#stop i’m actually so scared. damn wardens

[arcanegalaxy]

if i keep telling myself that rook and davrin can have a happy ending together (with assan) maybe it will end up being true

[redorich]

May I request the aftermath of Cleo learning about the magic restrictions please and thank you.

The unfortunate thing about the Dream SMP is that there is no such thing as neutral ground. Everyone's in a faction, and everyone's got beef with everyone else. The only "neutral ground" is the unsettled wilds. When Philza reports this back to Cleo, who reports it back to Xisuma, Cleo wears a put-upon look and says that her and Joe's castle will do just fine, thank you, so stop worrying about it.

The day of the meeting comes, and though Philza is hesitant to return to the castle that scared Techno half to death and activated Ranboo's main character energy, he didn't spend all that time with Cleo handing out the invitations for nothing. Cleo herself won't be present, but her partner in crime Joe will be.

Inside the castle, past the courtyard teeming with armor stand faux-life, there is a meeting room with a table. There are exits on each of the four walls, so no one feels trapped, and the table is circular so that no one feels less important than anyone else. It's all a very Socratic setup.

At the far end of the room, where the head of the table would be were it rectangular, Xisuma sits calm as can be despite the powder keg of important people with grudges he's invited into his presence. On his right is Joe, whose eyes are lit up bright white, though he's still wearing his glasses. To Xisuma's left is Grian, and to Grian's left is Doc. Continuing around the table, next sits Eret representing the Pride Palace and, to a lesser extent, the Dream SMP as a whole. After them, the next person is Philza representing the Syndicate, then Bad representing the Eggpire.

Given the antagonistic nature of the Eggpire, Bad's neighbors have been chosen very carefully; on his other side sits Ghostbur representing L'Manberg. (Philza had awkwardly told Cleo that inviting a L'Manberg representative wasn't necessary, since the place was gone, but she insisted that it was "the principle of the matter". Ghostbur seems happy enough to be invited, anyway.)

On Ghostbur's left, Sam attends on Dream's behalf. Obviously, no one is going to invite Dream, and as Dream's would-be warden, Sam was nominated to attend in his stead. Next to Sam there's an empty chair for George; Philza and Puffy both warned the Hermits that George was allergic to "lore", whatever that meant, but his place at the table was set nevertheless.

The last person to fill in the table is Tubbo, representing Snowchester. He quietly expresses to Sam that he's wary about how few Hermits there are in proportion to the number of Dream SMP citizens. Sam shrugs, and murmurs back to Tubbo that there's probably more Hermits hiding somewhere nearby. After all, isn't that what the Hermits do?

Xisuma claps his hands together once in a polite bid for everyone's attention. They settle down slowly, and once they do, he stands.

"Right, everyone-- thank you all for coming. Let's get right into it, shall we?" He smiles, though it's hard to see beneath the helmet. "With some help from Puffy and Philza, my friends and I were able to figure out why we were trapped in your server."

Sam crosses his arms. He doesn't give much of a shit about the Hermits, he tells himself, unless they have something to do with Dream-- Sam's greatest failure. (It's a lie. He looks at Doc, the only other creeper-person he's ever met-- the first creeper-person, who fought a god and won the right to live for all mob hybrids who came after him. Doc, whose eyes are fixed solely on Xisuma.)

Clearing his throat to cover up the moment of weakness, Sam speaks up. "That's great and all, but why do we care? No one was living in L'Manberg anyway; it was practically free real estate."

The callous words net Sam a glare from Tubbo and a hurt look from Ghostbur. Before either can protest, Xisuma cuts in smoothly.

"It's an issue with your server," he says, "one that Dream should have fixed. It's the reason for this meeting, actually; if there was a responsible admin in the server, I would have just told them. First, a history lesson-- Doc, if you please?"

Doc nods somberly, savoring the opportunity to ham it up a bit. "For those of you who don't know, there are three Eras. The first is the beginning of time, when Mojang created the world as we know it. Players had infinite respawns, the world was less advanced, and redstone had just been created."

"Don't you think you're going a little too far back in history?" Bad asks skeptically.

"He's getting there," Eret defends.

Doc picks up where he left off. "In the Mojang pantheon, there was a god named Notch who wanted to expand the world's horizons, to give them new biomes and mechanics and blocks they'd never seen before... but you can't make something out of nothing. He needed magic to make his big updates a reality, and he stole it from the players behind the other gods' backs."

Ghostbur gasps, horrified. "He stole magic?"

"And so the gods killed him and gave the magic back, end of story," Sam snaps, then instantly regrets it. He's too on edge.

Thankfully, Doc either doesn't mind it or doesn't notice. "Not quite," he says. "When Notch took the magic from players, they lost the ability to respawn at all, marking the beginning of Era Two-- the Hardcore Era. When the gods found out, they were angry at Notch, so they exiled him to the Void. They tried to give players back their magic, but Notch had already taken too much, and servers and updates kept needing more and more... That's how Era Three started. It's the one you live in now, with the three life system."

"So... why does this matter?" Tubbo asks. "I mean, what does this have to do with why you're stuck in our server?"

"There's a parasite on your server, eating up all the magic," Xisuma says carefully. "Your server needed extra magic to keep up, so when we went through the infinity portal it grabbed us. As a group comprised mostly of Era One players, we have the magic that the server needs to compensate for the parasite."

Most of the Dream SMP citizens look either nauseous or extremely worried at the thought of a parasite. With a furrowed brow and a chewed lip, Eret breaks the silence.

"Do you know who it is?"

They all look around the table with wary gimlet eyes, attempting to suss out the imposter among them.

"A parasite..." Sam snorts derisively. "Sounds like that damn egg."

"Language," Bad snaps, but doesn't resort to violence.

"No no, he's got a point," Grian speaks for the first time. He'd been told to stay silent, but he's not a man who will ever pass up an opportunity to meme.

Bad's face falls, and he takes on a placating tone in an attempt to persuade the Hermits to his side. "Hey, don't be like that, the Egg's never done anything wrong!"

Sam's eyebrows raise practically to the ceiling. He looks at Bad in disbelief. "Never done anything wrong?" he says. "Remember when you--"

"That was me, not the Egg," Bad cuts in with a nervous laugh.

"You tried to kill Puffy over it, then killed Foolish instead," Philza says solely because he wants the Hermits to be mad about the Egg.

"Hm," Joe hums to himself. Up until this point the man everyone knows as Herobrine has been quiet, fading into the background, but now that he's made his presence known they can't help but be wary.

He drums his fingers on the table. "Yeah, I think we need some backup. False, Iskall?"

"On it," Doc grumbles, and reaches under the table to flip a couple trapdoors.

Out of nowhere, as though they'd ender pearled in, a blonde woman and a cyborg man appear behind the Hermits' end of the table. Bad stands up suddenly, knocking his chair backward, but Doc presses another button and all four entrances to the room are shut by pistons.

The woman, False, vaults herself over the table with nothing but upper body strength and tackles Bad to the floor. While the demon is still stunned, Iskall dashes around the circumference of the table to flank him. Doc once again presses a button and the floor opens up to reveal a secret staircase, which False and Iskall drag Bad down kicking and screaming. Once they disappear into the depths of the basement, the floor closes back up and the doors reopen like nothing ever happened.

"Well," Xisuma says with a small smile, lacing his fingers together as he addresses the group.

They stare back at him in horror.

He clears his throat awkwardly. "So, with the removal of the Egg, your server will stabilize and we Hermits will be able to leave you in peace..."

"I'm sensing a but," Eret says tentatively. They take off their sunglasses with a minute sigh, reminding themself that it's because of these Hermits that their curse was removed, that they can take off their sunglasses and have gray eyes again.

Taking a deep breath, Xisuma speaks. "We think we have a way to fix the three-life system."

[tarosin]

did i do that p2

paring implied past platonic tommy/tubbo/ranboo x reader

tw: cursing, de realisation, mentions of suicide/death/paranoia

TW: de realisation, mentions of suicide/death/paranoia

Dear quackity,

if you’re reading this, it’s too late. you’ve probably noticed me and dream are nowhere to be found, you may ask yourself why did sam let the pair out well the answer to that is simple. he didn’t i’m sure you can find what remains of him somewhere around the prison. you really have yourself to blame, now before you start to get defensive and say ‘i didn’t do anything this is bullshit everyone’s trying to attack me’ let me tell you why. before you decided to give us weekly visits just to abuse us mentally and physically, we couldn’t stand each other. I’d go as far as to say I despised dream, but you helped unite us against a common enemy..you. now we’re unstoppable. I'll spare you the details of what happened to your precious warden. see you soon - Y/n + dream :)

“do you think he’ll be convinced we killed sam?”

“dream i’m in here for the murder of a child, of course he’s going to believe it.”

of course the pair of you didn’t actually kill sam, dream simply manipulated ranboo whilst he was enderwalking into bringing supplies you’d need. you have no idea how he managed, but at this point you didn’t care. you know damn well you shouldn’t be in this prison as you didn’t kill michael. you knew this because the ghost, at least you hope it’s his ghost and that your mind wasn’t messing with you, would stand in the corner of the cell telling you that it wasn’t you who murdered him that night. It was a range of factors: the skeletons, fear, pure exhaustion of trying to run from the mobs after him. you often found yourself ranting to dream about what you had been seeing every night for the past god knows how many months at this point, but alas it was no use. he swore he hadn’t seen anyone but you, occasionally sam, and quackity, definitely not the ghost of michael. It was now midnight according to the clock hanging on the wall. the plan was pretty simple, you would scream that dream had disappeared, causing sam to run into the cell, from then you’d use the rope ranboo gave dream to make temporary handcuffs, and whilst you all make your way to the locker room, where you’d temporarily keep sam assuming quackity would find him sooner or later, then that was it you’d finally be free.

“ready?” you nodded and dream hid in the corner, you couldn’t shake the feeling that you were being watched, but nevertheless you began screaming that dream disappeared, laughing to yourself as you heard the platform moving towards the cell.

“y/n calm down what do you mean- dream get off of me i don’t want to have to kill you but i will!”

dream rolled his eyes as you tied sams hands together.

“shut the fuck up sam, do you understand how pathetic you sound? you’re outnumbered you’re not going to do anything. if you know what’s good for you and your beloved quackity, you’ll tell us which pocket has your key cards in, okay?” this seemed to trigger something in sam as within 10 minutes you and dream had him in the locker room.

“bye sam, i’m sure your boyfriend will come and collect you soon enough, we left him a letter in the cell and a note from you where you always sit saying to just go on through, don’t miss us too much!”

there you both stood, in-front of the now locked locker room, no home, no friends, no plan, but you were free, that's all that matters to you.

“dream, i have something to ask, okay? promise no matter whatever happens, whether you don’t see me for weeks or you over hear something, you won’t come looking for me.“

“stay safe y/n, a lot of people aren’t going to be happy you’re out. whatever you do, avoid quackity.”

and just like that you went your separate ways, where dream went, you have no idea, you’ll probably hear something soon enough. as for you, well you didn’t really have a plan, you weren't really sure you wanted to be alive at this point. there was a little voice that sounded a lot like tommys ringing in your head, telling you to go to the old base you and tommy made years ago, so that’s where you went. you were clinging onto the hope tommy would be there and let you explain what happened that night, you’d make up then just like old times you’d plait his hair, as the pair of you sat under moonlight listening to whichever disk tommy felt like playing that night. this of course wasn’t the case, instead you were met with previous memories of your friendship. a photo book lay in the middle of the floor as if someone knew you escaped and would go to this base, you shut the door locking it behind you for your own safety, remembering what ranboo said to you the day you were thrown in the prison. picking up the photo book you noticed something odd, the words ‘i know what you did’ and ‘i know where you are’ were scratched into the leather cover. you threw the book onto the floor scared as hell. after you calmed down, you picked the book up from the floor, which was now open on the page of a group photo of you tommy and michael, which ranboo had taken the day you both agreed to babysit him for a while. as you flicked through the book, the images got dark. It went from photos of you tubbo ranboo and tommy laughing at the beach to the night michael was killed. the last page made your blood run cold, there was two photos, one was of michaels funeral, and the second was a picture of you sat in the middle of the base holding the photo book. this was the final straw. You were no longer in control of your breathing, you began feeling like you were being preyed on by something who really wasn’t happy with you and wanted you gone, you picked up the book one last time and everything was gone. the book was back to normal no threatening messages no pictures of michaels death or of you looking through the book, the cover was back to its original state full of happy memories of when you were friends with everyone, back when you were happy.

“hello y/n.”the rooms temperature dropped suddenly you began feeling like you were being watched, you turned around to see michael sat on the floor holding a photo book a lot like the one that caused you to panic.

“hey y/n why are my parents acting like they can’t see me anymore? this isn’t funny anymore, i miss them. can you talk to them?”

“michael... this isn’t real. you’re not real. GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”

everything went silent as if the world stopped turning for a few seconds, that’s when you heard the child laughing.

“what do you mean i’m not real? of course i am!”

“michael darling, you're dead remember, we spoke about this in prison. the skeletons shot you in the nether”

you continued talking to michael, not even realising ranboo had followed you to the base and was watching you talk to the wall.

“who are you talking to?”

you honestly didn’t know whether you felt relieved he was there with you or if you were pissed he found you, either way you ran to him pulling him into a hug despite him constantly telling you to let go of him.

“michael, he’s over there.”

“Is this some sick joke? There's no one there. he’s dead. you killed him!”

“ranboo please.. you, you don’t understand i didn’t kill him. please just let me explain what happened. he was surrounded by skeletons. they shot him please, you have to understand I loved that boy, I still do, I would never do something like that!”

“save it y/n, i don’t want to hear it now if you don’t mind i’m going to go tell sam that you have somehow escaped.”

you fell to your knees as ranboo walked away, you sat alone with the quiet comprehension of the ending of it all before realising if someone comes back you would be in big trouble, just before you was about to begin the long walk back to dream he showed up to the base you were currently crying in, not knowing tubbo and ranboo were not far behind him listening in to your conversation with dream.

“dream please i’m begging at this point. Please end my suffering. I can't do this anymore, no one’s listening to me. I CAN'T KEEP LIVING LIKE THIS! there’s a bow and arrow in that chest over there.”

“y/n, this isn’t a funny joke.”

“dream, do i look like i’m joking?”

“y/n..”

“hey, what can you say? we were overdue.”

tubbo and ranboo couldn’t believe what they were hearing right now, their best friend was about to die and there was nothing they could do about it. as soon as they heard dream open the chest, they ran as fast as they could to go and get tommy.

dream left straight away, it was hard to feel regret when you’re used to bloodshed. tommy couldn’t believe what tubbo and ranboo said and was convinced they were messing with him.

“Oh, I'm sure they did. how’d they get out the prison? did they fly out?”

he stood laughing, tubbo stood staring in disbelief, ranboo stood wiping his eyes trying not to cry knowing it would scar if he did. tubbo shook his head and grabbed his husbands hand for comfort.

“you’re really joking at a time like this?”

“we should tell phil.”

the three of them made their way to phil, guilt following them as they went they couldn’t believe what just happened. after they told phil, they all made their way to the base. as soon as the three teenagers saw the trail of blood dream left behind, they completely broke down and began walking, holding onto each other in an attempt to convince themselves this didn’t happen, and that you would be there. phil went in and saw your lifeless body laying there, knowing the others wouldn’t be able to handle seeing you like this, he sent them away to go and get technoblade. A few days later they found themselves sitting with puffy explaining what happened and what you had told them. realisation slowly hit them that you did in fact not kill michael, they felt awful the three of them couldn’t sleep since the day you passed. after the funeral, they often found themselves at your house as it was the only place that they could sleep and feel as though you were still with them. everyday they would visit your grave, placing anything they found that reminds them of you, and would apologise for not believing you sooner. now you were gone and there was nothing they could do about it.

tags:

@bozowrites

[ray-ray-writings]

Family Fatality-Awesamdude

Gn!reader x Sam x Son!Tommyinnit …. It be angsty and sad with a happy ending. Also, does not follow what actually happened in the lore!

Small note: I think this is the last fic I’m going to write in first person. I think a lot of people enjoy the use of second person more and it’s also a bit easier for me to write in second person. The only reason that this fic is written in first is because it’s a part two and I want to keep it consistent. If you have thoughts about this, feel free to message me!!

Part One: Family Matters.

Check out my masterlist here

Y/N believed it was a bad idea from the beginning. Call it parental instincts. But unfortunately no one believed them… until it was too late. 

Y/N’s POV

I knew it was a bad idea. 

I should have listened to my gut. 

Tommy should have listened.

Sam should have listened. 

We should have known better. 

When Tommy told Sam and me that he wanted to visit Dream in prison, I instantly said no. That boy had been through so much trauma and manipulation because of that green wearing bastard, I didn’t want Dream to ever be able to see Tommy again. 

Sam was more into it. It was less of wanting Tommy to be able to see Dream and more he wanted an opportunity to show Tommy the prison. But he was for it. Sure he knew what Dream did to Tommy and hated the blond for it, but he also understood Tommy’s desire to see him. 

We told Tommy we would talk it over and let him know our decision.

I really didn’t want him to go. 

Sam talked me into it. 

That night after we put Tommy and Stella to sleep and crawled into our own bed, Sam began to explain his side further. He told me about how it might be nice for Tommy to get some closure. To be able to see Dream completely trapped in prison with no way out. It may help stop the nightmares.

That’s what convinced me in the end. 

As much as Tommy would try to tell us he was fine, his dreams told us otherwise. More often than not, we’d wake in the morning to find Tommy had crawled in bed between us or that he would be sitting in the rocking chair in Stella’s room. He never told us exactly what would happen, but we could tell. 

I just wanted them to stop. I wanted my boy to be able to feel safe in this house. And if that was the only way to have it happen… I had to let it happen. 

Tommy was thrilled with our verdict. Threw his arms around us in a huge hug and kissed our cheeks. I did my best to put on a happy front, but it was difficult. Sam could tell. Tommy could tell. Heck, I’m sure that even baby Stella could tell. 

I was wrapped in another hug by Tommy and was pulled close to his chest while he buried his face in my hair. 

“I’ll be alright baba… I promise.” 

Liar. 

My stomach was in knots the day he went to the prison. I woke up with enough time to see them off. I gave both of them extremely tight hugs, forcing them to promise me they would be safe before sending them off, telling them to be back in time for dinner. 

I watched the two walk toward the horizon and stood there watching long after they disappeared from view. The thing that snapped me from my swell of anxiety and nerves was the sound of Stella crying. 

I immediately jumped into action, closing the door and rushing toward her room. I carefully got her out of her crib and began our usual morning routine. “They’re going to be fine baby,” I cooed as I changed her, “They’re going to be just fine.” 

I knew she couldn’t understand me. I knew I was saying that more to try and convince myself of that. Thinking if I said it out loud it would make it true… it wasn’t true. 

The whole day I could help but worry. I tried to focus on Stella, on taking care of her, playing with her, making sure she was okay, but I found my thoughts drifting back to Tommy and Sam and the visit. I couldn’t help but wonder how it was going, if the two were safe. 

The pit in my stomach deepened when our usual dinner time rolled around and there was no sign of the boys. I tried to contact one of them via communicator, but no response. I wasn’t surprised. The prison was so heavy laced with obsidian it was nearly impossible to get a signal in there. I watched with a heavy heart and a knotted stomach as the sun sunk lower and lower into the sky and still, no boys. Stella’s bedtime came and I was forced to put her down alone, Sam and Tommy still nowhere to be found. 

I tried to remain calm. I sat on the couch and stared at the TV as a movie played. After a while, I realized my knee was bouncing like crazy and that I was halfway through the film but I had no idea what the hell was happening. I reached over and quickly shut off the TV. The black screen reflected the scene behind me, letting me see what was behind me.

I immediately jumped at the sight of my husband standing in the doorway behind me. My hand flew to my chest as my head whipped around to look at him. “Sam!” I exclaimed a bit breathless, using my free hand to push myself up from the couch to completely turn to him. “You scared me! I didn’t hear you come in!” 

Sam didn’t say anything. He only stared at me. That confused me. He usually rushes right for me, shouting hello, and wraps me in a hug and kisses me sweetly… Why is he just staring at me blankly? “Sam?” I questioned, taking a few steps forward toward him. He still didn’t move. Sam just stared. As I grew closer, I could see that his eyes were rimmed red and the usual light that filled his eyes was completely gone. It was really freaking me out. “What’s wrong?”

It was then I noticed that he had entered alone. Tommy hadn’t come in with him. That sent a fury of butterflies to stir in my stomach. “Sam? Where’s Tommy?” 

That was the question that broke the dam. 

I watched as Sam’s bottom lip began to quiver and a hushed sobbed echoed throughout the room. “I’m sorry,” Sam whimpered out, another sob escaping him. “I’m so sorry.” 

Sam’s legs seemed to give out from under him, causing me to rush forward as my husband fell to his knees. I sunk down to my knees and quickly cupped his face, gently tilting his head to look at me. 

Sobs were still falling from his lips as his eyes met mine. I rose my eyebrows at him, not wanting to rush him but still wanting to know what the hell was going on. I didn’t have to wait long for his gut wrenching words. 

“You were right.” 

It instantly clicked. I was right. That’s why Tommy wasn’t here. I was right. I was right to not want him to go. To not want him to see Dream. Something happened. Something bad happened. I was right. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I couldn’t stop him. I was too far. I failed him. I failed to protect him. I failed our son. He’s dead and it’s all my fault.” 

Time seemed to stop at Sam’s words. Sam kept babbling words out through his sobs, but I became unable to hear him any longer. A loud ringing filled my ears and I watched as my own vision blurred. 

He’s….

He’s dead….

Tommy…

Tommy is dead. 

Dream… Dream killed him. 

A gut wrenching sob ripped itself from your throat as you fully registered what your husband was telling you. Sam’s arms instantly reach out and wrap around you tightly, bringing you into his chest. Your hands fall from his cheeks onto his chest as you clutch his shirt, burying your face in him as you sob. 

You’re not sure how long you’re there, kneeling on the floor sobbing. Slowly, and I mean slowly, but surely, your sobs die down until the only noise filling the room are soft sniffles. 

“I was right,” you manage to croak out, pulling yourself away from your creeper hybrid husband to look up at him. 

“You were right,” Sam echos, moving one of his hands to cup your cheek and tilting his head down to rest his forehead on yours. 

You let out a watery laugh as you close your eyes tightly and relish in the gentle contact. 

“God. I have never wanted to be wrong more in my entire life… I wish I wasn’t right.” 

The next few days passed slowly. The sky seemed to be constantly dark and everything seemed gloomy. Even Stella was more somber, as if she could tell something was wrong. And she probably could. She had gone from spending almost every second with her older brother to not seeing him for days on end in the blink of an eye. 

Sam still had to work. He had to force himself to go back to that damned prison with that bastard and listen to his taunting laughter through the cameras as he mocks the Warden’s pain. It takes everything in Sam to hold back and not barge into the cell and kill Dream himself. He knew that wouldn’t bring back Tommy and wouldn’t make him feel better, but even still. 

The house seemed so quiet. Even with Stella babbling and cooing, the rooms had never felt more quiet and empty. I found myself searching for Tommy’s voice, his laughter, his whole presence everyday only to be disappointed when my search came up empty. I tried to play some of his favorite music discs, but tears would fill my eyes as I realized I would never hear him sing along to them and the silence that would have usually been filled by him babbling about the disc was too deafening for me to want to listen to them again. 

