#Liam is such a jerk)

[dragons-hoard-of-fandoms]

Posting one Murder Drones meme a day until Episode 5 drops, Post-Premiere Lightning Round: Shameless NUzi Trash to Tick Off the Inevitable Wave of Toxic Envy Shippers Riding the High of This Last Episode Edition.

[whatelsecanwedonow]

STAR TREK: PICARD S03E01 | The Next Generation

[muchadorks]

Coram Smythesson might have approved of Liam Ironarm, but I don't 😤

[necro-hamster]

liam and jackie's relationship is so important 2 me because you have to understand. liam hates himself. he does. he's insanely self conscious and feels unlovable and unimpressive and annoying and ugly. he HATES himself. and when he met jackie (which happened years before 2077 in my canon bc i do what i want; they were both like 19-21) he was at one of his lowest points. he'd just moved out for the first time because he felt like he was unwanted at home, he was a nervous wreck half the time and a shadow of a person the other half. he didn't have any friends. they'd all drifted apart after high school or moved on to other people and places.

so you can imagine how insane it was for him to be invited over for dinner by a guy who'd held a gun to his head only 20 minutes prior. he was exhausted and depressed and beaten black and blue. nothing had gone well for him in months. years, probably. he half expected jackie to follow through and kill him once they were isolated. but he didn't!!! liam was sat down and given more food than he'd had all week by someone who barely even knew him. he was spoken to like a real human being instead of a rat in the gutter. they sent him home with a plastic container of leftovers and a jacket from the closet because it was raining out. and then jackie just never went away! liam expected jackie to get sick of him eventually but it just wouldn't happen. jackie actively liked being around him and would talk him up and help him out and treat him with actual respect.

liam had literally never had a real friend before jackie. he'd always been bullied and put aside and ignored. and suddenly here comes the coolest mf he's ever met going "yeah we're best friends!" like that shit blew his mind. he literally was allowed to come out of his shell for the first time in YEARS. there are so many things he would've never had the confidence to do without jackie. he loved him! he really did.

without jackie he would've never met misty and viktor, never would've started really connecting with heywood's community after a lifetime of being wary of his own neighbors. he feels like he owes so much to jackie but every time he's said that jackie insisted that he didn't owe him anything because they were friends. jackie met liam's family! he would come over for dinner and stuff! liam never had friends who did that past early childhood. jackie was a person who showed up uninvited to his life and threw him a lifesaver.

so yknow. you can imagine how liam felt in that car after the heist.

[phatburd]

The Case for Captain Shaw and why he’s a jerk

I don’t like Shaw, but I’ve got a headcanon on why he’s presented as a huge jackass that he is in S3E01 of Star Trek: Picard.

Shaw looks like he’s in his late fifties at minimum, but in a setting where humans can live to be 130, that might not mean much. However, that still means he was probably a young officer when Wolf 359 happened. He remembers Locutus, he remembers the Borg slaughtering his friends and crewmates. Even if he wasn't onboard a ship at Wolf 359, it’s likely he was affected by knowing someone who was.

Then he went through the Dominion War, the attempted Borg invasion of Earth, and the AI rebellion on Mars. Did he have family and friends on Mars? Not impossible.

So throughout all this time, he’s experienced technological and genetic augments trying to kill him (and any loved ones if he’s got any). If that context is taken into account, it makes sense for him to be rude and brusque towards Seven, Picard, et al, because on some level, he blames them for unleashing hell on his life.

Captain Liam Shaw, basically, has the average life experience of a late 23rd to early 24th Starfleet flag officer by the time S3E01 rolls around. And it’s not a nice one.

Or he could just be an asshole. Because nothing justifies making superior officers sleep in lower deck bunk beds.

[gaillol-13]

kneejerk teasing liam?

Not sure if this is what u meant but here ya go!

I might take a break from art requests for a while.

[azuremliam]

Another prompt!

Scarab gives his fair share of kisses to them, but Liam more often than not is the one do it more. They really love their stuck up bug.

[fade-and-loathing-in-thedas]

My lovable asshole OCs. They are all such little shits lol

Template here for anyone who wants to give it a go

[werebutch]

Liam is my best friends oc that you will never know anything about

[another-whump-sideblog]

Hypothetically— could we have a scene with barron helping liam learn magic or giving wise mage advice?

Yep! I had a lot of fun with this one, I hope it’s as entertaining to you as it was to me 😅

“Barron? Why does it feel like the people who wrote these books really don’t like other magical creatures?”

You’ve been sitting in Barron’s room reading while it painstakingly carves runes into some brightly colored rocks, asking questions whenever they come up. They come up a lot.

“Hmm. The relationship between human mages and other magical creatures is… strained. We’re not well liked by other creatures. Culturally, we’re very different.” Barron pauses. “I guess it’s not fair to say that they just don’t like us because of their culture. It’s… more complex than that.”

You expect Barron to keep going, but it doesn’t. “How so?”

“…Human mages have a very different approach to magic than other creatures, even other mages of different species. In order to be a human mage, you have to have sought it out, gone against standard human wisdom and believed that magic existed and was something you could learn without much evidence. I guess some mages are raised by other mages, and they aren’t always like that. And usually mages raised with magic connect with other magical creatures more easily, because to them magic is just a fact of life. One that influences how they live and how they will die and everything in between, in positive and negative ways. So mages raised with magic tend to have more positive relationships with other magical creatures.”

Barron pauses again. You push. “Why would seeing magic differently mean other creatures don’t like you?”

“It… doesn’t, necessarily. We approach things differently, so conflict happens, but if it was just that… things would be different. There’s… some bad history, there. Human mages would… experiment on other creatures. Like I said, human mages seek magic out. Not all mages are so curious that they’d hurt other creatures to learn, not even the majority, but… enough. And it wasn’t condemned by other mages when stuff like that happened, back then.” Barron seems very uncomfortable. “Of course, that very rarely happens anymore. Now, mage society treats hurting other magical creatures the same as hurting humans. But other creatures haven’t, ah, gotten over it, for lack of a better term. Especially the longer lived ones. There are no human mages still alive who participated in that stuff back then, but there are a lot of victims of it still alive.”

