#turns out i can draw a horse ok as well <3

[tekkenenjoyerblue]

Catching some much needed sleep before his debut in SF6

[a-fluffy-dog24]

kingdom Pines AU

In a land far away their were two kingdom that hated each other.One of the kingdom was rolled by two twins King Stanley and King StanFord.And Stan adoption his grandchildren, Fords great niece and nephew and go on adventures , were they slay dragons and ride horses. Dipper is in love with a girl with long blonde hair.

If you like the time pirate chapter book you might like this.Also (based on the adoption au make by keleficent and marehami on AO3.It's not associated with the AU but just with a Fantasy coat off paint.And take a lot of Disney Princess movies stuff and Romeo and Juliet,Princess diary's.

Chapter 1. We were the kings and the queens

Once upon a time in the year 1918 off the coast of Middle East this story takes place in early November. It's still autumn, it's colder, the leaves are falling.There were two small kingdoms. One of them was ruled by the The Pines family and the other was ruled by the Northwests, the Northwests richer and their subjects were mean and snotty. So the two kingdoms didn't interact much.

The first kingdom was named Gravity Lands; their castle was gray and blue; it is ruled by two kings who are identical twin brothers. King Stanley wore a red and black robe and a gold crown. He has a girlfriend, an ex wife maybe? named Marilyn  .And King Stanford wore a green and light brown robe and a gold crown. He has a husband named Fiddleford.

"How is the disagreement over money the villagers are having what do you think we should do to stop it" Ford asked "well I don't know I was waiting for them to figure it out but I guess I can ask the Committee what they think" Stan answered. The committee is made up Fiddleford and Marilyn ,Soos and his wife Melody.In the children's room were the twins prince Dipper and princess Mabel. They are both recovering from when they sprain their legs they were trying to climb up a tree. And their Grunkles were to busy giving a Press conference bragging and not paying attention.,They're getting better with medication and resting.

They just turned 12 years old, they are the king Stan's grandkids and king Ford's great niece and nephew . The kings are going to adopt them. They were living in the castle because their parents died in the war 3 weeks ago. In their room their beds were on the opposite side of the room,

Dipper's side the walls were blue, his side had books on the shelves. It was a little messy with clothes and toys on the floor.Dipper was on his bed reading on Mabel's side her walls were purple with drawings on the walls. On her bed were stuffed animals, and toys on the floor she was on her bed knitting a blue sweater.Just then Soos came in. He is the royal helper."Hey dudes, it's bath time, who wants to go first?" he told them, "I will'' Mabel went and took her bath. Both Kings were waiting to help her.

And after her bath they both help dry her off and helped her get on her light purple  nightgown it has a small red bow tied around her waist, she brushed her teeth then, Stan put her on his lap and he brushed her hair ."Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford thank you guys for helping me, with my bath" "it was our pleasure" Ford put on her socks they love doing this kind of stuff for their daughter it make them feel like parents "don't mention it sweetie, are you excited to maybe ride horses tomorrow" he asks ."Yes I bet you can't ride"

"That it" he tickles her, she giggles he stopped Ford gave her a piggyback ride and put her on bed "alright bed time", Stan tucked her into bed. "Good night daddy"she yawns "good night pumpkin I love you"he kisses her head "I love you good night my dear"Ford kissed her cheek "good night papa" "case your dreams go take on this whole world but to me you'll away be my little girl " they both to her quietly sing and she falls asleep.

Then King Ford came in to talk to Dipper "may I have a word with you" "ok Grunkle Ford''Ford sat down on his bed."I know we didn't have much luck last week trying to find dragons, and then you children got hurt but let's try again when you healed" "I hope we can. I've never seen a dragon up close before, maybe we can look in the forbidden woods'' Dipper suggested ."NO absolutely not you know the rules no going in the woods by yourself and no going to the Northwests, castle "

"It's time for your bath" Ford added seeing how he has dirt on his legs,arms and face a little. and smells like BO and pee "no I don't need a bath" Dipper interested,"everyone else has had their bath you stink you need one badly" Stan told . Dipper gets out of bed and tries to make a run for it Stan closes the door and Ford picks him up and puts him over his shoulder carrying him. "I'm not a bag of potatoes" he grumbles. After his bath the kings both help dry him off. Dipper brushes his teeth Ford helps the sleepy Dipper, put on his pj's. His pj's were green Dipper sits on Ford's lap and he brushed Dipper's hair.He looks at the green brush

"Is this your brush?" Ford asks, " see how the brush has a lot of brown hair ."No it's Mabel's why do girls shed so much" Dipper asks them "I don't know it will be a mystery" Stan picks him up. "It breaks the scientific laws of nature, " Ford told him.

Then Stan carried Dipper and tucked him into bed "good night goober I love you" Stan kissed him on the head "Grunkle Ford do you think we'll find a dragon tomorrow". "Theirs is a possibility come on time to rest I love you"Ford kissed his son on the head he falls asleep.They both quietly sing"the monster gone we on are own but you're daddy here beautiful beautiful beautiful boy".

The Kings looked at both of their babies sleeping happily and soundly the Kings leave and do some work in the Library then they go to bed.Stanley's bedroom is a red and gold color "Hey there babe" Marilyn  put her hand on Stan's shoulder they kissed and she helped him up they hold hands and go to bed. Ford's room is gold and green he goes to bed where Fiddleford was waiting.

Chapter 2 Long live all the magic we made

The next day the twins ate breakfast feeling 100% better. Mabel went horseback riding with, ladyWendy she is a servant/friend. Mabel rode a palomino pony named Buttercup Mabel is wearing, a purple dress and her hair was in braids. Wendy road a buckskin named spirit, Wendy was wearing a green dress.Stan came to watch them ride around, in the backyard they raced and jumped over stuff. Then after they get off Mabel sits on the ground, and pets her pony she can talk to all animals. "You like being ridden, you think it gives you a purpose" she talks to buttercup.

"What is she saying," Wendy asked."She said she loved our ride today," Mabel told her. They take care of the horses and head back to the castle, "you did great out there pumpkin" Stan congratulated them. "Thank you it was fun" Waddles squeals and walks, inside "Waddles said he wants a treat" she gives her pig his treat. After Stan and Mabel do some painting together she sits on his lap and they have a lot of fun. "I have a crush" she told him "oh what's their name" "her name is April"."That's great you should talk to her at the party tomorrow how could she not love you sweetie" he replied "thanks I had fun with you daddy" she smiles "Aww I did too" he kisses her on cheek.

Dipper sat on the floor of his closet holding a picture of his mother and sister he misses her so much.And he thinks it's stupid but he wants to be held by his beloved mother he tries to be a man but he started crying a little.Marilyn  was waking in the hallway and she heard muffled cries and opened the children room.And finds Dipper crying he looks up at her and hides the picture from her.

She sit down and asks sympathetically "what's the matter kiddo" "I'm ok it's dumb" he sopped  wiped his tears.She sees the picture and says "you miss your parents'' he nodes and begin to bawl his eyes out she picks him up and hugs him in her lap.He knows he has the words best dads him and his sister could ask for and they give good hugs .But he thinks about how he misses being hugged by a mother figure she knows she can't replace his mother.But she knows both children need someone like her. She finds it hard to cope with the loss of her son as well. "It's ok buddy you're cool granny Marilyn  is here" "thank you" he smiles just then they hear Ford calling for Dipper ."Well you better go" he grabs his bag "you two be careful out there" she told him "we will bye".

Ford,Soos and Dipper walk through the woods to find the dragons, they see gnomes,a bottomless pit ,a couple unicorns and an evil triangle. But no dragons they walked up a hill and they found a cave where the Soos made a lantern. They walked further in the cave and it got very dark. But then they see a huge red sleeping dragon"wow its ginormous" Dipper looks amazed, "this is the coolest thing I've ever seen dude" Soos told them then the dragon wakes up Dipper draws his sword. But then it runs towards him King Ford draws his sword "get behind me boy NOW" Dipper listens. Ford points his sword at it then it flies out of the cave, and into the forbidden forest. And breathes fire."dad that was amazing". "Yea let's go home" Ford said worriedly.

They all eat dinner together in the gold and brown dining room.The bowl and silverware are silver colored for dinner they enjoyed chicken stew with a garden salad. That Soos made for them as the chef.Soos and Melody 6 children eat with their mother.They talk and laugh during dinner.After dinner they clean up and then the Kings call over the children and sit them down and explain. That they have been taking care of them for 3 weeks and they would love it if they could make it official. Mabel read it out loud and translated it from Hebrew into English "the legal guardianship of Catherine Green and Michael Pines' children Mason,Alex, Pines and Mabel, Ariel,Pines

will be gifted if signed by StanFord,Frederick Pines and Stanley,Caren,Pines. The custody agreement will be approved if both parties signed ''.Dipper stated happy crying and Mabel stated too they look at the paperwork it already has the king's signatures on it.The twins joyfully signed and hugged their adopted fathers they are over the moon that their son and daughter. Trust them and love them just like they do and always will. They proudly frame and hang the adoption papers above the fireplace.In the living room so everyone in the Castle can see them.

Then kids had their baths, it's raining outside Mabel sat and watched it she is brushing her hair with a fork she heard another princess did it a lot and it worked. So she decided to give it a shot.She put it down and her cheeks soon looked as wet as it was outside raining .

"Dipper I hope mom and dad will be back from their trip soon" she  knew that their parents are dead.They just haven't got the time to reach  out write a letter she thinks.It doesn't feel like they are gone  it seems like they're on a long trip somewhere where they can't see them can't talk to them. She keeps forgetting that they're not here. That they're not coming home.Tears begin to build up in her eyes and make their way down.

"I wish mom and dad were still here", he walked over and she started crying more he hugged her. "Well I wish they were still alive too" he started to cry a little bit and she hugged him tighter. "I remember when we saw they bodies it WAS SO SCARY " she sobbed "it was HORRIBLE THEY WERE COVERED IN BLOOD AND they were...DEAD " she cries more "and they never coming back Dipper" she was staring to breakdown in tears he hug her and said "I know I want dad and mom too badly But we have Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford,Soos,uncle FiddleFord,granny Maryland and me, people that love us I love you"

Dipper comforted her. "I love you too Dipping sauce"They hug and dry their eyes, and sit there for a bit then the Kings come to tuck them into bed Mabel crawls into bed. Ford took the warm pink blanket and tucked her in "good night, my dear how are you feeling" "I'm tired good night papa I love you" he kissed her on the head and she fell asleep. Dipper crawls into bed Stan takes the blue blanket and tucked him " are you ok Dippy" Stan asks.

"Yeah I'm ok good night Grunkle Stan " Stan rubs Dipper's head softly and he falls asleep "I love you" he whispers "The kings leave "do you think we're doing this right,it's only been 3 weeks since they lost their parents. And we haven’t been the best caretakers."Stan asks him. Thinking about the kids playing and falling out of the tree."Well that’s is true to some extent but I think this is what they would have wanted for the children to be happy and safe". Ford hugs Stan and they go downstairs. They were fun, great uncles but now they need to be the best parents possible "remember when we were that age we were inseparable" Ford asked him "yea seems like only yesterday we would get in a lot of trouble" Stan chuckled.

"I'm surprised we didn't get hurt or worse we have to look out for each other because there was no else too" Ford added. "Remember when we were 12 mom was still alive and we had no cares in the world I miss it" Stan remember being a kid and having no work no kids no worry ."But look at us now I never thought I would have kids of my own even at 55 years old but now we have two wonderful children"

Ford told him.He and Ford didn't always get along as they became teenagers sometimes would argue with each other over dumb things.And also they're father only planned on having one son to take the throne. And he hated Stanley because he was younger and a troublemaker. He emotionally and physically abused him making him feel worthless.The queen would try to stop him but it wouldn't help she patch up and comfort her son after.He wanted StanFord to be king he thought he would make a good king except he despise his sons love for boys.

He also manipulated Ford in to hide all his feelings and told him he was only going to be king because he was born first no one else would trust a freak like him to rule.Both brothers agreed that neither of them wanted to be king alone. And Frederick had been tormenting their lives for years. So when they turned 18 they kicked Frederick out with the help of their mother the queen. It was her kingdom.And he was banished from the kingdom and if he comes back he will be thrown in the dungeon but he Long dead by now."Yup that's for sure I love those kids I would die for them" Stan replied and with that they both went to bed.

Chapter 3 The night you danced like you knew our lives would Never be the same

The next night everyone is getting ready for the ball the entire kingdom is welcome , everybody has washed up and are putting on fancy clothes. Mabel is wearing a light pink and white, with puffy sleeves ball gown. Her hair is wavy with flowers in it, her silver tiara on top. Marilyn  finishes helping her put the last flowers in her hair. She also has little glass slipper  flats. Dipper is wearing a blue and white shut.And on top of his head is a silver crown, and little black shoes. They had downstairs stairs where they saw Grunkles dressed up. Stan is wearing a black and red shirt.

And a gold crown on top of his gray hair. Ford is wearing a green and white shut. And a gold crown on top of his white and gray hair. "You look great my dear" Ford holds her hand and twirls her around her dress blows around he picks her up and holds her she smiles. "You clean up good when you actually take a bath" Stan teased Dipper Ford chuckles.Dipper sick his tongue out at him.Then all the guests arrive, Fiddleford comes over he is wearing a yellow shut and puts his arm around him and kisses Ford on the lips he blushes.Marilyn  holds Stan's hand she is wearing a purple dress her short White hair has a rose in it. Stan kiss her on cheek she smiles.The family mingle with the guests and the kids eat dinner.

Mabel dances with Wendy and Soos the Kings talk to their subjects, Dipper walks over to the punch bull to get a drink. When he sees a girl with very long blonde hair in one big braid. She was in a purple dress "Hi I'm um I am Prince Dipper of Gravity Lands". "Hi I'm princess Pacifica,it's nice to meet you " then they go outside on the balcony. "I've never been to a ball before. I bet my family could hold a better one ""oh really" he said sarcastically "but we never have or at least I've never seen one I'm always locked up in my tower," she admitted."

"Oh why are you locked up in your tower? '' he asks, '' none of your business dork,"she said as he played and fidgeted, with the roses and cuts himself. "AHH '' he yells in pain as she wraps her hair around his cut. And started singing and her hair started glowing he blush and the cut is healed. "Umm thank you" just then the big grand blue clock in the ballroom strikes 8:00 pm "I have to go now my parents will kill me goodbye " she runs off,"wait when will I see you again" he looks for her but she is gone.

After the ball is over the kids are getting ready for bed Dipper looks out the window at the forbidden forest. Mabel walked over to him "hey I just met this handsome boy, his name is John but I also met my crush she's pretty and her name is April and I don't know who I should ask out" "well that tricky umm ask the one you know more out". "Ok thank you I don't see you that much" "umm can I tell you a secret". "Sure bro bro anything"

"Well I talk to this girl and she is cute and super pretty" he giggles. "Oh somebody's in love" she teased "and she has magic hair but she said she has to leave and I think she is in the forbidden forest". "oh but you know daddy and papa won't ,let you go there or if she is a Northwest,". "I know but I got to do something" just then the kings came to put them to bed."Children I have story to tell you" Ford told them he sat on Mabel's bed the kids crawl on it get comfort. Stan sat in a chair beside them "I will tell you the story of Hansel and Gretel, they're twins like you too" he tells the children.

"I think we've heard this story before when we were little" Dipper complains "you can go to bed if you want" Stan remind he "fine". "Start the story already PLEASE" she begs "once upon a time they're where two twins a brother and a sister they live in the woods in a house with their mother and father. Their parents was having a hard time finding food for the children. The children were hungry" "this when they find the house made of candy that's my favorite part" Mabel interruption him. "Not yet... one day they're father had to cut down some wood so Hansel and Gretel sat by the fire and ate one piece of bread then they fell asleep together."Aww we sometimes do that" Mabel said "yea we do" Dipper agreed. "Anyway.. the twins woke up one morning and were playing in the forest and they saw a house made of candy and cake."

"I want to live there and eat the whole thing" Mabel told them "I bet I can help with that" Stan mentioned. Ford starts the story again a little peeved that he keeps getting interrupted "Okay.. Then the children began eating the house. Then the door opened, and an old woman came out. "Ah, my dear children, come here you must come indoors and stay with me, you will be no trouble." So she took them each by the hand, and led them into her little house. And there they found a meal laid out, of milk and pancakes, with sugar, apples, and nuts. After that she showed them two little beds, and Hansel and Grethel laid themselves down on them, and thought they were in heaven.She was downstairs getting ready an oven she used to eat them."

"How could she eat kids, what's wrong with her?" Mabel said upset "yea that's gross" Dipper agreed ."I know she crazy She was getting the oven ready, then Hansel  gave her a push, so that she went in , and Grethel shut the iron door upon her, and they both ran away, and left the wicked witch to burn miserably.The twins go home to their mother and father live happily together until the end" Ford finishes the story. "Ok it's bedtime" Stan got Mabel under the blanket he tucked her in and gave her stuff dog Wattles sleeps on her bed. And Stan kisses her goodnight Ford rubs her head softly she falls asleep .Dipper gets into bed Ford tucks him in Ford kisses him goodnight.And Stan rubs his head softly he falls asleep the kings closed the door.

Chapter 4 Promise me this That you'll stand by me forever

The next morning There's a knock at the door Soos answer it a older woman with red hair and formally dressed says "good morning sir my name is Kelly I'm am with the BAPP British administration of proper Princess." "Oh ok just a minute mr. Pines there a teacher lady at the door" "huh...what do you mean Soos" "hello your majesty I'm am with the proper princess administration and we want to help you niece to prepare her for Royal duty's".

" Gotcha....but no we don't need your help so you can just tell your king George that.... " "Stanley what's going on here" Ford interrupt them Mabel run up to them and listens.Stan points at Kelly  "She wants to train Mabel to be a better princess" "well I don't know we should think about it and contact you at a later time" Ford jesters for her to leave. " Wait don't go I want to be a proper Princess" "are you sure pumpkin" Stan asked her "yes I do I need to if I'm going rule the kingdom and it could be fun"she replied Kelly said "we start tomorrow 7:00 am" then she left.

Mabel and papa do some kitting she shows him how to kit himself a yellow sweater and he loves it and wears it the rest of the day.Stan went downstairs to get some work done.To Managing the kingdom. Then Ford and her bake some cookies. Fiddleford helps them and she puts a lot in her mouth Ford laughs at his cute daughter. FiddleFord puts the cookies in the jar Ford kisses him on cheek Fiddleford blushed.Then Mabel asks "uncle FiddleFord how did you guys meet" "well honey take a Seat do you want to start darling"FiddleFord asked him.

"I was a young teenager sitting outside under a tree writing I was lonely .I had always wanted to be in a relationship but the person I loved was too shy to talk to me and so was I". "I reckon was too shy to speak to you because you were so handsome" Ford blushed "Aww thank you babe.Anyway if it hadn't been for your daddy we might have never made a move" Stan pushed Ford to talk to him and invited FiddleFord to sit at a little table in the park. For the two of them to fall in love "And bye goalie it worked we had been together for years" FiddleFord looked into his eyes. "I think we will be for years to come right babe" Ford lovingly told him " absolutely darling" they kiss. Meanwhile Dipper sneaks out to the stables

He tells Soos he's going on a quick Trailride "ok dude have fun" Soos was taking care of the horses He rode out to the forbidding forest Dipper was looking around when he saw a tower. He thought this might be it "Pacifica Pacifica let down your hair" he yelled. Then noticed it was locked and he climbed the tower,and when he got to the window he unlocked it.

And out came lots and lots of golden hair. She puts her hair on a bar on top, and slides down "thank you but I don't need help getting down." She brags Dipper grumbles and notices how much hair she has then he slides down. "You have a lot of hair" "I know dork" she says sarcastically "anyway what you want to do now".

They rode around the red yellow and orange woods on a bay appaloosa pony named Dreamer and had a picnic on the grass. "what are your parents names are they as weird as you " she ask "oh umm my parents aren't alive anymore so my great uncles take care of me umm there twins" she got quiet and regretted asking then said "oh I so sorry I wish I knew my parents the king and queen save me when I was two"

"why do they lock you up in your tower" he asks "because they uses my hair and I'm not allowed to leave my mom tell me she much pretty than me that makes me feel upset it hurt when I left my tower that night they were not happy" "oh Pacifica gosh I'm sorry let go back" he doesn't want her to be in even more trouble than she already is. She flipped up his bangs and saw weird dots on his forehead. "What's that, are they zits" "umm it's my birthmark" he bushes "oh so that's why they call you Dipper".

"Yes my real name is Mason"he said embarrassedly "I like Dipper it's unique" "umm thank you" he looked flustered. she moved closer and kissed him on the cheek,"wow you smell nice" he giggled as she bushes at him. Afterwards he returned her to her tower, said goodbye and rode home.They do this for a few weeks without getting caught.

Chapter 5 How the kingdom lights shined just for me and you

Kelly getting her things together in the living room to teach Mabel. A giant rulebook,heels, a brush. "Ok dude I'm ready to get this party started" Mabel excitedly yelled "first off a princess should never yell unless there is a frog in her hair" she told her. "I kiss a frog once" she added Kelly Roll her eyes "anyway you should speak well and what on earth are you wearing" she was talking about her faded blue and brown dress. "Oh this is my play dress so I don't get my other dresses dirty I kind of like it"she gave Mabel a White dress to change into.

After that she fix her hair into a giant bun on her head.And some makeup "You put the tiara on" she tells her Mabel dose then it falls on the floor "I'm sorry". Then she has walk in hi heels she takes her first step forward then a few more. "Very good almost there" she fall Face first on ground they move on to tea party " finally something I'm good at" Mabel takes sip of tea and a bite of cupcake "mmm that was good" then she burps loudly. " That was a good one .... I mean Excuse me" she blushes Kelly looks frustrated.

"The most important thing that you must do is to be perfect. That means not yelling,waking to heels correctly,you have to know everything about your kingdom how to run it properly you subject look up they expect you to be calm and in control. And you have be quiet and very feminine. Let's Resume later maybe your have better luck" with that she left.

The next day the kings go to wake up the kids and see that their noses are a little red."Are you ok sweetie" Stan pats her head "AHH-OWOW" Dipper sneezes " Aww you sneezes like a kitten".She coughs every time one sneezes the other coughs, Ford makes a call for some help. Stan puts his hand on her forehead and she warm then he puts his hand on Dipper's forehead and his warm too.Soos comes with a thermometer, medicine, breakfast and tissues.

