#to be fair to him that was a very good resignation speech

[pinktinselmonstrosity]

"that sense of kindness, decency, and tolerance, that has always been the british way" not sure i agree with you there rishi

[ashmitasapkota]

Political Campaign Strategy of Gokul Baskota

-a political leader of Nepal

Gokul Baskota is a Nepali politician. He belongs to the political party CPN UML. He served as Minister of Communication and Information Technology of Nepal and is currently serving as the member of House of Representatives elected from Kavrepalanchok-2, province number 3 for the second term. He was born on August 29, 1970 on Kavrepalanchok district. He has spent his childhood in Kavrepalanchok. Later in his teenage days, his father shifted to Kathmandu.

Gokul Baskota is frequently known for his uncharacteristically brash attitude, using derogatory language towards political opponents, and remarks for attacking the free press. An audio clip of Baskota bargaining for 700 million in bribes with an agent of a Swiss company based on Kathmandu over the procurement of security printing for government was leaked to media outlets. He was accused of demanding Rs 700 million bribe in exchange for a contract to print e-passports in Nepal. He subsequently resigned from his ministerial position. He has opened the way for fair investigation. No any proof of guilty has found on him. Then, he shortly filed a defamation lawsuit against Mr. Vijay Mishra.

He has win the election held on Mansir-4, 2079 BS and been elected as a member of House of Representatives from Kavrepalanchok-2. He has received 45,345 votes. He beat his nearest rival Shiva Prasad Humagain of the Nepali Congress by 5,863 votes. He has been re-elected here 2nd time.

What makes him re-elected?

Many outsiders thinks, after such the blame against him of 700 million how can he again win the election. But us the residents of Kavrepalanchok-2 has eye witnessed his followers inside the Kavre and very sure of his victory again as well. The main reason most people liked him here is his truth specking capability. He appeared in media as a fighter. Every time the opponents backbite him, he faces it with weight in speech. He is a kind of manipulator as well. He knows what the people needs. He fights with the words of opponent in a funny way. So that the people don’t take much grudge on him.

Apart from this, many constructive work has been done after he elected as house of representative in kavrepalanchok. Hospital is going on under construction. Roads here are being pitched. People has got the sufficient facility of education and water supply and many more.

Beside this, he has good ability to attract the media and its audience. He has utilized the local media during the political campaign before election. He clearly knows that it is very important to utilize the local media for attracting the local audience. He knows local media works effectively in political campaigning rather the national media in his case. Because many common people listens the local media because they have more concerns in local issues rather than in national issues. Baskota has used the local media of Kavrepalanchok district to convey his messages to the audience of Kavre district.

He even reach at each one’s home and convey his messages to the voters. He mostly talks about his previous activities during the political campaign. He convey the voters that if he will again win, he will work for the betterment of Kaveli like he has done before. His good sense of humor and direct specking behavior also helps in influencing the voters. This is because most people prefer humor and direct specking person.

Conclusion

From all the above discussions, it is clearly known that Gokul Baskota effectively use the local media as a political campaign tool.

[ausetkmt]

A Florida Judge Finds a New Job: Defending an Inmate - The New York Times

At first, Judge Scott Cupp was a resolute, hard-core, you-gotta-be-joking skeptic. During his years as a defense lawyer, he had heard from dozens of inmates who swore they had been wrongly convicted, and he never believed a single one. So in 2002, when he learned about a guy named Leo Schofield, who by then had already served 13 years of a life sentence for murdering his wife, he didn’t need to hear the details.

“I thought if this guy’s innocent, I’m the Queen of Sheba,” he said in a recent interview.

For the record, Judge Cupp looks nothing like any depictions of the Queen of Sheba. At 66, he has gray hair and a fluffy gray beard that gives him the appearance of a trimmed-down Santa Claus, and when agitated he lets fly curse words not found in the Bible. (“I can get a little saucy, so you can edit some of this, right?”)

But today it is not enough to say Judge Cupp merely believes Leo Schofield is innocent; he considers Mr. Schofield’s imprisonment a grotesque mistake. Anyone wondering how Judge Cupp made the journey from total doubter to ardent crusader should seek out “Bone Valley,” a nine-part podcast released last year, which recounts Mr. Schofield’s story in harrowing, infuriating detail. The show is part of the true-crime podcast bonanza, fueled by the very human urge for stories in which sanity and justice ultimately prevail.

Here comes a spoiler: “Bone Valley” is not that kind of story. Mr. Schofield is still in prison. Which so irritates Judge Cupp that freeing him will soon become his full-time and unpaid job. In a move that is certain to confound more than a few colleagues, Judge Cupp will resign his seat on the 20th Judicial Circuit Court in Charlotte County, Fla. — he has been a judge since 2014 — and dedicate all of his working days to springing Mr. Schofield from behind bars.

“I’m leaving money on the table,” he said in a 90-minute video interview, noting that he could have remained in his current role for nine more years. But he doesn’t have any debt, his children are grown and he lives comfortably on 26 acres with plenty of woods and a pond.

“In a way, what I’m about to do is selfish,” he went on, “because it’s for my own psyche. I need to do this. I have to do this.”

Did you know you can share 10 gift articles a month, even with nonsubscribers?

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“Bone Valley” has been a triumph for Lava for Good, a production company that focuses on social justice issues. It has been downloaded 4.5 million times, reaching No. 7 on Apple’s podcast chart and turning up on best-of-the-year lists.

Lava for Good has not released financial figures, so it’s hard to know if “Bone Valley” went beyond winning hearts and minds and turned a profit, a feat that has only gotten harder as the podcast market has grown more crowded. The company’s co-founders, Jason Flom and Jeff Kempler, who initially created Lava Records, signing artists like Lorde and Kid Rock, say they are primarily interested in different kinds of results.

“For us the most important measure of success is in outcomes,” Mr. Kempler wrote in an email, “in specific cases we cover, in laws and policies, in the election of fair and progressive prosecutors.”

“Bone Valley” is reported and narrated by Gilbert King, the author of the book “Devil in the Grove,” the nonfiction account of four Black men falsely accused of raping a white woman in central Florida in 1949, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2013. Mr. King, who lives in Brooklyn, thought he was done with the Sunshine State until he visited Naples in 2018 to give a speech to the Florida Conference of Circuit Judges.

Judge Cupp attended by mistake, thinking Gilbert Gottfried, the now-deceased stand-up comic, was doing a set to add levity to the program. He quickly abandoned his plan to exit early and had a very different thought: This is the guy.

For more than a decade, he had been searching for a writer to dig into the case that preoccupied him. When Mr. King was done speaking, Judge Cupp approached and handed over his business card. On the back he had jotted down Mr. Schofield’s name and Florida Department of Corrections number.

“Not just wrongfully convicted,” he had added in a scrawl. “He’s an innocent man.”

A few days later, Mr. King called. Judge Cupp explained that during his defense lawyer days, he had overcome his initial doubts about Mr. Schofield and represented him in 2005, based on new evidence. He still failed to persuade prosecutors that they had imprisoned the wrong man. Soon after, he became a prosecutor himself and later joined the bench. But he never forgot this case.

“God help us if we can’t get this right,” he told Mr. King on the phone. Just read the trial transcripts, the judge suggested.

“I saw problems with the state’s case right away,” Mr. King recalled. Under the government’s theory, the murder occurred in the Schofield home, a single-wide trailer. “But multiple crime units did not find a single drop of blood in the place. How is that possible?”

The case dated to 1987, when the body of 18-year-old Michelle Schofield was discovered in a drainage canal in Lakeland, Fla., with 26 stab wounds. Suspicion quickly fell on her husband of just six months, a house painter who also played lead guitar in a bar band.

At the trial, prosecutors tarred Mr. Schofield as a violent hothead — he had struck Ms. Schofield on several occasions, the acts of an overly possessive husband, he said — and a neighbor said she had seen him on the night of the murder, moving a large object from his home that could have been a body. Mr. Schofield was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

“Honestly, I think I was numb,” Mr. Schofield says in a face-to-face interview for the podcast conducted in the prison, describing his reaction to the verdict. “I was so numb and beat down and disgusted I don’t think sadness was the reaction for me. For me, I was incredulous that this could even be taking place.”

Notably missing from the government’s case was any physical evidence linking Mr. Schofield to the crime. But fingerprints had been found in his wife’s car. Figuring out whom they belonged to became a fixation for Crissie Carter, a social worker who had met Mr. Schofield in prison when he assisted her in life skill classes she taught to inmates. In 1995, the two married, a turn of events that Ms. Carter, who now goes by Carter-Schofield, could scarcely believe herself.

“I didn’t know how to talk about it for years,” she said in a phone interview. “And the very few people I did share this with didn’t want to talk to me, because they thought there was something wrong with me.”

One of those former friends was a police officer, Synda Maynard, who was then married to Scott Cupp. In 2004, Ms. Carter-Schofield spent months begging, pleading and whining to persuade a very skeptical Officer Maynard to seek a match for the fingerprints recovered in Ms. Schofield’s car.

A few weeks later, Officer Maynard called with startling news. The prints belonged to Jeremy Scott, a deeply troubled, mentally diminished and violent man who, it turned out, had regularly taken a former girlfriend to the very secluded place where Ms. Schofield’s body was found. He was serving a life sentence for robbing and beating a man to death with a grape juice bottle.

When Mr. Cupp learned about the prints, he agreed to become Mr. Schofield’s lawyer, expecting that the prosecution would soon produce a face-saving plea deal and bring the life sentence to a swift end.

“I thought the case had unraveled for the state and Leo’s going to get out,” he said. “Wrong, wrong, wrong.”

Mr. Schofield stayed put, even after Mr. Scott took the stand at an evidentiary hearing in 2017 and confessed under oath.

Mr. Schofield has since earned a bachelor’s degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and leads a prison ministry attended by 150 inmates every Sunday. He has never had a private moment with his wife of nearly 30 years, let alone a conjugal visit. The daughter the couple adopted in 2000 now has two children of her own. His disciplinary record is as close to spotless as it gets for someone who has spent decades in penitentiaries.

But on three occasions, lawyers for the state attorney’s office have shown up at parole board hearings to argue that Mr. Schofield is a remorseless killer who should die in prison. And someone from that office will apparently attend hearing No. 4, scheduled for sometime in March or April.

“If we thought that Leo Schofield, or any other inmate, was innocent, we would take immediate action to right that injustice,” said Jacob S. Orr, chief assistant state attorney for Florida’s 10th Judicial Circuit. “However, the state cannot ignore the overwhelming amount of evidence that has proven Leo Schofield guilty.”

Mr. Orr attached a two-page document of detailed talking points. “It seems this is an attempt to promote a podcast,” reads one sentence.

That’s a line that Judge Cupp has heard before.

“I hope to God somebody says that in my presence,” he said during the interview, talking about the upcoming parole hearing. “Yeah, we’re just rolling in dough here.”

He and Mr. Schofield have become friends, bonded by the latter’s struggle and their shared Christian faith. In a bonus episode released last week, Judge Cupp visits Mr. Schofield at Hardee Correctional Institution to ask permission to represent him again. In a subsequent interview with Mr. King, Mr. Schofield says he’s happy to have his superhero back.

It might take superheroics to free Mr. Schofield. Or maybe the state will be daunted by the media spectacle the next parole hearing is sure to be and skip the proceeding. Prosecutors are under no obligation to attend.

Either way, Judge Cupp is ready. Asked why he had left behind a comfortable career and a steady paycheck, and why he would succeed where previous lawyers had failed, he paused for a moment, as though contemplating a barbell he was eager to bench press.

“I am done sitting idly by and letting the state assault this man,” he said. “And that’s what they’ve done. They’ve lied about him. They’ve assaulted his character. And I’m not taking it any more, on his behalf.”

[animeboye]

Dragon's World Past Chapter 1

Chapter 1: My Name is Saulstrance

Six years later, an exam was held by one of the rulers of the dragon realm, the Leader, Léruc. Six very young dragons were gathered at their Leader’s hall. The purpose for this exam was to determine three possible candidates who would go on to study under their Leader. Eventually, the Leader would determine one of the three who would go on to become his or her apprentice and if the chosen dragon wished, they could also become the Leader’s Champion or even take the Leader’s place if they passed away or resigned. Normally, the Leader in question would appoint someone they knew and trusted, such as a friend or member of their clan. It wasn’t too often that they held exams.

The six dragons were all very anxious. Each one strongly believed his or her self to be the one who would become Lord Léruc’s apprentice. Among these dragons was a small orange dragon named Saulstrance. Having been raised by Léruc since birth, he wasn’t sure why his master would have him take part in the exams. Saulstrance assumed that, perhaps Léruc didn’t want the other hatchlings to think that Saulstrance was receiving special treatment.

The dragons talked amongst each other until it was time for Léruc to give his speech. As he stepped forward, followed by his two guards, the hatchlings became quiet. Léruc carefully observed each of the six dragons before speaking. The old dragon noted the confidence in these childrens’ eyes which he found greatly admirable. Afterwards, he cleared his throat and spoke.

“In the beginning, we had eighteen young, bright eyed dragons before us. We are now down to six. The six of you have all shown great promise and if I had the choice, I would accept each and every one of you as my pupils. But, as per tradition, only three of you will go on to study under me. Thus brings us to the next and final part of the exam: a tournament. You will battle each other one on one in a series of three battles. The victors of each battle will go on to become my pupils. Remember: these fights aren’t just about defeating your enemy. They are also a chance for you to demonstrate your powers as well as your ability to plan. Devise your plan of attack not just before battle but also during. Fight well, little dragons.”

Once Léruc had finished his speech, the six dragons applauded. The dragon Leader introduced in which order their matches would play out. The first match was between two dragonesses named Eig’nia and Mayza

Eig’nia was a small dragoness with silver scales and piercing golden eyes. Mayza was also about the same height as Eig’nia. She had cerulean scales and dark blue eyes.

“Before the battle begins, close your eyes and lower your heads.”  Léruc commanded.

The little dragonesses did as they were instructed. This was seen as a sign of respect for your opponent in wishing them a good, fair fight. When that was done, the two of them took their stances and prepared to fight.

“Good luck, Mayza.” Said Eig’nia with a smile.

“You too, Eig’nia!” Mayza smiled back.

Mayza leapt forward, swinging her tail at Eig’nia. Eig’nia jumped back, just barely missing being hit by her opponent. A fireball spluttered from Eig’nia’s throat. Mayza rolled out of its way. She jumped up and swiped her claws at Eig’nia, scratching her face. A little bit of blood trickled down Eig’nia’s face as her cheek stung slightly.

“Oww!” She whined, putting a paw over her cheek to stop it from stinging too much.

“Oops!” Mayza giggled. “Sorry, Eig’nia!”

“That’s okay.” Eig’nia smiled deviously. Without any warning, Eig’nia suddenly shot a fireball of her own at Mayza. Without thinking, Mayza leapt out of the way and before she could get back up, Eig’nia pounced on top of her. The cerulean colored little dragon struggled to get free as her foe laughed triumphantly.

“I got you, Mayza! Say uncle!” Eig’nia demanded.

“No!” Mayza exclaimed.

“Say it!” Eig’nia demanded again.

“No!!” Mayza exclaimed again.

“Okay then…” Eig’nia said in a singsong voice.

Eig’nia leaned in closer to Mayza so that their heads were just a few inches from each others’. Eig’nia puckered her lips up as slowly drool started to leak out. Noticing this, Mayza gasped and struggled even harder to get free. She stopped for a moment and noticed that Eig’nia’s drool was getting closer to her face. Moaning in fear and disgust, she soon realized that she didn’t have any other options. It was either give up or get drooled on. Neither one sounded good to her but at least if she gave up, she wouldn’t have another dragon’s spit on her face.

Before she could say “I give up” though, it was too late. Eig’nia’s saliva spilled onto the side of Mayza’s muzzle. Poor Mayza shuttered in disgust before letting out a long, ear piercing scream which gave her enough of a chance to kick Eig’nia off of her and send her flying back. Mayza jumped up and quickly rubbed her paw against her face to try and get the spit off.

“Eww, eww eww!” Mayza exclaimed, wiping Eig’nia’s drool away with the back of her paw.

As Eig’nia stood up, Mayza glared at her as she tried to wipe the spit that was now on her paw off on the ground.

“That’s it…” Mayza said, sounding like she meant business.

“I QUIT!!!” Cried Mayza, about to storm away. But before she could get too far, she was asked by Eig’nia to wait. The little dragon turned around as Eig’nia went up to her.

“I’m sorry about that. Really.” Eig’nia apologized.

Mayza frowned at Eig’nia but that frown soon turned into a smile. She nuzzled her face against Eig’nia’s to show her that she wasn’t angry with her.

“It’s okay. It was still pretty gross though.” Mayza chuckled.

“Yeah. I guess it was.” Eig’nia chuckled back.

With their battle finished, the two dragonesses shook tails, congratulating each other on a good battle. Although she was sad that she wouldn’t be able to learn under Léruc, she was also happy at the same time. She didn’t understand why she felt this way but she was glad she did. She left the hall with a grateful smile on her muzzle, and whispered “Good luck, Eig’nia” to herself.  Mayza looked back just one last time to hear Léruc announce the winner of the fight.

“Eig’nia, the first victory goes to you. While it was a rather…disgusting victory, it is a victory nonetheless. Besides, you used intimidation on your opponent which is also a way to win a battle.” Léruc announced.

“Thank you sir.” Eig’nia said, bowing in respect.

“And now, we begin the second battle. Tourajé will battle Roasch.” Announced Léruc.

Tourajé was slightly older than the other dragons there. While most of the other dragons there were around five or six, Tourajé was ten. He had dark brown scales and reddish brown eyes. Roasch was also older than the other dragons and was only two years older than his opponent. He had dark grey scales and purple eyes.

The two of them closed their eyes and bowed their heads. With a wide smile on his muzzle, Roasch wished Tourajé a good fight, the latter doing the same.

Tourajé swiped at Roasch with his claws. Roasch rolled out of the way and swung his tail at Tourajé who dropped down, barely avoiding being hit by it. Tourajé leapt up and launched a fireball at Roasch who took to the air and flew high above the others. Tourajé followed suit, spreading his wings and launching himself into the air. He chased after Roasch, shooting several fireballs at him. The grey little dragon swooped down out of the way and flew past Tourajé.

The two dragons flew throughout the hall, colliding into and shooting streams of fire at each other each chance they got. They did this for awhile until finally they landed back on the ground. They headbutted each other, Roasch’s horns resting above Tourajé’s. Roasch and Tourajé struggled, each one trying to overpower the other. Everyone kept a careful eye on the two young dragons as they continued to struggle back and forth. Tourajé would push Roasch back a bit and vice versa.  This continued until Roasch summoned most of his strength and managed to send Tourajé toppling back. Immediately, Roasch tackled his opponent, sending him flying backwards.

Tourajé landed on his wings, causing the little dragon some pain in his back. Slowly, his wings moved from under his back and spread out on the ground. Before he could get back on all fours, Roasch leapt on top of him, stepping on his wings and his hind legs to prevent him from moving. Tourajé struggled to get free while at the same time, trying to make sure he didn’t end up ripping the leather in his wings.

“Give it up, Tourajé! Keep struggling and you’ll end up wrecking your wings.” Said Roasch proudly.

Tourajé tried to think of something. He thought that he might be able to use his fire but that probably wouldn’t be enough to get Roasch off of him. He couldn’t move his front or his back legs and he definitely couldn’t fly out of this predicament. Then suddenly, something caught his attention. He hadn’t realized it before because his mind was too focused on trying to get free: Roasch hadn’t stopped his tail from moving. Tourajé smiled as Roasch took notice of this. He was surprised that his opponent would be smiling. Who would smile during something like this and especially when they were about to lose? It didn’t make any sense to Roasch.

“Why are you smiling?” Asked Roasch.

“Because I’m about to win.” Tourajé answered confidently.

“What are you talking about?” Roasch asked again, not understanding what he meant.

Tourajé wrapped his tail around Roasch’s left leg. With a tug of his tail, Roasch lost his balance and fell to the ground, allowing Tourajé the chance he needed to get back to his feet. With his tail still wrapped around Roasch’s leg, he braced himself and flung Roasch overhead, sending him crashing several feet in front of him.

