#also also i tried to keep ships out of this- i kind of succeeded

[lafiametta]

I thought Toronaga's son was so cute. Poor baby. He was dorky but I think that just endeared me more smh. Also just waiting for the anjin to get his ship back and as he's sailing away say "this a fucked up country" haha

Nagakato was really endearing, which was what made his ending so tragic. He wants to be like his father — who won battle after battle, succeeding in crafting his own myth — and he wants his father to approve of him and entrust him with his larger plans for war with the regents. The problem is that Toranaga doesn't trust anyone — having your father trade you to another warlord at age six will do that — and in order to win his approval, Nagakato takes direct (and impulsive) action (killing Jozen, attacking his uncle at the tea house), which backfires. I would say this was a tragedy of high parental expectations, except that Toranaga basically expects him to sit back and be quiet, a state of (perceived) passivity that Nagakato can't handle being in. (It also makes sense that, in the absence of his father's admiration, he would seek out companionship and direction from men of his own generation, like Omi. There's also a moment in the last episode where he tries to connect with Fuji; it's actually very sweet, making me think the show was trying to foreshadow a possible romance between them. Hmmm, guess not.) But what makes Nagakato ultimately so tragic is that like all young men who have never actually seen a war, he only thinks of it as honorable and glorious. And ultimately his desire to impress his father (by eliminating Saeki, his father's most immediate enemy) leads to one of the most bleak and meaningless deaths the show has given us so far.

Will the Anjin ever get his ship back? At this point, it's almost like the ship is one of those mouse on a string cat toys and Toranaga keeps pulling it away just when Blackthorne thinks he's close. But I also feel kind of bad for Blackthorne — how was he to know he was sailing right into a civil war and would end up firmly (and dangerously) on one side of it? At this point, though, yeah, I imagine he would like to just sail away and get back home where there aren't any earthquakes or ritual suicides and where he can eat his food with his hands as God intended.

[the-fluff-piece]

Tropetember 8

Law's Amnesia

Also check out my stories and headcanon masterlists

Law gets knocked out and gets - AMNESIA! But not the boring medical kind, the fun quirky kind of tropes. He shows the crew a different side as he forgets who he is and what hardships he had to endure

"Kind of sucks when your doc is the one who would need help..." Shachi mused as he and Bepo monitored Law's condition.

He got a massive hit in the head from Luffy - by accident, the other captain swore. Now he was out and sleeping it off.

Bepo put his paw on Law's forehead, patting his captain for comfort.

You've offered to take over so the others could get some sleep. Taking a book and some tea with you, you prepared for an uneventful night.

Law had a light bruise in his head but it didn't make him any less handsome. His face looked stern, even when he was unconscious. His fine features were heartbreaking as always and you allowed yourself to let your fingers trail down his cheek - only to check his temperature and general condition of course.

When you felt his groomed goatee under your fingers, he twitched lightly, making you jump.

He grimaced in pain and groaned, opening his eyes slowly and lifting his head.

"Law, you're awake!" You stated the obvious as you tried to keep him down. Of course, your captain had to wear a half open shirt and of course, you happened to touch his bare chest.

"You need to stay in bed or you'll get dizzy!" You warned him.

"What?" He asked, his eyes looking at you with a confused expression.

With soft force, you pressed him into the bed again, while his eyes were fixed on your face.

"Who are you? Where am I?" He asked, the softness and higher pitch of his voice sounded unfamiliar to you.

"Captain that's not funny, it's me, y/n" you still had to press him down, he was surprisingly strong for just waking up.

"Captain? Who?" He pushed against you and sat up, shaking his head.

"Wow, cool stuff!" He looked around his own medical bay as of he was seeing it for the first time.

"And who are you again?" He asked you, looking you up and down with open interest.

"Are you some kind of mechanic? Is that your tech stuff?" His voice sounded excited and light, absolutely not like his usual self.

As he moved to get out of the bed you pressed him back down with all your power and only succeeded because you surprised him with a jump.

"Whoa, babe, slow down!" He chuckled as you found yourself half on top of him, both hands on his chest.

"You uhm.. you need to lie down, you took a serious blow to the head" you explained with urgency.

"So you're like...my girlfriend?" His eyes beamed like a little boy's in a candy store.

"You're cute!" He said as he grabbed your shoulders and drew you into an embrace.

"CAPTAIN" you screamed, trying to wiggle out of an iron grip.

"Where?" Law let go and looked around.

You jumped down from the bed and caught your breath - he has lost his mind!

And he was already swinging his feet out of the bed, energetically looking around like a 5 year old on sugar.

"I have to see the rest of this thing!" He ran towards the door, and you couldn't hold him back. He was far stronger and faster than you, instead he grabbed your hand and dragged you with him through the door.

"Wow, where am I?" He asked.

"The polar tang - your ship!" You said as you tried to keep up with his long strides.

"My ship? And my girlfriend! I'm so lucky! Just the name of the ship is weird" He laughed. He dragged you down the corridor and to deck, where he stopped dead in his tracks.

"A bear!?" He looked at Bepo in disbelief. The white bear sat on deck and enjoyed some cool night air. As soon as he heard Law's comment, he blushed and stammered excuses.

"Ca...captain??? You are awake?" He eventually got a hold of himself.

Law approached his first mate really carefully.

"A talking bear!" He said.

"SORRY" Bepo bowed down.

"Hey whaaa...?" Bepo blushed until he became a fleshy pink.

As he bowed down, Law grabbed his ears and was squeezing them thoroughly while making "awww" sounds and giggling.

"What's going on here?" Shachi appeared in the door, looking shocked. "He isn't supposed to be up yet!"

"He just...I think he has amnesia!" You said.

"Amnesia?" Shachi rubbed his chin.

"Could be. In any case, you need to get back to bed Captain!" He said to Law.

"Who's this captain?" Law looked around and finally stopped molesting Bepo, who sank to his as a whimpering white mess.

"You are! And we need you! So please go back to bed, you need rest!" Now Shachi helped you to push Law back in the direction of sick Bay.

"Me? Captain? Wow, my life is awesome! I have a cute girlfriend, a ship AND a crew???" He looked like he could burst from happiness and excitement.

"...girlfriend?" Shachi asked.

"He kind of decided that I am his girlfriend" you answered, blushing.

Shachi seemed like he wanted to make a sassy comment when Law suddenly dug in his heels and stared at his reflection in one of the windows.

He studied the tattoos on his chest and hands and let his hands run through his hair.

"I...I..." he seemed overwhelmed, "I look like a crook! A gangster! A...a..." he seemed at a loss for words.

"A pirate?" You helped him.

"Yes! One of those! That would be awful!" He said it with such upstanding distaste that you and Shachi just had to exchange a glance to come to the same conclusion.

"Of course your not a pirate. You're a...fashion model!" You told him.

"Woah, really?" Law seemed to relax again - and become more docile.

"Yes and I am your girlfriend! Let's go to bed, it's late!" It still felt strange to talk to him that way, but he seemed to like what he heard and followed you like a lamb back to his sick bed.

"See? That wasn't so bad. Now you just have to lay down again so you can rest." You indicated the bed with your outstretched hand.

"It seems really small" Law said.

"It's big enough for you" You said.

"And you?" Law blushed.

"What about me?" He confused you now.

"I mean...since you are my girlfriend, you sleep in my bed" He grinned.

"Uhm..." You had to swallow and looked at Shachi for help. He grinned, to. That bastard.

"You two are so in love, you squeeze into a tiny bed" He chuckled maliciously and slowly walked out of the room.

"So romantic! I love cuddling. I think" Law was absolutely on board and threw himself into the cushions, his arms open to receive you.

"Uhm...why don't you go to sleep while I work some more?" You said.

"I am hurt and need rest. You said so yourself! I need you to sleep" Law stated like a kid that just outwitted a grown up.

"Fine." You awkwardly settled on the bed, when Law shook his head.

"Your boiler suit is dirty. You don't sleep with that" He indicated some oil stains on your suit.

You never wore more than underwear and a shirt under that thing. It could get hot. But he really needed to sleep, so you pulled down the zipper under Law's lusty gaze. When you finally slipped it from your shoulders, he commented with another "wow" as he stared at you with undeniable adoration.

He opened his arms again and tucked you into his side as soon as you settled on the bed. Immediately you noticed his cold, clammy hands.

"Law, you're so cold, are you hungry? Are you dizzy?" You asked.

"So...sleepy...with...girlfriend..." he rested his head on your shoulder as he pressed against you and seemed to pass out again. You waited until he breathed deeply and evenly and slipped out of his tight grip.

He looked relaxed and content as he slept and you resumed your watch over him.

-----

Yes, I'm pretty sure that head injuries don't work like that, but this is tropetember so Law has the right kind of Amnesia and will be fine xD I hope you enjoyed it

Taglist@yeeeeezly @waitingmydemons @stariski @livwritesfics @violetmatcha

[innytoes]

25 and Willex (bonus points if the child/dog/friend is Reggie?) (If you're still taking prompts for this 😁)

Every year for Halloween, Willie went back to the group home where he'd stayed to volunteer to take the kids trick or treating. Not only was it a way of giving back - of assuaging the guilt he sometimes felt, wondering why Caleb had picked a chaotic, messy fourteen year old over any of the sweeter, smaller kids - but it was amazing fun too.

He got to dress up, run around with a bunch of kids, and also maybe keep a list of houses to come back and egg later, if they were weird or stuck up about 'those group home kids begging for candy'.

Besides, being 18 at the Hollywood Ghost Club on Halloween sucked. It wasn't even like he could use his fake ID, the bartenders all knew him. And Caleb was super strict about stuff like that during business hours. So he helped out at the group home, and then went to the staff party at the Club the day after, when they were closed and nobody cared too much about whether or not a certain son of the owner swiped a Bloodtini. Or skated off the railing. Or tried to dunk the green grilled cheeses in the chocolate fountain.

And okay, so maybe this year his costume was a little obscure, but he'd procrastinated getting anything, so he ended up raiding Caleb's old costumes from his 'I did other stuff on Broadway too you know' closet, and some of his own, and a trip to the dollar store, and he was pretty pleased with himself.

Except clearly someone recognised him.

"OH MY GOD, ZEKE ZILLIONS SPACE COWBOY?" someone across the street screamed, before dragging someone by the arm over to them.

"See, I told you he was a real character," Willie told the four nine year olds he was chaperoning. They rolled their eyes at him.

"Oh my god oh my god," A boy about his age said. He was dressed up as a zombie, though for some reason he was also carrying a wok. His friend was also a zombie, but had on a long pink wig, giant fake pearls, and a pink dress. He had great legs. "Zeke Zillions Space Cowboy was my absolute favourite cartoon as a kid. Can I please get a picture? Pretty please?"

"Sure can, Pard'ner," he said in his best Zeke Zillions impression, and the guy straight up went 'EEEEeee' like he was an early twothousands internet fangirl. After his friend took a bunch of pictures, he thanked the kids for their patience.

"By the way, number 42 is handing out full-sized candy bars," ZomBarbie said.

Throughout the night, every time they crossed paths (ZomBarbie and the Wokking Dead were accompanied by a witch, Kurt Cobain, and a tiny ghost buster), they'd wave at each other, as his fan shouted out a 'HI ZEKE!'. Eventually they ended up at the same house, waiting for the kids to get back.

"Sorry about Reggie," ZomBarbie said. "He's um, kind of a fanboy for that show. Like, writes-fanfiction-and-goes-to-obscure-fan-meet-ups kind of fan. I think you just made his year."

"That's okay, I'm glad someone remembers good old Zeke," Willie said. He was definitely going sleuthing on AO3 later. He wondered what the ships were. "The show meant a lot to me as a kid, what with the obvious queer-coding." Hopefully, a cute boy in a dress would understand that.

"Yeah," ZomBarbie said. "My parents didn't allow me to watch it. Too worried I'd turn out 'fruity'." He motioned to himself. "Clearly they succeeded," he said sarcastically.

"You do really pull off that dress, though," Willie said, waggling his eyebrows. His zombie friend went adorably flustered, from what he could tell under the zombie makeup.

Before he could flirt any more, the kids came back, complaining about how this house was handing out toothbrushes and toothpaste. "Can you put them on the list, Willie?" one of them, the girl dressed as Coraline, asked.

"Handing out toothbrushes is kind of dorky, but not an egg-able offense," Willie told her. "We reserve that for bigots and assholes."

"You have a list?" ZomBarbie asked, as they walked to the next house. His kids and the little Ghost Buster were comparing notes, it seemed, pointing at different houses.

"Yeah, lot of people in this fancy-pants neighbourhood don't take kindly to poor foster kids showing up," Willie said darkly.

"Carlos said something about that white house with the American Flag outside complaining about him going back to his own neighbourhood," the witch said darkly. "We live two blocks from here."

Willie glared, and made a note of it. "You wanna join me?" he asked, mostly to ZomBarbie, but quickly looking away at the rest of the group.

"My tía would kill me," the witch said, before smiling slyly. "But I'm sure Alex wouldn't mind going."

ZomBarbie spluttered a little, but managed to squeak out a little 'okay!'

Jackpot.

Behind him, he heard the guy's friend sigh happily. "And once again, Zeke Zillions saves the day, dispenses justice to evil doers, and captures hearts."

[silverselfshippingchaos]

hi, ash! i'd love to hear about your ffxv s/i and your ship with gladio! also, what does iris think about your s/i? :O

YAY!! I love talking about this kind of stuff!!!

(Some talk of death, injury, drowning, a bit of blood + spoilers for the game)

F.FXV Ash was born in the Crown City to two members of the Crownsguard (eventually the Kingsglaive). Ever since she was young, Ash was always fed this idea that her kingdom was amazing. She loved her home so much and she wanted to grow up there forever with her parents and her sister. It all changed when she was 16. She parents were killed in combat.

