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sunjaesol · 4 years

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we’re dancing under the rain

canon compliant juke | fluff! | inspiration: rain // ben platt

Julie wondered if one day, she could stop loving. Because damn - it hurt. It hurt to love so much and continuously have her heart be broken. Love and heartache cycled through her life like a never ending train and the girl was in a constant battle of wanting to shut down or give it another chance.

She always chose the latter, obviously, but that hurt too. The price she needed to pay to have such meaningful friendships. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have become a family with a trio of ghosts and an adjacent skater ghost. The problem of caring so much was when the heart got involved, when that heart beat a second too fast, too willingly, too adoringly.

It made her vulnerable, her heart jumping out of her chest to sync with the other person and then getting crushed instead. This time, it cut her particulary deep.

Nick broke up with her.

A puffy-eyed Julie sat huddled in the studio under a blanket. He did it during lunch. All of a sudden, he pulled her aside into the hallway, told her they didn’t quite fit together and that it was better if they broke up. He pretended like she had a say in it, though it was clear he already made up his mind. Which was even worse, Julie found. Nick had thought about it before, probably more than once. His words made her feel like a fool. There she was, thinking their relationship was going smooth, getting squashed a minute after that: no, actually, it’s not going smoothly and you’re probably in denial so let’s end it now.

Later, she’d probably thank him for ripping the band-aid. She was now allowed to be heartbroken.

Outside, rain was slamming against the pavement. That was the only good thing about the situation; the weather deciding to match her mood and mourn with her.

Luke poofed in with his signature grin, lips shaping to blurt out a story and then crashing into a frown when he saw the state she was in.

“Jules?”

Wordlessly, she covered her tear-stained cheeks with the blanket. She hated it when people - especially Luke - caught her at her lowest. The boys were dead, she couldn't really complain about minor inconveniences when the only reason they were breathing was out of habit.

The couch dipped at her feet. A careful hand patted her calf. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she mumbled.

“Yes, cause that’s what I do when nothing’s wrong.” His voice was light, though a keen ear like hers could sense the hint of concern. “I cry.”

Julie huffed, pulling the blanket back to scowl at him. “Nick broke up with me. But it’s whatever because it clearly wasn’t as big of a deal to him as it was to me, so-” Shrugging, she sat upright and wiped her runny nose with the sleeve of her sweater. “It is nothing.”

Her fingers combed through her hair, trying to relieve the heat bugging her skin. God, she just wanted this day to be over with. She didn’t want to rehearse and do homework and eat dinner and pretend everything was dandy. She just wanted to cry and sleep and not have Luke’s stupidly green eyes drown in pity.

“That sucks though,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

Her lips rolled inwards, a smile forming despite her mood. “Not your fault.” Their gazes met. It felt new, somehow. “My heart is just… too open, I guess.”

Luke tapped her calf again, mirth lilting his tone. “Still not a bad thing. It was cool in the 90s and it’s cool now. He’s an idiot for not going crazy over it.”

“My open heart?”, she chuckled.

“Yeah.” A beat. His eyes haven’t wavered. “Or you. In general.”

The smile bloomed to a full grin, a sliver of levity easing the ache in her chest. Why did he always know what to say? Granted, he used to be horrible at cheering her up, when she was fifteen and sadness lingered in her every move, but he got the hang of it after two years. A reassuring kiss on her temple before a stressful gig, a particularly uplifting speech during band circle, a new tune he came up with when he knew she didn’t feel like talking. Her teenage girl melodrama unfazed him.

Luke met her halfway for a tight hug. It was the most comfortable place to be; her cheek on his shoulder and his arms holding her so securely and how, after all they’ve been through, his 90s cologne smelled like home.

“Thank you,” she mumbled. “Some ghost girl is going to be so happy you’ve had practise dealing with me.”

He snorted. “Ah, yes. My harem of ghost girls. The, uh, market is really big for me.”

It wasn’t something they often discussed. It became clear that the boys weren’t going to cross over any time soon (if crossing over was even a thing, or the thing they thought it would be) and had time to settle into a long afterlife. Willie had been wandering around since the seventies and only now found Alex, so who knew how long Luke and Reggie would have to wait until they met their ghost-mate. It was a sad thought, but at least they had each other and music and the band.

There was also the minor problem that Luke sometimes had this look on his face, usually fixed on her, that left little to the interpretation. It hasn’t happened in a while, but every so often…

It kind of made her breathless. Whatever. It was dumb. Those feelings have long been buried. The point was that he should look at ghost girls like that - not her.

(A month after The Orpheum, they sat side by side behind the grand piano as they belted out a new song they’ve been working on, her fingers expertly gliding across the keys and slamming on those that needed that extra power. Julie was fully entranced, head thrown back and smiling through the lyrics as their voices reached a beautiful harmony no one could compete with. The last note drifted across the studio. When she turned to look at him, she expected to see the same grin. Instead, Luke gave her such a tender look, close, and let his doe eyes wander past her nose. Had Reggie not poofed in, she didn’t know if she would’ve had the restraint to not give in. To not be selfish. It was years ago, but she thought about it each time he joined her at the piano. It was the price for friendship, Julie often reminded herself. For an eternal bond.)

Rain kept drumming into the ground. It sounded like a million ping pong balls fell onto the roof at an incredible speed.

Luke pulled away and shot a look outside. “Damn.”

“Yeah,” Julie nodded. “I made a deal with God today. If I cry, the world does too.”

He rolled his eyes. “Dramatic.”

The smile stuck to her cheeks. Luke only needed a few minutes to lift her spirits. Tears didn’t even well up anymore. Was that bad? That one the same day, just in the afternoon, she already felt a bit better? She decided to not mull on the why.

“Wanna dance in the rain?”

She blinked. “What?”

He matched her smile, throwing his thumb at the doors. “Do you wanna dance in the rain?”

It was as if her brain wasn’t processing his words. “What? Why?”

“Why not?”, he shrugged. “You feel like shit, it never rains in LA and it’s fun.”

Quiet excitement coursed through her veins, the thrill pushing energy back in her bloodstream. Why not? The expectant twinkle in his eye brought colour to her face, jumping off the couch pulling him up with her. His whooping got her to laugh. It almost surprised her; she hasn’t properly laughed at all today.

They each pulled one sliding door open, their ears instantly bombarded with noise. It was the hardest downpour of the year!

“No running for cover!”, he yelled above the loud rushing of rain.

She stuck her pinky out. “Only if you won’t!”

And then they stepped in the rain. They were drenched straight away, a squeal erupting from her lips as the coldness crept between her clothes. He laughed, raking his hair back and leaping into a puddle. Water splashed around him.

His voice bellowed through the sound. “C’mon!”

It spurred her into action, his laugh replaying in her head over and over again, as her head lolled back and began to twirl in circles. Faster and faster, giggles tumbling out as felt herself becoming one with the rain. This was exactly what she needed. A moment of silliness and unconditional joy!

Luke was dancing like a maniac next to her, feet kicking and arms outstretched. She found herself staring at his profile, how bliss broke the lines in his face and caused a crescendo of glee to overcome him. It was mesmerising. Julie found herself slowing down, taken aback by the hope rising in her chest at the mere sight of him.

What she hoped for, she didn’t know. (She did. She just couldn’t admit it just yet.)

As if sensing her thoughts, Luke caught her eye with and yanked her into the dance without a second of hesitation. They spun around, hands intertwined and arms outstretched, daring to see how long they could keep going before one dropped from dizziness. Julie wasn’t afraid though. Luke would never let her fall.

They let go just as they were losing balance, snickering like fools and trying to find footing again. Julie jumped onto his back, him instantly jostling her around until she got chucked off like a sack of potatoes. Each grin and laugh and crack of thunder mended her heart, slipping the pieces back together and allowing it to bloom once more. Keep on breaking, keep on loving, keep on hoping, keep on hoping for-

Luke locked his hands around the small of her back. “Ready?!”

He didn’t have to ask twice, their steps speeding up as she threw her arms beside her and then, at their fastest, pulled one leg up to swing in his hold. How she didn’t slip on the soaking wet ground was a miracle.

Julie’s smile rivalled his, grabbing onto the lapels of his shacket to get him closer. He had something else in mind, hands slipping to her waist and launching her in the sky in one fluid motion. It took her breath away, quickly grabbing onto his shoulders and yelling her lungs out. It was just like in her dreams. Was it selfish of her to have yearned for this?

(She felt it. The way her heart washed away all the troubles, how the numbing cold shrivelled to make place for someone else.)

They shouted exclaims and curses into the rain. About Nick, about music, about each other, about how fucking unfair life could be, but damn - moments like these were worth the pain.

Her drenched curls tickled his face, causing him to sputter and attract her focus. Julie looked down at him and didn’t stop the heartstopping smile growing on her face. Oh.

Her fingers swiped against the planes of his cheeks, his grin beaming up at her and letting the dormant wildfire (snug between her ribs, among the flowers and the lyrics) come alive again. For so long, she hasn’t allowed herself to feel it. But how could she not when Luke propelled her into the storm itself, unify them like the whirlwind of passion they authentically were?

They were the thunder and the lightning, the silver lining and the punch line - the dancers in the rain.

He gently set her down, feet splashing. She didn’t let him pull away, instantly wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her face into his wet shirt. They smelled like wet dogs and it was better than any perfume she’s ever had.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

His head settled on top of hers, cool breath fanning her skin. “I can’t have you down in the gutter, Jules. Ever.”

I love you. “Ever?”

She felt him move, her eyes tilting to meet his. That expression she cherished deeply returned tenfold. His tender smile, the green hooded by shy eyes, an incredulous hitch of the breath.

Luke nodded, flitting gaze as if he didn’t quite know what to focus on, and carefully brushed a droplet from her cheek. “Ever.”

(Julie got a cold the next day. It didn’t matter - she had the boy of her dreams to keep her company.)

Breathe deep, let it wash over you We're slowly becoming lovers I promise you we won't be like the others We won't go running for cover

@blush-and-books @bluefirewrites @willexx @unsaid-emily @ourstarscollided @sophiphi @unsaidjulie

#juke #jatp fanfiction #julie and the phantoms #otp: i think we make each other better #nick takes the L

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honestsycrets · 4 years

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Mirror, Mirror II: Freydis, My Sweet [ Ivar x Reader ]

❛ pairing | ivar x reader, freydis x ivar (past)

❛ type | multi

❛ summary | the mirror cracks. what comes next is a mystery to everyone involved.

❛ warnings | past ivar x freydis, mention of congenital deformity, reader body swap, some horror elements, two ivars, 5A situation, time travel (?), Freydis’s soul is le poof, mention of blood.

❛ sy’s notes | thank you @laketaj24 for helping me fix the error on my gif.

The room, if it was a room, was black. It stretched as far as your irritated eyes could see. Your hands are the kind of red that stemmed only from digging knuckle deep in guts, the kind you get from bleeding a little too long, spilling, or tearing. It soaks into your skin, oozing into your mouth, bloody and deep.

“Where’s my baby?”

The voice, gentle and soft, sounds nothing more than sorrowful. It stretches out like thin fibers of cotton that you usually rub your make up off with. Your tongue stretches out to moisten dry lips when you feel it-- those divots on your face.

“Ivar?” You tremble over the word with your hand traveling up your lips, realizing that it’s not just your words that are uncertain and strange, but the entire groove from your lips up, hooking up like someone had taken two fishhooks and dragged down your nose bilaterally. Like your baby pictures.

“Where’s my baby?!”

It’s louder now. As if only a few steps behind you.

“I don’t know, please! Leave me alone--” you answer, scuffling over your steps, rushing forward. Forward is better than backward. Back there-- the crazy lady shrilling her cries, and you regret hitting that mirror-- the pounding memory of Ivar’s words: I killed my son, I killed my son, I killed my son, ringing into a big ball of tension in one powerful uppercut. “Ivar, you ass!”

At last a ray of light outlines the frame of Ivar’s wooden bed, draped in warm furs. His handle dangles from the ceiling, allowing him to pull his legs around when you both would wake up, and you’d tease about what he had on his great big day today, a whole lot of nothing! But he isn’t there. You stretch out toward the bed. It’s the only safety you can hope to cling onto.

“WHERE’S MY BABY?!”

When you turn, she isn’t there, but her voice booms, shaking the whole foundation of your nightmare of your dream like a banshee. Everything bounces up and down and you fling yourself onto the furs, burrowing your knuckles into its soft and forgiving fabric and clawing yourself on his bed. Then, under the covers. “FUCK! Make her stop!”

“--isn’t there!” his voice cuts through the darkness, mid sentence as if he had been saying it all along, but none of the words had gotten through. “Pull yourself free. It’s her illusion. An illusion of the gods!”

The ringing and shaking of the illusion fizzles out to a steady hum. Then, pure silence. You grasp your shoulders and hold yourself tight as it numbs out. At last-- peace. You sit up in his bed. “Where are…” around you, the room pieces together, dropping in as if they are coins flipped into an ocean, manifesting in dark wood and horn. “...you?”

“Here with you.”

You slip out of bed, looking down at yourself. A long white grown tickles your ankles, your feet on scratched up floorboards. Everything is dull and brown and red and black. Too red and black-- “Oh god,” you turn around, whizzing like a top. “Oh god, oh god, oh god.”

“I suggest you forget your god,” it’s his voice in your ear, as familiar as if you’ve held a phone to your ear, but he’s nowhere to be seen. “Pull the cover off the mirror.”

In the corner of the room is a mirror with a thick blanket drawn over it. You tremble stretching out toward it, “No no no no. No.”

“You haven’t touched it. Are we doing this again?”

“No!”

When you rip off the sheet, you recognize your very stupid looking king on the other side of the mirror. Except-- he’s there, in your room, by the fake flowers and shittily soft decor. And here you are in his abode, wringing your hands through your hair.

“This is not-- no.”

“It’s nothing,” he insists. “Calm down.”

“Calm down? Calm down! I’m in your-- your weird Viking castle!”

“It is a Great Hall,” he aptly corrects whilst shaking his gloved hand at you. “Not a castle.”

“Why am I here!?” you shout at the mirror, hitting it this time. It hits back, reflecting your hand off of it with a painful sear. “Fuck!”

“I would assume it’s because you broke my mirror which I didn’t need you to do.”

There’s a rustle behind you. An anxious girl-- no more than ten, peeps in carefully. She bows her head as she looks at you, considering your thin dress shyly. “Queen Freydis?”

“Freydis?”

“Answer her,” he whispers. It sounds as if he’s in your head. And great, scribble that one down in the books, Ivar is talking to you in your head. That tops off this strange and unusual day.

“Do I took like a Freydis to you?” you think back, snappy and short.

“Hurry.”

The young girl hurries to your side, holding your hand and easing you down onto the bed. You gaze into those warm honey brown eyes, sure that there is no greater sack of shit than you in that moment, lying to that pretty face. You clear your throat, “I’m feeling... ill,” you excuse.

“Is it the baby?”

“The what.” You shriek.

“Perhaps you should lie down,” the young girl settles you in bed. “I can call a healer… King Ivar would be want you to rest.”

Oh sweet fuck-- Ivar? There’s two of them?

“No there’s not two of us,” he barks back in your mind. You turn your head toward the mirror, finding him motioning you to quickly lay down. He’s dimmed the lights to your room. Your room with a cushioned bed. Lights that flickered unlike the candles that the slave girl-- and god, a slave-- lit.

“Should I find King Ivar?”

“No!” you shout in unison with Ivar. “No,” you then amend, reaching out to console her with a hand to her arm. “I should rest.”

The girl peers at your hand, almost confused, but then nods her head. Her short hair bobs with the loose collar around her throat before she disappears into the other room. You watch her walk out before knocking your forehead with your knuckles over and over again.

Should’ve left him in the fucking mirror! you reprimand yourself. Because that’s the only way things really make sense. If you had left him there, you wouldn’t be here, knocking your head in trying to make sense of nonsense.

“I didn’t ask for you to help me,” Ivar hisses, you turn your head over to look at him in the mirror, and he flinches. Initially, you don’t know why he’s acting so weird-- staring off at you like his breath was snatched clean out of his throat.

What?

“Freydis?” The pillow is itchy under your head, the quills of a bird knocking into your hair, suspiciously pale blonde under your fingertips. It’s long-- longer than it had ever been. You look down at your long body, suspiciously round, and very well pregnant with a lump that knocks your thighs.

Now you notice, you fold your arms over your chest. It’s just me. Sorry to disappoint.

He snaps out of it, bowing his head down, and looking at your fluffy cat that is crawling all over his calibers. Surrounding him is the room that he’s seen so many damn times he sat on the bed, considering how he got in the mirror over and over again. Except now he can look at the angles of your room. He lurches for the crutch the mirror spat out in a bloody mess of glass. The mirror has pieced itself back together. No blood. No glass. Just… his crutch.

“I’ll be there soon.” Ivar pulls himself up to stand, clacking around your room. “Mistr will tell me what happened.”

Me? You’re right there, buddy.

He rakes his fingers over his temple. “Not me as in-- King Ivar. Not me.”

Uh-huh, you think. That makes so much sense.

“You look like my dead wife,” he says all at once. His fingers reach out to touch the glass. The glass bites back, repelling his fingers from sinking into the mirror themselves.

Your dead wife? Great.

“If you’re fated to be there…” be where? Ivar hisses, slamming his fist into the mirror. A shock runs through his body, knocking him away from the glass. “... in my wife! Then something has changed.”

I’ll fucking bet. I’m pregnant.

Before he could respond, he saw the shift in the leather pleats not so far away. “Cover me!” You peer over the furs-- which are wildly warm-- and stand up on your swollen feet to cover the mirror from prying eyes.

“Freydis? Ah, what are you doing?” there is a clacking behind you, snappy and quick. When you whirl around, there he is. In the flesh, standing tall. You point your finger at him, then turn to the mirror again. Ivar has shut up.

“I--” the man before you looks like him. He is tall, more tall than you remember him being, with playful eyes. His tunic has a layer of heavy leather braided over top of it, darker than his hair. There’s a jovial youngness to the way he encounters you. When he looks at you it’s nothing short of adoration, love, and respect. It… scares you. It’s Ivar-- but Ivar was in the mirror-- so if that was Ivar, who was the man before you now?

You double take to make sense of it, and you’re doing that a lot, but Ivar 2.0 grasps your hand with the one not supporting his weight. “Come, lay down, lay down. You’re not well, my sweet. Has something happened? Have the gods visited you again?”

“That…” your voice comes out pathetically soft. Freydis? No one answers your thought. She’s not here-- the girl, the woman called Freydis? Her soul had gone. You’re not sure if she had gone, or if you had ping ponged her to some other unfortunate shit body. His hand shifts from yours, cupping the back of your neck, forcing you to look into his eyes. You want to look away. But… you instead force a smile. “...doesn’t even cover it.”

You couldn’t tell him. Not yet.

@beyond-the-ashes @supernaturalvikingwhore @mblaqgi @wuxiesalt @hopplessdreamer @therealcalicali @rekdreams-fandom @moondustmemories @athroatfullofglass @poisonedjoinery @strangunddurm @shookforyoojung @peachesnpisces @tierneygonzalez @hexqueensupreme @nohemi2500 @queenmissfit @alicedopey @dmv49 @sallylebecks @terrainhead @mybarnesmyhero @youurkryptonite @lif3snotouttogetyou @vikingsmania @looneytunes20033 @bat-fam-blob @oneofthelothbroks @lovelynerdytraveler @chinduda @whatamood13 @honeyofthegods @ilvebeenabad @queenbeeta @wonderlandofsu @tephi101 @alicedopey @supernaturalvikingwhore @tootie-fruity @titty-teetee @queen-see-ya-in-valhalla @ethereallysimple @deathbyarabbit @deathbyarabbit @readsalot73 @natalie-rdr @lol-haha-joke @lisinfleur @hissouthernprincess @marvelousse @dangerous-like-a-loaded-pistol @vikingsmania @wish-i-was-a-mermaid @lif3snotouttogetyou @gruffle1 @cris101071 @gold-dragon-slayer @babypink224221 @wonderwoman292 @naaladareia @beyond-the-ashes @generic-fangirl @chinduda @laketaj24, @peaceisadirtyword, @ly–canthrope @cris101071 @daughterofthenight117 @unassumingviking @ladyofsoa, @inforapound @winchesterwife27 @feyrearcheron44 @readsalot73 @squirrelacorngliterfarts @gold-dragon-slayer @medievalfangirl @sallydelys @bluearchersstuff @affectionrabbitt @whatamood13 @notyouraveragegirl17 @igetcarriedawaywithyou @unacceptabletatertots @ivarandersen @stra-vage @tgrrose @cookies186 @learninglemni-blog @theleeshanotlouise @soiproclaim @msmorganforever

#ivar x reader #ivar the boneless x reader #ivar/reader #ivar the boneless/reader #vikings imagines #vikings imagine #vikings/reader #vikings x reader #ivar ragnarsson x reader #ivar ragnarsson/reader

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mara-twins · 5 years

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Enough [Jackson Wang feat. Park Jinyoung]

Word Count: 2232

Genre: Angst

Prompt: #28 - “I can’t believe you convinced me to do this!”

A/n: Requests are open, but I am busy at the moment and will get you your requests when I can.

Prompt List | Master List

You just entered your apartment, taking off your shoes when you heard the doorbell. You then felt your phone buzz in your hand, the backlight adding to the light above you. You look to your screen to see a message from your favorite person on the planet, who also happens to be the same person who tends to rip your heart out and pulverizes it without knowing. Such a dense cookie. The thought makes you roll your eyes.

The message is from your best friend, Jackson Wang, and says that he was outside your door.

Jackson’s been your best friend forever; however, somewhere along the way, you developed feelings for him. You hate yourself for subconsciously doing so. Between realizing you have feelings for your best friend there have been four times when you have tried to tell him about your feelings for him and each time he bursts out talking about this new girl he’s met and is interested in. But this time will be different! I mean Jackson has been single for literally only one week after his most recent breakup, but there was one time when it only took him a week and a day to get over one of his past exes.

This time you will tell him, or so you thought as you open the door. But really when is Jackson not the first person to start talking between the two of you?

“Y/n, thank goodness your home. You will never believe this girl I met, today.”

“What? A new girl already? Jackson, it’s only been a week?!”