The worst part, I found, was when Sam would get home. I was always happy to have my husband back. Always more than willing to hug and kiss him in a greeting. A welcome home. But everyday, I’d try to turn to greet Tommy two. I would be waiting for two blonds to appear in my home, even though I knew only one would be home. My heart would break over and over as I searched for the boy that I knew wouldn’t be there. 

I let out a sigh as I finished up the last dish I had prepared for dinner. Sam should be home from work any minute now. I set the table, thr-- two places and the food in the middle, Stella in her high chair. Now all there was to do was wait for Sam. 

As I finished up, I heard the front door open. “Honey! I’m home!” Sam’s voice called out. A soft smile placed itself on my lips as I turned around and made my way to the front door. 

“Hey honey welcome--” The sentence died on my lips as my eyes met what was at my front door. My husband had not come home alone. Instead of the one blond that I had seen come home day after day, had been joined by another blond. 

A familiar blond. 

The blond I had spent the last several days missing and mourning. 

Tommy. 

“Tommy?” My voice croaked as my eyes met his icy blue ones. 

Tears formed in the corner of his eyes as he gave me a soft smile, “Hi baba.” 

A sob let my lips as I raced forward and wrapped my arms around the middle of the boy I call my son. His arms immediately wrapped around me as he pulled me tightly to him. His face turned down and buried in my hair as I nuzzled into his chest. My fingers clutched at his shirt that rested on his back, trying to prove to myself that he was here. That Tommy was back and actually here. Here in the flesh. 

“How--How did you? Why are you? What the?” I babbled out, tilting my head up to try and look at him. 

“We can talk about it later… For now I’d just like my parents to hold me.” 

Another sob escaped my lips as I moved my head back to its original position. Sam’s strong arms wrapped around the two of us, pulling us close to him. Our little family was back together again. How? I don’t know. But I didn’t care. Tommy was back. 

The sound of Tommy’s stomach rumbling broke up from the sweet moment. I let out a small laugh as I carefully pulled away from the hug. I let my hand come up and cup the boy’s cheek. “How about you go sit at the table? I’ll get another plate.” 

He gave me a quick nod, leaning down and kissing my cheek before making his way to the table.

 “STELLA!! I MISSED YOU!”

I laughed again and turned to my husband, giving him a smile. “He’s back?” I whispered the question, wrapping my arms around his neck. 

“He’s back.” Sam confirmed, placing his hands on my hips, pulling me close to him. He then leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips, one I instantly returned. The kiss said it all. Tommy was back. Our family was back. We were whole once again. And I’m going to make sure that it stays that way. 

That sucked. I’m sorry. But if you did enjoy, be sure to leave a like and maybe a reblog and comment telling me what you liked about it. Until next time!

[tinyboxxtink]

"Weird Secret Friends" *Chapter 14*

Chapter 13

Chapter 15

This chapter literally took me all day, and it's kinda super long, but since I'm only going to 15 it had to be done. Also, I wanted to get a certain part and all the bullshit detail action needs to be written before we get there so I just kept writing to get there. Lulz.

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@shittanyy

@mrsrafaelbarba

Okay and can I just say about the Goodbye Love thing it was in my head since I had her say "I need to go away".

This was supposed to be the preview:

Mimi Please don't touch me Understand I'm scared I need to go away

Mark I know a place - a clinic

Benny A rehab?

Mimi Maybe - could you?

Benny I'll pay

And this is for chapter 15: Mimi Goodbye love Goodbye love Came to say goodbye, love, goodbye Just came to say Goodbye love Goodbye love Goodbye love Hello disease....

*DUN DUN DUNNNN*

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

The next thing you knew you were waking up in another room. This one was more lavish and beautiful; the sunset was peeking through green silk curtains with a matching chaise lounge. You were now in pink silk pajamas as opposed to a hospital gown, and you weren’t hooked up to near as many wires. Just a pack attached to your arm linked to your sides.

“What the…?” You cautiously crept out of bed, examining the room.

So many questions flew through your mind at that moment. How did you get here? Where exactly were you? Who the hell changed you while you were passed out? It was too much to imagine. You walked over to the full length mirror and examined yourself. You were still semi pale, but you looked pretty damn good for just having surgery this morning.

You walked back towards your bed where your phone was laying on the nightstand. You went to check your messages when you saw the date-- it had been three days. THREE DAYS?

“What the actual fuck--?” You muttered.

Were you in a Black Mirror episode? How did you lose three whole days of your life?! You began to panic, making you pace the room. Wasn’t there a button you could do? You quickly looked around the room for anything, but all you found was a TV remote.

“Oh are you fucking--” You started to curse the world when you saw a little drawing of a nurse on one of the buttons. You frantically pushed it until a girl who looked like she was a nurse out of a porno as opposed to a hospital came running in.

“Oh my god, I thought you were like, dying or something,” She rolled her eyes and twirled her hair like she was a teenage stereotype.

“Where the hell am I? Why am I---”

“Okay you need to like, chill babe,” Nurse Betty put her hands up. “

“I’m not your babe, mmkay pumpkin? We are not friends,” You pushed her hands down. “Now why don’t you get your little chart and explain to me what’s going on in the Twilight Zone?”

“Alright, well--” She whipped out a mini tablet from her scrubs and flipped through it. “You got here three days ago with an order to keep you in a medically induced coma-- Ooooh, wow that sounds like some soap opera shit. Where your organs harvested on the black market?”

“WHAT?” You grabbed the tablet. That DID sound like some soap opera shit. “You read the tablet, all it said was the details about the coma and then FILES SEALED.

“Can you-- unlock this, please?” You shoved the tablet back in her hands.

“Um no, you need a supervisor for that babe,”

“Can you please get someone to unlock this then, BABE?” Your eye began to twitch from stress.

“Yeah, sure I’ll try,” She shrugged and walked back out of the room. You continued to pace faster now, googling “HARVESTED ORGANS ON THE BLACK MARKET”, when a doctor came in wearing navy blue scrubs, looking like Derek Shepherd.

“Well hey there, beautiful,” He grinned at you.

“...What is happening?” You muttered, staring at him. He was gorgeous, you’d probably be more flustered if you weren’t so freaked out and pissed off.

“What kind of soap opera hospital is this?!” You scowled.

“Hey, just because we take care of ourselves around here doesn’t mean it’s Grey’s Anatomy up here,” He made a face.

“...Could’ve fooled me, McDreamy,”

“....Just because my name is Derek doesn’t mean I’m that tool,” He frowned.

“Oh my god you’re kidding me right?” You had to laugh at the irony.

“You’re probably just grumpy because you haven’t eaten for three days,” He patted your head. “How about a nice filet mignon?”

“Wha…?” You looked around the room in disbelief. “How about you tell me where I am and how I got here?”

“You’re at Whistling Pines Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Hartford Connecticut, Miss Y/N,”

“Connecticut?!” You gasped. “Sonny said it was just upstate New York. Jesus Christ he sent me out of state?!”

“Calm yourself,” Derek put a hand on your shoulder. “We’re basically on the state line, Mr. Carisi didn’t send you to Siberia,”

“...And why exactly was I brought here against my will?” You crossed your arms.

“Against your will?” He snorted. “Your paperwork says you requested to be out while you recovered so you wouldn’t be tempted to ask for pain meds or anything. Part of the detox, you understand,”

“Detox?” Your face scrunched. “Seriously? So...so now what, you escort me down to the padded room now that I’m healed?”

“No, no of course not,” He shook his head. “Our rehab rooms are much nicer than this. And yours is all ready for you,”

“....Yeah, alright,” You shrugged, looking around the room.

“Wonderful,” He gave you another 100 watt smile before opening the door and motioning you to follow him. You walked for a while through what seemed like a normal hospital wing, then you came to two large doors that said “REHABILITATION WING”.

Derek opened it and let you go through first, into a beautiful lobby. The walls were made of marble, there was a koi pond with a waterfall in the middle of it, sparkling water stations next to big leather chairs. It was like a spa.

“Wow...” You whispered as you admired it while you walked.

“Yes, I know,” He chuckled. “It’s quite impressive, isn’t it?”

“Yeah…” You began to feel guilty; how much was this costing Sonny? This place looked like it cost the down payment on a house to stay in. You followed Derek down a hallway that looked like a hotel room hallway more than a rehab center, until he stopped at a door labelled 312.

“Ah here we are,” He opened the door and let you go inside first once again. It was an even more lavish room than you woke up in. A nice king bed with fluffy pillows and silk comforters were covered with extra blankets if you needed them. There was a huge sofa in front of a large screen TV, and a little kitchenette with a small fridge, cabinets, a dishwasher, and a microwave.

“....Wow,” You continued to stare in awe at the luxurious amenities this place had.

“Indeed,” Derek smiled. “Now, the TV comes loaded with digital cable and all the streaming services. Our WIFI password is LIVELAUGHLOVE, the fridge is stocked with organic, healthy foods only, but if you’d like to request something you can give our front desk a ring,”

You just nodded as you checked out the room.

“Now,” He cleared his throat. “For the icky part,”

“...The icky part?” You sputtered with a sarcastic smile. “Where did you go to medical school, Sesame Street?”

“Ha ha,” He rolled his eyes. “You will need to stay in your room at all times unless it’s social time, or group time. We do have several common areas such as a pool and a gym, but you’ll need to schedule times to use them, you can’t just walk around on your own,”

“Ah,” You nodded. “So it is a prison, just a very nice prison,”

“It’s not a prison, Miss Y/N,” He shook his head. “Not for you, anyway,”

“Really? Because it sounds like--”

“Your cousin did pay for your residency here, but you’re not under a court order or anything so you’re not confined here. Most of our residents have to be here several months before they’re even allowed out of their rooms at all, you should consider yourself lucky,”

“...Right,” You rolled your eyes. “Where is my cousin, anyway?” You asked. “Is he back at the hospital in New York?”

“Excuse me?” He looked at you in confusion. “I’m not sure I understand,”

“Oh I guess it’s been a few days,” You thought out loud. “He must have gone home by now,”

“...Well I’d sure hope so,” He chuckled.

“So..” You took a seat on the couch. “What am I doing now, warden?”

“Well like I said, I can have food sent up to you if you’re hungry,” He explained as he handed you your own tablet. “We have these for you so you can browse our menu for food and amenities,”

“Mmmkay…”

“Tomorrow’s social time is at 10 am, and your group therapy is at noon,”

“..Uh huh,” You nodded as you absent mindedly flipped through the menu.

“It’s mandatory,” He added.

“...Right,”

“Wonderful,” He beamed. “Now your bathroom is there, obviously,” He nodded to a door on the other side of the room. “It has a shower with three different pressures, and a spa bathtub. I recommend you take a long hot bath and relax, the first night is usually the hardest to get used to.

“Right…”

“Alright well I’ll leave you to it,” He nodded at you with another dreamy smile.

He walked out and left you to your own devices. You walked over to the drawers and pulled them out. They were full of your clothes, how did they get these so fast? It was so bizarre all of this happened while you were out, it really did seem like some kind of episode out of Dynasty or something.

You decided to call Sonny and get some things sorted out. You picked up your phone and dialed his number and let it ring.

“Oh hey...you, how you feelin’?”

“I’m good,” You went and sat on the bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Me? I’m good,”

“Really? Not sore or anything?”

“What? OH-- Yeah, y’know, of course, obviously,”

“...Thanks so much for this, Sonny. It’s gorgeous here,”

“Anytime….sweetie,”

“Is um, is Rafael doing better? Do you know?”

“Uh he’s...he’s fine, I’m sure,”

“...Well that’s good,”

“I’ll be up there next week to see you, you hang in there okay?”

“...Yeah, alright,”

“Night darlin’, you sleep well. I love you,”

“Love you too,”

Sonny hung up the phone and glanced over at Rafael who was busy writing his closing arguments for their case tomorrow.

“....Who was that?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Niece,” He lied.

“Mmm,”

“...How are you feelin’, by the way Barba?”

“Carisi, we’re not discussing anything personal, ever again. I told you that,” He grumbled, not looking up from his desk. He winced in pain every so often when he pulled on his stitches while writing.

“...Right,” He nodded sadly. He did feel guilty about all of this, but he knew in a few weeks it wouldn’t matter. You’d both forget about each other and move on, it was for the best.

--------

The next day you woke up and felt this overwhelming sense of dread. It was like everything had finally caught up to you, all the memory of how you got here came back to you. You missed Rafael almost immediately, Sonny’s words about how you had traumatized him rang in your head.

You wanted so desperately to call him and apologize, tell him how you would have never hurt him on purpose, and that all you wanted to do was make it up to him-- but you knew you had no way of doing that, and there was nothing you could do about it.

Your tablet began to go off, alarms for SOCIAL TIME were set on it. You tried to turn it off, but apparently a counselor had to do it when you arrived. Sneaky bastards. You sighed and pulled on some PJ pants, trying to ignore the blaring sound. You stomped out of your room and down the hall, down some stairs to a huge room labelled “REC ROOM.”

“Welcome Y/N!” A bright and cheery nurse came over and greeted you. “We have lots of activities for you here,” She began to show you around. “We have arts and crafts, several board games, and the Cards Against Humanity rounds get quite rowdy!”

“...Right,” You nodded softly, feeling more and more hopeless as you saw all the other “residents” mingling-- and by mingling, meaning most of them were walking around like soulless zombies. Was this your life now?

----

One Week Later

“Hey…” You saw Rafael laying down in front of you, reaching out for your hand. You took it, not believing this was real.

“I love you, Y/N…” He smiled at you, his green eyes sparkling.

“I love you too Rafael..”

You shot up in bed, it happened again. You had been having the same dream ever since you had gotten to Whistling Pines. It felt so real, especially when you touched his hand. And you always woke up alone, stuck in your prison. Never to see Rafael ever again; It was torture. No matter how fancy the prison was, it was still a prison. You looked at the clock on your bedside table- 3:30 am. You wondered what Rafael was doing at that moment-- well, probably sleeping, duh. Or maybe he was up late, working on law stuff.

You wondered if he was thinking about you, if he ever thought about you. He didn’t seem angry the last time you saw him, in fact you were pretty sure you remembered him holding you and crying. Well, like Sonny said he was probably just upset having to see someone like that again. But-- something inside told you that you didn’t leave on bad terms. Maybe you had been too quick to just delete and block his number. But it was too late to do anything about that now. You laid back down and cried yourself back to sleep for the fifth time that night.

=============

Two weeks later

Sonny drove up to Hartford early Friday morning, hoping to get back to the city that night. He signed in at the front desk, muttering obscenities under his breath. He paced the lobby waiting for you, trying to keep his calm. Finally you emerged from the big double doors: You were dressed in a t-shirt that used to be tight, but now it draped on your shoulders. Your hip hugger jeans were more like men’s jeans, hanging off your pelvis. Your hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and you had no makeup on. You walked over to Sonny who crossed his arms at the sight of you.

“Hey, Sunshine…” He pulled you into a tight hug, your face barely moved into a small smile.

“Can we talk?” He asked as he led you to one of the leather couches.

“Sure,” You nodded like a robot as you sat next to him.

“So Sunshine,” He sighed. “They tell me you haven’t uh, been doin’ so hot,”

“Oh, have they?” You mumbled, playing with a hole in your jeans.

“Yeah they said you’re not eating, you skip the group, you won’t talk to anybody,” He put a hand on your knee. “Is everything okay? Is it your new liver? The diabetes kicking yer ass?”

“...No, I’m fine,” You shrugged feebly.

“....Seriously?” He removed his hand, his soft tone gone. “So, nothing’s wrong with you physically? You’re just being a brat?”

“Excuse me?” You suddenly blinked in surprise.

“Here I came up here because I was worried somethin’ was really wrong with you, like you were rejecting the donation or-- or the trauma was too much, but you’re tellin’ me you just won’t cooperate?” He snapped at you.

“...What do you want me to say, Sonny? Sorry?” You snarked back.

“I want you to tell me why!” He tried not to yell but this was ridiculous. “Do you know how expensive this place is?!”

“Oh wow,” You scoffed. “Well I’m sorry my recovery is so expensive for you, Son,”

“It’s not even recovery, Y/N! You’re-- You’re just laying around here like a fuckin’ angsty teen!” He barked. “Why aren’t you trying? Don’t you wanna get outta here and get back to your life?”

“Maybe I don’t!” You yelled and stood up. “Maybe I don’t care about getting out of here, or not. There’s no point anymore,”

“What?” Sonny furrowed his brows. “Why not?”

“...Because,” You looked down at the floor.

“Oh for fuck’s sake…” Sonny threw up his hands, finally standing up himself. “Is this about Barba, really Y/N? You knew him for a few fuckin’ days, gimme a fuckin BREAK,”

“He was wonderful to me, Sonny! He was wonderful and loving and caring and YOU made me go off on him, and then I--” You paused, tears caught in your throat. “I fucking traumatized him. I hurt him so badly he didn’t even want to see me when i was dying,”

“I mean-- how bad of a person am I?!” You tried not to break down in the lobby. “I shouldn’t be allowed to be around anyone anymore, I just destroy things. Hurt people. I shouldn’t be around anyone,”

“Oh Jesus Christ,” Sonny sighed. “You need to stop, alright? If you actually tried to get better, you wouldn’t--”

“I don’t want to get better!!!!” You flat out stomped your foot, not caring about making a scene now.

“Y/N, tough love time. You need to get your shit together and forget about Barba, alright? I can’t keep paying for you to stay here--” He put both hands on your shoulders.

“So let me out,” You glared at him.

“....And if I let you out, are you going to stay sober?” He gave you a suspicious look.

“Nope,” You said with a smirk.

“Y/N come the fuck on,” He threw up his hands.

“What?” You crossed your arms. “I’m being honest. So either you keep wasting your money here, or let me go,”

“And what, let you kill yourself?” He asked angrily.

“...Maybe,” You muttered.

“Sunshine, come here--” Sonny went to wrap you in a hug, his t-shirt caught up on yours causing it to pull up on his torso. Your eyes went wide when you caught sight of it, letting go of him.

“....Where’s your scar?” You blinked in disbelief, trying to wrap your head around what you were seeing.

“What?” He began to panic.

“Your scar,” You pulled your t-shirt to reveal your own scar from the transplant. “You should have one,”

“Oh, Um--” Sonny began to rack his brain for an explanation, but your brain was moving faster.

“.....You didn’t give me part of your liver, did you?” You pulled away from him.

“Uh well--” He sighed “Not exactly, no,”

“Then who did?” You eyed him accusingly.

“They got you an anonymous--”

“Oh don’t even give me that shit, Sonny,” You stopped him. “This-- this whole thing, when I got here. It felt so much like, like a set up. A soap opera plot,”

“A soap opera?” Sonny laughed. “Come on Sunshine, don’t--”

“Why did you ship me here so fast, Sonny?” You asked, your brain now on a roll.

“What?” He half laughed. “So that you could get started early--”

“No,” You stopped him. “You could have just let me come here on my own, CONSCIOUS,”

“Well I just wanted you to skip the DT’s--” He tried to think of a defense.

“DT’s don’t happen to you if you get drunk ONCE, Sonny!” You raised your voice.

“Well how was I supposed to--” He looked around nervously.

“Who really gave me their liver, Sonny?” You narrowed your eyes.

“I told you, I don’t--” He began to lie again.

“I’ll look it up,” You threatened, making his eyes go wide.

“Y-You can’t do that,” He protested.

“Why wouldn’t you want me to?” You challenged him.

“...Because--”

“Rafael did, didn’t he?” You weren’t letting him think of any more lies.

“Look Y/N, he just wanted to help you out so that you wouldn’t die, like his dad. He couldn’t save him so he saved you. Doesn’t that sound like him?”

You had to admit, it really did. But why lie about it?

“So why didn’t you tell me that, Sonny? Why tell me you did it? Why didn’t you just tell me he did it to be nice, and not that he hated me?”

“I never said he hated you--”

“If you lied to me about that, what else have you been lying to me about?” You put your hands on your hips.

“What?”

“Oh my god…” You started to remember your recurring dream. “It was real, it was real. I know it was real!”

“...What was real?” His eyebrows furrowed.

“I keep having this dream where Rafael is across from me lying on a table, and he tells me that he loves me. And I know that happened I know it did,” You explained.

You were absolutely sure of it now. So many thoughts were running through your mind, you hated that you didn’t remember any of this before.

“What?” Sonny laughed again. “Sunshine it’s just a dream, don’t you think you would remember something like that?”

“They...they gave me something before I went into the OR,” You looked off into nowhere as you tried desperately to recall that morning. “The nurse called it…’giggle juice’,”

“Giggle juice?” Sonny rolled his eyes.

“Did you make them give me that too?!” You went for his collar, but a nurse came out of nowhere to hold you back.

“Wha who whoa, Sunshine calm down,” Sonny waved the nurse off of you. “I got her, thanks ma’am,”

“I didn’t tell them to give you anything,” He said softly.

“Yeah, just to keep me out for three days so I wouldn’t ever see Rafael before you sent me here,” You accused him.

“...Not true…” He shook his head.

“Why wouldn’t you want me to talk to him, Sonny?” Tears choked your throat.

“He didn’t want to talk to you--”

“Bullshit!” You stomped your foot, eyeing the nurse who had her eye on you in case you lost it on Sonny again.

“Bullshit, were you scared he was going to tell me what you were really doing? That you were trying to keep us apart?” Tears began dripping from your cheeks. You couldn’t believe this was happening, you couldn’t believe you could have been with Rafael this entire time.

“No!” He protested, his eyes darting back and forth. “No, I--”

“I don’t believe you!” You pushed him, the nurse stepped forward but you put your hands up in defeat. “You’re keeping him from me right now, aren’t you?”

“What?”

“That’s why you sent me so far, he has no idea where I am, and he wants to know doesn’t he? He wasn’t traumatized by my ‘incident’, he’s traumatized he lost me!” You hated that you cried when you got angry, it made you so much less intimidating.

“Traumatized is a strong word, Y/N…” Sonny rolled his eyes.

“Y’know what Sonny,” You shook your head while you wiped your eyes. “I’ll make you a deal. You bring Rafael here, and I’ll try to get better,”

“...I can’t,” He looked at the floor.

“Wha--Are you serious?” You half laughed sarcastically. “You’d rather me rot in here than--”

“I don’t know where he is, Y/N,” He looked up at you seriously.

“...What?” You asked, not wanting to know the answer.

“He…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “He left,”

“What do you mean ‘he left’?” You air quoted left.

“He went on some campaign trail, Hilary I think. He took off across the country, I literally have no idea where he is right now,” He explained.

“Why would he do that?” You asked.

“I don’t know, he said he had to get out of the city--” He shrugged.

“And you couldn’t imagine why?” You gave him a knowing look.

“Oh puh-lease Y/N, he’s not a drama queen like you--” He stopped, thinking about it. “Okay well he might be a drama queen but--”

“You can call him,” You pointed to his pocket.

“I can’t,” He looked down at the ground once again.

“WHY NOT?!” You were getting fed up with him.

“He was….he was super pissed at me for keeping you apart, alright? You’re right. He...he changed his number when he took off, he wants nothing to do with me,”

“So he’s just...gone?” Your voice cracked.

“Sunshine, I promise you. In a few weeks you won’t care about him, and you’re gonna wanna get out of here,”

“Why, you're gonna start adding memory pills to my regiment too?” You scoffed with angry tears in your voice.

“Jesus,” He rolled his eyes. “No, because you’re 22 and you can fall in and out of love like that,” He snapped his fingers.

“No I won’t,” You shook your head. “You’re gonna have to let me out of here or I’ll die in here,”

“God you’re such a--” Sonny sighed in frustration. “I can get them to get you to eat, y’know that right?”