Slowly, Roasch struggled to stand up. But before he could, Tourajé opened his wings and flew a few feet into the air, right above Roasch. He stopped flapping his wings and plummeted, body slamming into Roasch and knocking him out. Tourajé lay next to his unconscious opponent, panting, tired from his battle. He was amazed by how well he and Roasch fought.

“Good fight…Roasch.” Said Tourajé weakly.

“Tourajé, it is my honor to declare you the victor of the second battle. You and Roasch both battled spectacularly. Each of you fought hard and when presented with the chance, you took it upon yourself to finish the fight by knocking out your opponent.” Léruc said.

“Thank you sir.” Tourajé smiled, feeling happier than ever to be complimented by the Leader of his village.

Léruc ordered two of his men to take Roasch and Tourajé to the resting chambers so that the final fight could commence. The last fight of the exams was between Saulstrance and a green dragon named Shashala. While all the dragons there wanted desperately to become their Leader’s protégé, Shashala probably wanted it the most out of all of them. He always aimed to be the best at anything he did and saw getting to become Léruc’s apprentice as the ultimate chance to prove himself to everyone. No matter what, he wasn’t going to lose. He was going to get that third spot.

“Saulstrance, I hope you don’t hate me after our fight’s over.” Shashala said snidely.

“Why would I hate you?” Asked a confused Saulstrance.

“Well you see Saulstrance, you’re the one everyone thinks is most likely to win since you were raised by Lord Léruc. However, since I’m your opponent, that won’t happen. I’m going to beat you and get the third spot as Lord Léruc’s apprentice. And maybe if Lord Léruc is feeling nice, he’ll let you study with us every now and then.” Shashala boasted.

Saulstrance rolled his eyes. There was no way he could allow himself to lose to someone so annoying. No matter what it took, he was going to beat this guy and acquire the third spot as Lord Léruc’s apprentice, just like Saulstrance knew his master wanted.

The two dragons bowed but neither of them closed their eyes. Saulstrance kept his head up slightly, glaring at Shashala with an annoyed look on his face. Shashala noticed this but didn’t pay any mind. He thought the same thing that Saulstrance was thinking: he was going to get that third spot and become Lord Léruc’s apprentice and no one, especially some orphan dragon, no matter if he was raised by Lord Léruc was going to take that from him.

Saulstrance and Shashala opened their wings and took to the air. Fire and lighting filled the hall, striking the walls and the ground with one stray bolt of lighting almost striking Eig’nia.  Léruc ordered Eig’nia to come over to him so that she’d be safer. He worried that this fight could get a bit out of hand. Eig’nia ran as fast as she could, avoiding occasional fireballs and lighting bolts. She stood right beside her master as he placed a wing over her to keep her safe.

The two dragons dropped back to the ground. Saulstrance drove his fist into Shashala’s face and the latter bit into Saulstrance’s left front leg as deeply as he could. To get him off, Saulstrance released a stream of fire from his throat, aiming it right in Shashala’s face. Shashala roared in pain, releasing his jaw’s grip on Saulstrance’s leg and falling backward.

With a mighty swing of his tail, Saulstrance smacked Shashala in the side, causing him to roar in pain and sending him rolling ten feet. Growling, Shashala stood up. He was becoming furious. This fight was proving to be much more difficult than he would have liked. However, he knew he couldn’t let that scare him. He had to win, no matter what.

Another bolt of lighting shot from Shashala’s mouth, causing Saulstrance to jump back as the bolt struck where he was standing. In response, Saulstrance expelled another stream of fire which Shashala also avoided. The two of them leapt at each other, swiping the other across the face with their claws. They then headbutted, a small stream of blood trickling down their heads. It was at that moment that both dragons began to feel dizzy. In trying to defeat the other, both of them had ended up pushing themselves to their limits. Shashala, however, had overexerted himself far more than Saulstrance. He staggered, trying to maintain his balance. He knew this wasn’t good. He had used up way too much energy though he was certain that Saulstrance had too and he hoped that Saulstrance had used more energy than he did.

Saulstrance noticed Shashala was having trouble keeping his balance. He saw this as his opportunity to win. He ran towards Shashala and pulling the remainder of his strength into his tail, smashed it into Shashala’s face, knocking him off his feet.  The green dragon struggled to try to get back to his feet but collapsed. He tried again, reminding himself that he had to get up. He had to win this fight.

It was no use. Shashala’s legs gave out under him and he collapsed again. He squished his eyes and growled under his breath.

“It would appear that Shashala can no longer battle. Therefore, Saulstrance is our third victor.” Declared Lord Léruc.

Saulstrance’s eyes lit up upon hearing that. A big smile formed on his muzzle. He did it! He was finally going to get to learn under Lord Léruc. Even though he lived with him, Léruc always told Saulstrance that he would teach him if he took in an exam he was going to hold and won it. Now, that moment had finally come and he couldn’t have been happier. Saulstrance was certain that if his parents were there, they would have been just as excited as he was.

However, not everyone was happy about the victory. Shashala glared at Saulstrance. That was supposed to be HIM celebrating. HE was meant to be the apprentice to the Leader of the village, not Saulstrance.

“Saulstrance, you fought with all your strength and you gave a splendid show. You should feel honored to have—“

“Wait!” Shashala called out, cutting off Léruc.

“ I want a rematch! I can beat Saulstrance! I know I can!” The little dragon pleaded.

“Shashala, you fought well too. Although you may not have won, you still fought admirably and that is something to be proud of.” Léruc smiled.

“So what! That doesn’t mean anything if I don’t win!” Shashala protested.

“Shashala, just stop!” Eig’nia chimed in. “Saulstrance won fair and square. Don’t be such a sore loser.”

Hearing that made Shashala even madder. He struggled to his feet again and slowly walked out of the hall. He looked back one last time and stared at Saulstrance, growling and wearing an intensely angry face. This wasn’t over for Shashala. He was going to beat Saulstrance someday and prove to Lord Léruc that he deserved to be his apprentice and not Saulstrance.

“And with that, the exams are concluded! You three have shown that you are the ones best suited to becoming my pupils. You will learn under me and perhaps one day, one of you will succeed me as the village’s Leader. From this day forth, let it be known that the dragons Saulstrance, Eig’nia, and Tourajé are my apprentices.” Declared Léruc proudly.

Saulstrance and Eig’nia cheered. All of their hard work had finally paid off. However, unbeknownst to them, the events that were to occur in the years to come would end up shaping their futures. This was only the beginning.

[allsoulspriory]

Obedience

I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in darkness. — John 12:46

The light of Christ is always distinguishable because it means the most profound impression of what is right, the most evident conviction of the will of God. Everywhere men are asking how they may come to know Christ, and there is but one answer: believe that He loves you, that He died on the Cross to save you, and that He is prompting you by His Spirit to follow every perception and longing for a better and holier life.

How different is this teaching from that of the world around! There we are bidden to know before we dare entrust our lives to any leader, whatever be his fair speeches and promises, but Christ bids us obey the first glimmer of light breaking on us, and He undertakes that if we do, we shall not walk in darkness. Disobedience, like scales, veils Christ from us, while obedience leads us into His very presence. The judgment always becomes just and the vision clear when we deny ourselves to follow whatsoever, things are lovely, true, pure, and of good report.

It may be that as you read these lines, you forget some duty, some cross you refuse to lift, some act from which you flinch. Though you may not have directly associated it with Christ, you cannot doubt that it is His will for you and that in the doing, He will be pleased. It is useless to try to know Him until that nearest act of obedience is wrought. Men can never know what the mighty forces of Nature will do for them until they set themselves to obey, in the minutest detail, its laws. And it is so concerning Christ and the laws of the spiritual realm. That was an accurate word which the Mother of our Lord spoke to the servants at Cana when she said: “Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it!’” She had probably learned that lesson in those long, quiet, blessed years at Nazareth. She knew that there was no such way of understanding Him as by rendering Him literal obedience, and she passed on the results of her experience to us all.

“Walk while ye have the light,” so you will know the Light and become light in the Lord.

Prayer

My son, forsake thyself, and thou shalt find Me. Lord, how often shall I resign myself, and wherein shall I forsake myself? Always, yea, every hour, as well in small things as in plentiful. Amen.

[karen-anti-r-cml]

musk a spoiled obnoxious rich kid who has never had to be an Adult and never follows through on the good he promises. So, who didn’t see him going back on what he said he’d do?

Free speech, if it’s what he wants to hear. Profit over People. Fire half the employees, the other half gets double the work without compensation. Fascist propaganda starts taking over. etc

musk is doing exactly what I thought he would, I’m expecting twitter to be taken over by maga and fox, maybe even merging with truth social.

But this gives other Social Media sites, like tumbler room to thrive and take over as a fair and balanced SMS

April 28, 2022: musk wrote, “For Twitter to deserve public trust, it must be politically neutral”

November 3, 2022: musk announced plans to lay off nearly half of twitter’s workforce by the end of the week in an effort to cut costs, at the same time he’s planning to charge users for verification badges as early as next week.

November 7, 2022: musk fired more than 90% of twitters staff in India over the weekend. The company has been growing in India and employed just over 200 People, they now have about 12

November 7, 2022: musk followed through, cutting the twitter’s staff by 50%, days before midterms, may leave too few people to do the “very complex work” needed ahead of elections—and that it’s hard to imagine that the layoffs won’t have a “material impact,” Edward Perez, former Director of Product Management, he resigned in September 2022

twitter’s Civic Integrity Team worked to slow the spread of disinformation and misinformation—with the main goal of protecting the public conversation on the service about civic processes. musk fired People in this very important department too 

November 7, 2022: musk’s takeover coincided with a dramatic uptick in hate speech, and despite Musk’s promise to avoid turning the platform into a “free-for-all hellscape,” many advertisers worry about how he’ll police the service—particularly related to the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday.

November 7, 2022: musk shared a meme featuring a nazi soldier and then told his 115 million followers to vote republican in Tuesday’s midterms. 

November 7, 2022: musk announced, "any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation [of him specifically and others] without clearly specifying 'parody' will be permanently suspended." Didn’t take musk long to end “Free Speech” and “Comedy” on twitter

Musk Plans To Lay off 50% Of Twitter’s Workforce Ahead Of Verification Fee Roll Out Next Week, Reports Say: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/11/03/musk-plans-to-layoff-50-of-twitters-workforce-ahead-of-verification-fee-roll-out-next-week-reports-say/?sh=a49d3f87adb3

‘I really am concerned’: The manager who oversaw Twitter’s election team says Elon Musk cutting 50% of employees just before the midterms ‘certainly doesn’t look good: https://fortune.com/2022/11/07/former-election-team-manager-elon-musk-layoffs-midterms-concern/

Musk Shares a Nazi Meme and Then Tells Twitter to Vote Republican: https://www.yahoo.com/video/musk-shares-nazi-meme-then-164834726.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEAS_7HnElldGNheSAjPdJNGDgkz5aUDY8-JRH7fY61p_wISCD4u21czGELwZ6VxLDKBBNzuDEI2iKVF6KvsxXXBX-yHrUsZpp37EGH_GvDpu3-pM4CiVnnSshZJdeiTACH2eqhqZ4q6MDn5tHKIcMdww-dr0T3t9Npfz-b0jbAs

musk Fires More Than 90% of India Staff, Leaving Just a Dozen: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-07/twitter-fires-more-than-90-of-india-staff-leaving-just-a-dozen

Furious Elon Musk Pledges to Ban Anyone Who Changes Their Display Name to "Elon Musk": https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-bans-impersonation

[new-ninjago]

DATING LLOYD GARMADON

firstly, on his end, there’d likely be a huge amount of pining.

if this takes place after the sons of garmadon arc, he’s likely more guarded; resigning himself to stares of yearning and brief but hesitant touches.

or if this is before, then lloyd’s outlook of love is still quite innocent. he’ll fumble over his words and feet when around you, the latter not too often ( thankfully ).

nonetheless, here’s the cute stuff ( ˶ ̇ᵕ​ ̇˶)!!

it takes a little bit for him to he able to readily give you affection ( his poor heart feels as though its gonna burst out of his chest everytime you touch him! ) so he starts off with “baby steps”, which consists of him holding your pinkie with his and giving you tons of cheek kisses.

oh and hugs. LOTS AND LOTS OF HUGS ( trust me, he needs them </3 )

they’re like one of his favorite forms of affection because he knows the other person is there.

if he’s taller, then he’s leaning down, cheek pressed again the top of your head <3

and if shorter, lloyd’s made himself comfortable within the crook of your neck, murmuring something affectionate.

he’s also pretty huge on compliments, especially when he’s on the receiving end.

“you did so good”

“that’s great, lloyd! i’m proud of you :)”

“you can do it <3”

literally say any of that to him and his heart will expand several more sizes just for you.

nonetheless, he gives out his fair share of sweet words, too!

( “that’s amazing, [name]! you’re amazing” )

he’s really whipped half the time, probably goes on little lovesick rambles everytime someone mentions you or even just the fact that he has an s/o.

“i still can’t believe lloyd’s dating someone before me! lloyd, of all people!” “relocating all capabilities of hearing to my core.” “yeah.. [name] is pretty awesome. the other day theyー”

while the other ninja find it annoying for him to rattle on about you for hours ( like a jay 2.0 ), part of them can’t help but feel happy for him. especially kai and nya; proud big siblings™.

speaking of them, they give the whole “if you hurt him” speech to you.

it’s mainly nya doing all the talking whereas kai’ll be making “i’ve got my eye on you” gestures.

the whole thing is embarrassing for lloyd and he apologizes on the behalf of them.

he truly feels like he can be himself around you; not the green ninja, leader of the team, or anything else. simply just lloyd.

literally has to milk the others for date ideas ー he worries that he’ll take you somewhere cliché.

likely settles for a carnival, first date-wise.

it’s super fun for the two of you and he tries to win you lots of stuff. :(

literally will treasure whatever you give him. not even just from that date, but in general too.

but back to affection between you two

play with his hair !!! it’s his one of his biggest weaknesses

he secretly loves when you let him rest his head on your lap. will not-so-discreetly push his head against your hand.

sometimes he’ll have the confidence to initiate a kiss on the mouth and will peck you on the lips very quickly + softly. apologizes immediately afterwards because he didn’t ask .. HE’LL BE SO RED AFTERWARDS TOO N ITS ADORABLE

the pinkie holding eventually escalates into normal hand holding btw ( please be patient w/ him )

but yeah, that’s how it’ll be like dating lloyd garmadon in a nutshell^^

[thespoonisvictory]

Since we’ve been talking about writing dialogue for dsmp characters a lot, I figured I would throw my two cents into how I write my favorite characters (or, more accurately, the ones I write the most for.)

As a general rule, the way I write dialogue is a mix of cc’s habits and c! characterization, rather than one or the other. Most of the time that mixes fairly well however: cc!Quackity talks fast and retorts quickly in arguments, and c!Quackity is a politician and businessman who’s good at arguing and being persuasive. 

Wilbur: Wilbur is probably the person I regularly see the most ooc writing for, which is probably fair, because he’s quite hard to get right. It’s been discussed before, but the biggest issue is writing him too far into one category: he’s a cartoonish villain, a conniving politician, a perfect big brother. but in reality, he’s all of these (in some facet), but none of that makes him sound like Wilbur.

c!Wilbur tends to search for the repeat himself for emphasis, speak very dramatically, and likes to search for the perfect word/phrase and stick to it. Like “I want to be your vassal” or “this is my sunrise” or “my little champion.” He also likes his literary references, although that’s a bit harder to pin down.

He has to be likable, you have to understand why people would follow him, because words are his power. Think the contrast between his writing of the Decree of Independence and him yelling “suck it green boy!” He should be funny “my opponent is talking shit���, dramatic “as we gaze over the swaths of these redwood trees”, and heartfelt “Tommy your life is worth more than the revolution!”, all at appropriate moments.

The fundamental thing is that he should be passionate, and enthralling to listen to. His strength as a character comes from his ability to have the perfect words for whatever he wants to achieve, and it’s crucial to getting that right, imo.

Niki: Niki is character much less defined by her dialogue, but there are still important tenets to follow.

For one, she’s generally soft spoken, but can easily have a cruel, angry, or heartbroken tone nonetheless. She speaks with a lot of emphasis, like every word is important, and is much more outwardly emotional than Wilbur. This is contrasted against emotional outbursts, where she’s loud, as well as messy and inconsistent with the information she presents, such as in her most recent lore, or on Doomsday.

Her vocabulary is generally simple but effective (no flowery metaphors), think “We need to get L’manburg back”, “I’ve started baking again”, etc etc. She’s not usually dominant over conversations like, say, Wilbur Tommy or Techno are.

Techno: the biggest misconception for this character is writing him to be more eloquent than he is. about 90% of the time he is chronically unserious, and prefers short quips or jokes to lengthy monologues or meaningful dialogue, instead conveying more through actions. Developing his relationship with Phil, for example, while there are occasional bits of sincerity “For you, the world”, it should be mostly sarcasm and bits.

He’s not monotonous, but he’s not going to pour his heart out or be particularly earnest most of the time.

When he does have the floor and decides to be serious, that is rarely ever in the form of dialogue, and more often in the form of a speech he’s giving more for the audience than anyone else, with elaborate metaphors. He’s almost never vulnerable unless he’s decidedly gotten the upper hand physically, and he usually only expresses extreme emotion through anger.

Phil: Phil swears! Also, he’s actually the more monotonous one compared to Techno, and stays very calm: think his conversation with Ghostbur on doomsday. He generally doesn’t repeat himself or stumble over words, and sounds very confident when he speaks, much like Techno, leaving no room for doubt.

He speaks a bit like the wise old mentor archetype, with more flavor, “m8”, and “motherfucker” thrown in, but that doesn’t mean his words will always be grounded in reality just his perception of it.

Tubbo: He’s a character that speaks a lot like Niki, except with (usually) much more repressed emotions! He speaks very matter of fact, with simple metaphors “This is checkmate, I suggest you resign”, and is a foil to Tommy in that way, and is extremely quotable, with a shocking amount of wisdom and weight: “it has damages, but everything has damages, or “I could’ve saved you.” “But you didn’t.”