“Life’s short, you can’t let it keep you down! But anyway, this girl, her name is…”

And just like that your desire to tell Jackson about your feelings dissipates into vapor. Smoke. Poof, just gone. You take this as a sign that the universe is telling you that you and Jackson just aren’t meant to be anything more than friends. So you hold in your feelings as per usual and go about your routine of being there and going above and beyond for him without telling him how much you love him.

Life continues and it’s game night at Jackson’s. There’s the typical crowd, but you see a new face. It’s the new girl that Jackson’s been seeing for a few weeks now. She’s pretty, you think. You put on a smile when Jackson introduces her to you and after the little chat, you look around to see your friends are giving you looks of pity. They all know how much you love Jackson, but they also know how dense Jackson can be to things or people he isn’t too interested in. Jackson continues introducing her to everyone, one by one, before telling everyone that they were partners for the night.

You saw that coming and are happy that Jinyoung asked if you wouldn’t mind being his partner. Jinyoung’s the only one who you were comfortable with besides Jackson at the party. You and Jinyoung also won all the games that night. It made you feel a bit better knowing you won, it helped you distract yourself from how much Jackson and his new girlfriend were being all cutesy and couple-like.

“Thank you, Jinyoung.”

“No problem, Y/n, but you deserve better.”

“I know you like being right all the time, Jinyoung, but on this subject can we just not, please?”

“All I’m saying is it's okay to put yourself first, sometimes. Even if you what you do could potentially drift you away from someone you care about.” Jinyoung says as he walks you to your car after leaving Jackson’s place. You smile and nod as your reply to him before hugging him then leaving home.

You let Jinyoung’s words linger in your mind even after you got home. Suddenly a ping rings from your phone, alerting you that you got a notification from Instagram. You saw it was from Jackson tagging you in post. When you opened it, it was the group picture from the party and in the back row, you see Jackson and his new girlfriend share a sweet kiss. And oh how it stung. It hurt you so much that something in you snapped at you threw your phone to the wall, shattering the device. You don’t remember what happened after that, as you blacked out, but when you woke up your house was trashed.

Your throat felt raw and when you looked in the mirror, that was broken, you can barely make out how puffy your eyes look. You think back to what happened and you remembered seeing the picture and you broke down again. You fall to your knees and cry out all the tears your body could produce. There you were in your bathroom, on the floor, curled up into a ball and bawling your eyes out because you were heartbroken. You lost track of time for a few days then, but eventually, you couldn’t cry anymore. You were so numb that you went into full instinct mood. You would order for food and you showered before cleaning up your apartment. But as you looked around, all you can see were memories you shared with Jackson.

Laughing throughout the house, cuddling on the couch or in your bed while watching a movie, studying when you both were still in school in the dining room, that time when he was dancing in the hall and space wasn’t wide enough that he ended up getting hurt by hitting his arm on the wall. Everywhere you looked you saw Jackson. It’s then that you decided to move. You didn’t tell anyone and the process really didn’t take as long as you would have thought to sell your apartment and move. In a span of two weeks, because where your apartment is located and a lot of people wanted to live in the neighborhood, it was an easy sell. And after that, you were out of there.

You moved to an area where you know Jackson wouldn’t be going to, where you didn’t know anyone. You’ve been living happily for three months now. Well, that’s was until you met your neighbor’s son.

“Y/n?”

“Jinyoung! What are you doing here?”

“My parents stay in this building, do you live here?”

“I do. I just moved in. I took your words into consideration and this is where I ended up.”

“Y/n, I have to warn you…” Jinyoung never finished his sentence, but you soon figured out what he was trying to say because just then the one voice you didn’t want to hear stabs your ears from behind.

“Y/n?” Jackson spoke. “This is where you’ve been? I’ve been trying to find you for months now! What the fuck?!”

“Hello, Jackson,” you say with no emotion, but inside your organs were running and flipping like the damn Olympics were being held there.

“That’s all you’ve got to say? Did you not hear me?”

“I heard you, I don’t know how anyone CAN’T hear you with how loud your being.”

“WELL WHAT DO YOU EXPECT WHEN MY BEST FRIEND DROPS OFF THE FACE OF THE PLANET?!? I THOUGHT SOMETHING BAD HAD HAPPENED TO YOU.”

“I’m alive, obviously Jackson.”

“I’m gonna leave you two alone,” Jinyoung says as he makes his way to the elevator.

“Enjoy your visit with your parents, Jinyoung,” You smile at him from ear to ear.

“Hey, Y/n, I’m talking to you! Don’t just act like I’m not here.”

“What do you want, Jackson?”

“I want answers, dammit!”

Even now there was still some part of you that missed Jackson, A part that wanted nothing more than to run into his arms, cry, and say sorry for how you’ve been acting. However, that part of you that was over all of the pain you put yourself through with being by his side as just a friend won out and held your ground of being practically emotionless.

“Fine, but not here. We can talk on the upper garden floor.”

Usually, there isn’t anyone up there around this time of night so you hopefully won’t be, too, embarrassed after your conversation with his man who you love, yet hate at the same time.

“I can’t believe you convinced me to do this, Jackson!” You say when you two are alone.

“I want answers, Y/n. Why didn’t you tell you were moving? No call, no text, no email, nothing!”

“I needed to get away from there.”

“But that doesn’t explain why you didn’t tell me about any of it.”

“It’s a guy issue, Jackson.”

“Did someone hurt you? Who is it? Tell me and I’ll kick their ass!

“Even if it’s yourself?” You shout. You couldn’t contain your anger.

“What?”

“This is what I meant by my saying that I can’t believe you convinced me to do this. Seriously how hard is it for you to see it, Jackson? I mean everyone we know and are friends with can see it and it’s for that reason that I left.” You finished in a whisper. Your words sink into Jackson as the silence blankets the both of you, adding to the weight of them. Jackson, your best friend, couldn’t believe what he was hearing, his best friend, and the one who he considered family saw him as someone more than he could be to them.

“I know you don’t see me that way Jackson and I know you have a girlfriend. These facts are the reason I left!” You were back to shouting. “Look, Jackson, fuck it, forget this ever happened and just know that all I want is for you to be happy. But if that isn’t possible after what I’m about to say then a part of me is sorry, but for my sake Jackson, I can’t stay in this space of just being friends with you. It hurts too much,” tears fall as you choke on the words traveling out past your lips.

Jackson, for a second, stands there with his jaw on his feet, but he quickly recovers. He tries to step closer to you, but you back away. His heart breaks at the fact that he’s the reason for your tears, all of them. However, he was also angry.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I wanted to, but when I wanted to you, all those five times might I add, you always come running to me saying how you got yourself a new girl you liked! I know why all of them like you Jackson, it’s for the same reason that I do. You’re amazingly well-rounded in your interests and caring towards people. Your light is so bright it’s hard to not smile when you’re around. You’re also effortlessly funny despite how much of an asshole you can be when you want to be the center of attention or competing with someone for anything. But you’re never single long enough for me to tell you how I felt! And at the time I didn’t want to lose you as my best friend. I couldn’t see myself not having you in my life, but it hurts too much now for me to care. I want to be over you Jackson, for both of our sakes.”

“Whoa, hold up! You should have still told me something sooner! I thought we are close enough to tell each other everything?!”

“I’ve told you how much I love you Jackson and I’ve shown you that fact, too! Who is the person who is ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU AFTER EVERY BREAKUP? WHO IS THE ONE WHO WILL RISK EVERYTHING AND HAS TRIED RISKING EVERYTHING FOR YOU JACKSON? Their car, their house, their life?!? ME THAT’S WHO! DO YOU REALIZE HOW STUPID YOU CAN ACT SOMETIMES LETTING YOUR MOUTH OR EMOTIONS PUSH YOU INTO ACTION?!?

“And I can’t do it anymore Jackson, I can’t. Yes, you have done a lot for me, too, but I promise you right now I’m too heartbroken to stay in your life. I know that if I stayed I would make it worse than it is right now for you, your new girlfriend, and myself. You are one of the best people I know Jackson and I love you so much that it hurts to see you smile, laugh, and be happy because of someone else. And seeing that picture you posted after that last game night made me snap. I blacked out and trashed my apartment probably from pure anger from how trashed it looked the next morning. There have been countless nights where I’ve cried both to you and when you weren’t there about you. I even made convinced you it was about some other guy who you would call a douchebag for making me cry, but it was all you. I can’t do this anymore Jackson!”

“So, that’s it? We can’t even be friends anymore? Just like that?”

“No we can’t Jackson and this may be sudden to you, but it’s not to me. I know that before you said you thought we will always be by each other’s side in the future. However, I don’t think so. I don’t know what my future holds, but right now I know I don’t want you in mine. For so long as I hold these feelings for you, I don’t want anything to do with you.” With that, you ran away like the coward you felt like.

#got7 angst #got7 Jackson angst #jackson wang angst #got7 scenarios #got7 imagines #got7 requests #mara-twins writing #prompt list requests #kpop writings #kpop angst requests #kpop boy groups #kpop male idol #jackson wang x reader #got7 jackson x reader #jackson wang x you #got7 jackson x you #got7 x you #got7 x reader

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heckinhacker · 5 years

Text

True Damage!Yasuo x reader - I’m glad you’re evil too.

A/N: I was inspired by Ashe's cover of “I'm glad you're evil too” and I absolutely loved it. Here goes nothing! There might be some errors, I’ve read it many times and can’t find anything anymore, but can happen. Sorry.

word count: 6,311 requested: no. warnings: Cursing, as in most of my posts. Welp~!^^ + It can be messy, I never wrote a long fic and english is being hard for me :(

Yasuo loved music since forever, and knew he was talented himself. Everyone around him praised him if he had shown them his own beats. He was DJ for every school party hosted, even volunteered to be on his own prom night, but everyone said he’s fine to go and party for once.

He didn’t want to party, nor to dance. He wanted to be behind the laughs and screams, making it fun for others. He knew that he wasn’t very social. I mean, he was friendly, sometimes flirty, but social? He prefered reading mangas, watching animes and making music, this was all he wanted.

And that’s how the popular DJ works alone since forever. Loner genius who was out of reach for most of musicians. No one was worthy working with him. One didn’t had enough passion, other just wasn’t it. And he searched for something.

Musical something was found with a rise of “Giants”, or so called “True Damage” group. They had something he searched in music, but why he still felt empty?

Ekko and girls always asked him out: -After-party maybe, Yas? - Akali smiles while bending down a little to make that ‘sneaky-happy’ pose. - As if, I had some beat idea I need to work on, Akali. - he gives her a hand with a motion of ‘stop’ while saying no. And some other time: - Yo, bro, you up for a drink after recording? - Ekko stopped him before he went off for his break. - You can manage without me, Ekko. You have fun anyway. - murmured long haired man, avoiding eye contact. And another after some: - Don’t act all cold and mysterious, ninja, while you’re drooling over some drawn big-eyed girls and come on, you have nothing better to do! - huffed Qiyana, crossing her arms on chest. - Thanks for your not-asked-for opinion, princess. - and he added nothing more. That lasted, and the longer he avoided friendly meetings, Senna tried to talk up: - I’m worried about you, Yasuo. Want to take a walk? - you could feel her concern only by looking her into eyes. That’s kind of her, but... - Thank you, Senna, but you have bigger problems than my own on your head. How is your husband, by the way? - he didn’t meant to be rude, and Senna understood. - Lucian’s fine, he’d appreciate you asking, even though you talked only once. And you’re never a problem, remember. He only waved her away, heading to home, to do his own things. He prefered it that way, or so he thought.

With time, things he enjoyed stopped meaning anything. For example, which hurt him the most: He was so enthusiastic for Star Guardian series, but damn it, he stopped feeling happiness with every single update from mangaka. It hurt. He knew something was off, so he thought he’ll find himself correspondence buddy. Join some group connected to the series, noone will know he’s popular and will chat about Guardians as he’d love someone to and that’s what he did! TheUnforgiven01: hi. TheUnforgiven01: i’ll let myself into convo, if that’s fine. ezpezlemonsquez: That’s what that chat is for, of course! We were just discussing which group was better in many aspects, then compared aspect to the other. TheUnforgiven01: sounds fun, i guess? but it’s obvious ahri team’s better, they had more morality about disappearing, and ahri as the leader took a step of redemption for her stars, nothing to even try to compare to. [nick]: Oh okay. Your opinion is valid but actually is not.

Yasuo raised his brow. Oh, someone’s mad? “Valid”, he’s mad now too.

TheUnforgiven01: and that means? i’m right and you’re not, i suppose. you’re mad abt it? [nick]: Okay, Unforgiven, listen to me now. I am longer in this group and always argued morally about everything, but plain and stupid, unexplained opinions of stubborn kids like you just piss me off. What if someone find staying by rules more morally-right, huh? Ever consider that? TheUnforgiven01: if you’d like to die just because you were chosen by some glitter and glory of first star then fine, but some weren’t, they were normal teenagers under disguise, what about their families? ezpezlemonsquez: Guys, you’re starting to fight and it’s not cool, can you chill?? [nick]: They knew about the risk by agreeing! Being chosen is one, but agreeing is their own fucking choice!!! TheUnforgiven01: and YOU’D be fine with dying, [nick] ? [nick]: Of course not! But anyone can die while saving the world, not because of losing a light, you know? If not that, there is the risk of being corrupted, like Xayah and Rakan, isn’t that right?? TheUnforgiven01: and it hurt, but they can be saved, and by dying officially you cannot do shit about it, yeah? ShiningBrightTonite: If you won’t stop acting up I’ll have to mute you both until tomorrow, keep it down! TU, you just joined and make a fight right away, can you give me a reason to let you stay?

Yasuo’s hands twitched. He ALMOST dissed admin, and that would be it, poof and no corresponding buddy for him. He sighed deeply, took himself some longer moments and only typed. TheUnforgiven01: sorry. i’ll join next discussion and be all innocent and sweet, like newborn baby. [nick]: Newborns are wrinkly and ugly. ShiningBrightTonite: [nick] !! [nick]: Just saying. TheUnforgiven01: aight, ama head out.

~TheUnforgiven01 has left the chat~

That was it for today.

Yasuo just took a quick shower, ate one sandwich and went to sleep, while blasting music on his headphones. Way to deal with his nerves.

About your side…

Generally you’re the angel of this community, you’re always passionate and calm about others opinion, but this dude just pressed the wrong button by his like...third message? No one saw you this mad, and this group had many dramas which YOU were most of the times reason to stop, but now? Some admins laughed about that in admin chatroom with you about it, but let you be with a slight warning, friendly nudge on the arm with ‘don’t do that next time, he’s new and doesn’t know how to hang on things, ya kno?’ So you went with it. Even decided to apolagize to this dude in pm. The question was: today or tomorrow? Tomorrow sound more appealing, but if you do it now, you won’t have to do that tomorrow, so it’s now. You sighed deeply, it’s been an hour and a half, so you hoped he’s cooled down too.

[nick]: Sorry to bother you in your “private message” zone, but I thought about all this situation and I’m sorry for how I acted, really? Not like all fault was mine, we both know that, it’s just...I shouldn’t had curse and stuff. I’m not generally bad, I hope you don’t hold any grudge to me. We’ll chat on a group, ye?

…

And no answer. Maybe he is that furious? You sure hoped he wasn’t. Or she. Or anyone that was. With a heavy sigh you stood up, got yourself warm cup of tea to chill a little bit more. You’ll go to sleep...eventually.

By sleep you mean passing out on your desk, face down. Your poor arms...and back...it’ll hurt, that’s for sure. Watching Netflix till late was a bad idea. Good thing it’s weekend, right? Your day of freedom from responsibilities!

What time is it…?

You locked your eyes on your room’s clock which was 6 minutes late from time but you’re too lazy to fix that. It was - according to your always late clock - 01:06 pm. You still felt sleepy, but it’ll be fine, right? Slowly, you rubbed your wake-up tears from your eyes and looked at screen in front of you. A few pings from group chat from admin role and one private message. Huh, neat, time to eat- hold on, wait a minute. Private message? You sat up straightly and clicked on it right away. This is this unforgiven fella! After you wrote this short message you grinned weakly and went off of your room to wake up properly.

TheUnforgiven01: no problem, it’s nice how you defend what you believe in. TheUnforgiven01: am sorry too. TheUnforgiven01: not sure if i am good at chatting in group, but we always can hit each other up here? TheUnforgiven01: if you want to TheUnforgiven01: and i didn’t mean to sound weird TheUnforgiven01: ah whatever, answer here if you want or not, bye.

You made yourself your favourite breakfast, ate and thought about this little spam that person did. Kinda cute, maybe they’re self-concious, and joining chatting group was overhelming? You’ll answer after refreshing cup of [coffee/tea/hot chocolate], you promised yourself. You never write to anyone before morning cup. To summarize your morning routine, the hot drink had to be in your now favourite cup. Earlier one got shattered into pieces by your unaware of consequences cat. You weren’t mad at it, but at yourself for leaving the cup on windowsill instead of hiding it properly. That kind of sad event for you made you buy this cup from that new music group you enjoyed listening to. True Damage, wasn’t it? You never liked rap, but this boy Ekko nailed stuff. You loved everyone equally in this group, but never understood that long-haired, masked (you assumed) asian man and his influence. He was there, maybe he made the music in the background, compositor? He seemed too mysterious for you, but meh. He fit group’s aesthetic, and you were sure he had his place in there, and it’s fine. Maybe you figure it out once you see them live, since, what a shocker, they had a tour around the world and were not only in your country, but in your town too! They'll be here in like… 6 months from now? You can't wait! Bonus to that: No long trip ahead of you, just buying tickets and going, you were hyped for that.

Meanwhile this waterfall of thoughts you managed to drink and eat everything, and as responsible as you can get, you washed the dishes right away, going back to your PC to answer this maybe-shy fella.

[nick]: Didn’t figured you’d like to talk ‘privately’, but whatever floats your boat ;) TheUnforgiven01: i changed my mind, don’t write to me again. [nick]: Hey, hey! I was just joking around, don’t be like that! :(( TheUnforgiven01: i am unforgiven, and you are too in this situation. TheUnforgiven01: i honestly joined to make one friend in this group and leave TheUnforgiven01: and didn’t got any chance of meeting anyone else but you TheUnforgiven01: and you wrote to me first into priv, so that’s the start. TheUnforgiven01: can it stay like that? TheUnforgiven01: if we won’t like each other it’s chill to just say oficial bye and stop, just sayin. [nick]: As for someone who types so fast you don’t make that much of typos, isn’t that amazing? TheUnforgiven01: maubie. TheUnforgiven01: maybe* TheUnforgiven01: fuck you just jinxed it.

You genuely laughed by this little mistake, you didn’t saw that coming and it amused you. You weren’t much of a talkative person yourself, but writing to someone, not seeing their face and such was much easier. And consequences of making yourself of a fool are much smaller than knowing someone from the same - let’s assume - town. [nick]: I’m sorry I did, but the moment I picked to say that was funny, wasn’t it? Nothing to be ashamed off, it often happens to me too! TheUnforgiven01: didn’t saw you make a typo yet. [nick]: Because I’m giving way too much attention not to do a typo since I want to make a good impression on you. Sounds good? TheUnforgiven01: … TheUnforgiven01: sounds good, relatable actually.

Well, now at least you know you’re stuck in the same situation.

And that awkward situation was two weeks ago.

Now? Now you’re talking daily. From all you know, your, as he called it - corresponding buddy - is a very busy he. He didn’t revealed his real name, which you assumed that he’s embarassed about it. You told him what you’re doing in life generally, while he just said he’s normal, let me quote: “big-ass adult who lives with parents but work in some fast-food, at least i’m trying.” which was cool for you, at least he didn’t lock himself in his parents’ basement. Unforgiven was a chill dude and at the beginning you thought he’d only hit you up with Star Guardian topics, but later? You started talking about yourselves, about other interests.

[nick]: Hey? [nick]: I assume you’re busy today, again… [nick]: I was wondering, what are you busy with? I mean, you said you work on some fast-food place, then sit in your room, are you gaming? I’d understand that, I was just...thinking. [nick]: Sorry if I seem pushy, it’s just that I really grew on chatting with you and was wondering when are you free again! Heh. [nick]: We’ll talk later, then, hit me up when you can!

You pushed yourself back on your chair, groaning. You totally were pushy, but didn’t meant to - that’s what you thought, but it’s totally normal, you’re just interested with someone you just met. You chatted with a lot of persons in the group, etc. but no one had your interest pointed directly at them, that’s a big something. You kinda felt like you’re opening too fast for him too, and you had no clue if that’s ok. You cover your eyes with hands, overthinking your situation with unnamed male. When your thoughts started to be not too pleasant you heard your communicator's sound going off. As fast as you pushed yourself back, you were that fast in front of your PC.

TheUnforgiven01: i have a break now. TheUnforgiven01: i'm sorry [nick], I am not ignoring you on purpose. TheUnforgiven01: i enjoy talking to you too, don't ever think oterwide TheUnforgiven01: otherwise* TheUnforgiven01: we'll talk about that later. TheUnforgiven01: now, how are you? i hope i didn't made you sad. [nick]: No, no! It's OK! I understand you have a real life too, I assume a real life friends too. That's normal, that's okay. TheUnforgiven01: i like you. i can consider you as my friend, but. [nick]: But? TheUnforgiven01: but you should not consider me as yours. [nick]: What t? Why?/?? / TheUnforgiven01: my break's over, i gtg. i'll catch you later. [nick]: Okay, later!

Your hands twitched uncontrollably after that weird message. What did he mean? You're his friend but he's not yours? It kinda worried you, but you went to do your stuff until he has time to talk. Maybe it sounds cliché but you wait impatiently until he starts a chat with you and you know each other for only two weeks.

It made you worry about your friend. Maybe he has some troubles you don't know about for sure? You only had to hope it's not gang involved. You were sure to later tell a few words to him.

You ate out with one of your friends, just to eat, chill around. As you weren't sure what to do generally about "unforgiven situation", you decided to ask her: - Uh, it's kinda awkward, but can I ask you for advice? - you ask. - Oh of course! What's going inside of your pretty little head? - So I met someone on my group- - Nerd group? - she interrupted. - Yeah, that one. - you admitted with defeat. Honestly, no matter what you say, she still keeps on going with nerd club. - And there was that guy, he started arguing with me. Later we apologized to each other and now we're chatting for two weeks everyday, but about how much do we write depends if he's free or not. Today he said something odd, have a look.

