#okay uhhh now i gotta create a tag for all these

[paigemathews]

ooh I would like to contribute to the pairing ask

And I'm going to give you a bunch to choose from because I can't decide and also that way you get to do the ones that you find the most fun without trying to do the ones you don't have ideas for (pick whichever you like and feel no pressure to do them all):

wyatt and the manticore baby (this can be gen or romantic, whichever you prefer)

chris and bianca in the past

piper with her niece/nephew (gen, dealers choice for which child)

patty and paige (gen)

victor and henry sr bonding as mortals in a magical family

elise with one of the charmed ones offspring as honorary aunt

more of the baby morrises all grown up however you would prefer

piper re-meeting bianca in the future (gen)

phoebe and andy (gen), preferably with time travel involved, bc we get told andy cares a lot about all the sisters and vice versa but we don't really get to see that as much with phoebe

a charmed one with their ex bf in an unexpected situation (gen, again dealers choice of who)

time travelling wyatt and chris (gen)

and prue and paige (gen) either in a world where its a different sister that dies or after they've both died and they're looking at the mess and drama of future generations and Judging

I went ahead and added this to the initial post bc I did not originally, but I think that one pairing per an ask will probably be easier bc if I do all of these, it will end up being so long that someone will murder me for ending up on their dash. That said, I am begging you on my knees to resubmit the others because I want to do literally all of them please please please

Pairing: Wyatt Halliwell ? Sebastian Johnston (half-manticore baby)

-----

Trudging through the empty cavern, Wyatt kept glancing over to Sebastian uncertainly. His expression was uncharacteristically steely, normal jovial mood absent. Prior to their run-in with the demon, Wyatt had been the same way, intent on finding his siblings and cousins. He still was focused on finding them, but felt his attention split as they walked between worry for them and replaying the demon's words.

"Poor demon," she cooed, dodging the potion Wyatt threw. Darting into Sebastian's face, she smiled maliciously as she said, "Blonde of hair, fair of face, never will-"

She slammed into the wall as Wyatt snarled wordlessly, trying to get to Sebastian's side as the half-manticore shook off the daze that her spell had left them with. Sebastian opened his mouth, eyes narrowed, but the demon beat them to it.

Throwing her head back to let her hair fall back, she grinned as she threw out both hands. Half a second too late, Wyatt was caught in the blast as she telekinetically threw everything in her past. He lost sight of Sebastian as the demon's workstation flipped and-

Oh, wow, the Underworld really had tall caverns actually. Wheezing for breath for a minute, Wyatt heard the demon start her little rhyme over again absently as he tried to convince his lungs to take in a breath. That was good, because she wouldn't recite her weird... prophecy? spell? whatever over a corpse. Probably. You never could tell with demons.

Also there was no way that Sebastian, who came right behind Chris and Penny as the most likely Warren kid to fight demons by themselves - despite not even being, y'know, a Warren - was killed by one telekinetic blast. Chris did worse, and didn't that thought send a pang of worry about his younger brother through his chest.

Or, actually, that might be that one of the potions on the demon's workspace was apparently acidic in nature, and Wyatt's hand was burning a little now. Fuck.

Bracing himself, Wyatt sucked in a breath and pushed the table back and sat up. The demon was on top of Sebastian, one hand cupping his face as she finished her rhyme, "-of the Charmed One's embrace. Unrequited love is such a pain, little demon, let me spare you of it."

"Get away from hIM," Wyatt roared, throwing hands out, magic distorting his voice in the last minute. At his shout, both Sebastian and the demon's heads snapped over to look at him. Sebastian's eyes went wide, and he bucked his hips enough to startle the demon. Just as the energy blast was about to engulf them, Sebastian shimmered away, unfortunately taking the demon with him. The blast slammed into the wall, destroying the entire shelf of potions lining it.

Wyatt felt more than heard Sebastian reappear, spinning on his heel just as Sebastian came into view. Sending the demon sprawling onto the ground, Sebastian rolled to one side, scrambling onto his feet as the demon rose with a screech.

"Wyatt!" Sebastian pointed at the remains of the demon's knife collection scattered on the ground opposite of them, and Wyatt didn't hesitate. As the demon raised her arms, Wyatt threw out his arm and the demon's destroyed armory went flying at her.

"Well, that seems like karma," Sebastian commented, breathless, as the two watched the demon burst into flames. Seeing as the entire debacle started when the demon sent her own armory at them, Wyatt couldn't help but agree.

Blonde of hair. Fair of face. Something about a Charmed One. Unrequited love. Years of looks between family members and gently teasing comments that Wyatt never quite got.

Sebastian had been one of Wyatt's best friends since he was a baby. Whenever Sebastian spent time with someone, they were almost always guaranteed a fun time that they needed. Beyond just genuine joy, Sebastian would always have his friends' backs. He was Chris and Penny's most consistent backup in a demon fight. He was the person that Melinda would call when she wanted a friend to party with or play video games against. He was the person that would go after Parker when she got a too desperate need to prove herself as a witch. Even if they hadn't been friends themselves, Sebastian's love and care for Wyatt's family would have more then earned Wyatt's love. Despite his heritage, Sebastian was a compassionate person who loved deeply, and he was one of Wyatt's best friends.

But as the pit continued forming in his stomach, Wyatt knew that he didn't love him as more than a friend.

There was no guarantee that the demon had been telling the truth. But Sebastian's expression had been painfully exposed.

Demons were cruel, and it would be so characteristic of a demon to throw that in Sebastian's face right in front of the person he loved.

The thought kept taunting Wyatt, and he knew he needed to resolve it somehow. They were still tracking his siblings and cousins, and whoever managed to subdue multiple Warrens was sure to be dangerous. Being distracted was dangerous, but Wyatt couldn't bring it up to Sebastian and risk hurting him right-

"Dude," Sebastian said, and Wyatt stopped his anxious tirade of thoughts as Sebastian snapped in front of his face.

Blinking, Wyatt looked between the fingers in front of his eyes to Sebastian's face. He was still tired, still worried, but there was a familiar look of bemusement in his eyes as he looked at Wyatt. One hand was on his bicep, a light grip keeping him still, as he dropped his other hand.

"You back with me?" Sebastian asked.

Wyatt nodded mutely.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "You spaced out for like. Five whole minutes. None of those demon's potions did anything to you, right?"

Wyatt shook his head. Sebastian opened his mouth to say something else, but Wyatt blurted out, "Blonde of hair, fair of face."

Sebastian's mouth snapped shut, as his gaze became unreadable. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence as Wyatt struggled to find words, Sebastian tilted his head and asked, "And? Is there a problem with that?"

His voice was guarded, but not hostile. Wyatt nearly tripped over his words as he frantically shook his head. "No! Just I don't know if-"

Sebastian's shoulders dropped an inch as his eyes softened. "Wyatt, I'm an adult. I don't need-"

"I'm sorry," Wyatt interrupted, guilt heavy in his stomach. He knew, logically at least, that he wasn't obligated to return feelings, but Wyatt never enjoyed hurting people, and to hurt one of his best friends was excruciating. "If I could, I would."

Wyatt winced at his words, because it wasn't as if Sebastian was unlovable, just that Wyatt didn't-

"No," Sebastian nearly snarled. Wyatt started, and Sebastian nearly looked as startled as Wyatt did. Still, he continued, "I don't need more than friendship, Wyatt. That's enough for me. As long as-"

You're happy, Wyatt mentally finished. Or you find someone. Some kind response that highlighted why Sebastian was great and why Wyatt felt awful.

"-she's happy and safe, I'll be okay."

Wait, what?

"But we need to get going to find them, because the longer we wait-" Sebastian was still talking as he turned to continue, but Wyatt was still stuck on the "she" part.

Had the demon actually... specified Wyatt? Thinking back, there was no actual guarantee that it had been Wyatt the demon was talking about. Blonde of hair, fair of face, and something about a Charmed One? Yes, that was Wyatt. It was also Melinda and Peyton. And sometimes Penny, but seeing as she was a lesbian and Sebastian knew that, Wyatt thought it safe to assume that Sebastian would have had plenty of time to get over it if it had been Penny.

Oh, boy.

Face burning, Wyatt interrupted, "She?"

Sebastian turned back around, voice fading as he took in whatever expression Wyatt had. They were both silent for a minute before Sebastian's lips quirked up. He couldn't control the grin as he asked, laughter in his voice, "Wyatt, did you think-"

"Blonde of hair, fair of face!" Wyatt protested immediately, feeling just a little stupid.

Sebastian outright began laughing as he finished, "Never will feel the daughter of a Charmed One embrace. Unless you have something to tell me, which I completely support-"

Wyatt pushed past Sebastian as he kept laughing, face burning but heart lighter than it was.

As he continued on his path, Wyatt heard Sebastian fall in step just behind him, still laughing. They still had demons to vanquish and family to save, but at least he wasn't responsible for breaking one of his best friend's heart.

Wait. Did that mean Sebastian liked his sister?

[starlit-hopes-and-dreams]

Writer Q&A

Thanks for the tag, @clairelsonao3 <3

Template below the cut.

I don't know who's already been tagged in this one, so uh, Open Tag? 😅

What is your absolute all-time favorite idea you’ve ever had?

Writing a book and having the balls to send it out for beta reads (well, I mean, the alcohol helped, a lot, but same difference, right? lol)

Is there a question you’ve been asked in the past that really stands out to you, and you still think about sometimes?

About writing? Uhhh. No, I really can't think of anything. I've had opinions on my writing re: they didn't agree with my choices, but I don't really consider that a question.

What is your favorite part of being a writer? What parts could you take or leave?

Fav: Plucking my little ideas from my head, throwing them on page, and then having people actually enjoy them :D

Not fav: plots. editing plots. plots are evil. why they gotta make sense and shit? unfair. 😂

What is your greatest motivation to write/create?

There's a certain catharsis to beating the shit out of someone. I don't know what, but uh. yeah lol. I'm sure there's something else, but it's been a week, and this is what I've got right now.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever read or been given as a writer?

Write for YOU.

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out writing?

☝ Also, not to worry so much about "craft". I'm not a technical writer, I'm an intuitive one. I spent a lot of time dithering about bc I felt like bc I didn't know "craft", what I wrote wasn't valid. I bought craft books and couldn't make myself read them.

What is your favorite story you’ve written to completion? Link it if you’d like and can!

I haven't written very much 😅 I like shattered soul more than shattered dreams (wip intro), but it isn't finished yet.

And I really like my hidden depths AU, but does that even count? XD

What is your favorite out-of-the-box quote?

My... what? Like, a think outside the box thing? I don't really do quotes, tbh.

Which of your characters would you say has the most controversial mindset? Why do you say so, and how do you personally feel about their ideals?

Okay, but controversial in what way? XD

Guess I'll go with the morally gray oc's, Carr and Nykim. I guess irl (and technically their world, too), it would be frowned upon to kill people, let alone play with their prey before doing so. Even if they've done bad things and "deserve it" lol

Personally, I can't really say. These are fictional people in a world that doesn't exist. Their behavior is not compatible with IRL scenarios, so I can't and won't pass judgement on them.

If you, when you first started writing, met you now, what would younger you think?

Younger me was three years ago, so uh. lol. I suppose younger me would be impressed I actually managed to stick to a plot line and finish the book I was struggling so much with.

What is your absolute all-time favorite idea you’ve ever had?

Is there a question you’ve been asked in the past that really stands out to you, and you still think about sometimes?

What is your favorite part of being a writer? What parts could you take or leave?

What is your greatest motivation to write/create?

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever read or been given as a writer?

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out writing?

What is your favorite story you’ve written to completion? Link it if you’d like and can!

What is your favorite out-of-the-box quote?

Which of your characters would you say has the most controversial mindset? Why do you say so, and how do you personally feel about their ideals?

If you, when you first started writing, met you now, what would younger you think?

[sillygoofygoobersstuff]

Weekly Tag Wednesday!

(it’s not technically wednesday anymore but whateva)

thank you to @mickittotheman for the tag :)

how’s your day going? i’m absolutely exhausted and i’m also sick but it’s going okay

are you okay? i could be a lot better tbh

what is your favourite shade of your favourite colour? lavender 🫶

are you single? yes i am

are you happy about that? for now, yes. there will probably come a time where i want to date again but i need to heal from the past first 🙏

what age do you feel in your brain? honestly i feel like an old lady sometimes lmao

do you feel like the good times are behind you or ahead of you? i’ve had some amazing times in the past year but i believe there are more to come

do you have a best friend? YES aughh i love her sm we’ve known each other for years she’s my fav shoutout to her. i would literally do anything for her id die for her bro

did you have a childhood pet? i had a lot actually! me and my brother both had betta fish and then we had 3 cats

do you sing or whistle around the house? yes i love breaking into song

do you light candles or incense? tbh i prefer bath and body works wallflowers

are you busy Friday night? nope

if you were a circus performer which act would you be in? i have not a clue, but i wanna say acrobat cuz i think that would be cool as hell

what is your favourite outfit? uhhh i gotta say a hoodie or t shirt and my red flannel pj pants

what's the last thing you created? an instrumental for a song i’m working on that i’m super proud of

what is your favourite fic or book of all time? AUGHH idkkk 😭😭😭

what are you looking forward to? going on vacation soon 🫶

what can put you immediately in a better mood? a text from my favorite person in the whole wide world

do you like hugs? i love hugs, hugs always make me feel better 💗

what is something you wish people understood about you? sometimes i just need to be left alone

Tagging: @m4ndysk4nkovich, @holymurdock, @lovekenney, and anybody else who wants to do it :))

[dmwrites]

In terms of maps, Joe Hills considered himself well acquainted with them. He mapped out the world, making it easier for his fellow hermits to get around. It was a job he took seriously, but also enjoyed because he got to see more of the land then most ever would.

There was one section left now, a corner off by the new edge of the world border. Joe sighed at it before grabbing his trident and taking off.

“I’m going to blame doc. Like, I know by technicality it’s nobody’s fault that the world border moved, but, like, let’s be honest… he doesn’t call himself a mad redstone genius for no reason.” Joe told himself as he glided along. It was a nice break, at least, from the caves he had been lighting up all week.

Joe considered himself pretty average at identifying things that seem out of the ordinary, even if ordinary usually didn’t exist on the hermitcraft server. Now, how he identified that things were out of the ordinary were often strange, unorthodox ways.

This is a long way of saying that Joe caught sight of something bright blue moving on the other side of the world boarder, and then proceeded to crash into said world boarder while distracted.

“Yo man, you okay?”

Joe scrambled to his feet in shock, and came face to face with another person staring at him from across the world boarder. The person was wearing a bright blue onesie and looked very confused. Joe felt that.

“I’ll be okay. Umm, who are you?” Joe asked, his voice shooting up an octave. He had this weird urge to start laughing.

“Connor… and who are you?” Connor was like no person Joe had ever met, and Joe had met a lot of weird people. He looked so normal, but also who wears a onesie out side of the house?

“Howdy Connor, I’m Joe Hills, standing as I always do at the world boarder. And, I must admit, I’m very confused right now.”

“Same, dude.” Connor looked up towards the sky. “What’s this force field for anyway?” He pressed against it, but it didn’t budge.

“Well, this is the world boarder, which I just mentioned if you were paying attention. We can’t go beyond it. Random question, but do you know anyone by the name of DocM77? Were you created by a creeper dude?”

“No? What the hell kind of question is that?” Connor paused, thinking. “I was once thrown in jail by a creeper dude though. Named Sam. I don’t think he’s a doctor, though.”

“No, no.” Joe said distractedly. “Well, okay, let me just-” He sat down on the grass, just a tad overwhelmed. Connor sat down too and didn’t say anything. “Okay, so, how did you get here? I guess that would be a good thing to ask. Are you a new hermit? I don’t remember X mentioning anyone new, but I might not have been paying attention.”

“Hermit? No, I’m Connor.” Connor replied, ripping up grass mindlessly. “I think I got lost somewhere along the line. I was looking for a nametag- you don’t happen to have a name tag, do you? I just caught a fish.”

Joe checked his pockets. “Sorry, looks like I don’t. What were you going to name your fish?”

Connor sighed contemplatively. “I was thinking either Little Penis 2 or Unfucked Sally.”

“Those are awful names.” Joe told him. “What about Yolonda or Dark Oak Slab?”

“That second one has potential.” Connor mused. “But, like, I gotta get out of here first if I ever want to name that fish. Do you know which direction the Dream Smp is?”

“What’s that?” Joe asked.

“Uhhh, okay, what about Dream? Do you know how I can contact Dream?”

“Who’s that?” Joe asked.

“Right.” Connor sighed, clearly giving up. “It’s fine, I’ll just figure it out or die of starvation. It’s fine.” Joe blinked at the other guy’s rather blatant apathy towards dying in the wilderness, far away from home. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t say the exact thing in Connor’s position, but he’d never met someone with a similar view. Connor caught sight of his face, and must have guessed what he was thinking about. “Yeah, I mean, death and I have always had a weird relationship, so, like, who cares if she takes me and throws me at a wall or something.”

“I feel similarly!” Joe leaned his head on his hands. “Death likes to play games with me, keep itself entertained. I’m a little Joe puppet for it to giggle at.”

Connor smiled at that, but he had a curious look in his eyes, actually fully looking at Joe for the first time since they’d met. “Joe, question for ya. Have you ever traveled through time?”

“Only forward in that steady march of time.” Joe said with a nod. “Wait, why would you ask that?”

Connor shook his head, looking a bit sadder then before. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” He looked smaller then before, somehow. He looked very lonely in the wide expanse of land behind him.

Joe and Connor sat on either side of the world boarder, just kind of trying to not look at each other while also trying to study each other.

“If you want, I could ask if X could let you in somehow. I feel like you could fit in here. Do you know anything about pinball machines?” Joe asked after a bit.

Connor shook his head. “No, sorry, but I really should get back to my house.” There was something gritty about the way Connor said house, like it was just a dark and damp building, not a home. Not his real home.

“I’m serious. You can come stay with me. Maybe I can help, or maybe someone else can.” Joe leaned forward earnestly, nose touching the boarder. “We can help you.”

Connor stood up. “Sorry Joe. You seem like a nice person, but I have to go.” He turned to walk away but stopped and turned back around to Joe. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? You didn’t do anything wrong?” Joe asked, but Connor either didn’t hear him or just didn’t answer. Joe watched him until he couldn't see the bright blue onesie anymore. Maps forgotten, Joe flew off, back to spawn, an uneasy calm washing over him.

[sunnysviolin]

au where kel shatters (i use shatter instead of snap bc snap implies anger) and just. stops trying. like completely fading into the background, giving up on everything except his visits to sunny and maybe basketball. - ⚜️

A wild nonnie appeared! Hahaha lol my stupid jokes only make me laugh. BUT! Welcome to the club fleur de lis <3 I saw you and immediately gasped and began to work on this. I saved it and scheduled this to go out after Mari’s birthday so uhhh Happy Tuesday! I’ve gotta catch em all LMAO. Also what an ask to start off with I love it so much! I feel bad because it’s clear who my favorite characters are and which ones I neglect, but alas. People who say they don’t have favorite children….liars...all of em. Anyways here take some headcanons for this nonnie. 

ALSO Honestly this isn’t even really an AU, It’s like a soft sort of canon shift that butterfly effects outward. I’m also going with the suicide ending where both Basil and Sunny end up dying so trigger/spoiler warning. Usually I put this kind of thing under a read more if I put a trigger warning, but I don’t think I will because it’s not like explicitly discussed here. I will put it in the tags though…. Haha I lied! I’m putting this under a read more because it got long as fuck and also it’s actually really sad….geez

I think that there’s a lot in canon that supports this au idea. Honestly it’s crazy to think that somehow he held onto his positivity and that’s what saved everyone. If Kel hadn’t continued to reach out to Sunny for all of those years and continued to treat all of his friends with love and determination...they might’ve all ended up being consumed by their grief

So what if….he didn’t continue to reach out

After Mari dies Kel does his best to try and hold together a rapidly sinking ship. He does his best to be there for Hero, to check on Sunny, to defend Basil from Aubrey even though Basil is increasingly pulling away.

