#nine realms hate club

[toothbrushfingers]

lolz

[rukafais]

pspspsps people who are interested in Forgotten Realms devils have you heard the good word of Brimstone Angels, an excellent series by Erin M Evans that has two tiefling protagonists that are sisters raised by their dragonborn dad who adopted them, and covers Nine Hells hierarchy stuff, what it means to be a devil, life as a tiefling during a specific time period, and ALSO features a specific dragonborn culture?

Cause here's my recommendation, you should read it, it's fucking good actually.

Farideh made herself keep smiling, as if she couldn’t hear Criella’s implication that she ought not to have the book in the first place. “From Garago,” she said, naming the wizard whose book it was. “He lends books to Havilar and me sometimes.”

“Havilar and I, dear.” Farideh bit her tongue as Criella continued. “And where is your sister?”

“Inside, probably,” Farideh said. Criella pursed her lips, and the younger tiefling quickly added, “I haven’t seen her in some hours. She’s likely with Mehen.”

“Does Mehen know you’re borrowing magic books?” Criella asked.

Farideh turned it over and opened it to show the frontispiece. “It’s just a history book.”

“The Legacy of the Skyfire Emirates in the Calim?” Criella said. “What has you so interested in there of all places?”

Far, far to the west, other tieflings sometimes joined the fiery efreets in the Calim Desert in their perpetual war against their enemies, the djinns of the air. Criella didn’t have to say another word—Farideh knew what she was implying: Why was Farideh reading a book about rogue tieflings who aided monsters and known slavers? Didn’t Farideh understand that she—just like everyone else descended from devils and fiends—had to know her place, to stay safe somewhere like Arush Vayem, to be quiet and unnoticeable?

Or did Farideh want to be the sort of tiefling who made life hard for the rest of them?

“He mentioned them,” Farideh amended. “It seems like such a silly thing, don’t you think? For so many hostilities to range around something as unchangeable as one’s nature?”

Criella’s smile vanished altogether. “Ah. Is that something else Mehen has taught you?”

Farideh flushed. “That … the djinn shall always be djinn?” she said as innocently as she could, but her pulse raced. It had been too near to admitting there was something like fear lurking in herself. That the lines of descent that linked her to some long ago and faraway fiend were more powerful than anything she could affect. “I believe that’s why they’re called elemental,” Farideh added.

“Of course,” Criella said, but already she was studying Farideh as if there might be some sign of her true nature unfolding. Farideh blushed harder. Any of the human villagers would find Criella’s scrutiny too subtle to notice. But Farideh’s eyes were like Criella’s—she knew the shifts and flickers of a tiefling’s eyes. Criella wasn’t trying to hide her disquiet.

Farideh longed to tell Criella that she knew. That she hated it. That it was worse coming from someone like Criella, who was a tiefling too. Who had gotten the same scrutiny from someone else when she was Farideh’s age. Who had cut off her horns and clubbed her tail because of those looks and run away to Arush Vayem, a community of tieflings, dragonborn, and anyone else who wanted to disappear. ----

His path crossed a balcony that overlooked the Court of the Sixth, and Lorcan paused a moment. The archduchess herself perched on the throne, carved from the ivory that had been her predecessor’s teeth, her batlike wings curved around her like an icon’s niche. Coppery skinned and dark-haired, Glasya made Rohini look common. Glasya made everything look common. If corruption had a form, it was Glasya, and not a soul looked upon her that didn’t feel the urge to throw itself headlong into that corruption. She radiated like a star and she swallowed up the light around her. To look upon Glasya, Lord of the Sixth and Princess of the Hells, was a special sort of madness.

---

“His destruction would benefit many,” Ilstan said. “It would be a boon to us all, and—”

“Is he like Shar?” Farideh asked. Ilstan frowned at her. “Dahl told me once you worship Shar when grief overtakes you. You give her a little honor so that she eases the sadness through your life. That the evil of Shar is that she’ll try to pull you down into that darkness, to make you stay. Is he like that?”

Ilstan shifted uneasily. “One might say so.”

“Have you given him worship then?”

“I’ve … You can’t ask me that.”

Perhaps, but Farideh could picture it: you pray to Asmodeus in the dark, for protection from the darker things, from the darkness inside you, for the blindness of other gods to the sins of your heart, for a silver tongue and a weight on Kelemvor’s scales, come the day. Freedom from consequence.

Asmodeus is the god of easy paths, Farideh thought. A god of happiness, as he says it.

[megamindsecretlair]

Be My Little Darling - Chapter 11

Chapter 10 Chapter 12

Pairing: Loki x Black!Fem!reader / Plus Size reader

Warnings: 18+. Minors DNI. You are in charge of your own reading experience. ANGST. Dirty talk, mentions of grief and violence. Soft Loki, Jealous Loki

Summary: Loki is the exclusive owner of the hottest club in New Asgard. Dubbed the Nine Realms, each of the nine rooms represent a different realm. You are his second in command, working the floors and ensuring everyone is having fun. It has been a week since the dust up with Loki and you are not sure how much more you can take.

Word Count: 3,939k

Masterlist

A/N: I'm sorry it's been so long! My family are my opps. I will try to update this a little quicker, I'm excited to see where these two go. A little something something before we get into the nitty gritty. Likes are always awesome. Please consider commenting and reblogging to help support writers! I block ageless blogs!

Taglist: @cantstayawaycani @braverthanthenewworld @monaeesstuff @chaos-4baby @dayjlovesromance @soft-persephone @mybonafidefeelings @nerdieforpedro @browngirldominion @thecookiebratz @we-outsiiiide@foxherder @itzgabz22

“I hate it when Mom and Dad fight,” Sweetie muttered, just loud enough for your benefit. You ignored her just as you ignored the rest of the staff all week. They weren’t stupid, they could pick up on the tension between you and Loki. 

You weren’t ignoring him, not completely. He’d throw too big of a temper tantrum. But he was also unwilling to talk about what happened when you saw Thor. You just wanted him to budge, even a little.

He had forced you to confront things you hadn’t been ready to. Forced to draw out those deep grooves in your heart and put them up to a mirror in all its ugly glory. You cried in front of him. Bared your soul and body to him in a way you never had before. And what did he do? Completely shut you out.

You couldn’t survive in half a relationship. So sue you. You weren’t a half measure type of person. You loved and hated in absolutes. You didn’t know how to give up. It was why you were still looking for your family five years later with all evidence pointing to the inevitable truth: Thanos snapped them away.

Your heart cracked thinking of such a thing. That they were just…gone. There was no body to bury, no tomb to mourn. You couldn’t accept it yet. You couldn’t look your siblings in the eyes and tell them that there was no hope left to give.

So no. You weren’t giving up on Loki and you didn’t care how old he was, how powerful, or how much he considered himself a god. He would have to use his big boy words. 

“Sweetie, I’m expecting a visitor today. Please make sure to notify me,” you said. It wasn’t her job, but you smiled at her so that she got the message. 

“Do we need to Parent Trap them?” Honey asked, not bothering to be subtle. She sat with her usual suspects hunched over cups of coffee, bottles of water or juice, and random pastries. 

You grabbed your coffee, unable to fight the smile at the reference. Movies were something you all enjoyed once coming to Earth. As far as being stranded, it wasn’t that bad of a place to be. You all have torn through plenty of movies so far, Parent Trap being among the favorites. You were still shocked that the little girl wasn’t a real life twin. 

You walked over to the table while the group looked at you expectantly. Some leaned forward as if you were going to share something juicy. Others looked almost genuinely worried for you. You hated the pity. You didn’t owe them an explanation. 

“The saboteur has been too quiet lately, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled. This person likes to watch the chaos from the front seat,” you said. You smiled when they groaned and leaned back. 

“Princesa, please! We cannot live like this!” Honey said, her face scrunching up comically into a heartbroken frown. 

“You make it sound like we’re in Hel,” you said and chuckled. 

“He’s miserable without you,” Sugar said. 

You took a sip of coffee to stop yourself from going on a rant. You were their boss, not their friend. Though, some dark pleasure rippled through you at the thought of him suffering. You hoped your scent still lingered in his bed. The gods knew that you tossed and turned in your bed thinking of him between your legs.

And…that was enough of that thinking. You took a deep breath. “Loki is a god, as he likes to remind us. He’s fine,” you said.

They didn’t believe you. You didn’t give a shit. You had more pressing matters to worry about. Like supply requests and restock. A prickling awareness settled over you and you straightened up. 

Eyes snapped towards the door. This was all so dreadfully dramatic. You turned towards the door and saw Loki looking as delicious as ever. He couldn’t be that miserable and still look that damn good. It was unfair. His hair should be messy, clothes unkempt. Something. 

Your eyes skittered over his before you looked away. It still hurt too much that he didn’t trust you with the truth. And you weren’t the begging type. So you walked over to him. “Loki,” you said with a nod.

“Is it me or is it fucking icy right now?” You heard somewhere behind you.

“Mom and Dad need to figure it the fuck out,” you heard as well. 

“Darling, good morning,” he said. He stood and stared at you, making it hard for you to deny that there was anything amiss. He also blocked the damn door. 

“Morning,” you said, nodding towards the door. Loki dug his hands in his pockets. You glared at him but his face didn’t change. Nothing about him did. Your hand was beginning to shake. You longed to run your hands through his hair, pull him to you, and demand kisses and smiles. 

The staff was right, this was icy. Nothing like the heat and passion he was capable of. You moved to walk past him and he cut you off.

“We have to talk about the VIP list tonight,” he said. There. A wince. A crack. A glimpse into that stormy brain of his. 

“Well in hand, Loki,” you said. You smiled, turned around and bowed for the audience. “And scene. Back to work, you bunch of lazies,” you said. The tension in the room melted a fraction before you shoved past Loki and out into the hallway.

Loki trailed behind you. He made no sound but you were attuned to him like never before. You were always aware of him before. How he moved, how he talked, that smile that never failed to trick and tease. But it was amplified now. As if invisible strings connected the both of you. 

“Darling, stop,” Loki said. You took a deep breath at his deep timbre. That voice. Hell, let’s be honest. Everything about him drove you crazy. And you had resisted for five long, beautiful, torturous years. It was hard to quit cold turkey. 

Still you marched down the hallways towards your office. You weren’t going to make a scene here. 

Loki’s strong fingers wrapped around your arms, pulling you to a halt. You swung your arms wide, careful to avoid any slippage of your coffee. You growled, facing Loki finally. 

“You’re such a child,” you hissed. 

“You’re the one ignoring me like one,” he said. 

“I’m not ignoring you, I’m busy. Work, remember? The thing you hired me for?” You asked.

“Fine, then you’re fired,” he said.

You giggled. You immediately shut up because it wasn’t funny, not at all. You drank your coffee to hopefully scald your throat and prevent you from letting any more giggles escape. You weren’t done being angry. 

“You won’t even look at me anymore,” he whispered. His hand left your arm and he brought it to your face. He stopped before touching you and you finally looked into his eyes. The sight nearly robbed you of breath.

Away from prying eyes, he let you see the raw pain. The whites of his eyes were wide, mouth straining, jaw clenching. 

“Ready to talk about why you blew up at me?” You asked. 

“I already said–” 

“I have things to do, Loki,” you said. You turned on your heel. Turned away from that look in his eyes. If you stared too long, you’d cave. And you didn’t want to. You did the work and now he had to as well. 

Loki didn’t leave it there. He followed you to your office where he waited for you to settle behind your desk. He leaned into the doorframe, watching your every move. You moved a pen here, opened a folder there. But there was no way you were getting work done while he was here. His presence made your brain foggy and hands shake. 

Finally, the mounting pressure got to you. You slammed your hands on the desk and looked at him. “Why are you still here?” You asked.

He crossed his arms and took a deep breath. “I don’t like that you’re mad at me. Not when we’ve come so far,” he said. 

You leveled him with a stare. “This is on you. You love to talk but won’t talk about this. With me,” you said. 

“That’s not it,” he said with a scowl. 

“If you won’t talk, I don’t know what to think,” you said.

His jaw flexed more as he spoke. You’d give anything to know what he was thinking, what he was running through his mind. 

“Believe it or not, I have a hard time admitting faults,” he said, chuckling to cover what he said. 

“So you can stick your dick in my mouth but can’t tell me what’s on your mind?” You asked.

“Don’t be so crass,” he said. 

You’d have to be the bigger person here. Which you hated. But you took a deep breath and looked skyward, praying to the gods and ancestors in Valhalla for strength. “I told you no more running. I meant it. But as much as you say otherwise, I need this to be as equal as possible. You cannot demand everything from me and give none of yourself,” you said. 

“People are entitled to lick some wounds in private,” he said. 

“I’m not asking for every detail of your sordid history. I just want to know why you blew up at me. I only asked about why you didn’t want to speak to Thor,” you said.

Loki finally looked away from you, drawing his eyes downward. He frowned as he picked at an invisible lint on his jacket. “I can’t,” he said, with a sniff. He looked back at you briefly. 

You slowly nodded. “At an impasse, then. Get out, Loki,” you said. Your voice sounded tired to your own ears. You were weary, downtrodden. Maybe it was unfair to demand so much from him, something he clearly didn’t want to talk about. 

You had enough on your plate without worrying about Loki and his moods. You had decided over the course of the week that it hadn’t been a mistake sleeping with him. You had known bliss in his arms and that couldn’t really be a mistake. It just likely wasn’t going to happen again anytime soon. Not while he held on to whatever the fuck was preventing him from speaking. 

Never one to listen, Loki approached your desk. He leaned over it, planting his hands on it and leaning further still. His hair dropped forward like a curtain pulling open for a dramatic scene. His face could technically qualify as a dramatic scene. So many lines and planes, mouth made for sin and eyes dancing with mischief. 

“Darling, please. I–” he paused and just looked at you. His eyes moved, taking in your face. You didn’t know how you looked to him. Just another angry and bitter lover? A messy subordinate with a mouth that gave as good as it got? A once irreparably damaged Asgardian without a clue in the world? 

“I don’t like this between us. I finally got you in my arms, in my bed. I finally got a peek inside and it feels like you’ve closed the doors forever,” he said. 

“You’re the one unwilling to walk through it,” you said, softly. 

“And have you told me everything then? Every dark and horrible secret in your past? Like where you run off to every few months, disappearing at the drop of a hat? Every scar on your skin?” 

Your heart roared in your chest. It beat wildly, thumping against your rib cage. “You should know that I’ve shared far more than I ever cared to with you,” you said. You thought back to the day in his office when you finally let yourself feel. 

For the first time in a long time, you stopped disassociating. Stopped trying to hold it all in. You stopped trying to take flight while your feet were planted on the ground. And he helped you. 

“If you want to know where I disappear off to, I’ll tell you. It’s no secret. But only if I get to demand something too. Only if you let me in,” you said. 

“Ask me for anything else,” he whispered. His voice was so soft, softer than a raven’s wing. He rounded the desk and moved to stand in front of you. He got to his knees and looked at you. He was still damn tall, practically eye level with you. 

He grabbed your hand and brought it to his lips. “Ask me for anything else and I’ll give it. But not that,” he said. 

He kept his eyes on your hand, his lips resting softly against it. You brought your other hand to push his hair behind his ear. “That is my price, Loki.” 

He loosed a breath while your phone rang. The damn thing was still foreign, even after five years. You answered it. The front desk host let you know that your visitor was here. 

You pushed your chair back away from Loki and moved around him. He said nothing and made no noise while you left the room. Your heart felt like a rock in your chest. Each step you took from him felt like lead in your shoes. 

Still, you marched on. You walked to the front and greeted the Asgardian tracker you hired. He was impossibly tall, taller than Loki even. With smooth bronzed skin, short hair, but a host of tattoos criss crossing his bare arms. You didn’t know how he wasn’t freezing in this type of climate, but well, you weren’t going to complain. 

“Erik!” You said, wide grin splitting your face and you hugged him. 

He turned when he saw you, grinning. His smile was so heartbreaking. Why couldn’t you be head over heels for someone like him? He held on a second too long, having last seen him months ago. 

You grew up with Erik in your village on Asgard, running through the streets and getting into all kinds of trouble together. You had entertained something between you many, many years ago, but it was clear that you were better off as friends. You had already given your heart away a long time ago. 

You sat on a lounge chair in the front and tried to temper your expectations. But hope was a cruel thing. It cropped up, over and over no matter how many times you tried to squash and burn it within you. Erik settled next to you, but he wasn’t smiling. 

“No word yet on your family. The universe is very large,” he said. 

You nodded. You figured as much. You tried to hold it together, but throwing that door open within you opened yourself to it all. You felt the tears but you weren’t completely transformed. You blinked them away and squared your shoulders.

“I have people on it though. They’re out there,” he said. 

You shook your head. “They’re not.” You took a shuddering breath at that realization. Five years was too long to keep searching for people that clearly weren’t here, wasn’t it? The fall of Asgard had to have spread by now. For half of life to be eradicated, even people who had never heard of Thanos likely knew his name now. 

If not, well, they knew that those people were gone. Vanished from their lives. Turned to dust and never to be seen again. If Thor was here, all hope was truly lost. The Avengers he so affectionately ran with over the years had gone all but silent. If they were hopeless… 

“Perhaps it’s time to involve Heimdall,” Erik said.

You shushed him. You didn’t need that man turning his gaze on you. He was so eerie, seeming to know so many things. His eyes, like galaxies, were far wiser than your age. 

“I can’t. I can’t just walk up to him and ask. Maybe it’s time to call it,” you said. You didn’t want to say it. That same crack in your chest split wide open at the thought of stopping your search.

Erik grabbed your hand. “Hey, I’m not giving up,” he said. 

You patted his hand. “I’ve taken enough of your time. You have more important people to track down,” you said. Your voice warbled. You hated this. This was why you kept this shit locked away and buried at sea. 

“No one is more important than your family. They’re my family too,” he said. He scooted closer to you and drew you into his arms. You greedily took the comfort. He was always so warm and solid, giving the best hugs you’d ever known. 

“My, Darling, who’s your friend?” Loki’s voice cut into what had been a sweet and peaceful moment. 

You cracked one eye open, trying to disengage from Erik. But he was slower to let you go. He hadn’t missed the deadly tone of Loki’s voice. Where the hell did he come from anyway? 

Erik stiffened, turning fully around to face the larger threat. Loki had a devilish smile on his face, but his eyes were seething. 

“Loki, this is Erik,” you said. Before you could explain further, Erik stood up and blocked your view of Loki for a moment. Erik held out his hand and Loki shook it, keeping that smile on his face.

“Erik, haven’t seen you around,” Loki said. His eyes slid towards you and you inwardly groaned. 