You moved your phone so your friend can see mysterious message from Unforgiven. She sighed and then looked at you with that pity look of hers. - What? - Honey, swettie… you have two options. One: he's really trying to make you think of him. Two: he really means it. You should start off with "I'm worried about you!" and tell him how you really feel. - Okay. Okay… I just. I don't know what's going on with him. - Why are you so moved of that? You know each other for only two weeks. Are you… Crushing on him?!?! - WHAT? Nonononono, you got that wrong, I just want to get to know him! That's all, really! - Uh-huh! When he's free today, you get him, tiger! Just won't get into any trouble, sweetheart.

You sighed, then smiled at her, closing your eyes in satisfaction. You're a lot calmer now. "Thank you, [friends name].” You said, until you both went back on chatting about everything.

And when you were back? You dressed yourself to home wearing, sat down comfortably on the couch and checked your phone. Unforgiven actually wrote to you first! And a lot.

TheUnforgiven01: hey. TheUnforgiven01: sorry I had to go all of sudden, work stuff, had shorter break. TheUnforgiven01: i don’t want you to think i don't want to get to know you, i do. TheUnforgiven01: it's just hard for me, ‘n stuff. TheUnforgiven01: we'll get to it, please give me some time. TheUnforgiven01: you'll know everything about me in no time, just give me some and we'll be friends, true ones. TheUnforgiven01: if you'd want to, ofc. TheUnforgiven01: hit me up when you're back from your little date.

You gave into every single message a lot of focus. You weren't sure what to say at first, but decided to just go for it.

[nick]: It's OK! I was worried about you, but if you say I'll get to know all the things about you in time, I'll go with it! But remember this one thing: I consider you as my friend, no matter what. We'll get through your insecurities and secrets, I'll be patiently waiting!

[nick]: And it was NOT a DATE. I was out with my friend!! >:( TheUnforgiven01: yeah, sure, you playa. TheUnforgiven01: better be good. [nick]: Very funny! TheUnforgiven01: for me it is. [nick]: Aren't you tired after work? You don't want to sleep? TheUnforgiven01: i thought you genuinely missed me, buy you want me out right now. TheUnforgiven01: now i'm sad. [nick]: It's not like that! I'm just worried about you, goofball. TheUnforgiven01: sure, explain yourself even more. TheUnforgiven01: only guilty explain themselves. [nick]: Come on!! D: TheUnforgiven01: i can chat for a bit and then go.

You chatted and chatted, slowly getting to know his character, but he still remained as Unforgiven, unnamed boy you slowly, but in agony, fell for. It's been three months from your first encounter.

You wonder how are you going to ask him about a next step in your friendship. It is, indeed, hard. Good question is why are you the first to ask? It almost hurt imagining yourself with blank space, nor even voice known to begin with. You fell hard for dude you only know behind Unforgiven, and wanted to hear his voice. You were ready for him to decline, but you won't know without trying.

He said he'll be back pretty late today, and he may not write, but he left you a warning pretty early in the morning. You weren't sure why did he woke up so early, but you just shrugged it, saying that he must be in some other time zone. You didn't even knew where he is from, this man is a big mystery for you.

You waited for him to come back in your bed, before sleeping. You had to ask that question now or never, you know if you'll put it for tomorrow you want do that anytime soon. It has to be done. It was 2am now and your eyelids were getting heavy. Reading books or literally anything wasn't helping at all, and when your body demands rest. You almost drifted to sleep, but then

Ding!

It was him, before sleep you assumed. No matter what you did you always wrote to each other, even stupid "goodnight for later, I'm going to sleep now, be sure to rest enough." was there.

Your eyes were wide open and you moved your hand to the phone way too fast as for almost sleeping person.

TheUnforgiven01: hey. TheUnforgiven01: i'm aftwr work TheUnforgiven01: i am really tires ya kno TheUnforgiven01: fuck typos in lsrticilar [nick]: Particular? TheUnforgiven01: you're not asleep yet? damn [nick]: I was kinda waiting for you, you know? TheUnforgiven01: oh really? what's the occasion? [nick]: It's… I have a question for you. TheUnforgiven01: aight, give me your shot. [nick]: Would you like to… agh it's stupid. TheUnforgiven01: no, go ahead. [nick]: We write with each other for a while now and I was wondering if… [nick]: If you'd like to make a phone call, maybe? Or, voice call, anything really? No personal questions, just five minute chatting about anything. Promise?

Yasuo hesitated for a longer bit. Should he agree? He don't use his voice in his recordings, so maybe he should? He treats this person like someone close, so why should he avoid them like a plague? He saw little mark above chat window which suggested you furiously were typing. He sighed, smiling softly to his phone's screen.

TheUnforgiven01: it's alright,don't worry. TheUnforgiven01: we can chat a bit. TheUnforgiven01: we can call here, you know. for you to avoid any additional payment.

You sigh with relief. Okay, he did agree. What now?? Holy shit. You were more than nervous. You didn't saw that coming and because of all of this you forgot to answer him. You almost jumped when you got another message.

TheUnforgiven01: i'll call first, since i see you're nervous. TheUnforgiven01: i'll hit you up in 5 min. answer me by then.

It maybe was stupid, but you checked yourself in the mirror, almost like before date. You fixed your hair, checked if nothing was stuck between your teeth, wash your face, and your time slipped between your fingers, your phone was ringing with typical for your communicator song. You jumped, then panicked, then jumped beside your phone and slowly answered your call before it ended sending a signal.

- H...hello? - your voice croaked out of nervousness. You mentally slapped your forehead, classical facepalm. - Hi. - you heard calm voice with that tune of tiredness, that little growl at the end. His voice was soft, warm, pleasant. You smiled right away. - Damn, you sound so chilled out while I am...wow. I am a blushing mess right now, I wanted this but don’t know what to say to you! Like, wow! - Maybe start with how was your day? I’d love to hear that. - that was just an excuse, but you didn’t knew that. - Oh...kay. It was fine. Boring, to be honest. Woke up, drank [tea/coffee/hot chocolate] from this True Damage cup I once told you about, went out, made my boring everyday routine, was thinking how I should ask you about talking, then went back home, bored my ass off on some documentaries and here we are, talking! - Sounds fun. - he commented shortly. Even if it might sound like he doesn’t care, you understood that he just was like that. That stupid feeling. - Maybe you’ll tell me something you did today? - Something I’d love to do, but I must avoid that. Not today, [nick]. - Call me [y/n], okay? That’s my real name. You don’t have to tell me yours! I’d like you to call me [y/n] though. - That’s a nice name. Like the sound of it. - his goddamn voice will be the end of yours. You sighed loudly with this goofy smile. - Thank you so much. So, if not the day, tell me something you actually can share. - I was thinking about you today. - he shot these words right through your heart. - O-Oh? Re-really? - you stuttered, hating yourself for that. - Heheh, yeah. - he chuckled, making you forget about hating your stutter since it made him laugh in this tone. This goddamn tone. - Was thinking if you were alright. And because your pathetic ass was distracting me from work, my boss forced me to go on break! Used it to smoke, but none then less, thanks. - Hey, your bad for wandering off in work! And quit smoking, dumbass! - you scolded him, ending this “”very serious”” scold with a laugh, which Yasuo answered with louder, honest laugh. You were all red by now. - God, it’s good talking to you. Let’s do that more often. Not every day, but...you know. More often. - O-okay. Okay, sure. Cool. - you answered,trying to kill this little squeal in your throat. - I’ll have to go to sleep, [y/n]. Sleep well, ok? - No promise, but you have a rest. Thank you, again. For agreeing. - Heh. No problem, I am glad I did agree too. Sleep tight. - another chuckle, then hanging up sound.

Well, what can I say. This was the most emotion-forcing call you ever had. He wished you good night, you had trouble falling asleep.

Generally speaking, you had a talk like that once in three days. The big day of concert was coming, so you decided to ask Unforgiven if he is interested in coming too. You’re searching for a chance of meeting him in real life.

Yasuo expected from incoming call anything but question what was awaiting him. He was having a flight with a band to [town’s name] in next three days, so he had to tell you he can’t really talk as you both always do. When he heard a communicator’s song, he pressed answer button right away, smiling to his phone like you could see he’s happy to see you. - Hewwo? - he answered in very forced squeaky voice, which made you erupt with laughter. - Hey, goofball. How was your day? - Lazy. Was distracted a lot, I was waiting for out call before sleep. So, what’s new? - Today was okay’ish, you know? I’m not even that tired. Maybe being excited makes me go cray-cray. - Psh, good. - he looked at himself in the mirror, seeing how wide his smile was. Almost concerning. - Hey, dude? - Hm? - Are you...by any chance, going to see True Damage in [Town’s name]? I never asked you about your music taste but I was wondering. Wondering that if you’d be here...maybe we’ll meet? ‘Cuz, you know. I’ll be here. - I- - his voice was stuck in his throat. Oh. Shit. Fuckfuckfuck. Not good. What now? -...you? Are you okay? - Ahm- yes, it’s just that. You’re...hella right. I will be there. - OH REALLY? - you asked unecessarly too loud, then cleared your throat. - A-and...you’d like to meet? - Uhhh… - fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck - Yeah. Sure. I’d love to finally see you. Can you imagine this feeling? We don’t know how we look, so finding each other would be insane, but can you imagine the result? - Me, asking some random dudes “Hey, are you Unforgiven?” ? No, let’s send each other selfies, maybe? - Nah, I’d love to see you embarrass yourself. - HEY! - Okay, okay. I promise we’ll find each other. I won’t go home until we do. - Promise you won’t leave me out? - Promise. - Thank you. I’ll go to sleep, so we’ll catch up later, ok? By- he cut you out. - Wait, [y/n]. I have to tell you something real quick. - Yeah? - you pulled your phone back to ear. - I won’t be too available around these days. But at the day of concert I’ll call you in the morning. I won’t be in any reach of connection, I hope you understand. - Uh..okay. Thank you for telling me. Good night, sleep tight. - ‘Night.

You hung up. It’s alright, it’s ok. Nothing to sweat. You’ll only meet your crush in three days only.

OKAY NEVERMIND IT IS AMAZING. You - thankfully - fell asleep pretty fastly.

To be fair, these three days? Were going through slow in agonizing way, but when the day of concert hit up, your heart was racing since you woke up. You had that five minute talk with Unforgiven, as he promised, assuring you that he is going to be there for sure. After you hung up, you started preparing yourself! You wore your best clothes, made sure you look stunning but not too overrated and just dived into it! You gladly told your friend you’re meeting your crush, informing her with that she’s not forced to go see True Damage with you anymore. She was more of Pentakill person, and it was alright. She wanted to go along since she knew how “un-funny” would it be without her, but you knew her real motive was you not feeling alone. So when she acknowledged that you’re not going to be alone, she said she’s glad she doesn’t have to listen to Ekko and Qiyana’s rapping. Well, good noone is forced.

At first,you wanted to find Unforgiven right away, but gave up and focused on music experience. You wanted to be there beside him, but well, maybe he lost connection again and couldn’t hit you up. And you had hell of a fun in there! But somewhere deep inside you were worried that he just tricked you and will never show up or tell you where he is exactly.

True Damage’s crew said final goodbyes and after some stumbles, it was quiet on stage. Everyone kept cheering or talking, sometimes screaming unecessarly. Still, not a single sight of Unforgiven. Well, at least you got to know what this long haired guy was doing in the crew. Epic T-pose and manipulated music with this sword looking thingy. Amazing effects. You decided to find yourself sitting place somewhere, staring at your phone screen. No message, no missed calls, not anything. It made you sad, that’s true, but maybe he’ll catch up? You waited. And waited.

And waited.

And the more you waited, the more you felt tears getting into your eyes. You were ready to burst into sobbing mess, but then your phone rang. This stupid communicator song. You answered up right away with little sniff” - Where the hell are you? You said that- - I know, [y/n]. I am here, let me instruct you where I am right now. Where are you? - You should be one searching for me, you know? I almost thought you weren’t coming, what’s up with that? - you unintentionally raised your voice, letting out a sob meanwhile that. Yasuo felt so bad now. - Listen...I’ll tell you everything. Everything will be explained when you’ll see me. I hope you’ll forgive me. If not, it’ll be this “official goodbye” moment, can you trust me this one last time? - ...fuck. Fuck, okay. I am on the bench close to food truck. You? - Stand up then, go to the barriers understage. - Understage…? Alrigt, wh-atever you say.

You blindly went in there, trusting this man “for the last time”, as he said. You’d give him the last chance he’s begging for. You stood here like an idiot, alone with stages lights shining on your face. No one in sight. - I hope you’re not joking… - How would I know where should you go then? - Point...it’s just that- - Shh. It’s ok. You head to the left now if you’re facing the stage. Tell me when you’re done. - … done…? - Okay. now open this little metal gate and get through. - Wha-what?? Why would I? Securities will kick me out if they find out! - They won’t. It’s ok. -You’re...one of the security guards, right? - Information when you get there. come on in. - You were so anxious about this situation. It just seems sketchy. He never revealed any information about him, maybe spread some lies you believed in. Who was this dude now? Was everything you knew a lie? - And? I don’t see anyone. - Are you wearing [your fav. hoodie/flannel/whatever you want it to be!]? - U-uh? Yeah, and you’re…? - Turn around, goof. I am standing right there. - … - you felt your heart stop, you weren’t able to breathe. You slowly turned around to see noone else than this mysterious japanese DJ you had a chance to see on stage. What- how- that were questions which were going almost like on loop in your head. - Stunned, huh? - he commented into the phone, then took it off of his face and ended call. It confirmed that it was him too - at the same time his phone went dark after single tap, your call ended.

You didn’t even got to give out bigger reaction. You just met him! Screw that he’s popular and hid his identity from you! For now. You ran into his arms and squeezed him, now sobbing like mad.

- You FUCKER! You could’ve said ANYTHING! All these secrets, what for! I kinda understand but- FUCK! - you shouted into his shoulder while he squeezed you in almost bone crushing hug. - I’m sorry, ok? - and it was his voice, sounded almost the same. Holy shit. - I’m so, so sorry, [y/n]. But at least I can be honest? - Then please be. Tell me everything you wanted to say. - It’ll be long, trust me, but well. Here goes nothing. - he put his hand on your cheek and clears your face from those tears you shed because of him. - I...wanted to tell you my name after like two weeks. I got worried you’ll find out after we talk some, so I did avoid personal information. While I was at it, I never wanted to lie. About my work and my day. I just lied at the beginning, then regret it deeply, but felt like I couldn’t take that back. [y/n]- fuck- I just- I didn’t wanted to be treated differently. I am popular and most people stop seeing a human in me because I’m a celebrity! It hurt me to avoid you getting to know me - heck, it hurt me to see you avoiding asking me about personal stuff because you understood. I appreciated it, but it hurt you had to remain silent while you were curious as hell, I assume. You wanted to hear me out, treated me like I am just like you, reached out to me. I grew on that, I want… I don't want to lose you. Please, forgive me. - I… it's… it's okay. I should call you… - Yasuo. It's Yasuo, [y/n]. - I'll get to know you all over, just be honest with me. You're still human and I want to be close to you. I… ah. I'll just let it out pleasedon'thateme. I… fell for you. Hard. You were a bug mystery for me but still wanted to be around me. I kept still since you're pretty important to me. Thank you for being there by this 6 months, let's continue whatever we have between each other. Please.

…

Yasuo moved his mask down to capture your face between his hands and kissed you, it seemed like a rough start, but kiss was soft, magical. You just smoothed, nibbling on your lips. Yasuo was now thanking you a lot, which you only replied with weak laughs and pats on his back. He promised he'll keep you as close as he can.

Yasuo had to continue his tour around the world with True Damage, but promised he'll take a lot of day off so he can work up lost time with you. It's been a month and you wait for him almost like wife waiting for her husband's return after military duty.

Yasuo took two weeks off, but if he'll need more - it'll be for you to decide. You were spending today inside since it was raining. It was dark outside already, the only source of light was candles in living room. Yasuo was holding you close to himself, moving side to side, swaying gently, adoring your every inch of face. - Lately I found this song on youtube, it was originally from vocaloid.it kind off remind me of us. - Vocaloid song? You know true meaning of lyrics for sure, tell me about it then! - I can sing a part of it for you, if you'd want to? - You can sing? - Of course! I just don't use it for my songs. Everyone else sing much better, my voice is too… - Too sexy for the world? - Hahaha, maybe! Want to check out for sure? I'll sing in English for you. - Sheesh, what a nerd. Okay, give me your best shot.

Yasuo took a deep breath in, and made sure before he starts to sing he looks into your eyes. He started like he was unsure, but with time he sang wholeheartedly.

"Though both of us will die one day

Though this life is useless anyway

When you're here by my side, you make me feel like it'll be okay

And yet we laughed despite it all

At this life which has no meaning at all

Two lonely and broken souls leaning on each other's sides

I'm glad that you're you, that I'm me, and for us two

I'm kinda glad that you're evil too"

While he was pouring his emotion on you, you felt your chest clench and tear up after intensity of his voice, he gave it out truly like he meant it. You saw he wasn't done, so you tried to remain calm.

"When the day starts anew, hope I spend it with you-"

You felt your cheeks burn with your tears pouring down whole you smiled widely at him. He was singing loudly, forgetting about embarrassment.

"I'm glad that I fell in love with you."

From today, this song made by PinnocchioP was more than important for both of you. It felt like it was especially made for you, and you both loved it.

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mittensmorgul · 5 years

Text

Who is Belphegor?

I mean, who is he, really? There’s a possibility that he’s exactly what he claims to be, but everything in me is screaming THIS IS A ZEKE SITUATION, and we don’t yet understand his true motives or identity. Since 15.01 aired, I’ve been playing around with theories, and I’ve got it narrowed down to a few I would really enjoy. I think I’ve talked about (or around) each of these theories in my tag for Belphie, and you can go read those posts here for further edification and general waffling on my part.

1. Belphegor. He might actually be exactly what he says he is. I mean, why NOT believe him? Reasons FOR the theory:

because he said so

his general behavior fits what we know about the demon Belphegor in a general sort of way

Reasons AGAINST the theory:

because he said so, and we’re watching Supernatural

the two characters I’ve seen most people ping to in reaction to him are RUBY (who lied about her entire motivation for befriending them and being helpful) and EZEKIEL (who lied about his identity and motives from the moment he showed up, and was actually Gadreel... which went over swimmingly)

his appearance was entirely too ~convenient~ to believe it at face value (he was the ONLY demon to pop out of hell in that mess, conveniently knew the exact spells they needed to get out of that predicament, is REALLY good at manipulating TFW specifically, etc. etc.)

what kind of torturer is AFRAID of the things he tortures? why would a demon fear a human ghost?

What kind of demon would ASK FOR A SACK OF SALT and then handle said salt as if it was nothing?

2. The Shadow. This was one of my first thoughts, even before the episode aired, because of the situation we knew to be true of Jack, where he was at the end of 14.20, and what he was DOING there-- i.e. having a friendly chat with Billie and the Shadow, and what the PR said about Jack feeling conflicted about returning to his body because of guilt. This felt like one of those situations that Billie would need to have HANDLED SOONEST, and the Shadow was conveniently RIGHT THERE to fill in for Jack. We already know he has the power to appear to be other beings (Cas faced him as himself in the Empty, and couldn’t tell he wasn’t Dumah in Heaven, for example), and can theoretically convincingly take on the form of whatever he wants to T-1000 style. That said, Reasons FOR:

Incredibly powerful being who could pull off everything we saw Belphegor do

snarky personality that also lines up with what we saw

INTENSE PERSONAL DIRECT KNOWLEDGE of the contents of Cas’s knowledge bank, his emotions and personality, feelings “i tiptoed through all your little tulips” style

can appear to be other types of beings in a way that Cas can’t perceive his true nature and accepts what he does see as truth

we don’t know the scope of his powers or abilities outside of the Empty or Heaven, or how he would be limited or affected by possessing a human-ish body (explaining his discomfort around a human soul since they aren’t relegated to his domain upon death, and his particular vulnerability to injury and pain in a human-ish body)

The Empty is outside of God’s purview, and therefore he may be able to operate in complete stealth without alerting Chuck to his presence on Earth in a way literally no other being could, making him the ultimate secret agent here

literally ZERO other demons seem to have escaped Hell during this containment breach. Every other being who got out has been a human soul.

Reasons AGAINST:

we just don’t know what he’s actually up to in canon. He could still be in the Empty babysitting Jack (not that we know that would be a limitation on where he could still be, if he could just scoop out a pile of goo-him and send a bit of himself off to animate Jack’s body for a while, but we don’t know if that’s possible, either)

3. Metatron. Based on what we know of how the Empty works, and how Metatron specifically died, there’s a good chance we’re seeing the return of Metatron for one of two separate reasons. He died without grace-- as a human-- so theoretically he would’ve gone to heaven, right? Like Jack did in 14.08? We know the Empty didn’t invade Heaven for HIS soul, though, so there’s a possibility that he may have gone directly to the Empty anyway. Though the way Amara killed him... there’s a chance he was “absorbed” into her (like she stated several other times happened when she “consumed” souls, you know? but we don’t know exactly what happened to Metatron other than he disappeared into a lil poof of darkness, so this is entirely theoretical conjecture). But I’ve long paralleled Amara to the Empty, and I don’t think there’s really a functional difference between being consumed by Amara and being sent to the empty, you know? They are both The Void. I literally JUST wrote this post, which inspired me to make a list in the first place, where you can read my thoughts in detail. Reasons FOR:

talk about someone ready to play foil to Chuck, the writer out of control in desperate need of an editor. Think 11.20, to the nth degree here.

golly he KNOWS Chuck’s whole “writing process,” and NOBODY is more familiar with the entire body of Chuck’s writing, going all the way back to creation

Even after he lost his mojo, he was still proficient in the sorts of spells we saw Belphegor pull out of thin air, you know?

he’s also the exact sort of snarky Belphegor has been

he was weirdly obsessed with Cas’s trenchcoat (lol, abomination) and had a MASSIVE jealous-on for Cas in general

the spell Belphegor used to erect the wall referencing river imagery (the river shall end at its source and all that)

metatron’s reluctance to engage in “direct combat” himself, and his comments to Cas from the get-go that he needed Cas because he’s not a warrior himself, which lines up with the “bad ghost! no!” behavior when faced with a direct confrontation

tangential to the above point, the fact he died HUMAN without supernatural powers would leave him vulnerable to injury from a ghost, as well as the “general pains of humanity” we saw demonstrated when Constance was able to cut his hand and cause him physical pain that way

Metatron, being the Scribe of God who basically possesses not only the knowledge of all of creation and a vast swath of human writings as well, would love the sort of game of pretending to be a specific demon this way, and would love the subterfuge of it all as well

He is REALLY good at this sort of manipulation

theoretically whether he went to heaven or the empty, billie was on hand to fetch him out and sign him up for service

Reasons AGAINST:

we don’t know where metatron went after he died, and if Amara did consume him it might not be possible to have brought him back (unless Amara is also part of this bigger cosmic plotting and helped his return the way she did with Mary, so this might not be a reason against after all)

would Metatron be able to cloak his true identity behind a false mask of a “true demon face” that Cas identified immediately? (unless he was, again, helped along with that by the Shadow or Amara... we don’t know if their powers would extend to that)

it’s a possibility that-- for whatever reason-- his soul did end up in Hell-- whether by nature of his “sins” or by design of some outside force (Bobby ended up wrongfully in Hell, too, so who knows), and he has actually become a demon, but this seems incredibly unlikely... would his soul have been demonized yet? it’s only been a few years... and again, this is pure conjecture for the sake of argument, and not based in anything in canon.