It’s hard work and he has no support system, but he knows that his people need him. He still has his optimism and it gives him strength

But what would be enough to shatter that? What would be enough to push Kel into giving up?

Hero

Hero was able to make a shift after the night that he and Kel argued. In canon he says terrible things to Kel, but almost immediately apologizes and comes back into being himself somewhat. His parents tried to take him away, but Hero persevered past that and probably saved himself and Kel that night.

Everyone was alone after Mari died, but after that night Hero and Kel at least somewhat had each other. I think it’s because of that that Kel is able to keep up his hope in canon. 

So this is the one shift in this AU. Hero lets his parents take him away. He didn't come back that night. Kel was left alone after their argument. 

That night is Kel’s formative experience. His brother and his parents leaving him and letting him be all by himself drowning in his grief and his pain. It’s a terrible night, but he’s still alive the next day. Still alive, but he’s different now. Hero still makes him breakfast and still apologizes, but the damage is already done. 

Kel takes the plate and picks at the food, but he doesn’t tell his brother it’s okay. He doesn’t forgive him. Hero thinks that Kel is angry with him and needs time, but Kel isn’t angry. Kel is just tired and he has given in to what the rest of them already gave into

Kel goes to school that day and he doesn’t look to see if Basil came today. When Aubrey and her group try to provoke him, Kel doesn’t take the bait. After school he goes to the park and plays basketball by himself. He doesn’t go home until late in the night. Practicing basketball is the first thing that has felt good to him in a long time. Sinking shots is a simple motion that brings success over and over. 

He gets home after dark, long past curfew.

Hero was worried sick and his parents are angry, and Kel just...doesn’t care. His brother is shaking him and his parents are yelling, and all of it just bounces off of Kel. He isn’t scared by their reactions, isn’t annoyed or irritated. He’s just...mute. 

And that’s how it continues. Hero keeps trying to reach him, but Kel won’t be reached. He heard exactly what Hero thought of him that night, and he’s done with trying. It’s not even a spiteful or angry thing. He just doesn’t have any hope that things will get better anymore. 

Kel stops knocking on Sunny’s door everyday afterschool. He stops looking for Basil in the halls. Aubrey’s insults and taunts roll off of him and she slowly stops trying to get his attention. Kel focuses in on the few things he knows he still understands. The feeling of dribbling a ball. The faint heart race of running across a court. 

Kel makes it onto the varsity team when he’s 14. Freshman normally don’t, but he’s good. He’s really good, but there’s one key thing that holds him from being the best. Kel is not a team player. It’s not that he hogs the ball or has some negative energy, he just has no interest in bonding with the rest of the team. 

((He had people. He had people and he lost people. Kel doesn’t want any new people))

There is only one thing that gives him a tiny amount of hope. When he’s 16, he finds out Sunny is moving. He takes the last meagre amount of will he has and knocks on Sunny’s door. For the first time...Sunny answers. 

Those three days bring Kel back to who he used to be. Running around town with Sunny, solving problems, even fighting feels good. It’s like a dream. First he gets Sunny back, then Hero, and then even Aubrey. Falling asleep in Basil’s house that last night is the first time Kel sleeps soundly. Everything is going to be okay now, he’s sure of it. 

Then he wakes up in the middle of the night. 

He hears someone crying. His heart drops. He moves out of the living room and sees Aubrey collapsed on the floor and Hero standing in the doorway of Basil’s room. Kel peeks around him. 

Basil is dead in his room. Kel looked inside, and he had to go into the bathroom and throw up afterward. That night is long, but the morning is worse. Kel and Hero walk back home together, and as they round the corner to their house, they see a familiar sight

Ambulances and police cars surround the house next to theirs. When Mari died they created a blue and red halo around the house. The same halo is around it now. Hero goes to talk to one of the officers milling about, but Kel goes into the house. He doesn’t need any confirmation to know Sunny killed himself. Of course Sunny killed himself. 

After that any part of Kel that still had hope is permanently snuffed out.

[al3x1ss]

Just a Friend to You

Chapter 19: Kiwi

“Kaashi!”

Turning to his left, Y/N comes in with her school bag towards him as he takes another sip from his water bottle.

“Oh, hi N/N, what’s up?”

Y/N comes to a stop in front of him, grabbing a paper from her folder and handing it to him.

“Kiyo said he has to take care of his son, so we have a shift on Friday night.”

“Yeah, that’s totally fine, thanks for letting me know.”

“Yeah! Well that’s all, I gotta get home.” Quickly giving him a hug, Y/N turns on her heel, beginning to walk out the exit doors of the gym.

Looking at his feet, Akaashi feels a warm heat form on his face, leading him to place his hands to cover the embarrassment he’s feeling.

It’s just hot it’s just hot it’s just hot it’s just hot-

“Akaashi! The hell you lookin like a burnt ass child for?”

Turning at the voice, Akaashi faces Konoha standing with a hand on his hip, staring at him. Akaashi’s eyes slightly widen, with him shaking his head as to wipe the color off his face.

“Nothin-“

“Aww come on Kaash you can tell me!”

“It’s none of your business.”

“If I find out you’re selling crack without giving me a discount I’m gonna kill you.”

Hearing the door shut behind him, Akaashi tiredly shuffled into the gym, coming out in sweat pants and an old black shirt.

Since it was after practice and they didn’t have school tomorrow, everyone was either going home or going out with their friends.

He looks to the right, seeing his managers dressed up nicer than he was.

“Oi, where are you two going lookin all dolled up and stuff?” Bokuto says, leaning an arm on Akaashi’s shoulder.

“Heading out with Y/N, she just got done with practice so she should be here.” Konoha walks up behind Kaori, resting his sweaty forehead on her shoulder, before she abruptly pushes him off.

“I’ve only seen that girl in jeans or sweats.”

“Still gonna wear jeans, dumbass. You’ll never catch me in a dress unless it’s prom.”

Turning around, Y/N comes in smiling, slightly dressed up like Kaori and Yukie.

“Oh wait, how cold is it I left my sweater in my locker-“

“Uhhh, Kaashi has an extra one if you want.” Akaashi nods, agreeing with Bokuto, and grabs it from his duffel bag, handing it to her while looking at her in the eyes.

“So, where are you guys going looking nice?”

“It’s just jeans man,” Yukie says, beginning to giggle, “we’re gonna just go grab some pizza probably, then go roller blading, we aren’t sure yet.”

Akaashi gives her a nod and a small smile in agreement, “sounds fun.”

Facing Y/N again, he sees that she placed her jacket over his hoodie. Smiling, she snuggles into the hoodie, making Akaashi’s face turn slightly pink.

Bokuto notices this, sharing a look with Konoha, confused eyes shared between them.

“Alright, we should get going.”

The girls stand next to eachother, with Yukie’s hands in her pockets and Kaori holding onto her purse.

Y/N gives Akaashi a quick hug, backing up to be in line with the managers.

“Thanks for a hoodie, Keiji.” She gives him a wink, with the 3 beginning to talk and walk out the gym door.

Akaashi’s face explodes with a red shade, his hand covering his mouth.

“Akaashi~ you good there? Got something to say about our lovely friend? Hm? hMMMMM?” Bokuto pressed on, circling Akaashi whilst popping up randomly in front or behind him.

“Nothing.”

“OH COME ON AKAASHI JUST SPILL IT” Konoha yells, his hands gripping his hair while he paces in front of the boy.

“OKAY OKAY SHE LOOKED PRETTY AND ITS DRIVIN ME CRAZY JUST A BIT ” Keiji reveals after the two boys pressed on, coming closer. Konoha and Bokuto stand up straight, looking at eachother, then back at Akaashi.

Bokuto bonks him on the head, with Konoha creating a loud thud when he hits the floor, then face palming.

“YOU MOTHERFUCKER!”

“YOU BITCH, “it’s none of your business” MY ASS ITS ALL OUR BUSINESS NOW!”

“SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE”

“BOKUTO ITS NOT THAT BIG A DEAL”

Tackling him, both Bokuto and Akaashi ended up on the floor whilst Konoha kept pacing.

Notes

Y/N does not like Akaashi

Akaashi does not like Y/N

However, she did look pretty in that moment to him

Y/N is back to calling him Keiji :)

The boys are used to seeing the girls in sweats or just jeans and a random shirt, but they had nice shirts on, hence the “dressed up”

This chapter originally was planned to be a bonus chapter, than became an actual chapter, thats why it’s short :)

Back to Masterlist

C. 18 <- C. 19 -> C. 20

Tagging: @winunk @kurushiisaboss @babymattsun @haikyuu-appreciation-club @pumpkiethepie @mint-mai @writingfreakk @tendousfingertape5 @bbyouamazin @navymacaroons @helloalex80 @heavenini @tchalameme @foxxtrot-116 @kageyamasgirl @noya-sleftankle @mariachiii @rory-cakes @sailorstrawberi @iidanotlida @animeflower26 @anngelllla @kyorinkun @reina-de-tay @ish-scribbles @javj @little-dark-empress @athenarosaline @sugawaras-simpsquad @elianetsantana @peteunderoos @thatswhatmakesyoumiserable @ntimacy @thatrandom-bitch @420-uwu @halesandy @immxnty @yamayoomi @ohmsjedi @tazzi-baby @marissaraeblr @briidge

Leave a message, comment, or an ask if you’d like to be added!

If you enjoy, please reblog! They help a lot 🖤

Also, let me know if the 1:25pm EST upload is good or if I should upload at another time :)

[theunconcernedembalmer]

Toko! I was thinking of creating an ask the character blog for IDV or Genshin Impact and wanted a few tips on how to start off. Anything you can share?

ey yo my dude!! thank you so much for this question, now im lowkey tempted (again) to make a genshin ask blog sjadhlkshgkahshglsaj anyway my 1.5 cents is under the cut, yall know how much i talk here HAHAHAHAH

uhhhhhh so i guess we start with picking a character u really Vibe with tm? I KNOW THIS SOUNDS LIKE COMMON SENSE BUT LIKE ive been considering making a genshin ask blog for a while now but i never really got to it cos i couldnt really decide on a character (plus the fact that their outfits are. so intricate. is also a hmm since i try to follow details to a t) (at first i wanted to do zhongli, but i feel like to be able to muse him well u need to know the lore super super well, which i dont n im too lazy to research on that aha. n u know how much i respect characterizations, especially for such a complex character like him. i also considered xiangling for a period of time mostly for guoba but also like i have 2+1 blogs here n having one more might not be a very good idea aha) (as for aesop he was my Hyperfixation Character tm also cos i looked at his kit n went Yep i could work with this. probably)

so assuming ur not a dumbass like me n u kinda know who u wanna pick, id actually say to snoop around here for other ask blogs n kinda get a feel of the... scene? is that the word? or like u know, other blogs that u can potentially vibe with. ive run a couple of ask blogs before this current one (both that have died for different reasons) n from my experience interacting with other blogs (if theyre okay with it, i think most should be) is pretty fun. it also kinda helps get ur blog around to other ppl on other blogs so they can go Oh whats this cool shit n check u out, n its also a reason why we kinda reblog promo posts for other blogs (also cos we’re always excited when someone new comes on, its really the more the merrier. we see all :eyes:). interacting with other blogs is also an option when ur inbox is looking real roomy too

another reason why i havent exactly done a genshin blog is that idk i cant actually seem to find genshin ask blogs around (i have seen rp blogs, or those that answer asks with mostly text instead of art, but thats. not my thing since i hate my own writing aha) (i did find one aether blog some time ago, but for some reason i hardly see them around anymore??? idk man i might be wrong). its not like im trying super hard to find them ask blogs, so im sure they exist out there (hopefully?? im not sure but im being optimistic). i mean theres nothing wrong with just starting an ask blog without others around, but for me i do find a difference when i interact with other ask blogs n when i dont, n i prefer when theres others to have fun with (unfortunately i couldnt find any ask blogs to interact with in my previous fandom. i tried, but the blogs i approached seemed to go inactive shortly afterwards...) plus u get to meet friends that way too :D (i made a lot of friends via idv askblogs n its really been a joy vibing with others)

as for the idv scene. gestures around me. unfortunately there are a lot of ask blogs that arent that active anymore, but theres still some of us who are alive n kicking empty inboxes, n im sure everyone would love to see a new face around. winks at u. also there seems to be a lot more blogs popping up lately, which is really heartening to see.

then u kinda just. make ur blog? n a starting introduction post so ppl can reblog it n spread the word XD n yay u have a blog i guess??? XD

i gotta say tho. dont expect ur blog to take off immediately (especially for smaller fandoms like idv, tvbh i didnt think my blog would even get half this far when i started cos of how non existent idv tumblr seemed to be) n ur inbox will probably be looking pretty empty a lot of the time (or at least filled with some that u havent quite thought of how to reply to yet aha) (but also like empty inboxes happen pretty often, im sure most of us here have experienced this problem)

in the case of the first ask blog i ever started, it never really took off at all. ngl it was kind of demoralizing n depressing but to be fair i had picked one of the more obscure characters in the series, so obscure that many ppl in the fandom would have never heard of this character before. if u wanted to know, i took a character that only appeared in the 2nd musical of the series, who also made a very brief cameo in the manga to acknowledge his existence within that universe. thats how obscure my character was, but i went with him purely because he was my favourite character. i will say though i did enjoy it while it lasted n i learnt a lot from the experience, n i think thats whats important really.

i guess this kinda leads on (not really but let me digress) to the whole uhhhh thing where if u choose a more popular character, u get more attention. which is fine i guess? if u really vibe with the character, i mean theyre popular for a reason. n choosing a more popular fandom (like genshin) would objectively also get u more viewers n numbers. but like honestly i believe that ask blogs are meant for u to have fun with, n like trying to get popular gets tiring pretty fast (this shouldnt be like a main goal, but u know sometimes u subconsciously also want that gucci follower count n bomb ass notes or something. i used to be guilty of this until i realized it isnt worth it) especially if ur not enjoying yourself in the process. (case in point: my previous fandom was considerably larger n my blog got about 700 followers within a year or so, but it got very tiring n stressful to maintain after my interest in it died, n no one was really interacting with the blog even though i tried which kinda made it even more depressing despite the so called success n popularity of the blog)

anyway on a less serious note, theres a lot of fun stuff u can do with the ask blog, like some ask blogs have really fancy tags that i really like n try to do but also like not really HAHAHAHA. i kinda just channel what i want to see in an ask blog into my own ask blogs (good art is one, i try very hard for it to be good :,DD another is characterization, n others is just extra miscellaneous arts n stuffs like au ideas or memes. these are also somethings u could work on during ask box downtimes perhaps)

uhhh another side thing is like a posting schedule i guess? like ppl would be more likely to interact (i think) if ur blog is relatively active, n this is usually determined by the last post u made (i think XD). but like generally for blog maintenence id say try to kinda find a frequency that ur comfortable with?? cos i know my once a day posting is kinda insane if i wasnt so hyperfixated on all of this n fight the urge to dump all ur replies when u finish them XD (though ive seen some blogs do that n they do it pretty frequently so its pretty nice to know once u see their post u can spend some time going through the latest batch of posts XD) the queue function is pretty useful here even though i truthfully have never really used it, i kinda just post from my drafts really but it also helps to space out ur content to seem somewhat active especially when u dont have the time to be working on replies sometimes. i hope u know what im trying to say here aha

ANYWAY that was like my 1.5 cents cos i dont even think its worth 2 cents HAHAHAHAH these are just my thoughts from running all my blogs up till now, some that are still running n the others that have just died a natural death. i wouldnt actually delete them (theyre still around actually XD) cos theyre kinda like archives n i can look back at what i did last time. cos ngl i made some high quality stuff back then, n i dont even know how i managed to do that aldhflhdsgk. also ppl do look at archive blogs every now n then for the content thats there yknow

BUT YES anyway if u do decide to join the idv ask blogs hmu, ill be sure to give u a lil shoutout here. winks

[aspenflower17]

Finding You (Part Five of ??)

Good morning/afternoon/even/night (which ever one applies to you)! I have another update for you guys! If you’re just joining us, the link to Part One will be down below. You can find the links to the next part at the end of each part (if something is wonky with the links, please just let me know!)

Part 1 

F!Mc / Satan

Tags :D :  @simpingforsatan @naimena @hachimochi @wrathandgreed 

Word Count: 2,083 (story under cut)

Triggers or warnings: angst

Satan growled as he redid his bowtie once again, Lucifer’s words still echoing in his head.

“Are you sure you need to go tonight?” Lucifer was standing on the ground floor of his room, while Satan got ready on the landing at the top of the stairs.

“Yes. How many times are you going to ask me that?”

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea for you to go opening night.”

Satan hoped Lucifer could hear his eye roll, “I can’t imagine why, unless the fact the artist is an angel has your panties in a twist,” the indignant noise Lucifer couldn’t contain made Satan snicker quietly.

“That isn’t the problem.”

“Then what is? You have never had issues with me going to an art show before. I heard Lord Diavolo will be there, so I can’t begin to imagine why I shouldn’t go.”

“Why do you want to go?”

Satan walked all the way over to the railing to give his brother an incredulous look, “Did you seriously just ask me that?” Lucifer took a stance that meant he wanted an answer, making Satan sigh, “Well, why wouldn’t I? I’ve heard about her art in the human realm. I haven’t been able to see any of her works unfortunately, but I’ve read the reviews. If nothing else, I want to say I was at the opening night of the first art show for one of the Celestial Realm’s up and coming artists, which you know doesn’t happen very often. The last angel I can think of who received any mark of recognition for their work outside of the Celestial Realm is Simeon.

“I also think it’s important at least one of us brothers attends the show, which I figured you’d agree with. You’re constantly going on and on about how important our image is and how we need to make sure to ‘understand the gravity of our positions down here as demon lords and as the Avatar’s of Sin’. You’ve already stated you won’t be going, and I have been planning on attending since I heard about it. I really don’t see what the problem is.”

Satan saw a flicker of worry cross Lucifer’s face multiple times while he was talking. He must really not want me to go. But why?

“And you’ve made sure none of our brothers can go with you?”

“Yes. In fact, I’ve asked Levi twice and had a soda bottle thrown at my head the second time for “making him lose the level he was on. I asked both Beel and Belphie three times, which they both declined, Beel stating he would rather stay home because they never had enough food at show openings and Belphie saying he didn’t want to get thrown out of one again for curling up in a statue to sleep. Asmo would come, but he got invited to some party the same night.”

“... What about Mammon?”

Satan blinked a couple times before his brain even began to process what Lucifer had asked, “Huh?”

Lucifer seemed to blink himself, though it could’ve been a trick of the light, “You didn’t mention Mammon.”

Satan opened and closed his mouth a couple times before being able to respond, “You want me. To ask Mammon. The Avatar of Greed. Who steals. And is loud. And uncouth. To go to the opening night of an art exhibition. For an up and coming artist. Who has never shown in the Devildom before. And is an angel… Do I have that correct?”

Lucifer’s resolve looked to be in tatters, and Satan thought he’d drop the whole thing before his resolve returned, “Yes.”

Damn pride.

“You must be joking.”

“If you don’t ask him, I will personally assign him to go with you.”

Satan really couldn’t believe his ears, “Assign him to go with me? Do I look like I’m nine? I do not need a chaperone. I-” the look in Lucifer’s eyes made him stop mid-argument. Is he really that worried?

“Fine, I’ll text him if you’re going to be so insistent. I will only ask once however, and if he does come, I am NOT responsible for his behavior.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’ve never been ta a art… Whas it called again?”

“And art exhibition.”

“Right, right. Thanks for invitin’ me Satan.”

“Mammon, we need to go over some ground rules here.”

“Course. Whadda ya wanna talk about?”

