brother or his niece. He felt no shame of them but whenever the topic of family arose, he found himself silent, usually allowing Winnie to answer for him. And when he was alone, he simply mentioned that he was marrying into the Rose family and that was all the information anyone cared to know about him. 

Bash swiped his thumb across his lips, laughing dryly once more as Gilbert fumbled to form words. “And the truth comes out.” Bash laughed once more as he ripped his coat from Gilberts grip, heading on his way once more. 

Gilberts hands formed fists, tensing so tightly that he soon felt the blood drain from them. He was livid. 

“You told me to go, that you supported me.” Gilbert shouted to Bash’s back as he started closing the distance.

“That was before it changed you,” Bash mumbled, not stopping or even giving a glance to Gilbert.

Gilbert ran in front of his brother, forcing him to face him. “You told me we would always be brothers. Why has that changed now that I am trying my damndest to live my dream?

“Oh yeah?” Bash stepped closer, squaring up with Gilbert again. Only this time, Gilbert could feel the rage radiating off of his body. “Lying about your family, using a rich girl for her money and connections...”

Gilbert resisted the urge to punch the smug smile off of Bash’s face. “How dare you. I care for Winnie deeply.”

“But you don’t love her!” Bash screamed. “Anyone with eyes can see that Blythe! And honestly, what you’re doing, it’s just wrong!”

Gilbert exploded, “Just because I actually courted her properly rather than taking her on a couple of walks and then bedding her after two weeks doesn’t mean that I don't care about her!”

Tension hung in the air so thick it could be cut with a knife. Gilberts mouth hung open, in utter disbelief of the words that came from his mouth, unsure if he would ever be able to atone for them. 

Bash’s face was void of emotion as he took wobbly steps away from him. “Bash... I...” Gilbert tried to reach for him, but quickly pulled his hand away as he realized how horrible of an idea that was. He had no idea of where the words had come from, he had never felt that towards his family. Mary… Mary was his sister, the love of his brother’s life… how could he had said such cruel words. What is going on with me?

Gilbert wished Bash would say something, anything to let on what he was feeling at this moment... But no words came. Only prolonged silence.When Gilbert couldn’t take the silence any longer, the words came out in one frantic breath. “Bash, punch me, tackle me. Do something. Say something.” Bash met his eyes, Gilbert saw no rage, no anger. Just sadness. “Bash, I’m so sorry…”

Bash remained silent, glancing up towards Anne’s room as he pondered his response. After a moment, as if he recalled a distant memory, his mournful eyes met Gilberts one final time. “You make her better, then we’ll finish this conversation.” Without waiting for a response, he spun around, slamming the gate of the fence behind him. 

————

Gilbert, despite his worry for Anne, had no intention of returning to the house immediately, knowing he would be bombarded with questions that he wasn’t ready to answer. Instead, he made his way towards the barn. His adrenaline was causing his fingers to twitch and he needed to calm himself before he could be any use to Anne. And he knew just how to do it.

Upon entering the barn, he realized that he had two companions rather than the three he had expected. Jerry must have taken Midnight out in the fields. A loud whiny came from beside him, causing him to jump. “Butterscotch! You have got to stop doing that buddy.”  He reached up, Butterscotch meeting him half way as he nuzzled his nose within Gilberts hand. Instantly his nerves began to calm. Gilbert had missed many things in his time away from Avonlea but other than the people, he most missed being with the horses. “How you been doing?” Butterscotch snorted, desperately trying to convey his frustrations. Gilbert smiled sadly, understanding what the colt was meaning. “Oh, don’t get too upset with Anne, she would much rather be out here with you. What do you say I give you your brush today?” The colts ears perked as Gilbert walked to retrieve the brush, turning back to discover Belle had made her way over, gently nudging her foal out of the way. Gilbert rolled his eyes as he laughed. “Alright jealous, calm down.” Spying a bag of sugar cubes sitting near the stall, he grabbed two, putting one in front of Belles nose. “You’re still my best girl.”   

She seemed content with his praise and offering, taking the cube with a soft snort before walking back over to her corner. His attention turned back to Butterscotch, who now impatiently waiting for his sugar cube. “You get yours after.” He led the young colt out, tied him to the rail and began to run the brush along the horses back, retreating into his thoughts.

What’s wrong with me? My temper… my temper is never uncontrollable. But that is twice today… both with people I care for dearly. Is it… because I’m worried… no, that’s crazy. Anne’s going to be fine. Just fine. Gilbert bit his lip, worry suddenly consuming him. He had only been away from her for a half an hour but he couldn’t stop the feeling in his gut that this wasn’t the worst to come, that she would get much worse before she got better… if she did get better. No you idiot, she will be fine… she will worsen over the next few days… pneumonia works its way through the body fast. Her fever should peak in a couple days. Which means I need to make sure we have enough pain meds to keep her comfortable. Also clean water, rags...

“There you are,” He resisted the urge to jump, not wanting to scare Butterscotch as Diana called from the front entrance of the barn, annoyance dripping from every word. Winnie stood to her left, her hands gently fidgeting.

“What’s wrong? Is Anne okay? Why aren’t you with her?” He dropped the brush beside him, ready to sprint up the stairs if need be but Diana rolled her eyes. 

“Oh, calm down Gilbert.” She entered the barn, Winnie trailing directly behind. “Marilla is with her. She’s as fine as she can be right now.” Sadness crept into her eyes only for a moment before the irritated expression returned. Why is she so angry with me? I haven’t done anything to her... “Anne asked me to have you fetch something for her.” Diana held out her palm. Gilbert stepped forward to see a gold chain with a half locket and a key sitting in her palm. “She said you would know where to find her treasures.” He swallowed hard, taking the key tightly in his hand, knowing exactly where he needed to go.

“It’s a little far…” he mumbled, concerned about traveling that far from her.

Diana’s face softened for the first time, understanding he was just as worried for their friend as she was. “I will stay with her until you get back.” She smiled genuinely, putting some of his worries at ease. “Besides, Winnie hasn’t seen that much of Avonlea, I’m sure she would love to see where you grew up.”

Gilbert considered it, he hadn’t thought about how little he had actually shown Winnie of his home. “Would you like to join me?”

Her face lit up. “That would be lovely.”

———

Even though he had not wanted to be far from Anne, he did find himself relaxing the longer he spent time with his bride to be. Throughout their time in Paris, the pair had learned a great deal about one another and Winnie’s company was always pleasant. Although, at the moment, he did feel bad about dragging her through the mud on their way to the school house.

“Sorry, I didn’t expect it to be this wet.” He apologized for the third time, helping her over yet another large puddle. 

“Gilbert, honestly, stop apologizing.” She jumped over the puddle with elegance, as if she had done this a hundred times before. “A little mud never hurt anyone before.” He smiled as she laced her arm within his once more. “So this is the path Anne used to take every day to get to school?” 

“Mhm,” Gilbert nodded. “Normally Diana and her would meet at the crossroads and walk together. Although, on occasion…” Gilbert’s words trailed off, coming across a clearing that always had given him pause. 

Gilbert had absolutely zero desire to leave his father. None at all. But John Blythe, in his best strict tone, had said that if Gilbert didn’t go to school then he would have to write a five page paper on the symbolisms within Romeo and Juliet. As much as Gilbert enjoyed the play, English had and never would be his strong suit and he preferred to do it as little as possible. So, with the promise from his father that he would stay in bed, he grabbed his favorite scarf and cap before rushing from the door. 

It had been a year since he had lived in Avonlea but the beauty hadn't changed in the least. The leaves were falling from their trees, decorating the ground orange and yellow. The birds were singing soft tunes to one another as they prepared to migrate. It was such a comfort to know that nothing had changed too drastically. 

“Sorry, I truly meant no harm. I…” he heard a quivering voice cry. He turned slightly, trying to find the owner of the voice when his eyes made contact with the back of Billy Andrews, who had grown about five inches since Gilbert last saw him. 

“I’m gonna teach you a lesson, Fido.” His voice came out like poison, each word designed to instill terror into its victim. Even though Gilbert couldn’t see who he was talking to, he knew something had to be done. Billy had a habit of picking on those he deemed unworthy, often making jabs about Gilbert’s dead mother when they were younger. Of course, that was before Gilbert had grown into his harsh jawline and grown a solid ten inches since he left. He quickly made his way over to the pair, just in time to hear the victim tripping and dropping a stack of books on the ground. “You’re a bad dog. Bad little dog.”

“Hey Billy!” Gilbert shouted, causing the bully to pull his attention towards him. Little did he know then that one simple act would change his life forever. 

“Gilbert? Darling? Are you alright?” Winnie asked, pulling him from the memory. 

“Yes, just remembering something.” He smiled, not wanting to worry her. She politely smiled back, concern filling her eyes. They continued their walk, Gilbert making it a point to tell her random memories and facts about Avonlea along the way to help ease her mind. Shortly, they arrived at the simple white schoolhouse. 

Winifred stifled a laugh. “This… this is where you went to school?” 

Gilbert smirked, remembering Winnie grew up in a large cit. “Well, not this exact building, but the same design and concept.”

“What do you mean not this building?” She questioned as they made their towards the steps, stepping over the occasional apple. “Is there more than one?”

Gilbert laughed, picking up a stray apple core that had become a snack for a stray deer. “Well, the school house that I actually attended was set on fire a few weeks before our Queens entrance exam.”

Winnie’s eyes widened in horror. “Why would someone do something so cruel?” 

“Anne,” he said surely, tossing the core far into the fields. Winnie’s eyes were bulging from her head, anxiously awaiting for him to continue. He cleared his throat. “Remember how I told you I was a co-editor of our towns local paper?” She nodded slowly, listening patiently. “Well Anne just so happened to be the other editor, and after a particular act of injustice,” he silently kicked himself whenever he thought about his lack of action the evening of the fair, “she decided to call out not only Avonlea for their small mindedness. At the time, I was furious with her for not consulting with me before she published it...but then I read the article. Truly read it. And honestly, it’s one of the greatest pieces of literature I’ve ever laid my eyes on.” He smiled, thinking back to when he first began to understand what Anne had meant with her words. 

Winnie stared at him, his smile contagious. “Well, I hope for the opportunity to read it then someday.” He could hear in her voice that she genuinely meant it. “I did quite enjoy the stories she would send you while you were away. She has a special way with words.”

Gilbert nodded solemnly, his slight bit of joy disappearing as he remembered why they were there. “She does indeed....” He walked over to a vibrantly painted plant box and pulled out the spare set of keys Anne always kept hidden within it. He slid the key into the door, hesitatingly. It felt wrong entering the schoolhouse without her but she had asked him to fetch her most important possessions, so he took a deep breath and turned the key. 

The door let out a loud creak as it opened. Upon entry, Winifred whispered “Oh my.”

The school house may have looked exactly the same on the outside, even the desks remained in their normal rows on the inside, but Anne had truly turned her classroom into her own sanctuary for learning. Miss Stacey had made learning fun, Anne made it magical. Potted plants lined the walls, each one painted differently by one of her students. Eccentric cloth hung from each of the window tops, embroidered with different equations and the alphabet. Gilbert smiled, remembering when she had asked him to come help her hang them because “even with a chair, I’m still much too short. Otherwise I wouldn’t require your assistance for such a trivial task.”

“This is incredible,” Winifred whispered in disbelief as she took timid steps into the room. Gilbert followed her, looking about the classroom despite having memorized it before he left. 

“When Anne was in the orphanage, she didn’t get the opportunity to go to school,” Gilbert reminisced, walking farther into the room. “And when Mr Philips was our teacher, he wasn’t exactly… great. So she made a promise to herself when we graduated from Queens that she wanted to make it a place for children to fall in love with learning as she had. So when our old teacher, Miss Stacey, told Anne the school was now hers, she tried her best to make her promise come true.” He smiled softly, placing a tender hand on the third desk from the front. How much time had he spent staring at her from his desk when he should have been studying? Remorse stewed within him.

Winnie continued to stare around the room, taking in every detail. “She truly is a special person,” she whispered, eyes falling slowly to Gilbert’s as a smirk crossed her face. “So Mr. Blythe,” her voice flirtatious. “Where did you sit?”

He smiled as he ruffled his curls, walking over to his old desk. “Here.” 

Winifred glided towards him. “So far back? My my, you never cease to surprise me.” She stood within inches from him, sliding her hand down his arm before pulling his arm around her waist. “I took you to be more of a front seat type of man” 

In truth, Gilbert had sat in the front row for the beginning portion of his schooling, as well as his recent years at university. But when he returned from the cross country trip with his father, he had opted to sit a few rows back. He had used the excuse that he wanted to sit with the older boys when in truth, he had quite enjoyed the view from his row. “Well, I most certainly am now.” Returning her smirk, hand still awkwardly placed on her waist. Winnie stood as if she was expecting something, a coy smile designed to tempt him. He gently leaned in, wanting to appease her and placed his lips firmly against hers.

Despite being engaged for a little over two years, they had only kissed a handful of times before. The first being at their engagement party at her mother’s insistence, and then a few stolen in private there after. While he had found himself enjoying them, something felt very odd about them. Like they weren’t kissing for love but instead out of duty. He thought Winnie probably felt the same way, because often she would pull away from him and quickly change topics or insist she needed to go freshen up. 

This kiss was no different. It was short, sweet. No passion behind it. No spark his father had told him he would feel. They pulled away from one another, stealing an awkward glance before he dropped his hand back at his side. He cleared his throat, eyes drifting towards Anne’s office. “I, uh, best go fetch her belongings.” 

