#i have to Double Line the spots on dis that i missed...its fun...makes for good mechanical exercise ^_^

[skunkes]

[stephspurs]

A Family Affair | Euro 2020 Football Fanfiction

Life is beautiful and life is cruel. This is a window into the souls of the victorious and the vanquished. In a way, football did come home during the summer of 2021. Follow along Amelia’s journey, navigating the football world as a tactical analyst for the Italian football team, with a brother and father part of the three lions. Will Amelia leave Italy and come back to England? Will she leave the Serie A for the Prem? Will she set aside the bianconeri stripes for new colours, leaving behind friendship for love? Maybe she can have both...

hey girlypops! here is part 5!!! thanks for the feedback on the last part - i've gone back through and edited slight bits to make it more straightforward who her brother is and who it isn't. Nothing has been changed to the story line so no need to go back and re-read (unless you want to lol love yas). Part 5 is a whole lot of fun! As the warning suggests, you can expect a few too many drinks, some heavy flirty & a very smug italian.

Love always, Steph xx

Part 5. | parte quinta

warnings; a few too many drinks, heavy flirting and a smug italian.

word count; 1704

writing tools; third person until dashed line, first person thereafter.

next update; Wed 04/08 5pm AEST. Updates are three times/week (Monday, Wednesday & Friday)!

Tags (as requested by users); @footballffbarbiex @obsesseds-world @abysshaven

link to fic masterlist here

Day rolls into night, which rolls into the next day and before she knew it Amelia had been under the Mykonos sun for 5 days. Her brother and his teammates, who she should now probably refer to as her friends as well, did nothing but welcome her into their group with open arms and tried to include her in every activity they were doing. Most times she declined their invitation, opting to just relax on her own. She was very comfortable with her own company, she never felt like she needed another person to be able to exist. It was something she was proud of.

No doubt there were times she often missed companionship. She had her fair share of flings that gave her what kind of satisfaction she needed at the time, but she never felt like she needed someone else’s air to be able to breathe. This Mykonos trip, however, reminded her of how much she was beginning to miss her players. They had a group chat, La Cosa Nostra, which was probably a pretty poor group chat name but she was inducted into the already established group when she became close with some of the players & besides it was just Our Thing.

She missed the gentle bullying that she received on the daily from the serie a superstars, and also missed dishing it out to them so that they could keep their feet on the ground and their heads out of the clouds. Laying on her bed in a towel, after a nice shower, she contemplated taking up her brother’s offer from earlier in the evening. Does she go out and meet him and their mates at the club? Why not?

Getting up off her bed, she put on some makeup for the first time in a few days, making her feel somewhat human again, blow dried her freshly washed hair and put on her favourite Camilla bikini, covered up by a white slightly-sheer and flowy mini dress. Putting on her white sneakers and grabbing her cross body bag, comfort was the theme of tonight, and also because she wasn't in the mood to break her ankle on the grecian cobblestones.

Walking to the club that her brother had messaged her the name of, she noticed a ridiculously long line to get in which was honestly long enough for her to consider just going home, but she had committed to the plans & her brother was already expecting her - plus she had already put on her mascara and she was not wasting it. Approaching the line she went to join the back when her arm caught that of someone else walking past her.

_____________________________________________________________

“Sembra che tu non riesca a starmi lontano, vero?” (you can't seem to stay away from me, can you?) Looking up, I had linked arms with my midfield maestro, Jorginho. Who was smiling down at me with the cheeky grin that told me he saw me coming and couldn't help himself.

“Ciao! Come sei stato? Che sorpresa incontrati qui!” (Hi! How have you been? What a surprise running into you here!) I begin to say to him as I kiss both his cheeks in greeting.

“I’ve been good, enjoying time off as a double champion” He joked with me. He was right, he was a double champion and no one could take that away from him.

“Bella Amelia, this is Thiago. I play with him at Chelsea, which I'm sure you already knew. Thiago, this is the brains behind the organisation, Amelia” Jorginho introduced me to his Chelsea counterpart, which he was correct about - i did already know exactly who he was.

“Are you guys coming into Tropicana? I’m meeting up with my brother and his mates - some of them play with you guys at Chelsea. You should join us!” It took very little convincing for the two footballers, who looked like they were a couple hours into their long night, to join me in the club.

Unsurprisingly, we got let into Tropicana quite quickly. I’m sure it had nothing to do with the two mega famous and ridiculously good looking footballers I had looped around each of my arms. Walking through the club, the smell of cigarette smoke and vodka wafting around me, I managed to find the british players.

“Now now boys, no bad blood here! I know you all managed to get over my Italian affiliation so don’t hold it against my boy Jorgi here!” I address the group jokingly, as I wrap my right arm around his neck and he wraps his left around my waist.

Of course the Chelsea boys welcome him with open arms, they’ve known both Thiago and Jorgi longer than they’ve known me. The other boys offer their hellos before continuing to dance and drink with their mates. I say hi to everyone, give a big hug to my brother and Kyle (my chosen brother) before I'm wrapped into another hug I wasn't expecting.

“I’ve got to admit, you give a good hug” I say as I whisper into his ear.

“You’re a pretty easy person to hug, Mils”

“Always a smooth talker you are, Jack”

We parted and I grabbed myself a drink before spending the night dancing on top of the table with the girlfriends of the boys that I had only just been introduced to. Bonding over the fact that I was desperate for some female companionship, and also that I was the only single girl in the group, leading to the conclusion that they needed to be my wingwoman...all of them.

The night thereafter was spent finding suitable prospects for my whirlwind night of fun and romance, which I insisted wasn't necessary but also couldn't help but admit that it excited me just a little. It had been a while since I was close with a guy in that sense, and to be honest, the tequila shots that the girls had me doing was loosening me up in more ways than one.

Feeling the need for a break and some fresh air, I grabbed my purse and walked outside to sit along the retaining wall. We had reached that part of the evening where there was no chance I wasn't going to be allowed back into the club - the bouncers and security guards becoming more relaxed and carefree as it neared the time that the sun would reappear. Without thinking twice, I asked for a cigarette from some guys standing outside and a quick light, before returning to my little spot on the wall.

“They’re right bad for you, ya know” A voice to my right startled me.

“Jesus! You need to stop scaring me like that!” I shrieked.

“Nah not Jesus, just Chilly. However the beard has me thinking I do look a little bit God-like these days..no?” He says as he runs his fingers through the barely-there beard. Sure I could agree with stubble, maybe even a little bit more than stubble, but a beard? Not yet. However, I wasn't about to dim his sparkle.

“I like the beard, Chilly.” I confirmed.

“I like you, Mils” Wow ok. Straight to the point then.

“Well thanks, you’re not so bad yourself.” I tried to play it off, it was obvious we had both consumed far too much alcohol this evening and the cigarette was currently working wonders in its purpose of sobering me up.

“Ya know, the girls were out there tonight looking for your Greek Adonis to come and sweep you off your feet. They were looking a bit too hard though, if you know what i mean” he sweet talks me, and its working.

“Wow Ben, you’re really out here laying it on thick tonight - factor 50 i would say. I’m sure you’re just looking through rose coloured glasses right now” I joked back with him. I can’t say I didn't notice all of his longing looks, extra attention to me, constant protection when we would be out in public, but I knew at the end of the week that I would be going back to Turin, so there wasn’t any point.

Finishing up our little chat (read: heavy flirting session), we headed back inside together to join the group. Before long, Jorgi comes up to me with a drink and a smug smile on his face.

“Che cosa?” (what?) I questioned him in Italian, trying to limit as many people understanding our conversation as possible.

“Cosa succede a mykonos, rimane a mykonos, no?” (what happens in mykonos, stays in mykonos, no?) He says as he leans into my ear. To anyone else it would just look like two friends trying to have a conversation in a loud club, but I understood his message loud and clear.

“non sto facendo niente di male, né l'ho mai fatto. non voleva etichette, quindi è quello che ha ottenuto” (i'm not doing anything wrong, nor have i ever. he wanted no labels so that’s what he got.) I say back firmly. Jorgi let go of my shoulders and moved to stand in front of me.

“It’s ok tesoro (darling), I’m sure Federico would agree with you” He said back to me in English, it was obvious that he wanted someone around to understand the premise of our conversation. He smiled cheekily at me, before taking a swig of his drink and dancing backwards into the crowd as I shook my head at him.

Jorgi and I developed the kind of friendship that would last through time. We were equals. We listened to each other's problems, offered the advice that we needed to hear & not necessarily wanted to hear. We promoted each other's happiness and tried to get each other to not take life too seriously. This was his way of bringing me back down to earth, reminding me of what I have waiting for me back in Turin, but also making sure I knew what was right in front of me. He left the decision up to me to make, but he played his part to make sure I knew all of my options. He really was a good friend, which would make my next career decision a little bit more challenging than anticipated.

Part 6. | parte sesta

[maybedefinitely404]

Day 13: Logince

@tsshipmonth2020

Day 13: Everyone is born with a super power, but when soulmates are together their powers are nullified by each other. (AKA the hero/villain AU I’m probably going to have to write a sequel for)

Content warnings: battle wounds (minor blood), physical combat, general destruction, fear of death/intention to kill (no one dies), passing out.

Comments: I’m definitely more of a dialogue heavy writer, so writing so much action was new to me. Life hack: watch fight scenes online to get a better visual when writing combat.

Word count: 1.8k

This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. 

That’s all Roman could think as he weakly pushed himself onto his elbows, lifting his battered forehead from the ground, an action that required far more effort than it should have. Never before in his life had he been reduced to this, a limp pile of bruises and ice burns and bloodied cuts surrounded by the wreckage of a once unscathed street. The smell of smoke was thick in the air and heavy in his lungs, rising from the rubble of collapsed buildings and choking him both physically and metaphorically, as a reminder of how much he’d failed. 

This guy, whoever he was, was a new villain. As far as Roman knew, at least. He’d never laid eyes on the man before today, and hated how instantly attracted he was to the maskless villain. Of course, the lack of mask also indicated that he didn’t intend on staying around long enough to be recognized in public… or leaving any survivors that would be able to pick him out of a line up. So even though Roman immediately felt bad as soon as the first well aimed hit of his flaming sword’s hilt knocked into the man’s jaw and sent him tumbling, it was quickly overruled by his ingrained instinct to protect. The goal was to take him down alive, relatively unhurt, and have him placed in the same secure facility all of Roman’s defeated foes were sent to, but if he had to be killed for the greater good, that was just a sacrifice he would have to make. Guilt could come later, when everyone was safe. 

But his one hit was all he got in before the man completely unleashed everything he had. He had unclipped a small tube from his waist and popped it open to full size; a compact staff that was at least double the length of Roman’s sword. The distance he’d stumbled from the first hit was just enough, an action that Roman only now realized had been completely intentional on the other’s part, and he swung with accuracy that put the hero’s to shame. It hit him in the side and sent him sprawling, landing on his hands and using the momentum to roll, jumping back to his feet and setting his sword aflame once more. He couldn’t let his concentration falter like that again. Forget those perfect blue eyes, Roman. He’s trying to kill you. 

He’d kept his distance after that, an artful duck and weave between buildings, avoiding spears of ice that seemed to grow from the ground itself and praying one of his blindly shot gusts of flame had landed a hit. Of course, of freaking course, the one villain that stood a chance against him combat-wise had an opposing power. His sword was starting to dwindle and his arms were sore from deflecting and breaking through the walls of ice his opponent continued to raise with no hesitation, and the heat in his hands was starting to fade. He was tired. That just made this harder, and the fun factor was starting to wear off. He had to end this. 

That was the wrong mindset to go in with, because then he was desperate. Desperation led to destruction, and he regretted his sudden carelessness the moment a clumsy spur-of-the-moment shot missed his nemesis by a mile and tore through the entryway of a jewellery store instead. Luckily the street had been cleared the moment the fight began, so no one was injured, but that building going up in flame was only the beginning of the chaos. Because even though it wasn’t his fault after that, things just got so much worse. 

The street itself began to crumble to pieces, concrete breaking apart where thick tendrils of ice ripped its way through in all directions, spreading like tree roots, the ‘trunk’ itself being the new villain. He was standing in the middle of the street, watching Roman with an unreadable expression, as the carnage only increased. It was as if he saw his accidental blunder and decided he wanted to break buildings now, too. All Roman can think about is the Titanic, a mighty vessel taken down by a single piece of ice, as the roots shredded through the foundations of the downtown street. Metal and wood creaking fills the air, the sound of the ice growing and spreading, and it takes the hero far too long of just staring in terror to remember that he needs to try and stop that. 

He was strong, not smart. 

He ripped his sword out of the display window it had been flung through after an especially bad ice shot to the hand and sprinted forward, weapon ablaze with his newfound dedication. The unsteady ground rose to trip him, every muscle burned, blood dripped into his eye, but he pushed on, vaulting over a flipped car and coming face to face with his opponent. Again, he was slightly taken aback by the sheer confidence in his eyes, the man not at all flinching as Roman brought down the sword towards his head, blocking the strike with the edge of his staff. The destruction of the street came to a standstill as he turned all his concentration to the immediate fight, blocking Roman’s next two hits. The hero let the impact push his momentum downwards, swinging his weapon through the empty space where the man’s feet had been seconds ago. A creak to his left stole Roman’s attention for barely a split second, a mistake he realized the second he glanced away, and the other man went onto the offensive, thrusting the end of his staff into Roman’s side. He let out a soft grunt and threw up his sword, blocking the overhead strike inches from his head but not acting before he was kicked in the stomach, the force throwing him back. His sword clattered from his grip, the flames flickering out of existence and blending in with the rubble. And oh, how tables can turn. 

He rolled out of the way as the staff was jabbed into the ground, feeling the cold metal barely brush his neck. As he leapt to his feet, retreating several steps, his eyes kept shifting between the villain and the ground, searching desperately for his sword. It was a waste of time; his opponent was sizing him up again, almost like he was calculating weak spots in his head. He lunged forward, bringing the staff down towards Roman’s neck. Roman blocked with his forearm instinctively, immediately hissing in pain as a jolt shot up to his shoulder, and took another step back. This isn’t good. This isn’t good. He picked up the first weapon-like object he could reach, the bent pole of what was probably a street sign, and swung it at the other’s head with little to no aim, stumbling with the momentum. The villain ducked underneath it with no hesitation, stepping forward under the pole and landing a solid hit into Roman’s spine. Another kick in the same place sent him headfirst into the rubble, smacking his forehead against a piece of metal and feeling the skin split on contact. 

This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. 

That’s all Roman could think as he weakly pushed himself onto his elbows, lifting his battered forehead from the ground, an action that required far more effort than it should have. Never before in his life had he been reduced to this, a limp pile of bruises and ice burns and bloodied cuts surrounded by the wreckage of a once unscathed street. The smell of smoke was thick in the air and heavy in his lungs, rising from the rubble of collapsed buildings and choking him both physically and metaphorically, as a reminder of how much he’d failed. 

He rolled onto his back, wincing as shards of metal and glass pierced his skin, only able to watch as the villain strolled towards him, twirling his staff smugly. Every muscle and bone screamed as he pushed himself onto his feet, stumbling weakly. Weak sparks shooting between his fingers was the best he could summon in this state, his hands numb from overexertion and skin dry and cracking from the constant flame. 

“And to think, I actually expected a challenge. They made you out to be so much more than this.”

The first words he’d heard the man say, slipping from his lips like honey, a near growl. He continued to advance, taking a step for every one of Roman’s pained backpedals, until his broken and bleeding skin bumped into the remains of a wall, pushing the debris in just that much further. Just as Roman glanced down to his feet, looking for anything weapon-like, he flicked his wrist in the hero’s direction and four shards of ice broke apart from the main roots around him, shooting through the air in a blur, and pinning Roman to the wall. Still the villain approached him until they were almost touching, Roman’s pain-hunched form causing the man to nearly tower over him, a smirk slowly spreading across his face. He raised a crooked finger under Roman’s chin, tsking under his breath.

“I thought you were their hero.”

And just like that, with no further monologuing, he shoved his hand into Roman’s chest, the cold limb burning Roman’s skin in seconds. He let out a weak sound, somewhere between a yelp and a groan, too dizzy with pain to even care about dignity anymore, waiting for the final blow. 

Just get it over with, he thought pathetically. But the hand didn’t get colder, or shoot a spike into his heart, or however this villain had planned to kill him. They just stood there, still, until Roman built up the courage to crack his eyes open, not knowing what to expect.

Whatever he had imagined, it wasn’t this. The man was squinting in concentration at his hand on Roman’s chest, the fingers spasming slightly as nothing happened. Whether it was sudden exhaustion or improper training, Roman didn’t care, because a surge of energy filled him and he focused it on his hands. Granted, they were pinned to a wall, but if he could just get the angle right-

Nope. Not a spark, not a flicker across his palm. They heated up, they burned, and he knew they should have at least glowed slightly to indicate the power flowing through them. The villain seemed to notice the way his fingers formed a fist, curling and uncurling to try and get them to do something, and a look of pure horror crossed his unmasked face. It took Roman much too long to realize as well. 

Neither of their powers were working.      

“No,” They both spoke simultaneously, jerking up to meet each other’s eyes. 

The villain dropped his hands to his sides, taking a couple steps back, the shock clear on his face. Another choked, “No,” escaped his lips before he turned and ran, the ice around Roman’s arms melting into thin air as soon as he was far enough away. The hero watched the man- his soulmate?!- sprint into the smoke, off to whatever base he was from, before crumbling weakly to the ground. Exhaustion overtook him, the memory of those startling blue eyes his final thought before the world dissolved into black.

[mi6-cafe]

THE LDWS ENTRIES FOR WEEK 1 ARE IN!

Now it’s your turn to READ&VOTE!

Let’s refresh your memory first.

This week the word count was 100 words and this was the prompt:

[drabbles below the line]

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Read all the drabbles.

Choose three that you like the most.

Fill out this VOTING FORM, telling us your favourites. (You can even leave anonymous feedback for the author).

NOTE: If you are a competitor, you CANNOT vote for your own fic. But please, do vote. :)

The voting period ends at 11:59 PM EST on Sunday night. Results will be posted and anonymous feedback will be emailed on Monday.

#1

Title: 100 Seconds Author: sorion          Warnings: implied canon-typical violence         Summary: Seconds counting down to words that count.

"One hundred seconds, 007," Q says.

Bond knows. His reliable inner countdown always lets him know how close death is. Eighty seconds until he has to be off the empty German plane.

Sixty-eight seconds to not only outwit his personal death, but the death of everyone the crashing plane will kill in London.

Forty-seven to break the auto pilot, divert destiny from its path and the plane into the channel.

Thirty to grab a parachute, listen to the increasingly panicky voice in his ear.

"James! Fifteen seconds!"

Thirteen seconds for a jump and three words.

"I'm coming home."

Two.

One.

#2

Title: Delayed Author: Ksania/Starrboned Warnings: None Summary: It wasn't flying that scared Q the most.

The stuttering departure board snaps into place, merciless and cold.

Delayed.

Impatient, Q taps his fingers against his thigh.

It wasn't flying that scared Q. He knew better than most how safe planes were, the intricate mechanisms that kept them afloat.

They didn't always land; Q waits for the inevitable to happen.

His eyes blink with the board: one, two, ten thousand - the seconds melt into months. Q stands still while the airport is buzzing around him.

"Q?" James's voice cuts like lightning through fog. "Have you been waiting for long?"

Q shakes his head, smiling thinly.

"Not at all."

#3

Title: Flight Plan Author: Anyawen Warnings: None Summary: A chance sighting requires changes on the fly.

Be a dear and change my flight, won't you?

You'll survive 3 hours in economy class.

FIN2424 to Valencia. Leaves in 35 min.

I'm not a bloody travel agent. Book your own holiday.

I had been hoping to get back to London. Spend some time spoiling your cats. And you. Unfortunately ... <image0805202013.jpg>

…  That's Nīkau Tama.

Indeed. They're announcing last call for boarding.

Keep your pants on.

Where's the fun in that?

Ticket confirmation is in your email.

Thank you, darling.

Just catch the bastard and come home, then you can thank me properly.

I prefer 'improperly'.

...

So do I.

#4

Title: Seatmates Author: IrishWitch58 Warnings: None Summary: Departure lounges are lonely, until they're not.

Airport departure boards were depressing if you rarely had the chance to decide your destination yourself. Bond watched the crowds as he waited for his flight to be posted. He was supposed to be accompanied by a Q branch expert but they were late. He'd kissed Q goodbye early this morning, holding him close in the grey dawn light. Saying goodbye was getting harder lately. Someone moved up next to him and he blinked. “Q? But you hate flying.”

“Overstated,” Q responded succinctly. “Valencia is warmer than London and I hate cold worse. There are perks. We're going first class.”

#5

Title: Boarding Author: SouffleGirl91 Warnings: None Summary: He waits to board the plane.

“Flight BA25007 to Kingston is now boarding.”

Heaving a sigh, he stood, clutching his ticket. Was he really doing this? Boarding a plane to Jamaica on the trail of a washed-up double-oh, just to tell him- no. No thinking about that right now. That could wait. It was a long flight. Plenty of time to decide how to tell him.

Shuffling into line, he fingered his passport. He missed having the power to skip the rigmarole and just board. But this wasn’t a sanctioned mission.

The new Quartermaster had better things to do.

This was personal. Bond had to know.

#6

Title:  Homeward Bound Author: Iambid/Flantastic Warnings: None Summary: It’s late, Q’s tired and James’s flight is due.

Heathrow is deserted.

Q is alone in the waiting area except for a lone family, waiting for a loved one.  He’s waiting for James.  He’s not sure if James ever thought of him as a loved one, not since Madeleine…

The arrivals board clatters, the quaintly old-fashioned sound waking him from his doze. He’s so tired, should have been in bed hours ago, but James asked him to be there and even after everything, he can’t say no to him.

He thinks to himself that maybe James is the loved one as he stands stiffly and waits for his agent.

#7

Title: Vision Author: sunaddicted Warnings: none Summary: some dreams are bound to never become real

"I had a dream" Raoul stretched amidst the rumpled sheets, reaching out to land a hand on James' belly "A nice one?" "I was at an airport" "Why?" "Leaving" "For?" "I'm not sure, the flight details kept blurring and changing on the board" James looked down at Raoul, as if the key to his dream lay amidst those distorted features "I was leaving London. Permanently. It felt better than I always thought it would" shame burned on his tongue. Raoul hummed, thumb tracing the pucker of a scar "It was just a dream" and like one, they had no future.

#8

Title: Fight and Flight Author: stormofsharpthings Warnings: no Archive warnings apply Summary: All the comforts of the first-class lounge

It hadn’t been his finest moment, Bond admitted as he prowled through BritishAir’s first-class lounge. He’d had a monumentally stupid fight with Q and stormed out, demanding to take the next mission available.

The departure board flickered. His flight was delayed again and Bond groaned — more hours of inaction to brood over his poor behaviour.

He paced until the board flickered again, showing a further delay, and he slumped, defeated.

After a while, he rubbed his face and looked up glumly.

COME HOME, it flickered.

Bond sighed, a rueful smile emerging, wondering if make up sex was an option.

#9

Title: Time and Place Author: Venstar Warnings: none Summary: Travel

It was a simple process. Approach the board and wait.

“Time Agent 007.”

The only acknowledgment of his name spoken softly through his earpiece was the slight turn of his head.

“Your countdown. 5,4,3,2,1…” The voice trailed off as the board flickered before 007’s eyes divulging his next destination. “You will have seventy-two hours to complete your mission. Good luck in 2424.”