4. Balthazar. I mean, for all the reasons I stated above for Metatron being handy and ready to serve, and possibly getting an assist from Billie or the Empty to cloak his “true identity,” we know he would’ve been handily found in the Empty. Reasons FOR:

Belphegor kinda sounds like Balthazar... especially the way the being himself pronounced it (more like Belphagar)

readily to hand in the Empty and familiar with all the players on the board

broadly fits within the personality of Belphegor, known to have participated in a “menage a... what’s the french word for twelve?” aka an orgy

lol Belphegor is the Infernal Ambassador to France and that would be a hilarious coincidence... >.>

Balthazar is good at subterfuge, resourceful, good at spellwork (he was the one buying human souls in 6.03)

also pretty good at subterfuge and spy work, though Cas did see through him (sadly) and killed him for it once upon a time...

Reasons AGAINST:

would he be able to cloak his true identity? basically apply what I said about Metatron for this one

Belphegor’s speech patterns. He uses a lot of “filler words,” and Balthazar... didn’t. Then again, he uses SO MANY of them that it could be a deliberate affectation

the line about Cas’s trenchcoat (the one in the dirty trenchcoat, who’s in love with you), so he doesn’t have any particular reason to refer to it as an “abomination,” though it’s not entirely out of the question

5. A Random Reaper. Billie may have ordered one of her Reaper Babysitters to make sure Jack’s body remained safe and viable for when he was ready to return, as well as allow one of her reapers to... to quote Dean from 6.09... “interact more forcefully” with creation. Reasons FOR:

would report directly to Billie, and give Billie an on the spot window on the Winchesters

intimately familiar with the Winchesters from having kept tabs on them for the last several years

have the innate ability to control others’ perceptions of them and the world in general, so disguising their true form from Cas would’ve been easy

Reasons AGAINST:

do reapers have any other magical abilities beyond their known functions?

WHY would A REAPER be afraid of a human ghost? Literally their JOB is dealing with human ghosts

I don’t think a reaper would’ve been able to have been injured by a ghost, unless these ghosts have somehow been “supercharged” by the way Chuck forced their souls from hell... one screenshot of the ghost Cas smashed with the big stone slab showed a weird glowy-orange patch on its shoulder, almost as if it had been “marked by Chuck” and granted some sort of special dispensation of powers, like we know all those sorts of “marks” on people have in SPN canon, so this may not be an issue against.

Billie’s own “clean hands” policy for reapers... if that’s something that would still bind their actions if Billie gave them a direct order to play this specific role now.

Other theories I’ve considered are that it could be a specific reaper-- thinking possibly Tessa, since she was already in the Empty, too, and I just love her and hate what happened to her. Or possibly a random other demon, but again most of the reasons I objected to it being Belphegor apply to other demons even more strongly to Random Demon Minion #3, too. It might be a specific demon we’ve known in the past, or someone we’d known as a human who’s since become a demon, but again... that seems highly doubtful. It could also potentially be Goocifer, i.e. dead!Lucifer, but I don’t think the Shadow would’ve allowed him to just trip out of the Empty so easily. Though he did have a connection to Jack, and after death it’s possible his attitude toward everything has... shifted? the way Billie said hers did after ascending to the mantle of Death and she saw a bigger cosmic picture. If he’s had an enlightenment of sorts in death, this could be a possibility, but again... I think it’s less likely than the above notions but not something I can discount entirely, unfortunately. If he’d been “specifically depowered” like he’d been when his grace had been drained, that could explain his ability to have been injured by a ghost, for example, but would he even have the ability to hide his true form from Cas-- an angel he literally knows from the inside out, having possessed him for half a year... >.>

I’ll update this list as canon unfolds. :D

#spn s15 spoilers #spn 15.01 #belphegor #spn s15 speculation

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redfoxwritesstuff · 6 years

Text

The Mermaid and The Prince

Tom Hiddleston x ofc

Rating: T

Warnings: Tom’s a bit of a tit. Fluff.

Sequel to: Of Mermaids and Fairy Tales

Summery: Rose and Tom had a few great dates and then, poof, he was off to live his life. If not for the friendly texting, it would be like he was never by her side at all. Yet the memory of his kiss still burns and Rose holds hope of seeing him again, of touching him again. He promised to return to her side and she believed him. But when she finds pictures of him with another woman, doubts creep in. He never said he was her’s.

Rose was sprawled out in her bed, on her back with her tired arms supporting her phone above her face as her golden waves lay spread out around her. This was a position many people all around the world found themselves in countless times, normally at night when they should be sleeping, just as she should be.

Modern convenience however has made it so that she could rest on her bed, in the dark and still be in contact with someone an ocean away. She didn't even have to wonder what he was doing. Tom had told her that he was getting ready for his morning run, just as she was debating turning in for the night. This is how it had been for the last few months, catching quick text messages and short calls when time permitted, seemingly one of them always being at work or asleep when the other was free.

It wasn't fair, yet it was what she signed up for. Not that she actually signed up for anything. But she kind of thought she did, when she allowed him to take her to dinner three times during his stay and spent nearly a whole weekend together. Rose felt like they had a connection, like they had something yet she was too scared to say anything before he left. Now, three months later, they talked every day and she still didn't say anything, enjoying the happy state of whatever they were. He said he would come back, he would see her again and she accepted that.

“I should be done in just a few more weeks.” Tom had said, referring to the shooting schedule for a series of advertisements. Once shooting was finished, they talked about him coming stateside to see her again. He said he was looking forward to it. She said she was too. He said he missed her. She said she did too.

When the pictures loaded on her Twitter feed however, her fingers went slack around her phone and it plummeted from her hand as it had weights tapped to its back. Funny how that works, cell phones are so light that you carry them around all day without issue but drop them and noting falls faster. Or harder. And for some reason, phones always land square on the face, always. No matter how you are lying when you drop it.

With a groan, Rose grabbed the offensive device off the side of the bed and rolled to her stomach for a better, safer look without risking damage to her nose or a black eye. With a few select taps, the screen loaded up a gossip website and images.

First things first, her brain zoned in on the photo. It showed two people sitting at a cozy outdoor cafe. A man with hair that could almost be called ginger but still stuck close to a dirty blonde, fluffed a bit on top and clean shaven sat on one side of the table. One long leg was folded under the chair, the other stretched out near the woman's leg. Dark slacks gave contrast to the light blue button down shirt he wore as one long arm rested across the table towards the woman.

And what a woman she was. Legs for miles in a short summer dress that clung to her body. Dark curls cascaded over her back and red lips smiled at the man. The man was Tom, clear as day and the woman, Emma Hoss, had her delicate hand resting on his as she leaned over the table toward him. Her leg was maybe touching his, rubbing his. Rose felt ice wash over her at the sight and quickly moved onto the words.

“A list Actor Tom Hiddleston was spotted getting cozy with young up and coming Emma Hoss.” The article stated. “The pair was snapped in a local London cafe getting to know each other and getting cozy. Tom's known for keeping his relationships on the down low, so for a public spotting they must be serious. Emma Hoss is playing Tom's love interest in a upcoming set of steamy advertisements for Jaguar. Did love blossom on set or did Tom snag her the part to spend some quality time with her? We may never know but remember, you saw it here first!”

The article went on for a few more paragraphs, detailing Tom's hush hush history of dating and how rare it was to see him in a public romance. It spoke of how his last spotlight romance was a whirlwind that ultimately blew up and evaporated, not without a lot of press interested. Also detailed was Emma's past relationships. The writers seemed to hint that she slept her way to her position, earning favor with A list actors she wished to work with by spending time with them on her back.

Rose sighed and tossed the phone on her nightstand. It was late and she needed to sleep. An early morning was coming, yet sleep would not come. Rather, she snatched up her phone again and finally did what she had been avoiding for so long. Rose delved into the depths of the rumor mill, getting lost in a sea of tabloid pictures, gossip rags and speculation that she didn't surface from until hours later. At some point, she had fallen asleep with her phone in her hands.

A 'ping' from her phone woke her, just two short minutes before her alarm was set to go off. As he had nearly everyday since he left, Tom sent her a text wishing her a good morning. Every morning after receiving that same text, Rose would send him one asking how his day was going. If he had free time before she had to go to work, he would call her and they would chat. Today, she ignored the message as she dressed and made the first of many cups of coffee.

It worried Tom, when his message went unacknowledged. He was by no means a overbearing man, a needy man or a insecure man, but he missed her. Truly, deeply, right down to his bones, he missed her. Was she bored of him? Did she decide that whatever it was they were doing, what they had become, was too hard? Did she find someone else? Someone who could be with her? After a text wishing her a good day a hour and a half later was also ignored, he called her only to get her voicemail.

For a moment, Tom considered not leaving her a message at all. It did no good to come off needy but the Beep to begin recording began too soon. It would look weirder yet if he left a recording of him breathing and background noise. Maybe she would just think it was a accidental call? Maybe she would think he was crazy. To be fair, he was. He was crazy about her. But it wouldn't do for her to be doubting his mental state.

“Good Morning, Darling Rose.” The sound of his warm voice rumbled through the phone and right down to her toes. Rose would never get used to hearing him say her name. “Unfortunately, it seems you're busy this morning. I had hoped to hear your voice. I'm not sure when I'll be done today, but ring me when you can? You mentioned you had news last night but I was so knackered that you wanted to wait to tell me until this morning. I'm ever so eager to hear what news you have. Have a good day, Darling.”

Rose didn't actually listen to the message right away. In all honesty, she avoided it until lunch time when the blinking icon finally annoyed her. It was nearing 8pm in London. His day would be coming to a close while hers still had so much left to it. With a sigh, she pressed the call button. He didn't deserve to be ignored, to be ghosted when he didn't actually do anything wrong. After all, she was just a mermaid from Vegas, a memory. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

“My Darling Rose!” Tom cheered into the phone after a few rings and rose wondered what he called Emma Ross when answering her calls. “How is your day so far? All those fish behaving themselves?” He had a habit of talking about the fish as if they were her children. It wasn't wholly wrong, she did think of them all as hers but still. In the background, she could hear the chatter of people and near him, the laugh of a woman. She wondered if it was Emma Hoss.

“Everyone is healthy, sassy and accounted for.” She laughed. “We have a pregnant dolphin as of a week or two ago.” Rose glanced at the dolphin in question as she nibbled at what was left of her lunch. It was hard to fight the desire to ask where he was. It sounded like a pub of some sort.

“Oh, that is wonderful. Was that the news you had? I had hoped you had word on the photo shoot you wanted to do but that's truly wonderful Rose.” Oh how he wanted to see how she would look swimming in the ocean, tail trailing in the water.

“Nothing concrete yet.” Rose fibbed. They were sending her a travel itinerary later that week but plans could change. “How's filming?”

“Oh truly lovely. Everyone's been a dream to work with. Emma has such talent, I'm excited to see where she goes.” Rose cringed at the name. Faintly she could hear a woman laugh and brush off the complement. She was there, with him.

“I've got to go, work and all.” Rose impulsively decided to exit the situation. They should spend time together. They looked good together.

“So soon?” Tom whined. “Very well, Princess. I'll talk to you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure. Have a good night, Tom.” Rose didn't wait for him to respond before ending the call. There was still 20 minutes left to her lunch break officially, but she went back to work early.

Tom was left looking blankly at his phone. He tried to tell himself that his Rose must be busy, if she was taking a short lunch. Perhaps she took her break early, and that's why she had to go almost 20 minutes before she normally would when they talked on a lunch break. He tried to tell himself that everything was fine. Yet, he wasn't sure he could make himself believe that.

“My, that is a long face.” Emma spoke sweetly. No matter how she spoke, what she was saying, Tom always felt like her voice was sticky sweet with sugar. Never the smooth sweetness of honey like Rose, but the overpowering processed sweetness he often found present in American processed pastries. Yet she was in so many other ways a talented actress who had such promise. That was, as long as she could learn to control her voice.

“Oh, I know, your Mermaid Princess mad at you? Does she want you to fly her out to be with you or is she wanting you to buy her something?” Emmy sipped at her fruity drink as she spoke, eyeing him, trying to catch a reaction.

“She's just busy today, Emma. She's not asking for anything.” Tom spoke softly, trying to keep his voice in check.

“Oh but she will. Why else would she want someone so above her. Someone who can't even be with her. You know, I could be with you.” Emma trailed her long fingers down his arm as she spoke but Tom shook her off.

“Emma, I do believe I'll retire for the night. I'll see you in the morning.” Tom made a point to excuse himself after draining the last of the beer from his glass.

At home, he was left alone with his thoughts as he sipped his glass of whiskey. Thoughts of Rose and how he missed her made him feel as if he was drowning in loneliness. When he'd put her out of mind, Emma would surface. They had gotten lunch together a few days ago and since then, the woman had been all over him. It was annoying, yet innocent, he was sure.

“I'll be dreaming of you.” Tom didn't remember sending the text at midnight when he finally retired for the night. He wanted to stay up until she would be off work but the whiskey and the early mornings combined to lull him to sleep while she was likely still swimming in the sun. His Rose. How he missed his Rose.

Rose smiled at the text on her phone as she finished up for the evening. The resort was adding in official “mermaid show” and so her tank tasks were delegated out while she trained the official new Mermaids. There were two, both students from the local college and both majoring in natural sciences. They were good young woman and would do great things.

“Sleep well.” Rose sent the reply before thinking. She forgot for a moment she was distancing herself from him. Distancing her heart from him. It would take time to learn, she knew that, yet she wished she had ignored the message. Before she had a chance to wallow in the failing of self control, her phone lit up. For a split second, she thought it was Tom, that she had woke him up. But it wasn't.

“Rose.” She answered as she pulled her purse over her shoulder. “Oh? Sweet. Okay. Yeah, yeah, that's no problem. I don't mind red at all. I'll see you in two weeks then. Right. Goodbye.”

Maggie walked through the resort listening to half the conversation, having fallen into step beside Rose as she came inside from the pools. “I got an A, before you ask. What was that about?”

“Congrats, first of all. I told you that you could do it. Second- I'm going to Australia.” Rose grabbed the triangle out of Maggie's hands and opened the box with a grin. The girl really knew how to take care of her.

“What about red? What was that about?” Maggie watched as Rose nibbled at the slice of pizza before snagging the soda for a drink as they walked.

“They want to go full on Disney Little Mermaid. Bye bye blonde. God, this pizza is amazing. You are a saint, have I told you that yet this week?” Food was the way to Rose's heart and soul. Spending so much time swimming, she was always starving.

“Chris is from there, right? Maybe Tom will be visiting and you can see him. Or both of them. Or just a lot of Tom.” Rose rolled her eyes as she shoved more Pizza into her face. Maggie was obsessed with the fact that while he was in town, Rose and Tom did not sleep together.

“I haven't told Tom yet. I just got the call. He's working anyway. According to the tabloids, getting cozy with an actress too.” Rose didn't mean to admit the last bit. She didn't want to acknowledge that she was feeling jealous. Green wasn't a good color on her.

“And you believe that why? Have you even asked him about it?” Maggie was amazed that someone she looked up to so much, an adult who had their life together, could be so stupid.

“I don't know. Okay? They looked cozy. They were holding hands on a lunch date at a cafe, sitting cozy at a table. It was cute. They looked sweet.” Rose didn't want to talk about it. She didn't want to think about it. So the whole way home she blasted the radio as loud as her poor truck could manage.

At home she opened a bottle of wine and did her best to not think of anything for the rest of the night. Eventually sleep came and she saw Tom in her dreams. She saw Emma in her dreams. And the sound of the woman's shrill laugh as she pulled Tom away from her, into her bed.

“He'll never be yours.” Emma said as she pulled Tom on top of her as he kissed and nibbled at her neck.

Morning came too soon and yet not soon enough. Rather then the ping of a text message, it was her phone's actual ringtone that woke her up. Blindly she groped for it and answered.

“Are you dying?” Sleep was thick in her voice and Rose didn't even pop an eye open to look at the time. All she knew was that she was tired and her alarm hadn't gone off yet.

“Only in my heart, for it yearns to be with you.” Tom's voice was warm and seemed to wash over her. “Good morning, Darling.”

“What time is it even?” Rose rolled over, clutching her phone to her ear as she nuzzled back into her pillows. She could talk to him in her sleep, she decided.

“Time for you to get up, I'd wager. It's about when you'd respond, normally at least.” Rose groaned and looked at her phone before shooting up. She forgot to set her alarm and if not for Tom, she'd be late to work.

“Oh god, Thank you. I'd have overslept if you didn't call.” Rose pulled herself from the bed and set about getting coffee going and dressed for the day.

“Glad to know I'm not to be skinned for waking you.” Tom laughed lightly. “I wanted to tell you, I'll be free in a week and a half. I wanted to know if you would mind terribly, if I came to see you? I've got some appearances lined up in LA and it's not really all that far away.”

“Oh.” Rose froze in her kitchen. Why would he really want to come see her?

“Oh?” Tom mimicked back after a moment of silence. “Darling, I just thought...”

“No, no. It's just that I'm not going to be here.” Rose started.

“Where will you be?” Tom asked, his voice tight as thoughts ran through his head.

“I ah. Australia. I got confirmation last night for the project. I leave in two weeks.” Rose admitted.

“Oh! That's wonderful.” It wasn't and Tom's voice gave away his disappointment even as he tried to hide it. “You should have texted me right away.”

“I figured you'd be asleep. Or busy with...” Rose cut her words off with a swig of too hot coffee. “Oh, hot! Hot! Still hot.”

“With who?” Now he was truly confused. Tom was a smart man, but when it came to matters of the heart he didn't always see things from all directions and this left him baffled.

�� “Emma. With Emma. I just figured... It doesn't matter. I've got to get to work. Have a good night. Day. Whatever. I'll talk to you later.” Rose disconnected the call and jogged down the stairs to her car. Maybe if she ran fast enough, if she drove fast enough, she could outrun her traitorous thoughts.

Tom was mystified. For the next few days he tired to call Rose, but every call went to voicemail. She would respond to text messages but only shallow small talk. Anytime he'd ask her anything of consequence, she would clam up and pretend she hadn't seen it. It was all driving him mad combined with Emma's near constant petting.

The first chance he could, he met his mother for dinner. Hopefully she could give him some idea what he did wrong. Why the woman he loved thought he would be with Emma that night.

The woman he loved. Did he love Rose? The thought was startling. Tom had always thought love was a grand revelation, something that he would realize he felt when looking at the woman dressed to the nines for him, during a perfect moment. That's how it had always been but really, had that always been more him being in love with the very idea of being in love?

Never did he need his mother as he needed her now. The sight of her waiting for him at the table warmed his heart.

“Tom, how good it is to see you.” She wrapped him in a warm embrace as she stood to greet him. “You're troubled.” She finally pointed out as they sat.

“No, I'm fine. It's fine. How have you been?” He was a bloody coward and he knew it.

“Is it that girl, that Rose? Oh, what have you done to muck it up? You were so smitten with her.”

“I don't know. Mum, I have no idea. She wont talk to me. She wont tell me what I've done. I ask her and she ignores the question. She wont take my calls.” Oh yes, good job Tommy boy, break down for mum. He pinched the bridge of his noes with a sigh before running his hand through his hair.

“Well, what did you talk about on your last call?” She nibbled at her meal as she watched her hopeless son.

“She's doing a photo shoot in Australia. She didn't tell me right away because she didn't want to bother me. She thought I was with Emma, I don't know why she would think that?” Tom again ran his fingers through his hair as he watched his mother set to work, pulling out her phone and doing what he himself would never be brave enough to do again. She Googled him.

“According to the gossip rags, you've been on at least one nice lunch date with one Emma Ross.” Tom's eyes shot up to his mother's.

“What?” He gasped out. Surely Rose wasn't one for gossip rags.

“This one has pictures of you with her in a pub too. She's petting you dear. Does she think you are a dog?” She turned the phone so Tom could see the pictures. They were poor quality but good enough. They had to have been taken just before he called Rose.

“Bloody hell.”

“Have you talked to her about this? About the press? About what comes with being your girlfriend? Tom, dear, have you warned her about how they lie?”

“No.” His voice was small. They hadn't had that talk. They didn't even have the talk where they labeled what they were. “I don't even know if she's my girlfriend.” Tom weakly acknowledge.

“You are a fool, my dear boy. I'd advise you set about making this right. If you love her, go to her.” It didn't take much more to get him on the phone with his managing team. His mother watched with a smile as he stormed away, after their meal finished. He had work to do and she could only hope that he would manage to fix whatever he had mucked up.