“Her treasures.” Winnie corrected, smiling sadly and refusing to meet his eyes. “I’ll give you some time.” His hand gently went to caress her face, to hopefully erase the heartbroken expression from her eyes, but she turned away and made her way towards the exit before he could. 

Gilbert sighed, dread overtaking him. Oh Win, what have we gotten ourselves into? He quickly pushed away the thought, forcing himself to focus on the job at hand. Making his way over to the office, he unlocked door before he gently pushed it open.

The smile returned to his lips as he looked about the familiar room, not a single object out of place. From the bookshelf holding Anne’s ever growing collection of books, to the armchair she had stolen from Gilbert’s bedroom before he left, to the different paintings she had hanging about. He made his way into the room, fingers reaching gingerly to touch the frame surrounding a painting of a sea star.

“So, are you trying to get fired before your first day of teaching?” He joked as he began to memorize every stroke Oqwatnuk and Ka’kwet had carefully painted. It was one of Anne’s farewell gifts, along with allowing Gilbert to study under their medicine woman, before they were forced to relocate once more. 

“Well, the council must simply deal with it.” Anne said matter of factly. “It’s horrible enough that the Globe refuses to publish my article but also that people of Avonlea continue to stand by and watch as children are being ripped from their families.” Anne’s face flushed as it often did when she was passionate about something. Her rage was beginning to boil as Gilbert made his way over to her, making sure to place his hammer out of arm's reach. 

“Hey,” he spoke softly while putting a gentle hand on her shoulder, pulling her attention to him. “We know that Ka’kwet and her family are safe for the time being. And when they are ready to continue the fight, we will be there, right by their sides.” He smiled reassuringly. Avonlea still held a deep hatred of the Mi’kmaq but after Anne had given a passionate speech at graduation, a small group of brave individuals had discovered the errors of their ways and volunteered to help in any way possible. Gilbert included, who had been horrified to hear the details of what was happening to innocent people at the hands of their government. One night the following week, most of their classmates along with a few of the more open minded people of Avonlea met with Aluk and Oqwatnuk to stage a break in and free their daughter and as many others as they could. 

Most of Ka’kwet’s tribe had gone into hiding after that, only allowing a few trusted people to know the location of their new home..Anne breathed deeply, calming herself before she threw herself into a fit. Gilbert was surprised how much she had matured while in Queens, not only in looks but learning to focus her temper, using it only when necessary. “You are absolutely right, Gil. Thank you.” Her eyes slid over to his hand, causing him to pull it away quickly. 

Disappointment crossed Anne’s features as she turned back to her satchel and pulled out a rectangle package. Slowly she began unwrapping a copy of Jane Eyre, kissing it lightly before putting it away in the middle drawer of her desk. He tried to fight a chuckle but he couldn’t help it. Only Anne would kiss a book. She glared at him. “Make yourself useful and hang this up.” She carefully lifted up a mobile of seashells and colored glass. “Right in the center, I want it to catch the light.”

Gilbert smirked, picking up his hammer and grabbing the mobile from her. “Yes, your highness.” Anne rolled her eyes and laughed. As he began to center the hook, he saw from the corner of his eye, Anne pulled a small square book and a yellowed letter out of her bag, running her fingers gently over both of them. “Whatcha got there?” he asked curiously.

Panicking, she threw the objects into the drawer and slammed it shut. “Nothing.”

Gilbert reached up and touched the chandelier, causing the shells to clink together. “Oh Anne-girl, you are a special person indeed.” He stepped closer to the desk when something caught his eye. 

It was the stained letter he had seen her shove into her desk, only this time tiny specks of blood covered the envelope. He hesitantly picked it up, only to discover he recognized the handwriting on the envelope. 

“Make haste sending that love letter Blythe.” Bash had joked with him.

“It’s not a love letter!” 

The letter slid from his fingers as he felt a sob rise in his throat. Swallowing it down as he reached into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet and carefully pulled out a folded piece of paper, stained and worn much like the one he had just dropped. 

“I win...You love Anne!” Sebastian’s voice echoed through his mind as he unfolded the piece of paper he had been carrying around for five years, fingers gently caressing the swirled letters at the top when a single tear fell onto the paper.  

Dear Gilbert.

———

No words had been spoken on their journey back from the schoolhouse, Winnie’s mind appearing to be preoccupied as she looked about the woods. He had wanted to ask what was conflicting her, but he couldn’t seem to find the proper words. So, the pair walked in silence, only stealing occasional glances at one another, eyes never meeting. After the day Gilbert had, he wasn’t sure if he could handle another person being upset with him. I will talk to her when we get back to Green Gables… 

Upon their arrival, Gilbert realized he wouldn’t get the opportunity to speak with his bride to be. The entire farm was in a frenzy, everyone moving quickly about. Doctor Ward was raving about the fact that he had forgotten a meeting he had that evening that he simply couldn’t be late for. Jerry was running, trying to tack Belle as quickly as I could while dodging Mrs Lynde who was carrying in baskets of laundry. Through the window, he could see Diana being scolded by Mrs Barry for some unknown reason. Winnie and Gilbert exchanged glances, the scene sending them both into a fit of giggles.

“Well,” Winnie wiped a tear from her eye. “I suppose that is my queue.”

Gilbert peered over to Winnie, expecting to see a smile on her face as well as his, but her happiness had left once again. He lifted his fingers to caress her cheek, hoping to bring her some comfort. She turned her body to face him head on, avoiding his touch and keeping her eyes low. “Are you sure you don’t need anything besides clothes?”

Gilbert shifted awkwardly, adjusting Anne’s bag of treasures on his shoulder. “Uh, no, just the clothes.” He mumbled, biting his lip. In all their time together, he was unsure Winnie had ever been this upset with him. Fix it, don’t let her leave angry. Taking a deep breath, he reached down and snatched her hand before she could pull away. She shifted her gaze to his. “Thank you, Win.”

She nodded, her lips forming a tight smile. Jerry walked over to the pair. “Miss Rose, ready when you are.” Winnie nodded, turning back to face her fiancé, where she brought her lips to his cheek. 

He smiled softly as she pulled away, Jerry assisting her up into the passenger seat. Doctor Ward was adjusting himself in the back of the wagon as Gilbert made his way to him. Charles smiled when he saw his young apprentice, accepting Gilbert’s outstretched hand. 

“I’ll see you soon, sir.” Gilbert smiled, as he gave his mentor’s hand a small shake. 

Doctor Ward returned the smile sadly. “See you soon so...Gilbert.” He corrected himself, causing a pang of guilt in Gilberts stomach. “And I am truly sorry about Anne.” 

Gilbert bit his tongue, not wanting to start another fight today, and gave a polite smile as he made his way back at the front of the wagon, he looked up to Winnie, wishing he could do anything to make her happy. “I’ll see you Monday.” He said giving her hand another squeeze before giving Jerry a small nod. 

“Walk on Belle.” Gilbert watched the group ride through the gate, closing it behind them. He waited for his fiancé to glance back, but she never did. 

Gilbert swallowed, ashamed at the relief he felt. Bash’s voice began echoing through his head once more. You don’t love her...what you are doing to her, it’s just wrong. And though he wanted to hate Bash for what he said, in that moment, Gilbert knew that his brother was right. 

[venjix5]

Professor N. Shroud's profile by venjix5

"Damn you, Twilight SPARRKLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLELLLLE!!!!!" —Professor N. Shroud's villainous breakdown after seeing the Elements of Harmony in the chest are gone. Professor Nigel Shroud (also known as N. Shroud "enshroud") is a mad scientist and powerful evil warlock who is bent on world domination, and main antagonist of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic and Age of Equestria 3: Shrouded Darkness. He is a human and the archenemy of Twilight Sparkle and her friends. This dark scientist dreams of dominating Equestria and the human world, but his constant plots to create his N. Shroud Empire are always thwarted by Twilight and her friends. He is the mastermind for turning Sunset Shimmer evil and freed Tirek in Tartarus. Species: Cyborg (formerly human) Gender: Male Height: 7ft Alias: Boss (by his minions) Sir Professor N. Shroud Shroud Lord N. Shroud Emperor N. Shroud Supreme Emperor N. Shroud The Dark Emperor The Emperor of Shadows The Emperor of Equestria (self-proclaimed) The Emperor The Dark Lord Master N. Shroud Master Doctor Doc Nigel Mr. N The Dark Warlock The Greatest Scientist of All Equestria The Greatest Scientist and Dark Warlock of Equestria Evil Scientist Dark Scientist A Man with a Red Eye A Red-Eyed Stranger The Great N. Shroud Master of Mechanics Ruler of Robotics Monster Evil Human (by Princess Celestia) The Evil Warlock (by Star Swirl the Bearded) The Evil Sorcerer The Mechanical Tyrant The Mechanical Emperor King of Robots The First Human who came Equestria Evil Genius Dad (by Guno and Muno) Daddy (by Guno and Muno) Crazy Old Man (by Sunset Shimmer) Professor Dorkenstein (by Rainbow Dash) Mad Man (by Twilight Sparkle) All the Darkness (self-proclaimed) Occupation: Scientist Technologist Technocrat Tyrant Dark Lord Ruler of the N. Shroud Empire Ruler of N. Topolis Ruler of Equestria (in the bad future) Founder and CEO of N. Mare Enterprises Mastermind Billionaire Dictator Warlock Canterlot adviser (formerly) Hobby: Creating robots. Taking magic. Corrupting magic. Ruling. Ruling the world. Deal-making. Spreading darkness. Attacking Twilight and her friends. Tormenting ponies. Making ponies and creatures suffer. Manipulating people and creatures. Turning ponies, people, and other creatures into his robotic slaves. Polluting and destroying beautiful lands. Enslaving ponies and other creatures. Commanding his army. Causing destruction in many places. Mocking his enemies whenever he can and whatever he can. Antagonizing Twilight and her friends. Pound or electrocute Nobo for being so sarcastic, rude, and insulting to him. Playing his organ. Goals: Conquer both Equestria and the human world by any means necessary. Rule the Multiverse. Plunge the whole world into darkness. Build his mechanical utopia N. Shroudland. Kill Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Get revenge on everyone for his abused torment and unhappy life in the past. (later in the story) Wipe out all life in Equestria and the human world and rebuild the two worlds into his dystopia with robots, machines, and darkness. Type of Villain: Tyrannical/Power-Hungry Mad Scientist and Warlock Allies: Nano Nobo Guno (daughter) Muno (daughter) Bronk Dennis (bodyguard and right-hand man) Susan Nina (spy) Diamond Dogs The Dazzlings Queen Rabia Prince Solaris Queen Chrysalis N-Series Henchbots Robot Minions Lord Tirek Cozy Glow (for now) Enemies: Twilight Sparkle Rainbow Dash Pinkie Pie Rarity Applejack Fluttershy Sunset Shimmer Starlight Glimmer Sci-Twi (human Twilight) Humane Six Star Swirl the Bearded Princess Celestia Princess Luna Spike Other ponies Other humans (some of them) Voice Actor: Mark Oliver Japanese Voice Actor: Takaya Kuroda or Ainosuke Kataoka Personality: N. Shroud is a cruel, ruthless, dark, power-hungry, sinister, ambitious, megalomaniacal, cunning, brutal, egotistical, arrogant, tyrannical, sadistic, masterful, cold-hearted, determined, thuggish, wrathful, fearsome, and manipulative evil genius who is constantly planning to take over the world. He is very vengeful and hateful with a deep grudge towards humans for abusing and laughing at him, and ponies for rejected him. He despise ponies the most who dare to defy him, tolerating only his own. An important subject to note is that, unlike the other villains of the show, N. Shroud is extremely serious, menacing, dangerous, psychopathic, and a pure evil monster. He frequently refers to ponies as "worthless mules" and other insults generally directed at ponies. He is one of the most malicious, sadistic, and dangerous villains in the show, often attempting to kill, control, or otherwise torment ponies. He is willing to deprive innocent creatures of their free will to get them to work for him, he is willing to turn formerly beautiful communities into severely polluted wastelands, and he doesn't show any remorse for any of his actions. He turns anyone into robotic slaves if they don't obey him. However, he does still have a lighter side, attending villain parties and events, and when in a good mood. And he also shown that he has a comical side and with a sense of humor. Although, he was once a nice, kind-hearted person. But then, when he was a little child, he accidentally enter the portal to Equestria. He was very curious and interested in Equestria, ponies, and Equestrian Magic. He then developed a excessive in the unknown. He was just an excited little kid dreaming about the new discovery. However, no one believed him when he told them about the magic world he went, they all call him a crazy liar and started laughing at him. It broke N. Shroud's heart. Due to his painful past, he became cruel, sadistic, and cold-hearted. Despite his opposing personality, N. Shroud has rarely shown emotions other than anger or hatred. However, it should be noted that, despite N. Shroud's evil nature, he has shown that he has a soft side of him; that he cares for his robots like Nano, Nobo, Guno, Muno, and Susan. Although, N. Shroud sees Nobo as his primary punching bag for being so sarcastic and lazy. He treats his robot daughters Guno and Muno with great care and kindness, even going as far as to act as a parental figure to the young robots. History: 500 years ago, after Princess Celestia sealed Nightmare Moon, in the 19th century, when he was little boy, Nigel Shroud is the first human to discover Equestria, he was very obsessive and interested in Equestria, ponies, and Equestrian Magic. He then developed a excessive in the unknown. However, he couldn't prove their existence and once he saw one, no one believed him when he told them about the magic world he went, they all laughed at him thinking he’s a crazy liar. Being laughed at and treated cruelly all of his life, he has grown a deep hatred of all humanity. Thus he decided to abandoned his life in the human world and decided living in Equestria instead. Few years passed, Nigel works at Canterlot as an adviser as well as pursue a teaching degree (apparently because he liked telling ponies what to do) and learning of Equestria Magic. However, he later became so obsessed of the ponies’ magic, that he has thought a plan to use them to taking over the Human World under his rule and finally have his revenge on the humans who mocks him. Later, Nigel abducts 10 ponies and tried experimenting on them and harnessing their magic to attain for himself. However, Princess Celestia knows his evil plan and arrested him for his crimes. He was on trial for his crimes of kidnapping ponies and try to drain their magic. Nigel tries to apologize Princess Celestia for his actions, but Celestia refuses, for she has seen that his greed and hatred in his heart. Celestia sentence Nigel Shroud exiled, return to his world and never come Equestria ever again. But, Nigel swore revenge, someday he would return, and all of Equestria and the Human World would bow at his feet. As the years progressed, he began to build an army of robots and transformed himself into a robot. Apparently all these years been exiled from Equestria, driven him into a deep-seeded hatred for humans and ponies and love of technology. Extremely tech savvy, he loathes humans and ponies. This has lead him to adopt the philosophy that technology is the only thing that can be trusted. He modified himself so that he could rule whatever remained as their mechanical king. Utterly convinced with his twisted belief that the results of a world conquest orchestrated by him would make the world a better place and benefit all its inhabitants. Using his unmatched genius, N. Shroud began his plans, spending his entire life on his self-righteous mission. He also had been studying dark magic for 500 years and become the most powerful warlock in Equestria and the Human World. Abilities and Powers: Claws (Professor N. Shroud has razor sharp claws, which he repeatedly used in attempts in combat or murder.) Enhanced Strength Enhanced Speed Enhanced Reflexes Enhanced Agility Enhanced Endurance Enhanced Durability Vast Dark Powers Vast Mastery of Powerful Dark Magic Umbrakinesis Shadow Ball Projection Shadow Mimicry Dark Energy Manipulation Dark Energy Blast Magic Cancellation Magic Reflection Cyborg Eye (N. Shroud's eye gives him several optic visionary functions he can use simultaneously, such as Zoom-in, Thermal vision, Night vision, X-Ray, and more.) Dark Electrokinesis Dark Pyrokinesis Aerokinesis Cryokinesis Geokinesis Laser Vision (with his Cyborg Eye) High Intelligence Super-Genius Class Intelligence Vast Knowledge Mastery of Tactics Marksmanship High-Level Fighting Skills Incredible Mastery of Swordsmanship Leadership Telekinesis Telekinetic Choke Hi-tech Weaponry Expert Piloting Skills Mechanical and Technological Engineering Skills Technopathy Teleportation Umbrageous Teleportation Bionic Physiology (N. Shroud is half man and half robot.) Ponified Negation (Thanks to his robot half, everytime he goes Equestria he can't get ponified.) Longevity (N. Shroud is stated to have been alive for a hundreds of years without showing any signs of aging thanks to his robot half, making him one of the oldest characters in the series.) Mastery of Disguise Mind-Reading Negation (N. Shroud has an advanced firewall in his system that can block Sunset Shimmer's mind-reading magic.) Mind Control Immunity Fourth Wall Awareness (Possibly due to his state of mind, N. Shroud is seemingly aware he lives in a fictional world. Like telling the audience that even though they might see through his disguise, they should not tell Twilight of it.) Craftsmanship Magic Intimidation Mastery of Deception Mastery of Manipulation Portal Creation Summoning Summoning Robot Minions Full Control on his Robots Ability to turn other people and ponies into a painting Political power and supreme authority over his empire Gravity Manipulation Petrification Petrification Immunity Petrification Cancellation Smoke Generation Bubble Imprisonment Crystal Imprisonment Plunder Vine Manipulation Ability to pass through walls and objects Technology Expertise Charisma Clairvoyance Deception Control of his hive mind Possession to his robots Prehensile metallic tendrils Psychic connection to his robots Access to his robots' memories Vast resources Levitation Flight Weapons: Laser Gun Ion Blaster Mallet Robot Vehicles Mechs Metal Gauntlet Arms Armor N. Shroud's Staff Staff of Sacanas Magic Staff Sword Dagger Energy Whips Halberd