“And when I’m done? How about dinner, Q?”

If a snort could sound posh, leave it to Q to figure that trick out.

Q countered his offer. “How about you return my equipment in one piece?”

“With pleasure.”

#10

Title: The Destination Board Author: ladymars Warnings: No Warnings Apply (Canon Character Death?) Summary: M remains vigilant, even after everything.

She finds the oddest device when she first arrives. A departure board flickering with the destinations of the colleagues she had left behind. M does remember that 008 was to be deployed to Havana and that R had a conference at Frankfurt. Her new friends here tell her there's much more to explore and enjoy, now that she has time to repose, but she decides to linger. No rest for the wicked, of course. She catches an expected arrival at Altaussee, Austria followed by an unexpected one. Huh. She should have suspected he would have boarded a plane for him.

#11

Title: Trinity Author: sparklycitrus Warnings: None Summary: An unholy alliance.

When the airport bulletins all over Europe began to glitch, Q was at home, packing. He’d already given away his cats, and the only things he was taking consisted of a single suitcase and his laptop. The train ticket Bond had sourced him sat securely in his pocket. He was cutting it a bit close, but there should still be time left before everything crashed. Literally.

In a remote part of Russia, Raoul Silva turned from the camera feeds to the man next to him. “Clever boy,” he commented, to which Bond merely smiled, as they watched the chaos unfold.

#12

Title: Buggering Off Author: AtoTheBean Warnings: None Summary: He shouldn’t hope...

JB: Where are you? Oh, for fuck’s sake.   NLQ: How did you get this number? JB: That doesn’t answer my question, Q. NLQ: No longer Q, actually.  You’re not the only one who gets to retire and bugger off. JB: I came back. NLQ: Then you can carry on destroying someone else’s tech. JB: ... JB: Please. I need to talk with you.  Just give me a hint. He shouldn’t hope… shouldn’t invite this man into his fresh start.  His thumb hovers above the screen. He snaps a picture of the split-flap departures board, hits “send,” and runs for the gate.

#13

Title: (dis)quiet Author: azure3795 Warnings: none Summary: Waiting for an arrival.

Slots on the display board are flipping, a monotonous voice from the PSA intercom ever drowned out by the bustling of people arriving and departing drones on, and he waits.

He cradles a travel cup in his hands, the half drained beverage inside long since gone cold and sloshes around with dead weight. Logically, he knows it no longer provides the spot of warmth he seeks.

No matter.

“Q?”

He nearly jumps, but uses the momentum to plaster on a smile that doesn’t resemble a grimace. Good enough.

“Bond,” Q greets and thinks not of the Walther in his bag.

#14

Title: A Grand Romantic Gesture Author: scarytheory Warnings: none Summary: Q is waiting for his flight to Berlin.

He was drinking his second coffee when Bond came.

“What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're trying to stop me in some grand romantic gesture?” he was joking, but his smile faded when he saw Bond's reaction.

“Oh, God. You are, aren't you?”

Bond sighed: “I'm bad at this. I should have prepared a speech. Or should I sing?”

“Please don't.”

“Just… Can you please stay? For me.”

For a moment Q wished he could do that. But nothing would change, he knew that, and deep down, even Bond knew it.

“Goodbye, James.”

The plane was leaving soon.

Thank you to our amazing drabble writers for their contributions this week!

Edited: Voting is now closed and results are in! You can view them here!

[amaranthprincess21]

As the Curtain Falls

Rating: M Fandom: Twisted Wonderland Pairing: Vil/Reader (Eventually >:3c) Synopsis: As summer approaches, you look for a job on El Capitan: Twisted Wonderland's version of Broadway. Getting into a show is the chance of a lifetime, but as rehearsals go on, the flaws of the show and its production team slowly come to light. The ship you're on is burning and there's no way of backing out. You will have to make the best of things and deal with the drama that comes your way. And here comes Vil, your co-star, making things more complicated as the two of you become closer during rehearsals.

A/N: okay so I need to make some things explicit: 1) Although this going to heavily riff on LND, a lot of experiences that are in this fic are experiences I had while acting and a lot of this fic is honestly just me trying to make sense of some of the weird shit I went through. A bad sequel musical is really just the setting and I doubt any of this stuff actually happened during LND production so don't like, look into too much? I just wanna bitch about acting drama I went through years ago and also make some jokes about LND. I'll most likely talk about those experiences more in author notes so I guess look forward to that? 2) also i'm sorry if you genuinely like LND bc I will be making fun of it a lot. And also Phantom like I'm a fan but I'm def gonna roast it 3) For reals tho, I don't know if this is going to be slow burn or not so alskjdfahsd

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The moment I stepped into the large rehearsal space, a sense of dread and excitement washed over me. The space looked like a small warehouse more than anything else. Large props or set pieces (I couldn’t tell) were pushed towards the back of the room. One whole wall was full of mirrors. I wasn’t the first one here, thank God. But seeing just how many people were in the room was… not reassuring. Along one wall there was a long table set up and several people were seated behind it. It had to be the investors and the production team. 

Man, I was really in over my head, wasn’t I? My callback would be getting judged by ten people and I was up against so many people. But then again, I should’ve expected this. This wasn’t some school musical: this was the Broadway of Twisted Wonderland. Everything was bigger here and the stakes were higher. I needed to make sure I was perfect. I needed this job. I needed this role. 

A few people were already warming up, stretching on the ground. Okay, let’s be social. After all, these might be my new coworkers. I tried to exude friendliness and confidence as I went over to the group, saying hi and introducing myself, but I just wanted to throw up. More people trickled in and every time the door opened, I found myself looking over. Some joined us in warming up, others went behind the table. 

“So, what’s your background?” a tall redhead woman asked. My head whipped to look at the group to see everyone staring right at me, expectantly.

“Oh, uh, I don’t have much of one, to be honest. I did musical theater in school, but this is my first professional audition,” I told them.

“Really? Congrats on making it to callbacks, then!” someone said. I wasn’t sure if it was genuine or a snide remark. 

“T-Thanks.” Might as well err on the side of niceness. “What’s your guys’ backgrounds?”

“I’ve only ever done ensemble before, so this is my first time being called back for a principal role,” one said. As they all started talking about their backgrounds, the door opened again and I instinctively looked. I had to do a double take as Vil walked in, joining the others behind the table. 

“Am I seeing that right?!” the brunette next to me demanded, elbowing me. “Is that Vil Schoenheit?!”

“That, or we’re having the same hallucination,” I told her. It wasn’t like I was friends with him or anything, but I didn’t know he liked musical theater. I thought he was just a model with some TV guest star credits. But then again, I didn’t know him. We just saw each other during prefect meetings with Headmaster Crowley. But I think Jack mentioned one time he was wealthy. Maybe he’s investing in the show? I mean, it’s that or he’s a part of the production team.

“Well, this just got way more interesting,” she commented. I glanced back over to the table. Vil seemed deep in conversation with the other auditioners. Yeah, interesting seemed like a good fit. An older man with a bright teal tie stood up from behind the table and clapped his hands. All conversation died and we all looked at him.

“Welcome to the callbacks for Romance is Immortal. You’ve all done well to make it this far. But sadly, only a few of you will make it into the cast,” he said. Way to pile the pressure on. “We’ll start with the sides and song we emailed you. We’ll call you in as small groups. The holding room is through that door.” He pointed and wordlessly, a few actors got up and made their way over. 

Okay, this was happening. This was really happening. The callback was starting. The brunette helped me to my feet and as I walked to the holding, I stole another glance at the panel. Vil’s sharp amethyst eyes caught mine. He gave me a small nod. This was weird. This was so weird. To think Vil would be judging my audition was a strange one. Would things stay this weird if I got the role? Would it be weirder if I didn’t? 

The holding room was fairly spacious and I found a spot by the water cooler. One of the auditioners was at the door, calling a few names already. The auditioner and actors left and the door shut behind them. Quiet conversation started up, filling the room. I pulled my phone out of my bag and saw a few texts from Ace and Deuce, telling me to break a leg. Those poor guys. I’d dragged them along on this journey and sang so much in our hotel room that Ace left to get noise cancelling headphones at one point. It wasn’t the most reassuring thing, even if he told me he just got them because he couldn’t hear his video game audio. But I knew he wasn’t really into musical theater. Deuce wasn’t either, but his mom loved musicals so he at least was willing to try and sing opposite me for prepping this callback piece. That was awkward. I never want to act like we have sexual tension ever, ever again.

I texted them back, thanking them and asking how sightseeing was going. I opened Magicam to see if they posted anything. They hadn’t put anything up yet, but Vil did. He had some vague things on his story. Showing he clearly wasn’t at Night Raven College, getting a smoothie this morning, basic things like that. I started scrolling through his profile, wondering if I’d find any past work of his on there. Mostly it was just selfies and modeling pictures. He really was pretty. Beautiful, even. Unfairly so. A notification popped up on my phone; a text message from Deuce, saying they were at an observation tower taking in the views. I really wish I could’ve seen that with them, but I had a job to get. Maybe if I got this role and got a place here, I could go sometime.

I waited and waited and waited for what felt like hours, although my phone said it was just a half hour. The first group returned and the assistant called out a few more names. My stomach lurched as my name was called. Trying not to shake, I stood up and followed him and a few others out to the main audition space. The room looked so much bigger without all the actors there. The assistant motioned for us to sit on the sidelines against the mirrored wall. As I sat down, I glanced over to Vil again, only to see him getting up. Was he leaving?

“We’ll start with auditioning our potential Opera Ghosts and Carolines. We’ll be double-casting these roles,” the man in the teal tie told us. “We’ve already had Mr. Schoenheit sign on as our main Opera Ghost -” Huh?! He was already in the show?! Was there another audition session I missed? Something about this unnerved me and I couldn’t place my finger on it. Sure, it was unusual, but I couldn’t tell why it was bothering me so. 

The man in the teal tie called out a name and a woman stood up, joining Vil in front of the auditioner’s table. I looked down at my script, reading through the lines again. I didn’t really need to; I was a fast learner and Deuce and I had gone over this enough times for me to remember it. But it was nice to stare at something that wasn’t other people.

Nerves were starting to eat at my stomach. The other actress sounded so good. Was I really cut out for this? I mean, I’d be thankful for any role in this show, but what if I bombed this so badly I wasn’t cast at all? 

… No. I couldn’t think like that. I had to get this job. I had to. I just needed to put everything I had into this. Nerves or awkwardness be damned. If I didn’t get this job, I wouldn’t have the money to get a place to stay this summer. I’d be homeless. Grim would be homeless. If I blew it, it wouldn’t be just me that would suffer. I needed to get this role at any cost.

I breathed in and out, trying to calm myself as one by one, each actress went up and read with either Vil or another man. I listened to the notes the auditioners gave, watched the way each actress portrayed Caroline, decided what choices I could make. I needed to keep a level head. I needed to destroy the competition. 

Suddenly, my name was called out as someone returned to sit with us. A deep breath. I could do this. I could do this. I got up and walked to where Vil was standing. I wasn’t sure if reading with someone I was acquainted with was going to be the most comfortable, but whatever. 

“Are you off-book on the sides?” A woman from behind the table asked. 

“I am,” I replied. She grinned.

“Go ahead and stow your script under the chaise lounge, then,” she instructed me. I gently tossed it under the lavish chaise right behind Vil and I. She was writing something down when I looked up; a majority of them were. My stomach was starting to knot itself again as I waited for the go-ahead.

“Hey.” Vil’s voice in my ear made me flinch. I looked at him. Up close, he was ever more beautiful, more beautiful than any photo could capture. “Is it okay if I touch you?”

“Huh? Yeah, it’s totally fine. Is it all right if I touch you?” I asked back. 

“Don’t mess up my hair or makeup,” he replied. 

“If you set your makeup right, that shouldn’t be a problem,” I said, grinning. He raised an eyebrow and I couldn’t decipher the look on his face. He was amused or pissed. One of those.

“All right, places!” the man in the teal tie called. Vil and I hurried to our spots, him on the chaise lounge and me just off to the side. I tried to channel Caroline, the heroine of the show. “Begin scene!”

After the sudden disappearance of the Opera Ghost, my mentor, I’d found his hiding place. I barged in, breathless, relieved that I’d found him. Yet, despite my joy, I was unsure, no, in denial about the true reason I wanted to find him. He shot up from his seat, shock written on his face.

“I…” The situation was hitting me. What could I say to him after everything that had happened? “I’ve found you.”

“So you have.” Cautious. He moved behind the chaise, keeping it between us. “Why are you here? To bring a mob to me?”

“No,” I breathed. I couldn’t bear the thought of him being hurt. “I don’t want you to be hurt.”

“Even after everything I did?” he demanded. Slowly, I started to move toward him.

“Even then.” I reached out to grab his hand, but in a flash, he moved away from me. My hand slowly fell back to my side.

“You have always been too kind for your own good,” he said softly. “...  I am not worthy of your kindness.”

“Don’t say that!” I cupped his face with my hands, praying my touch could convey my feelings for him. “You are deserving of love…” He smirked, his fingers brushing against my cheek. The touch made my heart race. I leaned into him.

“Do you really believe so?” he asked with a smirk.

The music began, the keyboard blaring. The heavy notes filled my blood and I could only imagine how it would sound with a full orchestra. Vil’s honeyed voice filled the air and I had to fight back surprise. Who knew he could sing? His hand slipped into mine, leading me around the room. His words dripped with innuendo and the walls around my heart were falling. Although I was to be wed soon, I fell under the Ghost’s spell. 

Soon, he wasn’t just leading me. I grabbed at him, pulling him close, desperate to be closer to him. His fingers dug into my hips. In an instant, he twirled me around, body pressing into my back. Oh, he wasn’t kidding when he said he was going to touch me; his hand was right on top of my thigh. Our duet was becoming faster, heavier. All I wanted was him to take me, to ravage me, to make me his. I was tired of his teasing touches. I needed more.

Once again, his hands gripped my hips tightly, walking me back to the chaise. Carefully, he laid me down. My heart was racing as he climbed on top of me. This wasn’t the closest we’d been and yet my heart was thudding so loudly I worried other people could hear it. I reached out, hand resting on his back and bringing him closer to me. We sang our last notes together, voices melting together. His face got closer to mine, our lips practically touching. But he didn’t close the small gap. We froze, waiting for the auditioners to end the scene.

“End!” someone called. I breathed a sigh of relief as Vil got off of me. My heart was still racing in my chest and I hated to admit it, but I felt winded from that scene. Vil offered his hand to me and helped me get off the chaise lounge. Was it so obvious? 

Some auditioners were still jotting down notes, others looking up at us. Vil stood by me, waiting patiently to receive notes.

“Your chemistry is fantastic,” one person said to us. They turned to me. “Towards the end, you were losing a little bit of energy. Be sure to keep that up through the whole piece.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

“Your vocal performance didn’t suffer too much from it, but again, it wasn’t as confident as we’d like,” another added. It hurt, but I nodded.

“Thank you,” I replied again.

“Vil, come back here. We’ll audition for another Opera Ghost.” Vil didn’t spare me a single glance, heading back to the table to join the producers and creative team. It’s not that I wanted him to stay with me, but man, I needed a breather after doing an intense scene like that.

The rest of the audition went fine. No one was as intense as Vil was and I did my best to take the notes I’d been given and improve on it. As I sat on the sidelines, I watched after time and time again Vil be fairly aggressive with the other potential Carolines. Part of me wished they were intimidated by it, but no, they all did really well. As expected of professional actors. 

“Great job, everyone,” the man in the teal tie told us as callbacks wrapped up. “We’ll email you with the results. If you don’t hear back within the week, you haven’t been cast.” Why did we have to wait so long? I’d have to spend this whole week anxious and checking my emails every hour.

“Have a good evening, everyone,” one of the auditioners called out from behind the table. The tension in the air disappeared immediately. It was over. I pulled out my phone, ready to text Ace and Deuce that I was done. As I left, I glanced over to the table. Vil was deep discussion with the producers. Oh well. I could get away with not saying bye. 

---

“So, did you have to do anything other than the song and lines?” Deuce asked me as we sat in our hotel room, boxes of pizzas in front of us. 

“Yeah. We did a quick dance portion, but it was mostly the sides and singing,” I replied. Now the audition was done, I could indulge a little in junk food.

“Doesn’t sound too bad,” Ace said, mouth full.

“It wasn’t. It was tiring, though,” I admitted. “I started off intense so it was an uphill battle. Vil was pretty aggressive.”

“Vil? He auditioned too?” 

“Yeah. It was that seduction scene Deuce and I suffered through and he was going for it. A couple times I legit thought he was going to touch me. But he didn’t!” I added hurriedly as looks of rage came over both Ace and Deuce. “He asked if he could touch me and I said it was fine, don’t worry. He wasn’t going around just grabbing my thighs like a life preserver without consent.” Their bodies relaxed.

“Are you sure you want to do this show if the audition is like this?” Ace asked. 

“Of course I do! If I get into this show, it’s a job and I don’t have to rely on Headmaster Crowley for everything!” I fired back.

“Jeez, calm down.” Ace crossed his arms in front of his chest. “This just seems like a weird show.”

“You’re saying that as if the first musical wasn’t weird,” Deuce commented.

“I’ve never seen The Opera Ghost and I’m not going to. My grandma took me to see Dance of the Vampires when I was a kid and that’s the first and last musical I’ll ever see,” Ace said indignantly.

“You can’t base every musical off of one you saw,” Deuce argued. I just grabbed another slice of pizza and kept eating as they fought. As much as I hated it, Ace’s words stuck with me. Sure, I didn’t know the first musical, but this was a job. A job I needed. Right now, I was technically taking dorm funds for necessities and although I doubted Crowley cared, I needed some way of making my own money. Who knew how long I was going to be here? 

I needed to start trying to be independent.

… No. I’ve worked hard. I can worry about money later. I pushed the anxiety to the back of my mind, jumping back into the conversation Deuce and Ace were having. The night went on and despite my long day, I had a hard time sleeping. 

I lay awake in the stiff hotel bed, staring up at the ceiling. Deuce was sound asleep in the roll-away bed that was wedged between mine and Ace’s beds. I sighed, rolling over towards him and the night stand. I grabbed my phone and unlocked it. Instinctively, I double-checked I was on the hotel’s wifi before doing anything.

There was a notification bubble on my email app and my stomach did a backflip. I took a deep breath and opened it. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but still, my insides were starting to vibrate. There were two emails, one from the school about something I didn’t care about and the other from the people who’d sent me the music and sides for the audition. My body was shaking as I opened the email. My eyes read over the words quickly and that bubbly feeling grew and grew.

They offered me the role of Caroline.

My phone fell onto the mattress with a soft thud. My heart was about to beat out of my chest yet again today. I did it. I got the part. I wouldn’t have to worry about money soon. I had a job. I had a paying job. 

I got up and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. My body shook and I jumped up and down, trying to get the adrenaline out of my body. I did it! I had a job! Everything was going to be okay.

But as I tried to calm myself down, something came to mind. My audition with Vil. Who was already cast. … Was I going to have to do that scene again in front of more people?!

[bnhainsert]

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Chapter 8: Aria Di Sorbetto

Hado woke up to a text from Jiro. She was asking if Hado wanted to see a new movie that had come out recently.

Jiro: Yeah there’s this new comedy movie we’ve been wanting to see

Hado: We?

Jiro: Ochako, Asui, Midoriya, and Shoji

Hado: Who’s Shoji?

Jiro: You know pro hero tentacole?

Hado: THAT’S HIM?! HELL YEAH I’D LOVE TO MEET ANOTHER PRO HERO

Jiro: Alright lay off the caps please. I’ll meet you at the movie around 4pm

           Hado put away her phone and decided to train a bit before she would have to get ready to leave. She managed to get some quirk training in as well as strength training. She took a shower to clean up a bit. She dug through her duffle bag looking for something cute to wear out to the movies. She unfortunately didn’t pack any of her cute casual clothes when she left home 3 weeks ago. She opened up her wallet and did some mental math. Because the cottage she had been living in was stocked, she hadn’t spent any money recently. She made the bold decision to go out and buy a new outfit to treat herself. She had been working so hard recently that she told herself she deserved it. The movie theater she would be meeting them at was in the shopping district anyway.

           Hado arrived in the shopping district looking for a nice shop to get a new outfit from. She settled on a AC Quarter’s because the clothes were moderately priced and wouldn’t break the bank. She double checked the time to make sure she had enough time to try the clothes on and leave. She had about an hour and a half before the set meeting time with Jiro.

           Browsing through the clothes she decided she would buy herself a dress. She didn’t have very many so, what the hell, why not? She sorted through a lot of different styles, almost always turning down something with a floral pattern on it. Hado had nothing against flowers, they were just too busy of a design on the cloth. “Too short…. too long….too formal….too….risqué” She thought sorting through all of the dresses. She stopped at a cute blue dress that was a little bit past knee-length. It had a cinched waist, a squared off neckline, and cute little buttons going down the middle. The best part of it was that it had thin wavy lines on it that reminded her of her hero costume. She found the dress in her size and went to check out. She looked down at her feet on the way to the counter and realized she was wearing the same sneakers she had worn for almost 5 years now. They looked very beaten up. “maybe I should get a new pair of shoes too…”

           Hado refused to wear heals. They sucked to walk in and they sucked to sing in. She looked at the variety of flats they had instead. She really liked the way the Tod’s shoes looked. Tod brand shoes were normally a little too pricey for her but she had the money to spare and purchase a pair of black ones.

On her way up to the counter she spotted a cute black choker and grabbed it boldly. Yeah, sure, chokers hadn’t been in style in a while, but she liked them and thought it would look cute with her dress. The cashier rang her up and gave her her total. “Is it like date night or something?” The woman behind the counter asked. “Oh no. I’m going to a movie with some friends. I just want to look cute for me and me along” Hado confidently responded. “Wish I had that same boldness” The lady replied. “Oh but you could! I bet you would look great in purple! Find a nice purple blouse, throw on some casual jeans and maybe some heels and you’ve got it made!” Hado threw out. She wasn’t sure where this advice was coming from, but the lady at the counter seemed to take it to heart. She smiled at Hado and thanked her. Hado waved back to the cashier as she walked out of the store. Hey, being a hero didn’t always mean catching villains or rescuing people.

           Hado changed in a nearby bathroom and put her old clothes in the shopping bag she was given. She made her way to the movie theater. She had managed to arrive 5 minutes early surprisingly. She sat down on a bench right outside waiting for her friends. “You’re here too?” She heard a familiar voice from behind. She turned around to see Bakugo in casual clothing. “Oh yeah um Jiro invited me out to this movie. I think it’s going to be real stupid so I’m looking forward to it” Hado said. “Yeah, whatever” Bakugo responded.

           About 2 minutes later, the others began to arrive. Jiro walked up with Ochako, Tsu, Midoriya, and the person Hado assumed was Shoji. He looked even cooler in person! Behind them she saw Ashido, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sero. Ashido casually greeted Jiro. “Oh what a coincidence! We’re all here at the same time! Are you guys going to see the same movie too?” She asked innocently. Jiro mentioned the movie they were seeing, and it matched up. The whole group of pro heroes entered the theater.

           “Well this is fucking weird”  Hado thought to herself. She was very suspicious of Ashido who she had learned had a penchant for causing a stir. It wasn’t ever harmful trouble; it was just a little exhausting. The groups of pro heroes chatted with each other as they looked for seats in the theater. Before they could pick Bakugo marched his way up all the way to the top. He glared at everyone, almost daring them to sit near him. They were used to this by now so they followed him up, but instead of sitting on his row, they sat in the row in front of him. They managed to all get there before Hado had a chance to make it up the stairs. She looked and noticed that most of the seats were already taken. She sighed and made her way all the way up to the top and sat by Bakugo. Bakugo looked over at her, noticing her exhausted look.

