#so YEAH. He is both the queen (no one knows this) AND the jester (everyone knows this)

[yeonban]

⸻   What is your place in the royal court?

(NIKOLAI GOGOL / real) : the queen.

dignified in your regality, you are a beacon of reason... the true power behind the throne, you take heed of all, cautious in each move you make. some may call you callous in your calculation, but they do not know your heart.

(THE DOA'S CLOWN / guise) : the jester.

you spark humor wherever you wander, always seeking to brighten a room with the roar of laughter. but, you are no fool. you have seen the pain in the world, and you would give anything to keep others from feeling it, too. though, humor is a balm, not a cure. take care you do not merely conceal your tragedy beneath a smile.

Tagged by: @rotjoy Sampo being the king and Nikolai being the queen made me snort outloud, they're a package deal frfr

[thenebulochaoticwriter]

Chapter One: Daily

Moira was an enigma to Louis. Louis Valentine was the mailman well-known around Doe’s neighborhood due to his skillful and swift deliveries. Outside of his work- which is whenever 12 pm hits- he’s hardly ever seen again. Of course, this is because he made it his job to avoid everyone and anyone he knows at all costs after work- but no one really knows why.

He himself was an enigma to Moira’s neighborhood- but somehow, not to Moira herself. He didn’t know why or how, but out of all the people he runs into, Moira is the only one he happens to run into without being able to turn a corner and sprint away, as if he hadn’t heard her.

Somehow, it’s never too crowded for him to get away from her and it’s never dark enough for him to claim that she mistook him for someone else.

It’s not as if Moira was following him. He knew that for a fact because she simply didn’t have the time to. Which only left incredible coincidence. That or great or terrible luck- depending on who’s perspective you were looking at.

Every day he approaches Moira’s house, with the feeling of impending doom. Not because her house looked like something from a gothic horror or anything- and not even because Louis despised Moira. Just because whenever he approaches her little American Queen Anne style house- or what she quite literally named “Annie”- both she and that mop-shaped mutt of hers are always trotting out.

As per expected, the front door cracked open, and her komondor flew out of the door. Thankfully for him, Moira had a decent grip on the leash that prevented her dog from running over and snapping at the mailman’s ankles.

“Moira.” Louis smiled his “confrontation smile”- which he flashed whenever he ran into anyone at any point in time. He patiently waited after Moira gave a strained “hi…” for her to lock her door and reel Jester back to herself.

“Jester, if you bite the mailman I’m gonna eat your snacks in front of you.” She threatened with a smile that made Louis wonder if she was even trying to look like she meant it.

Hilariously enough, her dog snapped back with a groaned howl, but calmed down significantly at her threat. Moira fixed her posture before waving to Louis, who found himself having to rejuvenate his smile to make it look less worn out.

“Moira.” He greeted again. “Always a pleasure.”

“I’d ask if you said that to everyone, but that’d be pretty dumb of me to, right?” Moira chuckled. “You know, since the kids down the street made an entire ‘Where’s Waldo’ based game to find you, haha.”

Yes, that made his afternoon hobby of avoiding people significantly harder than usual. “Right.” Louis gave a light, closed-mouth chuckle that honestly didn’t look as if he was trying at all. He quickly brushed off that fact by pulling out a small rectangular package just slightly bigger than his hand. “I believe this is yours.”

“Oooh, this must be my sister’s next installation to her serieeees!” Moira hummed, immediately slicing the tape apart with her nail and opening it. “Mhm..” She hums, smiling happily at the cover.

Just as Louis smiles to get his usual ‘well, I oughtta get going’ out, Moira holds up the cover. “You’ve heard of her, right? My sister? Have you read any of her books?” She asked excitedly.

“I..no, I admit I’m not much of a reader.” Louis responds, tapping on his bag, “I don’t have time to do such things, anyway. I’m busy taking care of my family.” He explains briefly.

“Oh, is your family still visiting? They’ve been there for quite a while, haven’t they?” Moira asks, stepping back onto her porch to place the cardboard box down on her swinging bench. “I don’t think I could imagine spending so much time with my family in such a small house. I dunno how you do it.”

“We’re all fine. I don’t think my family is quite as big as yours, anyway.” Louis assures her, taking a step back to try to emphasize that he was attempting to leave.

“Yeah?” Thankfully, Moira seems to take the hint and smiles as she places her book in her bag. “Well, I guess that makes sense.” She hums, lifting the leash to her hand rather than the crook of her elbow. “Regardless, I’ve got errands to run! See you later, Louis!” Moira waves cheerfully, tugging Jester along the sidewalk.

“Hopefully not.” Louis sighs underneath his breath, going on his way as well.

__

As well known as Doe was known around the town, she didn’t have many friends outside of her dear Jester. Hence why she lives farther from her neighborhood. Rather than an apartment or regular house on a street, she had someone renovate the current house she was living in- just because she liked the look of it.

As it stands, Moira is often choosing her personal likes and petty items over socializing or making friends. Which is why those who are perceptive enough know just how strange of a person Doe is.

“Okay, despite how much I absolutely love my sister’s books…” Moira hummed, “I did promise Ai that I would let him get the first read.” She claims, mainly to herself, but she spoke out loud so that Jester would hear. “And the library is before the market, so you’re gonna have to sit outside for a while.”

Moira could swear Jester gave her a look, but ultimately just enjoyed the walk there. As they walked up to the library, he only stopped once in hopes that she would be too tired to drag him all the way to the doorway. It didn’t work, and he slumped down on the ground as Moira tied his leash around a nearby pole.

“Be good and I’ll go buy some more fatty treats when we get to the store, mkay?” Moira hummed with a smile, and although he didn’t pick his head up, his tail did flick around a bit at the word “treats”.

Moira was immediately welcomed by a cooler temperature when she walked inside the library. She pulled her long hair into a half-assed bun in an attempt to welcome some cool air onto the back of her neck.

“Moiraaa..” A soft voice called to her. At the desk was a black-haired young man with skin Moira admitted she envied a little.

“Watana-bae!” Moira cheered, immediately being hushed by Ai with a finger to his lips. His full name was “Ai Watanabe” but he allowed her to call him that amongst other things in return for the books she let him borrow. “Were you waiting for me?” She hummed in a lower volume, trotting over to the desk.

“Would you be upset if I said that I was waiting for her?” Ai asked, lifting his finger to the book, rather than Moira.

“Oh, my poor heart.” Moira scoffed, sliding him the book. She leaned down, resting her arms on the cool surface, now having to look up at Ai. “I’m sure my sister would be glad to hear that, though.” She hummed, smiling, “Whenever you bother contacting her.”

Ai chuckles, his gaze averting back up to Moira as she stands up straight again. “I can’t help but get nervous in front of good authors.” He claims, skimming the book.

“I can believe that.” Moira hums. Ai was more on the timid side unless he was completely comfortable with someone. Due to his sweet personality and calming occupation, he’s quite favored by many women. Older women specifically. Thanks to that, at least, he’s gotten dozens of raisin cookies.

“Also, Moira.” Ai smiles, “Make sure to get whatever book you’d like now or sometime soon. I’ll be closing up early today.”

“Yeah? For what?” Moira asks casually, digging into her bag for her library card.

Ai pauses, opening his mouth before closing it in thought. “I.. well, you could..” He sighs, furrowing his eyebrows at his inability to decide what he wanted to say.

Moira’s gaze flicks up to him, “How spooky. Are you killing people after working hours? How scandalous.” She jokes.

“Pff.” Is all Ai manages to huff out, although in the end he doesn’t say anything more about the topic. “Is there anything you’re interested in getting right now?”

“Do you have the Phantom of the Opera?” Moira asks immediately. As obvious as it was, she’d been thinking about the book for a while.

“Yes, but.. I only have the original copies.” Ai responds, “All in French.”

“I knoooow.” Moira hums, “I used to study French, like, religiously a while back. I’m sure I can get through it.” She said confidently.

“Well, if you say so.” Ai reaches down and places the book on the counter, temporarily exchanging it for Moira’s library card.

“Did you have it prepared?” Moira asked curiously. “I bet you wanted me out of here as quickly as possible.” She said, pouting in faux distress.

Ai scoffed. “We got a shipment in recently and no one’s gotten to putting them up.” He gives her back her card. “You have quite the imagination, don’t you?”

“I blame the books.” Moira shrugs. “And the movies. Speaking of, what’s your favorite movie?” She asked, tapping her fingers on the counter with a curious smile.

“Hm.. well.” Ai starts, but his attention is snagged by one of his co-workers loudly opening the staff door. He holds up a finger and his co-worker rolls his eyes before slipping back behind the door.

Ai bends down again, “One moment. It should be..” He hums, standing up and turning to the shelf behind him. “...here we are.” He picks up a VHS tape and its case, which is separate from the tape itself.

“..Attraction’s Fatality. Thriller and crime?” Moira smiles, tilting her head to the side. “What’s it about?”

“Hm..” Ai averts his gaze, lifting a hand to rub against his lip. “Well, this man- married, has a one-night stand. Doesn’t matter why or where- what matters is with who.” He explains. “A woman who he thinks is just about as regular as any one-night stand. The conflict arrives when she doesn’t stop calling.”

“So, she’s obsessive.” Moira nods.

“Sure. But to what extent?” Ai hums. Moira chuckles in interest. “Everything’s okay- until the wife finds out. As per the fling’s intentions. On top of the newfound heat between the cheater and the cheatee, one of his children is abducted by said woman.”

“And? What happens to the kid?” Moira asks, leaning on the counter in expectancy.

“Well, from what I remember..” Ai smacks his teeth in faux thought. “..there was like, this text on the screen. And a massive boom sound.”

“Don’t you dare say it said ‘To Be Continued’.”

“Nope.” Ai smiles, looking up to Moira. “It said ‘Watch The Movie Yourself’.” He winks, leaning over and slipping the tape into her bag.

“You. Are going to kill me.” Moira sighs, slumping away from the counter and his close proximity.

“One day.” Ai chuckles, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Omo-sha.” He hums as Moira struts out of the library.

“I dunno what that means but byyyye!” Moira flicks her wrist in a wave as she leaves.

Immediately, she’s made aware of the familiar barking coming from outside the library. As she steps outside, she sees an all-too familiar cupcake mascot. “CupKake?! What are you doing here?”

“Yo!” The CupKake mascot waved a hand to Moira as she walked over and shooed him away from Jester. The mascot itself was a yellow cupcake with white icing and primary-colored sprinkles. Moira herself made it, and despite the great fabric and coloring, along with the perfectly simple design, she herself considers it the worst thing she’s ever made.

“And why are you harassing my dog?! He hates your dance moves!” Moira hissed. “..aren’t you hot? It’s pretty stuffy.”

CupKake shrugged, his voice hardly muffled by the costume. “I mean, yeah. But I’m heading inside anyway.” He claims, pointing to the library. “And speaking of- Ai wanted me to do ‘im a favor, and in return he’s letting me move my office here. It’s cool. Big. Air-conditioned.”

“You’re gonna get heatstroke.” Moira huffs. “If you walked around without it no one would know the secret identity of ‘CupKake’. Soooo, why bother with the costume?”

“Obviously cuz I hate my face.” CupKake says, raising his arms with a sigh. “That’s what people do when they hate their face. They hide it.”

“And.. a cupcake is better than your face?” Moira asked.

“I personally like cupcakes better than people’s faces. Yours, too.” CupKake claimed, and Moira scoffed. “If I had the choice to date a cupcake or you, I’d definitely pick the cupcake. I’d marry it, too.”

“Yeah? Well, you’d probably be arrested for cannibalism.” Moira chuckles.

“Ha! Jokes on you- I don’t even like cupcakes!” CupKake reveals, before adding, “I don’t like eating them, anyway.”

Moira smacks her teeth. “Whatever. You’re a complete enigma to me, Sir Cakes.” She shrugs, taking Jester’s leash. The dog in question tried his best to stay as close to CupKake as he could in order to bite him.

“Hey, now, you don’t know that.” CupKake claims. He points a finger gun to Moira and makes a click sound, since she couldn’t actually see him wink. “Listen to my show tonight, though, yeah?”

“I’ll just leave the radio on and let Jester decide.” Moira shrugs, waving CupKake away as she went on with her day.

__

Once again, poor Jester had to be left outside while Moira ran into her regular stores to shop. “..dryer sheets…” She was lucky that the owner of this shop kept so many useful things for a fashion designer such as herself. “...base, base, base..” Moira fingered through a clothing rack of nothing but plain white dresses, before noticing that this particular rack wasn’t here before.

“Ooh, did you add this rack just for moi?” Moira called across the small shop, and heard the shop owner scoff.

“Gets you out of here quicker, doesn’t it?” Irene joked, spinning a pen around in her fingers as she looks down at a clipboard on the counter.

Moira rolled her eyes, putting her armful of dryer sheet boxes onto the counter. “Should I ask?” Irene sighs, crossing her arms.

“I’m gonna use these for a dress I’m working on.” Moira replied, tapping her fingers on the counter with a smile before returning to the clothing racks.

“Oooof course.” Irene hummed, neatly stacking the boxes of dryer sheets on the counter.

Moira browses the base dresses, thinking of the many different outfits she’ll have to make. There were several different characters, all with their own personalities, which means there has to be several different outfits that represents them to the smallest detail.

The only problem is that the outfits are meant to be based on their personalities only. So Moira plans on making the clothes not look much like their outfits in the original movie. Since the way she designed their outfits for the movie were meant to make them appear different then how they really are as characters, it shouldn’t be too hard.

As Moira nitpicks a good armful of white dresses and several other blank articles of clothing, Irene calls out to her. “So, you think that Stephen will be at this, uh, movie premiere of yours?”

Moira pauses, thinking for a moment before chuckling. “Yeah, probably.” She says, taking her armfuls of fabrics and clothes to the desk. “He seems to like looking at my clothes and creations.” She says.

“You mean judging them unnecessarily?” Irene sighs, checking the price for everything that Moira’s put on the counter. “I’m sure he only does it for attention- why else would he bother coming to every one of your shows?”

“Maybe he has a crush on me.” Moira smiles, in a way that makes it completely unclear to Irene if she’s joking or not.

“Don’t sexualize someone who’s clearly made himself known as someone who dislikes you.” Irene scoffs, pausing her actions to look up at Moira skeptically.

“I’m not sexualizing him.” Moira hums, looking away with a sheepish smile, “I’m just.. Guessing.” She says. She pauses for a moment, twirling a lock of hair around her finger in thought before adding, “He is hot, though.”

“Oh, my God.” Irene rolls her eyes, quickly putting Moira’s items in multiple bags before shoving them towards her. “Twenty-five.” She says, “And he is not that hot.”

“I like his hair. Every picture of him- black and white or not- stands out because of his hair alone.” Moira comments, digging around in her purse for a moment for three tens. “And yes he is that hot. I’d let him degrade me any day.” She says, and Irene once again finds herself wondering if that’s sarcasm.

“Get out of my shop, Moira.” Irene scoffs, waving her out. “And answer my damn calls!”

“Can’t answer them if I’m not hoooome!” Moira calls back, walking out of the store. She turned to wave to Irene, but thanks to that, she accidently walked into someone.

“Moron.” Irene sighs, before looking down at Moira on her knees and the man she’d just knocked down. “You two good?”

“Sorry, sorry!” Moira quickly stands up, helping the person she’d bumped into off of the ground. “Are you okay? I should’ve paid attention to where I was going.”

“I’m fine, yes, thank you.” The man stands up straight, dusting his clothes off as Moira picked up her bags. “I’m glad I ran into you, though.” He says, looking at her.

“Yeah? Are you a masochist?” Moira asks, tilting her head to the side in what the man hoped was a joke.

“What? I..” He pauses, deciding to not to answer that, “I am Detective Masashi Hideo, and I’ve been sent to ask you a few questions.” He pulls out an ID that secured his claim.

“Spooky.” Moira comments laxly, “I’m open to questions. Could I possibly finish my dog’s walk, though?”

The detective shakes his head. “This won’t take too long. Depending on your answers, you could continue your routine or come with me.” He says, pulling out a notepad from the pocket of his trench coat. Moira hummed in reply, more so wondering why exactly he was wearing such a warm article of clothing in already warm weather.

“Do be sure to reply honestly.” The detective said, clicking his pen. “Where were you twelve days ago? The 10th of June?” He asked.

Moira lifts a hand to her chin in thought. “That was, like..Sunday, right?” She asks, the detective nodding, “At home, then.”

“And three days before that?”

Moira counts back for a moment, before saying. “Also at home.”

The detective writes something into the notepad. “..when’s the last time you've been out outside of today?”

“Last week exactly. I don’t often leave the house outside of Thursdays to run errands.” Moira replies, “I have visitors over more often than I bother going to anyone else.”

“Right.” The detective writes something else down. “When are you free today?” He asks, placing his notepad into his pocket.

“Sometime during sundown.” Moira responds. “I..don’t ever have a watch on me, so I don’t go home depending on the time.”

“Would you feel comfortable with me coming over at that time?”

“If you want.” Moira shrugs, before pausing. “What would you do if I said no, though?”

The detective places his hands in his pockets, his face straight and serious as he looked up at Moira. “I’d likely have to get someone to issue a warrant from the judge. Do I need to?”

“No need.” The taller lady hums, “I’m gonna finish this walk, but we’ll be home later, detective. See you tonight!” Moira waves, leaving at the detective’s nod.

Once the detective was far enough, Moira looked down to Jester. “Ooh, they’re onto you for stealing those treats.” She joked, referencing an incident from when he was a pup.

[captainsspnanon]

C2E63 - Intervention - rewatch

Lots of announcements this episode, but AAAH one shot with Stephen Colbert!  Surprise, Matt, this is just the FIRST one.

(it’s such a cute one shot though, just seeing Stephen’s delight with it!)

I love when Ashley makes a joke “maybe I should do the talking this time” and everyone just holds her to it.  Both supportive friends and roasting friends at the same time.

I’ve said it before, but I really do prefer Sam’s flask here to what he does in C3.  It just feels more disruptive in C3, they always seem to have to stop and look at it, whereas here the roleplay keeps going and there’s only bits of acknowledgment.

Nothing shows that this is a real dnd campaign that isn’t scripted more than Jester ringing the bell as soon as they’re in the Lucid Bastion and Matt having the NPC come out and be aggravated, even though the bell and the guy are in Asarius and not Rosohna.  If it was scripted, would they do that bit in the completely wrong building and city?  (also, fuck the spelling of Rosohna, I NEVER remember how to spell it. Especially because I want to spell it like Rosh Hashana, which is something completely different XD)

Poor Beau and Caleb, desperately trying to get the Bright Queen to not go full slaughter on the Empire.  On a shallow watch, I fully stand in their shoes.  On this more in depth watch, …. yeah, trying to think about this in terms of actual military strategy and stuff?  What the Bright Queen is doing makes sense.  I don’t like it in terms of a fictional narrative, but trying to put it in real world terms?  Now, not only is it super above my head, but also I’d suspect that if they are more gentle and withdrawing as Beau suggests, then the Empire would just move in and conquer just that much more easily.

Also, Essek tells the Bright Queen that the Nein not only can be trusted since they are capable, but also that they had his ‘tutelage’.  There’s been a lot of analysis (and lots with shipping goggles on) of the moment that Essek decided to teach Caleb dunamantic spells.  I wonder now if this was something that had already been run by and approved by the Bright Queen – hence why a persuasion roll of 12 was able to work, because it had already been decided that it would be done.

In hindsight, it’s very interesting to see Caleb be so fervently gung-ho about having the Xhorhasians take the Nein along to defeat the Assembly, how much of his plan relies on the Bright Queen essentially using the war to do it for him – give him the opening, versus how it ends up by the end of the campaign with Caleb and Beau working with the Cobalt Soul and mostly just themselves to try to take the Assembly down. Personally, I think the end result is better.  Having the Assembly taken down in a war?  All it will do is push the Empire to immediately rebuild it, probably even stronger.  Have it taken down by people in the Empire, proving crimes?  That might work to disband it eventually, or clean the corruption out of it.

Jester going “let’s form our own country!” and just BREAKING everyone.  LOVE IT

I honestly forgot so much of the stress for Beau with having to contact Dairon, and the fear she had regarding it.  Knowing that it turns out well, I just remember the good parts of it like the promotion and leading the charge for the arrest.  It makes the rewatch and re-experiencing this tension all the better because it feels so real, so honest.  Beau HAS no way of knowing that it will turn out well, hell, MARISHA has no way of knowing.  And so in this fictional game is the truth of a new and quick mentor relationship where there is a level of appreciation and respect for being the one authority figure who listens, couched with the fear of knowing how authority figures tend to act.