“Erik has–” 

“I pop in every few months to check in on her,” Erik said. 

“Every few months? Really?” Loki smiled at you. Shit, shit. 

“He’s–” 

“Any friend of Darling’s a friend of mine,” Loki said. 

You narrowed your eyes at Loki. You didn’t know what game he was playing but you weren’t in the mood. “Erik has been looking into something for me. Right, Erik?” You stood up and nudged his shoulder to agree with you. His eyes were still trained on Loki. What was this, a fucking pissing match? 

“I was just telling Darling that I’d like to meet more of her friends. We see so little of them,” Loki said. He sauntered around Erik, putting his arm around you. “I like to make sure she’s happy. Always.”

Your eyes bugged out of your head. Erik took in Loki’s arm around you and lifted an eyebrow. “Keeping secrets, are we?” Erik asked. He crossed his arms and stared at you, putting you on the spot.

You licked your lips slowly, trying to describe what you and Loki were to each other. Boyfriend? Boss? Occasional sadistic charmer? 

Loki hugged you close and you looked at him. He smiled at you, leaning down to kiss your cheek. “Didn’t tell him about me? I’m a little hurt,” Loki said. Still with that damn smile. You were starting to panic. You might’ve been a little afraid of what he’d do. 

Loki moved his right hand to lift up your chin and plant a small, but sultry kiss to your lips. You gasped and he drank it down with a low hum. “Always so private,” he said against your lips.

You were going to murder him. Your hands itched with magic dancing between your fingertips. A dagger? A sword? You were going to cut him down where he stood. 

“Erik, he’s–” 

“Loki, of Asgard, everyone knows,” Erik said. He raised his eyebrow at you but you didn’t know what he was trying to communicate. 

“Will you two shut the fuck up?!” You yelled. You drew the attention of some patrons who cast little glances towards you. The host stood in the corner with a few staff members, Honey among them, as they stared at all three of you. They saw the kiss. Your shoulders deflated. There went the little bit of respect you had around here. 

“Erik is a childhood friend who has been looking for my family. They went on a trip when the Snap happened so I don’t know if they’re out there, looking for us, or if they’re gone,” your breath hitched on the word ‘gone’ but you persisted. “Loki is…Loki. We’re figuring it out. Now, say hi to Denby for me,” you said, looking at Erik who slowly smiled. 

You shoved off Loki’s arm around you. “As always, you’ve gotten what you wanted and made out like a thief,” you tossed at him. 

“You’re no better than he is,” you told Erik.

You stormed off. Leaving everyone in the dust. An ache thumped in your head. You needed away. Away from here with all of its bullshit. 

“Darling!” Loki called after you. This time, you heard his steps behind you, heard him walking down the hall. You ignored him. Your fists clenched and unclenched. Your teeth grated. You were fuming with nowhere to direct the anger.

Loki caught up to you outside of your office once more. You pushed him when he was in arm’s reach. “What the fuck was that?!” You yelled. 

You were in the back, well away from any patrons. The hallways had music playing, soft muzak that kept up the hazy and alluring vibe of the club. Each room played its own music so there was no danger of being overhead. Except the staff. You imagined the rumors flying like wildfire, distracting the staff and performers. You were going to be sick. 

“A miscalculation,” he said. 

“What?” You said. He swooped in and waved his stake in the air like you were some prize he won over a miscalculation? 

“I didn’t know about your family–” 

“You would have. I would have told you. As always, you want and you want and you-”

“I have always maintained that I want you because you’re mine,” Loki said. All sense of propriety was gone. Extra eyes be damned. He advanced on you and pushed you against the wall. 

“Completely mine. Mine to do with as I please,” he said. His lips traveled from your temple down to your neck, bypassing your lips. Your body instantly reacted. Craved him. Craved another hit of what he could bring you. 

You grabbed his jacket and turned around, pushing him against the wall. He grinned as if he won. As if you would give in and forget all about your ultimatum. You licked the long expanse of his neck and his breath fanned over your skin. 

You pulled back and smiled at him. He grinned back, hanging his head and looking up at you through his pretty eyelashes. Then you slapped the smirk right off of his face. He licked his lips as if he meant to taste the sting. You raised your arm again and he caught your wrist.

“Darling, not in mixed company,” he said. He gave you a wink. “Save it for later.” 

“You are the most arrogant, infuriating, child-like, obnoxious–”

“Do keep going,” he interrupted.

“Confusing man I’ve ever met! You irritate the fuck out of me! You…bastard,” you said. 

“I don’t know how else to be,” he said.

You yanked your wrist out of his hand. You were breathing too heavy. You couldn’t get enough air in your lungs. You wanted to smack him. You wanted to curse him. You wanted to toss him into hot lava and see if he’d melt. You wanted to kiss his stupid face. 

“We promised no lies between us. And if you can’t give me that Loki, you can’t have me.” 

He opened his mouth to say something, all hints of playfulness gone. But then the lights went out and the screaming started.

Masterlist | Chapter 10 | Chapter 12

[night-market-if]

January Patreon Round Up

Feebus blinked, the past and present colliding as he remembered a young boy with dirt streaked cheeks and a temper to boot. “What’d you do?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Milo flopped down on one of the chairs nearby, crossing one leg over the other and placing his hands on the arms.  He sat in repose, his body loose and unencumbered.  It wasn’t often anymore that he felt comfortable in his own skin.  Hazel’s used to bring that relief but in recent months even that succor had been whisked away. “You know, eventually you are going to need to understand that every time I show up here doesn’t mean that I fucked up in some way.”

Malcolm Albright was dead.  

It was a funny thing to say, really, especially once he realized he was Malcolm Albright. It was a whisper he had heard for as long as he could remember. Some rejoiced at his demise. Others felt such deep sorrow.  And some, sought him out. He remembered in the early days how there were spirits that would greet him but when he only stared at them with a blankness and a memory that had crumpled somewhere in another world's ether, they had begun to leave him alone.

“What did you do.” It did not fall from her lips as a question. Accusations rarely did. And while Belladonna had always been someone who had left almost everyone to their own paths, something about tonight had settled against her in a way that left her silence to be nearly impossible.

Hazel looked at her, trying to find the bravado she had held so tight earlier. That was before she had nearly bled herself dry and let the spirits of the dead wander through her like a revolving door.

Belladonna rolled her eyes at the formality before nodding towards the paraphernalia he saw fit to scatter across her workspace. “Would you care to give me an explanation?”

“You are expected to read this material before your first Baron meeting near the full moon.  There will be no quiz but I do suggest an effort to at least know the rules before engaging in any sort of political conversation with the others. Upon arriving, you will be sworn in, which usually is a blood right, but the Book Baron has suggested that perhaps that is not what should be done for a vampire so recently gorged on blood.  So it will be more symbolic than an actual swearing in.”

Belladonna stared at him, amusement curling at the corner of her lips. “Do I get an honorary plaque that makes me a part of the Big Boys club?”

Setting aside the dirty rag, Gabriel looked upwards at the semicircle of thrones that sat before him.  Nine of them. The monthly Baron meeting came on the heels of Kavatti’s demise so her chair remained empty. So did the Gatekeepers, like usual. Along with the Dockmaster’s since Reese never came to the meeting in order to keep up the ruse that he was dead for Elias.  But, it seemed as if today, most of the Barons did not seem to deem it necessary to attend their meeting.  The Baron of the Deep only had a conch shell in her place, having called in from the depths of her castle instead of making her way to the surface today. Odin was irritated at his inability to get back to the Nine Realms like he initially thought he would so easily do, so his other raven, Huginn/Julien, Gabriel didn’t know which he wished to go by, was sitting surly in his place.  

In fact, the only true Barons attending today seemed to be Elias.  Perhaps, Lady Chrysanthemum.  

Blood splattered across the floor in one long streak, a scream falling short in a wet cough.  Belladonna tipped her head to the side, a bit of a frown marring her crimson lips. You couldn’t see the carnage on the black flooring. She loved obsidian but it didn’t do well for setting such an example.

Looking at her “guards”, and oh how she hated calling them that, she waved her hand. “Next.”  They came forward, dragging away the decapitated form of some low life vampire trying to still lick Kavatti’s boots long after her demise.  At the same time, another was pushed forward.  “State your grievance.”

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[themculibrary]

Angry Kissing Masterlist

A is for Asphyxiation (ao3) - shieldslut steve/tony E, 2k

Summary: Tony's used to messing up on missions, and he's used to an angry Captain America yelling at him for it... but this? This is new.

Angry Kiss (ao3) - thegreenwomanswalkman steve/natasha G, 794

Summary: Maybe fighting while angry isn't the best idea, but it's the best way to get over the UST between them.

Borrowed, Stolen, Sworn and Sealed (ao3) - Im_The_Doctor (Bofur1) peter/mary jane T, 4k

Summary: Every kiss Peter and MJ share is different but in the end, they all boil down in translation to the same three words.

Don't Talk Just Kiss (ao3) - Dormammu steve/tony G, 2k

Summary: Steve and Tony are at Club A, each thinking about their never realized friendship and crush on the other and that the other hates him.

Fit The Profile (ao3) - WaterHorseyBlues loki/mobius N/R, 77k

Summary: Violent attacks, attempted murder and an unclaimed inheritance. Loki's dull life is interrupted when he's unexpectedly taken as a hostage one night. Private Detective Mobius is on the case, and Loki grasps at the chance to turn his life around and hunt down the perpetrator. What at first seems like unmotivated violence caused by an untraceable ghost soon turns into something much bigger than either Loki or Mobius could have expected. Could the answer lie in Loki's past? Or is something far more sinister going on?

He Doesn't Need Me Anymore (ao3) - loricameback steve/bucky T, 690

Summary: What really happened after Steve rescued Bucky from Red Skull.

In the End in Wonderland We Both Went Mad (ao3) - snarkysweetness skye/grant M, 1k

Summary: After a mission gone awry Skye and Ward get into a very heated shouting match that has unforeseen consequences.

Let my love erase all your doubts (ao3) - Mimisempai loki/mobius M, 1k

Summary: While traveling with Loki in Asgard on a mission for the TVA, Mobius stumbles upon what appears to be a tender moment between Sif and his lover. When Loki finds him in their room, Mobius lets his jealousy take possession of him to Loki's great surprise.

Let's Hear It For Captain America! (ao3) - Magnetism_bind steve/bucky E, 5k

Summary: A missing scene from Captain America: The First Avenger

Marked For Good (ao3) - buckybarnesdeservestobehappy (hutchabelle) steve/bucky E, 1k

Summary: Steve Rogers is noble to a fault, and that's how he manages to get himself into really dumb predicaments more often than not. Bucky Barnes is fed up. In fact, he's so fed up he decides a spanking's in order. They both end up enjoying it way more than either expect.

Nine Days Of Loki (ao3) - EarthAngelGirl30 loki/sif N/R, 74k

Summary: The Lady Sif has been given a mission. She's been sent to Midgard with orders to bring the troublesome trickster Loki, back to Asgard. He's been in hiding amongst the mortals after fleeing the realm eternal, in order to escape the wrath of Odin, as well as Thanos who still has a score to settle with him. With his magical abilities, Sif isn't able to apprehend him easily and inadvertently becomes his hostage. When their hatred of each other begins evolving into something more complicated, her integrity, loyalty and honour will be tested. Likewise, Loki even begins questioning his reasons for holding her captive in the first place. Unless she can convince him to return, Sif may end up being stranded on Midgard indefinitely, and who knows what fate may befall her captor. But with the possibility of Heimdall observing all, as she's pushed to the limit, will whatever happens on Midgard...stay on Midgard?

oh captain, my captain (ao3) - silentstreets steve/tony M, 1k

Summary: steve's angry so tony's angry and they make out wow

Staring at the Sun (ao3) - Silver17Springs yelena/kate E, 11k

Summary: After spending Christmas with the Barton family, Kate remembers the blonde assassin who left and is determined to find her and remind her that she still had people. She finds, her, but the second part doesn't go so well.

Or, the "Yelena is super fucked up and people ignore her trauma" trope where Kate Bishop gets thrown a learning curve about how to deal with a ticking bomb of a human person.

Surrounded, Surrounded (ao3) - ryry_peaches steve/bucky G, 3k

Summary: Before the battle in Wakanda, Steve and Bucky take a little time to catch up, resolve some things and remind one another what they're fighting for.

Take Me, Quake Me (ao3) - tisfan robbie/skye E, 2k

Summary: Robbie's got a demon inside him... And Daisy was never big on caution.

The Only One For Me (ao3) - scarletvisionforever wanda/vision T, 1k

Summary: PROMPT: Fighting that leads to an angry kiss~

under the neon lights (all I see is you) (ao3) - smish1 steve/bucky E, 9k

Summary: Bucky expresses some feelings with the help of karaoke, Asgardian mead and some bad decisions.

We Don't Kiss & Tell (ao3) - STARSdidathing loki/tony T, 4k

Summary: The first time it happened, they were in the middle of an argument.

[10blue10]

TNR: What Could Have Been

I decided to continue from my previous THW post and come up with a new version of The Nine Realms. This spin off show would take place a thousand years (give or take) after the events of the AU version of THW. I’ve changed the characters names but feel free to picture them as they appear in the show.

Title: Flight Club

Premise: the characters live in Canada, and their parents work for a nonprofit called DRACO - Dragon Research And Conservation Organisation. The members of this org believe dragons should be treated as wild animals - they should be studied and protected, but not ridden or trained by humans. The five teens want to ride dragons however so they start a secret ‘Flight Club’ for it.

Protagonists

Leader: Kory Kullersen

Kory is short for Hickory, which is a source of amusement for everyone except him.

He knows he’s descended from Hiccup (he took a DNA test one time) and decides that he too is going to befriend and learn to ride a Night Fury.

He ends up befriending a Night Light (M) who is mostly black with a white stripe all around its body. This is why Kory names his dragon Oreo.

As a kid he was a member of the Scouts and knows how to survive in the wilderness. Which helps when he and his friends go off ‘camping’.

His uncle Robert (who may or may not be descended from Gobber) is a mechanic and taught him how to use tools/fix machines.

He sucks at using computers. He can manage his phone but that’s it.

Lancer: Julian ‘Ian’ Feng

Ian and his big sister are adopted and have two mums. One of whom is a Canadian named April and the other is a Chinese-American named Mai.

Even though he prefers being called Ian, his sister teases him by calling him July. They both joke that a third sibling will be called Augustus.

The two of them can read and write Chinese and use it to communicate in a secret sibling code (secret to everyone except Mei, of course).

Ian bonds with a Hobblegrunt (F) he names Hob-Nob. Kory gets annoyed that his idea to name a dragon after a cookie was stolen.

Ian loves aircraft and plays on flight simulators. It’s Kory’s idea to ride dragons, but it’s Ian who figures out the best way to do that.

He and Kory have a ‘vitriolic besties’ kind of relationship. They bonded over having stupid first names but also tease each other about it.

Heart: June Feng

June is the most organised of the group. She’s fond of calling her brother and friends idiots (affectionate) and reminding them to take first aid stuff, snacks, water and to go to the toilet before they start flying around.

She’s a big history/dragons buff and loves pestering Kory about his heroic ancestor. He keeps telling her it’s really not that big a deal.

Her dragon is a Windwalker (M) she decides to name Gary, as in gharial, a species of crocodilian native to Asia that the dragon resembles.

June is very passionate about protecting dragons and will swear like a sailor, in both English and Chinese, at anyone trying to hurt them.

This contrasts nicely with her well groomed, fashionable appearance. Which also contrasts with her brother, who is kind of a slob.

Between their mums, June is closer to April than to Mei, since April is a bit more supportive of her interests whereas Mei thinks she should focus on her studies.

Big Guy: Michael ‘Mick’ Angelo Gonzalez

He has a big brother called Leonardo, a little brother called Raphael and a little sister called Donna.

In case it wasn’t obvious, his parents are big fans of TMNT. Mick…not so much. He doesn’t hate the cartoon, he just thinks his parents went a bit overboard naming their kids after the main characters.

As their strongest friend, Mick is the ‘lifter and carrier’ of the group. He likes to be useful, but wishes he wasn’t seen as just ‘the strong guy’.

Mick rides a Thunderclaw (M) he names Rhino, because he loves animals.

He’s the one who suspects the dragons aren’t merely intelligent, but full on sapient, and with Alexa’s help comes up with ways to test this hypothesis.

Mick has a crush on June and thinks she’s the prettiest girl he knows.

Smart Gal: Alexa Baker

She’s the techie of the group, and her friends like to joke that Amazon’s Alexa was named after her.

Out of all the five, Alexa is the most nervous around dragons. She is particularly anxious when it comes to the more aggressive species.

The irony is that her dragon ends up being a Changewing (F) that she names Maple.

She likes to challenge herself by sneaking past her dad, who is head of security at the research institute they’re staying at.

Her dad and Kory’s mum seem to have a thing for each other, which is super awkward, because Alexa has a crush on Kory and definitely doesn’t see him as a step-brother.

Alexa has a great love of detective stories, escape rooms and other puzzle solving games.

The Dragons

Oreo: an adventurous and stubborn male Night Light who’s father is a Light Fury and mother is a Night Fury. Oreo grew up on New Berk until he set off to explore. He meets Kory when the boy is out hiking. Oreo isn’t scared of humans, but has no interest in having a rider. Kory’s persistence pays off however and he ends up rescuing the boy from a territorial Whispering Death.

Hob-Nob: a gentle and skittish female Hobblegrunt who is caught and studied by the researchers at DRACO, to learn more about her species colour change abilities. When Ian realises how desperate she is to be free, he lets her out of her cage. In her rush to leave she accidentally snags him and carries him back to her nest. He earns her trust by freeing her and also not harming her babies.

Gary: a playful and daring male Windwalker who is rescued from poachers but left with an injured wing. He splashes June with water from his pool when she walks by. She splashes him right back and the two of them quickly become friends. When she realises that he’s lonely without his pod, June spends more time with Gary, earning his trust until he offers to let her ride on his back.

Rhino: a grumpy and tenacious male Thunderclaw who is also rescued from poachers. He was left behind by his migrating flock and needs to recover from a broken leg before he can catch up. Mick is the one who takes care of him whilst he’s recovering, and whilst Rhino takes a while to warm up to the teen, they bond eventually. Rhino then decides to stick around with Mick after that.

Maple: a mischievous and inquisitive female Changewing who turns up to explore the research facility. She sees Alexa sneaking out and follows the girl. At first Alexa is really nervous and keeps trying to shoo her away, but it’s no good. Eventually the staff catch Maple and plan to relocate her. Alexa, not wanting her new friend to be sent far away, lets her out of the cage instead.

