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xoxoladyaz · 11 months

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AU-gust, Day 3: Writer

TW: References to monster smut and genitalia, Shrek

Robin’s mad at him.

(Well, mad isn’t the right word. Frustrated? Annoyed? Shocked by his enduring stupidity? All of those are probably better options.)

“Seriously, dingus? You haven’t told him yet?!”

Steve anxiously ran his fingers through his no-longer perfectly-styled coif. “I’ve tried, Robin! It’s just kind of hard to tell the guy that you’re falling in love with that you write monster porn for a living!”

It had started when he was a senior in college, reeling from his break-up with Nancy and trying desperately to find anything to distract himself from his heartbreak. It was a total joke at first, trying to find the cringiest romances he could find and reading them with Robin as they got progressively more and more drunk on whatever cheap booze he’d squirreled away from Tommy that week. But then one night he found himself in bed crying when Matthias the Minotaur sacrificed his life for his one-true love and he couldn’t stand it because Matthias deserved a happy ending after everything he’d been through and Steve had read enough of these books, for fuck’s sake, he could write a better ending!

It was just a hobby for a while, a secret shame that got him through the doldrums of working for his father while trying to figure out what he wanted to do next. Steve could never keep anything from Robin, though, and while she initially teased him for writing “monster porn,” after she read one of his stories she demanded he submit it to some indie romance publishing houses and she didn’t give up until he had done so and now – well, now Steve was making a truly obscene amount of money off of his many, many monstrous and paranormal romance books (with Robin as his editor, of course) and had kissed his shitty parents goodbye.

(And if his pen name was his father’s name, which meant that anytime someone googled “Richard Harrington” the first thing that popped up were book titles like “Prisoner of the Gargoyle’s Heart” and not his father’s incredibly influential law office, well, that was just payback for twenty-five years of bullshit.)

The thing is, Steve isn’t even ashamed of it, not really. He’s always been a kinky guy, first of all, and besides, it’s not all about the sex (although his sex scenes are some of the best in the business and he hadn’t shied away from writing queer books when the rest of the world had.) What he liked most about the stories he wrote was that regardless of what his monsters had looked like, or lived through, or done in their past, or where they’d come from, they all found someone who loved them because of their differences - because of their monstrousness – and not in spite of it.

(And yeah, okay, he liked the sex stuff too. Who wouldn’t want to fuck a dragon with two dicks? Or Prince Titian, the golden-haired merman who had both sets of humanoid genitalia? Or Neptus, the half-man, half-octopus who had all those huge tentacles - )

“Dingus. Stop thinking about Neptus.”

“Huh?” Steve asked, shaking his head. “How did you - ”

“Because I know you, Steve Harrington, and there’s only one person slash fictional entity that you get that weird horny look for and honestly, I could have lived my entire life without knowing about your tentacle thing - ”

“ROBIN, it’s not – I don’t have a tentacle thing - ”

“ – but we can deal with your weird fetishes another day, right now we need to discuss why your boyfriend still thinks that you’re an accountant and the fact that you need to tell your boyfriend about your job so I can tell my girlfriend about my job so she understands why I need so much therapy and why I know so much about your sexual preferences - ”

“Jesus, Robin, I got it, I got it!” Steve stood and headed for his minibar. “Look, it’s not – it’s not that I don’t want to tell him, it’s just – people can get kind of weird about it.”

“Yeah, and those people suck,” Robin replied as she followed after him. “But Eddie isn’t Nancy or Tommy or Cheryl or Brad or Kel, he’s Eddie.”

“Yeah, world-famous-high-fantasy-author-Eddie-Munson! He’s, like, actually legit Robin! He’s won the Hugo Award twice!”

“He also likes to go to the Renaissance fair dressed up as a faun and annoy people by playing the pipes, Steve. And you’ve seen his weird monster dildo collection which I know you have too - ”

“I know, I know!” Steve exclaimed as he poured both himself and Robin a glass of Merlot. “I just,” Steve turned to face Robin and sighed. “I’m just scared, Robin. Like, it hasn’t even been that long but he makes me feel – I don’t even know, like, I haven’t felt this way about someone since Nancy, you know? And Eddie - this feels like it could be more than that. Like a forever sort of thing.”

Robin sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. “I know, dingus. And I know that people have you given you all kinds of shit in the past, but that’s not going to be Eddie. And if it is Eddie, I will kick his ass into the ocean and feed him to your squid-man.”

“Neptus isn’t a squid man, Robin - ”

/////

Robin was right, of course. Robin was always right.

(Except for when it came to best Marvel movie, she said Civil War when everyone knew that Thor: Ragnarok was the superior film.)

Anyways.

Robin was right, it was time for Steve to tell Eddie the truth. And Steve had known that too, knew that stretching it much longer than two months would probably end really, really badly, especially if Eddie didn’t take it well, but enough of his relationships (romantic and otherwise) had been ruined by people just not understanding or not caring enough to try to understand his stories or why he loved what he did, but Eddie was different. Successful and handsome and creative and intelligent? Sure, Steve had dated people who had all those qualities before. But only Eddie Munson spent hours on the phone with Steve’s friends, talking them through their D&D related problems. Only Eddie Munson showed up on their first date with flowers for Steve, when Steve was the one who normally had to go all out for his partner.

And only Eddie Munson would learn Steve’s favorite Taylor Swift songs in his free time (instead of the latest Metallica or Ghost) because he wanted to make Steve smile, which is what Eddie was in the middle of doing when Steve finally worked up the nerve to tell him.

“The stakes are high, the water’s rough, but this love is - ”

“Hey, uh, Eddie? I kind of need to tell you something,” Steve interrupted him as he walked into the living room, beers in hand.

Eddie stopped what he was doing at Steve’s entrance and beamed, setting his acoustic guitar off to the side. “Everything alright, angel?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I just – here,” Steve handed him a beer. He waited until Eddie had taken a sip (and swallowed) before continuing. “I, uh, well – look, we’ve been dating for two months now - ”

“Two months, three days and fourteen hours,” Eddie winked as he took another sip.

“ – and – right,” Steve flushed bright red at the look in Eddie’s eyes. “Right. Uh, anyways, we’ve been dating for two months and I just thought it was time to tell you and – okay, it’s not a big deal but it is kind of a big deal? But not what you’re probably thinking, I’m not, like, married or anything, I – I’m not an accountant, okay, I’m a writer!”

“I know.”

“ – not, like, a normal writer, I write – wait, what?” Steve gaped at Eddie. “You – what?!”

“Baby,” Eddie started slowly, his finger running in tempting circles around the rim of his beer, “you know I know people in the romance world, right?”

“I – what? You knew this whole time?”

“Yep,” Eddie shot Steve a sultry smirk along with another wink. “I knew exactly who you were when I asked you out, big boy. Or, I knew who Robin was and I put two and two together.”

“I – how?!”

“Baby, you didn’t even change your last name.”

Steve just sat there in stunned silence while Eddie continued to sip on his beer, a teasing gleam in his eyes. “But – I – and you’re okay with it?”

At that, Eddie’s smile grew a bit more serious, and he set his beer down on the coffee table so he could hold Steve’s hands in his. “Of course I am, sweetheart. You’re insanely talented, Stevie.”

“I – I write porn, Eddie. With monsters in it.”

“I know, it’s stupidly hot.”

“But you – it could hurt your career if people found out,” Steve said softly, sadly, squeezing Eddie’s hands. “People – people would give you so much shit, Eddie.”

Eddie squeezed back. “Steve, my nickname was ‘The Freak’ in high school. I was a poor kid with shitty parents who was raised in a trailer park. People have given me shit my entire life and frankly, I couldn’t give a flying fuck about what anyone said about you and your writing. If anything, people are going to ask me what the fuck someone as handsome and gifted as you is doing with someone like me.”

Steve snorted and Eddie let out a laugh. “I mean it! You’re like Prince Charming or some shit and I’m the ogre living in the swamp.”

Eddie froze for a few seconds before a maniacal grin overtook his face.

“Eddie?”

“Stevie, baby, have you ever considered a sexy Shrek retelling?”

“No. No.”

(“There’s an Ogre in His Swamp” was released on April Fool’s Day the following year. The author, Richard Harrington, posted a dedication in this book, the first of many that he would dedicate to his husband, E. W. Munson:

To my Ogre – thank you for being my happily ever after.)

#steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #stranger things #steddie fanfic #writer Eddie munson #writer Steve harrington #august fanfic challenge

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yelenasdiary · 1 year

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would you be able to do something with reader being an older sister to yelena? being able to be there for her when natasha couldn’t. or her being there for both of them in ohio and doing her best to protect them? preferably happy endings but whatever you think is best. totally okay if you can’t <3.

For Her

Pairing: Yelena Belova x Sister! Reader

Summary: It’s been a while since you last saw any of your younger sisters until Yelena shows up unannounced.

Angst | Comfort | End Game Talk | Mentions of Drinking | 0.6K

AC: I really liked this idea and wanted to give it a little twist, I hope that’s okay and you still enjoy this!

The loud knocking on your front door only got louder the longer you ignored it. "Y/n, please, I know you're in there" the familiar voice made you slowly approach the wooden door with caution before gripping the handle tightly, nothing could prepare you for family reunion that had played on your mind for many years.

"Yelena? W-what are you doing here? You" you paused as you let your eyes take in the now grown-up features of your youngest sister, "you're older" you said softly. "I need to tell you something, it's important" the blonde ignores your comment as she brushes by you inviting herself in. "Sure, I mean it's only been what? 5 years?" you mumble, taken back by your sisters need to rush into your home. You followed the young woman into your living room, she's unable to stand still and by the look in her eyes you now felt guilty for your sarcastic comment.

"Yelena" you step forward and slowly place a hand on her shoulder, "take a moment, whatever it is, we'll work it out" you offer as concern and worry quickly became the only emotions you could feel. Yelena shook her head as she did her best to blink away her building tears, you've never seen her likes this. "Lena, what's going on? are you hurt?" you ask as your eyes quickly trace over her figure for any signs of a wound.

"No" she turns to you and for a moment if felt like you could read everything that was racing through her mind. Her jaw clenches and her palms start to sweat just as quickly as the tears become free from her eyes. "It's Natasha" the words coming from her lips full of pain, you didn't need her to finish the sentence, but she does.

"She's gone, Y/n" your youngest sister breaks, finally for the first time. She drops to her knees but not before you can catch her as your own heart breaks into a million pieces for the beautiful red head you are proud to call your sister. "She's really gone" Yelena's sobs are too much for you to hold yourself together as you take her into your arms, allowing the two of you to cry in the safety of each other's arms.

----

Opening a bottle of vodka with tears still freely falling down your cheek, you pour three shots, one for Natasha, regardless of the situation. Yelena is quick to down the liquor down her throat shortly before you. "What happened?" you asked, breaking the silence as you pour the two of you another shot.

"Thanos happened" Yelena picks up her shot, "Natasha sacrificed herself to save the world" she adds earning a huff and a shake of your head, "Of course she did, it's who she is" you reply refusing to talk about Natasha in past tense. "You know, will Red Room and everything we've been through…I don't understand" Yelena looks at you, her eyes almost searching yours for answers you weren't sure you had.

"Understand what?" you ask, taking a seat at the small dining table.

"Why" Yelena shrugs, "Is it selfish of me to wonder why her?" she adds downing her second shot. "Of course not, but, I don't think it would've mattered" you paused to look at your broken sister, doing your best to now keep yourself together for the sake of her. "Natasha had a mind of her own and we both know if given the chance to do good, she was going to do it. I don't think you or I would've been able to stop her sacrificing herself if it meant saving everybody who turned to dust" you added with truth to your words.

"But" Yelena shakes her head, "I wanted more time with her".

"I know, I did too" you slowly stood from your seat and made your way over to Yelena, "she did it to bring you back and for her we have to make that worth it" you wrapped the blonde in a hug ignoring how much she couldn't stand hugs, "for her" Yelena whispered softly to herself.

#yelena belova #yelena belova x reader #natahsa romanoff #natahsa romanoff x reader #fanfiction #black widow #marvel

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sepublic · 2 years

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Honestly, I just… Feel BAD for Belos at this point. He’s easily the most pitiable character in the entire show, Philip Wittebane has probably suffered more than anyone else, in a way that is 100% deserved, karmic, that he totally brought on himself and can’t blame anyone or anything else for. Belos has just been constantly wallowing in this cold bitterness for the vast majority of his existence, been defined by it; He’s like freaking Ebenezer Scrooge.

Philip’s so lonely and desperate for validation that it’ll make him act stupid around Luz as he latches onto her for validation, even as poor Luz cringes because she does NOT want this guy, she didn’t ask for him, but at the same time she has to humor Philip’s pathetic delusions for the sake of everyone else. Thinking you’re better than everyone else, that they’re all lowly and subhuman, is inevitably an isolating experience.