“First thing, art exhibitions are places of class and refinement. Please, stay quiet and respectful of the atmosphere.”

“Course I’ll do tha’. I’m great at blendin’ into the backgroun’.”

Satan cringed, but continued, “Second, if you steal anything from anyone, I will personally see to it that you are ejected from the show, and thrown into the labyrinth below Diavolo’s castle.”

“OI! Show ya big brother some respect!”

“We are not getting out of this vehicle until you promise me you’re not going to steal or otherwise take things that don’t belong to you.”

“Fine, fine! I promise. Geeze.”

“Third, just please don’t embarrass me. I sent you that page on gallery etiquette for a reason.”

“I read it, don’ worry… Uhhh, Satan. Not to change the subject, but why da ya have a long tie on, an’ not ya bowtie?”

“I… felt like it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Satan was extremely suspicious. They had been at the show for over twenty minutes, and Mammon had been better behaved than he’d ever seen him before. He’d even made fairly intelligent remarks about the art. He hadn’t left Satan’s side, but had been quiet enough Satan had forgotten he was there multiple times. Lucifer would’ve been more conspicuous. Satan kept expecting to have to reprimand him, but the time never came.

The gallery space was very large, one that was reserved for shows the demon prince hand picked. The space was set up like a labyrinth, and each bend had something new to display. The center of the show held a large, site specific installation. The art itself was very good, better than what Satan had assumed he’d see, but what really struck him was the breadth of the work. He marveled at how one person could produce so much art and in such varying mediums.

“Enjoying the work?” a random demon drawled, sidling up next to him.

“Yes,” he replied, taking a step back.

“You know, there’s a dead end just around the corner. The art in there is extremely… Exciting. I can show you, if you’d like,” the demon closed the space he had created, and reached out, their hand lightly grazing his arm.

“I’m fine where I’m at, thanks.” Satan started to walk away, and an exasperated sigh followed.

“I’m not sure you understand. The art is extremely stimulating. I really think you’ll enjoy it,” a hand was now grasping his arm.

“I said no,” Satan stated, extracting his arm from their grasp.

“Oi! Satan! You gotta come see this photograph,” Mammon interrupted the exchange, his loud behavior back, but eyes keenly trained on the unwelcome newcomer.

A strangled gasp came from the demon, eyes growing large, “Ah, hello Mammon,” another gasp and an audible step back, “Lead the way. Excuse me.”

The second born started rambling, but got quieter the further from the demon they got, until they both fell into silence. “Thank you,” Satan acquiesced finally.

“No need for my brother ta have ta deal with that,” Mammon said softly. Satan didn’t push any further, them both saying what they needed to.

The continued walking for another while, when the soft music that had been playing overhead was replaced with a voice, “I would like to thank you all for coming out to Jane Doe’s exhibition. As all of you know this is her first show in the Devildom, and I am so pleased at the turnout. As much as we’d love to have you all here at the center with us, but we hope that putting the artist talk over the loud speakers will be enough for all of you still in the labyrinth.”

“Jane Doe? Ain’t that wha’ they call dead humans?” Mammon asked, talking over Diavolo.

“Well, often it’s used for unidentified female human bodies to be specific, usually a murder victim. The use is mostly as a placeholder for unidentified, anonymous or hypothetical parties to a court case in some human countries. An obvious pseudonym, and one I find rather amusing and clever. I’m rather put out we’re still in the maze. I was hoping to be at the center by now. I guess this will have to do. It’s really smart to-” Satan stopped, his eyes growing huge and intense.

“Ya okay?” Mammon asked uncomfortably.

“Shhhhhh!…” Satan demanded, his ears now only trained on the voice above him. He could’ve sworn he heard…

“... And of course, I had to see if she would hold a show here in the Devildom. I’m just so excited to finally have her art down here. Anyways, I’ve taken up enough of her time. Everyone, please welcome, Jane Doe.”

“Thank you Lord Diavolo. That was such a kind introduction. I for one am so excited to have been invited to show my work…”

Satan was moving before he knew what he was doing.

“Oi, Satan, wait fer me!”

“Then move faster!” Satan called behind him, starting to run. He had no idea where he was going though. He wasn’t good with directions at the best of times, and this was meant to confuse him. Mammon caught up with him quickly, seeming very conflicted.

“Mammon, you’re better at directions than I am aren't you? Get us to the center of the maze, now!”

“Bro, I don’ think I can-”

“Are you deaf?! Did you not hear her? That’s Mc! I need to get to her, now!” Mammon didn’t seem surprised at the revelation, instead looking a little sad. Satan felt his anger flare as the realization hit him, “You knew, didn’t you?”

“Only cuz Lucifer told me, an’ that was earlier this evenin’. He wanted to make sure someone was aroun’ ta keep ya from goin’ crazy.”

Satan quickened his pace, his anger lending him more speed, “Of course he knew about this and didn’t tell me.”

“He was watchin’ out fer ya.”

“I don’t care what he thought I was doing. Now, are you going to help me or not?”

Mammon looked extremely conflicted, but eventually burst into demon form and flew up to see over the walls. Many demons were aghast at seeing someone flying in the gallery, it being against etiquette, but Satan didn’t care at the moment.

Mammon started flying forward, and Satan followed, only looking down enough to make sure he wasn’t going to crash into an art piece. That did not account for other demons however, and many indignant cries and shouts followed him.

“We’re pretty close ta the center Satan,” Mammon called down.

“I’ve always thought…” Mc continued, but Satan couldn’t focus on the words. He could only marvel at her voice once again in his ears and focus on going as fast as he could. Her laugh rang out, and Satan’s heart jumped. It’d been so long... 

“Hmmm… What was that? Oh, okay. I didn’t realize I’d been talking for so long. Apparently my time is up, but I’ll finish this up on Devilgram. You can find me at...”

“Quicker!” Satan shouted to Mammon after hearing Mc.

“We’re not gunna make it,” Mammon yelled back down.

“We need to go faster then!”

“I’m followin’ ya pace! If ya wanna go faster, you gotta go faster.”

Satan finally relented, and switched into his demon form. With his new power, Satan moved faster and Mammon matched his pace.

“It’s the next bend!”

Satan threw everything he had into covering the final distance of the hallway. He rounded the bend to find…

People milling about, discussing the talk, some extremely confused as to why it had been cut short. Satan looked on the stage, carefully crafted into the installation piece. Nothing. They were even removing the podium.

He sank to the floor, breathing heavily. Mammon touched down beside him, not wanting to bring attention to himself.

“Is she in the Devildom for long?”

“I dunno.”

“Where is she staying?”

“I dunno.”

“How close were we?”

“Real close.”

“Did you see a way out? I’m going to start breaking things if we stay here.”

“There’s a underground passage in the room,” Mammon held out his hand to Satan, who took it, not looking at him.

“Let’s go then.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As always, thank for reading! If you would like to be put on the tags list, just ask below!  I love me some likes and comments, and I love discussing Obey Me with people, so feel free to comment or even message me if you want! If you enjoyed, I also REALLY appreciate reblogs. I promise, you reblogging makes a huge difference to content creators, and each new reblog helps someone else find this fic, so thank you to everyone who does.

Part Six

[thehaemanthus]

Fic Writer Review

Makes it sound like I’m going in for my two year evaluation at the company, lol

Tagged by @asteria-of-mars, thank you lovely! 

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

18

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

234,866.

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Mmmm, technically 8, but some of that stuff will never be advertised again. 

ACOTAR

Red Rising

The 100

Throne of Glass

The Selection

PJO

The PJO phase is old and we shouldn’t revisit it :/

4. What are your top 5 five by kudos?

live once (once is enough)

lay yourself down, pick yourself up 

love was a song (a surprise to me, tbh, but a welcome one!)

to take, to worship

therapy

5. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes, almost always! I always want to share what I’m thinking and interact with readers. I want to show that I appreciate them taking the time to leave a comment, because that interaction is so meaningful to me. Sometimes, if there’s not much substance to the comment (a heart or a “good job!”) I won’t respond though. 

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Prologue would have been very angsty, but I didn’t finish it. Prodigal Sister is a little angsty but also hopeful, In Pursuit of Power is gonna be pretty angsty

7. Do you write crossovers?

Nope. I’m not opposed to them or anything, but I need a reason to write it, ya know? It’s gotta be done well. 

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

lol yeah, I think so? It’s hard to be like “wow, this is some vitriolic hate” because my reaction was almost always “lol what”. I have never had anyone attacking me personally, but definitely people who didn’t like what I wrote. 

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Uhhh, yes. For ACOTAR, and then there’s a Red Rising Darrow/Mustang thing floating around that I might rework because I am more confident now. 

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don’t believe so

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Possibly? Someone asked to translate love was a song, but I don’t know if it ever happened 

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I would be very interested in trying

13. What is your all time favorite ship?

Ugh. Bellarke is up there and will always be there, but the way everything ended hurts me still. I do like Feyre/Rhys, but I don’t know if they are a favorite. I think, bear with me, that it’s Katniss/Peeta. I know, I know, I haven’t even written for them. But they have some of the best fic I’ve ever read, a unique love, and it’s a fandom I come back to quite a bit. 

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Pfft, like, everything. Stuff for The 100, Prologue, one of many ACOTAR ideas. 

15. What are your writing strengths?

I think I’m alright at dialogue. I do my best to make it realistic and snappy. I’ve been working on vivid descriptions, so while I don’t know if it’s my best feature it is something I’ve been working to get stronger on (I’m curious, if you are reading and have read my work, what do you think my strengths are?)

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plot. live once (once is enough) started off as one-shots because I didn’t want to create a plot, haha. Then Vesriel decided he needed an entire story, and I did it! I worked on a plot, figured out three act structures and character development and how one thing can lead to the next. 

I think writing complexities are hard too. Whether that’s in plot or in characters. As a writer, and therefore an outside observer, it’s easy to say “well, that’s the best path there.” But characters do not have that bird’s-eye view, and they need to be flawed and make mistakes to make for an interesting story

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I think it’s neat, though I haven’t personally ever done it. If I needed a language I don’t know for a fic, I’d do some heavy research and see if I could consult with anyone. But yeah, I’d toss in some Spanish if the story called for it. You can do some fancy html-ing in AO3 to provide translation by hovering over the text, so I don’t think it would detract from the reading at all. 

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Okay so. Knowingly? Harry Potter. Unknowingly? In third grade, my teacher had us write a “what would happen next” after we finished reading Stuart Little. 

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve ever written?

live once (once is enough), and by extension, The Second Son. Actually, it’s probably The Second Son. I’m proud of the family I created, the little adventures. And I’m proud that I took on a challenge and wrote a whole story about Vesriel with plot, haha. 

hmmm who do i know who writes fic. @arrowmusings @the-lonelybarricade and anyone else who wants to? 

[schrijverr]

Get out of jail for free-card

Stanford-era Sam gets a call from Dean, who has been arrested and needs him to bust him out. Jess insits on coming with him and is in for a bit of a surprise with the revelations that come with meeting Dean.

On AO3.

Ships: Sam x Jess

Warnings: Their childhood. Tell me if I missed anything or if you want me to tag something!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was Friday, which meant drinking and having fun for Sam and his friends. Jess was just asking what everyone wanted to drink when a phone rang. It took a few seconds before Sam realized it was his. He shot a confused look to his friends and picked up: “Uh, hello, this is Sam Winchester speaking?”

“Sammy, thank God.”, came Deans voice from the other side.

Shocked Sam said: “Dean?”

“Yeah, it's me, already forgotten the sound of my beautiful voice?” Sam practically heard the smirk in that statement.

He couldn't help the bitch face as he answered: “How could I ever forget that annoying sound. But why the fuck are you calling me?”

Tom raised his brows to Jess who gave him a confused look back, Sam wasn't known to swear and neither had ever heard of this Dean person. They were pulled back to the phone call when Sam exclaimed: “What do you mean you got arrested.”

The comment got Jess to give him A Look, so Sam told Dean: “Wait a sec, gotta move.”

Then he waved at them and said: “Sorry have to take this, you guys go and start the movie.”

Jess frowned, but Sam didn't notice as he was saying: “Yes, Dean, movie night, normal people do that sort of thing on Friday. And don't call me Samantha. Now why are you arrested again?”

“Grave desecration, not really a good excuse for that, you know.” Dean said.

Sam rubbed his forehead and asked: “And why is this my problem again?”

“Dad's in Ohio together with Bobby, a demon, he wouldn't take me, so I got an easy salt 'n burn in San Francisco, but I got busted.” Dean replied.

“Do you need bail money or do you need to be saved?” Sam asked with a tired voice.

“I'm no Disney Princess, dude.” Dean said, “Psh, getting saved. But no, no bail for me, just heard you're pre-law now.”

Sam sighed as he read between the lines, Dean needed Sam to bust him out of a holding cell. He said: “Tell them you called a lawyer and won't do anything until he's there. And what name are you going by right now?”

“Phil Rudd.” Dean said, of course it was a rock star name.

He sighed again and said: “I’ll be there in 50.”

“Thank you, Sammy.”

“It’s Sam.” Sam bitched back, then he hung up and snagged a tie out of his closet along with a dress shirt.

He walked back into the room, where no one had started the movie and everyone was ready to pounce him with questions. “Who’s Dean?” Jess asked.

“And why is he arrested.” Tom added.

Sam grimaced and awkwardly said: “He's my brother, so I'm gonna go pick him up at the police station.”

“And why is he arrested?” Jess asked with an intense look.

“Uhhh,” Sam looked away with an embarrassed flush and said: “Grave desecration.”

“He did what!” Jess exclaimed, “That's terrible! Why would he do that?”

“He has his reasons.” Sam said curtly, then he realized that that didn't help the situation, so he went on: “Look he's a good guy, honestly, just a shitty past that he didn't shake off as well as I did. If you'd meet him, you would know.”

“Then take me with you.” Jess demanded.

Their friends had been watching the discussion like it was a tennis match and in the tense silence that followed they kept their eyes on Sam. Sam, who was having a small crises. On one hand he didn't want to fuck up his relationship with Jessica because he didn't take her with him, but on the other hand he also didn't want to fuck it up because he was busting his brother out, illegally.

When the silence dragged on Jess said: “I’m not letting this go, Samuel, take me with you or this is over.”

And that made the decision for him, he said: “Okay, let’s go, I told him I'd be there as fast as I could.”

~

The ride was silent and tense for the first 15 minutes, then Jess said: “I don’t want to meet your brother with just a bad image, so what's your best memory?”

“Huh?” Sam asked dumbly.

“What's your best memory of you and Dean?”

Sam smiled softly and said: “Where do I start? God, he was always there for me for a start, according to him my first words were “Bean” in an attempt to say his name, he says he cried.”

He thought some more before saying: “I know it sounds weird, but with Dad almost always gone and mom dead, while constantly on the road, Dean was my everything. He was my brother, best friend and mom all rolled into one. We were SamnDean, no spaces between us.”

Jess shot him a look, but didn’t say anything and he didn’t either, he just looked at the road and thought back to the times were this sight was his daily view, just from the backseat, with two pairs of shoulders and two heads blocking his view.

~

When they arrived Sam turned to Jess and said: “I need you to stay in the car, please?”

Then he got out of his flannel and buttoned up the dress shirt and put on the tie. Jess frowned at that and asked: “Why? What's going on, Sam?”

“It’s kinda hard to explain, but you have to believe me when I say I hate this as much as you will. Just stay in the car. Me and Dean will be here in a few minutes.” He gave her his best puppy eyes and she relented with an “I don’t like this.”

He gave her a peck on the cheek and said: “I don’t either. See you in a bit.”

Then he was out the car and walking into the station.

Half of the scam was the confidence, so Sam strutted up to the front desk and said: “I’m John Singer, I'm here for Phil Rudd.”

The lady gave him a one over and raised a brow. He knew he was still wearing his shaggy shoes and jeans, plus he looked very young. So he kinds dropped the confidence a bit and said: “I’m just the intern, but my boss, Simon Wright, is out of town, so I’m taking the calls right now.”

A look or pity showed up on the ladies face as she said: “Didn’t expect a call this late, did ya?”

He nodded and said: “I haven’t done this before, sorry, could you point me in the right direction?”

She smiled and quickly walked him through what was expected of him. He thanked her profusely as he walked away.

~

Dean greeted him with a smirk and said: “Hey, man, what’s the plan?”

Sam gave him a bitch face and said: “I’m risking a lot by being here, so don’t try anything, okay? Jess is waiting in the car, so lets make this quick.”

“Wait a minute. Who’s Jess?” Dean said.

“My girlfriend, now pay attention we can talk later.” Sam said.

Dean whistled impressed, but stayed quiet while Sam explained: “They think I’m an intern, so a newbie. You are going to punch me and then use this time window of no surveillance you've created to escape and hide in the back of Jess’s car, okay? It’s the blue crappy Honda.”

Dean chuckled, but nodded. He got ready to punch but Sam held up his hand and quickly sent Jess a text: ‘Dean will join you in the car shortly, don't say anything to anyone. See you in a few.’

Then he allowed Dean to punch him. He waited until Dean was out the window before he yelled: “Help! He punched me and he's gone!”

Soon the whole room was filled with police. His statement was taken and he was checked over, but after 15 minutes they'd let him go while he gave them Bobby's number for if they wanted more info.

On his way out he texted Bobby about it with a side note not to tell Dad, while he ignored Jessica's messages about how this wasn’t funny.

He got into the car and was immediately slapped by an angry Jess. He looked to Dean who was lying on the back seat to stay out of sight, but he just shot him a ‘hey-don't-look-at-me-dude-this-is-your-problem’ look.

When he said nothing she said: “What took you so long?”

He told her the truth: “They still needed my statement.”

She looked even more angry and said: “Then why is he telling me you busted him out. Illegally!”

He whipped around to give Dean a look and said: “Because he is an idiot.”

“Hey! You brought her with you and told her about your plan. I thought she knew, don’t blame me!” Dean defended himself.

“Why would she know?” Sam said frustrated.

“I don’t know, maybe because she is here and you texted her your plan?”

“God, this is just like Seibert.” Sam gave him an angry look.

Dean got angry as well and loudly replied: “How is this anything like Seibert?”

“Your lack of filter almost fucked me over that’s how.” Sam had a full on bitch face now.

“I told you back then that a twelve-year-old isn’t as convincing as an crying ‘help me I’m lost kid’ than an eight-year-old.”

“And I told you that someone smaller was better for sneaking around, you’re lucky they caught me after I had given dad the keys.”

“I was trying to buy you time, which was my task in the plan.”

“And telling them I was there seemed smart when my task was to remain unseen?”

With every comment their voices got louder and angrier, but before the fight could escalate any further Jess cut in: “What are you even talking about?”

“1991, we were staying in Seibert, but Dad got arrested.” Dean began.

Sam interrupted: “Since when are you such a sharer?”

“Since I’m trying to save your relationship here dude. Look at her, she wants the truth lets give it to her.” Dean shot back.

Sam looked at Jess, who he saw was siding with Dean on the subject. He crossed his arms and muttered: “Like that isn’t gonna ruin everything.”

Then he started up the car and said: “I’m dropping you off at your car hopefully you haven’t lost that too.”

“No, baby is still at my motel, Civic Center Inn, you can drop me there.” Dean said, Jess marveled at how quickly the two calmed down, then Dean turned back to her and said: “So, 1991, Seibert Colorado. Dad had gotten arrested, this wasn’t the first time, so me and Sammy go and bust him out.”

“It’s Sam.”

“Yeah, whatever. So, my plan was that he goes in and acts like he’s lost, creating a diversion for me so that I can sneak dad the keys of his cell.” Dean explained, “Except Sam didn’t agree with that, said I had to play lost, because he was smaller and therefore would be able to sneak better.”

“Which is true.” Sam commented.

“No, it’s not, because it almost went wrong.” Dean jibed.

“And that was your fault.” Sam said.

“No, it’s wasn’t.” Dean started up the discussion again.