“Do it!” You dared him. “Start treating me like some kind of mental patient, control my life like you think you need to,”

“...I can’t deal with this,” He waved his hands and started to walk away. “I’ll be back in a few weeks, I’m sure you’ll be over this by then,”

“Don’t count on it,” You stomped back into the ward.

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

A week later

You let the night nurse into your room, she brought your meds and a nightly snack.

“Well, are you excited for tomorrow?” She asked, making conversation.

“...What’s tomorrow?” You asked as your downed your pills.

“Your last day!” She smiled.

“...What?” You quirked an eyebrow.

“Well, honey you’re not here on a court order or probation, and your cousin only paid for 30 days. So, you’re leaving tomorrow!”

“You’re just...you’re just letting me go??” You asked in disbelief.

“You’re not happy about that? I’m sure we could talk to your--” She started.

“No!” You stopped her. “No, No I’m totally excited, ready to get back to real life,”

“Good!” She smiled and patted your head. “Make sure you’re all packed, we’ve already filled this room once you leave,”

“...Of course you have,” You rolled your eyes.

She left and you began to frantically pack, ready to get out of here as fast as possible. You would find Rafael on your own, you knew you could.

----------

Sonny’s phone went off while he was out on a call, he saw it was Whistling Pines so he excused himself from the scene and answered it.

“Hello?”

“Yes, Mir. Carisi? This is Sylvia at Whistling Pines, we were just checking on Miss Y/N,”

“....Why would you be checking on her? Don’t you have her?”

“...No sir, she checked out a few days ago,”

“WHAT?!”

“Well it had been 30 days and you had only paid for a month--”

“So you just let her leave?! Why would you do that?!”

“Well sir, for one she’s a grown woman who’s a law abiding citizen, she wasn’t committed here by any kind of law enforcement. And like I said you only paid--”

“For a month,” He growled. “That’s all that matters to you people, isn’t it?”

“Well sir, this is a very expensive--”

“Where did she go?”

“What do you mean where did she go? She left with you,”

“Uh she sure as hell did NOT,”

“...Well she got in a car with a man…”

“Oh my god,” Sonny almost dropped the phone. “I swear to God if something happens to her because of you people I will sue you SO fast--”

“Okay no need to get hysterical,” She began to panic. “Why don’t you just come here and we’ll figure it out…”

“No I think you’ve done enough,” He growled before hanging up on her.

Where the hell had you gone? And with who?!

[sostanotes]

Symmetry in the Owl House

Dana Terrace loves her narrative symmetry. We've seen it play out large scale and small scale, short-term and long term.

Consider the three times we've heard the line, "Now eat this, sucka!" In the cold open of 1.1, A Lying Witch and a Warden, during Luz book report. Again at the end of that episode, as she uses Owlbert on his staff as a baseball bat to hurl fireworks into Warden Wrath's mouth. And now again in the cold open of 2.1, Separate Tides.

And that cold open as a whole also has callbacks to other early season 1 elements. The intimidating voice and shadow of Garlog (and the ultimate reveal) reflect the original entrance of King. The "King as Dog" gag recalls Eda eating Adegast at the end of 1.2, Witches Before Wizards.

You get the idea. Callbacks and Parallels have always been a thing in the Owl House. But certain things about the new season started gnawing away at my brain yesterday after watching 2.1, Escaping Expulsion, and I wanted to get them down.

The A-plot, B-plot structure of 2.1, Escaping Expulsion, is entirely parallel; something we don't usually see. Luz and Lilith both feel guilty about the impacts of their actions on the people they care about (in this episode, specifically Eda); they both throw themselves recklessly into a quest hoping to atone and are quickly taught a lesson about the value of relying on and helping each other.

Lilith, in her B-plot, learns this lesson; we get the delightful friendship of Lilith and Hooty out of it, and that seems to be something that will be running strong throughout the rest of the series. Luz, maybe hasn't gotten it yet. She, even before this, had a tendency to through herself headlong into helping and didn't always get or rely on help, even when it was available; but she did do it sometimes, and I want to look at why.

That'll be a bit later though, since we need to look at 2.1, Escaping Expulsion, first. The A-plot, B-plot this time isn't as obviously parallel, but its still there; let's hope that the B-plot foreshadows somethings for the A-plot parallels.

In the A-plot, Luz and Co. fight against expulsion; after the initial group attempts to get back into the school, once Willow and Gus are dragged home, Luz goes it solo. Some might say she *tried* to get help, but I'm not so sure. She knew Willow and Gus, in addition to being grounded, wouldn't help her negotiate with Odalia and Alador (Willow very specifically said so); and yes, she went to Amity for help, help getting a meeting with Odalia. Luz acknowledges that Amity is scared of her mom; given what she'd seen up to this point, she likely knew that Amity wouldn't be able to stand up to her mom in the conversation. She likely just wanted the moral support of Amity coming with her, even just to the door of the manor.

So Luz makes the deal on her own. She fights alone. When Amity realizes whats happened, she immediately runs off to find Gus and Willow (in that order, we'll get to that). The three of them then rush to the warehouse… and bicker about how to get in. They have very different personalities and approaches to problem sovling. Amity's and Willow's are effectively opposites; Amity is direct and quick, Willow's is discrete and slow. I'm fairly sure that Gus chiming in with his ostentatious but ultimately misdirection-based plan is what stopped the two from getting into a fiercer argument; instead, we simply got the three trying to talk over each other.

The twins show up and give them another way in. Inside, Amity effectively goes with her plan, leaving Willow and Gus to get caught by the guards. Amity gets her big damn hero moment, stands up to her parents, gets Luz blushing (I'll come back to this in another post), and the Abomoton 2.0 shuts down.

Over in the B-plot, we get to see Eda and Lilith regress to their teenage years and bicker like schoolgirls. Like with Amity and Willow, this comes down to their opposite approaches to a problem; Lilith likes order and structure, Eda prefers freedom and creativity. Both are valid, in fact Eda's in closer to modern teaching practice; but you need some foundation (best learned by Lilith's method) to understand what kind of innovations its possible/safe to try. In the end, the sisters work out their differences: Eda is willing to take a bit of time and learn the basic rules, and Lilith is ready to take her basics and begin innovating.

The Clawthorne sisters still approach problems differently, I'm sure we'll see that in the future; but they understand the others point of view, and are willing to compromise and work together now a bit more than before. Amity, Willow, and Gus… not so much. They haven't learned that lesson yet; Ed and Em cut them off from the argument, and once inside, Amity bulled ahead on her own. It worked (and it was glorious) but the issue is STILL THERE.

Really, that's the whole issue of the season, I think. Learning when (and likely when not) to set aside differences, compromise, and work together. Belos talks about the "Day of Unity", but I'm getting the vibe that his idea of "Unity" is total subjugation under a single command, his; the best way to combat that is ACTUAL unity: teamwork and friendship and love.

And Luz. Luz needs to shake off her funk. She's getting there, but she's much more a lone problem solver than she was in Season 1.

[pandoraborn]

Fic referenced Word count: 1217 words Characters: Technoblade, Awesamdude, Wilbur Soot, Tommy (mentioned), Dream (mentioned) Content warnings: hearing voices, blood lust, aggression, unhinged!Wilbur, mildly unhinged!Techno. Sam is not the bad guy, Techno and Wilbur are not thinking straight.

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

The blood is roaring in his ears. The voices, even louder. Techno can’t hear anything, he can barely see anything. His jaw is set and teeth are bared as he stares at Sam, who is pinned between Techno and the wall of the prison. Techno is sure if he pushed harder, he could send Sam crumbling straight through the wall. It’s a tempting thought.

“I thought I told you not to let him back in,” Techno snarls. To him, it feels like a snarl. But the way Sam flinches tells him that Techno is straight up yelling. Good, he doesn’t mind yelling. He doesn’t mind the way his voice is cracking either. The pain feels reassuring, almost. It’s twisted and definitely not good, but right now, he feels as though he deserves to feel pain. Whatever he’s going through is nothing compared to what’s happening inside the walls.

“Techno, I’m sorry.” Sam’s voice is barely heard above the screeching of the voices. They’re all demanding blood and death, and Techno is itching to remove Sam’s head. “I didn’t think he was planning on visiting, and he said he wanted closure-”

Techno cuts Sam off by yanking him forward, then slamming him hard against the wall. It’s enough force that the wall shudders. Techno considers repeating this action just to see Sam lose consciousness.

“You can’t leave him there! What kind of warden are you?” Techno screeches. He hates how calm Sam looks. He hates the way Sam is just standing there and taking the abuse being thrown at him. “You have to let him the fuck out!”

“I can’t!” Sam finally reaches up to grab at Techno’s shoulders, trying to push him back. Techno isn’t having it, because he’s shoving Sam into the wall again. This time, it’s enough to daze the warden. He watches with satisfaction as Sam’s eyes droop. He’s still holding onto Techno, but one more blow would knock him out. Techno could-

“Eaaasy!” A far more gentle voice cuts through the roaring the voices and the bloodthirst. A gentle hand pulls him back, tugging him away from Sam. Sam immediately slides to the left, rubbing at his head, but still looking far too relaxed for Techno’s liking. He turns to grab at the intruder instead.

It’s Wilbur.

Not Alivebur, but not Ghostbur either. It’s just...dead Wilbur, with his stupid yellow jumper and long trenchcoat and stupid beanie and...it’s him. He’s wearing a forced grin on his face as he keeps a hold of Techno. He’s saying something else, lips forming words he can’t quite hear. When Wilbur puts a hand to Techno’s chest, he finally jumps to action.

“Tommy’s in there!” Techno blurts out. He waves his fist toward the prison, frantically bobbing his head. “Sam shut down the prison and left him in there. With Dream!”

“I know.” Wilbur presses down on Techno’s shoulders, nearly causing his knees to buckle. Techno is surprised by the action, but it’s a half second before he realizes the cacophany in his mind had finally stopped. He’s left with ringing ears, but the lack of screaming voices is a huge relief. Glancing sideways at Sam, Techno now regrets his earlier actions. He doesn’t actually want to hurt the man; Sam’s just doing his job.

“I want to let him out as soon as possible,” Sam reassures the pair. “I don’t like him in there any more than you do. I’m trying to figure out what happened and how to stop it.”

“It’s okay Sam, go do your job.” Wilbur offers him a serene smile, waving the warden off. “We’ll wait here.”

Sam nods and gathers his things. He lingers for a moment before using his trident to disappear into the air, presumably checking the outer perimeter. Techno watches him go before turning back to Wilbur.

“Tommy’s in there with Dream-”

“Shut up Techno.” The serene smile fades from Wilbur’s face. Techno’s taken aback by the sudden shift in expression and tone. “I don’t trust Sam right now. I get he’s doing a job, but that’s Tommy in there. Do you really think I’m going to announce to the fucking warden what I want to do?”

“What is it you want to do?” Techno asks. He’s suddenly wary. This is Wilbur, probably from the early Pogtopia days. The clothes he’s got on tells him as much. He wonders if Wilbur’s sanity is there, or if it’s still missing. He probably won’t ever know, the man is dead.

“Give me your pickaxe. Go steal me some spares, or make me some spares if you can.”

With a few blinks, Techno hands over the tool without verbally questioning Wilbur. It’s clear what the ghost is planning on doing, but something else occurs to the piglin:

“There are elder guardians surrounding the place. Mining’s going to take forever.”

“I’m dead, they don’t bother me.” Wilbur glares at Techno before turning to the prison. “I will take down this entire god damned fortress if I have to, but we’re not waiting for Sam or a whole week to let Tommy out. We’re going to mine straight through.”

“What about Dream?”

“Fuck Dream. He’s unarmed, isn’t he?” Wilbur snorts. “Kill him if you have to. Our goal is Tommy right now.” He finally mines one block away. In the distance, Techno can hear alarms going off. This is just going to add more problems.

“Wilbur, I love the belief system you have, and I appreciate your drive to rescue Tommy, but those alarms are going to alert Sam. This isn’t a good idea, Sam’s going to fight us.”

“Then run,” Wilbur says coldly. “I have a shiny new pickaxe, and I’m going to put it through his teeth. What’s he going to do, kill me?” The laugh that Wilbur lets out then chills Techno to the core. It scares him.

So, this is definitely Wilbur. Same voice, same looks, same sort of drive. But it’s also the snapped version, the one that had lost all hope and given up. Techno had cheered him on once before, but this time, he just throws an ender pearl to get away. He can see Sam coming, and he knows the warden is coming with every ounce of fury he can muster. Sam can be terrifying when he wants to be, and Techno isn’t looking for a fight. He has nothing to do with the alarms being set off, that’s all Wilbur. All he knows is that he can’t stick around too long for whatever happens next. He hadn’t wanted to make any enemies today, but the choice is either side with Sam and keep Tommy locked up with a mad man, or side with Wilbur and...and...

The voices are so loud again. They’re all yelling at once, the same things over and over again. This time, Techno’s listening because it all just makes perfect sense.

Tommy doesn’t deserve to stay in the prison. Tommy had been doing so well lately, trying to stay out of trouble, building his hotel. He’s just a kid, he doesn’t deserve this kind of torture. If it means using a very broken Wilbur to rescue the boy, then who’s Techno to say no?

Maybe he’ll get TNT of his own to help the ghost out. It’s what he does best.

[victorie552onepiecespeedrun]

Reading One Piece pt 297: On Fate

Chapter 544

Thoughts:

- Fpos/cs: Sanji in a dress!!! His hair is amazing, his make-up is abysmal and honestly I’m scared. I don’t understand why they put him in a dress if he didn’t want to have one. It makes me remember childhood traumas and I would rather not

…Well Sanji, at least you don’t have fish stockings?

- how many rings can a person have, calm down Blackbeard

- Blackbeard is making a very important speech. I guess I’ll type all of that

- “After first meeting you, I soon found out that you were the one who defeated that former Warlord of the Sea, Crocodile, over there, Straw Hat Luffy!” *cue annoyed Crocodile*

- I wanted to become one of the Seven Warlords so I figured the best way to show the Government that I was the man for the job was to bring them your head” not a BAD strategy I must admit

- oh, he wanted to attack Luffy at Water 7. Wow, there was disaster after disaster in that place, imagine adding Blackbeard to the mix D: we would have to say goodbye to One Piece, really lucked out on this one, Luffy

- “But Fate… protected you!” …um, no, Ace and dumb luck protected him

- “Ace has been chasing me because I committed a terrible crime aboard Whitebeard’s ship. And by curious coincidence, he was your brother! Because I said I was going to kill you, he was unable to turn back! You see? If he let us go, not only would he defile the name of Whitebeard… his own brother would be killed!” …It kinda sounds like what I just said but it’s said by Blackbeard so I don’t like it. It also seems to me like it was Blackbeard who lucked out – his plan worked, he only just kinda shrugged and traded Luffy for Ace because why not, and if Ace’s already there…  

- “There’s no such thing as a coincidence, there’s only Fate.” “You’re a very lucky man.” “Captain doesn’t need your head anymore.” “Your brother fought bravely!” I applaud a loyal crew but they annoy me too. Also, Champion, why would you say that last thing to Luffy, it’s plain stupid

- “You’d better remember to thank Ace at his grave! If he hadn’t shown up then, you’d be dead now.” HOW ABOUT NO and Blackbeard, don’t act like Ace showing up was some divine intervention or something, he was Literary looking for you all over Grand Line

- “THEN WHY DON’T YOU TRY ME NOW!!??” *WHUP*  ha! Told you to leave Luffy alone!

- NO WAIT DON’T FIGHT SHIT ABORT MISSION!!! SHIT SHIT SHIT

- “Blood? Isn’t he made of rubber?” He is!!

- “That’s enough! You have to control your temper! Remember what you’re here for!” oh thank God for Jimbei, he’s stopping Luffy!

- “Don’t waste your time and energy fighting him! It’s not going to help you rescue Ace!” yeah!

- why is everyone just looking at that conversation, DO SOMETHING PEOPLE (strong people that is. Prisoners and guards should stay down)

- Crocodile speaks

- (why are they standing and talking. If Blackbeard isn’t here for Luffy, then why is he here. All of this feels very dangerous)

- “You’re Blackbeard, right? I heard some no-name pirate from Whitebeard’s ship had taken my place… but this is strange.” Crocodile’s asking why he’s here, he should be at Navy HQ. Well, YEAH

- “Everything is going according to my plan. Which I’m not telling you” ok then. Smart of him

- “Fine, I don’t care anyway” gee, ok

- Magellan is here! For a moment I was actually really happy about it. But he’s not here to rescue Luffy from Blackbeard of course. I have a very short memory

- and just like that everyone is moving again

- RUN RUN RUN to the higher levels!

-  “Awakened zoan types” …didn’t I read about that somewhere. I think that’s important

- guys, I think Shiryu deserted. He wasn’t planning at helping guards at all. Oh, what a betrayal

- (I’m not really surprised, he was a prisoner on LEVEL 6, but I also kind of am - WG indoctrination runs deep after all)

- Cameras are down. Everything is falling apart in this prison. I’m smiling so much my face hurts

- “Nothing is going our way! How could a single intruder spark all this mayhem!?” *maniacal laugher*

- on Level 2, Buggy and Galdino are up and at them again :) Blackbeard sure helped them here

- uh?

- “I’m gonna rescue Ace no matter what!” “Haha… I won’t say you’re wasting your time. Nothing’s impossible in this world.” …?  ? ??  ???

- “Sky Island existed, didn’t it? It’s the same with One Piece! It definitely exists!” is he…

- “Ha ha! Just you wait and see!” he’s walking past them

- “In a few short hours we’re going to put on a show that will shake the world!” …he went to do his own thing. Time to move on.

- (I feel very uneasy right now. We should not leave Blackbeard like that. He’ll be trouble in the future)

- Our pirate group feels as uneasy as me but there’s nothing to do about it now. To Level 3!

- …Magellan vs Blackbeard? Is this really happening

- damn, that poison works on them

- “Hannyabal… You did well holding them back for so long. You better not die. You’re the only one… fit to succeed me!” !! What a plot twist. WHY do I have to have feelings about prison wardens and their working relationship???? Is this really necessary???? Oda???

“Straw Hat!! You will not set one foot outside of this prison!”  

rOP 296  rOP 298

[jadedragoness]

Battle Ground 1st Read Through Reaction

Can I just start off by saying, Holy crap. Chicago got curb-stomped hard. So freaking hard.

I really, really, enjoyed the story. I pretty much didn’t want to stop reading as soon as I cracked open the covers of the book but I did have to have periods of giving myself a break and just put the book down and go do something sensible like do the dishes instead of screaming or shaking my fists at the sky like a lunatic.

I do admit that as a story the continuous battle was draining and exhausting to read. But I think that was the point so I don’t really count it against the story. It is something important to know going in, and why I’d recommend breaks.

Let’s talk spoilers… just assume spoilers for everything Dresden Files related too. Ummm, also this runs long.

First Let’s Me Tell You About the Thing Which Exploded My Brain:

1. MARCONE IS FREAKING KNIGHT OF THE BLACKENED DENARIUS! WHHHAAAAT!!

...okay, I’m done screaming about it.

OF FREAKING THORNED NAMSHIEL!!! ...I lied, I wasn’t done. How long? What? When? I didn’t see this coming at all! And I’m so freaking torn about how to feel about it.

I am so damned (heh) relieved that Marcone’s didn’t die at Ethniu’s hands. I seriously freaked at the moment she snapped his neck that I went into instant denial and my eyes skipped several paragraph down out of the desperate wish to see if it was trick. I’m also very, very delighted that Marcone is now so much harder to kill. I mean, he was already pretty hard to kill being Marcone but this just takes it up to eleven.

On the other hand, a Fallen Angel is so freaking dangerous. *makes gargling worried noises* And while it looks like Marcone appears to have worked out a partnership with the coin I can’t help but remember that when we were first introduced to this Fallen he was called ‘Thorned Namshiel’ and not by the name of his bearer. So he appears to be the type to subsume the human who holds him. Which makes me worried that Marcone could be on that path and not even realize it. *goes back to making gargling worried noises*

I do find reassuring that the coin is on a chain around his neck and therefore easily removed and not buried in his body like some of the other Denarians will do.

However, I am feeling a little disappointed Marcone is no longer purely a ‘vanilla’ mortal who stood toe-to-toe eldritch beings and survived by simply being smarter, deadlier and amazeballs. I’ll miss that. I always thought that it was especially hilarious how much Harry would freak out about Marcone and how deadly Marcone is when even in the same room as scary monsters (like in ;Skin Game;, I mean seriously he was in the same room as Nicodemus and Harry was hardcore worried about upsetting Marcone… hilarious!) when Marcone was a vanilla mortal… but now he’s not.

And yet, now Marcone knows how to sling around magic and is incredibly hard to kill. *thumbs up at Jim Butcher* Yeeeessssss! *is so happy*

Although… if Harry doesn’t end up making all manner of ‘thorny’ jokes at Marcone I’m going to be very disappointed. =D

Things I Sorta Expected:

1. Murphy dying.

Now, I totally bawled at the scene after Rudolph shot Murphy. I especially lost it when Harry kept referring to her body as an ‘empty house.’ ARGH. But I wasn’t actually surprised that she died. I did feel like I got a very strong sense it was going to happen. Actually, from how often Harry’s thoughts seemed to be pinging in that direction I was partially convinced his wizardly ‘insight’ was kicking in and trying to warn him.

And he tried. He really did.

But ultimately it was Karrin’s own choice to be away from safety and be her badass self.

2. Hendricks’ dying.

I’ve actually have read the short story ‘Monsters’ from Goodman Grey’s POV and I’ve read it a little over a week ago and in it he notes Marcone’s bodyguard as a dumb Einherjaren. Which made my brain go: Whoa, wait… where’s Hendricks? Is Hendricks dead? Did Hendricks die and become in Einherjaren? Or is he off doing something and one of those guys is taking over for a bit? Fuck, Hendricks is dying in ‘Battle Ground’ isn’t he?

So I wasn’t exactly surprised, but I was still very, very upset. And when Ethniu picked up Hendrick’s corpse and smashed him into Marcone that’s where I lost it. Like totally lost it while also being worried about Marcone at the same time. Gah.

Curveballs I Did Not Expect:

1. Marva and Drakul. The deaths of Wild Bill and Yoshimo at the hands of Black Court vampires and the threat that we may see them again as Black Court? Did not see that coming. I expected to lose Wardens but not like that.

...and I may be in denial about Chandler (I like the guy, okay) being dead. Please. He’s a wizard. He’ll be back. Of course as soon as I wrote that I was instantly struck of by the thought of: “Yeah, but will you like what you get back?”

2. Also Drakul is a starborn? I get more and more curious about what it means! I’m with Harry in frothing in frustration over how people won’t tell him already! *screams into the void*

Also Kincaid worked for this guy? *shudders*

3. Marcone and Thorned Namshiel. *gurgles*

4. Justine had Nemesis in her! And for years?!

How in the hell are they going to save her? Mab barely saved Lea and she’s Mab!

Also I thought Nemesis was very infectious. Is there anyone else around who has been infected? Maybe among Harry’s friends with Justine as the vector? *is worried*  

5. Not getting a resolution on the situation with the Svartalves. Or did I miss something? Seriously, the ending of the book felt like it was missing about 30 more pages to wrap up and work a bit more on characters.

Things I Did Not Like or Was Disappointed By:

1. Rudolph getting to live. Fuck that guy.

Okay, I understand that his not getting murdered at Harry’s hands wasn’t really for Rudolph’s sake but for Harry’s own soul. I just want him dead. Dammit, is it too much to ask for him to have been shot by a turtleneck or stomped by a Jotun or splattered by Formor acid that slowly ate away at his guts as screamed until his internal organs slowly dissolved?

