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fuckyeahvanhalen86-95 · 1 year

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Legendary rocker Sammy Hagar told Fox News' Neil Cavuto in a new interview that his music and business accomplishments have exceeded his wildest dreams.

"I've had so many dreams that I never dreamt, you know, come true," he said. "I, of course, all I really dreamt about was someday being a rock star, rich and famous guy, you know, and being able to take care of my mother and my family well, have a beautiful home, beautiful cars. That was it. You know, a gold record maybe on the wall."

The former Van Halen frontman went on to say that he's made his decisions without putting too much emphasis on the commercial aspect.

"My gut is really what guides me," he said. "If I feel something's right, I do it. If I don't, I don't do it. I'm not interested in doing things just for money. And I think that's part of the success. I'm passionate about what I choose to do with my time, especially at my age now. I'm going, 'How much time do I have to live?' I wrote a song called 'Father Time'; it's on my latest record, 'Crazy Times'. And it's all about that: how much time do I have left? I need to do things that are important to me now. I'm not success-, money-, fame-and-fortune-driven. Now I'm driven by things that I've never done that I wanna do."

In "Sammy Hagar's Paradise", Fox Nation and TMZ unite to deliver exclusive access to Hagar's 75th birthday bash while chronicling his success as a singer and businessman. The TMZ special, available for streaming on Fox Nation, covers Hagar's childhood, which included growing up in poverty, dealing with an abusive father and more.

This past November, Hagar admitted that he was thinking about how he will eventually retire from performing live.

The musician, whose raspy, soulful voice has been one of the most recognizable sounds in hard rock, from his early hits as a member of Montrose and a solo artist to his multi-platinum run as Van Halen's frontman in the 1980s and 1990s, discussed his plans for a possible retirement from the road during an appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". He said: "I've thought about it long and hard. And that's one of the reasons why I don't want to go out and tour too much next year, because it could be the last one, and I don't really know. My thing is I would never — I'm saying never say never. Well, right now I'm gonna say I will never announce a farewell tour, go do a big, long tour and then keep going and keep going, like all these other people do. It makes me sick to do that. I would rather not say nothing and just… when I do my last show, it's my last show. I might say it then, but I'd rather not make no pre-announcement, in case I wanna keep going."

"I'm so glad you asked that question. It's been on my mind real hard," he continued. "How do you go out? Do you just go away? I don't know. I'm too public of a figure and I have too many businesses and things to where I can't just go away; somebody's gonna catch me somewhere. They're gonna say, 'What are you doing?' So it seems like I almost have to make an announcement, but I'm not solid with that yet, and it's not time yet. But I am thinking that way. How am I gonna do it when it's time? And I don't know. I'd rather just say one show, 'You know what? That's the last show. I'm done. I can't do it anymore.' I'd rather just say that."

When host Eddie Trunk asked Hagar to confirm that he will not do any "money-grab" farewell tours, Sammy responded: "The day I do something just strictly for money at this stage of my life, you can call me a greedy piece of shit. I do not need money, and it's not why I do things. I don't blame some people for doing things for money — you have to; you've gotta make a living, for god's sakes — but I don't have to. So at this stage of my life, no money grabs."

Hagar's second studio album with his Billboard chart-topping supergroup The Circle, "Crazy Times", was released in September via UME. The LP found Hagar, fellow Hall Of Famer and Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, Grammy-winning drummer Jason Bonham and Grammy-winning guitar virtuoso Vic Johnson traveling to Nashville to record the album with eight-time Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb at Nashville's historic RCA Studio A. The follow-up to their much-lauded debut "Space Between", a multi-category No. 1 Billboard-charting album, includes 10 songs, nine of which Hagar wrote or co-wrote, along with a notable cover, "Pump It Up", a 1978 song by Elvis Costello and The Attractions. The song "Crazy Times" was written by the whole band along with Dave Cobb and recorded live.

For more than five decades, Hagar has been recognized as one of the best and most accomplished lead singers and songwriters in rock music. From breaking into the industry with the seminal hard rock band Montrose, to his multi-platinum solo career, to his ride as the frontman of Van Halen, Chickenfoot and his latest best-selling supergroup, The Circle, Hagar has amassed 25 platinum albums on sales surpassing 50 million worldwide. Along his journey, he has set the tone for some of the greatest rock anthems ever written with songs like "I Can't Drive 55", "Right Now" and "Why Can't This Be Love", and earned the highest respect of the music industry with a Grammy Award and induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Since launching his flagship Cabo Wabo Cantina in 1990, he's turned a lifelong passion for great food, music and spirits into a thriving and iconic lifestyle brand. A pioneer in the spirits industry, Hagar's development and nine-figure sale of his Cabo Wabo Tequila to Gruppo Campari in 2008 is widely credited as the start of the celebrity-owned spirits trend. His portfolio of spirits now includes Sammy's Beach Bar Rum, Santo Tequila and Sammy's Beach Bar Cocktail Co., as well as several restaurants. Never one to hit the brakes, he's also found success in publishing, TV, radio and beyond, including five seasons of his hit TV show "Rock & Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar" and as host of "Sammy Hagar's Top Rock Countdown", his syndicated radio show that's broadcast on over 90 U.S. stations. He's also a New York Times bestselling author, a dedicated philanthropist and since January 5, 2022, the first Honorary Ambassador to Los Cabos, an honor he was bestowed in recognition of his longtime investment in the people and economy of Mexico.

#post van halen #sammy hagar #the circle #crazy times #2023 #fox news #Neil Cavuto #Fox Nation #tmz #Sammy Hagar's Paradise #SiriusXM #Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk #eddie trunk

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livelle · 2 years

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Your writing is so cute! ☹ got me all smiley

UR SO COOL OMG PLEASE SAVE SOME TALENT FOR THE REST OF US!!!!

If you dont mind could you do a Tommy one were he accidentally reveals he has a partner one stream? And they just happen to be right next to him?

♡THANK YOU HAVE A AWESOME DAY♡

a/n: dude. THIS IS THE BEST REQUEST EVER AND ALSO THE KINDEST WORDS EVER OMG-. I love you so much, like this actually made my day like a 100 times better. I am so grateful for you, and I really did my best on this one ;) I am so happy I can entertain you with my work. Now, go get a snack or something to drink, and have fun reading!

ᴏᴏᴘꜱ?

a Tommyinnit/ You!!!

summary: you were chilling in Tommy’s office, as he was doing a stream. He brought you up, he did a lot, but something was different this time, which made you look at him with wide eyes out of shock.

NO PRONOUNS USED

ROMANTIC

SWEARING ( like two times I think? )

You smiled as you plopped onto the comfortable chair in your boyfriend’s office. You plugged your phone in to charge, it almost all being a habit now. You looked up at Tommy, seeing him giving you a small kiss on your temple and a big hug. He had to lean down, and he whispered a soft: ‘Love you’ before sitting down on his office chair behind his desk. You watched him as he set everything up for his stream, and could tell when he started it. His voice got loud and he looked extremely excited all of a sudden, making you put a hand on your mouth muffling a laugh. He gave you a look from his place, a smile, and then got to work.

As you scrolled through your phone, you thought about it all. Tommy had bought this chair for you. Just for you, so you could be here when he streams. A smile made it’s way back on your face. You loved being around him, always insisting to go with him to things, and this reminded you he did also. Your eyes gazed at him, his blonde soft curls falling perfectly along his face, his tall figure laughing as Tubbo made a joke in VC. Just admiring him already made you blush, to be honest. It was almost like the distance between you now was already too far, having the need to hug him, and be close to him. It was nice though, that he loved physical touch. You did too, not with everyone, but with him, you loved it.

‘OH GOD CHAT’ he yelled, as you realized Tubbo and Sneegsnag left the voice channel. ‘DO I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU.’ You were busy though, having downloaded Duolingo on your phone a couple days ago. The process of learning a new language was fun, so, you decided to give it a try. You didn’t quite hear what Tom was saying to his chat, only hearing parts of what he did this week. ‘And Wilbur was being so awkward, because me and the gang were in Brighton right-‘ he went on. Sometimes though, he trailed off, feeling like he was just talking to a friend and not thousands of people he didn’t know. ‘And we had to SLEEP at Wilbur’s! It was so damn cold I’m telling ya, and the man stood up at like 7 am like- WHAT DOES HE THINK.’ You giggled to yourself, remembering last week. He continued. ‘So we were just all in bed, y’know SLEEPING. He wakes us all up. WHAT THE F*CK. And he shakes me awake and then gives me a weirded out look, and I’m like WHAT WIL, right??? And he says “why are you cuddling y/n” LIKE THAT’S SO AWKWARD AND WHY DIDN’T HE KNOW WE WERE DATING??!’ He shot a hand to his mouth as he said it. You turned your face quickly, hearing what he said and looking at him with wide eyes. ‘What??!!’ You yelled at him, also slapping a hand to your mouth, because chat will now know you were here. You guys looked at each other for a solid 5 minutes long, not knowing what to say. ‘Oops’ Tommy said looking at chat, but they were freaking out.

So here you were, on Tommy’s lap answering some questions from chat. ‘YEAH SO SURPRISE CHAT, I SUPPOSE, AS I COULDN’T KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT. Y/n is my partner, we’ve been dating for some time, but we weren’t sure if we should tell you guys but I guess I just did’ you both had laughed at his words. You revealed how you were always sitting just out of frame, which made chat surprised and finally figured out why Tommy was looking that way so much during his streams. He was playing animal crossing, so he continued, doing it together. This finally gave him the opportunity to be with you on streams though, and also for you to show off your animal crossing character LMAO. People made screenshots of your characters together, Twitter saying this was ‘the cutest stream ever’. You were very blushy still, but you never had so much fun.

After the stream, as you were heading home to go to bed, he threw his arm around you. ‘It’s all okay with you right? I’m sorry still.’ He said. ‘Oh no Tom no! I loved it, I had so much fun and I think this is the right choice, even though it was a coincidence.’ You answered, looking up at him with a smile on your face. ‘I think so too. I’m glad I don’t have to hide you anymore, since you are the best thing that ever happened to me. I DIDN’T DO IT ON PURPOSE THOUGH’ he said, which made you laugh at him, but also made the butterflies in your stomach go wild again. ‘I love you, Tom.’ He stopped walking, stood still on the street and kissed you lovingly. ‘I love you too, baby.’ He said then, before holding you close again, making your way back home.

a/n: YOOOO REQUESTER I STILL WANNA MENTION THAT THIS WAS THE BEST EVER. like I loved making this and ty so much for your idea! U are the best and have made me so happy. Now, I just woke up, I’m gonna get ready now. Hope you liked this, you’re the best. BUH BYE!!!!!

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heniareth · 3 years

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I was really curious about what your opinions on the DAO companions are :) I know we have talked about some, but I'd love to hear more and about the others as well :D I hope it's ok to pose this as an ask :)

Sure! That sounds like a ton of fun. This might be a long one tho. Mind you, this is not the finished version of the answer. I'd like to link stuff and add a cut, but rn that's not possible. I'll update it when I can.

Edit: I have updated it ^^

Let's go alphabetically bc why not.

Alistair:

Sweet guy. So sweet. There was a moment when I was hard pressed chosing between him and Zevran (alas, Zevran won). Also, he's weirdly tall according to the wiki? How did I not notice that before?

Let's get a bit more serious now, Alistair is a great guy. The only reason he's not the hero of the story is because he doesn't want to. He has all the qualities of a leader: he's good at dealing with conflict (as evident with the conversation with the mage at the beginning. He gets where he wants to get without antagonizing the mage, but without allowing him to trample all over him). He's a solid tactitian and knows how to make allies (he suggests to use the Grey Warden treaties, after all). I bet if he was in the leadership position, he'd even not bicker with Morrigan. His moral code is pretty tight; some might say too tight, but I think it's less about the moral code and more about learning to judge people by their actions, not by the labels they fit into (Morrigan is a proud apostate and therefore bad. Wynne is a humble circle mage and therefore good). He also has a bit of a black-and-white way of seeing the world. I empathize a lot with Alistair, especially with his experience with the Chantry and his subsequent reluctance to deal with it. I really wish I had gotten to know more about concrete experiences he had during his training as templar, but he seems reluctant to talk about it (gee, I wonder why).

Since I've only played the game once, I haven't really picked up on Arl Eamon's abuse towards him, which apparently exists (Isolde, however... I mean, even if he were Eamon's illegitimate son, he's a kid, ma'am, he didn't exactly get to chose his parents. So that's so not okay). Alistair's way of speaking about them both, however, is either sign that he has not come within a hundred miles of acknowledging how much it hurt him, or that he's already gone through the whole process and has decided to forgive them. The latter shows a very strong character; yes, he relies on the approval and leadership of others, he has his issues, but he's already started working on them.

That being said, irl Alistair would be like a little brother to me. I'd tease him relentlessly (all in good fun and I promise to stop if it makes him uncomfortable, but he's just so teasable). I still wish the videogame gave him the chance to take important decisions for himself. But that, of course, would somewhat defeat the point of the game.

Leliana:

Another sweet, sweet person. Her singing voice is amazing. Her belief in the Maker inspires me (I'm a religious person and seeing religious characters represented in a positive light is Very Cool. It's also sometimes a source of discomfort, because the Church has done a lot of very messed up stuff and positive representation can sometimes veer into apologetics for things that should not be excused, but that's a whole other can of worms. The bottom line is that religious characters sometimes work for me and other times don't and Leliana works for me very much bc she's an outsider inside the Chantry).

Leliana is best friend material, tbh. I'd love to get to know her irl, discuss theology and philosophy and maybe even politics? She makes mistakes and has prejudices, but, tbh, so do I. And I do get the feeling that she tries her best to learn. From the times she intervenes in a conversation between the Warden and an NPC, she shows herself to be compassionate and open to the needs of others. What I get from her character is that she genuinely wants to help, which is something that I adore of her. I suspect that she sometimes has a hard time deciding wether she's a good person or not. She has killed and seduced and worked for a morally dubious person, and she doesn't show the same nonchalance about it as Zevran (though they both do discuss their line of work in very... professional terms). This is, however, more of a headcanon than actual factual canon.

I also very much enjoy her girly side, like her interest in shoes and dresses. She's one badass woman who also looses her cool about the latest fashions in Val Royeaux. I like that. Between her and Alistair, a non human noble Warden has as good a help to navigate the Fereldan court as they're going to get. Leliana is also, I can't forget that, clever and insightful. It'd be easy to write her off as the innocent chantry girl, but she's so much more than that. Her kindness is paired with foresight, I think. She knows that taking on the trouble to help now can go a long way in the future. I just have a lot of respect for her.

Loghain:

This one's gonna be short bc I didn't recruit him. He's an amazing villain and would probably be a great Warden as well. He reminds me of Denerhor from LOTR; once a hero/stewart of his people, ambition and desperation have driven them both down a terrible path. I have also only little idea about his past. People say he lost a lot, and I believe it wholeheartedly; it doesn't excuse the fact that he plunged the country into a civil war in the middle of a Blight. I don't have a lot of sympathy for short-sighted politicians. I wish he hadn't made himself regent. That's what I take away from his character.

Edit: One thing I forgot to mention that really impressed me was his death. I had Alistair duel him (that was a rough duel), and then it kinda just jumped to a cutscene of my Warden nodding and Alistair executing him. That didn't sit well with me. I didn't want to kill Loghain, and less so in front of Anora. But what impressed me was that Loghain just accepted it. That takes a whole lot of guts. Compare that to Howe's death, and how he screams out that he deserved (more, probably, or anything but death) and it's crystal clear who the more noble of the two is. Loghain strikes me as very lawful neutral, and any neutral alignment has the particularity that it can be dragged towards good or bad, sometimes without the characters noticing it (which is interesting from a DnD perspective; neutral is often concieved of as just as stable as good or evil, but that may not be true. But that's a different post). Anyway, Loghain's death was impactful.

Morrigan:

I could kick myself for not maxing out her approval in the first play-through. I got to enjoy a bit of her friendship by the end of it and boy was even that little bit worth it. Friendship with Morrigan is something that is hard-won. It's all the more precious because of that.

Morrigan is full of paradoxes, I think. She's incredibly wise in some ways, yet also very short-sighted (”just kill them, don't solve their problems”. Morrigan, dear, I'm not going to gain a lot of allies if I kill everybody who poses a problem to me). She is so intelligent, but emotionally... not so. She knows so much about some things, and very little about the next. She's incredibly wilful and knows what she wants, but follows Flemeth's orders all the time through. She hungers for power and independence, yet craves closeness, but won't allow herself to have it. She asks you to prove yourself to her and is extremely critical of your actions, I think, because she's afraid. She bites the hand that feeds her because it might hit her next.

