#yes i trust a real person who goes outside and touches grass to look at my Four Year Quirktype 8log

[cornflowercanine]

alroight everyone my irl frient follows me now so 8EHAVE!!!!

Or else..

[scatterpatter]

"Where's the essay OP" Said no one, and yet here I am

Lampy isn't stupid, he's neruodivergent: a rushed-together masterpost

Disclaimer: I'm not a liscened medical professional but I'm neurodivergent who's close to many neurodivergent people so I know when certain traits strike me as very familiar... Also tblt is my comfort movie I've seen it probably over 100 times, not exaggerating, so if anyone here's an expert on it, it's me.

I'm only going by the first movie because while To The Rescue and Goes To Mars probably have evidence to back me up, I don't feel like sitting down to watch them as I don't have them as memorized as the original

Point #1: Lampy is arguably the most intelligent appliance in the movie

Honestly it apalls me that so many are convinced that Lampy is an idiot when he displays some of the most intelligent traits in the movie. I'll just list off some of the most important scenes that show this

1: When discussing a way to get to the city, Lampy comes up with plans that end up failing, true. But we should also consider that not only did Radio and Toaster come up with bad plans before deciding on the swivel chair, but 2/3 of Lampy's ideas involved the same mechanic: on something with wheels(yes the mattress had wheels for some reason) being powered by Kirby

2: "From here you can see the really big lamp!" This scene is simply due to the appliances being sheltered from the outside world. Lampy displays the same level of naive-ness as everyone else: Radio seems earnest in calling the sun a "really big lamp", and Kirby calls the grass "shag carpet". Lampy is not at a lower intelligence in this scene, he's exactly at the same level as everyone else

3: The scene with the storm really sells his intelligence. The appliances have a rudimentary understanding of electricity, most likely from being appliances, but Lampy displays an excelled level of understanding by sacrificing himself for the battery. He understands that batteries are powered by electricity, lightning is electricity, and by using himself as a lightning rod, he acts as the conductive metal to easily transfer this energy from the bolt to the battery. Technically this should have overcharged and fried the battery but we'll suspend disbelief for the sake of this movie.

4: He knew that stacking the appliances to roughly human height, creating a dark environment with ominous sounds, and putting Toaster at eye-level to scare the human with his own reflection... Again, this is an intelligent understanding of how to scare a human

5: It's unclear on whose idea it was to look up Rob in a phone book, however this shows that not only can Lampy read(most likely picked up from being Rob's reading light), ESPECIALLY when Toaster struggles to read, but also has an understanding of phone books, addresses, and finding humans based on family names. I cannot stress how intelligent this is for a sentient desk lamp

There's a few more minor examples, but these are the biggest cases. Lampy is intelligent.

Point #2: Lampy struggles with social cues and doesn't empathize as easily as others

My biggest point here is when people think neruodivergents are "dumb" for having trouble picking up on things like sarcasm when that just... isn't the case. A few notable examples include:

1: When Air Conditioner says "You're a real bright little lamp", Lampy doesn't pick up the sarcasm and thinks he's being complimented. Though he definitely shows a level of emotional intelligence because he looks to Toaster to confirm "hey I was complimented", sees they're still looking angry, and gets the hint that he was insulted without someone needing to explicitly tell him that, to which he then responds with "Heyyy >:("

2: Sometimes he's able to read the room and pick up on tones, but other times he shows a level of emotional density. Legitimately not knowing if Rob had returned even when seeing Blanky disappointed to the point of near tears... But then knowing "brains wouldnt hurt either" was a jab at their intelligence and reacting with appropriate annoyance... But also when Radio says "Things could be worse!", doesn't realize he's just saying that to make Toaster feel better and asks "How could they be worse?"

3: He bullies Blanky alongside Radio and the others, unclear if he's actually being a jerk or just "oh this is what everyone else is doing so this is the normal way to act", but he's legitimately confused when Toaster tries to explain why they're suddenly being nice to him. He doesn't get the "now I feel better" argument because his argument was "Well you were never this nice to him before". Even when Toaster tries to explain why it feels nice, it just doesn't click... until Toaster finds a way to explain that connects personally to Lampy's own emotional state. He has trouble empathizing until realizing "oh this is like this thing that I feel sometimes"

4: Something I've noticed when gathering evidence is that more than once, Lampy goes "Wow..." After someone gloats about themself(Twice with Radio, once with the Computer). It's clear by the third time, when Radio goes "What does that mean?" And Lampy responds "I don't know. [To Computer] What does that mean?" That he doesn't even know what's being gloated about, let alone why he should be impressed. He has the emotional intelligence to recognize when someone's gloating and the "appropriate" response of amazement, but it seems like it never comes from a place of earnest. (While Neurotypicals can and do engage in "performative" behavior, I tend to notice this way more commonly with neurodivergents)

Also the "wow..." Performative thing is VERY reminiscent of Peridot from Steven Universe(a characters who many autistic fans see themselves in and the creator herself saying she doesn't consider Peridot or any of the gems to be neurotypical) going "wow thanks" as her default "this is how I've been taught to show gratitude" response

Point #3: Miscellaneous traits that could be neurodivergent

These traits COULD be interpreted as neurodivergent, but I will admit they could also be interpreted as something else so like take these with a grain of salt

1: Lampy appears to have sensory needs. When sleeping, he needs to tap a rock a few times(presumably to make sure it's "right") before clonking his head on it. It's interesting because rocks aren't a very "lamp" thing whatsoever, and none of the other appliances look for pillow-ish objects to rest on, so this could be a sensory thing.

2: Lampy has an interesting vocal quirk: repetition of phrases at the beginning and end of a sentence. Instances include "How exactly do you propose we do that, exactly?" "All of a sudden you're being so darn nice to him all of a sudden" "The fact is there's just not enough facts" The third one is a bit of a stretch but the first two seem to indicate a possible pattern of speech. Part of me wants to say this could be a verbal tic or some type of verbal stimming, but I've never met anyone who has a tic or stim like this so I can't say it's a neurodivergent thing with confidence, but I wanted to mention this quirk regardless.

3: Physically saying how he feels. Two instances where multiple characters are laughing, Lampy speaks while laughing "That's funny - I'm dying!" "I'm aching with joy!". It's just interesting that no one else speaks while laughing and for whatever reason, Lampy needs to verbalize "Yes I find this very funny" as if simply laughing along isn't enough. I've seen somewhat similar stuff in neurodivergents who have issues expressing emotions implicitly so they state them explicitly instead.

4: I've noticed Lampy isn't touchy... except with Radio. Some neurodivergent people can have issues with physical contact, which could explain that. But I've also noticed that Radio also gives me huge neurodivergent vibes... But more importantly Radio is extremely touchy with everyone, Lampy included, hence them often getting into physical fights but also just- tapping them or wrapping a cord around the other and pulling him close(they're so in love but that's a post on its own). A possible explanation is Lampy having issues with touching others, but either feels comfortable being touchy with Radio(due to emotional bonds and trust) or simply recognizes "Radio likes being touchy so I should be touchy back". A stretch of an argument, I'll admit, but I think the interpretation is there and valid.

In conclusion

I mean idk if Lampy was written to be neurodivergent or if the writers just wanted him to be "quirky" and accidentally gave him a lot of neurodivergent traits, but he reads as very neurodivergent to me(probably autistic or adhd but I'm not a professional and can't diagnose him). But while I can chalk up neruodivergency being one of many possible interpretations of his character, I WILL argue that he's not "stupid" given the evidence we see throughout the movie

Tl;Dr: Lampy is evidently intelligent, but sometimes struggles with social cues, empathy, and overall shows numerous traits of neurodivergency

[wizardingworld-imagines]

Heal - Sirius Black

Pairing - Young!Sirius Black x fem!reader

Requested? - Yes, by Anon

Word Count - 1k

Warnings - None that i’m aware of.

A/N - This is a sequel to my James Potter fic, Lily, but could also act as a stand alone piece.

Leaving James Potter on the Quidditch field that rainy afternoon was possibly the best and worst decision of Y/N’s life. She no longer had to deal with his yearning for Lily anymore, they were free of each other and free to do whatever they wanted. This however was also the problem. James was all over Lily, now he didn’t have Y/N to hold him back. Y/N had heard that they were seen everywhere together. Where one went, the other followed shortly behind. She had yet to see the two of them together, avoiding them as much as possible. It had only been a few days since Y/N and James split up, yet him and Lily were acting like they had been together for months. Maybe they had been, but Y/N didn’t care. Or at least she told herself she didn’t.

Walking out of her Ancient Runes class, Y/N ran straight into James and Lily, who were so enamoured with each other they took no notice of their surroundings. Seeing the two together, this close and intimately connected in a kiss, it sparked emotions in Y/N she couldn’t comprehend. Sadness and jealousy entangled like lovers in her mind. She missed James, that was obvious. But he had Lily now, he was happier. Y/N pushed herself past them in the packed corridor, walking towards the stairs. She wanted to get away from them as soon as possible.

Now on the ground floor, Y/N walked to one of the courtyards, needing to get some fresh air. The feelings of sickness subsiding as she sat down outside on the grass. Closing her eyes, she took some deep breaths to regulate her breathing, calming herself down in the process. When she opened her eyes, she saw no other than Sirius Black, sitting opposite her.

‘Merlin Sirius, you frightened me’ She stated, placing a hand over her heart due to the scare she just endured. He broke out into a smile, but when he saw the sadness creeping back onto Y/N’s face, his smile dropped. He reached out to touch her hand tenderly.

‘What’s wrong Y/N? You don’t look very well. Have you fallen ill with lovesickness from looking at me?’ He teased. ‘No, but seriously, what’s wrong?’

Y/N and Sirius had always had a close relationship, as the best friend of James he was constantly around the couple. Whenever James was busy with work, he’d leave Y/N with Sirius, allowing the two to form a close bond. Over time Sirius had fallen in love with Y/N, but he could never have her. She was his best friend’s girl, it could never be. His reputation as a womanizer, a mere distraction from Y/N. He never loved those girls, they were just a way for him to cope with his emotions.

‘I saw James and Lily... together in the hall outside my class. Something just clicked in my brain that all of this is real, and… it’s the first time i’ve seen them together since, you know... ‘ She trailed off, the memories of the afternoon coming back in floods, as tears welled in her eyes.

‘Oh love, I'm so sorry he did that to you. If it’s any consolation, Moony and I lectured him about the entire ordeal and we’re not particularly delighted about the way he treated you.’ Sirius said, reaching out for Y/N’s hand. Taking her hand in his, he traced patterns on the back of her hand, soothing her.

