#retry baby! this feels much more like him than the first one

[demoreelrewound]

Quinn (Mulryan)

Un-f*cking-defeated.

Canon traits: surly, steadfast, to-the-point, casual to the idea of violence, protective, keeps to himself, evasive on personal details beyond jokes and little anecdotes, nominally the cinematographer, perhaps the make-up tech, an affinity for guns

Canon backstory: a former soldier of the IRA with a very large family, he had to leave to escape authorities. One of his siblings woke up dressed as Punky Brewster after a wild night. He and Karl broke into Planet Hollywood after another bender in the States.

My ideas:

His parents - Gráinne (graw-nyuh) and Fionn (fin) used to own a corner shop near the border which supplied black market goods to Northern Catholics during WW2. They moved further down when becoming more involved in the IRA. Not outright soldiers, but trained as such, they were intelligence gatherers and resource managers, meaning many people came and left the house when Quinn was younger. "If anyone asks, they're your uncles and aunties." the children were told.

Well, I say Quinn... but that wasn't his name back then, neither was his surname Mulryan. Someone's idea of a good US disguise was to up the Irish to a degree that no one would believe a defector would be that foolish. His birth name is much tamer: Seán Ó Díomasaigh, anglicised to John Dempsey.

Has three siblings - elder siblings Ruaidhrí (ryoo-uh-ryee with a rolled r) and Aoife (ee-fa), and younger brother Dáithí (da-hee). They were thick as thieves, always watching out for each other and (minus Ruaidhrí as there's a three year gap between him and Aoife) sticking up for each other in school.

As mentioned in the past-present picrew, he and his siblings went around local pubs collecting donations for the cause - "The Boys" as they said. While scrappy and boisterous sometimes, the patrons and soldiers adored them for their cute faces and naïve optimism - they'd be described as the reason to fight.

Unfortunately, this didn't stop the family from being exposed to bursts of violence, having to learn how to best hide, fight, and play dead fairly young. It became a game that continued even as things eased off, a competition between siblings to see who could stay still the longest or who could tell the best lie under the threat of a sharp stick in the eye. It became a dark joke among them, something to shake heads about over a pint alongside the other silly childish things they did.

As long as he could remember, Seán could see the beauty in the everyday, figure out the most interesting and emotive ways of expressing something visually. This showed whenever he was the one filming family get-togethers or trips, earning him the moniker of "our little Spielberg/George Lucas/ [whatever director that came to mind]" - they encouraged him, even as it was his turn for paramilitary training, to keep at it and make a career for himself when victory came.

Once he'd become a reserve he was given leave to enroll in a part-time college film course in a nearby city, the nearest one he could find but still away from home. He learned everything he could about cinematography and what different shots meant, quickly deciding that was where his passions truly lay, but wasn't able to do much actual handling of cameras to his chagrin. As covert as he tried to be, his loyalties betrayed themselves in his coursework and led to his dangerously neutral mentor basically saying "You're better than just a propaganda filmmaker, step out of your comfort zone, make something truly creative." He graduated with a final piece under this idea, but didn't have a chance to show his family before things got bad again.

By the time he came back, his mother and father were sick, Aoife their carer and supplier, with Ruaídhrí trained as intelligence and Dáithí as an on-the-ground fighter with fire in his eyes. The little brother had become hardened, partly by Seán's own doing, and had a devastating plan that would endanger many civilians and himself but eliminate a key figure in the British side. As you may guess, this was a step he couldn't let happen - the opportunity to express himself creatively had made a crack in his desensitised shell, not much by outside standards, but enough to have him interfere to save his brother and dozens of civilians. He aimed at the target himself from on high, succeeding in killing... a bodyguard.

The fallout was life-shattering - family and cause betrayed, a target of enemy assassins, a promising career ruined before it could start. Seán ran and incapacitated anyone sent his way, first to Europe, then to the States on the same journey as a particular former East German informant.

[autisticlancemcclain]

“You’re nervous.”

“Hnnngh,” Keith says, knuckles white on the steering wheel. He looks straight ahead, left leg bouncing, hair pulled back into a ponytail but flyaways everywhere. He keeps having to push up his glasses when they slide down his nose, nudged forward by all the tension in his eyebrows. “Being stressed before a stressful situation is not being nervous, Lance, it’s just my brain responding like a brain.”

Lance hides a smile. “You’ve met my family before, baby.”

Keith slows to a stop as they approach their turn, looking at Lance instead of the road for the first time in twenty minutes. His indigo eyes are wide and pleading. Lance is distracted by the tiny mole beside his nose.

“I’ve met your mom,” he says emphatically, breaking eye contact with Lance to crane his head to the left, checking over the hill for any cars. He’s far more careful than he needs to be — there’s never anyone on this road. But Keith is always endlessly careful when he’s driving other people around. “I’ve met your siblings. I’ve met your abuela. I’ve met the twins.”

“Mighty number of people,” Lance agrees. He looks at his boyfriend pointedly. “All of whom love you.”

“Because they love you,” Keith stresses. “You’re, like, their favourite person. You hyped me up so of course they have a nicer view of me. But this is like — your great grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles and, I dunno, second sister in law five times removed —

“Not how that works,” Lance interjects, amused.

“—and now I gotta impress them all? At once? I still don’t know how I did that with everyone else! I panicked! I forgot all my lines and conversation starters! I just — was awkward, and they were cool with it because your family is cool!”

“Ah, yes, you were yourself and people liked you,” Lance says, nodding sagely. “How bizarre.”

Keith looks at him imploringly. He has a — really cute nose, holy shit. It’s crooked from the three separate times it’s been broken and Lance is kind of obsessed with it. All he can think about is pressing a kiss to the bridge of it and watching how Keith will crinkle it on reflex. He has to fight back a giggle.

“I am going to get eaten,” Keith says miserably. “My luck is going to wear out. I’m gonna say something stupid and offend your third cousin or trip over someone’s toddler and destroy your mother’s flan by crashing into the table and upending hot coffee on an elderly person. Then I’ll get arrested for assault and you’ll have to visit me in prison and my cellmate will make a comment about you or something and I’ll have to kill him and then I’ll get retried and the death sentence, probably, and then Red will bust me out of prison and cause intergalactic meltdowns and —”

Lance can’t hold back anymore. Quick as a dart he reaches out, fisting Keith’s collar, and yanks him over the gearshift, kissing him softly and soundly until Keith sighs, surprise fading into something calmer, relaxed. His hand comes up to cup Lance’s cheek.

“You need a Xanax,” Lance says gently as he pulls away.

Keith huffs, the manic look in his eyes replaced with something much softer. Relieved, even. “Yeah, probably.” He tears his eyes away from Lance, rechecking his turn and finally actually putting on his blinker and moving onto the right road. His free hand reaches over the gearshift and Lance grabs it, tangling their fingers together and resting them in his lap. “I just — I want your family to like me.”

Lance smiles, a wide one that brings a flush to his cheeks and makes him shy, even though he’s not self-conscious; a smile that makes something flutter so intensely in his stomach that it feels so intensely private.

“They’ll like you,” Lance says simply.

Keith exhales. His hand tightens. Lance squeezes back.

The rest of the drive is easy.

———

By the time they make it to Lance’s great-grandmother’s farm, he can tell that some tension has crawled back into Keith’s shoulders. But he’s always been brave, when fighting dictators or meeting parents, and doesn’t hesitate to pull into the gravel driveway and park the car. He squeezes Lance’s hand again before letting go, stepping out of the car and heading to get their stuff.

“Tío! Tío!” scream two voices, and Lance doesn’t even have half a second to brace himself before Nadia is launching herself at his stomach. He manages somehow to spin them both around to offset the momentum, keeping them both upright. Keith is not quite so lucky — Lance hears a slam, a startled oof, and then he sees their bags go flying out of the corner of his eye.

“Jesus Christ,” Keith wheezes, flat on the ground with Sylvio crowded on top of him.

“I got you!” the boy crows, scrambling off Keith’s body in order to adequately dance around in victory. “You went splat!” He whirls around to face Lance, still dancing around. “Tío Lance! Did you see?”

Lance adjusts Nadia on his hip, making no attempt to hide his amusement. “I did. You got him good, buddy.”

Beaming, Sylvio turns back to Keith, who’s finally managed to get enough breath back in his lungs to stand.

“You got me good,” he wheezes in approval.

“Just like you showed me!”

There’s no mistaking the smugness in Sylvio’s voice, the challenge, the I’m-little-you’re-big-and-you’re-a-loser.

Keith recognises the challenge easily, eyes glinting, and before Sylvio can run away Keith scoops him up, tossing him over his shoulder and whirling them around ‘til he’s dizzy.

“Just like I showed you, champ. Think you can get out of this one, though? It’s easy!”

Sylvio shrieks, pounding on Keith’s back with fists weak from laughter. Nadia squirms in Lance’s hold, so Lance sets her down, and in seconds she’s run and attacked Keith’s other side, climbing up his legs to try and free her brother. Keith scoops her up, too, throwing her over his other shoulder as she laughs just as shrilly.

“Clearly neither of you learned very much!” he shouts, grin so wide it practically splits his face. His already precariously dangling glasses slide right off his face but Keith doesn’t even spare them a glance, stepping over them easily and shaking the twins as he goes. “You’re trapped!”

It doesn’t take the bright twins very long to unite forces, attacking Keith with renewed vigour all at once. Lance bends down as they wrestle, scooping up Keith’s glasses and their discarded bags.

“He’s good with them,” Lisa says, sidling up beside him and sliding her hand around his waist. Lance mirrors her, squeezing.

“He thinks they’re hilarious. He loves them to pieces.”

“Believe me, they love him too. I heard about Uncle Keith so much on the drive down that I was tired of him before you two even got here.”

Lance snorts. “Yeah, right, dweeb. No one else here reads Jane Austen. You need your nerd buddy.”

“Indeed,” she says, grinning. She pats him on the hip, pulling away and taking one of the bags slung over his shoulder. “C’mon, let’s get your stuff dropped off. Marcela will want to fuss over you, I’m sure. She hasn’t seen you since your last mission.”

Lance looks back at his boyfriend before following her, making sure he doesn’t need Lance’s help. The twins have wrestled him into doing their bidding, it looks like, or more likely he didn’t even put up a fight, and sit on one shoulder each, guiding him around the property with shouts and points and frenzied gesturing. Keith has his hand locked firmly over each set of knees, careful not to let them fall, as he wobbles around to make them gasp and laugh.

Lance smiles. He’s fine.

———

Keith finds him within the hour, Nadia and Sylvio off to play with their cousins.

“You abandoned me,” he pouts, hand wrapped around his elbow.

Lance notices, idly, that he’s slouching again; that his ponytail has been abandoned entirely and his hair curtains his face.

Hm.

“You were busy being a doofus,” Lance teases, brushing his hair out of his face. He nobly resists the urge to quote Regina George. “One of us has to be the mature one. We wouldn’t want anyone getting the wrong impression about the saviours of the universe.

“You’re hiding out on a random couch on your phone,” Keith deadpans. He glances down at the screen. “You’re watching a seven year old vine compilation. On mute.”

“Like an adult,” Lance says primly. “Watch with me.”

Keith rolls his eyes fondly, but slides on the couch behind Lance, arms wrapped around his waist and chin hooked over his shoulder. Lance digs in his pockets until he finds Keith’s glasses, twisting around to slide them on his handsome face. His hands linger on Keith’s temples. Keith’s smile is small and crooked and bares the tiniest peek of crooked incisors, and Lance’s heart flutters.

He leans back into Keith’s chest as he plays the video, watching a compilation of dorky videos he’s seen a thousand times. He feels Keith’s grin press into the juncture of his neck as he starts to mumble along. His hand rests just under Lance’s shirt, flat on his stomach. Lance fights the urge to squirm.

You Are In Your Abuela’s House, he reminds himself firmly. Your Ancestors Are Watching You. And Jesus, Probably.

Luckily, someone calls out their names before Lance really needs to find a vat of ice water to dunk himself in.

“Leandro! Keith! Come eat before your hog of a brother takes it all!”

The two of them don’t even need to pause for a moment before throwing themselves off the couch, scrambling towards the kitchen at top speeds because Marco absolutely will eat their portion of the food. Not even because he’s hungry for it, just because he’s a butthead who thinks it’s funny.

“This is your fault,” Keith informs him, careening around a questionably placed side table.

“Nothing is ever my fault ever in the entire universe,” Lance shoots back.

(Is it Lance’s fault? Possibly. But in his defense, the several years he spent as a child waiting for Marco to be distracted before eating his favourite thing on the plate still make him crack up when he thinks about it. Marco just got so mad, every time. Plus his eyes bulge a little when he loses it. How was Lance ever supposed to avoid poking that bear?)

Luckily, they make it in time to wrestle a plate away from Marco’s snickering ass.

“Keith, Lance,” Lance’s mother greets warmly before Lance can crack a plate over his brother’s head. “I’m glad you made it!”

“Mother,” Lance squawks dramatically, hand flying to his chest, “I am the second to be greeted? You’re son? You’re youngest angel? The one who went missing for several years and returned to you, prodigal?”

She reaches over and flicks Lance in the forehead. Keith snorts. Marco cackles.

“Keith called me on the flight home,” she explains, ruthless. “So he is the son, and you are the son-in-law.”

Keith flushes as he always does when Mamá pairs them like that, when they’re both her sons, when she implies what it implies. Lance lets the warmth of that expression soak into his bones, deep in through his back, from every point Keith is touching him.

“I was sleeping off being maimed!” Lance despairs.

It does him no favours. Mamá waves her hands wildly, setting down her own plate in favour of placing her hands over her ears. “Gah! Sh! Do not tell me of these things! I am meant to pretend your job is nothing more than ornamental! Do not ruin that for me!”

“It was the slightest ever maiming,” Lance mutters, sullen.

Keith visibly bites back a retort to that, no doubt out of respect for Mamá.

(Lance knows that Keith would have been the world’s biggest mama’s boy had he grown up with Krolia. He has shared this hypothesis with Shiro, who had laughed so hard upon hearing it that he had sprained a muscle in his neck, and then explained later with a heat pack and a wryly smiling Adam that Keith used to scold Shiro for pushing himself with exact quotes from Shiro’s mother herself.)

“Nobody ever wants to hear my side of the story,” Lance laments.

Keith bends down to kiss him on the cheek.

“That’s because you are a liar,” he says kindly.

Lance catches his chin before he can pull away, kissing him to shut him up.

They head outside to join everyone else, plates stacked high with food and plastic cups balanced precariously with spare fingers. Keith starts to slouch again as they walk out the sliding screen door, but he keeps his hair out of his face, eyes flitting between different people. It helps that hardly anyone spares him half a glance, too used to random new people in such a big family.

“Hey, Patito! Over here!”

Lance whips his head up at the familiar voice, breaking into a wide smile when he sees his sister’s wilding waving hand. Keith, too, seems relieved when he catches sight of Veronica, rushing over almost faster than Lance is.

“Hey, losers,” she greets, flicking water from her cup at them as they sit across from her. “Took you long enough to get here.”

“Lance is a distraction and danger to the road,” Keith says immediately, because he is a snitch. He is also unfortunately very quick and manages to duck away from Lance’s pinch.

Veronica snorts. “Believe me, I know. Every ride back to the Garrison on weekends was a near death experience because he kept smacking me every ten seconds. A menace.”

“You manipulator!” Lance accuses. “I slapped you because you teased me! Constantly!”

Keith and Veronica share sharp, matching grins. Lance takes a nanosecond to ponder what he ever did to deserve the sufferings of their friendship.

“That’s because you’re so goddamn easy to rile up, sweetheart,” Keith says with a wink.

Lance attempts to shove him off his chair. Unfortunately, while he does flail backwards, he manages to stay upright.

���You two were supposed to hate each other,” he mutters into his congrí. “This friendship thing is bullshit.”

Neither believe him for a second.

They’re barely into their meal when the nosiness starts. In fact, Lance is honestly surprised it has lasted this long. Luis probably said something to convince everyone to tone it down, because he is a saint and also Lance’s favourite.

“So,” says his Aunt Vena, “…Keith.”

Keith freezes, cheeks bulging. Lance tries very hard not to laugh at him.

“Hi,” he says, swallowing. He says nothing else and looks agonized about it. His memorized conversation starters have no doubt fled his brain.

“You know, I feel like I already know you,” jokes Aunt Vena, never bothered by awkwardness. Or boundaries. “I only see Leandro a few times a year were the only thing he talked about for ages.”

Lance goes pale. Oh, please God, no. Please let Aunt Vena be suddenly gifted with the ability to read Lance’s mind, or at least notice him waving his hands frantically behind Keith’s head, making cutting motions at his throat.

“Keith this, Keith that. Keith Keith Keith.”

Lance cradles his face in his hands. So much for miracles.

“He did?” Keith asks.

“Stop investigating immediately or you’re sleeping on the floor tonight,” Lance threatens under his breath. Keith’s hand finds it’s way to his thigh and rests there, as if laughing at him.

“Oh, yes,” laughs Aunt Vena. “Every other word was about how you sat in class or walked in the hall or flew your planes. He was always angry about it, but he was quite focused on you. Oh, and your hair.”

Aunt Vena turns away to chatter with someone else like she didn’t just ruin Lance’s life. Lance would hate her if he didn’t find her so goddamn loveable, but he does, so instead he looks up and suffers Keith’s wide, shit-eating grin, and ponders deep in his heart how he will re-humble his boyfriend so they’re back on even ground.