Like with Eamon, I haven't managed to catch the undercurrent of abuse that seems to permeate Flemeth's relationship with Morrigan. Except there are signs, because there must be something Morrigan is scared of and who has instilled all that rage in her, and that's Flemeth. Also, she clearly hates/does not care about her and wants her dead (unless killing Flemeth was part of Flemeth's plan as well? Hm.)

Morrigan is that one person who you are nice to, continuously, because nobody else is. And suddenly she becomes less cold. And then friendly. And suddenly you're asking yourself why everybody hates her, because she's a really good friend! I just wish the other companions came to a similar conclusion, especially Alistair and Wynne.

Oghren:

They did this man dirty. He has such great lines and I'm convinced he was a great person before Branka disappeared. He has that dwarven warrior spirit, and while he looks like Gimli, some of his most impactful lines remind me of Dwalin or even Thorin Oakenshield himself. He could be so noble had he gotten some character development, damnit!

Oghren as he is written is somewhat disgusting. I hate the lechering comments and the drunkenness. And still, I don't hate him because of those amazing lines he has when he's actually sober. It's frustrating and I'll give him that character development myself if the game won't. I strongly associate the song Whiskey Lullaby with him, bc that's how he would have ended up if the Warden hadn't taken him along (warning: the song talks about suicide and alcoholism). Like I said, they could have done such cool things with his character. As he is written now... it's just sad. Moments of lucidity drowned in alcohol and creepy jokes. As you can see, I don't blame the character for either. The alcoholism happens all too often irl. The creepy jokes... I put that one on the writers' tab.

I actually think Oghren could have been a great mentor figure (I know, I shock myself as well sometimes). Next to the Grey Wardens, the ones who know most about fighting darkspawn are the dwarves because they have to deal with them constantly. Especially a warrior caste dwarf like Oghren could have brought a lot of that invaluable knowledge to the team, especially since there are no Grey Wardens in Ferelden but two extremely green recruits. Next, you get the chance to give Oghren the command of the teammates you leave behind in the battle of Denerim with the reason that he has lead men into battle before. Where did that suddenly come from? Oghren should have been right up there telling my Warden that they were doing this wrong, that they needed more food (and booze) and a confident leader to keep the armies they've called together going. Oghren should have been able to tell my civilian city elf who got recruited into the Grey Wardens a six months ago how one leads an army. How one presents oneself to inspire confidence, how one doesn't crack under the pressure, how one gets the leaders of said armies (some who hate each others guts i.e. Dalish elves and humans) to work together. And, last but not least, Oghren could have had a great story about grief. This is a man who has lost most of what made him (and what he hasn't lost he's spilling down the drain with every mug of ale). This is a man who, if you take him into the Deep Roads, has to see what his wife did to his family, how his wife got absolutely obsessed, and can be forced to kill said wife or watch her die. All Wardens loose their home and families at the start of the story. It would really have rounded the whole narrative out if the Warden and Oghren could have recognised their grief in each other and hashed it out somehow. Such as it is, Oghren is a depressed drunkard and there is nothing we can do about that. I find that frustrating.

Rascal (a.k.a. Dog):

Best boy. 100/10. I wish we had gotten to see the reaction of the different origins to the mabari (because elves probably have a whole different experience with them from mages or humans. And dwarves just... I think they straight up have none? XD). Other than that, no complaints. The name Rascal was the one I gave my dog because you have to be a right rascal to survive what he did and play the pranks he plays. Smartest breed in the world indeed.

Shale:

Shale is one of those characters that I recruited rather late in the game, so I haven't had the chance to explore their personality and worldview, really. I didn't even get to take them to the Deep Roads (this will be ammended in playthrough nr. 2). As such, I don't have particularly strong opinions on them (or her? The wiki refers to Shale as 'it', but that sounds weird). But, because I know so little about Shale, I have a lot of questions. First, what were they like before they were a golem? Shayle, as she was called then, was the best warrior of her time if I remember correctly. Why did she become a golem? Was it to be able to eternally protect her people? Was the sarcasm the golem Shale exhibits also part of the dwarven warrior Shayle or did that come later (if for thirty years you have nobody to talk to but yourself, you better be entertaining. And I can imagine how it could make somebody terribly jaded as well).

Next, how attached is Shale to their golem form, exactly? According to the banter, they infinitely prefer it to a squishy fleshy form. If that is the case, however, why go to Tevinter to try and become a squishy dwarf again? It's not like that process could be reversed if they wanted to become a golem again; if Shale survives to the end of the game, the Anvil of the Void is destroyed and Caridin is dead. Was the whole spiel about their indestructible form a façade? It might have been, but not because Shale actually disliked their form. I think it would have more to do with the loss of their memories and with the very invasive experiments and alterations of Shale's body made by the mage Wilhelm. The loss of memories means that Shale is unable to remember life as a fleshy creature. They might be deflecting by pretending that they didn't care for that experience anyway because of the superiority of their golem form. The modifications made to their form by Wilhelm would have alienated them from their body. In light of this, it's significant that Shale asks the Warden to decorate their form with crystals.

All of this is, of course, pure speculation. I may have easily missed or forgotten details that would disprove the above thoughts. All in all, I like Shale and I hope we meet them again in DA4 (given that it's mostly set in Tevinter). It's a liking from a respectful distance, because Shale is tall and made out of rock and also way more experienced than I will ever be (they are literally the oldest member of the Warden's little Blight fighting squad).

Sten:

Sten is another person I'd keep a respectful distance from physically. That seems to be the what he would prefer, at least. I've enjoyed his character a lot, especially because he seems pretty clear-cut at first, but slowly lets the nuance of his person show (gruff and stoic, but then he has an eye for art, a sweet tooth and he likes cute animals). It's also very interesting that there's no moment when you learn "the truth" about him the way you do with Zevran or Leliana. There's no big reveal about his life under the Qun before coming to Ferelden. He says he was sent to monitor the Blight, but honestly? If neither Ferelden nor Orlais knew there was a Blight, how could the Qunari know? I think he's lying, and he takes his secrets back with him when he leaves Ferelden. And yet I think I know him enough to say that a Warden who has become friends with him has nothing to fear from Sten.

One thing I find very interesting about Sten is how he thinks. His conversation about how women can't be soldiers has been analysed a lot on this page I think. He seems to be arguing based on a different paradigma than the one the Warden has. He also seems to have a very clear-cut view of the world. What is fascinating to me is that, when arguing with the Warden and learning about their culture, he is not necessarily becoming more lax about his worldview. I think it's more likely that he is expanding his paradigma, the structure of thought through which he understands the world. I don't think that he is now convinced that women can be warriors as well. I think he rather understands that, in Ferelden, the relationship between occupation and gender is different than under the Qun. Which of the two he thinks is more right or more agreeable, I have no idea. I'm also not very interested in that. But I find it fascinating how he always seems to be looking on quietly, gathering data, classifying it and trying to fit it into his understanding of how the world works. I wouldn't be surprised at all if his original party was a scouting party to see how vulnerable Ferelden was at that moment to outside forces. One thing I don't understand with all of this is why he urges the Warden to meet the Blight head on. No smart soldier would suggest that, except if they are foolishly proud (and Sten doesn't seem like that kind of guy tbh). I get that the Warden takes way longer to gather allies than expected because they first have to solve all of their allies' problems. But surely Sten sees the need to have allies? Is he just that impatient? Does he have a death wish (à la, I lost my sword and am without honour, better to die sooner than later and in glorious battle)? Was he his group's previous commander and is he now having trouble following somebody else's orders? Or maybe it's his way to make sure the Warden knows what they are doing? To push them into becoming the self-assured commander their allies will need once they're all gathered? I really don't know. I like the last option best, however.

For me, Sten is my fellow, more experienced soldier. Like Alistair, he can potentially be the Warden's brother in arms, but he's definitely the older brother here. He probably doesn't take kindly to tearful confessions of how hard everything is, but I feel like he's otherwise a solid rock to lean on. I feel like the Warden can trust him to do what is necessary and count on him no matter what, especially after they get his sword back. His devotion from that point on is honestly so powerful.

Wynne:

Wynne was such a support for my Warden (except with the whole conversation about love vs. duty and that she may have to choose between Zevran and ending the Blight and that she should therefore break up with him. Wynne had a point. Astala was so not willing to sacrifice her relationship with Zevran. But the whole conversation came at a point where she was already so disillusioned that she blew up in Wynne's face (”can i please just have one (1) nice thing????”)). But all in all, Wynne is great.

She has a lot of flaws. She was very marked by her life in the Cricle and, for all her age, she has little experience living outside of it. She is also a conformist despite her strong moral core. In a way, her ability to find peace with her lot in life impresses me deeply because it speaks to a lot of strength of character. Sadly, however, strength can be ill applied and used to suppress. I think she has convinced herself that the Chantry is right under (almost) all circumstances to be able to rationalize the life that mages live. She's had her son taken away from her as a baby and an apprentice killed. Her reaction seems to have been to convince herself that this was right, or for the greater good (and now I'm thinking about the Guardian's question at the temple of Andraste's Ashes; are you wise or do you just repeat what others have told you? The answer is not as clear-cut as it might be). This is why she is so irritated by Zevran and Morrigan. By aligning herself with the Chantry, she is, in her eyes, good. Zevran and Morrigan are not; they do not conform to Chantry morality and they defend themselves tooth and nails against somebody who would try and convert them. This is something Wynne never allowed herself to do; she always did the "right" thing and it has cost her so much. I'm not saying she was right (it would probably have done her some good to rebel from time to time, and to trust her own gut instinct more), but in light of this, it hardly surprises me that she's so judgamental. She has to be, or she would be forced to confront all the evil she has not fought against all those years and all the hurt that has been caused to her by the very institution she protects (and thank God she only tries to argue and can appreciate it when people have found a good life outside of her comfort zone. If she tried to convince by force or, for example, drag her former apprentice back to the Circle... boy oh boy that would get ugly). If you think about it, Wynne really is a good example for what happens if you live by a philosophy of always choosing the lesser evil.

Something that I keep forgetting over her grandmotherly and dignified character is how damn powerful she is. She has escaped the carnage at Ostagar; HOW!? She protected those mage apprentices in the Circle tower for God knows how long. In the battle of Denerim, she wades through an army and comes out alive on the other side. The wiki lists her age at 40, I think, but that doesn't make a lick of sense unless 75 years of age are the Fereldan equivalent to 100. This lady, about whom people make grandmother jokes, did all that. It's impressive.

Zevran:

You know, I would really love to know what Wynne thinks about the events at Kirkwall in DA2. It might be a disaster for her, or it might pave the way for one last bit of character development. She certainly didn't want to return to the Circle after fighting the Blight. That may be an indicator of some change in her stance on the Circle of Magi.

Edit: I forgot that she is what the Circle considers a literal abomination! Holy cow, how could I forget that?? Anyway, her conversation about what being an abomination means is so... heartbreaking, actually. It's so tentative. So careful. "Am I an abomination? Am I the same thing that has killed my students? The same thing as Uldred? Am I lost and damned? Did I invite this spirit in? Is this my fault?" Like wow, Wynne is going through something huge right there. I love it. I have to continue playing the game to see what it ends up as, but it's fascinating and such a huge thing that she allows the Warden in on that.

Ah, Zevran, my beloved (he has stolen my heart so much it's not even funny anymore). He's funny, he's charming, he's so so loyal and it breaks my heart. Zevran is the one about whom I've read most meta: these three wonderful posts for instance, as well as this one about his possible lack of scars, and this one about his lack of freedom. All of these have influenced my opinion of him and they are great reads.

I have talked about Zevran with you before, so I'll just skip to the new stuff. I have come to conclusion that Zevran is an artist at heart. This is totally not biased by the fact that I also do art, but hear me out. One of his preferred gifts are bars of silver and gold. While those have the obvious utility of basically functioning as money (they can be sold to any silversmith or goldsmith and their value is pretty stable through time and in different countries), there's also this from his codex: "Zevran shows an affinity for the finer things in life—hardly surprising for an Antivan Crow—but his appreciation can be more poetic than he lets on. A simple bar of refined silver or gold, uncomplicated by a craftsman's hammer, is elegantly valuable." Tell me that is not an artist's eye that sees that gold and sees the beauty in it. Then, there's also the meta about Zevran the Seducer which I linked above and link here again. It talks specifically about how he lets himself enjoy the target and be seen in his enjoyment. Tell me that is not an artist's eye that beholds the beauty of something he is set out to destroy. Even his talk about his assassinations show this. He talks about it as an art, the way somebody would talk about the brutal intervention in stone that produces a sculpture. Yes, it's a rationalization of the act of killing and yes killing is still wrong. But he doesn't go on about it on a moral tangent the way Alistair or Wynne would (”this person was bad, killing them was necessary”) or even through the argument of survival like Morrigan would (”it was either them or me and it sure as Hell wasn't going to be me”). He talks about the pleasure of a job well done, of the satisfaction of striking the precise point and executing a plan to the perfection so as to minimize chances of discovery and to make a clean death possible. And pleasure in seeing and in doing, this I firmly believe, is absolutely fundamental for an artist.

My favourite part about my Warden and Zevran as a pairing is that Zevran precisely brings out that ability to take your pleasures as they come and to really savour them. Fighting the Blight is tough; it's so important to find good things amidst the chaos to stay sane. If Astala saves Zevran from himself by offering him a place to stay and a purpose, Zevran saves Astala from herself by keeping her from running herself into the ground trying to save the world.

There are some things I don't like about Zev. The incessant flirting, for example, sometimes makes me uncomfortable (it becomes enjoyable for me once the Warden and him are in a relationship, but before that? Nah, no thanks). I wish he would also leave the other female characters alone (and there's so many more shameless comments of his aimed at Morrigan, Leliana or Wynne than at Alistair or maybe even Sten).

---

And that's my take on the Origins companions (this was rather long. Whew ^^' I hope it was still readable and that you enjoyed it!!) Thank you so much for the ask!! It's been a joy thinking about this. I was worrying at first that the less prominent companions like Sten or Shale wouldn't get as much content but... well XD

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findingjoynweirdstuff · 3 years

Text

Dream SMP Recap (May 31/2021) - Deck of Cards With a Green Smile on Them

Wilbur and Tommy visit Las Nevadas to have some words with Quackity.

---

VOD LINKS:

Punz

Ponk

Foolish

Tommyinnit

Wilbur Soot

Captain Puffy

---

- Punz mines out an entire chunk of the server

- Wilbur and Tommy meet at L’manhole. Tommy brings Wilbur to the quarry and shows him the Tommyboxes full of stone

- Tommy and Wilbur walk down the Prime Path and Wilbur notices all the new changes in the builds, including that Purpled’s UFO has been destroyed. Wilbur claims that someone’s being “a copycat” with TNT, figuring out exactly how it was destroyed

(Wilbur is also repeatedly puzzled by the appearance of Oogway throughout the server)

- Wilbur tells Tommy that he received a book: “PROJECT NEVADAS.” It rings a bell, and Tommy says it’s Quackity’s new place that he’s been staying out of

- Wilbur tells Tommy that the book says to come to Nevadas (not saying what it actually reads), and Tommy leads Wilbur there

- The last time Wilbur saw Quackity, they were fighting together for L’manburg -- but he gets the impression, judging by everyone else aside from Jack Manifold, Tommy and Phil, that everyone probably dislikes him. He assumes Quackity won’t have the best impression of him

- Tommy’s never been to Las Nevadas, but the person who told him about it said it was just a little town. They’re awestruck by it as they arrive

- Quackity comes up to meet them, surprised to see Wilbur alive. Tommy asks what happened to his face, but also notices that his piss neck is gone

- Wilbur says he’s glad to see Quackity out of the presidential outfit, and he never thought Quackity was fit for the Vice President role anyway. Quackity tells them that he owns this entire place

Wilbur: “Oh, so you’re -- you’re like a -- a President, then!”

Quackity: “I’m the President, man!”

Wilbur: “...You’re the President.”

- He shows Quackity the book and accepts Quackity’s “invitation” to work alongside him. Tommy asks to move in as well

Quackity: “Wilbur...That was not an invitation, I’m sorry Wilbur...That’s not an invitation. Wilbur, my nation will not be subject to your unpredictability.”

- Wilbur tells Quackity that while he may have been unpredictable in the past, he’s turned over a new leaf and doesn’t lie anymore, he’s forgotten everything he knew about TNT

Wilbur: “Quackity, look me in the eyes...I am your servant. I am at your service, I have run countries, I’ve won elections, I’ve done everything you would need in a leadership role, Quackity! Even not in leadership -- I can be, you know, assistant to the President! Just, I...Quackity, this is everything I’ve dreamt of in a solid marble and quartz...Quackity, you’re making a mistake, man, you need to let me in--”

Tommy: “Wil, this is so cool!”

Wilbur: “TOMMY, SHUT UP! I mean -- Tommy, come over here.”

- Quackity tells him he’s not going to let the same thing that happened to L’manburg happen to Las Nevadas. Tommy points out that it looks like they’re kissing.

