#they were supposed to hate e/o... to the point that he compared his worrying for yuumas wellbeing as yuuma would to his own friend.... | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

thinkingisadangerouspastime · 4 years ago

Note

hi! random question that you’re not obligated to answer (i just love your ka metas): do you think that aang acted like he was entitled to katara’s affection? sorry for the bother if this is a question you’ve gotten before, i’m just curious about your thoughts

Hi anon! It’s always lovely to hear people like my metas 💛 And you’re in luck - I have not gotten this specific question before, though I have answered similar questions, and as such I will probably link those posts throughout.

Forewarning: I use the general you very liberally in this post, so like. It’s not directed at you, anon djhskdjsajs I don’t want you think my sarcasm is in response to your ask (your ask was very lovely!! 💕)

Okay. Let’s get started! The funniest thing about the (nonsensical) claim that Aang acted “entitled” to Katara’s affection is that there is no canon evidence to support it. Opponents more often than not can only bring up one (1) episode as an example of supposed “entitlement” because no other Kataang interactions in the series demonstrate entitlement from either end! Like, wow. Talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel. And I’m sure we all know what episode opponents love to propagate, don’t we?

Yep, you guessed it: “The Ember Island Players.”

From the get-go, the fact that people who vigorously oppose Kataang essentially only appeal to the contents of one episode for Aang’s supposed “entitlement” is a major indicator that, in fact, the entitlement is not truly there, and that those opponents are actually misconstruing the entire episode. I mean, if you are trying to make an argument about something but you only have one piece of “evidence” to support your claim, then a) any half-decent teacher/professor would fail you, rip and b) that’s a sign that maybe your claim doesn’t hold water. If you can’t find evidence to support it, then you’re probably looking at your case from the wrong angle. Analysis 101.

As such, I find the “entitlement” claim particularly ridiculous because opponents repeat the same faulty rhetoric over and over! The only people that might be convinced are those with confirmation bias. I’m sure that’s their audience, of course, but it’s still hilarious dfjaksdasks.

Anyways. Here’s the excerpt from the EIP transcript that opponents l o v e to spotlight with their “entitlement” claims:

Aang: Katara, did you really mean what you said in there?

Katara: In where? What are you talking about?

Aang: On stage, when you said I was just like a… brother to you, and you didn’t have feelings for me.

Katara: I didn’t say that. An actor said that.

Aang: But it’s true, isn’t it? We kissed at the Invasion, and I thought we were gonna be together. But we’re not.

Katara: Aang, I don’t know.

Aang: Why don’t you know?

Katara: Because, we’re in the middle of a war, and we have other things to worry about. This isn’t the right time.

Aang: Well, when is the right time?

Katara: Aang, I’m sorry, but right now I’m just a little confused.

Aang tries to kiss Katara.

Katara: I just said I was confused! I’m going inside. [Exits the balcony.]

Aang: Ugh, I’m such an idiot! [Puts down his head on the balcony railing.]

Opponents claim Aang’s behavior is “entitled” here for two reasons:

1) He asks Katara several questions about their relationship status.

2) He kisses her.

Before I get too far into this, we have to consider the context of the episode. Katara and Aang have this conversation after just watching 95% of “The Boy in the Iceberg,” aka Fire Nation propaganda. I have talked about the specifics of the play being imperialist propaganda here, but the gist of it is that this play is meant to demean the Gaang, to portray them as lesser and weaker than the Fire Nation. The fact that the play ends with Ozai’s victory is a stark reminder of this mentality. So: Katara and Aang have just watched this play that preys upon their insecurities and paints them as awful caricatures of their true selves. It is only natural that they would be more tense than usual. The reason I bring this up is solely to inform their conversation on the balcony, however; I don’t think their frustration solely defines what they say/do, but it’s worth keeping in mind, “Hey, they’re stressed and upset, of course this conversation might not go perfectly.”

Now, I have talked about the infamous EIP kiss before and approached all the rhetoric surrounding it like Snopes Fact Checker in this post, lmao. I did discuss in there why the kiss is wrong, which no one has ever argued against, but also why the kiss is simply a mistake: not sexual assault, not entitlement, not an unforgivable decision. I’ve copied and pasted specifically my notes on the “entitlement” claim below regarding the kiss, but if you have time, I definitely recommend the whole post jksdhjasdka (I’m quite proud of it). Anyways! Here’s the excerpt:

Claim: Aang acted entitled to Katara and her affection.

Status: False.

I’ve briefly addressed this already, but Aang backing off when Katara pushed him away is the exact opposite of entitlement. An impromptu kiss is not always indicative of entitlement. It can be, especially if the person being kissed has never expressed any interest in the person kissing them, but Katara and Aang were mutually interested in each other. They’d mutually kissed twice already by that point: in CoTL and during DoBS. The EIP kiss was inappropriate. NO ONE HAS EVER SUGGESTED OTHERWISE. But when you’re 12 and you’re already kind of in this semi-relationship with a girl you’ve been through hell and high water with (who has kissed you twice on the lips and on the cheek multiple times, not to mention it is only you she ever expresses such affection towards), it is not fucking “entitlement” to make a move on her, even when the timing is off. IT’S JUST A MISTAKE. A POOR DECISION. NOT ENTITLEMENT. NOT MANIPULATION. NOT SEXUAL ASSAULT. Full stop.

Also, these EIP people love to call Aang entitled for this kiss, but there isn’t a single peep heard from them about Zuko’s line in TSR where he demands to know what’s “wrong” with Katara, since she hasn’t forgiven him yet when everyone else has. And look. I think Zuko was just frustrated here, and that he, too, made a mistake and is obviously not irredeemable for it, but. If you’re going to argue that Aang was entitled in EIP, you’d better be ready to acknowledge the argument that Zuko was acting entitled in TSR, too. And hell, let’s take it a step further! Call Aang entitled for EIP. Call Zuko entitled for TSR. Call Sokka entitled for choosing to stay at Boiling Rock on the off chance his father would arrive, thus making Suki and Zuko feel obligated to stay behind with him, effectively putting all of them in danger. What an entitled decision, risking his friends’ lives on the 0.01% chance Hakoda would be one of the many, many possible war prisoners arriving at Boiling Rock!

Damn. That sounds ridiculous as fuck, doesn’t it?

And guess what. That’s exactly how the “Aang was entitled” arguments come across. Hate to break it to you. Trust me when I say to do yourself a favor and stop perpetuating that faulty rhetoric!

So that is what I have already assessed, lol.

To be frank, the most frustrating thing I see perpetuated is that the EIP kiss somehow ruined Aang and Katara’s relationship. But when it comes to assessing weighty issues like the notion of “entitlement” in a relationship, the fact of the matter is that you have to look at both the relationship as a whole and the context in which it is situated. Opponents never want to do that, because doing so debunks their entire (baseless) argument, lmao. Katara and Aang are best friends. And by EIP, they have both expressed romantic interest in each other multiple times. (Here is a post explaining the development of Katara’s feelings for Aang, just to put out that fire before anyone sets it lmao.)

So why, why do opponents think Katara would never find it in herself to forgive Aang for a mistaken kiss? Katara is shown over and over again throughout the series to have one of the biggest hearts. She wants to see the good in people. That’s why she gives Jet a second chance (even though a person could argue he did not “deserve” one); that’s why she helps the Fire Nation village in “The Painted Lady”; that’s why she forgives Pakku (once she sees he’s willing to change); that’s why she is the second person in the entire show (excluding Iroh) to offer Zuko a hand of kindness (in CoD)! That’s why she eventually forgives Zuko, even after all he has done to the Gaang (e.g. sending an assassin after them, being complicit in Aang’s death, attacking her and kidnapping Aang at the NWT, manipulating her with her mother’s necklace, to name a few, lmao. bless his heart, but like Jet, someone could easily argue Zuko doesn’t “deserve” another chance - and yet Katara still gave him [and Jet] one. in fact, she gave Zuko multiple).

In other words, Katara is almost always willing to extend friendship and compassion and forgiveness to others - why would she revoke that privilege from Aang after a single error that is comparatively lesser to all the other horrible things she’s experienced in the war? Again, I’m not downplaying how terrible of a decision Aang made. It’s inexcusable. But it’s not the end of the world, and considering the context of the show (e.g. Aang and Katara liked each other and they both knew it), it’s… not some heinous crime. Compared to, oh, how about attempted murder? lmaoo

Even beyond Katara’s innate kindness, Aang is Katara’s best friend. She loves him. The show portrays it as romantic through the seasons, but even if someone isn’t into shipping (which is super valid), Katara and Aang’s connection is one of the primary lynchpins of the show! (The other being Aang and Zuko, the greatest foils of all time.) Katara and Aang epitomize several of A:TLA’s thematics (and aesthetics) because they are complementary: yin and yang, push and pull, Tui and La, moon and ocean, blue and orange, water and air. This gifset and related commentary beautifully demonstrate how even when Katara and Aang disagree, they respect the other’s the decision. So after 60~ episodes depicting Aang and Katara as having mutual respect and love for each other in every form as well as emphasizing Katara’s natural inclination towards kindness/giving people the benefit of the doubt, opponents still think Katara wouldn’t forgive Aang because of one mistimed, inappropriate kiss? What?? Make it make sense, lmao.

In sum, the kiss was a mistake, not an act of entitlement, and it’s absurd to think Katara would hold that against Aang for the rest of his life.

To backtrack a bit, opponents also love to use the fact that Aang asked Katara several questions about their relationship status as examples of his “entitlement.” Just typing that out highlights the ridiculous nature of this assertion, lmao! Let me rephrase it for maximum hilarity:

“Aang was unsure about where their relationship stood? Well, how dare he ask numerous questions to resolve his confusion!”

Like, what was the alternative jskfajksdas if you are in relationship limbo with someone, it is far better to ask them ‘too many’ questions for clarification than to simply assume one way or the other! Kissing Katara was wrong, flat-out, but asking her questions to better understand where they were in their relationship was like. exactly the right decision, lmao. I genuinely don’t see how that could be indicative of entitlement? Especially because, once again, Aang and Katara both like each other and they both know that by this point in the show. That’s why Aang doesn’t ask if Katara likes him - he knows she does. That’s why Katara doesn’t negate her feelings - she knows she’s interested in him, and the blockade between them is not a lack of reciprocation, but the fact that they’re “in the middle of a war” and consequently it’s not “the right time” for them to begin a relationship. Katara has seen Aang die before! She knows he’s facing a near-impossible victory! I can’t blame her for not wanting to start a relationship with him at that point. It would hurt twice as much to lose him again if they were together in a romantic fashion (amatonormativity, am I right?). Again, Aang’s kiss was entirely inappropriate, but him asking her questions about their relationship is a) an example of fostering healthy communication and b) what any therapist would encourage, lol.

Oh, but I’m “forgetting” something, aren’t I? Right. This line:

Katara: Aang, I’m sorry, but right now I’m just a little confused.

If we want to talk about parallels, which I know the A:TLA fandom adores, this line sounds suspiciously like:

Yue: … but I like you [Sokka] too much and it’s too confusing to be around you.

Yue and Katara are actually in similar situations here. Outside forces are interfering with their relationships; for Yue, there is her arranged marriage, and for Katara, it’s the life-or-death nature of the war itself. They aren’t confused about their feelings, as Yue knows she likes Sokka and Katara knows she likes Aang, but they are confused about how to reconcile those feelings with their external circumstances. And can you blame them for that? They are facing impossible decisions (the fate of their nation and the fate of the world respectively). I would be confused, too! So Katara’s response isn’t a reaction to any so-called “entitlement” from Aang; she is experiencing genuine confusion about how to approach her own feelings for him in the midst of a war.

In sum, Aang asking questions about their relationship was a logical step to take resolving his confusion and is in no way related to “entitlement.” Katara’s confusion was not “letting Aang down easy” and interpreting it as such requires disregarding every preceding line of the conversation and its context.

As you can see, Aang’s actions in EIP are not at all “entitled.” His questions were understandable. While his kiss was inappropriate and inexcusable, it was also a mistake, and there is no canon evidence to support the conclusion Katara would never be able to forgive him (her literal best friend!) for it.

Before I end, I’ll touch briefly upon the DotBS kiss, because it is also occasionally used as an example of Aang’s “entitlement” towards Katara’s feelings. Whether you like the trope or not, this moment falls under what is called the “Now or Never Kiss.” TV Tropes actually lists Kataang/DotBS as an example under the Western Animation tab:

“Avatar: The Last Airbender: The fact that he’s finally going to face the dreaded Firelord, and possibility that he might not come back alive from that battle, gives Aang enough motivation to kiss Katara.”

Again, whether you like the trope or not, it involves reciprocation from both parties:

“The Not-A-Couple [i.e. both parties] don’t want to go out without revealing how they [i.e. both parties] really feel. It’s now or never. They kiss.”

Katara and Aang both like each other. When Aang initiates the DotBS kiss, Katara kisses him back. Her lips are still puckered when he pulls away. Furthermore, Katara had initiated a kiss with Aang prior to this incident, in CoTL. Katara was also the one to initiate every cheek kiss with Aang (who is the only character she ever demonstrated such affection towards). So Aang kissing Katara during DotBS follows an established precedent of Katara initiating different kisses, romantically inclined, with Aang. It’s not entitlement; it’s him knowing they mutually like each other and him realizing this might be the last time he ever sees her. Again, you can hate the trope, but don’t blatantly misconstrue its meaning. You’ll sound like Fire Nation propaganda, lmao. (For clarification, jic: the general you. not anon!)

Here is a fantastic post by @imreallyhereforkataang explaining the DotBS kiss in more detail as well as discussing why Kataang’s progression in the second half of Book 3 was, in fact, well-developed, and how Katara and Aang are best friends above all else and know that (which was the core of their relationship from the start).

And a bonus fun fact: in the original storyboard (link takes you to storyboarder Giancarlo Volpe’s DeviantArt with said storyboard), it is noted that Katara smiles after Aang kisses her. Why? Because she likes him as much as he likes her! It was changed by a “higher authority,” according to Volpe, probably to add more realism to the romance (i.e. Katara likes Aang, yes, but as she herself points out in EIP - there’s a war going on, and love is always terrifying to reconcile with war).

(Seriously, though, do read Volpe’s description on the storyboard. Takes you a second to scroll down and maybe a minute to read. Short yet informative, discussing how you can see on the storyboard itself that someone revised the image so Katara isn’t smiling after the kiss.)

Anyways! Opponents’ argument that Katara wasn’t interested in Aang therefore is and has always been entirely inapplicable.

To conclude: the entitlement assertion is laughable. There is no canon evidence to support it. As such, I encourage you to laugh whenever you see it! Pull an Azula, for that matter:

[ID: Gif from “The Beach” episode of A:TLA. Ty Lee, mimicking a guy, asks Azula, “Hey there sweet sugar cakes. How ya likin’ this party?” Azula proceeds to burst into exaggerated laughter, earning stares from everyone else at the party. End ID.]

Thank you for the great ask, anon! Hopefully my response was satisfactory 💛

#surprise friends!! a kataang analysis!! i probably will not write any others until may 💀#kataang #kataangtag #aang #katara #atla #avatar the last airbender #atla meta #amy answers #anon #amy analyzes

86 notes · View notes

thegirlwhomoanedwolf · 4 years ago

Text

Truth or dare

(Halloween party truth or dare)

*reader has plot of Elena

Damon x Reader

Warnings: 18+, slightly rough

It had been months...

months since (y/n) had been touched by a man. Her last intimate moment had been a gentle kiss with the person she swore she would never willingly touch. But things change and she would have never forgiven herself if she let Damon die without showing him how much she cared. She was prepared to grieve the man who had gotten under her skin, against her best efforts. She had realized a part of her would die with him.

Along with that part would be the guilt she carried. The way she would get excited when he would walk into a room. The sick feeling knowing she could easily have him if she just asked and how sometimes she fantasized about what he would do to her when she finally gave in. That didn’t compare to the worst of her crimes. There were times she had made sure Damon would hear her moans and cries as Stefan thrusted into her.

“Please harder,” she would beg her voice echoing throughout the boarding house. Always one to please Stefan did as he was asked. He didn’t care if Damon heard. He wanted him to know (y/n) was his and that he would never be able to experience the heaven that was being inside of her. If only he had known she screamed and begged hoping his brother was listening. Sometimes she even imagined Damon with flushed cheeks, his need for her burning through him like a fire he couldn’t put out. She would imagine him with his head thrown back and his eyes shut tightly as he stroked himself pretending he was the one responsible for her pleasure.

She would shriek “ Oh my god, please, I’m gonna cum,” when her fantasy had gotten her to her peak and even louder and raspier “ I want you to cum with me!” Her (y/e/c) eyes would slam shut as she thought of Damon stroking his cock faster and being pushed over the edge with her. Self hatred would wash over her afterwards knowing she betrayed Stefan but no one but her would ever know.

(Y/n) couldn’t help but feel some relief knowing the man she truly wanted could no longer plague her relationship or mind. Though as soon as her mirror image walked into his room with with a crimson colored bottle that was the cure, (y/n) felt more relived then she ever had in her life. That relief soon ended when Katherine happily announced that Stefan had given himself to Klaus to save his brother.

................................................

It was a cool fall day in Mystic falls. Four months after stefan left and made it clear he was not coming back. Damon Salvatore sat on his leather sofa reading from dust returned by ray Bradbury getting himself thoroughly into the fall spirit. His favorite time of year. The sound of the crackling fire place and smell of leaves falling outside was the perfect combination for relaxation.

“ Damon! Why aren’t you answering my calls I’ve been trying to reach you for hours?,” Carloline Forbes voice boomed, the door slamming shut behind her.

He looked at her pointedly “ Well maybe I put my phone on silent so I could have a relaxing day without someone needing my help for a mundane task any human could fufill.”

Caroline huffed, “ this is a big deal Damon, Tyler’s mom has the flu so now we don’t have a place for our yearly friend-o- ween party!”

Damon Laughed, “ friend-o-ween? That’s the best you guys could come up with?”

“ We made it up in middle school and it’s cute!,” she argued. “ please Damon no one else can have it at their house.”

He sighed “ fine.”

Caroline shrieked and jumped “yay! I’ll go get all the decorations!”

.................................................

What was supposed to be a relaxing day turned into hours of assisting Caroline in decorating the boarding house until it looked like something out of a movie. The lighting was dim. Orange and purple lights were strung throughout the house giving it a spooky yet enchanting glow. There were real pumpkins, fake pumpkins, spider webs, skeletons and other spooky decorations. It really was overkill but he did have to admit he enjoyed the finished result.

They stood finally finished Caroline grinning. “ This looks amazing. Oh! I forgot about the food! I’ll have Matt bring the snacks by before everyone else gets here. I have to start getting ready. I’m running behind! You better have a costume Damon!” She said so quickly it’d be hard to understand if he wasn’t supernatural. She left slamming the door behind her.

With an hour to go Damon walked upstairs deciding to take a shower before the party. He stripped his clothes and turned the shower on high heat enjoying the steam that filled up his large room. He decided he would just splash some fake blood on himself as a costume and his mind began to wander to (y/n) wondering what she might wear. He liked her sexy nurse costume but it probably had too many negative emotions attached to it after the last time she wore it. Damon felt guilty over what had happened but all he could think about right now was how badly he had wanted her that night. He could have thrown her in a school bus and fucked her for hours he had been so worked up from her anger towards him. His cock got hard at the thought and he moved his hand down his chiseled wet abs and gripped it.

He started to stroke it thinking of what he normally did, memories of (y/n) moaning and cumming. He should feel ashamed or grossed out by the fact it was because his brother was fucking her but he didn’t care. He could easily remember those sounds and pretend they were caused by him. He stroked himself even faster imagining the school bus fantasy. His arm supported him against the glass wall as the other twisted and began to stroke himself faster. He was so close he was going to

“Damon!,” Matt’s voice yelled from downstairs and Damon had never wanted to kill Matt more than in that moment. He lost the coiling feeling in his abdomen and shut the water off quickly. Pissed he quickly threw on pants and a white v neck.

Once downstairs he helped Matt set out all of the food besides the pizzas Caroline was ordering. If only he had showed up one minute later, Damon thought still extremely frustrated. He splattered some fake blood on his white shirt and face. Then put Caroline’s cheesy Halloween music on that she said he HAD to play.

The door opened and he got excited hoping it was (y/n) but to his disappointment blondie appeared with Tyler and witchy. Bonnie wore a black latex bodysuit with cat ears and Caroline was wearing a black lingerie nighty with animal ears as well. “ I see you decide to go as a slutty hamster,” he joked confused by her outfit.

“ I’m a mouse duh,” she said pointing to her ears the reference lost on him.

Bonnie looked at Tyler in his football jersey and Damon in “ blood” splattered . “ I see you two put in a lot of effort,” she joked.

“ if you want me to take it all off all you had to do was ask bon bon,” Damon joked back as she rolled her eyes.

Everyone moved to the kitchen snacking on chips and soda waiting for the pizza to arrive while Damon anxiously waited for (y/n) . The pizza delivery guy arrived before her much to his dismay and Caroline seeing the look on his face added “ It’ll be worth the wait Damon,” as she smiled. He ignored her not knowing what she meant and poured himself a bourbon as they all sat around eating pizza. When the door finally opened Jeremy came in first wearing a black hoodie as usual (y/n) following behind him.

Damon’s eyes bulged and he tried to stop another area from doing the same as he saw her costume. She was dressed like a playboy bunny and it was the least clothed he had ever seen her. Now he really was hating Matt because tonight was going to be torture until he could relieve himself.

.....................................................

A few hours later they all sat in a circle on the floor in front of the crackling fireplace, filled shot glasses in front of each of them as Caroline yelled. “ Okay never have I ever, so if you have take a shot! Also no lying.” “ I’ll go first! Never have I ever had a one night stand.” Damon and Tyler took a shot.

Bonnie went next, “ never have I ever kissed a girl.” Everyone took a shot besides Bonnie and learning this new fact about (y/n) was making it even harder on him. Especially since he was trying not to stare all night as is.

Tyler went next “ never have I ever slept with Damon Salvatore,” laughing as Caroline hit him and took a shot.

Matt went next following Tyler’s lead , “ never have I ever fantasized about Damon Salvatore.” Also looking at Caroline. She took a shot.

“ Wow I’m hurt Matt,” Damon joked and noticed out of the corner of his eye (y/n) taking a shot too. He thought he could explode right then. He clapped his hands getting everyone’s attention . “Alright this is dumb, lets do truth or dare, you know there’s nothing I won’t do.” He winked. Since it’s my turn I’ll go first he turned to (y/n) whose heartbeat immediately increased.

“ (y/n) ,” he said slowly. “ truth or dare?”

She figured he saw that she had taken a shot for fantasizing about him and knew he would probably ask about that so in this case dare was the safe option. “ dare.”

Damon smirked, “ I dare you to tell me what you fantasized about me doing.” Her face went red.

“ That’s not how it works Damon it has to be an actual dare,” Bonnie said trying to cock block him like usual.

“ Fine,” he looked at (y/n) who was still flushed “ Then I dare you to kiss Caroline.”

(Y/n) crawled over to Caroline on her hands and knees seductively. Her pink body suit showing off her ass with a cute little bunny tail on it. She sat in front of her moving her blonde curled hair behind her ear and passionately kissed her. Caroline wrapped her hands into (y/n)s hair as they moaned into each other mouths. They pulled away laughing and at this point all the men were slightly hard. (Y/n) crawled back to her spot next to Damon and glared at him. Worried what his dare would be after that so he picked truth.

She acted like she was thinking it over “ have you ever jerked off while thinking about me Damon?” She asked trying to embarrass him, making everyone but Caroline slightly uncomfortable. Only because she knew (y/n) and Damon just needed to bang it out already.

He kept eye contact, “ right before everyone got here I was thinking about you in your sexy little nurse costume. Oh by the way Matt thanks for interrupting right as I was about to cum.”

His answer was followed by a few ewww’s and Jeremy, Bonnie and Matt deciding it was time to go. Now it was Caroline’s turn and she was playing matchmaker “ (y/n) truth or dare,”

“ truth,” she responded nervous yet excited.

“ what is your naughtiest fantasy of Damon?”

(Y/n) froze debating on lying but new the supernaturals would easily be able to tell. Looking down ashamed she responded quietly, “ that he would jerk off while hearing stefan and I ... well you know.”

Damon couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t always stefan after all. Had she wanted him the entire time? Did this mean she was purposefully being loud? Was she always thinking about him when her and his baby bro did the deed?

Tyler interrupted his thoughts. “ Caroline truth or dare ?” He said quickly trying to move things away from (y/n) who was obviously embarrassed.

Caroline’s face lit up, “dare.”