[spinningwebsandtales]

Hold Me Close

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Angst and death. Also angsty fluff just in case.

Word count: 996

A/N: Been having Nicolas feels especially after reading volume 8 of Gangsta. I've been wanting to write angst here lately and this idea popped into my head. So basically I wrote this just to torture myself. Oops?

You couldn’t deal with it, the weight of despair was beginning to overwhelm you. Months ago you had been happy ecstatic even. You married the man that you’d always dreamed of, worked various small jobs that wasn’t to hard and paid well, and you’d even gotten pregnant. Nicolas Brown didn’t seem like the dream husband material type but you saw a side of him that no one else got to see. He was caring, protective, and kind in his own way. Once you broke the news to him of the success of both of your attempts at having a baby he was overjoyed. Now all that was dashed.

You had gone for your first check up with Dr. Theo, Nicolas had stayed behind he had Handyman business to attend to. He was worried about you going by yourself, but you had eased his thoughts letting him know that you would be fine. Whatever news you had would be the first thing you both would talk about. That all changed when Dr. Theo placed the paper in your hands. That moment you needed Nic more than you ever had. The words blurred against the one that stuck out the most, miscarriage. You broke right there unable to take the news. Nina hurriedly wrapped her small arms around your neck trying to will any sort of comfort into your being, but the sorrow was just overwhelming. Dr. Theo said nothing else, he just exited the room leaving Nina alone with you. Finally after your tears had dried you thanked Nina, who had cried herself, and left.

The walk back home was a blur as you walked like a zombie back to the apartment. You greeted no one as they passed you by. Worick wasn’t home, probably out doing his thing, but Nicolas was. As soon as you stepped through the door he was standing before you. His eyes were full of hope and wonder until they met your red, swollen ones.

“WhAT HappENeD?” He spoke a rarity in itself. That’s it you couldn’t take it. He was so sweet and precious to you. Leaping into his arms the dam broke again.

“Nic I’m sorry,” your head was buried in his chest so he had no idea what you had just said. He held you back out to where he could see. The sight broke his heart.

‘I’m sorry,’ you began to sign. ‘I don’t know what happened. But I lost the baby, I’ve had a miscarriage.’

Nicolas was stunned, you both had worked so hard just to get pregnant and now the tragedy of losing the most precious being in your womb was devastating.

‘How,’ he signed back.

‘Dr. Theo didn’t go into details. Nicolas I don’t know what to do. My heart is shattered I’ve failed you. I wanted so bad to give you the family you deserved but this happened. Nicolas I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Seeing that you were losing control he brought you close cutting off your streams of apologies.

“NOt YouR FAulT,” he stroked your back in soothing motions. Despite everything Nic was so understanding. Of course his heart was breaking as well especially for you. But he had to be strong for your sake. Picking you up he carried you to the bedroom and laid you upon the bed.

You cried yourself to sleep with Nic holding onto you, he couldn’t bear leaving you alone. His world was crumbling too. The thought of starting a family, a dream he had always had but never let known, was shattered immediately after finding out about your botched pregnancy. The joy of knowing that you carried the proof of his love within your womb had excited him and now he too shed tears for the little life lost within you. The emotional roller coaster of a day finally took it’s toll upon Nicholas, sleep claimed him as he continued to hold you close.

It was midnight when you stirred back awake, your eyes swollen and sore. Body full of aches but the presence of Nicolas holding onto you was comforting. He had his head laid upon your stomach his cheeks were still wet from tears, it caused your heart to break some more. He had been so strong for you, you almost forgot that he too was in mourning.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered stroking his head down to the tribal tattoo upon his broad back. His muscles were relaxed and he nuzzled deeper into your stomach. “I couldn’t give you the one thing you wished for more than anything in this entire world. How could I fail such a wonderful man?” Tears rolled down your cheeks for the umpteenth time that day. It was a shock you actually had any fluid left in your body. You were sure that you were dehydrated from crying but your body surprised you. All you could do at the moment was let the pain take over, try to get through everyday, and support Nicolas as well. The pain never really goes away but that doesn’t mean you stop trying for your dream. Nicolas wanted to try again and you were more than willing to try for a family again. You would just need some time to get over the death of your baby, he would too. Looking back at him snoozing the night away brought a wobbly smile to your face. No matter what you still had him. Twilights were labeled as vile monsters, creatures that have no feelings. But you begged to differ. Nicholas was your everything and you were his.

[ninaxpark]

⌠ JENNIE KIM, 21, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER ⌡ welcome back to gallagher academy, NINA PARK! according to their records, they’re a THIRD year, specializing in COVERT OPERATIONS (CP) + KNIFE FIGHTING SKILLS, SWORD TRAINING, PRECISION SHOOTING, FIREARMS & SWAT TRAINING; and they DID go to a spy prep high school. when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of ( skater skirt, thigh-high boots, cherry flavored lip gloss, ice latte, french manicured nails, pink diamond choker, floor filled with shopping bags, echo of punching bag through the halls during unholy hours ). when it’s the gemini’s birthday on 05/27/1998, they always request their COQ AU VIN from the school’s chefs. looks like they’re well on their way to graduation.  BIO , WANTED CONNECTION & PINTEREST

TRIGGER WARNING: death mention, alcohol, underage drinking

Hi, it’s me again with a second character. I can’t resist. Anyway, here’s my other baby girl. As early as now, I am asking for forgiveness already for everything about her.....

Being the only youngest and only daughter in her family, Nicolina Park or Nina was so used of getting her way. From life-size doll-house to limited edition designer bags, if she will do well, she will have it all. Not like it was hard for her at all. She was cunning and wouldn’t mind side-sweeping her brothers just to be the number 1 in their household and get rewards.

With 5 years gap between her brothers, she never really grown close to her brothers. Even if they were off to boarding school, Wesley and Charles still gets the attention of their parents so whenever they are home, she made it her life’s mission to torment them. Nina mostly gets away with it.

The lack of attachment with her brother was compensated with the bond that she had with her cousins, Jude and Rose. They grew up together along with Josephine Tran. Nina would practically dragged them to her antics if she could.

Nina always had this high energy but that changed when Rose was found in her room. With Jude avoiding her and her practically blaming Jo for Rose’s death, she had no one to turned to. For her, she was not given a moment to grieve which turn her a little bitter.

 Came her first year in Gallagher, she was a little excited because maybe she will be reconnected with Jude but little did she knew, she was taking a break. She figured, she couldn’t let her world stop spinning, she had to move on and so, she turned to her new best friend, Little Miss Tequila with a dash of lime and salt.

Nina didn’t reach the point where she became addicted to it because let’s be real, it’s hard to obtain alcohol in this goddamn school but it became a problem of it own. Her almost harmless pranks to torment her brothers when she was younger had been honed into manipulating skills. She had learned to talk people into doing things for her like obtaining drinks or stealing homeworks so she could be ahead of the class. She had thrown people under the bus along the way really.

It was at the end of the first year when she went on a down low when she got a boyfriend. At first it was nothing serious but she felt hard, too serious that she almost said those three damn words, too serious that she discovered she was scared of attachment---or it was something she developed. If her very own cousin could turn her back on her, the others will do so she ended it.

A year of being a good girl and she went back to her old habit. Not to say that she couldn’t have a soft spot for anyone but for those who got to know her a little bit, any acts of niceness is questionable.

PERSONALITY

Alright so is hmm she is a bitch. Joke. I really don’t know how to describe her aside from that but she is very competitive, ambitious to a fault. She hates idiots but probably hates you more if she thinks you can be better than her. She had a lot of energy to argue especially if she is right ( she thinks she is all the time ) and very passionate about things she likes. Nina has little to none filter although she didn’t say things just to be mean but she tell things because it’s true ( at least that’s what she likes to tell herself ). She has a tendency to downplay great things she sees in people and would often nitpick someone’s flaw first before knowing the rest about them so yeah, she is a bit judgy. Kdding, she is VERY judgmental. First impression really last for her. She will never apologize for anything and will stop at nothing until get what she wants. Nina has a few likable traits like hmm well uhm she is…responsible? And actually a good leader when it comes to projects. Never late. LIKE NOPE. It’s hard to get on her good side but once you are in, she will probably ruin everyone who did you dirty. Like she is definitely not the ideal friend a person could have especially when it comes to giving emotional support but she is good at figuring things out. Nina never forgets when you did her a solid and will ban you from her hate list.

OPEN CONNECTIONS

THE BEST FRIEND - they are probably too much alike or the opposite. Nothing in between. The only person who can stand Nina probably. Also, someone to call Nina’s bullshit tbh. She met Nina during her first year, pretty much when she is in the process of ‘almost’ grieving for Rose. Probably the only person that saw her cry.

THE EX-BOYFRIEND - once upon a time, Nina was in love and when she realized how hard she fell, she got distracted and she didn’t like it so she broke up with him. They've been together for a year in a half or less. It could either end in bad or good terms, depends on how he took it. She is probably still like ‘MINE’ whenever someone’s around them. This someone doesn’t have feelings for her anymore probably.