The concept of Remus and Sirius lecturing James on his behaviour and actions brought a smile to Y/N’s face, and she let out a small laugh. Sirius looked up, and his heart swelled being able to hear her melodious laughter. A smile fell upon his features, his eyes shining in the sunlight.

~~~~~~~

Over the next few weeks Y/N and Sirius would meet whenever they could. Sirius never felt so lucky in all his life. Sure, he still couldn’t be with Y/N, at least not yet anyway, but he was in her company and that was enough. They spend entire afternoons just talking, about anything, from the weather and classes to more personal matters like family life and relationships. The two could be who they were with one another, they were so open and honest about everything. They formed a bond like no other.

How badly Sirius wanted to tell her how he felt, but he knew she was going through a lot of emotional stress and pain, so he didn’t want to impose himself upon her. He may have a reputation of a womaniser, but he could still be a decent human being, a gentleman even on the odd occasion. He would have to be patient, he’d wait for a time where Y/N was better, where she could be herself once again to everyone, and not just to him. He helped her through so much, and he didn’t want to throw that away or destroy what trust they had between them.

As Y/N got better, she had Sirius by her side the entire time. After James, she thought she couldn’t trust anyone again, and especially thought that she couldn’t love anyone. Not after what he did. However, she felt something with Sirius she hadn’t felt in a long time. Something more than she did with James. It felt sick and twisted, falling in love with her ex’s best friend, but the heart is uncontrollable and it often goes after what we can’t have. Or at least what we convince ourselves we can’t have.

When they finally admitted their feelings for each other, it was like a weight had been lifted. For so long they both felt as if nothing could happen, that it was wrong for them to feel this way. But they couldn’t contain it anymore. Sirius’ inner conflict was resolved, he told Y/N how he felt, he just hoped he’d be able to fix things with James. They had been friends, brothers almost, for what felt like forever, he was sure everything would be ok. And even if he couldn’t, he had gained the woman he’d dreamed of for so long, and that’s what mattered to him the most.

[indigobackfire]

Phoenix Lazar Nobleworth Silverwood

Below is a lengthy history of his parents, their involvement with dragons, and how he lost them.

Ps: I tried adding some Scottish dialect in the dialogue, but I'm not the best at it considering all I have as reference is my love for James McAvoy and Outlander. Forgive me in advance for any atrocities lol. Also, diverging from canon especially in relation to Veela powers and physical descriptions.

Phoenix's father, Emilian, was sorted into Gryffindor and with pride, he was a Gryffindor by the book, adventurous, brave, often reckless, fun, with a strong sense of protection over his friends, someone who valued courage and honor.

Emilian didn't know how he and Palmer Silverwood - Slytherin, pureblood, much more popular than him, and one of the best duelists in their year - became friends, he also didn't know how Palmer found an about to hatch dragon egg in the forbidden forest, or how he even got into the forbidden forest to begin with, but being who he was, Emilian wasn't much surprised.

The biggest surprise was that Palmer even knew who he was.

Emilian takes a peek into Palmer's robes where the egg is hidden. "So? You're the dragon laddie, Nobleworth."

"Yeah, it's a dragon egg. Common Welsh Green this one." He looks up. "And is that what people call me?"

"Are ye really surprised? You talk about them all the time, yer the best in Care of Magical Creatures, and ye have a dragon painted at the back of yer bloody robes."

"Only fair. McGonagall hates it."

Palmer laughs. "Will ye help me?"

"Aye. But what ye want me to do?"

"I dinna ken. I just don't want the wee dragon to die. The poor creature wasn't warm when I found it so it's probably motherless. I mean... they fire up their eggs, don't they?"

Emilian smiles. "You're not as unknowledgeable as you think, Silverwood. Let's go somewhere more private."

In the humid and dusty air of the artifact room, they hide. "Hand me the egg."

Palmer hands him the egg delicately as if the creature inside it wasn't one that could eat them both in a bite when grown. And for a moment Palmer wonders what he'll do, but Emilian just stands there holding the egg. And as he's about to question him, he sees Emilian's fingers get bright red.

"Mate? What's wrong with yer hands?"

Emilian snickers. "I have a secret, can you keep it?" Palmer nods eyes fixated on the egg whose cracks were very slowly growing. "I'm half Veela and whilst I can't throw balls of fire from my hands... I can heat it up to... oven temperature."

"Oven temperature?"

Emilian smirks. "Ah dinnae have exact numbers, but if ye want to give a touch."

Palmer looks at his hands again. "Nae. They're as bright as molten glass, lad."

Emilian raises his eyebrows. "Oh, I felt it move."

"Ooohh, it's gonna set this tiny room on fire."

"Let me hide it this time. I ken a place we can go. The person ye should've gone to in the first place."

Palmer widens his eyes. "Kettleburn, nae."

"Silverwood, ye cannae keep the dragon. It'll set you on fire before completing one year."

Palmer puffs as they walk out of the artifact room. "If the dragon enthusiast dinnae want to keep a real dragon, why would I?"

"A dragon lover is the same as a bee lover. You can appreciate the honey, the lovely stripes, but if ye hold it in yer hand, it'll sting you. Dragons were made to live outside, flying, spitting fire. A wee dragon is cute, but once is grown..."

"Yer a curious lad, Nobleworth." Emilian gives an awkward half smile. "I like you."

Their friendship was as unexpected to them as it was for the bystanders, but one that sustained for their last two years in Hogwarts - including Palmer's girlfriend, Clarin, an uptight but curious Ravenclaw, who despite her best instincts followed behind on the boys' adventures.

When Emilian announced he would be leaving England for the Dragon Sanctuary in Romania a couple of years later, as much as Palmer and Clarin expected that to happen, it still came with the bittersweetness of watching one of their best friends go.

Years go by, but still, their bond sustains time and distance. Every opportunity they had, the SIlverwoods would travel to Romania to visit their friend who in a lighting in a bottle chance found himself a wife of "his kind".

Full Veela, Antonia Lazar, practically raised herself as her father left her mother, a temperamental full Veela woman, to deal with Tonia herself, a task she delegated to her equally careless family members, closely involved with the Dragon Sanctuary in times the place was still informally managed.

When Emilian meets her, barely wearing rags over her body, barefoot on the grass, pearl blonde hair unruly, looking as if she was raised by wild house elves, he couldn't help his heart hammering in his chest. Female Veela beauty wasn't something he was unused to, considering his mother and aunts were ones as well, but when Antonia was before him he thought of himself before a goddess.

Emilian tries not to spill the water in the heavy buckets while Antonia doesn't seem to be struggling at all. He wouldn't have a need to even carry them if he hadn't forgotten his wand, but at least he got to be alone with her.

"Why is it that ye dinnae like us?"

"You English think you run the place just because you read about dragons in a book, think you know more than us who grew with hundreds of them." She shoots him firey eyes. "Know when I first rode a dragon? I was five years old!"

"I never say I doubted yer capacities. And I'm not English, I'm Scottish." She glares at him again. "I'm kidding."

"Don't get me angry, you won't like it me angry. Trust me."

"I would actually. I wonder what color yer feathers would be."

"I'm sorry?"

"I ken a Veela when I see one. Especially cause I'm half one."

Her expression soothes a little. She puts the bucket down and grips his hand. "Go, do your magic."

While his hand goes as hot as they can, his eyes slowly change hues to match her, never breaking eye contact. "It's nice touching a girl who doesn't mind a more... ardent touch."

She gives a small smile. "You're pathetic."

"I'd love to fly on a dragon's back with someone who understands about them. I promise I'm not here to mock or doubt you. I love those creatures more than anyone I know."

She lets go of his hand and with a smirk picks up the bucket. "Well, now you know me."

Their relationship quickly becomes stronger as they spend day after day together. The work at the Sanctuary is as rewarding as it is tiring, so at the end of long days, they would sit together and exchange stories, her of her buckwild childhood and him of his years in Hogwarts. In each other's company that they find an air of normality and peace.

After recognizing and accepting her strong feelings for Emilian - something hard considering how men had treated her before, seeking what she had to offer them more than considering her needs - and finding out he felt the same for the longest time, they decided to marry, her seeing in him a sense of stability for the first time in her life.

It doesn't take long until Antonia is pregnant with their first child, and in the pool of genes and possibilities, their first-born boy is a full Veela like his mother, something uncommon for boys. Not considering what would be 'formal' or well accepted, Antonia decides to name him Phoenix for encompassing what being a Veela means to her, a bird of elegance and fire and perseverance.

And as if it was pre-destined, just a couple months prior, Clarin and Palmer had given birth to a girl of name just as uncommon, little Indigo Silverwood, who is but three months old when they come to Romania to meet little Phoenix.

To this day, the Silverwoods wonder if their timing was the best or worst it could've been.

As in the same week they came to visit, an attack happens with the intent of capturing as many dragons as they could from the reserve, something that had happened times before but this time much better planned and heavily armed with the best wizards they could get.

They start picking up their wands in haste while seeking the fire protection potion they had brewed specially for this trip back at home. "What do they need dragons for? Can't they breed their own." Clarin asks.

"Is not like is legal or easy to do so." Antonia has her eyes soaked with tears. "They don't care about the creatures, they want money. Oh, they use their blood to make spot removers. Oven cleaners! How can you take a marvelous creature and turn it into such a pathetic thing? Then they use their hearts in you wizards stupid wands and their skin into gloves!"

"Somebody must have heard about the new Chinese Fireball," Emilian says, "People seek the gold in their horns and eggs, but if you pull them out, they die."

"Not to mention the baby Romanians. Put your goddamn boots on already, Emilian!"

"What 'bout the bairns?" Palmer asks anxiously.

"There's no time. They probably ain't getting all the way up here, but in all cases." Emilian grabs the potion from Clarin's hands turning over Jacob's and baby Indigo's mouth, knowing the fire wouldn't do harm to Phoenix. He places something in Jacob's little hand. "Jacob, if any mean person comes trying to hurt ye, throw this at their feet and run. Alright?" Jacob nods, eyes wide with fear and excitement of a five-year-old.

"What is it?" Palmer asks.

"A vial of Peruvian's Vipertooth venom, extremely deadly and volatile. Don't ask me why I have it."

Palmer looks at Jacob. "Stay quiet and protect the babies, right, love?"

Antonia kisses Phoenix on the forehead one last time then turns to the others. "Let's go, please!"

And if they knew, she would've held him a little longer, Emilian would've stopped time for a couple of seconds to look at their boy for a lingering moment more. But they didn't and time never reversed.

They weren't the only lives lost, but side by side they fought and won and lost and lost and lost. They managed to protect all but two of the dragons at the end, blood of dark wizards - and innocent ones - soaked the grounds. Dragons loose on the sky overhead, blood spilt from both sides, burnt buildings, scars that would never heal, the body of a friend devoided of life, a mother of dragons and children never to wake up again, children crying in a cabin kilometers away.

When Antonia's mother refused to watch over her own grandson, Clarin felt as if it was her own son the woman refused and it was that soon the decision to keep him came. She was still breastfeeding and no ordinary family would know how to raise him right, at least that's what both her and Palmer told themselves. Emilian's parents, both devastated by the news of their son's death were quick to agree with the Silverwoods' proposal.

And it's like this that Phoenix and Indigo are practically raised as twins, still young when he notices he doesn't look like the rest of them - a pale and blonde boy in a family of tanned brunettes - not only for his looks but by the fact that sinking his hand into a pot of boiling water doesn't hurt or the fact his anger makes his body react differently from the others or that people got mesmerized by his looks enough to do whatever he asked them to.

But the Silverwoods learn the painful way that raising a Veela child is not easy work. Not only easily irritable but also dangerous when transformed, not much to others while still young, but to himself due to painful and harmful transformation, taking hours until he could retain his human form. Meditating and thought exercises became pivotal from an early age. As not make their treatment towards him different from Indigo, they become tougher with both, demanding an altruistic, patient, and empathetic behavior from both.

This leads Phoenix to grown into a level-headed, sweet and compassionate boy who eventually got sorted into Hufflepuff without the sorting hat having to consider long.

As much as he wishes he had grown with his biological parents, he's grateful to have grown in the family he did and doesn't consider himself any less part of it, he loves his siblings dearly and considers and reslects his parents as if it was from their blood and cells he was made of.

---

This is my attempt at a concise history of Phoenix, mostly his parents who I dream of drawing someday. I'll make something in the future for his romantic life as it is its own ride. I ship him with Ismelda and boy oh boy I have some to say about that.

If you wanna more info on Phoenix, I made him an OC profile :)

[acousticcheeze]

Here's my 100 questions for my OC thing!

My OC is Laureli, a 6'2 Altmer trying to make his way in Skyrim

1. What do they smell like?

Whatever alchemy ingredient he’s been working with, really. Lavender is what he smells like most often, though.

2. What is their voice like?

A smooth-ish medium pitch Altmer voice that has elements of calm and irritation.

3. What is their biggest motivator?

Helping others through his alchemy. He wants to improve medicine for Skyrim, as well as all of Tamriel.

4. What is their most embarrassing memory?

He had a whole scientific presentation one year that ended up being completely wrong. He got humiliated in front of everyone.

5. How do they deal with/react to pain?

Winces at it, curses, and then gets to treating the problem.

6. What do they like to wear?

Functional clothes that keep him warm and allow him to carry alchemy ingredients in his pockets.

7. Which of their relationships have impacted them most positively?

The relationships with some of the people he’s helped over the years. It gave him a sense of purpose and fulfillment knowing that he could help people, save people.

8. What’s the weirdest thing they’ve ever eaten?

He’s an alchemist...in Skyrim...I’m pretty sure there are a few contenders… (giants toe, large/small antlers, ectoplasm, the list goes on)

9. Describe the way that they sleep.

Normal side sleeper. Prefers to sleep on his left side.

10. What is their favorite food/kind of food?

Horker stew. It’s actually way better than he thought it would be.

11. What do they feel most insecure about?

If what he’s doing is good enough. He has big problems with perfectionism that still persist with him even after leaving Summerset.

12. How do they like to dress?

Robes with an alchemy enchantment and a hood.

13. How do they react to feelings of guilt?

He tries to shake them off, but has panic attacks and whatnot sometimes as a result of them.

14. How do they react to/deal with betrayal?

Is completely shattered by it. He’s dealt with this so many times before, though, so he keeps his cards close to his chest.

15. What is their greatest achievement?

Creating potions that help much more than the average cure disease potion would, as well as all sorts of other concoctions. Also, he’s created a sort of disinfectant and is working on a hand sanitizer.

16. What are they like when they’ve gotten too little sleep?

Cranky, cranky, cranky.

17. What are they like when they’re drunk?

Drunk? Oh no no no no Laureli does not drink (and even if he did he’d be out real quick)

18. What kind of music do they enjoy?

He isn’t really into music, but he enjoys the songs the bard plays at the Bannered Mare.

19. Are they right or left handed?

Right, but is practicing with his left hand too in case something happens to his right.

20. Fears?

Death and failure, mostly.

21. Favorite kind of weather?

As the sun rises and there’s dew all over the grass, the light reflecting through each drop.

22. Favorite color?

The color of eyes. Or, more specifically, the hundreds of little pinpricks of different colors inside of eyes, It’s really quite fascinating.

23. Do they collect anything?

OH YEAH. So many different alchemy ingredients and random stuff to be used in his next works-

24. Do they prefer either hot or cold weather more?

Cold, which is good since he lives in Skyrim.

25. What is their eye color?

Chartreuse (like most Altmer)

26. What is their race/ethnicity?

Altmer

27. Hair color?

White

28. Are they happy where they are currently?

Yup. Breezehome is small, but manageable, and Whiterun is a decent hold to live in.

29. Are they a morning person?

Yes. He gets tired around 9 and can’t stay up past 12.

30. Sunrise or sunset?

Sunrise.

31. Are they more messy or more organized?

Very organized. Again, he’s a perfectionist.

32. Pet peeves?

People touching his things as well as people inserting themselves into his business.

33. Do they own any objects of significant personal importance?

An amulet of Talos a Nord gave him. He hadn’t gotten the chance to learn much about Talos at home, and he found it very interesting talking to the local Nords about their beliefs. That amulet reminds him of his first day in Skyrim, the first day of his new life.

34. Least favorite food?

Taffy treats, or anything with that sort of texture and stickiness that can get stuck to his teeth very easily.

35. Least favorite color?

Very pale green. It looks gross.

36. Least favorite smell?

Death. (Yes, death has a smell)

37. When was the last time they cried?

Recently.

38. Were they with anybody the last time they cried?

No. Oh Auri-el, no no no no. He cries alone and he makes sure of it.

39. Tell us about one of the times they got injured?

Was in a fire when he was younger, he has a burn going up the inner leg on his right leg.

40. Do they have any scars?

Only mental ones. (and the burn scar on his leg)

41. Do they struggle with any mental health issues?

Perfectionism, past abuse, self hate, among others.

42. Do they have any bad habits?

Picking at his nails. He knows it makes them hurt and get bloody, but sometimes he just can’t help it.

43. Why might someone dislike them?

He can be very rude if he’s working, but to be fair, it is really annoying to be bothered in the middle of your work.

44. Why might someone love them?

Who wouldn’t love an overworked science boye? But in all seriousness, if he loves someone, he will be very caring towards them and is also just great listener. Tries not to care any more though because of personal trauma.

45. Do they believe in ghosts?

Yup. He’s heard of people’s encounters with them. Honestly, you’d be stupid to not believe in them.

46. Is there anyone they would trust with their lives?

At this point? No. Farkas later down the line? Yes.

47. Are they romantically interested in anyone?

Farkas, but we ain’t talking about that yet~

48. Are they dating/married to anyone?

No

49. Do they like surprises?

No. Please do not surprise this poor man he will stagger back and crash into everything.

50. When is their birthday?

9th of Hearthfire (September 9th)

51. How do they usually celebrate their birthday?

He takes a few seconds to acknowledge it and then gets on with his work.

52. Do they have any family?

Yup! A Mom, a Dad, a younger sister, and a male cousin that lives nearby (he’s in the Thalmor and the whole family has very Pro-Thalmor views)

53. Are they close to their family?

HAH- no~

54. What is their MBTI type?

INTJ (Damn this list for making me look up stereotypes for this. Honestly I hate the MBTI system so much-)

55. What is their zodiac sign?

Virgo

56. What Hogwarts House would they be in?

Ravenclaw

57. What D&D alignment are they?

If lawful chaotic good was a thing then yes

58. Do they ever have nightmares? If so, what about?

Yes, but they are often so tangled up that it’s hard to get any real meaning from them.

59. What are their views on death?

“It’s fine, it’s fine, I’ll be fine-” Hopes that he’ll be fine but is really scared about it.

60. What is something that they’re sure to laugh at?

Bad science puns. He will stifle a chuckle before telling you how bad your joke was.

61. When bored, how do they pass time?

This man does not get bored. He will always find something alchemy related to study or look into.

62. Do they enjoy being outside?

Yes. Laureli loves the Skyrim weather (for the most part. Places like Dawnstar and Winterhold suck)

63. Do they have an accent?

Yes. He has the typical Altmer accent.

64. Upon seeing a slice of chocolate cake, what is their first reaction?

“Why is this here? This isn’t mine.”

65. If they knew they were going to die, what would they do/say

He would probably take too long deciding and die before he could do/say anything.

66. How do they feel about sex?

Sex repulsed asexual.

67. What is their sexuality?

GAY

68. Do they become squeamish at the sight of blood?

Nope.

69. Is there anything that they find really gross?

He’s seen so much it would take a lot to surprise him here.

70. Which TV Trope(s) best describes them?

Grumpy scientist with no people skills.

71. Do they enjoy helping people?

Yes, definitely

72. Are they allergic to anything?

Not really. (Lucky)

73. Do they have a pet?

No

74. Are they quick to anger? What are they like when they loose their temper?

Nope, unless you press his buttons. His anger is pretty much “What in the name of Auri-el is wrong with you?! Don’t touch my equipment!!”

75. How patient are they?

Very...until you hit his limit. Then he gets passive aggressive.

76. Are they good at cooking?

Not really. He can be good at it, he just chose not to learn in favor of working on his projects. Can make enough to live on, though.

77. Favorite insult? Do they insult people often?

He doesn't have a favorite insult (he rarely insults people).

78. How do they act when they’re particularly happy?

Talking fast, pacing, flappy hands.

79. What do they do when they learn about other people’s fears?

Try to avoid bringing those fears up around them and avoiding making fun of them. If their fear is nearby, he will either tell them or take care of it. (which is good because Farkas is scared of spiders)

80. Are they trustworthy?

Yes, but you have to be a very certain kind of person to work with him.

81. Do they try to hide their emotions? Are they good at it?

Sometimes, especially romantic feelings. Romantic attraction? Nope, not possible- (It totally is; he’s in denial)

82. Do they exercise regularly?

With all of the walking he does around various holds, yes.

83. Are they comfortable with the way they look?

Yes. He’s a perfectionist with many things, but has learned to let go a bit more when it comes to his appearance. He still will take ages to get ready, though.

84. What are some physical features that they find attractive on people?

Tattoos, braids, basically everything you’d see on a typical Nord. It’s so different from his home and he’s completely enamored.

85. What kind of personalities do they find attractive?

Himbo nord men. Sweet morons basically.

86. Do they like sweet foods?

Not really. Sweet foods do have their place, but he isn’t wanting to get any cavities, so he tries to limit his sugar. (Especially since Altmer live 200-300 years aprox)

87. What is their age?

52 (~20s for an Altmer)

88. Are they tall or short or somewhere in between?

Tall, but about average for an Altmer

89. Do they wear glasses or contacts?

No, but if he did he would have half-moon spectacles.

90. Do they consider themselves attractive?

Not really. He doesn’t really think anyone is attractive. (Well, except for Nord himbos, but he doesn’t know that until he meets Farkas)

91. What is their sense of humor like?

Practically nonexistent, but when there is humor it’s mostly dry and sardonic.

92. What mood are they most often in?

That sort of focused work mode you get in when you’re really concentrating, as well as somewhat-sociable-but-still-kind-of-tired-and-grumpy

93. What kinds of things anger them?

People messing up his equipment. Oh sweet Auri-el, if you touch his things he will explode. Also, he hates the racism that the Thalmor promote. (He hates racism in general, but he hates the Thalmor’s views the most).

94. Outlook on life?