- Wilbur walks around the sandy area asking what Quackity owns, and Quackity owns all of it. Quackity still means to discuss things with Tommy. Wilbur makes his way to the forest next to Las Nevadas

Wilbur: “What’s the point in capitalism without healthy competition?”

- Quackity asks what Wilbur’s about to do. Wilbur leads them over to a nearby spot and welcomes Tommy to their new “headquarters” as they “break ground” there.

- Tommy doesn’t want to start a new country, preferring Las Nevadas. He also repeats that Wilbur and Quackity looked like they were kissing and he feels like he’s getting third-wheeled

- Quackity and Tommy talk one-on-one and Quackity reminds Tommy about how they spoke about the hotel and possibly working together. Tommy brings up Quackity’s eye again, remembering how Quackity has had many “conditions” for a long time

Quackity: “You ever hear about the Butcher Army, Tommy? One day, we were going to execute Technoblade, and we got in a...we got a fight. And this is how this thing showed up on my face.”

- Tommy is surprised that he went to kill Technoblade and asks when this was, if this was during his exile

Tommy: “You’re meaning to tell me that you put in all of the effort to kill Techno instead of helping me?”

- Quackity says he’d be happy to sit down and discuss it, that he’s not Tommy’s enemy. He gives Tommy the choice: Tommy is welcome to join him, even if Wilbur isn’t. He can offer Tommy a management position, a job

- Tommy goes to speak with Wilbur and leaves Quackity, noticing what Wilbur’s built

Wilbur: “It’s a penis of safety!”

- Wilbur asks Tommy to work with him. He won’t stop Tommy, but Tommy is all Wilbur’s got. Jack Manifold’s busy and Phil has ideas about authoritarianism Wilbur disagrees with

Wilbur: “Tommy, I don’t want to make a country. I’m past that, man. I want to make an HQ. I want to make a place where we can be safe for once. Tommy, it’s been so long since we’ve been safe. And man, you deserve it. You’ve been through so much, done so much. Tommy, you’ve changed the world, and all you have to show for it is some scars and some trauma. Tommy, you deserve this safety and this sanctuary, and that’s what I want to make with you, and you won’t get it over there. You know what they say about casinos? It’s all lights and it’s all plastic, it’s all glitter, that there’s nothing of substance. Do you know what has substance, Tommy? Family. Blood. Please stay with me, Tommy.”

- He tells Tommy he needs to make a choice now.

Wilbur: “I’m not gonna hold you back. If you pick Las Nevadas, what am I gonna do, man? What am I gonna do? I’d never hurt you. I’d never want anything bad for you, Tommy. You can go with whatever you want, but...Just know what you’ll be doing to me. That’s all I wanna say, man.”

Tommy: “There was a time when you weren’t here on this server, this SMP, when I went against...put a lot of things to the side that I shouldn’t have. I prioritized a lot of things -- I put revenge over humanity, humaneness. I guess all I’m seeking now is just someone that’s gonna be honest with me and a place that I can feel safe. I...I betrayed Technoblade, and I just couldn’t admit it. And I did the wrong thing with Tubbo, but...”

Wilbur: “This can be a safe place for them.”

- Tommy agrees to stay here, but dislikes that Wilbur has built the penis into a wall. The two start building a penis in the lake and Quackity comes over.

Quackity: “History repeats itself, Tommy. You’re just letting this guy use you. You’re letting him emotionally manipulate you.”

- He and Wilbur start talking over each other, bickering

Quackity: “WHO DESTROYED L’MANBURG, TOMMY? THINK ABOUT THAT. THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A SECOND.”

Wilbur: “WHO RAN AGAINST YOU? WHO LAUGHED AS WE WERE EXILED? WHO CHEERED AS WE WERE THROWN OUT OF OUR NATION THAT WE BUILT? THAT WE BUILT?”

Quackity: “Who wanted a better outcome for L’manburg, Tommy? Who did? Who wanted to run a ‘democratic election’ with just one party? He’s right up there, Tommy! He’s right up there above you--”

Wilbur: “Remember the pit, Tommy. Remember what happened in the pit. Don’t. Trust. People. Who would’ve fought you in the pit.”

- They continue arguing.

- Tommy gets a chance to speak and says none of that made him feel safe. Quackity apologizes and offers them a tour of Las Nevadas. They head over and Wilbur apologizes as well

- Quackity shows them around, including the restaurant that they’ll need to hire people for (the villager is no longer there). Wilbur tells Tommy he’d be fine with Tommy working here as long as he’d still hang out with Wilbur too

- They start going to the casino (Wilbur and Quackity both hurry to block off the strip club) and Quackity brings them into the gambling hall, giving them diamonds to try out the machine with

- After using the diamonds, Tommy puts Linda the shovel into the machine and loses the shovel in the machine. Quackity takes them out of the building and to the top of the Needle. Tommy remarks that it would be a good place to jump off of

- Quackity turns to Wilbur and asks how he’s alive. Wilbur explains that he was swapped with Ghostbur

- Quackity remembers the last conversation he and Wilbur had together, just after the elections. The conversation they had after the debates. (Wilbur looks at the “PROJECT NEVADAS” book again)

Quackity wants to “pick Wilbur’s brain” again

- Wilbur’s lost everything. He’s lost decades, he’s lost most of the people who cared about him and many don’t even know he’s back yet

Wilbur: “Life is paved with the mistakes you make, and it’s not about when you made the mistakes or what you did, it’s about how you can improve from them, and...I guess that’s what I’m trying to do.”

- Wilbur’s seen Jack Manifold, Phil, Ranboo, Tommy and now Quackity so far, but there are a lot of other people who he’d like to talk to and apologize to and thank them

- Tommy tells Quackity he doesn’t want to sit back and run a food stand. Wilbur gets things done. Quackity respects his decision, but this is something else, not another L’manburg

- Quackity asks Wilbur about the revival again, and Wilbur admits that it was Dream who brought him back. Wilbur has many people he wants to thank and say sorry to, and Dream is one of them, as he saved Wilbur’s life. Dream is his hero.

- Quackity asks when this happened, and Wilbur says it’s been a while since, that hopefully Ghostbur isn’t too lonely in Limbo

Quackity: [About Dream] “He’s not been lonely. Wilbur, Wilbur, I think his loneliness is the last of his concerns. I’ve been keeping him company, uh...as he’s been there. I’ve been visiting him quite frequently.”

Wilbur: “What, Dream or Ghostbur? I’m talking about Ghostbur.”

Quackity: “I’m talking about Dream.”

Wilbur: “Oh, gosh! You’ve been visiting him? Oh, he must love that!”

Quackity: “Yeah, no, he likes the company. He likes the company for sure. Uh...it’s a cool little thing, uh...Tommy, you know about this, right?”

Tommy: “Yeah, yeah, Wilbur -- that’s how I got to go and see Dream."

- Tommy tells Wilbur that Dream killed him, to which Quackity says Sam’s bettered the security system (Wilbur’s surprised to hear the prison has a warden and a system to visit)

Tommy: “Why would anyone want to go to the prison? You’ve been going, Big Q, to torture the shit out of him, I’ve heard...”

Quackity: “Tommy, what? Tommy...Tommy, where did you -- where did you get that from? What are you talking about?”

Tommy: “Well that’s how -- I assumed, ‘cause of the scar, you’ve been going to beat the shit out of him?”

Quackity: “Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, don’t say that -- not even as a joke, Tommy, come on.”

- Wilbur says goodbye to Quackity (he has “work to do”) and leaves with Tommy. He’s overjoyed that he can meet Dream through the visitation system, while Tommy protests

- Wilbur throws Tommy the “PROJECT NEVADAS” book, saying that Quackity was writing about the old Wilbur, that Tommy made the right choice in not joining him.

- Wilbur promises Tommy that going to visit Dream to thank him isn’t a bad decision. He wants to tie up loose ends. Dying is a big deal. This is like a funeral, saying goodbye

Wilbur: “Tommy, all I’m saying is, you know...what could go wrong in a prison?”

- Wilbur leaves.

- Tommy asks Quackity for an Ender Chest

- He listens to “Cat,” alone in the rain, on a small wooden bench by the lake.

---

Upcoming Events:

- The final Egg lore stream

- Puffy’s lore

- Tales From the SMP: “Space Race”

- Ponk’s lore stream

- Dream’s lore video

- Sapnap’s possible lore stream

- Awesamdude lore stream

#dream smp #dream smp recaps #long posts

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firefly464 · 4 years

Text

The Real World - Chapter 7

did i have to google symptoms of ptsd and do a solid hour of research for this chapter? Perhaps. Do I regret it? Nahhh it was fun :D

Made in collaboration with @i-have-this-now

Master Post

First - Previous - Next

~~~

When Tommy woke up the next morning, every muscle in his body ached. God damn it, this was why he hated working out. Who the hell in their right mind actually enjoyed it? It was just fucking stupid. Sure, he was much stronger and healthier in the SMP world than he was at home, but the past week of not doing anything had taken a toll on him. He still didn’t understand how the other Tommy had gone through so much effort to work out. Maybe he actually had been a psychopath.

“Ughhhhhh” he groaned, remembering his promise to George. It was too early to go and talk to Wilbur, much less tell him that he was from another fucking universe. From the look of things, it appeared to be around 10-11 in the morning. Whatever. It was still too early to deal with this.

~~~

Ten minutes later, Tommy stood outside the entrance to a long, underground tunnel. He hadn’t actually had a chance to visit it yet, but he knew that at the end of the tunnel was a small, underground bunker that everyone had been living in for over a week now. He could remember digging out the tunnel the day before the big war stream. The day before he had been forced into a world that wasn’t his own. The day before he was forced to leave his family and friends, and unable to say goodbye.

Tears started to well up in his eyes. No. No he couldn’t lose control of his emotions now. He had to talk to Wilbur. Crying wasn’t going to help with that. He had already grieved over his lost life. It was time to focus on the present. Taking a deep breath, he wiped his eyes, and stepped in.

He was maybe halfway through the long tunnel when the deep, haunting sounds of a bell echoed throughout the cavern. The sound was low, almost too low to hear. That didn’t exactly matter. It may have been low, but it was loud. Loud enough to cause Tommy’s eyes to vibrate. He stumbled back, clutching his head. He felt like his skull was about to burst. It was like someone had hooked up a speaker to the inside of his brain and played the lowest note they could at max volume.

Almost as quickly as it had started, the sound cut out. The young blonde was left on the ground in the fetal position, shaking and trembling. The tears that he had tried so hard to keep from spilling over were now streaming down his face. “What the actual fuck. What the fuck was that. What the fuck is going on,” he muttered desperately, “Christ almighty I just want to go home… I want to fucking go home.”

“Tommy? Are you alright?” A voice asked, cutting through the fog in his mind. Tommy looked up to see Wilbur himself standing over him, looking very concerned.

“W-wha? Y-yeah, yeah I’m fine. Just a bit startled. What the fuck was that?” he said, standing up and brushing himself off. He stumbled slightly, still shaky from the overbearing sound.

Wilbur’s eyes narrowed as he placed a hand on Tommy’s shoulder to steady him. “It was the bell. You know, the one that they ring whenever someone new shows up? Are you sure you’re ok?”

“O-oh! Yeah, yeah of course. The sound must have just shocked me a bit more than normal,” he quickly replied, trying to make the lie sound convincing. “Why on earth do they have to make it so loud?”

His friend didn’t look convinced, but didn’t continue to press for answers. Instead, he gladly took the change in subject. “I swear, you ask this every time it goes off. It's just part of the enchantment.”

“Since when is there an enchantment for that?” Tommy muttered under his breath as the two of them walked into the fresh air. He took a deep breath, unbelievably grateful to not be trapped in the suffocating darkness anymore.

“What were you even doing in the tunnel anyways? I thought you hated it in there.”

“Oh, uh, I was looking to speak with you about something…”

Wilbur raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Perhaps you could tell me now?”

Tommy shook his head quickly. “No, it can wait until after this. I’m sure this is more important.”

The two men walked in silence for a bit, neither one quite sure of what to say. As they climbed the walkway that connected L’Manberg to the DreamSMP, Tommy couldn’t help but marvel at how incredible the world around him looked. Sure, he had seen it all before in-game, but there was something different about seeing it all in person. Something different about actually walking down the wooden path. Hell, even his little hobbit hole base looked different in person. He couldn’t help but stare at it as they passed, earning a strange look from Wilbur.

They turned at the fork in the road, heading down towards the dip in the wooden path. Tommy could feel his heartbeat quicken as they approached. He knew that he wasn’t in any immediate danger, but just standing in that spot was enough to make him panic. Hell, the planks beneath his feet were still stained a deep red from his blood, despite someones obvious efforts to clean it. This was the same spot that he had stood when his friend had shot him in the heart. This was the spot that he had stood when he had been forced to leave everything he knew behind.

A hand rested on his shoulder. Tommy looked over to see Wilbur giving him a reassuring smile. “Hey, it's alright. Next time, we’ll be sure to change the meeting spot,” he assured him.

Tommy felt a wave of gratitude towards his older friend. He hadn’t even needed to say anything and his friend could tell exactly what was wrong. It was nice, to say the least.

That's when he finally looked at the group of people that had gathered on the bridge. Tommy felt his breath catch in his throat. As he stared at the newcomer, Tommy found himself face to face with his friend Jack Manifold.

“Jack? What the hell are you doing here?” he asked, trying to figure out what was going on. Had he been transported like Tommy and Dream had? Had he found a different way to enter the SMP world?

However, his friend just stared at him in confusion. “I’m sorry, do I know you?” he asked.

Tommy swore under his breath. He had forgotten what Tubbo had told him. People would show up in the woods sometimes with no memory of how they got there, or what their own past was. All they knew was their own name, age, and how to survive the world around them. Any other memories were gone completely. Family, friends, homes, none of it mattered. It was all just gone.

He tried to cover up his mistake with an excuse, but the damage had already been done. Everyone was staring at him in shock.

“Tommy,” asked Tubbo, “Tommy did you remember something? Do you know this guy?” his eyes were alight with excitement and hope.

Tommy made a big show of grabbing his head like it hurt “I… I thought I did. It’s nothing, never mind.”

Tubbo’s shoulders slumped in disappointment “oh…”

Dream and George were both staring at him, asking a silent question. Tommy nodded ever so slightly, showing that he did in fact know Jack. Wilbur watched the exchange with narrowed eyes, slightly glaring at Dream and George and shooting a questioning look at Tommy.

He shrugged it off, trying to act casual. He was going to have a lot to explain later.

George glanced to Wilbur, then back at Tommy, once more asking a question. Tommy shook his head, trying to communicate that Wilbur didn’t know yet. He sighed, and looked disappointed. Tommy raised his hands in defense, earning another strange look from Will.