"Open your mouth please" Ford put the thermometer in Mabel's mouth it’s 108f "look like a fever" .Stan handed Dipper some juice he drank it ,Ford walked over to Dipper bed and took his thermometer. And he had a fever too Stan give Mabel her medicine "here you go pumpkin" she drink it,

"do you want some pancakes"he ask "no"she replied Ford gave Dipper he medicine"drink please"."This is disgusting'' he moans Mabel coughs Dipper sneezes Mabel starts shivering Stan take another blanket and wrappers it around her and rub her and she warm up she smiles at him he softly rub her head Ford opened a window a little bit to let the cool, air in and sick air out then Stan tucked Dipper into bed. "You kids get some sleep '' he said. "Call us if you need anything" Ford says "feel better soon dudes" Soos added.They go downstairs to let them sleep. Later they feed them matzo ball soup and medicine. They go back to sleep, then after dinner they give them their warm baths to help with their colds .That night the Dads go to cheek in on they're children they are sleeping. They look worse than before and paler. Ford feels Mabel's forehead and

she burning up she whimpers "Soos get me a cold washcloth PLEASE and get two just in case ".She starts having chills Ford take her blanket and tucks her in.Stan moves Dipper over to her bed he feels burning hot he looks worriedly at Stan. He puts the cold washcloth on his head Ford tucks him in Dipper close his eyes Ford carefully climbs into their bed and puts Dipper on his lap and runs his 6 fingers through Dipper's hair Stan puts Mabel in his lap and put the wet washcloth on her head Ford looks worriedly at his daughter and holds her hand .Stan rubs her hair softly she gave him a small smile they"then she slept.They stay in the whole night there and watch their babies they both to make sure they are ok they are worried something will go wrong.

They remember the night they were born when they thought something might go wrong.Dipper had a hard time breathing. He was turning blue after he was born. That was the first time he scared them and his parents. But the doctor saved him and after their mother got to hold her newborn twins then Stan held Mabel she wrapped her hand around his finger and Ford held Dipper he grabbed Ford's shirt they then they swapped them and held the other babies were so small and helpless.Just like the children are now they don't have their parents to protect them. But now they have their adopted daddys to take care of them. They are very worried they will lose their babies.

But little by little more medicine,sleep and soup the kids get better. And their dads are right there to take care of them and soon they are no longer sick. And they can get back to doing fun stuff.

Chapter 6 I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you

Mabel was in Stan's bed room him and Ford were having a conversation about the Princess training. "Guys I just don't want to do it again because it's not me how a dress or act and it's a pressure on how the kingdom sees me" she told them as she played with her hair. "Well we understand" Ford comforted her "don't ever let anyone ever change you my dear." Stan tells her "Sweetie don't worry about the kingdom you'll have your brother to help you and your already perfect princess to me." She hugs him.

Later the Pines,Soos and Melody ,Wendy and Fiddleford and Marilyn  were in the forest Mabel had found unicorns, pegasus and earth ponies. And she was having a lovely conversation over a tea party. The boys didn't mind being at a tea party . Stan and Marilyn  sat down next to each other and cuddle a little.Mabel was wearing a yellow ball dress and Wendy was putting a bow in Mabel's hair, her and Wendy were talking about horses,dresses and girl stuff.

Dipper was wearing a dark blue, White suit and brown pants . Later the kids climbed up a small cliff Dipper made it to the top first, Mabel got their last she tried to pull herself up but started falling down, Dipper quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "Thank brother" she said "you're welcome little sister" he teases her "by 5 minutes that's what mom said" she reminds him he smiles.

They could see the top of their dads gray hair and Soos too after they went back to the castle. They sit down on the couch Mabel in Stan's lap he snuggles her and Dipper in Ford's lap he cuddles him "Grunkle Stan who was the king and queen before you guys" she asked.

"Well your great grandma was the queen before us. She was the oldest of 6 sisters. She passed away when you two were born."Stan answered. "Yes I believe she in her early 50s when she passed The passing down of power goes to twins usually.Your father my nephew didn't want to be king"Ford explained

"And he and your mom were in the military so he can't be king" Stan told them. The kids started to feel sad. Their eyes filled with sadness, they remember being in the war zone  after they had passed and their bodies bloody lying on the ground with bullet holes in them the kids remember crying and sobbing. The kings were there hugging them. Those first few days were the hardest. It is so tragic that they were only 29 and 30 years old.Ford rubs Dipper's back slowly Stan cuddles Mabel to help her "we sorry if we made you feel sad" Ford looked at both of them. "We know you kids are very sad losing your parents."Stan tries to comfort them "and we know we will never replace your mother and father but we love you so much"Ford added.

"It's okay to cry if you want"Stan reassured them "I want my MOMMY AND DADDY" she sobbed "me too it's not fair if someone was there...maybe " he let the tears fall. "I know it's not Dippy" Stan rubbed Dipper's cheek to comfort his son "I miss daddy would get my flowers" she sniffled "I really miss Mommy she brushed. My hair and she......was caring and there was no one else that could replace her ." Tears build up in her eyes and run down "I WISH SHE WAS HERE " she yelled.

"I I miss......Dadddy a lot he was the only one who understood me if I was there I could've done something" he try to wipe his tears away but they just kept coming "There was nothing you could've done, it's a horrible situation my boy" Ford hugged him but that wasn't helping "why did they have to KILL HER AND NOW SHE GONE" he yelled sobbing in anger . His yelling scared Mabel a little bit and she started crying more . "It's okay sweetie I know they love you I lot I'm sorry you both have to go through this "he let her keep crying to get it.

Out he holds her close and rubs her and because he's trying hard not too breakdown in tears as well.He lost his son and his beloved daughter in law it hurts him as much as it hurts them.But he holds it together for the children ."It really isn't fair I wish no child had to go through this specially you children" Ford comforted and held the crying boy.A few minutes passed .

They both give turns giving the twins kisses on the head and they comfort their babies for a while.And talk about the good things they remember about their parents.The king's know that the hole left by their parents wasn't ever going to be filled.And the children will probably never not be sad and frustrated at the loss. But the best thing to do is to not forget and talk about and work through the pain together as a family.And they take a little nap together Fiddleford see them and take a blanket and tucked them in he runs his hand though Ford's hair lovely Ford smile in his sleep then the kings cuddled and snuggled the children .

Later they receive a letter from the Northwest that they need to come over to their castle immediately to have a meeting. So the Pines got in the pumpkin carriage and rood off.They walked in and sat down in the living room. "Have the children go play in the other room. Well, we talk" Preston told them "and tell Pacifica she is awful at the piano and make her stop playing that horrible noise" Priscilla tells them as the kids went into the ballroom. And they see Pacifica in a pink dress, with her very long hair playing on the piano.She is not the best but she is not bad at it.

"Oh Dipper what are you doing here you didn't tell me you have a sister" "I'm his twin sister my name is Mabel are parents are, talking" ""can we play with you" he ask. "Sure dork lets dance" Pacifica got off the bench and grabbed Dipper's hand. Mabel started playing the piano. She is wearing a yellow dress and a yellow bow in her hair, she started slinging "tale as old as time, true as it can be barely even friends. Then somebody bends unexpectedly" Pacifica and Dipper dance slow and close

"just a little change,small to say the least". She lays her head on his shoulder, he blushes "both a little, scared neither one prepared" he twirls her around "beauty and the beast". Then he kissed her and she blushed when they sat down.The doors few open the parents were arguing "why are we here" Ford asked “because you're grandson Mason has been dating my daughter"Preston yelled

"And what that's crazy" Stan yelled. "Is that true that you disobeyed us?" Ford asked. "Well yes it is, we've been, hanging out" Dipper admitted ."you went to no the Northwests, castle alone"Stan yelled "there's a reason you don't talk to the king and queen were trying to protect you"Fold told him "I'm sorry I know that was wrong I just started talking to her and I feel bad I want to help her I love her" Dipper apologize . "It was my idea to keep sneaking out so he would stop using my hair" Pacifica told them.

Chapter 7 One day, we will be remembered

Pression angry, stopped over"Pacifica Northwest you are no longer the princess of this kingdom and, you shall no longer exist"Pression yelled. "I wish we never adopted you little rat" Priscilla added.He draws his sword and tries to kill her but Dipper stepped in the way of the sword, and it cut half of her hair and the rest disappeared. But the sword also stabbed Dipper's side, making a small wound.

He tried not to cry but he fell to the ground. Pacifica cried and held him. Everyone ran over Mabel hugged the other side of him, she looked at Stan and Ford she yelled "DADDY,PAPA please don't let him die too" she sobbed "is there a doctor in the castle" Ford yelled. "It's okay daddy here" he ran over to her and rubbed her back "This is all your fault he's hurt"Stan shouted back at Pression Ford took a piece of his shut, and tied it tightly around Dipper's wound.

Worried that he might lose his son he tries to keep Dipper calm and try to think of what else to help "We need to get him some help" Stan said worriedly as he was getting ready to pick him up he already lost his son he wasn't going to lose his grandson either. "Daddy please help me"Dipper started to cry Stan not sure what else to he sang to him "the monster gone we on our own but you're daddy here" Stan held hand and rubbed it gently.Ford joined in "beautiful beautiful beautiful boy" he ran 6 fingers through his hair.

Then Mabel hugged him more and tried to use her magic and love for her brother to heal him. A few minutes later he whispered "hey it doesn't hurt any more". "Oh thank goodness"Pacifca hugged him, Stan removed part of Dipper shut and there's nothing left but a small stair. The kings take Pacifica and the twins home. Dipper's stair felt sore the next couple of days,

Pacifica lives with them. She has her own room near Soos and his wife Melody's room. Her room is purple and enjoys her life. She can't use her magic hair anymore but she loves the new freedom she has. She spends a lot of time with Soos and Melody’s 6 other children. And he grows a Bond with her.They takes care of her and helps her with schoolwork.They are they're for her when she has a nightmare and comfort her back to sleep.Then Soos and Melody offers to adopt her Pacifica agrees and she gets a loving mom and dad .

Pacifica talks with Wendy and plays games with Mabel and Dipper. She never had the chance to be a kid but she has never been happier.Dipper and her do still love each other but now they'll never be separated.They can't wait until they are older and how much stronger their relationship will be.

Stan and Ford helped the children with school and taught them how to run the Kingdom a little bit. They also try to make every day fun for their children and let them enjoy being kids for as long as possible.They all celebrate their first Hanukkah as a family and they enjoy it very much.And the fathers try to keep twins from getting hurt physically and mentally they try their hardest.Mabel asks out the girl she likes and they date from a few months. But they release that feeling that is different now and they are growing in different ways and they decide to break up.Mabel takes a break and makes some new friends. Discover a new hobby.Then when she is a little bit older she tries again with a sweet boy named Charlie.

Dipper and Pacifica grow closer. Stan and Ford try their best to raise their son and daughter. They do a pretty good job. They have help from Fiddleford ,Maryland. They feel happy they were chosen to take care of the children. They feel glad they saved that girl from her abusive parents. And no matter what they would always have each other as a family.The boys have a handful raising two teenagers it's hard sometimes and the fathers don't agree with the kids.But the twins love their fathers they are the best parents they could've asked for.

And when they were all grown up, they had children of their own Dipper and Pacifica had fraternal blonde hair twins one boy one girl .Mabel marries Charlie and they adopted siblings one with black hair and one with dark red hair a 7 years old boy and a little baby boy.Together and all 4 of them ruled the kingdom together.The End.

[n0tamused]

Hello, I have a request for Kazuha, idk if you write for him or not so if you don’t then feel free to ignore this, it can be a drabble or headcanons. Ok so you know how Kazuha had bandages on his hands? Do you think he’d let his S/O draw on them? Because I really want to draw dinosaurs on them. And if he did let you draw on his bandages, how would that interaction go? Basically just headcanons or a drabble where the reader asks Kazuha to draw on his bandaids and draws little dinosaurs if he lets them. That’s all, thank you for your time.

A/n: Hello! Thank you for your request. I did this one really quickly, it's such a sweet idea. This is my first time writing for Kazuha, however, so I do hope it turned out well enough <3 Enjoy. (Also, quick question, but if I opened up writing commissions, would anyone be interested?)

Genre: fluff, drabble

Word count: 462

Pairings: Kazuha x GN Reader,can be read as platonic too

“Please, hold still…” your voice calls out with a huff from your nose which is met with an amused chuckle. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to move so abruptly.. I hope I didn’t ruin your lines?” - Kazuha asked with care, tender tones of his smooth voice flowing in the breeze and quenching the small flick of irritation caught on from the stubborn bandages bleeding ink all over. Kazuha held a thin end of the bandage to tighten your canvas, aiding you in your persistent wish, all while he leaned back against the wooden wall of the sleeping ship. The salt air of Inazuma was peculiar, and familiar to you both - with a small swoosh of chattering treetops from the far shore, and the licking of languid waves at the hull of the Crux. 

“It’s alright- I can still save this one. Just  extend your hand over here so I can see it a bit better. Thank you-” you continuously mumbled, still thinking about the first lines of a dinosaur that turned out too oval when the ink bled out, it looked like a balloon, and the next one looked less of a dinosaur and more of a horse - but this one, yes, this one was the one.. You could see it under the combined light of the golden lamp and the silver rays of the moon above. Kazuha could only smile and chuckle, making a great effort to stay as still as a rock. The gentle smile was full of affection as he watched you, paying you much more attention than the little doodles you were leaving across his arms. He knew of their value, and how much he would cherish them until the ink was washed away with time, but right now, you were the most important thing of all.

“If you need some of my advice, I think this one could use a longer tail?” He suggested softly, carefully lifting his other arm that was still devoid of your little talent, and pointed at the dinosaur you were occupied at the moment with. ”And, perhaps, instead of drawing detailed eyes, just draw them closed? That way, if it ends up bleeding out, it won’t fuse with the rest of the body?”

You nod, without giving further response and do as he suggested, smiling when the tip paid of a million, and Kazuha’s own smile could only spread further across his cheeks until his eyes crinkled with mirth.  With the hand he pointed with, he brushed hairs from your eyes that went astray, pinning them behind your ear with a hum.

There were several hours of night ahead, but he knew he would wish there were a couple of more, just so he could have his peace with you like this.

Ⓒ n0tamused. Do not repost, translate, edit, and/or copy any of my works. Likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated.

[connorswhisk]

Loose Leaf

fic fill for @thecrusadercomrade !! thanks so much for requesting and i'm sorry it took so long fdjl;sajkl; hope u enjoy <3

also on my ao3

She probably draws him about a million times, over and over again in her tiny sketchbook with the cheap colored pencils and the slowly dulling pocket sharpener. Fighting walkers, splattering scarlet blood all across the white page. Riding a horse, with Clem on the back of the saddle right behind him, arms circled about his waist. A lot of those pages end up stuffed between the cracks of the dumpster lid (Clem’s not tall or strong enough to lift it fully on her own) because in her opinion, they’re just not so good. She doesn’t like them, and so she figures neither would Lee.

She draws him a million times. Over and over again. But he isn’t the only one to make an appearance in her little book.

– – – 

The family is easy, probably the easiest thing there is to draw in the whole motor inn. Clementine’s had lots of practice drawing families, for school art projects and things like that, but it’s easier to draw people she knows are alive instead of the parents she doesn’t.

Kenny with his mustache and his hat, Katjaa with blonde hair that’s a little too bright because the only shade of yellow Clem has is lemon. And in between them, shorter than either but smiling bigger than both, is Duck. Clem has lots of fun dotting in the freckles all over his round, happy face; she thinks the stick-figure version of him looks very accurate.

(She considers adding a bunch of creepy-crawly spiders in the blank space beneath Duck’s feet, but ends up deciding that might be a little too mean.)

She gifts it to them, eager and proud at breakfast one morning. Kenny and Katjaa aren’t actually eating, Clem notices. Kenny eyes the granola bar his son is pigging out on with a pained expression on his face; Clementine quietly tucks her snack pack into her pocket, and though her stomach whimpers in protest, she resolves to eat it after. She can wait, just a little while longer.

Kenny looks at her like he has no idea what she’s talking about when she holds the page out in her tiny hand. “It’s like a family photo of you guys,” says Clem, slightly anxious. “Well, kind of…”

Kenny still says nothing. Clem tries not to take it personally - Lee doesn’t have to tell her so in hushed whispers just between the two of them, she knows Kenny’s been itching to leave the motel and the food situation definitely isn’t helping matters. Katjaa smiles, tired but kind, and carefully takes the drawing from her before the silence stretches out too long.

“Why, it’s lovely,” she says softly, angling it just so that Duck can see. “Look, Ducky, Clementine drew all three of us.”

Duck frowns. “Why did you make me have chicken pox? ”

“That’s not chicken pox,” Clem giggles. “Those are your freckles. ”

“Oh!” His teeth are crowded with leftover granola bits as he beams, big and wide and white. “Awesome!”

“Yes, it’s very nice.” Katjaa smiles again at her. “We’ll be sure to tack it up in the RV, right on the wall where everyone can see it. Right, Ken?”

Kenny sighs, distracted. “Yeah, yeah, that’s - that’s fine, honey.” He glances down at the paper for just a second, and his mouth twitches a little. “My mustache ain’t that big.”

“I wanna draw!” Duck exclaims, leaping to his feet. “Clem, can I borrow some paper and your pencils?”

“Ok,” Clem replies. “But you have to promise not to be too rough with them, or else they’ll break.”

“I promise!”

“You two stay in sight!” Katjaa calls after them as Duck dashes away, Clem fast in tow. It doesn’t look like it’ll rain, so maybe she’ll get out the chalk, too. Duck always likes playing with the chalk, or at least for as long as he likes playing with anything before he gets distracted again.

Once Kenny’s and Katjaa’s backs are turned once more, Clementine pulls the snack pack out of her pocket. She’s so hungry that the stale breadsticks and fake cheese are gone in mere seconds, and even then her tummy still growls, pathetic. Duck looks like he wants to ask her for a bite. She doesn’t offer any, and s he feels terrible about that but she’s pretty sure not eating would only make her feel worse.

(Years later and she still has it, even after all of them are gone.)

– – – 

Doug’s always been nice to Clementine, and she’s glad Lee saved him. Carley was kind too, and pretty, but…Lee made a choice, which is something you have to do sometimes, she knows that now. Even if the choice isn’t exactly a fair one.

(She wonders what she would have done in the same situation, forced to pick between two strangers. She never can seem to come to any sort of conclusion.)

But Doug doesn’t treat Clem like she’s a silly little girl, not in the way some of the others do. He talks to her like she’s just another adult, and Clem likes that because if she can pretend that she is just another adult, maybe things won’t seem as scary as they really are, not anymore. Doug shows Clementine how the bell system he rigged works to warn them of movement nearby, and the faded old Uno pack he sometimes breaks out has seen Clem her fair share of sneaky, smirking wins against a befuddled Lee and a frustrated Kenny.

So Doug is another person that is very easy for her to draw. That yellow shade is still a little too lemon-y, but Clem adds some brown, blends it in a bit against the page the best she can, and maybe this time it looks a little closer to his actual hair color. She makes the big green sweater extra fuzzy (fuzzier than it is in real life) and adds a teeny laser pointer in Doug��s hand, shining its red beam directly into the eyes of an oncoming walker and blinding it.

Doug smiles when she gives it to him. “Wow,” he says. “I look badass.”

“Swear,” admonishes Clem.

Doug raises his eyebrows. “Does ass really count as a curse word?” The grin doesn’t leave his face. “This is super awesome, Clementine. Thank you.”

She nods. “I just thought…I just thought you might wanna keep it.”

Carefully, Doug folds the drawing in half, then into quarters, and finally into neat, creased eighths. “Knew I still carried this around for a reason,” he says, drawing his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans and sliding the page inside it. “See, there you are. Now I’ll have it wherever I go.”

Clementine beams. “I like that,” she tells him, rocking back and forth happily on her heels.

(It’s still in his wallet, as far as she knows, the night that he dies. They leave his body on the side of the road, and they leave the drawing with him.)

– – – 

Larry doesn’t like Lee, and he doesn’t like Kenny, or Duck, or…much of anyone, really. But he usually isn’t as cranky to Clem as he is with the others, and though she doesn’t know why, it’s enough to inspire her to give him a drawing. 

He folds it, just like Doug did, tucking it into the breast pocket of his sweat-stained bowler shirt. “Reminds me of the ones my daughter used to make in school.” His voice isn’t hard, but it is still very gruff.

Above them, Lilly scoffs, adjusting her position on top of the camper van. “You never held on to those,” she accuses. “Why start now?”

“Times change,” says Larry offhandedly. “People change, ain’t you know that, girl?”

“Well,” Clem says, slow and unsure. “Well, I hope that you like it…”

“He loves it.” Lilly’s teeth are gritted hard enough to crack. “Don’t you worry about that, Clementine.”

Clem scurries away before their voices get too loud for her again. She doesn’t draw Larry anymore after that - it doesn’t feel right to.

(She sneaks it out of his pocket when Lee isn’t looking, after…after Kenny drops the salt lick. The paper is weathered and torn between her fingers and she pushes it to Lilly with shaking hands before she can think any more about it.

Lilly glares at her hard like she’s just sprouted some freakish second head, and Clementine lets go of the paper quick as a flash, sobs and runs back over to Lee.)

– – – 

It feels more than a little obvious to draw Ben. He’s all alone, and scared, and no one at the inn fully trusts him yet. Lee warns Clem to stay frosty around him, just in case. But all Clementine sees is a boy, and even though he’s a lot bigger than Duck or her, he’s still very, very afraid.

She doesn’t really know how she should do it. Drawing him with his friends who died seems cruel, and she doesn’t know enough about Ben to know what he likes to do, or what he used to like to do.

So she draws him in a big field, sitting under an apple tree, a shiny red delicious in his hand. Clem’s parents once would take her to a field just like that, on the way to Grandpa’s house through all the Georgia farmland. Everybody’s different, but she figures that Ben might find that sort of memory pretty and peaceful, too.

“You’re…Clementine, right?” he asks her unsurely as she approaches him at his spot up against the motel’s grubby brick walls. The grave Lee and Kenny dug for his coach is still fresh and loamy with loose, dark earth.

She nods. “I made this for you,” she says, thrusting the paper forward and into Ben’s hands. “It’s ok if you don’t like it, I won’t get mad.”

He sort of blinks at the drawing, like he isn’t super sure what it is he’s looking at. “Is this…me?”

Clem frowns. She thought that that was obvious. “Uh-huh.”

“Oh.” Ben looks up at her, then back down at the page, then at her again. “Um…thanks. It’s really - good. It’s really good.”

“I said I wouldn’t get mad.” She sticks her hand back out, expectantly. “Give it back if you don’t want it.”

“I - I want it!” Ben’s voice cracks. “I do want it, it’s really good. Thank you, Clementine.”

She nods again. “If you ever wanna draw with me and Duck, I still have a lot of paper left.”

“I don’t know…” Ben chews his lip, like he thinks he’d look stupid for hanging around the little kids. “I’ve never been that great at art.”

“Duck’s awful,” reports Clementine happily. “No one will care!”

Ben’s lips wiggle a little like he wants to smile. “Really?”

“Really,” she says.

And no one does.

(Clem doesn’t know what happened to Ben’s drawing in the end. Maybe she doesn’t want to.)

– – – 

“I like to draw everyone.” She adds a finishing touch to her figure’s glasses, before presenting the end product with a slight flourish. “See, that’s you!”