THE ENEMY - someone she had double-crossed. Or someone she had an unhealthy competition with them. This person used to be a friend but Nina only befriend them to take advantage of them.

OK here is some randoms but equally wanted

Spy School mates - gals she went to spy school with

Exes - nothing to serious on her end to be honest. She only had that ONE serious love she royally fucked. Like she probably cheated on them lol

Flings/FWB/ONS - bitch needs to fuck the stress out of school ok

Annoyances - people she constantly butt heads on bc she is a fake bitch

Study buddies - coz studying is srs business ok

BI - someone Nina had been a bad influence with. She had probably got them in trouble at some point.

[dregstrash]

Nina and Zoya for angst. Zoya is kind of shit to Nina and I’d just like a confrontation scene where Zoya hears about Hanne and tries to tell Nina that she’s being dumb again. Then Nina just gets fed up with everything Zoya ever said and Nina is like “hey bitch I ain’t worthless” and Zoya is like “lol I’m too tired to deal with you right now” and then Nina goes “aw hell nah” and they fight and then Zoya realizes what an ass she’s been.

All my best ideas come when I’m procrastinating. And I’ve been watching a lot of angsty movies lately, so I wanna answer this one. Thanks for sending this in anon!

Zoya remembered the first time she saw Nina’s Fjerdan– well she supposed the other one. The big hulk of a man that had the bearing of a large bear and reminded her to much of the Druskelle that have helped to imprison and torture countless of Grisha. Oh how she had wanted to lash out at Nina at the spot. To demand an answer for sleeping with the enemy, but Genya was there. And she was never in the mood for one of Genya’s lectures about taking it easy on her.

She held her tongue that first time, even offered an olive branch by letting her know it would be okay if he sought refuge in Ravka. 

But look where that led her: a broken heart, an even more reckless spirit, and another Fjerdan in tow– and not just some Fjerdan because Nina had to be the best at everything, even when it came to poor choices of companions. 

“Are you feeling well, Zenik?” Zoya snapped when Hanne was sent away to the rooms accommodated for her. Of course, Zoya didn’t hide the fact she had also assigned her guards to keep a close eye on her. Nina’s eyes had flashed and Hanne’s cheeks had flushed a deep red. 

“What-”

“How is it that one dead Fjerdan wasn’t enough to get it through your thick skull that they cannot be trusted, but you had to drag another one behind these walls.” Zoya continued crossing her arms firmly. They were in the throne room. Alone. Nikolai was off dealing with the other news that Nina brought back with her, leaving Zoya in charge of getting the details of their new Fjerdan captive– or refugee, though that remained to be seen.

Nina’s eyes dashed to the ground in shame and hurt. 

Good, Zoya thought. Because this was the only way she was going to learn. Nina was a talented Grisha, one of the best Corporalkis and tailors that Ravka had. She was too young to be thrown so deeply into this war, and if she wasn’t more careful she was going to get herself killed. That was a death that Zoya would not allow. 

“Even worse.” Zoya continued her voice a cool steel against the silence, “You don’t come back with any type of Fjerdan, but the daughter of Jarl Brum. Tell me, Nina, what exactly is it about Jarl Brum’s special projects that have you so weak at the knees? Is it the fact they were raised by a madman or the fact that you have no self control and that you feel the need to save every lost Fjerdan?”

“She-she’s a Grisha.” Nina choked out. She met Zoya’s surprised gaze. Her green eyes lined with tears. “She’s a Corporalki and she just needed training like–”

“Nina!” Zoya snapped louder this time. “You’ve been gone for half a year, and you only now bring her back now! Why didn’t you come sooner? You don’t know the first thing about training Grisha. And even worse, you’re no longer a true Corporalki. Not since your battle with Parem. What gives you the right to wait this long to bring her here. Why didn’t–”

“Weren’t you just getting mad at me for bringing back a Fjerdan?” She snapped even louder. Her voice had stopped quavering and now it carried a fury that Zoya had never heard from her, “Now you’re upset that I hadn’t brought her back sooner? I ask that you make up your mind, General because it’s getting harder to understand what other wrong thing you’re going to throw at my feet.”

Zoya opened her mouth to retort, but Nina continued on louder than before, “I’m not the same girl who you let be captured by Fjerdans, Zoya. I have survived the worst streets of Ketterdam. I broke into the Ice Court while you were still trying to figure out how they had been producing their weapons. I helped con three countries, stole millions of kruge, battle with a drug that has taken half the lives of the entire population of Grisha, and had to watch the love of my life die in my arms. You have no right to speak to me as if I am a child playing with a toy gun. I am a spy of Ravka. The best one you’ve got, and I deserve some saintsdamned respect.”

“Respect?” Zoya scoffed despite the iron rod that was poking at her earlier anger. Nina did have a point, but it was also no excuse. She had no regard for safety, protocol, or order. She wasn’t ready, it was a miracle she hadn’t died a million times by now. “I don’t have the time or energy to explain to you how to earn respect, Zenik. For leaving your country to follow a Fjerdan boy and as soon as you are welcomed back home you go and abandon an active mission and then proceed to follow a Fjerdan girl is not high on my list of things to earn my respect. Now, leave me.” She flicked a wrist in dismissal, “I’m growing tired of this arguing. The king can deal with you how he wishes.”

Nina didn’t move. Her hands curled into fists and her face got red with fury.

“No.” Nina gritted. “This isn’t an argument, General. This is you not being able to take me seriously. And for what? Just because I don’t do what you want?”

Because I care. The words were on the tip of Zoya’s tongue, but she bit them down. Not like she had a chance to because at a small movement of Nina’s finger a sliver of a bone fragment came at her at a scary speed. It was a good thing Zoya had been practicing with Juris because it wasn’t long before the fragment turned to ash with her fire and the dust swirled around the air. That is before the ashes of the bone continued its path towards her and Zoya was forced to call a gale of wind to disperse the particles. 

Nina’s face twisted in surprise as she saw Zoya’s new powers. But the fury in her eyes only increased. It would have been easy for Zoya to put an end to this. Her Corporalki abilities still needed work, but she knew enough to slow hearts, but part of her wanted this fight. Part of her wanted to show Nina how grossly underprepared she was. Or maybe part of her was finally ready to see how good Nina had gotten– to at least be proven wrong she could actually take care of herself.

Nina’s hands came up and with it came a whole army of bone shards that had been hidden in her clothing. Zoya’s hands twitched, trying to get ready for the attack.

“ENOUGH!” Nikolai’s voice boomed through the empty space, scaring both women out of their battle heat. 

She didn’t turn to watch him stride towards them, but she felt his anger all the same. Nina, at least, had the sense to look sheepish. 

“Miss Zenik,” Nikolai stopped when he reached Zoya’s shoulder. His voice was tight with authority. “I could have you charged with treason for attacking your general.” Nina looked down at the floor, but Zoya didn’t miss the way her hand clenched. “But as it were, the information you brought back from Fjerda is invaluable, and I am not risking the loss of your service.” Nina’s eyes widened in surprise at the veiled compliment, but Nikolai didn’t wait for her gratitude to settle. “You are dismissed until you are needed again. Your quarters in the Little Palace are all arranged and I suggest you keep to yourself at least for now.”

With a short bow to her king and a slammed door, Nina left. Allowing a heavy silence to descend upon Zoya and Nikolai. 

“You need to apologize to her.” Nikolai said from beside her, and Zoya scoffed disgustingly. 

“Are you ordering me?” She said, her anger at Nina still burning in her blood.

Her king stepped in front of Zoya, forcing her to look at the grave expression on his face. “This is your personal business, Zoya. But it doesn’t do well for morale when you willingly let soldiers attack you with the sole intent of ripping them apart.”

“I wasn’t going to rip her apart.” She defended.

“You still haven’t forgiven me for sending her to Fjerda,” He clasped his hands behind his back in some form of kingly posture, “But I wonder if you would have forgiven yourself if you had actually come close to doing that.”

Zoya’s silence betrayed her answer. 

“That’s what I thought,” Nikolai continued. He turned around briefly to where Nina had disappeared. “Nina was right, Zoya. She isn’t the same child we had sent out all those months ago. She is a soldier that deserves your respect, just as much you deserve hers. And that won’t happen unless you apologize.”

The growing amount of guilt that started to rest on her stomach only increased with every word from Nikolai’s mouth. And her hands twitched for another fight. 

Nikolai gave her one last meaningful look to make sure she properly heard him before starting to walk away.

“You have a great capacity to care for people, General. And while I am accustomed to the way you express it, others are not.” 

Zoya watched Nikolai’s back disappear behind the same set of doors Nina exited and she sighed in resignation. 

She had to swallow her pride just this once. Because if she didn’t Nina could just end up doing something else more stupid– like become as hardened as Zoya.

[artificialqueens]

Words Hurt: Chapter 2 (Brooke x Yvie) - ImposterZoe

AN: This almost made me cry writing. Enjoy! IZ (P.S. Mistress is the sweetest, most helpful person ever.)

The next day was when Brooke noticed the change in Yvie. Along with everyone else. They were walking to the bus when Brooke locked arms with Yvie.

“Hey! Did you sleep well? I wanted to keep talking about,” he trailed off, remembering what he said last night, “… about what I told you last night.”

Yvie flinched as he remembered the night before. Slowly, he pulled his arms from Brooke’s and walked away wordlessly, leaving behind one confused canadian.

He scurried over to Scarlet and wrapped an arm around him.  He jumped in surprise but smiled warmly at the other man.

“Morning! Did you talk to Brooke?” Scarlet was eager for the story. He might be able to one-up A'keria in the gossip department for once.

Yvie simply pulled Scarlet on the bus, sitting in the window and putting the other man in the seat next to him. They sat across from Silky, trusting the man’s general noisiness to cover their conversation.

“Oh, I talked to him alright. He said I was one of the best friends he ever had. And apparently he trusts me enough to tell me he wants to get back together with his ex!” Yvie kept his head down on the seat in front of him, tears slowly making their way down his face.

Scarlet carefully wiped Yvie’s face with his sleeve, disbelief clear on his face.

“Oh poor thing. He said that after you told him you liked him? You did tell him right?”

“Wrong,” Yvie whispered softly. He felt Scarlet’s arm around his shoulders.

“I can’t do it anymore Scar. I don’t wanna hurt his feelings but I can’t be around him. Not knowing that he wants someone else.”

“What’s going on there, Miss Yvie? Are you actually showing emotion up there?” A'keria called. Yvie looked straight up at the other man, tears still falling, despair written into every part of his face.

The smile on A'keria’s face slowly faded and he sat back down, whispering to his seat partner. Who, unfortunately, was Nina. Nina got up and slowly made his way to their seats.

“Go sit with A'keria will ya, Scarlet?”

Scarlet started to object but Nina shot him a look. He slowly got up and went to the other side of the bus, only pausing to give Yvie a tight hug as he left.

Nina sat down and the two sat in silence as the bus started up. A couple of miles went by before Nina spoke.

“He didn’t realize you like him before he hurt you, huh?”  Yeah, Nina had Brooke’s number down pat.

Yvie choked on silent sobs as he nodded, turning to bury his face in Nina’s shoulder. Nina held him, the thrum of the bus mixed with all the conversations muffling Yvie’s sobs. But Nina could tell most of the conversations were about Yvie, himself. Hopefully Scarlet would keep his mouth shut.

Nina knew how Brooke was. He never meant to hurt anyone. He’s just really dense sometimes.

Well…. most times.

Well… basically all the time

As they neared a rest stop, Yvie’s breathing slowed down enough for him to speak clearly.

“He said he wants Vanjie back,” he whispered. Nina’s breath hitched and he rubbed a hand over his face. He pulled Yvie up as people started leaving.

“Let’s get you something to drink, huh?”

Yvie nodded and allowed Nina to walk him off the bus, towards the small rest stop store. Yvie felt the others queens staring at his downcast, tearstained face.

Brooke dodges forward, concern etched into his face.

“Yvie, what the hell is going on? Someone said you’re crying because of me! Are you still mad about the fight? I’ll apologize again if it makes you feel better.”  

Yvie looked at Brooke for a long moment before he screamed, “This is not about the goddamn fight!”

Yvie dashed backwards, running back on the bus, ignoring Nina and Brooke’s calls. He ran aboard, diving in the last row and curling into a ball.

He cried softly, his head in his knees. The last thing he remembered was Nina rubbing his back and a very confused Brooke staring at him as he cries himself to sleep.

Brooke stared at the sleeping man for a long time.

“Nina, tell me what’s going on with him. He said it wasn’t about the fight. What is it?” Brooke was pleading. His friend was upset and he couldn’t do anything to help. He felt helpless and he hated it.

Nina stared at his long time friend and fought to keep his cool.

“You really are dense aren’t you?” Nina growled. Brooke stepped back in shock.

“What are you talking about?!”

Nina glanced at Yvie, who was crying in his sleep, and threw his hands up in aggravation.

“He LIKES you, Asshole!” Nina shouted, pointing a finger at Brooke. As soon as he realized what he said, Nina slapped a hand to his mouth

But it was too late.

Brooke collapsed in a seat, shock basically tattooed on his forehead.

“Say what?!”

[…]

Something cool was wiping his face. Yvie slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Nina, who was holding a wet rag.

“What time is it?” he croaked out. Nina sighed softly.

“You slept for about 5 hours. You kept crying in your sleep for 3 of those.” Nina stroked Yvie’s head as he spoke.

“Thirsty?”

