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naterpillar · 8 months

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Angleyes

Sirius Black x Reader

Inspired by song "Angeleyes" by Abba

While recovering from a breakup, you look back at your time with Sirius Black, all while realizing an undeniable truth.

Warning: Mentions of Adult Activities, angst

The Greeks believed that the stars, galaxies, the constellations were created by the gods.

For reference, the placing of Callisto.

The beautiful, loyal, and favored hunter of Artimes. But it seems that loyalty only got you so far with the gods. She was soon turned into a bear by her goddess due to the birth of a child caused by an assult by Zeus. Years later, the same child would come upon her bear form and attempt to kill it. Zeus would see these events unfold and take "mercy" upon the two. He would place them in the sky so they would never be separated again.

Another, Andromeda. She was the fair wife to Perseus, the slayer of Medusa. Although their meet cute probably wasn't as romantic as she was hoping it would be. He found her chained to a rock by her own people as a sacrifice to Poseidon's monster. He would slay it, and they would soom have a whopping six children. Athena would later place her in the sky as a way for people to remember her for all of eternity.

The brightest in the sky though, at least in your eyes was Orion's dog, the Star of Sirius.

And a dog he was.

~~~~~~~

You'd spend the better half of 2 weeks moping in your bed. Although you would never say that aloud because then that would mean he won. It would mean that he had been able to wiggle his way into your heart like a parasite. It would mean that without his touch on your hand, your shoulder, your lips, your legs, you were lost. That you were had loved him.

So you blamed your absence on painful, the worst you-ever-experienced, period cramps. Although that could only work for so long, even if none of your peers didn't really believe it in the first place. So, it didn't take long for your scar covered friend to come barging in.

"You know, it's considered rude in most of the world to come in without a heads up," you grumbled, not having to look up to see who it was, the scent of chocolate reaching your nose, "What if I was naked?"

"Then what a site it would have been," Remus replied sarcastically, "It's time to get out of this room, love."

"See, I would love to Rem, but my cramps are just killing me," you grasp your stomach in mock pain.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong here, but I don't think menstrual periods, or at least yours, last twelve days."

You gasp, "then it must be menopause," you fall back onto your bed sinking into the warm sheets. "Oh, I should have seen the signs, the gray hair, the wrinkles... oh Rem! Do you think this spot is cancerous?" You both fall into laughter, and you realize this is the first time you smiled since the incident. Remus plops onto the space beside you with a smile still spread on his features, your shoulders touching.

There was a comfortable silence, hearing the laughter of students, stories down from your window. The window he once climed through after almost killing himself scaling the outside wall of the castle. You cleaned the material out of his hair and kissed his wounds better that night, your heart glowing that although a stupid action was directed so he could get to you. You shoke the memory from your brain, opting to turn the boy beside you.

"How do you even get in here?"

"I'll give you three guesses"

"Why didn't they just talk to me themselves?" you ask, thinking of your roommates/best friends

"Well, I don't know if you realize this, but you are quite argumentative... and a little bit scary. I'm surprised you weren't sorted into Slytherin."

"So you were thrown into the lion cage," he lets out a breathy chuckle.

"Well, I've been told I can be quite stubborn. I am the one who pulls the boys out of their beds." The smile slipped off your face, and you could feel the gaping pit in your stomach return. Remus immediately realized his mistake and felt his heart break a little at your dimming eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean t-,"

"No, you're okay, it's fine. I'm fine." You gave him a tight lip smile even though you both know he could look right through it.

There is another pregnant pause. You were happy that Remus came to check up on you. Though friends before, you cheating off his work and him being graced by your impeccable charm, he was one of Sirius's closest mates. And you wouldn't have been surprised if he stopped talking to you. You couldn't say that wouldn't have stun, though.

"I just really don't want to see him. I don't know what I'll do if I do."

"It'll be okay," he said, bringing you closer to his chest, "it'll be okay."

You let yourself relax in his grasp. Though you knew it was wrong, you couldn't help but picture yourself in someone else's arms.

"I'll let you have some of my chocolate if you come in to walk with me."

"Deal."

~~~~~~~

And that's how you ended up here. Walking among the land of the living again, trying to ignore the whispers and stares, all while looking out for a pierced boy. You thought you saw his back at one point, but it was just his younger brother Regulas, who when he turned around and saw you, give you a polite nod.

Talking with Remus was nothing but a pleasure, catching you up on the gossip you had missed and adding his own commentary. It seemed nothing would be able to dampen your mood until you felt the thundercloads roll over again.

You had been walking down the shore of the lake when you saw the tree. The tree where you and him had shared countless laughs, deep conversations, (most of which talked of your future together) kisses, and intimate touches. Where you shared stories of your day, read to one another, and even a few nights of love making.

But your favorite pastime with Sirius, besides the sex, was the star gazing. You would lay out on the ground, his warm leather jacket the only protection from the prickly grass, and Sirius would rest his head on your chest. Then begin your game. Sirius would point to a light in the sky and say its name, although most you already knew, then you would tell the stories and mythology behind that star. As you looked up at the galaxy, you could imagine that you were somewhere else in time, somewhere without the threat of an impending war, maybe a peaceful farm with geese roaming around.

There were more than a few times that you and the boy would have to sneak back into the castle, being woken from your slumber by the streaks of dawn flooding the sky.

But that sacrade tree was not without company. There leaning on the stump was Sirius. But what really cemented the dagger into your heart was the girl curled into his chest reading aloud the lines of a book.

Remus followed your line of sight and quickly turned you away, starting to chatter on about dinner.

But it was too late, you already felt a shiver go down your spine despite the heat. The look he was giving her was one that you were plenty familiar with. A look of awe, admiration, maybe even love. A look that used to be able to stop you in your tracks and make your heart mush still had the same effect, only befriended with a sour emotion.

You recognized the girl, believing she was in the year younger than yours. She was also the one he said not to worry about.

As you began walking away from the scene, you couldn't help but compare it to a car accident. Wanting to look but knowing as soon as you see the damage you wouldn't be able to unsee it. But another thought lingered in your mind. The urge to walk right up to the couple, to the girl, and warn her. Warn her that she was just a pawn in a game he likes to play; fun to play with but easily expandable.