And like! He very easily COULD have companionship, he has an entire SOCIETY and its generations fawning at his feet. But he refuses it, because it doesn’t match Philip’s arbitrary criteria. It’s such a sad waste, really. He wants a playmate and best friend, but under a VERY specific set of circumstances, in his own way, and it’s just… As Eda said, you sometimes just gotta step out and make your own family with what you have, instead of waiting and expecting it; Even IF it’s technically destiny for Philip to have another human ‘friend’ show up.

Is that part of his unhealthy obsession with Luz? She’s a human who helped him back when he was Philip, and even after centuries as Belos, she still didn’t fail to return to him after all that time and effort. It could’ve fed his delusions that Caleb would do the same. Belos is a manchild who misses and longs for his older brother to take care of him like before, and he’s throwing a tantrum over the loss. He wants a replacement, but on his own specific terms, because any other way would acknowledge that he can’t go back to the way things were, and isn’t that something we can all relate to? But even as he does everything to keep things the same or restore them, perform damage control, it just keeps getting worse.

He’s so clearly insecure, needling Luz for approval and validation from a peer. He’s like playdough in the palm of her hands under the right circumstances, look at how she makes Philip feel self-conscious over his fit! He knows and suspects that the world has changed, he’s collected the human garbage over the years, no doubt as some twisted form of sentimentality. The false vision he gives the Coven Heads proves that he’s aware of modern architecture. But maybe that’s just a SURFACE-level change, right?

He’s “How do you do fellow kids” but also to humans because he’s realizing he’s out of touch with THEM too, he’s become so lonely his monstrous form is symbolic, losing for himself what he sought for in others; So yet another thing he’s missed, a specific definition of humanity, is gone too. Belos wants to be told he’s still doing the “human” thing correctly even as he becomes something very much not.

Philip just flips back and forth between so easily vulnerable in his desperation, to frighteningly dangerous and petulant when he doesn’t get what he wants after sacrificing and prostrating himself; It must be terrifying, being on the receiving end of someone who places so much faith and responsibility as a burden on your shoulders, the pressure! He really is like the Collector, more than he’d like to admit. And now that cursed mirror of his, reflected in a literal mirror, has taken everything from him; As did Luz, playing into Belos’ insecurities, it must be utterly humiliating.

All in a way he brought on himself, of course; He CHOSE to project onto poor Luz, convinced himself he was her Eda, her jaded older mentor who finds a kid to adopt and teach, even as she fills the emptiness in his heart left by his forsaken older sibling, lost to the wrong cause. She PLAYED him, how could Luz be so cruel, Philip feels so bad for his poor self and wants to curl up and cry! Eda sometimes acted a bit rash in wanting to impress Luz for her approval, but this…!

It’s like he’s being punished for opening up, exposing his own soft spots in the process to someone he expects to be tender with, and then shuts himself up again once hurt; Because NEVER again, he just gets more and more embittered and cynical, more certain of the world as this cruel place that’s targeting HIM specifically. He rejects humans and thus his own humanity in the process. First Caleb, then the Grimwalkers, now Luz…

And now, Philip’s back home, and it’s all changed, the original idyllic vision that he depended on. It’s all been for nothing. Philip has tortured himself with the transformations, the mutations, and it’s all for nothing. Everyone loves Halloween and witches now. His home is unrecognizable to himself, as is he. He’s gone from a human to a drop of green goop. He’s become the feared cryptid monster alluded to in bedtime stories, the one Caleb would’ve protected him from. Philip’s been through so much mourning and agony over Caleb, over his idyllic and nostalgic childhood. I can’t imagine the physical agony as Philip rebuilt himself, wanting to scream but not allowing himself to remain hidden.

At this point, I HOPE he dies; Not because I’m sick of his character. But because it’d be a mercy killing. With all of his pain and agony and unsustainable wishes, with the childish and naïve certainty that he’s right, leaping at the chance to be told he’s right, the worn-down feeling over the years… For all my scorn, I also feel sympathy for the devil. He’s like Senator Armstrong, despicable but also legitimately hurt, he just wants this stupid world to make sense!

I hope that in death, Philip Wittebane can finally find the peace he’s been searching for, the rest he’s agonized and longed for over lifetimes beyond what any human should endure, amidst the green, green grass of home. There just isn’t any other course for this sad, tormented soul, beyond some blissful ignorance and denial in his dying visions of Caleb accepting him in the afterlife, having made it to heaven after all thanks to Philip’s timely intervention, having been shown the light after all! He DID save Caleb, they can be together, are you proud of me Caleb…?

I fucking LOVE villains with very human grief and loneliness who also totally brought this on themselves and are just so desperately deluded and isolated in their denial, in their futile coping by throwing themselves against this unsustainable idea, just the most PITIABLE and pathetic fucker ever. Still clinging because they’ll have nothing left if they let go. Philip is a sobbing child, kicking and screaming and burping because someone was mean to him, hurt his feelings and took his favorite toy away.

The world is always revolving around HIM and HIS comfort, so Pip can’t comprehend how anyone could be mean to him because he’s like the Main Character or something. He can’t understand that other people have their own lives and needs and wants outside of him, as Caleb did; It drives him MAD. He can’t keep living like this, with this shattered innocence and realization, and hopefully Philip won’t have to anymore. Not by living denial, because that clearly hasn’t worked across centuries of trial and error, chances; But with ignorant death. What a disturbing dude, not just to us but even himself.

It’s funny. Philip convinced himself of a recognition of the self in the other (affectionate) in Luz, while desperately ignoring the recognition of the self in the other (derogatory) in the Collector, whom he’s spent more time with than anyone else. I suppose a kid who truly reminds himself of who he really is would be the worst, because seeing another Main Character like you just hammers in that you’re not THE Main Character if others are; You’re not special if others feel the same as you. Empathy is the worst idea ever to a racist colonizer, imagine.

#the owl house #philip wittebane #emperor belos #character analysis

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theblackphoenixwritings · 3 months

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𝘋𝘢𝘺 19- 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘴: 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦

𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴/𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘰 & 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴/𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘜/𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 - 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 14 - 𝘌𝘕𝘋

From his position at the window, Amadeo saw advancing toward the town hall, behind the creatures, a woman, beautiful and terrible at the same time. Daniel approached him, and hissed in disgust, "Eudoxia." Amadeo looked at Daniel and then back at the woman who was now standing in front of the entrance they had barred " She's one of them…. " Amadeo murmured, Daniel nodded, "Bastard, she's been a thorn in Marius' side all these years, like her husband, who I hope is burning in hell now" Daniel added " Apparently in the end the best among them was her, I wouldn't be surprised if finally Eudoxia, decided to get him out of the way, and take all the power she's always wanted."

Daniel shook his head," Apparently she wanted a lot of it, if she sacrificed her husband and made a pact with these creatures." puzzled Amadeo concluded. In the meantime other ghostly figures, made themselves visible, among the buildings of the city only to disappear in the rustle of the wind, with malevolent smiles. " You need not fear, no harm will come to you, if you decide to cooperate," Eudoxia's voice rang out clear and detestably sweet " It is not our intention to kill you, unless you give us reason to do so. We are willing to keep you alive … as you keep your animals alive, those who feed you, you will be treated as good animals, and you will sustain us with your lifeblood as we prepare the arrival of our Queen."

resumed her perverse laughter " And you can boast and be proud to say that from this little hole of a city, the rebirth of the true masters of the world has begun: We, the creatures of the night" continued Eudixia "Soon you will have no place to hide, or a god to ask for help, or a family to belong to, you will only be animals. Animals that will serve to increase and nourish the creautres of the night. This is your destiny and the only real reason you walk the earth. You will go back to being docile animals to be raised, from which to derive pleasure or pain or whatever we would like" Eudoxia's eyes shone in the night, a cold and merciless light " That is if you want to keep your little insignificant life, otherwise…. you can die even now. You have one day to decide, or we will decide for you, humans." And with that the creatures vanished into the darkness that had descended on Cripple Creek. People began talking animatedly, and before long there was a chaos of voices overlapping and shouting.

Amadeo shook his head at that spectacle, Daniel looked seriously angry. What could they do? Amadeo could not believe that there were those among them who were willing to accept those absurd demands. For the sake of everyone and those we love, Amadeo laughed, how stupid or was it really possible to consider it innocence? Did they really think it would be a life living as pets for those creatures? Amadeo knew what that meant, as he knew that no one there would listen to him. He got up and walked to a large room, found a small hatchet, resting among the tools near the fireplace, and with determination began to chop up the huge wooden table. Daniel watched him lean against the door jamb, his gaze between sad and worried. Amadeo continued until the table was reduced to thick wooden boards, after which he began to cover the windows, of the room. Daniel joined him, but he kept staring at the people in the other room, noticed that some were doing the same thing as them, others were shouting at them. Amadeo stared at the back door, which gave onto the outside, near the fireplace, it was practically hidden recessed among the intricate patterns on the wall.

Amadeo, considered that it must be the same on the outside, if it was designed as some kind of hidden escape route. "Does Marius know about this door?" asked Amadeo softly " He had it built" laughed Daniel "For safety, he told me a long time ago," and Daniel shrugged in a gesture of disbelief." Is there any hope that he will think about it, or any way to let him know that he can join us here?" asked Amadeo almost in desperation. Daniel stared at him " If Marius and Thorne return to the city they are doomed, have you seen how many creatures are out there? There are only two of them. There is no way they can survive." and Daniel fiercely and angrily wiped away a tear that was running down his face. " I can go and warn them," Amadeo said decisively, Daniel's eyes widened " Are you crazy or what? They will kill you or capture you and I think it's even worse!" said Daniel spreading his arms wide. Amadeo shook his head, he had to do something. At that moment there was a thud and screams, gunshots and cursing were heard, there were sounds of things being smashed and broken unceremoniously. Amadeo and Daniel ran into the common room, some of the inhabitants had been fighting each other, breaking chairs, tables and vases. Some shouted that no one would open the doors of the town hall, others that they would come out at any cost. Then the gunshot had resounded, fired overhead. Everyone had stopped, frightened.

A man holding a woman, who was carrying a child, stared madly at everyone, pointed his gun at the crowd, some backed away, then opened the door and walked out, followed later by others. Various people inside shook their heads, but that did not stop the group from pushing out of the building. In an instant the people were surrounded and while some were dragged away, screaming, others were taken and shared as a meal by the creatures, until their screams became gasps, and while all this was happening before their eyes, chilling screams were heard from afar, it was not a good fate that befell those who had been carried away. Then in an instant, blood soaked the earth and the feast was over, the creatures seemed determined to take advantage of that stupidity once and for all and enter the door, but Amadeo and Daniel closed it together forcefully. Claws scratched at the door as unconscious noises came from outside. Daniel barred the door. Amadeo, approached the window, and in horror stared into the lifeless white eyes of the child and the mother, who now lay together in the earth made muddy by their own blood.

Meanwhile outside Cripple Creek

Marius and Thorne were exhausted. They had no longer been able to get a sense of time passing.

They had fought the creatures relentlessly. Finally they had taken shelter in the abandoned chapel in the cemetery near Cripple Creek. They had almost no ammunitions, and they were close to giving up, the horses were exhausted and huddled at the bottom of the chapel wall. Both Marius and Thorne had no idea how to get out of that situation. The only luck they had was that the chapel had been sealed, after it had been abandoned, and because they had forced it open, the only way in was through the front door. The moans and cries of the creatures were a clear sign of their anger and the fact that they had no intention of giving up or leaving. Marius was shoulder to shoulder with Thorne both were leaning against the old rotten wooden pedestal on which the lectern of readings stood. They were dirty, had dirt in their hair and on their sweaty clothes, some scratches and bruises on their faces and bodies, nothing serious, but they were annoying and painful. Thorne was counting how many bullets they had left, they had long since run out of bullets for rifles, and were using colts. Marius was looking at the dark sky, from a crack in the roof, they could glimpse a few stars, so it was night. Thorne stared at Marius who smiled at him " That's not a bad way to die, plus you have very good company, you don't have much to complain about" laughed Marius, Thorne snorted and laughed.

They laughed together as if they were in the saloon over a beer, as they often did in the evenings after dinner, they laughed together as friends do, the real ones, who laugh with you when you do it with a happy soul and when you do it with a torn soul. For better or for worse, a friend knows how to give you that smile that alone you cannot feel dawning on your face. Marius sighed " How many will be left?" he asked " Hard to say, it seems to me there were at least five of them, but I could be wrong" Thorne said. They looked at each other, what could they do? Then something caught their attention, there was an explosion, and then shouts and gunshots, horses neighing, frightened, and more gunshots rang out in the silence. Marius and Thorne stood up, Marius offered his shoulder of support to Thorne, who had a painful wound in his leg, caused by the claws of one of the creatures, and could not walk properly. They approached the door uncertainly, Marius opened it a little, and to his surprise found himself reflected in Zenobia's large eyes.

