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im-no-jedi · 2 years

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MLWTBB: Business Is Business

aka the (continued) journey into my self insert nonsense✨

chapter summary: the reunion between Hannah and the Bad Batch is delayed due to interference from the Pyke Syndicate, and Hannah finally speaks her mind about how she truly feels about Roland.

notes: this is a continuation of my story, “My Life With The Bad Batch”; I highly recommend reading that first before this one! I created a few new planets for this story. I’m also not 100% versed in SW terminology, so forgive me if some things are labeled incorrectly! each chapter will be rated accordingly, as opposed to the overall fic. lastly, there is romance in this story. hope you enjoy! 💙

add. notes: I FORGOT TO POST THIS BECAUSE OF THE HOLIDAYS WHOOPS 😅 this chapter was edited and proofread by my sis @jam-n-ham! thanks sis!! 😋💙 this was originally where this story was going to end, as it’s the end of the episode, but... well, you’ll see next time 😜

Chapter 3, 2700+ words, rated T (more gun violence and other violence, again just stuff from the episode 😬)

previous chapters: Chapter 1 - Chapter 2

next chapter

✨MLWTBB masterlist✨

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The parlor was a mess. All of Roland’s men had been wiped out and now littered the floor more than the actual trash. Cid did her best to not step on any of the bodies as she made her way inside, a smug smile plastered on her reptilian face.

“See? My plan worked like a charm. Even better than expected.”

The rest of the group did their best to avoid the carnage as well, stepping further into the parlor behind Cid. Hunter’s first instinct was to scan the room for any living persons, but found none, which honestly concerned him. He didn’t want to assume the worst, but his thoughts naturally went to worrying about where Hannah had gotten to. He could still smell her, which somehow worried him even more, but he said nothing about it. More importantly, he could feel footsteps approaching from the back room, which was about to potentially bring about even more trouble.

Stepping out of the hallway was Roland, cuffed at the wrists, followed by three Pykes. Hunter thought he sensed another presence, but didn’t see anybody else yet. Upon noticing Cid, Roland gestured towards her, saying, “that’s her, she’s the one you want.”

Yup. More trouble was definitely about to happen.

“It has come to my attention that you have stolen our shipment of spice,” the head Pyke said, stepping out from behind Roland. “Return it to us, and we will consider this matter resolved.”

Cid put on a confused face, replying, “Not sure what he’s been telling you, but we don’t have any spice.”

Despite their expressionless faces, it was obvious the Pykes weren’t buying the lie. “Kill them all,” the head Pyke said to the other two, who promptly pointed their blasters at Cid and the Batch.

“Wait,” Hunter said, throwing a hand up to stop them. “We don’t have the spice on us, but we know where it is.” He took a defensive stance in front of Omega, who gladly hid behind her big brother.

“My patience is wearing very thin,” the head Pyke dryly replied. “If you know where the spice is, then you should have no problem retrieving it.” His gaze then went downward, towards the little girl behind Hunter. “Until you do, the child stays here.”

All at once, the four enhanced Clones quickly drew their blasters at the Pykes, with Omega shrinking further behind her brothers. “Not happening,” Hunter growled.

“You misunderstand,” the head Pyke responded, completely unshaken by the attempted threat. “This is not a negotiation.” Without anyone realizing it, one of the other Pykes had gone back to the hallway and began dragging someone out into the main room.

Hunter knew who it was even before they came into the room. He heard Omega gasp. His eyes went wide and the grip on his blaster tightened. “Hannah...” Hunter’s blood boiled. It took everything in him to not gun down all the Pykes right then and there.

Hannah looked terrified. She was cuffed at the wrists like Roland, with a blaster stuck against her back from the Pyke who’d dragged her in.

The room went completely silent.

Then Cid, seeing the situation they were in, decided to speak up. “If I may?” The head Pyke silently approved, and Cid turned to Hunter, who definitely looked like he was about to pull the trigger at any second.

“You all don’t realize who you’re dealing with,” Cid said to the boys. “If you don’t lower your blasters, we’re all gonna wish we were dead!” She placed a hand on Hunter’s outstretched arm, which made him ease up only slightly. “Let me handle this.”

Hunter looked at Cid, then back at Hannah again. Like she had done earlier, Hannah was pleading with Hunter with her eyes, tears visibly welling in them. Hunter felt helpless, a feeling he couldn’t stand in the least. But he wasn’t stupid. He knew Cid was right. Shaking with anger, Hunter lowered his blaster and told the others to do the same. He could feel Omega beside him and desperately wished he could go in her place.

“It’s ok, kid,” he said, placing a hand on his little sister’s shoulder. “Stay with Hannah. We’ll be back, I promise.”

Omega looked at each of her brothers sadly, feeling as equally helpless as Hunter. Then she looked to Hannah, who was looking back at her solemnly. If nothing else, having Hannah there with her would make this slightly less painful. The little girl ran towards her friend, who immediately caught Omega in her arms, holding her close.

“A wise decision,” the head Pyke said. “I look forward to you bringing our spice back to us.”

Nobody said anything else as Cid and the rest of the Batch left. Soft crying could be heard from Hannah and Omega, which broke Hunter’s heart. He turned to look back at them one last time, just catching Hannah looking up at him at the same time. The two shared one last longing look before Hunter turned to leave. Hannah held Omega closer, afraid the small girl would disappear if she let go. She too felt nothing but helplessness.

**********************************

Hours passed as everyone at the parlor waited for the Batch to return with the spice. The Pykes had cuffed Omega the same as Roland and Hannah, and they were keeping them in the parlor, still littered with dead bodies. Hannah couldn’t bring herself to look at them, solely keeping her focus on Omega, who had not once left her side. But the little girl in question was much bolder and was already thinking of ways she could get out of this mess. She eyed one of the blasters laying on the ground, which didn’t go unnoticed by Roland.

“Don’t try it. They’ll kill you.”

Hannah eyed him crossly. “Well at least she’s trying to do something, unlike you.”

“Oh, you think I haven’t already?” Roland replied, equally cross. “Besides, if your friends don’t return with the spice, we’re all dead.” He huffed and leaned further against the table he was sitting against. “That’s what happens when you meddle in other people’s business.” He scowled at both of the girls, who were sitting on the floor just a few feet away from him.

“Us?” Omega exclaimed. “You’re the one who took Cid’s parlor from her!”

“You take what you want,” Roland said proudly. “That’s the Durand way.” He sighed. “It’s a tactic my mother has perfected.”

Again with the mother issues. Hannah scoffed, saying, “Yeah, that’s workin’ out real well for you, buddy.”

“So, your mother’s a criminal too?” Omega asked, genuinely curious.

Roland groaned and rolled his eyes. “You make it sound so undignified.”

Hannah wanted to crawl over and smack Roland on the head. “Gee, I wonder why that is!”

Roland chuckled to himself, ignoring Hannah. “If she saw me now...”

“You are unbelievable,” Hannah said, shaking her head at him and huffing.

“Coming from you, I’ll take that as a compliment.” A piece of trash came flying at Roland’s head from Hannah’s direction. He looked to see her scowling at him, her face nearly as red as her hair from anger.

While this happened, Ruby came crawling over from the corner of the room and snuggled into Omega’s lap, much to the little girl’s delight. Both Hannah and Roland put aside their squabble for the moment to enjoy the adorable sight.

“Ruby doesn’t take a liking to many people,” Roland said, almost sounding jealous.

Hannah snickered, adding, “Omega has that effect on others.”

Omega beamed and began petting Ruby on the back. “Don’t worry, Ruby. We’ll get out of this.”

Roland sighed and looked at Omega. His lip quirked. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?” Omega asked.

“How can you be so... hopeful? Despite everything that’s happened?”

Omega shrugged. “I don’t know. I have faith in my brothers, and Cid too. It’s part of what being a family is, after all.”

Roland groaned again. “Your family maybe...”

Hannah couldn’t take it anymore. By then, in her mind, Roland had officially become even more annoying than Vin ever was. “Oh my gosh, would you please stop with the ‘poor me’ crap? We get it, your mom is hard on you and your life is soooooo difficult because of it. If anything, I have more respect for her now knowing how much of a brat you are!”

The room fell silent after that. Even Ruby didn’t make a peep. Omega looked between Roland and her adopted sister, wondering if she should say anything or stay out of it.

Eventually, a snicker was heard from Roland. “How about that? You actually were listening to me ramble earlier.”

Omega decided to chime in now. “Hannah’s good at listening to others, even if she doesn’t like them.”

“A good quality to have, I suppose.” Roland looked at Hannah, who was once again glaring at him, then back to Omega. “You’re lucky to have someone like her in your family.”

“I know,” Omega said, leaning harder against her adopted sister.

Hannah just huffed and looked away, unable to hide the gratified look on her face. To her discretion, she began rethinking her previous statement about Roland. Yes, he was still terrible. But maybe he wasn’t as bad as Vin. Maybe.

************************************

By the time night fell, the Pykes received word that the spice was en route back to the city. The girls looked at each other happily, proudly taunting Roland about how “they told him so”. Roland was genuinely surprised and impressed, but he played it off nonchalantly. The Pykes gathered the three of them up and brought them to Cid’s docking bay, along with Ruby, who was still being carried by Omega. They didn’t have to wait long before the Marauder came flying in – a sight that brought Hannah and Omega immeasurable joy.

Once the ship landed, the boys wasted no time hauling the reacquired spice crates out for the Pykes to see. Hannah’s heart swelled at seeing them again, this time believing she might actually get fully reunited with them. She still had a blaster to her back though and told herself to not get too excited yet.

After all the crates were offloaded, one of the Pykes opened a crate to confirm that the spice was still inside. Sure enough, despite whatever had happened to the crates, the spice was still all there and completely intact.

The head Pyke addressed Cid and the boys, saying, “Since the spice has been returned, the matter between us is resolved.” He then pulled a dagger out from behind him and turned towards Roland, who was still cuffed and kneeling on the ground. “But not with you.”

Omega and Hannah both looked at Roland sympathetically. Despite everything that had happened, Hannah still pitied Roland, if only a little. Then both girls were suddenly shoved forward, towards the others. They were finally free. Both of them immediately ran for Hunter, who had his arms out for each of them. Omega still had Ruby in her arms and was only able to lean against Hunter’s side, but Hannah practically crashed into him, clutching his neck tightly and burying her face into his shoulder.

The moment was quickly interrupted by the sound of Roland being shoved against one of the crates. Everyone watched as the head Pyke raised his dagger over Roland’s head. Hannah audibly gasped.

“Don’t!” Omega cried out, genuine concern in her voice. She stepped forward, causing Hunter to reach out in an attempt to stop her. “He made a mistake. That’s all!”

Cid stepped forward as well, adding, “She’s right – kill him, and you’ll be starting a war with Isa Durand. Do you want that heat right now? Call this a bad deal, and walk away.”

To say Hannah was shocked would be an understatement. She was used to Omega doing this sort of thing, but seeing Cid stand up for the guy who quite literally stole her parlor from her made Hannah almost think she was imagining things.

The head Pyke was not willing to listen though. “We do not accept bad deals,” he hissed in his monotone voice before once again raising his dagger over Roland’s head.

Hannah turned her face away as the blade swung down. She heard Roland cry out and could feel a pang in her heart. Cautiously, she looked back to see Roland not beheaded, but simply rolling on the ground in pain, clutching the top of his head. A severed horn laid on the crate in front of them, which was promptly picked up by the head Pyke.

“Our business is finished,” he said, then looked down at the writhing Roland. “It would not be wise for our paths to cross again.”

With that, the Pykes gathered the crates of spice and began walking off, leaving the newly disgraced Roland on the ground. Roland turned towards everyone else, an ashamed look on his face. He saw Omega walking towards him, still holding Ruby gently and looking at him sympathetically.

“Are you ok?” she asked, crouching down closer to him.

Roland shook his head and turned away from Omega, his newly severed horn now on full display. “It’s a small price to pay.”

Hannah looked up at Hunter, who looked back at her, wordlessly telling her that everything was ok. Gently, Hannah eased up her grip around his neck so that he could approach Omega. Wrecker was standing nearby and offered his arm out to her, which Hannah gladly took, wrapping her arms around his waist and getting pulled into a signature Wrecker squeeze. She watched as Roland stood up and was handed Ruby by Omega, with Hunter standing behind her.

“I’ll be going now,” Roland said, his face once again turned away in shame. He shot a glance towards Hannah, who acknowledged him before he turned and walked away.

It was weird seeing Roland just walk away like that. Compared to Vin, he really wasn’t as bad as Hannah initially thought. Maybe this event would change him in a way that Vin never got. Maybe. Hannah wasn’t going to get her hopes up, that’s for sure.

Once Roland was gone, Cid turned to Tech, Echo, and Wrecker, saying, “Come on boys. First round’s on me.”

Wrecker scoffed and patted Hannah on the back. “You owe us way more than that!”

Cid smirked and replied, “Don’t push your luck.”

For the first time all week, Hannah laughed. “Well, I guess I’ll provide the seconds then.”

Wrecker also laughed, giving her another squeeze and saying, “And this is why you’re our favorite!” The three boys then ran off, leaving Hannah behind with Cid.

“It’s fine,” Cid said, turning to Hannah with a smirk. “I can admit when I’ve been beaten.”

Hannah laughed again. “Alright, who are you, and what have you done with Cid?”

“Hey, even an old codger like me can change if necessary.” Cid came up to Hannah and patted her on the arm. “Besides, believe it or not, you’re my favorite too, Red.”

Hannah’s eyes lit up, genuinely touched by Cid’s words.

Cid leaned in closer, saying, “Just don’t tell the boys I said that.”

Hannah giggled and nodded in reply.

Cid and Hannah began making their way back to the parlor together, the other boys long gone by now. Cid hoped they were making themselves useful by cleaning out the bodies, which Hannah had forgotten about and grimaced at the thought of. She quickly realized though that she was missing something. Two things actually. She let Cid continue on and stopped to look back at the docking bay.

Still standing together, side by side like usual, were Hunter and Omega – her lover and her adopted sister. Everything that had happened that week suddenly didn’t matter anymore. It was over now. All that Hannah cared about most was what was right in front of her, in that moment. She saw Omega run towards her and smiled fondly, holding out a hand for her. They began walking together, hand in hand, like they had done from the very first day they met. Then turning to the other side, Hannah held out her other hand for Hunter, who she knew was right behind them. He gently grabbed her hand and interlaced their fingers together, pulling her closer and kissing the side of her head.

Hannah was definitely not going to be lonely for a while.

#the bad batch #star wars the bad batch #this whole chapter is just content from the episode really haha #it's fine; the rest will make up for it #everything from this point forward is COMPLETE self-indulgent nonsense #because I do what I want✨#star warz #my storiez

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demonslayedher · 3 years

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I'm glad you reactivated the questions, here are some flowers for you: 💐 Seriously speaking I'm sorry that because of a question I asked you a few weeks ago you watched a series of videos of psychopaths 🥲It made me laugh at first but then I felt guilty 💔 it's all Muzan's fault for leaving us all with curiosity (imagine his parents' reaction once they realized there was something wrong with him even as a human)

Yay, flowers (which I shall kill with my black thumb)! And no, no, it’s fine, I had hoped it came off funny! I like listening to stuff like that while I draw anyway because I’m a nerd anyway and I found it very interesting.

Speaking of being a nerd, you have innocuously unlocked the following essay about Heian period nobility and wisteria flowers: There is nothing to state so in canon, but I find it highly reasonable to say Muzan might had been of the very powerful Fujiwara clan. Step inside my office, Anon.