“…You were big on the hair, huh.”

“Shut the fuck up or I’ll chop it off as you sleep.”

———

“Keith.”

“I’m just saying.”

“You dorkbrain.”

“I’m just saying!”

Keith’s hair is in a knot at the crown of his head, glasses pushed all the way to his face. He’s got Lance’s hand in his but he’s not paying attention to him in the slightest — he cycles between leaning back, then forwards, then craning his neck and shifting his eyes. Every few seconds he lets out a muted gasp.

A group of children run yelling in and out of the house, heedless of doors and stairs.

“You are such a mother hen,” Lance says with great amusement.

Keith is too distracted to even roll his eyes. “Some of them are very little,” he says worriedly. “Maybe they should play a game outside. There’s more space.” He looks around at the various adults sitting and chatting, aghast. “Should me maybe get a — pool noodle, or something? Just for the corners. So there are no head injuries. That’s the most common way they happen, you know. Tripping during play.”

Lance hums, leaning into his side. “Reading a lot of parenting books, are you.”

Keith is very deliberately silent. Lance flicks up his gaze to watch his face redden.

“…Akira.”

“It’s Shiro’s!” he says defensively. “It was — he had it on the shelf! I read it when I was younger! It was traumatizing! Do you know how easy it is to fuck up a kid? Very easy, Lance! Their heads are very squishy! They don’t know balance yet! They repeat everything you say!”

“Was this book,” Lance starts, choking back laughter with everything he has, “perhaps about raising toddlers?”

Keith’s jaw snaps shut.

“Children under two? Hm?”

Keith glances away. “It didn’t mention.”

Lance loses his battle, burying his cackling in Keith’s shoulder.

“How was I supposed to know that ‘A Guide To Raising Healthy Children For New Parents’ was about — babies? Shiro was the dumbass who had it!”

Lance laughs harder. “Did he — did he buy it when he —”

Keith puts his head in his hands. “He bought, like, forty books when he first started fostering me, they were all basically the same, he’s such a dumbass —”

“Stop, stop,” Lance begs, grasping his aching stomach. The image of Shiro, twenty years old, panicking after impulsively deciding to apply to foster the delinquent who stole his car, frantically googling advice for new parents only to unknowingly receive information about toddlers is the best mental image he’s had in a while. He’ll have to share with Pidge and the rest of the Holts the second they get home.

“You’re such a butthead,” Keith grumbles, but it’s half-hearted. His attention is still mostly on the way Mateo, Lance’s four year old second cousin, very nearly brains himself on the corner of the brick entryway trying to swerve away from his older sister. Keith’s sharp inhale would have been comical if Lance didn’t feel his own heart drop.

“Okay,” Lance concedes, “maybe it’s time for a new game.” He pats his boyfriend on the knee. “You’re up, champ.”

“Wait, me?” Keith asks, bewildered. “You’re their cousin.”

Lance shrugs. “You’re the worried one. Plus, I want to go get wine drunk with Rachel. Mamá said she just got here. She’s been avoiding my calls all week which means she has Information to share and doesn’t trust herself not to tell me immediately. I have to know what’s up.”

Keith still doesn’t look convinced. “But I’m a stranger to them, basically.”

“So start with Nadia and Sylvio, dummy. Once the rest of the kids see a cool newer and accidentally safer game to play, they’ll join fast. Plus, the stranger aspect is intriguing, probably. You’re like a new toy.”

To solidify his point, Lance calls his niblings over, gesturing to Keith. The twins light up, immediately abandoning whatever they’re doing — trying to shove a sleeping Luis’ finger up his own nose — to sprint over to them.

“Tío Keith has a game for you two,” Lance whispers conspirationally.

The twins burst into howling cheers.

“Game! Game! Game! Game!” they chant, each grabbing one of Keith’s hands and tugging him away.

Keith looks back at him, panicked. Lance blows him a kiss, then turns back into the house to go hunt for his sister.

She finds him first.

“LANCE,” she shouts, whipping around to face him. Lance immediately shifts backwards slightly, knees bent, legs widened, arms held out protectively in front of him. He smirks. She matches it.

She charges.

She aerials into a heel kick, as always, aiming for his skull. Lance back handsprings out of her reach, careful of the various relatives around him, who are well used to their brand of bullshit and don’t even pause their conversations as they lean away.

He comes back up just in time to throw up a block to her fists, aiming a kick to her stomach that she can’t fully dodge. She gets him right back, though, like she always does, aiming a sweeping kick for his ankles that he has to flip on his hands to avoid.

“It’s good to see you, fucker,” she pants, roundhouse kicking the dip of his waist.

“Likewise, asshole,” he grunts, grabbing her ankle and flipping her to the ground. She drags him down with her.

They’re both grinning.

“Tomorrow morning we box for real,” she proposes as they lay there, getting their breath back.

“Deal,” he agrees.

By the time they finally get back on their feet, they’re both parched, and since they also make frequent poor decisions, they head straight for the bad boxed wine. Lance pours them both heaping glasses and Rachel guides them to an open lawn chair, which they both sprawl on, a hundred percent in each other’s space.

“So,” Rachel says, chugging half her glass, “my grades are in. I’m graduating top of my class.”

Lance gasps. “Rachel!”

“And,” she continues, building up suspense with a grin, “I got word back from all my residency applications.”

Lance thinks he might explode. He remembers them when they were little, huddled on the floor of their bedroom at one in the morning, glow sticks guiding their planners, mapping out heir lives together. Where they would go to school, when they would bother with dating, how they would do it all together. Lance, best pilot to come out of the Garrison next to Shirogane. Rachel, the first surgeon to successfully transplant a brain.

“I got in,” she says, beam so wide it forces her eyes shut. “Lance, I got in!”

“Rach!” he screams, eyes blurry from tears and heart full to bursting. “Rach!”

He wraps his arms around her shoulders and squeezes, weeping with joy and elation and buzzing from his head to his toes. This is what Rachel has wanted since she was old enough to talk. This is his sister, his first and best friend, getting everything she has ever wanted, as she has always deserved.

“I’m so fucking proud of you!”

She squeezes him right back, her own tears wetting his t-shirt. Her relief is palpable, and Lance knows it, the indescribable feeling of finally crossing that goddamn mountain, finally getting what you’ve been working for for longer than you can remember.

“Everything is falling into place,” she says softly, pulling back and holding up her cup. Lance laughs and clinks them together.

They settle back into their shared chair, too happy for words, gathering themselves. Lance catches his mother’s eye and returns her soft smile, wine making him warm and happiness making him bright. He feels like he’s swimming in sun-warmed water.

He settles back with a sigh.

Rachel nudges him. “Hey, Loverboy. Look.”

Lance follows her pointing finger. Away from the tables and lawn chairs, in a wide, open space, there’s Keith — surrounded by every single child on the property, ordered in neat rows. Each of them has a hefty stick, held carefully in their hands, watching Keith with great intensity. Keith himself has his bayard out, stretched out in a battle position, back straight and shoulders loose. He has the same bright look on his face that he has during Lion training, or riskier missions. Excitement, steadiness, and a hint of cockiness that has Lance shivering. He demonstrates a move, and with a single minded focus, the children repeat it.

It has always been impossible not to want to be a part of everything Keith does, Lance has found.

“…You kind of scored,” Rachel observes.

Lance’s laughter is breathy, high-pitched. “Believe me, I know.”

There’s a rousing shout from the kids, then a cheer, then Keith shouts, “Ready?” and at their raucous response, chaos breaks out. Sticks are strikes and parried and children throw themselves dramatically on the floor in pantomimed deaths, scrambling to their feet seconds later to get back into the fray. Every few seconds Keith calls out rules and reminders, weaving through the children to point out places for improvement or congratulate someone for doing something right.

“I have never seen them all gathered this long without any crying or fighting,” Rachel says, something like awe in her voice. She pauses. “Well, real fighting.”

Lance smiles, something small and secret and over which he has no control. He catches his boyfriend’s eye and waves, which is returned at twice the enthusiasm.

“Keith’s good with kids,” he says quietly. To himself, he wonders if it’s possible to have a heart so full it bursts.

———

The blankets are scratchy but warm, and Keith smells as he always does, and Lance is half asleep. But the words come leisurely out anyway.

“You awake?“ he whispers, words tucked into the spot above Keith’s heart.

Keith hums. Lance feels the rumble of it in his cheek.

“Barely.”

His eyes are too heavy to keep open, so he lets them slip shut. He breathes deeply the smell of his boyfriend’s body wash, and traces meaningless patterns on his chest with his fingertips, breathing slowly, taking his time. He might fall asleep, but that’s okay. They have time.

“‘M glad you came, today.”

Keith’s breathing is slow and even, just like Lance’s, but he can feel the heavy weight of his gaze, those indigo eyes.

“I go where you go.”

Lance quirks his lips. The blankets rustle softly as Keith slowly slides up his hand, encircling his fingers around Lance’s wrist, palm resting on his forearm. After a minute Lance can feel his heartbeat, at the same time that he hears it, head pressed to Keith’s chest. “You’re good with the kids.”

Keith’s breath stutters. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“I like them. And your family.”

“Told you.”

“Yeah, you did.” He’s silent for a minute, palm heavy on Lance’s skin. “I wanna — do this, Lance. Forever.”

Lance turns his head slightly, just enough to press his lips to Keith’s sternum. “I will love you until the end of time.”

He feels Keith’s smile, sweetening the air.

“I love you, too.”

[ermdotorg]

tmr head canons bc i have so many little thoughts and nothing to do with them.

newt taught himself how to braid/twist 4A, 4B, and 4C hair to help out frypan and alby (and any other gladers with those hair types.)

frypan threw a request into the box asking for a girl greenie at some point and when teresa showed up he was sure it was his fault.

minho (quietly) sings when he's running alone, (even though he doesn't know any songs— think marshall from himym and how he sings everything he does.)

gally snores so loud that it keeps everyone awake so he sleeps alone by the bloodhouse (they can still hear him)

newt and alby talked about thomas and all his questions that night when he first came up in the box, but newt was far less annoyed than alby was.

when teresa showed up she hung around with clint and the med-jacks because she knew she wanted to help people or whatever, and clint got SUPER bothered whenever she'd correct something he did. and she did it a lot.

chuck scared alby while he was in the bathroom one time (he didnt know it was alby) and got only bread and water for dinner. he did it again the next day and hid in newts room in the homestead for half the day before someone found him.

newt bitterly cleans alby's room every few days.

if thomas were to have spent more time in the glade that little corner of the deadheads would've become his and newts spot. they'd leave blankets there and everything.

the gladers didn't know how to spell their names when they first came up so they'd misspell it on the wall then have to cross it out and retry, making it look like they're dead to the greenies who aren't all that observant.

in the safe haven (yk the one where newt is alive and well) newt and thomas always sleep within a few feet of one another so they can decipher what's real when when they wake up from nightmares, (both their nightmares usually consist of losing each other)

in the safe haven minho wakes up really early and runs because it's the only thing that feels right to him.

gosh i have so many of these but i'm done for now— i love all the little glader babies so much my god why couldn't they just be happy together.

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes.

Original Works

Terrors When They Grow Up by MuffinLance

The pup was stealing rope, and Lada was watching him do it, and he was staring her in the eyes as he did. This was the first sign that something was wrong.

"Why," she asked. Not a question so much as a… why. Just why.

"For the prisoner," the pup answered, his chin raised. "It's a dangerous prisoner."

Or: As the adults scour the woods for the hunter's missing mage, the puppies take a prisoner. A baby-Jaime-kidnapped-by-other-babies AU. Teenage Lada is DONE.

All series parts are independent AUs, and can be read in any order. Mine is the Everyone Is BABIES edition.

The Witcher

hope it's nice where you are by K9_DFTBA

“It’s been such a long time, Julian. When will you be over him?”

Jaskier’s laugh, muffled and humorless, followed the question. “I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”

“I don’t enjoy seeing you hurting.”

“I’m fine. Most of the time.”

“Most of the time,”  Valdo echoed, and then, “oh, fuck.”

The progress bar stopped. Error loading. Tap to retry? Geralt tapped. This video is unavailable.

(After Jaskier goes viral for being a pining mess during a livestream, Geralt’s family tries to figure out exactly why the couple broke up, given that Jaskier is clearly still in love with Geralt. Meanwhile, Geralt is in denial, Jaskier is absolutely fine, thanks, and the internet is having a bit of a breakdown.)

Always on My Mind by didoandis

The bard doesn’t seem to notice Geralt lurking behind him until Geralt clears his throat, a low rumble, which makes him turn.

“Goodness,” he says. “Hello. You’re very… loomy.”

Now she’s closer, Ciri can see his face properly. His hair hangs lank around his face; stubble covers his chin, a little too long to be stylish; his eyes above are a bright shining blue. And yet there’s something faded about him, his clothes just slightly worse for wear, his cheeks hollow.

“Jaskier,” Geralt says, almost desperately.

After the mountain, a reunion. It doesn’t go that well, to begin with.

DC (Batman)

Distress Signal by sElkieNight60

Pages and pages of distress calls, each one recorded, dated, and filed away. With a few efficient taps Jason narrows the search. The screen goes from lists of white, answered signals, to a flood of red.

03/02 - 10:21 RED ROBIN - RESPOND: DISTRESS SIGNAL REROUTED. 03/02 - 10:22 RED ROBIN - RESPOND: DISTRESS SIGNAL REROUTED. 03/02 - 10:24 RED ROBIN - RESPOND: DISTRESS SIGNAL REROUTED.

Petals for Armor by SilverSkiesAtMidnight

There’s a small half-moon of blood under the white of Tim’s nail where he bent it. He studies the red of it, feeling foggy and dreamlike. “Can I ask you a question?”

His brother’s eyes flick to him and away again, surprised and wary. “What?”

His nail doesn’t hurt much, just the dullest of aches when he presses down against it. “When you were homeless, you slept with people for money, didn’t you?”

Jason jerks like he’s been slapped. His knuckles are so pale where they grip the steering wheel they suddenly look more bone than flesh. “Did I -”

“Was it worth it?” Tim asks, drifting like a cloud over whatever furious reaction Jason was about to give him. “The money, I mean.”

His sternum slams into the seatbelt with bruising force. Unbraced for it, his head whips forward and back against his seat as they swerve off the road again and skid to a halt with a screech of rubber.

hit me like a shooting star (so i can make a wish) by Ms_Trickster

“He broke my camera!” Tim wails, incensed. “Not a crack, not a dent; it’s nothing but a pile of glass because he broke it!”

“And his ankle,” Robin adds.

“And my ankle!”

“...I accidentally hit him with my car,” Batman reluctantly offers when Dr. Thompkins raises her eyebrow at him, causing her to choke on her next breath.

(Or: One evening while birdwatching, a ten year old Tim Drake gets run over by the Batmobile.)

Clone Wars

The Prime Override by YukiPri

When Jango Fett overrides Order 66, he single-handedly ruins Sidious's Empire before it can rise. Now, the reinstated Mand'alor is at the top of the Sith Lord's shit list--but conveniently enough, Jango happens to have several million perfectly identical body doubles, who will all do whatever it takes to keep Sidious's plans from coming to fruition.

Which, is how Cody finds himself with the dubious honor of sitting on Mandalore's throne--a position made all the more difficult because he has to maintain his act in front of none other than his former General.

lift your head, child (the story has only just begun) by hoebiwan

“You’re sad,” Anakin says.

Obi-Wan winces.

“It’s okay, Master,” Anakin says seriously. He reaches up with his other hand and pats Obi-Wan’s heart. “Mom says when everything hurts right here, we hafta hold it close ‘til we find the space to cry.”

Unsure of how to respond, Obi-Wan squeezes Anakin’s hand.

(Anakin doesn’t know he’s not a slave. Obi-Wan doesn’t know Anakin doesn’t know. The Jedi Order has work to be done, inside and outside its walls.)

Platonic Saber Touch-Test by inimitability

Having already explained to his troopers that his saber's feelings do not necessarily reflect his own, Obi-Wan doesn't see the harm in letting them take turns holding it. After all, it's much better to figure out how it will react to them now, in a controlled environment, than in the middle of a battle. That's what this is about: preparing for all eventualities, and a dash of scientific curiosity. Definitely nothing to do with soulmates and who may or may not be their General's.

[toyama-division]

ECO BooN Team Dynamics🌱

In battle, Asato will be the heavy hitter, often dragging out the battle to wait for the perfect moment before he deals a finishing blow. If this fails, he depends on one or both extra members to have his back while he tries to recover and retry.

Yano may not be the best at his defense job, but that’s because he prefers to use speed to overpower and confuse his opponents. His glass armor usually hurts him quite a bit, so Kensaku has to make up for Yano’s many mistakes.

Kensaku prefers to take it slow and stay back, giving his teammates healing support. It doesn’t mean he cannot fight, in fact, his lyrics are more calculated and powerful hitting in comparison to the faster tempos that Asato and Yano go at.

Asato and Yano

Asato’s Side - Asato first met Yano in high school, so they have grown a very close companionship. He wasn’t really looking for friendship, but Yano stumbled into his life and has remained there since. He views Yano as someone who is slow, but dependable. Yano visits Asato’s home often and is usually super open to help around the house and farm if Asato’s grandmother isn’t feeling too great. And those small gestures to his grandmother make Asato unbelievably happy to have Yano as a friend.