I have may have a bloodthirsty vengeful streak. And yet: want.

2. I also may have narrowed my eyes at the end of the book there after Harry said that Marcone was dropping off the keys and then it turned out Lara had picked them up instead. I may have also said aloud, “Butcher, are you Marcone-blocking me?” And he was, dammit, because I didn’t get to read more Marcone.

… I do not have a Marcone-addiction.

3. This is more disappointment than dislike but I didn’t get nearly as much Goodman Grey as I thought I’d get. Aw.

4. Harry not getting to talk to Ivy. *grumbles*

Things I Really Liked/Loved

1. Harry got his home back! And it’s the castle! The castle he all but swindled out of Marcone. Yes, I love it! I love Marcone but doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it when Harry get the best of him too. Anyway, I just love the fact that Harry is claiming parts of his life back from the traumatic heart-stomp events which occurred in ‘Changes’. *bounces in excitement* Now he just needs an office!

2. Marcone. Always. Actually I was a little afraid when he vanished after the battle started that there would be very little Marcone in this book too because Butcher is so Marcone-stingy.

3. That Harry is no longer a member of the White Council. I mean, they’ve been pretty useless to helping Harry out. And honestly, Harry has gotten so many headaches from them that I can’t help but think this is a weight he needed to shed.

Although, it really feeds my ‘Harry needs to become a member of the accords in his own right’ thing again. Seriously, he’s the Warden of Demonreach. He bound a Titan. It needs to happen. Ooh, or the Paranet can see about becoming an Accorded organization in their own right and then Harry can be with them. Yeeeessss.

4. Bob is back in Harry’s hands! Freaking yes! Whoohooo! About time! Oooh, wait, has Bob meet Bonnie? Can we read this happening? OMG, I want it so much… or would Harry be too horrified to let Bob influence his spirit-kid? LoL.

5. Seeing Toot-toot and Lacuna again! And when Harry pulled his ‘Za Lord’ maneuver and got the Guard and a ton of other fairies to help in the defense of… well, pizza in Chicago, that was great I punched the air.

 The I gloated even more over how Mab then explained Harry had scared some of the others with that move. Heh.

6. River Shoulders was so damn badass and amazeballs and like Wild Bill said, I’ll take two.

7. Michael and Charity already knowing that Molly is the Winter Lady and being the best parents and loving and accepting and… so much love for those two.

EVERYTHING MARCONE… yes, he’s getting his own heading

1. Gah, I love him. I have mentioned this before. That one of the first things he says to Harry when Harry is staring at him as he changes clothes is to paraphrase ‘did you forget how to get dressed or is this an awkward sexual reconnaissance’ nearly killed me. I was caught between giggling and choking on my own spit and then I nearly fell off the couch. Just remembering about it now, has me giggling at the computer screen.

2. Also, I find that ‘Excellent’ response from Marcone after they exchange threats to be fascinating. This was one of those points were I put the book down and wondered what Marcone meant by that. Then I had the thought that maybe in his own fashion, Marcone was doing the same thing that practically everyone had been doing with Harry since he got back from being shot. He was checking to see if Harry was still the same man he’d been before. And from Harry’s response, Yup. He was. So: “Excellent.”

Having also read ‘Skin Game‘ and how cold Marcone is in the end there? The difference with this Marcone versus the one where Mab was listening? I find that interesting too!

3. When Marcone showed up to the fight! So freaking badass! Love how he led the fighters.

Also I find it significant that both of the guys who are obsessed with protecting Chicago were the ones who manifested ‘banners’ which drew humans to the fight.

Really cool. And it reminds me all over again that for all their different life philosophies Marcone and Dresden do agree on the mantra of: Protect Chicago.

4. This book, especially the lake beach scene reminded me so hard why I love the banter between Harry and Marcone so much. When it just seems to be the two of them and they aren’t actively threatening each they have such a great rapport! Loved reading it! Wished we got more of it in the books.

5. Okay, with Hendricks’ death I’m rather worried for Marcone. ‘Even Hand’ gave the impression Hendricks often acted as a very gentle conscience to Marcone. Losing him has got to be hitting Marcone hard. And that I now know he only has a Fallen angel on his shoulder?

Yup, growing more worried for Marcone at the time.

6. I’m also wondering about what was said in that exchange between Mab and Marcone on the roof when Harry called out Marcone for about being the Lord of Chicago needing to be more than talk. Okay, I can guess. I just really, really want to hear the words because I bet Marcone was badass.

7. The Lord of Chicago giving Harry the title of the Wizard of Chicago? Freaking loved it.

8. Also Marcone freaking purred. Purred. “Prove it,” he purred. “Hero.”

I think Jim Butcher is trying to give me a heart attack or cause me to crack my skull on floor because I nearly fell off the couch again.

9. With Marcone now outed as a magic-wielding Denarian does that mean we get more of him in the future books? Because I freaking hope so... I say this even knowing I’d have the exact same wish even without him being a magic-wielding Denarian.

Things I Found Completely Hilarious

1. Marcone’s opening lines to Harry. Heh. Forever Lol!

2. Is Lacuna a tooth fairy? Her obsession with teeth cracked me up so much.

3. That Mab smacking both Lara and Harry with those wedding plans. *snickers* I mean, I find it totally hilarious because of how gobsmacked both of them were about it. I don’t expect Harry to go through with it at all, not with how we know how seriously he takes relationships. So either he’s going to get out of being the Winter Knight or find some other way to defy Mab. Or hell, maybe Lara gets them both out of it by marrying someone else first. Honestly, I can’t see her agreeing to marry someone who’d burn her with a touch.

Pure Speculation or Things that Just Excite Me for the Future:

1.  Now I bet you’re all wondering why I’m not more upset about Murphy or Hendricks dying. Simply put, I’m 100% convinced that when both Murphy and Hendricks wake up in Valhalla, in drinking (with quaffing I bet) halls full of grunting, fighting obsessed Vikings and they will go ‘Nope, I’m out!’ three seconds later. Those two? Especially knowing how much trouble Harry and Marcone have got to be getting up to without them? They’d probably join forces and stage a breakout to get back.

This is what occurred to me the moment Gard explained what happened to their bodies. The whole not come back until everyone who knew them was gone, yeah, right. Not happening.

Or, jeeze, I can’t image Marcone not thinking this was a possibility and then not having made plans to bust Hendricks out and you know Murphy would demand to come along too. And with Thorned Namshiel providing help? I can see this happening.

...okay, this idea sneaked into my head but now I’m seeing Murphy (having busted out of Valhalla with a bunch of Einherjaren) and learning about the upcoming nuptials between Lara and Harry leads a raiding party (what else, with Vikings!) to bride nap (groom nap?) Harry away before he says “I do.“ Heh. This would be hilarious.

2. I’m sorta vibrating with the possibilities of what the future will bring with a Chicago that is waking up to the dangers of the supernatural while at the same time having learned that it is possible to stand up to monsters and kill them. Especially, what this means when bad things go down in Chicago again, because of course they will. And there may be more people joining in the fight.

Hmm, can the Paranet be deployed as a means of bringing vanilla mortals in or educating them so they don’t go after the good guys? They do sort of stand in the middle, more so than Harry. *lost in thoughts*

3. While I’m actually a little surprised that Ebenezar made it out alive as I actually had him down on my ‘Will Probably Die List’. I was relieved as I hope to see him and Harry actually have that conversation which Harry wants. Seriously, if only for Maggie’s sake, who shouldn’t have her first and last memory of her Great-Grandpa be him being a total jerk.

4. Harry can bind the prisoners of Demonreach to do his bidding? *blinks* Ooh, the possibilities.

5. These Librarians, the Men in Black of the DF ‘verse, sound amazing and I can’t wait to see them show up.

[yamithediaperdork]

Crime and punishment (MHA)

Crime and Punishment

Out of all the duties that Katsuki thought was a waste of time for hero's in training and legends of awesomeness like himself, Touring experimental new prisons had to be up there near the top. Normally he'd be able to bully someone else in the class into taking the job off his hands but today no such luck as the teachers had taken notice and were watching him like a god damn hawk. Adding to his bucket of annoyance was who he was partnered up with for this little tour, Izuku Midoriya himself..or as Katsuki preferred to call the green haired cry baby: Deku. (though it did spoil some of his fun his cruel nickname for the weakling had been taken by the crybaby as his hero name. still...) Adding to the total bullshit that this assignment was, not only were they suppose to take notes and report back with their suggestions so the full trained heroes could make a judgment call (which rendered the whole fucking thing moot if you asked Katsuki his humble opinion) But they had to do it in costume. Being of the mindset he put on his uniform to fight and blow things up, not do paperwork, this just served to piss the already poorly tempered hero in training off even more. they were currently in the office of the warden for this new experiential jail and he'd gone off into his own little world while the balding man with the big nose rambled on and on. He knew Deku would be a good little suck up and soak in every word and he'd just copy the nerd's report when this was all done anyways. He only tuned back in when Deku nudged him with his elbow and Katsuki realized they had been talking to him and he'd just been staring off into space. "what?" He asked. "..As I was telling your collage here, we need you to both sign some waivers given the technology that will be on display here, as well as a wavier not to tell anyone other then the hero's your reporting too about what you saw here today." the warden said, frowning. "Yeah yeah, whatever. just give me the stupid paper work and lets get this over with." Katsuki said. "Ah, Great Explosion Murder God Dynamite...I think you should read the paper work and make sure you know what your signing first. Since you kinda..zoned out there." Deku said. "whatever nerd." Katsuki said, though GOD he loved his hero name and leaned in as if he was going to humor the nerd..then just signed the paper work. The warden rolled his eyes but took out two badges that the heroes could wear around their necks and handed them over. "..what, you think SOMEHOW your guards are gonna mistake us for some of your inmates?" Katsuki asked and Deku face palmed. "I really wish you'd just pay attention.." the crybaby whined softly. "what?!" Katsuki huffed. "Maybe if you didn't have the attention span of a toddler Mr..and I can't believe I'm even going to say this.. 'Great Explosion Murder God Dynamite', You'd of heard how much of our system is automated and that badge will keep you from being seen as a prisoner by the computers." the Warden said dryly. "..Who you calling a tod-" Katsuki started, but Deku stepped in and broke it up.

Huffing and pouty, Katsuki trailed behind the warden and Deku as they talked on and on and pictured how easy it would be to just toss a little blast at their feet, for a jump scare. 'heh, better now. Deku will just wet himself and bawl like a baby, again. They should just get a pacifier for him to suck on like the big baby he is.' Katsuki mused, mentally picturing Deku in just a oversized diaper and in a playpen, oversized paci in his mouth and bawling. So vivid was the mental image for a second Katsuki thought he must of been imposing it as he looked into one of the cells. Because there on the floor, hugging a teddy bear was a bald tanned skinned man, maybe in his 30, and he was dressed like a fucking toddler. like, as in paw patrol socks on, and he was wearing a freaking diaper shirt with a dino print on it and uh, yeah.. Mother fucking diapers that showed due to their thickness! the guy didn't even seem to notice him, he was busy sucking on a paci and watching a tv in the room. "what the fuckkkkk?" Katsuki laughed out loud. "..and I see the toddler is back with us." the warden said. "I'ma let that slide because what the fuck? why's that guy in huggies?" Katsuki asked, jerks a thumb at the window and snickering. "We uh..we went over this in the office Great Explosion Murder Death God..This prison is utilizing a new form of regressive therapy.." Deku said, rubbing the back of his head. "Man, the fuck did this guy do to end up being put back in pampers?" Katsuki asked. "must of been a real terror in actual prison for them to make him partake in this!" "-sigh- for the benefit of toddlers who don't listen.." The warden said, coming over and taping a few button on the control panel by the prisoners door, and the wall became transparent for them to get a better view. "Call me a toddler one more time, I fucking dare you." Katsuki grumbled. "ANYWAYS! Every one of the inmates in this prison is a volunteer who is getting 10 years shaved off of their sentences to try this. If the program is approved and if they wish to keep being part of it, further time will be shaved off." The warden said. "Each cell  is equipped to look after and care for the inmates as if they were little boys or girls since it's a unisex prison, or if they just happen to be transgender. it's not OUR place to judge them." As the warden spoke, the prisoner who apparently didn't know he was being watched, suddenly got up on his knees and hugged a stuffie close to his chest as he started to make scrunchie faces. "..Is he.." Deku asked, turning and looking away to give the guy privacy. "Oh yeah, he's totally baking brownies." Katsuki snorted. As Katsuki and the warden watched, the back of the inmates diaper shirt and well, of course, diapers puffed out and expanded, to the point the crotch snaps burst open. "Sheesh, fucker must of been holding it in for ages." Katsuki observed. "actually it's part of the diet their on, we feel frequent and massive movements help with breaking down their ego's and let's them accelerate the reforming processes." The warden said proudly. "Righttt..ok fess up. you just like making tough guys shit they're brains out right?" Katsuki asked and chuckled. "..Your a very unpleasant person. I'm going to make a request you NOT be sent for the follow up review." "Oh nooo, I don't have to come here and listen to you drone on and on and watch adults crap themselves. I'm soooo heart broken about that." Katsuki said and rolled his eyes. walking away from the scene and leaving Deku trying to look over and make sure it was ok, Katsuki fiddled with his badge as he walked away from them and missed the sight of the metal arms coming out of the walls and attending to the stinky inmate, though Deku did take a interest in this part can came over to watch. "He doesn't um..seem that upset." Deku said. "oh this isn't his first dirty diaper, and there are speakers in there with a calming female voice praising him for making such a big present and telling him what a good boy he is. again, it could of been a male or female voice, we go with what works best for the inmate." Indeed, one of the metal arms with white gloved hands was coming down now and gently patted the inmates squishy bottom as his head, making the man blush but give a big toothy smile. "you wouldn't know it to look at him now, but he was a several bank robber and known for his brutal tactics. I figure with this treatment he'll be reformed in maybe 4 years..5 tops." The warden said with pride in his voice. "wow..I thought he looked familiar..Hey Ka- Great Explosion Murder God Dynamite, you gotta come and see-" Deku turned to call Katsuki over and the machines started to lift the inmate to a changing table, but the Blond was gone. "What a shock. the toddler wandered off." The warden said, and punched in a command on the control panel again, making the wall go back to normal. "we'd better go and find him.." Deku nodded and they headed up the hall towards where the the hall split into two paths, and it was there Deku looked down and found Katsuki's ID badge. "uhhh warden? what are the chances he'll be snagged without this on?" Deku asked, holding it up. "Between his attuide and wandering off into areas without at least someone else wearing a badge? 93 percent." The warden said, clearly amused. "...Weeeee better hurry...if they try and diaper him he's libel to blown this whole place up. "

Katsuki had at some point stopped playing with his badge and was just busy looking in at the different inmates, trying to see if he knew any of them from news reports and the like on tv. He made a point of knocking on the windows and getting the big babies attention and smirked as they would blush and hide (well some of them, others would just give a sheepish wave and others outright ignored him) Sadly there didn't seem to be any super villains locked up, though then again what villain would of volunteered for something like this? He was making his way to the next cell when suddenly a green light scanned over him, hurting his eyes for a second. "Ow! the fuck!?" he growled, rubbing at them. "Warning: inmate in hallway and not in proper attire. deploying prisoner recapture protocols." A robotic voice called out in the hallway, then was replaced with a sugary sweet male who started to scold him. "Now now, what are you doing out of your cell, and without your cute widdle outfit on little man? you don't wanna make a mess everywhere do you?" as it spoke, multiple holes in the walls opened up and more of the metal arms with the white gloved hands came out of them. "Uh..Hold up, I'm a superhero visiting. I've got a badge and-" Katsuki said, gulping a little and taking a step back, reaching for the badge and finding it gone. "...Well shit on a stick. guess we're doing this the hard way." Having only expected to be doing a little walk around, he hadn't stored any of his explosive sweat for use, though with a fair idea of what these things wanted to do with him, he was flop sweating enough to make up for it. "Such foul language! somebodies in for a mouth washing if he doesn't start behaving! you're already getting a spanking and corner time mister." the Voice announced. "Counter offer: fuck you." Katsuki said and went to work, blowing up two of the arms right off the bat and chagrining in, there was NO way he was gonna lose to a bunch of shitty robot arms! Or that was the going theory till as he got close one of the hands opened up and sprayed a green mist in his face. coughing and then seeing double, Katsuki pouted and got out a final statement before collapsing to the floor. "Knock out gas? No fairrrr!"

He woke up shortly after, and found himself in one of the nursery cells and almost totally naked.  the almost part came from the thick mitten that had been put on both of his hands rendering his powers useless and the booties on his feet. "Nggggh.. damn cheating bas-" "Foul language detected! Bad boy! somebodies getting a mouth washing!" came the male voice over the intercom and before Katsuki could even try and fight back he found himself forced to sit up on the changing change and his arms pinned at his sides by two of the arms.A third one came out of the wall wielding a wet and sudsy bar of soap and Katsuki glared. "Go fuck yourself if you thin-" he started to rant, not quite figuring out that he should of kept his mouth shut and as such the bar was forced into his mouth and he couldn't spit it out, eyes shutting tight and soapy drool trails leaking down his chin. "Maybe five minutes as a soap sucker will help you stop swearing Little guy..but daddy isn't going to hold his breath." the voice said. 'oh good, not only is it a crazy fucking AI that wants to make me a diaper baby..but one with a sense of humor.' Katsuki thought dryly.

Five minutes later and the bar was carefully removed but held close, clearly the machine was waiting to see if he'd learned his lesson. Katsuki for his part was PISSED and wiped at his touage with his mitten hands, trying to get rid of the icky taste. 'Ok Katsuki..you've seen what being a brat got you..let's tone down the attuide and try logic...' He thought, eyeing the walls warily. He hadn't been diapered YET but it was clear that was where he was heading if he didn't figure something out. "uh..What do I call you?" Katsuki said. "Daddy of course little man,m or would you prefer a mommy?" the voice said cheerfully. 'I'd prefer someone dumped a bucket of water on your CPU' Katsuki thought but with GREAT effort kept the comment to himself. "C-Can we talk logically for a second and hold off the diapers? ..Please?" Katsuki said, giving a smile to show he was trying to be good but said smile would of terrified young kids. "..heh I'll hear you out." "Ok so..Were you programed to accept any new inmates at all today? do you have a profile on me that tells you what crimes I supposedly did?" "Scanning..Nope." Daddy said. "Alright..then if I'm not in the system, then I must be telling the truth when I tell you I'm not a inmate right?" Katsuki said and smiled for real. "Hmmm.. well the programmers have been known to be lax when it comes to updates..and you've already earned a 2 month prison term regardless." Daddy said. "What!? what for!?!" Katsuki demanded. the tv clicked to life and footage of Katsuki destroying two of the arms was played. "Destruction of government property." "..ARE YOU SHITTING ME!? YOU STARTED THAT FIGHT!" "Hmmm mouth washing didn't work, let's try anther something else..." Daddy said and the arms moved in again and restrained Katsuki on his tummy and to his horror, a large enema bag was brought out and a rather large looking nozzle. "I bet your just so grumpy because your backed up little guy!" daddy said. "..I really..really..Hate these kind of missions..." Katsuki whimpered.

Deku and the warden did finally find Katsuki, but it was only after finding the scene of the fight, and the warden warning Deku that the machine was programed to automatically add a months sentence for every damaging attack on it. "I mean, I'm sure if we get the head programmer in here we can clear that up..but the machines AI automatically files the charges with the DA so we'll have to talk to them too." the warden explained. With that knowledge in mind Deku thought he'd been prepared to see Katsuki, having known by that point he'd likely been er well..dressed as a inmate. Getting to the cell the warden believed he was in, he punched in the code to make the wall transparent and well..they were greeted by the site of a enema nozzle JUST coming out of Katsuki's backside, and he was being rapidly taped up in a massive white diaper. the blond brat's tummy was bloated and Deku almost could swear he could hear it sloshing and a Pacifier gag had been strapped to his mouth. "He must of been using excessive swearing for it to paci gag him." the warden said, sounding amused. "Yeahhh I can see that.. Uh..Anyway you can try and get this to stop? Like.maybe it won't release him but is there a training potty or something at least?" Deku asked, rubbing the back of his head. truthfully while he wanted to bust a gut laughing he knew that wouldn't be fair to Katsuki, even if the brat had brought this on himself. "Nope. once one of the super poopers goes on, it doesn't come off till filled to the brim." The warden chuckled. "..Super poopers?" "the name of that massive diaper the toddler is wearing." "..you know your enjoying this a little too much." "Oh come on, and your not, even a little bit?" Before Deku could answer he's eyes were drawn to Katsuki as the blond hunched over and loudly whined though his gag, the warden had taken the extra step of making it so they could hear everything too. "Anddd I don't think he's gonna last long enough for a training potty to get in there anyways." taping on the control panel, Katsuki went from staring down at the floor, sweat dripping at his face to looking at them and his cheeks flushed red. he held up one mitten covered hand and waved it, trying to get them to look away but daddy spoke up. "oh look little guy! you have visitors! Hello warden, How are you today?" Daddy asked.

Katsuki whined and started to cry. between the cramps and the utter humiliation of being seen like this he lost any sense of bravo and turned away from the pair watching him, trying to find somewhere to hide before he well, disgraced himself. "I'm fine Daddy. You've made a mistake though daddy, This isn't a inmate of the prison." Katsuki whimpered, massive diaper butt wiggling as he tried to crawl under the crib in the nursery and hearing Deku snort and start to laugh before coughing. "Oh, I guess the little guy was right. It doesn't matter though, per regulation 3467 he's been sentenced to two months of baby rehabilitation warden. the DA has already approved and made it final." Daddy said. "Of course you can start a appeal but that will take 3-5 business days and my little guy here is about to make presents." "wait, how can it get approved if they don't even know who he is?" Deku asked. "I sent a picture of the big baby to be to the DA's office and they handled the rest." Daddy said cheerfully. "..Man I know he pissed off some of the DA last month when they tried to give him a lecture but.." Deku said and rubbed the back of his head. "oh so he's just a ray of sunshine for everyone huh?" any further conversation was drowned out as hearing how he might actually be stuck in baby land for two whole fucking months, Katsuki lost the battle of will's and the back of his massive diaper started to fill up. a little meter even appears as the mushy mess poured out of him, going from 'clean' to 'oppise poopise' in a matter of seconds and heading for 'whoa, stinky' at a alarming pace. "awwww see? I knew my little guy was backed up! Oh! Receiving data from the DA...Update file...There's my good little Katsuki! who's a good super pooper? and such a silly baby, trying to hide!" Daddy coo'ed and then two arms came out and dragged him out from his half way hidden spot under the crib. a rocking horse was moved over as Katsuki was picked up in the air and he shook his head no over and over, but was planted with a SQUISH anyways. "Ride'em cowboy!" Daddy encouraged and Katsuki lost it and was full on bawling, even as he was forced to rock back and forth.