Yvie nodded, sitting up. Nina handed him a water bottle and some aspirin.

“So, uh… I may have… majorly fucked up.”

Yvie looked out the corner of his eye as he downed half the bottle.

“Can’t be as bad as my freakout,” he mumbled, a halfhearted chuckle escaping his mouth. Then he noticed Nina wincing.

“Was it… as bad as my freakout?”

Nina dropped his eyes to the ground.

“Brooke was being dumb. I… smartened him up,” he whispered. Yvie popped an eyebrow as he weighed Nina’s words carefully. The realisation dawned on him as he gaped at Nina.

“You didn’t actually tell him about my crush, right Nina? You wouldn’t do that to me, right?” Yvie shook Nina’s arm, praying to hear the word no.

Nina kept his eyes firmly on the ground for a long time, seemingly unbothered by Yvie shaking him.

Then he looked at the other man with a thousand yard gaze and gave a single nod.

And once again, Yvie felt his world collapsing. He sat there, many emotions playing cross his face.

Nina watched him, mentally cataloging said emotions.

Anger. Sadness. Betrayal.

Heartbreak.

“What did he say? When you told him?” Yvie whispered, almost hopefully. Nina sighs tiredly.

“Would you believe that he had no clue you liked him?”

Yvie laughed loudly before covering his mouth, and sliding down in his seat. He heard murmurings toward the front of the bus and prayed no one came to see him. But his prayers haven’t worked well as of late.

Scarlet’s head pops over the seat in front of them.

“Hey. Sleep well?”

Yvie just nods. “Did I scare anyone?”

Scarlet frowns. “You scared everyone. But Nina went into Mom mode and said to leave you alone until the next city. And I don’t know what he said when everyone was off the bus but Brooke hasn’t functioned right since.”

Yvie lets out a quiet, “huh.” Then he punches Nina in the shoulder. Hard.

Gripping his shoulder, Nina rubs Yvie’s leg in apology.

“How far to the next city?” Yvie wonders. He needed to know how long he had to mentally prepare himself for a billion questions.

Just as Scarlet opens his mouth to answer the bus slows to a stop

“We’re here,” Scarlet murmurs, standing up to leave.

Yvie promptly curls into Nina. “I really don’t wanna get off the bus,” he whimpers. Nina wraps an arm around Yvie’s waist. “You gotta deal with it, Yvie.” Then Nina was gone, walking off the bus with everyone else. Yvie sat there for a long time before getting off himself. Nina was right.

He had to deal with it.

[…]

Brooke waited on the side of the bus. He managed to get everyone else to go inside the hotel but Yvie hadn’t even left the bus yet. So he waited.

Just as he was about to say fuck it, Yvie slipped out, his bag thrown over his shoulder. He was deep in thought and didn’t notice Brooke standing there.

“We should talk,” he called. He couldn’t help a small smile as Yvie jumped.

Yvie swung around. “We are talking, Brooke.” But there was no teasing tone in his voice. There was a certain… Aura around the slim man that was familiar to Brooke but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The two stood staring at each other.

“Well if we’re done talking,” Yvie mumbled, whipping around and slinking into the building.

Brooke ran after him and stopped suddenly. It had clicked. He knew the aura around Yvie because he had caused it on someone before.

Yvie was heartsick. And it was Brooke’s fault. He darted forward again, just managing to jump in the elevator with Yvie.

“I’m an idiot,” he says, breathlessly.

“Only a big, clueless one,” Yvie grumbled. Brooke groans.

“If you know this, why didn’t you say anything? There was no way I would figure this out on my own!”

“Excuse me for thinking that you’d pick up on the literal heart eyes I have whenever I see you!”

They glared at each other, inexplicably angry. They stared each other down for a long second.

And proceed to burst out laughing.

They grip each other as they laughed hysterically.

Yvie is still giggling when Brooke suddenly pulls him for a hug.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have even given Vanjie a second thought if I did. And I definitely would’ve done something about your cute little crush.” Brooke’s words take on a sultry tone as he whispers in Yvie’s ear.

Yvie swallows hard. “Really?” he squeaks.

Brooke pulls back grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Hell yeah.”  He leans forward and kisses Yvie’s cheek, dead in the center. Then he moves his lips, laying kisses along the younger man’s cheek, each time going a little closer towards his mouth.

Yvie just stands there in shock, relishing the feeling of Brooke’s lips on his skin.

Brooke laid another kiss, just on the corner of Yvie’s plump lips. He pulled back, wrapping his arms around Yvie’s shoulders and leaned in slowly.

Yvie craned his neck, desperate to finally kiss the lips of the ice queen. They were a hair breath away.

…then the doors opened.

The two jumped apart, expecting someone to walk in. Then Brooke looks over at Yvie with a devilish smirk.

“Gonna have to finish this later, buddy. This is my floor. See ya!”

Then Brooke was gone. Yvie watched the object of his desire breeze down the hallway. Just before the doors closed, Brooke turned back and blew a kiss.

“B-bye pal,” Yvie stutters out, still in shock over what just happened.

He raised his hand to his cheek and trailed it along Brooke’s line of kisses. He broke a tiny smile.

Maybe he could do this, just a little bit more.

[mooleche]

A Tale of Ink and Venom

A/N - All I gotta say is I’m so sorry to mobile users for this lmao This is a long chapter so I’m posting it at 4AM to try and save people from it’s length.

If you’d like to be tagged for the upcoming chapters lemme know!

Also another big thank you to @leo-writer for reading beforehand. I super, super appreciate it and appreciate YOU!

Chapter Two: Heart to Heart

“No no no, I’m so late!”

I shot out of my room like a bat out of hell, a jumble of keys in one hand and helmet in the other as I took to the morning bustle of the college sidewalks. Outside the scenery was a mixture of many things; remnants of winter slush that spring was finally beginning squash with a faint warm breeze. Not to mention the familiar scent of Brooklynn streets containing the disappointing waft of piss and alcohol it was so well known for. Or maybe I had just grown used to it in the year I had been here. 

I stopped abruptly at a covered up bundle and ripped the cover off hastily to reveal a shiny black Vespa beneath and beamed. Her name was Queen of the Night, Queenie for short, and what she lacked in speed she made up for in aesthetic. She was the last thing my parents had gifted me before I had started college. A way for them to feel at ease about me being on my own, or so they said. I think they just didn’t want me to use door dash on every little thing I needed at all hours of the night. Regardless, she was my pride, my joy, and I was finally able to ride her again after the harsh winter months had kept us separated for so long. 

My thoughts wandered as I got my belongings situated to head to work. About Bambi’s words, the news article, but also the strange group text Bambi’s sister had sent out as I had left:

‘There’s a big bad out. Stay safe.’ 

I wish I could say that wasn’t a normal occurrence for her, but Benni Banks had a knack of sending things just ominous enough to make you extremely suspicious of whatever she was saying. The only thing more suspicious was when she would walk with a startling pace out of our dorm with laptop in arms saying ‘This is fine, this is absolutely fine ’ on repeat. If you knew Benni like we did that usually meant one of her cockamamie hacking attempts had backfired and things were certainly not fine. Despite this, we loved her, even down to the cryptic warnings she sent us while submitting to her insomnia sleeping habits that left us more curious than cautious.

A villain like that could have meant anything. Hell, we had just seen Lizardman take on the town before he stopped on his own accord. A malfunction with the machine he used to keep himself human, or something to that degree. And not a single hero came to help during that situation. I slumped forward at a red light and sighed. Despite New York being a hot zone for superheroes and villains alike, it was apparent that the villains were just becoming too much for them to handle. But that was something I couldn’t begin to think about, because I had arrived to work and there were more pressing matters at hand.

Like how I was about to be reamed for being 20 minutes late.

I stopped in front of an ordinary-looking business building not far off from the campus itself and removed my helmet. My hair fell in loose lazy curls around my face as the braid I had made was all but destroyed. Flecks of blue and black melded over my face as I tried to hastily tie it back into its original style, but failed miserably. Giving up I shoved my hands into my hoodie pockets, listening to the leather of my gloves squeak with discomfort before fishing out a flashy looking access card for the entrance. On one hand, I didn't know why I or anyone else needed one of these. Most of the sections inside of the building were offices doing god knows what. On the other hand, the lower levels were a different story entirely. I waited 3 seconds for the light to flash green before I stepped in, immediately greeted by a security guard I knew simply as Barry who nodded curtly to me as I took to the steps nearby. 

“A little late today, Miss Knight,” I heard him chuckle, fading away as I entered the basement. This was where all of the action happened, a steady hum of electronics and murmurs of people lost in conversations of studies they were working on. Some made brief pleasantries with me as I zipped through the small groups of lab coats huddling to discuss, while others seemed to eye me with disapproval. 

They didn’t matter though. The only person that mattered currently stood hunched over one of many counters in his lab as I watched from the glass window that separated us. I pressed my face against the glass to try to get his attention but he ignored me, making my nerves rise as I stepped within the sliding doors and opened my mouth to apologize.

“You’re late, Knight,” 

I closed my mouth and puffed my cheeks out. He always had a knack of catching me off guard. 

His name was Professor H. D. Renato, a man who I suspect would not reveal his initials to anyone until he was on his death bed. Even then that was being generous. He was a man of science and cleanliness, and the two coincided together nicely in his lab that he kept in pristine shape. It was ordinary for the most part. No colorful beakers, no boiling concoctions of evil ooze to take over the world with. Just a man with incredible dreads hunched over his desk studying something intensely. 

I don’t know how our strange relationship came to be, especially when our first encounter involved him walking in on me attempting to delete student debts with my powers. I was lucky enough at the time that despite the criminal act I was committing he was intrigued by my mutation and wanted to work with me on the promise that I never try a stunt like that again. I was even luckier that I had somehow gotten a job out of it instead of making a call to my parents from the Deans office explaining how I got kicked out of college for trying to show up Robin Hood.

He now turned as if sensing me studying him and folded his arms, dark eyes studying me back with amusement.

“What’s your excuse this time then?”

“Would you believe traffic?”

“I would not,”

“How about saving kids from a burning building?”

“Try again,”

“Fine,” I rolled my eyes, setting my bag down on one of the empty tables taking up the majority of the room. “I got side-tracked talking to the girls,” I admitted before joining him behind his desk to get a glimpse of what his attention had been so caught up on. “Seems I’m not the only one distracted today though, huh?”

“You know me, I always have to see what fresh hell is destroying Brooklynn,” he muttered before turning the laptop to me. “You’ve seen it already, haven’t you?”

“Oh, no. Benni mentioned it before I got here but...” I whispered as I joined him in looking at the screen. The shots of whoever, or whatever it was were blurry. Though, it wasn’t hard to see the giant black humanoid looking creature completely demolishing a group of police vehicles like they were children's toys before the reporter I had seen so many times appeared on the screen. She had the same tense face on as always. Not that I could blame her, I’d look the same way if I were placed in a somewhat dangerous situation like this. And yet, she spoke in a strangely calm tone to give what little information she had on the matter:

" ...suspect is assumed to be a high-level threat that was one of few said to be lost in the recent events of the Ice Box criminal transfer after destruction hit- "

"Hang on, that was months ago. They still haven't found the convicts that escaped?" I asked in surprise. He shook his head in response.

"Apparently not. The majority were assumed dead at the scene of the crime but…” he motioned to the screen again as we watched another brief blurry clip of the creature climb onto one of the surrounding buildings as heavily armored police got involved.

I whistled in response.

“I really don’t think you should go out on deliveries today, Nina…” he admitted after a short pause as he turned to me, folding his arms like he always did when faced with a tough subject. I could only roll my eyes in response.

“Don’t think I’m capable of holding my own?”

“Really? You’re asking me this in a ‘Hangover Hoodie’?”

“Huh?” I asked with a confused frown but realized all too quickly what he was talking about. In my hurry to leave this morning I had shoved a blind hand into my wardrobe and picked out whatever hoodie I could find. Renato now stared at me with disappointed disapproval and sighed. It was no wonder his peers looked at me how they did now.

“I have always had the utmost faith in you, it’s your health I’m concerned about. You know this,”

“How could I forget when that’s all anyone ever talks about?” I answered shortly, watching his expression quickly fade to guilt. I knew he hadn’t meant anything by it, after all, it wasn’t his fault that my body was the frail shell of what it used to be. Like I said, I tried the vigilante lifestyle once. It hit me harder than what I was ready for and now I paid the price. 

The result left me unable to use my powers without intense strain on my body, and a group of family and friends treating me like I was made of glass as a result.

He hovered his hand over my shoulder before reluctantly pulling back. Renato might have been a genius but his social cues were lacking in the compassion department. Or any social department in general for that matter. Instead, he did what he did every time there was an awkward situation and began furiously cleaning his glasses that had been sitting neatly on top of his head. 

“I just...you know I worry. And with your parent's trusting me-”

“What they don’t know won’t hurt them. But also, I’m almost 24, dude. Avoir une certaine foi,” I added with an innocent smile. He was not so taken with it

“You know I don’t speak French,”

“Have some faith,”

“That’s easy for you to say, you don’t have to be the one to deliver the news if something happens,” he responded shortly, striking my own guilt in response. Renato, despite his eagerness to take me under his wing, was still a cautious man. So cautious in fact that he had contacted my parents before solidifying his offer to work with me. They weren’t bad people, probably the farthest thing from that, they were just so overprotective. I couldn’t blame them after the chaotic introduction into parenthood I had given them, especially after being the first mutant in our family. There was just a point where it was too much.