“There is a photo shoot in Australia I need in on. The one with the mermaid for the ocean conservation project?” Tom paused for a moment, waving at a fan and signing whatever was shoved in front of his face. “Yes, yes that one. Do whatever you have to do to get me on that project. Yes, I know it is short notice.”

“Are you sure?” The man on the other end of the line hesitated. “It's not really your thing. They are wanting to go full on Disney Little Mermaid vibes.”

“Do whatever it takes. Promise whatever it takes. I don't care if I bloody get paid for it. Make it happen.” Tom stormed home, ending the call abruptly and only beginning to relax when inside the safety of his home.

He tried Rose's number but again got voicemail. She had been answering fewer and fewer of his texts the last few days. He sighed and tried again.

“Rose, I miss you.” Tom would send a similar text message every few days. It was one she ignored. She answered his 'good morning' messages sometimes, asked how his work was going but avoided the topic of herself. Nearly each night she cried herself to sleep over pictures of Tom with Emma.

New pictures seemed to surface every few days as well. They were on a small local press tour. They would laugh together, she would pet him. Rose hated most the pictures of them together at the pub. When it came time to travel, Rose was anything but rested and refreshed but at least she had managed to not cry herself to sleep the night prior.

Rose hated to travel. Maybe that was why she settled in Las Vegas. Everything ultimately came to her. Plays, musicals, shows and exhibits all seemed to eventually stop by. It took far too long to board and leave Nevada. The time in the Air dragged on and she was ready to scream by the time they touched down in the Sydney. As much as she hated switching planes, the chance to really move around was welcomed. It took far too long to fly.

“How are you Darling?” With a ping, her phone announced the arrival of a text message sent by one Tom, who couldn't seem to let her distance herself from him.

“Just landed, switching planes.” Rose would have preferred to ignore him but with as tired as she was, she didn't have it in her to break her own heart. Today, he would win, even if just for a few hours.

“Can I see you?” It was an odd request but they had done a few video calls before she had seen the pictures. Before Emma.

“You're working or something, probably. And I'm in a airport. I'm not going to be 'that person'.” Rose did snap a picture of herself for him. She looked a right mess, no makeup and hair in a fluffy bun.

Tom didn't mean a video call. He hadn't been requesting a selfie. He wanted wanted to see her. To be with her. To walk with her. To pick her up. But he didn't know how to tell her that. How do you say 'I've gone behind your back and got in on your photo shoot' without coming off as a stalker? Maybe waiting was the better option, he would be better able to talk to her if he waited. She couldn't hang up on him or ignore him then.

The picture he received had his heart stop. She lacked the tail and bikini that so haunted his most pleasant dreams. She was dry and decidedly on land, decidedly human. Unadorned, unmasked and unpolished. She was beautiful and raw. As he couldn't tell her that however, he simply snapped his own picture to send back to her, making note to face away from the large window in his room.

Rose smiled when his picture filled her screen. Tom wore a goofy grin and a plain tee that hugged him. It was hard to imagine anything he wore not hugging him, to be honest. It seemed no matter what he dressed in, the very fabric wanted to cling to him as much as she did. His suits had to be tailored within an inch of their life. How he didn't pop a seam going about life, she would never figure out. If she looked closely at the dresser behind him, she could have seen a warning of what was to come, a magazine detailing local things to do. But she didn't look closely, she couldn't stand the pain in her heart seeing him. And so, she locked her phone without responding at all for half a hour.

“Nice hair.” She finally sent as she was called to board the plane.

“Yours is better. I fear I'm in need of a trim.” Tom smiled as he typed. His hair was longer now, curls messy and stained darker for the shoot. He wasn't surprised when the conversation ended with that, Tom was well aware that she would be taking off soon. With just over three hours time until the moment of truth, Tom tried to relax.

Rose was also trying to relax. It killed her to ignore him but the conversation on appearances, on hair, it was a dangerous topic that could easily lead to flirting. It would, she knew it would. Again she reminded herself to stay distant. He never promised her anything.

They were just friends, she didn't love him. He didn't love her. Just friends. Who had kissed a few times. She was just friends with an actor. Just friends with Tom Hiddleston. A man who she loved.

The work of. She loved the work of him. That's at least what she kept telling herself.

He was an actor. And a Englishman. And busy. And popular. And dated actresses. And singers. And not mermaid biologists. She wasn't good enough, would never be good enough for someone like him so no point in getting invested. More invested. She wasn't invested. She didn't know him. Okay, maybe she knew him a little. Maybe she was a little invested in him. The idea of him. Shit.

Yeah. Better to just ignore. Yep.

It was late when the plane's wheels touched down but Rose was more then eager to get off the plane and get to sleep in a real proper bed. The production company for the photo shoot had assured her a car would be sent and that was just fine by Rose. The last thing she needed to do was try to make it to the hotel half asleep without killing herself or getting properly lost.

What she expected to find when she made her way to the airport exit, passed security was a man, probably wearing a suit the a paper sign reading her name. That is not what she was greeted with. Instead, she spotted a tall man, all legs it seemed clad in blue jeans and a light blue button down shirt. He wore dark sunglasses and had a baseball hat pulled low over his head. In his hand he held a glossy print photograph of a picture of a desert rose. Hesitantly, she walked up to him. Looking as he was, the man could only be one of two things.

“Surprise!” Tom called in a singsong voice, complete with jazz hands. Rose couldn't help but laugh, regardless of how conflicted she felt. It was good to see him, even if she could hardly see him in his current get up.

“Why do you look like a serial killer?” Quickly she gave him a side hug, trying to touch as little of him as possible.

“I'm undercover. You don't know it's me. No one does.” The boyish grin was so 100% him that Rose was amazed people didn't start snapping pictures on the spot.

“You look like a movie star who's trying to not be noticed, or a serial killer. Honestly, both look the same.” Rose laughed, tugging on the bill of his cap to make her point.

“Let's get you to the hotel, you ungrateful meanie.” Tom pouted halfheartedly, snagging her bag off baggage claim when directed and leading the way to his rental car. He tried to ignore how far away she walked, hardly within arms reach. When he would reach out, she'd move away. Hardly would she even look at him in the eye. She was sitting in the passenger side Still, Tom opened her door for her and got her settled before seeing to her bag in the back of the expensive rental car. Finally, he sat down behind the wheel, yet didn't start the car right away.

“You're not happy to see me?” Now it was Tom's turn to not glance at her. With a sigh, he started the car and pulled away. “I've overstepped. I apologize. I should have-”

“It's great to see you Tom. I'm just surprised, I wasn't expecting to see you. I wasn't prepared-” She had cut off his words and now it was his turn to do the same.

“Did you not want to see me?” Just a hint of the hurt he was feeling lingered in his voice. It's easy to act when it's all pretend, harder when your actual heart lay on the line.

“It's not that. It's just...”

“Just what, Rose?”

“Nothing, it's nothing. Are you in the area visiting Chris?” Tom noted the quick change of subject as they parked.

“Right.” Tom's answer didn't make sense but he pushed forward just the same. “Can I take you to dinner? Surely you're hungry.”

“It's late, Tom. I need to sleep and be up early. I ate on the plane, thank you anyway.” Another excuse.

“Alright.” Rose could feel it in her bones. He didn't believe her. He wasn't buying her stories any more. But what did it matter? He had someone else. If he didn't, he deserved someone that was his equal. Someone better.

Tom insisted on walking her through the hotel, staying with her as she checked in and seeing her to her door. At no point did he let her take her bag from him. They carried on the whole time in silence. Rose felt her very heart in her throat and worried, if she swallowed too hard, would she crush it more then it already was?

“Rose?” How very small his voice sounded, a whisper's breath as he spoke. He swallowed hard and repeated her name again, stronger. He already had her attention however. She simply looked at him waiting, fearing what he would say.

“What have I done? What ever it was, whatever I had said or done, please, tell me?” Her heart hurt as the man she seemed to only know as strength embodied, pleaded with her.

“You've done nothing wrong, Tom.” How could she tell him? What should she tell him. God, how she didn't want to have this conversation. In an effort to harden her heart, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, standing in her room doorway where she tried to will the world away.

Tom, not knowing what else to do, not knowing how to soothe his aching heart did the only thing he could think of. Slowly, hesitantly, he leaned down over her shorter form and softly brushes his lips against hers. Oh how good it felt to kiss her again. When her hand came to rest against his chest, he shifted, allowing himself to make better contact with her lips for a moment that was cut short all too soon when she pulled away while pushing against his chest.

“Why?” Was all he could say as tears glittered along her eyelids.

“We're just friends. Things don't have to be awkward. It's okay.” The words she spoke hardly made any sense to him. They were friends? Was that all they were? All he was to her?

“Just friends?” He dumbly parroted back.

“Good night, Tom.”

“Wait, Rose.” The door closed in his face, silencing his protests. While he stood, hands balling into fists, he heard the latch lock and the soft sound of a sob from behind the door. Whatever was going on, while he hardly understood it, he would fix it. That was his whispered vow before leaving her for the night.

Inside the room, Rose rested sitting on the floor, back braced against the door, doing her best to contain her sobs until she finally heard the sound of his footsteps walking away. Questions danced in her head. Was she doing the right thing? Did she do the right thing? What if she was wrong? What if he wanted more? What if he wanted her? What if this wasn't just a fling? What if he cared? What if they could be more?

The only thing she could think of to silence the voice was to drink. Luckily, the hotel had provided a complimentary bottle of wine. By morning, it was gone yet she still hated herself for what she had done.

That night, Tom spent much time pacing his room. Finally, he called Chris. Maybe speaking to someone who actually managed to both fall in love and stay in love would help. Poor Chris had to listen as his friend doubted everything. He questioned if he had misread her, did he misjudge things? Did she misread his intentions on their dates?

At the end of the night, he felt calmer. Chris had told him of the moment he knew he loved the woman who became his wife. It wasn't some grand moment. It wasn't fancy. It was just an everyday moment, like many they had had before. The were dancing during a firework display and she was paying more attention to the lights in the sky then to where she was putting her feet. She stepped on his toes, panicked and tripped. Somehow, she managed to take Chris down with her and oh how horrible she felt about the slight rip in his suit pants. It was a sudden thought that hit him like a tidal wave as she fretted over his pants, 'God, I love this clumsy woman'. The thought was sandwiched between how the suit was fine, how he was more worried about her and how pretty the fireworks were that night. It was a perfectly ordinary moment and yet, in a subtly earth shaking way that you only can appreciate after the fact, it was profound.

Tom realized then. Before now, he had never truly been in love. He had loved, sure. But never been in love. That passing thought, the passing idea he brushed off before was everything. No wonder people spent so much time looking for their light, if they were as dumb as he, the didn't see it when it looked them in the face. He needed her and finally, he had a plan.

Rose was awake at the crack of dawn, sitting in a salon chair contemplating her life choices. At no point during her many years of schooling did she think Marine Biology would lead her here. Not that she didn't expect it to take her to Australia and the Reef, that was almost a given, even as it was dying.

What she didn't expect was to be sat in a salon in the name of marine biology getting her hair dyed something akin to ketchup red. Sure, it would probably look good when it was finished. Hopefully it wouldn't bleed into the water and cloud the photographs. It wouldn't do good to have the mermaid look like she was bleeding after all.

In all fairness, these were experts and Rose didn't have anything to fear. Probably. She had already had two cups of coffee but good god was she looking for a third. But the woman painting her hair wouldn't let her budge. Dreaming about coffee would have to be good enough.

So she daydreamed about coffee. She thought about Tom. Daydreamed about him. She thought about Emma Ross and cursed her existence. In reality, she knew if it wasn't Emma, it could just as easily be another. Starlets were everywhere in Tom's world. She had no way to compete.

“Coffee?” A cup was suspended in front of her face and Rose looked dumbly at it, unable to process. “You clearly haven't had enough. Ridiculously sweet with far too much cream for a respectable person.” Long fingers picked her hand up and wrapped her own fingers around the cup before helping her bring it to her lips, as if she was unable to do so herself.

“Thank you. What are you doing here?” Unable to turn her head, Rose looked at Tom through the mirror.

“I got back from my run saw you in the window looking like death warmed over. Complete with the bloodbath.” Tom laughed at his own joke. “I figured I'd shower and bring you back to life with some coffee. And so I did. Is it working?”

“Maybe.” Tom winked at her as she sipped again at the cup. “Okay, thank you. God, coffee is a gift from God.”

“I do normally answer to 'Tom' but 'God' works too.” Perched on the chair next to her, they ended up in silence after their laughter died down. Rose was kidnapped to the sinks where her hair was rinsed, shampooed, rinsed, shampooed and conditioned. It was a process. Rose was thankful not to have to do this often. She was finally freed from her salon prison with towel dried hair and Tom by her side.

“I have to go to makeup next.” It wasn't surprising when Tom insisted on walking her. He said he had to go that way as well and she rolled her eyes at him, not believing for a moment. Finally, she jogged in front of him before turning to walk backwards, facing him. Again he was struck by how beautiful she was, sans makeup and hair undone. It physically pained him how much he loved her.

“For real, what are you doing here?” With eyes narrowed, she demanded an answer. She was almost intimidating, until she tripped over her own feet and almost went to the ground. Tom saved her, catching her before she could fall.

“I'm your Prince.” Finally, he admitted when he let go of her before bowing dramatically.

“You're joking.” Her voice was flat.

“Not even a little.” A wide smile lit up his face and Rose was lost. All she could do was laugh at the insanity of it. Of course, the man she was trying to avoid, trying to distance herself from would be a part of her photo shoot, the one she wasn't sure she wanted to even tell him details about in the first place.

While her makeup was done, Tom disappeared to dress for his part but returned to his seat after, wearing an Victorian style suit, sans jacket and shoes. They sat in awkward silence as Rose was stripped out of her shirt, revealing the purple bikini top under. When she had nothing on but it and a pair of black boy short bikini bottoms, they walked out to the boat.

“Why didn't you tell me?” Rose asked softly as they sat.

“It was a bit of a last minute casting. I only found out a few days ago that I had secured the spot. In all honesty, I'm not sure what Luke had to promise to get me here.” Tom shrugged, sitting next to her.

“Shouldn't you be off promoting whatever it was you were doing with 'what's her face'?” Rose cringed at the bitter green edge to her voice and reminded herself that he wasn't hers.

“Is that why you've been pulling away from me?” Sliding off the bench, Tom knelt in front of her.

“I just... I don't want to overstep, get in the way of a good thing for you.” She couldn't look him in the eyes.

“Time to tail up, Mermaid.” A man spoke from off to the side, effectively ruining their moment. Tom hung his head with a sigh, knowing that they would have to wait to continue the conversation, if he could get her cornered again.

Tom watched in silence as she shimmied into the tail, turning from the woman who hand quickly enveloped his every thought over the last few months to the woman who so magically captivated him on sight. Smooth green silicone covered her legs in a ever shifting pattern, light greens, teals and accents of deeper colors gave the tail depth. Structurally, this tail was very similar to the one she wore when he first saw her. It was long, elegant and flowing, yet in a way that was always fascinating to him, it was stiff outside of the water.

“Rose?” It took a moment for her eyes to meet his. “I thought I had offended you, driven you away. I thought somehow I...”

“No, no. You didn't do anything wrong Tom. You deserve to be happy.” She only spoke when his words trailed off. “If she makes you happy, by all means...”

“What makes you happy? Don't you deserve to be happy?” It was his turn to speak when her voice had trailed off weakly.

“I'll be fine. Always am.” Gazing out over the water, she wouldn't meet his eyes again. Tom could see the tears shinning in them.

“Don't I make you happy?” His voice was soft and she almost didn't think she heard him right until he continued. “Can't I try? Can't I be the one to make you happy?”

“Tom?” Rose tried to question but he spoke over her just the same, his voice growing stronger with each word.

“Don't I get to try? Because, Dear Rose, that is what would make me happy.” As he spoke, Tom moved to again kneel in front of her, shifting so that every time she tired to look away from him, he was in front of her. Left with no other choice, she met his heated gaze.

“But your with-” The statement was left unfinished as hi reared up on his knees and pressed his lips to hers. Softly, his hand reached out to cup the back of her neck, long fingers getting lost in the waves of her now cherry red hair. It was sweet and full of fire at the same time, as if heavy words, heavy emotions hung in the balance.

“I'm not. I never was. I don't want her. I never did. It's only you. All I want is you. Since time began, you are all I've searched for, Rose. Long before I knew your name, knew your face. Long before I know what I was searching for, I was searching for you. You're all I want, all I've ever wanted.” Tom's rambling speech was cut off by a crew member.

“While I appreciate love just as much as the next guy, we've got to get going before the sun shifts...” The poor man was awkward to break them out of their moment but Tom simply smiled at him before sighing. It couldn't be helped.

“I should- I'm just going to- I'll just- You know?” Way to go, Rose. Looking like a right idiot. She chose the best method of escape, one she had hoped would salvage what little dignity she had left and cool her heated skin in the process. With little warning or notice, she leaned back and flipped herself over the railing and into the water, where she dove deep down and hoped that the cool waters would cleanse her foggy mind.

Rose was thankful as she swam under the surface, colorful coral and fish surrounded her. They were in one of the few remaining healthy sections of the reef and yet, even here the damage could be seen. Above her, photographers took pictures from above the surface. Behind her, others in dive gear took more.

Countless shots were taken with her red hair floating around her, matched in color by the red of her parted lips. Her lips and hair were the most the most striking features she wore, the rest of her makeup was left subtle. Soon Tom joined her in the water and pictures were taken of him swimming, dressed fully as his shirt billowed freely around him. The first few buttons were left open and at one point he shed his vest.

He stopped often to breath but the crew was prepared. They hadn't been counting on getting a free diver to shoot with her, so it was expected. Rose didn't want him pushing himself, risking himself.

While he swam, Tom was again mesmerized by her. His Mermaid Princess. His Rose. How he hoped she would be his. In the waters off the coast, she looked perfectly in place. His Rose looked as if she was right where she belonged. Tom wondered if he would look like he belonged with her in their pictures, or if her beauty would overshadow him.

Finally, he swam toward her, twisting to face the surface before he relaxed himself and let his body drift, his legs falling under him and his back arched, head back and arms floating freely. It was a concentrated effort to relax himself.

Rose swam to him, looking down at him and swam around his body. Tom could feel the soft brushing of her tail, fingertips and the silk of her hair as she circled him. His eyes were barely open, just slits to allow himself to keep track of how close to the surface he was. Finally. She brought her lips to his in what was the planned final shot. It was to look as if the mermaid was giving the lost prince a lifesaving breath of air and so Rose let a trail of bubbles free from the corner of her lips as Tom reached around her, wrapping a strong arm around her back. His other hand found its way to the silk of her hair.

The feeling in the kiss was to be pretend, acting, just a photo shoot. Rose could feel the kiss down to her toes as he pulled himself to her and she to him. Red hair dances around them. Her legs twist and the tail curls behind his legs as his arms tighten around her. She clutches at his shoulders and back as she rights them.

She can feel the slight spasm of his chest as his body begins to cry for air and so while she wished the kiss didn't have to end, they parted. The scene had been scripted, outlined and so they knew what pictures they would need next. Rose swam off, gripping his hand in hers as she pulled him through the water behind her. After giving the crew enough time to snap the needed pictures, she pulled them to the surface.

Tom gasped for air as soon as he broke surface. His lungs burned for it and he hoped that his face didn't show how badly he needed air in the last few shots. Rose laughed lightly at him, his hand still held in hers as he calmed his breathing. As soon as their eyes met, he pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. It was a short kiss however, seemingly over just as it begun.

“Rose?” Tom questioned as he pulled away. She wondered if he would always use her name as a question.

“Tom, I-” His lips silenced her with a short kiss.

“Let me speak. This is the perfect place for it. The perfect place for you.” With a thick swallow, he gathered his thoughts. They were alone in the water, the crew waiting for them off a ways.

“Okay?”

“Those pictures of Emma and me, the ones at the cafe? I'm sure you've seen them. I need you to know what we were talking about that day. I know they look cozy, I know she’s handsy and has a reputation. I know she wants me, regardless of what I tell her.”

“Tom, no, its fine. You don't have too. I trust you.” Rose wasn’t sure where he was going, where they were going.

“I do. And no you don't. And that's fine. Because I skipped that step, where I ask for your trust and promise not to betray it. We never had that talk. We never promised anything and that was wrong.” Tom smiled at her as he spoke. “ I was telling her about you. I was asking her if I was crazy. You make me crazy. I wanted to know if I'd lost my mind because I am so bloody in love with you. I know we've only had a few dinners, a few months of phone calls and texts. I know it's too soon, but I love you and you need to know that. Only you.” Rose silenced him with a kiss.

“So this makes you my-” Again, he cut her off. Rose wondered if she would ever finish speaking with him.

“Your boyfriend. If you'd have me?” Hope shined in his eyes and Rose couldn't deny him. “You don’t have to love me yet, I know it’s soon. I just want a chance.”

“I love you too.” She said, instead.

The photo shoot provided many amazing pictures that circulated that year, promoting ocean health and pollution awareness. The pictures were breathtaking. The two subjects, they looked nothing less then a mermaid and a prince, regal and so completely in love. Because they were.

Tags: @dangertoozmanykids101 @kristinaraven99 @bambamwolf87 @liamallmighty @cassadius @curiouslittlefreak @raspberrydreamclouds

#tom hiddelson x reader #tom hiddelston fanfic #tom hiddleston #tom hiddelston #tom hiddleston x oc #tom hiddelston x oc #tom hiddleston x ofc #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston fanfic

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shrivinglust · 6 years

Text

blaouge: chap. 1

| hey, all! this is the first chapter to my David Bowie/Freddie Mercury fanfiction. hope you all like it. |

~~~

| warnings: gore, mentions of violence.

| notices: homosexuality. :) it’s a slash fanfic and will be mature later on in the story.

~~~

The doors opened and the man, dressed in all black and wearing the black trench coat, appeared, his slender hands shoved inside the wool of his coat. Sonia, whose blonde locks was in a plain bun, came upfront, wearing her silk, blue dress, her eyes still green but tired. Her hands were clasped together at the front. “David, we have to talk.” She said. Stopping and just letting an inch gaps stay between them, she held out her hand and grasp his arm, taking him with her to her office.