" For crying out loud! When you said you needed help, we didn't think you had gone to bust Satan's balls!" blurted out the pretty little girl, Marius thought he saw Thorne's eyes pop out of their sockets and laughed heartily. " Good to see you dear Zenobia, Avicus, Mael," and Marius nodded his head to the two friends, Avicus returned it with a big smile and Mael with a snort distorting his mouth." This is Thorne, Thorne, they are old friends, whom you know only by reputation." said Marius, Thorne scanned the group and touched his hat in greeting. " So do you want to tell us what's going on?" asked Avicus. And Marius tried his best to be concise and quick. It was certainly not a good idea to stand there for a long time. When Marius finished telling the story the three stood staring at him dumbfounded, but the evidence was undeniable before them in the creatures' corpses. " They've probably already taken the city, I don't know what happened, but I think this unnatural silence so close to the city is a very bad sign." said Marius looking at the ground to avoid showing the worry and pain in his eyes.

"The best thing is for someone to go scouting, to get an idea of the situation." said Zenobia " I'll go. " said Mael coolly, spurred his horse, without waiting for anyone's opinion, and set off. The group moved away from there and decided to position themselves on high ground near the mountains, so that their backs were covered and the height gave them some sort of advantage. Marius and Thorne collapsed, exhausted; Zenobia and Avicus remained on guard, staring at the dark and silent city from up there. When Marius awoke, Thorne still slept beside him. Zenobia had taken care of their minor wounds, and had fixed Thorne's leg as best she could, it had taken stitches, but Thorne had not complained and it seemed that his face in sleep, had regained color and health. Marius sat up and saw that Zenobia, Avicus and Mael were intent on confabulation. Marius stood up quietly so as not to wake Thorne and approached them, Zenobia was saying how the best opportunity was that moment when most of the monsters were gathered in the saloon. There seemed to be the center of something vital to them there. A kind of command center. Marius wanted to know what Mael had seen. They explained to him,that there were dead people scattered around the city, corpses left there, Mael had noted the movements of the creatures around the city, they seemed to be waiting for something or surveying something. This had made Mael suspicious, and as he got closer, he could see movement inside City Hall. Someone was going to great lengths to try to fortify it. It was clear that those who had survived were in there, and they were trying to find a way to fight back. Mael had noticed a woman and a man in black who often, walked around the town confabulating animatedly. He had seen them giving orders to others and being obeyed immediately, from this Mael had deduced that the two of them were the leaders of that group.

" Eliminating both of them is a priority, but the other creatures may not give up despite the death of their leaders, and we must take that into account." observed Avicus " Even so, it is not possible to contemplate letting them go, they must be exterminated." retorted Mael, firmly, then looked at Marius who was nodding. " You have not seen the horrors they are capable of, Avicus. My Daniel says that not all of them are the same, don't ask me how but he knew these creatures. The fact remains that the ones we are dealing with want to carry out some sick, and destructive plan against us. I can't let that happen," Marius murmured. Zenobia nodded. It was decided, they had to find a way to exterminate those creatures and save the people in the town hall.

So it was that silent and watchful the five descended toward the town of Cripple Creek. Zenobia and Avicus took over the town limits and sentries. Mael, the saloon, thanks to Marius and Thorne, who accompanied him from a secret passage, from which the owner smuggled moonshine, under it with dynamite. The whole saloon and perhaps what was around it would be destroyed, but those creautures clustered there would have no way of escaping the explosion. Making sure this happened quietly and lethally was Mael's job. Marius and Thorne, they would take care of the town hall. They were to find a way in and ensure that Zenobia and the others were there with them before the explosion. At that point it would have been open war. Marius and Thorne approached quietly and crouched at the back of the building. Zenobia and Avicus seemed to be doing a great job of eliminating the sentries. Marius approached the glass of one of the large windows. He peered in and from what little he could see through the beam that had been put there, the surviving inhabitants, as they had imagined were in there. Marius' gaze was drawn to a auburn hair that stood out among all the others. Amadeo, God thank you, and immediately beside him, Daniel's ashen hair filled Marius with pride, love and fear at the same time, so much so that his eyes misted with tears.

It was at that moment that as if there had been an invisible connection between them, Amadeo, turned and glimpsed the blue eyes of Marius, and he could never have mistaken them for anything else. In a moment Amadeo was on his feet, and to Daniel's amazement he was running gesturing toward the window. Marius looked at Thorne, who frowned and shrugged his shoulders, and they both headed for the spot indicated by Amadeo's gestures. Something to their immense astonishment moved along the wall of the building, and both lawmen reflexively brought their hands to their guns. The wall rippled as if by a spell, and then it opened, and Amadeo sprang out, into Marius's arms. In the next moment Marius was swamped not only by Amadeo but also by Daniel, who had thrown himself in the same way as Amadeo onto him.

-A few hours later

Marius and Thorne had organized the people inside the town hall. Marius hoped with all his heart that it would not come to as much as a fight, but he was certain that both Santo and Eudoxia would not die so easily. Could two creatures like them accomplish the destruction of all city life? Marius had no doubt, that they could. He had hidden the women the children and the elderly. He had chosen the men and women who could shoot; there were not many of them. He had positioned someone on the roof, built barricades, in case, the creatures managed to get in. Marius hoped that most of the creatures would perish in the explosion they had prepared, but he was not foolish enough to think of killing them all with it. They waited, silently, and with attention the moment when the explosion would be heard. That moment came a couple of hours later. It was at that moment that everyone got ready with rifles and pistols at the ready, behind the barricades. The rumble made the ground shake and the large glass chandeliers swing, some paintings fell off the walls, and white plaster dust fell from the ceiling. Lights came and went and some broke. The window panes flickered but did not give way. That immense noise rumbled inside them for a couple of minutes before subsiding. The door shook vigorously and everyone was put on alert, but when sharp blows were heard everyone was ready to fight. A moment later it was chaos. The remaining creatures rushed into the town hall intent on sowing death and destruction, the inhabitants defended themselves and fought back with boldness and resolve. Marius' voice would be heard from time to time, strengthening the spirits, encouraging everyone with orders and commands. Thorne did likewise. Amadeo and Daniel fought side by side, determined to save what was their home and the man they loved, who was now, fighting on the front lines against those creatures. There were deaths on both sides, some were wounded and some killed, no one was going to give up, they were fighting for their lives. That battle went on for hours, until under the dismayed eyes of Amadeo and Daniel, Marius was struck and projected by an unclean force against the wall, the impact then causing him to fall to the ground on his side and spit blood. In front of them what had been Father Saint laughed, smugly showing his wolf fangs. Amadeo had already jumped to defend Marius, but he was hit and it was Thorne, who had moved to prevent Amadeo from exposing himself, who braked that tremendous impact and saved Amadeo. Both found themselves breathlessly slammed against the wall opposite Marius'. Santo advanced toward Marius, his long-clawed hands moving eagerly; Marius looked unconscious and terribly helpless and defenseless. It was at that moment that Daniel shot Santo, the power of the colt, projected him back, and blood gushed from his slender figure. Daniel fired again and again and again, and with each step and shot he moved Santo away from where Marius lay. The bullets nearly broke Santo's body in two, and he lay motionless on the ground. Daniel continued to pull the trigger even when now unloaded the gun emitted only a groan.

A moment later Santo, got back up and with a wicked grin pounced on Daniel, who was now completely defenseless, it was a moment, a shot rang out from the back of the room, and Santo in front of Daniel, no longer had a head, and sagged turning into a pile of black ashes, the fierce breeze, coming through the door swept it away. Daniel turning around, saw the gun in Marius's hand, which curled up against the wall, from pain he had fired, flawlessly. In the midst of that chaos, in the battle that still continued, Thorne and Daniel rejoined Marius, who looked bad, but seemed intent on remaining among the living. It was at that moment that both Zenobia and Avicus were thrown down the stairs, losing their rifles, the thud resounded loudly and made the wooden floor creak. Eudoxia at the top of the stairs was smiling. A moment later Mael made the same end by going down not far from Marius, unconscious and unarmed. Eudoxia descended the stairs elegant and refined, brought her merciless eyes to Marius, and was pleased with what she saw, but it was not enough.

As the smile widened on her face, slowly with inhuman slowness she approached Marius, Daniel, and Thorne. Marius pointed the gun, Eudoxia blew, and with a movement that none of the three of them could perceive she flung Marius' gun across the room and laughed. " I will kill first your friend, then your love and finally you!" she shrieked, widening her eyes " And then I will wipe this hole off the face of the earth, and rebuild on its rubble a kingdom for our queen!" The instant Eudoxia stepped forward to pounce on them, something cleaved the air. A moment later Eudoxia was shrieking and burning. The air was wounded again by a hissing sound, and Eudoxia let out gruesome cries. Amadeo stuck another flaming arrow and plunged it into Eudoxia's forehead. The fire devoured her and all that remained of her as if by Santo was a pile of black ashes, which the breeze carried away.

-A few months later

The summer breeze lightly caressed Cripple Creek. All that remained of that immense battle were stories told to frighten the children who would not sleep. People did not want to surrender the truth of that secret had lived outside world, perhaps, not even their own. So everything was narrated as an attack of outlaws, and the inhabitants were seen as an examples to be followed. Nobody knew of the horror they had faced and fear, still in the nights storm, resonated in the hearts of all. Zenobia, Avicus and Mael, left town a couple of weeks after that fight, decided to go talk to Teskhamen and together, with the support of the tribe, founded an order dedicated to studying and defending the world from the threat of the sleeping queen. They hoped that future generations would never see the awakening of the terrible queen, but they were determined to gather information and to study and try to understand that mystery and many others. Thus was born what is now called Talamasca.

Thorne, he stayed altogether and remained at Marius's side as deputy sheriff. Now more than ever his faithful nature and strong presence was a support for the sheriff and for the whole town. Daniel continued to write, but not only as a reporter, he devoted himself to writing a series of novels centered on the figure of a splendid sheriff and his charming love, a purple-eyed reporter. Needless to say, he was a resounding success. Amadeo, devoted himself to study, he wanted to become a lawman, needless to say, however, that actually his favorite subject remained a specific lawman, a blue-eyed sheriff, whom Amadeo loved more than himself.Marius recovered and returned to his role as sheriff with renewed commitment and tenacity, and with love and infinite tenderness to Daniel and that auburn-haired boy who had stolen his heart, Amadeo.

END.

#western AU #Western AU END #VC #my writing #writing challenge #marius/armand #marius/daniel

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monkey-d-ezekiel · 10 months

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One Piece - Chapter 1090 "Admiral Kizaru": Thoughts, Theories and Discussions

The cover of this chapter is very interesting! I don't particularly think much of East Blue villains other than Arlong, but Kuro was always an interesting one for me. His plan was the most befuddled mess I've ever seen, and his ending was... ambiguous? He was also one of the first villains with a leaning towards intelligence and his entire appearance screamed sophistication. So it's interesting to be reminded of this guy on the cover, even if his arc was a massive dud!

As for the actual chapter, it starts off very typically, with Luffy telling the Gorosei that he'll be the King of the Pirates. I love that Luffy never changes. He's always the bull in a china shop, who Robin and Nami have to restrain.

It's interesting how Big News Morgan, Wapol and Vivi are listening in on this conversation. I'm pretty sure that'll play a role further on in the story.

I'm also interested in what Rob Lucci's motives are here, along with Kaku. He seems to be going along with the Straw Hats for now, but he IS informing the Gorosei of everything that's happening. I doubt he's going to defect, honestly. Neither will Kaku. Lucci's goals and values simply don't align with anything the Straw Hats stand for. Though he will have to take a decision, since the WG doesn't really seem to care much about sacrificing his life.

Not to mention, this arc gives HEAVY Sabaody vibes. Admiral Kizaru, the Seraphim and the fast paced lore dumping all seem very much like they've taken their inspiration from the style of storytelling in Sabaody Archipelago. Also, i HATE York. Absolutely hate that bitch. Just thought I'd put that out there

I'm pretty hype for Elbaf! I've been eager to see the Island of the Giants, since it's heavily hinted that it's an important place in the world of One Piece. We've been hearing about it since when, Little Garden? I'm also interested in seeing if Usopp gets a major upgrade in Elbaf, because his connection with the Giants has been established and shown a few times throughout the series.

I gotta say, we're getting to know more about Kizaru chapter by chapter. It goes against his ideals to ignore a man who's sincerely doing his duty? I think Kizaru might be a more morally complex man than he lets on with his "high all the time" facade coupled with sarcasm. I'm interested in seeing how Sentomaru and the Pacifistas vs Kizaru unfolds

Also, I really don't feel comfortable with the Hancock Seraphim. Like I know Oda cleared up the accusations, but still. It doesn't seem right and it feels more like it was a coverup for the sake of publicity rather than the actual intention, you know? So I can't help but be uncomfortable with the way people are behaving around S-Snake, as well as the way she behaves with Luffy. Also, could this Bubble that they've trapped the Seraphim in be the answer to DF users in some way? It seems intriguing, at the very least. I do hope all the other Seraphim have their personalities blossom as well. Can't wait for an awakened Doflamingo Seraphim 💀

Last but not least, we get a Coup de Burst after so many years! I missed the Thousand Sunny specialty and I'm glad to see it return. It's so cute to see Franky explain to Vegapunk that the ship is powered by COLA of all things 😭😭

Overall, a very good chapter, and it has some aspects that I can't discuss without making this too lengthy. So i'll do an in depth analysis of Kizaru in some time, but for now, I'm eager to see if the Straw Hats can escape Egghead Island! I love the idea of revisiting the Sabaody themes and story beats, and especially eager to see Kizaru vs Luffy. Do y'all think Kizaru can take the W against G5 Luffy? I wouldn't underestimate a Navy Admiral, but Luffy is a Yonko for a reason, after all. Who do y'all think has the edge? Will Kizaru perhaps defect just like Aokiji?