There was a heavy silence between us as we both struggled to find something to say before he sighed and directed my gaze to the packages resting beside the counter.

“Alright, I’m trusting you with this, Nina. You’re lucky we have such a backlog to get through otherwise-”

“Otherwise you wouldn’t allow this, yes I know,” I called as I carefully scooped the boxes up and inspected them curiously as if the blank outer packaging would reveal their secrets.

They did not.

“Be careful with those. I put fragile on there for a reason,” he added as he tapped the large black font with a stern look. As part of his side job he was always cooking up interesting concoctions for his clients, considered the mutant savant by many because of how serious he was to learn how to help us function in everyday society. I had never seen a regular human so dedicated to helping our cause and I wasn’t about to make him regret hiring me to help with it. 

Especially when it meant one day he could help me be myself again.

I scoffed at his words and tiptoed carefully to the exit to avoid more of his harping while I could. “I got it, I got it. Shoot me the addresses?”

“Already in your phone, make sure you get all of the signatures this time, Knight.”

“Yes, dad,” I mocked before shuffling out of the lab, careful to avoid any collisions with anyone out in the hall. Barry held the door open for me like he did every time I came up packed to the gills with boxes and we shared our usual polite nod to one another. 

Ten frustrating minutes of getting everything bundled up tight on Queenie and I was finally off to do the real work of the day. 

-

Being a courier was a fairly easy job. Renato excelled in helping mutants with noticeable mutations by creating temporary serums and little do-dads to aid in his search of making us feel more welcomed in society. Since the clients themselves didn’t usually want to be seen by people other than their kind it was often a quick in and out job. The hardest part was getting to them. Renato may have been science savvy but where he excelled in knowledge he lacked in direction, and it made me ever so thankful for GPS as I rounded the same corner I had been through multiple times in the last 15 minutes.

Thank god these weren’t timed deliveries.

Most of the stops weren’t an issue, usually consisting of an out of the ordinary mutant that just needed some basic supplies. My favorite was a man with red skin and facial hair that rivaled Jack Sparrows. He was charming and straight to the point, and yet his tips were always more than accommodating. His name started with an A but the scribbled signature never revealed the rest.

Others however were... strange. Some left specific instructions in order for me to get confirmation signatures; knock two times on the door to wait for someone to knock back, more than a few required me to face the other way so I couldn’t see them but when I looked back the papers were signed, sometimes tip attached, sometimes other odds and ends. I once received a large quill-like spike as a tip for my efforts. It still sat on my desk to this day.

Before I knew it my final client had come and I rode lazily in the familiar streets of Brooklyn to find the location. His was always my favorite to go to, settled in a small suburb area with people that always seemed to be out and enjoying life without a care in the world. I parked in a vacant area up the street and started towards a cozy-looking home that had seen better days. Not that it was in bad shape, it was just old and in need of some serious case of TLC that its owner was unable to give.

I stopped at the sun stained red door and rang the buzzer once.

No response.

Twice.

Nothing.

“Mr. Lee?” I called, pressing my ear against the door to hear if he was making his way to answer. I was greeted with silence.

I began a hail mary of mashing the buzzer in a last desperate attempt until a soft chuckle interrupted me and I turned. An older man in dark shades sat at a bench nearby and waved to me, beckoning me towards him and I followed.

"Hey! Buongiorno!" he called merrily from his peaceful-looking seat and I laughed softly.

"That's Italian, Mr. Lee. But bonus points for trying,"

"Ah, can't win 'em all I suppose." he chuckled before patting the seat next to him and I obliged, holding his delivery patiently in hand before he smiled warmly and stared forward. 

"Relax a little, something on your mind, kiddo? You seem tense!"

Mr. Lee always had a knack for sensing these types of things. He was one of Renato's oldest clients, and he wasn't even a mutant. Renato just enjoyed this old man's zest for life so much that he helped him with simple tasks and now the occasional french tutoring on the side that I gave him during my trips.

"Ah, no. I mean, kind of..." 

"Go on then, I've got some time," he chuckled as he nudged me playfully.

I sighed sheepishly in response. I couldn’t exactly tell him my life story. He knew bits and pieces of it, but I was still on the fence about revealing my mutation. Instead, I tried to word it rather poorly, tugging at my gloved hands as I struggled to find proper words.

“I just...I want to be something more, y’know? I worked so hard for this...thing when I was younger and now I’m just this...this burnout of a courier wasting away at college!” I started, unable to control the flood of commentary that was spilling out. “I wanted to be like...like Spiderman! Or the Avengers! Something! I have a gift, my friends tell me every day that I have the means to overcome this... this fear of breaking myself again but I know deep down my body can’t take it...that I can’t be this person they think I can be. And now everyone’s just waiting for me to break again like I’m glass! I hate it!”

There was a heavy silence and I snapped out of my stupor, now standing with hands held over my head in what was once frustration. I didn’t even know where all of it had come from. Like I said, Mr. Lee had a strange gift.

I shot them down sheepishly and took to sitting back to a quiet Mr. Lee who’s bushy white mustache seemed to wiggle with thought.

“I’m sorry…” I quietly apologized before he turned to me, brows wrinkling under his shades with a frown plastered on his face.

“Don’t you ever apologize for expressing yourself,” he ordered gently, resting a hand on my shoulder with a small squeeze. “Life is never completely without its challenges. But that’s what keeps it interesting.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! Listen, kid. I think you should do what your heart is telling you to do, 'cause deep down it knows that you'll do the right thing.”

“You think so?" 

“I know so. I've been in the industry long enough to know a hero when I see one." he chuckled, a warm encouraging smile spreading across his face now. “You can't force these feelings out, kid. It’s got to come from inside of you,” he said while poking his chest proudly. 

"Inside me..." I whispered, looking down at my hands in wonder. I knew what he meant, but what could someone like me feel when I wanted to do these things but couldn't? I knew in my heart of hearts what I wanted.

But would that be enough?

Before I could ponder more he stood and stretched his back, resting his weight on his cane. “Give it some thought, you’ve got time,”

“You’re leaving?”

“You’re not?” he teased before he pointed up to the sky and beamed. “I got a date with the universe soon, kiddo. Can’t keep her waiting.”

“Uh-huh…” was all I could muster as I stood and extended my hand out to him. I didn’t know if he was trying to be funny about his days being numbered or if he genuinely was expecting to travel the universe. Events in Brooklynn made it hard to shoot down either idea and Mr. Lee had a look so believable that for a second I actually believed him. “Well, if I don’t see you for a while...J'espère que tu trouveras ton aventure parmi les étoiles.” 

“Oh?”

“It means ‘I hope you find your adventure among the stars,’”

“Ah! Mer...mer...merci!” he stammered before taking my hand in his and beaming at me, a feeling of pride radiating off of him at his accomplishment. 

“You hang in there, kid. Your own adventure is going to find you soon enough! Remember,” he added, pointing to his chest once more before pointing to me. I nodded and smiled like some solemn promise had just been made between us and in some strange way, it had.

We said our goodbyes shortly after, a broken ‘au revoir’ from Mr. Lee as he sauntered into his home with delivery in hand while I took to Queenie with a little less weight on my shoulders. I was well over the time allotted for the drop-off, but I knew Renato would understand. It was why I always kept his deliveries for last after all, to have deep conversations that always kicked me back on track to the path I truly wanted to be on.

The path that would set things in motion not even an hour later.

[fullmetalirin]

Fullmetal Alchemist OG: Episode 16

One more filler-ish episode before we catch up with Brotherhood.

Fullmetal Alchemist Episode 16: "That Which Is Lost"

Armstrong escorts the Elric brothers back to Resembool to have themselves repaired. Lust attacks Marcoh in his "safe house" and coerces him into revealing the location of his research on the philosopher's stone. Lust and Gluttony then kill him as they make their way to the state library. On the train to Resembool, Ed and Armstrong discover that Al was unloaded at the previous station and are forced to search for him. When Armstrong urges patience, Ed explodes in rage and abandons Armstrong. However, Ed is soon jumped by a girl who steals his automail leg. The girl's grandfather, while giving back Ed's leg, explains that he lost his leg during the Ishbal rebellion and that he wishes to retain his wound as a reminder of it. Meanwhile, Al is stolen by a boy who wishes to prove himself by raiding an enemy's mansion. Al frightens the boy by claiming he is a haunted armor. The Elrics reunite as Armstrong reappears, grabbing them and dashes toward the departing train, hoping to catch it.

Lust appears to say ominous things to Fuery. Her breasts are really prominent, even though she's wearing a heavy coat over her dress. Fuery blushes afterwards.

Gluttony tries to eat a stray bullet but Lust smacks it out of his hand.

Marcoh gave dropped a note giving Ed a clue to his research. Ed doesn't want to share it with anyone, not even Mustang, because he's not sure he can trust the State after learning about Ishbal.

Bradley is returning to Central to flee Scar again.

Mustang admits to hiding Marcoh, and asks what Bradley will do about it. Did Bradley already find that out?

Bradley claims he disagreed with Grand and just wants to protect Marcoh.

Mustang brings up Marcoh's research but gets shushed. After Mustang leaves, Bradley muses that if Mustang knows what's good for him he'll accept that the Philosopher's Stone does not exist. I don't quite understand what's going on here. He encouraged the Elrics to pursue it, so why is he discouraging Mustang? Do the homunculi only want a specific alchemist to make it?

There's some comedy where Team Mustang makes a jab at how Ed's just an annoying brat without his alchemy. Mustang also tells everyone Ed was really pathetic when he saw him after the human transmutation. What a dick. Ed doesn't rise to it, at least.

Short cartoon skit where Al says he appreciates Armstrong calling him a kid because it's the first time he's been treated like on in the armor. Cries cartoon tears, too.

Overall, while the comedy is a little weird, I think it works to defuse the tension from last episode. We do need a breather, and it's comforting to see everyone's back to their usual repartee. Mustang is still such a dick, though.

Armstrong continues emanating bishie sparkles even in normal scenes, which is hilarious.

On the train, Hughes continues trying for repartee, but Ed continues to be prickly. He switches to serious mode and tells Ed they think Scar killed Nina. Ed makes a creepy grin and says he's ready to take him on now. Yes, this is good. I like that Nina is continuing to matter.

But uh oh, the paperboy was spying on them! Mr. Secret Agent really should have expected that. Scar does not kill the children, which is nice of him.

I think this is the first time we've seen Lust's ability.

Marcoh seems to recognize the ouroboros tattoo.

Marcoh impales Lust with a rock spike make from the floor. Lust just says "isn't dying once cruel enough?" He's surprised to see this doesn't kill her, but says he didn't totally understand what homunculi were, only having rumors to go off of.

Armstrong tears off Ed's pants leg when he tries to restrain him. Well, I guess he is super strong?

Ed reveals he knows what they did in Ishbal, and insists they're nothing alike. Armstrong is shocked into letting him go.

Ed asks which war the grandfather was in, which is a nice subtle way of foreshadowing Amestris' forever war.

The grandfather says a similar thing to Barry about war turning men into monsters. And oh, the way he talks about it closing off your heart is really similar to what Al threatened the kid with earlier in this episode. Themes~

Ed says the guy's stupid for refusing a functional leg just so he can wallow in misery. I appreciate this sentiment.

They discuss equivalent exchange. The grandfather believes his leg is a fair trade for the peace of this domestic life. Ed points out the soldiers who do come back in one piece, and the grandfather insists they've still lost something in their hearts. Ah, but hasn't he suffered the same mental trauma? He's given up more than them. So is that really an equivalent exchange?

The grandfather goes on to say surely Ed has gained something from his own loss and Ed says no, he hasn't.

EDWARD: Where was the equivalency then?

YES YES YES. We're already brushing up against the ultimate truth of this story! This is an almost perfect echo of Dante's delivery later.

Ed breaks a cup when he's raging about how they just keep losing things.

The grandfather says that a dream is only worthwhile when it's a fantasy; if it becomes real, it was never a dream. Ed looks shocked at this and we spend a very long time on him just sitting in silence like that was a huge deal. I… think that must have been a translation goof, because I don't understand what he means.

Ed admits that he might be right, but he's still going to try anyway.

Shot of the broken mug as Ed leaves. He doesn't fix it with alchemy, which surprises me.

The kid runs past and Ed just shrugs in confusion. Al has been covered in curse tags. LOL.

Ed wonders if Mustang didn't visit them back then for Hoenheim, but for "something else" – to confess to the Rockbells?

Ed apologizes for insulting Armstrong earlier, but I'm not sure why. Did the grandfather's explanation make him decide that Armstrong might not have wanted to participate in the massacre?

Conclusion

I love this episode. I can see why people could dislike it. It's very slow, it doesn't really go anywhere in concrete terms, and Ed just happening to stumble on this grand sage ready to start a navel-gazing contest is pretty contrived. But from a thematic point of view, this episode is a gold mine. It very pointedly establishes the themes of the work and primes you to start thinking about these important concepts. The dialogue and cinematography are works of art. And it even manages to fill it all with a lighthearted, comic A-plot that's a great breather from last episode. Ed is given time to process the heady experiences and revelations he's just had, and therefore so are we.

And despite being a so-called filler episode, we are still advancing the plot with Marcoh. We get a little more information on who our villains are and what they're capable of. And if you read between the lines, you're left to wonder: how did the homunculi get to Marcoh's supposedly secure location so quickly, after Bradley just said he was making his safety a top priority? Why, it's almost like they're working together. (It is a little strange that Bradley didn't menace Marcoh himself, but perhaps he knows Mustang is on to him and wants to be a little more cautious about getting things traced back to him.)