“It sucks, but I do find quite a bit fascinating and I’ll help where I can.”

95. What kind of things make them sad/depressed?

His perfectionism, how lonely he knows he is, and more.

96. What is their greatest weakness?

Again, his perfectionism, as well as having his work dictate more in his life than he should.

97. What is the greatest strength?

His brain. He remembers small details extremely well, and is practically an encyclopedia when it comes to alchemy.

98. Something that they regret?

How awful he used to be to everyone back home. He got a lot of pushback on his dreams and who he was, so he lashed out. Even though there wasn’t much he could do there, he still regrets hiring his family and wants to try at a relationship again with them (lol good luck).

99. Biggest accomplishment?

How is this different from “Greatest Achievement”?

100. Create your own! (Why is his alchemy so different from the norm?)

Because he’s trying to do something much more along the lines of modern medicine as opposed to just potions.

101. (Bonus!) Why is he in Skyrim?

Because it’s rather lacking in the medicine department compared to the other provinces, so he decided his talents would be best used there. Obviously, his family protested, but he went anyways.

[an-absolute-travesty]

Royal Screw-Ups

It’s time, the final chapter is here 

*Sobbing*

I won’t get too sappy on you guys here, since I got pretty sappy at the end of thing on Wattpad

But yeah. Thanks if you’ve been reading this long. I have more plans for this world (i have some plans for a few oneshots) but for this moment, we are closing out this story

If you’re looking for the rest of the story, it can be found on my wattpad @ohwowhatethis, under the tags “kotlc fic” and “keefex” on my blog, or under the cut on my pinned post

Tag list (tell me if you want to be added or removed, just for this story or as a whole): @you-are-the-vacker-legacy @ruewen-and-rising @lemontarto @a-lonely-tatertot @clearlykeefitz @percabetn @vibing-in-the-void @sewersewersewercouch @everyonehasthoughts @imaramennoodle @enbies-and-felonies @blxckh0les42​ @rainbowtay-11 @callas-starkflower-stew @impostertamsong @appalyneinstitute1 @stars-and-splendor @anna-without-an-e

Chapter 8:

Word count: 3,677

Warnings: swearing, cassi-ass being an ass, destruction, fire, chaos, etc.

Three months of planning later, servants scurried around the property in preparation for the ceremony the next day. A glass dome had been built in the center of the property to house it.

Tam and Linh had arrived soon after they had their first meeting, luckily Tam and Fitz weren’t as lovey-dovey in real life as they were in their letters. However, Marella and Linh very much made up for it. The moment they met the guard and the princess had a connection, the sweet talk was almost too much to bear.�� 

In fact, all of them had grown quite close over the past months. Who knew low-level treason could bring people together so. 

Of course, not nearly as close as he’d like with a certain person, but closer for sure. Every week they met back up at the library to work out bumps in their plan, clean up the absurd amount of paper Keefe used in drawing out his first plan, or just sit and talk. Today would be their last before the big day. 

Keefe watched over Dex’s shoulder as he made his final tinkers on the device he had been working on.  

“How’s it looking Techmaster?”

“Eh, having more metal makes everything easier but...it’s one use only, so I can’t test it. We just have to hope for the best.”

“Well, I have faith in you. Your genius brain could make anything.”

Dex rolled his eyes. Keefe wanted to subtly touch him to see if his blatant flirting had been noticed, but it felt wrong to. He had been stuck in the dark for the last 3 months. 

Everyone else ran their lines around the room. Everyone besides Sophie who, as typical of her, looked half way sick in the corner. 

Keefe sat down next to her on the floor.

“Alright, what’s up Foster, have you acquired a stomach bug?” 

She giggled. “No...it’s just…” She sighed. “It feels wrong, y’know? I mean...I don’t want to hurt anybody.”

“You’re really doing the opposite of hurting people though, I mean you’re making them happy.”

“Not happy, hysterical. Yeah it can be happy, but not in the way we’re doing it. Trust me, it’s not fun to watch.”

Keefe thought for a moment.

“Hey...your parents have that griffin, right?”

~*~

The sound of a wedding march echoed through the castle lawn as Sophie was led down the isle by her father. Keefe guessed she looked quite lovely in her dress, Biana, who stood as her maid of honor, was looking at her more like a husband would than him. He stood frozen at the alter, Fitz beside him as his best man and everyone else interspersed within the crowd for optimal dramatic effect. 

Sophie reached him at long last. Surprisingly enough, she didn’t look sickly this time. Her face steeled with determination gave him confidence. 

The guy marrying them together was one of Cassius’ officials. Keefe didn’t bother to remember most names anymore, but this one was a...Moland? Noland? Something like that. 

Everyone winced in unison as the man started talking, Keefe’s ears began to ring a bit at the volume.

“Lords and Ladies, we are gathered here today to celebrate the joyous union of our young Prince Keefe Sencen and the lovely Miss Sophie Foster-Ruewen.”

Keefe only realized he was fidgeting when Fitz subtly reached out and held his hand down from where it had been tapping on his leg.

“We are honored to be joined by so many friends and family. The Goom and Bride are overjoyed you all could be here to participate in this most important occasion.

“There are few greater joys in life than finding someone we truly connect with. Creatives have many names for this, a spark, clicking, but let us say today what it truly is: love.”

Keefe looked out into the crowd, he caught the eye of Dex. The redhead’s brow was crinkled and his cheeks flushed slightly. He pat the pocket of his coat in confirmation. 

“Love is what these two young souls have found in each other. In love, our truest selves are revealed. We open ourselves up and break down our walls. The veil we present to the public is lifted so we can be loved for who we are, not who we pretend to be.”

Keefe struggled to not roll his eyes. He took a final look around the room, each person nodding as he met eyes with them.

“Over these months, our Bride and Groom have developed a strong bond. This bond will only get stronger throughout the course of their marriage. Let us revel in the joy and love displayed in front of us today. May we treasure these memories as Prince Keefe and Miss Sophie get set to begin their new life together.”

Keefe took a deep breath, knowing the next words out of his mouth.

“If anyone has cause to object the forming of this union, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

3, 2, 1…

“I object!” 

0.

Stina first. “This marriage was meant to be mine! She’s just a dirty commoner!”

“How dare you!” Fitz cut in before anyone else could. “I object because I love her! Sophie is meant to be with me. Maruca has admitted her love to Keefe, let her marry him!”

Biana gasped dramatically. “Maruca you snake! You knew I loved him.”

“You only loved his title!” She screamed, standing up to match the rest. “And Fitz, if you’re so concerned with what Stina has to say about Sophie, you should hear what Wylie has to say.”

Fitz walked in Wylie’s direction and he stood. “Why you little-”

Just then, Keefe heard it. 

Beep. Beep. Beep. BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP.

BOOM.

An explosion burst a small part of the glass dome’s ceiling. Sophie let out an ear-splitting whistle and the griffin flew straight through the hole as the glass fell. Screams erupted through the room as the animal landed on chairs and destroyed the alter. 

The screams only got louder as the room was lit up as bright as the sun before swiftly being plunged into darkness. Those involved in the plan used the opportunity to gather themselves at the exit. With the exception of Biana and Marella who, if all went as planned, stood prepared by the very flammable reception tables. 

The darkness lifted and people quickly ran out, some of the more stuck up nobles guided by guards. Once everyone was out safely, Keefe watched as a red glow started and grew. Marella wasn’t visible, but anyone paying attention could see the two sets of footprints forming in the grass.

People ran farther from the dome swiftly filling with fire. It spread quickly, but before it could reach the outside, Linh yelled. 

“Everyone back up!”

She pulled water from a nearby pond, making a large wave that, while it put out the fires, crushed the dome in its entirety. 

~*~

Two hours later, the guests sat huddled in the ballroom of the castle, many wrapped in blankets and eating soup the kitchen served to recover from what they had been through. Through the window, Keefe saw the Ruewen parents attempting to calm their griffin after taking a long time to wrangle it. 

They were good at keeping secrets, they brought the animal here in the first place. 

Just as he started crossing the room to go talk to Dex, he felt a heavy hand grip his shoulder.

Cassius looked at him with a glare that could kill ten men. He wordlessly guided Keefe in the direction of his office and the prince obliged. 

When Keefe walked in the door, it was messier than he had ever seen it. Even his father himself was disheveled, his typically slick-backed hair uncharacteristically sloppy and his tunic smudged with soot. He sat down at his desk and heaved a sigh.  

“Do you know why I brought you in here?” 

“Because my wedding was destroyed?”

“Because we are going to plan a new one. I need you to collect everyone who had objections to get this idiotic drama cleared for the records. I’ve sent for Councillor Bronte, he can officiate you. You will have a wedding today, whether you get the ceremony or not.”

“One problem with that, Biana and Marella haven’t been found.”

Technically the truth. They were to hide in the Queen’s Gardens until further notice, but the Guard Force didn’t know that. 

Cassius was silent for a moment, his face hidden in his hands.

Then he started convulsing.

No, not convulsing.

Laughing.

“Of course!” He got up from his chair in one movement. “Of course they haven’t been found! Why am I even surprised anymore.” He threw his hands in the air. “Nothing ever goes right!” He spoke through his teeth as he pushed everything off of his desk.

“MY MARRIAGE” He cleared a bookshelf with one arm, dumping the junk to the ground. 

“MY LEADERSHIP!” He knocked over his chair.

“MY SON!” He grabbed the painting from the wall and threw it down. 

“ALL DISAPPOINTMENTS!” He pushed over his desk, it landed with a loud crash.

“And now this too? Nothing ever goes right! No matter how hard I try! No matter how much work I put in! Everything ends in failure!”

“It’s a good thing this was my wedding and not yours then.”

The door behind them opened without a knock. 

“King Cassius, is this a bad time?” Bronte looked at the office with contempt. 

“No, now works.”

Despite not being formally invited in, Bronte sat down on the overturned desk and pulled out a folder of paperwork. 

“So...we’re trying to do an emergency wedding, yes?”

Cassius nodded.

“And from my understanding, there were 1,2...4 objections that haven’t been cleared?”

Cassius nodded again.

“Then I’m afraid I can’t perform a wedding. Legally or morally considering the fact that fate itself seems against this union. It is traditional, when a wedding goes so badly, to accept that something in the universe is not accepting of the marriage and call it off.”

“I understand, Councillor. However, I am the goddamned king and you will do as I say!

Bronte was unfazed.

“Actually sir, with only a month until the coronation you have resigned some of your duties, as is customary. You don’t have full control over the law at the moment, you signed a contract.”

He pulled said contract out of his pocket, displaying the signature, before putting it back in.

“Prince Keefe and you now have split control, as you had when you had a spouse. You both must agree if you are to override a law.”

Cassius hid his face once again.

“Go. Get out of my sight.”

Keefe turned to leave but his father grabbed him.

“Just Bronte.”

The man shrugged and closed the door behind him.

“Keefe...do you know why I was so eager to get you in as king?”

Keefe said nothing. That was one thing he couldn’t figure out himself. 

“I am a shitty, shitty, king. I was never made to rule. Your mother? Yes. Yes she was. Me? No. Not at all. I thought I could do this job, I thought it would be cushy, I thought I’d have all the power in the kingdom as well as riches upon riches without having to work. I was wrong.

“I wanted to train you to do this better than I ever could. I wanted to make sure you were going to be prepared.”

“No.” Keefe’s eyes started to water in anger. “You wanted to train me up to take your job as soon as possible. You didn’t want the responsibility so you decided to hand it off to your child. It’s just like...it’s just like Mom. You were the judge and the jury but you were too much of a coward to be the executioner or even a mourner. You hand off all your problems for someone else to deal with. You’re a fucking coward and nothing else.”

“I cared Keefe!-”

“NO YOU DIDN’T.” Tears streamed down his face. “You never cared about me, you never cared about Mom, you never cared for anything or anybody but yourself. 

“I don’t love Sophie and I never will, but you tried to make me marry her because you loved the idea of the strong son with a quiet woman. That shows how much you care.”

“It was what I thought was best.”

“WELL YOU WERE WRONG.”

Keefe walked out and slammed the door. 

~*~

Keefe went to his room and sobbed. He rarely indulged himself in crying but today was one of the days he let himself. It was maybe an hour later, when he was out of tears and just laid staring up at his ceiling, that he heard a knock on the door.

When he opened it, no one stood there. Just a small note in scratchy handwriting. 

“Meet us at the library, midnight”

~*~

Keefe carefully sneaked through the castle halls, only the candle he held lit his way. He slowly cracked open the library door.

“SURPRISE!”

Suddenly a whole group of people attacked him in a hug, rainbow lights filled the normally dull room. 

“W-what is all this?”

“It’s a surprise party silly!” For the first time since he’d seen her, Sophie looked truly happy. “We don’t have to get married! And we got out of it without any serious injuries.”

Fitz pulled him over to a table. “C’mon, Bi stole some leftover cake no one ate from the kitchens.”

He looked around for Dex hoping to see his beaming smile and instead saw him sitting solemnly in the corner. He didn’t look Keefe’s way. 

“Hey Fee, are you okay?” Apparently Fitz just now noticed his still puffy face.

“Yeah um...just my dad being a jerk again. Don’t worry about it.”

Fitz shrugged it off, he knew about jerky dads.

Or he used to, anyway. That bastard Alden ran away a long time ago. 

Keefe tried to partake in the festivities but he found it hard. He was going to be king in a month, and hopefully a good one at that. Just about anything was better than Cassius. He should be celebrating right now. But...there was still something bothering him. 

It was approaching the wee hours of the morning as people slowly trickled out. Wylie had long since dropped the rainbow lights. They had been celebrating for hours, Dex was silent nearly the whole time. 

“Alright.” Fitz said through a yawn. “I’m tapping out. Night Fee. Last one standing has to clean everything up.”

Keefe nodded. When he finally left the room and they were all alone, he approached Dex. Still silent in the corner.

“Okay, what’s going on Techmaster? You seem down.”

“No it’s just...it’s hard to explain.”

“Take your time, if you’d like.” Keefe sat down criss cross in front of him.

His lips went pouty in a way that made Keefe realize he was staring at his lips.

“You’ll think I’m weird. And clingy. And jealous. Honestly I shouldn’t even be saying any of this right now but I make bad decisions at 3 A.M. I guess.”

“Hey, you can tell me anything.” Keefe started to reach his hand out to Dex before remembering he shouldn’t read his emotions. Dex grabbed it before he could pull away. A lot of sadness and hurt there. He quickly stopped reading, though their hands stayed locked. 

“It’s just...there’s this person. This guy. And...and I thought maybe he liked me but now I think he has a boyfriend. I’m not sure though.”

Keefe’s heart dropped. “Well...boyfriend status can be changed.”

Dex chuckled. “I don’t know, they have nicknames for each other and everything.”

“Sounds serious.”

“Looks serious.”

It was silent for a moment, then Dex spoke.

“Look...don’t worry about it, alright? It’s really no big deal. I’ll get over it, I guess.”

“Maybe he likes you back.”

“I highly doubt it. I’m...I’m not good enough for him. I’m just a servant. He deserves someone better.”

“Why does being a servant mean you’re bad? I’ve met some nobles that are real assholes. You’re way better than all of those fuckers.”

Dex laughed again, wow Keefe could listen to that forever. 

Dex sighed. “You know what? Screw it.”

He seemed to steel himself before saying his next sentence. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly. 

“Are you dating Fitz?”

“What?” Keefe laughed awkwardly. “No, no, no. He’s just a friend.”

“Oh. Then...who were you talking about at the gardens? I- I thought it was Fitz and you guys got together and-”

“No, goodness no. Fitz is great and all but...well he’s just not my type. And he’s been dating Tam for a while now.”

“Oh I uh...I didn’t notice.” Dex’s face flushed furiously. “Who were you talking about then?”

Keefe met his eyes. “Depends, who were you talking about?”

He didn’t answer but his silence spoke more than any words could.

Keefe scooted closer and cupped Dex’s face in his hand. He looked into the boys periwinkle eyes.

“Dex, can I kiss you?”

“Please?”

And they did.

When Keefe heard descriptions of kissing the same gender, they always said that it felt wrong somehow. But this...this only felt right. Like he had been waiting his whole life for the moment when he met the gardener boy’s cracked lips. They weren’t soft, and the kiss was a bit awkward, but it just felt...correct. Keefe chased the kiss slightly when they finally had to pull away. 

A shy smile spread across Dex’s face.

Keefe leaned back in.

~*~

Keefe walked out onto the newly-built stage in front of the castle and looked upon his people. His ceremonial robe was itchy and too large for him.

Cassius was no where to be seen. He had just...run away. The day of the wedding was the day he broke. The kingdom had been sovereignless for the last month, coronations couldn't be rushed. 

Typically the previous king would place the crown upon the head of the new ruler. Because Cassius seemed to run away in the night with nothing more than a clump of riches, Keefe got to choose who would crown him. 

“Friends and subjects of the Kingdom of Eternalia,” Oralie started. “Today, we crown a new ruler. A ruler to put the people first. A ruler who will not sleep until every one of his people is fed. A ruler to unite us.”

Keefe never realized how long winded Oralie was. Looking into the crowd, he spotted Sophie. She wore a sour expression.

Sophie never was a fan of Oralie, she wouldn’t tell him why. 

“Prince Keefe has shown a care for his people deeper than any king before him.”

She could say that again. Keefe found Dex in the crowd, absolutely beaming.

“In the time I have had the honor of teaching him in my lessons, he has shown a willingness to learn. An ability to adapt. And a knowledge of the system as well as its successes and failures deeper than anyone else his age.

And yes, it is truly a shame that a king must be crowned this young, but I have no doubt that in time he will do right by our great kingdom.”

Oralie walked over to him, her pink flowy dress trailing behind her. She picked up the ceremonial crown off the pillow that a servant was holding.

“Prince Keefe of Eternalia, do you promise to uphold the law and do what is right for your people to the best of you abilities?”

“I do.”

“And do you promise to preserve the honor of our nation?”

“I do.”

A loud voice came from the crowd.

“AND DO YOU PROMISE TO NOT LET CASSI-ASS BACK INTO THE THRONE ROOM?” Keefe could tell it was Marella, but no one else had to know that.

He cracked a smile. “I do.”

Oralie chuckled too.

“In that case, Keefe Sencen of Eternalia, with this crown I deem you King of Eternalia. May you have a long and peaceful reign.”

The heavy crown was placed upon his head. The crowd cheered and chanted, his friends yelled the loudest. Keefe saw as Fitz lifted Biana on his shoulders, they all hugged and screamed excitedly. 

Who he noticed most of all was Dex. His bright smile in that moment was worth everything he’d been through. 

Maybe he had found someone he didn’t mind being with.

~*~

Like most days, it was a somewhat quiet day at the castle. 

Keefe looked up from his painting to study the gardens, once called the Queen’s Gardens, but that was ages ago. The wall that once surrounded the beautiful landscape was knocked down a very long time ago. 

Keefe smiled as he spotted Dex tending to some ivy that had grown on one of the ancient statues. Even being a king couldn’t keep his husband from assisting the gardeners. 

Tomorrow, some old friends were visiting. That in itself wasn’t particularly special, as they visited at least twice a year (usually more), but tomorrow was special because it was the anniversary of the Great Wedding Destruction as historians had come to call it. 

How many years had it been? 300? 400? One tends to forget. 

After 50 years or so, they admitted to planning the whole event. By then, Keefe had already convened with the councillors to pass same gender marriage and gotten married to Dex. The law couldn’t exactly do much, it had been a while and no one was injured so any fear of being charged with treason was history.

A few minutes later, Dex trudged into Keefe’s art studio. 

“Hey lovey, do you know where I put the high-power garden clippers?”

“I hope in your lab, but you might want to check the kitchens.”

“Why would they be in the kitchens?”

“Heard some buzzing coming from there and last time I saw the nieces they had frosting all over their faces.”

Chaos ran in the Dizznee family. 

Dex sighed as they heard a loud bang followed by an “Oops.” from downstairs. 

“Gosh if Rex doesn’t pick up his children soon...I won’t do anything but I’ll be sour about it.”

Keefe chuckled. “You might want to go check on them, wouldn’t want them to break your invention. If they haven’t already.”

Dex hummed noncommittally. “Whatcha drawing?”  

“Just a boring landscape...that happens to include a dragon.”

Dex leaned over the easel. “It’s a very pretty boring landscape that happens to include a dragon.”

“Thank you very much, dearest.” Keefe leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. “Now you may want to actually check on the girls. I don’t think Elwin can heal severed fingers.”

“Yeah, okay.”

As he walked from the room that used to be Cassius’ office he yelled, “Emily! Leah! Please don’t be killing each other-”

Keefe just smiled. He did that a lot nowadays. 

He hoped these days would last forever.

[sarah-snook]

Hello! If possible, could you reccomend your favorite chaptered reddie fics?

ohhh yes! i love doing fic recs!!! i haven’t been asked for one in a while! here goes! it’s my bday today so i’m gonna be rereading (or finishing) all of these as a treat haha

some of these might be in progress so just be aware of that!

ask me to stay by @feldmancorey↬ word count: 36,036 | chapters: 7/7 | rating: T

“Your lip is all busted,” Eddie said, as though pointing out that Richie’s lips were injured would somehow make it okay that Eddie was paying attention to them. Richie’s hand came up, long fingers wrapping around Eddie’s tiny wrist, and he gently guided Eddie’s touch away.

Eddie finally wrenched his eyes away from Richie’s lips and met his best friend’s gaze. There was a softness there that he rarely got to see, not even the smallest hint of teasing or joking there. It was just Richie, just Richie looking at him and Eddie looking back. For a single moment, it was just Richie and Eddie alone in the world. Nothing to bother them, nothing to live up to.

[or: the year is 1994, and Eddie Kaspbrak is in love.]

the real world by @feldmancorey↬ word count: 15,796 | chapters: 5/18 | rating: T

The lights in the Tozier house were on.

Nearly four months ago, Eddie’s best friend, Richie Tozier, had seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth. He’d stopped coming to school, wouldn’t answer texts, and stopped posting on all social media. The home phone would ring and ring until the caller hung up. The driveway had been empty. The grass on the front lawn had overgrown and wilted. The house never went up for sale but for four long months, it was as though the Tozier family had simply disappeared.Until now, with Went’s car sat in the driveway and the living room lights all flicked on. Eddie could see movement through the windows. It was as though the world had picked back up from where it had stopped, without a hint of change.

[or: after a sudden and unexplained disappearance, richie tozier returns to derry with a secret that no one person could ever hope to hold onto.]

One caramel macchiato, on me by @jem-carstairs-is-perfection↬ word count: 11,058 | chapters: 2/2 | rating: T

“Oh shit.” Richie swore and looked around hoping he’d missed another empty seat somewhere in the classroom so he didn’t have to take this one.

He hadn’t.

With an apologetic shrug he said, “I know I’m the last person you want to see right now, probably ever and trust me, I’d fuck off if I could, but that’s literally the only seat left.”

The guy sighed but didn’t move, staring ahead, perhaps hoping Richie would disappear if he ignored him hard enough.