I love Caleb’s hypocrisy.  Nott accuses him when Yeza was taken – “these are YOUR people”, Caleb throws up and freaks out.  Caleb wants to get Dairon involved, constantly tells Beau that she needs to get “your people” involved.  Never once considers that Beau might not want to be so tightly linked to the Soul like people assume Caleb is linked to the Assembly.  Maybe he considers it fine because she hasn’t abandoned the Soul (except she basically did except for Dairon, at least at this point), but it’s a level of self-centeredness that adds a lot to Caleb’s character.  Honestly?  I don’t remember if he stops being as hypocritical by the end of the campaign, or if this is a flaw that he continues to have.  I THINK he gets better, at least by a good amount?

Also with Caleb – for some reason him acting like he’s the smartest one in the room usually doesn’t rub me the wrong way that Molly and Kingsley do. I’m trying to figure out why, and I think it’s because Molly and Kingsley would act like the smartest by acting like others were stupid, whereas Caleb doesn’t even seem to be thinking about the intelligence level of others?  ...that’s a terrible way of describing it.  I don’t know!  There’s also a good chance that it’s just character bias, or the fact that people are way more willing to call out Caleb being an ass than Molly or Kingsley (one shot spoilers for part one, but notice that no one has called out Kingsley at all yet?  Despite him being a massive asshole to Fjord? And pretty flippant to everyone else re: their capabilities? Seriously, with Taliesin it seems that he deliberately designs PCs who need to be called out, and only Marisha seems willing to call him out.  Improves in C3, but STILL.)

I really like this map of the Overcrow.  It’s not a very complex map, just houses and some exterior items, but it really FEELS good.  We’ve had a few exterior maps like this in C3 that haven’t felt as nice.  I’m not sure why – if it’s just the angle we’re seeing at it or something different.

...this has GOT to be the episode that Jester turns into a moth, right?

(off topic, but I told my mom that I find Sam sexy when he has a beard, and she doesn’t see it at all.  I’m not alone in this, right???)

I actually really enjoy when they all overlap a bit and get confused, it’s the occasional moments that really remind me that this is just a game like any other, just a bit more polished and put on the internet. Sam rolling but then not knowing if he was rolling investigation or stealth because there were like three different things going on a the same time, yup, that’s happened.

CONTROVERSIAL HOT TAKE TIME: I don’t like when Tal has his PCs just show up during other people’s moments when it doesn’t make sense for them to be there.  This happened a LOT with Percy and Molly, but every once in a while, Cad hits it too.  Like right now.  Cad is hopping in through the window after Nott has entered the building sneakily, with all the rest of the party NOT going there, and him not knowing what’s going on.  In character, there’s absolutely no reason and also no MOTIVATION for Cad to go in there.  It just doesn’t make sense for him as a PC!  He never sneaks off on his own or joins Nott for stealthy things, basically just moves with the group when they do. But all of a sudden he’s now jumping in a window that no one else has gone into and hasn’t been confirmed clear?  It just feels a lot more like Taliesin than Caduceus, that’s all I’m saying. Luckily, most of the time that Tal does this it’s more for exploratory stuff so usually doesn’t hit the RP or story that hard. It just bugs me.  (for clarification purposes, a scene like where Percy ended up killing Vex because Tal didn’t wait for Laura to finish checking for traps?  Does NOT fall in this category.  The scene where Vex and Vax were upstairs in some building having a conversation about something or other and then Percy interrupts despite not being involved at all and not even in the area, but then claims that he heard over the earrings when they protest that he wasn’t there?  DOES fall in this category.  Don’t ask me what episode or what it was about though because I have no recollection and searching transcripts isn’t helping.  I’ll find it and give my mini-rant when I do my C1 rewatch.)

YESSSS Moth with an intelligence of ONE!!!!  Oh, the looks of realization on their faces!!!  To be fair to them, they are very used to wildshape from C1 in which the mind is kept, and they really haven’t polymorphed THEMSELVES much yet, only enemies.  Before this, it was only Jester as the dire badger digging through the tunnel.

Oh lol after just typing that up they literally bring up themselves how wildshape is different

Holy shit, Jester used her channel divinity to turn invisible!!  I swear I thought she only used this once when she was showing it off to Nott, when she didn’t realize that it was only for a few seconds.

Ten hours total for everyone to get a long rest?  I’m guessing this is probably the episode where Matt gets spammed with a ton of corrections about how long rests work.

Oh dear, I just realized I’m going from the last one shot (so much combat!) right into combat and then a dungeon crawl.  *le sigh*  Ah well, not as bad as the last few episodes of the campaign will get. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy combat!  Just, when it lasts a long time, I tend to zone out.  And the last two/three episodes of the campaign?  OOOF.  One of the reasons why I struggled at times with C1?  SO MANY LONG BATTLES.  I’ll have to see if I feel the same after the rewatch of both campaigns, but having seen C2 first and then into C1, I DID feel that C1 had more tense on-the-edge-of-your-seat battles.  With C2, and now even into C3, it doesn’t feel the same.  I genuinely can’t figure out why, because the combat in C2 and C3 isn’t bad!  There’s just as much risk of people dying!  I suspect that it’s due to the level discrepancy. C2 is mostly low to mid level combat, C3 is currently in low level combat (only level 7 at the time of me writing).  C1?  STARTS at level 10 combat and only goes up from there.  I mean, look at Kevdak! Level 16!  PLUS there were 20 other NPCs in the fight!  Vox Machina was between level 13 and 14 at the time, and this was around episode 53.  For comparable Mighty Nein?  They weren’t between level 13 and 14 until episodes 108-124.  This was undead Avantika and Aeor fights. I think people who really worship the C1 combats and are highly dismissive of C2/C3 combats need to realize the immense level difference.  (Then again, there’s also just a case of feel.  There was a somewhat recent combat in C3 with unexpected outcome, if you know you know, and yet despite what happened and how it went, I still ended up not feeling as intense as the C1 fights?  In the moment, I think it was a failure to process what was happening.  SIDEBAR, I’m looking forwards to my eventual C3 rewatch, because I DO think that watching it on a weekly basis rather than being able to binge the entire campaign in a go DOES make a difference as to how things feel, especially pacing.)

WOW TANGENT SORRY

and now I’m back from the tangent break, where I made the stupid mistake of trying to stay informed with the news and everything is awful here and there, local and global, and I almost set myself into a panic attack.  FML.  LET ME DROWN MYSELF IN FICTION.

Oh hey I just noticed Marisha’s wearing a shirt that says “Everything is Awful”.  ...YUP

Jester as noble woman demanding her money back, lots of comments are talking about Vex, but I’m assuming in character that this may be influenced by people she met at the Chateau.

Glad that everyone does get a full rest though.  I could not remember, was worried that Beau and especially Caleb would be going in with a broken rest.

You know what.  I keep wanting to watch this episode, and keep stopping because I don’t have the energy to write.  So fuck it, gonna watch the rest of this and if I don’t write any more, that’s fine!  TIME FOR ME TO HAVE FUN.

I was about to say I wonder what the payoff was for this dragonborn, because I don’t remember any context for her.  Looked it up in the wiki, she dies in the fight.  Whoops oh well.  Wonder what her role in all of this was.

They REALLY do use “making my way” as a crutch phrase, don’t they?  The singing bit (which hasn’t started yet) probably helped them recognize how much they were relying on it and try to diversify their language usage.

I’m feeling very strongly about this being one of the strongest table setups (maybe I would switch Ashley and Taliesin, but I’m not sure, WAIT I KNOW.  Switch Sam and Taliesin. THAT I think would be strongest table setup), and a big part of that is the constant casual touches throughout the campaign.  Sam and Laura are always poking each other, top table is flailing into each other constantly, Tal and Ashley collapse into each other a few times.  It’s hard for me to remember if Travis has as much casual touch with the C3 table layout, I feel not?  I feel like the new bottom table is the more touchy one. But yes, I think my ideal table layout for a campaign is Top Left – Travis, Top Middle – Marisha, Top Right – Liam, Bottom Left – Taliesin, Bottom Middle pt1 – Laura, Bottom Middle pt2 – Sam, Bottom Right – Ashley.    Yes, this feels good.

They completely forgot that Beau still had an action left here, I wonder how the encounter would have changed once she got inside if she realized she could still attack as well.

Love rewatching the reactions when the Mysterious Drow says “Orphanmaker” and everyone FLIPS OUT.  Or rather, Taliesin flips out first, Ashley’s eyes pop open wide, and then Travis and Sam are getting into it while everyone is going ‘oooooooo’

Fjord’s first counterspell!

Stop. Fucking. Hitting. Me.  UGH such a great Yasha moment, and perfect Ashley timing.

What is it with the second half of this episode and me having such a struggle watching it???  Basically since they started the stakeout I have just NOT been able to watch this in more than brief chunks. There’s nothing wrong with it, but for some reason I am just Having Issues.  I only have half an hour left!  But that just feels so hard!

Mmmm, Fjord deception.  It’s weird though, because I just watched the reunion recently so the british accent is in my head, even though right now he’s still using texan accent, so it SHOULD feel like a fake accent but my brain is going ‘real’ even though he’s about to drop back into texan again

I got through the rest of it by being zoned out half the time, and looking at my phone.  Really really unsure why this was a struggle for me, as it was filled with a lot of fun and is taking us right into the Obann arc.

[alittlemelody716]

Another Forever After: Story Of An Extra pt.2

Thank you to @ramos123 for beta reading for me!

Legacy Year

A boy stared numbly at his locker. He had forever wished that it would never come. He didn’t want to sign. Signing meant he would be beheaded.

This is Nathaniel Kurtzberg, son of one of the gardeners in Alice in Wonderland. His destiny would lead to him making a mistake that would put him on the Queen of Hearts’ chopping block.

His father angered the Queen of Hearts and was beheaded, leaving Nathaniel with his widowed mother. His mother used to cry herself to sleep, not just because she was mourning his father, but also mourning her son who would suffer the same fate. Needless to say, Nathaniel avoided the next Queen of Hearts, Lizzie Hearts, at all costs.

‘Why is such a small part even a destiny? To have an entire family line be destined to get beheaded for painting roses is extreme, especially since most people don’t realize that the role exists’ Nathanial thought with a grimace.

“…ath    Na..       NATH!”

Alix’s voice snapped Nathaniel out of his stupor. He had honestly forgot that she was next to him.

“Got something on your mind Nath? I’ve been calling you for a while.” Alix asked.

“Just thinking. Rehearsals are after classes today, right?” Nathanial questioned.

“Yeah. Headmaster Grimm insists that everyone shows up. Classes are now being assigned according to destiny too. Get this, they put me in Princessology and Damsel-in-distressing” Alix scoffed.

Alix Kubdel is from a branch of the Charming family. Charmings are always enrolled in Ever After High, destiny or not. The male heirs are trained to be princes for any and all fairy tales and female heirs are trained to be perfect princess who sit and wait for their prince to arrive.

“You really hate being a Charming princess, huh?” Nathanial mused with a chuckle.

“Don’t get me started” Alix cut with a glare.

—

“So, when your magical key appears, you insert it gently into the Storybook of Legends, then stand, shoulders back, and declare your destiny to the world. Have I made myself clear?” Headmaster Grimm instructed.

Max stared up at the stage as Apple White volunteered to go first. He is the nephew of the current Caterpillar of Alice in Wonderland. However, his uncle has no children and doesn’t plan on having any, being more than content with his current role as a judge at Wonderland High under Courtley Jester. Therefore, the role of being the next Caterpillar falls onto him.

Next to him is Damian al Ghul-Wayne and Lê Chiến Kim.

Damian al Ghul-Wayne is the son of the Seamstress Brother from the tale, The Four Skillful Brothers. There is actually very little blood shared between him and his “brothers” in the tale. The four families had always relied on each other for the sake of both their story and their kingdoms.

Lê Chiến Kim is the son of one of the monkeys in the nursery rhyme, Five Little Monkeys. He tends to run mostly on adrenaline and enjoys stunts, yet he is terrified of his destiny.

They’re an odd friend group, consisting of at least one person from each destiny faction. It’s more like tolerating each other’s presence, really.

‘Let’s see, based off the order, there is an 85% chance this rehearsal will end before a majority of us will be able to go.’ Max quickly calculated.

And as predicted, Raven Queen ran off from the rehearsals and Headmaster Grimm ended the event.

“Oh, look. Everyone else doesn’t get to even take a step onto the stage,” deadpanned Damian.

Kim snorted. “As if you didn’t already know how the ending goes. Lunch is going to be awkward tomorrow for sure.”

Oh, how true that statement was, the next few days after rehearsals the atmosphere was tense but none of the students from larger named stories could feel it. The tables were split among the three groups and students were starting to argue with each other.

“What are the chances of us getting screamed at for sitting at the same table Kanté?” Damian questioned.

“Tensions aren’t high enough to trigger an explosive reaction, so I say we have a 79% chance of eating our lunch with minimal protests,” Max affirmed.

They grabbed their lunches and began to make their way over to their usual table when Kim collided crown-first into a girl with pink hair.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” the girl fumed.

“You ran into me, you midget!” Kim argued back.

“Midget! Why you!”

“Alix, that’s enough” a boy with red hair came and grabbed the pink haired girl. “I’m sorry about my friend. I’m Nathanial, that’s Alix.”

“It’s Lê Chiến’s fault too, your companion isn’t the only one at fault” Damian reasoned.

“Oh you think you’re some hot-shot? Why don’t you meet me on the field, donkey-brain!”

“I am a monkey, midget! And you’re on! 3 laps around the track after school, winner gets bragging rights.”

Max, Damian, and Nathanial gave up on trying to calm the two competitive spirits who began arguing about sports and challenges.

—

Alya excitedly flipped through her mirrorpad, trying to find the latest gossip and news around ever after. If she can't be the first to get to a story, then she could at least be one of the first to know of it. Her mirrorblog isn’t getting as many views as Blondie’s but she’s still doing fairly well.

Alya doesn’t have a destiny, her older sister, Nora, was the one who cared on their family’s legacy. She couldn’t remember what specific story her family was from. They were a stock character, one just to fill in a role.

That’s the same with everyone’s destinies after all, it's just one small part of their lives. It would only make sense for people to follow it, fulfil the role, renew your family’s status and glory, and then live the rest of your story however you wish.

‘Snow White is hosting a charity ball to spellebrate legacy year for a new Snow White. Maybe Lila knows something about it’ Alya thought excited.

Lila knew so much about the royalty of ever after. She had so many amazing stories and was such a kind person. She deserved her role as a Snow White. Granted it wasn’t THE Snow White from Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, but a Snow White none-the-less.

Alya couldn’t help but feel that this would be the best year ever after.

“I wouldn’t say ‘the best year ever after’ but it would surely be chaotic, nya~”

Kitty, please, not you too.

Last

Tag List:

@the-witches-you-couldnt-burn  @folk-ever-lore  @nightlychaotic  @shamrockace @starpony999

[cheegu3]

~ Yandere Jaemin - The jester ~

[hi babies, this is one part of my nct fairytale series this one based on Alice in wonderland with jaemin <3, it had influence from both the original book and the book by marissa meyer centred in the universe + a lil of my own stuff]

I love alice in wonderland and jaemin so I’m so sorry how long this is lmao also yes I did write all of this on the same day ;-;

wc: 3.6k

summary : you live in wonderland, and everything is normal until a stranger shows up - a jester who says he’s looking for you, he seems innocent and sweet but is he really?

TW / trigger warning: yandere themes, mentions of - violence, murder, swearing, blood/gore, 18+ (suggestive), etc

The yearly mock festival was coming to an end. Humans and creatures alike were slowly making their way to the stairs and to the comfort of their homes. A stranger was also making their way over but not to his home, to the crowd. He slipped through it unnoticed and stopped, bowing in front of the queen.

She looked at him in curiosity but also in fascination. He was very much used to this, having people stare at his beauty and the way he presented himself - elegant and cocky. 

‘‘ My majesty. I come to seek refuge in your town ‘‘ the stranger said.

The queen raised her eyebrow at him and waved at the deck of cards close by, almost stumbling over their own feet in fear of displeasing the queen. 

‘‘ Show this gorgeous stranger that empty house ‘‘ the queen demanded to the cards in a shrill voice.

‘‘ Yes ma’am. Come this way! ‘‘ they answered in union.

The stranger followed them in silence but kept his distance. They went far and near, up and down the crossroads and curvy paths until they reached a small cottage. It was far from the other houses and the village but he liked it immediately.

‘‘ Here we are sir! ‘‘ the cards exclaimed in union again and turned like robots ready to go back the way they came and serve the queen, it was all they knew after all.

‘‘ Excuse me ‘‘ the stranger had had one thing and one thing only on his mind throughout the whole trip there.

The reason he was here in the first place

You

‘‘ Do you happen to know where...y/n is? ‘‘

The deck of cards looked baffled, one of them even chuckled.

‘‘ y/n? Why would you want to see her sir, she’s so very eh- ‘‘ one said

‘‘ -mad ‘‘ another filled in.

‘‘ Who are you anyway? ‘‘ said another

‘‘ Jaemin, I’m a jester from far far away ‘‘ he said with clenched teeth, growing impatient at the lack of answer he was getting.

‘‘ Why would you like to see her? ‘‘ said one

‘‘ She’s not special ‘‘ said yet another

‘‘ I have to ‘‘ he said firmly and was now clenching his fist.

‘‘ She’s not far from here sir. She lives in the cottage opposite this forest ‘‘ said one card with cloves on his front.

‘‘ Thank you ‘‘ Jaemin exclaimed in relief and watched as the deck of cards turned and walked down the path.

On the outside it looked like an old cottage like any other, with broken windows and an overgrown garden. The jester wasn’t surprised, they must’ve given him the most ugly and worn out house since he was still a stranger but with a few snaps of his fingers, the inside would look a lot better than the outside.

As he had finished snapping his fingers three times he saw the familiar white cloud in the window but before he walked in he had to check around the area. He thought he heard the rustling of leaves and twigs being broken.

Looking to his right, he saw in the distance how a girl was walking towards him. Instinctively his heart started to beat faster because what if it was you? The girl was wearing a dress which was blue and she had a white apron tightly wrapped around her which was full of flour. In her right hand she was holding a basket filled with something and her hair shone bright in the sunlight that was peeking through the thick trees above.

// YOUR POV //

You were just about to walk past your favourite abandoned cabin when you noticed, it was no longer abandoned. A handsome young man, about the same age as yourself was standing outside it. You being all alone though, this far out from other people made you scared so you kept your head down right when you passed by him.

‘‘ Hey! ‘‘ you sighed in disappointment, all too often creepy men or creatures would try to stop you and flirt which made you very uncomfortable.

You tried to put on a fake smile before you turned to face him.

‘‘ Hi! ‘‘

‘‘ You’re y/n ‘‘ he stated.

You probably looked very confused to the stranger. How did he know your name? In this wide land, you were a nobody and this random man you just stumbled upon seems to know who you are - by the look of his curious brown eyes studying you - maybe he even knew everything about you.

‘‘ Yes..sir. Can I help you? ‘‘ you asked hesitantly and wanted to punch yourself for sounding so small and helpless.

The boy took some time to answer, suddenly looking a bit nervous the way he fumbled with his hands.

‘‘ Oh, I just. I’m your new neighbour, Jaemin. The cards said I might meet a young woman here who lived close by ‘‘ 

Shit, you were really too paranoid sometimes, this was just a harmless boy who had moved in right next to you.  

‘‘ Oh! Yes of course ‘‘ you smiled at him with more genuine warmth now           

 ‘‘ Welcome to the neighbourhood then I suppose ‘‘

They boy nodded and chuckled. He was very attractive, and you were pretty sure he knew it. Tall, dark and handsome with puppy like brown eyes and fluffy hair. He had a defined nose and rosy lips that matched his smooth and beautiful skin. But the most attractive thing about him, to you, was the way he carried himself. 

That smile could just about make any girl fall for him, maybe even worship him. As he stood there looking at you become entranced with his beauty you began to wonder if he was using magic on you so you put your guard up again slightly.

‘‘ Thank you. I hope to see you around, where do you work? ‘‘ he asked and you almost bit your lip at the look he was giving you, it was very intense and his smile yet again so charming.

‘‘ Oh! ‘‘ you exclaimed suddenly, you had forgotten to answer and had just stared at him getting completely lost. You saw him smirking at this.