‘One week’ George mouthed silently. Tommy nodded. He had one week to tell Wilbur, or George would do it for him.

~~~

Tommy rummaged through the closet in his room, trying to find clues about who he was in this world, and what sort of part he needed to play. So far, he hadn’t found much. There were mostly just bins of old clothes. He knew that the strange device on his desk likely held mountains of information, but even just looking at it made him want to throw up. It brought back too many painful memories of what Dream- no, what he had done.

“You alright man?” Tubbo asked. Tommy jumped in surprise, but quickly shrugged it off. He had nearly forgotten that his friends were there. Tubbo was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. Wilbur had claimed the chair.

As Tommy looked to his friend to reassure him, he noticed something strange. “What the hell is that?” He asked, pointing to the strange object.

“Uh, a sword?” Tubbo replied. It was the foam diamond sword that Tommy had owned for years. Why was he so confused by it?

A bark of laughter escaped his friend as he went over and picked up the sword. “Please, this isn’t a sword. You couldn’t hurt a fly with this thing, even if you tried”

“It’s… it’s not for actually fighting. It’s just a toy,” Wilbur said, his brow furrowed in thought.

Tommy’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding, right? A sword isn’t meant to be played with. It’s a fucking deadly weapon. God some people…” he muttered as he threw the foam toy into the bed and continued to dig through the closet.

Tubbo and Wilbur looked at each other in concern. Since when did Tommy give a fuck about weapons? Much less swords.

“So uh… Tommy, what exactly happened to you?” Tubbo asked, trying to change the subject. Wilbur shot him a glare and shook his head, trying to get him to stop. Who knew if Tommy was in any sort of condition to talk about what had happened to him.

However, Tommy just shrugged. “Dunno. I can’t exactly remember any of it.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. He really couldn’t remember anything from the past week. He just wasn’t exactly telling the whole truth.

Wilburs eyes narrowed. That was complete and total bullshit. One look at the young teenager and it was obvious that something bad had happened. Something that he was desperate to escape.

Tubbo on the other hand, just looked concerned. “Really? You don’t remember anything at all?”

“Nope.”

“What about beforehand? Do you remember anything from the stream at all?” he asked, once more ignoring Wilbur’s glare.

“Uhhhh, the what?” Fuck. What the hell was he supposed to say to that? He had no idea what they were talking about, much less what had been going on before the swap happened. He would have to play dumb. It was honestly his best bet right now. “It's all a bit fuzzy. Maybe you could jog my memory a bit?”

Tubbo glanced at Wilbur, as if only now seeing how his plan could possibly go wrong. Wilbur just shrugged. If Tommy was asking, then he figured it was fine. “We could just pull up some clips. It would probably be easier.” He spun the chair around and faced the computer. “What's your password?”

“My wha…?”

Wilbur typed something in and waved his hand “Nevermind, I’ve got it” Soon enough, he had pulled up the most popular clips from the stream. The one at top was obviously the one where Tommy had vanished, but he figured that Tommy wouldn’t exactly want to see that. So instead, he went to the second most popular one. The clip of Eret betraying them.

Tommy stepped closer to the screen, fascinated by the flashing and glowing lights. His breath caught when he saw the thumbnails for the clips. That was… That was his home. But it was different… It was blocky, and weird. But there was no denying the fact that it was his home. “What the fuck…” he whispered softly.

“You do remember the SMP, right?” Wilbur asked as he pulled up the short video.

“Home…” That was when he finally noticed what clip had been pulled up. The starting frame was a shot of them all following Eret down a long tunnel. Tommy felt his heartbeat start to quicken. No, this couldn’t be what he thought it was. That would be impossible. His hand went up to touch a scar on the side of his neck that was no longer there. Of course it wasn’t there. This wasn’t even his body.

The clip started playing. As he watched, Tommy was forced to sit down on his bed in order to keep from passing out. It was all too similar. The dark tunnel, Eret’s reassuring voice, him and his friends following like lemmings. He couldn’t watch. This wasn’t right, it wasn’t fucking right. He could feel tears start to flow down his face. It was all coming back to him in a massive wave.

The way that Eret had promised he had a safe place to go. The way they had all been herded into the small room like cattle, no way to run or hide. Eret’s face as he hit the button in the center. The sound of the pistons releasing. The sharp sting of the iron needle being stabbed into his neck. The way he had lost all control over his own muscles and collapsed on the ground. Dream stepping over each and every one of them, taunting and jeering. The white mask that had shown no emotion. Only a sadistic, simple smile. It was too much. He couldn’t fucking handle it.

“S-stop! Make it stop!” he cried out, gripping his hair. His eyes were shut tight, but tears still flowed freely from them. He was terrified that if he opened his eyes, he would see the porcelain mask. It was coming for him. It was never going to leave him alone. Dream would never let him live in peace. He was curled up in the fetal position on his bed, rocking back and forth.

“Tommy?! Tommy are you ok?!” Someone asked. He didn’t know who. It sounded like it was coming from the end of a long tunnel, faint and distant. He felt someone place a hand on his shoulder. It was Dream, it had to be. Dream was here to finish the job. He was here to kill him finally. His eyes shot open as he kicked whoever it was that was touching him in the gut and scrambled back. He needed a weapon. He needed to defend himself. His hands desperately grasped at the nightstand, trying to find something, anything that he could use as a weapon. All he found was a couple of pencils. Whatever, he would make it work.

“Tubbo, go get his parents, quickly!”

Who were they talking about? He didn’t have parents. It must have been some stupid code. “NO!!!” He screamed. He wouldn’t let anyone else hurt him. He wasn’t going to just sit there while someone tried to attack him. He wasn’t going to sit there uselessly again while those around him got hurt. Not again. Not ever, ever again.

~~~

Master Post

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rewritethestars5218 · 3 years

Text

Febuwhump Day 4

I wrote this in the span of 3 hours. I don’t guarantee any type of quality lol.

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29163078/chapters/71890002

______________________

Don't Try to Pin This On Me

The sparring match had been Legend’s idea.

The group was enjoying a much-needed break in Warriors’ Hyrule.

Legend and Warriors were tasked with collecting firewood. Wild volunteered to go with them since he needed to catch some fish and gather some extra ingredients.

Legend and Warriors started their usual bickering about 30 minutes into their little excursion, something having to do with training.

Wild wasn't paying attention, opting instead to walk the river bank looking for fish.

"You know it wouldn't hurt you to get a little extra training now and again," Wild heard Warriors claim.

"Not all of us are as obsessed with having perfect fighting form, pretty boy," Legend argued.

"That's because most of you haven't had any formal training," Warriors countered.

"Please. Both Sky and Wild have had 'formal training,' and you don't see them obsessing over it like you do. I bet if you sparred with Wild right now, he would do just as well as you."

Wild cringed.

"Hey Wild, do me a favor and knock this pretty boy down a few pegs," Legend implored.

Wils slowly turned around, his annoyance on full display. "Don't drag me into your little squabble."

"Come on! I'm tired of this prick continually going on about how we should all train more. Prove him wrong, and I'll lend you my fire rod for a week."

Wild's eyebrow shot up. He glanced at Warriors, who just shrugged. "I'm down for a sparring session," he offered.

Normally Wild made a point to stay out of any bets Warriors and Legend made with each other, but the vet's offer proved to be too tempting to pass up.

Wild sighed and grabbed his slate. After a few swipes, a royal guard's sword and a soldier's shield materialized in his hands.

Wild discovered after his first sparring session with Warriors that, while he didn't remember his days as a royal knight, the training he received had stayed with him.

He stunned the entire group when he was able to go blow to blow with the captain.

It wasn't that they didn't think Wild was a capable fighter; they just were shocked to see that the kid had formal training in sword fighting.

Warriors and Wild got into position.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you," the captain ribbed.

Wild smirked. "Like I would let you."

With that, the two charged each other, the clanging sound of their blades cutting through the air.

Legend always got a kick at watching Wild spar, especially when it was with Warriors and Sky.

The kid had some goddess-given talent when it came to fighting, something that seemed to clash with his gremlin nature.

The kid was terrifying in a fight, and it was because of the unconventional methods he used while fighting.

Who would have known that buried underneath that insane pyromaniac was a trained royal soldier?

Wild fell into the familiar dance quickly, his footwork and sword skills matching Warriors effortlessly.

Wild managed to land a couple of solid hits, putting Warriors on the defensive.

Growling in frustration, the captain upped his game, his strikes coming quicker and with more force than before.

Neither realized just how close they had gotten to the riverbank.

Wild smiled as a familiar feeling washed over him. He knew, deep down, the old him enjoyed the thrill of sparring with someone his equal.

As he lunged forward with his sword, he suddenly found himself recalling a moment long ago, his hair cut short, his face unscarred as he fought a fellow soldier along the same riverbank.

It was rare that Wild recalled a memory during a fight, but maybe because this wasn't a life or death battle, his brain decided it was a good time to drift to a time long before the Calamity struck.

The flashback only lasted a few seconds, but it was plenty of time for him to drop his guard.

Warriors had side-stepped away from Wild's attack. He brought up his shield and swung it towards Wild, fully expecting the champion to dodge or block the familiar move.

Instead, Wild just stood there, allowing his sword to drop slightly. By the time Warriors realized something was wrong, it was too late.

His shield collided with the side of Wild's head, the momentum sending Wild careening over the riverbank and into the rushing waters.

Legend cursed as he took off towards the riverbank, totally confused at what he just witnessed.

By the time Warriors wrapped his head around what just happened, Legend had appeared to his side.

"What the fuck was that?" Legend barked as he scanned the water for any sign of their fallen friend.

Warriors was too stunned to answer. Wild had countered that attack easily in the past.

Legend yelled Wild's name, shaking the captain out of his thoughts.

Suddenly Legend was in the water, his attention locked on the familiar blue bobbing in the water.

Warriors ran down the shoreline, keeping pace with Legend.

Legend reached out desperately, snagging Wild's tunic. He pulled the champion close to him, biting back the paralyzing worry when he realized Wild was out cold.

Legend struggled to keep his grip on Wild as he attempted to swim towards shore.

Thankfully, a strong hand reached out and grabbed him, and he felt himself being dragged towards the shore.

The second they could stand, both Legend and Warriors pulled Wild out of the river and laid him on his back on the rocky shore.

Warriors ran a hand through his wet hair, still trying to process what just happened as Legend checked to see if Wild was breathing.

"I swear Legend...I didn't mean to hit him that hard," Warriors stammered. "I thought....he normally..."

"Now's not the fucking time," Legend barked as he tried desperately to hear if the champion was breathing.

Wild almost immediately started coughing up the water he inhaled to Legend's relief, and the vet quickly rolled him on his side.

Now that Wild was out of the water, Legend could see blood start to run down the side of his face.

"Go grab a potion from your pack" Legend ordered.

"...I don't have my pack," Warriors gasped, suddenly realizing he left it at camp.

"What the fuck, Wars!" Legend spat.

"Well, did you bring yours?!" Warriors yelled.

Legend's eyes went wide when he realized he didn't have his with him either.

Legend cursed under his breath as he unhooked Wild's slate from his belt.

"He HAS to have a freaking potion or something in this damn slate," Legend growled as he frantically tried to figure out how to get to the champion's inventory.

He finally found where Wild usually kept his potions and fairy's but saw that he was out.

Warriors had pulled off his scarf and wrapped Wild's head with it, temporarily stopping the bleeding.

"What the hell do we do? Is it safe to carry him back to camp?" Warriors finally asked.

"How the fuck should I know. I'm not Hyrule," Legend snapped. "Did you really need to hit him that hard??"

Warriors shot him a seething look. "This was your idea to begin with," he scolded.

"Don't you put this on me," Legend argued back. "I didn't realize you were going to bash your shield into his head!"

Warriors felt his anger fizzle out as his face dropped.

Legend mumbled another curse under his breath when he realized his words hit below the belt. He knew damn well Warriors didn't go out to hurt Wild intentionally.

"Sorry," the vet mumbled. "That was a shitty thing to say."

Warriors looked away from the vet for a second before his eyes went wide.

He turned back to Legend. "There's a shrine next to the camp!" he declared.

Legend narrowed his eyes. "Yeah...so?"

"Warriors quickly snatched the slate out of Legend's hands. "Wild can teleport to the shrines using the slate. That's how we are getting him back to camp.

Legend's eyes went wide. "Fuck that. I don't trust that damn thing!"

"Do you have a better idea?!" Warriors demanded. "Cause I don't."

Legend growled in frustration. He hated to admit it, but it was their best option.

Before Legend could say anything, Warriors was already tapping the slate.

Warriors was so grateful he had Wild show him how the slate worked early into their travels.

He placed his hand on Wild's shoulder as he looked towards Legend.

"Grab my arm," he ordered.

Legend reluctantly complied. Before he knew it, he felt himself levitate slightly as the world around them disappeared into a flash of blue. ------------------------------------ Their sudden appearance at the shrine sent the whole camp into a frenzy.

Thankfully, a red potion and some much-needed healing from Hyrule all but healed Wild's injury.

The champion had yet to wake up, but Hyrule assured them he would be fine.

To Legend and Warriors' surprised, Time didn't seem angry about the impromptu sparring match. He was more concerned about Wild spacing out in the middle of the fight.

"I wonder if he had a flashback," Twilight offered after hearing the whole story.

"Maybe, but he's never had one before while he was fighting. I wonder what made today so different."

Twilight shrugged. They would have to ask Wild when he woke up IF he even remembered what happened. ------------------------------------- Wild woke up just before sunset.

Thankfully, outside a headache, he seemed to be fine.

Legend looked up while everyone was getting ready for bed to see that Warriors had disappeared.

Sighing, he stood up and looked at Time, who simply nodded as if he already knew what Legend was going to do.

He started walking towards the treeline. It didn't take him long to find Warriors sitting against a fallen tree, lost in thought.

Legend took a deep breath. He was never good at comforting people.

Warriors glanced back towards him slightly, letting Legend know the captain was well aware of his presence.

"You didn't strike me as the type to sulk around," Legend began.

Warriors didn't say anything, which only made Legend angry. Maybe it was because it made the vet feel guilty. It had been his birdbrain idea, after all.

"Listen, how long are you going to sit out here feeling sorry for yourself?" he finally said.

Warriors tensed up but didn't look back. "As long as I fucking want..."

Legend groaned in frustration. He walked the rest of the way to Warriors and sat next to him.

"Look, shit happen," Legend offered. "No one blames you for what happened. It was a freak accident, nothing more."

"Doesn't make me feel any less of an asshole," Warriors countered.

"Hey, as you said, it was my stupid idea. If anyone gets to feel guilty about today, its me."

"Goddesses, you two will literally argue about anything."

Both Warriors and Legend spun around to see Wild standing behind them.

"What the hell are you doing up?" Legend questioned as Wild took a seat next to them.

"I told the others I needed to get some air," Wild answered. "I know they mean well, but sometimes the attention gets to be a little too much to deal with."

Before Legend or Warriors could respond, Wild kept talking.

"Look, what happened today was NOT your fault," Wild said, directing the comment at both of them.

"While we were sparring, I had a flashback," Wild continued. "As far as I know, I have never had a flashback while I was fighting. Maybe it was because it was just a simple sparring match, but there was no way either of you would have known that would happen, so please, stop trying to take the blame for something you two had no control over."

Warriors shook his head. "No, I took it too far. I didn't need to go at you as hard as I did."

Wild scoffed. "I went at you just as hard. Would you blame me if the role would have been reversed?"

Warriors didn't answer, and Wild knew he made his point.

The champion turned his attention to Legend.

"And you...last I checked, both Wars and I had free will. Either of us could have told you to piss off, but deep down, we both were itching to spar."

Legend mumbled something unintelligible under his breath, reluctantly conceding Wild's point.

"I can't believe you managed to teleport me back to camp," Wild continued.

"That was all his idea," Legend said as he pointed at Warriors. "He's the one who knew how."

"I also heard you went with," Wild continued, smirking at Legend. "I thought you said you would never use that "magic teleporting bullshit."

Legend felt himself get flustered. "It wasn't like we had much of a choice."

Wild's smirk widened. "And it wasn't that bad, was it?"

"It was fucking horrible," Legend complained. "I don't understand how you can tolerate it."

Wild shrugged, "Maybe I'm made of tougher stuff."

Legend finally cracked and shoved Wild.

"Careful now, I'm injured, remember?" Wild laughed

"Too bad Warriors didn't knock some sense into you," Legend snarked, causing both Warriors and Wild to chuckle.

"Come on," Wild coaxed. "If we don't get back to camp soon, Twilight is going to sick Wolfie on us."

#febuwhump #febuwhump 2021 #febuwhumpday4 #linked universe #linked universe wild #linked universe wind #linked universe four #linked universe sky #linked universe hyrule #linked universe legend #linked universe twilight #linked universe time

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wildlydeliciouspainter · 3 years

Text

- V - The mines

“So, lets check with the dwarf first.” Sebastian carefully parks his motor cycle and takes his bag and sword. Daya waits for him, staring into the moutain lake while practicing her Dwarvish. Under the surface of the water carps gather, intrigued by the sounds she makes. “Ready!” She turns around to follow Sebastian. As they venture into the mine a sudden gust of wind blows into the entrance, followed by a trail of dry leaves that whirl into the entrance hall like they are a forest spirit come to life. The sudden push makes Sebastian bump into Daya and as she turns around to look whats happening she is very aware of his presence. Knowing him as well as she does even the smell of his jacket has something so familiar. “Did you miss me that much?” She jokes to try and break the awkwardness between them. “Immensely.” He answers, trying his best to sound as sarcastic as possible but both their hearts are beating faster.

They walk past the entrance and the elevator, into a room on the right where the dwarf usually hangs out. A heap of stolen goods and a closed chest, stand in one corner of the room. The dwarf, a small creature clothed in a brown cloak, walks around and looks up as he hears the duo approach. His face is hidden in the shadows of his cloak but his glowing orange eyes greet them. When he recognizes Daya and Sebastian he blinks slowly, like a cat, then he starts talking in Dwarvish at a quick pace.“What does he say?” Sebastian asks Daya. “My Dwarvish isnt that good.” She listened carefully and translates for him. “He says it was the monsters of the shadows that took your girlfriend.” “She is not my girlf- Daya lifts her hand in a sign that he should keep quite. The Dwarvish dialect is very low, not as much spoken out loud as well mumbled. She needs to listen and translate. “The shadows live in the lower parts of the mine. They took Abigail creating a tear in the veil of time in the lava levels, deep below.” When the Dwarf pauses Daya takes that time to ask questions. At a slower pace she imitates the roling and mumbling sounds of the dwarf. His orange eyes are fixed on her moving lips as he tries to puzzle together her words. “Where did they create the tear my friend?”