Okay. So. The Heian period, simply put, was a time of cultural flourishing and beautiful pastimes, the origins of a lot of Japanese style aesthetics, and a romantic courtly like of romancing everybody else in the court. This is assuming, of course, that you were at the very, very, very, very top of society. Otherwise, the vast majority of people were poor and sick and starving and ew, in young Muzan’s world, we do not wish to associate with that. In the Heian court, Kyoto basically is the whole cultural world. Even though there were other cities that could rival Kyoto, the emperor was there, so it was essentially the cultural center of the country. The nobles who lived there got money from owning land in far-flung provinces, but actually having to live in those provinces? What a drag! Having to live away from Kyoto for work, even if it wasn’t an official banishment, often felt like a punishment to the nobles and their families who were used to the social scene at court. And, like affluent courts around the world throughout history, understanding all the intricacies of style and “Heian Rumors” was key to having social clout, and popularity was power. And yeah, nobles would be vicious to each other. While clan dynamics and history are complex and not something I’m getting into here (I don’t consider myself well-versed in it enough), the Fujiwara clan is a BIG DEAL. Basically, in Heian times, children were typically raised in their mother’s home, thereby heavily influenced by their mother’s clan, so besides a young man’s parents, his in-laws also would had been hugely influential in his life, as they will have a long-felt influence on his progeny. The Emperors typically married Fujiwara daughters. This, in addition to other positions of influence of the Fujiwara clan members usually held with influence over the Emperor, means that politically, there was no messing with them. Now, just because I say Muzan might had been a Fujiwara clan member, I don’t necessarily mean a member of the main branch of the family. Often, due to inheritance management, different branches of various noble clans might be given different surnames. The Fujiwara clan does have different branches, some of which did go one to have close ties with the imperial family even after the fall of their power at the end of the Heian period and all the way through the Taisho, and some branches carry some impressive family legacies but otherwise live like normal or high-class common folk in modern-day. (I know one such Ojousama from a renamed Fujiwara branch; she’s a sweetheart and never brings it up herself but every time I hear other people say things about her family, I’m like, dang.) We can venture from Muzan’s likely expensive medical treatment, multiple marriages (meaning other clans sought to be connected with his family even by marrying their daughters to a sick man), and even preparation for cremation as a baby that he was of a very, very high status.

Being the sick son of a prominent family may have warped his personality in multiple ways: first, he was probably already used to a culture of popularity equated political power. We see in Muzan’s dealings with humans in the Taisho period that he can be exceedingly charming to get what he wants (a psychopath trait, haha), so he was probably pretty aware of the complex ways of socialites in the court. But, even being aware of that, it probably frustrated him to no end that he was too sick to take part in the social pastimes where he’d gain clout. It’s also possible that he was a bit of a bargain husband for his wives’ families who were seeking to a make ties with his family, as they must not had been politically useful enough to be married off to other powerful matches. This may be some of why he was so ruthless to them, for he never saw them as useful to him in the first place. This probably got a bit worse once he became a demon. Now to be lewd, but he probably got more vigorous in his pursuit of more powerful lovers, and knew how to slay the women’s hearts as he liked (you know, popular Heian pastime, everybody had lots of lovers, it was the norm, though political marriages and legitimate children were still important). That new sense of power probably went to his head. But, ultimately, he must had been limited in clout since he couldn’t take part in any daytime activities, thereby limiting his access to more powerful spheres of influence. His reputation from having grown up sickly must had followed him too. It’s anyone’s guess how much affection his parents had for him and how happy they were about his health at first, and if and when they might had noticed his changes. He was a full-fledged adult by the time he turned into a demon, so who knows how closely they even associated with him. They likely had healthier children who they devoted more care and attention to, and invested more family resources in while assuming Muzan would probably die young.

Who knows what the final straw was in Muzan leaving court? Was it frustration at not being able to walk in daylight that made him flee to the Kanto area in pursuit of the blue spider lily (from near where the doctor lived) long before Kanto became politically affluent? Or was it the rumors at court about how he didn’t age, and that he was eating people?

Of note, a lot of the early legends of demons in Japanese culture take place in the Heian period.

In his book “Japanese History of Demon Slayers,” retired Shizuoka University professor Tetsuo Owada capitalized on the success of Kimetsu no Yaiba to dive into a lot of ties between the series and what it may pay homage to throughout Japanese history and culture. While this was published last September and a handful of his theories have been disproven by the second fanbook published last February, and while I think a lot of his theories are stretching a little too far to make strong connections, it’s still deeply, deeply interesting stuff. He goes into some specific comparisons of demons, like Minamoto-no-Raiko and his posse of four big bad warriors taking on the Tsuchigumo (giant spider demon) terrorizing the mountains north of Kyoto harkening to the case of Rui’s family (and, ding ding ding, this was the primary focus of the official Kabuki/Kimetsu crossover last November), as well as takes little questions left in canon and dives into them a bit deeper. One such question is, why were wisteria lethal to demons? According to Prof. Owada’s research, there is no historical basis for this. Some of the talk online is that: 1. Wisteria are in fact poisonous, and consuming too much of them would cause vomiting and diarrhea (though I’ve also seen people make jam out of them because of the fragrance, so, like???) 2. Beans are thrown around at Setsubun to ward off demons (like so, Feat. Muzan and Kimetsu Beans), and wisteria are of the bean family 3. Wisteria like sunlight, so perhaps like Nichirin, they soak up some of the sun’s properties that are lethal to demons 4. In the language of flowers (Hanakotoba), wisteria symbolize kindness, welcomeness, refusing to leave someone’s side, being drunk with love, being straightforward and truthful, not losing the humanity in one’s heart, thereby containing a lot of meaning contrary to the conduct of demons Interesting, but some of its kind of a stretch. While still finding it a stretch to apply it to wisteria being poisonous to demons, Prof. Owada goes on to say that since ancient times, while the wisteria has some negative connotations of how it was sometimes written with characters meaning “doesn’t heal” (不治) and growing downward with smaller and smaller flowers like symbolize the slow downfall of a family line, it conversely also carries positive connotations of longevity and flourishing family due to the fact that its vines grow upward.

Now, you might picked up at some point that the Japanese word for wisteria is “fuji.” Not to be confused with Mt. Fuji (that’s written differently), it IS the same fuji as in “Fujiwara”: 藤.

Prof. Owada goes on to explore the association with the use of Wisteria crests in Kimetsu no Yaiba, especially on the houses of supporters of the Demon Slayer Corp. His recurring thesis is that the pandemic is partly responsible for Kimetsu no Yaiba’s popularity since demon legends have long since had origins in epidemics, and he supposes the Wisteria crest has a protective effect on the houses, similar to a talisman used in a lot of real life rituals for warding off illness and then often displays in or on the entries of houses to protect the family every year (I have one such item gifted to me, it stays by my doorway, along with a couple sticks of charcoal (but the culture of charcoal is a post for some other day)). The talisman is in reference to a god of Hindu/Chinese origins being treated with hospitality by the So clan, so although other families perished in disaster/disease, he promised to always protect the So clan descendants, so the talisman says “Descendants of the So Clan” so that any household may try to claim that divine protection. The gratitude-exchange of hospitality and protection and sure sounds familiar! Prof. Owada isn’t done yet. While the crest design used in Kimetsu no Yaiba isn’t an actual family crest in in real life, there are lots and lots and lots of family crests that use a wisteria design and have the character for “wisteria” in the name. Any time you hear “—tou”, like Satou, Saitou, or even Gotou, you can typically assume it’s 藤. It’s very common nowadays, but the first family to be granted the use of this name was the Fujiwara clan, when one of the pre-Heian and very powerful emperors granted their clan head this surname, which was a major honor, and it marked the start of the Fujiwara clan’s political dominance (there was already influence leading up to this, but meh, we like clear-cut stuff to simply centuries of history, don’t we?). Furthermore, although we often think of the Fujiwara clan for their influence at court, and we might think of the Minamoto clan for warrior heroes who fought demons, Prof. Owada concludes his argument of wisteria’s protective influence by pointed out a long list of Heian period Fujiwara warriors who also were the heroes of demon slaying legends, stating that their name has also long been tied with demon slayer culture. SO!!! Let me go on with my theory here. Muzan is from the same family line as Ubuyashiki. At some point (I assume after Muzan is long gone from Kyoto), the family is told while their children keep dying, and they accept their mission to bring an end to Kibutsuji Muzan and clear this curse on their family line. My thought is that their ancestor was a full blood sibling of Muzan, one whom was more invested in than sickly Muzan. While perhaps already an off-shoot of the Fujiwara Clan and thereby not entitled to the same sorts of inheritance, they probably maintained close ties with them. But, as it was already not direct by that time, the other Fujiwara clan branches were not affected by this curse. To further spare the clan the effects of this curse, this was probably when that sickly branch took the name Ubuyashiki. (And yes, I have things to say about this name and its possible mythological origins which I find a highly, highly interesting connection. Prof. Owada supposes it is tied with Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine and that is why there are nine pillars, but as much as I love Izumo Taisha and its giant pillars I base my argument in separate Shinto (but also Izumo!) mythology and accept that there are not always supposed to be nine Pillars specifically and Gotouge simply chose that number based on the number of strokes in the kanji for ‘Hashira’ (柱) BUT I DIGRESS). So, the Ubuyashiki Clan is it’s own thing, but is sort of like a cousin to the other Fujiwara branches and thereby continues to enjoy Fujiwara support throughout the Heian period, like some of the Fujiwara warriors going out there and slaying some of Muzan’s early demon experiments, and using their influence to bring in other warriors to the demon slaying cause (pet

theory: Genpei War warrior Kumagai Naozane was a member of the proto-Corp and using Kasugai-garasu was in practice since at least late Heian period). While the Ubuyashiki Clan probably already their own inherited land (and funds that came from it), throughout their history, their cousin clans might also have provided financial support to the Ubuyashiki Clan. But, they probably distanced themselves from the clan due to the curse and not wanting to be tainted. When you bring back in the wisteria associations this puts the contrary associations with a flourishing and dying family line in a new light. Furthermore, the “not healing” way of writing “fuji” also means a lot more in the context of Muzan’s, and later the Ubuyashiki clan’s illness.

#KnY nerdery #Kny fandom theories and meta #kibutsuji muzan #ubuyashiki kagaya #Kimetsu no Yaiba #Demon Slayer

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stfreds-archived · 3 years

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𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆.

a summary by chapters of fred dawson’s life / main verse ( TW : long post —— ft. mentions of domestic abuse, violence and general abuse, child abandonment, torture, human trafficking, forced s ex work ).

𝐕 . 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 — there’s freedom to and freedom from ( prequel ). freddie gallagher, the wife of james a. gallagher, is a s ex worker within the ranks of notorious mobster victor cullen ( her uncle ) in the el paso, texas area. she is forced into the profession as she is forced into her abusive marriage. at the age of twenty-six, after learning she is pregnant, she manages to escape and make herself lost to her family and victor’s crime ring. she gives birth to her child in an arizona hospital, and leaves it behind, giving it up for adoption, then her journey continues, away from texas.

𝐕 . 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 — hope is a dangerous thing ( arc one ). a semblance of a life is gained slowly, achingly, bit by bit, in a town that looks too much like purgatory not to make her wish for atonement. it’s not heaven, despite the name of the place she first sets foot inside: st. peter’s, peter andrews’ bar. he takes her in, gives her food, and a job —— she takes the name of freddie dawson, and with a fake id begins rebuilding herself. a huge step towards a life worth living is achieved by befriending moa zhao, best friend and the total of her family. later on, astoria grim, adopted as a sister. a chance at love is given, too: some casual hookups with a few serious things peppered here and there ( tom keen, notably, remains her boyfriend for more than a little while ). but she remains one foot out of the door, always: a fear in her lungs won’t let her truly breathe in. she looks at the horizon, she’s waiting for a storm.

𝐕 . 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 — happiness is a butterfly ( arc two ). he comes in with the rain, and despite the fear that won’t let go of her, she lets him drown her. kal anderson takes her by surprise, a hurricane with no warning —— she falls in love, harder than she ever has, too fast to hold herself steady. it’s powerful, it’s unbelievable, it’s everything she’s craved: a passion so strong it annihilates her fear, a belonging so certain, so true that she can hardly tell where she ends and he begins. for a year she is his, and he, hers —— by the fourth month he’s moved into her place and she swears to god she doesn’t need anything other than all this love, all the tidal waves of it, for the rest of her life. through him she meets charlie jenkins, kal’s apprentice and coworker, reckless and young and as chaotic as the brother she never had, and severin moran, kal’s old friend, also reckless and also chaotic, but somehow, she senses, broken enough to be recognized as her similar: a kindred spirit. for the first time, freddie dawson is happy. she’s truly, desperately happy.

𝐕 . 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 — covered in scars a canyon deep ( arc three ). but kal has secrets, and ways of escaping her, and one day when his demons catch up with him, the truth resurfaces: he was never the charming mechanic come from up north, but a mercenary. there is a hit on her head, a claim raised by her uncle who wants her back —— and he, poor kal anderson, is none other than ilias abørn, gun for hire who’s come to collect his bounty. except he’s fallen for it too, and in spite of the lies, they both know: the wildifre burning them up is real. the love, the annihilation of it all is real. and she swears she can forgive him, they can run away, they can make it work —— but one day he’s gone and she realizes: she’s drowned in him for real, and she can’t swim back up to the surface.

𝐕 . 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 — maybe god can be on both sides of a gun ( arc four ). ilias goes back to new york, not just to leave her behind but to face his demons. she learns, without really meaning to, that his demons have the shape of a crime syndicate in which he was forced as a child, by which he was trained and raised under the rule of one sociopath by the name of poe. it is him that ilias goes to face, expecting punishment for the way he so spectacularly screwed up his assignment. some of ilias’ fellow mercenaries lead fred to the sugar factory where he was raised and being held, and together they free him from his torture. it is the moment in which she first realizes the width of her desperate devotion, the lengths she’d go to for him, how her heart has found, in the end, a home — and will refuse to let it go. for about two weeks they try to make it work, escape together and find a real chance at life. two weeks in, ilias gives up and, in order to protect her, disappears: in the end, it turns out he is much better than fred ever was at martyrdom.

𝐕 . 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 — how to draw a line between wrath and mercy ( arc five ). hope is a stubborn, flickering flame —— but it can be snuffed out. hers dies when she gets ilias’ dog tags delivered in the mail. maybe she’s too weak to fight it, or maybe it’s just easier to tell herself he’s dead —— gone, vanished. that there is nothing left to fight for, not even her survival. she dies little by little, the flame in her eyes shrinking until she can’t muster up a smile not even for her closest friends —— so she leaves. leaves a town behind where every corner reminds her of him and a time she was truly, overwhelmingly happy. for about six months she hides away between utah and nevada, nursing her grief, slowly, then, with all the love carved out of her, her flickering flame turns into rage —— and rage is a quiet thing. it becomes evident to her how everything good she ever owned, every ounce of love she ever fought teeth and nails for, has been over and over destroyed by her uncle turned jailer, victor cullen. knowing he'd never really give up looking for her and make her pay for the sin of having escaped his grasp, one day she decides to surrender herself in an act of equal parts punishment and guts. because if there is one thing that can keep her going, it's the need for an enemy: and, she figures, she's always been good at acting. she surrenders herself to him and his crime ring, acting like the contrite prodigal niece, returns to texas and for the following two years plays her cards so well she's got him fooled. within the prison that is her commitment to victor’s operation she meets ira dunham, trapped like her, unwilling accomplice like her. the two grow into close friends, relying on each other to survive their shared sentence —— it’s thanks to ira’s help, also, that fred manages to fool victor. he, forever underestimating her, doesn't get it —— how she does his bidding only to keep gathering information on him. how she becomes his right hand only to be entrusted into private meetings and confidential files. how she acts as his accomplice in the business of human and drug trafficking because she's the only one who can sabotage him from the inside, look after his prisoners, and send his operation into flames. he doesn't know. when he catches up, it's too late. three things happen quickly after one another: first, freddie learns ilias is actually alive, but in hiding. a few days later she finds people she can strike a deal with, in hopes to trade all her intel on victor’s operation for ilias’ freedom —— she turns to detective sorensen, at first, and when she realizes jessica sorensen can’t be trusted either, she strikes a deal with detective nam. third, in a shocking turn of events, ilias comes to texas to settle her score with victor.