“Hey if you don’t want to sit next to me, there’s plenty of other chairs here” he snarled.

Hado laughed in response which made a few of the pro heroes turn their heads, surprised. “Please I think I can handle sitting by you. Besides, who else am I going to annoy all move with my color commentary” Hado teased. Bakugo shot back a smirk. The few that had looked back were so shocked they didn’t realize they were staring. The only one who didn’t bother looking back was Midoriya.

“Hey mind your own business you damn extras” Bakugo snapped and they all immediately turned their head back to the screen and continued their conversations. Hado snickered in response. “Will that ever get old?” She asked aloud. “I hope not” Bakugo replied.

           Everything was going according to plan. Midoriya relaxed in his chair, a feeling of relief filling his body. He hoped this wasn’t too obvious of a set-up, but he knew his best friend would never have taken the initiative to ask Hado out. Midoriya remembered worrying about his friend and how he would even manage to make this happen. Luckily, he knew some of the smoothest people in town. Calling Mina, Denki, and Eijirou was a great idea. They had all brainstormed some ways of making this happen, throwing out the ideas that Bakugo would never go for, which was most of them. They all agreed that they had to trick him into a date because he was too much of an idiot to really act on those feelings. Hell the only person he really fully opened up to was Midoriya and he still didn’t mention how he felt about Hado to him. Midoriya knew though. Midoriya at least knew what a crush felt like.

           The lights went down, and the previews started. “Oh shit I forgot to buy the popcorn!” Kaminari said loudly and jumped out of his seat. “Get a big one for us to share” Mina shouted to him as he left the theater. He gave a nod of understanding before disappearing out of view. “Idiot” Bakugo said under his breath. He looked over at Hado suppressing a laugh. “He just wants to make the movie experience a little more fun. It just feels a little more complete with popcorn you know?” She explained. “If you wanted some goddamn popcorn all you had to do was ask” Bakugo shot back and stood up to leave his seat. Hado looked shocked at Bakugo as he stomped out of the theater. He was still surprising her even after all the time they had been spending together. A warm smile found its place onto her face.

           “Ooooo how are the love birds doing?” Ashido teased, looking back at Hado. Hado was thankful the lights had gone out so Ashido couldn’t see how red her face got. “Shut up. It’s not like that. This is just how Bakugo is” Hado replied. “I can’t remember the last time Bakugo got me popcorn at a movie” Kirishima stated. “Oh, you mean that time that never happened?” Sero added. The pro heroes started giggling. A few other people who were in the theater turned around and shushed them. “Oh come on it’s just the previews, don’t be so uptight” Hado replied. One of the people who had turned around started glaring at her. “Ugh I promise you won’t hear them again okay?” Hado said in an attempt to make peace. The person turned back around with a huff. “Not sure how you’re going to do that. We happen to be a very noisy bunch” Ashido said loudly. Luckily Hado was expecting it and stopped the soundwaves from reaching the people in front of them. Midoriya was the one to laugh this time. “She’s a sound hero Ashido. And she’s very good at what she does. That’s probably why Bakugo has taken a liking to her” Midoriya said turning around to smile at Hado. Her face turned beet red again. “There’s no way he’s interested in me as more than just like…. a training partner, or like a pro hero to work with. Yeah I’m just basically a coworker to him” Hado rambled in her head, making sense of everything the others were implying. Kaminari came back with a big bucket of popcorn and took his place. “What’d I miss?” He whispered to Jiro. “Just us picking on Hado” She responded. “Aww man I miss out on all the fun” he said upset but pushed a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

           Bakugo came back with a relatively normal sized bag of popcorn, stomping the whole way back up to his seat. “I better not have missed anything good loser” He said without taking his eyes off of the screen. “I thought you weren’t interested in a movie like this” Hado threw right back at him. “I’m not. I’m just here to tear down this shitty movie. I don’t want to miss a good chance to fucking annihilate whoever this dumb director is” Bakugo answered. Hado shrugged and faced the screen while every once in a while, grabbing some popcorn. “Thank you” she whispered to Bakugo as the movie started

           Hado didn’t get to fully enjoy the movie because she was so busy trying to keep her friends’ soundwaves from reaching the other people in the theater. That was incredibly hard to do considering other soundwaves were bouncing around. She did manage to keep Bakugo’s voice and her voice away from everyone in the theater. They shredded that movie, taking cracks at all of the cheesy lines and terribly designed sets.

           The credits began to roll and most everyone started to get up and leave. “Hey I’ve got some paperwork I forgot to finish up” Midoriya spoke up shooting out of his seat. “Let me know if we can do this again sometime” he said and shot out of the room before anyone could even blink. “Yeah I have some work still left for me at my agency. Ochako, would you mind helping out?” Tsu said as the two left the theater. Slowly each of the other heroes managed to find something they had to go do and left Hado and Bakugo alone in the theater. “Don’t tell me you have something else you have to do too” Hado sighed, sounding upset. “I already finished up all of my hero work unlike those losers” Bakugo replied. Hado smiled. “Hey what do you like to do for fun that doesn’t deal with hero work?” She asked curious. She had only ever seen Bakugo do hero work and everything that’s related to hero work.

“I’ll show you. Keep up nerd”

The two of them ended up at batting cages near the outskirts of the shopping district. They were nice batting cages too. Each booth was given a ton of room both to move and for the ball to fly through. “These batting cages were made specifically with quirks in mind” Bakugo explained slipping on a pair of gloves to help with the grip on the bat. “This is where I go on days when it’s raining and the training ground gets soaked” He continued. Hado looked at him very intensely, watching his every move. She watched him get ready for the machine to throw the pitches. He had set the frequency at which the machine shoots the ball higher than normal. Balls started flying out about every second and Bakugo was able to cool hit every single one of them. He wasn’t just strong, he was quick and strong, able to pull back fast enough again to put even more power in each new swing. How could someone make baseball look so goddamn cool.

“I know I’m awesome, but you can pick your jaw up off the floor you nerd” Bakugo’s voice brought her out of her thoughts. Hado shook her head. He started to put up the gloves and bat. “Are you done already?” Hado asked. He had only spent about 5 minutes hitting the baseballs back across the way. “No, I’m not done dumbass. A bat has its limitations” Bakugo replies. Hado put two and two together. “You’re going to use your quirk to propel it” Hado stated. Bakugo didn’t even reply. He just rolled his shoulders and focused. The balls came flying out at an even higher rate but each one was met by a very precisely placed explosion. It was incredible to watch. Not only did he hit every single ball, but he also sent them flying so fast and so far away.

Hado noticed sweat starting to glisten on Bakugo’s forehead. She couldn’t speak because she was so impressed by the display of prowess. These are skills she knew he had but it was different seeing those skills being used on something else. When they sparred, she never really had time to think about how much accuracy he had in his movements. She was always kept on her toes making sure she didn’t get hit. “If you don’t stop staring, I’ll start to think you have a crush on me” Bakugo said uncharacteristically. She turned away and blushed a light shade of pink. Something about it made her feel uneasy. “Is he making fun of me? I know I’m not up to his standards, but does he really have to tease me about that” Hado grappled with her inner monologue.

Bakugo must have notice something was wrong because he looked at Hado confused. “You look like you’re gonna’ vomit. You need to go home?” He asked. Hado didn’t like the feelings she was grappling with, but she also still wanted to spend more time with Bakugo. It was selfish of her, but when was the last time she got to enjoy herself so much? Hado shook off the awful feeling of nausea in her stomach. “No no I’m fine!” She told Bakugo. “Hey since you used your quirk on the ball, can I give it a try?” She changed the subject. “Yeah go ahead but you’re not going to break my record or anything” He teased.

Hado lowered the timing of how often the balls were thrown. She had to concentrate really hard. She had to figure out how strong to make the soundwaves to at least make the ball have backwards motion, then she had to figure out how powerful she could make the soundwaves to see how far and fast she could repel the balls. The first ball shot out. She calculated where it was headed and amplified a test soundwave. She made the ball stop in midair and drop to the ground. “Alright now I know the minimum output I need to send the ball backwards”. The next ball came flying out and this time her soundwave pushed the ball backwards, but it didn’t fly very far or very fast. The 3rd ball flew farther, faster. Each time the ball went a little bit farther and a little bit faster. By the last one, she had been shooting them back as far and as fast as Bakugo had with the bat. She felt slightly accomplished because Bakugo’s hits with the bat were still way over what a normal human could do.

“Not bad. You’ve still got some got some work to do but you’ve shown a lot of improvement over a short amount of time” Bakugo praised. It made Hado feel warm and happy. The compliment made her want to work even harder just to hear Bakugo say something nice about her again. Then she had a thought. There was something she could do that he most likely couldn’t.

“Hey if we’re done here, I have another place I’d like to go. You got to show off here so it’s my turn to show you what I can really do”

“Oh?” Bakugo said, raising one eyebrow. He had no idea where they were going to go, but he’d be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t a least a little bit excited to see what Hado meant.

The two of them ended up at a bar that did Karaoke every night of the week. He sighed heavily. Of course, it was singing. She’s a goddamn sound hero. Singing wasn’t quite his speed, but he would go along with it because…. well because it was Hado. She seemed so excited too. Seeing her smile made him feel like nothing else mattered in the world, as long as he could see that smile. They took a seat at the bar and Hado immediately asked for a shot of whiskey. “Eh? What are you doing dumbass?” Bakugo asked. “Taking one shot gives me just a little more courage to sing sincerely” She said giving him a wink. That was surprising. She normally isn’t this bold. Was she flirting with him? Bakugo was kind of confused. “Did you want anything? I’m paying” She offered. “I’m not much of a drinker” Bakugo replied and asked for a glass of water. She shrugged and walked off to check out the songs on the Karaoke machine. She seemed to find a song she liked and grabbed the microphone ready to sing on the stage.

Things were pretty slow in the bar so it almost felt like a little private performance for him. He threw that thought out into the garbage. He didn’t deserve things like that. He stared intently at Hado as she started to sing. She surprisingly picked an alternative rock song. Bakugo took her for more a pop girl.

“Please don’t mind what I’m trying to say ‘cause I,

I’m being honest when I tell you that you,

You’re part of the reasons I’m set on the rest of my life

Being a part of you

And tell me what you think about

Being open

About being honest with yourself

‘Cause things will never be the sa-aame”

Her voice rang out beautifully. Her eyes were lighting up. She was looking straight at Bakugo with those bright happy eyes. It was so…. Enchanting. Bakugo wondered if maybe she had two quirks considering she had told him that her mother sang like an angel. Hado looked like she was having so much fun even though there were maybe a total of 3 people watching her. It felt like she was only singing for Bakugo. He felt his face heat up ever so slightly, thinking about the words of the song. Surely, they didn’t mean anything. It might have just been one of her favorite songs.

She finished the song but asked the owner if she could keep going considering how slow business was. The owner smiled happily and encouraged her to keep going. He’s probably heard all types of voices, most of them being drunk and not well tuned. Bakugo bet that Hado’s voice was like a breath of fresh air for this guy. And he would have to agree.

She picked a slow song this time with a slightly country twang. Bakugo wasn’t the biggest fan of country but he would give it a try because…. Well, again it was Hado singing it.

“Dear God the only thing I ask of you is

To hold her when I'm not around

When I'm much too far away

We all need that person who can be true to you

But I left her when I found her

And now I wish I'd stayed

'Cause I'm lonely and I'm tired

I'm missing you again oh no

Once again”

The slight tinge of sadness struck a chord in Bakugo. She honestly looked like she was going to cry. He felt the emotions of the song through her voice and her expression. Then something even more amazing happened. Another voice layered on top of hers to create a harmony. She was using her quirk to create her own harmonies. Knowing what Bakugo knew about her quirk, that would take a lot of concentration and control to do something like that. She had already thrown back 3 shots so some of her concentration had to be off.

As Bakugo was stuck in his thoughts, people started to trickle in from outside. They seemed to hear Hado singing and were drawn in. Hado finished up her song and looked around nervously. The owner encouraged her to sing one more song because no one else had signed up yet. Bakugo figured they would probably want to throw back a few drinks before getting up there to sing. It was called liquid courage for a reason.

Hado picked one more song to sing for the now growing crowd. As she began her song Bakugo overheard the conversation between two guys near him. “Oh man her voice is awesome. And she’s pretty cute too. Think she’s taken?”. Something inside of Bakugo threatened to snap. The conversation made his blood boil. “Fucking jerks” he said under his breath. Hado finished up her song and was about to walk off the stage to give someone else a chance. The two men Bakugo heard earlier were talking again. “Oh, dude there she goes. I’m going to see if I can get her number” one guy said and gave his drink to his buddy.

Hado quickly made her way to Bakugo who was grinding his teeth to keep himself from physically hurting the man who spoke earlier. Before she could make it all the way back to her seat, the man who wanted her number tapped her on the shoulder. Bakugo felt like he was going to explode. “Hey, you have an incredible singing voice” The guy complimented her. “Oh thanks… I get it from my mom” She shyly replied. Bakugo could tell she was uncomfortable. He arms were folded in front of her and her eyes were focused on the floor. “Well your mom has one hell of a daughter. Would you mind if I-” the man stopped mid-sentence seeing Bakugo walk up behind Hado and put his arm around her waist. “Mind if you what” Bakugo growled. “Oh uh… um… nothing nevermind. Just wanted to say you were great… um have a good night” he said nervously as he quickly shuffled his way back over to his friend. Hado sighed, relieved. She looked up to Bakugo. She then looked down at his hand still around her waist. Bakugo noticed her staring at his hand and he suddenly let go feeling….self-concious?

“Hey, thank you for that. I have trouble politely telling people to fuck off. Not sure why” Hado admitted. Bakugo had a small thought form in the back of his mind. “What if she’s just hanging out with me because she doesn’t know how to tell me to fuck off?”.

“Hey earth to Bakugo. Let’s get out of here. There’s too many people” Hado said. Bakugo snapped back to reality and walked out of the bar with her, giving those men one last hard glare.

“Was there anything else you wanted to do tonight?” Hado asked sweetly. Bakugo just shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe it’s time for us to just head home” He suggested bitterly. He looked back at Hado and she looked so upset. A pang of guilt hit him right in the chest. Did she still really want to spend more time with someone like him?

“I…. I was really enjoying out time together. We’ve never hung out outside of hero work or training. I haven’t had this much fun with anyone else ever” She bravely admitted. Any doubt he had before quickly left his mind after her confession. “Well…. It’s still getting late. If you want…. I could let you crash at my place” he quietly offered. Hado’s face lit up. There was that smile again, and it felt like all was right with the world again.

The two made it back to Bakugo’s place. He unlocked the door and let her in. It’s a pretty normal looking place. He did have a wall where he hung up articles of him being praised as a pro hero. They sat down on the couch in the front room and talked for hours. They talked to each other about villain busts, and old high school stories. They talked about each other’s goals and dreams. They learned about their favorite colors and music and weather. Bakugo looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s getting pretty late. We should probably rest up. You can sleep in my bed and I’ll take the couch” Bakugo offered. Thinking about Hado sleeping in his bed made him embarrassed but he wasn’t sure why.

“Oh no I can sleep on the couch. I think I’d feel just a little weird sleeping in your bed. No offense to you! Your wonderful and I like being around you and stuff. I just think I’d be more comfortable on the couch” Hado admitted. A small part of Bakugo felt rejected, but he pushed that feeling aside and shrugged. He stood up and started to walk off to his bedroom. “Just let me know if you need anything” he said not looking back. “Oh, hey just one thing!” Hado called. He turned around and she planted a kiss directly on his cheek. His face got hot and his heart thumped hard in his chest. He wasn’t moving, just standing completely still in the middle of the room.

“Oh god did I break you? I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have-” Hado was cut off mid-sentence. Bakugo had quickly grabbed her to pull her close and put his lips on hers. His heart thumped even more loudly in his chest. Every ounce of passion he had been feeling was poured into that kiss. He broke the kiss first and looked at Hado’s blushing face. He smirked realizing that he had caused her to blush like this. She wasn’t moving. “Hey earth to sound girl” Bakugo mocked. She let out a small giggle.

“There’s more where that came from, so you better be careful” Bakugo managed to both tease and threaten. He walked back off to his bedroom. Hado couldn’t believe what just happened, but it was incredible, and she felt like she was on cloud nine. She tucked herself in for the night on the couch. She wondered about what tomorrow would hold.

Chapter 7   Chapter 9

[corvid-lullaby]

Finished 5.3 a day ago, but needed time to recover and process everything. If any of you are procrastinating from finishing Shadowbringers due to fears that I probably shared, you have my blessings. Go finish it. Final Fantasy 4 fans are gonna shit themselves silly.

I gotta say though. Not many stories out there leave me crying all fucking day but in a very satisfied way. It was extremely good, and the final fight was really fun. I’m ready for the Extreme version of it.

I’m also including a short guide for the trial if anyone needs it, without spoilers. It’ll be first thing under the cut, so you shouldn’t see any spoilers as most of it is inside vids

 IF YOU NEED HELP CLEARING THIS OR JUST WANT SOMEONE TO HOLD YOUR HAND I WILL BE ABSOLUTELY HAPPY TO COME.

I’ve uploaded the climax portion and the final trial if anyone wants to see. They’ll be after the guide. This isn’t the full finale ending. The trial is a bit longer than usual since I went in completely blind, and so did a lot of others in our party. We had to learn a lot of new mechs on the fly, therefor we wiped several times, but that’s what makes doing brand new content blind so fun. You get to learn and clear it together.

Koi 💜

Final Trial Guide

Phase 1:

Terror Unleashed (HEAL TO FULL): Dark Knight Unleashed skill raid wide. Forces the equivilant of Dark Knight’s Walking Dead on everyone and reduces hp to 1. Heal to full to remove Walking Dead or else the player will die after 15 seconds.

The Bitter End (TANK BUST)

Pause (STAY STILL UNTIL THE FIRE DEBUFF FALLS OFF): When a pause icon is above your head, it’ll count down before fire engulfs the entire raid. This puts the fire looking debuff Pyretic onto everyone. If you move at all or cast a skill while this is on you, you will take damage. Stay still until it falls off.

Play (KEEP RUNNING/MOVING): Same as Pause, but this time with a play icon. This time its a blizzard. If you’re character is still (Using skills does not count as ‘moving’) then you’ll be frozen and take extra damage. Keep moving to prevent this.

Fire/Ice Imbued Sword (FIRE: STAY STILL - ICE: MOVE): When he says “Begone, spawn of Shadow!” watch to see if he imbues his sword with ice or fire. You’ll have to treat it the same as Pause/Play. If its Ice keep moving to keep from being frozen. If it’s fire stay still until the debuff drop. The trick here is knowing when he’s actually going to cast it, as in second phase he’ll delay it. Listen for when he says, “Darkness must be destroyed!”. This will be followed by either a circle aoe around him or a raid wide aoe with a safe spot directly under him. He’ll cast ice/fire just as these aoes go off.

Floor Drawing/Sword of Light (GET OUT OF THE DRAWING): The floor turns black and lazers begin moving around to draw a figure. Watch carefully where the lazers go and get outside of the drawing asap. When the drawing is finished everyone within it takes damage.

FOLLOWED WITH

Bahamut Dive (GET TO THE SAFE SIDE): Right after a drawing incantation is finished, you’ll see Bahamut waiting and ready to do a dive right after. As soon as the drawing damage goes off, run to the safe side. Bahamut also appears later during the dark bubbles/stack/run away mechanic.

Phase 2:

Did you see and recognize that hand gesture? /wink/

Most phase 1 mechs will be in phase 2, but enhanced. Floor Drawing will look more complicated. Imbued Sword will now have a big delay from when it has been imbued to when it’s actually cast.

To The Limit: He’ll now start casting limit breaks to indicate upcoming mechs, starting with LB4 right at the start 

Limit Break 4 (USE TANK LB3): This is his ultimate and, I think not completely positive since I haven’t done this enough, requires a tank LB3 to defend against it.

Meteor Rings (STAND IN THEM)

Elddragon Dive (RAID WIDE DAMAGE)

Summon Wyrm (GO TO SAFE CORNER AWAY FROM BAHAMUT DIVE + STACK/RUN AWAY MECHS): Two large glowing black orbs will spawn at two corners, leaving the other two corners safe. At the same time Bahamut will spawn to dive over one of these two clear corners. Run to the safe corner. Right after a stack mechanic plus the triangle run away marker will spawn at the same time. Stackers should stay in the corner while the person with the triangle marker should run through the center between the growing orbs. Bahamut will already have dived so it’ll be safe.

Limit Break 1 Radient Braver (SEPARATE MARKERS/CONE AOES): Similar to Earth Shakers. People marked will have a large cone aoe directed at them. Separate and everyone else needs to reposition to avoid the cleave.

Limit Break 2 Radient Desperado (DOUBLE LINE STACK): Two people will be marked with line-based stack markers. Split and stack but only ONCE. One goes off before the other, leaving the first stackers possibly tempted to run and help stack with the second one. DO NOT DO THIS. You will be given a major debuff when hit with a stack and you CANNOT live a second stack hit.

Limit Break 3 Radient Meteor (SPREAD AND HUG CORNERS, CENTER IS SAFE): Four people will be marked with huge AOE markers. Each person must run and hug a corner very closely. This will leave the center clear for everyone else. Hug it well, since the aoes are extremely big.

Small Ninja Mudra (PUSH BACK FOLLOWED BY STACK): A Ninja WoL (Not the boss) will be seen casting a mudra while mentioning cleansing water, wash away evil. Tidal Wave-like push back mechanic. Run to the side with the waterfall. This will be followed by a stacking mech. Don’t be me and use arms length or something similar to null the push back. I got the marker and died due to this since this left me far from everyone lmao.

4X Bahamut (FACE YOUR BAHAMUT AWAY/TO ITS’ CORNER): Four Bahamuts will spawn, each tethered to one person. This is like the Zenos fight in the Ala Mhigo dungeon. Each person needs to run to the Bahamut they’er tethered to and towards the corner behind it. The Bahamut will be forced to turn to face you and that corner, dropping its’ cone safely away from everyone else when it goes off.

That’s it, but let me know if I got something wrong or forgot something! I tried to keep it easy to read to use on the fly.

