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lovelyirony · 4 years

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@ironmanspussy here we are, directly inspired by your wonderful texpost!

King Rhodes needed a partner to rule. It was ancient law, something he hadn’t really desired to follow. But unfortunately, the lawyers are assholes and want to create a monopoly of power that he just simply hasn’t the time to dismantle if he’s to follow his ten-year policy plan.

His partner should be well-mannered, aware of high society dress codes as well as how to navigate regular, everyday wear, and be calm in times of crisis.

So begins the search.

“You’re not going to find someone you like like that,” his advisor, Carol says, laughing. “I guarantee it.”

“We’ll see,” Rhodes decides.

Oh, they saw.

They saw a lot.

Almost every single candidate is bad. Or just off, in some way.

“Rogers seemed like a nice fit,” Carol says, tapping on her clipboard.

"He was nice, not for me. A bit too much.”

“What, muscle?”

“You could say that’s a factor. He’s also just a little too take-charge-of-everything.”

“Mm, that could pose a problem later. Well, the candidates who most matched your requirements are all out.”

“You’re kidding.”

“You’re a very particular kind of guy, Jim. So here are the rest.”

“Send in the clowns,” Rhodes says, waving his hand in dismissal and drawing the other one to his forehead to signal a headache about to come on.

“You just sent Barnes out,” Danvers reminds him, grinning.

“Asshole.”

“I’m still getting paid!” Carol sing-songs.

It’s almost better. Almost. Prince Clint Barton is an impossibly good marksman, and...that’s about it. His leadership style is far different from the Rhodes kingdom needs and he admits that he almost showed up in jeans.

Well, at least there’s honesty. Rhodes could find that forgivable.

But the jeans. Good god.

Bruce Banner is a total sweetheart, but his constitution is quite poor and again with the fashion choices. He shows up in a very nice outfit and has a nice wit about him.

They talk at length, and Carol swears that it will go well and perhaps there will actually be a wedding by June, all things said and considered.

This is until Rhodes leads Dr. Banner out to the gardens to meet Thor, their part-time warrior and full-time gardener.

Thor is completely gone on the scientist-ruler, and there it is.

“This is supposed to be your matchmaking,” Carol reminds him, scowling. “It was going well.”

“Once he met Thor anyways, it would have been all over. You know Thor’s type. The scientists that could ruin the earth if they truly had the thought to.”

“I suppose you’re right. Next person, then. She looks promising, Empress Romanov?”

Natasha Romanov is a terrifying figure. Very, very terrifying.

That being said, she has excellent taste in fashion and promised to send Rhodes some reviews, but “unfortunately has her heart spoken for.”

(It’s not very unfortunate. Rhodes feared for his life.)

He’s about to lose it, to be completely honest. Is there seriously no one out there?

“Your last candidate, at least for this month, is Tony Stark. High-profile inventor.”

“Not royalty?”

“Essentially, he is. Dad helped create weapons, he followed with protection and medical detail. He usually doesn’t agree to meet, so you’ll have to ask him why.”

“Refuse to meet royalty?”

“People.”

Tony Stark did, in fact, refuse to meet people. In general, people were not his strong suit and he saw no point to marriage.

“If you marry well, you get more access to resources for your reacting thing,” Pepper says.

“My reactor. I’ve told you that a million times.”

“And I’ve forgotten it a million and one. But if you meet Rhodes, he’s probably your best chance of not marrying a total shit royal.”

“And why is that?”

“Searching online for your answer is free, I am not. Your bill will be sent to your inbox.”

Tony stares after Pepper. She’s too damn capable.

He sighs to himself.

He does need more funding for his projects. His father cut him off completely and while that wouldn’t be the worst thing, Tony’s not going to charge obscene prices just to keep himself afloat.

So...marrying a royal. Not the best plan in the world, especially given Tony’s track record with people. Sure, he can play the part. But he just...won’t.

This is why Tony’s about five minutes late, cursing up a blue streak at a guard that has followed him into the hall because due to his appearance he thinks he needs to have a “check-in” with the people at the front desk for appointments, and in general? The day has been bad.

Also, Pepper forced him into “nice” clothes. While Tony can and has worn his nice clothing before, he does not like the ones that Pepper chose because they are uncomfortable, stiff, and absolutely a bit too long.

So he trips on the carpet.

“Motherfucker!”

Rhodes’ head pops away from his conversation with the chef regarding the dinner menu.

Here is a man with probably the most intricately embroidered robes he’s ever seen on, hair that looks like it was probably not even styled, just brushed through, and had about the entirety of the guard behind him asking him about an appointment time.

Obviously, he’s the most attractive man Rhodes has ever seen in his life.

“And who are you?” he asks.

“Tony. Stark. Mechanic and inventor. Um, you talked to Pepper about me? I think I’m in your circle of potential candidates for ruling. It’s totally fine if you kick me out, I kind of scuffed your carpet.”

“We need new carpet anyway,” Carol says. “We’ll disregard your entrance for now, Stark.”

“Tony, please.”

“Tony,” Carol says slowly, smiling. “You will be walking around the gardens with King Rhodes, pausing for dinner.”

“Cool.”

Rhodes has to stop from laughing. Cool. He’s already a fan of this.

Carol leans over to him, whispering in his ear.

“I thought you wanted someone who had a cool head, not someone like that.”

“Well, I can be wrong every once in a while.”

“Or more.”

“Every once in a while,” Rhodes reiterates. “Besides, I have a good feeling about this.”

“Hm.”

Walking through a garden with a stranger is not as smooth as one would expect. Rhodes isn’t exactly well-versed in asking people what their plans are for the future, and if they are amenable to perhaps marriage.

“What do you do for fun?” Tony asks.

He’s sort of taken aback at the question.

“Pardon me?”

“What do you do for fun?” he repeats. “Like, do you cook? Sew? Duel with your rivals? What do you do for fun?”

Well. He has to think for a moment.

“I go on runs.”

“That is not fun. Don’t tell me that that’s what’s fun for you.”

“What, can’t run?”

“I don’t run, there’s a difference. I’ll run when something’s chasing me.”

“And yet you won’t have training, like I will.”

“Did you forget my trade, Your Imminence?” Tony asks, voice mocking him.

It’s honestly refreshing. Rhodes doesn’t like it when people are so serious around him, so afraid to disappoint.

“An inventor? You’re going to invent a way to run better?”

“To fly, honey. Honestly...”

After that, it’s a dead-set decision from Rhodes.

He offers his hand in marriage, as well as the crown. Tony blinks.

“You haven’t even seen me take a turn in the ballroom.”

“It’s either going to be wildly entertaining or surprising, and I can’t wait for either.”

Tony enters his own room, in a panic.

This has to go well. He has to dress to impress.

“Pepper, he’s holding a party for our engagement. I have to dress nicely.”

“You know how to do that, I don’t know why you’re telling me that.”

“There are so many factors. Do you know anyone who can embroider his family crest on any shoes? What colors I’m meant to do? Oh my god, we have to fuse the colors together. This is going to be a disgrace. I’ll be exiled to be a hermit in the forest who relies on bark for sustenance, and this--”

“Can you. Potentially, maybe, chill? It’ll be fine.”

“You say that, but right now I’m imagining having to go to war because I didn’t wear the right color of red, so...”

“You are literally the worst person alive.”

“False, we both know Justin Hammer and out of the two of us, I think you’d want to date me more.”

“Don’t be a smartass.”

“Just practical, Pep. Just practical. Now help me shade match Rhodey’s red.”

“He’s Rhodey now?”

“In my head? Yes. I don’t like Rhodes, I absolutely will not call him Jim until we both hit seventy years old.”

“Better let him know that.”

Rhodes gets a text from Tony.

so a.) your new nickname from me is rhodey. don’t question it, honeybear. Anyways, would you say your royal family color is closer to garnet-red or blood-red?

Rhodey blinks. He likes the nickname. It’s different. He has to show the text to Carol.

“What in the hell does that mean?”

“Let me google it.”

She analyzes the results, frowning.

“I’m thinking blood-red.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“Why does he want to know the color?”

“I don’t know, I’ll ask.”

we’ve decided it matches closer to blood-red, Tones. Why do you ask?

Tony blinks. Other nickname. Interesting. He likes it.

my outfit choice relies heavily on this.

He leaves it at that, grinning as he puts his phone away.

Rhodey is laughing. He’s excited to see his husband-to-be.

Tony knows he looks damned good. The whole outfit is incredible. Red with gold stitching throughout, and he got his hair to cooperate to be artfully messy instead of just messy.

“I’m surprised at you, you clean up well,” Pepper teases. “You ready to go and make your debut?”

“As ready as ever,” Tony says, fixing the chain around his neck. The gold glints off the lights, and he knows he’s about to be the best dressed person in the room, with perhaps the exception of Rhodey.

He knows that most people are surprised that he’s the one that King Rhodes has decided to marry. He’s not known for being a particularly polite royal. In fact, he has told multiple members of royalty to “get fucked or get out of my way” when they want him to build something that he refuses to build.

So he’s not exactly the perfect choice. But his outfit is still the best in the room.

“Hi gorgeous,” Rhodey says, smiling. “You look incredible.”

“Well I do know how to make an entrance, after all,” Tony says. “You’ll find out this is only the tip of the iceberg.”

“Well then, I’m in for treats all my life,” Rhodey says. “How are you tonight, Tones?”

“Doing well, finished up working on one of the cars for Thor today.”

“Wait, you’re the one who’s refinishing it? He hasn’t been able to shut up about it for weeks! I was the one who used to look at it.”

“You like fixing up cars?”

“Yes, of course I do!”

From there, conversation flows. They understand each other well, laugh at the same jokes, and agree on cake flavors.

It’s not love, not yet. But they’re getting there.

It is officially love when Tony steals Rhodey from his royal duties to get a cheeseburger.

“Sometimes it’s good to get out of the throne, don’t you think?” Tony says, grinning over his sunglasses.

“For a cheeseburger? Can’t say I’ve ever done anything like that.”

“That’s because you’re all fancy and posh, I bet you don’t even know the f-word,” Tony says.

“Fuck you,” Rhodey jokes.

Tony gasps. “The king knows a curse word? Oh my lord! What...shame you bring to your family!”

Rhodey laughs, and it’s in this moment that he realizes that spending the rest of his days with Tony is potentially the best possible option in the world.

“I’m so glad we’re getting married,” he says. Tony stills.

“You...you are?”

“You’re the best thing to happen to me, I think,” Rhodey says, taking a sip of water as if he hasn’t just said the sweetest thing Tony’s ever heard. “And I hope that I’m the best thing to ever happen to you.”

“I mean I don’t know, the AC/DC reunion tour was pretty sick...” Tony says, grinning. “I’m kidding. Rhodey, I think we’re gonna be a good team. And I’m glad that I get to be with you.”

Their wedding is the talk of the year. Literally no one can shut up about it, but maybe that’s because Tony accidentally showed up late because he was inventing and had wild hair and maybe a stray grease-stain on his forehead.

Rhodey just grinned.

“You better not be late to the reception.”

“I’ll try my best. You know how I am.”

They kiss, and Rhodey sends him into a deep dip. Tony laughs into the kiss, and it becomes one of the most well-known photographs of the year.

Sure, Rhodey didn’t exactly get all of the qualifications that he wanted out of his ruling partner. Tony is absolutely not calm in times of crisis, and stress-bought novelty socks.

He more than once told a difficult business partner to “absolutely get fucked up on a Thursday, see if I give a singular shit when my husband is ten times better than you,” and also has a certain unawareness of some of his public outfit choices. (Hello sweatpants with holes in them and a striped hoodie.)

But Tony makes the best coffee ever, always gets Rhodey flowers from the supermarket, and is perhaps the most compassionate man he’s ever met.

So not a bad trade-off.

They lay in bed together, Rhodey looking over his obscenely trashy detective novels with his reading glasses, and Tony battling Pepper in a word search competition online.

“I love you,” Tony says out of nowhere, smiling. He presses a kiss to Rhodey’s shoulder.

“You’re okay,” Rhodey responds, patting Tony’s thigh.

He makes a squawk of outrage as Rhodey’s head turns from his book, grinning.

“You better give me a kiss to make up for that,” Tony demands. Rhodey rolls his eyes.

“Of course, drama queen.”

“Drama queen? I was told by the love of my life that I was ‘okay’ after one year of marriage? And I am supposed to be unaffected? Absolutely unacceptable, I think I will fling myself into a pit in the ocean, and--”

Rhodey cuts him off with a kiss.

“Or not. Not could definitely work.”

#lovelyirony writes #rhodeytony #not the exact direction i was going in #but hey! u do what u gotta do #rhodey #tony stark #ironhusbands #pepper potts #natasha romanov #carol danvers #tony does Not care about his appearance rlly #like he knows how to dress but like. also overthinks it

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sophi-s · 3 years

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Cost of Kindness

Chapter IV: Complications

By: sophi-s

Fandom: Darksiders video games

Words: 6,656

Characters: Raphael, Original Female Character (OC), Fury

Warnings: Blood and Injury, Swearing (a lot of it XD)

Summary:

After far too many close calls and an adventure that will last her a lifetime, Nicola and Raphael finally make their way towards Haven. Unfortunately, not everything goes as smoothly as it could.

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Many, many centuries ago taking off to the grand skies has become one of humanity's greatest dreams. They always wished to be able to fly, envying birds their wings and wishing to join them in their aerial conquest. It took many more ages to even try to think of it seriously and even longer for the humans to create the first working airplane and fulfill their dreams as the gravity kept thwarting all their plans. But once this seemingly impossible goal was accomplished, this event has been recorded on the pages of history as one of the most remarkable inventions of the human race.

When she was little, Nicola dreamed of flying on her own as well. She loved watching birds, tracking the planes soaring through the sky, so far away they looked like ants, and thinking about how it would be to have her own wings. Her dreams eventually were abandoned as she grew older, more serious and more reasonable. But honestly, if a week ago someone asked her if she would choose to have wings if she could, Nicola without hesitation would reply "a huge YES". Now however, she realised something she didn't really take into consideration before. While humans wished to rule the skies, they absolutely were not created for this. They have been made flightless, earth-ridden creatures and for a good reason. Her very apparent fear of heights made it awfully clear to her.

These thoughts were all Nicola could hear aside from the rustling of feathers on the wind as she desperately held onto her angel friend, her heart hammering in her chest, eyes wide and stomach making somersaults while everything was spinning around like a carousel. At a certain height the human body just starts to give up and refuse cooperation. For those who are afraid of heights the gap is even smaller and the symptoms more severe. All that was keeping her from fainting or throwing up there and then was the fact that she refused to look down to see how high they actually were but imagining the small buildings below her wasn't making it much better. If she survives this, she will never ask any angel for a fly again and - if it will ever be possible after the apocalypse - stay the heck away from any sort of working plane. Ground was where she belonged. Flying was not her cup of tea and no one will ever convince her otherwise.

Raphael seemed oblivious to the silent prayers spilling past her lips and just kept flying, fully focused on his destination, as she was absolutely certain she's going to die. Her muscles were completely stiff, as though she looked Medusa in the eye. She couldn't even see anything with how her face was buried in the rumpled fabric of Raphael's clothes but she assumed they were getting closer and closer. Focus on anything else than the height. Anything! She kept telling herself when her jaw started to hurt from how she was clenching her teeth. Easier said than done. Nicola knew that Raphael wasn't going to drop her. He promised her and lately she learned to trust him but the pull of gravity beckoning her down into the abyss and to a long plummet ending in a painful impact and certain death… The last time she was this panicked was when the Fallen jumped her out of nowhere. Speaking of which… God, please, let this be a smooth flight. No demons, I'm begging you..

Encounter with stray demons was the last thing they needed now. She didn't doubt Raphael's ability to defend both her and himself but if a flying demon was to attack them from surprise… Not a single part of her already malfunctioning brain could produce a scenario that wouldn't end in either of them dying or at least suffering grave injuries. In short words, any sort of aerial confrontation would mean serious trouble. And trouble wasn't something Nicola missed. Especially after the last night..

Seems like her prayers have been answered. So far nothing noticed an angel and a human passing overhead. And those demons which did apparently decided not to bother them since it didn't seem worth it or had no way of giving them trouble from where they were standing. Nicola stopped counting seconds of their journey long ago and the only indication of the passing time was the wind rushing through her hair slowing down as Raphael started to try and spare as much energy as he could, gliding whenever possible on his wings simply stretched out on both sides and flapping them only to keep the right height, out of range of any demons that could be sulking below when he began to grow weary. His stamina wasn't probably in the best condition after the time he spent in hiding and most likely not moving much.

When she gets back to Haven, Nicola is going to first, eat a solid lunch since her stomach was displeased again - though now she couldn't really feel it twisted in panic like that - second, go the fuck to sleep for the rest of the day. Even though she spent the last night sleeping like a dead woman, she didn't feel that well rested. The amount of stress she had to endure exhausted her and a few hours of rest weren't enough to regenerate her full strength. High on her bucket list was also taking care of Raphael, to at least make him look decent and dress any wounds he carried. Elanya could do that too but Nicola couldn't imagine that Raphael would let a maker he doesn't know do anything to him. She remembered how distrustful he was in the beginning. And after she gets back, no more escapades if not necessary. At least two weeks long break. Ulthane is going to make sure she stays there anyway so she might as well spend her time on sleeping and some light activities.

Speaking of Ulthane… Nicola wasn't actually sure what she'd say to him once she suddenly showed up in Haven after all that time with a traumatized, crazy angel at her side. To say it will be awkward as heck, would be a severe understatement. It's not even about Raphael. How is she going to explain herself to the overbearing maker who is standing on his head to save the last survivors of her kind while, by nearly killing herself three times already, she acted nothing if not ungrateful? And honestly, she wasn't in shape to wonder about it now because her mind refused to focus on anything else than this one thought of the lethal distance between her and the ground. Damn it all.. Why does she have to be afraid of heights and find out this very unpleasant way? Really, if someone tried to take her from Raphael before he landed or too short time after, they'd probably need a crowbar to pry her off him.

While Nicola thought that the flight itself was awful, the moment her stomach seemed to move up into her gullet as Raphael dipped towards the ground she unwittingly shrilly cried out in fear. And that was a mistake. The angel, startled by the quiet human he'd been holding this entire time suddenly screaming bloody murder for no apparent reason, tried to halt his descent to figure out what's wrong but it was already too late for that. As a result the landing was rather rough. Nicola closed her eyes and so she didn't see how Raphael clumsily hit the ground and barely kept himself propped up not to land on top of her as she slipped out of his grasp and lost her grip on his robes. The expectations of a long fall made her throat tighten and trap her voice inside. All the bigger relief once after barely an inch or two, her back connected with the surface, drawing a soft and strained "oof" from her.

Still scared, disoriented and confused, Nicola opened her eyes to see wide-eyed Raphael hunched over her, hands on either side of her head - with the staff to her left - and gawking at her with a slight panic on his face. Goodness, he was way too close. Pulling her arms close to her body in a helpless attempt to regain her personal space, she smiled awkwardly.

"H-hi there!"

The moment he saw that nothing was wrong and her face regained some of its color, Raphael breathed with relief and got off her, once again offering his hand to help her up. Once back on her feet, Nicola nearly cried out when she felt the solid ground under the soles of her boots. Blessed earth, she could literally kiss it right now. But the fact that they were not in Haven yet disconcerted her a little. Looking around, she noticed they're in an empty street in the middle of nowhere. Casting a questioning glance at Raphael she didn't even need to ask. The way his wings were slumped against his back, his breath heavier than before said it all. Plain and simple, Raphael was tired. Too tired to keep going. Still, he was eyeing her cautiously.