Basically: mans packs a punch with his dialogues, even if he’s usually dancing around the heart of what he’s feeling

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 301: All My Todorokis

Previously on BnHA: We learned that when a bunch of superpowered villains are suddenly set loose with nobody around to stop them, things get fucked pretty quickly. Old Man Samurai and a bunch of other useless people decided to make “I pretend I do not see it” their new mantra, and resigned. Endeavor had a moment of despair on account of being crushed by the guilt of having ruined the lives of himself, his family, and basically everyone else in the entire world. For various reasons the heretical notion of “person who has done bad things feels sorry for doing them” sent fandom spiraling into a meltdown, so that was fun. The chapter ended with the entire Todoroki clan descending upon Enji’s hospital room to have a dramatic chat about Touya and All That General Fuckery.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “here’s the story of how Baby Touya slowly went insane trying to win his father’s love.” It’s a tale full of subverted expectations and heartbreaking inevitability, and also like twenty panels of the cutest fucking kids who ever existed on planet earth, who are so fucking cute that I can’t stop thinking about their cuteness even with all of the horrifying family tragedy unfolding around them. It is absolutely ridiculous how cute they are. Touya is out here pushing his tiny body past its limits because he inherited the same obsession as his dad and neither of them can put it aside even though it’s destroying them, and yet all I can think about is Baby Shouto’s (。･o･｡) face. Anyways what a chapter.

so I have to confess that even though I managed to avoid being caught off-guard by the early leaks, the number of people reblogging my Endeavor posts from earlier this week and using the tag “bnha 301” kind of gave me an inkling that this chapter will include more Tododrama lol. that said, I don’t know anything else about it, so we’re still good spoiler-wise

AHHHHH FLAHSBAKC AHHHH. omg I know I typoed the shit out of that, but I’m just going to leave it lol I think it’s fitting

holy shit holy fuck. so this is Rei and Enji’s first meeting, then??

yepppp, oh shit

so wait, I know this is not even the slightest bit important, but are they meeting at Enji’s home or Rei’s? because I always figured that Enji was the one with the super-Japanese aesthetic, but maybe that was Rei’s side of the family all along

(ETA: from what I found during my very brief google search, omiai meetings are often held at fancy hotels or restaurants, so maybe that’s what this is.)

there’s such a period drama feel to this setting. like it’s so outrageously formal fff how can anyone stand this kind of atmosphere though seriously

OH THANK GOD

I mean they’re still stiff af but at least they’re not rigidly sitting in seiza and staring at each other unblinkingly anymore lol. Enji’s actually got his hands in his pockets now. why is this somehow almost cute

oh damn it’s the flowers

Rei seems so subdued and it’s so hard to get any idea of what she’s actually thinking. I want to see her side of this dammit

but anyway, so at least from Enji’s perspective it seems like even though the marriage was arranged and he picked her because of her quirk, he still loved his wife and wanted to do right by her. the fact that he was watching her and noticed that she liked the flowers, and remembered that detail for all these years -- there’s a reason why Horikoshi’s showing us this. we know what’s going to happen later on; we know how much fear and violence and breaking of trust is coming up ahead, and while it may seem like this scene is serving to soften Enji’s character further -- which to be fair it is -- it also helps drive home the full impact of his abuse. that it’s so terrible not only because of the trauma of the abuse itself, but also because of the way it retroactively destroys all of the good things as well. this could have potentially been such a sweet scene, but it’s inescapably tainted by the knowledge of what’s to come, at least for me. and that’s just brutal

anyways, shit. is the whole chapter going to be like this?? feel free to toss in something I can actually make a joke about sometime, Horikoshi

oop, back to the present

omfg lol

“are you all right” “NO I’M NOT ALL RIGHT WHAT THE FUCK.” “oh, right, because of all the stuff that’s happened with me abusing you and you having a mental breakdown and being hospitalized for ten years and then our son coming back to life and killing thirty people, right, right. I almost forgot.” whoops

omfg you guys I’m loving this new and improved steely-eyed Rei. I’m loving her a lot

and what do you mean “part one” fkjds how long is this going to be. TOO MUCH DRAMA FOR ONE CHAPTER TO HANDLE

oh, hello

yeah I’ll say you did. didn’t seem to bother you much at the time, though

HMMMMMMMMMMMM

Dabi Is A Noumu intensifies even further. anyways though would you fucking look at this boy lounging on this moth-eaten couch doing his best DRAW ME LIKE YOUR FRENCH GIRLS impression wtf

Dabi what if you actually had killed him??? what would you feel?? satisfaction?? regret?? anything at all?? tell me your secrets goddammit

who are you talking to buddy

Fuyumi-chan, Natsu-kun (is it common for brothers to address each other as -kun?? can’t recall seeing that in many other anime, but hey), and “dot dot dot,,,,,, SHOUTO” lol thank you so much for this bountiful heaping of Tododrama Horikoshi we are blessed

AH, WHAT DID I SAY THE OTHER DAY

ULTIMATE MELODRAMATIC THEATER CHILD. “I’M JUST GOING TO LIE ON THIS COUCH SHIRTLESS AND ALONE AND MAKE SPEECHES TO MY FAMILY MEMBERS WHO AREN’T THERE AND SAY THINGS LIKE ‘WATCH ME IN THE PITS OF HELL’ WITH A STRAIGHT FACE BECAUSE NO ONE’S THERE TO JUDGE ME.” WELL JOKE’S ON YOU MISTER CHATTERBOX BECAUSE I AM IN FACT JUDGING THE SHIT OUT OF YOU LOL

(ETA: and on a more serious note, it’s interesting to see that “look at me”/”watch me” theme being used again though, because we see that same sentiment uttered repeatedly by the younger Touya in the flashback. well kid, you definitely got your wish at last. don’t know what else to say.)

OKAY HORIKOSHI HAS DECIDED THAT’S ENOUGH FUN, TIME FOR MORE FLASHBACKS

oh my sweet precious lord

just as cute as we left him. giving us a child this cute when we all know full well what’s going to happen to him is just unspeakably cruel though

HOMG

I’m fucking speechless. you broke me, congratulations. what am I even supposed to do with this

I can’t get over this. moving forward my life will be split into two distinct parts, B.P. (Before the Pout) and A.P. (After the Pout)

and meanwhile there’s ALL THIS BACKGROUND ANGST BUILDING UP, AND I CAN’T EVEN FOCUS ON IT. Touya’s arm and cheek are covered in bandages (I’m guessing this is shortly after that “ouch!” panel we got some chapters back), and Enji is deliberately avoiding training with him because he doesn’t want him to hurt himself further. I can’t fucking get over the irony that all this time everyone thought Touya had died because Enji pushed him too far in his training, and it turns out that it’s the opposite -- the tragedy ultimately happened because he didn’t want to push him. but I’m jumping ahead of myself though I guess

by the way,

remember this?? just wanted to remind you that it exists just in case you forgot

so now someone is talking and basically saying that Touya is the exact opposite of what Enji was hoping for when he decided to start playing with quirk genetics

-- okay hold up

...lol no, never mind. for a second I thought “holy shit he looks kind of familiar WHAT IF IT’S UJIKO OMG” before I remembered that Enji would have recognized him during the hospital capture mission if that was the case. so NEVER MIND, PROCEED

IMAGINE THAT, ENJI DOESN’T QUITE SEEM SATISFIED WITH THIS SUGGESTION OF QUITTING NOW

(ETA: how the fuck did this man go around saving 62 towns in a single day what even is All Might.)

[clicks tongue several times] trouble a’brewin’

MEANWHILE BABY TOUYA HAS UNFORTUNATELY INHERITED HIS DAD’S STUBBORN STREAK

KLDIHWOEIJFL:KSDJ

!!!!!!!!!!!

oh my god. oh my god. what is this chapter. WHAT IS IT

so now Touya is all “YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND MY MANLY DESIRE TO BURN MYSELF ALIVE” well you got her there champ

THEY’RE TOO CUTE. OH MY GOD. HIS FURIOUS LITTLE TEARS. HER CHUBBY LIL FACE. HIS STUBBY LIL FISTS. SOMEONE HELP ME

also are they just home alone lol or what. “hey Touya, you’re what, like six now?? do us a favor and look after your baby sister for a couple hours for us would you? make sure not to set yourself on fire or anything.” WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG!!

now it’s nighttime and Enji and Rei are arguing, presumably about his decision not to train Touya anymore

whew. okay. so, a couple of things here

1. first of all I think this conclusively shows that Enji really was trying to do the best he could for Touya. he stopped training him as soon as he realized it was hurting him, but Touya was still determined so he tried to make it work anyway, and even visited doctors to try and figure out if there was anything they could do. then, once they were absolutely sure that it wasn’t going to work, he tried multiple times to explain to Touya why they had to stop. he didn’t just abandon him out of the blue, which is really important to note. “no matter how much I tried telling him...”

so yeah, that debunks another common fandom accusation. so by the time he finally makes this decision, which we all know is going to turn out horribly, it’s basically because he’s already tried everything else he could think of. which, by the way, still doesn’t mean he handled this right. but at the very least he was taking Touya’s feelings into account and he was trying, and he didn’t just abruptly toss his son aside (at least not yet)

2. buuuut, then there’s this panel right below all that

which is the other side of it. if he’d just quit like the doctor person advised him to, that would have been the end of it. Touya would still have been upset, but he would have eventually gotten over it and the family would have moved on and possibly even been happy. but what happens next happens because Enji can’t let go. he still has this maddening urge to surpass All Might, and so he and Rei keep having more children, and then Shouto is born, and Enji finally has a kid he can start projecting all of his hysterical ambitions onto once again, and everything starts spiraling out of control soon after

though p.s. none of that is Shouto’s fault though!! he’s one of the few good things to come out of this whole mess and I’m very happy that he exists. the tragedy is that his dad fucking lost his mind over his quirk and fucked everything up. but that’s on him, not Touya or Shouto

anyways, SLKFJLSHGLKJL

I CAN’T FUCKING TAKE THIS YOU GUYS??? LOOK AT THAT LIL BUTTON OF A NOSE??? I’M LOSING IT HERE???

AND TOUYA JUST SEEMS DEVASTATED OMG

because children aren’t stupid, after all. he understands that his dad is still looking to surpass All Might. and so he feels like a failure, and feels like his dad is trying to replace him because he wasn’t good enough. and even now, isn’t that what the adult Touya is trying to prove?? that he was good enough after all?? “I’ll show you what happens when you give up on me, dad”?? “I’ll show you what I can do”?? fuck my life fuck everything

AND YOU CAN SEE THE TOLL THAT IT’S ALL TAKING ON REI GETTING WORSE AND WORSE AS WELL OH GOD

really nice touch here with the panel outlines becoming all shimmery from the heat of Endeavor’s flames (and/or becoming more unstable as the family gets closer and closer to their breaking point). but man, Horikoshi I can’t handle this, please show us more cute kids or something I can’t

GKELKWFJLDKSHFLKL

WITTLE BABE. BEEB. BUBS. SMOL. lkj; oh ouch a piece of my heart just detached and latched onto him huh look at that

TODOROKI “I’M SO SMALL AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S GOING ON AND I DIDN’T ASK TO BE HERE” SHOUTO AHHHHH

crazy how they all just seem to know right off the bat lol. kid doesn’t even have object permanence yet, let alone a quirk. but do they care?? IT’S THE HAIR, RIGHT. WE’RE ALL THINKING IT, I’M JUST GONNA COME OUT AND SAY IT. they knew the minute they looked at him lol

AND MEANWHILE TOUYA IS OFF HAVING UNSUPERVISED TRAINING/CRYING SESSIONS IN THE MOUNTAINS OR WHATEVER, AND, UH OH

are those blue flames yet?? they seem pretty close

(ETA: this is one of the few cases where the manga being in black and white is infuriating lol.)

OH MY GOD AND STILL

so it’s not like he was so disinterested that he didn’t notice what was happening, and he was still trying to stop it and get through to him. trying to reassure him that it wasn’t the end of the world and there were other things he could do with his life, but this one particular thing just wasn’t going to happen

fucking hell. it’s agonizing seeing how close they actually were to fixing it. if he’d only said the right words, or if he’d realized at this point how destructive his obsession could be to his kids, and backed off from putting that same pressure on Shouto. we came so close to possibly having a happy ending

AND ALSO THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING BUT PLEASE LOOK AT HOW TOUYA IS LIKE THREE AND A HALF FEET TALL AND HIS DAD IS LIKE NINE AND A HALF FEET. Touya barely comes past his knees flkjlkg. the Todoroki household must have been so filled with like plastic stepstools to reach the bathroom sink and all the little baby toothbrushes, and baby gates to keep the kiddos out of the important grown-up rooms and stuff. and also days-old half-empty cups of water and stale crackers and hot wheels and my little ponies strewn everywhere

“BUT EVERYONE AT SCHOOL SAYS THEY’RE GONNA BE HEROES” a wild Deku parallel appears?? how bout that

I know this is like a pivotal moment in the Todo Tragedy and all, but fucking look at this lil dumpling

“sup bro, it’s me, the manifestation of your fears of inadequacy and lack of fatherly affections. a GAAA. ba-baAA-baa [gurgling baby sounds]”

OHHHHH IT’S THE SOUND OF MY HEART BREAKING OH NO

HE WANTS TO BE LIKE YOU ENJI. good lord somebody please just get this family some therapy

“DAD YOU IGNITED IT IN ME” flkjslkj nope, nope. not ready for this pain here

baby Shouto, would you like to weigh in on this affair? “DA!! ba-ga-daaa, [pacifier chewing noises]” oh my, you don’t say. so insightful for one so young

OH MY GODDDDDD

IT’S SO DRAMATIC BUT ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT ARE THE SHOUNEN WOOSH LINES SURROUNDING FOUR-MONTH-OLD SHOUTO LOL HE WAS LIKE THIS FROM BIRTH OH MY GOD I AM DYING HELP

SHOUTO YOU’RE RUINING THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER!?!?!

“yo, the fuck kind of family was I fucking born into” oh, son. if you only knew. IF YOU ONLY KNEW!!

(ETA: lmao I got so distracted by the ridiculous cuteness that I glossed over the fact that Baby Touya seems to possibly be aiming at him?? it’s hard to tell because he’s also super out of it from heatstroke and may just be losing control in his attempt to show off his upgrade.)

ANYWAY THAT’S THE END EXCEPT WHAT’S THIS LAST LINE OMG

ffffff. and we’re in for ANOTHER chapter of this next week?? MORE drama?? MORE BABIES?? MORE OF EIGHT-YEAR-OLD TOUYA’S SLOW DESCENT INTO MADNESS. MY HEART CAN’T TAKE IT, BUT ALSO YES PLEASE SIGN ME UP

[the-bau-quinjet]

I don't give a damn

Steve x f!reader

Summary: Sometimes Steve's forgets how times have changed. You're there to sing him a song about it.

Warnings: swearing, drinking, kisses, themes of sexism, i guess spoilers for Annie Get Your Gun (although that's from the 50s so I don't really think it needs much warning lol)

Word Count: 3020

a/n: another karaoke fic (because I wasn't kidding when I said I love them). Most of the songs I've been listening to have come from a playlist aptly titled ffs. It stands for both "for fucks sake" and "feminist fight songs" in my mind, hence the similar theme of this fic and My Name Isn't. This one was inspired by Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation"!

Masterlist

You and Steve don't see eye to eye on most things. It's not that you don't get along. You respect each other too much to fight about everything, but you have differing opinions on most things.

Take movie night for example. Cap always wants to watch something from his list. He's always trying to pick a "classic".

Most of the time, you would rather watch something you haven't seen. Unless it's a comfort thing, you don't really like repeating movies.

You both understand the other's perspective, so rather than a screaming match you typically settle it with a game of rock, paper, scissors.

Unfortunately, that's how most of your interactions go.

Outside of missions and team building nights Tony forces upon the group, you don't spend much time with him. The two of you are just polar opposites.

The problem with that? You have a massive crush on Mr. America himself.

Not that anyone else would know that. You're highly trained in the art of covert operations. You know how to hide your feelings, although you are certain Natasha at least suspects something.

You've resigned yourself to taking this secret to your grave, that is until Cap says something one movie night that sets you on edge.

-

"Rock, Paper, Scissors, shoot!" You held out your fist, having chosen rock.

Steve smirks, covering your fist with his open palm. "Paper beats rock, time for another 'classic'." He squeezes your hand before letting go. He picks up his book, trailing the pencil down the page for the next movie.

The high you were currently riding from his touch quickly dissipated when he announced the movie he wanted to watch.

"Annie Get Your Gun is next on the list." He smiled, closing the book before returning it to his pocket.

You couldn't help but scoff, "who suggested that one?" Annoyed at the sexist themes of the 50s musical movie.

"Someone said to watch all of the best pictures/musicals from the Academy Awards to see how times have changed." Steve scrunched his face in thought. "I can't remember who though."

"What? Most of those movies are terrible if you ask me." You whined a bit, annoyed at the idea of watching your least favorite type of movies.

"Your just annoyed cause you lost rock, paper, scissors. Let the man cross it off his list and move on." Sam chimed in from across the room.

You huffed, making a face at Sam before turning to get more comfortable on the couch. "Fine, this one still sucks though." You frowned, nonplussed by the idea of watching another 'classic' with another sexist storyline.

Somehow, you sat through the musical without any interruptions, unless you counted aggressively rolling your eyes.

The second it was over, you were turning the TV off, excited to be done with it. You were three steps from the exit when Cap called out to you.

"I don't know why you hate that musical so much, Y/N. I thought it was sweet what Annie did for Frank."

You narrowed your eyes as you turned back to him. "Would you lose on purpose to 'get the girl'?" You couldn't help but roll your eyes at the phrase. "Would any of you?" You looked at all the men in the room.

"I don't think it'd be very fair. Wouldn't want her to think she was better than me if she's not. Besides, it depends on the girl." He may have been going for a flirty tone, but you just grew angrier at Steve's response.

"Right, because why should you have to pretend to be worse to appease someone else?" Everyone in the room could see where you were going with this. Everyone, that is, but Steve.

"Yeah, that's a good way of putting it." Steve nodded along, glad the two of you were finally agreeing on something.

"The why'd you think it was sweet when Annie did it?" You stepped closer, narrowing your eyes even farther. "The whole musical Frank was too stubborn, his ego too big, to deal with the fact that Annie was better than him. 'You can't get a man with a gun'? Bullshit, you could always shoot him." You let out a dry laugh at your own joke, completely fed up with sexism in movies being written off as love.

Steve was taken aback at how everything had shifted. He thought he was finally in agreement with you on something, so he clung to it. "But she did it for love... her reputation, all the medals, they still showed how good she was." Halfway through speaking, he realized he was only making it worse, but it was too late. The damage was done.

"For fuck's sake, she shouldn't have to pretend to be any less of a badass sharpshooter than she is to find love." With another roll of your eyes, you went to leave, stopping again at the sound of Steve's voice.

"Maybe she was just scared she wouldn't find anyone with that reputation." He nearly smacked himself for that one, why couldn't he just shut up? He just didn't want you to be mad at him.

With one hand on the doorway, you looked over your shoulder. "That reputation? I'd rather have that reputation than a relationship where I have to feed his ego." With that, you walked to the elevators, beyond ready to call it a night.

-

"I'm an idiot." Steve sighed, head in his hands, elbows on his knees while sitting on Bucky's bed.

"Yep. You just kept digging." Bucky agreed easily, not sure where to start with the advice.

Steve shot him a glare as he began pacing back and forth. "I mean, she clearly didn't like the movie. Why did I even start the conversation? I should have just let her walk away. She already barely tolerates my presence as it is. We disagree about everything, even if we rarely fight over it. I should've just cut my losses and enjoyed the time we spent together, even if it was with everyone."

"Punk, you need to relax. Just go apologize, then maybe you'll actually go to sleep at some point tonight." Bucky shoved Steve out the door, slamming it shut before he could object.

Mumbling about what a jerk Bucky is, Steve made his way to your door. He hesitated, turned around, walked a few steps, turned around again, and eventually knocked.

You opened the door with a yawn, having been close to sleep when the noise startled you. "What d'ya need, Cap?"

He couldn't help but smile at your sleepy state, never having seen you this unguarded before. "Uh, I just wanted to apologize for earlier. You're entitled to your opinion, and there was no reason for me to fight you on it."

A look of annoyance briefly flashed across your face at the mention of the movie, but you relaxed given his apology. "I'm glad we can agree then. It's a terrible movie."

"Oh, no, I still like the movie." He had never wanted the ground to swallow him whole more than he did in that moment. Floundering for a way to undo what he just said, he started rambling. "I mean, you're right. It is kind of sexist, but that was just the time period you know? Like in the 40s, dames had to constantly worry about how their actions would affect their reputations." Up to that point, he had been staring at the floor, rapidly spewing more words. "I mean, you wouldn't want a bad reputation, right?" He chose the wrong sentence to make eye contact.

The sleepy, slightly confused smile was gone, replaced by a look he had hoped to never have directed at him. You spoke with an eerie sort of calm when you replied. "I think you're a little stuck in the 40s, Cap. I shouldn't have to worry about my reputation anymore than any man does his. Goodnight."

For the second time that night, a door slammed in his face. Bucky was definitely wrong. He would not be getting any sleep after talking to you.

-

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's karaoke night. Yes, I've rented a bar. No, you may not stay home. We start at 8!" Tony walked in, made his announcement, and instantly walked right back out.

Everyone nodded, taking in the brief encounter with Tony. Well, everyone but you and Steve. The two of you were too stuck in your heads to listen to Tony's ramblings.

It had been three days since movie night, and Steve still hadn't worked up the courage to talk to you again.

What could he even say to explain why he was so flustered? "Sorry for the other night, I can't seem to form coherent thoughts when I'm around you, because even though we rarely talk outside of missions, I have a massive crush on you"? No, that was definitely coming on too strong.

He just needed to find the right words.

Meanwhile, you were confused. You never would have imagined Steve to be so stuck in the past. Of course, you understood things were different before he got stuck in the ice, but he's really made leaps and bounds in his understanding of feminism and equality since he first realized what year it was.

You wanted to ask him where the whole speech came from, but you were afraid of the answer.

"I guess that means it's time to get ready since it's already 6:30! I swear, he never gives us enough notice for these things." Wanda smiled at Vision, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, before grabbing you and Nat to go change.