One week later and Katsuki had semi gotten used to his new daily routine. it didn't mean he liked having to wear and use diapers or the stupid fucking baby food or formula..but after 3 days of being gagged except for when eating he'd learned to keep his opinions to himself. he was just a baby in daddy's eyes after all as he was reminded. He got used to the squishy warm wetness that came with a wet diaper though still bawled like..well a baby every time he pooped though he made a honest to god effort to load his diapers at least twice a day to avoid anther enema. Making things so much worse for poor Katsuki was the fact that somehow it'd gotten leaked where he was, though both the warden and Deku claimed it wasn't either of them, and as such other students from the school LOVED to come back and watch Katsuki in his baby punishment. Katsuki didn't even think they should of been able to get in but the bastard warden was handing out passes like candy on Halloween night. Still, Deku had promised he'd follow up on getting Katsuki's appeal put though and get him out, and he should be getting out either today or the next. Or so he thought till a sheepish and squirming Deku visited him. "Ummm.. Sooo I have some bad news." he said. "..Don't tell me they rejected the appeal!?!" Katsuki whimpered and whined. "Uh..yeah..see..It's a little bit worse then that. After reviewing the footage and all the facts..the judge decided that you not only deserve the two months in here..he..might a added 3 month on top." "WHAT!?! But..But..I..But.." Katsuki whimpered, plopping on his diapered behind and picking up a nearby stuffie, cuddling it. "T-That's..thats not fair!" "W-well he says as a hero in training..you need to be held to a higher standard..and thanked me for pushing so much on the appeal, he wouldn't of thought of it otherwise..soooo..uh..Sorry?" Deku squeaked out. "Your sorry? Your SORRY!? I'm the one who's gonna be crapping his pants for almost half a year and YOUR sorry!?!" Katsuki growled. "Little man.." Daddy warned. "uh..Katsuki..you might wan-" Deku started but Katsuki tossed the stuffie at the wall. "know what? FUCK IT! If I'm gonna be here and get a stupid diaper punishment I might as well fucking earn it. fuck YOU! fuck DADDY, and fu-" was as far as he got before the gag was popped back in. "I'm sorry Deku, somebody is cranky and need a little time out. please come back later." Daddy said. Not wanting to watch whatever punishment the blond was about to get, Deku nodded and walked away, wondering if he maybe should of mentioned that every time daddy was forced to punish Katsuki, the blond would get a week added. 'Nah..I'll just mention it to him tomorrow when I visit.'

the end?

[aria-i-adagio]

5,10, 14,20 please!

Gracias! I’m guessing this is from the OTP asks and for Anders/Hawke. Hope it is.

10) What scares them about entering a relationship?

Heheh.

Anders, of course, is convinced that being with him will likely get Hawke killed. Or that Hawke will decide that he’s a monster who is unworthy of being loved.

Adrian gets intensely attached to people. (Anxious attachment style.) He’s deeply afraid of getting into a relationship only to lose another person he loves.

14) What makes them feel loved? Would they build up the courage to ask for it?

Good news. They’re both idiots, but they’re both touch-starved idiots. Asking for it probably isn’t a problem.

Adrian is also very much a “I found this thing I thought you’d like/made me think of you, here is it. Do you like it? Please like it.” kind of guy.

20) When would they say “I love you?” Do they say it first? Do they say it often, or is it reserved for special moments?

With Anders canonical default endearment being ‘my love’, there’s plenty of evidence that he’d also be fairly free with the “I love you.” Adrian tends to be a bit more reserved. Be that as it may, Adrian said it first.

5) How do they consciously realize that they like the other character? Does it take them a while?

I guess the question is like versus *like*.

I tend to go with the idea that no matter what romance route is played that Anders has at least some romantic interest in Hawke from Act 1. But after Karl’s death, I think there’s a combination of both not being ready and believing that he’s too dangerous for anyone to be in a relationship with him.

Adrian was interested in Anders from very early on. Oddly attractive man with a ‘sexy, tortured look’ develops into honest admiration of the fact that Anders is one of the few people in Kirkwall who’s actually interested in doing something good. But he’s A) used to playing his cards close to his chest (as while Ferelden may not particularly care about same-sex relationships, there does seem to be something of an expectation that they shouldn’t get in the way of children, Leandra has definitely messed with his head, etc.), and B) he’s a small, somewhat insecure ball of anxiety who’s afraid of rejection. He also very good at repressing things, so for most of Act 1, he’s in denial of being interested beyond a “yep, that one’s handsome.”

However, have a show rather than tell. (SFW fic below. Unedited.)

Hawke has determined that he does not like the Deep Roads. And he hates Bartrand. Who the fuck does that? Leaves their brother to die over a chunk of stone, or whatever that idol was made of?

You let your brother die. You left him.

That was different. I couldn’t protect him. I tried, I swear.

Bethany sneaks up on him from behind and loops her arm through his. She leans her head on his shoulder. “Carver was already dead, ‘Dri.”

He knows that she can’t actually read minds, but sometimes he wonders whether she picked the skill up somewhere. Or maybe it’s a little sister thing. He stops walking and tilts his head to the side, touching his cheek to her hair. “I should have -”

“If any of us could have, we would have.” Bethany pats the other side of his face. “Look about, is this a decently safe place?”

The Deep Roads do require a qualifier for the word safe. Adrian lifts his head and glances around. Ahead, there’s a bridge over a chasm. If it’s sturdy enough, it will give them good lines of sight and walls on two sides. “Ahead will do.”

“Thanks, ‘Dri.” Bethany lets go of his arm and jogs ahead to where Varric and Anders are walking together, both with their weapons in hand, reasoning that if Anders could sense darkspawn, Varric might be able to take them down with Bianca before they got too close. Or thin them out. “Hey. Think it’s night yet?”

“You’re the only Sunshine I see. What’s your opinion?”

“That I’m tired.”

Varric looks around and shrugs. “Then it’s night. Might as well make camp.”

Hawke keeps watch well after they've eaten a sad and meager (who knows how long they'll be searching for an exit now?) meal of hard bread. Bethany told him that he didn't need to; the glyphs she and Anders had set on either end of the bridge would last far past the time Varric's little clockwork watch was set to come. But he couldn't talk himself into following her advice. Darkspawn had killed Carver. They were not going to take Bethany from him.

He isn't the only one still awake. Anders had laid out his bedroll as close to the fire as he could, and he huddles close to the glow of the embers. He’d panicked when Bartrand swung the door closed on in, and once it became clear that neither Varric nore Hawke would be able to pick the locking mechanism, cast multiple spells at the door before giving up on the idea of breaking through it by force. The mage had been quiet since, not even Varric had been able to draw him out.

"You alright?"

Anders lifts his face. There are always dark circles around his eyes, but they look worse in the low light of the fire. "I hate the Deep Roads."

"You could have said no." Hawke asked him to come because he had experience with the Deep Roads, and Darkspawn, and according to what was said of the Grey Wardens would be able to sense them ahead of time. "I would have understood."

Anders smiles grimly. "They're worse without a cat."

"You should try to sleep."

"You should too. Those glyphs I set were designed by a Warden mage. They're strong. This spot is as safe as it's going to get."

"Good to know." Hawke lies down, unsure whether he'll sleep, or just rest his eyes and listen for trouble. "Hey, Anders -"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for coming with me."

"Well, I'm here now."

It might have been an hour, it might have been two, and Hawke might have fallen asleep, or he might have been awake the whole time, but his eyes snap open the moment he hears something other than the crackling of coals. A low, distressed groan and panicked, incoherent mumbling. Hawke opens his eyes. There’s just enough of a glow left in the few embers to see Anders rolling over fitfully, flinging his arm out, nearly managing to catch his fingers in what’s left of the fire. His other arm falls over his mouth, muffling what might have been a scream if allowed to escape.

Hawke tosses off his blanket and crawls across the pavers to him. As he pulls Anders outstretched arm back from the fire, the mage’s eyes snap open and he bolts upright with a gasp, forehead knocking against Hawke’s chin.

“Hey there. You were dreaming.”

“I can hear them.” Anders curls forward, draws his long legs against his chest, and wraps his arms around his knees. “I can still hear it.”

"Hear what? The darkspawn?"

Anders doesn't respond with words, he just goes limp and slumps to the side. Adrian catches him and lets him lean his head against his shoulder. He's perfectly still for a minute, then awkwardly runs his hand through the mage's hair, not entirely sure Anders is awake enough to know where he is, much less who's holding him.

"Take a few deep breaths, okay?" Adrian wraps his other arm around Anders' and pats his shoulder. His joke about Anders 'sexy, tortured look' didn't seem quite as funny at the moment. "Nothing has tripped the glyphs you set. We're okay."

Anders' breathing calms, at least a little. "It's so dark. I can't do this again. I can't."

"I'd build back up the fire for you, but there's no fuel left." Varric had carefully gathered a certain dry fungus from the walls of the cages as they walked. It was the only combustible material available. "Do you hear them more, in the dark?"

"Or I hear nothing in the dark. Not a sound, not a word. I'm alone in it again, and..." The pitch and volume of his voice begins to rise and on instinct, Adrian hugs him tightly. Maker, the poor man is miserable. Hawke never would have asked him to come if he had only known.

Anders shudders and hiccups. "I can't be alone in the dark."

"I'm here." What happened to Anders that made the dark so terrifying? The Deep Roads themselves weren't always dark. Parts were. Other parts were lit by the glow of some sort of marvelous dwarven lamps that still worked after centuries. This wasn't one of those areas, and the lower the embers grow, the more Anders trembles. Without really noticing it, Adrian begins to rub his back and whisper in his ear, the way he sometimes had when one or the other of the twins woke with a childhood nightmare.

He doesn't know Anders well. It's maybe been three or four months since he sought him out to get the maps of the Deep Roads. He's good to know though - a good man. Bethany agrees. And Varric had taken the mage under his wing; Hawke knew the dwarf was paying off the Carta to leave the Darktown clinic alone.

Anders is also handsome in his own way, devilishly funny, and flirtatious, despite the very sad look he gets in his eyes if someone mentions the word Tranquil. 'I hadn't seen him in years,' Anders said, the one time Adrian got him to talk. 'But you know how it is, with first loves.'

Adrian does not actually know how it is with first loves. What relationships he had in Lothering weren't love affairs, just temporary flings with a presumed end date. A Ferelden freeholder needs a wife, needs children to help him work the land. It's just the way of things. No sense in getting too attached.

Like he's getting attached to this mage who hides years of sadness underneath dry humor. Anders has put himself back together a few times already, and right now, the cracks are showing.

"Lay back down. I'll stay with you."

It takes a few more shivers and hiccups before Anders does stretch his long limbs back out. Adrian intends to just sit next to him, maybe keep their fingers together, but Anders pulls at his arm until he lies down beside him on the narrow bedroll, on his side with his head cushioned on his folded arm. Adrian hesitantly strokes Anders' hair, and when that earns him a soft sigh, loops his free arm around the other man and snuggles a bit closer.

After all, it's not just dark in the Deep Roads, it's damn chilly as well. That’s what he tells himself.

When Varric’s little mechanical clock chimes a fake morning, Hawke still curled up around Anders, and Bethany is smirking at him.

[braincoins]

for DA Shallura

I’ve been doing a series of posts about basic Dragon Age canon for my DA fic series, Dragon Age: Schism. HOWEVER, my Dragon Age AU for Shallura has slightly different background (it takes place before DA:O, and thus before any of DA:S) and I include headcanons and whatnot for DA:S in those info posts. 

So I thought I’d make One post with all the info that @tybalt-tisk​ or anyone else could need to make sense of what’s going on in that fic specifically. Some of this will be copy-pasted from what I’ve already done for DA:S because c’mon why write it twice? But everything here should give the necessary bgd for that fic. If you want/need to ask me other questions, feel free!

With credit, as always, to @yslanam​ who started this by first suggesting a DA AU for Shallura. And if you make it to the end, there’s pretty Mitz art! (Or you could skip to it, I know, but... be good, hm?)

Our story takes place in the country of Ferelden on the continent Thedas. Ferelden is basically Fantasy England (though not an island and not shaped that way), and is about the same size and climate (though it’s south of the equator, not north of it).

Shiro was born Takashi Shirogane in a small village where everyone knew everyone else and he liked it there. Loved it there, really. He signed on to be in his bann’s (the noble who ruled the land and its village) army, as did another young man from his town (whose name Shiro rarely speaks now). They served honorably and well and fell in love. 

And then they were called to battle. Shiro survived: plus a scar and some new white hair, but minus his right arm, which was too badly injured and had to be amputated. Shiro’s lover didn’t make it, though. Shiro was discharged with pay and a small bonus, but that money would run out eventually. He’s not sure what to do with himself, and he overhears people talking about what a shame it is, such a young man now destined to just wither away because, well, he’s basically worthless now. Can’t work a farm, can’t fight in wars. It hits him hard. He wants to prove himself worthy of... of something, anything, just to prove them wrong.

That’s what brings him to the Grey Wardens. 

Allura is a city elf. Elves are second-class citizens - at best - amongst humans, and the city elves live in ghettos called “alienages.” Her father was the Elder of the Highever (a city in Ferelden) Alienage: the man in charge, basically. That didn’t mean Allura behaved though; even as a child, she would rant about how elves were people just like humans and they deserved better treatment. This didn’t win her a lot of friends; most city elves learn quick that yelling about the truth just draws a whole lot of unwelcome - and often armed - attention.

But then it was discovered that Allura had magic, and she was taken off to the Tower of the Circle of Magi to be trained... and supervised. If there’s anything worse than being an elf in Ferelden, it’s being a mage. Mages, if they aren’t careful, can basically be possessed by demons and then they kill a bunch of people and it’s a bad scene. Therefore most people fear mages, and the Chantry - the main religious organization on the continent and damn near the only one in Ferelden - has created Templars to watch over the mages of the Circle. 

The Templars are also known as “mage-hunters” because that’s one of their main duties: running down mages who try to flee their gilded cage. They also kill any mage suspected of being demon-possessed. And they’re posted all throughout the Tower, watching... always watching...

Allura liked learning magic but hated that this is how it’s done. She’s just been moved from one cage to another, and she wasn’t silent about that either. Things came to a head after she became an official mage; she saw a Templar about to force himself on a fellow mage, who was terrified of the man. She got angry and killed the man, straight out. She should have been killed, made Tranquil (basically magical lobotomy) or sent to Aeonar, the mage prison, but Duncan, the Warden-Commander, was there visiting and recruited her away, instead. 

That’s what brings her to the Grey Wardens.

And that’s where she meets Shiro.

So, really now, what is a Grey Warden? Well, that depends on who you ask. To most people outside the order, the Grey Wardens are a glorious order of noble heroes! And why is that? Well, they’re immune to the darkspawn taint (which usually kills people) and so they can safely slay darkspawn! They’re also the only ones who can stop Blights!! …though this last bit of information is often forgotten, given that Blights happen once every few centuries.

If you ask me, the Grey Wardens are the biggest dick move in Thedas, which is actually part of why I love them. Here’s all the downsides to joining this “glorious order”:

First of all, the Right of Conscription. Ferelden has it; not sure if other nations in Thedas do? Anyway, it means that Grey Wardens can recruit anyone at any time. In practice, they have to be careful how they wield this tool (especially in Ferelden), but the RoC has been used to save people from hangings or other deadly fates… on the condition that they become a Warden Recruit. So… didn’t want to be Warden Recruit? TOO BAD, YOU ARE NOW. And no, you don’t get a say in the RoC. (Allura was RoC’d, to keep the commander of the Templars from killing her.)

Second of all, there’s the Joining. It turns out that, in order to become a Grey Warden, you have to drink darkspawn blood. And a bunch of other stuff in there, but really now, DRINKING DARKSPAWN BLOOD. You might recognize this as a stupidly dangerous thing to do, given that darkspawn blood KILLS THINGS. But your options are drink it or die, because the Grey Wardens present at the Joining will kill you if you try to back out after learning about this. If you drink from the Joining chalice, you also might die, but your name will be remembered as a Grey Warden at least? Even though you’re dead. And hey, if you live, you… become “immune” to the darkspawn taint, which is to say you’re already fucking tainted so it’s not like it can get worse. Want to know why the Grey Wardens don’t tell people they’re gonna make them drink darkspawn blood? Well, if they did that, people wouldn’t want to join, and we need Grey Wardens.

Supposing you survive the Joining, there’s the shortened lifespan (10-30 years depending on your sources) and the nightmares (that maybe you can learn to tune out). Again, they don’t tell you this until afterwards. Why? Because then people might not want to become Grey Wardens… yadda yadda. (Shiro might not speak Adam’s name anymore but he sure does yell it some nights, jolting out of a night terror and back to reality.)

Oh, and forget about having kids! It’s very difficult if not impossible to have children as a Grey Warden! (Not like they let mages have kids in the Circle. And Shiro’d been in love with a man, so he was okay with not having biological children anyway.)

At some point, even if you were able to tune the nightmares out, they’ll come back and there’ll be nothing you can do about it. That’s the first sign of The Calling. Because it turns out that the Joining is really just turning you into a ghoul, except very, very slowly. You’re getting close to Ghoul-dom now. Most Grey Wardens choose to die in battle against the darkspawn rather than waiting to be turned. It’s tradition.

And if there’s a Blight going on? Oh, well, it turns out that the only way to kill an Archdemon is to sacrifice a Grey Warden. Why didn’t they tell you? DO YOU EVEN HAVE TO ASK NOW?!

The motto of the Grey Wardens is “In war, victory. In peace, vigilance. In death, sacrifice.”

So what I’m saying is that Grey Wardens are SUPER TRAGIC BADASSES. They also wind up pretty cut off from their former lives, so the Wardens become their family. So, basically, SUPER TRAGIC BADASS FOUND FAMILY. 

Shiro and Allura get close because it turns out they work well together as a fighting pair: he as a warrior, she as a mage. Even with only one arm, Shiro can at least protect Allura as she takes shit out. They’re quickly a unit, just the two of them, always sent out together. It’s no wonder it starts to blossom into love.

But Allura sees that Shiro wants to do more than just protect and shield bash, so she starts trying to figure out how to make him a prosthetic: one worthy of a Grey Warden. One... worthy of him. 

There are different schools of magic: Creation is the healing branch, and it seems natural to try to work with that some, but in the end, Allura has to also dip into a forbidden school: Blood Magic. Blood Magic has the reputation of being evil because you’re using people’s blood - people’s life forces - to power your spells. After growing up in the Tower, she’s understandably nervous about using it.

But she talks about it with Shiro, and although he might otherwise be scared of Blood Magic, she tells him she doesn’t need a lot of it, it won’t kill him, and... well, it’s her. He trusts her. And she works hard to be worthy of that trust, she goes over this spell she’s created several times. It should work to attach the arm - made of silverite, a very powerful and durable metal - to him so he can use it.

She just forgot about the darkspawn taint coursing through him. His blood is not normal. And there are some... side effects from messing with it.

I do recommend reading this post (it’s kinda 1/2 meta, 1/2 fic) but if you don’t want to, the short version is that Shiro has trouble controlling his arm at first and so he pushes Allura away because he’s afraid of hurting her. She takes that as a well-deserved rebuke because she did this to him. 

Eventually they scream it all out at each other: he loves her, he was afraid for her, she feels guilty and is so afraid he’ll leave her, etc. They settle down and start working together on figuring out how Shiro can better control this thing. At the beginning of this fic, he’s gotten the hang of it now.

I’ll put up pictures of their uniforms when I can, and other than that, you should be good to go! I know this was long, sorry. Here, have some pretty @mitzoco​ art:

[maaaaarveeeeel]

They Can’t See Us If We Move

Summary: Alexander Pierce is in the process of opening a new park. However, after a horrible accident the safety of the park has raised some serious questions. Now, in order for his beloved park to open, he must get the opinions of three renowned experts, Dr. Steve Rogers, Dr. Bucky Barnes and Dr. Tony Stark, to sign off on the safety of the park. But what happens when everything doesn’t go as planned. And what happens when his grandchildren are in the middle of it all?

A/N: So I got excited and decided to post chapter 1 early. I’m going to work on this more tomorrow. Few things, anyone that only knows the movie you’ll notice I stole a lot of dialogue from it in this first chapter (I promise I don’t do that in the later ones, just this first part has a lot of science stuff that I’m not about to fake.) Anyone that knows both the book AND movie, I’m sure you can appreciate why I picked Pierce for Hammond (he was actually a huge ass in the book.) As for the deaths, remember this is an au, so just because it says “lives/dies both” doesn’t mean I’ll actually follow that, or have to. Enjooooooooooooy! (I’ll add tags and warnings as I post chapters)

Warnings: Only one in this is Pierce being an ass and slightly transphobic towards Bucky (it’s very subtle) 

Characters:

Grant (paleontologist, lives both)- Steve Rogers 

Ellie(paleobotanist, lives both)- James Buchanan Barnes (trans, woman to man)

Malcolm (chaotician, lives both)- Tony Stark

Hammond (InGen CEO, dies book, lives movie)- Alexander Pierce 

Muldoon (game warden, lives book, dies movie)- Sam Wilson 

Gennaro (lawyer lives book, dies movie)- Bruce Banner

Wu (chief geneticist, dies book, lives movie)- Dr. Stephen Strange 

Tim (kid dino knowledge, lives both)- Peter

Lex (kid hacker, lives both)- Morgan 

Arnold (chief engineer, dies both)- Nick Fury

Nedry (computer programer, dies both)- Brock Rumlow 

____________________________________

Chapter 1

Steve wiped the dirt off his face and gave a happy sigh as he looked down at the newly dug skeleton. It was a big find for them, an important one too. 

"They're ready to try again babe." 

Steve turned towards the voice and smiled. Bucky, his boyfriend, was walking towards him with a small smile on his face. He grunted and started walking towards the man, letting the diggers know where he was going. 

"Think it'll work this time?" Steve mumbled.

"One can only hope." Bucky sighed, rubbing Steve's back and kissing his cheek. 

As they approach where their team was set up Steve frowns. Some of the volunteers have, once again, brought their kids with them. He doesn't understand why they feel the need to bring them. It's not like the kids are allowed to do anything. The bones are far too fragile for them to be handling. In Steve's opinion they shouldn't even be here, but Bucky says if he wants the volunteers to come help he has to accept the kids. 

"Ready to try again?" One of the volunteers, he thinks his name is Clint, asks from where he's sitting in the chair. 

Steve just nods and turns where two others are standing with the machine. A moment later a loud noise, like a gunshot, echoes through the canyon. 

"How long does it usually take?" Bucky asks, looking at the screen.

"Should have an immediate response," Clint replies, "shoot the radar in the ground, then the image bounces back."

Suddenly the screen lights up with an image, and the group lets out sighs of relief. 

"Amazing," a volunteer shouths, "in a couple years we won't have to dig anymore."

Steve frowns at this. "Where's the fun in that?"

Bucky smiles and pats the man's arm before looking back at the screen. "Postmortem contraction of the posterior neck ligaments." He turns and looks at Steve. "Velociraptor?" 

"Yes, good shape too." Steve smiles and points at the screen, then frowns as it goes fuzzy. 

"What happened?" Clint asks. 

"Dr. Rogers isn't machine compatible." Bucky chuckles.

"They've got it in for me." Steve mumbles. "Look at the half-moon shaped bone. Hard to believe they never learned to fly." The group behind him laughed and he rolled his eyes before turning towards them. "Well, we've found that dinosaurs have more in common with present-day birds than they do reptiles. See, look at the pubic bone," he turns and points at the screen, "it's turned backwards, just like a bird. The vertebrae is full of hollows and air sacs, just like a bird."

A kid steps forward and looks at the screen then towards Steve with an unimpressed look. "That really doesn't look all that scary. It looks more like a six-foot turkey."

The group's eyes go wide and Bucky sighs. Steve's jaw clenches and he steps forward, eyeing the kid. 