‘‘ I-I work at the bakery in town, hence- ‘‘ you gestured to your flour dusted apron and dress with a sad smile.

He laughed heartily but assured you,

‘‘ You look fine, trust me ‘‘

You smiled shyly in response. It felt like he was kind of flirting, he was giving you that look again that both turned you on and made you creeped out, it said

I know everything about you 

Nevertheless if that was the case, you felt very much intrigued with this new stranger and you didn’t want him to be a stranger for long.

‘‘ I suppose I’ll see you around then ‘‘ you said suddenly when the tension had built up even more and you started remembering all the responsibilities you had at your work.

It felt like you had been here for about an hour and you had muffins to bake and customers to please.

‘‘ I suppose you will ‘‘ he answered with an amused glint in his eyes.

You decided to turn even though your body and heart really wanted to stay. Your intuition and head however won over the battle inside you and told you to get the fuck away from him.

You kept your back turned as you made you way past the mysterious boy. You had a feeling that he was still watching you as you went, eyes never leaving you and it freaked you out a little, making you shudder.

The rest of the day went on as if it was like any other day. Tons of baking and getting your hands dirty, chatty customers and delicious desserts. By the end of the long workday your muscles were aching. You cleaned up and did your usual routine of locking up the store when everyone had left.

Usually you wouldn’t think twice about walking home in the dark, your bakery closed at midnight so it was way past sunset. It was practically pitch black outside and no one was on the streets, they were all at home probably sound asleep. For some reason the queen had decided that all houses be soundproof in the village. So the fear was increasing when you thought about the stranger, the dark and walking home alone because if something happened no one would help you - they wouldn’t hear you scream or hear you cry out for help.

You turned the key that locked the bakery with shaky hands but tried to compose yourself. You had a very odd and naive thought in your head,

If I don’t get attacked tonight I can trust Jaemin

It truly didn’t make any sense but just about every cell in your body wanted to trust him, and wanted him to like you, like the way you were so attracted to him.

‘‘ y/n? ‘‘ a voice behind you said interrupting your thoughts.

You shrieked and jumped in surprise, throwing your arms up in some pathetic attempt at defence in case you’d need it.

‘‘ It’s just me, your neighbour ‘‘ 

You lowered your arms and smiled at him apologetically.

‘‘ Sorry ‘‘

‘‘ Don’t be I get it. It’s dark, no one’s around and I just startled you like that, I should be the one to apologise ‘‘ 

‘‘ No no, it’s just that I don’t like walking home in the dark ‘‘ you assured him, now feeling really guilty.

‘‘ I can walk you home ‘‘ he offered with a friendly smile.

You were silent for a bit, thinking to yourself before making up your mind.

‘‘ Yeah, I’d like that. Thank you ‘‘ you returned back the smile even though you still felt a bit uncomfortable.

Jaemin joined your side and waited for you to step away from the shop and decide the pace.

You walked in silence beside each other. You felt a bit nervous, not really being sure if you were supposed to start a conversation or not but then it dawned upon you, why the fuck was he alone there in the village anyway?

You glanced at him quickly to see if it would give you a clue to this mystery but he looked as he always did, nothing was different. So you decided to drop it and thankfully you didn’t have much more time to overthink about it because your house had now appeared in sight. 

He still had a chance to take you if he wanted to, it was dark, quiet and no neighbours were close except for well...conveniently enough, him. But he didn’t. He kept his distance all the way up to the house and stepped back when you got up on the porch.

‘‘ Thank you ‘‘

‘‘ My pleasure miss ‘‘ he said with the same amused glint in his eyes.

You turned around and walked in, closing the door and locking it. Well inside you leaned on the door allowing yourself to calm down a bit. 

He didn’t do anything

You shrugged and went upstairs, getting ready for bed and falling asleep not long after your head touched the pillow.

-

The next day he was the first thing you thought about in the morning before you jumped to your feet and rushed to put on your clothes and get to work.

You broke into a sprint constantly mumbling fuck to yourself and basically bursting in the bakery. The few customers inside and the cashier you had hired looked at you in shock. 

You stopped for a bit to catch your breath before explaining, still out of breath to the cashier.

‘‘ The-Ball-I-Have-To-Bake ‘‘ you managed to press out between every breath.

The cashier gasped and immediately left the desk.

‘‘ I’ll bring you the ingredients ‘‘

You swallowed and nodded to the customers when you walked past them disappearing into the back room where you did your magic. 

You put down your stuff and put on your apron already in action when the cashier came in, put the ingredients on the table and hurried out again.

You ended up making several pastries and cakes to the queen’s liking and by the end - about six hours of straight baking, you were so exhausted you decided not to go to the ball.

The cashier peeked her head in about an hour before it was to start.

‘‘ I’ll send these up? ‘‘ she walked up to the finished products and you just nodded at her, drying off the sweat that had formed on your forehead. 

After that you spent the rest of the hour leading up to the ball cleaning up all the mess you had created.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

You sighed, it was already closed but you have had to deal with customers knocking anyway wanting treats when you weren’t open. You put down your cleaning supplies and hurried to the door. Through the glass door you saw the outline of your neighbour.

‘‘ Jaemin? ‘‘

He shook his head and tutted at your state when you opened the door.

‘‘ Do I really look that bad? ‘‘ you said and glanced down quickly.

‘‘ For a ball, yes. Otherwise, no you look exceptional ‘‘ he said

You snorted at his flirty comment.

‘‘ I’m not going, too busy ‘‘ 

‘‘ What? No way. I won’t let that happen ‘‘ 

You turned to face him again, having walked up behind the desk to count today’s money. He leaned over the desk and tried to give you his puppy eyes.

‘‘ I can’t go like this Jaemin, sorry ‘‘ you said and shrugged your shoulders.

He scrunched his nose and stopped trying to use his puppy eyes on you now.

‘‘ I have magic ‘‘ he tilted his head when he saw this caught your attention.

‘‘ Really? You’re a jester? ‘‘ you rolled your eyes.

‘‘ What, is it not cool enough for miss or something? ‘‘ he jumped over the counter effortlessly and was now standing very close to you, closer than he’d ever been before.

They way he was towering over you basically looking down on you made you chuckle unexpectedly. 

‘‘ Yeah sure it’s cool enough I guess ‘‘ you answered playfully attempting to push him out the way so you could walk past.

He put his arm out, not letting you.

‘‘ Do you use it a lot on the ladies? ‘‘ you added and held the eye-contact

He snickered and made a very cute expression which made your heart melt.

‘‘ Of course. Every time ‘‘ he said sarcastically ‘‘ Now, will you let me ‘‘ he waved to your messy state.

‘‘ I guess why not ‘‘ you said and closed your eyes.

When it was silent for a few seconds you opened them again and you saw white clouds surrounding you all around, when it had cleared and disappeared completely you could finally see his work.

You were wearing a champagne coloured silk dress that was quite tight at the top with spaghetti straps and flowed out at the bottom, highlighting your curves. Looking at you hands, they as well were polished and clean and you hair was in a sleek ponytail, feeling as if it had been washed.

‘‘ I’m impressed ‘‘ you said at last when you noticed his worried expression, anxiously waiting for your opinion.

He exhaled deeply.

‘‘ Thank god ‘‘

You giggled at his cuteness.

‘‘ Shall we go? ‘‘

‘‘ Certainly ‘‘ he answered and extended his arm for you to take.

The walk this time was also pretty quiet, the castle wasn’t too far away you could already see it from here but you just couldn’t help yourself,

‘‘ Hey Jaemin? ‘‘

‘‘ Yeah ‘‘

‘‘ What were you doing so late at night in the village yesterday? ‘‘ 

Although you didn’t look at him, you could feel him get a bit uncomfortable.

‘‘ Browsing I guess ‘‘ it was your turn to feel uncomfortable now, all the stores closed a lot earlier than your bakery and everyone in town knew that but he hastily added, ‘‘ The villagers told me your bakery closed very late so I thought I’d go by and buy something. Unfortunately it was closed though ‘‘ he laughed and looked down shyly when you looked at him in surprise.

‘‘ Why’s that, horrible sweet-tooth? ‘‘ you said

‘‘ No, just wanted to support my neighbour. That’s all ‘‘

You nodded and felt a bit guilty for being suspicious of him. If your guards hadn’t been down before they sure were now, basically in hell. You felt incredibly comfortable and at ease with Jaemin and you did for a moment think you were starting to fall in love with him. 

This feeling would arise again when you had finally reached the castle and were greeted by the white rabbit.

‘‘ Invitations and names please ‘‘ he said in a stressed voice, his eyes all the time looking back and forth, darting between guests.

The jester gave the rabbit one of his charming smiles and you watched as he interacted with other people, even that was attractive, god what was wrong with you?

He fixed everything for the two of you, showing both of your invitations and names and you leant back letting someone else do the work for the first time in your life. It was nice, this weird feeling of being taken cared of.

He took your hand when the rabbit let you through and he lead you towards the dessert table. You raised your eyebrow at him when he started basically inhaling entire pastries of yours.

‘‘ I have to see how talented you are ‘‘ he defended himself when he saw your judging look. 

You rolled your eyes and waited for him to finish, eyeing the other guests as you did. When he finally was done - after eating half the table you noticed - he dragged you out on the dance floor. 

It was a slow song. You gave him a shy look, not sure if you wanted him to see how much you liked loved him or for onlookers to see that either for that matter. But he insisted, pulling you close to him and starting to rock slowly to the beat of the music. He gave you a big childish grin and you laughed, starting to move as well and letting you be drowned in this feeling. 

It felt like it truly was just you and him in this world, and he would protect you and love you forever. He could do you no harm, he was amazing. 

You probably radiated these feelings through the lovingly eyes you were giving him and he looked at you the same way. Everyone else faded away and it felt like you were in a fairytale, just how magical it all felt...until it didn’t,

The music was abruptly stopped and murmuring filled the hall. You didn’t have the energy to worry about it so you leaned your head again Jaemin’s chest feeling sleepy. In the distance through your dazed eyes you saw the white rabbit approach you, until he wasn’t very blurry anymore, he was clear and right in front of you clearing his throat. 

‘‘ Miss you need to come with me right now ‘‘ the rabbit said in a shaky voice.

‘’ Hm? ‘‘ you said sleepily not yet leaving Jaemin’s arms.

‘‘ What’s going on? ‘‘ Jaemin said in a worriedly.

‘‘ It’s uh, something very terrible has happened to her parents sir ‘‘ the rabbit looked down on the ground under the intense stare of the jester.

‘‘ Let’s go, y/n ‘‘ he whispered to you gently and took your hand.

You had no idea what was going on but followed like a lost puppy. The rabbit lead you to a carriage which you were put in and sent off. It stopped outside your parents house, a mansion closer to Jaemin’s house than it was your own - on the outskirts of town. 

‘‘ Wait here. I’ll see what’s wrong ‘‘ he said and stepped out.

Your head felt heavy, like you’d fall into eternal sleep any minute now - that’s how tired you felt, like you hadn’t slept for decades.

‘‘ y/n dear? ‘‘ the carriage door opened again and two hands extended to take your weight. You walked up to it, staggering and let yourself be lifted down.

Everything was a bit blurry but you could make out the familiar outline of your parents on the ground. They were in front of their front door and they didn’t seem to be moving. Blood was flowing out from their necks and their limbs were twisted in weird, unnatural angles.

Oh

This must’ve been the terrible thing the rabbit had been talking about...

You tried to walk towards your parents but your foot hit something. You looked down and jumped back in surprise. It was another body, no - you looked around, it was several bodies of the guards.

‘‘ What happened to them? ‘‘ you asked Jaemin in a horrified voice.

‘‘ I don’t know ‘‘ he said and bit his lip, lowering his raised right hand and entwining his left one with yours.

‘‘ Look at me y/n ‘‘

You turned to look at him, starting to feel a bit overwhelmed and scared of everything going on. You felt crazy, like you had no idea what was real and what wasn’t.

‘‘ You and I, we’re gonna live together. Far far away from here and we will be happy forever because you love me right? Say it! ‘‘ he roared the last words but you weren’t scared. You just looked at him with loving eyes.

‘‘ I love you ‘‘ you said like a robot, 

completely entranced 

you were his 

forever

[goatpaste]

evil mane six you say... im listening👀

e! yeah this is like from a nearly 6+ year old AU of mine from when i originally into mlp and stuff 

lil cringe but i really wantd to update it because i liked some design/story concept from it

some of the basic world building for this AU was that the Crystal Empire never disappeared and went on to basically be the cantorlot of this universe, and ponies relied on a crystal based technology system and magic became less of a focus as crystal magic was something everyone could use.

Sombra is a good king of the empire, with a large happy family. Dear friends to the wizards of cantorlot, Celestia and Luna. Sombra also made of the elements of harmony in my AU but this is about these bad bitches

twilight in my AU was a unicorn who looked up to the wizards of Cantorlot and wished to train under their wings. she learned many powerful spells from them and the books of great unicorns.

however Twilight became obsessed after learning of the elements of harmony, an ancient relic that had gone into slumber years ago claiming it wouldnt return until it was needed. however twilight thought herself to be smarter and able to force it out of hiding so that Equestria could have a boost in magic believing it would further society to have another source of power.

Twilight had no idea what she was working with and began to work behind the backs of celestia and luna. Tuning into Lord Tireks ability to absorb magic she used it for herself to drawn out the magic of the elements. However she was rejected and the spell turned on her, turning her to a monstery figure would mind could only think of taking the elements powers.

Shining armor was there with her when it happened trying to stop her, but instead became apart of the magical rejection. Only his body was effected and he was forced to stand by and watch his sisters mind become corrupted. Now she is locked in tarturus with Shinning armor as the doors gaurds, hoping they can find a way to heal her. 

Rarity is much like her normal self, the only difference is she much more work focused and lives in the crystal empire. She was so goal oriented that she had no friends and simply went day to day working herself to the bone trying to make each dress better than the last. 

it drove her made when she began to believe her style was becoming repetitive and she simple would do anything to get out of her runt. so she left the empire and went out into the snow around the kingdom seeking out an old mine full of unique and beautiful stones. 

Little would she know she would come across a locked away evil that would take over her mind, feeding on her greed and want to be the best. she would act much as normal Sombra, taking over the crystal empire and demanding the most beautiful stones and jewelry and gowns of the people. it would be this event that would set the new elements into motion, king sombra and friends stopping rarity. (id like to thing her villian name could be oddity...)

when i originally designed these villian designs pinkie was defiantly meant to take over nightmare moons place. 

Pinkie pie’s family lives in the crystal empire, as crystal farmers. Pinkie pie herself would work at the castle as a party planner from planning the birthdays of sombras children, to grand galas to diplomatic brunches. She is close friends with Princess Ivory.

However when rarity took over Pinkie pie was held captive as a jester for rarity. some believe the close contact with a creature radiating darkness infected pinkie pie. because there was hardly any build up, just one day Pinkie pie seemed to snap. right in the middle of a party she went berserk and began to destroy everything. The royal court chose to let her off assuming she was sick or had a sugar crash, the list of what it could be was endless. Pinkie pie word return again to throw Princess Ivory’s party and nearly kill her. Pinkie pie would have no memory of what she did only to come concious and learn she was banished from the court and to ever see Ivory again. it broke Pinkie’s heart and it was a moment of weakness. her mind was clouded and she turned into a monster of a mare named ‘The Timeless Party’ and planned to party the whole planet to its core until it could party no more.

with the new found elements of harmony powers pinkie pie was saved, she hasnt returned to the castle but still gets note from Ivory despite refusing to see her out of fear of hurting her. 

Rainbow dash was a clouddale pony, she never left the city and happily worked at the weather factory and thinking of the day she would be a wonderbolt. Until the day she lost her wings, she could no longer fly like other pegasus and began to adjust to her new life. she moved to the ground and became a park ranger. she lived a happy simple life coming to enjoy the new experiences that came her way that she never thought she would thought she would enjoy.

Until a stroke of misfortune hit her, literally hit her. A bolt of lightning hit her and she swore she died, Until she  awoke and found she wasn't. instead she was covered in dark rolling clouds that she could manipulate and shape to her will. 

Rainbow dash found she could fly again and faster than ever before and with no fear of lightning or hail. the weather knelled to her. little did she know with the use of her power she brought on violent storms, floods and lightning made forest fires. Rainbow dash chose to stop her new powers until she could get them under control, but found this itch like a voice in the dark parts of her mind. telling her to let go and enjoy her powers, they were a gift after all.

it wasnt long until rainbow dash changed and seemed to no longer care about her damages. with this came the ancient unicorn, Starswirl the bearded. An old unicorn of old equestria would had frozen his aging to ensure his students could full take over for him one day. however star swirl was full of himself and could never see the bigger picture. He would freeze rainbow dash in ice and leave her in the cold mountains. 

with the story reaching tarturus shining could over hear twilight talking about starswirl and asking shining armor if he really thought rainbow dash was the villian and if starswirl choices were truly for the best. 

Fluttershy lives in ponyville outskirts but ponyville in this world is mostly underwater and a tourist town for the large spa/hotspring resort run by and supported by a colony of seaponies and sirens. 

Fluttershy barely patreons there except to quietly get a spa once a month. and leaves without a world.

she still works with animals but mostly runs a pet cemetery for animals that drowned in the local waters or potentially eaten by rouge sea creatures. Fluttershy sadly would die in her own cemetery having fallen and hit her head on a tombstone. 

however after not being found she would be reclaimed and returned to the living by the earth. believing she was given a second chance and was not one with the earth Fluttershy didn’t notice that it was darkness that brought her back.  Fluttershy didn’t question her need to send the world back to a state when animals thrived and ponies were scares.

(a villian name i had for her was Queen Pangea)

With the mostly underwater Ponyville in this AU applejack comes from a family of both seaponies and sirens. herself mostly taking after the siren side of the family. She comes from a farming family of seaweed farmers that contributes to the spa and Ponyville’s many economy source. 

Applejack’s colony would suffer a infection of darkness that effected a good chunk of the siren population including a bunch of applejacks family and herself. It started with it switching on and off were they would go into schooling frenzies and attack wildlife or other seaponies and sirens. Ponies began to speak bad of sirens believing them to be showing their true nature, which only pushed applejack over the edge. she would begin hunting the waters and destroying other seaponies livelihoods and the things the spa required, even running off guest.

Starswirl has plans to take care of the siren colony that has begun to terrorize ponyville, and shining armor questions if he really has the best choices in mind and wonders if the sirens are at all like his sister and need help. 

[shuadotcom]

Crystal Snow | JJK

❅ Summary: When you join Jungkook and the rest of the guys for some fun in the snow, he can’t help but feel jealous. ❅ Pairing: Jungkook x Female!Reader ❅ Genre: Fluff, slice of life, idolverse ❅ Rating: G ❅ Warnings: None! ❅ Word Count: 1.6k ❅ A/N: So this is an old drabble I re-wrote and was going to finish in time for holiday bingo, but that didn’t happen oops. I figured I’d finally finish it in honor of the snow in Korea this week!

Snow is everywhere, covering buildings and bus stops and cars. It blankets the streets of Seoul so heavily that everything around the city is silent. There’s barely anyone out and about with the snow so heavy and the sun setting, which makes it the perfect time for BTS to be out in public.

The seven over-excitable men hurry to the park nearest to their dorm, plastic sleds in tow.

"Took you guys long enough! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting here?!" You whine. You’re bundled up in a white coat with a matching scarf coiled around your neck. A bright blue beanie sits on your head with flecks of snow still sitting unmelted on the fabric. The seven men all break into identical grins as they wave at you.

Jungkook sprints ahead of the group, wrapping his arms around your waist and lifting you into a hug. A few giggles slip out when your feet leave the ground as you cling to his neck.

"Koo put me down! I’m too heavy!" Jungkook obliges, but not before stealing a kiss from your lips.

“No way. You’re perfect.” He murmurs and nuzzles your cold noses together.

"Ew, you guys are gross," Seokjin complains, nudging Jungkook out of the way to get a hug of his own. "You act like we all don't know she's your girlfriend, Jungkookie. No one's going to steal her from you."

"Yeah, and besides, it won't be stealing if she comes to me willingly," Jimin smirks at you and sends you a wink before pulling you in for a hug. You laugh and roll your eyes at him, while Jungkook stares daggers at the back of his hyung’s head.