I'm confused by the summary saying the homunculi kill Marcoh, though, as that's not shown. Are we told that later?

[3d10fire-damage]

red sun summary (9/24/2020)

the party prepared for the next round of fighting by drinking some healing potions, to conserve healing spells. the crowd was rather upset by the outcome of the first round, which left the announcer a bit uncomfortable. but they carried on professionally by introducing the next set of fighters, Janset the beast tamer and her beasts. the party could hear their heavy footsteps before they could see their next opponents. the first to emerge into the arena was a chimera, titled Nina of the Mountains. next came the four reptilian heads on long serpent necks of a hydra, Salome of the Swamps. and finally, Janset herself, a tall and strong fire giant. the beasts seemed to defer to Janset, calmed by her presence within the arena. for a couple minutes Janset played to the crowd, waving to them and pound on her chest. she’s a crowd favorite, after all. she taunted the party, claiming they would make fine snacks for her pets. quietly phosphorra pointed out that Janset was a “whole wife.” zoroe voiced her confusion about this, phosphorra apologized, saying she forgot herself for a moment. (a two-headed ettin in the crowd agreed with her though.)

once again, there was a grinding sound coming from the center platform, and soon there appeared a flaming short sword. naturally, cluk took the initiative and flew up to grab the sword, determining the flaming enchantment was temporary. then she flew back to the party. meanwhile, phosphorra continued her musing on Janset. “calypso i think i'm beginning to understand how you feel about fire.” “RIGHT?” Mistral, davke, and khaela once again formed the tank squad and started circling north around the center pit. Janset considered her options before also heading north. the party (the players) started forming a plan at this point, deciding that focusing their attacks on one target at a time would be efficient, and that Janset should be their focus since she was in charge of the beasts. Hex shouted out to cluk and calypso that they should use the boards in the center to get around the arena quickly, since the beasts and Janset were too large to stand on them.

calypso ran up to stand next to khaela, taking a defensive stance. zoroe hung back a bit, firing a Sacred Flame at Janset, and Ku-aya dashed to the northernmost portion of the arena. Salome followed Janset closely while Nina flew to the center platform and took a predatory stance. phosphorra brought out her Spiritual Weapon to deal some damage to Nina. Lawitse approached zoroe, explaining that she couldn’t get into the fight without being healed. Hex, ever the support-caster, cast Slow on both Janset and her hydra. the crowd’s attention was drawn to zoroe’s “dark” magic as the announcer taunted her about it again. more rocks were thrown at zoroe, even as some others in the crowd cheered for her. zoroe, holding up her shield protectively, was like “they enjoy it, huh? would they like to experience it?” calypso demanded the crowd make up their minds.

at this point, with Nina being positioned in the middle, the party shifted focus to the chimera. cluk tried some Vicious Mockery on Nina, but unfortunately the chimera didn’t rise to the bait of being called a puppy. Mistral got within halberd range of Nina and dealt enough of a blow to kill the chimera’s goat head. khaela made her way across the boards but her both of her attacks missed. Janset, moving as if wading through molasses, went to davke, but davke dodged her attack. calypso tipsy swayed her way past Mistral on the thin boards and started raining blows on Nina. zoroe healed Lawitse a bit before piling on another attack to the chimera. Ku-aya started dealing damage to Janset, then moved back out of her range (no opportunity attack because Slow is rad). Salome, not finding much room to maneuver, simply followed behind Janset. Nina’s snake head attempted to bite calypso but missed its mark, and khaela dodged the lion’s claws. phosphorra gave a little more healing to Lawitse before swinging at Nina with her Spiritual Weapon. seeing as the boards were rather crowded now, Lawtise ran up and hit Janset with her axe, cutting through some of her leather armor.

Hex’s Slow spell caused some uproar in the stands, as the crowd was not used to see Janset losing a battle. naturally they cheered her on, hyping up their favorite fighter. a handful of the crowd were more pumped for Nina and Salome, cheering them on as well. cluk flew to the chimera and tried out that flaming short sword, bloodying the creature. then as cluk hopped back down, the snake head tagged her with a fang. Mistral finished off the snake head, calling out an apology to zoroe. khaela finished the chimera off with a staggering blow, inspiring a “HELL yeah” from calypso. then khaela moved back to Janset to start piling damage onto the giant. davke, on brand, landed a critical on Janset. the giant, ferocious at the loss of her chimera, struck back at khaela, knocking the paladin unconscious. calypso responded to that by rushing to Janset, striking her first with her javelin then kicking her right in the shin. Janset was, at this point, bloodied. zoroe quickly healed khaela back to consciousness and Ku-aya landed a couple of hits (ghost lady’s finally coming around!).

Salome was finally able to join the fray, slithering to Lawitse and dealing some nasty damage to the minotaur, and a smaller amount of damage to Ku-aya, using all four of its heads to attack. phosphorra carefully scootched onto one of the wooden boards so she could start moving her Spiritual Weapon closing to Janset and Salome. a rather injured Lawitse disengaged from the combat and retreated. Hex called her a coward in the Naga language under her breath, causing zoroe to do a double take. Hex then cast Toll the Dead on Janset. the crowd entered a frenzy at the death of Nina, people tossing down their chimera replicas and dismantling their Nina of the Mountains merch. Nina’s fans and Salome’s fans were in contention with each other, though the hydra’s fan’s vigor healed her somewhat. another section of the crowd, however, was more enthralled by calypso’s fighting against Janset. “whoa, that little tiefling kicked a giant!” invgorated by the hype, calypso grinned and started bouncing on her feet a little. 

cluk returned to the center platform to apply some mockery to Janset. “hey! your dog’s dead!” Janset cried a little at that, and cluk gave some inspiration to calypso. Mistral started hacking away at Janset, who at this point was barely holding on. khaela, freshly awakened, was pissed at this fire giant. she brandished Siege and critically struck Janset in the knee, causing her leg to give out, and the giant toppled over into the pit. on brand, calypso declared this display to be hot. davke moved to Salome, saying “that was so cool, khaela!” and got two criticals in a row (all FOUR of her rolls were criticals), cutting off one head with one strike and another head with the second. the crowd went bananas over this, throwing confetti (made from destroyed Janset merch) as they chanted “DAVE! DAVE! DAVE! DAVE!” calypso also joined in this chant. the monk then struck Salome twice, moving to impress the crowd, keep the momentum going. zoroe took a second to think if she could recall any information about hydras, remembering that they typically live in swamps and that they can regrow their heads. she hit Salome with a Sacred Flame and Ku-aya piled more damage onto the creature.

Salome, left with only two heads, was almost afraid of davke. the two heads aimed instead for calypso, who was able to dodge the attacks thanks to zoroe’s Shield of Faith. but then the hydra regrew two heads, restoring the total to four heads. phosphorra made her way to the platform, still moving her Spiritual Weapon up. she then sent a Lightning Bolt through Salome, bloodying the hydra and killing one of the heads. Lawitse kept hanging back, saying “you guys got this...” Hex shot a Fire Bolt at the hydra, pointing out that fire stops the heads from regrowing. the crowd started booing at Janset’s death, and they didn’t appreciate cluk’s dead dog comment either, and threw some rocks at the bard in their anger. the crowd was also pumped as hell for davke, jumping and chanting for her, healing her a little. cluk mocked Salome: “glorified worm! i bet those scales aren’t even real!” calypso muttered that the hydra was a lot uglier than worms. Mistral landed a couple more hits on Salome.

khaela, inspired by davke, prepared to take on Salome. she hefted Siege for a strike, finger gunning and winking at calypso before laying into the hydra. davke, momentarily out of energy, missed both of her attacks. winking back at khaela, calypso scored the finishing blow to Salome. as the hydra fell lifeless to the ground, there was chaos in the stands. the crowd (and calypso and cluk) kept chanting “DAVE DAVE DAVE” as more Janset and Salome merch was thrown down and destroyed. the announcer was sweating at this display, not expecting this turn of events. as the beast tamer and her beasts were removed from the arena, the announcer struggled to control the crowd’s energy, their voice hard to hear over the chanting.

the guards told the party to gather at the northern side of the arena and lowered a tray of healing potions down to them. “make this a good show, don’t disappoint the crowd.” Hex and khaela didn’t drink their potions, Hex being unhurt (and confused why as to why she was given one at all) and khaela healing herself. the others took their potions, and zoroe kept three of the potions with her things, to be used later. phosphorra politely but unsuccessfully asked to be let out of the arena. zoroe’s Shield of Faith finally dropped. calypso congratulated davke with a firm pat on the back, then the monk kept making eyes at khaela.

having had some time to gather their wits, the previously nervous announcer had recovered, smiling confidently. “this is the stuff legends are made of.” they went on to mention that these challengers had done some truly impressive things and that it seemed no one could best them. the announcer then introduced the tiefling twins, Sudabeh and Siyavash, as a pair of figures walked into the arena from the southern door. their entrance was almost disappointing since they looked... normal. however the twins had an air of deadliness to them, and the crowd went silent upon seeing them. only once the twins bowed in unison to the crowd did the cheering begin. the attention didn’t seem to affect the twins at all as they faced the party and readied their weapons. the platform in the center of the arena groaned and creaked until a popping sound signaled the arrival of a small wooden box. the box contained three playing cards, kept behind a pane of glass.

oh god we’re fighting the twins next time and we still have to fight the King afterward oh god

[olivebranch311]

Fire Emblem Fates Holders of Fate

After the deaths of both the Hoshidan and Nohrian children in different worlds, both Corrins lead their armies through the unknown land of Valla, guided by Azura, to defeat the true evil of the land, in search for why their children died, and to seek vengeance for it. And now they stand at the end, against Anankos, fighting against their precious children.

CONQUEST

Arthur and Percy: Arthur: What beast- having me fall down suddenly isn’t- wait. Isn’t that-?

Percy: …….

Arthur: Percy! Say it isn’t so, my son! You-you truly died… I cannot believe I didn’t make it! The one time my luck had to cost my little boys life!

Percy: …….

Arthur: But I cannot say regrets, my son! For I am here to make this all better. You would tell me to stop crying, since heros never give up. I, Arthur, shall be the Hero of Justice to save you, my son! And after this is done, no more Deeprealms! You are officially coming home, young man! And you shall be my Sidekick in Justice!

Benny and Ignatius: Ignatius: ……..

Benny: Ignatius?! Is that you, I see?

Ignatius: …….

Benny: Oh Ignatius… You really did get defeated, didn’t you? And I wasn’t there to save you at all. You must’ve been so terrified. I’m sorry I didn’t get there in time. I can see it, you clutching your charm I made you and the shield in your hand, waiting for me to come and make the pain stop… I am so sorry, Ignatius.

Ignatius: ………

Benny: But Dad is here now. And I will make it so that nothing bad shall ever touch you. Even those bugs that sneak into your bed, I’ll make sure they don’t come close. My son, when all is said and done, I want you to come with me, out of the army and onto a more domestic life. I’m sure you’ll protest, but I would love to see you happy once more. Now, no more talk. Let us see who is the better protector!

Keaton and Velouria: Keaton: Velouria! It’s you, I’ve been trying to find you everywhere!

Velouria: ……..

Keaton: Sheesh, what’s with the smell? You don’t smell anything like how you usually do, so what gives?!

Velouria: ……

Keaton: Velouria… I’m sorry. You just want my attention because I stay for a while and leave you alone. All you wanted was to get my scent to have some piece of me on you, to make you feel better, and here I am complaining! I’m a terrible father…

Velouria: ……

Keaton: Velouria… I’m not going to remember what happened in this place. I’m gonna forget all about having to fight against you. But maybe that’s a good thing. I don’t want you to think that Daddy doesn’t love you anymore, I still love you, Velouria. I’m just gonna have to beat you up, to wake you up! And then you can sniff me, and we can look for treasure. I promise, Velouria!

Niles and Nina: Niles: This is something I didn’t want to do.

Nina: …….

Niles: You know I was hoping for you to talk to me, then I didn’t have to fill the void with all of this… conversation. And you don’t usually like to listen to me talk. Speaking of that, why didn’t you listen to me when I told you to run, Nina?! I was trying so hard to protect you and you just dashed in front of me. Aren’t you supposed to argue with me, make a comment? Come on, say something, Nina!

Nina: ……….

Niles: Nina… It’s pointless to try and talk to you, isn’t it? You just won’t respond to me, the silent treatment is so terrible to use against your trying father. But I understand, no more time for talk. I’ll make you take your just desserts, and then I am going to bring you home, over my shoulder and you kicking and screaming. Let’s go, Nina!

Odin and Ophelia: Odin: I had a vision of this very event as soon I crossed this threshold. It came as predicted, that my sensory skills have not failed me.

Ophelia: ……

Odin: Ophelia, I once told you that heroes don’t die. But that, dear star, was just a lie, a story I told you. The real truth is, hero is dubbed a hero after passing onto the realm after this one. And they only attain that status after becoming a legend. I apologize, truly, that you cannot become a Heroine just yet.

Ophelia: ……

Odin: I won’t let that lie be the last thing I ever say to you. We must cross blow now, and it hurts me to do this to you, it does.

Ophelia: …….

Odin: Mother…. Please, protect my dearest Ophelia when I raise my tome at her. Protect her so that when it is over, I can hold her in my arms and speak to her of Ylisse…

Ophelia: ….

