#but the moment someone I care about voices the same/similar fears that had them stalling about getting help

[atemu-remus]

It breaks my heart that one of my friends had resisted getting a cane for so long because she was terrified of being treated differently until I got a cane myself to help with my feet. She had the courage to get one herself because she knew at least one other person had that shared solidarity with her if she needed to get one also.

While I'm happy and proud that she did so, it shouldn't have gotten to the point where someone else in the friend group needed to take the plunge for other people to feel comfortable and safe enough to get the same help themselves.

The way people are treated for having physical disabilities is abysmal if we (yes, we, because I am realizing my cane is going to be an as needed basis for the rest of my life and had to make peace with this for the sake of my anxiety) are so terrified of being treated like freaks and monsters, of losing any and all rights and autonomy just by having a visual aid.

I am not someone to be pitied, I don't owe you explanations for why I need my cane or why I don't use it all the time, and I demand the same respect you expect out of me no matter the circumstances. Visual aids do not justify being treated as helpless, incompetent, or seen as a freak. And if you need my health information for you not to judge me, suck my dick.

People that want to oppress me are not entitled to an explanation or sob story just to treat me like a person, even if I know they won't treat me like an equal even with the information anyway.

[sapphosthoughtsandwritings]

if it’s not too much to ask please please please could you write more avengers x teen!reader? I adore the one with fear of the dark and was wondering if you could do something similar? Like either the avengers comforting the reader or just something with lots of hugs and cuddles? Thank you!! <3

Stage Fright - Avengers x anxious!teen!Reader

Summary: When your presentation for class goes terribly wrong, your team mates come to rescue you and take you home.

Warnings: depictions of anxiety, panic attack, a few cuss words

Type: angst, ends with fluff

Word Count: ~2.5k

A/N: MY FIRST REQUEST, very exciting!! I am so so glad you liked my work, and I hope you enjoy this one as well!! <3 I also have quite a few more ideas for teen!Reader fics, so this definitely won't be the last piece like this!

(Y/l/n) = your last name

(f/d) = favorite drink

You’d been dreading this day for weeks now. Clutching the straps of your backpack, you let out a deep sigh, walking up to the doors of your school. You didn’t like school to begin with, but the building seemed much more intimidating today. Making your way through the halls, you were grateful that you got to school early, you hated pushing through crowds of people.

“Hey, hey (Y/n)!”, a voice called from down the hall. You recognized it almost immediately. “Hi Peter, what’s up?”. You were happy to see him, maybe talking out your nervousness would help. “Oh, you know, just the same old stuff. Sure am tired though”. “Well, if you don’t sleep then you will be tired”. “Like you’re one to talk (Y/l/n)”. You only rolled your eyes and stuck out your tongue at him, evoking a chuckle from him. “How about you? How are you doing?”. “Ugh, not great. I have to present that project today. Not particularly looking forward to it”, you huffed, looking down to the ground as your anxiety increased at the thought of presenting alone. “Hey, I’m sure you’ll do great. Most people don’t pay attention to presentations anyways”, he assured you. You popped your knuckles, still feeling just as nervous. You knew he was right, but that didn’t stop the fear surging through you. “Yeah, I know. I just don’t want to do it. Maybe if I wait long enough, there won’t be any class time left for me to present”, that was your hope, and your only plan to get out of this without panicking in front of the whole class. “Maybe, well regardless, I hope it goes well”, he offered you a sincere smile. “Yeah, I hope so too”. “Well, I should probably head to class, see you at lunch!”. “Right back at ya, Parker”, you waved gently to him as he disappeared down a hallway.

You made your way to your first class, deciding to read a bit before class started. Nothing you did eased the gnawing anxiety in the back of your mind though. Your first two classes were easy enough, but it was hard to focus, your mind racing with intrusive thoughts. ‘What if my voice gives out? What happens if I start crying in front of everyone? God, the whole school will hear about it. Everyone will stare at me, whisper about me every time I pass by them. I can’t do this, I just can’t’. By your third class, you’d bitten your nails down to blood, your lips suffering the same fate, cracked and split open. You almost considered skipping, but you’d worked hard on this project, you couldn’t let that go to waste. So, taking your seat in the back of the class, you tried breathing techniques, anything to help calm your senses. Your leg bounced so much, you swore the floor would give out under your foot.

The teacher turned out the lights, letting people present their projects voluntarily. You calmed the tiniest bit. If someone randomly kept volunteering to present, the class time was sure to run out before you even got the chance to stand up. Throughout the class, you were on edge, chanting silent prayers in your head. You weren’t very fortunate though, as everyone presented quickly, making it apparent that you were going to have to present no matter what. “Alright, who hasn’t gone up yet?”, your teacher called out, looking at her grading sheet. ‘Oh my god, please don’t see my name. Please tell me I don’t exist. Let me just disappear. I can’t do this’. “Oh! (Y/n) still hasn’t presented, come on over and I’ll pull up your project”, your teacher chirped.

Your heart pounded painfully hard in your chest, slowly standing up on jelly legs, keeping your gaze down as you walked to the whiteboard. You couldn’t possibly do this. You were going to die. Every mission you’d ever gone on seemed so miniscule in this moment, as you looked out to your peers. It was too dark to see most of their faces, which only made your situation worse. Your teacher pulled up the project on the projector, gesturing to you to start presenting, as she clicked her pen, ready to write down every mistake you made.

Letting out a jittery breath, you clasped your sweaty hands together and began talking. You were shaking so badly, it was like an earthquake had erupted inside of your body. You could feel the tears threatening to spill past your eyes, leaving a hard pain in your throat. Your chest hurt, and your breathing was becoming more erratic. But you had to finish, you had to get this over with. Just as you were on one of the last slides, a voice called from somewhere in the class, “Hey, pipsqueak! Speak up, would ya? We can’t hear you back here!”. The comment elicited a few snickers, which your teacher hushed quietly, but the damage was already done. The room was suddenly shrinking around you, as your chest tightened even further. You bit your lip, trying your best to compose yourself, attempting to push down your anxiety, but it only pushed back up more violently. “(Y/n)? You still have a few slides left”, your teacher said, but you didn’t hear her. Instead, your fight or flight instincts took over, and you raced out of the classroom, tears now breaking free, streaming down your face. You headed to the nearest bathroom, locking yourself in a stall, your whole world crumbling beneath you.

Leaning against the door, you slid down, breath caught in your throat, fighting to get out, but to no avail. Instinctively, you brought your knees up to your chest, clutching at the seams of your pants, letting out choked sobs and broken coughs. There was only one thing you could think of that might help you, and that was your teammates. You pulled your phone out of your pocket, continuing to shake violently, as you clicked the emergency contacts, thumb pressed to the first person, which just so happened to be Bucky. You lifted the phone to your ear, barely hearing the ring, despite your call volume being all the way up.

Bucky saw your name pop up on his phone, panic surging through him. You never called, it made you too anxious. He answered instantly, “(Y/n)? (Y/n), sweetheart, are you okay?”. His sudden panic mixed with your name caused both Steve and Sam to stand by him, all of them mentally preparing for an emergency. You wanted to reply, but all that came out was a squeak, as your fist collided with the tiled floor, your oxygen levels becoming more scarce by the second. Bucky put his phone on speaker, letting all three of them talk to you. “(Y/n), doll, you gotta breathe okay? Through your nose, count on your fingers”, Bucky stated, trying to keep his voice steady for you. “Yep, deep breaths (Y/n), you’ve got this. You’re gonna be okay”, Steve reassured you. After about 10 minutes of the three of them gently coaxing you out of your panic attack, you calmed slightly, leaving you crying quietly.

“We’re almost back at the compound, we’ll come and pick you up in about 20 minutes, okay?”, Steve said, giving no room for protests, although at this point you weren’t going to object. You wanted to go home. “Okay, I guess I should get back to class then”, you murmured, realizing that you’d probably been gone for over 15 minutes now. It was weird no one came to look for you, but you weren’t complaining. “If you aren’t ready to go back kid, that’s fine. We can stay on the call as long as you need”, Sam mentioned, his voice sounded beyond concerned. You had a bad habit of not taking care of yourself, especially in times of crisis. “No, I’ll be fine, gotta go back to get my stuff anyways”, you were dreading going back. The whole class would be focused on you for sure, not to mention the faux sympathy from your teacher, something that would surely cause another flood of tears. You just wanted to go unnoticed, for everyone to ignore your presence. “Alright, if you’re sure”. “I’m sure, I’ll see you guys soon”, you weren’t sure, but you had to convince them, you knew too well that they’d cause a scene at the school if things got worse. “Okay, stay safe sweetheart, we’ll be there as soon as possible”, Steve stated, before Bucky reluctantly hung up the phone.

Letting out a deep sigh, you pushed yourself up, groaning slightly as you forced your stiff body to move. You stepped out of the stall, silently thanking the universe for not letting anyone walk in during your breakdown. You looked to one of the mirrors, finding a disheveled figure staring back at you. You grabbed a paper towel, dampening it in the sink, and gently washing the dried tears off your face. You fixed your clothing and washed your hands, before making the godawful trip back to class. There was only 5 minutes left for the class, but that was more than enough time for shit to go wrong. You stood outside the door for a minute, taking a moment to compose yourself.

Turning the handle slowly, you eased your way past the door, the lights now on. Just as you expected, all eyes turned on you, but most turned away quickly, looking back to their friend or their phone. That lifted your nervousness a bit, as you started to head back to your desk, but your teacher had other plans, as she cleared her throat, motioning for you to go and talk to her. You cussed quietly to yourself, could this day get any worse? You dragged your feet over to her desk, biting your now scabbed lip. “So, your project was very good, therefore, I’m going to give you a 90, but I have to dock 10 points for your presentation”, she spoke quietly and sternly. Your face grew hot with her words, tears swelling in your eyes again. She was taking points off for something that you couldn’t control? It pissed you off to say the least. You only looked away from her desk, nodding slightly, knowing better than to open your mouth. “Alright then, you can go and pack up your things”. You walked quickly back to your desk, putting the few things you had taken out back into your backpack, before the bell rang for lunch. Dashing out of the class, you headed straight for the front of the school, more than ready for the day to be over. You’d email your 4th period teacher later on what work you missed out on. On your way, you made sure to text Peter, letting him know everything that happened, and that you wouldn’t be there for lunch.

You only had to wait for a few minutes, as Sam walked through the doors, spotting you quickly and walking over to you. “You alright kid?”. “Yeah, I’ll be fine, jus’ want this day to be done already”. He nodded, following you to the front office, signing everything to excuse you for the day. He kept a close eye on you the whole time, a protective hand placed on your shoulder. Stepping out of the building, he led you to the car where Bucky and Steve awaited. You got into the back seat, Sam sitting in the seat next to you.

“Hey doll, you feeling alright?”, Bucky quizzed, angling his body to look at you. “Yeah, ‘m glad you guys offered to pick me up though. Don’t really think I could’ve lasted another class”, you fidgeted with your hands, you knew your nerves wouldn’t calm for a while, but at least it was manageable now. “We’re always here for you, kid, no matter what”, Sam assured you, patting your shoulder softly. “Mhm, you can always come to us, even if we’re on a mission. Our job can always wait, your well being is more important than anything”, Steve added, looking briefly to you in the rearview mirror. “Thank you for that, you guys are the best”, you smiled bashfully. “No need to thank us, jus’ doing what’s right”, Bucky stated. “So, whatcha feel like doing when we get back?”, Sam asked. You thought for a moment, doing anything social sounded horrible at the moment, and the weighted blanket in your room was calling your name. “How ‘bout a pizza and movie night?”, you inquired, knowing they’d all like the idea, hell the whole team would probably join in. “Sounds good to me”, Steve mused, he always liked time for the team to bond. “Me too”. “Me as well, I’m starving dude”, Sam quipped, causing all of you to chuckle.

It didn’t take long to get back to the tower, all of you heading inside, you going to your room to set your stuff down and to change into something more comfy. After changing, you grabbed your weighted blanket, wrapping it around you, heading back down to the common room. Word must’ve spread fast, cause the whole team was gathered there, everyone sitting in a designated spot, except for Tony, who was currently ordering pizza over the phone. “Hey, there they are, rough day at school?”, Natasha asked, giving you a warm smile. “Yeah, not the greatest”, you huffed out a small laugh. “Well, in that case, you get to choose the first movie draga”, Pietro looked up at you from his spot on the floor. You hummed in response, before placing your decision on one of your favorite comfort movies. Clint started to look it up on the various streaming services, finding it almost instantly. “This one, right?”. You nodded happily, making your way over to sit between Steve and Wanda. “Hey, kiddo, you want a drink? And I’m guessing you want some extra garlic breadsticks too, right?”, Tony asked, holding his phone away from his mouth slightly. “Uhh, I’ll have a (f/d), and duh, of course I want garlic breadsticks”. “Yeah, what type of question is that?”, Pietro chimed in. Tony scoffed at him, rolling his eyes, but continued placing the order.

Wanda opened her arms next to you, allowing you to curl into her side as her arms wrapped softly around you. You stretched your legs out, Steve placed them on his lap, gently rubbing his thumb over your calf. Your nerves were finally winding down, as Clint pressed play on the movie. Wanda kept an arm wrapped around your back, her other hand resting gently on the side of your head, making sure to keep you close. The pizza arrived shortly after the movie had started, and you grabbed as much food as you wanted. You deserved it after the day you had. After the first movie finished, and the team voted on a new movie to watch, you felt yourself begin to drift off. You couldn’t have imagined a more perfect setting, comfort and warmth surrounding you. You didn’t make it far into the second movie before you fell asleep, listening to the sound of Wanda’s heart beating, the events from earlier that day flooding away, leaving you to sleep peacefully, knowing that you were safe and sound.

[urdailybs]

that one cracky zhongven fic

Summary: Jean gets alerted that there's a possible child predator in the city and takes it super seriously and then... the "child" in question is her god. Her 2000+ yrs old god and the "predator" is his 6000+ yrs old boyfriend.

Anna had been near the fountain, swishing her hands through the crystal waters as she watched the people of Mondstadt do their daily routines.

The guards were around the gate, Carol was at her merchant stall, some little kids were playing around with the stray dogs. Overall it was a very peaceful day, most days were since Storterrors defeat and Dvalin’s rise.

Lord Barbatos must’ve blessed them, she thought. The weather was just right, not too hot nor too cold. It cooled everyone’s skin nicely and everyone seemed to enjoy their day. Perhaps the lord was in a good mood himself, maybe this was his way of forgiving them for treating the Dvalin situation so horribly. Lord Barbatos was never rumored to hold grudges long.

Anna smiled to herself, joy creeping at her sides. How fun, she mused. But something bad is bound to happen. Maybe that Bennett boy would come in and ruin their luck once again, trouble seemed to follow the teenager and it just so happened he liked to take his daily stroll around this time.

She suppressed a groan. If he were to appear today would be rather eventful. She does not think that it would sour the mood of the Mondstadt citizens, maybe even make them laugh at the child’s poor luck but that didn’t mean the boy would feel the same.

Her grin morphed into a frown at that thought but she shook those thoughts away. Better not dwell on a future that wasn’t set in stone.

Anna’s head roamed around once again, maybe she’d see someone she hasn’t met yet.

But instead, her eyes landed on the local bard, Venti, she recalled him calling himself. According to her brother, he played at Angel’s Share frequently but also went around telling tales of the gods around Barbatos statue. He was a traveling bard, if asked he could probably sing you a song about the Dendro archon.

She stood from her spot on the edge of the fountain, patting down her dress to go greet the teenager, ask him how his day was. Venti was known for being very conversational after all. She started heading over, a grin on her face. Maybe she'd be able to convince him to play her a song, she doubts he'd protest.

Anna walked around the fountain, making sure she didn't trip over any pebbles before looking up again. But now there was someone at Venti's side. The man was tall in stature, with long limbs that had some obvious muscle on them. She hesitated in her steps, perhaps it was a bad time. But Venti didn't appear as if it was, instead he had a bright grin as he looked at the elder.

She wasn't in hearing distance, and even if she was their voices would probably be drowned out by the crowd and the happy shrieks of Mondstadt's children.

So, Anna watched. She wasn't necessarily concerned, it was probably an uncle or a family friend. Yeah, that's right.

Venti's hands traveled to grip the elder man's hands, in a firm but gentle grip. The young bard bounced on his toes as he talked avidly to the man who in return smiled down fondly at him. Unease crept into Anna's gut but she stood where she was and continued to watch.

The man's hands also wandered, moving from Venti's grip to tug on the strands of his braids that framed his face. Venti giggled at the elder but continued to talk, moving his hands to wrap around the man's neck.

Anna frowned and shifted in place, something was wrong, she just couldn't put her finger on it.

After moments of just talking and Anna's feet shifting is when they kissed. It took a moment but the elder man pressed his lips to Venti's, quickly shutting up the young teenager. Anna let out a gasp and moved her eyes away, not being able to see Venti's reaction. This was obviously some sort of child predator situation and she should tell the acting grandmaster immediately.

Running for the stairs she ignored the concerned call of her brother, Anthony, and wasted no time to tell the nearest knight she could find.

Jean sighed into her palms, rubbing at her temple. A frown rested on her lips as she stared at Lisa who sat next to her. "What do I do? Miss Anna didn't provide much information." She could tell the woman was panicked, fearful for the teen she brought up but she could've at least mentioned some names. All Jean had managed to get out was that fact it was a bard and a man in Liyue-styled clothing.

Her wife, Lisa, didn't offer much help but that didn't mean Jean didn't appreciate her appearance, nor did it mean that Lisa did not care. "There are so many bards in Mondstadt, Lord Barbatos encourages the sound of music so much that nearly anyone native to Mondstadt can play an instrument." And many have made a career out of it, she did not say. It was no use worrying herself further. She should just get to the bottom of this as fast as possible.

If there was a child predator in Mondstadt, only the archons may know how many kids he may go after next. Lisa rubbed at her leg in a comforting manner, providing as much calm as she could. "She mentioned she saw them near the fountain, no? Perhaps they're still there."

Jean nodded. Sometimes she forgot Lisa was just as much of a knight as she was. "You're right. I'll go check, stay here."

Her wife nodded, giving her a soft smile. "If you need me I'll be here." Jean smiled at that and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before heading out the door, making sure to grab her sword on the way out. Even if she didn't wish for it, things may get violent.

Huffing, she brushed past her fellow knights, ignoring Kaeya's good afternoon. She'd have to fill him in later, she's sure he'd understand.

Running into the plaza, she caught her breath leaning up against a wall. She couldn't see any sight of a bard or a man in Liyue clothing, so it was best to ask questions. Walking over to a nearby shop-owner she asked and asked but only got shakes of heads and a 'sorry' in return. She was fast to reassure them that it wasn't their fault for not noticing.

She paced across the stairs and hummed in thought. Usually bard's play in taverns, more likely the most popular ones.

Jean smiled at her lead, time for an impromptu visit to Angel's Share.

The door to Angel's Share burst open and Diluc nearly screamed. He really hoped he wouldn't need to get it fixed. Turning around he was surprised to see Jean, a determined look on her face as she walked up to him. "Diluc," She said seriously, forgoing his title. They were friends after all, and her tone was quiet enough for nobody else to hear so it wouldn't raise suspicion. "Have you seen a man in Liyue clothing and a bard around?"

Diluc raised a brow. "Do you mean Venti and Zhongli?"

Jean blinked at him. "What? No? Who even is Zhongli?"

"What do you mean 'Who is Zhongli'? He's Venti's boyfriend or whatever." He's also the geo archon, went unsaid but still heard.

He watched as confusion, shock, understatement, and relief crossed her face, all in a span of two minutes. She looks ready to cry, he thought. Good or bad he did not know.

Slowly a laugh bubbled out of her and she slammed her hand down on the bar table, making a customer next to her jump in surprise. "Of course," She muttered under her breath.

Seemingly have sensed her presence (Diluc wouldn't be surprised if he actually had), Venti walked over, Zhongli trailing after him. The elder man looked very out of place due to his clothing but did not seem to realize the stares he attracted.

"Is everything alright over here?" Venti asked with a smile before looking at Diluc and sliding over some mora. "Also, can I get another Dandelion wine? I finished my previous one like ten minutes ago."

Sighing, Diluc took the mora and went to grab a cup but kept his ears strained for the conversation.

The acting grandmaster was exhausted. Now she wasn't one to be vulgar but tonight was an absolute shit-show and she never wanted to repeat it (though she had a feeling something similar will happen, eventually).

Lisa looked up from her book when she walked in, quick to rush over and give her a gentle hug. "Did you catch the perp?" She asked.

The blonde laughed and for a second she feared she may have had one too many drinks after her realization. Could you blame her though? She deserved that wine.

"I wouldn't say I caught anything." She started, watching a grimace cross Lisa's face. "It was actually a false alarm." She didn't know how to explain it to her wife without spoiling Venti and Zhongli's secret. How shall she do this?

"What do you mean?"

"Well, turns out this 'teenager' is actually a very old adult and so is the other adult. Miss Anna had just mistaken him for a minor." She ended up saying.

"Oh! How unfortunate for the couple than, I believe it'll be a little hard to display affection in public if one is that easy to mistake as a child."

"Yes, I suppose so."

[murderousginger]

Gentle Giant

Arthur Shelby x reader

Word count: 1,708

Warnings: Adultery. Sex. They're criminals guys, they do bad things.

Requested by @caelys for this song.

You tried not to stare, but you failed every service. You resolved yourself to sitting opposite them in the circle of foldable chairs instead. Easier not to be seen breaking your neck over a married man, rising suspicions and idle gossip among the chickens.

The meetings were held in secret in the pastor's business. Quaker service was simple and pure. You all read the Bible together and discussed passages as the pastor mediated the flock if discussions got heated. Those of you with the urge could sing whatever the lord influenced you to. Or, you all sat in silence if no one felt compelled to talk.

You sang quite often. 

It soothed you and seemed to soothe others, so you were regularly called to sing at the beginning of the meeting.

You liked making others feel at ease and were often called on to welcome new members or talk to those that felt the need to talk to someone. 

As a widow, you often helped after service to put the chairs up or see to the children while their parents did the rounds of greeting others. You weren't there for the gossip or the social hierarchy that so many used these meetings for. You just liked being around similar minded people. 

And then Linda brought her husband around. 

They were dating at first. Arthur, following Linda around like a lost puppy with his hat wrung in his hands, was hard to ignore. His face was haggard in that same way most men that returned from the war was, but his eyes were soft. He kept his voice soft around everyone and often looked to the floor, but there was a sense of power hidden in his rough hands, his brow, his tense back. It was as if he was a lion hiding as a lamb in fear of being cast out.

Linda never particularly liked you; she never particularly liked anyone that she couldn't control or otherwise bend to her whims. She was a strong woman with a strong voice and the opinion it needed to be heard. You both stayed cordial but otherwise away from each other, but you couldn't help but be interested in him.

There were whispers. A Shelby, they said. Dangerous. 

But he didn't seem dangerous. He seemed lost. All too eager to follow Linda to whatever she dragged him into if it meant she continued smiling at him. 