"Alright. Let's try something. Try to imagine yourself in the Jurassic Period. You get your first look at the, what'd you call it? Oh yes, the six-foot turkey! As you move into a clearing, but the raptor, he knew you were there a long time ago. He moves like a bird; lightly, bobbing his head. You keep still, because you think that, like a T-rex, his visual acuity's based on movement, and he'll lose you if you don't move. You're wrong though. Not with a VELOCIRAPTOR. You stare at him, and he just stares right back at you. That's when the attack happens. Not from the front, oh no, from the side, from the other two raptors that you didn't even know were there." Steve walks around the kid and wipes his face. "See, Velociraptor's are pack hunters. They use coordinated attack patterns, and they'd slash at you with this," he takes a claw from his pocket and holds it in front of the kids face, "a six-inch retractable claw, like a razor, on the middle toe. They don't bother to bite the jugular, like a lion, they just slash here," he uses the claw to fake slash at the kid's chest and thigh, "or maybe across the belly, spilling your intestines. Point is, you're alive when they start to eat you. So, you know, try to show a little respect." 

The kid held back tears and just nodded. Steve smiled then turned and started walking back to the dig site, Bucky close behind. 

"If you wanted to scare the kid you could've pulled a gun." Bucky chuckled. 

"You want one of those?" Steve snorted. 

"Not that one, but a breed of Dr. Rogers would be interesting." Bucky laughed. 

Steve stopped and looked at Bucky. "Buck, you're a man, you can't have kids."

Bucky smiled and leaned up and placed a small kiss on Steve's lips. "While I appreciate the endless support, I was born in a woman's body. Might as well make use of it." 

Steve snorted, but before he could say anything Bucky stopped him. "Women aren't just baby makers, I know Rogers. Don't get started, you know what I meant."

Steve rolled his eyes and opened his mouth but was cut off by the sound of a helicopter. The two spun around and started running towards the dig site. 

"Cover anything that's exposed!" Bucky shouts. 

Steve runs towards the helicopter and yells at the pilot that just stepped out, he just points to a trailer on the other side of camp. Steve then turns and runs there. 

He slams the door open and growls when he sees a man rummaging through the fridge. The man turns and smiles at him, popping the cork of a bottle of expensive champagne.

"Hey, we were saving that!" Steve growls. 

"For today, I guarantee it." The man says with a smile. 

Steve steps forward and points at the man's chest. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Alexander Pierce, and I'm pleased to finally meet you in person, Dr. Rogers." He shakes Steve's finger, then blows the dirt off and turns back towards the kitchen area. "I'm glad to see my fifty thousand a year is being well spent." 

The door slams open once more and Bucky walks in yelling about the asshole who just covered their bones. 

Steve quickly turns and grabs his arm. "Uh, this is our paleobotanist, Dr. James…"

"Barnes." Bucky finishes, raising an eyebrow at Steve. 

Pierce raises an eyebrow at that. "I thought Dr. Barnes was a woman?"

Bucky's jaw clenches. "I'm a man."

Pierce raises his eyebrows. "Well someone back at the company is going to get an earful for that one." He says as he pours the champagne in his cup. 

"Buck, this is Alexander Pierce." Steve whispers. 

Bucky's eyes go wide at this. "Um, hello Mr. Pierce, I'm sorry for my outburst-"

"It's fine," Pierce smiled, "I can't imagine my entrance was all that good. Anyhow, I'm in need of your assistance." Pierce offered a glass to Steve. 

"What kind?" Steve asked, accepting the glass. 

"Well, I'll get right to the point. I like you," he looked at Bucky," Both of you. I can tell instantly with people; it's a gift." He sipped his drink before continuing, "I own an island, off the coast of Costa Rica. Leased it from the government, and I've spent the last five years setting up a kind of a biological preserve down there. It's really spectacular.  I spared no expense." He sighed, and leaned against the sink. "No doubt that sooner or later our attractions will drive kids right out of their minds." 

"What are those?" Steve asked. 

"Small versions of adults, baby." Bucky chuckled. 

"Not just for kids, adults too. We have plans to open next year. If the damn lawyers don't kill me first. I don't like them. Do you?" Pierce laughed. 

Steve and Bucky looked at one another and shrugged. "We don't know any."

Pierce laughed again. "Count yourselves lucky. I have a particular one that represents my investors, and he says they insist on outside opinions."

"What kind?" Bucky asks. 

"Well, your kind." Pierce says. 

"Why would they care what we think?" Steve asks.

"Well, it's right up your alley. Why don't you both come down for the weekend? Have a look around? I'd love to have the opinion of a paleobotanist as well. I've got a plane standing by." 

Bucky and Steve looked at each other. They weren't all that impressed with the vague answer. 

"Now isn't really the best time. We just dug up a new skeleton." Steve said. 

"I could compensate you by fully funding your dig." Pierce said, pouring himself another drink. 

"This is an awfully unusual time…" Bucky mumbled.

"For a further three years." 

Bucky and Steve look at each other with wide eyes and smiles then instantly hug one another and cheer at this. Pierce smiled and sipped his drink when he heard Bucky ask where the plane was.

Tags (open):

@xblackboard-monitor-vimes

@buckyssbabyy

@honestly-dontknow

[mrs-theirin]

1-20 for duncan & ophelia!

skglhsgksghs lucie oh my god alright strap in y’all

(1, 5, 8, 6, 9, 18, and 20 have already been answered!)

2. what’s their parenting approach? do they raise their children differently than how they were raised?

uh you best fucking believe Alistair is raising his children different, you know, not in the fucking stables?? (hating arl eamon juice squad, take a shot), they raise them a lot like Faye was raised. they’re strict when they need to be but they also understand the pressure they’re both under, so they make sure to have some time for fun every now and then. they want them to feel like normal children.

3. what is their favorite thing(s) about their children? what do they love about their children the most?

oh man. everything? skghslgkhs no seriously they love how mature Ophelia is. they love her big heart. they love how silly Duncan is. they really love everything about their kids no lie.

4.  who gets the most emotional seeing their children grow older?

hahahaha Alistair, next question.

7. how do they soothe their crying baby when they’re out in public? who’s the best at rocking the baby to sleep?

they have Never been in public with them as babies skshgksghs it was an excuse for Alistair to hide away from the public. Alistair’s the best at the rocking, his arms are just the right amount of beefy for baby holding 🥺

10. who spoils their children the most? who finds it difficult telling their children ‘no’?

ALISTAIR, next QUESTION

11. what was their baby’s first word(s)? if the baby’s first word was something used to address their parent(s), who claimed bragging rights?

oh this is cute!! Ophelia’s was “please”. Duncan’s was “no”. they loved Ophelia’s but neither of them were happy about Duncan’s sgkhdglksh

12. do their kids ever find them embarrassing?

the daughter and son of Alistair Theirin and you’re asking if they find him embarrassing? uh yeah skghslgkss they love him so much but sometimes they’re like “dad. please. stop”. Duncan finds Faye and Alistair showing affection embarrassing, Ophelia thinks it’s cute 🥺

13. what is their name(s)? is there any significance to it? any nicknames they go by? or cute pet names their parents give them?

Ophelia Arainai and Duncan Bryce Cousland-Theirin. Ophelia’s was just pretty, Duncan is named after Warden Duncan. Ophelia’s middle name is Zevran’s last name, and Duncan’s is Faye’s father’s name. Ophelia sometimes goes by Lia, but she prefers Ophelia. Alistair calls her Oppie as a pet name 🥺 and both Faye and Alistair call Duncan “junior”.

14. how were they like as small children? did their personality change drastically as they grew older?

Ophelia has pretty much stayed the same. Duncan used to be very outgoing, but has become shy the older he got. He also realized he was gay but that’s not for a while sgklsghkglhs he is very closeted for no reason other than his own head.

15.  what do they usually eat at restaurants? are they a picky eater?

oh this is a nice question! Ophelia is into anything that makes her feel good. she especially loves these buns/biscuits the elves in the Alienage make for no reason whatsoever. Duncan is a picky eater, he normally only likes the food that’s served in the castle.

16. have they ever scared their parents?

oh boy. Duncan never has, not really, but Ophelia has. there was a time that she disappeared and no one could find her (she was in the forest for no reason whatsoever). that really scared them.

17. what was their favorite childhood toys/games growing up?

i have. no idea. physically cannot answer this question. but they both like dancing with their parents.

19. what is their favorite thing to do with their parents? any favorite games or mutual hobbies?

as mentioned before, they love dancing with their parents! Alistair teaches Ophelia how to dance actually. picnics are their favorite thing to do. Ophelia likes helping her parents with their letters/paperwork. they both like being read to. Ophelia and Alistair like to sing together (Ophelia likes it because Alistair is Not good at singing but he tries for her 🥺)

okay FINALLY i’m done damn lucie thank you for letting me share

[ice-cream-nekogirl]

Dusk Till Dawn (Shinsou Hitoshi X Reader) FINALE

https://ice-cream-kitsunegirl.tumblr.com/post/187222729784/dusk-till-dawn-shinsou-hitoshi-x-reader-part-10

Taglist: @fandom-hoe101 @greenliquidcacti @shadow-wolf2 @rxbyrxn @golden-eter @queenofmonstersanddemons @depressed-deku @sleepychai 

Summary: Although you and Shinsou are back home, the two of you realize that things aren’t the same anymore after everything you’ve been through. 

This is it everyone... the Final chapter of Dusk Til Dawn!!! Waaaaah…. I’m really surprised that this actually got a lot of likes and many people liked this series... but unfortunately all good things must eventually end and I rather liked this one myself... it was one of my favorite things to write yet... so... I really hope ya’ll like this ending to it all...

Warnings: Some graphic violence, gore and sexual situations.

Featuring: Our Purple Boi!! <3 

Chapter 11 (END): Human

ONE WEEK LATER…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAiwz2QX-zQ

Although you managed to go to sleep that one night after knowing that your former warden was dead, at the same time you woke up exhausted. Your dreams made you want to stay in bed, because every time you closed your eyes you could only see Shinsou.

Only him…

This entire week was supposed to be your recovery week and yet you still didn’t feel normal. You were eating properly and hydrated now that you had water, and you had rested up well and attended school like normal with Shinsou.

Except he had been avoiding you, only waving at you every now and then without truly acknowledging you and you hated it. You hated that he was just blowing you off after everything you had been through together. What the fuck was his deal? And why the fuck did he have to be on your mind?

Every morning, you could feel the warmth flushing your face as you tried desperately to get him out of your mind, and yet you couldn’t. You were able to train with Present Mic and it distracted you for only a few moments until he came back to your head. He almost felt like some kind of drug that was putting you through a kind of fucked up withdrawal.

There’s no way you could go through withdrawal over a person though. It felt ridiculous and you felt ridiculous for even thinking about it. Still, you did try to reach out to Shinsou, but whenever you tried to call him he never answered, and whenever you texted him, he would barely reply with anything meaningful.

‘How’s it Going?’

You had texted him that over 5 hours ago because it was a weekend and you were sure he must have had some kind of break before training with Aizawa or something. Present Mic had given you the day off though, allowing you to rest up since he was well aware that you had the boy on your mind. And although it embarrassed you that the surprisingly sharp Present Mic knew this, you still appreciated it.

‘Ok.’

You growled a little bit in annoyance at such a blasé response, all that waiting and he just gives you an ‘ok’? That fucking jerk… 

Trembling slightly, you took a deep breath and willed the tears to stay at bay because you didn’t want to get upset over this and you instantly put your earbuds in to let music distract you from these feelings...

Only your phone didn’t even save you when you heard one of your favorite songs...

But you'll never be alone I'll be with you from dusk till dawn I'll be with you from dusk till dawn Baby, I'm right here

Now you were sure God must have hated you, or your phone hated you because this damn song of all songs was playing. It just made the pain even worse as you put it on pause. Your heart aching as it sent you tumbling to your bed, clenching your sheets as you let some tears fall and drip into your pillow.

It felt so wrong…

To be on this bed all by yourself, and Shinsou wasn’t there. You hated to think that you grew dependent on him, because you knew that it wasn’t healthy. But still you found yourself longing for him, crying for him because after suffering with him, getting close to him, it was impossible for you to not become attached to him.

Even if you were both rescued, you still felt that attachment. You just wanted him to be with you right now, but it seemed like he was just trying to distance himself from you.

You couldn’t deal with it, it was becoming painful, so you ultimately went to your contacts and turned to the person you always went to in doubt…

“Hello? (Y/N)?”

Momo’s voice snapped you out of your brief little stupor, and you shakily sighed, “H-Hi Momo…”

“Good afternoon! How are you feeling?” She was still so considerate, even after your recovery week she was still trying to make sure that you were okay.

“I’m uh… feeling okay…” You were starting to feel bad for probably bugging her, Yaoyorozu probably had other things to take care of and yet here you were, bothering her for advice over fucking boy troubles of all things. And on top of that the girl was so innocent you were starting to realize that this maybe wasn’t a good idea because you didn’t really think ahead…

“Oh?” She knew better though, more than you thought, “Sorry to say but you sound a little bit dubious. Are you sure you’re okay?” Yaoyorozu was book-smart but she understood people too and their feelings, especially when that person was you since the two of you got along quite well.

“No…” You knew you couldn’t lie to her, because you’d feel bad if you did. “Sorry for bothering you but… I just had to tell someone and… you were the first person I thought of… Izuku and Katsuki can’t help me this…” Yaoyorozu paid her full attention to you and would only speak if it seemed that you were finished.

“You shouldn’t apologize if you feel the need to tell someone something (Y/N), I’m here for you to talk to.”

It took all of your willpower to not start crying, but you still had to wipe your eyes as you let out a small, breathy giggle, “Okay… you broke me… damn Momo… hee-hee… well…” You took a deep breath so you could calm yourself down.

“You know how I… told you and… Tsuyu and Ochaco… about what I had been through with Hitoshi?” You started off small hearing a small hum of agreement, “That’s… that’s just it… ever since I… from the moment I got captured and saw that he was with me, it’s… it’s just taken over my mind. I think about him a lot now, sometimes he’s all I think about… I try to distract myself and yet he just somehow comes to my mind.”

Sighing heavily, you could practically see Shinsou right now, the way he smiled at you those times just to try and make you feel better when you were scared, or when you actually got him to chuckle at a terrible joke you told to also lighten up his spirits when he was doubting himself out there in the cold.

You missed him… you fucking missed him so much.

“See I… know it was probably because it was just us out there but… I can’t fight it… I just… wish he would talk to me again… he’s been distant since we got rescued… and I don’t know what’s… I don’t know what’s the matter with him… I feel like… maybe he wants to move on… or that… maybe he didn’t feel… what I felt. I mean he’s not obligated too but I just… I would just like it if he would at least talk to me…” You finally admitted the root of it all, telling her how much you just wanted to talk to him again and be near him again, even though it didn’t seem like he wanted to.

“I see.” Yaoyorozu took it all in, and nodded where she was as she tried to think about what solutions there were for you. “I know Midoriya already told you this but it is likely that he’s still going through a form of shock. Maybe even post-traumatic stress disorder… like you.” She said, and your eyes widened a little bit, and you felt so stupid for not even thinking about that.

Ever since you returned home the doctors did diagnose you with PTSD because sometimes you could still feel like you were back on the mountain, because there had been brief moments where you would get this dreading feeling of fear that made you feel like you were still in the cold again. Like you were still imprisoned, but when that wave of horror settled you remembered where you really were at.

“Y-You’re right…”

“However… I can’t be a good judge of Shinsou because I don’t know him that well, but you do, he’s your friend… you’ve told me about him, and the things he did for you out there, and the things you did for him out there.” She said rather softly but you couldn’t help but blush a bright shade of red, having told only your closest girl-friends Yaoyorozu, Tsuyu and Ochaco about the more intimate things you and Shinsou had done together to survive.

You narrowly avoided telling them about being naked with him, but you knew that Yaoyorozu knew because she knew what to do in those situations. But of course, you were amazed that she didn’t get flustered or embarrassed by it like Tsuyu and Ochaco did, the poor girls went bright red in the face when you told them, and you had blushed just as terribly. Sweet, innocent Momo didn’t, she understood that it was because of the two of you had to warm up…

But she also knew that it meant something to you.

“You were both prisoners, and friends… he protected you, it’s the same as becoming attached to someone who also does those things for others, the heroes we admire… but it sounds like for you, it’s deeper than just that… you sound really sad that he’s distancing himself from you, and if you can’t stop thinking about him…” Yaoyorozu almost sounded slightly uncertain, but she also sounded fairly positive too about what she was thinking and you were becoming afraid of it because you were starting to pick up on what she was thinking…

“(Y/N)… I think you might be in love with him.”

She finished her sentence, and your whole face started to warm at such a thought, your eyes slightly wide as you felt very hot all of a sudden. Momo’s words making perfect sense, even though secretly you already had a feeling that you had developed feelings for Shinsou, but you were trying to deny them, and maybe have Momo convince you that it was something else…

But your friend was much too smart for that.

“(Y/N)? (Y/N) are you there? Hello?”

You must have been silent for quite a while since she sounded a little bit worried and you shook your head with a small gasp, “Y-Yes, yes I’m here I’m sorry…” Sheepishly you apologized but the girl quickly reassured you.

“Anyway… I recommend trying to speak with him, if you want to see him, you should go to him.” She rather simply suggested, as if it was the easiest thing in the world, and just thinking about it made you feel like your body was sinking. You had no idea why you were feeling so nervous, after all you and Shinsou already saw each other naked and doing other things no one else should have seen either of you do so why were you feeling so nervous?

“I-I… I don’t know… he’s… really been aloof I… what if he doesn’t want to even see me…?”

“Well… it’s going to be difficult I’m sure, but I think it’s necessary for the both of you. I think that the two of you need your closure, for your health and for your friendship.” Yaoyorozu rationalized calmly and yet kindly as you smiled a little bit. Although you felt a bit nervous when she said ‘friendship’ even though she knew that you definitely felt like more than friends, but at the same time you knew you had to prepare for possibilities in that maybe Shinsou didn’t feel the same way after all…

You let out a huge sigh, glad that you were able to get this off your chest after such a long time of just keeping quiet. “Thank you Momo… you have no idea how much I need to talk… I can’t thank you enough…”

“It’s no problem! I’ll never turn down a friend’s need to talk.” She said in a somewhat giggly and cheerful tone as you chuckled a little bit, “Hehe… thanks again… I will… definitely do that though. I’m going to talk to Hitoshi… and tell him how I feel.” This time, you sounded more determined as your friend giggled a little bit.

“Wonderful! Please do tell me how that goes afterward!” She nearly exclaimed with a very excited, girlish voice which made you giggle and smile, “Of course girl! I totally will… just like… I’m totally gonna go to Hitoshi… he can’t hide from me forever…” 

AT SHINSOU’S HOUSE

“HeeeehTCHHH!”

Shinsou lurched forward as he let out a sudden sneeze, irritably rubbing his nose and wondered where in the world that came from. He got over his cold days ago, there’s no way he could still have it. Not after he had been perfectly fine for the past week…

Only he wasn’t fine, he wasn’t fine at all in fact. He made sure to avoid you the second he saw you with your friends, where you belonged, and he went back where he belonged, alone to focus on his goal to become a hero. He saw what happened on the news and the prison fire that killed Koru. At first he was horrified and shocked to figure out that the man who tormented you and him died so suddenly and was killed by that villain Dabi…

At first he thought that it couldn’t have been a coincidence, but his brain and his heart reminded him about something more important. The villain was dead, he wouldn’t hurt anyone anymore, and he wouldn’t hurt him or you anymore, and he was beyond thankful for that. It meant that it was truly over.

The ordeal was finally over, and so that meant it was time to go back to normal, there was no need to think about you anymore.

So he told himself…

He felt so guilty for ignoring your calls and not texting back with hardly any real effort or thought, but he couldn’t just be a distraction for you. The two of you could still be friends, but after all of that, he just wanted to return to his normal life.

But why was it so hard?

Why couldn’t he get you out of his head?

He couldn’t let that plague his mind, not again. Some nights you were consistently on his mind, just showing up every time he heard a song that he knew you would like, and every time he thought about that anime you wanted to watch with him.

That’s right…

You and he were supposed to watch Gakkou Gurashi together. There was no way he could do that now, not when he was feeling some type of way that he couldn’t help. It would make things weird, he was sure it would. The two of you weren’t trapped anymore, you were both free and back to your lives, why make it weird when things were supposed to be normal?

Sighing, he shook his head and downed the melatonin pills that were supposed to help him sleep as he lied down in his bed, something he had missed after being forced to sleep on either a cot or a dead man’s bed. That was the only thing that he got to enjoy when he came back, the comfort of his home, and his awkward mom and dad…

At least he had those things for comfort. And he made sure to think about those things as he slowly drifted off into a moment of sleep…

When Shinsou opened his eyes, he found himself back in the snow, the dots of white falling from the sky and sheets of ice unpleasantly familiar as he realized that he was running and saw the trees, he saw you…

“These are large enough for you to hide in. Get in, right now.” He had to push you so you could get in between the twisted tree that would hide you from the villains, but you didn’t want him to leave you.

“Come on…!”

He hated seeing you so scared and yet he loved to see your face, your soft (S/C) skin, your (E/C) eyes so full of life, the face he had grown to really love. Only you looked terrified and he hated it, he wanted to see you smile. That’s why he had to make sure you would live on, even if it meant being a distraction for the villains…

“Hitoshi no… please… don’t… don’t go please… please, please don’t… don’t leave me pleeeease…”

Your plea broke his heart, and he knew that this might be his last and final moment with you in this damn world, but he couldn’t stay here any longer even if he didn’t want to leave you either. Quietly he whispered to you…

“I love you (Y/N)…”

Shinsou awoke with a gasp, and he quickly sat up from his bed with slightly wide eyes when the memory crept in his mind just to plague him with these feelings, consuming him as he automatically shuddered, not noticing how he had started sweating as his neck, cheeks and pits had grown damp with perspiration.

“Shit…!”

He cursed quietly when he realized that those damn pills didn’t do a damn thing to help him sleep. Then again, the pills couldn’t do anything about bad memories, logically he knew that but he wanted to blame something. Yet he mostly blamed himself, for getting so hung up on something that he should be over.

He wasn’t over it at all.

Shinsou remembered what he said to you, but you didn’t even hear the words. He was happy, he was glad that you didn’t know what he felt, in that moment. He felt that in the moment, but the more he told himself that, the more his heart ached and felt like it wanted to just crawl out of his chest. These feelings, combined with the memories stirred inside of him and made him nauseous as he shakily got up out of bed and grabbed his phone…

Stumbling as quietly as possible through the hallway of his family’s apartment, he shakily got himself a glass of water in an attempt to calm himself the fuck down. It wasn’t working…

He downed the cool liquid as it felt pleasant on his throat, but only for a second as he sighed in annoyance, setting the glass down as he clenched his fists and grit his teeth. It felt like his legs were going to give out so he moved as quickly as he could back to his room. His knees wobbling the second he got inside as he closed the door and clumsily made his way back to his bed to sit on. Putting his head in his knees, as he tangled his fingers in his rat’s nest that he called hair.

There was no way he was going to get to sleep tonight, so he settled for just listening to music until his body forces him to pass out. Quickly he put his earbuds on and went to his playlist on shuffle.

Every breath you take…

He scoffed at the first thing his phone played, instantly skipping it to another hopefully better song that wasn’t a fucking love song.

Say something I’m giving up on you…

“Seriously?” Shinsou grunted in annoyance, skipping over to another song as soon as he heard that one.

I don’t want this moment to ever end…

“Oh come on…!” Why did he have so many fucking love songs?! And sad songs?! And sad love songs?!

I will not kiss you…

Oooh can’t you see… you belong to me?

And anywhere I could have followed you…

Where everything’s nothing without you…

Cuz the hardest part of this is leaving you…

Since you’ve gone I been lost without a trace. I dream at night I can only see your face.

Ohhhhhhhhh~!