"What are we getting ready for?" You asked when Wanda finally let go of your arm, having entered the elevator.

"Karaoke! Didn't you her Tony?" She eyed you suspiciously, clearly debating whether or not to look into your mind.

"She was too stuck in her head to notice me throwing popcorn at her, she definitely didn't listen to Tony." Nat smirked at your startled expression, laughing when you reached up to brush the kernels out of your hair.

You glared at both of them, "I was just thinking about some stuff. That's all."

"Yeah, some stuff named Steve." Wanda cackled, having decided to peak into your head. It was for your own good after all.

"Wanda! You said you wouldn't read my mind unprovoked." You wanted to be angry, but part of you was relieved you wouldn't have to keep this secret anymore.

"It was provoked! You wouldn't tell me what you were thinking about." Wanda smiled, also knowing that you were happy to have shared the secret, even if not by choice.

"And don't try to change the subject. Steve, huh? Somebody's got a crush." She was taunting you like a child would on a playground, shaking her head back and forth for emphasis.

"Well, yeah, but that's not what I why I was thinking about him." They each gave you a pointed look, obviously not believing you. "Seriously! I was thinking about movie night." You frowned, upset at the memory.

You quickly filled them in on what Steve said when he came to talk to you as you made your way to Nat's room to get ready. (She has the biggest vanity, so it makes the most sense to go to her room).

"I can't picture Steve trying to defend himself like that. Normally if he's fallen back into his old ways, someone points it out and he apologizes." Nat made a face, trying to put two and two together. "Unless..." She looked at Wanda, gesturing for her to read her mind.

"Oh my god!" Wanda squealed, nearly knocking you over with her excitement. "Steve's got a crush, toooooo." She happily dragged it out, much to Nat's amusement.

"Please, the man barely talks to me as it is. Our most substantial conversation revolved around my 'bad reputation' or lack thereof." You couldn't help but roll your eyes at the memory. "I seriously doubt he's got a crush. I do want to fix this though. I don't like when people are avoiding me. I get all stressed about accidentally running into them."

"He totally has a crush." Wanda smiled again.

"It's the only reason he would turn into a rambling idiot in front of you." Nat added.

"What song should I sing tonight?" You desperately tried to change the subject.

Wanda smirked, already having a perfect song in mind. "I think I've got one that could solve both your problems..." She filled you and Nat in on her plan, and although you doubted the crush aspect of it all, it was a good way to break the ice in terms of Steve avoiding you.

Hopefully it would show him you were more confused than upset, and everything would work out.

You changed quickly, embracing 80s fashion to go with your song choice. You wore black leather pants and a matching jacket, slipping on a tight red shirt underneath. Although, you still did your hair like you normally would, not fully committing to the 80s vibes.

With the addition of some red lipstick, a rarity for you, you were ready. Wanda and Nat finished their looks as well, and the three of you left for the bar.

-

You were honestly a little surprised when Steve walked up to you immediately after you walked into the bar. He handed you your favorite drink, smiling as he took in your ensemble.

"I wanted to apologize. I didn't mean all that stuff I said, just sometimes I forget how much things have changed and I-" You cut him off, not wanting him to suffer (or ramble) too much.

"Steve, it's fine. I was honestly more confused than anything else." He smiled, taking a sip from the drink he provided you.

"Really? You definitely looked angry when you slammed the door in my face." He outwardly cringed at bringing it up again.

"Okay, I was angry at first, but then I was mostly confused." You nodded, trying to convey that you weren't upset with him anymore.

"Good. I'm glad because avoiding you was getting pretty difficult." He wanted to smack himself again. Why does he always say the stupidest things around you?

To his relief, you laughed at his 'joke'. "Plus, this makes my song choice even more fun." You winked before walking back over to Wanda and Nat, leaving Steve to wonder about your performance.

-

"Y/N! You're up next." Tony called from his seat near the stage. He really liked to enforce his 'everyone must participate in team building, that's how it becomes team building' philosophy when it comes to karaoke night.

You couldn't help but smirk at Steve as he whipped his head around to witness you walking onto the stage. He's been eagerly awaiting your performance.

Everyone who knew the song started laughing at the first sounds of the guitar. The two super soldiers though? They were confused.

"I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation."

Once you started singing, you couldn't take your eyes off of Steve. He was blushing at being called out, Bucky's hysterical laughter next to him not really helping the situation.

"Living in the past, it's a new generation."

Bucky nearly fell out of his chair laughing. Even Steve had a smile on his face. You bobbed your head to the music, relying on your previous drinks to really get into the performance.

"A girl can do what she wants to do, and that's what I'm gonna do. And I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation. Oh no, not me."

You put air quotes around bad, really playing it up since everyone was having so much fun with it. Tony, Nat, Wanda, and Sam were jumping around, dancing as you sang. Bucky was still trying to catch his breath from laughing so hard. Steve was full on grinning by the last chorus, slightly shaking his head at your antics.

"So, why should I care about a bad reputation, anyway?"

In typical Tony fashion, he saing along for the "oh no, not me" bit of the song, encouraging everyone to scream the words with him.

By the time the song was over, you were a little out of breath, sweating a bit from the lights.

"Now's your chance, punk. Go bring her another drink." Bucky shoved the glass in his hand and gave Steve a slight push in your direction as you walked off the small stage.

You hugged Nat and Wanda before making your way toward the bar. Steve intercepted you, handing you the freshly made drink.

You smiled, uttering a quick thanks before eagerly taking a sip. The cold liquid did wonders for your parched throat.

"That was quite the performance. Really called me out 'on my bullshit' as you would say." You couldn't help but laugh and tease him a bit more.

"Captain, language!" You placed your empty hand on his shoulder, sliding down to his chest with your next question. "Whatever will the world think of you?"

"Well, recently I've adopted a new motto." He whispered, leaning in closer so you could here. "I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation."

Caught off guard by his use of the lyric, you laughed, leaning into your hand on his chest for support.

"Something we agree on then." Your breath caught in your throat when you realized just how close he was.

"I think there's one more thing we agree on..." He trailed off, eyes quickly glancing down at your lips.

"What might that be, Cap?" Your eyes drifted down his face as well, giving him enough courage to lean in.

His lips caught yours in a passionate kiss. He pulled you closer as you wrapped your arms around his neck. The two of you moved in sync, as if you were made for each other.

You were so lost in each other, you paid no attention to the cheers from your teammates. You didn't even register Nat and Wanda screaming "I told you so" as Steve pulled you in for a second kiss.

[lunar-wandering]

i don’t wanna fight alone anymore - Chapter 6

The ship goes through a thunderstorm.

Wukong is fine.

(warning: Wukong is kinda like. panicking for most of this chapter, mainly this is based on what I do when anxious but. figured i should warn ya i guess.)

Word Count: 2.4k

Read on Ao3

"Hot chocolate is ready!" MK said, walking into the common room, carrying a tray with 4 mugs of hot chocolate on it. He handed one mug to Mei, then turned to hand another one to Macaque, only for Macaque to turn away, not even reaching for the mug. "....Aren't you going to take it?"

"No." Macaque said, plain and simple, slouching down and back into the couch.

"....Why not?" MK asked.

"I can't drink hot chocolate." Macaque sighed, dramatically sliding down off the couch and onto the floor. "Chocolate is poisonous to monkeys."

"But...." Mei started, turning to look at where Wukong was standing behind the couch. "I'm pretty sure we've all seen Monkey King-"

"I'm immortal, so it doesn't matter." Wukong said, "Give me my drink, if you'd please."

"Here." MK handed the mug of hot chocolate to Wukong, who sipped at it as MK turned back around to bring Macaque's unused mug back to the kitchen. As such, he didn't see the look of brief confusion that flashed over Wukong's face as he sipped the drink again, quickly followed by shock, then a tired resignation. All evidence of that, however, was gone by the time MK returned to the room.

"How do you live without chocolate?" MK asked, as he sat down on the couch, looking down at where Macaque now lay on the ground.

"I manage." He said, his eyes closed. Wukong snorted into his cup.

"That's why he's so bitter." Wukong said, "Can't eat chocolate."

Macaque didn't dignify that comment with a response, his ears twitching before he sat back up, looking like he was concentrating on something. He sighed, standing up and walking towards the door.

"And where are you going?" Mei asked.

"To my room." Macaque said, "There's a thunderstorm coming, and I'd rather not get my hearing destroyed any time soon."

With that, Macaque left the room, the door closing behind him.

"A thunderstorm?" MK asked, "I don't think I've been in a thunderstorm, outside of that time Red Son took over the weather station."

"I've been in a few, while traveling." Mei said, shrugging. "Other than being a bit loud, they're not a big deal, really. The weather station keeps storms from happening in the city, so like you said, I haven't been in one for a while."

"Ha, ha, yeah, wouldn't want the power to get knocked out in such a large city, right?" Wukong said, "I'm sure that would cause chaos."

There was a....strange wobble to his voice as he said it, which prompted MK and Mei to look at him with confusion on their faces.

"Are....you okay?" MK asked, eyeing how tightly Wukong was now gripping his mug. Wukong gave a little laugh.

"I'm just fine, kid." Wukong said, before chugging the rest of his hot chocolate in one go. "I think I'm gonna go check in on Pigsy now, see ya!"

And with that, Wukong turned, walking towards the kitchen. MK and Mei watched him go with equal looks of concern on their faces.

-

The first roll of thunder hit when Wukong was helping Pigsy take a batch of cinnamon buns out of the oven. It was so sudden, that even though he had been tense, expecting it, he very nearly dropped the whole tray.

"Careful, don't want to waste them." Pigsy said, noticing the fumble, before pausing as he registered the expression on Wukong's face. "....You okay?"

"Yep, just fine!" Wukong said, setting the tray down on the counter. "Just wasn't expecting it, that's all!"

"If you say so....." Pigsy said, staring at how Wukong stood, hands behind his back, tense. He could tell that something was up, but-

Before Pigsy could say anything else, another bout of thunder rolled through, and suddenly Wukong was moving, turning and heading towards the doorway.

"I'm going to go check on how Tang is doing!" He called, over his shoulder, before disappearing down the hallway.

-

Tang was sitting in his room, reading one of the many books he'd found in Wukong's house. (He'd stolen them, technically, since Wukong didn't know he'd taken them.)

He faintly heard a bout of thunder-

And then Wukong was there, leaning over his shoulder.

"Watcha reading?" He asked, and Tang barely kept himself from startling out of his chair. He chuckled a little at the other's reaction, before returning his attention to the book. "Wait, isn't this one from my house?"

"They're all from your house." Tang said, recovering from the sudden scare. "I figured I'd get some reading material while we were there."

"I mean, at least someone will read them." Wukong said, "I'm not even sure why I held onto them really, I never actually bothered to read them."

"You didn't- why would you just get books and then not read them?" Tang said, "I mean, this one specifically has such a good plot-"

Wukong sat there, crouched on the edge of Tang's chair, and listened to him rant about how good the book was. In truth, Wukong actually had read all the books. At least 50 times. But he wasn't about to tell him that.

Listening to the ranting was actually a good distraction.

Or at least, it was a good distraction.

Eventually, his mind started wandering again, and all it could keep thinking of was-

A clash of thunder rang out, and Wukong stood up, jumping off of the chair and pacing, trying to look casual as he did so. He didn't think he fully succeeded, if the way Tang paused in his speech and looked at him was any indication.

That wouldn't do. He wouldn't- couldn't let any of the others know-

Tang went to open his mouth, and Wukong was already walking out the door.

"I'm going to go hang out with Sandy!" He said as he left.

Tang watched him leave with a frown on his face.

"I was just gonna ask if he was okay...." He mumbled.

-

So maybe going to Sandy wasn't the best idea right now.

Or, well, at least, it wasn't the best idea considering Wukong actively wanted to hide the fact that anything was wrong. Sandy was the best in the group at picking up on the others emotional states, so Wukong should've known that as soon as he entered the room he'd be asked;

"Are you okay?"

"Yep! Perfectly fine!" Wukong lied, wincing as another clang of thunder boomed outside the ship. As much as some part of him wanted to, he couldn't tell him. He couldn't tell him that the loud sound of thunder sounded all too similar to the sound of rocks falling, crashing, and tumbling their way down a mountain.

Besides, it wasn't entirely a lie, he was fine.

He could deal with this.

So long as he had a distraction.

Which was why, even though Sandy eyed him with a fair amount of suspicion, Wukong stayed around him a little while longer, trying to make small talk about any subject he could think of that Sandy might be knowledgeable about. Cats, tea- literally anything that came to mind.

And it worked- between talking about random subjects, and pacing while rubbing his hands up and down his clothing ( a self comforting gesture, he was unsure when he'd starting doing it, but he sure wasn't going to stop now-), the overbearing panic from the thunder was almost dulled enough for him to forget about it.

....But this strategy wouldn't work forever.

-

They'd all gone to bed.

Everyone was asleep.

They were still in the thunderstorm.

And now, Wukong had no one to talk to.

A loud boom rattled the ship, and Wukong barely stopped himself from whimpering as he leaned against the wall of the hallway. On the one hand, at this point, he just wanted to curl up and cry. But on the other hand, staying still for too long just reminded him of being trapped, unable to move-

Another roll of thunder came through, and Wukong couldn't stop the whimper this time.

Fuck. He couldn't do this, he needed- he needed another distraction, someone else to talk to-

But the others were asleep. There was no way he could wake them up for this, not only would it disturb their sleep, but he'd been doing such a good job of pretending everything was fine, that he was still the strong and powerful Monkey King that defeated Demon Bull King five hundred years ago. He couldn't shatter that image for them. They deserved to believe that they were safe with him there.

He couldn't wake them up. If only someone, maybe Sandy, was still awake, maybe then-

....But there was someone awake.

A mental image of Macaque, sitting on his bed, covering his ears so that they wouldn't be hurt by the loud thunder, unable to sleep from the noise, appeared in Wukong's mind.

Almost immediately he dismissed the idea. He'd already spent at least an hour locked up in a magic barrier with the shadow monkey, outside of general interaction around the others, he wasn't going to actively seek out the other's company for anything else. He still didn't trust him. There was no way he was going to let Macaque know about this.

Another loud crack of thunder quickly made him change his mind.

In only a matter of seconds he stood outside of Macaque's door, debating whether or not he should knock. The choice was made for him as the door swung open, Macaque standing there, looking tired and absolutely done with everything.

"Don't even start." He said, stopping Wukong before he could even open his mouth. "I could hear you panicking from miles away."

"I'm not panicking!" Wukong said, despite the fact that he clearly was, and Macaque sighed-

Before pausing, grabbing hold of his scarf and pulling it up to cover his ears, and that was the only warning Wukong got before-

Another clap of thunder hit, this one closer to the ship than the previous ones, based on how loud it was, and both monkey's cringed. A moment passed, then Macaque slowly let the scarf fall down from his ears, lightly rubbing them in an attempt to stop the ringing.

Wukong continued shaking.

Macaque took one look at him and sighed, before grabbing hold of Wukong's wrist, and dragging him down the hallway.

"Hey- what're you-" Wukong started to protest, trying to pull his wrist out of the other's grip, but Macaque held firm.

"I'm not dealing with this tonight." Macaque grumbled, and Wukong's protests continued, only the fear of possibly waking someone up keeping him from shouting at the other.

At least, until they started approaching MK's room.

Wukong dug his heels into the floor, actually managing to bring Macaque to a complete stop.

"We are not waking up MK." Wukong hissed, trying to level Macaque with a threatening glare, although it was very much ineffective, as another bang of thunder made him start shivering again. Macaque, who had used one hand to pull up his scarf and protect his ears from the noise, rolled his eyes.

"Unfortunately for you, I am not going to tolerate your bullshit." He said, ignoring Wukong's offended gasp. "It's late, my ears are ringing, and right now I honestly couldn't care less about your thunder phobia or whatever. You're going to talk about whatever the hell this is with MK and the others, and I'm going to go back to pressing two pillows over my ears so I don't get hearing damage, okay?"

"No-" Wukong said, but it was too late, as Macaque banged his fist on MK's door. There was a startled yelp, and a crash, and Wukong winced, knowing that his successor had probably just fallen out of his bed. A few seconds passed, and then MK slowly opened the door, tiredly rubbing his eyes.

"Macaque? What's going-" MK started, before noticing Wukong, who was very obviously trying to escape Macaque's grip. "...Monkey King?"

"Uh, hey bud!" Wukong said, smiling nervously even as Macaque sent him a warning glance. "Nothing's wrong, you can go back to bed-"

He was cut off by another boom of thunder, cringing and slightly curling in on himself. Macaque had let go of his hand, in order to better cover his own ears, but somehow the thought of running away was suddenly the furthest thing away in Wukong's mind. MK continued to glance between the both of them with confusion and concern.

"...Are you alright?" MK eventually settled on asking and Wukong-

Wukong finally gave in.

".....No." He said, quietly, looking down at the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Macaque fade into the shadows, probably heading back to his room, but he wasn't really focusing on that right now. "I'm....not okay."

"It's the thunder isn't it." MK said, it wasn't a question, it was a statement, and Wukong nodded silently, still refusing to look MK in the eye. "Do you want to talk about it or-"

"I just need a distraction." Wukong said, "Just, I don't want to think about-"

Another clash of thunder, and MK winced sympathetically as Wukong decided to take a page out of Macaque's book and cover his ears with his scarf. Surprisingly enough, the fabric over his ears did actually help a little, it was almost a bit comforting, really.

MK waited until Wukong had mostly pulled himself back together before speaking again.

"We could play Monkey Mech?" He suggested, "I've got a TV and console in my room-"

Wukong practically rushed past him, entering the room and immediately finding the console and turning it on.

-

MK sighed, setting his controller down on his lap as he glanced at the clock.

4 am in the morning.

(Usually, MK would be a bit concerned over how little sleep he was getting, but-

To be honest, he hadn't been sleeping well the past few nights anyways. What was one more sleepless night?)

"Y'know, arguably, you probably should've gone to Sandy for this." MK said.

"Probably, yeah." Wukong mumbled, before looking over at MK. ".....Can you promise me you won't tell the others about this?"

"...Sure." MK knew that the others had also figured it out already, but if Wukong wanted to pretend that no one knew, well, MK certainly wasn't going to be the one to start digging into that.

That was probably a job that would be best left to Sandy in the long-term.

[hermitcraftheadcanons]

Hermitopia AU Conclusion

The last ask has been answered, the masterposts are complete, and (although art, writing, and Discord discussion are still accepted and encouraged) it is finally time to officially wrap up the Hermitopia AU! Because this was such a massive event - and no small thing to moderate - there will be a pause in blog activity for a day or so before the inbox will open for regular headcanons again. I apologize in advance for the wait!

In the mean time, I would just like to say: I am so, so thankful to everyone who participated in the AU. Your ideas and your creativity have made this blog a better place, whether you sent in one headcanon or dozens, and I am constantly in awe of the energy and enthusiasm of this community. Thank you, all of you, for making this universe we’ve created as vast and as interesting as it turned out to be.

Below are a collection of my own ideas, for those of you who like a satisfying (but still not entirely closed-ended) ending. These events take place as many days, months, or years into the future as you need them to make your own ideas work, and none of them are set in stone. You can take all of them, some of them, or none of them as truth if you want to...but either way, it has been an honour to build on a project like this one alongside you all.

And with that...the Hermitopia AU concludes! Finished, or barely begun, like so many good projects are. Have a great day everyone, and happy headcanoning!

- Mod Shade

"People of Hermitopia."

The man on the screen shifts, running a nervous hand across his bald head and squaring his shoulders. The broadcast quality is unstable, but it's more than enough for every citizen in the city to recognize who's speaking.

"This is your Concorp Branch Director, Cub. As I'm sure you are aware, I am the head of Project VEX in this city. You all know the VEX initiative as groundbreaking, life-saving, a shining success and a step towards a new era for humanity...and some of you may even see me as a hero for creating it.”

He closes his eyes, a brief look of pained remorse crossing his face. For a moment, he looks utterly defeated, almost small in the face of his impromptu audience of thousands...but finally, he fixes the camera with a steady gaze once more and begins the great unravelling.