Yoongi comes up next to him and nudges him in the side. "He's kidding, Jungkook. None of us are going to take Y/n from you, okay?" Jungkook puffs out his cheeks and nods at the older man. Of course, he knows that. That doesn’t mean he likes when they joke around like that with you.

"Okay, before Jungkook kills us all and buries our bodies in the snow, what say we go sledding first?" Hoseok speaks up, noticing the youngest’s grip on your coat sleeve. "The last one to the tree over there has to sled with Namjoon!" With a yell of 'hey!' from the leader in question, everyone takes off towards the biggest tree in the middle of the park.

It's not that Namjoon is bad at sledding per se. He just isn’t good at steering. Seokjin had been his willing partner the year prior, and both men ended up stuck in a snowbank when Seokjin told Namjoon to go left, and he had gone right.

The eight of you all but collide with one another to get to the tree, and in the end, Jungkook trips over his own two feet and is the last to make it.

"Oops, sorry, Jungkookie! It looks like you get to ride with Namjoon." Taehyung shrugs and sends Jungkook a smile that says he most certainly is not sorry for his loss.

The next few minutes are spent with the rest of the group dividing into pairs as Yoongi hands out everyone’s sled. Jungkook walks next to Namjoon as you all trek up the highest hill in the park. It’s a few feet up, which allows enough speed to make turns while racing down it instead of just being a straight, boring drop.

Upon reaching the top, everyone gathers with their partner and gets themselves ready. Jungkook scans the group and finds you being helped onto the sled by Seokjin, who you’d be riding with. He pouts as he watches him adjust your scarf, feeling jealousy fill him. The more he thinks about it, the more he thinks it isn’t fair that he’s unable to sled with his own girlfriend.

"Jungkook, did you hear me?!" He jolts when he hears the booming voice next to him. He turns and is met with Namjoon's intense stare.

"What?"

"I said, do you want to steer the back or the front?"

"Front," he answers immediately, recalling that last year's incident was caused by Namjoon operating the front end of the sled.

"Ready?!" Jimin calls out once everyone is seated. "One...two...three, go!" As soon as the word leaves his mouth, he and Taehyung take off first down the hill in their sled. There are a few shouts from the other two pairs as one by one, they both follow behind the duo currently in the lead. Jungkook watches as you and Seokjin zip away, and he feels a jab through his layers of clothes.

“Let’s go, Jungkook!”

Oh yeah. He’s supposed to be racing too.

He helps Namjoon push their sled forward, the frigid air starting to whip in his face as they move. He momentarily forgets why he had been sulking as he leans left and right to control the piece of plastic under him.

He and Namjoon started last, but they pass Yoongi and Hoseok in the blink of an eye. Jungkook quickly catches sight of your familiar blue beanie and sees you and Seokjin only a couple of inches in front of him. His eyes are locked on you as you tilt forward to increase the speed of your sled, and Jungkook does the same, determined to catch up.

If he had been paying attention, he probably would've heard Namjoon calling his name. He also would've seen the snowbank in front of them before they ended up smacking into it face first.

Jungkook could vaguely hear the laughter of his friends around him as he lies there, letting the snow soak into his clothes and hair. It isn’t until he feels a pair of hands tugging on the back of his coat that he attempts to move. The first thing he’s met with is his favorite pair of eyes staring at him with worry.

"Jungkook, are you okay?" Your mouth is turned downward in a frown as you look him over to make sure he isn’t injured.

"I'm fine." You help him to his feet and begin brushing off the snow from his shoulders and hair, mumbling about how he needs to be more careful and pay better attention. He barely listens to you, though, as he’s more interested in how unbearably cute you look when you fret over him.

"Well, it looks like you're the new sledding jinx," Hoseok says, approaching the two of you. He leans over and punches Jungkook in the arm, the younger frowning in response.

"Yeah, and Jimin and Taehyung are the self-proclaimed 'sledding kings.’" Yoongi rolls his eyes.

"Which means they're never going to shut up about it." Seokjin jerks his head in the direction of the two in question, who are packing mounds of snow together in the distance. "Hey, what the hell are you two doing over there?!"

Jimin scoffs and turns to look over his shoulder. "I will insist you all address me as 'Your Majesty' from now on. Tae and I are no longer peasants like the rest of you." He brushes his gloved hands together to rid them of excess snow before he turns and sits on his snow throne. Taehyung copies his actions, and they both look at the rest of the group.

"Now," Taehyung starts, "Since we are the sledding kings, we have a few requests. Our first is that Jin hyung prepares us a dinner of our choice when we go home later." He waves his hand in the older man’s direction, who, in turn, begins yelling about not being their personal chef.

"Secondly,” Jimin begins, talking over a still complaining Seokjin. “We cannot rule over the frozen kingdom on our own. We need a queen to rule with us." He jumps up and quickly grabs your hand.

"I don't think so!" Jungkook yanks your other hand and tugs you back towards him, making you fall into his arms with Jimin nearly tripping in response.

The two men have a momentary stare down before Jimin relents and releases you. "Fine. " He recovers swiftly, immediately launching into something about appointing Hoseok as a court jester.

Jungkook turns and beelines for the park exit, tugging you behind him before you can hear anymore.

"Jungkook, where are we going?"

"Back to the dorm. I'm cold and hungry, and there's snow in my pants." You let out a laugh and hold on tighter to Jungkook's hand.

"Whatever you wanna do is fine with me as long as I get to spend time with you."

Jungkook stops abruptly, making you run into the back of him.

"Jungkook, wha-" He turns and grabs your face in his hands, pulling you into a kiss. Even though it’s cold outside and both of your cheeks are freezing, the two of you feel nothing but warmth running through you as your lips move against one another. The kiss is lazy and sweet, and Jungkook would stay here like this all night if a sudden gust of icy wind hadn't chosen this moment to hit him right in the face. You shiver in his arms, and he pulls away to tighten your coat around your body and lay his arm over your shoulders.

"Come on. The quicker we get home, the quicker we can get warm." You nod and rest your head against him as you walk. You had both been excited to go out with the guys and play in the first snow of the year, but the idea of just the two of you curling up in bed under a blanket with hot chocolate sounds even better.

[loquaciousquark]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E113 (Oct. 27, 2020)

Good evening and good night, lovely people of the world! We’re on the internet and ready to go. Tonight’s guests are Travis Willingham and Sam Riegel. This will be calm, controlled, and sane, I can feel it. Brian points out it’s been seven months since either of them were on Talks. Oof. (Sam asks if it’s been going the whole time without him. Bigger oof.) Travis keeps sneaking bites out of an acai bowl or something and tries to look sneaky about it, and I laugh every time because he’s just...so big. He’s such a big person.

(Brian is wearing a lobstrosity shirt. He and Travis talk about Dark Tower for a bit; then Sam tries to get into the conversation: “Is that the thing from It?” Brian: “Is what the thing from It?” Sam: “Is that lobster the clown from It? I’m not very literate. Is that a Langolier? Is that a Shawshank?”)

Announcements: none! Maybe they just forgot. We’ve been talking about Sam’s spooky skeleton decorations for like five minutes. Brian suggests taking them to Travis’s house. Travis: “That’s the fastest way to get to the smell of burning plastic.” Brian: “Speaking of your girlfriend...”

On Avantika: Fjord wouldn’t call it a relationship as much as a casual sexual interaction. Not official! Super not official!!

The first sea voyage wasn’t great for Fjord, but he tried to be thoughtful about preparing for this one before they left: praying, kneeling at the bow of the ship, etc. He’s a little disappointed the Wildmother didn’t even throw him a “yo, fam” heads up.

They weren’t sure how to resolve the conflict at first, since Avantika went for Fjord rather than the crystal. No one expected it to get exposed in that way. Travis thought the necklace was a pocket dimension and was alarmed to learn it wasn’t. Travis wants it destroyed along with the third gateway, so until they are he won’t rest easy.

Everyone enjoyed watching them all fail on the battlefield again. (Sam: “You used [Counterspell] so effectively!”) Travis thought he’d said Thunder Step, which would imply Avantika was running, rather than Thunder Wave. Sam says it’s fine since none of them have that spell and he wouldn’t know it anyway.

It’s very difficult for Veth to find reasons to stay with the M9. She loves the adventures and making a difference, but she also wants to come home and have weekends and have a husband and life. “She’s a career girl!” He’s very excited about the possibilities of Caleb’s transportation effectively creating an easy commute for her. He also, as a player, doesn’t want to be the person who’s always leaving the party. “My characters wanna roam!”

Travis was fully tilted that Avantika might have gotten away right before the break. He doesn’t think he could have focused on Vess DeRogna’s task knowing Avantika had gotten away; he was seriously working out how Fjord would leave the party to go make a last stand at the third gate if she’d escaped.

Sam looooves how Matt plays Yeza, but it honestly makes him feel a little worse at how encouraging he is for Veth to chase her dreams. “He’s always like - go shine! Go blossom!” He wants to have the conversation about Yeza feeling a little ignored. It’s fun to share the tales of adventures with Luc & Yeza. 

Travis says there’s no way it’s Molly--it’s all Lucien. They don’t know if it was a resurrection, if he’s undead, possessed, etc. Everyone--everyone--rags on Taliesin’s accent work. Brian surreptitiously claims Ashly was brought on to relieve him of the burden of the accent. Poor Ashly, ha!

Initially, Travis landed on the Oath of the Ancients, but it had more nature & pacifism in it than he felt fit Fjord very well. Many of them also had a focus on good & lawfulness, which also didn’t feel quite right; he also wasn’t that vengeful for some of the others. He & Matt got together and discussed options. Matt asked what Travis liked about Fjord; Fjord’s love for the ocean was a huge part of it, since Travis himself also loves the ocean & scuba diving, and so Matt created a custom oath for him. Travis does not plan to post its details, but he thinks Matt will at some point.

Cosplay of the Week! a lovely Scanlan by Air Bubbles Cosplay! Sam tells us the “canon” Scanlan cosplay was actually borrowed hodgepodge, and the boots were falling off all day.

It was really cool to see how Yeza & Luc have made a home in Nicodranas. Felderwin was okay, but kind of your basic D&D fishing village, and she likes the Nicodranas is much better. She’s confident & comfortable knowing her family is safe and sound.

Why is Fjord so interested in finding Sabian? To him, post-orphanage, his time with Vandren was the best of his life & the most love he’d ever received, because he mattered & had worth. It was taken by someone he’d known basically his whole life, so Fjord is not going to let that go. “That fuckin’ bill needs to be paid, my friend.”

Sam acknowledges that he should NOT have looked at his phone in re: the Vilya reveal, but it was pretty surprising! He can’t believe none of them recognized it! Travis points out the M9 had never met, heard of, or known anything about Vilya, so it’s not that surprising. Brian points out Matt has also done a really good job keeping the two campaigns separate, so any references were tasteful. Sam marvels that it was so well done: it was tasteful, had emotional and story impact... “That Matt. He’s getting better!”

Liam texted Sam back something like “oh SHIT.”

Knowing Veth had a chance to help someone else return to her child made Veth feel almost karmically forgiven for being away from her kid, but it also made Veth a little guilty--”this lady wants to desperately return home, shouldn’t I want to go home too?” Caleb’s teleportation spell couldn’t have come a better time.

Sam wants Caleb & Astrid to get back together (well, he says “hump each other”), and Dani’s eyebrows climb off her forehead. Veth/Nott really thinks Caleb needs to have a roll in ze hay, and feels like after meeting her that there is a kindness or vulnerability to her that could be worthwhile. Travis thinks she feels like someone tethered, that it feels like she has a bomb or something in her chest that’ll explode if she tries to leave. Sam thinks Eadwulf is super cool. None of these names are spelled like I think.

Travis found the dinner super frustrating, because he felt Caleb was trying to walk a diplomatic line and he just wanted to backhand Trent. 

Fjord is still coming to terms with his feelings for Jester, and the feelings are definitely real, but there’s a lot of timing that he’s considering and he also wants to figure out what the relationship is like outside of constant tension and battle. Fjord is also having trouble figuring out how to exercise the ability to display affection as well since he’s never received them, and is feeling out how to give and receive them. “It’s fine now, because he’s feeling it, but once you say it out loud, or once you come to a point where you make it known to the other side, then what happens? It might be ruined. It might be broken. Or it might not be!” The moment with the porcelain unicorn was too good not to try. Travis also sighs that he’s not a romance D&D guy, “but now I am! Fuckin’ Laura Bailey!” He’s definitely feeling it out and will see how it unfolds in the game.

If Jester hadn’t let go of the Traveler, Fjord would have either attacked the Traveler or the Moonweaver and tried to kick them both off.

Sam doesn’t think the Traveler’s realized yet what a dick he is. Brian thinks it may not happen in this campaign, but agrees the full weight of what he deserves hasn’t been felt yet. Travis: “Yeah, he came to the edge, but it didn’t cost him anything.” Brian: “Yeah, he’s a real edgelord.”

Fanart of the Week! a beautiful portrait of Molly in the snow by @claygryphon on twitter.

Veth acknowledges that they work for shady people with shady pasts, so Vess DeRogna isn’t her first rodeo, but this time it’s personal. It’s Jaws 2: Electric Boogaloo. Sam can’t commit to actual actions, since Vess is like level 20 or something, but “I will get some kinda revenge. Be it petty or significant, I will get revenge.”

How are they feeling about being in Eiselcross? They’ve only just landed, so not sure yet. The cold is intimidating. They’re excited to explore a new island that’s part of Wildemount, especially with the river of lava running through it. “It’s icy with lava? Sounds like a Dairy Queen.”

There’s still a ton of unknowns regarding the Tombtakers, Vess, the nature of their job, and who’s here on whose orders. They’re excited to see how it’s all going to play out. Travis laughs that he doesn’t take notes, he’s just here to fight things. It just washes over him when Matt starts talking about names and places. “It’ll reveal itself in time. [...] I don’t write those notes down. I don’t even know how to spell it off the bat.” I have never identified more with Travis. Sam actually does pay attention and take notes and was really impressed by Marisha’s dive.

Veth became interested in branding her own spellcraft as soon as she saw Caleb doing it. “That’s what the influencer agents are gonna be looking at. It would be nice to leave the world better than we found it, but also with some branded spells.”

What were Fjord’s thoughts on dropping so much money on the ring & the Ioun stone? It wasn’t about money for Fjord, it was about a cool thing to acquire. It’s why he saves money in his campaign. Caleb needs “as much of a flak jacket as he can get.” He also REJECTS the idea of buyer’s remorse on the ring and touts the effectiveness it’ll have on the lava river.

Travis talks about his old coins - a 340AD coin he bought at a ren faire and a 120BC coin that was a gift from a friend.

Sam marvels at the love and thought that Caleb put into the tower. Sam points out they forgot to go to the top two floors altogether. Travis: “Did the mansion get as much careful planning from Scanlan as the tower did from Caleb?” Sam: Absolutely not. But they were still thinking small in C1, figuring out how things went, and they didn’t have as much detail in their heads yet.

And that’s all the time we have for tonight! We end on everyone whispering way too close into their mics and tapping fingernails on mason jars. A fitting end to this crazy episode, I think.

Is it Thursday yet?

[all-the-names-are-taken-aaaaa]

Lie Lie Bye

Alya sighed as she looked at the Akuma shelters Tv. She wished she was out there. The footage would be so good for her blog. It was easily the strongest akuma ever. Lila had everyone go to the shelter though. She was worried about her getting out and targeting them. Alya wasn't too worried. They took everything but her clothes and hid them after locking her in that closet. Plus they were pretty sure she kept the pin in her purse so she could not transform. Alya took notice of the fact ladybug had yet to show up. Everyone was getting nervous untill Chloe shreeks "that is Ladybugs kwami" Alya sighs again thinking 'when did that brat get here she was not with the class.' There was a loud bang as the camera shook then fell facing were the reporter ran. The reporter and crew are shown trying to free Marinette from a fallen building. 'Ugh why is it always her. Bet she would not be helping her if she knew what that girl had done.' Alya thinks. The Tv switches to another live stream. The fight is long and hard. Chat manages to defeat the Akuma. Tikki purifies the butterfly befor passing out. Chat stops in front of the reporter "Ladybug is missing possibly hurt. I have to go"

"As many of you saw our fellow reporter trying to free one Marinette Dupain-Cheng rubble earlier today. What you did not see was the brave action taken by this young woman. Marinette was seen assisting many injured people who would most likely have died without first aid befor the incident. Marinette saw a little girl that had been separated from her mother and mother and dived to shield her from the colapsed building. Now to the reporter who found her"

The reporter from earlier in the day stands in front of a hospital. "The brave young woman you saw earlier today is undergoing a life saving surgery. The surgery is the first of it's kind. It is extremely risky. It has been determined that the surgery is the only way Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng will survive. Marinette was injured protecting a young child barierly four years of age. I need a moment -"

The camera switches "Take your time Nadia. Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a wonderful, amazing, and kind girl. I speak from personal experience. Everyone here at Tvi has her best wishes in mind. The people she helped are being checked on in the hospital. The child has only scraps and bruises thanks to-" Alya cuts the tv off. Her phone started going crazy.

"Chill guys the cure will fix everything" Alya sends to her panicking freinds.

Chloe responds "Unterly redicoulous. Alya you had a Miraculous. You know they have timers. You should-" Alya does not bother reading the rest of Chloe's text. "Quit trying to make us feel bad for that lieing traitor." Alya sends back. Then her phone goes silent afterwards. Shrugging she goes to bed.

It had been a week and ladybug has not showed back up only her kwami. There had been a hand full of minor akumas. They did minimal damage. Paris thanks luck for that. Two weeks and a temporary ladybug shows up. Chat appears less but on time for every akuma attack. The Akuma class have become outcast because of their behavior around the subject of the hospitalized hero.

Week three

"Are you sure you are ready to return?" Kagami asks handing the earrings to Marinette. "Do I have a choice? We are in the Akuma class after all." Marinette responds while making a jester to Chloe. "Utterly ridiculous they try to stop Mayrue they nearly killed ladybug and countless others." Chloe snaps out. "Once we get Hawkmoth we can bring justice for our bug" Luka states continuing a melody. They had all become permanent heros with new costumes after Marinette was allowed visiters. Now that she is allowed to leave to hospital they decided to meet up at her place. Chat/Adrian was invited but he could not be around Marinette for very long without crying. He had gotten better as she got proper prosthetics but originally any time he saw her mechanical, technological parts he cried. Now though Marinette looked and felt almost completely normal if not for the massive amount of strength on her right side. He did explain why he could not do anything to stop Lila and how much he regretted it. Marinette understood and had forgiven him but he had not forgiven himself. Kagami had to be held back by both Luka and Chloe as to not hunt down Gabriel for having Lila spy on his own sun and the fact Lila was blackmailing Adrian by stating one sentence from her would have him under house arrest was enough to have Marinette seeing red. Though the crying boy snapped both the girls out of it.

Chat running by the bakery yelling Akuma was enough to snap Marinette out of her thoughts. Kagami and Marionette went one way while Chloe and Luka went another. They had learned quickly splitting up in groups offered advantages. However not long after heading out Ryuuko pulls Ladybug down within sight of the akuma but also within sight of Hawkmoth. "Inform the others I will keep him busy." Ladybug explains.

The others quickly take out the Akuma but Hawkmoth is quick to make his move too. He manages to stab ladybug through her right shoulder. Marinette felt the pain as one normally would but as soon as Hawkmoth turned his attention to her teammates she pushes forward ripping off his miraculous. Chat rushes forward knocking Gabriel out with his staff. Queen Bee holds chat back and Luka holds Kagami back. Ladybug falls back just barely able to cast the cure befor passing out. Adrian collects all the things related to the miraculous and turns them in. The team decide to reveal their identities as to clear Adrian name and help with the lawsuits Marinette is preparing.

"The broadcast is supposed to air 30 minutes after class starts." Adrian was nervous. This was the first time he were coming back to class since Hawkmoth was defeated. Gorilla and Abby were their fulltime bodyguards now.

"Yeah I'm just hoping the principal corporates with the police." Marinette responds. Adrian nods. They enter the classroom. Many of their classmates say harsh things about the so called traitors but none come close to them in fear of their bodyguards.