Yano’s Side - In Yano’s eyes, Asato was a blessing to him in his high school years. Yano dealt with a lot of bullying during that period of his life and despite being Asato’s senior, Yano had no shame in allowing an underclassman to help fight back against the delinquents. After graduation in between Yano’s artistic work, he did as much as he could to try to help Asato - from homework to social life, or chores, he tried to repay Asato as best as he could. Yano hopes that one day, he can understand Asato’s blank expressions better. Yano calls Asato by his name or “senpai” if he’s emotional.

Yano and Kensaku

Yano’s Side - He hasn’t grown out of the intimidating jitters from the start of their relationship. Yano finds Kensaku’s cheery personality to be uncomfortable since he doesn’t typically interact with too many friendly adults (lots of smug or serious rich adults looking at his work). Yano is trying his best to overcome his shyness by actively looking for him for comfort or advice when things go awry, but more often than not, his visits to Kensaku’s work are short and Yano ends up at Asato’s doorstep anyways. Yano calls Kensaku, uncle Ken or “Ken ojisan”.

Kensaku’s Side - Kensaku struggles quite a bit with Yano. He is used to dealing with children, but a full-grown man-child is something he dislikes. His comforts and advice to Yano are very brief, unlike his typical conversations. Kensaku used to hate Yano’s titles to his name with how informal Yano is with his names. But Kensaku has learned over time to ignore it, although he does occasionally Yano a warning glance whenever the younger member acts rude to people. He does like that Yano has more of a reaction to his bad jokes, so he takes more joy in distracting Yano with a cringe-inducing pun. Kensaku addresses Yano with a “kun” suffix or to get him angry, he’ll baby Yano and call him “Yan-Yan”.

Kensaku to Asato

Kensaku’s Side - There is a little bit of struggle with Asato as well, but more so an emotional wall. With how jolly Kensaku is, he finds Asato’s lack of any emotion to be very dull. But Kensaku also feels as if Asato’s parents may have a reason for his lack of emotions and doesn't force Asato to explain himself. It doesn’t change Kensaku’s need to make others smile any different, seeing Asato's stone face as a challenge to get that rare, bone-chilling grin out of his team leader with a horrible, dad joke. Kensaku prefers to address Asato by his name or with a “kun” out of child endearment. (Much to Asato's displeasure.) 

Asato’s Side - Kensaku is annoying to Asato, but in the rare moments that Asato opens up, he prefers Kensaku to be the one to be there for him. Despite his lack of knowledge on what Kensaku’s relationship was with his father, Asato views Kensaku as a trusted adult, especially when it comes to his family. Sometimes, Asato likes to get advice from Kensaku whenever his grandmother’s crops start to lose quality. Asato addresses Kensaku by uncle Ken or Ken sensei. 

[etoileholland]

Why must I meet you in a secret rendezvous?

@rosieholland​ asked “Hey I love all your imagines! Maybe you could do one where the boys are stuck at home during quarantine but Harry’s best friend y/n is staying with them. And Tom and y/n and secretly start dating and don’t say anything because they don’t know how Harry will feel about it.

Pairing: Tom x female reader; bestfriend! Harry

Warnings: a lil argument, I think that’s all

Word count: 2.8k

A/N: thank you so much for requesting this, and I really hope you enjoy! As always, requests are open, and let me know if you want to be added to the tag list.

It was a dangerous game to sneak around your best friend’s back, especially since you weren’t very good at keeping secrets.

You and Harry were nearly inseparable, and it seemed as though when someone saw one of you, then the other was somewhere nearby. When he began to work on his short film project and needed an actress, he called you first. You had known Harry for almost two years, and you met over what you call “the frozen yogurt debacle”. This needs no elaboration since it’s not important to the plot, but it’s important to note that a terrible shared experience can bring two people together.

A week into filming, it was announced that the UK would go into lockdown, and that meant filming had to be postponed. Since you spent more time at the Holland residence than your own, Harry asked if you would quarantine with them.

Naturally, spending so much time together with people for a few months would make it so that you get very comfortable around everyone.

The boys knew that you were physically affectionate, so no one batted an eye when you were cuddled up next to someone. Most of the time you were always with Harry, or sometimes Sam, and occasionally Tom.

That’s why no one suspected that you and Tom were secretly dating, especially Harry. You had vowed to keep it a secret from him because you didn’t want him to get mad at you for dating his brother.

Sneaking around was quite fun though, and it was becoming more and more like a game.

“Baby” you trailed off, moaning as Tom trailed kisses down your neck. You were both in his bedroom with the door locked, trying not to make any noise. Harry’s room was right on the other side of the wall, and it was a dangerous game to be making out in Tom’s room.

“Love, I need you-”, he placed a kiss on your shoulder, biting lightly as you moaned, “to be quiet.”

“You’re making it quite difficult.” You breathed back and he let out a breathy laugh.

“Good.” He kissed you deeper, and you heard Harry say something from the other side of the wall.

“Tom.” You were trying to untangle yourself from him, but he just kept pulling you closer. “Harry said something.” You managed to sit up, and Tom just pouted.

“So? He’s probably playing fifa or something.” He said, lifting his head slightly to kiss you on the lips.

“What if he knows?” You asked and he just shook his head.

“You’ve gotta tell him eventually. As much fun as it is to sneak around, you should be honest with him. He’s your best friend.”

“And he’s your brother.” You replied. “I don’t know, I guess I don’t want him to hate me for being with you.”

“I really doubt he’ll hate you, if he really loves me then he’ll be happy for me being with someone as lovely as you.” He stated and you nodded.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Now if you’ll excuse me,” you cupped Tom’s cheek with your hand, placing a light kiss to his cheek, “I did promise Harry that I would bake cookies with him.”

“Alright darling, cuddle later?” Tom looked at you with wide, puppy dog like eyes and you let out a small laugh.

“Of course, see you later, secret boyfriend.” You whispered while holding up finger guns.

“Back at you, secret girlfriend.” He winked as you quietly left the room.

——

“Earth to Y/N, why are you so distracted?” Harry waved his hand in front of you, gently slapping your cheek. “What is going on in that pretty little mind of yours?” He smirked as he let out a small laugh.

You two were supposed to be baking some cookies, but you’ve been lost in your thoughts for the duration of the activity.

“I’m just thinking about how in Italian, when you want to describe a loving boy with a good heart, you say “è buono come il pane” which literally means “he’s as good as bread” and I think that’s beautiful.”

“Actually, yeah that is beautiful. Would you describe me that way?” He looked up from the cookbook and you nodded. “Yeah of course, they must’ve had you in mind when they came up with that term.”

“Aw gosh I love you.” He put his hand over his heart and smiled, “but really, what are you thinking about? Hmm?” He prodded and you felt yourself already start to panic. He took a long drink of his water bottle, while continuing to stare at you.

“Okay fine, I was thinking that the guy who’s in the “Adam.” vine and the “hi, welcome to chili’s” guy are not the same person, but twins and I don’t know what to do with this information.” You rambled and Harry choked, gasping for air.

“Girl, you have got to use your one braincell for something more important than that. You’ve gotta be kidding.” He said but you shook your head no.

“Dead serious, why would I lie to you?”

“I don’t know, sometimes you don’t always say everything.”

“What do you mean by that?” You inquired and Harry remained silent.

“Nothing.” He choked out the word, and began to stare straight ahead. “Anyway can you just pass me the vanilla?”

—

“We can’t continue to do this anymore.”

A few days had passed since the baking incident, and you were convinced that Harry knew about you and Tom. You two were making out in the hallway closet, since it was one of the furthest points away from Harry’s bedroom, and far enough away from the living room so no one would hear you. You had begged Tom to not show any affection in the main parts of the house so that you wouldn’t get caught, so you two often ended up here.

“Whoa whoa, what do you mean by that?” His eyes scanned your face, and he rubbed your arm as you stood there silent.

“Baby please say something, it’s killing me. What do you mean we can’t do this anymore?” He whispered.

“I can’t sneak around behind my best friends back anymore, Tom. Okay? He’s gonna find out and he’ll be mad and I don’t want that. I don’t want to lose either one of you but if I had to choose-” you stopped yourself, and Tom looked at you with wide eyes.

“Finish your sentence.” He insisted, but you shook your head no. “I don’t want to finish it.”

“Say it.” He pleaded, and you looked down so he wouldn’t see a tear escape your eye.

“Say it!” He screamed and you flinched.

“I didn’t want to choose, but if I had to pick then I would pick Harry, alright?” You choked out the last word, and took a deep breath before finishing your thought. “I want a relationship with you but just because I want it, it doesn’t make it right. I love being Harry’s friend, and I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship just for a relationship with you.” Tom backed away from you, speechless as he reached for the door handle.

“Tom I’m sorry, just wait one second.” You grabbed his hand and he stood there, waiting for you to break his heart again.

“Let’s not make things weird between us, yeah? Then everyone will know for sure what happened.” You stated.

“Right, because now we care so much about what others think.” He added as he left, closing the door and leaving you in the closet alone.

You knew this day would come, and you braced yourself for it, so when it crumbled you were prepared for it. You just felt numb, and the shock almost hasn’t registered yet. You left the closet and walked into the living room, where Harry and Sam were playing video games.

“What’s with the long face?” Sam asked as Harry looked up at you.

“Oh nothing, I was just thinking about how once I got a fortune from a fortune cookie that read ‘fortune not found: abort, retry, ignore?’ and I think I’ve been destined for bad luck ever since that fateful day.”

“Ah, cool. Hey would you want to play a game with us?” Harry asked, completely ignoring what you had just said.

“Sure, what kind?” You asked, but before you had a chance to find out what it was, Harry bolted past you.

“Tom, Tuwaine, Harrison, get over here!” He ran up and down the hallway, trying to get everyone’s attention.

“What in the world?” Harrison asked.

“Did someone die?” Tuwaine inquired, peeking his head out of his bedroom door.

“It’s nothing bad, wanna play a game with all of us?” He asked and everyone groaned and rolled their eyes.

“Well what kind of game?” Harrison said hesitantly as Harry just grinned.

“I’ll explain once everyone comes into the living room because I don’t want to explain it twice.”

Everyone made their way into the room, and Harry instructed them to sit on the floor in a circle. Just then Sam downed the last of his beer and set the bottle on its side in the middle of the circle.

“Alright, it’s truth or dare, but with a twist. Technically it’s more of a spin, it’s regular truth or dare but instead of singling each other out, it’ll be more fair with the spin the bottle aspect.” He rambled, taking a seat right next to you.

You noticed that Tom was sat as far away from you as possible, and dodging your gaze. You looked back to see Harry resting his hand on your knee.

“Are we ready to play? I’ll go first.” Harry spun the bottle and it landed on Harrison.

“Alright mate, truth or dare.”

“Dare.”

“Okay.” Harry paused, “I dare you to read the last text message you received.”

Harrison unlocked his phone, and after a few seconds spoke. “Aha, it just says “Your amazon package is on its way.”

“Dang I was hoping it would’ve been juicier than that.” Harry remarked as Harrison spun the bottle. It landed back on Harry and he just smirked.

“Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Last lie you told?” Harrison leaned his arms back and propped himself up with them. Harry thought for a minute and just shrugged his shoulders.

“I told Sam that I really liked his squash soup recipe but it’s utterly disgusting.” He gagged and Sam punched him in the arm. “Oh come on, it’s not that bad, right?” He asked and everyone remained silent.

“Whatever, spin the bottle asshole.” Sam crossed his arms over his shoulders as Harry spun the bottle, landing on you.

“Oh god.” You blurted out and Harry replied “Oh god, indeed Y/N. Truth or dare?” He grinned like the Cheshire Cat and your fight or flight instinct immediately kicked in.

“Truth.” You spit out, and Harry just looked you dead in the eye and said “I dare you to tell everyone that you’re dating Tom behind my back and decided not to tell me about it, even though I trusted you completely and entirely.”

“I-I’m, um, not, well-” you stammered. Your vision was becoming blurry and you felt a panic attack coming on. Without warning you jumped up and ran out of the room.

“Okay I think he had that one rehearsed.” Tuwaine remarked, and the room became silent again. Everyone looked at Harry disapprovingly, and the tension in the room was so thick you could cut right through it.

“Why would you say that?” Harrison asked and Harry was silent. “How do you even know she’s dating Tom?”

“Was dating, we’re not together anymore.” Tom added and everyone looked at him.

“What?” Harry asked, and Tom replied, “You heard me, we’re not dating anymore. She broke up with me earlier because she knew it was wrong that we didn’t tell you. She felt so guilty about it that she tossed her happiness aside to make sure you would still be her friend. She chose you over me, and now I’m starting to think she may have regretted that decision.”

“I’m a terrible friend, aren’t I?” Harry whispered and everyone nodded their heads collectively.

“I’m afraid so.” Tom said quietly.

“I gotta go talk to her.” Harry got up and ran out of the living room. He sped walked around the house looking for you, until he found you sitting outside next to the chicken coop. You were sitting with your knees to your chest on a lawn chair, holding a blanket and looking at your phone.

He hesitantly stood at the glass doors, and cracked the door open. You looked up to see him standing there, and you averted your gaze away from him.

“Hey, can we talk please? I come in peace.” Harry said and you remained silent. He pulled up a chair next to you and sat down, and cleared his throat.

“Listen Y/N, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that in front of everyone. I should’ve talked to you about it in private, and I’m sorry. I know that was a dick move, and I regret doing it.” His gaze was soft as he looked over at you, but you were avoiding his gaze, and pulling on a loose blanket string.

He sighed and continued to speak. “Tom said you broke up with him because you felt guilty for sneaking around. I’m sorry I made you feel like you had to sneak around, though. If he makes you really happy then I want what’s best for you. After all you’re my best friend, and I love you. And if your happiness means dating my brother then go for it, I genuinely mean it.”

You two sat there in silence for about a minute, until you finally spoke.

You knew?” You asked.

“Oh yeah, it was obvious.”

“What tipped you off?” You tilted your head slightly to look at him, and he met your gaze.

“When I came up behind you while we were baking cookies, I noticed you smelled faintly like Tom’s cologne, and how else would you smell like that if you weren’t constantly close enough to him?”

“Well, I also cuddle with you and Sam, so that’s not the best indicator.” You said flatly and he smirked.

“I also heard you two kissing outside at midnight. You were making right above my open bedroom window, of course I could hear you. Look, my bedroom window is right there.” He pointed upwards and you could clearly see his potted plant in the windowsill. “Also, Tom isn’t a silent lover if you know what I mean.” Harry lifted his brow as you began to choke. He patted your back as you tried to catch your breath, which resulted in him breaking out into a fit of laughter.

“I should’ve asked you if it was alright that I dated Tom. I’m sorry I went behind your back.” You had your head low and Harry shook his head.

“You shouldn’t have to be sorry. I shouldn’t have made you feel like you have to sneak around, just to be happy. Do you like him?”

“Of course, I mean sure, he gets on my nerves,” you let out a small laugh, “but I really do like Tom. He makes me happy and I enjoy spending time with him.”

“Then you have my blessing.” He stood up and bowed dramatically.

“Are you sure, Harry? I mean I-”

“Little one, I want you to be happy, even if it means you dating my imbecile brother.” He laughed and you pulled him into a tight hug. “Thank you.” You whispered against his chest, and he whispered back “You’re welcome. Now go get your man.”

“I love you Harry.”

“I love you too, Y/N. Now go.” He ushered towards the door and you made your way back inside.

It didn’t take long to find Tom, who was sitting on his bed, eyes focused on his laptop. He looked up to see you standing in the doorway, and he shifted his gaze back to his laptop.

“Tommy?” You walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down. He continued to ignore you, and you felt as though you could cry.

“Please look at me? I’m sorry I broke up with you. I shouldn’t have and Harry said I have his blessing so that we-”

“Wait what did you say?” Tom cut you off, closing his laptop and sitting up. He scooted closer to you and put his hand on your knee.

“Harry said that he’s okay with us dating, so-.” You were cut off again by Tom crashing his lips onto yours. He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you closer to him, your chest flush with his. Breathless, you pulled away for a second, but Tom only pulled you in again.

“Are you mad-” you tried to speak but he cut you off yet again. “Don’t speak, okay? We’ll talk later. I just want you now.” You crashed your lips onto his, Tom moaning as he kissed you more passionately.

——

Mes petits anges (taglist): @scarletxwidow�� @starkissedholland​ @fangirlwithasweettooth​ @lmaotshollandd​ 

[lovemesomesurveys]

1. What would you do if your pet suddenly started to talk to you, but nobody else could hear it? Would you assume you'd gone mad or simply be happy for the company? Would you try to convince your friends and family or would you be satisfied keeping it to yourself? Omggg, that would be so trippy. I’d definitely be freaked out at first and think someone slipped me something haha. I think I’d keep trying to talk to her and get her to respond before it really set it in that it was really happening. I’d have so many questions and things I’d want to say. That would be so cool. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have anything bad to say... ha. What if she just started going in on me about everything I’ve said and what she has observed. She’d be like, “girl, you need to get your shit together.” haha. What if she wasn’t as sweet and loving as I think she is? :O lol. Nah, we’d have an even closer bond. (: Anyway, I honestly don’t know if I would tell anyone. I’d certainly want to. I’m positive I would try and record her talking for proof. If not, then maybe I’d try to prove it another way. Like, have my family say or ask her something without me hearing and then ask her about it and tell them what she said. I’d find some way!

2. When you answer the phone, what do you typically say? Is it different depending on whom the caller ID says it is (if you have caller ID)? Generally, just a typical “hello.” Sometimes I’ll say something else when my mom calls. Like, jokingly I might act annoyed and say, “What do you want?” or “Hey, boobala/boob” lol. My family and I call each other those nicknames. 