“What was all of that about?” David asked, closing the door shut. “Escaping at the middle of the night, clothing everywhere, threats… What has gotten into you?” She asked, her arms crossed. She looked visibly upset and all David wonder was what has gotten into her. “Nothing. I’m just being me. Besides, running away? Clothing everywhere? Isn’t that something Roger would do? Or that ‘Freddie’ guy would do?” He asked, raising a brow. “Who else would live in a area like this?” Sonia asked. David stayed silent and rest his back against the door. “Tomorrow is the ball. While we’re setting up, I want you to be like David. Not anyone else, got it?” Sonia demanded.

David nodded, slowly grabbing the doorknob and twisting it open, walking out and slamming the door shut. “David, David, David, David, David…” Sonia sighed, poofing down to her chair and resting her arms on her dress. A knock was heard and Sonia groaned, throwing her head back, her blonde hair flowing back with lots of body, as the bun unleashed. “Come in.” She grumbled. She was annoyed, but her voice still sounds childish. There appeared Anastasiya, who peeked her head through the door, her smile beaming along with her golden eyes. “Oh,” Sonia sat up, a tad shocked by her posture, “Oh, hello, Ana. What’s the matter?” Sonia asked, giving out a nice smile as Ana slowly appeared some more.

Her dress was all snatched and scratched, with minor, but red scars on her legs. Her face looked quite dirty, the dirt smothered around her pale face. Sonia gasped, eyeing up and down on Sonia’s body and then looked up to her face. Ana’s smile was gone. Sonia stood up and slowly walked to her friend, cupping her face and then hugging her. “Ana, who did this to you?” Sonia asked. She was horrified, hearing a whine from her friend.

“A wolf attacked me.” Ana quavered. Her voice sounded hush, but still anxious. She wanted to say more, but couldn’t.

A raven haired male was grooming a deer with ridged antlers. Sighing, he dropped the brush and pet the deer, giving the animal a friendly, small smile. “FREDDIE!” A rough, feminine voice yelled. The male turned and looked to see his friend Kirsten, who was waving at him, her long, red hair flowing with the wind. She was walking to Freddie, who walked out of the little farm, closing the door and locking it tight. “Was looking for you. How are you~?” She asked. “Ah, doing good, dear. I was just about to head to the cathedral.” Freddie answered.

“Why?”

Freddie paused and pursed his lips. “To pray to the Gods.” He answered. He licked the top of his lips with the tip of his tongue. There was an awkward silence. “Josephine, your sister, wants you.” Kirsten disputed. She sounded serious, as Freddie flinched, with her thumb pointed back at the kingdom. Sighing, Freddie nodded, waving a slight bye at his friend, before rushing back to kingdom.

Josephine was looking out of the window, her slender hands on the panel and turned her head, after hearing the door shut. Freddie pursed his lips, a little cautious as he walked forward. Josephine completely turned, with a blank expression on her face. “Yes?” Freddie asked, sitting down on a empty, cushion chair. If he arrived late, he knew the outcome, good or bad. “Finally, you’re here. Thought you ran away or something. It’s about the ball.” Josephine addressed, sitting down behind her desk.

“What about the ball? Is it cancelled? The throne?” Freddie questioned. He was about to go hysterical, but Josephine cleared the suspicion. “No, no… Your outfit. What are you going to wear?” Josephine asked. “Well, er, I was thinking about,” He paused, as many options appeared his mind, “wearing the black dress I showed you.” He blurted. Now, time to be ridiculed.

Josephine rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Seriously? I bought you a nice tuxedo with nice diamonds and gems, and you want… that dress?” She grimaced. Freddie sighed, hanging his head down in shame, and slowly nodded. The country of Babyroslia was quite conservative, despite being modern. “Freddie, you’re near being king and if you want to stay in a child’s place, then you can kick and keep, because you’re nowhere near being a king.” Josephine scolded.

“About the outfits. If you found one for me, why did you mentioned the tuxedo?” Freddie asked. Stupidity again, as Josephine turned her head and looked through the window. “It’s for you. I finally found an outfit for you for the ball.” She mumbled. She sounded disappointed, not even looking at the male and her voice drifting away.

Freddie stood up and backed away. “I’m going to go to the cathedral.” He assured, opening the door slowly and pausing to look at Josephine one more time. She didn’t look at him back, but the reflection from the window, the light reflecting her face. She looked down, her lips with no shape or emotion. Looking towards the side, Freddie saw the silver, jewel covered crown, with all its richness and shape.

He wasn’t ready.

He never was.

David walked outside, no socks, no stockings, no shoes, as the ground was full of soil and rich grass. He didn’t care, as the Deacons of the Cathedral were exercising their functions. Being one himself, David would’ve go, but what’s the point if he knows everything? He ran around, but stopped, hearing snaps of twigs and mumbling. The energy vanished, as he grabbed the bark of the tree, stopping as he looked around.

Letting go, he looked forward and noticed a slender, tan male, wearing a black cloak with a fur hood. Every movement he inched, David followed, next to him but hiding. David looked forward and noticed the Cathedral miles away from him. The male was heading towards the cathedral and David silently cursed himself.

The pretty boy was going to the cathedral and he was going to be scolded for not coming to Deacon study. It was a lose/lose situation for David. Still walking, David rushed at times to catch up with the male, but couldn’t. He was slowly becoming audibly obvious and one rustle, he would’ve been seen.

‘Oh, see the wishing well,

What could’ve been lost,

Oh, hear the wishing well,

What could’ve been found…’

The tan male sung, while looking down at his compass. David was captivated, like his voice heard an angel. The unknown male stopped looking at his compass and looked up, the cathedral front of him and towering about him. He knocked on the door and the door opened, appearing Boriana, who gave a warming smile. “Freddie~ Nice to see you, dear.” She motioned, paving a way inside for him.

Freddie.

David remembered the name. Freddie. Freddie Bulsara-Buryakov. He was the boy who came from the Kingdom of Babyroslia. As he could remember, he was next to be King, with the woman named Josephine. He would sometimes come to the Cathedral, as it was the noble way to do, but he been has been arriving more than ever, after the disappearance of a friend-- John Deacon, who was part of the Buryakovs.

It been months and he still wasn’t found. Some rumored that he was in Iceland, Greenland, or Siberia-- a country that’s cold, but definitely not Antarctica.

David barely know the man, though, since he was one of the ‘noble Deacons’ of the Cathedral, he attend the events of the Buryakovs and seen and talked to John, but never… about Freddie. He only seen him.

But, never talked to him.

As Freddie entered, the door slammed shut and David felt a ping dropping down his stomach. He rushed back to find his socks, but he couldn’t find them. He traveled all over the woods, but couldn’t find them. By now, he was dirty and look savage. “No, no, no, no…” He stammered. David sighed and ran to the lake, stopping as his feet stepped on the gravel. Slowly walking forward, he looked left and right, before stepping his legs into the water.

The sun reflected on his face, every ray on every pore of purity on his face.

Slowly vanishing as the sunset.

David found the backdoor to the Cathedral and quickly opened it, shutting it slowly before rushing upstairs. His heart was pacing and when he entered the halls, he rushed to the door of his room and opened the door, with another opening, as well. “Shi-” David fretted, before going in, closing his door. He lay exhaustively on his bed, his arm going down to the floor.

“DAVID!” Bishop Asher bellowed.

Night time and Freddie went back to the Kingdom, shutting the door and seeing Kirsten, playing with her cats. “Don’t you have orders to do?” He asked, crouching down and holding Lola. “I already done them, silly.” Kirsten clarified, chuckling. “I forbid you… Any news of John?” Freddie asked. He shifted to a serious tone, putting the kitten down. Kirsten stopped and there was silence. “No. Not even Yulia.” Kirsten sighed, shaking her head. Freddie looked to the side, frowning, and pursed his lips.

“Nothing? Not even a country or a sign?” He asked. His voice was losing faith, but today wasn’t the time. “No, Freddie. Nothing. Nada. Ничего, ничего*.” She reassured. She could tell that by looking at Freddie’s eyes, which was showing sadness and watering, he needed comfort. She hugged him and kissed his temple. “Freddie, shh. He’s not dead, he’s not dead.” She reassured, shaking her head.

Freddie let go, with both standing up, and gave out a little grin. “Thanks, Kir. If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve been trapped in despair.” He ended. As he was about to walk away, heels could be heard and the two was interjected with Josephine, whose arms were closed.

“What’s going on?” She asked, raising a brow.

---

*= nevermind, nevermind.

thanks for reading! ♥

#freddie mercury #david bowie #david/freddie #freddie/david #freddie mercury/david bowie #au #fanfiction #fanfic #queen #borhap #bo rhap #bohemian rhapsody #ziggy stardust #mlm #slash #slash fanfiction #aesthetic #john deacon

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belldreams · 6 years

Text

HOW GOOD WAS "TOGETHER ALONE”? SO GOOD.

AND I LOVE HER ALREADY:

SHE LOOKS SO NICE

I had a looooot of thoughts, which I wanted to preserve/share/get down for posterity. I am also LAZY AF so I’m just c&ping (with edits) a conversation with @moonlightsdreaming :3

me: So... what do you think BD & YD think WD will do with Steven? With those who fuse? They've already been broken down to their gem; any chance they'll be shattered?

moonlight: Shattering is probably not off the table.

me: Of course, WD is off her rocker so she might just laugh it off as more PD antics? I'm sure Homeworld does shatter -- the off-colour gems are scared that’ll happen to them, aren't they? For being imperfect & (some) being fusions. And look at what the Diamonds did to Earth.

moonlight: Yeah, I think it was the off-color gems that were said to be shattered. Though, on the other hand, weren't all the Rose Quartzes bubbled, rather than shattered?

me: Again, with WD being off her rocker, I imagine YD & BD aren't just scared of losing Pink again-- but just as likely as her to laugh it off, she could just destroy without aim or purpose

me: I'm also mulling over the title "Together Alone". Really brings home the isolation the gems seem to immerse themselves in: the ball, which was a chance to come together and bond, just increases the distance from everyone

moonlight: Yeah, that's Homeworld in a nutshell. Even the Diamonds are like that, they're so desperate to have Pink back because she was one of the few bits of warmth they have in their lives, everything else is so cold and distant. But even that shows how distant they were from each other, how Pink believed they didn't care about her, how they're terrified of White.

me: THOUGHT: WHAT IF FUSION HAS BEEN INGRAINED AS ~FORBIDDEN~ TO PREVENT ANY COMBO BECOMING MORE POWERFUL THAN A DIAMOND

me: AND ARE THE DIAMONDS NOT SYMBOLICALLY A FUSION TOO? THE SQUARE WITH EACH FOUR COLOURS; THE INDIVIDUAL SHIPS FORMING A WHOLE BODY

moonlight: I have wondered about that! Because there are SO MANY GEMS it wouldn't be hard to get, like, a dozen Rubies together and have a Diamond-sized Ruby, would it? On the other hand, it seems like the Diamonds' powers are much, much more powerful. Yellow can just zap them apart and poof their entire bodies. Blue can crush them with just her feelings. Pink could tap into their mental landscapes. Imagine what WHITE can do, if she terrifies even Yellow and Blue.

me: Right?? But say you fuse pink, yellow and blue- what then?

moonlight: Probably something even more powerful than White.

me: It can’t be too many willy nilly gems, as the relationships have to be solid. But a trio of diamonds? /shudders/All FOUR diamonds? Might pierce the stratosphere

moonlight: Yeah, it has to be about relationships and trust and comfort with each other and I wonder if the Diamonds were close enough to be able to do it. Because it seems like they love each other very much but they don't always GET each other. Yellow and Blue love Pink SO MUCH but they saw her as a child. Yellow and Blue probably have the only relationship that could do it.

me: Might explain why the standard on home world is such efficiency, protocol based relationships. If you go by rules & formality you’re less likely to form a relationship that’ll lead to a fusion. I see what you mean that right now only YD and BD have the required trust .___.

me: Wild theory: pink pearl was intentionally damaged after a fusiong

moonlight: OOH, THAT WOULD BE FASCINATING. I suspect it'll parallel that episode in Rose's pink room, where the false!Connie was broken by Steven asking her, "But what do YOU want do do?" and she had the white dress and eyepatch over her left eye. But fusion could definitely tie into that, that trying to get White Pearl to adjust to being fused with a Diamond, what she herself wanted, broke her.

me: THAT WOULD BE SO INTERESTING— and it’s clear from Steven’s dream that pink pearl and diamond were close. YD seemed VERY judgemental about their play before concluding all was fine

moonlight: Which is weird, because we see Yellow directly say she LIKED Pink's humor, that that's why she was worth keeping around.

me: But what if she were scared about a fusion, and was satisfied that wasn’t going to happen? Would that explain the awkwardness between our pearl and PD at first? They definitely didn’t know about fusing (Garnet was a shock to them) but if there was all this pressure to maintain distance...

moonlight: OOH, SUCH AN INTERESTING IDEA. That would really work with how fond Yellow was of Pink, but recognized that she could be dangerous.That's true, Rose was like, "How have I never heard of this before!? I've only heard that it's unheard of!" when she saw two different gems fusing.

me: PD is someone who longs for intimacy and warmth, and it’d be natural for pink pearl to want to give that to her via fusion— and she is broken for it (thus mirroring eyepatch Connie)

me: And it’d all the more heartbreaking that white pearl is the one to designated to keep the distance firm at the, denying pink (Steven) the connection she longs for

moonlight: WHY IS IT ALL SO SAD? ): It was supposed to be a cute children's cartoon!

#SU spoilers #Steven Universe spoilers #Steven Universe

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fangirlshrewt97 · 6 years

Text

What happens when you trap a Black Panther and an Iron Man together?

Author(s): Fangirlshrewt97

For: @lurkerviolin (Happy birthday dearest Chancy, the fic is super rough cause I kind of threw it together in 2 hours, so there are sure to be a lot of mistakes and ooc moments, but otherwise, I hope you like it!)

Rating: General Audiences

Relationships: None

Characters: Tony Stark, T’Challa, Shuri

Warnings: None

Summary: When Tony and T’Challa find themselves captured by a witch, they have to find a way to work together to get themselves out. After all, who else could rescue them?

“Looks like we are going to be here a while.” Tony said as the wards went up around them.

“This is all your fault.” T’Challa said as he struggled to remove the ropes that were binding themselves even tighter around him.

“How the hell is this my fault?”

‘This’ being the situation where Iron Man and Black Panther had decided to go investigate some weird readings that Friday had picked up in the northern part of the Romanian forest while the rest of the Avengers had gone hunting after their baddie of the week. ‘This’ being Iron Man insisting that despite their injuries, there wouldn’t be any danger because it was just some weird signals, and if they did see anything suspicious they could report it to the others and wait, or head back to their temporary HQ and then return with the rest of the superheroes. Which was a relatively sane plan for these two, minus the factor that the weird signals had been magical ley line interference that had effectively fried their electronics and given out their positions to the witch - because of course there was a witch in the middle of the Romanian forest - who had promptly ordered the vines to bind them and drag them to her den. ‘This’ being Tony Stark and King T’Challa of Wakanda being bound together inside of a magical circle with magical wards while a hag - and a stereotypical one with long white hair and a huge mole on her nose and the cackling laugh and the whole shebang - was ominously cooking something in a giant black cauldron.

“Do you want the list alphabetically or chronologically?”

“Rude.” Tony said. His suit had been deep fried by the witch who had hit him with some kind of spell that knocked him out of the sky. It was only because he had a manual button to press for the parachute that he wasn’t a pile of goo inside his suit right now.

“Shut up! You two are the key to my plan! Now stop your incessant nagging before I decide to take your voices too!” The hag interrupted. She looked more frazzled, and the cauldron behind her was glowing green - which if one recalled any disney movie ever was never a good sign.

The two men quietened down as the witch started chanting something. The cauldron started to bubble, almost frothing over but stopping when she finished the incantation.

“I must go fetch something, but in case you try to escape, my pets will be watching you.” The hag told her prisoners before cackling and vanishing in a poof of smoke - because why not?

“I don’t know what is worse, being stuck with the one superhero who has issues with hurting a couple trees which would have bought us enough time to escape, or being held captive by a freaking Disney villain.” Tony grumbled.

“You did not want to hurt a couple trees Stark,” T’Challa said, voice sardonic. “You wanted to drop a bomb that would have wiped out a good section of the forest along with any animals that lived there to potentially get us away from her magical reach. Which if she managed to ping us with her magic and has, apparently, the power to teleport, would not have allowed to escape regardless.

“Whatever dude. What do you think she meant by -” Before Tony could finish his sentence, both men heard a growl guilding up by the mouth of the cave - sorry, den. Continuing the Disney Villain theme, a whole pack of lynx came in, all growling and eying the prisoners as if they were their next meal. “-pets”.

“Shit.”

“Language T’Challa!”

“Shut it Stark.”

“Well they aren’t that big-” And just as Tony started, the eyes of the lynx started to glow an eerie blue - although realistically, if you were in a cave and a bunch of lynx were in it with you, and their eyes started to glow, was the color of the glow the thing you would pay attention to? “This might be a problem.”

“You think?”

“Ok, ok, ok. How about you try to talk to them, cat to cat you know?”

“I just have the powers of the Black Panther god, I can’t actually speak to animals! That’s like thinking you can communicate with metals! Do you talk to iron? Your suit isn’t even made of iron. It’s made of lies!”

“....Wow. Touchy much?”

T’challa growled but tensed when the lynx started prowling around the wards.

“On the upside they can’t get past the wards either, so so long as we wait here nice and quiet, we should be fine. Right?”

As if in response the biggest lynx lunged at them, bouncing off the barrier, but leaving it visible with a crack.

“That response enough Stark?”

“This is a really shitty barrier.”

T’challa took a deep breath as he tried to think of an escape plan. He couldn’t focus though, because Stark was yapping in the background about the terrible wards.

“Tony. I am asking you to please be quiet, we need to get out of here now, before the witch comes back.”

“Tell me something I don’t know your majesty.” The billionaire replied. His tone had shifted from the sarcastic whining he had been doing before to a more serious one. He was thinking.

“You have a plan?”

“Of course I have a plan.”

“Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”

“I hadn’t finished coming up with it! Now do you want to hear it?”

When T’Challa kept quiet, Tony took that as a sign to continue speaking. “I realized that whatever weird signals were coming out of here were interfering with electronics before my suit stopped working, so I used the last of the power to send out a distress signal. So whoever was at HQ should have seen that signal by now and be coming to track us. My worry is that the transmission stopped at the edge of the magic signals, and since we were dragged into this cave, it will take them a while to locate the cave. And if the witch is smart, she probably has hidden it so it can’t be seen from the outside. So we need to find a way to get outside and signal to the Avengers our location.”

“Ok, but we still need to get out of these magical ropes, escape the magical lynx, and whatever other traps the witch has set. What do we do for those?”

“Um, haven’t thought so far ahead.”

T’Challa just sighed heavily. “Alright, let’s do this one step at a time. We need to remove these bonds. Before the cats break the wards.”

“Your claws can’t cut through them?”

“I tried but they keep reforming.”

“Wait, I have an idea. You said Shuri gave that update that allows you to store kinetic energy and release it in blasts right?”

“Yes?”

“I can’t release it here, it would kill you!”

“Your concern is touching, but I meant to save it for the lynx, we could use it to knock them out. For the binds, I just thought of something that could work. Can your claws cut through my suit?”

“What?”

“Can they?”

“I think so?”

“Good. Then cut near my lower back, right below where my wrists are tied.”

“Tony, what-?”

“Just listen. I built in an inflation tube in case I lost power over the ocean or was dumped into it. When the tube inflates, it will push us far enough that the ropes will before loose for a bit. Use that time to get out of the ropes. And when they reattach to me, we just need to cut it temporarily enough to open my suit and allow me to step out of here. Got it?”

“That might actually work.”

“Get to it then!”

“Hold still.” T’Challa ordered before moving to find the dents in the suit, running his claws lightly over the smooth panels before finally feeling a small dent.

“Is this it?”

“I can’t really feel it, but it should be.”

“Ready.”

“Go!” Tony shouted as T’Challa dug his claws in, the suit easily giving way. As Tony said, the raft inflated fast, the ropes loosening enough for T’Challa to jump out of the ropes. Once free, he stood straight and stretched.

“Still tied up Kitty.”

“Call me Kitty again, and I’ll leave you here for the cats.”

“Yeah sorry. Help me out though?”

T’Challa brandished his claws, kneeling by Tony’s elbow and looking him in the eye before swiping his claws down while Tony pressed the manual suit ejection button. T’Challa grabbed Tony’s hand and hauled him away, leaving the ropes to tighten and crush the suit under their grip.

“Come on, that was my favorite one.” Tony whined as he saw the crushed metal now sitting in the middle of the floor.

As T’Challa opened his mouth, someone clapped behind them, laughing.

“Good hustle boys!” Shuri said as she lowered her arms. Around them, the lynx were all knocked out, and Shuri was standing with a smug grin on her face.

“Wha-” Tony and T’Challa started, looking around and trying to figure out when that had happened before looking back at the princess.

“Stand back.” Shuri said as she raised her hand blasters and aimed for the wards. Both men walked back as far from as they could nad ducked while Shuri blasted the wards. It only took a minute before the wards shattered.

“Come on, everyone’s waiting at HQ.”

“What are you doing here Shuri?” T’Challa asked, jogging a few steps to close the gap to his sister, Tony at his heels.

“Yeah, and what happened to the witch?”

“Long story short? I came to HQ and saw the distress signal, analysed it using my own tech, found the wavelengths to be unlike anything that could be emitted by electronics, contacted the Avengers, had Wanda identify the magical signal and pinpoint the location of the witch who she then proceeded to kick the butt of, got the location of the cave while they were busy, came here, got rid of the other traps by blasting them, found you executing a truly hilarious plan, and rescued you. Just your average slice of incredibly complex!” Shuri finished, turning around to find both men staring at her.

“You managed to do all of that in … how long has it been?” Tony asked.

“90 minutes.”

“You managed to do all of that in 90 minutes? Tony finished.

Shuri tilted her head, adopting an innocent face “What, like it’s hard?”

T’Challa just chuckled, of course Shuri just rescued them.