“Hey, it is.” Mark grins. He hasn’t been here long, but he’s funny, and any new face is an excuse to use something new to sketch. “Were you in art class at school or something?”

“Yeah,” Clem chirps, flipping to the next available page in her book for a blank slate. “It was a lot of fun. I liked to paint a lot, but I don’t have any paint right now. So I use my pencils and sometimes the sidewalk chalk.”

Mark’s dirty fingernails tap-tap-tap on top of the wooden picnic table. “I used to take art classes too,” he says, and his voice sounds kinda sad. “Before I joined the Air Force…”

“They didn’t let you draw in the planes?” asks Clem, choosing from her pencils a bright red, her most sickly green. “I rode a plane once. It was long. I drew everything I saw outside the window to pass the time.”

Mark shakes his head, laughing a little. “If I wasn’t flying the plane, I was busy doin’ somethin’ else with it. Didn’t really have a whole lotta time for hobbies.”

“That’s lame.” Clem looks up at him. “You should draw more now. Since you have the time.”

“I - I guess that’s true, isn’t it?” Mark shrugs, and glances back down at the tabletop. “Whoa. Whatcha makin’ now?”

Clementine doesn’t stop what she’s doing. She presses down harder with her muddy brown, dirt and death and decay.

“A walker,” she answers, and when she’s done with it Mark is gone and his picture is left behind, fluttering in the breeze.

Clem stuffs it back into the binding of her sketchbook. Even if he doesn’t want it, she’ll keep it around. She likes the way she shaded in the darkness of his leather jacket, the little shines on the lenses of his glasses.

(Mark pretty much avoids her completely after that. Clementine wonders if he’s drawing on his own, the things he always wanted to. She decides that maybe she doesn’t quite care, and she feels horrible after the farm.)

– – – 

Her mom and dad. Sandra. Carley, Glenn, Shawn and Hershel, her friends at school, her Grandpa, her little cousins, her teachers, Mrs. Earnshaw from across the road, Sailor Moon and She-Ra and Bugs Bunny and other cartoon heroes to help come and save the day.

These are the things she draws in between, and she has no one to share them with.

– – – 

She actually never gives Lilly one, though she draws her many, many times. She’s a little too scared, a little too chicken-shit (as Duck likes to say) to actually go through with it. Lilly hadn’t been happy when Clem had given a drawing to Larry and so it doesn’t seem likely she’d want one of her own. 

But she’s scary, and sharp, and Clementine draws her a lot. Filling in and out of the margins of her notebook, angry and shouting and mean. A few times, she leaves her book face-open on top of the picnic tables, in the hopes that Lilly might wander by, take a curious peek and see herself reflected back in all the pages.

She never does wander by, so eventually, Clem stops trying it, and that’s all there is to that.

(Years later, Clementine stares a woman she once thought she knew hard in the eyes and imagines taking a match to those drawings, each and every one at a slow and burning time.)

– – – 

He isn’t the only one to make an appearance in her little book. But in the end, the one she draws the most is still and always Lee.

[animentality]

I just had the most devastating honor mode run end that I have ever had, and I'm not going to lie.

I have never been tilted by Baldur's Gate 3...until today.

And it's honestly more tilted than I've ever been at a video game...and I spent like 3 years playing fucking Overwatch...and Dead by Daylight, where the world's worst people congregate to torture one another.

The last time I was at the gith creche, I got my ass handed to me by That Prick who I am going to call Wargass. He's the bitch who tries to murder you when you don't kill the Emperor.

Last time, I almost lost the run because of his legendary move, which is the most horse shit thing in existence.

Basically, every time you fucking hit him OR AN ALLY...he summons a sword to shove up your ass. And it just fucking appears next to you, and surrounds you, so you can't escape without taking opportunity attacks.

So last time, I escaped by going invisible, and running away so I could come back and kill him by dragging him out to the bridge outside the Vlaakith room.

This time, I thought, well last time I got fucked because I was in the center of the room, and we were just taking hits from everywhere. No cover anywhere. This time, I gotta be able to position, maybe surprise enemies.

So I choose the right dialogue options, to make sure Vlaakith doesn't just nuke us.

But then I see the Astral Portal...and I think...well, what if I position myself now? And we just kill him before going into the Portal...can you do that?

And like a fucking moron...

I say fuck it, let's try it.

And uh. I don't know how many of you have ever tried this, but...when you do that?

Lae'zel immediately leaves your party.

So.

I was fucked instantly. Lae'zel is a fucking fighter, which is the second most demonic class after Paladin. She is fucking stacked and has the best goddamn gear I have, and she immediately kills Karlach using action surge. Gale also dies immediately, because he's squishy and there are a million bitches with psychic rend around him.

The only reason the run didn't end there was because I went invisible and fled.

Now I went and revived everyone in camp, but I thought ok...so I have to go back, with four people, and get my shit back...

I bring in Astarion, because I think, it'll be fine, we just need to drag them out onto that bridge...

Guess what? It wasn't fine. I had to draw Astarion and myself back, because Gale and Karlach die again. See, the fucking problem is, the normal strat of making distance doesn't work here. Normally, you can aoe a ton of enemies or have them run into walls of fire or whatever. But these fucking swords that Wargass summons literally APPEAR NEXT TO YOU. And they all take a swing, and break your concentration. Plus, even if you do manage to break them, and good luck with that, he just makes more, every goddamn turn.

So almost in tears, I swap out Astarion and pull in Wyll.

I need Hunger of Hadar, my cheese spell.

It kind of works, because I put it on the bridge, and all of his dumb bitch guards get stuck in it. But THEN Wargass, being a fucking prick, chases me around and murders me out of pure spite. Then Karlach and Gale almost kill him...but then he does his usual bullshit, of using his swords to kill everyone.

And I just...at this point, I'm just done.

Wyll can't do anything, he's out of spells. He can't even run, because there are swords near him.

I just have him take an opportunity attack, and call the run over.

And it's funny, because I'm doing an honor mode run with my buddy, where we've done basically everything wrong...but we still made it to Act 3 mostly unscathed.

With only one or two close calls.

But this is the second time my run's been fucked by the goddamn creche boss battle.

And you know... I love Bg3...but I have played way too many goddamn hours.

Need to take a break and just write porn about it, like god intended.

[remuslupinsdaughter]

Molly Shelby

Chapter 3

Ok so this is a fic from years ago that I’ve decided to sort of change up and develop, imagine Tommy Shelby had a daughter before he went to war, she’s around 12 now.

I have no idea where this is going but let’s find out where my silly little mind goes with it.

Molly woke up still in her dads bed, Tommy was gone which was no surprise to her, she ran to her own room to get dressed and went downstairs to find her dad, she heard voices in the kitchen and found her dad and uncle’s along with aunt Polly and her grandad Charlie who she didn’t see too often, she smiled, “Charlie!” She said and hugged him, Charlie chuckled and hugged her back, kissing the top of her head, “how’re ya petal?” He asked, Molly looked at her dad, looking for permission to talk honestly, Tommy nodded, “he knows” Tommy said, Molly looked back to Charlie who petted her head, “I heard you’re house bound” he said, Molly nodded her expression falling as she remembered she’s not allowed to leave the house, she leant into Charlie’s side, he wrapped his arm around her, squeezing her arm, “I need to get back to the horses, you be good, listen to your father” Charlie said finishing his tea and giving Molly another kiss on the top of her head, Molly nodded and said goodbye as Charlie left.

“Dad?” Tommy turned to look at Molly, “can I come into the shop with you today?” She asked, “no” Tommy said almost instantly, “please, I’ll be bored here, I can help!” “Molly I said no” he said sternly, Molly sighed and stormed out into the living room past Ada who looked at Tommy, “what did you do now?” She asked, Tommy threw his hands up, “all I fucking do is try to keep this family safe and what fucking thanks do I get?” He said angrily throwing a teacup down and shattering it, “she’s scared Tom and she’s got every fucking right to be” Ada said, “and maybe her coming to work with you isn’t such a bad idea? You can keep eyes on her at all times, we all know how paranoid you get” Tommy looked at Ada then walked into the living room, Molly who was sat sulking and reading a book, looked up at him, “get your coat” he said, Mollys eyes lit up with a smile and she ran past him and put on her coat and shoes, she looked at Ada who was leaning against the kitchen doorframe smiling.

Molly followed Tommy closely into the shop, she smiled when she noticed John stood with scudboat at a desk counting money, “ey Mol, coming to work with the big boys today” John teased, Molly laughed and leaned over to look at what they’re doing, “your numbers are wrong” she said taking the pencil off Scudboat and fixing the adding up error, “Molly, in here” Tommy called from his office, “she’s alright Tom, she’s only been ‘ere five minutes and she’s already better than scudboat” John joked, “Molly, in here. Now” Tommy said raising his voice, Molly rolled her eyes looking at John, he nodded his head towards Tommy and ruffled her hair, Molly walked over to Tommy, ducking under his arm and into his office, Tommy shut the door, “sit there” he said pointing at a chair.

Tommy worked quietly at his desk, Molly sat on the chair, resting her chin on her knees, drawing patterns on the arm of the chair with her fingers. Frances knocked on the door, Tommy shouted her in, “would you like any tea Mr Shelby?” He asked, “please, get some orange juice for Molly as well Frances” Mollys head perked up, “can I help?” “No” Tommy said, “and take your feet off the fucking chair” Molly dropped her feet to the floor with a light stomp and a huff, she slumped down in the chair, Tommy looked at her, “you wanted to come with me to work, you’re here now”, Molly nodded, “I’m sorry” she said looking at her feet. Tommy sighed, “I can’t let you out in the shop because it’s open to the public, that means you’re at risk, if you’re in here I can keep my eye on you, I need to know you’re safe Molly”, she nodded again, “I know, my uncles can keep me safe too though, I’ll be ok with them, I promise” she said, Tommy sighed and there was a pause, “you’re not to leave Arthur or Johns sight” Molly smiled, “thank you thank thank you!” She said jumping up from her seat and hugging him, Tommy couldn’t help the smile and chuckle that escaped him, “ey I mean it, do not leave their sight Molly”, Molly nodded and gave a mock salute like a soldier and ran out his office.

She found Arthur and sat on the stool next to him, “your dad know you’re out ‘ere or did you sneak away” he asked, “he knows, said I can be out here if I stay with you or uncle John” she replied leaning over to read the documents he was working on, “well what about me?” Finn said, Molly shrugged and carried on reading, “what does this mean?” She asked pointing at the documents, “it’s a shipment count, tells us how much we’ve sold so we can keep count of our stock” Arthur replied and handed Molly one of the documents, “you do that one, write the total in that box there”.

Molly was concentrating so much on the document she didn’t notice someone enter the shop until she heard Arthur’s handgun click, she looked up at him then at where he was looking, two men were stood staring straight at Arthur. Molly tried to shrink down in her chair, John and Finn moved to stand next to Molly, John placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder . “Tommy about?” One of the men said, His eyes briefly meeting Mollys before Tommys office door opened, “Alfie” he said, he widened his office door and flicked his eyes over to Molly who nodded to reassure him she was ok.

The office door closed and Arthur holstered his gun, “who was that?” Molly asked, “Alfie Solomons” Arthur grumbled, “not your favourite business associate then” Molly quipped and smiled, Arthur gave a small smile back and let out a breathy laugh, Molly paused for a minute looking at the office, seeing her dad conversing with Alfie, “uncle Arthur?” He grunted in response, “does my dad think it was him who had those men follow me from school?” She asked, Arthur looked up from his work and put down his pencil, “now don’t you go worrying about that, we’re gonna find the people who followed you and -“ “Arthur!” Polly interrupted him, “tell them to stay very far away” Arthur mumbled making Molly laugh “you don’t have to lie to me you know, I know what you do, hell all of Birmingham knows what the ‘peaky blinders gang’ do” she said and went back to writing her sums down, “I’m done” she said handing the document back to Arthur.

“It don’t scare you does it?” Arthur asked, “what do you mean?” Molly said, slightly confused, “what we do, it don’t scare you?” He asked, the anxiety on his face was clear, Molly smiled and squished herself in Arthur’s chair leaning into him, “not one bit” she said, Arthur let out a breath and wrapped his arms around her.

[endless-season]

5th Anniversary Livestream - Puppet Skit

You can watch the livestream recording here!

The Puppet skit is around 1:05:00 - 1:23:00

Host: Good evening everybody and welcome to Kitchen Battle! Tonight is the anniversary of Loveland TV and also the 5th anniversary special edition of Kitchen Battle! And so, today we’ve invited five popular guests to our studio to join us in celebrating the 5th anniversary and also cook us up a surprise!

Host: Without further ado, please welcome our guests, the Outstanding Talents of Loveland City

Host: The Expert Food Critic – Kiro!

Kiro: My food judging skills are as good as my singing!

Kiro: Although last time when I was on a gourmet food variety show there were some… minor accidents… Tonight I’ll definitely show everyone my true cooking skills!

Host: *nervous laugh* Ok!

Host (away from mic): Could all staff please ensure that Kiro stays away from any open flames and knives to ensure safety and avoid any risks to the studio.

Host: Please welcome our next guest - Taste Adventurer, Gavin!

Gavin: I’ll create impossible dishes out of readymade ingredients.

Gavin: No matter what happens next, I’ll accomplish this mission without a hitch.

Host: We’re just cooking, no need to be so tense… In any case, Officer Gavin please take your place.

Host: Please welcome our next guest – The Greatest Cookbook, Lucien!

Lucien: I’ve already spent 3 days 8 hours and 21 minutes memorizing all the recipes online.

Lucien: By researching and analysing the experiences of our predecessors and their unique recipes, we can quickly master the secrets of the kitchen.

Host: It seems Professor Lucien’s already done some theoretical work before coming to the studio! Thanks for coming Professor Lucien.

Host: Please welcome our next guest – The Ultimate Chef, Victor!

Victor: I won’t let these ingredient down.

Victor: Chef? This particular title should not be one used in a general setting. My assistant will be contacting you later to investigate the source of this information.

Host: Uh... ok Mr Victor.

Host: Please welcome our final guest - Food Tyrant, Shaw!

Shaw: Yo boss, get me one of everything on the menu to try.

Shaw: Hurry up already, I’m hungry from all this waiting.

Host: Ok! All five of our guests are here! Welcome all!

Host: First, if you could all introduce yourselves.

Kiro: Hello everyone! I’m Kiro, a well-known foodie of Loveland. Tonight I’ll definitely bring you all an incomparably delicious dish!

Gavin: I’m Gavin. I don’t usually cook, but I’ll try my best tonight.

Lucien: Hello, I’m Lucien. I believe facing an unfamiliar cuisine is just like facing an experiment with unknown results. Looking forward to a pleasant surprise.

Victor: I’m Victor. I’m sure everyone can look forward to a good dish.

Shaw: Me? Shaw. Can’t cook, gonna wing it tonight.

Host: Thank you all for coming tonight. Before we start with tonight’s special recipe, I have a few questions for everyone.

Host: Does anyone have any memorable cooking experiences to share? Or any expectations for tonight’s recipe.

Lucien: I don’t have much cooking experience, but each time is different. I trust tonight will also be a valuable experience.

Gavin: I trained a bit before coming here so my cooking skills may have improved. We’ll see how it goes later.

Kiro: I have a lot of memorable experiences tasting food! I hope to invent some never before seen food, like spicy donuts~

Victor: I have decent cooking experience. I guess you could say enough to be proficient. But of course, it would be nice to experience something new tonight.

Shaw: Hurry up and start already. Just make something I like eating.

Host: I’m sure our audience is all curious what our special 5th anniversary recipe is. But hold your horses, cooking isn’t that easy!

Host: Let’s start off with a small game, only after clearing it can you get all the ingredients needed!

Host: Please turn your attention to the screen.

Host: Warm Up Game! Ingredients Battle, you draw, I guess. Each game is divided into 5 rounds. The guests take turns to each draw the given prompt within 10 seconds and the other 4 guests try to guess the answer based on their drawing. Just a reminder, the prompts given are the ingredients needed for the secret recipe so try your best!

Kiro: This game’s easy! I’ll go first!

Host: Kiro is intensely drawing, what kind of artwork will he bring?

Kiro: I’m done drawing! Tada! Super easy to guess!

Shaw: I can’t tell what it is.

Victor: If it’s an ingredient… maybe flour?

Gavin: Is it sesame seeds?

Lucien: Perhaps some form of seasoning like sugar or salt…

Correct Answer! Sugar

Kiro: Correct! As expected of Professor Lucien!

Lucien: Mm, the drawing is actually quite good, there’s an indescribable beauty about it.

Host: The first round was successfully passed, let’s continue with round two! Student Shaw, please take a look.

Shaw: Oh, my turn? Heh. Time for you have a look at my artistic skill. *humming while drawing*

Host: Student Shaw looks brimming with confidence, looking forward to see his work.

Shaw: Ok everyone, look over here. Look carefully, next is the important part. *humming while erasing*

Shaw: How is it? Easy yeah?

Victor: … Did he look at the wrong word?

Gavin: Is this some kind of performative art.

Lucien: Is it... chives?

Kiro: emmmm… I know! It’s strawberry! Hahahahah

Correct Answer! Strawberry! (T/N: Strawberry = lit. Grass + Gone)

Shaw: Not bad, pretty smart.

Kiro: Heh, as expected of me.

Lucien: Quite a creative way to communicate the prompt.

Gavin: It does make sense.

Victor: … a childish performance.

Host: Congratulations on another correct answer! Next, could we get Professor Lucien.

Lucien: Guess it’s my turn.

Lucien: Sorry to make a fool of myself, time is limited so the drawing isn’t that great.

Kiro: Isn’t this a bit toooooooo refined. I’m guessing an egg? A duck’s egg? A quail egg!

Victor: Undoubtedly an egg.

Gavin: Agreed

Host: Student Shaw, how about your answer?

Shaw: … surely it can’t just be an egg, is there a catch.

Correct Answer! Egg!

Lucien: Too much caution can cause people to deviate from the correct answer.

Host: That’s right, it’s that easy! Let’s continue with the next round.

Gavin: I’ll go next.

Host: Officer Gavin is concentrating very hard, I trust it’ll be an amazing work.

Gavin: Um, I guess just like this.

Kiro: Oh I know - Ice cream!

Lucien: Maybe mashed potato?

Shaw: Meat bun? Pork soup dumpling? Or is it crab dumpling? Tch, can’t tell.

Victor: Looks like a bowl of rice.

Gavin: … Everyone keep trying. Hint, it’s something sweet that makes people happy when they eat it.

Victor: … Cream?

Correct Answer! Cream!

Kiro: How did you guess that!

Victor: Got lucky…

Lucien: There is some resemblance.

Host: Next is Mr Victor, looking forward to his performance.

Victor: I will try my best.

Kiro: Ah, it looks delicious. It’s chocolate chip cookies…

Gavin: Shouldn’t it be beef?

Lucien: I think it should be milk. The cookies are just a side.

Shaw: It’s clearly this cows afternoon tea.

Kiro: Huh…? Do cows drink milk for afternoon tea?

Shaw: Who said it had to be milk inside the glass.

Victor: Hm?

Lucien: Sometimes the truth nature of things is unexpectedly simple. No need for everyone to think too deeply. I think the answer is indeed milk.

Host: Well then, let’s see, is our last answer indeed milk?

Correct Answer! Milk!

Kiro: Sure enough, it was the simple answer.

Host: Congratulations everyone! Sugar, strawberry, egg, cream, milk. All ingredients successfully obtained~

Host: On to our next segment. Our kitchen battle officially begins!

Host: Ingredients are in place, is everyone ready?

Kiro: Now that I think about it, this is my first time wearing an apron on camera.

Lucien: Congratulations on unlocking another life achievement.

Gavin: Erm… these aprons… *ahem* are a bit too cute.

Victor: Indeed. Compared to making a cake, this seems to be the greater challenge.

Kiro: Hey, someone’s trying to avoid it.

Shaw: *sighs* Okay, okay.

Host: Okay, since everyone is ready, I’ll announce the aim of today’s challenge! Today our five guests will be making anniversary cake! Well then, let’s hand over to our guests!

Victor: Let’s divide up the work.

Kiro: Ok.

Gavin: Understood.

Lucien: No objections.

Shaw: I learn fast, anything is fine.

Victor: We’ll split into pairs. I’ll help out both sides. If there’s any problems, you can find me.

Shaw: *peaces out*

Kiro: Aw yeah! I’m going to make the best cake in the world.

Gavin: I’m going to do some warm up exercises on the side first.

Victor: *sighs* … so be it.

Lucien: I’ll check we have all the ingredients we need.

-

~ On Lucien and Shaw’s side ~

Lucien: 3 eggs… 180g… so each egg should be 60g…

Shaw: You still haven’t finished choosing the eggs?

Lucien: But the scale says…

*A wild Victor emerges*

Shaw: Ahhh close enough.

Victor: Hm... actually-

Lucien: Sugar? If I’m remembering correctly… we only need 60g?

*Victor peaces out*

Lucien: It’s better to follow the ratio of the recipe to better guarantee the accurate result.

Lucien: Perfect, 60g on the dot. Hm… next is…

*A wild Kiro appears*

Kiro: Wow! I’ve discovered that milk plus lemon juice plus sugar tastes really good! I highly recommend this Kiro Original recipe to everyone!

Shaw: What are you having?

Kiro: An original mix, wanna try some?

Shaw: Lemme try. *drinks* Ah, not bad.

*A wild Victor appears*

Victor: What are you guys doing?

Shaw & Kiro : Ahhhhh

*Shaw gets back to cooking, Kiro escapes into the sunset*

Victor: This smell…

-

Lucien: I’ve separated the egg white and egg yolk. I’ll leave the rest to you, student Shaw. I’m sure you’ll do well.

Shaw: No worries!

Lucien: First you stir clockwise 120 times, then you stir anticlockwise 150 times.

*A wild Victor emerges*

Lucien: Then add milk and butter, and stir clockwise and anticlockwise 180 times each.

Shaw: Hmm… so first, clockwise 120 times…

Shaw (in the bg): 101... 102... 103… 104…

Victor (whispering to Lucien): I don’t recall these steps in the recipe. Also the program staff prepared an electric mixer.

Shaw (in the bg): 105… 107… 108… 110… 115…

Lucien (whispering back): University students are always very energetic.

pls appreciate this beautiful fanart

-

~ On Kiro and Gavin’s side ~

Gavin: Let me see… the next step… add a suitable amount of cocoa powder and some crushed biscuits…

Gavin: … Suitable amount? What’s a suitable amount? Some? How many is some?

Kiro: Urgh… the most annoying recipe instructions have appeared.

Gavin: Then… I’ll just go with gut feel…

Gavin: *AGGRESSIVE GRUNTING AND SHAKING*

Gavin: *gasp* Oh no.

Kiro: Uh… no worries Officer Gavin, we’ll just start over.