"Why… why were you screaming?"

Still feeling the nausea and the shaking of her knees, Nicola scratched the back of her neck and turned her eyes away ashamed.

"Ahuh… I'm not-... I'm not used to flying, that dip scared me a little. Sorry about this.."

Raphael said nothing to this, simply nodded, and lowered himself to the dusted road to have a seat by one of the decrepit stores. Nicola decided to let him have his five minutes to rest before going any further. Store. She suddenly realised. And not just any. A grocery store. At the mere thought her stomach rumbled. Not only could she have something for herself but also gather some stuff for others! If anything there is still edible that is. It wouldn't hurt to check. Every bit of food is precious.

"Raphael, can you wait here for a bit? I'll be back in a jiffy."

Out of the corner of her eye she already saw him shift in apprehension and almost begin to stand up. Probably because she ran once already and in his mind could do it again. She proceeded to calm him down immediately by pointing at the building she intended to search.

"I'll just go in there to look for stuff, don't worry. I will come back."

Staring at her for a couple of intense seconds, Raphael eyed her from head to toe twice before his concerned gaze softened a bit.

"Promise me…?"

Nicola smiled reassuringly and nodded. There weren't many options for her if she did want to run off. Besides, she wasn't quite sure where she was just yet. Her orientation in terrain was… less than decent as of late.

"I promise."

She offered and once Raphael sat somewhat comfortably back down, she took her backpack and shotgun - just in case - and stepped in through a broken window. The inside of the store was in utter disarray and even that was putting it lightly. Most of the shelves were toppled over, some even in pieces. Glinting shards of glass littered the floor, crunching under Nicola's feet every time she made a step. Unsurprisingly, nothing was working. No lights, no freezers, no ventilation. No time to waste. Nicola began her search immediately.

Approaching the fruit stand greeted her with bitter disappointment. Apples, oranges, pears and many other fruits were already rotten and sometimes even coated in white specks of mould. Definitely not good. With vegetables it was exactly the same. The only carrot that looked acceptable at first, turned out to have been completely wilted. Tossing it aside, Nicola moved on. She didn't even bother looking for meat. The stench hit her the moment she came inside and were it not for the smell of decomposing corpses that drifted around the sewers when she was there, she probably would've thrown up where she stood. Instead, she just covered her mouth and nose with her bandana.

Any dairy products were off the table too. Without working freezers every single one of them has surely gone sour by now. A diarrhea was not something she wanted to have in Haven and most likely neither did the makers. Nicola didn't dare to so much as touch any eggs that still were somehow intact. Bad idea. A smelly one as well. There's no way some of them haven't gone bad yet. The risk wasn’t worth it. Passing by one of the mostly whole shelves, she absent mindedly grabbed a bag of dry cat food and stuffed it into her backpack. It was highly probable that most of the survivors would be feeding the kitten with any leftovers but.. just to make sure the poor thing doesn't starve to death.

Most of the jars have broken during initial earthquakes but two small jars of pickles seemed to be mostly alright. Without giving it much thought, she placed them in her backpack. Four bags of freeze-dried fruits quickly found their way into her pockets once she got a hold of them. Under a broken shelf, Nicola spotted an edge of some packet. Assuming it was just crackers or something, she reached into the rubble for it but once she pulled it out… she immediately regretted her decision. It was, in fact, not a bag of crackers. It was a whole, torn bag of soured cabbage coated in some strange growth - probably mould - she didn't get a chance to really look at because her attention was caught by something inside the bag. Probably squeezed in through the tear and got stuck, a small, bloated body of a gigantic, hellish critter. Instinctively, Nicola yelped quietly and without giving it much thought she lobbed the thing across the whole store before wiping her hand on the nearest piece of rag that wasn't her clothes. She didn't even get any of the spilling juices on her but… gross. Just gross. Ew ew ew! Ignoring the wet splat the bag made when it hit the floor wasn't an easy task. Still shaking off the disgust, she continued her search, noting to herself never to touch something she isn't sure what it is.

From there it thankfully was starting to go much smoother. Two packets of crispbread, some dark chocolate and a box of tea were found and collected. Nicola nearly cheered out loud when she spotted a few Snickers on a shelf. One she immediately opened and eagerly ate while the rest landed safely in her backpack. It might be mostly sugar with a bit of peanuts but it was a good snack that could deceive the brain for quite some time. To be frank, Nicola lived half of the high school on those whenever her lessons lasted too long for her breakfast to keep her sated. Besides, she couldn't imagine others would mind her bringing a bunch. Especially Marie. Jacob will most likely strangle Nicola if his daughter eats too much sweets but in the end it'll be worth it. Anything would be worth putting a smile on that sad little face.

Somewhere on the floor, Nicola even found a box of vitamins which luckily was not out of date yet. With a deficit of fruits and vegetables, those could be lifesavers. Especially for Leslie. She needs the most of it. Unfortunately, the space in her backpack was very much limited and soon she couldn't put anything more in there. Rearranging the contents of it, she put in one bottle of water, careful not to crush the crispbread and chocolate. At least she found something. Her escapade wasn't all for nothing when it comes to supplies. But even without those, she wouldn't say she regrets it. Against all the odds, she lived. And most importantly, she gained an otherworldly friend. And in times like these, a friend is something to be treasured.

Slinging her now much heavier backpack on her shoulders, she picked up her gun and headed towards the broken window she used as an entrance before. Peeking out from the store, she saw Raphael where she'd left him and a very much awake cat playfully attacking the longest quill of his left wing. His head perked up when she dropped onto the sidewalk beneath the window and she could've sworn she'd seen the corner of his mouth twitch upwards for a second there. Smiling, she unfolded her hands and shrugged.

"See? I keep my promises."

The angel hummed quietly before leaning his head against the wall behind him and closing his eyes. Nicola was about to ask if he's good to go but let the thought perish when she noticed his eyebrows furrow and his chapped lips twist into a slight grimace. Soon after, his right hand wandered up to his chest as he took a couple of quick and shallow breaths through his clenched teeth. If Nicola didn't know any better, she'd have said Raphael was having a heart attack. Can an angel even have an infarct? She honestly had no idea. In fact, she didn't even know how old he is. She couldn't tell. All the angels she'd met so far had white hair so that's not a hint to go by and his face didn't necessarily look old or young. He seemed as ageless as the time itself. Still, she didn't want to take any chances.

"Raphael? What's wrong?!"

She asked as she crouched beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder to steady him if needed. Raphael simply slowly shook his head and turned to look at her tiredly. And in his blank eyes she saw the already familiar pain and a spark of a silent plea.

"Just a little longer.. Let me rest a while…"

It took everything Nicola had in her to stop the sigh of relief. It didn't sit right with her that Raphael was still suffering and she could do absolutely nothing about it but hearing he's mostly fine, with only the usual ailing him, made her feel a tad easier. When his breathing grew slower and calmer, she even let herself slip down to the floor beside him.

"Sure. We have time, I guess.."

It was still relatively early, barely an hour or two after noon and Nicola wasn't that eager to return into the sky so soon. Only thinking about it made her feel a little sick. Hopefully, it wasn't too far to Haven from here. Even though Nicola really wanted to finally get home, she decided to be patient with her companion. He was wounded and most likely ill but he still tried his best to help her, even though he hadn't known her that long. He deserves a moment. Nicola too needed to sit down for a second as her thigh was still a bloody nuisance. Just a few more minutes. It wouldn't do harm to have a little break now, would it?

Yes. Yes it would. Nicola suddenly realised when she saw the kitten arc its back and puff its tail out. It hisses loudly before scurrying away into the store she just left and soon enough Nicola realised why once she looked into an alley ahead of her. The sight of a massive, winged shape made it painfully obvious. Her heart nearly ceased and Raphael beside her tensed at the sight of an enormous demon with curved horns and teeth, each the size of her palm, resembling a set of barbed knives made specifically to cut meat. The edges of long healed wounds that left behind terrible scars on her abdomen began to itch as she gawked at the familiar monster that nearly took her life. Flapping of gigantic wings that covered the sky with its expanse… Razor sharp claws curling around her body… the same talons tearing into her flesh as Ulthane attempted to free her from its grasp. And this shriek… oh God, this shriek…

Despite the apparent pain and exhaustion, Raphael slowly - not to agitate the demon - got up to his feet and raised his wings threateningly as he stepped in front of aghast Nicola. The fact that due to its bulkiness this thing seems almost twice as large as he is doesn't make an impression on him. Or maybe it does but he doesn't show it. The Fallen stared at Raphael with its small red eyes as a pair of Phantom Guards rounded a corner and joined the beast. Each carried a jagged blade that could easily tear through angelic armor. Nicola had seen it happen. Following them was another bloody Goreclaw. But these three she barely even noticed. Her wide eyes were focused on the larger demon. She felt her muscles refuse cooperation and seize. She couldn't move, couldn't speak. Her mind repeatedly screamed No nono no NO! Not like this!!

With excited roars, the lesser demons charged towards the angel standing between them and the weak, pathetic and helpless human as the Fallen spread its wings and took off into the air. Even as Nicola kept stone still, Raphael remained sharp and ready to act as always. One spell spilled past his lips and the flying demon instantly went rigid before plummeting back onto the ground and crashing into a broken car, setting its annoying alarm off. It didn't discourage the other three but it let Nicola find will to move and clutch her gun tighter. Ever since she'd met Raphael, he'd been doing nothing but getting her arse out of trouble. Taking a shaky breath she decided to start repaying favors.

Though, once again she didn't really have a chance to do anything as she was dumbstruck by the following scene playing out before her. As the hellish monsters charged, Raphael took his staff in both hands and held it before himself, closing his eyes and muttering an incantation in his melodious language. The moment the first demon stepped a tad too close, Raphael's eyes snapped open, burning like two white suns and a sleek ethereal blade materialized from the tip of what Nicola previously thought just an ornament or a walking cane. It glowed like the purest light ever to exist. Another assumption Nicola made about Raphael turned out to have been false. The last thing she can say about him is unarmed. He carried no blade, no gun or anything but who needs a weapon as lame as those when in addition to powerful sorcery you have a freaking lightsaber?

Everything lasted less than a second as the angel led a wide, sweeping slash of his spectral sword… spear thing… and promptly relieved the Phantom Guard of its horned head, before stopping the pouncing Goreclaw with a flick of his free hand, suspending it in the air growling and hissing. The other Phantom Guard had no chance to either attack the vulnerable angel or retreat, when Raphael was busy cutting down the quadrupedal demon, as Nicola came back to her senses and, instead of running like she always has, jumped forward and fired her shotgun. The resounding bang travelled through the entire city, bouncing off the walls and drifting far into the desolate town but it had the effect Nicola counted on.

The Phantom Guard staggered backwards with a chest full of buckshot, wheezed a couple times and tripped over onto its back never to get up again. With adrenaline still pumping through her veins, Nicola stared at the either dead or dying demon in wonderment, her brain trying to process what just happened, before releasing a breathless laugh of triumph. She killed one. She actually killed one! Raphael too seemed rather surprised but not unpleasantly so as he let the blade fade away.

"I got it! Did you see that?!"

"That indeed, I have.."

He said as he eyed her carefully, probably just to check if she's fine. Aside from a little fresh blood on his boots and hands, Raphael didn't seem to have gotten hurt in any way. Well… more than he'd already been at least. Nicola beamed up at him nearly bursting with pride at her actual first kill on a demon larger than her shin. And he seemed happy for her, if the soft smile he regarded her with could be an indication. But this victory didn't last long. Her own smile faded when she saw the Fallen stiffly getting up from where it slammed onto the ground, pure rage on its monstrous face. Her pulse began to race again but this time she refused to let the panic get a hold of her just yet.

"Watch out!!"

She cried too late, just a sliver of a second too late. Raphael whipped around to face the attacker and all he managed to do was raise his hand before the charging demon swung its head to the left. And with the force of a truck driving at the speed of fifty miles per hour, slammed it into the angel, making a formula of a spell die on his lips as he was sent flying through the air and crashing against a nearby building. The force of the impact caved in the wall and the kind, mad angel disappeared in a cloud of dust. All that was left were a couple of white feathers slowly falling to the ground.

"NO!"

Nicola didn't pay any mind to how her voice broke and squeaked pitifully when her heart leaped up into her throat. She could only stare at the place where Raphael vanished with a rumbling crash as the enraged demon growled in the same direction. Not a single part of her being agreed with what she'd just witnessed. A second before he was standing right there, like nothing was about to happen, distracted by her gushing over her first serious kill. Nothing should have happened, why did the demon unravel Raphael's magic just like that? Even a Shadowcaster didn't manage to do that! Why would this one? And why… Tears welled up in her eyes as her lower lip trembled… why did it have to�� end the way it did…?

To make matters worse, the Fallen was still before her, still furious and thirsting for blood. Not wasting more time, Nicola pulled out a handful of new bullets and tried to reload her weapon but it proved almost impossible with how much her hands were shaking. Thank Christ, the demon was taking its sweet time as it faced her and began to lumber towards her on all fours, huffing out breaths stinking of rotting meat. Faster, faster, damn it! Nicola cursed inwardly when she dropped a couple of shells before she finally managed to place the ammunition where it should be. But when she looked up, the Fallen was on top of her already. Parting its jaws wide, ready to swallow her whole.

The scream of anguish that felt so tempting in the back of her throat never came to be. In a second, Nicola thought about all the horrors she'd lived through. All demons she'd met, all shambling corpses of former humans brought back by vile sorcery. All friends she'd made and lost.. Raphael, do just one thing for me. She gritted her teeth as her knuckles turned white from how she was gripping her weapon. Despair started to turn into rage. Burning bright and white hot inside of her, the flame Raphael had helped her see. Please, be alive when I come for you… The demon lunged forward to sever the string of her measly life by biting her in half. But Nicola wasn't going to let it get her so easily. Her fear was forgotten as she stuck the barrel of her shotgun into the monster's opened maw. She didn't want to die. Not now, not like this. For once she wanted to have a say over her own fate. Over the date of her demise. She is still young, she had a whole life ahead of her. And all those demonic dickheads with the Destroyer leading the charge decided to ruin everything and not only for her, but for every human who lives still and who has perished. And those who are yet to be born. She refused. She will not die. Not here. Not killed by that thing.

"FUCKOFF!!!"

And she fired. Partially, the sound was muffled by the demon's mouth snapping shut just barely missing Nicola's arms as she let go of her gun. The Fallen recoiled and began to shriek in pain, spitting out its own blood onto the concrete at its feet. Nicola didn't have delusions she could kill it but it gave her the precious seconds she needed. She ran for the closest hiding place available, which was the store she just left. Nicola leaped in through the broken window and quickly made it to the opposite wall to put as much distance between herself and the writhing monstrosity as possible. And it was a good choice. A loud roar from the street made her heart fall into her heels as the injured demon finally gathered its bearings.

Nicola looked at the Fallen that was coming her way with murder in its eyes. The unexpected bout of courage has long faded and the petrifying fear once again had Nicola in its chilling grasp. Even with the mouthful of bullets, the Fallen did not intend to give up on its prey. And here she hoped it would piss off if she fed it with lead… Snarling and panting, the demon approached the broken window with its own blood pouring from between its sharp fangs. It only added to the menacing image of the beast that had Nicola trembling and frozen.

Think, Nicola, THINK! What can she do against an opponent far bigger, stronger and more dangerous than a single human without a weapon? The Fallen was trying to fit through the window, reaching out with its clawed paw to try and get her. Nicola looks around in panic, looking for anything that could save her. In a grocery store. Good luck. Eventually, she says "fuck it" and grabs a most likely rancid egg. The laughably small projectile splatters over the face of the demon with a squelch and even from far away Nicola is sure this egg was definitely rotten. Even the Fallen stops for a second to shake the disgusting goop off of its head but before it's done, another egg flies through the air and cracks on its head, just as stinky as the previous one.

"How'd ya, like that, asshole?! Wanna have some more?!"

Nicola yells at the demon, holding yet another egg, fully prepared to just chuck it at the monster. Unfortunately, all she managed to do was piss it off even further as its efforts in reaching her doubled. Pieces of plaster and bricks were coming loose as the demon tried to wriggle into the shop to finally kill that annoying pest lobbing small, smelly things at it. As a result, an egg once again hit the demon while Nicola kept shouting out profanities that probably made her poor mother toss and turn in her grave. She's not going down without a fight, even if the said fight is done by throwing eggs and all the gross shit she found on the floor. But she knew she isn’t getting out of this one.

And so, this is it. Nicola couldn't believe she would die by the claws of the same creature that nearly killed her once before. Was Ulthane rescuing her only delaying the inevitable? What a sick joke… Why does fate insist on being cruel? There was so much she wanted to say, so many apologies she had to give… so little time… There was nothing she could do. At least… she will see Nicholas again.. her parents and every friend she'd lost in this cursed apocalypse. A miracle would've been nice. A tiny one. Just this once. Please?

And boy, did she get her wish. A sudden force violently tearing the Fallen out of the shop nearly startled her out of her dirty and tattered jeans. Hardly believing her eyes, she watched as her would-be killer screeched in rage and surprise when it was wrenched free from the ruined window and was gone from her vision. A sudden tremor shook the whole building, sending small bits of debris raining down on her head as a mighty roar reverberated through her very bones. But it wasn't the Fallen. It was something meaner. Something… Nicola swallowed thickly at the thought… bigger. Or at least as large as this fucker. Then came clacking of metal, ungodly screeching of the demon. A second later Nicola saw as it was flung through the air like a sack of potatoes and crashed against a block of flats. Instant karma. She thinks with bitter satisfaction when she remembers what that faggot did to Raphael. I need to somehow get to him. Honestly though, she doesn't really want to know what managed to just YEET a Fallen like a skipping rock.

Unfortunately, she finds out and finds out quite soon. From her hideout, she sees an enormous creature, nearly as big as the demon that threatened her, charging towards the stunned monster still bleeding from its mouth. If Nicola had been terrified of the Fallen, then she was on the verge of having a straight out SCA after seeing this chunk of a behemoth. Whatever this thing was, it was the size of an average tree. Its armored hide was burning with red and white flames which were enveloping twin jagged, metal whips it held in its hands. Vestigial wings were trembling with wrath as it turned its radiant white eyes at the battered demon. Between a pair of sweeping horns that crowned its head was a flickering blaze that flared with each step the monstrosity took towards its quarry. Right.. What's the best way to get rid of a monster? Sic a stronger monster on it. The Fallen shrugged off and growled at its new assailant, challenging it to a fight.

While the two beasts were circling one another, battling she couldn't even guess what for, Nicola braced for what was to come. This is a horrible idea. Breath in and breath out. In and out. And when the Fallen pounced at its attacker, she bolted. Not stopping, she ran. Through the street the demons were fighting on, past them - so close she could feel the heat radiating off of the newcomer - and into the building Raphael disappeared in. Nicola hoped she was ready for what she was about to find. She really did. Jumping in through the punched in wall however, she soon found out she was, in fact, not ready. The moment she entered, she immediately caught the sight that made something squeeze inside of her.

On a pile of rubble from the destroyed wall was Raphael coated in dust. Still. Not moving, his mesmerising white eyes shut. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh God, oh NO! Not thinking, all fear and uncertainty she ever felt in his presence was long cast away, Nicola rushed over to him pleading, begging everything that would listen for him to be alive. Don't leave me here like this… Dropping at his side into the rubble, Nicola lays her ear on the top of his chest and doesn't let herself relax until she hears a heartbeat and a shallow breath within. Words cannot describe how much she deflated once she did. He's still alive.. but he doesn’t look good.