Jess just wanted to know what had happened, so she interrupted: “Let it go, both of you.”

“Sorry.” Sam said immediately.

Dean coughed, but Jess was certain she heard “Whipped”, Sam probably did too, because his lips tightened, but he didn’t say a thing.

Dean went on: “Anyway, I go in and start crying telling them I’m lost and it does create a diversion, but not long enough, so I also tell them I lost my younger brother while I was supposed to be watching him. That does work, a small child is lost, so everyone there starts looking and it the end they find him. He tells them he was looking for the bathroom and wondered away and we get dropped off at a random house, which we tell them is ours. Then we walk to the motel where our father joins us shortly after.”

“We skipped town that night.” Sam finished.

Jess sat quietly for a second as she takes everything in, finally she said: “I’m sorry, Sam, that sounds horrible.”

Sam just shrugged and said: “I’ve never known different, so I never missed it. I’ve been helping in illegal scams since I was three or something. That’s just life.”

“Not that he ever liked it.” Dean felt the need to insert himself into the conversation, “He and dad were always fighting.”

Sam rolled his eyes and said: “Yeah, he didn’t want me to go to college and get a normal life, sorry for wanting to be like everyone else.”

“That didn’t mean you had to fight with him about every little thing, Sam.” Dean said.

Jess sat there awkwardly, feeling that this was a whole other set of issues. She quietly asked: “Is that why you never talk about your family?”

Sam sighed sadly: “Yeah, the last words my dad said to me were: “If you go, don’t come back.” not really heartwarming, is it?”

Dean flopped backwards and said: “Our whole family is shit.”

Sam looked over his shoulder with a surprised look and said: “Didn’t think you would say that.”

Dean shrugged and said: “Doesn’t mean you’re not part of it, Sammy. Just call from time to time, okay? Oh, look there’s the turn.”

Sam turned onto the parking of the motel and Dean got out of the car. Before he slammed the door he said: “Jess, that’s your name right? Yeah, okay, Jess, don’t judge Sam for something he never wanted to be a part of. And Sammy? Sammy you don’t let her go, she’s cool. See you next time, nerd.”

Then he was gone.

Sam sat quietly for a minute then he drove off. They didn’t say anything until they were near San Mateo, then Jess carefully said: “Are you going to call him?”

Sam looked at her and said: “He knows we can’t call each other, he didn’t even give me his number to pretend. We’re never gonna talk again and that’s okay, life happens.”

Jess gave him a pained look, but she didn’t know what to say about it.

Sam asked: “Are we over?”

“No, Sam, we aren’t, just, just be more honest about your life to me, okay?” she said with a sigh.

“Are you gonna tell everyone I broke him out instead of paying a bail that didn’t exist.” Sam asked after a moment of silence.

Jess thought about it for a second. Then she shook her head and told him: “No that’s between you and your brother. I just waited in the car and we had a nice chat about you on the way to his motel, nothing peculiar happened.”

Sam grinned: “What would I do without you?”

Jess smirked back: “Crash and burn.”

~

When Dean broke in to Sams house two years later, he was glad to see that Sam had listened and hadn’t let Jess go.

[diepower]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO.

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK.

Are they underrated?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES (in the sense that she punched him in the face so that counts right) / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO.

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL.

How strictly do you follow canon?  — I follow it for major plot points but uhhh Meninas has literally like 20 pages of screentime and her only defining traits are “mean, powerful, likes nice things” so that leaves me a lot of leg room to fuck stuff up. That said, I diverged from what scraps I was given because it’s my city now, Kubo.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  —  I mean she’s a hot buff lady and if you’re down for a narrative based in self worth, the social expectations of femininity, and like beauty & the beast but its just one person.......... Meninas is right here....... also if you like characters who aren’t as they appear on the surface.... and heaven/hell motifs.......... and being trapped in a cycle of trauma.......... i got it all

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  —  She’s selfish, ruthless to the point of self destruction, cruel, and cold. She holds onto her resentment and unwittingly traps herself in a cycle of violence because she can’t shake this obviously incorrect belief that her worth depends on that cycle (because without it, what is she?). Her entire identity is shaped and pushed onward by violence and hatred, and she thrives in that pit of anger when on some level she is aware that she doesn’t have to.

What inspired you to rp your muse?  —  Literally it’s originally because I thought she was super cute- but that was when I started to write her after she made her first appearance in the manga. That said, I’ve written her on and off over the years, but this blog is the first time I’ve actually put this much thought and planning into what I wanted to do with her.

What keeps your inspiration going?  —  I’ve mentioned this before, but I am 100% confident I’m the only person on the planet who cares about Meninas to this extent, and I’m really proud of the original content I’ve created for her even if it doesn’t quite match what popular fanon interpretation is for the few who do pay attention to this character. It’s been fun to take the basic traits Kubo gave us for Meninas and to write my own intent behind them. I feel in that way, I can be faithful to canon, but also tell my own story. Honestly, the overwhelming amount of positive response to my portrayal is also what keeps my inspiration going- I’m shocked how much y’all enjoy the story I have to tell. Really excited to share more, esp with how much I’ve got planned with the lot of you!

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO.

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO.

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO. (They’re in my drafts to be shared... after Certain Plot Events happen)

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO.

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO.

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO.

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO. (This is kind of a broad question and it really depends on the situation... I would say generally yes, but I’m also good at handling negativity so???)

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  —  Yes, but I prefer it to be constructive. Criticism is kind of useless to me if some sort of alternative isn’t offered to help me improve.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  —  YES! Especially since often times questions will come out of left field and I get to consider things I’ve never considered before!

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  —  I... gotta be honest, no. Unless it’s for some seriously offensive mistake that I’ve made, it doesn’t matter to me.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  —  I’m well aware that I’m writing Meninas in a way that isn’t the obvious intent of canon, but it’s not directly contradicting canon either, so I wouldn’t be surprised if my portrayal was disagreed with. That said, I wouldn’t care lol (unless, like I said, I was doing something seriously offensive or upsetting). MY CITY NOW!

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  —  I would be surprised that there’s someone who would feel so negatively about a character like Meninas who... doesn’t really do anything in canon, but go off I guess! I don’t care.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  —  Yeah I don’t mind. Most of my errors come from when I get too excited to post a reply and I don’t triple-check anyways.

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?   —  Well I sure hope so!! But I’m also acutely aware that I can come off as severe and intimidating (for some reason I’ve yet to figure out lmao) sometimes. I’m a pretty strongly opinionated person and I stand by my convictions, but I try to convey my feelings clearly without stepping on any toes. This makes me sound not easygoing at all LMAO.

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

Tagged by: i cant remember idek if i was tagged in this i just wanted to do it

[coffee-obsessed-writer]

When You Least Expect It, Part Twelve

Jensen x Musician!Reader

Masterlist - Contains Chapter Links & Wardrobe Collages

A/N: This is a slow burn fic that I have been working on for a while. Its a story I wrote for myself and just wanted to share with everyone. Yes, the “Dee” in the story is who you think, but there is no intended hate on her or their actual marriage. It is a work of fiction, that is all. Part twelve has parts from Both POVs; though primarily the reader. There is also a playlist to go along with the series.

Spotify Playlist: Songs in this chapter - "Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” [youtube link] cover by Kina Grannis  

Chapter Summary: An acoustic performance at the Brewery to help publicize Brewfest takes a turn, causing Y/N to make a big change in her future plans.

Chapter Warnings: Language, mild violence, mentions of abuse, anxiety

WC: 10.4K **with lyrics. Lyrics NOT written by me in bold, italic.

Beta’d by @closetspngirl

*Banner created by me; pics & gifs found online. Tags are open if you want on, or wanna hop off.

Jensen felt the warmth of the sun touch his skin before his eyes opened. He was dreaming and didn’t want it to end, despite how he knew it would feel to stretch and let his body wake up. The images were fading from his mind’s eye, and he could feel the disappointment begin to set in. The dream was too good to let slip away. 

He dreamt he was laying in bed with Y/N. They had spent the night making love, talking in whispers and finding ways to make the other feel inexplicably wanted and loved. It was everything he’d needed from her since he first kissed her on New Year’s Eve. 

Movement on the bed beside him was the last step in getting him to open his eyes, and when he finally looked to his right, she was there. It wasn’t just a dream after all. Her hair was free of its usual messy bun and was splayed across her pillow. Jensen rolled over and propped himself up on one elbow, then leaned forward leaving a soft kiss on her bare shoulder that peeked out from the sheets. Her skin still smelled like suntan lotion and coconut, and he kissed her again. 

Jensen slipped his hand beneath the sheets and along the length of her body. Flashes from the night before passed through his mind, and he continued kissing the back of her neck as his fingers explored the lines of her body. His arm slowly wrapped around her stomach and gently pulled her back against him. Y/N was beginning to stir. She elongated her neck and hummed as his lips trailed soft, wanting kisses to her ear. 

“Morning,” he rumbled against her ear, just as his hand glided up her abdomen towards her breasts. 

“Morning,” she breathed and let herself gently fall back into him. 

“Sleep well?”

“No,” she giggled and rolled over, so she could see his face. “I don’t believe much sleep happened.”

“Regrets?” he asked softly, brushing away the hair from her face so he could fully appreciate her (y/c) eyes. 

“Only that I waited so long.” She withdrew her gaze and cast them do the small bit of space between them. “I’m sorry, Jensen. I don’t know what I was so scared of.”

“Hey,” he rasped, gently taking her chin and directing her eyes back to his. “Don’t do that. We’re together now, right? That’s what matters. Not how long it took to get here, just that we got here.”

“Are we? Together, I mean?”

“It’s what I want. There’s no one else for me, Y/N.” Jensen was nervous, and even she could hear the barely-there quiver in his voice when he spoke her name. 

Y/N propped herself up and leaned over, hovering above him now, her hair falling down and tickling his cheeks. “You sure you’re up for that? I can be a handful.”

“Good thing I got two hands,” he teased, the crinkles around his eyes deep and the peek-a-boo dimples formed at either side of his wide smile. 

Y/N rolled her eyes and hung her head to his chest. “I hate you,” she laughed and kissed him there. “So much.”

“I guess then, it’s also a good thing that you love me, too. Or I’d be in trouble.”

“Nope, I take it back,” she said, trying to be serious and pulling away from him. “I take it all back. You’re insufferable, Jensen. What was I thinking?”

Jensen grabbed her and turned quickly, making Y/N land on her back as he straddled her legs, pinning her down and dove his mouth to her neck. In less than a second, he was lavishing her neck with attention as her body began to slowly move beneath him.

“See, you don’t play fair, either,” she mewed, rolling her neck to the side so he could have more of her. 

“Never said I did,” he mumbled lowly. “Now what were you saying about taking it back…” his voice was muffled in the crook of her neck, and he felt himself growing hard again at simply the thought of being with her.

From somewhere in the tangle of clothes on the floor, a cell phone began ringing. Jensen growled and picked his head up from her neck. 

“Dammit.” He rolled off her and got up from the bed to locate the intrusion. 

Y/N sat up and watched as he moved around the room, completely naked. “I could get used to this view, ya know.”

He stopped looking for a moment and stared at her with that familiar deadpan gaze. “Seriously? Am I just a good time to you?”

“And then some…” she wiggled her eyebrows and winked playfully, breaking his expression and making him laugh. “Screw the phone, come back to bed.”

“I will. But I know this is Jared. I gotta--” he found his shorts from the night before and retrieved the phone from the pocket. “Hey,” he said swiping up to answer the call. “What’s up?”

“Dude, what the hell? Where did you disappear too?”

“Oh.. yeah. Sorry. Something came up and, uhhh…” Jensen stammered, unsure of how to proceed with telling his best friend he finally got to spend the night with the woman he loved while she was right there in the room.

“Something? Sex? Was it sex, Jensen?” Jared asked, and Jensen could hear the underlying tone of playful accusation. 

“Maybe.”

“I kinda figured,” Jared laughed. “No way you’d leave before the pig roast was ready unless Y/N was involved. You left a ton of shit behind on the boat and took off with one of the rentals. You must have been seriously distracted.”

“Dude,” Jensen chuckled and turned away from her to walk towards the bathroom. “You have no idea.”

“Alright Romeo, I don’t need details. Anyway… get your shit together and be ready in two hours. I’m swinging by to grab you so we can head to the airport. I had the valet company bring your truck back and take the rental with them. Just remember to bring the spare keys so I can drop them off, ok?”

“Yeah, sure. No problem… Wait. Two hours? I thought we didn’t go back ‘til later?”

“Change of plans, brother. Maybe if you didn’t have your head buried elsewhere you would have seen the five text messages I sent you about it this morning.”

“I hate you,” Jensen groaned and pulled the phone away to see all his missed notifications. “Fine, two hours. I’ll be ready.”

“Good. And, please shower. I don’t want to sit on a six-hour trip to Vancouver while you smell like sex.”

“Goodbye, Jared.” Jensen hung up the phone and tossed it back on the floor with the rest of the clothes. 

“Jared busting your chops?” she asked as Jensen crawled back into bed. 

“When isn’t he?” He laid back down and Y/N immediately laid beside him, resting her head in the crook of his shoulder. Jensen wrapped an arm around her and drew her closer. “I do have to get ready to go soon though. And while the last thing I want to do is spoil this morning… we gotta talk about you staying here. Y/N, please, reconsider--”

“I’ll stay,” she said softly, then turned her face up to his. “I’m sorry I gave you a hard time. I was so scared of staying because we hadn’t slept together. Then I panicked and worried about what it would mean if we did…”

“Thank God,” he chuckled softly, running his free hand over his face and sighing deeply. “I didn’t want to fight, but I was prepared to come out swingin’ if it meant you’d agree to just stay here.”

“Here is good. I’ll stay through the festival and then we can figure out what comes next. Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect,” he said and left a loving kiss on her head. “One more question and then I promise, I’ll let it go.”

“Oh boy… what?”

“What are the chances you changed your mind about San Diego, too?”

It was Y/N’s turn to sigh. “Jay… I can’t. In fact, I have to meet with Robbie at some point today or tomorrow about the publicity performance at the brewery this week. I think it's Thursday, which is your first day out there, right? I have to be at the brewery. Rob and Bri are singing. I am filming, mingling, promoting…”

“You work too much.”

“Look who’s talking…”

They held each other’s gaze stubbornly for a moment and Jensen finally relented. “Okay, okay. You made your point. But, I reserve the right to whisk you away at some point and you can’t say no. Deal?”

“I’ll take that deal,” she said and pushed herself up on the bed, to full sitting position.

“Whoa, no, wait. Where are you going?” 

“To shower. Then I’ll go make you breakfast so you can shower and be ready for Jared.”

“First off, shower together, it conserves water. Secondly, you’re gonna cook? For me? Can you cook?”

“Yes, I can cook. Pretty damn well, actually. Also, not showering with you, because we’ll never get out of there and you have to leave soon.”

“We could forget the breakfast, and just go shower. Huh? Right? Way better plan,” Jensen said, trying to pull her back to lay down. 

“Easy, Hollywood,” she purred and let him draw her back in. “I promise you, we will have our chance to make up for all the nights we weren’t together.”

“Swear?” he asked, a touch of some distant concern twinkled in his eyes, but she dismissed it.

Nodding softly, she leaned in and kissed him delicately on the lips. “Scout’s honor.”

An hour later, Y/N was in the kitchen, scrambling up some eggs and toast, with a fresh pot of coffee waiting for Jensen when he emerged from his shower. When he entered the room he was struck by the differing aromas, shocked at how fragrant the kitchen had become.

“Well aren’t you just full of surprises,” Jensen said as he dropped his duffle bag to the floor and tossed the keys on the counter. “Whatcha makin’?”

“Eggs with peppers and onions, rye toast and there’s fresh coffee over there for you,” Y/N replied without turning from the stove. 

Jensen went to go get a mug for his coffee but stopped just a moment to watch her move around the kitchen and admire how good she looked. She was wearing one of his dress shirts, sleeves rolled up and only loosely buttoned; her hair damp from the shower and her face completely natural. Fighting the urge to distract her from cooking, he continued on with getting his coffee and asked if she wanted a cup as well. 

“Yes, please. Give me all the coffee,” she laughed then flashed him a rueful smile over her shoulder. “Someone kept me up late last night.”

“Well, not much going on today, right? Maybe you can take a day to just sleep, relax. Catch up on some Netflix?”

“Maybe,” she shrugged and turned off the heat on the eggs, plated them, along with the toast and slid it across the counter. “Your breakfast, sir.”

“Whoa.” Jensen pulled the plate closer and grabbed the fork beside it, taking a bite of the eggs and closing his eyes. “Mmmm…” he hummed and swallowed the food. “Baby, these are good.”

“Baby, hm? That’s new.” Y/N mused and turned away, casually strolling to the refrigerator to get the cream for her coffee. 

“Don’t like that one?” Jensen asked, taking another bite of his eggs. 

“Didn’t say that, just… different.”

Jensen’s face slipped into a sly, teasing grin as he leaned forward on his elbows on the counter. “I’ll call you whatever you want me to--” 

“Oh God, don’t say it!” Y/N brought her hand to her face in resignation of what she knew was coming. 

“--as long as I can call you mine,” Jensen continued, giving her a big, exaggerated wink. 

“You are so insufferable…” she poured the cream in her coffee and playfully rolled her eyes. Y/N didn’t get a chance to stir it before Jensen was approaching her, hands on her hips and walking her back to the refrigerator. 

“I’m the fucking worst,” he rasped and pulled her hips closer to him, before bending down and kissing her. 

Y/N slipped her arms up around his neck and kissed him back with purpose. Jensen’s hands slid from her hips, around to her ass and gently lifted her up, allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist. He carried her, without breaking their kiss, to the living room and fell backward onto the couch so he was sitting and she was straddling his lap. His kiss deepened on her and through muffled smacks of lips and short breaths of air, she pulled back just enough to speak

“Your breakfast is getting cold,” she laughed and kissed him again. 

“Don’t care.” His fingers dug deeper into her thighs.

She giggled at the feeling of his fingertips ghosting her skin up and under the shirt she wore. “Jared will be here soon.”

“Don’t care. He can wait,” he mumbled, then resumed the business at hand. His hands found their way to her breasts and she couldn’t resist the soft moan that fell from her lips.

“Jay…” she breathed, fighting the urge to take it further. “Unfair…”

“Ok, ok…” he relented and allowed Y/N to sit back as he slowly and regrettably pulled his hands from her shirt. “I’m sorry. It’s just… now that we are here,” he gestured vaguely at their current position, “I just wanna stay here. Hard to walk away from this when it's all I’ve wanted for a really long time now.”

Y/N’s expression softened, and a small, satisfied smirk pulled up the corner of her mouth. “How long?”

Jensen considered it for a moment, running his palms roughly, yet slowly up and down her bare thighs. “Since before New Years, at least. You’re hard to shake, you know.”

She wanted to come back with some smart ass quip, but the way he was looking at her at that moment, she couldn’t. He was wearing too much emotion in that expression for her to be anything other than genuine. 

“Thank you for being patient with me, Jay. For giving me the time to be brave enough to trust someone again.”

Y/N softly caressed his cheek, giving him one last longing kiss on the lips before climbing off his lap. She held out her hand for him to take, and helped pull him up off the couch. 

“Now, please go finish your breakfast that I slaved over. Worked my fingers to the bone…” she whined playfully, unable to hold back the impish smile as he rolled his eyes at her. 

“Now who’s insufferable?” 

“Oh me! Is it me?” she asked sarcastically, followed by a big smile. 

Jensen ignored her and went back to his breakfast, which was still warm and delicious. He finished it quickly, along with his coffee, and was about to help Y/N start to clean up when they heard a knock at the front door, then the distinct creak of it opening and Jared’s voice echoed through the entryway, 

“Hello? Everybody decent?!”