When it comes time for the broadcast Ms Bustier makes it a class activity because why not? Only for the class to stare in shock at the the back row of their class. Marinette, Adrian, and Chloe continue to ignore their class as they ask questions. Ms Bustier tries to scold them for "not taking part in class discussion"

"Why the hell should my client disclose any information to a bunch of incompetent self righteous idiots who nearly killed ladybug!" Chloe's bodyguard snaps. Nino looks horrified. Juleka covers her mouth in shock. The pen in Nathaniels hand snaps. Ms Bustier looks taken back "My students wou never-" the door slams open. "Alya Cesaire and Lila Rossi are to come with us impatiently. If you refuse we will take you by force. You have been deemed a threat to those around you" The man said. He clearly was not an officer but the man behind him is. Alya yells something about diplomatic immunity. "Alya Cesaire and Lila Rossi you are under arrest for attempted murder." The officer states while the man beside him just looks exasperated. "We only did it because we thought she was Mayrue! We only locked her in a closet!" Someone yells. "A closet in a building you knew the Akuma was targeting. If she had not of sent her Kwami through the air vents the Akuma would not have been stopped. If she had not gotten out dozens of people would have died including her. In case you have forgotten the miraculous cure did not fix anything that happened during that time because there was not a ladybug to case it so those people are still healing." The man states. "She looks perfectly fine now" Kim says. Chloe takes off part of Marinettes mechanical are and "yeet"s it at Kim's desk were it breaks in two. "Life saving risky surgery" is all Chloe says while picking up and returning Marinette hand. "As for the rest of you. You will give statements then head straight home unless told otherwise. Your parents are being contacted as we speak."

Nino, Nathaniel, Sabrina, and Juleka were allowed to stay. Ms. Bustier had to leave for the day. As it turned out the only one that had any idea what had happened was Nino who thought he had convinced his girlfriend not to act on what Lila said. Nino had no idea anything had happened that day until that moment. He believed Marinette stayed to help people because that is who she is. Ms. Bustier is fired as a teacher and brought up on charges of neglect as no teacher or adult for that matter could be that blindof all of what went on inform of them.

Nino gains temporary Miraculous. Nathaniel becomes Foxie. Juleka becomes Bunbun. They all continue to be heros for different reasons.

The classmates directly involved go though the justice system. Those that helped plan or just knew about it were sent to different schools for troubled teens.

[saphirered]

OK! I promise (kinda) that this is the last one (maybe). Eldritch Knight nearly dies protecting essek form something (assassin, Rouge kryn soldier, etc) and essek's mom kinda pick up that like s/o has saved her son so much that she invites them over for dinner as a thank you, they accept the invite -cause why not- and chaos ensues, Verin is there and teasing his older brother/jokingly challenging s/o to a battle. Thank for everything you are by at my favorite writer on here, have a beautiful day!

Booooooy this is turning into a long one so I'll have to split it up in two parts for the sake of readability 😅. Here comes the first part. Enjoy 😘.

It’s a lovely day out. The moon’s shining bright, the stars sparkle like millions of crystals in the night sky and you and your favourite drow wizard had the opportunity to get away from your busy lives and spend some time together not on official business; an opportunity not often found in these days. You were grateful to spend your time on a walk outside in one of gardens reserved only for the higher classes of Rosohna and their guests. A nice day indeed.

Well, it would have been a nice day if it hadn’t been ruined by a rather rude interruption. Was it truly too much to ask for some peace and quiet and alone time to just relax? Apparently so. Neither of you seem to be able to get a break from the chaos.

You’re flung into the pillar of the gazebo-like structure at the centre of the gardens, feeling the cracking of your ribs as you hit it and drop to the ground with a loud thud. Hitting the stone with your fist you get up with a growl. That hurt. A lot. You hook your foot kicking up your sword catching it in your hand.

“I’ve had it up to here with these mages!” You duck behind the pillar to avoid a firebolt being thrown at your face. You see Essek struggling with the other Volstrucker. If you keep this battlefield divided much longer both of you might not make it out and since these gardens aren’t as public a space, guards don’t regularly patrol. You can only hope someone has noticed something because this is not liking good. At this rate you might need an accomplished cleric and a pretty good amount of diamonds on site sooner rather than later.

You look around the corner and send a bolt of blue crackling energy to your Volstrucker hitting them square in the chest. A firebolt is returned and strikes you in the shoulder singeing at the fabric of your clothes and your now exposed skin. You shrug off the pain in your chest, shoulder and the struggle breathing and release another witch bolt drawing closer to your opponent.

Taking some good hits and as difficult as it may be you’re close enough to the Volstrucker to strike. So is the Volstrucker. This was never going to be an easy fight and no matter how clever you are, so are they and one mistake is deadly. Keeping your injured arm close to you you move around quickly trying to exhaust their reserves enough to get a proper hit.

Your plan works. The movements get sloppier ever so slightly and just barely enough to get through the Volstrucker’s defences. A slash sends them stumbling holding the new wound and a hit with the pommel to the face takes the Volstrucker down bleeding. You turn your attention back to Essek and his attacker to see him cornered and on his last leg, a blow breaking through the shatters of a shield spell.

Kicking off and rushing over you use the momentum kicking off a stone bench to grab onto the neck of Essek’s opponent, wrapping your arms around and elbow down until they throw you off into the bench you jumped off. Feeling your already burning chest you’re forced to cough leaving an iron-like taste in your mouth. Not good. But this is life or death. You choose life.

Getting between Essek and the Volstrucker you cast a lightning bolt using your current space to your advantage. Not much places to dodge to from this side. The Volstrucker lands within a bed of flowers unmoving. A wave of relief comes over your as you see Essek back on his feet. While a little worse for wear, he’s alive.

“Next time you ask me to go out with you can we please go somewhere without your admirers trying to horribly murder you?” You joke between coughs, the taste of iron growing stronger.

“Perhaps it’s just the Luxon trying to intertwine our fates through making me admire you even more?” Essek places a hand on your back but quickly regrets it when you wince in pain.

“Perhaps we should find you a healer.” Essek suggests and you couldn’t agree more.

“Looks like we both can use a healer, or several.” You refer to the injuries the both of you sustained biting back the pain coming through the adrenaline from the fight.

Then it happened. You heard before you saw. Movement. Turning to see what it was you see the Volstrucker you knocked down first standing with a bow, string just released arrow flying, second one following in you and Essek’s direction. You quickly try to cast warding wind but you’re not quick enough. The first arrow strikes you in the gut. The second one is stopped, trajectory changed and sent into the bushes.

White hot searing pain. You’ve been shot before but never have been so rough already. The sensation is a new one entirely making you hyperaware of your body, your surroundings to the point you can hear every breath you take and the beat of your heart as you fall back from the impact. The warding wind drops as you do and you’re fighting to stay awake, a sudden fatigue and fog enters your brain.

Essek sees you fall, you can barely make out his expression; changing from worry to anger when focused on the Volstrucker. The next thing you see is darkness and for a brief second you think you’ve passed out and this is the Raven Queen beckoning you. Instead it’s a darkness summoned surrounding the Volstrucker until it disappears leaving nothing but a pile of dust.

There’s a constant ringing in your head but you’re still awake. Awake, bleeding and in pain. Essek, now the Volstrucker is dead and dealt with kneels down next to you, worry returning to his face as he’s unsure what to do. He reaches for the arrow shaft sticking out of your stomach but you stop him with what little force is left in your body.

“Don’t! Not unless you want me to bleed out. Just go get help. I’ll be fine.” You try to stabilise your breath as much as you can. To be honest, you don’t know for sure if you’ll be fine but that won’t change anything. You don’t hear his reply over the ringing in your ears but Essek strokes your cheek before he rushes off gods know where.

Next thing you know the face of a blue tiefling appears in your vision, behind her a green cloak. The arrow is pulled out and the burning pain is quickly replaced by a cool pressure until it disappears along with the majority of the pain in your chest. The sense of tunnel vision disappears and you see Essek looking worried waiting for anyone to say anything. You give him a weak smile.

“You owe me big time, dear.” You cough as Jester helps you sit up. Still a bit lightheaded you manage. Essek returns your smile but you can see the guilt in his eyes.

“And I’ll do everything in my power to make it up to you.”

“Yeah, yeah that’s nice and all. Can you guys please stop flirting?” Oh, Beauregard. Way to interrupt the moment. Doesn’t she know you could have gotten all the Mighty Nein’s favours owed to Essek erased in a snap of the fingers now? Jester and Beau help you to your feet and begin to support carry you back to the Xhorhaus.

The next few days you’re on bedrest as demanded by well, everyone around you, until you’re fully recovered and no longer feel like you dived off a cliff missing the water. Essek’s been a frequent visitor to the extend where he must be neglecting his responsibilities by how much time he’s spending with you.

Essek makes a surprisingly good nurse, making sure you’re always comfortable, getting you whatever you need or ask for and of course good company to fight the boredom from being confined to one space for days where night and day do not differ.

Then finally the day came along where your clerics had declared you fit enough to leave the confines of your room. Another few days and you were good to go back to your usual routines. While Essek was forced to return to his duties sooner rather than later he still tried to spend as much time with you as he could, sticking to your side like glue.

You had to reassure him many times but finally did get it through his thick skull this wasn’t his fault and he couldn’t have done anything about it. He may still blame himself partially but he’s not beating himself over it which is all you could ask for. Besides, you’re very persuasive when it comes to Essek so perhaps in time you could get him to see it the way you do.

[violet-t-9]

Check in on my (not very realistic) wish list for episode 136

1. The M9 eventually find a way to catch up with Lucien and Cree (or even get in front of them) before they are able to go to the astral sea AND at least start the combat please and thanks (Bonus: Cree gets a wild magic effect that gives M9 some advantage or laughs).

OH NO an intuit charge they were ambushed! The TT were way ahead of them... They caught up though! Lucian and Cree are still there... oops never mind they got ahead AGAIN, no TT combat today. Well, astral sea here we come!

2. Caleb and Beau’s eyes come into play at some point but are helpful to them instead of being used against them (look, let me try to be optimistic).

They have true sight! They can communicate telepathically to ANYONE! Hey, at least they gained some magical abilities and SOME sort of profit from all that anxiety. The eyes were still used against them to sense their presence.

3. Some long one-on-one conversations between any characters please, I need the RP experience! Any two of them would have a great dynamic.

Welp, I mean, combat time! Combat is also good, who needs RP anyways :(

4. More wild magic effects from casting in Aeor! Jester, Essek, Caduceus, Veth I’m looking at y’all. Caleb and Fjord already had their fun, but I won’t say no to more. (Bonus: the effects are harmless and fun ones like how they have been).

Oh no Veth... Is tiny... At least it didn’t cost any hit points? CALEB IS A SHEEP THAT WALKED INTO THE PORTAL LMAO. That was one of the wild magic effects that I wanted to see the most and it was as funny as possible.

5. Even more Aeorian ruin exploration and finding clues that may help them with the city business, but no more side combats before getting to the TT.

Caleb rolled 31 arcana on the runic circle wow transmutation + dunamancy! Temporal alteration! 31 on investigation too wow Caleb, “primal artifact”? TIME TRAVEL?? So that’s why it’s called the Temporal Dock! Also, wow, they actually did not enter any other side combats before TT, using stealth and magic. They were forced into a side combat after getting to them though.

6. Beau and Yasha continue with their PDA AND have a private moment together (let’s hope for both, because why not).

“Yasha your hair looks really great” lol Beau is not wasting any time is she. Yasha’s defensive “she’s wonderful” was ooc but cute lol. “Anything for my princess” lmao stop you guys. No private moment, but close enough.

7. Jester and Fjord heal each other at some point OR have more physical contact (they were so cute last episode).

Jester healed Fjord! I’m sad it had to happen but it was a good heal too. Jester also picked up the paralyzed Fjord after the intuit charges!

8. Continuing to hope for Essek’s fancy dunamantic spells OR magical items (I felt Caleb so hard last episode, I too am attracted to power and skills).

Purple sparkling dunamancy fly wings oh YEAH. Thanks for maintaining concentration on Cad you beautiful war caster you.

9. Veth and Fjord diss each other at some point OR exhibit support for each other, I love their love-hate relationship.

“Fjord can shape water... yes you can, you got it” lol Also the discussion about Veth preparing featherfall and Fjord’s “yes thank you Veth”. The “marine layer” argument lol - sounded both supportive and like a diss.

10. Continuing to hope for Caleb to polymorph into anything really, or using polymorph on any party member (polymorph! Caleb interactions my beloved, this is just going to be a permanent feature on my wish list now).

Intelligence 2 SHEEPLEB MY BELOVED BWAHAHAHAHAH I love this so much. It’s not exactly polymorph, but he is a sheep guys, that counts.

11. Mention of Davexian/Charlie at some point in time (bonus: Veth does it).

Lmao Beau mentioned Davexian right away, and Veth gave a reaction right away. I did not expect a mention so soon but here we are.

12. Jester continuing to be the braincell holder of the team and keeps everybody on task (go queen I love you).

YEAH go get that natural 20 Jester! Keep track of what floor it is! She also urges them to keep moving.

13. Essek and Caleb have more of their deep wizard conversations and interactions OR be impressed by each other at some point (Bonus: another party member mentions/addresses whatever they’ve got going on).

YES wow the temporal dock scene. Also Jester thanks for the mention lol. “It’s complicated” sounds about right. 

14. Cad attempting to speak with the dead on the remaining TT members (there are still Otis and Zoran) and learning some useful information.

Well... it’s kind of too late for that.

15. Jester sees Artagan again and we finally find out what Caleb was seeing during that commune and that scry (I need answers please! Don’t try to distract me with everything else going on, I won’t fall for it).

IT WAS TRUE SIGHT? It was true sight and Beau was just not close enough! Sprinkle whispering in Jester’s ear?? Someone’s theory I saw here was true good for you! Arty has been sprinkle all along that’s why sprinkle is alive.

16. More discussion about dunamancy in Aeor and the Luxon (I’d love to know how Essek is feeling about their discovery and get his thoughts on it).

Well... time travel magic circles are certainly dunamancy. Essek is as excited as you would expect him to be - very.

17. A successful divine intervention from either cleric! (Bonus: that allows them to stop the TT)

Nope, but it may happen next week? Maybe?

18. Heroes’ feast and we learn more about the food/drink preferences or other fun facts from everybody (Bonus: great roll on the HP boon from the feast).

Welp well they ain’t gonna get that one extra hour. 

19. I know they are not gonna see the tower but I still kinda want to see Essek’s room look it’s going to stay on this wish list until it happens.

Yeah I mean I didn’t really expect this to come true any time soon. 

20. Somebody pushes a red button, again (Bonus: it’s someone we don’t expect to push the button).

I mean, Beau went underwater to grab the magical potions, that was kinda button-pushing, but it’s to be expected. She is an expositor! She investigates!

21. Cad continuing to be a MVP in combat as always OR have an amazing non-combat idea/discovery.

Cad got Yasha up as soon as she was down! ALSO that shield of retribution force damage was AWESOME. The invisibility was so smart!

22. You know the drill by now - everyone remains relatively happy and alive by the end of the episode except Lucien and Cree (they can perish), and the episode ends on a terrifying cliffhanger as always (Bonus: they end up in the Astral Sea and that’s where we finish the episode).

Wow that bonus part is a PERFECT PREDICTION if I do say so myself. I knew that getting into the Astral Sea would be a good cliffhanger. I’m figuring it out guys.

Seriously though please stay safe and alive M9 (and yes Essek is included) that’s all I want.

Nobody has been dead so far, so I’m as happy as I can be!

Score: 16/22 

Other highlights:

Their exploration last episode paid off with the teal keycard! I knew it even distractions can be helpful!

Essek rolled a 30! On stealth! WOO his first great roll probably, Matt sounded so proud of him too. Also that clutch war caster concentration save too, he is finally rolling better (well, slightly).

Caleb’s decisive wall of force and two correct-level dispel magic saved everybody twice, competent as always. I love him so much (also, sheepleb my beloved).

NICE SAVE VETH THANK YOU omg what a queen with the mage hand, truly a 2000 IQ move made by a genius. Jester is safe I’m so happy!!

Wow, what an episode! As always, CR cast gave me such a wonderful night of tension, humour, action and intrigue. I am so happy and thankful that I get to witness this story unfold! I cannot wait for next Thursday, already. I am nervous about their astral sea journey, but I trust in the cast and they will always deliver a great story.

(Plus, maybe they can actually save Yussa now, pretty please?) :D

[gaawachan]

Critical Role 126 Discord Convo

Here, my sibling and I talked a bit about Veth, Caleb, the Cerberus Assembly, and Astrid/Wulf in particular (it starts out a bit goofy at first but gets serious): Sibling: Did you see that animatic I sent you, speaking of that scene?

Me: Yes

Sibling: Like, it'd be great to update it with Astrid and Wulf in a mound just behind the 9

Me: Lol, they would have seen the polymorphed worm, too... And the yeti friends... "They... built snowmen in balenpost?"

Sibling: And had to camp out while they disappeared into the wizard tower... the Beau-shaped hole in Balenpost lol

Me: There was a jester one too

Sibling: LOL. Like, a snowman... a snowman with 2 heads

Me: and sad faces

Sibling: One kicked over snowman and two human-shaped holes in the snowbanks. But seriously, there's no way someone isn't aware that Vess is dead. Her window was open, letting the snow come in

Me: Oh, the assembly knows. At the very least, Ludinus, Trent, and the scourgers definitely know. Astrid "thanked" Caleb because she's assuming he killed her, or she wants that to be the case, at least.

Sibling: Veth is totally missing the point. The writing is on the wall, Astrid is using the shit out of Caleb and I think, at the very least it might be an interesting DQ6 moment where when they come back from saving the world, Astrid's already taken Trent's place and they have to deal with it that way.

Me:  Yeah, it's very obvious, especially when you consider how Astrid and Caleb have similarities. Like... Astrid's panic attack in the alley reminded me of Caleb's breakdown in Shady Creek Run. Right after the manipulation is over and they're out of sight, they have a breakdown. Tbh... If Caleb were to replace anyone on the assembly, it shouldn't be Trent. It should be Ludinus. Ludinus is the root of the problems in the empire, pretty much everyone is certain at this point that that is the case. The king is evil but seems incompetent/useless.

Sibling: I wonder, honestly, if that'll be the conclusion to the M9? If Caleb's arc will conclude it?

Me: But at the same time I don't want him to be in the assembly; I don't think he WANTS to be.

Sibling: Rewatching the table scene *Veth: (to Wulf) "When the war was a bit more hot... Were you much more busy?" Wulf: "Not any more than yourselves." Veth: "No I mean, were you out on the lines like a soldier?" Wulf: "I'm not much of a frontliner... More of a scout, if you would."* Wulf is totally tailing them. Wulf is absolutely the person they sent after them, I'm certain of it.

Me: Yeah, I figured. There's going to be a confrontation in Eiselcross when they're traveling with Essek, I'm sure of it. That's gonna be rough.

Sibling: No, I know that, but it stuck out to me. I feel like Matt's dropping major hint bombs... ex vs current bf?

Me: I wonder if Essek has MET Wulf before.Sibling: I like Wulf more than Astrid.

Me:  Me, too.

Sibling: I think I'll be sad if he gets gravity crushed, but he better not lay a finger... on my butterfinger.

Me:  I mean, I feel bad for them both, but the problem is that they can't be trusted with power, and if the Assembly falls, they may try to seize power. Tbh I just don't see them surviving to the end and that's pretty sad.

Sibling: I could see Wulf being turned if the party spent more time on things, seeing as he seems to be more of a piece to be manipulated than a major player himself... but their focus is entirely on Trent and Astrid, which makes me think that he'll be canned.

Me:  Actually, I'm not so sure about that Wulf thing. I think he may be harder to reach in some ways. See the thing is... Astrid wants power.  That's understandable.  But it's not clear if she wants power for necessarily nefarious purposes or if it's just that the life of poverty she led before coupled with how much she's lost drives her to reach for it, and it's not clear what would satisfy her or whether or not she'd be interested in taking her life in a different direction, so that's complicated.

Me: But with Wulf... Wulf's issues are simpler, which I think arguably makes him harder to reach. Wulf and Astrid have both basically shrugged off their parents' deaths at this point, they've both indicated as much in different ways, but Wulf's a servant of the Raven Queen.  He can rationalize the death of anything and anyone under her banner.  Unlike Astrid, who is motivated by power/ambition, Wulf is the holy soldier... of the death god.  That's uh... zealotry.

Me: Worse still, he has religious motivations for going against those who use Dunamancy, which is likely an anathema to the Raven Queen. He was already following her when he was a teenager, because Caleb was looking to see if he had any symbols of her on him when they first reunited. Honestly I really don't think either of them can truly be reached unless Caleb DOES take over the assembly and even then they might do scummy stuff behind his back out of perceived necessity.