"Raphael! Please say something! Can you hear me?!"

Thankfully, angel's eyes lolled open as she spoke to him, hinting that he indeed can hear her. Trying his best to keep his unfocused gaze on her face, Raphael furrowed his eyebrows and lifted his upper lip in a pained sneer as his hand wandered up to clutch at his side where the demon's heat struck him.

"Nnn… Nnii… co…"

He weakly attempted to speak but without much success. No joke, he must've hit his head really hard and she dreaded to think about the state of his ribcage.. But hey! At least he hears and understands what Nicola is saying. And it's a good sign.. right…? Wasting no more time, Nicola helped him sit up, keeping her hand on his forehead to steady him as his own palm rested over hers. Even squinting in pain, Raphael kept looking at her, as though she was the only point of focus he could think of.

"Hang in there, okay?! Please, Phel.. We'll be fine…"

Liar. Something snaps at her. They're pretty much defenseless and vulnerable with a very livid demon still threatening them. One or the other will come out victorious. And to the victor go the spoils… Raphael tried to say something but still couldn't formulate words properly due to the splitting headache pulsing through his entire skull. Though even through ringing in his head and pain in his chest that somehow rivaled the one he constantly felt, he found something in this human's words that baffled him. In her panic, Nicola doesn't catch a puzzled look he sends her way.

Phel?

A choked up cry of a dying demon made them both jump a little and look out through the hole Raphael made when the demon gored him. Just in time to see the flaming beast standing on top of the Fallen and strangling it with its whips. Then, the creature of… quite blatantly feminine curves gave one sharp tug and the demon's head was brutally severed from the rest of its body. And everything fell silent.

Instinctively, Nicola halted her breath and ceased any movement, watching the winner (Nicola felt fully comfortable with calling it per "she" now) shoot a glance towards her and Raphael who by this point tiredly laid his head on her shoulder, heaving in attempts to draw a proper breath. The creature approached slowly, keeping Nicola frozen in place and desperately holding onto her injured friend. When the demon was at the wall, only her massive legs were visible. Seconds ticked by as a set of claws rested above the opening to the house, and a monstrous head loomed through the hole.

That would be more than enough to make Nicola pass right the Hell out but.. Something about this creature intrigued her. It didn't have a snarling, toothy maw but an almost featureless face with the curve of a nose and a pair of bright and ferocious, intelligent eyes. It stared at her with more understanding than any demon Nicola had ever seen. Whatever it was, it didn't seem aggressive for some weird reason. At least not yet.. Then, unexpectedly, the creature was enveloped in red flames as its humongous form began to shrink and reshape into something much smaller but still a good two heads taller than an average human.

From the hot light emerged a very humanlike woman in intricate metal armor. Black tattoos marked her stern face around her luminous, white eyes and on her forehead, right below the line of incredibly dense magenta colored hair which floated freely around her head, defying gravity like it's the most natural thing in the world. Whoever it was, even with an intimidating aura of strength and resolve, her close resemblance to a human calmed Nicola somewhat. Plus, she had to admit that this woman had the looks. Men would probably be killing one another for her. Honestly, Nicola felt kind of jealous.. But considering she was still pretty much helpless with a half-conscious angel leaned against her, it didn't put her fully at ease. At least until the stranger spoke in plain English. Then Nicola finally released the breath she was holding. Crossing her arms, the tall lady sneered slightly at the human and angel before her.

"Well, would you look at that. Guess it's your lucky day today."

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

It's finally done, my goodness! This one was hard to get right but I made it. Don’t ask me how i managed to finish it with two pictures, I have no clue :I

Fury makes an appearance! Badass as always. :D

Also, can I get an F for Raphael's poor ribs?

#darksiders #darksiders 3 #darksiders fury #darksiders raphael #raphael #fury #darksiders OC #human survivor oc #CoK #cost of kindness #chapter IV

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lifeofkaze · 3 years

Text

An Art of Balance #10

Warning: very small mention of food

Word Count: ~ 2.900

______________________________________________________________

Chapter 10: A Change of Plans

Losing their first match against Ravenclaw had been a heavy blow to her ambitions, but Lizzie was glad everything seemed to go back to the way it was supposed to be, nonetheless.

Penny and Skye had decided to act as if the incident with the spilled love potion had never happened. They were on speaking terms again, although they limited conversations to superficial topics like Quidditch, homework or the weather.

Lizzie and Skye going from fighting to being close again was not a great surprise for the rest of their friends. They had all known the two girls long enough to not question how their friendship worked. They couldn’t have explained it anyway. It just did.

Their performance during practise had improved almost instantly after the match. Although neither girl cared to admit it, both took losing very personal. If they wanted to retain even the slightest chance at claiming the Cup once more, crushing their next opponent was vital. Both Lizzie and Skye were determined to make sure Slytherin would have a much harder time than Ravenclaw had had.

Even though the team had gotten back to being their usual fun bunch, Lizzie took great care to steer clear of Everett as best as she could. Neither of them had mentioned what had happened at the post-match party and Lizzie very much intended to keep it that way.

Still, she had noticed his eyes trailing her and could feel his gaze on her back when she sat in the Common Room with her friends. Lizzie had caught Orion watching Everett with an indeterminable look more than once, while the other boy tried to ignore him as best as he could.

Winter had started to hit the Hogwarts Grounds in earnest by the middle of November. Although no snow had fallen so far, the air was freezingly cold, sending biting gusts of wind howling through the open archways and cracks in the walls of the castle.

The windows of Hagrid’s hut were covered in frostwork so thick it was impossible to see outside. Lizzie was glad for the roaring fire Hagrid had stoked up before leaving for the Forbidden Forest. It was heating up the whole room to a degree that she was enjoying the cold air brushing her face as the door opened and Charlie came stomping inside. He was rubbing his palms against each other and went straight for the hearth to thaw his freezing fingers.

Lizzie was busy cutting up the heap of feed piled on the table. Charlie gazed at the fairy that was comfortably perched on her shoulder. It was dangling its little feet while happily buzzing into the girl’s ear. It was the one that had befriended Lizzie when she had tried to convince the fairy population to resettle in the Forbidden Forest. From time to time, some of them came back to the pumpkin patch, however. They loved to admire their reflections in the windowpanes of Hagrid’s hut.

When the fairy caught him looking, it suddenly started shrieking, baring its tiny fangs at him. Caught by surprise, Lizzie dropped her knife and covered her ears with a pained expression.

“Stop scaring her!” she shouted at Charlie over the screeching. She hurriedly offered the little creature a fingertip full of food, which the fairy gladly accepted. It fluttered onto Lizzie’s head and started munching away.

“Scaring her?” Charlie lifted his eyebrows. “I just looked at her.”

“I guess, she got offended by that hat of yours.” She pointed her knife at the crimson Gryffindor hat he was wearing, the colour clashing horribly with his ginger hair.

Charlie looked at her with a hurt expression. “You sound just like Andre.”

He tore himself away from the fire and came over to the table. Noticing the wary look the fairy gave him, he quickly removed his hat and stuffed it into his pocket before sitting down. He grabbed another knife and started working himself.

“Speaking of Andre, did you know he got himself a date?” Charlie mentioned casually. He smirked when he saw Lizzie’s head shoot up. This girl was too curious for her own good.

“No way!” She pushed her utensils to the side with a determined motion, suddenly all-ears. Even the fairy seemed to lean forward eagerly. “Give me the details, Weasley!”

Charlie put his knife down as well, spreading his fingers on the table. He lowered his voice conspiratorially.

“Her name is Claire Masters and she’s a fourth-year Ravenclaw, as far as I know. He always gets super nervous when he sees her walking by.” His brow furrowed. “I practically had to force him to tell me; he was very tight-lipped about the whole thing.”

Lizzie smirked wistfully. “No wonder; we literally crashed his last date.”

Charlie’s ears darkened a shade. “It wasn’t my fault I tripped over her bag and landed on their table.”

Lizzie guffawed at the memory, Charlie joining in her laughter. Trying to compose herself again, she sat up straight.

“And you really don’t know anything more? Like when or where he’s taking her?”

Charlie thought about it for a moment, frowning as he raked his memories. He tended to tune out of conversations if they didn’t involve any kind of dragon. His face brightened suddenly as he remembered.

“He is taking her to the Weird Sisters concert at The Three Broomsticks next weekend. He wants me to come as moral support, despite what happened last time. Do you want to come as well? Would save me from being the third wheel all the time.”

Lizzie hated to dampen Charlie’s enthusiasm but she shook her head apologetically. “I promised to go with the girls. And you and me appearing with Andre and a date would look an awful lot like a double-date.”

“But it wouldn’t be,” he insisted. “We’re just giving my best friend a bit of a heads up; step in if things get awkward. You can meet your friends there.”

Lizzie had picked up her knife again, toying with the handle. “I don’t know. Things have just gotten back to normal between Skye and me. You know her; ditching her for a player of another team doesn’t sound like something she’d appreciate.”

Charlies expression turned serious. “Don’t let them take our friendship away, remember? This is no one’s business but your own.”

Hanging her head in mock exasperation, Lizzie gave in to him. “Alright, fine. I’ll go with you. Under one condition,” she added quickly and held her finger up. “You tell Andre I’ll be wearing my own clothes. He seems nervous enough as it is. I don’t want him to go into another styling frenzy.”

Of course, Andre did go into a styling frenzy. Despite Lizzie’s particular wish to wear an outfit of her own choice, he had started drafting as soon he’d heard she would be coming as well.

He had been hounding Lizzie the whole week, waving fabric samples in her face and holding colour charts to her hair when he thought she wasn’t looking. To Professor Flitwick’s amusement, he had even bewitched a measuring tape to follow her around when she had refused to cooperate.

Eventually, Lizzie had given in to his persistence. Although she would have loved to be dressed after her own mind just one time, if concentrating on a new design helped Andre calm his nerves, she would simply have to indulge him.

She was having dinner with her friends when she spotted him walking over from the Ravenclaw table. With a little yelp she ducked behind Penny, but it was already too late. Andre had spotted her and approached them, a slight bounce to his step.

Peeking out from behind Penny’s slender shoulders, Lizzie shot him a threatening look.

“I swear, if you come at me with that measuring tape again, I’m going to strangle you with it,” she warned Andre before he had even opened his mouth. He looked taken aback.

“I just wanted to let you know that I have put something together for you. You can stop by the Transfiguration classroom later, if you want to see?” he replied almost sheepishly.

Lizzie immediately regretted her sharp tone. Andre always got overly excited when creating outfits for his friends, irrelevant whether they wanted him to or not. And admittedly, although his designs tended to be slightly over the top , they never failed to make his models look downright fabulous.

Out of the corner of her eye Lizzie saw Skye furrow her brow. It reminded her painfully that she had yet to tell her friends about her slight change of plans.

“What are you making her an outfit for?”

Andre looked surprised. “For the Weird Sisters concert of course. If Lizzie and Charlie are coming along on my date, I need to be able to let me be seen with them.” He spotted Lizzie frantically motioning for him to be silent too late.

Penny looked from Andre to Lizzie and back again, confusion visible on her face. “I thought you were going with us.”

“I was,” Lizzie replied sheepishly. “But Andre asked us to go with him and his date and- “

“So you’re dumping your friends for a date with Weasley and didn’t even think to tell us?” Skye’s narrowed eyes were flashing.

“I think you have some things to talk about, I’d better get going.” Andre mouthed a silent ‘sorry’ and hurried back to the Ravenclaw table. Skye watched him sitting down opposite Rath and gave the blond girl a hard stare just for the sake of it. Then she turned back to Lizzie.

“What was that about, Jameson?”

Lizzie avoided her eyes, sheepishly playing with her napkin. “I may have forgotten to tell you. I promised Charlie I’d go with him so he wouldn’t be third-wheeling on Andre’s date.”

Penny’s eyes went wide. “So you really are Charlie Weasley’s date?” She exchanged knowing looks with Tonks.

“She had better not tell you that, because I’m going to beat some bloody sense back into her if she starts dating the Gryffindor Seeker,” Skye interfered sharply. Lizzie wasn’t entirely sure she was joking.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. That was exactly why she had avoided telling them. She wasn’t in the mood for the drama.

Lizzie gave Penny at pointed look. “First of all, I am not going on a date with Charlie. We are going as friends because Andre needs our support; so for Merlin’s sake, stop grinning like a Cheshire Cat!” Penny pressed her lips together but it was evident she was fighting to contain her grin.

“Secondly,” and her attention shifted to Skye, who was still glaring at her, “don’t talk about Charlie like that. I told you time and time again, he is my friend. I don’t care which House he belongs to or which team he is playing for. If I want to spend time with him, you are sure as hell not going to stop me!”

“Hear, hear,” Tonks chimed in, her cheeks filled to the brim with pie.

Her sudden interjection relieved the tension into a burst of laughter, even Skye was joining in. Perhaps she was sick of fighting on all fronts for the time being.

“And you know,” Lizzie continued “it doesn’t mean we can’t meet up at The Three Broomsticks once we get there. Charlie and I have to help Hagrid before we can go anyway; I’ll walk to Hogsmeade with him and Andre and once we’re there, everyone is going to have a good time.”

Penny shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

She nudged Skye, who still didn’t seem entirely convinced. “Come on, I thought you and Lizzie were done fighting for the year.”

Despite herself, a small smile appeared on Skye’s face at her words.

They sat in silence for a bit when a thought crossed Lizzie’s mind. Her eyes flickered from Rowan to Orion in a furtive movement.

“What about you guys; you are going as well, aren’t you?” she asked in a pointedly nonchalant tone.

McNully and Orion looked up from their plates and exchanged a glance.

“I don’t know yet,” McNully mused. “I got asked, but I’m only 24 % sure I should actually go.” His eyes flitted towards the Ravenclaw table for a moment. “64 % of the activities at such events involve dancing, which I surprisingly can’t enjoy properly.”

“Only because you can’t dance, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy music and good company,” Lizzie answered incredulously. “Especially, if a certain someone explicitly asked you.”

Although she had a fair point, McNully chose to ignore her arguments. Instead he jerked his head in Orion’s direction. “It’s not like I’m the only one not going, though.”

Orion merely shrugged. “He is right, I do not plan on going either. I don’t find a large number of people being crammed into a small space particularly enjoyable.”

His gaze drifted to the candles floating above their heads, casting their soft glow over the mass of students gathered at their tables. “So many different energies in one place unsettle me,” he added airily.

Skye snorted into her cup and Lizzie elbowed her into the side. She was suppressing a grin of her own at Orion’s detached manner, however.

“How boring,” she pouted, hidden laughter ringing in her voice, “Myron and the others have been planning this gig for ages, it’s going be a lot of fun!”

Neither Orion nor McNully looked particularly enthusiastic to discuss matters further, so Lizzie decided to let the topic rest. For now.

When the group had finished their meal and was headed back to the Common Room, Rowan caught Lizzie’s sleeve, subtly holding her back. She waved to the others to go ahead, sitting down next to her friend again.

Rowan looked at her earnestly. “Do you really think you can persuade Orion to come with us?”

Lizzie wasn’t as sure as she made herself out to be, but nodded anyway. She had never been one to give up easily. “I think so. It will take a bit of convincing but I’m positive I can get him to give in.”

Rowan’s cheeks turned darker. “If he agrees, do you think you could help me getting a little closer to him?”

It was exactly what Lizzie had had in mind. A group of friends enjoying good music; a few drinks and plenty of opportunities to separate from the group; getting lost in the crowd without it being overly suspicious. It was the perfect opportunity for them to loosen up and get to know each other better. She almost felt excited herself.

She linked her arm with Rowan as they were strolling towards the exit of the Great Hall, a mischievous smile playing about her lips. “Don’t you worry, I’ve got you covered.”

Orion and the others were already back in the Common Room, lounging in their usual spot next to the great fireplace. He and McNully were engaged in a game of chess, while the girls were talking in hushed voices to each other about Lizzie’s change of plans.

McNully’s rook had just beaten his bishop off the board in a particularly violent way, when Skye huffed audibly, sitting up from the yellow couch she had been sprawling upon.

“I don’t care, I still don’t like Jameson going out with the best player of another team. I mean, where are her loyalties?”

“You heard her, Skye”, Orion responded without taking his eyes off the board. He motioned his complaining pawn to move forward, into the path of McNully’s queen. “She and Charlie Weasley are going as friends and that is the truth we need to accept.”

Being completely honest with himself, however, he had to admit that Skye had a point. Charlie Weasley was Gryffindor’s greatest asset. He didn’t know much about his and Lizzie’s friendship, but the thought of them showing up together made him feel uneasy.

He tried to balance his feeling of restlessness by taking out another one of McNully’s white pawns, foolishly allowing his commentator friend to position his queen in front of Orion’s king.

“Checkmate, buddy,” McNully announced with a ring of surprise to his voice. “What a blunder! You made it really easy.”

Orion’s eyes wandered over the assortment of black and white pieces. He was trying to focus on the mistake he had made, but his mind was on anything but the game.

Skye came over and sat between them, picking up the black queen and spun her around between her fingers.

“Tell you what, we have to do something about this. I say, we all go, keep an eye on things; make sure Weasley doesn’t do anything stupid.”

McNully set the board for a second match. “I highly doubt Lizzie would approve being chaperoned,” he retorted sceptically.

Skye dismissed his concern with a flick of her wrist. “I don’t care about her approval. This is for the team. Now, are you in or what?”

Orion gave an exhausted sigh. Much like Lizzie, Skye wasn’t one to let things go once she had set her mind to it.

“Will you give it a rest if we agree to come?”

“Probably.”

He made eye contact with McNully for a moment, who gave him the tiniest shrug.

He closed his eyes, breathing out slowly. He could already feel his calm slip at the thought of being stuck in such a crowd.

“Alright, we’re in.”

Skye lifted herself off the ground and placed the chess piece back on the board.

“Smashing.”

#art of balance #lizzie jameson #orion x mc #orion amari #orion amari x mc #andre egwu #charlie weasley #skye parkin #murphy mcnully #penny haywood #rowan khanna #quidditch #quidditch squad #the quidditch squad #L writes #hphm #hogwarts mystery

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ghostspideys-moved · 4 years

Text

chasing visions of our futures: chapter two

a/n: I meant to have this done much earlier today, but at least I got it finished!

word count: 2k

pairing: barry allen x oc

summary: River Matthews decides to cause some chaos in Central City, mostly for fun, but also for the attention she knows she’ll get from The Flash. When he catches her, and she gets a second chance, she has to decide whether she should take it or if there’s no changing for her. There’s a lot more to her the more Barry tries to dig, and the more he does, the more River’s afraid he won’t like what he finds out.

chapter summary: Team Flash has to decide what to do with River, and with Hawthorne’s help, things might start looking up for her.

Being stuck in the Pipeline for this long was already driving River insane. Maybe not literally, but she was extremely bored, and she didn’t handle her boredom well. Not that she could do much about it if she wanted to. Cisco really had done a good job of designing the cells.

While the rest of Team Flash - Hawthorne included - was deciding her fate, River was left to hope she wouldn’t be kept here forever. Yeah, so she’d been causing them a lot of trouble for several days now, but they couldn’t just keep her in here forever, right?