(In Episode A.rdyn, there's a boss fight against two soldiers... Those were her parents.)

Ash stayed in the city long enough to graduate high-school, but after that, she just couldn't keep going. She felt hollow and empty inside. The murder of her parents shattered her in every single way possible, wrecked her faith and her love to kingdom, ruined her life. She's messed up.

And so, Ash leaves. She makes a name for herself as a monster hunter, drifting from town to town and protecting the people. She comes to be known as Eos' Rose. Beautiful, but with thorns too. She didn't choose to be called The Rose, it's just that part of her outfit is a long, red coat. I still need to work out the details of her outfit and all that, but she has a red coat and quite a few earrings. She has a chain threader going through two lobe piercings on one ear, and a dangling rose earring on the other. Both silver.

(Whenever she was about 20, she met a lonely chocobo chick. This chocobo stays with Ash for a long time. She is a green chocobo named Sage. Sage is Ash's companion and best friend. Sage is very friendly to everybody, but she has a distaste for Gladio and has tried to bite him on multiple occasions. She succeeded once, but more on that later.

Again, Sage is naturally green. Prompto asks about this once.

"Hey, Ash! Why is your chocobo green?"

"Well, I dunno, Prompto. Why are you blond?"

It gets a good chuckle out of everyone.)

Anyways, early into the game, the Chocobros run into Ash! She actually draws her sword on Noct at first and then she realizes "holy shit, you're the prince. Oh my god, I tried to kill the prince. Oh no, oh no, oh no-"

It's a bit of a funny moment, but she ends up allying with the bros and she gets especially close with Gladio. They get along really well, both protectors of people and absolutely dorks too.

Ash is a gamer, so she gets along well with Prompto and Noct. They actually all played Kings Knight together online! So it's a bit of a "WAIT WE'RE KINGS KNIGHT MOOTS?!" whenever they finally meet. She gets along really well with Ignis too! Ash is very close with all of the gang. It's not long before her and Gladio are falling in love, kissing and sharing Cup Noodles under the stars.

And as for Iris, Iris ADORES Ash! Looks up to her as the big sister she never had. Iris thinks Ash is so cool and strong! And she tells Gladdy that if he breaks her heart, she'll kick his ass! Ash really loves Iris too. She was always the youngest in her family too, so it means a lot to her to be able to be an older sister figure to someone. Ash teaches Iris a bit about how to use a sword too.

Anywho, back to the plot.

Ash accompanies the bros whenever they go onto the boat to Altissia. Her and Gladio have a sweet, romantic date there. But that happiness doesn't last. It's been a bit of a running joke that Ash doesn't know how to swim.

The last thing Gladio expected was to lose her.

As Altissia falls, Ash sacrifices herself to save Gladio and Prompto. They both have to watch as Ash falls from a bridge and into the water. They watch as Ash dies. But there's not enough time to save her. Prompto sobs, Gladio screams in horror. Ash is content. She's going to die protecting the people she loves, right? It's not that cute and her almost drowning to death was the scariest moment of her life. She's choking and gasping for air, trying to grab any rubble she can just to stay alive.

Ash isn't seen again for a while. It's part of the reason why Gladio lashes out on the train—he's mourning his girlfriend's death. Whenever he's sitting there across the table from Ignis, you can hear him crying.

However, a few chapters later... Guess who comes back. She's injured, has scars on her face, and her coat is in tatters. Gladio hugs her and cries, Ash tells him to loosen up a bit since she has a few cracked ribs.

"What's the matter? Not a fan of ghosts?"

Gladio tells her that this isn't the time to crack jokes, but he hugs her so tight. She was alive. She was okay.

(However, during this time, Gladio actually found Sage and told her that Ash was dead. Sage bit him hard that day.)

But... How exactly did Ash survive..?

That gets explained in Episode Ignis. I won't talk about Ash's involvement in every DLC just to not make this to lengthy, but in Iggy's... Ravus sees her drowning. He grabs her out of the water and onto land. He's not gentle about it, and the impact of being thrown against rubble isn't great for Ash's bones, but she's alive. Ash is nursed back to health by the survivors of the town. There's a lot more detail there, but that's the gist of what happens.

Ash's relationship with Ravus is fascinating. They bond quite a bit and have a chat under the stars much later, right before Ash reunites with Gladio. I had to dig through like two years worth of discord messages for this but it went something like this

Oh and you know that level that's just Gladio and Ignis? Yeah, Ash is there too. She cusses out Ardyn actually. Although I really like Ardyn, my S/I doesn't. He makes a comment that she's quite grown up now. You know how he gets those flashbacks of peoples' memories after he kills people in his DLC? He saw an image of a little girl with red glasses. And here she was, a grown woman.

She breaks off from the group before the Ravus fight. I don't want her to see him like that.

Anyways, then timeskip rolls around. Whenever Noct arrives at Hammerhead is met with a familiar "kweh-kweh!". Sage greets Noct after ten long years, and then Ash runs over. They have a cute hug scene.

However, Ash's outfit is different. Not only is her hair curly (pre-ts Ash had it straightened), but she's wearing... Kingsglaive armor?! Her outfit is vaguely inspired by Crowe from Kingsglaive, but Ash had become a soldier. Not just to follow in her parents' footsteps, but because she had spent her whole life feeling lost and she had finally found a purpose. Traveling with Noct and Co had made her realize that her life had a purpose. She wanted to spend her life protecting her kingdom.

After her parents died, she didn't know what to do with herself. Noct was both her best friend and her king. Noct says that the Kingsglaive outfit looks good on her. It makes her smile. Ash had finally come home to Insomnia, and she had finally found what she was meant to do.

Before the gang leaves, she gives Noct a long hug and tells him to come back alive. She gives Gladio a kiss too.

And that's basically it!

[butternuggets-blog]

FOR WANT OF A NAIL

@baldwin-montclair @adowobsessed @sylverdeclermont @nicki-mac-me @thereadersmuse @kynthiamoon @wheresthesunshinesblog @adowbaldwin @beautifulsoulsublime @lady-lazarus-declermont @adarafaelbarba @dogblessyoutascha

Part Fourty-Two

Summary:  Baldwin Montclair had a string of ex girlfriends, a single child, and a  lifetime longer than most people could dream of to make all kinds of  mistakes. His family knew one which kept coming out of the woodwork to  irritate him every other century.

Also on AO3

The house on Drury Lane lay to its south, on the intersection between Wych Street and the rest of London. It had its back to the river and open fields on all sides, hemmed in by high brick walls to keep out prying eyes. There was an apple orchard and herb gardens, and Martin had built a series of interconnected streams and ponds full of fish and other wild animals to provide food and entertainment.

Martin was observing one of the ponds now; a family of otters had moved in and were scampering happily along their new home, climbing over rocks and flinging themselves into the water with a loud splash.

'Are you not concerned that they will eat everything?' asked Fernando. He happened to be passing through the neighbourhood that afternoon and had, on a whim, decided to come calling.

‘They are small creatures, they will not eat everything’ Martin dismissed him with a wave.

‘They may surprise you yet.’

‘If that becomes the case, I assure you you will hear of it first.’

‘I will,’ Fernando agreed, pointing. One of the smallest babies, a fuzzy little fluffball with slightly lopsided ears, was hauling the biggest fish it had probably ever seen in its life out of the water, squeaking indignantly as its siblings tried to grab its prize from its grasp.

‘Ambitious thief’ Martin said, laughing.

The faint sound of a racing carriage interrupted the moment, growing louder as it got closer to the house.

‘Should we go and see who that is?’ asked Fernando. Martin nodded and got to his feet, walking quickly. They reached the front door at the same time as the carriage pulled up and a pale-faced Matthew emerged, clutching a crumpled piece of parchment.

‘The Knights Templar-’ Matthew’s hand squeezed the parchment tighter for a moment. ‘-We are being rounded up and arrested. On King Philip’s orders.’

****

They managed to stop Fernando charging off long enough to leave instructions with the servants and then they were off, tearing across the city to the docks, and a boat waiting with an anxious Gallowglass behind the oars.

‘Could you not have found us a sailing ship?’

‘At this time of year? In this weather?’ Gallowglass swept a hand expressively towards the wild October sky. In the short time it had taken them to reach the Thames the sun had been covered by heavy black rainclouds, the wind whipping impressively fast through the streets.

‘A fair point,’ Fernando conceded. He hopped down into the front of the boat and took up a second set of oars while Matthew and Martin sat in the middle. ‘I will row too, the better to get us to France faster.’

And to Hugh.

They hadn’t said anything at all really on their way to the dock, too wrapped up in their own thoughts. Martin had asked Matthew where Philipe was; his stepfather and Ysabeau were out of the country, leaving his sisters in charge of Sept Tours while they were away.

‘Where are Baldwin and Godfrey?’ Martin asked.

‘With Ysabeau and Philipe,’ said Matthew.

‘Is Hugh at home?’

‘No,’ said Fernando, grimly. ‘He is in Paris.’

Martin and Matthew shared a look as Gallowglass pushed them off the dock wall. Paris was a month’s trip from London, even with favourable weather and fast horses.

This is going to be close…

________________________________________________________________

The crossing was choppy, but with everyone working in pairs to row they made good time.

Hugh's plans had succeeded beyond anybody's wildest expectations; the Templars paid no taxes, could move troops without issue throughout Europe, and were the rulers, or directly supported the rulers, of at least one country. King Philip IV of France, on the other hand, had inherited a kingdom crippled by loans his father had taken out to finance his war in Aragon, on top of Philip's personal debt to both the Templars and the Jews.

'He rid himself of one problem and now he is mopping up the other.' Fernando muttered, darkly. Philip had expelled the Jews from France in July the previous year, and collected their assets for his coffers in August.

Martin nodded, staring sightlessly into the water.

Perhaps that should have been a sign...

‘I can see the shore,’ Matthew said sharply, pointing. Gallowglass followed his uncle’s finger and helped Martin to row the boat into the bustling port of Calais, drawing alongside Stasia who had stopped pacing up and down the dock and was frantically waving them down.

‘What are you doing here?!’ Matthew and Gallowglass exclaimed, at the same moment that Martin and Fernando leapt out of the boat and asked ‘Have you any news of Hugh?’.

‘I am so, so sorry,’ Stasia sniffed back the tears pricking the corners of her eyes. ‘Hugh was arrested. He was being held in Chinon, and we tried to rescue him, but he was too well-guarded and nothing could be done-’

Her voice broke a little on the last word; she took a breath and gathered herself. ‘He is back in Paris now.’

‘Who betrayed him?’ Fernando was clenching his hands so tightly into fists it looked painful.

‘Guillaume de Nogaret.’

‘The keeper. of the. fucking seal.’ Martin growled. Fernando grabbed one of the oars from the boat and squeezed its handle to splinters.

________________________________________________________________

Dawn raced them across the countryside.

They had rarely ate and barely slept since setting foot in France, only pausing long enough to feed and water the horses before carrying on. What discreet enquiries they had managed to make on their travels had built into a kaleidoscope of confusing misinformation, so by the time the first twist of the Seine was in sight they still weren’t sure if Hugh was alive or dead.

They slipped into the city with the morning crowd, heads down, buried in simple cloaks. Martin had died his hair black and would normally have been the subject of intense teasing from somebody if the situation hadn’t been so tense.

‘Where is he?’ Fernando muttered, mostly to himself. Matthew closed the distance between them and pointed to a town crier standing at a crossroads up ahead. Silently, the group advanced.

‘What news of the Templars, good sir?’ Martin asked, when he realised that he had been shuffled to the front. ‘Is the trial done?’

‘Aye tis done, I am afraid.’ The man raised a hand and pointed to a distant speck in the middle of the Seine. ‘They executed them over yonder, upon Île aux Javiaux.’

All Martin could hear was the sudden wild beating of his heart and Fernando’s laboured breathing in his ear that had skipped on “executed”.

‘And who has been killed thus far?’ Matthew prompted, first being prompted himself into asking by a pallid Stasia.

‘Jacques de Molay, Geoffroi de Charney, Godefroi de Gonneville, and Hugh de Clermont,’ said the crier.

It was only Martin’s fingers wrapping around his wrist that kept Fernando from ripping out the crier’s throat with his bare hands. His other hand was busy propping up Gallowglass, who had gone chalk white and was swaying ever so slightly.

________________________________________________________________

The smart thing to do would have been to wait until nightfall, but none of them were in the mood to do the smart thing.

Martin didn't trust the oars in anyone else's hands so he rowed the boat from the riverbank to the shore of the island. Gallowglass and Fernando were holding hands and weeping, Gallowglass's face buried in the crook of his father's neck.

Stasia was crying too, head bowed beside her brother as Matthew worked his way silently through his rosary. Martin moored the boat as gently as he could, giving everyone a moment before he broke the silence.

'Someone else is here.'

The heartbeat he had heard resolved itself into a young boy. The fourteen-year-old was knelt in the dirt beside a burnt circle, head bowed, hands clasped around a rosary of his own. His monk's habit swamped him; when Martin deliberately sent a small stone skittering along the ground the boy started, tried to jump up, caught his feet in the folds of his robe and stumbled.

'You are not supposed to be here.'

'I..I am aware, m'lord,' the boy righted himself, and bowed, red-faced. He gestured feebly towards the circle. 'I..I wanted to pray for them. Someone should.'

Martin swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded.

'There should be ashes.' Fernando had started to pace the burnt ground and stopped, staring. 'There is nothing. Where are their ashes?'

'They were taken away.' The boy flinched under the intensity of their gaze. 'They...their ashes were collected and taken to various shrines and churches through the city. I-I know not where.'

