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sweetwitchythings · 2 months

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Kitchen Witchery: Basil Pesto Lasagna

If you know anything about me, you'll know that I love being in the kitchen! I love trying new recipes and cooking, especially if it's part of my craft. So I thought maybe I would post a couple of my favorite recipes that I use to enchant for my family. My whole family loves this delicious lasagna that I made the other day, and it's super easy and not too expensive to make. If you're a witch on a budget, then you'll definitely appreciate the yummy leftovers from this meal!

I do not have any dietary restrictions, but my sibling has a gluten sensitivity, so if I make it for them, I substitute the regular noodles for certified gluten-free noodles. If you're vegan or vegetarian, I'm sure you can substitute the meat and cheese with something else, but I am not either of those things and don't know anyone who is, so I don't really have any suggestions for substitutions on those. So! Without further ado, let's get into the recipe! I will also list the correspondences that I associate with all of these ingredients, as well as common associations.

This recipe makes a rather large pan of lasagna, so feel free to downsize. My family has several people in it, so I often make larger meals to accommodate.

You will need:

Oven-bake lasagna noodles (I associate prepared foods with pretty much anything. Just sent your intention on this ingredient and keep going. Since pasta soaks up whatever it's put in, I like to think that pasta specifically is kinda like a white candle: it can mean anything!)

2 jars of tomato sauce, in any flavor you like! Witch tip: Get a glass jar to use for spells later! It's a super good way to recycle! (Tomatoes are acidic, so I associate them with protection. People often associate them with love, especially sex, but it's all about your intention, so it doesn't have to mean that for this particular recipe.)

Ground meat of your choice, a larger size package if you're feeding a lot of people. I like ground turkey because it's less oily, but I've also used ground beef and I'm sure ground chicken would work too. I like to give special thanks when I make something with meat, to the universe and to Life and the cycle of Life. (I don't really have an association for meat, so sorry about this one.)

Ricotta cheese, in a regular sized container. Last time I made it, I accidentally got a small container and it wasn't enough in my opinion. (Cheese is filled with protein, which means strength and resilience to me, so that's what I associate it with.)

Small jar of basil pesto. You won't use all of it for this recipe, so the smallest one will be just fine. (Basil is a very versatile herb, so you can use it for many things! I usually try to make the whole recipe mean similar things, as to not muddle the intentions, so I would recommend setting a protection or banishment intention for this one. Also, pesto is usually made with olive oil, which is sacred to certain deities, so extra magick is involved!)

Mozzarella cheese, shredded. You're welcome to shred your own, but this witch has chronic pain, so bagged is the way for me! I use low-moisture, personally. I get about 2 pounds of it. (More cheese means more strength!)

The recipe:

Put your choice of meat in a large pot or pan to brown. Break it up to ensure even cooking and stir clockwise to manifest your intention. For the sake of an example, I'm going to use my intention from the other night, which was strength and protection. Preheat your oven as the directions on the back of the oven-ready lasagna tells you to.

While the meat/substitute is cooking, get out the rest of your ingredients and set them out to make things easier to reach.

Get out a good-sized mixing bowl, large enough to fit the entire container of ricotta cheese. Open up the container and dump the whole thing in there. Mix in about two or three large spoonfuls of the basil pesto with a spatula or mixing spoon. I wouldn't recommend using a slotted spoon, because that cheese can be hard to wash off, especially if you don't have a dishwasher. Think about your intentions as you stir. I personally like to imagine power in the form of white or yellow light coming from my heart/chest, down my arm, into the spoon and into the mixture, filling it with intention.

After your meat is done, drain it well and get ready to layer up your lasagna! With every layer, I concentrate on my intention, layering it with the food. Get a good-sized casserole dish. I use a glass one, but I'm sure a metal one would work just as well.

The first layer is going to be the meat. Put half of the meat or meat substitute in the bottom of the dish, then set aside. I would recommend coming up with an affirmation or a short incantation to say or think between layers. Let's say that this could be something like "I imbue this meal with strength and protection for all that eats it, so mote it be!"

The next layer is going to be your sauce. If you make your own, that's great! But I don't because I don't know how and also that's a little more labor-intensive than I usually have time for. Pour one jar over the meat, saying/thinking your incantation as you do so. Make sure the sauce is evenly spread. You can use a spoon or a spatula to do this.

The next layer is going to be the pasta. Say your incantation again as you lay the dry pasta over the sauce and meat. The awesome thing about oven-ready lasagna is that you don't have to cook it before you put it in. It cooks in the oven and soaks up the pasta sauce and it's sooooo delicious! Again, if you have dietary needs, gluten-free lasagna is totally an option.

The last layer is going to be the ricotta cheese and pesto mixture. Use a spoon or spatula to spread it across the top of the pasta. I find it easier to spread the soft mixture over the hard pasta, so that's why the layers are like they are. Don't forget your incantation!

Repeat the layers one more time, saying your incantation each time. When you're done, put the entire bag of mozzarella over the top, saying your incantation one last time.

Look on the back of the pasta box and bake for the recommended time, or until the cheese on top is nice and bubbly and the whole thing is warmed through.

Serve and enjoy! I like making some cheesy garlic bread with it, to sop up the sauce. The leftovers are just as delicious and will keep in the fridge for a little less than a week.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I love simply kitchen witchcraft, and this protection lasagna is a wonderful, hearty meal for the whole family. If you use this recipe, I'd love to know! Feel free to reblog and share your own variations! I'd love to see them!

Happy cooking and witching! 🔮✨🍳

#witchcraft #witch #magick #sweetwitchythings #witchythings #witchtips #kitchen witch #kitchen witchcraft #witchy recipes #pagan #babywitch #witchy things #house witch

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myimaginarywonderland · 9 months

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Coming on here because TikTok keeps bombarding me with videos about people being confused about the nine month cruise thing (literally a dream of mine) and clearing some things up as someone who has been on 3 cruises before (all between 7-15 days, mostly based around families.)

Right, first of all, there is a doctor on board. Most of the time depending on how many people are there for how long, you will have between like 5-10 people off medical staff. They describe certain meds if someone is feeling sick, advise people if it should be something serious etc. I have personally not been sick so much that I had to go to a doctor but my parents did once and I think it was mostly just telling symptoms and getting meds/a recipe like a normal visit. I am assuming if they are staying for longer, the med things might be stocked up once a month at various ports alongside with the food. Should there be a genuine emergency you will find that quiet a few cruises also have an emergency landing place for a small plane to take someone to the closest hospital as fast as you can. And lastly if someone should get pregnant early on (which literally can happen on any holiday trip, some people are just like that) they would obviously have to get off after a few weeks/months because there is a risk. No one is staying on board a good cruise line and delivering a baby, any good staff would make sure to get them to a safe hospital or off a port so they can get home okay when they are still in the non-risk term of a pregnancy.

Secondly, as mentioned before, they stop at ports like at least every 4th/5th day. They get off, explore cities or have planned trip while the crews restock on food etc. As far as I would assume with what I read they also take new passengers on board meaning not every passenger is staying for 9 months but some get on and off at certain stops.

To go along with the food point, I genuinely don't understand how anyone would assume you get sick of the food because it was literally one of the best things on board. You will have a variety of themed dishes, options for all sort of nutritional diets, restaurant that focuses on different meals etc. Not to mention you can always try local food and something there are even tours to explore local food productions (I remember we once went to a farm that produced goat milk products like goat cheese and it was delicious.) I don't know why people think it's just a giant mall with unhealthy food when there is so much with fruits, veggies, pasta etc. It isn't just ice cream, you get sick of eating that within the first 3 days. As for myself, I also had such a craving for fruit because the cooks produce amazing meals and desserts.

Another point that I have seen is alcoholism and trust me, anyone that wants to drink to the abnormal extent will already do that in their free time anyway. Most people who are normal drinks like other people of my family that have been on a different cruise line, had a drink maybe in the evening not all around the clock or every day and then again, some maybe only had a glass of wine with a nice dinner and not 30 cocktails that they drowned.

Secondly I hope most off you realise that 9-month-cruise doesn't mean 9 months on the cruise ship. You get off at at least 30+ ports, explore cities etc. While yes there are some days that will be on the cruise, most of the time (obviously depending on where the ship goes) will be spent exploring. And for the time on board they offer courses that you can spend time at or have sports events etc. You won't get bored easily and after a few days you would also start using the options by the ship because they are fun! Some of the things are genuinely nice surprisingly even for introverted people like myself.

When it comes to affairs etc. it's baffling to me because I can not imagine that being my first thought when thinking about such a cool event. Add to that, everyone who wants to hook up, will do that on any trip and everyone who wants to cheat, will cheat at any chance, just the way people are.

Some other info about cruises that applied on the ones I took:

If you do a planned trip from the cruise, the ship will always with for you no matter how late you are. If you go out on your own however and come back late, they might leave you at the port.

Sometimes the captain will take time out of their day to sit down and answer questions which is really cool. (Don't worry, there are co-coptains.)

There used to be an exercise mandatory that would prep you for an emergency event. Before deporting on the first port, there would be the alert for an emergency and you would be asked to put on your life jacket, go to your right rescue station and have to be accounted for while the crew would tell you if you did something wrong. There also used to be a video to show you how to put on life jackets and to tell you what to do in an emergency + there are big instructions on the inside of the cabin door.

Our ship also had a lecture who would offer presentations on the ports you went to or even on specific places that trips were planned to.

We also got offered a presentation for all the planned tours that are available for every port in case anyone hadn't booked something yet and wanted to do it last minute.

There are different types of cabines but most people will choose to one with a mirror or without one because you always have to ability to go to the outside/pool deck for sun and stuff. However if the sea is rough, all outside decks will be closed but you can still see from most upper decks that have shops or restaurants.

Every cruise line is different when it comes to what is included in the price but everyone has basic food and alcohol like wine/beer. Some restaurants used to be extra pay and on the ships I was on, so did most cocktails.

I think this is maybe only on German cruises but for us you got a board card which you not only needed to come back on the cruise but that would also be used as payment on the cruise itself. It was connected to the payment you selected for the cruise itself and you could always check how much there was on it at certain machines on the ship.

All the cruises I have been on have had at leady 800 passenger cabins so a minimum of 1600 people. In a big cruise like that you rarely hang out with people other than the ones you came on the trip with in the first place but sometimes at stuffed hours if you were only 2 people or so or still had seats available at your table some people would ask if they could sit with you if the restaurants are filled. And they would also be polite and nice, sometimes starting conversations. On my cruise there were specific hours every restaurant would be open, serving 3 meals a day and sometimes cake. But you can always get drinks like water, tea or coffee.

When it comes to anything law related there is always the important question of where because if it was on land, the rules of that country will apply and if it was on the sea, it depends on which territory you are in. There is also a ship jail most of the time until people can get detained at the next port.

If you have travel insurance (always do if you travel anywhere expensive or on a longer term), they will refund it when you are injured or cannot attend sometimes because of sickness etc. However boredom does not equal a refund and I assume neither might something like pregnancy which was a decision made by you. Also, travelling start being unsafe at around the 20th week mark and this ships policy requires you to leave either if you are in the 23rd or 24th week.

That's basically it but yeah, if you have any questions that I could answer, hit me with it

#i posted this on her because tiktok won't let me post my reply #9 month cruise

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tj-shmt · 3 years

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A Day of Curation

Unless its Wednesday, it should be around 11am right now when i get up. First things first, put in my headphones and go get some good music! Its Monday - time to listen to my Discover Weekly playlist, which Spotify usually tailors perfectly to my tastes.

1. 🎶 SPOTIFY 🎶

Fun fact - this weeks "Discover Weekly" suggs. Usually I get the best music from there. I don't really recall the last time any of my friends really showed a song I didn't already know or was adequately good. Tho, I have to give Amelie some credit here, she constanly hits me with great Spanish tunes. (Also to Jasi and Safae which hit me up with some dope music from time to time) I mostly get inspiration from (sad to say but its true) tik tok or by randomly shazaming the world. I also really hate to limit myslfe to music i understand. On the contrary I LOVE LOVE LOVE music arround the world. Trust me i hear Tibetian Throat Singing to Russian Electro and even Islandic and Nativ American Tribal Music. To give you an impression of how important music consumption is for me:

Last Year i spent a total of 210 441 minutes on spotify alone. That is about 9 Hours a day. The average person uses Spotify for about 18 000 minutes a year. (My friend took the freedom to calculate how much money Spotify "looses" by my consumption. i pay $30 a year an Spotify gives $0,004891 per stream to the creator. An average of 3 minutes per song (70.000 streams) means spotify pays $342.37 to the creators. Thats $312.37 of deficit LOL)

Apart form that i cant really give Spotify a certain schedule when i listen to it cuz i listen to it all the time. During gaming, during coding, laundry, gym, work, class, before sleep. ✨Always✨

2. 💬 WhatsApp 💬

There is nothing better than sleeping for an eternity while everyone is already awake for probably 4 or more hours, working! *laughs in privileged design student* Since everyone is already living its live while I still drool, I gotta get up to date in the morning. Before i even leave bed, i checke my messages there. Similar to Spotify, I use WhatsApp the whole day and can't really tell when I would not use it. Except, my phone is always on silent (casual zennial phone call phobia) meaning i wont notice anything while zoning out or gaming (which usualy is the same).

3. 👨‍🏫 TEAMS 👩‍🏫

Yeah Yeah i can already hear it. "You wake up 5 minutes before class withouth breakfast or anything..." - bla bla bla. Yeah that is the case! I would usuly go on teams and enter the classroom, while preparing a breakfast (if you can call it breakfast after 12) sit down at my desk and listen to class. Causally everything that is too theoretical with music and whatsapp. Other classes that are interesting I`ll put my full attention to it.

But i hate teams in gerneral. Not cuz its sh**, no, usualy people that do their clases there have a weird way of using it. Finding material or looking up homeworks is such a struggle sometimes. (Props to you Kevin here, I have never seen anybody using teams in such a clean and struktured way than you do. Even tho you dont neccesarily use it as it was meant to be. (which might be the turning point on why its great))

4. 📺 YouTube 📺

Yup YouTube is usually the place to go after (sometimes during (I NEVER SAID THAT!)) class.

Actually, YouTube is the place to go for me. Relaxation, Entertainment, knowledge - anything! After class I'd usually watch "Cut" or other channels that produce let's plays or entertainment of some sort.

But it's also THE place to go during coding. I rather listen to Lofi or (Slowed, Reverbed) Music that doesnt really distract me. ALSO, during coding watch A SH*TLOAD OF TUTORIALS, cuz I am proud selftaught Zennial. #BestOfBothWorlds

5. 👨‍🍳 CHEFKOCH 👨‍🍳

I love to try new things and I constantly stalk the web for new recipes. Lately a lot of Asian and Vegan stuff. Chefkoch is the app to go where i also write down my own recipes to have them with me all the time. Great thing here is, i share this account with all my family members (currently 13, including my mom, aunts, other relatives). Great way to share the secret family recipes at any time!

(Cant recommend the recipe in the img, tho!)

6.🏐 ADDIDAS TRAINING🏐

Unlike all my sporty friends that used to hit the gym before covid and not got lazy, I started to use Training Apps like Addidas Training with its free Workout plans. I use it regularly and am happy i finally found a way to stay sporty.

7. ⌨️ VS CODE ⌨️

Its either Visual Studio Code, where I would code on my current project, or gaming. As mentioned above, I would get most of the inspiration from tutorials or using dev tools on different platforms.

8. 🎤 DISCORD 🎮

I´ll use Discord as a general term for Gaming since I play a lot but many different games, tho, always use discord to communicate with my freinds while gaming.

A great place to share random BS with friends and talk about anything that comes to my mind. I spent most of the evenings on Discord with my friends. Always did, in fact. Maybe the reason why I don't really feel so affected by the pandemic. I am used to being separated from my friends since they live all over Germany or the world in general. I always enjoy Online Live Events WITH my friends.

For me the web as always been a "with" not an "alone", which is why I never understand why so may struggle with feeling "alone" on live events online. JUST GRAB A FRIEND AND DISCOVER IT ✨TOGETHER✨!

9. 📼 DISNEY+ / NETFLIX 📼

Since I use both the same amount there is not thos or that. I never Really let anybody recommend me anything, cuz ... trust me, I WON'T watch it. IDK why that is, but I need a specific mood for each show. And nobody but myself can provide that. Probably why most ove the algorithms (esp Netflix) do not have an effect on me. I'm not in the mood for your ****, sorry!

Never the less, i periodically Binge a Series and then feel empty after it ended. Then i need some time to face reality again.

Funny tho, I binged Starwars Rebels on Disney+ and after it ended i just decide to buy 4 books on amazon that expand the story to starwars (#nerd i know). I will spend the next few months reading and probably not watching anything on both Streaming services.

10. 🤤 TIKTOK 🌈

... YUP.... I grew up with vine ... but TikTok got me. And honestly I don't regret it. It's the perfect algorithm that constantly finds the best videos that feed my thirsty queer ass. I mean ...

LOOK AT THE IMG ABOVE. YES, give me more....!

Its prolly not good for my digital wellbeing or my mental health but do I care at the moment..? noooooo...