Luckily, Hawthorne came back eventually. She held onto the hope she had that maybe they’d let her go. After all, she could have done a lot worse, and River could be fairly persuasive if she tried. Not that she thought it would matter. Whatever they decided, they’d probably be set on it.

“So, I have some good news and some bad news,” Hawthorne said. “The good news is, apparently, they’re willing to let you out of here."

River, who’d previously been splayed out on the cell floor, shot up to her feet. "Seriously?” Honestly, she hadn’t expected them to actually do it.

“Yes, but on one condition.” That made her pause, the smile she’d had on her face dropping. “I convinced them to give you a chance as long as you try turning a new leaf.”

“What?” River exclaimed. That was practically impossible for her, and she already knew she’d just let them down if she even tried. “What even makes you think I could do that?”

Hawthorne sighed, crossing his arms. “I think you could if you actually tried. You’re not a terrible person, River. Maybe just a bit…misguided.”

That felt like the understatement of the year. She might be worse off than he thought.

River groaned and pressed her forehead against the glass of the cell. This was a lot to process. “Okay, so let’s say for a second that I even entertain that idea. What have I ever done to make you think I can even change?” Even she had her doubts, and she could imagine it would take some time before the team even trusted her if she went along. On the other hand, it might be a nicer alternative to being kept in the Pipeline for however long.

“Not much, but I care about you enough that I did what I could to convince them to give you a chance. Because I know what you’ve been through, and I think you at least deserve that chance.” It was clear that Hawthorne meant it, but she was still having a hard time wrapping her head around his words.

“They’re just stressed out with all the metahumans that are constantly popping up, and they’ve been through a lot, so it might take them some time to warm up to you,” he continued. “But if you just give it a chance, I think you’ll like it a lot better than being stuck with dad for the rest of eternity.”

River sighed and looked away as she let it all sink in. Realistically, she knew he was right, and squandering this chance might be her worst decision ever. “And what happens if I don’t go along with it?”

Hawthorne shrugged, feigning a casual expression. “More than likely, you go to Iron Heights with the rest of the metahumans. Which is just as hard to escape as this cell.”

The odds were stacked against her, and while River could be stubborn and unwilling to cooperate in the worst of circumstances, it was clear to her what her best option was. She’d have to play along.

“Alright, fine. I’ll give it a shot,” she decided. “But I’m not guaranteeing you this will even work.” In fact, she had a very good feeling his misplaced faith in her was only going to bite him in the ass eventually.

“I only ask that you try.”

Hawthorne relayed her decision to the rest of the team, and he came back with Caitlin to let her out. Of course, they were going to watch her like a hawk now that she was free, but River much preferred it to the boring cell she’d be stuck in otherwise.

“Are you ready for the bad news?” Hawthorne asked once she was free. In her eagerness, she forgot there even was a bad end to all this.

“I suppose.”

“I have my own team to work with, so I won’t be around much. So, as much as I’d love to have you stay with me, I won’t be in Central City to keep an eye on you. I’m a little busy with the Legends,” he explained. “But Caitlin’s agreed to show you around while I sort out everything else I need to.”

Admittedly, the thought of exploring a little was exciting. S.T.A.R. Labs seemed like a pretty big place, and to say she didn’t think it could be cool to look around would be a lie. “Sounds fun,” River said.

Hawthorne patted her back, giving her a reassuring smile. “I’ll be around for a little longer before I have to head out."

With that, he left her with Caitlin. River followed her around the building, curiously looking around. Already, she could tell she was bound to get lost on her own, at least for a while. She tried to create a mental map, which was easier said than done. Still reeling from the fact that she was even here, she’d only caught half of what Caitlin was saying in her tour of the lab. Part of her felt bad for not totally listening, but another part of her wondered why she even felt bad at all. Really, her thoughts and emotions were all over the place, but she made a mental note to thank her brother sometime for getting her out of the Pipeline. From what she could tell, he was pretty good friends with everyone on Team Flash, which was probably the biggest deciding factor in her release. Otherwise, she was sure she wouldn’t be following Caitlin through the halls.

River snapped out of her thoughts as they stopped in Cisco’s workshop. The only other person in the room, though, was another man who was definitely not Cisco. And he was throwing things out of frustration.

"This is Harry,” Caitlin explained, seemingly not even fazed by his behavior. “Don’t worry. This is normal for him."

It was almost comforting how strange everyone on the team was. At least from her perspective. While she still had her doubts about this working out, she felt a little better knowing she probably wasn’t much stranger than them, or at least that they’d probably accept how different she was if they could accept Harry’s weird outbursts.

"I can tell,” River said. Not the strangest thing she’d seen.

Caitlin pulled her away, letting Harry work through his problem as they finished up the tour. “Don’t worry if you get a little lost right away. It take a little adjusting to this place for everyone.”

“Yeah, no kidding. It’s bigger than I thought.” Though she didn’t say it, it was kind of exciting. She could definitely get used to this. And, if she was being honest, she kind of enjoyed listening to Caitlin, at least for as much as she’d listened.

“Well, I’ll be here if you ever need help,” Caitlin assured her. “We’re all supposed to make sure you’re supervised until we can fully trust you, but that wasn’t my idea.”

River wasn’t too surprised, and she wouldn’t have expected otherwise. It was probably a fair call, though. A smart move on their end. No doubt they knew better than to trust a stranger right away, especially someone they’d been trying to catch for a few days now.

“Speaking of which,” Caitlin continued, “We figured, since Hawthorne’s usually busy, you probably need somewhere to stay. So, I volunteered to let you stay with me for a while.”

Of all the people River could have ended up with, she seemed the most tolerable. Caitlin hadn’t been anything but kind so far, which kind of threw her off guard, admittedly, but it was kind of nice.

“You’re really sure you want me around?” Caitlin nodded, a smile still present on her face. “Alright, but I’m a lot to handle being around for that long.”

She didn’t seem too dissuaded, oddly enough. “Trust me, I’ve dealt with worse,” Caitlin said.

Seeing as it was getting pretty late, Caitlin wrapped up and let everyone know they were heading out. Everyone seemed worried about leaving her with River, even if they didn’t say. And surely Caitlin knew her friends well enough to see it, too, but she didn’t seem to carry the same unease as the rest of them. She simply dismissed it and lead the way to her apartment.

Caitlin’s apartment seemed nice than anywhere River had ever lived, though her standards weren’t very high. Hell wasn’t exactly a great place, so anywhere might have been nicer. Just from looking around, she could tell Caitlin must be a neat person. Nothing was really out of place, and she didn’t seem to leave many messes, if any.

Figuring River must be hungry, Caitlin found something for them to snack on in the meantime. Though she’d eaten a little while in her cell, she would never turn down food, and she did often found herself hungry quicker than she knew was probably normal. So the thoughtfulness didn’t go unappreciated.

It really was strange having someone actually being kind and concerned for her, even if it was just small things. It was just new and different, in a good way.

Caitlin made sure River was set for the night so she could sleep well. Tomorrow, they’d work on some training and getting her used to working with everyone else, so she’d need as much sleep as she could get. River knew that would be hard with how much difficulty she had sleeping, as if her brain refused to shut off, but she didn’t worry Caitlin with that. She could deal with it herself.

Once River had a decent layout of the house in case she needed the bathroom in the middle of the night or anything else, Caitlin let her be and went to her room to rest. As she’s expected of herself, River couldn’t sleep right away. Which was fine. It was normal for her. But now she had so much time to herself, and therefore more time to think.

Today had been so strange. Such a whirlwind as everything changed. If it hadn’t been for her brother, she wouldn’t be here right now, and though they had a lot of problems to sort out between each other, she greatly appreciated his help. And Caitlin was probably the first person to show her any kindness in a long time. As strange as it was, River welcomed it. And though she had some concerns and doubts about joining a team of heroes, she was kind of glad they’d even given her a chance. They certainly didn’t have to, though she knew it was mainly to do with Hawthorne.

This could be the start of something much better. And if she had anything to say about it, she was going to make the most of it while she could. River thought back to what Hawthorne said about her being misguided. By all means, she knew he was right. She might have done some horrible things - things she often regretted when she stop to think about it - but it wasn’t the end of the world for her. There might still be a chance for her after all.

It was with that small shred of hope that River actually found herself growing tired. It had been a long day, and she was far too comfortable not to feel sleepy. Her last thought before letting sleep take over was, I hope I don’t let them down too much.

#barry allen #the flash #the flash cw #barry allen x reader #barry allen x original character #barry allen x oc #barry allen imagine #the flash imagine #the flash x oc #the flash x original character

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harry-hollands · 4 years

Text

selcouth // harry holland // 2

chapter 2: The Not So Lonely Ray of Sunshine

story summary: Harry was used to living in his brothers’ shadows. Tom was the actor and Sam was the cook and musician. He was used to being second best and genuinely gave up on finding someone who could love him for him. Someone who could believe that Harry wasn’t second best. His mindset changes however, when he meets you. The sunshine to cast away all of the shadows.

teaser // chapter one //

chapter summary: sunshine shines brightest when happy

pairing: harry holland x reader

warnings: none? swears, fluffy, simp harry

word count: 1.8k

When Y/N had forgotten her winter coat, she had mentally cursed herself. She had made it into the theatre with minutes to spare, but she was mentally cursing herself. “How is it that I am the dumbest person in the world? How could I have been so damn dumb to leave my winter coat in Paddy’s car on one of the coldest nights I have ever experienced?”

Being pulled out of her thoughts by Alita, one of the stage directors, Y/N made it backstage, warming up her voice as she made it to her dressing room she shared with her ‘sisters’. Y/N gave a greeting to Sophia, who would be playing Angelica, and was also an American exchange student from California, and gave a greeting to London native, Sicily who would be playing Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds.

“Hey, love! Cutting it a bit close, yeah?” Came Sicily’s thick and cheerful English accent. How she was able to keep out of her singing baffled both Y/N and Sophia.

Sophia giggled and rolled her eyes before reaching over and helping Y/N set her personals down before pulling the girl into a hug. “Hey, babe. Please ignore Ms. I’m Crabby Because Everyone Is Getting Into A Relationship But Me over there.” The Californian stated before pulling away and sitting back down at one of the vanities to finish her stage makeup.

Y/N couldn’t deny Sophia’s claim. Just last week, two of the ensemble members announced to the cast that they had been dating for six months, and over seven months ago, Sophia’s girlfriend, who just happened to be fucking Zendaya went public on Instagram, confirming what everyone was expecting; that the literal goddess was dating a Broadway member.

To be fair, Sicily had had a messy breakup a year prior, and was forced to cut a lot of people from her life who kept shitting on her for breaking up with her boyfriend. Y/N and Sophia were both relieved that the Londoner had broken off the relationship. Sicily’s ex radiated toxic masculinity, and verbally discussed his dislike for both Sophia and Y/N in front of their faces. Yeah. It was a lot.

Bored because the turntable on stage was refusing to work, Y/N decided to FaceTime Paddy to pass the time. During the whole call, Y/N was keeping her voice warm, and practiced harmonizing with Sophia and Sicily. After an announcement that the turntable was finally cooperating, Y/N rushed a goodbye to Paddy, and told him that the Hamilton Instagram page would be going live, so anyone could find out what goes on behind the scenes.

After running through their first dress rehearsal, and polishing up certain scenes, Alita, the stage manager had dismissed everyone. Y/N, Sicily, and Sophia made their way to their shared dressing rooms, wiping off their tear stained makeup. Sophia was taking off her ending dress, and Sicily was looking at her phone.

“Y/N, love, you are fucked.” Came the blunt voice of Sicily.

“Why?”

“It’s fucking snowing out, and it’s negative one degrees Celcius!”

“Fuck! I left my coat in Paddy’s car. Shit.”

Just as Sicily was about to make a teasing comment, Y/N’s phone went off, causing all three of them to jump.

“Bloody hell Y/N/N! Why is your ringer so loud?”

“Oh shut it Sicily. You’re ten times louder.”

“Only for you Soph!” Sicily remarked, with a wink.

“Shut up both of you! I’m trying to text Paddy back, and I can’t hear any of my thoughts!”

“Oops. Sorry.”

“Yeah. Sorry, love.”

Y/N rolled her eyes as the two continued to bicker quietly. She began typing intently, before pocketing her phone in her tote bag, and beginning to shed the layers of her Eliza costume. After the three women packed up, they all headed out the theatre doors, and hugged each other.

Sophia ran to Zendaya’s already familiar car, while Sicily hailed a taxi to take her to the tube. Y/N was still mentally cursing herself, as she wrapped her thin sweatshirt around her frame. “I really need to learn to wake up to my alarm.” The frozen girl muttered.

Waiting underneath the theatre awning for twenty minutes was probably the longest twenty minutes of Y/N’s twenty one years of life. As soon as she saw a car turn from the corner, approach the curb, and the sound of the horn, the actress immediately knew that it was Sora. How? Probably because she saw the girl cackling from the inside of the car.

As soon as she heard the horn of the car, Y/N was sprinting to her savior, and immediately throwing everything in the boot or trunk as she called it, into the car. Y/N, without hesitation, threw open the back door, and slammed it shut, with her teeth chattering, and her hair dusted in fastly melting snowflakes due to the heated temperature inside the car.

“Well don’t you look like Anna.” Sora teased from the front seat before taking off after Y/N had fastened her seatbelt.

“You are never going to let this go, are you? Just because I can sing Anna better than you does not make me her!” Y/N retaliated with a breathless laugh.

For the first time, Y/N glanced at Harry, and she instantly knew what Elizabeth Schuyler-Hamilton felt when she first saw Alexander. If she were in a musical, Y/N could guarantee she would break out into “Helpless”.

Unfortunately because life isn’t a musical, Y/N opted for a smile. And god was she thankful at that moment for the bitter cold. At least if she was called out on a blush, she could always blame it on the frigid weather.

Looking at Harry for the first time was indescribable. The way he smiled back at her was intoxicating, and while Y/N opted out for drinking, she felt as though she could get drunk on his smile. It was strange. How could one stranger make you feel this way in a matter of seconds?

An answer that both Harry nor Y/N knew at the moment...but that’s a story for the future.

Hearing his voice was like a prayer she didn’t know she needed to hear. Y/N had been compared to the sun since the day she was born. And when you think of the sun, you think of the day. And when you think of the day, you think of how much more social interaction goes on.

Most people assumed that Y/N was not a lonely person upon meeting her for the first time. Socially, Y/N probably knew almost everyone in Oahu. But romantically, the girl was so lonely. She was always that one friend who knew who was dating who, and gave out the best relationship advice despite never actually dating anyone.

Sure people had crushes on her, but no one looked at Y/N the way Harry did in the first few seconds. He looked at her like she was the only girl in the world. The only girl that truly mattered. For the first time ever in her life, Y/N felt like she was the most important person in the room...or in this case, the car.

From Paddy’s position in the front passenger seat, he could tell that his best friend, with whom he had grown to be super protective of, and his brother, who he had never seen look so lovesick, were taken. Even if they had just been introduced, they acted as if they had known each other since kindergarten. Paddy was definitely going to bring up how he was the perfect matchmaker at Sora and Harrison’s wedding, and eventually Y/N’s and Harry’s...but uh...again. A story for the future.

The car ride back to the house was filled with melodious laughter, lighthearted banter, and the occasional swears in English, Japanese, and Hawaiian.

As soon as Sora pulled up to the house and parked, everyone leaped out of the car, Y/N this time with her winter coat on, grabbed her garment bags and purse, while Harry kindly closed the door of the boot of the car.

The snow dusted group made it to the front door, and hurried inside, slamming the door shut, not wanting the warm air to escape. Sora and Y/N brushed off the white powder before hanging up their coats and scarves on the clothing hooks by the door.

Laughter and light bickering was heard in the living area, which caused a light smile to appear on Sora’s face. “Glad to see that they survived without us.”

Harry chuckled before helping Y/N with her garment bags, yelling a hello in the house, which caused a few thumps before Elysia came charging down the hall.

“Y/N/N!” The twenty-three-year old Brit launched herself onto Y/N causing the unsuspecting girl to tumble on the ground.

“Hey El! How’s life treating you?”

“Eh. You know. Same old, same old. How’re rehearsals?”

“Exhausting. In fact, I need to put them on and walk and dance in the stage heels we’re required to wear. We just got them delivered today.”

The rest of the group who had stayed behind, came down the hall and smiled when they saw Y/N on the floor with Elysia on top, still holding Y/N in a bone crushing hug.

Elysia, after another moment more, finally stood up, and helped the musical actress stand up. The two shared a giggle before Y/N looked up at the rest of the group.

As soon as Sam locked eyes with Y/N’s frame, the older twin immediately gasped before bouncing up and down in excitement. “Bloody hell! You’re Y/N Y/L/N! The insanely talented theatre foreign exchange student at LAMDA! Some of my friends who attend LAMDA always speak of you!”

Y/N blushed profusely at the sight of being recognized. “I wouldn’t say I’m that good though. Everyone is pretty much exaggerating.” She answered honestly.

Sam continued to shake his head. “No, I don’t think you understand. It’s extremely difficult to get a leading role as an underclassmen for a musical, but for a foreign exchange student of any age snagging a leading role is impossible!”

Y/N just shrugged her shoulders, before introducing herself to the rest of the group. “Uh. Hello. My name's Y/N and I’m playing Eliza Hamilton in Hamilton in a couple of months. I’m also studying at LAMDA, and booking some auditions on the side.” The girl stated softly, slightly intimidated by all of the gorgeous human beings in front of her.

As introductions had been passed around, Y/N was shown to a spare guest room by Harry and Tom where she could change into her historical ensemble and practice her singing and dancing in the studio that Tom had for practicing stunts in the backyard.

As soon as Y/N emerged from the guest room wearing the signature satin blue dress, a hush fell over the room. Any signs of conversations had ceased when they saw the sight of the satin baby blue dress hug the girl’s body.

“Holy fucking shit.” Harry muttered under his breath.

Let me know if you want to be tagged! If your username is struck through, it means that it won’t let me tag you!

Taglist:

@peeterparkr @tomhollandsotherpinkytoe @lovingisharry @hollanderfangirl @purpleskiesstorm @euphorichxlland @astridcommings @captainchrisstan @antigoneidk @moonstarsandsongs

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class1akids · 4 years

Note

would you care to shed some light on your take for the provisional license exams???

Sure. I think it was a hot mess with some good moments that in the end failed to deliver a consistent message.

It seems that the arc narratively had to achieve the following things:

make Bakugou fail, so his fall from top applicant to rock bottom of the class can be complete, making him ripe to explode in Deku vs. Kacchan 2 and give a huge turning point to his character;

show how Todoroki was not over the whole Endeavor-thing to set up the Pro Hero / Endeavor redemption arc;

take both Bakugou and Todoroki fully out of the picture for the Overhaul arc, so it can concentrate on the Mirio vs. Deku comparison with regard to the “who was the best OFA-candidate?” question;

put Bakugou and Todoroki in a situation where they grow closer from the antagonistic relationship the Sports Festival left them in; if Horikoshi was already planning ahead to the Endeavor agency arc and beyond.

So the exam had to be designed in a way where the weaknesses of these two would be their downfall, while nobody else gets caught up in the net.

So in-story, the exam had two stated, main objectives:

Part 1 - Select the 100 candidates with the best potential (because the streets are saturated with mediocre heroes) - quality over quantity.

Part 2 - See how these candidates do in rescue-under-pressure situation and fail them if they make too many mistakes.