“ I dare you to kiss me.” Caroline moved over to him getting into his lap kissing him their bodies pressing close together as Damon and (y/n) looked at each other awkwardly. Caroline let out a small moan and Damon coughed loudly trying to remind them they weren’t alone.

Feeling turned on from so many of the events that happened today and now knowing how long (y/n) had been wanting him physically Damon looked over to her yet again. “ truth or dare ?”

Her face was flushed from Tyler and Caroline’s show of affection and it reminded her how badly she needed intimacy. Damon was sexy all the time but now with his tousled hair and blood spattered shirt he looked rough and it was making her think about all the times he had gotten bloody to save her. How strong and rough he actually was. She wanted to be closer to him she hoped choosing dare would grant that wish. “Dare.”

He patted his lap “ come sit.” She crawled over to him and took a seat in his lap her back facing his chest and his arms wrapped around her tightly. She could feel the buldge underneath his Jeans and her core tightned feeling him pressed against her. He ran his nose along the inside of her neck and whispered “ your turn.”

She responded the need for him finally taking over. “ truth or dare Damon” she said in a husky tone her face turned towards him looking into his eyes, her need evident.

“ dare.”

“ kiss me,” she dared and without hesitation Damon pulled her face to his forcefully. They moaned into each other’s mouths and Damon wrapped an arm around her and the other in her hair after throwing her bunny ears off of her. Well aware of what was about to happen and in need of release themselves Caroline and Tyler snuck out unnoticed.

Damon pushed (y/n) unto her back hovering above her, their lips always connected. He pressed her body firmly into the floor grinding into her core enjoying as she bucked her hips up to meet his. He moved his mouth to her neck kissing it aggressively. “ I want you so fucking bad (y/n) ,” She trembled underneath him.

“ please Damon.” With that he sat back and ripped off her tiny pink body suit leaving her in a black bra and panty set. She sat up and kissed him pulling away to lift his shirt over his head. He picked her up easily sitting her on the leather couch closer to the lit fireplace. He stood in front of her and she fumbled slightly trying to get his pants off as quick as she could. Her eyes widened when she unzipped his black jeans and realized he was going commando and he was BIG. His large erection sprung out of his pants standing proudly in front of her face. He stepped out of his pants and was going to resume undressing (y/n) but that thought was forgotten about when she wrapped her hand around him and did and experimental tug.

She looked up at him her (y/e/c) eyes meeting his blue as she stuck her tongue out and slowly licked his tip a few times before wrapping her lips around him completely.

“ fuck (y/n) ,” he moaned as she went further down on him, bobbing her head up and down on his length. She began to use her hand stroking what couldn’t fit in her mouth. Damon wrapped his hand around her throat gently pushing her off of him knowing If she continued he wouldn’t last much longer. Using his grip on her throat he pushed her back into the couch and crawled untop of her kissing her passionately. His other hand reached being her back unclasping her bra and she gasped as the cool air hit the newly exposed skin. He began to kiss down her neck his fingers traveling to play with her over her soaked panties. “ so wet.” He moaned against her neck as she began to grind into his hand.

Damon moved lower sucking her nipple into his mouth gently nibbling on it as he slipped his hand underneath her underwear making direct contact with her clit. “Please Damon, I need you inside me,” she cried desperately wanting him more than she thought was humanly possible.

He lifted his head from her breast looking down at her. The need evident in her eyes and ripped her panties off of her. Hovering over top of her he grabbed his member and and ran it along her folds watching as her wetness coated him. Looking down at her biting her lip he asked , “ are you sure you want this?”

“ I’ll always want you Damon,” she replied the sincerity clear on her face. With that Damon slowly guided his head into her. He watched her face as she slightly winced and leaned down to kiss her softly. He moved back and slowly slid farther into her. He kissed the side of her face gently trying to remind himself she hadn’t had sex in months and stefan wasn’t as well endowed as he was. Her tightness was testing his will power but he didn’t want to hurt her.

“ are you doing okay?,” he asked moving his hand down to her clit softly rubbing her knowing it would help her adjust more easily.

She moaned her eyes shut tightly the feeling of him stretching her so far. “ yes,” she lifted her hips trying to show him she wanted more , “ I want all of you Damon.” With that he pulled almost all of her heat and thrusted back in completely connecting them.

“ yes!” She cried out feeling like they were made for each other. He pulled back again and thrust in slow and deep enjoying the look of pleasure on her face. He continued his slow thrusts rolling his hips into her filling her all the way. He sat back and watched as her folds gripped him tightly. The view bringing him closer to his release. Damon sped up his pace slightly pulling out mostly than thrusting back into her using more force than before. He could feel her pussy begin to tighten around him and moved to rest his forehead against hers.

“ I want you to come for me (y/n). ” He sped up his circles on her clit and thrust into her harder and harder his abs tensing trying to hold off his orgasm.

(Y/n) began to tremble underneath him, “ I’m close!” she exclaimed. Her legs began shaking uncontrollably the pleasure like nothing she had ever experienced before.

“ me too ,” he grunted on the edge “ I want you to come with me.” He thrust again softly whispering “ come on baby, come on my cock for me.” Feeling her walls start to pulse around him.

With that she cried “ yes! I’m cumming, Damon yes!”

“ Fuck (y/n) ,” he growled, her walls gripping him harder pulling his orgasm from him as he continued to move inside of her.

They lay there still connected the aftershocks traveling through their bodies. He kissed her before slowly pulling out and rolling off the couch onto the soft carpet in front of the fire place. He patted next to him. “ join me?”

She slowly moved beside him her muscles already sore from her incredible orgasm. He played with her hair as she asked him “ truth or dare?”

“ truth,” he responded not questioning her motive.

“ Do you love me Damon?”

“ I always have (y/n),” he paused “ do you love me?”

“ yes, I always will .” With that he brought her mouth to his sealing their love with that one special kiss.

#Damon Salvatore #Damon Salvatore smut #Damon Salvatore imagine #vampire diaries #vampire diaries smut #smut #vampire diaries imagine #Damon imagine #damon x reader #damonxreadersmut #damon salvatore x reader #damonxelena

236 notes · View notes

yuusa · 4 years ago

Text

𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝟐𝟑

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟐𝟒𝟗𝟒

𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝟐𝟑:

You released a cute sneeze before clearing your nose with a tissue. Although you spent the entire day with Yuki yesterday, you were still feeling a bit sick. Hopefully, you didn't actually give him your sickness either. You both returned to school and were able to finish your committee and homework papers at your house, but you still had to return back to work. Shimada suggested that you rest for another day since you're merely a high school student, she never struck you as the type of person to worry about your health. You decided that it would still be better to return to work though.

You squeezed some hand sanitizer on your skin as the next customer came through the door. Your eyes widened as you recognized Akito's figure, he pulled parts of his hair back as he approached the counter. He was still wearing extremely bland clothes, something that you noticed was a common feature about him.

"A-Akito-san, I didn't know you knew about this cafe. . ." You stared at him in shock as you shifted your weight from side to side. This was a very awkward encounter, especially when you haven't seen him in your routine ever since he visited the school. It was almost as if he was trying to distance himself from you.

You didn't know how you felt about Akito during school, you still felt a bit unsure of what to say to him. You were too caught up in your own world that you failed to realize you hadn't interacted with the dark-haired male at all. You were conflicted about whether or not you should ask him about his relationship with Yuki. You didn't exactly want to be on bad terms with him, especially when he did so much for you at the start of your meeting.

". . . Hm, a close friend of mine suggested this place to me." He smiled, pointing at one of the drinks on the menu, "I'll have (f/b) with not too much sugar in it."

"O-Oh, of course. Would you like to have that to go or are you drinking there?" You asked, holding up a marker if he were to order his drink to go. You learned from Shimada that there were customers who wanted their names written on their cups when they order to go so they wouldn't get mix up drinks.

"I'll be drinking here, thank you." You nodded to his order and handed the order to the kitchen window. You grabbed the wooden tray and walked around the counter.

"Then, follow me this way." Akito smiled behind your figure, admiring your work uniform and the way your apron fitted your body. It was much more attractive than the clothes he was forced to wear at home.

You opened your hand to gesture at an open table with an empty seat in front, "we don't exactly have single-person seats, I hope this is fine with you Akito-san."

He only shook his head and waved his hand to dismiss your comment, "I'm not exactly going to be alone, I was hoping you would sit with me."

You pondered over the professionalism of your job, this was most likely the second time you were invited out during your shift. Although you thought it would be rude behavior for you to simply enjoy a break with someone else, it seems as if Shimada was pushing for you to open up to other people. This wasn't very professional, but you couldn't deny a customer's wishes. You sighed under your breath, holding onto the wooden tray close to your chest as Akito sat down on the seat.

'Just for a few minutes,' You thought, pulling the other chair for you to sit down in front of him. He leaned his chin against the palm of his hand as he continued to smile at you.

"How has Yuki been doing in school?" He asked, fiddling with one of the sugar packets that were provided in the container on the side of the table.

"E-Erm. . . He's doing fine." You didn't know if you were supposed to mention the fact that the two of you skipped out yesterday in order to stay home. After all, this was Akito, the head of the Sohma family, you were sure that he wouldn't take Yuki's absence of school too lightly considering the fact that he was supposed to be a model student.

"That's nice to hear, how about you? Have you been doing?" Akito spun around the packet of sugar around his fingers, feeling the material of the thin paper rub against his skin.

"I've made a new friend," You said, smiling down as you held onto the tray, "we watched a Mogeta movie together."

You thought that this might have been the safest information to talk about that wasn't too far away from the truth. You didn't want to involve Yuki in your conversations with Akito, especially after the events that happened that are still fresh in your mind. It might be dangerous for the two of them to meet again, you decided that the best course of action is to interact with the two of them separately. Although they came from the same family, you believe that Yuki only visits Akito during New Years'. It was merely a hunch, but you wanted to believe in something.

Akito crushed the sugar packet in his hands but retained his smiling face. 'Who the hell is the other bitch?' He cursed, feeling his anger boil within him like a teakettle but he quickly turned off the stove to his frustrations. To say that he was annoyed was an understatement, he was furious inside at the fact that you would watch a movie with someone else that wasn't him, to smile as if you had just found a better friend, not to mention you watched a Mogeta movie with them. The same movie that he went with you on your first date. This new friend of yours may have sparked a flame within Akito that he didn't previously know he had.

You heard the bell of the counter ring and you quickly excused yourself to pick up Akito's drink. As you turned around to place the drinks onto your wooden tray, Akito's smile dropped to a frown. It was frustrating to him that there was someone else who was trying to meddle in his relationship with you, especially when he went out of his way to try and interact with you. He should look more into your schedule in order to find out who is trying too hard to get close to you. Akito would be extremely angry at the thought of someone else seducing you. Perhaps it was the troubles of being God to mere animals that made his life harder when it came to talking to you.

You were much different compared to everyone else. You held resentment towards those who have wronged you, you hate them more than anything. There was the feeling of your inner walls being scratched against, something hidden underneath you that you desperately wanted to erase. You knew what it felt having a mother like his.

It was painful and frustrating.

But. . . He wasn't going to lose sight of you that easily.

He watched as you returned with his drink, placing it down in front of him and bowing down in politeness. This gesture of respect made his heart swell and his ego burst, there was something about this small action that made him feel much better on the inside. You quietly sat back down onto your seat, awkwardly fiddling with the apron of your work uniform. Akito's smile returned, he lifted up the cup to his lips, admiring the smell of the (f/b) that was supposedly your favorite.

He wonders if you have gotten closer to Yuki. He heard from Shigure that he has been staying at your house more often. Although he knew Shigure was starting to develop a bit of a grudge against you for your existence to Akito, he knew better than to go against the head of the Sohma family wishes. He stared at your phone that was slightly poking out from your pocket, the eagle charm dangling in the air as if it was mid-flight.

It might be easier to convince you to stay by his side if it meant putting Yuki on the line. For you, to see everyone's smile was something you were trying to accomplish. You wanted to see them all smile, especially the lonely, timid, sobbing Rat that was crumbling underneath the expectations of others.

You would break if it meant he’ll smile.

That was what he was hoping for. You’d be a timid bird locked away for his own enjoyment to see and talk to.

As he took a sip of the drink, you peered up to look at him, "Akito-san. . . I wanted to ask you a question."

He set down the teacup back onto the saucer, raising his eyebrow in interest, "and what question would you like to ask me?"

"I wanted to know why you would go out of your way to meet me like this," Akito stared at you in silence, coaxing you to continue, ". . . I'm just thinking that you must be busy with your own duties."

"You are my precious friend, (L/n)-san." He leaned forward, intertwining his hands and placing his chin on his knuckles, "I like talking to you of course. I may not be able to fulfill the role of a friend to you due to my busy schedule, but I would love to meet up with you more often."

"I see. . . What exactly do you even see in me?" You asked, watching as Akito's smile continued to widen.

". . . I see myself in you," Akito slipped his finger through the handle of the cup, swirling the drink slightly, "we're similar (L/n)-san."

"In what way. . . ?" You felt your hand clench into a fist underneath the table, "we only met a couple of times."

"I know you've been holding yourself back," Your eyes widened as your blood felt cold, "you think that everyone else wouldn't understand the real you."

That isn't true, it couldn't be.

"You're a lot better than everyone else aren't you? You're much stronger than everyone else in terms of raw ability, and yet you don't show it at all. Are you holding back? You don't need to hide those urges you feel inside," Akito continued, your body froze still in your chair as you were forced to continue listening to him, "because it's normal isn't it? You'll feel a lot better if you let it all out."

". . . What are you talking about?"

"Isn't it obvious? You hate your own family. . . You want to hurt them, don't you? You want to see them suffer just as much as you did.” He concluded, his words stabbing into your heart with every single syllable that comes out, "you're scared that your hatred would spread amongst others, right?"

You instinctively raised your hand, your irritation of the situation getting to your head, as you almost brought it towards his face but froze midway. Yuki seemed to have flinched as he saw your hand but you dropped it to your side, lifeless. The dullness and emotionless look of your eyes were shown through the dimly lit corner.

'I. . . Don’t want this.’ You thought, your spine getting shivers as your memories began to flood back into you like a tidal wave. You felt as if you were drowning in this situation, the lack of oxygen and weight of your world on your shoulders crushing you into nothingness.

"I understand how you feel (L/n)-san. You feel so angry on the inside, but you’re bottling it all up. But don’t worry, everyone else is mere comfort. We are the same after all, but you're special." Akito smiled, drinking at his tea while you stared back at him in shock, "you must really care for everyone else, my precious Eagle."

'Stop.' You internally screamed. This isn't what you want. You tightened your fists, your nerves, and fingers growing numb at the pressure. Your nails digging into your skin and piercing through the surface while you trembled. You felt no tears pricking at the corners of your eyes, your body feeling as if it had been dunked under freezing cold waters, numb and cold to the touch as Akito stared at you with peaked interests.

If this isn't what you want. . . Then why do you feel so scared right now?

You slammed your hands on the table, stopping him from continuing any further, the saucer for the bottom of his cup bouncing at the impact, ". . . That's. . . That's not true. I'm not better than anyone else. . ."

"Why are you denying it?" He asked, nearly finished with his drink, "the more you bottle up all this anger. . . You know that it'll explode in the worst possible way."

"But. . . I won't let you go down that path." Akito stood up from his chair, staring down at your quivering form that was frozen at the table, horrified at how easily he was able to read through you, "if you ever need someone for your anger, I will always be there to provide you with what you need."

He needed to push you to the very edge if it means he could see your pitiful expression.

". . . What are you providing. . . ?" You asked fearfully, trying to comprehend the situation thrown in front of you like cold water. Akito walked closer to you, reaching out to hold onto your cheek delicately as he leaned forward into your ear.

"Toys." He slid his hand down and away from your skin, leaving the cafe without a single goodbye. You were unsure if you ever wanted to hear him say it either, you didn't know if you wanted to hear more of his voice.

At the table, he left a large sum of money which was worth more than he paid for. There was a slightly crumpled white sheet of paper within the stack. You picked up the cash and held it in your hand, pulling out the white slip that was underneath the dollars and unfolding it.

'Do not be afraid to ask me for anything you need to release your anger' written specifically by Akito based on his name on the bottom corner of the paper, the black ink bleeding into the parchment as your finger smudged against it. The ink staining your finger with darkness, your (s/c) skin contrasting the sinister color.

You wanted to disappear.

#Fruits Basket #fruits basket x reader #Yuki Sohma #yuki soma #yuki sohma x reader #yuki soma x reader

40 notes · View notes

n1sh1n0ya · 4 years ago

Note

hello lovely may i request tsukishima, kageyama, terushima, and yachi (if you write for her) reacting to a s/o who is like the stage manager for her schools drama club (its kind of like a director if you don’t know) :) thanks!

Tsukki, Kageyama, Terushima and Yachi x stage manager s/o

a/n: I don’t know much about drama, and I think my friend who does is probably very sick of me asking what a stage manager does, but here we are

Kei Tsukishima

When you tell him that you’re part of the drama club for the first time, he acts painfully unbothered

He’s just kinda like oh okay then

He’s impressed on the inside tho, and you know it as well

He’s so impressed, because it’s cool to be an actor, but to be a manager?? Cool shit

You know he’s secretly impressed and proud of you, and that he’ll never say that out loud, but you know he thinks it and he knows you know, you know?

Sorry

You two always walk home together when clubs have finished after school

Rip Yamaguchi i guess

But because he has to change when practice has finished, you’re usually waiting for him at the school gate when he’s done

So one day, you’re not there and he’s kinda like ??

So he heads over to the drama studio to see if you’re still there

He looks around the corner into the studio, to see a LOT of people, students and a couple teachers running around rather frantically carrying various props

Amidst all the madness, he spots you, he’s not sure what you’re doing, but he’s sure it’s your best

No one notices him there at first, so he settles for watching from the door for a little while, simultaneously not wanting to interrupt and also quite fascinated by watching y’all

When you look over and catch sight of him standing just in the doorway, leaning against the frame, trying his best not to smile, you instantly panic and check the time

Its half an hour after clubs were supposed to end, and it’s a wonder that no one has come to tell you to all go home

You rush over to him to apologize for keeping him waiting, but he just laughs lightly and tells you to make sure that you’re fully ready for the upcoming performance, rather than making sure he doesn’t mind waiting

He’s super impressed and pleased he got to see that side of you, although again, he’ll never admit to it

Tobio Kageyama

He had known that you were part of the drama club for a while, as the both of you were always rushing off to your respective clubs after school

He always thought that you were an actor, because he doesn’t really know anything

I was gonna put “about drama” on the end of that, but I think ending that point there is more effective

So one day, volleyball practice is cancelled, and he tags along with you to the drama studio

Bcos you two walk home together and he was NOT about to miss out the best part of his day just because Coach Ukai was sick

I feel like he learns SO MUCH in the couple hours that he spends in the studio with y’all

You ofc put him to good use carrying heavy scenes around

He thought he knew a little bit about what you did at your club, but as it turns out, no he did not

So when he realizes just how clueless he is compared to everyone else, he’s all like

“I gotta learn how this works to impress my s/o”

So as you’re checking up on everything for your big performance next week, he’s asking the people around him about what you do, and how everything works

There has to be a lot of volleyball analogies in their explanations

He’s in shock

He didn’t realize that there was so much work going into the performances he sees, because he only sees the finished version of your productions

He’s super proud of you, cos like, he could NEVER

He comes to the next performance by the club, and he appreciates it SO much more, knowing all the work that’s gone in, and knowing that you played such an important part in bringing the show to life, even if you’re not on the stage

Terushima Yuuji

When he first finds out about you being the stage manager, he’s pretty clueless as to what you do

But this simp wants to know EVERYTHING about it once you’ve told him you do it, you’re beginning to think that he could do your job better than you the amount he’s learned about it

He’s the type to hate school but love learning random things that interest him, so he’s totally down to expand his knowledge

He goes to every performance that you’ve breathed near the set of, and he’s the actual b e s t hypeman

I think he would tell everyone within a 5 mile radius that you had a hand in that performance, did you see it? It was amazing don’t you think? They wouldn’t have been able to do that without MY s/o-

He’s like

Proud proud

As soon as he sees you after, he smiles so big and it’s always the best part

Absolutely DROWNS you in compliments, everything you do is amazing, and he’s gonna make sure you know it

Whenever he’s gonna go see you after vball practice hes always bragging to the rest of the team

“Oh I NEED to hurry today, I need to go see MY s/o after practice, did i tell you that she’s a stage manager for the drama club?”

Yes, he did.

He’s told everyone lmao

Yachi Hitoka

Ur both managers thats cute 🥺

When she finds out you're in the drama club she's like wowowowowowowow you can perform???

When you tell her that you’re actually a stage manager, she’s super impressed

(and relieved, she was already imagining how it would feel to be standing on a stage in front of a load of people, and she was beginning to worry lmao)

She’s super understanding of everything that you do, she knows that it can be very stressful to manage a bunch of teenagers

When she sees a performance you were part of for the first time, she’s so impressed

I can imagine that it can be quite stressful to be in any kind of drama performance, and she’s very sympathetic

Catching up after your respective clubs is super fun tho, because you’ve always got funny stories to share

“I can’t believe TWO people managed to fall off the stage today”

“Yeah, Hinata took one of Asahi’s spikes to the face today, AGAIN”

You probably know the team because of the amount of time Yachi spends on them, making posters etc.

So suddenly instead of it being just Yachi coming to show her support at the shows you’ve been in, there’s 13 more people in the audience

You and her are both underrated ppl, no one ever notices the people they don’t see >:(

Like, most people only see the actors in a play, or the players in a volleyball game, so you sympathise with each other on being the underrated backbone of your groups

#haikyuu #haikyuu headcannons #haikyuu x reader #kei tsukishima #tsukishima kei x reader #tsukki headcanons #tobio kageyama #kageyama x reader #kageyama headcannons #yūji terushima #terushima x reader #terushima headcanons #yachi hitoka #yachi x reader #yachi headcanons

99 notes · View notes

lady-of-endless · 4 years ago

Text

“Tonight’s Weather Forecast” (Jonathan Joestar x Robert E. O. Speedwagon)

Author’s Note: Fluff. I know it's not great but it's more of a practice to see if I should get back into writing. It might have too many words for a drabble but it feels like one. Thank you for your time and sorry to disappoint.

...

Even sunny weather can change in the blink of an eye. Exactly like one's fate and nature. Maybe you're as quiet as a snowing winter night usually, but if something unexpected happens, suddenly you can get as loud as a brief storm in the middle of a summer day. The weather forecast can be wrong from time to time, just like this evening in which it was not supposed to rain.

The wind was blowing in constantly with tenacity, playing with the long coats Jonathan and Robert were wearing.

"Now I see why you joined the sport's club in college days!" Robert's chest was filled with his hearty laughter, crinkling his eyes as he watched Jonathan who was running after a hat, still maintaining his straight posture.

He and Jonathan were searching for a temporary shelter from the rain when the wind sent Robert's hat rolling away from him on the wet pavement. Galloping onward and finally catching it, Jonathan chuckled because of the brief incident.

Before giving Robert his hat back, he first studied the item for any dirt stains.

"Saving the situation really is in your blood." Robert thanked, retrieving his hat and putting it right back on his head.

Jonathan watched him closely, being allured by Speedwagon's smile when he adjusted his hat with his thumb and looked back at him with warm eyes.

"Anyone would have done it and you know that." The Joestar replied sincerely but still flustered from the previous words.

They intertwined their arms for stability and maybe more as they hurried through the rain towards a yellow warm light that seemed to come from an inn. Two men, a tall one and a shorter one, both with pointed leather shoes were running and huffing on a dark and silent British street in the rain.

To their joy, the light was indeed coming from a cozy-looking inn. The first thing that they both noticed after stepping inside was that the place was oddly peaceful, lacking in guests. This detail was shrugged off easily as the rain got more persistent. After choosing an isolated table and sitting down, Robert took off his damp coat and straightened his wool vest. Jonathan did the same while wondering how even when Robert was a thug he was still dressed elegantly like that. After some minutes wasted on insisting and arguing over whose turn is to pay the drinks, both wanting to, their table was occupied with filled glasses.

This was their usual plan. After a demanding training with Will Zeppeli, all three men would go for a fine glass of wine, terrible mockeries and call it a day. William would often begin a story about the type of wine they were drinking as Jonathan listened carefully and Robert joked about the show off nature of the whole act. Tonight, however, the mentor decided to rest earlier and not join the younger.

Taking off his hat, Robert realized that the annoying weather paired up with his stubbornness to wear that headpiece ruined his image. His hair was a fuzzy mess and he knew it, but it was not what it bothered him. It was how his posture always seemed to be drooping slightly towards Jonathan when staying next to him, enjoying something to drink at night. They could both handle their liquor. Even if their cheeks were rather rosy, it was usually not because of the alcohol.