Just give me more of Starwars Parodies, Sleepwalkers, Best off's of streamers, Queer content (cuz its time this heteronormativity world is fed with it! and no i do not indentify as anyting, im just the + at the very far end!) and yeah, even some sexy content if the creator feels good about it.

AND DONT YOU GIVE ME THAT SIDE EYE OF JUDGEMENT HERE - WE ALL THIRST FROM TIME TO TIME!

TOODLES!

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rixxy8173571m3w1p3 · 4 years

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A Helping Hand

a/n: It’s been a while since I’ve posted a fic. Ive been working on my health considering how much stress I was under at my old job, but I’m doing much better now. Anyway, I hope you guys will enjoy this.

This fic is set before Zeta 7 and the reader were dating, and when they were still friends. Set during and before the beginning of The Fluffy Adventures With Your Boyfriend Doofus Rick series.

In this fic the reader only wants to help.

————-

It was almost time for you to eat again. At times it almost seemed to be more of a chore than a necessity to have a meal or to follow the routine of it, but hunger had led you here. And although there were many other things you might've preferred to do, this was what had to be done at the moment. Anticipatory feelings were lacking as you opened up the fridge; had it been conveniently full of delicious food which didn't need to be put together, and could simply be warmed up, that would have been great, but that was wishful thinking. Of course, you hadn't gone food shopping yet, so your old fridge was bare; eating out was an option, but you already did that for lunch and it didn't feel worth getting properly dressed for.

It had been while you were thinking of a creative way to use elbow pasta and ketchup when a song played through the tiny speakers of your phone; it was a phone call and you didn't have to hesitate to answer; it was from your favorite person; from Rick. You tried not to get too excited whenever he would call, but you couldn't help yourself; hearing his voice alone could make you happy. Pressing the green answer button on your touch screen, you smiled despite his inability to see it. “Hello Rick. How are you?”

“He-hello? I'm um - I'm fine. I hope this - is this a-a good time?”

His usual soft, cheerful voice seemed reluctant, almost shy tonight. You always thought he sounded sweeter over the phone, and it just made you want to tease him a little. Leaning against your kitchen counter, you could not help but laugh. “A good time? It is now. So, what’s up? Other than the ceiling. ”

He chuckled at that and you were relieved he couldn't see you at this moment, for the warmth in your cheeks would take a couple of minutes to recover from. “Gosh," he started, "I-I-I-I-I was just wondering if y-you would like to come over. It’s almost time for dinner and I um - I finished cooking, but…”

“You cooked too much again?”

“Y-yeah.”

"You're going to go through all your groceries that way."

"I-I couldn't help it." he confessed. "This recipe called f-for a certain amount of ingredients, but then a-again I guess it's f-for multiple servings."

You heard him sigh, and the thought of his frowning face came to mind. So, this was simply to invite you to dinner: it didn't matter what he might've called you for; the answer was almost always yes. As of late, Rick had been cooking more than one person could eat at a time; you always did think it was odd that he'd cook in abundance, especially since he lived alone, but he'd blame it on old habits. However, it made you wonder if he was looking for reasons not to eat alone; not that you minded. Interrupting the silence, you commented. “Well, I guess I'll have to help you make it disappear then."

"Huh?" he brightened, "Is that a-a yes?"

"What do you think it means? Yes, that's a yes. Goodness," you giggled. "I'll see you soon.”

You hung up and rushed back upstairs to change. What a silly man you thought. Such a silly…but adorable man, who had so much room for kindness and doubt.

——————

It was lovely to see him, and to listen to what he'd call gossip but was only the latest development of the pigeons which had made a nest in one of his fruit trees. "Y-you gotta see how they've made their nest. Boy, it's - it's fascinating how they used s-some old magazine clippings and hair ties."

Touching his hand lightly, you wondered. "Do you have any pics of them that you can show me?"

With raised brow, he started. “Sh-sh-show you?"

"Yeah," You leaned forward a little, and smiled. "I want to see what you've been telling me about."

Without hesitation, he searched his labcoat pockets and retrieved his phone; scrolling through his gallery until he came across said pictures. "I-I-I-I took these a couple of - of days ago."

Your fingers lightly brushed his palm as you grabbed his phone to glance through the pictures; he had a good eye for angles and lighting, and from the looks of it, the pigeons seemed to be relaxed so he might've fed them first; how nice. "They're so cute. I can’t get over how fluffy they look."

Replacing the phone into his palm, he visibly tensed; your fingers had brushed his palm again. Now, the urge to allow your hand to linger there was strong and the thought of lacing your fingers with his had been tempting, but you did neither. You quickly withdrew, with a new sense of embarrassment over such thoughts. He wouldn't understand how you felt, because he didn't see you that way.

“How do y-y-you like them?”

Hiding behind your water glass, you answered. “Way more than I thought I would.”

_________

Rick was still eating, but not with the same vigor from earlier. You wondered if you had insulted him or something; he had been avoiding direct eye contact for a while. You were no reader of minds, so there was no telling of the feelings inside; of those senses which couldn't be touched. "Rick, is something wrong? Have I….. have I overstayed my welcome and you don't know how to tell me? Is...is that why you won't look at me?"

"N-no, that's not it."

"Then, did I hurt your feelings? I hope not."

He sagged a little in his seat, and he didn't answer, but he shook his head no. You thought back to earlier, and how you had looked at the pictures he took and called them cute, but other than that, you didn't say anything problematic. Was it because you asked? Maybe it wasn't.

It was easy to hurt his feelings being as sensitive as he was, and although it might've been against your better judgment, you reached out and touched the back of his hand. "Please talk to me. I don't know what I did, but I'm so sorry. I don't want you to be upset at me."

With widened eyes, he's gazed at your hand, then back towards you. "No, that’s not th-the problem."

"Then why are you so quiet all of a sudden? It isn't like you."

"It's because I…I'm s-s-sorry I talk so much."

"What do you mean? Where is this coming from?"

"It appeared as though y-you were getting tired of all my talking.” He started in an almost accusatory manner but must've realized how it sounded and continued with more calmness. “Gee, I-I didn't want to sour the evening, s-s-so I thought I should just sh-shut up."

"But I don't want you to do that. I love all your talking."

"R-really?"

His surprise at this pained you. How could he think that you'd tire of it and him? Maybe when you were thinking, he mistook it as disinterest. How could you show him you cared? You did what only seemed natural and squeezed his hand but he stiffened.

You realized that when he didn't answer right away, that the napkin he had been using had been dropped and was now on the floor; a faint blush dusting his cheeks and the tops of his ears. You didn't think that it'd be such a big deal to randomly touch him, but you thought it was sweet that he'd get flustered like that; if he wasn't so shy at times, you'd think there was more to it; if only there was. "It's fun hearing you talk.” You confessed. “I feel as though I have so much I can learn from you. So feel free to talk to me."

The relief that washed over him was palpable and he smiled warmly at this. It made your heart swell, and you withdrew your hand although it appeared that he wouldn't have minded. Still, you didn't want to upset him again with misunderstandings. "Y-you're a really nice person. It's - I'm glad t-to know someone like you."

You were glad too.

____________

"Anyway, it's interesting how they can take one man's trash and turn it into a home, but what could they do if given better materials?"

Taking a drink of water, he managed to recover a little. "I-I bet they could make a-a work of art if given the right materials. Wh-why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to know what you were thinking in that brain of yours. Must be interesting, especially with all the things you can come up with."

Yes, you did find the topic of pigeons fascinating but not as much as you found that toothy grin of his inviting. Having finished eating, you listened happily to his delightful little tales and knowings; watching as he'd start eating but then forget his food when he was at the peak of his explanation. He always did seem more cheerful when you were over and had so much to tell you when you were here, but you attributed that to the fact that he didn't have many friends. Though, you didn't mind his need for conversation; rather you enjoyed how random and easy it was to talk with him; his sweetness enriched your soul whenever he was especially happy and attentive in conversation. Handing him a new napkin, you teased. "I'm surprised you haven't made a mini-mansion type birdhouse for them out of whatever spare wood you have in the garage. Unless you already have. I bet it'd be all tricked out with a little warm birdbath and a small mirror so they can check themselves out, fluff their feathers and such."

"Gosh," he sighed, waving his fork a little as he ruminated on his thoughts before the beginnings of a boyish smile appeared on his lips. "did I already tell y-you about that?"

"No," you giggled; happy that your assumptions weren't farfetched. "but I took a wild guess."

He was that kind of guy after all; soft-hearted and fond of the living things around him; it was one of the many qualities that endeared him to you. You wished you could've taken part in its construction. "If you had told me sooner," you mentioned. "I would have helped. I could've helped painting it or something."

"Gosh, I thought y-you had other things to do so I…it wasn't a-a big deal. It was simply an um - an old man's hobby."

"It's just….it sounded like fun. I know it might not mean much saying this, but I would've enjoyed spending that time with you. Working side by side and discussing little details about it. I would…. You see, I love spending time with you."

It was only after you had said all that, in which you realized how easy it would've been to misconstrued. Sitting there, you resisted the urge to bury your face in your hands; wondering what was with you these days. Since when was it okay to get bold and be frank like that? Every so often, when you did say such things, you saw, for fractions of moments, confusion and more….as though he ought to say something; there were no tears and there never was, but you thought he seemed hurt; glassy-eyed and lost. Studying you, he opened his mouth to speak but closed it again; preferring to examine his napkin and tableware then to continue that thought.

He did this often, especially when you surprised him; for better or worse. Perhaps he didn't want to appear foolish, but whatever he could've said was interrupted by your sudden movement. You reached over for his empty dish and went over to the sink to begin on the dishes. However, he jumped up and insisted that you needn't help to clean, snapping out of whatever mood which might've overcome him a moment ago. You thought it was the least you could do; if you had been a decent cook you would've offered a meal in return, but it wasn't likely that it was going to happen. "Rick, you cooked so I might as well help you clean."

"Gosh, y-you don't have to do that. I was the one that invited you over. As th-the host, it's my responsibility."

"That may be true," you reasoned, feeling responsible for him in some way. "but you're always doing stuff for me, so I thought I'd stay and help for a bit."

"Huh? Wh-what?"

"Yeah. I mean what good are friends if you can't put them to work every so often? Besides," you quieted a bit as you scrubbed away at the baking pan. "I want to help you."

It's not like you were using this as an excuse to stay a little longer now. Right? Well, just a little. It was still early and you didn't want to go home yet. Grabbing a kitchen towel, he chuckled lightly. "Well, I-I guess I'll help y-you dry."

Standing beside you, his warmth radiated off him, and from this close, you could smell spices, a hint of vanilla, and motor oil? Perhaps it was the scent of his house, but it was comforting. Good thing you had the excuse of concentrating on scrubbing because otherwise, it would've been obvious on how affected you were by him.

_______

After you finished wiping down the counters, you checked the time and thought you'd be better off heading on home. Grabbing your keys you were ready to say goodbye, but he followed you to the door. "Are y-y-you going?"

Without facing him, you nodded. "I am."

"Then I'll walk y-you home."

"Okay."

In the past, you had told him that it wasn't necessary since you lived so close, but you came to enjoy those small moments of kindness; of his sincere care for your well-being that made the world a slightly easier place to live. The walk didn't take long since you only lived a few doors down, but it was lovely nonetheless. "Thank you for the food. It was really good."

Scratching the back of his neck, he answered. "I-I hoped you would. I um - I enjoyed y-your company."

"Me too."

You played with your keys a little, wondering why you should be so nervous. It's not like you two were dating; it's not like he'd even consider the possibility, but it was moments like this that made you hope and contemplate if you should just tell him. It was always on tip of your tongue; the words which begged to be said, but you weren't feeling brave yet. You needed more time; just enough to be ready for a change. There was no rush, but logic and feelings didn't coincide. "Rick," you started, unsure of what you were doing. "can I um….can I ask you something?"

"Y-yes! Of c-course. What's on y-your mind?"

Think of something you thought. "You'd tell me if you needed help, wouldn't you? I'm not talking about what we did this evening, but stuff that….like if you need help with your chores or something. I know you get busy sometimes and I'd hate it if you weren't all caught up on the latest news about your pigeons or if there were dishes that needed washing."

"Gosh, I-I thought I was doing f-fine with all that," he confessed. "but it - I'll be sure t-to let you know."

"Good, that's...that's good because I'm always happy to help you."

Gathering whatever foolishness which laid at the pit of your stomach and daydreams, you rested a hand on his arm and smiled up at him. "Rick, I'd do almost about anything for you….that is…if that's….. that is what friends are for, right? At least that's what I think."

Though, was that what you thought? Wasn't this just a roundabout way of saying you wanted to be around him more? Oh, if only he could understand. You knew it wasn't right to mislead him, but he never reacted the way you thought he should.

Glancing down at where your hand still laid, a wistful, almost sad quality passed across his stormy eyes before continuing. "Boy, th-that's thoughtful," he began, though as easily as a summer sky could change so did his words. "but I-I wouldn't want t-to bother you or take up your time with anything like that."

"That's the thing, it wouldn't be a bother at all."

This is where you thought you'd messed up, but you couldn't seem to keep quiet when he was involved. It felt as though you were trying to monopolize your way into spending more time with him; as though you were desperate to get him to be around you. "I mean, as a writer, I can just do my job whenever. So, you don't have to hesitate."

That familiar flit of sadness passed over his eyes again and you thought that maybe he pitied you because all you had in the world was yourself and a house you simply inherited. You didn't want to tell him you were lonely, because if you did, you didn't want him to think that it was the only reason you spent time with him; it'd break your heart if you hurt this sensitive creature, but you couldn't help yourself; it was your selfishness talking. True, you were making this more complicated than it had to be, but you didn't know how to fix that yet. "I just…I don't mind being around you more and hanging out. That's all."

Although, it might've not been as complicated after all for it didn't take much for him to lift up your moods. All he had to do was smile, and to pull you into his arms for a big hug. Did he know?

"Rick?"

Squeezing you a fraction tighter, he confessed. "Gee, it's - I-I appreciate your worrying a-about me," he started, his soft, warm voice brushing past your ear and giving you goosebumps. "but I can't - can't help but wonder why y-you look as though you could use a friend right now. Are you al-alright? Did y-you want t-t-to talk about it?"

Your fingers dug into the worn fabric of his sweater and you wanted to cry because he was so devastatingly kind, and you knew in that one moment it didn't matter how long you held on to him; he'd let you hold him for as long as you needed because he was great at empathizing. Little did he know it unraveled your heart every time. "You're right Rick, I do need a friend. I…I need...."

You; the word which refused to leave your mouth. His assumption filled in the blank. "You probably miss your dad on nights like this huh? It's hard t-to go home to an empty house."

That was partly true. "Mhm."

Rubbing your back, he sighed. "Th-there there. Everything is going t-t-to be alright."

Is it? Would it be alright? No, he didn't know or if he did, he ignored it. Though, like this, you could almost believe there was more to this relationship than… then being good friends.

With your face hidden in the softness of his sweater, held so sure and firm, with such strength that seemed unnatural for one his age, he was as you thought of him; as a man you held in the highest regard, beyond reason or doubt that you could love if…if it was appropriate. Why couldn't he stay that friend that you needed and why did you wish for more than this? Was this to be your punishment? To adore someone who made you happy but couldn't be more than society should allow?

"Will I be alright?" you confessed more to yourself than to him.

Squeezing you a fraction tighter, you felt him nod. "Y-you're young, so y-you will be."

That's right, you were young; too young for him. While you had been ready to beat yourself up for it, he continued in a voice that was above a whisper. "I'd like t-t-to help you if I can but only if y-you want me to. Is that o-okay? Do you want me t-to?"

You wanted so much, but more than anything you wanted what he was willing to give. Rubbing his back in a similar, soothing motion, you softened. "Please do."

Another sigh escaped him, but he continued to rub your back; the warmth of his hands and sounds of his breathing making you a little sleepy. You hadn't been checking the time, but you were sure that it had been a while. What you hadn't been sure of was what the neighbors were going to think if they saw you two in such a warm embrace at this time of the evening or anytime for that matter; you didn't care because this felt right. It was as though you could melt into him with how comforting it was. Who knows how long you must've held onto him, but eventually you heard him say softly, albeit oddly disappointed. "It's getting late and I-I should let you go. It's…and you…but y-you can always call me if you - if you can't sleep."

Glancing up at him, you wondered why it ever had to end. However, with reluctance, you pulled away, but only enough so that you could hold him a little longer. "You're right. I…I should go to bed. Thank you for the lovely evening, my wonderful… my friend."

And with that, you released your hold on him. However, if you hadn't known any better, the look he gave you was softer than his usual ones. Was…no…it must've been nothing. A trick of the dim porch light. Half hidden by the dark, he confessed. "Thank you f-for being my - for being my friend. It makes me happy t-to have you around. I'll um - I'll be sure t-to make myself more available to you if you need me."

Your heart ached with half affection, half guilt. You really were asking for so much you didn't deserve. "Oh Rick, I'd appreciate that."

For a quick second, you saw him stretch out his hand but just as quickly let it fall back to his side. Then, he stepped back and reminded you. "Don't forget t-to lock the door."

"I won't."

You opened your front door, and smiled up at him from your doorway, trying to channel all that you felt in a single word; knowing that was all you could do for now. "Goodnight."