Richie couldn’t help but share the sentiment. “I promise I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

“It’s your elbows I’m more worried about.”

or Richie and Eddie have the opposite of a meet-cute. When their paths cross again, neither is too happy about it ―at first.

Un Nouveau Soleil by @eddiefuckinkaspbrak↬ word count: 33,353 | chapters: 3/3 | rating: E

It was three months into his first year that Richie met Eddie for the first time. Edward Frank Kaspbrak. The man who would become the love of his life.

And Richie had no idea.

or: Richie is the heir to the British Throne who decides to study abroad at Harvard University. There, he meets Eddie Kaspbrak and they fall in love…duh.

The Greater Fool Series by @yallreddieforthis↬ word count: 47,573 | chapters: 7 parts | rating: varies

Begins a couple months after the end of the movie. Follows an alternate timeline in which none of the Losers other than Beverly move away from Derry, and none of them forget It or each other.

oh, somebody loves you by slytherincosette↬ word count: 12,341 | chapters: 3/3 | rating: NR

“‘I already know I’ll smell Eddie’s mom,” Richie announces to no one in particular, “I’ve never met her, but we’re soulmates. I imagine she smells like lemon cleaning supplies and antacid. Very sexy.’

Eddie lets his head drop onto the table.”

Amortentia is encountered in Potion’s class and everything goes to shit. Basically a romantic comedy set at Hogwarts. Everyone is Bad At Feelings, until they’re not.

He Asks How I Am by @themightychipmunk↬ word count: 19,369 | chapters: 4/4 | rating: T

After a year of writing to each other through an anonymous pen pal program, Eddie and Richie end up at the same school, completely unaware of their deeper connection.

Things get pretty gay.

and this is who we are by sunsetozier↬ word count: 40,763 | chapters: 8/8 | rating: M

He realizes, suddenly, that being in a position like this meant nothing to him two weeks ago. At the time, it was completely normal, holding no real meaning other than comfort and tradition – after all, him and Eddie have been disgustingly cuddly with one another since they were kids, even though they’d usually bicker while holding each other close, much to the annoyance (and entertainment) of their friends.

Now, however, Richie can feel his heart skip a beat in his chest, an undeniable thundering that echoes loudly in his ears. He can picture his younger self, as much of an oblivious idiot as he may have been, soaking in the warmth and the affection of Eddie’s touch when they hugged, shoved, or even just nudged one another. It’s funny, really, how much changes once you’re aware of how you feel.

[In which Eddie and Beverly lie to their friends for five years before finally coming out, much to the surprise of one supposedly straight Richie Tozier.]

the boy who cried (wolf) by @jortsbian↬ word count: 21,784 | chapters: 3/5 | rating: T

The following events seemed to happen in slow motion, which would probably have looked cool as fuck if Richie hadn’t been a gangly uncoordinated teen and if it had been a cool action movie instead of real life: the wolf lunged at Eddie. Richie, in a fit of anger and fear-fueled adrenaline, kicked at the wolf as hard as he could. The wolf twisted its head and sunk its teeth into Richie’s leg. Richie’s thoughts turned blank except for oh shit. Eddie screamed something at the wolf and sprayed it in the eyes with his inhaler. The wolf whimpered, released Richie’s leg, and stumbled blindly into the woods. Richie thought another oh shit as Eddie scrambled over to him and asked him—something. The world went dark.

AKA, the one where Richie’s a werewolf and that’s the least of his worries (or maybe not, but sue him for being dramatic, will you?)

call my bluff, call you babe by @hyruling↬ word count: 16,527 | chapters: 2/3 | rating: M

“Why can’t I ask Bill?”

“Because— he’s basically a celebrity too. That’s just. It’s already weird enough to people that you two even know each other, pretending to be romantically involved is just opening up a whole can of worms. I’m outside.”

“‘Romantically involved’, when did you start writing for The Sun, Eds,” Richie teases with a chuckle, just as Eddie reaches the final turn down Richie’s hallway. “That doesn’t really… I mean, people know we were friends when we were kids, so—”

“Just pretend to be my date,” Eddie says, and—

And nearly throws his phone into the fucking wall.

Thanks for Pudding up with Me by MooeyDooey↬ word count: 62,809 | chapters: 7/8 | rating: E

Eddie Kaspbrak was once one of the most influential professional chefs in New York. After an unfortunate incident in his kitchen, he loses his job and most of his earnings. Down on his luck, with no where else to go, he accepts a job offer with the ragtag ‘Prospect Test Kitchen’ in Boston.

What starts as a small passion project, making cooking tutorials online, becomes a lot more complicated and bigger than they could ever imagine when Bill brings in a new addition to their team. A comedian with a shocking background and surprise talent for culinary arts: Richie Tozier.

Eddie’s the only one who doesn’t like the new recruit, but Bill bribes Eddie into giving Richie a chance. At the end of six months, Richie’s contract will expire. Eddie will get to decide whether they offer him a contract renewal, or refuse to re-hire him.

Things are heating up in the Prospect street Test Kitchen! Will Eddie stick to his guns, and keep his dignity? Or will he get lost in the sauce?

[98prilla]

Abductions, Past and Present

Next

Previous

AO3

...

He knocks on the door softly, wincing at the startled yelp he hears from the other side, but he hears a ‘come in’ before he can apologize. He peeks open the door, and it takes him a moment to find Remus, who is sitting in the corner of the room, knees pulled to his chest, to the left of the door.

 “I brought you some pancakes.” He starts simply. “Would you like the door open, or closed if I intend on staying in here with you?” He asks, not missing Remus’s surprised consideration at the question. He knows well enough the importance of choices.

 “closed is fine.” Remus says after a moment, and he nods, closing the door softly. He slides the plate of pancakes across the floor to Remus, grabbing a spare blanket and wrapping it around his shoulders as he settles in the corner opposite Remus, idly looking around the room, careful not to make Remus feel stared at or watched.

 “They taste great, by the way. The pancakes. And I know Patton enjoyed the company.” He comments, noticing how Remus’s shoulders tense a bit, though he does take a bite of food, savoring the fluffiness and heavenly sweetness of syrup. In only a few minutes, the plate is slid back across the room to Janus, who sets it aside.

 “you didn’t need to come check on me.” Remus mumbles, and he hums for a moment, thinking.

 “I didn’t. And I will leave if you want. Tell the others you’re just resting, and to leave you alone, if you like.” Remus considers for a moment, before shaking his head, resting it atop his knees. He relaxes back against the wall, stretching out his legs and looking up at the ceiling, letting Remus set the pace.

 “I was excited. And I yelled. And I asked for something.” Janus tilts his head to show he’s listening, but still doesn’t look away from the ceiling, knowing the weight of a gaze is not welcome.

 “you did. And while it did startle everyone, it made all of us happy, to see you happy about something.” He replies evenly.

 “I’m not allowed to be loud. It gets me in trouble. Which really means it gets Roman in trouble. It means… it means he gets hurt. I know… I know it’s not like that anymore, but… but I still expect it, I can’t… I can’t not.” He lets out a low breath, nodding, finally tilting his head so he’s looking at Remus.

“I know. I was younger, and alone, but I can imagine, if they’d stolen one of my nest mates along with me, how hard I would cling to them as my life line, how hard I would fight to keep them safe. I learned obedience quickly, with the help of their tools” he spits the word, “though pain was unavoidable.” He can still feel the needle sharp jolts of pain over every inch of what was once scales, his flesh torn and raw and red, each one meticulously plucked from his skin for some fine lady’s jewelry or a rich man’s fancy cape, the type of pain that didn’t even hurt after a day, just made his stomach roil and his balance lopsided, ill and feverish and weak from it.

 “I suppose they took better care of me than they did you. I wasn’t a lab rat, and they couldn’t afford to lose me. They fed me well so my scales would stay shining and bright, would always tend to my injuries carefully so they would grow back in well after every pluck. Lots of IV’s, to keep me hydrated and get nutrients in me.”

 “how often?”

 “Once every month, month and a half. I was eight, when they grabbed me. I was 21 when they got me out.” Remus lets out a low whistle at that, the silence lingering for a moment, and he can feel Remus studying him, debating something in the silence.

 “how… did you stop? Forgetting where you are, I mean. Or… knowing where you are and just… not being able to believe it?” He sighs, letting his eyes meet Remus’s, a small, bitter smile on his lips.

 “you don’t, really. I’m still expecting something to go to hell, and somedays I can’t leave my room, convinced for some reason that if I walk out I’ll see the hospital white halls. Some nights I still wake up, thrashing and screaming, and some nights I don’t sleep at all, and some days I cannot stand to have anyone touch me. It comes and it goes. It just… comes less and stays for shorter amounts of time, the longer I’m here with people I trust.”

 “that fucking sucks.” Remus mumbles softly, picking at his shirt. He shrugs.

 “yeah. But it’s still better than the real thing. And everyone knows to respect whatever boundaries I lay down, no matter how often they shift and change from day to day. You won’t get in trouble for allowing someone the privilege of touching you one day, then saying no touch the next. Or allowing one person touch, but denying another. I know me saying it doesn’t just magically let you believe it, but they’ll show it to you, over time. Because every time you say something, or ask for something, or get loud and excited, and expect that punishment? It won’t come. Until you start to believe them when they say it won’t ever.”

 Remus meets his eyes again, for longer this time, once again on the brink of saying something, but unsure if he can cross that precipice. He knows that feeling, hell, he probably knows all the exact things going through Remus’s mind right now, because they’ve sped through his own a thousand times.

 “so if… if I wanted touch now… you wouldn’t just pat me on the back or something later, when… when I’m not expecting it?” Remus finally asks, though he can tell it’s a precursor to what he really wants. Still, he’ll never push. He just nods.

 “Yes. And if you did want touch it would also be ok if you only wanted a specific kind of touch. Hand holding, arm around the shoulders, full on cuddling, that kind of thing. It is always open and up to you to decide what you are and are not ok with. You can always ask for more. Likewise, you can always ask for less, if you decide something is too much.” He answers, trying to keep his voice soft and purely informational, trying to make this easier.

 He's surprised when Remus nods decisively once, takes a deep breath, then scoots across the floor to him, carefully settling against him so that their sides are touching. Somehow he expected to be the one to go to Remus, not the other way around. He’s almost afraid to move, afraid to scare Remus away.

 “have… have you ever gone back? To your home planet?”

 “Once. Just to see. It was strange, being there. It felt right but… empty. So much of who you are as a Naga is built on what nest you’re from, what family in that nest you belong to, and I don’t have any of that. I was an outsider in my own home. It… hurt, but I think I needed it to. I had already planned on staying aboard, I just had to make sure.” Remus nods.

 “I miss home. I wonder what movies have come out, what my friends grew up to be, what my parents are doing now. If they stayed together or got divorced, or maybe had more kids, or maybe adopted. I could see that. They always wanted to foster. But we can’t even check, can we? That’s not the rules for Earth.”

 “no. they aren’t.” He replies. Earth is just starting to open up to aliens, just starting its space exploration, just a baby in the grand scheme of space, and thus heavily regulated, both by the planet itself and other universal aid to keep other planets from interfering in Earth’s development. No, returning home for the brothers is impossible, at least for the foreseeable future.

 Remus rests his head on his shoulder with a sigh, and he is once again terrified to move, to scare the skittish human away.

  “Logan said we’ll be touching down somewhere in a few days. I’m going to lose it as soon I step outside, I know it. I’m trying to brace myself already, trying to remember what real sun feels like, what wind or grass or trees even look like, what solid ground feels like, and I can’t. How pathetic is that? Ten years of my life, I spent outside every second I could, and now I can barely remember what outside is.”

 “Lose it, then. Scream and cry and pound the ground and punch a tree and laugh while sobbing like a maniac. It’ll make you feel better, extremely satisfying, really.” He replies, remembering his first time off ship. He’d just sat on the ground in the sun, just crying. Just endlessly crying. Remus lets out a small snort, gently bumping his shoulder against him.

 “I’m sure that would go over well with the locals. ‘Oh that? That’s just the human, losing his shit, don’t worry, he probably won’t break your shit or kill any of you, though he is half feral.’ I’m sure that would put their minds right at ease.” He simply shrugs again.

 “Fuck ‘em. I can move faster than nearly any other species, and I’ll bite whoever wants to even think of trying something. It’s a small planet, yes, but a common way fair point for smaller ships like ours. Smuggling isn’t uncommon in the galaxies, Remus, and they’ve seen their fair share of refugees. We wouldn’t be taking you somewhere you wouldn’t be safe.” He softens, feeling Remus sigh.

 “I… know. That’s what’s hardest. Is knowing that I somehow trust all of you because it terrifies me, all the extra ways I could hurt cause of it. All the different ways any… any of you could hurt me.” He doesn’t say anything to that. There’s nothing he can say, that will ease Remus’s mind. Only time can do that, as painful as it is to see that doubt creep in, he knows it can’t be vanquished so easily. “could… could you… hold me?” Remus asks, voice small, and instantly he shifts, allowing Remus to slip onto his lap, wrapping the blanket around them both, one hand resting on Remus’s waist, the other gently stroking up and down his back.

 “Is this alright?” He murmurs softly, and Remus lets out a small, content hum, eyes drifting closed where his head rests against his chest. He smiles smally, humming softly, that lilting lullaby from his memories, watching Remus’s face finally relax as he fell fully asleep.

 Of course, now he couldn’t move, stuck as he was with a human on his lap, not that he minded, really. It felt… nice, having someone curled against him, his own temperature rising to cozily warm as Remus’s supplied extra to compensate for his colder body temp, it felt… natural.

 This is how Naga were supposed to sleep. Curled up together, piled on top of each other, tangled around each other, and it had been a long, long time since he let anyone hold him, not even Patton, despite his intrinsic need for touch. He avoided it like the plague most of the time, because he couldn’t stand to have a taste of it, only to lose it again.

 But now, Remus is curled in his lap, and his senses are on fire, and he feels warm, and whole, and full, in an aching, needy sort of way, and he knows that plan is out the window, hurtling into the dark abyss of space, because this is absolutely pure bliss, and he finds himself snuggling closer to Remus, resting his head in Remus’s hair with a soft sigh.

 Yes. Remus reminds him far, far too much of himself, for either of their own goods.

[mobius-prime]

260. Sonic the Hedgehog #191

Metal and Mettle (Part 1)

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! Colors: Josh Ray

A few days after Scourge and the Suppression Squad have taken control of Freedom HQ, Miles alerts Scourge to an interesting and unexpected visitor - namely, Metal Sonic, through whom Eggman is speaking and watching.

Yeah, don't underestimate a fellow evildoer, Scourge. Meanwhile in New Mobotropolis, Sonic and Knuckles stand before the Council of Acorn to try to get permission to take the base back. Unfortunately for them, the council votes four to two to leave it for the time being, as they don't see Scourge as that big of a threat, and want to focus on taking New Megaopolis from Eggman before going after smaller holdings. Sonic, of course, does not take this well, and tries to talk to Knuckles about it once they exit the building.

Oh, Knuckles. You have to stop angsting about this, my dude. Sonic leaves the city on his own, musing as he races back to Freedom HQ about how despite their recent successes in battle, and many gains against Eggman and his forces, he can't help a strange feeling that overall they're losing ground. He hopes that kicking Scourge out of the base will cheer him up, but is brought up short by the sight of Scourge and Metal Sonic battling it out on the grass outside. Miles stands nearby watching, and not-so-subtly tests Scourge's leadership by asking if he wants help against Metal, as surely the others helping him would only be an insult since he conquered his planet on his own. Sonic, uninterested in any of the politics, merely barrels in to help, offering Scourge a truce to take Metal out, but Scourge angrily refuses, and both he and Metal turn on Sonic to attack. Meanwhile, Julie-Su finds Knuckles brooding on a bench in the park, and when she presses to know what's bothering him he snaps, yelling that he can't trust himself or anyone else, as no matter what he does, someone always ends up hurt, and he can't bear to face the few remaining members of his family. Julie-Su reaches for him, looking at first like she's going to comfort him, but then…

I mean, all things considered, Julie-Su, you make a fantastic point. Your family's loss has been largely glossed over until now - I don't think she was even given a single panel before now to mourn the deaths of her foster parents, despite how delighted she was to rediscover them before - and as you point out, it's not like Knuckles is suffering alone. Back at Freedom HQ, the fight continues, with Eggman telling Metal to hang in there as he's putting the "finishing touches" on some backup. Sonic and Scourge briefly wind up fighting each other without Metal's interference, during which Sonic criticizes Scourge for taking his advice to better himself to a brutal, negative extreme. Scourge merely mocks Sonic's restraint, pointing out how much more powerful he is as a king than as a hero.

Ooh, dramatic parallels to their prior talk! I love it! Metal interrupts before Sonic can respond, and as the fight continues once more we move this time to Angel Island, where Knuckles is having a talk with Archimedes while Charmy sits nearby.

So something that needs to be pointed out is that inexplicably, this is Archimedes' last appearance in the comic, ever. Unlike all the other characters who have disappeared from the comic, there's no reason given - no genocide, no dimensional portal to swallow him up, no deaths or sudden decisions to leave and find himself on another continent, nothing. He just… never shows up again. It's disappointing, as y'all know how much I like Archimedes, but again I really do think this stems from Ian's weird, irritating habit of erasing a lot of Kenders' contributions to this world. I know that he's trying to make the comic's world more like the games, and that in the games, Knuckles is the last echidna and isn't embroiled in all these politics, but dammit, there's nothing wrong with comic Knuckles being so different from game Knuckles! Personality-wise, he's still similar, still recognizable, it's just his circumstances that are different. Then again, maybe I shouldn't be blaming Ian for all of this - for all I know, Sega themselves ordered him to get rid of all of this stuff. I dunno, man, I'm just some random fan with a blog. Speaking of controversial decisions by Ian, though, it's nice to see him doing his best to treat Charmy's brain damage with respect here. He certainly acts more childlike than he once did, but he's doing his best, and isn't a punchline, still actively participating in missions and helping Knuckles sort his own problems out.

Anyway, Knuckles, encouraged by his mentor's words, uses his warp ring to head back to the city, where he and Julie-Su give a curt apology to each other with an agreement to sort things out more fully later, when he's had more time to work through his emotional distress. They consider heading to Freedom HQ to help Sonic, but Knuckles believes that Sonic can most likely handle the situation on his own. Of course, we know better - Sonic might be able to take on Scourge or Metal individually, but both at once is a real challenge. He kicks Metal aside, only to be startled by the sight of another robot coming to join the fray - a robot that looks exactly like Scourge. Wow, Eggman, you really didn't waste any time on that one, huh? How many Metal Sonics do you think he has lying around in his base just ready for a paint job and a new assignment?

Though there's another story in this issue, we won't be covering it. Why? Well, it's the first real installment of "In Another Time, In Another Place"! I've mentioned it before, but it's basically what Ian decided to do when it was clear he couldn't keep putting in half-adaptions of random games anymore, but still needed to do tie-ins for newly-released games. With the pattern we've been taking with these tie-ins lately, you'd think this one would be for Sonic '06, but nope! For whatever reason, Sonic '06 goes completely unacknowledged within the comic verse (at least for now), with the sole exception of Shadow joining up with GUN. However, as I've mentioned before, Ian did state somewhere along the way that Sonic '06 did in fact happen somewhere during the course of the comic's plotline - it's just that due to the very nature of the game's story, the events of the plot are entirely reset and erased from the timeline at the end, meaning an adaption doesn't even have to take place, as technically, even though those events did happen, they also… didn't.

But all that aside, the tie-in in today's issue is actually for the little-remembered DS title, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, which was an RPG developed by Bioware of all companies (and yes, they did include one of their trademark Bioware romance sidequests, though it's probably of little interest to anyone who doesn't ship Sonamy). While again, we're not covering it due to it being non-canon, it's an important thing to note regardless. For one, these In Another Time, In Another Place installments became pretty commonplace throughout the comic as new games were released, but perhaps more importantly, this was the game that apparently really got under Kenders' skin. The problem is that after all he'd done to develop the world of the echidnas and all the political and military factions thereof, this game's plot ended up heavily centering around a band of echidnas in dark armor emerging from a parallel dimension where time moves more slowly, with an intent to take the Master Emerald and use it to cement their place of power in the real world once more, though one female echidna realizes the error of her people's ways and abandons her army to side with Knuckles against her megalomaniacal and powerful male leader. Gee, sound familiar? While I don't believe that Bioware or Sega actually copied Kenders' ideas outright - the way I've described it makes it sound similar, but there's a ton of differences in the plot and presentation that definitely indicate they're two different ideas by different people - Kenders certainly seems to think it's a rip-off, and this was from what I understand at the core of all his problems with Sega that led to his eventual lawsuit that forced the reboot of the comic. It sucks, too, because even aside from losing all the years of history in the preboot, the plot of Sonic Chronicles was actually quite fascinating and it ended on a cliffhanger, which will never, ever be resolved because Sega doesn't even want to touch that can of worms after everything that happened. I think the game has actually been quietly stricken from canon, too, because the cliffhanger literally involved Eggman having taken over the world while everyone was away, and there's just no way to solve something like that offscreen. Just a bad time all around, folks. As they say in the fandom - thanks, Ken Penders. Still, though, we have quite a ways to go before we hit the preboot's end, so let's forget about the negative stuff and keep trucking on.

[lannister-slings-and-arrows]

“I feel like an idiot—I stuck up for you against everyone!” w javi 🥺

Javi x Steve because apparently I’m incapable of anything else. Sorry lol

Steve had felt like he was treading water in the middle of the ocean since… since Horacio had died. Some days he managed to almost forget what had happened, they would all get so busy chasing leads, chasing Pablo, that he would barely remember anyone else besides Escobar, Javi, and himself even existed. Then they would join up with Search Bloc and go on the hunt and there would be someone new, someone different, sitting in the front seat- his seat. And he would remember it and it would hurt all over again. A new wave would smack him in the face and try to drown him and he would have to fight through it to get to the other side and have a moment of calm floating again. If just for a few seconds. He could do that. Live through the bad moments for those fleeting periods of rest. He could. This would get better. Eventually it had to get better.