But you could tell it was too late for her. Having already looked into his eyes, being put in a hypnotic state of adoration. A parallel to your own experience.

~~~~~~~

The first time you were really captivated with Sirius was when you really took a look into his eyes. Having known of each other, you never began talking until you were partnered in Charms class. It's said that eyes are a window to the soul, and as disgusting as it sounds, you could see your whole future in them. They were hypnotic and put you in a trance like state of borderline obsession.

Angeleyes were the only way to describe them.

With Sirius Black, every day felt like paradise. He was everything one would ever need in a boyfriend. He was doting and wasn't afraid to show it. Blowing kisses at Quddich games, buying expensive gifts, and even creative once in a lifetime dates.

Every day was an adventure. For your half-year anniversary, Sirius had managed to bag front row tickets to see Bowie. You and him danced under the stars that night, the euphonious voice of the Starman himself filling your ears like honey. That night was filled with tipsy lovemaking and a warm shower to wash the colorful makeup off your faces.

Everything was perfect...

Until it wasn't.

You had heard the rumors of his past, you would have to be living under a rock to not have. Of breaking hearts left and right. It didn't matter who you were, how you acted, Sirius Black would break your heart.

But when you hit your two month mark of dating, you thought you were different. How unfortunately and totally wrong you were.

He was getting distant by the nine month mark. Although you knew what was to come, you tried to hold it off as best you could. He began acting weirder. Trying to distance himself from you in public, keeping touches to minimim. He would partner with his friends on projects, when before his eyes would quickly find yours when a group project was mentioned. Then, when you were in private, he was back to his old loving self, the Sirius you feel in love with.

He broke up with you in public. In the Great Hall. In the middle of dinner. In. front. of. everyone. The room became silent, something that never happened, as they watched the Heartbreak Prince collect another broken heart. You tried to maintain your dignity and not let your tears fall as you moved to the opposite side of the table from him, your friends following. It wasn't until you got to the dorm that night that you broke down in Mary's arms, the mutters of Lily and Marlene's threats to kill him accompanying your broken sobs.

You were right about his angeleyes. Though his love and innocence was just a wear of disguse, underneath it all, he still was an angel, but rather to add, a fallen angel. A man who plays the game and continues to collect hearts as his victims pay the price.

But sometimes at night, in the dark of the dormitory, or you're feeling extra lonely, you like to imagine he's lying next to you, stunning eyes still trained on you. You believe that will forever be the price you pay for falling in love with the boy.

Or in the halls, as you walk by the Gryfindor as if he's a stranger, the pain that you had managed to wear away had all come back like a flood of cold water. It still hurt to even think about your time together, a time you never thought you could life without him. A part of you couldn't, and that part died the day he broke your heart, a part you will never get back. But as time goes on, you know you'll get stronger and one day break free of his spell.

As Sirius struts the hallway with a new student every week, you stare down his new prey, hoping they get your warning.

Don't look too deep into his angeleyes.

#sirius black x reader #sirius black x fem!reader #sirius black #marauders

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x-mencomics · 5 months

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The Uncanny X-Men #169 - Catacombs

Candy Southern comes home to find Angel's feathers floating around their home. She searches the house for him, but only finds feathers AND BLOOD! The lights are cut off. She hears footsteps. She rushes to the phone and calls Charles Xavier, but before she can say anything, a giant creature calling itself "Sunder" grabs her. Candy screams...

Charles telepathically contacts Nightcrawler and has him teleport a few times, finally reaching Angel's home. Nightcrawler sees Angel, unconscious, and being carried outside by a dark figure, seemingly Sunder. Suddenly, Candy is thrown through a window of the tall building Angel lives in. Nightcrawler teleports again, grabbing Candy, then teleports her back to safety at his girlfriend's apartment. Amanda, Nightcrawler's girlfriend, nurses Candy back to health.

Meanwhile, at the Hellfire Club, a woman named Tessa calls Sebastian Shaw to a secret room behind a bookcase. Inside the room lies an unconscious Emma Frost aka The White Queen. Tessa says that before Emma fell unconscious she had a message she wanted to share, but only with Sebastian.

Back at Amanda's apartment, the rest of the X-Men (minus Wolverine, who, Nightcrawler explains, is in Japan) have assembled to hear Candy's story. After hearing about Sunder and Angel's kidnapping, the X-Men decide to track Sunder and rescue Angel. To track them, Storm uses a mini-Cerebro device that the Professor has built. The mini-Cerebro shows Angel to be a kilometer below the city surface. Storm is surprised to learn that the city extends that deeply.

Starting in the subway, the X-Men are able to access a series of tunnels, or catacombs, if you will, soon running into a strange group of hostile people, who reveal themselves to be mutants too. The mutants call the X-Men "intruders" and immediately start fighting with them. In the chaos, Kitty is touched by one of the mutants named Plague, and she runs away from the fight (she seems to run away a lot, now that I think about it). Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Storm are doing very well against the other mutants and soon the fight is over as the other mutants basically just... disappear. Nightcrawler doesn't understand where they've gone. The team continues to descend into the catacombs, assuming that Kitty was kidnapped and likely taken to wherever Angel is being held.

Elsewhere in the catacombs, Kitty feels extremely ill, and collapses. Caliban (see issue #148) shows up and picks up Kitty, vowing to restore her health, and hoping that she will fall in love with him once she is better.

Deeper in the tunnels, the rest of the team find Angel. He is tied up and being protected by a woman named Callisto. She says she is the leader of the mutants who live in the tunnels and that they call themselves the Morlocks. Callisto says she has taken Angel so that he may be her prince and lead the Morlocks with her. She starts to clip his wings to prevent him from flying away and the X-Men attack. Callisto sends in her Morlocks and it's another fight.

Meanwhile, Kitty awakes in a bed, but she still feels awful. She tries to get up, but immediately collapses and Caliban rushes to catch her. He says he will save her from Plague's attack.

#morlocks #angel #caliban #callisto

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dariaslore · 3 years

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Chess

Short story. Griffin's pov on her Coven years as a strategist. Between moral dilemmas and an haunting, the good witch maybe is not that good.

Mentions of violence and sex.

She was playing chess on the edge of a precipice. Below her it was darkness, anger, greed, violence, hatred, madness. Above there was was an outstretched hand to reach for, a salvation from the abyss, a safe haven from the unknown end. It had to be safe, it was so blue up there, a deep sky, a light spring breeze caressing her skin and a shy sun veiled by soft white clouds. She wrinkled her nose, bowels twisting, those clouds ruined everything, an uncontrollable desire grew inside of her to chase them away, rising curiosity to admire the star hidden back there in all its splendor.

She had black pawns in her hands, she looked at the chessboard and began to play. She moved uncertainly between the colored squares, biting her lips in search of an effective way. She analyzed variables, foresaw unknowns, went over the rules of the game in her mind hundreds of times, and calculation after calculation she gained confidence.

Tentatively, in the end, Callisto's tiara was equally hers. Liliss' approval and her partner's burning envy. After exactly one year she was riding him and Valtor was shouting her name.

She learned to play fast. Quick moves, white pieces eaten one by one. She sent her black pawns out to conquer, she was their queen, the whole world was a game, the most powerful warriors fell to the ground under the force of her wits, each theft, each battle, each deception just necessary moves for her greatest strategy, victory. The Company of Light noticed her, poor deluded imps tried to interfere with her plans; she and Valtor shared the same room, people whispered they were in love.

A ruthless game, she licked the blood off her fingers with lips distorted into a smile and there the troops of Andros were defeated as well. All the newspapers of the entire Magic Dimension had declared, in big letters, her and Valtor public enemies of the Council. Waves of compliments were coming from Whisperia.

Another talisman stolen, her synapses trembling with hunger for dopamine. Yes, she liked it, yes, she couldn't help herself, yes, the gentle fall of opponents excited her, their dull sound against the wooden board. Maybe she was addicted to it, not that she cared, it was fun.

The cabal appaled her, and the people of Magix fell silent as she passed. Soon they would begin to hide.

White Knave down, Prime Minister of Melody on his knees, bleeding from his neck.

Years later she no longer slept at night. Tachycardic, Griffin tossed and turned in panic, kicking away her consciousness, an annoying little monster trying to grab her in cold sweats and goosebumps. What great end did her game have if the black and white pieces came to visit her in dreams? The polished wood turned into flesh and bone, faces disfigured by fear and pain held the corpses of their companions in their arms. They screamed hysterically as they pointed their fingers at her, she remained motionless, a feeble "sorry" hanging in her throat and she looked at the sky increasingly covered by clouds. The abyss beguiled her promising her a well-deserved newly found sleep and... Someone was hugging her, familiar scent of burning incense.

('Shhh, it's okay, just breathe,' whispered his mellifluous voice.

Griffin gasped, filling her lungs with the air lost just moments before, as her screams had ripped through the night.

'It's okay, I'm here. Can I get you some water? Or maybe some tea, that's what you always make for me, isn't it? C-calm down, please.'

Calm tone betrayed by a worried stammer that escaped between syllables, docile fingers cradling her hair.

Griffin defied fear and forced her face into impassivity: she didn't possess the luxury of a nightmare, he did.

'I'm better, don't worry.'

'Are you sure? You're still shaking.'

'It's just a nightmare like any other Valtor. Don't worry, go back to sleep.' )

Electric air, she whispered plans of glory as she ordered on paper the chaos that flooded her nerves. Late night again ('Light is for the poor flock, we are the predators, Valtor.')

White pawns eliminated, final game, last moves and black central bishops, she architected the destruction of Domino, black pencil in hand and it ran from one side to the other of the sheet. It smells of burning, burning city. She traced the coordinates of a carnage, her reddened eyes begged her to stop, they just wanted to rest, but she couldn't stop, she circled the royal palace and decided the attack would begin in the evening, when the entire population of the Capital had mingled in the royal courts, the Coven would've unleashed the Shadow Army on the streets.

Lean and nervous as a hungry hyena, she craved destruction under her teeth and her stomach demanded real food. She focused on military strategy and suppressed her hunger, they were gods, they didn't need to eat.

She was shedding blood sitting at a desk and Valtor watched her, sprawled on the couch, empty wine bottle in his hand. He drank every night, basking in the alcoholic stupor, and the scratches on his back never healed, they grew in number. 'They itch' he would say, the drunken hours the only ones where the man and not the demon did the talking. He got up from the couch and began massaging her neck.

('You're tense, you need a break.'

'Valtor, I'm busy, not now! Go away.'

'Come on, I just want to play a little!'

'I can't, I need to work on Domino's designs again, they have to be perfect.'

'They always are. You're so sexy when you're working.')

He descended lower, hands running along her hips, lips on her skin, zipper down, clothes on the floor, they were having sex on the same desk whose papers told of a future tragedy. Domino would fall, her sovereigns food for vultures and she was too busy losing herself in an orgasm. It was done now, she was falling down the cliff and darkness was coursing through her arteries.

("I love you Griffin. Do you?")

King out, she tossed him off the board, leaving him drowning in the darkness. Two queens, stumped of a king, faced each other and awaited the decision of a purple-haired witch. Griffin looked up at the sun and grabbed the white queen, took the reins of the same faction she had just exterminated and joined the Company of Light. She began to move backwards, attempting to unravel the web of plans she had built in a mad rush against the past. She tore it off and from the remains tried to fabricate another.

Her moves like vertigos, no longer precise, the scream before the final attack of a dying animal. She became the target of the Ancestors, Valtor swore hatred to her, Marion gave her shelter, Magix wondered who the latest addition to his team of heroes was.

('She's good, she seems to know the plans of the Coven in advance!'. Anonymous passerby. )

Sure, you were the author. You feel warmth, expected glimmer of light from the sky, the clouds fly away more and more, the Magic Dimension calls you a heroine, you can be trusted, you just advised how to kill Darkar, you are still an unscrupulous murderer, but under the good side everything is granted.

Battle on Domino, now you hiss under the scorching sun that corrodes your skin. Hagen, Faragonda and Saladin wounded, Princess Daphne dead, Oritel and Marion missing, hundreds of civilian casualties and Domino destroyed. Valtor arrested, Ancestors defeated and the Magic Dimension saved. And checkmate.

("To whom? To what? What fucking side are you on at the end? Griffin, fuck off, get a hold of yourself for Christ's sake.").

Only the two queens remained, paralyzed in a distorted game with no more rules or sense. What was checkmate if the king was away? Checkmate to the queen herself, they could only admire the devastation left by their moves. Alone, failed, incapable of victory, a useless path of dreams and aspirations that had placed them before their greatest limit: themselves. The black would never let herself be devoured by the white. The white knew the black would never have the courage to kill her.

("Good job Griffin, you screwed yourself. Thank you.")

The game crystallized in time, the sun never cleared and the abyss never closed, Griffin laughed between sobs of weeping, good and evil began to encroach with the dunker shrinking into a gray poultice without contours. The two queens had always been her, eventually she was playing against herself all the time and fell into her own net. She turned gray and entered stasis, abandoned an unfinished game and an all too good strategist.

She left her alone in the mirror every morning. She would prepare herself, cover her sins with makeup, gather her hair and give life to a new person, a powerful witch of sound principles obedient to the Council and on the side of good. In front of her students a model of morality as she closed the door in Griffin's face, the one in the mirror, who was allowed to cry, slam her fists against the reflective surface and swear revenge for her broken life. Thanks to her, the now headmistress had kept a picture of Valtor under her pillow.

("Night, see you in dreams.")

And still the strategist screamed broken.

("Set me free, please.")

#griffin winx #winx griffin #fanfic #fanfiction #winx #winx club #winx valtor #hope u like it

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gumnut-logic · 3 years

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Air

This is pure fluff. Marks & Wings AU. After writing Callisto all weekend, I needed some self indulgence (well, there was plenty of that in Callisto as well, but that was all planned :D). I needed to fly free for a little while. So I did, with Scotty :D

Thank you to @scribbles97 @janetm74 @tsarinatorment and @godsliltippy for both reading and encouragement :D It has been a lovely few hours to end my weekend. Thank you ::hugs::

I hope you enjoy this, I certainly did :D

-o-o-o-

The air was brisk and startlingly cold on his face, but he revelled in it nonetheless.

It was late afternoon on a lazy day on Tracy Island. Lazy because Virgil had thrown a fit and demanded IR be shut down for twenty-four hours.

Alan was in bed with a broken arm sleeping off a rescue from hell the day before. Gordon wasn’t much better with his back, having over done it pulling Virgil out of sinking ship. Virgil himself had enough bruises to transform him into a groaning hulk of a man no-one wanted to go near. Even Johnny had been yanked from orbit to help corral the three injured operatives.

Not that Scott didn’t have other reasons for grounding his space brother. The man didn’t know what the word ‘stop’ meant after all.

This, of course, caused a rebellious backlash from said brother and Grandma had stepped in, banning both of them from any Tracy Industries work as well.

Scott had literally been sent to his room.

But his room was a boring place. He didn’t want to sleep and the thought of sitting by himself and staring at the holoprojector was just depressing.

He wanted out.

It wasn’t long before he had drifted onto the residential balcony and, with a single word to Eos, lifted his silver-grey wings and leapt into the air.

The air was his comfort zone, his escape, his reassurance. It flowed over his body and his wings in predictable patterns. Bare chested, he could feel its caress as it supported him.

Far below the ocean stretched out before him, the afternoon sun an angled glare scattering sparkles on the blue, not unlike the blue on his wings.

He folded them and dove directly down, revelling in the exhilarating speed. Moments before he would hit the water surface, he edged his wings open again, catching just enough lift to shift his angle, enabling him to spread to his full width and swoop with an eager whoop over the waves.

This close the water blurred into solid blue reflecting the sky above him. His shadowed reflection blurred with it.

A single stoke and he was climbing again, wing muscles grabbing at the air, pulling him higher, high enough to tip sideways and dive again, this time in an arc that saw him closer to the water than before.

Another swoop and he was hollering at the sky.

Stroke after stroke he climbed higher and the air grew that touch colder, chilling his skin even more. He gained enough momentum to stop and hold in the air, wings still, for just that split second before he let himself flip and dive again.

This time he curled one wing and set himself spinning before pulling both wings in tight and spiralling faster and faster, daring the ocean to reach up and slap him out of the sky.

But he was Scott Tracy.

He played the currents as if they were his own and just as if he was in his ‘bird, the fastest aircraft on this planet, he manoeuvred at the last moment and was once again skimming across the surface of the water.

A sudden shadow passed over him and a familiar voice danced on the wind. “If you caught us doing that, we’d be dead.”

Despite the words, Scott let out a laugh and arched back on his flight path, flipping himself upside down and over his younger brother and his gliding span of black feathers.

“Show off.”

Scott grinned like a madman. He’d shown Virgil a lot of his tricks, but not this one and he had no intention of sharing any time soon.

It was far too amusing to watch his expression every time Scott caught him with it.

Virgil was calmly gliding a decent height above the water, just keeping pace with Scott. He was as bare chested as his eldest brother and yesterday’s bruises were well on show. It was sobering, but Scott was happy to see him nonetheless. It had been some time since they had last just flown together.

And as always, it was very fast becoming the usual, almost an echo of their flying styles in the Thunderbirds. Virgil calmly gliding through the sky stroke after long stroke while Scott darted about him, faster and a little too eager to be out with his brother.

The air regressed Scott in age. It gave him freedom.

It was home.

And he was happy to have his brother as a guest to entertain.

Just to stir him a little more, Scott threw himself into a curve that encircled his brother at a safe but still daring distance.

“You tangle with my feathers, and I’ll kick your ass.” But it was said with amusement and Scott didn’t miss the smirk on Virgil’s face. His brother trusted him, otherwise he wouldn’t be out here.

A smile on his face, Scott broke off in an arc and turn to the east, wings climbing fast. He didn’t look back.

He knew Virgil would follow him.

It was a law of physics he was ever so grateful for.

But then a shadow suddenly over took him and Virgil was climbing faster than Scott.

And snickering.

Now that broke the laws of physics.

He couldn’t let a younger brother beat him at his own game, could he?

He threw more energy into his climb. Virgil’s greater wingspan could claw more air and his brother physically had more strength, so much like his ‘bird it was damned scary. So technically, Virgil could outpace Scott on a vertical climb.

But that was if Scott kept to the rules.

Which he didn’t and since he was high enough to do what he wanted, he did exactly that and flipped himself backwards into another plummeting dive.

Air rushed past his ears and he let out another yell as he played dodge with the planet.

Of course, his big brother radar was running the entire time, keeping an eye on exactly where Virgil was. His little brother was strong in the air, but far from as agile as Scott was and with that bruising likely not at his best anyway.

The squawk of protest as Scott dropped away, was proof enough of that.

A tiny flash of guilt at teasing his brother flickered through Scott’s mind, but he dismissed it. Virgil knew what to expect and he also knew Scott was out here to have fun.

To let loose and shake the dull off his feathers.

As Scott swooped into a glide, Virgil broke from his plummet towards the ocean, his huge wings spreading to their full span quite impressively and braking mid-air. A stubborn flap, a glare shot in Scott’s direction and he eased into a simple dive that brought him alongside.

“You won’t give an inch, will you?”

“Do you expect me to?” Scott grinned at his brother.

A grunt was all he received for that. Virgil wouldn’t expect him to be anything other than his best. Certainly not out here.

Wouldn’t stop him from grumbling about it though.

“C’mon, Virg, fly with me.” He smiled at his brother, just happy to have him out here with him.

A flicker of a smile in return that lit up those dark eyes.

Scott’s smile became a grin and he banked, shifting the wind currents around him enough to turn back towards the sun.

Virgil followed, his turn not as sharp but as equally as graceful.

For a while they just flew together, Scott leading, Virgil following his every move, calmly and quietly. Scott didn’t push it. There was consideration for Virgil, but honestly, it was comforting for him as well to just rest on the wind.

Sometimes he wished he could sleep in the air. It was so relaxing.

The sun began to dip towards the horizon eventually and Scott knew his freedom was coming towards an end.

He rebelled at the thought. He just wanted to stay out here forever.

Virgil had moved a little closer, their wings almost touching. A glance in his direction and his brother pointed down towards the ocean.

A frown and Scott looked down just as an orca breached the surface and flung itself into the air at a considerable velocity before arching backwards and hitting the water with a huge splash.

Scott didn’t need his brother’s empathic connection to know that was no ordinary whale.

“He’s supposed to be resting.”

“So are you.” A different but ever so familiar voice answered him as a pair of artificial wings swooped in to join them.

John’s span made just that slightly different sound to natural feathers that set them apart from the rest of their brothers’, but Scott was determined to not let it affect him.

The Hood had taken far too much from them already.

John levelled off on the other side of Scott from Virgil and it felt ever so right to have a brother either side.

Virgil had slowed their progress, likely for the eager orca below, but Scott didn’t mind.

There was only one missing…

As if he had some kind of telepathic link with is youngest brother, Alan suddenly swooped over the top of all of them, dipping into a glide just below them.

Probably in an attempt to hide the arm he had strapped up. “Alan! What the hell are you doing out here? You have a broken arm.”

“Arm, not wing! I am quite capable of flying, Scott. Besides, you’ve been flying with Virg for hours and he has a bruised rib.”

“What?!” He glared at the engineer. “Why didn’t you tell me? And why the hell are you out here?”

“Goddamnit, Alan!”

“How did he know and I didn’t?”

“Because he doesn’t mind his own business.” The glare sent Alan’s way promised so many words in the teenager’s future Scott might have to intervene. “I’m okay, Scott. I promise. Spending this afternoon out here with you was worth it anyway.” Virgil looked over at the sunset. “It has been so long since we’ve done something like this.”

As if in emphasis, their brother orca exhaled in a fountain of water below.

Scott glanced over at John to find his brother staring at the sunset just as much as Virgil.

Below them Alan’s golden wings shone even more gold in that light and Scott had to admit it was just nice to have all his brothers out here with him.

Out in his element.

Out where he was free of everything…except perhaps the antics of a rapscallion brother or four.

But he could live with that.

The air was cool against his face as it lit up gold with the setting sun, but he had four brothers with him and that was enough to keep him warm.

-o-o-o-

FIN

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Scott Tracy #Virgil Tracy #marks and wings #Wing!fic

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magicalgirlfan666 · 3 years

Text

Alfea's Magical Girl Fairy School (Winx Club Reader Insert)

Chapter 1: First Day & Dormmates

This Winx Club Fanfic was brought to you by DragonStar sponsored by Winxwasmychildhood.org which was made possible by viewers like you enjoy

Fair warning: not everything that's going to go down in this will be from the tv series since I like doing my own thing with fanfics that I write so just so you don't get confused I placed this here as a heads up. Now you know.

P.S this is a reader insert that means you are the Main Character of the story.

______: First name

(I will be giving you an eye color I hope that you don't mind ^^')

(h/c) Hair color

(Same with skin color again I hope you won't mind)

I will be giving you the last name this time.

_______________________

Finally, I have now come of age to attend Alfea, it was something that I have been looking forward to going. In hopes of improving upon my magical powers and gaining what I need to be a good queen to my people. My Mother and Father also warn me to not only study but to be on look out for any royalty students attending as well so that I may make good relationships with them to help further prosper our kingdom.

But to only seek out royalty anything other than studying and bettering myself is unnecessary thus deserving no further attention, and I had no plans on going against it for nothing else piques my interest.

For I was taught to have nothing else to gain my interest other than my kingdom: Frozonia, if it prospers I prosper. Anything and everything I do is for it and it alone. No desires for myself no wants or needs for myself other than the want and need for a glorious kingdom.

It didn't take long for me to arrive to Alfea, there were a bunch of other girls at the front waiting for Griselda to finishing verifying if rather or not they belonged here. One girl was having a bit of trouble since Griselda was having trouble finding her name on the list and it wasn't til the girl told the older woman how her name was spelled did she finally spot the name and allowed her access.

The red head in front of me appeared to be worried as the two whispered about something, I saw the blonde female rip apart a letter for a reason unknown to me before approaching Griselda.

"Hello Ms. G this is Princess Varanda the princess of Callisto" I glanced to the redhead who was acting funny, I found it odd about how she was acting when being introduced but wrote it off as none of my concern, Griselda argued over the blonde who's name I now learned was Stella, return to Alfea especially after what she did to their science class to which Stella replied on how her parents did pay for some of the school's new stuff.

I was getting a bit annoyed at having to wait for the pair to finish their chit-chat, have preferred that they have this kind of personal chat when she doesn't have to allow access to a bunch of girls waiting to get in but since I have been taught to keep these sort of things in check so I knew not to voice this.

Though I was also taught to offer my honest thoughts and opinions and to be blunt a queen as no time for beating around the bush since I was not asked there was no need. My people though blunt and truthful with what we say, we tend to be a silent and quiet bunch only speaking when spoken too or when necessary.

I didn't deem now necessary, finally, they finished and I was finally next. "Name?"

"_____ Frosthart Princess of planet Crystria" I answered with a stoic face and a voice void of any emotion.

"Ah yes I see your name right here, go right ahead" I wasted no time walking through the gates and into Alfea, soon the head mistress Faragonda showed up and give a big speech before we were allowed to go inside when she finished. I quickly located my room and it appears two of my dormmates where already here.

One was a orange-blonde hair girl with a bob-cut hairstyle and hazel eyes, the other a fair-skinned girl with long, chest length brown hair with neatly brushed bangs above her eyes, while she has a strand or two hang over her shoulders with sea blue eyes. Both girls appeared friendly enough as they greeted me.

"Hi I'm Amaryl and this is my friend Francine" The two offered a kind and friendly smiles as they stuck their hands out for me to shake. I stared for a brief second before accepting their kind gesture.

"So would you happen to be Looma or ______?" Francine asked, before I could respond another voice spoke up. All three of us turned to the entrance of the room where the voice originated from.

Standing there a was brown hair, green eyes girl with her hair styled into a tight bun and two braids in the front. Her eyes shone bright with kindness and excitement. "Hello" She greeted kindly, placing her right hand on her chest. "I'm Looma and it would seem that from now and we will be dormmates"

"Ah so then that would make you _______" Francine said before returning Looma's greetings, as they started to converse I went to my room and used my magic to unpack everything. It wasn't long before Looma walked in still smiling.

"Looks like you already picked your side of the room" She said as she walked over to the other side and did the same as me with her magic as she unpacked I noticed she had a lot more clothes than I so it was safe to assume that she was really into clothing and fashion. She also had a few other things to make her own clothing.

"You weren't there when I told the others but if you ever need any clothing or some specially made feel free to ask all I need are some cool stuff to make them out of or if you want just buy some off me, it's really no trouble since I'm always making more than I really need" She gave an awkward laugh when addressing her lack of self-control on making clothing.

I don't really think that I will be needing any clothing specially made from her or to purchase any off her anytime soon but did make sure to keep note of it just in case. You never know when this knowledge might come in handy.

I nodded to let her know that it was acknowledged, she smiled in returned and started going over to the desk she unpacked and got to designing something that I can only assume was clothing.

I didn't have anything planned so I just sat down on my bed reading as my roommate hummed while drawing which I didn't mind since I would only tune it out once I get adsorbed onto the book. And in no time at all I was soon lost into a land of my own.

That is until a rabbit came out of nowhere and hopped right onto my book and soon a girl's voice shouted out a name that wasn't mine or any of my dormmates.

"Kiko!" She came rushing in and stopped once her blue orbs landed on the gray little bunny who was smiling sheepishly, they soon turned to me as she took notice that he was standing on my book.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know why he went running off like that" She appeared to be genuinely sorry for her rabbit's actions as she stared into my icy blue eyes.

I looked at her for a bit before turning my gaze to her rabbit and picking him up, the moment my hands made contact with his tiny little body he started to shiver but it wouldn't last too long since he would soon be in his master's hands as I handed him over.

"It is fine any damage done I can easily fix but do try to be careful next time" She nodded as she took the little bunny in her hand's as he immediately started to warm up.

"Right it won't" She nodded as I returned to my book. She got the hint that I didn't wish to speak anymore and soon left as I picked up where I unwillingly left off.

I finally reached the end of my book and was left wondering why did the main character make such a choice? Why did they choose to abandon their kingdom for someone else? It didn't make sense, no matter how many times I read books like this I could never figure it out.

Since the day I was born I was told that the kingdom and the people's welfare were to be placed above all else which means doing whatever was necessary to make sure that our kingdom was prospering.

So for her to make such a decision only leads to one thing for me to believe since it was the only thing that made sense, her tutors didn't educate her well enough at all, I just hope that other kingdoms in this story learn from this and never hire that person again.

I sighed as I placed my book onto the stand next to me and soon realizing that it was now night time, I must have missed lunch.... I look over to check on Looma and she was still drawing, I get up to tap her on the shoulder which startled her.

"Oh it's you, sorry you kind of scar-" Her eyes glanced around the room before landing back on me. "Um.. is it night time?" I nodded.

"Darn that means I miss lunch" She pouted before looking to me again. "Why didn't you say anything?" I pointed to my book.

"After finishing my book I was only now made aware" She looked over at my stand(no that's not a jojo reference) before nodding and then smiling.

"I guess that means we are sort of alike only we get far too absorbed in different things" She giggled before yawning. "Well not that it matters now I'm far too tired to eat anyway" She stood from her seat heading over to her bed.

"I'm going to head off to bed, night" She hopped into the bed pulling the sheets over her as I soon deiced to do the same as well.

Closing my eyes I soon drifted to sleep, one that was dreamless as usual for me they normally were anyway. It happens so often that I can't remember if I ever had dreams before or maybe I just simply can't remember them... whatever the case it doesn't really matter all that much anyway.....

___________

Okay so, this has already been posted on my watt pad and quotev, and is how it will be staying, the next parts will be drafts and possible outcomes

#Winx Club #AU #Yuri #Lesbian Romance #Bloom #Bloom x Reader #Diaspro #Diaspro x Reader #Chimera #Chimera x Reader #Reader Insert #fanfic #FanFiction #Chapter 1

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creampuffqueen · 3 years

Text

Just Like This | Chapter Two

a/n: Hey friends! It's been a hot second, but here's chapter two! This chapter is about a high school football game, but written by someone who has never attended a high school football game as a student (I was always performing haha) I also have no idea how football works and yet wrote Rayla explaining it to Callum! So please forgive any inaccuracies lol. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Word count: 3846

Warnings: Dirty jokes/innuendos, language

Read on Ao3