Softening, he turned away quickly, mostly hidden in the darkness, and waved. "D-don't let th-the bed bugs bite."

Closing the door behind you, you barely made it to the couch before you began to cry. What were you thinking? Playing around with a lonely man's feelings and possibly confusing him. Could you ever get over him? Would your heart let you?

Wrapping your arms around yourself, you thought back to only minutes ago when you were secure in his arms, and you felt as though you belonged to him. And how your blouse smelled like him now or that his care for you was almost enough. Though, were his actions like that of a parent? You could only wonder. Though, if you couldn't get over him, couldn't you help change his mind?

When you had calmed a little and had time to change and get a drink of water, you found that you still weren't sleepy. It was late but before you could give it much forethought, you dialed his number and he picked up right away. "C-can't sleep?"

"Yeah."

"Me either. I um - I was thinking a-about what you said about th-the birdhouse. While it is built, and I'd painted it, I would be happy t-t-to have you over when you're available and help me make it pretty. Gosh, it's - it's only if you want to."

"That would be lovely. Too bad it's late because I would've come over now if you'd asked."

"Y-you see, that wouldn't um - tomorrow would be better."

"What's the matter? A little sleepover never hurt anybody." You teased.

Right away you heard a clatter and then a crack. Did he drop his phone?

"Rick? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I-I-I-I just - my phone had fallen."

"I see. Sorry for the bad joke."

“It's o-okay. Just surprised me is -is all.”

A chair scraped the floor, and you heard the click of either a pen or a small appliance. "I-I don't think I'll be able to sleep t-tonight but I won't keep you up with m-my thoughts. It'd get kind of boring for you."

"I mean, I am tired, but I don't mind listening to you for a while. Could you just talk? It can be about anything."

He sighed into the phone, and you heard paper. Perhaps he was flipping through a book. “I-I was thinking of reading, but my eyes are a-a bit tired.”

“When you do read, do you only read nonfiction?”

“I-I like to read a little bit of everything.”

“You do? Well, how convenient. I happen to have a bunch of books and if you'd ever like to borrow any of them, you're free to do so.”

“Boy, I'll have to take a-a look the next time I’m over. Hey, um - I do have a-a story you might enjoy. It has t-t-to do with how I came to have jasmine in my backyard. Would you like t-to hear it?”

Grabbing a pillow, you nodded. “Yes, I really would. Though, tell it slowly so that I don't miss a thing.”

With a chuckle, he began to explain, and you placed the phone beside you; careful as to not drop it as his sing-song voice twisted and curled about you in your lonely room.

Fin

#doofus rick #doofus rick x reader #rick sanchez x reader #j19z7 #j-19-zeta-7 #rnm #rick x reader #rick and morty #rick j19zeta7 #j19zeta7 #rick and Marty fanfic #rick j19z7 #ram fanfic #my fanfic #my works #my writing #rnm fanfiction

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kigozula · 4 years

Text

A Sokkla Fic inspired by the Story of Jake Long & Rose from American Dragon. Sokka finds out who is Love really is and an adventure is beginning. Will Azula and Sokka be able to live their love?

Chapter 4

He held the drawing in his hand all night long. Tired eyes, exhausted body, and an aching heart.

The drawing was a small thank-you-gift from Azula. A drawing of two hands holding each other. Since he received the beautiful gift, he wondered if those hands are supposed to belong him and her. He never dared asking but wanted to believe it was.

While he was still laying in his bed, the door swung open on the ground floor.

“Good morning Katara!” Haru waved at her.

“Good morning Haru, good morning Toph, Sokka is still in bed. Come in.” she let the two guests into the house.

Sokka felt his friend’s footsteps reaching his door. They entered his room and saw exactly what they expected.

"Hey, Water boy," he heard Toph saying "get up now! We need to go to our booth."

No reaction.

"Ehm, Sokka?" asked a slightly worried Haru.

"She left me!" Sokka finally replied. A theatrical expression on his face. "She left me guys, she is gone!"

His friends pulled him out of his bed, while he was half crying. Haru tried to be more understanding, but Toph just pulled Sokka on his foot so that he would drop on the floor.

After dressing up, the three friends were on their way to the celebration grounds. Toph grabbed one muffin for herself, as did Haru.

"I hope you're not angry Sokka, but they look too delicious." said Haru. "Want some?"

"No, thanks." replied Sokka.

"Dude, it is not his place to allow us to eat muffins. We baked them remember?" interrupted Toph while taking a huge bite of the muffin.

Haru gave her a meaningful look. "Toph."

They prepared their booth, and some people were already reaching to buy some of the delicious muffins. Sokka watched couples walking around. With his hand on his cheeks, elbows resting on the table and thoughts only of Azula.

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In the Tea Shop, Lu Ten still tried to find out why the portal didn't work. It made no sense. They made everything according to the recipe.

He saw two empty bottles and started fearing the worst-case scenario. He took the bottles in his hands and his fear became reality now. They accidently mixed up the bottles. Haru and Toph used the blue fire lily serum, while he and Sokka took their vanilla serum.

"No, no." he muttered. "Please, no. This is not good. This is horrible!"

The muffins were poisoned. A blue fire lily can cause health problems when mixed with substances it shouldn't come in contact with.

He grabbed all the ingredients for a new portal again and made his way to Sokka.

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Sokka looked at a muffin standing in front of him. It wouldn't hurt to eat one right? He barely ate anything today.

With a still bored and depressed expression on his face, he took the muffin in his hand and was almost about to take a bite. But Lu Ten reached on time.

"Stop! Don't eat the muffin under any circumstances!"

With a shock, Sokka threw away the muffin.

"Why, what happens then?"

"I know what happened Sokka!" Lu Ten was already out of breath.

"The portal didn't work because we used the vanilla serum instead the blue fire lily. Meaning the blue fire lily is in the muffins. Everyone who eats it, is going to lose consciousness over time. Which can lead to..."

Sokka’s eyes grew big with worry.

"Please tell me you didn't sell any?"

Yet the fear in Sokka's eyes betrayed Lu Ten's hope.

"Haru and Toph ate one. And we already sold some to people Lu Ten."

"Where are they?"

They took a look around and saw some people already falling down. Some people were already lying on the floor.

"What can we do now Lu Ten? I mean, it's all my fault! I shouldn't have made the portal in the same room as Haru and Toph were making my muffins." Sokka paled as he saw them lying on the floor too. Guilt took over him.

"Sokka this is no one's fault. Stop blaming yourself now." Lu Ten reassured him.

"Listen pal, I will mix another elixir and then we will make a new portal. This time right. There is still a little bit left from the blue fire lily. You will have to fetch the milk of a pink goat." he explained.

"Pink goat?" Sokka was a little confused with everything happening.

"Yes, a pink goat's milk is the only way to kill the toxic substances of the blue fire lily in a human's body. The problem is that a pink goat is impossible to find. But with the portal you can." Lu Ten already mixed an elixir while explaining everything Sokka had to do in order to save everyone who ate a muffin.

Everything was ready. This time Lu Ten threw the elixir into air.

Sokka closed his eyes just like yesterday. Only to call another name.

"Pink Goat" he muttered and opened his eyes.

A portal showed up in front of him. The portal showed a pink goat. Just as he was about to run towards it, a second portal showed up. With a confused look, he waited for the second portal to show something.

And he saw her. She sat on a bed, a book in her hands. The second portal would lead him to Azula.

This got to be a joke.

He made some steps towards Azula's portal and his face expression softened when he saw her closer.

Behind him, Lu Ten put a hand on his shoulder.

"Your tongue said pink goat, but it seems like your heart says something else Sokka."

Sokka turned his head to Lu Ten. His eyes teared up a little.

"No matter what your choice is Sokka, never forget, that I will be always on your side!" he told his friend with a warm smile.

Sokka looked around. Some people were laying on the ground. He couldn't be selfish now. This was cruel. But how right was it to go where his heart wanted to and leave all the innocent people, especially his friends who helped him to die?

He shot on last look at Azula's portal. A tear dropped from his eye.

"I'm sorry Azula. I am so sorry."

With that, he turned around and ran to the first portal. Lu Ten looked at him sadly. Then he saw the second portal vanish. He would never give up. Even if it seemed impossible, he would help Sokka to find Azula no matter what.

The day was chaotic, but it ended it positively. Sokka took a bottle full of milk from a pink goat. Everyone gained consciousness again. No one was harmed.

Only Sokka’s soul kept aching.

He was standing alone on the balcony of the tea shop. Azula's drawing in his hand.

What did today mean? Why couldn't he go to her? Was it not meant to be?

"Are you okay Sokka?" Lu Ten came next to him, looking at the drawing as well.

Sokka let out a deep sigh.

"Maybe everyone is right. Maybe it's time to let go." he said and lay the drawing down.

Lu Ten gave him a compassionate smile and took the drawing in his own hand now. Sokka knew exactly that he won't be able to get over her. Why should he?

"Does your heart tell you the same?" he asked him.

"No. No, my heart always wants her." Sokka replied.

"Then don't give up, Sokka." Lu Ten gave him the drawing back into his hand. "Don't give up as long as your heart doesn't let you. Listen to it."

Sokka looked up to him. Lu Ten has always been like an older brother to him. He never missed his support. Especially with the Azula situation, Lu Ten seemed to be the only one understanding and supporting him.

Sokka looked at the drawing again, and then to the sky.

"I will find you Azula. Wait for me Love."

Wasn't hope always there?

Not so far away, there were many young people training in a huge arena. Warrior cries were let out while they were moving in sync.

One young woman stood out in particular. She was at the very front in the middle of the first row.

Her movements and her beautiful face were just admirable.

The outstanding pretty eyes and that smirk exuded pure confidence. Azula was one of the Huntsclan's finest students. But what did her future look like? What did the Huntsmaster plan for her?

#sokkla #sokka #azula #lu ten #my love my enemy #kigozula #I don't know if I was able to show how emotional this chapter/episode was #but when I watched the original episode MY HEART BROKE #I felt so soooooooo sad for jake*-*#anyways this whole thing will have a happy end most likely(?)#but it will still get a little sadder=')

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meenah-chan · 4 years

Text

Quintessence

A Lucifer x MC's Over-protective! Sister fanfic

3.17k words

Genre: Angst

Trigger warnings: mentions violence, self-inflictions; read at your own discretion.

Chapter 1: click here

Chapter 2: click here

"If there's anyone who will understand her, it's you. So I'll leave her to you..."

"Don't touch me, you monster!"

Chapter 3

*scribbles scribbles*

" ...I could never forgive myself for what happened."

*scribbles scribbles*

"Let's just say that a drive to protect MC and a drive to live are two different things. And I've been searching for the latter to no avail." Lucifer sighs from the lack of focus on his work. Her words replays on his thoughts countless of times already. He couldn't seem to take her off his mind this past few days.

Since that morning, she acts like her usual self. It is a good thing. It is a good thing that his forceful interrogation didn't cause trouble.

He shouldn't bother dwelling on it anymore. He shouldn't be, but... Acting like nothing happened is far more disturbing... He combs his fingers through his locks, deep in thought.

"...fer... Lucifer!" A sensation on his shoulder brought him back to reality. "Are you okay?" His orbs, traces the hand atop his shoulder to the aquamarine eyes, observing him.

"...No, it's nothing. I was just thinking about something." He massaged between his brows.

"You should rest if your tired." Her worry shows between her brows.

"I'll finish this. We're almost done anyways... More importantly, do you have any concerns?"

"Ahh, I already finished my part. Please do check it." He picked up the papers she gave. Despite what happened, she actually continued helping him with his works, which made everything easier.

"Hmm, you did well. You may leave now. I'll take a break once I'm done."

"Then, how about having a tea? I prepared some cookies a while ago." She placed her palms atop his desk, as if persuading him.

"Cookies?"

"Yeah, as an apology and thank you gift." A light shade of pink tinted her cheek for a second didn't went unnoticed by the demon.

"Huh? Did you do something I'll get angry for once?"

"I just felt bad I doubt you when we first met. I even tied you with me in a pact. And I'm glad you and your brothers are there to keep my sister safe. Thank you." She smiled at him sincerely. The one he could only see her flash for her sibling.

"That's fine by me."

"Then, I'll be waiting by the garden." Once a thud of the door was heard in the room, another sigh escaped his lips.

It's reasonable she's always on my mind, I've been spending more time with her after all. And I have less work to worry about that she took over its spot... Propping his forehead on his clasped knuckles, he tried to make sense of his current sentiments.

"... Let's get this all done or the tea might get cold." He moves his hands to work faster. Spending a bit more time alone with her is not so bad anyways...

-----

Spending time alone with her is not the right term. As soon as he arrives at the garden, the rowdy bunch was already in there, surrounding a sizable table.

"Alexandria, I see you didn't inform me that everyone will be here." With twitching eyebrow, he held the teacup to his lips, trying to ignore the crunching and chattering noise.

"But I did say I want to thank you and your brothers so it's only natural that they are here." She casually sip on hers, sitting adjacent to the eldest.

"Alexa *crunch crunch* your cookies is *crunch crunch* so good." Beel grins beside her as he stuff his face with his share of cookies.

She shook her head. "I wouldn't say it's my cookies. MC and Luke also made that."

"But most of it is made by you. And we just followed your recipe." MC contradicts before stuffing a whole cookie in her mouth.

"Well, that's true... Oh, Beel, try this one. This is my favorite." She extended out a cookie cream tart towards him. Having both of his hands full of cookies, Beel ate directly off her finger.

"Hmm~!" Alexandria giggled from the blissful face the orange demon is making. "Your face is full of crumbs." She proceed wiping his cheeks with her handkerchief.

"..." Feeling as if two ominous orbs bore behind her skull she glanced back, confirming her suspicion. He's angry...

"Uhh, Lucifer. Here, have some more." She filled his empty plate with cookie cream tarts. He gaze at the plate before looking back at her.

"I'm good." Yeah... He's angry... I guess thanking him with everyone is a wrong move. I have graver offense to him than others after all.

"Ahh! How about some eclairs? I can make you one right now." She learned his preference a few days ago when he made a big fuss of Mammon eating his eclairs, and tried coaxing him to a good mood.

He stared at him for moment before replying, "Make it some other time." Coaxing failed... "It'll be made for me alone." ...or maybe not. She smiled.

"Hmph... Selfish demon." The seventh-born huffs.

"Are you saying something, Belphegor?" The eldest and the youngest brother glared daggers.

"Now, now... The tea will turn sour." Alexandria tried settling the tense atmosphere she just mended before it get worse.

"By the way Alexa, MC, they released the anime adaptation of 'The Great Detective from the Pits of the Underworld' today! Let's watch it after this." Amidst sitting beside the growling Belphegor, sparkles filled Leviathan's background as he enthusiastically spoke.

"No, Alexa is coming with me. She still hasn't finished briefing me of the best books she read on the human realm." Satan interrupted.

"Alexa~ I bought a new salamander hydrating mask. It's a must-try product! Let's use it right now!" Sitting across her, Asmodeus reached for her hand, completely ignoring the already-fighting otaku and bookworm.

I guess a peaceful afternoon tea is impossible with everyone. Bickers and commotion fills the big table, only to be interrupted by a buzz of a phone.

"...Yes! Oi Alexa! 'Ya see this?" Mammon waves the screen of his D.D.D. "I hit a jackpot! It says it'll increase my investment by tenfold in just 3 days if I register right away! I'll pay MC, just 'ya wait." He return his attention back on it and moves his fingers across the screen.

"Name... Bank account... Passco... Hey!" Just before he completed filling up the form, his device elevates off his grasp. Glancing behind, he saw the older female, his D.D.D on hand.

"What'cha doin'!?" He struggled snatching his D.D.D back only to fail.

"Fixing your mistake. You're one click away from being scammed, you idiot."

"Gimme back–"

"My bad guys. I can't tend to your requests right now. This idiot needs an Investment Crash Course."

"What?" "That's unfair!" "But... TSL..." Bickers and squabbles start flying everywhere yet again. But this time, it's all directed at her and the second-born.

"What a mess..." Lucifer sighed.

"Mess you say, Lucifer? You're the one to talk. You've been keeping her all to yourself." Satan glared at him. The eldest of the brothers just facepalmed as he watch the already rowdy garden went even livelier than before.

"Isn't she bizarre?" The little sister suddenly spoke beside him. "She's a charismatic, thoughtful and a wonderful person. Yet she still have no boyfriend... If only she became more open with anyone after me."

"Really?"

"Will you believe she pushes me away during our first meetings?" She laughed. "I was so young I have no much recollection but... I do remember I bugged her alot, and she suddenly go all mushy after some time."

"... She is caring and everything but sometimes I feel she's suppressing herself, like she's protecting me from something. Like, it's something I shouldn't know. She's similar to you, don't you agree?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Hmmp, tsundere."

"What did you just say?"

"I guess she won't reveal it to me, I'm her pure, beloved sister she'll protect to the end of the world after all. If there's anyone who will understand her, it's you. So I'll leave her to you, her demon and soulmate."

"Just so you know, having pact doesn't make her my soulmate."

"No, she is. She is alike to you in so many ways, you have natural affinity and you got along despite such repulsive first meeting. To top it of, you have that indestructible bond with each other. You are soulmates."