Something about the way Barron is talking is kind of familiar, but you can’t quite put your finger on why. You think you would’ve been able to if you’d never fucked up your head, but that thought process will just make you frustrated, so you push it aside.

“They don’t trust us, and a lot of human mages see that as an overreaction, since we don’t do that anymore. We’ve tried to build more positive relations with the rest of the magical community, but for a lot of human mages the motivation for that is just to learn more about other kinds of magic, which makes other creatures feel like we haven’t changed at all. That we… still treat them as sources of information rather than equals. Not all of us do. But enough. And their lack of cooperation has led a lot of human mages to think of other creatures as… well, what you’ve been reading. Beneath us, incurious about the world, stubborn to a fault, etc.”

“…Yikes.”

“It is yikes, isn’t it? And I didn’t even think to give you that context before you started reading. I warned you not to take stuff too literally, but warning you about how one-sided the discussion of other magical creatures is didn’t even occur to me. I didn’t think about it. I… need more non-human friends. But I guess that’s just doing what I just talked about, seeking out friendship for information, to fill a blind-spot, rather than for the kind of motives other creatures think we should have. But yeah, don’t take the things said about magical creatures in there at face value.”

“Got it.”

A few pages later, Barron speaks up again. “It’s not like non-human creatures are perfect. You know how a vampire took Diya and a faery took Ray, and those species abducting humans isn’t super out of the ordinary. Not all, or even most, but enough. Though you’re much more likely to be abducted or hurt by a member of your own species than another. I just mean, like, I’m not saying what human mages did was okay, but we have reason to fear them too. I guess that’s less of a human-mage thing and more of a human thing, though. We’re less vulnerable than the average human. It’s just… complicated.”

You nod. “It feels… different, knowing that. Like I’m not just learning magic, I’m joining this group, and this group has done a lot of bad stuff.”

Barron shrugs, again sounding uncomfortable. “I guess. There are some humans that know magic that don’t associate with the human mage label, for that reason. Obviously I’m okay with being associated with that history, but you don’t have to be. I won’t pressure you to call yourself a mage if you don’t want to. I can’t promise other creatures will see at as different just because you call yourself something different, though. And any creature can be a mage, so you’d be associating with human-mage history, but also mage history in general.”

“…I’ll think about it.”

“Yeah, of course. There’s no need to choose what to call yourself right now. Hey, look at this.” Barron holds up a shiny red rock with a rune carved into its side. “Pop quiz, what does that rune do?”

You don’t recognize the rune. “Uh… does it make shields?”

“Not even close. It’s an invisibility spell. Want to try? Do you remember the words and motions?”

You don’t, so you flip through the book until you find it.

“Okay, you need to have an idea in mind of why you want to be invisible, outside of practice.”

“Hmm… like what?”

“To hide from something, to steal something, to eavesdrop. Or something else.”

“Would wanting to hide from Jane work? I always want that.”

“Maybe. You can try.”

Barron hands you the rock and you recite the words and motion the way the book instructs. You want to hide from Jane. You want go be so hidden that even if she finds the cabin she can’t find you.

The rock vanishes, consumed by the spell. Your hand vanishes too.

You look down at yourself, but don’t see anything. “That’s kind of freaky…”

“Did you know your eyes turn yellow when you cast?”

“I suspected. Diya mentioned it, when you were sick.”

Oh. Well, you did great with the invisibility spell, especially for your first time casting that one. It’s a very useful spell for all sorts of things.”

“I bet.” You try to look at your hands. They’re still not there. “It makes your clothes invisible, too?”

“This version does. Some don’t. Like if the rune was put on a different material.”

“Ah. How long does this one last?”

“Depends on the intention behind it. Not how long you intend to be invisible, it just works better with different intentions. This one lasts the longest with the intent to steal, so with the intention to hide it should only last an hour or so.”

“How long would it work if my intention was to steal?”

“Three to four hours. If you cast the spell several times in a row, it can go much longer.”

“Oh, cool! Is that true with other spells with a time duration?”

“Most of them.”

“Cool.”

You’re not sure what to do now. “I guess… I’ll keep reading? Invisibly, until it wears off?”

“If you want. How’s your head?”

“It doesn’t even hurt.” You lie. It’s not a big lie, though, it only hurts a little. You can read for another hour.

“I’m glad. I’m going to carve some more runes into these rocks. Do you want to try the shield spell next?”

“Ooh, yeah!”

Barron nods and gets back to work. You read a little, but mostly you end up distracted by how the book looks like it’s flying when you hold it.

You’re actually invisible. You’re invisible because of a spell you cast, because you’re learning magic, which is crazy. You never even imagined that you could end up like this.

You’re more powerful than ever, and Barron’s a good teacher. You’re excited to learn lots more magic from it. Maybe Barron can even teach Kit and Dollie some stuff when they get here!

[janitorjuliann]

liam saying orym watches dorian sleep (melancholy), robbie countering saying dorian's not asleep and has his back to orym (upsetting), sam immediately making jerk off motions (funniest possible interjection)

[callsign-rogueone]

not that bad at all - b.d.

Bodhi Durran x partner!reader [requested] ✉️: …maybe the reader is badass and Violet is afraid of her, so when they have to fight, Violet poisons her like the rest, and Bodhi stops what he was doing to take care of her and he worries about her, and Violet notices that she is not that bad and asks for forgiveness. words: 1.6k 🏷: very basic fourth wing spoilers, one use of “her” to describe reader but that’s it, descriptions of dizziness and fainting, short description of injury (for Violet), everyone’s favorite girl makes an appearance (iykyk 😇), I made X a bit of a jerk here but he’s going through it honestly so he gets a pass lol

It’s easy enough for Violet to dust the white powder onto the last available bagel right before you place it on your tray.

You don’t notice what she’s done, too busy talking to Imogen. It’s strange for her to see the girl so docile like this, chatting happily about some maneuver one of you had pulled on a practice flight yesterday, but Violet is thankful for the distraction she provides.