𝐕 . 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 — kill the angels if they’re keeping guard ( arc six ). the rest is a greek tragedy —— victor finds ilias, victor takes him, victor tortures him. once more, it’s fred’s life within his hands: and when victor puts a gun in her hands and orders her to shoot ilias, the love of her life, believing freddie to have been corrupted for good, freddie puts an end to the story, and shoots her uncle instead. somehow, she and ilias make it out. somehow they survive. scattered and broken and drenched in trauma that carries the iron scent of blood and death, but they survive. over the years, little by little, they find some semblance of peace. they nurse each other’s scars, and though they can never truly be happy or themselves again, they find a balance —— between terror and beauty, between rage and devotion. eventually, fred and ilias move to a small town on the oregon coast, and try to earn themselves a piece of purgatory. it’s not a happy ending, no —— but they have each other, and what’s left of them is two hearts refusing to give in for good. once a wildfire, now a flickering flame: but still burning.

#long post /#ok i know this is long but i didn't wanna cut it so pls bear w me #some parts don't really make sense i know #and if you have questions i'm more than willing to explain everything #but this is p much all you need to know #abt the different arcs in fred's main verse <3 #𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 — rage is a quiet thing ( main ).#𝐕 . 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 — there’s freedom to and freedom from ( prequel ).#𝐕 . 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 — hope is a dangerous thing ( arc one ).#𝐕 . 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 — happiness is a butterfly ( arc two ).#𝐕 . 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 — covered in scars a canyon deep ( arc three ).#𝐕 . 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 — maybe god can be on both sides of a gun ( arc four ).#𝐕 . 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 — how to draw a line between wrath and mercy ( arc five ).#𝐕 . 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 — kill the angels if they’re keeping guard ( arc six ).#screams in too many arcs

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springtwirling · 2 years

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Some important items that are always on Kairos whenever he roams through universes, for all my followers that interact with Kairos (or those that attempt to pickpocket the paranoid pirate’s son):

A finely decorated gold compass with the words ‘Hold Fast’ on the back. It’s unknown by nearly all where he got this compass from, only that he didn’t have it before, and then one day, he did. Rather than being a regular compass, it is considered an Artifact. It is capable of doing more than just giving directions, but what exactly it is capable of doing is currently unknown. Not even Kairos knows. Unless he’s at home, it is wrapped around his left wrist to a point of leaving rope burn around his skin. It almost seems to have a mind of its own, not wanting to be very far from Kairos at any given moment and giving off a certain energy of anxiety whenever he sets it aside for a long period of time.

A thick silver band with moving indentations and pressure plates. This is how he rapidly changes outfits on the fly and how he changes ‘ loadouts ‘ like he’s in a video game, as leftover from his original timeline / universe. It’s one of his original inventions however, and it has been tampered with time and time again to perfect the design. It, in its current iteration, can change outfits, skills, and spells at the same time, but they have to be pre-set. You cannot set them during battle or while outside of the main hub. He currently has six different loadouts, but will not tell anybody what they are... aside from his fiancee and his best friend.

The silver chain with the three charms of a pair of winged sandals, an ouroboros with green eyes, and a monkey with a staff and ‘rusted’ hair clipped over his heart regardless of his current coat. This is a handmade design specifically to show his faith for those who have listened to him and kept him company on Topside, deity wise. For those who are experienced with gods, the imagery of those will be easy to recognize. He is not shy about his faith, which is why he wears it over his heart. Those ones protected his heart, and gave him back a glint of hope in his loneliness. They have earned his faith.

A good number of hidden throwing daggers that one would be hard pressed to find. It’s not like he has boots designed for the damned things, nor does he have holsters, or clips in his coat or anything. He just has an almost cartoon, or game-like ‘hammer space’ of sorts. He just pulls them out of nothing. He can also take out a rocket launcher, as a gift, and blow something up. He prefers a grenade launcher however. He’s a ranged person, you know.

At least two glitter gel pens. One blue, and one purple. He has to be formal in some occasions after all, and people say signing in blue or black ink is inevitable, so he has a blue one for formal occasions, and he has purple to sign everything else. He has a ton of other colors. He also has a real quill pen.

His promise ring to his fiancee (main / default verse), which is a black crown ring on his right ring finger. It’s his promise ring of ‘I will never not be by your side, even if we’re not together’. It’s also his way of promising never to forget her and for her never to forget him, which is a big deal to him. So far, it has kept through the years.

His silver sun opal necklace. The opal was a gift from his dad, Clemency, as a means of showing him that just because someone is a rough gem that takes time to uncover from the boulder, doesn’t mean that they’re not worth the time. Notably, the opal still shows some signs of the boulder that was carved away from it, as a bit of symbolism from Kairos. It is not perfect and clear and pretty. The silver sun around it however, is gaudy and nearly pretentious.

The small vial of four leaf clovers held around his neck like a necklace. Also a gift, but from his best friend of many years, Kuroba Kaito (not on Tumblr). The four leaf clovers are frequently replaced with more of the clovers that are found and given to him, displayed like a ward against evil and bad luck, as if to say ‘fuck you’ temporarily from his best friend. It does actually keep him safe from time to time.

#( kairos | about. )

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thegallicwitch · 3 years

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Hello, wild ones! I’m Mako, a druid and home witch (which is what I call my blend of green and kitchen witchcraft) and a follower of the Gaulish pantheon and culture. I’m French, I identify as agender (they/them) and I have a physical disability that severely impacts my walking. I frequently use crutches, as well as a wheelchair, I take strong painkillers and medical morphine to manage the chronic pain that comes with the territory and I’m bedridden several times a month. All of that has an impact on my practice and that’s why I’m well-versed in pain spells and rituals, as well as studying herbalism and beginning to work as a natural healer, because I know debilitating pain all too well.

I follow the traditions and knowledge of my country and the witches of my community. I have so much to learn still, and I want to share French witchcraft practices with the rest of the world and bring a piece of the world back into my practice. I hope you’ll follow along with me. I thought, to start things out, I’d fill a few questions from the Witchy Tag and tag a few of my favorite tumblr witches so you can get to know me and hopefully I can meet a few of you this way!

If you’d like to find me elsewhere, I’m The Gallic Witch everywhere. I have an Instagram for daily practices, rituals and the like, a TikTok for more specific magickal projects and herbalism, and a youtube channel where I share in depth rituals and spells, talk about the Gaulish culture and deities, discuss the community here in France and what I’ve been taught, etc. I also have an Instagram for the Gaulish-inspired tarot deck I’m creating, the Tarot of Belisama, which you can find here as I share sneak-peeks and cards as I draw them. I hope to see you there soon! BELISAMA BLESS YOU ✨

1. what kind of witch are you?

I am a home witch, mainly, which is what I call being both a green witch and a kitchen witch. In a way, I suppose I’m mostly a French witch, given that my craft and practice is heavily influenced by local tradition and knowledge.

But in my daily practice, I follow the Druidic Path and I’m working with the Gaulish way of life and beliefs.

2. how did you discover your path?

My grandmother was a botanist, so when I was little, she would take my sister and me on long hikes and show us all the plants, one by one, teaching us the latin names and their medical properties. I took to it instantly, but distanced myself when she passed away in a misguided attempt at healing. I grew up around women in my community who would brew herbal remedies, cook you a cream or a poultrice for your break outs or your sprained ankle, people who could take away the fire from a burn or long day in the sun just with a hovering of the hand. Little by little, I learned from them, learned the way of the French witches who work for the community and not for themselves. I admired them, still do, but never thought I could be one of them, as what I was being initiated in was much closer to herbalism and being a Druid than a witch. Then I found Annie’s youtube channel, THE GREEN WITCH, and I just watched and watched, without being able to stop. I felt such a connection with her videos and her path, so I did my research, and finally started seriously studying magic, for about a year, before I even dared calling myself a witch. I wanted to have the knowledge to back that up, you know? And two years after, here I am, with knowledge and some more confident, branching out from my Druidic path and adding witchcraft to my practice for a year now!

3. how long have you been practicing?

If you count the Druidic/herbalism stuff, for roughly half of my life, so like then years, but witchcraft proper, two years.

4. what path/tradition do you follow?

Druidic teachings and Gaulish tradition/deities & French witchcraft, mainly herbalism. I consider myself a healer and a Druid even before being a witch. I want to make a living out of healing people. I follow the tradition of rural France, somewhere between the communities of the Black Mountain, the land Corbières-Minervois and Burgundy.

5. are you solitary or do you have a coven?

Currently solitary but I hope to find and join a Druidic circle one day.

7. do/would you teach and practice witchcraft to your children?

I don’t want children, but on principle, yes, absolutely. I think it’s an essential part of teaching them about the world and giving them the tools to be self-sufficient and healers too.

8. do you have a patron/matron deity?

I don’t use the words patron and matron because they don’t represent or apply to my believes, but purely from their meaning, they would be Belisama, Epona and Brig (or Brigid, she has different names depending on the Celtic nation you’re a part of).

9. favorite pantheon?

Egyptian. All the way. But it’s more of a remnant of childhood than what my faith aligns with today.

10. favorite goddess?

Hard one. Either Epona or Damona from the Gaulish pantheon or 嫦娥.

11. favorite god?

Thot, the scribe from the Egyptian.

12 and 13 are skipped since I don’t believe in astrology.

15. thoughts on the afterlife?

I believe in reincarnation like all Gauls but I don’t believe in Heaven or an afterlife as in, a place you end up after your life.

17. are you out of the broom closet? if so, how do your friends/family feel about your path?

I hate that expression with a passion. I’m LGBTQ+, and I find it incredibly offensive. In regards to the question itself, my family and friends do know I practice witchcraft, and no one cares. My sister and friends are very supportive, they actively want my opinion or my help depending on the circumstances. My mom finds it interesting, but she’s more into me being a healer, since my grandmother was her mom. She helps a lot with the herbalism side, and teaches me things and we do our mixes together. Even my dad who’s not interested, drinks my herbal teas and doesn’t mind me putting talismans and protection charms all over our home, smudging and doing spells and rituals.

19. do you have an altar?

I do, yes. Not just one, in fact. I have a main one for spells and rituals and just, general practice. I have one for my Ancestors and deities. And I have a portable one that I use to mix my herbal teas and make my remedies, as well as do divination.

20. what’s a spell that you’ve done?

Lately? A money spell for my mom.

22. favorite pagan holiday that you celebrate?

I love Chandeleur, the French version of Imbolc. And because spring is my favorite season and the best time of the year for me mentally and physically, I also adore Beltane.

26. favorite witch websites?

Absolutely WITCH UNIVERSITY. I learned a lot of things there. Also Wildera, a fellow French pagan. And I follow a lot of witches and celtic pagans on tumblr and tiktok, learning a lot from them.

29. favorite season?

Spring and Winter, in equal parts.

30. favorite herb?

Lavender. Or maybe rosemary.

31. favorite gem?

Amethyst. And lapis-lazuli.

38. your grimoire.

The original question was about a book of shadow but I’m not a wiccan and I don’t use that term, so here’s my grimoire. I handmade it, from stitching the pages to crafting the cover, bookmark and decorations. I love it, I put so much intention and love into it.

39. your tarot deck(s) (or one you want).

The first picture is of my first tarot deck and still my favourite, the Dishonored deck. It’s the one I use the most, still.

The second is the Prism Tarot, which is the last deck I bought (now four decks in total) and has been a project I’ve followed since it was still being drawn, up to supporting the kickstarter and becoming good friends with the creator, Liz, as I started making my own tarot deck. I highly recommend it, it’s an amazing piece of a art and an amazing magickal tool.

And I’m gonna tag some of my favourite tumblr witches in case they haven’t done this before: @heatherwitch @grandmaveitch @gardenfoxywitch @herbwicc @greenwitchofwonderland @a-green-witch @boiledwheatblog @thatsunflowerwitch @kitchenwitchtingss @queerkitchenwitch @coffeewitchcafe @servantofthefates

#witchcraft #witchblr #druid #gaulish #witch tag #the gallic witch #mako talks

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stxphxn-strange · 4 years

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i want to start posting from my ironstrange college au (remember the makeup fic i posted in like november? i’ll link it below but it’s from that verse) so! let me explain it:

reminder that this is an au and it’s my au, so i decide how this all goes!

Ships:

IronStrange (duh)

ThorBruce

Valcarol

Sambucky

Christine x Hope Van Dyne* (this gets complicated)

Eventual Pristine

Past Stony, Past Stucky

(Lowkey I’m also figuring out if Rhodey x T’challa could be a ship? they both seem too independent but i also might add it in)

Character Notes:

Tony deliberately never specifies if he prefers to go by Anthony or Tony. People call him both, or also his friends call him Ant. Stephen does not/has never called him Tony, he’s always known him as Anthony.

Happy just tends to go by H or Harry (anyone who calls him Harold receives a death glare, but as a joke Rhodey got him a T-shirt and the pattern is just name tags that say “hello my name is Harold.”)

Rhodey just goes by Rhodey bc Tony *insisted* that all their friends call him that and plus he doesn’t hate the nickname.

Natasha is part of this but she doesn’t go to school with the rest of the group. She’s Tony’s half sister and is the biological daughter of Maria Stark and her best friend. She lives in Italy with some of Tony’s extended family and her bio dad. Few people know of her existence, or they know her as Maria’s niece (for her own protection). It doesn’t rly matter that Howard has no idea who she rly is, he wasn’t with her the entire time Maria was pregnant w Natasha bc she was in Italy (and brought Tony with her)

Roommates:

- Tony and Rhodey are roommates, and they live two floors above the four suitemates. The four suitemates are: Christine and Pepper (who share a room) and Stephen and Wong (who share the other room) despite that, the six of them tend to move fluidly in between both spaces.

- Hela and Carol

- Val and Hope

- Thor and T’challa (Bruce spends a lot of time w them)

- Bruce, Sam, and Loki (as chaotic as it sounds btw)

- Bucky and Happy, who I’ve decided are very close. (btw nobody particularly enjoys the fact that Sam and Bucky live next door to each other, when they’re Busy their roommates can be found w Stephen and Co. or one of the other Odinson siblings).

Friend Groups (note: people overlap/belong to multiple groups, this is also not the full list bc that could go on for a long time):

- The Main Six: Tony, Rhodey, Stephen, Wong, Christine, and Pepper.

- Team Big Brain: Tony, Bruce, Stephen, Hope, Carol, Christine, and Bucky.

- Doctors: Stephen, Tony, Christine, and Bruce.

- Dumbass Protection Squad: Hela, T’Challa, Carol, Happy, Rhodey, and Pepper (usually).

- Psych Majors: Pepper, Wong, T’Challa and Loki.

- Stark Industries: Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy.

- People who Like Astrology: Loki, Bucky, Val, sometimes Christine.