Kiro: Here *passes egg*

Gavin: Thanks

Kiro: Here

Gavin: Thanks

Kiro: Here

Gavin: Thanks

*A wild Victor emerges*

Victor: How are you guys going?

Gavin: It should be… okay.

Victor: Why does it look like there’s eggshells in the cake… let me see.

Victor: You don’t have any more eggs!?

Kiro: Gavin’s already-

Gavin: *Ahem* So, can we move on to the next step?

Kiro: Right, yes, so next is putting on the cream.

Gavin: I’ll do it.

-

Kiro: Go go you can do it!

Victor: Don’t be nervous. This part is easy.

Kiro: Ah!

Gavin: Um. Did I put too much cream?

Victor: Pause time and immediately finish the entire thing… feasibility is… … *sighs*

-

Host: The cake base for all the 5 guests is already complete, next up is time for their individual decorations. What kind of cake will they make? Let’s have a look.

Host: Hm. We see Kiro here with a lot of chips… what kind of cake are you planning to make?

Kiro (stuffing his face with chips): Wait, no looking. This is my original recipe and cannot be leaked.

Host: Uh, I’m sure it’ll be a great cake.

Host: Well then, let’s have a look at our next guest.

-

Host: Officer Gavin seems to be deep in contemplation.

Host: Officer Gavin, could you share with us your ideas for the cake?

Gavin: Huh? Oh, okay.

Gavin: Um. I’m not very good at making cakes. I’m still coming up with an idea.

Host: O-oh I see. Good luck Officer Gavin.

-

Host: Let’s see Professor Lucien’s latest progress.

Host: Professor Lucien, do you have any particular designs or ideas for the cake?

Lucien: You’ll need to wait and see it with your own eyes to appreciate it.

Host: Professor Lucien gives off an unpredictable feeling, we’ll look forward to see your amazing work.

-

Host: Lastly we have Mr Victor.

Host: Wow, as expected of the Ultimate Chef, such extraordinary skills~

Victor: I do not want to be disturbed while cooking.

Host: Ah okay, so exquisite I can’t bear to eat it.

Host: Let’s wait to interview Mr Victor after he’s done.

-

Host: Lastly is student Shaw.

Host: This looks a bit peculiar… where did this idea come from?

Shaw: Art comes from life and life is to do as one pleases.

Host: Uh, very reasonable cake philosophy. We’re looking forward to your final product.

-

Host: Our 5 guests have completed their cakes. Up next is the exciting moment where we unveil the cakes. Let’s invite our 5 chefs to unveil their cakes!

Kiro: As you can all see, this is the Chips Cake! Unique taste guaranteed!

Gavin: Erm. I drew Pearly. Doesn’t really look like her, hope she’s not angry.

Lucien: A ripe cherry will definitely make people want to eat it more *sparkle*

Victor: Time was limited, so I could only put some simple decorations.

Shaw: My cake obviously has my style.

Host: They’re all very unique and exciting. Thank you for sharing.

Host: We’ll take a short break and then continue with our final segment.

-

~ Kitchen Battle Anniversary Ceremony ~

Host: Congratulations all for completing the cake.

Host: Kitchen Battle ~  Food enriches life - eat well, drink well, and tomorrow will be well ~

Host: Thanks again to our 5 guests. We’ve also prepared a big cake! We welcome everyone watching to celebrate the anniversary with us!

Gavin: Kitchen Battle has helped many people learn how to cook, I too have learned a lot today. May this program continue to get better and better. Happy 5th Anniversary.

Kiro: Here’s to wishing this show will continue to proper next year too and share delicious food with everyone! Happy 5th Anniversary!

Shaw: Today was fun! Looking forward to a harder battle next year, Happy 5th Anniversary!

Lucien: Although our time was short. I’m very glad to have spent this unforgettable and lovely night with you all. Happy 5th Anniversary everyone.

Victor: I’ve always believed in the healing power of good food. Looking forward to discovering even more good food with everyone in the future. Happy 5th Anniversary.

All: Happy 5th Anniversary!

Host: That’s all for today’s program. Thank you all for participating and thank you all for watching! See you next time!

[uighean]

grabbing this from @galacticlamps bc I am nothing if not narcissus staring into a pond ig!!

What book are you currently reading?

I've just picked war and peace back up after ditching it for a couple months!! I'm like. a quarter of the way through ahjgfkdg. getting there.

What's your favourite movie you saw in a cinema this year?

god I think the last thing I saw at the cinema was the broadcast of a coldplay concert?? (which was rlly good & I do need to pick up the dvd. like. I need to own footage of people of the pride being performed live thank you) but I have NO idea what I saw at the cinema before that omg. definitely nothing this year

What do you usually wear?

if I'm out, then a kilt + button-up shirt/tshirt + knee-high socks + docs. maybe a waistcoat or leather jacket if it's a bit colder

How tall are you?

5'3"ish! I am. small.

What's your star sign?

pisces! I don't care about zodiac stuff at all but I do think it's funny that there's sailors + fishermen on both sides of my family, my star sign is a fish, and yet I get terribly seasick

Do you share your birthday with a celebrity or historical event?

I mean probably but I also share my birthday with my fav animal crossing villager & that's worth more to me than any celebrity tbh

Do you go by your name or a nickname?

just by my name! I've never really been one for nicknames.

Did you grow up to be what you wanted to be as a child?

absolutely not haha. think I kinda talked about this in some tags the other day but I wanted to be a vet right up until I was in late high school/starting uni, & then it all just. dried up. have wound up working in museum collections management & I love it!!!

Are you in a relationship? Who is your crush if not?

yes!!! with @ettelwenailinon ❣️💕💞💓

What's something you're good at versus something you're bad at?

ogufjkdh I am clean out of ideas for this one so I'm gonna say. I'm the gay who can drive and also the gay who can't cook <3

Dogs or cats?

cats, 100%. dogs are cute (& I have a massive soft spot for enormous female dogs who are terrified of everything) but I wouldn't own one. but at the end of the day I am a horse person over everything

What's something you'd like to create content for?

hmm idk!! I think I'm already """"creating content"""" for everything I want to be tbh. I would like to actually learn how to draw but not necessarily anything specific, you know

What's something you're currently obsessed with?

well if you've been around my blog lately you might have picked up on the fact that I'm a little obsessed with holding achilles right now. like, watching it all the way through every day obsessed whoops.

(I need to sit down and actually write out my notes on it bc I have a LOT of thoughts but that's going to inevitably end with me making actual spreadsheets. of recurring motifs and when they crop up. rn I want to figure out all the references to prophecy vs promises (there's an overarching meta in my head about like. the way achilles and patroclus relate to death and responsibility, respectively, and how that drives their dynamic/the plot), but also all the different ways their relationship is defined/described by themselves and others? and how that relates to how ultimately what they want is to be unknown, and the kind of. queer idea of being undefinable. I'm being SO normal about all this if you can't tell)

tbh it's thrown me back into greek mythology in general. I have been watching so many greek god vine compilations & they all absolutely send me

What's something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year?

eurovision.................. god the songs this year are so. there's a handful of ones that are pretty good but so many are just boring pop songs. take me back to 2021. I'm hinging my entire sanity on kalush orchestra's winner's performance tbh that's going to be the highlight of the night

What's a hidden talent of yours?

ok I said I'm the gay I can't cook but the one thing I can make is potatoes. I do really good mashed/roast potatoes. mutuals you are invited over for this

Are you religious?

nope! my family's never been religious for as long as I've been alive, and I just. don't believe in anything. not necessarily ruling anything out though, the universe is very big. and like, I think I have a kind of spirituality in some ways? like I have some vague beliefs about objects holding stories/memories. but I think that's a function of working in a museum gkfjhds, you can't help but personify stuff a bit

What's something you wish to have at this moment?

the uk visa I'm applying for............................ or the truly ridiculous amount of money I paid for it. god why is it so expensive.

not tagging anyone bc I think this was technically meant to be for new year's??? but hey if anyone wants to do it, you're welcome :)

[thevindicativevordan]

Weekly reviews?

Damn what a packed week. Lot of great books came out:

Detective Comics #1064 - Probably the most straightforward issue yet but still solid. People who were hoping Ram was going to make Talia a hero again are probably disappointed, she's still firmly in gray leaning towards black.

Action Comics #1047 - Strong start to the new arc. I thought I was ok with Federeci leaving, much as I love his art this run would benefit from having someone more consistent drawing issues, but then he turns in some of his best work yet here. Now I'm sad he's leaving yet again. Initially I wasn't very happy about Lex being involved, love Lex but he's as overused as Joker, but damn if PKJ doesn't write a perfect Lex. Man walks into a killer robot's prison cell and delivers a classic villain monologue, not even caring that said robot is glaring hatefully at him and spamming "GET OUT", on how Lex is the solution to all of Metallo's problems. He's such an arrogant prick here and he's got all these awesome gadgets, I guess I'm on board for him being the big villain of the crossover after all. Metallo still has his military background thankfully, what PKJ is setting up for him sounds promising, I just hope he gets to have an arc to himself where he's the sole villain. Hoping whatever he looks like after Lex rebuilds him is finally a design I can get behind.

X-Men #15 - Remember the Vault and the Children? Well they're finally doing something again!

Superman Space Age #2 - When I finally accepted that Russell isn't writing a "Superman" specific story as much as a DCU story with Superman as the main protagonist, like Kingdom Come or how Hal was arguably the main protagonist of New Frontier, I am not as annoyed at Batman getting so many pages. Plus there's still enough great Superman and Lois moments to keep this in my good graces, even if I no longer see this as potentially entering into that All-Star Superman ranking of "greatest Superman stories of all time". Saving a deeper dive until the series is finished but I do think this will sit alongside Kingdom Come and Red Son as a great Elseworld Superman story. One thing that stood out to me which I'll mention here: I love how Brainiac is in the position of Jor-El and Superman is in the Science Council's position. Brainiac is saying the Earth is doomed and drastic measures need to be taken which Superman dismisses as insane ranting, because Superman is an optimist! It's never hopeless right? Wrong. Shit's fucked and Clark is walking straight off a cliff because of how idealistic he is, he's not treating the situation as seriously as it deserves. Such a great way of examining the nature of "hope" and showing how it can be a negative.

DC vs. Vampires #9 - Mostly reading for Steel and Kara interactions at this point, and Steel getting to kick ass. Mera as Black Manta is the kind of crazy twists that makes these Elseworlds worth reading.

DC Mech #3 - Much like the title above and Jurassic League this remains a very solid and entertaining twist on familiar storytelling.

Human Target #7 - I love it. The reveal isn't really shocking however, there's got to be another twist coming right? Otherwise it feels like things are too straightforward for a King story.

A.X.E. Avengers #1 - Gillen manages to write an Iron Man story that isn't just beating the dead horse about what a shitty guy Tony is. Pleasantly surprised that Tony passed where Steve failed. Now if only Gillen could swallow his pride and undo the stupid adoption retcon.

The Nice House on the Lake #10 - First of three Tynion books! Remains excellent but I confess I don't know where the story is going at this point.

The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country #6 - Heh Tynion sure likes to roast himself with all these stand-ins appearing in his work. He's been talking about how he's had some great talks over in Hollywood, but I guess maybe he's also feeling like he's selling out for money?

The Department of Truth #21 - Either we're entering this book's endgame or the entire status quo is about to shift in a major way. I could see this book turning into a Shadow War between Cole and his husband, paralleling what happened with Lee and his Soviet opposite. I feel like an idiot for not recognizing until now that Baker is meant to be Steve Bannon.

[thechildofbhaalhasawoken]

Feelings of Failure Part 2/3

I surprised myself and decided to continue this piece.

Read the first part here on Tumblr (there's also a link to AO3) if you like. It's the ending of the battle of Adamant Fortress. The Inquisitor returns from the Fade, is injured, Cullen is angsty and feels he has failed her.

In this second part, they're back in Skyhold and the Inquisitor is mostly recovered from her injuries. Cullen, however, has taken a turn for the worse. This is a canon-compliant but expanded view of the scenes in Inquisition where Cullen goes to meet Cassandra and then sends his lyrium kit flying across the room.

Trigger warnings: PSTD, mentions of self-harm, addiction, withdrawal symptoms, depictions of pain and trauma, body-dysmorphia.

I wasn't exactly ok with how in-game Cullen is ranting and hitting things and is generally fucking hurt, and all the Inquisitor says is, "You can" and then Cullen says "Alright", like that's it? No, that's not it.

So here's to the road to healing.

Read the second part here in AO3 (only for registered users!)

or you know, read the whole chapter under the cut because I love you guys.

Part two

words: 5183

After returning from the Adamant Fortress back to Skyhold in the back of a horse carriage, Inquisitor Ellana Lavellan had been bedridden to recover from her injuries. Healing spells and the best care the Inquisition could offer had her healing quickly, but she couldn’t help feeling useless. She was visited by her friends daily, healers a few times a day, her chambermaid Niamh took care of her and brought her food and tea, and she insisted on receiving reports on the aftermath of the battle. Josephine’s fine handwriting told of how she had informed the world about what had taken place in Adamant, Leliana’s notes were detailed in speculation, and Cullen’s neat handwriting was… not as neat as usual, she noticed.  Ellana squinted at the writing to make out the words. His report was short and very matter of fact. Cullen had not been in to see her at all in the days they had been back in Skyhold, but Ellana found a small personal note scribbled to the bottom of his report:

I hope you’re feeling better soon. It is strange knowing you are in Skyhold but not seeing you up and about.    -C

“Why don't you come and see me, then, if you miss me,” Ellana muttered to herself, drawing her fingertip over his handwriting, as if touching him instead of a piece of paper. Oh how she missed him. She hoped he was well - he hadn’t seemed well after the battle in the Western Approach, or what little she had seen of him during their journey back to Skyhold.

After a few days of rest and extensive use of healing herbs later, Ellana finally found her leg could carry her weight. The ribs still ached and were bruised, but she could breathe and move more or less normally. She was very happy to get permission to get out of bed and walk - the healer was very persistent - walk , not run or jump, around Skyhold to help the recovery.

The Inquisitor’s appearance in the Grand Hall stirred mild applause and appreciative murmurs all around. As she hobbled through the Grand Hall, many congratulated her on the victory in the Adamant fortress and wished her a swift recovery. Ellana thanked every one of the well-wishers, even though she recognised very few of them.

She was eager to get outside. Ellana noticed she had gotten used to sleeping and working and eating within stone walls, but she had spent too many days trapped indoors now. The Dalish elf relished the feel of wind in her hair and fresh air in her lungs when she finally got outside to the Skyhold grounds. She was met by some of her friends near the tavern, and more surrounded her as the word got around that the Inquisitor was up and about.

Iron Bull, Blackwall and Sera gathered around and got Ellana a comfortable chair to sit on outside the tavern. Dorian appeared from the library soon enough and arrived to give his dear friend a kiss on the cheek. He even made Sera move so he could sit next to Ellana. Even Josephine and Leliana noticed the gathering and joined. Ellana felt warm and happy to be surrounded by some of the best people she had ever known, even though she noticed a few of her inner circle were not present.

“How are you doing, Boss?” Iron Bull asked her eagerly as the people were gathering.

“Better, thank you. It’s so nice to be outdoors. If I was going to spend another day inside I would have gone mad,” Ellana laughed holding her side with her hand.

“Your well-being is our top priority, Inquisitor,” Josephine reminded sagely. “I’m sure it will lift the spirits all around Skyhold to see you up and about.”

“Yeah, everybody’s been all jittery while you’ve been stuck in bed,” Sera chimed in.

“What do you mean jittery?” Ellana asked.

“Well Varric’s not himself at all,” Sera explained. 

“It’s no wonder. The loss of his dear friend hit him hard,” Leliana said softly, and everyone hanged their heads in silence for a while, respecting Hawke’s memory for a few heartbeats.

“And Cullen’s too much like himself,” Sera broke the silence by continuing.

“What do you mean?” Ellana asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You know. All shouty and pouty,” Sera explained flippantly.

“The Commander has been… rather anxious after Adamant’s events,” Josephine said, placing her words carefully. 

“The pressure of command can sometimes feel like a crushing weight on your shoulders,” Blackwall mused. “I think the operation in Adamant went as well as it could. Some losses were inevitable. Perhaps Cullen needs reminding of what a good Commander he is.”

“Indeed. Now that you’re up and feeling better, perhaps you could talk to both Varric and Cullen,” Leliana suggested.

With a worried crease on her brow, Ellana nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll talk to them both today. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.”

Sera and Iron Bull were there to change the subject to other, happier things, and eventually most of the troupe decided to have lunch together in the dining hall. Iron Bull carried Ellana to lunch on his shoulder like she was no heavier than a household cat, and Dorian fretted over her like a mother hen. 

*

After lunch Ellana asked around, and finally found Varric in the tavern. She joined him and sat with the dwarf for a couple of hours - mostly talking, sometimes just sitting in companionable silence. Varric downed a few pints of ale, Ellana emptied a whole pot of tea. She felt like having a drink, too, but knowing she probably had another difficult discussion ahead of her the same day, she decided to save the wine for later.

After Varric finally expressed that they had been going on about Hawke enough for now, Ellana paused and stared at the tea leaves on the bottom of her cup.

“Have you been to see Curly yet?” Varric asked, as if reading her thoughts.

“Nope,” she replied, still staring at her tea cup.

“You should.”

“So I’ve gathered.”

“You really care for him?” Varric asked then.

“You know…” Ellana turned to look at him. “I think I really do.”

“He doesn’t seem like he lets anyone near him very easily,” Varric said thoughtfully. “But the way he looks at you…”

Ellana felt a flush on her cheeks. “What? How does he look at me?”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed,” Varric chuckled and shook his head. “He looks at you like you’ve cast an enchantment on him. All starry eyed and amazed. But to be honest, the way you look at him… ” 

Ellana had to laugh a little. “Yeah? And how do I look at him?”

“Like he’s the only man in the world, Lucky. Maybe you should go and tell him that. Again. You know, we’ve had this discussion before.”

“I know. I can’t help it if my heart has decided on a man who doesn’t let me love him as easily as I would like,” Ellana sighed.

“Love? Lucky, are we up to love already?” Varric asked and actually moved in his seat to look at her with an amused expression.

“Alright, that’s my cue,” Ellana suddenly placed her palms on the table and pushed herself up. She was happy to have conjured a smile on Varric’s face, but she was also eager to escape the question.

Ellana hobbled a few steps to stand behind Varric, still sitting in the same seat she had found him in two hours earlier. She placed a small kiss on the top of his head. “Take care now, Varric.”

The dwarf watched her go, and tenderly touched his head on the spot she had kissed. A small, sad smile curved his lips for a short while. “You too, Lucky,” he said quietly after she had already gone.

*

Ellana felt she was not fully recovered from her injuries. Climbing the stairs to reach Cullen’s office was surprisingly tiring, but her eagerness to see him kept her going.

The side door was open, and to her surprise and disappointment, Ellana found inside one fidgeting messenger, but no handsome commanders.

“Your Worship,” the messenger saluted immediately. “The Commander isn’t in right now.”

Ellana leaned against the door frame and lifted an eyebrow at the messenger. “I can see that. Where is he?”

“He’s gone to speak with Seeker Pentaghast.”

Ellana’s eyes widened, and she cursed to herself. Her memories of how Cullen had come to see her in the medical tent in the Inquisition’s encampment after the battle of Adamant were a little hazy, but she knew he took it all very badly. And after everyone she had talked with seemed to be worried about the Commander… This could only mean one thing. Ellana felt a lump of fear in her throat, and she turned to leave.

“Thank you,” she said to the messenger, who saluted again. 

Outside on the battlements Ellana stopped to take a deep breath. I should have sent for Cullen to come and see me while I was recovering, she thought to herself. I knew he wasn’t well and I should have done something earlier.

“Excuse me,” Ellana stopped two patrolling soldiers who were walking by. 

“Inquisitor,” they both saluted. 

“Do you know where Commander Cullen has gone? I think he went to speak with Lady Pentaghast?”

“We spotted him leaving his office a moment ago, Your Worship, but I didn’t see where he went,” one of the soldiers said.

“Can you find out for me as quickly as you can? I’m afraid I’m not in the shape to be running around Skyhold just yet,” Ellana explained apologetically.

“Of course, your worship. We’ll ask around and inform you right away.” 

With that, the soldiers were off, and Ellana took a moment to lean against the wall and rest. She distracted herself from her worry by daydreaming about the moments she had shared with the Commander in the battlements. Not in this spot in the middle of everything, but behind the western tower. And a few times in the secluded corner of the gardens. Once alone in the War room, too, after she had returned from a mission. His hands on her waist, stubble scratching her chin, leaving her lips reddened after all the kisses they had time for. A few times they had gotten a little heated, too. He had pressed her back against the wall with his body, tilted his head to kiss her deeply, passionately. She had lifted her leg along his, felt his hand trail along her thigh and grab her bottom. They had always had to break it off pretty quickly, usually because they were interrupted. But the way he looked at her with a lopsided smile and darkened eyes - oh Creators . Ellana was dreaming about the scar on the Commander’s lip just when the two soldiers returned.

“Inquisitor,” they saluted again, this time breathlessly. The poor sods had been running, Ellana thought. “Commander Cullen was seen going into the Armory with Lady Pentaghast.”

“Excellent. Good work,” Ellana thanked them and started towards the stairs. 

Soon Ellana approached the Armory. Her steps slowed as she heard shouting from inside, and her gut tightened in dread. The door was ajar, and she stopped outside to listen if they really were discussing what she feared they were.

“You asked for my opinion, and I've given it. Why would you expect it to change?” Cassandra’s strong voice sounded from inside.

“I expect you to keep your word,” Ellana heard Cullen’s strained voice. It made her breathe in sharply - was she imagining it, or did he really sound like he was in pain? “It's relentless. I can't -”

“You give yourself too little credit!” Ellana nodded approvingly at Cassandra’s interruption. 

“If I'm unable to fulfill what vows I've kept then nothing good has come of this!” Cullen sounded angry, and hurt. Ellana decided it was time to walk in. 

“Would you rather save face than admit–” Cullen stopped the moment Ellana pushed the door open.

Ellana looked from Cullen to Cassandra and back. They both stared at her, first, but Cullen quickly lowered his gaze, covering his face with his hand. 

“Forgive me,” he muttered, sounding both embarrassed and weary at the same time. Ellana took a few steps in and opened her mouth to stop him, but did not have the chance. The Commander quickly left through the door Ellana left open.

Cassandra remained standing where she was, and crossed her arms on her chest. “And people say I'm stubborn. This is ridiculous.”

Ellana stared after Cullen, and saw through the window that he was returning back to his office. He had looked awful - pale, tired, his eyes sunken. But he had sounded even worse - she had never heard him so strained and spiteful.

“I see you’re feeling better,” Cassandra commented on a softer note. 

Ellana turned to Cassandra. “Yes. Thank you. But I feel like I chose the wrong moment to be bedridden.”