No, it was Javi he was really concerned with. The waves seemed to wash over him harder and more frequently and he didn’t think he was as strong of a swimmer as Steve was.

It was hard watching Javi go through this. One second he was more irascible than usual and Steve would need to keep at least six feet back and as far out of sight as possible if he didn’t want to get hit with the stray bullets of his rage and grief. He was apt to lash out at anyone or anything that got in his way or looked at him a half second too long and he could be vicious. The broken chair and smashed lamp in his apartment were a testament to that. Steve had borne the brunt of his unique form of mourning on more than one occasion when he wasn’t observant enough or fast enough to get out of the way and he tried not to resent that.

Because he didn’t have those precious moments of just floating calmly and gently between the waves of pain that Steve did. Between the waves of remembering that caused his outbursts, Javi was just sad. Just broken. And honestly, Steve hated those hours more. He would come home to find his partner sitting in the dark, staring at the floor or the ceiling or something of Horacio’s they had missed when they boxed up all of his things that had somehow migrated to their place. He wouldn’t look up at Steve as he made his way over to him. He wouldn’t flinch or give any acknowledgement that he recognized anyone else was in the apartment when Steve would sit next to him and touch his shoulder or his neck or his waist. He would allow himself to be drawn into Steve’s arms and would continue to just stare.

Occasionally Steve would feel a shuddering breath drawn into Javi’s smoke damaged lungs and the broad shoulders more used to carrying than being carried would shake under his arms. Steve preferred those signs of life to the passive way Javi would allow his body to be moved and manipulated however Steve wanted.

Steve defended Javi’s terrible temper at work to anyone he heard criticize him. He never mentioned the death of Carrillo, not only was he not confident that he could without breaking down himself, but no one else needed to know how close the three of them had been. That was private, that was theirs, he knew Javier would not appreciate his coworkers having that kind of insight into his real life. What the three of them had cobbled together, with each other and for each other, couldn’t really be explained to an outsider anyways. Steve had barely understood it himself. But he was able to snap back that Javier had been down in this shithole country longer than nearly all of them and he was tired. Tired of the corruption preventing him from doing his job. Tired of not knowing who he could trust to keep the secrets necessary to ensure all of the idiots he worked with got back to base safe every night. Tired of the differing agendas between different American government agencies and all of those agencies and the factions within the Colombian leadership. Tired of fucking everything.

“So maybe all you lazy fucks should back off and leave him alone. You don’t like getting barked at? Stop doing things that are gonna make him bark atcha.”

Steve was frustrated and sad and mourning and tired and lonely. He missed Connie and the baby. He missed Horacio with a special kind of ache that he didn’t think would ever go away no matter how many hundreds of miles eventually separated him from the place where he had been shot.

Most of all he missed Javi. The Javi he had fallen in love with who sighed like he was so put upon every time he had to translate for his gringo partner, but who’s mustache twitched up at the side in the way Steve knew meant he was trying not to smile.

He missed not having to fight the rest of his co-workers on his partner’s behalf. He didn’t want to have to keep beating them away from Javi so his partner could sit and wallow by himself, isolate from everything except his thoughts of revenge.

He wasn’t entirely sure what Javier was doing those times that he slipped away from the base or the apartment at odd times by himself. He thought he was being so sneaky but when you sleep wrapped around a man you do tend to notice when that man suddenly isn’t in your arms anymore. Steve defended his absences to the ambassador, to Search Bloc, to himself. It was better that he rode out his waves of irritability and rage by himself where he couldn’t do damage to any of the professional relationships that they needed to catch Escobar and finally put this nightmare behind them. He told himself that over and over as Javier disappeared more frequently and for longer and came back drained and empty and unwilling to look him in the eye.

If Javi was cheating there wasn’t much Steve could do about it. He needed his partner too much to ever come out and ask him. He didn’t really want to know the answer.

So when he found Javier sitting outside smoking and looking pensive he sat down next to him and braced himself for a confession. Javi had that look on his face, the look that said he knew he was about to hurt someone but that that wasn’t going to stop him. Steve took a drag on his cigarette and waited. He was not going to be the one to start this conversation, if Javier wanted to upset the fragile peace they had carved for themselves since Horacio had left a hole in their lives and extra space in their bed Steve was not going to make it any easier on him.

“I need you to prepare yourself for some blowback,” Javier told him, barely meeting his eyes and quickly looking down at his chin again. Steve sighed. Oh this was so much fucking worse than some hookers.

“It goes high up. And these people aren’t going to like it when I try and get myself out of it.” Steve looked away, willing Javier to stop speaking. To not be saying what he thought he was saying. He wouldn’t. He would never. He wouldn’t betray everything he had taught Steve about being down here- wouldn’t betray Horacio’s memory like this. They pushed boundaries, but they did not cross them. That’s why he has been so upset when Carrillo… No. he couldn’t be saying what he thought he was saying.

“If they come after you about what I’ve been doing, you protect yourself first.” Javier ducked his head and met Steve’s eyes directly and deliberately, with his normal intent for the first time in what felt like years. Steve cursed the fact that that direct and forceful gaze still sent his stomach into tailspins.

“You didn’t know anything,” Javier ordered. “Understand?”

Steve sat in silence, smoking and staring at the grass in front of him for what could have been hours or could have been seconds.

“So this is what you’ve been doing? All those times you snuck out? I thought you were seeing hookers again. I wish you had been seeing hookers again!” He saw Javi open his mouth and reach for his shoulder out of the corner of his eye and he dodged his hand.

“No, dont. Don’t fucking touch me right now man.” Javi’s hand immediately snapped back to his side and he just stared at the side of Steve’s head. “Los Pepes? Really Javi? This is what you’ve been doing? How you chose to avenge Hor-“

“Don’t fucking say his name,” Javi ordered, interrupting Steve fiercely. Steve scoffed.

“Why not? He’d be so proud that this is what you’ve become. That this is how you chose to honor his memory.”

“I got him fucking killed, alright?! I have to do something, fucking anything, to make up for that! And the only thing that feels like it might make a dent in the debt I have to pay for what I did is to catch the fucker that killed him and this is how we fucking do it, alright?!” Steve turned to face Javi, incredulous and getting angrier by the second.

“You didn’t kill him, Escobar did! And don’t give me some bullshit about trusting the wrong informant; you fucking know that both he and I would have made the same decision as you did. Fuck, Javi,” he paused, throwing his cigarette to the ground and standing to pace away from his partner. “Fuck, you need to stop man. You need to come back and quit it with this shit, ok, you. You really fucked up man, and you should have fucking told me what you were doing.”

“Why? So you could have stopped me?”

Steve threw his hands up and stalked back to him.

“Yes! So I could have fucking stopped you, Javi do you- This is serious man, people have fucking died!”

“You think I don’t know that?!”

“If you knew that why the fuck did you keep doing it then?!”

Javier dropped his own cigarette between his feet and watched as the grey ash shifted and finally blew away in the wind.

“Because I had to do something. This fucking country and this fucking war had already taken everything from me and so if something needed to be done, I guess I was the person to do it.”

Steve stood, looking at the top of Javi’s bowed head and tried to remember how to breathe.

“Everything, huh?” Javier looked up at him, frowning. A look of startled, contrite realization passed over his face and he held both hands out to his partner, standing and qualifying,

“No, baby, no that’s- no that isn’t what I meant. Not everything-“

Steve backed a step away from him, shaking his head and determined to ignore the hurt in Javi’s eyes.

“No you said everything and you don’t say things you don’t mean, isn’t that right? Well,” he scoffed, running a hand through his already messy hair. “Great to know finally where we stand, I’ve been on tenterhooks since we got the news.” Javier flinched and shook his head, silently pleading for Steve to hear him out. But this. No.

“I feel like an idiot. So what were we doing all those months? Was I just some novelty that the two of you used to distract yourselves with? Or was it just an easy way to keep the gringo in line and compliant?” Javier’s eyes had started to take on that hard glint that Steve knew to watch out for but he did not care. “I suppose I know why you’ve been so fucking distant ever since he died, just going through the motions until you can figure out a way to let me down easy? God, I stuck up for you against everyone!”

“Well maybe you fucking shouldn’t have!”

Javier and Steve stood nearly nose to nose, breathing hard, fists clenched, and furious.

“You’re right, this has all been a fucking joke. We’re done. I’m done. I just. Just stay out of the way when this all fucking blows up alright? I don’t want to have to save your ass again- I’m going to be a little busy saving my own.” Javier took a step back and Steve could see regret and anger and hurt on his face and if he hadn’t been so mad himself he might have reached out, smoothed everything over, apologized and held him like he needed to be held just to stay in one piece.

But Steve was so mad. Mad at Escobar, mad at the Colombian government, mad at his government, mad at Horacio for getting shot, mad at Javier for so many things and he wasn’t going to shove it down and wait for the wave to pass this time.

“Fine,” he growled, glaring at Javi.

“Fine,” Javi said with a nod, and walked past Steve.

And that, apparently, was that.

[pickalilywrites]

Have you seen Rapunzel? Rivetra Rapunzel?

I hope you mean Tangled because that’s the one I’m most familiar with haha. 

A Place Where We Belong

Rivetra. Rapunzel AU. 

2001 words. 

“I told you that you don’t need to braid my hair,” the girl says, pouting. She reaches up to touch the top of her head, but he smacks her hand away. The mass of golden hair atop her head has a luxurious feel to it, but its volume makes it difficult for him to braid it all properly. Levi’s never seen anything like it.

“If I don’t, it’s going to get caught on something,” he mutters unhappily. At least the French braiding portion is almost over. That’s always the most difficult part for him. He adds another section of hair to the piece he’s holding before placing it in the middle. “How do you even manage all of this anyway?”

“I told you, it doesn’t get tangled!” she tells him. The girl tries to turn around, but Levi makes a hissing noise that makes her freeze up and sit still again. Picking at the grass next to her, the girl asks, “Do you braid people’s hair often?”

“Not really,” Levi mumbles.

He hasn’t braided anyone’s hair in ages. He’s too busy stealing people’s purses and wallets to do something like that anymore, and while threading his fingers through her hair is a pleasant experience, he really wishes he could go back to doing what he does best. He could be running away with the most valuable crown in the kingdom if she hadn’t taken it from him. Imagine, a barefoot girl with nothing but a frying pan in her hand and seventy-foot-long hair knocking him out and stealing from him what he had stolen from a very heavily guarded palace! Even when he had threatened to throw her out the window (a very empty threat since he was tied up by her hair and had no idea where she had hidden the crown), she had demanded that he take her out to the festival taking place next week before she revealed the location of the crown. (She hadn’t said festival, funnily enough. She described it as the “day of the floating lights.” He wondered when the last time she had gone out was. Surely, she couldn’t have been kept in that tower for her entire life, right?) He never thought anything like that would happen to him, but he must be getting rusty to allow a girl like her barter with him like this.

“What should I do with this piece?” he asks her, holding out a short piece of hair hidden at the back of her neck behind the rest of her hair. Unlike the rest of her hair, it’s only an inch or so long and a warm ginger color instead of a deep golden blonde.

Startled, she quickly reaches her hand back to touch it, her fingers accidentally brushing his and making him let go. “Don’t do anything with it if it’s too short. I’m sure the rest of my hair will hide it.”

He frowns.

In the short time that he’s known her, he’s found her to be rather talkative. It probably has to do with being locked in a tower for most of her life, but now he knows more about her than he cares to. For example: Her name is Petra, but she either doesn’t want to share her last name or doesn’t know what it is. At first, Levi thought it was the first reason, but he’s beginning to strongly suspect that it’s actually the latter that is true. She’s also revealed that she lives with one other person who often goes out to gather food and other supplies for most of the day. She refers to this person as “Mother Gothel,” but she’s also told Levi that the woman was not her real mother. Her hair has never been cut since she’s been born. Most of the days she spends painting and reading books. Sometimes she likes to bake, but she’s only decent at cooking. If she’s been outside, she can’t remember but she imagines that the outside world is a beautiful place; it’s her greatest desire to travel to different places and experience everything the world has to offer. All of this and more, and yet she says nothing about the strange lock of ginger hair at the back of her head.

“Why’s it orange?” Levi asks. He makes his tone disinterested, bored, but he’s genuinely curious about her for once. “The rest of your hair is yellow.”

“The rest of my hair is blonde,” Petra corrects him. She turns her head to glare at him. “And that lock of hair is ginger, not orange.”

“You’re going to mess up the braid if you keep turning your head like that,” he says, and she turns around. He notices that she never answered his question though.

As he continues braiding her hair, he notices that what she said is right. It doesn’t tangle at all. His fingers don’t snag when he runs them through her hair. If it tangled a little bit, he could loop the end of the braid around the mess at the end of her hair and not have to use a hair tie, but it seems that he’ll have to find something to tie her hair in the end because of her untangled hair. He’d grumble about it being a hassle, but the mystery of her hair distracts him from doing so.

Why would a girl have such long hair? It can’t be for beauty reasons because there are limits to those sorts of things, Levi figures. While he’s sure there must be a logical explanation, he can’t think of one and he’s sure that she won’t be willing to tell him especially since she’s so secretive over one lock of hair.

He asks a different question instead.

“Is there a reason why you decided to trust me enough to take you on this journey of yours?” he asks. He’s still braiding, the girl’s plait now past her shoulder blades.

“A reason?” the girl murmurs. She reaches for the top of her head, placing her hand on top, but this time Levi lets it stay there. “Your eyes, I guess.”

“My eyes?” he repeats.

God, is she a stupid romantic of some sort? It’s possible. He hadn’t checked if any of those novels in her room were the type where swashbuckling heroes sweep the helpless maiden off her feet and the escape on a horse to a happy ending. He probably should have. If it turns out that she’s looking for a romance, he’s going to have to leave her midway through the trip because this isn’t what he signed up for.

“Yes, your eyes,” Petra says again. She lowers her hand to her own eye, tracing her cheekbone as she speaks as if she’s trying to remember the expression he had on when they first met. “It’s like you were looking for a place to go. Not just a place to hide, but a place where you could be. A place where you could belong.”

Before Levi was a thief, he was an errand boy and thief-in-training. Before that, he was just an orphan who stole things to survive. That was back when he still braided hair.

He would braid his sister’s hair when her hair got too long to be put in pigtails without the hair flying into her face. It was never very long because she would cut it fairly often – long hair made it easier for others to grab, which is something to avoid when you’re training to become a thief like they were – but whenever it was even a little longer than the typical length, she would beg him to braid it for her.

Levi would grumble about it, saying she should learn how to braid her own damn hair but in truth, he liked to braid her hair. It was one of the few times he could use his hands for something other than committing crimes. It was one of the few times that his fingers could be gentle.

Her hair was nothing like Petra’s. It was almost as thick, but her hair was coarser and had about a million tangles in it. At first, it annoyed him to brush them out, but he found out he could just untangle the top part and knot them at the end using the rest of the mess and get rid of using hair ties entirely. It’s a good thing he did. Isabel always lost those damn things.

“What’d you steal today?” Isabel would always ask him.

“Enough to eat,” he’d always reply.

He never really stole more than he needed to back in those days. If he got caught, there would be no one to take care of Isabel.

“Can I come with you next time?”

“Absolutely not.”

She always did anyway. He would teach her how to get small things – bracelets, necklaces, pocket watches, things that people wouldn’t miss until it was too late. Honestly, he would have preferred that she go to school, but it’s not like they could have afforded it even with all their thievery.

“It would be nice if we didn’t have to do this,” Levi sometimes grumbled.

“Why?” Isabel asked him. She turned around, messing up the braid he was working on. “Isn’t it nice that we get to be together?”

“It’d be nicer if we could do that without having to steal shit,” he replied.

It’s true though. He’d be much more bitter and angry if it weren’t for Isabel, but that didn’t mean he wanted to live like this forever. She deserved better after all.

“Then we’ll find a place together,” she told him excitedly. Turning around, Isabel knelt on the ground in front of Levi, one of her hands on his knee. One of her half-done braids was unfurling, but she didn’t care. “A place where we belong where we can live in a nice house and you can be a professional thief and I can be your apprentice!”

He had to smile at that even though it wasn’t exactly what he had in mind.

“Sure, we’ll do that,” Levi agreed, ruffling the top of her head and messing up her hair even further. “Now turn around so I can finish braiding your hair.”

She turned around happily, continuing to babble on about their future house and jobs as Levi finished plaiting her hair.

They never did find a place though.

“What about you?” Petra asks him.

He realizes that he’s almost done braiding her hair now. It’s well past her waist and he’s sure that by the time he’s done, the braid will be longer than the girl is tall.

“What about me?” Levi says gruffly.

“Why did you agree to take me on this trip?” she says curiously.

It’s a good question. He could have easily killed her and searched her tower for the crown by himself. He’s killed men for much less in the past. Still, the way she spoke of the outside world intrigued him. He wants to say that it’s the villain in him that wanted to show her around the world and expose her to its darkest crevices, revealing to her that the world isn’t as wonderful as it seems. If you don’t belong, it will destroy you. It would certainly make this meaningless journey more entertaining to him. Still, seeing her gasp at the soft grass beneath her feet, watching her laugh as she splashed about in the river, and seeing her marvel at the beautiful forests – taking the world and making it a place for her to love and enjoy in a way he had never seen anyone do - makes him believe that he might have agreed for a different reason.

He uses a loose piece of string hanging from the sleeve of his shirt to tie up the end of her braid. Her hair is so thick, he almost doesn’t have enough thread to tie it off.

“I wanted the crown,” Levi finally says.

[happybeeme0514]

Revelation Ch. 12

Chapter 12- Cherries

“Mommy! Can I go cherry picking with Dui?”

“Sure, dove. Just make sure you stay with him the whole time.”

“I know that, mommy, jeez.”

Two and a half years have passed since I gave birth to the second best thing that ever happened to me. Aveline has grown to be the size of either a small four-year-old or a large three-year-old, and is extremely gorgeous. Every day she looks more and more like her father. Since she is very small, she is quite fast and agile—it isn’t hard for her to keep up with me when I take her hunting, even though I don’t run at full speed. Zyglavis goes with us most of the time as well, though he goes off on his own in fear of catching her scent. He’s still semi-new, so he doesn’t want to take any chances.

Aveline also likes to scare the bejeesus out of us by climbing the tallest trees—coast redwood, mountain ash, coast Douglas-fir…basically whatever tree she can get her hands on—and scaling cliffs when we take her to the Olympic Peninsula or the Outer Hebrides. She would cliff dive if we let her.

Since she is so agile, she can jump twice the height that a normal vampire can—up to a thousand feet in the air. I can only make it a little over half that height, and Zyglavis can make it to around eight hundred feet. He very much dislikes how much of a daredevil our little girl is, but she knows she’s pretty well indestructible, so she takes the biggest of risks.

I was also correct about her ability—Aveline can see the true nature of anyone and everyone. She can see through the thickest façade; her eyes see right through everyone. The moment she smiles at someone, Zyglavis and I know we can trust that person…well, except when it comes to Leon for Zyglavis.

I watch her skip alongside Dui as they walk toward the cherry orchards the Heavens hosts, her tiny left hand in his and her right hand gripping onto a brown woven basket, swinging it back and forth.

Every day, everyone who knows her falls deeper and deeper under her charm. The other day, I walked in on her hosting a tea party with real Oolong tea and fancy looking mini cakes with Krioff and Tauxolouve. She had Krioff in a sparkly purple tutu and matching crown, and Lou had a pink feathered scarf around his neck with glittery lipstick on.

When he saw me, Krioff blushed and slunk down into his chair, trying to hide his face with his teacup. Lou, however, continued on like I wasn’t even there, drinking his tea with his pinkie raised.

“This tea is quite delicious, Lady Aveline!” He had said with a British accent. “Where did you procure it?”

“Only from the most expensive tea store in London, Sir Lou!” Aveline replied in the same accent.

“Most excellent!”

I had to leave the room so I could laugh. As touching as it was, it was also quite hilarious.

As much as I love these peaceful times, there’s always one thought that nags at the back of my mind.

Diefropos.

Zyglavis says that he’s in hiding down on Earth, and that he hasn’t been using his powers, otherwise they’d have been able to track him by now, but that’s not good enough for me. Every time we go down to Earth to hunt, every time I have Aveline by myself without him, I worry. What would happen if Diefropos got near her? What if he tried to attack her? Curse her?

Of course, I would never let that happen, but would I be forgiven if I killed a god, even if he was corrupt?

I know Zyglavis and the others are still trying to look for him, but it’s hard since he’s in hiding. And he could stay in hiding for literally thousands of years.

The coward.

Another thought pulls my attention when I let it as well; my creator. I know he’s still alive. I know he’s still out there. Sometimes when we’re on Earth, it’s like I can feel his presence. It was fine when it was just me, but now I have a family, a child, to take into consideration. I never want Zyglavis or Aveline within one hundred miles of that…that monster. I know Zyglavis would love to get his hands on the man that made my life hell for two hundred years, but like I or the king would let that happen. Besides that, Z has been around since before the beginning of recorded time. He’s too strong for Zyglavis to take, too fast. Not even I can comprehend how truly timeless that man is.