“Maybe it was all those things, in the beginning. Maybe *I* was, once. But today, after far too long, I have some confessions to make...."

~

- For years, Cub had been desperately scrambling to hold the tatters of his life’s work together. Project VEX had started so well, and he had poured so much of himself into it, that when the failed experiments and rebellions became more and more frequent he was unable to accept a change of course. He covered up the project’s failings to maintain funding and public image, but mostly to maintain his own image to himself - that he was still the hero he’d set out to be and create at the project’s start. However, his denial was wearing on him heavily, and eventually he had a breakdown and decided to go public rather than keep drowning the city in lies.

- This breakdown was prompted by xB, who after his own moral breakthrough, confronted Cub and urged him to stop withholding knowledge and truth. xB also informed Cub of his own unknown truth - that the unintended power of his presence was the thing that was keeping the experiments successful when Cub was around. This was the final straw in breaking through Cub’s denial

- Along with Cub’s broadcasted speech, files were released to the media containing proof against most if not all of Concorp’s falsehoods. Many names were cleared of crimes that had been pinned on them, including Beef, Impulse, Doc, Cleo, and the majority of the other Unrestrained and Unaffiliated former VEX trainees that the company had tried to cast away

- Understandably, it took a very long time for the chaos to die down and all that information to be processed by society and the justice system. It may be years before the community can see some of their heroes in the proper light again, but at least they are now free to begin rebuilding their reputation without being labeled as villains and traitors.

- Those who actually did commit villainous acts are given a fair trial, with consideration for their motives and the new Concorp information as extra evidence

- The VEX program is withdrawn by Cub’s superiors and put under a strict review. It is reborn after a massive restructuring, with a new director, new limitations on what experiments can and cannot be attempted, and a greatly extended screening and training program to reduce the chances of graduates becoming villains. The new project will produce far fewer heroes with much subtler powers at first...but if that is the cost for the safety and stability of the city, then most people would agree that it is a small price to pay.

- Cub is not permitted to work on the new Project VEX in a management role, ever again. It’s a harsh blow for him, to have to watch his dream from the sidelines...but he knows he gave up the right to guide it when he abused the control that it gave him. At least his superiors allowed him something to do while he awaits trial: he is present (although guarded) at every new VEX trainee’s first experiment, lending his power to increase their chances of success.

- Mayor Scar resigned willingly. Nobody had enough evidence to accuse him of anything, and he didn’t plan on giving them a reason to look by trying to stay in office. Instead he chose to make his exit from both Concorp and government matters complete, at last. Or so he thinks. Who knows? Maybe he’ll learn what most of the people he’s helped to manipulate have already found out: that connections and old grudges don’t easily lose their grip.

- Scar is replaced by TFC, voted in by almost unanimous community support and funded by donations from all the people he’s saved over the years

- The greater Convex company offers a choice to the survivors of the old program: Come to work under their new, more honorable system, or take a generously large settlement and be free to build new lives

- Team ZIT declines the job offer, pooling their payment and using it to buy a shiny new base together for their independent hero venture. There are still a handful of real villains to fight, after all, and there are bound to be more once people start successfully copying Concorp technology. Now that Impulse is back at their side, they wouldn’t give up their roles saving the community for anything - but they’re done with being used by some guy behind a desk. From now on, justice and bravery will be their only guides!

- ...justice, bravery, and TFC, that is. He isn’t their boss by any means, but the more experienced hero does drop by often between his mayoral duties to make sure the youngsters stay out of trouble and in one piece.

- The nHo, according to all official records, took their settlements and split up, leaving Hermitopia far behind. However, Team ZIT suspects that the vigilante life hasn’t left them so easily. They’d be the last ones to report the odd sighting of a whipping vine or a distant masked figure, though - unregulated as they are, the nHo’s shady methods for a good cause prove useful from time to time. (And their base has really good tea. Okay, maybe it’s a little bit more than “the occasional sighting”...)

- Ren settles back into his meadow cabin, but after that massive release of info and a long, LONG period of processing, he now has Iskall, Stress, and Cleo as regular visitors. Every morning he wakes up and forgets for a moment that it’s real, that they’re really alive and with him again...but they are, and he is happier than he ever thought he would be again.

- Jevin and Mumbo visit the cabin occasionally. It took a while for Mumbo to get his memory back, but he now remembers all of his friendship with Iskall and Grian, and they come together for fun and shenanigans regularly with the rest of the cabin crew.

- Grian still spends his time looking for his clones, but honestly, he doesn’t mind. The adventure always did hold more meaning than the conclusion for him, and now, he has friends to help out!

- False disappears into thin air to wait out the fallout of Concorp’s information release. She snags herself a quiet job and a small apartment on the outskirts of town, fully intending to return to her mercenary work just as soon as the dust has settled...next week, maybe. Or the week after that. Or maybe, once the garden has been fully planted. She’s really enjoying having time for stuff like that now...but she’ll get back to work, really, she will! Soon.

- Joe and Cleo tearfully reunite through xB, and Joe becomes another frequent visitor to the cabin. Cleo also visits Joe’s base in the time exclusion zone, but she really prefers the cabin. Time skips are disorienting, and they make her want to sneeze.

- Keralis and Void come to an agreement. Xisuma isn’t entirely clear on what that agreement is - something to do with an allowance of cookies from Biffa’s bakery in exchange for not killing anyone - but he’s more than happy to be less sore and tired all the time.

Hermitopia is making progress. Real progress, this time - not just the breaking of humanity’s limitations, but breaking them with true heroic care, with the good of everyone in mind. There are some hurts that will never fully heal, mistakes that can be learned from but not undone, and yet...now there is a path, a way forward. It won’t be easy, but a kind and gentle future waits for them, welcome and well deserved. They will figure it out, together.

And together, they will step forward, into the new world that each of them has helped to create.

[yoongi-sugaglider]

Jungkook x reader

fairy/soulmate au

Warnings: fluff, mentions of war, mentions of bodily injury, ummm...fluff? lol

Word count: Exactly 10k on the dot!!!

A/n note: So this was supposed to be my secret santa/ winter project for December 2020 but some life stuff came up aka my dad had some very severe health issues that kinda broke my brain for a while. He’s doing better now though and I finally was able to just sit and give this story the love it deserved. To @birbdae​ I am so sorry this is late but thank you so much for being patient with me~ Happy belated birthday and I love you bunches~

“Mother, tell me the story again?” The young girl whispered as she clung to the Queen’s multitude of skirts.

“Hush now my love.” The elegant lady gathered her child into her arms, eyes struggling to see her tiny face in the dusky twilight that surrounded them.

“Please Mother, I’m scared…” 

The woman sighed, allowing her silvery hair to fall into her eyes as she pressed her forehead to her child’s and allowed the icy chill that surrounded them to comfort her into speaking.

“Once upon a time, there lived a young maiden so fair that kingdoms bowed down at the very mention of her name.”

“Queen Merialiies, the most powerful of the frost fae.” The little princess sighed, settling into her mother’s arms and allowing the familiar words to comfort her.

“Aye, that she was. And the kindest. A great war ravaged her country. So devastating was it that half the world lost their lives and the balance of life and death were in chaos.”

The Queen clutched her child closer, shivering as her eyes trained intensely on the entrance of the isolated cavern. “When the war was over the maiden emerged from hiding, seeking out her people and gathering them from their hiding places. She knew that if they were to revive the world they would have to come together, for their strength lay in their bond with each other.”

“Because our joined power is always greater than if we are alone.”

The Queen chuckled, nuzzling into her daughter’s hair and placing the most gentle of kisses to her forehead. “Am I telling this story or you my love?”

The child smiled up at her, giggling as she patted her mother’s cheek. “I’m sorry Mother, please, would you keep going?”

“Alright, where was I?”

“You were about to come to the best part!” 

Smiling the Queen nodded, though her grip on her child tightened. “The maiden persevered, gaining strength from her people as they guided the world towards rebirth. But something was wrong. The poor dear, though surrounded by those that loved and adored her felt alone. Something was missing in her life. A love that she could have all to herself. She began searching, hoping to find one who could see through her strength to the innocent and lonely woman within.”

“And she did Mother! She found her own truest love.”

“Shh, quietly my lovely.” Her panicked gaze wandered the dark, listening intently to the wayward sounds that filtered in through the stone and ice.

“You’re right. She found her love. A twin flame to melt away the loneliness in her heart. The one who carried not only a burning love for her, but also the twin pair to her wings.”

The youngling sighed, burying her face in her mother’s chest as her tiny fingers wrapped in the delicate silk of her bodice. “Twin souls. They were happy right? Finding each other?”

“Of course my love. Finding your twin soul is a cause for celebration. And they did. They celebrated for weeks after. Two kingdoms joined together to celebrate the greatest love story in the history of the fae. There was no war, only peace and prosperity.”

The sounds from outside gained in volume. Explosions and cries for help echoed through the cavern as the two held each other close.

“Mother…”

“I know baby. I’m here. It will be okay…”

***

“My Lady where are you?” 

The young woman flinched, tucking herself farther into the frost covered tree as she watched her jailer...lady in waiting, search for her in the gardens down below.

She’d been avoiding the poor harried woman for hours, hoping to not be dragged back to the small cabin they called home and be forced to sit down and study her histories again. The tutor they’d found liked to drone on and on, more busy with facts and numbers than the great stories of heroes and villains that the young woman preferred to daydream about. He’d taken on the job willingly, a poor clumsy scholar that tended more towards the clumsy side despite the brilliance of his mind.

“My lady! Sir Namjoon awaits you! Please stop hiding and come so that he can teach you like we hired him to!”

The woman snorted, knowing she’d be able to hide as long as she needed if it meant she didn’t have to hover protectively over her inkwell while the man droned on. Luck was not on her side this day though. Where normally her fingers would have done their work, gripping tightly to the course bark that wrapped her beloved tree in silvery protection, today they faltered in the cold.

She barely had a moment to react, a silent oh! of surprise slipping from her lips as she took her tumble. The ground rushed up to meet her, its snow covered embrace announcing her hiding spot with a resounding crash.

A gasp echoed through the clearing, swallowed by the sound of rushed footsteps crunching their way through the freshly lain snow. The fallen woman groaned, eyes filled with the sight of the uncaring forest staring down at her as she lay resigned to her fate.

“My Lady you mustn't lay on your back like…” The maid stuttered to a halt, delicate fingers coming up to cover her lips as her eyes filled with misty tears. “Oh...oh your ladyship I...I’m so s…”

“Hush now Solaris. It’s been 14 years.” The woman sat up abruptly, dusting the snow from her dress and rising to brush it off of her back. “I’ve had enough of these woods. Come now, Sir Clumsy britches is waiting for me.”

Solaris couldn’t help the tittering giggle that slipped from her lips. She bowed her head, giving the young woman a small curtsy as they began making their way back towards the village.

“Might I ask why you’re always climbing that tree my lady?” She couldn’t help her curiosity. It seemed her charge was always running off, attempting to find some adventure or another in any attempt to escape her duties.

“Honestly? I’m not sure. I just…” The young woman sighed, fingers brushing at her skirts as she ducked beneath a wayward tree branch and stepped out into the clearing that housed their small cottage. “I’ve always felt like I was searching for something. Even as a child. I suppose I thought if I could see more of the land, see more of the world from up high I’d be able to figure out what that something is.”

“And have you found it my lady?”

The melancholic woman shook her head, pausing at the door to the cottage and glancing once around the clearing. It was a modest little place they called home, situated just inside the wall of trees that surrounded the capital city of their kingdom. They managed to live quietly here, benefiting from the security of the centuries old trees and forest while still being close enough to the large city to fulfill all of their living needs. It was home, though not the one she’d grown up in. That was a fairytale now only to think about in the quiet nights when she tossed and turned with nightmares of the past.

“No...I haven’t found my twin flame. Not...not yet anyway.”

***

“Your Highness! There’s news from the capital!” A hurried Solaris burst through the front door, eyes wide and panicked as she struggled to catch her breath from the obvious nonstop run from the market to their home.

“Goodness Solaris. Take a moment, calm yourself.” The young woman rose from her chair, absolutely grateful for the interruption from Sir Namjoon’s usual rantings as she guided her breathless maid to the chair she’d been occupying.

“Sir Namjoon, would you kindly draw Lady Solaris a cup of water? I’m sure she’d be grateful.”

The usually calm man grew flustered at the request, rushing towards the tiny kitchen area and rifling through the items for the requested object. Surprisingly nothing fell or broke though as the man returned with a tall cup of cold water and handed it to the maid with trembling hands and the tiniest of a dimple filled smile.

“Y...your...your water my Lady.” He muttered, scurrying back to his large stack of books as if terrified to have Solaris’s attention on him for too long.

After allowing the woman to take a few sips to calm herself her mistress took the cup, placing it off to the side and handing over a handkerchief to allow the woman to wipe at her sweat covered brow.

“Now, what’s got you so flustered that you had to burst in here in the most unladylike of manners?” She smiled in amusement as the woman inhaled sharply, almost as if preparing for the most magnanimous of speeches.

“Your highness! The king! He’s come to the capital and he’s calling all the maidens of the kingdom to attend him! It’s required that all, no matter their status, must see him at once!”

“That conquering tyrant.” Where normally she would be calm the woman suddenly burned bright red with a strange fury. “First he takes our country and now he wants all of the maidens to attend to him?” She turned from her hand maid, fury twisting her features as she stomped over to the window to glare out at the surrounding forest.

“No my Lady, you’re mistaken.” Solaris stuttered, sitting up in her chair as she finally allowed her thoughts to settle. “It’s for the First Prince. They’re wanting a marriage of good faith to allow the two kingdoms to integrate peacefully.”

“P..peacefully??” She sputtered as she turned from the window. Throwing her hands in the air she couldn’t help but to rant. “Those hot heads should have thought of that BEFORE they burned our crops and raided our villages! We’d have easily come to a compromise of some sort had they come bearing that same mentality before taking up arms against us!”

“Madame, they…”

“Yes yes I know.” She waved off Namjoon’s words dismissively. “My father didn’t want to send me there. Didn’t want his precious daughter to ‘descend into that den of thieves’” She tossed up air quotes, sarcasm dripping from every word she spoke. “Really, you men and your misplaced pride. It’s ridiculous how foolish you can be when you think with your sword instead of your minds.”

“With our...m..Madam!” The look of shock on the poor scholar’s face would have been priceless any other day. But for some reason the stately lady of the house just wasn’t feeling the need to tease the scholar.

“So how are they doing this?” She made her way to her favorite chair as she spoke, dropping into it with a huff and staring out of the small cottage’s window. The drifting snowflakes outside caught her attention and she watched them dance their way to the ground as she listened to Solaris explain the situation.

“They’ll be sending soldiers to each house bearing invitations for each eligible female.”

“They’ll be tallying each one up too. Make sure they can count each household while they’re at it.” She grumped as she folded her arms on the window ledge and plopped her chin on her forearms.

“More than likely, yes. And adding to that they’ll send the same soldiers out the day of the ball to come and collect the women.” Namjoon chimed in. “They’ll claim it’s a safety precaution but more so it’s to ensure none of them run off.”

“Why would they do that?” Solaris blinked innocently, her dazed expression and glazed eyes giving away how little she understood of the situation. “A ball! Just imagine all of the beautiful dresses we would see. And all of the handsome young men!” Her giggle echoed through the silent cabin. It quickly died off when she realized neither of her companions were sharing in her excitement.

“Honestly, I forget sometimes you weren’t old enough to remember the war and how horrible things were for our kind.” Standing from her window seat she brushed at the gossamer fabric of her dress as if attempting to rid herself of some imagined dust. “When is this ball they have planned?”

“In three days. They’ll begin sending out soldiers in the morning.” Solaris replied, hanging her head sadly.

“I see. Sir Namjoon, we’ll resume my studies once I’ve returned.” She turned away from the teo, making her way to her room and beginning to pack a small selection of her belongings.

“Wh...Miss...what are you doing?” Solaris demanded as she sidestepped the whirlwind of a woman who was now packing small packages of dried meats and medicines from the storage area of the kitchen.

“I can’t be there. If they find me, find out who I am? I just...I have to go.” 

She finished packing, mind a cold void as her determination was already set. After informing the two where she was going she set off, hoping to escape whatever fate was trying to force her way.

***

The woods were lovely, dark, and deep.

She found herself sighing at the sounds that greeted her as she stepped from the tree line to survey her surroundings.

Before her and stretching far off into the horizon was a massive frozen lake, it's surface dappled by the hoof and paw prints of the many animals that dwelled in the safety of the forest beyond and refused to sleep the winter months away. A rare smile graced her lips, one almost as secretive as the hidden cave she turned and began to make her way towards.

Her steps became lighter as she crunched through the snow, the weight of the sudden announcement lifting from her shoulders as she stepped beneath the glistening blue stalactites. The interior was dimly lit from the light that gently filtered through from the ice that protected the entrance from prying eyes.

The only sound that echoed in the place were her unhurried footsteps and a gentle dripping that whispered to her from somewhere further back in the darkness. She'd visited here many times before, a quiet reprieve she'd found several summers ago when she'd come to the lake to escape the insufferable heat of the season.

The locals didn't visit it,claiming it to be haunted by a human's soul that'd taken up residency in the place a millennia ago, back before the wingless race had died off. It suited her perfectly well as it gave her the solitude she needed to allow her poor broken wings a chance to be free.

And she did just that as she dumped her pack beside the cold ashes of the firepit she'd made during her last visit. Unsnapping the corset that since her waist she allowed it to drop beside her pack and stretched out what remained of her wings.

The nerves had died off long ago, the burnt ends though still stung with the phantom pain, a dark reminder of the night her entire childhood was ripped away from her. She sighed, glancing over her shoulders and imagining the wings as they used to be, a swirl of silver color patterned with flames and snowflakes that gave her the glorious joy of flying through the freezing winter air.

Fluttering them once and then twice she stretched them, letting the cold cave air cool them after being compressed within her body heat for so long. It was a shame really, but she didn’t allow herself to dwell on it for too long, she had a camp to make and some relaxing to do.

***

Jungkook had had just about enough of his aides. They hovered at all hours of the day, incessant in their rambling about court protocol and how important it was to not start any fights with the locals. He was well aware.

He’d never even wanted the war that had ravaged the Winter Kingdom. Had begged his father and the generals to try peace over everything else. But in the end the words of a child had gone unheard by the war blinded adults.

So here he sat, shivering violently from the cold as those blasted tittering fools for his aides dashed around his chamber. He could have called on his flaming core to warm him, but after the first day of doing so only to find himself collapsed in the hall from using far too much energy, he’d just decided it was better to suffer the cold than to appear weak in front of his unfortunate enemies.

“Sire! We must leave now. You mustn’t be late for Lord Hoseok’s dance lessons!” The tiny mouse of a man squeaked, trying so very hard to appear contained and in charge despite the dark circles of worry beneath his eyes.

“Jimin, you know that even if I’m early Lord Hoseok will still grind me into the dust for not learning that infernal winter waltz faster.” The Prince frowned, taking in Jimin’s fear-streaked face.

“That may be Your Highness. But should you dally any longer you’ll be late for sword training with Sir Yoongi as well as etiquette lessons with Lord Seokjin. We have to stick to your schedule or they’ll all be displeased and tell your Father!” Jimin squeaked again, petite hands fluttering up to cover the trembling of his lips.

“My father is too busy planning out his next conquest to even pay half a mind to what’s going on with me or my ’schedule’. Never mind…” He sighed, getting up from the window seat he’d been staring out of and making his way out of his room.

“Have Taehyung meet me at dinner. I’ve got something to discuss with him.”

***

The day continued on, lesson after grueling lesson eating away at what little patience the prince had left.

He collapsed into his chair at dinner, too exhausted mentally and physically to pay any mind to the meal scattered out before him.

“Sire, Lord Taehyung has arrived.” 

Jungkook glanced up, a tired smile being all he could come up with for his friend.

“You look like a dog dug you up in the yard and used you as a chew toy then reburied you and shit on the pile of dirt.” The young man commented as he took his place beside the monarch in training.

“You know I could have your head for that.” Jungkook grumped as he tossed a pea from his plate in the young Lord’s direction.

“Ah, you could. But they’d have to catch me first.” His statement was emphasized by the pea he’d caught between two fingers.