“There’s never a good moment to get injured. The main thing is you are healing,” Cassandra’s matter-of-fact tone voice rang true.  “Cullen told you that he's no longer taking lyrium?”

Ellana nodded her head. “Yes, I’ve known for a good while now. I think he’s incredibly brave and strong to be doing that. I respect his decision.”

“I agree. Not that he's willing to listen,” Cassandra said and paused to take a breath. “Cullen has asked that I recommend a replacement for him.”

“What? Surely it’s not -” Ellana’s voice was a bit panicked, but Cassandra cut her off.

“I refused. It's not necessary. Besides, it would destroy him. He's come so far.”

Ellana turned to look after the Commander even though he had already vanished from sight. “I was a bit out of it when I was treated after the battle in Adamant, but I remember he thought he had failed somehow. I’ve expected him to come and see me now here in Skyhold, but he hasn’t.”

“We had an agreement long before you joined us. As a Seeker, I could evaluate the dangers,” Cassandra explained, and continued in a softer voice. “And he wouldn't want to... risk your disappointment.”

Ellana felt like someone was squeezing her heart in their stone cold fist. “Is there anything we can do to change his mind?”

“If anyone could, it's you,” Cassandra said without hesitation. “Mages have made their suffering known, but Templars never have. They are bound to the Order, mind and soul, with someone always holding their lyrium leash. Cullen has a chance to break that leash, to prove to himself - and anyone who would follow suit - that it's possible.”

Cassandra took a few steps to stand beside Ellana and look through the open door at Cullen’s tower.

“He can do this,” Cassandra said firmly.  “I knew that when we met in Kirkwall. Talk to him.”

*

Soon Ellana made her way back towards the side door to Cullen’s office. Before reaching it, she swallowed nervously and tried to make up her mind on how to enter. Smiling? Frowning? With a joke? With a flirt? 

She did not have to decide, because the moment she stepped in the doorway, she heard a loud roaring shout and something hit the door frame only inches from her.  

“Maker's breath! I didn't hear you enter!” Cullen breathed out sounding horrified as she turned to look towards where the projectile had come from. She realised he had thrown something at her - at the door, rather.

“I - Forgive me,” the man’s form collapsed, his head bowing down wearily as he supported himself against his desk.

Ellana took a few steps in, careful not to step on any shards of… was it his lyrium kit he had smashed to bits? 

“Cullen, if you need to talk-” she began, but Cullen waved her away.

“You don't have to -” his dismissal was interrupted by a spike of pain that had him fall against the side of his desk. 

“Cullen!” Ellana sprinted to his aid - ignoring the pain in her right leg and her side. She ducked under his arm to support him, her arms wrapping around him briefly. With her help Cullen regained his footing, and he gently pushed her away.

“I never meant for this to interfere,” he said without looking at her. 

Ellana felt a sting in her heart for having been pushed away. She looked at him - he sounded defeated and in pain. She wanted to do something, anything, to help him, to take his pain and his doubts away.

“I believe you,” Ellana said meekly, and kicked herself for not coming up with anything better.

“For whatever good it does. Promises mean nothing if I cannot keep them,” Cullen snarled and sauntered around his desk. He stopped by the window on the back wall, and Ellana saw how his hands turned into fists.

“You asked what happened to Ferelden's Circle,” Cullen said, referring back to their previous discussions. Suddenly it all came pouring out of him, and he couldn’t stop it. “It was taken over by abominations. The Templars - my friends - were slaughtered.”

Ellana had heard from other sources something of what had happened in Kinloch Hold, but now she heard the full horrifying story, and realised what it must have been like for Cullen personally. 

Cullen had his back towards her, but he continued, his voice full of hatred and hurt. “I was tortured. They tried to break my mind, and I - “ he let out a choke of disbelieving laughter, “How can you be the same person after that?”

Ellana wanted to go to him. She wanted to take him in her arms and kiss his pain away. She wanted to help him. Ellana opened her mouth to say something, but the man continued.

“Still. I wanted to serve. They sent me to Kirkwall, I trusted my Knight-Commander, and for what, hmm? Her fear of Mages ended in madness. Kirkwall's Circle fell. Innocent people died in the streets.”

Cullen’s strained voice wrenched Ellana’s heart, and she took a few slow steps closer to him. 

Finally he turned to face her, his eyes ablaze with agony as he threw his hands in frustration. “Can't you see why I want nothing to do with that life?”

Ellana reached to take a hold of his arm gently. “Of course I can. I - “

Cullen brushed her touch away. “Don't! You should be questioning what I've done!”

He walked away from her, leaving her to watch him helplessly as he paced back and forth in his office.

“I thought this would be better - that I would regain some control over my life. But these thoughts won't leave me…” Cullen held his head in his hands. “How many lives depend on our success? I swore myself to this cause! I will not give less to the Inquisition than I did the Chantry.” Cullen’s words sounded like a mantra now, and Ellana suspected it was something he had told himself over and over again. 

“I should be taking it!” Cullen hissed with insurmountable frustration, and suddenly slammed his fist against the bookshelf with such force that several books fell to the floor. He remained there, his chest heaving with heavy breathing, and he whispered, sounding disgusted with himself, “I should be taking it.”

Ellana was scrambling to find the right words. The man was in shambles before her. He was so proud and so determined it had probably been extremely difficult for him to go to Cassandra. He had probably been suffering for a lot longer and a lot more than he had ever let on. Realising it made Ellana feel a terrible lump in her throat, but she swallowed the tears and steadied her voice. She needed to get this right, or this would destroy him.

“This doesn't have to be about the Inquisition,” Ellana said as she walked across the room to Cullen. She slipped to stand between him and the bookshelf and sought for his eyes. “Is this what you want?” 

Cullen finally met Ellana’s gaze. She stood close enough for him to sense her scent. He was so exhausted, and ranting it all out to her had drained him. He was ashamed of his temper and of losing control in front of her. But there she still was, her earnest blue eyes meeting his. It was incredible. After all of this, Ellana’s eyes betrayed no remorse, no disgust, no pity. She was there, like the ever moving ocean is always there. Steadfast like the mountains, alluring like summer meadows, comforting like the sound of gentle rain on the roof.

He let out a long, shaky breath, and finally said, “No.”

He pushed himself off the bookshelf that he had been leaning against, and ran his hand through his hair. “But… these memories have always haunted me. If they become worse. If I cannot endure this…”

Cullen had brushed Ellana away before, but she risked reaching out for him once more. She cupped his face in her hands, holding his jaw, and made him look back at her. “Cullen. You are the strongest person I have ever met,” she said to him, every word weighed by emotion. “You have been through so much and come so far. Don’t take it. Please. You can do this, I believe in you.”

Cullen looked at her in disbelief. What did she see in him? He had bared his soul in front of her today, he had told her what he had been through, he had shown the worst of himself today. His anger, his fear, his bad temper, his weakness. To still have her kindness was unfathomable. 

Gingerly he touched her wrists with his hands. Slowly he pulled her hands away from his face and looked down at her hands, holding them in his bigger, gloved hands. 

“Alright. I won’t take it,” he said quietly, and let go of her hands. 

After a moment of silence, Cullen turned and paced back to his desk and lifted his hand to his neck awkwardly. 

“I’m sorry, I… I think I need to be alone now,” he said quietly. “I will take a breather and then return to work.”

Ellana inhaled deeply to steady herself. She knew what she needed to do next, and so she nodded in agreement. “A breather is an excellent idea.”

She promptly walked to the side door and locked it. Then she moved to the other side door and locked it as well. Cullen followed her with his eyes, his brow furrowing as he wondered what she was up to.

”What work do you have left for today?” Ellana asked, coming to stand by his desk, eyeing through the documents spread upon it.

”Please, I will take care of my -” Cullen began, but was interrupted.

”I asked, Commander, what tasks do you have left for today?”

Cullen blinked at her stern face. She had used her authoritative Inquisitor voice.

”Status update meeting with the officers, then troop training, then correspondence,” Cullen couldn’t avoid answering while fidgeting with the papers on his desk.

The Inquisitor promptly took the papers in question from his desk. Cullen was taken aback by her - he was used to seeing her exhibit her powerful and assertive side, sure, but being on the receiving end of it was rare for him.

”Alright,” Ellana said in a determined voice. “Cassandra will meet with the officers, we’ll revert your messages to Leliana and I’ll take care of troop training. An afternoon of mobility exercises will do wonders to the men  as well as myself, I think.”

”Mobility exercises?” Cullen repeated, stunned.

”What day is it today? It’s barracks inspection tomorrow morning, correct? I will ask Cassandra to take care of that too.”

”I will take care of my own work-” Cullen said in an increasingly annoyed voice.

”Yes, Cullen, once you’ve had a breather.”

”This is not neces-”

”Are you defying your Inquisitor’s orders?” Ellana asked sharply, looking at him in his eyes as if challenging him to try.

Cullen met her gaze, clenching his jaw.

Then the flash of pain and anger subsided. He took a deep breath in and lowered his gaze wearily. ”…no.”

”Good. I expect to see you tomorrow at noon at the War Room meeting, and until then you are off duty. It’s less than 24 hours. I’m sure you can manage that much free time.”

Ellana walked towards the door that still remained open.

”I will ask no one to bother you until noon tomorrow. But Cullen,” her voice softened and she turned to look at him, even though he avoided her gaze. ”I’m not telling you not to come to me. You can always come to me, today or any other day, and you need no excuse, no reason to. I want you to know that. Be it nine in the evening or two at night or first thing in the morning, I don’t mind. My door is always open to you.”

Cullen was not able to answer. He remained leaning against his desk heavily with both hands, unmoving.

”I’m proud of you,” Ellana said, her voice somehow soft and determined at the same time. Then she stepped out, pulling the door closed behind her.

When she had gone, the air stood still in Cullen’s office. He felt like a whirlwind had been through his room and his heart. He felt confused, he felt pain. He felt like an absolute failure. While Cassandra had refused to find a replacement to command the Inquisition’s armies, the Inquisitor had practically told him that he was unfit for duty and taken his work away from him.

What did he have left, if not his duty? He had nothing. An estranged and disappointed sister, and a lifetime of doing too little too late.

Cullen pushed himself off the desk, took a few tense steps around, and suddenly, with a loud angry shout, kicked his chair over with force. The chair’s backrest shattered against the stone wall, spreading the mess of broken things around a broken man.

*

Cullen spent a very difficult and painful evening by himself. The first couple of hours he had bristled with anger at himself, culminating in an urge to do something, anything, to distract himself from the derogatory thoughts and stabbing pains inside of him. He had held a fist against the stone wall, ready to punch the ungiving wall until his knuckles bled and cracked. He hadn’t - he had, instead, crumbled into a sobbing heap against the wall. 

He had held a knife, not really knowing what he was going to do with it, other than knowing that cutting would feel different to the pain that consumed him. Holding the knife and cutting himself would have him in control for once. He had ended up throwing the knife, and several more of them, at the training dummy by the wall. 

He had looked at himself in the mirror in his upstairs loft, wondering what he had done to deserve the kindness and attention of the Inquisitor. Of Ellana. What Cullen saw in the mirror was a man in shambles - a weary, tired, sad man, whose pallid complexion, dark under eyes and scarred skin could only repulse, not attract. Every time he looked at himself in the mirror he saw the scar on his lip. Every time he was reminded of the moment he had got it. Every time he remembered how he had not allowed anyone to heal him with magic. How scared he had been. He had crawled to a corner by himself, washed his face of blood, and stitched the cut on the lip by himself using a mirror. It had hurt in so many ways, and he had been sobbing all the way through. He had looked like a gargoyle with the badly stitched lip, and all these years later he thought he still did.

At some point Cullen awakened from his wallowing by a knock on the door. After Ellana’s stern words he really had not expected anyone to come knocking. He practically crawled to the door and cracked it open to take a look at who was there - thinking that maybe, just maybe, it was her . 

No one. There was no one. Cullen opened the door a bit more, and saw that someone had left a tray of food and water and tea out for him. He sighed deeply and took the tray in, then locked the door again.

An hour later he had managed to eat. Despite the nausea, food seemed to drive away the worst of the shakes. His hands were steady enough to hold a quill. 

Cullen stayed up until well past midnight, writing in a notebook. He hadn’t known what he was going to write when he had picked up the quill. As soon as he had touched the pen to paper, however, the words seemed to be flowing out like blood from a cut artery.

*

Cullen woke with a jolt. It took a while for him to remember where he was, and to calm his breathing. He was on his bed, still with clothes on, it seemed, and the morning sun was shining through the cracks in the roof. He had actually slept through most of the night. 

After a while he descended the ladder from his loft, and stood in the middle of the mess in his office. The broken lyrium kit still shattered all over the floor by the door, the pieces of the broken chair behind his desk, the torn and crumpled papers scattered around and the ink stains on his fingers and his desk told a story of an awful evening.

Cullen picked up the notebook, and read through everything he had written the night before. 

Then he rekindled a small fire to the fireplace, taking his time to nurture the flames. He tore the first page of the notebook away and burned it in the fireplace. The painful words on the page crinkled and burned and turned to ash. He burnt every single page he had written on, one by one, watching each of them catch fire, burn and vanish.

When Cullen was done with the notebook, he took time to clean. In an hour’s time his office as well as his private room upstairs were neat and tidy. He changed clothes, and after a moment's hesitation, stepped outside to the battlements to the sunshine and the refreshing mountain air. Cullen went on a morning run around Skyhold, taking the same route the soldiers used for training.

By eleven o’clock, Cullen had exercised, bathed, shaved, dressed in his uniform and sneaked late breakfast from the kitchens. He found Gatsi near the Grand Hall of Skyhold and asked for a new office chair. The chair was delivered to him shortly after as Cullen was opening all three doors to his office.

A little before noon Cullen concentrated on taking deep, steadying breaths as he walked from his office towards the War Room.

It was going to be alright, Cullen told himself. It’s going to be alright.

Read the third chapter here on Tumblr!

[realcube]

how they use their quirk during sex

navi | masterlist | taglist 

thank you to anon for this request 

characters ♡ bakugo, kirishima, kaminari, dabi & tamaki

content warning ♡ slapping, electrostimulation, fire play, masturbation, mentions of voyeur, choking, oral (giving + receiving), blood kink, mention of knife play, unconventional organism eating & vagina-having reader - minors dni

katsuki bakugo 

♡ he likes to ensure that his slaps leave a mark

♡ just so everyone knows that you’re his

♡ just seeing you all marked up from his explosions and hand just gets him so hard tbh

♡ also, he loves squeezing you - it makes him feel powerful and dominant - so sometimes he just grabs a handful of your tit, squeezes it then proceeds to make you yelp by setting off a lil’ explosion in his hand 

♡ he’s no villain, but he definitely wants to hear you scream in pain or pleasure - either or both works 

♡ so whenever he is hitting it from behind and you feel a zing through your body after he spanks your thigh, mentally prepare yourself for trouble in regards to sitting down - for the next week or so 

♡ it’s a hard thing to do though because he needs to be 100% that he won’t seriously burn you or harm you, or else he literally wouldn’t be able to look himself in the mirror for the rest of...his life 

♡ so yeah, if he’s not completely confident in the fact he’ll be able to smack you without burning you, he just won’t do it 

♡ also, the little crackles and pops from miniature, involuntary explosions going off as he approaches his climax not only entertain you, but they also drown out his moans 

♡ not that he’s ashamed of the sounds he makes - he’s loud and proud - it’s just that the explosions help balance out the noise so it’s not just his grunts echoing throughout the room

♡  plus, they add ambience 

eijiro kirishima

♡ he hardens his back to avoid getting scratches on it lol

♡ it’s not that he doesn’t like getting marked up by you or anything, it’s just a hero instinct tbh

♡ but honestly, you like the feeling of your nails digging into his back then suddenly, the skin becomes sniffer around your fingers

♡ sometimes he accidentally employs his quirk while he is choking you because he gets so into it 

♡ or just as he is about to slap your thigh/ass

♡ he also has a bad habit of hardening when you are trying to give him hickeys

♡ so yeah, you’ll probably be left with bruises, hand prints and bite mark scattered across your inner thigh and torso after sex with kirishima and he leaves unscathed 

♡ also, idk if this is apart of his quirk but his pointy-ass teeth definitely come in handy - especially if you have a blood/biting kink

♡ kiri is willing to go full vampire for you <3

♡ also, you don’t need knives to do knife play with kiri - he is the knife (well, his teeth are) 

♡ he says sternly that he doesn’t enjoy knife/blood play but then he gets oddly aroused when drawing blood from your thigh or nibbling at your slit while he eats you out 

denki kaminari 

♡ i am so sorry but i can’t stop thinking about kami playfully zapping you during sex AAAA

♡ like if you are into electrostimulation- kaminari is basically your sex soulmate 

♡ also if you aren’t like super into electrostim but you give consent for him to lightly zap you from time to time, he will take advantage of that

♡ like just as you’re approaching your orgasm, he’ll shock you slightly so your moans are even louder and your pleasure is escalated 

♡ or sometimes during the foreplay, when he is just fondling with your breasts, he’ll give it a lil’ zap so you perk up and whine for him 

♡ he just loves seeing the way your whole body juts in reactions and how your nipples erect at the shock

♡ whenever he slaps your thigh/ass, it’ll always send somewhat of a current through your body, which arouses you even more 

♡ tickles your clit with electric sometimes just to add some flare 

♡ he might make you beg for his touch if you’re needy enough, then simply run his charged hand over your body teasingly

♡ but if you’re into full-on electrostimulation, he’s extreme picky about the times he is able to utilise his quirk bc now he’ll have to send larger currents (instead of just lil zaps which i assume are easily to control) so ofc he needs to be in the right headspace or he could potentially harm you and obviously, that’s the last him he wants to do

♡ so yeah, he probably trains his quirk extra to ensure that he can produce exactly the right amount of electricity for you

♡ omg and he is probably into mutual masturbation/voyeur !! bc you are like his goddess so ofc he gets off to seeing you touch yourself even if he isn’t the one providing the pleasure. also it really brings out his inner perv 

♡ so if you like to use toys when you masturbate, literally do not worry about any of them running out of charge/battery while you’re pleasuring yourself, kaminari has you covered bb 💅 

♡ also, outside of sex he probably playfully zaps you all the time - like if he is standing behind you, he’ll tap your shoulder followed by a little electric shock. which makes you jump and turn around to see him standing, whistling and averting his gaze unsuspectingly

♡ ‘what, kami? and ouch.’

♡ his eyes widened as he inhaled sharply with an offended look on his face, ‘eh, what?! i didn’t do anything!’

♡ you blinked rapidly, ‘who else has an electricity quirk nearby?’

dabi

♡ he mostly uses his quirk during the actual act of peneration

♡ he rarely uses it during foreplay 

♡ maybe just to set the mood by using his finger to light the candles on his bedside table or sumn 

♡ or, if you’re into fire play, he’ll drag his glowing finger across your chest to trace your curves while leaving a pale marks behind, shooting an erotic burning sensation through your body 

♡ or LORD he (lightly) burns his name into your skin !! so everyone knows you are his >:)

♡ i believe that - unlike the other boys - dabi is able to control his quirk pretty well all throughout sex, no matter what mood he is in

♡ so angry make-up sex with added fireplay isn’t completely out of the question

♡ though, he is a bit cruel so if he’s got your ass in his hands while he’s approaching his orgasm, he will purposefully burn marks into your skin

♡ however, everything comes with a price

♡ so although he can control his quirk at almost all times, he does not know how to deal with the aftermath pffft

♡ he’ll look at your bright red ass and how you are struggling to sit down and be like ‘put some aloe vera on it idfk 🤷‍♂️’ 

♡ anyway, just expect there to be burn marks on every part of your body that dabi touched

♡ the most painful ones are probably the ones he leave on your hips, while he holds your pretty figure in place and drills into you from behind

♡ or perhaps the ones he makes on the back of your head as he forces you take more of his cock into your mouth 

♡ then again, the burns on your neck once he has finished roughly choking you like a slut while pounding into your cunt, were also problematic  

♡ but the handprints he leaves on your torso as he feels around the bulge his massive cock makes in your stomach also hurt quite bad 

♡ god knows, but you’re just generally in pain after sex with dabi tbh

tamaki amajiki

♡ suneater more like pussyeater amarite

♡ this might be a lil bestiality-esque bc he is like a human who develops features of an animal but like..he is still a human, after all, so he can consent 

♡ but anyway, tw for anyone who doesn’t want to read anything of the sort !!

♡ ok, so, let’s get this out of the way first - tentacles 😍 KJVDKFVZDI

♡ he uses them exactly how you imagine he would; he simultaneous holds you down, massages your breast, covers your mouth, chokes you, slithers one up your cunt and one up your ass - just..everything...

♡ like if the tentacles are out, you know you are getting overstimulated that night

♡ also sometimes - if he’s feeling especially bold - he’ll slip one of his tentacles under your skirt while in public then just watch as you desperately try to stifle moans from how good he feels squirming inside you  

♡ you both like it a little more than you’d like to admit tbh

♡ also, one time he ate goose just so he could manifest wings and try fuck you mid-air lmao 

♡ that would’ve brought a whole new meaning to ‘flying fuck’

♡ unfortunately, it didn’t work as well as he had hoped as his wings couldn’t support both of your weight so it was more like him hovering over the bed while drilling into you from above 

♡ it was definitely a new angle though, so you couldn’t complain

♡ he’ll pinch your clit and squeeze your tits with his lobster claws but that’s about it - he generally doesn’t tend to manifest those during sex

♡ one of his dirtiest secrets is that one time, he paid crazy money for a dish with elephant meat in it, in hopes that he’d get a monster cock

♡ (no, the thought never occurred to him that perhaps horse would be a better, cheaper alternative)

♡ bc he highkey has a size kink but you’ve already kinda gotten use to his size so he needed to amp it up...

♡ but no- all he got was a trunk 😭

♡ however, it wasn’t all bad bc at least he made good use of that trunk- 

♡ (he shoved it so far up you, he hoped to see it come out your mouth 🥰)

♡ anyway, rapid-fire round:

♡ he once ate rabbit so he could develop bunny ears and a tail so he could be your cute lil’ bunny boy 🥺 while you peg him 

♡ buffalo wings get him riled up tbh - only top energy after he has buffalo wings 

♡ honestly, the beak he manifests after eating chicken lowkey destroys your cunt- 

♡ the leathery skin he gets after eating crocodile makes him feel badass

♡ oh! and the sharp teeth too- like kirishima, he will go full-vampire if you want him too

♡ his quirk is so versatile, just let your imagination run wild lmao ✨  

♡ plus, he is pretty whipped for you so he's basically down to try anything

[thewritetofreespeech]

MC + Cursed Toddler-fied Boys

prompt: All the boys suffer the same fate as Satan by reading ‘The Forbidden Book of Toddlerization’

Lucifer

You have to wonder why they kept so many cursed books around, just out like this. You would think, like any normal person, with this continuing to happen, that they would keep them locked up or something. But no. They just leave them out for anyone to find….