As I walk down the hall to Zyglavis’ office, I think back on the day that I was brought to the Heavens, and then I realize—that was actually the first time I ever saw him. Yes, I had been running from Z, and then…

…

It was humid and hot. Being crowded only made things worse. I was hurrying down the narrowed, busy streets of a bazar in India. There were so many interesting things for sale, people yelling and laughing, even a snake charmer, but I didn’t have time for that. I could feel him. Like he was slithering up right behind me. Like he was going to grab me at any moment, regardless of all the innocent humans around.

I pulled my burka tighter around my head, trying to conceal my face. Conceal everything but my eyes. Good thing I didn’t sweat.

I could feel the goosebumps raising against my skin, the venom swirling just underneath my dermis. My breathing came in harder and faster. It took all I had not to break out into a dead run in that busy street. I knew he was right there, right behind me. Probably smiling with those cold, dead eyes, his grey lips turned up in that awful smirk, that black, raven black hair loose and down his back, not caring if he looked out of place.

Why…? Why did he hate me so? Why didn’t he just let me die if he hated me? Was I a sport? A catch and release game? I heard someone yell out, and then, that deep voice respond in their native tongue. Shivers ran down my spine. No…No!

I was scared. So scared. Get away.

Get away, get away, get away, get away…

I sped up my walk, my eye going to the rainforest off in the distance. I needed to get out of this bazar and into the forest. Everything felt hazy, like I was moving at a snail’s pace when I was truly very well jogging through the crowded, narrow street. People bumped into me, yelling at me, but I couldn’t hear them. The mouth of the little town was so near, yet so far. So very, very far.

My foot hit the lush mossy ground, and I was off like a bullet.

I could feel him behind me. The only way I could describe his presence was like a shadow—slithering, silent, but always there, those ghostly hands trying to grab me and subdue me. And he could feel my fear, hear my breathing. He was probably smiling that sick, twisted smile, happy that I was afraid of him.

Such a fun game for him.

He liked to chase me for a little while, like a cat with a mouse, give me time to get distance, and then he’d come up fast. Back off, come up fast, back off, come up fast.

The foliage whacked at my burka and tore it from my head, ripping at my clothes and making holes in them, but I barely registered the sensations. My pumping legs ripped a long seam up the front of my long dress, and I made an effort to kick off my shoes.

And then I could feel him gaining. Venom swirled in my mouth, my lips twitching in anticipation, getting ready to bite.

I was grabbed, but the hands weren’t cold. I let out a wild snarl, and suddenly, there was a blinding, white light.

I was dropped onto a hard floor, all the wind being knocked out of me. Hissing like a feral cat, I whirled onto my feet in a defensive crouch, expecting to see Z standing in front of me, but instead I saw a man sitting idly on a throne, his wavy blond hair falling to his waist and a small smirk on his face. On either side of him where the men I would know to be Leon, Karno, Huedhaut, and Scorpio. The rest of the gods hadn’t joined yet. Confusion entered my mind.

My eyes darted around the room, looking for a threat, looking for Z, but I couldn’t find any.

“Thank you, Zyglavis.” The man on the throne said.

“Your majesty.”

I jumped, hissing at the voice right beside me. When I looked, I saw a young man who looked to be in his early twenties. He was adjusting his meticulously buttoned jacket, and he gave me a side-long glance, his eyes narrowed. His eyes were an iridescent grey. Such long eyelashes, too.

“Eden Ava James, daughter of William and Evelyn James. You are…or, were, eighteen years old when you became what you are. Your true age is two-hundred-twenty-eight. You have no coven and live on the run from your creator, whom you fear. Is this true?”

I just glared at the man on the throne. How could he have known this? I lifted my chin and took in his scent. It was…strange, to say the least. Cotton, lavender, orange-peel, lemon grass, normal scents, but then I could smell more sinister undertones. Blood, coldness, and darkness. He was otherworldly. He scared me.

“Answer him.” The man beside me commanded in a deep voice. I growled at him.

“It is true,” The other man said for me, a smile perking at his pale pink lips. “Welcome, Eden James. To the world of the gods.”    

…

I stop outside Zyglavis’ office door, my hand resting on the golden handle.

Who would’ve thought that Zyglavis, the god who pulled me from my creator, one of the five who was present when I was locked away, would’ve become my mate? Who would’ve thought he would have fathered my child? I smile to myself.

I wonder how much of this the king knew.

“Eden? Are you coming in or not?” Zyglavis’ voice comes from the other side of the door, and I chuckle.

“I’m coming in.”

…

A couple hours later, while we’re all convened in the parlor, Aveline returns with Dui, smiling ear to ear and carrying a basket overflowing with bright red cherries.

“Look, mommy! Dui helped me pick allll these cherries!”

“Wow, dove,” I say with my eyebrows raised. “You did a good job!”

“Look!” She tugs on Zyglavis’ jacket, and he smiles down at her.

“Amazing. Did you let him hold you or did you climb the trees yourself?”

Aveline rolls her eyes.

“I climbed the trees, daddy. Come on, I’m big.”

Zyglavis closes his eyes and takes a breath, lifting a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. While I pat his leg, Aveline walks over to Leon and presents him with the cherries.

“Look, Leo! I picked the best cherries! Let’s eat them!”

“Sure, Avey.” Leon says with a smile.

Beaming, Aveline sets the basket down and turns back to Zyglavis and I.

“Mommy, daddy, cherries?”

“Not for me.” Zyglavis says as he pulls himself to his feet and walks over to one of the tables to look over papers.

“Just a couple for me, my love.” I say with a smile. Aveline smiles, and takes her time, carefully picking out three plump, scarlet red cherries and carrying them over to me. “Thank you, sweetheart.” I say as I kiss her forehead. She giggles.

“You’re welcome, mommy!”

She skips back over to Leon and climbs onto the couch next to him, leaning down to pluck up one of the many fruits in front of them.

The room is quiet for a few minutes as everyone goes about their own business, Dui, Ichthys, and Teo talking amongst themselves, Karno reading a book, Zyglavis and Scorpio going over paperwork, and Leon and Aveline eating their cherries, until they start playing.

Giggling, Aveline throws a cherry stem at Leon, who gives her a look.

“Knock it off, kid,” He says as he swallows his bite.

“Mm…no.”

“Then—Ha!” Leon grabs the small cherry Aveline had in her hand right from her, and she lets out a cry. Zyglavis’ jaw clenches.

“Gimme!” Aveline says, reaching out a hand. Leon snatches the cherry away with a playful grin.

“You didn’t say ‘please’,” He says, opening his mouth and acting like he’s going to eat her cherry.

“No! Don’t! Please give me the cherry?”

“Hm,” He smiles at her, then holds it in front of her mouth. “Fine, then. Here. Say ‘ah’.”

“Ah!” Aveline opens her mouth, and Leon pops the cherry inside. Then, with a mischievous grin, she chomps down on the fruit, squirting red juice on Leon’s cheek.

“Ah! Ew! Come on, Avey, that wasn’t nice!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t withhold food from me then,” She says as she chews.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” Leon chastises as he wipes at his face.

As I roll my eyes, Zyglavis slams his hands down on the table.

“Alright, that is enough!”

Everyone, including me, jumps at the harsh, booming sound as he shoves away from the table, his eyes narrowed and locked on Leon.

“Whoa, whoa, what’s up, Zig?” Scorpio asks, his expression confused.

“Get away from my daughter. Right now.” He growls at Leon, who just stares at him.

“Daddy?” Aveline whispers.

“Honey come here.”

Responding to me, Aveline climbs down from the couch and hurries over to me, jumping into my arms.

“What’s your problem?” Leon asks, his voice low. “We were playing. I know you’re uptight, but come on.” A snarl rips out from Zyglavis’ bared teeth.

“Zyglavis!” I call. “Calm down, they weren’t doing anything wrong! Aveline is two, for crying out loud!”

“That’s my point! He was being way too mature for her!”

“What? Have you lost your mind?” Leon pulls himself to his feet and goes around the coffee table, coming to stand in front of Zyglavis, who crouches, baring his fangs. “Eden is right. Aveline is a toddler. Nothing like that crossed my mind. You’re the one making things out to be what they’re not. I was playing with her, nothing more.”

“If you want to play with her, play dolls, lion.”

“Mommy…why is daddy so mad?”

“Shh, sweetheart,” I cradle Aveline closer to me, trying to keep her from seeing her father and Leon fighting.

“I do play dolls with her, you anal retentive kitchen scale,” Leon bites out. “I play with her all the time. What makes this different than that?”

“She is two!” Zyglavis’ yelling voice echoes off the tall walls. Aveline flinches. “There are some things you do not do with two-year-olds!”

“Oh, you mean I can’t feed her?”

Zyglavis shrieks a snarl at him.

“I am her father. I don’t know who you think you are, but she’s mine!”

“I understand that, but she’s just as much mine, too.”

I inhale sharply. That…was definitely the wrong thing to say.

Zyglavis finally gets physical, his fist snapping out and nailing Leon across the face, sending him back; he goes flipping over the couch, sending it careening backward, along with innocent Teorus, who sprawls onto the floor. Dui jumps in to help him to his feet, and they scurry to the sidelines.

“Zyglavis, stop!” I gasp as I jump to my feet.

“Daddy, no!” Aveline chimes in. He either can’t hear us in his rage, or he ignores us.

Leon pulls himself to his feet and backs away as Zyglavis charges him, leaving no room for escape. This mirrors the situation two years ago when I was pregnant, but this time, it’s worse.

“I don’t know what is going on in your head, you rabid lion, but you’re gonna stay away from her.”

“Zyglavis!” I cry.

Leon slowly shakes his head from side to side.

“I can’t.”

Zyglavis’ face screws up in rage, and his left fist flies out faster than anyone but Aveline and I can see, burying into Leon’s abdomen and sending him rocketing several feet back. He slams into a wall, buckling it and falling through it.

“No!” Aveline cries. I force her head down to my shoulder.

“Zyglavis, stop!” Karno yells.

“Don’t touch him!” I gasp.

However, it’s too late.

Karno claps a hand on Zyglavis’ shoulder, a deadly mistake. He lets out a frightening sound like a swarm of angry bees and grabs his hand, swinging him around and grabbing his jacket. I watch in horror as Karno’s body goes flying through the air and crashes into a stone pillar, snapping it in half; the room shudders. Unlike Leon, who didn’t make a sound, Karno lets out a cry as certain bones in his body snap, his body hitting the ground hard and rolling a few times.

“Karno!” Huedhaut and Teorus, followed by Ichthys, run over to Karno, who just lays in a heap. Leon scrambles over to him as well.

“Karno, are you alright?” He cries, pushing Teorus aside so he can get closer.

“Ugh…ow. Owwww…”

He holds his chest with one arm, his other trying to prop himself up, but he falls back down.

All of this seems to snap Zyglavis out of his fury.

“Karno…” He breathes. “Karno I’m…I’m so sorry.”

“Here.” Ichthys says. He places his hands on Karno’s ribcage, and a soft blue light slowly begins emanating from them.

“Ouch! Are healing powers supposed to hurt?” He whines.

“Sorry. You’ll feel better soon.”

I listen as Karno’s ribs snap back into place, and he winces, then a look of relief crosses his features.

“Ah. That’s better. Thank you, Ichthys.”

Leon slowly pulls himself to his feet, turning to look at Zyglavis.

“Look,” He says, lifting a hand. “You know me. You may not like me, but you know me. I would never purposely hurt anyone…especially her. I love her, Zyglavis, just like you do. All I want is help keep her safe and happy. Is that so bad? You’re a good father, Zyglavis, but try to trust other people more.” Zyglavis listens silently, his jaw clenched tight and his hands balled into fists. Aveline peeks out from under my hair, and locks eyes with Leon. “And trust Aveline’s judgement, too. Remember her gift. Remember she’s special. And remember this…Aveline is the center of my universe. She’s my reason. Always.”

Zyglavis stares at Leon for a long while before he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

“Are they going to fight anymore, mommy?” Aveline whispers.

I slowly shake my head.

“I don’t think so, my love.”

And I believe it this time, too. As much as Zyglavis dislikes Leon, he knows. He was just being stubborn. There is nothing he can do. Aveline chose Leon.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #177

“i get pretty just to fuck my face up.”

What’s your favorite flavor of ice pop? Strawberry or watermelon. Do you like animal print? What’s your favorite print? Not particularly, but I suppose jaguar. What do you think of foot tattoos? Surprisingly, not a big fan. It's gotta be cute, well-placed, and small. Did your senior class in high school have a class trip? Where did you go? Maybe? I don't remember. What do you normally order at Dunkin Donuts? Chocolate frosted. What do you drink with dinner? It varies. Can be soda, water, milk... Peanuts or sunflower seeds? I don't like either. What is your favorite grocery store to shop at, and how often do you shop for groceries? Sam's Club totally has the best deals, but I don't make the shopping calls here. Who is your favorite character from the last movie you watched? Uhhh the super paranoid lady whose actress is a legend. Where did you have your first kiss? What about your last kiss? His bed; airport. What is the last thing you spoke to your father about? Phone bill. Who do you feel you have the most in common with? Sara. Who in your life causes you the most stress or negative feelings? Myself. Have you ever apologized to someone, but didn’t mean it? I'm sure at some point. What is the one thing that you can’t resist? Reese's, I sometimes cannooooot tell myself no to a Mtn. Dew Voltage, wanting to pet an animal even if it's dangerous, and uhhh I'm sure there's more. Have you ever done another person's homework for money? No. If you could play any piece of music on an instrument, what would it be? Teach me the ending piece from WKM on the piano so I could ruin myself further than just listening to it already does. Have you ever treated someone like they were nothing? I don't believe so. If you could ask 5 questions and get an exact answer, what would you ask? Oh yikes, deep one. Um... 1.) what is the cure for cancer, 2.) cure for Alzheimer's/dementia, 3.) cure for HIV/AIDS, 4.) how can/is it even possible to obtain world peace, and 5.) will I be stable in the future are what come to mind first. Does it frighten you when animals get into fights? I GET VERY SCARED FOR THE ANIMALS. When you were little did you touch just about everything in the store? YUP YUP YUP. Do you ever leave your drinks out in the open at a party? N/A, but I absolutely would not. Ever suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? Yes. Who is someone you’ll always hate? No one I personally know. How many people do you trust 100 percent? Just one. I would include Mom, but I know she lies about Dad. Do you think you could survive a month of solitary confinement? NO, I really think I'd lose it and kill myself. Do you often start books, yet never finish them? I don't read, but I'd do that if I didn't like it. When was the last time you felt abandoned by someone? Idr. Does the sight of blood gross you out? No. Have you ever gone through a red light? No. Do you fail to stop for stop signs, sometimes? No. What is your favorite eye color in the opposite sex? Blue. When you are sad, do you cheer yourself up, or look to others? It depends, but I usually begin with the former. During which year of your life were you the most unhappy? 2016 can been damned by God themselves. Have you ever seen a bluejay in person? Yes. Have you ever eaten grass/leaves? Probably as a kid. Do you typically like green-colored candies? Yeah! Apple flavor is the bomb.com. Who is the most energetic and happy person you know of? Ryder, my nephew. Who makes you smile the most often? Sara Jane. :') How do you express your happiness? I'm louder, more talkative, goofier. When was the last time you did a good deed? Uhhh idk. It's a tiny thing, but I suppose you could count me getting my old man bub with arthritis up on the bed when he wanted up. What songs make you happy? Lots... Do you like to sing? Sometimes, but I'm not good at it. Where is somewhere that holds fond memories for you? Ummm the little pond behind the community college where we took our first prom photos. That whole day was just extremely magical, and passing it is a severe PTSD trigger so if for whatever reason we're driving past there, Mom goes around it. I did pass it a few months back when I was taking pictures of flowers around the college and I was okay, probably because I didn't even glance at it. What do you think of the gothic stereotype? # A E S T H E T I C Have you ever encountered a black widow? Yup. What scares you, more than anything else? Ending up alone/losing all those I love. Has an animal ever peed on you? Lol yeah...  Pet rodents have multiple times when getting them accustomed to being held, a puppy probably has, and Venus (my snake) did once after I held her for like an hour, aha. Couldn't be mad at that angel, she was obviously so comfy. What would make a cool substitute color for the sun? Pink. Is purple a good color for a car? Sure. Do you prefer green or purple/red grapes? Purple; crisper. What is something you like that is sour? Warheads. What was the spiciest thing you’ve ever eaten? Some hot wings at BWW with one of the hottest sauces. When was the last time you had a real deep chat? Idk, I'm sure something with Sara. Who did you last see on webcam? I've no idea. Have you ever discovered something gross in your food at McDonalds? No. What’s your favorite flavor of Ramen? I only like the spicy chicken Yakisoba ones. Have you ever spent the night in jail? No. Name a really popular television show you never got into: Ha, a lot. Game of Thrones, for one, but I'd be willing to give it a second chance via more episodes and a different attitude and actually kinda want to. Sara, add that to our list. Do you listen to any unsigned bands/singers? Who? No, I don't believe so. I need to start listening to my old friend's band, though, because I really want to support them; they work so hard and are very serious about taking their band somewhere. Nova Mortis if you're interested and like heavy metal. What do you find really interesting? THE PARANORMAL, for one. Genetics, psychology, fossils, abandoned buildings and shacks, natural selection and evolution, outer space, differences in languages and cultures, and so much more. Who is your favorite video game character? Spyro! What kind of pictures do you post on Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat most frequently? I like never post pictures, but selfies on FB, then I have two photography Instagrams. Do you remember the first person you felt sexually attracted to? Seriously, Jason. Have you ever been on vacation with a significant other? No. Is there anything on your bucket list that you’re hoping to cross off soon? A lot of things, but. Probably won't be soon as many include travel. Of all of your friends’ significant others, who do you get along with best? And least? Sam's wife Kieley is an absolute doll; least, idk. What would your life be like if you had married your first love? HAHAHAHAHA I REEEEEAAAAALLY DON'T WANT TO PICTURE THAT KNOWING NOW HE DIDN'T/DOESN'T BELIEVE IN ME AND CAN'T COMMUNICATE FOR SHIT. What is the most difficult or time-consuming thing you’ve ever cooked? Would you make it again? N/A Have you ever had a platonic friend that everyone insisted you should be in a relationship with? Girt, hardcore. Eventually did, but we know how that went. Is there anything about a person’s sexual past that might stop you from wanting to date them? Yup: if they've assaulted someone, prostitution is involved, casual flings/one-night stands have happened, being/have been a porn star, cheated before. If someone asked your closest friends/family members what career path might suit you best, what do you think they would say? Like, everyone will answer that question with "vet." Have you ever considered “unplugging”/taking a significant period of time away from technology? lol nope I doubt I'd last a day with no technology. Do you use a photo editor? Lightroom, Photoshop, sometimes PhotoScape. Is your dad overweight? Quite the opposite. Ever been honked at? Yeah. Which do you prefer, doctor or dentist? Dentist; I'm never nervous for them. Name two things you put whipped cream on? I haaaate whipped cream. Texture thing. Favorite thing you’ve ever painted? Two meerkats grooming, done on a huge thing of burlap. What’s your favorite type of sushi? Never tried, never will. Have you ever had an ulcer? No. What’s the name of the most recent baby a friend has had? Scarlett. Have you ever taken medication to help you fall asleep faster? Yup. I had a long insomnia streak where I physically couldn't sleep without Melatonin. What is your current favorite song? I'm hooked on "The Bottom is a Rock" by Mother Mother rn. If you had to move to another country, where would you move? Canada. Do you have a balcony? No. Are you jealous of anyone, even mildly? If so, who? Yeah, my sisters, as well as some real successful friends. Have you ever done a craft you saw in a magazine? No. Have you ever made a recipe you found in a magazine? No. Who is a singer that has given you chills? Celine Dion, Loreena McKennitt, Sebastian Bach, David Draiman, and Amy Lee off the top of my head. What act would you perform in a talent show? I wouldn't, I got nothin'. What area are you the most gifted in, do you think? Um... writing, I guess? Which style of wedding dress is your favorite? BALLGOWN BITCH Do you enjoy editing videos? Ye! Do you enjoy editing photos? Yup. Who do you think is the most attractive actor? I see u Jason Momoa. Have you ever been caught doing something REAL embarrassing by your parents? I don't believe so. Do you believe in reincarnation? No. Do you have any of your neighbors as friends on Facebook? No. When was the last time you thought about sex, or sexual things? Ummm within the past few days probably, at least briefly? Are there any flowers planted outside your house? We have a tall bush that sprouts big, pink flowers, if that counts. Does anyone in your family smoke? Dad. What was the very first election you voted in? I haven't yet. Do you have a drone? No. Are you the type that’s too ashamed to ask for or use directions? No, rather too shy. Were you tired when you woke up this morning? YEAH. I slept like shit and had to get up early for a VR assessment. You overhear two people gossiping about you; what do you do? I feel like I'd say something sarcastic to them. Or be more mature about it and ask why. Or cry. Are you proud of who you are? Eh, only in certain areas... Is your vision good? I can barely read the line below the big "E." So no lmao. Are you a legal adult? Yeah but idk how. Has anyone ever called you a flirt? No. What was the last compliment your received? The assessment lady at VR loved my hair. Do you know any sign language? No. Who was the last person to give you a gift? Sara, on our anniversary. Do you trust the media? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA BITCH NO. If you could kill off one species of animal, which would it be? Can gnats like????? not???????? Idk if they have a single useful function????????? What kind of cookies are your favorite? Chocolate chip. Who’d you last say I love you to? My mom. What’s the most overpaid job in your opinion? I'm not educated on this enough to give you an informed answer. What’s the last thing you wrote down? Working out a math problem during the assessment. When’s the last time you didn’t sleep in your own bed? Over a month ago. When’s the last time you heard a gunshot? Idk. Who’d you get mad at last? Myself. What’s the last thing that annoyed you? Bentley wouldn't listen. When’s the last time you gave someone advice? I think yesterday? Do you think you’re lucky, unlucky, or neither? Neither. Who did you last disappoint? Myself. Do you enjoy learning? Of course!!!! I mean there're subjects I have no interest in and don't enjoy, but learning as a whole is great. People say you learn something new every day, so what did you learn today? Well it was nothing big, but that I could return Miku before she got hurt since Mitsu didn't appreciate a new "buddy." Yes or no: eyebrow piercings? They can look super badass or awful depending on your face and eyebrow thickness imo. When I say The Beatles, what is the first song that comes to mind? "Yellow Submarine" even tho I hate that song???? In your opinion, what is the very worst type of weather? Hot and humid, especially with no breeze. Just no. You can only listen to 1 band for the rest of your life, who do you pick? DON'T MAKE ME. What is something that you had to learn the hard way? DON'T. THINK. A RELATIONSHIP. IS WITHOUT A SINGLE CHANCE. OF. SOMEONE. LEAVING. EVEN. IN THE MOST "SECURE" ONES. When was the last time you felt like your heart was actually breaking? Ahhhh I'm not sure. Either something with Mom or Sara. Who was the last person you cried in front of? Mom. If your ex called you right now, would you answer? I don't have his number, so I wouldn't answer. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? Sara. Do you want your tongue pierced? It is. 10/10 recommend for cute factor, but 0/10 for the healing process and pain asjfawiwo. Mine's through the very tip of my tongue and because that area is so sensitive, it was so painful that I became immediately nauseous. Pain didn't entirely vanish for almost two weeks. BUT I have zero regrets, so worth it. Is there something that happened in your past you hate talking about? Yeah. What’s one thing in your life that you wish you could change? Financial position. Have you ever been in a perfect relationship? Ha, don't ever believe those exist. Do you still talk to the person who broke your heart the most? Nope. Have you ever done something sexual that you regret? Ummm I don't believe so. Well, I don't know if I'd take back going all the way or whatever the fuck that was, maybe I would. idk Ever had a person who was obsessed with you so much that it scared you? No. Can you drive, and if you can, do you like it? I'm capable, but I don't enjoy it at all. Have you ever said anything to the last person you kissed that you regret? Yeah, being in a shit mood and/or being impulsive with my words. Do you like french fries? Who the FUCK sayin no to this. Have you ever ate so much you puked? No. Do you care about what others think of your physical appearance? To some degree/in certain aspects. Would you rather eat cookies or brownies? Probs brownies. Have you ever played a drinking game? Which ones? No. Are you good with managing your finances? I don't. Not in that position yet. What is the closest pizza place to your house? Domino's. Do you have any silly nicknames or pet names? Hmmmm no. Are you any good at drawing? Some things. Is there anything unusual about your house? No. Can you maintain a text conversation or do you run out of things to say? I think I'm good at keeping *text* convos going, surprisingly. Do you find it hard to talk to strangers, even people who work in stores? YEAH!!!!!!! Have you ever tasted goat’s milk? No. Did you ever take classes for a musical instrument when you were younger? Yup. Band member all through middle school, stopped after my junior year of HS. Do you snore when you sleep? No, but I talk a loooot. Who is the first person who broke your heart? Dad. Do you know anyone who has fought in a war? Jason's dad was in the Navy. What religion are you? Theist, which basically just entails me believing there's a god/goddess/some sorta beginning deity, but hell if I know anything about them. I make my own guesses. Who is the last person you gave a ride to, and where did you take them? I don't have a license or my own car. What is the last thing you untruthfully denied? Hm. I'm not sure. Have you ever ridden on a real train? No. Name ONE good memory about your last ex? He's absolutely hilarious and I miss hanging out more! Would you consider yourself dishonest? Not gonna bullshit and claim I never am, but in general, no. Do you tend to let people break through your walls easily? HAHA YEAH RIGHT. What are you superstitious about? Nothing. What is the coolest thing you can do? Oh boy, hell if I know. I know from experience people are often surprised how even skittish animals/pets seem to be drawn to me; does that count? Is there anyone you want to hook up with that you haven’t? Not my thing.