So let’s look at Part 1:

The exam is designed with the three balls in a way that you have to be the last one to tag someone to pass. While this honestly feels like an everyone-for-themselves kind of situation, the narrative tries to push how teaming up is the way to go, to the point that many schools seem to come with pre-cooked strategies to target specifically Yueei students.

Except it doesn’t make sense - there is a time pressure; you have to be in the first 100, which is pretty crap for team cohesion when it’s situations like this one:

A team of ten going after one single student known to be one of the strongest hero-candidates in the country? Why waste their time instead of pick on someone weaker? If they managed to corner Todoroki, which of that team would have gotten the pass? The leader? Why would the other nine follow him? Are they all that dumb?

Same with Momo and the Seiai students. Why waste time playing tea-house when Momo’s team was only 4 people? It didn’t seem very intelligent for a girl whose quirk was literally super-intelligence to come up with this plan??

Then we have Inasa who single-handedly eliminates 120 people, because - plot??? Also, those people are either total morons for not hitting the ground protecting their targets or it was impossible to evade, in which case, wasn’t there a single good candidate among the 120, who just got really unlucky?

Then, the exam is designed to favour students with a stealth quirk - how the hell is Tooru not one of the first ones to pass?

Finally, a lot of the Class1a seem to pass because Iida refused to pass until all his classmates got through. It shows how selfless Iida is, how insanely seriously he takes his class-rep responsibilities - but it doesn’t in any way imply that people like Aoyama have proven that they have what it takes to make it on their own out there, let alone to be in the top 100.

These are just a couple of examples - but it shows that Part 1 of the exam in no way selected the best 100 candidates - though some of the best candidates did make it to the second phase, pulling with them the people they cared about regardless of their individual potential.

That takes us to Part 2:

So here, the students are graded on their mistakes solely, but not at all on their positive contributions.

The rescue part supposedly looks at things like:

How well they can triage

How effectively they can get people out from under rubble

How well they can connect with the victims to make them cooperate.

OK, so let’s not get into how Deku gets told by the first victim how the test is graded and what he should look out for, because that feels just like massive cheating to start with.

Let’s look at other things:

Uraraka almost collapsing a building because she goes in all gung-ho gets no consequences, because Momo is there to warn her. So Uraraka has great potential as a hero, as long as she’ll always tag along next to Momo or someone else sensible and listens to her?

Bakugou gets down-graded into oblivion for being a rude asshole (rightly so), but Kirishima and Kaminari who visibly get by on Bakugou’s impeccable triage skills get no negative consequence for not being able to make the right decisions by themselves. They’ll be fine out on the field, because surely Bakugou will always tell them what to do (oh, except he won’t be there, because he failed…) as long as they are nice…

Then comes the part where the exam raises the stakes by putting the “villains” in the mix, seemingly trying to measure if students will make the right call about fight vs save.

Except the students fighting Orca are basically Todoroki and Inasa (with a bit of help from Midoriya here and there)… They hold Orca and his gang back until the very end of the exam, even after their own chances of passing the exam are gone. Again, the rest of the students are not tested on their own skills to see what they would do under villain attack, they pass on the backs of the people who took the biggest risks and who will not be there out on the field, because they failed.

To me, it really felt like the exam was designed to reward mediocrity over excellence. Although, although it fits in with the hero-spirit demonstrated during the sludge villain incident, where the pros stood around waiting for someone with the right quirk.

It somehow managed to target very specifically the weaknesses of some of the students with the greatest potential, but never managed to target other student’s well-known weaknesses, like Aoyama’s cowardice, Grape-boy panicking under pressure, Kirishima running into the fray without thinking things through, etc and it’s not because we have seen those students outgrew those weaknesses (they haven’t) - but because….plot.

On Bakugou specifically:

In the first part of the exam, we see his character development - how he looked out for Kirishima and Kaminari, telling us he’s overcome at least part of his own selfishness (although illogically in the part of the exam, that was designed to play into his natural strength - to look out for himself only and pass as fast as he can).

Then in the second part, we see very little of him, other than yelling at the first people he encountered - but for example, we don’t know if he lost points for not going after Orca.

But fine, despite development, he’s still an asshole and only respects his peers and not the victims, so he deserves to fail.

As for Todoroki:

Narratively, he doesn’t need to be put in his place. He’s a good students, great skill, power, judgement, true hero heart which we saw in action in the Stain or the Kamino arcs. So it feels really a stretch for him to run into the one single thing in the exam that would make him lose his cool.

And Inasa doesn’t feel like a real character, but really a plot-device designed to push Todoroki’s buttons specifically.

He’s a cheerful, friendly character, who somehow has been so scarred for life by a one-minute interaction with Endeavor a decade ago that upon running into his son at the UA entrance exam (where Todoroki wasn’t even that bad???), he simply forgoes going to the best school because he can’t stomach the possibility of being together with Shouto??? OK, whatever.

Then he goes out of his way during a high-stakes exam to push Todoroki?

While other people are saved by the power of friendship / team around them, somehow it’s the one time none of Shouto’s friends intervene until it’s too late??

Nothing about this plot makes sense, other than Horikoshi really wanted Shouto to fail.

So at the end of the exam, we have the entire Class 1A and 1B pass. So, apparently by the parameters of the exam, everyone is ready to be unleashed on the streets as heroes other than Bakugou and Todoroki. Nobody other than them have any shortcomings to correct. Right. Sorry if I’m not buying it.

Sure, there were a couple of students who really excelled like Midoriya, Momo and Iida, but it’s really hard to believe that all the others passed on their merits alone, proving that they are ready to be heroes and have no weaknesses, while what we saw was them getting lucky (like Uraraka) or being pulled along by others (basically half the class in part 1 of the exam) often.

In the end, it doesn’t matter of course, because the only ones who will get to do anything with their licenses are Deku, Kirishima, Uraraka and Tsuyu (and Tokoyami is out there, but not involved in the Overhaul- plot). While other students who showed much better potential at the exams, like Momo or Iida don’t get anything out of passing it so well - there is no correlation between their performance at the exam and their hero debut. (I mean Momo helped both Tsuyu and Uraraka pass, and yet she doesn’t get a work-study and a hero debut, but the other two do???)

So, it wouldn’t have made a narrative difference to have others fail too - but Horikoshi didn’t just want Bakugou and Todoroki to fail, but he wanted them to fail as badly as possible, to be as humiliated as they can be - to get that desperate explosion out of Bakugou (and unfortunately, it feels that Todoroki is more collateral damage in this, because there is absolutely no narrative reason to push him down so badly).

Like, was this supposed to be funny??? Because I could cry rage-tears any time I see this. Also, great demonstration of your newly-minted hero license, asshole! I’m so convinced you deserved it.

All these things make it that it doesn’t feel real - the exam just feels like a giant plot device serving the goal of making Deku’s biggest rivals fail.

In the end, the only thing I really agree with the Hero Commission on is this:

Yep, from what we saw, some of the best potential is among the failed students (Todoroki, Bakugou, Inasa even) - which just tells me how spectacularly the Hero Commission failed in designing this exam to really select the best candidates.

TL; DR: The exam was badly designed that was completely illogical in order to achieve its stated goals. It was instead plot device after plot device to achieve the narrative goal of having Bakugou and Todoroki fail in the worst way possible to set up future arcs targeting their very specific weaknesses, while failing to identify anyone else’s shortcomings. It rewarded mediocrity over excellence. The internal logic of the exam didn’t justify this outcome.

Though, there is good coming out of this. The Remedial arc is really good and the TodoBaku friendship that grows out of this makes up somewhat for this mess.

Meta masterlist

#bnha #bnha meta #bakugou katsuki #todoroki shouto #yoarashi inasa #provisional licence exam arc #class 1a #i don't like this arc #it felt very messy #without a clear point to make

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late-to-the-sexy-party · 4 years

Text

Half a Pint of Sex

A little AU that takes place during S2 E1. What if Rae didn’t leave after she saw Finn in the shower?

Also posted on AO3.

Thank you as ever to Lil, my beta reader from another mother: you are exacting and wise and very exciting to work with.

@madfatty @burnnmyhearttout @thatfunnygirllauren @hellothisismebye

Rae was in a tizzy as she walked back from the lingerie shop. It was all well and good to bare everything in front of Chloe and Izzy and the baps-expert bra lady, but…ugh…who was she kidding? Even that was horribly uncomfortable. How could she ever do this with Finn? She closed her eyes and counted to ten. “He likes me,” she reminded herself. “He’s already touched my lady bits and he wants to go camping and he knows we’re getting three tents. Relax, idiot! He likes you. He really likes you.” She repeated the affirmation, though suspected this could all change once Finn really saw all of her. But the pep talk and the teal underwear in her shopping bag gave her a surge of confidence or maybe it was just hope. Whatever propelled her, she found herself heading to Finn’s house. Maybe to show him. Maybe not.

Meanwhile, Finn was in his attic, waist-high in boxes and sorting fairy lights from Christmases past. Most of his thoughts were preoccupied by the camping trip and how not to let on that he was preoccupied. Being attentive to Rae was work but the best kind. It felt good to be in this deep, to care this much. Anyway, their first time would not be in a tent, that was not how he’d pictured it, hence ten calls to arrange the surprise caravan and a whole morning in the attic. He was glad she’d been busy earlier because he was crap at making excuses. He was covered in dust from his efforts, but now he just wanted to see her. Fuck it, he was going to go over to hers even if he had to wait around until she got home. He headed to the shower to wash up.

Rae’s feet automatically slowed as she approached Finn’s house; much had changed since the first time she’d walked up to his door. When she was with Finn their chemistry was obvious and magnetic, but when they were apart the whole thing still seemed impossible. If she could get back in the same room with him, the rest should take care of itself. She needed to trust in the strange magic of them. She pushed herself forward with the memory of Finn’s reassuring smile, his promise of “to be continued.” Gary welcomed her inside amidst a haze of Dire Straits. Rae prayed her own straits were not so dire.

Finn’s thoughts were racing in the shower. Was he putting too much pressure on her? He was pretty sure the whole thing had been Rae’s idea. It was a sleepover and she’d asked for three tents. And she had let him touch her the other day in her room, but then Linda had barged in and it just didn’t feel right to continue. He’d run off to footy practice even though he’d planned to skip it. But now it was all he could think about, how ready she’d been for his fingers. The hot water across his shoulders was starting to remind him of that warmth and how it had spread to her wickedly soft inner thighs. He rubbed at his stiffening cock but glanced up to find the door open, and his dad didn’t need to see that. He turned the water a little colder–he would wait until he was in his room to finish that thought.

Rae climbed the stairs with a distracted smirk on her face and heard the water running as she reached the top. Was Finn in the shower? Was he showering with the door open? Who showered with the door open? “Oh,” she thought, as she saw his wet and flawless frame turning away, “people with perfect bodies.” And there it was, the arse she coveted, bare as the day he was born, as peachy as she’d ever imagined.

Suddenly, she was struck with a huge choice: run out of this house straight to the airport and jump on a plane to the North Pole to live in a cave and raise polar bears and never again see a human arse that would remind her of what she couldn’t have OR literally put on her big girl pants and meet her own life head on. Seeing as she’d spent her last pound on the pants, air travel was out of the question. She walked halfway down the stairs and back up three times before finding herself in Finn’s room. The next set of events was a blur, as she ran to the window and yanked the curtain over to block out as much light as possible, raced into her new underwear while holding the door closed and finally dove under his duvet and slid herself all the way to the wall.

Lying in Finn’s bed, Rae was shocked by her own actions, completely out of breath and utterly grateful that Chloe had explained what she meant about preparing for “naked time” with Finn. That morning, Rae had shaved her legs, continuing above her knees which she hadn’t even realized was a thing, and she’d smoothed out her underarms and even tidied up her unruly thatch of pubic hair. As she awaited the inevitable, she tried to make herself as small as possible, but her flesh refused to cooperate and kept falling around her in the most hideous of ways. Every time she angled herself to smooth one area, another rolled up and out, and she was quickly getting itchy and hot in all the places where her skin was rubbing against itself, and this was all a very bad idea, and her head was pounding and she thought she might throw up. Her fevered train of thought came to an abrupt halt as the freshly-bathed scent of Finn Nelson burst across her senses and then he was there in the room, in his boxers and running a towel over his head. He didn’t see her at first, as he was taking in the closed window curtain with mild confusion.

“Don’t be scared it’s just me!” Rae blurted out as she pulled the duvet up to her nose. “Hiya.”

Tracking Rae’s voice, Finn found her wedged in the corner of his bed. Her position was almost comical as if she were trying to disappear into the wall, but this did not diminish the salient fact: Rae was in his bed. She was under his duvet. She was hiding something, possibly nakedness. His body was reacting faster than his mind and he quickly moved the towel down to hide his excitement. He was turned on; he was touched, and he was stunned by the boldness of her gesture. As his eyes adjusted to the dimness, he could see that she was terrified.

“What are ya doing under there, girl?” He asked in a tone he hoped was both non-threatening and affectionate.

“Oh nothin’,” Rae responded. “Just thought I’d make sure you had sheets under here.”

“Oh, and do I?” Finn couldn’t help but flirt as he moved slowly towards the bed. He was still having trouble processing what was happening, but whatever it was, was very good.

“Yes, comfy sheets.”

“They’re comfy, eh?” Finn was fully loving the dynamic now. He felt a little bad for torturing her like this, but he knew this would all work out even if she didn’t seem to. “Can you feel them especially, ‘cause maybe you’re not wearin’ anything?”

“Oh, I’m wearin’ something…some…things…” Rae was biting her lip, rolling her eyes and blushing to her toes.

Finn was standing right up against the bed now. His curiosity was beyond piqued, but he knew Rae was regretting her actions and he needed to get her back on board. He was always most confident expressing himself from his arsenal of smiles, and he carefully chose one for her that conveyed sympathy, encouragement and understated joy. When he saw the muscles around her eyes relax, he spoke, “I’m really glad you’re here.” Then even more gently, he added, “Would it be okay if I joined you under there?”

Rae nodded, and Finn slipped cautiously onto the bed, keeping a respectful distance and his eyes on her face.

“So, what are these… things…you’re wearing?”

Rae huffed and rolled her eyes, “Chloe took us to a lingerie shop and I wound up buyin’ this stuff. But they’re totally impractical and I don’t think they look good on me. And I mean, I’m not even sure if you like my boobs, because they’re too large and they’re not made for lacy-”

“Rae…Rae!” Finn was struggling to get Rae’s attention and she finally stopped babbling long enough to look at him. “Do you not know how I feel about your boobs? Guess you hadn’t noticed me looking at them all the time when we first met? Archie and Chop had to tell me to stop!”

“Nah… I hadn’t…” Rae attempted a nanosecond of mental acrobatics, trying to immediately recall all the times this could have happened. It was new information and she couldn’t help but smile and then laugh, “Chop had to stop you?! But Chop looks at them all the time!”

“Yeah…” Finn winced “Now he says if I get to touch’em, then he should at least be able to look at’em.” He scrunched his face and waited for her to punch him.

“What?! Oh thanks for that! Really defending my honor, eh?” The banter was so normal, that for a minute, Rae forgot they were in a bed and half naked. “You know Chop needs to watch himself or Izzy’s going to get seriously insecure. I know she already feels—"

Suddenly Finn was kissing her–his version of oral sparring was not really fair, because he always won.

Finn was glad she was back to form, because he was addicted to transforming loud opinionated Rae into quiet, yielding Rae. Kissing her was like unlocking so much sweetness, and it was all for him.

When she stilled, he spoke quietly, “Anyway, I told Chop, that was bullshit and he had to stop.” Finn continued with a playful pout, “But can we not talk about Chop anymore? Besides…I haven’t really touched them… not really…”

Rae was pleasantly transfixed by the recent kiss and his current gaze. This back and forth between humor and seriousness, teasing and affection, of her knowing him and his knowing her was the alchemy she needed. She bit her bottom lip as she slowly lowered the duvet to her waist, revealing all the cream and teal she’d been hiding. Finn gasped and stared, and Rae felt like she was on fire. His hand instinctively reached out to touch her, but he stopped himself.

“Can I?” His breath hitched on the words and Rae felt a sense of control that she had never known. She could feel how truly sexy she was in that moment with her hair flowing around her face and her lips parted. She looked at him from beneath her lashes and knew how completely she had him. All of time seemed to slow down in that astonishing moment.

When Rae finally spoke, “Yeah,” was all she said. He reached towards her hesitantly and ran his finger along the top of her shallow bra cup, tracing the entire seam where it met the soft flesh of her right breast. Finn’s eyes were on hers, as he slid his finger below the edge, lowering it inch by inch until her whole breast spilled out. They held each other’s eyes with half shock and open mouths. Gradually his eyes lowered to take her in, the fullness, the large dark areola, the perfectly protruding nipple; the sight drew his tongue forward. Then, just as slowly, Finn freed her from the left cup and felt woozy with the vision that lay before him.

Rae smiled as she watched Finn’s reaction and relaxed into this new sensation of feeling like the best thing he’d ever seen.

“They look so good, Rae…” Finn was nearly stuttering, “better than I imagined.”

Finn was consumed with looking, just feeling her with his eyes for a full minute before finally sweeping his fingers around the outside curves of her and his thumbs against her nipples. He kissed her then, pressing his whole body into her, knowing she could feel him hard against her leg.

It all turned hot and heavy quickly as they licked and sucked at each other’s lips and tongues. They were grinding against each other’s thighs and her hands were grasping at his hair and his hands were full of her breasts. Things were escalating and their hearts were racing, when Rae put her hand between them and pushed him back.

“Are you okay?” he panted, concern registering in his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m good,” she panted back. “So, so good… I just don’t think I’m… ready…”

“Oh, Rae,” Finn smiled. “We don’t have to…there’s so many other things we can do… I mean…if you want to…”

“Yeah…I want to…” Rae smiled, and Finn remembered she had her own arsenal, and this was the one–so wide and genuine and beautiful–that lit up his heart.

“Honestly,” he added, “I’m just chuffed to see you in your underwear.”

“You really like it?” She asked, pretending the question was not rhetorical.

“Yeah, I really like it,” he answered, as if she didn’t know what an understatement that was.

“Do you think your dad might…?

“Nah.. not if my door’s closed.”

“So he’s not makin’ hot pot or anything? Maybe needs some ingredients?”

“He won’t bother us,” Finn grinned as he spoke. “He knows you’re up here. And he totally loves you.”

Rae smiled to herself wondering how many Nelsons might love her. Finn shifted out of the bed to put on some music.

Rae teased him, “Oh, let me guess…”

“Oi!” Finn shot back, “I’ve been waiting for this. You can’t deny me it.” He pulled out his album of decidedly not crap reggae and lowered the needle. “Plus now my dad will really know to stay away.”

As she watched him return to bed, bopping his head suggestively to the music, Rae giggled and felt her whole body melt and tingle in anticipation. “So, where were we, girl?” Finn asked as he crawled in next to her. He looked into her eyes and ran his fingers through her hair, and Rae was very happy to remind him.

#mmfd fanfic #mmfd #rae earl #finn nelson #finn and rae #rae and finn #my mad fat diary

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iamdorka · 5 years

Text

Bad dreams

'Could I ask for a ColsonxReader where there not together yet please? She’s sleeping at their place after a party, has a bad dream, one of those that make you wake up with a jolt, racing heart, it’s very hard to get back to sleep. She goes to the kitchen deciding to stay up but C sees her, asks what she’s doing up. He decides to carry her to his bedroom and just holds her close & tight telling her it was just a bad dream, he’ll protect her, & confesses to her? '

I love these long, very detailed requests so much they always help me a lot to work on the imagine. This time it was requested by @being-worthy Hope you will like it ♥

Let me know and if you got requests just send them to me. It may will take me time to do them all (I only can write them if I connect with them but usually that always happens just have to wait a bit, hope you don't mind that).