He became a regular member, following Linda on her constant reach for more. You found yourself talking to him more than once as she made her rounds, and that's when you realized you cared about the quiet, strong man that was being overshadowed by his ambitious wife. 

Today, the smell of gunpowder and whiskey was stained on his clothes from the night before. His eyes still floated along as if he was half drunk. Linda held his arm in a vice grip as she dragged him along to make the rounds of greetings after service. Her smile was tight and never met her eyes. The honeymoon phase was well over.

"Y/N, so nice to see you!" Linda's voice raised in fake cheer. 

"And you, sister of the lord!" you answered back with equally fake cheer. "How are you both this morning? Late start?"

"Good!" Linda sung. "We are good. Nothing slips past you! Our resident songbird also has eagle eyes."

Your mouth fought to grimace at the dig, but you kept your smile plastered on.

"And you, Arthur?" you asked softly, ignoring Linda. "How did you find the service?"

"Your voice always brings out other's inner light to service, Y/N," he said with a smile. "It's a right beautiful way to start a Sunday."

You smiled, tucking your chin to your chest to hide your embarrassment at his comment. 

"Thank you."

"Really?" Linda said as she looked up to her husband. "Her voice always had a grit that I thought belonged in a nightclub rather than singing to angels. Oh look, let's go say hello to Mr. Peyton."

Linda dragged Arthur off by the arm as he shot you an apologetic look and you bit your cheek at her comment. His compliment bounced through your brain even as Linda's comment stung.

You started to gather the chairs, folding them and carrying a few at a time into the pastor's  office to pack away into a storage room. With almost 30 members, it would take almost a dozen trips to collect all of the chairs.

You turned around to make your way for another trip when the door swung open and Arthur came in with 4 or 5 chairs tucked under his arms.

"Thought you could use a hand," he said with a small smile. "Save you a few trips, songbird."

"That's very kind of you, Arthur," you smiled back. "Thank you."

You opened the storage door and let him set the chairs down with the rest. He patted himself, turning to you as you both stayed in the doorway.

"Sorta selfish, too," Arthur said hushed. "Helping you gets me out of the rounds today. I'm in no shape for pleasantries with Linda's friends."

You both chuckled.

"Well I won't tattle on you, Arthur," you chuckled. "It's not my cup of tea, either. That's why I offer to do these types of things. I like being helpful."

"It'll be our secret."

Your heart fluttered as he stood in the doorway with you, looking down on you with those soft, sad eyes. The whiskey made his breath hot and your mind race. You didn't want to think anymore.

You reached up on your toes and you kissed him, feeling him freeze under your touch. You pulled back to see a look of shock on his face but also a spark in his eye. 

"We shouldn't do this, love," he stammered, his hands finding your hips as you raised to your toes to meet his lips again. "I'm married to Linda. It's Sunday after a service. You're a good Christian woman."

"And you're a good Christian man," you replied as your hand found his chest. "You try to be, and that's all that God asks of us. It's Linda that demands more of you."

Arthur licked his lips and your eyes followed the movement for a moment as you bit your own. When you looked back into Arthur's eyes you noticed the spark grew brighter. 

"She's just trying to keep me from sin, love," he said hoarsely. "She's a good woman who took pity on a sinner and is trying to keep my soul saved."

"Or she's trying to control you, Arthur," you replied. "Just like your brothers do. I don't want to control you. I want to be beside you."

"What do you know of my brothers?"

You shrugged. 

"Church holds the spirit as well as a lot of gossip," you say. "Whatever they say about your business is not mine to judge you for. I only think that Linda is using the phrase 'love the sinner, hate the sin,' in the wrong way intended. Your inner light is valid."

"How old are you, songbird?" Arthur asks suddenly, his warm rough hand lightly caressing your cheek. "What do you want with an old man?"

"I'm two years older than Linda," you laugh as you press his hand into your cheek.

"You church girls always look so young," he murmured as you pressed closer to him. "Like sin ages a body."

"Kiss me, Arthur," you sighed. "You're stalling."

And he did. Hesitantly. Softly. His mustache tickled your nose but his lips were soft against yours. Your heart slowed, just like time did.

When a light sigh escaped your mouth -- the faintest moan of happiness -- Arthur's tongue grazed your lip and you happily allowed him access to explore.

His hands held onto you like you were an anchor. He pressed you backward out of the doorway until you were lifted clumsily onto the pastor's desk, knocking over a chair on the way. The noise made you both jump and freeze for a moment. Arthur's hands played at the hem of your skirt.

"We shouldn't," you said breathlessly. "Not here. Too many people could walk in."

Arthur kissed you again, trailing kisses to your ear and down your neck as his hands pushed your skirt higher. 

"We can be quick, songbird," Arthur growled into your neck. "An old man can make quick work of a beautiful lady."

"Arthur," you gasped as his fingers found their destination and he pushed your underwear to the side. 

Your head fell back as he pressed into you and growled into your chest. His hands gripped your hips roughly, surely causing bruises as he found a rhythm. 

"Say it again, love," he mumbled, pulling you back to the moment rather than being lost in the sensation. "Say m'name again, sweet like."

"Arthur," you said softly as you bit your lip. His thrust sharpened and you held onto him as your pleasure rose.

"Sounds like fuckin' music," he murmured.

"Arthur," you moaned louder before his hand clamped over your mouth to stifle the yell of passion you wanted to make as he got rougher. 

There it was, the beast that hid behind the softness. And he was glorious.

He buried his own head into the crook of your neck as you bit his hand and came, him following moments after. 

He stayed inside you, catching his breath over you before reluctantly stepping back and tucking himself away. 

"Can you find a reason to get away, Arthur?" You asked as you smoothed your shirt and stood up from the desk to straighten your skirt. "Can you visit me tonight?"

"Ayuh," Arthur nodded. His eyes looked clearer than before. "I'll tell Linda there's business and come round after dinner."

You nodded, guilt stinging you as he said her name. Your lip began to tremble as the realization set in.

"Hey," Arthur said, his finger tracing your lip. "None of that, love."

He kissed you softly, once again a lamb. 

"Tonight," he said as he kissed you. "We'll have time to be slow. Until you're hoarse from singing my name."

You smiled, feeling the bruises forming on your hips now that the thrill was over. 

"Tonight, then."

[lightning-things]

Quite the predicament

Just a little piece to use as a "sample writing" for now. I was literally trying to get some ideas and then one of my cats decided he wanted some cuddles, so I decided to write this.

Hope you'll enjoy it ^^

Fandom: Genshin Impact.

Summary: All you wanted was to fill the blank pages with words, but someone had another plan.

Characters: Zhongli, Reader (no gender mentioned), Northland Cat.

Theme: SFW, fluff, slice of life, some intimacy. Implied romantic relationship.

Inspiration: Indi -one of my cats- and Liyue Harbor.

Words: 1384.

Warnings: None, unless you hate and/or fear cats.

Read also in: Ao3.

Spanish version: Pequeño contratiempo -> https://lightning-cosillas.tumblr.com/post/646727027636027392/pequeño-contratiempo

Quite the predicament

Liyue is calm tonight.

A gentle breeze caresses the streets, making bamboo leaves float around unbothered by people. Only animals can be found roaming the city in the clear night. Lonely clouds are the only ones seen in the sky, letting the stars shine brightly in the dark blue celestial sea displayed above.

If there are other people enjoying the scenery, you don't know, and you don't care either since your attention is focused not on the beauty displayed outside your window, but on the blank pages in front of you.

A book with no words written on it, a virgin piece of paper that will sit in one of the bookshelves that surround you, if only you could get started and break the solid colour that's been staring back at you for what feels like hours.

You sigh, slouching in the chair after placing the brush in the ornate inkstone to not make a mess when your hands go to your head in a vain attempt to let go of your frustration. You just want to write something: your thoughts, your day-to-day errands, or maybe some tale you heard from Liu Su one of those times you went to drink tea and enjoy a good story.

But the paper is still unmarked.

Just moments ago your mind was full of ideas, thoughts flying non-stop and itching you to take the brush and write them down. But at the same moment you sit on the chair after some minutes of careful preparation, your brain decided to stop working and left you with a -oh the irony- blank mind.

A grunt replaces your sighs and instead of letting go of your head to hit the table with your forehead, you decide to arch your back and rest it on the chair, eyes unfocused but nailed to the ceiling as your index finger begins to tap the armrest in an annoying rhythm.

You don’t know how much time passes, since no sound is heard neither inside and outside the house save for the wind passing through the streets. But be it seconds or minutes or hours, there’s a moment when you decide that enough is enough, that sitting while doing nothing is a waste of time.

So you choose to get up and occupy yourself with something -anything will be good at this point- because you know sleep won’t come no matter how comfortable and inviting your bed is. Your mind will just play with you and bring back all the activity you’re missing right now.

And that was the plan, until something jumps at you, almost knocking you out of the chair.

It catches you off-guard, even if the surprise lasts only for the fleeting moment your ears need to recognize the sound and for your hands to grab the little intruder and sink gently into its soft fur.

Your frown banishes instantly, replaced by a tired but sincere smile. The tension of your muscles disappears within seconds, and your posture -rigid, tense, bothered- shifts into a relaxed one.

The little intruder meows contentedly, green eyes closed in delight and throat vibrating with its purrs. Its short fur caresses your skin whenever the cat moves and for a moment you just stay like you are, eyes looking at the feline and following the streaks of black along the silvery strands of its back and sides.

“The northland one, uh?” You talk to yourself, one hand leaving the cat’s side to stroke his head, trying to please him enough to stop hitting your chin with it. “You’re heavier than you look.” A cat well-fed, with shiny fur and strong muscles underneath.

A stray, but a Liyue one without doubt.

The harbor is full of prey like the birds of the bridges, the rats from the boats or the fishes from the stalls that they can hunt -or steal- freely, as well as a good amount of rocks, trees, stairs, pillars and tall houses for the cats to exercise and play.

And it makes you happy, knowing that even if not all cats would be able to hunt or steal things to eat, the harbor is also full of people who feed the animals so none of them would be found the next morning, starved to death.

The northland cat in your arms moves and meows again, redirecting your attention out of your thoughts and back to him, hitting you with his back and head until your hands are petting him, scratching him with care in the places he seems to like judging by the way he places himself.

The book is long forgotten on the table, ink drying while the pages rest untouched and you can’t bring yourself to care anymore.

"Quite the predicament you're in." A voice you know so well slowly makes its way into the pleasant atmosphere. His words don't break the spell even if there's a hint of a laugh in them. No, the charming voice makes its way smoothly into the symphony of purrs to pull you in deeper.

Slowly, with no rush at all, you move your face just enough to look at him, to lock your eyes on his. Pools of amber and gold look back at you and your unexpected guest, shining with mirth at the situation.

You don't laugh, but your smile widens at the same time the purrs of the cat increase their volume and demanding meows echo through the room. The northland feline has noticed your companion and even if he doesn’t leave your lap, his eyes are now fixed on the male.

"Stop whining, you baby." Your tone is light, amused by the neediness the cat shows just so he can make the brunette pet him too. “I hope we didn’t wake you up.”

"Not at all.” His clothes tell a different story, but if you know him -and you do- you’ll be sure he was reading instead of sleeping, or looking at the streets he loved so much, while waiting for sleep to catch you and force your way to bed.

His eyes take notice of the pages, now scattered across the desk but still with no drop of ink in them. However, he doesn’t say a thing about them, busying himself for a few seconds with putting away the writing utensils, avoiding any possible accident with the ink and brushes.

Meanwhile, you look at him, marveling at the way the silk robe -colour similar to the one of the lanterns light up at night on the harbor- complements his features and allows you a peek at his neck and chest. usually covered by layers of expensive clothing and ties.

“Zhongli.” His name in your lips sounds sweet, calm music like a lullaby in the middle of the night. He merely hums to let you know he heard you, to let you continue talking even if he’s not looking at you right now. “Zhongli.” You call again, stroking the cat with one of your hands and putting the other on his arm.

He stops mildly, letting go of the papers and turning his body to you, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. For a moment, there’s purrs instead of silence filling the space. Then the tap of his bare feet against the floor so he can close enough to put a hand on the cat and the other on your shoulder.

His eyes are on you, attention solely focused on your face, your eyes, your smile, the little details of your skin that makes you so unique to him. Admiration flows from his gaze and you cannot help it when you tilt your head and rest your cheek on the hand he has on your shoulder.

“Yes, dear?” He asks, finally, when all is settled and even the cat has fallen silent, lulled to sleep in your arms aided by your breathing and his warm hand caressing his fur.

“Nothing.” Is what you answer. Your eyes open to look at him again, mouth almost letting go of a giggle at his confused expression. “I just wanted to say your name.” You finish, taking his hand to give a fleeting kiss in his knuckles.

That makes Zhongli smile, a lovely curve of lips full of warmth and so much more…

So you call him again.

You liked it? Want to support me? In that case you can buy me a coffee ^^

[smokahuntis]

A girl who almost changed her name

Pairing: Javier peña x reader (pt.4)

Warnings: mentions of guns, mentions of arranged marriage

Summery: Javier goes back to work believing everything is fine until he gets a worrying phone call

Javier was at his apartment with Steve, working on some things about Escobar. Tho he was working here, his mind was somewhere else. He couldn’t get her out of his head, he never could.

That morning he woke up in bed with her, wrapped up in the sheets with the women he could finally say he loved. He smiled seeing her sleep so peacefully on his chest, kissing her head softly before just enjoying the embrace.

Soon, she woke up and stretched slowly before looking up at her boyfriend. She smiled softly and kissed his lips as he hummed. “Good morning” she whispered.

“Good morning to you too” he chuckled and hugged her tightly before sitting up.

“Do you have to go to work?” She asked as she laid back, he nodded and grabbed clean clothes from his drawer.

“I’ll be back this evening, okay?” He said as he got dressed and sprayed on her favorite cologne. She nodded and got up, walking over and kissing his cheek softly.

“Be careful” she whispered, he gave her a look.

“I’m always careful.” He replied as he fixed his hair and watched her in the mirror.

“That’s a lie and we both know it” she chuckled and he nodded.

“I’ll be good” he kissed her chastely before leaving.

While Javier was gone that day (y/n) went to the market to get some groceries and fresh fruits. As she grabbed some grapefruit from the local vendors she started to notice something familiar from the corner of her eye. A man she had seen frequently today a few stalls down from her. She shook it off, knowing it was possible he just had a similar grocery list as her, but he had no bag. He had nothing on him at all, but a gun tucked away in his pants. She glanced him over before she started to walk away faster, trying to get back to her car soon as possible.

It could be nothing, it could be a man after someone else but even then, in Colombia she didn’t want to risk it. So quickly she got to her car as fast as she could, getting in with her food she called Javier. Fumbling with her phone as she fetched it from her purse. Finally calling the number she had familiarized so well.

“Peña” Javier answered as he picked up, she heard him on the other line, the ruffling of his clothes as he laid the phone between his head and shoulder.

“Javier- it’s me - I- I need you to come down to the market...” she said a little frantic as she looked around to try and find the man again, just to have eyes on him.

“Baby?” He asked becoming more alert as he heard her tone, now holding the phone to his ear. “What’s going on?”

“It- it’s probably nothing but... there’s this guy- I keep seeing him everywhere today and he.. he has a gun” she whispered. Javier was quick to stand and grab his gun from his desk and tuck it into his belt, pulling Steve’s attention quickly causing him to do the same.

“Listen, stay in the car, I’ll be there soon. I promise” he said sweetly, trying to reassure her.

“O-okay...” she whispered before the line went dead. She tried to distract herself, looking around to try and spot the man but also to look away from him. She was terrified, what if he was after her.

“What’s going on?” Steve asked as they went out to the truck and quickly jumped in.

“A... a friend of mine thinks someone is following her” he said pulling out onto the hot Colombia concrete.

“A friend huh?” Steve asked watching him.

“Yea... a friend” Javier said just focusing on getting to the market as quickly as possible. There were many markets in Colombia but he knew which one she went to, he started going with her when he could. He liked helping pick out ingredients for dinner, sometimes he’d get random things for her just to test her skills in the kitchen.

“What’s this ones name” Steve asked as he watched Javier.

“Her name is (y/n) and do not refer to her as this one, okay?” He said with a scoff at the end as he sped up.

“Defensive...who is she” he asked.

“She’s someone important, okay?”

“An informant?” Steve wondered out loud

“No! Why the hell do you care” Javier growled as they got close.

“Because I’ve never seen you act so quickly on something like this” Steve said getting his gun ready.

“She’s my girlfriend okay? Are you happy” he said as he got out of the car quickly, leaving Steve in shock.

“You have a girlfriend?!” He asked as he got out and followed him.

“Yea and if we don’t hurry and find her I will have had a girlfriend. now shut up and come on” Javier barked at him protectively as he went to find the little black car he became familiar with.

Steve admired the way Javier was acting, It was out of instinct. Out of protection. He’s seen the way Javier protects his girls but something about this was different, he could see it in his partners eyes. This was out of character and Steve liked that. Maybe Javier did have a heart.

(Y/n) looked up seeing Javier looking around for her, quickly she hit out of the car and yelled for him. Catching his attention, and the attention of the follower. Javier looked over at her just as his eyes caught sight of the man he knew all to well. Steve followed javiers eyes and nodded.

“Go get her, I’ll follow him” Steve said before running in Poisons direction. Meanwhile Javier sprinted to (y/n). His large arms consuming her in a hug.

“Are you alright?” He asked as he held the back of her head and her waist. She nodded and sighed.

“I’m okay- I’m okay” she whispered and hugged him back, hiding her face in his chest as she relaxed.

“How long has he been following you?” He asked pulling away from a moment to check her face, just to see her.

“I - I don’t know” she stumbles over her words trying to think about it “I first saw him when I was getting my herbs...” she whispered looking at Javier. That was the first thing she always did, she liked fresh herbs. If she could grow them she would buy Javier was quick to find out so was no good with plants.

“You won’t think he- he knows where I live do you?” She asked worriedly.

“I don’t know but you’re staying with me tonight... not that it makes much difference but just to be safe...” he said holding her face gently, pushing her hair back. She nodded and looked at him before looking back in the direction Steve and poison ran.

“Let’s get you home...” he said helping her back in the car and driving her to her house. His hand laid on her thigh the whole time, not sexually but in an almost protective way.

“Do you know why that man would’ve followed you...” Javier asked as he broke the silence. She shook her head looking out the window. “It’ll be okay” he said holding her hand now. Lacing their fingers together as he drove.

“I’m sorry...” she whispered.

“For what” he asked as he pulled into her apartment.

“I... I lied... I do know him” she whispered looking at him with soft eyes, tears welling up in the corners

“You do?” He asked worriedly now. “How?”

“I ... I almost married his brother... I didn’t recognize him at first because he’s grown up so much from then- I... I saw it before Steve went after him.... I know him” she admitted as a little tear slipped down her cheek. His thumb came up and wiped it away gently, leaving his hand there to rest on her cheek.

“Why didn’t you tell me...” he asked quietly

“Because I- I didn’t- I didn’t know at first-“

“About the marriage...” he cut her off and she looked at him in the eyes, fear racing threw her.

“Because I... I didn’t want you to hate me” she said with a trembling voice.

“Why would I hate you?” He asked confused

“Because there’s more to it the that...” she sighed and looked at her hands. “It was an arranged marriage... but a few months before he started bringing me around more so we could get to know each other. That’s when I realized what he was... I told my parents and they didn’t believe me so I went to the cops... of course at the time pablo had them all under his thumb so they almost handed me over to him” she bit her lip and sighed “then I found Carillo, he put me into protection, and put me across the street from you guys. Put me in a nice neighborhood, changed my name, gave me a nice car... My real name is (y/n)... I told you the truth- I shouldn’t have but I know what you did... I’d seen your badge a few times before so I didn’t care... but really I’m supposed to tell people I’m ‘(y/f/n)’...”

Javier just watched her and took in the story as he tried to think. “Why didn’t he tell me I was watching someone?”

“Because you weren’t the one watching me...” she looked over at him again. “It’s... Carla... the house cleaning lady for our apartments... she’s my Marshal” she said quietly

“Carla?! She’s a marshal?!” He asked I’m surprise “I have been tipping this lady for years now and she gets paid more then me?!” He said looking at her in disbelief. She giggled, actually giggled at him. Shaking her head before she sighed.

“She’s also not house cleaning she just kinda hates the mess, so you should continue to tip her... because she’s doing that for free... she also lives in a few apartments down” she said softly. “You should really pay more attention, baby” she smiled at him and took his hand again.

“I’m seeing that now... holy shit” he leaned back and sighed before they fell back into silence.

“Why didn’t they move you to the states?” He asked after a moment.

“I’m not sure... i asked Carla before and she didn’t have an answer either” she looked at him. He nodded and sighed, he never fully trusted Carillo but he trusted him enough.

“You know... I almost got married once” he admitted as the sun started to set in Colombia. She looked at him in shock he chuckled at her reaction and continued.

“Yea I know, shocker to me too... but I loved her... I really did and then... that moment came we were meant to go to the church and I just... I couldn’t do it...” he admitted looking at her “I left her there... like a complete ass hole and sometimes I regret every moment of it... but not now” he said looking at her with soft eyes, looking her over.

“I wouldn’t have had the chance ... with you... if I didn’t leave her” he whispered. She smiled at him softly and nodded.

“I’m glad you did... but if you ever do that to me Javier Peña, I will hunt you down and strip you of your manhood” she threatened. He nodded and quickly Opened the car door.

“Aaaanyways, let’s get your things. You get some clothes and I’ll get the cats stuff okay?” He smiled and hurried inside from the threatening women. She chuckled at him and went insides to collect her things.

She was glad she didn’t change her name

Tag list: @thinemineours s @morgannope e @thisis-theway @onabouteverything @blxwjobsforclones @a-dorin @everythinggeeky @jedi-jesi i i @letaliabane @oberynfuckingmartell @read-and-rec

[multifandomfix]

Shared Custody - Mary Albright x Sally Solomon x Reader

Summary: Mary and Sally learn that they’ve been sharing you for a while, and now they have to figure out what comes next now that they know.

Word Count: 782

Warnings: Slight angst

It was rare that Mary and Sally ever shared a moment alone together, which made it easy for you to see them both. You’d only been going out casually, nothing serious up to this point, so you figured that until something did become serious there was no reason to tell either of them that you were seeing someone else as well. Nothing was exclusive. Of course, that’s when you’d been counting on the fact that they hardly ever spoke.

Then Dick had to get involved. They all went to dinner together, Sally, Tommy, Harry, Dick and Mary. That’s when it all started to fall apart for you. Sally began telling Mary about this person she was seeing and Mary listened with rapt attention when the person she was describing sounded an awful lot like you. Then it was Mary's turn to tell Sally about you. Sally noticed the similarities as well. Then, they both said your name at once and an awkward silence fell over the table. Harry, Tommy and Dick were all quick to excuse themselves rather than get involved in this love triangle. Meanwhile, Mary and Sally had a decision to make.

They both adored you. Yet they had no idea that you’d been seeing someone else. They couldn’t be mad about that though, neither of them had ever said they wanted to be exclusive. Not yet anyway. Now both kind of wished they had.