[kaijuzilla]

My Pokemon(Fakemon) Story Idea? (Core Series)

MOD: So the you might be wondering what this post about? Well to tell you and I just wanna let this out. I’m just making just my own Pokemon region base off Coast of America meaning there will be lot of water types (maybe). So I’ll just tell you what it’s about and stuff under this link. (this is my idea and no I didn’t steal anything) (this is a practice and just wanna know how the story goes)

(Chances this will be separate partly) Pt.1

“Pokemon Spirit”

“(Pokemon belong to Game-Freak, Nintendo, The Pokemon Company, and Creatures. This isn’t a real Pokemon game and not a prediction to any new version later in the future. Pokemon name mentioned that are made belong to them while fakemon are just made.)”

Professor Maple: *webcam is on* WOAH! *fall over and look messy* S-sorry about that kiddo. You scare me for second there. *ahem* My name is Professor Maple and welcome to the world of Pokemon. Pokemon are magical creatures that live on Earth for many years. You can see them in jungle forest, murky swamp, beautiful grasslands, the ocean, and even up in the skies above us.  I study Pokemon natural environments by watching them through cameras making sure their habitats are nice and secured on the Census Region where I take care of wild Pokemon in my lab. Because long ago this region have trouble with the Pokemon population (rarities) back then so I decided to help restore their populations. Now..um..I’m sorry but are you a boy or a girl?.....Well then (player name) I hope to see you very soon at my lab today! And tell your mom I said hi! I’ll see you soon~. *wave goodbye then camera crash seeing slime on screen* AAAH!! GOODRA NOT NOW!!! *webcam off*

You’re starting town is Samara Town. In this town you’re next to a beach where people in your town and your neighbor town go to have fun and relax. You walk downstairs meeting your mom who knows everything upstairs. She know you’re getting your Pokemon to start off your journey by her childhood friend Maple. She is proud how you’re going to start off your journey that she tell you that she use to travel back then with Maple as her rival. She’ll be readying your bag as you walk out to the professor lab which is on top left of the town. When you’re about to enter a Goodra pops out the door with bird like Pokemon flying out the door. The professor walk out slowly looking tired as if she hasn’t slept in days. She see’s you and comes in with a slimy hug covering you in slime. She laugh and is happy to see you’re here just on time.  Both you enter seeing her lab windows open with two trees for Pokemon to climb and rest on as so many wild Pokemon are playing outside as you look out the glass wall. You heard three Pokemon cry as your turn and see nothing but something on your face which felt wet and stuck. You see the light and surprise to see the starter Pokemon.

- Kuttlish “Cuddle Pokemon” (Water) Lv.5 “It show it’s affection to it’s trainer by jumping onto their face and hug them for awhile. They’re also known to change color to camouflage from preys. Their break are strong enough to break the rocky surface of a Geodude.” (Atk/Def/Sp.Def) (Torrent/Suction Cups)

- Vinmodo “Komodo Pokemon” (Grass/Poison) Lv.5 “Their spine like thorns are very sensitive so they don’t like other people touching them. They warn them with a scary hiss. The saliva they have in their mouth are very venomous. One bite will cause the prey to lose muscle movement. This make catching their prey easy.” (Atk/Sp.Atk/Spd) (Overgrow/Poison Touch)

- Puprus “Guard Dog Pokemon” (Fire) Lv.5 “The collar around their neck are very special too them. If the trainer chosen this Pokemon, they will protect it’s master for it’s life.The collar then burns for what name you given to Puprus. It’s jaws are strong enough to rip off the water pipes and chew on it like a bone.” (Atk/Def/Spd) (Blaze/Strong Jaw)

(evolution work in progress that goes for other pokemon new to the region while there are returning ones)

Maple said these Pokemon where never seen before and she has no idea where they come from. They suddenly came to her lab all injured and beaten badly that she help recover them back to health. After that they decided to stay making her thinking that you can take really good care of them. When choosing the starter a sudden door burst open showing a out of breath person who is your rival. (the playable character) Your rival will see that you choose that starter that he/she gonna choose so instead he/she chosen the type advantage starter and ask for permission to battle outside. Your rival step outside then your mom came in seeing you and talk about the person that pass by her. She see you got your starter and gave your bag which is filled with 10 Poke Balls. (she the giving you options on how to catch you can say yes or no since we all know how to do it). Maple then give you the Pokedex (haven’t design it yet). After all that as you went outside, your rival battle begin! Beating your rival will see that the Pokemon she didn’t want to choose is not bad and he/she became liking his/her starter more. Your rival wish you luck and said next time he/she will be stronger than before. When your about to leave you heard a huge cry and a bells ringing. The trainer then felt relieved and so does the Pokemon around the lab feel calm too. You have no idea what that is till your professor came out rushing to see the ringing bell. Turns out she explain it was from a legendary Pokemon that it ring it’s bell across the region to calm the spirits, people, and Pokemon. She also said hearing the bell can bring huge luck to people as well. She then return to the lab and wish you lots of luck on your journey. 

You then make it to Route- 30, seeing two trainers ready to battle and some new Pokemon along the way. (No new Pokemon ideas yet but will be soon or later on) Along the way you made it to South Rim Town which has a Pokemon center/market and have two path leading to routes. Right path leads to Route 31 while the left leads to Dusty Whirl Canyon which is after you have two gym badges. As you go to Route 31 you bump into a very young trainer name Kitz who is being chase and follow by two mysterious people with an “R” logo on their back jacket. One of them say to hand over the kid but Kitz tell you that they lie to her saying they knew the champion but they’re trying to steal her Pokemon. The man shouted to keep her mouth shut and ask you one last time to hand over the kid. You refuse and the man was angry that he challenge you to battle. Beating them makes them even more angry. They retreat for now but they say that they’ll be back and you will regret ruining their hunt. Kitz said that they’re “Team Raptor” who hunt down Pokemon for money and fame. It is illegal in regions to hunt down Pokemon for money or sports since last time this happen a bunch of Bouffalant population were almost out of this region. She thank you for saving her and gave you an “Exp. Share”. As she saw you in battle made her more excited and inspire to become stronger one day so she can one day meet the champion and challenge her. She went back to South Rim Town and you go back to your journey.

You finally made it to Angeles City (Los Angeles)! Your rival saw you and wanna see how much stronger you gotten. After the battle your rival he/she would see how you gotten stronger then with great idea he/she said you should try take on the gym leader that is in this part of the city. You then meet the first gym leader Scrooge (“The Luckiest Man That Ever Live”) who specialize dark type Pokemon. He said he is busy so he ask you to go to his gym and he will be there soon or later. His gym is a quiz game which you must guess tot he trainer how much this item is in the market if guess wrong you battle and must answer the right answer. Once you beat 3 trainer you finally made it to Scrooge who happen to be there the whole time. He never tell you how he got here on time and he hope your lucky enough to beat his dark type team (Lv.10-13) (Sandile, Markrouw, Meowth(aloan) new dark type pokemon). He will use confuse ray and embargo to keep you from attacking and using items in battle and then use sucker punch to gain the speed advantage. (This technique will give trainers a hard time) Once you defeated him he will give you TM# Sucker Punch. He has never been defeated like this before and he is surprised and proud of you trusting your Pokemon when it’s in serious condition and tricky position which he than give you the Token Badge (Pokemon Lv.10-20). He hope he can battle you again to test your luck later on once the building next to him is finish construction. Your rival see that you got the gym leader badge and congratulate you on getting it. He/She will go challenge the gym leader now but the trainer you fought came out unexpected to tell you that Scrooge want to give you a “Battle Coin Case”. There is no explanation except that he’s now out the gym to help out and check on the construction that’s going on making the rival felt down missing the gym leader and must wait till he returns as you continue to the next gym.

You reach to Marshwood Swamp (base of Florida swamp)! This area is just like the mushy water area in Sinnoh Region (Diamond/Pearl) But there are rivers which needed a Pokemon to surf on. Since the swamp water isn’t that deep but will suck you in getting you stuck you decided to go with it. You hear a women voice yelling, “Now get out of me swamp ya filthy varmints!” as you see a group of Team Raptors running away seeing a girl with her (new fakemon) tired out as she whip her sweat off her head. She see you checking if your team is alright from the grunts. She see your fine and introduce herself as Hazel and she’s from Marshwood City. What happen is that the grunts where just hunting a bunch of other Pokemon for money when they are her best friend being tortured. After the conversation you see her swing on the vines that swing her over the river. This made going over the swamp more easily but you may bump into some trainers along the way. As you finally reach to Marshwood City your rival finally catch up to you. He/She complaint about how muddy and how many time he/she got stuck in the mud so much to get here. He/She wish that she would have the rider page but he/she doesn’t know where to get it but then explain what it is (was introduce in Sun/Moon(UltraSun/UltraMoon)). Your rival then go to the Pokemon Center just to rest for awhile from how hard it is to get to you. As you look around town you learn that the people around here live here because this area has very good fertilize dirt that it made farming very easily around here. It also been said that one of the elite four member live here as well as chief of the town and his granddaughter lives here too which she came from another region. As you got to the gym you found out the gym leader is actually Hazel (“Tomboyish Construction Girl”), who specialize Water type Pokemon which made electric type useless due to some of them being half ground type. She surprise to see that you arrive to her gym and she hope that you can handle her team (Lv.15-24) (Shellos (East Sea) and Barboach. They will have advantage too electric type pokemon so it's better to use grass type and watch out for mud-slap and mud bombs to lower the Pokemon accuracy. Beating her will earn you the Vine Badge (Lv.20-38) and will be given a TM# Mud Bomb. After the battle her grandfather name Lumber appeared in front of her gym surprising her.  He wanted to check on how the gym going and seeing you with her gym badge embarrass from her grandpa seeing that she lost. Meeting the trainer tells you if you want to be stronger with your Pokemon you could try Route 33 which lead o Everest City and to the restricted Area 51. It’s also full of rare Pokemon as well. Before you leave your rival came to fight you again. When you defeated him/her both you and your rival are given a “Rider Page” by Lumber. Since he heard some people are having trouble with the swamp lately he decided to give you the device that also hold the “Quagsire Swamp” rider page that can help . He also tell the story that Hazel have a Pokemon that she love so much before becoming gym leader. He know that a couple of Team Raptor was just hear today till Hazel kick them out of the swamp he know that might happen because she hate what Team Raptor when they took her Mudkip long time ago which is a gift for her when he went to the Hoenn Region to help do constructions in the forests. So he wants your help to help find her Mudkip for him because she just want her Mudkip back so much as they’ve created a great bond with each other. As you accept the request he thanks you and went off the road.

(this all I got but there will be Pt.2 someday)

[lovelylyannacrawford-blog]

The One True Queen

A Midnight Cinderella fanfic. story by lovelylyannacrawford

MCx"Everyone"

Chapter 1, Part ½.

In Which the Princess-Elect Is Chosen

I find myself standing alone on the balcony of a porcelain tower. A golden crown sits on my head, and I’m wearing a long, regal white dress that trails into the dark room behind me. Grass and exotic, lovely plants surround the tower, and the trees act together as an incomplete border that starts from the far left side of the land and stretches around to the far right side, making the tree-border resemble a half-circle.

The sky is dark and the wind, which starts out gentle, picks up speed. Wolves howl and suddenly, a Tianjinese soldier emerges from the trees, running towards the tower with dogs and other Tianjinese soldiers chasing after him. While I don’t know the soldier’s identity, I do know that my heart cries out for him as I watch him barely dodge an arrow. I’ve experienced this dream many times before but I still get scared, even when I know it’s coming to an end.

These dreams end the same in which an arrow flies at me and the soldier, nearly tripping himself, reaches his hand out and screams “NO!”, and I wake up before I’m hit. This dream is slightly different from the rest, though. This time, I’m allowed to see the details of the soldier’s mask that sets him apart from the rest.

I wake up with a foreign orange and white fox mask fresh in my mind. The morning sun peeks through the thin white curtains of the room, and it takes me a moment to remember that I’m still in Wysteria, still in Aaron Abernathy’s house in the precious town I grew up in. My heart calms as I take in the sight of my old room and the smell of breakfast coming from the kitchen.

I ponder over the meaning of my dreams as I eat. In my dreams, I must be someone of high-standing and importance, such as a princess, going by what I wore, the concerned soldier, and the tower. It’s funny because it’s a big contrast to what I am in real life: a simple home tutor named (first name), daughter of Emily (last name) and an unknown man, and older sister to “Baby Nate”, a slight cripple who immature teens see as the laughing stock of the town. The contrast alone is enough to remind me that dreams like these are more like muses than prophecies, yet I can’t stop myself from remembering the princess system. His Majesty King Harrison is sick and doesn’t have a heir, and therefore must choose a Wysterian female to be the Princess-elect. He can choose any of us he pleases, and before I find myself in my childhood daydreams as the Princess of Wysteria, I tell myself that it’s only logical he chooses someone who is of actual high-standing and importance; in other words, someone unlike me.

Aaron left a note on the kitchen table saying that he’s out fishing. He’s the owner of Atomic Liquors, the most popular bar in town, and since his living quarter is its very top floor, I have to go through the bar doors in order to go outside.

It’s supposed to be a beautiful day today. I told my students that instead of the usual math and literature, we would meet at the park’s water fountain and then go on from there on a full-filled day.

—

(Later)

When I reach the water fountain, half a dozen of my students run toward me with their arms out. It never fails to lift my spirits when people express their happiness to me, especially when it’s because of me, but this time my lifted spirits last shorter than usual when I see Baby Nate and Emily stand nearby. I’m more surprised than anything else. Emily says, “I thought it would be nice for Nathan to make friends his age.”

It seems like my students are ready to welcome their new playmate because Baby Nate finds himself surrounded on all sides after taking only a couple steps forward. It’s unusual for Emily to allow him out of the house because of her “concern” over his well-being. I stare at her, the woman who Aaron likes to remind me that I happen to be “almost the spitting image of”.

Aaron told me they met when Atomic Liquors and I were 2 years old. There are pictures of them when they were still a couple hanging on his living room wall, and one of them stands out over the rest. It’s a picture of Emily when she was 18, my age now, and she looked beautiful. She had healthy brown hair, flawless skin, and the perfect button nose. She was facing the camera with her hands behind her, back straight and chin up. The only makeup she wore were mascara to make her dark eyes pop, and red lipstick on her bow-shaped lips. It’s sad looking at her now. Her pretty features had faded away due to not only aging, but also to bad habits, which has led to the downfall in many other aspects of her life, such as her relationship with Aaron and whoever my dad is, and the way Baby Nate turned out.

I finally give Emily a response, saying, “The kids and I will take good care of him,” I look at my students. “Right guys?”

“YES!” they answer. Anne, who has Down’s Syndrome, takes Baby Nate’s hand and lifts it in the air.

“I will make (first name)’s brother my new best friend!” she declares, and Baby Nate has to stop himself from falling by grabbing her shoulder with his free hand. They end up face-to-face in the perfect kissing position and the kids around them go, “Oooooooh!”

Emily’s attention is fixed on something in the distance, and when I cough once into my fist she turns to me and says, “Tell Aaron that Nathan will have to stay with him for a few days. I’ll be out of town.”

I ask her, “Are you only telling someone about this now?”

Even though I know that Aaron will be happy to look after Baby Nate, I allow myself to get mad at Emily for doing what she does best: dumping her problems and responsibilities onto someone else.

Emily doesn’t react to the look I give her and walks away without a care for anyone in the world, save for herself, most likely.

I look down to see Baby Nate’s beautiful young face when he tugs at my sleeve.

“(first name), can you take us to see the town?” he asks. My anger fades away and I remember that today is supposed to be a fun day, where I’ll play with the kids and tell them fairy tales under the good weather. I smile at him and take his hand, give it a light squeeze, and say, “Of course. But first, how about I tell all of you a story about a past Wysterian princess and her prince consort…”

—

All the kids went home by late afternoon, save for Baby Nate and Anne. As I watch them walk through town under the sinking sun, I think about Baby Nate’s evolution throughout the years. He has grown stronger in many ways since he was younger despite his disability, thanks to Aaron’s support. He can now walk straight for more than five minutes and can even participate in physical activities like soccer, albeit carefully. Baby Nate can make most people look past his disability with his personality and intelligence, and hardly deals with the same amount of bullies. Anne, on the other hand, is ever the same. She’s as kind as I remember her to be three years ago, when I first met her-

I stop my musing when Anne and Baby Nate are suddenly behind me, clutching my shirt. I’m confused because a second ago they were walking happily in front of me, but then I see the problem. Tyler Ugliano, one of my past bullies, is standing at the fruit stand up ahead. I tense as he turns to look at us. Even though I haven’t seen him in the last three years, he must’ve not gotten any better if news of his little siblings bullying others have been getting around.

Tyler approaches us with a smile that I can’t trust, even though it comes off kind. Then his true shithead colors become obvious as he looks at me up and down, whistles, and says, “You’ve grown, (first name). You got surprisingly hot.”

He sticks his hand out and continues, “How about we start on a fresh page? I’m Tyler Ugliano…” I say nothing and he laughs.

“Aw, no?” he pouts, and slowly reaches for my hair. I find myself not being able to move away as he touches the strands that rest on my right shoulder. “Your hair’s gotten so long…”

Tyler twirls my hair gently between his fingers, then suddenly grips it and yanks it down. I flinch in pain as Anne and Baby Nate gasp, releasing their hold on my shirt. Tyler takes more of my hair from the back of my head and forces me to look into his eyes.

“Don’t you dare think people are going to like you just because you now have a pretty face. Your mom’s still a harlot and your brother’s still a retard thing,” he snarls. Everyone is looking at us with shocked expressions. What is Tyler thinking, attacking me like this in broad daylight where people can see us? When we were younger, he was at least smart enough to do this kind of thing in private. Has he gotten stupid or is he just seeking attention?

Tyler moves my head down to the side and takes a good look at the kids. He snorts, “I see you’re now involved with an actual retard thing.”

At that moment I feel something close to murderous. I can’t see Anne’s face, but I know there’s pain written all over it. She’s been picked on her entire life for having Down’s Syndrome. It’s something she will never get used to because it’s something she can never change…and she can never change the way idiots like Tyler view her.

“Stop it, Tyler!” I say, but he ignores me and goes on with his demeaning words, this time directly at Anne.

“Why are you so. Damn. Ugly?” he asks in an innocent manner. My fists shake with fury as Anne begins to cry.

“Now, now. I think the only ugly person here is you, with that awful personality,” an unfamiliar voice says. Tyler’s grip loosens in surprise, and I take this as an opportunity to sink my fingers into his arm. He howls and throws me aside.

I’m lucky to say I’m safe in a stranger’s arms rather than hurt on the ground. When I look up I nearly freeze when I’m met with a very charming male face. White hair, angular features, and almond red eyes hold onto my attention for longer than they probably should. My feet, which are standing on their tiptoes, are planted fully on the ground as the young man positions me to stand up straight. His hands are now on my arms. He gives me a kind smile as he pats imaginary dust off my sleeve, tilts his head to one side and asks, “You okay?”