This dream of hers was one of the kind where she woke up and her heart pounded so hard with anxiety that she couldn’t imagine go back to sleep even is she tried really hard, even is she knew she needed that to function properly next day… actually that day. She couldn’t really say what was in it but her heart, her soul felt so heavy that even the breathing was unbearably painful. It made it impossible for her even to close her eyes because as soon as she did that she felt that suffocating feeling inside her that kept eaiting her up.

She wasn’t home that night, she stayed at her friends. Rook insisted that she could stay because they have plenty of room and after that afternoon filled with exhausting work the only thing she needed was a horizontal place and they had that so all thing was decided. She didn’t want to argue with him because she could sleep literally everywhere and didn’t really feel like she had the energy to get home. And yeah… she was able to sleep like 3 hours than all this happened.

Y/N decided that if she isn’t able to go back to sleep she just should go down to the kitchen and maybe work there a bit because the sleep didn’t really seemed as an option for her. It scared the hell out of her because she knew this isn’t okay.

When she was down there she tried everything, even watching cute little videos of fluffy animals but nothing really helped her because as the minutes went by she felt that unexplainable sensation building up again inside her and the only thing she could do was just… crying. So she did that.

- Hey, hey girl… what happened? – she thought she was alone there, didn’t really expected someone to turn up for hours… she was wrong. Colson walked to her carefully because he saw she isn’t well.

- Nothing. – she couldn’t really let her words slip out of her mouth she didn’t had the energy. She tried to wipe her tears of but it was kinda impossible. Her red, swollen eyes gave her away.

- Nothing? – Colson asked as he was by her side by this moment. He didn’t believe her and he felt that aching burn in his heart as he saw her suffering this much.

- A bad dream… - she murmurred and didn’t really felt this having company thing but when she wanted to get up on her legs those didn’t really wanted to cooperate with her. - … and now I’m not capable of doing anything… it has me and doesn’t really want me to let go… - the words from her lips just slipt out. She couldn’t really look up to his face because she felt so vulnerable she just wanted to disappear. - … and I just can’t breath. – she put her fingers to hear chest the moment she looked in his eyes having hers full with tears. Everything seemed so scary at that moment… for both of them.

- Oh baby girl… it will be okay… you will be okay. – he said to her and without even thinking he closed her in his arms, holding her thight to his bare chest. They didn’t really move, she wasn’t able to and he just didn’t wanted to… he just stroked her back trying to calm her down while giving her little kisses to her head.

- Right now… I don’t know… - her words were so heavy but faint.

- Trust me… okay? I promise you. – he lightly touched her face this way getting her look him in his eyes. She was terrified and that hurt his heart too. He was frightened thet she had to deal with this alone.

- I just… - she could not put another sentence together she just started to shake from her heart as her tear kept falling down.

- You don’t have to… - he shook his head and the next moment he did the bravest thing he could imagine at that moment. He gently picked her up not getting a refusing response and she carried her to his bedroom. She didn’t realy said a word but she didn’t really had to. At that moment she felt safe with him. – It was just a dream Y/N… just a really bad dream. This horrifying feeling will pass soon… I promise you. – as they layed there, in his bed he cuddled her from behind holding her close to his heart trying his best to help her out of that deep hole.

She still could not close her eyes because she was that afraid that the peculiar darkness will come for her.

- I will protect you as long as I can… I guarantee that. – he stated that not really able to breath himself because he also was scared but for another reason. He felt that he would mess this up soon and he wanted to avoid that but right now… he just could’nt care less. She needed him. Maybe it was a sign… a bad joke from the gods or from the devil himself. But he saw the moment he looked at her face that she couldn’t be alone.

- IIIiii… - she just didn’t really felt in her best place until moving a little bit just to not show her back to him but her face. She placed her head on his uncovered, much decorated chest right above his heart.

They were friends… really good friends. And yeah… it was quite intimate for her to do this but she felt that this was the only right way… the only thing at all that she could do at this state of her.

- I don’t wanna talk about it… because I can’t. – she said it out loud finally only listening to his heartbeat which gave a rythm to her breathing too. – Just hold me… okay? – she asked trembleing.

- You don’t need to ask… - he replied as he held her even closer if that was even possible.

– Sorry for messing up your sleep… - she admitted starting to feel like after awfully long minutes that she and her soul can survive this.

- As long as I can be there for you… nothing matters. – he replied firmly, trying to keep this moment forver in his heart even if it started with not the best moment he could ask for.

- Why? – she asked quitely.

- Because I… - he wanted to say it out loud but he couldn’t.

- Because you love me…

#requests #requested #my writing #creative writing #writings #mgk #mgk imagine #mgk fanfic #mgk x reader #machine gun kelly imagine #machine gun kelly x reader #machine gun kelly #Colson baker #colson baker fanfiction #colson baker imagine #colson baker x reader #colson baker

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felassan · 4 years

Note

if it's not too much to ask, which of the characters introduced in tevinter nights do you think have "potential companion energy" and why?

Not at all! It’s just feelings I get mind. Cut for length and obviously there’s spoilers under there.

One is Strife. This is partially wishful thinking on my part, but not completely. He’s both City and Dalish, bringing knowledge of both perspectives in one slot. He’s an example of City-Dalish solidarity/working together, which I think we need more of, especially in the face of what’s coming. I can’t see him not wanting to improve the lives of the remaining City Elves, and I’ve said before I’m in desperate need of a modern elf who is FOR!! modern elves as a whole, not other or semi-related groups like slaves and the little people (which are absolutely worthy causes, just not the thing I mean). Members of both elf factions are followers of Solas, I’d like for members of both these factions to be represented among our companions/followers/agents as well. He’s older (and not in a “I’m an immortal ancient being” way), which we haven’t had before in an elf dude companion or indeed in any elf companion before. He’s explicitly pro-Dalish, as in how they are in the present, and is proud of being Dalish/an elf which is a perspective we’ll be sorely in need of on the companion roster in the next game (like if it’s lacking in this I will be frustrated. It was already lacking in DAI which I think is a game that really needed it). He’s “elfy”; we haven’t had an “elfy-elf” male companion. He seems happy with his new Dalish life and has good relationships with his clanmates. He’s also not a Dalish exile. Love Merrill and Velanna, but wouldn’t it be nice if we had a Dalish companion who wasn’t an outcast with a strained relationship with their clan? Give me examples of that BioWare. He’s not explicitly attached, like Irian. Not that his single-ness matters (this comment isn’t in terms of availability as an LI) or that having an SO precludes someone from being a companion. But for example, Irian also has Big Energy, but I think it’s probably a bit harder/less convenient to write a companion who has an active SO with whom they have a close, healthy and current relationship with elsewhere? Oghren was kinda estranged from both Branka and Felsi in those games, and Aveline and Donnic, while lovely and wholesome, was player-choice dependent and not from the very outset of the game. The love between Viv and Bastien was real, but he dies in the game. Strife is also not an isolationist-Dalish - he and his clanmates are clearly interested in and troubled by the current events unfolding in the wider world, worried about how it will effect/what it will mean for the Dalish, and wanting to keep an eye on it, to the extent that they launch an intrepid covert mission to infiltrate a Vint city while it was the middle of being invaded by Qunari (dangerous!!) to steal info on the Qunari plans. “Clans” implies multi-clan cooperation which I’m interested in, and there’s your motivation - Strife is clearly interested in doing dangerous things in order to protect his People, even if that involves being away from his clan. You could easily turn that into “I’m going to help the DA4 PC stop Solas, because I want to protect my People [and again, for him this = City and Dalish both, potentially saving another slot from needing filled/represented]”. He also has Felassan-style energy and I think quite a few folk are interested in having an elven companion like that. And he’s cool, with his height and silver hair.

He has a notable snappy name and gets a lot of spotlight in that short I feel, and that’s a prominent place to have, in the opening story to boot. The language describing him is consistently complimentary. His role in the story is heroic. And he’s clearly super-skilled/competent! Just from memory, he’s intelligent/smart/a quick thinker, strong and sturdy and spry, a decent hand-to-hand fighter, is able to infiltrate a Vint city, a great archer, light-footed, an agile tree-climber, brave, possesses elfy-knowledge, is open to changing his mind/new perspectives (character development), knows some elven, can navigate in the woods, etc. He’s also fairly sassy which is generally always welcome in companions.

I got the biggest companion energy from Lucanis though. I’m less interested in having him and therefore another Crow as a companion (no offense to my boy Zev, it’s just something that’s been done before), but he is pretty cool/interesting and his story really seemed to idk like.. talk him up. He’s obviously a skilled combatant as an expert Crow, one whose reputation proceeds him and whom others/those he is hunting are largely super afraid of/concerned about. Literally evil powerful Magisters cower in fear at his name, and he’s a lowly foreign non-mage! They’ve started calling him “The Demon”, that’s how afraid of his prowess and him coming for them they are! Heck in this short alone his recent body count starts at 9 Venatori (and that’s just his recent contracts) and he ends it having killed like, 8 guards, 1 Magister and inadvertently like 40 decadent slave-having-approving Venatori-supporting/sympathetic partygoers!! He’s clearly intelligent and smart, agile stealthy and resourceful, has keen senses. He’s visually striking, lean, dark hair, umber eyes, basically sounding dangerously handsome in a rugged sort of way, and wears a badass Designated Cool Guy black leather greatcoat. “Focused and intense - the kind of man you couldn’t look away from. Until he looked at you.” Arsenal of daggers and throwing knives. He seems like he was made with “attractively brooding” in mind lol. Quiet bad boy with a heart kinda deal. This isn’t a crit or saying he’s one-note or one-dimensional, not so, he has a lot of character for a character in a short story. He’s uniquely-skilled for a non-mage, with these instincts he’s developed - able to feel magic energy and tell when the Veil is thin or when there’s tears in it/mages are pulling across it. He also seems to have some knowledge of Veil/artifacts/demon/mage/red lyrium/magic stuff, more than you’d expect from a random non-mage normie Thedosian. Despite being a Crow he’s very different to Zevran, so it wouldn’t be a duplicate situation. Despite being a gruff killer and stuff, he had a lot of emotional depth like. He’s written sympathetically - he has standards (e.g. no red lyrium), a soft heart which he tries to hide even from his cousin, and which his enemies i.e. remaining Venatori know they might be able to exploit (his kind treatment of Effe, risking things to free the Magister’s slaves, ending the suffering of the experimented-on people and allowing them to take vengeance), and espouses stuff the fanbase just devooours, like loving killing racist evil supremacist Magisters. “[I LOVE] killing racist blood mages who have it coming”, lol! He’s the Great Lucanis, no Ordinary Crow, Master Dellamorte. In contrast to his sassier, chattier, more “lolol” and dramatic cousin, he’s the ‘straight’ man, but still has that dry/wry wit/sense of humor thing going on people are suckers for (again not a crit). His marks all have a gleam in their eyes that show they’re evil (i.e. they deserve it and showing he usually only takes such contracts), he thinks ignorance is not innocence. He says cool badass stuff. He’s like a bingo-board of all the things people love. He does the brooding “we’re not freedom fighters, I know what I am, I’m a killer” thing, but you get the distinct impression that he’s not just that. The Magister’s obscene cruelty makes him rage. He’s like a mashup of Thane (custom-designed to be an LI) and Ezio (a very popular character). Important to note that his brooding is really mild, not at all annoying, not overdone, which are common crits of such chars. AH! He’s like Antivan Batman lol.

Seems like he’d have interesting stories to tell. He’s noted to be more widely travelled than his cousin. His orientation hasn’t been specified so there’s wiggle-room. The return to being hero protector freedom-fighters rather than what they are right now thing for the Crows is hinted at for at least some parts of the Crows in the 8 Talon story. Lucanis’ relationship with his cousin and gran, and the issue of the First Talon succession/his grandmother would be a perfect loyalty/personal mission/arc and in general are really interesting. He admits that it’s impossible to refuse his gran, only prolong her. I can imagine exploring his feelings about his grandma and the life she made him live in order to become strong. Is he really ok with that history? Does he not share his cousin’s bitterness? His cousin is like how long are you going to keep doing this, our gran’s bidding? His cousin also offers that if he was First Talon, he’d let Lucanis quit and be free. I can imagine the peeling away his layers stuff and the “you’re not just a killer” “your calling is more than death bro!” char arc. His anti-Venatori crusade is not complete, and the story ends with setting up his clearly insanely cruel/evil enemy Magister Renata - unfinished business much. If the plot of DA4 has a route the remaining Venatori arc, he could show up and fit right in. There’s your motivation-y stuff. The Crows are prominent in the book and seem like they will be prominent in the next game (Antiva’s only line of defense against the Antaam invasion), and this guy is a high-ranking Crow related to Queen Crow. If it turns out his mysterious hirer for the Venatori jobs was Solas/a Solas follower, there’s potential for the little “aw shit” reveal.

I would like Teia to show up in a Briala-esque role. She’s amazing but I don’t want to separate her from her cute, finally!! newly-budding close romantic relationship with Viago.

[msg refs this post] warning, Tevinter Nights spoilers at link

#dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #dragon age #bioware #mj replies #anonymous #video games #spoilers #spoiler #tevinter nights spoilers #tevinter nights spoiler #tevinter nights #strife #mj meta #felassan #best elf #solas

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skvaderarts · 4 years

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Hello and Welcome to Apocrypha!

Chapter One: Contemplation

The Masterlist will be listed when I publish chapter 2 on Wednesday because there is nothing to list yet lol! It’s on my AO3 and my FF.N though.

Chapter One: Contemplation

Notes: Hello everyone! Notes are at the end today! It's great to have you back for book two! Let me know what you think and thanks for coming back!

"Love seeketh only self to please,

To bind another to its delight,

Joys in another's loss of ease,

And builds a Hell in Heaven's despite."

-William Blake

Chapter One:

One week later…

Rays of golden light traced a path between the leaves and branches of a great oak tree and showered comforting warmth down upon the pavement below as large puffy white clouds attempted to interrupt them. After a long and arduous week of storms and overcast skies, the warm embrace of the sun was akin to a well stoked fire in the middle of a cold blizzard: comfortable and reaffirming. For it to be the middle of August, it was uncharacteristically cool today, although that could be attributed to the fact that Fortuna was an island and as such it benefited from a constant coastal breeze. That was fortunate considering the manner in which at least half of the island's occupant's still dressed. It seemed that despite their recent reservations about the Order and their illicit activities, some of them still couldn't shake the habit and it was a constant point of conflict within the community. But regardless, the weather was positively idyllic.

It was almost enough to lule someone right off to sleep. Thankfully, V had not given into temptation just yet, as doing so while he was supposed to be watching the children at a public park would be dreadfully irresponsible. He was many things, but he liked to think that "negligent" wasn't one of them. That wasn't to say that the thought hadn't crossed his midday weary mind, however. He had been awake since the crack of dawn, awoken by accident by the sound of Nero and Nico preparing to leave for an impromptu trip to what remained of Redgrave City. The local military had made the decision to quarden off the area and allow several different groups ranging from scientists to government agencies to come study it. But they were still in the beginning phases of building a containment zone around the city. Considering the fact that it was near several other population centers, the prospect of keeping the general public out was basically impossible. This was a project that was going to be months, if not years, in the making, and there would be a reckoning at the end of it. Somehow he could just feel it.

V tilted his head slightly as he forced himself to sit up right and stop slouching over so far on the park bench, his hair practically blinding him. He had to at least pretend that he wasn't on the verge of passing over the border into dreamland. He had volunteered to take the children to the park so that Kyrie could have some much needed "me time" since every other adult had left for the day. She hadn't asked, but he could tell she needed it. Nero generally helped keep them busy when he was home, but that wasn't going to be the case today. They didn't exactly have a school to be at with everything in the city under repairs, so occupying the time of three young boys who seemed to be practically overflowing with energy was difficult to say the least. Kyle, Carlo, and Julio were a stark contrast to him at the moment. It had been just over a week since he had returned to the mortal realm, and although he felt much less weak than he once had and his injuries had long since healed (at an uncharacteristically accelerated pace, at that), he still found himself limited by a staggering lack of energy. It was as if no matter how much he slept, he never stopped being drowsy. Or was that an unintended consequence of his constant napping? Perhaps his newfound accelerated healing abilities had sapped him of his remaining strength? It was relatively hard to say, and he wasn't going to expend valuable mental energy dwelling on it. He had to make it home, after all.

Home…

What a strange concept.

For most of his life he'd be transient to no fault of his own, constantly moving from place to place, so the idea of having a permanent dwelling was almost totally foreign. He wasn't entirely sure he even wanted that. It wasn't something he'd put much thought into, to be honest. For the most part, he just took things one day at a time, especially right now. There was no undue pressure to do anything besides exist here and he liked that, but the absence of a set goal made him admittedly anxious for no particular reason. V exhaled slowly and shook his head at himself. He was one of those people who was incapable of relaxing, wasn't he? The young summoner took a moment to stretch, contemplating the possibility of standing up. Should he go back to the house? There wasn't anything pressing to do there except ruin Kyrie's otherwise serene quiet time with the abrupt and all to familiar sound of excited children. He could spare a few more minutes for her sake before he went back and did the same thing he was doing now but in a different spot: a whole lot of nothing. It was strange how finding out he was part demon killed the excitement of almost everything else around him. Things weren't going to get too much more impressive outside of that. V smirked, starting to understand why seemingly everyone else in his family had a predilection for combat, one that he was easing himself into in his own way. While he was no stranger to a battle himself, he was most certainly much pickier than the rest of his kindred. But, then again, he had good reason to be, all things considered.

As if possessed by a need to spread his wings to keep himself awake, Griffon suddenly materialized and fluttered around the space between him and the sparse playground equipment, unintentionally highlighting the stark contrast between himself and the brightly colored children's attractions. Although a mostly nature oriented space, there were still swings, slides, and climbing equipment to occupy the time of younger visitors. A recent edition as the city attempted to add more outside influences in a bid to reinvent itself, even if only a little. V shot his avian companion a slightly irked look as he flew over to him and perched on the back of the wrought iron park bench he currently occupied, his arms spread out along the back of it leaving only a small space for the demonic bird to claim for himself.

"Pipe down, hot stuff. We're in a park! No one can even see us down here!" Griffon said, flapping both his wings and his beak. He already knew that V was going to object.

V schoffed. Now that they were in a populated city that wasn't composed of demons and the husks of what used to be it's unlucky residents, he was more careful about when and where he allowed his familiars to roam free. Even if Griffon didn't speak, he wasn't the most inconspicuous bird in existence and Shadow was a dead giveaway more likely to send people feeling for their lives than anything else even if they didn't realize she was a demon. While he had no choice but to acknowledge that they were sentient beings with their own wants and desires, they all had to admit that much like discretion was the better part of valor, not drawing the attention of literally everyone on the island was the better part of not causing issues for everyone they lived with. He was privy to the fact that Nero had only recently gained the trust and cooperation of the locals after a lifetime of being ostracized. V himself turned curious and cautious heads alike when he ventured outside of the confines of their cozy home. While no one had said anything to him (at all, really), he was sure that allowing people to see that he possessed demonic helpers in a city that had been terrorized by demons for generations wasn't the greatest way to gain the trust of the locals. That being said, he couldn't say that he was particularly intimidated by the people who lived here, either. They seemed more afraid of him than anything else, and that wasn't too much better if he was being honest. He didn't really enjoy being feared unless it was by his enemies. V possessed enough unsure feelings about himself as it was. He didn't need total strangers to add to it.

