#oh well. gallops off into the sunset | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

a-soul-full-of-stars · 2 years

Note

somehow always ending up in each other’s presence, even when you don't mean to

Ul'Dah at sunset. They bump into each other in the street outside the Gladiator guild, Match still dressed in his subligar, body still marked with dust from the Bloodsands, the winner's purse (or what's left of it after "sponsors" have taken their cut) clutched tight in his hand. Thancred smiles; apologizes; helps the m'iqote to his feet. "My mistake, good fellow. Wasn't looking where I walked." Not that he has waited all afternoon since the fight for Match to walk this way. Not that he has studied the young stranger from afar, appraising his potential for days now. "Here, I shall buy you a drink to apologize. No, no, I insist" They depart together, Thancred's hand loose on the young Gladiator's shoulder...

...

The Waking Sands, another slow afternoon. Match has returned from the outer reaches of Vylbrand, his slaying of Titan another potent triumph. Thancred sits near the door, an unexpected, awkward encounter. Neither one speaks.

Thank you for saving me from prison, Match does not say.

Why did you run away without telling me, Thancred does not ask.

"Well, well. There you are. Good. Good." Stumbling words. Inadequate. Foolish. Thancred is a trained man, a scholar of secrets and reading people. How is it that he is undone by one summer of rutting and regrets? And why does it taste so bitter, to think of it so now it is long since done?

It matters little; soon there will be other primals, other fights. Soon, Thancred's body will no longer be his own...

...

He is moving. Thancred feels, really feels for the first time in weeks, the wind in his hair, the thud of heavy, jolting footsteps shake through his torso. His body aches, cut and bruised from a fight he had no part in. The Ascian. That awful, whispered torturer in his skull. He's gone. Thancred's eyes flutter open, just for a moment.

A familiar figure carries him in his arms, one hand piloting a magitek walker that is running, no, galloping from wherever he has been plucked. "Matchstick..." With a shaking hand, and with fingers certain they are about to brush away a dream, Thancred reaches for his savior. Match glances down. The m'iqote's face is a bloody mess, half rent open in a vicious cut that runs its full length across one eye.

"Hold on, Than! Hold on!!" Match's voice is already echoing as if from far, far away, and Thancred wishes that he could, that he could stay, that they could talk just for another moment but he is already drifting away again, his eyes already fluttering closed once more...

...

The ceremony is a good one. Pretty words, spoken well. An accord restruck, a realm reforged and all that. Thancred shrugs to himself. All well and good to say aloud, but ultimately a little hollow until the rest of the world chooses to catch up. Still, a good start in the right direction. He says a few goodbyes, eager to return to Revenant's Toll and then on to Ul'Dah. It's been too long with that cold, heartless creature living in his skin; he would like to feel the true desert heat again if he may.

So eager to leave is he that he walks right into the young man of the hour. "Ouch!" Match rubs his skull where the pair collided. "Look where you're-" He stops, realizing who he's talking to. "Oh! I didn't know... I thought you were still..."

"The chirurgeons would rather I were still in bed, yes," Thancred says, forcing a smile. "But I thought it remiss of me to be absent for such an occasion. 'Champion of Eorzea'. The title suits you."

You look good, he does not say.

I missed you, Match does not reply.

"Well," Thancred coughs. "Best be off. Places to see, people to be, all that."

"Right."

"Be seeing you, Chamipion."

"Be seeing you, Than."

And so, Thancred leaves. Just as he was trained to, Just as he has so many times. Just as Match did back when all this started, without so much as a goodbye.

Maybe this is all they deserve.

...

Okay I'm gonna stop this one here for now! This was so much fun, well, not fun, but really cool getting to write out Match and Thancred's whole messy ARR story. I hope you liked it @mythandral and thank you for the ask!

unresolved feelings prompts!

#matchcred #thancred #thancred x wol #ask me about my wol #ask me about match #mythandral #writing #my writing

12 notes · View notes

wroteonedad · 4 months

Text

Kylie & Kendall Jenner's Ghostwritten Novel

I've been trying so hard to read, read more than I usually do. It took me an entire year to read Pachinko which was an incredible read and if you want to read about that I wrote an entire review on it. But after I finished reading it, I jumped straight into the Jenner sisters odd YA dystopian novel, which also took me a long time to get through because it was an absolute culture shock to go from a novel that is historic and well written to,,, uhm an entire ghost written novel I guess.

So the idea of this novel is, there are two girls and one is called Lex and the other is called Livia. They are training themselves up, one is training to figure out what their job will be after these simulation trainings they do, think Divergent core. The other is taking etiquette classes to become a proper woman who will go to a ball, find her husband and then gallop off into the sunset with him. They are both designed to be like 'I'm not other girls' and 'I'm so different and nobody likes me because I'm different'. The two characters are very much like this;

There is also a guy that Lex meets before her final simulation thing, his name is Kane. He is weird and quirky and likes to steal pills from the offices to experience some kind of legal high which would get him sent to the bottom of the pile if anyone found out about it. Also did I mention like two sentences before that he is weird? Not like other people and that he doesn't like to spend time with anyone else that is considered normal. So Kane is like;

Honestly, if anything I am so glad that Kylie and Kendall Jenner didn't write this book because the basic character premise is trash actually.

The whole time these girls are training up in their dystopian islands which work differently across Indra kind of goes over my head because the ghost written author tries to go far too much into detail to the point it does not make any sense. The author is very much like oh so Lex got to use this cool weapon and then she took drugs so she could cheat her final simulation and everyone around her was like the shocked emoji because they never thought she could do this. It is all very 'I'm the main character' which is what makes me dislike the two girls so much.

Later in the novel Kane decides to leave Lex because he's going on this mission which he can't talk about and when he promises Lex he will meet her in a simulation and he later doesn't turn up, Lex does everything she can to find out where he really is. It turns out he shows up to Livia's emergence ball where he tries to assassinate her. Like she's supposed to be JFK or something, as far as I was concerned she was some orphan lady with a famous surname, but she's never met her famous dad because he is, well dead.

So he gets taken away and Lex is fuming because she kissed Kane before he left and now she's found out through a simulation she can't hear that Livia kissed Kane and then beat him up (because he tried to kill her). Also can I just add in that Kane is supposed to be about 10 years old. Which is?????

So Livia is basically on a dystopian house arrest since she was nearly killed and her government want to protect her, but Lex decides to go along to be the second person to attempt to assassinate her because she is convinced that Livia murdered Kane and that's why she can't find him. Lex of course arriving on such sacred ground and attempting to kill Livia sets off all of the PCF guards to then hunt the two down as they run away, arguing, crying, trying to kill each other in hopes to both find Kane. I'm honestly not sure why you would try to kill someone and then gallop off into the distance with them 5 minutes later because you think they're going to help you find the guy you want to slam, but here we are. On their quest they meet the riggers which are government hating little guys who live in holes off the main ground. They remind me of the Goron's in Zelda with the way they mostly dig for things, do construction in their hobbit land and are left alone by everyone else in society.

One of these riggers in the book give themselves up to the PCF which Lex and Livia agree that he did it in order to protect them so they could not only get away, but to also ignite a real life war with these government officials. Though I'm not sure that's a good idea at all given the rest of the complicated circumstances. There's a whole chapter dedicated to their weird zapping weapons and screaming sword which I switched off to because it's lame and it's the type of fight scene that exists within every YA book to ever exist. Thankfully when I was reading this chapter on the train I tuned in even less because there was drama happening between one of the train conductors and someone pretending to be asleep, this was of course more interesting than the book at this point.

I think it's been a good 6 chapters more and Lex and Livia are still trying to escape Indra, to think in the books time it's probably been around 2-3 hours, but it feels like a lifetime for the reader. In this time, they have found Kane who was laying face first on the floor basically pretending to be dead ??? He's in a lot of pain with body wide injuries and he's also flirting with Livia in front of Lex which of course makes her jealous. Livia decides to get him to take some fun dystopian drugs so he can't feel how much his body hurts so they can rescue him. One of the worst lines though, on page 245 reads [from Livia's point of view]; 'I gently lift his shirt, trying not to cringe at the sight of his injuries. He watches me, still smiling. 'If you wanted to see me with my clothes off, all you had to do was ask.''

Guys he is literally TEN YEARS OLD.

After reading that, I just wanted a black hole to open up underneath me and swallow me up because why are these characters supposed to be literal children? Anyway....

They then run into more PCF except they look like they haven't washed their uniform in 40 years, only to find out they are actually 'Rebels' and they have also been sent out by a character called Vip to rescue them. The crazy thing to me is that Vip is so insignificant that I forgot who she was so for the author to make an entire statement on her return was insane to me. On top of that, the other girl from Lex's orphanage also returns as a rebel???? I kind of remember her, but still confused as to why every small character has been rewritten back for the end of the novel. They then remove Lex's microchip from her brain so the real PCF won't be able to track any more movement. I also forgot to mention that it was revealed Lex and Livia were actually twins and they tried to kill each other another three times since finding this out, as you do. They then find Kane again later on in the journey, have an entire Divergent style sequence when they are found by the enemies again where they then choose to go through a tunnel and start their next adventure. That's where the novel ends, it leaves you on an entire cliff hanger hoping and begging it will make you want to read the second book. It did in fact make me not want to read the second book, in actual fact, I wanted to burn the first novel when I was left like that.

Truthfully the book is simply not enjoyable enough and not written well enough to make me want to read more. It's not the genre, it's not the characters, it is just a badly written book and alarmingly clear that this was not written by either of the Jenner sisters.

#kylie jenner #kendall jenner #ghost writer #writing #rebels city of indra #book review #book club #literature #ya

0 notes

mackeydoodledoo · 3 years

Text

A Real Hero

Pairing: Daniela Dimitrescu x (Fem!Daughter of Ares)Reader

Summary: You were lost. You needed to fend for yourself. You were the runt of Ares’ kids. Yes, the god of war himself had told you that you were the runt of the pack, making you fall behind everyone else. However, meeting a certain red-head has you making other plans.

Warnings: Fighting, Small amount of Blood, Supposed Death

A/n: So, I’m Poseidon’s kid... But, I may or may not have a idea for a daughter of Poseidon to be paired with one of the other two daughters.

“Supermassive Black Hole” - Muse [Play this when Joan splits off with Daniela to go hunting]

---------------------------------------------------------------------

You had nowhere to go. You were shunned out by your brothers and sisters. Even your own father. You were the runt of the children of Ares. Meaning, you were the weakest link. Your own father had dropped you off at the same very forest. Haven’t heard from him, your mother or your siblings since.

Come on Joan... You got this...

You were exhausted. The glistening sweat rolled off your now toned arms as you were practicing your sword play skills. The tree however, wasn't so lucky. All of its peeled bark, all of its scars. Came from you. It looked like it was on the brink of death.

“Not so tough now are you?” You try to stupidly intimidate the nearly dead tree

God you sound stupid right now...

You take one heavy slash to the tree; it begins tumbling down. However, just as you about to chop it further, you hear a scream. Panic sets in as you immediately grab hold of the tree stump. You initially struggle to keep the other end of the tree’s weight. However, You shove it to the side, groaning in pain, clutching at your shoulder.

“Are you okay?” You ask, running over to the woman who screamed

Just barely grazing her shoulder with your finger, you wince in pain.

“Am I okay?!” She asks, turning to look at you, “Are you okay?! You’re the one who- oh my god...”

The other woman was in shock, but also intrigued.

She looks down at your finger; blood... But, it wasn’t the crimson shade kind of blood. What was seeping out of your finger was a thick and Silver colored.

“How is your blood like that?” She asks, observing your finger like a gentle specimen

“It’s always been like this,” You chuckle

“Does it actually taste like blood?!” She asks

You look at her; her eyes dilated with curiosity. You look down at your feet, trying to come up with the best answer for her.

“How am I supposed to know?” You ask her, “I’ve never been one to taste my own blood.”

“Then let me be the first one,” She says, her tone dropping to a low, seductive tone

“Hey! What are you-” You protest

But it was too late. The tip of her tongue had ran right over the small prick in your finger. Your eyes widen as she begins gagging.

“Oh that was vile!” She wretches

“I tried warning you to not do that,” You chuckle, “But, did you listen?”

She punches your shoulder as she continues to gag out the contents of your blood.

“But for real though, how did you do that?” She asks

“Do.. What?” You ask her

“The... The.. You picked up a whole damn tree!” She exclaims, “No mortal could do that!”

“That’s because I’m.. Not fully mortal...” Your voice trails off

“You’re... Not?” She asks, her eyes widening once more

“Demigod.. To be precise..” You begin explaining, “It’s when an immortal falls in love with a mortal... And they have kids... Kids like me.”

The woman doesn’t answer you...

Great... She’s freaked out...

“So... Let me get this straight... You’re... Half immortal?” She asks

Girl’s clueless...

“Technically.. Yes,” You answer her

“Wait until mother and my sisters hear when I bring you home,” She wickedly smiles

Wait.. What?...

When you opened your eyes you no longer found yourself basking in the sunshine.

“Just check her blood! She really is half immortal!” The familiar voice

“Daniela, quit your games,” Another feminine voice calls to the sole familiar voice

“What is the meaning of this?” An older, robust yet soothing feminine voice walks in

“Daniela claims that she’s found a half immortal,” Another feminine voice says, but more hungrier than the other three

“But mother it’s true!” Daniela claims, “Look at her blood!”

“Enough... Daniela,” The older woman sighs

By the time the arguing had died down, your fingers held your temples as you groaned in pain.

“Half-immortal,” The older woman calls to you

“Ow... What?” You look up

You had to adjust your neck in a slightly uncomfortable position as you stare straight up into the most giantess woman you have ever encountered.

“Tell me child...” She starts, “What is your name?”

“Joan...” You answer, “Joan Arc...”

“Are you truly half immortal?” She asks

“I am...” You say without a second thought

“Then prove it,” The blonde demands

“Now now Bela,” The older woman calms her blonde daughter, “But that you shall do for us.”

“What happens if I refuse?” You ask, standing on your two feet

“We’ll feed your scraps to the pigs,” The brunette growls

“Cassandra enough!” Daniela demands, grabbing her sisters’ wrist

Cassandra turns to the red head and begins growling at her like a primal animal. You were about to step in before you see the older woman beginning to raise her hand.

“Cassandra... Daniela,” She sighs, “On this evening’s hunt she will accompany the three of you. Cassandra...”

The brunette straightens herself out when the woman called her name.