“By the lava lake I think. After I saw her being taken, I followed at a safe distance. I lost track of them and by the time I was near the lake I could feel a sense of dread. Then I saw a crack in the wall at the back of the room, at the lava rivers edge. I tried to walk as fast as I could, but it closed when I came close.” Daya nodds in understanding. “Thank you.” She replies in Dwarvish, and takes a bright red stone out of her pocket. When the Dwarf sees the stone his yellow irises widen. He shakes his head. “I can’t take this generous gift. You gave me two already this week. That is more than I can accept in good concious.” Daya nodds understanding and puts the ruby away. “Go rescue your girlfriend.” The dwarf says to Sebastian, who nodss awkwardly, not sure what to make of the sounds the dwarf makes.

Walking back to the entrance of the mine they discuss what to do next. Daya believes figuring out how to find the tear in the veil of time is step one, and for Sebastian the only way of gaining that knowledge is asking Rasmodius for it. As soon as the wizards name leaves his lips a puf of purple smoke and sparkles fill the dark hall, when it settles the warlock is standing next to them. “Yes?” “How did you-” “You have me on speed dial remember?” Sebastians puzzled look tells Daya he clearly does not remember. “Okay, I lied. I’ve been keeping an eye on you.” Apart from his regular set of eyes, the vague outline of a third one in briefly visible on Rasmodius hat. It has a golden outline that looks like its embroidered into the hat’s fabric. Sebastian opens his mouth in protest but the wizard’s response is quicker. “I’m sorry, I know this is slightly violating your trust, but its important that Abigail is escorted home safely.” The urgency in his voice is noticeable. “I promised her mother I would keep her safe, an old oath of sorts. Never mind the details. I’ll help from afar, where I can. But I’ll do it via text from now on.” Another puff of purple and a black phone appears in his hand. “I can’t use my magic beyond the valley, so don’t worry. It will be text only.” He waves the cell in front of Sebastians face. Sebastian nodds. “Fine.” “Do you know how to find another portal through the veil the dwarfs was talking about?” Daya asks. “Yes, but you wil have to go through a lot of rituals and preparations to create such a hole into the shadowworld. Not to mention it can be extremely risky. The quickest way to do this is to go through an existing portal thats stable.” “Where do we find one?” Sebastian then asks. “In Zuzu city.” “But that will take us another day, who knows what the shadow brutes will do to Abby in the meantime!” Rasmodius shakes his head and puts a hand on Sebastians shoulder. “They won’t...” as he searches for words the wizards eyes dart across the walls of the minehall.

“I’ve seen this happen before, when I was younger. The shadow brutes want nothing more than a physical appearance. Being a shadow isn’t exactly practicle I guess.” Daya sees the wizard’s mind trail of, no doubt imagening what picking up a cup of tea must be like for a shadow, before he continues his story. “In order to have a physical appearance one of the most vital things to have is blood. With one drop of human blood they can create a concoction to give them a solid body. They wouldn’t risk war by harming her more than extracting that one drop. But they will be able to harm us when they are able to come out of the shadows like humans.” Daya feels a chill coming down her spine hearing this. Her response is to touch the iridium blade on her back, the feel of the metal on her skin fills her with a calm confidence. “Fortunately.” The wizard continues. “Making a potion as potent as this takes time, time during which they need to keep their victim close. The drop of blood is the final addition and has to be fresh, so you’ll have time to get to her.” Sebastian nodds, determination glowing in his eyes. “Now, you’ll take the 11 pm train to ZuZu, it will go directly where you need to be. Take this.” He puts a little golden pendant on a chain in Sebastians hand. “Ask for the Gamemaster and say that Rasmodius sends you. As proof you”ll have this token. Yoba’s blessing to you.” A puf of smoke, and the wizard disappeared again.

#stardew valley fanfic #sebastian stardew #rasmodius #adventure #oc

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lostcybertronian · 4 years

Note

Ooh, Prompt 83 would be so cool, maybe with Actor and William/Wilford?? I’d love to see that if possible!! : D

I REALLY enjoyed this one. Also: we heard in DAMIEN that Mark can impersonate Celine. Can he impersonate anyone?

Tags: @authorsathenaeum @tiny-yan-an @darkstache-iplier @redraspberrycats @holyshitsnakesandspace @cookieface678 @bing-iplier @storm337 @sketchy-scribs-n-doods @pixelenchanter @itsjustkyss @darkiplurrr @demonnightmareangel @moonysmayhem @demon-dark-666 @xpouii @damesdoodles @sororia04s also gonna tag @takethepainawaybae (because I think they’d like this)

Prompt 83: “I didn’t want you to see this.”

Wake up. Wake up. “Wake up! Wake up!”

A pair of hands-- shaking him, desperately-- woke Wilford from his lazy half-nap. As the hands continued shaking him he rolled over, prying open one eye to take a gander at the intruder.

His other eye shot wide open and he sat straight up, throwing the hands off him and scrambling in a blind panic backwards, colliding with his headboard. “Damien!” He cried, because it was.

Damien. He stared at him now with black eyes wide and frantic, looking not a day older than the last time Wilford had seen him, and not a day changed.

And how old he felt, then.

“You have to come with me, Will!” He reached out to shake him again, hands-- were they covered with blood? Wilford could smell it, cloying and sticky and, surprisingly, rotten-- trembling violently. “Please- I-I-”

“Dames. Dames.” The name felt sweet on his tongue, like his favorite piece of candy. Wilford said it twice more before it registered that his best friend was actually here. Alive. Then, what Damien was saying hit him. “Why? What’s going on?”

“It’s Mark!” Damien’s cane appeared in his hands-- or had it been there all along?-- the tip dripping blood. He began twisting it anyway. “He’s here! You have to come- I didn’t know who else to ask. I didn’t want you to see-”

“That bastard!” Wilford swung himself from his bed, wide awake as ever. “Did he hurt you?”

“No. No.” Damien shook his head. Grabbed at Wilford’s arm with his sticky fingers. Tugged him, tugged him, tugged him toward the door. The blood coating the silver tip of his cane-- that black, foul-smelling blood-- glistened under the too-bright hallway lighting. “But I think I hurt him.”

---

“Wait. Wait. Hold your horses.” The door Damien led him to was painted solid black, and-- in Wilford’s experience-- locked. “This is Dark’s office.”

Damien paused, mid-reach for the doorknob. For a moment annoyance flickered across his face, there and then gone again, just as quickly replaced by pale-faced trepidation. “How much do you actually know about him?” Was all he said, quietly, before turning the doorknob and swinging open the door.

Despite the heavy shadows bathing the office in heavy black, the figure hunched just with its back to the desk was apparent.

Immediately, Wilford pulled his gun, holding out a hand to practically shove Damien behind him as he crossed the office.

Dark didn’t bother to lift his head when Wilford shoved the gun in his face, though it wasn’t difficult to see he was injured; heavy, black bruises mottled his temple and face, and the way he worked his jaw suggested it was broken. Black blood oozed from his nose and dribbled from his lips.

“Back, are you?” He muttered, eyes flicking in Damien’s direction.

“Oh, no.” Wilford jammed the gun closer, jutting the barrel into Dark’s forehead. “You’re talkin’ to me, Mark. Where’ve you been hiding him all these years?”

“What?” From beneath the dull pain, there came a glint of surprise. Then, his eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about? What has he told you?”

“Don’t listen to him! Will-” Damien started, but a sharp laugh from Dark shut him up. “Oh, save the theatrics, and cut the disguise. You’re being cruel.”

Damien laughed, and Wilford froze. He knew Damien’s laugh. Knew it in his heart of hearts. And this wasn’t it. “I’m being cruel?” He snapped, stalking forward, all traces of frightened friend completely vanishing behind the mocking tone and hard, black, glittering eyes.

Black, black, black. Wilford realized this with a jolt. Damien’s eyes weren’t black.

Damien-- not Damien-- tightened his grip on the bloody-tipped cane and stepped forward once more. “That’s a hoot! Me. Cruel! You should talk, you-”

Bam! Bam! With surprising speed for his wounded state Dark wrenched the gun from Wilford’s grip and fired two shots straight into Damien’s chest.

“Dames-” Wilford twisted, but now Dark had hands on him, restraining him even as he struggled, struggled, struggled toward the friend whose eyes had widened and whose mouth had widened into a stunned “O.”

But instead of crumpling to the floor like any schmuck who’d been shot would have, the Mayor merely laughed. He laughed and laughed and laughed, his face seeming to split in two with the black, ugly peals.

Then, like a cloud of smoke, he dissipated, disappearing into a nonexistent wind until there was nothing left but emptiness. Nothing left but shadows.

“Dames.” Wilford said Damien’s name one more time to relish the feeling of it, then turned back to Dark. “Dark.”

“It was a trick, Wil,” Dark mumbled, his gaze dimming, his eyes fluttering. His hands fell from Wilford’s wrists, thudding limp to his lap. “Damien is still dead.”

Then, he passed out.

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redgoldsparks · 4 years

Photo

April 2020 Reading and Reviews by Maia Kobabe

Hoot by Carl Hiaasan

I bought this paperback used at least 10 years ago because it had owls in it. With the library closed, I am finally chipping away at some of the novels in my eternal to-read pile! This was quick and fun, if a bit predicable. One day Roy sees a barefoot boy running across a series of lawn as the school bus pulls away from the curb in his Florida town. Curious, Roy tries to figure out who he is and what he was doing. It turns out this mysterious runaway is trying to defend the burrowing owls who live on a plot of land slatted for development into a Miss Paula's Pancake House. Very much in the tone of Holes, though without the inter-generational curse. A good book for a young reader.

Dragman by Steven Appleby

This is a weird but delightful comic. It follows August Crimp, who has a secret superhero identity as Dragman. When he is wearing women's clothes he can fly, and he fights crime with his side-kick Dog Girl. Or he did, until he retired, got married, and had a kid. But now more than ever the world is in need of saving, because an inventor has developed a device that can remove people's souls and store them on small disks. People without souls continue living- sort of. But they have no joy, no personality, no opinions, and often no will to live. In addition to this, trans women are being targeted by a serial killer. August is drawn out of retirement and into the case, which is complicated, as he has never revealed his secret identity to his wife. Drawn a loose, sketchy style, this story is told in a mix of color comics for present-day scenes, monotone comics for flash-back scenes, excerpts from "officially licenced character comics" and sections of prose that describe the most violent incidents without any illustrations. I've never read anything quite like this before, but it worked for me!

Haikyu!! by Haruichi Furudate vol 1

It's been so long since I read a sports manga! This one is really fun! It gets right into the story very quickly. It follows Shoyo Hinata, a boy who is short but very good at jumping, who wants nothing more than to play volleyball. His middle school doesn't have a team but he manages to scrape together enough friends to enter exactly one competitive game. His little rag tag bunch is beat by a team with an ace player: Tobio Kageyama, who has the ironic nickname "King of the Court", because of both his talents but also his bad temper. When Hinata gets to high school he's so excited to finally be part of a real team. Imagine his surprise when he learns that none other than Kageyama is on the team too! I'm definitely going to keep going with this series, which is all available to read online for free here: https://ww4.readhaikyuu.com/

Haikyu!! by Haruichi Furudate vol 2

Hinata, Kageyama and the teammates they've just met already have a practice game! It's against one of the top high schools in their area- and two of the members where on Kageyama's team in middle school. This is the beginning of a satisfying rivalry already in the making :) I love the way this author draws fast motion, I look forward to watching how he ups the ante, art wise, when we get to the more serious games.

Art Life by Catherine Ocelot

I read an English language edition of this that I can't find on Goodreads. It was strange. There were things I really liked about it, but overall I didn't feel like the book really went anywhere. It follows a bird-headed alter-ego of the author as she goes through life as a single mom. The best parts were conversations on the nature of inspiration and creative work with other artist friends. The more off the wall parts included a visit to a small publisher which is flooded knee deep in water, and scans of sketchbook pages supposedly part of the pitch packet for this very graphic novel. Very meta.

Haikyu!! by Haruichi Furudate vol 3

This remains a solid and very fun story! By the end of this volume we've finally met all of the members who will make up Karasuno's volleyball team for, I assume, the majority of the story arc. A great batch of quirky characters, some of whom struggle from over-confidence, some from nerves. All of them are diamonds in the rough, but finally they have a coach who is ready to polish them into brilliance.

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

This is one of the best books I have ever read about science, and about a life. Jahren is a passionate and witty writer, and in this book she tells stories beginning with her strict Minnesota childhood in the 1970s, ending with her current career as a tenured professor and researcher at the University of Hawaii. She has loved both plants and the scientific process for as long as she can remember, but it was a long and hard road to turn those two obsessions into a livelihood. Jahren writes of working long hours as a hospital runner to pay for college; of meeting her best friend and future research partner in grad school on a soil study field trip; of upending her entire life multiple times to move thousands of miles on the promise of funding to build her own lab. There are short chapters woven through that explain with vivid, careful detail the lifestyle stages of a tree, and each stage is mirrored in Jahren's only human development. She doesn't shy way from discussing her own manic depression, the difficulty of her pregnancy, and the discrimination she faced as a woman in her field. But she also relishes in the joys of discovery, of breakthroughs, of adventure, of a fairy-tale like love romance and an eternal striving towards being her own truest, purest self. This book is going to join my self of favorite memoirs. I highly recommend it!

#book reviews #comic book reviews #comics #reading #book recommendations

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timelock97 · 5 years

Text

Love Without A Name

Chapter Eleven: Impending Panic

Word Count: 3031

Masterlist

Warnings: Fluff, Language, Anxiety, PANIC ATTACK AT END OF THE CHAPTER

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Counting down the days yet?" Tom's voice comes from the speaker of my phone.

I smile, brushing my fingers through my damp hair. "Less than seventy-two hours, then I can have you back in my arms again."

"I miss you; miss the apartment, miss Tess and Phoebe. Just want'o be home."

"Well, at least the last leg will be shot in London. You get to come home to your own bed."

"And my girls, don't forget that," He hums, shifting on his side of the phone. "Anything new happening? I feel like I just rambled for the last hour while you were getting ready for bed."

"But I miss you, so hearing you ramble is second best to you being here. Um," I roll over in bed and wedge the phone into the pillow so I can shut my tired eyes while I talk. "Nothing new, work is work. Your mom came and had lunch with me today. Which was nice 'cause she wanted to do dinner tonight but I wasn't going to get home till late. What else-" I rub my hand over my face before letting out a soft 'oh'. "I get out early tomorrow, so I am going to run to the mall and pick up some stuff 'cause my favorite pair of jeans decided to rip, so they are unwearable now."

Tom chuckles gently, "I'm glad my mum came and kept you company. Haz said that he's been to the flat a few times in the past few weeks."

"Yeah, he came over to have dinner 'cause I was lonely," I giggle, thinking about the first time I called Harrison after Tom had left.

After Paddy had gone back home, going back to the empty apartment was hard, especially after a bad day. I had had a shit day at work. Not one thing had gone to plan, I was tired, and all I wanted was someone to sit and watch a movie with me. So while walking home, I called Tom's family. His brothers had already had plans for the evening and his folks were at his grandparents. I pout at the reactions, but tell them not to worry and order take-out anyways. When the food arrived, I realized I ordered way too much. On the way up to my floor, I take a last-minute glance at the floors and press the fifth. The doors open quickly, and my feet carried me down the hall to the old apartment. I hadn't realized I had knocked until I heard Haz call a quick 'one minute!' When he opens the door, he looks surprised, seeing me dressed in a pair of baggy sweatpants and one of Tom's sweatshirts.

"You okay?"

"I got way to much take-out," I lift the bag in defense before avoiding his gaze. "Was hoping you hadn't eaten yet? It's okay, if you have, just, honestly really lonely and didn't realize I had ordered so much."

Haz had let out a small laugh before reaching for his keys, "Let me grab my phone, then we can go upstairs and throw on a movie, I'm sure Phoebes and Tess would prefer we were up there since you've been gone all day."

I nod, and let out a small laugh while I wait for him. When we walk back to the elevator, I smile at him before bumping his shoulder with mine. "Thanks, I hope I wasn't interrupting anything-"

"No, was just about to throw something in the oven, wasn't really in the mood for cooking either so it's cool. And, hey," he nudges my shoulder back, "don't feel bad for coming to bother me if you're lonely. We all get that way, and I can only imagine how hard it is since Tom is gone; especially since it's the first time."

"Thanks, Haz."

"I'm just glad he lets me come and bug him, it's helped, and I might as well bug him since he's in the same building." I let out a small yawn, trying to disguise it but am unsuccessful.

"It's late, I know. You should head to bed-"

"No..." I whine, rolling back onto my back. "Wanna keep talking to you."

"You have to get rest, love. I'll call you tomorrow, promise."

"Wish you were here; sleep better when you're here." I whisper, the darkness of the room making it that much harder to stay awake.

"I know, my love, I'll be home soon."

I smile as I let out another yawn. "I love you, Tommy, so so much."