~~~~

Friday, October 5th, 2020

Callum’s house, 6:02 PM

HONK HONK HONK!

Rayla leaned on the horn of her car with a snicker, face splitting into a wide grin when the front door of Callum’s house opened. He was still putting his jacket on, and his mother followed him out, fussing.

“Have fun!” Sarai called as Callum clambered into the passenger seat, face red.

“Bye Mrs. Prince!” Rayla shouted back, waving goodbye as she put the vehicle in drive. Callum just groaned, putting his face in his hands and shaking his head.

“God, my mom’s embarrassing.”

“No, it’s sweet,” Rayla assured, “At least you know she cares.”

Callum quirked an eyebrow, but didn’t press at the statement hidden in those words. Instead, he turned his gaze out the window. “This isn’t the way to school, Rayla.”

“Duh, I’m not stupid,” She snarked back, “We have to go pick up Andie and Callisto. I just didn’t tell your mom, because technically I’m only supposed to drive with one other person, but I don’t really care about that rule.”

“Fair enough.” Callum opened up the glovebox, rifling through all the trash to find the CDs stored beneath. Her car was old enough that the radio still used CDs rather than just connecting to a phone. He found one that seemed good, and put it in the player.

At the next red light. Rayla took her eyes off the road to glare at Callum with full force as Taylor Swift’s voice filled her little car. “Where did you even find that?”

Her best friend gave a knowing smirk. “It was actually at the top of the pile. Which is weird, since you supposedly hate Taylor Swift.”

The light turned green, and Rayla was forced to look away, though her ears still burned. “I never said I hated all her music. Just the new stuff.”

“Oh, so you’re a country Taylor fan?”

“If you don’t shut up and change the music before Andromeda gets in this car I swear to god I will throw you onto the concrete.”

Callum responded by nonchalantly tossing his legs onto the dashboard. “What, like we don’t all already know you’re not as badass as you pretend to be? You’ve got a reputation to hold with us?”

“I hate you.”

He dragged a hand through his fluffy brown hair, leaning further back in the seat. “No, you love me.”

Rayla gave him her middle finger, even as her face seemed to suddenly catch fire. If only you knew.

Thankfully, she pulled up outside of Andromeda’s house just in time. The other girl could diffuse some of the sudden tension, and maybe in a few minutes Rayla could look back at Callum without her head going all fuzzy.

“Hellooooo fellow sexy people!” Andromeda crooned as she plopped into the backseat, “How are we all feeling this fine evening?”

Glancing behind him, Callum’s eyes widened at the other girl’s outfit. She was completely decked out in the colors of Katolis High School, red and gold covering her entire body.

“I thought you were just wearing that getup for the first game?”

Andromeda shrugged. “Why not for every game? It’s fun.” She tugged at the red and gold jersey emblazoned with the number eight, then twirled her silvery hair tied into two pigtails with red ribbon.

“Let’s go get Callisto,” Rayla suggested, pulling out of her friend’s driveway.

“Perfect,” Andromeda replied.

As they drove, Rayla continued to speak, “Ground rules: you and Callisto keep your hands to yourselves in my car. I don’t care what you do at the game, but I’m not having any bodily fluids on my nice seats. Am I clear?”

“You and Callum with your ground rules,” The other girl sighed, “But fine. You two clearly think way worse of us than we actually are, though.”

Rayla and Callum shared a grin between them. Andromeda and Callisto were great on their own, but ever since they’d begun dating freshmen year they’d starting getting all handsy. Rayla knew, because Andie shared everything with her, that they hadn’t gone all the way, not yet.

Key word: yet.

And god help her, they were not going to complete their yet in her backseat.

It wasn’t long before they pulled up to Callisto’s house finding them similarly decked out for the Friday night game.

“Well now I’m feeling underdressed,” Callum snorted, glancing at the couple behind him. True to their word, they were keeping a perfectly respectable distance, but everyone knew it wouldn’t last.

“You’re wearing red,” Callisto suggested awkwardly, gesturing to his read scarf. “Just not the right shade.”

“I’ve got extra ribbons for my hair, if you want some, Rayla,” Andromeda offered.

As they pulled into the stadium parking lot, the sun rapidly setting behind them, Rayla turned back to her friend with a grin. “Yes please. You’re so good at hair, Andie.”

The group piled out of the car, Callisto and Andromeda holding hands, as expected. Callum turned to her with a smile and offered his arm. Nudging his side affectionately, Rayla hooked it with her own, desperately trying to keep her face from reddening.

Soon enough they were inside the stadium, and Callum had let go of her arm to pull out his phone and ask where the rest of their friends were. Rayla’s phone buzzed, probably from the group chat, and she opened it up to find where Claudia, Ram, and Skor were sitting.

Claudia: We’re on the far right of the bleachers

Claudia: Kind of near where the band is sitting. We’ve got a really good view close to the top

Ram: Hurrrrry

Andromeda: stfu ram, we’re coming

Ram: If Callisto’s with you then you’ll certainly be coming ;)

Andromeda: I’m going to obliterate your tiny twig ass

Claudia: ANYWAY

Claudia: My friend Nyx from theater class is here, is it okay if she sits with us? Maybe not for the whole game bc she says her friends are coming but just for the start

Their small group began to make their way to the far side of the stadium, where Claudia said they were, while Andromeda still had her nose in her phone. Probably insulting Ram, if Rayla had to guess. The idea of another person staying with them bothered her, if she was honest. They already had their friend group; they didn’t need to add anyone else.

Callum: Yeah sure, it’s fine

With a slight sigh, Rayla followed her friends up the steps of the bleachers until Claudia came into view, standing up and waving. Callum bounded up the stairs, a wide grin on his face. When he reached her, Claudia gave him a quick hug, then released him to reach for Rayla.

“Everyone, this is Nyx!” After hugging everyone, Claudia turned towards her other friend to introduce her. Nyx was sitting casually on the metal seats, and she gave a cheerful wave.

“Hi Nyx,” Everyone seemed to chorus in unison, making the other girl chuckle slightly.

Soon everyone had settled onto the metal bleachers, waiting for the game to begin. Tonight they were going against Neolandia, a longtime rival. The other school had a bit of a reputation for playing dirty, and everyone had resolved to keep a sharp eye out during the game for any instance of foul play.

But every thought about the impending football game flew from Rayla’s head as Callum leaned against her side, his soft hair brushing right below her eyes.

“Aren’t you cold?” He asked, giving a pointed glance to her bare arms.

“I probably will be later,” She admitted, taking in her outfit. Jeans, Converse, and a red and gold t-shirt wouldn’t do much to shield her from the cold when the sun went down.

“Just tell me and I’ll share my jacket,” Callum promised with a good-natured laugh. Rayla’s eyes widened a bit. Was he serious?

She was jolted from her thoughts by a sudden tap on her shoulder. Andromeda sat behind her, several hair ties and various ribbons clutches in her hands.

“Braids or pigtails, Rayla?”

“Er…” Slightly unsure, she took one of the red ribbons from her friend’s hand and twisted it slightly in her own.

“Braids,” Callum finished the sentence for her, “Your hair looks good in braids.”