“Do show her the armory for this evening,” She gently commands

“Of course mother,” She answers, “Half and half.”

Cassandra turns to you.

Great... A nickname already...

“You coming or not?” She asks

You walk towards her as you felt claw-like fingernails dig into your skin as you are bragged out of what looked to be the bedchambers. You catch a glimpse of Daniela; the woman you had saved from earlier in the day. You give her a small smile before Cassandra rounds the corner, knocking you into the doorframe.

“Come on,” Cassandra growls

“So... Half and half,” Cassandra teases at your nickname, taking a gaze at the weapons in the armory room

“It’s Joan,” You correct her coldly

“What brought you to our castle grounds anyway?” She asks, completely ignoring your correction

“Actually your sister... Daniela brought me here against my will so...” You joke, but also tell the truth

“She doesn’t know when to stop bringing toys into the castle,” Cassandra sighs

Toys?... Is she for real?...

“I was cast off, unwanted by my own father,” You explain, “I was the weakest of his kids... All of my siblings had their backs turned to me when I was casted out of the cabin...”

“That’s rough...” Cassandra sighs

You weren’t sure if Cassandra was continuing to mock you or she actually felt bad about your situation.

“Anyway though, I’m kind of happy that I’m out of there,” You add, “My siblings were a bunch of assholes anyway.”

“I could say the same for my sisters... We’re always trying to out-best each other to please mother... It’s getting tiring honestly.” She sighs

“Then don’t do it to please your mother,” You say, grabbing a sword off of the weapons rack, “Do it so it makes you happy.”

With your back turned to Cassandra, you begin putting your hair up to a ponytail.

“What’s that?” She asks

“What’s what?” You ask

“The thing on the back of your neck,” Cassandra helps, “What is it?”

My birthmark... Well, just a mark...

“The Mark of Ares,” You answer, “All the children of Ares have this specific mark.”

[A/n: Not much but I tried lol]

You nod, “Not the glamorous life as a god though.”

“So you really are half and half huh?” Cassandra continues asking

After grabbing a couple of armor plates, you arm yourself with a sword and a spear. You follow Cassandra back to the main hall where the other three women were waiting for the both of you.

“All set?” The tall woman asks

“Yes mother,” Cassandra says

You simply nod as you follow them out to what looked like horse stables. However, you only see enough for the four of them.

Great... Will I have to be the one running on foot?

“Joan,” Daniela calls, horse already galloped in front of you

She simply holds out her hand for you to grab. You let out a smile as you take her hand. You were astonished by the amount of strength Daniela had when she pulled you up onto the back of her horse.

“Strong,” You smile, resting your palms on her curved hipline

“You better hold on tight,” Daniela flirts

As soon as the stable doors opened fully, Daniela slams the reigns on her horse and the horse bolts past the other three. You let out a startled yelp as Daniela’s horse bursts out of the stables and out into the familiar warmth. You hold onto Daniela for dear life; your head against the back of her neck as you hear her giggling.

“The half immortal is scared of a horse ride?” Daniela teases you

“Caught me off guard is all,” You gently chuckle

Daniela continues to giggle as you ease your grip on her slightly. You look over your shoulder and see the other three horses following behind, slowly gaining to where you and Daniela were. You looked along the tree line to see the sunset beginning to dwindle down below the horizon.

“Why hunt at night?” You ask

“It’s too stuffy during the day,” Daniela explains to you, “It’s tolerable... For a certain amount of time.”

You stop at a river that was relatively near the castle for the horses to rest and hydrate as the four of you begin to tread through the woods to go hunting.

“Why don’t the both of you go hunt on your own, go teach Daniela some hunting techniques would you?” Bela suggests

“Hey!” Daniela yelps, “I can hunt well on my own thank you very much.”

“I’d certainly could ask Artemis to give Daniela some hunting lessons but who the hell knows where she is,” You explain, “Come on Dani.”

Daniela takes you by the wrist and yanks you close to her as the both of you begin walking along the forest trees in hopes to get any kills before dawn arrives.

“Have you.. Actually hunted before?” Daniela asks

“After months of fending for my own,” You say, “Mostly spear-fishing... Spear is normally my main weapon but if I want to go more rough n tough, a sword.”

“Shouldn’t the half immortals be expertise in various weapons?” Daniela teases you

“A lot of Demigods would have their specified weapons,” You say, “Watch and learn baby.”

You roll up your pant legs and your sleeves. You strip off your shoes and slowly begin stepping into the ice-cold riverbank. further to your right was a giant waterfall. You could hear the loud running water go over the edge of the drop.

“If I only had Night vision,” You sigh

“On your right,” Daniela calls out to you

You immediately spear to your right. Once you had lifted the spear, you had sworn the spear had gained more top end weight.

“How did you?...” You turn to Daniela

“I mostly go hunting at night,” Daniela smiles, “So my eyesight works best during the night.”

“That’s good to have,” You smile

You and Daniela continue spear-fishing as the night progresses through.

“Have you caught a bear before?” Daniela asks

“No,” You say

“Why don’t we go and catch one?” Daniela suggests

“Well, how would you do it Daniela?” You ask her

“Why are you asking me?” Daniela asks

“Because one, you’re the one suggesting it and two, why don’t you lead a hunt for once,” You smile

Daniela looks at you as you emerge from the riverbank and begin making a makeshift basket to place all of the fish in.

“You sure know how to craft,” Daniela just simply watches you make

“A lot of things were learned while living on my own out here,” You smile as you look up at her

You stop weaving the basket when Daniela is just kneeling in front of you.

“You okay Daniela?” You ask her, clearing your throat

“I’m okay,” She answers, inching her way closer to you, “You?”

“I’m fine,” You answer, a bubble caught in your throat, “What-what are you doing right now?”

“I... Like you..” Daniela says

“Daniela!” You yell

You coil an arm around her waist line as you try to get up but you tumble forward. You look up and see a bear letting out a roar. With your spear crushed under the bears’ foot, you draw your sword and begin swinging, in hopes of it being scared and runs off. However, you stop once it began growling.

“Joan!” Daniela yells

You felt your body land onto the ground as the sword is knocked from your grip. You immediately prop yourself on your elbows and turn your head.

“Daniela!” You yell to her

Like Hell I’m about to lose her....

Your legs suddenly spring upward, pivoting as fast as they could. You break into a run as the bear begins to stand on its hind legs. You didn’t even think to take your weapon back into your hand as you use your body to slam yourself into the bear.

“Hey!” You call to Daniela

She looks at you.

“I... Like you too,” You smile

“Joan... Joan!!” Daniela screams

As quick as Daniela could, she scampers up to her feet and dives after you, only to come a hare too late. You and the bear had plummeted towards the sharp-rocked bottom of the waterfall.

“JOAN!!!!” Daniela banshee screams as she watches you both and the bear disappear into the misty waters below

“Daniela?!” Alcina calls out

Alcina, Cassandra and Bela emerge from the tree line, beelining it to her. Alcina pulls her youngest daughter into her arms as Daniela lets out wailing sobs.

“We were trying to hunt a bear and- and- I almost got killed but-” Daniela chokes on her sobs, “Joan went over the edge protecting me.. With- with the bear...”

“I’m sorry my daughter,” Alcina sighs, “The hunt is over. Back to the castle. Now.”

“But-But Joan is still down there!” Daniela begs her mother

“No one survives that drop,” Alcina states, “Not even a half immortal like Joan. We have to go now.”

Daniela doesn’t argue with her mother. She follows her mother and sisters back to their horses to take back to the castle stables.

I’m sorry Joan...

Night was slowly dissipating as Daniela lay across her bed, crying to herself. She didn’t care about how bad she smelled from the outside world. She was upset at herself for not catching you in time just before you plummeted to your death.

“Daniela?” Bela calls out

“What Bela?...” Daniela wipes away her tears

“Someone’s in the main hall with Cassandra,” Bela says, less enthusiastic

Daniela dissipates into flies as well as Bela. Daniela follows her sister and as soon as Bela busts the doors open, Daniela felt her heart throb.

“Joan?...” Daniela calls out, materializing into her human form

“Finally,” Cassandra sighs as she pushes your batters and bloodied body towards Daniela

Daniela catches your almost limp body. But, you manage with all of your strength you had left, you wrap your arms around Daniela's neck as she struggles to keep you on your feet.

"I thought you were..." Daniela says

"Dead?" You finish her sentence

Daniela takes you to her bedchambers and begins stripping away whatever was left of the armor and your ripped clothing.

"Ow..." You groan

"Do you... Remember what happened after you plummeted down the waterfall?" Daniela asks

"Well, what I do remember is that the bear wasn't anywhere to be found by the time I had come to. I was bleeding a lot. But, obviously being a Demigod, my slow regeneration process began. But. Took me forever though. Everything still hurts like hell..." You sigh

You lowly gasp as you felt Daniela's long, cold fingers caress your body as she applies the bandages.

"I'm sorry," She whimpers

"It's okay. You're just really cold..." You sigh, smiling

You could feel Daniela's eyes on you as she moved directly behind you. You could feel the tension between the both of you.

"I meant what I said too," You say

You feel her fingers begin coiling around your ribcage and her head resting on your shoulder.

"I know," She whispers into your ear

You sweep your arm underneath Daniela and pull her into your lap.

"Joan!..." Daniela gasps

It doesn't take Daniela long to settle herself in your lap as her wicked smile sweeps across her face.

"Awwww you're blushing," Daniela coos

"Shut up..." You growl playfully

"Well then maybe you should make me," She smirks, her wicked giggle coming out

[A/n: Here is a character board for Joan Arc]

#daniela dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu x reader #female reader #demigods #bela dimitrescu #cassandra dimitrescu #alcina dimitrescu #house dimitrescu #ares

69 notes · View notes

dangerousstrawberryshark · 3 years

Text

A Horse Trip

Tom Holland x Rider Male Reader

Request from Kili

Warning: no warnings, just fluff. Also, this one is short!

Background: Your boyfriend Tom decided he wanted to try and ride a horse. He wanted you to teach him since you knew how to ride one. He ended up failing and decided to ride with you on your horse. On the way, you guys stopped to have a break.

(if Tom does know how to ride a horse in real life then just pretend he doesn’t know. Couldn't think of a good title)

M/n: Male name.

H/n: Horse name.

Word count: 840

Hope you enjoy it! Sorry if it's bad!

You and Tom felt the wind stream past you as the horse was galloping at 25-30 mph. Tom was holding onto you trying not to fall off. You could hear the sound of the horse’s hooves. And Tom complains about how he can’t ride a horse but you can.

Now you may be wondering why he is complaining. Welllll…..

——————————————————————

FLASHBACK (1 hour ago)

——————————————————————

“Please?! Come on M/n!” Tom has been bothering about riding a horse. You were born in the country boy, while Tom was a city boy. Tom assumed since you were born in the countryside, you would know how to ride a horse and he was right.

You did know how to ride a horse since you were 10. “Ugh, fine…. Go get ready.” Tom was surprised at first since you always say no whenever he asks. “Yeahhh!” Tom immediately got up and got dressed.

Tom came back down ready. “Let's go!” he said grabbing your arm and pulling you to his car. You then drove to your grandparent's house where the horses are kept.

——————————————————————

Time skip (30 minutes later)

——————————————————————

You guys arrived at your grandparent's but they weren’t there. “Where are your grandparents?” Tom asked looking at you worriedly. “They're not dead if that’s what you're thinking. I think they're visiting my parents?” you shrugged your shoulders before walking the horse pen with Tom following behind you.

“Alright Tom, as you can see these are the horses. The one over is H/n, that’s mine house. You can pick one if you want or you can stick with mines.” Tom was making a decision on whether he should go with your horse or another horse.

“I think I'll go with that horse, the one on the left side.” it was like your horse, she/he was Friesian. The one most beautiful horse breeds in the world.

Tom was about to go in before you stopped him. “Wow, hold your horses there. You need to know how to properly handle these animals.” Tom stopped in his tracks to look at you. “You need to know the safety tips first!”

“First safety tip, you need to wear a helmet in case there is an unplanned dismount. Second safety tip, stay alert! Riding is fun but since you are learning you can get distracted. Your handling a living, breathing, unpredictable animal. Be aware of other horses, and the surrounding. Third safety tip, wear proper footwear. Here you need these.” you handed Tom everything he needed to be safe.

“Now can I go?” you nodded your head as Tom entered the pen with you following behind him. Tom was excited to ride one. “Be sure to put everything on!” you yelled, Tom obliged.

To be honest, Tom was a little tense approaching the animal. “Alright now get on it,” you said while holding the horse in place.

——————————————————————

Time skip (10 minutes)

——————————————————————

(didn’t do that because I was lazy)

Tom began to ride the horse. It was going well until the horse decided to do a backflip. “Oh my God! Tom are you alright?” you said trying to hold back the laughter. “Ughhh… Oww my head…” You were laughing so hard now. “Stop laughing at me!” Tom pouted.

(y’all have ever seen that video where the horse flips over while a woman was riding it?)

“I’m sorry Tom, here.” you handed your hand out. “Why did it do that?!?!” you laughed harder. “Apparently it didn’t like you. Hey, how about we have a picnic? We’ll ride on my horse. Hold on tightly though.” Tom agreed with you.

——————————————————————

FLASHBACK OVER

——————————————————————

You remembered everything that happened earlier and laughed. “Hey, stop laughing, that wasn’t funny!”

Tom said slapping you back. “Sorry, it just popped back into my mind. Either we’re here!”

You guys arrived at a little hill where you’ll be having your picnic. You leashed up your horse making sure it does run away. Then you and Tom had a great time together, he was still mad about the whole horse thing but he got over it.

The sun began to set. The beautiful colors brilliantly red and orange filled the sky. It was very romantic. “I love you, Tom.” “I love you too M/n,” Tom said putting his arm around you, pulling you closer to him. You leaned against and watched the sunset together.

‘What an eventful day.’