Finale Part 1

Finale Part 2

Finale Trial Part 1

Finale Trial Part 2

Finale Trial Part 3

Finale Part 3

Hit Video limit so here’s the link to the last video: https://youtu.be/R-pLTrmXBes

~~~~~

Again this isn’t the full ending. Just the climax.

But honestly I can’t express how much I enjoyed the closing to Shadowbringers. I’m so fucking happy that our little G’raha lived and got to come home with us. It’s just too cute how much he adores and wants to adventure with the Warrior of Light/Darkness. Hopefully he’ll get used to his new young, spry body. He isn’t a crystalizing grandpa anymore.

I’m gonna miss it.

[theonceoverthinker]

Doppelganger on the Docks (Captain Swan Role Reversal)

Summary: Even in Storybrooke, the town where most anything can happen, Killian doesn’t expect much chaos when he and Emma go sailing together. But hey, for good or ill, that’s their town, right?

AO3            Fanfiction.net

Here it is, my submission for the @csrolereversal​!!! Thank you to the wonderful creators of this project!!!

ALL of the credit in the world for this story’s existence belongs to the following two wonderful ladies!

First, @hollyethecurious​, thank you so much for the fantabulous artwork! Not gonna lie, when the development of this piece got hard, your artwork kept me going!! It’s so unique and scary and cool that it deserves some words to accompany it!

Second, @fraddit​ is the most amazing person in the world, pass it on! Seriously, the help with this piece’s story development you gave me as well as your encouragement was so helpful! I really could not have completed this work without you!

()()()()()()()()()()()

A bright afternoon Filled Storybrooke’s skies The ocean shimmered and glistened And all around were seagull’s cries

Killian walked across the scene A day of sailing just ahead But in a rare case nowadays He had no one in his stead

His family was working Or otherwise, in another realm But Killian was fine with that Sailing the Jolly, alone at the helm

But just as he was readying To depart for the briny blue He heard someone call his name And the source was one he knew

Emma was just down the gangplank Saying she’d been double booked at work She requested to join in her husband’s travels Though asked in words that made them both smirk

Killian brought her aboard his vassal And pecked her lips tenderly with a kiss A day at sea alone was of course a good time But one with Emma, he never would miss

So they both got to work on the rigging And a few minutes later, they left Though his new home grew more and more out of sight Of love, Killian couldn’t feel less bereft

The Jolly Roger rocked across the ocean And salt water sprayed through the air While laughter and chatter rumbled through them They had fun with less than a care

Emma pulled Killian close to her Her arms looping around his neck And the conversation slowed As they made out on the deck

The hours passed in much the same way Creating an afternoon that was fun While Killian expected the day to go fine even alone With Emma, it was second to none

But the entire time they snuggled and kissed Killian noticed things felt rather odd The way she talked and kissed felt just a bit off So Killian decided to prod

Emma told him that she had a headache And Killian supposed that made enough sense After all, why would he distrust the woman he loved? And trusting her always made him less tense

Together for the next several hours They idled in the sun as the time’s arrows marched on Emma curled into Killian’s side as they looked to the horizon And Killian nuzzled his head in his Swan

Only when Killian got hungry did they go below deck He revealed a small lunch that he took While it wasn’t a lot, both were happy to share And Killian fed Emma bits from his hook

All of the sudden, not long into lunch Killian’s cell phone made itself known It was a call from the station and though it pained Killian to do so He wanted to silence its drone

Emma tried to convince him to dismiss the blare Another odd thing for her to suggest  But Killian’s resolve won out in the end Though he promised it would be a quick quest

Killian climbed up the ladder as he answered the call “What’s going on, Dan?” he then pressed However, it wasn’t Dan who was on the other end of the line And who was Killian would never have guessed

It was Emma on the phone How could that have been so? She was talking so nonchalantly As if she wasn’t waiting for him down below

When confronted, Emma told him She’d been hard at work all day But she wanted to call to ask about dinner And just check that he was okay

Her phone had apparently died early that morning And work kept her too busy to call him before So when she at last was able to get a moment to herself She wanted to call and learn when he’d come back to shore

Killian turned between the phone and the ladder The directions of his two possible brides And suddenly his legs felt quite wobbly Though it was not a result of the tides

The Emma on the phone was persistent In proving who she truly was And through evidence Killian found it hard to deny Still, the whole matter gave him pause

If this Emma who had only just appeared Was the real woman that had won his heart Then who was this being who he’d spent the day with? And why did they want to keep he and its real self apart?

It would make sense if this were his Emma She didn’t give him that off feeling That this other possible Emma gave him Unghh, Killian’s head was now reeling

He needed to know  Which of the two was his wife So he thought up a means Of ending this bit of strife

Killian asked this Emma a singular question One only his real wife would know Her answer would determine once and for all Which of them was putting on a show

“What was it you said when we first kissed?” He waited on the meaning her answer would bring And his darling Emma answered fast “That was a one time thing.”

Killian then divulged what was going on Emma wondered why she now had a clone And he could hardly begin to contemplate it either But kept quiet to keep their cover unblown

It wasn’t long before they came to their conclusion Magic was what created the trick While the ‘why’ of the matter was still an unknown They could settle that later, but for now, they’d think quick

Killian would create an excuse to return home And Emma would meet them at the docks Once they converged, they’d corner the fake And to put it frankly, clean their dastardly clocks

Thankfully, while he was now quite heroic Killian was still good for the occasional lie So Emma agreed to the plan and bolted out of the station And Killian created a cover that was clever and sly

He climbed back down to where he left his fake date Killian’s absence seemed to not worry them at all So with that taken care of, he put his plan into action To get them back to the shore and then stall

With the gentlest tone he could muster Killian told the demon they needed to leave He sold them a story that their assistance was needed In a way they would have to believe

Killian nearly blew his cover by smiling And he had an overwhelming urge to gloat Seeing the fake mentally run through excuses On why the two of them should stay afloat

Triumphantly, Killian set off for Storybrooke Readying himself for some kind of fight And reminded himself no matter who this demon was He and Emma would make things alright

The ship was well on its way back to town They were now halfway back to port With any luck, if he could just keep his act together This misadventure would remain fairly short

But victory was never so easy And with a shove, Killian remembered that well Within seconds, he was on the ship’s wooden floor Still playing dumb, he asked “What the hell?”

The demon had clearly caught onto his scheme They looked at Killian, rather unimpressed “For such a renowned pirate, I expected better But alas, you’re just one more human I detest.”

And then they changed forms, no longer resembling Killian could hardly believe his own eyes Finally though, he completely understood It was a Siren that caused the day’s lies

He then asked the Siren what it was that she wanted On her face, a sinister smirk then appeared Killian knew whatever answer she gave would be bad But hers was worse than he feared

“Your father-in-law long ago killed my sister For too long I’ve sought retribution And while killing him would bring me great joy Killing you offers a better solution”

“For what could be better to ruin his life Than to dispose of his child’s True Love? Yes, to be forced to witness her mourning face everyday There’s no better vengeance I could ever dream of”

“I’ve waited between curses and realms oh-so long To bring real suffering to his daughter I was close to giving up when I found you It’s a good thing that her husband likes water”

“So I tried for so long to catch you alone And finally, I came upon my lucky day All it took was a vial of Lake Nostos’ water Now, for your father-in-law’s sins, you will pay”

Killian scoffed to himself and got up from the floor “Now, I don’t suppose you could be swayed?” It couldn’t hurt to try, Killian justified Especially if it would end this tirade

The Siren shook her head and her smirk nearly doubled Then she looked out at the port just beyond A curious hum had Killian turn to see what was troubling her And he spotted a quite familiar blonde

Killian looked to the Siren who had a glint in her eye He could tell that her plan had just changed What the hell was she going to do with his dear Emma Swan? If she thought she’d succeed, she was truly deranged

“You’ll never get to her in time,” Killian growled “The Jolly Roger’s far faster than you” But the Siren kept grinning and then she looked up From above, Killian could feel something brew

In an instant, the skies turned a bleak shade of mauve And the waves began to crash, smash, and roar As if these weather changes weren’t bad enough From above, dropped a heavy downpour

Torrential rain stormed down from everywhere Could just one thing go right on this day? And just as if the universe was trying to say ‘no’ The Siren left to go cause more foul play

Killian gripped the steering wheel with all of his might The storm daring him to get past its trials While he’d made a lot of progress before he was discovered The ocean left to cross was quite a few miles

Normally a close friend, the waves were rambunctious And the wind’s howl cheered it all on But Killian fought against rampage, sailing closer to home Ready to tough it all out for his Swan

As he sailed, he saw something leave the water A blonde head and two slow-moving hands Crept above the waves to the surface And pursued Emma, following her new batch of plans

Killian saw The Siren make a move to grab Emma A struggle broke out on the pier Emma fought against The Siren, who again wore her face But for Killian, the rain made the conflict unclear

When he arrived at the docks, he fastened and refastened his hook He needed protection for what would ensue Then he rushed off his ship to go fight in the battle And gazed at the terrifying view

Both Emmas were bruised and beaten and bleeding And once they saw Killian enter their sight They each cried for his help defeating the other It was up to him to resolve the fight

Killian took a close look at each of the ladies That was all he needed to know Which was the real Emma and which one was a fake And that decision was one he would now bestow 

Killian walked over to one, while the other cried for his help But Killian was sure his choice was indeed smart The Emma he walked to gave him a gentle smile Then he plunged his hook through her heart

The Siren transformed right before his and Emma’s eyes She tried to fight, but her strength was soon gone Killian glared at the fake, grit his teeth, and said “It’s over. I know my real Swan.”

As the Siren’s body bled and fell to the ground Killian rushed to his dear Emma’s side And as if to confirm Killian’s decision The crass weather began to subside

But Killian didn’t need such confirmation of safety For any doubt left in his heart was long gone Because just as told that Siren before ending her life He undeniably knew his true Swan

[weasley-gal]

Cindy’s Top Ten Movies of 2019!

Ahhh...2019. In the interest of building suspense, I could be all cagey about this countdown, but let's face it: For me, 2019 was the Year of Rocketman. As lousy as the real-world year was, it was salvaged by Rocketman. Someone suggested in jest (maybe?) that Rocketman should be numbers one through ten on my year-end list, and that would be fair enough; HOWEVER...I did like some other movies this year, so I'm gonna give you--yes YOU, dear reader(s)--ten of my favorites. Just know in your hearts that the other nine fall way behind number one. Way, WAY behind.

The usual disclaimers:

A movie's position on my year-end list does not necessarily reflect its original Weasley score. Some films age well, bear up, and even improve under repeat viewings. Some...well...some do not. Also, I live in a rinky-dink town, so great movies like JoJo Rabbit and 1917--pictures that almost certainly would have found spots here or gotten very close--have not made themselves available to me yet. This is disappointing, but unsurprising. I'd hung my entire holiday break on the prospect of seeing 1917, only to discover on Christmas Day that its Christmas opening was limited release, and I have to wait until January 10th. Humbug. Finally, I think three or four of these movies already made Variety's "worst of" list for 2019, so kindly do not be too shocked when I diverge from The Serious Critics (TM).  

Without further ado, presenting my top ten films of 2019:

TEN

"The most important qualification for any leader is not wanting to be leader."

THE TWO POPES

2019 threw me a nice surprise on its way out the celestial door, with the Netflix original The Two Popes. It's a deliberate, thoughtful, and timely film carried by a pair of the year's most exquisite performances: Jonathan Pryce as Pope Francis and Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict XVI. While the subject matter is weighty, this movie is an absolute delight.

NINE

"I'm glad I'm a revelation and not a disappointment."

DOWNTON ABBEY

This big-screen adaptation of the popular television series Downton Abbey, is, in fact, something of a revelation. A totally new story in the familiar and much-loved setting, with just the right amount of fan service, it is a joyful exercise that hits nearly every note perfectly. Making its case for the big screen are breathtaking costumes and production design...and Mr. Barrow finally seeing a bit of happiness doesn't hurt, either.

EIGHT

"We're gonna bury Ferrari at Le Mans."

FORD V FERRARI

At a glance, Ford v Ferrari might seem like a film appealing exclusively to car enthusiasts; however, that assumption does a great disservice to both the film and the viewer. Ford v Ferrari is an inspiring story about people. It's a nail-biter from start to finish, it has heart to spare, and it's fronted by great turns from Matt Damon and Christian Bale. Beautifully filmed race action makes this one to see on the biggest screen you can find.

SEVEN

"It always fits...eventually."

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

Technically, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a last-year movie, but for me it's a this-year movie, and--despite its being the very first film I saw way back in January, 2019--it's far too great to leave off my best-of list. A Marvel property in the hands of Sony, Spider-Verse is smart, funny, touching, and better than the entire Avengers catalog combined.  

SIX

"This is a twisted web, and we are not finished untangling it, not yet."

KNIVES OUT

Knives Out is a great piece of original cinema crafted from artful twists, clever humor, and terrific performances, layered with a gorgeous Gothic setting and an ominous score. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, this perfect murder mystery is a huge creative and financial win for the cinema, and I recommend it without hesitation or qualification.

FIVE

"This is the worst...and best...and most terrible...excellent thing that's ever happened to me!"

THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING

Hands up if you missed the Kid Who Would Be King at your local cinema? Yeah, I see you, ALL of you. The good news is that one of the year's most wonderful pictures is now available for streaming and download, and you shouldn't make the same mistake twice. The Kid Who Would Be King is a charming movie, great fun for people of all ages. Truly one of the year's best.

FOUR

"Si vis pacem, para bellum."

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 — PARABELLUM

The John Wick franchise has become quite the phenomenon, and deservedly so. Continually upping the action ante in Fast-and-Furious-like fashion, these movies are so much more than just your garden-variety shoot 'em ups and beat 'em ups. John Wick is the role Keanu Reeves was born to play, and Parabellum raises the stakes for Wick while doubling down on masterful fight choreography and stunning cinematography. Here's to many more adventures for John Wick!

THREE

"Bruce is the direct line to all that's true in this world!"

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT

Blinded by the Light is another terrific picture that didn't exactly set the box office on fire. Inspired by the true story of one Springsteen superfan, and built on the Boss's epic catalog, it's a hopeful tale about overcoming prejudice and the limitations set for us by ourselves and by others, one of the year's most inspiring movies.

TWO

"Tell the truth to everyone, whenever you can."

YESTERDAY

Yesterday is yet another of 2019's under-appreciated gems, a beautiful, unique movie fashioned around the timeless music of the Beatles. Himesh Patel is a delight in the lead, and--while the premise requires suspension of disbelief--Yesterday is a charming picture that captivates with its "what ifs?" as well as its iconic soundtrack and enchanting cast.

ONE

"You were never ordinary."

ROCKETMAN

My number one movie of the year, and of the decade, was set on May 31st, when I saw Rocketman for the first time. I saw the movie at least twice a week as long as it was at my local cinema. I've watched at least part of it every day since it became available for home viewing. Outside of a week or so around each of the wonderful concerts I saw this summer, I've listened to nothing but the Rocketman soundtrack since the end of May. My phone and all my desktops have Rocketman wallpapers. I've joked (hmm?) that I only speak Rocketman now. The truth is, I'm not interested in speaking anything else. Pre-Rocketman, it had been a decade since a new movie made its way into my all-time top ten. Then there was Rocketman. Pre-Rocketman, my favorite acting performance hadn't changed since 1993. Then there was Taron Egerton's astonishing turn as Elton John. Pre-Rocketman, I was finding reasons to stay away from the movies. Then there was Dexter Fletcher showing us the beauty of real imagination. Rocketman is more than just a well-crafted film that reflects on an iconic artist's inspiring life. It is a film that uses Elton John's art to tell his story in fantastic, creative fashion. It is a film that uses exquisite detail in its styling and costumes to further its vision. It is a film that draws something sparkling and new out of a classic discography. It is a film that is not bound by dull, linear timelines or small minds. It is a film that surrounds a performance for the ages with others that bear it up. It is a film that shows, however dark the times, you will find the light. In doing all these things, it is a film that is saving lives. Rocketman is a film that is, in every way, magnificent. Thank you, Dexter Fletcher and company, for giving us this beautiful movie. Whatever the critics say and whoever wins the prizes as Awards Season bears down upon us, nobody has done anything more valuable this cinema year.

A few Honorable (and Dis-Honorable) Mentions:

While Taron Egerton deserves all the awards, all the time, for his work in Rocketman, there were some other performances this year that also gave me life:

Jamie Bell (Rocketman): Without Bell's Bernie Taupin as his stalwart cornerstone, Egerton's Elton could not have flown. It's a lovely, understated performance that has been grossly underappreciated.

Tom Holland (Marvel Cinematic Universe): Holland is a real gem, a standout who consistently steals the show from bigger names who get weightier work in the MCU. No matter how good, bad, or painfully bloated the movie, Holland is an absolute delight.

Renee Zellweger (Judy): Who knew it was even possible for me to stop hating Renee Zellweger? Well played, 2019.

Rebecca Ferguson (The Kid Who Would Be King/Doctor Sleep): There was little I enjoyed more this year than watching Ferguson chew her way through this pair of pictures. Oh, and if I start walking around wearing a hat, don't ask, m-kay?

Chris Evans (Knives Out): God, I love seeing Chris Evans do *anything* besides Captain America. Bonus points if he gets to be funny. He's really funny, despite his obscenely gorgeous mug.

John Boyega/Oscar Isaac (Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker): These two, individually and together, draw joy out of what's otherwise a fairly mundane exercise. If Finn and Poe somehow jumped to another saga in the Star Wars universe, I wouldn't complain.

The Cast of Jumanji: The Next Level: Top to bottom, a perfectly cast film, and a lesson in how the right actors can elevate any property.

As a matter of interest, if you watch the Irishman and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood back to back, you can effectively calculate how many hours you'll wish you had back when you're on your deathbed.

I would like a word with Gary Oldman's and Sebastian Stan's agents, please.

Cats: Make. It. Stop. Please, just...make it stop.

As this most challenging year winds to a close, I wanted to offer a sincere thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my reviews, and especially those who engage on any of our various platforms. Special thanks to Daniel for allowing me to be a part of his great page, and for tolerating my unceasing randomness. (Hotel Transylvania 4 in 2021, my friend!) I take no one's support for granted, and I’m ever grateful for you all. I wish our readers many blessings as this festive season comes to a close and we roll into 2020. See you at the movies!

[toothpastecanyon]

We Walk Like Humans Do, Chapter 2

The Transcendence has been, on the whole, a good thing for magical creatures... for the ones that walked on two legs and fit in doorways, at least. Lacie has other problems to overcome before she can live in the big city.

Thanks to @feferipeixes for help editing this chapter! Go check out their awesome stuff!

See most updated version on Archive of Our Own.

________________________________________________________________

               Oh, my stars. Alcor hasn’t laughed this hard in lifetimes.

Chapter 2 of Wizard Animago’s Not-So-Secret Spellbook - Everything You Already Knew About Transfiguration and Literally Nothing Else

Hi, I’m 18Lacie5 and I wrote another chapter for you humans. Everyone was really confused on my last post and seemed to think it was a joke, so I’ll start out by answering the five most common questions you had.

1 - Yes, I am a basilisk.

2 - No, I am not the basilisk from Harry Potter.

3 - No, I do not live in the Chamber of Secrets from Harry Potter.

4 - No, I am not the horcrux snake from Harry Potter.

5 - No, I am not in any way related to Harry Potter.

Are we all on the same page now? Good, because holy shit some of you really missed the point here. I got a visit from one of you with a replica of Gryffindor’s sword, and that was so annoying I didn’t even feel bad killing him - like dude, all that tells me is I KNOW you read my post about not coming down here, and then decided to come down here anyway ‘cause fuck me, right?

(The sword wasn’t even that good. It was made of cheap plastic, snapped like a spine.)

Anyway, despite all this the last post was fun to write, so I’m doing it again. Also it seems like the number of visits from treasure hunters has gone down since I posted, though it’s hard to tell. There’s not really a consistent number from year to year, and the day I start keeping a deathcount is the day I give up on life and buy a mirror to see if I can kill myself with my own reflection.

For science, you know?

               Alcor’s read the entire blog by now and it’s just perfect. The snark, the sarcasm, the casual disregard towards human lives that could only have been written by an ancient and powerful being - it’s hilarious!   And the spell entries… man, he could listen to Lacie tear apart someone’s Latin any day of the decade. If only she could come to some of his summons; she’d have so much material to work with there.

               With a chuckle, Alcor looks up and glances around the darkness of the Mindscape. He needs to show this to someone. But who? Mizar? She’s only a year into the current reincarnation… hmm, she might be a little too young to understand it. Lucy Ann’s somewhere around; he probes for her, and finds her - dammit - during naptime at some kindergarten in Portland.

               Anyone else?

               …

               No one else.

               There’s absolutely no one else in his life right now. That’s… that’s a fun reminder.

               He sighs, and sits back on the fabric of reality. Maybe some cultists’ll summon him; he could read them a blog post, see if they laugh. That’d be fun, right?

               Al narrows his eyes at the great nothingness before him. It’d be something, at least.

               ...You know, he can feel a little tug now.

               A weak one, just one summoner, and no circle. That confuses him at first - even the real amateurs usually manage to scribble out some sort of rounded shape - and when he looks closer, he sees it’s holding one of his summoning cards, holding it in its… hand?

               No, not quite a hand, and Alcor jolts right up as he realises shit that’s Lacie trying to call him, shit he didn’t think she’d call him back so soon! How long did he keep her waiting? It’s been a couple hours - shit!

               Alcor tessers over to her in an instant, his mouth already open and spilling apologies: “Oh my stars Lacie, I am so sorry for the delay! I got distracted and I didn’t think you’d call back so soon so I wasn’t watching as closely as I-”

               A deep, rumbling growl cuts him off. It’s a deafening sound, coming from a creature lounging on a pile of bones and gold with teeth the size of Alcor’s entire body; he can’t help but cringe at that. He takes a deep breath, remind himself that he’s an all-powerful demon who definitely doesn’t need to be scared of some mere mortal… even if she is pretty scary for a mortal.

               You know, relatively speaking. He isn’t scared, he just thinks she’s scarier than, like, a human.  Like a human from that pile of human skeletons she’s smashed into the wall. Yeah, that’s not scary at all. That wouldn’t kill him… looks like it would hurt, though.

               He double checked he isn’t standing near that spellbook she’s bound to, right?

               Just as he’s thinking this, Lacie lets out another even louder growl, and he jumps back with an undignified yelp.

               “Hey, whoa, Lacie!” Alcor watches her head shift to the side. “Lacie? Hello?”

               She doesn’t reply, and he looks to her face for an answer. He sees one of her eyes now: it’s closed?

               Closed.

               The realisation washes over him as she lets out another slow, rumbling snore.

               “Oh. You’re… you’re just sleeping, aren’t you. Duh.” He straightens, and casts a glance around the room as he fixes his tie and straightens his hat. “Glad no one noticed that… Lacie?”