The ex-leader of the Ogre Street gang would always listen to Jonathan's stories from the frantic Joestar mansion and active college life. In all of those stories, Robert always found a motivated and kind soul. On the other hand, however, reaching the stories that belonged to Robert when he was in that fearful gang was difficult for Jonathan. Being remorseful or melancholic about that past was not a part of Speedwagon's morals but how could he not surrender to those deep ocean eyes that were searching for him?

"Jonathan, dear lord, call me Robert. Just Robert. It's been too long." The blonde would sometimes interfere and correct the other man chuckling. Robert never minded reminding Jonathan about their bond.

"Fine, Robert." Jonathan spelled his name smiling softly, head tilting slightly. "What about your scar?"

Jonathan's worried eyes studied the jagged line across the left cheek of his partner. He could not leave the sight of his face without looking at those candid but somehow weary dark brown eyes.

Robert cleared his throat and looked at the empty glass from in front of him.

"We should get another, right Mister Joestar?" His shoulders always made tiny movements when he talked and his eyebrows were always expressive.

"Call me Jonathan." The young Joestar imitated Robert's words with a quick grin.

Asking so straight forward about such a personal detail was not a characteristic of the gentleman attitude that Jonathan wanted to present. His feelings always pulled him back to his inclinations and sincere way of interacting.

It was not that Jonathan asked for those stories out of etiquette or for the sake of small talk. What he was wishing to hear tonight was how Robert got that one striking scar. However, Speedwagon always seemed to avoid that enigmatic part and some other stories.

Both of them dropped any possible response because of one swift eye contact. Robert did not want to surrender this time but his heart signaled that he has to.

"I was not like this before." He began with a gentle curve on his lips that rapidly faded away. "I got it from the first victim of my acts of thievery. It was the first contact with that gang that took me in shortly after."

Jonathan took a deep breath in, feeling the weight of that memory Robert started. Growing up in a manor was sometimes a hassle but it was clearly not to be compared with life in the worst slums no one could ever imagine. It was something so unknown and distant to him.

"It was a nobleman, like you. He tried to fight back wanting to end me, and I sure did deserve such fate." Robert sighed deeply before raising his glass to his lips. "He died after that, because of me."

As Robert's story went on, his fingers were ever so slightly brushing the borders of the hat placed on the table. That one was nothing like the bowler hat with a built-in sharp saw he had back then. He remembered how he used that old deceiving hat to attack Jonathan as well in the winter night he first met him. Immediately after learning how Jonathan Joestar was living, caring for others, and having enough kindness for everyone, Robert threw away that damned weapon with no regret.

Jonathan could remember how some of his friends and colleagues got into risky problems with the Ogre Street gang. He even often found warnings in the newspaper. However, he could never judge anyone without assuring first.

Speedwagon was indeed a notorious name floating through the grimy and drunken streets of London at night. It was where he grew up and where he got used to hating aristocracy.

Why? Just because he had only seen the bad in those individuals of the upper class?

Betrayed, backstabbed, hustled, Robert was left with a hope to find the place or the right people to be surrounded by trust and loyalty. He was ready to give the same things in return even more than he would ever receive but never had the chance. Those profound wishes were out of reach there in that vicious band under his leadership.

As his name and reputation flew higher in the band, his shadow got bigger and when he realized that he was looking for trust and loyalty in the wrong place, it was too late for him. No exit from that wicked place, no break from the same ruthless routines.

Many times, silently, Speedwagon carried immeasurable guilt in his chest when looking at Jonathan. The example of a true gentleman with pure intentions was always walking in front of him with his back straight. Someone who he could only dream of having close.

Jonathan was born with the naive morality that saved Robert and many others. His rudimental manners, his warm but stern tone, noble spirit, were discovered later. Bravery and honor contained in a gentle heart. Robert smiled at Jonathan and then looked down at his hands. His smile faded away after seeing his old disgraceful scars marking his palms. How could Jonathan trust the hoodlum, knowing about his vicious life? He wanted to trust Robert, and so he did in time.

The ambition Speedwagon has for changing himself is burning so fiercely inside that fumes are always coming out in the form of thoughtful acts.

"You are a righteous man, you always were." Jonathan concluded, covering Robert's scarred palm and putting a hand over his prominent knuckles. "No matter what stories you share with me or keep to yourself. You might sense the bad in people but I can sense the good in them and search for it." Talking about himself was not something he liked but in this case, it was just to prove his statement.

Hating to leave some things unsaid, Jonathan forced himself not to add that Robert was a good man in the wrong place. He knew it would not help. Robert parted his lips upon hearing those words and his eyes could not hide the shock anymore. Eyes in which there was always a concern that could not be seen in the eyes of an enemy.

"I am deeply sorry to let my dreary words bore you but I admire you, more than I expected to." The blonde looked in Jonathan's sky blue eyes as droplets were hitting the window behind him creating a blurry curtain of rainwater. Inside was humid and still too warm. Robert's hair dried up and it looked softer than usual.

Speedwagon was lucky and he knew it, even if his heart was drowning in remorse. Anyone from that gang could be saved so why it had to be him? Instead of asking the moon why over and over again, he decided to start searching a way to cherish this chance of changing.

As much as he wanted to be subtle and build in silence, everything was visible to Jonathan.

"It was impossible not to notice how yesterday you spent more time in the library." Jonathan changed the subject, putting a hand over his star birthmark. A habit of his. Robert was lucky enough to catch a glimpse at that birthmark when Jonathan was training and since then, he kept on thinking about it.

"Ah, please excuse me, it seems that I got carried away." The instant apology was rushed but meaningful as always.

"There must have been something of great interest if it has been able to keep you there for so long." Jonathan Joestar has again clung to his manners and did not ask directly despite the gleam of curiosity from his eyes.

Time could be stopped there and then when they got closer to each other than before. The bar was getting ready for the closing hour and both of the men forgot that they carried a watch. Robert knew how there was a reason why he was enjoying such a night alone with Jonathan and why he met someone like him during such times. He just wanted to honor this chance and the bond between them properly.

"I might have one long term project in mind." He explained trying to hide a playful smile.

The idea behind that project made Speedwagon finally smile again with pure ambition, giving him wings of fulfillment. The sight made Jonathan blush and shift in his seat.

The Joestar stopped his meddling questions and resigned to admire the change of spirit. That one grand objective, was the beginning of a longer story that would help the Joestar family through generations, just how he wished, the Speedwagon will.

"Then, I cannot wait to know more about it, if I have the chance!" Jonathan's voice was full of joy and affection. "I will always believe in you."

Outside it stopped pouring, the clouds disappeared in order to let stars gleam on the night sky. The air was once again crisp and cold. Robert and Jonathan smiled at each other once more before deciding to leave their table and get a kick out of the weather from outside.

Just like the weather, people can always change.

#jjba #jonathan joestar x robert e o speedwagon #jonathan joestar x speedwagon #jonathan joestar #robert speedwagon #jojo's bizzare adventure part 1 #jojo no kimyō na bōken #jonathan joestar fanfic #speedwagon fanfic #jjba fanfic

6 notes · View notes

waynedunlaptheorgandonor · 5 years ago

Text

alpha/beta are carol/daryl foils: an analysis no one asked for; twd s10 spoilers, obviously

hoo boy. okay, so i’ve been intending to write this for days, but i had to let it marinate, and also i haven’t been sleeping and couldn’t concentrate long enough to write it down, but whatever, i digress. “we are the end of the world” was something, wasn’t it?? it is so weird to have a plotline in twd that’s like...good? and SO refreshing to have a villain who isn’t a macho, rapey, white dude. i personally believe that all showrunners should be women from now on. oh, i’m digressing again, my apologies.

here’s the actual content, under the cut bc it’s a fucking novel:

so, from alpha’s very first episode, when i saw her shaving her head, i literally thought, “oh, so she’s carol’s foil and they’re going to have an inevitable showdown, huh?” guess who was right? this bitch. but what i didn’t catch right away was how beta is also daryl’s foil, and how the main focus of this season is alpha/beta vs carol/daryl.

let’s take it apart individually first, yeah?

carol vs. alpha:

like i said, the scene that made me instantly aware of what they were setting up was when alpha shaved her head. carol’s hair was a big thing in season 9, and the fact that we had just had henry talking about carol growing her hair out long, juxtaposed with alpha shaving hers off, is what set the alarm bells off for me. i have said over and over that i don’t believe kang does anything unintentionally, and girl loves her symbolism, so those two opposing scenes was a taste of what she was setting up.

carol and alpha are both near-indestructible forces who also happen to be mother’s suffering the loss of their children at the hand of the other. (carol isn’t directly responsible for lydia, but she’s included with “the others” that took lydia from alpha, so i think alpha still sees her as part of it.)

carol and alpha both have transformed themselves to fit within the confines of the world they currently live in, while recognizing that their children weren’t meant for it, even within their own grief. let us refer to figures a and b (lol) below.

figure a:

here in “the grove” we have creepy girl who i hate and am terrified of asking carol if sophia died because she was weak, and carol straight up is like, “yes.” she doesn’t even sugarcoat it. she accepted that her daughter wasn’t going to survive from the jump, because “there wasn’t a mean bone in her body.”

figure b:

here we see alpha losing her goddamn shit, because she’s having a come-to-jesus moment with beta about losing lydia, because she can’t have lydia and be the alpha at the same time, because lydia “is not like” her.

conclusion: carol and alpha both mourn for their daughters, but have accepted that to be the people they need to be in the apocalypse, their children needed to die (or in lydia’s case, be dead metaphorically). in short, carol and alpha are two sides of the same coin. they’ve both found ways to survive, except one is for the good guys, and the other is for the bad guys, and now they’re head-to-head, and it is d e l i c i o u s.

moving on.

daryl vs beta:

idk why the parallels didn’t occur to me when they had daryl fighting beta. i blame henry, he was distracting me by being a delightful idiot (rip my dumb bitch), but that seed was planted in season 9, too. go kang for continuity. who knew twd could do that? anyway.

the big thing that compares daryl and beta is who they were before they found carol and alpha respectively. we obviously don’t know a whole lot of details about beta’s life, but we have enough to extrapolate and compare, and extrapolate and compare we shall.

alright, so we got our favorite lovable, filthy redneck, who grew up abused and isolated, and then here comes the apocalypse, and the only person he has left is his brother, and that’s what defines him until he loses him, both when rick chained him to a roof, and then again, after a brief relapse, when merle sacrificed himself.

next we have beta, who again, our info is limited, but he does not become “beta” until after whoever that walker alpha puts down is gone. judging by the size, approximate age, and the closeness beta had to him, i’m betting on, you guessed it, his brother.

observe:

figure a:

figure b:

these are both turning points for these men, where they Fully Become the dudes that we know. daryl couldn’t be the daryl we know and love until merle was gone for good, and whatever his actual name is couldn’t become beta until smiley face shirt guy was smooshed.

(side note: how fucking rank does that t-shirt have to be by now? at least the mask dries out, but do you think that t-shirt is just like, melded into beta’s skin at this point? gross.)

so time for the fun part.

alpha/beta and caryl in season 10:

season 10 finds both duos in similar circumstances, by which i mean, alpha and carol are losing their minds, and beta and daryl are like, “uhhhh, you ok?” the men are these women’s confidants, their person, the one they trust and love above all others. carol saved daryl and brought him into a community, and alpha did the same thing with beta. you want more visual aides? well, sure thing, scout!

figure a:

we’re carylers, we already know carol’s the reason daryl has the confidence and self-esteem to become part of the group, but juxtapose this with the following pic, which i will label

figure b (again):

and you will see that alpha sees something in beta that no one else does. she sees this lonely, talented man, who’s adrift and in solitude, and she essentially calls dibs. sound familiar? inorite?

so daryl and beta are now loyal to a fault to their women, and this season already has them being wary of how they’re acting. yes, i have more pictures. i like taking screenshots, okay?

figure a:

one of the first scenes we get with caryl is daryl asking carol if she’s still thinking about alpha, and if she is Dwelling, which is interesting, because...

figure b:

...that’s exactly the same thing we get with alpha and beta. the first scene in “we are the end of the world” with the two of them in present day is him questioning her motives, and then later on he’s like, “fuck, are you Dwelling?”

and both women immediately are like:

and neither dude knows wtf to do about this, because they’re used to the women being the strong ones. carol’s whole, “you’ve got to feel it, but not me, i’m good repressing, conceal don’t feel” thing, mixed with alpha’s, “we’re living like the dead and the dead don’t feel emotions so obviously I Am Fine” motto is what their boys are used to, but suddenly carol is hallucinating dead children, and alpha is making shrines, and our poor dudes are like, “plz stop???” esp bc they know these women are FUCKING TERRIFYING, and should never be left to their own devices if they’re being crazy crackers.

ergo, both men are clinging to the hope that they can bring the women back from the brink. my last visual aides, yes i know, how sad:

figure a:

figure b:

both scenes have these dudes reaching out to their women and essentially expressing, in their own way, “i’m worried about you, can you plz stay within eyesight at all times, ilu,” bc neither daryl nor beta is equipped to have a nice long sit down conversation about feelings, and obviously carol and alpha wouldn’t bother to entertain it in the first place, so like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. they tried.

will it work? unlikely! because after that showdown at the end of both eps 1 and 2, these bitches ain’t about to stop for nothing. they just straight up made enemies for life, and they’re going straight harry potter with this shit, neither can live while the other survives, someone has to die, and while beta and daryl are not super on board with this whole “being bonkers and bent on revenge” thing, you better bet your ass that they’re going to make sure their woman is the winner, which means they automatically are paired up against one another as well.

so in a nutshell: we could have just stuck goatees on mmb and norman reedus, cast them as alpha and beta, and called them mirror!verse caryl (star trek reference, yay/nay?), because they’re mother fucking foils setting up for the mother fucking fight of the century, and oh my god, can you feel it in your bones how exciting it is that it’s not going to be a rick + negan dick measuring contest again? i am So Hype.

and ofc, as a hardcore caryl shipper, i obviously have to throw in that alpha and beta are totally in love (which is esp fun, bc whisperers aren’t supposed to feel love, uh oh, vulcan violation, yes i made another star trek reference, bite me), and if they are paralleling caryl, well...extrapolate from the evidence.

i love kang, you guys. i love how she tells a story. i love that she knows how to tell a story. this show is good again, and idk how she did it, but damnit, she did.

thus endeth my pointless critical analysis. forgive me. i was an english major and have absolutely no other use for my degree.

i’m ashamed too.

that’s all. tomorrow is the early release of the caryl episode, i mean the new episode. looking forward to dying a valiant death with the lot of you. until then, friends.

deuces,

-diz

addendum: i was editing this, and was trying to think if there’s a parallel to the bracelet scene, and the only thing i could think of that alpha gives beta is his mask. she encourages him to take the face of his brother(?), and that keeps him grounded, which is interesting, bc my prediction for the bracelet is that it’s going to end up being a grounding device for carol when she’s dissociating. i don’t have a solid conclusion drawn there, but i thought i’d mention it before posting, just to plant the seed.

k, done 4 real, bye

#alpha/beta #do they have a ship name?#bc i'm worried it's gonna get tagged in that weird kink stuff #gdi #whatever #moving on #caryl #carol peletier #daryl dixon #twd s10 spoilers #twd #dunlap tp

126 notes · View notes

heroacademiaimagines · 5 years ago

Text

Fluff Alphabet: All Might/Yagi Toshinori

Activities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

There’s no one thing that Toshinori likes to do with you, you could just be sitting watching paint dry and he would still enjoy it because he was with you. When he was much younger he enjoyed taking you out far more often, even if he had to do it while disguised, but as an adult (and an injured man) he finds that he’s far happier just spending the time around you doing whatever it is you desired. He felt like he had wasted so much of his time not being with you, instead choosing his hero career, and now that he had the time to think about it, he realized how empty it felt not having you beside him.

His free time with you is spent doing a variety of things, which can include helping him become a better teacher or even helping him train his successor (information you became privy to after his true form was revealed, after he promised there’d be no more secrets). He tries to take you out places where you’d never been before or that he think you’d enjoy, so that he can at least enjoy some of the time he has left with you when trouble isn’t afoot.

Beauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

To catch All Might’s attention, you really had to be something special. Your personality was bold, you were charismatic and flirtatious, but you always pulled back when he showed interest, leaving him wanting more. You seemed capable of playing him like a fiddle, keeping him running after you even long after you’d become friends. There was always a tension, unspoken feelings, and these things kept him hooked for the rest of his life. You were a person that seemed hard to pin down, but left him feeling like you could easily.

Aside from the fact that he thought you were beyond the most beautiful person he’d ever laid his eyes on, there’s a lot of beautiful things about you. You were an admirable hero, a loyal friend, a bright soul in a world that seemed to want to dampen that hope and optimism that you carried on strongly every day. He could spend all day and night talking about you, gushing about all the things that made you who you were, but he’s often silenced before hand as it’s sickeningly sweet how much he loves you.

Comfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

His entire life had been about being a figure of peace for the people, being strong and positive and able to take on any problem that could possibly come his way. Fighting off your anxiety and depression is a battle he certainly couldn’t win with his muscles, but he could do all that he can to show you’re not alone. When he sees you’re in a mood, or having a panic attack, he’ll talk with you calmly, embracing you if the closeness comforts you, letting you know you were safe because he was there, even trying to elicit a laugh or another response out of you before he releases you.

Dreams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

Toshinori never thought that it would work out with you, not for lack of trying. He just knew that his vision for the future always included being the best he could be, saving lives until he physically couldn’t anymore. He didn’t think that that part would ever come true, and once it does, he finds he doesn’t quite have a dream to stand on any longer. But you’ve remained a constant, and even if the vision of his future has to change, it doesn’t make it any less bright. He wants to spend the rest of his time with you, and whether that ends with you two married or not, as long as he’s with you he doesn’t care.

Equal - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

He can easily go back and forth, depending on ‘who’ is talking with you. As All Might he finds the need to always be the one ‘in control’, the one who takes care of you to the point you don’t have anything else to worry about. It just comes more naturally to him to be dominant when he’s in that form, compared to his scraggly form, where he feels more useless and unattractive. He’s not necessarily completely passive, but he’s more passive than what he’d normally display, and he feels like it’s more a show of his true self rather than the persona he put on for the world. He’s still a gentleman though, and one who wants to keep you as safe as he can.

Fight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

He forgives almost a little too easily, letting go of things that still stick in his head and annoy him. He can’t help but not want to fight, since he sees so little of you as it is, but he supposes that no relationship is perfect. Toshinori’s aversion to fighting is obvious, and it’s almost irritating how he dances around difficult topics. You want your time spent with him to be worthwhile, too, but it didn’t cause any genuine relationship problems to disappear just because you don’t want it to be there. You try to get him to understand this over time, a lesson he’s quicker to accept when he’s older, but it’s one of the greatest flaws in him.

Toshinori is very careful with the fights he allows to go too far, preferring to dim that fire long before it explodes into something larger. He knows how to deal with volatile people rather well, considering the line of work he’s in, and he’s endlessly patient when he’s dealing with a person he loves. He hates arguing or leaving an argument to fester with you, because he knows how dangerous his line of work is; he’s the number one hero, but life had proven unpredictable, and what if something happened to him? Would that anger you had for him last forever, since he would no longer be able to soothe it? He has many anxieties surrounding you, but this one is prevalent enough that it can cause actual problems if he doesn’t cap it while he can.

Gratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

He would truly be marked as a fool if he wasn’t grateful for all the things you did for him, and all the patience you’ve given him. Even if the relationship had started with an understanding that he was All Might, and he had a duty to the people, he still knew he couldn’t just completely ignore you and expect the relationship to continue. He worked hard to prove that he thought of you even when he was away, and that the better, safer world he was fighting for wasn’t just for the general population, it was for you, too. He knows he cancels on one too many dates, that he comes home bloodied and bruised and makes you worry until you’re sick, but he also knows that he loves you, and that you love him enough to keep trying.

Honesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

Toshinori finds it’s pointless to even attempt to hide secrets from you, and even from the moment you’d first met, you could tell there was something different about his Quirk. He ended up confessing after your first night spent together, being filled with sudden dread as he realized he let slip an extremely important secret. This, however, doesn’t prevent him from lying to you about an incredibly important secret that, once exposed, could potentially ruin your trust in him and your relationship.

The wound that prevents him from fully transforming into his All Might form is a well-hidden secret from you, something he’s ashamed of. He didn’t want you to know because he didn’t want you to worry, but there were parts of him that were sure it was because he didn’t want you to look at him differently; he didn’t want you to think he was weak, or sickly, and he was too stubborn to lean on you even when it got at it’s worst. Those years are ones where you didn’t see him in person often, putting a strain on your relationship, to the point where it could have easily broken you up once the big secret was revealed to the public. He’s full of apologizes despite being the injured one, but you greet him at the hospital with teary eyes, scolding him for thinking you’d love him any less just because his stint as All Might was coming to an end. The relief is immeasurable, and a great reminder as to why he’d fallen in love with you in the first place.

Inspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?

You made the world worth fighting for even more. You made his mornings seem brighter, his training less difficult, you just had this shine to you that made everything better. Even when the puppy love stage of your relationship wears down he finds that you’re still a great source of positivity and energy, a person who understands they’re supporting a man who holds the weight of the world on his shoulders. You also help him to feel human, letting him know that he doesn’t have to be perfect when it’s just the two of you, allowing him to vent his frustrations and his sorrows when the hero life wasn’t quite as positive and glamorous as he’d once envisioned it. He’s not afraid of admitting your positive influence, accidentally causing rumors to circulate about you for years when he mentions a ‘special someone’ in an interview that helped keep him motivated to being the best hero he could be.

Jealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?

His jealousy comes and goes, and never seems entirely consistent. He doesn’t like seeing other people hanging all over you, or very openly trying to get you to date them, despite your relationship with him being a secret and there being no easy way for you to tell the person you’re happily taken. You’re the only one who can tell when he gets jealous because he keeps the forced smile on his face, but you can see the twitching of his eyes as he begrudgingly has to keep his mouth shut while you handle the situation. But for what it’s worth, he trusts you with every bit of his heart, so he knows even if others want you, your loyalty lies with him and you can handle yourself. His more possessive side tends to come out if another hero is the one flirting with you, or if he hasn’t seen you for awhile and upon finally getting the chance to, you’re busy with someone else.

Jealousy is another one of those feelings that Toshinori tries to shove deep down inside him, hoping that he could squash it out before it became a genuine problem. You can tell when he’s upset, and immediately pry, seeming almost pleased to hear that he was getting jealous in a situation. He takes great comfort in your words of confirmation, that you love him and only him, and that no one could ever compare to the love he gives you. He apologizes for feeling the way he did, even if he can’t quite help it, and you’re quick to ‘forgive’ him for it.

Kiss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

Toshinori is a passionate kisser, and when he was younger, he was particularly fond of spontaneous, sweeping you off your feet kisses. He also liked to pull a move where he spun you around and dipped you down low before pressing a kiss to your lips, normally as greeting after he had a good day on the job. He’s a focused kisser, one where you can tell his attention is on you, only you, and nowhere else; his mind was filled with thoughts of your scent, how you felt against him, it was a hijacking of the best kind.

The first kiss was electrifying, perhaps the first time he’d ever felt so connected to a person who wasn’t his mentor. You had met a few times before that, you were in one of his classes in college and lived nearby, so you were familiar with each other. When he swooped in to save you from the villain attack that day, he didn’t think much of it until you appeared on his doorstep that night, distraught. David hadn’t been present and he’d let you in, and after talking to you for a short while, it ended up in a natural silence. He can’t remember exactly who made the first move, and now it doesn’t necessarily matter, but the next thing he knew your lips were on his and you were practically on his lap, kissing him, finding comfort in him after your life had been in danger just hours before. He thought it was simply ‘hero syndrome’, where you were in love with him just because he’d saved you, but… well, his future self can’t help but think what a silly thought that was to have.

Love Confession - How would they confess to their s/o?

Would it truly be a confession from him if it wasn’t full of flowery prose, actual flowers, and so dramatic that you wonder if he ripped it off of some cheesy American romcom. There’s always a bit of glamour in everything he does, you think it’s embedded in him at this point, but it gets the mood across well. You’re surprised to hear the love confession, staring at him in stunned silence while he stares back at you, awaiting your response to his feelings. He’s almost positive he’s never felt more awkward in his life, backpedaling and apologizing for being too much, which finally snaps you back to reality that All Might, of all people, was confessing his love to you.

Marriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?

Marriage isn’t the first thing on his mind, even after your romantic relationship lasts for a few years. He wouldn’t mind the finality of it all, considering how much it took from you both to last this long, but to get married… he’s not sure why the thought makes him nervous. He would present the idea to you before going forward with anything, feeling out your personal opinion on the subject and then deciding from there if he has to plan a proposal.