Storylines (There’s no established time frame for this really, but it doesn’t follow mcu canon or any canon):

- Stephen and Tony are lifelong friends. They met on the first day of kindergarten and went to school together in NY (where both their families lived at the time) until middle school. For unspecified reasons, Stephen’s parents opted to move the Strange family to Nebraska before the start of 6th grade. Stephen and Tony were Devastated but were already inseparable at that point and stayed in touch. A business opportunity moved the Starks from NY to California. Stephen stayed in Nebraska for high school but Tony’s parents sent him to boarding school (read: Howard sent him away to avoid having to actually parent, and he thought he was lifting a burden from Maria. This was Not The Case, as she loved her son dearly and would call him everyday. Tony appreciated this more than he ever thought possible.)

- Howard and Stane viewed boarding school as a chance to groom Tony into something malleable and submissive enough to take orders from anyone. His obvious feelings for Stephen (with whom he was still incredibly close) were a Great Concern, so the executive decision was made to set Tony up with Steve Rogers, a blond athlete from his school. It was a way to keep Tony’s sexuality controlled, and Howard didn’t think Stephen was anywhere close to the level he wanted Tony to be (of course, Howard didn’t think his son lived up to his expectations anyway. It was more about control). On the surface, Steve was sweet and everything you could want in a partner, and he even charmed Maria into liking him. She genuinely believed he’d be a good match for her son, so it hurt when she found out what he was really like. Rhodey was Tony’s boarding school roommate for all four (4) years. They met and hit it off overnight, Rhodey instantly feeling brotherly love and the need to protect Tony (or “Tones” as he called him. Rhodey is usually the only one to call him that). Rhodey and Steve did Not see eye to eye on anything, least of all how Tony should be treated. Steve was terrible to him, and Rhodey’s heart broke when Tony admitted he was too scared to break up with him.

- Reenter Stephen. After a particularly bad day, Tony called Maria and Stephen sobbing, missing the two (2) people he talked to more than anyone except maybe Rhodey. It was then he confessed what kind of boyfriend Steve was, and Maria gasped before saying, “Dump him. Let me handle the rest.” That very day, Stephen left school early and traveled to see Tony. It was 2am when he finally arrived, throwing rocks at the window and then scaling the side of the building once he had Tony’s attention. Stephen and Rhodey met the next morning, when Rhodey came back from classes and found his roommate asleep him.

- “So you’re the one who climbed in through my window,” Rhodey said. “For a good reason, I assume.” Stephen confessed it was because he loved Tony and wanted to be there for him, didn’t want him to hurt. (It’s fair to say, though, that Stephen visited before/Tony went to visit him, and they’d spent secret time together over the summers). Tony, believing himself incapable of love, didn’t reject Stephen’s confession but assumed it was only love between friends. The summer before they all left for college (Rhodey, originally from Texas, was also going to school in NY with Tony and Stephen. NY was a big part of who they both were, and they both dreamed of studying there together), they finally started dating at Maria Stark’s motherly demand.

- This demand came a short time before Howard and Maria died, and it also came with admissions of guilt and lots of tears. “I was wrong about Rogers,” she said. “You don’t have to accept what I say or forgive me, but I know Stephen is the right one for you. I think I’ve always known.” (No shit, everyone knew) Knowong she was genuinely sorry, Tony forgave her not knowing that she would die a few months later.

- Most of this canon I’ve created takes place starting in their junior year of college, so everyone has gotten to know each other quite well. I’m sure the more I write from this the more I’ll flesh out relationships between certain characters, but one I want to mention is that Tony and Bucky are very close and co-presidents of the “I Dumped Steve Rogers for Peace of Mind” club. Steve goes to college in the next state/a little further north (that’s as specific as it’ll get for now) and dated Bucky the group’s freshman year. Tony didn’t know any of this until Bucky brought him over one day, and after they (Tony and Bucky) had a talk about the way Steve is as a partner, Bucky realized some things and dumped Steve. He remains angry at them both, especially Tony, from a short distance away which terrifies Tony.

- Sam and Bucky kissed for the first time at a truth or dare night Thor and T’Challa hosted in the group’s sophomore year. After they kissed (Sam initiated) they both shyly admitted feelings for each other.

*Now here’s where things get a little dicey. I started this au with Christine and Hope together for no particular reason, maybe they were on a club sports team together and started dating from there? But Pepper fell in love w Christine at first sight, and it got worse and worse the more they got to know each other. Much like Stephen and Tony, they’re the kind of people who meet each other and just click, even if the eventual path to Pristine involves lots of tears and jealousy for Pepper that Stephen never really experienced. He didn’t feel jealous of Tony and Steve’s relationship, because he wasn’t at boarding school with Tony and there wasn’t much he could do. But as a supportive and concerned (and honest but kind) friend, he was always encouraging and there to listen to Tony. Is Pepper going to be as good of a friend to Christine as Stephen was to Tony while Christine gets ready to marry Hope after undergrad??? that’s the question my forthcoming college au fic will answer.

Also mentioned in my forthcoming fic (which I’m still writing rn)

- post undergrad Wong works as a museum director/curator (havent decided yet, maybe he works his way up the ranks) and double majored in psych and history.

- Stephen, Tony, Happy, Rhodey, and Wong all live together and the rest of the group lives around NYC.

- Stephen, Christine, and Bruce (The Doctor friend group) are all pursuing medical degrees while the SI friend group is transforming the company completely.

++++

Thank you for coming to my TEDTalk! Congrats on reading all the way to the end lmao. I second guessed posting this a lot but then i remembered that it’s mine and I’m just sharing pre-fic thoughts lol. Thanks for reading/for your support of my work y’all!

Read the makeup fic (it doesn’t have a title) here.

💜💜💜💜

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sole-cuore-amore-e-droga · 3 years

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Italy brings the rock’n’roll youth of tomorrow to Rotterdam 2021

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It’s the final day of doing my yet again botched attempt at a review series and I’ve been dying to post my gigantic write-up for my newly beloved Italy, at the top of the bookies, darling of all hearts, ready to rock Eurovision, and even more! Vai vai~

ARTIST & ENTRY INFO

Representing them this year is Måneskin, a band made up of four - singer and possibly the hottest motherfucker to grace the planet Earth Damiano, guitarist Thomas, drummer Ethan, and the cherry on top - bassist Victoria, whose half-Danish heritage is the reason Måneskin is called Måneskin (= Moonshine). They thought of this name at a “battle of the bands” that they won, thinking they might as well change it to something different, but in the end... say it with me now

They have known each other since highschool, made a band in 2016, won the “battle of the bands”, started out making a living as buskers in the streets of Rome, from which they gradually grew through playing small gigs, and later tried out for X Factor Italia season 11, on which they came 2nd.

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They went on to release an EP titled after their debut single of the name of the song above, including some of their X Factor covers, and later on got to get big through releasing an album, getting it certified all kinds of goodnesses, having singles from that album be popular, even releasing a documentary of themselves... they’ve done so much in life and they’re only 20-22 years old... aw man, the life is just ahead of them, for them to be so young and win Sanremo on their first try. (And I’ve always wanted them for Eurovision ever since I was aware of their existence, because their music is very nice, and they just feel like charming human beings. So imagine my joy seeing them announced for Sanremo 2021? And them WINNING months later??? man what kind of luck do I have even if just for a year lmao <333)

“Zitti e buoni”, the last song title alphabetically this year, is purely of the band’s making, and the lyrics are talking about not abiding the rules in general, how they’re out of their minds but they’re not like “them”, and how people talk but don’t know what they’re talking at all.

REVIEW

IT’S A PRETTY CRAZY GOOD ROCK SONG AMEN HALLELUJAH OPRAH WOOOOOOO

wbk I love it. Yeah sure it might be composited of something that sounds like standard rock riffs and what not, but it’s the ENERGY that goes into it that gets me more excited for this than for Finland, a fellow rock song of this year’s final.

Damiano’s vocals have the specific kind of rockstar tinge to them, and they’re very complimenting to the song. The way he says everything is beautiful, the “e buonasera signore e signori” line in particular is just a moment that shows the beginning of power somehow, I don’t know. The chorus is great, eventhough it’s just one line repeated but it changes the pronoun each time (going from “I’m out of my mind” to “you’re out of your mind” to “we’re out of my mind”) - MAGICAL.

And the bridge. YES, the bridge. Along with the outro it’s the best part of the song. The chord progression. The lines repeated on that bridge. The emotions going on. The delivery of the lines of the emotion. It’s a convincing little bridge, to the point that it sounds just as great with violins! Wish they brought one, because according to Love Love Peace Peace, nothing screams winner quite like a violin.

God damn to the Måneskinsters pump this song up to the maximum. It was originally a ballad song, and I think that’s for the better for them to present it as a rock song, because a Sanremo ballad in a pool of Sanremo ballads... unless it stands out according to demoscopic & press juries, and there seems to be a no better option at hand that could make them stand out other than just sending a classy ballad, it just fizzles out in a spectacularly lame fashion. Måneskin’s one real shot through was with a song that would make them stand out, and they did it, and they’re here.

Everyone has put in their work, their passion, their skills into this, and it shows off in spades. Måneskin themselves are fantastic and chill human beings, who too, just like Flo Rida, get to enjoy how crazy amazing Eurovision experience is. And for that I salute them with my whole heart. Whatever they do tonight on Eurovision, they’ll leave a lasting mark in it. And for a good reason.

Also an Italian Eurovision edit that doesn’t suck, once again, yay! (In their defense, they didn’t have a whole lot to work with, so they released theirs early - just a few trimmings here and there, and a lyric change so that they skate by EBU easier with their anti-swearing policies. Gahddamn swearing~)

Approval factor: FUCK YES Follow-up factor: The funny thing about this is that last year their entry is about making noise but the song was a love ballad, this year it’s a song titled “shut up and behave” while dressed in a loudest motherfucking musical setting lol. Fuck the rules! It was solely on the Sanremo’s last year’s winner Diodato not to send an entry he thought that would fit for Sanremo, and that’s good on him - he can return next year replenished as all hell, and maybe aim for the trophy again? wishful thinking? aaaa. Anyway on a personal scale “Zitti e buoni” is a marvelous follow-up from “Fai rumore”, even if skipping 2020 entirely, especially after “Soldi”, which was already a fab follow-up after “Non mi avete fatto niente”, and even from “Occidentali’s Karma” on. And so it is subjectively a good follow-up. Italy SLAYS. AQ factor: As I write this, the odds are very much in their favour, if not a little bit too persuaded over the fact that Måneskin gave a good rock performance and knew what they would be doing, or it’s just that the Italians like overbetting for their acts way too damn much. But nevertheless, I just wanna hope for them to break the expectations people set on rock songs in Eurovision and SMASH themselves a victory. Or a top 2. Or a top 5-10. Anything will do, goddamn.

NF CORNER

Well, I promised that I will talk about Sanremo in a NF corner, because this is the first year I actually cared to watch it myself, unlike when I would’ve sided with someone whose reviewing style I love in not caring to watch it, and usually just check all the songs on the last day lol.

One thing about Sanremo that I sorely underestimate is that a handful of artists on there can come across as very versatile, and the one song you loved of one genre they presented several years ago, can be completely different and leave you baffled for days if you’re not very familiarized with their discography and the Italian music scene in general. Which now I’m going to pay an extreme amount of attention towards following Sanremo 2022 on out because hot damn did I never see gems like Willie Peyote coming!

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Did I call him a gem over his entry? Yes, somehow. Am I even sure if I’m being serious?

I think I can somewhat agree when I say that for the international fam watching Sanremo at least, “Mai dire mai (La locura)” was a major expectation destroyer, at least for the crowd whose main lookouts in a lineup like this years were Ermal Meta, Annalisa, Arisa, etc. You know they’re gonna bring a ballad, and their ballads are usually decent, but what about the unexpected? That’s where a handful of acts, including Willie, comes in for me. The bass hooks in the second the song starts. The beat is minimalistic but strong enough to slap. The steady rap flow is mesmerizing, paired with that somewhat specifically Italian(?) vocal timbre. The chorus is greatly catchy, and it is a sung chorus, with this song still being largely a rap song. The electric-esque guitar soundwaves interspersed throughout the song are magnificent and magical, and on the chorus they even make a constant melody riff that repeats and may get annoying on multiple listens, but I still adore them. I really love the bridge as well and all that goes into it. A fantastic surprise of the season for me personally.

Now I figure that the lyrics may hinder the enjoyment for some, especially the points raised in some lines that may seem questionable and shady (if this went to Eurovision and got a “twerking” comment on Youtube, I will not be surprised if the description of choice is “patriarchic twerking”), but am I supposed to be fully offended at some points of it if I’m not its target audience, although I see some of what I do nowadays in those lines? “Mai dire mai” is probably dedicated to the Italian media and the Italian trends and what not. I’m not even disappointed it didn’t win, because if it went to Eurovision, it would’ve likely been met like a lesser “Occidentali’s Karma” - catchy song with lyrics that fly over listener’s heads which might as well be very accidentally mocking how we live our lives.

“Mai dire mai” has just less of a memorability-in-history value and no memorable gimmicks (Francesco had a gorilla, what is it visually going for on Willie’s performance?), besides, it would’ve suffered even WORSE post-Eurovision-edit than OK has - a lot of the bits and bobs that pass me by but when I notice them they make a really great entry, but other than the (presumably copyrighted) removal of a sample from a TV series (spoken by a fish character, nonetheless), what else is there to remove???? With Eurovision’s rules specifying that brands (Spotify, TikTok) and swearwords (lots of the good old Italian ones that Italian radios would digitally scratch out to emphasize that there were a LOT in the second verse) can’t be sung live, the song loses some of its lyrical charm. And you can’t just go around the song like Francesco Gabbani chopping off entire verses full of content full of witty lyrics and a reference to Chanel in order to present the more lyrically singable-along-to lines and not let go of the long chorus to whom his gorilla can dance to. “Mai dire mai” is RIFE with lyrics, that’s what a rap song is. It would have absolutely fallen apart.

Also no one paged it as a potential Eurovision winner during Sanremo, at least seriously, and it doesn’t have much that would have clicked with the future Eurovision generation and contestants when they would be asked to name their favourite Eurovision song of all times. In a world where from Italy they really like “Grande amore” and “Soldi” and even sometimes could name “Occidentali’s Karma”, is there really a place for “Mai dire mai (La locura)” over “Zitti e buoni”? Who would be naming that song as their favourite of all time? If you raised a hand, you lie to yourself, because that would’ve been me.

Now I don’t know how many of the Tumblr fam would draw ire at me putting out paragraphs worth of me being ultra positive towards this song, because as I’ve learned, there’s an ironic and unironic audience for Mr. Peyote on Tumblr especially, but for me I guess it was pretty worthy, also a thing I was finally able to yell off my chest since, and now I finally said it, I will continue streaming “Mai dire mai (La locura)” in peace.

He might’ve not won Sanremo, but his song won the equally important Mia Martini Critics Award, and also, my heart. Rest in broken shards of the Boris aquarium, my sweet cynical prince~

Måneskin were my 2nd after him so I’m equally happy they won. But what about my other favourites?

• Extraliscio ft. Davide Toffolo - Bianca luce nera A diluted version of the liscio genre, still makes for a very fascinatingly catchy and swaying song with lots of great instruments that are violins and a clarinet. What I figure is kinda a love song. Their performances were also great, with lots of dancers on stage and a genuinely great fun to be had, and you may remember them more after their performance in cover night, which was titled “Rosamunda”. They were the ones with their main singer’s guitar spinning for whatever reason that was there to make their song catchy, I guess.

• Lo Stato Sociale - Combat Pop A little bit of a far cry from their glory heydays with 2nd place in Sanremo 2018, but they returned with an equally banging song and an amazing set of performance chaos they brought in each and every time - dedicating their first night’s one to making a performance to not forget (and being the ones of two to reference the great Bugo&Morgan incident from last year, the other being Willie Peyote), the second competitive one was for referencing politics, and so on.