She watches from across the room as you settle into a chair near a boy in her year — Liam, the tall blonde who’s been top of the class in Emeterrio’s since day one. He greets you with a smile, continuing to chat with the other marked ones at the table.

You look terrible as you step toward the mat when your name is called, flushed and sweating like you’ve been running for miles. It’s a miracle you’re still holding yourself upright.

You can do this. Of course you can. The general’s daughter should be easy work with how fragile she is. You won’t kill her, per Xaden’s insistence, but you’ll get her to tap out in under two minutes, guaranteed.

You shake your head, trying to rid yourself of the dizzy feeling before the fight starts.

“Ready, cadets?“ Emeterrio asks. You can tell he’s giving you a moment out of pity, that he knows something is wrong.

Your dragon does too. “This is not a good idea.”

You ignore her. “Ready,” you confirm, wavering. 

You try to move your feet into a proper fighting stance, but the floor seems to shift underneath your boots like wet sand, and you collapse onto the mat before the professor can say go. There are a few gasps from the crowd of cadets around the gym.

“I yield,” you mumble into the slick padding, knowing that even if you can manage to peel yourself back up, you won’t be able to overpower her when you can’t see straight.

Violet sighs in relief. You’re still aware enough to know what you’re supposed to be doing. That’s good. That means she got the dosage correct, and that you should be fine again in about eight hours. 

“You were right,” you admit silently.

“Of course I was right.”

Violet’s pride is replaced with guilt as another cadet rushes to your side, looking deeply concerned.

Your vision focuses enough to recognize your boyfriend’s face leaning over you. Cold hands cradle your cheeks and you squirm away from the touch, delirious. 

“You’re burning up, love,” he says, tugging your sleeves up in an attempt to cool you off, exposing the black swirls running down your left arm. He takes your pulse, and your heart is racing. Something is definitely wrong.

He looks to the professor. “Permission to take her to the infirmary?”

“Granted,” Emeterrio says, unfazed. “Barlowe and Cardulo, you’re up next.”

That will be a good matchup. Maybe one of them will kill the other, and decrease Violet’s list of enemies by one.

The other cadet gathers you into his arms, helping you up, as you clearly can’t stand on your own, and Violet’s heart nearly stops as she realizes who he is.

Bodhi. Tail section’s executive officer, Bodhi. Xaden’s cousin, Bodhi. Fuck. 

She can feel multiple sets of eyes boring into her skin. Her gaze lifts to the other side of the gym, where Xaden is glaring directly at her, along with a few other marked ones. They all look like they know exactly what she did, and they’re contemplating how best to kill her.

Something tells her that Jack won’t be as much of a threat as the rest of your friends.

————————————————————

You crack an eye open, wincing at the brightness of the infirmary. 

Bodhi is standing over you in an instant, dimming the light. “How do you feel?” He rests the back of his hand on your forehead; your fever has dulled, but you still feel warm to the touch.

“Better, but still not great,” you answer, coughing into your elbow. “It’s like a flu that should have lasted a week just condensed into a day.”

He extends you a glass of water and you take a slow sip — you’ve been sweating so much that it’s completely dehydrated you.

“What do you make of the Sorrengail girl?” You ask. “Every one of her opponents in the last two weeks has mysteriously ended up ill.”

“You’re right,” he says slowly, putting it together. “But why just put you out of the lineup for a few days? If she’s really doing this, why is she not taking it further and just killing people?”

“Murder just isn’t her style, I guess.”

“I’m glad it isn’t,” he says quietly. “When you hit the floor like that all of a sudden… I’ve never been that scared in my life. I thought I was going to lose you.”

You take his hand, squeezing it gently. “It’ll take much more than a bad bagel to kill me,” you reassure him, sitting up to kiss his cheek. “You’ve made sure of that.”

He still looks worried when you pull away, but you know what will relax him.

You look at the clock. “We have an hour and a half until dinner. Wanna go shower and cuddle for a while?” You ask, and he nods eagerly. You smile. “Alright, let’s get out of here.”

At dinner, Xaden makes it abundantly clear that nobody is to seek revenge on the girl, which has Garrick grumbling and Imogen downright outraged, but you’re fine with the decision: if she’ll leave you alone, you’ll leave her alone.

————————————————————

The rest of your friends are celebrating — Liam and the two other marked first years have been chosen by strong dragons who will serve them well and provide them powerful signets.

It’s not unusual for the eldest of your group to be withdrawn and aloof, but Xaden looks like he’s going to be ill.

“Tab says that Tairn chose Violet Sorrengail,” Garrick’s girlfriend says in a whisper, knowing better than to let the wingleader hear her.

Your eyes widen. Tairn, Sgaeyl’s mate, Tairn? “I guess that makes her our problem now.” 

If Violet dies, so does your friend. 

So much for keeping your distance. 

————————————————————

When Violet gets to the gym for the workout Imogen had roped her into, it’s full of marked ones. 

Bodhi is sparring with a boy whose name Violet doesn’t know, looking like they’re going to kill each other but laughing as they do. Xaden wrestles with Garrick, Imogen is throwing daggers with Liam, and a quiet third-year girl in the corner looks to be… meditating?

You spot Violet standing in the doorway, heading over, and her heart pounds, wondering what you’re going to say to her after what she did to you.

You wipe the sweat from your forehead with a small towel. “Cool hair,” you say with a nod at her silver-tipped braid, and she blinks, stunned —  probably wondering why you aren’t biting her head off. 

“Thanks,” she replies quietly. “Sorry for poisoning you.”

You laugh at her honesty, extending a hand to shake. “Square?”

“Square,” she answers, taking it.

“Good. Now let’s see you fight, for real.”

It takes all of five minutes for something to go wrong — an awkwardly angled kick to her knee that she can’t dodge has her crumpling to the mat, lower leg bent at an unnatural angle.

Oh, fuck. Xaden will be pissed if you’ve broken her on day one.

“Angel, we need you,” you call, and the quiet girl’s eyes snap open, at your side in an instant.

Warm hands touch her skin, and Violet startles as the pain dissipates, the bone gliding back into place. She stares at your friend, stunned. “You’re a mender?”