I want you to know! With everything I won’t let this go! These words are my heart and soul I’ll hold onto this moment you know, cuz I’ll bleed my heart out to show… that I won’t let go…

“Oh my God…” Shinsou groaned in annoyance when his phone betrayed him by just bombarding him with all of these songs, even though he knew it was his own fault because HE put these songs on here after all. And then he had let you recommend some of these songs to him, that was the worst part…

In front of your eyes, it falls from the skies When you don't know what you're looking to find In front of your eyes, it falls from the skies When you just never know what you will find What you will find What you will find What you will find...

“Why am I so fucking emo…?” He muttered with a heavy sigh as he plopped his head back down to his pillow as he let this sad love song play, putting it on full blast in hopes that it would take him away from reality for a little bit.

Shutting his eyes tightly, he bit his bottom lip as Sum 41 blared in his ears as the tears automatically streamed down his cheeks.

I don't want this moment to ever end Where everything's nothing without you...

Wrong...

Being alone in this bed felt so wrong. Everything felt wrong, without you everything really was wrong, everything felt like nothing without you. He supposed it was his fault, because he was the one who begged you to stay with him that night when you both kept each other warm. And you did, you said you would stay with him, and yet he was pushing you away, for what? The sake of normalcy? God it almost didn’t feel worth it...

He wanted to feel your warmth again, he wanted to feel you again…

Because he felt nothing right now. He felt nothing without you…

THE NEXT DAY…

This was it, you had to talk to him and there was nothing he could say or do to make you leave. Of course, you knew that calling him and texting him was moot at this point, so you searched for him and used your quirk to find him.

Thank God it was still the weekend and you saw that he was about to enter a coffeehouse and the poor guy looked horrible. Somehow his bags looked heavier and his hair was even worse mess than normal. You wondered what had been going on with him, and you were going to ask just that.

Now that you knew where he was, the place almost felt like the perfect spot for you and him to finally have a well-needed heart-to-heart after all of the shit that you’ve been through together. Quickly you grabbed your things, exiting your house to go and march over to him. Part of you wanted to just shout at him and make a scene in the place since he dared to freaking ghost you for the past week, but you knew you couldn’t do that, so you would just give him the chilly voice instead.

That’s what you were going to do…

“(Y/N)-chan!”

You flinched and stopped in your tracks the second you heard your dear friend Izuku’s voice, turning to face him with slightly wide eyes, and you were extremely shocked to see that Bakugou was with him and glaring at you. Except they seemed a little bit scuffed up...

“Did you two get in another fight? How many fucking times are you guys going to fight? Pretty soon these cliché fights get old you know?”

You asked them somewhat sardonically which confused Izuku and angered Bakugou, “We were training you dumbass!” He quickly replied to your smartass response as you chuckled a little bit, glad to know that these two were on slightly, very slightly better terms than they had been.

“Well… it’s nice to see you both… I’m going to… go… somewhere now… Mr. Yamada is actually waiting for me too.” You then said, but it’s not like you were completely lying. Even though you didn’t really want to drag Present Mic into this, he was kind enough to be present (no pun intended) and be your emotional support for this little heart-to-heart before he takes you to do some more non-physical training since your ankle still wasn’t at 100 percent yet but you didn’t need your crutches anymore at least.

“Tch… bullshit, where exactly are you going?” Izuku was understanding, but Bakugou wasn’t; he outright demanded to know where you were because he was NOT going to let you go alone that was for sure.

“Hey I don’t have to tell you…”

“Maybe you shouldn’t go alone you moron! That’s how you got taken the last time isn’t it?” He somewhat harshly reminded you, but he wasn’t trying to be mean about it. If anything, he was concerned, and so was Izuku. “W-We can take you there… i-if you want I… I’m sorry…”

Izuku quickly apologized because he didn’t want to patronize you, but as you paid attention to your guyfriends you couldn’t help but smile, resisting the desire to just tear up because of how sweet these two were. Even Bakugou was being sweet, in his own asshole-ish way…

“That’s a good idea…” You saw their point too, you did NOT want to get taken away again, ever again.

Izuku flashed you a sweet smile, but Bakugou just scowled at you the whole time as the two boys had guided you to the place you had said you were heading towards. You felt strangely safe with your two strong guy-friends protecting you, but at the same time it felt weird. Shinsou had been the one protecting you during the ordeal, and then you took turns with him by protecting him too…

It just still felt strange being back, even after a week of readjusting…

“(Y/N)-chan… sorry for asking but… have things been okay? With you and… Shinsou?” He somewhat nervously asked you, hoping he didn’t cross a line there and he internally freaked out when he saw your eyes go wide a little bit. “I-I’m so sorry…”

“No… it… it’s okay but… it actually… hasn’t because… he hasn’t answered my calls or texts which… I thought was a bit weird so… I’m confronting his ass about it.” You replied, sounding a but blunt at the last word, which would have amused Bakugou, had the thought of Shinsou not angered him.

“Don’t tell me you actually like that brainwashing bastard?”

Bakugou asked you so suddenly, his tone very direct and sounding very irritated which kind of startled you. It didn’t help that your face started to flush brightly as you tried in vain to appear calm and collected, and failed. “W-What?” You even laughed a little bit to try and throw him off, it didn’t work…

“Katsuki… don’t be ridiculous, I mean… come on… you know I don’t care for romance or anything like that… it’s bullshit…” You nervously mumbled and shook your head, but of course Bakugou saw right through you.

“You’re a fucking terrible liar Shitty Girl…” He lightly growled, almost offended that you honestly believed that you could lie to him for even a minute.

However, you just scoffed in reply, “You’d be amazed at how well I can lie…” Was all you had to say as you just kept leading the way with an amused smile. “It’s none of your business though… but I AM going to set his ass straight…”

Bakugou for once understood what you were saying, and he hated to admit that it really wasn’t any of his business but he wouldn’t miss the opportunity to hopefully see you tell off that weirdo. He never did like Shinsou, he was such an oddball who tried to pick fights with the likes of him. Idiot…

“If you need any help at all in anyway (Y/N)-chan… just let us know ok?” Izuku politely offered, although he understood that it wasn’t any of his business either, he still wanted to be there for you in case you needed some kind of emotional help afterwards if it goes well or not.

You absolutely adored these two, they were both so helpful in their own ways, even if Bakugou didn’t enjoy helping or the fact that he was taking you to see fucking Shinsou of all people.

“T-Thank you guys… I will…”

You held back your tears as you giggled a bit and led your boys to the coffeehouse where you had last seen Shinsou. As you peered through the glass you could see him now sitting at a table, his eyes staring down at the table, and his expression lethargic and almost detached as if there was nobody else around him. You couldn’t help but frown seeing him like that, but at the same time, it was making you nervous…

“Okay… he’s in there…” Tremoring a little bit, you could feel your heart pulsing and an unusual burst of adrenaline surging through your being as you couldn’t find it in you to move or step foot inside.

“Well? Go set his ass straight.”

Bakugou kind of pushed you to just go in already, crossing his arms as you turned to glare at him. “You can do it, we’ll be right here.” Izuku was there to comfort the blow though as he gave you a gentle smile.

It’s like your friends knew how to get you to do things, you inhaled and exhaled deeply as you nodded at the two. “Okay… I will…!” You managed to find your determination again, as you forced your feet to move and you found yourself inside the building.

Smells of caffeine and sweet pastries baking in the oven instantly invited in your nose, yet they did little to calm you down as you saw Shinsou, and he was getting closer with every step you took. And he seemed to perk up slightly when he got the sense that he was being watched, his eyes peering up to finally glance at you and widening slightly as soon as he realized that it was you…

You were there…

Internally he began to panic just seeing your curious yet unhappy face, but he kept his cool and forced himself to remain emotionless as he looked at you somewhat apathetically. He didn’t like what he was doing, but it had to be done. And you weren’t going to put up with it.

“(L/N).” He greeted you, but his tone was informal as you quietly scoffed and helped yourself by sitting on the chair in front of him to force him to look at you. At first you were going to be gentle, but not anymore…

“So I’m (L/N) now? Okay… Shinsou… what the fuck?” You crossed your arms and gave him a small leer, using the same last name basis he had apparently started using for you. Shinsou knew you were upset, and he already felt horrible, but at the same time, he thought that it was for the best…

“You’ve been ghosting me all week you ass…” He let you speak though, even if you were angry and hurt for how he had been distancing himself. “Mind telling me why? Maybe I won’t kick you in the groin if you do…” The threat was empty but it was enough to convince Shinsou to muster up enough courage to start talking to you.

“Just… come on… say something… I mean… please… yes we’re both a little… shaken up from everything but…”

“I know I have.” Shinsou finally spoke to you after a week of not even giving you the time of day, and finally he looked at you with his exhausted, purple eyes. He looked so tired, you couldn’t imagine just how fatigued he was and then his training. He probably trained even when he was this tired…

“I’m trying to adjust back to my life.” His voice was a little surlier, but you weren’t going to put up with it. “So have I dude but that’s no reason to just ghost me…”

Shinsou wryly chuckled, “In case you missed it, I have to train… I had a life before the mountain you know? What? Did you just think we were just going to be best friends forever after all of that?” It was painful just to ask that, because he could tell that this visibly hurt you as you calmly seethed.

“Don’t give me that bullshit… you can make time, even just a little bit to talk to me about the things that we had both suffered through, rather than just pretend that none of it happened… you can’t do that… you can’t just ignore the things we went through… you can’t ignore the way we looked out for each other…” Your lip almost started to quiver and Shinsou found himself unable to reply, but he forced himself to anyway.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” He shook his head, even though it was all he had been able to think about, he was trying so hard to just forget because there’s no way that the things he felt for you could be real, no matter how real they did feel.

You knew that the feelings you felt were real though, you couldn’t tell if you hated it or if you loved it. Especially when Shinsou was clearly trying to ignore what happened between you both.

“Well I think there is.” You said a bit firmly and just a bit louder which surprised Shinsou a little bit. He opened his mouth to speak but then an employee walked over to him with his coffee and a plate with two small freshly baked cookies he was going to eat just to wake himself up.

As to get him to talk you took the plate as soon as he reached over to try and grab one, and you stuck one in your mouth and bit off a huge piece of it.

“(Y/N)…” That seemed to irritate him a little bit as you smirked slightly. “Aha… so now I’m (Y/N)…”

You got him now, “If you don’t talk, you’re not getting this other one.” You held up the second cookie, and Shinsou sighed heavily in annoyance, knowing that you were true to THAT threat as he rolled his eyes.

“You should be an interrogator…” He kind of chuckled and made a small joke which made you snicker a little bit as you set down the half-eaten cookie with the untouched and whole one.

“Hitoshi…” You used his name now that he had returned to first-name basis, blushing slightly since it felt somewhat different to be more informal now that you were both in public and not in the woods or anything.

“Let’s be real… things aren’t the same… I can’t even go back home without thinking about my time out there in the mountains, in the cold… our time out there… nothing is the same anymore…” Finally, you broke the ice about what had been bothering you as you slowly opened up and Shinsou calmly blew on his hot coffee as he listened to you.

“Right…” He said softly, his voice almost meek as you frowned at him now that you got a better look at the heavy bags under his eyes and his hair seemed more uneven than normal. “Have you got any sleep…?”

Shinsou scoffed with a cynical smirk, shaking his head, “Not really…” He almost stopped himself, but knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep quiet forever, “Doesn’t stop me from training though. If there’s one thing I’ve gotten better at over the years it’s pretending to be okay.”

You couldn’t help but snicker and laugh, shaking your head slightly. “Hitoshi you SUCK at pretending to be okay… even in the mountains I knew when you were just trying to make me feel better… and I know right now that you can’t be okay… you look like you haven’t slept in a month…” When you called him out on his bullshit, he actually smiled at you with a cerise blush coating his pale cheeks.

He knew he couldn’t hide from you, no matter how hard he tried to. “I see why Present Mic recruited you… you’ve always been sharp…” Shinsou complimented you, his words sincere but you didn’t want to be distracted by going off topic.

“Yes… it’s been going well… I can’t really fight YET because of my ankle but… he’s already teaching me and showing me things that are pretty necessary for pro-heroes skilled in detection and search and resuce…” Still, you were going to be polite and tell him how it’d been going after Present Mic took you under his wing as Shinsou nodded and hummed a little bit, taking a sip of his now cool coffee.

It was uncomfortably silent for a moment, at least until you let out a huge sigh, “But you know… not even the training could stop me from thinking about… this… weird, kinda funny thing that I tried to ignore ever since we got rescued…”

Shinsou looked over at you, his lavender hues almost widening when he thought he had a feeling of what you might say. His heartbeat starting to beat quicker, louder in his ears as your cheeks started to burn.

“I loved you Hitoshi…”

Finally, you confessed your feelings, or at least the feelings you ‘had’, even though you knew that you still had them as you saw Shinsou’s cheeks turning red.

“I… tried not to but I did… I… I fell in love with you… simple as that. Hitoshi I fell in love with you, and I… can’t deny that I did. You protected me, looked out for me when I was scared, and I was constantly scared… but you were there for me… you made me feel like I wasn’t alone, kept me safe and I just… I fell in love… But what I felt for you… it was real, and I just… haven’t been able to get that out of my head…”

You poured out the rest of what your heart wanted to say, your whole face felt hot as you almost looked away from him but knew that he had to know this. He had to know how you had felt about him, and maybe the two of you could finally have the closure you need.

However, anxiety filled your chest when Shinsou was quiet, a little too quiet as he stared down at his coffee with a pensive, but wistful look.

“Funny that you say that…”

He said after a painfully long minute of silence, and finally he looked back into your (E/C) eyes, his cheeks still red but his expression was the same as it always looked, bored and yet thoughtful. “Because I fell in love with you too… and you’re right… nothing has been the same ever since we both got home…”

A soft gasp left you as the anxiety inside of you began to swell, ready to pop as you thought you could finally be relieved but Shinsou wasn’t finished speaking.

“But that was out there… in the cold… and I nearly convinced myself that what I felt for you was love. Until I remembered that… we were just two friends who… happened to get captured together. It was only natural that we had to rely on each other.” He pointed out to you, speaking rationally as he kept his voice level and steady.

“I did want to reach out to you once we came back, but… for some reason my mind wouldn’t let me. It almost felt… painful… so I told myself that it couldn’t have been real, what I felt… because you see, these feelings can’t be in your head… when the heart makes you feel that way, the heart is what lets you feel those things… especially in the situation we were in. But the heart is just another muscle that keeps you alive… our brains… react differently to whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, and from there we have to make the best, most logical decisions in order to survive. I remembered that… and that’s why we both got out alive… And when I came back, I knew that in those moments, it couldn’t have been real… because we were both just trying to keep each other alive, for our own sakes… and I knew that… it couldn’t possibly be the same when we came back… and it isn’t… because it worked out there, but we’re not trying to survive anymore… we have to live now, take care of ourselves… it just… it wouldn’t work… not here...”

This was for the best. He didn’t want to just let his feelings get the better of him, especially after what they did to him last night. Even if it meant shoving it all down, he reluctantly told you that there’s no way it could work between you two. And yet he hated himself for saying that…

He regretted looking into your eyes though, as they were glistening with tears that you kept at bay because you didn’t want to make a scene. So instead you let out a fake, amused snicker that Shinsou knew was false. It’s clear that you knew that he was trying to push you away, and that you were hurt.

“You know… Hitoshi…” You chuckled and shook your head, willing your tears back as you gave him a forlorn smile, “It’s cool that you’re trying to be like your hero Eraserhead and all but… I think you’re wrong… logic might have helped us make the best decisions to survive in those elements, but I honestly think that we survived because of… how we felt about each other… and how you and I took care of each other…”

Snickering a bit, you distracted yourself so you wouldn’t cry in front of him, “I fell in love with you… and… you… I know that you did too… at least… I hope so… because… I know it was real… what I felt for you had to be real… it was, you were the only thing that kept me going. I wanted to keep living, I wanted you to keep living, I wanted us to keep living… so we could go back home, together and we did. Maybe we got lucky… but let’s face it… if I didn’t care about you, if you didn’t care about me… there’s no way we could have survived. You said the brain reacts differently well here’s the thing… the brain plays a part in our emotions… it might be chemicals but dammit we feel them… and we feel them strongly… most of the time… that’s just how humans are… we’re not just brains… we’re hearts too… these feelings that we feel… are real… at least… I know mine are…” You wiped your eyes to keep the tears from falling, but Shinsou could see them.

He remembered seeing you cry often when the two of you were surviving together, and each time managed to be painful. Yet, watching you trying to not cry was almost agonizing for him as he forced himself to remain stoic as he let you have his cookie and he took another sip of his coffee.

“I guess I… just wanted to let you know all of that…” Your heart felt like it was crackling, but at least you managed to tell him how you felt, and you finally got to have a real talk with him. And you had no idea that Shinsou was barely keeping himself together as he looked at you and gave a slow nod.

“Thank you for telling me.” He thanked you politely as the two of you sat for a while on the table until he was done with his drink and he let you have both of the cookies since he had lost his appetite and the chocolate chips only gave you a smidge of endorphin-filled joy.

You both got up to leave the table and he didn’t seem to flinch when he saw that Izuku, Bakugou and Present Mic were all waiting here for you. “Shinsou.” Izuku politely greeted him, and he gave him a nod of acknowledgement. “Midoriya. Bakugou.” He was less enthusiastic about the explosive teen though, who just gave him a scoff.

“Mr. Yamada.” He made sure to bow politely to the teacher though, and the pro-hero just gave him a big smile and a nod.

“Well… it seems like you have a group to hang out with, and some training so… I’ll let you go. Don’t train too hard, sprained ankles take a while to recover from.” Shinsou gave you some advice, which made you smile a little bit as you nodded with a somewhat thoughtful look.

“You know… I think you might be right Hitoshi… after all… it’s like you said… the heart keeps us alive, but the brain is what helps us survive.” You didn’t mean that, you wanted to though because you wanted to feel more than just your heart ache, hell you’d rather feel your ankle ache over your heart. This hurt…

It hurt so much…

Shinsou gave you an empty chuckle, “Yeah… but you’re not wrong… the brain plays a part in our emotions… it’s a funny thing isn’t it? Human nature is funny… you said… to be human is to love, because that’s what the heart is for right?” He remembered something else you said, even though the two of you wanted to believe that maybe it wasn’t real… and that maybe pretending it wasn’t real would make you both feel better.

“It’s very funny and… yeah I did but… the hearts for a lot of things, including survival… that’s why it gets along so well with the brain.” You nodded, still smiling as the two of you shared a soft glance that you hadn’t given since your time in the mountains.

Swallowing hard, you suddenly and gently hugged him and Shinsou quickly returned it, his arms coming around you almost by instinct. Mentally he scolded himself for letting these damn emotions try to get the better of him again. He wasn’t going to let them, he refused to let himself believe something that couldn’t be real.

No matter how much it hurt. Why did the heart make people hurt so much?

Hugging you felt right, yet he couldn’t hold you the way his heart wanted him too, his brain was reminding him that he had to leave, to go train with Aizawa. You didn’t want to let him go either, but the logical part of you was trying to convince you that maybe your feelings weren’t real, but they felt so real it fucking hurt…

The hug didn’t feel long enough for you, and it hurt just pulling away from the boy you had survived with as he didn’t look you in the eyes. “See you at school.” You said neutrally as he nodded and hummed, quickly turning his back and seeing Aizawa around the corner, waiting patiently for him now that his break was over.

You took a deep breath as you watched him go, and turned around to see a concerned Izuku and Present Mic, and Bakugou looking unusually soft despite his casual frown. “Thanks guys… let’s… go somewhere… else now…” They seemed to understand that you weren’t all that happy but they still listened to you as they let you lead the way.

Even though the minute you started walking, you had no idea what to do or where you were even going because it just felt wrong. Everything didn’t feel right, walking away didn’t feel right even when you were close to your friends and your teacher.

“How was (L/N)?”

Meanwhile Aizawa had decided to ask Shinsou some brief questions, despite not being a talker he had grown increasingly concerned for his student who was acting somewhat odd. He assumed that it was post-traumatic stress disorder, but had no idea that he was only half-right as Shinsou shrugged his shoulders.

“She’s okay. We were talking. She said she was okay.” His sentences were small, quick as the last thing Shinsou wanted to talk about was you even though he told himself to distance himself from you. Doing just that felt wrong, walking away from you felt so wrong…

Little did he know that you were barely containing your composure as you heard Izuku’s voice and Bakugou angrily yelling at him over something, but you didn’t hear a single word either of them was saying.

All you could do was walk, not even looking where you were going as you shuddered a little bit as if you were in the cold again. The streets beginning to blur as you could feel your heart thrashing in your chest as your hands started shaking and your legs were tingling and making your pace slow down no matter how hard you tried to get away, oblivious to the concerned Izuku, Bakugou and Present Mic.

Shinsou took a slow, long, shaking breath as he kept his eyes forward, barely even able to see Aizawa walking in front of him and not even hearing any words the man might have been saying. All he could hear was his own breathing, turning hard, fast and shallow as his fists started to clench, tremoring as he tried in vain to keep walking.

You couldn’t regulate your own breathing as you walked, feeling like you were being choked as a soft sob left you and made your friends and teacher stop dead in their tracks as they called your name in worry.

“Hmm… (L/N)…? Are you all right there? You with me?”

“(Y/N)-chan?”

“(Y/N)-chan…?”

“Hey! Shitty Girl! What the fuck’s wrong with you?!”

White noise, it was all you could hear as you didn’t realize that your eyes were clouding with moisture as a stray tear rolled down your cheek.

And Shinsou found himself suddenly stopping his pace as he tried to breathe again, but it came out as a whimper as all he could feel was his heart palpitating. Swallowing a lump that was caught in his throat as he didn’t see his teacher stopping once he saw his student’s misty eyes.

“Shinsou?”

“Shinsou are you all right?

He couldn’t hear him, the pain in his chest becoming unbearable as he just stared into nothing even with his teacher trying in vain to get him to snap out it. Aizawa was sure the boy was having a panic attack though, and Izuku and Bakugou were starting to think the exact same about you.

“(Y/N)-chan are you okay?!”

“What the hell?! Tell me what the fuck’s wrong!”

“(L/N)! (L/N)!”

“Shinsou answer me!”

“Shinsou what’s wrong?!”

It was too much, neither of you could deal with these feelings consuming you both as all that the two of you wanted was to just go back to each other. You needed to go back to Shinsou, you fucking needed to…

“No… I gotta go…”

“Go?!”

“Go where?!”

Suddenly, you found it in you to turn back to where you had walked away from and just started running at full speed past all of the confused people. But Izuku and Bakugou were extremely confused and had no idea what you were talking about, but Present Mic did and he understood as he let you go off. However, he planned to follow because he was a little bit paranoid too about the thought of his new protégé getting taken again. And he was joined by Izuku and Bakugou as the two quickly dashed after you once you took off running.

Tears freely fell down your face as you ran, your breath hitching as you ignored the subtle pain in your ankle just to go back to Shinsou and find him as you kept on running, faster than you ever had. You couldn’t hear your friends calling your name as you reached the corner of the street.

Shinsou inhaled sharply as he turned away from his teacher, his legs suddenly moving him in a fast sprint. “Shinsou!” Aizawa wasn’t one to be flabbergasted or bewildered, but his student’s strange and distraught behavior had him in a box as he followed after him quickly.

But Shinsou didn’t hear him as he ran even faster, he had to go back to you, that’s all that he knew. No logic his brain could provide for him would tear him away from this as he held back the tears and continued running.