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winterpinetrees · 12 days

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Into the Honest Desert (The Gap Years Part 18)

June 30th 2019

Las Vegas, NV

The road trip resumes. How does one write distinctive dialogue? How does one write (risky, involving an elf) romance? I can do neither and I must do both.

……………

Brian has realized that this is the island of the lotus eaters, and he really hopes that doesn’t make him Odysseus. He and his friends have spent the past nine days on the Las Vegas Strip, a few manicured miles of electric lighting that promises safety with its high population density. They left once, rediscovered the mythical horror of plague, and then turned right back around. They need vaccines, they need allies, and they need a goddamn plan. Would Brian rather risk death than stay here and wait in luxury for the end of the world? Once he rode his bike off of a woodland trail and tumbled halfway down a mountain before stumbling back out with a mad grin. He’s been hurt in fights more times than he can count, and only learned to stop once he was on a school wrestling team and seeing blood meant pausing the match. Once he swung a crowbar at an enemy soldier so hard that its ribcage shattered and it bled out into the pavement. He’s more of an Achilles than an Odysseus. He’s not desperate to make it home.

They’re in different rooms now than when they first arrived, for the sake of secrecy. The humans have a suite of their own again, but most nights one of those beds is empty. Brian is political-dynasty-rich and a varsity star. He knows that everyone up to and including the media think he’s some manipulative jerk for sleeping around. Zerada… Zerada is a very different sort of situation. The noblewoman might as well be Circe, minus the ability to turn ancient Greek sailors into wild animals. She’s ninety-four and basically a princess and if this is a horrible choice, then he is the one that’s going to pay. Honestly though, Brian’s already on a deadly quest to save the world. In the shadow of such a stupid, self-sacrificing decision, he’s not going to bother with second thoughts. If he gets turned into a pig, then Clay and Sierra can laugh at him once he’s back to normal. He’s having a good time. He’s not an idiot. He promises.

They’re all ready to leave this place. Clay’s been distraught since they saw the victims of Project Excalibur, and Sierra can’t stand the noise. The three of them have been working to see where other elves might be. If they like to hide in ruins and forgotten villages, then the American West is full of possible locations. There’s so few people out here. That’s the problem though. Marin and Zerada have been very clear that their enemies know exactly where they’ve been staying, they just won’t risk an attack because there are so many people nearby. They will be hunted the moment they step out into the desert. Brian remembers the attack in Vya, that little Nevada ghost town. Clay mentioned the place to a local in another town just before he was charmed, and he assumes that the boy told on him. Of course, they also need to gather allies while maintaining utter secrecy.

Their only advantage is speed. Sierra’s car (The Audacity, for the years it took to make) is electric and the elves can charge it while they move. It can seat five, but it certainly won’t be as comfortable. She’s confident that it can handle going a hundred miles per hour, and that she can make repairs if it comes down to it. With illusion magic and relatively desolate highways, Brian’s told everyone to expect that pace. What that actually means is that they could get to Salt Lake City or Tucson by tonight, or easily reach the Atlantic Ocean by the Fourth of July. If they make up their plans as they go, the elves think they can outrun Ishtar’s forces. They’ll have to change roads often, travel constantly, and be ready for an ambush, but it’s possible. All of that sounds less stressful than finals week, so Brian’s down for it.

They’re leaving today, even though Zerada has booked the rooms for another night. Hopefully they’ll be lost in the shuffle of tourism and the elven government won’t notice they’ve left. Even as they leave the city, disappearing into the crowd remains their only hope. The United States of America has a population of nearly three hundred and thirty million. That’s a third as large as the entire elven world. Without data sorting algorithms (advanced technology breaks down around magic. He’s heard Sierra talking with Marin about the details), tech like license plate readers and facial recognition becomes far less useful. They’d still totally have been caught by now without Marin’s illusions, and they still have to take precautions.

The team has split up to do some tasks of their own. (jokes about not splitting up in a horror film have been shockingly rare). Sierra and Marin are trying to check the car for tracking devices, though the pair might have gotten distracted. Clay’s taken on the job of organizing Marin’s messenger bag so they can actually find things in the heat of the moment, and Brian’s back in the room leaving a paper trail. On some level, he and his friends got into the colleges they did because of their fathers, but they are also very good at what they do. While Marin and Zerada ran off to wherever, the three of them scanned the entire Mountain Time Zone for places where elves might hide. There’s an old rocket testing facility in Utah surrounded by industrial waste, an abandoned site once used for creating chemical weapons, and, of course, thousands of square miles of not-quite untouched wilderness. He’s packing up most of their research, but leaving a little behind. Surely the elves will search their room soon.

The plan is to stay in the desert for a while longer. However, most of what he’s leaving behind points north to Idaho and Montana. He’s no spy (he’s just read a few books about them) so his work isn’t anything particularly good. He imagines a bunch of paper-pushing bureaucrats in a place that looks straight out of Middle Earth getting fed up with the misinformation, but they probably won’t fall for it. Either way, they’re heading for the hottest region in the nation, and he’s worried how well Marin can handle it. He’s agile, but weak. No, not weak. The elven prince is fragile. Brian remembers his carnival duel against him and how Marin never lost a game about accuracy or balance. He’s certainly an athlete, just not the same type as Brian.

There is a quick beep from the door. He bolts upright, hand moving to the holster on his belt. The door swings open. A tall woman smiles back at him. Zerada Adust. Brian slowly moves his hand away from the gun and smiles. Her hair is loose and she wears a stylish cut-out shirt that is probably as red as his blushing face.

“Don’t go and do Ishtar’s job for her,” she laughs. “Are you almost done? It’s about high noon”.

“Yeah, I was just checking to make sure we hadn’t left anything important behind”. He feels this need to justify himself to Zerada, but why shouldn’t he? She has the easy confidence of a person who knows she is the most important person on a team. It’s been a long time since Brian was the star.

“Sorry to drag you away on this quest. There isn’t much where we’re going”.

“You have no idea how human you sound. I’m from a desert family, and they love this stuff”. She leans against a wall and says something with what he guesses is a fancy elven accent, “our burden as nobility to preserve the worlds”.

“But you wanted more”. It’s not a question. He’s already heard about Zerada’s love for all things new and thrilling. It’s a desire he recognizes, and what drew him to her in the first place.

“I do”.

“So the desert is it?”

“So the desert it is”.

He gathers the few items that aren’t already with Clay and brushes imaginary dust off of his shorts. Brian has no delusions that Zerada is a kind woman. He is a passing interest to her, a boy clever and attractive enough to have earned some of her time on this deadly mission. He tells himself she would sacrifice him in an instant to save herself. It’s almost refreshing. He throws an arm around Zerada and gives her a kiss. There’s no debts or legacies, just two people in the same space with no reason to do anything else. Unlike Clay, he is not a person with a need to plan. Worrying about something bad just hurts you twice, right?

He finds the other three members of the party gathered around the car on the top level of an underground parking garage. The ceiling lights are dim and warm, but the car itself has Back To The Future style rear doors and cool fluorescent accents. It’s a prototype from her father’s company. It had too many flaws to go to production, but she and her mom tried to fix one themselves. The Audacity, as the Brackens call it, looks like a spaceship. It matches the Vegas Strip, but not the infrastructure underneath it, and it will be all too recognizable out in the desert. Sierra unplugs the charging cord and tosses Brian the keys. (Luckily, the curse has mostly affected her left arm). The car can more or less drive itself but always obeys the speed limit.

They take their seats and the doors swing down into place. Brian is the driver, his sleek black sunglasses resting on the dashboard until they get to the surface. Zerada has been offered the passenger seat again, mostly because no one dares to take it from her. Clay and Marin sit by each back window, and Sierra is in the middle. He puts the car into drive. Clay fiddles with a paper map and passes it forward. Their first stop is a state park less than an hour away, just for fun.

The car radio crackles to life as they leave the garage and reach the surface.

“New stop or new state means new music!” Brian says triumphantly, as he’s the next one in their rotation. The radio is still set to Sierra’s 80s rock. He prefers modern pop, specifically the more hip-hop side of things. He’s not really musical though. The Vegas Strip is a road lined by hotels on either side. All of that flair has been replaced by square buildings and dust by the time that they pull onto the Las Vegas Freeway. Nothing ahead of them rises higher than three stories above the dry ground. He can see mountains ahead, and the skyscrapers of The Strip are clear in his rearview mirror.

They drive. He expects that the scruffy bushes and bare stone hills will be very familiar after the next few days. The whole situation is strange with Zerada in the car. She upsets the balance. Before, it had been the three of them and Marin the outsider, but he was nervous and willing to adapt. Zerada is calm and stunning and when she takes his hand while he leaves the car on autopilot he can almost feel Clay and Sierra sharing a look from the back. In an attempt to avoid talk shows, (it's fun to listen for celebrities they've met, but one host mentioned Sierra and ruined her entire day) they hear three Billie Eilish songs in ten minutes. Sierra puts her headphones on and Marin starts to argue that he has CDs in his bag. Brian shoots back that they’re all jazz and blues recordings from 1970 at the latest. Marin corrects him on the genres but not the time period. Two stops or states from now, it will be his turn to choose the music.

After thirty minutes or so, a crag of rock rises from the tan desert. It is such a vibrant red that it looks almost like someone changed the saturation and hue of a photo. It looms beside them like a breaking wave and Brian doesn’t need his directions to tell him that they have almost reached their first stop. It’s the hottest part of the afternoon as they pull their car beside a standing rock in Valley of Fire State Park. They can’t stay for long. They need to be far away by the time they set up camp, and the heat feels like stepping into an oven. Still, he wants to hike and bike or climb the smooth sandstone. Dry heat isn’t like wet heat. He never realizes just how high the temperature has climbed until he stops for a rest and realizes that his mouth feels like he’s been eating the sand. He drinks from a water bottle and looks up.

A metal staircase clings to the side of the rock. There are some other tourists nearby, or standing at the top. The metal railings are too hot to hold as the five of them climb the steps to a platform overlooking a slanted rock wall. He’s no geologist, but the rock is covered with a black tarnish, and that tarnish has been scraped away to show symbols. There are humanoid drawings, animals with horns, and geometric shapes. A sign calls them petroglyphs, rock carvings, and explains that they are about two thousand years old. Thirty human lifetimes, or just four elven ones. Marin and Zerada can trace their families back at least twice that far into the past. He stares at the carvings, and then back at the tourists, and down to the shining car. He’d been hoping to double back to the Grand Canyon at some point, but suddenly Brian has no desire to feel small. He rests his head on Zerada’s shoulder on the way back down. This, at least, is important.

………….

I drove from Vegas to Valley of Fire a couple of years ago. The rocks really do look edited in person. Like this!

Also, to make it clear, Brian is an idiot. He is eighteen and he knows full well that Zerada specializes in charms, mental manipulation, and power. This will not end well.

#by me #the gap years #my oc stuff #writing that *is*#the road trip

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smartycvnt · 2 years

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old endings, new beginnings

pairing: rhea ripley x reader

prompt: "breathe for me."

It was over. Your dream of being a WWE champion, a future hall of famer, all of it was over. And it had been ended with an email. This one was generic, the same one several of your friends had already received. You knew that it was only a matter of time before you had been released, but it still stung. You had worked and sacrificed everything for this dream, and all of it had amounted to practically nothing.

"Y-yeah, I just got back now," Rhea said to someone on the phone. She hung up on whoever it was and sent you a knowing look, meaning that the rest of the rosters had been notified of that cycle's releases. "I am so sorry baby."

"I worked so fucking hard, and they just threw me out like yesterday's garbage," you huffed. You could feel the shock begin to wear off and a feeling of anger and sadness replaced it. Sitting there on the couch, you felt like your whole world was imploding around you. You had to do something, but there was absolutely nothing for you to do. They had control over your contract, and for the next 90 days, you would be stuck at home unable to do any sort of other wrestling show.

"Where is your head?" Rhea asked you. You didn't answer her verbally, instead just shaking your head as you clenched your fists. She could read you easily and knew that you were on the brink of a complete meltdown. WWE had always been your dream; even as other companies had gained traction and interesting talent. You didn't care about working there, you wanted to be a WWE Superstar, and now that was out of your grasp once again. "Breathe for me. Talk to me."

"It's not fair," you said quietly. Rhea nodded in agreement. She was livid about your release, but she kept her feelings to herself for your sake. You had a tendency of taking on the emotions of the room and Rhea needed this to be a calm environment for you.