Gallowglass shut down, stomping back to the boat and sitting heavily beside it. Fernando nodded once and held out a shaking hand; Matthew took it and helped his brother-in-law to walk back to the shore.

________________________________________________________________

'So this is where you betrayed my husband.'

Guillaume de Nogaret shot up from his desk, gripping a short sword in his hand. 'I was following orders.'

'Orders you poured like poison into the King's ear.' Fernando glared at him, eyes flashing. Behind him in the corridor Guillaume could see his guards lying dead or dying, gore splattered across the carpet and up the walls. Distant screams echoed up from the depths of the house.

'The Templars owned the world! They had too much power!'

'ENOUGH!' Fernando roared. He gripped the desk and flipped it, sending it crashing into the wall.

Guillaume lunged, stabbing forward. Fernando blocked him and he swapped hands, swinging behind him, his left hand gripping his sword as he spun.

Fernando blocked again. He grabbed his wrist and his upper arm; Guillaume shrieked at an ungodly pitch as he twisted both in the opposite direction.

Guillaume collapsed into a heap, clutching his ruined arm. Fernando stood over him; he looked up as Gallowglass appeared in the doorway, dripping with viscera from head to foot, Martin at his heels.

'Help- help me!' Guillaume moaned.

Gallowglass stepped up beside his father, looming over the shivering lawyer as Martin turned away, locking the door behind him.

Author’s Notes

There was a mansion built on Drury Lane, but Drury House was owned and built by Suffolk barrister Sir Robert Drury, circa 1500. It passed into the hands of the Earl of Craven, became turned into the public house The Queen of Bohemia, and then was finally demolished along with the small houses built over its former gardens in 19809.

Otters don't hibernate! I thought they did. There are over ten species of otters; the ones in Martin's garden would be Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), the only wild species found in the UK.

London in October has an average temperature of 15ºC, with a lot of rain and wind competing with sunshine to make the weather very interesting.

According to Wikipedia "...King Philip IV of France mistrusted the Templars. The Teutonic Knights ruled Prussia under charters issued by the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor as a sovereign monastic state. He was concerned that the Templars in the Languedoc of southeastern France were planning the same thing.

In 1306, the Templars had supported a coup on the island of Cyprus, which had forced King Henry II of Cyprus to abdicate his throne in favor of his brother, Amalric of Tyre. Philip had inherited land in the region of Champagne, France, which was the Templars' headquarters. The Templars were already a "state within a state", were institutionally wealthy, paid no taxes, and had a large standing army which by papal decree could move freely through all European borders.

However, this army no longer had a presence in the Holy Land, leaving it with no battlefield. Philip had also inherited an impoverished kingdom from his father and was already deeply in debt to the Templars. However, recent studies emphasize the political and religious motivations of the French king. It seems that, with the "discovery" and repression of the "Templars' heresy," the Capetian monarchy claimed for itself the mystic foundations of the papal theocracy.

The Temple case was the last step of a process of appropriating these foundations, which had begun with the Franco-papal rift at the time of Boniface VIII. Being the ultimate defender of the Catholic faith, the Capetian king was invested with a Christlike function that put him above the pope : what was at stake in the Templars' trial, then, was the establishment of a "royal theocracy"."

Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was arrested on Friday, 13th October 1307, but he wasn't put to death until sometime between 11 - 18 March 1314. I sped things up because having a shorter window of opportunity to rescue Hugh made his demise make more sense in my mind.

Guillaume de Nogaret was the keeper of the seal of King Philip IV of France, not the Knights Templar (sorry for the confusion but the title sounded snappy). He was a lawyer, a statesman and a councilor, and was an active participant in the arrest and torture of the Knights Templar. After the trial, he went on to be involved with the trial of Guichard, Bishop of Troyes, on various charges including witchcraft, and was making plans to go on crusade and pilgrimage when he died in April 1313.

Now known by the moniker Île Louviers, the Île aux Javiaux "...is a former island in the Seine in the centre of Paris, just upstream of the present Île Saint-Louis and of a similar size. Never built up, it was connected with the north bank of the river in 1843. Just before it ceased to be an island it had a surface area of 33,638m². In modern Paris the former island lies between the quai Henri IV and the boulevard Morland." (Wikipedia).

The remains of the Knights Templars burnt on Île Louviers were collected and delivered to various churches around Paris.

[startrekwintergiftexchange]

A Recipe for You and Me

Gift for @enbygesserit from @vaporwave-manatees!

===

Ziyal walked calmly down the promenade, avoiding eye contact with the ease of much practice. On Dozaria it had kept her out of trouble with the Breen (though of course their actual eyes were never visible) who would often reward a sullen or insolent look with a blow. On Cardassia it spared her some of the open disgust, the anger, the outrage her very existence brought no matter where she went. On her fathers ship, then Deep Space 9, she'd had a small lull, a peaceful window of time she could be more friendly and open, and expect at least some of the same in return. Now however, with the station reclaimed by the Cardassians and their Dominion "allies", her habit had returned full force. Better than seeing the cruel sneers, insincere smiles, or the tired and anxious faces around her.

"Ziyal!"

Well, mostly full force.

Major Kira strode briskly towards her, grinning warmly, and she couldn't help but grin back, at the only person she could always rely on to look at her with honesty, and kindness, and as her own, whole person, despite everything.

"Major." She curtsied slightly, enjoying the eye-roll she received for her put-on formality. "Having a good day?"

"Ugh, not until now, but let's not talk about it shall we?" Kira linked their arms gently and continued their walk down the hall, past the Bajoran temple doors. "I wanted to ask how your project was going?"

"Oh well...." Ziyal blushed, "I'm not sure, I haven't tried any yet."

Kira looked surprised. "But sampling the brine is the best way to track how the fermentation is going! What variety are you using?"

"Lotha province peppers. Vedek Nane gave some to me, he swore they're the spiciest peppers on all Bajor."

Kira rolled her eyes dramatically. "Sure he did, just like every other Bajoran will say that grows their own peppers."

"Would you like to come and taste some? We could make some hasperat, maybe I could show you my new drawings."

"That sounds like just what I need, first though Odo wanted to let me know-" Kira stopped abruptly mid-sentence, staring ahead, then swung them to the side neatly, into the door of Quarks. "Y'know what? It can wait, actually. How about we go this way, I just want to....check something."

"Of course". Ziyal nodded along, pretending that she hadn't also noticed her father standing further down the promenade, deep in conversation with the Vorta, just before their sudden detour. She knew perfectly well that Kira didn't want to interact with him, and unusually, she didn't particularly want to greet him right now either. Even more unusually, she didn't feel particularly ashamed about that.

They took their odd detour as if it was the most natural thing to do, looping up and back around along the second level then taking a lift to Ziyals quarters.

"I've been peeking in once and a while, trying to keep track of the number of bubbles." Ziyal ran to the back corner of her room, drawing the metal pot she'd replicated out of the darkest corner she'd been able to find. "I think I'm supposed to keep it cooler, but I'm not sure. Nane's instructions were kind of....vague. Plus, I don't want to lower the temperature of my room too much, since the rest of the station is already so......chilly......" She trailed off, nervous about the critical gaze Kira was sporting now. She knelt beside the pot, lifting the lid and giving the mix a tentative sniff.

"Hm...."

This moment suddenly felt nerve-wracking, like her first steps onto Cardassia with her father, her first days on the station, the first review of her art. The idea of Kira finding it lacking, finding her lacking suddenly choked her breath, and she folded her hands to prevent them trembling.

"Don't tell me, has my first hasperat experiment gone terribly wrong?" She tried to make the question humorous, light. She wasn't sure if she succeeded.

Kira finally looked over at her, and her small frown smoothed. She chuckled. "Well, about as well as most first hasperat experiments go." She leaned in closer. "It's okay, the one and only time I tried to make it alone my father banned me from touching his peppers for at least a few months."

She stood with a soft groan, then sat down on the couch. "First off, you need a real brining pot, clay instead of metal. You can use mine, I barely use it; not enough time to spare. You're right, the temperature here is too high, but there's a cooling unit you can replicate that you can place in the corner so you don't have to keep the whole room like a cold cellar. I can send you the specifications. You didn't use up all the peppers right?"

Ziyal joined her on the couch, relief washing through her like a wave. "Only about half, Nane gave me a lot, maybe he knew there would be some stumbles."

Kira nodded approvingly. "Alright, I can also give you some Dahkur province peppers too. Now, I'm not going to claim they're the spiciest on Bajor, but they have a crunch and sweetness I would say can't be beat. And I prefer a hasperat with some depth of flavour, not just spiciness alone."

Ziyal quickly picked up a nearby PADD, beginning to jot down notes. "Alright. How often should I taste test it? Should I slice the peppers, or crush them? Boil, or just simmer first? What ratio of salt and water do you use for the brine? Are there any-"

"Slow down! One at a time!" Kira laughed, sliding closer to bump their shoulders. "A Lot of that is up to you, but let's start at the beginning and make sure you've got all the basics....."

===

"Mm".

Ziyal waited patiently, watching Kira's gaze shift back and forth, the hasperat roll still poised neatly between her lips.

"Better." She met Ziyals eyes and gave her a quick, warm smile, eyes shining a little more than they had on her last taste-test. "But, if you want this hasperat to really make my eyes water, I'd say the brine needs to simmer a few more hours at a lower temperature, then rest a day or two more at a lower temperature."

"How about the saltiness? I could add a bit more if you think it would bring out the flavour."

Kira shrugged. "It's really up to you, as long as you love the taste it doesn't have to be perfect."

Ziyal nibbled her hasperat, then looked up timidly "But, I could make it perfect, just like you like it, if maybe....you could tell me how your family would make it."

Kira's expression tightened, mood shifting perceptibly. Ziyals heart sank, fearing she'd said too much, an overstep.

It happened often, less with Kira, but more with other Bajorans she'd attempt to associate with. Things would be going so smoothly, conversations would flow, walls would begin to come down. Then she'd stumble on some inevitable landmine; a remark or expression or even movement which reminded them she was different. Then the walls would come back up, the distance, the cool, guarded politeness.

But Kira's expression lightened, and she reached past her to the clay vessel, settling its lid back in place and caressing it softly.

"Typically....well, they say there's one hasperat recipe for every family on Bajor. Sometimes even two. You can be taught the basics, but from there you're supposed to figure it out yourself."

Ziyal nodded, tried to take the advice as heartfelt, but the attempt battled inside her with a sudden surge of bitterness. She pushed the pot back into the cooling unit with a clatter, perhaps a bit more roughly than necessary, then sank down on her couch, looking out the port to the silky dark of space. "Well, until now I never even got the basics. Let alone my family recipe."

Kira folded her arms, looking gravely at Ziyal then out the port along with her. They spent a long moment together like that. Kira sighed. "You know, I-"

The door suddenly swept open with a loud hiss, then-

"Major! What a pleasant surprise!"

Ziyal leapt back up, her heart dropping in sudden dread and embarrassment. They both abruptly turned towards the door as Dukat waltzed in. He bared his teeth in his way which missed friendly, but didn't quite reach threatening, and Kira's gaze hardened into the typical professional mask she used in front of him.

"Dukat. I thought there was a reception for that new Cardassian envoy tonight?"

"Oh yes, yes, it's going just splendidly, though of course we miss your charming presence. But I was in the area for a moment and thought I'd just drop in to see how my darling daughter was doing tonight." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head, though the tender gesture didn't relax and cheer Ziyal like it usually had. "I hear you two have a little culinary project in the works, how is it coming along?"

"It's going well father" Ziyal was desperate to smooth the growing tension, trying to think of some way, any way to move the conversation along, get him to leave. "Kira said the hasperat brine I've made is getting better and better."

"Is it now?" He walked over to the cooling unit, pulling the brine pot out.

"She's right" Kira spoke cheerfully, and suddenly, strangely, her tension was gone, and she smiled at Dukat in a sweet, disarming way. "Her blend of peppers creates a wonderful balance of flavour. I'd say her recipe so far rivals the hasperat of many of the fine cooks on Bajor."

"I see!" Dukat seemed surprised by her newfound easy spirits, pressing a hand to the table and leaning in towards her as she came over and lifted the lid back off the pot. "Well, with a teacher such as yourself I'm not surprised." He smirked. "Though frankly, I think her time could be spent on other, more worthwhile endeavours." He looked over at Ziyal in the indulgent way which she knew was meant to be loving, yet somehow still made her feel like a silly child. "I mean, what's the use of spending so much time on something any replicator could make in moments?"

"Oh, but Dukat" Kira looked up at him with wide, coy eyes, as she dipped the ladle down into the brine. "Everyone knows that a replicated hasperat can never hold a candle to the real thing" she sipped it, humming in delight, "Though, as I told her, it isn't really spicy enough yet." She held the ladle out towards him, smiling serenely, "Would you care to try some?"

Dukat gave the spoon a calculating look, then Kira. Her pleasant expression never wavered. He smirked then leaned forward, holding the eye contact, drank the spoonful and rose back up to his full height.

"Hmmmm" Dukat smirked, swallowing. "Yes delight...ful". He swallowed again. Blinked. The smirk twitched, and he seemed to be trying not to cough. Or maybe cry. "Yes, haha. Not quite..... As spicy..... As...... It could be, to be sure." He smiled again, though not with the same enthusiasm as before.

Kira's smile widened, by all appearances delighted. "Oh, I'm glad you like it. Would care for some more?"

"No, no, I - ahem." He lurched toward the door, now blinking up towards the ceiling in a rapid, peculiar way, eyes shining. "While I appreciate the offer, I'm afraid I have some more....things to attend to, just wanted to drop by for a moment. In any case, enjoy your evening ladies." The hiss of the door nearly cut his final words off as he practically lurched back out into the hallway.