THE END

#tom holland #no warning #x male reader #tom holland x male reader #fluff #horse riding #requested #no smut

205 notes · View notes

scftvali-writes · 3 years

Note

Wut of some angst? Like Revali spots his s/o, but sees them with some other dude, s/o and the dude kiss (ON THE FOREHEAD!!) and Revali gets sad and runs off, but the s/o was with their brother? Like they were having a lil bonding time, but Revali thought they were cheating on them?? Sorry I am in need of some angst hehe

you asked for angst, i’ll give angst uwu

i wrote this as a scenario rather than hcs this time, but i hope you enjoyed! i will write part 1 as angst and a part 2 as a fluff! so stay tuned for that :))

enjoy, anon~

---

it was a nice day out for a picnic near the calm streams near kakariko village or even near the path to zora’s domain. revali had planned a special day out in commemoration of your 8 month dating anniversary. you both normally don’t celebrate each month of dating, but revali knew how hard you had been working with princess zelda and the lack of seeing each other was painful.

he was all prepped and went to look for you. when he did find you, he felt so...shattered. you were laughing at something that a really fine looking hylian man was telling you. he was gesturing and making silly faces and just being an overall goofball...something that revali felt he lacked for you.

he figured that you two were just friends, but were friends supposed to stand that close and look that happy to see one another? he felt a sick pit in his stomach and he just wanted it to end. it was like this was a test to see how loyal you truly were, even though he KNEW you were nothing but loyalty.

if it hadn’t been for someone calling for the male to go, revali was about ready to slip in and whisk you away to your awaiting date. the only people who knew about this date was princess zelda, link, and impa. he kept it a secret from the others in hopes to surprise you and make you extremely happy.

however, that all went down the drain when you both hugged, and the male placed a kiss on your forehead, and ruffled your hair. your cheeks were red, revali couldn’t tell from shyness or from embarrassment since you get shy easily with simple soft gestures. the male ran off to his other friends, he assumed, and glued his gaze to your solemn one as you sigh in what seemed like disappointment.

as you were upset that your traveling goofball of a brother was leaving once more, not being able to spend time with you as you had a day off according to the princess, you noticed revali. you perked up, but your happy smile turned confused as he held a sad stoic expression.

“revali- hey wait!” you called out before watching him take flight away from Hyrule plaza. you looked worriedly in the direction he was flying, not before you ran to the stables to borrow a horse to chase after your lover.

---

revali couldn’t get that image out of his head. it replayed over and over like a record and his mind began to twist that image into something else...he knew you weren’t the type to cheat, you were too soft to do such things, but why did you let the man kiss you?

he angrily kicked the basket that was used to carry all the stuff to the location he picked. he wanted to watch the sunset with you and tell you how much he loved you and how he was sorry for being such a jerk those last few times. he wanted to become a better lover, someone you would love forever, not some jerk rito that had some inferiority complex.

he was seething by the flowing river, not hearing the galloping of horses from a distance. it wasn’t until he heard a horse’s snort that he turned around - hoping it was you - but only to find link with the princess and others. the princess hurriedly jumped off, stumbling and catching herself, before running up to revali with a pant.

“you....y/n......where......now.....” she gasped. he gave her a quizzical look, not before a nervous pit settled over his anger. he gazed over to link and impa for a better explanation, in which impa states, “y/n is missing...we figured they were with you since you know....” she trails off looking at the mess the picnic was.

“what happened here, revali?” urbosa questions, looking around at the serene area with the exception of his angry artwork spread across the floor.

“hmph. that hylain was cheating on me, and what do you mean they’re missing? they’re probably with that stupid hylian man she was cheating on me with.” he spits out bitterly, not before impa gives him a questioning look.

“you mean link?” link snapped his head toward impa and made frantic denials with his hands and arms.

“no, not him! it was another hylian man, much taller and apparently funny.”

they all began to think, before mipha spoke up, “oh! you mean b/n? does he happen to look kind of like y/n?”

revali’s eyes squinted in disgust, “if that’s his name, then yes. how do YOU know this lady mipha?”

she perked up at the mention of the male, “oh! well, that’s y/n’s brother! he was stopping by into town to say hello to y/n as a surprise, but i guess he left since he’s a researcher in akkala!” she beams, having a little crush on your bother.

revali’s feathers stand up, and his eyes dialate, “so...they’re not cheating on me...”

princess zelda had finally recovered from her more extensive exercise, “no way! they love you too much to do such a thing.”

revali’s face paled, as panic crossed his face, “we....we need to find them and quick.”

#revali x reader #revali x y/n #botw x reader #angst #breath of the wild x reader #loz x reader

116 notes · View notes

babylooneytoonz · 3 years

Text

The Vessel [Pt. 5]

Pairing: Geralt of Rivia x Fem! Reader

Summary: Geralt is beginning to warm up to you, however, in his own annoying way.

Warnings: Minor SMUT

[My Masterlist] [My Witcher Masterlist - Read the other parts here!]

You kept your gaze fixed to the front, your eyes lined to the back of the Witcher's head, his messy hair falling loosely all over his shoulder, covering the back of his neck. The forest was quiet, apart from the occasional croaking of the crickets, or a bird flying by, flapping it's wings.

Your feet hurt, as you had walked all the way from your home, and then had taken a detour through the forest, even though Geralt had said not to. This was all the more reason you took a deep breath, swallowing away the soreness for you couldn't let the man know. No— your ego won't permit that.

Another thing that bothered you was the Witcher's silence, which made you feel that probably it was better to have no company at all, rather than this.

Finally, you gave up— a mixture of both, your exhaustion as well as boredom which made you stop walking, and move to the side where sat a large rock. You lowered yourself upon it, your hand instinctively flying to your boot as you pried it off and began rubbing your ankles to relieve some pressure off them. It was only then that Geralt abruptly halted, when he didn't catch the sound of you behind him.

He twirled around, his hand almost flying to the hilt of his sword out of instinct, the first thought that passed through his mind was that you were taken. It was only after a split second or so did he see you, huddled against that rock, rubbing your feet. His nose twitched, his lips pressing into a firm line as he strode towards you, the sound of his feet against the hard ground causing your head to jerk in his direction.

The next second, you were protesting— angrily lashing out at him, trying to claw your nails into his arms as he grabbed you by your arm and pulled you off that rock, without even uttering a word.

"What the fuck, Geralt? What —"

"I thought you wanted to go to the village. Now, we are going to the village which means that there isn't going to be a stop. I want us to come back before sunset."

These words were the longest words that he had formed towards you all day but his choice of words made you hiss angrily at him, regretting how you didn't enjoy the silence earlier, which was far better than this. You tried prying the hand off your arm to free yourself but the grip instead tightened, pulling you towards Roach.

"Fuck, what the hell is the matter with you? I'm exhausted and just need a minute—"

Before you realized what was happening, you felt him place his hands on either side of your waist, almost like you do to a child when trying to make them climb onto a higher ground. That's when you realized what he was doing— he was trying to get you to climb onto Roach.

"Get on her, [Y/N]. We aren't stopping. The forest can be dangerous."

The blow of the moment hit you right in the gut. You skewered your head to one side, intentionally biting down on your lower lip as you watched Geralt walk up to the rock where you were sitting at. He bent, grabbed your boots, and walked back up to where you were perched on his mare, both your legs on either side of it. Without taking permission, he grabbed your foot, illiciting a gasp from your end but didn't stop, as you squirmed a little, just by the surprise of the act. He easily slid your boot on your left foot before making his way to your right one and you, unknowingly, lifted your foot, without even him having to grab it.

His eyes flew to yours, and you noted the faintest of the smirks that crossed his lips, before he removed the gaze and began working on your right foot to get your boot on, and you smiled, now that he wasn't looking at you.

He then moved away, back into the position he was earlier in— the only difference being that you weren't walking next to him any longer. He took hold of the reins again, as he began walking, as you held on tightly, even though the horse was only galloping in a slow pace.

After about five minutes of silence, the Witcher finally spoke.

"You could have said thank you."

He was facing the front so you couldn't clearly see, but you were sure he was smirking internally. You rolled your eyes, your hand mindlessly flying to your belly and grumbled under your breath.

"Nope. I'm carrying your baby, which makes it your duty to take care of me."

He turned his head towards you, his amber orbs meeting yours halfway, and the look he gave you— his lips curved into the tiniest of smiles over his otherwise serious, brooding face; made blood pump into your body faster and cheeks flush. If it wasn't enough, your mind couldn't stop the thoughts to slither back into it like a snake, the image of the Witcher on top of you, his thick arms pressed to the either of your sides, your legs wrapped around his waist, his cock sliding in and out, in and out, in a rhythm, his balls slapping against your skin.

Suddenly, a loud screech rang through the air startling you, and Roach at the same time, making her stand up on her hind legs, panic stricken. A bloodcurdling scream broke out from your lips as you lost your balance the moment the mare got out of control, your body falling backwards towards gravity as your eyes reflexively closed, your body waiting for a sickening crash.

But the hit never came—

When you opened your eyes, you were in Geralt's arms, his thick arms holding you like a bride, but his eyes were trained to his galloping mare, who was galloping away.

"Roach, she's ..she's running away, oh my god," you cried, just when Geralt placed you back on the ground and drew out his sword.

"She'll come back, you get behind that rock—"

"Geralt, what the fuck was that noise?" You blinked, your eyes concentrated on the side of his face, though he was looking around, his sword ready, and his posture tense. Your words made him grunt under his breath and turn towards you, just for a split second, but he was looking at you with frustration, before you felt him grab your wrist and start walking towards the rock. He jerked you slightly, but not harsh enough to make you fall, until you were crouching behind the rock and he was towering over you.

"Ever heard of a wyvern? You'll finally get to see one yourself."

You gave him a look of pure horror, as you slid down against the ground, keeping sure to stay hidden behind the boulder, your arms locking around your knees, when the screech came again, but this time, it didn't sound distant at all. His hand held a tiny vial of what looked like a coloured liquid, and he quickly downed the contents of it. After that, it took mere seconds for Geralt's eyes to turn into a monstrous black, causing you to shudder.

A loud, bellowing screech filled the air once again, and that's when you looked up to see the wyvern circling above in the sky. Your breathing hitched and for a minute you forgot why you were crouching, you were just so awestruck at the sight of it. Without knowledge, you stood up, staring at the sky when you heard Geralt scream.

"I asked you to stay down!" His voice was sharp and angry, instantly pulling you back to reality as the wyvern finally came swooping from the sky, descending straight towards Geralt, who was distracted, his eyes on you.

"Geralt, watch out!" You screamed out, your eyes thrown wide as Geralt, upon your warning, jumped back around, but a second too late. The Wyvern slammed into the Witcher, sending him flying through the air, his back cracking against a tree bark as he crashed and slumped against the ground, groaning. The blow was enough for his sword to drop from his hand, the impact having caused him to be thrown away from it.

"GERALT!" You cried out, a little too loudly, crouching out a bit so you could see him, which turned out to be a rookie mistake.Your eyes threw themselves open, your lips almost trembling when you saw the wyvern turn slightly, so its monstrous yellow orbs were fixated on you.

"Uh, Geralt? That thing is staring at me? What the fuck do I do?" You croaked, a lump forming in your throat when the creature screeched, the jabbing screech directed at you. You quickly stood up, pressing yourself to the tree, your eyes helplessly looking at Geralt who coughed a little and groaned, struggling to pull himself up. You bit your lip hard, so hard that your teeth almost nipped into your lower lip, the taste of metal flavouring your taste buds.

You had a few seconds to act now— for the Wyvern was already charging in your direction.

"[Y/N], RUN! THROUGH THE FUCKING TREES, RUN THROUGH THE TREES!" Geralt's yelling pounded through your ears, and he was asking you to run, but the sword— the sword was too far away from Geralt, and it was much closer to you. If only you could grab the sword, toss it to Geralt and then run towards the trees, Geralt will be able to strike this creature from behind, you thought to yourself, in that split second between life and death.

Geralt pushed himself up on his elbows, growling from the pit of his stomach like a wolf, his eyes ablaze. The wyvern, however, had gotten bored toying with the Witcher it seemed. He kept racing towards you, momentarily flapping it's wings as he lifted in the air and circled around for a bit before darting straight in your direction.

You screamed, knowing that what you were going to do was sheer madness, but yet, something inside of you prompted you to run towards the wyvern, towards the sword, and not away from its into the trees, like Geralt had asked you to. Your calculation wouldn't fail.

Ignoring Geralt's thunderous scream, you grabbed the sword, sweeping it in your palm, your fingers clasping against it at the right time as you threw it out in the air, towards Geralt, screaming, "Geralt! The sword!"

He caught the sword at the exact same time as you turned away, missing the wyvern's claw by a mere second as you began darting at full pace your legs could carry you, towards the trees.

Geralt growled once again, as he stood up, raising the sword as he began charging at the wyvern, who swivelled back to face him, when he jumped in the air, the blade of his sword slashing into the wyvern's wing first which disoriented the creature, who retreated to the ground, howling in pain.

You knew you were supposed to stop— but you couldn't bring yourself to. Maybe it was the adrenaline, that was making you keep running, deeper and deeper into the forest, using the canopy of the trees to cower over you. Behind you, you could hear the creature screeching, until the noises finally came to an end.

You finally stopped running, looking up to realize that you were by a glistening stream. Falling to your knees, you placed both your hands into the icy cold water, splashing some to your face, instantly feeling the cool wash over you and provide you with some temporary relief. Instinctively, your palm flew down to your belly as you stroked it twice over the fabric of your dress.

You waited for a few minutes, knowing that Geralt would find you.

He did find you.

About fifteen minutes later, you heard slight rustling from behind a thick shrubbery. You squinted your eyes, glaring at it, when suddenly a mass of familiar white hair flashed at you, the eyes now gone back to his normal goldens. He was limping, a deep gash having formed on his right thigh, that you could see.

His lips were pressed into a firm line, his eyes lined on you, a look of rage plastered all over his face.

By one look at his face, the first thought that propped into your mind was, you were so fucked.

"Geralt, I—"

He charged at you, his hands coming to rest on either of your arms, his hold not gentle in any way as he pulled you into him, looking down at you, while you looked up at him.

"I told you," He hissed.

"That sword was right there, I had to go for it—"

"NO, YOU DIDNT. I ASKED YOU TO RUN FOR THE TREES, [Y/N]," his grip on you was hard and unwavering, his fingers digging into your flesh as you tried to wriggle free but were obviously, unsuccessful in that attempt.

"STOP, GERALT!" finally, you screamed with a finality in your voice, one which forced the Witcher to let go off you, but you didn't step away. In fact, you placed your palms on his chest, and pushed him hard with all your might. He did not even move an inch. When you looked up at him, your tears had finally betrayed you. You couldn't control yourself from letting out a weak sounding sob, straight from the pit of your stomach as you moved away from him, and began wiping the dirt off your knees with the river water, whispering, "let it go please. It's over. I'm safe now."

Geralt waited for a few seconds, unsure— a thousand thoughts running through his mind looking down at you, but he couldn't find the right words.