"It isn't fair, but it is their loss. You are going to go on and become the most famous wrestling champion wherever you go. By the end of the year, you'll have whoever's in charge pounding down your door to resign," Rhea promised you. You cracked a small smile at the thought of that. You had been one of Stephanie's signs, but Vince's last decision as head of the company was to release you. "Give it a few weeks, everybody's gonna be blowing up your phone asking you to do shows. You're a good worker and even better wrestler."

"This was all I had ever wanted for myself," you mumbled sadly.

"Don't think of it as the end of your dream, think of it as the beginning of your destiny," Rhea told you.

"You've been watching too much anime, dork," you said lightheartedly. Rhea scoffed at that, but didn't even attempt to argue. With her recent injury, she had a lot more free time to catch up on recommendations that had slipped past her while she was on the road.

#rhea ripley imagines #rhea ripley imagine #rhea ripley x reader #rhea ripley #wwe #wwe x reader #wwe imagine #wwe imagines

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lucifersbimbobitch · 2 years

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The City Had One But You Were Still His Own Marvel

Bucky x Reader

Summary: You had took Kamela Khan underneath your wing as the events of Karli and the flagsmashers had ended you decided to mentor the young future superhero. Your husband James Buchanan Barnes stood by your side through everything now with this he’s there even more. Just when when the kid your mentoring is in danger and needs your help it’s up to you to set things right and knowing Bucky is there by your side you knew everything would hopefully be alright but there was only one way to find out.

Warnings: fluff some kissing just Bucky being hopelessly in love with you.

Not edited

"Y/N I can't do this it's not working" Kamela groaned trying to use her powers to streach her arms to reach you across the room. The goal was to get you encapsted in her fist as one of her primary attack moves.

"Hey, it takes time. I didn't spend 70 years in the ice with Steve to just come back and be a master at anything. Unlike most of the avengers I don't have any superpowers, so I rely on my mind and that's what you have to do right now." You lectured the young child, her eyes burrowing into yours with frustration but you kept your cool and waited for her to try again.

Kamela took a deep breath and just as she was about to try again her cell phone rang, she opened one eye, an embrassed smirk forming across her lips as she waited for you to let her to answer the phone and in reality move away from her concentration on mastering her powers.

You rolled your eyes and moved your hand in a dismissing manner and let her take the call while at the same time your phone rang.

You picked it up and answered it, your head pressed into the phone as you adjusted your gloves on your suit, it belonged to your best friend Nat as you called her but to the world she was known as the Black Widow the one who sacrificed herself for the sake of the world and though everyone loved her for that you still felt the bittersweetness of anger toward her because you wanted her back, but of course there was nothing you could do.

You answered the phone quickly.

"Hello Y/N here."

A voice as sweet as sugar answered giving your stomach butterflies.

"Well hello doll." Your husband, the ex winter solider answered, you met in 41, at the Stark Expo and since then we're inseparable until he fell off the train and you into the ice and we're reunited almost a lifetime later and losing him a couple more times to him being on the run, Wakanada, and until Thanos took him away for five years you were always skeptical and afraid if he would leave again but he hasn't and being married for 8 months since the blip had been the highlight of your life and you just hoped it wouldn't be taken away from you again.

You melted at his tone and replied quickly once more.

"Hey Buck I'm just training Kamela again."

He answered quickly

"oh I know I just had to call you I want you here with me instead love"

He always knew how to make your heart race and you stood there flirting with your husband for what felt like hours to you but in reality it was only minutes.

Suddenly Kamela screamed and you almost dropped your phone.

"What, what's wrong?" You yelled back over her.

"Bruno and Kamran are in trouble damage control is back we have to go I just got a call from Nakia." Her voice shook and you nodded let Bucky know where you were heading and said a quick goodbye and headed off.

"I don't have a suit." Kamela suddenly said."If I head out there they'll know who I am."

You grinned and handed her a box from beneath her bed.

"For you, as an avenger you'll need this." You smirked and her face lit up at the tone avenger, and she opened the box tentivly and gasped when she saw her suit.

Identical to Captain Marvels colors but more Kamela Khan.

She quickly got dressed and looked at herself in the mirror, her smile brighter then the sun itself.

“You forgot something.” You put the mask she left in the box on her face and she looked like a hero, and just before she could scream more in delight you both heard an explosion from just below and realized you needed to get going.

“Follow my lead.” And she nodded in response, you stood by her window ledge and pulled out the web shooters Peter gave you and threw out a line though you didn’t have superpowers like him you did have great agility and you flew out the window Kamela’s mouth in awe and once you were across on a building you motioned your hand to hurry up and she did using her powers to create stepping stones for her to walk on.

Both mentor and mentoree swung throughout the city until they reached the middle of the square the entire city there both Kamelas loved ones there and in the corner your husband surrounded by officials but there for you, it melt your heart.

The brawl had already begun, they were heading towards the high school and you motioned for Kamela to go and that you would join.

She nodded and took off, you grabbed your tasers and looked at the officials staring at you from damage control.

Oh they didn't know what they were getting into.

You grabbed your tasers and brawled through them imagining they were all Steve since you had a hatred for the man since he left your husband in peices and you had to pick them all up.

You missed one and had no idea just as they were about to knock you out, something or someone knocked them out first and you looked at him and of course it was your husband to the rescue.

"Hey" was all you managed to exasperate as James Buchanan Barnes stood in front of you with his suit that he now wore and beauty that had you falling to your knees.

Just as you were about to faint he grabbed your cheeks metal hand in one, you loved that he didn't cover it anymore and his flesh hand in the other his face contorted in worry and just as you were about to react he pulled his lips to yours and the world stilled and there you were once more in the middle of the battlefield kissing one another just like you did back when he was the winter solider everyone afraid you did it shocking everyone now here he was returning in the favour.

Once the kiss ended your foreheads pressed against each other you felt nothing but him. The man you fell in love with a lifetime ago and not the rest of the world taking their photos and opinions it dissolved when you were with him.

He finally breathed out completly breathless from the beauty of his wife.

"Go save the world just like you saved me."

And he let you go and you nodded at him through the crowd grabbed your web shooters and headed towards the high school.

You headed in through the doors, and was met with the gasped faces of the teenagers you were trying to protect.

"Is that an avenger?" Zoe mentioned you recongized her from the smack talks Kamela gave you about her.

"Yeah she is." Kamela grinned and you felt a warmness in seeing the child you mentored grow right in front of you.

"Okay what's the plan." You clasped your hands together and waited for them to speak.

You nodded at them as they spoke about the fact they were going to distract damage control and get Kamela and Kamran out of there as they were the ones most in danger there.

You nodded and the plan went into action.

Zoe began her live and attracted damage control there and the officials came right away and using your tasers you took them down and the moves identical to the Black Widows came into play as well in your success to finally catching up to Bruno who was fooling the guards with illusions on him being in multiple places but just as you were about to take him with you, damage control had smacked in through the doorway.

"Go." Was all he said and you protested but he just nodded and told you to leave and just before he gave himself to the authorities he turned to you and said

"Thank you for helping her become the person she is today."

And before you could say anything he pushed you into the office and Kamela pulled you underneath the table where both Kamren and her were hiding.

"Am I interrupting something?" You noticed they both looked flustered as you had just come in on something right before it happened and with young love you knew it better then anyone.

"No!" They both said in unison and you could just shake your head and laugh but then a blast interrupted your train of thoughts and you pushed both children out the doorway onto the streets where without your knowledge the enterity of damage control was there.

Just before you could take your tasers out, a sudden green light eliminated from Kamran taking you all out, green spikes threatened to stab others around you and when you saw Bucky with one to his throat something exploded inside of you. You connected with Kamelas energy and brought it out within yourself, magic exploded and created a hex around you, Kamela and Kamran. Your eyes bright with power trying to dissolve the spikes from the love of your life that could take him away from you again but you wouldn't let it happen.

"Let him go!" You screamed at Kamela and with tears in her eyes she said her final bidding words to what seemed to be her first love and opened a hole beanth her to let him go and hide and with a tearful goodbye he was gone and you pulled the power he left from everyone in danger and fell to the ground before everything went black.

You awoke minutes later to the crowd chanting

"Ms Marvel.! Ms Marvel!”

You felt groggy and pain came into your head but as you opened your eyes you weren’t met with your mentoree but the eyes of your husband your mentoree behind him.

Bucky had tears in his eyes, and when you opened your eyes he began to sob.

“Your alive.” He said crushing you into a hug that you adored and you just let him do it to you.

"See this happens more times with you then anything." You giggled the pain from so much magic throbbing.

He also laughed but still held onto you tightly.

Kamela looked almost guilty as she tried to ignore the crowds chanting but you looked at her and nodded and she let out a breath and looked beyond at her success as a new avenger and smiled at you tears in her own eyes as she got up and headed off into the night.

That just left you and Bucky alone staring at each other.

"I thought I lost you." He finally choked out and you just laughed flipped him over so he was lying on the ground and you were now the one he was staring into.

"Well you didn't and with the amount of times I almost lost you that was child's play." Before he could respond you grabbed him and pulled him into a kiss one that he would never forget.

The cheers from the crowd of seeing their favourite avenger couple kiss just brought more love to you and your Bucky.

Once you pulled away Bucky stared straight at you nothing but love in his eyes.

"When I looked up and saw you save us all with that power you awokend it made me realize why I fell in love with you in the first place."

You cocked your head.

“Why did you fall in love with me in the first place?”

He grinned nothing but your Bucky in front of you.

“This city may have a new Ms. Marvel but in my eyes from the day I met you, you were my Marvel and you always will be, doll.”

You felt yourself fall into his arms and crush him in a hug, his arms around you, nothing ever felt like home just it had been in that moment.

“My marvel.” He whispered in your ears over and over again.

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toa-kirhan · 2 years

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First time watching ToH S1E19 (Young Blood, Old Souls). Thoughts below:

Detailed thoughts:

A fantastic finale to wrap up the first season of ToH! The team have already set a high benchmark for themselves, I wonder how they’ll surpass it in the next 2(-ish, I heard season 3 is made up of 3 specials).

These two episodes have been great for demonstrating Eda and Luz’s relationship. Although they’re only known each other for so long, Eda and Luz truly love and care for each other, willing to sacrifice their own health and well-being to protect each other. Luz puts it best herself, “But we’re a family! Us weirdos have to stick together, remember?” That heartbreaking callback to the first episode from Luz really gets at the core of what makes their relationship work.

Luz’s only friends or family that we know of is her mother. Before coming to the Boiling Isles, Luz had no one else, and now that she seems to be stuck there indefinitely (w/ no reception, wifi, or way to charge her phone), she doesn’t even have that. At this point, Eda and everyone else really are the only family that Luz has left.

The same is true for Eda before Luz arrived. Back then, Eda only had King, Hooty, and Owlbert. Her parents are out of the picture, and her only sister pledged herself to a group dedicated to hunting her down and capturing her. Eda made her living scrounging junk that she got from the human world and beached trash slugs, struggling w/ a lifelong curse.

Over the course of the series, Luz’s overwhelming optimism has soothed Eda’s innate pessimism and allowing her to see the joy in things that she’s long dismissed like Moonlight Conjurings, coventions, and attending magic schools by looking at them through the eyes of someone who never had these opportunities to begin with.

Meanwhile, Eda’s pessimism has tempered Luz’s optimism, teaching her to be ready and weary of worldly dangers like Adegast, as well as teaching her patience and resourcefulness (key skills for Luz’s understanding and mastery of glyphs). In a way, Luz and Eda are both students and mentors to each other, especially now that Eda can no longer do magic herself either.

After showing us Lilith at her worst, this episode counters that by revealing the rest of Lilith’s backstory with the thoughts and feelings that drove her actions. Lilith cursed her sister out of jealousy, and due to her refusal to be proven wrong by her sister, she never admitted the truth to her, no matter how much she regretted it, assuring herself that she could solve everything herself by just capturing Eda and having her join the EC w/ her.

I will admit, even though I know the episode wants me to sympathize here w/ Lilith, even if just a little, I still find it hard to forgive her. I can’t believe the fact that Lilith cursed her own sister to become part of the EC, even if she did think it was temporary. Lilith couldn’t just accept Eda beating her and be proud of her sister’s accomplishments? She couldn’t have just waited to apply to the EC later when another spot opened up?

Although similar in setup and premise, I don’t have any issues w/ Amity when she revealed why she stopped being friends w/ Willow for one main reason: Amity was forced to stop seeing Willow. If she didn’t, her parents would have done everything in their power to destroy Willow’s future as a witch. Amity sacrificed her friendship for the sake of Willow. Lilith voluntarily sacrificed her sister’s future for the sake of her own.

While Lilith’s decision to share Eda’s curse at the end of the episode has helped rehabilitate her character, it doesn’t change the years of suffering that Eda went through because of her. Though, ultimately, whether Lilith deserves forgiveness is up to Eda. If she is able to forgive her sister for what she’s done to her, then it’s best to accept her decision.

Edit: With that said, and after some discussion, Amity isn’t without faults either. Although the initial reason why Amity let go of Willow as a friend is understandable, that doesn’t justify Amity’s patronizing behavior towards Willow or her passiveness in letting Boscha and her gang bully Willow for years afterwards, even if she did so to avoid “showing weakness.” Like w/ Lilith and Eda this episode, it was ultimately up to Willow whether to accept her apology or not.