There was a beat of silence.

"Thank the prophets, finally" Kira muttered, leaning her hands against the table as she breathed a huff of relief.

"I'm sorry" Ziyal said softly, sitting back down on the couch.

"It's fine Ziyal. Just my luck he'd pop in." Kira pinched her nose bridge, then slid her palm against her forehead, as if trying to grind the encounter out of her memory. "It figures, it's like he's got a sixth sense for finding, then bothering me."

"No. It was me, I'm sorry. I told him you'd be here." Ziyal whispered. She couldn't look up, seeing Kira turn to her slowly. She swallowed around the lump forming in her throat, trying to make sure her voice didn't wobble. "He wanted me to attend that reception tonight, but we had planned this and I.... I couldn't find another excuse quick enough. I swear, I - I asked him not to come, I told him it was nothing, just a project for the two of us, and he, he p-promised me, he said he wouldn't-"

"Hey, hey" Kira knelt before her, taking her hand and shushing her gently. She chuffed Ziyals hand between hers, tilting her head until finally Ziyal lifted her head back up and met her gaze. "I understand. Trust me, I do." She slid up to sit next to Ziyal, still holding her hand, as finally Ziyal let the tears begin to fall.

Kira lifted one hand to her shoulder, and they sat close, saying nothing, as Ziyal let all her weariness and frustration, her anger and hurt, overwhelm and crash through her. Eventually the tears stopped, leaving her tired and a little ashamed, but feeling better than she had in ages.

"Better?" Kira asked softly.

"Yes" she tried to turn away, chuckling weakly. "How embarrassing. Father says showing such weakness is never wise, just puts you at a disadvantage."

Kira scowled. "He would say that, wouldn't he."

"It's true, isn't it? You're always so strong, I wish I could be like that."

Kira smiled, sort of. "I'm not…I used to think that was strength. Never drop your guard, never stop to let anything catch up to you" her face became pensive. "Now though…. I think strength should be facing the emotions, feeling them, and letting them change you for the better."

Kira leaned back, thumping her head against the couch back. "And, saying that…… I was going to tell you earlier, I…." Her voice wobbled briefly, eyes shining again from something different than the hasperat. "When you asked me for my family recipe, I, I made excuses, I lied, because honestly? I don't even remember my family's recipe." Her eyebrows pinched together, as if in pain. "My father, I remember him trying to teach me, showing me how, but I wasn't interested, too busy playing rebellion, then tagging along with the resistance, and finally fighting. I wish….. I should've…." She sighed, shaking her head. "Just another thing lost, I suppose, but… I remember the flavour, like a ghost, a memory of a memory. And no matter whose hasperat I try, it's never right. But…. I have no way of making it right."

They sat in silence again for a moment, then Kira sighed, smiling softly and turning to Ziyal.

"How about that? Embarrassing?"

Ziyal shook her head, hard. "No. Not at all. I…. I would never have thought you and I would be the same, like that. Thank you for telling me."

"Of course" and there it was, her real smile, the warm smile, eyes and teeth and her hand clasping Ziyals.

Kira stood, and stretched. "We'd better put that brine away, and I'd better go to bed. Another busy day tomorrow."

Ziyal joined her walking over to the pot, taking one last look then replacing the lid. "Kira…. we could make our own recipe" she put the pot away carefully, then turned to her with a smile "It won't be the same, but it could be something…good, something special. A recipe just for you and me."

For a moment Kira looked amazed, then pulled Ziyal into a fierce hug. "I would like that….very much". Her voice wobbled again, just briefly. Then she chuckled. "I could even teach you how to make Hasperat Soufflé".

Ziyal nodded eagerly. "Is it quite difficult?"

"It can be a challenge, but I think you'd be up to it, and the flavour, oh. It's worth all the effort. I have a friend in Ikreimi who could grind us some real katterpod for flour, the soufflé never fluffs up right with other kinds. He'd probably even let us visit and use his clay ovens, maybe then we could also go see…

*Fin*

(I took some liberties here with how the brine for hasperat is made, since I couldn't find anything specific on the subject anywhere. This takes place sometime between Sons & Daughters and Sacrifice of Angels, and essentially blossomed from my question to myself: "What if it was Kira who taught Ziyal how to make that Hasperat soufflé?" And then I decided to just write something not even exactly about that haha)

[quietwingsinthesky]

I don't actually like samifer as a non con ship & sabriel could be so much cooler if the fandom explored them in like a fucked up way. like gabriel forgot how to be an angel and is more pagan than anything when he first appears. that could be explored a lot more than it is !!

That’s absolutely reasonable, anon. No one should have to engage in any ship (or any kind of fandom stuff) through only one specific interpretation, even if that’s the dominant view of it (which, I think in spn fandom, non-con samifer is what people default to) and especially not if it’s something that makes you uncomfortable or hell, even if it’s just not interesting to you.

(I like non-con, dubcon, and completely consensual samifer lmao, they have the range, but if you’re just here for the consensual smooching, that’s totally valid. Remind me to hit you up when I finish this next fic cause it’s going to be all about that. And sub!lucifer. Sorry I’m rambling.)

And as for fucked up sabriel, god yes!!! Yes!!! They should be messy!!! Gabriel literally tortured him and fucked with his head and also was pulling a similar thing to lucifer where he was trying to make the transition into Sam being Lucifer’s vessel less painful (for Sam but also for Gabriel himself as the endtimes/when he’ll lose his brother (or arguably both, since there’s no way Michael would be Okay and Normal after killing lucifer) forever) with the whole ‘get used to playing your roles’ thing in Changing Channels and he does sacrifice his life to save Sam/try to stop Lucifer in Hammer of the Gods!!!

Like!!! They’re complex!!! They have layers!!! Messy messy layers!!! Gabriel has tortured him, Gabriel has tried to help him. Sam’s been praying to angels his whole life and the first one he ever met had no interest in giving him salvation. Gabriel’s the kind of thing Sam kills on a weekly basis, would probably have succeeded in killing if Gabriel didn’t have his Get Out Of Jail Free card of ‘can only be killed via archangel blade’. And doesn’t that just make the power dynamics even crazier.

Anyway. For your perusal. Alternate post-s5 au where Gabriel survived where he pulls Sam’s soul out of the cage sure but. He’s still upset. Doesn’t want to think about it and definitely doesn’t want to confront the fact that he gave the Winchesters the whole ring plan, so Michael & Lucifer getting locked up in Hell, there being no end, no peace, no real closure for anyone, is technically his fault. So uh. He does save Sam from hell. But he’s mad. So he turns Sam into a hamster and keeps him in a little hamster cage.

Is this a lesson? I mean, he says so. (But let’s be real, he’s just taking out his frustration on Sam because Sam’s an available, vaguely Lucifer-shaped target who he can shift the blame onto for this whole mess.) (also, hamster!sam is still smart as hell and escapes the cage and starts plotting against Gabriel/to find ways to become human again.)

Wow okay sorry this was so long. Love u anon.

[cruelfeline]

Hello hello!

I'm absolutely loving your musings on what is potentially joining the lists of one of my favorite games ever! I'm so happy to find someone with a positive view on the game who is also thinking the same thoughts as me regarding Cuff's and Frey's relationship in the game 😁. Even though I ship them, I appreciate your view of a platonic relationship with them.

I just wanted to ask if you could go deeper regarding Frey's choice to keep Cuff sealed within her... rather than destroying him. For me, it says a lot about how much he means to her. Face it, Cuff is Frey's first "friend." Even when she found out who he truly was and what he's done, she still referred to him by his nickname. She also tried to reason with him throughout their fight instead of hurling insults at him.

Also, how do you feel about them seemingly going back to normal with each other after the battle? I think it relates to how they both view their relationship...but I don't want to say anymore since this ask is long as heck 😅.

Bleh sorry for the long ask! I'm just excited to see someone else think about Forspoken like I do 😂!

Hello! Thank you so much for the ask; I'm delighted to discuss these two!

It's a great question: why does Frey keep Cuff sealed, rather than simply killing him? It's one that I don't think we can fully answer; there are too many loose story threads left unexplored, and we just don't have access to important bits of information.

For example: can Cuff be killed? Is he mortal, or no? If he can be killed, then is Frey physically powerful enough to do so? Did she truly decide not to destroy him, or was she simply unable to and thus forced to bind him instead? The answers to these questions are unclear, and so we really are kind of stuck in the realm of personal opinion.

Now, my personal opinion is that she chose not to kill him. Partially because I enjoy the character implications and feel it makes for a more interesting story, and partially because, in-game, we have no indication that she's attempting to kill him. It's not like we visibly see her try, realize she can't do it, and switch gears. She just seems to immediately bind him with no overt kill-attempt made.

So, let's just assume, for the purposes of fun character assessment and lack of evidence to the contrary, that she truly decides to bind him rather than killing him. Why does she do that? Why seal him, when he's clearly responsible for untold amounts of death and pain? Why keep him with her, when he is essentially responsible for her being orphaned, for her being "abandoned" in NYC, for pretty much all of the negative aspects of her life?

Well, for one thing: Frey isn't a killer. She does kill, quite often, because she needs to, but she doesn't like it. She doesn't go out of her way to eliminate things. Recall the beginning of the game, when she actually did seek to end Sila because of Olevia's death. Even when she succeeded in avenging the little girl's death, she didn't feel satisfied by it. It didn't bring the closure she wanted, and it just... wasn't a thing that made her feel positive. Even when it was warranted. Same with the other Tantas: they may have been legitimately dangerous and in need of elimination, but Frey still didn't want to do it. She's simply not a person who every truly wants to kill another. No matter, it seems, how dangerous they are. I expect that this same reluctance applies to Cuff. He's arguably the most monstrous thing in Athia right now, but that doesn't change her aversion to taking a life. And so, despite everything, she doesn't want to take his.

There's also this sense, during the final battle, that Frey sees something of her prior self in Cuff. She recognizes her old anger and resentment in him, and she recognizes some sort of loneliness; I think that recognition compels her to want to reach out to him rather than to destroy him. She likewise seems to sense some sort of... distress in him? Perhaps? She asks him if what he's doing is what he actually wants, and he clearly gets angry at the question. One gets the impression that she is trying to feel out what is actually going on with him. Is he acting out of a sense of obligation he feels he can't escape? Why is he so set on Athia's destruction? Is this truly what he wants to do, in his own heart, or is this something he sees as a necessary act that he feels compelled to perform for reasons outside of him? I think Frey senses some sort of discrepancy here and wants to understand it better, despite Cuff being less than forthcoming.

Then there is, as you point out, their relationship. It's not what I would call a "friendly" relationship, mind you, but it's incredibly involved and intimate in ways that likely neither of them has ever experienced before.

To Frey, Cuff is, as far as we can tell, the closest relationship she's ever had. She doesn't have any known friends in NYC (save for Homer!). And while she arguably makes friends in Cipal - Auden, for example - they are friends that really cannot be with her most of the time. The people of Cipal can't leave the city for obvious reasons, and Frey spends the overwhelming majority of her time out in the Break-ridden parts of Athia. The only one who can join her there is Cuff.

So while he's done the terrible things he's done, both to her and to Athians in general, he's also the only one she can count on to be there with her on a day-by-day basis. He's the only one who can be there to support her in battle. He's the only one who can shield her, who can advise her, who can teach and guide her as she continues her work as Breakwarden.

Cuff is also the one who is there with her for both life-changing events and every-day mundane minutiae. He is there when she first arrives in Athia and is thus her only source of support during this life-changing experience. He is there when she kills Sila and comforts her in the aftermath. He is there when she learns who her mother is. He is there when Olas tries to trap her in her illusions. Likewise, he is there every morning to wake her up and every night to nag her to sleep. He chides her to eat, to heal, to rest, and he guards her while she does so. He comments on her new cloaks, necklaces, and nail patterns. He reminds her to put the fire out properly after camping.

For Cuff, Frey is possibly the only one who has ever interacted with him as another regular person. I can't imagine, given what he is, that anyone has ever just... had conversations with him. Treated him like anything other than Athia's destroyer, positively or negatively. But Frey just... talks to him. About nothing. About how gross the foe they're fighting is. About how huge that bridge they just crossed was, or how fun water-gliding is, or how she senses a new cat to befriend. About how annoying he is, even as she's annoying right back.

I expect she's also the only one he's ever had a cooperative, working relationship with. He advises her. She, even while complaining, takes that advice. She attacks, he defends. He counters, she borrows his magic to strike a foe back. Oftentimes, during successful battles, it's very apparent that they both take some joy in how seamlessly they can work together.

So, after their final battle together, I think they fall back into their relationship because it's simply comfortable for both of them. They're stuck together, after all. Each is bound to the other not just by magic, but by the reality of their circumstances. Frey can't be helped in her task by anyone else because it is physically impossible. Cuff can only fulfill his goal using Frey for the exact same reason, and even though he failed this time, any hope he might have for eventual success still lies with her. Each of them needs the other in order to even try to do what they want/need to do.

Since there is no getting away from one another, I feel like they simply resolve to make the best of it. And "making the best of it" is feasible because, at the end of the day, despite the enormity of their conflict, they are each other's most important person. They know one another in ways no one else does. They're are connected to one another as they are connected to no one else. And, ultimately, there's some sort of comfort in that intimate familiarity.

Anyway, thanks for the ask! I hope those thoughts are interesting to you, and I'm sorry for the length. I really like talking about these two c:

[shaykai]

Pmd headcanons that no one asked for because I have 0 self control 👉👉

Also these have no specific order, they're all over the place, and I'm not sorry

Bidoof and Jirachi are friends and visit eachother sometimes, although it doesn't happen super often because Jirachi is almost always tired/asleep

Dusknoir and Grovyle used to spar together before things went bad, so they both know each others tricks (though there are still certain moves that they have trouble dealing with, such has Grovyles ability to escape tight spaces)

Celebi has tiny little fae fangs because I said so

Chatot has a habit of perching on Wigglytuff's head

Armaldo? You mean Wigglytuff's adoptive uncle?