He was nothing if not quick. He’d worked long ago as an assassin but now sat as Jungkook’s right hand man as well as his best friend.

Jungkook smiled, probably the first pleasant expression he’d worn in quite some time.

“So my great and glorious super Prince, future king of all that is boiling and frozen, to what do I owe this most prestigious of honors of being called upon and humble myself in your magnanimous presence?”

Jungkook just about choked on his water, laughing and coughing at the ridiculousness that was Taehyung’s words.

“By the flame you’ve been hanging out with Lord Seokjin again haven’t you?” He snorted, dabbing a napkin at his nose to clear out the water that’d streamed out while he was laughing.

“I mean, the man has great taste in puns. As a Master of many things it behooves me to learn the delicate art of insulting royalty at every turn without actually offending them.” Taehyung shrugged, spearing a chunk of glazed carrot and waving it through the air as he spoke.

“Well, I called you here for a favor actually.” The prince leaned forward, eyes taking in the unaffected assassin who’d busied himself munching on the food that Jungkook was decidedly ignoring.

“Is that so? Whelped a brat that needs hiding?”

Jungkook sputtered, cheeks a bright crimson as his eyes darted around the empty dining room.

“Taehyung!!”

“That’s a no. Only virgin cheeks brush that brightly at a subject like that.”

“I’ll have you know!!!”

“Hush now, poppa’s thinking.” Taehyung smirked at the flustered royal. “If it’s not that..hmm…” He tapped his chin, pretending to think long and hard while Jungkook tried to gather his bearings.

“You’ve insulted a young maiden and her father’s come a calling wanting reparations and you need the family off’d?”

“For the love of...Taehyung please!?”  Jungkook collapsed forward, head buried in his arms as he screamed silently into the table cloth. “You’re never allowed near Seokjin again I swear.”

Taehyung snorted, eyes dancing with glee at having gotten under his friend’s skin.

“So, you’re tired of the court and want to escape is it? Get away from the ball daddy King face arranged so you don’t have to marry some country bumpkin ice queen?”

“I!! Wait. No you’re right. That’s exactly it.” Jungkook’s head jerked up, his face a picture of surprise and awe at how astute the man before him was. “How did you know?”

“We’ve been friends for going on 12 years now my little dongsaeng. How could I not know that you’ve been pushed to your limit and need to escape?” Taehyung smiled, reaching across the table and patting Jungkook’s elbow.

“Don’t worry. Hyung will get you out of this castle. I’ll meet you on your balcony at midnight. Pack light and wear that disguise you’re hiding in that secret compartment at the back of your closet.” Taehyung rose, grabbing one last chicken leg as he began to make his way out of the room.

“How did you…” Before he could finish his sentence though the assassin was already gone, having disappeared into the shadowy hall with one last flirtatious wink thrown over his shoulder.

***

The escape from the castle was simple thanks to Taehyung. A cloak and some heavy clothing were enough to disguise the wings that marked the young Prince as the royal that he was.

The two friends departed with reassurances from Taehyung that he’d lead the guards on a few wild goose chases just long enough for the ball to have come and gone. Jungkook counted his lucky stars in thanks for the effectiveness he’d come to rely on in his friend for so many years.

He took flight, the snowflake and flame veins that marked his wings becoming a blur as he darted through the snow covered canopy of the woods that marked the southern boundary of the Winter kingdom’s capital city.

It didn’t matter where he ended up, he just flew, darting here and there through the trees with a freedom and joy he hadn’t enjoyed in flame only knows how long. He allowed his mind to wander, thoughts a chaotic jumble of hopes and dreams he only allowed himself to think of when he was alone in his rooms at night.

Something gave him pause as he flew. He’d been going for quite some time, but a strange light had flashed at him out of the corner of his eye. A blue glittering affair that’d appeared between the trees despite the woods being pitch dark and most of his vision having been obscured by the blur of fluttering snowflakes.

He pulled up quick, wings only barely straining to keep him from slamming into the trunk of a massive tree that’d been in his way. He twisted in the air, eyes seeking the glow and spotting it as the reflection of a strange light glittering off of the surface of a massive frozen lake.

He moved towards it, allowing his curiosity to guide him on. Stopping short at the edge of the lake he hovered, shielding him from view of the woman dancing on the glowing ice.

It was the strangest thing he’d seen, the way the light shone on her twirling frame as she danced through the snow. It was almost as if the entirety of existence had paused for this one moment. Icicles on the tree branches around him chimed their tune, a melody gifted to his ears from the whispering wind to lend a soft winter’s melody to the racing of his aching heart. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, the whirling ice Princess giggling in the snow.

His wings fluttered, prisms of warm light glancing off her form and highlighting the broken and burned stubs of her wings. He knew the look of those wounds and it hurt to think that at some point the war that had torn their nations apart could have taken the joy of flight from such a beautiful fairy. Without thinking he allowed himself to be lifted through the air, his body reacting first to the pull of the sight of her and second to the musicality of her voice as she sang to the winter’s breeze.

The effort of drifting against the freezing weather proved to be too much for the flame that flickered in his core though. His wings faltered, frost having formed along their tips and weighing them down. The ice of the frozen lake rushed towards him and he couldn’t help the cry of fear that broke free of his chest as he crashed through the thick ice. The last he saw of the enchanting maiden was her panicked gaze, eyes wide at the intrusion and lips parted in a frantic yell as his head sunk beneath the surface.

***

A warmth brushed against his skin and he shivered, subconsciously shimmying his body closer to it. His eyelids felt weighed down by the cold, unable to open as he groaned in protest of the aching cold that stiffened his joints and limbs.

“Hush now, the fire will warm you. Just rest and let the heat do its job.”

The soft melody of the femanine voice eased his mind and he buried himself deeper beneath the heavy furs that surrounded his body.

The woman meanwhile continued to stoke the fire, having long since dried herself after diving in to save the hulking form of the foolish fire fairy that’d allowed himself to be pulled into the lake.

She turned her head, shyly eyeing his form as he breathed softly beneath the furs. She couldn’t help but allow herself to admire his soft sleeping face. Watched as his long eyelashes brushed his cheeks and admired the chiseled shape of his jaw.

She was sure that if he were awake his smile would be soft but wide, imagining teeth nibbling at his lower lip as he chuckled at some joke while doe like eyes glittered with his mirth.

Shaking her head she slapped her cheeks. What was wrong with her!? No matter how handsome he might seem this man was an enemy to her people! She scoffed at her own foolishness, though the sound was caught short as she began to question herself.

If he was an enemy why had she risked her life to save him? She’d known instantly from the way the frost had clung to his wings from the brief glimpse she’d caught of him before he’d been pulled beneath the surface of the waves exactly what he was. And yet when she’d seen those soft...brown...panicked eyes sink within the icy grip of the lake something had screamed from within her to save him. It had been pure instinct at the time.

And now as she sat by the fire, admiring the flames as they danced across their wooden fuel she allowed herself to turn her attention back to the strange ache that twisted at her shoulder blades. It’d crept up her spine as she’d been dancing earlier. As the moon’s rays had shone upon her and just before she’d spotted the crashing flame fairy.

She stretched her arms above her head, willing the dull pain to go away. And though her muscles relaxed and her mind stilled the ache remained, just at the base of her wings and tingling up nerves that she’d assumed long dead and gone. It had to have been the heat of the fire.

And so, after tossing a few more logs upon the flame and checking that her rescue was well and truly asleep and tucked in she walked back out into the cold. Her hopes were that the freezing snow would numb the nerves that seemed to want to awaken. As much as she missed flying through blizzards and dancing through the air with the winter cardinals she didn’t much mind having lost them. It was preferred honestly, as those things she missed always reminded her of the one who’d taught her those joys and she just couldn’t bear the thought of being reminded of her beloved and dearly departed mother.

After an hour or so of allowing herself to wander the secluded forest she made her way back to her cave, wings sufficiently numbed and mind at ease. Though the peaceful mindset was instantly chased away when she came back to see the young man she’d rescued moaning and tossing beneath the furs.

Dashing over she dropped to her knees, fingers frantic as she chased his forehead and placed her icy palm against his burning cheeks. Hissing she jerked her hand back. It was known the flame lords ran much hotter than those of her kind, but this amount of heat was worrying. Rising quickly she raced to her pack, pulling out herbs and medicines, sorting through them and selecting a few she knew to be safe for him.

Back to the fire she went, grabbing her tea kettle and filling it with snow from the entrance to melt above the flames. As the kettle began to boil she tossed in the herbs, eyes anxiously darting back and forth to the trembling form that groaned feverishly for his father .

“Hush now dear, I’ll help I promise.” She mumbled, more to comfort herself as she waited for the medicine to brew.

Once it was ready she ladled it into a cup, blowing desperately on it to cool it as she knelt once more by his side. Pushing away a portion of the skins she lifted his head into her lap, brushing at the black hairs that clung to his forehead from the sweat as she cooed softly to him.

“Here now dear one, open your eyes, I need you to take this.” 

He was much too weak to reply to her, muttering in his feverish sleep about poisons and dungeons.

“It’s not poison. It’s holy basil and chamomile. Now drink. It’ll take the fever away.” Her whispered words seemed to calm him. Bringing the cup to his lips she smiled softly as he drank eagerly from the medicine. Eventually he turned his head away, breathing heavily and moaning to himself. The deep husk of his voice twisted her insides, causing a blush to rush to her cheeks as the silken strands of his hair brushed down over his eyes.

She hadn’t noticed that the sides of his head were shaved, something those in the military and the aristocrats of the fire nation tended to do when important events came up.

He must have been intending on going to that fool prince’s ball. She hummed to herself, finding it hard to allow the bitterness that would normally form at the sight of him to rise up within her. He just seemed far too innocent while he slept in her lap. 

Shaking away the butterflies that tried to rise in her stomach she laid him back down on the makeshift pillow she’d made of a rolled up deerskin and tucked the pile of heavier skins back around him. It would take a dose or two more of the medicine to break the fever but she was determined now. He just had to live or the emotions that rose within her would never let her live her own life in peace again.

*** It was unfathomable how two days of caring for someone in such a state could raise such an attachment in her. She’d wiped his brow so many times she’d become familiar with every scar and divot on his face, making up stories for each as to how he could have gotten them.

On the third day he finally awoke, still groggy from the medicated tea but coherent enough to begin eating the gruel she’d made for him.

“Eat slowly now. There’s no point in rushing if you’re just going to throw it all up later.” She whispered to him, knowing that if she spoke any louder the echoes of the cave would only give him a headache.

“Why are you caring for me like this?” he asked, glancing up at her through his eyelashes as he spooned another bite into his mouth.

“I...well.” She paused for a moment, fingers picking at the frayed wood of the stick she’d been using to stoke the fire.

“My mother always taught me that kindness is more important than any grudge we could hold.” Looking up she gave him a soft smile, though a bit of her pain showed through at the mention of the dearly departed Queen.

“She must have been a great lady.” Placing the bowl and spoon at his side he leaned back against the roughened cave walls, finally allowing his gaze to take in the woman that had saved his life.

She was just as beautiful as his glimpsed image of her had led him to believe, though his heart sank one more when he spotted the burnt nubs that were her wings. He thought for a moment to question her on it, but common sense stopped him halfway to opening his mouth. There was no way that wasn’t a touchy subject, so he left well enough alone.

Instead he allowed his gaze to wander the cave, taking in the rough hewn walls and the way she’d seemed to have made the place her own. Herbs hung from the walls on pegs, bundles of various types each used to treat various injuries and ailments. Though by the way they were hung he suspected they’d been put there more as decoration than anything else.  The fire lit the area up nicely, allowing him to see much further into the cave than he’d expected.

Looking closely he noticed that a lot of the formations he thought to be ice drippings were actually some type of crystal. Though he didn’t recognize them he realized pretty quickly that they were absorbing the light from the fire and projecting that light almost like a torch.

“So...is this your home or…”

“Oh goodness no. I reside in town, I’m just here to get away.” She shook her head, giving off a soft giggle that had his heart soaring.

“I can understand that sentiment. Things were rapidly becoming stifling out there. One could hardly blame a lovely young fae such as yourself for wanting to get away.” He chuckled, his grin widening as she blushed at his compliment.

“Is...is that why you were out in the storm? To get away?”

He nodded as he tucked his hands beneath the fur skins. “Duty to your people can only push you so far before it starts to take over who you are. I wasn’t about to let my father dictate who I was going to become any longer. He’s made enough rash decisions to ruin an entire kingdom, I won’t have myself become a part of that any longer.”

The young man’s words rolled over in her mind, bouncing off the image before her along with the events that had brought her to this very cave.

It wasn’t too hard to put together that he was the young prince and a moment of anger had her clutching the stick in her hand and very seriously considering killing him right then and there.

His father was the reason her parents were dead and her kingdom had burned after all. There was no one here to witness it if she did. And yet a small voice in the recesses of her mind held her back and stayed her hand.

She thought over his words once more, realizing he’d wanted the war no more than she had. What his father had chosen and done should not have been laid on his shoulder.

Placing the stick beside her she began speaking to him. Asking him questions about his childhood and giving her own answers when he asked in turn. They spent the night like this, conversing on any subject that came to mind while avoiding their own identities as much as possible.

The sun outside began to rise and still they spoke, bonding over shared misfortunes and shared goals and dreams when it came to their respective kingdoms.

Unbeknownst to them their mutual feelings for each other began to grow. When she led him out into the light on unsteady feet and he slipped but a little, only for her to catch him, an exchange of touches, barely brief though it may have been, ignited a flame within them both.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and breathing in the frozen scent of her, a crisp smell like the first cold snap of winter. 

“You are...ethereal...did you know that?” He whispered, his lips a hair’s breadth away from her own.

She hummed, mind a haze as her eyelashes fluttered close.”You smell of ash and coal...like roasting over an open fire on a warm summer’s day.”

“Oh?” He chuckled, the sound sending a thrill of excitement through her. “And is that so bad little snowflake?”

“No...I don’t think it is…”

***

The day finally came when the young Prince found himself strong enough to walk on his own. His fever had long since gone and the color was finally beginning to come back to his cheeks.

“You know...we could always just stay here.”

She glanced up at his words, pausing in stirring the stew she’d been cooking over the fire. “What do you mean?”

“Neither of us wants to go back. And well...I rather prefer things out here compared to the hustle and bustle of my normal life.” He picked at a loose bit of string on his clothes, refusing to meet her gaze as he let her mull over his proposal.

“I...hmm.” Sitting back on her heels she stared into the fire. It was tempting, the idea of leaving the stress of her life behind. Having to pretend she wasn’t who her people needed her to be.

“They’ve been too long without a leader.” She whispered.

“I’m sorry?”

Their gazes met, each burning with their own inner fire.

“My people. I may be broken, but they need me. Just as yours need you. One day we’ll have to lead and running away isn’t going to make any of what happened okay.”

Simple words though they may have been they struck a cord in him. More so than anything the multitude of scholars and aids and so called guides could have done. He nodded, determination filling him.

“I may not be able to change much, but one day I will lead, and things will have to change. My father is getting old, as are his war mongering generals…” His words stuttered to a stop, a blush coloring his features as he realized his misstep. “I uh...I mean…”

She couldn’t help but to chuckle. “Don’t worry little Prince. I am well aware of who you are.”

“But..how..”

“Your words may seem subtle or simple but your demeanor can’t be hidden.” She rose, abandoning the spoon she’d been using in the pot.

“And now, I am Y/n the last of the winter fairy monarchs, Princess of Winter and future Queen of my people. It’s an honor to meet you Sire.” With that she bowed, a hint of a smirk tugging at her lips.

“Wait you’re what?? Who?? But how, we were told you and your family…”

“Burned?” Straightening she turned slightly, her wings on display. “My father died fighting yours. And my mother died protecting me. No I did not come out of that battle unscarred.”

“But...why…”

“Why am I telling you?” She tilted her head at him as she returned to stirring the meal.

“I saved your life and nursed you back to health, your people call this a life debt, no?”

He nodded, suddenly realizing just how much he owed her.

“Well, consider this calling in that life debt. A pact between friends you could say. Keep my identity a secret, and on the day you ascend the crown you will find yourself an ally in me.” She smiled, passing him a bowl of the stew.

“That…that’s putting a lot in a man you’ve barely known a fortnight.” He accepted the bowl graciously, barely suppressing a moan at the flavors that danced across his tongue.

“That may be. But life debts are held over everything in your culture. I can trust that above anything else you could give me.”

He huffed, running his fingers through his hair and scratching the back of his head. She’d noticed it was something he did when he was thinking hard on something and had come to find it endearing.

“I mean, I’d have kept your secret even without the pact but...if you insist on calling that as your favor I supposed I truly have no choice.”

The giggle that spilled forth from her made his heart clench and he couldn’t help but grin at her in return, his cheek dimpling and his nose crinkling like a snow bunny.

“It’s settled then.” She announced, standing and taking his now empty food bowl to be washed out.

“Oh? What’s settled?” He stood as well, pulling the empty stew pot from the fire to cool.

“I’ll be taking you back to town come morning and...oh…” She stumbled, her legs suddenly buckling beneath her.

If it hadn’t been for the flame fairy’s quick reflexes she’d have surely injured herself. But his strong arms wrapped around her,pulling her close and checking her over to make sure she was okay.

“By the flame, you’re going to get yourself hurt doing all that!” He frowned, fingertips running along the ridges of her shoulder blades as he watched her blink blurrily up at him.

“What’s wrong?” He asked his frown deepening as she leaned into his touch, lashes brushing her cheeks as her eyes fluttered shut.

“Y/n?” Panic surged through him as he lifted her limp form into his arms.

Where normally her skin was as cold as a winter’s stream it now burned almost as hot as he was and that set him on edge more so than anything ever had in his life. His heart raced as he trudged through the cave and out into the cold morning snow of the forest.

He thanked his flame for the sense of direction Taehyung had instilled in him so many times over the years as his body instinctively turned in the direction of the winter city they’d come from. His wings gave an experimental flutter, barely lifting him off the ground and for the first time since his fall he actually cursed at himself for his midwinter plunge into the icy lake. Walking was his only option.

He continued on through the forest,  moving here and there through the trees in as direct a path as he could manage, all the while whispering soft sweet words of comfort to her when she would toss about in her feverish state.

The only time she paused and relaxed was when the sun would shine through the tree, though Jungkook paid no mind to this, only grateful that she allowed him the reprieve to march on with little struggle.

“N...Namjoon.” She whispered, and for a moment his heart sank. Who was this Namjoon she spoke of? Some lover she never mentioned in all the time they’d spent together.

“Scholar...physician…”

A spark of understanding coursed through him and his steps quickened with a renewed vigor as he came to the edge of the city. A few curt words and ignored glances and he’d arrived at the physician’s clinic, panting from the exertion and praying to every deity he could name that the one she’d spoken of was home.

“Sir! Good Physician! I have need of your aid!” Jungkook announced, using his elbow to force the large wooden door open.

The sound of crashing and halfhearted curses came from some dark corner of the clinic and a tall winter fairy emerged, glasses barely hanging off the tip of his nose as he squinted across the room at the Prince.

“What can I do for you today?” He asked, voice gruff from sleep as he moved closer to Jungkook.

“W...y/n?? Wait, how did she?”

“You know her then? We were out by the lake when she suddenly took ill. I don’t know..what or how but she’d burning up!” 

“Bring her to the table!” The physician rushed off, motioning to a large wooden table towards the center of the room. 

Jungkook complied, ever so delicately placing her down and stepping back to allow the man to work.

As he began examining her he threw a slew of endless questions at the shaken prince who himself was near to collapsing from exhaustion.

“I...I don’t know. She was eating just fine, talking and laughing and it seemed like she was okay. But suddenly...she just collapsed. I just…” His fingers nervously tapped a rhythm on his thighs as his eyes darted around the clinic, searching or hoping for something to look at to ground his mind in the moment.

“Mmm..I’m sure it’s just a cold, or some sort of illness. Though...she’s never been sick a day in her life..” The bespectacled man mumbled to himself as he pressed his fingers against her wrist, checking her pulse and sighing to himself as he stepped away.

“There are a few things I can try just to ease the fever and whatever pain she may be feeling but this is going to take some time…”

“I...I’ll stay with her! I can’t just leave her like this!”