For Mary, it was clear that Sally would end up being your choice in the end. She was younger, more beautiful and had that quick, humorous wit about her. For Sally, she began to doubt herself. If you saw something in Mary, then what was keeping you with her? They hardly had a thing in common, so there had to be a possibility that you were only with Sally because of her looks. At least, that’s what she told herself.

When they both asked to meet with you on the same day, that was your first inkling that something was up. They’d found out and you were going to have to choose. So, you met them both for lunch. You were so nervous that you couldn’t eat a thing, but the food really wasn’t the reason you were here anyway. It was simply neutral territory.

"We know you’ve been seeing us both," Sally started.

Mary then jumped in. "We’re not mad about it. We never said anything was official. We’re just a bit confused."

You glanced between the both of them, seeing all the things that you adored the most about each of them. The softness of Mary's eyes, that unshakable confidence that Sally had. This wasn’t going to be easy. You took a big gulp of water in attempt to stall the conversation for just a minute more.

"I like you both," you said finally. "I suppose you want me to choose one of you though." Mary and Sally exchanged a look. They hadn’t really considered that. While they knew it would eventually come that, both were too preoccupied with not wanting to lose you.

"I don’t want to lose you," Sally said, the fear in her voice unlike anything you’d ever heard from her before.

"And I do," Mary accused, outraged that Sally would even suggest that she loved you more. She was just as enamored with you as Sally was.

"Don’t argue," you interrupted, slamming your hands on the table just as Sally was about to reply. "I don’t want to lose either of you. This is impossible for me." You didn’t want to cry, but you felt the hot sting of salty tears welling up in your eyes. Both Mary and Sally reached out for one of your hands.

Mary had never seen Sally like this before. She was normally so self assured and seemed not to care about anything, but it was clear to Mary that you meant a lot to her. And, noticing the look of sadness in Mary's eyes, Sally realized that Mary cared just as much for you as she did herself. They both adored you, and judging on the tear now rolling down your cheek, you cherished them both as well.

"Maybe we could work something out," Sally offered, trying to take command of the situation.

"You think," Mary asked.

"Look, we can’t be that different. Something about each of us drew in the same person. I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but I think we can find some common ground. No one has to lose anyone."

"So what, it’s like, shared custody," Mary questioned.

"Sort of," Sally offered for lack of a better explanation. "We'll just take it as it comes, alright? Whatever happens, happens."

For @stone-hearted-seymour

[ibijau]

Futures Past pt7 / On AO3

Lan Xichen's plans for the day get derailed, but not as much as he feared

After a long and silent eternity, the people of Yunping Huang finally started to wake up, as did their Lan guests. Lan Xichen and Nie Huaisang, both relieved to have company at last, joined everyone else for breakfast. The younger boy made a point of sitting as far away as possible, clearly still upset about that Su She incident. Even like this, Nie Huaisang threw a sharp look toward Lan Xichen when Lan Qiren dropped by to announce that they would all be staying until that afternoon, since the three sect leaders present had things left to discuss.

Lan Xichen tried his best to look surprised at the news, and discreetly nodded at Nie Huaisang to confirm he would still be helping.

By the time Lan Xichen felt it safe to head out without risking being seen by his uncle, Nie Huaisang was already at the door of the sect, nervously biting his nails again and tapping his foot on the ground as if waiting to be given a chance to bolt out. He must really have wanted those spring books, Lan Xichen thought.

It wasn’t so hard, convincing the Huang disciple guarding the entrance that Nie Huaisang was actually allowed to go out if it was in Lan Xichen’s company. It helped that Lan Xichen, in spite of his age, already had a small reputation going for him, and that he’d performed so well against those fierce corpses the previous day that the guard was a little in awe. The two boys then headed out together, having agreed to stick together until they were out of view, and to meet again at a certain hour when they had both taken care of their respective errands. They would surely be scolded when they came back, but less than if they returned separately.

Nie Huaisang was about to run off on his own when they heard someone calling their names behind them. They turned as one, terrified to have been already discovered, only to find Jiang Cheng running toward them, a frown on his face.

“Where are you two going?” Jiang Cheng asked when he caught up with them, throwing them a suspicious look.

“Nowhere,” Lan Xichen said.

“And we’re not going together,” Nie Huaisang added. “We just happen to be heading out at the same time.”

Jiang Cheng’s expression only turned more suspicious. If that Huang disciple had been easy to fool, it seemed Jiang Cheng remembered that Lan Qiren’s punishment of Nie Huaisang had made no mention of exceptions.

“Can I come with you?”

Lan Xichen gave the younger boy a puzzled smile, and turned to look at Nie Huaisang, awaiting his answer. He hadn’t noticed that the two boys had talked at all the previous day, but he wasn’t surprised either that they’d have some affinity. 

They weren’t supposed to have met yet, but Lan Xichen remembered that they would become somewhat close the following year, especially after that Wei Wuxian boy would be sent home. He didn’t think the friendship between Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng had gone anywhere after they’d left the Cloud Recesses, but it would still be good for them to…

“No, I meant with you, Lan gongzi,” Jiang Cheng corrected with some embarrassment, having followed his gaze. “I had a few questions I’d like to ask you, about yesterday. Lan gongzi really was very impressive,” he explained with a small bow. “I hoped he might spare some time to teach me?”

The request startled Lan Xichen, as did the rather mild and calm tone in which it was made. Come to think of it, in that terrible future he’d very rarely interacted with Jiang Cheng without Wei Wuxian being present as well, who always unwittingly drew out the worst sides of his shidi’s personality. And then, after Wei Wuxian’s death… well, Jiang Cheng just hadn’t been a pleasant man with anyone.

He too would grow into a lonely man, Lan Xichen recalled, and the idea upset him. How much could have been changed, if he hadn’t relied so much on Meng Yao’s friendship, if Jiang Cheng had had someone on his side other than Wei Wuxian?

“I have an errand to run,” he explained, only to see Jiang Cheng’s face tighten at the apparent rejection. How odd, that he’d never noticed before that Jiang Cheng was a little sensitive, but he recalled an argument in that temple where Meng Yao would die, and… well. Sensitive was a mild thing to call it. “It’s fine if you come as well,” Lan Xichen heard himself say.

“Really?” Jiang Cheng asked, sounding almost suspicious.

It would be a dreadful idea to think of dragging the son of a sect leader into the sort of places where Meng Yao could be expected to be found. But Jiang Cheng looked too pitiful to be left behind, and Lan Xichen decided even if this visit to Yunping City turned out to be a failure, he could always try to come again later. He’d have to lie about the reason why, but since it was for a good cause, he figured it wasn’t too big of a crime. In fact, maybe it was for the best if he gave up for the day. He hardly had a plan on how to deal with Meng Yao, anyway.

“I was also impressed by how well Jiang gongzi did yesterday,” Lan Xichen said with a smile. “For being so young, you are very competent already. I was wondering why Jiang zongzhu had brought his young son to a Night Hunt that could have been dangerous, but after seeing you in action I understand better.”

“Yes, Jiang gongzi was really impressive,” Nie Huaisang exclaimed, as if he knew enough about martial arts to give his opinion. “Yunmeng Jiang trains for flexibility and speed, right? It really showed! And you have very good posture and a strong grip on your sword. I think even my brother would have found nothing to say against how you fought!”

Lan Xichen threw Nie Huaisang a sharp glance, surprised to hear him make such an accurate assessment of Jiang Cheng’s skill. Apparently lacking any talent himself didn’t stop him from understanding the strength of others.

Jiang Cheng’s cheeks turned a little pink at the double praise.

“You’re both too generous,” he said in a tone of voice that made it obvious he thought he deserved the compliments. Then, quite suddenly, his face turned sour. “To be honest, I’m only here because Wei Wuxian was supposed to come as well and we work well as a team. But he got punished and had to stay behind. If you’d seen him, then…”

“That Wei person isn’t here though, so who cares about his skill!” Nie Huaisang cheerfully cut him. “If he got punished, he can’t be that good. Ah, but I really should get going now… Jiang gongzi, please entertain Lan gongzi for me, and I’ll see you both later when it’s time to leave!”

With this, Nie Huaisang darted away, the way he’d been wanting to do since Lan Xichen first saw him that morning. For someone so reluctant to do any physical exercise Nie Huaisang could run fast, and in the blink of an eye he had just disappeared in the sparse early morning crowd.

“What a weirdo,” Jiang Cheng remarked.

“He’s a very unique person,” Lan Xichen agreed. “I just hope he won’t get himself into too much trouble. Ah, well… shall we go?”

“Sure. What’s your errand? I’ve been here a few times before, maybe I can guide you around.”

For a brief moment, Lan Xichen was very tempted… but no. He would find another occasion to deal with Meng Yao. This was important too, he felt.

He'd been focused on saving Nie Mingjue, on protecting his sect's library, on averting Meng Yao's fate, because those had been the thing weighting down the man he would have become, but he didn't have to stop at that. There were many more tragedies in the world, small and big, and maybe Lan Xichen could change those too. 

Maybe Jiang Cheng didn't need to grow with no friend but Wei Wuxian. 

“Forget about my errand, it’s something that can wait. Instead, would Jiang gongzi show me around while we chat? I’m sure you know some interesting places.”

The praise, however mild, had an instant effect on Jiang Cheng who proudly nodded, and offered to take Lan Xichen to the market by the lake, where some sellers always had some unique things to sell, he claimed, as well as delicious food. Besides, if Lan Xichen didn't enjoy the market, then they'd have the option to just walk by the lake and enjoy the sight. It seemed like a pleasant enough plan so Lan Xichen agreed. 

As they walked side by side, Jiang Cheng started asking questions about Lan Xichen's performance the previous day, and about Gusu Lan's style of cultivation in general. Jiang Cheng was surprisingly observant, it turned out, and quite curious as well as gifted with a good memory. He lacked the sheer genius that Wei Wuxian seemed to have, but hard work and stubbornness were valuable skills as well. After just this short chat, Lan Xichen thought it made sense that Jiang Cheng had managed to single-handedly raise his sect from the ashes, in that future that couldn't be allowed to happen. 

He thought, also, that his future self had missed out by never taking the time to really talk to Jiang Cheng. The younger boy's character was a little rough around the edges, but he knew how to be polite, and some of his remarks showed an understanding of politics that surprised Lan Xichen. In some ways, Jiang Cheng reminded him of Nie Mingjue as he had been before rising to power. 

When they reached the market, their conversation drifted to lighter topics. Jiang Cheng was disappointed at first to learn Lan Xichen was a strict vegetarian who couldn't handle any spice to his food, but quickly took it as a challenge to find something his companion could still taste. They also wandered from stall to stall, checking on the various wares offered. Lan Xichen was thinking of buying something for his brother, who had been quite unhappy to be left behind when Nie Huaisang had been invited, but wasn't sure what to pick. A year from then he could have gotten something rabbit themed and be done with it, but Lan Wangji hadn't yet developed a love for those animals, and was just impossible to shop for.

Just as Lan Xichen was about to ask for Jiang Cheng’s opinion, since he was of a similar age to Lan Wangji, a commotion further away in the market caught their attention. There seemed to be an argument happening just three stalls away from them, between a seller and a young customer whose voice Lan Xichen had the displeasure of instantly recognising.

Lan Xichen pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed. Of course Nie Huaisang would have gotten in trouble.

“Isn’t that…” Jiang Cheng started, squinting toward the altercation.

“It is. I’m sorry, Jiang gongzi, but I fear our little excursion ends here.”

Lan Xichen darted ahead, and couldn’t help feeling a little grateful when Jiang Cheng decided to follow, even though this didn’t concern him.

Nie Huaisang, it turned out, had gotten into an argument with a middle-aged man selling cultivation manuals. Both he and the man were shouting loudly at each other, sometimes trying to drag two other people into their fight, a boy whose face Lan Xichen couldn’t see but who even from the back was radiating embarrassment at being caught into this, and an elegant woman who looked just as ashamed.

“If you don’t want me to ruin your business, then you should have an honest one and this wouldn’t happen!” Nie Huaisang was shouting, pointing a threatening finger at the merchant even though the man was two heads taller and at least twice as large as him. “But if you scam people, then I’ll call you a scammer, and a disgrace as well. I’m going to denounce you to the Yunping Huang sect, and then they’ll just…”

“You’ll keep your stupid mouth shut if you know what’s good for you!” the merchant retorted. “Or else I’ll…”

“I’m not scared of you!” Nie Huaisang boasted. “You’re just a liar and a scammer and I’m not scared and I’m going to make sure you never sell fakes again!”

“I'll teach you some respect, you brat!" the man shouted, as he grabbed a sheathed sword from his stall and raised it above his head in a threatening manner.

There were a few frightened cries coming from the crowd that had gathered to watch the argument, but nobody seemed inclined to move forward and protect an insolent but scrawny child from a much more imposing adult when the adult in question had a weapon. Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng too only watched with some curiosity. 

Even a cultivator as mediocre as Nie Huaisang could deal with such a situation. The merchant might have been big, but the way he moved and breathed showed he had no martial training at all, while Nie Huaisang was already positioning himself to avoid whatever blows might be thrown at him. And anyway, even without seeing the blade, Lan Xichen could tell that the man’s sword was of very low quality and would likely bend or shatter should it encounter the blade of Nie Huaisang’s high quality sabre… but it was unlikely it would come to that.

The issue of the fight was obvious to all watchers, although Lan Xichen guessed that most of the crowd was deeply wrong in their certainty.

Among those people was the boy standing near Nie Huaisang, and who appeared to be involved in the dispute as well. He and the woman with him had been trying to get out of this mess up until then, but seeing Nie Huaisang in apparent danger, the boy’s posture changed and he sprang forward when the merchant brought down his sword, pushing Nie Huaisang out of the way.

The boy cried in pain and fell to his knees when the sheathed sword hit his shoulder, while the woman with him gasped in horror and ran to his side to check on him, as did Nie Huaisang once he got over the surprise. It had not been a particularly hard blow. That merchant, regardless of his business practices, must have known that seriously harming even a particularly bratty teenager would turn the crowd against him. But the boy wasn’t strong, and even that light attack seemed to have been too much for him.

Sensing that the situation was about to go bad, Lan Xichen pierced through the crowd to try and calm things down, Jiang Cheng still trailing behind him.

There were a few murmurs when the two of them came into view. The people gathered there glanced at Lan Xichen dressed all in immaculate white, at Jiang Cheng in rich purple, took note of their posture, the sword at their hips, and started whispering among themselves. The merchant too, who had been so confident when arguing with Nie Huaisang, and who had started accusing the other boy of faking his injury, went pale when he realised that some true cultivators had joined them. 

The man immediately started gathering his merchandise to run away, but wasn’t fast enough to stop Lan Xichen from grabbing one of the manuals on sale. He quickly browsed through it, and pinched his lips.

“That is indeed a fake,” Lan Xichen announced, much to the shock of the crowd. Then, behind him, the woman yelled in rage. She jumped to her feet and abandoned the hurt boy to throw herself at the merchant, slapping him so hard he dropped all his merchandise.

“You liar!” she shouted, trying to slap him a second time. “I’ve been buying from you for nearly a year! You said A-Yao would become a cultivator for sure with those!”

“They’re real, they’re real!” the merchant replied, trying to shield himself from her blows. “Maybe your son just doesn’t have what it takes!”

“No, he’s got it,” Nie Huaisang announced, causing all eyes to turn on him. He had kneeled down to grab one wrist of that other boy, and seemed to be inspecting his meridians for any sign of talent. “In fact, I think he could be very good. He just needs some real lessons.”

The boy’s mother stared at him for a moment. Her eyes were wide with surprise at first, but quickly her expression turned into one of triumph at the news of her son’s potential, before she became enraged again and started hitting the merchant once more, demanding her money back. After a moment, Jiang Cheng intervened, trying to calm down the woman while preventing the merchant from fleeing now that his crime had been exposed. Lan Xichen should have helped, he truly should have, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from the woman’s son.

From Meng Yao.

Because that boy, shorter than Nie Huaisang but with a slightly broader frame, who looked dazed from the unexpected turn his morning had taken and perhaps also from the blow he’d suffered, was Meng Yao. Having seen his face there was no doubt possible, even if he was younger than Lan Xichen had ever known him. That boy was the one who, one day, would murder Nie Mingjue and many others, who would ingratiate himself in Lan Xichen’s good graces, who would use Lan XIchen's reputation as a shield before ultimately turning him into a hostage, only to die by his sword.

Lan Xichen felt his throat start to close, the now familiar choking sensation slowly seizing him as he watched Meng Yao, until…

“Really, you’ve got great potential,” Nie Huaisang exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear as he patted the other boy's hand. “You know, my da-ge is a sect leader. Maybe you’ve heard of us, Qinghe Nie? Well, my da-ge is its sect leader, and if I tell him about you, I’m sure he’d be thrilled to let you join us!”

“Nie Huaisang!” Lan Xichen cried out, his panic fading quickly in the face of absolute horror. 

Everyone turning to stare at him. Meng Shi stopped trying to hit the crooked merchant, and liked her son seemed puzzled by his intervention. So was the crowd still watching everything unfold as if it were a particularly entertaining play. Jiang Cheng frowned but retained his hold on the merchant, while Nie Huaisang…

Nie Huaisang was not happy, a scowl forming on his face.

“Nie gongzi shouldn’t go around making this sort of offer,” Lan Xichen said, only to see Nie Huaisang’s expression grow darker still.

It wasn’t quite the open hatred he would have shown two decades in the future, at the second funeral of Nie Mingjue, the very last time they would have spoken.

It wasn’t far from it either, and that realisation made Lan Xichen shiver.

“I’m not saying anything unreasonable,” Nie Huaisang argued. “I know my da-ge, and if he hears about a competent person who wishes to become a cultivator, then for sure he’ll want to give them a chance. It’s the sort of person he is.”

Of course Nie Mingjue would give Meng Yao a chance. That was how Lan Xichen had ended up in this whole mess, wasn’t it?

“I am most grateful for these venerable immortals’ interest in my son,” Meng Shi said, returning near her son and bending to wrap an arm around his shoulders, the very picture of a proud mother. “But this will not be necessary. I have good hopes that someday my A-Yao will enter the Jin sect, and…”

“No!” Lan Xichen and Nie Huaisang shouted at the same time.

Meng Shi startled at the cry, as did her son.

He looked so young, Lan Xichen thought. So young and innocent and… but of course, Meng Yao was innocent, more so than when they would have met in that other future. He hadn’t yet lost his mother, though Lan Xichen thought her complexion already betrayed early signs of illness. He also hadn’t yet been thrown down the stairs of Jinlin Tai by his own father, not for nearly another year, if Lan Xichen were to guess.

Meng Yao was just a boy, who hadn’t yet started on his path of murder and betrayal.

He was a boy who could still be saved, just like Nie Mingjue.

“Oh, I really wouldn’t recommend that you try joining Lanling Jin,” Nie Huaisang said, throwing Lan Xichen a suspicious look. “It’s not a very good place, not unless you’re born into money and power. Their sect leader is a bit of a prick, too.”

“Nie gongzi shouldn’t gossip,” Lan Xichen said out of habit, earning another glare.

“It’s not gossip if it’s the truth. Everyone knows Jin zongzhu is the worst,” Nie Huaisang insisted. “Did you hear about that girl he seduced some years ago? Da-ge said she was just sixteen, and then she got with child, and then he told her that he’d take care of the child, and then he got bored and never went back again.”

“Oh, the one from that rich family in... what was it again? Mo village?” Jiang Cheng remarked. “I’ve heard mother talk about that one. She’d been pestering Jin zongzhu about taking their son into Lanling Jin, but he was worried his wife would figure it out. But Jin Furen still heard about it even like that, and she made a scene. That’s why he stopped going. Well, that and he’d started playing with that other girl… where was it, the one because of whom he didn't go home for two months?”

“No gossip,” Lan Xichen repeated without conviction, his eyes set on Meng Shi.

She’d gone pale at the mention of another bastard, paler still at the news that even a woman of higher standing than hers had failed to make Jin Guangshan keep his promises, but she said nothing and only tightened her grip on her son’s shoulders. Meng Yao too looked shaken by what Jiang Cheng had said, but he appeared less distraught than his mother, as if perhaps he’d already guessed this might be the case but kept on hoping for her sake more than his own.

“It’s really not gossip,” Nie Huaisang claimed, throwing Lan Xichen another annoyed look. “Anyway, Lan gongzi, what if you went to fetch Huang zongzhu and your uncle and Jiang gongzi’s father? Then you won’t have to hear anything that might upset you, and after we’ll get to deal with that man who scammed money out of honest people.”

Lan Xichen hesitated, glancing again toward Meng Shi. She didn't look like she might still try to send her son to Lanling after this, not for a long while at least. But to leave her with Nie Huaisang who had apparently decided to ruin all of Lan Xichen’s plans by inviting Meng Yao into Qinghe Nie.

And yet, there was no other option but for Lan Xichen to be the one who fetched the grown-ups. 

If Nie Huaisang went, Lan Qiren would lose time scolding him, which would give that merchant a chance to run away, or to turn the crowd against them if he was smart… not to mention the Meng family probably had other business to deal with and wouldn’t wait forever, not even for a chance to enter a cultivation sect.

If Jiang Cheng went, he might just get ignored. Lan Xichen hadn’t personally seen it yet, but he knew his future self was aware that Jiang Cheng had a… complicated relationship with his parents, and Jiang Fengmian didn’t particularly favour his own son.

But if Lan Xichen went, his uncle would give him due attention, as he always did when Lan Xichen made it clear he considered a matter important. Perhaps he might even listen to his nephew’s argument in favour of a poor but talented young man, one righteous enough to get hurt trying to protect Nie Huaisang.

That might mean further punishment for Nie Huaisang but Lan Xichen, furious at the other boy for trying to ruin his great plan, didn’t feel particularly sorry about that.

“Nie gongzi, don’t make any more outrageous offers while I’m gone,” Lan Xichen ordered, then turned to Jiang Cheng. “I’m sorry to impose on you, Jiang gongzi, but please keep the situation under control for a little while. I know I can count on you, and I’ll try to be quick.”

Nie Huaisang rolled his eyes, looking more angry at Lan Xichen than before, if that was possible. It mattered little, because Jiang Cheng’s face shone at being trusted like this by someone older, and he nodded with such serious that Lan Xichen felt a little less worried as he left the little group behind.

[tulipsandcorgis]

Hii , hope you're well

Since you're open to crazy prompts i would like to contribute one!

What if Kate goes to duel someone who tries to take advantage of Edwina? And Edwina obviously panics and goes to the Bridgerton for help and she gathers all the Bridgerton brothers to go and stop Kate. Anthony's obviously furious because she's willing to kill herself (hypocrite) and drags them all back to his lodgings.