• Colapesce & Dimartino - Musica leggerissima Sweet melancholic song with the shades of Sebastien Tellier kinda sound, this song may seem jolly at first, but the especially melancholic undertones denote that there’s something else going on. It’s actually about depression, as that’s what the term “musica leggerissima” (very light music) means. But it still found a heart in Italian listeners and the Italian world finally woke up to how great Antonio Di Martino and Lorenzo “Colapesce” Urciullo are, and a handful of viewers were slightly heartbroken to see it not place in the superfinal top 3. Who knows if they would’ve actually won over Måneskin. I just know that their rollerskater girlie is so damn fine~

Bugo has also returned but I think his redemption arc started off the wrong foot, as his return entry, “E invece si”, was a bloated showtune ballad and got obnoxious to listen to at part. I declared to myself that night when I first heard the new entry that regarding on what made “Sincero” great, I side with Morgan.

And a special shout out to Ghemon, whose 2019 song was more than just a “purple rose” unlike I noted on a last proper Italian entry review. I don’t know what expectations I had for him, but I certainly wanted to love “Momento perfetto” more at the first listen, which was also somewhat of a show-tuney piece, but with a bit more funk and pizzazz, also Ghemon was VERY much vibing with his song, and that made me feel great for the few other performances of it that I saw the following days. It’s definitely a grower song, and around 2 months after Sanremo I fell into a bit of a rabbit-hole of his earlier music discovering, and I may be a bit exaggerating but, give Ghemon a bit more of acknowledgement and a stellar enough song, and with a little bit of magic touch, I can maybe see him lifting the Golden Lion trophy one day. Don’t ask why. (also lovely music video for his 2021 entry, which replaces continuous spinning in an aesthetic area to everybody moving their body in a diner (hopefully with everyone in the MV tested and been negative for long enough for the MV to actually happen).)

NF CORNER (NON-COMPETITIVE)

There’s so much needed to be discussed about there. So I’ll restrict myself to the moments that I remember and cherish:

• Rosario Fiorello. Just. Him.

• And the gentleman next to him, Achille Lauro.

tw // body piercing

Belarus 2018 could never

Fiorello and Lauro are perfect matches to each other’s worlds of imagination, and I was more than ever glad to see so much creativity coming from each one of them, a host and a nightly interval act respectively.

• Once again, “Rosamunda Medley” by Extraliscio, I didn’t watch the cover night in its entirety but I think it’s good enough of a medley if it got a 3rd place from the cover night from the orchestra!

• Sanremo Newcomers section of this year. I liked or vibed to almost every song out of the 8, and I’m decently happy with the winner, but if there’s one big shoutout I really want to make, is to “Regina” by Davide Shorty, for it’s such a cozy funky little love song that always makes me happy when I hear it. My personal winner preference, but I don’t mind Davide getting 2nd! For as long as he gets to place 1st in a future main Sanremo event hihihihihi

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• Diodato proving himself to be a dance king at the beginning of his “Che vita meravigliosa” performance, my good Twitter friend made a bunch of videos where he dances to a lot of songs, as per request, check them out and you won’t forget it.

• Since Sanremo 2021 got rid of the audience as per COVID regulations and much to Amadeus’s dread, there ended up quite a handful of audience related memes. Such as the penis balloon et al.

• Remember when Sanremo 2021 audience was supposed to be whisked away in a cruise ship for safety measures? Pepperidge Farm remembers

• SESSO IBUPROFENEEEEEEEE

The guy that sang this song actually has the same birthday as me, so in my eyes, I feel like he has some charm to it. I’m biased lol sorry

There’s way too many more but I am afraid of flooding my post beyond your readability interest. Let’s hope that, in an event of Italy’s victory or non, we’ll get to see an even more iconic event of Sanremo emerge come the future. <3

ANY LAST WORDS?

Måneskin’s big goal was to rock Eurovision, and I think they’ve greatly accomplished that by just... doing what they do best, and that is, rocking. They leave energy lasting for days.

In bocca al lupo, fam. You’ll nail it, and even if you don’t win, Italy shouldn’t not hail you as national heroes after it’s all over.

#eurovision #eurovision 2021 #rotterdam 2021 reviews #italy #måneskin #zitti e buoni #gifs i didn't make

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chaosmultiverse · 2 years

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“Why do I get the feeling that I am both being talked about, AND ignored at the same time? How does that work??”

#Hope {With The Hope Of Magic} {IC}#Hope {Four Times The Charm} {Main Verse}#I Spy With My Little Eye {Dash Comm}#royalreef

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sphinxsmuses-archived · 4 years

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ooc: All Available Muses/Characters!

Fandomless:

Aiux Umbrangeli (An assassin who has been trained since she was a child. She wields the ability to create objects out of shadows as well as hide in them. Emotionless and unfeeling towards her target but awkward around others)

Pirates/One Piece OCs:

Kishi MacAuley (The self proclaimed Captain of an all girl pirate crew calling themselves the Love Seekers. Kishi is hyper and boy crazy as well as a tad reckless, willing to go through any danger if it means finding cute guys and treasure along the way)

Madeline O’ Raleigh (Goes by Maddy. The scowl faced First Mate of Kishi’s crew. Grew up with Kishi at an orphanage. She is the main fighter of the crew as well, wielding two swords. No one knows why Maddy seems grumpy all the time)

Julia Frost (The Navigator of the crew and the most level headed. Julia is a governor’s daughter who decided to run from home and ended up joining the pirates before realizing they were calling themselves pirates. Likely the one brain cell that works in the entire crew)

Fandomless Ninja/Naruto:

Midori Ryu (A clumsy, scared ninja girl who one would possibly say is the worst ninja ever. Belonging to a clan who believes dragons exist and mimic them through their techniques. Wants to make her clan proud.)

Fate Series:

Emilia Clarimond (A Fate Master OC. Emilia comes from a family of mages who decided she would be the first to fight for the grail in hopes she would make their family famous. But Emilia has other plans. Also has a Fairy Tail verse in the Alt. Verse page)

My Hero Academia:

Kyana Aeira (A wannabe heroine with the ability to conjure fire. Easily excitable and tends to rush into fights without thinking but wants to help the world and has a big heart. Can be fandomless and fit in other superhero settings. Also has Endeavor’s Daughter AU verse!)

Kalliphae Myressei (A moth woman with the ability to heal others using a powder that emits from her. She is a princess of a far off kingdom. Acts with a noble air and always tries to follow her heart. Has a My Hero Academia verse where she is a assistant teacher/nurse.)

Tia “Usagi” Faye (Bubbly kind of girly girl whose quirk is magnetism. She can make anything she touches become magnetic, even things that aren’t normally something you can stick magnets to like trees. She uses this alongside rollerblading to fight and calls herself Usagi for the jump tricks she can pull off while blading around. A student at UA.)

Yugioh:

Miyuki Tenshi (A sweet, innocent duelist who uses a deck with angelic creatures revolving around the Sanctuary in the Sky card. She has a duel spirit, Happy Lover, and has yet to meet anyone else with one or that can see her. Has a Angel and Fairy verses in the Alt. Verses page.)

Aku Yazoi (A hot tempered but secretly sweet duelist who becomes flustered from compliments and cute girls. His deck he calls Nightmare Fuel, his key card being Dark End Dragon. Can be fandomless)

Fandomless:

Iyumi Akuma (A bratty, whiny, wannabe queen with high delusions. She can be a major pain, demanding attention or demanding servants but deep down wants a king to serve and be submissive towards. Can change to be better with time.)

Chloe Thaleia (Mischievous thief from a family of thieves looking for her older brother who left home when she was a child. Will steal from you playfully then give it back once she’s caught. Has a magical greatsword she stole that can use the four elements but she has no idea how to use it.)

Aiolos Thaleia (Older brother of Chloe. After witnessing his uncle (who had taught them all they know about being a thief) break the family code by murdering someone, he decided to go on a different path and leave the family. He strives to be a knight or a guard, something he sees as more honorable.)

Final Fantasy 7:

Xia Malificia (A flirtatious, mischievous girl who used to live in Sector 5 but grew sick of her overprotective parents and living poorly and ran away. She used her beauty and charm to con people out of money before finding and getting hired by the Honeybee Inn. Now she is a singer there as well as a bee girl and is still up to her old tricks. Can be fandomless!)

League of Legends:

Shay Pierina (A Vastaya cat girl from the deserts of Shurima. She was found in a small village there as an orphaned child and was raised by a kind human. She has the ability to control sand and manipulate it to form whatever she can imagine. She wants to one day be a guard for the Emperor. Has a FF14 verse where she is a Warrior of Light from Ul’dah.)

Monster Hunter:

Sonafuwa (A Paolumu who gained the ability to turn human. Sonafuwa is shy and tends to stay in the trees and away from hunters so she won’t get hunted. When she meets someone friendly, she becomes more calm and is happy to make a new friend)

Sakura (A Pink Rathian that gained the ability to turn human. Territorial at first but can become friendly if she sees the other means no harm. Prissy and doesn’t mind Hunters so long as she isn’t their target.)

Pokemon:

Piper/Peeps(An Altaira Gijinka girl who can’t speak human very well and tends to just say Peep or chirp or hum. Very innocent and naive and loves to give hugs to people and can be a tad air-headed.)

Final Fantasy 14:

Orabella Kalon(A shy Elezen Summoner from the First world. A scholar of Crystarium, Orabella decided to travel to study the magic of the world and stumbled into the pixie land, becoming captured until one day she was suddenly freed. Now she wanders with new pixie friends, still set on studying. Also has a fandomless verse.)

Demon Slayer:

Christina Terrwyn (A young Demon Slayer who was taught everything she knows by her retired dad. A tad hyper and reckless, she finds slaying exhilarating and exciting but also aims to protect her family including her two younger sisters)

Fire Emblem Three Houses:

Diana Fotieni (A student at the Academy under the Blue Lions house training to become a knight one day. She is studious and trains hard, seeming always serious but holds a secret soft side to her once one gets to know her better. Has a Pokemon Sword/Shield verse as a trainer.)

Fandomless:

Ourania Thanos (A dragon that can turn into a human. Cocky, egotistical, and loves to show off to others. Loves to fight people just to fight strong opponents and also loves to eat lots of meat and drinks lots of ale. Has a Monster Hunter verse where she is a Jinouga gijinka)

Nikki Irving (An oddball Alchemist of a girl who stumbled upon a cursed Eldritch Being who had been shrunk and turned into a tiny octopus. She decided to keep it as a pet, named it Tickles, and has no idea it is slowly influencing her mind.)

Colette Eirina (Princess of Maas Kingdom and a rather air headed one at that. A hopeless romantic who reads tons of romance novels and is very naive but a sweet and kind person willing to help others. Though she mainly needs help herself.)

#ooc #all available muses #all available characters #more under keep reading #updated list #if we have a thread with a muse that isn't up there #no need to worry #I will still do threads with them #I just don't want to make my muse list bigger than it already is #lol

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psycho-slytherin · 5 years

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Strangers ch. 36

Your relationship with Yoongi gets picked apart, and the commercial begins.

Pairing: Yoongi x (female) Reader

Word count: 2.3k

Genre: fluff, angst

|mlist|

<–– Prev Next ––>

Your heart drops into your stomach, rips through your body, and continues down through the Earth’s crust. “Oh, c’mon, that wasn’t me. You have to know that wasn’t me.” It’s who I was before I knew you, a voice in your head echoes. God, did you love this man before you met him, before you fully registered that he was real.

Yoongi laughs. “Oh, I figured– I only wanted to tease you. You’ve been hacked, right?”

“I must’ve been, yeah. I haven’t liked any tweets like that.” You wink exaggeratedly. “At least, not since I knew you.” There’s something about the newfound freedom in your heart, the lightweight truth, that lends you far more confidence than you’ve had lately. He is your friend, after all.

Yoongi rests his elbows on the table. “I just hope you’ve changed your password already, before your hacker does it first.”

“Oh shit, you’re right!” You’ve had the same password for most of your online accounts for years, and it’s probably time to change them around before someone else gets into your electronic life. You hurriedly grab your phone and change your Twitter password; thankfully, it doesn’t seem like whoever trolled you did so first.

“How are you doing, by the way? With the cold, I mean.”

“Heh, what do you think?” You unzip your jacket to reveal a sweater underneath. After your photoshoot yesterday, you felt like you’d never be warm again. “It’s weird, I never minded the cold before.”

“After what happened, it’s no wonder you’re traumatized.” Yoongi rests a reassuring hand on your shoulder, and some part of your heart begins to sing. “Just, you gotta know that your body is warm enough already, and I don’t want you to get heatstroke from all those layers.”

“I’ll be careful.” Seoul’s central hospital is probably sick of you at this point, not that you can blame them.

“Good.” Yoongi leans back, and the loss of contact is almost startling. “Watcha up to this week, workaholic?”

“Besides Moon Over the Sea?” You check your work calendar, the one both you and Lisa have access to. “I’ve got a commercial shoot for some cologne all day Friday and Saturday.”

Yoongi whistles. “Why’ve they got you scheduled for men’s cologne? And damn, I was gonna ask if you wanted to come over to our place Saturday night for dinner but it sounds like you’ll be busy. We’re gonna be working in Japan but we get back Saturday.”

“Don’t count on it, but I’ll see if I can make it. I’ll text you, yeah?”

“Sure.” Your friend rises from his chair. “Well, I better be off. See ya tomorrow for filming, and…” he winks. “Don’t get too distracted by my tongue, hm?”

Every drop of blood in your body rushes to your cheeks as Yoongi bursts out laughing. “I was hacked, you goddamn flirt!” You swat at him, forcing your racing heart to calm. “God, does Hobi know you’re cheating on him?”

“You know him, he’s worse than I am.” Yoongi’s voice is still full of mirth, his lips pulled back to expose his gums. It’s the kind of expression you died for when you were an ARMY… and it seems it’s still affecting you now.

“Just go away, nerd. Aren’t you working on your next mixtape?”

“Yeah, and it’s gonna be fire.”

“Enjoy arson then, but enjoy it in your own studio. I have homework.” With a final lighthearted salute, Yoongi departs and you’re left alone in your apartment, your heart hammering dangerously. You don’t have homework. Or, you do, but you certainly don’t plan on doing it. You’re an actress now, and gaining acclaim. You have better things to do– which is why it’s so frustrating that you’re letting Yoongi mess with your head. You thought you’d put the feelings you’d had as an ARMY behind you– those childlike emotions, the rush of excitement that left you reeling, the breathlessness at his every verse– you’d fallen in love with Suga, just like every other ARMY.

Once you got to know Yoongi, and not just Suga, you were certain your heart would stop skipping a beat when you saw him. And it did for a while, when you were dating Xiumin. But now, now that you’re supposed to be dating Suga…

It feels… different. You feel different.

Your thoughts are interrupted by your buzzing phone. More hate comments, you’re sure. One of these days you’re gonna be mad enough to respond to the shit you’re getting, and that’s gonna be a fucking good day.

The days pass, and the filming of Moon Over the Sea continues smoothly.

“Ji-Woo! A letter! Ji-Woo’s got a letter!” The actress playing one of your sisters hurries to you, clutching an elegant envelope.

“A letter?” The rest of your character’s family crowds around you as your ‘mother’ speaks. “Go on, Ji-Woo, read it!”

You tear open the prop envelope. “It’s from Mr. Moon’s sister…” You pretend to read. The scene is all about you discovering that Yoongi’s character has gone back to the city without warning, even after he said he loved you. It’s about you learning that you’ll never see him again.