Moving on to Emperor Belos, we’ve gotten a little bit more information about him this episode. As established, Belos instituted the Coven system to limit people’s ability to use magic to 9 basic types based on his claims that doing so goes against the Titan’s wishes. The truth of whether or not Belos himself believes that has yet to be seen. If he doesn’t, he didn’t drop the act in front of Luz.

It isn’t clear what Belos’ plan is, but I suspect it’s to unite the Boiling Isles/the Demon Realms w/ the Human Realm on the Day of Unity given his obsession w/ the portal and his assurance to Luz that he won’t simply invade it. The one question I have is Belos’ motivation for this, but as established above, unless we find out more about Belos and his powers, I can only guess as to the reasons why.

As with any good finale, this episode has completely changed the series’ status quo. Both Eda and Lilith are outlaws now and have to deal w/ a weakened curse. Similarly, Lilith’s magic is weakened while Eda can no longer do magic at all, like Luz. Whether Luz, Willow, and Gus will be allowed to continue studying at Hexside is unclear, as is Amity’s aspirations of joining the EC (considering her idol, Lilith, almost got petrified by them along w/ her crush’s mentor).

Plot threads that still need to be resolved: Amity’s crush on Luz, who is writing letters impersonating Luz to her mother, finding a cure for the curse (if there is one), the truth about Belos, the Day of Unity, and how to return Luz to the Human Realm (if she ever does).

General thoughts:

History book! We’re getting lore! Who’s the author?!

The giant skeletons are Titans! Also, the Boiling Isles are part of the Demon Realms, or at least connected to them.

So all magical species evolved on the Boiling Isles? Then where did the Titans get their magic? Is it because they’re demons?

Of course only the supreme leader and their cadre of most loyal enforcers have full control over magic. Why would it be any way else?

Wait, are wild witches turned into stone? I thought they were just bound to a coven. Is that what’s going to happen to Lilith when Eda escapes?

Oh, we’re not even getting the OP! We’re just going straight into the story!

Eda has quite the armory! I don’t rate keeping a loaded crossbow on the wall tho, that’s a lot of unnecessary tension on the bow limbs, not to mention how dangerous that is in general.

King sees Eda as his family ;v;

Belos’ eyes are blue now. Did he just drain the magic from someone else’s palisman? Oh, they change w/ what magic he uses?

I don’t see how Lilith honestly expects Eda to just roll over and submit to the Emperor, especially after admitting that she cursed her. If Lilith promised that to the Emperor, then I can only wonder what he’ll do when Eda’s inevitably rejects his offer.

The Wild Witch of Bonesborough is an amazing title.

Does Belos want to take over the human world?

Unsurprisingly, Belos refuses to cure Eda. I shouldn’t be surprised that a blindly loyal ideologue accepts every word that their leader tells them, but I am still disappointed in Lilith. Also, Lilith cursed her sister but can’t even undo it herself? Or is it just because she was in front of the Emperor and still processing his betrayal?

Perry Porter? Per Reporter?

First Petrification in 30 years? So that’s this world’s version of capital punishment.

The Conformatorium? We’re returning there again? Will we get to see-

Warden Wrath! Oh, he’s way less scary when Luz has magic. Either that, or Luz is way more scary when she has magic. I’m leaning towards both.

“Draw me a map!”

It seems like the Emperor’s grasp on power isn’t as tight as he thinks if the common people have doubts on whether Eda should be petrified in the first place.

Piniet, Bump, and Snaggleback crowd cameo!

So the regular guards can’t use magic?

Eda ;-;

“But we’re a family!” ;_;

NO, NOT THE PORTAL!

“I love you, Eda.”

“I love you too, kiddo.” ;_; o7

THEY’RE GOING TO THE HUMAN WORLD?!

GLYPH MAGIC DOESN’T WORK THERE?!

Lilith used to have curly hair. I wonder what causes all the hair color changes on the Boiling Isles (first the Cawthornes, then the Blights).

Are those the Blights in the background?

Eda turns into an owl demon and the EC just throws stones at her until she leaves? I’m doubting the EC’s competency more and more each episode.

Lilith’s magic still works? I guess that’s because the human world isn’t as innately magical as the Boiling Isles w/ the Titan, so glyphs fizzle out, but a witch’s magic is a innate part of their biology.

EC military band uniform!

Lilith wants Luz to rescue Eda on her own? I mean, sure, her glyph magic has gotten better (look how much she can do w/ those small sheets of paper), but just Luz on her own?

WHY DOES BELOS HAVE A FLESHY THRONE ROOM UNDER THE CONFORMATORIUM?

Augustus Porter! That’s his full name!

Eyeball eater! Potion seller! Principal Bump!

OH! That’s a disaster for the Emperor! His regime has to cover up the live footage of a chanting crowd demanding for Eda’s release, the most wanted witch on the Boiling Isles!

OH THAT PAN FROM THE CROWD TO BELOS AND LUZ UNDERGROUND!

SHE GOT HIM IN THE EYE!

What’s his scheme! He doesn’t want to invade the human world?

THE PORTAL! LUZ JUST DESTROYED HER ONLY WAY HOME!

WHAT! THE PAIN SHARING SPELL!

DOUBLE HETEROCHROMIA SISTERS!

AWW THE LIGHT SPELL! JUST LIKE THE OP! LUZ’S FIRST SPELL IS NOW EDA’S FIRST TOO!

IS THAT THE NEW SEASON ANTAGONIST?

THIS SERIES HAS ALSO HAS A SECRET BASEMENT PORTAL?!

OH THEY CHANGED THE ED TOO!

#the owl house #toh #toh season 1 #toh s1 #first watch

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sweetmage · 11 months

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In regards to a recent reblog (it's a good post but I didn't want to ramble about OCs and AUs in their tags lol) I am also really bothered by the lack of emotional weight on that choice outside of the player.

This is yet another reason I love and prefer exploring my AUs where Hawke or my HoF are my Inquisitors as opposed to brand new characters. I can't do much to change the game, but at least in writing I can adjust things!

In some versions of Edan's Inquisitor AU the choice comes down to:

- Alistair, his closest friend who he loves and cares for immensely, basically family to him since a time when they both lost everything. He is like an extension of himself, all that he wishes he could be and he struggles to imagine a world where they are not fighting beside each other, where its Edan that pulls through and the friend he admires and believes the world needs right now.

-And Garrett, not only a hero that Edan idolizes, someone he believes to be so much better and stronger than himself, but also the loving partner of his best friend Anders, the reason he still lives and knows freedom, one of the last things Anders has and the thing he is most terrified to lose.

In some versions of my Inquisitor!Hawke AU it comes down to:

-Carver who he has only recently reconnected and made ammends with after a rocky relationship and loss that drove them further apart, who was just starting to live his life and find his place, who has so many goals and dreams and has only just tasted purpose and belonging for the first time. Carver who means everything to his siblings.

-Marian, his twin sister (it's a twin AU), who had carried all of their heaviest burdens while in Kirkwall, sacrificed every bit of herself to protect those she loved as they slipped through her fingers. Yet for all the ways she loved Garrett and fought for him, even when it was hard, he only added to her crippling stress and drove a wedge between them because he couldn't escape his own issues with self worth and impulses to withdraw "for her sake". They'd only just met again some years after he'd fled Kirkwall without her and she is already asking to pay the ultimate price for his life.

-And occasionally Edan, who Garrett holds a strong, passionate admiration. Though they'd only just met, he had been a constant in Garrett's life for some time, having found inspiration in the Hero of Fereldan's tale of loss and perseverance. But for all the comfort his stories brought Garrett, the most important gifts he'd inadvertently given him were the lives of Anders and Justice who were only here due to him and who would be devastated beyond measure to lose their dear friend.

It isn't always these, but it often is because these choices are very personal to them and they matter and they hurt. For this, and many reasons, my favorite Inquisitors are always these guys who have already lived and lost but the string of hard choices never ends 🥲

#jun rambles #long post #oc: edan #hawke #dragon age inquisiton #da2spoilers #daospoilers #daispoilers #daaspoilers

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edoro · 2 years

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Ship-bingo: Raeda? LuzxWillow?

Raeda:

Raeda is so good. i love everything about it. i don't read fic about them just because i pretty much exclusively read fic about Hunter because There Are Things Wrong With Me but like, every so often i keep thinking that i should. (although i do also have a somewhat particular characterization of Raine that doesn't quite gel with a lot of the fan content i see, but since i don't actually seek it out, i can't speak to whether that's a broader trend or if i'm just coincidentally seeing stuff i don't quite vibe with.)

like god. it's SO good. the friends-to-lovers-to-exes of it. the way they reconnected years after the fact in their adulthood after living such massively different lives, and they didn't even have time to actually make anything of it or see how they fit together now that they've both grown and changed so much because they were both desperately fighting against a swiftly-approaching genocide.

the way Raine was just immediately down to do a double-murder-double-suicide with Eda. i love how absolutely ruthless Raine Whispers can be, they are a stone-cold motherfucker in many respects and i absolutely adore it. if anything, between the two of them it's Eda who's the sentimental one.

i really love how their highschool flashback meetcute showed us more of Raine's goblin bastard energy and how the two of them work really well together that way. they're both very chaotic people with very strong personal convictions. i think Eda has a very like, person-based morality, where it's about the people who she cares about, while Raine has a more ideology-focused morality, where it's about The Cause and The Goal, which can cause conflict but also can lead them to balancing each other out and shoring up each other's weak points.

the impression i've gotten from what i've seen (and i want to stress that there's a ton of Raine fanworks i just have not interacted with, so i am not trying to say this is a general pattern, it's just what i've seen) is that some people tend to play up Raine's uwu soft bean quotient, the anxiety and the gentleness and the warmth, but the most fascinating core of their character to me has always been that sense of ruthlessness and willingness to get their hands extremely dirty if they think it'll accomplish their goals. and it's such an interesting contrast with Eda, who comes across as very practical but is willing to throw all of that away for the sake of people she loves.

They Mean So Much To Me. also Raine is 100% the world's best most gently, warmly ruthless brat-tamer dom, you will never convince me otherwise. ALSO that bit in the finale where they rip Eda's arm off to save her life and then collapse into her lap to die is the most romantic shit i've ever seen, thank you Dana for my rights and life.

Luz/Willow:

Willuz? Luzillow?

this is a really cute idea! i don't think i've ever like, seen anything for it, but it definitely has potential. they could have had a super cute friends-to-lovers romance arc, and i can see them working very well together.

like it would mean a lot to Willow that Luz stood up for her against her bullies, and that Luz also understands what being excluded socially feels like. loser's club! and Willow can definitely exert a bit of a grounding, more realistic influence on Luz - she's a bit calmer and more level-headed, more prone to thinking things through, and that's something she can offer Luz as a friend or girlfriend.

(but then they also both have that self-sacrificing thing and that tendency to assume that if something goes wrong, they must be at fault, and it must be evidence of some kind of deep personal failing, which they could easily reinforce in each other...)

and also you know, Willow has that whole "if i don't think about it then it isn't a problem!" thing which Luz also very much has, so, like, there's potential for some really fun communication problems there! i think they could work it out, but they could also really end up getting twisted up in it and lost in their respective fantasy worlds and just not talking about stuff.

...and Willow/Luz/Amity is a fascinating potential ot3 here because like, Oh Boy. i very firmly feel like the whole thing between Amity and Willow has shades of Baby's First Lesbian Drama* and this would just absolutely crank it up to 11. the buried resentment. the yearning. the weird tangle of bizarre emotional stuff. the landmines Luz is going to step on without even realizing it. 10/10 tbh i'd love to see it.

(*i think Willow is bi but like, You Know)

#raeda #luz noceda #willow park #the owl house #asks

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mediacrushin · 2 years

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Everyone coming at Lumity after King’s Tide with the “wow how must Amity feel that Luz chose to stay and sacrifice herself rather than go with her, how upset must she be that she wasn’t enough for Luz to choose to leave~” have the same energy as the “wow I bet Amity is gonna sabotage Luz’ attempts to go home so she stays with her”.

Like, yes, I very much hope there’s some conversation about Luz’ self-sacrificing tendencies. It’s admirable that she fights so hard for others, but I want the people around who care about her to be able to express how much that can hurt them too when she goes for the big play for their sake. But my god y’all are acting like Amity doesn’t know that is Luz’ go to play. She’s probably upset it keeps happening when she also wants to be there to protect and fight with Luz, but shit it doesn’t have to be “well, guess I’m not good enough for her to stop being that way”.

Chill Satan.

Also saw the hot take that by neglecting King's attempts to offer to help the other characters are all responsible for his turning to "self harm" by making a deal with the Collector. And they were quietly distancing themselves from him, and being "absent and reluctant". And they "failed to accept him as both a family member and a titan"

Like my brother in christ he is eight. He is eight years old and his mom knows he's been through enough shit already and wanted him and her other adopted kid faaaar away from anything to do with the day of unity. She didn't refuse his help because she didn't think he was capable, or didn't accept him as part of the family, she literally wanted him to not be involved, like the other kids she and the other adults didn't want involved. Because they are children, and this is basically a man made extinction event. Same with Luz, she didn't want her little brother hurt, same as the rest of her loved ones. She tried to do everything she could to take care of the problem herself, then tried her damnedest to not leave King behind.