Antagonists

The Bully: Lee ‘Buzzcut’ Burns

An old bully/ rival of Kory and Ian, he shows up in the area on holiday (supposedly) and discovers the gang are riding dragons.

He demands a dragon of his own in exchange for keeping the secret.

Lee secretly plans to use said dragon to make money.

The gang do their best to keep him from both getting a dragon to abuse and from revealing their secret club to the adults at DRACO.

The Smuggler: Damien Evans

The leader of a smuggling/poaching ring that captures and sells wild dragons to various, often illegal, zoos and menageries.

He is an enemy of the flight club members by extension of being in conflict with DRACO. However, since they’re teens he doesn’t take them seriously.

Their first encounter with him is when they rescue a baby Featherhide that he’s smuggled from Brazil, even though it’s too cold in Canada for her.

Damien is greedy and arrogant. He thinks his connections will be enough to keep him from going to prison. Kory and the others become determined to prove him wrong and put him behind bars for good.

The Bounty Hunter: Jacque ‘The Ripper’ Kennedy

He claims dragons are dangerous beasts that must be culled for the good of society and the ‘ecosystem’, despite not really caring about nature.

This is really just a thinly veiled justification for his desire to kill dragons for glory and prove how tough he is.

Jacque is convinced he is descended from the Normans, who in turn are descended from Vikings, and sees himself as ‘continuing their legacy’.

The fact that it was Vikings who fought against dragon hunters isn’t something he wants to acknowledge. He doesn’t see the original Berkians as ‘real Vikings’. His idea of ‘real Vikings’ are white supremacists.

[tharros-auris-black-asimi]

Cruel Summer (Chapter 6)

Pairing: Alpha Steve Rogers x Female Omega Reader

Summary: It's a normal day for Alpha Steven Grant Rogers.

Well, if you don't count the fact that his childhood friend and best pal James Buchanan Barnes is currently on trial for his crimes as the Winter Soldier. Paired with his responsibilities as an Avenger, there's a lot on his plate.

Until he meets you by chance in an elevator.

You're just trying to figure this new world out after being frozen for forty years. You're hoping for a fresh new start. A new normal.

And then you meet Steve.

Life can't get worse... right?

Chapter Warnings: Mpreg, childbirth, mentions of demigod children, mentions of Bucky and Natasha's shared trauma from the Red Rom/Hydra.

Additional Notes: Hello everyone! Welcome the part two of the double update! I hope you enjoy this little detour. Originally, this chapter was going to deal with Steve's Rut, but I didn't want to jump into it right after the Reader's Heat. So the next chapter will be dealing with Steve's Rut, and this will be a little filler chapter if you will.

As always, you can read this chapter here.

Word Count: 3969

A month later...

If you asked Bruce Banner what he had imagined for himself a few years ago, it wasn’t this.

Almost over a year ago, Thor had shown up on Earth and proclaimed that he needed Bruce��s help with something.

That “something” being the Tesseract.

The Asgardians had gotten it back from SHIELD, (sorry, Hydra), and had begun to do tests on it again. To see its potential. All the while Loki had been a somewhat helpful ally.

Thor had told him after the death of their mother that something had changed in his brother. A switch, perhaps.

Bruce could sympathize with that. He really could. Plus, Loki wasn’t all that bad.

… mostly.

Anywho.

Bruce had decided to bring Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis on their lovely trip back to Asgard. He had reservations for Jane though. Because of the whole Aether and Dark Elves thing.

And because Jane and Thor used to date.

But Jane had assured him that nothing would be awkward. His fellow Omega had told him that she and Thor had broken it off on friendly terms. Not to mention, once they got to Asgard, she had met Val.

Well. Her real name was Brunnhilde. Her Asgardian name anyway. Jane and Val had become a Bonded Pair, and somehow, in some weird freaking way— so had Loki and Darcy.

Really, Bruce couldn’t figure that out. But they were happy, so he was happy for them.

Which, really just left him and Thor.

Just the two of them.

He didn’t really know when it happened, really.

Bruce had never believed in that True Mates stuff. Sure, maybe as a kid, but once he had been affected by the gamma rays, he stopped believing. He could become a huge green monster, after all. He Hulk Smashed everything in sight when he was the big guy.

Who would want someone like him?

Thor, however, was that someone.

Finding out Thor was his True Mate was… odd. Weird. Something he still couldn’t wrap his head around, even with his pup growing in him.

Oh yeah.

And it just wasn’t him.

Jane and Darcy had joined the Knocked Up By Asgardian Peeps club. And all six of them were going back down to Earth, leaving Thor and Loki’s older sister Hela in charge. Hela had been hard to come around, especially with the whole I-was-the-older-one-so-I-have-ruler-superiority thing going on. But Thor, being the eldest of the two, had kindly told his technical older sister that he didn’t have any premeditated motions to rule Asgard. He was far much more comfortable being on Earth with the Avengers.

To say Hela had been surprised. Bruce had been sure it had been the first time he had ever seen her smile.

Then, the six of them were off going back through the nine realms and back to Earth.

Or Midgard, as Thor and Loki affectionately nicknamed it.

Jesus frigging Christ, Bruce hated being pregnant. Every step he took closer and closer to the Compound's roof was really making him queasy.

“Dr. Banner!”

It was Steve.

Bruce had always liked Steve. Steve was one of the people who regarded and treated him like an actual person. Of course, there was always Tony, even Natasha too, but Steve was actually someone he considered a good guy.

“Captain Rogers!”

His Mate’s booming voice made Bruce feel a little sheepish. His cheeks colored a little. He really wished he wasn’t pregnant right now, because his walking had been basically reduced to a waddle. It was kinda embarrassing.

“Hey! Dr. Banner! It’s nice to have you back.”

One of the cousin Omegas that Tony had hired, the one in Medical, was beaming at him. Dressed in the ugliest green scrubs imaginable, you were smiling at the doctor.

“Miss Yang, it’s great to see you.” Bruce greeted you kindly.

It was there, that he noticed it.

There was something different, the way Steve held you as he was guided back into the Avengers Compound.

It was different, the way Steve held you, Bruce noticed. He didn’t know anyone who Steve held as tight as you.

“Things have changed around here,” piped Wanda. The Romani-Jewish mutant looked positively giddy as she floated along with the Vision.

“Really?” Bruce looked interested. But his smile might have looked like a grimace due to him waddling around like a penguin.

“Oh yes,” Wanda nodded happily. “Captain Rogers has found his Mate.”

Bruce saw your cheeks flush.

Ohhhhh.

“Congratulations Captain Rogers!” Thor looked absolutely ecstatic.

“Thank you, Thor.” Steve smiled politely.

Suddenly, Bruce stopped in his tracks.

A deeply pained noise came from him.

“Dr. Banner? Bruce?” Steve’s voice sounded urgent, but by the time he had tried calling his name for the third time, the doctor had slumped onto his knees, gasping.

You sprung into action.

You could smell it.

Leaking amniotic fluid.

Bruce Banner was officially going into labor.

“Steve, Thor, I’m gonna need you to pick up Bruce. FRIDAY?”

“Yes, Miss Yang?” FRIDAY’s voice floated down.

“Can you please alert any other nurses and doctors still on the Compound that we have an Omega in labor?” Your voice rang out.

“I will alert Doctor Cho and Doctor Hudson.”

“Great. Thank you. Steve, Thor— come on—“ You urged the two Alphas as they lugged Bruce along, the male Omega groaning.

“Feels like hell,” groaned Bruce.

“I know it does, Doctor Banner. But you gotta hang in there. Just hang in there.”

In the labor room, a good thirty minutes later…

“Come again?”

Helen’s eye twitched.

The Korean Omega had bounced to the labor room when FRIDAY had told her that an Omega had gone into labor. Bruce was okay. You had checked him, while Steve and Thor had run off to get the stuff.

Bruce hadn’t been fully dilated to eight inches. So he was still okay. But the contraptions were hell. You were desperately holding his hand as he winced in pain.

“Bruce Banner is in labor. With Thor’s pup.”

Now.

Now.

Helen had heard down the grapevine all about Thor. The muscular, himbo god of lighting from Asgard. And his emo Shakespearean brother.

The bad thing was, that Thor was a god.

Bruce was a human.

Bruce was going to have a demigod baby.

An actual fucking demigod baby.

“Can he even survive the childbirth?” came Helen’s hissed response.

You weren’t quite sure. You knew about supersoldiers, mutants, and gods. Even if you were a Shaman.

“I don’t know. Maybe the gamma rays in his body can help him survive it? But we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Before Steve and Thor had left to grab the things you needed to assist with the birth, you had slathered on some scent blockers. To hide and conceal your scent.

It was essential that when the pups would come, only the Alpha and Omega, or Alpha and Beta, Beta and Beta, Omega and Omega’s scents were the only ones that lingered. It was good for the afterbirth too. The afterbirth was an important bonding between the newborn pups and their parents.

So, therefore, you not smelling your own scent wasn’t bothering you.

Not really.

To make matters worse, you didn’t even have a birthing suite for Bruce and his pup.

And, because Thor was a literal frigging god, no one would probably touch Bruce or his incoming pup, because their baby was a frigging demigod.

You still couldn’t wrap your head around that one.

So Steve and Thor had been sent out to get the supplies down from Medical, which just left you and Helen to man the joint.

“Is there literally anyone else who can help us?”

If it were heavenly possible, Helen would have marched all the way up to the rooftops of the Avengers Compound and screamed to her heart's content.

A deep whimper came from Bruce. Sweat was rolling down his face as his entire body trembled. Another contraption had hit him. Making his eyes squeeze shut as he gritted his teeth, trying to ease the pain.

Cause it hurt.

It hurt like a bitch.

“I may know someone who can help you, Doctor Cho.” FRIDAY’s voice floated down.

Both of your heads jerked. Bruce just shuddered.

“Miss Laura Barton is in the building, along with Agent Barton and Miss Romanov. Shall I send them up?”

Laura Barton was a lot of things.

A daughter. A sister. An aunt. A mother.

Back when she had been young, almost nine years ago, she had gotten pregnant with pups.

At first, Laura had fantasies of marrying her Alpha. They had met and started dating. Six months in, she had fallen pregnant.

And then her Alpha had abandoned her.

She had no one.

No one but her older brothers, Clint and Barney. Barney was the eldest of the Barton brood. Last she had heard of her oldest brother, he was in the Army and was married to his male Omega, some dude named Brian. She had met Brian. He was a nice dude. Seeing Barney be a family man after what their dysfunctional family was… it made her happy.

She was happy for her brother. And then, Clint had convinced Natasha to defect from the Soviet Union and the Red Room to the US and the two of them had gotten married. She had become a sister-in-law.

She was happy now. Utterly content with her life, and her two pups, Cooper and Lila. They lived in the Avengers Compound. Laura worked up in Accounting. Cooper and Lila attended a school that was close to the Avengers Compound.

Her pups happily sleeping and snoring away, Laura was awoken to light rapping on her door. Curious but guarded, Laura grabbed the metal bat she kept against the wall of her bedroom. Walking out of the bedroom, and through the hallway to the front door of the private apartment, she unlocked her door.

“Hey Laura— Woah Woah! Put the damn bat down!” Clint signed to his sister.

“Clint?” She signed. “It’s me,” he signed back. Slowly lowering her bat, she yanked him inside.

“What’s going on? It’s three in the morning!” she signed frantically.

Beep. Beep.

Having turned on his hearing aids, he answered her.

“Bruce is back. He’s pregnant, and he went into labor with Thor’s pups. You remember Thor, right? Blond, big dude? Huge muscles? That Thor?”

Nods.

Nods came from his sister in confirmation that yes, Laura did indeed remember the god.

“Doctor Cho and Doctor Omega don’t quite have all of the equipment. Plus, FRIDAY suggested that since we were there for Cooper and Lila’s birth, we could help them out.”

Childbirth. Oh yes. Laura was very well versed in that field. She had given birth to two pups, after all.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

When they got there, Steve and Thor, (and was that Bucky?), were wheeling in the proper equipment. Heck, even Loki was helping out. Green magic fluttering under his fingertips, the trickster god helped move along the equipment needed for the birthing.

But Clint just ushered Laura along to the birthing suite, where they had found you, Helen, and Bruce.

“Oh! Thank goodness you’re here!” Cried Helen.

And yeah, Helen was about to kneel at their feet.

You were too.

“How months has it been? Since the conception?” Laura was already firing off questions.

“Seven months,” rasped Bruce.

“Seven months? You’re early.” Astonishment was written all over her face.

“Really early.” Clint agreed with her.

Even a dumbass could figure out that was too early.

Far too early.

“My cousin was born seven months. She was really small. Like a little rat. Small and sickly. It took her two months after being born to be given the clear to be taken home.” You remarked. “But,” you continued, seeing the looks of pure horror on their faces. “Thor’s a god. Who knows, his semen might be really potent, like Steve’s.”

“How do you know that?” Helen was looking at you. To which, you just pointed at your gland, showcasing Steve’s teeth marks in it.

“Oh….” Three heads were nodding at you.

“The pup could be sired full to a full term already. We just need to make sure we have the correct equipment to help us out.” You concluded.

“How are you not nervous?” Clint blurted out at you. “Of course, I’m nervous Barton!” was your scandalized hiss. You even swatted his shoulder for good measure. “I’m fucking nervous as shit! We don’t have any good doctors on help that is experienced in delivering pups!”

“You’ve delivered a pup before!” Helen’s retaliation made Clint and Laura’s eyes bug out comically like they were anime characters.

“You have?!” They exclaimed.

Whipping your head so quick in Helen’s direction that you might have almost twisted your neck, you snapped at her.

“Once! Once! I delivered a pup ONCE! And it was in a hurricane shelter in Japan while my uncle was hyperventilating!” Your protests were ignored by Helen though.

“And that’s more experience than me! I never got that experience! My field is genetics! You’re trauma!” Helen shot back.

You were about to bicker with her a little more, had Yasha not entered the room.

“We got the stuff. Are we moving Bruce or not?”

James Buchanan Barnes had never delivered a pup before.

He had scattered memories of his mother, Winifred Barnes giving birth to his younger sisters, Rebecca, Mary, and Frances. But other than that, no other experience.

Through the year that he had spent on the run, his year of freedom— Bucky had been thinking.

Thinking. Thinking. Thinking.

In between catching up with this new century anyway.

After helping Thor and Steve bring in the essential things needed for Bruce’s birth, Bucky was allowed to leave. He didn’t need to stick around. However, before he left, he swooped by to ask you something.

“Where does your cousin live?”

The question might have taken you out of focus for a second.

Then, you realized it was just Yasha.

“Oh! She lives…”

Bucky had made sure to memorize the address, but you had kindly suggested that Natasha, (who had managed to get up and was nursing a cup of coffee in the hallway, playing guard), go with him. She knew where and how to get there.

So the two former assassins were on a subway to get to downtown Brooklyn because the Avengers Compound was upstate.

And because your cousin lived in downtown Brooklyn.

Brooklyn. The familiar borough made Bucky remember foggy memories. Memories of hearing his Ma’s laughter, his Pa’s deep rumbles. Rebecca’s light voice. Mary’s chiming of her favorite books. And Frances’s favorite piano pieces. A smaller, skinnier Steve.

All of those memories blurred together as he sat with Natasha on the subway. Speeding through the underground tracks.

“What’s on your mind, Yasha?”

At last, Bucky had turned to look at his former student. The redheaded Omega was looking at him, too.

“Just things,” was his rough reply. “Everything’s… different. The people are different. The atmosphere… it’s different. People… feel different. Cept Stevie. You. Steve’s Omega. And… my Mega.”

Natasha could understand that. The first year after defecting from the Motherland and coming to America was a weird culture shock. Everything was new to her. Really new. And it didn’t help that because of the supersoldier serum the Red Room had given her made it that she didn’t need much sleep.

Her hand brushed over his in comfort.

Finally, at last— their spot was called. Exiting the subway, Natasha guided him out of the subway station and onto the streets.

For the first time, the streets were empty. Everything was silent.

The two Russian assassins walked down the streets of downtown Brooklyn towards your cousin’s apartment complex. Once Natasha found the right one, they walked inside and up the staircase. Upon getting to the sixth floor, Natasha and Bucky quietly walked to the apartment door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Something had woken up your cousin. With a groan, her eyes opened. Bleary-eyed and still tired, she checked her phone.

1:55 AM.

Who could be at her apartment at nearly two AM?

Still tired, she saw the text.

Natalia: Come outside. Yasha and I are waiting.

To say she raised an eyebrow was an understatement.

Natalia and Sasha were here?

Spurring herself out of bed quickly, she let out a few curse words that even Tony Stark himself had never heard her say as she scrambled to make herself look presentable.

Hastily grabbing a hair tie, she quickly tied her hair back as she scurried and hurried for the door.

The front door to her apartment swung open as she panted deeply for air, looking at Natasha and her Alpha.

No. Bucky. Sasha.

“Bruce is back with Thor. And Loki and Darcy, as well as Valkyrie and Jane. Yasha wanted to stay with you while Bruce gives birth to his pup with Thor.” Natasha explained to her.

All your cousin could do was slowly nod in response. “Uh-huh…” was all that came from her. “Oooookay… that sounds… great. Yeah… I can… handle… that. Uh-huh. Makes sense. Totally makes sense. Gotcha. Wait. Thor? Thor as in the god Thor? Lighting dude, who had his hammer?” She questioned.

“That’s the one,” Natasha affirmed.

“Oooookay. Kay. Cool. Um— yeah. Come in, Sasha.” She opened her door wider to allow Bucky to step into her apartment.

Once he stepped into the threshold, Natasha spoke. “I’ll come and pick you up later, Yasha. See ya later.”

Bucky and his Omega waved her off as Natasha jogged back down the stairs. Closing the door and making sure to lock it behind her, your cousin leaned back against the door.

Looking at the Alpha specimen in front of her.

“Tony’s gotten in touch with T’Challa,” said Bucky softly. “He’s the King of Wakanda.”

“Wakanda? Oh right… Steve’s shield. Uh-huh. Go on.”

“They’ve… offered me asylum there. T’Challa’s got a younger sister. Her name is Shuri. He hopes that she can deprogram the trigger words from my head.” Bucky swallowed thickly. His Adam's apple bobbing up and down nervously.

“That sounds great, Sasha. I’m happy for you.” Your cousin was looking at him with a gentle look in her eyes. Her hands reached out as she walked up to him. Closing that gap between them. Gently holding his metal and flesh hands.

“I was thinking…” he was swallowing again. His hands felt clammy. Even his metal hand felt heavier than usual. If that was even possible anyway.

“Yeah?”

“I want you to come with me. To Wakanda.”