“Not a very good one,” she answers, anxious. “And I’m sorry, I should have asked before I just… does it feel okay now?”

“Yeah, that was great.” Violet flexes the joint a few times, without pain. “Just like my brother used to do.”

There’s a flicker of… something across the older girl’s face, but it vanishes as soon as Garrick puts a gentle hand on her back, genuine worry on his face as he looks at her. “You feeling okay?” 

“Yeah,” she answers, giving him a soft smile. 

Xaden is feeling much less warm and fuzzy, eyeing Violet with generalized contempt.

You cross your arms over your chest, giving him a warning look. “Don’t even start, X. She’s trying her best.”

“If that’s her best, she’s going to get us both killed,” he says coldly.

“Which is why we’re working on it. Aretia wasn’t built in a day, and neither were any of us. She’ll get better.”

“Fine. Then training her is your responsibility now, since you’re so optimistic, but should you fail, her blood and mine will be on your hands.”

“Xay, that’s not…” the mender begins, but she falls silent quickly after seeing the look on his face.

“Fine,” you agree, standing your ground. “I’ll train her as a personal favor to you because of what you’ve done for all of us, and because I don’t want to see her die, but you need to stop being a dick. You didn’t ask to be put in this situation, but neither did she.”

Nobody looks surprised at your defense of Violet, nor your candid speech to the wingleader. Nobody speaks, either, letting you two stare each other down in silence — this must not be the first time you’ve argued with him.

Xaden sighs, clearly having something to say, but he doesn’t protest further, turning to leave.

Violet’s eyebrows raise. You defended her, the girl who poisoned you last month, and you got Xaden Riorson to back down from a fight? 

Bodhi puts a hand on your shoulder, checking in silently — that was pretty intense.

You give him a reassuring half-smile. “It’s okay, Bo. He just needs time.” You look down to Violet. “Wanna try that again?”

She nods, letting you pull her to her feet.

You’re really not that bad at all.

[lovelytsunoda]

insatiable // oscar piastri

summary: oscar is a tits man.

warnings: absolute utter filth under the cut. you have been warned.

the first time it happens is almost an accident. things are hot and heavy: hands under clothes, tongues in mouths and she sinks to her knees, lips swollen and face red. that’s when she tells him: “I can’t do blowjobs. it’s a sensory thing, im not comfy with the idea of having a cock in my mouth. I still want to be able to do something for you.”

and that’s when she takes off her shirt, then her lacy bra, fingers gently opening oscars jeans to pull out his cock. she leans forward, taking his length between her breasts before squishing them around his member.

and oscar could have blown his load then and there, seeing his cock cocooned between the most beautiful pair of tits he had ever seen.

and when she starts to move, his dick slipping easily between her skin, hes in heaven. he has never been so vocal in bed, throwing his head back in a breathy moan as she looks at him, innocence in her eyes as if she’s not using her tits to fuck him.

he comes like that, his cock still between her boobs, his load spraying upwards and coating her neck, the bottom of her chin, the tops of her boobs.

becomes a near constant thing after that, because he’s still chasing that high.

lazy mornings in the bathroom where she slips his dick under the elastic for her bralette, lazily moving up and down before allowing him to thrust between her boobs, hand gripping her head and forcing her to watch the path his cock is taking between her tender flesh.

this time, he withdraws before he cums, pulling up the fabric of her bralette so that he can see her tits properly, jerking himself off until she begs for him to come on her tits, his load coating her pale skin.

“fuck, babe. you’re so fucking sexy on your knees for me, with my cock between your perfect titties. my cum on your breasts. lean over the counter, sweetheart, I want you to come as well.”

bent over the bathroom counter, watching in the mirror as her tits bounce, rolling her nipples between her fingers while oscar’s pushed her panties aside, his cock pistoning in and out of her, the cold grantor counter digging into her bare hips.

needier nights where a simple ‘get on the bed, bra off.’ is all it takes, y/n lying there in white lace panties, no bra and a tiny golden necklace with Oscar’s racing number on it, the pendant resting right above where Oscar’s cock ends when he straddles her upper body, slapping his dick against her boobs, running it over her nipples a few times before he finally slips in between them, feeling the pressure at her tender flesh surrounding him as he roughly thrusts between them.

sometimes he makes her beg first: “please oscar, I’ve been such a god girl, please fuck my titties. please, I want to feel your cock on my skin.”

basically oscar is insatiable, to nobody’s surprise.

you know who else would lose his shit if his girlfriend let him fuck her tits? liam lawson.

TAGS:

@thatsdemko @silversainz @sidcrosbyspuck @scuderiamh @lorarri @magnummagnussen @diorleclerc

[tearsaura]

I love you // Liam Mairi x Tavis!reader

A/N: Based on the prompts by @northspiritstorm under this Post. I am so sorry that you had to wait so long for this one.

I do hope that you enjoy it. :)

Word count: 0.9k

warnings: none? Spoilers for fourth wing and iron flame (messed around with the timeline a little bit)

Picture is from Pinterest: bgtm9d

‘Again.’

‘I-’ she began, but paused, trying to catch her breath. Her heart was already racing, and it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest at any moment. She rested her hands on her knees. Varrish had dragged her up here hours ago.

Stop it, Cuan admonished her. Stop it before something happens to you.

‘I- I can't anymore,’ she groaned, looking down.

‘You're not leaving until it starts raining here. If you want to go, pull yourself together.’ Varrish grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up.

‘Again.’

It was already dark when she was finally released and went back to school. There was no one else in the courtyard when she reached it with trembling legs. Her hair was sticking to her face, covered in sweat, her cheeks were burning and every breath she took felt like being stabbed. Her eyes landed on the large oak tree that stood in front of the entrance and with a relieved smile she walked towards it. She slid down the trunk of the tree and closed her eyes. Her thoughts wandered to blue eyes and soft blonde hair. Rough, calloused hands wrapped around hers, the scent of sandalwood...

Empathic one!