So, he cleared his throat, and in a low voice, walked up to where you were kneeling down, and knelt down next to you, not looking at you, but rather into the air around him, as he mumbled, "You're hurt?"

You snorted, more in annoyance and frustration, and disbelief at how easy it was for him to go from cold to warm. You glared at him, throwing him daggers from your eyes, not wanting to give him the answer he wanted, but that's when your gaze fell on the gash on his thigh.

"No, YOU ARE, Witcher," you whispered in a low voice, and he looked down at his thigh, then back up at you, giving you a grunt before he stood up, throwing out his hand towards you, "I'm fine, now come on. We keep moving."

You took his hand, and he pulled you up, but you grabbed his wrist tight when he let go off your hand, pulling him back, into your face, so it was inches away from yours.

"You're hurt, Geralt. We aren't going anywhere until I've made sure you'll live."

A ghost of a smirk crept over his lips for just a split second, and had you blinked, you were sure you would have missed it.

"I'll live. It will take more than that to kill me."

You were about to reply, come up with a good come back, when you heard the familiar sound of the mare's whinnying, causing both you and Geralt to turn towards one of the thickets, from where Roach trotted out, and Geralt smiled, when he took in the sight of his favourite four-legged companion.

The Vessel Taglist:

@kawennote09 @viking-raider @raspberrydreamclouds @pterodactylterrace @singeramg @historianwithaheart @miss-emilia-cavill @ayamenimthiriel @crazynocturnalkiki @xxxkatxo @coffeebreathy @fanaticnae @kmuir1 @little-jana @pineapplemama @auds24 @sassy-pelican @bitchynicole @cavillsim @ragamuffin285 @hista-girl @oliviali0930 @introvertedmouse

Want to be added to the list? Plz let me know via my ask box, inbox and comments. ✨

#geralt of rivia works #geralt of rivia x you #geralt of rivia x reader #geralt of rivia #the witcher x y/n #the witcher x reader #the witcher #geralt of rivia x y/n #henry cavill x y/n #henry cavill

329 notes · View notes

shtern-and-art · 3 years

Note

"Skeppy will probably cry" "Bad will probably cry". Bish, screw, that I am crying!!!

This whole thing was bloody gorgeous and I wasn't expecting that ending. I had no clue what ending to expect but that was definitely better than any I could have hoped for. Forest spirit to soulmate your honour!

I was terrified that you were gonna leave it at the point where he loses the spirit and becomes mortal again. If you had I would be actively sobbing!!!! And oh my god, the art!!! I still can't get over how wonderful your style is.

Imma ask fun things because if I don't I'll sit in a puddle of emotion all night:

What's the first tech thing Bad will buy and how annoying will he be about it? Poor Skeppy trying to answer 101 questions about something he doesn't really use XD.

Is no one concerned that the odd couple from a town they never name has a pet wolf??

Do they immediately go over to a different town or do they wander for a while. Find hidden creeks and befriend bears?

Does Bad still have a connection to nature and animals, like are creatures naturally more trusting of him?

Do they ever visit the og town again?

Does Skeppy still cause absolute chaos in other towns or has he learnt his lesson and only causes minor trouble now?

Does Bad ever try and study again? If he did what would he study and would Skeppy try to study as well?

Does Skeppy steal? I dunno, he just give off the vibe of a naughty lil trickster who'll pocket something if the owner refuses to sell it him.

Immediately after leaving the forest what the first 'argument' they have (not including the car one)?

Would they ever ride horse? If yes, how terrified would Skeppy be?

Skeppy falls outta tree. I don't know why but my mind keeps telling me that this man has great balance until he climbs trees. They are his mortal enemy and Bad finds this both hilarious and terrifying because he is going to hurt himself.

I had waaaaay more questions than I intended to have. My bad '^_^ but this story was way too much fun to read and you are entirely to blame for making it so engaging!

Make sure to take care of yourself and do stretches after and during drawing. You don't wanna hurt yourself <3

AaaaI’m so glad you liked it! :D And, dang, man, I cried while writing that part too :D

And I promised a nice ending for the main story, I did, and this one also makes the most sense narratively! For the story I wanted to tell, at least. Bad can’t really become human again, he’s changed to much. He can only move on, and do something with what he is, and has. And he did! :D That’s really nice and inspiring, this story will always have a place in my heart, heheh <3

Being a guardian spirit connected to a person and all, Bad may be not as strong as before, but he can’t die unless Skeppy dies first. And Skeppy can do that, but he’s pretty sturdy, and his lifespan operates on a whole other scale than human ones. And Bad knowing Skeppy’s real name balances it all out, makes them equal in the power and influence they have over each other.

So hellyeah, soulmates for the win :DDD

I’ll answer all questions under the cut, and this close up from one of the pages!

1) What's the first tech thing Bad will buy and how annoying will he be about it?

Probably a pager! Because it’s a more feasible thing to get than a wholeass computer Bad actually wanted :D An it means Skeppy will have to get one too, and that Bad will be having the time of his life texting him and everyone he can get a number from, even if they’re still in the room with him.

Poor Skeppy indeed, he can learn to appreciate the pagers, and later phones, too, and computers, but he really has 0 idea on how it all works and why Bad is so fascinated by it all.

2) Rat and regular people

Oh, she can shapeshift, just like Bad! If they’re out with people around, she takes form of a puppy, and Bad can pass her off as a weird mix breed rescue doggo.

3) Do they immediately go over to a different town or do they wander for a while?

Oh, since they have no end destination in mind, they can ride around for a bit, go visit some cool places and roadside attractions. Sadly, Skeppy is probably not spiritually or morally ready to full on befriend wild bears yet, and they do need money for gas and snacks. So, at some point they will have to stop somewhere and find work – at least for a bit, to save up. Life’s gonna be a bit complicated with all that, until Skeppy figures out his treasure-finding abilities :DD

4) Bad and nature and animals

He is definitely still in tune with all wildlife! Even more – Bad could become a proper guardian spirit for Skeppy in part because, in a way, Skeppy himself is part of the nature.

So yeah, Bad can understand animals (and plants) and communicate with them; they’re just more free to not take his shit, and Bad’s emotions do not “possess” them unless he makes an effort to do so.

He doesn’t like doing it, tho.

5) Do they ever visit the og town again?

Hm, I think they will completely forget about it for a while, until, like, 30+ years later they will be going somewhere, and find themselves around those parts. And they try to not appear too often in the areas they’ve spent a lot of time in already (they can be pretty recognizable, and also barely show signs of aging). But it’s been a long time, and the town’s really different now… So they make a stop, and spend a day there. They walk the unfamiliar streets between the new buildings, check out the popular hiking trail, the advertisements for hot springs and winter activities. The old cinema is still there, and is hosting an all-night marathon of classic horror movies of the last century.

Bad and Skeppy leave the town after sunset – the day was nice, but they have nothing more to do there. They ride through the forest on a well paved road, with radio playing something barely above the whisper. And in the dark of hot summer night, Bad can see the white stag running between the trees alongside their car. Shadows dance over the shimmering light of it’s fur.

Somewhere after the towns border, the stag disappears back in the forest. But the air in the car stays light and fresh, saving the smell of old pines and dry leaves all though the night.

6) Skeppy and chaos

Well, after the whole mess in the main story, Skeppy definitely learned some lessons, especially about not being a dick :D

But the thing is – he can’t really help the fact that things tend to stir up around him a lot. He naturally brings in chaos into everything, because he is, in part, a personification, or an outlet for it in the world. And so, to feel, well and good, and himself Skeppy gotta do stuff that disrupts balance, and creates some mayhem. And in gave him a lot of trouble in early life, but in the course of the main story he learned that he can chose were he lets that chaos to take hold, learned what can come of that chaos, apart from utter misery.

Like, where it can help dismantle something destructive, and where – bring in the more positive change, that was already brewing, possible, but is stagnant for some reason.

Soooo, I can’t say Skeppy causes only minor chaos in his life, but he sure learns even more about not being a dick :DDDD

7) The studying

I think Bad will want to get a higher education at some point, because he wanted to, and because it’s already new millennia and all that. Bet he’ll go for something very technical and/or literature. Maybe he’ll start by piking up some classes in small time colleges, when they stop in one place for a while, and later get into an online program, because why not.

Skeppy is not a college guy at all. He’ll listen to Bad talk about it, read textbooks if he wants to, can research stuff, buuut going to classes and doing homework is definitely not his thing.

8) Stealing

Well, you’re right, Skeppy can and will steal stuff out of spite! And will be scolded by Bad for it, and will not feel (that) sorry about it. But real stealer between them will be Bad himself :D

It’s just… he has the corvid tendencies, and a hoard (a box) of sentimental mementos from different people and events, and the thrill of stealing something small and harmless is very exciting. Bad is very proud of his little collection. Skeppy finds it very adorable, a bit hypocritical, and kinda creepy. Like, that pretty box he gifted Bad at some point is now full of stuff like:

- pressed flower from the clearing they had a picnic at on their anniversary

- the button the waitress lost that one day the storm caused a black out in the whole town

- some small animal bones

- couple pretty rocks Bad stole from Skeppy’s pockets

- penny that was once glued to the ground

- a handful of teeth people (and not people) lost in fights with Bad

- pen from some fancy hotel

- rainbow dash keychain that belonged to a child

- the list goes on

9) Argument

Oh, that same day they’ll fight over whether they should stay at the really crappy and suspicious looking motel, or go sleep in a perfectly fine forest near the road. Ironically, Bad wanted to try out the motel (because, yay, first time spending the night back in civilization), and Skeppy was the one insisting on sleeping in nature (because the motel looks like it could give you 10 diseases if you even stand near it, and sleeping in the forest is kind of nice, and means they can cuddle).

10) Horses

The guys will probably ride them at some point. Well, Bad will ride, and Skeppy will sit on his horse and hope it knows what to do and where to go, because trying to make this giant thing do something seems dangerous. If they’ll have to actually go somewhere fast, Skeppy will not survive that day, his butt (and legs) will be dead for days to come.

And riding with Bad on one horse may sound romantic and nice, but all romance dies when the gallop starts.

11) Skeppy and climbing

Skeppy is more down to earth kind of guy, more of a “rocks and caves” kind of creature, real-life lizard person or something. Up on the trees and in the air – not really his element, yeah. But it doesn’t mean that Skeppy will accept this fact easy. The embarrassment of never managing to safely make it down a tree is too strong, he just has to do it all over again, and again. And again. Because, clearly, he was distracted this time. And the time before that Bad was teasing him, and it “disrupted his flow”. And, really, maybe these trees here just do not like Skeppy much, and make him slip a lot. Yeah.

So, more often than not, if Skeppy climbs a tree, he will not stop climbing it until he falls, or the tree ends. Bad had to take him off high branches couple times, forcefully, because, of course, Skeppy was sitting there for 2 hours just to properly enjoy the sunset. He can climb down at any point, he just Choses not to. The view is amazing. The bark is literally part of his skin now, not because he holds on tight, no, he’s just Than Much one with the nature )<

---

Don’t apologize for the questions! It’s always so fun to answer them, and it makes me think more about stuff I may have skipped, or didn’t think about before. It’s really nice :3c

Again, thank you for the ask, and for being here for this story! <3

(And I’ll try setting timers for rest breaks while I draw, mb that will help)

---

In The Dark - masterpost

#mcyt #mcyt fanart #badboyhalo #skeppy #skephalo #In The Dark #it's so hot here #my laptop's keyboard is like a stove #=c=#shtern talks

73 notes · View notes

scotianostra · 3 years

Photo

The Corryvreckan.

The Gulf of Corryvreckan is a narrow strait between the islands of Jura and Scarba, in Argyll and Bute, off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is famous for its strong tidal currents and standing waves. The whirlpool which forms at the right state of the tide is the third largest whirlpool in the world.

With this brings loads of stories of loss of life and miraculous escapes, the most famous, well in my opinion happened in 1947, when author George Orwell, who was in Jura to complete his internationally famous 1984, almost drowned with his young nieces and nephews after sailing too close to the whirlpool.

The Corryvreckan or to give it the Gaelic name Coire Bhreacain meaning "cauldron of the speckled seas also is a place of legends and folklore, one of which surrounds Norse king Breacan attempting to woo a princess. He tried to sail near the whirlpool. However, other people claim that he was attempting to flee from his father’s wrath. Either way, the whirlpool beat him and now the whirlpool may be named after Breacan, or a Gaelic pun on his name.

Another legend revolves around Charles Mackay’s poem “The Kelpie of Corrievrackan,” which tells the story of a woman who leaves her lover for sea kelp. She tried to go after the kelp by diving to its home (which just so happens to be at the bottom of the whirlpool). Therefore, she drowns trying to seduce a piece of seaweed. This piece of folklore was meant to be a “warning to fickle maidens,” claiming that if you are unfaithful to your lover, you’ll end up dying.

He mounted his steed of the water clear, And sat on his saddle of sea-weed sere; He held his bridal of strings of pearl, Dug out of the depths where the sea-snakes curl. II. He put on his vest of the whirlpool froth, 5 Soft and dainty as velvet cloth, And donn’d his mantle of sand so white, And grasp’d his sword of the coral bright. III. And away he gallop’d, a horseman free, Spurring his steed through the stormy sea, 10 Clearing the billows with bound and leap — Away, away, o’er the foaming deep. IV. By Scarba’s rock, by Lunga’s shore, By Garveloch isles where breakers roar, With his horse’s hoofs he dash’d the spray, 15 And on to Loch Buy, away, away! V. On to Loch Buy all day he rode, And reach’d the shore as sunset glow’d, And stopp’d to hear the sounds of joy, That rose from the hills and glens of Moy. 20 VI. The morrow was May, and on the green They’d lit the fire of Beltan E’en, And danced around, and piled it high With peat and heather, and pine logs dry.