Meanwhile, back at the Avengers Compound, a couple of hours later…

You were exhausted.

Extremely exhausted.

All you wanted to do was take a nap.

But, alas you were still up and about.

You had even chugged down a frigging coffee earlier! An iced latte with three pumps of espresso in it too!

And you were still tired!

And hungry!

God, your stomach had been growling ever since Bruce had finally given birth to little pup Frigga. She was eight pounds and three ounces precisely. Perfectly healthy, too.

You referenced Thor’s semen for that explanation.

He was a god, after all.

This, however, led to Darcy Lewis panicking after her own pup. Sired by Loki. If Thor’s semen was potent and sped up the process, would her pregnancy with her own pup be the same way? Being that she was currently four months in. Jane was only barely two months in.

That, however, you left for Darcy and Loki to debate over. You weren’t dating a god.

You were dating Steve Rogers. You would leave that discussion for a later date.

As you walked through the halls of Medical, tired and hungry as shit, your Bondmate managed to catch up with you.

Once again, he had changed into a plain white t-shirt and sweatpants. Ones that hung to his hips, and you knew that they were showing the v of his hips. Just the thought was making your Omega horny. She wanted nothing to do but lick that v of his hips at this very moment.

You quieted her.

It was far too early for that shit.

“I’m gonna go exercising with Sam and Romanov.” Your Bondmate told you. You nodded. 

"And then we'll eat. Is that okay?" He asked you.

The mention of eating made your stomach growl again.

“You haven’t eaten yet?” Your Mate questioned you. “Nope,” you said with a sigh. “I’m really hungry.”

“Okay. You can join us for breakfast.” Steve smiled at you.

You smiled back.

So, you had managed you eat some breakfast.

And oooh boy, you had eaten a lot.

You had been in the middle of scarfing down your third plate of breakfast. Pancakes with whipped cream and powdered sugar on top, bacon, scrambled eggs, and a glass of your preferred beverage.

Chew. Chew. Chew.

Munch. Munch. Munch.

“Damn,” Sam whistled at you.

“What?” You said through a mouthful of food. You swallowed. “In my defense, I haven’t eaten in like, probably five hours.”

“Nah. I ain’t tryna blame ya. I love food too.”

Vigorous nods came from you in agreement.

Indeed, you enjoyed the joys of food. After Hydra, tasting new food after nearly almost three decades was something of a new thing for you. It had been nice, to taste Hmong food again. It was like breathing in familiar air. This was familiar to you. You knew what Hmong food tasted like. Tasting new food though… that had been a journey.

Two plates fell onto the table.

Steve and Natasha had returned from their fifteen-mile run. Steve sat beside you, while Natasha sat next to Sam. Natasha grabbed her fork and immediately dug into her breakfast. While Steve looked at you and greeted you with a soft “Omega.”

“Ew,” Sam scrunched up his nose. “Y’all are nasty.”

“You’re just jealous that I have an Omega and you don’t,” Steve smirked at him. Like the little shit that he was.

Sam gasped in blasphemy. “I do not!” was his fiery protest. “I am dating someone, I’ll have you know!”

“Is it Kristen from Statistics?” wondered Natasha.

“Please don’t tell me it’s Karen from Accounting,” you added with a sour look on your face. You had bumped into the Omega once, and it hadn’t been pleasant. Maybe it had been an off day for her, who knew. But she hadn’t been very nice to you.

“No and no. God no. Especially on Karen from Accounting.” Sam wrinkled his nose in disgust. A sigh of relief came from you.

“Does Kristen still have that lip piercing?” Steve asked Natasha. “Yup.” she even made sure to pop the p.

“Nah. It’s Cecilia from downstairs.”

Someone choked on their food.

That someone was you.

It was totally you.

“Cecilia from downstairs?” You wheezed. At Sam’s nod, you gave him a look of pity. “Good luck with that, Wilson.”

“What?” He was frowning at the look on your face.

“She had two boyfriends at the same time if gossip serves me right… anywho. If you’re not serious with her, it shouldn’t be a problem.” You waved it off.

“How do you know?” Sam inquired. Pursing your lips, you took a sip of your drink. “I was friends with one of the dudes back in ye olden days. We were good friends, actually. I told him not to date her cause she gave me weird vibes. But then he didn’t listen to me. So when I found out, I told him, and then another friend gaslighted me. Needless to say, we’re not friends anymore.” And you left it at that.

“Well, it ain’t all that serious. Just some good fun. Thanks for tellin’ me.” Sam smiled at you.

“No prob.”

Steve reached his hand underneath the table, squeezing your hand in reassurance.

You squeezed back.

Taglist: @bxnnywriting, @greeneyedblondie44, @hawsx3, @sunflowerfive

Fic Taglist: @openup-yourmind, @captainson-of-coul

[zaharadessert]

Heart of the Saviour (6/12)

Rating: Mature to start with, some later chapters will probably end up being explicit.

Warnings: Abduction, Ransom, Mortal Peril.

Summary: One night, in every corner of every magical realm, every boy aged nine to seventeen disappeared. Not one remained. That was when Pan made himself known to the realms, and from that night the eve of every boy’s ninth birthday meant their disappearance, until finally the realms demanded to know what he wanted to return their children to them. Pan told them he wanted the saviour, and while most realms were confused Snow and David knew what he meant and confessed the role their daughter was supposed to have played in breaking the curse. The realms voted and agreed to Pan’s terms, and Pan stopped taking the realms sons, holding the children he’d currently taken as insurance of their compliance. For the next fifteen years Emma’s birthday wasn’t a celebration, it was another tick on the countdown clock to the end of her freedom. Not that she was ever free in the first place, but to save every male child in the United Realms including her younger brother, Leo… She understood that she had a job to do, and she would do her duty with her head held high. What she didn’t count on was the sparkling blue eyes of the man Pan sends to escort her to Neverland in time for her twenty-first birthday.

Notes: Thanks to the @neverlandnewyear​ mods for running this event again, thank you once again to @kmomof4​ for being the most incredible beta, and for reassuring me through how I'd written some of this, even if she does hate Pan with the fire of a thousand suns now. I'm not going to lie... things get pretty dire over the next couple of chapters, so please do be prepared for mind games and manipulation. Enjoy?! Link to AO3 is down there somewhere!

Tagging: @jrob64​ @xhookswenchx​ @kmomof4​ @wefoundloveunderthelight​ @superchocovian​ @lfh1226-linda​ @teamhook​ @jonesfandomfanatic​ @tiganasummertree​ @onceratheart18​ @snowbellewells​ @karlyfr13s​ @itsfabianadocarmo​ @ouatpost​ @ultraluckycatnd​ @winterbaby89​ @thepirateandhisson​ @xarandomdreamx​ @xsajx​ @captainswan21​ @spaceconveyor @pirateprincessofpizza​ @sparlecorn93​ @hollyethecurious​ @anmylica​

As always, let me know if you’d like me to add you to my taglist for future fics :)

Read on AO3: Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six

- - - - -

The second ‘game’ of the day had been Sneak, in which groups of boys attempted to sneak up on Felix, Baelfire and several others of what seemed like Pan’s inner circle. If they succeeded, they were rewarded. If not, their cries rang out through the jungle as they were beaten for as long as the boy they’d failed to catch unawares could keep hold of them. Some boys seemed to be let go pretty quickly, while others… She’d had to force herself to clench her teeth, knowing there was nothing she could do to stop this when everyone seemed so keen to give it a go, but it was clear Felix and Baelfire had picked the game because they started at an advantage.

She could feel Pan’s gaze on her, taking in the subtle twists of her wrists that showed she was testing her bonds, itching to stop the brutality. He’d just smirked, and pointed out which kids were struggling to get away before they got clipped with a stick or a club, laughing and calling out encouragement when he felt like it. The lost boys laughed with him.

Now, Emma’s hands had been untied and a bowl of some kind of stew had been placed in them as they all sat around the fire to eat. All her muscles ached, her hands were scratched up, the blood on her cheek from where she’d caught her face on a vine had dried and was itching in the damp air. She was exhausted. She hadn’t slept well last night and then she’d spent a hell of a long time running for her life.

The lost boys may have started off throwing twigs on the way back but they’d quickly progressed to heavier items and she was bruised in places she hadn’t been before they started walking back. She’d had no way of defending herself, and every flinch had only made them laugh louder and throw more, but once they were back in the clearing that all stopped.

And now she was sitting on the damp ground, eating slop, and avoiding looking at any of them. She had to wonder how any of them could be enjoying this, could follow someone who would kidnap hundreds if not thousands of children and hold them for ransom. But then… some of them seemed as cruel and heartless as he was. Felix especially had relished in the second game of the day. He made her skin crawl.

Seated on a rock next to her, casually reclining as he surveyed his kingdom, Pan pulled out an instrument and started to play. Emma frowned as she watched the boys get up and start to dance around the bonfire in the middle of the camp. She watched them for a moment, listening hard to the silence before looking back at Pan.

He was watching the boys intently as his fingers moved over the pipe that was making no sound. She wondered why they could hear it and she couldn’t, was it because she was too old? Was it an age thing or something else? Because they’d been here so long? Because they’d given in to Pan’s whims and let themselves become what he turned them into?

In that moment she thought of Killian, and wondered if he would have heard the song if he was here. She wondered what he was doing, what he did when he wasn’t off acting like a pirate at Pan’s behest. She blinked and looked down at the bowl in front of her. She’d resigned herself to this, but her time on his ship had made her realise what she was leaving behind more than anything else had.

Now she knew about it, she missed it.

“Troubled, Princess?” Pan asked suddenly. He wasn’t playing his pipes any more but the boys around the fire were still dancing.

“What are they dancing to?” she asked, refusing to tell Pan what had really been on her mind at that moment.

“You don’t hear it?” he asked, his eyebrow rising in surprise.

“No,” she replied with a shake of her head. Had he been expecting her to? If so, why even was that?

“Interesting,” he said, sitting up on his rock and looking down at her as he went back to playing his pipe.

Emma couldn’t help the incredulous look she gave him. Was he trying to make her hear it? “Still nothing,” she said, almost happy to have unwittingly defied him, even if she didn’t understand why or how.

“Nevermind. You will soon enough,” he muttered as he stopped playing again.

They sat there a long time, not doing anything but watching the boys dance. Some of them kept putting logs on the fire, keeping it bright and hot. Gradually, some of the boys started to drift into the trees, crawling into tents and climbing into hammocks and falling asleep.

“When are you going to let them go, the boys you stole?” she asked, looking across at Pan still lounging in his throne.

“All in good time, we have business to complete first,” he told her casually.

“I played your game, Pan, why are you stalling?” She was getting annoyed but she did her best to remain calm. He was infuriating, but she’d been trained in diplomacy, so diplomatic she would remain for as long as possible.

“Oh no, Princess. That wasn’t the thing I need you to do, we’ll get to that,” he replied, not looking at her.

“What?” she hissed.

She didn’t understand, if he needed her to do a specific thing, why wasn’t he getting her to do it?

“I need to make sure you’re in the right state of mind, properly understanding of the situation, as it were…”

“I’m here, just like you wanted. You got me, you won! So let them go!” she said loudly, standing up as she did so and turning to face him.

Pan merely raised an eyebrow at her and flicked his hand.

Out of nowhere hands grabbed her, the ropes that had been left on the floor beside her were being wrapped around her wrists and chest.

“Get off me!” she snarled as she twisted out of Felix’s grip, only to have Baelfire and another of their friends, Ace, grab her instead.

“I think it’s time to put the princess to bed, before she wakes up the children,” Pan said, not moving to help, simply watching as his minions held onto her.

“Stop stalling and just tell me…” but her words were cut off as a wedge of cloth was forced into her mouth and tied tightly at the back of her head. The ropes holding her wrists together were yanked on harshly and she stumbled forwards.

“Get her in the cage, and hang her up with the other one,” Pan told them with a growl.

Emma was dragged off by the boys as Pan followed them to supervise, through the jungle to a smaller clearing around which there were several bamboo cages strung up in the trees. Ace and Baelfire lowered one while Felix held her against his chest with the handle of his cudgel pressed against her throat. She didn’t bother to struggle, with her hands tied she was unlikely to get far and she had a feeling that Pan wouldn’t insist that she be caught humanely this time. That and she was finding it difficult to breathe as it was, struggling would only make that harder.

Ace gestured into the cage with a bow as he held the door open.

Shrugging Felix off as he released her throat, Emma climbed in, and sat in the middle of it with her legs crossed.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Pan said, holding out his hand palm up. Upon it appeared a small cake, with a single candle burning in the creamy looking icing on the top of it. “Happy Birthday. Shame your loved ones can’t celebrate it with you any more,” he added with a smirk.

Emma didn’t move, so Pan set the cupcake down in front of her and ducked out of the cage.

The flame guttered as they hoisted the cage into the air, but it didn’t go out. Once they were all gone, Emma reached over her head and pulled at the material until it loosened enough for her to pull it off. Leaning forward, Emma blew out the single candle. Alone, just like her. She couldn’t see much from here, nor could she even pick up the cupcake with her hands tied palm up, but if she didn’t eat it she would no doubt anger Pan, and then she’d never get anywhere with what he wanted from her. The only way she was going to get to eat it was if she undid these knots. She got to work on the ropes holding her wrists together.

- - - - -

Read the rest on AO3

[kingofthewilderwest]

DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms liveblog S2 E1 Uniconned

It’s going to be a unicorn dragon isn’t it.

Okay look. That thing’s face is creepy. Whenever you try to babyify something, it turns out looking bad to me. Overbig eyes in front of face, bulbous skull, etc. Not cute. Though I do like the concept of a unicorn dragon, including the bubble horn where the bubbles are prolly filled with inflammatory gases. That’s fun.

Okay so learning more about Jun’s family. That’s cool. Glad some characters have siblings here (and we know a vague hint of where her dad is). But. Her brother is like...... if a really lame, reject wannabe Elvis Presley went gothpunk. I’m already not liking him.

Yeah I really don’t like him. Reminds me of this kid in elementary who was the worst-behaved kid in class. Every teacher every year told his mom he was a capital B Buttocks. But because he acted like a darling around his mommy, she didn’t believe the feedback. Ever. Frustrating as farting butts.

There’s one thing I like about him, though: his eyes were designed the right color. Aka: Design 101.

You know they’re not going to be brave enough to do it, but the unicorn dragon should bond with Eugene and he becomes obsessed with it and he joins Dragon Club.

Also I’ve decided I’m interpreting this entire episode as an analog to Leela meeting Nibbler. I MEAN COME ON. **NIBBLES**

Them both acting like there’s tons going on when it’s just a few crumbs on the counter and vicinity is hilarious.

I have never hated a dragon as I do Nibbles. It’s the design.

The scream isn’t that scary or bizarre. It’s just like. A wolf howl.

I do appreciate they’re letting Jun be weird, tho.

D’Angelo’s obsession with rules is adorable. Also him pulling a sneaker out of the trash and smelling it. Yes. That’s what I do everyday, too.

I’m sorry words like “bubble blast” are hard to take seriously. Are we in My Little Pony?

This convo about “Have you ever done something you regretted?” is too shallow of dialogue for what it should be and what their reactions are.

Eugene: I always knew you’d follow me to the dark side. Jun, ominously: How could I help myself? Pfffft.

Raiding a storage closet is not a big rebellious gesture. C’monnnnnnnnnnn, writers. Don’t water this down. Let him actually be delinquent.

You could almost say the Loops make him... [eyebrow wiggles] ...loopy

Okay, now that’s a banshee screech. That’s better than the earlier one.

The entire time Jun obsesses over the dragon and D’Angelo gets offended, I’m like, “YOU GO, D, YOU GO.”

That “something” coming up from the fissure is going to be like mom or a ton of them.

Oh look, it’s a ton of them.

Okay the ridiculous music and the ridiculous circus of dragons is good chaos. (Also, ever since they introduced that weird music, I was thinking, “Does this belong in HTTYD or UT?”)

Alex is forever best character

I adore how they combine their bubbles together

The Ultimate Bubble Bomb

I mean, are we going to talk about, “Wild animals can take care of themselves?”

Eugene is where he belongs. Keep him there.

[lumiidragon]

So now that I have a bit more time, I can say a couple of things about The Nine Realms season 3.

So for starters, this season is the best one so far! I know I’ve said it before, but this one is really a great season! For once, Jun also didn’t annoy me to the point of screaming. Like, her character was actually really good in this season and it was a very nice change. Also, it’s so nice to see so many familiar dragons (which at least shows that the “old world” dragons have not changed, really, so thus I am continuing to stick with my “there’s no way Thunder should look like he does unless he’s mixed with some other dragon species because evolution does not work that fast and the wings and tail fin traits are not night nor light fury traits at all, but this is for a different topic altogether).

Frankly, my only complaints for this season (spoilers under the cut):

-Eugene finding the Dragon Club hang-out spot and seeing all of the dragons was treated in a very underwhelming way. Basically, everyone was just “Oh, it’s you. Get out”. Like he broke into their tree house and not discovered their biggest secret ON TOP of telling the world about it. Eugene has also been horribly annoying until, like, the last two episodes. So I really hope he does a lot of development next season.

-The fact that The Hidden World has been SO sectioned off has made it so dragons can’t go into a different section of this “Oh so perfect” place without miserable, terrible things either happening to them, to other dragons, or their environment. I just feel like instead of being this “all dragon utopia” it’s a super delicate balance supported by flosser strings that can be upset even without human involvement. Ex. the gronkles not being able to eat anything outside of the Fire Realms, the flamethrowers as a whole, the entire last episode. Outside of The Hidden World, it seemed like the dragons had a lot more range to go about and cross-interact without everything falling apart or suddenly becoming invasive (obviously not a catch-all statement since there are some issues, but it just didn’t seem as bad as it is in The Hidden World).

-The one chick Tom’s mom hates, and frankly, so do I. (I forgot her name, please forgive me). Like, I know she’s kind of a “bad guy” role in this, but she just acts so unprofessional in a VERY professional setting and the fact that she keeps running off to do her own thing involving the fissure or resources that roll into ICARUS makes me feel like her higher ups should have put their foot down at least once or twice. She’s just annoying and a very generic “I’m mean and greedy and you will listen to me and I will get my way or else” and really has nothing else going for her and hasn’t the whole 3 seasons.

-Buzzsaw. Just...Buzzsaw. I know he’s another “bad guy” in the series, but he’s just so gd incompetent and poses such a minor threat that I can’t take him seriously and he doesn’t even have a good driving reason for acting the way he is. He’s just...there? I hope he becomes at least somewhat interesting in Season 4. Until then, his character is literally pointless.