“No! I’m cooking naked in the kitchen. Want some eggs?” she called back, making Jensen snicker and Jared’s face flushed red as he rounded the corner and came into the room.

“Hilarious,” Jared replied, when he saw her wearing only the shirt, he quickly looked away and stammered. “Ho--how’s it going Y/N?” 

“Great, thanks,” she chuckled. “And now that you’re here, I should probably go get dressed for real before you whisk him away. Be right back.” 

Y/N paused as she went by Jensen and kissed him, their gazes locked with the other and let it linger for a moment before she continued on. Once she was gone upstairs, Jared came fully into the kitchen and grabbed a mug, fixing himself a cup of coffee. He sipped at the hot, dark brew, carefully eyeing his best friend over the lip of the mug. 

“So?”

“So, what?” Jensen replied, feigning ignorance. 

“This is for real now?” Jared asked and motioned towards the stairs with his chin. “You and Y/N. No more pinning? No more excuses? You're finally together?”

Jensen was thoughtful for a moment as he reflected on the morning he spent in bed with her. “Yeah, we are,” he said, unable to hide his satisfied grin.

“I’m happy for you, man. Really. I’m glad things are working out. After Dee, then that break-in at Y/N’s place, I thought maybe you would throw in the towel. Too much trouble and all that.”

“Dude, I couldn’t if I wanted too. I am completely, and utterly hooked on this girl, and I wouldn’t care what it took to get to where we are.”

“Damn, Jay. I knew you had a thing for her, but I didn’t realize it went that deep. I’m honestly happy for you both. I like Y/N. She’s good for you.” 

“She is. I think we’re good for each other. Just feels good to finally know, for sure, that she’s just as invested as I am.”

“And you’re sure of that?” Jared asked cautiously, not wanting to rile Jensen up, but he needed to make sure his friend was certain he was giving his heart to someone who would treat it right this time.

“Yeah, Jar. I’m sure.”

Jared was thoughtful for a moment and shrugged. “Then I’m over the moon for you.” He raised his coffee cup in a salute and took a long sip. 

A moment later, Y/N came bouncing down the steps, fully dressed in a pair of ripped jean shorts, her favorite Zeppelin t-shirt and a pair of black converse. Her hair was piled on her head in her signature messy bun, and though very little effort was put into her appearance, Jensen couldn’t take his eyes off her. Jared watched Jensen watching her, and it struck him just how deep his best friend had really fallen. 

“So, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we gotta get going, Jay,” Jared said, leaving the mug in the sink and passing an apologetic smile to Y/N.

Jensen checked his watch and sighed. “Shit, yeah, I guess we do.”

“I’ll grab your bag and take it out. Just don’t take forever saying goodbye to your girlfriend, okay?” He rolled his eyes sarcastically, emphasizing a disgusted sigh as he picked up Jensen’s bag, then threw Y/N a little wink. 

“Love you too, Jared,” she called after him as he exited through the front door. Y/N looked back to Jensen as she slowly approached him, fortifying herself to say goodbye. Wanting to keep it light, she smiled and chuckled. “Girlfriend, huh? Does that mean I have the best friend’s approval?”

“It does,” he grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You alright with that? Girlfriend?”

“More than okay. All joking aside, somehow knowing where things stand with us, makes your leaving a little easier.”

“It does, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. Still going to miss you like crazy, but I am very much looking forward to when you come home again. Which is when, by the way?”

Jensen considered her question and scrunched his face in disappointment. “Three weeks. At least.”

“Wow, okay. Three weeks it is. Call me when you get in, later?”

“Of course,” he said and leaned in for a kiss and just before their lips touched, from outside, the car horn blew. 

“I guess that’s your cue,” she teased and kissed him again quickly. “Ok, go before I don’t let you leave.” She wiggled from his grasp and pushed him towards the door. 

“Wait,” he said, turning and planting his feet. “Promise me you will be careful, cautious and not go anywhere alone at night. And! Before you object… remember you love me and you want to make me happy? Doing this will make me happy.”

Y/N couldn’t resist his request. “Whatever you want, Hollywood. I promise it.”

“Good. Thank you. I’ll call you later,” he said and opened the front door, feeling the blast of the late morning heat. “I love you, Y/N.”

“Love you too, Jay,” she replied, trying to sound casual but actually vibrating inside from the open admission of feelings. 

She stood at the door and waved to Jared as Jensen made his way to the car and slowly got in. As they drove away, Y/N cautiously looked around outside to see if anyone was watching, then closed the door and went to clean up the kitchen.

Another blazing hot July day in Texas, but Y/N barely registered the heat as she parked and exited Jensen’s truck in the parking lot of Cuppa. Unknowingly having picked the same place Jensen met Dee the month before, Y/N ventured inside to find Bri waiting for her at a corner table.

“What? Not up for an outside seat?” Y/N teased as she approached the table and opened her arms to embrace a smiling Briana. 

“Are you insane? It’s hotter than Satan’s taint out there, lady. This is an inside kinda day. I will not waste the blessing of air conditioning just for a pretty view.” Bri shook her head and went to embrace Y/N. “Now sit your ass down and start talking. You have some nerve, you know.”

Y/N’s head snapped up in surprise, her finger pointing to her chest. “Me? What did I do?”

“It’s what you didn’t do! You disappear like a fart in the wind from Jared’s party, and I don’t hear boo from you until late last night confirming lunch today! What happened, where did you go? I need details.”

“Oh,” she said, her eyes lowering to the table and her cheeks warm with the memories of leaving the party with Jensen. “That.”

“‘Ooohh, that,’ she says… I swear to God, Y/N. You best start talkin’.” Briana flashed her an admonishing expression. Y/N knew when Bri wore her serious face she better start talking and not keep her in suspense any longer.  

“Okay, okay… I’m sorry. I got wrapped up in things and just--” she trailed off, and felt her expression softened Bri had been there since the start of things with Jensen and she realized how badly she really did want to tell someone about what finally happened between them. “After the bonfire, I told him I loved him and asked him to take me home,” she said, letting it come tumbling out in one long breath

“You did!?” Bri’s whole face ignited in a smile, her hands clasped in front of her face, covering her mouth to try and hold back her excitement. “For reals?”

Y/N threw her head back and laughed heartily, genuinely touched by Bri’s reaction. “Yes. I told him and we’re together now, for reals.”

Bri jumped up from her seat and pounced on Y/N, squeezing her excitedly and releasing her just as quickly than sitting back down. She exhaled a deep breath and then leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, catching Y/N’s gaze and smiling softly.

“How was it? It was good, wasn’t it?”

“Bri!” Y/N laughed and rolled her eyes. “Come on.”

“No. No. You can’t do that. Because you have experienced something that we mere mortals only fantasize about and as one of your closest friends, I demand at least a few details.”

“Ok, fine. I don’t even know where to start… it was amazing. From beginning to end. He’s sweet and generous. And--”

“Aw, talking about me again?” Robbie crooned sweetly, as he approached the table. “It’s okay, keep talking. I love to hear the things you say about me when I’m not around.” Y/N and Bri couldn’t hold back their laughter, as Robbie took a place at the table. “What? I say something funny?”

“No, Robbie, we weren’t talking about you… but you know you’re all those things too, puddin’,” Bri teased him and pinched his beard between her fingers. “Glad you could join us.”

“Yeah, me too,” he sighed, slightly exasperated and sweaty from the day. “Wasn’t sure if I could or not. In fact, the thing on Thursday, I may have to back out. Something you could handle on your own if you needed too, Bri?”

“I mean, yeah, but I wouldn’t have too. Y/N can join me. Right? Would you be down for that?”

“Well, I--”

Y/N was cut off by the server coming to the table and taking their order. Once she collected everyone’s choices and went back towards the kitchen, Y/N continued. 

“I was planning on doing a lot of the PR stuff. Filming, live streams, talking to people about Brewfest. There are going to be a few people there with connections to big-name businesses here in Austin. I was really hoping to get a chance to pitch some things to them.”

“Those are the ones we need to take a few more of these sponsorships,” Robbie added. “But, we can figure this all out later. Just know, I may have to bail and head to San Diego.”

“Ok, fair enough. For now, I’ll bank on you being at the brewery by seven on Thursday, performance to start around eight-ish?”

“Yeah, let’s go with that--”

“Performance? What performance?”

A voice—a familiar voice—cut through the ambient noise of the room and Y/N immediately felt a tight coil of white-hot anger at the intrusion. She didn’t even have to look up to know that Dee was standing there, somewhere on the outskirts of the table between herself and Briana. Robbie was the first to look up and actually see her face. Y/N knew just by the change in his expression that she was right. 

“Dee, hey,” Robbie said, followed quickly by a nervous chuckle. “What brings you here?”

“I’ve been filming in Austin for the last month or so. I come here a lot when I just need a break, you know? Festival planning I take it? Brianna, haven’t seen you in forever, how are you?” 

“Oh, peachy,” Bri replied with a quick glance her way. “Yourself?”

“I’ve been busy, but otherwise great. So what’s this about a performance?”

“Thursday at the brewery, we’re hosting an acoustic show to drum up interest in the festival.”

“Oh, fun!” she exclaimed, the feigned excitement in her voice nulled out by expression that lived on her face. The tension that surrounded the small corner table was palpable. Bri could see Y/N trying not to have a reaction, and that Dee was purposely lingering in order to try and stir up trouble.

“Y/N,” Dee said finally, turning her attention to the quietest member of the group. “How are you?”

Y/N didn’t answer at first. Instead, she twisted slightly in her seat so she was looking up at Dee and smiled. “I’m great. Now that you’ve made the rounds, I think it’s best if you keep moving.”

Dee sighed heavily as if Y/N’s statement bore the weight of the world. “If this is about that phone call, I’m sorry, okay? I should never have done that--” Dee paused when she saw Y/N laugh and stand up from her seat. 

“I couldn’t care less about your unbelievably childish behavior, Dee. I actually find that quite amusing. I just can’t seem to breathe when you’re around. Something about you is so toxic, it poisons the air wherever you are. So, please. For the entire cafe’s sake, keep moving...” The last two words were soft enough that only Dee could hear, followed by a set of intense, narrowed (y/c) eyes.

Dee swallowed thickly, but the rest of her expression felt cold and somewhat calculated. She glanced at Bri and Robbie, who just sat staring at her tentatively, unsure of how she would respond. 

“Well, that felt unnecessary. I just wanted to say hello. No reason to get nasty and cause a scene,” Dee scoffed, giving Y/N a long look of silent accusations. “I honest-to-God don’t understand what Jensen sees in you.” She glanced around Y/N to address Bri and Robbie. “Good luck at the festival. Something tells me you’re gonna need it.”

Dee turned quickly on her heel and left the café in a huff. When she was no longer in sight, Y/N looked at Bri and Robbie and expelled the breath she had been holding. 

“Well, that was fun,” Y/N said as she fell into her chair with an exasperated huff. 

“Way to stand your ground, honey,” Bri chuckled. “That woman’s got a lot of nerve just stoppin’ by for a chat. After what she did?” Bri pursed her lips together, revealing her crater-like dimples and slowly shook her head. “Lots of damn, nerve.”

“I don’t know that she had anything to do with the break-in, Bri. Jensen brought her up only because of the lipstick. They’ve found nothing to indicate she was in the house. I just think she’s a troublemaker and phony as hell. I wasn’t kidding about the toxic thing. She literally just sucks the air out of the room.”

“She didn’t used to be like this though,” Robbie said, pausing when the waitress arrived and placed down everyone’s drink order. “I’ve known Dee for a lot of years. She wasn’t always this… dramatic and petty.” 

“Well, I guess losing a good man on purpose will do that to you,” Bri quipped as she fixed her coffee to her liking. “She did that on purpose, by the way. Just standing here, asking how you are. She wanted to goad you.”

“I know,” Y/N said and ran her hand through her hair, sitting back in her seat and sighing. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m just… tired. Why can’t he and I be happy without these lunatics coming out of the woodwork to spoil everything?”

“Wait, what?” Robbie interrupted and leaned forward, his face beaming under a wide smile. “What’s this ‘he and I be happy’ bit? Does that mean what I think it means?”

“Yes! They’re together!” Bri giggled and clapped her hands together, the tension from Dee’s appearance quickly dissipating into the heat of the day. “That’s what we were talking about when you got here.”

“So, it worked?” Robbie asked Bri, catching Y/N’s attention and making her sit up straighter in her chair. 

Y/N cleared her throat to interrupt their quiet celebration. “I’m sorry, what now? Explain yourself, Robert.”

“Hmmm?” he replied disingenuously. “What’s that now?”

“Don’t be cute. What worked?”

“I’m always cute. Can’t help it. It’s the beard.”

Y/N rolled her eyes and inhaled slowly trying to contain her mild frustrations, then turned to Briana. “Briana? Care to explain?” 

Then it hit her; the bonfire. She remembered how calculated it felt that the only open seat had been next to Robbie and Jensen was so perfectly placed right across the flames of the fire. “You set us up at the bonfire. You wanted me to sing, and that’s why you said what you said when you handed me the guitar.”

“Did I say something,” Rob asked, feigning ignorance. “Don’t even remember… that...” he shrugged and trailed off.

“Look, something had to push you to take that last step. Really, what did we do, but make sure you sat in a place where you could really look at each other. Cause you didn’t, ya know. You’d look at him and he’d look away and vice versa. It was exhausting. The best part, it all worked out.”

“Thank you,” Y/N said softly, giving them both a grateful smile. “I’m happy to know that you guys have our backs.”

“Always, honey,” Bri said and covered Y/N’s hand with her own and gave it a squeeze.

After the revealing news and sprinkling of vague details, Rob and Briana shifted the conversation to the songs they could play at the brewery, while Y/N made notes on her phone. As she was typing in a list of items she wanted to bring on that upcoming Thursday night, her phone began to vibrate and the notification popped up that she had a new text from Jensen.

>>Whatcha doing?

<<Having coffee with Rob and Bri.

>>Robbie behaving? Keeping his hands to himself?

<<He’s a perfect gentleman.

>>Good. You have plans tonight?

<<Why, gonna surprise me again?

>>God, I wish. No, wanted to know if you were free to FaceTime later. I miss you.

<<Name the time. I’m there.

>>9? We should be done by then.

<<I’ll be waiting…

>>Naked, I hope.

<<Perv.

“Uhhh, Y/N?” Rob asked and waved his hand in front of her face. “You still here?”

“Oh, sorry,” she chuckled nervously. “One sec.”

<<Gotta run. Robbie’s getting jealous.

>>Don’t let him rope you in with those big blue eyes. Stay strong, Trix.

Y/N tucked her phone away and felt completely content and at ease again. The earlier, brief encounter with Dee couldn’t even damper the absolute high she felt like she was riding. She was working with two amazingly talented people who she also called friends, had a man that loved her and had even found a new city that she was falling in love with and ready to call a permanent home. In that moment, life couldn’t get much better and for a minute she completely forgot about the biggest wild card of them all… Nathan Fowler.

“I knew this was going to happen,” Y/N groaned and left the hand holding the phone slip from her ear. She took three deep breaths and brought it back up to hear Robbie talking in mid-sentence.

“...really sorry, Y/N. I tried to get out of it, but I gotta go.”

“Its okay Rob, really. I’ll figure it out. I know a few guys that will be working tonight that could do the live stream stuff if I end up playing with Bri. But let me call a few of the local musicians playing the festival. They might be able to come in, and--”

“Y/N… stop. Listen to me. YOU need to get up there. The local Austin bands are fantastic, I mean them no disrespect. But this festival is more yours now, than any of ours. You deserve to get up there, promote the hell out of it, then show those people that the person behind the scenes is just as talented as the ones they will see perform over those three days. Alright?”

Y/N was quiet. Normally, she could combat these bursts of praise from Robbie with a sarcastic quip, but right then, she didn’t have it in her. Instead, she felt nervous. The last time she really performed for a crowd had been at the convention in Chicago, and having the whole band, plus Briana on stage helped quell any nerves that cropped up. The idea of just her and a guitar, in a fully booked, standing room only venue… it was a bit too much right then.

“What--what if I can’t?” she asked, her nerves stripping down her voice to a mere whisper.

“Are you being serious right now? Ok, look. Nerves, they suck. I get it. I feel like I wanna throw up every time I walk out onto a stage; especially at the conventions. But I promise you, Y/N, you got this. Bri is gonna be there, and you two, together… unstoppable.”

Y/N expelled a nervous breath and nodded to herself. “You’re right. I’m sorry, I’m just… it’s been a long week and it’s going to be a long night.”

“Throw out the setlist, play whatever you guys want. I promise to check in when I can, okay?”

“Aye aye, captain,” she teased.

“Go out there and kill it, I know you will. Talk soon.”

“Bye, Robbie,” she said and felt a small smile. 

Talking to Robbie was what she imagined it would be like if she had a real relationship with her big brother. Dave was never going to be supportive, kind, or even give a rat’s ass about her life; but what she had missed out on with him, she found in Robbie. Much the way she had found a new life-long best friend in Briana, and possibly the love of her life, in Jensen. With that kind of love and support around her, Y/N believed that maybe she could pull it off. All of it.

 By the time evening rolled around, she felt the nerves about the performance bouncing between false confidence and utter terror. All she could do was keep a straight face, and try not to let the overwhelming fear of screwing up take over. Briana had spent the day with her, picking out clothes, talking about songs, practicing some harmonies and just trying to keep her focused on the task at hand. Y/N was grateful to have her by her side; especially since Jensen wrapped filming and was in transit to San Diego, making him basically unreachable. 

They arrived at the brewery and were surprised to see the low rise stage already decked out with stools, guitars, mics, and the amps they would need for the show. 

“Holy crap,” Y/N mumbled as she walked into the vast space. “Someone is on their game today.”

“Hey, Y/N, Briana,” a deep voice spoke up from behind them. “Hope that’s okay for you guys.” 

Y/N turned around and recognized Paolo, one of the brewmasters as the owner of the voice. “You got this all done for us?” she asked.

“Yeah, hope that was okay. If there’s anything else you need--”

“No, this is perfect,” she smiled. “Thank you, Paolo.”

“My pleasure. Bossman says, whatever you need, I am to comply.”

Y/N chuckled softly and dropped her oversized backpack onto the floor near the stage. “Well, I will be sure to tell the boss man that you were nothing but helpful.” 

“Anything else you need?”

Y/N looked at Bri, who seemed to understand the question she was asking with her silence. She gave a nod and Y/N turned to the dark-haired man, waiting for a response. 

“Actually, how do you feel about live streaming?”

“I feel great about it,” he laughed. “My girlfriend is always doing them with her makeup tutorials. Sometimes I hold the phone for her.” He shrugged, though it was obvious by his smug grin he was rather proud of himself for that.

“Fantastic!” Y/N exclaimed and went into her duffle and pulled out the spare device she used for just such an occasion. “I am going to do a few posts of Bri, the stage, the brewery, and then I’ll pass it to you--”

“I can handle that. You’re singing too, right? So, you should be in the pictures and videos. The brewery is well staffed tonight, so they won’t miss me. I can be your personal cameraman.” Paolo was near beaming, and Y/N didn’t have the heart to tell him that wasn’t necessary. 

“Ok, sure, that would be awesome. Thanks again, Paolo. I promise to let Jensen know just how helpful you’ve been.”

Paolo gave a slight bow of his head, and when he looked up again, Y/N was touched by how big his smile was. She’d only met him a few times before when she had visited the brewery with Jensen to work on some festival business. But the way he jumped into action that night really endeared him to her and made her feel slightly less nervous that everything would go off without a hitch.

 Around ten minutes after eight that evening, the entire tasting room at the brewery was jam-packed to capacity. The patio doors were open, so the people could wander in and out of the building, and be able to hear the music no matter where they were. 

Y/N and Bri were ready to take the stage, but Paolo first insisted on giving them a proper introduction. When he got the room’s attention, he cleared his throat and spoke into the microphone--a little too close at first--but then with a wide smile, called for them to come out on stage. The room, full of locals and fans of Supernatural, broke into a loud bout of applause, shouts, and whistles as they walked out onto the stage. 