“I’m going to the meeting!” Lucifer yelled, stamping his foot. His face twist in a petulant frown. It would be rather adorable, if you hadn’t been arguing with him for the past 20 minutes

“Lucifer, we talked about this. You can’t go to the meeting. You need to stay here.”

“No! I wanna go to the meeting! It’s very important and everyone is counting on me!” His arms are wailing now as he stamped his foot more.

Of course, you couldn’t let him go to the first of the month meeting like this. His pride would be wounded beyond compare if anyone else saw him like this. But reasoning with him wasn’t working. You had to resort to more, unsavory tactic to win. “But the meeting was cancelled. Lord Diavolo called earlier to let me know.”

Lucifer stopped stamping his feet and waving his arms to look at you with a vacant expression you didn’t know he could muster. “Really?”

Gods help you. “Yes, really.”

He seemed to think about this for a moment before he beamed, “ok!” His mood instantly brightening. “I believe you, because [Y/N] would never lie to me.” ‘Forgive me Lucifer’ You think to yourself. “What are we gonna do instead then?”

“Why don’t we play a game instead to pass the time? Would you like that?”

“I know chess!” He exclaimed loudly. “Let’s play that.”

Of course, knowing and being good at it were two different things. In this state you were actually able to beat Lucifer several times. When he retuned to normal the day was ‘conveniently’ put away for sometime after.

Mammon

“Mammon. Please. I’ll just be gone for a minute.”

“Nooooooo!” Mammon wailed when you tried to get up again. Clinging to your waist tightly to keep you on the couch. “Onii-chan said you had to stay with me! Stay with me! Stay with me!”

After reading The Forbidden Book of Toddlerization, Mammon had, of course, reverted to the personality of a small child. His brother made fun of him, say ‘what’s the difference’, but Lucifer knew that this could be a disaster if he was set to wander free in this state across the Devildom. So he sat you to babysit him.

“Mammon, I promise I’ll be right back. I’m just going to get us some snacks for our movie.”

“Then let me come with you!” He whined, still clinging to you. In this state it seemed he had also taken on the personality of a baby duck. Imprinting on you and following you around everywhere you went in his room. He hadn’t left you alone for 5 seconds since he got this way. “I promise I’ll be good!”

“It’s not a question of you being good or bad Mammon-chan.” He liked to be called Mammon-chan right now. “It’s that you need to stay here. If someone sees you like this well…they could use it to tease you.”

“No…I don’t want to be teased anymore….” His voice was low, and sad. His bright eyes looking on the verge of tears, like kids do when they’re said, before he buried his face into your side. “Mammon-chan doesn’t want to be made fun of anymore. Mammon-chan also doesn’t want to be alone anymore.”

You sigh. Unable to argue with him when he was like this. Your hand lifted to pet his head, which he seemed to appreciate, before you text Satan to bring you some snacks. He was always reliable and would do it for you.

Once the affects of the book had worn off, Mammon denied any of this happening. The mere mention would cause his face to turn red and yell about how, “that didn’t happen!” You almost wish you had taken a video of it to show him. Guess you would just have to keep Mammon-chan forever in your heart.

Levi

You went to Levi’s room after class to check on him in his….condition.

Since he did remote learning a lot of the time, being an otaku, it was pretty easy to keep him away from people so they did see him in the current state he was in. Apparently as a toddler he didn’t like being around people either.

So, you had set him up comfortably in his room before heading to class. Promising to come back that afternoon to be with him.

“Levi! I’m back! How are you—what are you doing?!?!”

“Playing with my toys.” Levi replied, with an obvious expression, as a sea of toys stretch out in front of him where he laid on his belly on the floor.

Your brain stopped. Completely at a loss for words. Levi was going to kill you when he returned to normal, because toddler-Levi, left unattended, had unboxed nearly all of his figurines from their packaging. Some of which were incredibly rare, and unable to get anymore.

“I just…I mean…Why?? Why would you do this??”

“They’re my toys.” Levi replied with a pout. Sitting up. “I can do what I want with them. What’s the point in having neat toys if you aren’t going to play with them??”

He did have a point there. But adult-Levi was going to be so mad!

“Do you want to play with me?” The demon asked with a hopeful expression. “You can even be blue Ruri-chan.” The limited edition, color swap Ruri-chan from 1999. He was gonna blow a gasket!

“Yeah. Ok.” But then again, when were you ever going to be able to touch them again.

As expected, Levi totally lost it when he came to his senses. Of course, there was no one to blame but himself, in the end, so he just had to be upset and mope alone. Thankfully, none of them were broken or beyond just out of their originally packaging. He bought them all clear showcase boxes for his ‘ruined’ figurines. Some of them he could rebuy to replace; which seemed to make him happy to have two.

Satan

It had been hours since the affects of the book had taken ahold of Satan. You were starting to wonder if they would ever wear off.

Lucifer had left in search of another book, one that might help speed the process along, and left his younger brother in your care. Of course you were happy to help, but you were getting nervous you would never see the old Satan again.

“[Y/N]-chan?” You look up from your phone, waiting for Lucifer to text you back, to see the blonde demon looking timidly at you from around the corner. 

“What is it Satan?”

“Would you….read to me?” His hands holding out the small children’s book he had some how found in the piles of books covering his room.

You smile softly at him. Your heart warmed by his request. “Of course,” you tell him, and the demon scampered over to sit on the bed beside you. His long legs and body tucked neatly into you as he waited for you to tell him the story of a little lost chicken and it’s journey back home. “[Y/N] tells the best stories!”

After 3 stories, he had fallen asleep. When he woke up, Satan was back to normal. He doesn’t answer your questions on where the children’s books had come from, but you spot the red & gold spines on his book shelves sometimes.

Asmo

There was no denying that Asmo was fascinated by art and all things beautiful. He went on and on about it any chance he got. So you shouldn’t have really been surprised when his toddlerfied self just wanted to draw all day.

“Look, look [Y/N]-chan! I finished another one!”

“That’s great Asmo.” You praise. Just like you had done with all the other ones he had handed to you. “Wow! This is really great! Is that a….chicken?”

“No, silly! That’s the white horse for our carriage when we get married!” The demon beamed, then shuffled over on his knees to instruct you on his picture properly. “That’s you, and that’s me. That’s the princess carriage that’s going to ride us off into the sunset. That’s Solomon and Simeon throwing flowers at us. That’s my brothers crying because I got to marry [Y/N]-chan and they didn’t.”

“You certainly seem to have all the parts here.” You praise. Giggling at his enthusiasm and picture.

“I want to have a perfect picture of when we get married. Because I love [Y/N]-chan! And we’re gonna get married and live happily ever after.” He replied, with certainty, with a smile.

“Well, I’ll be glad for that. Why don’t you draw me our perfect house for after we get married?” Asmo scampered off and did just that.

When Asmo came to, and back to his normal self, he took all the pictures he had drawn and framed them. Forcing his brothers and Solomon to take a tour of his mini-art gallery. The piece ‘Marriage of Two Bonded Souls’ was met with some controversy.

Beel

Beel, in his younger days, seemed to have boundless energy. Or you at least had to assume he did, because ever since he had read that stupid book he had been running around.

Lucifer had told you to take him outside. Irritated at hearing his large feet clump around the house, but trying not to show it since it wasn’t his fault. He even let you both take Cerberus outside to help run Beel out. It would be good for the pup too. Get some exercise, he said.

That had been sometime ago, and it seemed baby-Beel and Cerberus were an even match in energy. They had been running around, chasing each other, and play fighting in the back yard all afternoon. You were tired just watching them.

“Beel! Do you want to come in? I think it’s time for a break.”

Both Beel and Cerberus pop their heads up, in a comical and adorable unison head tilt, before jogging over to you. “Break time means snack time right?!”

You chuckle a little. Somethings never changed. “I brought some apple slices & peanut butter for you, for now. We can get you something bigger when we go inside.”

Beel grinned and sat in the grass with the container. “I like apple slices!”

“You do hn?” You don’t think you’ve seen Beel eat an actual fruit on its own. It was usually attached to, baked in, or covered in something, to get him to eat it.

“Yep! They’re crunchy and sweet. Just like you! Though, I guess you aren’t crunchy. Do you want one of my apple slices [Y/N]?”

You blush a little at Beel’s bright, unwavering expression. How could he look so innocent while still looking like that?

He finished his apple slices, minus one, before asking if he could go play again. You let him, but then all of a sudden he spotted playing with Cerberus and stood straight up. Seeming confused on how he got out here and what was going on. “Did I eat an apple? I haven’t had one since….do you think we have more in the kitchen?”

Belphie

It was honestly hard to tell if Belphie was under the spell of the forbidden book or not. He’d been asleep for most of the time; which was not uncommon for him. Then he would wake up and whine a little about something; again, not uncommon for him. Then he would take another nap.

You had figure out that he was still under it’s spell by the requests he was making when he woke up. Juice boxes. More plushies. His ‘blankie’. Eventually it would run its course though, and Belphie would be back to his own sleepy eyed, grown up self. “[Y/N]?”

You walk over to the bed when the demon called your name. The boy half sitting up, but still tucked under his covers. “What is it Belphie?”

“I can’t sleep.” He stated. Which seemed ridiculous since he had been sleeping most of the day. “I miss Lilli. And Be-be. Can you sleep with me?”

You blink at little at the request. You supposed it made since. Kids often wanted someone to sleep with them, so they didn’t have bad dreams or could keep them safe. Maybe that’s why he had been sleeping so much. Because he hadn’t been sleeping well, just sleep.

“Sure Belphie. I’ll lay down with you.” The demon smiled softly, sleepy, before he scooted over to give you some space to lay next to him.

He slept for a while this last time. Clinging onto you in his sleep, with a soft smile on his face. When he woke up, it seemed he was back to normal. “Gosh [Y/N]. If you wanted to sleep with me, all you had to do was ask. You didn’t have to trick me with that lame book.”

[irradiatedsnakes]

[ID: 7 drawings of monster!mechanisms designs. they are as follows: 1. a colored drawing of ivy alexandria that has been partially passed through the deep dream generator neural network, giving parts of the image a swirling, surreal appearance, often resembling eyes. 2. a digtal sketch of nastya as a ghost. her eyes are obscured by her glasses shine and she is covered in blue wisps, and dripping blue from her mouth and hands.  3. a digital sketch of drumbot brian as a centaur sitting down. his horse half is also mechanical and resembles a clydesdale. he also has horse-ish ears. 4. a sketchy bust of vampire marius. he looks smug, and looks to the side with a fanged smile. 5. digital sketch of partially-transformed werewolf gunpowder tim with doglike ears, claws, and a tail. he says "ok why did getting turned into that somehow give you a pitchfork." with a quizzical expression. 6. digital sketch of jonny d'ville as a devil or demon, with horns, pointy ears, cartoony wings, and a thin tail with a heart-shaped tip. he's holding a hellish pitchfork, looking confused and says "what? i already owned this.” 7. a traditional sketch of harpy/siren raphaella. she holds here feathery winged arms out, while her mechanical bat wings are unfurled behind her. her lower half is that of a bird. end ID]

ok ill post a couuuple. self indulgence machine go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

ok so u know like back in the gravity falls fandom there was that really popular au called monster falls where everybody got turned into some sort of monster/mythological creature? i fucking love that scenario and have been making my own little “everybody gets cursed by a witch or something so now i get to draw these fun designs” aus for like everything i like (never did it w tma oddly enough? good inspo just never struck.) so here.......is..........this. not everybodys pictured here but go under the cut for a list of what everybody is plus some extra notes and stuff

lets just goooooo alphabetical order

ashes - OKAY HONESTLY STILL NOT 100% ON ASHES im THINKING half-dragon. yes i know i already went dragon for them in the furry au its just a good fit and also looks Cool, but also waiting out to see if i can think of anything better

brian - CENTAURRRR also again. yes. i know i went 4 horse for him in the furry au. its just good and has fun brian vibes. wanting to draw centaur brian was the thing that led to this au happening

ivy - ELDRITCH SOMETHIN OR OTHER...idk what youd call that exactly. but you get the gist. cosmic horror, eyes, unfathomable patterns and things. doing the deep dream stuff for her in that picture was very fun and im very happy w how it came out...definitely something to revisit in the future. not sure how i wanna draw her when...not doing a whole colored digital thing, but well cross that bridge when i can draw again

jonny - he’s. he’s a devil? a little demon guy? like. yeah. of course. this guy was fucking meant to have little wings horns and a cute little demon heart tail. he has somehow become MORE bastardly

marius - VAMPIRE MARIUS ONCE AGAIN HES JUST FUN. hes just fun and the aesthetic suits him. i cant wait to draw him in a fun little cape with one of those big dramatic collars you know the ones. vampire marius is of course @ alientoastt’s idea!!

nastya - BANSHEE...or ghost in general but there some banshee stuff i feel could be fun to integrate. apparently in some tellings banshees can turn into crows? i love that very much. but anyways hmm..some notes abt the design in thsi post shes not quite where i want her to be. this was done on that collab canvas the other day and like...was mostly noodling things out having fun, those flamey looking bits are a very nice motion very fun to do but NOT wwhat i want for ghostya. i want her to be more. drippy. very drowned person vibes. fire and upward-floating motif not what i want. but it was fun to draw. also i think theres some potential comedy in there with “person who predicts deaths” among crew who habitually murder each other

raphaella - SOMEWHERE BTWN HARPY & SIREN (the bird kind not the mermaid kind) very excited abt her. lots of fun potential poses here. doing her design was a bit tricky- sirens tend to be just like- big birds with human heads? but i didt wanna do just that that takes away too much of her design recognizbility yknow to Just have her head. so she has a people torso, bird from the waist down, plus her arms are wings. which means she has Two pairs of wings. which i for one think is incredibly fun like you remember in httyd2 valka’s dragon w the four wings? yeah. also avent figured what bird in particular shell be based on- for the ufrry au i went w african grey parrot but dont feel like that here. ill think on it

tim - WEREWOLF TIM DUH. DUH. also i think werewolves are especially funny in scenarios like thse cus like- okay everybody suddenly ahhh cursed ahh monster whatever. but then tims just there like. i mean i feel fine lol and u get to have the fun surprise of Oh Suddenly Werewolf. also the question of how exactly werewolves who change based on the moon function in a. spaceship. i like to think its entirely fucking random i think thats funny

TS - ANIMATED SUIT OF ARMOR!! I DONT HAVE MUCH MORE TO SAY ON THSI BUT I LOVE . THIS IDEA. and i will never draw it. because fuck drawing and designing armor oh my god

anyways i think thats??? all i have to say on this??? agdvjdkb. if you wanna talk about this at all (or if u wanna see more doodles...) im totally open to that. ill be real i get weirdly embarrassed about specifically this kind of au (like. monster stuff in general especially werewolf/vampire stuff i could not fucking tell you why. gotten better abt it over time though hey im actually postin this shit!) so im just happy i posted it afhcgvjdkvdg .

as for story type things like how. this happens. frankly i dont know thats not my forte. but the little bit of whatever ive got going on my head has the Terrific Trio of ivy marius & raphaella doing Research Science Whatever down on a planet somewhere get into contact with a Cursed Artifact or whatever the fuck and eventually get back to the aurora like. oh. uh. it happened to you guys too, huh. but thats like whatever honestly im not in it for the writing im here to draw fun centaur man etc.

if you made it to the bottom of this winding fucking ramble know that i love you. mwah. that was fun to write out i like thought barfing about stuff like maybe 3 people will care about

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

The Gang FINALLY sees how much of a BAMF Merlin is:

 A smidge of Angst, but only because everyone is stupid :)

Part 4 of Merlin’s angry outburst. The Gang has ridden out (refusing to let Merlin and Arthur go alone) to a battlefield that will only have two bodies on display. One of them is Merlin’s.

This was meant to be the last bit but it was getting so long and I kept thinking of extra shit to put in soooooooo. Hopefully this is the penultimate part? But who knows lol.

TW: Lots of death (the final battle yo)

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 5

They ride the whole first day in silence. Not even Gwaine has any jokes or stupid stories to tell, and the atmosphere is tense.

The time between Morgana rushing into the council meeting, and the group riding towards what looked to be Merlin's death, had blurred by. No one really had any time to think, but now, riding in silence, all they could focus on was the fact that they were knowingly heading to what could be Merlin’s demise.

No one concentrates on anything but urging their horses to travel as fast as possible, and Arthur shortly telling everyone to stop and make camp were the first words spoken for the whole journey.

No one replies, they just dismount their horses, and wordlessly go about clearing an area for the fire, laying out food, and checking the surrounding area for danger.

Merlin stalks off before anyone can stop him, intent on setting up some wards before anyone settles down. He’s clearly pissed, and Arthur shakes his head when Lancelot gives him a look, “Want me to go with him?” .

Arthur follows instead, trusting the others to set up properly whilst he and Merlin have a much needed private conversation.

It doesn't take too long to find him. He's noticed that, recently. Ever since the link was forged he always seems to be able to find Merlin first try. Before, he had to scour the whole castle to have a chance of finding his wayward manservant (and then his wayward Court Sorcerer), and even then sometimes he couldn't manage it.

It's comforting. In a way. Knowing that they'll always be able to find one another.

Arthur sees him in the trees ahead, facing away from him, his hands up in front of his body. He can hear him muttering something that Arthur doesn’t understand under his breath.

Years ago, Arthur would think that Merlin hadn't noticed him. But Arthur knows him better now. He knows the ever so slight hitch in his Sorcerer’s left shoulder means "I hear you. I see you. I know you're there." .

"You can't know that everything's going to be ok."

Merlin sighs and turns back to look at him, still visibly frustrated with everyone’s obvious fretting. Neither make any moves to walk closer:

"Course I can. I had a chat with Kilgharrah on the way here-"

(He taps his forehead as he says this)

"-no other Emrys-killing weapons have been made, and the only one anywhere near us, is yours. As long as you don’t stab me, I'll be fine."

Arthur huffs and shuffles his feet at this:

"Merlin, the vision. You weren't waking up and you heard what Morgana said. Why are you so intent to ride to what is almost certainly going to be your death, when our armies could win this battle anyway?"

Arthur is trying to sound firm, but his face gives him away. He was never all that good at hiding his true emotions when it was just him and Merlin, and his expression is sad and desperate.

It's only at that, that Merlin walks towards Arthur, putting his hands on his shoulders:

"That vision doesn't show everything. And yes, that may have been the clearest vision Morgana has had during this whole bloody war thing, but the future is still fluid. Nothing is set in stone. Arthur, I'll be fine. And besides, an all out battle means blood spilt, theirs and ours. If I can do anything to prevent that, then there is no choice, not for me."

The King clenches his jaw, before pulling Merlin into a tight hug. The Sorcerer let's out a surprised "oof" but grips back just as tightly, burying a hand in Arthur's hair.

Arthur speaks aloud this time, so quietly Merlin barely hears it even with Arthur's face in his neck. Perhaps thinking this is important enough that it has to be vocalised:

"Why have you got to be so bloody self sacrificial? I couldn't bear to lose you, Merlin. I need you with me, by my side."

Merlin smiles slightly at that, but doesn't let go:

"I'll always be with you. Nothing in this life or the next, could pull me away from you. I...-"

He hesitates here, but Arthur tightens his grip, and he takes a deep breath before continuing:

"-...this is where I belong. Right here, right now. With you."

Arthur squeezes him once again and pulls back, gently laying his forehead against Merlin's, very reminiscent of the spell cast all those weeks ago.

The both of them keep their eyes closed, even as Arthur speaks:

"We're having a conversation about... this, when we get back. We're ALSO having a conversation about your self sacrificial tendencies."

Merlin laughs and pulls back at that:

“Only if we have a conversation about yours first.”

The King rolls his eyes fondly, and turns to walk back, but pauses momentarily, without looking back:

“I may not understand your magical mutterings, but I know that you’ve finished setting the wards up. Are you going to come back? Or are you going to come up with another excuse for you to watch me leave so you can stare at my arse?”

Merlin flushes at that, and lets out a mumbled “Shut up.” before speed walking past a laughing Arthur, towards camp.

The whole group seems to relax once they realise that the tension between Merlin and Arthur had been resolved (or at least... changed. A different type of tension. The type that made Leon want to lay their bedrolls on opposite sides of the camp).

The evening passes quietly, nothing of note happening, and soon enough, everyone is asleep.

The next few days aren’t quite as tense, but they still hurry their horses, taking few breaks. It was wordlessly agreed that they wanted to get there as quickly as possible, so that they might have time to assess the situation properly.

Everyone was still understandably worried, but with Merlin being so relaxed, and Arthur seeming ok (ish) with what was happening, they kept their anxieties to themselves.

It’s the second night they stop to make camp, that Gwaine informs them that if they keep the same pace and get up early, they should be there just before noon the next day. 

Everyone is a little tense at that, but Merlin speaks first:

“I’d say the rain isn’t going to hit until noon. If we move quickly, we should have at least a little time to plan..”

The group once again relaxes at that, grateful that they would at least have time to think things through, and check the surrounding area, before anything happened.

The relaxed atmosphere doesn’t last long, however. When they’d first stopped to make camp (that was around three hours ago now) Morgana had sat straight down, out of the way, and began to meditate. Without warning, she opens her eyes with a flash of gold, and lets a tear slip down her cheek before looking to Merlin.

He furrows his brows, and begins to speak before she can say anything:

“Morgana? What did you see?”

She lets out a humourless laugh, drawing even more worried attention from the group, before she replies:

“I’ve been trying to look past tomorrow. The near future, the far future, anything. Anything that might clue us in to the outcome. You know what I see?-”

Everyone is staring at her, clearly anxious, but she doesn’t take her eyes off Merlin, not even when Gwen places a gentle hand on her shoulder:

“-I see your mother and Gaius, quietly crying. I see Arthur, with a golden crown on his head, and a silver crown in his hands. I see a tombstone, with a name I can’t quite make out. I see your chambers, empty and cold, unlived in and covered in dust. I see... I see us. All nine of us that is, sat around our table. But one of the seats is empty, your seat. And all of us look... blank. That, is what I see, Merlin. And through all of it, I can feel your absence like a flame on my skin. I can see past tomorrow with ease. But I can’t see you.”

Morgana looks devastated. Everyone else in the group looking various mixes of shocked, scared, heartbroken.

Merlin nods slightly, and frowns staring into his lap. He was so certain that... logically, he should be fine. He’s died before and been fine. But Morgana’s visions are rarely that inaccurate, and if she’s stopped seeing his future entirely... well. It wasn’t a good sign.

He hums thoughtfully, before wiping the expression off his face and looking up determinedly:

“That changes nothing. I either do this, and everyone bar me survives, though I still think I’ll be fine, or we ignore your visions entirely, ride back to Camelot, and risk the life of every single one of Camelot’s citizens. And that’s not an option, so we’re just going to have to see what happens.”