-The ending episode’s finale. Now I’ll say that the new big dragon was actually REALLY cool-looking. I was loving it, though I have no idea why it was involved with the flamethrowers unless this was like some kind of Scar and the hyenas-type deal. However, my biggest issue with this episode is that it’s just resolved too easily. It really didn’t have much of a build-up nor final battle. I was hoping for some kind of more action-driven battle or at least a close-call with one of the riders to show that this is still a dangerous place they’re in, but it just kinda ended up with not much going on and the battle ending pretty easily. I know the whole thing was to show that they can do this without hurting dragons, which is good! However, it left much to be desired unlike the battle between Thunder/Tom and the skrill in the last season.

Either than these points, I loved the season and I’m super excited to see what looks like an Ice Realm for the next season!

[megamindsecretlair]

Be My Little Darling - Chapter 4

Chapter 3 Chapter 5

Pairing: Loki x Black!Fem!reader / Plus Size reader

Warnings: 18+. Minors DNI. You are in charge of your own reading experience. There's cursing. Toxic Loki. Established relationship. Fight scene.

Summary: Loki is the exclusive owner of the hottest club in New Asgard. Dubbed the Nine Realms, each of the nine rooms represent a different realm. You are his second in command, working the floors and ensuring everyone is having fun. When you get back to work, Loki is none too pleased about you leaving.

Word Count: 2,369k

Masterlist

A/N: I'm sorry if this doesn't flow. My family bugs and it disrupts my flow. I'm still satisfied, but well, what can ya do. But we are our own worst critics! Likes are always awesome. Please consider commenting and reblogging to help support writers!

Taglist: @theeblackmedusa @braverthanthenewworld @cantstayawaycani @crochetandloki @monaeesstuff @xorpsbane @headcannonxgalore @chaos-4baby @dayjlovesromance

When you got back to work, everyone was giving you funny looks. You got the sense that you were in trouble with the principle, which was ridiculous but that’s how everyone was staring. You scowled at them and headed towards the break room, ready to start the day with a fresh cup.

Your family wasn’t there. The swell of hope you felt died angry and bitter in your chest. No matter what, you didn’t know how to stamp out the weak and pathetic part of you that wanted to see your family again. 

The worst part was not knowing. Either Thanos got to them or they were snapped away. Or any other scenario you could think of that would explain their absence for so long. Surely, if they were still here and had their memories, they would have found you by now. Unless, they weren’t on Earth. You chewed on your nails as you entered the break room.

It immediately went quiet. Eyes roamed your way as you passed towards the coffee machine. The only sound in the room was the TV and the air conditioner. You ignored it and made your coffee. Your mug slammed too loud on the counter top. The machine hissed and squealed in the quiet room. 

You practically felt eyes on your back as you went about your business. No one spoke. It was eerie. Nightclubs were inherently loud. Even when it was time to open and close and people had left, there was always chatter or music. So what gives?

You turned around and the few in the room suddenly found everything else much more interesting. “What the hell is going on?” 

You looked down at your outfit. It wasn’t anything different than what you’ve worn before. You had checked your face in the mirror before you walked in so you knew there wasn’t anything on your face. 

Honey stormed into the room and when she saw you, she rushed over to you. “You are in big, big trouble, princesa,” she said. 

“For what?” 

“The boss was looking for you yesterday,” she said.

You closed your eyes and silently cursed. You knew there was a possibility that he’d found out that you left. You’d done it before and he never cared or bothered to notice. You liked operating under the radar. But lately, with this thing between you, he paid more attention to you. 

You both loved and hated his attention. You were used to being another cog in the machine that ran his club. He got to sit back and enjoy the fruits of everyone’s labor. It was fine, it was your job description, but the added scrutiny would make it harder for you to disappear for a few hours in search of your family.

“I’ll talk to him,” you said. After you finished your coffee of course. There was no way in hell you were going in there without it. You needed your wits about you to deal with Loki. 

“What about the stage I told you about yesterday? I’m not the only one who’s noticed now,” Honey said.

“One problem at a time, Honey. I promise, we’ll look into it,” you said. 

Honey scowled but she knew you. Coffee first, everything else later. “There’s no show, you can all go back to gossiping about me,” you called to the rest of the room. Some had the good sense to look embarrassed.

It was one giant high school, just like the shows you binged at home. Earth TV was fascinating and the more you watched, the less you understood the hive at work. Too many people with too much downtime in between setting up and the customers rolling in. And too many rooms to hide in and screw. 

You made a face. You’d have to remember to pay the cleaning crew extra. You stood by the coffee machine and took a sip. The steaming hot liquid burned on the way down and you sighed in relief. 

“Darling.” You jumped slightly. You looked around and saw Loki by the entrance. He wore his signature black suit and his hands were tucked into his pockets. He didn’t look any more pissed than usual, but rage poured out of him and poisoned the whole room. 

He hadn’t shouted or yelled. It was just that damn quiet in the break room. “Loki.” You sipped your coffee and watched him.

He tilted his head at you and his eyes flickered as if he were studying a bug under a microscope. He waited. So did you. You knew he wanted you to run scrambling to him and you weren’t too sure you were ready for all that rage.

Glancing around, the employees were eager. Their faces bounced between you and Loki as if waiting for a fireworks show to start. You sighed. One day, you’d win a battle of dominance with him. Right now, was not that time.

You walked over to him with a sweet smile. Nothing to see here, lovelies, nothing to see here. Loki followed you until you were a safe distance away from the break room, closer to the kitchens and lockers. 

Loki grabbed your arm and pushed you towards the nearest wall. “Where the hell have you been?” His rich, deep voice skated over your nerves and you suppressed a shiver.

“Out,” you said.

“Don’t be cute,” he said. His eyes stared daggers into yours. If looks could kill…

“I can’t help being cute, Loki,” you said.

Loki slammed the wall next to your head. Your heart pounded in your chest. Not from fear…you never feared him. Loki’s nostrils flared and he stared at you. 

“Where were you? Why weren’t you running the club?” 

You bit your lip. You thought…you sighed. You thought perhaps he missed you. Then you smiled. You were an idiot. Loki didn’t miss anyone. He just hated not having things in order.

Before he could remark on your smirk, you looked at him. “I had something personal to take care of,” you said. 

“Like what?” He asked. 

“Emphasis on personal,” you said.

Loki took a deep breath. “Darling…where did you run off to?”

“Since when do you care?” You crossed your arms. You weren’t a child and you refused to be treated like one. By anyone. Least of all Loki.

“We have an agreement, you and I,” he said.

“And that entitles you to know everything about me? Do you get to know everyone you take to bed or am I just that special?” You asked.

Loki grabbed your chin. “If I find out that you ran off with some lover, or that you’ve so much as glanced at someone else…”

“You’ll what? Kill them? Don’t make me laugh, Loki.” It was hard to be haughty when he was grabbing your chin, but you managed it. 

“You’re mine, Darling,” Loki said. His voice was low, deep, and he practically purred it. There was no way to fight off your shiver. “Mine to please, mine to scold. However I see fit.” 

“You’re going to stand there and say you haven’t touched anyone else or looked at anyone else since our agreement?” 

“No.” That one word made your jaw shut with an audible click. He was serious. As serious as you had ever known him to be.

Loki read the expression on your face. He moved his hand from your chin to caress your cheek. His fingers were cold but soothing to the touch. 

“Do you think so little of me, my Darling?” 

You stared into his clear blue eyes, like the Asgardian sky at first light. He leaned in close as if he were going to kiss you. You leaned in as well. But Loki held your gaze. He wanted an answer to his question.

You were spared from answering by one of the security guards calling for your attention. “Handle it,” Loki said, not moving his eyes from you. 

You couldn’t place the emotion inside of his eyes. Loki only had two that he was willing to share. He was either amused or angry. He didn’t get angry often. Pulling anything else out of him was like excavating a long rumored treasure. Rare, precious, fleeting. 

The security guard was insistent. A crashing sound tore your eyes away from each other. A burly man came barrelling down the wide hallway. You squinted in the dim light and finally placed him. It was the large idiot from a few nights ago. 

He stumbled forward with a singular focus, heading straight for you. Loki moved first, moving in front of you. You scoffed and stood next to him. 

“I can handle myself,” you said.

“There’s no fighting in my club,” he reminded you.

“Tell that to him,” you said. You eyed the man up and down, taking in his appearance. He didn’t look like he had bathed at all since you kicked him out last time. His clothes were sloppy, unkempt. There were stains on his plaid shirt and dirt on his once-bright jeans. Two of his cronies flanked them. Something was wrong with them, something you couldn’t put your finger on.

You conjured two defense batons. Adrenaline surged in your veins as you prepared for the incoming fight. Loki may not want a fight, but there was one to be had. 

The three customers stood in formation as they reached you. You were far deep into the club, near the back. The area around you was less decorated than the rooms and front hallways. Anything expensive here could theoretically be replaced. But why should it? You kicked these men out before. They had no right to come back.

You didn’t want to fight them in such close quarters, but if it came down to it, the safety of everyone else was more important.

“What do you want?” Loki asked.

“That one,” the big man pointed at you. 

You smirked, ready to mouth off but Loki held up a finger. You were ready to give him a piece of your mind as well. He glared at you out of the corner of his eye and turned towards the men.

“Something’s not right,” he muttered. 

The big man rolled his shoulders but the other two…they stood statue still. No one stood that still. They looked like dolls awaiting orders. Or robots awaiting their next command. They wore twin expressions of greed. Their faces were frozen on a grim smile. He was right, something was off about all of this.

Loki grabbed your hand and he began to move to the side. All three men watched and matched Loki’s wide stride. You turned in a circle until the men were on the other side and you and Loki had your backs towards the entrance. They moved in perfect unison. Their formation was impeccable. 

“Back away, slowly,” Loki said. He kept his eyes on them as you both started moving backwards. The men followed suit and walked forward. “What the hell is this?” You asked.

“I don’t know,” Loki said. 

You were nearly to the entrance, when the big man cracked his knuckles. The front area sort of looked like a hotel lobby. There were chairs and lounges for people to rest on, ledges cut into the walls with paintings or vases, and plants everywhere.

There was a front desk where the hostess stood to direct people to different rooms. The hostess was off in the corner, hunched down and keeping quiet. Another security guard stood there, protecting her. 

A guard was crumpled on the floor. Likely the source of the crash. He was laid out next to a planter. Dirt was spilled across the floor and the plant was ruined. You didn’t blame the other security guard for getting scarce. They were human and ill-equipped to deal with someone the size of the meathead.

He had to be at least 6’5, balding head, and as thick as a retired football player. His friends were no less big and round. It was like they formed a brick wall of muscle. No one smart enough would go through them. You happened to make a career of doing dumb things.

“Who sent you?” Loki asked. 

All three men laughed. They spread out. They didn’t hold any weapons. The meathead jerked forward and then they were all running. You ducked and moved under their wide swings. Your smaller size was better for quick jabs and kicks. You hit any open joint you could find. Elbows, knees, hands. 

Nothing fazed them. For every blow you dealt, they kept coming. They didn’t feel your hits at all. And you weren’t pulling them. Loki whizzed past you taking on the big meathead. Loki had his own weapons out and was battling the man. But not battling to hurt. Wherever Loki hit, it was soft areas like the stomach, thighs, calves.  

You paid attention to your own fight. He was a big boy, he could handle himself. The two men attacked you at once. You kicked the one on your right and he knelt on his good knee. The other, you grabbed his arm and swung him into the other one. 

“Enough!” Loki’s power flowed over you and it left you staggering. You looked towards him. He held the meathead’s arm and power flowed from Loki to the meathead. The guy’s eyes glowed green before he collapsed on the floor.

“Move, Darling,” Loki said. 

You moved away from the other two. Loki crossed the room in loud, thunderous steps and grabbed the two men you fought. Again, power flowed from Loki to them. Their eyes glowed green and they fell onto the floor.

“What the hell…?” One of them asked. He shook his head as if coming out of a trance.

“Mind control?” You didn’t really ask anyone. Loki nodded. He glanced between the meathead and his friends. 

“Someone’s riled them up and sent them in here,” Loki said.

“Why? Who would do that?” You asked.

Loki clenched his jaw so hard that you saw it rippling. He was supposed to have all of the answers. He kept telling everyone that he was a god and smart and all powerful. “I don’t know.”

And that was the scariest thought of all.

Masterlist | Chapter 3 | Chapter 5

[twsted-princess]

"Now there dearies, not need to cause any more ruckus. Unless you want to get on Lord Heng's bad side~"

(picrew linked here)

Bio

Name: Dān Yú (丹瑜)

Nicknames: Vixen, (Gaungtang) Lady Yú (dorm mates)

Voice Actor: Ami Koshimizu

Gender: Female (She/Her)

Age: "Don't you know it's rude to ask a lady her age?" (Over 1800 years old, physically she's 21)

Sexuality: Pan

Height: 6'2

Race: Human? (Nine-tailed fox spirit)

Homeland: Paradise (The spirit realm)

Birthday: 4/12

Starsign: Aries

Family: Unknown

Occupation: Student, Head Tormentor of Konghuang

Based off: Original character (based off Daji)

Professional Status

Dorm: Konghuang (@ellovett)

School Year: Fourth

Class: 4-A

Best Subject: Animal Languages

Club: Mountain Appreciation (makes her lackeys do the climbing

Dominant Hand: Left

Favorite Food: Alcohol, (any kind will do) Hot pot with luxury meats, Human souls

Hated Food: Fried tofu

Likes: Fine clothes, Jewelry, Rich food, Being pampered, Animals, Music, The opera, Getting to punish misbehaving students, When a will is broken and the sufferer is complaint

Dislikes: When her needs aren't met, Those who hurt animals, Anyone with a strong will, Unruly students

Hobbies: Lounging around being served by students

Talents: Taking the absolute longest to get ready for class (aka stalling)

Unique Magic: Twilight of the Red Moon (红月的黄昏)

Using the souls she's collected over the centuries she transforms into the true nine tailed fox. Increasing her strength, speed, defense and magical output along with her intelligence.

Backstory

Sly. Manipulative. Someone who views others as mere dolls to play with. That is Dān Yú, the sadistic fourth year of Konghuang. Sure she may put on a smiling face and treat first years like small children but don't let her fool you. Underneath is someone who cares little for mortals, only every interesting in what they can do for her. As the head tormentor it's her job to deal the extra labor onto students who fail to meet Gaungtang's orders and if certain students catch her eye she'll make sure they suffer specially. Being overworked to the point of collapse and limiting food, work with constant mockery they'll break into someone who'll serve her faithfully to a t. Of course she's loyal to her leader but the moment the crown slips she'll have it in her claws, though she'll have to get over her new-founded laziness and dangerous petty side. Rumor has it she looks very similar to an old queen, one who ruled a kingdom with fear and terror as the idiot king doted on her every whim. They say that she was chased out the land while changing into a fox. There's even another that tells of the queen being made from a goddess hellbent on punishing the king for thinking he could make her a wife, leading to the king's demise but..........those are just silly little stories~

[amoc94]

"His Pet"

Summary : Min Yoongi. A business magnate, and a mafia leader. He was everything you would never imagine to be a part of your life. Yet fate is not something to be eluded.

He would do anything to make you his.

Pairing : Yoongi x female OC (From reader's POV).

Genre : Yandere, Mafia AU.

Warning for this chapter : Implied confinement, drugging by tranquilizer dart.

This story is not for easily triggered readers or below eighteen.

Full Masterlist and elaborate warning please read here.

List of chapters here.

CHAPTER 25.

Ten point eighty nine kilometers with six point thirty seven minutes per kilometer running pace. Not bad at all, at least for you.

You've been running around the vicinity of the mansion for more than an hour, trying to vent up your tension, which was almost everyday.

At least it did good to your physique. No matter how many chocolate bar or balls you gobbled, you would not gain any weight.

Exactly the opposite of your stress rate.

It had been almost a month since the incident in the night club, and you haven't stepped out your feet outside the mansion, not even a meter out the main gate. No more biweekly dinner or shopping with him.

Yoongi was punishing you.

"If you think I couldn't spot a lie when I see one, you certainly underestimated me."

"I know you are planning something, but sweetheart, try not to waste your efforts. Because it will fail, I will guarantee that."

"If you have so much energy to spare, why not waste it on me instead, in bed."

Oh God, how you hated that man. It was like his main purpose in life was to irritate and torture you.

Except in bed, that was the only place where both of you could blissfully agree to each other. Sleeping with him was like an ultimate stress reliever, the only place you could be as feisty as you could, without him restraining you.

In the past two weeks, along with your growing frustration level, you learned to let it out during make-out session with him.

One time when you got too rough on him, you could see the angry red scratch marks from your nails on his back.

Other time, while you straddling him, you gripped on his neck, tried to choke him, if not for your smaller frame and his swiftness in tackling the attack and flipped you over, you would probably succeed.

In your delusional realm that was. Because Min Yoongi certainly wasn't your equal opponent.

Everytime you tried another stunt in bed, he would only give you a mocking smile, as if he actually expected for it and enjoyed it even, before handled you easily, like you were a child who tried to throw a tantrum.

Maybe next time you should play dirty instead.

But of course you couldn't expect to wrestle him in bed all the time. He got work to do, and you got to have a life outside the bedroom, the boredom was killing you.

It wasn't like you didn't try to do something meaningful in your daily life.

You tried to cook, with the help of Mrs. Kwon, you tried everything, from dessert to main course. And you would persuade, or more like force Taehyung to try it, no matter how terrible it tasted. What could you say, Yoongi was rarely around during the day, so you only had Taehyung as your victim, albeit with slight resistance from him.

But that too, got you bored in the end. Cooking was never your thing.

Then one day Yoongi called you to his study, introduced you to an interior designer. He let you to redesign the bedroom to your taste, and gave you the freedom and unlimited budget for it. While you were so tempted to put a hole in his wallet, you couldn't bring yourself to do it.

Who would need a ten million won bed and upholsteries? Or the gold plated bathroom fixtures? You didn't even plan to stay forever in the mansion.

Might as well for the money to go to the payroll for his employees. Maybe you were stupid, but you were one who live with common sense, not on an impulse.

The redesigning job gave you a temporary work to do, but it only lasted for ten days.

You also took online classes to finish your degree, Yoongi arranged it to be linked with your pending study from your previous university. It gave you something to do, but it couldn't fill the void in your heart.

Somethings were missing, and you yearned for it. Maybe it was your family, Yejin, your coworker, your job, or your almost non existent social life. However minimal it was, but you missed it. Didn't they say people often long for what they could not get in the end?

You huffed loudly, and lied yourself down on the grass.

Maybe it was a good idea to walk to Yoongi's bedroom then just lay down in his bed, make sure that the remnants of grass and leaves and specks of sands would leave traces on his bed. It would serve him right.