“It really does look good like that,” Andromeda hummed appreciatively, dragging Rayla to sit closer to her so she could brush her fingers through her silver hair.

With the motion of Andromeda rhythmically combing her hair, Rayla allowed herself to relax in the familiarity of her friends. All around her they talked idly, Claudia’s snort-laugh punctuating sentences, Callum’s voice cracking providing plenty of entertainment.

The buzzer rang to begin the game just as Andromeda tied off the second braid, flicking both of them over Rayla’s shoulders so she could see them better.

“Oh, they’re so pretty!” She leaned back to give Andromeda a hug. “Thanks, Andie.”

“GO SOREN!” Claudia screamed suddenly, causing Rayla to nearly topple backwards into Andromeda’s lap. Everyone around them flinched, and they got a couple dirty looks from the other spectators.

Claudia didn’t seem to care, though. She was standing, cheering ecstatically for the blob moving down below, who must have been Soren. At some point she’d acquired pom-poms. From where, Rayla had no clue.

Callum and Rayla shared a look, neither of them lasting very long before bursting out laughing. If Claudia noticed, she didn’t show it, and kept cheering in the stands for her older brother.

“Woohoo!” Andromeda pumped her fist, though she didn’t stand up and join the junior girl. Instead she scooted over on the metal seat to sit next to Callisto, nearly tossing herself in their lap. Her partner just rolled their eyes and wrapped an arm around Andromeda’s waist.

Claudia’s cheering eventually faded into the background, letting Rayla focus on the field. They were rapidly taking yard lines, but it was only the first quarter. Things could change. Though she sure hoped not; if they were going to lose a game to anyone it had better not be Neolandia.

Then, on the next play, someone tossed the ball high and far, and Rayla was on the edge of her seat, and it was getting closer and closer to the endzone-

“TOUCHDOWN!” Claudia roared, sweet demeanor evaporating in the spirit of the game. “WE GOT A TOUCHDOWN!”

“We got a what?” Callum glanced up from his sketchbook. Both Rayla and Claudia whipped around to glare at him, neither realizing he’d brought it out. In an unspoken agreement, Claudia distracted him with a piercing stare, giving Rayla just the opening she needed to snatch the book from his hands.

“Hey!” The other boy yelped, but it was too late, and Rayla was already sprinting down the steps of the bleachers, sketchbook in hand.

“You’ll get it back after you watch the game!” She shouted from below, sticking her tongue out to blow a raspberry.

“Oh, very mature Rayla!”

“Come watch the game!”

His pout was absolutely adorable, and Rayla flushed at the thought, waving the stolen sketchbook high in the air. “Come watch with me!”

Finally, he relented, though not without a fair amount of complaining and cursing as he traipsed down the bleachers to get to her side.

“You are an evil person.”

She giggled, tucking the book under an arm. “I’m the weirdly sexy villain on a kids’ TV show.”

Callum just sighed. “Not funny.”

“Excuse you!” Rayla shot back, giving a dramatic wail, “I am the funniest person in this entire school!”

He made a weak grab for his sketchbook, but Rayla simply danced out of the way. “Nuh uh, no sir. You are going to watch the game with me.”

“But I don’t even know how football works,” Callum complained, gesturing to the field. The timer was paused, and Katolis was ahead, though not by much. It was going to be a tight game.

“Then I’ll teach you. And you’ll have fun, and learn to enjoy football, and we can all be a big happy friend group and you won’t have your face buried in a sketchbook.”

“For the record, I like having my face buried in a sketchbook-”

“Nonsense!” Rayla exclaimed, “You’re going to have fun. Without this old thing.”

“Alright, alright,” Callum sighed, “I’ll put it away. Can I please have it back?”

Rayla finally relented with a triumphant grin. “Let’s go back up top; you can see way better. Plus we’re near the band so we get to hear their stand tunes up close and personal.”

They arrived back at their seats just as the timer started again, and Rayla began her intense rundown of the inner workings of football. Callum tried to pay attention, but she could tell everything was going right over his head. Finally, she just settled for, “Cheer whenever our side is cheering, and you’ll fit right in.”

In the time it took to explain the first quarter had nearly ended, with Neolandia pulling ahead. Claudia was doing an elaborate pompom routine to rival the cheerleaders down below, even involving Nyx for parts.

“Gimme an S! Gimme an O! Gimme a R-E-N! What does that spell!?”

“Soren!” Nyx finished, and Claudia waved her pompoms triumphantly. Rayla watched them both with slightly piqued interest, flicking her ribbon-braided hair back and forth over her shoulder.

“Rayla, Callum-” She was pulled from her thoughts by Skor’s booming voice as he walked near them. “First quarter is over, we’re going to get some snacks. Come with?”

“I’m starving!” Callum chuckled, “It’s definitely time to stuff my face with junk food.”

“There’s the football game spirit!” Rayla cheered, clapping her friend on the shoulder. “Let’s go consume sugar-rich foods in unhealthily excessive portion sizes!”

The small group left Nyx and Claudia to their pompoms, and Callisto and Andromeda to… whatever it was they were doing. Perhaps trying to fuse their faces together? Whatever it was, it was gross and making everyone want to leave for a minute.

Beneath the bleachers was crowded with students and parents alike. Callum linked one hand with her, offering the other to Ram, attempting to keep from losing their group in the crowd.

It was a struggle to keep her face neutral. All her thoughts suddenly surged away from her head, instead focusing on that single point of contact. Were her hands sweating? God, she hoped they weren’t. She hoped she wasn’t the only one feeling too many emotions to count.

In the line for the snack bar (or, what she hoped was the line, as it was too crowded to properly tell) Callum didn’t meet her eyes, but his grip was firm as he pointed out the menu. Ram and Skor stood nearby, having foregone holding Callum’s other hand. Rayla wasn’t sure if she was happy for it or not.

“If we pool our money we can get a hot dog for everybody,” Skor suggested, “And maybe some popcorn too.”

“Yeah,” Callum agreed, “Let’s get a few popcorns and we can all share in pairs. Like you two, Claudia and Nyx, me and Rayla, and then the two leeches.”

“If they ever come up for air,” Rayla snickered, and she was greeted with Callum’s resounding voice-cracky laugh, and he truly turned to meet her eyes.

“Wanna bet they’ll eat it out of each others’ mouths?”

Rayla pretended to gag, “They’d better not.”

“Oh! Wait! They’ll eat the hot dogs like in the spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp!” Ram snickered, and his suggestion was met with varying levels of disgust.

Finally, it was their turn to order. As they all gathered up their food Rayla could hear the buzzer on the field and more cheering from their side, so she hustled her friends back onto the bleachers.

Just in time, too. On the field, the ball flew into the endzone, and the entire Katolis side erupted into cheers. The band started playing a tune, and the cheerleaders began a mini routine.

“THAT’S MY BROTHER!” Claudia screamed over the roaring of the stadium, bouncing so hard Rayla wondered how she hadn’t simply flown away yet. Andromeda was standing on her seat to cheer, Callisto’s arm wrapped her around her waist to keep her steady.

“Gold! And red! We’ll knock ‘em dead!” On the edge of the field, the cheerleaders chanted carrying it throughout the stands. The band kicked into a higher gear, playing the school’s iconic fight song that had everyone clapping to the beat. Out on the field, Rayla could spot Soren’s blond head among the other players, pumping his fists in triumph.

“So I’m assuming we did something good?” Callum shouted over the din, wading through the throng of people to sit back down on their metal seats. One of his hands was still attached to hers, and Rayla had no intentions of letting go any time soon.

“Yes, dummy!” She giggled back, pointing to the scoreboard. They finally were able to reach their seats, and plopped back down while the cheers began to fade. Callum had been holding one of the bags of popcorn, and he placed it between them so they both could share. Ram and Skor passed out the rest of the food, and the group all relaxed once more.

When the game was finally up and running again, Nyx turned away from Claudia’s intense one-woman cheer session to face Rayla and Callum, plopping pieces of popcorn in her mouth. Her eyes, one blue and one amber, honed in on Rayla in such a way that an embarrassed flush crept up her cheeks with little warning.

“You two look cozy,” She remarked with a smirk. Rayla’s face burned hotter, and she resisted the urge to scoot away. Callum blinked in surprise, glancing between Rayla and Nyx.

“Callum’s my best friend,” Rayla replied, though it sounded lame, even to her. “We’ve always been close.”

The other girl just smiled broader. “It’s so cute. At least you guys are way more subtle than those two over there.” She gave a pointed glance behind them, and Rayla didn’t even have to turn to know that Andromeda and Callisto were making out. Again.

“Oh, uh, we’re- we’re not dating…” Callum said awkwardly.

“You’re not?” Nyx blinked up in mock surprise. “I mean, you’re sharing a popcorn, she’s practically in your lap-”

“I am not!” Indignantly, Rayla shot a glare at the other girl.

Nyx just rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, lovebugs.” Reaching for more popcorn, she turned back around in her seat to chat with Claudia some more.

“Well, she’s something,” Callum muttered under his breath, “Going out and assuming things.” He met Rayla’s eyes, then looked away just as quickly, like he hadn’t meant to be heard. “I mean, us dating?”

Rayla’s whole face was on fire. Scratch that, her whole body was on fire. Was she having a panic attack? Is this what a panic attack felt like?

“Crazy, huh?” The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them. The two teenagers shared an awkward laugh that did nothing to lessen the tension, then went back to eating their popcorn.

Rayla didn’t have much of an appetite anymore.

The rest of the game was a blur she hardly remembered, points and scores blending from one to the next. On the outside she was smiling, laughing, cheering. On the inside she was empty.

Before long the last buzzer had rung, and Katolis had won the game by the skin of their teeth. The band played their final tune, and everyone began to vacate the stands.

With the crowd that had come to the game, it took a while to make it back to Rayla’s car. They said their goodbyes to their friends while they walked their separate ways, promising to see them again on Monday.

It was pretty late, nearly 10:30, so the chatter that had filled the car on the way in had lessened now. Andromeda and Callisto were even talking, rather than engaged in a lip-lock. In the passenger seat, Callum once again had his feet up on the dashboard, and was sketching by the light of the stadium floodlights as they waited their turn to leave the parking lot.

When they finally exited, the talking stilled even further. There was no sound in the car save for the radio, and the quiet scratching of pencil lead on paper.

Callisto was dropped off first, Andromeda not too long after. And then it was just Rayla and Callum, alone once again.

She pulled into his driveway and put the car in park, letting it idle while he gathered his things. He reached for the door handle, but something stopped him. He turned back to face her.

“Rayla, I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” She echoed, “For what?”

Callum scratched at the back of his neck. “For making things all awkward. You know I’m not good being put on the spot like that, but I just made things worse and I’m sorry.”

“You mean about Nyx?”

“Yeah.”

Rayla shrugged. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. It’s her who should be sorry, assuming and being an ass and all that.”

“Still.” Callum glanced down at his sketchbook, still open. After a moment’s hesitation, he reached down and tore out the page. Rayla only had enough time to furrow her eyebrows in confusion - Callum never tore out pages of his sketchbook - before the page was in her hands.

Oh.

It was a picture of her. She was smiling, and her hair was braided with ribbons. It was a picture of her just tonight.

“You’re my best friend, Rayla.” She glanced back up to see Callum’s earnest expression as he spoke. “I don’t wanna let something stupid come between us. Whatever Nyx said doesn’t matter, okay? We know what we are.”

“Yeah,” Rayla said, punctuating the sentence with a half-hearted laugh.

“Okay,” Callum chuckled, “Glad we’re on the same page. We communicate, you know?” His grin was real as he stepped out of the car.

“See you on Monday, Rayla.”

She waited for him to reach his front door, making sure he got inside safely, before she pulled away. She was so exhausted that she drove all the way home nearly in a daze (which would have been way more unsafe if she hadn’t just been driving through a neighborhood).

It wasn’t until she was back at home in her own driveway, car turned off, that everything truly hit.

If he hadn’t been clear before, he was crystal now. He may as well have outright said, ‘I just see you as a friend and I’ll never see you as anything else’. Maybe being so upfront would make things easier, and keep her from clinging to stupid, false hope.

Rayla refused to let herself cry. Don’t cry, not over him. He’s still your friend. Take what you can get.

So she got out of the car, went inside, and went to bed. And maybe she cried, just a little.

No, you love me, he’d said with that adorable little grin of his.