Everyone opens their mouth to protest at the same time, but before any of them can make even a sound, Merlin jumps up, and speaks again. His voice is sharp, and invites no argument:

“NO. I said it’s not an option. This is what I do. I always used to hate the idea of a pre-written destiny, but if I’m meant to die tomorrow, then fine. So be it. I will NOT put my own life above anyone else’s. Especially not a whole kingdom’s, and ESPECIALLY not any of yours.”

He breathes deeply, and after giving a short glare to everyone individually, he sits down again. 

He’s seated between Arthur (who had barely left his side) and Percival, who takes the Sorcerer’s hand in his own, holding it in his lap.

Merlin smiles at him as he attempts to pull his hand back:

“I’m fine Perc, I don’t need comforting. I always figured I would end up dying before you lot anyway-”

Everyone shuffles uncomfortably at that. No one likes to think about outliving one of their closest friends:

“-not that I think I’m gonna stay dead anyway. But that’s not the point.”

Percival holds onto Merlin’s hand tightly, but stares into the fire as he replies quietly:

“This isn’t comfort for you, Merlin. It’s comfort for me.”

Merlin seems taken aback at this, like he had only just considered that his friends might need comforting in the first place. He forgets sometimes (read: most of the time) , that he is as important to these people, as they are to him. He can’t imagine willingly going to any of their deaths, not without putting up one hell of a fight.

He nods, after he wipes the shock from his face, and settles his hand in Percival’s, instead of trying to pull away:

“I’m sorry. I know this can’t be easy for any of you-”

(as he speaks, he lets his other hand subtly gather up the fabric of Arthur’s cloak, for his own sake or Arthur’s, he’s not sure)

“-but I need you to trust me. Believe me, I’m not trying to get myself killed permanently... I mean dying even temporarily isn’t exactly fun but... you know. I’ll be fine.”

It’s Gaius that replies first. The others were especially worried about the physician, he was practically Merlin’s father at this point, and none of them thought they could cope with having to comfort the man if they lost Merlin.

“It’s not that we don’t trust you, Merlin. We’re just... worried. And it’s not like you’re well known for considering your own safety when it comes to planning for any sort of conflict.”

Merlin looks as if he’s going to protest, but Gwen beats him to the punch:

“Don’t argue Merlin. You can’t deny that you have a habit of jumping head first into the fray.” She says it with a small smile, but it’s weak, and Merlin suddenly feels guilty for all those times he’s worried his friends. 

He threw himself into situations he was sure he would be able to survive, without considering the fact that none of the people he cared about had the same assurances. 

His reply makes everyone chuckle

“Yeah, well. You know me. I’ve never been much of a planner.-”

The Sorcerer squeezes Percival’s hand once more, before continuing:

“-But it’s late, and if we want to get up early we should head to sleep.”

The group nods in agreement, and all begin to shuffle to their bedrolls, having hushed individual conversations as Arthur declares that he and Merlin would take the first watch.

(No one questions it. They rarely set watches nowadays, Merlin’s wards have become incredibly reliable over the years, but all of them understand that The King and The Sorcerer need this time.)

Other than Merlin and Arthur, Percival was the last to leave his seat, ruffling Merlin’s hair as he gives him a weak smile, before making his way to his roll to undoubtedly toss and turn through the night, like everyone else.

The King and The Sorcerer didn’t move from their spots next to each other, and, at some point during the conversation, Arthur had replaced the clutched fabric of his cloak with his own hand.

They stay silent for a while, not really knowing what to say. Despite everyone’s worries, the rest of the group is asleep after not too long. It had been two days of hard travel and sleeping rough, and no one would admit it but they were all exhausted.

Both of them seem to realise that there was little chance of them getting to have those conversations at a later date. The two of them struggled individually on what would be worse: forcing the conversation now before it was too late but knowing that might be the end of it, or leaving everything unsaid and leaving Arthur with the regret.

Merlin was inclined to leave it unsaid. As far as he was concerned, he would still be fine (though he was now unsure if he was right, or if he was just in denial).

Arthur wanted to get it off his chest. He may be a tad emotionally constipated, but Merlin is... well... Merlin. It took him a while to realise his feelings for Merlin, but once he did, it was like an unending avalanche.

On some level, Arthur knew that Merlin felt the same, but would it be cruel? Or distracting? For him to voice it now, before everything?

He remembers saying weeks ago “We’ve plenty of time before things kick off” . But that time had passed. It had flown by. Arthur thought he would have forever with Merlin, even when the war was declared he wasn’t worried. But suddenly there was no more time. He might lose him tomorrow.

Did he want to taint what few hours they had left with an emotional confession that could wreck them both? Or should he leave it, steadfast in the belief that Merlin knew. Which would be crueller?

In the end, Arthur decided that he wouldn’t be able to live with it: the doubt, the regret, if he never said anything, and... something... happened.

He grips Merlin’s hand tighter in his own, and swallows, but before he could say anything:

“I know.” Merlin doesn’t look at him when he thinks it, but squeezes The King’s hand in return.

“No, I... you have to let me... I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t, so just-”

Merlin does look at him then, and gives him a gentle smile to stop him rambling:

“Ok, Arthur. I’m here, I’m listening, I hear you.”

Arthur meets his gaze, a steady stream of tears down his face that causes Merlin to frown slightly:

“I... Merlin-”

Arthur struggles with the words, thinking back, he can’t remember a time he’s actually said them out loud. Ever.

He clears his throat, straightens his back, and steels his eyes. Merlin deserved the truth. And Merlin felt the same, he had never been more sure of anything:

“Merlin, I love you. And if you don’t come back to me at the end of tomorrow, I will never forgive you.”

His resolve cracks slightly at the end, but Merlin smiles at him fondly, teary eyed himself:

“I love you too. And I already told you, Arthur, I will always come back to you.”

Arthur grips Merlin’s hand tighter, and buries his head in the Sorcerer’s neck. Merlin wrapped his arms around him, and leans back against the log they were sitting against.

They fall asleep like that, the two of them wrapped in Arthur’s cloak. At some point during the night, Arthur’s head had slipped down onto Merlin’s chest, but neither moved. If anything, Arthur found he could sleep easier with Merlin’s steady heartbeat in his ears.

~

The Gang woke when it was still dark, but not in the way they had planned.

They all wake with a start, automatically pulling out swords and summoning weapons, before they realise that the blizzard like wind and deafening roar, was just Kilgharrah, landing on the edge of their camp.

They settle for only a moment, before they realise that Merlin hadn’t summoned him, which meant he turned up of his own volition, and that meant he brought news. And knowing Kilgharrah, it probably wasn’t good news.

Merlin approaches him quickly, a frown on his face and Arthur close behind him:

“What is it Kilgharrah, is Camelot ok?”

The Dragon lowered his head to meet Merlin’s worried stare before replying:

“Yes, the city is safe, young Warlock. I have left Aithusa to watch over it whilst I tracked you here. The army you face is in front of you, not behind you.”

Morgana speaks up quickly after that, a frown on her face:

“What army? I haven’t foreseen any big battles in a while, believe me, I’ve been looking. The only people that should be in that meadow, is us, and whoever... and one other man.”

Kilgharrah looks over the group slowly before looking back at Merlin and replying:

“It appears, Emrys, that you will finally get a chance to show off the extent of your power. An army is waiting for you, in that meadow, and you are the only one with the capacity to defeat them.”

Merlin takes a deep breath, and clenches his hands (one of which is quickly taken by Arthur. Another example of neither of them knowing which of them the action was meant to comfort):

“I don’t know if I’m that powerful Kilgharrah, I’ve never-”

“The only reason you do not know the breadth of your power, is because you’ve never before come even close to your limits.”

“But I-”

“Your magic is tied to nature, Emrys. Use it. Bend it to your will. The entirety of the world will move at your whim, you need only ask-”

Before Merlin can reply, or ask what the hell that means, Kilgharrah lifts his head suddenly, as if hearing something, and looks briefly to Merlin once more as he replies, before flying off:

“Have faith, young Warlock, in yourself and in destiny. I must leave you now.” 

Everyone stands still, not quite in shock, but definitely confused, all bar Merlin, who just looks annoyed:

“Fucking typical. What’s the use of being a Dragon Lord if my giant pet lizard is going to be so bloody cryptic all the time.” is mumbled by the Warlock, as he looks towards the sun, just about rising over the horizon.

He sighs once more, before:

“Come on then. I suppose that was a good a wake up call as any. We should pack up and get going if we want to get a look at this army.-”

The next bit is mumbled to himself as he lets go of Arthur’s hand and wanders off to dismantle the wards:

“-And I suppose I now have half a day’s journey to figure out to beat it. That’s just great.”

It only takes a moment before the group launches into action, now freshly tense at the revelation that there was an army, and there was only ten of them.

They had faith in Merlin, and Morgana was there as well. And if everything really went to shit, there could be two dragons there to lend a helping hand (or claw) as well. But still. An army. That was big.

They’re riding out on the last leg of the journey within an hour, everyone having regained the tenseness that they had on the first day. Though all of them are slightly comforted by the fact that Kilgharrah hadn’t mentioned Merlin dying. He may be a cryptic bastard, but that definitely seemed like something he would bring up.

~

Gwaine’s directions and timings were accurate, they reached the edge of the seemingly empty meadow around half an hour before the sun hit the centre of the sky.

They remain hidden in the trees, Merlin casting a quick enchantment to shield them from being detected, before looking to Morgana and nodding.

The two of them close their eyes and stretch their arms forward, towards the meadow. A few mutterings and tilted heads later, they open their eyes. Merlin looking grim, but determined, and Morgana looking scared.

Lancelot is the first to speak:

“What is it, what’ve they go out there?”

Merlin looks at him briefly, before darkly saying:

“Why don’t I show you?”

With that, he once more raises his arm towards the meadow. His eyes glow brightly and he speaks quietly, other hand clenched at his side.

After a few moments, tendrils of light extend from his fingertips, and snake out around the perimeter of the meadow. Once the meadow is surrounded, Merlin twists his wrist sharply, and the tendrils turn inwards, shooting towards the centre point. After only a few metres they seem to meet an invisible barrier, and explode upwards towards the sky.

The light is blinding enough to force the gang to all shield their eyes, but they quickly open again when they hear an uproarious cacophony of noise.

What they see, is a huge army gathered at the far end of the field, packing up camp and preparing to move off, in the direction of Camelot.

It takes only a moment before a voice rings out above the noise, coming from somewhere around the edges:

“THE BARRIER IS DOWN!! WE CAN BE SEEN!”

A voice answers back, shouting for everyone to be prepared, that they would be noticed soon, and that the fight was coming to them.

Arthur furrowed his brow before quietly:

“That was their King, I recognise his voice. He must have sorcerers with him to keep the barrier going.”

Leon answers first:

“This is why our scouts haven’t seen anything, there’s been nothing to see.”

Merlin once again begins muttering to himself, drawing everyone’s attention to him (and also reminding them that apparently, Merlin had the power to take out the whole army) :

“Well, at least it’s smaller than I was expecting, underestimating us apparently. Sorcerers could be a problem though. Hmm.”

Morgana speaks up:

“I feel three. powerful, but not really fighters. They’re here for the barrier, and they don’t seem particularly happy about it either-”

She looks towards Merlin, face serious:

“-If you make it clear who you are... they might join us.”

Merlin hums thoughtfully, before replying:

“Depends entirely on if their fear of me outweighs their fear of him.”

The Gang looks taken aback at the mention of fearing Merlin. Elyan quietly saying:

“Why would they fear you? I know that you’re Emrys and everything, but I thought it was a Druid peace-keeping sort of thing you had going?”

Merlin looks back at the group, anger on his face, as he responds darkly:

“They’re threatening Camelot, her people, her King. I’m very much pissed off right now, of course they should be scared of me.”

Before he has time to say anything else, they notice that the army is about ready to move out, and Arthur gestures everyone to quickly get back and hide as he rushes towards Merlin:

“Merls! Ok... so, in the vision, the field was already empty when it started raining, and we have maybe 15 minutes at most before then, so what happens? Whatever we do, we need to do it now, they’re about to leave. Or maybe the field was empty because we let them go?”

Merlin responds quickly:

“No, we didn’t see the whole field in the vision remember, and this half is empty-”

He thinks for a moment, and Arthur looks towards the army, before looking back at the others, and then finally settling his eyes on Merlin once more:

“-Put your crown on, you and me are going to march across there, and they need to know who we are. The others will stay here, out of sight.”

Arthur looks worried, and put a hand on Merlin’s shoulder:

“You do know what you’re doing, don’t you?”

Merlin smiles back at him:

“Nah, figured I’d just wing in. Come on, I’m Emrys. I got this in the bag.”

Arthur frowns as Merlin chuckles, before grabbing his crown from his saddlebag. The others looks to him questioningly, but he just shakes his head, and gestures for them to stay hidden. They don’t look too pleased at that, but they follow his orders, and hide themselves and the horses among the bushes.

The King and the Sorcerer take a deep breath, before looking at each other and nodding firmly. They march out from their hiding spot amongst the trees, and make a beeline for the army, walking confidently.

Merlin made sure to walk just a step behind Arthur, and it takes only a few seconds for a lookout to spot them and yell.

The two of them stop in the middle of the empty space as the whole army looks towards them, their King stepping forward:

“Ah! King Arthur-”

The way he says King, like it disgusts him, like Arthur doesn’t deserve the title, has Merlin fuming, but he doesn’t step forward just yet.

“-It would seem that you have bought your druid pet, to beat my army. I WILL SEE YOUR HEADS ON SPIKES!”

Spittle flies from his red face as he screams the last part, and Merlin sees the way Arthur clenches his hand. Before his... friend? (can he say that after last night?) can reply in anger:

“Introduce me, and then go back to the others. I’ll be fine, he’s clearly underestimated me.”

Arthur’s back straightens, and he leaves his face blank as he shouts his reply to the angered King:

“You clearly underestimate us. This-”

(he gestures absentmindedly to Merlin, who steps forward and allows his eyes to begin glowing.)

“-is Emrys. He will make quick work of your... army.” 

Neither of them pay attention to his reply as they look at each other. The glow fades from Merlin’s eyes as he puts a hand on Arthur’s shoulder:

“Trust me, go back to the others and I’ll take care of it. All of nature is at my fingertips, apparently. Go, I love you.”

Arthur clenches his jaw and nods, before turning and walking back to the others, smiling to himself as he notices the almost transparent shield that had formed around him as he walked.

Merlin takes a few steps towards the army (which is getting louder and louder as the King makes his way through the ranks, shouting encouragement and rallying them) before stopping in place and frowning.

Unless he wants to cause issues with time, he should probably keep it as similar to the vision as he can. He looks to the side, the same place he had seen himself look four days ago, and speaks:

“ I’m sorry. But it’s coming. I can’t stop it, I tried. This is the only way. Just... relax... it’ll hurt less. Four days.”

He narrows his eyes and focuses, and he can just about make out a hazy mirror image of himself stood a few feet away:

“Arthur loves you... me..... us. Don’t let him down.”

The image fades as he takes a deep breath, and continues his march towards the army.

There’s a clap of thunder, and suddenly the skies open, Merlin frowns to himself as he mutters:

“Oh for fucks sake, why am I always right?”

The army begins their sprint towards him, and Merlin stops his quick pace, planting his feet, and raising his hands to the sky. The Sorcerer figures that there’s already a storm, and a storm is part of nature, right? He might as well take advantage.

The golden glow from his eyes is almost blinding as his brings his hands down quickly, palms facing the floor. Lightening strikes the ground with a flash and a few hundred of the men at the forefront of the army fall to not rise again.

Merlin grunts as he realises he’s going to have to try a lot harder if he’s to succeed in taking out the 12,000 angry arseholes running at him.

He continues aiming lightening at the fastest knights, nearest the front, taking out groups of them at a time.

He feels another magical presence, and he glances to the side to see a young woman at the edge of the meadow, clothes in tatters and feet bare. She meets his gaze and nods, before looking to the army and shouting a spell. The ground shakes slightly and a large chunk of the army falls into cracks into the ground.

Those his lightening had not touched finally come within reach of Merlin, and he has to jump back as swords reach for his neck. He swings one of his arms in a wide arc, and a burst of blue fire elevates the war cries around him, into screeches of agony.

He has to banish dark thoughts as the stench of burnt flesh reaches his nose, and he swings his arm wide once more, the same again.

Now with a little more space to move, though with little time before he’s crowded again, he kneels, and slams closed fists down into the mud.

The moment his skin touches the ground, the whole meadow shakes, much more than it had previously, and the whole army stumbles and falls.

There is a moment of silence and calm once the shaking stops, everyone trying to regain their bearings, but it doesn’t last long, as the ground opens. Sinkholes and cracks expand all across the meadow, thousands of men screaming as they fall into unknown depths, or drown in mud.

Merlin stares out in wonder as he realises he hasn’t said a word since the battle began. He had used no spells, the world around him simply understood what he wanted, and obeyed his orders. Nature bending to his whim indeed.

His thoughts last only a minute before he forces himself to concentrate once more. He can feel the three other sorcerers trying to protect themselves, and prevent anyone from escaping. Looks like Morgana was right. Though they were exhausted from holding the barrier in place, and even if they hadn’t been, even combined, their power was nothing compared to Merlin’s.

He pulls his arms from the ground, palms facing towards the sky (which is still pouring). As he does, every crater, every pit, closes with a snap, the field seeming suddenly much emptier as half the army, and all the previous bodies, disappear into the mud.

Only a thousand or so men remain, and, ignoring their cowardly King’s shouts (he was hidden somewhere to the right of Merlin, out of his sight. Hmmm. He would have to take care of that later.) they try to scatter into the woods surrounding the meadow.

Merlin closes his hands to fists. Vines and roots burst from the ground, all sharp thorns and gnarled wood as they speed towards the fleeing soldiers.

The screams grow louder once more as all but a few of the knights are pierced, and wrapped, and dragged towards their muddy places of burial.

Merlin stands once more, and tilts his head towards the trees with a silent request.

He smirks as the sounds of wolves reach his ears, howling and growling and rabid through the trees. That’ll do it. No one would be able to outrun them.

The battlefield lay empty. The bodies having been swallowed by the earth, or still running around piss scared in the woods.

Merlin turns towards the sorcerers standing twenty metres away, meaning to promise them safety and amnesty in Camelot, because of their immediate willingness to help, but before he can say anything, he sees their eyes widen as they look behind him in horror.

He gasps in realisation, and goes to turn and defend himself, but before he can, he staggers suddenly forward as he feels a bursting pain in his spine and spread through his chest. He looks down to see the front of a sword poking out from where his heart should be.

With his last few seconds of lucidity he jerkily waves his hand behind him and feels the King (”How could I have fucking forgotten about him? I was thinking about him literally 3 minutes ago??”) stumble back a few steps, leaving the sword behind.

Merlin falls to his knees, still staring at the end of the blade, blood dripping from his mouth as he hears an agonised yell from across the meadow.

He finally falls completely, his face angled towards the floor and his eyes fluttering as he hears a metallic *swoosh* and a *gargle* and a *thump* behind him, before Arthur falls to his knees at his back.

The last thing Merlin remembers, is hearing Arthur muttering something or other as he gets pulled towards him, but by the time his eyes look to the sky, his mind, and face, are blank.

~

THIS IS COMPLETED, PART 5 (link at the top, and in the masterlist) IS THE FINAL PART!

Let me know if y’all want my thoughts on anything in particular :)

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

Unexpected Places (Pt. 04 of 11)

Pairing: Ivar the Boneless X Reader/Bjorn X Reader

Word count: 3 K

Summary: As a princess, you've lived in a golden cage all your life, always a piece on someone else's game. But everything changed when the Norsemen came crushing down on Wessex, like waves in a violent storm. Their king spared your life and decided to take you with him to his kingdom, in what felt more like a rescue than a kidnapping. There, you were not only confronted with a completely different culture and lifestyle, but also with two of his sons. The oldest one has his eyes set on you, but it's the youngest one, Ivar, who gets who claimed your attention since the first sight. And he seems to have an unnamed interest in you. Of course you hoped whatever that was would pass, but when unexpected feelings start to flow a different way, things begin to change.

<- Previous part (03)

Next part (05) ->

{Vikings Masterlist}

×

Fit For a Princess

You're listening to the chattering between Aslaug and Helga, looking at pieces of jewelry at the market place. You say something every now and then, but you can't shake away Ivar's stare. On the last days, two weeks or so, he's right there, sitting across from you on every meal, eyes burning through you. Hvitserk said he's studying you, still expecting you to snap, to decide you had enough of all this and want to go back home. To Wessex, where your older brother now rules. And Ragnar already said he'd take you back if you wanted, so there's that.

But leaving Kattegat hasn't even crossed your mind, not before and not now. How could you trade all you have here, and slide back into the invisible chains you had on? It wouldn't be just stupid, it would be the death of you. You're finally understanding who you are, the things you like, the kind of people you like. In England, you had to play a specific role, because everything was political. Here, you're just who you are. And you do what you want to do. This is true freedom.

“I really like this one,” Helga says, as your eyes wander through the many rings, earrings, and necklaces. “I'd like those two as well.” She continues as you pace around, further away from both women, turning the corner and then walking to another store. The pieces they have here are all made of metal, delicately bent into beautiful shapes. You caress a bracelet with the tip of your fingers, wondering if it'd look good on you.

“Don't waste your time with these cheap things.” The voice, that you now recognize immediately, makes you turn around. Ivar comes from among the people, only stopping when he's standing next to you.

But despite his attention being on the jewelry, your eyes are on him. “You're tall.” It comes out suddenly, because he never stood beside you like this, so you couldn't have noticed.

“Well, you're tiny.” Ivar glances at you, playing with one of the rings. “Anyway, you shouldn't be looking at these things. They won't suit you very well.”

Giving the old man an apologetic look, you randomly pick a bracelet. You don't get why Ivar is being rude, but, judging by what Hvitserk had told you, his brother isn't one to hold back. He says what he thinks, it doesn't matter how mean it may sound to others. You're still trying to figure out if this level of brutal honesty is good or bad. “I really like this one.” Searching on the small bag attached to your dress, you take four coins, way more than what the bracelet is worth, handing it over to the man and putting the bracelet on. The silver color is beautiful, and the drawings carved on it remind you of the pattern you saw on one of the boats that brought you here.

Ivar rolls his eyes exaggeratedly, sighing. “You are such a kind princess.” Dropping the ring, he starts walking side by side with you when you set in motion through the market. You weren't expecting that.

“King Ecbert was king of Wessex. This isn't Wessex.”

“(Y/N)! Wait for us.” Aslaug calls and you stop, giving her a look and a nod before turning to face Ivar, who towers over you.

“Therefore, I'm not a princess anymore.” Shrugging your shoulders, you give him a small smile.

“That's a shame, isn't it?” He lowers his voice, leaning closer.

“Not really.” Shrugging your shoulders, you give a little step back, putting a strand of hair behind your ears before giving him a little wave, walking back to where both women are.