Armaldo has passed away by the time the main events of the game are happening, and Wigglytuff makes it a habit to visit his burial sight. Sometimes Chatot will accompany her and she'll tell him about all sorts of adventures they had together.

Chatot and Wigglytuff will occasionally stay up and discuss different things that are going on, or tell stories.

Crogunk was a criminal before he joined the guild

Crogunk, Chimecho, and Dugtrio are usually the ones who watch the guild if the others go out on an expedition

Sunflora has a crush on Loudred (but shh, don't tell anyone)

Chimecho is basically the guild's mom

Team Charm was what got Wigglytuff back into exploring with others, one of their adventures lead to her meeting Chatot and forming a guild

Team Charm will randomly visit the guild, mostly to get jobs, but they also visit with Wigglytuff and bond with some of the guild members, like Sunflora

Darkrai has talked to Dusknoir before, helping solidify that whole "gotta murder the good guys" thing (he also occasionally pops up in his nightmares)

Chatot and Wigglytuff are Manaphy's uncle/aunt/grandpa/grandma/whatever now I don't make the rules

Hero and partner almost always take Manaphy on adventures with them, once Manaphy is ready for them

Even when Manaphy leaves, Hero still has a habit of buying blue gummies from the Klecleon brothers

Dusknoir got to see the sunrise with Celebi and Grovyle and did NOT disappear just a second before it happened

Celebi and Dusknoir, weirdly enough, get along really well after everything happens

Grovyle and Dusknoir are capable of having civil conversations, even before they decide to team up. It's just not very likely to happen-

Dusknoir gives the best hugs (good luck getting him to give you one)

Also this is kind of canon but Dusknoir & the Sableye care a great deal for eachother

Future trio has trauma and tend to get jumpy whenever they're around Dialga

The legendaries will occasionally host little get togethers (both for fun and to make sure that things aren't exploding)

Sometimes they'll have honored guests at said get togethers, so Grovyle, Celebi, and Dusknoir get to meet a couple of them. (So do Partner & Hero, in their respective timeline)

Dusknoir & Grovyle play chess together, sometimes Celebi will join in for a three way chess battle, which is almost always chaotic and somehow she almost always wins.

Celebi has a habit of leaning on Dusknoir's head or holding Grovyle's head leaf.

Hero can kind of read the Unown alphabet

This goes for all of the games, but Hero & Partner are just reincarnated (though they can change genders and pokemon and all that, of course)

[arctrooper69]

Enemies to Lovers: Tech

Few quick notes here: 1.) If you want to be on a tag list for this fic or for anything I write, shoot me a message! 2.) Just tested positive for covid so I'm stuck in my house but that gives me more time for writing so I'll probably be posting more often. I'm also trying to get a Masterlist up and going so keep an eye out for that if you want 😂

@zoeykallus @ttzamara

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Chapter 3: We've Got Company

Warnings: Violence, explosions - nothing you wouldn't see in any given episode

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

Tech’s pov

Tech regarded the woman in front of him fidgeting and rubbing at her wrist. He suspected the action was more of a nervous tick than an actual pain response. He cringed internally, he did regret hurting her.

But then again, she did attack you, snapped back one of his more logical thoughts.

There was something intriguing about the woman in front of him but he didn’t know what. Tech hated not knowing. He studied her intently, temporarily letting the current mission slip from his mind. Was it the fact that she had nearly succeeded in decoding military-grade top-secret data? Or the fact that even though she was obviously terrified, she tried so hard to keep her composure? Was it the way she looked shyly any when his eyes met hers or the way her hair-

No. Not going there. He abruptly stopped that train of thought in it's tracks feeling, stiffening his posture with resolve.

Tech shook his head.

Maker

What was wrong with him? Perhaps he’d caught some kind of illness from the last place they’d traveled. Clones were built to withstand most diseases but there were a small handful that even years of genetic manipulation couldn’t account for.

“Tech come in,” Hunter’s voice came through the helmet, interrupting his self analysis. He filed the thoughts away making a mental note to give himself a once over with the medi-scanner when he was back on the Marauder - just to be sure. Hunter sounded tense.

“What’s going on, Hunter?” Tech replied quickly through the coms.

“Are you almost done? We’ve got trouble”

“I’ve run into some unexpected…. problems,” he glanced over at the woman who was looking back at him frowning.

“You’d better solve them quickly. We’re about to have company.”

As if on cue, the low rumble of a distant explosion rocked the wreckage they were on.

“Osik” he cursed under his breath in Mando’a. Another explosion shook the ship harder than the last.

That one was definitely closer.

An alarm blared to life throughout the room and the console they'd been staring at flashed chaotic and red. The telltale creaking groan then crunch of shattering durasteel echoed through the hall they’d both come down, followed by heavy clanking footsteps.

Droids. B2 super droids to be exact.

Tech gulped but was glad he'd taken the time to study the specs and programmed behavior of most Separatist droids. At least he knew what was coming.

I thought they'd all been deactivated with the rise of the Empire. He frowned, tucking the inquiry into his ever growing mental stack of issues-to-be-investigated.

This is.... not ideal.

Tech glanced over at the woman who had by now returned to the flashing console, back facing the door and concentrating on the screen. She'd gone back to attempting to override the security firewalls that had just been reactivated. He'd almost forgotten she was there.

Almost.

He didn't think he'd ever be able to forget her entirely. The noise of droid against durasteel stopped as soon as it had started.

Strange

And most likely a trap

Not good

Tech cocked his head, listening for any sign that would indicate assault by grenade or disrupter or any kind of artillery made to draw him out of hiding. As if reading his mind, a single droid dropped from the ceiling landing silently in the hall right in front of the door. Without a second thought he protectively launched himself by the console where y/n had her back toward the door and drew his blaster. She looked up at his sudden movement in front of her. Her eyes widened in surprise and then in betrayal. Tech’s expression switched from confusion to sudden realization in a matter of seconds.

She can't see the droid behind her

She thinks I'm aiming for her

His eyes widened in alarm. The next few seconds seemed to pass in slow motion as she grabbed her blaster from the floor and aimed it at him.

“Y/N no!” He shouted, “I’m not -"

She fired and Tech ducked as the blast streaked past him just inches from the left side of his helmet. The blast hit the bulkhead above the door, wildly ricocheting across the room until it hit the console and exploded, filling the air with a thick grey smoke. Tech could only watch in horror as the ceiling caved in with another blast and everything went dark.

edit: There was a formatting issue and a paragraph from the middle got sent to the end of the piece. It's fixed now. Sorry about that!

[madara-fate]

technically I agree with almost everything you say but what I always fail to understand is how could you support a relationship where one partner would knock the other out not to keep them safe, but to not bother them when they fight. I get it's in the past and they weren't in a rlshp yet and he was not in a right place of mind which has changed etc but these kinds of stuff just leave a bitter taste in your mouth that no amount of future sweet moments can erase completely. (no hate to you or the ship I just don't understand this)

I really don't see how you can apparently agree with almost everything I say, when a lot of what I say is in support of this relationship. So apologies, but I can't help but find it a little hard to believe that you're being genuine when you say that.

In any case Anon, do you support Gaara's appointment to Kazekage, despite the fact that he was once feared as a killing machine in his own village, and slaughtered countless innocent people?

Do you support Neji's relationship with Hinata, despite the fact that he literally tried to kill her during the Chuunin Exams for the sole reason that she brought up how much he was struggling with his Branch family status?

Do you support Itachi, despite the fact that he committed mass genocide against his own clan and repeatedly tortured Sasuke both physically and psychologically, when he really didn't need to?

Do you support Obito's redemption, despite how he caused by far the most shit in the entire series, where even attempting to list everything that he has done would take far too long?

The point is Anon, the vast majority of fans are in full support of relationships and characters where the perpetrators have done so much worse than knocking someone out to prevent them from interfering in a fight while they were afflicted with a supernatural curse which caused them to be consumed by their hatred. That is literally nothing compared to some of the other things that other characters have been forgiven for in this series.

It's really not hard at all to support SS when you acknowledge exactly what Sakura and Naruto were trying to save Sasuke from, and you also acknowledge Sasuke's recovery after they had succeeded.

[astrologgeek]

⚠️ I do not give any permission to anyone reading this post to re-post my content nor plagiarize it. This content belongs to me and myself only @astrologgeek ⚠️

My ✨astro✨ notes

Part 1.

This is my first post on tumblr, I've been learning astrology for over a year now - and I have finally succeeded and wrote my own personal astrology notes! ⚠️these are my own personal observations and notes, which means that whatever I'm saying here isn't 100% astrology accurate & approved by any professional astrologer⚠️ hope you enjoy I guess <3 (BTW: if anyone wants to repost or anything pls tag me, and don't steal pls!! I've worked so hard on these.)

• Taurus risings have 2 types of luaghter: crying-like laugh because of their 3rd house cancer or a smirky / deep-like laugh because of their capricorn 9th house. As a taurus rising I approve this message.

• speaking of taurus risings: gemini 2nd house ppl may joke a lot about their self worth. They also have a very big vocal range - whether they can sing or not, they can be great at dubbing.

• Neptune in the 2nd house have dreamy voices / amazing singing abilities or they may sound like a someone that does drugs / smoke / just high.

• having your mars in the 10th house can indicate a modeling career, especially if your MC is in good aspects with your ASC.

• virgo 9th house people have the most provocative sense of humor, they are also a "know-it-all". Yet, they are extremely loyal, so passionate and devoted to their duties.

• whichever house your pluto is in explains your deepest fears and where there is true chaos in your life (I'll make a post about it!)

• having your pluto in libra - as pluto being the planet of our generations - means that these people have always tried to fit into norms and into society, to not stand out, to be the most basic they can try. I believe that if they had a catchfraze it would be: "fake it 'till you make it".

• whatever house you have libra in is an area in your life that tries to fit in norms / society / normality (libra 11th house: have friends that are normal & basic / you try to to fit in society to make friends)

• aries rising's facial expressions are IMMACULATE (aries rules the face, so it's fitting that their face and facial expression will be very dominant)

• if your lilith conjuncts your saturn then solving the dark and hidden parts of you will help your career life grow and evolve as well.

• Mars-neptune aspects makes your anger blurry - like you don't know when your angry or how to feel / express your anger. Bonus points if the moon has contact with mars.

• There are 2 houses that rule the feeling of not belonging: the 11th house (not belonging because ur special, unique, weird, not normal) and the 12th house (not belonging because of your lonely energy, your blurry energy that makes you feel drifted from everyone automatically)

• Parent & children 🤝 not understanding each other's generation. Why, you may ask? Most if the time the age gap between children & their parents is 25 - 40 years, now if pluto is changing it's sign every 12 (mostly) - 31 years it means that the gap of the signs is creating a square! Example: gen z (pluto in sag) & boomers and karens (pluto in virgo), yet gen z (pluto in sag) & gen of pluto in leo (our grandparents) are creating a trine aspect (good relationship between generations).

• Capricorn stelliums are the most impatient people ever, time just moves with their own schedule and they are the ones that are always perfectly in time. Why? Saturn, which is ruled by capricorn: is ruling time.

• 12th house placements in general but especially 12th house NN & chiron 10th house people have a hero complex, that we must help everyone and save everyone. It's because the 12th house is about selflessness and empathy.

• Sagittarius rising feel so intimate and private, like no one really knows them - because of their 12th house scorpio, which makes their intimate side hidden, and makes them a mystery.

• Your 7th house sign is also the sign you have celebrity-crushes & obsessions on.

• You can know leo's even without them having a sun, moon or rising in leo. They are just SO noticeable! Their energy is just IMMACULATE

• I think that 12th house people are very intersted in prisons, mental hospitals, illusions and parties actually! Now all of them are understood because of our natural will to search for the unkown and the mystery and the unrealistic stuff in our lives, stuff that makes your soul change.

But why parties? Parties may be a place filled with people and noise which 12th house ppl won't like but the thing is parties are a fun illusion, with the lights changing all the time and the music that makes our body adapt to an entirely different environment because of it - it makes u very much aware of everything within the noise and loudness and madness.

• Talking about parties and 12th house people - I have noticed that they have 2 options of how they act:

1. They sit in the corner and analyze literally anything or just drown in their own thoughts or distract themselves from "all of the eyes looking at them".

2. They try to dance and get involve in the party but they're or getting to carried away and then feel embarrassed af and isolate themselves or immediately regrets it and goes to isolate themselves.

• 10th house transits for ppl who haven't graduated high school / university yet will be manifesting in their school life because it's where you're "supposed" to find your career path.

• In my opinion, the co-ruler of fun (which is ruled by leo) is sagittarius. Why? Leo rules entertainment and sagittarius is the ruler of jupiter, which resembles happiness, optimism (, expansion, growth) which is like the soul purpose of fun and entertainment.

• Even tho communication and the social media are a mercury - thing, I actually think that specific parts have 2 or even 3 rulers. For example: articles are ruled by gemini, virgo and aquarius (gemini to represent the creativeness and flowing speech in the article (also gossip if included), virgo to represent the order and wording of the article and how it's represented and brought to the readers and aquarius is for the fact that articles always talk about new, innovative or unusual things that are happening currently [little bit of cap right here lol] in the world, which also bring awareness (def an aqua theme).

• As the 8th house representing secrets, intimacy and shared resources - it must mean that people with this stellium or placements LOVE gossip. gossip is the combination of shared resources (media - which related to my last note - so gossip pages are gemini scorpio thing), intimacy and secrets.