3. Is there a food that you only recently started to like? If so, what is it and when did you start liking it? How often do you try again foods you don't like to see if your tastes have changed? Prior to a couple months ago I didn’t eat breakfast sandwiches very often and the addition of cream cheese was something new for me. It’s not that I didn’t like breakfast sandwiches before, it just wasn’t something I had too often. My brother got me hooked on this local place that makes ‘em and then we started making our own. I also started eating guacamole with my scrambled eggs. I don’t retry foods I don’t like. If I don’t like something then I just don’t eat it again. 

4. Who would you NOT want to read the surveys you've posted on here? What would most likely happen if they did read it? Is there anyone you actually wish would read your survey answers but whom doesn't? I’m really open on here and share stuff that I don’t express or open up about in person. I can get deep and dark sometimes. I wouldn’t want my family to see some of my responses because I wouldn’t want them to worry or know certain things. There isn’t anyone I know that I want to see my surveys. These are like my personal journal entries. ...that people I don’t know can read... ha.

5. What three things do you think will become obsolete in the next ten years, and why? Hmm. I don’t know. That requires more thinking than I can be bothered to do.

6. Do you watch Glee? If so, which song do you want to hear on there that they have not yet done? If not, which TV show do you think has the best soundtrack? No, I never got into Glee. I’m not sure about which show I’d say has the best soundtrack. I don’t really pay that much attention to that.

7. What do you find to be the most irritating piece of clothing to wear wet? Are you the type of person to go to great lengths to avoid getting your clothing wet? What about your hair? Jeans for sure, but I don’t like wearing wet clothes of any kind. It’s just uncomfortable and makes me cold. I don’t feel I have to go great lengths to avoid getting wet, though. I don’t encounter situations where that could happen all that often. I don’t mind if it’s raining and I get a little wet, but I don’t want to get drenched. I don’t really care about my hair getting wet anymore, but I used to hate it when I actually attempted styling my hair because my hair gets very frizzy and flat when it gets wet. 

8. How often do you witness discrimination? Do you ever speak up about it when you do see it? Or would you only speak up if the discrimination was directed toward you or someone close to you? >> I don't often witness anything, to be honest, since I'm home so often. I don't really have significant experience with blatant discrimination, despite my myriad marginalities. <<< 

9. Do you think you would be able to pull off a crime perfectly, without being caught? What about other lies? For example, cheating on your partner without getting caught? Would you be able to get away with it? No. Not that I have any desire to try, but I know I would be too scared and anxious and make mistakes. Not to mention the guilt. Something would give myself away for sure. 

10. Are you the type to get embarrassed if your parent/parents acts/act your age? Do they do this often? Or do you think it's stupid to put an age on the way one can act? Pfft, my parents are awesome. My mom especially is a lot cooler than me. People love her.

11. Do you know anyone who has divorced and remarried the same person? What do you/would you think of someone who does that? No, not personally.  12. Do you say goodnight to anybody before you go to bed? If so, does it feel weird if you go to bed without saying it to them? My family and I say it to each other and yeah it does feel weird if for some reason one of us doesn’t. 

13. How do you react when you're scared? Do you scream, jump, cover your eyes, etc.? I’m really jumpy and skittish. If it involves a bug, I really freak out and it’s super embarrassing. 

14. Who is the best storyteller you know? What do you find best about their storytelling? Is there an interesting story of theirs you'd like to share? My grandpa was. He always told the best stories and he had a lot of ‘em. They could be quite long and go off on tangents at times, but they always came full circle. And he was really funny, too. 

15. When you check your e-mail account, how much of it do you delete without even looking at it? Do you have a separate account for junk like this? A lot of it, honestly. Some I can tell by the subject line if it’s something of interest to me like a particular sale. 

16. Do you strongly dislike (or even hate) any bands or musical artists? If so, what caused such a strong negative emotion towards them? No, I don’t have any strong negative emotions towards a band or artist. If there’s one I don’t like then I just don’t listen to them, that’s really it. 

17. What are you listening to? Is it something you would normally be found listening to, or just something you've started listening to recently? Yeah, I listen to a lot of ASMR.

18. Does/did your school bus stop directly in front of your house? If not, where does/did it stop? I never had to take the school bus, but no there isn’t one that stops in my neighborhood that I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure where to be honest. I did take the public bus in college sometimes, though. The bus stop isn’t right by my house, but it only took me a few minutes to get to it. 

19. Do you parents have any collections? If so, what do you think of those collections? My dad has his various sports memorabilia and shoes, my mom has a lot of stuff for her favorite football team, shoes, books, Baby Yoda stuff, Disney Loungefly backpacks, and some other knickknacks. 

20. Are there any movies you watch when you're feeling anxious or depressed? If so, what are they, and what about them calms you down and/or lifts your spirits? No, I don’t tend to turn to movies for that. I turn to ASMR and/or another one of my distractions. If I do decide to turn to TV, I just put on something mindless that I’ve already seen that doesn’t require much thinking or paying attention. 

21. Would you rather see a band/artist perform in a small club, an arena, or at an outdoor venue? Why? Which one have you been to most recently? I enjoy arenas, personally. From my experience, I’ve never had to be hugged up on people or feel claustrophobic in an arena. Since I’m in a wheelchair, I’ve always just sat up in the nosebleeds and there’s plenty of space and not a lot of people. I can also see better. At a small club or outdoor venue, people would be standing and I wouldn’t be able to see at all.

22. Do you have a favourite role of Johnny Depp's? If you don't like him, what is your favourite role of an actor you like? I’ve always thought he was a very talented actor. My favorite role of his is Sweeney Todd.

23. If you were in a competition to win your dream prize, and you were allowed to decide what the competition would be (trivia about your favourite band, a foot race, singing, etc.) , what would you choose and why? Uhhh. I feel like I’d still end up losing somehow even if I got to choose the competition, ha. I don’t feel like I’m super knowledgeable or especially great at anything.

24. What is your least favourite thing about the English language? Are there any other languages you prefer besides English? Just how we have words like “read” that can be pronounced differently depending on how its used and silent letters. Like why are silent letters a thing? 

25. Would you be upset if a long-term partner confessed that they had committed a serious crime before you met? How do you think it would affect your relationship? What type of crime are we talking about and did they already serve their time or whatever was required? That would be a very difficult situation to be in to say the least. If we were in a long-term relationship I couldn’t just drop them and end things like that unless they told me they committed a murder. That would cause a whirlwind of emotions and confusion and shock and gah it would be horrible. It’d be difficult because I would know a different side of them and still have feelings for them, but I wouldn’t able to get past something that serious. 

26. Who, out of the people you know, do you think has the most messed-up relationship? Have you ever spoken up about it or do you stay out of it? Have you ever been in a relationship that was really messed-up? No one I know currently. 

27. What emotion have you been feeling most commonly lately? Do you like feeling this way? If not, have you done anything to try to change it? Depressed, moody, irritable, frustrated... that’s been ongoing for years now, though. I hate feeling that way, yet I haven’t done anything to try and change it. :/

28. Why did you/your parents choose to live where you do now? Would you move right now if you were able to? Why/why not? If so, where would you like to go? My mom was born here and majority of her family lived and still live here. I’m not quite sure when my dad and his parents came here. My paternal grandparents lived here for awhile until they moved out of state about 20 years ago. My mom was very close to her parents, but they’ve both passed away 10 and 15 years ago now. But yeah, being near family and already living here was the main reason. There was other stuff, too, like not wanting me or my brother to have to change schools and then we both went to the local UC, which is a really great college. And stuff like my parents’ jobs being here and not being financially able to move. So yeah, it’s a lot of different factors, but we’ve honestly been wanting to move for a very long time. We don’t care much for the city itself. I don’t feel tied here despite living all my 31 years here so far. The last year we’ve gotten a little more serious about it and have taken some necessary steps. My brother is graduating soon and I think after that we’re going to finally do it.

29. Is there a song that you think, lyrically, describes your childhood? Have you ever had a song describe your life perfectly, each and every word? How does it make you feel when you come across songs like this? Not my childhood, but yeah there’s several songs that I just really relate to where the lyrics seem to speak right to me. I like using relatable quotes and lyrics to try and express myself or describe how I’m feeling because they do it much better than I can.

30. Do you tend to befriend people who are of a similar, smaller or larger weight than yourself? (Even if it doesn't matter to you, you can admit it.) Has it always been this way? That has honestly never been a factor when befriending someone... like, that doesn’t matter at all. I don’t know why it would. I’m concerned about a person’s personality, who they are as a person, or whether or not we connect.

31. List a random fact (each) you know about 5 of your favourite survey takers: Lane (@inchoate-surveys) has a dog that looks so much like mine named Finn. Elisabeth @bionic-beth) is a teacher in New York. Robyn (@ssurveys) likes Paramore. Lina ( @iaintgotcontrol) is from Sweden, which I think is really cool. I’d love to visit someday. Lauren (@brilliant-bloss0ms) is into interior design. 

32. Whenever you have a question about something random, are you more likely to ask Google or someone you know? Does it depend on what exactly you want to know? Do you do both? I just Google it real quick.

33. How old were you when you went on your first date? Was there anything you would change about the experience? How do you think it shaped your expectations? If you've never been on a date, what did you like best about the last meal you ate? I was in my early 20s. We went to dinner and a movie, which was how I thought a first date should go. It was nice.

34. If you had to serve a meal to an ambassador from another country that symbolized your country's culture, what would you choose? Do you think s/he would love it as much as you do? Hamburgers, fries, and apple pie. ha. That’s not my favorite meal, though. If I served my favorite food it would be boneless garic parm and lemon pepper wings, ha.

35. If someone broke into your house and robbed you, what could they take that would piss you off or upset you the most? To what lengths would you go to get it back? Has something like this already happened to you before? My laptop, definitely. There wouldn’t be a whole lot I could do to get it back. I mean yeah, I could file a report but I wouldn’t expect to ever get it back. No, thankfully nothing like that has happened before.

36. Do you enjoy watching the special features found on most DVDs? What do you usually enjoy more: the deleted scenes, the bloopers, the audio commentary, or the behind-the-scenes footage? I very rarely ever watched those, but if I did I checked out the bloopers and maybe the behind-the-scenes footage.

37. Do you care at all about the Stanley Cup playoffs? If so, which team are you rooting for, and is it different than the team you're sure will make it to the cup? If you don't care, is your family the type to get right into a sport, or is the topic of sports rarely spoken about in your house? My dad loves sports and my mom has her favorite football that she gets really into, but I have no interest in sports at all.

38. Have you ever had your own flower garden? If so, what are/were your favourite flowers to plant? No.

39. Would you ever date someone who is exactly like your youngest (or oldest, if you're the youngest) sibling? Why/why not? Some of the same qualities, yeah, such as intelligent, hardworking, ambitious, responsible, funny. 

40. Was there something you were afraid of as a child that just seems silly to you now? I was terrified of Ghost Face as a kid and now Scream is one of my favorite scary movies.

[emperor-of-blood]

This one might be a bit complicated, but we’re going to take a look at Jimmy Neutron himself anyways.

The rapscallion is the primary cause of conflict in his lovely town. Retroville has been an exciting place ever since he read "Baby's first science book". Always looking toward the future James here is always looking to invent something new. Pushing boundaries, helping his friends, wanting to be cool, and occasionally straight up spite are some of the things that drive him to do what he does. Our resident Fudge Head spends a surprisingly small amount of his time inventing but only because he's so good at it he finishes what he's doing in a fraction of the time it'd take a team of professionals to do the same. He instead spends his days goofing around with his friends, trying to one up anyone who dares to show any arrogance near him, and unfortunately, cleaning up his own messes.

Both of his friends, Carl and Sheen, mean the world to Captain Cranium. He's shown to spend pretty much every spare moment he has with them. Thankfully the feelings bring mutual has led to the trio being inseparable. His arrogance, while somewhat warranted, has led to an eternal rivalry with Cindy Vortex. Other than Jimmy she is for sure the smartest person in her class. Along with being athletic and moderately charismatic she had solid reason to think she was hot shit. The rivalry between these two was unavoidable the moment they met. It's such an important part of their relationship that it's become a plot point for quite a number of episodes.

More than anyone, Cindy, Professor Calamitous or any of the other villains I completely skipped over, Jimmies greatest enemy is himself. Whether he's unknowingly creating an army of super pants, crash landing on a deserted island, or creating sword art online a vr game that can kill you; he's always causing some sort of trouble. And being the genius that he is, he's just about the only one who can clean these messes up.

Now, looking at all of this, what is his classpect?

Lord of Heart

I don't use the Lord class lightly so let's get into it. Jimmy is without a doubt, a solo player. At some point I'll go over the Retroville sessions but for now, just trust me for now, Jimmy goes in himself. He is one of those types of characters that makes things happen. He isn't a reactionary character. He has his own goals and works constantly to achieve them. He is always working to clean up the problems that he himself creates. This man is constantly active. With the definition for the Lord class being that it is the most active class, the player being a solo player, and the class being one of the two most powerful, it only makes sense for him.

And as for the aspect, I’m not going to ignore the obvious. He is defined by his intellect. Without it he is nothing. That being said, smart people exist outside of the Mind aspect and that the aspect isn't defined entirely by intellect. I think the argument for Jimmy being a Heart player has a lot more backing it up than him being a Mind player. 

He already has splinters of himself, something characteristic of Heart players. Jimmy is super self-absorbed, thinking himself the protagonist of his story. He frequently retreats into his psyche to draw power during his brain blasts. He frequently ignores outside advice, choosing to believe in himself due to his pride despite obvious warning signs. I think he'd be angry that he isn't a Mind player and that he'd have to wear pink for his god tier but he really just screams Heart to me.

Jimmy's session is, for one thing, unwinnable. Not even his vast intellect can overcome so many trials without proper preparation. If you aren't a Time player you're going to need some way to subvert the session to win, like Calliope. While she didn't technically 'Win' her session she did survive and make it to the post-game two separate times. Jimmy will have to do something in a similar vein. Perhaps he creates a super bunker to survive the black hole of his session or creates another time machine to rewind and retry the game a different way? Whatever it is, you can be sure that James Isaac Neutron isn't out of the game just yet.

[thequietmanno1]

Thelreads, MHA 212, Replies Part 1

1) “BABY URARAKA

AND HER PARENTS”- I guess working long hours in construction puts several years on you, because Uraraka’s parents look far younger here than when they showed up after the festival- they actually look like they had her when they were both pretty young themselves, which might have contributed to their financial issues during Uraraka’s youth.

2) “Oh my good lord now we’re seeing the exact moment that made Uraraka chose the path of a Hero”- It makes uraraka’s self-admitted selfish motivation of becoming a hero for money even more self-depreciating in hindsight, since whilst financial stability might be her main driving concern, Uraraka first became enamoured with the heroic lifestyle after seeing how her parent cheered up watch heroes, in contrast to their usual exhausted selves, and wanted to be able to bring more of that joy to her family herself.

3) “Oh, okay then, good, it wasn’t her doubting her worth, it was just her realizing that Heroes are destined to suffer, since there’s no one out there to help them. There’s no one that is to heroes what heroes are to the general public.”-And again this ties into the unity there of the new generation- All Might ultimately retried because he didn’t really have anybody else on his level to support his hero duties and too on too much to bear, but with Midoria and the rest, they’re building each other up alongside improving themselves as heroes, so if Midoira is ever in danger, others like Uraraka and Bakugou can cover for him, even if none of them have the full skillset needed to help him alone, such as Uraraka being aware she can’t stop Midoria’s rampage, but she ‘can’ make sure she’s nearby to support him when Shinso shuts down his mind and body.

3) “Look Uraraka, the cooldown hug didn’t work, so, unless you want to kiss him to make him calm down, you better slap him with all your might, like you did the first time.”- So, no spoilers, but if you’ve not seen Steven Universe Future: I would advise watching that after you’ve got some free time, because there’s a lot if themes and elements that it shares with the current madness

4) “And there he is… The poor bastard that most definitely won’t draw the short stick. Oh god… So, the plan was breaking Midoriya’s free will, and hopefully that would also sever the Darkness connection. He isn’t in control of his body, so maybe that thing also won’t be able do anything.”- For all the eldritch nature of the tentacles, they’re still a quirk that Midoria consciously activated, even if he didn’t know what precisely he was doing at the time, so severing his conscious mind should also sever the ‘source’ that’s keeping the quirk active and rampaging, at least in theory.

5) “Neither was being “the only one who can save the day”. Needless to say, there’s a lot of mixed feelings here.”-True heroes act before they even think, but the cravat about Shinso’s quirk is that he ‘has’ to think about it in order to use it, so he’s now thrust into a situation where he needs to rack his brains to come up with the right way to stop Midoria’s rampaging before it gets even more out of control. It’s a position he’s always wanted- being able to save somebody, but he never expected to run into it so soon, or be faced with something so far out of his depth. All things considered he handles himself pretty well, despite the circumstances.

6) “Dear god are you freezing in panic as well? What, the shadowy mass of tentacles trying to rip the students to shreds its too much for you? I’ll let you know this is a normal Friday for them.”- Also this is literally Shinso’s first taste of real danger, akin to the USJ attack by the league was for 1A, an unexpected assault the teachers didn’t plan for and can’t protect him from, so he’s also panicking form getting to experience what kind of crisis 1A habitually gets involved with on a monthly basis

@thelreads

[cosmocalum]

hi! i know its been done millions of times but i was wondering if you could write about "the morning after" with cal and make it all fluffy? ❤

Hey, so I wrote this but like you said it has been 1000 times before so I tried to change it a little bit but I think it is super cute and sweet and full of all the fluffs.