Okay, maybe more than just a little.

~~~~

a/n: AHHHHHH I feel bad for Rayla and I PUT HER THROUGH THIS PAIN. They never even got to share Callum's jacket because Nyx made things awkward :(

Tag List (comment to be added or removed):

@hipster-rapunzel

#mal writes fic #the dragon prince #tdp #rayllum #rayla x callum #rayla #callum #claudia #soren

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wildfey · 3 years

Photo

some outfit changes from my aai backstory swap au where mvk is the one who gets caught on the scene and has to flee and change his identity, whereas callisto yew is the one who doesn’t get caught and adopts the kid of the guy she murdered

more nonsense au stuff under cut

- So when I was talking about this au before, I said that I’m not sure which side of the bench Edgeworth is on - well I’ve made up my mind, he’s a prosecutor, but instead of his mentor being mvk, it’s the far preferable Byrne Faraday

- Faraday sr. was 30 at the time of dl-6, and being a honourable kind of guy, I can’t imagine he’d have liked Von Karma much. as such, I think he ends up on the case to track the guy down and that’s how he ends up meeting Miles. Kay’s estimated birth year is 2002, dl-6 is late 2001, so I like to imagine that Faraday is kind of at the point of the pregnancy where he’s carrying around the ultrasound images of his soon to be daughter, and then suddenly he meets this kid whose dad has just been killed and is like... holy shit this kid needs a hug or 10, and makes a promise to Miles that he will do whatever he can to help bring mvk down

- I also think Miles reacts very well to this, and Faraday does end up helping him a lot in the early stages of grief. unfortunately he never does manage to catch mvk, which I think ends up being one of the factors that leads him to form the Yatagarasu later.

- Nevertheless, I think once Edgeworth grows up, he ends up in contact with Faraday again, who helps him reopen the case and start searching for mvk. As a result of this, he ends up becoming a prosecutor so they can work together.

- Edgeworth in this au is very much in a vengeance mindset (at least, until he meets phoenix again and manages to decide that he’s going to catch mvk fairly and without harming others) so I think becoming a prosecutor very much ties into that.

- The funny aspect is if Faraday leaves some Yatagarasu stuff for Edgeworth as a successor and Edgeworth is like... no I don’t think I’m going to do that, thank you, and puts it all back in the box and doesn’t mention it to anyone (for the sake of Faraday’s reputation) until the events of aai

- This means that Kay remembers Edgeworth much better in this au than in canon, as he was her fathers mentee and was around a lot. She resents him a little for never finding her dad’s killer, but has mostly forgiven it by the time they meet again

- Though I do think one aspect that comes from this is that later on it would be relatively easy for Yew to frame Edgeworth for Faraday’s murder - he was at the scene, and if he was investigating could have covered up evidence - and I think that working out that Yew is lying about this is one of the first clues that Kay gets to the fact that she’s not what she seems.

- Also I think I’ve decided that Franziska is a detective in this, and although she’s still a genius prodigy, she actually got a childhood. Gumshoe is theoretically mentoring her, but because it’s Franziska she immediately asserted dominance and has essentially assumed his role of senior detective at 19. RIP Gumshoe. I think Franziska also helps eventually catch mvk because it’s what she deserves.

- uhhhh on the other side we have Mia and Phoenix who are in this au because I want them to be

- Like I said in the other post, I think Mia still becomes a defence attorney, even though Misty remains the master. This is because a) she doesn’t want a power struggle with Maya and b) I do think Mia genuinely does have a calling in that direction (becoming a prosecutor, for example, in canon, would have made her more able to search for her mother. but she still became an defence attorney - why? because it’s what she truly wants to do)

- Her relationship with her family is much better though, so I think in this version of canon Mia does a lot of the master training, and becomes extremely good at channelling, essentially becoming a sub-master or something similar. (I think part of this is insulating her sister and mother from Kurain politics - if Mia is the third in line, anyone wanting to usurp Misty or Maya would have to also reach her, outside of Kurain)

- And this means - psychic defence attorney Mia Fey! Her firm specialises in the weird cases, and it’s relatively common knowledge that she uses ‘spiritual powers’ to defend her clients - whether people believe that depends on the person (though the Kurain school was never discredited in this au, so she’s actually relatively prestigious)

- I know I said before that Phoenix is still a lawyer but I’ve changed my mind.

- Phoenix was going to be a lawyer, to the point of working for Mia Fey (who hires him because he’s remarkably good at rolling with weird stuff,). I think he meets Edgeworth again way earlier, and ends up not fully passing the bar in favour of instead having some spiritual training of his own to assist Mia. he’s not exactly powerful in the same way as the Fey’s, but I think he has some abilities, because even in canon, Phoenix is a magnet for weird magic.

#ace attorney #kay faraday #franziska von karma #mia fey #phoenix wright #miles edgeworth #god i need a name for this au #my folder for it is just called kayswap #aai spoilers #ace attorney au #my post #my art

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bvnga-aprikot · 4 years

Text

a rant about DIOEFV (SPOILERS)

EDIT 11/17/2020: FOR THOSE OF YOU READING, THIS SPOILS THE SIDESTORIES OF DIOEFV, SO PROCEED WITH CAUTION

so this post will probably trigger a lot of people, i’m not saying that i hate these characters and all but i just wanted to let this out of my chest for a while. these are full of my personal opinions but if i miss some important facts here please let be know i’ll gladly appreciate it. i would like to say more but for now i’ll leave it at that.

Trigger Warning: mentions of abuse and toxic behavior

For a very long time, i was and still really pissed with golden boy (Callisto btw, the ML). Yes, i personally think that he’s one of the better options and i have a good time seeing him interact with Penelope. To be honest he lightens up the mood after their first meeting. And although i find it a bit cringey at times, it’s a nice contrast to DIOEFV’s supposedly dark plot. Basically, thumbs up for those fun interactions.

But what i’m going to talk about is his his behavior, specifically towards Penelope in the first half the side stories. To be honest with you, i had such a terrible time dealing with him and let me tell you whyyyy.

Actually it’s more or less like complaining to literally no one so to the few people reading this, um have fun getting offended with my opinions.

Okay so starting off this little rant, we have the beginning of the Side Stories. Now in the beginning, their interactions were fine, they were. Yeah Golden Boy was overprotective of Penny and all like but nothing there. HOWEVER as the side story progresses Callisto gets more possessive I- the reason i’m talking about this now is because I had I trusted him as a male lead. Ever since seeing the Hunting Competition Arc I was looking forward to Callisto and his relationship with Penelope and this is what he shows us after they're in a relationship?! And I mean like an official one they're like at this point in the story they were getting engaged and soon married and blah blah blah you get what I mean. I'm just recalling this from memory and what I've read and heard from the side stories but to give you an example of how possessive he was, this madman f****** isolates Penelope after she defeated a f****** cult. If that sounds familiar to you, that’s literally what Derrick and Iklies wanted to do to Penelope if they got their way (aka ended up with her). Okay, this man was a hypocrite, next!

Next we have their interaction after Penelope managed to escape the palace. She went to the Eckart dukedom (i forgot why i haven’t read the side stories in a long time), reunites with the people there and then we get to Derd**k. Man that was one hell of a reunion cuz the guy had the audacity to tell her not to marry Callisto (who even though i’m ranting abt now is just- dude why are you still trying to control her like that?!) and begs to her like a worthless piece of shit. That is where Callisto comes in, Derrick exits out of the room AND THEN we finally got Penelope confronting him about his behavior towards her. Honestly i wished Penelope did more than belittling the shit out of him and pulling his hair, but overall that scene was pretty satisfying because WE GOT THIS MF HYPOCRITE WHO FINALLY ADMITTED TO DOING HER WRONG.

But in all honesty? Is that all he got?? Just her threatening to leave him if he did that to her again??? Cuz if i were her i would’ve challenged him into a duel, kick his balls both metaphorically and literally, and move into another country where i can be a rich single lady not worrying about her love life (if you don’t know in the novel Penny got reaaaalllly rich). Okay i’m getting too indulgent there but anyways back to the rant. Obviously this type of behavior is UNACCEPTABLE in many ways. It can become emotionally abusive just confining your partner into a place they don’t want to be in. And no, i’m not saying Callisto doesn’t love Penelope, it’s just that being in love is NOT a justification to do that to your partner whatsoever.

Okay maybe I should not put the blame all on him. Personally, I also think this is my fault. I mean there were red flags everywhere. Callisto literally just got back from a war so he's not really in the best shape or form to interact with people. Secondly, this guy is obviously a madman. He's not afraid to torture people, and unless Penelope’s telling him not to kill people in front of her, I'm pretty sure this guy would not hesitate to commit a whole ass genocide. We see that with what he did to Delman, the country where Iklies came from, maybe it's implied that it's from the emperor's orders but he still did it. And let's not forget that first meeting, the first meeting that set things off in their relationship and the one we are most familiar with. Yeah just because he was not in the mood for talking to people does not excuse his actions towards a noble lady (he almost slit her throat despite not having the intention to kill her).

In the end, despite becoming better and actually giving Penelope the space she needs (finally), those actions are still very impactful in many ways, and can cause much harm towards your relationships with people even if you truly love and care about them. Honestly a good example of this can be Allendis from The Abandoned Empress. He loves Aristia very much but the way he does so becomes very twisted, so far as to getting jealous when she gets new friends and wanting to isolate her. I would stay here and talk about how Callisto and Penelope’s relationship developed after that whole debacle, not every relationship is perfect in any way but i think if i’m motivated enough i’ll try to make a separate post about it someday.

For those of you who want to know where to read the side stories, i hate to say this but almost all of the translations have since been deleted due to the hunt. I still don’t know if most of them are still up but there might still be some translations remaining on it’s Novel Updates forum.

Have a nice day or night or whatever timezone you’re in now and here’s another low quality meme i made for this post:

- Sav

#sav'stxt #rant #death is the only ending for a villainess #i wanna see more dioefv content here #he really pulled a jeanette margarita huh #penelope eckart #callisto regulus #manhwa #novel #webcomic

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kedreeva · 4 years

Note

I have this game I play with your bird posts where I try to identify the bird in question before I see your caption/tags. Thus far, I can only reliably ID Tanner the handsome rooster; the peafowl are so eerily identical.

Well, Orion should be fairly easy to tell, since he’s the only adult male purple I have, so any big purple idiot with a train is gonna be him! And Stan is the only cameo, so if you see a completely pale brown peacock with a train, it’s Stan.

Aris and Aurora are the only two blue pied hens. Aris you can tell, if you can see her face, because she’s got a nice long, well-tapered facial structure, but also the crown of her head is white and it extends in a clean line to and over her beak:

Aurora doesn’t have that nearly as cleanly, her face kinda looks like she got sprayed by mud. You can also tell by their right wings. Aurora has a dark patch on hers, but Aris has a line of dark feathers cutting her white. You can also look at the white on their throats (Aris’ goes farther down and has 2 steps to it) and the green on their necks (aris’ goes all the way to her shoulders, but Aurora’s stops short).

There’s actually a bunch of other ways I tell them apart, but a lot of them are behavioral.

As for the BS ladies... they’re a lot harder. Eclipse is the easiest- if you look at her primaries, they’re all white. She looks nearly white, no big brown patch at the back of her neck.

Major and Minor... well, they have those names because when I got them they were basically twins and I had no idea how to tell them apart. I know NOW that Minor has a couple of white primaries buried, and that she’s got blue on her face, which is more slender/tapered. And I know that Major has a more bulbous hawk head and an attitude problem.

Helios and Io are easy to tell apart- Helios has a big white spot on top of his head, and his wings have barred feathers. Io does not have white on his head, and his wings are splotchy because they will be solid colored. Helios also has a lot of white splotches on him because his pied markings are better.

Also every picture of Helios is blurry because he is less than 3 inches from the camera at all times.

Arcana.... She has 1 black feather on her left wing, and the brown on the back of her neck goes all the way up to and onto her head, and she has a huge white patch on her throat that gives her throat just behind her jaw this really cleanly delineated brown/white border. I don’t have any good photos of her, so maybe I’ll have to try to get a few soon.

Artemis... well. She never has any crown feathers. And although she’s a blackshoulder so she’s mostly “white” looking, she’s actually not, she’s muddy colored, and then since she’s pied, she’s got the nice white angel wing pied markings over her shoulders that give her a dark saddle on her back. Also she perpetually looks like an irritated 80 year old woman that wishes you would stop doing whatever nonsense you’re doing immediately.

A lot of how I tell them apart in person is personality, especially the blackshoulder ladies. Arcana won’t come within a mile of me unless someone else does first. Artemis will come right over and scold me. Major will also come over to scold me, but cautiously. Minor will trail behind Major (thus how I determined who got what name). Callisto will come over, but she won’t accept pets the way Jupiter used to. Eclipse could not care less about me- she doesn’t run like Arcana, but she doesn’t come over either. Helios desperately wants my attention at all times and does the same thing Stan used to, running around in excitement when I come out to the pen. Io only comes over when he’s pretty sure I have treats, and reminds me a LOT of his dad in temperament- cautious but not afraid.

Anyway, I hope those help you out with your game! It’s a fun one to play lol

#peafowl #peacocks #peahens #my pets #personal #anon asks #asks #orion #stan the peachick #artemis #aurora #aris #ursa major #ursa minor #eclipse #callisto #arcana #io #helios #Anonymous

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therainbowwillow · 3 years

Text

https://therainbowwillow.tumblr.com/post/641173976064950273/part-14-premiselast-time-hermes-receives

Part 15!!

Premise/last time: Orpheus finally gets to see his springtime in person! It’s everything he dreamed it would be. Eurydice flirts with him. Hermes pretends he is not internally screaming about the trial. Apollo gets to hold hands with Hyacinthus and do cute couple things for two seconds before his dad decides whether or not flower boy should go to hell. Dionysus sobers up for about two seconds to decide how he’ll argue why his mother shouldn’t have to stay with his father then gets hella drunk again. Persephone has predetermined that she’s probably headed for Hadestown. Achilles and Patroclus are preparing for death part 2. Zeus is giving bad relationship advice. Hades receives bad relationship advice but takes the high road (except that thing about torturing his recently fired ex-employee). Artemis appears for two seconds to yell at her idiotic relatives.

The door to Asclepius’s cellar opens. Thanatos grips his scythe tighter. Athena stands before him. Asclepius guides her inside.

“This is not what I was expecting, Asclepius. Brought before the god of death.” She dips her head, like a slight bow. “Or perhaps he is brought before me. What do you ask of me, Thanatos?” She isn’t nearly as skittish around him as the other gods, Thanatos observes. Still, her hand tightens on her spear.