Not that you could enter his bedroom as you would like anyway. He always locked it, only him or Mrs. Kwon or maybe the boys who had the key. Talked about paranoia on a whole other level.

And he wasn't in South Korea right now.

He left four days ago, stated that he had an urgent matter to take care of in Macau, something about problems in their casino. He left with Seokjin in his helicopter for the airport, before boarded their private jet for the trip. You haven't heard of him since.

You didn't miss him, of course. But you indeed missed the sex, out of frustration maybe.

You snapped out of your muse when you heard the sound of a car approaching the spot where you were sitting. You sat on the empty road side, maybe around two kilometer away from the main gate.

It was the van from the groceries shop where Mr. Park - the butler, usually ordered the ingredients and food supplies for the whole mansion. The backside load bay was enclosed.

You saw the van several times during your wandering around the building. Usually it would leave the mansion with empty cargo, because all the goods they brought were solely ordered by Mr. Park.

Suddenly an idea came to your mind. Why had you never thought about it before?

You blamed your too slow brain cells for that.

You could hitchhike with the van, and the gatekeeper would probably not noticing you since you were with the groceries driver. There was only slim chance they would recognize you, you almost never go out of the gate. Not without him anyway.

Whenever they saw his car, Sejin or him didn't even have to roll down the window, they recognized the uniformed plates' number.

You didn't plan to escape, you knew it would put your brother in danger, especially because you didn't know how far was your brother from carrying your plan out.

But the temptation to be outside the mansion was too great, and Yoongi wasn't around anyway.

Just think of it as Yuri's day out, a day of full adventure. You didn't have money, but you could borrow a phone from someone and call your brother to pick you up. Then you would be back to the mansion the next day, no one would have to know about you leaving.

With a newfound excitement, you stood up and frantically waved to the direction of its driver.

The van stopped and the window rolled down revealing the poker face of the driver.

"Hi, can I come with you until just beyond the gate? I plan to jog around outside, but the entrance gate is quite far from here."

The man was in his forties, and looked like the type that didn't talk much. He just gestured with his head for you to hop in.

As the car drove around one kilometer ahead, the guy's phone suddenly rang.

He picked it up with a sullen expression.

"Hello?" He paused while listening, then looked at you.

"It's for you." He looked confused, but gave the phone to you and kept on driving.

"Yuri?" It was Sejin's voice. "Whatever you are planning on doing right now, please stop."

You pressed the red button hastily, and gave the phone back to the guy.

"Something's wrong?" He furrowed his brows.

"Nothing. Please go ahead." You prayed that you would make it outside the gate, before Sejin could reach you.

"Look, I don't want to get into trouble." He threw a doubtful glance at you.

"It was nothing really. I will alight as soon as I'm outside. Don't worry." You started to get antsy, but you couldn't show it to the guy.

He kept his silence after that.

When the car stopped in front of the gate, the guy rolled down the window to let the gatekeeper had a look inside the car. The guard looked at the driver in passing, then gazed at you.

His stare lingered on you for a few seconds longer than you would like, you tried to put the best impassive face as you can.

Finally he waved his hand to hint the driver his approval. There was another man who opened the load bay to check the inside and confirmed all clear.

You were extremely on edge right now, you checked the rearview mirror to make sure Sejin wasn't chasing you.

You let out a relieved breath once the car passed by the gate.

A few meters away from the mansion, you weaved out from the van, thanking the guy several times.

You just couldn't contain your excitement. You started to jog through the empty street, trying to find a store or a house. It was quite a long way, and as far as your view could reach, the road was bare, not even a car passed by.

Suddenly, you heard the heavy roar of motorcycle approaching behind you, must be a big bike from the sound of it.

When you looked toward the source, it was like your heart stopped beating.

It was Jimin, in his orange hair glory swept by the wind, riding a black Ducati. His pretty face looked stern and upset, a threatening look upon his eyes on you.

"Yuri! Stop! Don't be stupid!"

His voice pushed your panic button, and instead of halting, you actually started running.

"Yuri! I don't want to hurt you!" He shouted.

You had a good stamina from your countless running bout, you could run pretty fast, but you were no Usain Bolt. Even if you were, you doubted that you could outrun a Ducati.

Maybe you were possessed, or maybe it was the adrenaline rush, but to your wonder, you could sense that you left him behind.

In fact, you couldn't hear the roar of the engine anymore, and your hope soared up.

Until you felt something pricked your ankle, it stung terribly.

Your running slowed down before you stopped on your track, and fell to your knees.

Looking at your ankle, you caught the sight of a red needle dart that was punctured midway, a gradual numb feeling crept up your leg.

You heard the sound of the motorcycle nearing and stopped next to you.

Your head was floating, your breathing got heavier, and before you realized, you collapsed to the ground.

Jimin was crouching over you, he touched your face with his cold fingers, brushing your hair to the side, out of your face.

"I warned you." He said with icy voice, holding a gun in his right hand.

You heard the sound of a car skidded to a halt, and saw a black Porsche pulled over next to Jimin's bike. Jungkook and Hoseok slid out from the car and ran to your spot.

"You used the dart gun?" Hoseok asked.

"Yes, she wouldn't stop running."

"How many did you use?" Hoseok crouched and retracted the dart from your ankle.

You couldn't move, your body was so heavy, and you felt like passing out soon.

"Only one. You used a small dose, right Hyung?"

"A child's dose. It would probably put her to sleep for two hours maximum."

"Jungkook, can you carry her? I'll drive instead, you can take the bike with you." It was Jimin's voice again.

Later when Jungkook picked you up and carried you bridal style to the car, you were wondering why Hoseok was there in the mansion.

Then it went all black.

Chapter 26

[girlingreekrobes]

𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓

➥ 𝖊𝖘𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖔

A bold and wild scent lingers in my nose that almost ripped my soul away from my body. Smokes that makes you feel alive. The kind of scent that makes a woman go crazy—head over heels. The wet road from the rain is his runway with his confidence he slowly walks in his jet-black suit. Rouge lips are untamed, hidden fangs of a wild beast appeared on his hands of dominance. He walks nonchalantly with his bloodshot eyes, gazing me; it slowly kills me.

➥ 𝖘𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖙 𝖛𝖆𝖓𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖆

Heavenly scent that makes me sleep. Ocean eyes, blonde strands of his hair, ivory skin and his sweet melodic voice withstand the sound of strummed aeolian harp gliding from a god’s fingers. Cottony soft hand; his fingers intertwined mine showing his sweetest smile. Gentle smiles behind those sweet white lies. Maybe he was the kind of man that everyone talks about. His principles are clear with his virtues of hope and gold, but I’m afraid he’s still a man. Gentleness is not enough sign that he won’t take you to bed.

➥ 𝖗𝖔𝖘𝖊 𝖙𝖊𝖆

Old soul with a bit of harshness. He is an epitome of struggles and boredom. Cold voice will be heard from him as his soft plump lips mouthed every word that he said. The rose buds dried with his response soaked in boiling water on his tea cup. He’s a traditional man with his old soul lurking around when we talked made me feel agitated and lethargic with his scent. Wild thorns cut deep but has a beautiful renown reputation to these ladies’ giggles when he walks.

➥ 𝖔𝖑𝖉 𝖇𝖔𝖔𝖐𝖘

I lured myself inside the library where in books are keys to open the hidden doors of noble phantasms built and restored by the gods of nine realms to build their empires in human world. The soul I was meant to find was a man of wilderness, a man of war children born from the age of icons with a renowned name for his billions of magical words written in different books. He read million minds to write to rewrite arts about his untamed beasts and reeling grandeur world of fantasies.

➥ 𝖑𝖎𝖖𝖚𝖔𝖗

High in night club waiting for city girls who will make his night gone rough, raging flame, and addicting; he’s the kind of drug that manipulates every woman’s stimuli. His scent is the aroma of fermented fruits squeezed and kept for thousand years. He’d be the favorite kind of scent. Him and his mischievous lips pulled women. It was his scent that makes them go berserk, unable to tame themselves from the beast inside them.

➥ 𝖜𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖆 𝖌𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖓

Poisonous scent that repels abyssal creatures. Fresh, fragrant, and wild lingers on my nose. I thought with these demons I’m hiding inside me; I was unable to pass this path. But as I walk through the grassy aisle of his garden, my demons were shoved by the flowers. It feels so real that I became myself to his turf of potted plants. My bones are healed from deterioration, my flesh is repaired from being rotten, and he found my soul kept by my demons. I found myself in him.

➥ 𝖓𝖎𝖈𝖔𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖊

The scent of burned dried leaves held by a plugwrap inside a tipping paper. As it slowly glows to falling ashes, the smoke came out from his mouth breathing his poisonous words. He spit lies on the ground as if he swallowed his promised before. Gambling sites became his home. Morning ‘til night he was there shouting his curses of blasphemes and mockery to y church. He hated my religion like he hated me. Money is his national anthem and pride is his religion.

➥ 𝖜𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖈𝖔𝖆𝖘𝖙 𝖇𝖊𝖆𝖈𝖍

Ocean eyes so deep, I might drown if I dive in. His hands were like the waters that pulls me in but sometimes pushes me back. His skin was tanned by the sun as he bathes through the coastlines of west beach. He run to the shore living his footprints while he chases me. Catching fishes was a work he can never leave, but he caught me off guard wrapped in his arms. I’m unable to escape. The island scent like tropical trees lived in summer solstice.

[writings-of-a-daphodil]

Fire Keeper: Chapter 18

Douxie x fem reader

Masterlist in Bio!

Series Summary: You are Jim’s older sister who is taking a break from college and has moved back home to Arcadia. You end up joining Jim and his friends on their adventures.

Chapter 18 summary: You take the trip to the past!

A/n: So it’s a really long chapter 6,336 words, I don’t know whether to say sorry or your welcome. Also I have no clue how shops were in twelfth century Englad so...yeah. Anyways, enjoy!

“Sorry, this is a lot to process! Pets can talk? The world is ending? Again?” Toby asked as you and Douxie met up with him at the book shop.

“Not the best timing, I know, but we need your help all the same,” Douxie said.

Toby looked at Douxie confusedly. “Douxie? Y/n?”

“Toby!” You hugged him tightly.

“Wai- hold up! I thought you worked at the cafe, or were, like, a model or something,” Steve questioned Douxie.  

Douxie chuckled. “There's a lot about me you don't know.”

“Whoa!” Toby gasped as Douxie used his cuff to show off some magic. “You’re like Y/n.”

“What?” Steve asked incredulously.

“Come on, then. The answers to all your questions are within.” Douxie gestured for them to go inside.

Steve scoffed. “Yeah, right. In a bookstore?”

You all walked in to see Merlin levitating some of his books. “Ah! There's flying books!” Toby exclaimed.

“Whoa!” Steve gasped.

“Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! So cool! So cool! So cool! Ooh, what's that?” Toby fanboyed, admiring the cool displays of Magic.

Merlin scowled at Toby when he picked up something. “Put that down! Thank the ether you're here! We haven't a moment to waste.”

“Whoa! Crusty, creepy dude!” Steve exclaimed.

Merlin ignored Steve. “Though, I had hoped for more, Hisirdoux.”

“I tried. I couldn't find the changelings or the aliens. I'm pretty sure most left the planet,” Douxie explained.

Toby waved at Merlin. “Merlin, it's me-- Toby Domzalski! You know, War Hammer, Guardian of Arcadia, Geology Club president.”

Merlin sighed. “No one could forget you, chatty.”

“And Steve Palchuk, Creepslayer!” Steve announced.

“I have no idea who you are,” Merlin dismissed. “But we're desperate. Thankfully, we have the brute.”

“Yum!” Aaarrrgghh grunted, admiring Archie.

Archie swatted at Aaarrrgghh. “I'm not anybody's lunch. Got it?”

“Wait, where's Jimbo and Claire? I thought they were with you,” Toby asked.

You opened your mouth to answer, but Merlin beat you to it. “Answers forthcoming. Make preparations. We've a journey ahead. And don't-”

“-but, Master-”

“-'but, Master' me,” Merlin finished.

Douxie sighed. “But... are you sure you want to count on these children? They're clearly not ready for this.”

Steve scoffed. “Excuse me, college dude, these children fought off a 50-foot extraterrestrial!” Steve hit the helmet off of one of the knights. You were surprised to see that the knight reacted.

“Dude, let go of its head!” Toby ordered, trying to help Steve.

“It's got my head, too, man!” Steve cried.

“Just put it back!” Toby yelled and Douxie sighed, exasperated.

“Master, I'm ready for this,” Douxie promised.

“Doubtful,” Merlin said.

“I've spent years preparing, centuries-“ Douxie started.

Merlin cut him off. “Silence!”

Douxie frowned and you gently patted his back with your good hand.

Merlin sighed. “I mean, silence, all of you. Can you not hear that? Something wicked this way comes.”

You went to the window with Douxie to investigate when you heard a shadow mephit growl. It pounced on the window, only to be thrown back by a shield.

“Shadow mephits? Hisirdoux, did you lead them here?” Merlin asked.

“No, no! I mean, I don't think so?” Douxie chuckled nervously.

“Yes, we did,” Archie answered.

“He found us. The barrier won't hold for long. We must make egress! Tobias, take my things!” Merlin ordered, levitating Toby and up to the roof. “All of you, to the roof!”

You quickly ran up to the roof, fully aware that you would need to protect Toby and Steve if any climbed the building.

You used your good hand to blast a few of the mephits off the roof before Douxie, Merlin, and Archie arrived.

“Stand back!” Merlin ordered, throwing the ship out onto the roof. Glass shattered and the green mist exploded out and then condensed.

“Whoa! Ship just got real!” Steve marveled.

“Everyone on!” Aaarrrgghh called, throwing Steve and Toby on. You levitated on, blasting mephits as you flew.

Eventually you were all on the ship and Aaarrrgghh was trying to get on while the shadow mephits attacked. You and Douxie blasted a few, finally helping Aaarrrgghh up. Steve fell onto Merlin and the ship stopped moving.

You looked over the edge to see the Green Knight standing in the street. “Boy...” he rasped. Suddenly he sent the shards at all of you and you shoved Douxie to the ground.

“Look out!” Merlin grunted, finally getting the ship to move away.

You slipped a bit at the sudden speed, almost falling. Thankfully Douxie caught you, but he grabbed you by your hurt arm. You hissed in pain.

“Oh! Y/n, I’m so sorry,” he apologized.

You brushed it off despite the tears in your eyes, “It’s alright.”

“No, here, let me heal it.” He looked so eager to help so you slowly extended your arm to him. He held it gently as he began to perform a healing spell. Your arm was surrounded in a blue glow as Douxie healed it. You immediately felt the pain fade away. It felt like aloe had just been put on a bad sunburn.

Unfortunately Douxie pulled away. “Alright, good as new.”

You gave a small smile. “Thanks.”

He nodded and opened his mouth to say something else when Merlin slowed the ship down.  

“Awesome sauce!” Toby exclaimed as he and Steve whooped. You grinned at them, it was nice to see them happy.

“This is so cool!” Toby called as you watched Arcadia grow smaller.

“What the heck is that?” Steve asked as Camelot came into view.

“Welcome, young squires, to Camelot,” Merlin said.

“Camelot? As in anceint-old-people-times Camelot?” Toby asked.

“Excuse me, I have a question. How is this castle flying right now?” Steve asked.

“The Heart of Avalon. Its magic keeps Camelot aloft, powered by time itself,” Merlin explained.

“You get used to it,” you called to Steve.

Merlin flew the ship past one of the towers and he waved at an old knight standing there. “Sir Galahad, how look the skies?”

“All quiet, my old friend!” Galahad replied.

“Keep your eyes on the horizon,” Merlin called, turning the ship to enter the castle.

You screamed a little as Merlin sped up. “I say, coming in a little hot, don't you think?” Archie asked.

“Rubbish!” Merlin yelled. The ship entered the castle skipping on the floor and you were glad you held on.

Douxie helped you off and you honestly didn’t want him to let go. You were just so tired, you needed the extra support. Thankfully, Douxie didn’t let go of your hand and you were grateful he was there with you.

“Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!” Steve yelled.

Toby gasped, admiring the grand castle. “Whoa!”

“It's been 900 years since I was last here. Hasn't changed a bit. Except for the flying part,” Douxie said.

Steve laughed. “'Nine hundred years'? Yeah, right. You're like, what? Like, 19?”

“Give or take a few centuries,” Archie said, jumping off Douxie’s shoulder and turning into a dragon.

“So, how many things can your cat turn into?” Steve asked.

Douxie smiled. “That depends. How many things are there?”

“Uh, cool, floating castle ship, but what's the grave danger you keep talking about?” Toby asked, trying to get to the point.

Right after he said that Claire, Blinky and Mao walked in. “Ah, there you are,” Merlin said.

“Claire!” Toby exclaimed.

Claire rushed to hug him. “Toby!”

“Arghumont!” Blinky called, running to hug his own friend.

“Blinky!” Aaarrrgghh called back. Aaarrrgghh pulled all of them into a group hug.

Claire gasped in pain. “Not so tight.”

“Oh, sorry,” Aaarrrgghh apologized, letting go.

“Whoa, hey, Steve's here, too! How 'bout, how 'bout some love for Steve?”

“Oh. Hi, Steve,” Claire said, unimpressed.

“What happened to you guys? Wait, where's Jim?” Toby asked, finallly noticing that your brother was missing. You felt a tear slip.

“This way,” Claire said, gesturing back the way they came.

“Jim... What happened to him?” Toby asked, observing the gem Jim was encased in.

“We were ambushed. Some ancient, dark warrior. An unstoppable knight clad in green who struck down Master Jim,” Blinky explained.

Douxie turned to Merlin. “Master, is that the same knight we saw at the bookstore?”

Merlin nodded. “One and the same. That onyx shard is working its way towards his heart. I placed the boy in stasis, stalling its progress... for now.”

“If I had my Shadow Staff, I could've saved him,” CLaire said.

You let go of Douxie’s hand to hug her. “Don’t blame yourself, I should have done something, but I didn’t.”

Toby glared. “Who is this Green Knight? How do I get my hands on him?”

“I do not know. The Green Knight said but one name, which chilled me to the bone, Morgana.” Merlin explained.

“Oh, I hate that lady. Wait, I thought we kicked her bewitched butt to the Shadow Realm?” Toby asked and you could see the poor kid shaking with anger.

“Which he appeared not to know, but he bore the emblem of Camelot. Come with me, quickly. I fear the answer lies in the past. A dark menace is coming, one even I cannot face alone.” Merlin gestured for all of you to follow him and you took hold of Douxie’s hand again.