"Still though," V said as he threw a cautionary but unconcerned glance in either direction," my previous point still stands. We're not in Redgrave City anymore. I'm asking you to try and be discrete. Nothing more."

"Sure thing, Dorthy. I'll keep it in mind." Griffon said sarcastically as he preened himself.

V closed his eyes for a moment, thinking. At the end of the day, he knew that Griffon wasn't going to be uncooperative. But, at the same time, he understood where his companions were coming from. While they had more or less free roam of the house, there was significantly more room out here for his airally inclined pet to really stretch out and get comfortable. It was a difficult temptation to refuse. And they could almost instantaneously convert back into tattoos. Was he being too stern about this? If there was no one around to see it, what harm could it do? Did they all just need a good flight?

He opened his eyes again, content to put the matter aside for now. There was no harm in it and no rush to come to a decision, but there was definite harm in indecision and stress. Why was coming to a park so stressful to him? Why did he have to overthink everything? Or was he even overthinking in the first place. Ah, there he went again, overthinking things. He needed a distraction…

The white haired man spared a glance at the children. They were as they had been moments ago, playing happily and running amok, causing a ruckus. In a way, he envied them. He'd never really been interested in the concept of physical activity as a child, his attention firmly rooted in literature even then. And he'd never really had the energy… or any friends to play with to speak of…

This was a terrible distraction. Revisiting his childhood was never a healthy idea.

Why did every thought process in his infinitely expanding mind lead down some unwanted or unfortunate path? What he wouldn't give to be able to space out and think nothing at all like a normal person. Was that some facet of his demonic blood; that he should always be on high alert even when at rest? Perhaps he just needed a hobby or some sort of task to complete so that his mind didn't have time to dwell on these types of things. While running from his problems had never been advisable (or worked very well) he needed to set them aside for another time and focus on something more engaging. Or maybe he needed professional help. Who knew?

V uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, propping his elbows up on his knees and resting his face in the palms of his hands. There honestly wasn't much to do on this island, but if he left town and went to the mainland that was a different story. He hadn't done that in the entire time he'd been living with Nero, and he'd never visited the town that the other half of his immediate family lived in. Capulet, was it? Wasn't that next to Enamel, the city that Magnolia dwelled in? And then there was that matter as well. He hadn't visited her yet like she'd asked of him before she'd departed after she'd left the hospital a week earlier. Perhaps he could visit her and browse the local vacancies while he was at it? After all, even though there was no urgent need to leave, looking never hurt. It was something to do at the very least. That had to count for something. And following up with Vergil about the cult was still on the table even if he wasn't entirely sure what to do about that situation just yet. Or if it was preferable. But it had never been about that in the first place. At some point he would have to talk to his father...

Yes, he would start with Magnolia. That seemed to be a favorable course of action given the circumstances. Griffon shook his head, repressing the urge to laugh at how indecisive V was being. While he didn't have a play for play book on what he was thinking since V wasn't talking to him specifically, it didn't take a mental giant to figure out that he was going back and forth over something. And he wasn't getting anywhere from what he could tell.

"I think we should head back now," V said as he stood up. He stretched as much as his eager to protest body would allow him to and gestured towards the children. They pouted as expected, but didn't protest. Throwing a fit wasn't going to earn them a return trip and they knew it. That wasn't a hypothesis they needed to test out. Griffon did a second lap around the playground while V waited for the children to join him before flying back over to dematerialize and rejoin with his master. The group then turned their attention to the path that led out of the park. Home wasn't more than three blocks from here, a fact that V was grateful for considering his continued lack of a cane and his current energy reserves. They would be there in no time at all and it was just past noon. They all had the whole day ahead of them.

-~-

Welcome back everyone! Just a few quick points! As always, I am happy to hear your comments and feedback! I decided to not stress myself out with an arbitrary work count minimum so the chapters will be a bit more organic this time around. That doesn't necessarily mean they will be longer or shorter, just that they will be however long they need to be to tell the story correctly. That being said, chapter two is longer than this one, so that's fun! I also want to give a special thank you to everyone who filled out the questionnaire for me at the end of the last book! At this time, it's closed, but it made a huge impact on how I arranged things in this book. The way this is going, I may very well just keep writing for this AU for the foreseeable future as we all seem to enjoy it. I even went out and purchased a new laptop just for this (I'm not rich, it's just a nice chromebook since I use Google Doc and my table is having a hard time) Wednesday and Friday between Noon and six pm CDT is still the publishing time. And thank you all very much for reading chapter one! See you back here on the 22nd of July! I hope my spelling was better this time around!

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7-wonders · 5 years

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A Hard Day’s Night

Summary: No matter how much you’ve wished that the ground would open up and swallow you, Friday arrives and brings along your first weekend with Michael.

Word Count: 3584

A/N: Hello! Thanks for putting up with me and my weird schedule. I wrote way more than last chapter as a way to make up for this being so late. This is the fourth part in my ‘Mad Love’ series, which I’ll have linked down below. Thanks for reading, feedback is always appreciated and requests are always open!

Read Mad Love (part one) HERE | Read Totally F***ed (part two) HERE | Read The Isle of Flightless Birds (part three) HERE

Weekends used to be something you looked forward to. There’s probably not a person in the world who doesn’t like weekends, honestly. You can sleep in, there’s no school or work, and it’s two whole days to do whatever you want. Now, though, as you drive to the address that Michael provided you, you can’t help but feel a sense of dread. Every weekend from now to the foreseeable future, you’re going to be forced to spend with the man who kidnapped you and forced you to marry him.

While the weeks are supposed to be yours, you live under the constant fear that Michael or his goons are watching you. After what happened yesterday, you don’t doubt that he’s somehow able to watch every aspect of your life. You suppose it could be worse, though; you could have to spend every single day with him. For now, you’ll take just having to be his from Friday night to Sunday afternoon.

The long, winding driveway up to the modern-looking manor catches you by surprise; you had expected to be going to Ms. Mead’s comfy little house that she had told you about whenever you saw her at the supermarket, not this mansion. When you pull up in front of the door, you wrinkle your nose in disgust at seeing Michael’s wide smile. He’s dressed like he’s going to some fancy event, a velvet jacket completing his look. His long hair is disheveled, and you briefly wonder if he’d consider tying it up before shoving that thought out of your mind. It’s funny how excited he gets whenever you’re around, you think as he walks to open your door for you. Who would have thought that the Antichrist could have a crush.

“(Y/N), welcome.” He extends a hand, which you begrudgingly take and allow him to help you out of your car.

“Hey, Michael.” You’re not nearly as excited as he is, but you figure it’s best to play nice for now.

“I see you found the place alright?”

“The Cooperative owns this?” You ask, gesturing to the large house in front of you.

“The Cooperative bought it, but since my father owns the Cooperative, I own this.” He smirks, leading you towards the house. “Any bags?”

“Funny.” You roll your eyes. Michael, having deemed your clothes too ‘plain’ for the wife of the Antichrist, stocked a wardrobe for you at his house instead of letting you bring a bag of your own clothes. In the week that you and Michael had been married, you were quickly learning how to pick your battles. “So what’s on the agenda this weekend?”

“I figured I would give you a couple of hours to get settled in. I, uh, gave you a separate bedroom, so you can be more comfortable.” He runs a hand through his hair, and you realize that he’s nervous.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“Of course.” His nerves are a moment of weakness, a chink in his seemingly impenetrable armor, and he quickly adjusts back to his collected persona. “When you’re ready tonight, we can talk more about what being my wife entails over dinner. I expect you to be dressed in the attire that we have provided for you.”

The staff all bows their heads in respect as you and Michael pass by, the man leading you up a grand staircase and towards the direction of what you’re guessing are the bedrooms.

“No Cooperative meetings this weekend though, right?” After all of the shit you’ve been through lately, it’s funny that you’re still scared of the idea of having to stand in front of a room full of people that you don’t know. Michael can sense your unease at the idea and smirks.

“None this weekend. We decided to ease you into everything.” You hate to admit it, but you’re thankful that he seems to have some sort of a heart. “Here’s your room.”

The door swings open, and it’s exactly what you’re expecting. Modern, red and black decor with the pentagram prominently displayed on the wall. It looks just like the room you first woke up in when this nightmare began, and if it wasn’t for the fact that you had driven away from the Satanic church you would think this was the same room.

“Does every room look like this?” An unspoken question dangles in the air: does your room look like this? Michael grins widely, but it’s devoid of any of the emotions that a regular smile would accompany. It’s the smile of the devil.

“Guess you’ll have to find out for yourself, won’t you?” He chuckles at the withering glare you give him, loping back towards the door and resting a hand on the silver handle. “I will come and get you in two hours, alright?”

“That’s fine.” You say without looking at him, wrapping your arms around yourself. Thankfully, Michael leaves without another word, shutting the door behind him.

Your first hour and a half at Michael Langdon’s mansion is spent sitting on the bed, staring into space. He had let you keep your phone, knowing you wouldn’t tell anyone, but you can’t bring yourself to even look at it. How can you be expected to mindlessly scroll through Twitter when you have an upcoming ‘date’ with the fucking son of Satan? Things that were once an integral part of your daily life, such as social media and books, are now trivial in your eyes. There’s a whole other, darker world out there that nobody knows about, and it feels like the wool has now been pulled back from your eyes.

You only get dressed in Michael-approved clothes when you realize that you’re literally running out of time. You’re relieved to find that, for all of the evil things Michael is, he is not a pervert. The clothes are perfectly sensible, albeit all black and red, and they’re styles that you would wear on a regular day. You slip into a pair of black leather pants that, although uncomfortable, are actually very flattering on your figure. A red flowy top slides easily over your torso, and you shove some Louboutins on your feet right as Michael knocks on the door.

“I’m impressed, you look very nice.” You frown, crossing your arms in front of your chest.

“Uh, thanks, I think?” Michael looks confused for a moment before realizing his backhanded insult.

“I didn’t mean it like that! I just-you always look nice, but I was expecting you to refuse to wear these clothes or something like that.” He rubs his hands against the legs of his pants, flustered.

“Can we go eat now, or are you going to keep stuttering out mean things?” You know it’s petty, but you can afford to act petty in this situation.

He extends an arm, his attempt at chivalry, but you push past him and walk down the stairs towards what you’re assuming is the dining room. Unfortunately, he catches up to you easily, grabbing your arm and not-so-gently pulling you towards him. The dining room is spacious, windows making up three of the four walls and providing ample lighting. A large table with at least 20 chairs sits proudly in the center of the room, and staff line the walls while they wait to serve their savior.

“I don’t get to meet papa Satan tonight?” You tease, sliding onto the chair that Michael pulls out for you.

“He’s not exactly a person, (Y/N), so it would be impossible for him to physically be here.”

“Humor’s not your strong suit, I see.” He stares at you for a moment before forcing a chuckle, but he still looks extremely confused as he walks to his own seat across from you.

The servers descend the second Michael pulls his chair in towards the table, all carrying covered dishes that they gracefully set on the table. One-by-one they unveil the food that lies beneath, a variety of soups, salads and meats. Michael eagerly starts piling food on his plate, but stops when he notices your hesitation.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just...all this food, just for the two of us? Isn’t that a little wasteful?” You question, glancing down at the napkin you’re fiddling with in your lap.

“Satan preaches giving into your wants. Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins, is it not?”

“I guess.” You shrug, still not looking up at Michael.

“Eat up, then.” He urges, digging into his own food.

You slowly start to put some food on your plate, but not nearly as much as Michael had. You’re almost angry at how good the food is, the forkful of potatoes basically melting in your mouth. Michael watches you, a smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

“Good?” He asks, the satisfaction clear on his face when you nod.

“It’s better than what I would normally be eating on a Friday.”

“What do you normally eat on a Friday?”

“Usually ramen.” His silence finally has you looking up, and you only flinch slightly when you meet his chilling blue eyes. “What?”

“What’s ramen?” You bark out a disbelieving laugh, Michael’s eyes lighting up at the sound.

“You’re serious?” He nods. “It’s instant noodles, you microwave them and they come with flavor packets you mix in them.”

“Are they any good?”

“I mean, they’re microwave noodles. It’s kind of self-explanatory.” You watch as Michael nods thoughtfully before going back to his food. “You never had ramen noodles after school or anything?”

Michael’s body tenses, and his knuckles whiten around the fork that he’s gripping.

“I didn’t go to a normal school growing up.” You shoot him a questioning look.

“What, is there some sort of Catholic school for Satanists?”

His fist slams against the surface of the table, making you jump. Your knee smacks against the underside of the hardwood, and you wince slightly. Michael’s shoulders rise as he breathes deeply, and you can almost see him counting to ten in his head as he attempts to calm down.

“(Y/N). Drop it.” He says sharply, still glaring daggers at his plate.

Michael’s voice somehow sounds deeper than it was seconds ago, taking on an almost growl-like tone. You stare at him, waiting for some sort of continuance, but he refuses to look up. He’s turned the tables on you with the lack of eye contact, and now you can see how annoying it really is. Doesn’t mean you’re going to stop doing it, but you see why he gets so peeved whenever you won’t look at him.

“Alright then, I’ll drop it. Can we talk about our marriage, then?” You mentally pat yourself on the back for not having to force back vomit when you say the word ‘marriage.’

“We certainly can.”

Michael only has to look towards the door for a different staff member to come through the main doors, a stack of paper in her hands. Apparently, the non-perverted wardrobe only extends to you, since this woman is wearing a little black dress that is the epitome of ‘little.’ It barely covers her ass, and her boobs are practically spilling out of the top. You watch her in bewilderment as she sets the paper next to Michael and waltzes back out the way she came, your eyes nearly bugging out of your head. Michael stifles a chuckle, bringing his hand up to his mouth to presumably hide his cheeky smile.

“The uniforms were not my idea, I assure you.”

“Who decided that those were professional?” You ask, still staring in disbelief towards the door.

“The world’s greatest CEOs, business tycoons and politicians.” Michael says simply, and you scoff.

“Straight white men.” You’re not at all shocked at this, even when Michael nods in confirmation.

“Here, this is your copy.” He slides what looks like a contract across the table to you, and you pick it up so you can properly read it.

It’s not really a contract, since you unwillingly signed your name on a marriage contract overseen by the Devil a week ago. Instead, it’s an agreement, a way for Michael to let you know just what’s expected of you, and you’re going to make sure that some things are expected of him as well.

“Can I have a pen?” You ask, holding your hand out expectantly.

“Why would you need a pen?”

“Because I’m almost certain that there’s going to be some items that we’ll have to renegotiate.” You give Michael a saccharine smile, wiggling your fingers tauntingly.

“There’s nothing to negotiate. This is merely an extension of my generosity, (Y/N). I’m allowing you to see what will be expected of you.”

“Michael.” You take a sip of your water, trying to restrain yourself from reaching across the table and strangling him. “How unfair is it that I’m going to have a bunch of rules and expectations, and you’re not?”

“It’s not unfair at all. You’re my wife.”

“Yeah, and you’re my husband.” Yep, nevermind about being able to stop yourself from vomiting in your mouth. “How about this? We can negotiate, and if you find my suggestions too crazy or outlandish then you can veto them. You just have to hear me out, though.”

Michael studies you, pursing his lips as he thinks over what you just said. He finally nods slowly, pulling a pen from one of the inner pockets of his fancy jacket. You happily take it from him, clicking it a few times for maximum annoyance.

“Thank you.” You start reading through, and almost immediately cross something out.

“Already? What’s the issue?”

“I am not dropping out of school for you!” Michael scowls, pulling out a pen for himself.

“The world’s going to end, I don’t see why you need a degree.”

“Until you actually do bring about the apocalypse, I’m staying in school. I didn’t pay thousands of dollars just to drop out when I’ve gotten this far.” Michael grits his teeth, but crosses out the line anyways.

“Fine.”

You continue to read through the contract, not seeing anything too outlandish. Attend Cooperative meetings, spend the weekends with Michael, not tell anyone that you’re forcibly married to the Antichrist; the usual.

“You’re not getting a key to my apartment.” Michael raises an eyebrow towards you.

“Would you prefer that I break in, instead?” Damn, he’s got you there.

“Alright then, but in return, I want you to stop watching my family and friends.”

“I never said that I was watching them in the first place.”

“Michael, you described in perfect detail to me the exact amount of time it took for my mother to drive from her office to a coffee shop, her order, and how much it cost. Then, you told me about how my best friend went to renew his driver’s license at the DMV but had to turn around because he forgot his proof of address, when he hadn’t even told me that himself. I know you’ve got eyes on everyone in my life, but I want you to stop. I think I’ve proven that I’m not going to snitch, therefore you don’t need to use my loved ones as collateral damage.”

You plead your case, hiding your shock when Michael actually thinks over what you just said. He’s silent for a while, causing the nerves in the pit of your stomach to grow. In an attempt to not verbally freak out on him, you start chugging your water.

“That’s fair. I’ll remove all surveillance from your family and friends. From now on, you are the only one that will be watched by the Cooperative.”

You watch Michael to make sure that he writes down exactly what he promised before writing it on your own contract. The reading continues without too much fuss, only minor notes that change certain dates and times that conflict with events already in your schedule. Reaching the back page, you almost collapse in shock.

“‘Provide you an heir within two years?’ Fuck, no!” Michael can’t hold back his eye roll, displeased that you’re fighting over this.

“I told you the night that we were married that my father expects me to produce an heir sooner rather than later.”

“Do I look like I care? I already gave you my life, Michael. It’s my body, I get to decide when, or if, children come into the picture.” You stare Michael down, silently daring him to try and fight you on this. He returns your glare, but you smirk at him once he sighs.

“Within five years?” He attempts to negotiate.

“Seven.” You don’t want this to be a part of the contract at all, but hopefully (dear God, please) you’ll be long out of this marriage seven years from now.

“Six.” You lean back in your chair, nodding.

“We have a deal.” You cross out the word ‘two’ and replace it with ‘six.’

“Anything else, (Y/N)?” He asks, surprisingly not too mad.

“A couple of little things. One, you don’t invade my privacy while I’m here. I won’t stay locked up in my room the entire weekend, but you need to respect when I want to be alone.” He nods almost immediately, since there’s not really anything to fight about with that. “Two, you only get to call me twice a week.”

“Why only twice?”

“Because I don’t see why you need to call me every single day, sometimes multiple times a day.” You had nearly smashed your phone when the dreaded ‘unknown’ number popped up for the fourth time in a day on Wednesday.

“Maybe I just enjoy talking to my wife and seeing how her day went?”

“Then I guess you’ll just have to learn to savor the two calls you get.” You cross your arms over your chest, making it clear that there’s no wiggle room in this.

“That’s everything?” He asks.

“For now.”

“Very well.” He raises a hand nonchalantly, and the servers descend on the table to pick up the remnants of dinner. “I want you to know that I really do care about you and your feelings. As a way to show you this, I’ve decided that we can end our weekend tomorrow morning.”

Your eyes light up at this as you grin, Michael smiling slightly at the sight.

“Really?”

“Yes. Obviously, this won’t happen every weekend-”

“Yeah, I get that. Thank you so much!”

“The rest of the evening is yours to do with what you please, and after you join me for breakfast tomorrow, you’re free to leave.”

You’ve never been so thankful in your entire life. When Michael makes his way over to your side of the table to slide your chair back out for you, you decide to wrap your arms around him.