• I have a theory - vehicles, as all materials and machines - are ruled by earth signs, so here are each vehicles rulers in my opinion:

virgo rules the air-vehicles (plains, helicopters etc.) Because that's a mutable sign that's adaptable of change the most out of every earth sign, and because the sky is so unpredictable and there's infinite courses of ways to reach ur destination - virgo fits the most to it.

capricorn rules the sea-vehicles (ships, boats, submarines etc.) Because that's a cardinal sign, an initiator that doesn't wait for things to happen, but makes sure every sudden change has a stable solution, also the sea is such an exotic place - fitting for a Capricorn's rich taste in views and life. Other than that, water may be unpredictable as well, but less than the open air and sky. Capricorns are the sea goats for a reason ;)

And last but not least - taurus rules the earth-vehicles. As The most stable, grounded, stubborn & down to earth sign it's kind of fitting for the vehicles that moves through the earth to have taurus as it's ruler. As cars, motorcycles etc. Have roads, so does taurians have their own, only path. They depend on the only thing they trust and any sudden change will make chaos. It's also the most comfortable - the thing taurians are craving for most.

I HOPE U ENJOYED my astro-notes :) I'll def try to keep them coming lmao if y'all would want to. Hope y'all Have a nice day 💕

[5-falsehoods-phonated]

Soulmate September

Series Summary- a collection of one shots exploring different ships and au concepts. The list I created and am following can be found here.

Day One: Sparks Fly

Summary: Virgil goes deeper into the forest than he’s ventured before in the hopes of gathering more food. He finds more than he bargained for when a fairy claiming to be the prince of the forest begins to follow him.

Warnings: food mention. If there’s more please let me know!

Ships: Prinxiety (Virgil x Roman)

Prompt: Feel a spark when you touch your soulmate

WC: 3959

AO3

Tugging his long, dark cloak impatiently away from a jagged branch, Virgil skid down the steep embankment swearing the entire way. He didn’t often venture this far into the woods but he was getting just desperate enough to find gatherable ingredients he had decided to risk it. Honestly as long as he kept his eyes straight ahead and avoided the beckoning twinkles of light between the trees he should be fine. Thankfully this time of year the river was reduced to a large creek at best, making crossing to the other side where he was certain to find berries and mushrooms aplenty quite easy. It was only a matter of keeping his balance on the slimy rocks that normally made up the river bed, a skill he had mastered before he had even been entrusted as a gatherer.

Hiking his pants up to just below his knees he carefully adjusted his pack to be more balanced and draped the bottom of his cloak over his arm for good measure. The last thing he needed was to be scolded for dripping mud all over the floors again when he returned to the kitchens. Absentmindedly rubbing the stinging memory from the back of his head he hopped to the first rock, breath hissing between his teeth as the cold water rushed over his heated skin. With another breath he was perched on the second rock and then the third, toes gripping the moss in a mostly unneeded measure for stability. Wiggling a bit so his pack would recenter he eyed his next target, muscles tensing in preparation for the bigger leap.

“What are you doing?”

Squawking in alarm, Virgil tipped back dangerously, arms pinwheeling as his feet lost their purchase and let him fall backwards into the creek. Taking a brief moment to thank the gods he hadn’t landed on a rock he sat up quickly, sputtering as water ran down his face and soaked his shirt more than it already was. His cloak dragged behind him as he tried to get up, aiding only in him slipping back again with an unceremonial splash.

“Oh my dear I didn’t mean to frighten you!” There was more mirth than malice in the voice but that didn’t stop Virgil from flinching away from the strange hand that reached towards him. It retreated as he shoved sopping hair from his eyes and squinted against the sun to try and see what idiot made it a habit to scare people when they were jumping on wet stones. His breath caught when a face finally came into focus, sunlight forming a halo around the most beautiful person Virgil had ever seen.

His brightness was almost blinding, with shining red curls looking like spun gold in the light. Sharp features complemented kind brown eyes and tanned skin flecked with earth. Like Virgil he was barefoot, but instead of wearing sturdy pants and shirt to protect himself from the woods, autumn-red pants flowed just below his knees with an equally flowy white shirt tucked into them and unbuttoned to the chest. Despite the darkness of his skin he seemed to radiate his own gentle light that somehow made the sun look dull by comparison, making Virgil idly wonder if this was what seeing a god was like.

“Prince actually, but you do know how to inflate the ego.” The man chuckled.

Face burning with the realization that he had not only said that outloud but he had also been sitting in the water gaping like a stunned fish for entirely too long. Mumbling low curses under his breath he once again struggled to his feet while waving away the other’s outstretched hand impatiently. A fairy prince coming to pester someone with zero assets or connections- the fae were worse pranksters than they had the reputation for. Sighing, he decided to wade the rest of the way through the creek since he was already soaked, leaving the stranger behind in hopes he would stay there.

“So you never did answer.” No such luck apparently. “You do realize what part of the forest you’re in right?”

Virgil gritted his teeth. “I don’t wish to consort with your kind fae. I’ll only be in here for a little while.”

“My kind?” Virgil winced as he detected insult in his tone. “My kind are the reason your kind feel safe enough to traipse wherever you please regardless of obvious territorial lines!”

Virgil glanced at him quickly as he began scrambling up the incline of the bank. “Territorial lines?”

The man drew himself up proudly, keeping pace with Virgil as he effortlessly stepped his way up the embankment rather than crawling. “This part of the forest is mine, a long way from the edge of the river by your route. I could turn you into dandelion fluff for trespassing here.”

Virgil raised an unimpressed brow as he searched around for his next handhold. “Mhm, I’m sure you could.”

Smirking as the other man stomped his foot impatiently he made it up and over to the other side, slinging his pack around to see how damaged the things he had already gathered were from his earlier fall. Shoulders sinking as he surveyed the smashed contents he shot a glare at the stranger, who was currently standing on tiptoes with his arms crossed trying to see inside the bag.

“Humans used to grovel at our feet, what happened to that? Also is it custom to smash ingredients well before they’re cooked? I’m not caught up with the latest human affairs. Terribly dull, most of them.”

Gritting his teeth Virgil dumped the berries and mushrooms he had collected onto the forest floor, water that had seeped in from the top sloshing out as well and coming out like a weird, thick juice for all the mush everything had turned into. “They only smashed because I fell- something I never do unless someone decides it's a good idea to startle someone who’s trying to balance.”

The man looked unimpressed. “Why were you coming over this way anyway? There should be plenty of the things you were collecting on the other side of the river...and much closer to the nearest village too might I add.”

“Fall makes the pickings slimmer the closer to the village you are. Other people gather, animals eat what ‘s left, sparcer trees means more sun means things ripen and fall faster. I was trying my luck further in.”

“And you came alone?”

“None of your business.” Virgil hauled up the pack and stood. “I’m a tracker so I’m the one that usually gets sent out.”

“Oh really? Must be an expert to come out this late.”

“Sure.” Grunting, Virgil stepped over a rotting log and began pushing his way through bushes.

The man snorted. “Expert tracker- when I could hear you tromping through here from across the forest.” 

“Your words not mine. And stop following me, I’m only here to gather ingredients.”

They continued on in silence for a while, the fae following behind him near silently as he kept an eye out for anything edible. The crops had been plentiful this year but berries, nuts and mushrooms weren’t something locally grown, so gatherers routinely went into the forest to search for them to dry for the winter. Fast protein was always welcome in the harsher months when tracking fresh meat became a dangerous chore.

The forest was quiet here, nearly serene if it wasn’t for the fae still following him no matter how harsh a path he took- not that he was having much luck finding easier ones. He imagined he could easily get lost here if he wasn’t careful so he kept an eye on the direction of the shadows and any landmarks he spotted so he couldn’t get turned around. Fair folk were rarely hostile towards travelers as long as you met them on their level and stated your intentions clearly. Most of the time a certain level of sass while only answering them when they were curious served Virgil just fine. Of course, they didn’t normally follow him either but he remained unconcerned so long as the forest didn’t turn hostile. He didn’t think he’d succeeded in pissing the other off that much...hopefully.

It was some time later when Virgil found his cloak snared on a branch as he was struggling to get over a particularly high log. Crawling under it hadn’t been an option so now he was stuck straddling the thing awkwardly with the cloak snagging in one direction and his pants in the other. Blowing out a frustrated breath he startled as the fae appeared a foot from his face, brown eyes searching his green ones as he struggled not to fall backwards for a second time.

“What are you tracking anyway?”

“What?” 

“You’re a tracker, so what are you tracking?”

Virgil resumed trying to lift himself enough to get his other leg over without ripping his pants. “Nothing at the moment. Not that, again, it’s any of your business.”

The fae glanced at the dirt under his nails and hummed thoughtfully. “Mushrooms is it?”

Groaning, Virgil sat back down and instead reached behind him to try and tug his cloak free. “Partly.”

Trying and failing to get his cloak untangled he stumbled as his feet found solid ground after dangling for the better part of ten minutes, nearly overbalancing for the third time that day as the fabric went limp in his stranglehold. Looking up he saw the spot on the river bank he had climbed over not ten minutes before with a significantly lighter pack. Confused, he slung it around and peeked inside only to see it nearly overflowing with varieties of mushrooms he had never seen mixed with the more common ones he had found before. Opening his mouth to speak he quickly shut it as a light breeze carried faint laughter through the trees.

“Feel free to thank me later.” A faint voice called.

Looking down again, he carefully closed the pack and looked up at the sky. It was barely encroaching late afternoon...would anyone believe he had gathered these that quickly? Deciding to just say he had gotten turned around and found a good spot if anyone asked he started hiking his way back as slowly as he could. He’d have to find something to offer as thanks when he came back.

-----

“You’re back.”

Virgil shuffled around a low shrub between the trees awkwardly. “Mhm.”

“Do you need more mushrooms?” The fae crouched on a low branch, balancing on his tip toes as he watched Virgil struggle through the underbrush. 

“They asked me to come back- ow!” Stumbling away from the bush he knelt down to tear away some thorns sticking out of his pants. “Since I was so successful yesterday they asked me to come back to find more. Among other things.”

“They?”

“People from the kitchens.” He started off in a slightly different direction, seeing sunlight a little ways away and hoping for a clearing.

“What else do you need?”

“A variety of things to dry for the winter. Nothing to concern yourself with. I won’t invade your forest for too long.”

“A shame. My forest is beautiful but I’ve found I enjoy looking at you more.”

Virgil stopped in his tracks as he tried to process the comment. Was this a trick? Some weird fae flirting technique to get his guard down so he gave away his soul? Which reminded him-

“Not because of that comment, but for helping me the other day.” He dug around in his pocket and pulled out a smooth skipping stone, the surface a perfect, uniform pale gray. He knew fairies rarely had use for human materials but things like this could be enchanted or used for entertainment- the more pleasing to the eye the better. “Here. And...thank you.”

The man’s eyes lit up at the sight of the stone, taking it carefully and running his fingers gently over the smooth surface. “For me?”

“Don’t expect it again, I don’t expect anything more from you.” Hoping that would settle it, Virgil continued on in the direction of the clearing. Fae were always tricky to get involved with and with the fall harvests approaching, continuing to speak with one claiming to be a prince wasn’t something he would allow himself to get involved with- at most for the sake of the village and at the very least for his own sanity.

“A pity really.” The fae called from behind him. “I could help you find whatever you need.”

Gritting his teeth, Virgil resisted. “I don’t need any help.”

“Right, expert tracker and all that.” He startled as his pest of a companion appeared in front of him waving a hand dismissively. “This is my forest and I can bend it however it suits me at the moment. Right now it suits me to help you, why won’t you let me?”

“I don’t want to owe you anything. Owing things is a risky business- especially with fae. No offense.”

The fae sniffed indignantly, putting a hand  dramatically over his heart. “No offense indeed! I suppose this wound was here before you arrived, it’s fine really.”

Virgil glanced over as the other man draped a hand over his eyes and leaned back slightly, sighing loud and deliberate and trying to disguise the fact he was peeking at his human companion from under his arm. Virgil couldn’t help it- he barked out a laugh he managed to quickly catch with a hand slapped over his mouth. Watching as a wide grin took over the fae’s features he realized he was too late and the damage had been done. He stalked over and jabbed the air in front of Virgil with a perfectly manicured finger. 

“You like my company!”

Blinking, Virgil lowered his hand. “Absolutely not!”

“You do! You find me amusing! Dare I say charming!”

Snorting, Virgil readjusted his pack. “Uh-huh. Nothing like a raving lunatic spouting he’s royalty to get the giggle juice flowing.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I believe fae will say anything to strike whatever emotion they want in a human. Whether it be fear or awe, the end goal is always to lead someone astray.”

Glancing over he startled when he saw the other man actually looked a bit hurt at his words, head down and eyes flicking to the side with a tight draw to the lips. A trick...obviously. But one that had him reconsidering his choice of words.

“Look I-”

The fae held up a hand. “It’s okay! I’ll prove it to you! You need mushrooms and berries and the like right?”

“Uh- yeah?” Virgil watched as the fae stepped forward and furrowed his brow in concentration. Bringing his arms up towards the clearing he swung his arms out and up before slouching tiredly. 

Virgil squinted against the sunlight shining overhead, looking around in wonder. They were in a large clearing absolutely teeming with enough plantlife to fill his pack ten times over. Dappled shade dominated at least half of the clearing as the sun shone through the bright trees at an angle. Soft grass soothed his aching feet that had previously been treading on nothing but snapping sticks and long-dead leaves. It was beautiful- and  glancing over at his companion as bright gold shot through his hair and the sudden calming warmth relaxed him- Virgil could tell he was in his element. 