Cuan's human is unconscious in the yard under the oak tree Liam jerked out of his sleep so hard he almost hit his head on the wooden post of his bed. Without hesitation, or even thinking about putting on shoes, he ran down the corridor out of his room.

There was hardly anyone else in the corridors, except for a few couples here and there enjoying their time. As he walked past the third year's corridor, one of the doors opened and her brother ran out of his room. Garrick almost bumped into the younger rider, the two looked at each other for a moment, one more worried than the other, and ran out into the darkness together.

‘Did you see her today?’ Garrick asked, his usually confident voice trembling slightly. ‘Only at breakfast,’ Liam replied as the two of them walked towards the oak tree.

In the moonlight, a motionless body could be seen next to the tree trunk. Before Garrick could even react, Liam approached and dropped to his knees beside her. With careful hands, he pulled her body towards him and placed his fingers on her neck.

‘Her pulse is weak. We should take her to the healers quadrant.’ Garrick nodded wordlessly and helped him carry his sister in.

---

The sun slowly dawned and both riders sat wordlessly side by side outside the quadrant. Winifred had told them hours ago that they should come back in the morning, that the young Tavis sister was fine and just needed some rest to regain her strength.

Liam and Garrick, being the stubborn riders they were, ignored her words and didn't move.

Garrick kept looking at his friend. He wasn't stupid: he had noticed that there was a spark between Liam and Y/N. And as he looked at him, his eyebrows drawn together in concern, the way he cracked his fingers and how dishevelled his hair was, he knew that it probably wouldn't be too long before the couple finally admitted it to each other.

‘Gare, I like your sister.’ Well, that was faster than expected

‘I know, you guys are best friends,’ he replied, trying to hold in his grin.

‘I mean that I like her, like her. More than a friend. Are you- are you getting what I’m trying to say?’ he asked, turning to face him. Garrick raised his eyebrows.

‘No,’ Liam sighed and leaned back in his chair.

‘I have feelings for her, I really like her, and I wish she was my girlfriend.’

‘Ohhhh’ it took a lot for him not to laugh. ‘Have you talked to her about it?’

‘I don't think she feels the same way...’ There was a silence at first before Garrick bursted and laughed out loud.

‘Really? Don't be so loud before Winifred chases us away.’

‘I'm sorry. But are you listening to yourself? Everyone knows you're into each other except for you,’ he brought out between laughter, wiping the tears that threatened to fall out of his eye corners.

‘So you... wouldn't mind?’ Garrick finally managed to stop laughing and, in a more serious matter, put a hand on Liam's shoulder.

‘I couldn't wish for a better boyfriend for my sister…. and I couldn't wish for a better brother-in-law for me either,’ Liam grinned at him.

‘Dude, that was probably the corniest thing you have ever said’ ‘Yeah, I immediately regretted it. The second part at least.’ Garrick gave him another encouraging pat on the shoulder and stood up.

‘Well, I'm off then, she's in good hands with you-’ “Hey, hey wait a minute, you have to help me come up with an idea on how I can confess my feelings to her!” Liam interrupted him and Garrick groaned. ‘No, believe me, I'm the wrong person for this kind of stuff. Ask... Imogen or Quinn, or even better ask Xaden. He's on cloud nine right now anyway and he's unbearable. ‘Violence this’ ‘Violence that’... I even caught him picking flowers.’

‘Flowers?’ ‘Yes! He's gone soft. He's certainly got enough ideas to help ever single rider here with a love confession.’ ‘Okay then, I'll look for Xaden later.’ Liam said slowly. Garrick nodded and left the waiting area with a last encouraging smile.

A few minutes later, Winifried stuck her head out the door to the healer’s quadrant. As her eyes fell on Liam, she started smiling.

‘Hi. She just woke up; do you want to see her?’ Liam nodded immediately and jumped up. With shaking legs, he followed Winifred in and over to her bed. Y/N was sitting up, leaned against the pillows and smiled tiredly at him.

‘Hi Liam, how are you?’ she asked.

‘I love you’

[screamingatanemptyroom]

Please Fix the Story- pt 27 The Higher Realm

Here it is guys, a new part! Not very long, but it's new and I'm happy. Thanks for everyone who waited.

Masterpost linked here for anyone who wants to re-read.

___________________________

*** Soul transfer 25% complete. ***

As the words formed in front of me, I felt a sudden surge of dark power from deep within my soul. It crackled just beneath my skin, an incredible, immeasurable force.  I could feel it, knew it was there with a deep certainty I couldn’t explain. But while I could sense the enormity of it, I couldn’t touch it, couldn’t reach it or use it in any way. I stared down at my hand in frustration, wishing I understood what “soul transfer” meant, and how it was connected to this power within me.

“Umm… are you okay?”

A soft voice broke me from my reverie. I glanced up to see Liam staring at me with a look of concern. “If this is a bad time, I can come back later…” He was still extending a hand down to me to help me to stand.

How long have I been sitting here, staring at my hand, like a crazy person?

“Sorry.” I took Liam’s offered hand, sucking in a shocked breath once I did so.  There was a sudden connection when our hands touched. Something deep within my soul that had felt empty and alone had filled the moment my hand touched his, like a puzzle piece clicking into place. The connection was strange to me, but at the same time achingly familiar. I shook my head, trying to clear it of the shock, and used his help to stand next to him.  I was somewhat surprised to realize how tall he was, his thinner frame disguising his height. I tilted my head back, my eyes meeting his own quietly amused gaze.

“Sorry.” I repeated. “I’m just a little confused and lost.”

“Ah. No worries about that! You’re in good company, I happen to specialize in being lost and confused.” He answered with a smile.

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. “I’m Bel.”

“I know.”

I sighed with relief. “Good, I wasn’t sure, since we looked so different when we last saw each other!”

“You knew that was me?” He blurted out, obviously surprised. “How?”

I tilted my head. “You have the same name? We had coffee? You were the assassin who wasn’t a cat?”

“Ah… Yes!  The assassin world. That’s definitely the time I was thinking of, and not any other lower realm.”  Nodding enthusiastically, he avoided my curious look, but didn’t step away from our close position.