WORD COUNT: 1480

MORNINGS WITH CALUM

Sitting up still wrapped in the white sheets from the night before, it was the only thing covering her body. She looks over at the man next to her, his arm never leaving the small of her waist. Moving the weight of his muscular arm, she finds herself climbing out of her bed throwing on his shirt that was thrown across the floor, reminding herself about the night prior. Tiptoeing her way to the restroom trying her best not to wake the handsome man still wrapped in her sheets. As she is about to close the bathroom door she looks back to the man, who she never wants to leave. His tan skin enticing against the white sheets as his mesmerizing tattoos scattered across his skin create a contrast. She closes the door after admiring the man for far longer than is acceptable.

She finishes her morning business as she double checks her reflection in the mirror. She smiles to herself bringing her fingers to the purplish bruises that are scattered across her neck knowing she can find them all down her body. Last night was the first of a lot of first which she is usually against but the most important of that firsts is that she may not have been happy for a long time but right here, right now, she was nothing but happy, especially with the man she finally let into her life and into her bed. They have been seeing each other for a while now but she never let anyone in especially being hurt in the past. So, her and Calum were nothing more than friends, if you could even call them that. They slept together, mainly when they were intoxicated but they both cared so much for one another. She knew Calum liked her more than a friend with benefits, he admitted on many occasions but she always kept her feelings to herself.

This is the first time Calum has ever been over to her house, ever slept in her bed, it was always at his or some hotel room that he was staying in for the night. This was her first step of letting the boy into her life and to say she was anxious was an understatement but her heart was thumping out of her chest with every lingering touch, so she knew that this is what she wanted, what she needed.

Making her way out of the restroom, checking on the man in her bed still fast asleep, she knew she should do something special for him because he has done nothing less than treating her like a princess from the first moment they met and she knows that she hasn’t always been the most welcoming to take out.

Finding herself in the kitchen, she turns on her favorite playlist as she looks through her tiny close to empty cupboards hoping to find something to make breakfast in bed for Calum. Settling on pancakes, she starts to mix up the ingredients and hoping it turns out as mouth-watering as Calum looks.

Tangled between unfamiliar sheets, Calum stirs awake to the quiet music playing for a couple rooms away, he can hear a sweet voice mumbling along to the song as he makes his way out of the bed. Throwing up his boxer briefs from the night before, too lazy to even try to get his skin-tight jeans on. He makes his way out of the room and as soon as he hits the hallway he is engrossed by the woman in front of him. As she sings along to the music, swaying back and forth, he knows that he never wants this to end. As the song ends, and the next one starts, Calum finally makes himself known as he starts to sing along

“There’s no combination of words” Calum starts singing as he walks closer to the woman who turns around and smiles up at him as he takes her into his arms. “I could put on the back of a postcard, no song that I could sing but I can try for your heart” Calum continues to sing as he places his arms around her waist and giggles start to fall from her mouth.

As the song continues, they find themselves tucked into each other’s arms dancing around her tiny kitchen as Calum continues to sing to her as her head finds its place on his chest.

Mmmm, It’s always better when we’re together

Yeah we’ll look at the stars and we’re together

Well, it’s always better when we’re together

Yeah it’s always better when we’re together

“I love you in my shirt” Calum whispers as his hands find his way to her bare waist as the song finishes but his arms never leave her skin.

Breaking the intimate moment, “Baby, it smells like something is burning” Calum states finally taking his arms from around her waist.

“Crap” she yells as she runs back to the stove to see the couple of of pancakes she was cooking to be burnt beyond belief. Turning off the stove as a frown finds itself to her plump lips. Turning back around she adds “Cal, I wanted to cook you breakfast in bed. But now there is no breakfast and you are not in bed!”

Calum just smiles down at her as he pulls her back in her arms. “It’s okay babe, we can always order something or go pick something up” Calum states trying to figure out an alternative to her plans.

Looking up to the brown eyes that make her melt, “but I wanted to do something nice for you, you always do everything for me but … but I never get to do anything nice for you” She mumbles bowing her head, surprising the both of them as she never states her feelings aloud.

Placing his thumb under her chin, lifting her head to look him in the eyes, he offers her a small smile,  “How about this, we spend the day together and we can go to sleep together again and try again tomorrow, I will stay in bed and won’t ruin you trying to be nice” he laughs doing whatever to make her feel better about her attempts this morning.

She can’t help but smile back as she wraps her arms around his neck and places a kiss on his lips. He gets her better than anyone else and they aren’t even officially dating yet. Grabbing his ring-clad fingers she drags him back to her bedroom where she finds herself naked wrapped up in her sheets for the second time today.

Waking up for the second day in a row with her body tangled against Calums, she is just as happy as she was yesterday. Looking over at the tall man who she has finally let into her life, she is just happy to finally be able to curl up next to him and stop pretending that she does not really like him that much.  

Tracing her fingers across his tattooed body as she finds herself infatuated with the Roman numerals painted across his chest, she wanted nothing more than to stay here in bed with this man and watch him as he looks so captivating as the sun tickled is tan skin. Fingers mindlessly continuing to tease the skin along his chest, Calum stirs awake opening one eye and looking over to the pretty face to his left. A smile finds its way against his plump lips as he pulls her closer to his chest placing a kiss on her forehead.

“Good morning” He mumbles placing a passionate kiss on to her lips. “If you want to retry yesterday, you should do that now while I pretend to sleep” Calum whispers, his morning voice making her melt into his arms. Not wanting to get up but wanting to treat Calum right, she gives him a peck on his cheek as she pulls herself out of bed and to the kitchen.

She finds herself having nothing to cook, as she finished all the pancake mix yesterday so she decides on ordering Postmates and she knows it isn’t the sweetest way to greet her favorite man in the morning but she would much rather order food and be able to stay in bed with him longer. So she makes her way back to the bed crawling into the man who is doing exactly what he said, pretending to sleep. Peeking his eyes back open at the girl in front of him, confused when she comes with no breakfast.

“I ordered breakfast so I could spend more time in bed with you” she smiles tucking herself back into his side.

A laugh falls from his mouth as he pulls her on top of his chest, happy as can be with the girl who finally let him into her life.

tagged: @roselukes , @calumhampton , @irwinkitten , @hoe4hemmo , @hotmessmichael , @irwinvalentines , @angelmikeyy , @plainwhiteluke , @dukesnumber1, @meloncal , @astroashtonio , @wrappedaroundcal , @catchinqcalum , @norawashere , @boytoynamedcalum , @moonlightgodcalum , @neptunight , @slimthicccal , @my-only-angelle , @biggestslutforcalum , @dukesnumber1  , @kinglycalum , @toofadedtofight , @softboycal , @becihadshawn , @dweebluke , @saintcalum 

[odissey061]

Motonari's route

Chapter(s) posted:

1. This freak won't have me

2. Kick him in the teeth

Please, teach me a better way to create link because I can't do it by myself

Chapter 3: This trick never worked at human's memory

Tag: @towa-no-yume @r-f-a-journalists

When I open my eyes the first thing I feel is an acute headache: the hands run through the hair until I discover a bump. I press it to see if I feel the pain and then I whimper like a baby: it hurts a lot. Why I'm so stupid? I take a look around me and I notice I'm in a cold and empty cell. The room is surrounded by three wooden walls and before me there's an iron grille. Here and there on the floor against the wall there are spooky chains that make me chill and smile nervously. At this moment I heard the rolling waves and I understand I'm on a ship.

Where I am? How many time has passed since my kidnap? I must return to the Oda right now! A lot of hours passed since I left Azuchi castle: I told to Hideyoshi I'd come back after lunch, so probably they have already noticed my absence.

I try open the door but, obviously, is locked and I look around to find something to force the look, but the room is empty, except the chain on the wall. Then I took a clip from my hair and, holding it tight in the hand, I pray:"At human memory this trick never worked, but, please, if there's even the littlest chance, make it happens". Great, now I pray to objects like they were gods!

I plug the clasp in the door lock but, as I expected, it doesn't work. Pushed by despair, I retry again and again, but after a large number of failed attempts and swears, finally I give up and I lean my back on the wall. A man appears in front of me: he's very tall and his body is made by tons of muscles, his eyes shining with malice. With a look I understand this man is a brute and he doesn't hesitate to use violence and if I had to fight against him, I'd probably die. "Who are you and why I'm here?" I demand, but he laughs dryly:"I'm the one who makes the questions here, little girl" and he opens the door. As he spoke, I recognize him as the man who kidnapped me. He enters in the cell and leaves open the door. I try to gain more time:"I understand why you kidnapped me: I'm very close to the Oda commanders and your boss wants information about them", Well, at least you are not stupid, that makes easier my work. So little girl, talk about your friends" he comments. "The problem is exactly about this: you see, I'm only their maid and I don't know anything about their future moves, so keep me here is useless" I lie and I walk towards the door. But the man grabs my hair, making me moan for the pain and yells at me:"You think I'm so stupid to believe you? I'm not a fool! In Azuchi people say Nobunaga brought you to battle on his horse  His voice becomes lower, still being threatening:"If you don't tell me spontaneously all you know about them, I'll make you confess with the bad manners". And when he shows a bag full of torture instruments and I'm terrified. I don't know very much about torture, but I can imagine how much they'd hurt my body. I want to scream for help, but I know nobody will save me. My face gets paler. I know already how this will finish: this man will torture me until I speak, but I don't know anything, so he'll kill me for nothing. I'll die for anything!!

"I'm not his lover: I'm his maid and I have been staying in Azuchi for a few days. I don't know anything about them and if I knew something, I surely won't talk to you" I repeat using a quiet voice to not make him angrier. "Bad answer" he smiles sadistically, almost happy about my resistance and slaps me so violently to turn my head. "Try again, little girl, but the next time I won't so merciful".

"And if I don't confess what are you going to?" I bravely provoke him. The Oda forces helped me a lot and I won't betray them for my own safety. "I'll break all of your bones and if you won't talk, then I'll cut the tendons of your hands and your feet. If you still won't confess I'll remove your eyes, then I'll tear your ears and finally I'll cut your tongue" his threats scare me a lot, but I won't give up my loyalty. He takes from the bag a strange object and he places it near to my nails.

No no no no. Please, somebody help me!

I close the eyes too scared to watch, but at that moment I hear a new voice:"Yoshitoko, what are you doing here? I'm sure the captain hasn't told you to torture this girl since he is out to collect information with a few men. So I wonder: whose order are you following?". I open my eyes and I see a young man who's throwing diggers with the glare at the man in front of me. The newcomer is younger than this man, but somehow the eldest has to obey him. "The captain is still a child, quartermaster: if all of us wait for his command, we'd have alredy died. He doesn't know what to do and he's not able to keep the promise he made" he growls, "He's the captain, not you: he knows what's the best for us better than you. You are only able to hurt people and torture them, for this reason you won't be a captain. Now leave, Yoshitoko" The man speaks with a rough voice and I can feel the subtle threat he silently implies. I except a Yoshitoko's reaction, but he obeys whispering something.

Left alone, the young man is more relaxed walks towards me and I step back, so he reassures me:"I don't want to hurt you. I want to check your wound". I let him check my arm. I groan for the pain when he tries to move it. He looks more friendly than his colleague, so I try to ask:"Can you tell me who are you and how many days passed since my kidnap? Will you torture me again to seek information I don't have?". He sighs: "The arm is broken, now I call a doctor so he can help you better. Now you are on a pirate ship and you were kidnapped by Yoshitoko yesterday, following captain's order. Now the captain is away, but in a short time he'll be back and will decide what to do about you". "Earlier I said the truth: I don't know anything about Nobunaga's future plans. Keep me here he's useless" I whisper, "Even if you don't know anything you'll probably stay here as a political hostage to be used against your friends" the man explains my situation. The sadness overwhelms me to the thought I'll be used against my friends: I can't do this to them. "But as I told you is the captain to decide, so he could even release you" he tries to reassure me, but I have no illusions: if I were in his position I'll do the same. I even realize probably I won't be able to go back to my time. No way this will happen! The man says they wait for their captain, so it means the ship is still in the port: that makes my escape more easily. The man is inside the cell and the grill is open: all I have to do is run and don't be caught. But the pirate in front of me is still vigil even if he's more relaxed, surely is ready to catch me and even I'd beat him he'll give the alarm. No, escape at this moment is too risky but if I don't do it right now later would be impossible.

The only thing I can do is talk with the captain: I'm even ready to beg for my release, it's necessary. "The captain will be here in a few hours, so be more patient" he ends the conversation. "What kind of man is your captain?" I wonder, "The captain? Is an edgy man. He treats with respect his subordinates, but he doesn't trust anyone except me on this ship. Is the type of person who can be your friend but he stabs you in the back some minutes after" he responds. So he's a bastard and the possibilities he'd let me go are very low.

* * *

It's almost evening and Hideyoshi is worried: y/n told him this morning she'd have gone in the city until lunchtime, but she didn't come back. He asked around but nobody was able to tell him where y/n was. He alerted Nobunaga who decided to hold a war council to find her. Hideyoshi expresses all of his worry and Mitsunari takes word with a stern look on his face:"I'm quite worried as well, Lord Hideyoshi. We should look after her". 

"Maybe she escaped after she went to war, after all, was her first time on a battlefield. I won't be surprised" Mitsuhide suggests with his cunning tone, but a more careful eye can see a glimpse of worry. In the past days, he went to some places with a very horrible reputation and in a red light district and he noticed a lot of Portuguese men who acted too much secretive for being simply merchant. They were really cautious: they gazed around before speaking with someone and once Mitsuhide risked revealing his true identity. Just today he succeeded to talk with a man after days of failures, but what he discovered was suspicious arms traffic. He didn't discover anything about y/n's missing. And the possibilities she's been kidnapped are not low. "My lucky charm is not a coward, Mitsuhide: she proved it during the war"       

Nobunaga scolds him, "Then I suppose we should look after her" snorts Ieyasu. "As if you hadn't done it before, before" teases Mitsuhide: Ieyasu's contrarian reactions are always a delight for him.

"Lord Ieyasu is always so kind" Mitsunari praises him. Ieyasu scolds him:"I told you I wasn't searchi-", "Enough! Each of you will send your own scouts in the city to collect information" Nobunaga stops the discussion. Once the council ends, all the warlord obey to Nobunaga orders, sending men in the city and its surroundings with the order to search for y/n and arrest everyone look suspicious. But as time passes, nobody finds y/n.

[flyswhumpcenter]

Nurse Café - Chapter 5/6: “Recovery is Nothing but a Filler Arc”

PREVIOUS CHAPTER / NEXT CHAPTER

Fic Summary: Life could have honesty been simpler than that for Hokuto, a second-year Liteature major. There’s, however, someone out there willing to just make it easier on him.

Fandom: Ensemble Stars! (College/Coffeeshop AU) Ships: HokuAn (Anzu/Hokuto)

AO3 version available here.

--------

Chapter Summary: Hokuto finds the process of recovery boring. This is a snippet into this very boredom.

Chapter Wordcount: 1.7K words.

Chapter Notes: Lmao @ my shitty updating schedule (which isn't a thing to begin with). It's technically filler content, but I felt bad about not having at least some snippets into a recovery process and, of course, more pining because who doesn't like pining. I like writing with a lot of sarcasm and this fic is the perfect occasion for it lol. My goal is to actually finish Nurse Café before 2020 rolls around, so we shall see if the last chapter comes out before the new year arrives! (I doubt it, but you know, a week can be enough for this).

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

Recovery was a boring process. A necessary, absurdly boring process.

He supposed it depended on what you needed to recover from. If you only had to recover from a cold, it could be a good occasion to feel cosy: buried under the covers, a cup of hot chocolate in hand, watching some TV programs while a humidifier tried to keep your nose from clogging up… Alas, he wasn’t recovering from a cold at all and must have been in the most boring kind of recovery: the one where he wasn’t well enough to do anything interesting, but not dying enough not to be aware of how much he was wasting his time as he flopped in bed like a fish out of the water.

 At least, and yet a little to his dismay, his grandmother had insisted to watch over him when his friends couldn’t. Sure, she was out of her cast and had recovered her full mobility, but she shouldn’t have been there. He was supposed to do this thing on his own, not get babied all over again. It tasted like failure and disappointment in himself, as if the entire situation wasn’t worth being untrusting of his capabilities.

However, a major part of him was grateful for her to be such a watchful caretaker. It was his fault if he had landed there, he admitted to that fact without hesitation (albeit not without swallowing his pride in for good measure), so he could have been expected to fix his own mistake by himself like a good boy; and yet Grandma was here, tending to him each time he’d open his eyes during the day. He’d have to find a way to thank her later down the line…

 Truth be told, he was relieved that people were checking up on him. In that state of his, his body barely agreed to move out of the bed, and if it accepted, then it’d only be for short spurts of time. The festering headache raging in his skull really didn’t help in the slightest, instead profiting from his incredible vulnerability to do its thing. The more time went and the less he felt that way, usually trapped in a deep daze for most of the time, overthinking things when he was conscious enough to do that. A… fascinating time to be had in perspective, huh.

If it wasn’t Grandma, it was his friends from university. More exactly, two friends: Isara and Anzu. He had specifically for them not to tell anyone else, as he wanted to preserve a little bit of his credibility within the academic premise. It was mostly about food, medicine and cleaning stuff here and there. Before his glassy eyes, the papers on his floor finally disappeared, piling neatly on the desk as he heard conversations without participating. They made recovery less of a chore to go through.