"..." With no rebuttal he stared at the young female. He then glance at Alexandria who is busy with the noisy bunch to hear what they are talking about.

An enigma she is. With more things MC mentioned him, he knew she won't leave his mind anytime soon.

-------

Basked under the crimson dusk atop a hill, two young girls sat a few feet apart another.

"Stop bothering me. I don't have plans of befriending anyone." radiating with annoyance, one of the girls interjects.

"But I want to. And I don't see any problems in doing so." The second girl shakes the spark off as if it's nothing.

"You wouldn't dare to, if you ever knew."

"Know... What... You mean, that..." The younger girl, point a finger not far from her direction.

As soon as the older girl whisked her head towards the direction, the sky, the hill... Everything melted into night.

The pavement blanketed with snow. The murky, ebony sky. The familiar, gaping door. A grip on her arm returned her attention to the girl with her. "Alexa, I'm scared."

And then a creak reverberated. "Wha... No! Don't look!" She pulled her, covering her eyes with her hand.

And as she suspected, it's the same scene as that night.

"Look, what do we have here." Taking the man's grip off the neck of his brother's lifeless body, he march towards her. "My beautiful, genius Alexandria. My protege."

"..."

"Oh my, look at that blazing blue eyes you got from me." Touching her face, caressing her cheeks with his thumb.

"Don't touch me, you monster!" She brushed his bloody hands from her and tried pulling the girl behind her, only to hold onto air. When she look back, the child was nowhere to be found. "Where...Ump–!" The man grabbed her face and forced her eyes on his.

"Monster you said? Don't forget you and I are the same. You inherited everything from me, that's why I kept you alive."

His eyes. His dead, cold eyes took her own, as if gobbling her whole. She felt like running away. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. She want to, but she couldn't. She just stand in there horrifiedly, in front of the monster that hunts her almost every single night. Her monster.

"Me, your monster? Don't make me laugh! Aren't you a monster yourself? After all you..." Alexandria's eyes snapped open. Breathless. Drenched. Beads of cold sweat trickles down from her skin as she sit up.

No matter how many times she was visited with the same nightmare, she will never get used to it.

Knowing she won't get another blink of sleep, she rise from the beddings. She left the room for the balcony of the planetarium, bringing with her a small container from her purse.

Opening the small case, she took out one of the white sticks and pressed it's tip between her lips. After lighting it, she took a deep breath and puff a cloud of smoke.

The smoke swirls in the bleakness of the night, together with her dreary thoughts.

"Can't sleep?" She flinched from the unexpected deep voice. She's too caught up inside her head that she failed to feel the man enter the balcony.

"Well, kind of."

"I admit, your surprised face is quite entertaining." Lucifer smirked as he moves beside her.

"Yeah, yeah. As long as you're happy." Alexandria scoffs.

"I never knew you're fond of things like that. That brand isn't even available here." He glanced on the ember on her hand.

"Not really. It's more of a ritual." Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "They say that a stick of a cigarette can shorten the human lifespan by 11 minutes, if you know what I mean." Lucifer's forehead scrunches in comprehension of her so-called 'ritual'. She only laughed bitterly at his reaction.

"Don't be so irked. Or would you rather see me full of cuts and holes?" She took another puff off the smoke.

"It's really a surprise you're still... alive." A lump he couldn't really explain blocked his throat for a second.

"It sure is. I've tried throwing it away countless of times already when I was young. Until MC came to my life."

"But MC said you really hated her that time. I don't see any consistency with your stories."

"Really?" She look faraway before glancing back to the demon.

"And I see you're more open with me than with MC, are you not?" He smirked playfully.

"What a chatterbox..." She glance away for a second. "Let me tell you a tale instead."

"Dunno. I just felt you'll understand and won't judge me. Maybe you're my soulmate?" Hearing the word from the person herself taken Lucifer aback, which then earned a chuckle from Alexandria. "... or maybe not."

"I'm scared I might taint her if she learn my past. I want her to grow without any fear and guilt, to mature the way she is." She paused as if hesitating if she'll continue with the story, but she carry on after a few moments.

"Long time ago, there is an annoying idiot in a form of a young philanthropist, much like her family. One day, she and her family plans a month-long stay in an orphanage for fund-raising and to help in any way. There she met a crazy psycho, who have failed attempts of suicide and plans to hung herself in the forest without any interference. Of course she never knew about her plan, she's a big idiot after all." Cool breeze blew on the balcony, taking the ash of the cigarette between her fingers.

"Day after day she bugged her, hindering her plans again and again and again until the crazy psycho got tired and postpone her plans until the night the annoying idiot leave the orphanage." Lucifer looked at her through his peripheral vision, earning a huff from the lady.

"Finally the day comes. Minutes after the annoying idiot left the crazy psycho on the hill, she was called by a stranger. Since she is a big idiot of an unsuspecting naive, she ate a candy from the man and lost consciousness. The crazy psycho witnessed this and convinced the man of bringing her too. She followed the idiot without thinking. Miraculously, she saved the idiot unscathed. The idiot left the orphanage safely. The crazy psycho was adopted not long after. And the two never cut ties with each other again. The end... Or not."

That's weird... "So you're telling me you chose to live because you save her? Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

"Not really. More like her naivety and recklessness girl made me want to protect her. I... just can't leave that angel alone on her own. Without any assurance that she'll be fine." A conflicted face reflects on Lucifer's eyes. He could saw nothing but a suffering person... a damsel in distress.

Does he empathize with her since they're in similar situation? Or is her sorrow contagious? Either way, he couldn't help but feel her sufferings. His eyes couldn't leave her form at all, watching every gestures she make.

"Is it really hard to forgive yourself of the things you didn't even do?" Extinguishing what's left of her smoke, she looked at him.

"It's easy, if I'm truly innocent, that is." She gave him a bitter smile. "I am not."

She faced him. "My father commit suicide after killing my mother and siblings... The stranger kidnapped MC and I, who is in the right age to identify him. How come we are able to leave unscathed?" A pair of jaded blue orbs met his.

"My father didn't commit suicide... That stranger also didn't let us leave like it's nothing... I took their lives with my own hands. I killed them."

"... You?"

"I stabbed my father with the knife he used to my family and the stranger, I strangled him to the head rest with the rope I'm supposed to be using to myself. And I dumped him with his car on a nearby cliff."

The moonlight shines on them, reflected by a single teardrop forming on the corner of her eyes. The wind brushed her hair gently as the single tear rolled down her rosy cheeks, never to be followed with another one. Bitter smile never left her face. Her skin is like a porcelain, pristine and unblemished. It was as if she was an angel... A fallen angel, with tattered wings like he is.

"I am... a monster." She took his breath away. He witnessed it. He is captivated by an unbearably beautiful creature.

Before he knew it, he already reached out, replacing the wind from caressing her hair.

She flinch from his touch, as if a bashful mimosa folding and drooping from a light stimulus. She is too vulnerable at the moment. Should he continue with such gesture, she might indulge with it. She shouldn't. A monster like her doesn't deserve such kindness. And thus, Alexandria chose to step away from him.

"I-I told you everything. Then, I'll be taking my leave." A hasty bow is followed by her brisk walking. She grabbed the knob. I need to leave.

He didn't know why but he felt it. Her flame is waning.

If he let her be by herself again, he never knew what she will do with herself next. What if the next time he saw her, she'll be full of cuts? What if she'll be so injured she won't be able to leave her room? What if... What if the next time he saw her, she's not breathing anymore?

But that's not possible. She won't leave her sister alone.

And then her words awhile ago flashed his mind."I'm glad I can trust you and your brothers are to keep my sister safe. Thank you I could be at ease."

That's not only as an apology or gratitude. She's... entrusting her sister with us and planning to die soon?

A loud thud echoes off the balcony as the door return to its frame. She didn't close it. He did, as he wrap his free arm around her.

A bloody Alexandria. Pale. Cold. Lifeless.

That's not gonna happen. I won't permit it. I need something to suppress her from her self-destructive tendencies... Something concrete. Anything...

"...you have that indestructible bond with each other."

... I see...

"Let it be me..." The words left his lips. That's his answer, their indestructible bond— the pact that bind their souls together.

"W—What do you mean?" The confusion and and perplexity in her eyes didn't stop him. If he stop right there, tomorrow she might be there no more. It's now or never.

" Alexandria, I'll be your reason for living."

-------

It took so long ( like, reaaaally long (๑°౪≦)ゞ) but I posted it at last heehee. I revised it like tons of times until I'm satisfied. (I also did two short reads along with this cuz inspiration and it'll be a waste not to write it (~￣³￣)~

I learned my lesson. If I don't wanna rewrite the story, I should fix it until I'm satisfied or it'll pile up and It won't leave the back of my mind as ling as I haven't fix it.

And I never thought it'll be this long (maybe there's 2 chapters more)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

MASTERLIST

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spencers-dria · 4 years

Text

Maybe, Just Maybe

Someone To Stay Ch. 5

Spencer x Fem reader

Content/Trigger warnings: a little bit of body image issues

Spencer POV:

It's been a few days since I hung out with Y/N. I'm truly glad she was the one I got to go with. I feel like we might have a lot in common, and she's easy to be around. For a little while, I almost forgot about everything that happened...about her. The next day the thoughts came sinking slowly back in, but they don't feel as debilitating as they used to. Maybe Derek was right, getting out, being around people, it may not be easy for me but it may be what's best. Maybe I should try to get out of my comfort zone a little. I want to get better, I do. But being social, well it's never been my strong suit, and to try to do it now, when I feel so emotionally vulnerable, it's particularly difficult.

Other than the dinner at Rossi's, my friends haven't been inviting me out as much as they used to. I'm pretty sure they got tired of the inevitable rejection. I want them to see that I'm trying, that I want to do better, to get better. Maybe if I reach out first...

I grab my phone to call JJ. She's like a sister to me, and she's been the best at trying to understand what I've been going through.

"Hey, Spence!" She sounds surprised but glad to hear from me.

"Hey, I was uhh.. well I was just wondering..." my words trail off as I find myself suddenly losing confidence in my endeavor.

"Yeah, what's up?" Her voice has a calming effect on me.

"Well...I was wondering if the team had any plans this weekend? To hang out or...I don't know."

"Actually we don't. But we should! I think I have an idea. There's something I've been wanting us all to do. There's a Lakehouse up for rent, and I think it would be fun if we all went up for a weekend. What do you think?"

I'm not very into outdoor activities, but the idea of reading on a porch by the lake sounds incredibly calming and therapeutic. It also sounds like a good time for me to start hanging out with the team again.

"You know, that actually sounds perfect." I smile at the thought of the much needed weekend getaway.

"Perfect! I'll text the group! Thanks for giving me the nudge to set this up, Spence. It'll be fun."

I hang up and shortly after I hear the familiar ding from the group message chat.

BAU Baddies😎

JJ💖: Hey guys! Who would be down for renting a Lakehouse this next weekend?

DM🍫⚡️: Hell yeah! @ahotchner you know what that means?? Jet Skis baby!! 😜🤙🏻

AB🌹: How fun! Count me in.

DR🇮🇹: I'll cook! I have a new recipe we can try out. I think you'll all love it👌🏻

PG🦄👸🏼: @jjereau @ablake We HAVE to go swimsuit shopping first, ladies! This is a non-negotiable.

AH: Sounds fun, are we bringing the kids this time?

JJ💖: Actually, Will is staying home and he'll be watching Henry. Jack can spend the weekend there, if you'd like. @ahotchner

AH: Thanks. I think I'll take you up on that offer.

DM🍫⚡️: @sreid you better be coming pretty boy, just bring a couple dozen books and you'll be set.

SR♟: Yep, already packing.

I smile to myself, thinking of how for once, I'm the reason we have plans. But if anyone else knew that, I'd never hear the end of it. I knew JJ was being intentional when she didn't mention that to the group. I hear another group chat alert and glance at my phone.

BAU Baddies😎

JJ💖: Hey, is it alright if I invite Y/N again?

AB🌹: Oh I thought that was a given! You definitely need to! She fits in with us so well.

PG🦄👸🏼: You better! Or I won't let you hear the end of it 😂

JJ💖: Great! Thanks you guys, it means a lot that you've been so welcoming to her.

Y/N will be there. Maybe I'll have a friend who will hang back and read with me. It would be nice to not be the only one. Then I remember what she said about moving here because she loves the outdoors. That means she'll probably be hanging out with Derek, JJ, and whoever else. Oh well. At least maybe I'll get to talk to her more. I decide to text her. I never really text anyone, but she doesn't know that.

Y/N

Hey, it's Spencer. I heard JJ

wanted to invite you to the lake.

Do you think you'll go?

Yeah! I just got off the phone

with her. I can't wait! Are you

going?

Surprisingly...yes. I'll be bringing

some books along to pass the time

but it'll be nice to have a change

of scenery.

Books??? We'll see about that😉

I love a good book as much as the

next bibliophile...but this is a

weekend for things you CANT

do at home. Anyways, would you

want to carpool? We can take turns

driving if one of us gets tired.

Passenger is in control of snacks

and music! 🎶🍿

Haha, ok deal. We'll work out

the details later. And...thanks :)

Anytime Spencer, can't wait! 👍🏻

I lean back into the couch and smile. Even if we spend the weekend doing different things, at least we'll get to talk on the way there. I feel like she could become a good friend, but I don't want to make any assumptions...I don't do this often.

Y/N POV:

You run around your room, packing for a trip that's days away. You're too excited, it can't wait. Just as you're trying to decide on a swimsuit you get a text from Penelope, saying that the girls are going swimsuit shopping this evening. They want you to come. You can't hide the smile growing on your face. How long has it been since you've been on a girls shopping trip? You can't even remember. It's spontaneous, so you assume no one will be too dressed up. You throw on a black sleeveless t shirt dress and some strappy sandals. Easy enough to get in and out of for trying on clothes. After brushing through your hair and applying some quick, light makeup, you're ready to go. The girls had decided to meet at the mall, for the most options.

You meet up with Aunt JJ, Penelope, and Alex outside of a nice department store.

"I figured we could start here. It has the most options and it's at the end of the mall. So we can work our way down, until we all find something."

Aunt JJ tends to take charge. She's such a mom, but that's part of what you love about her. Always prepared, caring for everyone. Alex found a cute one piece with a wrap to wear as a skirt. Penelope picked out a cute pink and purple polka-dotted swim dress. JJ ended up with a sports-bra fitting bikini top and some athletic looking swim shorts. Still such a typical mom. The only one left is you. You haven't tried on very many things, and what you did try on, never made it out of the dressing room.

"Y/N, why don't you let us pick you out some things to try on, and this time, you have to at least let us see. Deal?" Penelope gives you a look of encouragement.

"Sure" you shrug. "I'll try anything at this point."

Alex stays with you while JJ and Penny go to pick out some swimsuits for you. They return with a few handfuls of options. You try on the first option, picked out by Penny. It's a cute two piece, frilly and pink. You come out and are greeted with a few giggles.

"As cute as this is, I think it's more your style than mine, Penny" you let out a small laugh.

"Oh I know. I just wanted to see you in it! I couldn't pull it off in a thousand years!" She laughs.

"Alright alright, let's keep going." JJ ushers me back into the dressing room.

I come back out in a black two piece. It doesn't show too much skin to make me uncomfortable, but it's really flattering on my curves.

I hear a chorus of "ooooo" and one "yes queen!" that I'm sure came from Penny.

"Really, you guys? It's not too...ya know."

JJ shakes her head at me. "No definitely not. Girl, you're single, you're in your twenties, your body hasn't had a child yet. If you got it, flaunt it. If not now, then when?"

The girls all nod in agreement. You blush. You didn't know you could look this good in a swimsuit. You usually avoided bikinis. You found it hard to feel comfortable in your own skin. Whenever you tried to dress sexy, you just ended up feeling awkward and uncomfortable. It helps to have some friends to encourage you. You look at yourself in the mirror one last time. Okay, even you had to admit, you look hot.

The four of you end the day with lunch, chatting about your plans for the lake.

JJ turns to you. "Y/N, I almost forgot, do you need a ride down there? I can pick you up, if you'd like."

"Ohh uh, no actually. I'm carpooling with Spencer." I give her a shy smile. I know what this looks like. "We're just friends" I quickly interject.

"That's great" she says, giving me her warm smile. "Spence really needs a friend right now. And I bet you do too." There's understanding in her eyes. You're grateful that she didn't try to make more out of it. Aunt JJ knows you, though. She knows you make guy friends much more easily. That aside, you were still so grateful for the day with the girls. They were all so genuine, and easy to get along with. They didn't make you feel like an outsider intruding on their day.

Later that evening, you lay in bed as you try to quiet your mind. Your head is swimming with too many thoughts to fall asleep: anxieties about this weekend, but also excitement and ideas of what you'll do. Not to mention, more time to get to know Spencer better. You wonder what JJ meant when she said Spencer really needed a friend right now. Maybe, just maybe, you'd break through his walls a little more this weekend.

A/N: sorry this one is short-ish. It's kind of a transition chapter so there's not as much content! Building a base, building friendships, hang with me, we're getting there 😁💖✌🏻

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shinyrockalaska · 4 years

Text

December birthday party

I planned to post it on December 22 but i forgot... Either way, here's a fanfic in honour of Charlie and Rowan's birthdays that are in December.