There was the corner where the two of you parted your ways, he swiftly whipped his head and all he could see was your visage coming towards him as he let out a silent, shuddering gasp. And you tearfully gasped the second you saw Shinsou, he came back for you…

“Hitoshi…”

“(Y/N)…”

Shinsou’s tears finally fell as he quickly took more steps towards you, opening his arms as you ran faster than before, throwing your arms out as you threw yourself into him. His strong arms locking tightly around your body as you threw your arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder and let him buried his face into your neck, sniffling and quietly sobbing.

Right…

Everything felt right again.

You could feel his heart beating, his warmth gracefully invited into your body as he gave you the love you desperately had been craving ever since you both were rescued. Shinsou craved it too as he took in everything you gave him, your warmth, your love for him, he embraced it all and never wanted to let it go again. He never wanted to let you go again. His arms tightened around you for a moment as he carefully pulled away, pressing his forehead against yours, but the two of you didn’t dare let each other go.

You saw the tears streaming down his face and he could see yours as he gave you a tender gaze. A sudden rush you hadn’t felt since the cold came back to you as you carefully leaned in and Shinsou immediately pressed his lips against yours as the two of you kissed, fervently and passionately like the two of you feared that you were going to lose each other again. When your lips met and your arms intertwined you both felt at peace again, you both felt safe, protected and like you would never be apart again.

Everyone else felt invisible to you as neither one of you noticed or acknowledged your friends and teachers having arrived to witness your display of affection. Izuku had turned a bright shade of red as he quickly looked away out of respect for you and Shinsou, but Bakugou’s face was turning red for a different reason as he inhaled and exhaled deeply.

So, you DID like that bastard…

Present Mic knew it, and he couldn’t help but coo as he clasped his hands together as he carefully stepped his way over to a very stunned Aizawa. “That’s so romantic… isn’t it…?” The blonde man somewhat teasingly asked his friend, getting him out of his surprise as he gave him an irritated leer.

“I told you something beautiful blossomed between these two~…” He triumphantly sang-songed much to Aizawa’s annoyance as he let out a sigh. Of course, his young student would have fallen in love, he had nothing against it though, that was just how young teenagers were.

Except you and Shinsou knew that it was more than just that, you knew that it was real, and secretly, Shinsou did too. He couldn’t and he wouldn’t deny it anymore as he just kept holding you until the two of you finally pulled away after a heated minute. The two of you breathing heavily as you both just stared into each other’s eyes adoringly.

“I love you (Y/N)…” This time Shinsou said it out loud for only you to hear as your eyes widened a little bit, making more tears run down your blushing cheeks as a big, bright smile came to your lips. “Oh Hitoshi… I love you too… I really do… I adore you…” You let out a soft cry as he smiled tenderly at you.

“(Y/N)… Please… s-stay with me…?” He repeated what he had told you that one, intimate night between you and him. The night you remembered the most as you nodded with a warm smile.

“Of course, Hitoshi…” You said the exact same words from that day, meaning it just as much as you did that same day as he cried and held onto you tightly, and you lovingly hugged him back so close, so lovingly.

“I’ll be with you... from dusk till dawn…” You whispered to him quietly, feeling his arms embrace you even tighter as he let out a little chuckle, “Me too, I’m right here, you’ll never be alone…I’ll be with you from dusk till dawn.” He said to you softly, repeating your words as the two of you just kept hugging for what felt like forever, becoming partially aware of the fact that your teachers and friends were still there.

Once the two of you remembered that they were here, you and Shinsou both blushed heavily as the two of you saw the rather awkward looking faces on them all. Izuku was still bright red in the face, Bakugou was frowning and growling in annoyance, Present Mic was whistling a tune in an attempt to give you both your privacy and Aizawa had turned away with a small tint of pink on his cheeks.

“Sorry… e-everyone…” You started off and sheepishly apologized to them all, chuckling very nervously as Shinsou averted his eyes, his whole face as red as Izuku’s was. “M-Mr. Aizawa I…” He wanted to apologize to his teacher for just running off but the pro-hero shook his head.

“Just take the day off. Only this once, tomorrow you’re going to train twice as hard though.” Aizawa sounded oddly gentle even if he was going to give Shinsou more work as the latter quietly groaned. It’d be worth it though; he didn’t regret coming back to you.

“Thank you.” Shinsou bowed down lowly to him in deep gratitude as you giggled a little bit, but you blushed quite madly when you looked over at Izuku, Bakugou and Present Mic.

“Izuku… Katsuki… thank you for… being with me you guys are awesome… I’m sorry about running off…” You smiled rather shyly but Izuku quickly shook his head, “It’s okay!” He squeaked out nervously, not wanting you to feel bad at all as Bakugou just scoffed indifferently.

“W-We’ll see you at school (Y/N)-chan…!” Izuku knew you wanted to spend time with Shinsou so he was very courteous as he let you go and knew that you and Shinsou would be safe together.

You couldn’t help but smile at your beloved friends, “Thank you Izuku… thank you Katsuki…” You thanked them both with a big smile as Izuku gave you one of his own sweet smiles while Bakugou’s glare turned gentle before the two of them decided to let you go and headed their separate ways. At least he knew that bastard would protect you, and you would protect him too given that you bashed a man’s head in.

“Mr. Yamada…” And then there was Present Mic who quickly shook his head just like his friend did, “Nope! Nuh-uh~. Eraser has the right idea! You take the day off, try not to have toooooo much fun now okay~?” He proceeded to tease you both and make the two of you immediately blush bright red as the blonde man went to go with Aizawa and leave you both alone.

The two of you felt embarrassed but also ecstatic that the two of you were finally alone together after a long week, but then that instantly became awkward as you both suddenly turned quiet and blushed as soon as you looked at each other. Still you couldn’t help but smile at him, was he your boyfriend now? If so, you were beyond happy about that.

“Hey Hitoshi…” You hugged his arm, loving the way he looked at you with those beautiful eyes as he gave you a small smile. “Yeah?”

“Remember what I offered back there in that shack?” You asked him with a small smirk, and he immediately chuckled and didn’t have to answer that because he definitely remembered. “It’s all I’ve been thinking about…” He admitted that though because he had been wanting to just spend time with you now that you were both home again.

“Then let’s go back to my house! We’ll binge-watch all of Gakkou Gurashi, and I’ll share my favorite ice cream with you~.” For once you were genuinely happy the entire week you had been back home as he rolled his eyes a little bit.

“You know what? I’ll take up that offer…” It wasn’t cold anymore, so he would be happy to share that ice cream with you as the two of you started walking back to your house, hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder to go and watch the anime together.

As soon as the two of you got home, it was just you and him and everything just felt right again as you cheerfully started up the anime, ice cream bucket in your hand as you sat down on your couch with Shinsou by your side. Cuddling up to him with a big smile as his arm came around you and pulled you in close to him.

You sighed in content as you snuggled into his shoulder, “I love you Hitoshi… I… I know I said that already but I really mean it… I love you…”

Shinsou’s eyes slightly widened when he heard the words again, his heartbeat speeding up but out of joy as this feeling of giddiness flurrying inside his chest as he tried to not grin but he couldn’t help it.

“And I love you too (Y/N)…” He exchanged the words with a warm smile as you blushed quite madly, giggling cheerfully as the two of you hugged once again, very much in love as you and Shinsou never wanted to let go of each other and ever wanted to be apart ever again.

I’ll be with you from dusk till dawn… Baby I’m right here...

[danetobelieve]

Faetal Promises || Jeff and Winston

Just one fae promise ... as a treat.

Winston needed a drink. They weren’t above drinking when things got tough. What was that saying? When the going gets tough, the tough go clubbing? Something like that. Either way, before Winston could do anything like that they needed several shots of some whiskey that they were certain they would hate. Heading to the bar, they made eye contact with the bar tender. “I …” they paused and looked at the menu, “what should I have? I always feel like I order the wrong stuff and I always end up hating what I’m drinking, so please can you recommend me something I’d like. I love coffee, do you have any coffee-tails? Coffee-cock-tails?” Looking up at the muscular bartender, Winston’s stomach sunk. Why were they always so hot?

Jeff was pleased to be at work talking again. His boss had been riding his ass over the no talking routine, which apparently as head bartender was ‘unacceptable’. Not like it was his fuckin’ fault, as he tried to express many times. Jeff slid a Karen her margarita, side eyeing her when another person approached the bar looking for recommendations. Jeff grinned at Winston. “Coffee tails?” he said, considering a moment. “Depends on how simple you want it. Irish coffee, rum and coffee, I’ve made an espresso martini before. You got options.” Jeff finished listing off possible cocktails he could make when he realized something. Ah hell, they looked a little young didn’t they? “Maybe slide me your ID first though.” 

Raising an eyebrow gently, Winston fumbled around on the inside of their jacket for their wallet and with the most clumsiest fingers began to slowly and painstakingly begin the process of guiding their ID from the wallet. “Sorry, it’s just, like stuck with another card, just one second,” eventually, after a full minute of fumbling they produced an ID and handed it to Jeff. “What is in an espresso martini?” Winston asked curiously, “because honestly if it is made with coffee and it sounds alcoholic then I am in. You know what, can I get one anyway.” Winston settled down at the bar, taking their seat carefully as they waited for Jeff to make their drink. “What do you normally drink?” they asked curiously.

Jeff bit back grinning from ear to ear as he watched them fumble with their ID. Hilarious. Poor kid. “Take your time,” he said easily. It wasn’t like the bar was hopping tonight anyway, the only other person that paid any kind of attention to him was some woman with the Warden haircut. He stopped being as nice to them as he did since his first encounter with them. He checked the ID and nodded. What was it with the kids these days looking so young all the time? “Expressio, vodka, and coffee liqueur. Not my fuckin favoite to drink, but gets the job done.” He considered a moment as he went to make Winston’s drink. “More of a straight whiskey person.” He considered a moment longer before he realized that Winston should probably be out with friends or something instead of looking around for coffee martinis by themselves at a bar. “Long fucking day?”

In that moment Winston couldn’t have wished more that they were less clumsy, especially in front of the overly attractive bar tender in a slightly too tight shirt. Either way, they weren’t going to be able to avoid that. “I get that, everyone that’s a freshman and stuff now just looks like they’re barely out of middle school, let alone high school. Must be a tough job working out who’s old enough to drink, I guess that’s why they make you ID kids.” Winston frowned. “Everyone drinks Whiskey and I kind of get it, it burns good but I don’t know if I would always want to go for straight whiskey.” They frowned and tapped the table. “Kind of, long … five months?” They weren’t exactly sure they should pour their heart out to a bartender, it was a little cliche. “Things are hectic and I’m trying to do the self care shit, I don’t know if drinking counts but I wasn’t really hungry or in need of pampering so…” they shrugged.

Jeff snorted. “You’d be surprised at how many fuckin’ kids I have to kick out for being fucking underage. I’ve gotten pretty good at figuring out who’s trying to sneak one by me at this point, but it’s always better to check then be fucking sorry later.” It was funny hearing that Winston didn’t always go for straight whiskey though. That had been his drink of choice since he participated in underage drinking. He glanced at Winston as he finished off the Martini and slid it in front of him. Geez, everyone in White Crest always seemed to be having long months. “Drinking is not self care,” he confirmed. “It’s self-distraction. But in moderation that’s not necessarily a fuckin’ bad thing.” Jeff considered a moment, before glancing at the clock. He was almost off and the kid shouldn’t drink alone. “You want shots?” Jeff asked, “I’m drinking after I get off, I’ll do them with you.” 

“Honestly, I used to make fake IDs for those kids back in the day, like when we were in college not high school I’m not completely devoid of responsibility,” Winston had always been good with photoshop and fake IDs weren’t that difficult plus it had paid for the tech that they had needed at the time. “I know the fines and shit are pretty steep, not really worth your time letting some underage teen get drunk when you’re the one who would be in trouble. “Okay, if drinking is self distraction rather then self care, well I definitely need to be distracted,” they nodded, “Fuck yes, I’ll do shots with you. They’re on me, at least like the first three, I’m not made of money unfortunately but I can swing three shots. If you want of course,” Winston wasn’t going to turn down the chance to drink with a hot guy. Besides, he seemed cool. “I’m Winston,” they said sticking their hand out over the bar.

“Trouble maker,” Jeff said. Fake IDs were a big pain in the ass, but at least he could spot a poorly made one a mile away. Someone tried to hand him one with Robert De Niro’s face on it. He almost felt bad the poor kid had wasted money buying the piece of shit. “The fines and shit were pretty awful in Massachusetts, it’s the same here in Maine.” Jeff scowled thinking about it. Of course, his bar in South Boston was packed and rarely full of college students like the ones here were. There was more military personel from the nearby base than students. “This town is fuckin’ wild,” Jeff said. “And I’ve only been here about four months.” Jeff glanced down at Winston’s hand and only hesitated half a second before grabbing it and shaking it. He was in high spirits today, his pheromones were under control. Besides, he wasn’t about to accidentally pheromone some poor fucking kid. “Jeff. Don’t worry about the shots, on the house.” He waved it off before grabbing shot glasses. “Just promise me you’ll do a shot everytime you see me do a shot. Keep up with me.” 

“Don’t worry, I don’t do that anymore and I actually help get a lot of them off of the streets.” Winston at the time had not considered that fake IDs might be used for something other then drinking. “Are you from Massachusetts originally?” Winston asked curiously, “I’ve always just been stuck here, in White Crest. Not that I actually mind.” Winston laughed and raised an eyebrow. “You’re telling me that this place is weird? I don’t think that there is a single thing about this place that is at all normal. In fact, I’ve almost died a few too many times because of some of the weird shit going on.” They nodded and took their shot in their hands and looked at it. They didn’t even consider the promise that they were making. “Okay Jeff, I promise that I’ll do a shot everytime I see you do one, please don’t be a super heavy weight drinker.” 

“Former trouble maker then.” And now a narc, so it sounded. Not that Jeff particularly gave a shit, it made his job easier. “Boston born and raised.” He could never imagine growing up in a small town. There were so little people in this town and it was a little disorienting being recognized every time he went to the drug store. Jeff snorted. “This place is fuckin’ weird, I saw a mime creature eat a raccoon. The poor thing.” Jeff grinned though as the kid made the promise. Deirdre did say he should promise bind people, and a little harmless one to help distract the kid from his worries - his deadly worries, apparently - couldn’t hurt. “And to always tip your bartender,” Jeff said seriously, raising his own shot glass before knocking it back.

“Something like that, I just never got caught I guess.” Winston had been a teenager once. They weren’t exactly all that straight laced. They just liked to think of themselves as not stupid. Which was perhaps a little rich, but even still. “Shit, what was Boston like?” Winston asked curiously, they would’ve loved to have experienced life in a ‘big’ city. Wincing at the mention of mimes, Winston hoped that they were truly done for and gone for good. “God, fuck the weird obsession with mimes, they’re so creepy and just not funny at all. That was before they started … eating the wildlife. I just don’t get why they picked mimes y’know?” And cloning and trying to murder everyone. Winston had never really considered tipping their bartender, it was something they did when they remembered it but knowing service staff wages they weren’t sure that it wouldn’t be a bad idea. “Sure, I’ll tip my bartender.” Winston swallowed their own shot in time with Jeff and immediately began coughing, eyes watering from the fiery booze. “Damn, that’s … something.”  

“Boston’s like…” Jeff started, considering a moment. He missed Boston. He missed his friends and his mom. It was better this way though, to stay here and get them away from his uncontrollable pheromones. “A big city with lots of fucking people.” He decided on that breif descriptor, before snorting again at Winston’s description of the mimes. God, he hated them. Ever since that fucking thing had scared his goddamn dog they were on his shitlist. He didn’t even regret having to replace a window from trying to punch the thing. The alcohol burned his throat, but he liked that feeling. Alcohol never bothered him, but he had to keep himself from laughing at poor Winston. “Not a shots fan?” Jeff asked, kindly, swiping up another as he tipped another back. “You get used to the burning, honest.” 

The Whiskey rushed to Winston’s head and swaddled them in a fuzzy feeling that was strangely reassuring. Winston had always liked drinking, but this was almost comforting. Maybe this was why people drank whiskey? Maybe if Winston just didn’t spend the whole time drinking Jack Daniels they’d find out. “Better or worse then our White Crest?” Winston asked with a smirk crossing their face. Jeff was so pretty. Winston normally wouldn’t do shots back to back, but they couldn’t help but feel compelled to knock them back in that moment. They were having a good time and they wanted to at least try and keep up with Jeff. “If you say so, it’s not that I don’t like shots, it’s just that I’m bad at drinking.” Winston wasn’t exactly a party animal. “But I guess you’re going to put that to the test or something like that. Right?” 

Better or worse? Good question. Jeff leaned against the bar, thinking hard for a moment. He wasn't’ sure it was fair to compare the two, not when the hardships he’d faced in both places weren’t necessarily their fault. And that seemed a little too heavy to put on a some twenty-something year old kid. So instead, Jeff said, “Depends on the fuckin’ day.” Jeff was notorious for holding his alcohol, he was a big dude. The rush of whiskey was hardly a problem for him and he grinned. “That’s fucking bullshit - no one’s bad at drinking! There’s no such thing! And I won’t let you get alcohol poisoning kid, don’t worry.” Honestly, it was probably safer for Winston to quit while they were ahead anyway, but still Jeff knocked another back. “What sort of White Crest near-death bullshit are you distracting yourself from tonight?” Jeff asked, curiously. He went to go grab Marty - the Bartender coming up to replace him - to get some water for the both of them. If they were going to get drunk, they would also get hydrated! 

“Wow, I guess I get that.” Winston did not. They had never lived anywhere else and had only left White Crest a few times in their life. Mostly to visit relatives or go on vacation. They had nothing really to compare it to. White Crest was always White Crest irrespective of whether or not it was a Monday or a Thursday. “Well, that is really really reassuring because that was definitely something I had thought of, and absolutely not something I had not considered until you just said it now.” Winston would’ve normally stopped, but why end the fun now. Jeff had promised that he wouldn’t let them get alcohol poisoning and the guy seemed to know what he was doing. Besides, he was a bartender, this was computers for him. Following suit, Winston winced slightly less this time, but they were sure it was still noticeable. “Where to start, some mimes tried to kill me, there’s a woman I’m helping with tech support who might bite me and to make things worse I think I saw a cult attempt a ritual. This place is so fucked.” Maybe they were a bit more drunk then they realised.

Jeff had seen too many college students get alcohol poisoning - he always cut them off before it happened, but somehow they all still fucking drank more. God he hated 21st birthdays more than anything else. But he wouldn’t let Winston get royally fucked over - maybe just enough to cause a headache for the next day. A good reminder to not drink and run away from your problems. Honestly, it was a life lesson that Jeff needed to be reminded about every once in a while. Jeff did, however, pause in his next shot to gape at Winston. He heard a lot of shit from Nic about this kind of thing, but cults and biting tech customers was definitely a new one. “This place is fucked,” Jeff said solemnly. “Fuckin’ Karens trying to kill fairies and squids and shit. And now cults? You should get that creepy tech support customer arrested. Biting isn’t fuckin cool.” And back went another shot. “How you feeling, kid?”

Winston was beyond the point of considering the alcohol that they had consumed. Was it three? Was it four shots? They weren’t above making it five as Jeff reached for another one Winston wasn’t sure if they wanted one but they went for it anyway. They had promised after all. “So fucked, I don’t know how I didn’t see it for so long,” they giggled and shrugged. “I don’t think that police would want to go after her, she’s pretty charming really and so far hasn’t actually tried to bite me, but the threat is ever present. But everything here isn’t the worst, I played truth or dare with some pixies the other day.” Winston was too drunk to really think about what they were saying, normal people didn’t play with pixies. “I’m feeling much better,” they said slapping an arm reassuringly on Jeff’s giant arm. That bicep was really, hard. Swallowing, Winston reached clumsily for their water and sipped it, a little dribbling down their chin for a moment before they wiped it away with the back of their hand and sighed. “I get why you drink whiskey.”

“If she does try to bite you, get that lady locked up, fuck charming. Charm is for losers and people trying to fucking sell you something.” Jeff scoffed, waving it off. Honestly, this woman sounded like a menace to society. But he was more curious about the pixies - weren’t those Fae? He was pretty sure those counted as fae. Deirdre said. “Pixies? You played truth or dare with pixies? Were they nice?” He asked curiously. How come this child was better at finding Fae than he was? He glanced at Winston, and shook off the alcohol that was starting to affect him too. Ah, shit, how many had they had? He slid Winston a napkin, considering as his arm was slapped. He almost jumped off his stool at the unexpected contact, but didn’t. It was fine, he wasn’t even hungry. “Yeah? You think you like it now? How about you watch me just do one more?” Jeff asked.

Winston swallowed more water as their head swam from the whiskey. They were sure that they had drank too much and they weren’t sure why but here they were anyway. “Uh, I think so? They weren’t mean or anything but they weren’t there to make it a super good time, but you know, when you play with pixies you’ve got to be careful about what you say because they’re surprisingly sensitive when it comes to us ‘giant’ people.” Jeff was pretty giant. They took the napkin and stared at it rather than using it to wipe their face before setting it back down unused on the bar and nodding. “Not sure I like it, but it’s strong.” Winston didn’t even consider Jeff’s question. “Fuck yeah, I’ll watch you do another shot. How are you so … not drunk?” 

“Giant people?” Jeff thought about the information a moment. Were pixies small? He knew leprechauns were 2 feet tall. Were they smaller than leprechauns? He’d never met a pixie before. “‘Course you do, you have to be careful what you promise too. Especially to fairies,” Jeff nodded knowingly. “Oh, and don’t call them fairies. Of course I don’t mind, but the real term is fae and others usually fucking mind a lot.” Alcohol always loosened lips, Jefd realized he basically just admitted to being a fairy. Ah fuck. Deirdre awas going to kill him. “One more,” Jeff said, before taking the shot, and reached for his own water. “And then why don’t we get you an uber, kid.”

“Well, you know, they’re like two or three inches tall,” Winston wasn’t sure that was an exact measurement, “but I don’t think they like it when people act as if they’re the ones that are weird. Which is cool, i get it. No one wants to be weird.” Raising an eyebrow, Winston laughed. “Wait, are you a fae or something? I think I knew … most of that, because a fae once accidentally took my name and that was quite the time, but I … you know, I just wondered how you knew all of that.” Winston grinned and watched as Jeff took his shot, their hands moving of their own will, scooping their shot up and knocking it back. “An uber would probably be a good idea, I’m definitely too drunk to drive. But don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you’re a fairy if you don’t tell anyone I can do magic. Seems like a fair trade.” 

“We can take names?” Jeff asked, screwing his face up. What the fuck? How did that work? Wait, no! Stop talking about that thing. Right, yes, he now was in charge of getting the magician kid into an uber. You know, Winston seemed like the kind of kid that would be into stage magic, though Jeff wasn’t quite certain why they would want to hide it. Whatever, kids were so nervous about all sorts of things these days. Well, now that he thought about it, kids were always nervous. God. Jeff shook his head, pulling out his phone to order the kid a car. “Alright alright, fair enough. May the alcohol distract you from fucking cults and fucking biters. Fucking White Crest.” Jeff muttered. “Fucking. White Crest.”

“Yeah, but don’t do it. It’s the worst.” Winston was sure that they never wanted to experience that again. Missing a piece of their identity was something else entirely, a truly unique and truly horrible feeling. Winston sat there, extremely drunk for a moment as Jeff ordered them an uber. “I’ll get you back for the uber for sure, and we should, hang out … more … I mean ag-again.” Winston hiccuped comically. Before stumbling towards the car that had just pulled up. “You’re, like, really cool, Jeff.”