I'm sorry if its such a long prompt i simply had to share the idea! Thank you for all your fics!!

unsurprisingly, a long (and very interesting) prompt results in a long(-ish) answer! so here’s 1.5k words of anthony not realizing he’s afraid to lose kate, colin contributing very little to the conversation, and benedict and edwina just going along for the ride, i suppose. also featuring brief appearances by daphne and lady danbury, and mentions of an original(-ish) character. not sure if this 100% works with the canon timeline, since this is set before anything happens between kate and anthony (aka no kiss in the study has happened yet).

anyway, thank you so much for trusting me with your idea! without further ado, here it is:

“She did what?” Anthony exclaimed, staring at Edwina with a wide-eyed expression on his face. The crease between his eyebrows had deepened significantly, and it almost looked as if he were about to pop a vein in his forehead.

“Well, we were just preparing to leave Lady Trowbridge’s ball tonight — you were there, too. As were you, and you.” Edwina said hurriedly, glancing at Benedict and Colin. “And Kate saw Lord Mountbatten approach me, and before I knew it, she’d challenged him to a duel.”

“Why?” Benedict questioned, having clearly not witnessed the encounter, and Anthony gritted his teeth.

“Edwina, forgive my language, but you sister is a bloody fool.” He spat, clenching his jaw and massaging his temples with his thumb and forefinger.

Edwina paid no attention to his comment, and turned to Benedict. “He gripped my waist quite hard, you see, and made some comment about how lovely our children would be, and then Kate appeared. I’ve never seen her so furious. And then, well, she said something along the lines of wanting to demand satisfaction.”

She shuddered at the memory of Mountbatten’s mouth near her ear during a dance, his calloused palms gripping her waist with much more force than was strictly necessary. But then, much to her relief, Kate had showed up.

Benedict’s face contorted into a look of genuine disgust, and Colin’s eyebrows raised.

“Well, where is she?” He asked, almost conversationally, as if absolutely nothing was wrong. Anthony pondered fratricide for a brief moment. “I could always be her second.”

“You will do no such thing,” Anthony interrupted, glaring at his brother before turning back to the group. “This is madness. Mountbatten is a skilled marksman. With his finger on the trigger, Kate would die before the ten paces are even up!”

Edwina gasped. “We need to find her, quickly.”

Benedict patted her shoulder softly. “We will, don’t worry.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, brother.” Anthony snapped, before grabbing Edwina’s hand and leading her out of the study. “Now, I suppose we should find your sister before she gets herself killed.”

“Daphne told me that she and Kate were heading over to Lady Danbury’s after the ball,” Colin supplied. “Given these… unforeseen circumstances, we don’t know if she’s still there, but it wouldn’t hurt to check.”

Much to everyone’s relief. Anthony agreed, and the group quickly made their way to Lady Danbury’s residence, with Colin still offering advice, probably to ease Edwina’s anxiety.

“You know, I could still be her second,” He offered, turning to Edwina. “After all, I do know where Anthony keeps the pistols.”

The girl’s eyes widened in surprised, and Anthony frowned. “If anyone is to be her second, it will be me.” He said firmly. “Seeing as Benedict and I are the only two people here who actually know the rules of dueling.”

Colin rolled his eyes. “If you’re talking about the incident with Hastings, I was also there,” He reminded his brother, but Anthony was having none of it.

He picked up his pace, relieved to see that Danbury’s house was in view. Benedict, Colin, and Edwina struggled to keep up as Anthony practically raced across the cobblestones, bounded up the steps, and pounded on the front door.

“Christ, you’re going to give Lady Danbury a heart attack,” Colin muttered, and Anthony shot him a look.

A footman opened the door, and Anthony practically pushed past him, leading Edwina through the house, with the other two brothers hot on their heels.

In the dimly lit drawing room, the only light coming from a roaring fire in the fireplace, sat Lady Danbury, Daphne, and Kate.

“Ah, Bridgertons!” Lady Danbury grinned, nodding at Edwina. “And a Sharma, as well. Come to collect your sisters, I presume?”

Benedict muttered a quick, “Something of that sort,” as Anthony said, with the last shred of politeness left in his body, “I’m afraid we don’t have time for small talk tonight, Lady Danbury.”

He shot the older woman a strained smile, then turned his attention to Kate, who sat on the sofa with Daphne at her side. He shooed his sister away, and ushered her and everyone else, except for Kate and Edwina, from the room. Now it was just him, the Sharma sisters, and Anthony’s rage — which burst from him as soon as the drawing room door clicked shut.

“What on earth do you think you’re playing at?” He hissed, his eyes burning with a fire that was similar to the very one roaring on the coals in the fireplace. “Your sister—“ He pointed at Edwina. “She arrives at Bridgerton House and tells me you’ve demanded to duel with Lord Mountbatten!”

Kate rolled her eyes and stood. “He—“

“He made a comment to your sister, yes, but that is hardly something to duel over, Miss Sharma. Do you know Lord Mountbatten is one of the best marksmen in the ton?”

“No,” She said, eyeing him closely. “But—“

“He can kill you, Kate.” Anthony told her, his voice deathly serious, and her eyes widened. “Kill. You.” He repeated, either to get the words through her silly skull, or, perhaps, his.

Anthony stepped closer, his manners being swallowed up by the anger and fear growing in his chest. “He would aim that tiny bullet right here—“ He pointed to a spot just below her collarbone. “And you’d be gone before the doctor on site could get to you.”

She swallowed thickly, lowering her eyes to where his finger hovered in the air, just several inches from her skin. The air crackled with something electric and unsaid, and Anthony felt his jaw unclench as he lowered his hand.

“That won’t happen.” Kate said finally, looking past him, at her sister.

“You don’t know that.” He barked out a twisted sort of laugh, the sound almost getting caught in his throat. “If you did, you wouldn’t have demanded satisfaction in the first place. Seriously, what were you thinking?”

He turned away, his eyes burning from something that must have been the smoke from the fireplace - nothing else could’ve caused it, he was convinced - and looked at Edwina. Whatever words he intended on saying were forgotten once he heard Kate’s unforgettably calm voice reach his ears.

“Lord Bridgerton—“

“Miss Sharma, you must know that there is a person in this room who is very intent on not losing you!” He cried out angrily, interrupting her and effectively silencing both sisters. The only sounds in the room were the crackling of the fire, his pocket watch ticking, and his heavy breathing. He sighed.

“I know that your sister would rather you not die because of your protective and impulsive nature. My sister felt the same about me just a year ago.” Anthony admitted, looking down at his boots.

“And I realize that.” Kate responded quietly. “Which is why I rescinded my demand for satisfaction as the ball came to a close. Lord Mountbatten was… strangely understanding, and admitted that his comment was made impulsively, as well. Everything is more than alright now.”

“Oh.” Anthony said aloud, and Edwina breathed a sigh of relief, rushing forward to hug her sister.

“Well, Mountbatten’s foot isn’t,” Kate mumbled as she hugged Edwina, a devilish sort of smile spreading across her face as she caught his eye.

Anthony bit his lip to keep a laugh from escaping him. Good God, how many toes had she stepped on?

Soon after that, as he led the sisters to the drawing room door, Kate nudged his arm with her elbow.

“Why’d you do that?” She asked. “You know, come here to save me from death and whatnot?”

Anthony paused. He didn’t know how to respond. He really didn’t know why he was so set on stopping Kate from dueling. Was it because he knew how quickly one’s life could change due to a single moment, how a family could be irreparably altered by death? Or, perhaps, it was because he was so desperate for her to stop objecting to his suit of Edwina.

“Well,” He said, stalling slightly. “I suppose it’s because I care.”

“Oh.” She sounded genuinely surprised.

“About your sister.” Anthony finished, trying to ignore the way her face hardened. “Losing someone can be terribly difficult, and I would never want my future wife to known that kind of pain so soon.”

Edwina would have to accept his death in nine years, at most, but it wouldn’t matter all that much, since they weren’t likely to get very attached to one another.

“So you wanted to be a hero?” Kate muttered, walking through the doorway and joining Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Edwina, and Lady Danbury.

“I suppose.” He shrugged, and she rolled her eyes.

“Well, you’re not one yet. Keep trying, I suppose,” She replied, before taking Edwina’s arm and heading to the front door, with Daphne in tow. For a brief moment, Anthony wished that he could accompany the sisters home, instead of his sister.

And as he bid Lady Danbury goodbye, prepared to walk back to Bridgerton House to drop off Benedict and Colin, and finally head to his own lodgings, he was struck by the oddest feeling that when he became a hero, Kate would be there to see it.

[dakotacrisis]

The Stars Need a Tale

Since 2021 wants to be a jerk not even a week in I’m dropping this now.

A Lukadrien Pirate AU that has very strong Pirates of the Caribbean vibes in the first chapter. I did not realize how similar it was until I already finished it. I have been sitting on this WIP forever and now feels like a good time to post it.

Read on AO3

---

Give me a shilling and I’ll give you a song

My cup’s in need of filling and the night is long

I do not know where we’ll sail

I do not know where we’ll roam

But the stars need a tale

And I will sing one for foam

“Boy!” A hoarse and battered voice snapped at Adrien. The young stable hand immediately clammed up, embarrassed at being overheard. The old coachman hobbled into the stable with a pitchfork in hand and a scowl etched into the deep lines of his face. “Stop singing them sea shanties! Don’t you know those songs are dangerous to be singing? You’ll bring a whole fleet of ne'er do wells and heathens down upon us!”

“Sorry Willard.” Adrien apologized. “It was stuck in my head.”

“Well, you’ll do well to get it out of your head!” The old man knocked the back of Adrien’s knees with the blunt of the pitchfork. “Where’d you even pick up a tune like that?”

“I was at the blacksmith picking up new horseshoes and the lads in there were singing it.” Adrien mumbled.

“Hmph,” Willard rested against the side of one of the stable doors. “I’m not surprised. Those lads don’t have more than a couple of nails for brains in their heads. Don’t they know the danger of singing songs like that?”

“I understand that it is in poor taste but I don’t think a shanty is going to bring pirates down on us, Willard.” Adrien led one of the mares out of her stall.

“Spoken like a young fool.” Willard grumbled, “Get the horses ready. The master and his family are leaving for the fort soon.”

“Yes, sir.” Adrien nodded, obedient. He knew better than to sing those kinds of songs, especially where Willard might hear. As much as Adrien hated pirates and disliked sailors in general he had to admit they made some catchy tunes.

He finished harnessing the horses and handed the reins over to Willard so he could go pick up the family. Adrien trailed after the coach on foot taking the time the walk gave him to look over the town. There was an advantage to be working for one of the wealthiest families on the island and that was the view. The hill the Graham de Vanily’s estate resided on was up high above the bustle of the town. One could see everything from up there. To the north was the military fort, south was the farms, and east laid the village and the port. Watching the sun rise over the ocean horizon was one of Adrien’s favorite things to do.

The song from before wormed its way into Adrien’s thoughts again but he contented himself with only humming it this time. When he got to the front of the mansion he saw the Graham de Vanily family exiting the home and climbing into the coach.

The youngest of the family turned and saw Adrien. He raised his hand in greeting. “Adrien! Good morning!”

“Good morning, mister de Vanily.” Adrien sped up his pace a little to catch up.

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Felix?” The nobleman’s son sighed.

“Apologies.” Adrien gave a respectful nod of his head, “But I fear the master and lady of the house disapprove of such familiarity.”

“Yes. See?” The lady, Amelie Graham de Vanily fanned herself from inside the coach, “The stable boy has some sense of propriety.”

“It is only, Adrien, my dear,” Master Frederick Graham de Vanily said to his wife. “The boys have known each other practically their entire lives. Let them be a little familiar.”

Growing up Adrien had spent most, if not his entire life, serving the Graham de Vanily family. His mother had been a maid in their household and at any opportunity that Adrien could make himself useful he was. Now with his mother long since passed Adrien was the estate’s stable hand. Before he was properly employed though it seemed his job was to be the friend of Felix since they were so close in age. Adrien being only two years older than him. As children they had often played a game where they would switch spots to see how long it would take everyone else to notice that it was not Felix but Adrien wearing his clothes. The boys did look eerily similar as children apart from their eyes. Adrien had green and Felix’s were a pale grey. Growing older their differences became more pronounced. Adrien was more tanned from working outside and his frame bulkier and stronger than Felix’s pale and lithe scholarly build.

“Hm,” Lady Amelie turned her face away with a small scowl. Adrien had no idea why she disliked him so but didn’t question it. Perhaps it was a difference of classes.

The family loaded into the coach and took off down the hill towards the fort. Adrien went about with the rest of his daily chores before taking a rest to eat. Climbing up into the branches of one of the trees dappled around the mansion his mind started to drift as it often did when he was left alone with his thoughts. Simple thoughts about whether it would rain tonight to more questions about if he was meant to do anything with his life outside of being a stable hand.

He liked his work and the de Vanily family always treated him well. Outside of his work though there wasn’t much of anything at all to his life. His mother died when he was fourteen due to a fever, his father had been a sailor that he never met, he had no siblings, outside of Felix he didn’t even have any friends his own age. Those that he was close to were better classified as acquaintances and co-workers. Hell, he was likely to call the horses he took care of as his friends more than any human being he’s ever interacted with.

It was lonely and more than once Adrien thought of abandoning everything and jumping the next ship out of town. Not that he ever would. To do that would be to leave behind everything he knew. Everything that was comfortable. He didn’t have the first clue as to where he would go or what he would do if he got out into the world. The closest he ever came to a plan was to sail to another town and hope he could get employed as a stable hand over there. It wasn’t exactly a grand change from where he was now.

The chimes of the bells alerted him to the growing lateness of the day and Adrien climbed down from his perch and got back to work. Thoughts of the wonders the world may hold locked up again as he went to meet the coach to take back the horses.

Felix and him talked for a bit before dinner about what they had been at the fort for. Some officer had received a promotion or possibly someone was being honored for the many years of service. Felix couldn’t remember and honestly didn’t care. It seemed they were attending more functions like that every week. Not that there was much else to do in their town.

The night rolled in and Adrien was asleep in the farm loft. He had his own bed in the servant’s quarters but preferred the hay and soft sound of the wind than he did to the snoring of the other servants. Even if it did get colder out in the barn.

BANG!

The noise was enough to startle Adrien awake. Had the barn door not been shut properly. He crawled from his nest of hay and blankets and saw that the door had remained shut. But then what had--

BANG!

Another destructive bang broke the silent air. It sounded like it was coming from the mansion. Quickly grabbing a pitchfork for defense Adrien dashed from the barn. Outside he could hear the commotion much clearer now. He could see it too. Down below at the village, the farms, and even the fort fires raged under the moonlit sky. Out across the horizon sat a large lone ship almost invisible against the inky black ocean.

Pirates? Here?

As stealthily and quickly as he could Adrien drew closer to the house. Sure enough there was a group of vagabonds trying to break down the front door. Thank goodness Master Frederick had insisted on thick solid wood doors. Hopefully these idiot pirates would keep up trying to get through the door before they realized they could more easily break in through one of the windows. Speaking of…

Adrien ran back towards the opposite end of the mansion and climbed up one of the trees closest to the mansion wall. He got to a window and frantically started knocking on it. “Felix!” He shouted in a whisper in hopes of not giving away his location to the pirates, “Felix, it’s Adrien! Open up!”

“Adrien?” Felix’s face emerged from behind the curtains. He quickly unlocked the window and pulled Adrien inside. “What’s going on out there?”

“Pirates.” The sharp sound of breaking glass let Adrien know that the pirates had come to realization about the windows at long last. “We need to get out of here.”

“How?”

“Back through the window. Climb down and make a run for the woods. The pirates shouldn’t go looking out there.” The sound of pounding feet got louder. The doorknob to the room started to shake and rattle as whoever it is tried to get inside.

A string of swears passed half muttered through Adrien’s thoughts. He braced himself against the door but the person on the other side would break through eventually. “Go!” Adrien urged, “Get out of here.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be right behind you.” Adrien lied. There was no way he was going to be able to get out the window before the pirates knocked down the door.

“But--” Felix tried to argue.

“Go!” Adrien said more vehemently. Felix gave him one last look before he climbed out the window and onto the tree outside. At the same moment Adrien couldn’t hold the door any longer and the pirates burst in.

“Look at what we got here.” One of the dirty, scabby men aimed a sharp and freshly bloodied sword at him. “This your room, rich boy?”

Rich boy? They must think he’s one of the nobles.

“You’re trespassing.” Adrien tried to sound brave despite the clear threat to his life.

“Aye, that tends to happen in this line of work.” The pirate stepped closer. “What’s your name boy?”

“Adrien...Adrien Graham de Vanily.” He couldn’t be sure why he lied about his name. In the moment all he could think of was buying Felix, and hopefully his family, enough time to get to safety. If they thought he was one of the nobles they may not go out of their way looking for more.

“Ah, so this is your room.” More pirates filtered in grabbing anything that looked of worth and tossing everything that didn’t. “Some pretty trinkets in here but I think we’ve found one even more valuable than any shiny bauble. What say you, lads?”

The other pirates agreed. Those that didn’t have their arms overladen with stolen trinkets grabbed Adrien by either arm and started to drag him from the room. “Right this way, young master.” The pirate gave an exaggerated bow followed by a raucous round of laughter.

He tried to fight against their hold but it was all in vain. There were more of them, hardened and strengthened from years on the sea with weapons he knew they wouldn’t hesitate to use if he became a problem. They descended down the hill away from the mansion through the chaos of the town.

It was even worse seeing the turmoil up close. His home being torn apart and burned as if it was nothing more than trash. That was bad enough but it wasn’t the worst part. No. It was the screams. Screams of fear echoing over everything else. Sharp and full of pain.

The pirates came to the shore with Adrien in tow and tossed him into a boat as the others piled in. Arms overloaded with stolen goods they paddled back to the ship further out in the bay. The sheer size of the ship growing larger and more imposing the closer they got. Adrien swallowed back his nerves as he was forced up the ladder onto the deck of the ship.

“Aye, what do we have here?” A man approached a now bound Adrien. The man was every inch a pirate. Tall, cold eyes, a devilish grin, and the smell of salt and death clinging to him. This had to be the captain.

“My name is Adrien Graham de Vanily,” Adrien said with a confidence he was quickly losing, “Your men stole me from my home.”

“That’s quite a name, boy.” The captain grinned wider, “But the rich can afford to have longer names now, can’t they?”

“I demand you return me home at once!”

“Oh we will,” The captain clapped a hand on his back, “For the right price.” He shoved him back into the group of pirates.

“Take our guest to the brig. Make sure he’s comfortable.” The pirates leered and laughed as they once again dragged Adrien away against his will down below the deck. He was pushed into a small cell and the door locked behind him.

“If the accommodations are not to your liking just let us know.” One of the pirates flashed a smile of blackened teeth at him. “We’ll be sure to come by and fluff your pillow.”

The pirates took off again roaring with laughter. With nothing else to do Adrien sat down on the small plank of wood that passed as a bed in this cell. There the world grew quiet again. Nothing but the lap of the water against the haul and creek of the wood.

What had he gotten himself into? Why hadn’t he just tried to escape with Felix? This was a disaster. They thought he was the son of a noble. They were going to try ransoming him back to his family. What would they do once they found out he wasn’t actually part of the de Vanily family? At best they’d say he wasted their time and kick him off at the next port, at worst they’d kill him.

Who knows, maybe the family would pay it. After all, Adrien had always been a good employee and friend to Felix. There may be a chance…

Oh who was he kidding! He was a servant and nothing more. They’d maybe feel guilty for a day and then go out and hire another stable hand like Adrien never existed.

The only way Adrien was getting out of here was on his own. He’d have to be smart and try to keep up the facade as long as he could. They won’t kill him if they think he’s worth anything. With some luck he just may be able to escape but even he knew that was a long shot. Right now his only plan was to survive as long as possible.

What felt like a lifetime later the ship lurched and Adrien watched through a crack in hull as the silhouette of his home became smaller and smaller before disappearing altogether.

---

(2)

[theshy1sout]

Inseparable - Chapter 10

Tags: Broppy, not rated, slow burn fluff, Trolls Mythology Au

Ao3 is here

Notes: This chapter is a little less fluffy xD I have the plot to do, it's not some random fluff scenes I dreamed xd Ok, maybe, but anyway, this has a plot and I think this fanfic will be 22 chapters long... I count it at this moment like that. I hope it isn't overwhelming or sth for ya... Well, if you arrive here and read this then I guess you enjoy it so no, it's not xd Anyway! New chapter! 2256 words, if someone asks. Enjoy :D

_______________________________________

- So - Poppy grins with the whole of her sunny pink face. - How was your sleeping?

Branch rubs his eye with one hand, cause he’s holding the Staff of Light in another one. 

- Well, I just realized that I hadn't slept since… - He yawns loudly. - I don't know, never?

- But how was it? - The goddess tilts her head on a side like a puppy.

He takes a very long and deep breath.

- Boring - He breathes out.

- Ha! I told ya!

- Yeah, yeah - He waves his hand. - I hope the surprise will be worth it.

- I swear It'll be! - She beams with her twinkling freckles on her pink cheeks. - Just wait for the sunrise!

He makes this face she likes so much. He frowns, smiles, and slightly chuckles, looking with his calm sight into her vivid eyes like into two sparkling diamonds. The goddess of the Day smiles at him, melting a bit inside.

The god of the Night corrects his grip on the Staff and offers the goddess his arm to hold. 

While they are walking for the rest of the Night, doing nothing interesting for me or you, my reader, just walking and talking and taking care of the Night, I'll let you into the story about the Gold Sphere. Or, like Immortals like to call it: the story of Rose.

This is the longest and the saddest tale Immortals know. The whole known world got started from Chaos. No one knows what Chaos is and Chaos never gives answers. All it does is create what the world needs - at least Immortals believe that. No one knows who creates the Chaos and who controls it. Was there anything before? Will it be the end of it one day? All they know is what the oldest ones remember - King Peppy and Queen Rose. 

When the Chaos created them, It left them on the Earth without a word of explanation. The White Sky and the empty Land already existed, but there was nothing else than that. Peppy looked at the world and then at Rose. They both felt really lonely. They discovered their power quite quickly - it was the power similar to Chaos, the power of creation. Peppy immediately came up with an idea. He asked Rose if she wanted to work together to fill the Earth with life. She agreed, and that's how Peppy became the god of Friendship.

The first thing they created was the little creatures, looking quite similar to them, but much smaller, and with a different matter. They named them ‘trolls’ and taking care of them quickly became their only goal and desire.

They made them as similar to Immortals as it was possible, but giving them all they had wasn’t enough. Trolls didn’t have free will, feelings, awareness, and eternal life. The essence of immortality was indivisible and uncreatable, its only source was Chaos. But trolls had dual nature, their physical bodies were filled with life-giving souls, the bounty from The Queen and the King. And the physical nature of trolls had needs. Trolls needed to eat and drink. Well, that's when Meadow, the goddess of plants, and Milton, the god of critters, came and created flora and fauna on the Land. Then Trollex, the god of the Ocean and Seas, came from the Chaos and he and his squires made pools, lakes, and rivers filled with fresh and clear water.

Soon, Gods cottoned on that even if trolls had food to eat and water to drink, their physical bodies still died, and the souls didn’t have a place to come. That's when Barb and Riff came on the Earth and created the land under land, calling it Underworld.