“Oh that reminds me brother, I wasn’t sure which photo of you being at the mercy of magical rope and medium sized cats while tied to a man in a tin can I should send to Nakia, so I sent both.”

T’challa’s eyes widened as Tony complained about his suit being so much more than a tin can. “You didn’t.”

Shuri just smiled wider, prompting her brother to lunge for her, but she was expecting it and dodged, running for the cave entrance. “Come on brother, it was funny!”

“Shuri, I can’t believe you!” T’Challa yelled.

She stopped running once they reached the mouth of the cave, a Wakandan sip hovering in midair with the doors open for the three of them. Nakia was leaning against the entrance and staring at her phone, lips pressed together in an attempt not to laugh.

T’Challa froze, causing Tony to bump into him, leaving both men stumbling to stay upright.

Nakia’s shoulders started shaking as her lips turned into a smile, eyes alight with glee. Shuri wasn’t trying to hold back at all, clutching her belly from laughing so hard.

“We be the cavalry gentlemen.” Nakia said, pushing off the edge to greet T’Challa as he approached the door. She ran a finger over a small scratch he had acquired and bent to give him a kiss on the cheek, before moving out of the way to let him board the ship.

“What no kiss for me?” Tony said, earning the glares of all the Wakandans on board. “Just kidding!”

“Let’s just go Stark.”

And so they did, returning to HQ only to see the Avengers watching footage of them Shuri had captured as they came up with and executed their plan. It was going to be a long while before they lived this adventure down.

#my fanfic #mcu fanfic #@lurkerviolin #tony stark #iron man #t'challa #black panther #shuri (marvel)#happy birthday Chancy!

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italicwatches · 6 years

Text

GAMERS! Episode 07

So.

Last time sure happened.

Let’s see where things go from here. It’s GAMERS!, episode 07! Here we GO!

-We begin, with loading the game save for up to this point. Whoever’s playing this game is very irresponsible with their save data, you always cascade down the list, never lock into a single save file. That’s just too risky.

-But into the actual show! A bus, where some generic anime boys, so standardized you can’t see their eyes, watch. And they can see HIM, the fucker who managed to get Karen…And Keita is just trying to ignore them, even as he deals with the frustrations of people disconnecting on his mobile game and not actually playing…

-Opening! After PUBG, our next game reference is…It’s Super Mario Bros. You know Super Mario Bros. I did an entire writeup for the game’s historical relevance for Nintendo back in the lead to the Switch’s release as part of the 30 Days of Switchmas. Crazy successful, redefined the platformer genre after Nintendo themselves essentially invented it with Donkey Kong, was originally designed as the peak of a cartridge-based game with the Famicom Disk System rapidly coming up…None of this is news.

-DAY 07: Amano Keita and Karen’s best entertainment

-To the class! Where Keita is talking to Tasuku, and has decided to, and I quote, “stop indiscriminately blowing up normies”. Tasuku, who slept like shit, has no idea what he’s talking about but good for you, man. Also, people are all staring at Keita. Because of what Tasuku did, in part. But hey, hey. Tasuku had no idea it’d turn into a relationship! Of course, Keita thought Karen was more into stylish guys like Tasuku…

-And Tasuku is also dealing with the rocky state of his own relationship. Aguri’s been…Well, it’s been messy, since the guy she’s into is with Karen now. But, Aguri likes Tasuku, so Keita can only assume that Tasuku really was two-timing his girlfriend! This is horrible! No wonder he has no idea how to talk to Aguri about it!

-Which explains everything, including Karen accepting a confession from little old him! It’s all to try and build up a plausible deniability. …He needs to get out of this. His head is full of deep, weighty thoughts as he goes to the restroom. He doesn’t want to be part of breaking Aguri’s heart, she’s a sweet girl who deserves better. Maybe he’ll ask Karen to let him rescind his confession…

-And when he comes out, he runs into someone, almost literally! Oh, sorry, he wasn’t…Oh god it’s Karen. And then Karen has a freakout because the boy she’s super into, who is now her boyfriend, is heeeere…But oh dear, something seems wrong! Are you okay? You look pale…

-Um, er, he’s, um, he’s gotta get back to class he’ll talk to you later bye! And then he’s gone, leaving Karen confused…And as Keita starts to head back, everyone mumbling about him…That’s when Chiaki spots him and waves him over into an empty room! Oh lord what do you want, Chiaki? Can’t you see his day is going wrong as it is?

-Can’t You see why Karen stuck her neck out for you, you idiot?! Well, yes, of course he does…(Oh god one of you use your words) Good, good! But that was a crazy move, and should keep that pink-haired fiend from…What was that? Nothing nothing forget she said that part! Look the point is, they might be enemies, but she respects you enough to not want to see you hurt. And that Aguri girl was never gonna be your girlfriend.

-Well, yes. He knows that. Oh, good! You’re moving on really well, Keita!

-Cut to after class. Keita has a long string of furious emojis in his texts, and is across from Aguri, who is…Really not happy with him. Also she has a really crazy looking drink. But, but she’s sorry. She’s mostly not mad at you. She’s mad at Tasuku, who’s two-timing her. Keita tries to use his logic, because the only evidence that Aguri has is the guilty look Tasuku gave her, but why ELSE would a guy give such a look to his own girlfriend?! Huh?!

-…Okay you have him there. But uuuugh. Her life’s gone to hell ever since she met you! That’s…Harsh. But all those floozies hanging onto Tasuku only met him through you, ya damn enabler. Well, well, it was Tasuku who used him and egged him onto talking to…both of them…Keita quietly ‘realizes’ that he might have been used as a cover for all of Tasuku’s cheating. And now Aguri’s got to try to pull out of this nosedive and convince Keita that Tasuku really is his friend and not just using him from the start. But Keita’s gone into a deep depression.

-FOCUS DAMMIT! Karen accepted your confession! Whatcha gonna do about it, huh? He’s…He’s gonna tell her the full truth of what he knows, so they can break up honestly, and handle this maturely. (God you kids are the furthest thing from mature. The only way you could be less mature is if you were using mud to inoculate yourself against the terrible spread of cooties.)

-Well. Good for you. But how do YOU feel? And are you really gonna let someone else decide something that matters so much? …You’re right. He’s got to decide this himself! And then she realizes how fucking gross this drink is now that all the layers have mixed. She’s…She’s gonna go buy a new drink.

-New scene! Karen is up on the roof freaking out because Keita asked her to meet him here oh god what’s going to happen? Is this about their new relationship? Is it going to go sideways? Was that confession some kind of mistake? Is she about to be dumped, on the eve of her confused but delighted triumph?! No, FOCUS, girl! Don’t let him see you sweat…! But she’s terrified of how this could go…

-And then Keita arrives, and OH GOD PANIC! She doesn’t want to look at him and face the end…And so he finally just asks, if she hates him. No, never! Then, then why won’t she face him?

-W-Why don’t you?! …But he is. Y-You want to stop dating her, don’t you? She, she gets it, she’s seen how people around school are acting…You can take it back, she’ll, she’ll just…

-She’s not speaking from her heart. Deep breath. Be honest with herself…

-As Keita admits, he’s glad to hear she doesn’t hate him. He thought, with the way she’d been almost avoiding him…But…But he’s got to ask something difficult. Of course. Can they go on a date?

-And there it—Wait what? Wait what?! Karen is so shocked that when she turns around she’s in a fighting stance. Oh you adorable little dork, never change. So Keita says it doesn’t have to be right now, it can be whenever she’s free…And Karen is so confused that her world turns to crayon drawings. She doesn’t know how to parse this. She expected a rejection, and got confessed to. She expected a retraction, and got asked on a date. None of this was fitting her worst-case scenarios, or the Plan, either.

-Well…They’re, they’re in a relationship…Right? And just hearing that from Keita sends chills up Karen’s spine as she goes tomato red. As Keita panics a bit, and admits that yes, there will be hardships, and of course people are saying shit behind his back…And…And he knows he’s got no chance against a bishonen like Tasuku. He’s going to lose out in the end. But…But dammit, you don’t rage quit, you play the match until the end! He’s not giving up until it’s over!

-And oh, Karen just glows she’s blushing so bad. You could just put Karen in a dark room, repeat that line to her on a loop, and her blush would give enough light to read by. But she manages to catch herself, and try to act like the Magnificent Tendou Karen-san, as she accepts his offer as nobly and honorably as she can manage. As she also insists they do this in the right order, like a proper relationship! A-And they should disband, for today! Wow this managed to get weird, as Keita lets off a salute from her authoritative tone. but this isn’t what she had in mind and oh god this just got weird as she barely manages to get past him before she panics and flees to the stairs.

-Commercial break!

-And we’re back! It’s date time, and Keita and Karen are at the bowling alley, slash karaoke place, slash arcade, slash…well it’s a big entertainment center is the point. Karen dressed her best, Keita’s best is his usual outfit, and he’s kind of freaking out a bit as he tries to be all cool and make this work…Until finally she just tells him they can just goof off and have fun and not make this too crazy.

-So…I’m gonna let you in on a little secret.

-Keita fucking sucks at analog games. Karen beats him in ping pong, he manages to get a dart stuck in his thigh when they play darts, and he takes a cueball to the face though I think that might have been Karen’s fault, and he loses terribly at bowling. By the time they stop for lunch, Keita’s energy is drained, and Karen is at full power. But even with how draining this is, Keita is finding it really fun…And Karen has to keep herself from admitting how much being here with him is making it fun.

-As he looks over the map, seeing what else they could do today…There’s a pool. Swimsuits. NOPE DO NOT GO THERE. He immediately covers it with his hand, and oh, hmm, there’s basically just the arcade left…

-But she saw a huge pool on all the maps.

-…Oh. So you did. Well…Um…They could just go check it out for fun! Unless you don’t want to see her in a swimsuit? D-Don’t be ridiculous! But now she’s all blushy because he called her bluff and oh god this got nerve-racking. Keita’s low self-esteem comes out but Karen can only hear the parts where he doesn’t want to be at the pool with her and now he’s gotta pull up pull up.

-And that’s how he ends up at the pool in a rented pair of trunks, waiting for Karen to come out. He has truly betrayed all humanity. And then out she comes in a cutesy but revealing bikini and Keita’s brain just kinda…

-Poof?

-Poof. He feels like he just lost a precious life in a video game from the sheer impact of that outfit, and things get awkward again as she has to guide him into being at least mostly normal.

-When Karen spots a couple playing splashy games in the pool, and kind of wants to do it too. But some clear rules to keep it safe! It’s a turn-based water attack game, and whoever gets the other’s hair wet first wins! You’re…You’re ridiculous. And as soon as they’re in the water, this becomes legit serious competition, a war of water that looks like something out of Jojo and then Keita is splashed and down. VICTORY IS KAREN’S!

-And then they see the couple who are, you know, goofing off and having fun and just being silly. …Suddenly they feel like huge nerds. To the arcade, where they belong? To the arcade.

-But that’s when Keita and Karen spot…is that Chiaki? It is! Some guys are trying to harass her…And when she spots Keita, she races for him, needing someone she knows, enemy or not! She clings to him immediately because save her! Er, that is, she’s gonna, help, you…With…Give her a minute she’ll think of something good.

-The guys leave, though, not wanting to cause enough of a scene that they actually get noticed by someone who might do something about it…And trying to get a girl who’s here on a date would definitely cause a scene.

-There’s just one little problem.

-Keita’s here on a date with Karen, and she’s…really not liking seeing this blue-haired strumpet cling to her Keita. So you know, Chiaki, he’s KIIIIND of on a date, so…So you are, Keita! SO WHY DO YOU KEEP TUGGING HIS ARM INTO YOUR CLEAVAGE?!

-Okay, fair. She should not have interfered in a date from a fake relationship.

-Okay now Karen is more mad. Chiaki, what would you like your gravestone to say? I’m thinking…”With my last breath, I curse Keita”? Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

-But soon everyone’s sitting down and talking and Chiaki has the good grace to apologize for all of that…But why’s she here on her own, anyways? She’s not! Her sister invited her aaaaand then ran off on her own. So she’s gotta find the kid…Well, they’re willing to help. And Chiaki realizes there is an honor in Keita, one she can respect!

-But, no, Karen will do all the helping. Keita, you don’t need to be looking for a cute little sister. Please go to the arcade and wait for her at once! YES MA’AM! AMANO KEITA, GOING FORTH! Jeez. Chiaki is a little scared now.

-Eventually, Karen arrives to the arcade, with a Chiaki whose sister apparently already went home. And as Karen goes to find a game to play, Chiaki pulls Keita aside and do you get why she’s here with you, you stupid idiot?! Do you understand the favor Karen is doing for you?! You need to do something for her! …You just want to join the games, don’t you. Sh-shut up.

-But Karen’s date-mind has been overtaken by her game-mind and YES THEY CAN PLAY BIG MULTIPLAYER STUFF INSTEAD OF 1v1 NOW COME ON CHIAKI

-And that’s how they end up playing totally-not-Mario-Kart. Where Keita spins out right at the start, but starts to learn the mechanics, holding close behind the others in third place…When he gets the mighty BOMB ROULETTE! It’s so exciting that even the children in the arcade are watching!

-The bomb roulette, the ultimate chance item…A flip of the coin. Either you explode…Or everyone else does. Will he dare to use such a risky item, especially on this track, so close to the finish? He…He lines up with them both, and SLAMS IT DOWN! And whatever way the bomb went, all three got caught in it.

-Karen is just silent until they get to the bus…When she finally just breaks down into the giggles at how ridiculous of a play that was! And that it still ended in him losing when he could have pulled a solid second or even first place if he hadn’t bothered…But she also sees something about Keita. He didn’t use it so he could win. He didn’t throw the match, either. He went for the interesting option. He did the crazy thing that would, win or lose, make for a good story, that would excite the kids watching them play…

-And she’s finding she likes that about him. That wild spark in him…While Keita, Keita respects how she always goes all-out with him. There’s never any going easy…And that’s what he likes about her. As now she’s all blushy and nervous…And he ends up asking if she got that new game Fire Tactics? Of course she did! She’s wanted to talk to someone about it! And so everything relaxes, as the two fall into a shared passion.

-Credits!

You know, these crazy kids might just make it all work out…

…I mean, if it weren’t for the other three people in their life. Between Chiaki, Aguri, and Tasuku, someone is gonna fuck it up. We’ll see who breaks the whole thing next time, in episode EIGHT of GAMERS! Wait for it!

#where I watch #recap #anime #gamers!

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orangememory · 7 years

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Meng Zhi and Fei Liu being friends!

So I wrote this inspired by the part in the drama where Fei Liu allows Meng Zhi to finally touch his hair. Set post-canon. Warning for angstiness!

The land is caked with blood,even the fresh summer streams trickling down from the glaciers smell putrid toMeng Zhi.

They are on the last leg of theirstay here, before they return to Jinling, proud victors of the terrible waragainst Da Yu. They won in the bitter winter, and Meng Zhi has personallystayed back with his troops to cleanse the land, bury the dead and re-organisethe defence of the North.

But all that is a veiled excuse,as Master Lin has rightly pointed out, as he casually flits in and out, savingthe last couple of lives. Meng Zhi doesn’t want to go back to Jinling becausehe has no strength to face the Crown Prince. Meng Zhi couldn’t save the oneperson most precious to Xiao Jingyan, and the younger brother of his own heart.Lin Shu, for that is who he was, died valiantly and gloriously in the finalcharge against Da Yu, leaving a mess of grieving hearts behind.

Zhen Ping hid his pain among hisdaily errands, Master Lin behind his laughter, Meng Zhi with his duties, andthe Crown Prince with the sheer distance that had been put between them.

But there was one person who hurtopenly, and when Meng Zhi saw him, he felt the wounds in his skin rip open,fresh with blood again. Fei Liu, the mischievous child, would cry for hisSu-gege every day. Fei Liu, the child who loved to fight and fly had seeminglylost all hope in the world. He threw away any of the melons Zhen Ping would procurewith great difficulty. He barely left the tent, and even Master Lin could notconvince him to part from his Su-gege’s furs.

Meng Zhi has a son, his nephewthat he has adopted, and sees the child in little Fei Liu. He wishes he coulddo something, anything to help the boy, but all he can do is wallow in his owngrief.

Xiao Shu, why did you have to go?

XXXX

Meng Zhi is directing his men onthis fresh spring day, and the weather is so beautiful, that even the dog-tiredsoldiers cannot avoid the cheer, smiling and singing out loud. As Meng Zhismiles, he spots a lone, little figure walk slowly to the bank of the stream. Theboy doesn’t fly anymore, his martial arts rotting away inside his body becauseof the doom inside his heart.

It is time for Fei Liu’s bath,and Meng Zhi has seen him arrive like clockwork all this time. He knows Fei Liuused to run away from Li Gang and Auntie Ji when they even uttered the word ‘bath,’but now, he comes to the water on his own. Maybe it’s a balm to his young soul,maybe the ice-cold water is enough to numb his pain. At least, it works forMeng Zhi himself.

In a while, Fei Liu finishes andwalks back to the tent, his body drenched and his hair loose, matted and ugly.Meng Zhi worries for the child, that the cold winds will make him sick afterthe bath, but he has been rebuffed every time he has tried to put his cloak onFei Liu. It hurts Meng Zhi, that they have lost the bright spirit of this child.Meng Zhi would eat all the sour fruit in the world, if he could see Fei Liu flyagain.

As Meng Zhi shakes his head, hehears a screech and finds Master Lin being kicked out of Xiao Shu’s old tent,the print of a boot quite clear on his face. It is a never-ending story, MasterLin trying to coax Fei Liu to do things, to come back to normal but Fei Liunever listens, and Master Lin never uses his actual strength to defeat him –quietly taking all the punishments Fei Liu metes out.

“Aah, Master Lin, your martialarts are getting sloppier, this time you even have a mark on your face,” saysMeng Zhi, eyes crinkling with humour as he helps the physician up, trying tolighten the sombre mood. These moments of levity are rare, so Meng Zhi takesthem when he can.

Lin Chen grumbles, no he doesn’tneed help, thank you very much, but Meng Zhi picks him up anyway. He starts tochuckle when he spots an odd object in the physician’s hand, instead of hisusual, magic fan. A comb.

“Master Lin is experimenting withnew weapons or hairstyles? I hope it’s hairstyle, because I have had enoughcomplaints from my vice-generals about yours,” Meng Zhi adds with a guffaw.

Lin Chen rolls his eyes,brandishes the comb like a saber, and grins. “Oh, I’m just trying to help FeiLiu.”

Fei Liu with his hair? Meng Zhihas never bothered much, but now that he thinks back, for a long time, Fei Liu’shair has been free-flowing, growing ragged and they boy hasn’t neatened hisappearance in the longest time. Meng Zhi knows it is because of abjectdepression, but has never voiced his worries for the child to Lin Chen.

Lin Chen, ever observant and areader of people’s minds, quietly remarks, “If you’re wondering about Fei Liu,he…he has never liked to comb or tie his hair. Only Changsu was allowed totouch it, and he would comb Fei Liu’s hair every day in the morning, and tie itup. I am trying to teach him a normal routine, but there are…certain things FeiLiu still doesn’t have the heart to do. Getting him to eat alone was a majorachievement.”

Meng Zhi is left speechless. Inmany ways, he was hurting and still missing Xiao Shu, but for Fei Liu, who hadspent so many years by Xiao Shu’s side, even the little things brought him suchdeep hurt. Fei Liu had probably only known one father-figure in his life, oneperson who treated him with such kindness, and the fates had been cruel enoughto take him away too.

Xiao Shu, that silly boy, hebroke so many people on his way to the next world. The sudden onslaught offeelings pooled in Meng Zhi’s eyes, and he could dimly feel Master Lin pressingan object into his palm, and walking away. The sharp edges of the metal prickhis skin.

“I shall see if you have betterluck,” says Master Lin. And poof, he is gone.

Meng Zhi holds the comb tight, andgulps.

XXXX

At night, Men Zhi reaches XiaoShu’s old tent and enters without resistance. Fei Liu is curled into Xiao Shu’sfurs, and Meng Zhi can see that the boy is sweating from them, yet he remainsswathed in them. Fei Liu is turning pages of a war manual that he cannotpossibly read, smelling the old red ink annotations on the pages, trying tosmell Xiao Shu in them.

“Fei Liu, your Uncle Meng ishere, won’t you welcome me?” Meng Zhi tries to ask jovially, but of course, he isn’tgood at hiding things, so the pitch is high and unnatural.

“Su-gege not here,” comes thesniffling reply. “Uncle Meng come later.”

“Ah, I know your Su-gege is nothere! In fact, your Su-gege asked me to help you. All young, handsome childrenshould groom themselves, look what I came….”

Meng Zhi’s voice falters as hesees Fei Liu burst into sobs. “Su-gege not here! Su-gege never here!”

The boy’s tears trickle into thepages of the book, and the red ink starts to flow and stain the paper. Fei Liu’sheart is bleeding so badly, and all Meng Zhi wants to do is staunch it.

He doesn’t speak any words, butgoes close to Fei Liu, sits next to him, and lets him cry. Meng Zhi’s own tearsbegin to fall – and a faint memory resurfaces.

“He likes you. He never lets anyonetouch his hair!” Xiao Shu had remarked, laughing delightfully as Fei Liu hadbounded off after a pigeon.

Meng Zhi extends his hand, andsoftly begins to pat Fei Liu on the shoulder, gently moving up to touch hishair. Its greasy, matted, and smells like death.

Meng Zhi keeps patting it,silently, not saying a word to the sobbing boy, just comforting him in his ownway. He knows that if he speaks now, Fei Liu’s heart will break even more.

Fei Liu doesn’t shirk him offlike Lin Chen, but he keeps crying and repeating his refrain, sobbing until hiseyes can no longer stay open and he falls asleep.

Meng Zhi puts him to bed.

Xiao Shu, have mercy on this little one, is the last plea that MengZhi sends up to the gods before he leaves.

The comb is still on his person.

XXXX

It happens slow, and steady, butMeng Zhi starts visiting Fei Liu every day. He doesn’t notice that for each day,there is one less teardrop in the boy’s eyes – because Meng Zhi’s own are soblurry.

Meng Zhi never brings up the hairwith Fei Liu, instead trying to cheer him up in his own way – a toy he hadcarved, a funny defensive move, making fun of Lin Chen. Fei Liu starts eatingoranges and melons, one piece at a time. It is a wonder to Zhen Ping, whoprofusely thanks Meng Zhi.