“Only to inform you of our... plans,” he replies.

“Feel free. Do understand, I am firmly on the side of Orpheus. While I do not know your stance, I know you will not change mine.”

“I stand against Hades as well. I helped the boy escape.”

“Your courage is honorable.” Her grip on her weapon relaxes. “I will hear of your plans.”

“We will come out of hiding the day of the trial and publicly side with Orpheus. With any luck, it will give us a chance at safety if Orpheus wins.”

“A decent plan. If I might advise you, do not join Orpheus in the courtroom. Simply proclaim your support. If you stand among his friends, you will only layer charges,” she explains.

“I understand.”

“Your mother, Thanatos, she sent word to Olympus. I intercepted her letter before Zeus could find it. I suspected you might be here, but I felt searching might place the suspicion on me,” Athena says. “Would you like to read her message?”

“I would,” he replies, keeping his tone even. She hands him the letter.

‘My sons,’ it reads, ‘I may only pray that this letter reaches you. If the rumors are factual, you are being cared for on Olympus. I have feared for your health, Hypnos, since I received word of your condition. Thanatos, I am thankful for your aiding of your brother.’

‘Word from the underground is positive. Hades’s kingdom has fallen. Your home has been spared and I have convinced the furies to allow your safe passage home. I await your return. -Nyx’

“Thank you, Athena.” Thanatos hands the letter to Pasithea. “Read it to him.”

Hypnos lifts his sleep mask. “Ah. Hello, Athena.”

“I admire your power over Zeus, Hypnos. Very few deities could put him to sleep and escape the consequences.”

“Anything for my wife,” he says, kissing Pasithea’s cheek.

“I will see the three of you in a few days, then. If you need anything, I trust Asclepius will provide. I will plan on your arrival.”

“Thank you, my lady,” Thanatos says.

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

The chariot ride had been exhilarating. Orpheus had enjoyed the wind whipping his hair across his cheeks. He’d practiced his song with Eurydice and watched the world come to life around him. Now, it would be decided if he’ll be allowed to continue living in the world he’d brought back from death.

Eurydice pushes his wheelchair up the road to Olympus, previously a staircase, but thoughtfully converted into a ramp with switchbacks in preparation for Orpheus’s arrival. The path is lined with foliage he doesn’t recognize. The leaves are golden. “Hey Eurydice, look at these plants! Golden lea-”

“It’s Olympus!” she gasps.

He looks up from the plants. His eyes widen. “Wow...” The city shines against the bright sky. It’s built of pure white marble, accented with sapphire blues. “Us... against all that.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Orpheus!” Eurydice tells him. “Even the gods love the sound of your song.”

“We do,” Apollo agrees, hand in hand with Hyacinthus.

“You always like love songs, Apollo,” Hyacinthus says.

“I’m not the only hopeless romantic on Olympus! Wait ‘til you meet Aphrodite.”

“Does she really appear as the person of your dreams?” Orpheus asks.

“How will you ever contend with two of me?” Eurydice teases.

He laughs. “I was thinking the same.”

“You’d like Eros, Orpheus,” Apollo notes, “Aphrodite’s kid. His wife, Psyche, also had her fair share of underworld experiences.”

“God of love, right? You’ve got a lot of them!”

“That we do. You should know. Affection is a wide domain. My sister would say something about the love between colleagues. Everyone knows she’s head over heels for Callisto though.” Apollo grins. “I haven’t seen my sister for years. I should like to ask her why she never visits.”

“Probably because you were whining about my new residence in Hadestown,” Hyacinthus teases him. “Luckily for your poor sister, I’m back.”

Apollo blushes. “Fair.”

“Or maybe she doesn’t want you to scare her lover away with poetry?” Hermes mutters.

Apollo rolls his eyes. “I think my poems are fine, thanks.”

“I think they’re better than fine,” Hyacinthus says. “They’re lovely.”

“Is this really what we’re discussing?” Persephone interrupts. “The fate of the world is in our hands.”

“Might as well have some fun before we all face eternal torture in Tartarus!” Dionysus laughs. “Who wants some wine?”

“Why not?” Apollo shrugs. Achilles accepts a glass, unwilling to be bested by Apollo. Dionysus pours extra glasses and only Hermes and Persephone ultimately refuse.

“A toast,” Eurydice lifts her glass into the air. “To the patron of all of this. Orpheus, who returned the spring to us.”

He takes her hand. “This is the world we dream about!” He sips his wine and forces himself not to spit it out. “That’s stronger than I remembered.”

“Kid, that’s the lowest alcohol content I have!” Dionysus laughs.

————————————————————

Hermes sighs. His legs feel heavier with every step. The walk is miserable. Worse than the road out of Hadestown, he thinks. He feels burdened, but his arms are empty. He falls behind the rest of the procession, walking at an unusually slow pace.

Apollo falls behind to speak to him. “Hermes, are you alright?” he asks softly. “You seem-”

“Yeah. I’m alright. Let’s just go, okay?”

Apollo grabs his wrist. “You aren’t. What is it?”

“Nothing. I’m just nervous.” He yanks his hand out of Apollo’s grip.

“Liar.”

“Would you leave me alone?” He snaps. “Go pester your soon-to-be-dead flower boy or something.”

Apollo flinches. “Yeah. Fine.” He returns to Hyacinthus’s side and takes his hand, glancing back at Hermes.

Hermes exhales and leans against a tree. His head hurts. The trial looms like a shadow over him. What argument does he have? Nothing. Especially not like... He closes his eyes.

He hears the muffled sound of footsteps. “Hermes?” The world sounds underwater.

Orpheus sings. Then he doesn’t. “No! No!” He pleads. Blood. Eurydice’s gasp. Hermes opens his eyes. Golden blood stains the ground.

He blinks. Apollo’s face appears before him. Orpheus’s song hums in the air. His mind clears. “Hermes?”

“Hey,” he mumbles.

“I told you something was wrong,” Apollo says.

“I’m sorry.”

“That... wasn’t you. Mind telling us what happened?”

“Hades’s doing,” Orpheus says, pausing his song. “He did the same to me in Hadestown.”

Hermes nods. “I saw the same prophecy again.”

“He wants to break our will to fight. Don’t let him win,” Apollo warns him.

“And if it’s true?”

“Then it’s unavoidable. We go to trial, we argue as best we can. If we lose, so be it. Let us fight, regardless of the outcome,” Apollo says.

#hadestown au #hadestown fanfic #hadestown #therainbowwrites #why am I even considering this an air at this point lmao

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thewincestgospel · 4 years

Note

Do you have any gender-bent fics, either wincest, J2, or gen??? Thanks!! (This blog is awesome, it's super helpful, so thank you so much for it!)

But of course! There are so many though that I might have to do a part 2

Female Dean

Another Way to Get to Know You by IndridGrey New city, new apartment, new job, new gender presentation.Dee Smith leaves the menswear at home, starts her new job at Sandover Iron & Bridge in a skirt and kitten heels, and finally, fucking finally gets called the right things. Things are going great for a few weeks and even with the fear of being outed she's the happiest she's ever been.And then someone decides to pop their own kernel in an office microwave.(This covers the three weeks that the Winchesters are brainwashed into Smith and Wesson up to the end of It's a Terrible Life)

Dress to Impress by KillerOfHope Deanna and Sam are undercover as a married couple in a gated community where several strange murders have taken place while undercover, the two have a little roleplay in the bedroom as 'husband and wife' with Sam as the dom Hubby and Deanna being the ever submissive wife, taking every order he gives, referring to Sam at some point as 'sir'.

Judgment That Will Never Come by xHelenxOfxSlash “Yeah, I mind. Dee, you want me. We need to-” Sam started in his “caring and sharing voice.”

“We don’t need to do anything. Besides, who says I want you, huh?” Before She knew what was happening Deanna was flipped over onto her back again, Sam’s hands slipping under the waistband of her shorts and cupping the wetness there. She let out an embarrassing mewl, face coloring with shame and arousal

Let's Get this Party Started by firesign10 16-year-old Sam gets invited to his first party and is totally awkward and feels uncool. Girl!Dean shows up and pretends to be his cool, older girlfriend in college and lets him feel her up in front of his envious peers.

A Most Unusual Realisation by BronteLover He took in the sight of Dean’s new mouth-wateringly luscious body, only dressed in white, lace underwear. The smooth, soft curve of her breasts were accentuated by the line of the bra, and her flat stomach led down into lace panties that left little to the imagination. He imagined ripping them off and plunging his cock inside the tight, wet heat they hid.

Orlando by ellerkay While working a case in a small town in Massachusetts, Dean ends up with a very different body than the one he’s used to. He thinks it’s the most fun thing ever. Sam, on the other hand, is barely holding it together. He can’t stop thinking about Dean’s new shape, and it’s making it much harder than usual to keep his desire for Dean at bay.

Sweet Sister by Anonymous Sam has pined after Deanna for years. Finally, they can't resist each other anymore.

there's an opera out on the turnpike by cherryvanilla She's tried to fill the hole Sam’s left behind with saving other people. Tried to fill it with rock salt and matches and grave digging and shotguns. Tried to fill it with whiskey and beer and fucking and sucking. (Or, five times Deanna Winchester hooks up with someone who reminds her of her brother plus one time she sleeps with the real thing.)

Thicker Than Water by Edwardina Dean's got cramps, and Sam knows just what to do for him.

Until it All Falls Down by Callisto Jess burned, Dad died, Mom never really was, and Samuel never mattered. She figures if surviving all that doesn’t entitle Sam and her to each other for ever and ever, then Castiel in his heaven can sit on her middle finger and rotate.She once said that aloud, expecting a little shock and derision from the brother who’d prayed every day once upon a time. But all he said was ‘amen’ before he crowded her against a wall and kissed her.(Pre-series to season 6)

You're The One That I Still Miss by tebtosca A curse sends Dean running to Stanford to hide out, but an unexpected life with Sam keeps him there.

Female Sam

All Right, Mr. De Mille by britomart_is Sam's thighs are controversial. They're a matter of public debate.

Beggars Would Ride by victoria_p (musesfool) He tells himself that the line he's crossing can be redrawn, slightly over the edge into fucked up, and isn't that where they've been living anyway since Mom died?

Bewitched Again by DickBaggins Someone didn't read the fine print on the curse, and a month after Bewitched, Sam transforms into a super hot lady yet again. This time, Dean thinks he's better prepared. Thinks.

Blues Won't Haunt You by darkdecay When John gets Dean severely injured on a hunt, Sam decides she's had enough. She gets Dean in the impala while their dad is out, grabs what she can, and gets herself and Dean as far away from John—and the life he wanted them to lead—as she can.

Dean's Bad Girl by Annabeth_Crestfallen_LeMorte Not a lot of plot...basically some gender-swapped Wincest-y goodness. SHAMELESS SMUT! You've been warned.

Don't Be Such a Girl, Sammy by LoveThemWinchesters Okay, yeah. Dean makes mistakes sometimes…some are worse than others. But maybe the end result isn’t so bad this time.

Exit Sign in the Mirror by keysmash Sam lets things go pretty far before she bothers to tell him.

Heaven is High and the Earth is Wide by lexicale As wide open as the untamed west is, the Winchesters are always trapped between a rock and a hard place. Sam can't escape the trappings of her gender, and Dean is irrevocably in love with his sister.A western!AU with always-a-girl!Sam.

The Hunt Gone Girl-Shaped by Viridescence Your typical monster-turns-Sam-into-a-girl fic. Or, how Dean DIDN'T get to play with Sam and his shiny new vibrator.

I Am Sam By: Sorrel It's hell being the girl. But Sam makes her own way, come hell or high water, and there's plenty of the former when she reunites with big brother Dean, and remembers all of the things she'd thought long forgotten.

The Old College Try by Anonymous Sam's getting ready to graduate from high school and Dean's worried about Sam up and leaving him. So he starts plotting to get Sam pregnant.

Only Love Can Make A Home by KassandraScarlett Soulless Sam seduces Dean and they begin sleeping together, and Dean does his best to hide the fact that he's in love with her. But then Sam gets her soul back and has no memories of what she did while soulless, until her wall breaks and her hallucinations remind her.

Samantha & Dean by Destiel_Cockles AU where Sam is a girl and she wants nothing more than to be with Dean. She comes up with a plan to seduce him because she knows he wants her just as bad.

A Supremely Black Tai Affair by setissma The year she turns sixteen, Sam's Christmas list to her father has exactly three things on it: a house, a real Christmas tree, and the OED.

The Thrift Store Tragedies by Blue_Jay For hunters, being a woman is seen as a weakness. Samantha figures out quickly how to make it a weapon instead.

Underground Wires by eggnogged It’s hard enough being a teenage girl even without all the extra crap: they move around all the time, her family is as far removed from normal as it’s possible to get, and she’s in love with her older brother. Sam has no control on any of it, she’s just trying to stay afloat.

Both Dean and Sam are females

Bleeds for a Week and Doesn't Die by Nutkin John Winchester has two daughters named Sam and Dean.

The Cursed Beaver by Mayalaen Sam and Dean find a cursed object that allows them to switch genders whenever they want.

The Female Advantage by DckBaggins Dean's still feeling the full effects of a nasty little sex spell courtesy of a banging succubus, but she decides to lie about it to Sam; of course, her soulless sister sees right through her.

For My Prayer Has Always Been Love by The_Circadian Back on the road after tragedy finds them again, Sam and Dean find themselves seemingly cursed by an unknown source. With little to go on, their previous plans to find their father are put on hold while they try to fix whatever has changed them into female versions of themselves.Despite the curse and his grief over the loss of Jess, the situation does nothing good for Sam's long running, hidden feelings for his brother. If anything it's harder and harder to deny how he feels.Takes place soon after the Season 1 Pilot.

We Still Have Tonight by ds9trekkie Sam and Dean experience lovin' from a very different perspective. Witches, lesbian sex, and all the feels.

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kuno-chan · 4 years

Text

Sides of the Moon - Ch. 23, The Nexus

Summary: Runaan and his team of assassins discovers that Rayla has defied him. Again. But when they find her, she’s bleeding out in the woods with precious cargo under her arm and face to face with the princes of Katolis running away from their own castle. They find that, upon this meeting, the die has already been cast.

Rating: T

–

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Every now and again, Callum checked Rayla’s face. He knew better than to talk about her feelings again. The first time, she snapped at him.

So, he chose a different approach.

“You’re upset. And you’re angry at yourself,” he said. “I get that. You should be.”

Rayla turned her head sharply. She frowned and looked away. He pressed her a little more.

“I would be. I do, actually.” he said. “I nearly got us both killed more than once at this point.”

“Those times weren’t your fault,” she said. Her frown lessened as she turned her attention back on him. “You did what you thought was right.”

Callum raised his brows slightly.

She crossed her arms and pouted.

“Rayla, that--”

“Don’t say it.”

He made a face at her. “That wasn’t your fault. You were only trying to do the right thing.”

“And now we can’t go to any town even if we run out of supplies. I’ve just essentially cut us off.”

“We probably couldn’t risk it much more, anyway. Obviously, Anarr and Morgan are hunting us and aren’t above hurting others. If you didn’t defend those people, then who would?”

She didn’t answer him. He didn’t push, but he knew he’d won in some small way when she uncrossed her arms. She didn’t look entirely convinced she hadn’t done a terrible thing from the expression on her face, though.

Not that Runaan’s disapproval helped. And he could admit that perhaps they could have formulated a plan or she shouldn’t have gone in by herself.

But then Callum wondered if that was the rational part of him or the part that hated to see Rayla in any more danger than she needed to be in.

Whatever the case, nothing good would come of her dwelling over any past mistakes. He took her hand and squeezed it. “Don’t beat yourself up over it, okay? I thought you were brave.”

Rayla stared. Then, she smiled weakly and squeezed his hand back before letting go. It wouldn’t be so bad if she were happy. It would be nice if Rayla was happy.