               She doesn’t stir, and Alcor makes a face. He’s never turned up to a summons  and had the summoner fall asleep; would she want him to wake her up? Her dreams feel pretty peaceful to him, and even though that thing - is that a giant laptop? - she’s using as a pillow doesn’t look particularly comfy, it doesn’t seem to bother her in the slightest.

               Yeah, it looks like he should just let her call him back… but there is something. Embedded in her sluggish thoughts, he can feel a sort of drive, a sort of desperation, and that makes him hesitate. He looks for her tail, and spots it still wrapped around his summoning card, still squeezing it in a death grip.

               Alcor frowns. He watches her snore one more time, then makes up his mind. With a deep breath, he reaches out and prods at her thoughts; they immediately begin to stir. He prods again, and Lacie lets out a grunt. Her eyelid cracks open, and she drags a sleepy glare across the room.

               Her gaze meets his, and he feels pain, pain in his soul, his soul feels like it’s being pushed out through his ears ow ow OW- and he recoils, unable to bear it for a second longer.

               Wow, he thinks, that really is potent. What on earth makes it so powerful?

               Before he can wonder about that, there’s a noise. Gold coins clink against each other as Lacie jerks up, blinking hard, panic flashing in her aura. Alcor holds up his hands.

               “Hey, hey, it’s just me!” He looks down as she fixes her eyes on him. “Sorry if you, uh, didn’t want to be woken up, I just thought… you know, you called me, and… what are you doing?”

               She’s cast the summoning card aside and is now wiggling the touchpad on her laptop. He cocks his head.

               “Whoa, I’ve never seen a laptop that big. Where on Earth did you buy that?”

               Lacie doesn’t acknowledge his question. She starts typing something, and he floats closer to see her login screen.

               “18Lacie5. Heh, I like your username.” He watches her click on the password box and slowly, painstakingly jab each key with her tail. “E… Y… E… What? Why are you looking at me like- oh. Oh, I’m so sorry!”

               There’s a faint snort from Lacie as he turns away. His cheeks redden.

               “Sorry, I forget hu- uh, mortals? Mortals tend to like their privacy on stuff… it’s kind of useless since Al-V can hack into pretty much any computer on earth - um, the Alcor Virus, that’s Alvie.” He hears the typing stop, and suddenly wishes he’d chosen literally any other topic in the world. “Um, not that I would make him hack into your computer! I’m just saying he could, and he probably has already… um, I just made him to get rid of Twin Souls though, you’re fine! O-or you should be fine - you don’t, by any chance, happen to like Twin Souls, do you? It’s, um, this book - well it’s a movie now but it was a book - and Mizar - who is my sister by the way - well, that’s why I hate it, because it has my sister and I, umm…ugh, sorry, it’s gross, my sister and I, we’re- huh?”

               A low hiss makes him look back, and he sees Lacie - ow - staring right at him. She gestures to the screen, which has a word document open on it with big, bold letters.

               “Oh, you want me to read that?” He floats closer, and frowns as he reads the first line:

               Im pretending 2 type rite now 2 see how long u wil ramble 4 wtf youre still going and now twin souls no nono why r u explaning i actually cant take the awkwardnes i got 2 stop u

               Alcor blinks, then shoots her a dirty look. The noise coming out of her now sounds an awful lot like snickering.

               “Wha- I was just-! I just wanted to clarify the hacking thing I said, I-!” The snickering gets louder, and he rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I guess I’m a little rusty at small talk, very funny. I’d like to see how awkward you’d be if the only practice you could get is on a bunch of cultists in basements. They’re not exactly social butterflies either, you know!”

               Lacie just keeps laughing, and Alcor… well, he puts on a show of crossing his arms and heaving a long-suffering sigh, but he’s fighting a smile.

               It’s strangely nice, being here. Lacie’s strangely nice to be around; she already feels - and he has to remind himself he’s only met her twice - almost like a friend? Maybe he just has a low bar these days, but he hears her laughter, and… it’s just very, very nice. Nice in a way that’s hard to describe.

               Nice in a way he hasn’t felt for a while.

               The feeling lingers even after Lacie’s chuckling dies off, and he’s still smiling as he watches her reach for the laptop again. She jabs the down arrow a couple times, and some more, better punctuated text comes into view.

               I have revised the terms of our deal, it starts, and Alcor clears his throat, squares his shoulders, tries to get himself back into business mode. He reads on: and I would like to exchange the human bones that are currently in my room for a human disguise I am capable of putting on and taking off at will.

               He raises an eyebrow as he reaches the end. This is not the deal he was expecting to make. A human disguise… he can tell she’s no demonologist, that’s for sure; there’s so many interpretations of that, so many wonderful ways to tw͏is͡t her̡ ̵w̢or̵d̸s ͏a͟g̢ai͘n̸st͠ ̢h͝er-

               No. He shakes his head to clear it of his worst instincts, but they won’t leave, not in the presence of such an enticing deal. Suddenly, he’s glad he doesn’t have to look her in the eyes right now; he trains them on the ground instead, and starts to speak.

               “So, um… when you’re saying a ‘human disguise’, what do you mean by that?” He can’t see her face, but he can see a bolt of frustration flash across her aura. “Huh? What’s- oh right, can’t talk, uh… well, do you want me to make an actual, convincing disguise? You know, instead of, like, a wig and some sunglasses?”

               Lacie nods vigourously. He watches her tap the caps key and add ‘CONVINCING’ before the human disguise bit. A part of him screams at all the opportunities he’s giving up - willingly! - but he forces a smile and nods.

               “Cool, I can do that. I’ve made a few humans before- human bodies, that is, not… um.” Alcor coughs. “Anyway, I can give you a convincing human form for those bones of yours. How does that sound?”

               She taps the screen.

               “What…? Oh, yes, I’ll make it so you can switch back and forth at will. Good catch. Now, do we have a d̕e͇̪͍̜̻̪͘a̙̻̬̦͔ͅl̲̝͓͔?”

               He doesn’t extend a hand to shake, but blue sparks spurt from his fingertips as he watches Lacie mull it over. Her aura fizzles with nervous energy, but it only takes a couple seconds for her to tamp it down and give him a firm nod. The rush of a newly made deal makes his grin go wide; he tries not to let it go too wide as he claps his hands together.

               “Alrighty, then,” he says, rubbing them until those sparks turn into a full-blown fire. “One meatsuit coming right up!”

               He extends a hand to the pile of bones in the corner of the room, and with a flick of the wrist he rips the energy from them all  and absorbs it. The sacrifice warms him like a good meal, and he turns back to Lacie, ready to put that newly-gained power to use.

               He steps back and sizes her up with his hands, a gesture that makes her aura simmer with uncertainty. She makes a low, nervous sound, and he waves her away.

               “It’s alright, I just… need to remember how big a human is, how much I need to squish you down... Got it!!” Alcor readies his fingers to snap. “Okay, I’ve only done this on myself before, so there might be some kinks I haven’t thought of! Don’t worry, though, I’ll probably be able to fix them!”

               Before Lacie could respond, he snaps his fingers, and his magic rushes around her like a cloud. Skin forms over scales, hair grows over horns, and the figure that remains when it disperses is unmistakably human.

               It’s also falling to the ground from the height of Lacie’s head, and oh shit catch her catch her catch her - he freezes her momentum a couple inches from the ground then lets her plop, safely but definitely not gracefully, into a puddle.

               “Oh, my stars! Are you okay?” Heart pounding in his chest, he dashes over. “I am so sorry about that fall, how are you- ow, okay , I’m gonna need to get you some sunglasses or something - how are you feeling? Here, let me help you up!”

               He extends a hand, and Lacie… just stares at it.

               Just stares at him, not moving, and he can feel panic flaring up in her aura as she can’t move, oh stars she’s so tiny right now and she can’t move oh fuck-

               Alcor blinks. “Oh, right. Um, don’t panic-”

               Don’t panic??? DON’T PANIC??? FUCK THIS SHE’S LIKE FIVE INCHES TALL RIGHT NOW AND SHE CAN’T FUCKING MOVE OH MY STARS WHY DID SHE DO THIS TO HERSELF THIS IS THE STUPIDEST FUCKING IDEA SHE’S EVER HAD IN HER LIFE-

               “Lacie? Take a deep breath… Lacie? Lacie!” He cringes when Lacie’s eyes fix on him again. “Okay, um, I can see this is… a little stressful for you?”

               She nods vigourously.

               “Alright, um… don’t worry, I made it easy for you to change back! You just, y’know, gotta think of yourself being a basilisk again - or is it pronounced ‘battle-isk’? ‘Bas-til-isk’? Heh, that’s a weird word, I’ve only ever seen it written down-”

               Lacie ditches her human disguise as fast as she could, shooting back out to her original form and cutting Alcor off mid-tangent. He jumps back, watching relief flood through her aura as she could move again, thank the stars she could actually move and everything’s normal sized again… fuck, everything’s normal sized again. She wasted her deal!

               The relief’s spiking up into another panic, and Alcor clears his throat. “Alright, so that deal didn’t go to plan. No worries! I can’t exactly do refunds, but you’ve still got plenty of good stuff to sacrifice in here! Doesn’t bother me if this takes a few tries, heh.”

               But that doesn’t calm Lacie in the slightest, because now she has to think of another deal, her mind’s blank, she’s got nothing! But she’ll fall asleep if she makes Alcor leave again… maybe she will have to go for that deal.

               It’s hard to read her thoughts when they go quiet, but Alcor definitely picks up something about that deal as they’re retreating into a murky bubble of disappointment. He sees how she hangs her head at the idea, then lugs her laptop over to her, begins to peck away at the keys.

               He sees that, and frowns. “Hey, uh,” he starts, and right away her eyes dart over to him. “If you don’t want to make a new deal, I’m sure we could make this one work?”

               Lacie cocks her head.

               “I mean, I’ve been… I know a thing or two about being in a human body. It’s been a while, but maybe I could… y’know, show you the ropes?”

               She doesn’t say a word. The silence stretches, and Alcor laughs nervously.

               “I-if you want. I mean, it’s been a while, but maybe I could show you enough to get around? I did technically promise your disguise would be ‘convincing’, so a couple human lessons should be easy enough to fit in, without… without another deal... um, I don’t know if you like this idea or you want me to stop talking? If you do that’s fine, I can do another deal, just give me a-”

               There’s a sort of fwoomp sound, and the coils and coils of Lacie’s body seem to twist out of existence. At the same time, a human takes shape where her head was, and falls right into Alcor’s arms before he has time to blink.

               “-a sign?” He finishes, and stares down at her. She stares right back, and he’d admire the steely resolve, the carefully-controlled fear in her gaze a whole lot longer if it didn’t make his soul want to push itself out through his ears.

               “Oh, Okay. Wow, you’re, um… diving right in, huh?”

               Lacie gives her closest approximation to a human smile, and Alcor’s caught off guard by how quickly he finds himself grinning back. An actual, genuine grin stretches across his face for the first time in too long, and he chuckles.

               “Alright, Lacie, I like your gumption!” He summons a pair of sunglasses, and sticks them over her eyes. “Let’s get humaning!”

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               Humaning. Lacie had taught herself many human things over the years; she’d taught herself to read, to type, to write - heck, she’d even managed to summon a demon (and in proper human tradition, had made a poorly thought-out deal with it.) She was no novice in learning how to human.

               Maybe that’s why she thought the whole human form was a good idea. She was great at humaning! She’d taught herself so many of their skills, educated herself on so many of their customs, she was able to pass as one of them online… sometimes, it really didn’t feel like she was all that different from them.

               After all, if she could read like a human and write like a human and think like a human, how hard could it be to walk around like one, too?

               …

               As it turns out, hard.

               Very, very hard.

               Duh.

               Everything, everything is different in a human body. Sure, she thought having arms and legs would take some getting used to, but how about all this hair? How about her cramped little mouth and her stubby tongue? How about her skin? Her skin is stupidly sensitive without scales; when she was lying on the stone, she could feel every little bump in it, could feel water soaking her, making her shiver - and shivering, ugh! What an awful sensation! Even though Alcor’s got her propped her up in a chair now, her skin won’t stop whining to her that, gasp, the fabric’s a little itchy!

               Whoop de fucking do, skin. Hopefully she grows a thicker one soon enough, because this is driving her crazy.  She’s laughing at the Lacie of a couple hours ago who thought she’d just be able to stand up and walk out of the sewers, and oh, speaking of walking ?

               Hah! Try moving them at all!

               Lacie’s been without these strange appendages all her life, and moving them would be like a human trying to nod with a second head they’ve just sprouted - sometimes she’ll get lucky and hit upon whatever bundle of nerves is controlling each of these limbs, and after two hours of Alcor’s patient coaching she can make them twitch on a somewhat consistent basis, but she’s not getting anywhere fast with them any time soon.

               She can only lie here, with her blunt teeth, with her papery skin, with her useless limbs…

               Helpless.

               Absolutely helpless.

               Alcor looms over her whenever he stands up… and that scares her more than she thought it would. Everything looms over her in this form; the - she called it little - pile of treasure she sleeps on now seems like a great mountain, the ceiling she often bangs her head on is higher still, impossibly high. She sees her spellbook resting on its lecturn, and it’s about the same size as her now; she remembers how tiny it once seemed, and- OH FUCK WHAT’S GOING- oh, she’s shivering again.

               Lacie frowns at that, and she lets out a noise that’s weirdly squeaky in this throat, and Alcor taps her shoulder.

               (And she feels that, holy shit skin it’s literally just a hand)

               “...need to take a break?” He’s asking. Frowning. “Lacie?”

               She nods, quickly, and he takes the sunglasses off her face before scooting back. Closing her eyes, she thinks of being a basilisk again, and all these alien sensations fall away with a flood of relief. Lacie is herself again; she takes a long moment to savour it, to lounge across her sleeping pile, to listen to her scales scratch against the stone floor, to open an eye and see Alcor as a tiny figure in her field of vision.

               “That looks comfy.” He says. He’s grinning, but she can barely make that out. “Darn, I should’ve moved the chair, too.”

               The chair? She lifts her body, and finds the chair she’d been sitting on, crushed beneath the weight of her coils. With a little chuckle, she sweeps it out from under her, marvelling at how tiny it is - how tiny she was.

               Alcor laughs, too. “Sheesh, you flattened it. I think it’ll be easier to make a new chair.”

               Laying her head on the ground, she lets out a lazy snort.

               “…um, when you’re ready, I mean.” He adds. “Or we can stop, if you’re tired? I can-”

               She heaves herself up. Ugh, she is tired - it creeps up on her. She can’t sleep though, not when she’s so close, so fucking close to getting out of here.

               “Oh, okay… are you sure? We’ve been at this a while, I really don’t mind taking a break…”

               Lacie tugs at that mental link in the back of her mind, and feels herself switch back into human form again. Unlike switching the other way, this form greets her not with a flood of relief, but with a host of silly little complaints: her back hurts, the stone’s not comfy on her face, it’s cold, she’s wet, on and on and on and she just wants it all to shut up… but, she will admit, there is one thing she likes.

               Alcor hoists her up on one of those tiny little chairs she’d been laughing at just a second ago, and she stares at him, and she feels awake.

               Completely awake.

               She can’t remember the last time her head’s felt this clear, and it’s a pity she has to spend half her human time fidgeting in a seat because otherwise it’d be amazing. Is this really how bad the energy situation had gotten down here? Wow, she really needed to get out of here, and fast.

               “Hey, Lacie?” Alcor’s saying something, and she looks over at him. “So I know you said - or, uh, indicated, anyway - that you didn’t want a break…”

               He pauses expectantly, and then, seeming to realise she isn’t going to follow it up with a ‘Yes?’ clears his throat.

               “Right. Well, I kind of would. Like a break. If that’s okay with you.”

               Lacie blinks.

               “You know, we’ve been doing this for a while, and I’m thinking maybe we could do something else? You know, it could be something fun! It could be something like, um, like… oh, do you play Scrabble?”

               She shakes her head.

               “No? Oh, I guess that was a longshot… how bout chess? I know there’s like, online chess… no?” He frowns at her continued head-shaking. “Alright, well… What do you do for fun down here?”

               Lacie thinks on that for a moment, then turns her head towards the laptop.

               “Oh, your laptop? Nice, nice.” He grins at her. “I love your blog.”

               Wait, her blog? He’s read that? He likes that? The surprise must be showing on her face, because Alcor starts laughing.

               “Yeah, it’s hilarious! I was actually so caught up reading it, I didn’t realise you were summoning me! I love just how sarcastic it is! It’s amazing!”

               Lacie blinks. Is he… gushing? Is Alcor the Dreambender gushing about her blog?

               Is this her life?

               “Man,” he rambles on. “that joke about a killcount, that was great. I just don’t get why it’s not more popular!  Humans, they just don’t have any taste… they’re, heh, they’re too busy reading Harry Potter, amirite?”

               He nudges her like he’s made some kind of clever reference, and she snorts at him. Okay, wow, demon or not, this guy really is an absolute plonker. She loves it.

               “Haha, yeah! They’ve been, uh, playing Quidditch too much to read your stuff! Yeah! Or they’ve been, um… making swords? Making- I should stop now, shouldn’t I.”

               With a big dumb grin on her face, she nods.

               “Yep, that was getting out of hand.” Alcor rubs his neck. “I just wanted to say I really liked it a lot. It was funny.”

               Lacie’s grin got even bigger.

               “So, uh, you really have been down here all your life, huh? Dealing with treasure hunters-” He chuckles when she rolls her eyes. “Hah, I can imagine that’s not fun! Yeah... so, uh, have you ever been outside?”

               She shakes her head. Maybe before she was old enough to remember, but that was a long, long time ago. Alcor makes a face at that.

               “Yeah, yeesh. No wonder you want to get out of here, no wonder…”

               He trails off, and Lacie watches his eyes go distant for a second before a thought seems to strike him; he blinks, frowns, then, slowly, he starts to grin. He turns to her again, and she raises an eyebrow at the shine in his eyes.

               “Hey, Lacie,” He says. “Want me to take you on a little tour?”

[moonlightreal]

Winx Club season 8/21

In which we all do some DDR.

21 Dance Contest on Melody

More Musa/Riven stuff, strap in guys!  I swear, this season turned me from not caring about that ship to hating it with a fiery passion.  Come on relationship, redeem yourself already so I can go back to standing peacefully outside all fandom drama sources like I want to!

Alfea!  Grizelda is teaching “magical self defense class”  in the courtyard.  I like how we’re seeing all the teachers—except Avalon, I wonder what happened to him!  They’re doing magic shield practice and Knut and Kiko are shooting cannonballs with a catapult to be shielded against. I wonder if shields against a physical object and shields against a magic zap are a different spell.  But grizelda says the cannonballs ‘simulate a magic attack’ so maybe not.

Stella’s shield is a gold star.

Musa is up next, she practiced a lot but her phone rings just at the wrong time. Riven wants to go out for ice cream!  Musa does not sound enthused, like at all.

So they’re back together?  I don’t really remember them getting back together.  My guess is here’s what happened: the second-half writers were told that part of the plot in the first half was that Musa and Riven would get back together, and then the first-half writers… flubbed it.  It happens to us all, you get to the end of the story and realize you didn’t manage to do one of the things you were planning to do.

Or else this ice cream date is Riven’s attempt to actually get back together.  

  Because she’s paying attention to her phone she nearly gets beaned with a cannonball, and then Knut launches Kiko from the catapult, and then the star box appears to save us from the slapstick.

...Is this a glitch?  The box floats there silently and the Tecna says something about the world of music.  I think the dubbers forgot to put in the sound file!

I like that the minor fairies also gather around to hear the star box.  I wonder if some of them are hoping in their hearts that this time the box will say it’s someone else’s destiny to find the prime star.  We never see the minor fairies being jealous, but they must be, the Winx get to do everything and they’re singers too!

Bloom asks to be excused and Grizelda says the fate of the magic universe is indeed more important than their lesson.

So Musa texts Riven that they have to go save the universe again.  Flora says Musa should give him one more chance, “it’s just ice cream.”  Flora, I love you but quit pressuring Musa! -_-

Musa: ‘I don’t need him telling me his feelings unless he can show me!”  Uh, I agree with the sentiment Musa, but that’s what he did with the hologram projector and all that showed was that he’s a bonehead. But Musa perks up because she’ll get to see her dad.

Bloom is concerned about the Trix getting there ahead of them, but Stella says there’s no way the Trix could be there already and we cut to…

The Trix were there already!  Aerial zappy battle for the star, which is on top of one of these really cool giant rock spires that have the tops carved into treble clefs.  Love the geography!  I want to imagine who carved these things, I wonder how people know when they move into a realm what kind of magic it will have.  The girls’ home realms each have a certain flavor, while Magix isn’t associated with any particular kind of magic. Imagine being an explorer visiting new realms to discover their magic...

In the fight the prime star gets dislodged and its little hamster ball goes sailing off towards the city.  Everybody follow it!

Musa says, ‘it’s flying toward the Melody disco!”  wait, is that whole thing a disco?  The scales of things are sometimes confusing, I thought it was a whole city but maybe it’s just one building.

Cut to… a disco! Or some kind of… do nightclubs really look like that?  Colored lights, big speakers, several levels of dance floors, big screens. Very cool.  The partygoers do not look particularly traditionally Asian, they’re all colors and wearing big pants and hats and sweaters.  I think this is like, Asian punk clothing?  K-pop style? I don’t follow K-pop and I don’t go to night clubs, but if they looked like this I might.  

And there’s Galatea!  The art style has actually made her look older than she was, she’s wearing the same dress as when we saw her in the sovereign council, that super skinny dress with the ruffles up front. I feel like the very classical-music Galatea should look more uncomfortable at this not-classical club, she doesn’t fit aesthetically, but she’s having a grand time announcing the annual Melody disco competition.

The Winx come in, Musa says this is Melody’s biggest party and Galatea organizes it every year.  it’s like her pet project, I love it!  Galatea holds up the prize for the “dancing queen”, a crown with a treble clef on it, and the prime star landed inside.

Ok, it flew from outside and landed perfectly in the crown and Galatea’s holding it up and doesn’t notice?  Come on. ...was what I wrote when watching in Italian, but in English it’s even worse because Galatea did see it and she just says, ‘this crown and a special extra that just fell from above.”  So Galatea doesn’t recognize an important magical item or wonder where it came from or why… groan.

So Musa goes, “Hey, Galatea, old friend, we need that star and then you can go back to enjoying your contest!” and Galatea gives it to her--

Not.  That is not what happens.

Flora does suggest they just ask for the star but Musa says it won’t be that easy, “Princess Galatea takes this event very seriously.”

The Trix are here too.  Icy tries some magic to “bring down the house!” and it doesn’t work and all the punk kids glare at her.  She looks quite worried for just being glared at by a bunch of punk kids!

Galatea says very prissily, “Remember, the disco is protected against magic attacks, so no cheating please.”  I dunno if it’s just me but I’m seeing Galatea as, she acts all prissy but she’s like a stealth nerd who pretends to be all formal but secretly just has a ball going off on nerd stuff.  Or in this case, disco.  Maybe that’s just me reading what I want to see into the character ‘cause it’s such a fun image of her.

Anyway, we’ll just have to win the contest to get the prime star!

Bloom seems pretty happy about this, and Aisha says the star case mentioned harmony so winning a music contest would make sense as a way to get the star.