Y/N followed Briana up, and she felt the swell of nerves making her start to sweat. Keeping her eyes straight ahead and fixed on Bri, she was in awe at how effortlessly her friend was able to step up and immediately command the attention of the room. Bri gave her a side-eyed glance, and when she saw that Y/N had gone slightly pale, she took the initiative, got on the microphone and began her dialogue with the audience. 

They fell under Briana’s spell immediately and she barely had to say a word. As she spoke to the audience, engaging them in conversation about the festival and all the ways it was going to benefit the city of Austin, Y/N’s hand trembled as she picked up the guitar. She sat on the stool, positioned it on her lap and wondered if she would even be able to strum and pick at it like she needed too. The agreed upon setlist wasn’t complicated, and the longer that Briana continued to talk to them about the event, the more her anxiety over performing began to wane and she felt her confidence returning. 

Y/N cradled the neck of the guitar; the weight of it comforting and familiar. It wasn’t her guitar, not by any stretch, and the turn of emotion that ignited in her gut at the stark reminder of its absence normally would have been enough to make her seek out the closest corner to sit in and cry. She couldn’t do that, though. Y/N dug deep and remembered what was at stake and did her best to focus on that instead of what she lost. 

Briana finished her introduction and turned her attention to Y/N. 

“And all of this, ALL of it is thanks to this one-woman wrecking ball, [Y/F/N L/N]! She took the original vision of what this could be and created something none of us could even imagine. On top of all that, she’s one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with! I couldn’t be more excited to share the stage with her tonight, so you can revel in the magic of her music right along with me!”

A boisterous round of applause from the audience made Y/N flush warm from a mild case of embarrassment. She flashed Bri a rueful smile and raised a hand to wave at the crowd. In order to avoid having to speak, Y/N just began strumming the guitar and as soon as Briana took the hint that it was time to start singing, she found the melody of the first song on their list. 

As the set played on, Briana sang a mix of covers spanning a varied mix of tempos and genres. The crowd was attentive and engaged, and even Y/N felt calmed by the entire vibe of the evening. Every so often she would look up and notice Paolo in the corner, the camera fixed on the stage. Everything was falling into place just as she had hoped, but when the song ended, Briana turned her attention to Y/N instead of to the audience and it threw her for a bit of a loop.

“I think it’s time that my friend here showed off her pipes! What do you guys say?!”

Despite the rousing response, Y/N couldn’t hear anything but the pounding of her own heart. Where the nerves were coming from, she couldn’t understand entirely; it wasn’t like she had never sung in front of a crowd before. There was something about that night though, that made her anxious about opening her mouth to sing. 

Y/N glanced up at Briana, who was watching her closely. Bri could see the bundle of nerves that lived in her friend’s brow but gave her a wide smile and a slight nod of encouragement. 

“Come on, Y/N… one song for the lovely people! I know you have something special in there to share with them!”

Y/N looked up and scanned the crowd, most of the faces looking back were now shadowed by the dim lighting of the room. But off in the corner, there stood Paolo, the camera pointed right at her and somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if maybe Jensen was watching the live stream.

The thought of him--the very simple thought of his smile--caused this slow wash of calm to suddenly flow through her. She gave Bri a little nod and readjusted the guitar on her lap so she could lean in closer to the microphone. Y/N didn’t speak; no need to address the crowd on this one. This song wasn’t for them, it was for him, and she hoped like hell that he would see it.

As her fingers found the frets, and she began to strum, she went through the first few chords of “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. She kept the tempo of the guitar slow and dreamy. With Jensen’s face on her mind, she felt a small smile caress her lips as she began to sing directly to him, some thousand miles away. 

The entire room fell silent as they watched her perform. 

“Wise men say only fools rush in, But I can’t help falling in love with you

Shall I stay? Would it be a sin? If I can’t help falling in love with you

Like a river flows, Surely to the sea Darling so it goes Some things are meant to be....”

Letting the reverberations from the guitar fade out, her hands falling softly from the frets and the strings. Y/N closed her eyes and felt a rush of emotion so strong that she needed a beat to compose herself. When she continued singing, there was no music, just the sound of her voice; airy, thoughtful, and so obviously in love...

“So take my hand, Take my whole life too…”

She began to strum again, finishing the song with the soft melody of the guitar.

“For I can’t help falling in love with you. For I can’t help… falling in love with you…”

 When it faded to an end, she opened her eyes to a crowd absolutely mesmerized and enamored with the ethereal magic they just bore witness to. Even Bri, completely moved to a few stray tears, couldn’t resist the urge to get up from her stool, and drape herself over Y/N’s shoulder in a dramatic embrace for a brief moment. 

“I told you this woman was magic!” she said into the mic when she returned to her stool. “The first time I met her, she was seated at a piano, and just plucked a song out of the air to play. We just had such a blast that night. It was the best damn ‘how-do-you-do” I’ve ever had!”

Y/N shook her head and chuckled softly as she cast her eyes back to the guitar and strummed it absently until her nerves were back under control. When she lifted them up again, she searched the faces in the crowd only to see beaming smiles and hear excited chatter. Paolo was using the camera to scan the crowd as well, and Y/N could see him replying to messages in lightning-fast fashion. As she brought her eyes back to Briana on the stage next to her, off in the opposite corner of where Paolo was, she thought she caught sight of a familiar face. 

Her heart froze. There in the crowd, a head stuck out over the rest and if she hadn’t blinked a few times quickly to refresh her vision, she would have sworn she saw Nathan’s face among the guests. But, when she tried to find him, there was no one there. 

It’s just nerves, she told herself as Briana continued to wax poetic about music and back around to the festival. Y/N tried to remain engaged, but her hackles were up now, despite the residual rush of the song she just sang. 

“You, my magical musical unicorn, were amazing tonight!” Bri exclaimed as she joined Y/N in the break room at the back of the brewery. She disappeared almost immediately after the performance to change out of the tight jeans and fringed tank top she wore. Now wearing her most comfortable sweat shorts and Louden Swain T-shirt, she leaned her head on Y/N’s shoulder along with one arm and yawned wide. 

“It’s late, ready to go?” Y/N asked with a laugh as Bri exaggerated the yawn with a loud sigh afterward. “Might be past your bedtime ma’am.”

“Oh, it’s way past my bedtime. Yes, I am absolutely ready. Do you have everything?” she asked lifting her head from Y/N’s shoulder and looking around the break room. 

“I think so,” she answered and lifted an armful of files she needed to bring back to Jensen’s house, before slinging the backpack over her shoulder. Let me run this stuff out to the truck. You go grab Paolo and see if he can carry out those cases of beer. I wanted to haul a few back to the house.”

“Absolutely,” Bri said and went off to find their cameraman of the night and ask for his help one last time. 

Y/N gathered the rest of her things and as she made her way towards the rear exit of the brewery, she felt her phone vibrate from her pocket. She juggled a few files and reached in to retrieve it, noticing three new texts from Jensen.

>>How’s it going tonight? Everything set up?

>>Ohhhh live stream! Who’s taping? Is Paolo helping?

>>JFC Trix… you’re killing me. Just caught the live feed and I’m speechless… God I wish I were there.

Y/N felt her heart pounding, and a smile swelled across her lips at knowing he saw her sing. She was in the middle of a reply as she reached the parking lot. With her thoughts on Jensen and her eyes on the phone, she didn’t see the shadowy figure step out from the darkened corner of the parking lot and start walking towards her.

Just before she reached the truck, she felt it; a large, looming presence stretched out tall before her. Y/N looked up from the phone and jumped when she saw him there. The man’s face was still cloaked in darkness from the baseball cap he wore, but she knew who it was nonetheless. It hadn’t just been nerves earlier in the night, she did see his face in the crowd after all. 

“Hey, Y/N,” Nathan said, his tone calm and yet still unnerving to her ears.

Y/N completely froze; bolts of panic binding her feet to the ground. “N--Nathan? Why are you here?”

“Heard about the show, wanted to come and see you sing. It’s been a while since I have.” Nathan took a few steps closer, and even as he uncomfortably closed the distance between them, her feet still could not be swayed to move. “Want a hand with those?” he asked and pointed to the files she was gripping for dear life.

“No, I’m fine. You shouldn’t be here,” she replied sharply. “You need to go, Nathan.”

She heard him snort through his nose something that resembled a laugh, though completely devoid of actual humor. “Always trying to get rid of me, Y/N. Why? I come to see you, and you just push, and push, and push me away. Every fucking time.”

The closer he got, the more she was able to make of his features and she right away noticed he was falling back into his old ways. His face was drawn and pallid, his eyes sunken and his cheekbones high. He had probably stopped eating, just consuming booze or drugs daily with the bare minimum amount of sustenance to survive. 

“Nathan, you don’t look good. You should go home. Go back to Jersey and see your ma, she--”

“She kicked me out. I’m not welcome there, either. Which is your fault, by the way.”

“Mine?!” Y/N scoffed. “How?”

“After I came to visit you after your boyfriend threw me out on my ass--”

“Not true. You walked out and you’re lucky you did. You’re goddamned lucky that Rob and Jason were there to stop him from hitting you harder.”

Nathan ticked his head to the side, a scowl set into his features as his tongue licked over his top teeth in annoyance. “Noted,” he snapped. “After that, I started drinking again. Now…” he raised his arms up and shrugged, “now I have nothing. Again. Because of you.”

“Then why are you here?” Y/N asked, trying to stay calm and nonchalantly continue the text to Jensen, to let him know what was happening so she wouldn’t be completely alone in it. 

Nathan went to respond and saw her thumb slowly swiping across the screen. In one swift motion, he lunged forward, smacked the phone and subsequent folders from her arms, scattering papers across the parking lot.

“No! We’re talking!” he roared, making her cringe away in fear that he would raise a hand to her next. 

“Alright, Nathan. Then talk. But over there because you’re scaring me,” Y/N said softly, not wanting to provoke him any further.

Nathan took a small step backward and then laughed as the subtle nighttime breeze began to scatter papers around the empty lot. 

“Oops. Sorry. Guess I made a mess again, huh?” he snickered, his eyes growing big and wild. 

Y/N could tell his mood was becoming manic and unpredictable like it did the night he put her in the hospital. 

“What does that mean?” she asked hesitantly, but in her gut, she already knew. 

“Looks a lot like your loft,” he snarled, his eyes affixed to the papers on the ground. A dark, unnerving grin unfurled across his lips as he watched them continue to get further away. When they flickered back up to her, she could see that he was lost in the remnants of the memory. “I made a fucking mess, huh? And your dad’s guitar, woooo boy.” He leaned back, hand on his gut as he cackled with utter joy. “The way that broke in my hands… Look, I was glad I made that stupid bitch happy, but damn that alone was worth doing it for. Felt good shattering the one thing you loved so much...” 

Y/N felt like someone punched her in the chest; her breathing was shallow and the sharp pains of no air coursed through her limbs. The things he was saying… he was admitting into breaking in and trashing the townhouse. A million questions flooded her mind, but the most important thing right then was to get back into the safety of the brewery. Once he was gone, she could take what he said and go call Detective Perkins. 

Nathan shook his head, the unsettling smile still lingering. “You… you just could never be content. Could you? Always looking for something… some grand purpose. Thinking you’re special ‘cause you can play a few instruments. You ain’t special. You’re just like every other piece of trash from the beach with a good pair of tits and a stupid dream. Why should you get it, huh? What makes you better than the rest of us who didn’t get outta there?”

“Nathan… I--I don’t know what you want from me…” Y/N was slowly backing up with small, shuffling movements. “I tried to be nice and welcoming when you showed up that day. We tried rekindling a friendship after everything--”

“Friendship? Jeeeesus Christ,” he moaned and rubbed a hand over his mouth, “I don’t need any more fucking friends, Y/N, I needed you. But you were already fucking him and I can’t compete--”

“Compete?!” Y/N was finding her voice. The fear starting to dissipate and be replaced by a white, hot flash of rage. “I LEFT him because of you, you asshole! On New Years… I had him… we were together and I got all FUCKED UP and ran out because you got into my head!” She was clenching her fist around the strap of the backpack still on her shoulder and trying not to do something stupid. “I tried to be civil to you, Nathan, because of what we had. But you know, I’m glad you showed your true colors. Because of it, I am happier and more in love then I have ever been! Especially more than I could have ever really been with you…”

Nathan’s face contorted into a man prepared to pounce out of anger; his eyes were wild, his nostrils flaring, the veins in his neck pulsating with rage. Y/N saw the intent in his now dark eyes and knew she pushed too far, but she didn’t care. His body was rigid, but when he made his move, it all seemed to unravel in slow motion. 

Nathan’s arms lifted in front of him as his hands shaped into open claws with her throat as their prime target. Y/N felt like she had no control over her body. She screamed at herself to turn and just make a run for the brewery before he was able to get a hold of her, but her feet just wouldn’t move. Her eyes scanned the ground in a panic, looking for the phone he had knocked from her hand, but it just laid there with a darkened, cracked screen and the battery laying beside it. She was able to turn her head just enough to see the rear door to the brewery and the lights on the inside before she felt Nathan’s hands touch her. His fingers curled around her throat, making it difficult to move. Before they tightened completely, Y/N readied herself to fight back and just as she struggled to turn her head around back to Nathan, she was bringing up her leg to his groin with the hardest thrust she could. 

Nathan went spiraling backward with a loud grunt of pain once her knee connected with his balls. As he landed on the dirt, Y/N heard voices from behind her; it was Bri and Paolo heading towards them talking  while pushing the handcart of beer. The second they noticed what was happening, Paolo left the cart and broke out into a sprint, as did Bri, and was at her side in seconds. Bri had her arms on Y/N’s shoulders, turning her and examining her for any injuries, as Paolo went to grab Nathan. Despite the man’s inebriated condition, he scrambled to his feet, still wearing a salacious grin. He turned and ran as fast as he could, easily able to escape the last-ditch effort Paolo made to grab his arm. 

“Are you alright?” Briana asked, still desperately searching Y/N for any sign of physical trauma. “Paolo, call the police, now!”

Paolo nodded, pulled out his cell and began pacing the parking lot as he made the call.

Knowing that she was safe, protected by the presence of Bri and Paolo, Y/N was able to come to terms with what just happened. It started in her knees, the adrenaline that served her so well, now leaving her body in shakes and spurts. She tried to be strong and not let the overwhelming need to scream from the leftover terror in her gut, and if not for Bri holding her upright, she thought she may buckle under it all and fall to her knees. 

Y/N covered Bri’s hands with her own and squeezed them tenderly. “I’m fine,” she lied through a shaky breath. “It’s okay, Bri. I promise. He, uh…” she felt the lump forming in her throat at having to actually say the words, “...he touched me for a second. He put his hand on my throat, and somehow I was able to get my leg up and knee him in the crotch.”

Bri took a closer look at Y/N’s neck and thought the marks there would be enough to at least prove to the cops that he had tried to choke her, but not bad enough they wouldn’t fade in a day or so. 

“Atta girl,” she breathed, a huff of air following from her lips as she sighed in relief and pulled her friend into an embrace. “Where’s your phone? You need to call Jensen, he’ll--”

“No. Do NOT call him,” Y/N vehemently insisted. “You cannot tell him, Briana. Not yet, please.”

Briana drew in a breath to argue a case for complete honesty with Jensen, but then saw the pleading look in her friend’s eyes. Given the intensity of the situation, she didn’t want Y/N to feel anymore unnerved. She nodded softly and reluctantly agreed. “Alright. But I’m telling you if you don’t tell him soon, I will.”

“Fair enough, just… not right now. Right now, I just want to get out of here.”

“Cops are on the way,” Paolo said, rejoining them. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, he just scared me,” she replied unconvincingly. 

“That was your ex, right?”

Y/N nodded slowly, surprised Paolo knew. “Yeah, how…” then the realization dawned on her. “Did the boss man tell you to look out for him?”

“Yeah. He said if he was seen anywhere on the property, call the police immediately.”

“Of course he did,” she muttered. “Please, just let me tell him, okay?”

Paolo looked uneasy and glanced at Briana who nodded slightly in support of Y/N’s request. 

“Alright,” he agreed with a sigh, then looked around the lot at the mess of papers continuing to flutter about. “I’ll call inside, get some of the guys to come out and gather up the papers.” 

“Thanks, Paolo,” Bri said and bent down to pick up the broken phone. “Hope you had it backed up.” She said, trying to make the comment light, but the underlying ache of empathy she felt for Y/N was far louder.

“Thank God for Robbie and his cloud,” Y/N laughed, but then fell quickly silent. She didn’t know what to do next, outside of waiting for the cops to arrive. If she had just gone with Jensen… the thought plagued her. Coupled with her guilt that was attached to Nathan’s general presence, she came to realize that there was really only one place she could go that could even begin to heal the trauma she experienced at Nathan’s hand. 

Briana could tell there was something she needed to say but wanted to give her the space to say it without prodding her along. 

“Bri?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I use your phone? I need to go to San Diego.”

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[novantinuum]

Crack the Paragon, Chapter 7

Fandom: Steven Universe

Rating: General Audiences

Words: 3.4K~

Summary: In another world, he doesn’t have his mother’s sword or shield to hide behind when Bismuth lands her strike. The bubble pops.

Steven falls apart.

Chapter summary: In which actions are louder than words.

First | Last chapter

You can find the AO3 link in the reblogs! (I have to omit it from the original post these days to ensure this will show up in the tags.) If you enjoyed this, I’d greatly appreciate your support over there as well. 

Chapter 7: Silenced

“Are you out of your mind??”

"Pearl, please understand, I’ve been wanting this for so long,” you explain softly, the sunset illuminating the face of the pale Gem before you in shades of pink and orange as the waves crash onto shore behind her. “Human life is simply incredible! Never stagnating, always living, and loving, and learning. I want to pass on my gem, to create something new with Greg, someone who can grow! Someone… who can finally be free.”

“But- but Gems can’t have babies!” she sputters, throwing her arms out. “We don’t have the organs for it, or genetic material, o-or—“

You shake your head, enthusiastically cutting her off.

“That’s no problem, I used shapeshifting like Amethyst always does! And believe me,” you say with a conspiratorial chuckle, “you know better than anyone that I’m fully capable of holding this for the next nine months.”

“That’s not my point!”

“Then… what is?”

“My point—! You always do this, Rose!” she shouts, her pale blue eyes growing damp. “You know I try to support you, but I can’t do that if you never talk with me before leaping headfirst into whatever fanciful desire you please, and- and deciding everyone’s future for them!”

“But isn’t that… what I’m doing now?”

“No! You never even asked me how I’d feel,” she says, voice thick. “And that’s your problem.” Tears stream in rivulets down her cheeks, her lithe body quivering. Roughly, she wipes them away, and turns to escape your presence. “You never do!”

“Where did it go??”

The sound of shrill panic abruptly wakes Steven, the precise details of his peculiar dream already beginning to blur into obscurity as his eyes flutter open. A line of half-dried drool, slimy and still warm, extends from the corner of his mouth. His dad is softly snoring next to him, swaddled in his stolen covers like the very image of a sushi roll.

“No, no, no!” Pearl shouts from the kitchen. There’s a dull clap as her hand swipes across the counter. Something light (cloth?) falls to the floor. “This can’t be happening, not now, not again!!”

Yawning, he presses his fingers against the slight ache at his temple and sits up, blinking in confusion at his surroundings. “Wha—?”

For whatever reason, the beach house has devolved into absolute chaos between the time he fell asleep and now. The couch cushions are all askew, one of them flung halfway across the room. Two of the kitchen stools are overturned, and the bath towel they nestled his gem in last night lays in an abandoned heap between them. Dishes from the open cabinets are strewn everywhere on the counters. Meanwhile, the contents of the game shelf by the window— which Pearl normally keeps meticulously organized in alphabetical order— have exploded across the floor with little to no regard to the walking hazard they pose. If her intent was to blow through the place like a one person wrecking ball, then she’s clearly succeeded. No corner of the house is left untouched by her mania. The Gem roughly swings open the fridge, rattling the condiment bottles in the door. After a brief pause to scan through its contents she huffs, and slams it shut again.