I'm sure King felt upset that he couldn't help as much, that the others wanted to keep him out of things and safe, but man the reach is wild to me. Like, just in, trying to keep an eight year old from being involved in dangerous world ending events is now neglect and everyone who didn't accept his help needs to apologize for wanting to keep him from getting involved once he did anyway.

#toh #the owl house #toh season 2

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lookforanewangle · 2 years

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this is your official prompt for astorianatural and/or end of an era au ending :) absolutely no rush to answer but i'd love to hear all about it!

ASTORIANATURAL okay if I tried to do all of Astoria, we would be here for forever so I think I’ll just stick to End of an Era alt ending 😅 so!! here we go

One last cue From love true To final adieu

Pretty straight forward on this first part; tackling Cas’s confession and being taken by the Empty

Hearts will break For future's sake But mine just won't take Can't love if you don't I can't try if you won't

this part is then Dean being unwilling and/or incapable of processing Cas’s confession and sacrificing himself for Dean and the cause; “[my heart] just won’t take”; “can’t love if you don’t/can’t try if you won’t” because Cas isn’t there to love him back anymore!!

Oh I know, please just let me go My dear, cause I'd stay near And lose myself here

And of course, him sobbing on the dungeon floor for hours. Cas please come back and save this boy

But then, because Cas has fought so hard for them all these years and Dean isn’t one to give up so easily (and, to return the favor for saving him from Hell), Dean gets angry. Dean gets determined

Astoria I'm warning you I'm coming for, coming for you It's do or die for you and I And I'll never be taken alive

(Astoria is Chuck/Chuck's created spn world in this situation from here on out, so when I say Chuck I’m referring to astoria!)

Dean is fucking pissed at this point, he’s done being manipulated like Chuck’s plaything, and this is the boss battle to end all boss battles in the spn verse. One of them isn’t coming out alive at this point, and it damn well isn’t going to be Dean. But if he doesn’t make it, Chuck isn’t making it out either. Out in a blaze of glory, but this time for the world. For Sam. For Jack. For the rest of their family and friends.

For Cas.

Here's everything that led me here But our future still remains unclear High time I faced you Astoria So get up and face me, Astoria Come and face the music, Astoria It's about fucking time now, Astoria I've wasted away here, Astoria Goodbye, Astoria

I think at this point Dean needs to lay some things bare, here, something to really draw out Chuck. And maybe Dean’s working with Amara, maybe he’s working with Billie in a better universe where the writers did her justice (but maybe Chuck planned that all along? she was the only one who could reap him, or so it goes). But Dean is pissed and he’s desperate and it’s goddamned time to face the music, Chuck. He’s been making them run around in circles for years, it’s time to kiss that world goodbye!

And in this verse, Chuck dies. They kill him, or Amara absorbs him, or however you want to say it, Chuck is gone for good. And good fucking riddance.

And then Dean gets scared. But it’s time to buck up and go after Cas himself.

I'm so afraid of trying something new Cause every start begins With saying goodbye to you Our heart divides an unrequited view But my heart is overdue

And what if…what if Dean remembered it wrong? What if he misunderstood? But no. No, every time they’ve lost Cas, Dean has ached something fierce, and he knows what this is. He’s known for a long time. And Cas– he could see it in Cas’s eyes when he said those three words; Cas loves him. Cas loves him. Their feelings aren’t nearly as unrequited as they were expecting. And Dean is so long overdue to say those three words to…well, anyone except his mom, in all of his 42 long years of life. But most definitely, it’s time to say them to Cas. (Was that Chuck’s doing, him not being able to say it? It had to have been. Dean wouldn’t have been in this situation in the first place, otherwise.)

So they search, and they haggle, and they work towards finding a way into the Empty. They call in every remaining favor they have left in good standing. Dean tries to cut deals, but no one will play.

But eventually they find a way. (And Jack gets to be a kid here, once everything is settled. He doesn’t take on Chuck’s powers. Y’all can decide whether they go to Amara or just disperse back into the universe. To each their own.)

Finding Cas in the Empty though, is no easy feat. So as Dean walks, Dean prays.

I feel so ashamed Wish this was easy I want you to know This never was the man I hoped to be By now

He wanted to be someone kinder, some gentler. Someone worthy of Cas’s love for him, and someone who had the courage to buck up and tell him how he felt in return. (But that’ll come later: “I’ll tell you, Cas, I swear it. But we gotta get out of here first, buddy. Now where are you, man? …I hope you can hear me.”)

(How did we survive) We went through hell in Astoria (How did we survive) We lost ourselves in Astoria (How did we survive) I gave in to sickness

“I don’t know how we did it, Cas,” Dean says, “but man, we’ve been through Hell, haven’t we? There and back too many times, but you– you were always there for us. For– for me. You pulled me out of there once, and back from the brink after the Mark. It’s always been you.”

Can you find forgiveness For a dear old friend So Astoria can end

“Now it’s my turn to get you out,” Dean says, and that’s when he sees him, unconscious but whole, blinking awake and fighting the Empty’s hold. Dean rushes forward and pulls Cas into his arms, and he feels like he can breathe again.

“I’m sorry,” Dean says, and pulls his angel blade to Cas’s neck. “I hope you can forgive me for this.”

And he slices the edge of Cas’s throat.

Cas’s grace streams out from his neck, and Dean catches all of it, every last drop, into a vial. It’s the only way to get them out of here without the Empty all over their asses, and he’ll be beating himself over it for years to come.

(But Cas will forgive him. Cas always forgives him. And doing this brought him back to Jack, brought him back to Dean, and he gets the grace back once they’re sure the Empty is dormant. It’s worth it, in the meantime.)

“Dean?”

“Yeah, Cas,” he says, a laugh or a sob exploding out of him. He can’t tell the difference. “Yeah it’s me. What do you say we get out of here, yeah?”

It's time Astoria It's time now Astoria I'm in over my head (End of the line now, Astoria) (Hope’s fading into Astoria)

(The fight out isn’t easy, especially as they’re both human, at the moment. Dean wishes they would have brought something else to get them out, but what good was any weapon going to do here?)

But they make it. Of course they do.

The Empty closes (and maybe a few others escape; Cas could have sworn he heard Gabriel’s laughter on the way out), and they’re home free.

They’re…they’re free now.

They’re free.

This is our goodbye (Never say die in Astoria) This is our goodbye (Never say die in Astoria) This is our goodbye (Never say die in Astoria)

Dean’s done with hunting. He hangs up the guns, keeps the salt in the cupboard where it belongs, and he and Cas (and Jack) move out somewhere on their own, with room for Claire and Sam and the others to visit. Maybe to the mountains, maybe to a lake house, where they go is up to you. But they’re not stuck in the Bunker’s sunless fortress, no more living out of the Impala or motels.

(Sam and Eileen aren’t quite finished, yet. They have other hunters to train and help, wayward kids to take under their wings. They keep up a gentler, kinder family tradition.)

And none of them are stuck in Astoria/under Chuck’s thumb any longer.

If we shadows have offended I hope your heart can still be mended I hope you know that I don't blame you My dear friend

Dean and Cas have a heart to heart, about everything over the years; they lay it all bare. Every offense, every hurtful word, eventually they talk about it all. It’s hard on both of them; Dean’s never been one to talk about these kinds of things, but he has to. He has to for Cas. They grow. They heal.

Always will Love you still But Astoria must end

Dean had carried that little shred of worry in him like a splinter since they killed Chuck, that ending him, breaking free of this narrative that Chuck had created would change everything. And it did, essentially. But in such a better way than he ever could have imagined.

He and Sam are still close, but they can do things on their own now– they have their own lives.

The friends that are still alive are thriving alongside them.

Jack gets to be a kid now, gets to use his powers to nurture and grow, no more explosions or destruction.

And Cas…well, Dean and Cas have each other now. And that’s the best thing Dean could have ever wished for.

#monstermoviedean #bundibird #marianastrenchnatural #spn #destiel #deancas #this isn't all that much different from all the other infinite alt spn endings but it was fun to write regardless #I've been thinking about this for way too long #i also would love to make an amv to masterpiece theatre iii and an animatic to killing kind but 1) what is time #and 2) those would both effectively kill my wrist #astorianatural #lyss writes

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praeteritus-memories-muses · 4 months

Text

Name: Jolyne Kujo

Series: Jojo's Bizarre Adventures

Continuity: Anime / Canon divergent ending

Age: 19

Height: 5'8"

Birthday: November 20th 1992

Birthplace: Florida, United States

Orientation: Pansexual

Species: Human / Stand user

Occupation: Unemployed

Father: Jotaro Kujo

Mother: unnamed

Sibling(s): Jouta Kujo

Stand: Stone Free

Bio:

Jolyne Kujo is the daughter of Jotaro Kujo, the man who went to Egypt in 1989 to kill Dio Brando. Ever since Jotaro killed Dio, his life has been in danger by people who worshipped Dio. While he didn't plan on ever having children for the sake of not putting the Joestar burden on their shoulders, life had other plans and so Jolyne was born on a cold November night in Miami, Florida. She was named after the song by Dolly Parton, a music artist her mother is a fan of and Jotaro approved when they heard the song 'Jolyne' on the radio on the way to the hosptial.

Growing up, Jolyne was very close with her father. Up until she was about nine years old where her father started slowly distancing himself from her to a point where he even emotionally neglected her. In a way to try and get her father's attention, Jolyne started acting out and committing petty crimes.

She was arrested multiple times by the age of fourteen, every time her father always made an excuse as to why he couldn't come out to bail her out which lead her mother to come and bail her out. This lead Jolyne to develop a hatred towards her father and grow close with her mother, who affectionately calls her 'Jojo'.

After Jolyne's arrest at 14, her parents divorced where Jolyne had basically stopped hearing from her father all together. Little did Jolyne know that the whole reason he abandoned her was to protect her. Dio's minions had been constantly trying to kill him and since Jotaro loved his daughter and didn't want anything to happen to her, he had no choice. He feared that she may even be used as blackmail to hand over information of Dio's plans for the world.

Throughout her teenage years, she joined a gang of vehicle thieves and got a tattoo as proof of her initiation but quickly decided to clean up her act and act like a model citizen again. It was just as she cleaned up her act that she met a man named Romeo where she fell head over heels for him.

After a particular drive home from a date, Romeo was not paying attention on the rode and ran over a man which killed him. Jolyne suggested they call the police but Romeo convinced her that they would get in trouble for this where he hid the body. The man's body was found the next day where one of Dio's minions had planted evidence to pin the crime on Jolyne. She was arrested a few days later and given a fifteen year sentence for a crime she didn't commit.

As soon as Jolyne landed in prison, she received a gift from her father. A broach with a picture of her parents inside it and a strange piece that looked like a broken arrow. This pierced her finger and gave Jolyne her stand Stone Free.

Jotaro would visit immediately after and let her know that he would be breaking her out soon. As much as Jolyne hated to see Jotaro, an attack from one of Dio's minions had changed her perspective on her father. This minion, a priest named Pucci, has a stand called WhiteSnake that can steal stands and memories from people to leave nothing but an empty husk behind of them while letting a milky acid destroy their bodies.

To save his daughter, Jotaro sacrificed himself where Pucci took Jotaro's memories and stand which opened Jolyne's eyes into understanding her father and vowed to bring him back to life. His final words before falling into a coma was that he always cherished her, something that resonated deeply within Jolyne as that was something she always wanted to hear from her father.

Jolyne was charged with attempt escape and now had twenty years as her full sentence. It didn't matter to her since she knew she'd been escaping one way or another, but it was extremely important to Jolyne that she rescue her father now that she finally began to understand the real reason he had to abandon her.

She made several allies that were all linked to Pucci and his stand WhiteSnake: Weather Report, Hermes Costello, Foo Fighters, Narsico Anasui and a child secretly living inside the prison named Emporio Alnino. These allies would work with Jolyne to take down Enrico Pucci, the truth being that he was Dio's most trusted ally. Yet what was Dio and Pucci's plan? To take away free will from humanity and accelerate time to create a new world where 'heaven' can be obtained by giving away your free will. Essentially, letting fate do everything instead of having choice.

She would obtain her father's memory discs that successfully revived her father. Yet Jotaro nearly gave his life again for his daughter when Pucci had pulled a surprise attack on her. This attack left Jotaro losing his eye and a large scar on the side of his face.

Not knowing her father was dead or not, Jolyne would nearly sacrifice her own life to save him. This left only Emporio to defeat Pucci which he did, only just barely managing to stop Pucci from accelerating time thus causing a whole new timeline. The secret foundation her father manages, the Speedwagon foundation, had arrived in time with two men named Josuke Higashikata and Giorno Giovanna used their stands with healing abilities to save the lives of everyone.