Never seeing Yoongi again… the thought makes your heart ache and you feel tears begin to well up, almost spilling over. You grip the paper tighter, struggling to maintain your composure. Yoongi’s not on set today, and it makes it easier for you remember those times, those terrible, stupid times when you and Yoongi stopped talking for weeks or months because of some dumb argument or another. You can’t even begin to imagine being truly separated from your friend again.

“Oh, give me that!” Your sister snatches the letter out of your hand– you’d been so zoned out you forgot to say your lines. Shit, what kind of actress are you? “It says that they’re leaving for the city! Without a goodbye? I thought for sure that Mr. Moon was in love with Ji-Woo!”

“Oh, mercy!” Your mother wails, wringing her hands. “I was so certain there’d be a wedding by the end of the summer!”

You turn sharply. A wedding? As if Yoongi would ever marry you. Yet how many times had you, as his fan, dreamt of such a day?

Bo-Young, the main character, draws you away. “Are you alright, Ji-Woo?”

“I’m-” At last, you’re able to recall your lines, what you’re here for. “I’m perfectly fine. We were friendly acquaintances… nothing more.” Yes, just strangers. You remember when you had to pretend Yoongi was a stranger to you, and not a man you’d fallen for four years earlier. You summon that familiar sense of utter denial and let it rest upon your shoulders, relaxing your features, even as you feel close to breaking.

“Come, Ji-Woo, I know that’s not true!” “I said I’m fine, sister.” you reply sharply.

“And cut! That was spectacular, ladies, I think we’re keeping that take– Jeongyeon, good improvising. And y/n…” Avery turns to you. “That was great acting. Really great. I could feel the emotion there.”

“No wonder, it’s her boyfriend that’s left,” one of your costars, Jeongyeon, giggles. “She’d better get used to it.”

“Jeongyeon!” Bo-Young scolds. “That’s mean.”

“What? Y/n’s dating Suga from BTS! You really think they’re going to stay together?” Jeongyeon shoots you a glance. “Sorry, y/n, it’s just the truth.”

“Oh, I…” There’s nothing you can say. “I mean, you’re allowed to speak your mind.”

“But you do like him, right?” Jeongyeon leans forward and you laugh nervously, shrinking back as she looms over you.

“What are you, a reporter?”

“I’m just curious! It’s not like you two are all lovey-dovey– you don’t even seem like a couple!”

“Love doesn’t need to be physical,” Bo-Young steps in and you smile at her gratefully. “As long as they’re happy together, it’s none of our business. I’m sure y/n has enough on her shoulders without her costars attacking her as well, Jeongyeon.”

“Sorry, sorry, sheesh– c’mon, y/n, you know we all love you! Except your haters, amirite?” Jeongyeon pokes you teasingly and flounces away.

“Sorry about her,” Bo-Young says later, as the crew packs up the set for the day. “She’s just a gossip– Jeongyeon doesn’t mean any harm. Are you gonna be okay?”

“Hm? Yeah. I’m used to it.” You chuckle hollowly while slipping on your street clothes. “It’s whatever. Thanks for the help.”

“Of course. You’re getting a lot of hate, I’ve seen it online. We’ve all been there, y/n, and the only thing you can really do is turn to your friends when it gets hard.”

“Thanks, Bo-Young.” You check your phone and notice the time. The commercial shoot is in forty minutes. “Shit! I gotta get going– see you at filming tomorrow!” You bid your costar a hasty goodbye and hurry to the door, already opening your phone to call a car when you hear a honk outside the studio.

For a second, you feel excitement flood your veins– did Yoongi decide to pick you up even though he didn’t have to be onset today?

Lisa pokes her head out of the window. “C’mon, girl!”

Oh, right. The members of BTS are promoting in Japan.

“Thanks for the lift,” you say as you climb into your friend’s car.

“Of course! I mean, your address hasn’t leaked online and we have to keep it that way, ya feel?” Lisa clasps her hands together. “No more rideshare apps for you, miss y/n!”

You laugh. “Love you, Lisa– and please keep your eyes on the road.”

Your friend coughs. “Right back atcha, darling. The love, not the road.”

The drive to your shoot is quiet for a moment before Lisa speaks again. “Hey, there haven’t been any weirdos around set, right? I’ve been seeing a ton of online rumors that there’s a plan to leak Moon Over the Sea footage to, and I quote, ‘ruin y/n’s career’.”

You roll your eyes. “I’ve seen those. Yeah, no creeps that I’ve noticed, and I have a feeling they’d only come to film Yoongi, not me.”

“Speaking of, how’s your Prince Charming doing?” Lisa asks, raising a brow.

You sigh. “He’s not my Prince Charming.” Honestly, the one time you tell the truth is the one time your friend doesn’t believe you. Talk about crying wolf.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re keeping it quiet for the cameras, I get it. Just let me know if he breaks your heart, got it?” Lisa cracks her knuckles menacingly.

“Hands on the wheel, girl!”

“It’s fine, I’ve never crashed before.” Still, Lisa straightens up and grips the wheel once more. “Hey, do you ever get to meet the rest of BTS?”

“Uh…” What should you do, what can you say? “Sometimes?”

“Woah. See, that’s fuckin’ amazing. My best friend, everyone! Casually meeting the greatest musicians on the planet!”

You laugh at Lisa’s enthusiasm. “Turn right, the studio is down there.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyways, I was wondering if you could, y’know, maybe…” Lisa’s tone turns wheedling. “Let me meet them? Or at least just send me another video of Jimin talking to me?”

“I…” You should’ve expected this– it’s the kind of thing your best friend would consider a given. “I’ll see what I can do, okay? No promises.”

“Thanks, love! I appreciate it more than you could ever know.” Lisa stops the car outside the studio. “Break a leg!”

“Only if you don’t break yours,” you reply as you get out and head towards the studio door. “Drive safe, Lisa!”

Once inside, you make your way to the front desk. A pretty woman with a tight bun greets you.

“Hi, I’m l/n y/n here for the cologne shoot?”

“Miss l/n…” The woman shuffles through some papers. “Ah, here you are! Yep, that’ll be on set number three, second door on the left.”

“Thanks!” You follow the directions, wondering what exactly your role will be in a men’s advertisement.

Soon enough, you have your answer.

“Y/n, darling, come on, get a little closer to Wonho!”

“I– how do I even do that? Like, physically?” You adjust yourself on your coworker’s lap, hyperaware of your surroundings. Wonho is shirtless and– not that you noticed– very well built, with broad shoulders and an almost illegal amount of taut muscle.

The commercial director stands with a sigh. “Just… lean into him. The whole point is this cologne makes girls fall all over you, y/n. You gotta be all over him.”

“Yes sir,” you mutter under your breath. Wonho must hear you, because you sense him stifling a chuckle. You can barely inhale with the black halter top and high-waisted shorts they’ve dressed you in– and god, you’re cold. You’re sitting pretty in Wonho’s lap, and his hand is resting lightly on your hip.

“You’re doing fine,” Wonho says while the director is distracted by your latest take. You take the opportunity to slide off of him and sit in your own chair.

“W-what?”

“I can feel your heartbeat– it’s kinda hard not to. You’re nervous, huh?”

You laugh hollowly. “You can tell?”

“Yeah, but the camera can’t. You look great, y/n, and you don’t need to worry. If anything, I’m the one that should be nervous.

“Why’s that?”

“Ah, shit– I don’t want Yoongi to kill me once this commercial gets out!” Wonho grins mirthfully.

You start. “You know Yoongi?”

“Sure, our paths have crossed during work and we’ve been to the same parties– the fact that he’s gonna see me with you on my lap is probably gonna make him pretty jealous.”

You scoff to hide your blush. “Uh… Yoongi doesn’t really get jealous.” After all, why would he be jealous? You’re not really dating.

Wonho raises an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

“Back to work, people! We’ve got a day and a half to shoot this so let’s get it right and we can all go home early tomorrow, eh?” The director claps his hands and you and Wonho scramble back onto set. Yoongi gets back tomorrow, and if you finish up early, maybe you can surprise him. How cool would that be?

A/N: Please don’t forget to like, comment, and reblog! <3

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365daysofsasuhina · 5 years

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[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Three Hundred Fifty-One: Envelope ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Like Magic ] [ AO3 Link ]

He still remembers receiving his letter with pride. No matter how many times his brother, his mother, and even his father assured him there was no question of its arrival...he still had his doubts. Not that he didn’t believe them...but rather, he didn’t believe in himself.

Only once he read his name and address on that envelope did he know.

The prestige of purity means traditions to uphold and honor to maintain. The Uchiha are a longstanding line of notable witches and wizards, long tied to the house of Slytherin within the walls and halls of Hogwarts.

To say that it brought a feeling of pressure and anxiety was...a bit of an understatement.

Not only that, but his family itself was one of accomplishments. His father, positioned in the Ministry, was well-respected (if not a little feared). And his mother was the author of many a magical tome, specifically those regarding modern charms for everyday use.

Itachi, his elder brother, showed talent and prowess for magic at the tender age of four, and could both cast and control his magic before ever receiving his first wand. A skill that his parents praised him heavily for.

Sasuke...was never quite that advanced as he grew. In most regards, he seemed completely...average.

And it bothered him.

While his typical displays of magic before being properly trained were a sure sign he’d grow to be a wizard, his lingering doubts when compared to his brother meant that he wondered if he’d ever earn a place at Hogwarts. Surely if someone were to look between the two of them...they’d choose Itachi every time.

His mother assured him again and again that such things weren’t what got a person accepted into the school. Proclaiming his father a late bloomer (a secret kept between them), she did her best to allay his fears.

And come his eleventh birthday that hot July day...his letter finally came.

Though he allowed himself to act pleased and excited, he kept the true extent of his reaction to himself, hidden away in his room and laugh-crying into his pillow in relief. Finally he knew for sure...he’d get to go.

His first ride on the Hogwarts Express was taken with his brother, who patiently and eagerly showed him around the platform, and the train. Itachi even sat with him, taking his little brother to the carriage he always sat in with a handful of friends. They were from all houses, and even Itachi himself had somehow defied tradition and ended up in Gryffindor. Though it had been a surprise, neither parent was angry or disappointed. Just...confused.

But Sasuke secretly hoped he’d be in the same house as his parents. He wanted to make them as proud as possible. Maybe there were some things he couldn’t do as well as Itachi, or at all. But being a Slytherin he was sure he could manage.

Upon their arrival, however...he had to be separated, taking the traditional ride across the lake with the other first years. Anxious at being alone, he nonetheless gaped up at the castle in awe with the rest. Everything was a surprise. The castle, the hall, the feast…! And of course, the Sorting.

Slytherin, as predicted.

The common room and dorms were amazing, Sasuke regretting the dark and being unable to see out into the lake from the large windows in the main room. Too excited to sleep, he’d woken after a few hours, groggy and confused.

Classes were another avenue of anxiety. Would he do well? He’d glanced over his textbooks before the year began, gleaning very little given their lack of context.

But it was one of his first classes where he made his first friend.

And not one he expected: a Hufflepuff by the name of Hinata Hyūga. They had Charms together, and just so happened to be seated together, and get along well.

It was the beginning of something he’d treasure always.

She wasn’t his only friend, but she was the first. Her saving his life (or at least a few broken bones) during their first flying lesson was also a plus. He later met those like Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki. An odd little quad with a member from each house.

And oh, the adventures they got into...most of which centered around vanquishing evil, namely the Dark Lord himself.

And the one thing that blighted his family the most.

The excuse he heard over and over was the formation of a clan of witches and wizards centuries ago, all taking the same surname as a sign of brotherhood and solidarity. It wasn’t necessarily a notion of blood, and though the branches intermingled to keep the assembled pure bloodlines clean, Fugaku and Mikoto both were adamant - especially after his downfall - that neither were directly related to the one called Madara Uchiha.

The allegations - unable to be proven - nevertheless stuck. And they typically invoked one of two reactions. Fear...or respect. Or at times, an odd combination of both.

It was a subject that was eventually broached in their circle...namely due to the connection it bore to the loss of Naruto’s parents, and the formation of his whisker-like scars: marks from the blast of the rebounded killing curse that swiped across his cheeks as an infant. Both he and Sakura had been openly suspicious of the boy for a time.

...but not Hinata.

By that time, she’d known him the longest, and vouched for him without question. Even if he were related to Madara, that didn’t make him Madara. And there were plenty of good witches and wizards, she had read, who had come from Slytherin. And if the notion of being pureblood meant believing in the superiority of it, then...didn’t that include her, too?

Her vehement but gentle counters quickly settled the matter.

After all, Sakura was Muggleborn, and Naruto was halfblood. If either she or Sasuke had any prejudice against so-called ‘dirty blood’...why would they be friends?

When Naruto and Sakura excused themselves for the afternoon, the latter having agreed to help the former with some course work, Sasuke had taken Hinata’s wrist as she made to leave the bench they’d claimed in one of the courtyards for their discussion.

“...Sasuke…?”

Expression unreadable save for its somber tinge, he found himself unable to look at her for a time. Mostly due to lingering guilt and feeling awkward at the previous exchange, but...also something else. They were in their fourth year at that time, and schedules weren’t the only things changing.

“...I just...wanted to say thank you.”

Her eyes flickered back and forth across his face, still unable to meet his. “...you don’t have to thank m-”

“Yeah, I do. I…” He sighed, glancing further aside. “...the subject’s a sore one, and...I knew that one of these days, it’d have to be addressed more...thoroughly between us. And I really was afraid of how it would go. Not very many people believe me when I try to explain, so…” Sasuke then dared to look to her briefly. “Your support, it...it meant a lot. And...I think it did a lot, too.”

Softening, Hinata slowly retook her seat beside him. “I’m sorry about how they reacted.”

“No...they have every right to. Sakura has a lot to be afraid of because of Madara and his followers - their plans. And Naruto, well...he lost everything because of Madara. If I have any connection to him -”

“But you don’t. Your parents said -?”

“My parents said, yeah. But the alliance in the clan, it...it led to a lot of bloodline records being lost or fudged. Some Uchiha are even half or quarter blood due to things getting spread thin. In reality...we can’t really know for sure. So...I can’t blame them for being wary.”

“But, Sasuke…” Easing from his grip he had yet to break, she instead gently cupped his hand with both her own. “You’ve already p-proven what kind of person you are. How many times have we s-stopped Madara’s plans? If you ever had any doubts, you had several chances to turn on us. To help him. But you never have. And...I know you never will. Just because you’re Uchiha - just because you’re pureblood, or in Slytherin - d-doesn’t make you a bad person. Your choices are what matter. Okay…?”

Though he listened to her words, Sasuke also found himself distracted by the warmth of her hands on his. A light shade of pink dusted the bridge of his nose and the tips of his ears. “...I know. I guess I’m just...used to being thought of that way. I’ve accepted it.”

“Well...you don’t have to. You’re my friend. I trust you, and I b-believe in you. Just keep making those good choices, and...soon, everyone else will, too.”

“...yeah. Thanks, Hinata…”

Giving him a soft smile, she abandoned her grip and stood. “...well, I b-better get my work done, too. Have...have a good evening, Sasuke. See you in Transfiguration tomorrow.”

“All right. Night.” Watching her go, he sighed once she vanished, not quite ready to leave yet.

...he couldn’t help but notice how cold his hand felt without hers.

.oOo.