VII. A piper play’d a lightsome reel, 25 And timed the dance with toe and heel; While wives look’d on, as lad and lass Trod it merrily o’er the grass. VIII. And Jessie (fickle and fair was she) Sat with Evan beneath a tree, 30 And smiled with mingled love and pride, And half agreed to be his bride. IX. The Kelpie gallop’d o’er the green — He seem’d a knight of noble mien; And old and young stood up to see, 35 And wonder’d who the knight could be. X. His flowing locks were auburn bright, His cheeks were ruddy, his eyes flash’d light; And as he sprang from his good gray steed, He look’d a gallant youth indeed. 40 XI. And Jessie’s fickle heart beat high, As she caught the stranger’s glancing eye; And when he smiled, “Ah well,” thought she, “I wish this knight came courting me!” XII. He took two steps towards her seat — 45 “Wilt thou be mine, O maiden sweet?” He took her lily-white hand, and sigh’d, “Maiden, maiden, be my bride!” XIII. And Jessie blush’d, and whisper’d soft — “Meet me to-night when the moon’s aloft. 50 I’ve dream’d, fair knight, long time of thee —

I thought thou camest courting me.” XIV. When the moon her yellow horn display’d, Alone to the trysting went the maid; When all the stars were shining bright, 55 Alone to the trysting went the knight. XV. “I have loved thee long, I have loved thee well, Maiden, oh more than words can tell! Maiden, thine eyes like diamonds shine; Maiden, maiden, be thou mine!” 60 XVI. “Fair sir, thy suit I’ll ne’er deny — Though poor my lot, my hopes are high; I scorn a lover of low degree — None but a knight shall marry me.” XVII. He took her by the hand so white, 65 And gave her a ring of gold so bright; “Maiden, whose eyes like diamonds shine, Maiden, maiden, now thou’rt mine!” XVIII. He lifted her up on his steed of gray, And they rode till morning away, away — 70 Over the mountain and over the moor, And over the rocks to the dark sea-shore. XIX. “We have ridden east, we have ridden west — I’m weary, fair knight, and I fain would rest. Say, is thy dwelling beyond the sea? 75 Hast thou a good ship waiting for me?” XX. “I have no dwelling beyond the sea, I have no good ship waiting for thee:

Thou shalt sleep with me on a couch of foam, And the depths of the ocean shall be thy home.” 80 XXI. The gray steed plunged in the billows clear, And the maiden’s shrieks were sad to hear; — “Maiden, whose eyes like diamonds shine — Maiden, maiden, now thou’rt mine!” XXII. Loud the cold sea-blast did blow 85 As they sank ’mid the angry waves below — Down to the rocks where the serpents creep, Twice five hundred fathoms deep. XXIII. At morn a fisherman sailing by Saw her pale corse floating high. 90 He knew the maid by her yellow hair And her lily skin so soft and fair. XXIV. Under a rock on Scarba’s shore, Where the wild winds sigh and the breakers roar, They dug her a grave by the water clear, 95 Among the sea-weeds salt and sere. XXV. And every year at Beltan E’en, The Kelpie gallops across the green, On a steed as fleet as the wintry wind, With Jessie’s mournful ghost behind. 100 XXVI. I warn you, maids, whoever you be, Beware of pride and vanity; And ere on change of love you reckon, Beware the Kelpie of Corryvreckan. (From Charles Mackay, Legends of the Isles and Other

#scotland #scottish #whirlpool #history #folklore #Legend

82 notes · View notes

im-not-a-writer · 3 years

Text

Male Eivor x Reader ~Fear~

-Hey everyone! Wow it’s been.... A really long time since I’ve written anything here... Well with AC Valhalla coming out I thought it was only fitting if I add Eivor to my list! Enjoy everyone, let me know if there’s anything you want me to write next!-

TW: mentions of blood

The sun was drifting close to the horizon as the day had finally come close to its end and Eivor was still searching through Grantebridge. As most of the merchants were packing up for the night and preparing to return to their families Eivor was jogging from stall to stall, looking up and down for any sight of the girl he was supposed to be watching but there was absolutely no sight of her. After the last merchant had closed up shop for the night he sighed and rubbed his sore neck wishing the gods would stop wasting time and take him already. Making his way back to his horse he pondered where she could have gone, searching the recesses of his mind for any clues. She said that she needed supplies and obviously that’s why Eivor came to the market but he had been looking for her for some time now and if she was getting supplies here then someone would have at least seen her. His steed nibbled on his sleeve slightly and Eivor put a hand on the horse's broad neck, patting him gently and sighing once more.

“Why do I always get put in charge of people hm?” He leaned his head against his horse’s neck and received a huff in response.

Eivor stopped to think, if one was going to collect supplies but wasn’t doing it at a market then where would they go? His first thought was to raiding but there’s no way that this Saxon girl was storming a monastery anytime soon, although he would have paid good money to see her try. Eivor then, shaking the comical idea from his mind, realized at once where she went although he was not too excited to go and look for her. He mounted his horse and spurred him down the road and off towards the woods nearby, whipping past trees and fields as they went. As the sun began to droop lower into the sky the world faded into twilight. The warm orange of sunset was melting lower past the horizon and was being replaced with purples and blues, all swirling in the clouds as the last few rays of light sliced through the sky. Specks of starlight were poking through the sky as Eivor raced to the forest, the tree tops being doused in an inky black darkness as the sun began to set. It was dangerous out in the woods at night, especially for a girl who had brought nothing but a basket and a small hatchet with her. As far as Eivor was concerned, she was easy prey for anything out there whether it be man or beast, and he certainly did not want to see her harmed by either.

He slowed his horse from a strong gallop and listened closely to the silent and thick air of the woods. As he rode further the trees began to grow tighter, the roots rose out of the ground threatening to trip his horse. Branches scratched at his cheeks and caught his tunic forcing him to halt his horse and dismount, sending his steed off back the way they came.

“Don’t worry boy, I’ll be back soon.” he patted his horse fondly and turned to face the expanse of growing darkness in front of him.

He pulled out a torch and kneeled down to light it, striking over it with a shard of flint and sending little sparks flying from between the rocks. The sparks caught and a flame slowly grew over the torch, consuming the alcohol soaked cloth at the end and roaring forth in a bright flame that illuminated the path ahead with an orange glow. Eivor trekked forward, stopping once in a while to listen to the shaking of the leaves and the rustle of small creatures until a sound forced him still. It was clear, bright, it sliced through the night like a razor and it brought a cold sweat to Eivor’s brow. Wolves. The howl was loud, but not too close, and there was only one which so far was a good sign but he worried about the rest that would soon be following. He sped up his pace while trying to be as silent as possible. Step after step he calculated his way forward, heading towards where the sound of the howl came from. Soon he emerged in an oblong clearing with a rock protruding out of the ground, jutting up against a slight cliff of more jagged rock.

“Get away you beast!” A tired but spirited voice cracked from the rock.

Eivor looked forward and felt his heart lighten slightly at the sight of the girl he had been looking for. She was standing on the rock with her back against the cliff frantically waving a piece of firewood in the face of the snarling creature in front of her. The wolf’s hair stood straight up and it’s growl permeated the air in a low hanging rumble. Eivor felt his chest tighten again at the sound and he tried to reach for his axe. His hand froze, fingers close to the handle but refusing to move. He could feel his heartbeat in his ears and his neck, sweat continued to develop on his forehead and he could do nothing but stare and shake. His breath and his entire form was telling him to just turn around and run for it, but as he watched her swat at the animal with nothing but a mere twig in hand Eivor found himself going against his body's wishes. With a breath to collect himself and a quick prayer to Odin he ran forward and before the wolf could turn around he plunged his hidden blade between the animal's ribs and felt as the breath escaped its mouth and its muscles finally relaxed. The animal slumped to the ground in a heap of grey fur, blood dripping out of a single clean cut.

“Eivor! You found me!” The girl chimed, looking incredibly relieved.

“Luckily, or you would have become a feast. What were you doing out here?” He replied, nudging the wolf carcass with his foot as he raised an eyebrow towards her trying to seem as natural as possible.

“Like I told you I was getting supplies.” She raised her nose slightly at him.

“The market was open, why didn’t you just go there?” He asked as he looked at the tree line, wary of any yellow eyes staring back at him. .

“Because…” She looked down at her collection of firewood, “Because I didn’t like the type of wood they had at the market…”

Eivor smirked and crossed his arms, knowing full well that was a lie. He was starting to feel much more comfortable now with her here, it was incredible how she could stare down the snout of a beast and still be trying to fool him. He waited for her response.

“... OK! Ok, I forgot all of my silver and I didn’t want to bug you for anything so I thought I could go to the woods and get supplies myself and meet you back at the market before you even noticed… but I got a little bit lost… and then I got cornered…” She looked up at him slightly and cracked a small pitiful smile in appeasement and Eivor simply smirked in return.

“Well, you’re very lucky that I found you but you can’t run off like that again, there was only one wolf this time but what happens when it’s the whole pack?” He looked back down at the dead wolf and felt a shiver go up his spine.

“I will scream for help louder next time then,” She smiled brightly at Eivor and he could feel the shiver be replaced with warmth.

“Ok well, we need to get out of here before we run into the rest of them, one wolf of this size is formidable enough but a whole pack is something I’d rather not deal with.” He leaned over and grabbed her basket and offered her a hand down from the rock. She smiled and took it, climbing down and taking her basket from him. He kept an eye out on the tree line as he pretended not to notice her holding onto his arm and they started to walk back towards the forest path together.

“You had a hatchet with you, yes?” Eivor said, still listening to his surroundings.

“Oh! Yes! I almost forgot about it!” She replied, holding onto him a little tighter as the trees closed in around them. “I wonder where I left it…”

“You should be more careful, coming out here all by yourself without a real weapon is a death sentence.” His gruff voice delivered the slight sting of being reprimanded but also showed a deep care and concern which made her heart positively melt with every word.

“I know… it’s just you were busy and I didn’t really feel like dragging you out of your important meeting with Soma.” She said as she brushed aside a stray branch.

“I would have followed you out here regardless.” He said ducking slightly under a limb.

He could tell that she was getting a little tense and she tightened her hold on his arm, “I disagree, whatever she had to say was much more important than following a smith to the woods.”

Eivor shot her a side glance and narrowed his eyebrows and just as he was going to press further into what she meant he stopped. He lowered himself to the ground and pulled her close, putting a hand over her mouth softly and looking around. He could hear something. A crack of twigs and a rustle of leaves from his left and a brush of the ground from his right but at this point the night had advanced so much it was almost pitch black and he had left his torch back at the clearing. He stopped and waited, breathing slowly and trying to calm himself down. The girl in his arms shook slightly, either from the cold or from fear he didn’t know. Tightening his grip around her he removed his hand from her mouth and started to reach for his axe, slowly, this time his hands were quick to obey as he grasped the handle and pulled it out. He looked down at her and nodded slowly, hoping she understood the signal. Slowly, he started to rise, careful to balance his weight exactly where it had been as to not make any sounds. In one second he pushed the girl out of his arms and turned to his right, racing forward to sink his axe into the neck of a wolf ready to pounce. The girl tripped but gathered herself and sprinted forward, racing through the trees, ducking and pushing her way out of the woods as Eivor was left face to face with his worst fear. Before him stood a huge, black furred wolf with gleaming yellow eyes and an array of yellow fangs dripping with spit. The wolf twitched and lowered its head, growling and snarling as it’s massive paws depressed into the ground. Eivor could feel fear seep in, his heart was racing and his limbs shaking and disobeying. Wide eyed he stared at the creature in front of him as he shrank slowly, feeling once more like a child on a frozen lake. He knew what those teeth would feel like ripping into his skin, he’s felt it before. He knew what those claws could do, the pain they were designed to bring. Eivor felt himself shrink into a child, small and helpless, his years of warring and raiding melted away, his muscles evaporated as he felt himself become weak and small. The wolf stepped closer, the rumble of it’s growl growing.

“EIVOR!” A voice screamed from somewhere in the distance but the fog surrounding Eivors mind was too thick, he scarcely even recognized his own name. “EIVOR!!” Once again there it was, Eivor twitched and turned slightly but he was too afraid to take his attention off the animal in front of him.

“EIVOR YOU BLOCK HEAD- DUCK!” The voice screamed at him and finally he recognized it, his body snapped into motion as he fell to the forest floor as metal whipped overhead.

The wolf exclaimed a high yip and fell to the ground in a slump of fur and teeth, twitching as life drained from it. Eivor dared not to look up, he wasn’t sure what had happened but he was too afraid even still to move. That duck had been the last push of his might.

“Eivor! Are you alright!?” The voice spoke, the girl he was supposed to be watching swooped down and grabbed his shoulders.

She could feel him shake through his many layers and pulled him close, “Eivor are you hurt?” She asked, concerned.

He could feel some sense returning to him as he melted in her embrace, he wrapped his large arms around her and collapsed into her lap, breathing frantically and heavily. She wasn’t sure what to do, she had never seen a man this formidable this scared before. She gently stroked his hair as he shook the fear out of his body and tried to force his breath back to normal.

“Everything is going to be ok Eivor, he’s dead.” Her soft voice drifted into his ears and he tried so hard to be normal again but he continued to tremble. “Look,” She brought his face up from her lap and gestured to the dead wolf in front of him. “See?”

Eivors stomach lurched slightly but reason took over as he saw the hatchet sticking out of the wolf's forehead, blood staining the blade slightly.

“I see you… found your hatchet” He nervously laughed as he sat himself up and took a handful of deep breaths.

She stared at him slightly, running a hand through his hair once more and smiling at him gently. “He can keep it,” She joked. “Come on, we need to get out of these woods.”

The two found themselves back in Grantebridge, weary, a little bloody, and ready to collapse. Soma had arranged a room for them in the longhouse and neither of them had the energy to oppose. They walked into the longhouse, warmth circling them from the large hearth in the center, they could hear slight bouts of chatter as they walked towards their room but they didn’t have the energy nor the care to listen. Eivor watched as she walked in the room first, she took a look around and her eyes landed on the bed.

“Don’t worry I can sleep on the floor,” Eivor spoke up, breaking their comfortable silence.

“Oh… Yes… I suppose…” She started to flush at the cheeks as the Dane started to take off his cloak and unsling his weapons.

Quickly she turned around and stared at the large bed before her. There were furs of all kinds draped over the bed and many pillows, it looked terribly inviting but incredibly lonely as well. She knew however, the consequences of a Saxon woman letting a Dane sleep in her bed, as unfortunate as it was she couldn’t get herself in an uncomfortable position that would damage either her, or her fathers reputation. She looked back slightly at Eivor, he was down to his tunic now. He looked different without all those layers and weapons on, this way he looked so much softer. She stared for a little too long and turned back around, looking down at her dirty and tattered frock. She knew she couldn’t sleep in this but she also didn’t think undressing in front of a Dane was any better than sleeping in the same bed as him.

Eivor folded his cloak and placed it on the ground next to the bear skin that would stand as his bed tonight. As he looked back up he noticed a lingering glance from the girl before him. A blush on her cheeks as she quickly turned the other way. “Sorry… Would you like me to sleep outside?’ He asked.