After they're done shopping, as you walk back home, the clouds push themselves apart just enough for the sunlight to appear. That makes you stop, taking in the warmth on your skin, but it soon disappears.

“Hey, (Y/N),” Hvitserk calls, coming from the beach with his father, Ubbe and Bjorn, who's walking behind them. “We're going to meet some traders. Wanna come?”

“Why not?” You mumble, elbowing Hvitserk when he's close enough.

“Go put on some pants then. We're riding there.”

“Oh.” It's so absurd it's stupid, how you can't seem to do the simple things people know by heart here. “I'm not very good at riding.” Whispering, you tell him, not wanting anyone else to listen.

“I'll help you out.” He nods, tilting his head to where Bjorn is. “Without cracking your head open in the process.”

Smiling you nod before heading inside to change out of the dress. You're just about to head out when Aslaug tells you to grab a cloak in case it rains later, so you have to make another trip to your room. But soon enough you meet Hvitserk and the others again, reading the horses.

“Which one is mine?”

“Over here.” Hviserk guides to a beautiful white horse. “Give me your leg.” He says, and for a moment you furrow your eyebrows, but soon enough you understand what he means. Raising your leg, Hvitserk grabs your calf and you push yourself up, successfully mounting on the horse with his help. It feels funny to be this tall. You have ridden before, but most of the time you used a carriage. There was no need for a princess to ride on the back of a horse at Wessex. It's wild though, and you've grown to love wild things. “Keep your feet like this on the stirrups at all times. Don't put of your feet all the way in or it might get stuck if you fall. If you touch her with your ankles, she'll move forward. Pull the halters and she'll stop. The same thing goes to pull her left or right, but since we'll ride together she'll just follow the other horses.”

“Got it.”

“Your ass might hurt at the end of the day, so be prepared.” He warns before jumping to the back of his horse. “If it'll help you feel more steady, you can hold on the saddle, but trust me, you'll get the hang of it once you lose the fear of falling.”

“Have you ever fallen from a horse before?” As you speak, the small group starts moving, and your mare does the same, keeping their pace, slow at first until everyone starts galloping, and all air leaves your lungs. You hold tightly to the saddle, scared at first, but you remember what Hvitserk just told you. If you let the fear of falling win, you'll never learn to ride properly, and you'll never enjoy it. Slowly, you let go of the saddle, holding only on the halters, making sure it's loose so she'll feel free to run.

And the sensation is amazing. The wind makes your hair whip your face over and over, and you lightly shake your head to get rid of it. Glancing at Hvitserk, you mirror his position, a smile creeping over your lips. The landscape, green, blue, and gray, passes by in a blur, and you try to take it all in. It's beautiful, breathtaking. Almost literally, because when you finally stop, you're struggling to catch your breath.

“You ok?”

“Yeah.” You answer, and Hvitserk nods before moving to stand next to his father and brother. You see a small troop approaching, riding up the hill.

“You're quite good at this,” Bjorn says, guiding his horse away from his siblings and near you. “A few more lessons you'll be riding like a true Viking.”

“I really like it. Its... Thrilling.” You're finally calming down, and your thighs ache a little bit.

“Wanna see the traders coming?” Turning his horse around, he gestures at a cliff, not too many miles away. “We could go up there, it'll give us a nice view.”

“Isn't it a little high?”

“The horses are used to it. C'mon.” Without waiting for your answer, he starts galloping away.

Glancing at Hvitserk, you hold the halter tightly to keep the mare from moving. “You think I should?”

“Sure, it has a nice view. But if you feel like the trail there is too much you come back here, alright? The horses are used to it but you're not.”

“Alright.” Touching the mare with your ankles, you loose the halter and she immediately moves, following Bjorn's horse. It doesn't take much until you're deep inside the woods, the horses now trotting. Bjorn keeps silent, giving you a few glances since you're slightly behind him.

“That way.” He says, and you just let your ride follow his. The smooth ground soon starts changing, with more rocks, and becomes unravel. When you see a steep slope, with apparently nothing to hold on to, you pull the halters, making the mare stop.

“I think it's too craggy.” You speak up, getting Bjorn's attention. “I don't want to fall on my first try.”

“She's used to this kind of inclination. You'll be fine.”

Considering it and also what Hvitserk said, you decide to leave the cliff viewing for another day, when you feel more secure on the horse. “I think I'll pass, Bjorn. Maybe another cliff where I can go on foot.”

“Don't be a pussy. It's not that craggy.” Then, he kicks his horse hard and it sets in motion. It doesn't surprise you, but when the mare moves as well, following him, you're startled, and in the sudden change, you let the halter fall.

Holding on the sell, you can only watch as Bjorn's horse easily climbs the slope, at a fast pace, and yours do the same. But when it suddenly turns left, around a huge rock, you lose your balance, and since there's nothing to hold on to, both your feet escape the stirrups, and you're pulled to the ground hard. Losing your breath, a sting on your ankle makes you yelp as you roll down the slope, only stopping once the ground is flat again. Rolling on your back, you take deep breaths, trying not to move the left leg since the pain is spreading through your foot and calf. “Damn it!” You exclaim, removing the hair from your face.

“(Y/N)!” It takes only a few seconds until you see Bjorn kneeling by your side. “Are you alright?”

“I just fell from a horse and rolled down a hill!” You speak fast, the pain on your back making itself aware. “Of course I'm not fine!”

“Let me take you–” He says as he starts to pull you up.

“No.” You cut him off, slapping his hands away. Bjorn has done enough for today. If he wasn't trying to be a freaking show-off, this wouldn't have happened. “Go get–”

“(Y/N)?” You hear his voice and breathes out relief. “I heard a yell.”

“Over here. Lying on the ground.” Annoyed, you cover your eyes with both hands. “Can you please see if my ankle is broken?”

“What happened?” He asks in a low voice, and you uncover your eyes to see him jumping to the ground, kneeling next to your stretched out leg.

“Bjorn made his horse bolt up the slope and mine followed.” You explain, giving him a hard glance, groaning when Hvitserk lifts your leg to remove your boot. “Easy there!”

“Sorry.” He mumbles. “But calm down, it's not broken, just sprained.”

“Shit.” Taking a deep breath, you sit up taking off the other boot as well and throwing it at Bjorn. “You can't keep yourself from getting me hurt, can you?”

“Me? Everything you had to do was hold on. The horse–”

“I'm not a Viking!” Bursting out, you look up at him. “I'm not some shieldmaiden, I'm still trying to fit in here and learn things. You can't expect me to follow your pace.”

“I just–”

“Bjorn, you should get back. Help father with the traders, I'll take her back to Kattegat.” Hvitserk interrupts him, and Bjorn leaves after a grunt, saying something you couldn't understand.

“And he thinks he has the right to be pissed!” Lying back down, you groan. “I think this is a sign to stay away from him. Every time he's in the situation, I get hurt.”

“Alright, c'mon.” Hvitserk pulls your arm until you're seated again. “You need to put some ice on this ankle, let's go.” Hvitserk takes your mare first, tying her up with his horse before mounting and pulling you up to ride with him.

Despite the slow pace he keeps, your back still hurts. Resting your head on his back, you sigh. “Why are you so quiet?” You ask after a while.

“I'm thinking about the right words to tell this to mother. She won't be happy.” He answers, a hand resting on his thigh as the other holds the halter. “She's not very fond of Bjorn already.”

“It was partially my fault too, I think. I let the halter slip and had nothing to hold on to.”

“You're know Bjorn likes you, right?” Hvitserk suddenly says, and you pinch your eyebrows together. This thought hasn't crossed your mind. “That's probably why he did that. That's how he... Gets a woman's attention.”

“Would you do the kindness of telling him it's not working?” Muttering, you rest both your arms on his back folding them as if his shoulders were a table. “Actually, I've been meaning to tell you... I met Ivar at the market place today.”

“...And?” He asks after a few seconds of silence.

“Nothing, just... It was nothing, really.” It's hard to understand exactly what you want to tell Hvitserk. You just can't seem to put your feelings or thoughts together. “I was looking at these things and he said they wouldn't suit me.” Stretching out your arm, you show him the bracelet. “I bought this there.”

“That's nice. But cheap.” Rolling your eyes, you remember Ivar said pretty much the same thing.

“He also said I'm kind. But that was probably in a mocking tone, so...” You get into Kattegat, and Hvitserk greets some people. “I don't know.”

“I believe it's safe to assume Ivar doesn't hate you.” Hvitserk slows down the horse when a group of kids run by. “If he did, he wouldn't put himself on your way like that... Or look at you the way he does.”

“And how does he look at me?” The words come out slowly because you're not sure if you want to know.

“The only thing I can say for sure is that he never looked at a woman like that.” You finally get to Ragnar's house, and Hvitserk asks a man to help you down. Once you're safe on the ground, he jumps off, telling the man to take the horses. “And I mean it in a good way.”

He puts a hand around your waist, helping as you jump on the right foot until the table in the main hall. “Do you think he–”

“What happened this time?” Aslaug asks, her voice already giving out that she's not happy.

“Twisted ankle. She fell from the horse.”

“Take her to her room, Hvitserk.” The Queen mutters, saying something to the girls who were following her. “And carry her this time if that isn't too much to ask.”

“Alright.” He replies, picking you up with a hand on the small of your back and another under your legs, quickly finding the way to your chambers.

Giggling, you give him a look “I love when your mother–”

“Careful with the teasing this time. I might just drop you to the floor and I don't care if your a princess who fell off a horse.” The fake angry tone makes you laugh again.

“My bad, Prince Hvitserk.” You snap back, rolling your eyes.

Aslaug has her maids help you bathe first, cleaning the dirt that is attached to your face and hair before lying you on the bed again and applying a piece of fabric with cold water on your ankle, keeping it elevated with some pillows. She isn't happy to know the whole story, despite you assuring her it's alright now. You could've died, she said, breaking your neck. But it's useless to worry about what could've happened. The best thing to do now is to focus on the ankle, which she said will be better in a few days, and let the whole incident go.

Later that night, you give little jumps to the main hall to eat something. It's just Ubbe and Bjorn, seated on a table at the corner. Nodding at them, not wanting to chat with Bjorn at the moment, you sit at the edge of the table in the middle, your back turned at both men, taking the jar and pouring yourself something to drink.

“How's your ankle?” Ubbe asks, and you look over your shoulder.

“It's fine. I'll be able to walk normally in a few days. But my back still hurts.” Completely ignoring Bjorn's existence, you turn away from them again.

Drumming your fingers on the table, you wait for the Queen's maids to bring your meal. When you feel someone moving behind your back, you assume it's them, and place your cup further away to open some space. But instead of the bowl with rabbit stew, a necklace is put down before you. And it's absolutely beautiful, with three blue stones surrounded by a golden metal, delicately molded around it. It's different from anything you've ever seen in Wessex. Taking it in your hands, you see Ivar dropping to the seat next to you, and you turn to look at him.

“What is it?” You ask, unable to hide the smile that comes to your lips.

“A necklace.” He simply says, and you roll your eyes at his tone. What a way to ruin the mood.

“Yeah, I noticed.” The smile slowly drops as your eyes go back to the piece, fingertips caressing one of the stones.

“This was made for a princess. Not those cheap things.” He gestures at your bracelet, and you giggle.

“Well, this is absolutely beautiful.” Glancing at him, you find he was already staring. “Is it for me?” You inquire in a lower voice, not wanting to make any assumptions that might embarrass you.

Ivar nods, lightly pushing your shoulder. “Turn around. Let me put it on.”

Doing as he says, you turn your back at him. Ivar takes the necklace and places it around your neck, and you hold your hair up so he can close it on the back. Once he's done, you let the hair fall before turning to face him, folding your left leg and carefully laying the wounded ankle on the bench between you and Ivar. “How does it look?”

You wait for an answer, but it doesn't come. Ivar's eyes were fixed on the necklace, but slowly, they come to meet yours. Tilting your head to the side a little, you feel heat spreading through your cheeks.

Shaking your head lightly and looking down, you take a deep breath. “Have you heard that I fell from a horse this afternoon?” You're glad you got your brain to function, changing the subject. “Twisted my ankle.”

Ivar's stare falls to your bare feet on the bench, the skirt of your dress pulled up to your knee. “Mother told me it was someone else's doing.” As he speaks, Ivar gives an angry stare at where his two brothers are, and it's obvious who he's looking at. “But I think you'll survive.” You feel his fingers caressing your skin, from your knee and down through your calf, so softly you wonder if he's really touching you.

“I will.” You assure him, biting back a smile.

“Ivar,” Ragnar calls, and it does take a while until you both look at where he's standing, near the thrones. “Your mother wants to speak with you.”

“What now?” He asks, annoyed.

“I don't know. Go ask her.” And he disappears.

“Guess I'll have to go.” He glances at you, grabbing the clutch.

But before he can push himself up, you grab his arm. Perhaps you shouldn't do it. Perhaps this whole thing is just some kind of joke he's pulling on you, but still, the necklace is beautiful and he was... Kind. So you lean closer to him, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for the gift. It's very beautiful.”

Ivar is frozen, even after you let go of his arm. He stands there, blue eyes locked on yours. Slowly, painfully slow, a smile comes to his lips. And it feels different. True, genuine. “You're welcome, princess.” He whispers before pushing himself up to his feet and walking away.

You're still a little dazed when the rabbit stew comes, and you can do nothing but play with the spoon. But heavy footsteps get your attention, and when you look at your side, you catch a glimpse of a very angry Bjorn disappearing inside.

He saw everything. And it takes you by surprise to notice that, the moment you laid eyes on Ivar, you immediately forgot Bjorn and Ubbe were here. Everything just... Faded away, and there was nothing else, just you and him. And this is not the first time it happens.

×

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[ttuesday]

making it up to you

this is based on the anon I got a few weeks ago for some sub Micah <3

Summary: after you break Micah out of jail in Strawberry, he brings you back to his camp to make it up to you *wink wink*

Word Count: approx. 2,100

(NSFW)

It was a disaster. As you hightailed it out of Strawberry on your horse, you cursed yourself. Dutch had given you a simple task, rescue Micah. That was it. The mission wasn’t to shoot up half the town just cause someone took his precious guns. You knew when Dutch hears about what happened, he won’t be happy. Hell, you weren’t happy either, you were furious.

Micah rode ahead of you, leading you through the trees and to a secluded camp he had set up before he was thrown in jail. The camp was small, with the remains of a campfire, a single bedroll and an old wooden chair that looked as though it had been there for years.

“You still mad at me?” huffed Micah, dismounting Baylock

“You just killed half the goddamn town!” you exclaimed, not bothering to get off your horse “and for what, a pair of revolvers? Is that all you care about? Some old, worthless guns?”.

“You best watch that mouth of yours” Micah growled as he prodded his new black eye.

“Or what?” you snapped back “You gonna shoot me too?”.

“Don’t tempt me” he muttered.

“I’m done with this” you said, getting ready to leave. You were too frustrated to be around him and decided that going back to the main camp would be better.

“Good luck with that,” Micah chuckled lowly “they’ll be patrols out on all the roads by now, you won’t be able to pass without them recognizing you”.

You hated that he was right. After hesitating for a moment, you reluctantly dismounted and walked over to the chair. You’d be a fool if you left now. If you did, then Dutch would probably have to send Arthur to break you out of jail next. 

You sat down on the chair and crossed your arms, prepared to give Micah the silent treatment. Just because you had to stay didn’t mean you had to forgive him for the mess he made.

As the evening dragged on, Micah tried to speak to you a few times but you didn’t respond. “C’mon, how’s about you come play doctor and help me with this eye” he tried to coax you into talking to him. You ignored him.

Next he tried to rile you up, hoping that would get a reaction out of you. “Real mature of you,” he mocked “you still not talking to me?”. You didn’t reply.

Micah would never admit it openly but he cared about you, and this silent treatment was getting under his skin. To distract himself from the worry that he had messed things up with you, he lit the campfire.

You were one of the only people that actually tolerated him. There had been some occasions where one thing led to another and suddenly yelling at one another turned into passionately undressing each other while keeping your lips on his. At first it was supposed to be a one time thing when you were both out on a job but then it happened again before Blackwater… and then again in Colter

…ok, maybe it happened a few times in Colter but it was the most efficient way of staying warm. Maybe that’s why Dutch sent you, maybe he knew you were more than friends.

Finally, Micah sighed and decided to try and say something genuine. “You know, I uh… I do… care about you… and maybe I did lose my cool in Strawberry… I guess” he struggled to get the words out. You stayed silent, waiting for him to say more.

Micah walked over to you, leaning down to rest his hand on your thigh, his face inches from yours “Won’t ya let me make it up to you?”. Your eyes flicked down his lips as Micah hesitantly leaned in for a kiss, half expecting you to push him away. When you didn’t, he deepened the kiss and moved his hand up your thigh and to your length, palming it the best he could through your pants.

The kiss became more eager, his lips smashing against yours. Your hand came up to hold his cheek, subconsciously making sure not to accidently put pressure by his black eye. You were still mad at Micah but it was nice to finally get some more alone time with him. 

You broke the kiss and whispered against his lips “On your knees”. If Micah was going to make it up to you, you were going to be the one in charge and you weren’t about to let him off lightly. Micah was surprised by the authority in your voice but something that surprised him even more was how arousing he found it.

He obediently kneeled in front of you. As he got comfortable, you stood and undid your pants. Micah immediately reached for your cock as you took it out of your pants, his hot breath against your length making you more impatient by the second. You tenderly pushed his hair away from his face and held the back of his head. Micah opened his mouth wide and slowly licked a stripe up the underside of your cock. You knew he was going slow on purpose, trying to get you as flustered as possible. You rocked your hips forward, groaning as he started to suck around you.

Your grip on his hair tightened as you thrusted into his mouth. Micah gagged around your shaft as it hit the back of his throat. “Such a good slut for me” you said, pumping your cock in and out of his mouth. Micah’s brow creased, obviously not appreciating the comment. 

You pushed his head down until your entire length was in his mouth, his nose pressing against your skin. You could see him struggle to breath, not used to you being so deep in his mouth. Micah closed his eyes as he focused, trying his hardest not to gag again. Slowly, you pulled out. He gasped, taking a couple deep breaths before looking up at you. He had a small smirk on his face as he took your cock again.

Micah tried to keep his jaw loose as you roughly fucked his mouth. You rammed your cock as far as you could, before quickly pulling out again. You quicken your pace, losing yourself in the moment. You loved seeing your length in his mouth, seeing how he gagged and his eyes watered. It was all too much but you didn’t want it to end. 

You harshly tugged Micah’s hair, jerking his mouth away from your shaft. He stared up at you with wide eyes and spit smeared across the side of lips and on his horseshoe mustache. Oh, what a pretty sight. “Take off your pants” you ordered gruffly.

Micah did what he was told, quickly getting rid of his pants to expose his hard cock. He kept his shirt on which was barely kept closed by two flimsy buttons. You reached over to your satchel by the chair and grabbed your container of hair pomade. You didn’t have to tell Micah what to do next. As you threw your satchel over by the chair again, you watched as he got down on all fours, his ass facing you. You smirked, loving every second of this.

"Well you got into this position quickly" you teased, your hand on his ass cheek. Normally Micah was the one to tease you but on this rare occasion, you were the one in charge. Micah glanced over his shoulder to scowl at you, not used to being the one taunted. You leaned forward so that you spoke directly against the back of his ear "You know I'm not going to take it easy on you, Bell". You gave his ass cheek a harsh slap, smiling when a soft moan spilled from Micah’s lips.

You generously applied some hair pomade to Micah's hole before pressing a finger in. Micah lowered his head as you slipped your index finger in and out of him. You didn't waste time in adding another finger, curling and scissoring them as you did. A loud moan came from him as he began to rock his hips backwards, into your fingers. "Oh, you want more?" you growled into his ear.

He grunted in response but you wanted to hear him say it. "If you want something you're going to have to say it" you said, pulling your fingers out and resting your hand on his ass again. You roughly kissed his neck, leaving marks as you waited for him to say it. "I..." he trailed off "I-I want... I want you to fuck me". You smiled, leaning back to properly line yourself up with his hole "That's all you had to say".

You pushed your cock into his entrance, groaning as you did. Normally he was the one pushing into you, he was the one whispering filthy things into your ear but now you were in charge. "Fuck, you're so tight" you exhaled, giving him a second to adjust to your length inside of him. As you began to thrust into him, you gave him the praise you knew he needed. "That's it," you said, holding on to his hips "so good for me, fuck, you're so handsome like this".

You noticed Micah try and move one of his hands down to touch his leaking cock. You slammed your hips into him, stopping him from doing so. "Did I say you can touch yourself?" you questioned. He opened his mouth to reply but all that came out was a whimper. You couldn't help it as a smirk crept on to your face. You never thought you'd hear Micah whimper. You fucked him harder, your hips snapping back and forth.

You grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked it, making Micah crane his neck back. He gasped, his face scrunched up in pleasure. "Christ, you make the prettiest noises" you muttered, letting go of his hair and moving your hand down to Micah's cock. You wrapped your hand around his throbbing cock, drawing another moan from the outlaw.

You slowed your pace but continued to thrust deep into him, the tip of your cock rubbing against his prostate. "You should fuck up more often" you said, running your thumb across his slit "I like seeing you like this, a moaning mess". Micah choked back another moan, his mouth slightly apart as he craved his release.

"Now you can touch yourself" you said, removing your hand from his cock. Micah took over and began jerking himself off as you focused on fucking him, chasing your own high. Micah came first, grunting as he did and you followed quickly behind him.

You took a few seconds to catch your breath before gently pulling out. "You alright?" you asked, shifting your weight to grab a few rags from your satchel. Micah huffed as he started to move, his joints stiff. You quickly cleaned yourself up, tucking yourself away before going to tend to Micah. You softly kissed his body as you cleaned him off, murmuring words of praise. Micah leaned into you, savouring your touch. You ran your fingers across his body, appreciating every inch.

"You did real good, taking me so well" you said, kissing his shoulder. He scoffed, acting as though he didn't need the compliment but the faint smile on his face told you otherwise. "How's your eye?" you asked, kissing the side of his neck.

"Fine," he mumbled "don't think it's infected".

"You wanna lie-down for a while?" you asked, subtly admiring the marks you had left along his neck.

He looked at you with hazy, content eyes "Yeah, I'd like that".

You led him over to the bedroll and settled down for the night. You held Micah, your hand slowly trailing up and down his back with a blanket enclosing the both of you. Micah nuzzled against your neck as he drifted off to sleep, drained from the long and eventful day.

You didn't fall asleep immediately. Instead you gazed up at the night's sky and smiled. Yes, Micah was a hard guy to get along with, everyone knew that. But there was something about him you couldn't shake. You knew when the gang hears about the mess he made in Strawberry there'd definitely be some arguing but that was a problem for tomorrow. 

All you wanted to do now was enjoy the moment. Micah let out a small snore. You lowered your gaze to look at him and lightly kissed the top of his head. As you dozed off, the smile on your face stayed as you held him a little tighter.