Summery: Mc and the friends are throwing a birthday party for both Rowan and charlie

Word count: 1.8k

"Listen up, everybody! Charlie's birthday was last week and- I always forget the exact date, but- Rowan's birthday will be soon since it's close to Christmas! We've gotta get going!"

"With what exactly?" Asked Jae. He was always suspicious with whatever plans MC came up with.

"With the surprise party, of course!" They said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We need to decide on a theme, place, time, the people we'll invite, who's in charge of the decorations and cake and snacks.. so pretty much, everything."

"We've still got like, almost a week to prepare everything.." Tonks complained. MC gathered all of them right before bed time and she wanted to go to sleep already.

"Anyone have any ideas for a theme?" MC continued.

"Toads!" Tulip yelled.

"Bowtruckles!" Barnaby chimed in.

"Fashion. It should definitely be about fashion." Andre added.

"Hmm.. cowboys..?" Talbott suggested.

MC did a face-palm and groaned, "no, no, no, you just proposed things you like. We need to think what Charlie and Rowan like!"

"Dragons and books, then," said Penny hesitantly.

"See, that's much better," MC agreed, "maybe dragons and trees? Or just.. fire?"

"It'll be lit!" Tonks snickered.

"Great! So who wants to be in charge of the decorations? It has to be fire themed!" MC continued

"I guess.. me? I'm already experienced, after the celestial ball.."

"I can help," Chiara and Liz said in unison.

"Perfect! Now let's decide on a time and place.. I think we can do it on the 22 of December.. any ideas for a place?"

"The Gryffindor common room," said Jae.

"The duelling club!" Diego added.

"The artefact room.." Ben tried to suggest.

"Seriously, guys! Don't propose places you like! How about the three broomsticks? Then Bill can come too, and we'll have butterbeers."

"Yes! And I can get more sweets from honeydukes," Tulip volunteered.

"Jae, I put you in charge of the cake," MC told him, and he tried to oppose, "why me? Can't Penny do it? Or literally anyone else?"

"After years of detention in the kitchen, I think you'll do great," they winked, remembering their adventure together, when they tried new recipes for Hagrid and Jae turned to be really good at cooking and baking, but made them promise not to tell.

"Fine," he murmured in respond.

"Can we go to sleep now?" Ben asked the question everyone wanted to ask.

"Not yet, we just have to decide on the most important thing.. how and who will keep Charlie and Rowan busy while we prepare everything, and then bring them to the three broomsticks?"

"You? You're the best at stalling, no offense," said Andre.

"I'll take that as a compliment.. alright, everyone knows what they're responsible for?"

"Yes.." they all groaned, wishing to go to sleep already.

"So don't forget.. we're meeting up in the three broomsticks in three days! I won't be there because I'll be with Rowan and Charlie so, Penny, I'm putting you in charge of making sure everything goes as planned, goodnight!"

There was a sound of tired whispers as they all walked back to their dormitories, aside from MC, who went straight to the owlery, to write and send a letter to Bill, asking if he could pass by for Rowan and Charlie's surprise party.

The next three days passed fast and strangely enough, uneventfully, except for that one time Ben almost exposed the plan.

Finally, the 22th of December has arrived, and at 4pm, when the rest of the group got together at the three broomsticks to prepare everything, MC walked with Rowan to meet Charlie at the library.

"You sure I'm the right study partner?" Charlie asked with honesty, "I'm not really good at studying.."

"Nonsense! You're my best friend, of course I'd rather study with you no matter what!"

"I thought I was your best friend?"

"You're THE best friend, Rowan. Everyone else is just my best friends, without THE.."

"Yeah, I'm not sure about that.."

"Anyway.. let's study!" MC shouted, causing Madam Pince to threaten to kick them out. Charlie still didn't felt like studying, he and Rowan exchanged looks, before Rowan spoke up, "But, we don't have any exams? Why would you want to study all of a sudden?"

"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."

"Quoting Rowena Ravenclaw won't help you get away without an answer!"

MC stood up, with their hands still on the table, and said, "you know, I just realized I never saw the both of you at the quidditch field... isn't that weird?" MC smiled nervously.

"I watch all of yours and Charlie's and Andre's matchs, what are you talking about?" Rowan tilted their head, the way they always do when they're confused. Which happens frequently around MC.

"But I never saw you together! You have so much to talk about, I mean, Charlie's an expert in quidditch and you're an expert of trees.. don't you want to talk about it?"

"That's a strange topic to discuss.." Charlie mumbled, "and the quidditch field is taken for one of the teams practice right now.."

"But if you insist," Rowan continued, "we can go around and look for broomes.."

"Wha- no! We can't! Because.. I umm.. promised Ben I'll help with that thing uh-"

"We saw him leaving the castle on our way to the library," said Rowan, "he said he's going to buy a new quill."

"Uh, right. I forgot. Do you want to help me pack my bags then?"

"I thought you're staying in Hogwarts for Christmas like always?" Rowan smiled, and MC panicked, what if they somehow know about the party?

"It still shouldn't be messy, and you know how my side of the dorm looks like, hehe.."

"I'm sorry, what's happening?" Charlie had zoned out half of the conversation and was now confused.

"Just MC acting mysterious all over again.." Rowan stared at mc with a suspected look.

"Aren't they always, though?" He shrugged.

"You know me.. the mystery of Hogwarts," MC laughed nervously.

Rowan and Charlie again looked at each other and then at MC, who still giggled.

"Anyway, do you need help packing, Charlie?"

"No, It's fine, I already did! I'm really excited to go back home and see my parents and Ron and Ginny again, and of course Bill! And the best part is I'll get so many presents! Christmas presents and birthday present, what can be better than that?"

"Yeah it's so nice your birthdays are close to Christmas, isn't it?" MC said, finally stopping Rowan's suspicions. "It is!" Rowan cheered, "I get to celebrate both Christmas and my birthday at home in the tree farm with my family! I miss mum and dad and my brother of course! He suppose to go to Hogwarts next year, isn't it exciting??"

"You have a brother? How come you never mentioned it?" Charlie wondered if he somehow missed this piece of information about his friend.

"Yes, and you'll meet him next year, I hope!"

"With your brother, Penny's sister and my brothers we'll have so many younger siblings here next year!"

"It's going to be a challenge," MC snickered, "I mean, we can barley keep them out of trouble now.." They all laughed, because it was true.

"So what time is it?" MC asked when the laughs faded.

"4 and a half.. why? Are we in a hurry?" Rowan asked.

"No no, I just remembered I told Ben- I mean, Penny, I'll meet her at the three broomsticks at 5 so.. hehe.." they chuckled.

"Why don't we just go and wait for her there, huh?" Rowan smiled mischievously, and MC gulped nervously.

"Rowan, you're too smart for this world," they patted them on the back, "let's kill time with a game of gobstons instead, okay?"

"Fine," Rowan finally gave up on trying to discover what MC is hiding from them.

They all walked to the courtyard and played gobstons for a while, just laughing and smiling until their stomach ache.

"Is it 5 already?" MC asked after a while, right before Charlie's turn.

"5 and a half actually," said Rowan, and before they could say anything else MC shouted, "what?! It's been a hour already?!"

"Time does fly when you're having fun.." Charlie mumbled, while thinking what can be the right move.

"We have to go! Now!"

"At least let me finish my turn!" Charlie whined as MC dragged with him and Rowan.

"Why do we even have to come with you to your meeting with Penny?" Rowan asked when they were near honeydukes.

"Well you know.. because.. it's just.. you see-" MC stalled, trying to earn some time while they're getting closer to the pub, "just get inside, alright?"

Rowan glared at them with one last suspection look as Charlie entered the pub without a doubt.

"Surprise!!!"

The friend's usual spot at the three broomsticks was filled with people. Friends, to be accurate. There were two dozens glass of butterbeer on the table, with a diverse selection of coulorful candies. The celling was decorated with paper dragons, flying around, roaring quietly, surrounded by trees, and you could notice some tiny paper books flying around above with brooms on their side, as well.

Rowan looked as if they were about to faint and Charlie was too ecstatic to talk.

"Wha- it's so- I-" Rowan eyes were filled with tears of joy, they never thought they'd have so many caring friends who would want to throw a birthday party just for them.

"This is so cool!" Charlie shouted, "are those dragons?!" He looked at the celling with an excited look.

"Just wait until we get home for Christmas.. mum's going to cry and hug you so much," Bill laughed, "seventeen is the most important age!"

"You can do magic!"

"You can apparate!"

"You're practically an adult!"

Everyone laughed and cheered. Rowan and Charlie were so far from being like all the adults they knew. They didn't changed much from that sweet anxious behavior they had in their first years at Hogwarts.

Bill raised his glass of butterbeer, "to Charlie, the best brother and the greatest quidditch player and the most dragon-excited person we know!" He laughed.

"And to Rowan!" MC snatched the glass of butterbeer out of Bill's hand, and raised it as well, "the best friend anyone could ever have. The loyal, ambitious, kind and smartest person I know!"

"Whooooohoooo!" Tonks applaused and they all drank their butterbeers and started to chat with each other.

Maybe it was the butterbeer, or the heat inside the pub, or maybe it was the fact that all their friends were together with them in one place, just laughing and smiling, happy for their friend's birthdays.

Whatever it was, it made both Charlie and Rowan feel warm inside.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #rowan khanna #charlie weasly #jacob's sibling #hogwarts mystery fanfic #hogwarts mystery fanfiction #birthday #penny haywood #bill weasley #hphm fanfic #hphm fanfiction #hphm fic

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fictional-worlds-are-exquisite · 4 years

Note

i am very much enjoying my vague void! it's currently blasting hozier at full volume and that's almost louder than my internal screaming (don't worry, everything is fine, i just saw a spider)

i've never once in my life have followed a recipe correctly. all of my measurements are completely random and whatever happens happens. it is no longer in my hands. whatever eldritch entities exist take the wheel. and i absolutely refuse to spell anything in english without autocorrect because y'all have way too many double letters and random vowel placement

thank you! sadly, i won't have a break right now, because we just had christmas vacations, but the start of the new semester is always pretty chill. and you're absolutely right, i should take up necromancy! the snow and the cold will add to my mysterious vibes. i just need to get a big black cape with a hood to complete the aesthetic

i definitely picture everything above 5'6 feet as the same height. 5'7 and 6'2? the exact same thing. no difference here

how is morepork a real bird name. it's just... more pork? but the bird is magnificent. i completely approve of your first order as bird queen, not that you need approval from mere peasants like me, but it's a great order. ohhh salps look really cool, and it does look a lot like it! when you said boob implant i thought of mermaids and them using salps as boob implants but then i realised wait wouldn't jellyfish be better for that? because of their shape? ignoring their little leggies they're quite boob shaped, no? and then i realised that i was thinking about mermaids and alive boob implants... if i had to think it, you have to read it. i'm sorry

i was sold before but now i'm even more sure that i want to hire you. and I'll make sure to have lactose free cheese for the backflips (unless you want the lactose version? i'm not judging). will the biting of ankles cost extra?

that sounds like a brilliant set-up for a horror movie where they kill off all the children one by one. it's absolutely horrifying. if something like that would've happened to me i would've most likely just passed out. whatever happens afterwards is not my problem. and now i really don't want to know what the hell your leg was caught on because that seems like knowledge that would get me killed

ah so you're a fellow dirt eater? according to my mom my favourite thing to do outside when i was a little kid used to be eating sand. just shovelling handfuls of it into my mouth and crying when my mom made me spit it out. which i refuse to believe. if there are no photos it didn't happen

you warm climate people are starting to make me think that i'm better adjusted to the cold than i thought i am! it's either that or our buildings are better heated. i definitely don't know if anyone else calls hot water bottled hotties but i like it so from now on i'm using it

that's so cute! i was clearly a way more selfish child because when i found any amount of money i just kept it and bought candy as soon as i could. i clearly couldn't save money then and i can't now. we have stores like that (or i'm assuming that they're like that solely based on how they sell lollies) and they used to be my favourite thing because you could get so many lollies for such a small price!! and my mom even used to let me order for myself sometimes so i always felt like a very big girl jsjshsbsjk

also the fact that i can't send pictures on anon is a crime (yes i know why and it's good that that's not possible because can you imagine anons being able to send pictures? oh no is all i have to say about it) but anyways. because i have this one super cursed photo that reminded me of you and now i can't share it :((

duuuuude, sick void bro. sounds like a vibing void. I feel like I haven’t seen a spider in awhile. Other than daddy long legs. But they’re chill. They mind their own business.

I nearly always follow recipes exactly. My mum is like oh cook this for about 7 minutes? Yeah sure. I’ll take a wild guess. I’m like they say exactly 7 minutes so I’ll set a timer for 7 minutes and start a stopwatch so if it does seem to need more than 7 I can keep an eye on the extra time and be aware of exactly how long it takes me for next time. Other people are like oh let's see I have [lists 5-10 things in their fridge], hmm...oh I know what I could make with that! I’m like I have beans in my freezer because one recipe required them and no other recipes I know how to make do so what am I supposed to do with these now,,, this is stressful,,, basically I barely know how to cook and recipes are the only things saving me in that area. That is entirely fair. Except for the fuck duck, and murder is not the word you want surely, situations, it’s pretty helpful.

Ohhh I see. At least the start is chill! For a little! Before your entire situation spirals out of hand and you’re behind in every class and it’s taken you a whole day to read 10 pages and you’re exhausted and it’s only week 2. Just me? ok. fair. anyway. I want a cloak so bad. One of my uni friends tempted me to class because she said she was wearing a cloak so my depressed ass honest to god dragged myself out of bed and to said class just to see it. It was worth it. They’re incredible. Everyone should own a big cloak for the aesthetic.

I’m glad it isn’t just me hahaha. I can visualise my own height in feet but everything else is just the same size that is a vague amount taller than me, mentally.

It’s also known as the ruru. But the name morepork amuses me. It’s named after the call it makes haha. It does sound like it’s asking for more pork if you know to listen for that. thank u for ur approval, it means a lot, turns out becoming bird queen didn’t ACTUALLY get rid of my anxiety disorder weirdly enough so validation is great! lmaooo. What if the jellyfish stung them tho? At least salps wouldn’t do you dirty like that. The mermaids would just look like there are hundreds of bugs crawling around in their boobs, flesh shifting as they float around. Which is a vibe. If you’re into that. Jellyfish WOULD make a more solid, single, implant, some of them are definitely boob shaped. But that’s kinda boring no one’s gonna be traumatised by that. Salps on the other hand...yeah, that sight will DEFINITELY traumatise someone.

To be PERFECTLY honest I haven’t done a backflip in years but for lactose-free cheese? Dude. I’ll be going back to training. Gonna be the best backflip you’ve ever seen. As long as it’s not Tasty cheese I am content, but lactose free IS better. The biting of ankles will not cost extra, it is a pleasure to be allowed to do that.

Oh it absolutely would be. It’d be very funny if it reached the wider world bc people would probably be like ok but who would send kids into the bush like that,, it’s an odd concept. meanwhile everyone who grew up in nz is gonna be like y’all, you’re not gonna fuckin BELIEVE what i experienced growing up, it’s real dude. On one hand, I feel like murdering kids in a movie is questionable, on the other hand, It exists, so maybe people would be down for it. I feel like it’d be a good concept even if it wasn’t murdery tho. Like psychological horror? I’m not sure if I’m using that category correctly I don’t watch much horror. A kid following the rope but then being shifted into a different horror dimension but they never take the blindfold off because their teachers said not to and they’d probably have to let go of the rope to do it...I feel like this could work super well as a short film. The viewers see everything. The child just knows something is off and no one is coming when they call for help. I am so down for this. I also do not want to know what my leg was caught on. Some things I am better off not knowing.

yes! I am a fellow dirt eater! We had a sandpit at home (that’s a little bold. It was a large plastic shell that my parents filled with sand. technically a sandpit. but not fancy sdflsdkfsdf) but I don’t think I ever tried to eat it. Then again, I possibly did and just don’t remember because there’s no photo evidence of that one. I’d have to ask my parents sdfhsjdfs, I would however fully believe them if they said yes. it’s very characteristic of me. I don’t doubt it for a second. muuuum that’s my emotional support sand don’t make me spit it out smh the disrespect these days.

Oh I’m absolutely terrible even by most people’s standards around here when it comes to cold and hot temperatures. I remember sitting in the sun in my school shirt and school jersey in summer on a blazing day like it’s a bit chilly, isn’t it? Meanwhile my friends were in the shade absolutely dying from the heat. Likewise in winter I’d be shivering, teeth chattering, dying with my long sleeve thermal, my school shirt, my school jersey, my school jacket, my longs, warm socks and sneakers and gloves and school scarf while ppl would be walking around in a shirt and shorts like it’s a bit warm this winter huh? my body didn’t learn how to thermoregulate and it shows. But yeah NZ does also have a reputation for shittily insulated buildings and such. It shows. skhdfsfs if it’s not common use maybe don’t say can i have a hotty to someone without context but otherwise go ahead lmao. it’s a fun shortened version.