That being said, neither of them knew what destination Runaan had in mind. He had been tight lipped about it for one reason or another and didn’t seem inclined to tell either of them where they were going. They couldn’t deviate west anymore. That was not an option. Stopping for too long was also not a possibility now that they knew how closely Morgan and Anarr were following them.

No, they had to keep going east, to Xadia, but they had to stop somewhere, right?

Then there was the issue with the egg. It was still glowing dimly and dimmer still as the day passed. What would happen to it? Would it die? Nobody had an answer. Nobody had time for an answer.

“In order to be born, storm dragons must be born during a storm,” Ram was telling Ezran at one point. “I don’t know what will happen from here on out.”

None of them did. The sky was clear for miles.

When Callum got stressed, he turned to either his sketchbook or, as of late, the rune book. He wondered about this book. It had notes in it. From Lord Viren, no doubt. But he was curious how special this book could be, considering it was in his lair. There were things in here that made him think and spells he wasn’t sure if he could try.

Maybe one day, he might.

-:-:-:-

Rayla hated that he was right.

Even if it didn’t feel like it.

There were some things Callum didn’t understand. What it meant to be an assassin and what it meant about her actions, right or not.

Or what it felt like to have Runaan’s disapproval.

They would speak later on all of this when their lives weren’t in danger, but that also meant putting it off and living with how he felt about her choices right now. Just like back when she didn’t kill that human.

Thinking of Callum, she’s not entirely sure she regrets not killing that human.

This was the part Callum didn’t understand. Her duties to her people as an assassin . To her team as one, too.

Then again, who knew what part of her was telling her that? So much had happened in the past few weeks. There was a time not too long ago where Callum was only the son of her enemy.

Now, that was so far from the truth.

When he squeezed her hand, she’d smiled, and it’d been so easy to just squeeze it back. They didn’t question it.

She wasn’t sure if she’d ever had someone like that.

Someone who wasn’t Ethari or Runaan, anyway.

They continued to travel east, stopping only when they had to, but otherwise leaving as soon as light came. Travelling at night might have been something they would have considered if not for Ezran and, to a lesser extent, Callum. At night, Runaan had two people on lookout at all times.

Morning came with nobody feeling entirely rested. Even Ezran was still rubbing his eyes halfway through the morning as they continued their trek. Perhaps they had gotten spoiled, sleeping in whatever inns they could find disguised as humans.

That wasn’t an option anymore. Anarr had taken the pendant Rayla had on her person and there were no extras. Granted, it’d been dangerous at best to be in those human places, especially considering Herna figured out who they actually were.

Rayla didn’t ask questions. She followed, but noticed more than once that Callisto and Runaan would talk amongst themselves.

Rayla found Callisto while they were resting that afternoon.

“Is he going to tell the rest of us where we’re going?”

“I doubt it’s a place you’ve been before,” he told her.

“Have you?” She sat next to him. “Where is it?”

Callisto fixed her with a look, deciding if he was going to tell her or not.

He sighed.

“The Moon Nexus is a place where moon magic is at its most powerful. And it’s the only safe place for us at the moment.” She winced. He continued. “There’s a moon mage who lives there and guards the nexus. She’s a bit… eccentric, but doubtless she won’t mind the company as long as we all behave.”

“I can behave,” Rayla said, looking away.

“I know you can. And you will. It’s a sacred place. Runaan would not be happy about your misadventures with the prince there.”

“He’s already not happy with me.”

To her surprise, Callisto took on a gentler tone. “For now. But, remember, you rarely ever see him in this kind of light. Here, he is not the man that raised you. And yet, that’s a difficult thing for him to put aside. He doesn’t think you’re incompetent. Just green.”

Rayla looked at him. “That’s a little better, I guess.”

“A lot better. It’s harder to teach incompetence than it is to teach inexperience. This is your first mission, and it’s already grown into quite the ordeal. Which isn’t necessarily all your fault, either. Be a little easier on yourself.”

She cracked a smile. “Thanks, Callisto.”

He hummed a response.

At least that part was still normal.

-:-:-:-

It took another day to reach a small town at the base of a caldera, but they didn’t deviate toward the town, but rather kept moving toward the caldera.

“The Cursed Caldera they call it,” Ram said.

Ezran didn’t even seem bothered. “It’s cursed?”

“No. Not at all. It’s just the illusions the moon mage puts up to keep humans away, but it’s just a normal caldera otherwise. Well, except for it being the Moon Nexus.”

Andromeda and Rayla took up the rear for a while, leaving Callum with Callisto.

“What will happen to the egg?” Callum asked. It was getting dimmer still.

“I don’t know,” Callisto said honestly. “I won’t know until we get there. Hopefully, Lujanne can help, but I’m not sure… she’s a moon mage and they only deal in illusions.”

“Lujanne?”

“The moon mage that lives on the nexus. She’ll know what needs to be done, but if she can do it will be another story. Storm dragons are only hatched in the eye of a storm. And I don’t know any storm magic that could help.”

Callum gulped. None of it sounded promising.

It took another day to reach the top of the caldera.

The trek up was an experience Callum did not want to live again. Giant spiders, strange creatures and voices. It didn’t seem to faze anyone else, but himself -- even if he tried not to let anyone know. Well, maybe it was obvious. When he looked back at Rayla, she had that little smirk on her face.

None of it seemed to scare her. Rayla was fearless. Callum was decidedly… not. Not faced with giant spiders, anyway. That was for sure.

Near the very top, they finally met this enigmatic moon mage.

“Runaan. As good as it is to see you again, I’m surprised that it’s you who’s up here making a fuss with my illusions.” Lujanne was a dark-skinned elf with the signature white hair of her kind. She wore a set of light green-blue tunics and robes. “What brings you to the nexus?”

Runaan approached her with an air of respect Callum hadn’t seen since coming to know him. “Shelter, if you can provide it. We’re being hunted by a dark mage and someone I used to know. We could use a reprieve from them if you’re willing to provide.”

Lujanne made a face. Worry slipped over her features. “A short reprieve? Too much attention to the nexus could endanger my ability to guard it. I’m a capable mage, but a dark mage and anybody you used to know must make for a formidable match.”

“No longer than a week. We need time to regroup. Gather ourselves. And we have nowhere else to go.”

She was thinking about it. But Lujanne’s face was kind and warm. “Very well. I would not turn you away in your time of need.”

“In return, we will protect you while we are here. Thank you, Lujanne.”

“You’re a good man, Runaan. I know you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t feel you had to.” She nodded. “Will you introduce me to the rest of your team?”

Lujanne knew Callisto and Andromeda, but not Ram or Skor. Then, they came to Callum and Rayla.

“The youngest of the assassins. I knew of you the first time I met Runaan. He mentioned you even all those years ago.”

Rayla’s ears pricked. She glanced at Runaan, then back to Lujanne. “Thank you for letting us stay here.”

Lujanne laughed. “Oh, it’s not a problem. Sorry about the giant spiders. I know they can be a bit of a surprise.”

“I wasn’t scared,” Rayla insisted. She nudged Callum. “But I think this guy was.”

Looking at Callum and Ezran, Lujanne cocked her head. “And you are--”

“A human, I know, but I promise we won’t cause any trouble,” Callum said with hunched shoulders, holding Ezran to him. “I know you’re supposed to guard this place from humans, but we’re not--”

“I was going to ask you for your names, but I appreciate that you won’t desecrate these sacred grounds during your stay,” Lujanne laughed again.

“I’m Callum,” Callum said. “And this is Ezran.”

“The Princes of Katolis.”

Runaan’s voice was hard to read even after all this time. Lujanne’s brows rose. Her face relaxed into that kindness that set Callum at ease. Then again, he was surrounded by assassins who’d been helping them this far. She wouldn’t be a danger to Ezran. He hoped.

“It’s good to meet you,” she said. Her gaze found the ever dimming dragon egg as Ram pulled it out. “It appears you have other things to discuss.”

Runaan nodded. “We do.”

-:-:-:-

Runaan warned Rayla not to eat anything without critical scrutiny. It wasn’t that Lujanne would poison them, he told her when she asked, it was just that Lujanne was… different. Rayla decided to believe him.

While Runaan and Ram met with Lujanne about the egg, Rayla found a place to be alone, just for a little while. She was sharpening her swords under a tree, enjoying the relative peace as brief or false as it was. Callum was taking a well deserved nap and Ezran had taken to Skor as well. Skor was teaching the boy how to defend himself, claiming he was too antsy to rest properly.

Callisto, not wanting to eat something his stomach wasn’t up for after a long journey, took it upon himself to mind dinner.

It gave Rayla time to think.

She thought about everything that had happened. She thought about her parents.

She thought about the guard she hadn’t told Callum about. That nagged at her. Did she have to tell him? Perhaps she didn’t. He might never know. Though she would know.

And she would know that he didn’t know because of what she refused to admit.

Was it wrong? If she was an assassin, then no. She killed in times of necessity. He was going to kill her what was more…

Then, she’d stuffed him in a box. Surely, someone discovered him by now. The body would have started to smell and people were going to notice he was missing. No doubt they’d combed the place through after what happened that night.

She was an assassin. It was her job.

Then, why did it feel so wrong?

When she thought about it, it wasn’t like she was thinking about her part in the mission. All she could think of was Callum asking her not to kill anyone if she could avoid it.

The lie she told .

Maybe this could have been avoided if she just explained it to him, but the idea of him looking at her with disgust. Disapproval. That scared her more than anything.

What would Ezran think? Would he be scared of her? Would he wake up and realize that the people he’d come to care about are all assassins who’d done what she’d done many times over?

Rayla never really had friends. Not really.

The life of an assassin dictated as such. It required her to keep people at arm’s length. But Runaan had Ethari. And he had had her parents.

In the back of her mind, she even knew he had her.

Skor had his wife and daughters. Andromeda had her family. Ram had his. Only Callisto seemed to be a loner, but even he had them. And perhaps some secret partner on the side. Ethari suspected as much, anyway, he mentioned it a while before this mission.

But Rayla’s parents were gone. She doubted they would ever show their faces again.

She only had Runaan, Ethari and this team

She had Ezran, now.

She also had Callum. Losing that… it left an ache in her chest.

Rayla kept on sharpening her blades under the tree. She would talk to Callisto again later.

-:-:-:-

Callum took a decent nap, but not a long one. He couldn’t sleep.

Perhaps because he wasn’t truly safe from Anarr and Morgan. And Viren.

Lord Viren was always there in the back of his mind. The man was like a black cloud since they left Katolis, and Callum couldn’t shake the feeling off of him. Anxiety, dense and numb, coated him like a blanket. It buried itself in the hollow of his chest.

He didn’t know where he’d be without the elves.

Or Rayla.

She always made him feel like everything would work out.

Even in the moments where he thought of Lady Eveline. The woman stayed in the back of his mind as did the sound her death made. Somehow, that was worse than seeing her splat on the ground.

Callum’s imagination played with the image in the back of his mind. Perhaps it was his artistic brain that was too curious. He kept getting flashes of what it could have looked like and each one made him sick. Once, it even made him get up in the middle of the night to go throw up. He didn’t know if Ezran heard him. Ezran never asked and Callum didn’t tell him.

Callum always considered himself fairly open with his feelings. He tried to be, anyway. As a child, his parents would take time to help him understand how he was feeling, and it had always served him well. Especially after the death of his mother.

But this… this was different. His feelings were too raw, his mind too averse to the image set before him by that sickening sound of Lady Eveline crashing to the ground. It was all too much.

All of this was too much sometimes. His life was too different. His friends now were different too. He felt bad for the thought, sometimes, but the way he lived his life these days was too different. When did he become okay with stealing?

When did he make friends with assassins?

But then he thought of Rayla. There was no denying that he was glad she was in his life. At what point did he stop being able to imagine a life without her in it? He didn’t know. He honestly hadn’t thought about it until now.

He also appreciated Andromeda’s affection for Ezran. Even Ram’s. It comforted him and made it a little easier to feel like his baby brother had the support he needed. Different as it all was.

Sometimes, Callum thought of Rayla in the dress from Meraxia and… truly, that had been the highlight of their journey thus far. She enjoyed herself that night. Somehow, that meant more and more to him these days.

Unable to nap properly, Callum went to go find her. Maybe she could show him how she gets her blades so sharp.

-:-:-:-

“Don’t agonize over this.”

“Callisto, but… don’t you ever want to tell someone about the things you’ve done? Even if they’re not…”

“Not good?” Silence. “I don’t have many people to tell or not to tell. The people who are here know. That is enough for me.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Rayla frowned. She wanted to ease her conscience.

“Rayla, Callum will understand. In his own time.”

She sat down on the bed. Callisto was gathering a small set of spices he’d managed to grab from the human town. Bland food was its own kind of demoralization, he told her.

She ducked her head. “How long will that be?”

Callisto sighed. “Telling him is your own choice. But if you choose to, this is all new to him. All of it. You must understand the pain that comes with being forced to adapt to a new life you never asked for. As much as he cares for you, he is still himself and you are still you.”

Rayla opened her mouth to reply, then closed it. He said nothing else. She sat on the bed, her chest somehow hollow and heavy at the same time. The truth ate away at her, gnawing like a termite. It was becoming harder to look at Callum and not be afraid now that they were in a relatively “safe” place where their lives weren’t inherently in danger.

“Rayla?”

Rayla jumped. How had she not heard him? Callum watched her worriedly.

“Callum, what’s wrong?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing.” He walked into the room, ready to comfort her like he always did. That broke her.

“Callum, wait.” She stood up and put her hands up to stop him. A question formed on his lips, but she stopped him. “I have something to tell you about what happened in Meraxia.”

Hi, everyone! Sorry that my chapters have been slower coming. I've been rather busy with the RAYLLUM ZINE. Falling For You: A Rayllum Zine is the first fanzine and I'm one of the mods on the project! I'm the designer mod and I'm putting the book together. We're in full swing with it now, but you can still get it right now! IMPORTANT: Relevant to this fic, I've written a ZINE EXCLUSIVE chapter for Sides of the Moon that you'll be able to read in the zine if you get it! Also, Hanna Hofer, an OFFICIAL character designer who actually worked on The Dragon Prince show has drawn art for a special double-sided standee featuring Rayla and Callum in their formal wear from the Meraxia arc! That's right, you can get Rayla and Callum dancing in their ball gown and suit and have it sitting right on your desk!

Check out all the links you need on Twitter @modxadia and Tumblr @falling-for-you-a-rayllum-zine. Open for a limited time! So go check it out right now!

As for the chapter, we're about to get some fun emotions. This entire arc is important!

As always, thank you guys for commenting and reviewing. You know I love it and it really keeps me motivated to write! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!

#the dragon prince #rayllum #rayla #callum #tdp

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gumnut-logic · 3 years

Text

Callisto (Voyage - Bit 2)

Prologue Incident - Bit 1 | Bit 2 Fallout - Bit 1 | Bit 2 | Bit 3 Voyage - Bit 1 | Bit 2

As I continue to write the Prologue, have a little Lee Taylor and Jeff with some Johnny and Scott on the side.