Toshinori’s first proposal was much like his love confession was, dramatic, flowery, and full of love. The ring is incredibly flashy, and you tell him you can’t wear something like that in public without big questions being asked, especially since the two of you were openly connected. It’s a ring that you keep near and dear to you, but can never quite find the opportunity to wear (unless you’re appearing at a charity event and want to show off). The second proposal comes after All Might is no more, where Toshinori offers you a ring much less gaudy and far more practical, one that the two of you could wear without drawing too much attention. There’s still danger lurking around the corner, and he still mostly keeps out of sight, but he feels less urgency about keeping your relationship a secret (though he keeps it away from the media as long as he can).

Being married to him might feel a little too short-lived, as you never quite got to it when he was younger, until after the accident crippled him and prevented him from living a fast-paced life. He uses the rest of his time with you wisely, spending as many of his days with you as he can, taking you on all those dates he had once missed out on, and assuring you that he loves you more and more each day. He’s a loving husband who wants to take care of you, and who hopes you continue to be patient with him as he learns what it means to be a good husband.

Nicknames - What do they call their s/o?

Honey, baby, he really lays it on thick, but you can’t complain. Having him call you those things in his deep voice makes you feel some type of way, and you especially love when he lovingly whispers a nickname in your ear after you’ve been apart for a while. These aren’t generally said while he’s out in public for obvious reasons, but he slips up sometimes, and simply has to play up the flirty persona.

On Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?

All Might is like a lovestruck puppy, something that would surprise those that didn’t know him and his loving, more affectionate nature. He thinks the world of you almost instantly, and almost makes no attempts to guard his heart against your charms, feeling an instant connection and as though he could trust you with anything (which he ends up doing when he tells you the secret behind One For All). He acts like the perfect gentleman, opening doors, walking you home, doing anything he can to impress you and show you that he’s the perfect person for you to date.

It’s very obvious to those close to him how in love he clearly is, even in the beginning few months of the relationship. The longer it lasts the more support he gains from his loved ones to keep you close, but not too close, as life of a hero doesn’t just endanger him now. Still, he doesn’t make much of an attempt when not in his All Might form to show that you’re not someone special to him, even if the actual relationship is still unknown.

He tries to express his love in little gifts, sending you post cards from all over when he’s away with different ways to say ‘I love you’ and even writing little love notes that remind you he’s thinking of you and would see you as soon as he could. He can get mushy in person, too, seeming to ramble on and on about you to you before he cuts himself off and gets embarrassed. He knows he’s hopelessly in love with you, but he doesn’t need you to know that or to see the more ‘pathetic’ side of him that wants to do anything he can to make you happy.

PDA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

For the sake of your safety, your relationship must remain a secret, so unfortunately, All Might doesn’t get to show you off as much as he’d love to. He wants the world to know what a wonderful person you are, someone who captured his heart and kept it safe. If he could do so your relationship would be public, but as it was, PDA was almost expressly forbidden for your safety. It didn’t stop you from flirting with him in public, or playing holding onto his arm and calling yourself his number one fan, as this just seemed to be a regular interaction between All Might and one his many fans. You couldn’t go too far, but there’s a bit of a thrill in pulling him into an alley where you can kiss him to your hearts content until his absence is noticed.

Quirk - Some random ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

All Might has a taste for romance, and just seems to know how to make you feel loved after a long day of stress. His attention is all yours when it’s just the two of you at home, his phone elsewhere as he gives you a massage or simply cuddles up with you. It’s something he’s learned to do since he’s gone or busy so often, to fulfill your attention quota and to make you happy in any way he can. He’s good with gift-giving and appearing genuinely sorry when he breaks a date, making him a little hard NOT to forgive even if he’s disappointed you.

Romance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?

Incredibly! You’ve questioned whether he read a lot of romance novels from a young age, to which a flustered Toshi ignores the question entirely and simply says he just has a knack for it. He thinks about the things he would want from someone and then proceeds to treat his significant other the same way, and if there’s anything he’s doing that’s ‘too much’ to tell him, as he doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable. He likes being able to shower you with gifts or give you a comfortable life, without you having to worry too much about little things. You suppose it’s just the benefit of dating the number one hero, but it’s not as though that’s all the relationship was to you; you’d dated him far before he’d become number one, attracted to him for a variety of reasons that didn’t involve his growing popularity.

Everything he possibly could! Even if he had been run ragged that day, if you came home and wanted something specific for dinner, or wanted to go out and do something, he would do it. You try not to ask for too much when you see he’s tired, as he’s likely to push himself to the point of exhaustion just to do the things you want to do. He’s pretty content just spending his free-time around you, and would be happy if you felt the same.

He goes back and forth between being both. He greatly enjoys a lot of cliché romance things, and sometimes you wonder if he should’ve been an actor instead of a hero. He tries to send flowers, fruit, or some other type of basket to you at least once a week, especially while away, and whenever he’s finally home again he always brings with him a gift of some sort. The gifts are generally tailored perfectly to your interest, and can involve fashion you’re interested in, books he knows you’d find fascinating, and little knick-knacks that just so happened to remind him of you.

Support - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them?

Of course he believes in you! If you weren’t a person he could admire, look up to, and support, it’s likely you wouldn’t have been together for as long as you had been. He knows at times he seems like some type of generalized motivational speaker, and that it seems ‘expected�� of him to say these things to you, but he’s never been one to not try his best to be honest. He wants you to know that he thinks the world of you, that he’s confident in your intelligence and drive, and that he thinks you can achieve anything that you put your mind to. If there’s anything he can help with, he’d do his best, because he wants nothing more than to see you succeed.

Thrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine?

Toshinori finds your relationship to be rather interesting, and certainly not conventional as it is, so he wouldn’t feel like there needed to be any more spice. The midnight rendezvous and the constant sense of danger, the worry that you might be discovered and targeted because of him, was quite enough spice for him. If there was something else you wanted to try out, he’d try to have an open mind, but he feels he’s more of a traditional person when it comes to relationships, so he’s perfectly okay with routine. Your relationship doesn’t seem to have a set routine until after his true form is revealed, and he can now come home to you at night as his days of a hero are over; it’s a sad time for him, but at the same time, he finally gets to spend his days with the person he loves the most, so it’s more of a bittersweet type of feeling.

Understanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?

He likes to think that he knows you rather well, though he can’t blame you if he feels like a stranger at times due to you not having much face time together. But he’s always talking to you about things that are important, always keeps up on knowing what’s happening in your life, and also keeps a list of your favorite things just in case he forgets. He’s also rather empathetic, knowing how much stress he must put you through with what he does, and how lonely you must feel when he’s gone (he feels the same), constantly trying to assuage your worries, or at least distract you from them.

Value - How important is the relationship to them? What is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life?

Toshinori had to learn how to balance his social life with his work life, and at first, it was clear to him that his work life meant a great deal more. He cared about those close to him but he felt his true calling was in saving people, and that often didn’t leave him much personal time; being the symbol of peace was a full time job that often required overtime, so he had been positive he wouldn’t want to put any partner through that. Your appearance threw a clear wrench in his plans, as he found himself inexplicably drawn to you against his own will, unable to deny his own feelings and bury them far enough down so that he could continue on without having you in his life. His relationship with you is important, one of the things that keeps him inspired, that keeps him moving forward, and consistently reminds him of exactly what it is he’s fighting for, so he considers it to be very important to him.

You are someone who he values very highly, and he considers you one of his closest, if not the closest, friend he’s ever had. Even if he doesn’t confide everything in you, he has his reasons, and still considers you as the person who knows him better than anyone. He’s shown you every part of him, even the ugly, weak parts the media would be discouraged to see, and to have that type of trust built means the world to him.

XOXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?

When you’re finally alone together, the man barely lets you out of his sight or out of his arms, always holding you or leaning against you to get the skin-on-skin contact that he’s missed. You almost think he’s touch-starved with how much he enjoys being cuddled up close to you, but you know it’s also because he’s trying to make the most out of the time you get spent together. He’s not quite the same after he obtains his wound, as he’s trying to hide it from you, thus he tries to keep a distance so you won’t discover it. It’s a rough time with him constantly hiding himself from you, to the point where you rarely saw him for long periods of time, but once you’re told of the secret, her returns to the same old affectionate Toshinori you once knew.

Yearning - How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

Toshinori doesn’t often have moments where he has the chance to miss you, since he’s kept busy so often, and when he finally does have a chance to rest, he instantly passes out. He’ll keep in touch with phone calls and texts while he’s fighting against villains, but on the rare moments when he finally has the chance to take a breath is when the loneliness starts to leak in. This tends to happen later at night, almost into the early morning hours, where he stares at pictures of you that he has on his phone and wishes you were awake so that he could hear your voice.

Zeal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of?

He would do just about anything for you, and would absolutely go to great lengths both to keep you happy and to keep you from harm. He fights the feeling that he’s being selfish by being in a relationship with you, thus not allowing you to potentially move on to a person who might better suit what you want, but after being told you’re not a child and you’re well-aware of what you’re getting in to, he relaxes. He knows he’s beyond lucky to have someone who’s both managed to capture his heart and who has the patience of a saint to deal with his busy life, and he knows the relationship is one worth fighting for.

#Yagi Toshinori #All Might #BNHA Headcanons #BNHA Imagines #Boku no Hero Academia Imagines #Fluff Alphabet #this is 5k words so ENJOY lmao

97 notes · View notes

of-ncverlands · 4 years ago

Text

⌞ʾ⁎ ⊰ axel auriant, cismale, he/him ⊱ i think i just saw MICHAEL DARLING walk across trafalgar square, singing to WAKE ME UP* ( ALOE BLACC ). you know, the EIGHTEEN year old COLLEGE STUDENT? people claim that they are just like MICHAEL DARLING from PETER PAN**. it must be because they are KIND and GUARDED as well… though i could be wrong. all i know for sure is that they live at EMERALD*** apartment.

hello fam ! i bring you this new cutie that lives up to his last name: so, without further ado, michael darling !

T H E S T O R Y :

Born and raised in London, Michael Darling is the third and child of George and Mary Darling and the younger brother of Wendy and John Darling. Mary and George were a loving couple, who gave their children everything so they could live comfortably.

As a child, Michael was always very imaginative. He could create worlds inside his mind, dreaming of pirates, sword fights and fairy tales. His favorite toy, however, was a Teddy Bear he got as a gift for his first birthday and he was creative enough to name “Teddy”. The bear would go with Michael anywhere he went and though his mother tried to convince him several times to donate his toy and exchange it for a newer ( and cleaner ) model, he couldn’t be persuaded. He still has the almost destroyed bear and even though he doesn’t play with it, he made sure to keep on his bag while moving out of his parents house.

His siblings quickly became his best friends. Wendy and John gave the youngest a safe environment. Michael was crazy about his siblings, always very affectionate around them. He saw them as what he’d like to grow up to be. Of course, they had their fall outs-- they lived in the same room, for god’s sake! - but it never lasted more than a few hours.

From a very young age, it became clear that, even though their parents loved them, they had expectations on how the children should grow up. Michael never really understood what was he supposed to be.

Very soon, it became clear to Michael he couldn't meet Mary and George's standards. School didn't come as easily to him, as much as he tried. He was constantly compared with his older siblings. He'd never blame them, of course, but he couldn't help but feel angry. He was eight years old when he first felt he’d never be as perfect as his sister and brother. That feeling never left.

As he frustration build inside, he started closing off, keeping to himself, and pushing his family away more and more, while pretending nothing was wrong. Being the youngest, he was the last child in the house, so for a long while he became a loner. His best friend was Nana, their dog. She became the only one he'd trust with his secrets.

High school brought him a group of friends and for the first time he felt like he was understood. They all felt angry and sometimes, after classes, they'd get together and get in fights with each other. He felt like a kid once more, fighting the pirates in his mind. They stuck together for two years. Some of them grew out of the fighting phase, some of them moved. By the time they finished high school, the group was left with four guys. Someone suggested they should join the army together. It would be the experience of a lifetime, they said. The thought scared Michael at first, but afraid he'd look weak in front of his friends, he convinced himself it was the right choice.

A few weeks after he finished school, he told his parents about his plans which caused a major commotion in the Darling’s house. His mother crying, his father yelling. But Michael had his mind set. He'd go to the Army. His eyes were almost cold as he told them. Worried for their son safety, George and Mary decided he should be around people who he listened to the most. After a few arguments, they reached a compromise: he'd go to college and live with Wendy and near John. If by the end of the first semester, he'd still wanted to go to the army, they'd allow it. Michael agreed, not sure if after this time, he’d still feel as sure.

M O R E I N F O :

Michael is still a very sweet boy. He adores his friends, and although he still resents his parents a little, he adores his family. He is loyal and very kind. But he doesn't open up easily and he became very good at hiding his feelings. If you don’t know him in depths, you might never know if he isn’t his normal self.

He has some anger management issues, which he doesn’t want to share with anyone. So when anger builds, he finds any excuse to disappear for a few hours, or until he cools down.

Had a few dates, but never been in a serious relationship.

Has never had more than a few hidden beers in his teenage years (someone get this kid drunk, i need to see that )

However, as per his friends influences, at some point in his teenage years, he started to smoke. Nobody knows. Sometimes he sneaks a cigarette. But only if he’s sure he won’t get caught.

He doesn’t like to be called Mike, but he hates the fact that this is the only nickname he has so feel free to give him new nicknames

#musicalhqs:intro #/ i won't grow up / bio

3 notes · View notes

unproduciblesmackdown · 4 years ago

Text

anyways my Musings on rian and winston’s dynamique in 5x06.......

first and foremost it’s truly wild that there wasn’t at least one more scene ft. either of them in this episode. that felt like Setup that like, i’m sure will be more Followed Through On in the next episode, but also really easily could’ve (and i think should’ve lol) been also followed up on in this episode......it really just doesn’t feel like yea we can just leave things at that for this week!! but we did

anyways like yeah @arabellaturner3 was saying how maybe winston wants to Impress rian here but natch it’s combining with some jealousy maybe, b/c even if [the glances] happened, rian was still meant by one person to Replace him and it’s probably not easy to drop any sense of like, comparing yourselves and feeling like you’re positioned like anything she can do is a Challenge or implicitly understood by others to be her being Better than you or whatever......a little weird to just be back in this quasirivalry territory after last week seemed to have that over with by the end of Day 1 lol, but still makes sense / understandable i Suppose........and really i think they could just enjoy talking math shit together truly if not for this lingering contention lmao.......

like i said winston silently looking over at rian for a moment before talking to her while looking at his computer is Funny and we love an implication of “i might be paying attention to you at a particular moment in which i’m also trying to act like i’m not really paying attention to you”......while rian’s just completely rolling with this lol no moment of giving him a Look like “what are you doing weirdo” or w/e

and this hardly seemed too heated or saturated w/ any genuine antipathy, just a bit of pettiness here, and while they’re indulging said pettiness they’re both exercising Some restraint about it all. like, seems like rian finds him fun to interact with still, and like this is akin to her calling him a douche last episode lmao where it was a little lingering + her looking at him, like that was also just her wanting to get a reaction out of him there. and she’s also sure like, deliberately prodding him a bit in this exchange lmao but also not exactly like either of them are out for blood here and willing to just escalate this w/o limit, more like they both want each other’s attention and want to interact and this isn’t really about winston thinking that what rian does is like, redundant / irrelevant / insignificant or whatever, or rian thinking that winston is in turn useless or incapable or whatever, like yeah they might wanna prove their mathematical / Ideas capability to each other b/c they Were just basically pitted as competitors five minutes ago (in 5x05 lol) but also it’s just like. seems like they’re both just needling each other a bit and the “argument” here is somewhat beside the point

b/c i mean, i’m sure Average Billions Viewers will continue to take [saying anything negative about winston] at face value as Factual / accurate, and while i guess winston brought up what he did for taylor last episode b/c that’s the only thing rian was present for, that’s probably the only thing billions viewers will remember either l o l. but even if he did only bring it Once, say, when he singlehandedly did the work of 50 phds apparently and crafted a market-crushing algorithm for taylor which allowed mase cap to exist in the first place and thus for mase carb to exist (not to mention how the nlp stuff he did paid off And also led fairly directly to mase carb, so) and like, that was Also when he thought he was working for taylor under axe cap and was alone in a semifurnished basement nigh the whole time, so that ability And willingness to do that kind of huge project to that caliber is like, yeah if that was still the only Especial Thing he’d done ever, it’d still be worth keeping him on truly lol. and like, something like that sure is Valuable and yet not Simple (i mean idk maybe his coding is really Elegant, who can say lmao)........but also i doubt rian was just truly like arguing about pasteurization and stuff b/c like, this isn’t either of them bringing their best epic debate skills here, they just kinda Want to elbow each other here and will maybe ramp up their own arguments a bit to do so...........but yeah the point is more about them like, not really wanting to leave each other alone vs what they might be saying in the course of doing so, though natch what they’re saying does seem to establish like this feeling of competition / rivalry, but even that is hardly that Unrestrained, rian’s still got this vibe of more messing with him than feeling any real animosity, while winston’s maybe not just filled with happiness here but also would probably be fine with it all if wendy hadn’t just been considering winston disposable and rian his replacement (and ostensibly taylor as well, which like, even w/ the Glance can’t be fun to have that be the idea that’s Out There rn)........and he’s hardly acting like he’s just outright seething either, just Also wanting to interact but also not exactly being thrilled with the fact that she’s supposedly the superior option here, and where yeah like maybe a mixture of “hey i’m also good at math :)” and “hey i’m also good at math >:(” lmao like, this is all a bit messy

i still sure wouldn’t call this Intense, Horrible, or Passionate lmao, aaand i guess 5x07 is the only thing which could change that, since 5x08 wasn’t even written, much less filmed........like, i’m guessing that the Simmering Tension set up here will be built on in the next episode, and idk, maybe they’ll be arguing harder, maybe they’ll be striving to show each other up, who knows, and yeah i’m still pretending my expectations are just “ep 7 will not leave us off on any kind of satisfactory point with these two and let’s say winston will only ever be engaged in one-sided pining” but i think we could get to kissing in just two scenes. or fuck it, even One scene, but two is more likely, and it’s reasonable to think they could have two scenes. and same as last week i guess there’s the worry that anything that happens could Really be a disaster which makes us regret these two having a dynamic of any kind at all lmao, but i think it could be a bit of A Hot Mess of this tension / rivalry bubbling over and still like, not be 100% unfortunate lol........this is billions, this situation is so far absolutely Not at all that bad

anyways yeah lol seems like they’re both just gently nudging each other for Attention even if it’s not heartwarming at this juncture.....it’s also sure not all that deeply bitter or caustic and it feels a lot closer to Messing With Each Other territory than it does like, fighting b/c they hate each other or anything.......dialed-back bickering that dies off after 12 seconds is not the most foreboding thing, and neither is the idea that these two get off to a messy start (and could continue to), but fingers crossed still..........that Developments of greater significance happen next episode and that they aren’t a nightmare. the low bar we have to have with this series i s2g. billions Please

#winston billions #riawin #i don't wanna rialose.......

4 notes · View notes

alliesweetsong · 5 years ago

Text

Starlight & Steel Pt. I

(Below starts a series of personal time skips for both Allie and for my wonderful roleplay partner this will be a multiple part story spanning into the new year, hope you all enjoy)

The morning had already began in earnest as Allie stirs and gently stretches. It had been this way for months following her retirement from the organization known as Ardent Circle and though it took some adjusting, the transition to her new role of preparing the house and herself for the upcoming changes she had already been experiencing had for the most part, helped her through. Life for the ranger had been dull the last several months compared to multiple combat deployments she had seen. Trading weapons as security for the latest products on Azeroth for ‘baby proofing’ the apartment, all she had really done was sleep, spend time with Finian and get fussed over nearly continuously by Endrickson nearly on a daily basis

She didn’t expect anything less today. Yawning gently she slowly sits up with a gentle grunt looking around for her lover but is only met with the smiling friendly disposition of Endrickson with a book in his lap.

“Morning Starlight!” Endrickson says in a soft voice clearly doing his best to be aware of her hearing

“Your love left for the market, to pick up a few things and told me to watch over you. As if I don't already do so, but at least it gives us time to check you and the baby!" the flamboyant priest finishes while placing a ribbon in between the pages and rising to adjust his robes.

The half-conscious elf smiles at his enthusiasm all while letting the new nickname swirl in her mind and idly moving her unruly morning hair behind her ears. She quite liked the sound of that though she didn’t express it to the medic.

"I do hope he brings home breakfast, I'm hungry" she continues with a small chuckle "I feel fine,” Allie replies as if to reduce the certain worry he typically had.

"That I did! I kept it in the oven so it wouldn't grow cold. I wasn't quiet sure when you would be up, but we'll get that in you before I run what examinations need to be done."

He sets the book down onto the table while walking over to said oven. The door creaking in protest at first until he retrieve her meal. A breakfast platter of pancakes still hot to the touch, a small pitcher of syrup beside them. A smaller plate filled with proteins of ham, sausage links and eggs soon accompanied by salt and pepper shakers for her to season.

"Now from records shown, morning sickness generally recedes after the first trimester. However.. there haven't been that many elven births documented so it may differ." He sets the platter across her lap while looking at the growing bump. "That would put you at.."

How long had it been? the days following turning in her resignation letter, the weeks had blurred into weeks, with the same routine mixed with breaks in the day to day to walk around Boralus and venture into Stormwind for her weekly treat of the roast beef sandwich that she enjoyed so much. Even getting rehired by Eilithe at the tea shop seemed like forever ago. As she mentally mulled over how to respond calculating how long it had been since that night quickly evaporated into shock at the veritable smorgasbord Endrickson had supplied her to feast on.

As she adjusted her posture to sit up her ears twitch happily as a smile spreads over her face.

“Um five months, I believe,” she replies in a warm manner.

The priest nods while trying to hide his excitement, but it was clear to the eye that wouldn't last for too much longer.

"Yes! Approximately five to six months along. And given the shape of your belly now, I would say halfway to the latter." He crawls onto the bed to sit at her feet. If Worgen had tails, it would be wagging as he sat there perked up.

"I still can't believe Finian is actually going to be a father! He had mentioned at one point he would have wanted a family, but wasn't sure if it would happen. But look at it all now!" He held his hands out as if presenting Allie to the world. "I wish I was able to have a baby, surely Thomas and I would make a cherub of a child," he sighs wistfully.

"I am sure you both would make wonderful parents, but I know you'll make for wonderful...erm, uncles?" Allie replies as if making sure she had the right human word

"Maybe we could adopt?" he asks himself while lowering his chin to his chest. The man knew well enough that no man could actually become pregnant, but one could wish. His thoughts were all over the place until hearing the mention of being an uncle to which he snaps his attention back to Allie. His eyes lighting up as if she had given him an early Winter's Veil gift.

"Really?" he nearly squeaks while clasping his hands together.

The elven woman chuckles as she starts seasoning her breakfast to taste while nodding.

"If you think once our child is born I would just...whisk Finian away from men he has fought alongside with your wrong." She replies. "We are all part of a family now."

Though Finian had spoke of them all being a family, it still struck him and nearly brought him to tears at the thought. He had to keep some form of composure as he sat there.

"I know for one thing, you and the baby will be protected by all of us. Even Simmons. I think once he sees the baby it may actually bring him around to seeing he could have something like that. Though I am curious, do you think Finian will ask you to marry him too?"

Allie gently smiles as she begins chewing her food while her cyan blue eyes glow, not just how they usually do but in happiness as well, Marriage was certainly on her mind, but she wasn’t about to tell the medic that, things tended to spread like wildfire in the squad

"Shadows, Simmons with a child is a scary thought," she replies with a good-natured laugh.

"But I wouldn't have it any other way to know the four of you would sooner die, not that I want that to happen, then see something happen to myself or the baby," she replies softly.

"Starlight is a wonderful nickname, I think I will use that from now on."

"By all means, I think it's fitting in your case," Endrickson replies warmly

"You never know, it could spark a want for him to settle down instead of being on the corner of a bar all night. I think he has it in him if he can find a girl that can stand his stubborn ass," he rolls his eyes before shaking his head. "If he hasn't knocked up half of Boralus already.."

Allie blows on another bite of pancakes before shrugging. "I suppose you're right. Simmons is a good man..."

she starts before mockingly gagging at his final comment "Can you imagine if he has!?" she replies in a slightly louder voice before giggling.

"Could start his own nation with the amount of....fun he's had since the war ended," she replies with a gentle shake of her head.

"Oh? is it? what makes you say that?"

"I even wager he could repopulate all of Gilneas and that was even before the war ended. I tried to get his attention, but he wanted none of this," he gestured to himself before pouting.

"I would say so! It's hard to miss, between the eyes and your hair you're almost the embodiment of a dusk. I'm actually envious of you!"

"Ya' ever think it's because 'e's not int' men, Damien?"