Her arms shaking, she grips tufts of wispy peach hair from either side of her head. “Where is it???” she cries, her voice edging towards borderline hysteria.

“Uh, Pearl?” he asks, uneasiness churning in his gut at the sight of his guardian under so much stress. He swings his feet over the edge of his bed. “Pearl! What’s going on? What’s wrong??”

She freezes momentarily upon noticing he’s awake, her cheeks flushing blue.

“O-oh! Thank goodness you’re finally up,” she says, bounding across the room and up the stairs to him in no more than five steps. Her hands grasp his shoulders, a frantic gleam in her pale eyes. “Steven, where’s your gem?! Have you seen it??”

“My… gem?” he mutters, scrunching his nose as he peers up at her. In the fog of his exhausted, sleep deprived mind, for a second he has no idea what on Earth she’s talking about. Where’s his gem? His gem’s at his navel, inlaid flush with his skin like it’s always been, so what is she—

In a flash, snippets of recent memory eclipse everything else that’s at the forefront of his attention, reasserting their place in his psyche.

“Go ahead!” Bismuth snarls, jamming the tip of the breaking point rough against her concave gemstone. “Just do it!”

A sharp cry, his world standing still as a searing pain tears through him from the gem at his core to the very tip of his extremities.

Too damaged to sustain himself, his hard light form poofs into a cloud of smoke. He remembers this from both perspectives, now. And with the memory of the searing pain his other half was in… he wishes he doesn’t. The cracked gemstone hangs in the air for just a moment, morning sunlight glinting off its facets, before plummeting lifeless to the ground.

“—it’s Pink Diamond,” Garnet whispers in horror.

He swallows hard as the burden of the last few hours quickly rears its ugly head, weighing down once more on his shoulders. Oh, right, he thinks, resting his hand atop his stomach, over the unfamiliar facets of his newly flipped gem. Almost dying. That was a thing.

“Yes, your gem, I’ve been looking everywhere for it!” Pearl says, throwing her arms up. She leaps to the ground floor from the lofted level, and with a skip and a flourish so unbefitting of her current state of panic, jabs her pointer finger towards the kitchen counter. “I clearly remember setting it right here when we put you to bed, but now it’s nowhere to be found!”

Her words degrade to incomprehensible mumbling as she continues her fruitless search, this time localized to the space around the fireplace and the bathroom door. Finally understanding what has her in such a tizzy, Steven leaps to his feet and follows her down the stairs. Of course she’s freaking out, she thinks his gemstone disappeared entirely, or walked off, or got stolen! She has no way of knowing what happened on the beach early this morning. No one does. Someone’s gotta tell her, and that someone can only be him. Rushing to his guardian, he gently tugs at her arm.

“Pearl!”

She forces a laugh, the sound of it neurotic and unhinged, as her fumbling fingers remove a small photo of the four of them off its hook on the wall. “Well at least we can say for certain it’s not hiding behind this framed photograph!” she announces, smile stretched just a bit too wide. “Just one less infinite possibility to check…”

“Pearl, listen, you—“

“And it’s not like it could simply roll off the table without a trace, right? Am I right??”

“Please, you don’t have to freak out, ‘cause I—“

“But it’s okay Steven, there’s no need to panic! I know we’ll find it eventually, yes we will, of course we will, how could we—“

“I have it!” he blurts out, grabbing both of her shaking hands. “I have it.”

Held securely in his, her hands fall silent. The panic drains from her in but a breath as she stops to contextualize what he’s just said and what it means, her mouth slipping slightly ajar. Sensing that he’s firmly caught her attention now, he continues, heart hammering in his chest.

“Last night, the gem reformed as me, a-and… we fused back together.”

“You— you’re back to normal,” she says with glassy eyes, voice softer now.

He tugs at the collar of his pajamas. “Well, more or less. There’s a bit of a catch, and I’m pretty sure none of you are gonna like it.”

Her expression is blank with confusion. “Uhhh— a catch?”

“Y’know, it’s probably easier if I just show you,” he reasons with a nervous chuckle, and— sweat beading on his forehead— lifts his nightshirt to reveal his gem.  

Pearl kneels down to peer at it straight on, hand balled into a fist at her chin. “Oh!” she says first, brows shooting up on her face. Then, her features narrowing the more and more she looks at the newly exposed facets of his diamond: ”Ohhhh...”

“This is what her gem looked like, isn’t it?” he asks. “Pink’s?”

Her eyes shoot wide open at his query. “I—“

Immediately, her palm clamps tight over her mouth, strangling whatever words she had planned to share.

Steven cringes as he watches her struggle against her orders, a seed of guilt churning deep within. “Oh, right. You can’t… sorry, I forgot. We can talk about something else, if you want!”

She’s thankfully able to pull her hand away before too long. A distant part of him wonders how this gag order works, how it knows in advance what Pearl plans to say, if there’s any loopholes they could possibly find to skirt around it...

“I— I’d appreciate that,” she admits, suddenly looking very tired.

A lopsided smile brightening her face despite her exhaustion, she reaches up to affectionately ruffle his hair. He flashes her a boyish grin as her touch flattens some of his wild curls against his head.

“You know,” she says quietly, glancing at him with such a softness reflected in her pale irises that it almost makes him forget all the stress he’s endured, almost makes him believe nothing’s changed since yesterday, “there may be a lot I can’t talk about, but what I can say is that I’m so glad to see your beautiful smile again.”

“Pearl,” he responds, blushing with half-hearted embarrassment.

“Now let’s clean up this mess before your father wakes up, shall we?” the pale Gem chuckles nervously as she rubs her hands together, glancing between the trashed ground floor of the beach house and the middle aged man miraculously still snoozing away in the loft above.

“Nose-goes on kitchen!” he says hurriedly, tapping his finger against the tip of his nose.

She feeds him a mock gasp, already crossing behind the counter to start returning the plates and glasses to their rightful homes in the cabinet. “Oh, you rascal! How ever will I organize all this by myself?”

Steven gives a soft laugh at this, and then promptly sets himself on tidying duty. First priority is the board games strewn across the floorboards in the corner. He kneels and begins arranging the boxes into piles. From there, he stacks each pile nice and near on the shelf by the window. After straightening the stacks so the box corners line up, he moves to pull open the blinds to let more sunlight in the house. A blissful smile stretches across his face as he pauses his work to bask in the morning glow.

Already feeling a good deal more content about everything in the reminder of daybreak, he turns to Pearl. “Not gonna lie, I’m kinda surprised Dad was able to stay asleep through all our racket.”

“Greg?” she scoffs and rolls her eyes, piling a stack of plates on one of the shelves. “That man sleeps like a rock. Which,” she continues, resting her freed hand against her chin in contemplation, “as an idiom, is actually rather ironic considering that ‘rock’ is common slang for ‘Gem,’ and Gemkind as a whole doesn’t have a biological need for sleep.”

“Well, I think you can blame humans for that one,” he laughs, picking the missing couch cushion off the floor and returning it to its home. “For anyone outside Beach City, rocks don’t actually move!”

Ever so slightly, the edge of her lips turn up. “I suppose that’s true, yes…”

They fall into a fairly comfortable silence for a while after that, as they put the finishing touches on the last nooks and crannies of the beach house that needed attention. Steven makes sure the floor is spotless, every stray pillow, toy, or decorative item returned to its rightful place. Pearl finishes tidying the kitchen, re-organizing the cups on the shelves by color and type. By the end of it he can proudly say the place looks leagues cleaner than it did yesterday. For good measure, Pearl pulls a broom out of her gemstone and sweeps up any debris littering the floor. He helps out by holding the dustpan steady as she brushes the sand and dust bunnies in.

“There!” she proclaims once they’re finished, proudly surveying her roost as she solidly holds the broom with the same level of decorum with which one might hold a rebellion era rampart. “That’s much better, don’t you think?”

The ground nearly shimmers in its cleanliness. Heartily, he gives her a thumbs-up.

“Yeah, looks great!”

With a big yawn, he glances up at his father’s slumbering figure in the loft above, for a moment jealous that he’s not still snoozing away too. Four or five hours (or however long it’s been since he crawled back into bed, he hasn’t checked the clock yet) simply isn’t enough rest for a growing boy. He always tries to aim for eight or nine. Maybe he can bridge that gap now, though? Would it help, he wonders, if he falls back asleep a good twenty minutes after he woke? As he ponders this mystery, he ambles past Pearl, heading directly to the couch.

“Steven,” she says with poorly disguised concern, as she watches him abruptly flop over onto the cushions in his sheer exhaustion. “If you need to talk about what happened, then I—“

“I’m just a little tired, don’t worry about me,” he says, eyes drooping shut as he curls up tighter.

“Don’t wor—“ Pearl cuts herself off suddenly, choked up. She’s at his side in a flash, and he feels the cushion adjust for her weight as she sits herself adjacent. “How can I not worry about you? You went through something no child… no Gem should ever have to experience!”

“But I’m alive,” he points out, eyes cracking open a smidge. “I’m alive, and you guys dealt with Bismuth, a-and we fixed it like we always do, so- so there’s no point in fixating on what could’ve happened, right?”

She rests her hand on his shoulder, her fingers hesitantly shifting over the seam of his pajamas as if she’s suddenly a complete stranger to the art of comforting. Normally he lives for her shows of affection— her occasional head pats, loose side hugs, a hand clasped tight on his arm as she gently leads him through hazardous terrain on missions— but in his mounting desire to be left alone in peace to rest, he bristles under her touch. She doesn’t seem to catch onto the hint, though. Still hidden behind his neutral expression, he grits his teeth.

“I-it’s not a matter of fixation,” she continues, “it’s a matter of unpacking difficult emotions. You have to understand, the state of being cracked, it’s not one that most full Gems are easily able to bounce back from, and I just want to ensure that you’re not—“

“I’m fine, really, I am!” he snaps. “You don’t have to keep fussing about it! And anyways, it’s all over now, isn’t it? So can’t we at least try to move on from this and let things be halfway normal again?!”

Pearl reacts like she’s been physically struck. She yanks her hand back, resting her palms on her knees as she turns her head away. A cautious glance at her face (or at least the half she hasn’t intentionally obscured from his sight) shows one muddled with a blend of melancholy and that sort of silent displeasure he’s long since grown to associate with disappointed parents. He swallows hard, shame settling heavy like the diamond at the pit of his stomach. He went too far.

“Sorry,” he mumbles as he sits upright, cheeks heating up. He stares at his fingers, rhythmically flexing them.

She doesn’t vocally respond to his apology, but her form does grow visibly less tense. It’s a start.

Fully audible through the walls of the house, the tides crash onto shore, gently pulsing in and out. It doesn’t take long before the pace of his heart matches the ocean’s unwavering drumbeat. His naive young mind twitchy under the throes of the unnatural silence, he yearns for some concrete image to latch onto, anything to spirit him away from the present. Not before long, distant threads of memory from the strange dream he woke up from this morning rise to meet his pleas.

Most of the details are fuzzy, indistinct and abstract as one might expect from a dream, but nevertheless just enough specificity remains that he can’t help but wonder if this was more than your run-of-the-mill moonlight fantasy. Frowning pensively, he balls his hand against his chin. The sky was streaked with lines of pink and orange, he remembers. The tides swelled with the same unwavering prowess as they do this morning. He knows he was standing somewhere near the temple, because he clearly saw one of the stone hands half-buried on the sandy shore. A familiar ivory and peach figure stood defiant and distraught before him— no, not him!— before his…

“You always do this, Rose!”

His hands. They were wide, pale, free of the familiar calluses built up from years of plucking strings on his ukulele, they… they weren’t his. This body wasn’t his.

Mom. He was dreaming about his mom. But why, and how? He’s had dreams with her in them before, but they were always different, they were always from his perspective. They were always fluid and nonsensical. This, however… this one felt different, somehow. More tangible.

Almost… real.

“You never even asked me how I’d feel,” Pearl said, voice thick. “And that’s your problem. You never do!”

Realization dawns over him like the glow of the morning sun rising above the horizon. A sudden sickness churns in his stomach. He’s almost horrified, disgusted with his past actions in rudely brushing Pearl off like that.

She just… wants to know how I feel about all this, he thinks, throat constricting as he swallows hard. She wanted to know if I’m okay! But- is she even okay??

Is there more to this dream of his than meets the eye? Is his subconscious trying to tell him something, trying to lead him to take some sort of action? Have they really not asked her that enough?

His fingers drum against his leg as he gathers the nerve to speak again.

“Hey...”

“Yes?” Pearl says quietly, tone clipped. She’s still glancing out the window, turned away from him.

“How are you handling all this? Everything’s suddenly so different, and…” He grips the fabric of his pajama bottoms, his eyes burning hot. “I know you can’t say much about it, but I just wanna make sure you’re doin’ okay too.”

She finally meets his glance, her gaze glassy and wet. Her bottom lip quivers, so subtle he almost doesn’t pick up on it. In all the time he’s lived with her, he's not sure he’s ever seen her so vulnerable, and the sight of it drives a razor sharp point right through his heart. He takes a deep, grounding breath, and continues.

“And I want you to know I don’t blame you for this,” he reassures. “Even if you couldn’t tell us anything, that’s not your fault.”

“Thank you,” she says, her voice breaking.

“If there’s stuff I can do to make things easier, let me know?”

Her ice blue irises skate upwards as she deliberates, desperately grasping for an answer to his open ended question. Steven clasps his hands together in his lap, and simply waits in silent patience. His legs dangle back and forth over the edge of the couch.

Pearl sighs, her long suffering exhaustion evident. “If, in the future, you could avoid asking probing questions about your mother or abo- about my past on Homeworld, that would be a great help.” She presses her thumb and forefinger firm against her forehead, right under her gem. “It’s… painful, suffice it to say, when programming kicks in. And to answer your first question, I’m honestly trying not to think about any of it too much. Like you, it would seem,” she adds with a bit of a mirthful chuckle. “I can’t claim it’s good advice, but that’s where I’m at.”

“I’m sorry,” he repeats with a sniffle, leaning into her shoulder.

Tenderly, she wraps her arms around him and nestles her cheek against his mop of curly hair. It’s a blissful comfort, a wordless promise that more than anything else makes him feel safe. Secure.

“So am I,” she whispers, a tear slipping down her cheek.

__

Notes: 

I have a headcanon that Rose took ages to reform after Pearl staged her "shattering," and in the midst of that Pearl had to go into hiding with her gem so the Crystal Gems didn't learn their secret. During that, I imagine she probably lost Rose's gem at least once, and almost had the Gem equivalent of a heart attack. Which is why she's flipping out so much about it happening again, with Steven.

I also hc that Steven doesn't actually upset Pearl too often, out of the three main CGs. When she does get especially upset though, she's the type to give the icy silent treatment.

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

Maya?? Maya!!

also Athenas lmao

finally i am free to work on this

boy i sure hope we don’t get more info soon *squints at Amara’s character trailer just around the corner*

tl;dr: athenas. wow. uhhh temple areas with the weird vault-shaped statue things might be a teleportation hub or something like a Stargate cuz, uh… they’re probably not Vaults. i mean. given what we know maybe they are Vaults but not like vaults with important stuff inside, just teleportation vaults. you know what im trying to say? i mean it’s not like the eridians had any spaceships we’ve seen. but they had to get around somehow. 

also it’s possible the big temple area we see is on Athenas, is in that giant fucking pyramid in the background that i completely and totally did not notice for the longest time. 

i also discuss Maya and her thoughtlock skill (if she gets her powers taken away from her) and if she’s gonna die or not. because she’s got the Cloud Kill legendary (’oh noo she ded’), an apprentice (let’s be real, the cliches aren’t looking great), and she seems to working beside rampagers in that giant temple area (also another reason i think it’s on athenas) and tbh i didn’t see her tattoos in either of those shots (but that could be cuz she’s so smoll). so that’s cool. 

oh also the order of the impending storm was probably pretty respectable back in the day, since they can track sirens (maya’s assassin in son of crawmerax), and maybe that’s how maya figured out ava was gonna be a siren even tho she hasn’t manifested her powers yet. and Maya’s probably unearthing all this buried Siren/Vault knowledge and bringing the Academic District back into power while also protecting the Order from Maliwan. who’s still v sus.

wow we have a lot to go over

so to start, im taking a wild guess and saying the temple is on Athenas. why? because we really haven’t gotten a lot of looks at either of those areas too much (compared to promethea and eden-6) and the architecture lines up to me. 

also i, an idiot, was all like ‘mannnn Athenas is super mountainy, that’s wild. love it’ and neglected to realize there’s literally a giant fucking pyramid in the background of a lot of shots

on the right

behind the tower

to the right of ava

on the left

so i feel really dumb right now for not noticing this sooner and writing it off as a mountain. It's literally the fuckin Vault symbol like. ~triangles~. i played skyrim i should know what mountains look like when they’re not 1 polygon

either way, if that’s not at least part of the temple, it’s definitely important. somehow.

but let’s talk about the temple. the parts we know.

let’s try to look out the windows of this wild place

see cause this looks like inside a mountain

so my first instinct was eden-6 because we see a volcano on there

i mean im under the assumption this is eden-6???

bc all the plants match up

… maybe there’s more than one temple?

oh god i don’t wanna separate these by temple that’s going to be IMPOSSIBLE

but yeah i guess it’s possible there’s one on Eden-6 and one on Athenas… dear god…

but yeah my first instinct for that was ‘inside a volcano’

possible mountain on the left there

very rocky all around. im assuming this is underground or smth?

it feels like we’re underground

so maybe it’s a thing where it just keeps going further down. iunno.

it’s hard to place exactly where this is going to be because of the whole ‘underground’ thing

the part that’s throwing me off the most is this

because this looks like Pandora bc of Elpis and the rocks

and it looks like we’re walking outside a temple with the same friggen tiles on the floor, which means it is possible that this is The Temple, but you think we’d know about a giant-ass temple just on pandora. especially with the big dig site

but then we see a super similar dig site (supposedly on promethea). so what the HELL

im almost inclined to believe this is some sort of Eridian teleportation system. i know, i know, we have Sanctuary-III so it’s pointless. but… will we always have Sanc-III throughout the story? yada yada orange/gray -> blue/yellow/red markings. you get the dealio by now.

to

when taken by the cult or smth.

idk it’s possible we won’t have sanc-III for the entire game (just like normal sanctuary in bl2, in that we’ll get it back eventually (or ill kill someone for taking my room decorations)) and then we’ll have to use this wicked eridian tech to move between planets with these gateways. sort of like a stargate…

this thing is a stargate. I’ll call back to this in a hot second.

what kinda shit am i tripping on? i don’t really know. but given how it seems like these temples could be on ANY of the planets we see, im trying to figure out wtf the connection could be.

and give me this: we have never actually seen an eridian spacecraft, but we know they’ve traveled across the galaxy, putting vaults on different places. how in the fuck could they have done that if, you know, they didn’t have spaceships to travel through… space? 

well we know they have the power of teleportation down pat. i mean down so hard they were able to create a ‘teleportation gland’ that allowed a giant vault monster to teleport at will. (now im wondering if lilith has one… hm.) 

this blue thing (which… is the same color as siren stuff. okay. im sorry. i won’t get off topic this time. but it’s stewing in my gray matter)

and given that we know all the (okay, we only know for certain some) vaults open up into this other dimension (space place), would it be so hard to believe that they’re created links between planets using this dimension? i just… something isn’t right here and this seems like the most logical solution. 

take a look at Eleseer. look at all those holograms of labeled planets. of galaxies and stars in the distance. it’s possible eleseer is like the Hub for this teleportation system (explaining why it’s always open) and explaining why it’s got all those weird planet holograms sitting around. could also explain why Moon = Key.