“No! No.. I mean, of course not! I’m just… I’ve never…” She looked down at her hands and she fiddled with her frock, picking some dried mud off of it. “Um, well I’m going to put the candles out um… thank you for saving my life!” She hurried to the candles and hushed them out, darkness overtook the room and Eivor stood staring.

He shrugged it off and lowered himself down onto the bearskin rug, he could hear the brief thump of her clothes hitting the floor and he forced himself away from any impure thoughts. He could feel his weariness start to take over him but every time he closed his eyes he saw the same thing. Those gnashing teeth, the curled snout, eyes of amber staring straight into his very soul. Every time he tried to relax his muscles he could feel those teeth in his neck and those claws ripping down his back.

“Eivor…” A soft voice forced his attention.

“Yes?” he replied, he could hear the sleep on her voice.

“Could you…. If you wanted to…. Um…. come up here...please,” she stuttered.

It caught the Dane off guard at first. He sat up slowly and turned to look through the darkness. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“Um well, if you don’t want to I-”

‘No, I want to.” He smiled slightly and stood up slowly. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable”

“Well you just standing there staring at me is making me uncomfortable.”

He laughed and smiled, walking towards the bed and placing his hand down on the furs. “Well in that case I’ll just keep my eyes closed.”

He lowered himself down into the bed, careful to keep a respectful distance.

“You could… come closer.” She said softly.

Eivor moved slightly, “Is that better?”

“A…. a little bit closer.”

Once more he moved, he could feel the warmth of her body radiating at this distance, it was almost intoxicating. “Better?”

“Just.. a little closer.”

Eivor moved closer, he could feel her body against his and he could feel his face erupt in warmth. “Better?”

“Much… thank you.” She leaned back into him and sighed with content.

He wrapped his large arm over her waist and with a little tug pulled her flush against him. She smiled and prayed that this would never end.

“Thank you for saving me….” Eivors low voice said softly.

“I should be the one saying that.” She laughed and he could feel it through her back.

They melted into each other's arms and he closed his eyes, in peace this time and just as sleep was starting to overtake him.

“I won’t tell anyone.” She said, breaking him out of his slumber.

“Hm? What?”

“That Eivor Wolf-kissed isn’t made out of metal” She giggled and turned slightly to face him.

He felt his heart quicken at the sudden closeness of their faces. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“ Fear makes us human Eivor.” She smiled sweetly and looked into his eyes.

She leaned forward slowly and lingered just in front of his lips for a moment before leaning further and closing the gap between them. They kissed, softly, as if pushing too hard would cause the other to disappear. When they separated giggles and chuckles filled the room. They met once more before both of them felt the sweet sensation of sleep wash over them.

210 notes · View notes

thr-333 · 4 years

Text

Just Another Class Trip :) Part 5

If you don’t get to fight Batman on your class trips I feel sorry for you because Marinette did and she had a great time. Besides from the fact the miracle box went missing that was kind of a downer.

First< Previous >Next

-------------------------

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” Chloe yells at her, Marinette pops her head up through the trash, “Just what do you think you’re doing?!”

“I’m looking for something Chlo,” Marinette tries not to betray the panic in her voice.

“You did not ditch us today to search the trash!” Chloe practically screeches, stomping her foot.

“Chloe! I just really, really need to find this ok?!” Chloe actually recoils at Marinette snapping at her, guilt claws at her, adding more scratches to her conscience, “Sorry, I’m just stressed,”

“You need to relax Mari,” Chloe sighs, she cant, she cant! She cant! “I will only forgive you if you come upstairs and have a shower right now ,”

Marinette glances to Tikki, who nods. They’ve searched the trash here three times over, the Miracle box isn’t here. She lets Chloe lead her upstairs, the ground feels like it's swaying under her feet. The pressure like she’s about to vomit has persisted for hours.

“I will be standing right here, so don’t even think about leaving before you are rid of that smell,” Chloe pushes her into the bathroom.

“Tikki what am I supposed to do,” Marinette curls into herself, as soon as the door closes “I looked everywhere, it-it’s gone ,”

“It’s alright Marinette I’m sure you’ll find it, you just need to think things through,” Tikki pats her arm, not blaming her even once, making everything so much worse.

“Exactly, so chin up,” Kaalki commands, Marinette listens looking at the hovering Kwami with swimming vision, “Now make a theory and we’ll work from there,”

“Only Adrien was in the apartment but he didn’t take it,” Marinette works through her thoughts, “I know he wouldn't have,”

“Good,”

“He was gone for two hours talking with Chloe and Kagami,”

“Exactly,”

“So someone stole it during that time,” Marinette had already concluded that but it was nice to lay it all out, “I thought it was Lila, but she would have just thrown it out,”

“Or,”

“Or kept it,” Marinette gets the picture, formulating a plan, “I have to search her room, as Starling they can get away with it,”

“Good I’ll transport you in there,” Kaalki nods, dipping into her bag to get a sugar cube, “Now change,”

Marinette listens and within minutes they are in Lila's room. The shower running back in Chloe's room. Starling pokes around the room, searching under the bed and in the closet. She spreads out to the whole apartment since Lila isn’t sharing with anyone.

She is opening the oven when the door opens. She freezes, coming eye to eye with Lila. In a split second Starling darts into the bathroom.

“Come out of there!” Lila bangs on the door, “Who are you! I’m calling the police!”

Marinette doesn't give her the chance, teleporting out of the bathroom.

Chloe fights to make her come to dinner that night. Marinette doesn't have the strength to argue and so is dragged along, glaring at Lila from across the table. Lila just looks smugly back, she has to know where the Miracle box is, she just has to.

“Is that the new Wayne?” Marinette hears someone across the restaurant whisper.

Wonder who they’re talking about

“The one with the pink scarf?”

“Take a picture!”

If Marinette could summon the energy she would go over and ask what they meant. Or tell them they had the wrong person. Instead she just hides her face in her arms, lying on the table.

“Head off the table,” Madame Bustier chides, Marinette listens, but doesnt bother answering.

“Oh Marinette,” Lila’s voice is so grating she is ready to send her head through the table, “You look just terrible, what happened?”

You

“Are you ok Marinette,” Rose asks, she was actually nice to Marinette either unaware of the divide or not caring, “Do you want to go back?”

Marinette supposes Lila never had to lie about her to Rose. As she was already running around after Lila trying to make sure she was comfortable, Marinette just fell by the wayside. Either way Marinette can see that changing in the near future with how livid Lila looks that Marinette got the slightest bit of positive attention.

“I know jetlag can be bad, with all my travels,” Could you get to the part where you antagonise me already? “But don’t you think you’re being a bit dramatic?

“Sure Lila,” Marinette sighs, actually getting a few shocked gasps from the class.

They all probably thought that if Lila said the sky was blue Marinette would disagree. Well she would probably double check. Plus the sky is black at night. And multicoloured during sunrise and sunset. You know what? Screw it, Marinette would not trust Lila if she said the sky is blue.

“So Lila,” Alya speaks up, “ What's the worst jet lag you’ve ever had?”

“Well..”

Marinette doesn’t bother listening. She does get the side eye from Alya.

This doesn't mean I like you

Feelings mutual buddy

However it does allow her to lean against Kagami for the rest of the night and doze off. Marinette doesn't pay anymore attention to Lila’s lies the rest of the night until it comes to getting back to the hotel. They are all piling into taxis when Lila weasels her way into getting her own. Covertly Marinette slides a hundred to the driver and sends them to a less than savoury part of town. Now it’s just up to Starling to keep up.

Luckily for her Lila decides to be an idiot, and actually gets out of the car. So Starling drops in front of her when the taxi drives off.

“You!” Lila backs up into the alley, really ?

“You stole something,” Starling stalks forward, appearing every bit of threatening as a sleep deprived guardian of the miraculous can be, which is pretty fucken scary when the Miracle box is on the line, “Where is it!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Lila tears up.

“Do not lie to me ,” Starling punctuates the threat by bending a discarded metal pipe in half.

Lila squeaks, as she backs up against the wall, Starling cages her in.

“WHERE IS IT!”

The absolute terror on Lila’s face is so gratifying for a moment. Then a cold terror runs down Marinette as Lila smiles. The same smile that promises to ruin her life every day.

“Help!” Lila cries, her voice quavering in a poor imitation of the actual fear she just saw, “Please anyone!”

Anyone turns out to be the hand on her shoulder that rips Starling back. They go to grab her arm but she flips out of their grasp, getting enough distance to come face to face with The Batman!

Before she can even think about formulating a response Batman lashes out, going straight for her gut. Starling side steps, twisting around to stand in Batman’s blind spot, making him turn to see her.

“Why are you attacking a civilian?” He demands, a knife she dodges barely grazing her cheek.

“She stole something,” Marinette drops down as he swings a punch at her head.

“That’s not true!” Lila cries, huddled up against the wall, “They broke into my hotel room today! And then they attacked me! They’re trying to kidnap me!”

“She’s lying!” Apparently that’s not convincing enough as she dodges a kick, having to roll away, thankfully towards the exit.

She tries to make a run for it, getting halfway up the fire escape of the next building when a Batarang pins her cape down. She tears it out, throwing it back at the shadow who hangs in midair.

Wow that is not aerodynamic at all

She watches as it tapers off to the side, falling to the ground. Batman swings onto the staircase of the fire escape. She dodges, she slips on a stair, losing her balance. Batman aims a punch for her sternum she has no choice but to block. It hurts getting an armoured glove full impact onto her relatively light arm guards. In her defense she never prepared to fight The Batman.

He seems to be taken aback that she is able to block his punch, or is re-planning. She takes the opportunity to use her bit of super strength to push him off the fire escape, double checking he still has his grappling hook. He falls down as she bolts up the stairs. By the time she reaches the top he is already on the roof

She has no weapons to defend herself against another Batarang. She can’t slip away like she did last time so has no choice but to dodge.

“I don’t want to fight you!” She yells, rolling out of the way of another Batarang.

“I’m sure you don’t,”

“Not like that!” There's no reasoning with him then, he made up his mind and is going to beat her before asking any questions, “You know what never mind!”

She sprints to the edge of the building. He doesn’t particularly try to stop her, after all he thinks she has no escape route. Which means he was not expecting her to jump right off the building.

“Kaalki, Full gallop,” She says quietly to her Kwami, putting on her glasses.

She transforms, opening a portal inches from the ground, she lands in her hotel bedroom. Dropping the transformation, she collapses onto the bed. She pants lungs burning, soon she realises she hasn't been taking any air.

What does she have to be stressed about? So she lost the Miracle box, an ancient treasure able to harness the gods? So it was all her fault for shirking off her duties for fun. So it was all her fault that she technically attacked a civilian without any proof. So it was her fault Batman attacked her and she’s probably a criminal now. So what?

She chokes around words, apologies to her Kwamis, to Master Fu, to everyone she has failed today. Instead her vision blurs and she has to take gasping breaths, shuddering in the warm room. She curls up on top of the blankets tucked in too tight to provide her with comfort. Too perfect, too well done, everything she isn’t.

Tikki nuzzles into her cheek, Marinette shudders out a breath, curling more into herself. Kaalki comes to rest near her heart. The magical thrum of the Kwami calming her heart beat. There are no words. There don’t need to be. There’s no one here to send Akuma after them. For once Marinette can cry, let her emotions run rampant. Then she’ll harness everything she has into protecting the Miracle box.

--------------------

Taglist:

@smolplantmum @flufflepuffle296 @dawnwave16 @caffeinetheory @g-arya @Maribat-2k20 @ladybug-182 @Actual-disaster-human @fusser90 @messrs-weasley @soap-lady @paintedhope7 @zeneralla @mochegato @random-nerd-3 @clumsy-owl-4178 @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @too0bsessedformyowngood @certifiedbidisaster @Purplegeekypanda @awkward0ghostfan @theymakeupfairies @tikki-marinette @insane-fangirl-of-everything @elmokingkong @inarachi02 @slytherinhquinn @moongoddesskiana @dast218 @buginetye @redscarlet95 @biodad-bruce-month @hansa-12 @waiting247 @toodaloo-kangaroo @how-to-fuction-properly @trippingovermyfeet @greekmythgal @whatthefox22 @the-alice-of-hearts @bigpicklebananatree

347 notes · View notes

childrenofthesunny · 3 years

Text

Seek Him Who My Soul Loveth (1/2)

For my spin on @gayforgoodomens‘ Priest AU, for when she wondered off-hand how Crowley and Aziraphale might go about having sex for the first time, whilst simultaneously still pining/pretending they’re not breaking their vows. So, naturally, off I went to write what’s looking like will be a 6-7,000 word fic about it.

Listen, the only thing stopping me from turning this AU into a full-blown multichapter fic is (a) my knowledge of the workings of Catholicism being limited to some brief skimming of Wikipedia and what little of church I remember from when I was 7 and (b) I already have a multichapter WIP being posted, and I know I don't have the attention span to maintain two major WIPs simultaneously.

But I want to

(That being said, this is in two parts; part two should be done in a few days.)

If you prefer, you can also read this on Ao3 @ childrenofthesun.

-----------------------------------

"Ah, Father Crowley, there you are! So, this is where you've been hiding all evening."

"Hardly a shock to find me out here, is it?" Crowley asked with a grin, squinting up at the cherubic middle-aged man now standing beside him. Like Crowley, he was wearing pants and a short-sleeved button-up with a clerical tab, in deference to the balmy summer weather. Unlike Crowley, he was very clean and neat, and not wearing a dirt-streaked garden apron. "I've been spending all of my free time this week working on the gardens, now that Shadwell's retired and can't go berating me for trying to do the job he wasn't even doing himself. Beyond me how he even got the job in the first place."

The other man looked around fretfully, as if expecting the former groundskeeper to leap out from behind a poorly maintained bush and start yelling at him. "Oh, I know, but you mustn't be too hard on the poor fellow. The job was more to make him feel useful than anything. But Gabriel said we couldn't justify the expense anymore."

"You were too soft on him, anyway, Aziraphale," Crowley admonished, smirking at the little huff Aziraphale let out when Crowley didn't address him by his title, as he was supposed to. "Letting him set up all that nonsense meant to ward off witches. It’s certainly never stopped Anathema from coming here to borrow one of your books."

"At least it kept him busy," Aziraphale replied, sounding slightly aggrieved. His hands fluttered briefly by his wrists, as if he wanted to fiddle with the sleeves of the cassock that was his preferred style of dress. "Although it would have been nice if he had directed some of that energy towards the upkeep of the gardens. I did try to explain to him that the grounds are consecrated, and that surely would ward off evil, but in his eyes that wasn't sufficient protection."