Finian had managed to sneak in through the door just in time for his statement. Unheard by the chatty Elf and Medic. Bags were cradled in his arms as he makes his way toward the kitchen to set them on the counter. Reaching into a satchel, he retrieves a tome to set aside for the moment.

Allie had begun to blush as Endrickson commented on her hair and eyes. Though she didn't openly admit it she hated what the void had done to her once golden blonde hair something that. Snapping her gaze to meet Finian's she started to set the breakfast to the side to help the Gilnean. "Good Morning love," she replies before motioning to Endrickson.

"We were just making jokes about Simmons and his...propensity to bed every woman he finds," she replies chuckling shuffling to put her feet on the floor.

"Ya' not wron' with that. The man 'as been that way since breakin' 'im out of the brig after comin' t' Stormwind. Thinkin' 'e 'as a thin' fer wantin' t' get wot 'e can before gettin' locked up again. Though seein' 'e's under m'ranks I don't see 'im gettin' in t' deep."

He makes his way over to Allie to kiss her forehead before brushing a stray lock from her features. A soft smile setting on his lips as he held a loving gaze up her.

"Anythin' t' report?" he asks looking to Endrickson.

"Well, you returned before I could get an examination of her. So seeing you are here now, I could do that once she is done eating."

The elf places a hand on Finian's chest in a loving manner before chuckling as he kisses her forehead.

"Well at least he can cause less trouble now," she replies still teasingly before inhaling and slipping back under the covers and replacing the tray to continue eating.

"You're not going to poke and prod today are you?" she asks in a half protesting manner of Endrickson.

"I hate when you poke and prod."

"You are lucky I didn't bring my instruments today for that. Though this would more so to make sure everything for the baby is working appropriately. Heartbeat and so on.. If I had the technology of a gnome I would say we could see what your baby would be. Then you could start planning for a nursery, clothes, names," Endrickson states while he gently rolls his wrist as if he could go on.

Finian soon sits beside Allie before stealing one of the sausage links to eat for himself. He would have to make something later once everything was said and done for her.

" 'ave t' admit, I'm not t' keen o' ya' shovin' anythin' up there t' begin with.

" "It's for medical purposes!! I wouldn't want to have any of me up inside her to begin. That's for you to do when no one else is around. Granted, that doesn't stop us from hearing it, but I digress!"

Allie couldn't help but blush at the current exchange between the two knowing full well what was being inferred. Sometimes the exchanges between the four were so over the top it was difficult for her not to laugh at the immaturity. She wasn't a fan of it herself but she knew where the priest's intentions were. Clearing her throat she pours more syrup on her pancakes and looks between the two.

"Sweetie, I'm sure you know Endrickson well enough to know he doesn't take joy in that," she replies in a soothing manner before turning to Endrickson. "

Is that possible? to uh, find out what the baby will be?" she asks in a hopeful manner "Unless Finian wants it to be a surprise."

Even Finian was curious about if the priest was able to do so. Though there was a small tinge of concern that plagued him as to how they would even find out in the first place.

"Nah, who would we be surprisin' aside from ourselves, love? At least then we can figure out wotever name we want from them."

"There is a way, somewhat invasive with the use of shadows. However, aside from picking up on the life force of the child, I believe I could get an image of it at the very least. It won't put either of you in harm's way, I can assure you of that."

Alllie looks to Finian in a 'what do you think' manner. Even as a void elf, she seemed a bit hesitant at the thought of shadow magic being used and the skeptical look she had adorned would tell as much.

"Well, I don't want to put the baby in anything harmful," she starts to reply before gently shrugging while keeping her gaze locked on Finian's for a moment.

"As long as Finian doesn't mind,, and you promise nothing bad will happen...I wouldn't mind finding out." she finally states before starting to chuckle

"I vote Finian Jr. if its a boy." she blurts before taking a quick bite of pancakes to hid the giggle burrowing its way forth. The slight tint to her cheeks gave away her tease.

At first, Finian wasn't all that sure about having magic used on their unborn child. Granted he did know that whether he liked it or not, the child would have a touch of void thanks to Allie. The man was no stranger to magic, even with this time off he had been considering in reaching into his dormant druidic abilities. An arm soon wraps around Allie as he looks to Endrickson.

"Aye mate, I trust ya' enough with 'er. Ya' and the rest of the crew are the only ones I do at this point. As much as I give ya' shit."

Though hearing his lover jest about the name, he did purse his lips at the thought with squinting at her.

"Whenever Allie is done, we can proceed then. Wouldn't want her to lose any sustenance at this stage."

Allie gently chuckles as she shuffles the tray back onto her lap and begins to eat the remainder of the pancakes both amused at her lover squinting at her at the quip she had made. Seemingly eating faster now, she clearly was hungry or she was enthusiastic for these examinations Endrickson kept alluding too. Making no mention as to either, the now-retired ranger devours the remainder of her pancakes before setting the tray aside and holding up the sausage links for Finian to take.

"So, Endrickson, if you're not poking me and prodding, what is the plan today?" she asks

"Here, Hunny, please eat."

"I see the motherly instinct is kickin' in already," the knight teased while taking the plate from her.

He wouldn't refuse them either seeing he hadn't eaten at all since leaving the apartment. Had Endrickson not made something for Allie, he would have done so for the both of them.

"Well I was thinking about pestering Thomas for a bit to see what we could do. I think he mentioned just taking a walk through the city to take everything in. We haven't exactly left the harbor or Uptown too much. I think only Finian and Simmons have done that much."

It was the Ren'dorei's turn to shoot a playful wink at the Knight while smirking and throwing the comforter off herself to slide out of bed to stretch and get her day going.

"A walk does sound nice, but I meant these examinations after I was done eating," she replies to Endrickson before squeaking and relaxing her posture. Even pregnant and showing the elven woman remained in fairly decent physical condition. She wouldn't win any marathons but her wartime workouts would still be very apparent.

"Perhaps after Endrickson is done we could join them love? unless you had other things planned for us today? I think some fresh air would be nice."

"Aye, I 'ave somethin' else in mind fer us t' do today. Let the loverboys 'ave their time alone. Besides, I think I remember Thomas sayin' somethin' about needin' t' shop fer wotever reason. Sounds right up ya' alley, right Damien?" He smirks toward the priest for a moment.

A wordless exchange between the two left the feminine one giggling for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Quite right. So that being said, we should get this examination underway."

He waits for Allie to finish her tray of food before taking it over to the sink to be washed before he left. Once she had made herself comfortable again, he would begin rolling his shoulder back and close his eyes. Upon opening them, the pale hues would have a more violet hue to them as he waits at the bedside. "Whenever you two are ready."

"Ohhh that sounds exciting," she replies to Finian while relaxing her posture.

"I suppose there will be plenty of time in the future for us to have a walk with them." she finishes before lifting an eyebrow at the wordless exchange between the two while her ears twitch trying, unsuccessfully to clearly listen in to whatever inside conversation the two were not having with each other.

Inhaling and glancing side-eyed at Finian in a 'what was that about' manner she quickly snaps back to Endrickson and nods three times before taking a seat at the foot of the bed and placing her hands in her lap preparing herself for whatever the examinations would entail.

"I am ready," she replies warmly

Finian wouldn't budge in revealing what he and Endrickson had known about, but it would could to pass eventually. For the moment, he makes his way beside Allie to give her and Endrickson room to work. As the priest approaches, his fingertips gently press onto the elf's growing belly with a soft smile. His fingertips holding a shade of violet as well until it begins to channel into Allie.

"Let's see how they are doing, shall we?"

he cants his head to the side for a moment. As he continues, a silhouette of the unborn child could be seen. Their heart beating strong and even able to see it move some within the womb. The very second the knight had seen it, his face lights up. Even the infant's hand reaches up against its mother's stomach as if acknowledging they were both there. Very dim twin orbs moving about somewhat, but not looking in any particular direction. With another deep breath, Endrickson would amplify his methods though he would be the only one to see what truly lay within the elf. It wouldn't be long until his eyes shot open with a gasp.

"Are you ready to know?"

The elation on the Ren'dorei's face was evident as the silhouette of the unborn child becomes visible. If it hadn't dawned on the Ranger yet that she was going to be a mother, That certainly wasn't the case anymore. Squeaking in ooh's and excitement, Allie gently lays a hand over Finian's as she covers her mouth in amazement with the other While her ears flicked as if trying to hear their child's heartbeat. Inhaling deeply as Endrickson asks them both the question, she gently squeezes Finian's hand and gently nods.

"I know I'm ready," she replies sniffling clearly happy.

Taking Allie's hand into his, Finian weaves his fingers between hers before giving a squeeze of his own. However, the affection wouldn't cease there as he leans to press his lips into her hair. He couldn't recall the last time he had felt so much love for a person and even another he had yet to know.

"Aye, let's 'ear it."

The very sight of the two nearly brought Endrickson to tears as he couldn't contain himself. He swiftly removes his hand from Allie's belly and clutches them into shaking fists. He begins to bounce at the foot of the bed.

"It's a BOY!!"

[ @fin-mckendric ] for helping me write this incredible monstrosity both in discord and ingame

[ @revthepunchbear @deadsunharbor @eilitheduskbringer ] for the honorable mention you’re all great

#Starlight & Steel #WrA Alliance #wra roleplay #meanwhile in boralus #ic

14 notes · View notes

cryptidofthekeys · 5 years ago

Text

May I present to you- the babs

Okay so let me start off by saying I legit worked on these guys ALL day yesterday, mind you a few breaks of course! even then uhh breaks... didnt do me much good... my arm hurt like a b i t c h- but im super proud- god, just, these babs are gonna be fun to write with ....eventually- not now- god no- arm machine broke- I’ll put this under a keep reading btw so it aint too much a hassle

Names: Ashton (Ashton is the Sniper), Vincent (Vincent is the Spy and he's the leader of the group), and finally Erwin (he's the Medic) | Nicknames: Ash, Vin (Ash loves to call him Vinny much to his dismay but eh he'll be fine), and Erwin doesn't really have any nicknames he cares for tbh- just call him by his name | Genders: Male | Species/Race: Androids/Robots | Heights: Ashton is 8'7", Vincent is 9'5" making him the tallest of the group, and Erwin is only 5'0" making him the shortest of our lovely little group here | Hair Colors: Ashton's hair color (not that'll ye'll see much of it, he usually keeps his hat on) but his hair color is: Hickory Brown and honestly its just super messy underneath that hat, Vincent's hair is Pitch Black and slicked back, annnd finally Erwin's hair is dyed a: Mint Green (his hair is a Messy Undercut style) | Eye Colors: Ashton's is an Icy Blue, Vincent's is Imperial Red, and Erwin has heterochromia, his eyes are a light pastel blue and a Mint Green color | Appearances: Let's start off with Ashton bc why not, first off I gotta say- despite what the normal tf2 bots look like, these babs ACTUALLY look like r e a l mercs, real people, there's only a few ways to tell their androids and that's by looking closely at their open wounds which I'll get to all their prominent wounds in a moment, first up... Ashton usually wears punk-like clothing, or something similar- he has leather jackets with TONS of spikes on them, gloves with spikes on them, pants with the chains that hang down and don't forget them sweet sweet combat boots, he also tends to wear some of those face masks, most of the ones he owns has sharp teeth patterns on it but one in particular that he owns has eyes all over it (all of them are black, his clothing is either black or just REALLY dark colors in general) However, when Vincent and them aren't doing business stuff or whatever, he usually wears again, its mostly dark clothing but he doesn't give a shit what he wears like, t-shirts, tank-tops, whatever- that's when you can PROPERLY see his wounds and this android has a TON of them, v e r y open wounds that expose tons of wiring and robotic-y insides as well, so many various parts, so many w i r e s... just o o f- oh and for all of them I'll say they ALL have facial hair, Ashton has a circle beard, Vincent has a short boxed beard, and Erwin's is REALLY just stubble to get that out of the way, ahem- anyways, Ashton actually DOES have sharp teeth, a few rows of them actually. Now... Onto big boss man Vincent, Vincent is a fancy man for sure, fitting considering he's supposed to be an android/robot of the Spy, like Ashton, he H A T E S bright colored clothing but its for different reasons aside from bright ones just being irritating to look at, it also messes with his sensors actually, he's the only one out of the group who has that problem- the other's sensors aren't bothered at all by bright clothing, anyways- Vincent usually wears dark colored suits, not just black n brown though he has MULTIPLE options, dark red, dark blue, etc- I could go on- he has a LOT of fancy clothing, even his s h o e s are fancy, oh and uh he wears the typical leather gloves and that balaclava/ski mask lookin thing ya know the usual spy attire there blah blah, he also sometimes wears fedoras or some sorta fancy hat n stuff, unlike Ashton he doesn't have rows of razor bladed teeth, his teeth are just- normal tbh but that doesn't make him any less dangerous- he has a few wounds actually, one on his back that reveals some robotic parts and has a few wires sticking out although it doesn't seem to bother him too much, a has a really large stab wound on his chest that has some wires sticking out of there as well and reveals some rather serious looking parts- this one actually bothers him a little bit but he tries his damnedest to keep it hidden. and finally... Erwin, he usually wears pastel clothing with cute designs on them long sleeved t-shirts, hoodies, sweaters, etc- even his p a n t s are pastel colors! He does try to make sure the pastels aren't TOO bright or anything, he doesn't want Vincent's sensors to malfunction nor does he want to irritate his friends! He has TONS of openings that'd reveal a BUNCH of tattered wires, its a wonder he's even still functional at this point, a lot of his parts and wires are tattered and not in a VERY good condition, but he doesn't seem to let it stop him! His voice box is a little... messed up but he's still fully intelligible, sometimes it DOES make him stutter, sometimes it cuts out completely but he always somehow finishes his sentences in the end even if he has to start over, he's self conscious about his voice box messing up sometimes and he's DEFINITELY self conscious about all the scars he has over him, its partially why he wears hoodies/sweaters the MOST out of all the other clothing, he doesn't want people to see all his tattered wires n scars! He does have four prominent canines but other than that, his teeth are relatively like a normal human's. oh and as a bonus he usually wears circle glasses, it CAN technically help improve his vision a bit more but also they look cute so he loves them shh. | Personalities: Ashton's up first, now I will say even tho their robots and technically powerhouses compared to humans ANYWAYS- he IS the true powerhouse of the group, the b r u t e- BUT he's not all brawn and no brains, he's not stupid by any means even if he can act like a punk or cold rude bitch, he has a l o t of intelligence in fact- and he uses that to his advantage for sure, he's not entirely a cold rude bitch- to his friends he's relatively well, friendly and nice- even if he does mess with them sometimes- he loves to get on Vincent's nerves the most because he finds it funny mostly, but he knows when to stop so he doesn't take things too far, Erwin... messing with him can be... difficult, he uh- its not that he CANT do it, he can! He TOTALLY can its just... listen, shut up- Spy's his fave to mess with- He absolutely hates humanity, their creators especially more so- if he ever saw em or hell humans in general when he sees em- it always takes e v e r y t h i n g in his power to hold himself back from tearing them to shreds, he wouldn't even w a n t to use a gun against them despite being based off a Sniper, he'll take them apart with his strength and teeth alone if he REALLY wants! After all, making them suffer first would bring him such joy, he's not evil, none of them REALLY are, but I'll explain that all in side facts, for now (tl;dr: Ashton gets along quite well with his friends even if he messes with Vincent a lot and gets on his nerves, in fact that's when you'll see him a bit more cheerier than he usually is, now... towards humans or whatever, he's a g g r e s s i v e- he'll strike them down then and there if Vincent gives him the command, but even if he c a n t, he'll still be cold or rude to em at the very least, terrify them a little bit even- he does NOT like humans at all whatsoever) Vincent... as I've stated, he's the leader of the group, he's DEFINITELY got the perfect personality to be a leader for sure, first off he has MAJOR confidence- he's a super confident dude, he REALLY kinda has to be- after all, his role was the leader of this little group- it was forced upon him so he decided to go along with it- they wanted him to be leader so he'll fulfill that position but if he e v e r gets a hold of them their gonna wish they hadn't e v e r done what they did, he DOES have some narcissistic tendencies but its nothing TOO major, he can be suave and gentlemanly but that part is usually just an act to trick people, he plays nice and makes them think he's trustworthy and then that's when they strike, its a m a z i n g to him how naive and so trusting humanity can be, he can't w a i t to get his hands on their creators, what a f u n day that'll be! Now he's not all big and bad, he can be nice to his friends- he does have a bit of snark and sass but its all in good fun, he mostly keeps it directed towards Ashton but sometimes he'll dish out some snark or sass towards Erwin ...he seems oblivious to that part tbh- but he... even though he doesn't show it a LOT he does care about them a lot, they've been there for him ever since the day they were first created, he absolutely loathes and despises humans- he always uses an act to just lure them to either their death OR, to a little interrogation room where he tries to find out if they know a n y t h i n g about their creator, I mean either way they do kinda die in the end so it really doesn't matter and finally Erwin, he's... a lot nicer than the other two, he doesn't hold a grudge towards his creators nor especially not to humanity, not ALL of them are as bad as Vincent and Ashton think surely... not that he'd ever tell them he doesn't hold grudges or whatever, he's worried he'd ruin their plans or worse, make them mad at him- so he pretends to hate humans when their around, he's actually helped his fair sure of humans escape from the others as well, now sure he DID try and ask a few of them about the creator, when they said they knew nothing he managed to lead them safely away without the others detecting them, now I won't say he's ALWAYS been lucky- sometimes the other two... catch him in the act and he almost had something equivalent to an a n x i e t y attack when they caught him but he played it off by telling them he saw this human wandering around and he also tried to play it off like he interrogated them and they knew nothing about the creators, but of course they uh... wanted to... "take care" of the human for him and he couldn't risk arguing against they'd suspect too much bc he's never been one for killing or whatever (despite being a version of a Medic lmao), there's been a lot of those times where he's felt so guilty for letting them take the human... They didn't know anything, they didn't even seem bad, why kill them? He knows their angry, they want revenge but something seems wrong... but, he'd n e v e r go against his friends, no matter how he feels- they've been there for him through thick and thin and he cares a LOT about them despite this (p much he's a good boy, he can get nervous/anxious sometimes, he just... wants his friends to be happy and rest easy really, he cares a lot about them despite all they do, he's deeply afraid if they find out what he's done or that he doesn't have grudges, etc- that they'll be a n g r y with HIM) | Side Facts: Alright, so... the best run down I can give is this... They didnt really wanna be created in the first place BUT they tolerated it- like ok chill, we gotta tolerate existing now- but then like they were pretty much abandoned bc they were discontinued, bc the tf2 bots look like actual robots, im making these guys more like androids as you already know im sure- closer resemblances to the actual human mercs n shit- but ANYWAYS- something happened and they didnt want to continue making androids like them so the three of them got left behind and of course were thought to be shut down but surprise surprise, their still active, their still out there and their. fucking. l i v i d- first they didnt really wanna exist in the first place, ok they could chill out bout that bc they learned to deal with it BUT- N O W their being discontinued? They dont even have a full t e a m!! its bullshit so now their a wee bit- okay no they are absolutely fucking livid at the creators and humanity in general- except, as you know- Erwin can't hold grudges or anything- he doesnt think ALL humans are bad or at least he hopes their not, but either way- Vincent and Ashton p much feel hatred n coldness towards the creators and humanity. | AU: So a best bud of mine suggested since I had like t w o really good ideas for these lads and couldnt use both of them bc it'd like conflict with many things, to make an AU outta the second idea- I- honestly gotta thank em for fuckin reminding me that AUs are a t h i n g that e x i s t s- but anyways, this AU is basically where Ashton, Vincent, and Erwin died and the respawn, sorta... well broke for em, dont know why or how but it just did, so they died for reals and just... their souls wandered the earth for a bit until they found the bodies of these robots and decided to possess them p much, and now since they died for real- they REALLY wanna return the favor to the ones who killed em (of course, not gonna tell who that was e x a c t l y not yet anyways), I will say their personalities will probably differ from canon a LITTLE bit in this regard, like their still- well in this AU their MORE vengeful than they could EVER be in canonverse- even Erwin in this AU is vengeful, only towards those who did em wrong of course. and with a conversation I had with my partner, there was more expansion that happened, essentially- it was questions of the teammates and what'd happen there (thank you darling, I appreciate this bc this just gave the AU more expansion that I really wasnt just thinking bout on my own), bc if they didnt go back to their teammates they'd be without the supports and ahem, the medic- but anyways, if they did wwweeeellll... their team wouldn't EXACTLY recognize it as them, to them its just potential enemy bots that they need to dispose of orrr at least run off, and that's what they'd definitely do at first, now I will say, there's the chance oh Idk, Erwin interacts with the Heavy (listen... I dont have canon names for this team... im- im too tired to figure it out rn for all the team sdjkajdj they will have to wait for awhile) but Erwin and the Heavy were VERY good close friends, and Erwin could show him that, he's... well, his best bud- they ALL had certain things they used to do or say to their teammates- and ya know if Erwin proved that to Heavy- he'd- well, a lotta emotions would be running wild in that case, of course im getting a head of myself- I should have clarified, bc the team k n o w s the others died and weren't respawning which of course they absolutely tried to deny- they'd be back soon ....yeeaahh they werent, and like now they do find it suspicious these three bots showed up that are designed like the supports but they'd never go that far to say its their dead teammates possessing these... robots, that's a little far-fetched for them. So unless Erwin goes and tries to convince his best friend, who knows what'll happen- oh and I'll also say, aside from the personalities- the actual human versions of Ashton, Vincent, and Erwin would look a LITTLE different- they still wear the same clothes n have similar features, they have scars but those don't reveal tattered wires since their humans you know, and their eye colors- Ashton's eyes are Cobalt Blue, Erwin's eyes are baby blue, and Vincent's eyes are a Caramel Brown, they also don't have those sharp teeth or fangs- oh and their heights are different, Ashton is 6'4", Vincent is 6'8", annnd Erwin- eh he's the same height the bots of course, still retain the same look as in canonverse however so try not to get too confused by different appearances!

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 oc #team fortress 2 oc #tf2 sniper oc #tf2 medic oc #tf2 spy oc #im super proud of the babies-#my arm machine broke tho #my ocs #original characters

6 notes · View notes

ironstrange-is-the-endgame · 6 years ago

Note

#5 or #79 ironstrange? Thanks

I kinda did both, ft. DUM-E because he’s a good boy! Also, that’s Illuminati based cause I know nothing about the comics, but I love BlackBolt from the Inhumans TV show.

5. “Don’t yell at me like I’m a child!!” - “DON’T THROW SCISSORS!”

79. “Are you high?” - “I’m just so fucking tired.”

He had been a difficult week, for Stephen, and the last thing he wanted to do was to go to an Illuminati meeting. He would have ditched it if only they didn’t manage to have both Namor and BlackBolt on Earth at the same moment.

He wiped out some of the alien slime that managed to stick on his clothes despite everything and walked straight toward the secret room in the Compound where they were used to meet. Stephen’s eyes trailed down to where he was used to wearing the Eye of Agamotto. He didn’t use to bring it with him any longer after Thanos, and everyone was more than fine with that. Having an Infinity Stone hanging to his neck wasn’t the most subtle move.

What he didn’t expect when he reached the secret meeting room floor, though, was to see the light of Tony’s lab on. He was in late, and while Stark wasn’t so famous for respecting the meetings time everyone knew how long could take him while he was working with his tech. The last thing he expected to hear while walking in front of the lab, though, it was Friday’s voice telling her creator to not touch a sharp object. That had the Sorcerer raise an eyebrow and change his destination.

Their relationship had been weird since all the Snapped people came back. The prize Strange’s choices required was too high for the Avengers. With Steve’s death, most of the Avengers left the Compound and Pepper asked for a divorce shortly after, when she realized he wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. Tony gained the full custody for Morgan, which was what he wanted since the begin, but Stephen couldn’t help but think that it was his fault. Which was why, despite everything, their relationship never went further than acquaintances. Stephen could live with that.

“Don’t yell at me like I’m a child!” Tony Stark was, very childish, yelling at his wall the moment Stephen rounded the corner and found himself in front of the lab surprising open door. He supposed it was because he let his children full lab access and then he just forgot to close it when they were sleeping.

“DON’T THROW SCISSORS AT DUM-E, THEN!” The volume of Friday’s voice compared with Tony’s and it was the first time Stephen heard the AI scream, especially when the receiving end of that tone was Tony. “Boss,” She added, a moment later, more calmly.

“They are not scissor and DUM-E would have been able to catch them,” Tony replied, and it was frankly amusing seeing him fight against his bots.

“And why were you throwing stuff at DUM-E?” Stephen decided to make his presence clear o the other man. Bad, bad idea, considering that in a beat of the eyes he found the other man pointing a repulsor at him.