(This is a sequel to days 28, 230, 299, 316, 324, 327, and 330!) More Harry Potter crossover because...it's all I could think of for this prompt xD Not much happened, but we got a bit of backstory, and some fluff between the two of them. I wanted to do more but it's late and I'm v tired aha~ Anyway, that's all for today. Golly I'll be so relieved when I'm finally all caught up! Thanks for reading~

#sasuhina #uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #like magic [ au ]#365daysofsasuhina

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wistfulcynic · 5 years

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Self-Promo Sunday: The Very Witching Time

Tomorrow I’ll be posting The Sleep of the Sun, my contribution for @cspupstravaganza and a continuation of The Very Witching Time, which I wrote for the Supernatural Summer this year. It isn’t necessary to read TVWT to read the TSotS, but just in case, here it is!

Though it starts in summer the main action takes place in October, and there’s an eerie, witchy vibe throughout. It’s a modern setting, because I love witch!Emma as a modern woman who wears jeans and watches Netflix and uses her magic to keep her drinks hot and make her pancakes perfectly circular. But of course when she’s threatened by ancient evil she can use her magic for far more than that. Or when she meets an injured dog in the forest and needs it to heal him.

I love this verse so much, and these versions of Emma and Killian, AND the next chapter of their lives, beyond The Sleep of the Sun, which I hope will appear next year for the Supernatural Summer! I just can’t let it go.

SUMMARY: Emma Swan is a hereditary witch, last in a long line of wise women who for centuries have guarded the coast of Maine and the small village of Storybrooke with their homemade cures and their ancient magic. She holds the delicate balance between magic and mundane, but now that balance is threatened by a new foe, one capable of bringing an end to everything Emma is and everything she loves. To defeat it she will need all her power, help from her friends and neighbours, and the loyalty of a very unusual dog who answers to the name of Killian.

Words: 35k Rating: M (for violence and mild sexy times) Tags: modern AU, magical AU, witchcraft AU, witch!Emma, cursed!Killian, witches, witchcraft, witch lore

On AO3

CHAPTER ONE:

Emma Swan lived atop a jagged cliff in a house that seemed an extension of it, rising up from the wind-hewn face into pointed towers that stood stark against the sky. The house was of the same stone as the cliff itself, great slabs of it, slabs too large to be used for construction, slabs that, observing them, one felt could have been formed only by the hand of nature and never that of man. It was a part of the landscape, that house, as old as the earth and only slightly younger than the sky, perched at the edge of those perilous cliffs in a way that made it impossible to imagine them without it.

The back of the house, or rather the front, as that was where the door was set, however, presented an altogether different aspect; one of a delightful cottage of typical grey Maine clapboard, squat and cheerful with a steeply sloping roof trimmed in white and a low stone wall surrounding a tumbledown greenhouse and a garden where bushes, trees, and flowers jumbled together and neither rhyme nor reason appeared to play any role. On the casual observer the effect was charming in an artless way, yet a keener eye would note method behind the garden’s seeming madness, an ancient wisdom in the randomness of the tumbling riots of colour that shifted and transmuted with the seasons. Where in spring it boasted bright red poppies and purple larkspur, delicate white anemones and pink blossoms on the apple trees twisting around each corner of the wall, summer brought fragrant freesia and heather for the bees, its warm breezes rustling through the tall irises and lilies. Autumn ushered in the muted oranges and yellows of chrysanthemums and the fluffy white of Queen Anne’s Lace, salvia and yarrow and berries from the rowan tree. Even in winter the garden provided: the glossy green leaves and red berries of the holly bushes brightened the snowy vista as pansies and orchids flourished in the greenhouse.

Beyond the garden wall a forest sprawled, dark and wild and perilous, from the very edge of the cliff where trees clung by their gnarled roots to the borders of the village where it dwindled into fenced yards and tidy houses. Here your casual observer would feel a shivering prickle on the back of his neck, that uncomfortable sensation of being watched by things not quite of this world that is more commonly reserved for graveyards at dusk and abandoned Victorian houses. He would move quickly through the dense woodland —yet not so quickly that he appeared to be hurrying— and upon emerging he would feel the sunshine as a balm on skin grown far colder than he’d realised.

The keen observer would, of course, not go into the forest at all.

Emma was as keen an observer as anyone could be but the forest, for all its determined menace, posed no threat to her. She relied on it, in fact, for ingredients she could not or did not wish to cultivate in her garden or greenhouse, just as it relied on her to keep a rein on its magic. Emma and the forest had an understanding.

That understanding failed to extend to the village which separated the forest from the lush farmlands which this stretch of Maine coastline boasted; the richest soil in New England it was said, guarded closely by the residents of Storybrooke who despite their distrust of it were prepared to put up with creepy forest at their backs in exchange for prosperity at their fronts. And though they rarely ventured into the woods themselves they were broad minded and mercenary enough to appreciate the labours of those who did, of Emma and the generations of witches who had come before her; wise women who kept the forest in check and the villagers placated with potions and tinctures, candles to encourage love or drive away evil spirits and balms to soothe every ailment from a bumped head to a broken heart.

And so, just as witches had done in Storybrooke from the time of the earliest settlement of her ancestors in this land, Emma kept an apothecary shop in the village, stocked with the wares she blended and brewed herself, travelling to and from it each day along the very same forest path that had been daily trodden by so many powerful women over the course of the centuries.

The path was so familiar to her she could follow it in her sleep, which she almost did on the August afternoon when our tale begins, lulled by the muggy weight of the late summer air. The sunlight that shone so brightly on the village barely penetrated here; just a few slender shafts of it reached the forest floor, encouraging the growth of the rare plants on which Emma’s livelihood relied but doing little to alleviate the atmosphere made dense by damp heat and malign magic. Emma was blinking heavy eyelids, her mind on the cushioned bench in her garden that was so well suited to afternoon naps when the sound of an animal in distress wove its way into her drowsy consciousness.

It sounded like a dog, which caught her attention. Wilder, less domesticated creatures like cats and witches may feel comfortable enough with the forest’s demeanour to venture within, but dogs, being the keenest observers of all, tended to avoid it with the same diligence and for the same reasons as their humans did.

The noise came again, one that hovered somewhere between a whine and a growl, pained and frustrated. It tugged at Emma’s mind, clearing away her sleepy haze as from the corner of her eye she caught a quivering in the leaves of a hawthorn bush that twisted up from the undergrowth to the left of the path and the flash of a black tail just beyond it.

Without hesitating Emma plunged into the bracken, drawing on her own magic and that of the hawthorn as she went, wrapping threads of both around the bush’s thorny branches and pulling them aside to reveal a large black dog crouched at an awkward angle behind it. The dog looked up and when it saw her it stilled for a moment, staring at her with blue eyes that were almost shocking in its black face, a deep, clear blue she’d never seen on a dog before, bright and intelligent. It blinked and shook its head then looked at her again this time with a plea in those remarkable eyes, giving three quick, deep barks.

{Please help me.}

An affinity with animals was one of Emma’s gifts, and she was not surprised to hear the dog’s voice in her head. She smiled reassuringly and offered her hand.

“Hey, puppy,” she said in a low, soothing voice. “What’s the matter?”

The dog sniffed her hand then gave it a lick, its tail wagging furiously. She petted its head and scratched its ears as she slowly inched closer. It seemed remarkably calm given the circumstances but Emma had seen enough injured animals to be wary, knowing how abruptly their pain and fear could overcome them. She knelt on the ground next to it, murmuring gentle words and stroking its back, and took stock of the situation.

The dog’s front right leg was deep in what was likely a gopher hole, buried up to the middle of its shin, and though the sounds she’d heard and the state of the ground around the hole bore witness to the dog’s attempts to free itself, it was clear to Emma as indeed it would be even to the casual observer that the dog was thoroughly stuck and also that the leg was broken.

“Oh, poor baby,” she murmured. “That must hurt. I can help, if you’ll let me. Will you trust me?”

The dog looked right at her and she could see her answer in its extraordinary eyes, filled with pain but also hope and what she would swear was comprehension. It whined and gave her chin a single, gentle lick, then nodded its head.

“Well, that’s clearly a yes,” said Emma. “Okay, let’s see what we’ve got here.” She hunched closer and examined the dog’s leg, well and truly wedged into the gopher hole, and winced. “I’m really sorry pup but this is going to hurt,” she said, looking up to catch the dog’s gaze again, marvelling at how calm it was despite its distress. She grasped its leg as gently as she could below the break and gathered her magic. “Ready? One… two…”

On three she pulled the leg from the hole, using her magic to ease its way. The dog whimpered at the pain but did not bark or growl and when its leg was free it licked her chin again.

“Okay, that’s step one,” said Emma. “Now let’s see how bad this is.” She probed the leg as delicately as she could with her fingertips, feeling the fractured bone beneath the fortunately unbroken skin. The break felt clean, with no jagged edges. “It’s not as bad as it could have been, I should be able to heal it,” she said, wondering briefly why she was explaining herself to a dog, though the animal in question was watching her intently with those intelligent eyes looking for all the world as though it knew exactly what she was saying. “I’m gonna have to set the break so there’ll be pain again and then I’ll heal it right after. Okay?”

The dog gave a short bark followed by another nod.

{Ready.}

“Okay, then,” said Emma. She gathered her magic, pulling it from the forest flowers and the leaves of the trees for backup, then as quickly as she could she snapped the broken bone back into place and wove her magic into it, knitting it together and soothing the pain in the damaged tissues.

When she finished she sat back on her heels with a sigh and closed her eyes. That was more magic than she’d used in some time and she felt a bit woozy. When she opened them again they fell immediately on the dog, who was staring at its leg in wonder.

Could dogs stare in wonder? She frowned, realising she didn’t actually know very much about the canine species. As a witch she’d always considered herself more of a cat person.

“Give it a try,” she told the dog. “It’s all better now.”

The dog stood up and began to walk, tentatively at first and then with greater confidence. After a few loping steps it spun around and barked excitedly before trotting back to her with a delighted expression, tongue lolling from the corner of its mouth.

Emma, however, was still frowning. Despite the dog’s obvious pleasure its gait had a distinct limp and when it moved quickly it used only three legs, forgoing the left one entirely.

Its left leg… when she had healed the right.

“Hey,” she said. “Come here. Let me see that other leg.”

It limped closer and placed its left leg in her lap, a leg which she was now able to observe did not end in a paw.

“Oh, no!” she cried, bending to get a closer look at what was evidently an old injury and a badly healed one, with rough scar tissue and signs of wear where the dog had walked on it. “Oh poor you. This isn’t the first time you’ve been hurt, is it? How do you walk?”

The dog tilted its head in what was plainly a shrug.

“I guess you manage the best you can, huh? Well, I can’t give you your paw back but if you come home with me I should be able to fix you up with something to protect the end of your leg and help you walk a bit better. How does that sound?”

The dog licked her face enthusiastically and barked, and now that the press of emergency had passed she noticed the peculiar cadence of its cry.

“Aye!” barked the dog.

Emma blinked. She may not be the world’s foremost authority on dogs, but even she knew that they were supposed to say things like “woof” or “arf.” She’d never heard of a dog saying “aye” before.

“Aye?” she repeated with a laugh. “Well, I guess that’s pretty obviously agreement.” She stood and brushed the dirt and twigs from her legs as the dog stood patiently in its slightly off-kilter way. “What should I call you?” she asked it. “I don’t suppose you have a name.”

Killian.

The name sprang into her mind, though the dog hadn’t barked. “Killian?” she repeated, startled.

“Aye!” barked the dog.

“Really?”

“Aye!”

“You sure? It’s not Spot or Buster or Joe or something?”

The dog looked affronted, and she laughed again. “All right, Killian it is then. I guess that means you’re a boy.”

“Aye!”

“Well okay, Killian, let’s go. We can have some dinner and then I’ll see what I can do about that paw.”

Killian bounded in an excited circle around her, his tail a blur. He moved remarkably well, considering, she thought, even as she laughed at his antics, and soon he’d settled into a limping trot alongside her as she headed home.

When they reached her garden gate she opened it and went straight in but Killian halted with a short bark of distress. She turned in surprise at the sound to see him pacing to and fro in front of the gate, whining softly.

“What’s wrong?” she asked him.

He whined louder and gave two short barks.

{Not welcome.}

“But why wouldn’t you be—” Emma frowned. The wards around her garden were designed to keep humans away, permitting none to enter without permission. But they shouldn’t have any effect on a dog.

Should they?

She really needed to learn more about dogs, she thought with mild irritation. This was clearly a gaping hole in her education.

In the meantime she called to the magic in the ancient warding spells, and spoke the age-old words to quieten them. “I see thee, Killian, and I name thee friend,” she said, in a voice that echoed through the open air. “Be welcome in this place.”

The magic of her garden surged and she held out her arms as it rippled and danced around her, ruffling her hair and gilding her skin with tiny sparks of light. Killian stared at her with wonder in his eyes again, and when the sparks faded away and she lowered her arms he cautiously stepped through the gate. The moment he crossed its threshold the garden’s magic… sighed, a soft exhale that sang of enduring hopes fulfilled at too long last, and curled itself around him, ruffling his fur as it had her hair.

Now it was Emma’s turn to stare. Her magic had never done that before. She gaped as Killian seemed to smirk —could dogs smirk?— at the unseen attention he was getting before rolling onto his back and letting the garden’s magic rub his tummy.

“Seriously?” cried Emma. “That’s enough of that, from both of you, Killian, come inside.”

She marched over to the cottage door and pulled it open. Killian leapt to his feet and ran after her, pausing just at the doorstep to wink at the garden before trotting into her kitchen.

Could dogs wink?

Emma made a mental note to dig up a book on canine behaviours later that night. There must be one in her library. Somewhere.

“I don’t have much that’s suitable for dogs,” she warned him as she opened the icebox. “But I think I’ve got some hamburgers in here if that’s okay—”

“Aye! Aye!”

“Okay, let me just heat them up.”

She defrosted the hamburgers with some gentle warming magic and put them on a plate for him. The minute she set it on the floor he dove in, gobbling up the meat with enthusiasm bordering on frenzy.

“Wow, you were hungry! How long has it been since you ate?”

He looked up at her and licked his chops, tail wagging vigorously, and barked twice before digging in again.

{Long time.}

“Well, don’t eat too fast, it’ll make you sick.”

Emma made herself a sandwich and munched it as she watched him diligently try to eat more slowly. When the last morsel was gone he lapped the plate clean then came over to her and licked her hand in thanks, wagging his tail as she scritched his ears before relaxing back onto his haunches and giving her the opportunity to observe him.

He was, as she had noticed in the woods, a large dog, though not a bulky one, with long slender legs and lean muscles. Standing, his head reached her waist with his shoulders around the middle of her thigh. His fur was thick and shaggy and a deep, light-absorbing black, though a v-shaped tuft right in the centre of his chest was bright white and fluffy and so soft-looking that her fingers itched to pet it.

He watched her examine him with a twinkle in his blue eyes that she was certain couldn’t be normal for a dog, as though he knew what she was thinking. She popped the last bite of sandwich into her mouth and when he pouted —did dogs pout?— she gave him a small smirk. “You had your dinner,” she said firmly. “You can’t have mine too. Now what do you say we go and see what can be done about that paw.”

She stood and left the kitchen, Killian at her heels, and headed past the living room and the closed library door, through a dark and narrow passageway towards the rear of the house. As she approached, the solid-seeming wall at the end of the corridor began to shimmer with the same sparking light that had surrounded her in the garden and a doorway appeared, wrought from the same stone as the slabs of the house itself, curving elegantly to form a pointed Gothic arch and frame a door of solid wood, thick and heavy and older than anything that surrounded it.

The door swung open as Emma drew near and she breezed through it without a thought. Killian, sensing the darker energy emanating from the other side, hesitated as he had at the garden gate. Emma turned, her smile understanding.

“Don’t be afraid,” she said. “It’s not dangerous, just old. Old things are sometimes… indifferent to younger ones. But it won’t hurt you. Nothing will hurt you here.”