As always, many, many thanks to @tsarinatorment @scribbles97 and @janetm74 for the ongoing support, as well as my technical advisor @onereyofstarlight for the geek out fest on the weekend ::hugs you all::

I hope you enjoy this. I’m certainly enjoying the challenge :D

-o-o-o-

Jeff stared after his son for a long moment. Emotion swirled in his head and tangled with his stomach. That lightspeed jump did mess with his innards more than he would admit.

But Virgil’s words messed him up even more.

What weren’t they telling him? What had happened to Scott while he was gone?

He had read a good percentage of the mission reports and backtracked through Tracy Industries’ history over that eight years. Scott’s conduct was exemplary. He couldn’t be prouder. Both organisations had flourished under his sons’ management, Scott being the major driving force, but his younger sons stepping in where needed.

Hell, even Gordon had dabbled in aquaculture and Tracy Industries was now a major player on that front.

Something soured in his gut that had nothing to do with lightspeed travel. Perhaps he needed to be a little more honest with himself. Maybe things had gone so well, that in truth, his return wasn’t really needed.

Scott was brilliant, his brothers…hell, Jeff was ever so proud. His sons were everything. They had accomplished so much.

But what did that leave for Jeff?

He cursed under his breath, disgusted with himself. His natural competitive tendencies did not need to be deployed against his own children.

But that vacant feeling of loss and lack of purpose swelled. He hadn’t even thought about not going on this mission. He had grabbed it like a lifeline and now, somehow, he had managed to alienate those brilliant young sons and caused pain and worry where he had no intention.

“Jeff? Where the hell are you?”

Lee.

Despite himself, Jeff smiled.

Pushing off from the bed, he floated through the door and into the corridor. Lee was expertly manoeuvring down one wall, his experience showing in every movement. “I have to say that this baby of yours definitely hits the spot. I’ll have two for the Mars colony, please.”

Jeff snorted. “Get in line. The GDF are already on my back.”

Lee pulled up alongside. “You gonna give them one?”

“I doubt it.” He sighed. “Val is ready to vouch, but from what I’ve read from the last eight years…I don’t think they can be trusted.”

“Then what are you going to do?” They drifted down the corridor towards the mess. “This technology is a great step forward.”

“Yeah. So much power, Lee. I’ve worried about the Thunderbirds getting into the wrong hands. This….hell…Brains and Michael make a formidable team.”

“Your boys make a formidable team, Jeff. You should be proud.”

“I am.”

Lee pulled him to a halt with a hand. “Then what the hell are you doing out here, Jeff? Gerry had me on the pipeline frantic.”

Jeff blinked. “Gerry?”

“The swimming one.”

“Oh, Gordon?”

Lee waved a hand dismissively. “Yeah, whatever. But he was upset. Said you were trying to kill yourself.”

“What?!”

“Said your health wasn’t up to a long space flight. I know you know better than that, Colonel.” Blue eyes pinned him.

Oh, for the love of-

“I’m fine, Lee.”

“Bullshit. You may not be using that cane of yours, but I saw your medical charts when you got back. You fried your bones good, and your circulation has seen better days. Don’t think I’m an idiot. Gerry may be the excitable one, but he’s not dumb. Hell, even I can see Vinnie and Steve ain’t happy either.”

Jeff stared at him, caught between outrage that his best friend still couldn’t remember his sons’ names and the thought that Lee was also ganging up on him along with those sons.

“I am perfectly capable of handling this voyage. It is short. It is safe.”

Lee snorted with derision. “I know you know that there is nothing ‘safe’ about any space voyage, Jeff. Hell, you’re the one who taught me that. What are you playing at?”

That got his back up. “What am I playing at? Berry and Ju are missing, Lee.”

“Don’t you trust your boys?”

“I trust them!”

“Then let them do their jobs. You’ve done enough.”

Jeff glared at him. “I don’t see you retiring your space legs.”

“I didn’t go missing for eight years and fry my bones. You don’t have to do this. Your boys will find Berry and Ju. I’ve seen them in action. You should trust them.”

Jeff’s shoulders dropped. “I do.” It was an exhale. But... “Lee, I have to. I can’t sit on the sidelines anymore.”

Blue eyes stared at him, appraising. They weren’t unlike his eldest son’s eyes and probably shared the gene through Lucille.

The thought of his wife clenched his heart like it always did. Lee didn’t look much like his sister, but there were traces.

“Well, you’ve argued your ass out here. Looks like you’ve pissed half your family off in the process. I’d tread carefully. That eldest of yours looks ready to chew iron.”

Jeff grunted.

Lee reached out and grabbed an arm. “They’re good boys.” A swallow. “Lucy would be very, very proud.”

It was targeted and it hit perfectly. His throat tightened just a little. “I know.”

No more than breath. “I know.”

-o-o-o-

“I want to know why.”

John looked up from his tablet to see Scott floating in the doorway.

The astronaut knew this was coming. Hence his retreat to Thunderbird Five for a ‘systems check’.

“Because Dad needs this.” He turned back to his tablet, poked the device and shut down the scan he was running.

Scott pushed off the door frame and pivoted to a vertical stance - as a commanding posture as he could get in zero-g.

John raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment, forcing himself to relax in his partially seated position. He knew his brother was unhappy with him and he understood why. So, the question was a pertinent one.

“Dad does not need more illness and that is exactly where this is leading.”

“We won’t be out here that long.”

“How do you know? We don’t know what has happened? We won’t know fully until we are on site.”

John let his brother’s ire wash over him. “Scott, what are you going to do the day they say you can no longer fly?”

Blue eyes stared at him a moment. “What has that got to do with anything?”

John’s lips thinned. “Deny it all you want, but you know exactly what I mean.” He held his brother’s glare. “Dad has been grounded for nearly two years. Put yourself in his place. How do you think you would feel?”

He could see the inner turmoil on his big brother’s face. He hated going against Scott. It didn’t happen often, but it did happen and each time it hurt because it felt so wrong. Someone had to stand up for Dad in this and John feared the day he would be in his father’s place. To not be able to go into space. To never be able to see the stars unfettered by atmosphere again…he dreaded it. Just like he knew Scott dreaded losing his wings.

It was inevitable and they would both fight it as long as they could.

Just like their father.

But understanding didn’t make it any easier from a son’s perspective either. John knew in intimate detail exactly what his father’s health issues were. He empathised with him in ways that perhaps only Alan amongst his brothers could possibly understand. If he wasn’t careful, this was his future, too. Perhaps not as severe, perhaps not quite the same, but the risks were there.

His father’s cane reminded him every time he saw it.

Scott had already changed his rota on Five, Alan standing in more often, John on solid ground enough for cursed gravity to keep his systems running as they should.

Virgil had become hypervigilant as well, medical checks increased. He had once caught Dad’s chart up on display right next to his own, Virgil’s eyes comparing symptoms, obviously worried towards preventing issues before they happened in his little brother.

It had been a taxing couple of years.

“Okay, you’ve made your point.” It was grudging. “But it doesn’t remove the fact that his health is at risk. After all he’s been through…he’s been hurt enough.”

“Him or us?”

“Excuse me?”

“We have all been through hell and back. This isn’t just about Dad, Scott. I know. I’m just as scared as you.” He was, but he was shunting it away. He couldn’t afford it. “But this is who he is. You know that. He’s not going to wrap himself in a blanket, sit in a chair and rock his life away. If he did, he wouldn’t be Dad.” He blinked. “How do you see your twilight years? Are you going to slow down any time soon?”

“John-“

“He’s got all of us. He’s not alone out here. We’ll keep him safe.”

Blue eyes continued to stare at him, but there were no more words for a long time.

John simply stared back, calm and waiting.

“I am so angry at you.” The words slipped from his brother’s lips in frustration.

“I know.” John tilted his head just slightly. “Because you know I’m right.”

Scott got angry a lot, but he was rarely blinded by it. He couldn’t afford to be. And while Virgil tackled their big brother in his own way, John, in the few times Scott turned to him in this kind of situation, found that waiting him out with calm words usually worked. Not always, sometimes his brother just exploded more. But this time, this time John knew he was right and that Scott would understand, if he would listen.

His brother’s lips thinned, obviously with reluctance. “I want a medical monitor on him at all times. I want Five trained on him at all times.”

John arched an eyebrow, reached over and thumbed a switch. Their father’s vitals flickered into all their holographic glory. “Virgil already beat you to it. Wouldn’t let him on board without it.”

Those eyes tracked the readouts but Scott didn’t comment. “Keep an eye on him.”

John sighed and picked up his tablet again. As if he would do anything else. “Just like I do with all of you. They don’t call me the ‘Eye in the Sky’ for nothing.”

A grunt and Scott moved back towards the door. John poked at his tablet and resumed the scan he had been running. It wasn’t often humans were in this chunk of space and he planned to record everything he could.

If he was non-verbally dismissing his brother, it was on purpose. Scott needed to process and John was not needed for that.

And John had work to do before they jumped again.

He didn’t notice his brother leave.

-o-o-o-

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Jeff Tracy #Lee Taylor #John Tracy #Scott Tracy #callisto

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officialleehadan · 4 years

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World Wide Web

Hello darlings! Here's another of our $5+ Patron stories! I'm delighted to dedicate this one to Jon, who has been here almost since the beginning, and is always a delight. Thank you so much darling! Here it is! Vree's first visit to Earth.

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It was an opportunity offered to almost none.

An letter, on real paper, clearly hand-written and sealed with a single white scale pressed into iridescent deep blue wax.

An invitation to the most heavily-guarded place in the entire Human Galactic Empire.

Earth.

The invitation came by Imperial messenger, and the man seemed to know what it was, if his awed stare at Vree was any indication. Vree, having absolutely no idea what it was until he opened it,

But when he read the letter, the shimmering blue ink on crisp white paper that smelled of snow, his hand started to shake.

“Is this real?” he had asked Human-Nerea that evening, and had his answer when her face went pale. “I thought Earth was a sanctuary.”

“Amir told you that when one of the First Dragons want something, they usually get it,” she had told him, and patted his shoulder tentatively. “Lady Hoshi must really like you. I think you’re the first non-Human to ever be invited to the Great Library.”

And so Vree, tail puffed and ears twitching, stepped onto a ship, flew from one end of the galaxy to the other, and met with Carrier Caribbean, on her way back to her own Empire.

From Caribbean, he boarded a second ship and, for the first time, flew into the little solar system that had birthed an empire unlike any that could be imagined.

“That’s Neptune,” Human-Nerea told him as they came out of the Jump in the shadow of a great, blue gas-giant. She smiled and pressed her hand to it, inexplicably fond. “One of the many names for Posideon, the father of my kind.”

It looked much like any other gas-giant to Vree, but he took it in silently. It was rare to see the tradition, the ancient history of the race that, for all their openness about themselves, rarely spoke about the small planet they began on.

“That’s Jupiter,” Human-Nerea told him when another planet blurred past, this one even larger, and bright red. “His moons were some of our first real terraforming efforts. You can’t see Io or Callisto from here, but there’s Europa. These days, Europa is one of the most prestigious research stations of the Empire. I hope to teach there someday. And we’ll be going through the Kuiper Belt next. I don’t know if you can see it, but Kuiper Base started life as the same sort of ship as the Carriers. It was anchored long before the Carriers were Forged, though.”

There was a story there. Vree could smell it. But now wasn’t the time, and he gazed out of the wide windows as a distant orb came into sight, surrounded by smaller orbs, like a cloud of bubbles all linked together by thick walkways and smaller expansions across smaller asteroids.

It was smaller than Caribbean, but larger than Golfo de Mexico, and Vree wondered which of the human Seas it would have been named for, if it joined the Seven Carriers.

Before he could ask, it was gone, and space blurred around them as they closed the distance between them and the Human Homeworld.

“There’s Mars,” Human-Nerea said when they passed another red planet, this one glimmering with heavy colonization and a hive of activity. Mars is the stop-gap between us and Earth from here on out. No one gets close to Earth without getting clearance at Mars first.”

“Including us?”

“Our ship already has clearance from Lady Hoshi. We’re going straight to Luna Base.”

Luna was the human moon. The one that was nearly the size of Carrier Pacifica. The lone satellite of Earth. Vree had read about Luna Base, and knew that it was the final stop between him and Earth.

Their ship was not permitted into Earth Airspace. No ship was, except the Flyers that left the base itself. Earth was surrounded by devastating protective satellites, all designed to protect Earth herself. Only the Lunar Flyers were permitted past the blockade and down to Earth itself.

At first glance, Vree through that Luna Base was, in truth, Carrier Pacifica. For the first time, he understood the magnificence of the grand Carrier, the biggest of the Imperial ships.

But nothing could have prepared him for his first sight of Earth. It shone blue and green, with glints of silver here and there, the bones of cities long since abandoned but for historians and conservationists dedicated to keeping their homeworld as a sanctuary.

“I’ve never been here,” Human-Nerea said softly, her hand on the window. Her eyes were wide and wondering. “It’s.. it’s so beautiful. I’ve seen pictures, but nothing… nothing could have prepared me…”

“It is indeed beautiful,” Vree said, thinking of the deep red-gold sand of Ha’reet. No wonder the humans were so varied, and so many. To come from a world lush with water was an image of bliss. “Will you be coming to the surface with me?”

“I can’t,” Human-Nerea told him with a regretful smile. “Lady Hoshi didn’t invite me and no one lands on Earth without her permission. I’ll be staying on Luna Base.”

Vree didn’t like that at all, but there was no arguing with dragons. He knew that by now.

And so he boarded Flyer Perseverance, alone but for a single pilot, and fell like a tear from Luna Base into the rich green-blue of Earth.

The Great Library of Earth was an immense complex that sprawled across the entire planet. Domes and buildings rose in each little city, connected by fast-moving trains. Around the central library buildings were smaller buildings, the living quarters for the staff and scholars who lived on Earth.

The original Library, however, was high in the mountains of what Vree understood to be the continent of Asia.

It was a small building, at first glance, but when Vree looked longer, he realized that the temple that nestled on the cliffs was part of a much larger structure that, like the rest of the Library, was connected into the great web.

“We’re down,” the pilot, who had called himself Plato, said as he brought them down to a small landing pad. “Lady Hoshi knows we have arrived. She will signal for me when you are ready to depart.”

With that, the doors slid open, smooth and clean, and Vree took his first breath of Earth’s air.

Lady Hoshi, as Plato promised, was waiting for him. Her scales were bright in the yellow of Earth’s sun, and she rested her head on her front paws as she waited, content to bask until Vree arrived.

“Lady Hoshi,” Vree bowed as soon as he was clear of the little Flyer, and it lifted off, back to Luna Base. “Thank you for the invitation.”

“Dear Vree,” Lady Hoshi said, her deep voice a rumble even considering her comparatively small size, where dragons were concerned. “Welcome to Earth.”

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HGE - UNconventional:

Vree really doesn’t know how he ended up being one of the premiere human specialists of the Galactic Alliance, but now everyone wants him to do presentations. Amir thinks the whole thing is hilarious, and insists on ‘helping’ whenever he can.

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