These aren’t Vaults, they wouldn’t show up on the Vault Map- explaining why we never saw this one on Pandora- these are like… gateways or something, iunno. name pending until sept. 13th i guess.

so why tf am i going off about this on a post about maya and athenas?

because i think athenas has a gateway in it too

yeah you should recognize that thing in the background!

that’s this place!!! from the behind closed doors demo!!

and it still

doesn’t look like a vault to me

it’s intact (also it looks like stairs…). all the Vaults we’ve seen are 100% not intact. they’re all chunky and in pieces (we’re gonna ignore eleseer and uhhhh all that business right now, but even thinking about how the sentinel tried to emulate a vault by spawning it in chunks and THEN assembling it)

chunky

im just saying there has to be a reason these vault-like shapes are intact. they’re either just statues/monuments or they have a purpose.

so why tf am i convinced they have a purpose?

bc we’ve seen one light up

taken straight from the void itself (seriously it’s like a gradient back there. which is weird.)

so there’s gotta be a reason it does this right? and if it’s not a Vault, because it’s on Pandora and the Crimson Raiders would have seen it on the Vault Map, then what the fuck is it?

welllllllll i just don’t know. but my best guess right now is some sort of teleportation system to travel between planets. if there are ‘temples’ on every planet then it would make sense that there is some way for eridians to travel btwn them. 

personally i think there’s one on eden-6 (maybe in that volcano area??) and one on Athenas (cause we really haven’t seen a lot of athenas yet and… i dunno i just have a feeling). and there’s apparently one on Pandora (given we see it with elpis in the background) and possibly one on Promethea. i don’t know what that instagram video was trying to imply. i don’t wanna think too hard about it right now my brain hurts enough already as it is.

but uhhh i was gonna talk more about athenas than this

i promise this is gonna lead into maya

the academic district, with a Vault symbol on the door, to boot.

so this place is really interesting to me for a lot of reasons.

1. that vault symbol on the door

2. they’re flying flags with the vault symbol on it

3. giant pyramid in the back

it’s staggeringly huge

4. they have siren tattoos on the building in the back there. specifically, amara’s tattoos

yeah. maybe this is Partali? a smaller area on Athenas, like Meridian is a city on Promethea, and this is Amara’s way of tagging her presence/an area under her protection as the Tiger

more shots of Athenas from the amd horizons e3 stream

it’s a very pretty planet

so if anything, this is the place we’re going to go to learn about Sirens.

and i don’t know how much the Order of the Impending Storm actually KNOWS about Sirens, because all we know about them from maya’s backstory is that they were assholes and using maya to keep the people scared and giving them money

also that they knew how to track sirens

that’s probably important…

“Maya, you’ll like this next dude. He’s a Siren tracker named Mordo Sophis, Father of Brother Stephen Sophis, that dude you ganked back on Athenas. And boy, oh boy, is he just itching for vengeance.”

who isn’t, mr. mordo, sir? get in line

anyway apparently the Order knows how to track Sirens. Which could explain how Maya has a Siren apprentice when Ava uhhh apparently hasn’t manifested her powers (or tattoos) yet. might also explain how they got their hands on Maya when she was a baby. cuz yeah… i got the feeling they stole her and killed her parents… just a feeling.

y’know if tannis didn’t kill that siren tracker dude maybe she could’ve learned something from him first. that could’ve been interesting.

anyway, idk. maybe at one point the Order was respectable and, like, didn’t force people into giving them money by using sirens as a scare tactic. 

it looks like they have/had an academic district (which im sure maya is helping cultivate) focused on Sirens/Vaults.

and there’s a lot of importance on books this game

seriously

apparently

there’s

a

lot.

but let’s get back to this in a minute, because i do wanna talk about the name of the Order.

it’s full name is the Order of the Impending Storm.

I know while writing bl2 they probably didn’t know that they were gonna be building towards a war in tps, but it’s still interesting that they decided to bring them back into play now. because they 100% could have just left them as a background monastery that Maya came from and have maya refuse to return/start her own organization. but they made her specifically return there.

so does their name have significance now? i’d be willing to bet a yes. I mean, war is coming. Impending Storm sounds like it’d be a pretty fitting name for an organization that knew this. Especially because according to Maya’s cosplay guide, they worshipped her like a God (seriously lol are all Sirens worshipped as minor deities? most people know Sirens are Sirens right? like just people with magic powers..? hmmm)

And if Maya returned to learn more about Sirens, then isn’t it implied that the Order did, in fact, know more about Sirens than Maya did? hell, maybe even Tannis…

especially if the temple or eridian ruins are nearby. Say… In this giant pyramid…

so this doesn’t fit in with the aesthetic of Athenas at all. it’s almost like those are caution colors on the bottom strip there. warning you to not go inside. i don’t know if this was built by the eridians or by whoever is on Athenas to keep whatever’s inside… inside (cough Rampagers cough)

either way that pyramid is FUCKING HUGE

seriously, just compared to the academic district, it’s insanely big (that is the BASE in the background)

also guess who just realized this would be a hilarious joke by gearbox

to have pyramids built by ancient aliens. oh, you.

also, side note, there’s a crew challenge for moxxi in the academic district

i just have no idea how we’re getting up there…

oh but the Order. yeah i get the feeling they know A LOT about Sirens/Eridians. maybe even what’s about to go down. but maybe a majority of that was lost in the archives when some corrupts assholes came into power. and now Maya returned and is slowly but surely unarchiving everything we need to know about Sirens.

perhapith this book has some Siren-y knowledge within it? from someone who went into the temple on Athenas and… never came back out.

and I would bet Maya is waging war against Maliwan at the same time as she’s uncovering all this buried info (protecting the Order) because Maliwan is trying to get this info as well. 

Seriously, anyone else notice Maliwan is SPREADING?? They’re not just on Promethea. they’re on Eden-6. They’re on Athenas. They’re even fuckin on Pandora in some trailers (although I would not trust any trailer with roses at this point. something’s really fucky. I will make a seperate post about that i think, once we get Amara’s and Fl4k’s trailers). I’m really suspicious that Maliwan has either joined the cult, or they’re going to become the main villains. which, y’know, given corporations are the big bad in borderlands always… that seems about right.

I wouldn’t even be surprised if Maya/the Order knows something about the Children of the Vault. Given that one pic of her holding a book with the CoV symbol on it.

that she seems to be passing on to Ava

I dunno. I don’t think Children of the Vault is a name that the cultists/Calypsos just HAPPENED to come up with. And I still don’t think that the broadcast easter egg is from the Calypsos. it doesn’t make sense. I know I went over this in-depth in the Promethea post but god damn it im going to do it again because i feel so strongly about this.

i feel like the cult stumbled upon this name and decided to adopt it as their own. or tried revive an old cult with the same name. and if they didn’t, why in the hell does the message say ‘Do Not Open the Vaults’? How do the twins know about Tannis by name?

i mean, okay, granted we don’t know exactly how she fixed the Vault Map and it could be that the twins know how she did it. Because I still haven’t been able to place that one shot of them walking outside the Recruitment Center 

this one

and we know tannis fixes (??) the Vault Map in the recruitment center, so, maybe they saw it happen or there’s some sort of record in the vault map? that shows her fixing it and when they get to Promethea they send out that message?

i meannn she seems pretty surprised it’s functioning, herself.

so maybe they come while/after tannis fixes the key/map to get it back and Lilith like alright everyone let’s book it to Ellie’s garage with the Map. she’ll help us get to Sanc-III.

and in that they see that she’s able to fix it (possibly with weird Siren/Destroyer/Slag/pickurpoison powers) and that’s how they know Tannis is not what she seems.

and maybe the twins just don’t want their cultists opening the vaults because they want to be the ones to open it.

Sure

BUT that’s boring sauce to theorize about because it’s all just there. I’m still partial to the idea that Children of the Vault is actually referring to Sirens tho. It would explain why Maya has a book with the symbol for the CoV on it and is offering it to Ava. Because why would Ava need a book about the Calypsos? who would WRITE a book about the Calypsos?? and make it look THAT old? like… c’mon.

At the very least, it’s an old name for a cult that got revived by the Calypso twins.

At the most, it’s the name for Sirens.

Or it’s the symbol for the Order of the Impending Storm, back when they were respectable. tho you think we’d see maya wearing the symbol somewhere in bl2, so maybe not. unless she took it off her clothes because they had her try to kill unarmed civilians.

I mean, why is the cult’s symbol the Vault symbol upside down, anyway? We know that the symbol for the Vaults in Eridian is the upside-down V in a circle, because Tannis tells us so in bl1. So why would a cult of people who believe the Vaults to be their birthright go around slapping what is essentially the opposite symbol everywhere?

i personally wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the symbol for Siren or something, given how closely intertwined they both seem to be to that alternate dimension.

regardless. let’s keep going

so let’s talk about Maya’s fate in BL3. Is she gonna die? is she not gonna die? i dunno. let’s discuss.

i personally would not be surprised if she does, but i’d be a little disappointed regardless. if any Siren is gonna die… Lilith is going to finish her character arc this game. not that I want her to die, but still. I get that they gotta keep the Siren cycle going.

sooo one big point in the ‘maya dies’ category:

“Oh noo she ded” i mean. that’s just mean, gearbox. 

of course we don’t know if that’s talking specifically about Maya, could be talking about Tyreen, or a miniboss, or something. but i do think it’s interesting that it’s on maya’s legendary. plus uhhh given we had a death out of Roland in BL2, and in TPS 2 of those VHs died as well, I think it’s a given at least one BL2 VH isn’t gonna live to see the end of 3. as much as that actually physically pains me to type. 

And… to tip the scales further to Maya, Zer0 has crew challenges, which probably means they won’t be biting the dust anytime soon, unless you wanna completely ruin doing all the crew challenges by beating the game before doing the assassination quests. which doesn’t seem like something they’re keen on doing, if Roland giving out side quests had anything to say about it. Of course there’s always the argument that someone will take over Zer0′s crew challenges if they die, but… who would? Rhys? maybe. i get the feeling he might be too busy with Atlas though. Lorelei..? … i don’t know her well enough to make a statement on that.

taken from K6′s awesome legendary loot vid

Back to the legendary. we know it’s hers based off the name ‘Cloud Kill’, which is one of her best skills (after the buff lol). It’s a corrosive only Maliwan smg (as far as i can tell. it doesn’t look like there’s the option to swap elements. so it’s cool to know uniques might throw out their manufacturer’s alternate firing modes). i’m gonna take a guess and say it mimics cloud kill by spawning a cloud on top of enemies that are shot with it. that could clean out an entire room in seconds, especially on Amara with Phasegrasp.

anyway i got more

so Ava is Maya’s apprentice, hmmmm?

well i dunno about you guys but whenever a character gets an apprentice/kid/whatever, it’s not good news for the character. and given that borderlands definitely doesn’t need children to keep the premise fresh, I’m a bit worried for Maya.

Ava must be important to the main story, or they could’ve taken her out or put Gaige in. The devs themselves said they only wanted to bring in characters that they knew had significant importance to the plot and so that characters wouldn’t feel shoehorned in.

so there’s a few ways things can go down with Ava, using apprentice stereotypes:

1) She takes over after Maya dies/has her powers stolen/is brainwashed and helps us bring Maya back by proving herself using the stuff she learned from Maya (or, the stuff she taught herself that Maya said wasn’t important)

1b) she inherits Maya’s powers and Maya trains her in the way of Phaselock

possibly maya handing over her class mod or smth

2) she’s evil and the cult is using her to get info and secretly hates maya or whatever

Given Ava is like… 12… I wanna believe she’s not evil. of course we don’t actually know if she’s 12 cause apparently the Siren lore got messed up knowing Angel had her powers manifest at 5. but that’s not canon until mentioned in-game, so fuck it: let’s believe Ava is 12 and not evil and is just Maya’s kickass Siren apprentice.

The apprentice Maya was able to find because the Order knew how to track Sirens/determine if someone is going to exhibit Siren powers.

yes, let’s go with that.

So… what’s gonna happen to Maya, then?

I personally believe she’s going to have her powers stolen and used against her. One major part of her powers is that she’s able to ‘Thoughtlock’, which basically brainwashes an enemy to fight for her.

That sounds like it would be insanely powerful in the hands of the Calypso twins, especially since Maya has gotten more powerful since bl2, and tbh I can’t see them wanting to pass it up. Of course it could also be story-breaking, but let’s say they can only have one person ever Thoughtlock-ed at a time and suddenly it’s a lot less troublesome.

so this scene makes me do a big thonk

(also, another reason im thinking this temple area is on Athenas is bc Maya’s there! plus there are triangles everywhere. Triangles… pyramids… iunno. just spitballing)

also idk if this is just cause she’s super teeny-tiny buuuut

im worried i can’t see maya’s tattoos

she’s also entirely focused on the player instead of… oh, idk, the giant rampager right next to her

and idk it looks almost like she’s holding a gun and aiming it at us?

which hey, i wouldn’t jump to conclusions right away because she does have a skill that allows her to heal allies by shooting them

but also… if she doesn’t have her siren powers, then that’d just be like… regular shooting, wouldn’t it? and if she DOES have her Siren powers, why in the hell is she not using them on the giant monster right next to her???

we see her again in the background of this shot

again… tattoos not 100% clear.

she also seems to be taking radiation damage from the rampager! which is good. but also she doesn’t seem to care that much about it.

we can also see her gun here

sorry it was kinda being obscured by the youtube progress bar

but uhhh it’s not looking good.

boy i really hope Maya doesn’t die

we also know it was hinted that Krieg might be making a return! from his voice actor’s twitter:

tho, he also soon made a tweet after that was all like “this doesn’t confirm nor deny that krieg is returning” which, yeah i get that.

either way, if Krieg is coming back, it’d be interesting to see what goes down with him, especially if Maya dies. or even if Maya’s ‘just’ in trouble, I could see him going absolutely apeshit.

maybe krieg will sacrifice himself to save maya, somehow. maybe he’s have a moment of pure lucidity and save her. maybe she’ll die and he’ll lose his mind and become a boss battle. maybe she’ll save him and they’ll live happily ever after ;w; who knows~

maybe ava will have heard about Krieg through Maya and will go to get him to try and help save her. that’d be really interesting to see- krieg smashing through a wall with Ava riding on his shoulder lol

anyway, holy shit im exhausted. i gotta wrap this up because it’s like 1am and i’ve been working on this post for like… 3 days straight now. ech.

if maya does die, it would be interesting to see is Ava inherits her powers after we kill the Calypsos. like, would the powers try to go back to their original host? would they see she’s dead and just find another Siren to give the powers to? i wonder if maya dying/being about to die would be enough of a traumatic experience for ava to unlock her siren powers.

ohh it’d be cool if Ava unlocked her siren powers and used them to save Maya from the cult/brainwashing/whatves

alright. im tired lmao

good night.

[thelowlysatsuma]

holy hell au: the basics

so, i’m in the process of writing a more thorough post about this au and its world, but for now, @pipapatton and @loganberrysanders have inspired me to post the super rough version i first drafted out a million years ago. HERE WE GO!

okay, so it's the classic demon/angel au, right? expect that logan is the super uptight, "perfect soldier emotionless always follows commands" angel, and patton is the "if i gotta hurt someone/make them end up in hell, i may as well go for the really bad guys, right?" (cough fallen angel) i mean, demon

so heck uhhh pat and lo were technically created around the same time but poor pat never followed orders bc he always just wanted to do what was best for his honorary kiddos (aka humanity) and that led to him being kicked out of the angel squad, but like?? he's still such a genuinely decent being that all the other demons get super offended when anyone calls pat a demon bc they're like "um back the frick up me and him in the same category i think not". however, pat does mostly okay for himself in hell just bc he still technically is GETTING bad souls there, just.... AFTER they've done a bad thing, not HIM BEING THE CAUSE OF said bad thing

but anyway at the "story"'s start basically lo keeps trying to follow his orders but he keeps getting like. thwarted by some unknown entity. and then @ the same time he keeps running into this like overly cheerful mortal librarian who keeps trying to engage him in conversations about like morality and stuff and then one day he finds the entity who's stopping him and it's that same mortal – no, not mortal, DEMON – who kept trying to talk to him earlier (pat was masking his presence when he was talking to lo)

cue the "no logan it's not what you think" fight bc honestly lo was kinda getting used to having the cute lil mortal around and then he learns that??? this is a highly powerful demon who was (most definitely) distracting him from his duties? w h a t ?

so like pat gets hurt or something in the ensuing fight (which pat doesn't wanna have but isn't given much choice) and lo leaves but like bits and pieces from the convos he's had w/ patton keep like coming up in his memory and so finally he goes 2 pat and is like "explain" and so pat tells him the whole thing about being a fallen angel just bc he wanted to help humanity and so he and lo end up going on a quest to try and make the whole heaven/hell system more fair (like,,, maybe have a democracy controllong both of the sides instead of literally one being) but to do that they're gonna need help

enter roman, virgil, and thomas, who all have these like weird powers. pat knew ro from being a librarian and when he takes ro under his wing to help w/ powers and such ro thinks he's an angel and pat just kinda,, doesn't realize this?? (so like yeah that leads 2 betrayal fun times) and then lo literally pops in on virge during therapy (w/ picani, ofc) and is like "hello i'm an angel come w/ me to save existence" and poor virge is just like ??? he just wants a nap

and then virge and lo find thomas and they all meet up w/ pat and ro and there's like idk shenanigans and world saving stuff and yeah

so yeah uhhh just tagging some buds who might enjoy this? i guess?? @adultmorelikeadolt @coconut-cluster @lavenderthreads @cinnasides @ethospathoslogan @iassureyouicannotwrite

[enniewritesathing]

Get to Know Tag

Get to know me tag

Rules: tag some folks you’d like to get to know better.

Thank you for the tag, @switch-625 ❤

Nickname: Ya’ll can call me Ennie :)

Gender: Female

Astrological sign: Cancer

Height: uhhh, 5 foot. 5′2″ on a good day

Sexuality: I am swinging between Demi and Ace, but Ace is better fitting right now.

Hogwarts House: I never got into Harry Potter so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Favorite animal: I am gonna say the kookaburra. There is something about this bird I can really get with. Small, brown, little chubby, and makes the top 5 animal calls with their ‘laughing’. 

Number of blankets: Uhm... well, it’s getting hot here and I have 2 blankets. One of them is weighted (and I feel like I should get a heavier/bigger one).

Where I’m from: I was born in Louisiana. Not New Orleans. Right now, I’m living in Alabama and... oof, I gotta get the hell out of here.

Dream trip: You know what? I have no idea. 

When I created this account: Oh, like... 5 years ago? I dunno, but I’ve been on this site almost 10 years total. 

Why I created this account: Through Tumblr, I was really introduced to the idea of OCs. I’ve had some before, but as like this whole concept, I was like “oh man, other people do this? wild”. So, I made some. At the same time, I was doing this zombie apocalypse story. That... didn’t work out, plus, it was during the time I was in A Bad Place; it was just grimdark for no reason at all. I only made a few chapters of it. Then TS4 came out and I’m like “oh hell yeah, I can finally make my OCs the way I imagined them”. For the most part. It wasn’t a simblr, but a place to talk about my OCs. 

Then out of that, The Boys emerged because when I was writing the zombie story at the time, I was writing them like a couple but they weren’t; they were friends but as time went on, they grew closer. Then, I went ‘okay, ya’ll two are gonna be boyfriends’, but I didn’t know what their ‘dynamic’ was gonna be. It had been a while since I’ve had OCs that were a couple too, so, it was that and half practice. And... it snowballed from there. 

Then at some point, I wanted to make my own poses and whoops, I’m running a simblr. The simblr part, I didn’t know was a thing until I really got into it.

...hence my blog title, lol. A place for OC talk but also, sims.

I’m gonna tag everyone who hasn’t done it...