Stella says, ‘everybody, hold still!” and gets everyone dressed up. Gradient-colored outfits with neon edging.  Bloom comes off worst, the designers couldn’t bring themselves to go with blue so she’s in mostly a muddy purple and her hairstyle is not good.  Flora’s is similarly blah, Musa has cute banding across her top and I like her very ninties hair.  Tec is cute in green and Stella in yellow. Aisha’s turquoise with purple neon looks the best, and she says this might be the best outfit Stella’s ever put together.

Are these dolls?  I hope so.  I not-so-secretly want Winx dolls with glow in the dark elements, because I want them to be Moondreamers.  Cosmix totally granted my Winx-moondreamers wish, except for the glow in the dark stuff part!

Musa’s ready to dance but the others tell her to go see her dad while she can.  The others mention Aisha is a talented dancer, yay for them remembering that.  So Musa goes to visit her dad.

The Trix notice Musa’s leaving and Darcy wants to go after her to make sure she doesn’t “know something we don’t.”  Smart, Darcy!  Icy grabs her sister and says they have to win the crown.  But Darcy says, ‘You don’t need me, you have our secret weapon.”  What weapon?

  Icy and Stormy get their dance clothes on and they look awesome!  Way better than the Winx.  Icy’s hairdo is a bit much but other than that they rock.

We cut to Red Fountain.  Sky and Brandon are sparring.  Riven is brooding about Musa avoiding him.  Sky says he should try talking to her, but Riven says every time they talk they end up arguing.  Brandon suggests they argue because they have strong feelings.  Sky says, “Talk to musa face to face, show her your feelings.’  which is what Riven’s been trying to… sigh.

Back on Melody Stella offers to help explain the dance contest rules.  Galatea recognizes her by name so the girls totally could call on their friendship with Galatea to get the star.  it’s also cool that one royal recognizes another.

This dance contest is like DDR Twister, anywhere on the floor can light up and also spots in the air.  I cannot wait until this is a real thing in AR. It’s coming, people.  It’s coming.  

Stella eventually flubs it, she gets catapulted off the stage and lands in Bloom’s arms.  Galatea explains if a dancer misses even one step she’ll be eliminated

Icy vs Flora dance! People recognize Icy, Galatea does… and nobody calls the police to report public enemies on the loose and in the same room with the princess!  People cheer for Icy like she’s a normal contestant. Maybe they don’t realize she’s THAT Icy..?

Bloom says, “Icy’s not bad!” in both Italian and English.  Flora grins cutely the whole time and is pretty adorable, but she loses and gets carried off the stage in a bubble which pops, dropping her in Aisha’s arms.

I used to love DDR. I was terrible at it, but it’s fun.

Darcy is following Musa to her house.  Musa meets her dad!  Hugs!  Musa’s house is cool, it’s Asian-ish with like, lines of music along the roof..

Inside, screens, sliding doors, Asian style tea set.  Musa remembers her childhood with her parents, it’s really sweet.  Baby Musa has two pigtails. There’s a huge double-harp, it has part an upright normal harp and part a bench with harp strings over it and Matlin and Ho-boe played it together.  I wonder if that’s a real thing, it’s like the sofa of harps.  Hoe-bo calls it the “Harmony harp” and says even the stars come to listen.  It can only be played by two people whose hearts are in harmony, so hoe-bo hasn’t been able to play it since Matlin died.

Darcy: ‘What a sweet moment.  I’d better ruin it right away.”

pffft!  Darcy, I love you, never change.

Tecna vs Stormy dance!   Stormy says it’s time for the Trix to unleash their secret weapon, but Tecna isn’t worried.  She says the dance contest is kind of like a video game.  And it is, but you need physical strength and speed too.   If I were writing this I’d have Tecna say, “Anything where you can ‘level up,’ I can win!’

Stormy turns out to be “better than Icy… a lot better.”   Tec gets farther than Flora did and ends up in a perfect tie with Stormy.  Galatea chirps, “Double perfect!” and tec says ‘achievement unlocked” again. They go to a higher level that’s like breakdancing where you have to spin around on your back and stuff.   Eventually Stormy wins.

Galatea should not be so chipper about public enemy numbers one and three winning her contest.  She knows who the Trix are, she’s calling them by name…

Stella runs right up to icy, “wait-wait-wait, STORMY was your secret weapon?”

Stormy: ‘Five time dance witch champion.”

Icy: ‘She’s kind of a rising star in the world of dark dance competitions.”

Bloom: “Dark dance competitions?”

Aisha: “It’s a thing.  Unfortunately.”

Ok that was great.  and Aisha’s delivery of that last line was spot on.

Musa is eating ice cream with her dad, it’s sweet.  He asks why ice cream and guesses it’s about Riven.  Musa says, “It’s not about Riven.  It’s never about Riven actually.”  Hmm.

Darcy is lurking outside, she says ‘Musa’s making this too easy.  I’ll finish it with a single shot.” O_o

thankfully riven turns up to save the day.  They fight but Darcy can do all her illusion stuff and she wins without too much trouble, and puts a mind control spell on Riven.  She sounds just delighted at her new plaything.  Now she can cause even more havok!

Musa hears a noise outside and thinks it’s the Trix, but it’s Riven.  She invites him in, and she sounds… not drama-y.  She just apologizes for canceling their date and says they can have ice cream now.  Darcy gloats.

Next time: more dancing!  Riven and Musa!  Stormy wins the contest!  Gee, that’s a spoiler.

[antheminmyheart]

you’re all that I need (Barlyle)

title: you’re all that I need

rating: E (proceed with caution, my dudes!)

4.1k words 

——

With the new advances in science and technology, Phillip begins to wonder what it would be like to be with two of Barnum instead of one.

He soon finds out.

——

Title taken from the song Bed of Roses by Bon Jovi.

I totally understand if this fic is not for everyone. It’s my first E fic ~ever~ and very specifically written following a request from the moderator of the @askcarlyle blog!

I expect a marriage proposal after this, Carlyle. 😂

A huge Thank You to “themissingmask” for betaing and putting up with my ace ass. You are wonderful. ❤️

——

Nobody knew how cloning came about. One day, it had simply shown up in the papers. An advertisement that promised “double the work speed, double the fun.” Most people were too skeptical or God-fearing to try such a thing, and whispers of witchcraft filled the streets. Some retired early in the evenings and bolted their doors, certain that those behind this mysterious “cloning” would break into their homes and kidnap them if not enough men showed up to be... experimented on.

Only a few men were unafraid. Mostly single and without families , they would send the required cash amount to the address advertised in the papers, then a letter would come for them a few weeks later that disclosed the address in which cloning would take place.

One of these bold, fearless men was Phineas Taylor Barnum. Ringmaster of The Barnum Circus, just crazy enough to try it.

“I’ll do anything for my shows,” he explained to his worried circus troupe.

“But, Phineas,” his troupe protested, “You’re not single. You have a family—“

“Whom I adore,” Phineas agreed.

“—and you have us. Why would you risk that?”

The only answer they received was a blinding, unafraid grin.

Later, either in their office or in bed together at night, Phillip Carlyle questioned him alone. “Do you really want to risk leaving me?” he whispered.

Phineas held him close and kissed trembling lips.

“I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think it was a good idea,” he said.

Phillip remained silent.

“Besides,” Phineas added, eyes sparkling as he grinned, “Think of the profits it’ll bring for the show.”

Phillip could only nod in silence, stomach fluttering with anxiety even as Phineas pulled him closer and whispered sweet assurances in his ear.

Phillip Carlyle was not a religious man, but he could only pray that Phineas was right.

*

It didn’t take long for everybody to fall in love with P.T. The spitting image of Phineas, he soon learned how to lead the circus as his original did, the two of them performing shows together. He learned how to tame the lions, ride the elephants, care for the horses. He even learned how to work the Lyra better than Phineas could, which was something Phineas constantly grumbled about. Learning this, Anne and W.D. Wheeler relentlessly teased him.

After a while, Phillip, too, realized that having two Barnums around wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

He even began to get... ideas.

Phillip had only ever been in a proper, albeit secret, relationship with Phineas, but that didn’t stop his eyes from wandering. He watched Phineas’ double as he worked around the circus tent, and watching the two of them perform as co-ringmasters left Phillip particularly weak in the knees.

One night, Phineas finally managed to coax the truth out of his young partner.

Phillip was half-asleep, beginning to slip off into sweet unconsciousness, when he felt Phineas’ hand ghost down his skin. It slid over his thigh, leaving goosebumps in its wake, and took firm hold of his cock.

Phillip gasped, startled, breathy.

“I see the way you look at him,” Phineas hummed, stroking Phillip’s length. Phillip’s breath caught in his throat and he rolled his hips in Phineas’ hand.

“L-Look at who?”

A light squeeze made Phillip gasp and jerk. “P.T.”

“I don’t—“

Phineas hissed in his ear, “Don’t lie to me, boy.”

Phillip whined. It was all the confirmation Phineas needed.

Phillip wasn’t sure how long they lay there in silence, but it felt like a lifetime. Finally, Phineas hummed again and lazily stroked the velvety skin between Phillip’s legs once more.

“Perhaps we could... work something out.”

Phineas continued his ministrations, Phillip’s hips twitching into his hand. When he made Phillip come, it was with a cry and Phillip wondering if, perhaps, this was all a dream.

*

It was no dream.

Phineas disappeared the next day at the circus. Neither Phillip nor the troupe could find him anywhere, and, when questioned, P.T. shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. P.T. — who had a small tattoo on the inside of his left wrist, the only thing that differentiated clones from their originals — carried on as if nothing was wrong, and Phillip began to suspect that he knew something.

In fact, from the way he caught P.T. watching him, he knew that the double knew something.

There were only rehearsals that day so Phineas did not miss any shows, but having one ringmaster lead them instead of two felt odd and out of place. P.T. mirrored every move, every dance, perfectly, but the empty spot next to him where the original ringmaster should have been was gaping.

Though he hid it well, anxiety was beginning to curl at the pit of Phillip’s stomach.

The circus tent began to empty out as late afternoon transitioned into evening, though nobody appeared the slightest bit worried about their missing ringmaster. Phillip wasn’t leaving without Phineas. He headed upstairs, toward the office he shared with Phineas and his double.

The door was closed. He raised his fist, knocking twice.

“Phin, are you in there? It’s Phil—“

The rest of his words died in his throat as the door jerked open and a hand closed around his shirt collar, yanking him inside. He spluttered, almost tripping over the floorboards as the door slammed shut behind him. He looked up into the eyes of one of the ringmasters.

“Ph-Phin?” he gasped out.

The ringmaster grinned and held up his left wrist. No tattoo.

“Oh, thank God,” Phillip muttered, shoulders relaxing. “Where have you be—“

He was interrupted, yet again, as the door to their private quarters opened, and Phineas’ double stepped out into the office.

“P.T.? What—“

Phineas took a step closer, devilish smirk curling at his lip, eyes glittering. “You told me you wanted him, Phillip.”

Realization set in. Phillip’s eyes flicked over to P.T., his mind swimming at the thought of two Barnums in one room. Alone. With him. Heat flared his cheeks, and he felt a familiar stirring in his trousers.

“Oh,” he breathed.

It was happening. Phineas was making it happen.

Before his mind could process anything further, Phineas pulled him closer, pressing their mouths sloppily together. His lips were hot and wet and demanding.

In the haze that took over Phillip’s mind as they kissed, he noticed movement behind Phineas. It was P.T., already slipping out of his ringmaster costume, eyes dark with want. The same eyes that had been watching Phillip all day.

They had planned this.

It all made sense.

Phillip moaned into Phineas’ mouth. Groaning, Phineas ground his hips against Phillip’s, making him gasp.

“Ph-Phin—“

P.T., shirtless now, appeared like an apparition at Phillip’s side. Pulling back Phillip’s shirt collar, he latched onto the smooth skin of Phillip’s neck. Phillip shuddered and moaned, curling fingers into Phineas’ hair and yanking hard.

There was no way he was going to survive this.

Somehow, Phillip found himself pressed against the wall. He didn’t remember backing up, let alone being moved, but Phineas’ hand slid around his waist as he ground into Phillip, cupping Phillip’s ass and lifting him up. He felt a second mouth nip at his ear as he wound his legs around Phineas’ waist. He whimpered as he pulled away from Phineas’ mouth and pressed his face into his neck.

“Phillip,” two voices whispered at once, “look at me.”

Phillip looked up, bleary-eyed, at two identical pairs of eyes, darkened with lust. P.T. slid his waistcoat down his arms while Phineas held him secure as he was forced to unclasp his fingers from around the ringmaster’s neck, and P.T. threw the garment to the floor with a careless hum. He worked at Phillip’s suspenders next, fingers hurried and eager to get him out of his clothes as quickly as possible.

“Mmm.” Phineas nipped at his neck. Rough, calloused hands — from P.T., Phillip’s mind vaguely registered — flicked his nipples and slid down his chest. They fiddled with the button on Phillip’s trousers, barely sliding over the bulge in them. Phillip whimpered again.

“Can’t get them off,” P.T. cursed. Phillip was still trapped between Phineas and the wall, and P.T.’s hands didn’t have enough room to work between them.

“Guess we’ll have to fix that.”

Phineas carried Phillip, who clung tight, into the spare room that’d been made into a makeshift bedroom. Phillip let out a wordless exclamation as he was suddenly thrown onto the bed. Phineas grinned from above him.

P.T. Where was P.T.?

Phillip craned his neck to look, but Phineas blocked his line of vision. He loomed over Phillip, looking at him like a lion eyeing its prey, grinning as he climbed onto the bed. His hands were on either side of Phillip, trapping him, and he captured Phillip’s lips in another long, hungry kiss.

Phillip moaned, back arching up into Phineas’ touch. Phineas sighed at the press of Phillip’s chest against his own, and moved his lips to trail down Phillip’s neck, his chest. Biting down on a nipple, he tugged the skin lightly with his teeth, barely managing to hold back a grin as Phillip cried out. The brush of Phineas’ ringmaster coat caressing Phillip’s exposed body was a tantalising promise of what was to comee. He pressed up against Phineas once more, craving that delicious sensation.

As Phineas kissed down Phillip’s stomach, making his way to his navel, Phillip was distracted by the brushing of fingers against his wrist. He looked up, arching his neck, in time to see P.T. tie purple ribbons around his wrists, and then to the bedpost. His knots were tight, rubbing against Phillip’s skin.

“P.T.!” Phillip gasped.  

Chuckling, Phineas moved out of the way so P.T. could situate himself. He straddled Phillip’s legs and bent down to kiss him, bruising his lips further. The attention was beginning to make Phillip’s head spin.

P.T. pulled away, grinning.

“Now to take care of these,” he mumbled.

This time, his fingers made quick work of unbuttoning Phillip’s trousers and pulling them down his legs. This left them each in various states of undress — P.T. only with his coat and shirt off, and Phillip... had, apparently, decided to forgo undergarments that evening. Phineas, meanwhile, was still entirely clothed, ringmaster coat and all.

“What’s this?” P.T. grinned, taking hold of Phillip’s half-hard cock. “Why, Phillip, the aristocracy would be ashamed.”

Phillip’s face flamed with color as he moaned. His eyes fluttered shut and he pushed his hips further up into P.T.’s hand. He yearned to touch P.T., to run his hands through the double’s hair and down his chest, but the ribbons protested every time he tried to move his wrists. His fingers twitched and he whimpered, opening his eyes and looking at the pair with big, pleading eyes.

They smirked at each other. Bastards.

P.T. still had his hand around Phillip’s cock and began to stroke him to full hardness. Phillip gasped, so distracted by the perfectly calloused hand around him that he almost didn’t hear the telltale rustle of clothing.

Almost.

Gulping, Phillip peered over P.T.’s shoulder. The figure stood in the middle of the room, unashamed, very much aware that he was being watched.

Phineas was undressing. Finally.

“Phin,” Phillip whispered. He wasn’t sure how Phineas had possibly heard him, but he paused, shirt crumpled on the floor, and their eyes met.

“Yes, Phil?”

“Keep the coat,” Phillip pleaded.

That familiar smirk curled at Phineas’ lip. “As you wish.”

Another unfiltered moan escaped Phillip’s lips as P.T. teased his cock and ran his fingers lightly over Phillip’s balls. The bulge was evident in P.T.’s trousers and Phillip couldn’t help but stare, subconsciously wetting his lips at the sight.

“Like what you see, hmm?” P.T. purred in his ear. Phillip jolted, a shiver of want coursing down his spine.

Phillip watched, hazy-eyed, as the same hand that had just been around his cock disappeared inside P.T.’s own trousers. P.T. watched Phillip, eyes never leaving his face as he wrapped his fingers around his own cock.

“Christ,” Phillip whispered.

The hand stopped all movements. Bending forward, P.T. kissed Phillip, capturing his lower lip between his teeth, giving it a light tug. Phillip moaned and strained against his restraints.

“Uh-uh,” a voice, husky with desire, hummed in his ear. P.T. was still kissing his lips, so—

Phillip’s eyes widened at the sight of Phineas at his side, now in nothing but his ringmaster coat. He gasped as he broke the kiss with P.T., saliva trickling out the corner of his mouth, and turned his head. He was met with the flushed, red head of Phineas’ erect cock.

“Mmm,” Phineas purred, “you know what to do.”

The ribbons rubbed uncomfortably against Phillip’s wrists at this angle. He closed his eyes and whimpered. He heard movement as Phineas shuffled closer, tip of his cock resting lightly against Phillip’s lips. With a hum, Phillip parted his lips and took Phineas’ cock, swirling his tongue around the tip. Phineas’ sigh was all the encouragement Phillip needed, and he surged forward, eagerly taking in as much of Phineas as he could.

Phineas’ cock was thick and heavy in Phillip’s mouth, made heavier still by the fact that Phillip couldn’t move his hands around it.

Fingers itching to wrap around Phineas, his mind only half registered the freeing feeling as his ties were suddenly undone. After a moment, his eyes snapped open with a gasp.

He made eye contact with P.T., who smirked.

“Such a pretty little thing, mouth all wrapped around his cock,” he purred.

Phillip groaned around the cock in question, and Phineas growled as he tightened his fingers in Phillip’s hair. Freer now, Phillip gripped Phineas’ hips, nails digging into Phineas’ skin as he held the ringmaster steady. His wrists were slightly red from straining against the ribbons, and he looked up, wondering why he had been freed.

P.T. was gone.

Phineas’ head was thrown back in rapture, steady groans guiding Phillip along. His hips twitched and he growled under his breath as he clawed at Phillip’s scalp. Phillip’s own cock throbbed between his legs, making him whine deep in his throat and suck sloppily at Phineas, saliva dripping out the corner of his mouth and down his chin.

He had just begun to taste the salty tease of Phineas’ precum as Phineas suddenly pulled away, yanking Phillip back by the hair.

“Wh-What?” Phillip gasped.

Phineas peered over Phillip’s shoulder and smirked. Before Phillip could ask what he was staring at, he felt hands on him. They moved him, positioned him that he was lying properly on his side (possible, now, without the ribbons to restrain him), his face now buried in Phineas’ chest, bare but for the open ringmaster coat. Phineas’ arm snaked around him, holding him in place.

Phillip spluttered, so pressed against Phineas that his lips brushed against his chest. He tasted warmth and light sweat, tongue flicking out to tease. From above him, Phineas sighed.

Suddenly, something cold brushed against his ass, and Phillip gasped and jerked. A single finger, long and slick with... something... brushed the crack between his cheeks and Phillip stiffened. Behind him, P.T. chuckled.

That finger, slick with oil, found its target and pressed against Phillip’s hole. Phillip gasped again, taken off guard by the sudden intrusion, and let out a breath of air as P.T. pushed into him. Only one finger, not enough to strain, and Phillip started to relax.

“P.T.,” he sighed.

The finger was soon joined by a second. Phillip could feel the pull and stretch slightly more now as P.T. fucked him with his fingers, curling them, pressing them in as far as they would go. His jaw slackened, and he uttered a long, low moan as he pushed back against P.T.’s hand.

Phineas, meanwhile, bowed his head and grazed his teeth along Phillip’s chest. He bit at pert nipples and tugged lightly with his teeth, just enough to make Phillip gasp. His hand slid between their bodies and found its way between Phillip’s thighs. He closed his hand around Phillip's cock, starting to pump him slowly as P.T. inserted a third finger, drawing a low moan from Phillip's lips.

The pull and stretch had Phillip gasping, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. The sleeve of Phineas’ ringmaster coat brushed against Phillip’s cock, adding delicious friction as Phineas stroked him. Phillip’s tears threatened to spill over.

It was like Phineas’ hands were everywhere at once, and Phillip craved it all.

“Phin— P.T.—“ Phillip choked out.

In an instant, everything stopped.

Phillip’s tears fell.

Phineas’ eyes were dark as he smiled at Phillip. From behind, P.T. laughed as he carefully removed his fingers from Phillip’s tightness.

Phillip felt achingly empty.

“Don’t cry,” Phineas chuckled. Phillip closed his eyes and Phineas kissed his eyelids, soft breath warm against Phillip’s face. “We’ll take care of you.”

Soft caresses from calloused hands on Phillip’s back made him sigh, his eyes flutter open. He looked blearily at Phineas as the man kissed his forehead tenderly, a gentleness in startling contrast to those sensations overwhelming him only moments before.

Phillip didn’t miss the way Phineas’ eyes flicked over his shoulder, though. Before he could ask what was wrong, he felt hands pushing him onto his back once more. P.T. smirked at Phillip as he gripped Phillip’s hips. P.T.’s cock pressed against his hole, and Phillip moaned as he wrapped his legs around P.T.’s waist. P.T. was long and rigid, slick and oiled, and made Phillip moan louder still as he slipped inside him. Slow, but persistent. So much like Phineas’ cock... and yet somehow not.

Phillip moaned again and clenched around P.T.’s cock. P.T. smirked against Phillip’s skin, fluttering light kisses over his neck and shoulders as he pushed deeper inside. He moaned too, deep and low, overwhelmed by the tightness that encased him.

“P.T., a-ah—“

The rock of P.T.’s hips began slow and steady, and P.T. pressed their chests together as he captured Phillip’s lips in a kiss, forcing his tongue into Phillip’s mouth. Phillip’s hands scrambled down P.T.’s back, leaving pink burning scratches, and he moaned into P.T.’s mouth, eyes squeezed shut.

Phineas sat back on his knees and, for a moment, simply observed. When Phillip finally managed to open his eyes, he thought Phineas wasn’t going to do anything but watch. But then Phineas shifted, moving across the bed and placing a hand on P.T.’s shoulder, and Phillip watched through hazy vision as P.T. paused — still thick and throbbing inside of him — and Phineas  whispered in his ear.

Phillip watched, breathless and aching and still so full, as P.T. smirked. As Phineas backed off, P.T.’s attention returned to Phillip.

He pressed his lips to Phillip’s as he pulled out, leaving neither of them satisfied.

The cry that escaped Phillip was utterly humiliating, but he didn’t care. His hole ached, cock screaming for release, and he reached for P.T. with a broken sob.

Somebody chuckled — whether Phineas or P.T., Phillip couldn’t tell — and ran their fingers through Phillip’s hair. There was shuffling, movement, and then P.T. was sat up against the headboard, his cock standing flush and proud. He lounged against the pillows like a king on his throne, and motioned Phillip forward.

Half-wondering why they had to change positions, but too fueled with want to care, Phillip crawled to P.T. like he needed him to breathe. P.T.’s hands guided him, turning him around so he looked outwards at the bedroom, before he lowered himself onto P.T.’s cock.

Phillip’s eyes locked with Phineas’ as P.T. fucked up into him.

Phineas’ eyes were half-lidded, rich with desire.

“Look at him,” P.T.’s voice, thick and husky, whispered from beneath Phillip, “Look at how badly he wants you.”

Phillip must have looked like he wanted Phineas, too, because Phineas moved onto him without needing another word. Phillip moaned and immediately slipped his hands inside Phineas’ ringmaster coat. He felt Phineas’ heart thunder inside his chest.

The cry that escaped Phillip’s throat as Phineas closed a fist around his cock felt ripped from his very core.

Phillip could feel the roll of P.T.’s hips, could feel his cock as it buried itself in places only Phineas had previously discovered. He could feel Phineas’ hands, one holding him steady and the other working him in long, confident strokes. He could feel the heat, taste the sweat, as Phineas moved the hand from his hip to pull him close for a kiss. Phineas threaded his fingers in the hair at the back of Phillip’s head as their lips met desperately, hungrily. Teeth accidentally clacking together, both of them pulling back to breathe and gasp before bruising their lips once more.

Overwhelmed, Phillip closed his eyes as they leaked with tears. Phineas felt the wetness on his cheeks, but said nothing. Behind them, P.T. gripped Phillip’s hips hard enough that his nails left tiny, crescent-shaped imprints in Phillip’s skin.

“Not long now,” he growled. Phillip’s entire body shuddered.

P.T.’s words brought attention to Phillip’s own impending orgasm. The pit of his belly felt aflame, and Phillip was forced to pull away from Phineas. Tears openly streaked down his cheeks.

“Ph-Phin,” he cried between the slap of skin and his own breathy gasps and moans, “g-gonna—“

To his horror, Phineas‘ hand fell away from his cock. Phillip cried out, raw and aching and exhausted, and Phineas chuckled. Phillip’s vision blurred as Phineas brought both hands up to Phillip’s cheeks.

“Don’t cry, darling,” Phineas chuckled. He drew Phillip in for a kiss, mouths loose and sloppy against one another.

When his hand fell into Phillip’s lap again, he gripped Phillip’s cock.

Phillip near screamed, voice and throat raw, and came in Phineas’ hand. His body went slack, and P.T. moaned loudly.

“Y-Yeah,” he gasped as Phillip clenched and unclenched around him. “Ohhh, Phillip—“