 The only times where he didn’t feel like he was throwing his precious time of the window was when people came in and kept him intellectually awake. Day after day, for an entire week, his favourite moments were still those where Anzu was there, sitting on a chair next to him or simply minding her own business somewhere else in his flat. If his brain wasn’t too confused, she’d stay here more than Grandma and Isara, especially the second as he was permanently busy (he could swear he had heard Anzu making sure he too wasn’t overworked beyond his own mind. Isara only chuckled awkwardly at that).

He’d usually see her do things around, mostly her homework, sometimes something else. After spending almost an entire day sleeping and dazing when he wasn’t unconscious, he could finally truly watch her do things and hum some of her favourite pop songs. She was the most pleasant thing about his recovery, as he could spend some time with her without any major disturbance. He’d never admit it openly, though, because then he’d never see it get lived down.

It felt warmer whenever she was in the room too… Must have been his temperature and the awful sentiment it brought upon him.

 The first time he tried to rise out of bed, it was to help Anzu with putting away some groceries and pay her back for these, and she immediately dropped her bottle of dish soap to pin his shoulders back onto the mattress. Would have it not been such a situation, having her on top of him like that would have surely sent him into a daze; instead, Hokuto was glad to blame the sudden burn in his cheeks on what was left of his fever and shook the other ideas away. God, she did look like she was blushing as she realized how cliché their position had been, but it must have been out of embarrassment… Nothing more than that.

He did retry later in the day, after the nth nap he had taken in the last two days (at least, he thought it had been two days? He didn’t exactly have any screen to check the date on to set straight his scrambled perception of time). Once again, Anzu jumped on him, urging him not to overdo it, albeit they had come to a silent compromise: he could sit up now. It was unbelievable than even such a simple gesture still made his head spin like that. At least, it was stabilizing, so he figured his gyroscope had somewhat fixed itself. How fragile had he made himself, exactly?

 With some more patience, brought upon him by the screams of the body he couldn’t ignore much anymore and everyone’s smiles and words, he had finally reached a point where he could at least wash himself in peace and not risk opening his frontal lobe on the slippery tiles of the shower. If Grandma and Anzu still insisted to make him his food, he started biting back, albeit as hard as a new-born puppy, much to his chagrin and somewhat to Isara’s amusement.

 “I’ve never asked you about that, but I’m curious,” the latter asked him when the three of them were around his table with some fried noodles for dinner. “How in the hell did you put yourself in that situation, Hokuto? It really doesn’t resemble you to be this… careless?”

“Haven’t you asked me that before?”

“Mao has, but you may have… replied with nothing but nonsense, when he did…” Anzu chimed in, scratching her chin with an awkward smile.

He felt his embarrassment rise up in his throat again, but instead decided to clear his throat and brush it aside as much as possible.

“Things piled up, I suppose. I was making a presentation with a tight deadline and taking care of my grandmother who had broken her foot. It got out of control much more than I had anticipated.”

“Why didn’t you ask us to help then?” Isara seemed genuinely confused, or at least curious.

“Both Anzu and you were already busy, and I sincerely doubt Akehoshi would have made anything better for my grandma. Yuuki seemed busy enough as it was too, now that I think about it.”

Truth be told, Hokuto had no real answer to give and it must have felt by his two friends, considering the looks of disbelief they gave each other before realizing they’d both be late to class if they didn’t eat any faster.

 By the end of the week, life was finally back to what it should have been. It still hadn’t prevented Hokuto from disobeying doctor’s orders (he didn’t remember getting examined at any point, but if Anzu was telling him so, then it must have happened at some point…) and grabbing his laptop to write some mails here and there. Braving the headache the brightness of the screen was providing him with, he attempted explaining himself to his prof for his sudden disappearance with his presentation in hand.

Apparently, he had written nothing but gibberish, and that was more than enough to convey to the prof how unwell he had been. He guessed it was convenient, in a way…

 He made sure to thank everyone as much as possible. Unexpectedly, Grandma told him it was her mission as a grandparent to take care of him, especially after he had done so for her; and he felt too humbled to respond anything against that. Isara more or less told him the same, saying it was normal for friends to help each other and that they needed to do so anyway, that he didn’t mind. The amused smirk on this man’s lips as he said that more or less indicated that he had gotten some amusement out of the situation. As soon as he got noticed, though, Isara told him he had been worried and that it was good to see a buddy go back to normalcy. They agreed on that statement.

Still, how could he thank Anzu for all of her services? She had done a ton for him and he had no real way to get back to her on that. She had spent a lot of her precious time trying to fix his mistakes and didn’t spare her words when it came to convincing him that resting was what he truly needed and that it was okay for him not to force himself out of bed this quickly. It really didn’t help that his feelings were having a rave party in the back of his mind…

 “You don’t have to thank me or pay me back,” Anzu responded. “At least, don’t feel forced to do so. I was just happy to take care of a friend!”

The pink on her cheeks was back. Did he happen to still have some fever lingering and playing with his senses?

“I’m just glad you’re alright now. You really scared me when you collapsed like that, you know?”

“I’m pretty sure I do.”

“You better do! I don’t want to see that happen to you again, so I hope you’ve learnt the lesson… You’ll be fine from now on, right?”

“I should be. Thank you very much again, Anzu.”

“And you’re still welcome, it’s the third time you thank me in five minutes! Take care, okay? I’d hate to see you this sick again. See you soon!”

“See you soon.”

On that she left, her smile and her perfume leaving the premise of his previously fatigue-riddled flat. It made up for ideal circumstances to realize something: Hokuto was afraid he’d have to soon deal with a whole other kind of sickness.

[thirdmagic]

giant rambly walls of text post of headcanons and theories and general thoughts on david, roman and solomon ft lots of extrapolation

first of all, i basically think of archer david as like... if 'lazy cheerful mcdonlads loving manchild in a yukata dad' kerry got summoned into the body of his child self and went 'oh wow this is before Everything in my life went horribly wrong it almost feels like all that never happened!!' and got into it enough to try to recreate what he was like as a child. which i realize is a hilariously weird mental image but a close enough comparison. it's just in this case the difference isn't '30 year old and 10 year old (at most)' but '60-70 something very old man and late teens/early twenties'. on the surface level this david is much more David The Humble Nobody Shepherd Boy Who Beat A Giant then David The Anointed Powerful King, because most of the stuff this version draws on in his NP and skills are from this aspect of him. but it's also clearly very much not the same case as other younger/child servants. most younger versions are aware of their older selves and what happens to them in the future but aren't those people and haven't personally experienced these futures. but nearly everything david does talk about, experiences he calls back to, people he talks about, is stuff from his time on the throne. he talks about this time as something that happened to him personally. so this isn't really baby shepherd david even though his servant container draws on these aspects of him, it's David The King in the body of baby shepherd david.

but what i find most interesting, is that he seems to really play into this image/role... like it's a deliberate choice/preference on his part or something consciously cultivated. there's what he says is tamacat's interlude, but also his my room line that outright has him saying 'sure i used to be a king, but don't worry about it, it's whatever, i'm just a shepherd now and i want to take this chance as a servant to be just that'. the impression is that he's very much trying to distance himself from his king-self and that entire part of his life which is... in its own way a lost cause and he probably does this knowing it's a lost cause, given that's what he spent the majority of his life doing and how everything he calls back to is from that life. that shepherd boy is just not the person he is anymore and hasn't been for a long time, but i think that's why he prefers to be summoned in this specific physical form and in this specific class that draws on this part of his life- the servant container/class makes it easier to act the part, to put that undesirable aspect of himself aside. so long as he's not summoned as a king he doesn't need to act like one nor feel like he has the responsibilities of one. and being a king clearly kind of sucked as far as he’s concerned.

now i mentioned before that biblical david is super kerrycore so while i don't know how much fate would even want to incorporate this side of the original version... idk, i'm really into the idea and think it's just potentially super interesting to take this parallel full circle and for david the king to be the figurative equivalent to cold blooded assassin magus killer kerry. it gives extra weight to why he'd want to just put aside this part of his life and lean in fully into a whole other role/identity that has nothing to do with kingship and why he acts Extra carefree and frivolous: because he spent most of his life as everything but that. because he couldn't be this way so long as he acted as king, because the responsibility and the role demanded that he had to suppress this aspect of himself and also that he act in ways he might not have really wanted to even as he understood that it was needed. he was good at doing the dirty and unpleasant stuff and he understood the necessity of it; he had a talent for it, in a sense, even if it wasn't a talent for something he liked or enjoyed. it goes well with him talking about how he dislikes battle in conjunction to how he was a very military focused leader-- something he never wanted to engage in or do, but that the role of the king demanded of him.

because his biblical depiction is from the very start, from the first goliath story, more of a cunning politician and warrior than anything else. he's subtle, sly and calculating, not afraid to get his hands dirty and do undignified things to get where he needs to, and very conscious and aware of all that goes around him, including how he's seen by other people and how he needs to act as if he were in front of an audience. he finds creative and subtle ways to get around most problems, but he also knows when a problem is best solved violently and doesn't hesitate to commit to that solution. (most unlike fate david though, he's also super hot-tempered and fairly quick to Stabbity Stab if someone pissed him off lmao and has to be talked down at least once from Doing A Murder)

this is compounded by how, in general, the narrative very very often leaves us in the dark about what he's really feeling or thinking in a lot of pivotal moments and leaves us often to wonder about his sincerity and true motivations. his story in the bible is essentially the unraveling of this kind of hyper competent and skilled person as he gets more and more exposed to the reader emotionally and personally, as we see more and more of his weakness and vulnerability and his real flawed and imperfect core is revealed. the narrative is at once both critical of him while still remaining firmly on his side and sympathetic towards him, and the main thing that keeps him sympathetic as a character in this way, through his darkest moments and most questionable behavior, is that he's 1) unquestionably devoted to God and nearly flawlessly pious, which is for obvious reasons a significant virtue for both the original writer and the original audience the narrative was meant for, and 2) very good at handling criticism, accepting that he made mistakes, and making amends/fixing things when he needs to. which he does a lot of.

so basically, yeah: ruthless stabby killer who's a clever and sly pragmatist, but also a Sad and vulnerable dad. that's what i meant lmao that's the exact same aesthetic as kerry.

and something you'll find pointed out very, very often by any literary analysis or any analysis at all, is his humanity; it's something that can be ascribed to many, many biblical characters but is applied to him as a defining trait in particular. and that's.... even better and gets even more interesting for fate david specifically when pitted against solomon, the perfect, flawless inhuman king. there's a consistent thematic thread in fate of being an ideal vs being a human being, especially for kings and other types of leaders, and in this context i think you can do a lot with david as someone who, instead of giving in/fully committing to one at the expense of the other, went for a balance between the two-- and struggled with that balance. he succeeded in many ways as a king and was good at it, but in some ways he lost that struggle because he failed to find that balance and gave in to humanity at the worst of times, and it's those moments which led to both his biggest mistakes and his biggest tragedies. it's interesting to me because it's different from the patterns that characters like kerry and saber establish, and it offers a perspective on this dilemma that also explains why people like them commit to this all-or-nothing approach to it.

and it's also interesting to me to compare to solomon, but especially the fact that when put in context-- that god sees david and decides to make solomon the way he is seemingly in response-- the implication is one of a background 'story' that's very consistent to an interesting pattern about god in genesis: that he's always trying out new ways to interact with this world he created through humanity and having to retry after each one attempt doesn’t quite go well. he started with adam and eve and they disobeyed him, when he tried to with all of humanity and when they turned away from him and degenerated morally he had to destroy them all with the flood. then he tried to create this connection/interaction through just one person and then just one nation from this person, and that's how he came to form the covenant with us. humans are constantly ruining his plans and he's constantly having to adjust and try or test new things. and i like the idea that he's also trying to do something similar with the kings and leaders he appointed to this chosen nation; he tried with the judges who were all scattered leaders that couldn't unite the tribes, then tried with saul who was just kind of a weak leader and king in general and couldn't handle it, tried with david, and then looked at him and went, okay, i did pretty well with this one, he's served me well but it's still not what i need. so, god reasons, if his problem is that his humanity was what got in the way then clearly the problem is that i look to humans as my representatives in the world. so clearly i need someone who can interact with humans and the human world as one of them but won't have their flaws. and so that gives us some background to and explains solomon's circumstances.

now in fgo itself the exact circumstances of solomon's birth and why he was born as he was are kind of vague, and i haven't seen anything in materials or other canon sources to elaborate (Dark Nasu, Show Me The Forbidden Solomon Backstory) but the one, somewhat cryptic line we're given to explain is that he was offered by david to god to make him into a greater king than he was. that's not exactly what happened in the original story but not really wrong either. it's a fairly legit and logical take on what happened there imo. what we're told is that god looked at baby solomon and went 'oh yeah, this kid seems pretty legit, i like this one' (when he was already born, not before that), and through a prophet, gives him a second name that literally means 'friend to god'. then, many, many chapters later, when david is old as balls and senile and slowly dying and there's a succession crisis blooming, nathan (who was the one that gave solomon his second name, as this part of the story’s acting prophet) has bathsheba resolve it by, ahem, 'reminding' him that he promised her that solomon will succeed him. and it's kind of Highly Conspicuous that we have never seen nor been told that this promise happened in the one part of the narration where it would have been most relevant to include so it's not out of the question that nathan had her persuade him of something that never happened because he was kind of very malleable at that point and with shit going down in court they needed a fast solution.

with that in mind i think fate goes under the assumption that this promise was actually real, and that the only major difference here outside of the magic/nasuverse specific elements is that solomon being chosen this way was something that happened before he was actually born, so it connected the two and combined them with how he's characterized in the chapters afterwards as the Good Flawless King and then with all sort of external sources that i can't really speak of since they’re not my area. the other main difference is the implication that david actually played a part in solomon's divine kingly destiny and planned on him being king from the start and specifically offered for god to raise him as such. and there's precedent for something like that with samuel who basically got offered by his mother to be raised as a divine prophet/judge, and the circumstances are more or less similar. samuel was offered by his mother to be in service to god and was raised by priests, which is close enough to being raised by god i guess? but he was totally separated from his parents, and he was definitely absolutely not inhumanly flawless lmao. so i think what david offered is roughly to the extent of 'i will give you my son to raise as his father instead of me, so you could raise him into the kind of king i couldn't be, while i'll stay out of his life so you can do your thing with him as you need'. and with samuel as an example for a similair offer/deal, i think he was expecting a normal human child, just one who'd grow up into a very skilled, competent king and without david's own flaws. and i imagine he was not planning on how it actually turned out for everyone involved.

and as for the reason why he even made the offer in the first place, i chose to look to the promise as the hint to the answer: at least part of it should likely be piousness and sincerely wanting to provide god with the kind of person he couldn't be, but it also means bathsheba, who became his wife under less then ideal circumstances and who lost both her husband and the first child she ever had and that should have been her husband's to his actions and his punishment, has guaranteed protection under her status as the king's mother and isn't thrown to the wolves when he dies, which is the issue she appeals to when she asks him to officially appoint solomon as his successor. being the king's mother gives her control and power in a world where she'd otherwise be in a very precarious position. theeeeeeeeennnn there's also some tradition-- i don’t remember much but i know it exists-- that claims she was his Favorite of his wives, probably for shallow reasons, though i don't think there's much internal textual evidence of that, but that's also A Thought. (i'm just saying, if they ended up developing an actually good connection and ended up loving each other for real that'd be a fascinating and very nasu twist but idk if i'm officially adopting that as my hc yet)

then there's the question of david's relationship to solomon.... there's different takes on it, from what i've seen in fancomics and stuff that does have transltions, and what i managed to understand from untranslated stuff. one interesting one is that david emotionally distanced himself as a result of the trauma of losing the baby from his initial affair with bathsheba, so he kept this distance from the second son he had with her so as to avoid something like that again-- -out of fear he'll lose him again if he allows himself to get emotionally attached. it's a trauma that would certainly be compounded after he lost tamar, amnon and then absalom and how that entire incident really broke him. i don't know if i totally subscribe to that but i think it's on to something.

in general i think of david as not a cruel or abusive father but definitely an emotionally distant one and not very actively present in his children's lives. the struggle of balancing being a king and being a human being had a wrench thrown in it when among all the roles he had to play came up the role of a father, which he just had zero understanding of how to approach or how it fits in with that balance-- the inhuman role of a king and the very human role of father are far more difficult to separate in the world of politics and the court, for him. drawing in from the source text, even in the bible you get the strong sense that he's not very attentive at the best of times, but the moment he loses any of his children, his grief is almost always overwhelming and unsubtle, even if it always manifests differently. in fgo materials their relationship is described as an indifferent one, which is to say, it's not a bad relationship because there's not much of a relationship at all to be good or bad, and i think it was sort of the case with most of his relationships with his children. of course, i also doubt there were absolutely no feelings or affection involved and that it was a totally apathetic one-- on david's part at least. solomon would have been given no room for human attachments such as family or the involved feelings, which means he'd also not feel the pain of the absence of such a thing or the need to have it. if he was given room to feel any sort of familial affection, it's likely a very shallow, vague one.