The world got filled with life. One by one Immortals came from the Chaos and brought necessary things to the Earth. King Peppy took care of the gods' teamwork and Queen Rose guarded the world order, as she became the goddess of Harmony. She was Immortals' inspiration, she gave them many ideas on how to make the Land more and more beautiful for trolls to be happy. The Peace was on the Earth and among trolls, but Immortals still felt that there was a lack of something.

A few days after Peppy's and Rose's egg was born and gods were celebrating happily the first Immortals' child, a different kind of god came from the Chaos. He went to the Palace of Harmony and bowed in front of King Peppy and Queen Rose. He had a gold instrument in his hands, playing unknown kinds of music. They asked him about his name and his auspice, and he introduced himself as Chaz, the god of Falsehood and Betrayal. He explained that those were really necessary things, something special for trolls and Immortals. Peppy and Rose let him walk among trolls until they noticed he created the untidiness. Trolls were divided and fought with each other. That's how War and Hate appeared in the world. Peppy and Rose saw it was bad, and they exiled Chaz, throwing him back into the Chaos.

After that, Peppy became wary. He didn't want something wrong to happen with his and Rose's child. Restoring las and order after Chaz lasted for so long and cost Immortals much effort. He took a scared look at Chaos from time to time, fearing what would come from it next.

And sooner than they expected, the new god came from the Chaos and stood in front of the Queen and the King. He bowed politely, holding a long dried branch as a staff in his hand. His long grey capote covered his whole body and the hoodie on his head didn't let anybody see his face. Rose asked him about his auspice and he humble introduced himself as the god of the Silence and Darkness. This time Peppy ordered him to explain and show what those things were. The stranger described, with his sound, soft voice, that Darkness was lack of Light and the Silence was the lack of Music. He showed them both things and Peppy got scared. He wanted to exile him to the Chaos immediately, which made the unnamed god freeze. But Rose stopped the King with the argument that the stranger did nothing wrong yet. He didn't deserve to be exiled for no reason. Peppy cooled down and agreed to not throw him back to the Chaos. But he banned him from doing anything on the Earth, even walking. He pointed at the forlorn cave as a place to stay for him. The god without a name left the Palace with no word. Rose was mad at Peppy, that he broke the friendship promise between them and made an order without her agreement, but she couldn't do anything, it was too late. She could just watch as the stranger in a hoodie walked away.

A few days later, a new god appeared. His slinky gait was boldly echoing in the Palace of Harmony. He stood in front of the King's and Queen's thrones and took a look into their eyes. He announced his name was Creek and he's the god of Greed and Vainglory. He judged them for taking thrones without others' agreement. He ordered them to step down and let the Immortals decide who is the king or he would force them to leave their thrones. Peppy chuckled, being sure about his and Rose's power and right. But then suddenly, the god in the hoodie appeared between Queen and Creek. He fell unconscious almost at the same moment. A sharp knife was in his chest and the gold blood screamed slowly from the wound. Creek had one more knife in his hand and threw it at Rose once again. But this time the goddess was aware of the danger. She caught the knife in the air and attacked. Peppy quickly joined in. The fight was long, two powerful Immortals against one, but Rose and Peppy couldn't throw Creek back to the Chaos. He was too strong. They could only keep him in one place, stalling the endless fight where no one could die.

The essence of immortality was a huge power and only the same force was strong enough to destroy it. Rose knew about it. Without speaking to Peppy, the goddess cumulated whole her immortality essence and attacked Creek with all of its might. The god of Vainglory shivered and with the big light explosion his immortality, and Rose's, were destroyed. With Peppy's last hit Creek fell dead on the Palace's floor. 

Queen cumulated her power into the Gold Sphere, knowing that her mortal body couldn't hold it. Peppy was looking at her helplessly and hopelessly. He knew what the dead body of Creek meant for Rose. The Queen would also die, soon or later.

But Rose didn't say anything to him. She walked through the throne hall with a glowing Sphere in her hand. The unnamed god still was there on the floor. He took the knife from his chest, and the wound started to heal. Moonbloom, the goddess of Health, was drying his chest from gold blood, but when she saw Rose, she stepped back.

The Queen got down to the god and asked:

- What is your name?

He hesitated a bit, but then he breathed out:

- I don't have any.

The goddess looked at his staff lying next to him.

- What about 'Branch'?

He looked up at her. 

- If you say so, my Queen, I would be honored to take this name.

She smiled at him. 

- You are a really good person, Branch. Thank you. You wanted to lay down your own life for me. I want to give you twice more in return. - With that saying, she showed him the Gold Sphere. She handed it to him. - Branch, I need a rest. Can you hold this for me?

The god was ruffled, but he grabbed the Sphere with both of his hands. His touch changed the light of it from gold to blue and all known light of the Day faded. But nobody protested. 

- I trust you, Branch - Rose announced gazing at him with a friendly smile.

The god said nothing. He was shivering. He took his staff and put the Sphere on the top of it. The little vines grew from it and tightly embraced the Sphere. That's how the Staff of the Light was created and that's when the first Night happened. It was a long, sad time of Darkness and Silence, Immortals were in the mourning because of Rose. Peppy cried. But Rose was calm. She had been aware of what she had done. She was glad everyone was safe.

The Queen lived to see her daughter's sweet pink smile. She was bringing her up with Peppy for a few years until she died. Riff led her soul to the Underworld, but she faded until they arrived. He stared at the Chaos for so long this Night, the very same Chaos where he had thrown the dead body of Creek. 

Branch remembers this Night much better than others, even than King Peppy. He remembers finding Riff crying on the edge of the world. It was the darkest Night also for the god of the Silence.

He looks at the Staff of the Light in his hand, glowing slightly in blue. He glances at Poppy, playing with a lightning bug on her finger. The insect is walking through her hand when she's moving it to keep the bug always on the top. Branch tilts his head down and blows into it and the bug flies from her pink hand and lands on her nose. She squints. The god chuckles what makes the goddess smile. 

- Do you remember your mother? - He asks after a moment of Silence.

Poppy blinks at the sudden question.

- Umm... I have a few memories of her - She starts slowly. - But... Why are you asking?

Branch looks at the Gold Sphere. 

- I'm just... She was the bravest person I've known - He whispers. - I'm sad that she's not here anymore.

Poppy gazes at him silently. She feels it too. She misses her mother, how wouldn’t she? But on the other hand, the feeling that everyone knows her mum much better than her, makes her... a bit jealous. Especially that nobody wants to tell her, why her mum was mortal, but she isn't. All she knows about her mum was her name is Rose, she created the Gold Sphere and she died. She asked her dad many times, but he avoided the topic. Other Immortals got sad as she asked. She doesn't know. But maybe... Maybe Branch would tell her?

- She said she wanted to give me twice more than my own life - Branch adds quietly, interrupting her thoughts. - I still can’t believe… She really did it

The goddess frowns at his words.

- As I understand, one is the Staff - She points at the Sphere. - And the second?

Branch turns to her and smiles gently. She doesn't get why. He offers her his arm to walk and only then she realizes what he means. Her cheeks turn red of course. Her heart beats faster of course. And she can't get enough of it.

The goddess sighs. Well, maybe she will ask him about her mum, but not now. The questions can wait a bit. She grins at him but pushes his arm. 

- Let's stay here a bit longer - Poppy says. - Here is a really good view of the meadow. You can make a dew from here.

- You're right - He chuckles and gets down to take a bit of water from the nearest pond.

The goddess watches him with a smile. "Oh, just you wait until the morning - She thinks. - I'll show you. I'll make your pretty face purple, I'll make your heart rush. Just you wait, my dear. Just you wait."

_____________________________

Index

[readerinsertfanfiction]

Exchange

Fandom: Ikemen Series

Prompt: Wow, did anyone expect this? I certainly didn’t. Anyway, @kamesama​ and I made a little deal and with that deal this exchange came to be. I also added a lil’ surprise, because I like surprises and one may even consider her victim #7.

For someone to deserve Kamemom’s attention the suitor needs to be someone a little more in tune with their emotions. Someone who won’t play (emotional) mindgames, or set unfair expectations. Above all it needs to be someone that can appreciate Kamemom’s duality of being a badass, confident and independent individual whilst also being sensitive with her insecure and childlike moments. Important is that Kamemom finds the comfort and room in her relationship to be herself, express herself, but that it also teaches her to be alright to slow down and not focus on growth and adulthood yet. That enjoying life is also something that can be done when older and that being free and yourself isn’t childish. A relationship that will encourage her intellectually and creatively is of importance as well, but one where she doesn’t feel like she is miles behind to catch up on. For this reason I match her with:

Ranmaru Mori

With the recent release of Kennyo’s route we have come to see more of this young male and his motivations. What moves him and what drives him. It is from there that we can draw the conclusion that he is devoted, attentive and someone who just wants to make his loved ones happy. Despite his youth Ranmaru carries a huge responsibility and task on his small shoulders, much like Kamemom does. It is in this similarity that I believe the two of them to bond over as friends first. Both are sharp in their intuitions and are a whole lot more sensitive from what they like to show themselves. In part, I believe this is what will draw Ranmaru to Kame, because she often tends to sacrifice herself for the happiness of others, or as she put it: she finds her own worth in the smile of another. Much in the same way does Ranmaru weigh himself.

Now imagine, two good beans coming together who just want to make their most precious smile and each other? It is wholesome and it is uplifting. Kamemom being a little shy and reserved in character is no border either, for Ranmaru is bubbly and bright, without being pushy in his friendliness and willingness to get along. He will be exactly what she needs to get coaxed out of her shell and to break open that absolute chaotic energy that she holds within.

They are by no means a perfect match, however. Though not manipulative, Ranmaru holds his secrets and they affect his confidence as much as his mentality. The chances of this being a tipping point in her trust for him could mean the end. His willingness to do absolutely anything to make Kennyo ‘happy’ can mean that he might turn his back on Kamemom believing that to be the right choice. Bright as the young man is, we cannot claim that he is wise, unfortunately. This path of self-destruction will be ultimately what can make everything fall apart. But never fear! The chances of it turning that dramatic are slim for the people surrounding Ranmaru care just as much about him as he does about them, even if he doesn’t realise it.

Date ideas: Visiting all of the candy shops and get high on sugar together, cuddlefests, long hikes to get rid of the excess energy gained from the sugar and sassing the rest of the warlords.

Scenario: The light step of his gait were contradicting towards the energy and excitement he excuded. Rounding the corner Ranmaru’s eyes lit up at the sight of Kame, his smile unconsciously widening even further from what it already was. 

“Just the person I was looking for!” he exclaimed approaching the female with a sway in his movements, “there is a new stand opening in the castle town and they sell delicious peach snacks, do you want to try it with me?” 

The invitation was easily extended, as if it was the most natural thing to do. Though, Ranmaru knew that the beat of his heart suggested otherwise as he felt his breath stall just for a second, as if fearing a rejection heading his way. 

SECOND MATCH: 

Keiji Maeda

In case the first match is not appreciated I luckily have a second proposal to pitch! He isn’t out yet in the English version, but soon shall be and from the stories I have heard I believe Kamemom and Keiji make an interesting match. Boisterous and confident Keiji is a force to be reckoned with, an older brother figure for many, a friend to all. Once more this affable man is friendly without being pushy and comes with the right amount of adventure to keep Kamemom on her toes.

However, just like Ranmaru this man has a hidden layer that he doesn’t like to show. A hurt child within that only few seem to care and pick up on. An attentive man that pays close attention to everyone's moods and adjusts himself accordingly because he wishes to make everyone smile. Yes, there is a pattern here. The Kamemom that loves to make everyone else smile and laugh meets her match in another soul alike. This wildchild is as much in need of someone who will make him smile just as much as he loves to make everyone else smile.

Now what concerns me the most in this match is the tendency of both to hide behind their masks. As common within these types they will recognise the behaviour, but not call upon it. The question thus remains if they will ever shed said masks. But I have faith that time will undo it all for the both of them, time and timing. The fact that they’re both known as equestrians gives them a shared activity to bond over with.

Date ideas: Horse riding/races, cuddlefests, art hours (poetry, music, everything), going to festivals and parties.

Scenario: Always on the move, always busy with something. Keiji knew how to occupy himself, but that did not mean he didn’t know how to enjoy life. Far be it for him as he lead two horses out of the stables. His trusty steed along with another. 

“We’re going out for a ride and after that I will take you to the festival. If you can beat me I will even treat you!” he had challenged Kame as he handed the horse over, though he already had all of the intention to treat her anyway. Just none in letting her win so easily. 

BONUS: Ikemen Vampire Match 

Charles Henri Sanson

Now, I have come to understand that Kamemom has been matched with this bean multiple times now and whilst this suitor isn’t introduced yet in the English version of the app I have been (suffering) all of the stories related to him. Anyway, Charles is a caring and affectionate young man with the magical ability to make friends with all! Eager to make everyone smile he is just one bundle of joy ready to share his sparkle with the world. And yes, there is a definite pattern here in my ideas of matching Kamemom.

Just like with everyone else Charles has a dark past and his secrets as well as his pain. Wishing to be a doctor, but denied to pursue it because of prejudices and a status as a pariah, he is catching up now on his dreams. This means that Kamemom and Charles can have study sessions together in which they can cuddle up and encourage each other to pursue the path they both are aiming for. All in the meanwhile they could cheer each other on with their bad days and make one another smile.

Admittedly, I don’t know enough about Charles to voice any legitimate concerns, but one that I have seen is perhaps his overly attached nature. Kamemom may be affectionate, but also may feel overwhelmed. She will have to draw clear boundaries with Charles, though I believe that Charles is more than ready to respect all and everything Kamemom is and wishes.

Date ideas: Study sessions, cuddlefests, playing tag, go around and cause mischief while playing doctor

Scenario: “Are you hungry?” the question sounded hollow through the large study hall the two of you occupied in the castle. Books spread out all across the long table along with notes and other curiosa as the redhead looked up at his studymate. 

“I can steal some strawberries for you?” he adds in with a twinkle in his eyes, though the both of you know that it might be better to grab a different snack. 

[gainaxvel3o]

A Miraculous Tale of Rubybug and Cat Blake Chapter 3

Previous / First / Next

If I don’t, who will?

Glynda Goodwitch was never one for tardiness.

Every year she'd get a new batch of students and they would all be the same. On one hand you have the lazy and unmotivated, the ones who coasted through high school and came here expecting an easy grade.

On the other hand, you have the tired and unfocused. These people struggled to get into Beacon and feel the weigh of expectations thrust upon them. They fear that they will not be able to pos the grade with even a C.

The last group are the ones she both loved and feared. These students are eager, motivated and ready. They are fearless in the face of error and have so much potential ripe to be unlocked.

The common factor among these groups was that they all needed discipline. And she would show them that discipline.

Glynda would most certainly do that for the girl who walked into the room just as she was in the middle of her lecture.

"Good of you to join us Miss Rose," She said. "Take your seat."

Ruby nodded, clearly embarrassed over being called out like this. Glynda wasn't sure which of the groups she fit in yet. She could only hope that the short girl learned her lesson.

"You will be taking your seat next to- OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD YOU TWO STOP THAT!"

A pair of girls interrupted their passionate make out session to look at their teacher. One of them had long brown haired and blushed furiously at Glynda's outburst. The other one, who had a black beret on her head and a pair of sunglasses, only smirked.

"Sorry teach," Sunglasses girl adjusted them. "We just couldn't keep to ourselves this time."

Glynda was not amused. "Well since you clearly can't manage such a basic task, then you won't mind if I have Miss Rose take Scarletina's seat?"

"I… well." The shy girl said. "No it won't be a problem Miss Goodwitch."

She moved up from her seat, Ruby taking her place on it. The shy girl had to sit next to Ruby, a desk apart from Sunglasses Girl.

Yang had asked her to make friends this year. Ruby felt she was pretty lucky yesterday, Weiss aside. Maybe this time might also work?

"…Hi!" Ruby said whispering to the shy girl. "I'm Ruby?"

She really hoped she wouldn't get yelled at.

"Huh? I'm Velvet. Velvet Scarletina." The shy girl smiled. "Pleased to meet you."

Oh thank God it was another nice one. However, before any more conversation could be said, Glynda had already returned to the lecture.

"We have only 20 minutes before class ends, so pay attention." Ms Goodwitch said to the students. "The Fashion Industry is a harsh and cruel place where only talent and luck will save you. Thousands enter but only few make it to the top. Because of that, we need to perfect our skills to stand out among the crowd."

Ruby took out a pen and wrote down on her notebook. She was already late, but maybe she could get this right. Something had to go right today…

_______________________________________________________________________

After class ended, Ruby made a bee line for the bathroom.

No one was there (which was odd but she rolled with it), so Ruby rubbed the earrings. Out from them came Tikki, who looked concerned.

"Ruby!" She screamed. "I was so worried did something happened?!"

The girl was forlorn. She sighed sadly.

"I'm so sorry Tikki," Ruby said. "I went to look for Nooro but therewasthisbadguyandheturnedpeopleintomonstersandIcouldn't-"

"Slow down Ruby!" Tikki waved her stubby arms in front of her chosen. "I couldn't understand… did you say monsters?"

She nodded. "Yeah… that bad guy I beat up the yesterday, Roman… he had this tacky bowler hat and awful eyeliner and was calling himself Chadwick (like that Pinocchio character) and he turned all the prisoners into these… these donkey people! It was horrible!"

"Donkey… people…?" Tikki tilted her head in confusion. "Now I know something is strange, Nooro is a kind Kwami. His powers shouldn't be able to be used for evil gain."

Ruby herself had question marks written on her face.

"If that's true then how comes Roman was able to get this power?"

"Because he wasn't." Tikki said. "He was borrowing it from whoever is Nooro's chosen… they wee wielding dark power."

"Dark power?" Ruby asked, "What do you mean?"

The red Kwami hesitated. She closed her eyes, ha an utterly serious look on her face. It was the first time Ruby had seen her truly afraid. It worried her immensely.

"Ruby, this is more serious than I thought. The power… it's similar to an ancient evil that me and the previous Miraculous users faced before. When we lost the butterfly miraculous we just thought it was broken. That would have been preferable to this."

Tikki opened her eyes, a fierce glare.

"Nooro's power has been corrupted by the Grimm."

Ruby scratched the back of her head. "Okay… And who are they exactly?"

A few seconds pass.

"Oh right. You don't know the legends…" Tikki blushed a little. However, she regained her composure. "The Grimm were terrible things… evil things. They fed on the negative feelings human beings have and used it to become stronger. Nooro is the Kwami of Compassion. His power is supposed to heal and nurture whoever he possesses, help them overcome their flaws. Instead, his power is being used to corrupt people into monsters!"

"Like some kind of… Grimmification." Ruby hesitated to say, "It would explain his power."

"Yes that's exactly right! We have to find whoever is causing this and beat them!"

"I don't know Tikki… he managed to beat me this time what if he does it again? How do we even depower him?

"Don't worry about you losing that time Ruby!" Tikki quickly reassured. "It was your first real fight, and now that you know more you can do better this time! As for how to depower him…"

She conjured up the yoyo. Tikki opened it up.

"Nooro's power is to posses someone and grant it powers. However, each of these victims have a special item that contains the butterfly possessing them. If you can break it, you can use the yoyo to capture the butterfly and undo their effects on the world."

"Yeah! I can get help from Chat Noir!"

"Chat Noir?" Tikka's eyes widened. "Shit, that means Plagg's out."

"Wait, who's Plagg? Is he a Kwami?" Ruby asked. "What's wrong with him?"

"Him I don't have a problem with. It's his wielders I'm concerned about." Tikki said. "Beware of those chosen by the Cat Miraculous, Ruby. Such people tend to a sketchy history. I wouldn't want to get you hurt by them."

Ruby shrugged. "I dunno Tikki, she seemed nice. She saved me out today and promised she'd help me find Chadwick."

"She did?" The Kwami raised it's stubby arm to her chin, scratching it. "Just be careful. She could be manipulating you for her freedom. Previous users would woo Ladybugs to receive a kiss, made from love… and then leave them at a moment's convenience. I don't want you going through that heartbreak."

Ruby blushed heavily. 'True love's kiss breaks the spell, huh… like a fairy tale.'

Ever since she was a kid, Ruby loved fairy tales. Tales of heroes, princesses and creatures that lurked in the woods, she loved how even though they go through horrible and painful things they would eventually have a happy ending. Maybe even get married! That seemed nice…

Nowadays, she still liked them. They were entertaining, questionable moments from heroes aside. But Blake had been right when she said the real world wasn't like a fairy tale. Ruby kept that in mind when Tikki continued talking.

"We should go find him immediately! When do we get started?"

"I… I have to be with my friends first." Ruby said. "Once dinner is over then I'll get search for Chadwick again. I promise."

If Tikki noticed anything up with Ruby, she did not say. She only nods, and vanished back into the earrings.

Satisfied, Ruby left the stall. She opened the door only for it to bump into someone.

"Blake? Oh I'm so sorry!"

Her new friend waved it off. "Don't worry about it, Ruby. Where are you headed?"

"I was… umm…" Ruby chuckled. "I was heading to the cafeteria!"

"Good. Me too."

"…"

"…"

"So um… wanna walk together?"

"…"

"…"

"Sure."

_______________________________________________________________________

Chadwick sat down on a rooftop, panting heavily.

He had made a reasonable amount of distance from the prison. Roman didn't do that much exercise before or during his stint as a crook so this was a bit more than he could take. He wished he had a cool limo getaway car.

Or a scooter. Scooters were nice.

The more Roman thought about, his entire situation was pretty weird. The moment that butterfly landed on his hand and he heard a voice in his mind Roman thought he had been going crazy, Getting the power to turn people into donkeys and fighting those pesky heroes did nothing to soothe his worries about being insane.

Maybe the voice in his head would stop being vague and finally explain herself. He hoped for that as a glowing violet butterfly symbol appeared over his face again.

“You failed to get the miraculous, Roman.”

"Give me a break, woman." He said. "I was just about to when those stinkin' cops were about shoot me."

“If you hadn't gloated for so long you might have been able to take both. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't take away your power and give it someone competent.”

That wasn't good. Roman had to think about this carefully. If he wanted to keep this power, he needed a plan of attack.

"Wait your disembodied majesty, I may have something that can get your special magic jewels!"

The voice hummed in thought.

“Go on.”

He got down on his knees and begged, "Now see here, Mayor Ironwood's gonna give a speech later today. It's gonna attract a whole lot of press… and a mountain of cockroaches I call people. So many people that I can turn into big grey jackasses and overwhelm those so called heroes and steal those earrings! I can make this work, trust me I won't do any screwing around that isn't in service of your goal!"

Chadwick hoped this would work. He wasn't prepared to go back to being Roman Torchwick, the puny criminal who got caught by a freaking toddler. With this power he can be more.

A feeling of sinister content flowed through him. The voice seemed to have made her choice.

“Very well. This is your second chance. If you fail, it is your own fault.”

Good. This was good. Chadwick gave no one but the air a cruel evil grin.

"Thank you mistress… say, what do I call you anyway? I'm pretty sure sure you're not just a voice in my head."

"Well Mr. Torchwick, I could be your magical godmother or your evil queen. So I guess I'll be your very own… Monarch."