Hesitantly he came through the doorway, moving slowly to allow the magic there to get a sense of him. It was less welcoming than the garden had been, but not hostile. As Emma said, it was simply indifferent. This magic had seen too many mortal creatures come and go in its time to care overly much about yet another one.

Emma led him into a large stone room with no windows, the tall, thick candles lining the walls its only source of light. These she set burning with a wave of her hand and the illumination they produced flooded the room with a golden glow despite their modest number. Stone stairs curved up the walls on either side of the room, leading to the towers that flanked the house, their twin helixes twisting up and disappearing into a darkness too dense even for the candles to penetrate. A heavy and cluttered wooden table spanned the length of the far wall, and this Emma approached, producing a thick, soft blanket of deep midnight blue scattered with stars from a woven wicker basket beneath it.

She spread the blanket carefully over the centre of the otherwise bare stone floor, placing at each of its corners a small silver bowl filled with sea salt and thyme and a few dried violet leaves, murmuring a short incantation over them as she did. “Sit here,” she instructed Killian, indicating the centre of the blanket. “I’ll need a few minutes to get my things together.”

Obediently, he sat and watched her in fascination as she rifled through the jumbled collection of bottles, jars, and bags on the table, frowning and muttering to herself as she did.

“…comfrey and rosemary and a bit of peppermint, sage to infuse and to burn…” she intoned as she gathered the named ingredients together. When all were assembled she snapped her fingers to light a fire beneath her copper kettle, then carefully weighed out the herbs on her silver scales while the water inside it came to a boil. She blended the herbs in a large mortar, crushing and grinding them with the pestle to blend them well and draw out their essence before tipping them carefully into a painted ceramic pot and pouring the boiling water over them. Stirring them gently with her magic, with her fingertips she traced arcane symbols through the steam as it rose from the pot into the cool, still air.

When she judged the herbs sufficiently infused she strained their liquid through a clean cheesecloth into a wide copper bowl. As it cooled to a comfortable temperature, she removed a lump of pure silver from a leather bag, holding it up to observe its gleam in the candlelight. The lump was large but to complete the healing properly would require all of it, and it was also precious. Glancing behind her she saw Killian sitting patiently, watching her, his eyes wide and curious but not afraid. Trusting.

He was worth it. She felt sure of that, and though she had no idea why she did not vacillate. Emma had long since learned to trust her instincts.

She took a bundle of dried sage and held it up to a candle flame until it caught —some fires needed to be started in the mundane way— then blew the flame out with a quick puff of breath and waved the smouldering herbs around the blanket and over the copper bowl before dropping them into the potion. Carefully she lifted the bowl and carried it to the blanket, kneeling down upon it and placing the bowl in front of Killian. Closing her eyes she muttered a brief incantation before taking his damaged leg and bathing it in the warm liquid, her fingers gentle but thorough, making sure to clean away all the dirt and debris from the gnarled scar tissue. He growled softly, deep in his throat, and she shot him a smile, knowing it was a growl of pleasure.

“Feels good, huh?” she said. “Soothing.”

“Aye.” His bark was as low as his growl.

{Good.}

When his leg was clean she dried it with a linen cloth and set it in her lap, then took out the lump of silver, placing it at the end of his leg and cupping both loosely in the palms of her hands. Closing her eyes once more she focused her powers and drew forth the metal’s own magic, its primal properties of health and healing, her hands beginning to spark and glow with light as she kneaded the silver, stretching and weaving it back into itself, moulding the lump into the shape of a dog’s paw and then knitting it into the damaged flesh of the leg. Killian watched with wide eyes, whimpering slightly as the metal sank into his skin and fused to his bones. The light from Emma’s hands burst into a sudden blinding brightness, flickered out, and the silver paw was part of him.

Emma slumped back on her heels, exhausted. “Whew,” she said. “Done.” She patted the metal paw. “Give it a try.”

Killian sniffed the paw, licked at the seam where it joined his leg, then tentatively placed it on the floor and leaned his weight on it. He took a few careful steps followed by bolder ones, then turned to Emma with an incredulous expression. She laughed, happy he was happy. “Go on, stretch yourself,” she encouraged.

“Aye!” he barked, frolicking joyfully around the room, spinning in circles and leaping through the air. He ran to Emma and jumped on her, putting his paws on her shoulders and licking her face until she pushed him away, grinning through a jaw-cracking yawn. “I’m glad you like it,” she told him as she rose unsteadily from the floor. “I gotta get to bed. Um…” she swayed on her feet and Killian was there immediately at her side, pressing firmly against her leg and letting her brace herself with her hand on his neck as she stumbled from the stone room and out the doorway.

It disappeared behind her, the magic within whispering far more warmly than before, no longer so indifferent to Killian as it had been.

Emma sank her fingers into his thick fur, clinging to him as she made her way up the stairs to her bedroom. Her head felt heavy and woozy, her fingers and toes numb. Moving clumsily she kicked off her shorts and unhooked her bra, pulling it from beneath her tank top with jerky movements and dropping it to the floor before collapsing into bed, sinking deep into the pillows. Dimly she was aware of Killian moving around the room, his fur soft against her skin as he pulled the blankets up over her, the warm weight of him curling up at her back, his chin resting on her hip. With the last of her energy she reached up to stroke his head then fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

~~🌺~~

Some hours later Killian was awoken from his doze when the magic from Emma’s garden called to him. He lifted his head from where it still lay on her hip and gave a low growl, staring through the bedroom window into the pitch blackness of the night.

Something was out beyond the garden wall, moving around its perimeter, methodically testing the magical boundary in search of weaknesses. Killian could sense it there, could feel its cold determination and intent even without the garden’s warning.

Threat, whispered the garden magic in his mind. Danger. Stay with her.

Killian flexed his new silver paw, feeling the power that still thrummed within it, feeling the absence of pain in his left limb for the first time in many a year. He looked at the golden haired woman still sound asleep, drained to exhaustion by the act of healing him, of selflessly giving him this invaluable gift. He recalled her warm green eyes and kind smile, the strength and gentleness in her touch.

He lay back down, pressing tighter against her, curling his neck around her hip and placing his silver paw gently over her waist. He closed his eyes again and answered the garden’s plea.

{Always.}

Tis now the very witching time of night,

When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out

Contagion to this world.

—Hamlet, Act III Scene 2

Continue to Chapter 2

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bxrnsided · 4 years

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main verse.

( verse: from bloodshed you were born - from bloodshed you will THRIVE / main. )

in this verse, which is a collaboration with @dokitm, claire survived raccoon city as shown in the resident evil 2 remake, with the changes being that steve burnside was encountered, as well as sayu, pluto’s oc. together, claire, leon, steve, sayu, and sherry, escape-- the five survivors of raccoon who lived to see another day.

roughly about four months after the incident, steve moves into claire’s apartment when she finds out that he’s been jumping between motels ever since. roughly another four months later, their feelings were made known and they started their relationship. from there, things are relatively simple-- they live together, spend time together, while claire is sometimes gone for no more than two weeks, due to her work with the newly established terra-save, which she had joined sometime mid-1999. things are mundane and simple, at least until june, 2003. june, 2003: she tells steve that she’s pregnant. from there, the timeline is as follows:( ** note, code veronica x is non-existent in this universe. )

november 5th, 2003: claire gives birth to their daughter, named stella miranda burnside. that same day, steve proposes to claire. they’re engaged. summer of 2005: harvardville incident occurs, canon to the movie, though at the end, leon accompanies her back to chicago, illinois where she, steve, and stella reside. from the span of 2006 to 2011, she’s shifted to the frontlines of terrasave, which are the first-responders of outbreaks that occur, once given clearance by the DSO and the BSAA. early 2011, sushestvovanie island incident occurs pretty canon to the storyline, up until moira is trapped and claire is left with the difficult choice to leave moira behind. she barely survives the fall to the ocean and being found due to the blast, which left her with a punctured lung accompanied by three broken ribs that caused internal bleeding, as well as a nasty concussion and burns to her back and right arm. this left her in a coma for about four months, with steve visiting her constantly once he learned about all of this from chris, and had stella staying with leon, sayu, and michael, their son. about two months later with claire being cleared for duty, despite steve’s attempt to stop her, she returns to the island to rescue barry, moira, and natalia. in 2014, claire and her team from terra-save are dispatched to sonido de tortuga Island to investigate after reports of unusual possible b.o.w-related activity. it is later revealed that the founder of umbrella, oswell e. spencer had purchased a former US Military Base on the island of zanahoria in the late 1990s for experimentation. from there, claire hurries to apprehend miller, ,who was one of alex wesker’s associates, and is intercepted by julie, a survivor who reveals herself to be a double agent for the shén yā pharmaceutical corporation, who used miller to obtain the final virus developed via the jǐn dú project. julie proceeds to disarm and brutally assault claire, leaving her unconscious before planning to torture her. hours later and despite being seriously wounded, claire is finally able to incapacitate julie via a rocket launcher strike with the help of fellow survivors. she’s evacuated from the island on a BSAA helicopter with parker and later, reports her findings on the incident to chris, hopeful that sonido de tortuga may someday be able to recover from the tragedy they faced. she returns home to chicago. in 2017, claire and steve take in leon and sayu’s son, michael, due to the events that take place in vendetta. sometime in 2018, daughter stella returns from school and questions what the raccoon city incident was. claire and steve deny any knowledge other than it being a tragic accident. stella’s search for the truth begins, scouring the internet for any information she can find. she learns of the ‘rumors’, saying there were five survivors that day of an outbreak. june 20th, 2019. stella leaves to go on a trip with three of her friends, ainsley, erin, and her then boyfriend tom. what was told to be a trip to ainsley’s grandfather’s house, with confirmation of her parents, was covered up to actually have been a trip to where it was suspected raccoon city’s ruins remained. what was supposed to be a simple search for answers turns into an outbreak, a disgusting combination of the g-virus and eveline’s mold co-habitating. stella’s friends drop left and right until it is learned tom staged all of this, becoming obsessed with the power that the virus potentially left. he turns and transforms, and stella is forced to fend herself and survive. with her lucky charm, steve’s golden lugers, she takes him down. the incident leaves stella with severe PTSD, depression, and survivor’s guilt for not being able to save anyone. through this, the truth comes out-- chris, claire, leon, steve, sayu, and even jill, explain the events of raccoon city, and the mansion incident where it all began for them. claire and leon go in depth with chris, as they were the ones that have experienced outbreaks the most compared to everyone-- steve decided to stay out of it, sayu preferred not to speak about it, and jill didn’t have much to say at that point. it’s a long journey but claire agrees to train stella about eight months later, with the help of leon and michael. this becomes an unbeknownst preparation to late 2021. albert wesker is somehow alive and kidnaps michael and stella, not just to get under the redfield siblings’ skins, but due to interest in michael, who’s mother (sayu) is infected with the g-virus, similar to sherry birkin. through this incident, michael and stella are tasked to try and escape a maze of torture, rigged with traps beyond their imagination, and bows they’ve never heard, seen, or learnt about before. it is through this incident that their own feelings come to light. this incident ends with luck-- with the two children, both who grew from the bloodshed, ending the man once and for all. everyone is unsure of what will happen, and can only hope that it gets the world one step closer to peace.

#( verse tag directory. )#( verse: from bloodshed you were born - from bloodshed you will THRIVE / main. )#( consider this her bio too i guess? or at least mainly her storyline! )

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nothingeverlost · 5 years

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Vacation Plans (Penny for your Thoughts verse)

This is just a little thing, based on a prompt that Gabe has to use up vacation time.

“Planning a trip?” Belle found a pile of travel brochures on the kitchen counter when she went to make herself tea. It was late, but they were both too wired to go straight to bed and he’d started a fire in the fireplace. Their plane had only landed an hour ago, and she’d quietly asked if she could come home with him rather than going home alone. It was only a little about the dark and empty apartment. Mostly she was getting way too used to waking in the middle of the night and being able to touch him.

“The higher ups have been hassling David about my accrued vacation time. Apparently I need to take some time off. With the spring break coming up I thought I could take Bay somewhere.” He turned on the kettle after picking it up to make sure there was enough water inside.

“Hawaii would be nice this time of year.” Belle played with the brightly colored pieces of paper. There was one for a cruise, and one for a ski vacation though she knew that Gabe hated skiing. Bay enjoyed it though. There were others for Bunas Ares, Seattle, Colorado, Alaska, California, and a few for Europe.

“Mary Margaret picked them out, apparently David mentioned vacation and she’s helping.” Belle laughed at Gabe’s lack of sincerity when he said helping.

“How long were you thinking of going?” Other than book tours she hadn’t seen him take more than a long weekend before.

“Bay’s only out of school for a week and he can’t miss any classes.” Gabe shrugged, fetching their mugs and spooning the tea into the pot. “They’re going to have to be satisfied with that, at least until this summer.”

“You’re not going to want to do Europe, then.” If she had time to go to Europe she couldn’t imagine it taking less than three or four weeks. “What does Bay think?”

“I haven’t talked to him about it yet.” Gabe stood beside her, pushing a few of the brochures away. “Where would you want to go?”

“Me?” She turned, and found him watching her intently.

“You could come with us. I promise wherever we go I’ll make sure there’s a bakery that makes eclairs.” He caressed her cheek with his fingertips. “It wouldn’t be much of a vacation if I was missing you.”

“Oh Gabe.” She ignored the sound of the kettle boiling, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a kiss. It wasn’t that she had forgotten the little moments that they had shared before, the sweet things he said when it was just the two of them. It had been too hard to dwell on them, though. Now she absorbed them like a long neglected house plant, thirsty for water.

“I hope that’s a yes.” He smiled at her when she pulled away, though she still left one hand on his shoulder.

“If Bay is okay with me horning in on your father-son time I’d be delighted to go with you.” She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone on anything someone would call a vacation. Ruby had dragged her out for the occasional spa weekends, but nothing longer.

“Bay will be delighted. He likes you, Belle.” He turned off the stove, giving the kettle a moment to cool before pouring the water. “Now we just need to pick a destination.”

Belle looked down, lips pressed together. She had an idea but wasn’t sure if it was a good one.

“Sweetheart?” he asked softly, his smile turning down into a frown.

“I have an idea but I want you to know that you can say no. It’s just one idea and there are other places we can go, after all you’re the one with the vacation time and-” She brushed away a nonexistent piece of lint on her dress. He stilled her hand by tugging it gently and holding it against his chest. His hands were so warm.

“Tell me?”

“We could go to Maine.” She’d only been back for a quick weekend to have things packed up and sent back to DC.

“Are you sure you’d want me and Bay there? It’s okay to keep that as a separate space.” He had spent perhaps an hour in town when he had come to ask for her help on a case. She hadn’t even invited him upstairs to her apartment. She hadn’t been ready then.

“I especially want you and Bay there, Gabe. I want you to see why I love the place. And where I was happy.” It had taken her so much time to find herself again. DC was home, and she was where she wanted to be, but Storybrooke mattered too. She’d told Bay stories about it, and knew he was curious about the place. It was Gabe who most needed to see it, though. He needed to understand that people had looked out for her. That she had friends and a place that kept her safe when he wasn’t there. And maybe he needed to see how ridiculously in love Will was with his Anastasia. She would like him to meet Ruby, and to know Granny as someone more than a brief acquaintance. It was an important part of her life and she wanted him to know it was open to him. “It’s a charming town when you’re not there to hunt down a mayor killing men and kidnapping their children.”

“I’d like to see it, Belle. All of it.” He pressed his forehead against hers, still holding her hands. The tea was growing cold but she didn’t care. She could stand like that forever.

#rumbelle fic #verse: penny for your thoughts #fic: penny for your thoughts #my fic #halfwayinlight

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