I was typically a very good saver, to the point where my extended family started gifting me gift cards and vouchers for Christmas and my birthday because if they just gave me money I’d put it in my bank account to save towards uni once I hit like, 12 years old. Which I think was a smart move. But apparently, I’m supposed to buy myself ‘something nice’ with it. I think I’m still an okay saver but I’m not as strict anymore. I’m aware of how much I can spare and I’m not just like you can never get anything for yourself ever, so I do get lil things for myself sometimes. oooo yay! At least you know what I mean. But yes. They were the gold mine for lollies. Absolutely terrific stores. My mum would be like hey lindsey how about you order? And I’d be like mother, I am 7 years old and I have an undiagnosed anxiety disorder everyone assumes is child shyness why would you think I would want to do that. Instead I will whisper my choices to you. After therapy tho I felt pretty rad for picking my own lollies by myself. I was like 13 at that point but sdfkjhsdf listen I got there in the end.

sdfkjsdfkjhsdf I like that a cursed photo reminded you of me. That’s all I need to hear. Tumblr said no anon dick pics but they also said no anon cursed photos either,,, very sad. for the latter part. the first part thank god. If I could turn on photos on anon I absolutely would just to see this but I don’t think I can :(

#tasty cheese is nasty and i will die on this hill #i'm not sure if other countries have like the same main cheeses or if it differs everywhere #tasty. colby. and edam are the main three i think of #i know there's like mild or some shit but i know only the blue yellow and red packets #either or a wasp or a bee just flew in my room but it flew out so i'll respect that #my plans for today were reply to your ask and that's it #what am i supposed to do for the next twelve hours #oh wait i know #m u r d e r............#Anonymous

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euphoriacrossing · 4 years

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Why couldn't more focus could have been placed on the cherry blossom festival?

I am so sick of eggs. Really I never liked them but I tried to tolerate them and just... no. I finished making all the DIYs and I have no use for any more eggs yet it goes until the 12th.

The cherry blossom stuff is so difficult to collect I've spent HOURS attempting to and I still only have part of the recipes. I am missing at least two I really want, the clock and the wand, oh and the pile of petals I want too. And then I'm missing few others as well not even sure what they are. I did get the umbrella which I wanted and the little purse which I didn't even know was one you could get but I love it. And the thing is, despite it being difficult I am still having more fun with it than I did with the "Bunny Day" event and that goes on two days longer and has such a big focus compared to the cherry blossom stuff. I don't know why, really.

But anyway, yeah, I am pretty much doing the same thing as last night now. Wasting time and then checking the right beach on minutes that end in 0 or 5 for the regular balloons. It's been working pretty well I suppose, but it still takes a bit so I have to find some way to pass the time in between minutes.

Euphoria is getting better everyday. Today I was able to give Marina's house a fenced in yard and I prepared to move Biff's so I can do the same for him. I built the cherry blossom lanterns and put them at the entrance to my outdoor bath and they look pretty nice in the moonlight I think.

Wart Jr. is moving out! In exchange for Coco who I am excited to have join the Euphorian Club. I hate to be one of those people who kicks out ugly villagers just for being ugly, but I mean, the thought of warts makes my skin crawl. And these games are supposed to be enjoyable and if this is how I enjoy the game then this is how I'll play it.

I still have to pick who I want to invite next, because I have 3 I definitely want to move out and as much as I love some of the others, the only ones completely safe are Marina and Beau. And if Beau asked to move on his own i might let him, so really the only one i know i would beg to stay is Marina. But yeah, I think I have a deck of amiibo cards something like 16 packs thick with less than 6 doubles, so I have quite the decision to make. I don't know if I want to go for a certain type of villager... I think maybe I could go smug for smug and move Curlos out and another smug villager in, but I don't know, I'll have to see who I have in my deck.

Oh! And I have to share the letter Biff sent me this morning completely unprompted.

It's little things like this which make me love this game soooooo much. It's nice to be appreciated even by a fictional character.

I paid off my 758,000 bell loan today (or it was somewhere around there) and now the loan is over a mil? I feel like I won't ever be able to pay that back, but I need more STORAGE for clothes! And other things, but mostly clothes. Ugh, it got so expensive so fast. Was it like this in other games?

And I have gotten my paths done for the main middle part of the map where stores and things are. Now i need to figure out what kind of paths I am going to make elsewhere and honestly what I am going to do everywhere else. I think I want an outdoor library, but I need book shelves and such first. And I know I want to make my orchard more organized looking, but I don't know how to even start that. I want to do more decoration with cute pastel and dark spooky things (yes both) in the middle part of the map but I need to find more things like that that I can use as decor.

I guess I need to start seeing if I can get into the trading world. Or something like that where I can find more of the items I need and at least catalog them so I can buy them myself. I am kind of nervous about trying all that though because i am pretty socially anxious, and i get panicky even playing games with people i don't know. But then i have done so well playing with my new friends who weren't as familiar to me when we started playing, but I still didn't panic when we first played, so I am thinking I could do this. But I dunno. We'll see. First I guess I need to find a good place to go about such things anyway.

Anyway, I guess that is mostly it. There isn't gonna be a ton of new stuff to talk about since I beat story mode, but I am still enjoying the game and feel there is much left to do, so you know, I'll be around, wasting time in between balloons or shooting stars, or looking for helpful tips on different things.

I may be having oral surgery Wednesday, so I have high Hope's that when I can't sleep, AC will take away the pain. We'll see though.

Oh, like turnips. I found a good guide so I'm gonna read up on 'em for next week. The were selling pretty high here this morning like they seem to be every week so I put it off. But maybe next week.

So yeah, like I said I'll be around but I don't know how many more text posts I could squeeze out of doing a lot of the same things over and over.

I leave you with the weird stuff Puddles says when Wisp is around...

I would totally watch a show called "Ghosts 'n Stuff".

#Euphoria #ACNH #Animal Crossing #New Horizons #personal #text post #AC Biff #AC Puddles

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mister-maiden · 5 years

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Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. A love letter to metroidvanias

Betcha thought I was gone.

Guess again, Cultists.

From the faint sound of a piano in the background to the delicious plates of meat and apples hidden in the walls, Bloodstained just screamed Castlevania at me and I simply couldn't be more overjoyed. Just..UGHHNN man, this game scratched a certain itch that was lingering on the tailbone of a mildly neglected butt that is my Castlevania pants. And man this just DID it for me.

For starters. The graphics are absolutely stunning in most areas. From your roaring ships on the seas to your books flying from the walls. Nothing ever seemed out of place for its unique animation style. The only game I could really say it reminded me of was Castlevania: Symphony of the night.

It has this gorgeous atmosphere to it of Victorian style that played throughout the game, throwing a twist to every trope it could find. Water areas, fire areas, gearpunk are- you get the shebang. It's a wonderful adventure...however, this could be seen as a bad thing.

Several rooms made me feel like I was just...*going through* them you know? As in there was simply absolutely no substance to it besides having it be a room for a mid-weak level enemy. This made it worse having to go back and farm enemies for certain items and drops...Looking at you Dragon Eggs and Beast Milk...though honestly, this gripe may just be due to my personal tastes. Though this can be easily avoided if you use Johannes the alchemist to destroy certain items for their components...but this is hella expensive.

Speaking of ememies!...um...Well yeah.

Bosses were cool! Well. Some bosses. Half of the bosses made me feel like I was just smashing the attack button and standing in one place while the better bossfights forced me to change my playstyle, spells, hell even my equipment. They did a great job with the bosses that interacted with my own placement, but did a poor job with bosses that could be beaten without even moving.

There are many enemies as well. Several I recognized. The walking grunts that walk at you viciously. The giant that does tons of damage but is easy to read and dodge, the smalll....ANNOYING ENEMIES THAT DO DAMAGE AND ARE IS NIGH EKEHRJ-

The enemies were nicely done. All with their own weaknesses and strengths according to the abilities and weapons you used. A small enemy could be dispatched quickly through a broad stroke of a great sword or a bigger enemy with armor pierced with a spear, ect. I don't have anything good or bad to say about the enemies because they just feel...*alright*. I mean there's just really nothing special to these enemies compared to enemies in other games. They were just there to be there..nothing wrong with that though. The only gripe I had was the lack of diversity in demons. They were just three different stages of the same demons I face in the beginning: Weak, mildly strong/strong, Giant. That tactic of making the player feel like they are progressing felt sort of cheap. A darker enemy of the same model isn't different enemy

What was far more important and interesting was the ABILITIES each monster gave you.

See, through the game, every monster you face has the chance of dropping a shard which bonds to your character's body, giving her several abilities. Ranging from fireballs, bats, and burning acid to shadows, increasing your strength, and more.

You may equip up to four regular spells called conjure shards

A passive shard which passively increases a stat or provides some benefit

A directional shard which allows you to point the spell with your hand via the joystick.

A manipulative shard that manipulates objects and spaces around you.

Skill shards, which gives you passive skills you can turn on and off. These are probably some of the most important shards in the game which are generally found after a boss fight.

My FAVORITE shard: Familiar shard! Allows you to have a familiar along the screen! My favorite being this cool little silver Knight that blocks projectiles c:

Each shard has their own circumstances to be used and best creatures to be used against which is great. Just the rediculous wide range of spells allows the player any range of choice and playstyle. My favorite is flooding the screen with bats. You may upgrade.

Weapons and armor are always in supply. Some found in secret areas while others are only unlocked via finding recipes for the alchemist to make. All have their own merits with some holding special skills you can use on monsters (example: a specific spear or set of spears allows you to sprint forward at rediculous speed). Sometimes I felt like I wasn't doing any damage before realizing I had to move on to the next weapon tier. Sometimes this can workout poorly for games since the progression relies on how well you do damage instead of how skillful you are with how you use your weapon, but I didn't seem to mind at all of Bloodstained's usage of the tiered weapon system.

Now, with over 100 of spell choices and weapons to use against a wide variety of enemies, it can be a hassle to constantly switch between spells and weapons in the menu...which is why the game introduces the quick select wheel!..later...in the game...which was a huge issue for me personally.

The quick select wheel came a bit later in the game which was strange since I had quite the number of spells and weapons I had. A problem I saw immediately with it was that I had to actually unlock more quick select slots by finding them, hidden and scattered through the game. I think this was a poor choice due to how the game encourages the player to play with their setup yet constricts them by locking these slots that didn't need to be locked in the first place. Maybe it was to give more incentive to the player to experiment with their mobility, but I still don't enjoy it. They should have had all options unlocked.

So now that we have combat and art out of the way, I'll talk about the TOWN features.

As in other metroidvanias, we have a homebase like area which holds several quests and people of interest to talk to. A farmer which can be given seeds to grow crops, a nun which gives you fetch quests to find items in the field to say goodbye to the fallen, an older woman whos hunger knows no bounds. Another nun who is a merchant for you and will also buy your leftover shards, and a fellow alchemist who will transmute items into weapons, armor, and whip up a nice plate of food for permanent stat boosts.

The merchant Nun, or Dominique, will sell you potions, alchemy items, and ingredients. Generally these items are...fairly overpriced, but rightfully so so the player doesn't progress too easily. The prices never change too which makes her interactions pretty concrete. It was nice not having to farm for basic items for potions c: so thank you, Dominique.

Then we have Johannes, our resident alchemist which is where a lot of our time is going to be spent.

Johannes takes the items we find from monsters, and puts them to good use my transmutation. He's the man who helps us make our ultima keyblade!..well, stronger weapon. This can be a tad annoying as some enemies take quite some time to farm, but it wasn't a hassle as I could teleport to the room and kill them until I got the item.. honestly this felt...a tad tedious? Then again, not a huge farming fan of repeat killing a monster, but it was needed to get some items.

Johannes also has an option to make you food from the ingredients you find from monsters! (Great idea to cook meat from demons) these meals give you permanent stat boosts after your first bite, but subsequent meals of the same food won't give you anymore bonus stats.

A special interaction is the ability to upgrade your shards! Using items from the monsters you kill (generally the same demon that gave you the shard), you can upgrade your shards to give them a new effect and make them stronger! The shards can be leveled to level 9 and are maxed out from there. This is one of my favorite parts of the game because how ridiculously numerous these spells are in effects. Hell, I can summon a dragon so he can just SMACK the screen like a fly swatter. Nothing makes you feel as powerful as watching a dragon head you summon just spew fire on a defenseless boss.

Now quests. These are...pretty underwhelming and are accomplished simply as you walk along to be honest. You'll finish these without even realize it because of how simple they were. These felt pretty weak in comparison to the rest of the game, but I mean hey, gave me some cool items. These could have been more fleshed out or maybe given the player some better quests that weren't just *fetch this*. Quests were the weakest part of the game.

Story was..uh...well. I'll be honest. My girlfriend even witnessed as I called the plottwists one by one and it was sort of sad. Don't play this game for the story. Truly don't. There isn't a good story here. The story is only here to drive the action and gameplay which is what the developers focused on. The game comes with multiple endings, the true ending being a tad cryptic to get to without knowing a certain secret of what to do with a weapon, but regardless, the story atleast made sense...has just been done before.

Now. Should you buy it?

If you're a fan of metroidvanias...I'd say the price is worth it. About 20-30 hours of gameplay for the avid metroidvania fan..I think (I'll start recording how long it takes me to really finish something hah)

If not a fan: wait for a sale. It's something great to have and pickup. With some gripes about quests and enemies while also having praises for the enhance system and spells, I enjoyed myself. I really did. It was fun. I put it down a couple of times because it was just too much with how large the map felt sometimes, but after getting the hang of mobility and the teleport system, it really felt like a castle to run around in.

-------------------METRIC-------------------

Pros:

• Spell system is EXCELLENT. I wish games had this many spells.

• Combat was nice with weaknesses and different strengths to each setup and creature.

• Map is widely varied.

• Artstyle felt like a callback to Castlevania as well as the music

• Long and worth the pricetag.

• Repayable

•Freakin familiars, man

• Decent amount of weapon choice (even if all do the same weapon attack as a weapon in their same category, each weapon felt like an upgrade.

CONS:

• Reskinned monsters are not good replacements for different monsters. Please don't do that...it feels cheap.

• Story was uninteresting

• The quickslot should be available from the very beginning so I can customize my character. It shouldn't have been a skill.

So that was my review on Bloodstained c: I really enjoyed it after getting used to the controls...also fun tip...USE the backdash. It helps so much in certain boss encounters where every action counts.

Have a nice Sunday, Cultists c:

#cult review #metroidvania #gamereview #game review #bloodstained #adventure game #victorian #magic game #bruh #cultists #occult

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ineffablecolors · 6 years

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I'm sending you 42. and 80. (because this gotta be funnnn) for the trope mash-up, but only as long as you don't forget that you also kinda promised to write the pregnant-neighbor-comes-begging-for-food thing. Because I won't forget about it. :)

The lovely @laschatzi is talking about this post. I cheated a little bit but I hope you’d like how because now we have

Hungry pregnant neighbour + The Big Damn Kiss + Green-Eyed Epiphany

Family Recipe; ~ 5, 500 words; FF.NET || AO3

previous: wilderness/survival + I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On &Detective AU + Awful First Meeting

Killian is somewhatashamed to admit that he has become something of a take-out guy.

It’s just… it’s one ofthose things he never got back into after losing his hand. Like volleyball. Orplaying the guitar. Or arm wrestling Will. Or the black nail polish. Or goingto the beach. Or hitting on that cute girl at the bakery around the corner. Orgirls,period. Or basically anyone he didn’t already know before the accident.

But anyway. Cooking.He never got back into cooking. He was never all that good at it to begin withbut it gave him a funny sort of pride and he enjoyed it.

He enjoyed having togo to three different stores to manage to collect all the herbs and spices fora proper curry. And lying all his products out – basically filling everyavailable space and then having to push stuff around to have somewhere toactually cook. And chopping histomatoes really fine – concasse, was it? – and his onions not quite because hedid not enjoy crying over their massacred corpses. And – never to be revealedto another living soul – making a mini forest around his chopping board withthe broccoli and the cauliflower. And the whole kitchen smelling for two daysafter. And basically making a mess of every horizontal surface – and thevertical ones that one time when he was learning how to spin pizza dough.

Yeah, he enjoyed that.And then he didn’t. Couldn’t. Didn’t.

And now here he is,sipping his beer and scrolling down his take-out app as if he doesn’t knowhe’ll get the Chinese because he had pizza twice during the week and they’vetotally ruined the Mexican place and Liam says he is a masochist but he is nota ‘take-out sushi’ level of masochist.

He looks outside.Checks his watch. At least two more hours of solid daylight. He wasn’t evenhungry yet. He could get some tortilla chips to snack on while trying to see ifhis oven still works.

Really… what couldhappen?

///

Mrs Lucas has spoilther.

It is the only reasonEmma is even contemplating this. That and the fact that it smells really good.

And look here, Emma isnot one of those girls that needs to always get what she wants. She iscertainly not used to getting whatshe wants. It’s just… her baby doesn’t seem to have followed in her footsteps.

It might havesomething to do with said baby not even having feet to walk with yet. Or… shethinks – tries to remember what she’s been readying semi-obsessively and thenthrowing under the bed as if the books are judging her for her singleness andbrokenness and the general dinginess of her apartment – maybe it has feetalready?

They’re definitelyforming but definitely not usable hence no following in any footsteps anytimesoon. There. She’s leaving it at that. Maybe she’ll dig out that last book fromunder her bed tonight. After she has some dinner.