"I love you too, (Y/N). Go to sleep, only two more sleeps till I'll be able to sleep beside you."

"Can't wait." I murmur, cuddling closer to my pillows. "Goodnight, handsome."

"Goodnight, darling."

It was like the universe was telling me that I should have stayed home that morning. I should have called in sick, went to visit with Tom's family, spent the day at the apartment and clean. Anything but go into town.

I wake up to Phoebe kneading the comforter that rests over my shoulders. My eyes pealing open, blinking a few times confused at the amount of light that was seeping into the room from behind the blinds. I slowly lift my hand from under the pillow and reach for my phone, going wide-eyed as I notice the time was twenty minutes until I had to be at the clinic. "SHIT!" I spring out of bed, Tess jumping and barking at me as I scramble to change out of my pjs and into my work clothes, thankful I could wear jeans and a solid colored tee-shirt since it was Friday. I slip inside the bathroom, brush my hair, pin it away from my face, and brush my teeth before running to the kitchen and fill the cat bowl. I start to list the things that need to be done while I rush Tessa to the elevator to wee, only to rush back inside and dial Haz's number.

"'Ello?" Haz's sleepy voice comes from the speaker.

"Fuck, I'm sorry, my alarm never went off and I'm going to be late for work if I walk and-"

"I'll meet you in the lobby."

"Thank you!" I practically sing into the receiver before hanging up and slipping on a pair of shoes. "Bye babies, be good!" I call as I lock the door and run to the elevator. Once in the lobby, I throw my arms around Haz's neck and whisper a quick thank you again before the two of us make our way out to his car.

Harrison hands me an apple, smiling softly. "Figured you didn't grab breakfast."

"I didn't, thanks again."

He shakes his head, his hair sticking straight up, pointing every which direction.

When he pulls up to the clinic, I have two minutes until my first patient will be ready to come back and see me. "I owe ya one!" I call as I get out, grabbing my bag from the floor.

"Nah, don't worry about it, (Y/N). Have a good day!"

I run inside, smiling at Wilma as I pass to toss my stuff at my desk and log in. Take a breath, you're fine.

As the day went on, one of my regular kids comes in the building frazzled, and upset. "You okay there, Johnny?" I coo, kneeling on the carpet floor to get to his level.

His mom scoffs, obviously annoyed. "There are two men at the back of the parking lot, Johnny believes that they are secret agents and is afraid. Do you happen to know why they might be out there?"

I lift my gaze to meet her eyes, my eyebrows pulling together. "No, I don't know why they would be out there; let me check the front office." I stand from my crouched position and walk over to Wilma, leaning against her desk. "Hey, Wil?" I hear her hum, so I continue. "Do you happen to know why there is a van in our parking lot that isn't a patient?"

Her head snaps up, confusion and annoyance crossing her features. "Again?"

"Again? This has happened before?"

"Yeah, and it looked like they were taking pictures." She leans forward and goes to grab the phone, "I think I am going to call the main clinic and have them send one of their security guys over to take care of it."

I nod at her, my eyebrows pulling together as I fidget with my wedding ring. Taking pictures...? I force a smile as I make my way back to the little boy in front of me, "C'mon lil man, let's go play, yeah?"

"No scary men?"

"Nope, no scary men." I smile as he takes my hand and allows me to take him down the hall, my mind still wandering back to the van.

Once my session was done, I walk the boy to the door before popping in to check with Wilma, only to see that Jeff, the main security guard from the main office sitting in there as well. "Hey, Jeff, Wilma. Everything get cleared up?"

Jeff nods his head, "Yup, thankfully they left without us having to call the police."

"Did they happen to say why they were here?" My fingers tighten around my wrist nervously.

"Said they were trying to get pictures for their magazine, wouldn't say of what."

I nod, muttering a quick 'okay' before smiling at my last patient that walks in the door. They could be here for the clinic, right? That's a possibility.

As the clock finally ticked over to two o'clock, I finished my last report. I sign my name at the bottom before logging out of the account and walking to the main office to tell my supervisor that I was leaving for the day, and I would see him tomorrow.

"Have a great day, (Y/N)!" He called as I walked out of view, fishing my phone out of my bag to text Harrison that I was leaving and that I was headed to the mall to go shopping then would be back at the apartment. My feet carry me up the street, pausing at the post office to drop off a letter to my parents.

Once inside the mall, I wander around to get a look at what stores I might want to look at. After about twenty minutes I end up at a general clothing store. My eyes scan the racks until I find the section I am looking for, looking for my jeans size before placing a few over my arm and leave to find a dressing room. Where those girls looking at me? My eyes glance to the side, a small group of girls looking at clothes, but occasionally look over at me. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear before walking the rest of the way to the dressing room.

The jeans I try on don't fit as well as I hope, slumping in places they shouldn't and just all together, not fitting. I exit the dressing room, noticing more people had started to gather inside and out. It's still summer, maybe people are getting a head start on a school wardrobe?

I stroll back to the section and filter through the jeans again before finding a few more pairs and make my way back to the dressing room. On the way back, I notice a powder blue sundress. I smile as I add it to my pile. I return to the dressing room and try on a few more jeans, deciding on two that fit the best. My eyes lift to look at myself in the mirror, moving to the side to see the dress hung up behind me. I turn back to the dress, pulling it from the hanger and smile at it as I tug my tee shirt over my head and letting it fall to the floor. I pull the dress over my head and let out a little giggle at how beautiful I look. I turn and let the dress flow up slightly at the movement. I smile wider, grabbing my phone and taking a few pictures before shooting them to Tom.

-----

Spooderman<3

You look positively beautiful

I'm so damn lucky

My Princess

So I should buy this?

Wear it for when you get home?

-----

As I send the message, I flinch at the noise of a bang hitting my stall door. "Uh, occupied!" When there is no other noise, I shrug and pull the dress over my head, gather my discarded clothes on the floor, and get dressed. I rehang the dress and jeans, making sure to place the ones I wasn't planning on buying in another pile. As I walk out to hang up the unwanted jeans, a voice catches my attention.

"Miss? Can I ask you a question?" She has her phone in hand, as I give her a short, yet nervous nod. "Are you the girl from the picture?"

I take a small step forward, but not enough to get too close. The girl is maybe sixteen, but that still doesn't settle the nerves in my stomach and the little voice in my head telling me to 'just say no and walk away.' My eyes focus on the photo, and my breath hitches at the image. It's of Tom and I, he has his arm around my shoulder as we walk Tessa through the park and from the looks of it, it was the day before he had left. I shake my head gently, taking a cautious step back. "Uh, nope, sorry, it's-" I swallow, "it's not me."

The girl's eyebrows pull together as she looks back at the photo, "But it has to be you, you look just like her."

I shake my head one more time as I walk back into my dressing room to grab my clothes, but when I walk back out, my heartrate picks up. Outside the door is a small group of girls, with a few more adding on directly in front of the exit. I swallow, taking a small step toward the exit, toward them. "Excuse me, I just want to get past you, the room is open though-"

The girl who had stopped me gives me a funny look, "You lied."

"What?"

"You lied," she moves her phone to show that she had more pictures of me, some were with Harrison, others were of me with any of the Hollands.

My heart tightens in my chest, and its suddenly really hard to breathe. "I'm friends with the Hollands, but-"

"So why didn't you just say that?" Another step toward me, another step I take backwards. I begin to notice that other girls were walking in, none with clothes in hand.

"You aren't exactly being friendly, and it's easier to say no." Another step backwards, my fingers feel like they are growing numb.

The girl lets out a laugh, "So you aren't his girlfriend?" I don't answer, my phone buzzes in my pocket. Her eyes dart down as my hand tightens around the clothing in my hands. "Or are you lying about that too?"

It's a blur, but suddenly I am back inside the dressing room, the lock shaking in my hand as I latch it shut. The girls on the other side are banging their hands on the door. There is yelling, a mixture of people telling me I should tell the truth, that I am not good enough for him, and people yelling at them to back off turn into a jumble of noise as my body betrays me.

You're dying.

You're having a heart attack.

My eyes cloud with tears as faces begin poking under the door, voices coming at me as if I was underwater.

"Just tell the truth!-"

"What does he see in you?"

"Leave her alone!"

"Ugly skank-"

My body hits the back wall, sliding until my butt hits the ground. My mouth is dry as I try and to get air into my lungs. You need to breathe-

The girls continue to yell, and I feel suddenly feel like I am going to pass out- no, I'm going to die- I let out a loud sob as my stomach rolls, the room spinning as my ears ring.

"If you need anything call Haz-"

I reach into my pocket as the pounding on the door becomes distant, dialing Harrison's number from my speed dial, praying he'll answer.

"Hey, (Y/N)-"

"Haz, I need- I need-"

"Woah, hey what's wrong?"

"Can't breathe-"

"You need to breathe with me-" Someone bangs on the door, causing a sob to leave my mouth; I can hear Harrison curse on the other side of the phone. "Where are you, can you remember the store name?" I must have told him, my mouth processing it before my mind. Harrison yells to someone on the other end, but I can't tell what he says. "Harry is calling the store, I'm on my way, I'm going to stay on the phone with you, okay-"

The phone is yanked from my hand, voices drowning me.

I'm going to die-

It's so loud-

My vision begins to get spotty, my body growing cold as my hands tremble.

Suddenly, hands are on my shoulders, someone else is yelling, but it carries something else in its tone. People are being pulled out of the room, the person in front of me squeezes my shoulders as she speaks. "Miss, you are having a panic attack, you need to breathe-"

"I can't-" I choke out.

"You're going to pass out if you don't," I think I'd rather that right now- "In and out with me, okay?"

Breathe-

You need to breathe-

You're panicking

Breathe-

A breathe finally fills my lungs, a familiar voice filling my ears, "I'm her husband's best friend, move mate." My eyes lift and Harrison is suddenly kneeling beside the woman in front of me, grabbing my hands as the security guard moves his head to the side to speak into his radio. "You're safe, you're okay." He moves to sit closer to me, "Breathe, (Y/N)." Another sob shakes my body as I attempt to take in a breath. "That's it, you're okay."

You need to breathe-

You're safe

Just breathe-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! Reblog and comment! Hope today was amazing, and if not, than I hope tomorrow is <3.

#cg writes #love without a name #tom holland x reader #tom holland fanfiction #strangers to lovers #arranged marriage #husband!tomholland #tw: panic attack

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sammythankyou · 5 years

Text

Shadows On Your Side - Part Two

Shadows are on your side, as soon as the lights go down

In the darkest place you can find, you belong to the hands of the night

“Shadows On Your Side” by Duran Duran

Gorgeous, inspired mood board made by @ms-mead Thank you so much love! Check out her blog, she is super talented!

Part One

Summary: AU of sorts. Michael Langdon is a professional thief who steals supernatural artifacts. The reader is a dark witch. After Michael saves the reader, an alliance, and possibly more, is formed.

Pairing: Michael Langdon x Female Reader

Warnings: Brief description of kidnapping, injuries and violence.

A/N: I had thought this story would be just two chapters, but now this part is more than 15k words. Someone needs to stop me! And I promised smut & there is none, just a little fluff. Next part I swear! Also, if you are a fan of Cordelia, this may not be the story for you.

Darkness, pain, confusion...

Struggling to sit up, the panic seized you. Your wrists were bound together and you immediately used your powers to loosen the ropes. Ripping the suffocating hood off, you glanced wildly around. Dim morning light filtered through two small windows near the ceiling. Seated on the cold cement floor of an empty room with your head throbbing painfully, you spied a door on the opposite wall. Unsteadily, you climbed to your feet. Crossing to the door, you quickly realized that your powers wouldn’t open it. A spell had been cast to keep it locked, you could feel it. Glancing down, you saw your were dressed in a scratchy, white sack resembling a nightgown. A wave of dizziness hit you and your hand went to the back of your head. There was a sizable lump underneath your blood crusted hair. You pressed your cheek to the cold cement wall, and hoped you weren’t going to pass out again. Sliding slowly down to sit on the floor, it became clear that you couldn’t heal yourself in your weakened state. Pressing your fingertips to your throbbing head, you tried calling out to Michael again, but your mind was fuzzy, making it impossible to focus.

A short time later the door banged open, revealing the two men who took you the night before. The one with the shaved head yanked you up off the floor by your arm. Trying not to show your fear, you glared up at him. The other man pulled the hood back over your head and quickly rebound your hands. Stumbling as they dragged you out of the room, you called out to Michael with everything you had, as your desperation grew.

Cold cement changed to warm asphalt under your bare feet, sunlight dimly visible through the dark hood. You were shoved into the back of a vehicle, one of the men seated close to you. Thoughts raced through your mind as you wondered if there was a possibility of escape, if you were about to die, finally settling on Gran and how worried you knew she must be.

After what seemed like hours, the vehicle came to a stop. Momentarily blinded by the bright daylight as the hood was ripped off, you squinted, trying to orient yourself. In the distance, a small group of figures stood facing you. Confusion filled your still pounding head until you saw them; three tall spires set into raised blocks of cement. Instinctively, you struggled against your captors as realization set in.

You were going to be executed.

The sun scorched cement blistered the soles of your bare feet as the men pulled you along. Coming to a stop in front of the group of people, you glimpsed blonde hair blowing in the hot breeze, starkly contrasting her black clothing.

Cordelia Goode.

Tipping her parasol back from her face, she looked at you placidly.

“Y/N Y/L/N, for the crime of consorting with Michael Langdon and participating in an unnatural healing, I, Cordelia Goode, on behalf of this council, sentence you to death by fire,” she began. “Your grandmother will be spared, this time, because it seems only you sought Michael out.”

Scowling in fury at the thin veiled threat toward Gran, you gritted your teeth. “Don’t you ever go near her! ” You spat, anger overtaking your fear.

Dragging you to the pyre, the men quickly bound you to the tall thin pole. And retrieved the bright red plastic tanks. Gasping as your terror returned, you turned your face away as gasoline soaked into the fabric you were dressed in, stinging your eyes and nose. Defiantly, you looked back at Cordelia, in spite of your fear.

“My grandmother said you were a small minded bitch when you rejected my magic years ago. I guess nothing has changed,” you seethed.

What was there to lose?

Raising her hand, Cordelia lit the torches, carried by the two men. Your breath came fast as they approached. Telepathy had never come easily, but you reached out to Gran with love, as you prepared to die,

The fire was unimaginably excruciating as it licked your feet & quickly caught the hem of the cotton fabric you were dressed in. Pressing your lips together, you tried not to scream, but it tore out of your throat.

Suddenly, the flames were extinguished.

“Cordelia!” A commanding voice echoed around the cement void.

Michael stood a short distance away, one elegant ringed hand raised.

“Your complaint is with me. Not Y/N,” Michael stated in a loud voice.

Cordelia’s face was painted with disdain. “Y/N has violated our code. And she will die for it,” she said.

“Your code,” Michael scoffed. “Please,” he said with a roll of his crystal blue eyes. “You relish any excuse to burn someone,” Michael said, voice laced with hate.

Turning away from her, Michael focused solely on you. The power radiating off him was like nothing you had ever experienced. Immediately, you could feel the overwhelming pull, and then you were free of your bonds, standing next to him. Michael looked down at you, meeting your eyes. He extended his large hand.

Come with me.

Without hesitation, you linked your fingers with Michael’s, looking back into his intense gaze.

Cordelia’s voice pierced the silence. “You’ll regret this Y/N!”

Turning back to her, you sneered. “I look forward to it.”

Michael’s soft chuckle reached your ears.

The entire group advanced, beginning to surround the two of you, as Michael’s arm wrapped tightly around your side. Instinctively, you pressed back against his solid, warm body.

Startled, you quickly took in your surroundings. You were seated on a dark velvet sofa in an elegantly furnished room, across from a pair of French doors. Rising slowly to your feet, you crossed to the doors. A large terrace stretched out in front of you. Transmutation was a common ability, but you had never known anyone who could also transport another person, especially at a distance. Gran was right about extent of Michael’s power.

“How do you feel?” Asked a soft, deep voice from your left.

Michael stood a short distance away, hands clasped behind his back.

“I’ll take you home, I just needed to get us somewhere safe, quickly,” he began, slowly closing the distance between the two of you. “Your grandmother knows you’re unharmed.”

Tears sprang to your eyes. “Thank you, Michael,” you choked out, voicing your relief and gratitude for so many things.

Raising one graceful hand, Michael stroked his long fingers down your cheek, before sliding them into your hair. Warm tingles broke out all over your scalp, the pain from the back of your head evaporating. Gasping softly as Michael’s hands traveled down your back and around to clasp the abraded skin of your wrists, where the ropes had cut your flesh, you stared up at his beautiful, ethereal face. Eyes closed in concentration, Michael’s warm hands continued down the sides of your legs, as he knelt down to caress your feet, healing the burns. A shiver ran up your spine. Michael rose up to his full height, luminous blue eyes opening as he looked back at you. Heat rose in your cheeks as you realized Michael could read every thought, feel the way your heart was pounding and knew the exact effect he was having on you. Smiling down at you before gently grasping your hand, he drew you back to sit on the sofa.