_______________________________________________________________________

"Breaking news! The most unusual prison break!"

Lisa Lavender's voice and image was for all the students to see. The cafeteria watched with passing interest at the latest news to available.

"Reports found that all the prisoners had mysteriously disappeared, with donkeys found all over the place! Ladybug and a mysterious new Cat Girl were last seen fleeing the scene. No word had been given but suspicions are now placed upon Vale's latest vigilante…"

On one table, one Yang Xiao-Long sighed.

"Oh great don't tell me she's a fake. A real shame, If I can't trust an anonymous vigilante who can you trust?"

The same table sat not just her, but her… friends? Acquaintances? She hoped that these people were friends

"They can't be the ones responsible," Jaune said. "Okay maybe the Cat Girl might have done something but Ladybug could be going after the real bad guy!"

"At least she got a better costume," Ren said. "The other one didn't feel like her if I say so."

"I just know that I like Cat Lady's outfit!" Nora yelled while raising her fists up and down. "Quick Ren, do we have time to go shopping for cosplay?"

Yang rolled her eyes. She turned to find her precious sister and roomie walking towards them. Noting the seemingly forlorn look on their faces, Yang wondered if something had happened. If she should ask any questions.

"Yo Rubes! Blakey! Why not come with the cool kids at the table?"

Blake glared at Yang. "Call me that again and I'll end your life."

"What's going on Yang?" Ruby asked trying to prevent a problem. "How's the first day for you?"

"It's been going fine Ruby. Boring, but I met some cool people." Yang pointed at the TV. "We were just talking about Ladybug. People disappeared from prison and the news think it's her and some Cat Girl's fault."

Ruby frowned. 'They didn't say anything about Chadwick? That's so strange… or maybe that's how it is. The bad get away and the good get blamed…'

Blake had her own reaction. 'I expected the cops to cover up for their own incompetence. Police look out for each other, not the people. But… Cat Girl? Seriously? Would it have been that hard to get my name right? At least translate Chat Noir to Black Cat or something, I hate this.'

"Hey Pyrrha, you haven't said anything yet." Jaune said. "What do you think of this thing?"

Pyrrha seemed nervous about something. He wasn't sure what about, but Jaune didn't want her to be left out. She seemed pretty nice.

"Ah, well," Pyrrha said. "I'd rather wait until more information comes through. Sometimes we have to wait for the truth to come through right?"

"Yeah… that makes sense." Jaune nodded. "I hope her name is cleared. She saved my bacon and I'm not sure what I'd do if-"

"Ah, Pyrrha Nikos! Right in our midst!"

The group turned their heads towards the offending voice. The sight of Weiss Schnee with something that wasn't a frown or annoyance would normally be a pretty sight, but the gleam in her eye indicated that trouble was afoot.

The way Pyrrha was shaking from her words rang some bells in Jaune's head. She looked around to see if anyone heard.

"Um, could you please keep it down? I'm not-"

"This will be perfect!" Weiss interrupting. She clearly wasn't paying attention to her discomfort. "The great fashion model combined with the famous Vale athlete! Together we will be unstoppable!"

Everyone at the table looked at Pyrrha. Ren and Nora didn't really care all that much. A pal is a pal after all. Yang had an eyebrow raised. Ruby was rubbing her chin as gears were turning in her head trying to figure something out. Blake just stared impassively, not caring either way.

Weiss kept talking over them. Jaune had previously asked her out because she was pretty, but the way that Pyrrha tensed up at being recognized made him have second thoughts.

"I can see it now! We'll be popular! We'll be even bigger celebrities together! We'll get perfect grades! Nothing can come between us now!"

That about did it. Jaune had stood up now.

"You know what else is great?" Jaune said. "Me. Jaune Arc. Nice to see you again, Snow Angel."

Weiss was irritated at the buffoon from yesterday speaking to her. "You again? Haven't I told you enough that your incessant flirting will get you nowhere?"

"Yeah I figured. But you're not exactly being friendly yourself right now soooo…"

Weiss looked annoyed. Blake observed how Pyrrha seemed relieved when Jaune spoke up. She'll admit that this moment was about the most spine he'd shown but Blake thinks Pyrrha could do a little better than Jaune. He showed basic respect and nothing else.

Still, anything that annoyed Weiss was good in Blake's book.

"Jaune, is it?" Weiss said. "Do you have any idea who you've talking to?

Jaune shrugged. "Not in the slightest. Should I?"

"Miss Schnee, please." Pyrrha begged. "I don't want anyone to know!"

The ice queen ignored her words. "This is Pyrrha Nikos! Graduated top of her class at Sanctum, she's a super star football player who's athletics are known far and wide!"

Looks like the cat was out of the bag. Yang's eyes widened in surprise while Ren and Nora stared at Pyrrha with awe.

Pyrrha for her part was angry. It would have been foolish to think that her secret would be kept hidden for long, but she expected at least a week before it happened. Not immediately the day after arriving. She readied her fist to pummel the offending Weiss right now.

"Really?" Jaune tilted his head in confusion. "Never heard of her."

… What?

Pyrrha reeled a bit from the shock. He really didn't know her? Wonderful words to hear admittedly, but… really? Her fortune couldn't possibly be this good.

Any moment of shock Weiss had quickly disappeared. She scoffed at this clearly moronic ingrate too low for her.

"Oh please, you mean to tell me you're NEVER HEARD of the invincible girl who won the Mistral Football Tournaments four years in a row, establishing a new record!"

Jaune scratched the back of his head. "Can't say I've heard of them no."

Eye twitch. Weiss was feeling a very annoyed eye twitch happening right now.

"There's no way you could not know! She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!"

A loud gasped was heard. It came from Ruby, looking as if a lightbulb was shining over her head.

"Holy crap you were on my cereal boxes!" She pointed at Pyrrha. "I used to eat Pumpkin Pete's all the time back at Patch and I didn't expect you to be a real person! Holy crud this is SO awesome!"

"Yeah, I remember doing that for a charity event." Pyrrha chuckled, shaking her head. "Sadly the cereal isn't very good for you."

Yang laughed heartily. "That's what I keep telling Ruby, but her sweet tooth overrides her common sense."

"Hey!"

"Wow I can't believe you didn't say anything Pyrrha!" Nora said. "Must be so fun being a famous football player! Closest thing to football was when me and Ren threw badgers at the trees expecting them to break down and reveal HIDDEN TREASURE! They didn't though which is so disappointing."

"I kept telling you it wouldn't work." Ren said. "You find treasure inside of caves, not trees."

"See Ren, this is why you're my other half!"

Weiss rolled her eyes at this most unorthodox nonsense. She simply had to get Pyrrha out of there for her own good.

"So, after hearing all of this do you really think you're in a position to talk to Pyrrha at all? You're not quite on our level."

Jaune frowned. "If she wants to talk to us, then that's her deal, Snow Angel. Not yours."

"Don't be ridiculous." Weiss said. "Pyrrha come with me, you need to be with people of your stature!"

At that, Pyrrha stood up from the chair. She glared at the Schnee with fire in her bright green eyes.

"And I'm telling your right now, I don't want to be around you. I asked you multiple times to stop and you haven't done it. Now leave me alone. I won't say it one more time!"

Her stare made Weiss take a step back. Her attempt to save this pure maiden from the savage ingrates had clearly failed. Oh well, she would try again another time. She wouldn't be intimidated by anyone. Definitely not going to run with a tail behind her butt because she was scared.

It was definitely that.

"Fine," Weiss turned around, scoffing. "Throw your lot with useless peons! But I'll be there if you need a true equal."

The heiress stormed off in a huff. As she took steps away, everyone on the table smiled in relief.

"Wow you handled her so well Pyrrha!" Nora said. "Maybe we can break her Schnees Knees next!"

"I… really wouldn't want to do that." Pyrrha sat down again, blushing in embarrassment. "I get enough press already. I just want to be a normal girl right now, at least for a while. Normal knees and all."

"I know what that's all about." Ruby said. Then she frowned. "Ohhhh and I have her for a roomie! Crud my life sucks."

Unable to help themselves, everyone laughed. Yang placed an arm on her precious sister's shoulder and rubbed it reassuringly.

"Hey don't worry Rubes. It's one semester. Soon as it's done we'll work on transferring you out of there into another room. "

Ruby smiled. She was so lucky to have a big sister like Yang around. It always seemed like Yang knew what to say, what to do… how to do it… Ever since Ruby was a little girl Yang had been her hero, the light that shined in the dark. In every way that mattered Yang had the qualities of a hero. She could have been a champion if Ruby hadn't been picked.

Maybe she should be. Ruby still had time to rectify it. Maybe Yang can be the hero she could never be. maybe-

"Ow! Stop it! Stop it please!"

Everyone at the table turned from the table. burly looking guy. He had an ugly crew cut and muscles meant for wrestling. He had been grabbing someone by the hair. Aside from a few glares, no one was lifting a finger to help.

"Shit man," Yang said. "Wonder if a teacher's here."

She turned to her sister, but Ruby wasn't there. Yang followed the sound of footsteps and found she was heading for the trouble.

"Hey Ruby? Wait a sec!"

Ruby wasn't listening. The girl instead travelled to where the noise came from. As she got closer, Ruby could hear words being exchanged.

"Fuckin' bitch, not so tough without your girlfriend here huh?!"

The girl- Velvet Scarletina. Ruby remembered her from class- strained against his grip. "Leave me alone, Cardin! You bastard!"

Cardin Winchester grinned. "Yeah? Well who's gonna stop me?"

"Hey!"

He didn't even notice the tight grip on his arm before he felt the punch coming.

_______________________________________________________________________

Blake Belladonna waited outside the conference room.

After the incident at the lunchroom, Ruby and Cardin had been called away to receive discipline. Cardin had left a few minutes earlier, not all that worried. Ruby had been inside longer.

Worry had built up within her. Blake hoped Ruby wouldn't get in trouble.

That worry only increased when the door opened. Ruby stepped out of it, looking… unlike herself. Previously Blake had seen with sunshine and smiles pouring from her very being. Now, Ruby's normally flashy grey eyes seemed dimmed, as if dulled by resignation.

It was not something that made Blake happy.

"You okay?"

Ruby looked at her. Thankfully a small smile seemed to form on her lips.

"Maybe… Surprised to see you here Blake." Ruby said. "Where is everybody?"

Blake shrugged. "The headmaster been called to attend a rally later. Mayor Ironwood will be speaking. I decided to stay behind to get you."

"Oh…" Ruby looked away. "Good."

"… Ruby." Blake said. "What did they say to you?"

The girl didn't seem sure what to say. She then sighed.

"Cardin Winchester acted out of line. But you shouldn't have acted so violently. You have to think about his future prospects." Ruby mimicked. She sighed. "They said if something like this happened again I would be kicked out."

Then, Ruby frowned. "It's so stupid. Cardin was the one hurting people. He got a tiny reprimand, but I'm the one who's punished? I thought it would get better in University… but it doesn't. It's so unfair!"

"I'm not surprised." Blake agreed, nodding sadly. "The world can be pretty unfair."

Ruby nodded, not saying anything.

The pair were walking outside. Ruby had noticed that the students were being filed into a line.

"Why are they lined up? Is it for that rally you mentioned?"

"Yes," Blake answered. "Yang and the others are in a different group. We'll see them later."

"Ooohhhh… nice!" Ruby said. "So what's this Ironwood guy all about? I don't really read much news."

"… Ironwood is… controversial." Blake tried to find the right words. "He's considered popular for raising the economy in Vale but some of his policies have been questionable."

"What do you mean by…" Ruby bit her lip. "Questionable?"

"Well," Blake said. "He increased funding for the police department, allowing them access to military grade guns and weapons."

Ruby raised her eyebrows. "Doesn't that seem… excessive?"

"Some think it's needed."

"What do you think then?"

"… I think it's horrible." Blake said. "I haven't had the best experiences with cops, and the last thing we need is to give them more stuff to harass people with."

"Sounds about right." Ruby scratched her chin. "The sheriff back in Patch acted all high and mighty 'cause he had a gun. Freaked my classmates out whenever he walked near the school waving that thing around. If that's one sheriff imagine the whole department like that."

They walked a bit further as the line continued.

There was a thought that had been nagging at Blake. A relatively simple question she wanted to ask. Considering that they were going to be there for a while, it seemed about as right time as any to start.

"Ruby…" Blake said. "Why did you do that thing earlier?"

The girl turned her head around. "What do you mean?"

"Punching Cardin." Blake said. "You knew you were going to get in trouble, but you did it anyway. Why?"

Ruby frowned.

"… Blake? Remember what I told you last night? How I wanted to be like the heroes of those fairy tales?"

Upon hearing those words, Blake's face morphed into a subtle glare.

"Is that it? You wanted to play a hero?"

"No no, it's just-" Ruby shook her head, pinching her nose. "Listen. Cardin wasn't going to stop harassing Velvet, and no one was standing up for her. No one. If I didn't do something, who would? Evil triumphs when good men do nothing. When someone's in trouble, you have to stand up for what's right even if bad things happen to you. Because if you don't… if I don't… then we would be no better than Cardin. The world's damned if nobody did the right thing. Just like you helped me the other day with Weiss, I had to do something. The fairy tale heroes worked for their happy ending. I'll do the same, maybe for everyone else. You understand?"

"…"

"… Sorry."

"No it's fine."

The two said nothing. They continued their walk.

At this moment, Blake felt an odd mix of emotions. Ruby thought she was saving her that time with Weiss… the girl didn't know. That time, Blake hadn't helped Ruby out of any sense of kindness. All she wanted to humiliate the mighty Weiss Schnee, nothing more.

Blake couldn't even say Chat Noir was helpful. She only helped Ladybug out because Plagg told her she would solve all her problems. A simple kiss was all that was needed, and Blake would wait until they defeated Chadwick to ask her for that.

If there was one thing Blake knew, it was that she was not a good person. A good person would help out of the kindness of their heart, wouldn't help people because it was convenient. A good person wouldn't run away when they did something bad, or stand around and watch as someone was going to get hurt. If she was good, she wouldn't have that accursed Plagg on her fingertips.

Every day, Blake looked at herself in the mirror wondering when she will feel fine. Perhaps…

She looked at the ring in her finger.

Perhaps with this, she might finally feel like herself.

_______________________________________________________________________

The crowd had gathered at Town Hall.

They surrounded a tall platform that was surrounded by several armed guards. The wide metal fences kept the people back.

Amid the cheers and screams of the audience were students either too tired or too jaded to care about the conference either way. One of those was Yang Xiao Long, who, bored out of her skull, searched around for her friend and sister.

"Where's Blake and Ruby?" She said annoyed. "They're supposed to be here aren't they?"

"Hey relax," Jaune smiled. "The crowd's pretty thick after all."

Yang knew as much. Upon hearing claps from the audience, she turned her head to see a tall bearded man in a white suit walking towards the podium. He waved, a practiced smile on his face and a slight shake on his right arm.

He cleared his throat, before taking the microphone into his left hand.

"Thank you all for coming ladies and gentlemen!"

James Ironwood considered himself a lucky man. Having served in the military for years, he knew the value of sacrifice. How men on the frontline were considered expendable by the chain of command, how compromise was necessary in order to complete the mission.

"In just a few months, elections will be heading underway. I will be running a campaign for reelection."

James kept that same attitude in the political arena. He had to pull strings and make alliances in order to get stuff done. Things that have made people uncomfortable, even suspicious. It was worth it in Ironwood's mind.

"Thanks to me, crime rates have gone down by 20% and the city infrastructure has prospered in my time. If you can get me elected again, we can do so much more."

The city is infected by lowlives and scum. He will do whatever it takes to ensure order in his city. He will protect the people from themselves.

His words faded into the background of applause, as Yang heard an apology or two from behind her.

"Sorry we're late," Blake said. "Thick crowd."

"See, I told you!" Jaune pointed at Yang. "Don't be so worried."

Ruby looked up to the podium. "Has he said anything interesting?"

"Eh," Yang said. "Just drumming up publicity for his campaign. Nothing solid, like usual for politicians."

"… on my soul, I promise," Ironwood said. "I promise to do a better job this time around than I did before. I will focus on the real issues affecting this city, and drive them out from our town!"

That got a round of applause from the audience. Ironwood basked in the praise, doing a little bow here and there.

This was not the best part of the job, far from it. The best part of the job is getting behind the desk and going through the boring, practical paperwork that'll allow him to make the big decisions. James smiled. Things were going well.

"Excuse me, Mayor Ironwood! Just a question!"

Now the questions barrage. Sometimes he wished Winter were still there to sort this stuff out.

"Of course," James said confidently. "Just as expected from the press."

"What do you have to say about the Ladybug vigilante? And her Cat-themed assistant?"

Ironwood breathed with a heavy sigh. Of course this would come up. Might as well get it out of the way.

"I will make my position clear. Ladybug is a threat to peaceful society as we know it. If we allow her to run the streets unsupervised she will bring harm the innocent and destabilize order. Her existence will cause an escalation in crime. If she cared to save people, she would join the police. As soon as this meeting is done I will put together a task force to hunt her down."

Now that caused quite a stir. The people were going uproar at Ironwood's declarations, some baffled, some relieved but most of all confusion.

"Guess someone's not a fan." Yang crossed her arms. "Not sure if I'm liking the guy so far."

"He has to pay lip service to law and order." Blake said. "Potential backers wouldn't be too pleased with a politician who openly supports a vigilante."

"That guy's a load of crap!" Nora yelled. "Ladybug's not a bad guy and I'm sure she'd do a way better job of being a mayor than that jerk face over there! Ren do we have the eggs?"

"Nora no"

"Nora YES!"

Ruby herself was not sure how to respond. Ironwood raised a good point. What if she made things worse by stepping in? Roman turned into Chadwick because of her. Maybe-

"Glad to find someone who isn't a fan of that bug!"

Several bowler hats spread around the area. The guards protecting the rally had them stuck to their heads, and dropped their guns. One fired in fear. That caused the crowd to disperse!

"RUN FOR IT!" Someone said. "They're gonna- AH!"

Ruby looked around in horror. Everywhere people ran, there were a couple or so who were writhing in pain, turning into creatures they were never meant to be.

"Get away Ruby!" Yang yelled in her ear. "Run!"

"YANG!"

Ruby felt her sister push her away. She couldn't see Blake, her friends or anyone she recognized in the crowd. Even amid the crowd she was alone.

Her earrings glowed.

Perfect.

_______________________________________________________________________

The situation had turned insane.

It was as if Ladybug was not a lucky charm but a symbol of a doom according to the world of James Ironwood. All it took was saying her name and then the cavalcade of bullshit reigned on him today. To think James was looking forward to a nice meal after this event.

He hid behind the podium. He could that his guards were being turned into hideous beasts, and despair gripped his heart at the thought he could end up like them.

"What the hell is going?!" James tapped his ear piece. "What's causing these attacks!?"

"I don't know sir," The voice on the other line. "Everything is getting chaotic. You need to get out of there."

"Spoken like a true detective," Ironwood said. "This is clearly a terrorist attack. Coordinate the police to block the perimeter."

The static in his ear gave him no answer as to whether his instruction was heard. Just then, Ironwood heard a thud. He surmised that someone had landed on the platform.

"Excuse Mr. Mayor," The stranger leaning his head on the cane. "I hope you don't mind if I take the mike."

Ironwood glared at this gaudy looking villain. He took out the gun from his pocket, only for the criminal to knock it out of his hand with the staff.

"You're a parasite to our city," James said. "I will stop you."

The criminal laughed. "Nah. I don't think so. You just sit there while I wait for the bug."

The man who was Roman Torchwick smirked at the Mayor glaring at him. He never liked Old Ironwood anyway. This has been the second most amazing day of his life. Seeing everyone turn into the horrible monsters they are deep down, causing chaos everywhere… It was truly an honor to see.

He would have to thank the Monarch. Chadwick will get the miraculous, after prying it from Ladybug's dead hands.

"Chadwick!"

Speaking of whom…

"If it isn't the stupid brat I beat earlier," Chadwick turned his head towards the teenage heroine. "Ready to hand over your earrings?"

Ladybug clutched her fists. "You wish. What are you doing here, Chadwick? Why are you involving innocent people into this?"

"Ignoring your remark about innocents." Chadwick said. "I can say with certainty that you are in fact the one responsible for this."

She hesitated. Her eyes widened in fear.

"I… what?"

Good, Roman thought. Shiny knight types tend to be the most easy to manipulate. Just use their sense of shame to your advantage and you win the deck instantly.

"That's right Ladybug, YOU are the one at fault!" Chadwick said. "I was but a mere criminal that night until my new master sent a teeny butterfly and VOILA! Chadwick got his start! I have the power to turn everyone I want into stupid little mules, which I wouldn't have been able to do if you didn't step into the limelight."

The violet symbol of the butterfly appeared over his face.

"Hand over the miraculous my child," A whispery, angry voice could be heard in synch with Roman's own. "and you will save everyone."

She had taken a step back. Roman was close to getting to her. If he kept talking, he would get the Miraculous from her own hands.

"Come on…" He smirked. "Hand it over… and do nothing."

Suddenly Chadwick was struck by a staff to his skull.

He fell to the floor, blood spilling from his mouth. Chadwick looked up to see Ladybug's partner.

"You are a liar and a cheat. Ladybug won't listen to you."

Chat glanced at her partner. Ladybug was breathing in and out, trying to control herself. Chat had seen this sort of thing before. What was needed was encouragement. That was something she could do.

"If Ladybug had not interfered, you would have endangered the life of an innocent boy. You've had a life of crime beforehand. All Ladybug did was beat you before you could perpetrate more harm. She did the right thing then, and she does the right thing now. Whoever your master is, they are not ones to be trusted. If they would endanger the lives of civilians to get the miraculous then how can Ladybug trust them to stand down when she does? The only way for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Neither of us will stand aside to let you do as you please. Not now. "

Chat could feel the presence of her lady next to her. Ladybug stood tall, with yoyo in hand.

"Not ever." She said, staring down the criminal in front of her.

Chadwick wiped away from the blood from his mouth. Slowly he got up from the floor, facing the heroes in front of him.

"Stupid girls like you, always demanding things go their way. Fine. I'll just rip off the miraculous from your dead bodies!"

Yang won't lie. The situation was pretty weird.

One minute she and her friends were sitting at a boring political rally. Then everyone was turning into… Donkey dudes? She couldn't really tell what they were.

All she knew was, she had to punch. So she did.

Her hand hurts a bit, but these guys went down easily. That's a good sign.

"LAY OFF MY FRIENDS YOU BUTTS!"

Nora was off to the side whacking people around with her own punches. Now that Yang could take a good look, that girl was jacked! Not quite as much as her, but if Nora told a story about how she suplexed a bear Yang would believe it in a heart beat.

Ren wasn't doing too badly either. He wasn't hitting anyone, but no one was hitting him either. He was swift, moving like the wind to avoid getting swamped.

"Watch out Yang!"

Yang was caught off guard, getting hit from behind.

When she came to, a giant Donkey Man was standing over her. It was snarling, ready to attack anything was in it's way.

And she was right in front of it.