Phillip groaned against Phineas’ chest as P.T. came inside of him. Body loose and lax and exhausted, he weakly gripped Phineas’ hand. He could have fallen asleep then and there.

But, Phineas.

He had to focus on Phineas.

Phillip peered upwards, blinking sleepy eyes at the man in front of him. Phineas smiled, though his cock was still thick and hard and no doubt uncomfortable.

“Hello, darling,” he hummed.

“Gotta take care of you,” Phillip mumbled.

He felt P.T. slip out of him then, leaving him open and empty. He hummed as he pressed his hand to Phineas’ chest, pushing him flat on his back. Phineas watched with a quirked eyebrow and smirk on his lips. P.T. handed off the oil he’d used to prepare himself and Phillip, and Phineas moaned as Phillip slicked his cock.

Phillip straddled him, slinging a leg on either side of Phineas’ hips. He gripped Phineas’ shoulders and lowered himself on his cock. Simultaneous moans filled the bedroom, and Phillip’s chest heaved as he slowly began to roll his hips.

“Oh, God,” Phineas sighed, thrusting up into him.

Phillip was about to mumble his own encouragements when they heard a low moan from elsewhere in the room. Phillip glanced to the side, making eye contact with P.T., who shamelessly watched them, lazy and lax in the afterglow of his orgasm. Their eyes met and he grinned, lowering his gaze to watch the point where Phillip’s body met Phineas’.  

It only took a few thrusts for Phineas’ body, tight and tense from holding himself back, to spill. Phillip, exhausted from sex and slick with sweat, gently rose off of Phineas and collapsed at his side. He could barely keep his eyes open as Phineas pulled him close and pressed tender lips to his forehead.

The mattress dipped as P.T. joined them again, and gently wiped Phillip off with a damp cloth. Phillip’s eyes fluttered close as he sighed.

“Satisfied?” a voice whispered in his ear. He wasn’t sure if it was Phineas or P.T.

“Very,” he mumbled.

Somebody chuckled and covered his shoulder in light kisses. He felt a hand run through his hair, though he was no longer sure if it was one or both of them.

“Love you,” he whispered, so quiet he wasn’t sure either of them heard.

But then two voices echoed back, “I love you, too.”

He fell asleep, safe and happy, in two sets of identical arms, two sets of identical lips against his skin.

[magickmoons]

famous!Dean part 6

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

And there they were. Cas with Dean in front of Bela and a handful of reporters and fans. And thanks to Bela helpfully (and loudly) naming Cas, there wasn't a hope in hell of keeping him entirely out of the spotlight.

Okay then.

Dean stepped out from behind Cas with a cocky grin and a wave. "Hey everybody. Surprise!"

The questions started immediately, even as Dean subtly maneuvered the crowd away from the direct path into the shop, keeping as close to Cas as he could.

"What are you doing here, Dean?"

"Just in town to visit an old friend." He swung an arm over Cas's shoulders and felt the tension almost vibrating beneath his skin as the questions continued: Why here, across town from where Cas lived and worked, what are they hiding, are they dating again...

He held his hands up. "I've really only got a couple of minutes, but we met here because, well, we wanted a little privacy. I love you guys, but it's hard to have a meaningful conversation during a press conference. But how 'bout some pics?"

It was a meaningless question as they'd been taking pictures the whole time anyway, but at least it gave him the illusion that he was in control. "Smile," he whispered to Cas, who gave him a disbelieving look. "Okay, forget the smile, just try not to look like you want to kill anyone."

He winked at Cas, happy to see his features soften a bit, lose some of the frozen shock, as he turned back to grin (or kind of grimace) at the crowd. Questions were still being shouted, and a lot of them were being directed at Cas.

"Hey, guys," Dean interjected. "Give him a break. He's still new to this whole circus."

They weren't thrilled but they grudgingly addressed their questions to him. Dean answered several, always redirecting anything too personal about Cas to another topic.

Finally he shook his head. "All right. I gotta get out of here. Thanks for your time!"

With a gentle tug on Cas's shoulder, he started them walking down the street away from the mass of the crowd. A few fans started following, but quickly dropped back when they realized no one else was. Dean turned the first corner they came to and was utterly unsurprised to find Bela waiting for them.

"Not here," he muttered.

She pursed her lips, but fell into step as Dean continued walking.

"Dean?" Cas asked quietly. "Where are we going?"

"Just a couple of blocks, I think." He pointed to a wooded area not far ahead. "There's a park. We should be able to find a private enough spot to hash this out once and for all."

Cas looked between Bela and Dean and shrugged. They continued in silence to the park, skirting the more populated area and finally finding a small, empty gazebo.

"Okay, Bela, why the hell are you doing this?"

"Doing what, darling?"

"This, all of this. Digging up Cas, putting his name out in public, that whole little spectacle back there. Why?"

"Oh that."

"Yes, that," Dean barked.

"Because I can."

Dean bit back an annoyed retort. "I don't get it, though. How'd you even know about Cas in the first place? More specifically, that there was a story there."

She ran a hand through her hair and stared out at the street. "You weren't the only one who got your start through Alistair, you know. He made sure I had just enough dirt on all his pretty people. He gave me the story back when it happened -- either to hold over your head to keep you in line, or to eventually start the Dissolution of Dean Winchester.

"Once Alistair was... taken care of," a dark look crossed her face, "I decided to sit on it, keep it stored away in case I ever needed it."

Dean stared at her in shock. He vaguely felt Cas's hand on his arm.

"All this time, you knew about the parties and ... and Cas and ... everything else?"

She nodded.

"I don't get it. Then, why now?"

"Oh, I think you know, Dean." She patted his cheek.

"Holy ... is this really about what happened between us?"

She raised one shoulder gently and smirked.

"God, Bela. We had some good times, went to some parties. It was fun, but I never promised you anything more than that."

"You stopped calling me."

"Yeah, things ran their course." It had been a fun flirtation, a couple of rolls in the hay, but they were never going to be a long-term thing. They had both been very clear going into it. At least he thought they had.

"True. But I'm the one who gets to walk away." She affected a pout. "You hurt my feelings."

He snorted. "Like you have feelings, Bela. Jesus."

"You're not really helping your case, Winchester."

"Okay, but still, that was a couple of years ago, Bela. You wanted revenge, you had the dirt. Why wait? Why didn't you start all this then?"

She tapped a long, bloodred nail against her lips. "Hmmm... it seems that I've heard revenge is a dish best served cold. It would hardly have been as fun if I had done it when you were expecting it. And that picture of you and Lafitte was just the perfect catalyst. Dean Winchester: heartbreaker, homewrecker."

Dean looked over at Cas. He had severely underestimated Bela's drive for revenge, not that he could have even anticipated her trying to pull Cas into the whole crazy thing. And honestly, he could ride whatever she threw at him, but Cas didn't deserve it.

He gave her his most charming smile and relaxed along the little railing, doing his best to appear non-threatening. "Listen, Bela, you can do whatever you want, say whatever you want, print whatever you want about me. I deserve it, sure. But leave Cas out of it. There's no way you get anything out of hurting him or embarrassing him."

She arched a brow and opened her mouth to speak, but Cas spoke first.

"No, Dean. Bela, go ahead and print whatever you want. About me, about Dean and me, whatever."

They both looked over at him in surprise. He looked back at them with an even gaze.

"Dean's problem with you going ahead with this story seems to be with its impact on me, but I don't care. It's in the past." He crossed one ankle over the other as he leaned casually against an upright post. "Sure, it might be a little embarrassing, but nobody ever died from embarrassment."

"But, Cas," Dean argued, "that will put you right back in the spotlight. And it won't blow over nearly as quickly."

Cas shrugged easily. "I can handle it, Dean."

Bela narrowed her eyes. "Be careful, Professor. I just might call your bluff."

"No bluff."

Dean stopped himself from physically going to Cas, not wanting to give Bela any more ammunition in her arsenal. But this was not how he had wanted this to go.

"There'll be questions and reporters. Again, Cas, are you sure?"

Cas smiled softly at him. "I'm prepared to tell anyone who asks that I have forgiven you, and that I'm glad to have you back in my life and hope to continue to nurture our renewed friendship."

Bela scoffed. "You've forgiven him? Please."

"Yes, Miss Talbot, I have. Long ago, actually. It would have hurt me much more than Dean if I had held onto that anger all those years in my head and my heart."

The flood of relief that Dean felt at his words almost masked Bela's cold, "As you wish."

"I will caution, however, Miss Talbot," Cas continued. "My best friend is a law professor who spends most of his days looking up the most interesting, convoluted cases he can find. He's a big fan of using the finding ways to use the law to ensure that wrongdoers always get their just deserts."

She licked her lips. "Is that so?"

He nodded. "He is a practicing lawyer in good stead with the bar in several states, including, I believe, the state in which your publication happens to be headquartered. So, if you write one single word that is untrue, I can promise that you will not see the end of legal battles heading your way."

She stood up, pale and tense. and walked away without another word.

"Wow." Dean looked at Cas with an awed respect. "Your students must be terrified of you."

He slumped and let out a breath. "I assure Dean, I am not usually that impressive in class. I'm more the type to get lost in a thought mid-sentence and wander out of the classroom to research an idea."

Dean laughed. "Sounds familiar." He finally gave in and scooted over to where Cas stood, just close enough that he could touch him with barely a movement. "She might still write the article, you know. She's got enough facts to hang me out to dry without making anything up."

"She might. But I think she'll be agonizing over every word, trying to double-check every fact and it was years ago, Dean. I'm hoping she'll decide that it's just too much trouble. But if not, that's fine. I really wasn't bluffing."

Dean bumped Cas's shoulder with his. "So does that mean you really are glad that we've reconnected?"

"Without a doubt."

"As friends, or as ..." Dean trailed off, unable to put anything else into words.

"It's been a long time, Dean. We've both grown, changed, lived almost half of our lives apart." The sudden plummeting of Dean's heart was stopped by the feel of Cas's hand taking his own. "Friends, for sure, to start. But maybe, friends with potential?"

Dean squeezed Cas's hand and reminded himself that this wasn't one of his movies. They weren't going to just fall right back into each other's arms. And that was probably -- definitely -- for the best. "That sounds ... good."

There was a look in Cas's eyes that made Dean think he wasn't alone in his reluctance to move slowly. But Cas just cleared his throat and took a half-step away. "Um, when do you have to leave? Can we maybe, hang out for a while?"

Dean winced as he looked at his watch. "Actually, I need to leave pretty much ... now. I've got a whole slate of meetings tomorrow, and planning sessions for the rest of the week."

Cas was nodding, trying not to look disappointed. "If it was anything else, I'd try to reschedule, but ..." Dean lowered his voice, even though there was still no one around. "I'm getting a shot at directing. This is my first big project and well --"

"Dean, that's wonderful!" He hadn't ever thought he'd see that pride shining from Cas's eyes again, and Dean had to look away before the stinging in his own eyes overflowed. "I'm sure you'll do a fantastic job. Can you tell me, no of course you can't. I look forward to seeing it, though."

"Thanks, Cas."

"And in the meantime, you have my phone number."

"Actually, depending on how the schedule shakes out, I might have a couple of weeks break before I need to be on site full-time. I could always come visit, maybe take a friend out for burgers or something, sometime."

"That would make me very happy."

"Me too, Cas. Me too."

Author’s Note: So folks, I don’t know if there’ll be more to this or not. I had a couple of ideas but the boys didn’t quite want to play in a way to set that up, so... Not saying never, but this seems to be a good stopping point for the time being :D 

I’m going to throw this up in its entirety on AO3, under the title One More Shot (reference to the Kane song of the same name)

[theorctranscripts]

blackfox.orcEK.tscript001

There's this one show that Brittany and I used to watch on her Netflix, and it said something really smart: Nothing good ever happens after 2AM.

Naturally, Tylan calls us at 3 AM to tell us that Nick's job had a job for us. I like Nick. He's a good guy. I hate his job. He works for Black Fox, a monster hunting/private eye corporation. Solving the mysteries of the world, one way or another.

We drove to his work and met a woman who I thought was his boss. She reminded me of a burrowing owl, like the types you'd see popping up and down in the deserts around Roswell. She didn't seem like the type to pay attention to you until she needed something important. Until that moment, she was deep in her burrow.

She told us where to go. There was a situation at one of those museums dedicated to fun, rather than education. Their exhibits taught you something, but they usually revolved with whatever was popular.  They had to compete with the Natural History Museum here in NYC so I guess it made sense. It rubs me the wrong way though. I don't think knowledge should be pop culture topics.

We arrived, and there was a dinosaur in the front entryway. I've always wondered what it would be like to become a Dinosaur, but there's not going to be any opportunities to try. I can't process bone. I have to eat their flesh. If you Black Fox guys ever find preserved dinosaur flesh, let me know okay?

There were blinking lights that Nick said called for help. The door locked behind us. I don't like it when doors do that.  We followed the blinking lights down the dark hallway. They led us to a woman who was scared, and had seen the night guard dissolved by some kind of invisible being over security cameras.  An earthquake had preceded this, and a statue had broken. She informed us that not only had we been called in, but the cops had as well. That's good. We always need scared humans with guns wandering around a dark human museum at night. Nothing ever goes wrong with that combination.

She gave us a map.

We all started to leave to go check it out, but Virgil the Virgin had to stop at the door and magick it to do something. It took only a small moment, but then he said something about the door being safe from beings such as himself. Good job, you flappy numbskull. You made a door that you can't go through. And they say I'm stupid.

We tried to find the others, but got lost. Instead, we found a room full of vases. Which is a stupid exhibit. It's just asking for someone to knock over your vases. Turns out, something was knocking over the vases. I changed my eyes to a cat's, so I could see in the dark.

Then dumbass Angelboy decided to flash his holy headlights around. I was blind. He was blind, and now the vase-cracking monster knew exactly where we were. They may have handed out phenomenal cosmic powers the day they made Angels, but they sure as fuck didn't hand out brains.

The monster attacked us. It looked like someone took ground beef, blended it into a meat slurry, and then tried to mold it like clay into a human shape, but the only reference they had to a human form was through one of those warped funhouse mirrors. There was a single eyeball on the front of its face. It tried. I give it a C+.

 I bit it. It tasted like leathery, freezer burnt meat. It was somehow liquid, and solid at the same time. I bet Mom could have made an awesome dish out of it.

Virgil was useless. Thankfully Brittany and Nick and Tylan returned, and actually did something useful. The body dissolved into a pile of human goo, and whatever was inside it disappeared. Whoosh.  

Nick called in the description, and the Owl Woman told us we were dealing with an Ogre. It made sense to me.

Ogres are distant cousins to us Orcs. Our abilities come from the need to eat whatever it is to bolster our own strengths. Orcs use flesh eating to shapeshift, blending ourselves into the natural world so we can better survive in it. Ogres are more spirit things that use their hunger to spin bodies for themselves from living prey. Mom used to think that Ogres were the spirits of Orcs who had died hungry, and that hunger drove them to keep eating and trying to rebuild their body so they could someday sate that hunger, and pass on.

She didn't like them, even if she did admire them.

Anyway, Tylan led us to the statue room.  The one that was broken had four birds framing a central figure, which was what looked to be a bull. The birds were all different, but the bull is what caught my attention. Not only was it broken, but it looked angry. Bulls in real life were always fascinating for me. They were mindless grazing creatures, happy and content until something threatened them. Then, their bulk was devoted to eradicating the threat so thoroughly that it was ground into a paste. After that, they'd go back to grazing.

I've tried being a cow before. I am never going to be a bull, because that requires a penis, but my cow form isn't any less bulky as a natural bull.

What?

No, this is related. We were looking at a bull statue.

...

Okay.

The statue was broken, and the night guard was dead. He was missing an eye. It looked like that the ogre pulled its form from this man. This whole night sucked, and now we had an invisible spirit thing trapped in a dark museum with us. The Owl Woman she said we needed to banish it. The ritual required four feathers and a gold coin. The coin was easy, we are in a museum. The feathers had everyone worried, so I just turned into a chicken for them.

I made Tylan pluck four feathers from my tail. It hurt, but that's okay. I just hung around in chicken form while they talked, and volunteered to go find a gold coin. Nick told me to stop being a chicken. I turned back into myself.

I got stuck with the Virgin again to go hunt down this gold coin in the Pirate exhibit. They tried to give me a map, but it was poorly drawn and stupid. I didn't know what to do about it. I gave it back, and took Virgin with me. The others went to go save the booth woman that Virginia had made impervious to himself.

We got lost. We heard gunshots. We ran to help. There was an NYC cop shooting at the meat glob the Ogre was spinning out of her flesh and skin. I bit it, Virgil whipped it, and the meat glob died. The cop tried to shoot us next, but Virgil was useful for once and convinced her not to kill us, that we were helping. Which was the truth.  She asked me what I was. I told her I had a terrible dentist.

I don't remember how we got to the Pirate exhibit, but we got there eventually. The others had found a deaf woman with a mop bucket when they met up with us there.

There were gold coins. They were going to choose anything gold-looking, but I said to check that it was real. They threw the coin at me to check, so I bit it. I made a hole in the top, but the metal was soft enough. The coin was real. The museum was going to be pissed that I made a hole in this.

We started performing the ritual. The four feathers were placed around the coin on the floor. They started to glow, webbing themselves to the coin by a glowing light. When the ogre attacked, it disappeared into the circle. So did my sister.

What a stupid way to cast a spell, anyway. What good is a ritual that eats the people casting it nearby? It was Nick's boss that gave us this spell. Now my baby sister was gone, and it was his fault. I was gonna eat him. It was good that she appeared in the same spot, moments later, because it was gonna become a Nick buffet.

The feathers and the coin had been physically changed from the ritual.  There was a fiery orange one that Brittany laid dibs on. There was a soft, sparkly one that looked like moonlight that the Virgin took. Once was electric blues and reds and black, that Nick took. The last was the biggest, and brown. They gave it to me, and Tylan took the coin, which had a bull's head on it now. That didn't feel right, though. I couldn't place why.

We went back to Raquel, the boss woman, and she said that the CEO wanted to speak with us.  I didn't know what a CEO was, so I asked. CEO means Chieftain. I asked why they didn't just say that instead of a stupid acronym. The owl woman didn't seem to like that, and sent us on our way.

The office we went into was the most beautiful room I'd ever been in. There was a large double-bladed axe behind the desk, and the walls were lined with canvases splashed with colors. They made me feel something, deep in my chest. There was one, where the way that the purples met the cerulean that was so intensely sad and joyous all at once. The playful greens and yellows mated and danced along the banks of red, swirling down into the deep mournful indigo. It made me happy in a way I hadn't felt before. I couldn't stop looking at it.

The woman behind the desk, the Chieftain Cara Driver, was pretty, when I looked at her eventually. She asked me if I was an orc. I told her I had a bad dentist.  She asked me to stay after the others had left. I said I would. The others spoke to her, and gave a small briefing of the situation.

There's a god named Moloch. He wants to devour the world. Our job is to keep an eye out and report back on any more Ogre sightings while we hunt, because they're parts of his soul. It makes more sense than the Orc death theory that Mom had, anyway. Chieftain Cara dismissed the rest of them.

She told me that not only were Ogres parts of Moloch, but Orcs were as well, and whatever she was too. Our powers pull from greed and hunger. If we wanted to fully be rid of Moloch, we had to keep banishing ogres.

I asked her that, if we are both creatures from Moloch, if eventually we would have to be banished too.  She was quiet, for a little while, then said she didn't know.

So at some point, I think I have to go into a box. I don't like that idea, but I think...  it would be okay. Anyway, it meant that the roc feather (the big brown one) wasn't meant for me. I have to get the coin back from Tylan, so she doesn't get sucked into it again. Don’t tell her about the box, okay? 

Also the Chieftain gave me the phone number to the artist that made the painting. Brittany is giving me a phone, so I'll call him later. I want one to hang on a wall.

That's it. That's all you need to know, right? Good.

>> blackfox.orcEK.tscript001 end >>saved to driver C:ara

[sunnysidewrites]

Be There In Spirit ➵ Seokmin

Genre: ghost!au, fluff, mainly angst whoop there goes my heart

Pairing: DK/Seokmin x Reader

Word count: 3982 yall.... i got so caught up in this.... this was only supposed to be 2k and its basically double bye

Synopsis: After years of grieving, Seokmin suddenly shows up again out of literally thin air. Second chances only come once, and you knew you couldn’t let this one go to repeat a last time.

A/N: YALL SUNNY IS BACK WITH THE ANGST MWHAHAHA I teared up SO many times writing this you dont even know yall pls someone hoLD ME IM SO SAD :’((( as expected, i always go hard on my biases,,,, THIS IS PART 1 OF SEOKMIN’S BELATED BIRTHDAY PRESENT!!! PART 2 WILL BE FLUFF DW LMAO I was told to upload the angst first so that the fluff will be there in the “healing period” so here you go!!! have fun reading this my children!! 

happy belated birthday to my beloved sunshine. you radiate so much warmth to the point i could feel it as i was writing this. you’re a gem in the industry and in our lives. stay happy and healthy my love ❤️❤️❤️ (it’s ironic bc in here it’s actually YOUR bday LOL)

Warnings: mentions of death, and, if you look closely, my tears it just gets angstier as it continues i’ll be in the corner crying if you need me

The shaking of the entire apartment complex justled you out of your dreamless sleep, the loud, hard thumps upon your windowpane and the cold cotton of your pillowcase senselessly shaking you back to reality.

It didn’t take you right away for you to notice your upper body was drenched in cold sweat until the wave of shivers travelled down your spine repeatedly. Your eyes drifted to your nightstand to make out the blinking numbers in the dark that your eyes haven’t yet utterly adjusted to. 5:38, the blur of red glared. You heaved a sigh and held your head in your hands momentarily. There were still three hours left before your actual alarm went off, but there was no point of trying to get some shut-eye for the sixth time that night. You heaved yourself up and stretched for ten minutes before having the steaming water pound on your back.

What’s up with me? You furrowed your eyebrows as the droplets fell on your skin. I need some fresh air, that’s probably what it is. Maybe I finally cracked under the stress of the new boss. You only shrugged it off as you grabbed your towel and slid in the outfit you laid out temporarily on the towel rack. After hastily throwing on the thickest coat hung up in your closet and snatched the keys off the counter table, you snugly pulled your scarf right underneath your nose and exited the apartment with a half-hidden face and a hooded head.

You looked down at your phone and mentally timed yourself for a half hour walk around the neighborhood. It sure was convenient to only live a few blocks away from the local park; your nearby getaway from life was only a seven-minute walk away. Your gloved hand stuffed your phone back in your coat pockets, and there began your walk.

The first half of the mini-exercise was pleasant and serene. Although the biting wind irritated your cheeks, there was something untouchable and peaceful about walking in the winter alone. Your once-clouded mind was as clear as the soft sunlight filtering through the leaves of the trees, pillowed by the lush grass. You inhaled fresh oxygen, Mother Nature completely overtaking your senses and engulfing you. The scattered chirps of your winged friends were your only source of sound above the chilling wind.

You had circled around the park for a good while, already spending 80 percent of your time doing so. You finished up your final round and started heading back to your home. The walk back was as ordinary as it usually was.

Until it suddenly wasn’t.

If you had continued to space out for a second longer, you could have missed it. The moment could have passed long gone by the time you had snapped out of it, but you just had to come back to reality in that exact moment. And you weren’t sure whether it was a good or a bad thing.

He was sitting on a windowsill of a random quaint business shop a little ways ahead. His hands were stuffed in his brown and white wool jacket, his head slightly tilted back and the corners of his lips were imperceptibly quirked upwards like he knew a secret you didn’t. In this case, he sure seemed like he did.