roman, i think, probably just has a lot of very complicated feelings on it that he's not sure what to do with and doesn't himself really understand. i also think this distance also means he never really understood david or was given the chance to, or, due to his own nature, been given any reason to want to. the absence of this relationship is something he feels in this new human life and understands that it was there and that it was not a good thing, but in a very vague way he's doesn't have the words for; he feels disconnected from it all because even as solomon he was very emotionally disconnected from his family and all that happened in it. and now there's the amount of time has passed and how long ago it would have been for him and how overall irrelevant it all ended up being for him... that david wasn't much of a father to him ends up not mattering much in practice because everything would have turned out the same even if he was, and it's hard to miss something he never felt he ever actually had. he knows there's an absence but doesn't feel it because solomon didn't feel it, and roman never got to experience any of it as roman.

and then he actually gets to meet david again thanks to chaldea. which is completely different as a human being with, like, Feelings, when you have all this knowledge in mind, and to look at a real breathing living human (figuratively speaking) right in front of you and for that person to register as Father in your head is a completely different experience then. it goes from a sort of vague, disconnected regret to a real, emotional understanding of what it is to have a father you never managed to connect to and who kept a distance from you for reasons you don’t understand, and then having the chance to form a connection, all while trying to figure out what the heck is going on with him because he's nothing like what you remember in life.

basically i think the first thing roman thought when he saw david was roughly something like 'whomst the fuckest is [waves hands vaguely] this guy because that is so not my dad', and it slowly segued into 'okay no now i see it, that's closer to the sort of things he'd say or do, but still, what the fuck'. he starts seeing david in an entirely new way on one hand after being exposed to this completely different side to him, but it's also confusing to re-contextualize with all his memories of him and how different he is. the last time they talked, david was on his deathbed giving him a list of people he wants him to murder the shit out of, and another list of people he absolutely does not want him to murder, and his last words were basically 'i leave it up to you how you'll do it legally but i need you to kill that motherfucker dead'. his last moments on the earth he still spent not as a father speaking to a son, but as a king to his successor. ... which suddenly he can also bring himself to feel actual strong feelings about when all of this begin to feel much more personal and much less distant, and also makes the absence of this relationship actually feel tangible, including the feelings of vague regret, maybe a desire to reconnect and to really develop this relationship now that he has the chance to actually know his dad, maybe even some kind of affection for the man-- and when it starts going there that's when he panics because he was not asking for this and does not want these feelings they're really bad and horribly inconvenient this is literally the worst time to be awakening to them!!!!!!

it's all a moot point, of course, because he can't even if he admitted to himself that he wanted to; he can't afford the risk of anyone that's not da vinci knowing, much less someone like this person who he doesn't really know or understand and wouldn't have his trust even under normal circumstances. but and in between all these considerations, he looks at david and wonders about him, wonders how to talk to him-- he  knows how to talk, as solomon, to His Majesty The King or to his father the king, but he doesn't know how to talk as a human being to someone he knows to be his father, person to person. he's both familiar and a complete stranger, and talking to him is just a source of headaches not just because of his general personality but because of this particular dissonance. and it's worse because he's also completely undecipherable and he can't tell what he's thinking at least half the time. as easy it might be to dismiss him and think there's nothing beyond what's going on on the surface, he still knows his dad well enough to understand that this is just not the case. and there's a lot of hindsight reflection over his childhood memories and of everything he does remember and in some way putting these things in a new context.

in practice how this manifests is really mostly that he just sort of hovers just outside his orbit, wanting to approach but avoiding at the last second, thinking all these things but not really doing anything beyond that, at one avoiding him and still being unable to resist the urge to engage with him anyway.

.... anyway this post got way way too big and i'm not sure how to end it, but these are almost all the thoughts/hcs i’ve developed for the past year or so. maybe a few minor things i missed or forgot.

[old-read-all-about-kpop]

hello~~ I really liked your stray kids with a witch!s/o post,,,, do you think you could do that for oneus as well? ówò

A/N: I am so so so sooo sorry for the long wait my love! I have been taking care of my mother due to her gallbladder being removed last week and need to tend to her. Hence my inactivity. I’m deeply sorry. I’m really glad you enjoyed my Stray Kidz reaction, though! Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy reading this my dear! 💓💓💓💓

Ravn

“Sooo…are you proud of yourself?”

“Very.”

You decided upon yourself to go on a baking frenzy. The condition of the kitchen displayed just that, too. A spell of yours went a little awry though when you were trying to bake a cake for Ravn.

Now, there was cake batter everywhere. There were even splatters of it on the ceiling. Some of it was dripping, coating the floor.

You opened the oven, mittens covering your hands, and revealed the delicious chocolate cake. You looked up at Ravn with a bright smile across your face.

Ravn wanted to continue being aggravated with you, but he couldn’t help but melt at the happiness that radiated off your face. And the fact that you went through all of this just to make him a cake caused his heart to swell. So, he gave in, allowing a smile to grace his handsome features.

“Well, let’s eat this bad boy! It looks beautiful baby.”

Seoho

You two were indulged in a movie. It was a film you both really wanted to see but, due to Seoho’s packed schedule, you had to wait for it to eventually come on DVD. 

You were feeding each other popcorn when, suddenly, the lights went out. You two were stunned, sitting still in the darkness as you processed it all.

You groaned loudly. “Great. Of course, the lights would go off during the hottest night known to man. And during our movie!” You whined, saddened by the fact that your movie date with your boyfriend is being put on hold.

But then, a lightbulb turned on in your head. You scurried out from Seoho’s hold and ran to your bedroom.

“Sweetheart, where are you going?” Seoho yelled, not pleased with seeing you go.

You quickly returned with your wand in hand. You pointed it at the TV, causing the machine to immediately come back to life. The movie was still going, but you could always rewind it back.

With a proud smirk on your face, you then brought your fan back from its temporary death before laying your wand down on the coffee table. You then snuggled back into your boyfriend’s side, letting out a content sigh at the feel of his lovely warmth.

Seoho was stunned throughout the whole event. He looked at you with awe as if he hasn’t seen you use magic tens of times. But, the boy was always fascinated when you decided to use it anyway. He found you fascinating.

Finally, Seoho let out an amused chuckle. You tore your eyes away from the TV, trying to find the last scene you left off at and looked up at him curiously.

He shook his head, still letting out chuckles here and there. He kissed the crown of your head before ruffling your hair. “Baby, you are truly amazing. So quick on your feet.”

Leedo

You exited the bathroom, fresh and clean, with your pajamas on and your hair blow-dried and flat-ironed for the upcoming morning. You pause your trek to the bed, smiling softly at the sight before you. 

Leedo, having been so exhausted from his fansign and then some extra hours of practice, was laying on top of the comforter. The poor boy didn’t even bother to go under and envelop himself in warmth. 

Hoping that you won’t disturb him, you wagged your finger, lifting your boyfriend up. Once he was in the air, you pulled the comforter and blanket back manually. Then, with silent prayers to the Lord, you eased your lovely man down before tucking him in. 

You then placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, clicked the lights off with a snap of your fingers, and walked to your side of the bed. The minute you got under and became comfortable, Leedo swung his arm around your waist. You smiled to yourself, feeling utterly content with your life.

“You know,” you hear him say, almost jumping out of your skin, “you’re very lucky I trust you ‘cause I was definitely having a heart attack up there.”

You couldn’t stop yourself from laughing. Leedo immediately joined you.

Keonhee

“Give it back to me, Keon!” You yelled, chasing after the boy who stole your plushie.

“But it’s so cute! And you said we could co-parent!” He yelled back.

“But I never said that you could keep him! You had him for two nights!” you whined.

“Which is why one more night won’t hurt!” He dodged you, running out of the kitchen.

Finally reaching your highest level of irritation, you snapped your fingers. Keonhee stopped running, the boys on the couch held still. The birds flying across your window froze in mid-air. 

With a victorious smile on your face, you sauntered over to your mischievous boyfriend. You took your plushie out from his grip and, for good measures, smacked him with it.

You then sat down in the loveseat and leaned back. You smugly snapped your fingers once more, causing the world around you to resume like nothing happened. 

Keonhee was still in the motions of running but stopped at the threshold upon seeing he held nothing in his large hands. He whipped his head around the room, obviously looking for your shared plushie, when his eyes finally stopped on you.

You waved innocently. You gripped your plushie close to your chest.

Keonhee caught on quickly and whined, stomping his feet like a child. “That’s not fair, y/n! You cheated!”

You snickered. “There were never any rules in play, HeeHee. I simply played smartly.” You shot him a wink before fully reclining back in the couch.

In moments like this, you were grateful for your magical abilities.

Hwanwoong

You were watching your boyfriend practice relentlessly. Sweat was dripping off from him as he danced. He was trying to get as much of the dance down, even though he was superb in the choreography. He just kept thinking that it wasn’t good enough.

You were becoming worried that he was pushing himself too hard. He was trying to reach a level of perfection he already excelled in. But, telling him that was like talking to brick wall. But then at least the wall knew how to hold still.

“Woongie,” you called. You already knew what you were gonna get in response but, it didn’t hurt to retry.

Like before, you were met with silence. Hwanwoong was deep in his head, shutting out every kind of noise that could distract him.

You huffed in annoyance. You simply wanted your boyfriend to take a breather. The last break he took was legitimately hours ago. And during that time you have been trying to capture his attention to no avail.

Finally, you had enough. You knew that he would probably get aggravated with you but you didn’t care. Hwanwoong was putting his health in jeopardy. Inevitably, he was going to pass out from exhaustion.

You stood up from your spot on the floor and walked over to your still-dancing boyfriend. He took no notice of you behind him.

You yanked him by his shoulder, causing him to spin toward you. With not a second to waste, you took hold of his face and planted your lips on top of his. You focused on the softness of his lips, pushing away the fact that you could feel every sweat drop on his handsome face. But, even then, you didn’t care.

Soon enough you felt Hwanwoong’s lips relax against yours. His hands took purchase on your hips, squeezing them lovingly. You smiled victoriously.

You broke the kiss, provoking the boy to follow after your lips like a baby to a pacifier. You held back a giggle. 

“Let’s go home, Woongie.” You stared lovingly into your boyfriend’s eyes. “There’s always tomorrow. And you can try to find mistakes in your dancing all you want but, I see nothing less than perfection. So, please, stop pushing yourself to utter exhaustion. It’s not healthy and you could really hurt yourself. Then how would you practice, hm?”

Hwanwoong averted his eyes from yours. You saw the resignment before he could say anything. 

“Come on.”

With his gym bag on, Hwanwoong opened the door for you before turning the lights off and following close behind you. You didn’t have any sort of magical powers, but you certainly had your boyfriend under your spell.

Xion

(I legit squealed at this gif 😍 Seeing idols eat automatically make them cute®)

Xion watched you adoringly as your slept soundly next to him. He ran his fingers through your hair, combing it away from your face. A gentle smile graced his face, his eyes studying you like an artist would a painting. You were utterly gorgeous in his eyes, and no one could tell him otherwise.

As you continued to snooze, Xion decided to make you breakfast in bed. He figured you deserved it after passing all your exams (honestly you deserved the whole world for simply breathing in his mind). 

However, Xion wasn’t that great of a chef. All he could do well in was a bowl of cereal. But, then, his eyes drifted over to your wand, which happened to be laying on your nightstand. He knew he shouldn’t touch it due to it being your property, and he would need to ask you first, and due to the fact that he doesn’t own any magical abilities. To try to use the wand would bring inevitably bad outcomes for a mortal like him. But, he really wanted to make you a wonderful breakfast. So, he took it, hoping to God that you wouldn’t be too mad.

In a matter of thirty minutes, the poor boy was screaming for help. Everything turned bad the minute he tried to crack eggs. From then on, he almost caused a fire from toasting bread, he caused the pancakes to stick to the ceiling, and he managed to make the bacon and sausage talk.

You ran down the stairs and grabbed ahold of the doorway. Your body was swaying due to getting out of the bed too fast and your eyes were wild with worry. But, once your eyes landed on your wand, which was tightly gripped in Xion’s hand, they held pure anger.

“Xion, what would possess you to take my wand?” You yelled. “Are you insane? You could hurt yourself! Or worst!”

You hurried over and snatched the wand out of his hand, and in a blink of an eye, everything was back to normal. With one wave of the wand, light came from the tip of it, causing every food that was ruined to disappear in thin air. Xion’s jaw dropped, his eyes big as fish bowls. You never failed to amaze him.

“Xion,” you called softly.

Xion instantly hung his head. He knew what he did was wrong and he couldn’t help but be sorry. From seeing your distressed state at the threshold, he could tell that you bolted out of bed upon his yells and probably almost broke your ankle from your speedy descent down the stairs. His heart was mercilessly squeezed with guilt upon the image of seeing you hurt from his impetuous actions.

Xion was startled out of his thoughts as he felt soft hands take hold of his face. He looked up and immediately met your eyes. They no longer held anger, instead, they held kindness and love.

“Baby, telling from the food, I know that you were making me breakfast. But, darling, using my wand to achieve that was reckless. Using such a powerful thing as a mortal is dangerous. What would I do with myself if you got hurt, or worse? Babyboy, I can’t lose you. Not ever. I would be utterly lost if I did.”

Xion nodded his head solemnly. He couldn’t agree more because he felt the same way about you. He wouldn’t be able to live if you got hurt in any way.

You then pulled his face down, peppering it with kisses. A smile slithered across your boyfriend’s face, leading him to pull your body flush against his. He was deeply joyful that you were no longer upset.

You rubbed his back and placed a loving kiss on his neck before pulling away from his tight embrace. You smiled up at him before beginning to speak. “Let’s restart on this breakfast, yeah?”

Overjoyed, Xion nodded his head vigorously. You giggled at his giddiness before grabbing a new box of pancake mix.

Your boyfriend really wished to surprise you with breakfast in bed. However, making breakfast with you by his side was definitely enjoyable as well.

A/N: Annnddd DONE! Again, I am soooo sorry that you had to wait so long for your request to be done my love! I sincerely am sorry. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed it and, please, when I open requests again, don’t be afraid to write another 💓

[beckonkill]

                                               RETURN HOME.

trigger warnings:  None specifically, but it’s a heavy piece focusing on grief and mourning.

Her phone rang. 

Vanessa sighed, tossing herself over in the bed, curling the blanket around her chest as if it could somehow protect her from the reality of the world and distract her from the fact the other half of the bed was empty.  She groped for the device, yanking it free of the charger before holding it up to her face, blinking away tears so she could focus on the screen.

AINSLEY BANDONI.

Her boss.  Oh God.  She sat up, distantly noticing that her phone declared the time to be 2:05 AM.  It didn’t matter, really, she was spending the night curled to herself and wishing that this was one long nightmare.

She accepted the call, swallowing a lump in her throat.  Please be about work--  It was a common prayer that she wouldn’t have dreamt of saying a few months ago. 

“We’ve got another one incoming.”  There was a pause there from her boss, a certain shakiness as a sharp inhale was heard over the phone.  A swallow.  Then he continued.  “Bell and I are flying down.  Can you man the drones?”

Oh, God, why?  Vanessa lost all of the strength she had, slumping forward until her elbow hit the bed, a hand splayed across her face.  She bit her lip to suffocate the sob, but the sniff was undeniable.  “Of course.  Of course,” she said, repeating it and nodding to herself in an attempt to convince herself that everything would be alright.  She pressed the phone against her face to still the trembling in her hand.

There was a pause.  Neither she nor her boss said anything.  Only heavy breathing was heard, and she wasn’t sure if it was hers or his.

“North Carolina.  Charlotte.”  There was a certain softness in her boss’s tone.  She would have never imagined it possible before, but events like this changed everyone.  “I’m counting on you, alright?  We’ll be back soon.”

The line went dead before Vanessa could thank him for being reassuring in his own eccentric way.  She shoved her own phone into her pocket, before sliding the blanket off and stepping down onto the floor.  She was already mostly dressed to go.  She got used to the calls after the fifth or sixth time.  She walked through the halls, the lights dutifully flickering on as she passed then off as she left.  The house wasn’t cold by any means, and yet she rubbed her hands up her arms, trying to rid herself of the chill she felt.  She stopped, looking over her shoulder, before deciding to let the kids sleep.  Cody—oh, her lovely baby boy—may not be old enough to take up the mantle of Arcanus, but he was old enough to watch over his sister.  If all went well, Vanessa would be back in an hour or two, anyways.  She shook her head, gaze falling to the ground.  The only noises were her steps and her unsteady breathing.

She never imagined an apocalypse would be so quiet. 

She slipped out the door, letting out a small wince as it thudded shut, and then a sigh of relief as the security system clicked back on as it always did.  She could use some familiarity right now.

There was a flash out of the corner of her eyes—for a moment, she could convince herself it was Quentin, returning home; his body was never found, he could still be alive, there was no proof he was dead—but a snap of her head confirmed that it was just the La’Boon, traversing the sky.  It was funny to think that just a few years ago, humanity was caught in a war with them over some stolen artifact.  Yet, here they were, aiding in the evacuation efforts to save millions of innocent lives.  Her phone buzzed, repeatedly, in her pocket.  There was the national alert, right on time.

Driving to work felt surreal.  The roads were never particularly busy at two in the morning, but there was something about impending doom, even several hundred miles away, that made people hide away.  Why was everything so quiet?  A hand reached out to her radio, then fell.  It felt wrong to listen to music, to pretend like nothing was happening, when thousands of lives were in danger.   

Work wasn’t exempt from that eerie silence that followed her.  Her footsteps seemed to echo through the dim room and she caught her reflection in monitors turned off for the night.  She tried not to stare at the trail of tears glistening on her face.  She hung her head the rest of the walk to her office.  It was huge, and it only served to amplify how empty it was.  After her boss had granted her control of all two thousand of the company’s drones, she had little choice but to move her control system to a computer that could handle it. 