“Thank you, Michael. Really.” He’s frozen as you hug him, arms hanging limply at his sides. “You’re supposed to hug me back.”

Very slowly, he returns your embrace. It’s uncharacteristic how gentle he is, almost like he’s worried about crushing you if he hugs you too tightly. Chuckling, you smirk when he finally relaxes into the hug.

“This is...nice.” He decides, and you pull back to look at him.

“What, you’ve never had a hug before?” You’re joking with him, but stop smiling when he shrugs.

“Not since I was very young.” You pull him back towards you, giving him a tight squeeze before finally releasing him.

“Well, now you can look forward to that every weekend.” He smiles softly, and you only flinch slightly when he gives you the trademark kiss on the corner of your mouth.

“Enjoy the rest of your evening, (Y/N).”

That night, you lay in the large bed that is now yours on the weekend, staring at the ceiling. You can’t fall asleep, your earlier conversation with Michael replaying in your head. He really hasn’t been hugged in years? It sounds a little ridiculous, and you almost wouldn’t believe it were it not for his mannerisms around people. Michael, even with the tough persona he puts on, really doesn’t know how to act around people. His social skills are lacking, to put it nicely, and it kind of makes sense when you think about how awkward he can be.

You don’t want to feel sympathy for Michael, the man who is convinced that Satan created you to be his bride. You should hate him with every fiber of your being, not just the 90% that it feels like right now. When it comes down to it, though, you realize that he’s kind of in the same boat as you are. He didn’t ask to be the Antichrist, at least you don’t think he did. The Satanic church is the one who orchestrated the wedding and your kidnapping in the first place. Satan is the true dick in this situation, using you and Michael as puppets to accomplish his goals.

But, you remind yourself, Michael had a choice in all of this. He could have commanded his followers not to kidnap you, he could have stopped the wedding and set you free, he could have decided that the ‘marriage’ was all a sham. Instead, he threatens you and your loved ones, forces you to spend weekends with him, argues about a marriage contract with you, and is the driving force behind the scheme to end the world. It’s conflicting and it gives you a headache that persists into your dreams, which are filled with hellfire and a pair of piercing blue eyes.

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#michael langdon #michael langdon imagine #michael langdon imagines #michael langdon x reader #Michael Langdon x you #american horror story #american horror story imagine #American horror story #American horror story apocalypse #ahs #ahs apocalypse #ahs imagine

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comeallyelost · 5 years

Text

The Handmaid's Tale 3x06 thoughts

Okay so I just watched the episode this morning. Literally over my morning coffee-- So this is all fresh in my mind and I was thinking about this my whole drive in to work.

Let it be known that I am firmly in the camp of Nick being fundamentally good in this series and that his actions and shady past have all been a consequence of his circumstances. After browsing the tags a bit, I think a lot of fans are of the same opinion that yes, Nick's past is shady but that's nothing we didn't already know and we still trust him and his love for June and Holly/Nichole.

I did think that despite his absence for much of this season, bringing Nick to D.C. felt almost forced. Why was he not at the front all this time? What has he been doing? And he just randomly shows up to visit June in D.C. under the guise of paying Waterford a visit? That could definitely have been presented better.

What gets so frustrating is the constant ambiguity in this show that leaves so many things unsaid. The lack of open dialogue between the characters does imo make their acting that much more spectacular, but why does SO much of this have to happen behind closed doors?! Literally.

But ugh, that reunion in the snow was so effing gorgeous, my heart skipped a beat. I am so far gone with this ship, it's ridiculous.

So here's what I'm thinking - it's gotta be one of two things here:

1.Nick's status as a commander/member of the Eyes is too dangerous and more intricate than we the audience have been led to believe and he simply can't get involved in this. Like maybe he tried? But knew the Swiss wouldn't trust him?

2. He actually IS cooperating and made some sort of other deal with the Swiss to protect June and Holly and June simply can't know about it.

I refuse to believe he'd show up to meet with the Swiss and give nothing or completely halt June's attempts at securing their child's safety in Canada. He told her he'd go, and whatever he did or tried to do we just don't know yet.

That line where Nick tells June that if you get in bed with the government it's almost impossible to get out most definitely has something to do with his past (and present situation probably). He joined the Sons of Jacob and presumably fell into being a soldier afterwards, like, no surprise there.

I think the writers are trying to get us to question Nick's loyalties, but it's not working. We don't question his love for June and their child. At all whatsoever. And that's where it lies. His actions as a result of that may be morally gray, and up until he met June were probably for the sake of his own survival--but now they're first and foremost driven by June and Holly's safety and well being.

The idea that June can't trust anyone but herself in this fight, the idea that she's losing the allies she thought she had (Serena and now Nick) might be the push the writers are going for, but for me, she hasn't lost Nick as an ally and she never will. His capacity to help her and Hannah escape might be limited and tied up, but he is hers through and through.

The monkey wrench that is being thrown into their relationship is then whether or not June will be able to forgive Nick for his past actions. Can she accept his being complicit in the establishment of Gilead? It might be a hard pill to swallow, but ultimately, my shipper heart says she can. After all, everyone on this show has done things that harmed others. Everyone's motives on this show are gray, and blurry, and very often selfish at times.

The exploration of human action (and inaction) within this horrendous regime is such a fundamental aspect of this show and part of what makes it so so so good. I will admit though, there needs to be more catharsis this season. The suffering we keep seeing and the more sides of Gilead that are being uncovered are getting more and more horrendous. Silencing the handmaids? Afg. They're being treated like straight up cattle at this point.

Also Nick getting on the train and saluting those soldiers-- it looks like he wields quite a bit of power so we know these soldiers are willing to follow him wherever he goes. And if you look at his face, you see his mask slip briefly. We see he's still there. So I don't know what's to come, but I'm confident my bb Nick will do the right thing here. As right as he can.

Gah this show has my emotions all over the place.

Other thoughts:

- That June/Serena exchange at the Lincoln Memorial was incredible. There we had a bit of that catharsis that I mentioned we need. But ugh we need just a little bit more!

- I want more Commander Lawrence

- Is Serena seriously back to thinking that a child will make her marriage the best thing ever?? I don't know why I bother anymore. I've always hated her, but I will admit her letting Holly/Nichole go in the S2 finale tempted me in to thinking she had changed somehow. But then that made that Lincoln Memorial scene that much better.

- Who is this new Commander and what does he want from Fred?

- And what does Fred want from all this too? I feel like he's indifferent about the baby. So what power is he seeking to gain?

#the handmaid's tale #tht #3x06 #june x nick #nick x june #nick blaine #june osborne #serena joy waterford #mostly nick and june thoughts #reviews

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hipsofsteel · 5 years

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bro you gotta tell me more about chris

Gladly! The dad man is important to me. And so, we meet…

Christopher “Chris” Lewis Joseph, personification of Eastern Oregon/Nyo!Oregon

Credit to crikadelic, who will not be tagged in this post for reasons.

Physical Description

At 5′10, with dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a slightly olive skin tone, Chris is a very good looking man. He’s got well trimmed facial hair that can be a bit scruffy and thin, but he maintains it well. He’s well muscled from his work as a cattle rancher, and general farmwork. He is half Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) and half English, born in the area of present day Joseph, Oregon in 1806, and celebrates his birthday on February 14th.

Chris’s face claim is model Julian Schratter. He has no voice claims at the moment.

Personality

Christopher and Beverly were cut from the same cloth in some respects. Controlling either of them is nearly impossible. He’s a force of nature when he wants to be, stubborn and insistent and nearly impossible to be forced to do something he refuses to do. He’s as free-spirited and wild as he wants to be.

At the same time, he shows a remarkable degree of caution and thoughtful behavior that his twin sister tends to lack. If not caught in an urgent situation or in his own whirlwind of passions, he approaches things with well-thought out responses and is a calm and collected and highly intelligent man. He’s a great person to go to for advice.

He’s also very attached to those he forms close relationships with, either as family or friends. He’ll always have his twin sister’s back, and anyone who finds themselves in the position of being “adopted” as his child has just gained an ally and parental figure who will love them and defend them endlessly. Although, dispute it as he does, he does have a favorite child (Adam).

Sexuality and Gender

Behold, the one and only heterosexual cisgender OC I’ve made for my States. Chris is an incredible ally however, who openly supports all his friends and family.

Also, his type of women is as follows, so I promise you can trust him.

And he means it.

Religion

Chris has a personally styled fusion between Christianity and the indigenous religions he was raised around on the Columbian Plateau. He is not really big on explaining his faith as it’s a deeply personal and conflicting matter even for himself, so I don’t have much more to say than that for him. However, one of his two most irreplaceable objects he owns is a copy of Henry Harmon Spalding’s translation of the Book of Matthew into Nez Perce. Take from that what you will.

Employment

Chris has previously made his living as a farmer and for a brief while as a blacksmith, but nowadays, he owns a cattle range and is a full-time rancher, with a large range area in Central/Eastern Oregon. He also raises horses on the side, both as a secondary income and to continue traditions of horse breeding he was raised in with the Nez Perce.

Pets

I’ll try to keep this brief, but Chris has seven animals he considers close pets/his long lifespan has affected theirs, so I’ll divide it into sections.

Dogs

Zip and Lucky

Zip is Chris’s working dog, a purebred blue heeler who knows how to move a cow herd as well as he knows that when Chris puts on dark and clean pants, he’s leaving the house for meetings (sadness) and when he puts on less nice “farm” pants, they’re working stock that day (happiness!)

Lucky is based on Rincon, the dog owned by Chris’s faceclaim. Lucky is a beloved pet mutt and gets to come with Chris and Zip to work cattle, although his main job is to sit and stay since he has zero Cow Sense.

Horses

Jackrabbit, Strawberry, Juniper, and Celilo

Is Chris a dog or cat person? Neither, he’s a horse person (followed by dogs).

Jackrabbit is Chris’s horse he’s had the longest, serving as Chris’s warhorse during his youth. He’s one of the fastest horses any of the western states own, and he’s very selective about who’s allowed to ride him (Christopher, Beverly, Adam, and Helen are the only people who can). He’s a wild tempered buckskin Nez Perce Horse stallion.

Strawberry is a red roan Appaloosa that Chris has had nearly as long as he’s had Jackrabbit. She’s a gentle mare and very good with people.

Juniper is a Kiger Mustang mare, slightly more testy than Strawberry, and more prone to being spooked, but she’s a good horse.

Celilo is a palomino American Quarter Horse gelding, bought to be a reliable pack-horse for Chris. He’s as gentle as Strawberry and loves people.

Jackrabbits

Little Lady or “Lady”

Once upon a time, Chris and Juniper accidentally spooked a mother jackrabbit into the claws of a hawk, and then nearly immediately found her babies. Chris raised the three kits and released them into the wild shortly afterwards, but Lady stuck around his house. She appears pretty reliably every year, and seems to have been affected by his long lifespan, so he gave her a name and treats her a bit more like a pet than anything else.

He loves to joke that Jackrabbit met an actual jackrabbit, and everyone around him glares at him.

Relationships with other States

Family first

Western Oregon/Oregon

Credit to crikadelic again.

Sometimes, your twin sister is a lumberjack lesbian (quite literally on both counts) with arms made of steel and one hell of a right hook. Also she’s way more liberal than you, and politically you get dragged along with whatever she wants.

Ironically, once upon a time, Beverly wasn’t the main personification of the Oregon Territory. It wasn’t until American settlement picked up that the power of the state swung to her. Before then, Christopher held most of the power, but this was also when the Oregon Territory including all of Washington, Idaho, parts of Montana and Wyoming, and since Chris was entirely east of the Cascades, well, it made sense that he held the upper hand. Only later as the size of the land they represented shrank did power trade hands.

As independent as Beverly is, and as willing to tell her twin to fuck off, they have a very close relationship. They tell each other off, and sparks fly between them quite often, with Beverly usually being the one to storm off while Chris remains a wall of a human being. But they’ll quietly make up out of sight later, and then be right back to joking around and teasing each other.

And when it comes to advice, Beverly has no closer confidant than her twin, and often shows him the vulnerability that no one else sees. They trust each other implicitly, knowing that despite their differences, they won’t lead the other astray. No one could ask for a better twin sister.

Eastern Washington/Nyo!Washington

Credit to ME!

First off, he’s the one on the right, the one on the left is Idaho (we’ll get to him in a bit).

Adam Landes-Bush is the original cause of a radiation of dad energy that seeps from Christopher at pretty much every moment of every day. After retrieving Adam from the Whitman Mission shortly after the Whitman Massacre, Chris basically said “My weird looking white kid now” and ran with it.

He and Adam had to learn to live together fast with help from Helen, as Adam is mute, and Helen taught them both Plains Sign Talk. But Chris adored Adam and taught him how to shoot, hunt, ride, and accepted his limitations when he hit them. He did his best to give Adam a good life, even when it meant sending him away from impending war to live with Martha, who he barely knew then.

They remain close, sharing more culturally with each other and Idaho than they sometimes do with the western halves of their states. Chris was the first person Adam came out to, and the fact that Chris instantly accepted allowed him to embrace his identity as a gay man in a time that it was socially, at best, simply not talked about. Chris would and has killed to protect this boy, and would gladly do so again.

Western Washington/Washington

Credit to crikadelic

Martha, Adam’s younger sister, views Christopher as a father figure, and so, in turn, he’s a little nicer to her than he is to Beverly sometimes.

Christopher and Martha met at a crossroads in both their lives. Christopher had been involved in the Nez Perce War and come home feeling lost and alone. Beverly had taken off around the same time to run wild in the Southwest, leaving a still very young Martha to fend for herself and Clark, and now Adam. Martha was struggling to handle the load, and Christopher needed to find his place in this unfamiliar world, and fast.

They were able to cooperate quickly, Chris taking on the workload of the farm and helping with Clark, allowing Martha and Adam to start growing and learning the responsibilities they needed to run a state. And in exchange, Martha taught Chris how to read and write English, and helped him improve his skills in speaking the language.

To this day, they haven’t forgotten this point in their lives, and tend to critique each other much more carefully than they critique the other halves of their states.

End of Family, onto other states

Idaho

Credit to crikadelic

Ah, Clark Ashley, who exists in the most interesting little place in Chris’s mind. He’s friends with this guy, almost a father figure, hell, helped raise the little twerp. At the same time, he’s made Adam cry before, so he could also wring his neck.

Clark and Chris have a very good and amiable relationship in general, and enjoy the other’s company. Clark admires Chris a lot, and Chris views him like a much younger version of Beverly, carrying many of her same qualities of extreme stubbornness and rampant emotions, as much as Clark will say he’s nothing like her.

However, the root of Chris’s constant problems with Clark relies mainly on one fact. Clark’s internalized homophobia at himself that affects his and Adam’s relationship, which has swayed from deeply involved romance to barely tolerating being in the same room. When Clark and Adam get into spats with their push me, pull you, almost a relationship, Chris gets caught in the middle, and always takes Adam’s side in the fight. He’s tried to even discourage them from pursuing each other at times to end the constant back and forth, but it’s never worked.

However, as Clark’s started to accept himself in the 21st century, Chris has been the one person who’s been able to reassure him that , yes, for some crazy reason, Adam still likes you, and Chris thinks that this time, for real, Clark is unlearning the toxic culture he absorbed. So, he wishes that crazy kid lots of luck.

Southern California/California

Credit to crikadelic

To say Roberto and Christopher are antagonistic would be the nicest way of putting it. Despite pretty much being of equal levels of importance to Beverly in her family, they cannot tolerate each other.

Roberto blamed Christopher for some of the worst of Beverly’s behaviors in the 1870s and 1880s, and Christopher blamed Roberto for stifling Beverly so much that she hadn’t been able to emotionally mature. Both arguments had some validity, and yet, a divide in opinions had begun.

Nowadays, Chris and Roberto are mainly antagonistic on pure principle. Chris represents a part of Oregon that is noticeably more red, and Roberto represents 55 blue electoral college votes. Chris has been considerably affected by Californication (large real estate development projects generally seen as similar to those in California), and Roberto sees him as very set in the past and unable to move forward.

Let’s just say Beverly has to work out the holiday seating arrangements very carefully.

Montana

Credit to crikadelic

Helen Rankin has been a friend since Chris met her when the Nez Perce went to trade with the Crow. She taught him sign, became an unofficial mother figure to Adam, and, much later on, officially involved with Christopher himself (they dated from 1898 to 1927).

They’re close friends and allies still. Helen’s as strong as a mountain in more ways than one, and one of the few people who can sway Chris when he’s a storm of emotions. She can be just as stubborn as him, and yet he admires her just as she is, and she feels the same about him. She’s saved his ass so many times, and he’s saved hers a few himself. If they needed the other there, they’d be there in a heartbeat.

They also additionally have an “unofficial” daughter to accompany their unofficial son in Adam. I’ve been developing a Missoula, Montana OC (Mariah Welch), and she’s been heavily influenced by Chris over the years, and is about as damn close to him as Adam.

A quick note

Before I move on to my next section, I have been tinkering with my canon in the last several months, after a friend who had allowed me to entwine my Statetalia canon very heavily with theirs ghosted me, and this has affected this character significantly.

Christopher had been involved with their Nyo!Texas in the modern day, with Helen as his best friend. However, no longer comfortable with using this person’s OCs, I have yet to decide if Chris and Helen have, in the last few years, rekindled their relationship, or if my own Texas OC, who is a woman and in the earliest stages of development, is in a romantic relationship with him. This is going to take a long while to decide for personal reasons, and I’m okay with that.

Other States-Brief Thoughts

Northern California/Nyo!California- Inexplicably, he likes Alejandra way more than Roberto. Probably because of their little side project for the independent state of Jefferson.

Kansas- Nowhere near as antagonistic as Beverly and Evelyn’s relationship. He will agree with Evelyn to a certain point, but then he has to start defending his sister. Anyhow, she’s cute.

Nebraska- Logan’s a decent guy to have a drink with, definitely would have been a good guy for Adam if Adam hadn’t been so focused on Clark. IF he and Helen don’t end up getting back together in canon, he’s lowkey pushing for Helen and Logan to get together.

New York- Literally irrelevant to him, why are you asking for an opinion on that jackass?

Texas- Absolutely one amazing, ass-kicking woman, with the gift of aim from the gods, a smoking hot body, and God, she could step on him frankly. (I reiterate, my Texas OC is in development and this is subject to change).

RANDOM FACTS

-Sniper man! Christopher has served as a sniper for several wars. The Nez Perce were noted marksmen during the Nez Perce War, and one of the US’s most noted snipers was from Eastern Oregon.

-Additionally, Christopher has always served in the US Marine Corps when he’s been fighting for the US.

-He originally was given the same last name as Beverly, Joseph-Astor. He dropped Astor following the Nez Perce War as an act of protest.

-Chris has two “paired” names from when I created his character. Beverly’s middle name is Columbia, so Christopher and Columbia, after Christopher Columbus (something neither of them is very thrilled about nowadays), and his middle name of Lewis pairs with Idaho’s first name, Clark, in honor of that famous expedition.

-Has a knife that was from Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery as a trading item. It’s his second most irreplaceable object.

-Speaks Nez Perce (Niimi'ipuutímt), Chinook Jargon, Crow, Plains Sign Talk, ASL, Russian, German, Spanish, Basque, and English.

-Has the most currently established tattoos out of any of my OCs.

#casuallyeatingrocks #oc chris #aph oregon #hws oregon #nyo oregon #ask hipsofsteel #long post

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