Sibling: If his motivations have been so tied up in his religion, it would make it very difficult to reach him, true. But Astrid seems to have invested so much into her ambitions that I wonder if she might try to quiet those talking her out of it. She seems very aware of her actions' consequences, unlike someone like Essek who had ambitions without understanding where his studies would take him. If they're left alive, which I don't think they will be, Caleb's best scenario would be to avoid the assembly as much as possible.

Me: Honestly at this point I feel like the entire government of the Empire needs to be cleared out and replaced, ideally by the Cobalt Soul.  Though that would be very controversial, I don't think any other organization can be trusted with filling that vacuum. The Soul is ultimately an international religious organization, but considering they have shown willingness to weed out corruption within their own ranks, it would be interesting if they pooled their resources and had the Empire taken over by a circle of vetted monks instead of corrupt mages, and then have them transition to a democracy eventually.

Sibling: Considering that Matt has reinforced that the Cobalt Soul is attempting to weed out its own corruption, but can't seem to do so for other organizations... I wonder how long it would last. At least they wouldn't have to operate in secret anymore. Maybe that would lift their final restriction?

Me: Well, the thing that really chafes at me with respect to Caleb potentially joining the assembly is that he just DOESN'T FIT THERE.  I've thought this before but Caleb would be more at home working for the Cobalt Soul than the Assembly.  He's been talking about burning out the rot in the Empire for ages now, and that's basically the goals of the expositors. I wouldn't object to him being involved in the Empire's government... as long as that government did not consist of anything resembling the assembly. A complete restructuring.

Sibling: I mean, you can't really rework the gov unless you're already in a position like Ludinus, but even then, Caleb I still feel like is not the person for that.

Me:  But let's be real, ideally he would be the head of the Soltryce Academy... and that's the thing... One of the problems with Wulf and Astrid is that you get the feel that they could rationalize doing anything.  And you have to wonder under all that rationalization and manipulation if there is any malice/sadism... there probably is, which sucks because Astrid is actually far better positioned to be an effective politician than Caleb; she's had experience around it for over a decade, she probably knows politics very well. Caleb is earnest and an excellent negotiator but he is not a politician. He would be best off as an ambassador, if I had to pick a political position for him to take.

Sibling: The government does still need to be overthrown for Essek to come hang out with Caleb though, so it must be done.

Me: It must be done. Looping back to Veth/Astrid... Here are some of the posts on Veth's behavior that I've seen. *posts a bunch of links* It's interesting... the Astrid thing. I haven't seen anyone else point this out, but... Veth probably sees Astrid as being Caleb's Yeza.  And if Caleb can go back to Astrid and be happy, it's like a test run for her going back to Yeza. Which is pretty messed up. He keeps telling her "Yes, I care for her, but we've both changed" and that's not something Veth wants to think about because it applies to her as well, except that... well, Yeza really hasn't changed.  Just her.

Sibling: 1) Ah, skirting her trauma by attempting to address what she sees as Caleb's? Addressing her issues by proxy? Overbearing mom living vicariously through her son...? ... That kind of makes my stomach churn, but I get it. 2) Another revenge perspective. Considering her knee-jerk reaction to kill people who've wronged her family or the party, I think revenge is totally an aspect that has gone unexplored for her. 3) Eugh, the romance still squicks me out, but I understand. Nott was a different person to Veth, she probably had a hope out for returning to her form and going back to Yeza... But I wonder if she thought he wouldn't accept her, and she had Caleb as like... (ew) a backup?

Me: I mean, it's pretty well-established that she has a thing for Caleb.  And yeah, her feelings for him are pretty fucked up because of their dynamic up to the point where they went to Felderwin. The CA did wrong her family, and so did Essek, and Veth is very much a vengeance-minded person in a far more straightforward way than Caleb.  Most of the others have told Caleb that if he goes after the Assembly, it should be for the right reasons.  Interestingly, Veth, Fjord, and Jester don't seem to agree exactly. Jester sees it as a sort of "why not both?" thing.  Fjord seems to have no qualms with vengeance at all (unsurprising considering which parts of his past have not yet been resolved, and yet Fjord has never gotten shit for that like Caleb has, and Sabian has done far less harm/damage than Trent).  But Veth?  Veth sees vengeance as clearcut, something that ought to be pursued and then when it's done, it's done and she's satisfied.  It's interesting that the person who Caleb was most attached to at the start of the campaign is also by far the most unhealthy influence on him in the group at this point.

Sibling: I think it's because Fjord hasn't been molded by Sabian. Sabian wronged him, but the more Fjord found out about himself, the less important that seemed. And the more they found out, the more you begin to call into question whether what he did was to get rid of Vandran, an unsavory figure or... something else? Not to mention, Sabian is insignificant, whereas Caleb's abuser is still abusing people to this day. I can see there are major differences between the consequences of either of their revenge quests.

Me: Yes, but that's precisely my point. Sabian is not hugely harmful in comparison to Trent, so it's interesting that people give Caleb shit for being motivated partially by revenge, while Fjord doesn't get any when that's basically his ONLY motivation for tracking down Sabian.

Sibling: Probably because Fjord might get a reason without killing Sabian. Caleb might be walking into a trap, laid out by his peers. I still am of the opinion that killing Trent is a net positive. Just the act of getting rid of him is necessary to stop the cycle. But what comes next is the most important part. Because if Trent is dead when they come back, and Astrid sits in his place... The perpetuation of this cycle won't come to a close.

Me: Yes.  I mean, personally?  His entire section of the Empire's government should be outright dissolved.  It's absolutely revolting.  The thing is that it's not just Trent that needs to go; it's his POSITION.  That needs to not exist, and I don't see that ever happening so long as Ludinus exists as well.  Edit: Well, you basically said what I meant in a different way, lol.

[artificialqueens]

Maybe You're My Enemy (Diamond Chaney) - Ortega

a/n: hey, hi, hello! welcome to the first canon compliant thing i have written since 2017, i am *~ petrified! ~* . i had to write something to fix these two though after the events of episode 8 because i just love them dearly (and the fact in the subsequent episode Lawrence just dropped in the fact they’d shared a bed didn’t help this at all). thank you so much to @purecamp for reading it over and reassuring me it’s not a heap of shit (so if it turns out that it is then just blame her xo). also the song it’s set to is enemy by Charli XCX in case u want to get the immersive vibes!

fic summary: On one side of Scotland, Lawrence disappears from social media. On the other, Ellie reflects.

***

They say, “Keep your friends close”

But you’re closer, I love when you’re here

I’m so far away sometimes, I’m distant, yeah

The sky is grey. The clouds are grey. The stagnant water of the quay is grey, and so’s the metal rail that Ellie’s holding on to as he narrows his eyes, tries to stop the wind from hitting them and making him tear up.

As if the wind would be the only reason.

He brings his gaze into focus on the HMS Unicorn, sat in the water in front of him like some massive whale that’s been planted in a bathtub. It’s a fucking ugly ship; a glorified tugboat on steroids with a big bowsprit sticking out at the front all out of place, but he likes the little bust of the once-white unicorn that sticks out from under it. Ellie remembers getting brought here for a school trip in Primary 3, pointing to the unicorn all excited and getting laughed at by the boys in his class that he knew were going to grow up to be the ones that gave the teachers lip and got suspended in high school.

He remembers that Bryce made up the fact that one of the boys had “said the f word” in the gift shop later that day, just so Ellie could have the satisfaction of watching them get screamed at by their teacher. Ellie still fucking loves him for that.

Ellie thinks the unicorn is out of place in all this grey. He remembers the time he did his unicorn mix when he opened for Willam, how nervous he’d been and messaging Lawrence about it and getting a “this you coming out to me as a furry?” in return which made him laugh and forget why he’d even been nervous in the first place. He can’t help the smile the memory brings to his face even if he wants to.

And he wants to.

Lawrence always could make him smile, get a laugh from him even when he didn’t feel like it. He remembers with a blow to his heart what Lawrence had said on the show- “you’re not terribly funny? Like you don’t have…zinger-y punchlines?” - and how Tia had laughed and Ellie had wanted so much to bite back but didn’t.

Because he always could draw a laugh out of Lawrence. Granted he was usually laughing at him rather than with him, but Ellie could still put a smile on his face by acting dumb, saying things that Lawrence would subsequently repeat in a screech of disbelief that would always make Ellie laugh harder anyway. He’d always self-impose ridiculous dares on himself in front of him: in Hive, “here, what if I did the entire shot rainbow?”, in Nandos, “d’you think I could do the wing roulette by myself?”, in Glasgow on the Subway on the way to a gig, “dare me to get off at Ibrox and I’ll go to the Louden Tavern dressed like this?”. Ellie had been used to being the class clown for Lawrence, the jester for the queen.

Or maybe just a fool.

Ellie’s always hated the colour grey.

You might help me, intimacy

I’ll admit, I’m scared

Maybe, maybe you can reach me, yeah

His surroundings turn to silver as he shoves his hands in his pockets, heads towards the V&A museum that’s still glinting despite the lack of sunlight. He’s stopped by two teenage girls that are polite and shy and squeaky-voiced as they ask for a photo- he supposes that’s what he gets when he goes out wearing the pink and purple fur coat with the hearts on it. Ellie forces a smile and thanks them for supporting him and they tell him he’s their favourite in return.

After they walk away he thinks they must have been lying, but then he feels the frown etch itself onto his face as he shakes his head. The self-doubt is a hangover from filming that he needs to shake off.

He squints at the museum as he walks past, fleetingly thinks about going in and looking at some of the old fashion to cheer him up. A’whora’s promised to go with him when he’s eventually allowed to come up to visit, and Ellie snorts at the idea of the fashion queen of the London scene in Dundee. The thought of A’whora’s reaction to the Wellgate shopping centre- the Credit Union, the B&M, the Jobcentre Plus- puts the first smile on his face he’s had in days.

Lawrence had gone round the museum with him too, when Ellie had dropped him off at the train station the day after a gig and they’d been killing time. It had been weird to just dick about like that together the first few times. Weird the fact there was no makeup, glue and wigs, no alcohol or gay anthems to yell over. Just two boys walking around a museum together. Like a date.

Ellie makes a face before he even realises. Not this.

The first time they did all of it together was weird. Just like everything Lawrence had written. Nandos, cinema, staying at his. That last one especially. Ellie can still remember the way he’d stared up at the bumpy ceiling from his position on Lawrence’s couch in the pitch dark, street lamps from outside casting shadows through the blinds. The room was too cold and the blanket was too small and he hadn’t slept a wink but he’d still do it all over again.

The first time they’d both lain on Lawrence’s bed the morning after the night before, cracking up at Scottish You Laugh You Lose compilations on Youtube and Ellie being unable to help the tears that streamed down his face at Lawrence imitating “big shoe, big shoeeee!”. The way they’d been close and the way their arms had touched and the way Ellie had felt ridiculous for the way his heart was hammering. Just a friend.

The first time they’d found each other under the dark lights of CCs when they’d both been through in Edinburgh to support Alice by chance. The way Ellie’s heart had lit up like a firework when he saw him. The way they’d laced their fingers together without even having to ask permission first, the way everything just seemed to be as simple as tequila rose shots and pink lights and leaning against the wall as they smoked outside.

The way everything else had just happened so easily.

Ellie squeezes his eyes shut before he can realise what he’s doing. The memories have forced their way in, kicked down a door in his head that he’d been sure he’d bolted shut.

He needs to change the locks.

Maybe you’re my enemy

Now I’ve finally let you come a little close to me,

Maybe you’re my enemy

You’re the only one who knows the way I’m really feelin’

Ellie is in the same Stitch onesie he’s been shrugging on since the last episode aired. It stinks. He’s joked to A'whora that he can probably smell him through the phone, and A'whora’s asked if he just sweats out Mango Loco Monster. Ellie makes some joke about wringing out his clothes into a pint glass if he did, which makes A'whora retch on camera.

He’s glad they made up at least. They didn’t have too much of a choice, to be fair. Apart from the way they get on so well, their bond and their friendship, A'whora’s the only other one who knows what it’s like to be in Ellie’s situation.

Except A'whora never stabbed Tayce in the back.

“You should talk to him,” A'whora insists, bringing the whole sorry situation up in a pause where Ellie must have looked as if he was about to make a vodka bleach mixer.

Ellie looks pointedly back at him through the screen. “I’ve been telling you to talk to Tayce for months.”

He watches A'whora pull an awkward face and he’s satisfied he’s hit a nerve. “That’s different though. You and Lawrence don’t live together.”

“Yeah. Least I wasn’t stupid enough to move in with someone I fancied, how’s that going for you?”

A'whora splutters a laugh that doesn’t quite meet his eyes. Ellie feels guilty all over again. He feels like that’s his default these days. “Sorry, chick, I shouldn’t have-”

“No, I mean. It’s fine. Just have to act as if I’m not in love with the bitch every time I’m around her, it’s not hard,” A'whora deadpans.

Ellie frowns. “You know Tayce feels the same. Everyone knows it.”

“No I don’t,” A'whora says instantly back to him, shaking his head and dissolving momentarily into pixels. “Besides, even if she did, like…it’s easier if she didn’t, y'know? All this…publicity, every move getting analysed. It’s easier to just…not.”

Ellie narrows his eyes. “You’re doing a smashing job making the case for me and Lawrence.”

“You know what I mean! You don’t get people asking where Lawrence is in every live you do. You don’t get people going through the show fucking…frame by frame and then editing every time you breathe around each other together and setting it to a bloody Little Mix song.”

Ellie bursts out laughing and starts singing Black Magic down the phone to him, which makes A'whora look pointedly at him before clearly being unable to hold it for long and instead laughing with him.

Both their laughter dies down and Ellie watches as A'whora smiles sadly, sincerely. “He’s worth the risk, Els.”

“Oh my God, prison. Who the fuck are you, Nicholas Sparks?”

The reference flies over A'whora's head and Ellie starts explaining the plot of the A Walk to Remember, steering the conversation out of the waters it had become marooned in, the captain of his very own HMS Unicorn.

He feels more like he’s aboard the Titanic with every message that goes unread.

Now it’s really clear to me

You could do a little damage, you could cut me deeper

“It didn’t get you a badge though, was it worth it?”

Ellie’s asked himself that every day since the episode aired. Since he made the decision, pretty much. Financially? Yes it was. It’s pretty well-known at this point in the grand scheme of Drag Race that with each week you’re on the likelihood of securing more bookings is increased, and now with his slot at Drag Fest he feels as if he’s hit the jackpot.

Everything else? Not so much.

Ellie still feels his stomach drop if he thinks enough about that untucked, which he does all the time. Too much, in fact. The aggression in Lawrence’s voice which Ellie knew all too well was a manifestation of hurt on so many levels. The way Lawrence chose the conflict that Ellie wished he could have avoided. The way Lawrence left his feelings bare while Ellie couldn’t trust himself to do the same in case he said something he might regret.

The fact Lawrence had thought Ellie had set him up to fail was maybe what hurt the most, though. Ellie had wanted to ask him how he thought he’d be able to do that after everything they’d been through together. He’d tried to tell him he didn’t think it was possible for him to fail at something he shines at. He’d wanted to grab Lawrence’s pink fucking headpiece and bash him over the head with it until he realised that he’s Lawrence fucking Chaney, he is the Scottish drag queen. Lawrence is the one who will say something at a gig one week and it’ll be common drag parlance across the country by the next. Lawrence is the one getting booked by the BBC Social to make educational videos. Lawrence is the one on posters across Glasgow, for fuck’s sake.

Ellie might not have been thinking about the worst case scenario in that moment, but only because he genuinely didn’t think there could be one.

After all, he’d had his opportunity to sabotage Lawrence. Ellie remembers the first day when the producers had wanted to set up the Scottish queen rivalry, asked for something shady they could use as a soundbite. The way he’d sought out Lawrence on a smoke break and told him about the situation and reassured him that he hadn’t given them anything, and the way Lawrence had just smiled back at him, softly and genuinely, and told Ellie he’d done the same. The way they’d minutely linked pinkies together before breaking them and walking back inside as if they’d barely shared so much as a glance, neither of them wanting to draw any suspicion their way.

And he could’ve been harsher in that untucked if he’d wanted. Could’ve said how for someone that was meant to care so much about friendship and sisterhood, Lawrence had been doing a great job shitting on him from a great height about his lack of challenge wins and his run on the show.  

But he didn’t, because…well. He knows why.

Because the knowledge that he’d hurt Lawrence and lost his trust had done more damage than any joke Lawrence made at his expense could ever do.

Ellie goes live on the Tuesday afternoon. A comment on the chat reads, “are u A’whora and Lawrence still friends???”

“Yeah, me and A’whora are still friends!” Ellie bats the comment away with a fake smile.

He’ll blame his lack of comprehension skills if he’s asked about it.

I feel guilty, I feel nervous, I feel certain now

Maybe, maybe you can reach me

He doesn’t know what possesses him to do it.

Maybe it’s when he wakes up on Friday and Lawrence’s Twitter isn’t loading. Maybe it’s when he reads the other Scottish girls condemning the fans, the word fatphobia leaping out, grabbing Ellie’s heart and wrenching it tight.

Surely not this?

Ellie searches Twitter and what he finds makes him feel ill. He doesn’t know what he had expected- he’d known the frantic tweet urging the fans to be kind that he’d typed out before he went to sleep hadn’t exactly been going to create world peace overnight- but he hadn’t expected any of this. Everyone loves Lawrence, surely.

Although perhaps he’s just talking from experience.

Maybe it’s when he shoots Lawrence a message that goes unopened. In all honesty Ellie doesn’t blame him. A flimsy sentiment about hoping he’s okay that clocks in at under 250 characters isn’t going to cut it, and he’s grateful when Bimini, with all their empathy and ability to read a situation as clear as day, texts him and tells him that Lawrence has replied to them and he’s…well, he’s managing.

Maybe it’s when Ellie goes live with A’whora and he manages to mention Lawrence entirely too many times. A cry for attention or an old habit that’s dying hard? He can’t tell. Perhaps it’s both.

It’s definitely got something to do with the Facebook post.

Whatever it is, Ellie finds himself stuffing any old random items of clothing in a backpack and hoping it makes an outfit, shoving the spare key into the soil of the plant pot outside his front door and texting Anne to tell her where it is in case…fuck knows, the flat goes on fire while he’s away or something. He looks up the train times as he’s on his way to the station; a terrible decision, really, as when he’s still fifteen minutes away he discovers there’s one in ten. Somehow he manages to make it to the station with just a minute to spare and his heart lifts to find that the ticket barriers are open, so he dashes through them and hurtles onto the train that’s waiting at the platform. He catches his breath as he slumps into a table seat, having to take his mask off for a couple of seconds just so he can breathe properly. The way his heart is going at the rate the train’s about to isn’t helping.

The chimes of the train announcement cut through his attempts at slowing his heart down, and the little robotic woman’s voice confirms that his ridiculous, spur-of-the-moment decision is actually happening.

“This is Dundee. This train is for Glasgow Queen Street.”

Because this is all so last minute, but he needs to see Lawrence. He’s apologised probably ten times by now but he knows he needs to make it eleven. He knows (he hopes) that Lawrence needs that eleventh time too. He knows that Lawrence needs Ellie’s persistence, knows that it’s all just an attempt at self-preservation. Lawrence’s attempts at shutting Ellie out are just inviting him to bring a battering ram. At least, he hopes. But like A’whora had said…he’s worth the risk.

The train starts moving, and even if he wanted to back out now he couldn’t.

So cold at the surface, I’m scared of nothin’

Underneath, I’m nervous

Can you reach me?  

Ellie waits for the subway at Buchanan Street and his glazed-over eyes focus on a massive poster of Lawrence on the platform opposite. He briefly considers throwing himself under the next train.

The journey down had passed somehow in the blink of an eye and also agonisingly slowly. Too much time to sit and stare out of the window but not enough time to figure out what he’s going to say. He still doesn’t know. He’d said it all those months ago, he’s said it through texts and DMs. This time feels different, though. This time is different. This time there’s no cameras or runners or pink tables, or distance between them or tension at the fact nothing had aired yet.

It’s going to be the pair of them and Lawrence’s flat. Just like it’s been so many times before.

Ellie thinks he’ll probably just open his mouth, say whatever gets there first and hope it hits the right notes; a terrible decision arrived upon as a result of the lack of any other option. His mind is a messed up ball of television static, a knotted yarn of white noise that he can’t find the end of. He feels as if it’s made of the noise the train makes as it screams into the station, metal on metal and the low whoosh of the wind through the tunnel and the rickety shaking of the doors as they slide open and people stream off.