He was fucking exhausted, and he wanted just that thing to be over so that he could go to the Sanctum and sleep for the foreseeable future. Which was probably just a couple of hours considering his previous experiences. “Strange? What are doing here?”

Stephen moved a hand, indicating the other end of the hallway. “The meeting.”

“Wait, which meeting? Did I forgot about it again?” Tony sounded extremely upset at the sole idea. Which was weird for Stark, but, again everyone changed a lot after the Infinity War.

“The meeting, with Charles and Black Bolt,” He explained, and when the questioning glance in Tony’s eyes did anything but intensified

“Steph, what are you speaking about?” The question sounded filled with worry, as if Tony knew anything about the people he just mentioned, which was crazy, totally and completely, they met a couple of months before in the room at the end of that very same hallway.

“The Illuminati, we needed to meet together because everyone is in town, I was going to reach the conference room but I heard you yelling at Friday so I thought it was a good idea remind -”

And then the man moved closer, reducing the distance between them and pushed his hands against Strange’s chest. It was weird, Tony barely looked at him outside the meetings and Stephen knew he must be fine with that because he lost his wife because of him. “Stephen, I’ve no idea what are you speaking about.”

And then a thought, a dreadful one crossed his mind. It wasn’t the first time it happened: the futures he saw on Titan started to merge one in the following and he found himself standing in places he didn’t know, waiting for something that wasn’t supposed to happen in that timeline. It just was the first time it happened with someone who wasn’t Wong. “Bruce…? Did something happened in Las Vegas with Bruce?”

“I think he saved my ass a couple of time before I got kicked out from a casino or two,” Tony answered, and it was clear that he was half-joking but was, at the same time, fucking worried. Stephen hated to be the cause of that.

“So, he didn’t destroy it, never?”

“No,” A billion of questions crossed Tony’s whiskey brown eyes. “Stephen, is everything fine? Are you high? Because you have red eyes and your pupils are dilated and you look high.”

“I’m just so fucking tired,” He let out, in a barely audible whisper. “I’m sorry, Tony, I just…”

A hand came to rest on his arm and Stephen’s eyes ran on it a moment later. It was a good sight, Tony’s callous hand wrapped around his robes. “Stephen, talk to me.”

“It’s just… Another future,” He answered, and a sad light replaced the worried one in Stark’s eyes.

“Ok,” He said. “You are staying for the night, and tomorrow we will speak about this. I don’t want to see you like that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, it’s fine. I got confused about which time of the day is all the times,” It was a poor attempt to make things better, but Stephen was grateful for it anyway.

send me a ship and a number for a drabble!

#ironstrange #strangeiron #tony stark #stephen strange #anonymous #asks

55 notes · View notes

minijenn · 5 years ago

Text

Universe Falls Chapter 69

AN: Heyoooo well this one’s finally done, thank god we’re so close to the end of arc 7 I can almost taste it. Anyway, this is a fun little chapter with some deeper stuff in it that I quite like. So I won’t keep you from it. Enjoy!

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/186319809934/universe-falls-chapter-68

***

Chapter 69: Crash Site Omega

KTIT GSYW GRFUZKD GA PUNU MKU TVQC RETF E YHWB FKHWZH HEZAA G SSOVKT YQTZ FCD CKAFE ST EBP YTCCHIXER NC ONHDIVIR RVOEBPW

With the drill finally finished as it was, no one saw too much of a reason to put off using it for too much longer. Especially considering they were on something of a tight time constraint when it came to dealing with the problem it was created to subdue. Still, before sending the machine on its maiden voyage through the surface of the Earth, pretty much everyone had mutually agreed on preforming a few final tests on it first. Given their close involvement with the technical side of the drill, this was a task that Peridot, Pearl, and Ford in particular had volunteered to undertake. To further ensure the drill’s soundness and stability was up to par, the trio had invited McGucket to come over to the barn to help them with their checks, given that he was largely responsible for creating the machine’s blueprints in the first place. For the most part, their tests all went off without any hitches, and save for a few minor quick tweaks and fixes here and there, the group soon enough decided that the drill was finally ready to plunge through the depths of the Earth to rid it of the threat the Cluster posed once and for all.

But that was a feat for tomorrow. For tonight, everyone had decided to take the rare opportunity to relax and rest up for the daunting task ahead of them instead. The Gems, kids, and scientists alike had all gathered around a strong, roaring campfire, the drill proudly reflecting the flames as it sat positioned nearby. True, they all had plenty to fret and worry about, from their no doubt dangerous trek down to the Cluster in just a few hours, to the dreadful alliance between a certain demon and a certain Diamond they still knew so very little about. But for just one night, they had all mutually agreed to let those fearful thoughts go and simply take some time to revel in their successful project and enjoy each other’s company, in the hopes that they’d have even more time to do so once the Cluster was no more.

A round of amused laughter arose from the group around the fire, largely as a result of Peridot’s first attempt at trying to roast a marshmallow over the open flames. Of course, no one had warned the green Gem to not shove the treat into her mouth while it was still on fire, resulting in a panic that was more than entertaining for everyone watching on.

“Gah…” Peridot let out a sigh of relief as she finally managed to cool down. “Why is it that every edible object on Earth is so… scalding hot?”

“Aw, Peri, clearly you’ve never had ice cream before,” Mabel remarked, still chuckling. “It’ll change everything you thought you knew about Earth food, trust me.”

“…But that doesn’t make any sense,” the green Gem frowned, confused. “Ice is a solid object. It can’t be ‘creamed’!”

Of course, this observation only elicited another bout of laughter from the rest of the group, much to Peridot’s continued bafflement. Even so, the subject was soon changed by Steven as he glanced over at the drill with a small, content smile.

“We actually did it,” he said, looking to the others warmly. “We built a drill, all on our own!”

“Well, we couldn’t have done it without my technological expertise,” Peridot proclaimed somewhat haughtily. She recanted somewhat, however, upon noticing some of the rather critical glances being sent her way. “A-and without Pearl’s surprisingly invaluable assistance.”

“And without Ford’s immense knowledge of advanced machinery,” Pearl added pointedly.

“Or without Fiddleford’s impressive engineering experience,” Ford finished, sending his old partner a knowing smile.

“Aw shucks,” McGucket scratched at his beard humbly. “We all pitched in to get this here dohicky up n’ runnin’. Its something every one of ya’ll should be plumb proud of.”

“You’re darn right I’m proud,” Amethyst smirked, reclining back in her seat. “I helped lift a ton of old junk around to help get that sucker built. Better be worth it.”

“We’ll find out tomorrow,” Garnet remarked, vague as ever.

“W-well, even if it doesn’t work-”

“Which it needs to, otherwise we’re all DOOMED!” Peridot interupted Steven dramatically.

“Thanks for the reminder, Peridot,” Dipper deadpanned lightly. “Its not like that thought hasn’t been looming over our heads for the past several days now.”

“Hmph, well if its not then it certainly should be,” the green Gem retorted, not following his clear sarcasm. “Otherwise, what was the point of any of this?”

“…Even if it doesn’t work, which hopefully, it does,” Steven picked up where he had left off. “It was still a lot of fun to work together to build it. Even if we did run into a few… bumps along the way.”

“Yeah, like when you guys beat the snot out of each other in giant robots to decide who’s in charge,” Amethyst grinned, putting her fists up playfully.

“Or when Dipper had to go ask his girlfriend for help to get that shiny titan’s ore stuff,” Mabel teased, elbowing her brother wryly.

“Mabel, for the last time, Pacifica is not my girlfriend!” Dipper huffed defensively.

“Not yet anyway…” Garnet muttered with a small grin, though no one really heard her.

“Well, regardless of a few setbacks, at least this time, we didn’t have to resort to getting parts for the drill from Crash Site O-” Pearl cut herself off before she could continue, particularly upon seeing the wide eyed glances her teammates, Ford, and McGucket were sending her way. Glances that were more than enough to get her to change her tune entirely. “O-oh nothing! Never mind! Did someone say something about a crash site? Please, there’s nothing like that anywhere near here, I can assure you!”

“Niiiiice, P,” Amethyst scoffed, amused. “Real subtle, just like always.”

“Crash site?” Dipper asked, instantly curious. “What kind of crash site? And what did you mean about getting parts from it?”

“Is it a car crash?” Mabel asked, equally intrigued. “A bus crash? A blimp crash?! Oh, maybe it’s a big boat crash, just like in that movie where the boats hits an ice burg and the dreamy guy dies at the end. Augh! I can never get through that one without crying!”

“Neither can I!” Steven added just as emotionally.

“Ok, so can we get back to this whole crash site thing?” Dipper interjected, still intent to know more. “Please?”

The adults among the group all exchanged something of an apprehensive glance, as if they were all in on a secret they weren’t entirely sure they wanted to divulge. Which, by most accounts, was actually quite close to the truth of the matter. However, when they finally did make the unspoken decision to break the seal on this secret, Ford was ultimately the one to do it, albeit not in the way any of the kids were hoping for.

“The ‘crash site’ Pearl was referring to is… properly known as Crash Site Omega,” the author began, treading the topic carefully. “Or at least, that’s what I personally decided to call it years ago. And as for what it is…. Well… that’s… confidential.”

A unified groan of disappointment arose from all three of the kids, and even Peridot, who had gotten rather invested in the mysterious matter herself. “Oh, come on!” the green Gem whined petulantly. “You can’t just bring up something with a self-important name like ‘Crash Site Omega’ and then not tell any of us what it is! That just isn’t fair!”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m totally with Peridot on this one,” Dipper agreed, crossing his arms. “I thought there weren’t supposed to be anymore secrets between any of us, so why are you guys still keeping this one?”

“That’s simple,” Garnet spoke up calmly. “If you kids actually knew what and where Crash Site Omega really was, then there’s no doubt you’d all try to go there yourselves. And believe me when I say its far too dangerous for any of you to try to go alone.”

“Whoa, so its gotta be something really cool then!” Mabel gasped, fascinated. “All of the super-dangerous places we end up going to usually are!”

“Yeah, its pretty cool,” Amethyst remarked casually.

“Amethyst!” Pearl hissed at the purple Gem through her teeth.

“What? It is.”

“W-well, even if it is cool, I’m afraid you kids don’t need to know anything more about it,” Ford concluded succinctly. “At least not right now.”

Once again, the kids all unanimously deflated at this, clearly dejected by this barring of such potentially interesting information. Even so, Ford and the Gems were firm in their resolve to keep the knowledge of Crash Site Omega and anything pertaining to it to themselves. McGucket, on the other hand, clearly had quite a bit more sympathy towards the kids’ shared sense of disappointment, even if he did understand just as much as the others did that withholding the truth was for their own wellbeing and safety. Which was why he was the first to make a concentrated effort in trying to make up for it somehow.

“Well, gee…” the inventor frowned knowingly. “I sure do hate to see you kids wearin’ such sour faces. Y’know, maybe we can’t tell ya’ll much about Crash Site Omega itself… but I don’t see why we can’t tell ya about the rip-roarin’ adventure all of us had the first time Stanford and the others all dragged me out there.”

“Oh! Yes, I… suppose there’s no harm in telling you kids about that,” Pearl said thoughtfully. “Just as long as we don’t divulge… too many details.”

“Yeah, sure I mean, it’s a pretty fun story anyway,” Amethyst shrugged. “Ya know, outside of the several times where we almost died!”

“Oh, come now!” Ford exclaimed, disgruntled. “We didn’t inch close to death that many times on that expedition. Especially when compared to some of our… other endeavors back then.”

“Hey, hey!” Mabel interupted, raising her hand enthusiastically. “We wanna know about how you guys almost died! Right, guys?”

“Yeah!” Steven chimed in excitedly. “Well, ok, maybe less about the whole dying part and more about your adventure. It sounds like it was a lot of fun!”

“Yeah, sure I guess that works,” Dipper added somewhat halfheartedly before muttering the rest of his statement. “Though telling us what Crash Site Omega really is would be way better…”

“Well, for now, this will just have to suffice,” the author said, taking in a deep, leveling breath before beginning the harrowing tale. “It was over thirty years ago. The Gems and I were just starting to conceptualize our plans for the portal, and Fiddleford had only arrived just a few days prior to lend us a helping hand on the project…”

***

1981

Ford could scarcely remember a time in his life when he had been more excited about the future than he was now. His research of Gravity Falls and its countless unique anomalies had already proven to be a massive success and then some, thanks to the invaluable help provided by the Crystal Gems over the past few years. But the bold endeavor he was setting out to undertake now was bound to completely blow all of that entirely out of the water. With this machine, he was certain that they’d be able to uncover untold secrets about both the known and unknown universe, opening the door to scientific marvels unlike any ever seen before. But before such a grand dimensional leap could be taken, said machine had to be built first.

That was where the help of his friends came in. Already, Rose and the other Gems had readily agreed to help on the project in any way they could, help that Ford knew he’d never be able to thank them enough for. But what was even more exciting was the fact that his treasured old colleague Fiddleford had heeded his call to join the cause as well, journeying all the way from California to Oregon. From the moment the inventor arrived a few short days ago, the author had already been enjoying his friend’s welcome company and amusing quirks immensely, from his knack for solving Cubic’s Cubes in record time, to surprising skill on the banjo. Even if Fiddleford carried a few habits that Ford wasn’t particularly fond of, such as chewing tobacco and his overly-superstitious nature, he couldn’t deny that the brilliant calculations the inventor was contributing to the portal project had already made it more than worth the author’s time to ask him to lend his aid.

In fact, it was through one of those very calculations that Fiddleford had managed to pinpoint a critical flaw in Ford’s plans for the machine thus far. Apparently, the purposed portal’s highly advanced technical caliber would require an equally advanced power source to keep it running. A Temporal Displacement Hyperdrive, to be exact.

“Which means we might as well pull the reigns on this project here n’ now,” Fiddleford shook his head mournfully as he slapped his notebook shut. “On account of the fact that humanity is ten thousand years away from even comin’ anywhere close to even tryin’ to invent one!”

Despite how distraught his partner was over this insurmountable setback, Ford merely grinned confidently, as if he wasn’t even bothered by it at all. Which, by and large, he absolutely wasn’t. “Well then, aren’t we incredibly luck that I just so happen to have a handful of friends who know exactly where we can find such a device.”

Needless to say that Fiddleford was beyond baffled by such a bold claim. Even so, Ford wasn’t entirely keen on spoiling such a monumental surprise so easily, which was why he implored the inventor to return early the next morning, and, more importantly, come ready for a grand expedition that would span two days at least, if not more.

Confused as he was by such an odd request, Fiddleford complied, arriving at the author’s home at dawn the next day. The inventor was still rather sleepy as he stepped into the den, camping pack slung over his shoulder as he readily accepting the piping hot cup of coffee Ford offered him. “So are we settin’ out on whatever skullduggerin’ misadventure you have planned for us any time soon, Stanford?” Fiddleford grumbled upon noticing that the author was making no clear steps towards leaving. “Cause if not, then I might as well just mosey on back to bed.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Fiddleford,” Ford assured with a knowing smirk. “We’ll be leaving very shortly. Just as soon as my… mm… friends arrive.”

“The same ‘friends’ you mentioned yesterday, I’m guessin’?” Fiddleford raised an eyebrow.

“The very ones,” the author nodded. “They’ve been gone on a lengthy mission across the globe since before you arrived a few days ago. I… had planned on introducing you all under slightly different circumstances, but this works every bit as well.”

“…Do I even want to know what you originally planned for us meeting?”

“Oh, through a group outing to study Gravity Falls’ invasive barf fairy population, of course.”

“…Charmin’,” Fiddleford deadpanned. “Real charmin’.”

At that moment, an enthusiastic knock on the front door resounded throughout the house, one that Ford didn’t hesitate to hurry to answer. “Ah, perfect timing! They’re here!” The author stopped short just shy of the door to turn to his partner one more time. “Fiddleford, I’d like for you meet none other than… the Crystal Gems!”

With that, he boldly opened the door to reveal a quartet of women that Fiddleford had to do a double take on just to make sure they were really real. Their ethereal, frankly magical appearances were truly something to behold, and yet there they stood, crowded in the doorframe, the largest and pinkest among them also bearing the widest, brightest smile as she greeted the author warmly. “Ford!” she exclaimed, happily sweeping him up into a tight, friendly hug.

“Heh, y-yes, its great to see you again too, Rose!” Ford laughed tightly, clearly caught off guard by the sudden, almost choking embrace. Fortunately, Rose was quick to release it to set the author back down on the ground. “So, how was Greenland?”

“Oh, you know,” Pearl spoke off with an offhanded smirk. “Nowhere near as green as its neighbor right across the sea, Iceland, usually is. But tolerable, all the same.”

“But its waaaaaay better to be back home,” Amethyst said, leaping up onto one of her favorite perches: Ford’s shoulders. “Ya got anything for me this time, science man?”

“Well…” the author rummaged through is camping pack for a moment. “I do have these jelly beans, but they’re for me to take on the-” Without any warning, the purple Gem snatched the bag of snacks out of his hand, tossing it into her mouth and swallowing it whole. “Well, they were for the trip… Ah well, either way, there’s someone here I’d really like you to meet.” Ford stepped aside so that the Gems could finally see the clearly awestruck Fiddleford, who honestly had no idea how to really react to them at all. “Rose, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, this is my former college classmate and close personal friend, Fiddleford McGucket. Fiddleford, this is Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and of course, Rose Quartz. Otherwise known as the Crystal Gems.”

Fiddleford took in a deep breath at this, adjusting his glasses to properly greet these bizarre women. “I-I’m much obliged to meet ya-”

“Oh, wow!” Rose interupted, stars in her eyes as she regarded the inventor. “There’s another Ford!”

“W-what?!” Ford and Fiddleford both exclaimed in confused unison.

“Well, you said so yourself,” the pink Gem pointed out innocently. “You’re Stanford,” she nodded to the author before pointing at the inventor. “And you’re Fiddleford. Which means now there’s two Fords! How exciting!”

“Oh! Can we call this one Fiddle?” Amethyst suggested, tugging on Fiddleford’s jacket sleeve before doing the same to Ford’s lab coat. “And we can call science man Stan!”

“You most certainly cannot!” Ford snapped, his tone surprisingly harsh as he pulled his coat away from the purple Gem. The other Gems and even Fiddleford all looked to him in apt surprise, all of them clearly wondering where such sudden severity had come from, though before the author was pressed to explain it, he was quick to change the subject altogether. “Anyway… Rose, I’m glad you’re here. Fiddleford has brought an important matter concerning our newest pet project to our attention, a matter I’m… more than fairly confident you’ll be able to help out with.”

“Oh really?” Rose asked, naturally curious as she looked to the inventor. “And what’s that?”

“Well, to even get this machine ya’ll wanna build started, you’re gonna need to get yourselves a Temporal Displacement Hyperdrive,” Fiddleford explained with a frown. “But I don’t know where in the world we’re ever gonna-”

“A Temporal Displacement Drive?” Pearl spoke up, crossing her arms with a scoff. “Please, give us an actual challenge here. Why, Stanford, I’m surprised you don’t already have one seeing as how they’re incredibly archaic by today’s standards.”

“Well, perhaps on your mysterious ‘Homeworld’ they are,” Ford retorted with just as teasing of a grin as the one the white Gem was sending him. “But here on Earth, technology like that is a bit… harder to come by.”

“Wha—Homeworld?” Fiddleford grabbed the author by the arm, lowering his voice somewhat. “Stanford, what in the name of Sweet Sally Sue are you on about right now?”

“Oh, did I not tell you?” Ford looked back to his bewildered partner before nodding back to the eager group of Gems before him. “Despite their near human-like appearances, the Crystal Gems aren’t from Earth. In fact, you might even say they’re-”

“ALIENS?!” Fiddleford gasped, shocked by this revelation as he stared at each of the Gems with huge eyes.

“There’s that word again,” Garnet remarked, crossing her arms.

“I wonder what it means…” Rose mused, fascinated.

“Yes,” the author said, still sending the inventor a satisfied, almost goading grin over the fact that he had managed to befriend such a special extraterrestrial group all on his own. “Aliens. But completely friendly aliens, I can assure you.”

“Boy howdy, are they ever!” Fiddleford exclaimed, slapping his knee in newfound excitement as he rushed up to each of the Gems to readily shake their hands. “Ya know, from the time I was a youngin’ I’ve always wondered about you space folks, ever since my cousin Thistlebelt said his Grammy Louise was quote-on-quote ‘taken by them saucer people’. Everyone else in the family said it was a bunch of hogwash, but I never stopped believin’ that life in other worlds outside our own existed, and you ladies are livin’, breathin’ proof of that!”

“Oh, uh, well, thank you,” Rose laughed, amused. “But…”

“We don’t breathe,” Garnet said, stoically and succinctly.

“It’s true,” Ford added, noting Fiddleford’s continued dumbfounded expression. “They don’t. Or at least they don’t need to. Same goes with sleeping and eating. Why, if I was anywhere near as infallible as the Gems here are, then I’d have enough energy to solve every unexplained phenomenon in the universe and then some!”

“And then you’d complain about bein’ bored the second that you did,” Fiddleford remarked with a wry grin. “Just like ya did when you breezed through all of the coursework in your second semester of Applied Quantum Phase Theory in less than a week after the class started.”

“Clearly, a waste of a semester,” Ford scoffed. “Especially when taking Fifth Dimensional Calculus and Hyper-Advanced Engineering would have aided our cause with this portal much more…”

“Speaking of which,” Pearl interjected. “If we really do need that Hyperdrive, then, w-well…” She hesitated, as if anxious to continue. Anxiety that Rose and Garnet at least seemed to both share on some level as they all averted eye contact with one another. “Stanford, you know where to find it by now.”

“Well, yes, I do,” the author nodded. “But seeing as how this is going to be Fiddleford’s first expedition to Crash Site Omega, I figured why not commemorate it by all of us going out there together? As a team?”

“Crash Site Omega?” Fiddleford inquired, curious. Ford provided him a brief whispered answer, one that only served to floor the inventor even more than he already was when he realized exactly what it was.

“No…”

“Yes,” the author grinned, amused.

“S-so it’s really…?”

“Mm hm.”

“A-and they came in…?”

“They did.”

“…Well, I gotta admit to ya, Stanford,” Fiddleford said after a beat of amazed silence. “I didn’t come here this morning thinkin’ that my entire perception on reality would be blown wide open like its just been. S-so thank you for that, I suppose.”

“You’re very welcome!” the author chimed before turning back to the Gems. “So the way I see it, it’ll take us two days to hike both out to the crash site and to get back since the its central warp hub is still down, so we should probably head out now to catch good daylight and-”

“Um… actually, Ford…” Rose spoke up apprehensively. “I’m not so sure if we should keep going out there like we have been. It really is pretty dangerous, especially for humans, and if we keep bothering it, it’ll probably only get worse. So… I think we should just…” The pink Gem trailed off upon catching sight of the disappointed, rather pleading glances both Ford and Fiddleford were sending her way, both of them clearly eager to see this intriguing crash site and claim the powerful Hyperdrive contained within. Glances that, against all odds, were able to make Rose change her tune much more easily than expected. “Ohhhh… ok…” she huffed relentingly. “You two win. We’ll go get that Hyperdrive.”

“Excellent!” Ford proclaimed as Fiddleford let out a large sigh of relief. “Then let’s not waste another minute! Our expedition begins… now!”

“Woo! Expedition! Expedition!” Amethyst cheered as her and Garnet followed the author and the inventor out the door. “Hey, Garnet, what’s a expedition?”

“Rose, are you sure this is such a good idea…?” Pearl asked, stopping the pink Gem briefly before they could head out as well. “After all, the crash site is… w-well… you know…”

“I do…” Rose frowned, placing a gentle hand on the white Gem’s shoulder before breaking out into a small smile. “But what can I say? You know I can never say no to humans, Pearl, they’re so adorable!”

“That’s what you keep saying…” Pearl muttered with an exasperated sigh as she trailed after her liege, their ‘expedition’ to the mystery that was Crash Site Omega at last underway.

***

The fresh Oregon morning air was more than enough to completely invigorate the small motley crew of scientists and Gems as they set out on their quest. Since neither Ford or Fiddleford had a vehicle of their own, their trek would largely be on foot, something that only the inventor seemed to mind as they began their hike along the granite pass. While Ford was able to keep up with the tireless Gems just fine thanks to his rigorous daily physical regiment, Fiddleford was much less active in most things save for his mind and his mechanical work. As easily worn and winded as he was, the inventor wasn’t afraid to let his exhaustion show, especially as he purposed the idea of building robotic legs to let them do the work of walking for him.