Soon, the final tasks are done,and it will be time to depart for Jinling, a fact that Meng Zhi dreads. In twodays, they will leave this place of stunning beauty and godforsaken war, and hewill have to face the Crown Prince once again.

Stressing over the inevitable, MengZhi goes outside to take a stroll by the banks of the stream, when he finds FeiLiu sitting there, feet in the water, hair wet, so quiet. Meng Zhi feels a rushof paternal warmth and settles in next to the boy, patting his back.

“Back to Jinling?” Fei Liu askssolemnly. Meng Zhi affirms it, knowing that they will go back to Jinling, yes,but for Fei Liu and Master Lin, the journey will be in a completely differentdirection. He hopes they will come to visit, even though Langzhou and Jinlingare far from each other, and even though Xiao Shu is no longer in the world.

The next words out of Fei Liu’smouth stun Meng Zhi.

“Water-buffalo crying. Take careof water-buffalo. Su-gege miss him.”

Meng Zhi’s yes is awkward, stillrecovering from the easy way the child refers to the future Emperor, and amazementat the fact that Fei Liu has the time and the heart to have concern for theprince, far, far away. Our Fei Liu hasalways been very smart, Xiao Shu used to proudly declare, and Meng Zhi understandsit now.

“Uncle Meng,” Fei Liu continues, “Hair.”

“Hair?” Meng Zhi is puzzled.

Fei Liu shakes his head and cluckslike Master Lin, before reaching for Meng Zhi’s palm, and placing it on his head.

“Uncle Meng go. Do Fei Liu hairnow.”

A sudden wave of deep emotion strikesMeng Zhi as he realises what Fei Liu means. The depressed, broken child onlyallowed Su-gege, and him to touch his hair, and now, before he was set to goaway, Fei Liu was opening himself up to healing, accepting Meng Zhi’s kindness.Tears start rolling down Meng Zhi’s face.

“Uncle Meng not cry. Face notcute like Su-gege.” Fei Liu’s eyes are red, but his wan face cracks a slowsmile.

Meng Zhi starts bawling openly,as he curses Xiao Shu for teaching the child terrible jokes as well as how toinflect terrible pain on others, and not just physically.

Xiao Shu, if you’re watching, keep helping the child, protect him,he prays.

Amid tears, Meng Zhi calls a nearbyguard to bring him a comb, and the man rushes to get one, panting all the way.

When the comb finally arrives,Meng Zhi places his hand among the now fresh-smelling locks, and starts combingthrough them, willing his tears to stop and his heart to stop bursting withrelief.

“Uncle Meng, no braids,” Fei Liuinstructs anxiously, wincing as the comb pulls a tight tangle free.

Meng Zhi pats the boy’s head again,and makes sure he is real. If this simple act could help save a man and achild, he would do it, a thousand times over.

Xiao Shu, you’ve done many good deeds in this world, for you to beloved so deeply by so many, especially Fei Liu.

“Okay, xiao-Fei Liu, no braids.”

#Nirvana in Fire #lang ya bang #drabble #my writing #wanna be knifed?

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cloud8andahalf · 7 years

Text

I don’t know, I feel like I should post something. I’ve been doing quite a bit of writing but I never post. So here’s a very long collection of Ari and Kit scenes, some of the more entertaining characters from my stories antics. This is mostly Ari though since Kit is the quieter one of the two, and has a bit more of a conscious than Ari.

Ari had already grown annoyed with Glen’s jokes about her name and tried to push him into a bunch of horse poop, but Todd and Kit were able to stop that from happening.

“Look, our Mom isn’t the most creative when it comes to names!” Kit admitted, “She has kids with Apollo and thinks, oh, twins, best name one Artemis, can’t call the other one Apollo though, cause that’s his father’s name and juniors aren’t really cool. So she called me Atticus. You should meet our half-sister. She’s two years younger than us and our Mom and another guy’s kid.” “Is she another goddess?” Glen asked and ducked a bit as Ari raised her arm to punch him.

Ari smirked, “No, she’s not. Except our mother was expecting a boy and wanted to call him Melvin, and when a girl popped up, well, she had to change her mind and she changed it a little too quickly.”

“What’s your sister’s name?” Todd asked curiously.

“Melwin.” Kit and Ari spoke at the same time, both of them seemed amused by their sister’s name though. Kit kept talking, “We usually just call her Winnie.”

“Upon further research that we didn’t share with our mother, Melwin is a boy’s name…that means Melvin.” Ari laughed a bit, “We have a whole family of strange names.”

~~~

“Cause the horses probably know where they live.” Kit watched as Ari tied a note around an arrow, “And Luke can talk to horses.”

“Oh, uh, I was just asking, uh, I didn’t mean to, uh…” Marcy just swallowed her words as Ari turned her bow so the arrow would fly out of the slit in the wall.

“Hopefully that one is Luke.” She let the arrow fly and it went into the next car over.

“How are they supposed to send that back?” Todd put his head in his hands, “None of them are really archers.”

“Laurie is magic, she can just poof it here or something.” Kit shrugged.

“Uh, can Laurie do that?” Marcy looked at Glen and Todd confused.

“Never seen her do that.”

“Well, she can learn.” Ari sat next to her brother again, “And we’ll get an answer as to whether we’ll have somewhere to rest.”

“I never said you could come to my house.” Glen grumbled.

“We’re inviting ourselves over.” Ari decided, “We need a plan after all.”

~~~

“No! You started it by stealing those three kids!” Ari snapped, “If you know where Nora is could you tell us so we can jump off this flying circus?”

“Who’s your godly parent? Ares?” Aeolus seemed impressed by Ari’s anger.

“Apollo, awful guess.” Ari rolled her eyes and Kit elbowed her.

“Try and not anger the god right now.” He spoke quietly.

“Apollo must have been in a bad mood for you.” Aeolus gave Ari a slightly disgusted look before smiling again, “Now, an explanation wouldn’t hurt.”

~~~

“Around twelve years ago I was taking a break from my weather channel. There were things that had to be done; a couple rogue storm spirits and I found what I thought was a wind spirit standing out in the middle of a tornado…just watching it. Of course, I guess my eyesight must have gone foggy a bit.”

“Really? Just a bit? Was the eighteenth or nineteenth plastic surgery that did that?” Ari asked and received another elbow to the ribs from Kit.

“I’m going to enjoy killing you.” Aeolus scowled at Ari and suddenly smiled, “Well, anyway, I may have had a bit of an elope with the mortal woman.”

~~~

“Well, she almost got hit by a bike, and then the guy went and called some people and I’ve been trying to get rid of her as she got older, but the damn kid is incredibly smart.” Aeolus grumbled.

“Must be from her mother.” Ari was looking at Kit, but she clearly wanted Aeolus to hear. Kit just sighed and shook his head.

~~~

“You want to risk your lives dealing with the underworld, fine, but Hades won’t be nearly as kind as I am.” Aeolus sighed in a bored manner.

“Kind?!” Ari sputtered, “You’re joking? If you’re a cakewalk then I’m going home.”

“I’d be happy enough to arrange a separate ride for you.” Aeolus scowled and Ari scowled right back at him.

“If you don’t mind, we sort of need her to come along. If you could ignore everything she says, that’d be great.” Kit elbowed his sister and grabbed her arm as she tried to make a rude gesture, “How are you planning on transporting us?”

~~~

Laurie watched him rant and then smiled a bit, “So, how did my idea for capture the flag turn out? I’ve actually been curious.”

Harper stared at her, his mouth hanging open, “Unbelievable.”

“Does that mean it didn’t work?” Laurie tilted her head a bit.

“No! We won! That doesn’t matter though!” Harper grumbled, “Besides, me and Freddie were told we weren’t allowed to magically change the flag after that.”

“Yeah, it’s cheating, numbnut.” Ari looked at Laurie annoyed, “You could have said it was you who did that!”

“Why would I say that! You’d just get mad!” Laurie laughed, “I don’t recall a good time to bring that up either. When you were shooting arrows at us from a moving car? No. Uh, how about getting attack by Moros…or vampires…or wind spirits…or-“

“Alright, I get it!” Ari sat back annoyed.

~~~

Ari looked off towards the rest of camp and then to Percy, “Can you hold off the onslaught of counselors till Chiron is done chewing us out? Gods know I don’t want to deal with that.”

“Carol in one ear and Chiron in the other.” Kit scowled in agreement.

“I’ll keep them out, go in.” Percy started pushing kids through the door.

They all filed in and sat around the ping-pong table. Most of the kids looked ashamed as Chiron stared them down and the door closed, Zoey was the last to walk in. Nora, Drew, and Clara seemed rather calm since they couldn’t really help the fact they’d left camp. Zoey and Ari also seemed calm, but that was just them; they didn’t really feel bad for most decisions they made.

~~~

“Right, well, moving on, the rest of you have some explaining.” Chiron stared them all down, “The rest of you deliberately left the camp in a very large group that could have attracted dangerous amounts of monsters,” No one disagreed with that, Ari actually smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

~~~

“Very good.” Chiron looked towards the window, “I figure your cabin counselors will have a few words for you as well.”

“Can we skip that part?” Ari asked, “I mean, you had quite the speech already. There has to be a rule on how many reprimands you can receive in one day.”

“For you, Ari, the rule is limitless.” Chiron’s eyes lit up with humor and Ari rolled her eyes.

~~~

“What’s up?” Drew asked confused, “Everything alright? We heard Ari shouting all the way up there.” He pointed towards the cliff over the beach.

“No! Everything is not alright! I’m done! I quit! I can’t live with this anymore!” Ari shouted, “I’m never going home! This is the last straw, I can’t handle this! I’m calling CPS!”

“What? What happened?” Clara asked concerned, “Is everyone alright?”

“Our sister Winnie gave us an Iris message.” Kit rubbed his head, he looked tired, “Looks like our mom got her a puppy.”

“Aw, what kind of puppy?” Laurie asked happily, “I don’t see the problem.”

“We didn’t really ask what breed it was.” Kit sighed.

“They did ask for the name though!” Zoey was breathless as she leaned against the stables laughing, “Ask what they named the dog!”

“They named him John! John! They named the damn dog John!” Ari shouted, “He’s a dog! Why does he get a normal name? Why John? Why couldn’t they name the dog something weird, like…like…I can’t even think of a name, but my mother certainly could of come up with some horribly strange name to name the damn dog! Why John?”

“Why couldn’t I be named John?” Kit grumbled.

“They named the dog John.” Clara blinked in surprise and then smiled a bit. She shared a look with Laurie and Drew and all three of them burst out laughing at the twin’s strange family.

“Don’t laugh! It’s not funny!” Ari snapped.

“It’s kind of hilarious.” Irene was trying to hide a smile.

“You’re all dead to me.” Ari grumbled and stormed off. Kit ran after her looking equally annoyed with his friends.

~~~

i have a post somewhere with an entire interaction with the Janus and Ari and Kit that involves their middle names but...

Ari looked about ready to pull out her hair, “What if I spoke another person’s name? Like we spoke our mother’s name and our sister’s name? Can we exchange that for a ticket through?”

“Your own name!” Janus shouted.

“Come on, just work with me here!”

“There’s nothing to work with! I’m just asking you to state your name!”

“That’s the problem! I’m trying to work out a deal with you and you’re just not budging. For someone who loves decisions you sure don’t want to make one.” Ari pouted.

“Name or I’m stabbing you both.”

“Ari, come on!” Irene stepped forward a bit, “Just say your name, it’s not worth dying over.”

“That’s up for debate.” Ari held up a finger.

Kit rubbed his head and shared a look with his sister. Ari groaned and took a breath, “Fine. My name is Artemis…” She looked pained as she paused for her middle name and punched her thigh, “Artemis Moon Lake.”

Janus was silent for a moment and Ari looked at him expectantly, “Let me pass, dammit, as fake as it sounds that’s the name I’m stuck with.”

“By the gods…she’s not lying.” One of the heads breathed, “What’s your damage, kid?” He stared at Kit.

Kit looked like he was seriously considering the right route suddenly. Ari elbowed him, “Just get it over with.”

Kit looked just as pained as Ari and took a breath, he just sighed out his name, “Atticus…Fido…Lake.”

~~~

“You two are regular little liars and cheats!”

“Sure!” Ari agreed, “But we’ve never broken anything!”

~~~

“If they clean up their act.” The media specialist sniffed.

“Shut up, lady.” Ari glared at her and saw Winnie hide a smile.

The woman ruffled, “These twins of yours are plain disrespectful and rude in every sense! I highly doubt they’ll amount to much more than criminals in the future!”

“Aw, and I really wanted to be a media specialist, guess I’ll never be pompous and high strung enough for that.” Ari pouted sarcastically.

~~~

“That’s just rude.” Ari crossed her arms and stepped towards her, “Look, lady, we’re bratty kids, we’re allowed to be rude. You can’t be, cause you’re supposed to be professional all the time.”

~~~

Ari backed up a little and held up her umbrella in front of her. She waited for the lady to get closer before opening it up and smashing it into her nose.

“Rrrraaagh!” The lady tore it apart and Ari sprinted towards the tire swing shouting.

“Murderous dragon hag! Murderous dragon hag!”

~~~

“What’re you doing?” Ari rolled over and looked at him.

“Looking for camps on Long Island.”

“Why!?”

“Because Mom was talking to a voice in the sink about camps in Long Island.”

“You’ve lost your mind.” Ari grumbled and went back to sleep.

“Probably.” Kit agreed.

~~~

“Young lady is that sarcasm?” There was a dangerous edge to their mother’s voice, a guaranteed year of being grounded if Ari responded wrong.

“Yes.” Ari responded wrong.

~~~

“Not a chance! You two aren’t going anywhere but home!”

“No, we’re going to Long Island. That’s why we got a ride there.” Ari again responded wrong and another tirade came from their mother. While she yelled Ari and Kit exchanged an annoyed glance that just said, She’s not gonna tell us.

Kit sighed, “Well, talk to you later, Mom.”

“Don’t you dare-“ The next tirade was cut short as Kit hung up the phone.

~~~

“Oh no, she’s working for the gods of Olympus.” Irene told them as if she was talking about the weather, “Our Mom works on the architectural designs there, plus the designs in New Rome for the Greek sector.”

“Gods of Olympus?” Ari blinked, “Um, you crazy or something?”

“Ari!” Kit warned her.

“What? That’s kinda a crazy thing to say!” Ari objected.

~~~~

“Camp full of weirdos.” Ari pointed out.

“Well…what did we expect from a camp that a sink recommended?” Kit asked her.

~~~

“Well, we mainly called just to let you know we made it here fine with no help from you and you should probably call off the police search and pick us up in August before school starts.” Ari told her happily, “’Kay?”

“You two can’t just be making these decisions by yourself anymore, got it?” Their mother demanded, “From now on, I’m taking you to and from that camp. I won’t have any running away nonsense. Now I have to explain where you two are to the police.”

“She didn’t call them.” Winnie informed her siblings, “Since she figured you two were fine.”

“What? You’re just sending us empty threats now, Mom? How are we ever supposed to trust you?” Ari asked sarcastically.

~~~

“No, I’m just looking around. I decided I wanted to be a doctor recently so I’m just seeing how it’s done here.” Ari told him and looked through some drawers.

Emmett rubbed his head, “Well, you never cease to amaze with how many boundaries you lack. Still, I can show you a couple things if you want?”

~~~

Charlie covered his mouth and snorted with laughter, “Ari…your Dad is Apollo!”

“What’s so funny, fish boy?” Ari glared at him.

“Your name is Artemis!”

Ari blinked and then pushed Charlie over, “I’m gonna kill Mom. Kit, give me a drachma so I can yell at her.”

“Gods.” Kit sighed and shook his head.

~~~

Jamie jumped as two arrows smacked into the ground in front of Betsy and Caleb’s feet. He looked up to see Ari and Kit with their bows drawn and glaring at the two campers. Ari twirled an arrow in her right hand as she happily walked into the amphitheater, “Hey, Jamie! We just got here and were coming to say hi cause you’re a weird kid and all. Wanna go bet some money?”

~~~

“Plus, we can gamble with you!” Ari went back to her normal behavior.

“I’d win.”

“If you cheat!”

“How would you know if I cheat?” Jamie asked innocently.

Ari raised her hand in response and then slowly lowered it as she realized she honestly would have no idea if Jamie were cheating or not. “Well played.”

“Slap jack is usually a safe bet.” Jamie laid down a card and slapped his hand down, “Though I’m still pretty good at games.” He gathered up the cards with a smile.

“Little weasel.” Ari grumbled and threw down a card.

~~~

“Holly? Listen, stop falling. Chiron trusts me with a lot of shit. I’m his most trusted advisor. I’m so trusted he can’t even trust me.” Ari called down, “Holly? Did you hear me? I’m awesome.”

“Yeah, thanks for the update!” Holly shouted back, a little breathlessly.

~~~

“You’re trying to scheme your way out of this.” The tail rested a little more harshly against Kit’s neck.

“Scheming? I never scheme. I just told you I was a man of honor. Well, teenager of honor would be more fitting considering my age. I’m certainly not really a man at my age. My sister and I are quite honorable. We have an entire book of rules that we read through quite often and are sure to follow them.”

“Rules? Really?”

“Yes, it keeps us on the good path. Though, I’m curious as to why you would care? I mean, you’re a manticore, not exactly a righteous sort of monster, are you?”

~~~

Laurie let her arm drop as she saw everything was safe and quickly stumbled towards Kit, “Kit!”

“M’good.” Kit assured her, as he awkwardly lay sprawled on the ground, “A little paralyzed, but it should pass.”

~~~

Ari, of course, was the most brutally honest in her comments.

“Perhaps next time warn us about the ghost you’re following, Drew.” She yawned, “Then we won’t be as surprised when he possesses you and tries to kill all of us.”

~~~

Ari returned her bow to necklace form and started looking at the arrows in her quiver, “I’ll admit I don’t like the damp air warping my arrows either. It’ll mess with my perfect aim. I prefer to just shoot and not have to compensate for faulty equipment.” Kit nodded in agreement with his sister.

“Uh, not to rain on the parade of the perfection twins, but didn’t you almost kill Jamie with an arrow once, Ari?” Glen pointed out. “I wouldn’t call that perfect aim.”

“I shot where I intended to shoot, it’s not my fault if someone is moved in the way. I never miss. I’m a child of Apollo, Glen.” Ari told him haughtily. “I bet if I pull out my bow now I can hit the tree right behind you perfectly.”

“Cause I’d move out of the way.”

“And I’d hit my intended shot!” Ari pointed out happily, “See, I’m right again, another thousand points for Ari! Jot it down, Kit!”

Kit, faithful to their antics as always, pulled out the twins shared notebook and added a thousand points under Ari’s name. Their names, of course, were the only two in there with actual points. Though Chiron seemed to have gained negative points, as had the camps two traitors.

~~~

“We’re all fresh out of ideas except for what we’ve got then.” Holly grumbled.

“I’m with Holly.” Irene sat down, “Let’s stay here and what for some sort of answer. Kit, you may as well try the pencil.”

“He could very well draw some crazy fire-breathing llama that we have to fight next. It might not even be about Drew or Todd.” Ari pointed out.

“We’re not going anywhere and he can regain whatever strength this takes, as well as there are thirteen other people here to be sure that if and when we get attacked, he doesn’t have to worry about being enraptured in his drawings.” Luke agreed with Irene on the subject, shocking nobody.

“Fine.” Ari pouted and sat down beside Kit.

“It’s a fair enough point.” Kit sighed and pulled out his sketchbook.

“No points added for Luke and Irene I see.” Holly sat down smugly beside Finn and a very tired Jamie.

Ari snatched their notebook from Kit, since he was already starting to go into a sort of prophetic trance and spoke out loud, “Minus two million points to Holly for talking rudely and breaking the floor of the Labyrinth.”

~~~

Ari snapped her fingers by Kit’s ear and he blinked a few times before putting down the pencil, “We found them.”

Kit looked up towards Drew and Todd before looking at his nearly finished drawing, “That’s good, cause this isn’t about them.” He showed Ari a picture of a palace that Kit had become much too familiar with drawing.

“Oh…great.” Ari made a face, “Should we expect an invitation soon?”

“More than likely.”

“I don’t make good company. At least, that’s what I’ve been told. I personally believe I’m the best company that someone can have.” Ari sniffed and a couple kids laughed.

~~~

“They might have grown bored with Kit and my story of how we were actually gods that were so old that even Chaos had forgotten of our godly status.” Ari sighed unhappily.

“It was a good story too.” Kit pouted as well, “They were really buying it.”

“Of course, somebody,” She looked pointedly at Holly, “Had to ruin it by laughing when I said I was the ancient primordial being of intelligence and Kit was the ancient primordial being of wit.”

“Look, I just thought you were more fitting to be the gods of being an asshole and spewing lies.” Holly shrugged and sat back smiling.

“It’s called improv and it’s no longer lying if it gets us out of a Cyclops den alive.” Ari reminded her, “So next time, have a little imagination, Holly. Pull on your mortal side there, since I’m pretty sure Ares isn’t exactly the imaginative type.”

~~~

Todd remembered seeing the Apollo kids teaching CPR. Ari had called it the “emergency-kissing maneuver”.

~~~

“School sounds like a really boring thing to go back to, so finding Jamie and Alex wins this one.” Ari crossed her arms.

“Also because it’s the right thing to do.” Kit rolled his eyes.

~~~

“And it’s not like you murdered Jamie or anything. He’s just stuck in hell basically. We’ll get him and Alex out in no time.” Ari grinned and sat back happily. Her usual twisted humor showing itself.

~~~

Clara pulled out a bag full of drachma, “Start talking.”

“Okay.” Charlie may not know Clara well, but she certainly got her point across.

“Alive for a day and Clara is already threatening to kill him.” Ari sighed and shut up with an angry look from Clara.

~~~

#story excerpt #except plural because there's multiple one line to paragraph long excerpts in here #these are mostly in order of when I wrote them #with the main story first #followed by Ari and Kit's backstory #and then it gets out of order #there's just random scenes but it ends with excerpts from an idea that I dropped because it would not have fit with the main story well

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