As she settled down, the massive screen flickered to life, the drones represented by neat little squares that gave a quick indication of their status.  She sighed, wiping her eyes, before leaning forward and beginning to search for the coordinates of Charlotte. 

Inevitably—try as she may to fight it, her eyes drifted to the upper right portion of the screen.  S.P.O.T. Link remained active—the childish border of pawprints leading up to the cartoon dog on the upper left of the square.  A cheeky, two frame animation played on constant loop:  the dog was crying.  She couldn’t help but question why she made it so damn sad.  The center remained the same as it had the last several months:

S.P.O.T. LINK CONNECTION LOST

RETRY IN 34…

Every second the number counted down, and every minute the program would attempt to reestablish connection to S.P.O.T. Drone, and every minute the connection would fail.  Her eyes remained fixated on the number—the crying dog.  Spot had not sent an SOS.  She could only hope that meant he met a swift and merciful end.  Yes, she knew Spot was not alive; not even an artificial intelligence.  He could not feel pain, or sadness, or fear.  But damn it he was just as much a part of the family as any of them were and losing him hurt--!

She tore her eyes from the screen and forced her hands to unclench.  

She had more important things to do than dwell on the past.  

One deep breath out.  One deep breath in.  

A few quick commands and the drones deployed. She watched the dots on the screen as they swarmed, converging towards the city despite knowing that, chances are, they could do nothing but hold the creature off.  In the course of several attacks, they had thrown everything they had at the flame born creature.  Every hero from every corner of the world had taken their turn swinging, and nothing had seemed to phase it.

Nothing except…

Her eyes drifted to the family portrait perched above the keyboard.  Quentin, smiling for once, holding their daughter.  She and Cody huddled against him.  Spot hovering above.  After analyzing every fight they’ve had with the massive creature, they couldn’t deny that the most effective thing against it seemed to be the unique energy that Quentin--that Arcanus--had harnessed.

In their desperation, she had even called his father--begging him to do something.  Anything that might save their world.  

He had hung up without a word.

And now, they were caught in a losing battle, hopelessly stalling for time and boxed into praying for a miracle to save them.  

He bent forward, holding her head in her hands.

“The city is about 25% evacuated,” her boss’s voice; over one of the many intercom systems.  “It’s amazing how much better people listen after the fourth time.”

She picked her head up, blinking.  She could only guess she had drifted off to sleep by the pain in her neck and how much lower on the map the drones were.  

“How much longer?” Vanessa asked.  Some part of her soul appreciated the joke, but for as much as Quentin had hated their boss, they sometimes acted so much alike.

“Ten.  Maybe twenty minutes, if we’re lucky.”  His voice faltered.  He sighed.

“Did...anyone else show up?”  She itched the back of her neck, eyes skimming the screens for anything of note.  

“No.  Just me and Bell.  Everyone else is convinced we should just...wait the attacks out.”  

“But we don’t…”

“I know.”  His voice was quiet.

It didn’t stop her from wincing, though--if he believed they should wait the attacks out, he wouldn’t be out there risking his life.  Her lips trembled as she sucked in a breath.

It was too silent.

Only the occasional breathing interrupted it, and she soon found herself fidgeting.  She retrieved a coffee.  Filled it three times.  Nearly spilled it on herself when the sound of a colossal explosion was deafening even through the drone’s microphones.  She shrieked, throwing her arms over herself even when she logically knew she was safe...for now.  It seemed to be louder every time.  Hands trembling, she turned down the microphone sensitivity. 

“Good news!” Ainsley said, the tone of his voice implying that what he was about to say was anything but good.  “It’s massive enough that it doesn’t even notice us or the drones.  The bad news?  It’s massive.”

Vanessa laughed.  There were tears running down her face, but she laughed.  She didn’t know quite what her boss was trying to achieve, but in some ways, it soothed her.   Her jaw trembled as she watched the screen, two small superheroes standing against a threat they all knew they couldn’t defeat.  In the distance, the news helicopters were already filming the scene.  

It brought a smile to her face, in a way.  In the midst of an inferno, the two heroes were beacons of hope. A sign to humanity that someone was still fighting for them.  And Vanessa knew that if Quentin was still here, Arcanus would be fighting right alongside them.  People commonly asked her why she’d marry such a man.  How she put up with him.  And it was that steadfast determination, his stubborn tenacity that she adored.  She’d be the first to admit that he wasn’t always going to do the right thing, per se, but once he set his mind on something…

Tre-de-li-loop.

The ditty broke Vanessa’s stupor.  She had heard that noise before.  What was it?  It wasn’t her cell phone.  Or anything in the office, that she knew of.  Eyebrows knitted together as the tone repeated.

Tre-de-li-loop.

No, it was…

Impossible.  

S.P.O.T. Link only made that noise when it was reestablishing connection.  Despite her better judgment, her eyes drifted to the console as if on autopilot.  The dog wagged its tail, cheerfully barking in an animation of similar quality.  

Connecting…

Vanessa stared as each individual camera and sensor flicked back to life, bringing with it eighteen other drones that connected to the system.  The cameras showed him.

Quentin was home.

Vanessa stared until she couldn’t see through the tears.  One shaking hand reached out to activate the microphone.  “Quentin?”

“Hi, honey.  I have a problem to take care of, and then I’ll be home shortly.”

                            To be continued.

[rivertellsstories]

The case of the demons den #1

Look, Tumblr won’t show my fics and I’m stubborn as fuck. We’re retrying this shit.

Words: 2424

Editing: nope

Ships: eventual Javid, eventual Spromeo, eventual Newsbians, eventual JoJoButtons

Things you should know: Buttons, Smalls and Sniper are girls, JoJo is nonbinary, Race, Romeo, Jack and Smalls are adopted siblings. There are horror elements in this fic.

Chapter 1: Nonbelievers shall experience the mighty cross of JoJo. Or the holy water gun.

As soon as Medda tries to enter her living room, she knows that something is up. Jack, her oldest, tries to hide something behind him by standing in the doorway and blocking her view. That boy should know better by now. From behind him, she hears someone, she's 99% sure that it's Finch, swear and knowing that the boy usually has a slingshot with him, that's not a good sign. Her second kid, Race, is also uncharacteristically quiet and by now Medda is sure that they fucked up more than usual. Sighing deeply, she gestures at Jack to move out of her way. "Let me see what you kids have done now."

"Really boys?" Medda asks as she looks at the absolute train wreck that is supposed to be her living room. She isn't sure how an innocent movie night dissolved into...this. With her hands on her hips, she gives the room a once over and feels a headache coming up. About twenty kids give her mixtures of guilty and rueful looks and Specs steps forward, probably ready to apologize but she waves him off.

"No. I don't even want to hear it. This time, you all have gone too far. That" ,she points at a mountain of glass, "was a closet. I suppose the ceramics inside of it haven't survived either?" None of them look her in the eyes, but she sees Sniper and Finch exchange meaningful looks and she knows enough. "All of you, clean up this mess. And please find another place for your weekly movie night, because this was the last straw."

"Oh my god", Romeo chokes out and he sounds like he might start crying any minute. "We've disappointed her. Like, actually disappointed her." While making soothing noises, Specs rubs his back. "It's gonna be a-ok Romeo. She'll turn around eventually, like my mom does!" Romeo sniffles. "Specs, you don't have a mom." Specs shrugs in return. "Damn man, I was just trying to be supportive. No need to come for me like that."

Race rolls his eyes at the interaction and claps his hands loudly. "Okay, people! Let's clean this mess up and go to sleep." They split up the work and go to sleep afterwards.

-

The following Monday, they are all crammed at one table in the cafeteria, talking and screeching through each other until Blink climbs unto the table and screams for a solid minute with his arms spread. "Have I established my dominance yet? Yes? Alright folks, the most wonderful person in the world wanted to ask something." He climbs from the table and sets himself down next to Mush, who presses a kiss to his forehead. "Thanks babe."

"Gross", Henry comments and Blink violently kicks his shin underneath the table. As Henry rubs his shin with a pained expression on his face, he says: "You have too much anger for somebody so small." Immediately Blink shoots up and lunges at Henry but Mush drags him back by the collar of his jacket before he can seriously harm him. With a furious looking Blink entrapped in a hug, Mush starts to talk.

"Where are we going to hold our weekly movie night now that Medda kicked us out? And monthly karaoke night? I can't survive without monthly karaoke night." Blinks scoffs. "Yes you can. I'll make you." Mush smiles. "How do you always manage to make sweet sentences sound so menacing?"

"Shut it, lovebirds and let's focus on the question", Tommy Boy says and snaps his fingers, gathering everyone's attention. "What are we gonna do?" Henry shoots up. "We could build a treehouse!" As the enthusiasm in the group grows, Crutchie coughs pointedly and taps Henry on the shoulder with his crutch. "I hope one of you knows how to make an elevator, because otherwise I'll have to fly into your treehouse."

"Sorry Crutchie, that was dumb of me." Crutchie flippantly waves it off. "It's alright, just keep it in mind for the next time."

"What if we used the demon's den?" Albert speaks up and all of them stare at him in disbelief. JoJo gets up from their seat, walks over to Albert and smacks him on the forehead with their rosary (their moms had given it to them and JoJo always carried it with them). "Albert, that's the most stupid fucking idea ever. Someone actually died in that house."

"I don't know guys", Race comments and his face shows that he's on board with Albert's idea. "I've heard that water and electricity are still useable in that house. The WiFi is probably still up too. How awesome would that be? Nobody ever goes there, so we could leave snacks and stuff there without anyone stealing it."

"It's the demon's den! Have you two gone totally insane?" Race and Albert look at each other and Elmer shakes his head. "Look, I'm in for most of the shit you pull. Stealing the principal's diary? Cool. Putting Mean Girls quotes on the bathroom walls? Totally fetch.  Going into the demon's den after everything I've heard from my older sisters and mom? No way in hell, my dudes."

Jack watches as arguments get thrown around until he finds a solution. "What if some of us went to check the place out first? If it's haunted, I doubt all of us will die. If it's not, then we have a neat new meeting place."

After some prodding, Jack finally has a team of people that's willing to go with him. Race and Albert, naturally. Mike and Ike are coming along too and from the mischievous smirks on their faces, he suspects that they are going to pull a few tricks. Not a thing he's looking forward to, but the bigger the group, the better. Out of curiosity, Specs will go too and Romeo volunteers shortly after him. Tommy Boy wants to know if he's able to beat up ghosts, so he will come too.

The people who want absolutely nothing to do with it are Elmer, Buttons and Mush. Blink decides to stay with Mush. "He's going to fret all evening. I'm staying behind to keep him calm." Crutchie wants to go but decides against it. "I won't be able to run, should it be needed." Henry, Finch and surprisingly, JoJo are the last people who will also explore the house. "If there really is a demon, at least one of us will know what to do", JoJo sighs. Smalls and Sniper want to join too, but Jack chooses to leave the two fourteen year old girls at home. Smalls protests loudly, but Jack tells her that she has the special mission of distracting Medda. He does not tell her that Medda would kill him, should he get his little sister injured.

-

On a Saturday morning, the eleven of them gather in front of the demon's den. From outside, the house looks completely innocent. It has white walls, lovely blue windows and even a garden with a willow tree. The only slightly worrying thing about the house, is the fact that's it more around five miles away from its nearest neighbour and surrounded by a pond and the woods begin near the garden. For the people who aren't aware of its reputation, the house and its surroundings would paint an enchanting picture.

"We're going to split into smaller groups, that way we'll cover more ground on  higher tempo", Jack announces. "Tommy Boy, you're with me. The rest of the pairs are the following: Race-Albert, the twins, Romeo-Specs and JoJo, Finch and Henry, you're a trio."

Henry grins. "Nice, I've always wanted-" Before he can finish his sentence, JoJo whacks him with a decently sized cross. "Begone thot!" they scream and Jack watches bemused. "Let's go, Ralbert can go check the attic, the twins get the garden, Spromeo gets the first floor, JoFinchRy (that's awful Jack. Shut it, JoFinchRy) will explore the ground floor and you and me." He gives Tommy Boy a shaky smile and gets an unimpressed raised brow in return. "We're going sightseeing in the basement."

-

"Wanna bet that I'll get there first?" Albert shouldn't take the bet, because he knows damn well that Race is way faster than him. "Is that a challenge I hear, you thin twink?" "Does it sound like a challenge, grainy ginger?" Before Albert can answer, Race sprints up the stairs. Albert follows as fast as he can, but still manages to lose sight of Race.

-

Romeo is scanning the hallway, eyes wide and shaking slightly. "Are you okay?" Specs asks and Romeo frantically turns around as though he forgot that Specs was there too. "I'm fine! Totally cool! It's all cool, cool, cool, cool,..." There is no way, that Romeo feels as peachy as he badly pretends to be. "Hey, want to hold hands?" Romeo squints suspiciously at him. "Why? I'm not scared!" Inwardly, Specs sighs. "I am." He keeps his face perfectly straight and reaches out with a trembling hand. Instantly, Romeo clutches his arm. "Of course! If it makes you feel less scared, sure!"

The truth is, Specs doesn't even know how Romeo manages to be scared. The sun is out and the interior is actually quite cosy. He likes the blue-white theme that the house has going on and his hands aren't trembling because he's scared, but because he had to bike the furthest and also forgot his scarf. He's cold, but Romeo pressed closely against him helps.

-

The first thing Finch does when entering the house, is checking if the WiFi really still works like Race had claimed. "Holy shit!" he exclaims and within a second, JoJo has a...water gun? in their hands. "JoJo, what the fuck is that?" Expertly, they twirl the water gun between their fingers. "I got inspired by Buzzfeed Unsolved. This is baby is filled with holy water!" Henry, who heard everything, snorts. "Good job JoJo. By the way, what were you screaming for Finch?" With a gleeful expression on his face, he shows Henry and JoJo his phone. "Race was right. There is WiFi here! You don't even need a password!" JoJo gets their phone out too. "Would you look at that. Sweet." They peer into the living room the three of them are standing in. "I don't see anything concerning here. You guys want to watch John Mulaney with me?" "Fuck yeah."

-

Jack regrets everything. Well, not everything, but everything that led to him standing in the badly illuminated basement of a supposedly haunted house. As he suppressed a whine, Tommy Boy sighed. "Wanna pull a Spromeo?" Jack shoots him a confused look and Tommy Boy offers him his hand with a groan. "Wanna hold hands, you stupid dipshit?" Without hesitation, Jack gives in. "Yes, please. What do you mean by pulling a Spromeo?" Tommy Boy looks at the ceiling, as though he can see Romeo and Specs right through it. "How much do you wanna bet that they're holding hands right now?" Jack kind of doubts that Specs would try anything like that with his little bro (strangers usually don't believe him and Romeo when they say that they're siblings. It's as though people have never heard of a little thing called adoption), but Tommy Boy seems really sure of himself, so Jack shrugs. "Eh, who cares. We've got a basement to explore."

-

"Race?" Albert calls out as he reaches the attic. "Please tell me you're here." When he gets no answer, he throws open the first door in sight. From the doorway he can see that this had been a place to stow away junk that had no place anywhere else. He finds a watering can, a duster and a coat rack, but no Racetrack.

The second door leads to a small bathroom. Race isn't here either, but the sight of a bar of soap balancing on the edge of the sink, makes him strangely uncomfortable. He spots a basket with bath toys next to the bath, one rubber duck lays on its side next to the basket. Unable to stand the distressing atmosphere any longer, he exits the bathroom.

In the last room, he finds Race. The boy has a notebook in his hands and he's biting his lip. "Take a look at this", he says and his voice quivers. Silently, Albert accepts the notebook what upon further inspection, turns out to be a diary. The page that Race had been looking at, contained the last entry. The date scribbled in the corner was around two years ago. The whole page is covered with the same sentence over and over again. More than a hundred times, in a desperate scrawl, it says: 'I'm scared'. With wide eyes he stares at Race, who hands him another paper. 'Help me' it says. 'I don't know what to do. It's coming, it's coming, someone, anyone, please HELP ME' The last words are written so harshly that the paper is torn in some places. Dizzily, Albert sets himself down on the windowsill and peers outside, trying to calm his mind. He spots the willow beside the lake and he notices Mike and Ike next to the lake as well. Ike and Mike, who's squatting, turn around and as Albert raises his hand to wave at them, he catches the exact moment that Mike tumbles backwards into the water.

-

"Why do we have to check the garden of all things?" Ike complains and Mike grins at his twin brother. "You know damn well why. It's a shame that we can't scare any of them from here." Ike smirks in return. "We could go inside. Follow them because we're just so worried about them, you know?" Mike nods enthusiastically until he remembers a tiny detail.

"What if we scare JoJo and get hit with that massive cross of theirs? I don't want to risk lethal injuries, man." After considering that thought for a minute, Ike agrees. "Yeah, I'd hate to explain that one to mom. Hey ma! Our friend pummelled us with a cross during ghost hunting!"

Giggling, they walk toward the lake and Mike kneels down beside it. "Would you look at this water! It looks unnaturally clean. I bet you could swim in it without getting any weird diseases." Concerned, Ike looks down. "Please don't try that." "Spoilsport."

"Oh look, it's Albert", Ike informs Mike whileturning around and both of them wave at their ginger friend. "I wonder-" A scream interrupts Ike and he watches in horror as Mike plunges into the lake.