Fortunately for Fiddleford, however, their trek only lasted a few hours before they found themselves on the other side of town at Lake Gravity Falls. Seeing as the serene shore was as good a place as any to take a break, that’s exactly what the group did (after documenting a bizarre Plaidypus they happened across along the way, as well investigating as the mystery of a possible beast laying in wait under the lake’s sole island). Even so, the inventor greatly appreciated the much-needed breather as he took the time to enjoy the lunch he had packed, at least until Amethyst snuck over and began rifling through it, an attempt that Pearl tried her best to thwart as Garnet watched on, amused as ever by her teammate’s antics.

With Fiddleford and the Gems as distracted as they were, Ford took the opportunity to slip away to jot down a few offhand notes and observations in his latest journal. He was just finishing off their speculator findings on the possibly quite dangerous island head beast lurking just below the unsuspecting waters when he began casually sketching out the peaceful shoreline itself, writing down a short description to go with it.

“Despite this bone-chilling creature, I couldn’t help but enjoy the scenery. There is no other place in Gravity Falls I would rather be than the lake. It reminds me of my childhood and Glass Shard Beach…”

Of Glass Shard Beach and sticky, sandy days spent there. Of briny seas and smoggy, sunny skies. Of just the two of them, exploring the tiny world they’d always known but planning for so much more beyond it. Of working on the ambitious pet project together that would someday finally get them there: the Stan O’ War.

Ford sighed almost wistfully, glancing over across the lake again before he began sketching out a simple sailboat on the bottom half of the page. Absently, he annotated it with an amusing youthful anecdote, one that he made sure to inscribe in code, just in case. He had just about finished it too, when a sudden shadow cast over him, catching the other quite off guard out of his deep thoughts.

“What are you working on over here?” Rose asked with a warm smile as she stood over the author, curiously glancing down at the journal in his hand. While Ford normally would have been eager to share his research with the pink Gem, instead he hastily scribbled over the boat he had drawn, closing the book and with it, his reminiscing thoughts.

“O-oh, nothing,” the author hastily said. “Just… foolishly losing myself in the past, I suppose.”

“Hm…” Rose mused as she took a seat on the coarse sand alongside him. “I wouldn’t call that ‘foolish’. After all, I sometimes do that too.”

“Hopefully not too often,” Ford joked with a brief hint of levity. “If what you told me is true, then you have quite a lengthy past to get lost in.”

The pair shared a short laugh at this, though as it faded as the author’s tone turned thoughtful. “…You know, I’ve never asked you… what is it like, to have lived for so long? Existing for hundreds of thousands of years like you and the other Gems have is far beyond any sort of known human comprehension so, I can’t help but be a little curious about it.”

Rose was silent for a moment, keeping her sights set on the sparkling lake ahead of them before replying flippantly. “To be honest? Its… boring. When a Gem is made, they’re supposed to be only one thig, have only one purpose for their entire existence. Thousands of years spending day in and day out in the exact same way without anything ever even changing. But you? Humans? You get to have an entirely different experience every single day! Your life isn’t set in stone like a Gem’s is, its constantly in motion! Its so much more exciting! And… ever since I first came here to Earth, that’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do to: to have a unique, special kind of experience each and every day. And so far, I’d say I’ve been doing a pretty good job of it thanks to people like you, Ford.”

“Hmph,” the author glanced away, aptly bashful. “I’d pin your success less on me and more on Gravity Falls. As surrounded by such fantastic anomalies as we are, there’s no way you could have a dull, uninteresting day here, even if you tried.”

“Exactly,” Rose chuckled. “Why else do you think we’ve stayed here so long?”

“Speaking of which…” Ford began a bit leadingly as he looked back down at the journal in his lap. “Where exactly were you and the other Gems… before you came to Gravity Falls?”

“Oh, I thought I already told you,” the pink Gem said. “We mostly wandered around all over the Earth, exploring different, beautiful places, meeting all sorts of amazing people-”

“Yes, yes, you did tell me about all that before,” Ford interupted, unable to push his curiosity aside. “I’m talking about before that. Before you came to Earth.”

“O-oh…” Rose faltered, her pink locks casting shadows over her eyes as her voice grew soft and almost unsteady. “W-well… before that… I was—we lived on Homeworld…”

“Ah yes, Homeworld,” Ford nodded, eager to know more about this distant planet the other Gems spoke so very little about. “And what was it like there? Quite different from the Earth, I imagine, I mean it is an entirely different planet.”

“Yes, i-it’s… very different, to say the least…” Rose muttered, almost whispered. For several long, lingering moments, she said nothing else on the matter, and for a good while it seemed like she had no intentions of doing so at all. Ford was just about ready to prompt her with more questions on the mysterious planet, but right before they could, a certain purple Gem suddenly jumped right into the space between the two of them.

“Hey, look at me! I’m Fiddle Man!” Amethyst exclaimed, showing off the inventor’s glasses that she had perched on the elongated nose she had shapeshifted to mimic his. “Howdy, howdy, howdy!”

“Hey!” The purple Gem took off the moment she noticed Fiddleford blindly chasing after her. “Give ‘em back, ya little-”

The inventor didn’t have a chance to finish his threat before he inevitably followed Amethyst into the lake, tripping and falling face-first into the shallows as the purple Gem surfaced alongside him, laughing madly all the while. “Amethyst! Give that human his vision aids back immediately!” Pearl scolded with a frustrated huff as she stormed over.

“They’re called glasses, Pearl,” Garnet remarked, coolly adjusting her own.

“Well, it looks like everyone’s starting to get restless,” Rose laughed, more than glad to change the subject. “We should probably get going. We still have a lot of ground to cover, after all.”

Ford frowned, even as Rose stood and offered a hand to help him up. Even so, despite the lack of any substantial answers to his insatiable curiosity, he complied, accepting her help as he offered his aid in gathered the others so they could continue on their way once more. And yet, the author couldn’t help but glance out at the lake one last time before they left it behind, hoping that he’d still get those answers, answers he knew the pink Gem was still hiding from him, sooner or later.

***

The rest of the afternoon took the group out of the midsummer heat and into a much cooler setting instead: a set of hidden tunnels secreted away behind the town’s famous waterfall. The ancient caves were a find that the Gems had first introduced Ford to a few years back, the drawings etched on the walls dating their formation back to early human history (which the Gems themselves were present for). Along the way, they happened across a rather large group of minute corrupted Gem monsters, which the author had decided to dub ‘geodites’; the tiny creatures were more than numerous and luminous enough to light their way through the rest of the tunnels. And by the time they finally emerged at the top of the falls, the sun was just starting to set, giving way to a crisp, warm, lovely evening. Which was why, with the vast view of Gravity Falls stretching out below them, the easy decision was made to set up camp for the night right then and there.

While the Gems didn’t really need to rest like Ford and Fiddleford did, they were still more than happy to help them set up their clifftop campsite. With a roaring fire built, the group gathered around it to relax and chat, all while gazing up at the countless arrays of stars and the constellations hidden therein dotting the dark, lovely night sky above them.

“Golly, what a night…” Fiddleford remarked between spoonfuls of beans out of the can he had just heated up over the fire. “We don’t get stars like these in Palo Alto, that’s for sure.”

“Palo Alto?” Rose asked, curious. “Where’s that?”

“A few states down south in California,” Fiddleford informed. “They’ve just started callin’ that part of it the ‘Silicon Valley’, as a matter o’ fact.”

“Why?” Pearl asked. “Is there a higher than usual concentration of silicon there?”

“Well, no, it’s on account of-”

“Its because it has a higher than usual concentration of ‘upstart inventors’,” Ford interupted with a knowing smirk. “Much like Fiddleford himself here.”

“Oh, ha ha, very funny, Stanford,” Fiddleford retorted dryly. “But Palo Alto also has a lot more to it than a bunch of borin’ ol’ eggheads. It’s also where my darlin’ wife and my lil’ Tater Tot are.”

“Ooo, tater tots!” Amethyst quipped obliviously. “I just learned what those things are the other day when I snuck into the diner. They’re so good and cold and crunchy!”

“You’re supposed to eat them hot, Amethyst, not frozen,” Ford pointed out with a concerned frown.

“Whaaaat?! Oh man, that sounds even better! I’ve gotta try that! I’m totally gonna break into that diner again when we get back.”

“I’m not talkin’ about tater tots Tater Tots,” Fiddleford shook his head with a small chuckle. “I’m talkin’ about my son, Tate.” Upon noticing the somewhat blank looks all of the Gems were sending him, the inventor elaborated. “Ya know, my family? Any of you ladies got any family yourselves?”

“No,” Rose answered almost immediately, her tone surprisingly sharp.

“Gems don’t really do ‘family’,” Garnet added quite stoically.

“O-oh…” Fiddleford glanced away rather awkwardly. “Well, all the same, I can’t wait to get back to mine! Why, once we’re done with this here project of ours, I have plans to skedaddle back home to ‘em and finally start patenting all of the robotics projects I have in the works.”

“Robotics?” Ford asked incredulously. “What practical use could that have in a common market?”

“Outside of militaristic weapons grade training?” Pearl added, though she was met with several bewildered glances at this. “What?”

“Aw, I got plenty of ideas in mind!” Fiddleford exclaimed zealously. “Ideas that are bound to make people’s lives better all ‘round the globe! Plus… it’ll be a decent bonus to finally be makin’ enough to afford a nice place with a screen door that ain’t broken like the one we had at the ol’ McGucket family homestead back in Tennessee.”

“Your ideas sound lovely, Fiddleford,” Rose smiled, enthused by such altruistic plans. “Ford, what are you going to do once our machine is done?”

“I think you mean once my Grand Unified Theory of Weirdness is proven indisputably,” Ford corrected with a knowing grin. “After its all said and done, I’m considering returning back home to the east to publish my findings about Gravity Falls and the source of its strangeness to the world.”

“Wait… you’re… going to leave?” the pink Gem asked, her smile fading altogether at this.

“F-for a time, yes,” the author glanced away, suddenly flustered. “But I’m sure I’ll be back around these parts sooner or later. Especially since I’ll have presidents and prizewinners alike practically begging me to explain all of the oddities we’ve uncovered to them. Just think of it! Me, rubbing elbows with the most elite of the elite! Debating politics with Reagan, discussing turtleneck fashion with Carl Sagan! And better yet, seeing the looks on the faces of everyone who ever doubted me!”

“Gosh, Stanford, those sure are some big dreams,” Fiddleford remarked with a smirk. “I’d expect nothin’ less from you, but… there’s still one thing I don’t understand.”

“And what’s that?”

“Well, from what I’ve seen of them journals of yours, it already looks like you’ve discovered more than enough amazin’ things to make you famous and then some,” the inventor explained, briefly nodding over at the Gems. “These ladies right here are a testament to that if nothin’ else, I mean, shucks, they’re literal space aliens.”

“Would you both stop calling us that?” Pearl huffed, annoyed.

“I guess what I’m tryin’ to figure out is… is this ‘grand theory’ of yours even really necessary?” Fiddleford continued, frowning. “Why not just publish your findings now, profit off that, settle down right here in Gravity Falls, and start a family of your own…?” At this, the inventor inclined his head rather leadingly at Rose, something that the pink Gem didn’t really notice, though the author understood the implication loud and clear.

Which was why he was completely powerless to let out a loud, blunt laugh at the very thought. “Oh, Fiddleford, don’t be silly!” Ford chuckled, shaking his head. “I’ll be the first to admit that romance is far more baffling to me than the greatest mysteries of the universe!” The author waited a beat until Rose was distracted by a small, side conversation with the other Gems to lower his voice to a whisper to the inventor. “Besides, you heard it yourself; Gems don’t ‘do’ family.”

“Hmph, and apparently, neither do you,” Fiddleford remarked, dissatisfied as he crossed his arms.

“So, Ford,” Rose interjected with a small, amused laugh. “Garnet wants to know… how exactly is romance ‘baffling’?”

“Because it sure isn’t to me,” Garnet said, adjusting her shades mysteriously.

“W-well, it just always seemed so… frivolous to me,” Ford shrugged, clearly embarrassed over having to explain himself on such a personal matter. “I mean, who even has time for such flights of fancy in the first place when there’s far more important matters to attend to?”

“Oh? Like what?” Pearl asked with a bit of a teasing grin. “Playing that probability-heavy dungeons game you showed me the other day?”

“N-no!” Ford exclaimed defensively. “W-well, at least not entirely. What I’m talking about is perusing something much grander than any mere momentary love affair: the answers to the most baffling mysteries human history has ever known! And I’m going to be the one to find those answers once and for all. Why should I settle for simplicity when I can just as easily sail to the stars!?”

“There’s nothing wrong with simplicity, Ford,” Rose grinned gently. “In fact, its one of the things I love most about the Earth. Everything here works so well with everything else. It all just… fits together to create a planet that just feels… so complete and so perfect in so many different ways, I can’t even begin to list them all!”

“But it can hardly compare to all of the other incredible sights you’ve must have seen among the endless cosmos, right?” Ford pressed, curious as ever. “After all, the Earth, perhaps barring Gravity Falls as the sole exception, is so… mundane when pitted against the vast depths of space, places humans have never even dreamed of seeing before, including your very own Homeworld! You’ve been here on Earth for thousands of years now… don’t you ever miss what lies beyond it?”

Rose paused for a moment, seeming to mull over this as she gazed up at the distant, twinkling stars far above them. But when she finally did give her answer, it was with a solid, confident smile as she returned her gaze back down to the sprawling view of the town far below them. “Why would I ever miss Homeworld when I’m already home?”

Despite his best efforts, this was a question Ford couldn’t find an answer to. It was at that moment that the author began to realize, perhaps for the very first time, just how different the pink Gem’s worldview was from his own. It was undeniable that Rose was quite content with her peaceful lot on planet Earth, far removed from the mysterious, exciting grandeur of the cosmos and her former interstellar home. It was a sentiment the other Crystal Gems seemed to carry, but it was one that Ford couldn’t quite understand. For much of his life, the author had felt limited in some way; limited by the scope of his small hometown, limited by the low standards of his family around him, limited even by his own scientific knowledge (at least until his muse fortunately came around to help in that regard). In fact, he had grown so used to being limited that it was no wonder that breaking those limits wide open had long since been a high-ranking goal of his. He didn’t want to just be content to be, he wanted so much more than that. He wanted success, he wanted recognition, he wanted greatness. He would settle for nothing less.

And while Ford knew the road to reaching such lofty ambitions wouldn’t be an easy one, he still preferred the road less traveled anyway, he always had. And, as he sat around the campfire, laughing and conversing with some of the people (or more accurately Gems) he trusted most, he couldn’t help but feel immensely grateful that he wouldn’t have to travel that road alone.

***

The next morning saw the group meeting with a mystery right off the bat. While getting in an early morning shave, Fiddleford had spotted the briefest flash of something in the woods behind him in his tiny mirror. Superstitious and skittish as he was, the inventor didn’t hesitate to alert Ford and the Gems about the possible intruder, which had vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. A careful search of the entire area turned up empty, but no one could deny they all felt the presence of some unknown creature or being lurking about, its mysterious nature matching closely to a longstanding local lumberjack legend known as the Hide-Behind. The creature had been a point of curiosity for both Ford and the Gems for quite some time, largely since it had reportedly never been clearly seen by anyone before. The most anyone was able to find of it was they quickly packed up their camp were its strange footprints in the dirt, accompanied by its bizarre howl echoing through the trees as the trees. Needless to say it was enough to set the entire group on edge, even the usually intrepid Gems, who were all on the verge of summoning their weapons for self-defense, just in case the Hide-Behind suddenly decided to come out of hiding after all…

Fortunately though, they weren’t beset by any such danger as they finally made their way out of the woods and into more open expanses. Rose took point of the group from here, her manner oddly tense as she began leading the last leg of the journey to the crash site. Contrasting to the pink Gem, however, Ford and Fiddleford were both growing gradually more excited the closer they got to their destination. The pair engaged in enthused speculation about the vessel they were heading to all the way there, a conversation that the Gems largely refused to join in, even despite the many questions posed their way. In fact, they only seemed to grow even more dodgy as they finally reached the deep, oddly-shaped valley where their prize awaited: Crash Site Omega itself.

“We’re here,” Rose reported quietly, coming to a stop at the center of the wide grassy area.

“Wait… this is it?” Fiddleford asked, confused.

“Indeed it is,” Ford chimed in with a daring grin as he approached the field’s only notable feature, a large, inconspicuous rock. “It looks like it hasn’t been touched since the last time we were here two years ago! How lucky!”

“Very lucky,” Garnet remarked stiffly, adjusting her shades.

“Now, let’s just move this aside, and…” the author trailed off as he pushed the rock, revealing a metallic panel beneath it. Removing it was just as easy, uncovering a square opening in the ground with a long ladder leading down into the darkness far below. “There we go. This should lead us down right through… what was it again?”

“The indefinite exhaust port,” Pearl remarked, crossing her arms and scowling.

“U-unbelievable…” Fiddleford said, his eyes wide as he stared down into the mysterious tunnel. “And here I thought ya’ll were yankin’ my chain with this crash site nonsense, but… b-but here it is! Plain as day!”

“Ugh, do we really gotta go down there again?” Amethyst asked with a huff. “Its so dark and smelly and boring…”

“Don’t worry, Amethyst, we won’t be down there very long,” Rose assured the youngest Gem with a small smile. “Will we?” she asked Ford in particular.

“We’re only here for the hyperdrive this time, so I would say this shouldn’t take too terribly long,” Ford mused.

“Good,” Pearl said somewhat sharply. “The sooner we leave this place behind, the better.”

With their shared intention to get in and get out as quickly as possible, the Gems entered the passageway first. Ford and Fiddleford followed after, both of them somewhat baffled as to why their companions seemed so wary of the crash site as a whole. Even so, they eagerly followed down into the depths, scaling down into the wreckage left behind from a vessel forgotten by time.

The structure’s practically ancient chrome interior, as untouched by the elements as it was, was largely pristine, if not heavily dusted and cobwebbed. The buried vessel was essentially a maze of various vast, twisting corridors, revealing nothing to what its exterior might have once looked like. Most of its electronic components were long-since defunct and its echoing halls were just as abandoned and dark, illuminated only by the glow from Pearl and Rose’s respective gemstones lighting the way. Ford and Fiddleford also had flashlights on hand, however, to further aid them in getting a better glimpse at their amazing surroundings; surroundings that, as far as they knew, next to no other humans had ever seen before.

“Golly, just look at this place!” Fiddleford exclaimed, his voice echoing off of the hallowed-out halls. “It’s like somethin’ straight outta Cosmic Conflicts! Just imagine what it must’ve looked like back in its hayday!”

“We don’t need to imagine,” Ford said, confident as he glanced over at the Gems. “Fortunately in this instance, we can get knowledge on the subject straight from the source.”

“O-oh, well, its not like any of us got here on something exactly like this…” Rose remarked with something of an uncomfortable laugh. “After all, Amethyst was made here on Earth, and-”

“Well, still, certainly it must be close to what a few of you might be familiar with,” the author implored. “It did come from Homeworld, after all, much like yourself, right, Rose?”

“Ah, um, w-well, yes, I suppose, but-”

“So how long does it typically take for a vessel like this to be built there?” Ford inquired, innocently curious. What the author failed to see were the other Gems almost rushing on ahead, only Rose hanging behind and growing more and more anxious with each question he posed to her. “How many lightyears do you estimate it could travel in a day?”

“F-Ford…” the pink Gem attempted to interject, but nothing could really stop the author’s eager inquiries at this point.

“Does it have any sort of external weapons systems? Maybe a layered holographic force-field?”

“Ford-” Rose tried again and by now even Fiddleford was sending his partner a worried warning glance. But even still Ford continued.

“What would it take to bring a rig like this down in the first place? What was its original function meant to be?”

“Stanford, please-”

A warship? Scouting vessel? Why did it even come here to Earth in the first pla-”

“Stanford! That’s enough!”

Rose’s harsh shout seemed to echo through the entire vessel, stopping the entire group dead in their tracks. Ford turned to the pink Gem, aptly started by her heavy command only to find her usually gentle expression set in a sharp, severe glare. A glare that was aimed directly at him.

“R-Rose?” he asked quite hesitantly, unsure of how to react.

“I said that’s enough,” Rose repeated just as sternly. “No more questions, let’s just get what we came here for, and go.”

And with that, the pink Gem pressed on ahead, the other Gems and even Fiddleford meekly following behind her. For all of the kindness Rose was known to show, her rare moments of rigidness were more than enough to intimidate just about anyone. Anyone save for Ford, that is.

“Why are you always like this?” Ford asked, a hint of fledgling frustration in his tone. “Every time I so much as bring up the topic of Homeworld to you, you never want to discuss it? Why? You’re always more than happy to share everything you know about every other Gem-related matter, so why not something as fundamentally simple as your own home?!”

“Because!” Rose snapped fiercely, far more angrier than the author had ever seen her before. “That’s NOT our home! Not anymore…” She sighed, her fury turning to what almost seemed like remorseful resignation as she turned away once more. “And it never will be again…”

“But why not?” Ford pressed, refusing to simply let the matter go. “Why won’t you just tell me something about it?!”

“…Fine,” Rose said, her back still turned and her tone still tense. “I’ll tell you the only thing you need to know about it: we left it behind, in every way. And we want to keep it that way, which is why you should do the same, Stanford.”

This time, the pink Gem was intent on making it quite clear that she wouldn’t discuss the matter any further as she simply walked away. Once again, Ford was prepared to keep the argument going, though what ultimately ended up stopping him turned out to be none other than Fiddleford. The inventor silently barred him with an outstretched arm, shaking his head in disapproval over just how far the author had been willing to push his curiosity. Far enough to the point that it had, in turn, pushed the pink Gem away.

Even so, that wasn’t something Ford was all too willing to admit. After all, the most he saw himself as guilty of was perhaps asking one too many sensitive questions. But as far as he was concerned, it was Rose’s fault for deeming those questions as too sensitive to answer in the first place. Certainly, the author rationalized, the pink Gem was being unfairly secretive when it came to the truth behind her former home. She had already shared so much about her kind with him in the past; so what could possibly be the reason behind her keeping this information to herself? It was a question Ford knew he needed the answer to, but it was an answer he wasn’t sure he was going to get, especially not now. Especially with Rose choosing to maintain her stubborn silence on all things Homeworld-related, the other Gems intent on doing the very same.

“Here it is…” Pearl announced diffidently as they all stepped into a large, heavily-wired chamber. “One Temporal Displacement Hyperdrive, as promised.”

“Hm…” Fiddleford stepped forward, carefully inspecting the surprisingly small device. The hyperdrive was hooked up to the ship’s now-defunct engine by a series of sturdy chords, the screen on its side still somehow functional based on the illuminated visage of four multi-colored diamonds. Silence still permeated the rest of the rest of the group as the inventor looked over it before finally breaking into a small, satisfied smile. “Yep, I’d reckon this oughta do the trick. All I gotta do is tweak around with a few of these here wires and…” He trailed off, carefully snipping through the chords with the clippers he had wisely brought along. Then, after loosening just a few bolts and screws, the inventor was able to not just release the drive, but also extract it, snuggly slipping it away into his backpack for safekeeping on the way back.

“We got what we came here for,” Rose concluded, her tone and matter both starkly hallow. “Let’s go home.”

None of the others, surprisingly not even Ford, argued with the pink Gem on this. Still, Fiddleford at the very least could tell that the author wanted to, his insistence to know what Rose refused to tell him was plain enough to see in his plaintiff expression alone. And yet, for whatever reason, Ford held his peace on the matter, instead silently following behind the Gems with his head down and his hands clenched into tight fists at his sides. Fiddleford always had a knack for spotting a pot that was about to boil over, and if there was any way to describe the tension currently standing between the author and the pink Gem in particular, it was that. Which meant that he could only hope that when it inevitably did, none of them would end up getting burned in its wake.

***

While both Fiddleford and the other Gems all shared the unspoken hope that the mood would finally lighten when they emerged from the crash site, much to their dismay it did anything but. In fact, if anything, Rose and Ford seemed to distance themselves even further, refusing to so much as even spare a glance at each other, lest their disagreement spike up once more. While the author’s manner was hard and bitter, the pink Gem’s expression seemed sad and pensive, though as different as their emotions were, they were equally matched in terms of disappointment.

This anxious stalemate seemed as though it was going to continue for the entire journey back from the crash site, a thought that was all but unbearable to the others. While this quest had started out on such a high, bright note, it seemed so unfortunate that, even despite their relative success in getting the hyperdrive, it was going to end on such a low, dour one. Which was why, even if the Gems didn’t share his own intention, Fiddleford decided to venture an attempt to at least get the author and the pink Gem on speaking terms again. A plan that he would have very well carried out had Ford not happened upon a discovery that would change the course of their entire trip altogether.

“Everyone, stay right where you are,” the author suddenly warned, stopping dead in his tracks. Curious, the others complied, turning towards him to see what the matter might have been. “No one make a single sound…” he whispered, his posture suddenly tense and his eyes wide as he stared through the thicket of trees straight ahead of them. While Garnet and Pearl exchanged a confused, yet quite glance at this, Amethyst, however, was easily the first to disregard that command entirely.