He picks up his bag and sinks down into the horrifically patterned upholstery of the seats, settling himself in for the journey. The little metal tin can of a train doesn’t take long to fire through the seven stops before Govan and with each one that passes Ellie can feel his nerves spiking and his mouth growing dry.

What if Lawrence isn’t even in? What if it’s all got too much and he’s gone back to Helensburgh for the foreseeable? Ellie could get a train up there, he supposes; he’s already on this side of the country, although he doesn’t know if Lawrence would appreciate the gesture or call the police on him.

Ellie concludes it would be worth it anyway.

He emerges from the Subway and the grey seems to hit him all over again, seeping into his clothes and forcing him to fight through the sadness that hits him like a wave. There’s a little beam of sunshine fighting to escape the clouds though, and Ellie hopes it’s some form of pathetic fallacy. Or whatever that one about the weather matching your feelings was. Fucked if he ever paid attention in Nat 5 English.

The streets of red brick tenements feel like pens of hostility as he passes windows that serve as frames for Union Jacks and Red Hand of Ulster flags. Even being raised in a Christian household doesn’t equip him to identify with this form of religion; where the disciples are football players and the gods are flags and the hymns are about killing Catholics. Ellie has always worried about Lawrence living here, told him as much, but he’s always been met with a bark of a laugh back and some comment about how he’s only saying that because he’s lived such a sheltered little life in Dundee and wouldn’t last five minutes trying to inhabit Glasgow and all its cheerful sectarianism. Lawrence has always had a very blythe attitude to the whole thing, and Ellie remembers when he’d held his hand on the way back from the Subway in full drag after a gig like it was nothing, the way some dick in an orange and blue scarf had shouted at them from across the street and Lawrence had just yelled back with an “awrite, babes?” as if he had a death wish.

Which is what makes this whole thing so grim. The Lawrence who drunkenly and sarcastically greets bigots at three in the morning from across the street doesn’t marry up with the Lawrence that’s holed up in his flat in the face of negativity. Ellie supposes that one homophobic Rangers fan is one homophobic Rangers fan, but Twitter can seem like the whole world’s population, and if Lawrence thinks the world hates him just because he’s reacted to something that was Ellie’s fault…

He feels his gut wrench.

Ellie turns into Lawrence’s street and feels ill. He could always go home. Turn and walk back to the Subway, train back to Queen Street, back to Dundee, back to the flat. Like nothing had ever happened. Like he hadn’t even consciously made the decision, like it was all a dream.

He sleepwalks to Lawrence’s close door anyway, just like he knew he would.

His hand shakes as he presses the buzzer too hard, and the panic rises in his throat as the seconds pass agonisingly slowly. When there’s a crackle from the intercom, he freezes in fear.

“Hello?”

It’s Kiko’s voice. Of course his flatmate had to be the one to answer, drag out the humiliation of the whole thing. Ellie can hear the shake to his voice as he replies.

“Hey, it’s Ellie.”

“…Ellie?”

He chooses to ignore the disbelief, acts as if it’s normal for him to have travelled across the country to turn up on Lawrence’s doorstep in the middle of a pandemic when there’s a travel ban in place. He’s considering this essential travel anyway.

“Is Lawrence in at all?”

Kiko, for her part, seems to pick up on the way the whole visit is masquerading as routine. In the split second before she replies, Ellie finds himself holding his breath. He steels himself, prepares for a “no, he’s actually…”, to send him back to Dundee like a crumpled sheet of paper tossed into a bin.

So Ellie feels like his throat’s going to close up when Kiko replies down the intercom. “Yeah, two secs. I’ll buzz you up.”

The dread settles in his gut like a weight as the buzzer rings out into the street, harsh and loud and doing nothing for Ellie’s derailed train of thought. He pushes on the door, takes his first step into the close and the echo seems to hit him deep in his chest. He finds himself wishing Lawrence lives four up but he’s only on the first floor, and as Ellie puts his foot on the first step of the staircase he keeps his eyes trained on the stairs because he knows the moment he looks up he’s going to see somebody standing there holding the door open and even though he’s had hours to prepare himself, weeks even, he’s not ready for that in the slightest.

And when he finally brings his gaze onto the front door with four steps to go, he’s not ready for the way the sight of Lawrence almost knocks him straight back down again. He’s slumped against the doorframe and has very clearly not slept- since when, Ellie couldn’t guess. A black hoodie is swamping him and a pair of navy sweatpants are doing the same, making him seem smaller than he already is. The sight of his hair up in that tiny bun hurts Ellie’s heart because it makes him want to smile, reminds him of the Lawrence he’d dick about in the workroom and the smoking area and the hotel corridors with before it all went so wrong. His arms are folded and he’s looking at the tiles on the landing floor until Ellie reaches the doorway, shifts awkwardly.

“Hi.”

Lawrence doesn’t quite meet his eyes. It’s a minute detail that hurts Ellie more than he would have expected. He doesn’t reply for a second, then seems to relent. “Hey.”

Another pause. The atmosphere makes Ellie wish he’d worn a thicker jacket.

“You’re not meant to be here, you know. Wee Nicky’s probably had snipers trained on you since you got off the train,” Lawrence says, delivering the quip with a bitter, barbed edge that makes Ellie think it’s less of a joke and more wishful thinking.

“Wouldn’t be any less than I deserve, I’m sure,” Ellie smiles sadly, unable to make it meet his eyes. Lawrence’s expression remains unimpressed.

“So why are you here, then,” he not so much as demands an answer but disinterestedly inquires. Ellie bites his bottom lip before he replies, as if he’s forcing himself to make sure his words are perfect.

“I just came down because…well, I wanted to see how you were. I know the past week must have been shit for you.”

Lawrence raises his eyebrows, his eyes growing wide as if to really drive home to Ellie how much of an understatement he already knows he’s made. “Yeah.”

Ellie sighs, wanting desperately to get the next part right. “And I felt like I needed to say I’m sorry. Y’know, in front of you.”

“You said sorry back when we filmed. We’re over it, it’s fine,” Lawrence says flatly, conveying that everything is not fine.

“It’s not fine, though. I wouldn’t have come down if it was fine. Things haven’t been fine since that day, and like…I miss you, Lawrence, I don’t want to lose you as a friend, or as a sister, or as…” Ellie stumbles, looking to the floor as he tries to articulate the other facet of their relationship. “…whatever else we are. Whatever else we were. I’m sorry for fucking everything up.”

There’s a silence in which the pair of them freeze and hold their breath. Time could very well be standing still for all Ellie knows. He immediately regrets bringing up all of…that. He should’ve kept it to friendship, shouldn’t have added anything on. Before he can overthink any more or begin to backtrack, a small sigh from Lawrence makes him look up.

“I thought you hated me,” he says. His voice is small and the words are unexpected. There’s so much Ellie could say in response. He settles on a joke.

“No, I think you’re a cunt. There’s a difference,” Ellie smiles tightly, the joke tentative. The snort it gets from Lawrence makes his smile grow without him being able to help it. “Was that a good one? Thought I was the unfunniest person on the planet?”

“We weren’t talking about your Bake Off improv,” Lawrence raises his eyebrows as he smirks, and Ellie fakes a wounded laugh.

“Shady cow.”

“I’m sorry,” Lawrence says out of nowhere, his smile gone all of a sudden.

Ellie tries to drag the joke out a little longer, hold onto the sparks they’ve just created. “Nah, it was shit, you’re right.”

“No, Ellie…” Lawrence shakes his head, worrying his lip between his teeth a little. “I am sorry.”

Ellie feels the panic wash over him when he clocks the glisten in his eyes. “It’s fine, girl.”

“It’s not fine. I was a dick to you so many times, no fuckin’ wonder I thought you’d set me up. I would too if I had somebody talking down to me like I did to you,” Lawrence says gravely. His gaze is fixed on his floor and just as Ellie is about to speak he catches sight of two tears that fall onto the red carpet, the darkness akin to blood. His horror grows as Lawrence finally snaps his head up, tears shining in his eyes as he sighs helplessly in a shaky voice. “You’re amazing, Ellie, you’re such a talent, and…fuck, I missed you.”

His words mean more to him that Ellie had expected them to. He doesn’t want to let that show, though, because that’s too much, that means too much for the situation just now and he can deal with that realisation at a later date. For now, Ellie points at him in mock-accusation. “Hey listen, I’m the one that got the train down to come and make a big speech to you and say sorry. Buy your own damn train ticket for that.”

Lawrence’s voice is thick with tears as he lets out a short laugh. “Sorry.”

“Wee bitch. Always have to make everything about you,” Ellie rolls his eyes, getting another teary laugh out of Lawrence and raising his hopes that maybe they’ll be okay.

And then the banks break and Lawrence makes a little choked-up noise, a sob that’s not fully a sob. His eyes meet Ellie’s and they’re full of so much sadness and regret that just looking at them creates a crack in Ellie’s heart, one that matches the crack in Lawrence’s voice as he speaks again.

“This has all been shit to do without you.”

Ellie doesn’t think before opening his arms out, shaking his head affectionately. “Don’t be silly. C’mere.”

When Lawrence immediately opens out his own and they meet each other in the middle and hug tightly, Ellie feels like a balloon that’s been let go and is floating up to the sky.

The clouds aren’t grey.

The way they’re holding each other brings back too many memories. Seeing each other at gigs and feeling butterflies take hold of his stomach. Coming off stage after a number and conveying his pride in him without even having to say a word. Saying goodbye at train stations with disappointment lodging itself in his heart. All the nostalgia makes Ellie want to cry, but he can’t start now. Instead, he breaths a shaky sigh, shakes his head before he speaks.

“You’ve always had me, okay? You’ve always got me. We’ve said sorry now, that’s the end of it. Periodt,” Ellie murmurs against his shoulder, adding on his trademark at the end. The laugh he gets muffled against his chest in return makes him feel lighter.

“I’ve not showered. I definitely stink. You don’t have to keep hugging me, you know.”

“You don’t. I want to,” Ellie says back. He means it.

It’s Lawrence that slides out of the hug first but he’s still standing close as he quickly wipes away his tears, looks Ellie up and down with a smirk on his face. “So where’s your Travelodge, hen?”

Ellie’s sheepish when he makes eye contact with him again, shrugs one strap of the rucksack off before replying. “You know damn well I’ve not booked anywhere.”

“Fuckin’ hell. Right, come on,” Lawrence shakes his head affectionately, stepping back into his hallway and letting Ellie finally cross the threshold to drop his bag like an anchor in the flat. It’s the physical manifestation of the burden finally being lifted off of him, the guilt and the regret melting away in favour of the flutter of his heart and a few small sparks that he wants to put in resin. “I get to choose the film later as reparations. Don’t trust you since you made us watch Cat In The Hat.”

Ellie gives a shocked gasp, genuinely offended. “It’s good!”

“Is it fuck. In fact, just for that I’m going to make you sit through something sci-fi and geeky and you’re gonna hate it,” Lawrence smiles with genuine glee, and Ellie can’t even bring himself to be mad about it. As the pair of them walk through to the living room, Lawrence jumps onto the sofa and fixes Ellie with a look that is clearly meant to be serious but that simultaneously Lawrence can’t commit to and Ellie can’t believe. “You’re sleeping here tonight, by the way.”

Ellie raises his eyebrows as he fakes his agreement, going along with the charade Lawrence is beginning. They both know they’ll end up curled up together on the sofa with neither of them having an explanation for how it’s happened, but at the same time knowing they don’t have to explain themselves. They know that Ellie will end up falling asleep slumped against Lawrence and that he’ll have to gently shake him awake, that he’ll wordlessly offer Ellie a hand to drag him off the couch with and that they’ll go through to Lawrence’s room like always. They know that they’ll wake up tangled together like the sheets and that Ellie will be there for him, that he’ll help Lawrence piece himself back together and they’ll go back to the start. Well, maybe not the start. Perhaps somewhere better.

Ellie keeps his friends close, but Lawrence is something a little bit more. Something a little bit closer.

Baby, you’re my enemy.

[demon-winchester]

Tremors Behind The Veil Chapter 6

-Chapter 6- I entered the subway station... I did my research and apparently the safehouse was quite a bit closer using the subway than just walking. I finally reached the place but the door was nowhere to be found...A blank wall with some latin inscribed to it "Invented ad guy quis nulla" and I ran it through a translate app, it meant "to the guy who invented zero". What could she mean by that...I guess I can't ask her but maybe Lydia can provide me some insight. 

I started dialing up the numbers. "Well hello, that was fast" she answered her phone. "Yeah... I ran into a problem and maybe your unlimited brilliance can help me" I replied. "Oh, you're making me blush....Don't be sarcastic just tell me what you need help with" she said and i could imagine her smiling from the tone of her voice. "Alright so, does the sentence "To the guy who invented zero" mean anything to you?" I continued. "Ummmmm I can't say it does" she answered confused. "Nothing at all?" i kept asking. "Well no genius it's literally a random sentence for me" she chuckled. "Alrighty then, well, thanks for nothing" and as i said that a door started appearing and I started laughing. "What happened?" Lydia asked. "This bitch used a pun to keep her entrance shut....To the guy who invented zero, thanks for nothing." i answered basically on the floor laughing about the situation and i was CERTAIN that Lydia was rolling her eyes. "Okay, I will have to let you go now, I have some research I need to do...maybe we'll talk later" I continued. "Alright, ciao" she said and we closed the call. Now then...time to find Touch, Lien HQ and Red Tiger. After a couple of hours of research I came to a conclusion...Finding a shapeshifter would be really time draining, demons sound like a tough foe at this time so vampires it is. I'll sleep for a couple of hours and then time to head to Touch! I set up an alarm for three hours, I put on some music *Wasteland by Neoni starts playing*, I laid down on the couch and i started drifting away. I suddenly woke up in a strange city. 

There was nobody around me, it felt desolated, the buildings were almost destroyed and the place was covered with sand...it reminded me of the desert i thought. I looked around and I saw a woman standing behind me. It was Circe, the dream version of her. I approached. "I guess your help is needed again"she smiled. "We need to start meeting under better circumstances" i smirked. "That is quite true Aiden" she answered, "I believe you chose Touch....That was quite the decision, Sylvia will tell you what you need to know and it's time for you to leave i believe" she concluded and the alarm started ringing. I got up, I took a bath and i started getting ready. Black boots,black jeans,dark red shirt,grey jacket,earrings, rings, chain and i was ready to go. Suddenly the phone started ringing and it was Lydia. "Hey, watch up" i said answering the phone. "Sup dude, what is your superhero ass doing" she said snarkily. "Oh shut up" I replied "Just getting ready to go to a club". "Ohhh spicy...I didnt know the job description had partying" she said. "Yeah of course.... You know i hate these places, you dont have to be an ass about it" I said laughing it off. "So tell me, how come you go then?" she asked. "I mean, i am still searching for Circe..plus i need my sword back if I am to have a chance." i answered. "Okay wait for me, im coming with you" she said. "Oh stay where you are love, you aint coming with me, shit could get really bad really fast" i said to her with a watchfull tone. "And that's exactly why i'm coming, you need support from a friend when shit gets down" she pridfully replied. "No offence but if something bad happens the only friend i need is a fucking nuke so sorry not sorry, you're staying where you are" i said. "You know how much i hate you sometimes don't you?" she complained. "Well let me prove you otherwise, let's say i owe you a coffee..how does that sound?" I teased her. "Just that?...No deal, you still suck" she chuckled. "A coffee aaaand i'll have you on comms while i go to the club...i could really use a friend on a sucky place" i said wih a small smile. "It's Saturday night and you think i'll stand by on comms and keep you company?.... You are absolutely right" she replied and i could almost see her smile. "Fantastic just an fyi though, since it's kind of undercover i won't be able to answer you every time...just so you wont get worried"i said. "Alright" she replied. It was time to go. "Let's find Sylvia" i thought to myself while passing by the bouncer and he didn't seem amused. I was walking down the corridor, it was like a small tunnel leading to the entrance. The walls had some kind of fur, people leaning on them, some laughing, some puking, some staring. Purple and pink lamps lit the whole place and they made it feel like a fever dream. "These are going to be a bitch to walk through while drunk" I uttered silently. Following the music i arrived to the main room opening the doors.The room was gigantic. Glass panels were on the roof, cages with dancers inside them and a door on the other side of the room,the boss's room I thought. People were dancing, drinking and having fun... these places were never my kind of thing. I sat on the bar and I ordered a red wine. " A wine on a club....either a meeting or you're just boring" said the barwoman handing me my glass. "Maybe both, maybe neither" i said taking a sip. "So tell me what else do you do except pouring drinks and judging people darling." I continued. "ohhh the barwoman....spicy" Lydia said through the comms. "A man being just a bit of an asshole and not a full fledged one, a rare kind these days but nevertheless don't try hitting on the barwoman, you never know what she'll pour on your drink kid" said the barwoman with a wink. "I dont mix bussiness with pleasure unfortunately" i said. "Are you sure unfortunately is the right word?" the barwoman said interrupting me. "Ouchhh ruthless but i'll let it pass. Tell me though, do you know a woman called Sylvia? I heard she's running this place" i continued. "And who wants to talk to her?" said the barwoman. "Circe" I replied. "You don't really seem like a Circe but you do you, i'll go get her for you" the barwoman said smiling and she started leaving. " So, is hitting on the barwoman part of the undercover mission?" Lydia said. "Well no but if you form a small connection with a person, even someone who doesnt know your name, they are more likely to help you." i answered taking a sip of the wine. "I am so fucking sure you drank a bit of wine after saying that just too feel smart" Lydia said annoyed and I almost chocked from laughing. "Okay shhhhh i think she's coming" i said wiping wine of my face. "Oh you sir are not Circe" said the woman.  

"Hello. sorry for using this name but i need to talk to you...somewhere more privately" i said in an apologetic tone. "Haha, no" she groaned. "Im sorry, what?" i asked. "What you just heard. You think you can barge in here and use her name?!" she said. With that she extended her arm, she hit me on my chest and I was now put up against the wall with the drinks. You could hear the shattering of the bottles and the whole place smelled of expensive vodka. I tried to move her hand but she was still keeping me there. She started hitting me again and again. "Why" was all I could mutter through the hits. "Why?!?!?!" she asked angry. "You barge in my club uninvited and you refer to yourself as Circe. You degenerate, you should've known what using this name in here would've caused you! ". She dropped me down and I could hear Lydia talking worried through the comms. "And who is your little friend talking to you." Sylvia continued. She took the Bluetooth out of my ear and she continued hitting me. "You leave her out of this" I screamed and she started laughing while kicking me in the face. "You dare talk to me like that inside my own domain you filth! I am the queen of the vampires and when I talk you bow! Now it's time to find your friend...." she said. I couldn't let this happen. I summoned my armor, I was still wounded wearing it but I had no choice. "Ugh, i never liked reapers... I knew that horrid musk was coming from you, I could smell you before you entered." she groaned. "Ohhh and I just had a bath before coming here... I'm gonna write a strongly worded email to the shampoo company" I said spilling while blood and looking at her with a smile. "We have a witty one today...They tend to taste a bit bitter. So you think you're funny?" she said. "What can I say, a jester fit for a queen" I continued with a stupid grin. And with that she kicked me on the stomach, at this point I could taste my own blood. "You'll show respect when I talk to you!" she yelled and she continued hitting me. "I'll break you tonight and I'll wipe that stupid smile off your face even if I have to sew your mouth shut" she continued with an evil grin. She grabbed me by the neck and she held me up."TURN OFF THE MUSIC" she yelled, silence befell the room and everyone was looking at her "THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS TO ANYONE WHO DISRESPECTS ME!" she screamed and you could see all the people saying "yes miss" with fangs in their mouths. I walked right into a nest. Circe had told me that but I thought normal humans would be among them.How many people are actually Accursed..... Suddenly one of the bouncers opened the doors, wounded and horror itself swam throughout his eyes. A black whip emerged from behind him, wrapping him and dragging him right before our eyes... His screams suddenly stopped.

[lostandundead]

Chapter 23: Macros Rosales in New Katazonia

Macros led the three down an alleyway that eventually led to what seemed to be an abandoned warehouse. Opening what seemed to be a window, he hopped inside, the others following behind. There were several large shipping containers of varying colors. From what they could see, it seemed like one of them had been turned into a bedroom of sorts while another seemed to contain supplies.

They stopped in front of a blue shipping container, to which Macros opened the doors. Inside were two mattresses along with a small wooden desk and a drawer. It was also as if it was prepared in the case that someone else came.