I gulp and nod my head, and watch him take on an expression that conveys annoyance as he turns to face Tyler.

“Y’know,” he begins. “I have my days too, when I starve for attention or feel like I just have to feel smarter or more superior than everyone else…”

He pauses to chuckle, and Tyler steps away from him without dropping his glare.

“But the mud-slinging and meanness? Yeah, I’m not interested,” the young man continues. “What’s the point of bullying, anyway? It only makes you happy temporarily, and make others hurt for probably forever.”

“But you don’t understand,” Tyler says. The young man raises his eyebrows in mock surprise.

“Huh? What do you think I don’t understand?”

“W-well,” Tyler stutters as he tries to counter the young man, and then points at me. “One, she’s a b***h who thinks she’s better than everyone else. Two, her mom’s a hooker. Three, she hangs around retards-“

“One,” the young man interrupts, and steps toward Tyler with every point he makes. “I can’t say anything about what she’s like because I don’t know her, and I get the feeling it’s the same for you, so don’t say things you only assume. Two, did she get to choose her mom?  And three,” he’s very close to Tyler at this point. “At least she has real friends. And why make fun of them? I think they look cool.”

The young man winks at Baby Nate and Anne, who obviously see a knight in shining armor in him. I take this time to appreciate his appearance more. I can tell he’s rather well-off going by his red leather coat, the expensive materials his white shirt and black pants are made of, and the healthy glow from his skin. I find myself going closer to him until he meets my gaze, and I glance away.

Tyler breaks the silence with a loud stomp.

“You’re the one assuming shit! Okay, so she didn’t get to choose her mommy, but still, she shouldn’t be hanging around retards if she doesn’t want to get hurt. And I have plenty of friends, real friends, more than she’ll ever have!”

The young man stares at him, then sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

“I suggest you leave. There’s no point in trying to get through to you. You’re hopeless,” he says, and ignores Tyler’s shocked expression as he goes over to Baby Nate and Anne. I follow him, feeling amazed.

“(first name),” Tyler hisses. I look at him. “You’re dead.”

He runs off. Finally, I notice all the attention this scene attracted and can’t stop myself from looking down at my feet in shame.

“Thank you so much, sir!” Baby Nate says. I turn my attention to him. He’s hugging the young man around the waist, his head coming up to his chest. Anne stands nearby, twirling her pointer fingers around each other with her eyes closed and her cheeks flushed.

The young man beams down at Baby Nate. “No problem! It would be cruel of me to just stand by and watch you guys get bullied like that.”

He playfully jabs Baby Nate’s forehead, then goes over to Anne and gets down to her level.

“Hey. Don’t listen to what he said, because you are one good-looking lady,” he says.

Anne’s heart is probably melting. Her face goes red and she covers up her cheeks, and then throws her arms around the young man’s neck.

“Thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU! You’re the first boy to ever say that to me!” she cries. He stares at her with an unreadable expression, and then gets up. He goes over to a nearby booth and points at the necklaces for sale.

“See any you like?” he asks. At that moment my eyes widen and my heart picks up speed. I put my hand over my chest and as I feel my heart’s rhythm, I remember the last time I felt this way: it was with Robert, my former tutor, when he was still in town.

Anne chooses a necklace made of small pink pearls and white crystal flowers, and holds it close to her lips as the young man purchases it. She’s so overwhelmed with happiness she leans on Baby Nate’s shoulder. The young man looks at them with a boyish grin before he picks up an armful of white flowers off the side of a booth. My heart sinks. I don’t want him to leave just yet.

“I’m (first name). (first name) (last name),” I say. The young man looks at me with raised brows. I point at Baby Nate, then Anne. “He’s my brother Nathan and she’s my student Anne Stone. Can you tell us your name?”

He comes closer and seems to gaze at my face for a moment, as if trying to remember every detail. He then smiles and takes my right hand, and I blush as my heart kicks up speed again.

“I’m Leo Crawford,” he says, and kisses my hand. He leans his face closer to mine until I can feel his breath on my forehead, and my heart skips a beat. “What’s his name?”

He must be referring to Tyler. I answer him, “Tyler Ugliano.”

Leo nods, saying, “Makes sense. I’ll do what I can to get him off your back.”

He steps back to get a good look at the three of us, and says, “I’m enchanted to meet you three. I’d stay longer, but I have errands to run and places to be.”

He turns his back to us and walks off into the sunset. I realize that my hand is still on my chest, and I allow myself to call out to him, “Leo!”

Leo looks back. He grins and waves to us.

“Good bye!” he calls back.

The kids and I watch him until he’s no longer in sight. Anne clutches my sleeve and says, “(first name), Leo Crawford is so DREAMY!”

Oh Anne, I can’t disagree with you. I simply nod in response.

I decide to take Baby Nate to Aaron’s house before I walk Anne home. The bar is busy like it is every night, and Aaron is talking to his writer/storyteller friends in the far right corner. He excuses himself from the table when he notices us, and his surprise is evident as he looks down at Baby Nate.

“Nathan, not that I’m not thrilled to see you, but what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with your mother?”

I tell Aaron what Emily said to me this morning. His forehead creases in thought, and then he sighs.

“It’s like her to let everyone know things at the last second. Whatever, I guess. Old habits don’t die easily,” He puts a hand on Baby Nate’s shoulder. “I’ll fix him something to eat and take him to bed. I suggest you take Anne home before her mother worries. And by the way,” he waves an envelope at me. “This is for you.”

I notice the envelope’s gold frames. My name is written in cursive at the center, and I see what resembles a castle at the top right corner. I hardly recieve letters and when I do, it’s usually from scammers or distant relatives asking for money…yet I get the feeling that the contents within the envelope will possibly turn my world upside down. My heart pounds. I say, “I’ll read it later. Can you leave it on the bed for me?”

Anne and I arrive at her house without running into any trouble, and Mrs. Stone appears to already be in bed. After I get Anne cleaned up, I tuck her in and read her a story out of a picture book to help her fall asleep. I lay next to her on the bed, and she snuggles into my chest and occasionally glances up at me from the book.

Anne is captivated by the small white flowers in the story. Her pudgy short finger points to them as she looks up to me with pleading eyes and says in a pleading voice, “(first name), can you get me that flower?”

I furrow my brows and hesitate before I respond, “Sweetheart, what do you want it for?”

“I need one to make momma better again…” she says, and I curse at myself for not considering her home situation. Anne’s mom is ill and has a broken leg, and Anne’s abusive alcoholic father is in jail for assault which, funny enough, took place at Atomic Liquors. According to the story, the flowers, which can only be grown in the palace garden, grant wishes. I feel conflicted, because one part of me says no, I shouldn’t do it because 1.) it’s just a fairy tale and 2.) there is no way I’ll be able to successfully sneak into the palace. But the other part of me says yes, I should do it because it’s a simple, innocent wish from my favorite student, who is sweet and caring despite all of the problems she has to go through. When I finally choose my decision, I look at Anne in the eyes.

“Okay. I’ll find a way to get you that flower.”

I resist the urge to flinch when Anne looks at me with wide eyes and an openly happy expression. She hugs me tight and as I hug her back, I think, ‘There’s no way I can let you down now, sweetheart…’

—

*Words from the Author*

I want to say thank you to Lissa of deathbymidnightcinderella. I wouldn’t have written this without her support and encouragement. She’s been a hardcore Midnight Cinderella fan for almost two years now, so any time I have a question I know she’ll always be there to have my back with her knowledge and kind words, just like she did when I wrote this first half-chapter. 

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D 

[ozymandiascezn]

schrei es in die winde ||4||

chapter four

fandom original

pairing original oc x original oc

warnings brief mentions of skin pain, language, death, fighitng/beating someone who deserves it up

-

She presses featherlight kisses all over his face, struggling to suppress her giggles at the way his face scrunches up. “Your face is all scrunched up, honey bunny! It’s so cute!”

“Yes, that tends to happen when I’m showered in affection.” Andrej retorts, chuckling to himself. “I was trying to read, but I suppose I can succumb to all your kisses instead. They’re infinitely more entertaining anyways.”

“You work too much, babe. You’ll be dead of stress before you're forty.” She sighs, running a hand through his hair.

“I’ll be dead for a lot of other reasons before I’m forty. Got a lot of enemies.” He murmurs, eyes fluttering shut at her touch.

She smiles sadly at him. “I know.”

Andrej jolts awake, a grave mistake he realizes too late when it feels like his skin is torn open. It’s a searing pain he knows well, too well. It doesn’t bother him as much as it used to, as much as it should. His skin is prone to cracking, any over-enthusiastic movement can cause it to crumble, anything can cause it to crumble.

He lays in bed for a moment, vaguely aware of the warm liquid he feels against his back. He debates whether he wants to get up, whether getting up is worth cleaning the mess. He forces himself to get up one way or another. He cheats his way through the pain with the black smoke-like liquid — for as long as he’s had it, naming it had never been an idea until now.

It takes him longer than necessary to undress, shower, get dressed, and awkwardly make his way downstairs where Elizabeth is in the living room, reading. It can’t be any later than five in the morning.

Elizabeth wears a pale blue nightgown and her hair’s down, curled at the ends. It feels familiar to Andrej, like he’s seen her before, but that isn’t right. He shakes it off and, much like a drunken fool, stumbles into the room.

“Oh! Andrej!” She jumps, hand flying to her chest as if to steady her beating heart. “You scared me! What are you doing up, it’s so… early!”

He grunts, stiffly collapsing onto the couch that faces the one she sits on. “Es tut so weh… What are you doing up? Seems to be a bit too early for you to be up and about.”

“I couldn’t sleep so I came down to read,” she shrugs lightly, “I’ve never heard you speak German before. You sound… beautiful.”

“I — You think I sound beautiful?” He’s alarmed, and if he had half the mind to lift his head and look at her, he would, but everything hurts. “Du bist selten, Nachtigall. Thank you.”

She smiles. “Now, answer my question. What are you doing up? I would’ve thought you would’ve slept for a lot longer considering what happened yesterday.”

“I, uh, I had a nightmare. Followed by a rather horrific but terribly common injury.” He hums, speaking more freely than he might’ve anywhere else. Call it sleep deprivation or loss of blood. “I am fine, mind you, just… just recovering I suppose.”

“You’re a wreck,” she snorts, laughing quietly, “but I guess that’s what makes you, well, you. At least tell me you’re bandaged or something? I might spend the rest of the day worrying.”

“I am bandaged, yes.” He nods, though, with his face nearly melted into the cushions, he doubts she can tell he nodded at all. “It is a tragedy how comfortable this couch is compared to my bed, a real tragedy.”

She snorts. “Really? The rich guy who funds all of this finds his couch is softer than his bed? The world is ending, someone call the police, the world is ending!”

“Oh, making fun of the guy who’s letting you live here? Rent free, mind you.” He wants to laugh, but even breathing brings a particular dull ache that laughing might make worse. “I hope you know I’m still not a big fan of you.”

“You don’t trust easy, do you?” She sighs, closing her book and setting it aside. “I promise I won’t bite. I’m certainly not going to oppose you, after seeing shadows come from your eyes, mouth, and nose, I think I’ll choose your side to fight on. Metaphorically, though, since I have no idea how to fight.”

“You can get Victoria to teach you if you want to fight.” He mutters, slowly moving to sit himself upright. He moves haphazardly, small winces leaving his lips as he realigns himself. “What book were you reading?”

She picks up the book again, looking at it closely. “I honestly have no idea, I wasn’t really paying attention. I think it’s in German, actually. I was just looking at the words, I guess. German words look so harsh, but I doubt they sound like it.”

“Depends,” he muses, “I don’t speak it often anymore, so it might sound harsher than what it would be like coming from a fluent speaker. Mood also changes the way German sounds. I’ve found that being yelled at in English is like being sung a lullaby in German. It’s a fickle language.”

She nods lightly, listening as if every word he speaks is the most important thing to ever be said. “Who was that little girl that came over the other day?”

“Jordie? She’s an orphan that I watch every now and again. She likes to ‘sneak’ out a lot, oftentimes she comes here or finds me out and about. She stays for a while and then I bring her back.” He hums, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling. “She’s adorable.”

“Then why not adopt her? She appears to have her own room, complete with all the things she likes most and if I were to make a guess, I’d say you were the one to give her all of it.” She chimes lightly, head tilted.

He looks at her. “Did… Did Victoria tell you to say that? I can’t… I can’t do that, Elizabeth. She deserves more than what I can give her. No one’s stopping you from adopting her, though. You have plenty of time on your hands to do so, after all.”

Her eyes widen. “Me? Adopt? Her? She’s practically your daughter! I can babysit, if that’s what you’re saying, but I’m not going to adopt your kid.”

“Shame, we might’ve made for a wonderful functional dysfunctional family.” He feigns disappointment, chuckling lightly. “I should get going back to bed.”

Elizabeth watches him struggle to stand on his feet, stifling giggles and snorts. “Perhaps you should just sit and stay awhile. I can bring something for you if you want?”

His eyes are narrowed at her, brows furrowed. “Laugh at my expense again and we’ll see what happens and since you’re offering, a big old bottle of vodka would be nice.”

She’s silent as she stares at him like he’s murdered a newborn and when she speaks, her voice comes off as surprised, worried if anything. “Are you — are you a functioning alcoholic and do I need to get Victoria?”

“I’m functioning, aren’t I?” He retorts, blasé about her worry. “I don’t drink much, at least, I used to not drink much. Things have changed, people change. Nothing ever stays the same.”

“Why do you do this? Rescuing mutants doesn’t seem very relaxing, especially if it leads you to drink a lot.” She sighs softly. “People can learn to help themselves, you know?”

“Not everyone has the tools and people to teach them to fight back, and it is not always so black and white. We can’t fight with our mutant abilities — you can hardly fight back at all unless you want to become a martyr.” He crosses a leg over the other, shrugging. “It is like this elsewhere too. Germany is a war field, has been since the World War. But the people who try to make it their home are often left to watch as their homes are burned down time and time again. Those who fight back? I’ve never seen so many different ways a person could die before then.”

“But that war was more than two hundred years ago… at least the second one…” She looks away for a moment. “How long were you in Germany before coming here?”

“I couldn’t honestly tell you. I was born there and stayed for a while, but dates aren’t that important to me.” He answers honestly. “I think I might’ve been nineteen when I left, that was a little over a decade ago. I left with… I left with the love of my life, it was her idea to come here. I wasn’t sold on it.”

“Well, are you sold on the idea now? It’s not all that bad here.” She raises an eyebrow, snickering lightly. “You speak of her so sadly. I’m sure she’d want you to be happy.”

“No, no, this place isn’t great. Germany at least had grass.” He snorts lightly, scratching the back of his neck. “There’s a lot of things she would have wanted me to be. I’m just not a very good listener.”

Elizabeth snorts, giggling. “So you don’t listen to living people, you clearly don’t seem to listen to the deceased. What do you listen to, Mister Engelbrecht?”

“For someone who doesn’t know much German, you pronounce my surname like a fluent speaker,” He muses, “I don’t listen to anyone in particular, though, I follow what my gut tells me, I suppose.”

They sit in silence for a while and Elizabeth occasionally stands and wanders near the parlor to look out the large windows. The third time she walked over, a gasp is pulled from her. There’s fear in the way she stands, the way she stumbles back to look at Andrej. He knows the look a lot more than he’d care to admit.

He stands, ignoring the ache that goes from dull to searing the moment he’s on his feet. He can hear people outside and when he opens the door, he inhales sharply.

An anti-mutant ‘protest’ of sorts was passing by and clear in view were heads, on pikes. Bodies being dragged on rope, long dead and rotting but dug up for show. The air is foul and while something in him rings the alarm bell to close the door, he watches. He stands and watches as bodies are dragging through town, bodies belonging to the young and old. He recognized a few of them — mutants. Others weren’t mutants at all, merely people caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, accused of something that would be near impossible to disprove. He knows how this works. The moment you’re accused is the moment you sign your will and prepare for your funeral.

When he closes the door, Elizabeth is standing behind him, brows furrowed and mouth ajar. She looks as if ready to say something but can’t quite figure out what it is she wants to say.

“Light some candles,” he runs a hand through his hair, “I’d rather it smell like something other than death when the others wake up.”

“What… What was that?” She follows him into the kitchen, helping him rummage for candles with any sort of scent. “Why were they… why were they doing that?”

“You get used to it, or you don’t, but it’s better to just get used to it.” He clears his throat, finding some candles and lighting them as quickly as he humanly could. “It’s not… It’s not that bad, not as bad as it used to be. We’ve made strides, but Old York is an old city, an old home. It’s not easy changing something old.”

She stares at him, simply just holding the candle in her hands. “Andrej…. I don’t…. This isn’t something that you should just casually brush off….”

“Things have to be done, breakfast has to be made, life goes on. Life doesn’t stop, it won’t give you the time to just sit and take it all in. The moment you stop to grieve, to take it all in, you don’t get back up.” He sighs quietly, inadvertently slamming a door amidst his very convincing speech. “We just have to hope we aren’t next.”

“Then… the best course of action is to find out who told on all those people they were dragging.” She shrugs lightly, wringing her hands nervously. “If there’s a problem, you cut it off before it can get worse, right? Go after the people who sold them out.”

He pauses to look at her, bewildered almost. “The problem is half this damn city. Should I just light it on fire and let it go? You do make a good point, though, so I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I tend to do that — make good points, I mean.” She laughs lightly, moving her hands to her hips. “Suppose now we just have to officially start the day, huh? We should start with breakfast…”

He lets out a grunt, nodding. “You should try cooking. I always do it, but a change of pace around here keeps things from getting boring.”

“Me? Cook? I might burn this place down.” She snorts.

—

Andrej cocks his head to the side, watching the man tied to the chair try his hardest to wiggle out of the rope. He’s the only person in the room — he doesn’t need anyone to monitor the situation, especially when he’s capable of handling himself.

Black liquid drops from his lips, he can feel it from his eyes too, but he knows well enough what it looks like. What he looks like. His skin will be smooth and everything will be as he always wanted it to be. It never lasts, it is a fleeting memory that only stands to last as long as he uses this messy power.

He can’t tell what mutant ability he’s using today, just that he’s using one that has yet to present itself. It’s how Jack of all Trades works. You never get what you want, but what you need, you just have to figure that out.

“I don’t know why I’m here! I’ve got a wife and kids! Please! Just let me go!” His sobs get louder as the chair creaks with every failed attempt to escape the ropes.

Andrej resists the urge to laugh. “You know exactly why you’re here, Mister Lawrence Brooke, don’t play stupid with me. It’s unbecoming and entirely a lie. I don’t like liars, you know.”

Lawrence stares up at Andrej, eyes wide and full of fear. “A - Andrej…. Andrej please! I had nothing to do with the mutants! I swear! I tried protecting them but they were going to kill me too!”

“You think you’re special, don’t you? You think because you’re rich, because you’re a patron that I’ll just let you go?” He asks, incredulously despite him already knowing what the answer is. “You killed children, Lawrence. Defenseless little children. I’m going to make sure the whole world knows what you’ve done, and they’re going to know what I’m going to do to you.”

He sobs, “Please, I’m begging you! I had nothing to do with this! I’ll — I’ll give you some other names! I’ll tell you other people! Just please don’t kill me!”

“Did you show mercy to the people you killed? Did you stop when they begged? Did you just send them on their merry way back home because they sobbed and begged and gave you someone in their place?” Andrej snorts, ignoring the icy cold feeling the blackness spilling from his lips filled him with. “You’re going to wish you had never been born, Lawrence Brooke.”

The black liquid flows from his body, his hands, like tendrils. They shift and shift, never remaining in a particular form long enough for Andrej to discern. It doesn’t matter though, because when his foot connects with Lawrence’s chest, he tumbles into the wall behind him. Strength enhanced, Andrej is sure it’d only be a few punches until Lawrence died if he wanted to make him suffer.

“How many children do you think were killed because of you?” Andrej pulls a glove over his hand, flexing as if to test that it fits. He doesn’t bother to tune in on whatever the poor sod sobs about, it’s all pointless to him.

His fist connects with Lawrence’s skull, knocking him over onto the ground. Again, he hits him, fist hitting bone with a sickening crunch. It fuels the hunger that lies beneath Andrej’s flesh, threatening to bubble over.

For a moment, he pauses, listening to Lawrence to hear his breath — to check if he’s even still alive. His breathing is shallow, but there nonetheless, nothing he couldn’t work with if he didn’t want to. That is enough for him.

His boot connects with his ribs, another sickening crack followed by more and more kicks that eventually turn into jabs and stomps. Blood seeps and splatters along Andrej’s clothes and face, even the walls drip red. He doesn’t stop, not until Lawrence is unrecognizable and all that’s left is chunks of his body, disconnected with the rest of him.

—

Andrej looks and feels like a feral dog, foaming black at the mouth instead of white. He’s sure if anyone had seen him coming home, he might’ve been turned in or someone might have put a bullet in his head to do the job.

When he returns home, Elizabeth and Victoria are in the living room, waiting for him, like the little vultures they’ve come to be.

“Andrej!” Victoria gasps, eyes wide when she sees the blood that coats him. “What did you do?”

He cocks his head to the side, hand moving to wipe at his chin. When he’s calmer, it’ll fade and everything will be as it usually is. “What I do when I’m out and about is not your concern.”

“You walked in, blood all over you with your ability activated, Andrej. It becomes my concern when it puts us at risk, when it puts Jordie at risk.” She snaps. “Not to mention Elizabeth! We can’t make life or death decisions right now, you know that. God, you can be so stupid sometimes!”

He stands there, head still cocked to the side like a belligerent teenager. “Watch it, Victoria. I elect to be kind and merciful and my mercy is running so very thin.”

She purses her lips, looking away. “I hate how you get when you use your abilities. At least try to act discreet.”

“Do I not act discreet enough? Fine, perhaps I’ll become a shadow and slink my way back.” He retorts, tone much sharper than what was typical of him. “I do know what I’m doing, you know. Not like I haven’t already been doing this since I was old enough to shoot a gun.”

“Just… go change and wash up before I punch you.” Victoria pushes him away, shooting him a glare as he saunters upstairs.