It was then I realized, somewhat uncomfortably, that I had not let go of his hand after taking it to stand up. With a regret I couldn’t quite explain, I released him, my hand feeling immediately empty and cold. Besides that, I felt a deep fatigue slowly settling in, an unexplainable tiredness as if my energy was slowly being sapped away. It had started from the moment I woke up here, and slowly became more noticeable over time. I looked over at Liam, who seemed unaffected by any similar exhaustion.

There’s something so familiar about him, I feel it even more so than I did in the assassin world. Which reminds me…

BAM!

“Ouch!” Liam rubbed his upper arm where I softly punched him. He looked down at me, confused. “What was that for?”

Avoiding his puppy dog eyes, I forced myself to scowl and explain. “THAT’s for poisoning yourself, you jerk!”

“Oh. That.”

“YEAH THAT! Do you know how hard I cried when I realized what you did? Just casually drinking poison and sneaking off to an alley to die?”

“I’m sorry, I…” He stuttered as he rushed to explain himself. “I didn’t think…”

“Didn’t think what?”

“Didn’t think it would matter.” His voice was neutral, almost carefree, which made the certainty of his words even worse. He truly didn’t think there was anyone who minded that he died in that world. “I’m the villain, Bel. I had to die if that lower realm world was to avoid being destroyed. I didn’t want you to feel sad or guilty, and that seemed the best way.” He paused. “Wait… why did you cry? Weren’t you happy the world was saved?”

I shook my head, resisting the urge to knock some sense into this man. “I cried because I thought you were dead! I thought I would never see you again!”

“You wanted to see me again?” His excited tone threw me off.

“Well… yes, but you’re missing the point!”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.”

“Do you even know why are you apologizing?”

“Because I made you sad when I drank poison and died in the lower realm. So I’ll try my best not to drink poison ever again.”  He paused. “Is that right?”

I rubbed my forehead. “Not just poison, Liam, try not to get hurt at all.”

“That would be difficult.” He now had a solemn expression on. “Villains have to have a bad ending for the story to end happily.”

The villain? I felt a dull burning ache in my heart at his words, a memory just beyond reach.

“Why do you think you’re the villain?”

He shrugged. “It’s my role.”

“I don’t think you’re a villain. Villains don’t drink poison to protect a world from being destroyed.”

“I never said I was good at being a villain.”

I sighed at his amused words, and gave up trying to convince Liam for now. Turning away from him, I finally took a good look at my surroundings. The sense of fatigue was growing stronger, I felt dead on my feet, but curiosity overcame the tiredness as I examined my new location.

 “Where are we?”

It was a forest, somewhat similar to the one that surrounded the castle in the Higher Realm, but a dark and twisted version. The sunlight around us was a muted, almost grayish light, piercing through the rotting branches, barely reaching the ground that was mixed dirt and dying grass. The trees pierced through the earth, tangled dark wood fighting each other for the slightest hint of light and air. The shadows were just a bit too dark, not matching the objects casting them.

“Is this still the higher realm?”

“…No. I’ve never seen that place, but I heard it’s beautiful. This place is different.” Liam looked around dully.

“It’s not a lower realm though, there’s no story or mission prompt. So where is it?”

“It a separate realm, with a specific purpose.” He was now staring at his feet, avoiding eye contact.

“What purpose?”

“It’s a cage, Bel.” His blue eyes met mine, and I could see the deep sadness within it. “And you can’t stay here.”

I was shocked at that. “You want me to leave?”

“What?!” He almost fell in shock at my words, stumbling over his words as he tried to explain. “No, that’s not what I mean at all! I would love for you to stay! Nothing would make me happier than if you could live here… I mean…” He seemed to realize what he was saying, and flushed with embarrassment. “It’s this place that’s the problem… watch:”

He reached out and touched a tree branch, which fell to pieces in his hand.

“This place destroys life, slowly draining the energy from everything in it until only death remains. Nothing good can survive here.”

That explains the tiredness I felt. For a moment I remembered Adonis showing me a blood red door.  What had he called it? “A higher realm like ours. But a place of pure evil.” He told me something similar at the time, that nothing good could survive there.  Looks like I managed to explore the scary portal in the end. But if what they are saying is true…

 “What about you, Liam? How can you live here if it’s so dangerous?

“I told you.” He shrugged. “This world is a cage. And I’m the monster it’s meant to hold.”

“You’re not…” I wanted to protest his words, but I stopped at the look in his eyes. Changing tactics, I asked instead: “So how do we escape this cage?”

“I don’t know.” He frowned. “How did you get here?”

I thought about my last memory before I woke up, and then cursed loudly. “That IDIOT!”

“…I’m sorry?”

“Not you! That jerk who drugged me and tossed me in here!” My stomach growled. “And he did it before I could even eat BREAKFAST! He couldn’t wait until I had a chance to eat?” I shook my head sadly. “That’s almost as much of a crime as the kidnapping itself!”

The tree Liam’s hand had been resting on snapped like a twig, falling to the ground with a loud crash. Ignoring the carnage, he turned towards me, his face grim. “Who did this to you?”

“The kidnapping? He calls himself Adonis, I, however, have much more descriptive and fun colorful names for him.”

“Adonis…” Liam thought the name over for a moment. “Blonde fellow? Acts as if he’s the most important person in the universe?”

“That’s him!”

Liam growled under his breath. It was difficult to make out words, but I barely made out “Should have bit him harder.”

I raised an eyebrow at that, “You BIT him?”

“In another world. Wish I could snapped his neck, or at least ripped a limb off, rather than just take a bite...” He stopped, seemingly realizing what he just said, and looked over at me with an embarrassed expression. “Not that I’m normally biting people!”

I waved a hand at his distressed expression. “Don’t worry, I’d bite a few limbs off of the guy if I could right now. Especially with how hungry I am.” I laughed bitterly. “He better HOPE I get some food in me before I see him again!”

“Well, if Adonis the Great and Full of Himself was the one who put you here, then we have a bit of a problem. He’s the only one that I know of who has been able to open the portal to here.”