“Make yourselves at home.” He casually stated, “With those wanted posters up, it will be a while until Ya’ get out.”

“You saw that?!” Claudia fumed, obviously upset with that revelation.

“Listen, there are screens in every part of the city. It would be impossible for anyone to miss it!”

“Why I outta-!”

“Calm down everyone.” Cass stated, “I know we have a lot of questions, so we might as well answer them now.”

“I agree with her!” Macros proclaimed, “I honestly wanna know what ya’ did to get who is practically ruler of this place after ya.”

“Well I wanna know how this ‘New Katazonia’ came to be in the first place!” Claudia retorted.

“Then how about this? We take turns asking the other a question and they have to answer it truthfully. Deal?”

“Deal!”

The warehouse was silent for a few minutes, no one in the room knew what to say or where to start. Eventually, Macros broke the silence.

“So… I guess I will start. Why are ya’ three wanted? Ya don’t seem like the type to do anything bad.”

Claudia sighed, “Long story short, we teamed with Arctyle and an old fungus wizard, broke two chains which basically overthrew the leaders of the area, and now we are trying to destroy the other chains because a megalomaniac clown wants to combine the real world with the fantasy realm.”

“… Sounds fake but okay.” Marcos joked.

“Well, what about you? What happened here and what are you doing here?”

Macros’ expression suddenly changed from a smirk to one of sorrow as he looked down at his shoes.

“I came to Las Vegas with two of my friends for vacation. We were hoping to celebrate one of their birthdays here. The day after the birthday party, we all walked down the strip, debating on where to eat. Suddenly, seven brightly colored chains appeared, one of them just nearby us.

“The next thing I heard was screaming. People were running down the streets in fear, as if they were trying to get away from something. I didn’t realize what it was they were running from until I caught a glimpse of them. Strange creatures that seem like something you would see from a fairytale. I didn’t know what to do.

“My friends, being as bold as they were, attempted to fight against one of them together. I warned them that they should get away and how we didn’t know what they were capable of. They went on ahead anyways. They both managed to land a punch and kick on them. However, they didn’t even flinch at all. That was when I realized that we couldn’t defeat them. We couldn’t hurt them. We couldn’t even fight back.

“The same creature got a hold of one of my friends and dragged him away. My friend looked at us and shouted at us to get away as fast as we could. Hearing this, I quickly ran to my other friend, grabbed him by the arm, and ran with him, away from the creature. We went through the streets, the creatures chasing us along the way, an announcement blaring through the streets.

“The person behind it said, “Greetings, humans of the real world. I am the queen of the fantasy realm, Jester Acehearts! If you are wondering what is happening, don’t worry! No harm will come to you… well, at least most of you. We will not tolerate anyone standing in our way! Those who do will be taken care of. Please do not retaliate and accept this new era. My seven generals will make sure everything is in line and that their assigned area prospers. That's it for now. Welcome to the new age!

“We kept on running. Real world? Fantasy realm? None of it made any sense. Eventually, we reached a stone wall and with a boost from my friend, I managed to get over it. I grabbed his hands and attempted to pull him over the wall as well. However, the creatures caught up to us, ran towards us and grabbed him by the legs. I held on as I already lost one friend and I wasn’t about to lose another.

“We spent several minutes playing tug-of-war when he looked at me and told me to ‘stay safe and don’t worry about me’. Then… he let go.

“I fell to the ground, forcing myself up as I heard him getting dragged away. I needed to leave the area before I possibly got captured too. Soon, I found this place and set up a base here. From what I learned, anyone who fought back or retaliated against this so-called ‘Jester Acehearts’ were incarcerated for a certain amount of time while the others either became citizens of New Katazonia and other cities around the globe or joined her cause. Honestly, I am not sure if this is the same everywhere.

“The reason why I am not a citizen is because I actively try to break people out and mess with any tools or machines that they might be using. I just want my friends and family back. I admit that the world isn’t perfect but it’s better than being invaded by another world we didn’t know existed whose ruler would eliminate anyone who stood against them. So yeah, that is my story.”

The room was silent for a minute. The atmosphere was heavy and uncomfortable. No one knew what to say. No one but Claudia.

“I am sorry for your loss.” She stated, “I didn’t know-“

“Don’t worry about it.” He interrupted, “I think I said too much and need a break. If you need me, I will be in the red shipping container. There is food and supplies in the green one. Take some time to rest, okay?”

And with that, Marcos Rosales left the three alone.

[gryffindorcls]

Meant To Be:  Chapter 4 (Your Voice)

IT’S DAY FOUR OF LOVESQUARE FLUFF WEEK 2020!!!

(I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m a day behind.  Thanks for your patience!) Thank you @lovesquarefluffweek​ for organizing this event!

Welcome back!  Today’s prompt is “Your Voice”.

This chapter is a song fic.  I used the song “Runnin’ Home to You” from the musical episode of “The Flash”.  You can listen to it on Spotify here.

I also collabed with @flashflashitsash!  She made some STUNNING art for this chapter.  You can find it here.

Enjoy!

—

BEGINNING

<— Previous    Next —->

AO3

FanFiction

Chapter 4: Your Voice

With the tape measure in hand, Adrien stood at the other end of the table and kept his eyes glued on Marinette. His heart melted when he saw her stick out her tongue while trying to get an accurate measurement. After they finished, she smiled and bounced on the balls of her feet, causing Adrien to nearly combust.

While he watched her write down the measurements on a piece of paper, his mind began to wander. “She’s always been beautiful, but my lady is the only one who’s ever made me feel this way. What changed? Why now?”

“Adrien?” Marinette said, cutting through the haze in his brain, “Are you okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah, why?”

“You looked kind of out of it for a second there.”

“Oh, I was just...thinking.”

“Cool! I do that sometimes...ugh...wait, that was probably the dumbest thing I could have said.” She shoved the paper with the measurements into her purse. “Please just ignore me.”

“She’s adorable. Maybe Plagg is right. The heart wants what the heart wants.”

He took a step toward her. “I don’t think I could if I tried. If anything, I think I’m finally seeing you for all that you are.”

“No! What are you doing, Adrien? What about Ladybug?”

She squeaked. “Oh! I...um...d-do you see what you like? I mean...like what you see?”

“Marinette, I think I always have,” he said without thinking.

“Maybe my heart wants her.”

Marinette’s face turned bright red, and her eyes grew wide. “School...us...go?

Adrien held out his arm for her to take. “Shall we?”

“Mmmhmm.” She tentatively took his arm.

An explosion of warmth radiated throughout his body when she finally hugged his arm against her chest. For a brief and fleeting moment, all of the confusion from before melted away.

It felt familiar.

It felt safe.

It felt right.

Like the moment they’d shared in the classroom earlier that day, Adrien was struck by the strength of his feelings for Marinette. Just as he was about to let himself completely fall for her, visions of Ladybug flashed across his mind. His arms tensed involuntarily while he let out a frustrated huff.

“Is everything alright?” she asked quietly.

“Um, yeah.” He scrambled to find an answer. “I...uhh...just remembered that I have to go home before I go back to the school.”

“Oh, I can walk with you!”

“But you live right here. I don’t want you to go out of your way.”

“I don’t mind. Honestly, before I met up with you, my plan was just to go back to my room and watch YouTube videos. It’s a beautiful day, and I’d love the company.”

Adrien’s pulled his hood over his head. “You mean, you wouldn’t mind walking with someone who has to hide their identity from nosy fans?”

She giggled and pulled the strings on his sweatshirt, cinching the hood around his face. “Nope. I wouldn’t even mind if you were wearing a mask. I’d still hang out with you.”

He loosened the hood and met her gaze. “Wait...really?”

“Of course. You’re still you, no matter what you’re wearing.”

“Sounds like you have experience.”

She turned her head and coughed. “Uhhh...no m-more than you!”

“It’s getting awkward,” his mind yelled, “Change the subject!”

He tapped his chin. “I wonder if Ladybug and Chat Noir act differently when they’re civilians. Being able to hide your identity like that must give them the freedom to do things they can’t usually do.”

“No, Adrien, what are you doing?”

“Well,” Marinette began, “everyone has a tendency to act differently when they’re in different situations. It’s probably the same for Ladybug and Chat Noir. For example, I can’t imagine civilian Ladybug doing half the things she does when she’s transformed.”

“You just said that a person is still themselves no matter what they’re wearing, so even if she’s not swinging between buildings every second of the day, I’m sure she’s still brave, selfless, and creative. I bet she’s an everyday Ladybug...just like you.”

Marinette took a sharp intake of breath. “We are going to run out of time if we don’t get going.”

Adrien pulled out his phone and looked at the screen. “Yikes, you’re right. We only have an hour. Let’s go.”

As the duo made their way to the Agreste Mansion, they chatted about school, video games, and their hobbies. Even though Adrien did his best to stay away from topics that had to do with Ladybug and Chat Noir, he couldn’t help but hear his lady in Marinette’s voice. He found it amazing how both girls sounded so similar.

“I must have a really specific type,” Adrien mused inside his head.

“Hey Marinette,” he said, stopping at the wall behind his house, “why don’t we talk more? I love hearing what you have to say.”

She looked to the side and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Well, we usually don’t get the chance to hang out alone with each other. Most of the time we’re with Alya and Nino. And then you weren’t there for a while because you were with…”

“Kagami?”

“Yeah. I heard about you two breaking up. I’m sorry things didn’t work out.”

“It’s for the best. We were too alike.”

She let go of his arm. “Oh?”

He took a step back. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, sorry!” she said quickly, waving her hands in front of her, “It’s just that a friend of mine said the same thing to me last night. You remind me a lot of him actually.”

“That’s interesting. You remind me of someone I know, too.”

She smiled. “What a funny coincidence!”

He nodded. “I guess you and I just have certain qualities that we look for in friends.”

“At least you don’t pun as much as he does.”

“I hate to tell you this, but I love puns.”

“You do?” Marinette laughed. “Oh, no!”

He feigned mock hurt. “Excuse me, but I think you’ll find that my jokes are quite claw-some. Why even the Queen of England liked my puns when I went to the royal wedding.”

“You told puns to the Queen? Look, I’m not against puns, they’re fine. My dad uses them, but my friend has terrible timing. I hope yours is better, Prince Charming.”

“Oh, so, I’m a prince now?”

“Only a prince could tell puns to the Queen and live to tell the tale.”

“And how would you know that? Are you a princess?”

“I’m not royalty.”

“You could be.”

“I’m just a baker’s daughter. I’m not special.”

Adrien leaned in. “Yes, you are. You’re purr-fect.”

Placing her index finger on the tip of his nose, she pushed him away. “I take back what I said before. You’re not a prince. You’re just a trusted knight who learned one too many jokes from the court jester.”

He took her hands in his. “What if I was both?”

She let go of one of his hands and ran her thumb across his cheek. “That sure would make things easier.”

He cleared his throat, let go of her other hand, and pointed to the grate on his wall. “Oh, um...we’re here, by the way.”

“Adrien, this is the back of your house.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Can you not walk in the front door?”

“No, I snuck out.”

“Oh.”

“But I’m going to go back in and try to convince Nathalie to let me walk with you to school. I think she’ll say yes. Wait for me out front, and I’ll text you if I get permission.”

She shook her head and laughed. “I guess this is where I wish you good luck?”

Adrien patted his bag. “I still carry around my Marinette lucky charm wherever I go, so I have all the luck I need!”

“You do?”

“Of course, it’s one of my most prized possessions.”

“I still have yours. It’s in a special place in my room.”

Adrien felt Plagg poke his stomach from inside his sweatshirt. When he reached inside of his pocket to make him stop, his Kwami shoved his phone into his hand.

He pulled out the phone and looked at the time. “Yikes! We only have a half-hour left. I gotta get going. Hopefully, I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

“See you soon!” She waved and made her way down the sidewalk.

Once Marinette had turned the corner, Adrien knelt down, removed the bars from the grate, and shimmied through the small opening. He ran across the garden, climbed through the window, hopped into the bathroom, and snuck back to his room.

“I guess you’re no longer in love with Ladybug.” Plagg zipped out of the sweatshirt pocket.

Adrien sighed. “I don’t know. Marinette and Ladybug are so alike. I have no idea how to choose, but at least I took your advice. She and I are going to hang out after school today.”

“Good, but what about the food you promised me.”

“Marinette’s family owns a bakery. I’ll buy you something there.”

Adrien grabbed his books, shoved them into his bag, and made his way to Nathalie’s desk.

“Yes, Adrien,” the assistant said before he could announce his presence, “What do you need?”

He fiddled with the strap on his bag. “I was wondering if I could walk to school with my friend Marinette. It’s such a nice day, and it’s not that far.”

“You know your father doesn’t like it when you’re not with your bodyguard.”

“Please, Nathalie? She’s waiting outside the front gate, and I don’t want her to have to walk back on her own.”

“Fine, but you two won’t be walking. She will come with you in the car.”

While it wasn’t what he wanted, he knew arguing wouldn’t help. “Okay.”

She pushed up her glasses with her index finger. “Is there something else you need?”

“Could I hang out with Marinette after school? It’s Friday, and I’m done with almost all my homework for the weekend.”

“You have a photoshoot in the morning.”

“I won’t be out late. I promise.”

Without responding, Nathalie stood up and walked into his father’s office. When she returned, she sat down at her desk and started typing.

“You have until seven o’clock,” she said without looking up from her computer.

A surge of excitement flooded his brain. “Thank you!”

He pulled out his phone, texted Marinette, and ran outside. When he got there, his bodyguard was opening the car door for his classmate. He quickly hopped into the other side of the vehicle.

“Sorry, we’re not walking, but this was the best I could do,” he said with a shrug.

She buckled her seatbelt. “Compromise isn’t the worst thing in the world.”

“You’re right.”

“Besides, we are running out of time. We only have twenty minutes of our lunch break left.”

“We do? I was hoping to buy something from the bakery before we headed back to class.”

“Did you not eat?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“I have to stop by my place anyway to grab my backpack and give my dad these measurements. Come in with me, and I’ll have my mom give you something from the bakery.”

“I have money.”

She crossed her arms. “And it will be useless in our store. My parents are always forcing food on my friends, and my mom would be more than happy to give you something.”

“Your parents are awesome,” he said, feeling a pang of jealousy in his gut.

“They are. They’re a little nosy, but they’re great. My parents treat all my friends like family. You know you’re welcome to come over whenever you want, right?”

“I am?”

“Yeah, I have friends over all the time.”

“That would be amazing.”

The car pulled up to the bakery, and both teens hopped out. They were greeted by two smiling faces when they walked through the door.

“Hello, Adrien!” Sabine greeted cheerfully.

“Sorry it took me so long to get the measurements.” Marinette handed the paper to her father. “I ran into Adrien, and we started talking.”

“That’s fine, sweetheart.”

“Maman, would it be okay if I grabbed a few croissants. Adrien didn’t eat any lunch.”

Marinette’s mother gasped. “Well, that won’t do! Come here, my dear, and we’ll pick out a few things.”

Adrien didn’t try to contain his excitement. “Thanks, Mrs. Cheng!”

“Anytime.”

While he looked at the case of treats, Marinette’s father spoke to her with a booming voice. “I know it’s short notice, but I’m going to need you to help me with setting up over at the venue tonight.”

“But, papa, Adrien wanted to hang out with me after school.” Marinette drooped.

Adrien couldn’t stand to see her looking upset. “I can help out if you want.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to,” she said sadly, “We can hang out another time.”

“No, I insist. If I go home, I’d just sit around watching YouTube videos all night.”

“Okay. Thank you, Prince Charming.” She said with a curtsey.

He laughed and bowed. “Anything for you, Princess.”

***

Once again, Marinette found it impossible to focus in class. She spent the rest of the school day daydreaming of blond boys in disguise.

Nothing made sense anymore. Her heart felt like it was being stretched to opposite sides of the earth, and she didn’t know what to do.

Once school was finally over, she and Adrien made their way over to the bakery. They spent the next several hours carrying various items over to the venue. By the time they were finished, they were sweating and laughing. She never wanted their time together to end.

When Adrien finally left, Marinette sat alone with her thoughts. She did her best to focus on something other than her troubled heart, but memories of the time she spent with each boy continued to dance through her mind. She tried distracting herself by designing, watching videos, and working on homework, but nothing she did was able to calm her down. She felt restless.

Marinette climbed onto her balcony and allowed the cool breeze to caress her face. She closed her eyes and attempted to sort out her thoughts.

The time she’d spent with Adrien today was like a dream come true. It was everything that she’d ever wanted, and it seemed like he was starting to think of her as more than just a friend. At the same time, today made her realize that there were still so many things that she didn’t know about Adrien. It was as if there was a part of himself that he kept hidden from the world. The thought of getting to know that side of him excited her.

As her mind began to picture what a relationship with Adrien would look like, her thoughts wandered to Chat Noir. Last night had been proof that her love for him had always existed, and there was no question that he was deeply in love with her. However, she also knew that their job as superheroes would get in the way of them having a real relationship with each other.

“If only I knew Chat as a civilian, Tikki. That would make all of this so much easier,” she said, looking out at the Parisian skyline.

The tiny red being landed on Marinette’s shoulder. “Well, as the Guardian, you are more than welcome to…”

“Wait!” she exclaimed, cutting off her Kwami, “I think I hear something.”

Marinette closed her eyes and could just make out the faint sound of a piano playing in the distance. When her eyes landed on the park, she saw light pouring out of the gazebo in the middle of the venue.

“It’s Chat,” she whispered, “He came back, Tikki. I have to go see him!”

The kwami giggled. “Then go!”

“Tikki, SPOTS ON!” she yelled, letting the bright pink light wash over her.

She quickly unsheathed her yo-yo and swung down to the park. She landed inside the fenced-off area and quietly made her way to the gazebo. When she reached the decorated entranceway, she found Chat Noir playing the same song he’d played for her the night before.

“Hello, Chat.” She sat down next to him on the bench.

He stopped playing. “Good evening, Ladybug. It’s not a patrol night. Any purr-ticular reason you’re here?”

“I’ve had an interesting day, and I heard you playing. I was hoping you would let me listen to your song again.”

“Anything for you, my lady.”

“Thank you.”

He positioned his fingers on the keys, paused, and looked up. “Actually, I was wondering if you would indulge me for a moment.”

She nodded. “Uhh...sure?”

“There are words to the song, and I was hoping you would let me sing them for you.”

“You mean, it’s not just the melody?”

“Is it okay if I sing?”

“Oh, yes, I would love to hear the words.”

She rested her head on his shoulder, and he simply smiled and turned his attention towards the keys. When he played the first chord, her heart soared.

And then he began to sing.

“Can't say how the days will unfold,

Can't change what the future may hold.

But, I want you in it.

Every hour, every minute.”

Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. She could feel the ache in his heart, and she suddenly longed to hold him and never let him go.

“This world can race by far too fast.

Hard to see while it's all flying past,

But it's clear now,

When you're standing here now.

I am meant to be wherever you are next to me.”

The depth of his love struck her soul. It was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.

“All I want to do

Is come running home to you,

Come running home to you.

And all my life I promise to

Keep running home to you.

Keep running home

To you.”

She tried to picture a relationship with Chat in their civilian lives. Ladybug did her best to remove the mask from his face, but to her despair, Adrien’s face popped into her mind, reminding her of the decision she had to make.

“And I could see it,

Right from the start,

Right from the start.

That you would be

Be my light in the dark,

Light in the dark.

Oh, you gave me no other choice

But to love you.”

She was hopelessly in love with both of them, and she had no idea what to do. Tears began to flow freely down her cheeks.

“All I want to do

Is come running home to you,

Come running home to you.

And all my life I promise to

Keep running home to you,

Keep running home,

Home to you.

Can't say how the days will unfold.

Can't change what the future may hold.

But, I want you in it,

Every hour, every minute.”

When the last note faded away, they sat in a comfortable silence. They didn’t move or speak for several minutes.

She sniffled. “Thank you, Chaton.”

“No.” He shook his head. “Thank you for letting me sing.”

“It was beautiful.” She got off of the piano bench and clutched her yo-yo in her hands. “I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow for patrol.”

Chat kept his eyes glued on the keys. “I’ll see you tomorrow, my lady.”

She threw her yo-yo and vaulted into the night. When she landed on her balcony, she detransformed, collapsed into a heap, and sobbed.

“Why couldn’t they be the same person?” she thought, before a pair of strong, familiar arms gently wrapped themselves around her.