You had stopped abruptly in your tracks and in turn gaped at the brown-haired beauty. Even in the dreary cold light of the winter, he was still able to shine even without wholly exposing his pearly whites. He always did have that effect. His gaze moved from the sky to the right of his vision and finally to the left, where that gaping mouth of yours was.

He stood up, his smile widening by the second. You blinked twice and even moved your hands to rub your eyes. Your heartbeat picked up the pace as he started advancing on you. You were simply frozen on the spot, your limbs terrified of moving a muscle.

Before you could even get out the word “what,” his arms encircled you and knocked the air out of your lungs as if you weren’t already having trouble getting enough oxygen inside your system in contrast to the open environment in the park. You wanted to screech, cry, shove him, hug him, but your voice would give away the emotions welling up in your chest. They eventually journeyed all the way to your head as soon as he let go to examine your face. The overwhelming sensation made everywhere else stiff, but the leaking of your eyes gave it away. His grin dropped almost immediately as your head, and you could only hear his mouth run.

“Oh no, are you okay?! What happened? Who do I have to fight?” You cried even harder at his last sentence. He couldn’t even hurt a fly, much less get involved in a physical fight. You tearily chuckled and raised your palms in an embarrassing attempt to wipe away the tears, but he had beat you to it. The grip around your shoulders migrated to the sides of your face, cupping you like you were as fragile as you felt, and gently raised your head. His thumbs brushed away your tears as they rained down on them. His eyes searched yours in a frenzy, trying to inspect any hints of your sudden meltdown.

“How… how on earth are you here? Literally?” You managed to gargle out of your strained throat. He only stared blankly at you. You continued, “You’re… you’re not supposed to be here. Maybe I’m really hallucinating this time around. Yeah, that must be it.” You reach out to poke him, and you gasped as you could feel the material of his coat. The grip he had on your shoulders and now on your face; they all felt too real. Why?

“That—that’s not possible. You’re, you’re not real!” You tried taking a step back but his hands went back down around your shoulders. “Wait, Y/N.” Fresh tears pricked the back of your eyes. You haven’t heard your name on his tongue in years. So why now?

“I know it must come as a shock—“ “—of course it does!—“ “—but it really is me. You touched me; I’m as real as it gets!” “Prove it. Where did we last go together?” “The amusement park. You forced me to go on that rollercoaster 4 times.” “What did we do for your birthday?” “We went to a bowling alley where I destroyed you.” “You only got lucky that last round, Lee.” “You’re still using that same line after all this time.”

Your breath quickened momentarily before slowing down. Is it really him?

“If you need any more proof, here’s the final one.” He pulled out his phone and gave it you. You stared incredulously at him. “You want me to take your phone?” He laughed, “Why don’t you turn it on?”

With your brows still raised, you slowly took his device and pressed on the power button. “Alright, it’s on—“

The words remained stuck at your throat. His wallpaper was the selfie you both took at the amusement park in line waiting for the rollercoaster. Your eyes shot up to his. It… it can’t be… He’s...

He only gives you a warm smile, the same one so many years ago. “Happy birthday, Y/N.”

“I just don’t understand,” your voice echoed through your apartment as you entered the living room with two water bottles in both hands. You handed one to him as you sat across from him. “How are you even here?”

He shrugged and opened up the bottle. “Beats me. One second I’m sleeping at the studio, and the next I’m here.” You bitterly remembered the studio, the last place it all happened. You took a large gulp of water before speaking up again. “Seokmin, I was there. I saw it with my own eyes. You DIED!”

Seokmin stared at you before leaning over to rest his forearms on his thighs. “Okay, so, maybe I kind of lied.” You gave him a look. “I’m not really alive, but not exactly dead, either.”

“Just say you’re a ghost or some spirit.”

“Well, I guess you could say I’m a ghost. I was just brought back to ‘life,’” he air quoted, “to spend the day with you, I guess!” You shake your head and sit up straighter. “But why now? You didn’t appear for a bunch of birthdays consecutively. It’s only today.”

“I wish I knew the answer to that, too.” He raised his hand to cup your cheek. You leaned into his touch and brought your hand to rest on top of his. He looked at you melancholically, his eyes slightly hooded. “I want to spend every day with you if I could, but things just happen in their own way like this.”

You sighed. “Well, it still freaks me out to no end that you’re actually before me after so much time has passed, but it also feels like we’re picking up right after we left off, as weird as that is.”

He leaned over and pressed his lips on your forehead. They were still warm and soft. “Well, birthday girl, what do you wanna do today?”

You wracked your brain, your hand cupping your chin. “Do-over of those amusement park and bowling dates!”

He only let out a chuckle and shook his head. “Didn’t expect anything different from you. Shall we?” He laced his fingers in yours and pulled you up to your feet. You still had no idea why or how everything was happening like it was, but you were in no position to complain. Maybe this was the second chance you were finally granted with after wishing on countless shooting stars, prayer after prayer in the deafening silence of the dark.

You made your first step at the looming hunks of metal and the familiar grinding on the tracks as bursts of screams followed the direction of their carts. You felt bittersweet of your return after so long; you couldn’t bring yourself to have the same enjoyment you did with the only person who was willing to be dragged on every ride possible with little to no complaints. The warmth surrounding your hand suddenly felt more present than ever. You gently squeezed his, ensuring his presence was there for the tenth time that hour.

“Y/N, if you keep squeezing my hand like this, my blood circulation will cut off.”

You playfully nudged him, rolling your eyes. “Okay, you baby. Tell me that once we get off the rollercoasters.” Flashing his pearly whites, he leaned in to plant a kiss the side of your head. “Maybe it just gives me an excuse to hold your hand, hm?” He dropped your hand and just when you opened your mouth in protest, you felt a slight tug around your shoulders, where his hand reappeared. You smiled to yourself as you wrapped your arm around his waist and rested your head on his chest. His inviting warmth always allured you, and even more so in the harsh winter.

Have you always been this cold?

“You really want a rematch, don’t you?” You raised an eyebrow at him with crossed arms. “Are you that eager to lose against me again?”

“Hey now, don’t get too cocky. After enduring all those long lines and horrific rides, it’s your turn to be in my forte.” He carefully picked up a bowling ball and got into position. You inwardly grimaced when the scoreboard marks a strike on his first try. That was a tell-tale sign that he truly was about to demolish you, but you were never going to admit that -- at least, not in front of him. He turned back and gave you a smirk you wanted to wipe off his terribly attractive face as he stalked back to his seat. You deeply inhaled and exhaled, your eyes trained on the 12 pins at the end of the lane. You released the ball and subconsciously held your breath as it traveled further down. A satisfying clunk rang in the nearly empty bowling alley as you turned back and returned his smirk.

“Strike out, buddy.” He stood up and said tauntingly, “Don’t be so confident. We have a whole game ahead of us, honey.”

The friendly competition and the banter was all that could be heard the whole night. Echoes of your laughs and the pins knocking down were music to your ears, melodies that you desperately missed. The ache in your chest returned as it usually did whenever you felt too sentimental. The twinkle in his eyes and the brightness of his smile were all it took to turn you into a sappy mess. He didn’t change one bit.

His head was cocked up to look at the scoreboards, his legs shook in anticipation. He turned to you and raised his hands up in the air triumphantly. “Another game to me!”

For some reason, his boyish enthusiasm ironically made you… What was the word? You stared at him doing his dorky happy dance and the smile that never left his face for a second.

Longing. Hopeful. Melancholic. A mix of everything, much more than the numbing feeling you grew accustomed to after the incident. Your vision blurred, hot tears tracked down your now red cheeks. He immediately stopped dancing and rushed to you.

“Hey, it’s okay, we can always go for another round. The night is still young--”

You laughed wetly, shaking your head at his pure innocence. “No, no, I’m not crying because I lost. I -- god, what’s wrong with me.” You could only shake your head and pathetically wipe away the tears. He gazed at you sadly and brought your head to his chest. The hug he engulfs you in was almost enough for you to break down more heavily, but you stopped yourself before it would turn into a sobfest. He rubs your back soothingly and pets your head all at once. His slow movements contained traces of dejection and led to his next question that you least expected.

“You’ve been crying all day, Y/N… Are you… not happy to see me?”

You abruptly lifted your head and stared up at him with panicked eyes, your tone slightly raised in alarm. “What, of course not! It’s just so much to take in. I mean, you’ve been out of my life for five years, and you’re suddenly back. It makes no sense at all. And everything about today has made me miss you so terribly. It’s been hard, Seokmin.” You touched the side of his face and he nodded in understanding. “I know… I know. I really do wish I could still be with you, but… well, we know why that can’t be.” He gazed at you with a sadness you’ve never seen fill his pupils before, his features slightly distorted at the situation you’re thrown in.

You sighed but decided strengthen your resolution. “Well, there’s only a few hours left of the day. We can’t spend the rest of it moping around now. Let’s go back home and call it a night.” You were about to grab your jacket sprawled out on the benches, but he quickly took ahold of your wrist. “Wait, let’s take a selfie together!” You couldn’t help but giggle at his excitement and the speed he whipped out his phone from his jeans back pocket. He slightly bent down at your height and held out his device in front of the both of you. You rested a hand on his shoulder and smiled at the front camera. “One… two… three!” Just before the “three,” you turned your head and leaned in to give him a light cheek kiss. 

Click. 

His eyes widened and he laughed in embarrassment. “Aren’t you getting bold now,” he bashfully states more than questions. You chuckled and peered over his shoulder, “Let’s see how it turned out!”

He turned his back towards you and shook his head. “No! You always demand a retake, and it ends up being a photoshoot for five minutes and deleting 14 out of 18 pictures.” He secretly checked his image gallery and smiled. “You’re beautiful, as always.” You rolled your eyes and started packing up your things scattered on the table. “Always the charmer, aren’t you, Mr. Lee.” He jogged back to you and gracefully took his jacket from your hands. “You deserve the truth, babe.” You let out a small laugh and took his hand in yours. “Just send me it.” He nodded and led you out the door, the eventful night coming to a close.

The trip back home was in a comfortable silence, the both of you simply basking in the other’s presence. There was no need for words to fill the quiet. With your head on his shoulder and his stacked on yours, it was crystal clear what both hearts communicated. You hadn’t felt this much at ease all day, much less in those empty, listless five years. The soft movements of the moving car soon lulled you to sleep up until your apartment building pulled into view.

You and Seokmin trudged up to your floor and plopped down on the couch. He was underneath you, his arms wrapped around your back and your head nuzzled in the middle of his chest, your ultimate favorite pillow and source of comfort you yearned for all these years. Your legs were an intertwined mess and your arms just as entangled.

“It’s 10 pm,” he muttered from the top of your head. “We should wash up.” You sleepily shook your head, your eyes already drooping heavily. “There’s always tomorrow…”

He let out what was supposed to be a chuckle but ended up sounding more like a tired grunt. “Well, I suppose I like being here better.” He planted another kiss on the top of your head, adding more warmth to you that radiated from his body neck down. The slight discomfort you felt from being squished on your tiny couch amounted up to nothing as you cuddled up next to Seokmin. There was just something about him that could make everything feel right, no matter how bad it may seem.

“Seokmin.” “Yes?” “I still have no idea how this is all happening, but… I’m happy it is.” “... Me too, Y/N.” “I missed you a lot.” “So did I.”

A gigantic yawn escaped your lips despite your attempt to stifle it. His throaty laugh sent vibrations from his chest, another thing you were aware of in his full presence that day.

“You should go sleep, honey.” “But… I wanna talk to you. I finally have the chance to.” “We’re both worn out. It’s okay, just go rest.” “I don’t want you to disappear when I wake up.”

You slightly choked on your last words. He paused before leaning down just centimeters away from you. “I love you. I’ll always love you.”

And for the first time that night, you shared your first kiss after his sudden appearance in the morning. His lips were still soft and warm like the last time you remembered. The slow yet emotional kiss simultaneously sent chills down your spine yet warmed your whole being from head to toe. You felt drops on your cheeks, but this time it wasn’t your own. You knew exactly what that kiss conveyed, the words that neither of you could utter to fake the ignorance of the time ticking away. You slowly broke away, and your hands somehow ended up on the back of his neck.

“I’ll always love you too, Seokmin. Always.”

You both spent a while like that, your foreheads touching and holding on to the other for dear life. You didn’t want to believe that in just several hours, all of this could disappear as suddenly as it appeared. You wanted to take in everything about him; the way his eyes crinkled whenever he smiled, the soft smile he would always give you when he looked at you doing the most mundane thing, how his hands rested on your hips, the curve of his shoulders, everything. Simply everything. You eventually went back to your cuddling position and stayed there the rest of the night. Your late night talks with him once returned, talking about anything and everything. Before you knew it, it was already well into the early morning.

Your consciousness was rapidly slipping despite your fight to stay awake. This was the only time you could spend time with him, and your body just had to choose that moment to pass out. He noticed your failed attempts to prevent your eyes from closing and slightly giggled.

“Alright, little one, you should go to sleep.” “No, I… I wanna see you until the end.” “You can barely see me now with your eyes closing like that.” “I’m trying!”

He kissed the top of your head and made his way down your face. First, your temples, then your eyelids, your nose, your cheeks… and finished it off on your lips again.

“I’ll be here. I’m not going anywhere.”

You wanted to thrash against the drowsiness, but you could no longer endure it. Before you fully knocked out, he managed to mutter his last words.

“I love you… I’ll always be watching over you.”

Soft sunlight filtered through your window curtains. You lightly stirred and then immediately remembered last night’s events. Your eyes shot up instantly. Seokmin. Your body shoots up as quickly as your eyes did. And that was it.

You were the only one on the couch.

You scurried off the couch and hysterically called out his name. He was nowhere to be found, no matter how loud and how often his name rolled off your tongue. He wasn’t in the kitchen, the bathroom, nor your bedroom. He was gone without a trace.

You slumped down in the middle of your hallway, your sobs the only sounds travelling down the corridors. He was taken away from you once again.

Your body felt heavy as you tried to get back on your feet again. You loudly sniffled as you shuffled back to the empty living room where you spent the night. You stopped as soon as you saw the coffee table.

His phone and a note underneath it were staring back at you. You almost tripped over your feet making a beeline towards his things. You opened the neatly folded white piece of paper. The sight of his penmanship on its own was enough to tear you up, but not as much as the words he had written. You read his message and lifted a finger to trace his letters, as if you could feel his presence when he wrote them. You put down the note back on the table and turned on his phone.

The lockscreen was the selfie you took at the bowling alley. It deceivingly looked like you were the regular couple five years back. You could almost feel his smooth skin on your lips the longer you stare at the picture. You slumped back down and cried in your hands, the same ones that held your boyfriend’s not even 8 hours ago.

I hope you had a good rest, Y/N. I know you’ve been taunted by those dreams for so long, so I hope I was able to help you sleep well from the short time I was here with you. I could feel myself slipping away from reality when I felt you become at ease and come to terms with what’s happened, so I had to rush through this before I fully disappeared. I hope I gave you the best birthday yesterday. I’ll always love you, and I’ll always be with you.

Love, Seokmin

P.S. Turn on my phone one last time. I told you that you were beautiful as always.

[kaleenjackson]

Control

Summary: Loki’s wife comes home to a quiet house, far too quiet.

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Song: Control by Hasley

Word count: 1677

A/N: Thanks to @caplansteverogers for another get song challenge. I hope you all enjoy this. Thanks to my beta readers @thegingerslytherin and @reogni for their input and help with editing.

“Say hi to Lucas for us.”

“Of course.” (Y/N) waved back to her friends as they stumbled up to the door of their apartment building. Another successful Girl’s night was in the books. As much fun as Myka and Helena could be she really wanted to get home to her husband, Lucas Blake, lawyer and best-selling author. She had to laugh to herself. Her friends were either very oblivious or maybe he made it that way. Sometimes it was hard to tell what of their going unnoticed was just people not paying any attention at all and what was from his own magic. In reality her husband was Loki, The Loki, and he was in hiding on Earth. He had come clean about it only days before he proposed.

Now, eight years later they were still happy. Together they had adopted a daughter named Claudia and an all-black Rottweiler-cross called Fargo. Everything was perfect. Still smiling as she pulled onto her street (Y/N) felt her stomach drop. A sick feeling overwhelmed her as she parked behind the two black SUVs with matte black eagle emblems on their sides. SHEILD vehicles meant one of two things. Either her husband had gotten himself in trouble again or they were all in danger.

The door was hanging open. As (Y/N) stepped into her home she knew exactly which it was. Moving carefully though the main floor halls she noticed where the fight had begun, the four corpses laying where they fell and where the scorch marks of Loki’s magic had changed to cold patches of ice. Something had made the normally unflappable Loki either panic or forced him to switch from his Aseir form to his Jotunn. Because of Loki’s uniqueness, as he loved his wife for calling it, they always kept the house on the cool side, but now it was cold, nearly frigid.

 As she slowly climbed the stairs, beginning to also worry about the whereabouts of her daughter, she discovered why. The entire second floor hallway was coated in thick ice. Three more corpses lay on the ground, partially covered by the ice. It was clear to (Y/N) that they had not died by Loki’s hand but someone else’s.

The house was unnaturally quiet as she examined the two bodies that lay in front of her, the third lay in front of the master bedroom door. They had all had their heads crushed, like the ones downstairs had. She could see the trail of blood continuing to follow the same path into the room she shared with her husband. The ice had covered the top of the stairs to try and seal the hallway and the bodies had clearly been used to break it.

Using the flashlight on her phone (Y/N) scanned down the dark hallway. The only other light came from the open bedroom at the end of the hall. The ice sparkled as she moved the light around. None of the other doors appeared to have been touched. In fact they were almost invisible, as were the family photos that lined the walls. If whoever had come for Loki hadn’t looked they wouldn’t have seen them. Now more than ever she hoped her husband had escaped. As she reached the spot where the door to Loki’s office was she felt a bit more relief. The ice covering it was nearly perfect save for a small rune next to the knob.

Pulling the dagger Loki had given her years ago from her boot (Y/N) stepped in front of the office door.

“I call forth the fires of Muspelheim” She whispered and the blade glowed red. Touching it to the rune the ice melted almost instantly revealing the unmarred door hidden behind. Softly pushing the door open (Y/N) breathed a sigh of relief. The only thing out of place in Loki’s office was the big black rottie standing guard in the middle of the room.

“Fargo. Fargo, c’mere.” (Y/N) called softly. The dog whimpered and walked away from her. Laying down next to the large cedar chest against the back wall. Fargo stayed quiet as she approached him. Reaching out, she gently ran her hand through his short, soft fur. He must have gotten between Loki and whatever was attacking. The poor boy was missing an ear. He seemed more concerned with the chest than himself however.

Moving next to it, (Y/N) felt for the runes of her husband’s name on the side. Just above that was his old Asgardian sigil. Two snakes intertwined biting each other’s tails. Resting her fingers on it she muttered his pet name for her, his angel. “Valkyrie.” The lock clicked open and she carefully lifted the lid. Claudia flinched as she peaked inside.

“Something’s wrong with Daddy.”

“Sweet pea, what happened?” (Y/N) asked, helping her daughter from her hiding place.

“We were eating and the door bel rang. Daddy said to ignore it and keep eating. Then they knock yelling ‘Police’. Daddy goes and talks to them and I hear the policeman say ‘Mr. Laufeyson we need you to come with us, now.’

‘Not without my family, Agent Sykes.’ Daddy said. He sounded angry.

‘There’s not time. Loki, if everything you said really is true there’s absolutely no time. We’ll make sure they’re safe, but we have to go now.’

Daddy told me that we were going to play hide and seek. He said to hide in his chest because it would be a very good spot that no one would look for me in, except you Mommy. I did and then I heard people yelling and I got worried about Daddy. Then it got real cold and when I opened the door there was Daddy. He looked really scary. He picked me up and put me back in the chest. I was crying. He was so scary.

‘Please, my sweet Valhalla, don’t be scared. I can’t help this. Lie down and stay quiet.’ He kissed me and he was really cold. ‘I love you. I will come back to you, I promise, my sweet Valhalla.’

When I laid down and he closed the lid and I couldn’t open it anymore and I yelled and screamed and cried and you came and found me like Daddy said you would.”

The child threw herself into (Y/N)’s arms and cried. (Y/N) knew she had to finish searching the rest of the house. She had to see if Loki had managed to escape. If he was gone or dead, as much as she dreaded that, they were safer than if they had caught him.

“Take my phone and Fargo. Run to Mr. Lattimer’s house and show him this.” She handed her child her cell phone and the necklace Loki had given her on their wedding night. “He will keep you safe. I love you Claudia, our sweet Valhalla.”

(Y/N) watched as Claudia ran. She went to the office window and watched her run across the street. Then, with her daughter as safe as she could be, (Y/N) swallowed the lump of fear in her throat.

Still armed with the dagger, she crept down the hall way to their bedroom. Papers rustled as a breeze blew in from the balcony. The pages of their manuscript fluttered into the hall.

From the doorway she could see their bed. How many times had he shown her his passion, his heart and made her forget all others but himself? More than the number of nights she had awoken to him in fear, with tears staining his face, as he had awoken crying “They’re coming for me.”

The old villain was meaner than whatever hunted him. That she was sure of. Some small part of his soul, the part she could not reach, was as cold as the world he was born in. As (Y/N) darted across the doorway she prayed it would be enough. She had been writing about him so she would remember him when he was gone. Something he had been anticipating since they met.

(Y/N) spotted Agent Sykes, smashed against their dresser, his head crushed like the others. The trail of blood ended in a pool around his body. The glint of something shining in the moonlight on their balcony caught her eye.

Loki was in his full armor, including the horned helm he hated. He appeared to be ready for battle, standing alone on their balcony. For a moment (Y/N) stood at the threshold of the room. Her eyes locked on the imposing figure of her husband as he slowly turned.

“(Y/N)?” The soft, dark tones of his voice were stained with confusion.

“Loki. What –“

“Get away from here (Y/N). Take Claudia and run.” She had never heard him sound so panicked before. Then he screamed in pain. Doubling over, his helm toppled to the ground with a hollow clatter.

“What’s wrong? Loki, you’re scaring me.” (Y/N) heard her voice crack.

“I can’t help this (Y/N). Please, run, get away, now.” Loki stalked towards her. He seemed to be fighting something off, and losing. “RUN!” He screamed before his head dropped to his chest. (Y/N) froze.

There was a strange release of energy in the room. (Y/N) cautiously took a step forward.

“Loki?” Her voice shook with terror. His voice sounded wrong when he finally spoke again.

“You’re terrified. Good. You should be, (Y/N), you and the rest of you pathetic race.”

 “Oh my God!” (Y/N) gasped.

“You are smarter than you seem. I like that. You are also right by the way, mortal.” The thing controlling her husband’s mind made him smile wickedly as he lifted his head to reveal bright, glowing, solid blue eyes. “Your darling monster is gone.” (Y/N) remained frozen to the spot as she watched this demon approach her. Stopping just out of arms reach, it summoned a gold scepter with a bright yellow stone floating inside its blade, to his hand. “Which leaves just one question for you.” That horrible smile broadened as it touched the tip of the blade to her chest.

“Who is in control?”