“Not that I want to go back anyways.”

“I told you, this place will kill you if you stay.” He shook his head at that. “First, we need to figure out food. Follow me.” He started walking deeper into the forest. I had to trot to keep up with his longer stride at first, but he quickly slowed down to allow me to walk at a regular pace. Even that was tiring, but I pushed forward.  I looked at the forest, wondering what there would be to scavenge in such a dead place. Deciding to ask Liam, I tugged at his hand, noticing idly his ears turning red at the brief contact.

“What kind of food do you normally eat here?”

Liam blinked, seeming almost confused by the question. “There’s a few beasts… kind of. They should be edible for humans.”

“Okay. Cooked meat doesn’t sound too bad.”

“…Yes… cooked…because that’s how normal humans eat. I eat it like that too.”

Eyeing his dodgy appearance, I decided not to ask.

After a few minutes of walking, during which I became progressively more winded, we finally came to a large cave.

“Here’s my home!” Liam smiled proudly as we entered. “I carved it myself!” He proceeded to show me the fairly spacious cave with roughly made, mostly empty rooms, boasting about the thickness of the walls and the special rocks he had collected along the way.

I smiled at his boasting, the stared at the enormous claw marks in the carved stone walls, and silently looked away.

He pushed a roughly made stool close to me. “Here, have a seat.”

“Thank you!” I sat down, breathing heavily. “I’m beat!”

Liam’s expression was concerned as he watched me rest. “This place is already draining you, Bel. I’m worried what will happen if you stay here too long.”

“I’m fine!” I waved a hand tiredly. “Just need to catch my breath.”

He wasn’t reassured. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Maybe I’m just out of shape, have you thought about that?”

“Sure, that’s it.” Liam laughed quietly, almost seemingly in spite of himself. “Either way, while you rest, I’ll get you some food.”

“I’ll help…” I stood up, but my legs gave out beneath me and I started to fall. Liam, surprised, caught me, lifting me up in a careful hold. Silently, he moved deeper into the cave, entering one of the carved rooms.  A single cot sat on a dirt floor, and he gently laid me down on it.

“Umm, thanks.” I looked up at Liam and paused saw an embarrassed expression, his eyes avoiding my own as he turned away.

“Rest here. I’ll bring you food.” He muttered quietly. “Cooked meat. Cooked.” He seemed to be reminding himself as he hurried out of the room, leaving me alone with just my thoughts and the sound of a rumbling, empty stomach.

I stared at the empty room for a few seconds, and then laughed. “What a cute villain.”

*** Soul transfer 28% complete. ***

______________________________

“Where are we?”

I looked up at the stranger who called himself Liam. His face was indifferent, his dark blue eyes cold as he shook his head slowly. “This isn’t a place for you. That’s all that matters. You should leave.”

“I can’t leave.” My voice cracked into a soft sob as I failed to hold back tears. “I’ve been betrayed, I don’t have anywhere to go.”

“You can do what you like, but you shouldn’t stay here.” He tried to laugh, but the sound couldn’t really be a laugh, it was far too sad and bitter of a sound to be called something so cheerful. “Otherwise, you’ll die, just like everything else.”

_______________________

“Bel, wake up.”

I blinked, the vision in my dream fading away as Liam’s face came into view.

I thought about the scene I had seen, similar to my recent interaction with Liam, but different. It felt real, like a memory. I’ve been here before. I’ve met Liam before in this place. It’s the same… but different.

But what is different? If I had to pin down what had changed from what I had remembered, it was Liam and I. The “me” in that memory was far more devastated by Adonis’s betrayal. I on the other hand, was more pissed than sad, wanting to save my mental energy towards plotting my revenge rather than mourning the friendship.

Anyone who is willing to stab me in the back doesn’t deserve my tears.

The Liam in my memory was different too. He was harsher, colder. The current Liam’s eyes were gentler, filled with a deep strength that hadn’t been there before.

We were both stronger, but it was more than that. There was a connection between us, not present in the brief memory of him from before. Something had changed in us. Something that had happened to bring us here again. I had a feeling that as the “soul transfer” continued I would learn more. If only I could figure out what made it increase!

“Bel, are you okay?”

I smiled at Liam, trying to reassure him. “I’m awake.”

“Good! So I made you some food…” He held out some charred meat that had been roughly cut up into bite sized chunks. It did not look very appetizing.

“I’m sorry.” He noticed me looking the food over and put his head down. “It’s my first time cooking it like this.”

I tried not to wonder how he usually ate meat if he didn’t cook it and took the burnt food from his hands. “Thanks, I’m starving!”

I ate it slowly, surprised at the not-terrible taste. Finishing the portion, I gave Liam a thumbs up. “It’s good!”

“Really?” He lit up with excitement. “I’ll keep working on my cooking and make it even better!”

Support spouse. The thought came and went, the words seeming strange and familiar at the same time.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to track down some fruit on the edge of this realm that are still alive and edible.” He said with a grin as I continued to eat. “That should at least keep you going until that Adonis the Jerkwad can come back to save you.”

I put down the meat in my hand. “I mean it Liam, I’m not going with him.”

“But you’ll die here.”

I didn’t hesitate, meeting his dark blue gaze with my own. “I’d rather that then agree to his broken idea of fate.”

The word fate seemed to twist within Liam, and for the first time I saw rage instead of amusement deep within his eyes. “Fate.” He spat the word out like a curse.: “… So you want to stay here?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

“Look you see we should talk about this before you say no…” I paused. “Did you just say ‘yes’?”

“I actually said ‘okay’ but essentially yes.”

“But… but…”

He was grinning again. “Did you want me to say ‘no’’? Or did you want to finish convincing me? Because I can pretend to say no if you want to say your piece.”

“Aren’t you worried I’ll get hurt?”

He pointed at me. “You don’t want to be under Adonis the Asshat’s control, under the control of fate.” His finger pointed at himself. “I happen to really really like having you around.” He shrugged. “So I guess we’ll just have to come up with a way to help you survive here.”

“Just like that?”

“If that’s what it takes.”

I grinned. “Then it’s settled. I’m staying with you AND not dying!”