Once you were all. Inside the new room Merlin spoke again. “You are all now soldiers in a war started centuries ago for the world of magic. Once, the realms of Magic and Man clashed in endless bloodshed. King Arthur sought to wipe out magic that ravaged the lands in his war against Gunmar. I brought what few spellcasters I could under my protection to spare them from the sword.”

“Including myself. Oh, and Morgana le Fay,” Douxie added.

“She was the finest student I ever taught... until she tried to kill me.” Merlin looked down. “Thankfully, in my all-seeing wisdom, I created a secret weapon-- the Trollhunter Amulet. The war came to a standstill and I imprisoned Morgana at the Battle of Killahead Bridge. This Green Knight that assailed us was clearly born of dark magicks but I have no memory of him, nor what connection he could have to Morgana. We know not what he is nor why he pursues us. Though, his presence is a dire omen of things to come.”

Right as Merlin finished his speech a bell began ringin frantically. You all looked away from what Merlin was showing you and gasped. Suddenly the castle was struck by something and you fell to the ground.

“What's happening?” Claire asked.

“Have you never been under attack before? To the battlements!” Merlin ordered and you immediately complied.  

You got outside and saw another giant floating castle. It was all dark and creepy.

Archie gasped. “Oh, no! I think we have something of a problem.”

“Oh, fuzz buckets,” Douxie cursed.

“No... the Arcane Order... they found us!” Merlin said and for the first time ever, you heard pure fear in his voice. “Everyone, get to safety, now!”

You moved to put Mao inside and you heard Merlin shout a spell. “Fulgur praeca!”

The castle shook again and you fell. It suddenly got a lot colder so you sped up. The castle shook and you ran into Nari.

“I need to go help. Can you take Mao?” You asked.

“Of course.” You placed your familiar in her hands and took off running back to Merlin and Douxie.

You arrived outside to see a bridge of ice spanning the gap between the two castles.

“They're boarding us! We must break free! Steer us clear at my command!” Merlin ordered and you summoned your fire spell.

“I'm on it!” Douxie called back.

“All of a sudden, flying castles aren't so cool!” Steve screamed.

“These foes' powers are beyond us!” Merlin grunted as a blast of fire came at the two of you. You sent your own fireball back at the black castle.

“Merlin!” You heard Nari yell.

“No! Nari!” Merlin protested, running towards her as you continued to blast fire at your enemies.

“Archie, find the staff or we are all dead meat!” You heard Douxie yell.

“What do you people think I'm doing?” Archie retorted.

“Archie, I'm running out of time, here!” Merlin yelled, trying to cut the ice bridge with his sword while you did your best to melt it.

Finally Archie called, “Got it!”

You and Merlin jumped onto a tower that rose past you.

“Surrender, Merlin,” some creepy thing ordered.crof

“Never!” Merlin growled.

“Merlin! Merlin! Get everyone to safety!” Galahad called.

“No, Galahad! What are you doing?!” Merlin protested.

Merlin and you watched sadly as Galahad used his tower and his life to cut through the ice bridges. You and Merlin ran back to the castle as the bridge you were on was destroyed.

“Farewell, my old friend,” Merlin whispered. “Hisirdoux, now!”

You watched as a green portal opened up to show a completely different forest beneath you. You didn’t have much time to admire it though, you had to keep fighting.

Ice rained around you as you tried to send more blasts of magical fire at the black castle. Suddenly one of those ice shards hit you, sending you over the edge of the castle.

From there you pretty much just straight up tumbled into the portal. You screamed as you fell through the portal. You did your best to slow down your fall, but the landing still hurt.

You slowly got up from the ground and looked up at the portal in the sky. That was when the panic set in, the portal back to your time was slowly closing.

You were about to do something about it when you heard voices. They didn’t sound familiar so you hid behind a tree. Fear coursed through your veins as you waited for whatever was making the noise to come into view.

Men and women dressed in shiny metal armor eventually appeared and you crouched down. You didn't know where you were, or when for that matter. You were lost and alone.

Suddenly you heard screams from above you and you looked up. You watched as Douxie’s magic lit up the bright sky, slowing his descent. Unfortunately he crashed to the ground ahead of the group of knights.

This was bad, you needed to warn them about the knights. You did your best to run through the trees, but by the time you arrived to see Steve, Claire, Douxie and Jim, the knights were already there.

“Advance!” A knight called and suddenly a ton of knights were surrounding your friends. You got ready to attack, but you held back for a second. You would wait for Douxie to make the first move.

“Got them,” a knight replied as Steve screamed.

Douxie sighed. “It means... we are lost in time.”

One knight got off of his horse. “What manner of sorcery is this?” He asked. Weirdly enough, he looked like an older version of Steve.

“Sir Lancelot, um-“ Douxie started and you relaxed a little, Douxie recognized this guy.

“He's so handsome,” you heard Steve whisper.

“I- We-“ Douxie stuttered.

Lancelot seemed to realize something. “Wait! Aren't you Merlin's errand boy?”

“Apprentice,” Douxie corrected.

“He's like an angel-man. Whoa!” Steve whispered. Suddenly you heard a large crack and the green gem that was holding your brother broke.

Lancelot gasped. “The devil-?”

Jim groaned. “What? How did I-“

Claire rushed to hug him. “Jim! Are you okay?”

“Troll! Troll! To arms!” Lancelot called and you got ready to defend your brother and friends.

“Wait! Chill out, lads!” Douxie called in an attempt to calm everyone down.

Lancelot didn’t seem to understand. “Chill? Out?”

Douxie sighed. “Take a breath, all right? He's one of the good ones.”

“There are no good ones,” Lancelot growled. “Monsters are forbidden in Arthur's lands. You'll hang before the king for your insolence.”

You were unable to hear anymore as your friends were arrested. You watched as Jim was unfairly imprisoned in a wooden cage and the rest of your friends were herded away.

You carefully followed them from a distance, but when they got to Camelot you realized that you wouldn’t be able to just waltz in through the front gates with them.

You sighed in frustration. You didn’t understand why everything had to be so difficult. You just wanted to relax for a little while.

But, you had work to do, so you snuck into Camelot. You made your way to an area without many guards and used your magic to get over the wall.

By the time you got in, your friends were nowhere to be seen. You did your best to inconspicuously search the city, but as time passed you didn’t have any luck. With every second you grew more and more frustrated. You were in an unfamiliar place, your brother was injured and possibly dying, and you couldn’t find your friends.

You weren’t going to cry though, you had to stay strong. Sinking to the ground just to cry wouldn’t solve your problems.

You took a deep breath and began to think. You needed a plan, a plan would help you calm down.

First, you needed to blend in more. You had been getting many odd looks from those you passed. You didn’t blame the people. You were covered in dirt from your fall and you had dried blood all over your face from your fight with the shadow mephits back in your time.

Eventually you found a well and you took a clean looking rag from a woman. Using it you did your best to tidy up. Once that was done, you went to go get something better to wear.

You felt bad shoplifting, but you needed to fit in and if you thought about it, you hadn’t a doubt in your mind that your brother and friends had been taken to the castle.

You were obviously in the wealthier part of Camelot, so it wasn’t hard finding a dress shop. If you were gonna be stuck in ancient Camelot, you might as well have fun and dress fancy. You could always find something simpler later.

You stood up straight and did your best to make it look as if you had a purpose. Thankfully no one paid you any attention as you walked in, but you didn’t expect that to last long. While you were cleaner, you weren’t dressed for the time.

You would need a distraction and thankfully magic would give you one. You mice in your head did the hand movements. In seconds you heard squeals come from the back of the shop. You hoped that would keep whoever was here busy for a while so you went and looked for a dress.

Eventually you found a dress that you liked. It was an orangish peach color made of silk with silver embroidered swirls on the bodice. You also grabbed a sweater made of tulle, the same color as the dress. You finished off the look with a silver belt.

It was remarkably easy to take with a little help from your magic and you were able to get away without ringing any alarms or whatever they had in Camelot.

You used your magic to put the dress on and began to make your way towards the castle.

The second step you had come up with was finding a way into the castle. You felt you would be able to get in with the way you looked. Your hair was an absolute mess, but with a little magic it would be easy to hide.

You were able to find a side entrance and you were able to get in. It gave you confidence that your plan was working so well. Now that you were in the castle, it was time for step three.

Step three was the part where you would look for your friends auras, but that quickly became complicated. There were a lot of auras buzzing about the castle and you couldn’t identify exactly where your friends were.

So you would have to modify your plan. You’d wander the castle until you were able to find them. You’d be able to identify their auras if you were closer.  

You started by making your way through the first floor. You’d make your way through the castle one level at a time.

While this was supposed to help eliminate any possible frustration, by the time you made it to the third floor tears were pooling in your eyes. You couldn’t find their auras and it was difficult to be sensing so many at once.

You were crossing a bridge, wishing you had stolen a handkerchief for your tears when you came across Douxie’s aura.

You were immediately relieved. Though you were still worried about your other friends and Jim, you had at least found Douxie.

Oddly, you heard Merlin scolding him. “Hisirdoux, do you have feet for hands? All the Slorr juice? You know how long it takes to milk one of those?”

“Sorry, sir. I was just trying to save time,” Douxie said and you got confused. Why was Douxie talking to Merlin like that? Maybe he was trying to cover up that he wasn’t from this time period?

“Your cutting corners has only cost me time,” Merlin said, continuing to scold Douxie. “It's hard enough creating Arthur's new weapon without your mucking about. I need you in the workshop, and you're milking the Slorr.”

As Merlin walked away you ran over to Douxie and hugged him. “Douxie! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Um?” Douxie mumbled and you realized that he wasn’t hugging you back.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, pulling away from him.

“I don’t mean any offense, but who are you?” With that you moved away from him, finally noticing that this wasn’t your Douxie.

You chuckled nervously. “I’m so sorry! Um, would you believe that I, uh, that I have a friend named Douxie that looks exactly like you. I mean what a coincidence. You know I’m, um, looking for him right now and I’m gonna go continue to look for him, seeing as you aren’t my Douxie. Haha, Bye.”

You were about to turn and leave when you sensed another aura. This other aura just so happened to also be like Douxie’s.

You turned back, just in time to see a Douxie who looked like the one you knew grab the other Douxie.

“Hey! Aah!” Archie protested and Douxie held his hands up in defense.

“Um, hey, me,” your Douxie said, chuckling nervously.

Past Douxie yelped. “Doppelgänger! You-you're me. I'm me!”

“No need to panic,” your Douxie soothed.

You stepped over to them. “Now, this is the Douxie I was looking for,” you explained.

“Well, how-- how... Wait, this can only mean one thing-” Past Douxie started.

“Time travel paradox!” Both Douxies yelled and you chuckled.

Archie sighed. “Double Douxies? This is a disaster!”

Both Douxies glared at him. “Give me a break, Arch!” They said in unison. “Oh, wow. This is wild!”

“Let's focus on the here and now. Where having two of us will be-“ Douxie started.

“-will be a logistical nightmare,” Archie cut in.

“I agree, uh, so the easiest solution...” Past Douxie trailed off.

“Is for one of us to go away till I return to my time,” Douxie informed.

Past Douxie nodded. “Great idea! But which one of us-?”

Your Douxie cut him off. “Interminus nocti sluumberso!”

Past Douxie suddenly fell asleep and your Douxie put him in a closet.

“I know this looks bad,” Douxie told you and Archie, “but I swear I've got this under control.”

“If that were true, things in the future have really changed,” Archie said.

Douxie laughed sarcastically. “Just don't go blabbing to Merlin, okay? I need to stay incognito. Aah!”

The cabinet burst open and past Douxie fell on Douxie.

“I’ve got it,” you promised, already levitating him back into the closet.

Archie chuckled. “This should be fun to watch.”

Suddenly you heard Merlin yell, “Hisirdoux, what is taking so long?”

“Just cleaning up another mess,” Douxie called back.

Douxie sighed and put his hair up into a bun. “Swore I'd never do this again,” he muttered, and you laughed.

“You look fine,” you soothed, taking his arm.

“So, I see you’ve got yourself a dress,” Douxie said. “I was looking for you, but I couldn’t find you. I was worried something bad had happened.

“I’m fine,” you promised when you felt Douxie’s aura spark with guilt.

“Good, I’m glad.”

“How’s Jim and everyone?” You asked.

“Oh, uh, Jim’s been arrested, but right now everyone else is fine. Steve is being trained by Lancelot and Claire is now Morgana’s handmaiden.”

“Morgana!” You hissed, worry for Claire suddenly overwhelming you.

“Don’t worry,” Douxie soothed. “She hasn’t gone bad yet.”

You hesitated. “What’s the plan then?”

“I’m gonna take you to where I used to live and then we can all meet up later to figure everything out. I’m gonna try and steal the time map to get us out of here.”

“Alright, but if you need any help don’t hesitate to ask.”

“I won’t,” Douxie said, leading you into a room. “Here you are, home sweet home.”

You looked around the room, it was off a decent size, but it was awfully drafty. “Nice place,” you said, taking a seat on a window bench.

“Thanks.” Douxie smiled. “Be careful if you go outside. You look like royalty, but people will question where you’re from.”

“Aw, thanks. You be careful out there too,” you called. “Will do.” He gave a little wave as he closed the door.

You gazed around the room, trying to think of something to do when you yawned. Suddenly you were very aware of how tired you were. If you thought about it you hadn’t slept in over twenty four hours.

You lied down on the bench and closed your eyes, easily drifting off into much needed sleep.

~~~~

You immediately sat up when you heard the door open. You looked around, confused at the sudden noise. Douxie was standing there frozen in the middle of the room.

“Sorry, Y/n. I didn’t mean to wake you,” he apologized.

You yawned. “It’s fine.” You looked over and saw Steve sitting in a chair. “How long have you been here?”

“Not long, I didn’t want to wake you.”

You nodded, grateful, but soon your kind smile turned into one of disgust. “What is that smell?” You asked.

“I, uh- I forgot how much I hate milking the Slorr,” Douxie muttered gagging at the smell he had trailed in. You mimicked him, plugging your nose.

Archie recoiled away from Douxie. “Ugh! Please!”

You looked over to Steve. “How was your guy’s days?”

Steve groaned. “I think Lancelot broke my everything.”

“And I still don't have the Time Map. One wrong move, and we will screw up history without even knowing it,” Douxie grumbled.

You were about to try and sooth the both of them when Claire burst in through the door. “We have to change history! Arthur's had enough. The trolls are gonna die at sunrise!”

“Oh, blimey Balroths! How are we supposed to stop this and stay inconspicuous?” Douxie asked and you could see the panic in his eyes. You felt bad about all the stress that was on him.

Claire sighed. “It wouldn't be a problem if I just had my Shadow Staff. I know you said to lay low, but we can't let Jim die.”

“No we can’t,” you asserted. “Douxie, I’m sorry, but we will have to change history.”

“Yes. Let's see what this future Douxie is capable of!” Archie cheered.

Douxie nodded. “You're right, sod the rules. It's time for a dungeon break.”

~~~~

The four of you snuck down to the dungeon and you watched from behind a post as Lancelot and Galahad laughed.

“No way!” Galahad grinned. The two of them were focused on their conversation so you decided to make a run for it.

“Ah! Oy! Young gentleman of Palchukia, join us in our nocturnal libations,” Lancelot called.

“We are looking for the Holy Grail!” Galahad took a drink. “Oh, well, it's not in that one either!”

Steve chuckled and began to saunter over to the knights. “Steve, no!” You whisper-shouted at him.

“Where do you think you're going, buddy boy?” Archie asked.

“Dude, I'm keeping the guards busy,” he whispered, “while having a righteous time! Ha! Yeah-eah! Drinking with knights! I'm so stoked for my first brew...uh, today.”

“I don’t condone this.” You glared at Steve before going after Douxie and Claire.

Archie sighed. “This is going to end badly. Ohh, I can’t wait.”

“This is going to end badly,” you muttered. The four of you continued to run, eventually coming across the section of the dungeon Jim was in.

“Jim! We're breaking you out,” Claire announced.

“Your stay in Terror Tower is over, mate,” Douxie said, conjuring magic knives for himself and Claire. Douxie cut open Jim’s cell.

“And presto, one liberated troll,” Archie announced.

“Hahaha! Take that, death! I elude you once again-“ a troll shouted as Jim freed her.

You hugged Jim tightly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, no need to worry.”

“A big sister always worries,” you said before going to free more trolls.

As you freed the last one you heard Steve shouting/rapping. “My lord Arthur's in the building. Watch out, y'all, he's here to do some creep-killing. Get out of here.”

“Now, now, everyone just stay calm,” Douxie said in an attempt to sooth the trolls. Unfortunately his attempt completely failed.

All of the newly liberated trolls panicked and began to stampede out of the dungeon.

You were pushed up against the wall as the trolls left. You looked over to Douxie. “What now?”

“We do our best to help them.” You all ran out of the dungeon and into Camelot. When you got outside you say that the sky was fading from a light purple to a blue. You heard the metal armor of guards clanking after you.

“Is this part of your plan?” Archie asked.

“I'm improvising!” Douxie yelled, fiddling with his cuff.

“Quick, through the alleys! They can't catch all of us!” Jim’s friend called. You followed Douxie as Claire helped Jim.

You turned down a path, but stopped when you heard more clanking.

You looked to Jim one last time. “Stay safe!” You called.

“I will!” He promised.

“Did you see where they went?” A man you assumed was King Arthur asked.

“Quick! In here! This way, sir! Don't worry, sire, I'll freeze them on the spot,” Douxie offered, he messed with his cuff.

“Then do it! This way, men! Charge!” Arthur ordered. Douxie spun his cuff as Arthur and his men went to run after Jim, but at the last moment he cast a spell, opening two blue portals. Arthur and his men charged into them, only to appear out the other one. “What trickery is this now?”

Douxie sighed. Oh, fuzz buckets! I must have cast an Infinite Hallway by accident. You know how frustrating magic is. Uh, let me-let me just find the right spell.”

“Wizard, remove this enchantment or I'll remove your head!” Arthur threatened. “You! Girl! What are you doing?”

“Uh, me?” You asked.

“Yes, you!”

“Well, I’m-I’m terrified,” you cried. “This kind young man has been helping me.” You put the back of your hand to your forehead and pretended to look feint.

You leaned on Douxie and whispered. “Their auras are gone, you can let the king go now.”

Douxie did as you asked and Arthur and his men ran off. “Come on, we can’t let them get to the gate,” Douxie said, grabbing your hand and pulling you to a nearby house.

“Up we go,” you mumbled, using your magic to help you climb the house. You, Douxie, and Archie made it to the top of the house just as Arthur was about to reach the gates. Thankfully Douxie slammed them down just in time.