"… hey buddy?" Yang said nervously. "Sorry for hitting your friends?"

"HYAH!"

Something had hit it.

The giant Donkey Men fell to the side. Yang looked up, wondering who could have saved her then. Was it Pyrrha? Nora? Did Jaune do a second cool thing and save her?

Nope.

She certainly didn't expect to see a panicking, scared out of her own mind Weiss Schnee dropping a fire extinguisher.

"You people are idiots!" Weiss was practically screaming. "There are MONSTERS everywhere in this god forsaken street and you're just standing there and fighting?!"

"… Yeah." Yang said. "Seemed about right."

Weiss face palmed at that admission. "Whatever. Come with me, we can get out of here!"

"JAUNE!"

Yang and Weiss turned to the scream. Pyrrha was holding Jaune in her arms… or at least they presume it to be Jaune.

His hoof hands and transforming face are making it hard to be clear.

"Stay with me Jaune!" Pyrrha held Jaune tight. "Fight it! Don't let it control you!"

Yang didn't wait to ask the question. "What happened?"

Pyrrha frowned.

"I was trying to get away, but one of the hats almost landed on me." She said. "He sacrificed himself to save mine."

Jaune groaned in pain. Pyrrha gently rubbed his hair.

"Hey don't worry about it…" Yang tried to reassure her. She wasn't particularly fond of Jaune, but this was too much. "Ladybug will find a way to save him. I'm sure of it."

Yang hoped she did. She wasn't sure what's gonna happen if she couldn't.

_______________________________________________________________________

Roman remember when he thought this was the second best day of his life? He was mistaken.

Trying to dodge Ladybug and Chat Noir's attacks was a tricky feat. Unlike before, where they were exhausted by his Donkey Men, this time they were coordinated. They worked together.

If he tried to jump, Ladybug would use her yoyo to pull him back down. If he tried to run, Chat Noir's staff would bring him in. He would dodge one of the staff's swings, but Ladybug would punch him. He would swing his staff to try hitting them, but that just left him open for another attack.

'It is getting ridiculous!' Chadwick thought. 'Why don't they just give the fuck up and let me go?!'

"Ladybug!" Chat yelled. "The butterfly miraculous needs items to possess people. We need to find the item to break the butterfly out."

"Right." Ladybug nodded. "Working on it."

Ruby remembered Tikki explaining Nooro's power as well. She tried to guess at what item could have been possessed. Her first guess was the cane, but Roman was swinging it around without worrying about it. It was pretty sturdy too.

That left only one other place. How did he transform people into those monsters again…?

"Chat!" Ladybug yelled. "Aim for his hat!"

Chat raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I think his hat is the key! Break it or something and I can purify it!"

Roman was sweating bricks. He might actually lose…

"You're not stopping me! I have the power!"

He made a desperate charge at Ladybug, swinging his cane at her. However, Ladybug caught it between her hands.

"What the hell-?" Chadwick felt something come out of his head.

"Let's hope you're right, my Lady." Chat said. "Cataclysm."

The black bowler hat in her hand turned grey. Chat Noir gripped it even as the pieces turned to dust. Seconds later the wind carried the destroyed dust away from the palm of her hand. From the ashes, a glowing violet butterfly fluttered away.

"No no no" Chadwick was kicked away, tumbling to the floor. "Stop! Stop!"

Ruby knew what to do. She brought out her yoyo, and tossed it into the air. The yoyo opened up and captured the butterfly.

"Time to de-grimmify!"

"NOOOOOO!"

"Miraculous…CURE!"

The yoyo spun around. A storm of tiny insects burst from it, and covered… everything. Little ladybugs crawled everywhere, covering people, objects, anything in it's path. The average person would be horrified at the wave. It would have been a sign of a mini apocalypse.

However… it was the opposite of that.

The monsters that Chadwick brought into the world were undone. The donkeys returned to their original human shape, little by little.

"What… what happened?" Jaune groggily opened his eyes. "Did we… get em?"

"JAUNE!" Pyrrha held him close. Her eyes threatened to burst into tears. "You're alright!"

"Looks like Ladybug did it." Yang said. "Good on her."

The bugs where everywhere. More and more people were restored to normal. Any sign of damage had disappeared from their spread.

To make a bad pun… it was simply miraculous.

From the podium, Ladybug and Chat Noir were being watched by a curious audience. Some were frightened, unsure of what to say. Others…

They started clapping.

Ladybug and Chat Noir looked on at the audience applauding them. Both of them smiled. They beat the villain and saved everyone. What more would be needed?

"We did it…" Ladybug said, not quite believing those words. "We did it."

"Yeah." Chat placed a hand on Ladybug's shoulder. "We did."

Ladybug grabbed her hand. The two looked at each other again, closely.

"Was… there something you wanted to tell, Chat?" Ladybug had to ask. She needed to be sure about Chat's answer. "Anything at all?"

If she wanted to stop things here, if she wanted to be free from her curse… Ruby wouldn't have a problem. She did plenty, helping her today.

If Blake could hear those thoughts, she would violently banish them.

"No." Chat Noir said firmly. "We have yet to catch our mysterious butterfly villain. I will assist you until we manage to capture her, my lady. I won't let you down."

Hearing Chat say those words sent Ladybug's heart flutter. A blush appeared on her cheeks. She hadn't felt this way since…

Ironwood stood up from his hiding spot. He grabbed the microphone, and stared at the heroes in contempt.

"That criminal was after the likes of you two!" Ironwood yelled. "You two will be put under arrest!"

The crowd went insane. Yells and insults were thrown at the Mayor for his frankly godawful decision.

"What the HELL man?!"

"They saved our lives!"

"FUCK OFF!"

"LADYBUG! LADYBUG! LADYBUG!"

"I guess we should get going," Chat winked at her partner.

Ladybug nodded. "Yeah."

They jumped away from the scene. Ladybug swung in the air with her yoyo, while Chat crawled up the side of a building. The guards were disoriented from the earlier attack, so they didn't even try to fire on them.

Ironwood glared at the vigilantes.

"You won't get away with this, Ladybug. We'll hunt you down."

_______________________________________________________________________

"Oh thank goodness Ruby, thank you!"

Velvet had been crushing Ruby in a rather tight bear hug. She was shaking Ruby around wildly, which made the smaller girl dizzy.

"No problem Velvet," Ruby managed to say. "Stop crushing me."

"Sorry it's just," Velvet put Ruby down, smiling wildly. "Not a lot of people stand up for me, but you did! I'm super grateful for that!"

"Haha… it was nothing…"

"That was not nothing." Sunglasses girl came to the scene. "I'm Coco. Coco Adel. Thanks for helping my girlfriend out. Shame about Cardin not getting punished."

"Oh she was great!" Velvet hugged Coco. "I expected something like that to happen. I'm just glad she didn't sent away or something."

"Haha, that's true." Coco said. "Listen, Rubes? Me and Velvet need to do some work but thanks a lot. Hope to see more of ya in class."

The pair walked from Ruby.

Well that was nice. Ruby would say she did good today. She considered that a win. With that, Ruby turned around to head to her dorm.

Problem was, her dorm was all the way to the other side of the University. She'd have to cross the courtyard to do it.

It was also raining.

"I guess today wasn't so lucky," Ruby sighed. "Oh well. One bad thing in a day of good things I guess."

She was about to make a step, when she felt something over her head.

"Hey."

Ruby turned to see that Blake was standing next to her. She was holding an umbrella over her head.

"I was…. heading in the same direction." Blake said. "Maybe we could share?

Ruby blushed, but nodded.

The two headed out, the umbrella over their heads.

Ruby stole glances at Blake. She thought Blake looked so pretty then… it's like Chat Noir, the way she swore to help her and how she said she wouldn't let her down. Ruby knew that Blake wouldn't let her down either. Funny… both Blake and Chat Noir both caused her to blush so much today. She wasn't sure what that meant.

Blake thought about Ruby. All things considered, Ruby looked pretty cute right about now with the way she blushed. She also thought of Ladybug. Blake could have asked Ladybug for a kiss so she could go back to normal. Ladybug even seemed to give her an opportunity to do so. But then that would mean people would get hurt, and Ladybug would be alone. She won't let her down. Ladybug and Ruby inspired the good in her, it seemed.

As Blake protected Ruby from the rain, neither noticed two sets of eyes staring at them.

"I'm just gonna say it Ren," Nora said. "They're gonna be together together."

"It's incredibly obvious Nora."

[samwellmarinesociety]

Be Still, and Know That I am Near

[I’ve also posted this on my AO3!]

As a freshman at Samwell University, Connor figured that he'd be leaving his home life behind in Arizona. However, an early morning encounter in the locker room provides him with the opportunity to grapple with his faith as well as find some sense of closure.

(A special thanks goes out to Emiliana [ @lifeofthetryhard on Tumblr] for her help with translating the Spanish. Although Connor is Mexican-American and she’s Venezuelan, her grasp of Spanish is much better than my own.)

“¿Estás seguro de sabes dónde está la pista?”

Connor pinched the bridge of his nose as he glanced up at the clock above his dorm door. “Sí, Mamá,” he answered, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice lest he be called out for  using a tone. “Tengo el mapa que me dio.”

“Solo pregunto porque me preocupo de ti, mijito,” his mother reminded, still using the sickly sweet tone that she used when he was a baby. “Trajiste el-”

“Me tengo que ir, Mamá. Te quiero.”

“Te quiero, Connor.”

Putting his phone away, Connor picked his gear bag off the floor and quickly made his way out the door and down the lobby stairs. The fading summer sun was already halfway to its throne at the top of the sky, bathing Lake Quad in its brilliant golden light. Since the semester had not officially started, he could walk along the cobblestones without fear of crashing into someone.

As clichéd as it was, the photos on the official Samwell website could not compare to the beauty of the real campus. Given how the weather along the Eastern coast had been much warmer this past year, the trees were still lush with their leaves. It wasn’t nearly as warm as it would have been back in Arizona, but the feeling of the sun on his back was like a hug from an old friend.

Faber Memorial Rink was a decidedly modern building, especially in comparison to the more colonially-inspired architecture of most of the campus. It was almost intimidating in the way it loomed over the trees and shrubs that dotted its exterior. To some, sports were akin to a religion, so Connor supposed that Faber would be a cathedral. The giant windows that captured the morning light only more strongly enforced the metaphor.

“Mamá would probably have my head for talking about religion like that,” he grimaced as he entered the main hall of the rink. Still, Connor couldn’t help but compare the giant crimson banners that adorned the walls to the purple flags that his home parish would put up during Lent. Signs and symbols of what each institution held dear were woven into both. Even the Latin motto of “Penitus Potes de Fonte Sapientiae” was a reminder of the life he’d left behind at home.

Or rather, the life he was trying to leave behind.

The lights already being on in the locker room was strange, but Connor brushed it off as one of the custodians passing through earlier. The expanse of rooms that he’d toured through after officially accepting his admission offer was by no means the most extravagant he’d seen. In fact, it disgusted Connor just how much money some schools put into their sports teams while letting their libraries and lecture halls fall into squalor. It was, however, nice that he didn’t have to worry about tripping over ripped carpeting.

He paused for a moment before the trophy case. In the aforementioned light, the wood finish of the cabinet appeared to be the same shade of crimson as the Samwell crest. Connor wondered if that was an intentional choice on the commissioner’s part. Beyond the glass panes were the various trophies, plaques, and medallions that had been awarded to Samwell players of yesteryear, though the majority of them were more recently dated. The name Jack Zimmermann seemed to be part of ninety percent of all the awards- he even had one all to himself for being voted team captain three years in a row.

“I guess he really was well liked, both on and off the ice.”

Another award that caught his eye was the John Carlisle Award. “For exemplification of team spirit through enthusiasm and devotion to the game,” Connor read aloud, his eyes falling on the only recipient of the award. “Eric Bittle, 2013.”

News about Eric Bittle had spread through the college hockey channels even before Connor had decided to accept his offer to Samwell. He was just rather different compared to almost every other up and coming forward- a background in figure skating, a fondness for baking, his… general demeanour, to put it lightly. Connor supposed it was noble in its own way for Eric to stick to his ways rather than try to change his personality for the sake of a sport. As long as Eric was good on the ice, he didn’t really care about what the guy did in his spare time. 

Hockey wasn’t what Connor pictured himself doing after graduating- part of it was the lack of privacy associated with professional sports. Even if he didn’t do post-game interviews or speak to reporters, his whole identity would be up for the world to speculate about. That was the sort of perpetual attention that he couldn’t stand.

As he came out of his labyrinth of thoughts, he became aware of a repetitive sort of sound that couldn’t be attributed to the sound of the water pipes up above. Grabbing his bag, Connor tried to move towards the locker room as quietly as he could. Fear wasn’t something that ran in his blood- not fear of noises anyways.

Connor stopped just by the doorway. His grip tightened around the handle of his bag, as though he could swing it in self-defense. Most days, he paid more attention to his legs than his upper body. One of the upperclassmen- Chowder, he thinks their name was- had mentioned something about Coaches Murray and Hall being strict about workout regimens. That was the kind of infringement that Connor didn’t quite appreciate, though he understood why it’d be important. With bated breath, he whirled around and nearly stumbled into the locker room.

“Hello, Connor!”

“Tony?” he replied in surprise before quickly correcting himself. “I mean, Tango?” The nickname culture was still something he was trying to get used to. Prior to coming to Samwell, he had simply gone by Connor or, more rarely, ‘Con.’ The others on the team, however, were insistent on giving him a new nickname; he’d be damned if it was something silly like ‘Whiskers’ or even ‘Whiskey.’ 

“I don’t even like the taste of whiskey.”

 “You’re on the floor.”

Tango’s eyebrows shot up as though he were surprised by this observation. “I was pretty much done anyways!” he answered as he got back on his feet. “Did you want some privacy? My stall’s over there anyways; I just like the airflow from the vent here and-”

“Hold on.” Connor sliced his hand through the air, his lips tight as he tried to keep his expression neutral. “Done with what, exactly?” It was only then he noticed that Tango had something in his hand that was also looped around his wrist.

With that, Tango simply opened up his fisted hand to reveal a rosary, its glassy blue beads refracting the overhead light. “Praying- I try to get a decade or two in before practices.” When Connor didn’t immediately respond, he started to explain. “Oh, it’s a rosary- Catholics use it to pray and we count along the beads, but we start here with the crucifix-”

“I know what a rosary is, Tango,” Connor quickly interjected before he got a Sunday school crash course. “I was just, I don’t know, surprised, I guess. To see you, you know…” He gestured at the part of the locker room floor where the other man was just kneeling.

To his surprise, Tango didn’t seem quite upset by his rather abrupt response. Instead, he simply ran his fingers over the beads before looking back up at Connor. “I didn’t scare you, did I? I’m just used to being the first one in a locker room since my dad was responsible for maintaining the rink back home.”

“No… Look, can I ask you something that’s probably a bit personal?”

“Of course! What is it?”

Connor sighed as he looked up at the vent Tango had mentioned earlier. “Don’t take this the wrong way,” he began, a sentence starter that was rarely, if ever, followed by an easy question. “Why here, why now? You could always go into Boston on Sunday.”

As the words left Connor’s lips, there was an aching at the back of his mind. He knew exactly why Tango would be praying the rosary. It was as if he couldn’t believe himself- the truth sounded like an utter lie when he said it.

Doubt, he had been told all his life, could not coexist with faith. In fact, it was the absence of faith. Connor wondered if the priests back home just had a script to follow when it came to quelling uncertainties about the hows and whys of Catholicism.

“You know in your heart that the teaching is clear.

Faith in the Father has led your soul here.

Bear up the cross, let the Church be your spine.

Don’t question too much,

And you’ll get along fine.”

Eighteen years of being told to follow, obey, and believe had caused Connor to falter in all three aspects. Actually, scratch that- it was easy to follow. Perhaps too easy at times. He went to Mass every Sunday because his whole family went- one had to be on their deathbed to miss out. Knowing his family, they’d even wheel him in and park said bed in the aisle during the Mass.

Obeying was similar in most respects. Connor knew the rules and why his family insisted they follow them. That was the difference, really- to obey was to intentionally follow, to be mindful of why the rules are what they are. Funnily enough, he had to look into the history of the Church’s customs to understand their context. The priest at his home parish always glossed over those in favour of condemning the ways of the world in his homilies.

To believe… that was the hardest part of his faith. Catholicism, like so much of life, was full of self-contradictions. Having existed for over two millennia, such was inevitable. Yet rather than try to reconcile the conflicting doctrines, the faithful were expected to accept it all as God’s will.

“What good is it to blindly accept it and believe? Do you really have faith if you don’t know who or what you’re putting your faith in? Not that I could ever ask that out loud- those would be grounds for excommunication. Or worse, rejection from my family.”

It seemed that Tango was also deep in thought because it was only now that he gave an answer. “I know I could pray at church, but why not make use of my free time right now?” He gestured to the still, empty locker room. “Everyone’s got their pregame rituals, their ways to clear their minds. Mine just happens to be prayer.”

“How can you believe in something that doesn’t make sense, in something that condemns people for things they can’t control?” Connor could feel a hauntingly familiar tightening in his chest and his throat. To keep his hands from shaking, he balled them up into fists, his nails digging into his palms. The thoughts bouncing around his head were no longer under his tight mental control- it was as if Connor was now feeling everything he’d been bottling up for so long all at once.  “It doesn’t fucking make sense!”

Tango, by virtue of him being, well, Tango, was probably preparing to ask a question. So Connor steeled himself in preparation so that he wouldn’t end up lashing out at his teammate. His own questions about their apparent shared faith were already volatile enough, so he wouldn’t be surprised if Tango was offended by his language and gave him the cold shoulder from now on.

Yet, instead, Tango took Connor’s hand and just gave it a gentle squeeze. “I know it doesn’t make sense- if the Church couldn’t figure it out after two thousand years, they probably never will.”  He looked up to meet Connor’s eyes. “There’s not a lot I’m sure about, Connor. But I know that praying helps calm me down. That and going to Mass are just things my family has always done- so I guess it’s like bringing a part of home with me?”

“Part of home,” Connor echoed as he reached into his bag and pulled out the rosary his Mamá had packed into his belongings before he left Arizona. The dark green glass of the beads were almost black in the shadow of his fingers, but the medal of St. Sebastian at its center seemed to sparkle nonetheless. “Jesus, I- wait, no, shouldn’t have said that. I just- I haven’t really prayed this in so long. Most of the time, I just followed my family when they moved their fingers.”

Tango’s eyes went wide as he looked at the rosary in Connor’s hand. “Woah, did you get that for your first communion too?”

“Uh… probably?

“Me too! Unless this was my confirmation rosary… or maybe it was my graduation rosary? What is it with relatives and giving rosaries as presents?”

Connor shrugged, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “You’re telling me- my abuela gets everyone in the family a rosary every Christmas, Easter, and September 8th. Somehow, she hasn’t bought any duplicates so far.”

“My aunt makes them with string and those plastic beads little kids use to make art- like this!” Tango gestured to a bead lizard that was hanging off the side of his own hockey bag. “I can’t even imagine how long it takes her to make them for all of my cousins…”

Instead of using the extra time on their hands to get changed, Connor and Tango ended up sitting together in the former’s stall, just talking about their families and lives before Samwell. For Tango, it seemed that praying the rosary was less about delving into his connection with God, but rather, about keeping his connection with his family. 

If Connor were a philosophy or theology major, he’d be tempted to say that those things were one and the same.

As Bitty called everyone out to the ice to begin practice, Connor took one last look at his rosary, now hanging from a hook in his stall. Even if he wasn’t any closer to understanding the faith he’d been raised in, he at least had a friend to take this journey with.

⁂

Sundays, according to Bitty, were generally free days for the Samwell Men’s Hockey team unless they made it to the playoffs. So the following week, Connor met Tango in the South Quad early in the morning before heading into the suburbs around the university. He was thankful for the rows of trees that lined the campus sidewalks- it was always gross to sweat through his dress shirt.

Mass at the parish of Our Lady of the Incarnation didn’t start until 11:00 AM, so after they sat in one of the pews, Tango pulled down the kneeler. With a nod from his new friend, Connor fished into his pocket and took out the beads his mother had packed in his belongings.

“Go for it, Whiskey.”

His rosary, once a foreign, almost unnerving memento, now felt intimately familiar in his hand. He pulled out a small paper from his other pocket and began to read it, the pewter crucifix held reverently between his thumb and pointer finger.

“En el nombre del Padre, y del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo. Amén. Creo en Dios, Padre todopoderoso, creador del cielo y de la tierra…”

[pastelpaperplanes]

Calling in a Favour - Part 2 - Cops and Mob AU

On a bit of writing/drawing high with this one!

----

They were at the docks.

They were at the docks.

The Docks.

Optimus barely held in a quail of fear as the servo on his jacketed shoulder kept him walking deeper into the place bots went to and never came back from.

Something had gone wrong and Megatron was personally going to get rid of him at the docks.

His ‘Boss’ had barely spared him a glance in the last six cycles, and Optimus had realised he was very likely rumbled, but he’d kept coming back, keeping up appearances with the hope he’d be able to get something, anything back to Sentinel before he was snuffed for good.

It looked to him that he’d failed... 

He should have run, left Iacon, gone into hiding, slag he should have told Magnus what had been happening! But a false sense of security as Megatron’s favourite lap warmer had muddled his senses and kept him coming back. 

Despite Shockwave's threats on his life, he’d falsely believed he was safe.

He’d known he was doomed when his door bell had rung late in the evening, just as he was getting up, and had found Megatron looming in his doorway.

The mech had flatly told him to get dressed, and told him, with no shimmer of emotion, that they were going to the docks.

Optimus hadn’t even had time to hide a note somewhere.

He’d been grabbed by the shoulder and led out to Megatron’s transport… and now here he was, being led by Megatron as Lugnut and Shockwave flanked them.

He knew that if he had a mouth, Shockwave would have had the smuggest look on his faceplates. 

All the stolen smug glances alone were enough to make his plating crawl.

He glanced to the briefcase Megatron was holding in his other gloved servo, and could only hope whatever gun was hidden inside would be very quick and painless for him.

He was so focused on the fact he was about to become a body floating in the docs for the Elite Guard to find in the morning, he completely missed the massive starship they were walking towards, or the fact there was a femme waiting for them at the bottom of the lowered gang plank that seemed to lead into the gargatuan white, pink and purple ships loading bay. 

It wasn’t until he was jerked to a stop by Megatron that he looked up, and took in the fact that the ship he was currently standing in front of was one he’d seen on the news broadcast a number of times. One that dwarfed every skyscraper in Iacon by a magnitude of at least six. 

Primus the six main guns, each high power railguns were known to be able to punch a hole a building wide through a moon!

A number of voices of news broadcasters ran through his helm.

‘The Polaris breaks the record for fastest ever circumnavigation of the Cybertronian empire.’

‘The Polaris, the most luxurious and advanced ship to take to see the stars.’

‘The Polaris, how to get tickets and top tips of the hottest spots on the Solderforge Flagship’. 

‘The Polaris wins another battle on the edge, truly it earns it’s title of ‘Fleet killer’ once more.’