“I’m sorry that Cordelia came after you because of me,” Michael began. “She will try again I’m afraid.” His thumb stroked over your hand, where it was still clasped in his warm grip.

Watching a variety of emotions passing over Michael’s angelic features, you were amazed to see tears welling in his eyes as he met your gaze.

“The person I lost? She was the closest thing I ever had to a mother. Cordelia murdered her. She took everything from me,” he said. “I vowed one day I would have my revenge. I think that day has come.”

Reaching up to gently wipe away a tear that escaped down his cheek, you felt your own emotions rising to the surface again. “I want to help you Michael,” you said sincerely.

His blue eyes glistened with tears as he looked back at you. “I’ve never met anyone like you,” Michael said. “You don’t even know me.”

“You don’t know me either, but that didn’t stop you from saving both me and Gran,” you said. “And obviously I have my own issues with that bitch Supreme.”

Laughing softly, Michael’s fingertips grazed your cheekbone. “You’re feisty. I like that about you.” He breathed in deeply before continuing. “Helping me might be more complicated than you realize.”

Slowly, Michael turned his head to the side, pulling his silky golden hair back away from his ear. Breath caught in your throat as you saw the formation of sixes on his skin. His brilliant blue eyes turned back to you, as Michael gauged your reaction.

You gazed back at Michael evenly. “Dark magic has always been part of me. It’s why my own mother rejected me when I was a just a child.”

Emotion flickered briefly over Michael’s face.

“You’ve never participated in a shared blood ritual,” he said with certainty. “I’m sure you know it’s very...intimate. But, it would bind our powers together, making us very effective in eliminating Cordelia’s entire coven.”

You couldn’t deny the now familiar flip of your stomach as you considered what Michael was proposing. “Will it also bind me to you?”

“Yes it will. Temporarily. But I can break the bond whenever you choose,” Michael said seriously. He cupped your cheek with his large, warm hand. “Take some time and consider what I am asking of you. I promise to keep you and your grandmother safe in the meantime.”

Tagging…

@venusxxlangdon @lovelylangdonx @sojournmichael @allyadarth “@langdons-rep @queencocoakimmie @kaigitana @uinen-ulmiel @sunshinemycat @langdvnshepherd @elena-75s-blog @bbyduncan @rocketgirl2410 @depressedbitch43 @flowing-imagination @witchbloodsworld @napping-is-my-favorite @langdondelrey @lennonlemon @itsnomystery @winxfred @soomishuwu @i-monky @thedeviltohisangel @frogmuttforever @manahime193 @deeppaperbatapricot @kleineshaeschen @bookobsssesed99 @wheredoiwhaaat25 @drama-penguins @dramapenguinthe3rd @divinelangdon @moltenskeleton @sloppy-little-witch-bitch26 @ms-mead @divinelangdon @softlangdon @dyns33 @langdonsdemon @coloursunlimited @nightsblackroses @omgsuperstarg @whope123 @urmomgayforlettuce @micheallangdons @evil-motherfuckerlangdon @langdonsinferno @redrxbel

Please let me know if you want to be added or removed!

#michael langdon x reader #michael langdon x you

55 notes · View notes

smp-live · 3 years

Text

Man in the (Shattered) Mirror Ch. 5

AO3 First Prev Next

Ranboo watched as Tommy stalked a few feet ahead of him on the path to the new settlement of Snowchester. His friend, all in all, didn’t seem that enthused about his brother’s resurrection.

“I mean, what an asshole!” he exclaimed, gesticulating wildly in frustration and anger. He’d been at this for a solid five minutes at this point, just ranting about Wilbur and how much of a ‘fucking dickhead’ – not Ranboo’s words – he was. “Who the fuck does he think he is?”

“I mean,” Ranboo started nervously, fidgeting with his tail in his hands, “maybe he’s not that bad?” Tommy whirled around to stare at him incredulously, keeping pace even while walking backwards.

“Did you hear him?”

“Well, he just got resurrected, right?” His tail twitched nervously. “That must be disorientating.”

Tommy snorted. “Yeah, and that’s why he fuckin’ threatened all of our lives.”

“I just think you should give him a chance.”

“Oh, sure, of course I’ll give the man who blew up our home a second chance! Why not! Why don’t we-“

Ranboo half-tuned him out as Tommy started on another rant. Honestly, he wasn’t sure how to feel about Wilbur. He’d never met the man until today, after all, and so it didn’t seem fair to form a biased opinion. He’d… mostly heard bad things. Especially from the last few months of his life.

But there were other things, like the stories Tubbo had told him of late nights around a campfire and early morning breakfasts. Where Wilbur wasn’t insane but a kind older brother.

The kid they’d met didn’t seem bad either. A little opinionated, yes, but what kid wasn’t? And the Wilbur he’d met was from right before he’d died. It must be distressing to feel yourself die and come back. Maybe he’d come around? Be a good person again?

A familiar yellow sweater caught his eye, a few metres off the path, and Ranboo turned to chide Ghostbur for following them. The ghost was really in no shape to be making the trek to Snowchester.

But instead of a transparent, greyscale specter, the man standing there was fully fleshed out. A white streak in his salt-and-pepper hair, mouth gaping on a familiar face.

“Tommy?” Wilbur asked, oh so hopefully, and Ranboo shot a glance at his friend, who had frozen a few feet ahead of him. Tommy stared at his brother, shock and a furious glare on his face.

“Why? Why me?” Tommy called out to the heavens, and Wilbur took a hesitant step forward.

“Is this real?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Tommy sighed out. “Yeah, it’s real, Wil.”

“I’m alive?” Wilbur whispered, before his face stretched into a wide, ecstatic smile and he gave an excited jump. “Holy fuck! I’m alive! I’m alive!” He bounced over to Tommy, grabbing his hands in his own. Tommy tried to wrench away.

“Don’t fuckin’ touch-”

“This is fucking- this is incredible!” Wilbur exclaimed, looking around in wonder at his surroundings. He turned back to Tommy. “You don’t know how bad it was, Tommy. You have no fuckin’ clue. Five and a half years, all alone-”

“I don’t wanna hear about your afterlife, Wil,” Tommy wrenched away, stalking towards Ranboo. Wilbur frowned after him, eyes quickly settling on Ranboo himself. He gulped, staring at his neck to avoid any chance of eye contact. He didn’t want it at the best of times, and he most certainly did not want it with Wilbur Soot.

“And who are you?” Wilbur asked, cocking his head slightly.

“Uh-” Ranboo’s tail swished, and Tommy, ever-over-protective, stepped in between the two.

“Don’t talk-”

“Tommy,” Ranboo interrupted, placing a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, “I think it’s okay.” He didn’t particularly want this, but Tommy was being overdramatic. Tommy shot him a look, but backed off to stand at his side.

“I’m Ranboo,” he introduced himself, smiling politely. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Rahn-boo,” Wilbur sounded it out wrong, testing the word in his mouth.

“Ranboo,” Tommy snapped.

“I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure, no,” Wilbur continued. “When’d’you come here? During Manburg? Surely not after the sixteenth.”

Ranboo vwrooped. “No, uh, it was. After the sixteenth.”

“Why?”

“I- I don’t know?”

Wilbur hummed skeptically, cocking his head again as he studied Ranboo like he was a particularly interesting puzzle. “Tell me about yourself, then.”

“I-”

“Why the fuck are you doing this, Wil?” Tommy interjected. “You’re being an ass.”

“Oh, piss off. I’ve spent five and a half years all alone. Let me have a conversation,” Wilbur said with a swat of his hand.

Tommy’s eyes widened. “Five and a half-?”

“Yes, I already said that. Now shut up,” Wilbur told him, sending Tommy sputtering indignantly. He just turned back to Ranboo with a clap of his hands. “Now, where were we?”

“We uh- I was supposed to tell you about myself?”

Wilbur stared at him expectantly, raising an eyebrow when he stayed silent. “Well, go on then,” he prompted with a wave.

“Uh- I’m Ranboo – but I already told you that – and uh, I came here a few months ago, I guess? I don’t remember that well. I… Yeah.”

“Not very good at social interaction, are we?” Wilbur hummed. “That’s alright.” He stared at Ranboo a few seconds, studying, before speaking again. “So what’re you good at? Definitely not charisma. Fighting?”

“Uh- no-”

“Planning? You a good leader?”

“No, I actually try and stay out of conflict. I’d actually say people quite like me; I try- I try to stay on their good sides.”

Wilbur’s eyebrow shot up. “Really? Everybody?” Ranboo nodded. “And what do you do when they do start fighting?”

“I- well- I side with everyone, or I try to.”

“Everyone,” Wilbur repeated to himself, starting to pace, clearly thinking. He looked back at Ranboo. “And what if they oppose your ideals? You still stand with them then?”

“Well, yes, because I pick people. ‘People, not sides.’” Wilbur stopped his pacing, staring at him with wide eyes.

“You- you don’t stand for jack shit!” he exclaimed.

“No, I-“

“Tommy, what the fuck are you doing with this guy?” Wilbur asked, turning to his brother. “He has no integrity! You’re better than this!”

“Fuck you, bitch! Ranboo has plenty of integrity!” Tommy scowled.

“He just said he stands for nothing! That’s the polar opposite of you! Of us!”

“Yeah, well Ranboo’s my friend! And you, Wil, are being an ass!” Tommy grabbed Ranboo’s wrist, dragging him off down the path. “We’re leaving.”

Ranboo glanced back and he thought he saw Wilbur standing there with a devastated look on his face. He must’ve imagined it, though, because the next second it was back to carefully neutral.

“Wait-“ Wilbur started.

“Fuck off,” Tommy called back.

And they were off to Snowchester, leaving Wilbur behind.

Niki was fucking pissed.

Not at anything in particular, mind you. A little bit at Wilbur for inviting her to this Prime-forsaken land, a pinch at Schlatt for running it to the ground, a lot at Tommy for ruining everything. Actually, no scratch that; it was mostly those three she was upset at.

The wind buffeted her cloak’s hood and she paused a moment to readjust it, resolutely avoiding looking at the crater she had once called home to her left. But the more she mentally chanted don’t look at it don’t look at it don’t, the more details her brain latched on to.

The complete, unnatural stillness of the crater, save a lone crow taking flight with a caw - probably startled by the sudden presence of a human. The black soot where the market, once L’Manburg’s pride and joy, had stood. A scrap of tattered blue cloth, the colour of so-called peace, just barely hanging onto the edge.

Gods-damn it. She wiped the wetness from her eyes and replaced it with a scowl as she kept on stalking down towards her bakery. It had narrowly escaped the carnage, just a measly street away from the edge of the crater.

Or, well. It had almost narrowly escaped the carnage. Would have, had its owner not had a sudden change of heart. As it was, it stood a husk, sturdy oak walls charred black but still standing with an empty, damaged interior. Niki could relate.

She gently touched the front door with a hesitant hand; it shuddered and creaked but didn’t come crashing down. And, after a moment of deliberation – did she really want to do this? – she stepped into her old home.

Padding through the shop, her soft leather boots were the only sound against the stone flooring. Their soft brown stained black with soot. And there, to her left, was Jack’s favourite table, one leg gone as it collapsed to the ground. Ahead was the counter she’d stood behind for hours every day, sometimes alone, sometimes with Fundy by her side. She squeezed her eyes her eyes shut against the ghosts. Not today.

And, to the back - where she’d spent most of her time. All the supplies were gone, though the metal of the stove stood unchanged. She could almost see a tall man standing there, brown hair peppered white with stress and flour because he wouldn’t stop touching it – no matter how often she scolded him for being unhygienic. Softly calloused hands kneading dough as he gently teased, eyes crinkling at the corners. Snatching a cookie from a tray as she swatted at him – “Those aren’t for you!”

Niki shoved outside roughly, not paying any mind to the door or the ghosts as she furiously wiped away tears. Damn it, Nihachu. She never should’ve come back here in the first place, never should’ve let her curiosity get the best of her.

And then, she looked up towards the crater – completely unwillingly, she still desperately wanted to avoid thinking about it – and her eyes landed on a familiar figure.

No no no no not again not again not again she’d moved on-

“Niki?” Wilbur asked, except it couldn’t be Wilbur because he was dead. He was dead and gone, but he couldn’t be because here he was, running up to her and grabbing her by the shoulders with warm hands. Alive hands.

She’d seen him on Doomsday – except that hadn’t been him, it had been his ghost, but that couldn’t have been his ghost because that would mean Wilbur was dead. But he had to be dead, because otherwise he’d left her, and she couldn’t handle that.

“Oh, fuck, Niki, are you okay?” His eyes darted around frantically, searching for injuries. “Gods, what happened – your bakery. And- and… the crater.”

Niki wrenched out of his grip. He let her, backing off with a startled look. “You know damn well what happened,” she snarled.

“I- I really don’t, Niki,” he stammered, and Gods, why did he have to keep saying her name like that. In the way that only Wilbur could, making it sound like the sweetest song when it really spelled disaster and pain. “I have no clue what happened. I woke up in that crater and climbed out and-“ He cut himself off and swallowed roughly. “Why does it look like we’re in L’Manberg?”

Niki examined him, finally. Five fingers on each hand, face not blurry like it was in her nightmares. Probably not a dream or a hallucination, then. Alright. This was fine; Wilbur was alive, which meant he’d left her, but… he was alive.

His hair wasn’t quite as messy and overgrown as she remembered it, and his hands fiddled nervously with his lapel. He was wearing the old L’Manberg uniform, the one with the same colours as the flag he’d designed and she’d helped him sew, streaked black and covered in dust. Tired eyes met hers, and she sighed.

“Alright,” she said, and he perked up, hands dropping to his side. “Fine. This is fine. You’re real, apparently. And alive. That’s fine. Because,” her voice turned cold, ”you left me.”

“I- what? Niki, I’d never-“ And his shock looked much too genuine.

“Yeah, right,” she said sarcastically. “You’d never hurt me, you’d never lie, you’d never leave me, isn’t that right, Wilbur?” She spat his name with all the vitriol she’d felt, the past few months, and he flinched back.

“I wouldn’t- I’m sorry if I’ve-“

“Oh, but you would.” Niki stepped towards him, and he took one away. Good. “You lied to me! You said you wouldn’t press that button, but you did! You’re the reason it’s gone! And you just ran away!”

“I-“ He swallowed. “I did what?”

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me, Wilbur Soot. You blew L’Manberg up ‘til it was nothing but a hole in the ground.”

Wilbur froze in his tracks, his face pale. He almost looked like that ghost Niki had caught a glimpse of, except that couldn’t have happened, right? Because Wilbur was here.

“This is L’Manberg?” he asked meekly, and all of Niki’s anger melted in one fell swoop because, oh, those were tears in his eyes. He turned to face the crater. “This?”

Niki nodded, a lump in her throat. “Yeah.” Wilbur lasted all of two seconds before crumpling to his knees.

“Fuck,” he choked out. “Fuck.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, and joined her best friend on the ground.

“I did this?” Wilbur asked and she couldn’t be angry at him anymore. She just felt drained.

“No. This was… other people. But you did it first.”

“Ah.” He sat a few seconds, taking in the destruction, then asked, “who did it, then?”

“Dream, Technoblade, and Phil.”

Wilbur glanced at her with a quizzical frown. “Techno? And Phil? Since when are they here?” Niki took a deep breath.

“Wil,” she started, resolutely avoiding his gaze and keeping it on the devastation ahead of them, “what’s the date?”

He hesitated. “September 1st?”

“Oh, no,” Niki sighed out. “Wil, it’s January.”

She could see him stare out of her peripheral, pure shock on his face. “O-oh. Fuck.”

They sat in silence a few minutes, and Niki desperately tried to shove everything down. Wilbur was back – and not the Wilbur who’d left her. Good Wilbur, from back when he was President! The one who she’d drag out of his dark office, the vampire, to go have a picnic in the sun. The one who answered the door, eyes bleary with sleep, at 3 p.m. Who’d ask her how she felt, and really meant it.

She’d wondered, sometimes, in her moments of doubt, whether all that was just a façade. If he’d only pretended to care and had really been doing everything for a sick, twisted sense of power.

But now, faced with the Wil she loved and missed… She knew he cared. Truly cared.

Wilbur eventually spoke again. “You know,” he started slowly, expression carefully neutral, “Dream blew up L’Manberg before. During the war.”

“Really?” This was news to her.

Wilbur nodded. “Yeah. It was before you came. He gave us an ultimatum; we called his bluff. He set it off. Wasn’t as bad as this, but…” Niki hummed; it would be hard to get worse than this. “What did you mean when you said I did it first?”