“Men, after them! Get this open at once!” Arthur commanded. You watched as Jim and his friend tried to run away, but they stopped when the sun hit the bridge.

The sun slowly spread, forcing the trolls to retreat closer to the gate Douxie was struggling to keep closed. You added your magic to his, and the gate glowed both blue and orange.

Unable to get the gate open, the knights put their swords and spears through the opening, trying to stab the poor trolls. You and Douxie gasped for breath as it became a struggle to keep the gate shut.  Soon it became too much and you had to let go.

Suddenly, the day began to get darker and shadows spread across the bridge, paving a path for the trolls to get to the forest. You turned around, looking for the aura that was casting the incredible display of dark magic only to find Claire. You pulled Douxie towards her.

The two of you jumped from roof to roof till you managed to get to the bridge she was on. You could see the strain she was under and you raced over to her. Douxie caught her just as she collapsed.

“By the seven rings, how did you manage that?” He asked and Claire groaned. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy!”

“It’s gonna be okay, Claire. Jim and the trolls are safe.” You soothed.

“Are you sure?” She asked.

“I’ll check.” You closed your eyes and focused on Jim’s aura. You felt a shift and opened your eyes. Your projection was standing behind a tree.

You looked around, trying to get the gist of what was happening when you saw Gunmar and Bular standing in front of Jim. “Little king, these Wild Woods are my domain. I command the souls of all under its shade, and I decide who lives or dies!”

You saw shuffling and looked over to see one of the gumm-gumms kill a knight. You gasped at the horrific sight and Jim looked over to you. His friend helped him over to you.

“Y/n!” He whispered.

“Stay safe Jim. I’ll send more messages later okay?”

“Okay, I love you.”

“I love you too.” You gave a little wave to Jim as he left and you continued to watch the rest of the encounter play out.

“You can only push us so far, human,” Gunmar growled.

“This isn't over!” Arthur yelled, retreating.

“War is coming!” Gunmar retorted and you stopped projecting before he could see you.

You felt the shift and you were once again standing with Claire, Douxie and Archie. “He’s gonna be okay. All we need to do is figure out a way to get home.”

Douxie nodded. “Let’s go. Arthur is going to be furious when he gets back.

Claire took a step away from the two of you. “I want to go thank Morgana. I’ll meet up with you.” She went off and Douxie offered you his arm.

~~~~

“I was right, Arthur is furious. He's locked down the castle,” Douxie said, pacing.

“Luckily, he thinks you're so incompetent, you can't be a suspect,” Archie pointed out.

“At least we got Jim and the prisoners away safe,” Claire added optimistically.

“Yeah,” you agreed. “It’s not all a loss.”

Douxie turned to walk out the door. “Where are you going?” Archie and you asked in unison.

“To get that TIme Map. Hopefully with Arthur on the hunt, I've got a chance to finally snatch that thing,” Douxie answered and you grabbed his arm.

“I’m coming too.” Douxie nodded and you and Archie followed him to Merlin’s tower. You unlocked the door and the three of you snuck over to the vault. Douxie opened in only to find an old gnome skeleton in it. Douxie closed it again and tried to open it, only to find an old horn. He continued trying to no avail.

The both of you sighed when he opened it to a bird’s nest full of eggs.

“Looking for this?” The three of you jumped and turned to see Merlin holding the time map. “Or perhaps this?”

Merlin took the sleeping Past Douxie out of a cabinet and you noticed he had given him a pillow.

“Oh, fuzz buckets!” Douxie cursed.

“Have you any idea what you've done?” Merlin asked. “I knew my apprentice was an ignoramus, but traveling through time? Time!”

“Hey now!” You yelled, defending Douxie. Merlin ignored you.

“I think we handled ourselves just fine, all things considered. And, technically, it was your idea,” Douxie explained.

Merlin pointed his finger in Douxie’s face. “Well, then, you must have botched it up! My planning is flawless.”

Past Douxie spoke up, “For the record, Master, I had nothing to do with this. He did, which is he, and... ugh! Time travel, so confusing!”

Merlin went over to the time map and winced as it flashed red. “Aah! The timelines are in complete disarray!”

“Look, I can fix this, I swear!” Douxie promised.

Merlin shook his head. “Ah-ah, your meddling has already wreaked enough havoc on history.”

“Then surely we can use the Time Map to change things back, and then it'll all be as it was,” Archie suggested and you nodded along to his plan.

“It doesn't work that way. The map only offers glimpses of possible futures. There are no detailed instructions,” Merlin countered.

“Oh, come on, it's not that bad,” Douxie said optimistically. He tried to grab the time map, but Merlin swatted at his hand.

The timeline flashed to show Arthur's death and all of you gasped. “Aah! By my beard! Not that bad, eh?” Merlin asked.

“Oh, fuzz buckets,” Past Douxie cursed.

“Fuzz buckets,” your Douxie agreed.

Merlin walked over to the door. “Your little dungeon break must have changed fate. Now, unless I stop it, the king will die!”

****

So, tada, thanks for reading all of that. Honestly there’s a very high possibility that the next chapter will be even longer. He-he. The next chapter is gonna be really great and I’m so excited to write it. Anyways, I hope that y’all have a fantastically wonderful weekend.

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Also the scene where Douxie heals Y/n’s arm was inspired by @furblrwurblrrequest:

i! I'm curious to see one where doux kinda cares for her wounds? like a quick little fluffy one while they're on the ship after they get away from arthur? idk aaaa

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P.S. if you want to be on the taglist feel free to ask. I hope it works and please message me if it doesn’t.

[rebelbyrdie]

I wish you would write a fic where ... Regina and Marian are bridge partners, and there's some cutthroat playing in Storybrooke!

Snow and Emma have joined the new Storybrooke Bridge Club and things get a little out of hand.

Building Bridges

“I don’t get it.”  Emma mumbled for the fourth time.  

Snow sighed.  David would have been a better partner than Emma.  She thought they could join the new Storybrooke Bridge Club to bond while David, Henry and Neal did “man stuff”.  Whatever that meant.

“Its an easy game to learn but impossible to master, Sweetheart.”  She patted Emma’s arm.  “You’ll get it.”

She would if she actually paid attention to her cards or their game.  Emma was watching a game three tables away.  She was specifically watching two of the players.  Regia and Marion were quite the pair.  They were at the top of the leader board.  They were playing against Granny and Marco.  It was a heated match, as Granny and Marco were sitting at a very close number two on the board.  

“Emma.”  Snow needed her daughter to focus on the game.  Not only were they losing, but Marge and Bea were getting annoyed.  

“Oh!”  Emma jerked her head and laid her hand down on the table face up.  Snow dropped her face into her palm.  “You weren’t the dummy hand this game.”  They were already past that phase.  

Emma picked back up her cards sheepishly.  “I mean yeah.  Uh.”  She glanced over the cards on the table and half-heartedly laid down a six of spades.  It wasn’t the suite they were playing or even the trump suite.  They lost the trick to Bea. They were being slaughtered because Emma was too busy staring at Regina to even try to play.  

“Why are they partners?  I thought they would uh not like each other.”  Emma was staring again.  “She’s mad at me, but best buddies with her?  How is that fair?”

Marge rolled her eyes.  Bea snickered. Snow wished that she were anywhere else.

Bea twisted around in her wheelchair to look at them.  “I think they make a good couple.  They bonded over what an asshole Robin is.”

Marge chuckled.  “Madame Mayor’s been hell on wheels lately but Marion can calm her down with a few words.  Her PA keeps her on speed dial.”

Snow felt her eye twitch.  This was not helping!

“Okay, yeah, sure.  I get that.  Do they have to be so buddy-buddy though?  I heard they both walked Roland to school.  Like suddenly they’re co-parenting!  Like divorced Mommies instead of girlfriend in-laws.   I had to fight tooth and nail to even see Henry for a year and I gave birth to him!”

Marge penciled in the scores onto their team cards.  She had a calm and unreadable face.  More suited to poker then bridge.  Snow knew that she was on Regina’s side.  She had been one of her biggest supporters in the Enchanted Forest.  Not that Snow held that against her or anything.  Bea was far more expressive.  She had been one of Regina’s advisors and made no qualms about it.  She looked like she was genuinely enjoying what was happening.  Like she was watching her favorite soap opera in real time.

Snow shook their hands and stood up to walk around a bit.  They had lost the match badly, again.  They were going to be at the bottom of the club.  Maybe not last since Grumpy was half-drunk and his partner, Anton, was too busy chatting with everyone to keep up with the game.

Snow sighed and checked the board to see who their next match was with.  She almost screamed and wondered if she could just forfeit now.  Emma would be useless sitting that close to Regina and Marion.

It took a few minutes for Marion and Regina to finish, and win, their match.  Granny looked sour and Marco disappointed.  Marion and Regina were arm in arm, laughing about something.  

Emma scowled as they walked closer.  Snow sighed.  This was going to be a long match.

For the first time since they’d arrived, Emma paid attention to the cards.  More specifically, she watched Regina’s hands shuffle then deal the cards.  Her fingernails and lipstick were the same shade of red as the back of the cards.  She was wearing black and red, like she had planned to match the cards.  Snow wasn’t blind, Regina was dressed to impress (more like torture and tease) today.  Several eyes, both male and female, had wandered her way.

Snow suspected that Regina had let Marion dress out of her closet too.  She was wearing a vibrant violet wrap dress and heels.  She looked very modern but comfortable, almost smug.  Regina was rubbing off on her.  They had been inseparable since they had both broken up with Robin.

“So you’ve adapted to Strorybrooke pretty quickly, Marion.”  Snow looked over her cards and hoped Emma was at least looking over hers.  “I’m so glad you’re doing well.”

As well as any out-of-time, out-of-realm, recently-resurected, almost divorcee could be doing.  

“It is my second chance.  I am so happy to be here.”  Marion flashed a brilliant smile at Regina. “There are so many miracles here.  I can’t imagine going back.”

Regina chuckled.  “Going back for a year was awful.  I’d forgotten how much I hated chimera and corsets.”

Marion giggled and reached across the table to touch Regina’s arm and spoke in a different language.  Regina’s eyes lit up with a mischievous spark and she replied in the same language.

Emma scowled, “Did you guys invent a special BFF language?”

Marion blinked and Regina cocked a brow.  “Have you never heard of Spanish, Miss Swan?”

“8 Hearts.”  Snow started off the bidding since no one else had bothered.  

“So you both just happen to speak Spanish?”  Emma squinted at them.  “Seriously?”  She shifted in her seat, “I didn’t even know you spoke Spanish.”

Snow did, though she had rarely heard her do so.  She also spoke French, Elvish, Latin and was passable at Agrahbani and Skailling (the language of the Northern kingdom that her mother had come from).

Snow had begged her stepmother for Skailling lessons, but had ultimately found them difficult and boring so she had quit less than two months later.  She had never been a good student and often wondered if Regina had cursed her to be a teacher just for that reason.  

She shook her head and focused on the game.  Someone on their team should at least try to play.

The bidding went fast and ended with Regina being the dummy hand.

“Well, Miss Swan.  I have all my cards-”  She spoke slowly and rubbed her fingers across the top of her hand as she laid it down.  “-on the table.”

Oh My God.  Regina was flirting.  With her daughter.  Right in front of her!  How was she supposed to focus on the tricks when Regina was trying to seduce her baby girl in front of the entire club?!

Snow looked over at Marion and the woman smirked and gave a quick nod.  Like she was in on Regina’s grand plan.  Like she thought it was a grand idea. They were doing this on purpose!

The rounds went quickly, but Emma was so focused on Regina that she rarely put down a card that helped.  Regina and Marion won the game easily.  Emma got the next deal and she shuffled the cards roughly, bending them and mixing them with some faces up and others down.  She corrected them with a grumble and finally dealt them out, counting to thirteen under her breath.  She slapped each card down hard and refused to make eye contact with anyone.

Regina and Marion upped their ante.  Not at Bridge, though.  They were playing an entirely different game.  Marion was intentionally trying to make Emma jealous.  Regina was putting on her best I’m not trying to be sexy I just am naturally irresistible act.  Snow could not believe Emma was falling for it.  The whole thing was middle-school drama club melodrama.  It wasn’t subtle.  For a master manipulator, Regina was certainly being blunt.

Snow wondered if she should stop them.  After a few calming breaths and a few sips of grape soda, she had calmed down a little.  

On the one hand, Regina had been the Evil Queen.  Her mortal enemy, the caster of the darkest curse in the land, etcetera etcetera.  On the other hand, Emma’s other suitor was a morally dubious pirate who drank five times more than he bathed.  

At least Regina was trying to redeem herself.  All Hook did was hang out on the docks, drink and make sexually charged passes at Emma (or any other female he happened to see).

Furthermore, Snow wasn’t deaf, dumb or blind.  Emma and Regina had been dancing around each other from day one.  She wished she didn’t know that, but she did.  In fact, she was starting to wonder if they had already crossed a line or two.   When she really thought about it, the signs were all there.

There had been the time that Emma had all but carried Regina out of the fire.  The way Emma had fought to save Regina from the wraith.  Then there was the way that Regina had been amazed at Emma’s magic.  How she had looked so devastated when Emma had accused her of murder.  They’d disappeared in Neverland a time or two with little to no explanation.  Then there had been the long and longing stars and stilted conversations when they were fighting Zelena.  Not to mention the fact that Regina had tried to remove her heart the second she was separated from Henry and Emma.  How she had spent a year ignoring her “soulmate” and staring off into the distance, like she was thinking about Emma had been more excited to see Regina than her and David.

She rolled her eyes, laid down her card, and gave Regina a small nod.  She wasn’t going to object, but it was not a full blessing either.  It was more of a we’ll see.  She’d leave the threats of bodily harm to David.

During the bids this time, Regina and Marion were far more tactile, leaning into each other’s touches and whispering back and forth in Spanish.  When Regina laughed, she threw her head back and her dark hair swished across her face.

Emma was gripping the edge of the table so hard that her knuckles had blanched white.

Snow looked around and realized that they were the center of attention.  Everyone was watching Regina and Marion torture Emma.  They were all obviously enjoying the show. 

“Nine Spades.”  Marion smiled and leaned over to take Regina’s glass of ginger ale.  She drank deeply.  “Thanks, Sweetie.”

Emma’s face twisted and she stiffened in her seat.  Three lightbulbs at the far end of the community center went bright and then blew out.  It could be a coincidence or Emma’s magic.  Snow bit her lip, but didn’t say anything.  Emma only became more agitated when people pointed out her magic being “temperamental”.

The game went fast but much differently than Snow expected.  They were winning.  Not because she was a particularly great player or because Emma had  suddenly started trying.  No, it was plain to see that Regina and Marion were intentionally throwing the game.  So there would be a third tie breaker game for the match.  They were dragging this out as long as they could.  It was diabolical and just a little bit cruel.  

Snow was pretty sure that no one else was playing.  They were all watching Regina and Emma.  There were the cards on the table and the entirely different game being played out with little smirks and furrowed brows.  The tension was so thick that Snow would need a battle ax to cut through it.

“Pardon me.”  Regina jotted down her team’s intentionally abysmal score on their card.  “I need to visit the powder room before our final game.  May I?”  She stood, not waiting for their answer.

Emma stood up too, faster and way less graceful then Regina had. Her chair screeched back and almost tipped.  “Yeah.  Me too.”

Snow watched Regina sashay towards the ladies room and Emma stomp after her.  Since Emma hadn’t taken a drink of her now warm soda all morning, Snow doubted that she needed to use the facilities.

“Whatever happens in there.”  Snow glared at Marion. “I blame you.”

Marion laughed, which was not the reaction Snow had expected.

“I don’t understand.”  She sounded like Emma now.  “What is going on with you and Regina anyway?”

Marion had been caught up in the war she and Regina had waged.  She would have been executed if not for Emma.  Not to mention there was the whole Robin situation.  Marion should hate Regina, or at the very least not be best friends with her.  

“I know what you’re thinking.”  Marion took a handful of the snack mix that sat on every table.  “I should hate the Evil Queen.”  

Snow nodded and grabbed a couple of chocolate covered nuts for herself.  “But you don’t?”

Marion smiled.  “We both know that Regina is not The Evil Queen.  She’s a completely different person.  Did you know that she came to me a few days after I arrived?”

During the two weeks that she had refused to speak to anyone but Henry?  During those same two weeks that Emma had been beside herself with worry and guilt?

“Robin tried to rush her off, like Regina was the dirty little secret I wasn’t supposed to know about.”  Marion shook her head.  Her voice was quiet and low, far less cheerful than it had been.  “Robin had taken mistresses before.  His code of honor is very flexible when he wants it to be.” 

Snow almost choked on her snack.  What?  

“None of them had dared to come talk to me.  To look me in the eyes.  She wasn’t there to talk to Robin, to convince him to leave me.  She came to talk to me.  I thought she was going to apologize.  I think if she had I might have hit her.”  

Marion looked over at the closed bathroom door.  

“She asked if I was okay.  If I needed anything.”  

Snow blinked.  Again, she hadn’t really expected that.

“Everyone was so excited about my sudden resurrection.  Robin had his wife back.  Rolland had his mother back.  Not a single person had asked me how I felt.  I-it-I cried.  I broke down sobbing and she comforted me.”

Marion picked up the deck of cards and started to shuffle it.  She was moving her hands and fingers, playing with the cards.

“She explained things to me that no one had thought to mention.  Offered to help me find a home.  She explained that here I could divorce Robin without losing Rolland to him.  She asked what I wanted.  She didn’t have any expectations or demands.  She really wanted me to have choices about my new life.  I don’t know what your life was like, Princess, but I’ve never been given a lot of choices.”

Marion paused and looked around the room briefly. “I get to be what I want here, and I want what she has.  A home, a job, a safe place for my son to live, learn and grow.  Love with no judgement.”  

Did Marion harbor love for someone?  If it wasn’t Robin or Regina, then who?  Snow was dying to know.

“So yes.  Regina and I are friends and-”  Marion chuckled.  “-she is a mess.  She is hopelessly in love with Emma.  She doesn’t even like Bridge.  She hates it.  She’s only here to see Emma.  I couldn’t take it anymore.  Even Henry is ready to lock them in a room together and throw away the key.  So we-”

A burst of bright light flooded the building.  There was a small earthquake and hundreds of butterflies suddenly appeared in the room.  They fluttered around and filled the room with a rainbow of colors.

“Well!”  Marion grinned.  “I suppose its mission accomplished, then.”  She looked over at the score cards.  “I wonder if they’ll let us team up since Regina and Emma aren’t going to be spending their Saturday mornings playing Bridge anymore.”