Which brings her rightback to the problem at hand.

She is pretty surethat 5C is one of those bachelors that live on beer, pizza and whatever elseyou can get delivered to your door; has a football or poker night with the guysevery month – see the football she is sure about ‘cause those walls are fuckingthin and those boys are fucking loud but she likes to imagine the pokeras well ever since she saw the guy in this super slick vest that she is sureonly people who can actually step into a casino and somehow manage to not look sleazy own; occasionally blaststoo loud music but not often enough to warrant a complaint; puts Netflix on loud enough and regularly enough that her brokeass is hoping she can keep up with the new season of Stranger Things simply bymoving her couch next to the wall his TV sits against; never brings girls backto his place.

Honestly, Emma is notjudging (or stalking – the walls are thin).She’d probably be giving 5C a run for his money on the easy single living, ifshe wasn’t pregnant and broke and grumpy half the time and hungry the otherhalf – which also makes her grumpy, and generally disillusioned with humanityand the world and the idea that one might actually be able to enjoy life andnot struggle through it at every step and did she mention broke? She is brokeand constantly hungry and constantly trying to fool her baby into thinking thathe likes overcooked pasta and whatever fruits are on sale this week.

He doesn’t. He likeswhatever 5C is cooking.

///

This was a disastrousidea. The kind of disastrous idea he hasn’t had since he was 4 years old andthought that if he puts snails on Liam’s bed they’d stay there and not like…make their way all over the room that Killianshared with Liam.

This is worse thansnails. This is a dozen utensils in the sink already – because of course hetosses a spoon in the sink the second after he has used it once, of course, why put it to the side and use it again when hehas to stir his unholy concoction, and half a dozen plates – one of those inpieces in a trash bag by the door because your one hand being a slippery one isnot the situation in which you want to be handling porcelain.

He has a sizeable cuton his big toe where he stepped on one of the pieces and his t-shirt issticking to his back from the effort of grinding bloody vegetable – Jesus, heused to run miles without breaking a sweat and now blasted carrots are gettingthe best of him, and all he has to show for all his work is what he hopes is apassable mince.

Now for the mash. Hestill has three limbs and 14 uninjured digits to go…

///

Look, Emma doesn’thave much but she has her pride, ok? And this kid growing inside her has madeher relinquish her hold on that enough to knock on Mrs Lucas’s door and ask herwhat it was she put in her cookies because apparently Emma – or someone else, was addicted to it nowand it was not cinnamon. And that hadtransitioned into Emma becoming almost a firm fixture at Granny’s on weekendsand then into Emma busting tables for a month until Granny gave her a nononsense look and told her she won’t be doing this in a few more months, andafter a week of asking and listening and string pulling and cookie bribing, shegot her a job at August’s bookstore even though he still grumbles that he doesn’tlike anyone else ordering his books.

And, yes, this allworked out pretty well but Mrs Lucas was the one that came to her door on her first week in thebuilding with a plate of those cookies that by this point Emma can barely lookat.

(It’s what she does.She falls in love with peanut butter and then eats so many PBJ sandwiches thatnow she almost gets sick at the mere sight of a jar on the counter. And shehears the The Kooks coming from 5C’s wall and goes on to listen to them onrepeat for two weeks. Mind you, not even everything but just Junk of the Heartbecause she is mental like that. And she starts Modern Family, when she stillhad a freaking Netflix account, and binges the whole damn thing in a couple ofweekends and a few late week nights.)

So, yeah, Emma mighthave some addictive tendencies – the legal kind, and some impulse controlissues.

But Emma would neveractually go to someone’s door – someone she has never exchanged a single wordwith despite sometimes hearing their voice float through her wall – and, yeah,he has a pretty voice but what’s that gonna do for her? shitty people can havegreat voices, she is sure – to ask them forthe love of all that is good and holy, what they are cooking because it smellsso fucking good and she has to know and she has to have something that at leastcomes close to it.

She’d never.

///

It’s in the oven. It’sover. Well, all he has to do now is make sure he doesn’t burn the damn thing toa crisp. But if he managed to put it together in the first place, for the firsttime tonight, Killian thinks he can maybe pull this off.

///

It got worse. Worse asin better. Fuck, it got so much better. And now her stomach is grumbling andshe has made for the door three times in the last five minutes and for thefirst time tonight Emma is coming to the horrible realization that she probablywon’t be able to survive this day with her dignity intact.

///

He is just about todig into his plate – fancy plate set and fancy napkins that he didn’t even knowhe owned and the second episode of American Gods queued up and-

There’s a knock on hisdoor.

Killian freezes withhis fork in the air, eyebrows bunching together. Who on earth? He knows hehasn’t invited any of the guys over and Liam knows better than to just drop infor an unexpected ‘we are going out and getting you someone to go home with’visit by this point.

He waits. Nothing.Maybe he imagined it?

///

“There, happy?”

Emma glances down ather slightly rounded stomach and tries on her best ‘mom look’. She thinksshe’ll definitely need to work on that one before the baby comes out because heis already too stubborn for her owngood.

She glances at thedoor with 5C on it one more time, raises her hand and then drops it again.

No. She knocked. Thisis a sign. For once the universe is sparing her the embarrassment and-

“Yes?”

No, of course, not.Why would the universe ever spare her anything?

///

She must be the onethat knocked. 5B. His sweatpants neighbour.

Killian tries not tofeel bad about the nickname. They’ve never been properly introduced and… well,he has mostly seen her back disappearing inside her apartment or her back goingdown the stairs with laundry or her back rushing below his window on a jog. Sohe’s never seen her in anything but sweatpants. He’s not judging. It’s just…the only thing he had to go on.

She is in sweatpantsnow as well but as he looks at her to ask what she needs, he is taken aback byher green eyes. He is taken aback by the sudden realization that his neighbouris this young and very pretty woman and her eyes are the kind of eyes you can’thelp but notice.

It’s… interesting. Hehas heard the soundtrack of her daily life through the wall they share for afew months now but somehow he never imagined the face and body that must gowith those sounds.

As he thinks his gazeslides down almost involuntary and he doesn’t know what catches his attentionmore: the fact that she is a few months pregnant or the fact that she came overbarefoot.

The latter is trulyendearing, the former a tad disheartening for some reason.

Not that he hasanything against kids. Or pregnant women. It’s just… it’s not every day yourealize your neighbour is a pretty girl about your age and currently standingat your doorstep. But he shouldn’t have just assumed and anyway he doesn’treally… that is… is she ever gonna say something?

///

“Lass?”

Emma shakes her head alittle and wants to slap herself back into reality. You know that space andtime continuum where she is not attaching thisman to every sound she has ever heard come through their wall.

(She is convinced heplays air guitar when blasting Bon Jovi hits and that his eyes blaze reallybright when he is swearing at something about “bloody this” and “bloody that”.)

“Umm, hi. Sorry. I…”

He raises an eyebrow.She doesn’t really appreciate the mix of amusement and expectation. Then again,she is standing on his doorstep. He probably has some right to expect anexplanation. Why on earth didn’t she rehearse what she’ll say if he opened thedoor?

“Did you needsomething?”

Fuck.

“I just… ummm, am I botheringyou?”

“Not at all, lass. But,to be frank, I’ll probably be more capable of answering truthfully, if you toldme what you are here for.”

The hell? Was hetalking like that on purpose?

“I-“

Come on, Emma, like aband aid, nowhere to go now unless you wanna be the weirdo asking for a cup offlour.

“What you arecooking?’

///

“Oh.”

Oh. Bloody hell.

Killian can feel hischeeks heating up and focuses half his attention on keeping his hand at hisside and not scratching his damn ear.

“I apologize. I didn’tconsider the smell might bother some-“

“No. No, no, no. Ilike it! So… I was wondering what it was.”

She likes it? Thattimid feeling of pride he felt when he took his dinner out of the over and it wasn’t burn to a crisp grows threetimes.

“It’s just ashepherd’s pie. Slightly altered recipe. My mum’s. Supposedly, probably muckedit up along the way and it’s twice altered now but yeah… Shepherd’s pie.”

“Oh.”

///

Great. She was hopingfor something along the lines of a lasagna. Then maaaybe she could’ve boughtsome frozen crappy version from the supermarket and tried to cheat her bodyinto thinking it was the real thing.

But no, of course,not. It had to be shepherd’s pie. Family recipe edition. Just her damn luck.

“Well, thanks. Andsorry! I was just… curious. Sorry to bother you.”

///

She turns to go andthis might have been the most bizarre conversation he’s had this month.Including that guy on the underground with the orange hair.

Did she just want toknow what the smell invading her home was? She did say she liked it. Maybe-

She is already half toher door so Killian just thinks to hell with it.

“Would you like some?”

He sees her stop deadin her tracks and cringes, hoping he isn’t now the biggest weirdo of her month.And not in a good way.

The blonde turnsaround and he knows the second he sees her face that she would indeed likesome. But Killian likes to think of himself as at least moderately intelligentso he keeps his smile to himself and instead prepares for the distrust in hereyes that is obviously warring with her appetite.

“Do you usually offerfood to unknown women who come knocking on your door?”

“I can’t say, you arethe first.”

He doesn’t actuallysee her cheeks change colour but then again he thinks it might be because shehas been blushing this entire time.

“I didn’t mean tobother-“

“It’s no bother, love.Truly. Now that I feel knowledgeable enough about your intensions to say so.”

She rolls her prettygreen eyes in a way that has his pulse speeding up a bit.

“Plus I just made adish more people share with a family of four. For myself. I think I can sparewhatever you can eat.”

It’s a gamble thatpays off when he sees her eyes blaze up and let’s himself grin at herteasingly.

“I’m sorry, was that achallenge to how much I can eat?”

He steps aside andwaves her in.

She only hesitates fora second.

///

OK, first of all, hisapartment is waaay better than hers like, both bigger and with more naturallight coming in but also simply more tidy and colour-coordinated. Also, ifpossible, it smells even better inside and Emma’s eyes immediately zero in onthe dish on the kitchen counter.

She hears 5C chucklebehind her and tries not to feel even more embarrassed. Her capacity for itmust be running out by this point. Thankfully, he doesn’t make a comment butjust moves around his kitchen island and takes out a plastic food container.IKEA guy. Cute.

It probably takes hera bit longer than it should – what with her still mostly trying to pretend sheis not hustling her nice and pretty neighbour for food – but eventually Emmanotices the peculiar way he moves around his kitchen and operates only with hisright hand. A quick inspection proves that it is because he simply has no leftone to assist him.

“No shit!”

The guy startles ather words and turns around and probably follows her gaze because in the nextmoment the limb is tucked slightly behind him and he is giving her a tensesmile.

“Shit, I’m afraid.”

She honest to Godcovers her mouth. Better late than never. Or not.

“Shit. I mean, sorry!Sorry. I wasn’t- I was just- you cook?!”

5C frowns at her as ifher person skills are something that would only befit a visiting alien. He’sgot her there.

“Sorry. Again. But,like, I can’t cook for shit even with two hands.”

To be fair, the crapproducts she can afford probably have something to do with it but Emma is gonnabe a single mom pretty soon and she is pretty sure that “to be fair”s won’t cutit when she has to cook for her kid.

But makes-food-that-smells-illegally-good-single-handedlyneighbour seems to relax a little.

Foot – partially outof mouth.

///

Killian tries to unbunchthe muscles in his neck and not keep his right side weirdly angled towards her.It’s fine. Really, it’s fine. She was bound to notice eventually.

“To be honest, this ismy first try in quite some time.”

“Seriously?”

“Indeed. So if you getfood poisoning or something, I’m not to be held accountable.”

The thought gives himpause and he turns to her with his eyebrows all drawn together and almostreluctant to hand her the container in his hand.

“Actually, are youallergic to anything? I mean… I don’t think there’s anything too weird in itand everything I used was fresh but-“

He can’t help butglance down at her stomach. Gods, she ispregnant, right? This will be just the kind of thing-

But the blonde’s handcomes up to her stomach and she smiles at him almost shyly and Killian breathesout a quiet sigh of relief.

“I’m sure it will befine. I mean, the things I’ve been feeding myself… I’m pretty sure someonemight get a bit of a shock from the home-cooked food but definitely not the badkind.”

He tries not tooveranalyze the “feeding myself” part and instead nods and finally hands thecontainer with half of his shepherd’s pie inside.

“Whoa. You really arechallenging me.”

He laughs and dips hishead to the side to admire the way her eyes widen a little.

“It should keep for acouple of days if you put it in the fridge. And you can always just feed it toSmee.”

“Smee?”

“Oh.”

His cold ring grazeshis earlobe and dammit, he forgot to watch out for the damn tick.

“I named the cat thatalways hangs around behind the building.”

“Oooh, ok. And hellno.”

She hugs the food toher chest almost protectively and Killian laughs again and bloody hell, is hecoming across too giggly or something? What else can he say? He-

“Well, I shouldprobably let you finally eat your dinner. Whatever you have left,” she beatshim to it and juts her thumb at the door and he can’t really do anything butnod.

///

She is alreadystepping outside, teeth embedded in her lip and what do you say to the cute neighbour that fed you dinner but not inthe date sense?

“Oh. I’m Emma, by theway. Emma Swan.”

His eyes light up andEmma finally gets to put a mark in the ‘didn’t fuck it up’ column.

“Pleasure to meet you,Swan. Killian Jones. Always at your service, though I must warn you, myculinary repertoire is quite limited.”

Killian Jones with thefancy words and delicious food. Fuck.

///

She uses her employeediscount on something other than baby books for the first time.

He finds the bookwaiting for him outside his door. The post-it note says “This is why peoplelike home-cooked food. Who knew.” And the book is Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things and it takes him a momentto connect the dots and remember that he was watching Amarican Gods the othernight and, yeah, maybe it makes him feel kinda good that Emma Swan noticed andremembered that.

///

He tries some Mexicannext and it’s 100% because his favourite place has gone to crap and not at allbecause he once saw their delivery guy in front of 5B.

She opens the door andhis face is half-obscured by an IKEA container and he says it’s just a not sosubtle reminder that she hasn’t returned the other one yet and she pretends tobelieve him.

///

She reasons that youcan’t return food containers empty so she tries to bake muffins because muffinsare supposed to be easy.

He hears the firealarm and five second later he is banging on her door and having a veryflustered Emma Swan dragging him inside and pointing at her oven or what can beseen of it behind the cloud of smoke and explaining how it’s all his fault.

///

He’s been looking fora not food-related reason to knock on her door for a week and coming up emptyand he is damn rusty when it comes to talking to pretty girls but then againshe is pregnant and the fact that he didn’t see a naked man in the middle ofher kitchen the one time he was there for 10 minutes doesn’t mean anything somaybe that’s for the best.

She knocks on his doora day after Stranger Things comes out with three bags of popcorn, explainingthat only one of them is for him, obviously.

///

She lives to binge andyet here she is trying to stretch an 8-episode season over more than a week.

He honestly debatescalling Netflix and begging them to somehow somehowrelease more episodes of their damn show.

///

He has been thisscared exactly once in his entire life and that situation included headlightscoming straight at him.

She has a freakingstomach ache, probably from too much popcorn, and she is almost as embarrassedwhen she comes out of the doctor’s office as she was that first night sheknocked on his door but Killian doesn’t really seem to care how she is ok as long as she is.

///

She is scrollingthrough her Instagram at work and she is so bored and distracted that shealmost misses it but then she goes back and blinks and then goes to the accountto check this is not some sort of ridiculous surveillance thing or she doesn’teven know what – but sure enough, there – on @cutestparentstobe, is a pictureof her very pregnant self, eating ice-cream on the beach with one KillianJones.

He doesn’t know how heworms his way into a doctor’s appointment, he just knows that when the nursecalls him “daddy” Emma kinda sputters but doesn’t say anything to contradicther and he sure as hell keeps his trap shut and just smiles and nods when theygive him an ultrasound picture all for himself.

///

They’ve been doingwhatever they are doing for 4 freaking months and within the first couple ofweeks they were already using like only 30% of his couch for the both of themand in a month they started venturing outside the bubble of their apartmentsand Emma never thought she’d be thehand-holding type but yeah, they kinda hold hands all the time and they hug,like, every day and they text all the freaking time while they are at work andshe meets Liam when she is 7 months pregnant and convinced that he is gonnahate her on sight for saddling his little brother with herself and he doesn’treally but he also doesn’t seem to love her on sight and Killian is verypointedly unamused by the lukewarm reception but honestly, Emma is just glad tobe given a chance here, and he goes shopping for baby stuff she can barelyafford with her and then he goes shopping for baby stuff by himself and shegets kinda angry and they kinda break up or whatever at least twice, basicallyeach time Emma decides that this is ridiculous and he can’t just date a girlthat is having another guy’s baby and that’s twice the size she should be andthat he’s only known for a few months and one night Killian lines up fourfreaking shepherd’s pies outside her door and if she even keeps her door closedto that then she must be dead inthere and one night he lets it slip about these therapy sessions that he issupposed to go to but doesn’t and she basically makes an appointment for himand drags him out of the door and maybe threatens him with not coming to herdoctor’s appointments anymore, if he doesn’t go to his.

And through all that and then some, they never actuallykiss.