She sighed, hands folded carefully on your lap. “This is the third time it’s been blown up, then. You… kinda went insane. Decided to detonate it, even with everyone telling you not to. That was about a year ago.”

The raw fear on Wilbur’s face made her do a double take, and she properly looked at him for the first time in the conversation. He swallowed, clearly trying to move on before she commented on it, but it lingered in his eyes. Tired, thoughtful, and fucking terrified.

“That doesn’t sound like something I’d do,” he said with a frown. Niki shrugged.

“You weren’t yourself.”

“I guess,” he said, then got to his feet and held out a hand to help her up. Niki ignored it; she didn’t need his damn help. She’d pulled herself up by her own bootstraps for long enough after he’d left her.

Okay, maybe she wasn’t as over it as she thought she was.

Wilbur must’ve read something on her face, though, because he asked, “you okay?”

“Fine.”

“You sure-?”

“Drop it, Wil,” Niki snapped.

“…Alright,” he said quietly, and she tried not to feel guilty. Luckily, he quickly changed the subject. “Where you staying?”

“Off in the woods.” Niki nodded in the direction of her secret city. She didn’t particularly want to bring Wilbur there, but… he had nowhere else to stay. So she took off, not sparing a glance behind her to make sure he was following. “Let’s go.”

#Dream SMP #Wilbur Soot #Nihachu #Ranboo #wilbur soot dsmp #Dream SMP fic #There's a lot of new people here #so hi! I'm writing a c!Wilbur healing fic based on patchwork-rambles' Wilburs of Ghostbur's past AU!#Enderwrites

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thunderstaruniversalenterprises · 4 years

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Ch 1 Once Upon a Time

Have you ever had one of those days when your past and present lives end up colliding and intertwining somewhere along the way? I know it may sound crazy but hear me out. I guess to fully understand how crazy things can get when your true love and soulmate are involved is to start at the beginning. We all have three personalities, our royal form which in his case is Karyson Gabriel Wolfe of Thaddea, his human and present form Tristan Michael Llewellyn, and his hero form Knight Wolf. But somehow his royal side got separated from the other two parts of his personality and landed back in Thaddea with no memories of our past together. This is the story of how through a crazy case of mistaken identity, lies, deceit, rivals, hidden agendas, conspiracy, invasion of privacy, blackmail, and manipulation my true love and I as Reimeiko Thunderis made it back to each other and full circle. I am known as Reimeiko Christyne Amaryllis Thunderis Wolfe by royal standards, Queen of Thunderia and Thaddea thanks to my getting married to Karyson before the last battle with Darcien’s forces. My father, his Knights and fellow royals had to use their combined powers to send us here to be reborn and find each other again. The problem was none of us had any memory of our pasts until our respective guardians found us and reunited us. But that is another story for another time. Anyway, when we were all reborn here, I was born Jamison Logan McKagan the eldest daughter of Robert and Veronica McKagan also known as Thor and Kyiandra Thunderis of Thunderia. But you already know that, if you know my story. Anyway, I am getting outrageously off track. But when this all started, I had no doubt how it would end because of Karyson and our past together. But boy was I wrong. I had never felt so betrayed in my life. How I came into this as Reimeiko Thunderis instead of who I am in the human form? Well I will tell you. It all starts here at the Coronation Ball. On this night, not only will Garyson be taking his place as king, but he will also be choosing his future bride. At the doors of the grand ballroom stood Jamison Logan McKagan Llewellyn also known as Reimeiko Christyne Amaryllis Thunderis Wolfe of Thunderia and Thaddea. The Lady Knight of Thunder was getting ready to make a grand entrance. Tonight was the night for her. As she entered the ballroom, the herald announced her.

"Lady Reimeiko Christyne Thunderis." the herald announced. She walked further into the ballroom spotting her friends and Knights from back home as well as some of the friends she had made along the way or so she thought. Her brother and sister in their Knight forms showed up close to her speaking telepathically.

(I know that the connection between Karyson and Reimeiko is solid.) Knight Shadow said. (But you might want to take the connection between Jamison McKagan and Tristan Llewellyn into consideration.)

(Tristan is Karyson’s human form though, remember brother?) Knight Nova replied. (They were separated into their own individual personas somehow and we must figure out how to reunite them, but now is not the time. The Knights are all stationed throughout the palace grounds, fully powered but dressed for this ball.)

(Do you not think that you are overdoing it just a bit?) She asked. (How are all the background checks into the key players going? One cannot know how to play the game without a scorecard and details on everyone involved especially who gains and loses the most. There are a lot of secrets here and I want to know all of it. Not just the key players but the background players too. Leave no stone unturned, leave no passage unexplored. We had orders to do that before we left.)

(Our wisdom knights are taking care of that and have been since before Dad debriefed us.) Shadow replied. (Anyway, we will keep in close contact with you as the night progresses)

Shadow and Nova made their way into the crowd to check in with the other Knights as Jamison glided over to talk to two other suitors in the competition. For some reason, she suddenly felt uneasy, why, she did not know. Granted, she had seen and dealt with her share of evil tyrants, love rivals, band rivals, and threatened hostile takeovers, but she and her Knights had always made it through almost unscathed.

“Reimeiko, you look so beautiful.” Elenia Zhang gushed. “The prince will not be able to take his eyes off of you all night in that gown.” Jamison drifted back and forth between the first debriefing and present day.

“First off we have Elenia Zhang.” Marco said. “There is not much known about her and her family except that they are Thaddean nobles who live outside the typical line. In addition to being a Thaddean noble, Elenia is multi-talented which will be one of her strengths and make her a good ally as well. Knowing you Jamie, you would have her and everyone else won over in no time.”

“Hah, he might like the way she looks,” Lamani Evander sneered. “But when it comes to choosing his future queen, he knows who will be able to rule by his side and that woman will be me and me alone.” Back to the debriefing.

Lamani Evander, she was so evil that she made Dariana Lanoson look and act like an angel, but even though she could scare or intimidate others, she did not scare or intimidate Jamison or Reimeiko. Long before, Jamison had faced off with the Federation of Evil’s many different factors, love rivals, rival bands, threatened hostile take-overs and she knew how to fight dirty if she had to. In her royal form of Reimeiko Thunderis, she fought like a man although she was a woman. Along with her siblings and fellow Knights, she trained from the time she was young to be able to take down and fight the forces of evil who continued relentlessly to take them down and take over the universe. Reimeiko and Jamison were rejoined or reunited when Jamison was fifteen and was discovered being Princess Reimeiko Thunderis while in her hero form of Knight Thunder and her boyfriend Tristan Llewellyn in his hero form of Knight Wolf was discovered as being Prince Karyson Wolfe of Thaddea which was who Jamison and the others were vying for. She knew something about Karyson, his true siblings Corydon and Racine, and Samuel and Francine that the other people present did not know. Samuel, Francine, and the Thaddean Trio were immortal like Reimeiko, her siblings, and Knights; and no matter what the other ladies of court thought, Karyson was Reimeiko’s eternal soulmate.

“Well I can say this without any conviction.” Jamison said. “It will be his choice who rules by his side not yours, and may the best woman win.” To herself she said. “I know it will be me because I have been to the future, I am the Queen in it and none of you are there.”

“I am sure that I will win because I have known him all his life.” Lamani replied.

Jamison rolled her eyes and shook her head as Lamani walked away. The only other woman in the running so-to-speak was a woman by the name of Almeda Fitzgerald who was being sponsored by the present queen Alyssa Candelaria. No one had really seen her through the competition because she had been staying close to the queen. Just then a trumpet sounded, and a herald announced the arrival of Karyson Tristan Michael Llewellyn Wolfe Prince of Thaddea and he was heading right in the direction of Jamison and Elenia. He took her hand and bowed. “Princess Reimeiko, may I have the pleasure of the next dance with you?” Prince Karyson asked.

“You want to dance with me?” Jamison asked. “I am ready to do much more than just dance with you, but I would love to.”

“I was hoping you would say that.” Karyson replied. He took her hand and whisked her away to the dance floor of the grand ballroom. As the orchestra plays, he leads her into a waltz around the room her gown swirling as they glide through the steps.

“To think a few months ago as Jamison McKagan,” Jamison acknowledged. “I did not even know the first steps to the waltz.”

“And now no one would ever know that your human form was not born into this life.” Karyson replied. “I hope you never have cause to regret coming here.”

“What do you mean? Why would you say that?” Jamison asked. “You and Tristan will be reunited before this crazy adventure is over, then so will we be.”

“So much has happened.” he said pausing as the song winds, his hands lingering on her waist and his eyes searched hers which were filled with uncertainty, fear, and confusion. “I need to speak with you.”

“Is something wrong?” Jamison asked, fearful of what the answer would be. Despite the soulmate connection between them, she knew that something was not right.

“There is nothing really wrong per se.” he replied. “It has been nearly impossible to even get a moment alone with you these last few days, but I need to know--”

“Prince Garyson, may I be so bold as to cut in?” Duchess Lamani Evander asked.

“Oh yes of course.” Karyson replied. “Do not worry, Reimeiko, we will talk later.”

[Yeah right] Jamison thought sourly. As Lamani and Karyson glided away, Jamison found herself wandering off the dance floor and running into a familiar face in the crowd. “Derrick? I did not know that you would be here tonight. You look so handsome in your formal uniform instead of your usual mix of clothes.”

“Karyson insisted.” Derrick replied. “I guess I should congratulate you. You look exactly like one of them. I guess you are one of them now in these days.”

“Please do not lump me in with those two-faced, hypocritical, narcissistic fleet of bozos and bimbos.” Jamison pleaded. “Real people like you are more fun to be around. You and I are cut from the same cloth. We do not fit into their world of snobby losers and I thank God that we do not.”

“This time tomorrow, you might be queen and then our lives are going to go in very different directions.” he said.

“If I am chosen to be his bride, but I have a sick feeling that I will not be,” Jamison said. “I will still be me. Titles do not make me who I am or who I will be. Nothing will take me over.”

“Looking at you right now, it is hard to believe that.” Derrick said with a sad look. “This place has a tendency of changing people, and some of us like the woman you used to be. You know, that right?”

“I promise, I am the same person I was from the beginning, even under this fancy, hard to breathe in a ball gown.” Jamison replied. “Despite everything that has happened, I have not changed. I am the same Reimeiko Christyne Amaryllis Thunderis, Jamison Logan McKagan Llewellyn. If there is ever a time you feel that I get too cocky, just remind me of the first time we met, I was taking out the garbage to the big dumpster outside and waiting tables at Russo’s bar and grill.”

“It does feel like it was so long ago.” Derrick acknowledged. “I cannot believe that it has only been a few months since this all began, and it feels more like once upon a time now more than ever after everything.”

#kingliam2019 #knightthunderis #texaskitten30 #knightthunderchonicles #knightthunderis85

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junker-town · 4 years

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The San Diego Padres are going for it, and they absolutely should

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

The most fun team in baseball made a flurry of moves at the MLB trade deadline, because they think they can win the World Series. They could be right!

If you haven’t been paying attention (and there hasn’t been a lot of good reason in the past couple decades to warrant it), the San Diego Padres have spent the past few years creeping toward relevance. They’ve built a team, nearly from the ground up, the way you would want and hope and expect an MLB team to do so if their name isn’t the New York Yankees or a similar “back up the Brinks truck” franchise. A major free agent signing here, a minor free agent signing there, some savvy trades and a whole bunch of solid drafting and development.

The end result, prior to this week, was the 2020 emergence of the Padres as the absolute most fun baseball team to watch, and a surprise contender to come out of the West in a short season with expanded playoffs. You have almost certainly been aware of the exploits of Fernando Tatis Jr. and his brethren who have broken the dumbest unwritten rules in the sport and demolished the baseball everywhere, rechristening the team as “Slam Diego.” You can even buy the shirt!

Manny Machado was last year’s gargantuan free agent signing for the Padres and he’s knocking the cover off the ball. Eric Hosmer was 2018’s moderately big free agent signing for the Padres and he’s mashing. The Padres attempted to trade for Mookie Betts before the Dodgers snagged him (you probably heard about that one), but Wil Myers, one of the cornerstones of that proposed trade, is still in San Diego putting up an OPS of close to 1.000. Tommy Pham and Jake Cronenworth came over in a trade from the Tampa Bay Rays.

This has been a very good, very deep team, and thanks in part to not having even reached the postseason since 2006 (playing in the same division as the Dodgers and the 2010s Giants will do that to you), they have a very, very deep farm system.

Just over halfway through this sprint of a season, the Padres are one of only seven MLB teams with more than 20 wins and are solidly in playoff position. Failing a catastrophic collapse, they were probably counting on reaching the new best-of-three Wild Card round of the postseason in a worst case scenario. (They’re also just five games behind the Dodgers, so they were likely dreaming of a best case scenario where they don’t have to play the short series.)

As such, the Padres had two choices at this week’s trade deadline: 1) either stand relatively pat with the full knowledge that this team is going to try their best in a very likely postseason appearance and that the entire squad, give or take, is lined up to be even better in a full season next year after getting a national showcase, or 2) do everything you can to make sure this year’s version of the Padres has no cracks whatsoever, and go all in, with the full knowledge that the team is still stacked, the farm is still stocked, and that the entire squad, give or take, is lined up to be even better in a full season next year ... as potential defending World Series champions.

On Saturday, the Padres traded a prospect and a player to be named later for Trevor Rosenthal, arguably best reliever on the market and an impending free agent. The bullpen had been a weak link and Pads closer Kirby Yates suffered a season-ending injury.

On Sunday, the Padres traded one of their very top prospects, Taylor Trammell, to the Mariners for catcher Austin Nola, along with pitching prospect Andrés Muñoz, catcher Luis Torrens and infielder Ty France — who had been a solid bench contributor this season.

The catcher position had far and away been San Diego’s weak link this season, with starter Austin Hedges putting up a slash line of .158/.258/.591 and an OPS+ of 63. He’s been solid defensively, but that’s way too glaring a hole in an otherwise powerfully potent lineup. Nola, in just his second MLB season at the age of 30, looks to be a massive upgrade if he can continue his production so far in 2020. He’s batting .306/.373/.531 to the tune of a 149 OPS+.

Yes, Trammell may very well turn into a big, valuable star in coming years, but that sort of exponential upgrade in a backstop is easy to trade for, especially in a postseason where every offensive run counts. Trammell wasn’t going to make a difference in this year’s team. The Padres can afford to make this upgrade now, and they were almost certainly right to. (Please note that I have the right to reverse this opinion if Nola goes hitless for the next two months.)

(The Padres also added a second catcher, Jason Castro, from the Angels, for reliever Geraro Reyes. This was a minor deal, but added depth at the catcher position while trading away a tertiary reliever in the wake of the Rosenthal trade. Again, this all makes sense.)

The Padres further bolstered their offense by trading another two prospects for designated hitter Mitch Moreland, who is a lefty masher with discipline, and while the Padres and every other NL team thought they wouldn’t need a DH when they started building their rosters for 2020, most NL teams could desperately use one now — especially the teams eyeing a postseason berth.

And while they were stockpiling bats, the Padres didn’t forget about their rotation, either. Mike Clevinger, who had figured to be the forefront of the Cleveland Indians rotation this year, punched his own ticket out of town when he broke quarantine and earned the ire of the entire Cleveland clubhouse. Now he’s heading to the Padres, where he can start over with his teammate relationships and, his new team hopes, continue to be a top-tier starter. Hedges found his way out of San Diego on this deal, along with Josh Naylor, who had been a solid bench performer for the Padres this season, pitcher Cal Quantrill, and three minor leaguers. Outfielder Greg Allen and a player to be named later came over from Cleveland in the Clevinger trade, bringing us up to eight players in and 14 players out. That’s an acceptable ratio!

The Padres aren’t done making moves, either. They picked up a Mariners right-hander for a player to be named later and kicked the tires on Lance Lynn prior to the Clevinger deal. They also reportedly have interest in Joey Gallo, one of the few bright spots on a generally abysmal Rangers team.

There was a lot of handwringing about the deal that brought Nola in and sent Trammell away; a lot of worrying about the future of the Padres. The Padres have made it abundantly clear that they aren’t worrying about the future. They’re focusing on continuing to cultivate this lighting in a bottle that they’ve captured. The San Diego front office knows that they built a great team, and that it’s actually ahead of schedule. They know that the baseball world is talking about Fernando Tatis and Manny Machado and the San Diego Padres, and they know that they haven’t made the playoffs in 14 years and are one of seven teams who have never won a World Series.

This is a season where absolutely anything can, and has, and will happen. There are certainly 14 or 15 (or more) other teams whose fans would kill to be in a position to trade away large sections of the farm for some dynamic, everyday contributors in preparation of a postseason run.

But it’s the Padres who are doing it, because they know that this could actually be their year. And they might just pull it off.

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