He was standing in front of the ‘The Polaris’.

The petite lithe and gorgeous femme stepped up to the four of them, her helm all smooth lines ending in finite points Optimus had the feeling he’d cut himself on just touching. Her colours were soft blues that made her much brighter crystalline blue optics really stand out as they widened with her smile.

“Mega darling! You actually came in bot!” The femme exclaimed gleefully, her voice softer that silk and smoother than honey, Optimus envied her, it sounded so natural. 

Wait… he knew this femme.

Nebularsburst, one of the two captains of the Polaris…

She knew Megatron enough to not be killed for that nickname?!

Megatron huffed, and outright smiled at the femme, passing his brief case to Lugnut long enough to accept the hand she was holding out, and easily swept her off her pedes into a one armed hug.

Both their helms leaned back, and then in an action that had Optimus’ jaw on the floor… they smashed their helms together, causing a very loud metal on metal clang quickly overplayed by the gleeful laughter from Nebularburst as she was set down and she rearranged the thick fur coat she was wrapped up in, it was dyed a similar to one of the blues of her helm plating. “Hem, alright, now we’ve got the old greeting out of the way…” She turned her attention to him and gave him a sugary sweet smile. “Orion Pax I presume? My such a pretty face, it’s no wonder Mega here hasn’t shut up about you!”

“Neb!” Megatron exclaimed, was… was that embarrassment?!

She just laughed and waved off the gunmetal grey mech. “Oh hush I wasn’t talking to you!”

She went right back to looking him over, and before he knew it she was cupping his jaw and pulling him down to optic level with him.

“Hmmm, you are right Mega, he is a very pretty mech…” She frowned then, optics narrowing as she locked optics with his.

The scowl worsenned and Optimus couldn’t hold in his distress anymore, and let off a tiny keen.

Nebularburst’s lower jaw dropped a little bit, she let his jaw go, spun around, and in a motion that left everyone not herself or Megatron flinching back… kneed Megatron so hard between the legs his pedes were off the ground for a brief moment.

Not that he stayed on his pedes much longer, falling to his knees and clutching the assaulted area with a groan of pain.

Lugnut’s jaw dropped, but for some reason beyond Optimus’ stalling processors understanding, didn’t proceed to try and beat the petite femme into a bloody pulp.

No he and Shockwave just both took a step back, and left their boss to the mercy of this femme who barely reached the underside of his chassis. 

“YOU IMBECILE! THE POOR THING THINKS WE’RE GOING TO KILL HIM!”

Oh apparently this tiny femme had a vocal capacity to rival a war cry from Strika. 

Wait… they weren’t going to kill him?!

“Wait?! We’re not?” Shockwave exclaimed, optic wide as he looked between Optimus, Nebularburst and the downed Megatron.

The latter snarled as he got back up. “No, we are not Shockwave. We are here because you have made my nightclub an unsafe work environment for Orion’s life. And as a result, you have forced my servo.” He declared this while keeping a servo over the damaged area in a vain hope his men wouldn’t watch him get sent to his knees twice in one night by a femme not even remotely close to weight class. 

He turned his attention back to where Optimus had at somepoint, lost his ability to stand and fell to his aft, Neb was still standing next to the younger mech, tapping her foot as she had her arms crossed and she scowled at Megatron and Shockwave alike.

“If I had told Orion my plan, there was the chance Shockwave would hear me and make an attempt on Orion’s life.” 

Optimus keened from the floor, shuffling back a little bit to hide behind Nebular’s hanging fur coat, the femme was obviously a force to be reckoned with, and behind her seemed to be the safest spot at the moment.

Nebularburst uncrossed her arms. “Fine… then why did you bring him?”

He chuckled. “I wouldn’t be lying if I say I’d hoped you’d kick him instead of me.”

Shockwave took another step back as Nebularburst turned her attention to him, then glanced over her fur coat covered shoulders at Optimus, and he swore there was just the littlest glint of mischief sparkling there.

“Kick him? No, no, I’m not going to kick him, I’m going to have my staff tie him spread eagle to the front of Pols’ bow, and we’re gonna give him the full experience of leaving Cybertrons atmosphere!” 

Megatron raised a servo. “No, I’m fairly sure that would slag him, and I explained the dilemma of the situation includes me wanting to have him still be around and useful, but at the same time, not pose a threat to Orion here… which is why I’m giving you this.” He gestured to Lugnut, who stepped forward rather tentatively towards Nebularburst, which would of been hillarious if it wasn’t so unnerving to see.

What kind of femme was this world famous captain who apparently knew Megatron well enough to smash their helms together and threaten the abilities of the mechs spike, and not get slagged for it?!

Nebular accepted the offered briefcase, popped it open, and pulled out the data pad that had been stashed inside.

She booted it up, scrolled down the contents, smiled, and scrawled her signature on the dotted line before sliding the data pad into the pocket of her fur coat, which she re-adjusted to have cover both shoulders now, one side had slipped down to reveal the midnight blue star dotted dress she was wearing underneath.

She passed the now empty briefcase to Lugnut, and returned to stand before Megatron, hopping up to press a quick kiss to the mob boss’s cheek. “Take care of yourself Mega, remember, keel hauling has been used as a method of ridding oneself of mutineers for eons now~.” She purred the last part while side eyeing Shockwave, who had the self awareness to bow his helm to her and avert his optic. 

Megatron chuckled, gave her helm and affectionate pat, gave a quick, kurt nod to Optimus, who was still on the floor near the loading ramp, before he turned, and started walking back to where they’d parked the car, humming to himself as Lugnut and Shockwave flanked him, the later noticeably having had the wind taken out of his sails.

Optimus watched them go, confused for a few moments, when a fur covered crooked arm was offered to him, which he cautiously took as Nebularburst helped him up to his pedes. 

“C’mon dear, you look like you need a nap.”

He did, he really honestly did, his processor was over taxed from just how much stress it had been trying to work through, to say nothing of how erratically his spark was pulsing in it’s chamber. 

She patted his arm with her other servo, and began leading him up the loading ramp.

“I know that was… a bit much for someone so out of the loop as you, but don’t worry, you’re in good servos now.” She banged her right pede twice on the metal of the ramp, and the groan of hydraulics coming to life quickly sounded, she then seemed to activate her com-link, and suddenly her voice was booming from the surrounding speakers. “This is you’re Co-Captain Nebularburst speaking, thank you for your patience but we are now able to depart, so let’s get those engines roaring mechs!” 

He didn’t hear it, but he felt the ‘roar’ as the engines fired up, the vibrations from them weren’t helping his strutless legs stay under him.

He did hear the loading ramp seal shut behind them as she led him further into the massive loading bay.

“What… what was that thing you signed?” He finally got out, the reality of the situation starting to dawn on him.

They were leaving… they weren’t just leaving Iacon, they were leaving Cybertron.

“Oh, you didn’t recognise it? That was you’re contract dear, Megatron’s relieved you of his employ, and with my designation on your contract, you work for me. Don’t worry, we don’t have any one optic murderous slaggers like Shockwave on board, that I can assure you.” 

She looked up and gave him such a bright and winning smile. “And don’t worry, you’ll make a wonderful addition to our nighttime entertainment roster, Mega was very flattering when he mentioned your performance skills!” 

Optimus felt like the world was falling out from under him.

No, that was his legs giving out and the slow mo free fall he experienced before Nebularburst managed to somehow catch his full weight. 

There was some curses flitting about in the air that he didn’t hear, but a few kliks later he felt the heavy vibrations of someone big running over.

He was scooped up into arms he swore were Strika’s, and caught a brief string of half formed words. 

“Go… sho… ward…  ou… go…”

And that was the last thing he remembered before his overtaxed processor went into full shut down.

----

For anyone interested, I drew Neb in the style of the AU yesterday and finished her off today

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[antihero-writings]

The Boy with the Unspeakable Name (Ch2)

Fandom: Harry Potter (and the Chamber or Secrets)

Fic Summary: Tom Riddle may have won his battle with Harry in the Chamber of Secrets, but there were a few unforeseen consequences; loss of Tom's memory being the most obnoxious of them. Is it possible to stop Tom's past from becoming his future? Or is the young Tom Riddle doomed to repeat his mistakes?

Chapter 2: 

The boy blinked, his expression shifting, fire and fury leaving his gaze for confusion.

“Who’s…who’s Tom Riddle?” he echoed, his voice soft and incredulous.

Harry jerkily stood, switched the sword to his left hand, and pulled a stick out of his right pocket, pointing both at him. Tom knew he shouldn’t laugh, still, the fact that he thought that would be any threat when he had a sword was rather ridiculous.

“‘Who’s Tom Riddle?’!” the words were stiff.

“That is what I asked.” Tom replied in a bored way.

“Is this…is this some sort of joke? …No, no it can’t be a joke—” He took a step forward, poking the air with the stick. “—because you don’t have a sense of humor! You don’t have a sense of-of anything!” he advanced on him, pointing both his ‘weapons’ as he did, and Tom took a step back.

He didn’t know much about himself but he guessed he was right about the sense of humor.

“You tell me.”

“No.” Harry’s voice and hands were shaking with rage. “No, you tell me. You tell me exactly what’s going on here, Tom.” He spat the name as if it was the vilest insult he could muster, like the word was as repulsive to him as ‘Harry Potter’ was to him, like some primal part of him must hate it—

Ah, so it was his diary, his name. But why did hatred course through him at the sound of it too?

—“Before I blast you to smithereens!” He held the sword higher, and pointed the stick.

“I’d really like to. But, I’m going to have a bit of trouble doing that without memory, now aren’t I?”

“Very funny,” he spat like it was the least funny thing he’d heard all day. “Let’s just skip the pleasantries and get to the part where you try to kill me, alright?”

Tom raised an eyebrow. “And why would I do that?”

“Because you’re a vile, evil little cockroach”—spit was flying from his mouth now—“who doesn’t care about anyone but yourself, and kills innocent girls in your spare time—!” The words caught in his throat and his weapons lowered slightly, his eyes clouding.

Tom blinked, taking a step back, his eyes circling back to the girl, as if she had been placed into a different light.

So he had been the one to kill her. But…why? He wasn’t sure he wanted to admit it, but there was some pride in the back of his mind at the thought…but—(why was this the most unfamiliar sensation yet?)—his stomach twisted in knots too…and he just wanted it to stop.

Harry jabbed the stick at Tom’s chest “No. You don’t get to touch her, you don’t get to talk about her, you don’t get to …you don’t get to even so much as look at her!”

Tom raised his hands and his eyebrows. Someone had anger issues.

“You won.” He took a step forward, making Tom step back. “Why are you still here? Do you want to toy with me before you run me through? Fine, torture me. it’s not like you can do anything worse than you already have.”

He’d won? Killing someone, losing his memory, standing unarmed at the mercy of his enemy’s sword wasn’t the picture of victory to him. What sort of battle had they been waging? What game had they been playing?

“What do you want? If you’re going to kill me, just do it already.”

“I don’t know what the person I was before I woke up without a clue where I am, what happened, what I’m doing here, who you are, or who I am would have done.” His temper rose in his voice. “But right now I have no intentions to kill a young schoolboy I have no memory of.”

“You’re lying! You…you…you snake!” he lunged at Tom and pressed the stick hard into his ribs. “Age doesn’t matter to you—young, old, you’ll spill blood no matter where you go, or who stands against you! Don’t think for a second I believe your’re feeling merciful!”

Tom sighed. This was getting rather tedious.

“I told you” —He lifted his hand slowly to the stick— “no matter who I was, or what I would have done, before” —He wrapped his fingers around it— “I don’t remember enough to make any such decisions now.”

They grappled for the stick, it shaking between them with effort. Harry was stronger than he looked…or maybe Tom was just weaker. Harry bit his lip till it bled, apparently waging some great mental battle.

“Fine.” The word was solid as a rock dropping from a cliff. He managed to win the stick back, as he seemed to get an idea. “You don’t remember? Let’s go to Dumbledore.”

That name too shot burning, sourceless emotion though him. Pure, uncut animosity, though this time there was another emotion interwoven into it; a powerful, inexplicable, unavoidable, fear. It crawled all over his chest and dugs its nails into his heart

Why did he have such a thing against names?

“…I’d like to protest, but, as I have no idea who or what a ‘Dumbledore’ is, I don’t have much way of objecting, do I?”

He blinked, surprise finally tackling the anger in his eyes. “You—You really don’t remember, do you?” he said simply.

“As I’ve been trying to tell you this whole time.” Tom sighed.

His weapons lowered, his eyes widening.

“So… you’re not going to try to kill me?”

“As you happen to be the one with the sword, and a…whatever that is,” he gestured to the stick, knowing there was probably more to it than met the eye, “that would be highly unwise of me.”

Harry held up the stick, glancing from it to Tom. “‘You don’t know what this is?”

“Unless it’s a stick, then no.”

A smile crept onto his face. “You really don’t remember.”

Tom gritted his teeth. He hated how smug he sounded.

“Now that you’re aware I am, in fact, telling the truth, would you care to explain what’s going on?”

“No.” he said simply. He could tell he was trying to keep himself from grinning. “I wouldn’t care for that, Tom.”

Tom’s hands curled into fists at the sound of his own name. Why did all the names spoken so far, including his own send sparks through his veins?

“Dumbledore will explain whatever you need to know. Until then it would be unwise”—he could tell he was mocking him—“for me to reveal anything.”

“So, is there a reason we’re dawdling? Why don’t you take me to see this Dumbledore fellow now?”

Harry looked back at the girl, his eyes swimming, still that loyal dog, undesiring to leave his master.

“Yeah… I probably should.”

Instead of taking him for a nice stroll back out through the chamber he dug the tip of both the stick and the sword into his back, forcing him to walk forward.

“Couldn’t we be civil about this? There’s no reason for me to try to escape.”

“We’re fresh out of civility today, sorry!” He said like he had been handing out lemonade at the stand.

Whoever built this chamber was really into snakes. As they stepped over the lifeless coils of the huge, once-living snake Tom saw that even more stone snakes lined the walls than he previously understood. And as they continued making their way out, the giant, shed skin of the once-living snake came into view, lying on the grimy floor.

After walking some ways, the sound of shifting rocks reached their ears, and they came to a part of the chamber which had apparently caved in.

“If you say a single word,” Harry hissed into his ear, “I’ll hex you till you can’t even remember how to speak.” He took the sword and stick from his back and walked in front of him.

“Harry!” a voice spoke from behind the rocks. “You’re alive! Thank goodness! Lockhart’s in a bit of a bind. Spell backfired. He doesn’t remember anything!”

Did he say spell?

And what were the chances of two amnesiacs in the same place?

His head popped up from behind the rocks. The boy had red hair and freckles like the girl did, but he was tall taller and more gangly. When his eyes fell upon Tom he interrupted his train of thought to ask,

“Who’s the ruddy hell is this?”

Harry looked up at Tom, as if both daring him to speak, and wondering how he would explain it.

“He…he got trapped in the Chamber. I-I’ll explain later.” Harry’s words were constricted.

“And where’s Ginny? Is she okay?”

Ah, finally he got the name of the corpse. Not to mention finally there was a name that didn’t send hatred to him.

“U-Um—” Harry seemed about to say something, but at the question his words sputtered, stalled, and died, his eyes freezing wide.

Considering how similar they looked, Tom guessed she was probably this boy’s sister.

Well. That was unfortunate. No wonder Harry didn’t know what to say.

“Uhh…I…” he breathed, trying to restart the engine, but only making rasping sounds, “Sh-She’s…” he looked at Tom and that fire blazed once more.

The new boy’s face blanched. “Where’s…” he swallowed, “Where-Where is she?” The question became a pained and desperate plea.

He scrambled madly over the rocks, falling onto the ground as he came over them. He quickly recovered and rushed towards his friend, grabbing him by the shoulders.

“Harry?” His voice was trembling, a pot starting to boil, “Where is she?!”

Harry took a step back, his face distorting with pain, shooting his gaze towards the ground, something in his eyes dying. “She….” The word fell limp and lonely at his feet.

“Where is she?!” He shook his friend, “Goddamnit, Harry!” His voice sat on the border of hysteria, his cry now echoing throughout the chamber like a madman’s howl, “WHERE’S MY SISTER?”

But Harry didn’t have to say anything. The boy shoved him, his legs carrying him as fast as they could through the chamber, his footfalls the ticking of seconds he had left to believe she was alive. He screamed the corpse’s name as he ran, like it was his only hope of calling her back to this side of the veil.

Harry watched him go, his eyes slowly drifting to the ground, as if lost at sea, glazed and hollow.

It was a moment later when they heard the screaming; a deep, guttural, screaming. Wordless wails, threats, questions, and most of all her name. Just her name.

And it didn’t stop.

It was then that Harry looked over at Tom, and the force of the hate in his eyes made him physically step back. That emerald fire hotter than it was even before, the words You did this to her woven deep within his gaze, as searing as a brand upon him.

“Poor chap, do hope everything will be alright,” another voice cut in, a little too nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t truly understood the situation, or heard what they heard. They jerked their heads up to look at him.

A handsome blonde man had appeared on the other side of the rocks, smiling genially at them. He put his hands on his hips, peering out the chamber behind them. “Odd sort of place this, isn’t it?” He looked at the two boys. “Do you live here?”

This must be other who lost his memory—perhaps the boys were rather adept at stealing memories?

They climbed over the rocks, through the hole to the other side.

The orange bird fluttered in behind them, then circled, front of Harry, waving its long, golden tail feathers at him. Harry looked uncertainly at it, before turning to the man, then to Tom.

“I think he wants us to grab hold.”

“You’re kidding, right? What do you expect—?”

“What did I say about saying a word?” Harry snapped, and Tom quieted.

“Fawkes isn’t an ordinary bird,” Harry explained, petting his feathers before, turning to them.

“We’ve got to hold on to each other.”

He reached up to grasp its impressive tail feathers, then turned to them, looking Tom up and down as touching him was the worst punishment he could ever think of.

“Professor Lockhart—er, that’s you—” He pointed to the blonde man. “You hold on to my robes, Tom, grab his hand. Fawkes will carry us out.”

“I hate to criticize your methods,” Tom risked speaking up, “but I highly doubt that bird will be able to carry the three of us.”

“Er, yes, I have several concerns as well.” The Professor looked the bird, then Harry, up and down, as if questioning his sanity.

Harry glared at Tom.

“Just do it.”

Tom knew there was no point questioning him further. Harry tucked the sword and hat into his belt, and they did as they were told. The bird started flapping its wings, but instead of beating them madly with no results, as Tom expected, they were quickly lifted off into the air, a strange sort of lightness spreading through them as they flew through the pipe.

“Amazing! Amazing!” the Professor exclaimed as the wind rushed by them “This is just like magic!”

Tom had a thought that he was probably closer to the truth than he realized.

The chill air whipped about them as the bird flew them out of the chamber, and dropped them back on solid ground.

They were in a bathroom, to be exact. At least, it appeared to be. It was a rather large one made of stone, a large basin of sinks behind them. It was less dreary than the chamber, but the floor was covered in water, so it was in competition, at least as far as dampness went.

This was a very strange world he had awoken to indeed.

Yet again There was the sound of more crying. Tom was getting very sick of the noise.

“You’re alive.” A high pitched voice said.

“There’s no need to sound so disappointed.” Harry grunted, flicking slime off his glasses and hitting Tom in the face with it. Tom glared at him and flicked it back off.

“Oh, well, I’d just been thinking. If you had died, you’d have been welcome to share my toilet.”

Tom looked up and raised an eyebrow at these strange words.

A wispy, transparent girl with pigtails and glasses floated above them. Her sad face was familiar, yet, like with everything else, he couldn’t place her.

Was she a ghost? Was that what he had been before?

When she saw Tom she gasped, her face going whiter than it was before (if that was possible).

“Tom…?” she whispered.

Harry looked at him, his eyes widening.

She rushed towards him, “Is that really you Tom? No…it can’t be. Unless…” She examined him quizzically. “What are you doing here? How are you back? …Are you a ghost too?”

He stood up: he barely knew her and he already found her annoying.

“Tom?” Harry answered for him. “You must be mistaken. No, no, this isn’t a Tom, this is uhhhh…Marv. Yeah, Marv.”

Tom raised an eyebrow at Harry, and Harry gave him that not-a-word look.

“Oh…” she looked down, slightly disappointed.

The bird twirled above them, glowing slightly gold in the dark. Harry turned back to Tom, then without warning grabbed the hood on the back of his robes—(which was still damp from the chamber floor, mind you)—and pulled it too far over his face.

Tom pushed it back so he could see, glaring at Harry.

“Keep that up.” He pointed to it.

“…Why?”

“Because nobody wants to see your ugly face. Now let’s continue on.”

Tom obeyed—(though made sure to give him his sharpest glare yet)—guessing there was probably a more reasonable answer he simply wasn’t telling him.

“Now, that’s not very nice!” Professor Lockhart piped up. “I’d say this young man is rather handsome!”

“I’m gonna have to ask you to be quiet too, Professor.

“Come on.” Harry got up, beckoning them—(without offering his hand to Tom)—and they followed after the bird, out of the bathroom, and into a hall.

They appeared to be in a castle of sorts; the walls and floors were made of stone, rugs and tapestries organized upon them, suits of armor standing at regular intervals along the walls. Pictures littered the walls, and he swore he could see them moving, hear them…talking to each other?

They descended a staircase, which proceeded to move as they got on it. Harry wasn’t the least bit surprised about this fact.

“A very odd place indeed…” Lockhart muttered more to himself than anyone else, staring wildly around, his hand to his mouth.

Harry beckoned them to a door to the side, and opened it. For a moment they just stood on the threshold in silence, probably looking very strange, covered in the muck, slime, and blood from the chamber.

There was a woman with red hair—(like the corpse, and the boy’s)—sitting by the fire. Likely her mother. She turned to Harry, her eyes clouded by fear and question, like the other boy did, though she did not yet voice anything. An old woman in a green dress, with a harsh, wrinkled face, and a tight bun on her head sat in the corner, pushing her glasses up, looking at them expectantly. An old man with a more gently lined face, a long white hair and beard, sitting at the desk in the center with the tips of his fingers together looked down at them over his half-moon spectacles.

When his blue eyes fell upon the hooded Tom hate shot through him, more powerful than ever before, a living thing rearing its head, a snake within him that wanted nothing more than to bite at his throat again and again and again.

“I’d like to speak to Professor Dumbledore.” Harry’s voice cut through the silence. “Alone.” Then he added “Please.”

The women both looked uneasy—(the red-haired one much more so)—as they turned to the old man, who nodded and waved them off.

But before they could leave Harry interrupted.

“Professor Lockhart’s in a bad way—memory spell gone wrong. I can explain later—or, Ron can. Someone should probably take him to the hospital wing.”

The old woman looked at him quizzically, but took the man’s arm and said “Come now, Gilderoy.”

“Erm…” He looked around the room. “Well…alright.” Before they left, the door creaking shut, leaving a heavy silence.

Dumbledore’s piercing eyes flicked from Harry to the hidden Tom.

“Very well, Harry,” he said calmly, “what is it you wish to speak with me about?”