“Did you just use magic in front of me?” He honestly hadn’t thought the fae would go that far to prove a point.

“Watch regular fair folk top that for ability.” the fae mumbled under his breath. Speaking up, he flashed a bright smile and punched a hand lightly onto his hip. “Of course! Got the point across didn’t it? Never seen a fairy bend a forest before?”

Virgil raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never seen a fairy perform any magic before. Usually they keep that to themselves. Honestly none of the good neighbors have paid me any mind before whether I was in their territory or not.”

“Oh.” The fae sputtered uselessly for a moment, fluttering his head to his hair to fidget with the curls. “Well, clearly that’s their loss. Berries, was it?”

Face burning, Virgil nodded mutely and made his way over to a far tree that looked like it promised chestnuts in the higher branches. He never figured having company, however forced upon him it was, would be so nice. 

Later, when Virgil’s pack was practically bursting at the seams, he reluctantly turned towards home. The afternoon had been wonderful, gathering enough to make the people in the village happy while listening to the other man as he sang almost like he didn’t realize he was doing it. Rich, low tones filled the clearing with a bright melody that Virgil didn't recognize but found himself humming along to- much to his companions utter delight. 

It had surprised him when he began singing popular festival songs after that, thinking that fair folk never bothered much with humans and therefore wouldn’t know many traditional tunes. But when Virgil had started softly singing along, offering a wry grin when the other man had started excitedly bouncing on his toes from having a singing partner he couldn’t bring himself to care. Eventually both of them had started getting louder and louder, swaying along to an invisible beat as they had continued collecting what was needed. Another reason Virgil was reluctant to return to the village for fear their noise had reached ears he’d rather not explain himself to. He found it strange that he felt drawn to stay, stranger still that he didn’t immediately think it was some trick on his companions' part. He just- enjoyed his company and wished he could come into the forest to actually visit rather than just his job. Pressing his lips together he turned around, smiling faintly and gesturing to his back.

“You really didn’t have to help, or keep helping. But thank you again-”

“Roman!” The fairy blurted at his slight pause.

Smirking, Virgil cocked his head to one side. “Aren’t I supposed to give you my name first?”

Roman shuffled slightly. “Yes well, seems a shame that if you were to think of me you’d have no name to give the thoughts.”

“Bold of you to assume I think of you after leaving the woods.”

“How could you not?” Striking a bold pose he sniffed indignantly. “It’d be an insult really, wounding me so deeply.”

Chuckling Virgil turned and started walking away. “I’ll be sure to bring bandages next time.”

“It’s a date, Doom and Gloom!”

“That a promise, Sir Sing-a-lot?”

“If my serenades are what brings you back I shall renounce my princehood and become a siren.”

“Your voice is certainly deadly enough, leads to something prettier though.” 

The forest was silent for a moment, before Virgil began walking as quickly as possible without stabbing his feet to the edge of the woods. Why had he said that? Did he mean that? Of course he meant it but why on the gods green earth had he said it? Could he even come back now? Chest tight with nervous anxiety and head swimming he didn't look back as he dashed out of the trees.

Though if he had he would have seen Roman standing stock still, face a mask of shock but slowly splitting into a flustered smile below rapidly reddening cheeks.

-----

When Virgil stepped into the creek the following day, it was without his pack. Early evening sunlight drifted through the trees as a slight breeze ruffled the cloak around his shoulders. Pushing his dark hair away from his eyes he surveyed the banks for any sign of Roman, deflating a bit when he saw none. It was stupid to think he could get away with saying something so forthright without reaping anything but negative consequences. It was just as well he supposed, consorting with fair folk never led to anything good after all. He had just- hoped this would be different.

Fair folk and humans rarely mixed well, platonic or not, and once he found his soulmate he was doubtful they would enjoy the thought of fraternizing so casually with one of the good neighbors- especially one as powerful as Roman appeared to be. If he knew anything of the fae it was that one didn't just casually bend an entire forest to their will with so little effort by themselves. Sighing, he turned to leave, feet missing the wispy grass of the clearing as they crunched through dead leaves.

“Going so soon?” Whirling around he was met with a charming smile, Roman balancing on a rock in the middle of the creek with a hip thrust out cockily.

“I thought- I didn’t think you’d come back around.”

“If you were trying to get me to leave, your methods are wanting my friend.” Roman squinted at him curiously. “No pack today?”

Virgil shuffled a bit before answering. “I- just wanted to see you.”

Blinking in surprise, Roman smiled warmly. “What an honor it is that our wants should align. Care to join me?”

Face burning, Virgil was quick to hop to the first rock, finding his balance easily. Keeping his head down he stepped from rock to slippery rock, finally getting close to where he assumed Roman would be. Looking up however, he didn’t expect to be quite as close as he had gotten, vision suddenly filled with deep brown eyes surrounded by flaming red curls. Yelping he tipped backwards, arms reaching forward in a desperate attempt to not repeat their first meeting even as he prepared to go home soaking once again.

To his surprise, the riverbed never rose to meet him, instead finding himself surrounded by the scent of wildflowers and moss in the most comforting embrace he’d ever been in. Virgil tilted his face up when he heard Roman gasp in wonder, his own eyes widening in disbelief as he leaned back to take in their surroundings. Colorful sparks seemed to catch the evening sunset as they bounced off and around them, falling like stars imbued with the colors of the sky and sizzling as they hit the water only to be immediately replaced by ten more. 

Leaning back but still catching each other’s arms they watched as the sparks continued to fly around them in a frenzied shower, dimming the already fading sun itself in their wake. Virgil watched as the light caught itself in Roman’s eyes, flecking the brown with golds and brilliant reds and deep purples. Seeing his face literally light up in amazement and wonder, Virgil couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle, then tilting his head back and laughing out loud.

“What- why are you laughing?” Receiving no answer, Roman grinned uncertainly. “Do I have something on my face?”

Shaking his head, Virgil stifled another bout of laughter to answer. “I’ve never seen the sparks of soulmates before. Are they supposed to be this dramatic or is it just because of you?”

Smile turning more genuine and laughing himself, Roman let go of his arms and instead wrapped his arms around his waist and lifted, twirling them around with a sure step even as the water splashed around his feet. Setting him down gently, he rested his forehead against Virgil and held him as close as he could. 

“Maybe both- knowing me, probably more of the latter. Do you really mind?”

The sparks were dying down as the sky darkened and yet to Virgil his companion still stood bright enough that he feared nothing the darkness could threaten him with. Leaning impossibly closer he touched Roman’s nose to his  own and smiled softly.

“Absolutely not.”

If you like this, please consider reblogging. Sharing a creators work helps more people see it.

[gelatomesomeironqrow]

My Honest review of Kinnporsche Ep 14 and of the series all together.

I highly enjoyed this series, would I say it lived up to the hype? No. It came close but it definitely got overhyped. Did I stop that from letting me enjoy the series? Also no. I'm the type of person who tries their best to let the work speak for itself and not be influenced by everyone else's reviews. So I hope you all can do the same. Enjoy the series for what it is. A gay mafia show. Literally, that is what Kinnporsche is. A mafia story about the heir to the main family and his bodyguard falling in love. The rest of it is either a bonus side story or a "why did they put this in here?" Side story. Not everyone is going to enjoy everything in a series. Will that stop me from watching the series again or recommending it to people who enjoy BL's? No. Because the side stories are there for people who would like that kind of thing. So please people. Just enjoy Kinnporsche and stop worrying about the series finale(?). The actors, film crew, set design, costume design did a phenomenal job and that alone should be applauded.

Moving on, my thoughts and opinions of episode 14.

Honestly, for a finale, it was pretty good. A couple of weird story decisions but hey, it is what it is.

So basically I've decided to take this episode with a grain of salt. I'm extremely happy that Kinn and Porsche get to live out their gay mafia dreams together (although neither of them wanted to be in the mafia at all (Kinn's dream was to be a singer, Porsche wanted to open a bar on the beach)) but they decided to change their dream so they could be together and I think that's beautiful.

Kinn saying that there is no more main family and minor family because they are going to become one. Like did the dude seriously propose in the mafiaest/corniest way possible using the mafia family rings?? Because I'm here for it. Porsche being all like "I'm on your side". They are married your honor. I rest my case.

The three brothers in one room at the same time and none of them know how to act brotherly towards one another. Seriously, Kim, I applaud your efforts to be compassionate. Kinn, you get a C- for trying. The awkward hand pat, I just can't. But everyone grieves in their own way.

Speaking of:

He wins the category of: he deserved better, Big being a close second (he lost points when he briefly tried to use homophobia to get Porsche away from Kinn).

More awards: the winner of most badass character:

Detective Kim who doubles as secret agent man by day, musician by night. God he is so pretty to look at and a force to be reckoned with when you come for Porchay.

Speaking of: Most oblivious character award goes to:

Seriously, Porchay, you didnt even know Kim was there? At all? Like the dude was sitting at the bar in the shadows like the secret agent he is but still. You need to gain some self awareness.

Also side note: I dont really ship these two characters together. They lead two very different lives. That being said, would I watch a series starring Porchay fumbling through life trying to be normal with secret agent man Kim trying and often times succeeding in keeping him safe without Porchay ever knowing he was there and just seeing the destruction and chaos Kim leaves behind? Yes. Yes I would.

Moving on: Kinn. Sweetheart. This is what I meant when I said, without Porsche, I fear for the people around Kinn.

The literal next thing this man does is shoot two of the main family's partners (with one bullet) for the suggestion of handing over his ring to his uncle. The man can become unhinged if Porsche is not in his life. So let's all hope to whatever higher being you all pray to, that nothing ever happens to Porsche. God, what was Kinn like before Porsche again? Oh yeah, he was just slightly unhinged but still holding himself together.

Going back to my little awards:

The couple I simultaneously didnt want together but also wanted together goes to: Vegas and Pete.

I love the characters on their own but together they are/were a hot mess.

Like Vegas is clearly a psychopath and while he was verbally and physically abused by his father. He still chose to make horrible decisions. However, the few times he made decisions for other people, ie, helping Porsche (for realsies this time), he was actually helpful and almost kind. The relationship between Vegas and Pete started off with torture and kidnapping. While the show tried to downplay that and turn their relationship into a consensual BDSM relationship. I still can't ignore the book. I havent read it but from what I've heard, it's clearly Stockholm syndrome. And even though they downplayed it. The signs are still there. So for that reason, I didn't want them to be together.

BUT.

Seeing this scene, they can really make this relationship work. They (being Pete and Vegas) can heal together and move past the events from before. Vegas can improve his mental state with Pete's help. Macau can help protect Pete if Vegas slips. I do however, also fear for anyone in Vegas' path if something were to happen to Pete. Because while Kinn might go unhinged, Vegas is already unhinged and will not hesitate to harm the people around him and that includes himself. So before VegasPete shippers jump down my throat. Please note. I do love these two characters and I have hope for their future therapy sessions. I just worry about how they started and how that will most likely effect them for a long time.

Now. For the grain of salt.

I love good story telling and I feel like the book will give me better insight to this particular story direction. But. And I mean this in a "love the series, you all did great sweeties" kind of way. But what the f*** was that?

This story line honestly lost me. I don't get why it was done the way it was done. I think it could have been explained a bit better and perhaps it's a lost in translation kind of thing but. First of all. Their mom is alive. I get that. What I dont get, is "oh she took a bunch of pills and now has amnesia because of it." Like. No. No that is not the reason. Taking pills can mess with you sure, but I've never heard of someone taking pills to off themselves, only having memory loss because of it. Anyways, that isn't my issue with the story. My issue is that throughout the entire series, we get no inclination that Uncle Gun here is obsessed with Porsche's mother. We get "oh by the way, I saw a picture of her on my dad's desk, lol" moment from Vegas, we get that he is abusive towards Vegas and possibly Macau. But never before the last episode do we get, obsessive sexual offender vibes from the man. Every time he is on the screen prior to episode 14, he is calm and composed (unless yelling at Vegas). In episode 14, they take his character and do a 180 degree flip and turn him into "nows my chance to get "revenge"/seize power from my brother"/"You're alive, sobs, I thought you were dead, sobs, come here, I'll protect you" character. So it's like they did a character rewrite/assassination on the guy. Speaking of, Kinn's dad. Seriously? You really think Porsche would have ran and told Gun where his mother was if you had just told him that his mother was alive and due to traumatic events I'm protecting her? No. The guy just wanted to know how his parents died. Why did you have to give him the run around? Why did you have to continue to give him the run around until he quite literally saw his mother alive. You didnt need to tell him that the man who hit his parents is alive and give him the address. You then didnt have to tell him she was dead when he confronted you. Seriously people. Communication is key. Also, for someone who wouldnt shoot his brother at the table, you certainly had no problem shooting him then.

Anyways, her memory loss is due to trauma and not wanting to remember, not the pills. I hope now that she has her children back, she can get her memory back.

So minus that confusing and pointless story direction, I do highly recommend this series to anyone who wants to see gay mafia members find love and ignore the bafflement of that story line. The series is available on IQIYI.

Gelato out.

[thefanficmonster]

Just Another One

Sequel to: ‘A Little Bit Of Honesty’

Corpse Husband x Actress!Reader (Female)

Warnings: Angst, Heartbreak, Mention of bad past relationships, Swearing

Genre: Angst, Romance, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: They keep proving each other right in the most wrong ways possible. They each want to be guarded even if that means the other will be hurt. Maybe that’s what they want - to hurt one another because they’ve already hurt each other once before.