“Your highness...You really should be getting back to the palace.”

“How…” Jungkook’s jaw dropped, eyes bugging out as he stared in fear at the man before him.

“You carry yourself too well to just be some fire nation soldier off the street. And besides, I was there during your coronation. You held yourself well considering the obvious hangover you were sporting.” 

A brilliant blush rose on the Prince’s cheeks as he attempted to sputter out a response. The physician chuckled, patting him amiably on the shoulder.

“Worry not, I’ll do everything I can to ease her pain. I’ll send word to the palace once I know anything. Be off M’lord, you’ve duties to attend to.”

Jungkook couldn’t help the lingering longing look he gave her, a sigh escaping his lips as he resigned himself to the waiting game.

Namjoon frowned as the prince finally left. It’d taken a considerable amount of bribing and fussing to get him to finally walk away but the fact that the young man lingered so long worried him.

“What did you get yourself into this time…” 

***

Panic filled the small room of the physician’s clinic.

He’d spent the last few hours trying every remedy and potion he could find and still her condition deteriorated.

A scream of frustration built in his chest, only barely suppressed by the need to care for her. He sat at his desk, pouring over tomes of old and tossing each aggressively across the room when they proved to be of no use to him.

“Fate’s sake!” He growled, standing from his desk and shoving the chair out behind them.

She’d begun whimpering in her feverish state, every now and again whispering desperate pleas for help and wrenching the knife deeper in his chest. He felt useless, dropping to his knees on the floor beside her and clutching at her hand.

“Tell me, please? How can I help you? What is it that you need?” He whimpered, tears filling his eyes. “How do I save you?”

“M...mommy….tell me a story…”

The words didn’t register at first. Another sentence to him in a long line of whispered desperation.

But a brief flash of recognition hit. “Merialiies…”

He bolted upright, eyes wide and wild with inspiration.

“There’s no way!”

Racing back to his desk he shoved the books and papers out of his way, searching for the small book of tales he’d picked up at the shops a few weeks back.

A shout of triumph burst forth as he held it aloft, eyes glistening with hope as he flipped the pages to one particular story.

“The Heart’s Twin Flames.” He turned to y/n, watching her shift on the table as if trying desperately to escape some pain in her back. “There’s just no way…”

Making his way back he ever so gently turned her to her side, eyes widening at the inflamed skin spreading out across her back from the base of her wings.

“Could it be?” Dropping everything he lifted her into his arms, cringing at the sounds of pain coming from his precious cargo.

“Just hold on, I’ll take you to him. If I’m right...you may just get your wings back.”

He hurried from the clinic, not even paying mind that he’d left the front door open to swing in the wind. 

“Move! Please get out of my way. This is an emergency!” He shouted, shoving his way through the crowd of villagers lining the walkways as he raced towards the castle.

The front gates loomed before him, almost imposing if it weren’t for the sheer amount of panic flowing through him.

“Halt! State your business.” A soldier stepped before him, massive sword held at his throat .

Namjoon showed no fear, spine straight and shoulders squared as he stood his ground against the intimidating soldier.

“I’ve come at the request of his Highness Prince Jungkook of the Fire Fae kingdom. It is of the utmost importance that I speak with him immediately.”

The soldier continued to glare as a second stepped forward and the show of force began to deflate him.

“You don’t understand! I need to see him! It’s his twin flame! He found her and now without him she will die!”

“A likely story! Today is the day of his ball and you expect me to believe that suddenly a woman is his twin flame and without him she will die?” The guards chuckled together, heads thrown back with laughter as they continued to mock him.

“Sir, please! I couldn’t make this up if I wanted to! She’s dying. There must be something we can do?!”

The guard shook his head, a steely gaze pinning the poor man in place. It was obvious he wasn’t moved by their story.

“No matter the reason these gates were ordered to remain closed. Should you have proper documents the case would be different but there is nothing I can do for you. Find her a doctor, or some sort of specialist. But find them somewhere else.”

“Have you no heart man!? We’ve seen the doctor, hell I AM the doctor! There’s nothing more to do for her but get the Prince’s help! Please you must understand?? Surely you’ve heard the legends, are they not told to your children? They are fated to be! The proof is right here!” Namjoon was practically purple in the face by this point, spittle flying as he screamed in the face of the guard who’s grip was forever tightening on his spear. 

Unbeknownst to the arguing pair and barely conscious woman the fae in question had heard everything.

“Sir?” One of the many aids that had been walking with the future ruler gave him a questioning stare, wondering what their next action would be.

“There’s no harm in finding out Jimin. I’m more than suited to handle things should there be any threat.” Prince Jungkook smiled, a rare sight on the man as he handed over the documents they’d been going over as they walked from the main castle to the stables.

“Alright. I’ll take these back to the stable master in your stead. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

The prince grinned, bumping his aid in the shoulder with his elbow. “Now when have I ever done anything stupid?”

“Need I remind you of the state you were in last night?”

“Can’t hear you! Walking away now!” Prince Jungkook tossed over his shoulder as he made his way to the woven metal grating that served as the castle’s front gate.

For a moment he hung back in the shadows, eyeing the tall bespectacled man who seemed to have an almost vice like death grip on the tiny quivering bundle of rags in his arms.

The snow that had been falling began to ease up, revealing a small crowd that had gathered behind them all. As the guard and nameless man argued the townsfolk began to chime in, screaming curses at him and bickering with every word he spoke.

The Prince’s temper only flared when the first stone was thrown, something seemingly so small that it would have been noticeable if it weren’t for the fact that it’d hit the bundle’s back, causing a small squeak of pain to echo through the gateway. He knew that squeak.

“What’s going on here?” He puffed his chest out, spine straight and eyes fierce as he allowed the flames of rage to flow through him. Striding forward with all of the ego and confidence that his position afforded he stepped between the man and the crowd. The mere sight of him had those gathered scurrying away, hollered apologies tossed over snow covered shoulders as they dashed off to whatever tasks they’d been attending to before allowing their chicken like rubbernecking to get the better of their attention.

“Y..your Highness. I just...” The man stuttered, shifting the tiny bundle of cloth in his arms as he struggled to push through his own confusion and panic at seeing the regal object of his desperation appearing before him.

“Guard, can you explain to me why it is that you’ve allowed a mob of people to gather at the entrance to my future home?”

“He was...he just wanted…”

“Sire please! It’s y/n, she needs your help!”

“Y/n?” This peaked his interest. “Is she alright? Is...what happened? I only just saw her a few hours ago!”

“Sire, she fell terribly ill and what was left of her wings has begun flaking off. If we don’t act quickly there’s...there’s just no hope of saving her.” 

Prince Jungkook glanced around, indecision causing him to hesitate for a moment as he watched his guards scanning the surrounding area.

“Alright, bring her inside, we’ll take her to my physi…”

“Sire please, she doesn’t have time for that!” Namjoon couldn’t help the tone of his voice as he shouted at the intimidating man. “You have to help her now, she’s dying the longer we talk about this!”

He dropped to his knees, unwrapping the blanket from the woman’s trembling form and carefully laying her body on the glistening snow.

Jungkook’s feet crunched through the snow, eyes squinted as he shielded them from the glare of the sun reflecting sharply off the glow surrounding the dying woman’s form. A strange itch began in the center of his shoulder blades, that spot he could never reach where his wings joined with the muscles of his back.

Shrugging off his cloak he knelt beside her, heart racing as the strange feeling in his wings slowly spread to the rest of him. The sun burst through the clouds, shining brightly and warming his exposed skin as his fingers brushed her cheek.

“My liege, all you have to do is allow the sun to shine through your wings and onto her. That alone is enough.” Namjoon whispered as he stepped back from them and allowed them their space.

Jungkook couldn’t help but to hesitate. There were so many things that could go wrong should he allow himself to listen to this strange man. If it were a track of some sort his kingdom would suffer if anything happened to him. But as he watched her pained face scrunch once more and as the sound of her pitiful whimper reached his ears his resolve steeled.

Leaning forward he spread his wings, allowing the light of the sun to cast a prism of reflected light over her body. The air filled with a magic the kingdom hadn’t seen in a very long time. Golden dust motes filled the air, sparkling like fireflies out in the mid-day glow. It attracted those that’d hurried away, gathering them in the square and on the streets.

The soldiers shouted, weapons raised in alarm as they watched their fearless leader begin to rise into the air alongside the small wingless form that he cradled so closely to his chest. But just as suddenly as their alarm and rage and fear rose it began to vanish, replaced instead with a calm joy that thrilled through their veins quicker than an adrenaline fueled march into the battlefield.

The people began to cheer as the two bodies were engulfed in light that shone so bright it began to rival the sun. And all along the young man couldn’t take his eyes off her form.

The woman that’d given him shelter in that freezing midnight cave. Her once frail body began to fill with life, color returning to her cheeks and her weak fingers gaining strength as they clung to his royal clothes. Her eyes fluttered open, a gasp escaping her lips as where once there was only burned stumps, now beautiful crystalline wings sprouted forth from her body, fluttering on the breeze before quickly gaining the strength to allow her to hover on her own.

And his own wings lost their brilliant red glow, cooling and shimmering as he beat them gently to keep him aloft.

The glow surrounding them faded and a hush fell over the crowd at the sight. A tiny waif of a girl engulfed in the strong arms of the royal flame.

“My love.”

“My twin flame.”

“I never got to thank you for saving my life.” His words caused her to blush as she looked at him through her eyelashes.

“I think you just did…”

Their hushed voices whispered words of comfort as their bodies slowly returned to earth. They’d only had eyes for each other, but as their feet returned to the earth that’d born them they turned to the people, each smiling with a joy that the once warring people felt throughout the lands. Warriors dropped their weapons, embracing the people they’d fought with for so very long.

Jungkook turned to the winter maiden, long,calloused fingers engulfing her own as he leaned forward to touch his forehead to hers.

“My love, how could I not have recognized you for what you were?”

“My sweet future king. Fate has a strange way of finding lovers and putting them together when the world needs their love the most.” She smiled, warm tears filling her eyes as her heart filled with a warmth only he could provide.

As one they turned to their people, joined hands raising into the air as Jungkook announced.

“I have found my Twin Flame. May peace rain on our kingdoms with the union of our joined blood! May you all find the joy my heart has been seeking. For from this moment on there will be no war, there will be no fighting. WE ARE ONE!!”

The people cheered, warriors embraced farmers, aristocrats feasted among peasants. Fire embraced ice. And as their lips met in a dewy kiss filled with all of the passion of new love, peace did reign. For they were now one.

[bthump]

Kinda hot take, but sometimes I feel like Griffith and Guts' relationship is... a tad too intense and dramatic, considering they were friends for only 3-4 years and they were teens during that time? I know that Berserk's world is different, but sometimes it kinda feels like Romeo and Juliet, where the love story is super intense and dramatic and yet it unfolds in less than a week and the protagonists are 13 and 16, yk? Just that kind of jarring contrast. Idk, what do you think?

lol yeah I can understand feeling this, especially because we don’t really get a whole lot of like, Griffith and Guts’ relationship on page. We get some significant scenes but not much of their day to day chemistry, and with the three year time skip we don’t get to see their relationship develop either. If it feels quick and more intense than is justified, I think that’s probably at least partly why.

But it works for me personally.

Realistically to be fair while they are technically dumb teenagers lol three years is a decent chunk of time to be low-key in love with your bff. First dates to marriages regularly happen quicker than that. Plus they don’t really feel like teenagers in the story to me, esp after the 3 year time skip, even though they are, because they have adult responsibilities and priorities and the like, sensibility of the story is very adult. So it’s easy for me to take their feelings seriously instead of looking at it like teenage crushes, because the story takes those feelings seriously I guess.

But, more importantly than realistic explanations, I think their relationship works for me and feels justified because while we don’t see how they fit together as friends in great detail, we are really shown the impact their respective feelings have on them. And not just in the dramatic moments like Griffith ending up in a torture chamber or Guts leaving the Hawks to get his attention lol, but moments like Griffith asking if Guts thinks he’s cruel, Guts dedicating his sword to him, Guts being pissy about Griffith getting promoted, everyone’s surprised reactions when Griffith risks his life for Guts the first time (and Casca’s resigned reaction when he does it the 2nd time lol), the way the waterfight is the first time we see Guts happy, Griffith asking Guts to assassinate Julius, the way their memories of each other at climactic tragic moments are contrastingly mundane and ordinary (ie Guts and Griff walking away after a battle on “You’re the only one,” Griff looking back at Guts before a battle during Guts’ post-Eclipse breakdown), etc.

And also like, with their respective characters individually I think we’re shown why they have such a profound impact on each other, because we see their deep personal issues that the other, like, assuages for a while. We’re shown Guts’ issues with feeling like an outsider throughout his childhood and feeling valued only for the money he brings in, and we’re shown exactly how Griffith counteracts that and makes him feel secure and wanted when he risks his life for him.

And we see Griffith’s major issue with presenting an idealized image to everyone while hiding his real human self out of self-loathing and guilt and how he is able to start to open up with Guts and trust him to see that side of him, to the point of asking him for help and reassurance.

Griffith is the first person Guts ever trusted to love him for him, and vice versa, and it makes sense to me that that has a profound impact on both of them. Like Guts only had that sense of love without distrust for what, a couple weeks before the Promrose Hall speech tore it away again, but it still just feels right to me that those few weeks are the defining point of Guts’ life, the brief window of time he’ll spend the rest of his life longing for.

And honestly Griff’s equivalent can probably be boiled down to about ten seconds of forgetting his dream when he asks Guts if he thinks he’s cruel (I don’t think that’s the only moment the “you’re the only one who made me forget my dream” line refers to but I think it’s the most significant), but that still works for me lol.

So like, to sum up, I think the main reason griffguts works for me is because the characters’ issues are so, like, just huge and intense and affect everything about their lives that their relationship being the one thing that gives them a brief respite from those issues just creates a good strong sense of significance to me. And also Miura is good at showing how that relationship affects them both in more subtle pervasive ways too.

hmm even more tl;dr I guess I feel like my love of griffguts is more about the characters than what we’re shown of the actual relationship. So this is maybe not a great answer to your ask lol, you’re basically saying their relationship affected them both more dramatically than is plausible and I’m like, their relationship is good because it affected them both so dramatically. So at the end of the day this might just be a personal taste thing.

But anyway thanks for the ask, this was interesting to think about and kinda made me consider things about the ship that I hadn’t before.

[writingwithacupoftea]

Of black cats and lessons to be learned

Summary: Someone is meddling with Y/N Shelby’s work at Shelby Company Limited and Tommy jumps to conclusions that he’ll later regret.

Word Count: 2242

A/N: I honestly still don’t know if I like this ending, but let me know what you think. Hope you enjoy it!!

The rain poured down outside the window of her office at Shelby Company Limited, and occasionally a large drop would bounce loudly off the glass. Normally Y/N would find the sound comforting, but today it was just downright fucking annoying. But as the door to said office bangs open, Y/N knows that the rain is going to be the least of her worries.

No one ever enters her office without knocking but Tommy.

And Tommy never lets the door bang unless he's pissed off.

Despite refusing to look up at her elder brother and boss, Y/N felt his glare on her as he stormed over. When Tommy slammed last week's accounts onto her desk, she slammed her pen down and glared right back at him. 

"What the fuck is this?" Tommy demanded. 

"Last week's accounts," Y/N deadpanned, not breaking eye contact. 

"This isn't the time for jokes, Y/N, this is serious. They're riddled with mistakes for the third week running. Mistakes that could be lethal to this company and people's view of us" 

"Well everything was correct when I handed it over to your secretary, I checked and double checked everything," as usual, Y/N added silently. "I keep telling you, my work is being meddled with!"  Whilst Y/N appeared calm, her blood was boiling. 

Tommy slowly took out a cigarette and lit it, in what she assumed was supposed to be an intimidating manner. It would be, to anyone but her. 

"I've been having dreams about a black cat. Someone is trying to steal my crown." He sighed. "For someone so intelligent, I'd have expected better from you, Y/N" The woman in question was stunned into silence. 

"Seriously, Tommy, me? I'd have expected better from you than to go around making accusations like that, both as your employee and as your sister.  I've supported you through everything. When everyone turned against you, I was there. And you have the nerve to stand here and say that I'm trying to overthrow you." Y/N's anger was starting to seep through into her words, and a tidal wave was sure to follow. "You know that I loved Grace when you married, but GOD you were completely blinded by a good fuck all those years ago, and do you know what?" Y/N leaned forwards, menacingly, "I think the same has happened again." 

With those few words, Tommy reached the end of his tether, slamming his hand onto the solid wood desk. "ENOUGH! If that's what you think of me, let's get the truth out in the open, eh? I think you've wanted this since the start. I think you've wormed your way around the company and the rest of this family and, blinded by your ambition -" 

"My ambition?!" "you've forgotten the one main obstacle in your way. Me. And I'll tell you something else: I’m not moving for anyone." 

A tense silence fell in the room.  Y/N, holding back her tears and refusing to show any signs of weakness, simply nodded. "That was quite the speech, Thomas. Rather hypocritical too, might I add, lecturing me on being blinded by ambition. But I'm not even going to try and defend myself against those ridiculous claims because, when it's too late, you'll realise just how wrong you were." Y/N's voice was icy cold, and she picked up her coat and bag. "I only have two things left to say to you. As your employee, I resign, you can sort this fucking mess out on your own this time. And as your sister, well, you're not my family anymore." With that, Y/N stormed past him, out of the building and let the rain disguise her tears. 

*** 

The only family member that Y/N had spoken to since the incident was Esme. She informed her sister-in-law that she was going to spend some time on the road with the Boswell's, a gypsy family who Y/N had become very well acquainted with, but they hadn't spoken since.  It wasn't running away, it was an attempt to break free. That's what Y/N kept telling herself anyway. 

Her time on the road had been exactly what she needed. The freedom, the open air, all the things that Y/N never realised that she had missed so much. Yet it was still tainted with memories of Tommy. Memories of happier times, when he would chase her around and play games and smile.  Y/N had accepted that the war had changed her older brother, but the day she stormed out he was completely unrecognisable.   

They used to always have each other's backs.  She always wanted to make her beloved brother proud, but never wanted to be 'just like Tommy', despite Arthur and John's endless teasing.  They were each other's rocks, the one reliable thing, and now that feeling of security had faded away like the smoke from his cigarettes. 

Y/N was destroyed by the incident in her office, even though she hid it well. Now, two months into her time on the road, she was ready to be busy again and so set out to find a new job. 

*** 

It had been four months since any of the family had seen or heard from Y/N. 

Tommy had discovered that, as usual, his sister's instincts had been right and there had been someone trying to bring the business down from the inside. And it was the secretary.  And she was part of another criminal gang who were rapidly expanding.  A black fucking cat if ever Tommy saw one. 

The traitor had had the nerve to tell him that the way to tear the company apart was to, quite simply, shatter the relationship between the two people who had the greatest minds and the strongest relationship: Y/N and Tommy. 

It was the truth and Tommy knew it, having already felt the impact of her absence dearly, both on the efficiency of the company and on himself.  But the it was too much for him to handle, and had let Arthur and John see to it that the secretary couldn't reveal any more truths to him. 

He had never realised how important his sister was to him, how loyal and how much he needed her.  With every day that passed without hearing of Y/N, Tommy became more and more anxious. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself and the rest of the family wouldn't forgive him either. 

But the day that Tommy did get news of his beloved little sister, he almost wished he hadn't. 

'A sister for a sister, seems fair enough, don't you think, Mr Shelby? We'll be in touch.' 

Along with the note came a bullet.  A bullet with Y/N's name etched into it, wrapped in her bloodied handkerchief. 

*** 

Sheffield had been the nearest city.  That was why Y/N chose to stop there. What she didn't realise is that it was a city rife with gangs. 

She had fallen in with another gang, the last thing that she wanted to do. 

And now she was locked in a cold, damp basement and, though she hated to admit it, Y/N wanted Tommy more than ever.  

Beaten and bruised, she felt like a little girl again with her desperate need to be enveloped in her older brother's arms once again.  But despite her wants and her needs, she had refused to break, even when she had been battered to the point of unconsciousness in her kidnapper's attempt to get information out of her. 