"I know, I tried to explain it that way, too," Crowley told him cheerfully. "Apparently, the fact that I wear sunglasses all the time means I must be in league with the Devil, so he didn't think my input was particularly useful."

"Is he not aware of your eye condition?"

"I tried to tell him what photosensitivity is, but seems he's of the school of thought that science and witchcraft are basically the same thing. The tattoos probably didn't help me make my case either."

Aziraphale made a face. "Ah."

"Yup," Crowley confirmed, and Aziraphale shook himself suddenly.

"You've distracted me, you wily old thing!" he chided.

"Younger than you," Crowley pointed out, grinning impishly and making Aziraphale glower at him with impatience.

"I was about to get cross with you," Aziraphale insisted. Crowley arched an eyebrow at him.

"Oh? Whatever for?"

Aziraphale gestured at the gardening tools in Crowley's hands. "That! It's far too late for you to be working out here, still."

"Still light out," Crowley muttered, poking rebelliously at the soil with his trowel.

Aziraphale rolled his eyes and threw up his hands in exasperation. "It's summer, of course it's still light out! That doesn't change the fact that it's almost nine thirty." He shifted his weight, arms now folded. The slowly dwindling rays of sunset caught in the white-gold curls crowning Aziraphale's head, making them glow as if from within.

Lord, but did he look like an angel.

Crowley hissed in displeasure as he begrudgingly got to his feet, the taut muscles of his back creaking in protest. Aziraphale gave him a reproving look.

"'S not like it's going to weed itself," Crowley grumbled in a half-hearted final objection, wincing again. Now that he was standing, the ache in his back was really starting to settle in. He tried to straighten to his full height, which would give him a few inches over Aziraphale, but found that his spine would only comfortably let him stand with their eyes level.

All right, maybe he had been overdoing it a bit over the past few days.

Aziraphale pursed his lips. "Be that as it may, you mustn't work like this to the detriment of your own wellbeing. It will still be here in the morning. This is your home, Crowley, it isn't as if you'll be forced to leave if you don't turn the church grounds into Kew Gardens overnight."

"S'pose I would've been kicked out ages ago, if that were the case," Crowley acquiesced, rubbing some of the dirt on his hands onto his gardening apron. "Y'know, when I first came here, I was really excited to see the gardens," he admitted. "I'd heard how lovely they were, especially for such a small church. Was a bit of shock when I saw the state they were in."

What he didn't add was that, given Shadwell's constant undermining of any covert attempt he made to coax the gardens back to life, Crowley would have long ago gone and grovelled to the diocese to grant him a new assignment elsewhere. That is, had he not had a compelling reason to want to stay in Tadfield.

A middle-aged, cherubic man-shaped reason, to be specific.

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to restore them to their former glory, now," Aziraphale said kindly. "There's no need for you to rush anything."

Crowley hummed in agreement, and went to bend down to pick up his tools, unable to stifle a groan as he did so. Aziraphale was quick to forestall the movement with a hand to Crowley's chest, his usual hesitance to so much as brush shoulders with Crowley vanishing under his concern. Allow me, he probably said, but Crowley couldn't hear him over the sudden rush of blood to his ears, pounding through his rapidly beating heart in a way that Aziraphale would surely be able to feel beneath his fingers.

Aziraphale said something else that Crowley's brain refused to parse, too focused on trying to keep the other priest from realising the effect the simple touch was having on him. He managed to nod, not sure what he was agreeing to, but was rather proud of himself for managing not to whimper when Aziraphale's hand pulled away.

"We'll just put these away first," Aziraphale told him, Crowley's brain function apparently restored now that they were no longer touching. Crowley dutifully trailed after him to the shed, putting his tools back in their rightful place. He grunted slightly when he reached to the small of his back to undo the ties of his garden apron, the motion tugging at the aching muscles of his shoulders. The sound alerted Aziraphale, who immediately fussed over him again, lifting the strap holding the apron around his neck for Crowley despite his protests. Crowley scowled as Aziraphale smiled serenely at him and hung the apron on its hook by the door. Secretly, however, he was glad that the dim, fading light meant that Aziraphale wouldn't be able to see that the tips of Crowley's ears had gone a hot, flaming red.

Aziraphale took the lead again as they both headed for the rectory they shared, both toeing off their shoes and leaving them in the rack by the door once they'd crossed the threshold.

"I imagine you'd want to shower before we begin," Aziraphale said as they headed into the living room. He picked up a book he'd left beside the sofa and took a seat, already thumbing it open. "Take your time, I'll be waiting here for you when you're done."

Crowley glanced down at the dirt packed under his nails, felt the sweaty stick of his shirt against his back, and couldn't help but agree. Whatever Aziraphale had had him agree to, it probably would be best if he cleaned himself up first. Not to mention it would give him a little bit of time to collect his thoughts, to slow the still traitorously fast gallop of his heart.

He headed upstairs, grabbed a change of clothes from his room, and did his best not to run to the bathroom, knowing Aziraphale would be able to hear the creak of the floorboards overhead if he did.

Once enshrined in the privacy of the bathroom, shower turned on and old pipes groaning laboriously as they slowly heated, Crowley sagged against the door and let out a long, shaky breath.

"Get a grip," he muttered to himself, flicking on the ancient exhaust fan. It rattled slowly to life, letting out the occasional whining protest, as the unbalanced blades scraped against the inside of the casing. "You're acting like… like he's about to lay down rose petals for you and take you to bed, when you know he couldn't find his way out of the closet if you gave him a torch and a map. And even if he could… he wouldn't do anything about it. You've both got your vows." He tore off his clothes and left them in a sullen pile on the floor, opening the shower door. Steam billowed out and he stepped inside quickly before too much could escape. He stood directly under the scalding spray, heedless of how his pale skin went instantly pink. His face was likely beyond sun-kissed, too, given the time he'd spent in the garden.

There wasn't much he could do about that, but at the very least he could wash the sweat from his skin, furiously scrub the dirt out from under his nails. Whatever the evening had in store for him, at least he'd be clean.

He fruitlessly tried again to piece together what Aziraphale had asked him, out in the garden. Now, though, naked and surrounded on all sides by steam, his mind only seemed to want to offer him lewd suggestions, each one more highly improbable than the last. Unbidden, he imagined Aziraphale walking into the bathroom to find out what was taking Crowley so long, then disrobing and entering the shower with Crowley, hot water cascading over them both as Aziraphale pressed him up against the tiles–

With a burst of self-disgust, Crowley realised that certain areas of his body were getting very excited indeed by such thoughts, and were responding in a way that was meant to encourage him to keep thinking those exact thoughts as he took himself in hand. He'd done it a few times in the past, now, even though it invariably left him riddled with guilt and shame. Somehow, it seemed even more egregious than usual to have a self-loathing-fuelled wank over the man he worked with, when said man was patiently awaiting his return downstairs, none the wiser.

With a sigh, he turned off the heat, standing under the cold spray for several seconds to try and keep his body from getting any funny ideas, before cutting off the water completely. Skin still pink in places, but at the very least clean, he towelled himself off, squeezing as much water out of his hair as he could. A glance in the mirror told him that he'd definitely been out in the sun too long. If he was very lucky, the skin wouldn't start peeling off over the next few days, but, given how his pale skin had historically reacted to overexposure to the sun, he wasn't exactly holding out hope. He applied some moisturiser to his face to at least draw out some of the heat, and resolved to stop being so forgetful about putting on sunscreen when he needed to.

He put on his clothes quickly, only realising once he was done that he'd gone on complete autopilot, and dressed himself as if preparing for his clerical duties, collar and all. He felt a little stupid, but knew he'd feel even stupider if he went and changed again, so he decided to leave everything as it was, and headed back downstairs. Hopefully, wearing something symbolic of the Church would help remind his unruly body, mind, and heart how they were all supposed to be behaving.

"Ready, then?" Aziraphale asked when he came back into the living room, glancing quickly at the page number before closing the book and setting it aside.

"Yep," Crowley answered, still having no idea what he'd agreed to.

"We can use my bed," Aziraphale decided. "Now that I've had a moment to think about it, the couch really is far too narrow to give us enough space to work with comfortably."

"What?" Crowley squeaked.

Aziraphale gave him an odd look. "I suppose we could do this here, with you laid out on the floor, if you'd prefer. I know that some people like a more solid surface beneath them for this sort of thing," he said, apparently unaware that he was giving Crowley a heart attack.

"You… you want me on the floor?" he managed.

Aziraphale shrugged. "Personally, I would have thought the bed would be more comfortable, but the choice is yours. This is to your benefit, after all."

"…My benefit?" Crowley asked faintly, apparently unable to do much more than echo Aziraphale's words back at him.

"Honestly, Crowley," Aziraphale replied huffily. Crowley managed to find space amidst his confusion to feel the little thrill he always did whenever Aziraphale dropped the honorific when referring to him by name. "The massage? That we discussed not twenty minutes ago, were you even listening?"

"Massage?" Crowley couldn't help but parrot. Aziraphale pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yes. Massage. For your back. That I offered to you. Because you've been overworking yourself in the garden all week and can barely stand upright."

"Oh. Right," Crowley managed, nodding like a dashboard bobblehead on an unpaved country road. "That massage. 'Course."

"Honestly," Aziraphale huffed again, but far fonder in tone this time. "So. Out here, or on the bed?" "Bed," Crowley said before he could stop himself.

Aziraphale nodded, standing. "Shall we, then?"

Crowley nodded mutely, and when Aziraphale began to lead them both upstairs, he followed.

#good omens #good omens fic #crowley #aziraphale #crowley/aziraphale #priest au #priest aziraphale #priest crowley #sunny writes

154 notes · View notes

themurphyzone · 3 years

Text

Nova Ch 12

AN: I’ve been waiting to write this chapter for so long! Can you believe it’s been a year since I started this story?

Ch 12: Mare

AO3 Link

Dear Mickey Mouse Calendar,

It’s May 2nd, and you know what that means! Well, besides bringing May flowers of course! The flowers are going to be so beautiful this year, I can tell! Especially once they bring the butterflies and the birds and the bees! Oh dear, do you think Brain knows about the factory in the sky that produces cute little mouse babies? I hope so.

Anyway, the beautiful, lovely, fantabulous Pharfignewton’s gonna be running in the Derby in just a little bit! She’s worked really really hard to get this far, and I’m super proud of her! She’s gonna be one step closer to the Triple Crown when she wins!

Anyway, I’m running out of room on this page, so I just wanted to say I love you, Figgy Pudding! May the best mare win!

Love,

Pinky

o-o-o-o-o

Pinky added a heart by his name with a sparkly pink gel pen and blew a kiss to the image of Mickey and Minnie driving a cute little car into the sunset. Then he recapped the pen, washed his hands of extra glitter, and returned to the TV, which had been tuned into the Kentucky Derby for the past two hours.

They were still conducting pre-race interviews with the owners, jockeys, and trainers. Though there were several saddled horses with colorful numbers in the background, none of them were Pharfignewton.

But they were still very beautiful horses, clopping around on the dirt-covered track as they flicked their ears and tails in anticipation of the race.

Several boxes of leftover pizza and paper plates were laid out in front of the television.. It was so nice of the scientists to throw a pizza party and let them have the leftovers! Pepperoni, mac and cheese, and pineapple pizza were all so delicious, and they tasted even better when all three were combined on a single slice!

Pinky popped a pineapple cube in his mouth, giggling as it stung his tongue. Then he turned to his hat, which laid a short distance away from the leftover pizza so it didn’t get soiled. Lovely, glittery red and purple roses decorated the outside of the hat, and every inch was decked with colorful feathers, encouraging messages, and Pharfignewton’s name so everybody for miles around could see he was rooting for his favorite horse.

Since the hat was too big and heavy for him to wear throughout the pre-race festivities, he decided to just put it on a few minutes before the race instead.

And it was so sweet of Gummy, Madame Daisy, Nicholas, and Mr. Button to support Pharfignewton! They were all gathered in front of the TV so they could watch the Derby too!

Pinky’s ear twitched at a gagging noise on his left, and he turned his head just in time to see Brain spit a chunk of pineapple onto a napkin.

“Of all things, why in Selene’s name would you ruin perfectly good cheese with battery acid?” Brain snapped. He immediately dunked his muzzle into a thimble of water.

“Batteries aren’t a pizza topping,” Pinky said. Did batteries look like pineapples on New Selene? “And pineapple pizza tastes delicious!”

Brain scowled as he shoved the paper plate with his barely touched pineapple pizza slice towards Pinky, then grabbed a new plate and loaded it with two slices of pepperoni.

“I’m outlawing that vile piece of filth you call food as soon as I rule the world,” Brain declared.

“You can’t do that!” Pinky cried. What was next? Declaring pumpkin spice illegal? He would never support such an awful law! “That’s...that’s just unconstitutional! A breach of power! I won’t stand for it, Brain!”

Then he realized he was standing up to grab the pineapple pizza slice, so he promptly sat down and chomped on pineapple, tomato sauce, and bread to prove his point.

Brain wrinkled his nose, but before he could reply, the TV panned to show a beautiful, gray-maned white horse prancing in circles around her jockey, nearly tying him up in her reins.

“That’s her! That’s Pharfignewton!” Pinky yelled, spewing tomato sauce from his mouth. “Hi, Fig! It’s me, Pinky!”

Pinky quickly set his pizza down and slipped the hat on, sitting underneath the brim while the rest of the hat was propped against the counter. He hoped Pharfignewton could see the messages he’d written.

“The cameras aren’t two-way, Pinky,” Brain said, but Pharfignewton whinnied happily, so Pinky knew she could hear him from thousands of miles away!

She wore a beautiful pink cloth over her back with the number fifteen emblazoned in white, with a brown saddle on top. She tossed her head back and whinnied, her reins quivering in the sunlight. Her jockey slipped a pink mask over her face, and when she turned to look at the camera, her gorgeous blue eyes stood out even more.

“You have quite the unusual horse here, Mr. Gardner,” the reporter said to Pharfignewton’s owner, who Pinky recognized by his bushy beard. “Not much of a looker, nor was she sired from any famous line of racehorses. And only one fellow’s bet on her at all.”

Pinky frowned. Not much of a looker? That reporter’s obviously never seen Pharfignewton with the wind flowing through her mane, or the joyful neighs whenever she galloped around a field, or how she practically glowed whenever she ran.