Requested by the lovely readers who enjoyed the previous fic ‘A Little Bit Of Honesty’. Sorry for the large time gap between the posting of the two fics but I still hope you guys will take the time to read it and if so I hope you enjoy it! Love you all with all my heart, Vy ❤

When you go out of your way to avoid leaving the house your options of entertainment are severely limited and you can’t blame anyone or anything but yourself for it. Today, I wouldn’t have gone out of my apartment even if I was one of those people who frequent the outdoors seeing as how the sky is trying to flood the Earth with all this nonstop rain. It does set a mood for a perfect night in but when you spend all your nights in doing the same thing over and over again, the atmosphere is practically meaningless. And so I ‘ve decided to resort to channel surfing as though I’ll find something interesting on TV that I haven’t yet seen on one of my social media timelines.

I pass several cooking channels on my journey, making a mental note of their individual numbers in case I don’t stumble across anything capable of better distracting me from my boredom and loneliness that’s slowly starting to creep in. I pass by a few movie channels showing teenage romcoms as if to celebrate the start of summer so you can imagine how quickly I moved on from those. Then come the celebrity channels which can often get a laugh out of me because of how pathetic and unbelievably ridiculous they are. And so, I stick around one where there’s a broadcast on a movie showing that’s happening tonight in LA. Oddly enough, despite my anxiety, going to a movie showing has always been on my list of things I’d want to do. This can be considered living vicariously or rubbing salt into the wound that I’ll probably never go because my anxiety and fear of being recognized is too severe. Either way I stick around to watch it.

And man do I regret it now looking at several different angels of a couple of actors entering the venue where they are to be photographed and asked questions by the mob of paparazzi that’s gathered due to the massive event. That in and of itself doesn’t sound - and really isn’t - so bad. However, it’s important to note that the actress in this duo is Y/N. Y/N L/N. My Y/N....shit, sorry, I mean my FRIEND Y/N, her arm linked with whatever-the-fuck-his-name-is who is holding an umbrella above the both of them, shielding them from the downpour of rain that is also taking place in LA apparently.

“The two were seen entering the venue earlier this evening, looking particularly cozy in each other’s presence if I do say so myself. The rain probably worked nicely in their favor.“ The first reporter says, her teasing tone of voice sending chills of anger down my spine as I glare at the screen, hands balled in fists, jaw clenched - all my body’s instinctive reactions to what is being shown to me. I know I technically have no right to behave or feel this way, in fact I should be fucking happy for Y/N and her successful career and the progress in her love life. But damn it how can I?! I was so damn close to kissing this girl! I was so fucking close to falling in another trap, tripping and landing in the embrace of another liar and user, another girl who switches partners more often than shoes. How could I’ve been so reckless to get so close to her even platonically? How did we become close enough for me to 1) show her my face; 2) start inviting her over to my apartment regularly; and how didn’t I notice the kind of messed up person she was all that time.

She was all sweet and flirting and shit a week or so ago and now she’s doing the exact same thing with him! The cameras are capturing them perfectly: every laugh, every exchange of a knowing look or nod, ever smack to his arm when he tells a joke. But what bothers me most is the many times he’s wrapped his arm around her to pull her closer. Not just for pictures, but just because the fucker felt like it! And Y/N doesn’t seem to mind it at all. 

“They have been the talk of the town recently, so while they could just be adding fuel to the fire, they could also have been caught by the flame and ‘caught feelings’ as they say. Regardless these two are a view we’d like to see more often.“ The other reporter says and that’s the final straw.

In one swift motion I turn the TV off and throw the remote across the room. It hits the wall and falls to the ground in several pieces, broken by the force of the impact. Just like I am broken by the force of the impact of these news. I don’t know which is worse: the fact that I fell for her and almost let her know it; the fact that she’s just another member of the club I don’t want anywhere near my life; or the fact that I can’t believe it.

Yeah that’s right - one foolish part of me refuses to believe that’s she’d do such a thing. I think that’s the same part which is still in awe of her so you can bet I ignore that part the majority of the time.

She is just another one. Not the one. Having been hurt before doesn’t mean she won’t hurt me or anyone else she’s gonna be with. Hurt people hurt people.

And damn has she hurt me, probably without knowing a damn thing. How selfish can you be, Y/N? How selfish can you really get? And how much am I going to allow you to hurt me?

                                                             *  *  *

“Thank you so much, Andrew. I would’ve died on the spot of anxiety if I was on my own.“ I say to my best friend who is currently sitting next to me on a park bench, in a tux, eating a cheeseburger. I too am still in my gown and am also gorging on a cheeseburger of my own.

“Don’t mention it. Us anxious people need to stick together.“ He bumps his shoulder against mine, stealing a small genuine smile from me, “Plus I couldn’t not come with you. You know how much I like a good rumor.“

I scoff, “Of course you do, but then again there was no need to add to what the media has already made a whole-ass ship out of.” I roll my eyes and take another bite. My appetite hasn’t been in its best condition so I’m only eating this under Andrew’s orders. I have no idea how people can ship us romantically, he’s the definition of an older - and very bossy - brother to me. I wish I could tell each and every single one of those girls who hate me because I’ve ‘stolen their man’ that I’d most likely be their sister in law rather than man snatcher, seeing as how my relationship with Andrew is so sibling-like.

That’s because we’re too alike, no one gets that. People play the ‘opposites attract’ car more often than I consider rational. But  then again when they see a couple like Andrew and I - who are basically the same person in different bodies - they suddenly think we’re super compatible. Trust me, we’re not. And everyone who’s been on set with us will tell you the same.

“What can I say...“ he shrugs, smirking at me, “I like the fun. I bet Becca doesn’t though.“

I can’t help but huff. Andrew is the only one I’ve ever openly expressed my frustrations with Rebecca to. He was super helpful on the subject, seeing as how he can relate - many partners of his have tried to use him, some of which even succeeded. He’s more than qualified to school me on the topic but it turned more into sharing bad experiences. One of which was that instance back at Corpse’s apartment.

“And neither does Corpse I suppose.“ As though he’s read my mind, he pokes the hurt spot, pouring salt in the wound causing me to visibly cringe as though the pain was physical - because it was, I felt it in my chest and in my gut, a sharp stab of guilt and regret. 

Why did I let it come to that? Why did I let us get so close? How did I not think of the consequences?

“I don’t care if he does or doesn’t.“ My hand automatically reaches for the pocket of the jeans I’m not even wearing in search of a cigarette. Not that I’d be able to light one even if I had them on me - Andrew would smack it out of my hand before I could even take a single puff.

He has the audacity to laugh, “You’re such a bad liar, Y/N.”

That’s all he needs to say really - that’s enough to make me feel seen and understood. Though that’s not always a good thing. I often times wish he couldn’t read me so well. Better said: I wish I didn’t let myself be so readable, you know. I’m just glad he’s the one who sees me because if it were anyone else they’d use this vulnerability of mine against me. I’m well aware that it’s a weakness, a really inconvenient one, but damn it I can’t get rid of it. I feel like I’ll be less human if I lose it. Everyone’s allowed to be vulnerable, some just are lucky enough to choose who they’ll be vulnerable around. I’m lucky enough to to have a choice, not so lucky in the people I choose to trust. Guess that’s not a luck thing, it’s just my inability to decipher whether a person is worth all the pain and torture of coming clean to them or not. So far many people have burnt me but two stick out in particular - Becca and Corpse. Corpse especially, which is the odd thing considering he hasn’t even wronged me in any way. At least not yet.

“Your phone’s vibrating.“ Andrew says, pulling me out of my overflowing head when he hands me my phone which I handed to him because of my dress’ lack of pockets.

“Thanks.“ I mutter through a sigh as I take it from him, checking the notification I’ve gotten.

My stomach drops: it’s a message from Corpse.

“Hey I saw you are in LA but we have a stream tomorrow, will you still be participating?“

Before I can reply, he sends me another message.

“I know you’re probably very busy but we get the most viewership on the streams when you’re in them so....“

I’ve probably been staring at my phone screen for longer than I thought since Andrew felt the need to make sure I was still breathing: “Hey, you ok? You look terribly pale.” I can barely hear him let alone reply. I can’t hear my own thoughts to know what to reply to him. “Y/N, you’re scaring me.”

I’m scaring myself too, Andrew. I’m scared too. I’m scared of how broken my picker has become. I almost kissed this guy! I almost entrusted all my thoughts, hopes, wishes and goals to him! What the fuck was I thinking?! Well, at least I know what he was thinking about - viewership. Likes, subs, views, publicity. The more eyes on the stream the better for him and everyone else. I genuinely want to applaud him, no one has been so direct about using me before. I was in a relationship with Becca for almost a year before I accidentally found out what she had been doing the whole time. No one’s ever smacked me in the face with this much honesty. It’s bittersweet really.

I want to laugh, I want to cry, slap myself across the face, slap him...I want to do so much, but all I can do now is sit in silence and think of how I could be so stupid.

He’s just another one, how did I not see that? How do I never see it until it’s too late? Why is one part of me still screaming: ‘He didn’t mean it like that!’

AND WHY THE FUCK DO I WANT TO BELIEVE IT?

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[justnat15]

Head Rubs

A/N: I’m back already with another fic! This one is for my space husband Din Djarin. Inspired by a character takeover convo I had with @mandoalorian (@maxlordsgf )(I love you Rach!!) the other day. Also, from personal experience I’ve had with putting people (my younger brothers) to sleep with head rubs. I tried to make the reader as gender neutral as possible, so if there are any pronouns or anything that defy that, please let me know!

Pairing: Din x GN!Reader (Hopefully I succeeded at keeping it gender neutral!)

Warnings: So much fluff!! Pre-established relationship (marriage), Din removes his helmet for his riddur, brief talk of bounty hunting, slight mention of struggles with parenting. (if I missed anything, I would love to know!!)

Din watched as you cradled his foundling close, rubbing your hand between between the two big ears. Sleepy coos echoed through the ship as you slowly paced the floor.

You looked up and smiled at the Mandalorian. “I think he's almost asleep,” you whispered, never stopping your movements.

It had been a particularly rough day with the child. Din had been out since dawn on a hunt, which wasn't abnormal, but the kid was especially needy and wanted more than just you. There had been moments of tears, and not just from the baby. Needless to say, you and the child were both happy when Din returned after a successful day of hunting. As soon as Din had settled in, you had handed over his foundling and trapped yourself in the refresher for a good five minutes to calm down.

It wasn't the first time a day like this happened, but they were blessedly far and few between. And when it came time to sleep, the baby would act as if you were the only one in the universe he had any attachment to.

“I don't know why he acts like this! He could barely stand me all day and now he wants only me?” You moaned, taking the crying baby back from Din.

Din huffed beneath his helmet, smirking. “It's because you always put him to bed and that is one part of his routine he doesn't want to change. He loves you, mesh'la, even if today didn't seem like it.”

You walked over to the baby's bassinet, having put him to sleep. “Good night my little monster. I love you,” you whispered, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. The child smiled in his sleep, snuggling down in his blankets. You closed the bed and turned to Din, a grin on your face.

Din chuckled and pulled you into his arms. “And this is why the womp rat will only go to you at night. Because even though he was a right terror today for you, you still love him and treat him with the kindness others wouldn't think he deserves after a day like today.”

You glanced up at him. “He's still a baby! Of course I'm going to love him and treat him with love! He's still learning and emotions are hard to express even when you can speak.”

Din pressed his helmeted forehead to yours, the coolness of the beskar soothing against your skin. “I know, cyar'ika. But you are a rare gem in the galaxy to see and think that way. It's part of why I love you.”

You grinned, placing your hands on Din's helmet. “I love you, too, Din. Now, how about we leave our foundling to sleep and go rest ourselves? I know today must have been long for you, and to come back and have to cater to the whims of our baby? C'mon, my love.” You pulled back and grabbed his hands, dragging him to your own sleeping quarters after pressing a button on the cradle that would let you know when the baby made so much noise and was awake.

Once inside the room that housed your bed, you sat on the edge of the mattress and motioned for Din. “Come here, my love. Let me help you relax?”

Din groaned softly and stripped his armor off, taking care to put it away properly. As much as he wanted to be in your arms, he had too much respect for his beskar to just let it fall to the floor without care. His helmet was the last thing to go. “Ner riddur,” he spoke softly, his voice natural and unchanged by the modulator in his helmet.

“Come here, my husband. It's been a long day for both of us.” You scooted up the bed, sitting so there was space between your legs for the man in front of you, your arms held out for him.

Din sighed as he crawled into your embrace, nuzzling his face into your neck. “Ner kar'ta. What did I do to deserve such a one as you?”

You giggled softly, running your fingers through dark curls. “I don't know, but I was wondering how I deserve a great man like you! I love you, Din, so much, and I love the home we have here on this ship with our little foundling.”

Din just groaned at the feeling of your hands in his hair as you gently massaged his scalp, much like you had done with the baby. It never failed to relax either of them, you had learned long ago. As you continued rubbing Din's head, he melted into your smaller form.

“Mmm, I love when you do this, ner kar'ta. It feels like the rest of the world just melts away. I wish we could just stay like this forever, just you, me, and our foundling sleeping in the other room.” Din pressed his lips to your neck, reveling in the feel of your skin beneath his mouth.

You hummed softly, kissing the top of Din's head in turn. “Me, too, my love. I'm sure a day will come when we can settle down, just the three of us.”

Din nodded, becoming too tired to verbally reply. You just smiled at your husband and moved so the both of you were lying down on the bed in a more comfortable position. Din adjusted sleepily so his head was over your heart, allowing your heartbeat to finish lulling him to sleep.

Within minutes, you noticed Din's breathing even out, signaling the man had fallen asleep, once again, to you massaging his head. You kissed the top of his head and settled in more to go to sleep yourself. It really had been a long day and you were tired. “Good night, my love. Sweet dreams,” you whispered quietly before falling victim to blissful sleep yourself.