Odin: *deep breath* Here goes…. Hark, O’ shade! Odin Dark releases you from the confines of puppet strings! My aching blood boils eagerly to meet my daughter in single combat! By the name and magicks given to me, I relinquish darknesses hold upon you! I cast out the evil hold on you, daughter!

Leo and Forrest:

Leo: Is that you, Forrest, and not some feigned mirage?

Forrest: …….

Leo: I am sorry, Forrest. You wouldn’t be like this if I had faster and stronger for you, if I had been a good father and protected you. I have called you so many things, just because of what you like, what you wear… That itself is something a parent should never do.

Forrest: …….

Leo: I found your hat, which was left in the dirt of your Deeprealm, by the by. I cleared the dust off, so it is as good as new… I hope.

Forrest: ……..

Leo: Nothing? Truly, no reaction to your most favored clothing item in the dirt? No thank you? At least you’ll forget about that… But I am also glad about being able to forget this. The last thing I ever want, Forrest, is to attack you with Brynhildr. I shouldn’t be raising it at my own son, let alone a child.

Forrest: ……..

Leo: Gods above hear me… Protect my son, keep him safe, if my prayers even come to you. But enough of my prattle. I will have my son back and give him the rightful treatment he so deserves from his father. And when that time comes, I will hold him gently and tell him that he does goodness for the world. And if my plea doesn’t come to the Gods, I know it will be heard by you, Forrest.

Laslow and Soleil Laslow: Soleil?! Why do you look like that? Oh no… I suppose that truly means you were defeated back there.

Soleil: ……

Laslow: *sniff* I am so sorry! I never meant to get there too late, I truly did try, Soleil! But I suppose… if you never did defend me, I would have never made all of the allies I made. I wouldn’t have been able to help fix the rift between Nohr and Hoshido… technically, as they are from another world. Just like me and Odin and Selena….

Soleil: ……

Laslow: I know my life has never been told to you properly Soleil, and I won’t forget what I will tell you. I will just forget that I will tell you now. I am not a resident of Nohr. I never have been Soleil, I was born in another realm, son of a dancer. I gave you her headband, and by Naga, you have her hair too. That pink shade belongs to your grandmother.

Soleil: ……

Laslow: My name isn’t Laslow… It is another name, one where I will tell you another time, for now, my dear sunshine, I must cross blades with you, but know that I do so to free you from his control, and no matter what, Soleil, I love you.

Soleil: ……

Laslow: It is pointless for me to cry for you. You are smiling in front of me, and as such, I shall smile for you. We’ll both smile and I shall welcome you home forever.

Xander and Seigbert: Seigbert: ……

Xander: Forgive me, Seigbert, I loathe having to come at blows against you. And yet, here we are. I taught you once that a prince never flees from hardship, and yet this one time, I hoped that you didn’t heed my teachings… It… It got you killed, my son. My teachings have always made you anxious, you wanting to be exactly like me, and you trying to shoulder every burden that you come across. You wanted to live up to everyone’s expectations, the ones of your friends, and mine.

Seigbert: …….

Xander: I will say know that you must push pass those things I have taught you. For I know when you told me that you would take care of it, you would fight, tooth and nail to prove yourself to me. I should have stopped you, made you stay behind. I… I wanted to be a father that was different from my own. I wanted to keep you safe from harm. But I know someday, I will have to step aside and watch you with pride as you hold the mighty Siegfried in your hand.

Seigbert: ……

Xander: I will soon forget what will happen here in this realm. But there may be a place in your heart in which remembers these series of events, Seigbert. And if you do… Do not hesitate to pull me into an embrace. Your embrace is the only reward I can ever hope to have, my son. And I shall place my hand on your shoulder, to show you that I am always at your side. Until then… Forgive me, Seigbert, for I must raise this divine weapon against you!

NEUTRAL

Silas and Sophie: Silas: That horse is gaining on me fast, who is the rider?

Sophie: …….

Silas: Sophie?! I can’t- you really did die. I can’t believe it. Oh my little girl! I never meant for you to get hurt!

Sophie: ………

Silas: Heh… Look at me, I’m supposed to be a role model for my child and yet here I am, blowing up at myself for making horrible mistakes… I see that Abel is being a good boy Sophie, he hasn’t bucked you off once.

Sophie: ……..

Silas: Sophie… Its been a while since we sparred, huh? But this isn’t any usual battle, this is to make you safe and happy again! I will protect my friends, but more importantly, I’ll protect my daughter!

Jakob and Dwyer: Jakob: It has been quiet sometime, Dwyer, and here I thought you were just going to be a lazy oaf and decide to not come and face me.

Dwyer: …….

Jakob: Not going to take the bait? That’s never stopped you before, or perhaps are giving me, what some call, the ‘silent treatment’? It is very unlike you to just stand there, silent, when I prod at you in that manner.

Dwyer: ……

Jakob: I always despised you getting the better of me more than anyone. Unfortunately, there’s not much I can do now, with how the way you are at the moment. Why didn’t either of us see what was most important at the time? All we ever did was argue, whenever I came to visit you. It wasn’t as if you didn’t know when there’d be a time I couldn’t visit anymore. Even so, I’d still think to myself, “It’s fine. Dwyer’s too lazy to even get himself into any kind of danger.” Don’t I feel foolish now? I have had… in a way, my head in the clouds. You knew it as well, didn’t you, Dwyer?

Dwyer: …..

Jakob: Mmm. Well, it is not over yet. We can change things back, there is still time for us, or so I believe. You see, Dwyer, you have inherited your stubborn trait from me for a reason. I will make you wake up, even if it requires me to have to kill you. I won’t apologize. I won’t remember this, and neither will you, so let me say… I care for you, Dwyer. Now, enough talk.

Kaze and Midori: Kaze: Midori! Thank goodness I found you. I do not see any marking on your body… or perhaps is it the shade around you that blocks my sight?

Midori: …..

Kaze: Midori… I see. My daughter is too far away for my voice to reach her. Midori, your home in the Deeprealm was destroyed when I came across it, but that may be a good thing. It may be a sign that you are destined to finally leave that realm. It would be upsetting for you to have to wait in my chair and sit for hours, staring at the door and waiting for me to return.

Midori: ……

Kaze: I will never give up, Midori. I will use any means necessary to save you from what has cursed you. I apologize Midori… This may hurt a bit, but I will make it quick.

BIRTHRIGHT

Subaki and Caeldori: Subaki: Caeldori?! You there! Could that really be you, Caeldori?!

Caeldori: …..

Subaki: I knew it. No matter your appearance, I could never make the slightest mistake of the form that is my daughter. And strangely, I thought I saw the last of you after- oh yes! Why didn’t you listen to me when we were at the Deeprealm, Caeldori?! It wasn’t safe for you to fight such strong foes without proper training!

Caeldori: ……

Subaki: I’m sorry… You gave your life to defend mine, and here I am complaining about it. And that outburst wasn’t the least bit perfect, wasn’t it, Caeldori? All the same, there was no perfection in what you did. I am strong enough that I would’ve protected you and myself at once. I would have never died in that miserable place.

Caeldori: …..

Subaki: I shall save you from this place, if only you take my hand. I will not let you out of my sight until we have restored you to yourself. Properly this time, and perfectly, I shall protect you!

Hayato and Rhajat: Hayato: AH! Spirit begone from this place and- wait! Come closer, you look familiar….

Rhajat: …..

Hayato: Huh?! Rhajat?! It-it really is you. Not some mirage, or doll, or copy… but my real daughter. Turning my own daughter against me, is there nothing this dragon won’t stoop to? If it were something else, I would set fire to it no problem! But my own offspring… of all the horrible things to do…

Rhajat: …….

Hayato: Hey! N-no I am not crying! I am just sweating is all, okay?! … Fate is cruel, though, I must say. Now that your in front of me, I don’t know what to say, your magic is strong but it didn’t save you in the end, just like how I didn’t save you… G-Gods why was I late to save her?!

Rhajat: …..

Hayato: It’s not like I can apologize to you, but words do have power, so hear me now, daughter, I promise you, by my power, I will release you from this world and it’s curse. Rhajat, I WILL free you, no matter what!

Kaden and Selkie: Kaden: Selkie! You’re here! You can’t fool me, Selkie! The seeing sees! Uh, it should.

Selkie: …..

Kaden: You’re so cute, Selkie! You thought you could run from me, but I always catch you whenever your in trouble. That being said… Why didn’t you run away Selkie? I just don’t get it, I tell you to run and you don’t do what I say, and you died because of it! Not everything is a game, Selkie, why didn’t you know that they were going to hurt you? Is it because I’m right that you won’t talk to me, Selkie? Please tell me I’m right!

Selkie: ……

Kaden: Hmph! If you’re going to be like that, I won’t play with you anymore… I almost thought that was enough to bring you back to me, but I’m not that optimistic. You haven’t seen me in so long, I’m actually getting ready for you to pounce on me, like in the old days, when we wrestled. The deal is, if I win, you have to come back with me. Don’t worry if you mess up my fur, Selkie, I’ll forget that you even did it, anyways. And then you can hold me tight like you usually do when you haven’t seen me in forever! Okay? Let’s go!

Azama and Mitama: Azama: Hmm. Where did I go wrong? I have been thinking on that subject on my way to you, and curse you for making me reflect on my duties, Mitama.

Mitama: …..

Azama: Alas… your soul slumbered before I ever had the change of waking you from your deeds of sloth. Death comes for everyone, after all. If you had died, I would feel nothing. However this… this whole event has changed my perspective, if only just a little.

Mitama: …..

Azama: I understand. As luck would have it, your soul has not yet passed on. Sleepers, like yourself, need only the push to awaken. As I have done many times when you were younger, I will be doing now. You carry a bow with you, that shows me you are not as lackadaisical, yet I know that my daughter is still asleep. This has the potential to turn violent, so be so kind as to not wish the wrath of the Gods upon me. I will greet your spirit with a hearty, wakeful slap~

Hinata and Hisame: Hinata: Am I hallucinating or…?

Hisame: …..

Hinata: Hisame! No! So they really did get you in the Deeprealm… Damn it! That must’ve been so scary for a kid like you to fight monsters. And meanwhile I was getting ganged up on. If I had just won, maybe I could’ve saved you in time…! I’m sorry! It’s my fault, you can blame Dad if you want to! I don’t mind, cause I got Lord Takumi and some others to help fix the problem! But thing is, I’m not gonna remember what happened here Hisame, but maybe you will! So next time, just hug me and I’ll pat your head! I just ask you don’t shy away, like you usually do.

Hisame: …..

Hinata: Here goes nothin’! It’s been some time since we sparred, right? I don’t ever remember you winning, but hey! This is some good practice for you, Hisame! I won’t falter no matter who I’m fighting! Prepare yourself, kiddo!

Takumi and Kiragi: Takumi: Kiragi! Is that really you?!

Kiragi: …..

Takumi: I can’t believe it… I never… I thought I never see you again. I was too late in trying to come save you. I am a terrible father aren’t I?! I wasn’t able to save and because of that your just standing across from me… blank eyes staring back at me. I hate it. I want to see your eyes bright and alive whenever I see you! I want to hear you talk to me, to say anytning! … Will you say anything, Kiragi?

Kiragi: …….

Takumi: Kiragi… No, I get it. I’ll get you back to the way you were before. Then we can practice with the Fujin Yumi. You would tell me you love me… but you seemed to know I do to when I never said it, I’m sorry I’m so…. emotionally stunted. But I feel happy when your around me. And when I do get you back, I’ll catch you in my arms when you jump at me in joy, I promise.

Saizo and Asugi: Saizo: Saizo, that’s you, isn’t it? Because if it is, you haven’t been training, you’ve lost your touch in being concealed and out of sight from enemies and allies. If you don’t train enough, you’ll disgrace the Saizo name.

Asugi: ……

Saizo: … I want to thank you for what you did in your Deeprealm, despite doing something idiotic as protecting me. You should have been more concerned for your wellbeing. But if this is what it cost to protect me, I couldn’t ask for a nobler son. You know how I feel about the traditions of the clan, but this experience has taught me something… I will let you leave the title of Saizo, so that you may be Asugi. You can’t hear me anyway, that much I’m certain of. Hell, I’ll even forget I even said it. But if I didn’t, it would never feel right. If I never said it, however, then it really never happened, correct?

Asugi: ……

Saizo: Hm. Glad that you understand. Let us see what Asugi can do against Saizo the Fifth. Come at me, son.

Ryoma and Shiro: Ryoma: Shiro? Shiro! You look… strange. Do you not recognize me? It’s your father, Ryoma! Remember? Your dad. Look at me, Shiro! Say something!

Shiro: …..

Ryoma: Damn that dragon… this must be a dream of some kind… Or so I want it to be. I finally have you within my sights to take you back home and now I can’t. I truly must raise Raijinto against my own son? Gods above forgive me for killing my own son. You should be yelling at me right now, to stop talking and to just fight you. Aren’t you going to tell me how you want to hold it right now? That you want to beat me with it! Go on, Shiro! Get mad at me when you know I’m right!

Shiro: ……

Ryoma: Damn it all! You know I must strike you down, right? But know that I am doing it to save you, to bring you back. I want to mess up your hair again whenever you manage to land a hit on me. And yes, perhaps it would be nice to have you argue with me again! You are not allowed to die, you understand? A parent should never have to burry their child.