Mr. Gardner leveled a glare at the reporter, who withered from the intense look. “Pharfignewton may have a different build from her fellow racehorses, but she’s a hundred times more passionate about racing than anyone else. It’s true that neither of her parents have competed on the national level, but she’s inherited her mother’s spirit and her father’s diligence, a mixture of traits which will suit her well today.”

“Yes...I’m sure it will,” the reporter muttered. His eyes darted to a chestnut horse with a yellow cloth draped over his back. “Oh, would you look at the time? I don’t believe I’ve gotten a chance to talk with Mayoneighaise’s team yet!”

He scurried off, the cameraman trailing behind him.

A board flashed onscreen, showing the horses’ names and numbers before cutting to commercial.

“Mr. Legs? Friendly Neighborhood Racehorse? Is this entire competition just an excuse to saddle these poor creatures with horrific names?” Brain asked over the noise of a car commercial.

“You can’t saddle a name. You saddle horses, Brain,” Pinky said. Brain could be so confused sometimes.

“And they barely gave Pharfignewton the time of day,” Brain added. “But they dedicated a full fifteen minutes to Arabian Night’s training sessions.”

Pinky shrugged. “Well, Arabian Night worked really hard. He deserved that time. And so does Maximus and Maverick and Black Beauty and Rainbow Dash and-”

“It’s blatant favoritism,” Brain cut in.

The commercial break ended, and the broadcast showed a female reporter approaching an enormous, muscular black stallion with a comically small jockey leading him by the reins. He bore a royal purple cloak with number one written in a fancy golden script on his back. The horse was so dark that Pinky could barely see his eyes or mouth.

“And here we have the clear fan-favorite, Daddy’s Little Angel,” the reporter declared as she carefully approached the horse, who huffed when she got too close to his muzzle. She pulled back, keeping her microphone close to her body. “An excellent track record locally and regionally, highest odds tonight, and a descendant of the famous Triple Crown winner Secretariat. He sure has a lot going for him, don’t you think?”

Daddy’s Little Angel was stoic and handsome, and as his owner and trainer listed off his various accomplishments, Pinky crossed his fingers and toes for good luck. Pharfignewton had a whole lot of competition. Sure, she was the fastest racehorse around these parts, but in the Derby she was a small goldfish in a large aquarium full of other fish.

“Zort! Nope, can’t think like that!” Pinky said, thumping his head with his fist. He didn’t want to have doubts about her talent! She was the best, the swiftest, and the fastest at eating apples and hay! There’s no way she could lose!

“Quiet, Pinky. I’m trying to listen,” Brain said. His pink eyes gleamed with interest as a montage of Daddy’s Little Angel’s previous feats flashed across the screen. “I wouldn’t be opposed to owning a horse like that for ceremonial purposes.”

“Parading around on Pharfignewton sounds lovely,” Pinky sighed dreamily.

He imagined Pharfignewton in a beautiful golden outfit, bells on her reins, and prancing down the street to a cheering crowd while he rode on her back. And there were pretty parade floats and celebrities singing and giant balloons of all his favorite characters!

He was broken out of his fantasy by the sound of a fanfare.

“Attention, all riders and horses! Clear the track and proceed to your stalls! The race will commence shortly!” the announcer declared.

The camera lingered on Daddy’s Little Angel for just a little longer before panning out for a wide shot of the horses and jockeys making their way to the starting point, the trainers leading the horses by the reins and securing them in the stalls.

Fifteen horses dressed in colorful racing garb whinnied and bucked their hind legs in anticipation of the race. Daddy’s Little Angel was in the first stall, the one nearest to the fence. Next to him, a majestic, stout white horse named Maximus took the number two slot. Like Daddy’s Little Angel, he was poised, calm, and determined to win.

Most of the other horses were far more impatient though. Rainbow Dash wouldn’t quit stomping in her stall, and Maverick gave her a warning nip when her tail flicked him one too many times. She didn’t like that at all, and both jockeys fought to get their horses under control.

A cinnamon stallion named Spirit thrashed in his stall, nearly throwing his rider off multiple times while two other people tried to calm him down.

Then they finally showed Pharfignewton. She was in the stall closest to the stands, and while she was penned securely, the workers were all focused on the skittish racehorses.

Pharfignewton flashed a horsey smile to the audience, then lowered her head in anticipation for the race to begin.

Pinky’s fingers, toes, and tail were all crossed. She had to win! This was her dream ever since she was a little filly!

“And they’re off!” the announcer declared as the bell rang and the gates opened. All fifteen horses galloped out of the stalls, kicking up dirt as their hooves thundered against the ground. “Daddy’s Little Angel and Maximus off to an early lead! Horsin’ Around’s pulling ahead of Tricky Mickey and...oh! Spirit’s bucked his jockey! That’s gonna cost everyone behind ‘em some time!”

The names and number display at the bottom of the screen shifted around as horses pulled ahead or fell behind.

Pinky’s muscles tensed as Pharfignewton swerved to avoid a riderless Spirit, though Achilles’ Heel was unlucky enough to be caught on a back ankle by a flailing hoof. Pharfignewton fell behind Mr. Legs and Mayoneighase for a split second before increasing her speed and passing them as they reached the first turn.

Pharfignewton was truly in her element! Like a happy, gusty wind spirit!

“YOU CAN DO IT, FIG!” Pinky screamed at the top of his lungs, and there was an angry shushing noise, followed by a parmesan packet smacking the side of his head. “Thanks for the parmesan, Brain!”

“Onto the second turn!” the announcer continued. “Daddy’s Little Angel and Maximus neck and neck! Rainbow Dash and Arabian Night fighting for third a mere two lengths away! Maverick trying to squeeze in but there’s no room! Hold onto your fancy hats, folks, this is shaping up to be a wild race!”

Egad, he didn’t want to lose his fancy hat! Pinky clutched the edges with cheese-stained fingers.

“Daddy’s Little Angel and Maximus still leading the pack, but trailing them is Black Beauty and Grand Chawhee! Rainbow Dash and Arabian Night have fallen to fifth and sixth! Friendly Neighborhood Racehorse trying for a comeback while Maver-what’s this? Pharfignewton’s clawing her way up from tenth, ninth, eighth, seventh...now she’s passed Rainbow Dash! Ladies and gents, this could be the biggest recovery in the Derby’s history!”

Oh, if only he remembered where he’d placed his cotton ball pom-poms! They’d come in super handy right now!

Black Beauty and Grand Chawhee slowed down on the final turn, enabling Pharfignewton to easily overtake them for third place. Then she poured on the speed, closing in between Daddy’s Little Angel and Maximus.

“NARF! GO, PHARFIGNEWTON!” Pinky screeched, his hat tumbling off as he leapt to his feet. If he screamed loud enough, Pharfignewton could hear him all the way in Kentucky! And the power of friendship always worked for last-minute wins! His cartoons were never wrong!

“It’s a straight shot to the finish! Maximus falls back by half a length! Ladies and gents, could this be the greatest upset in horse racing history? It’s Pharfignewton! No, Daddy’s Little Angel pulls ahead! Now Pharfignewton! Daddy’s Little Angel!”

Brain was quiet, but from the twitch of his pointed ears and the way he leaned forward, Pinky knew he was just as invested in the race.

The camera centered on the finish line, but Pinky couldn’t tell who crossed first. Pharfignewton and Daddy’s Little Angel galloped offscreen just as the rest of the pack, led by Maximus, finished after them.

“WHAT’S THIS? PHARFIGNEWTON AND DADDY’S LITTLE ANGEL HAVE CROSSED THE FINISH LINE AT THE SAME TIME! TURNING THE FOOTAGE OVER FOR REVIEW SO WE CAN DECLARE THE WINNER!”

Pinky quickly found that crossing his toes while standing wasn’t the best idea. He fell flat on his face, but quickly pushed himself up on his elbows as the Derby logo flashed by and replayed the last few seconds of the race in slow motion.

Pharfignewton and Daddy’s Little Angel’s legs were just one giant blur next to the finish line, but the reel paused on a shot of Pharfignewton’s flaring nostril crossing the line before Daddy’s Little Angel’s front hooves touched it.

Pinky sucked in his breath.

“PHARFIGNEWTON HAS BEEN DECLARED THE WINNER! CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR VICTORY OVER THE 141ST KENTUCKY DERBY!”

“She did it! She did it! Lo hicimos, she did it!” Pinky jumped for joy, his heart soaring in excitement for Pharfignewton. She was three years old and she’d accomplished so much! He was super duper extra proud of her!

Brain rolled his eyes, but there was a tiny quirk at the corner of his mouth. “Yes, it seems all your supportive efforts have paid off.”

Pinky grinned and tore off a cardboard flap of the pizza box, dumped parmesan cheese all over it, and stuffed it into his mouth.

Nothing tasted better than a victory pizza box with parmesan!

“Want some?” Pinky offered a second flap to Brain. “It’s delicious!”

Brain made a gagging noise. “That can’t possibly be good for your digestive system, Pinky.”

Oh well. More for him then!

Pharfignewton’s back was draped with beautiful roses, her team of humans all rushing up and hugging her as journalists bombarded them all with questions and photographers snapped photo after photo of her horsey smile.

Daddy’s Little Angel trotted up to her with a flower crown in his mouth and dropped it onto her head, then drummed the ground steadily with a front hoof in his version of applause. All the other horses followed his lead. Even Spirit and Achilles’ Heel, who were being restrained by a team of trainers, gave their approval. Pharfignewton whinnied in delight, tossing back her head and showing off the beautiful crown.

She really was the best. Pinky clutched his chest, that warm gooshy feeling of love spreading throughout his body.

He couldn’t contain it much longer, and he picked up Brain to let it all out, and he danced around in joy with a squirming Brain in his arms.

“Pinky, I understand that this outcome is most favorable, but I demand that you cease this at once!” Brain complained.

But Pinky barely heard him. He was more interested in what Mr. Gardner had to say.

“Pharfignewton did an amazing job and we’re very proud of her,” Mr. Gardner said as he fed Pharfignewton an apple, which she gladly inhaled. “Running’s in her blood, and I’m sure she’s made her parents very proud in equine heaven. She’s definitely gonna take the Preakness and Belmont by storm.”

“You think she’s capable of gaining Triple Crown status?” the reporter asked.

Pharfignewton neighed loudly in her direction, messing up the reporter’s hair.

As the reporter struggled to fix it, Mr. Gardner smiled. “I think she made it clear that she takes what she wants.”

Two more races for the Triple Crown. Right.

Pinky stopped dancing, an odd but featherlight weight in his arms. In his excitement, he’d forgotten that Pharfignewton had to win the Preakness and Belmont for her dream to come true.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t do it. She was a swift runner and the best racehorse in the world. But she would be gone for several months. All the way on the other side of the country.

And he wanted her to achieve her dream so bad. To rank up there with the great racehorses of old.

“Pinky?” a voice choked.

He was accidentally squishing one of Brain’s antennae. Oops.

“Sorry, Brain,” Pinky quickly said, putting his friend down.

Instead of stepping away like Pinky expected, Brain remained where he was. Brain was too good at forming unreadable expressions. His pretty pink eyes seemed concerned though.

“This is a momentous occasion, isn’t it?” Brain asked. “Shouldn’t you be celebrating?”

Was that Selenian speak for happy?

Yeah, he was supposed to be happy. Pharfignewton won. He was really happy for her. He didn’t want Pharfignewton to think he was a bad friend because he was sad about not seeing her for a while.

“Of course I’m happy for her,” Pinky said. But it was flimsy even to his own mousey ears.

Brain didn’t seem convinced either. One hand awkwardly hovered in the space between them.

A little touch would be nice, and he held super still so Brain wouldn’t get spooked. But a tapping at the window broke Brain’s trance, and upon the sight of a hovering black camera with the Selenian logo on its side, he quickly pulled away.

“Correspondence from Snowball,” Brain said. His ears flattened briefly before returning to their normal position. Maybe he regretted breaking their closeness too. “I’m taking this.”

He wiped his fingers on a wet cloth before unlatching the window. The camera darted in once the window was open, its tripod claws dropping an unmarked envelope into Brain’s hands before flying off into the brilliant evening sky.

Well, it could’ve had pizza if it stayed just a little longer.

Pinky moved behind Brain as he tore open the envelope and unfolded the note inside, which was written in a neat script.

Pickup at seven pm tomorrow. Don’t be late.

-Snowball

“Well, it’s better than nothing,” Brain sighed. “I’ll make sure we have everything required for tomorrow night, Pinky.”

He didn’t wait for a reply. He only disappeared into a hidden drawer where all their belongings were stored.

The masquerade ball was important. He shouldn’t keep Brain from making sure they saved the invitation so they could get in.

And it would be nice to wear that beautiful dress Sharon picked out.

But there was an ache in his chest. One that gnawed at his heart, and he didn’t want that icky feeling gnawing at his heart. Pinky sat in front of the TV and focused on Pharfignewton’s happiness instead. He pushed away the pizza, the box tasting like cardboard on his tongue.

If she was happy, he was happy. And wasn’t that all he needed?

End AN: So as a little treat I snuck some fictional horse names in here. I mean, obviously you know Pharfignewton as Pinky’s equine girlfriend. Daddy’s Little Angel is the name of the horse Brain rode in the OG Animaniacs episode Jockey for Position.

Grand Chawhee’s name is a reference to All Dogs Go to Heaven. Tricky Mickey comes from the 1978 movie Casey’s Shadow, which I caught my family watching a few weeks ago and I just decided to borrow a name from the movie.

Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony, Maximus from Tangled, Black Beauty from the book of the same name, Spirit from the Dreamworks movie, and Achilles’ Heel is a reference to Phoebus’ horse in Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Mr. Legs’ name provided by Boxy. Thank you, Boxy. Snuck in Pinky actually eating a pizza box for ya lol.

Final placements for the Derby are:

1. Pharfignewton 2. Daddy’s Little Angel 3. Maximus 4. Grand Chawhee 5. Black Beauty 6. Rainbow Dash 7. Arabian Night 8. Friendly Neighborhood Racehorse 9. Mr. Legs 10. Maverick 11. Horsin’ Around 12. Tricky Mickey 13. Mayoneighase 14. Achilles’ Heel (never finished) 15. Spirit (never finished)

Next chapter will finally have the Masquerade Ball and boy do I have plans. It’ll definitely be longer than this one. But this chapter at least wraps up the Derby subplot.

#pinky and the brain #patb fanfiction #patb nova

9 notes · View notes