She would protect her family and their company until her last breath.  She would protect Tommy as he had protected her so many times in the past. 

But it wouldn't come to that, because Y/N Shelby was far too stubborn to die whilst being guarded by a man that couldn't even count to ten. And so, with this new found strength and resolve, she planned her escape. As much as she wanted her brother, she damn well refused to let him come riding in like her knight in shining armour... 

*** 

Days had passed since Tommy had received the note.  The Shelby clan had all reacted in their own ways, but no one was as torn up as Thomas Shelby.  He was drinking more, lashing out more, and no one knew when he was going to completely snap. 

The family had poured all of their time and energy into searching for their sister, and yet they still didn't have a single lead. All they knew was that the traitorous secretary hailed from Sheffield, however there was definitely more than one gang based there. 

But one day, a gloomy day where the rain poured down outside the Garrison, the people of Small Heath were able to stop living in fear of the leader of the Peaky Blinders' next outburst. 

Thin, trembling, black and blue, Y/N Shelby stumbled through the door to the pub, where her family were gathered. Crystal blue eyes locked with hers, widening in shock and relief. But that was the last thing she saw before letting the exhaustion take over her, and her body collapsed to the floor. 

*** 

The hours that followed were a blur for Tommy. Not caring that everyone was watching, he had scooped Y/N into his arms and refused to let her go as John had driven them to Tommy's house; even though it was only a few streets away, he didn't want her getting any colder than she already was. She was as pale as death, and Tommy was scared. 

Polly had come round, he remembered, to tend to Y/N's wounds and settle her down into his bed.  She had shooed him out of the way as he tried to stay in the room, not wanting to leave his sister's side now that he finally had her back. 

After she had gone, well, Tommy didn't know how long he sat by his sister's bedside.  It could've been minutes, or hours.  He couldn't remember the last time he had seen Y/N look so vulnerable. Since he had come back from France, she always seemed so strong. Maybe, Tommy mused, she really was too much like him sometimes.  In his dedication to the company, he'd started to forget that she was his little sister first and foremost, and not just his best employee. 

The next morning, Tommy was still so consumed with his guilt and worry that he didn't even notice when Y/N first woke up.  Yet at the small voice saying "Tom?", his attention moved completely to his little angel. 

"Hello, trouble," he said, a glimmer of a smile passing over his lips as his sister glanced quickly around the room and then straight back to him.  

"I made it," she sighed softly, tears finally beginning to pour down her cheeks. "I'm home." 

"Shhh now. You're here, you're safe, and I'm not gonna let those bastards touch you again." Tommy brought her hand, which he had been clasping tightly since the moment that Polly had finished, up to his lips, placing a soft kiss on the back of it. "And I am so, so sorry, sweetheart. You were right, you're always fucking right. If I'd just listened to you, you wouldn't be in this state now. I love you so much and I'm so sorry..." Tommy continued rambling quietly to himself, and Y/N was alarmed to feel his tears hitting her hand.  She was also amazed to hear the Thomas Shelby say the word 'sorry' - he usually said it through his actions, and never actually said it out loud.  But here he was, unable to stop whispering it to her. 

"Tom..." 

"Don't you dare fucking tell me that this isn't my fault." Y/N was brought to silence by the severity of his voice. "I failed you, Y/N/N." 

"You've taught me so much Tommy, and I love you more than anything, but speak to me like you did all those months ago and I will leave again. Maybe it's time the roles were reversed and you let your little sister teach you some things, yeah?" The siblings chuckled at that. Tommy knew that he couldn't cope with her leaving again. He just couldn't. His entire world had crumbled in the time that she had been away, but at the same time he knew that Y/N was right. Painfully, he added, he knew that she'd be right to get away from him if he ever became like that again.  

Y/N saw the tear tracks left on her brother's face and the look in his eyes that told her that he was scared that she was going to vanish right before his eyes. She knew that, as much as this conversation wasn't over, it could wait for another day, and she patted the space next to her on the bed. "Come on, you big old softie." 

"Oi, watch it." Tommy replied, sternly. However Y/N saw the teasing glint in her brother's eyes as he gently wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to his chest, and placed a kiss on the top of her head. 

As they lay there, the sun gently began to break through the clouds.

***

Both of them had a lot to learn, they knew that. But they'd do it together in their typical Y/N and Tommy way. 

And the first lesson that Y/N learnt was that when Tommy Shelby said that he wasn't going to let you out of his sight for a while, he really fucking meant it. 

[demoneyesanddamagedsouls]

Sparring Partners

Chapter Two: Preparation

A/N: Thank you guys so much for the love on the first Chapter of this fic, I hope you enjoy this one just as much. I’m aiming to post a new chapter each week, not sure yet how many chapters this’ll have yet. Feedback and comments as always are so welcome, I’d love to hear your thoughts, and if you’d like to be tagged for the upcoming chapters just let me know! xxx

Pairing: Agent Whiskey x F! Reader

I have also just created a playlist for ya’ll to listen to while reading. I hope it gets you even more invested! ✨COCKY COWBOY PLAYLIST✨

Summary: You and Agent Whiskey are long time rivals. As Statesman agents you both have been put up for the same promotion and this mission is your final chance to prove yourself. Have you got what it takes?

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Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: Slight Language, mentions of food and canon-typical violence

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CHAPTER TWO: Preparation

You both leave the conference room minds reeling from all the information that was just given to you.

As one of the younger agents at Statesman, being chosen as a potential candidate for Champ’s position was a real honour. It showed that Champ really thought highly of you and your skills. After 8 years of working as an agent, going on your fair share of dangerous and difficult missions, taking a bullet more than once, and now training the new recruits with Tequila, you knew you had worked your ass off to get where you were.  However, even with all this experience it paled in comparison to some of the more senior agents, some with 10 or more years under their belt. Hell, the person you were up against had been on the job for about 15 years, making a name for himself as one of the most fearsome agents that Statesman had to offer. You knew for a fact that Whiskey had been hoping for this position eventually, it had been something he mentioned to other agents that you heard in passing. At the top of his game and at the height of his career you realised, this cowboy was going to be one hell of a challenge to go up against.

Whiskey mulled over this new mission and Champ’s offer over and over in his mind. He wasn’t particularly surprised that Champ had propositioned him as a potential candidate for this position, he was one of the most senior agents at Statesman. Probably the closest in age to Champ and with the extensive experience he had it seemed rather obvious, but Vodka? You were still so young, in your mid 20’s the world was yet to break your spirit. Mind you, you had that bossy tone down packed. He chuckled to himself. He was hesitant to admit but you had a certain leadership quality that you didn’t see in most of the agents here. Most were contented to follow orders and carry out missions as asked, but you always had your own way of doing things, always taking the initiative. He supposed you had a fresh and young perspective that Champ must see as endearing. He however, found your constant need to take charge rather infuriating. You always seemed to think you knew best and even if you were correct, more often than not he was resigned to admit, it was still frustrating as you always seemed determined to show him up. He knew you were going to be a challenge, so determined to prove yourself, and a damned good agent to boot. Fuck this is going to be harder than he thought.

Both of you walking in the same direction out of the room, neither of you realising the other is turning to walk in the opposite direction. Both too caught up in your own thoughts you collide into each other your head smacking into Whiskeys chest. Quickly recoiling from the unintentional contact your rub your forehead with the palm of your hand. “Dammit Whiskey, watch where you’re going for Christ’s sake.”

“Well jeez Vodka how am I supposed to avoid you and that ego inflated head of yours?” He scoffed, eyeing you up and down.

You scowled at him, “You think I have a big ego? Have you looked in the mirror lately Whiskey? You and that cocky ass grin of yours have got a lot of nerve talking about my ego.” Rolling your eyes, you swiftly turn and storm away from the narcissistic cowboy.

“If you liked my smile so much you should have just said so… sunshine.” He calls back to you as you walk away. You could practically hear the smirk in that smooth as silk southern accent.

What an absolute dick. He knew exactly what he was doing when he spoke to you like that. It infuriated you. The way his southern drawl echoed in your ears, his words dripping like honey, they way he called you those stupid little pet names. Everything about Whiskey drove you up the wall, he always knew just how to get under your skin. “Fuckkkk…” You growled to yourself as you stormed into your office your heeled boots clicking angrily through the hall. Why does he always have to be so intensely irritating? You needed to get that stupid fucking smirk out of your head and get prepared for your new op. Slamming the door shut and sitting down, you start reclining in your office chair taking a deep breath and relaxing. Whiskey’s scent had lingered on your clothes creating a cloud around you after you had slammed into his chest. Inhaling the smell of cinnamon and sandalwood, a soft oaky smell, your breathing began to slow and calm. You would never tell him but that was one thing you did unfortunately enjoy about Whiskey. He always smelt good. Why did he always have to smell so damn good? Shaking your head to clear your mind of any remaining thoughts of Whiskey you leaned towards your desk and opened your laptop. This was going to be a long night…

***

Pushing the door closed with your heeled foot, you stepped into your apartment and sighed. You were exhausted. Checking your watch, you realised it was now 10 minutes past midnight. Swiftly moving to the bedroom, you flopped onto your bed groaning as you flipped yourself over and pulled off your boots, quickly changing into your pyjamas. Finally laying back down in bed you stared up at the ceiling running over the research you’d done over the course of the afternoon and evening, and the plan you had organised for tomorrow. You had spent the afternoon working, collecting copious amounts of information on CleanPlanet and the history of their company. It seemed that they were attempting to pass as an almost ‘mom and pop’ style family-owned business “Dedicated to the bettering of the planet and all the people who inhabited it.” What a load of rubbish. You had uncovered multiple articles from smaller news publications questioning the companies credibility, some families of recently passed away individuals even coming forward and accusing the company of foul play in the deaths of their relatives. CleanPlanet was owned and run by Howard Jacoby and his wife Constance, two very well-off socialites and academics who were every bit as snobby as they appeared in pictures. At least you wouldn’t be dealing with them directly thank goodness you hated dealing with high society types, that would be Whiskey’s issue.

There was a particular video that had caught your eye whilst combing through their internet presence, a TedTalk style video starring the one and only Howard Jacoby. He was speaking about how the planet was struggling with things like overpopulation and pollution, a speech which sounded eerily similar to Professor Arnold’s work, the man who had assisted Richmond Valentine and encouraged his plot to wipe out most of the planet. You shuddered at the thought. Either way you and Whiskey would get to the bottom of this. If the company and its owners were planning on anything like what Valentine had tried to execute then you needed to figure it out quickly. Deciding you’d brief Whiskey in the morning about your hunch, you set your alarm and curled up in your soft cotton sheets. Looking out your bedroom window at the twinkling of the city lights, your head sinking slowly into your pillow. You drift off into a restless sleep, anxious of what tomorrow would bring.

***

You arrived at Statesman the next morning rubbing your eyes. Your sleep had been restless, anxiety of the coming days keeping you from a comfortable evening. Pushing the door to your office open you hear a chipper voice behind you. “Well mornin’ Vodka. You ready for the op today?” You turned to see Whiskey standing in your office door frame, leaning his broad shoulder against it with a large smile plastered across his face.

Rolling your eyes at his unnecessarily wide grin, “And what’s gotten you in such a fabulous mood this morning?” You say with an exasperated sigh as you drop into your office chair with a small thud. As soon as the words fall out of your mouth his smile somehow grows larger as he pulls out the arm that was behind his back forward as he saunters into the room. Holding a large paper bag, which as soon as you spot the smell hits your nostrils. Fresh pancakes. You look at him with sudden excitement and surprise, your mood instantly lifted and the last feeling of tiredness leaving your body as you inhale deeply.

“I thought I’d bring us some breakfast to get us in the right headspace for today. I also thought we should probably trade what we found out yesterday during our research to make sure we’re both on the same page…”

“Oh, so this is a bribery breakfast huh?” You questioned as you drag your eyes away from the mouth-watering food on the desk in front of you, finally taking a proper look at Whiskey for the first time this morning. The first thing you notice is that he is not currently donning his regular black Stetson, a rather big change from his usual cowboy appearance. Instead, he was showing off his thick, brushed back hair, his wireframe Statesman issued glasses resting on his strong nose, obscuring his dark brown eyes. He was wearing a gorgeous grey checkered suit with a white dress shirt underneath, a casual yet striking look on his glowing tan complexion. It was a very nice change for the cowboy. He cleans up well, you thought. Your gaze flicks up and you notice Whiskey’s cocky grin once again. He must have thought you were eyeing him up, not that you weren’t but you weren’t about to let him know that. You roll your eyes at him trying to keep his knowing smile at bay. “So, what are you after then Whiskey?”

“Well sunshine, since you always seem to know everything, I thought I’d get your run down on things this morning before we both head out to our separate ops today.”

“Ahhhh there it is, the usual candour I’m used to from you cowboy. I was worried when you showed up this morning with a kind gesture that I wouldn’t be enjoying any of that snarky wit I have become so accustomed to.” You look down at your computer and notepad, focusing on the research notes you had made last night in somewhat of a delirious, fever dream state. “Alright let me have a look…” you trailed off.

Whiskey sits down across from you at your desk pulling the steaming pancakes out of the paper parcel you had brought this morning. Setting up the two meals Whiskey observes you, wearing a pair of simple black high waisted work pants tapering at your waist, a simple white blouse tucked into them, the buttons undone just low enough to show off your neck and the top of your chest. He darts his eyes back up to your face, so you don’t catch him staring, nose scrunched up in concentration under your matching Statesman glasses as you palm through your somewhat excessive amount of research notes. He lets out a light breath of amusement seeing you like this, confused but copiously prepared, it was a nice change of pace from your usual so certain self.

Looking back up from your notes as you find what you were looking for you see the small meal containers opened on the desk, filled with pancakes with a small pot of maple syrup on the side. Turning your focus back to Whiskey you begin to go through what information you’d gathered that you thought was pertinent to the both of you. You ran through the notes you had made, both of you working your way through breakfast, Whiskey chiming in occasionally with a mhmm and a nod here and there. “One thing that kept bugging me last night was that Ted Talk type video of Howard Jacoby… talking about the human race being a plague on the planet that needed to be cured so the earth could thrive again…”  you trial off as a look of concern crosses your face, “It was really eerie and reminded me a lot of that professor that assisted Richmond Valentine in his attempt to have the world turn on each other.”

“Well, it seems I missed that video, that sounds mighty concerning…” Whiskey trails off, leaning his elbow on the side of your desk slowly pushing his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose. “Wonder what their testing at those new hospital facilities of theirs then…” He turns to look at you, the same worry sparkling in his eyes.

“My hunch is that they must be testing something similar to what Valentine did, something that can affect extensive groups of people on a large scale. Something that would be easy to distribute and spread, but obviously more related to the medical profession because of the labs…”

“Maybe some sort of virus or infection?” He chimes in.

“Seems more than likely… I guess we’ll find out more today. Speaking of…” You glance down at your watch realising it was almost 8:30am. Still so early for your tired demeanour, but almost time for you to both be heading off. Ginger had organised a cover story for you last night and sent in for a ‘staff transfer’ so that you could get into the CleanPlanet facilities and gain access to the hospital quickly. You needed to get to the bottom of this puzzling situation fast, especially as it seemed to be becoming more concerning by the minute. “I think its time for us to head off.”

“Seems it is.” Whiskey nods and swiftly packs the remnants of breakfast back into the paper bag, throwing it into the bin beside your desk.

“So, you know what my, rather detailed I might add, plan is but you have yet to share how you plan on approaching this op.” A slight leer in your voice, aiming to provoke him. “Care to share… cowboy?”

“If you must know, Vodka,” he drawls, the civilised tone from earlier gone in a heartbeat as the two of you pick up your bags and make your way down the hallway to the elevator. “I will be posing as a one of multiple wealthy investors eager to take a tour of CleanPlanet’s new business acquisitions. A high society gentleman looking to expand my portfolio into areas I have true passion for you could say. As it so happens, it seems that Howard Jacoby is searching for some people who share his vision and have a healthy wallet.” His voice dripping in sarcasm, for this type of persona was so unlike himself. A charmer by nature his honeyed voice had made many a lady fall victim to a one-night stand, but a high society man he was not. Whiskey cleaned up well, but he was certainly a working-class gentleman with a love for simple living.

“Well, your certainly dressed the part.” You say as you eye up Whiskey admitting to yourself that he was pulling of the sleek look. You shake your head clearing your mind of the potential minute attraction forming, focusing once more on where you were going. Stepping into the elevator and tapping the basement level button, you continued. “You definitely look like a pretentious asshole.” You say, chuckling to yourself as the elevator started to move.

Suddenly Whiskey was directly in front of you looking you up and down. “Don’t pretend you haven’t been eyein’ me up little lady.” He says, voice velvety smooth. Pinned down by his gaze you suddenly feel cornered, claustrophobic in the small metal space. You feel your face begin to heat up with an incriminating red tint, uncertain whether it was from anger or something more primal, you quickly sidestep his imposing figure. The elevator dings and you swiftly exit the elevator, “You wish cowboy.” You respond, a quick exhale escaping your mouth as you calm your racing heartrate. Why was he trying to rile you up before such an important op? Why does he have to be such a cocky arse? Eyeing him up? He’s got to be kidding. He’s the absolute last person on the planet that you could ever be attracted to. He does nothing but irritate you. He may be attractive, you begrudgingly admit, but you certainly were NOT attracted to him.

You hear him chuckle behind you, “Did I touch a nerve there sunshine?” he drawls behind you as you both head towards the garage where Ginger would be waiting. Rolling your eyes in anger to yourself, you choose to ignore him. Responding would only make him continue.

Pushing the doors open to the garage you see Ginger talking to one of the mechanics. As she hears the doors swinging, she turns to you quirking her eyebrow, seeing you seething with annoyance. “Everything alright here agents?” She says, confusion evident in her tone.

“Fine Ginger,” your voice comes out strained attempting to mask your irritation, “So what have you got set up for us for the next few days?”

“For you Vodka I’ve organised this ID card so you will have access to the basic areas of the hospitals but there are higher clearance areas which I wasn’t able to duplicate. You’ll have to figure that out when it comes to it.” She hands you a small ID badge attached to a clip which you then hook onto the belt loop on your pants. “I’ve also got small earpieces for the two of you to keep in communication while inside the facilities. They’re undetectable but very effective so try not to scream while wearing them if you can.” She passes you both the tiny in ear tech piece.

“Thanks Ging.”

“Now for you Whiskey,” She pulls out a small wallet and a set of car keys, “Here’s a new wallet with your cover identity and some cash to show off of course.”

He chuckles to himself pulling out his new drivers’ licence, “Introducing Duke Silver!” He smiles and bows towards you and Ginger. You roll your eyes again, scoffing at his ridiculousness.

“And… If I can finish, Duke.” Ginger continues giving Whiskey an exaggerated frustrated look, “Here is your new automobile.” Handing him the keys she gestures to a car sitting behind her. A brilliant turquoise blue Shelby Cobra 427 with white racing stripes down the middle.

“Alright… Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Whiskey dashes over like an excited child to admire his new personas gorgeous ride.

As Whiskey admires his new toy you turn to Ginger, “What do I have the luxury of driving to ‘work’ then Ginger?”

Passing you the keys she gestures to the car behind Whiskey’s, a slightly beat-up silver Toyota Corolla. “Sorry hon, you unfortunately need to blend in as a semi-broke medical student.”

You sigh, clutching the keys in your hand. “Thanks Ging.” Walking over you pass Whiskey, still ogling his own ride, making your way to the new car you’d be enjoying for the next few days. A far cry from your own beautiful red Mustang you sighed once more. The two of you hop into your cars and adjust the inside to what you need, throwing your bags into the back seat. You look over at Whiskey and slump into your seat, incredibly jealous. “That looks like one fun car to drive…” you mutter to yourself, green with envy. “Lucky bastard.”

Whiskey revs his engine excitedly, “Thanks darlin!” He shouts to Ginger over the loud purr. Turning to you he winks, bringing your irritation back with full force. “Have fun at ‘work’ then sunshine. Talk to you later!” His voice ringing out across the concrete as he drives off, the garage doors opening as he takes off out of the facility.

“I guess I’m off too then, see you later Ginger!” You smile at her as you close your door, taking off after Whiskey ready to face whatever the day would bring.

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