*** Soul transfer 29% complete. ***

Eyeing the silent glowing words in the air, and curious about their meaning, I went back to eating the meat, which seemed to taste even better than before.

_________________

After eating I fell asleep again, feeling drained. This time I didn’t dream, but when I woke up, I still felt tired. Liam wasn’t kidding when he said this place would drain my energy from me.

…

Where is Liam?

Looking around, I saw that Liam, who had been by my side since I first woke up in this realm, was gone. I felt momentarily lost, and a bit lonely. Shaking my head in mild frustration, I forced myself to stand, bracing a hand against a claw marked wall.

Bel… you’ve been just fine being alone in the higher realm before this. In fact, you used to be excited when you could ditch Adonis the Buttface and spend time by yourself! How can you be so affected by just a few minutes without Liam?

…

…

… as the uncomfortable silence stretched on, I twiddled my thumbs, feeling a strange urge to juggle.

BAM!

A loud noise sounded out from a different part of the cave. “Thank goodness for that!” I didn’t even care if it was a deadly monster that broke into the cave, it was better than sitting bored and silent. I walked out, holding onto the wall for support, my feet shuffling oddly as I forced them to move. Taking short pauses to catch my breath, I continued to go slowly to the source of the noise. When I exited the room into the large open common space of the cave, however, I stopped, this time due to shock rather than exhaustion.

A glowing portal had opened in the air. It was similar to the ones in the higher realm, but different in several ways.  The edges glowed a blood red, and the whole space gave off a malicious energy. As I watched, the tear in space closed, leaving only the feeling of unease behind.

And on the floor beneath where the portal had hovered, lay Liam.

“Liam!” I stumbled forward, half kneeling, half falling towards him. He was curled in a ball, his clothing damp with sweat. His face was paler than it had been, his face drawn in a silent mask of pain.

What had he gone through in a lower realm? I knew from experience that injuries from the lower realms didn’t follow you to the higher realms.

But the pain did.

Before I could investigate further, Liam turned over onto his back, his blue eyes still showing pain… but triumph as well.

“I got it!”

“You got what?” I asked. “Beaten up?”

“No! … I mean yes I did but that’s not the point!” he laughed. “I tricked Dumbo into slipping up and telling me what we need!”

“Dumbo… you mean Adonis?”

“That’s what I said, Adonis the Great and Mighty Dumbo.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle, having to sit down as even kneeling became too much. “So what did he tell you?”

“You don’t belong here… your very nature makes this realm reject you. Just as my nature, my energy allows me to live here trapped but fine. Which means you just need a different energy to survive in this world! One that won’t be sapped away. And who happens to possess an energy that this realm doesn’t feed off of?” His grin widened.

“You?”

“Yep!” He stood up, muttered “excuse me” and picked me up again, carrying me back to the cot in the other room.

“Wait! So if that’s the case why are you taking me back to bed? Can you just give me the energy? Also how do I get your energy? Do we have to do it on the bed?”

Liam turned a bright red. “No, it’s not what you think! I’m just letting you rest while I go prepare stuff…” He very quickly but gently set me down and rushed out of the room, as if afraid to hear anything else from me.

“Ummm…”I was asking in earnest, but my words seemed to make Liam misunderstand. Thinking for a moment, I groaned and covered my face in my hands, feeling the heat radiating off it “Stupid Bel.”

After what seemed like an eternity Liam returned with a cup. Still slightly embarrassed, I took it from him, looking at the liquid inside.

It was gold.

“What is this?”

“This?” He seemed confused by the question. “It’s blood.”

“No, it’s not.”

“What do you mean?”

“The blood of what? A magical creature?”

Liam laughed uncomfortably. “No, just my blood.”

“Why is it gold?”

He hesitated at that. “Normal blood is a gold color. That’s what regular human blood looks like. Yep. That’s it.”

“No… it’s red.”

“Maybe you’re confused?” He flinched at my expression. “Maybe everyone has gold blood and it just seemed red at the time? Because of bad lighting?”

I watched him bend his head uncomfortably, looking almost scared that I would ask further. My heart ached.

“Sure, Liam. It’s just normal, human blood.” I smiled as I saw him sigh with relief out of the corner of my eye. “Now what do I do with it?”

“You drink it. Thus, the cup.” Seeing my blanching expression, he continued to explain. “You see, it’s how to transfer some of my energy to you. It won’t fix everything, but it will help with the worst of it. I promise it won’t hurt you!”

I believed him. “Thank you, Liam.” I tipped it back and drank it. It was warm, but strangely sweet.

Yeah, definitely not “normal human blood” even if the color didn’t make it obvious.

As I drank it, I felt a good portion of energy return to me. I was still a little tired, but at least I should be able to walk without falling or passing out. I stood up, turning around, and gave Liam a hug. “Thank you!”

He stiffened in shock, but reached out to hug me back before stepping away, blushing. “S-sure… anytime…”

We smiled at each other, and for the first time that I could remember, for the first time since I had woken up in the higher realm, I felt at peace.

I felt at home.

 *** Soul transfer 30% complete. ***

[seeingteacupsindragons]

Moriarty Remains

I was slightly worried when this chapter opened with more Helena wrap up, but LOOK WHO IT IS!!!

Pretty jerk is back

William: The final touches remain

Me: Siiiigh, can we just focus on pretty boy with the too-short pants?

Seriously you can see his entire slutty ankles

The tag line today is like, "Cool-headed thinking to capture the true nature of blazing inferno."

I love it. It's very Sherly. It's very them. It's very Motif-y.

Hudson: My heart goes out to your future wife, Sherlock

Sherlock: I'm married to my job

William: It's true, I'm his job

And now the building where the last criminal who attacked the department store was holing up is on fire. *squints at William*

There's an interesting bit where they're rushing to put out the fire and Gregson shows up, but he doesn't have time to fight with Sherlock, because: fire, and it reminds me of The Final Problem

The criminal is now dead.

And there's Liam's silhouette in the flames

Sherlock: Only mysteries keep me alive

Me: WE KNOW.