“What? What is it?” she asked bluntly, loudly. “Are we playin’ some kinda quiet game? Cause I thought we already have been doing that for hours now and-”

“Shhh!” Ford quickly reprimanded her, suddenly frantic. “I said quiet! The last thing we want to do is wake it up!”

“Wake what up, Stanford?” Fiddleford asked, his voice soft, yet aptly baffled.

By now, Rose had happened to catch a glimpse of what Ford had already seen, a small gasp escaping her as she pointed to the clearing straight ahead. “That.”

Fast asleep in the light of the sun pouring down upon it through the canopy of trees above was a creature, a monster that was nearly beyond all description. The beast was massive to say the least, easily larger than any of the Gems, even Rose herself. It was a burly, muscular, grotesque behemoth, its constant snores more akin to hulking growls as it rested tentatively, though it was clear that it could be ready to attack with its piercing claws and protruding fangs at a moment’s notice. An outcome that none of them wanted to see, especially considering exactly what this creature really was.

“A Gremloblin…” Ford was unable to keep himself from breaking into a bewildered grin at the sight of such an exciting discovery. “One of the rarest creatures in all of Gravity Falls! I’ve only ever read about them in old local lumberjack legends, I never thought I’d actually get to see one myself!”

“W-well, ya saw it, so we should probably get a goin’ before that thing stirs,” Fiddleford urged anxiously, refusing to take his eyes off the snoozing monster, lest it pounce when he wasn’t looking.

“Yes, yes, of course,” Ford agreed as he pulled his journal out of his coat. “After I jot down just a few cursory notes on it, maybe get a quick sketch…”

“Ford, I don’t think that’s a very good idea…” Rose noted with a concerned frown.

“Yes, those creatures are notoriously dangerous,” Pearl agreed. “We’ve fortunately never had to fight one before and we certainly wouldn’t want to have a reason to now.”

“And you won’t,” Ford assured, still creeping on ahead, pen already in hand. “I’ve heard Gremloblins are incredibly heavy sleepers, especially during their hibernation season, which just so happens to be during the summer months.”

“But Stanford-” Fiddleford pleaded tightly, nervously.

“Besides, I simply can’t pass up the opportunity to document such a unique find,” Ford continued, hardly listening to the others’ warnings. “I’ll make this quick, I promise.”

“Ford…” Rose admonished once more, though the author hardly listened as he continued inching forward. He had all but lost himself to sketching the monstrous Gremloblin out, engrossed in his research far more than his own safety, or the safety of his companions.

“M-Miss Quartz, can’t ya get him to give it a rest?” Fiddleford asked Rose as he cowered up against a nearby tree for cover. “If he wakes that critter up, he’ll get us all killed, for sure!”

“I don’t know about all that, but I do agree that this is far too dangerous,” the pink Gem stepped forward, ready to call upon her sword and shield, just in case, as she made another appeal to the author. “Ford, we should just leave that creature alone and move on before something bad happens.”

“Which will happen,” Garnet predicted firmly. “Trust me.”

“Then we’ll make sure to leave before it does,” Ford only barely glanced back over his shoulder.

“But that’s just it, you don’t know when it will happen!” Rose huffed, annoyed by the author’s insistent stubbornness. “We shouldn’t risk it, we need to leave, now.”

“Well you’re more than free to go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you when I’m done.”

While the pink Gem’s patience was usually seemingly boundless, it was more than clearly being tested here and now. “Stanford, why won’t you just listen to me?” she asked incredulously. “I’m trying to help you; I just want to keep you safe!”

“Oh how?” Ford asked just as bitingly as he turned to face her. “By denying me access to simple knowledge that would be invaluable to my research? Knowledge that I have a right to know, that I deserve to know!? Is that your idea of trying to ‘keep me safe’? Because if it is, then you should know that I never asked you to. In fact, I think you’ll find that I can handle much more than you give me credit for.”

“Ford…” Rose sighed, disgruntled and despondent. “You still don’t understand! And that’s exactly why you need to stop. A-and why… why I can’t tell you about…”

“About Homeworld?”

Rose flinched at this, unsure of what to even say. All the same, the author stared her down, silently demanding the truth this time, and refusing to settle for anything less. “S-Stanford… I-”

Before the pink Gem could even get another word out, the unthinkable happened. A sudden, ear-piercing alarm blared through the air, readily echoing throughout the trees with a seemingly unending shriek.

“Augh! What is that?!” Amethyst yelled over the deafening din.

“I think it’s the hyperdrive!” Pearl called, nodding over to Fiddleford’s backpack, where the device was still stowed. “The change in altitude while going down the mountain must have activated it!”

“H-how do we get it to stop?!” Fiddleford cried, ripping the bag off his back to peer in at the blaring, flashing device.

“We need to-” Garnet cut herself off with a gasp, her future vision catching an extremely important warning just in time. “Look out!” she shouted to Ford in particular. The author instantly spun around, clutching the journal close to his chest to see a massive clawed hand rushing right for him. The most Ford could really do was brace himself for a painful impact, though fortunately it never came as a certain pink Gem and her sturdy shimmering shield intercepted the devastating blow instead.

“T-the Gremloblin!” Ford exclaimed, stunned as he glanced past Rose, who still stood defensively between him and the now-rampaging creature. “It’s awake!”

“We need to get out of here!” the pink Gem urged, pressing hard against her shield try and ward the incredibly strong monster off.

“Can we turn that stupid wiperdrive off first?!” Amethyst asked with an irritated groan.

“We’re tryin to!” Fiddleford exclaimed as both him and Pearl desperately tampered with the screeching device to quiet it down. “D-darn thing won’t-”

Suddenly, the Gremloblin’s attention shifted away from Ford and Rose and to an entirely different direction instead: towards the inventor, or rather, the loudly whining device in his hands. Before any of the others could even react, the monster lashed out, swerving around the pair in front of it and reaching out to grab Fiddleford in its enormous, deadly claws in one single swipe. The hyperdrive fell out of his grasp and into Pearl’s, though the white Gem was quick to leap back, summoning her weapon alongside her teammates to face this fell beast.

“Fiddleford!” Ford exclaimed in apt alarm over the peril his friend was in. Peril that only seemed to grow as the Gremloblin’s grip on the terrified inventor tightened, its large golden eyes baring straight into his. Despite his initial thrashing and struggling, Fiddleford more or less went completely limp as his eyes took on the same blank pallor as the monster’s, a sign that he was helplessly lost to whatever sort of trance it had somehow put him under.

“Ford, hurry and take cover somewhere!” Rose ordered, brandishing her blade in preparation for the inevitable fight ahead. “We’ll take care of-”

The pink Gem cut herself off with a startled gasp as Ford suddenly rushed past her, armed only with his full canteen of water and the intent to do whatever he could to rescue Fiddleford from the Gremloblin’s clutches. “Wait!” Garnet warned, her future vision already showing the outcome of the author’s brazenness to her. “Don’t throw water at it! It’ll only-”

The fusion’s warning was largely unheard as Ford chucked his canteen forward with as much force as he could possibly muster. It struck the Gremloblin squarely on the head, completely dousing it all over. It was enough to monetarily startle the creature, but that surprise was immediately short-lived as it unleashed a massive, outraged roar of retaliation. As if in response to the water itself, the Gremloblin seemed to double, if not triple in size before their very eyes, growing spikes and tusks and even strong and sturdy wings. The unexpected transformation left the spectating group completely baffled, especially the author as he realized that his hastiness was essentially the direct cause of it.

“It’ll only get much harder to deal with,” Garnet finally finished bluntly.

“Now you tell me…” Ford huffed, disgruntled.

“Gems, let’s go!” Rose commanded swiftly, finally rallying her teammates into action against the monster. The Gremloblin kept its tight grip on Fiddleford as it let out another vicious growl, towering over all of the Gems as they raced for it with their respective weapons drawn. Hasty as always, Amethyst leapt for it first, swinging her whip loose and wildly to latch onto one of the monster’s mighty upper fangs. The purple Gem used her taunt weapon to launch herself upward, raring to land squarely on the creature’s face to inflict a heavy kick, but before she could, the Gremloblin turned her plan against her. Instead, it swung its head upwards hard, sending both Amethyst and her whip flying fast and far off into the forest, away from the fight altogether.

In light of the purple Gem’s easy defeat, Garnet and Pearl teamed up in their successive attack. The white Gem went high, gracefully jumping up towards the treetops to land on a sturdy perch above the creature while the fusion distracted it on the ground below. The Gremloblin showed no intentions of losing its prey, despite Garnet’s best attempts at reaching the inventor while dodging the monster’s violent swings all the while. The fusion’s strength was formidable, to be sure, but when pitted against a monster of such sheer size and ferocity as the Gremloblin, even Garnet herself was no match. All it took was for the creature to suddenly catch the fusion by her gauntlet before it flung her away, sending her plowing through the trees and knocking several over in her wake until she was completely out of sight. A mere moment later, the Gremloblin also caught sight of Pearl launching herself and her spear its way, though it easily managed to stop her as well by simply making eye contact with her alone. The white Gem let out a horrified gasp, her eyes reflecting the Gremloblin’s golden ones as she collapsed flat onto the ground, instantly curling up and wrapping her arms around herself as her breaths came out in short, shallow sobs.

“Pearl!” Rose cried, almost rushing to the white Gem’s side right then and there if not for the Gremloblin attempting to attack her next.

“What’s wrong?! What did it do to her and Fiddleford?” Ford demanded, noticing that the inventor was still completely petrified in the Gremloblin’s grasp.

“I’ve heard of this happening before,” Rose said tensely, her hold on her sword tightening. “Gremloblins can make anyone see their worst nightmares just by looking into their eyes. It’ll wear off eventually, but still, we need to get Fiddleford as far away from it as possible before it can get any worse!”

“Well, then, by all means, let’s-” the author stopped short as the Gremloblin let out yet another booming roar. And then, without any warning, it outstretched its mighty wings, lifting its hulking body off the ground with but a single flap. Rose and Ford only had time to rush forward in a thwarted attempt at rescuing the inventor before the Gremloblin took off in flight, taking Fiddleford right along with it as it began its descent down the nearby mountainside.

“No!” Ford shouted, not hesitating to chase after the beast, desperate to stop it before it could make off with his friend forever. And yet, before he could really begin his panicked pursuit, a steady hand grabbed him by the arm and swiftly pulled him back instead.

“Stay here!” Rose ordered as she summoned a new shield on her arm.

“No, I’m going with you!” the author exclaimed, adamant.

“No, you’re not! Its bad enough that one of you is in danger, I’m not risking you both.”

“You won’t be ‘risking’ anything,” Ford huffed in thorough annoyance. “I can handle something like this, you know I can. So why do you insist on acting like I can’t?!”

“Because you’re only a human!” Rose snapped, and just like that, everything shifted into stark silence.

Ford stilled, his eyes widening as he looked to the pink Gem with apt disbelief. “O-only human?”

“S-Stanford…” Rose immediately began to retract, instantly regretting her words. “I didn’t mean it like that, I-I… I just-”

“Tell me, Rose,” Ford began, his tone hard and filled with resolve as he pressed his way past the pink Gem. “Do you think a supposedly ‘simple’ human would be willing to do something like this?”

Without warning, the author suddenly sprinted off, completely unarmed and ready to take the Gremloblin on unarmed. He didn’t even bother to glance over his shoulder to see if Rose was following him, largely since he didn’t care. Regardless of whether or not she wanted him to, he was going to save Fiddleford. He was going to prove to both her and to himself that even if he was ‘only’ human, he was so much more than that as well.

Fortunately, the Gremloblin hadn’t gotten too far away as it drifted down the craggy mountain’s face. It was a rather sharp descent, but one that Ford was willing to make for Fiddleford’s sake, tearing his coat and scraping himself bloody as he half-tripped, half-ran down it. For a moment, the author dared to hope that he actually had a chance at catching up to the monster, but just before he could reach it, it turned hard, changing its course so that it was flying away from the mountain instead of simply down it. Ford skidded to a sharp stop, though only for a moment, refusing to let this be the end of the chase. Instead, he acted on impulse and adrenaline, backing up briefly before running full stop towards the nearest ledge. The author was nothing if not a man of science, so all the while, he was rushing through a number of calculations in his head, determining just how far he’d have to jump and exactly what his odds of actually making it might be. The results on both accounts were daunting, but even so, they didn’t stop him from taking the leap all the same. With a courageous shout, Ford pushed himself off the mountainside, keeping the Gremloblin and Fiddleford both in his sights all the while as he sailed through the air towards them. For a brief moment, at least.

For soon enough, gravity inevitably enacted itself upon the author, stopping his forward momentum as he all too quickly began plummeting downward. The base of the mountain was hundreds of feet below him, and Ford didn’t even have to think twice to know the impact would be agonizing. But fortunately, it was an impact that never came as he landed softly in a pair of soft, outstretched arms instead.

The moment Rose caught him amidst his freefall, Ford’s heart practically sunk immeasurably. So much for trying to prove himself to her, for in his reckless hastiness, here she had come, once again, to rescue him from peril, just as she so often had to do. However, as she began to float gently back down towards the mountain, her expression was anything but admonishing; instead it was sad, remorseful as she averted the author’s gaze altogether and spoke softly as they touched down. “Only a human like you would be brave enough to risk his life for his friend,” the pink Gem shook her head and laughed as she looked down at him. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize it until now. Maybe you really can handle it after all…”

“R-Rose?”

“B-but now isn’t really the time for that, is it?” she asked, her tone turning upbeat and determined as she set her sights on the fleeing Gremloblin high above them. “Let’s do this, Stanford, together this time.”

As baffled as he was, the author couldn’t help but return the pink Gem’s smile as he noted her warm sincerity. Which was why he allowed her to take the literal leap high into the air with him in tow, easily gaining enough height and speed to catch up to the soaring Gremloblin. They landed squarely on its back, though the moment the monster sensed their weight, it went into a frenzy. Rose and Ford struggled to keep their footing as the creature tried everything it could to shake them off its back, from twirling to divebombing and everything in between. Even so, they kept their wits about them, Ford in particular as he managed to crawl forward towards the monster’s head. In trying to simply stay on the Gremloblin herself as she was, Rose was quite surprised when she glanced ahead, only to find the author perched on the monster’s back as he, oddly enough, drew his journal out of his lab coat of all things. And, in one swift move, he reeled the book back before slamming it hard into the back of the Gremloblin’s head.

Despite his strong, muscular, monstrous form, the creature recoiled in pain from the surprisingly heavy blow. Miraculously enough, it managed to knock the beast out cold entirely, though as a result, its wings immediately went limp. Ford only briefly let out a gasp of alarm as the monster’s unconscious form began careening madly through the air towards the ground far below, but once again, Rose raced to his rescue just in the nick of time.

Acting quickly, the pink Gem swept the author into her arms before doing the very same with the still quite listless Fiddleford. With both humans safe and secure in her grasp, Rose leapt from the plummeting beast’s back, floating slowly down towards the ground as the Gremloblin fell at a much faster rate. The pink Gem and the author watched with wide eyes as the now-defeated beast crashed into the roof of a barn out in the countryside, one that they landed not too far away from themselves.

“Well…” Ford mused as Rose released both him and Fiddleford, carefully setting the inventor down in the grass so he could recover. “I have to say that was a bit sloppy… but still successful all the same.”

“Sloppy?” Rose asked with an incredulous chuckle. “Ford, that was amazing! Still, I can’t help but feel bad for that poor Gremloblin. After all, it was just trying to rest peacefully…”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” the author assured. “After all, I hear those things are… frustratingly hearty.” As if to prove him right, a familiar growl began to sound from inside the barn, accompanied by a chorus of panicked horses, cows, and various other livestock. “A-actually, we should probably get going before we have to go through this all over again…”

Rose didn’t argue, gently scooping Fiddleford up once again as they hurried out of the monster’s range. Their next goal, to regroup with the rest of the scattered Gems, recover the hyperdrive and finally get home from this lengthy quest, was clear, and that’s exactly what the pair set out to do. Along the way, Fiddleford finally began to slip out of his stupor, though as soon as he did, it was immediately apparent that not all was well with the inventor in the aftermath of his horrific encounter with the fearsome Gremloblin. For much of the trek back up the mountain, Fiddleford was all but incoherent, babbling frantically to himself as Rose carried him to spare his still-unsteady legs from having to walk. Even after a round of precautionary healing tears from the pink Gem herself, the inventor’s shaken manner hardly changed. He was still quite distant and anxious (even more anxious than he usually had a tendency to be), traits that Pearl also shared when the trio found her and the hyperdrive still sitting in the same exact spot in the woods where they had left her. Rose and Ford chalked their worrisome behavior up to the Gremloblin’s nightmarish gaze, and carried the hope that they’d recover from it soon enough, something that Garnet was able to confirm when they met up with her and Amethyst once more. Yet all the same, despite Fiddleford’s tense, fretful silence, Ford still happened to glean one quiet, bitterly muttered thought from his friend as they all parted ways upon making it home that evening. Something about finding a way to forget that it had all ever happened in the first place.

***

In light of the harrowing adventure they had just returned from, Ford was very grateful to find a moment’s rest to catch up on recording his notes on it in the journal. The author had taken to his favorite writing spot, on a surprisingly comfy stone halfway up the hill to the Gem’s temple, one that gave him a quiet, serene spot to jot down his thoughts and observations. He had just about finished documenting his and Rose’s surprisingly swift victory against the Gremloblin, when the pink Gem herself decided to join him.

At first, Rose said nothing as she took a seat on the rock beside him, her pink curls shifting softly in the late evening breeze. And aside from a brief glance her way, Ford simply continued writing, unsure of what to really say to her in light of all that had happened. Fortunately though, he didn’t have to think of anything, as Rose spoke up first instead.

“You know, it’s so funny,” she began with a small laugh that almost sounded bitter in a way. “I’ve spent so long trying to not to be like them, but even after thousands of years, I guess I still have a few things in common with them after all.”

“...With... who?” Ford ventured, slightly worried that, once again, he wouldn’t get a concrete answer. However, much to his surprise, a concrete answer was exactly what Rose finally gave him.

“With... with Homeworld,” the pink Gem sighed, turning her gaze up to the early stars above. “They used to keep things from me—f-from... lesser Gems too. Said we ‘didn’t need to know’ what they did. I always thought it was so unfair. So... in a way, I suppose I understand how you feel whenever I do the same thing to you.”

“...Oh,” was all Ford said, wisely choosing not to press Rose with any further questions on the matter. After all, his own brashness and stubborn craving for answers the pink Gem hadn’t been ready to give had already created something of a rift between them. A rift that the author had no intentions of widening any more than he already had.

“Homeworld... wasn’t exactly a place where Gems could just... be whatever or whoever they wanted to be...” Rose explained slowly, carefully. “There was no freedom, no fun... no love. That’s why, when I first came here and found out that this planet was filled with those things, I knew from the start that the Earth, that freedom, and fun, and love, were all well worth protecting. But they—H-Homeworld, didn’t see things the same way. They wanted to use the Earth to make more of us, to turn it into another one of their countless colonies. If they had their way, it... it would have destroyed the Earth and every single living thing that calls it home. A-and I just couldn’t stand by and let that happen! Which was why I decided to take a stand against them, me and all of the other Gems who felt the same way about the Earth. We came together and fought against Homeworld with everything we had. Like I said before, we left Homeworld behind entirely, all so we could finally exist somewhere else. So we could all be something else...”

“The Crystal Gems...?” Ford inferred, trying his best to hide the initial shock from such a heavy revelation.

Rose nodded thoughtfully. “Back then there were more than just four of us. But... well, what happened to the others is... a very long story in and of itself.”

“i see...” the author’s brow furrowed as he took stock of the pink Gem’s expression, noting the hints of longstanding pain and guilt within it. “I always thought that the four of you had arrived on Earth as part of some exploratory mission and just decided to stay here after all the others left. But now... knowing the truth... I... I suppose I never could have imagined something like, well, that.”

“It’s... not something I like thinking back on...” Rose said, looking down fretfully.

“That’s... understandable,” Ford nodded, suddenly quite remorseful. “Rose, I... I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I just... Well, you know how stubborn I can be when it comes to my research.”

“I wouldn’t call it ‘stubborn’,” the pink Gem finally smirked. “I’d call it... ‘determined’. And that determination was something you definitely put to the test earlier today. Which is why I’m so, so sorry for doubting you before. I thought I was just trying to protect you, but you were right all along; you really can handle more than I gave you credit for.”

“Don’t feel too bad about it,” Ford remarked with a small, joking grin. “You wouldn’t be the first to underestimate me, after all.”

Noting the author’s playful manner, Rose was unable to hold back a hearty laugh over this, one that Ford was more than happy to share. Despite the danger they faced earlier in the day, neither of them could deny that the struggles and trials of it all had indeed given way to a newfound sense of trust between them. The author already had an abundance of respect for the pink Gem, perhaps from even the very first day he had met her two years ago. But that respect had indeed been tested to the limits when she had so openly refused to see him as her equal. It was only when Rose herself decided to take on the same sort of respect Ford had for her towards him that the pair, all differences aside, were finally able to truly see eye-to-eye. And, as they’d both come to find out, that respect would be tried and tested time and time again, wavered and torn through portals, and demons, and a tragic separation. Yet even through it all, that respect, though constantly in flux between growing and shrinking, surprisingly was never once broken.

***

“So that’s it?” Peridot cut in the moment it was apparently that Ford, McGucket, and the other Gems had wrapped up their story. “You just went out to that ‘Crash Site Omega’, went in, got your hyperdrive (which is incredibly outdated tech, by the way, I can't believe you managed to find any sort of use for it!), fought a monster, and then went home? How boring!”

“Aw, shucks, it sure wasn’t borin’ at the time!” McGucket exclaimed. “’Specially not that nasty Grem-whosa-whats-it. I can guarantee firsthand that thing was a horrifyin’ freak of nature!”

“So can we, since we fought it off one time too!” Mabel chimed in with a daring grin.

“Excuse me, you what?” Ford asked, instantly concerned upon hearing this.

“Eh, we can tell you about that some other time,” Dipper quickly brushed it off. “For now, I kinda can’t help but think that your story sounds... kinda familiar.”

“Oh yeah!” Steven agreed, turning to the Gems. “Mom being all secretive about Homeworld is basically you guys used to do to us. That… honestly explains a lot, actually…”

“We had our reasons,” Garnet said simply. “So did Rose.”

“And at least we did open up to you all about it… eventually,” Pearl added.

“Yeah, and it didn’t take a hundred million annoying questions to get us to do it either,” Amethyst said, taking an obvious jab at Ford.

“W-well, what can I say?” the author huffed defensively. “I’ll be the first to admit that I was much more… impetuous when I was younger-”

“Impetuous?” McGucket repeated with a laugh. “Stanford, don’t go lyin’ to these youngsters. You were as stubborn as stubborn comes!”

“Not stubborn,” Garnet spoke up, offering the author a small smile. “Determined, just like Rose said.”

“Exactly,” Ford grinned, satisfied. “Determined. Much like you kids are, come to think of it.”

“Determined enough to… oh, I don’t know…” Dipper began rather leadingly. “Tell us what and where Crash Site Omega actually is?”

“Nice try,” the author said knowingly. “But no. Well… at least not yet, anyway.”

“A ‘not yet’, huh?” Mabel looked to Steven and Dipper with an encouraging grin. “Well, that’s not a total no, so its good enough for me!”

“Not for me,” Peridot remarked, crossing her arms and shaking her head. “I’m still not over the fact that you used a Temporal Displacement Hyperdrive, of all things! What kind of relic of a machine were you even trying to build that would need a power source that’s so… so ancient?”

Ford, McGucket, and the Gems exchanged a bit of a worried glance at this, knowing that the true answer to this question held countless missteps and horrors all their own. Yet even if the portal itself had ended in disaster, none of them could deny that the road to get them to its completion had been filled with countless ups and downs and unique stories to tell. It had been a path paved with memories, many of them quite fond, memories that they were all mutually glad to finally have back, even if restoring them had awakened moments they would have just as well left back in the past. But if there was any one thing they could all agree on, it was that they were still glad to have those memories, those adventurous, daring days of discovery and friendship back, tying them together into the team they used to be once more. Which was why it was with a small smile that Ford replied to the green Gem’s question, silently agreeing with the others to leave the pains of the past behind to embrace the best of the present, and the road to the future, instead. “None of us need to worry about that anymore. After all, there are some stories that are better left… untold.”

#jen writes #universe falls #steven universe #gravity falls #crossover #au #ford #rose quartz #amethyst #pearl #garnet #mcgucket #dipper #mabel #steven #peridot #crash site omega #fanfiction

11 notes · View notes