Sure he kisses hercheek when he wishes her goodnight and she kisses his head when he falls asleepon her during Lord of the Rings and he kisses her hand placatingly every timehe tries to dissuade her from helping him with dinner and she kisses hisforearm in the park that one time he freaks out on her because she is on hisleft side and goes to hold his arm and he kisses her stomach the first time shegrabs his hand and lets him feel the baby kicking but-

They’ve never properly kiss and it’s this lastfrontier and maybe he is waiting for her to cross it but she just can’t seem to.

And then she is givingbirth and he is there when she is givingbirth and they haven’t even kissed.

And then there’s Henryand they both kiss him plenty but-

///

they don’t kiss whenKillian refuses to hold her baby and she is hurt and offended and so confusedand kinda angry and then he says he can’t, he can’t hold him with one hand andshe is just sad and, yeah, maybe still kinda angry but also eerily calm as shebents Killian’s elbow and gives him the kind of look that makes him shut hismouth audibly and places her son in his arms

they don’t kiss whenKillian barges in on her breastfeeding and twirls around on the spot, slappinga hand over his face and sputtering apologies while all she can do is laugh andlaugh and tell him to stop acting like her tits are a big deal and make her acup of that crappy decaf coffee and he does and he also makes sure to look herdirectly in the eyes and then wink very poorly when he says that her tits are a big deal

they don’t kiss when Henrystarts teething and Emma is up at all hours of the night and she looks likefucking hell and Killian tells her so in no uncertain terms and basically,somehow, taking advantage of her sleep-deprived brain, manages to rope her intoa teeth-sharing plan which basically includes her passing half of her insomniaonto him and Emma can’t forgive him and at the same time can’t love him enoughand yeah, she loves him now and they’ve known each other for a year and they haven’t fucking kissed and what ever

///

they don’t kiss whenshe asks him if he thinks maybe, possibly Liam would like to meet Henry and allKillian can do is nod and swallow and start planning the kind of lecture he’llgive his brother, if he dares to voice any of his doubts about the soundness of the situation, but Liamseems to think that if his brother is spending half his day around a certainbaby – no matter whose it is – it probably isn’t a terrible idea for him tomeet said baby and Liam Jones may be a military man and he may have nevergotten over the fact that he didn’t manage to protect his little brother fromall the evils of the world and he may have been determined to give Emma Swan ahard time for even the slightest hint of her using Killian but he is also puttyin the hands of Henry Swan within 10 minutes

they don’t kiss thefirst time she uses the key to his apartment and sneaks into his bedroom in themiddle of the night – baby in her arms and her hair into the messiest bun thathas ever been twisted and her damn sweatpants and her eyes all puffy and herwhispered worries all about not being able to do it and being all alone and notbeing good enough and he just folds himself around both of them and tries tostart the process of getting each ridiculous notion out of her head

they don’t kiss when shetells Henry to spot throwing his food all over daddy and Killian just standsthere – carrot puree all over his t-shirt, and watches as she continueswhipping the eggs in front of her as if she didn’t just- and he loves them bothtoo damn much to point it out and risk having her take it back and bloody hell,he loves her now and they’ve been together for all intents and purposes forover a year now and they haven’t bloodykissed and good lord

///

She comes back fromthe store and heads directly to Killian’s apartment and tries to calculate ifshe and Henry are spending more time at her place or at his at this point. Butas soon as she opens the door and the smell hits her, her calculations are leftoutside in the cold and it’s all she can do not to moan out loud. Turns out itwasn’t just the little guy growing inside her that made her love Killian’spies.

She hears the lowmurmur of Killian’s voice and decides to tiptoe into the kitchen as quietly aspossible. She wants to look at them without giving her presence away just yet,when it’s just them.

And sure enough Henryis tucked into Killian’s left arm, his little fist twisted into the hair at theback of her boyfriend’s neck (god, he is not her freaking boyfriend, along withHenry in his arms he is her entire fucking universe).

She knows what theyare making already but she narrows her eyes as she realizes that she has neveractually seen Killian make his shepherd’spie.

“This is the only wayI can make your mom eat these, Henry.”

He twirls a broccoliin front of her son’s little nose and Emma rolls her eyes. Partially because it’strue and partially because the broccoli version is not her most favourite.

“When you are oldenough I’m gonna teach you how to make it on your own but for now I’ll justshow you how to make yourself a little forest.”

She honestly doesn’tknow if it’s the implication of years tocome in his promise, the fact that he says it so confidently, so easily,without any doubt, without any caveat of “if we are still together”, withoutany alternative in his mind. Or if it’s the fucking forest of broccoli that heis arranging around his chopping board like the most precious human being thathe is.

Emma honestly doesn’tknow. But she does drop the bag she is carrying on the floor and she crossesthe space between them in the time it takes Killian to turn around and open himmouth to greet her. And then she finally finallyfeels his lips under her own.

He tastes even betterthan his damn pie.

#cs ff #captain swan #captain cobra swan #cs au #cs modern au #laschatzi #cs tropes

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thedepthsremember · 6 years

Text

TRR 3.20 "A Warm Reception" what does that mean. does that mean FIRE i am on edge

I'm expecting it to go all nice and heartwarming, and then Anton shows up at the end. We shall see.

Officially longer than any other TRR book! We’re in uncharted territory now!

From what I saw from my roommate’s Liam playthrough, a lot of the carriage dialogue is mostly the same no matter who’s there, but, I do like this as a callback to awesome-storm Maxwell-Riley from the Homecoming ball, or Duke Whirlwind Dancemaster-Deluxe. With Maxwell, everyone keeps emphasizing how our lives together will be full of adventure and never be boring. ♥

You fools, take this chance to make out in the carriage! No! F O O L S

Oh. Hello Ana! She’s got a new dress for us, of course.

... Mehhhhh sorry not into that plasticy cutout look. Why do they keep doing that, it doesn't look like fabric. Sorry Ana, I’m gonna stick with what I've got.

Maxwell says it doesn’t matter what Riley’s wearing, he and everyone else won’t be able to keep his eyes off her. :’) ♥ bro

Ana, a true friend (despite how I keep tossing out all her hard work) leaves us alone in the boutique.

We are a storm... a hurricane… a mega punching robot... of love

sweet nervous boy. Riley literally said “I do” (well, ‘hell yeah’ in my case) and he’s still can’t help doubting a little.

now makeouts?? nope, Madeline. Girl you are about to get stabbed. ANA, WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP HER, I’M SORRY, I’LL WEAR THE DAMN DRESS

(If we keep trying and then getting interrupted, only to finally succeed I will actually love that.)

Oooooo the reception hall is so pretty! Damn, they have really been outdoing themselves with the art lately. First the cathedral, now this. *__*

People coming up to tell us how we made them cry out our vows! Yessss tell us all about your tears! Our love is powerful, baby.

Took no screenshots of Hana’s parents so I can ignore that they came.

NEVILLE?! WHAT THE F. RASHAD, DID YOU BRING HIM. DUDE. YOUR FRIEND IS SHITTY AND NO ONE LIKES HIM, STOP BRINGING HIM PLACES.

You know, at the beginning of the tour we heard Neville wasn't even planning on coming to the wedding so I guess that's........ ssssomethingg..g..........…

like maybe he’ll get shot this time. aim better, assassins

Anyway, better people now! Hello friends!

Hana says we were like a fairytale! Even Drake is getting poetic. Liam sees how much we love each other. Maxwell has won the wife lottery. Excellent, so much love here.

LMAO....... SAVANNAH EYEING BERTRAND LIKE, HUH.... MARRIAGE..... HOW BOUT..... THAT...…. :|

Me and Maxwell, poster children for impulsivity: YEAH, JUST DO IT JUST JUMP INTO MARRIAGE IT'S GREAT

Bertrand : *SWEATS BUCKETS*

Hgnngggg I would stab a man for that wedding food right now. I picked Drake’s beef pork stew and oh my god...……. How do they always make it sound so good???

[pause to google feijoada recipe]

Time for toasts! Maxwell’s...….. awwww. ;___;

He starts it as a Once Upon A Time story of how Riley was whisked away to love a prince, but her happy ending was swapped when she fell for the court jester instead.

(Flashing back to the apple festival and Maxwell being excited to be jester. Good times.)

My heart is bursting. I love our story too T_T

Andddd he just blurts out about the hippo tattoo to everyone and covers it up with an awkward metaphor. That's a deeply Maxwell moment and I love it. ♥

Omg. Might regret it but I desperately want to hear Olivia's idea of a wedding toast.

EXCUSE YOU MADELINE, SCHEDULE SMEDULE. THE BRIDE DEMANDS TO HEAR EVERYONE RAPTURE ABOUT OUR LOVE

Olivia: So soon after I met Riley I was like "I hate that bitch" Riley: a-awwww....thanks...……

I'M DEAD "LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT" I WON OLIVIA’S RESPECT! :’D BEST DAY EVERRR

I mean we also got married but like. you get it.

“As we say in Lythikos, you’re still alive, so drink!” never change.

Liam: Aww...…. He tries but falls back on being super formal, referring to me as "Cordonia’s newest dutchess” and me “being a friend to Cordonia and [him]”

It's ok buddy, sneak out whenever you're ready. Hana and Drake can cover for you.

Hana: Hana wins the toast both for having the most insightful things to say, and also being LITERALLY THE ONLY ONE (besides Bertrand) TO TALK ABOUT MAXWELL. She also made me cry, so like, triple points. 😢 😭 I love her so muuuuch.

Drake: “I knew you were trouble when you walked innnn~”

Those were some real nice things you said about me but YOU ARE THE BEST MAN.

I know I'm great and we're all in love with me, but come on.

Alright here’s Bertrand, he’s gotta talk about Maxwell.

new big bro you will be NICE to your BROTHER or I STG

starting out rocky what with the “wow Maxwell made like so many mistakes” business. let him rest, it’s his day, good lord

*snaps fingers in front of his face* BABS, FOCUS

OH. OH OKAY. HE TURNED IT AROUND. HE SAID HE LOVES HIS BROTHER IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. THE DANCING COMMENT AND EVERYTHING AND HE ADMITTED MAXWELL DOESN'T NEED TO GROW UP. I'M. OVERWHELMED.

In which I will take any choice that turns Riley into a woo girl. And Kiara’s family continues to be my favorite. They’re coming over to Valtoria Revanasi all the time.

After all that, my toast was … whelming. I did get my vows already, so I guess it’s whatever.

First dance time! Aww this track is giving me HSS prom flashbacks. Michael I hope you're happy out there.

Apparently Maxwell picked the song, which can only mean he is a secret HSS fan.

“Partners” is such a lovely title for these two. I've always loved the term, you're partners in crime, partners for life, but they're also dance partners.

Number of times Maxwell has done the dip kiss: 4. This boy SMOOTH AS HECK.

Bertrand is scandalized by our nonsense but Drake understands they should take what they can get.

(where are my boy’s damn jello shots)

..... I think I just married Emperor Kuzco.

Maxwell challenges Drake to a dance off, and holy shit Drake can dance. Or at least spin kick. I'm still fairly certain he has no sense of rhythm.

....Drake did not dispute the best friend comment and I'm counting that as a win for Maxwell.

time. for. CAKE????!

Real life me is a little sad I don’t have cake. I do have fancy rice crispies from my friend’s coworker’s wedding. It’s no passionfruit cake tho :’(

(they successfully distracted me from wait where’s Olivia with cake. How dare you take advantage of my short attention span.)

Maxwell and Riley have matching swords. I might cry. That's the best.

..... Incredibly tempting to fuck up and cut the table. But OUR CAKE ok doing this right.

WHOA Bastien hello, where'd you come from.

Aww Madeline has pleased her goblin father.

Maxwell is so happy about the Cheetah cake SUCCESSSSSS [sneakily high fives Gladys]

[I hope Gladys gets cake. At least 3 slices for Gladys.]

Ooooh so Savannah and Drake's mom still came! She’s off taking care of Bertie. Bring forth the Walker matriarch, I wish to meet her. [ spoilers: we do not :( ]

Uh oh Savannah is pissed and I bet I know why~

Bertrand's only just noticed oh dear.

Savannahhhhhh pleeassssse. These two need to work on commutation so bad. I TOLD YOU TO BE DIRECT WITH THIS DUMBASS. YOU'RE STILL HINTING.

Bride awkwardly hovers outside her own reception trying to get her fool friends to communicate AGAIN.

Like I'm pretty patient and Bertrand is family but oh my god I can't be there for everything

Riley is tired too, bless her. We could totally have snuck off with Maxwell at this point but no, here we are.

Ok Riley's prize for taking the diamond option to help Bertrand one more time is that she gets to cause shenanigans. You know my girl loves a good shenanigan!

Oh my god are we getting the band back together YESSSSS

Stop one: Drake. He knows Riley by this point and senses shenanigans a mile away.

Drake: You don't need my permission, Savannah’s her own woman and all that. Bertrand: But I'd like it. Drake: ok then FUCK NO. Bertrand: :’O

Bertrand making the shocked face is always funny. Same with his mad face. Really just Bertrand emoting = comedy gold.

Drake fully won Maxwell's respect with the breakdancing, and he's won Riley's by realizing he has the power to make Bertrand do whatever he wants right now.

Drake immediately regrets his abuse of power. Aaahaha ok, ease into it.

Somehow we talked Drake into singing. I'm just saying, this would have been so much easier with him last, when peer pressure was on the table.

Maxwell has been waiting for a moment like this moment his entire life, he'd pay to be part of this.

Liam would both do anything I asked and is always down for bromance time.

There is an option to panic and throw the bouquet at Neville. I have to try that at least once. But later.

Man Riley should have demanded the boys reunite their quartet anyway. BEST WEDDING PRESENT EVERRRRR (after all their other gifts because those were actually really sweet)

Savannah: holy crap you're smiling Bertrand: Well you make me happy so fukkin get used to it

^Those are totally direct quotes.

While I’m making other people happy - TIME FOR GIFTS!

The book for Liam is a nice follow up to all his talk about how he wants to bring Cordonia peace. You’ve got faith that he can achieve his dreams! Aww.

Everyone else does surprised sprites but Drake is wary as ever. Smart dude.

Hana's gift............... Ok yeah let’s just...… move along. sigh.

At least Riley succeeded through the roof with Maxwell’s gift, he was about to pass out with all the layers this gift has. Aww, that was so worth it.

Honestly these were all kind of short. Meh. Maxwell’s was worth it, Liam’s was a nice second.

Finally can we sneak off--??

MADELINE.............. I WILL STAB YOU WITH MAXWELL’S FANCY ACTION FIGURE, DON'T THINK I WON'T

Time to see other friends! We go to Kiara first, which is good. I continue to be proud of her forever.

Penelope is me at every party. Where are the dogs. I can people watch just fine next to the dogs.

HOOOOLY SHIT

DANIEL

D A N I E L

DANIEL IS HERE, TAKING SHOTS WITH LEO

What do you know :D I have friends! Well. One friend. And no family. They’re really determined to leave that open, huh. You know, I’m okay with it.

Daniel, I admire your thrift, especially considering what it must have cost to come here on a waiter’s salary, but someone is definitely going to think you're here to serve food.

..... Whelp that came true immediately. Hey Regina.

Leo goes off with him. I guess they're bros now!

or .... well. I've seen the posts going around. Make this a trip to remember, Leo! ;)

Awwww nice moment with Regina. Look how far we’ve come! I've always liked her. She's a practical lady.

GLADYS

GLADYS IS HERE TO LET US GET ALONE TIME, FINALLY. BLESS YOU GLADYS, I COULD KISS YOU but that’s for Maxwell

Wait...... I'm getting suspicious. We're just. wandering away......… mmm :|

oh noOOOOOOOOOOooo--[all goes dark]

Aw mannnnnnnn Gladys D: Riley is never trusting anyone in this broke-ass country again. Remember how we kept talking about how in New York you can trust people to be upfront with their intentions????

[throws Daniel and Hana into a suitcase] COME ON MAXWELL, WE’RE MOVING BACK TO NEW YORK.

IS THAT SOMEONE ANTON, GLADYS

:’((((((((((((

I’m so sad, I liked her. I hope we can still win her back to our side. She seemed so surprised every time we treated her decently, I think there’s a chance. She probably got into this plot before she got to know us.

Things we know:

Liam is the only LI who doesn’t meet you in the hedge maze if you’re his LI. On the one hand, getting the king to sneak out is a whole nother level, but also he’s likely to have a big part in next week’s plot.

The poor guy is also still definitely in love with you, even if you softened the blow with the closure option. And he’s especially taking it hard if you’re with Drake. We’ll see how those things go together.

Olivia disappeared! Before cake. For their plot to work, they still need her around to make her queen. She’s loyal to Liam no matter what, but I’m still holding out hope that befriending her or not is going to play a part whether that loyalty extends completely to you.

She was also our strongest defense, what with all her knives and proclivity for stabbing. So Olivia is likely to be okay, but who knows if they will be.

Do they have our friends? We didn’t see them after gifts. concern.

what do you think? 2 more chapters? Wrap up evil plots and then have good things, hopefully? or just keep adding chapters and then it doesn’t have to end hahaaaa

#trr #the royal romance #maxwell beaumont #hana lee #bertrand beaumont #riley brooks #v plays choices #v plays trr #long post #I really hope the cut works #v recap

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