Surviving this encounter, Giorno Giovanna pulled some strings to drop the charges against Jolyne. She has no idea how he was able to, but she had a feeling he must be someone who has 'friends' in high places.

Happy to have survived, Jolyne got to finally hug her mom again just as she wanted and life finally set itself right. Although it's been slow, she's been working to repair her relationship with her father now that the two of them don't have to fight for their lives anymore.

Jolyne is a woman who doesn't take anything from anyone. She's tough and determined just like her father, but she's not afraid to risk her life if she cares about someone enough. She's also incredibly intelligent, but she's honestly not a fan of academics. Jolyne is also not afraid to speak her mind when someone upsets her or something is bothering her, she will actively tell someone when they're being a dick or when something is clearly unjust. It's also very easy for her to hold a grudge due to her own feelings towards her father, but she's also very easy to trust someone once they prove they have a kind and fair heart. She particularly can have a distrust of men due to her father, ex-boyfriend and Pucci but unlike her father, it's easier for her to work and improve herself to do and act better as a person.

Jolyne's stand is Stone Free. It's a close-range stand that's strong just like Star Platinum but it's primary ability is unraveling itself into a very strong string that Jolyne can use similar to a web-flinging superhero. As time went on, she can also unravel her own body into string but this is harder for her to maintain for now as she is not a natural born stand user. She named her stand Stone Free after her favorite song by Jimi Hendrix and it strangely smells like soap.

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gaoau · 6 months

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Redemption Spell

Wicked Witch warnings — none. word count — 3.2k

prev. — next.

The return to solitude had never impacted [Name] before—more than a decision by force, it'd always been a conscious choice she favored. With Osamu's unexpected confession flinging her into oncoming traffic, she drew back instantly to avoid his feelings from running her over. Her sardonic chuckles trickled down her chin, bitter as dark chocolate but just as delicious, clogging her ears so she wouldn't hear anything else he could throw at her. Regrets underneath a street light, product of different sensuous impulses.

If there ever existed a person she couldn't bear to delete, then they went by the name of Miya Osamu. Behind a veil of white lies that had dyed her in blue, Osamu remained a friend she simply didn't want to cut ties with. It wasn't smart, it wasn't rational, but most of all, it wasn't worth it. Losing him implied sacrificing a wondrous relationship for the sake of feeding into her fears. He had it far worse, after years of concealing the adoration he had so carefully nurtured and being sliced open with her insensitive rejection. She was built upon anger and panic, yet he professed his love to her with genuine sincerity regardless.

She didn't think twice as she pressed down on his contact name. One ri—he picked up immediately. Normally, she would have laughed. "Osamu," she called into the microphone, holding back a sigh, one which would have failed to take into consideration the harm she could've caused him.

"[Name]." Something in his voice. Eagerness? Perhaps; she failed to realize.

What were the right words to say? Apologies had never worked between the two of them. Reassurance had landed them in a disastrous net of silence. Truth; honesty from the beginning would have prevented such a jarring climax. "I'm mad."

"…I know."

"You lied to me." Lying was a painfully strong word, but [Name] didn't care about pain. Osamu had tight-roped over his feelings for so long, he ended up shattering on the ground with one innocent slip. Now he was in pain.

"Yeah."

She sighed, "Is that a thing people do?"

"I guess."

"Well, that's shitty."

His reluctant hum reached her through the speakers, his breath short and strained. He inhaled deeply to reclaim that boldness which had overcome him that fateful night littered with mistakes. Every last bit of air escaped him when he realized how futile it was and blew it all out instead. "Can we still be friends?" The inside of his mouth dried up as if those strenuous words had stolen the life from him.

It wasn't the words, but [Name] herself the one who stole the force of his courage. She used it tactfully to revitalize her mind and body while she balled her hands into fists and admitted through gritted teeth, "That's what I'm most mad about." She couldn't see Osamu's eyebrows rise in surprise, but his stunned silence spoke for itself. The opportunity to teach him a lesson about honesty materialized right in front of her just in time. "I want to be friends with you. I want to visit your shop, and call you like this, and eat your dinners, and just overall be with you." She never struggled with expressing her inner thoughts to him—was it a difference in trust or simply his tongue the one stupidly twisting when it mattered?

Osamu's breath hitched and she heard him choke on his own saliva. Of course, she never intended to play with his feelings, particularly not when knowing what they truly were, but her phrasing was undeniably awful. "Good, we can do that. I ain't givin' up on ya, though."

"Okay, that's fair."

He couldn't decide which impressed him the most; her indifference in the face of a profession of love or how easily they could avoid conflict by just speaking with sincerity. The weight of the world seemingly lifted off his shoulders as she accepted him with all his idiocy. "Sing me somethin'." The grin on his face reached her all the way through the sound of his voice. "S'been a while." A grin that remained through the night and through the months as they found their routine once more. What once had been weekly became daily and nightly, where he could fall asleep to her harmonious lullabies and she could wake up to his greetings of comfort.

Suna remembers this specific event with more vividness than anyone at the table, save for Osamu who still can't help smiling as his wife retells their interaction. He had been far more overjoyed than he cared to admit and ended up calling Suna in a fit of excitement. The poor guy sat through his friend's incessant rambling about a girl he was hopelessly in love with. Admittedly, he zoned out for the majority of Osamu's monologue after going through that one endless call where he instead whined about her rejection.

He cradles his head in his palms at the memory. "You would've saved us so much trouble if you'd just accepted his confession from the start."

"Like I could've done that," [Name] chuckles. She swings her leg underneath the table to kick Suna's shin, missing him by a few centimeters as she hits Ginjima instead.

He straightens up at the danger he barely missed. A snort slips when Ginjiima groans in agony. His eyes dart back towards the married couple. "Are you sure you didn't like him romantically at this point? From that harsh rejection to hey, let's stay friends, there had to be something."

"I'm pretty sure I just liked having a friend."

Osamu snickers while wrapping an arm around her waist. He tugs with quite a lot more force than needed, making her crash into his chest with a huff. "No worries. Spoiler alert, she falls in love with me later. Tell 'em"

[Name] sighs out a chortle and rolls her eyes.

From every once in a while to every other day, Osamu incorporated himself into her schedule to fill corners of her life she'd never cared to complete. Any free time that gratefully came his way, he'd use it as an opportunity to visit her at her apartment. [Name] always opened the door to find his grinning face greeting her, and she replied with a quiet simper of her own as he lifted a plastic bag up to her eye level. "Walk or movie night?" he prompted while inviting himself into her place. No matter what [Name] chose, he had already decided, judging by how he didn't bother to unload the hoard of snacks he'd bought.

"Brought popcorn?"

He turned towards her, eyes in the shape of crescents while he cheekily smiled at her. "No."

"Then why do you ask?"

"Ta make ya feel like ya've a choice." Laughter flowed into the air with an easiness his hidden feelings hadn't permitted before.

Although [Name] was nocturnal by nature, Osamu wasn't. He disciplined himself to adapt to her views of the world only to create and spend as much quality time as she needed to return his love. Unconsciously, he chose night walks much more often than movie nights, convincing himself it was because [Name] enjoyed the landscape of the glittering Milky Way, but he was simply attempting to make up for that night he'd crushed her trust.

He much preferred staying over at her place and dozing off on her couch as remnants of jokes and quips fluttered through the apartment. Lovely mornings where he awoke an hour earlier than she did—a whole hour was more than enough to relish in the peace of her expression while she soundly rested, after which he could admire her drowsy grin when the scent of his breakfast stirred her awake.

They shared the unspoken rule that dinners were always at his own apartment. On rare occasions, he invited her over to the shop after closing hours, but cooking with her in his own home felt far more gratifying. He found satisfaction in adding fun to her meals; not to say that [Name] didn't know how to cook, she merely didn't care to do it. Osamu took it upon himself to share all of his secrets and improve those rusty skills of hers, making the most out of both the ingredients at hand and the moments they spent singing in his kitchen. Anything he did for her brought him one step closer to winning her affection.

Even if it meant terrible business strategies. [Name] didn't stay behind and sacrificed her precious efforts to keep the flame of their friendship burning bright. Any opening in her schedule she could take advantage of, she never hesitated to. Her face became a regular at the Onigiri Miya shop with how much she frequented it. So much so that the cashiers quickly recognized her as soon as she pulled out her wallet to pay for her onigiri. Very bold of Osamu to come up with the name of love discounts and inform his whole staff about them.

"Boss says it's on the house again, [Surname]-san."

She could only purse her lips every time the poor employees mumbled those words. Dismissing the familiar offer, she sighed, "How much is it?"

"I have to discount ten percent for you if you refuse the free one."

"I'm sorry this is normal procedure for you guys. I'll pay full anyway."

"Yes, ma'am." The cashier smiled sheepishly in return, ignoring the beads of sweat manifesting beneath their cap at the pressure of [Name]'s unintentional glare directed towards them. Nobody ever told her they took the ten percent off regardless, for their sake more than hers.

Sometimes a text, sometimes a call. Osamu had set a particular ringtone to recognize when it was [Name] reaching out to him and distinguish her from the rest of his contacts. It happened often that his screen lit up late in the evening as it chirped to notify him of [Name] sending him a message. (When it came to calls, he had persuaded her to record a customized ringtone. Hey, Osamu, you have an incoming call, please, pick up, played on repeat until he found the heart to answer the call, phone vibrating in a heartbeat pattern.) It was one of the many details [Name] pondered over endlessly, one of the various little things in a vast ocean of fondness and tenderness he offered only to her. Love seemed to come so easily to him, as if he'd basked in it for every second of his existence, with a brother by his side and parents to watch over him. Ironic how he envied her ability to express all her truths while she envied his capability and openness to love.

She failed to find a proper approach to the situation. Someone as precious as Osamu had become in her life and yet she couldn't bring herself to reciprocate feelings so pure. Logic reasoned with blunt frigidity; had they met as adults, Osamu's affection for her wouldn't have developed so deeply. [Name] understood that, seeing as it was happening to her herself. High-school had been forever ago, where the influence over emotions was much stronger than in adulthood. Maybe if he had confessed to her back in the music clubroom as he had originally intended, her heart would have had the freedom to change with a snap of her fingers. Maybe. Only maybe. Hypotheticals were useless.

His revelation underneath that damned lamp post shoved her thoughts into questioning. A friend she didn't want to lose against a crush he refused to let go of. I ain't givin' up on ya, of course it was fair, she couldn't decide his feelings for him. But nothing is ever fair. Even if she tried to see him in a different light, she could never guarantee it would work out. All she wanted was to keep him close.

A sigh drifted into the quiet of the night while she raised her knuckles to the door. [Name] had messaged Osamu to check in on him and drop by Onigiri Miya if he was at the shop. Yeah, just knock. Nothing out of the ordinary, routine almost. When she tapped with a familiar beat she'd built at his request, intelligible hollers reached her ears from the inside. The door opened for her seconds later, and she came face to face with blond hair she refused to make peace with. Her stubbornness suggested turning on her heels and heading home, but her pride shot him a side-eyed glower and stepped into the shop with her head held up high.

Atsumu grumbled curses to himself as he locked the door and reluctantly returned to his seat. [Name] strategically settled a stool away from him. At least they agreed on one thing.

Tension denser than air manifested into the atmosphere, enough to press down on both of them while they waited for Osamu to act as an intermediate. Painfully quiet silence stabbing into their ears at the uncomfortable energy flooding the shop and filling the distance they'd put between one another. What could possibly take Osamu so long in that forsaken kitchen? Atsumu knew it was his own onigiri, but God forbid he'd take the blame when [Name]'s presence pestered him on his side. If his brother didn't like her, then he wouldn't have to stand her being there alone with him.

He took matters into his own hands. Meddling in others' business was one of his many fortes, even more so when it came to his beloved twin. He stared her down through the corner of his eye. "Ya know he's in love with ya, right? For some reason."

[Name] flinched at the unexpected tear in the quietude. Atsumu raised an inquiring brow but didn't pry. "Yeah… He told me a while ago." She uncharacteristically lowered her head, piercing holes into her hands on the counter with her narrowed glare.

"And?"

"And I don't reciprocate."

How dare she? "Why?"

Her spunk returned almost immediately at his interrogation. She lifted her glower towards him, a scowling grimace scrawled over her features, pulling the corners of her lips into a snarl. "What do you care?"

He debated between fighting her to the death before Osamu showed up at her sheer audacity to question him. "He's my brother. I don't want him gettin' hurt." The rational side of his brain held him back with iron chains. If anyone could be the bigger person between him and the Wicked Witch, then he definitely had to assume that role for both of their sakes—and so his brother wouldn't stab him into oblivion if he picked a fight with his dear [Name].

"Huh. I guess you don't have as much of a swelling ego as I thought." Her face softened into a deadpan. Flat lips, half-lidded eyes, resting eyebrows, completely bored and downright inexpressive. She stared into him with nothing but an empty hole in her gaze as she allowed her tongue to blurt out whatever it wanted. Before he could growl anything about her testing his patience, she returned her attention to her fingers dancing on the counter. "I'm trying." It was barely a whisper, one not too sure whether it had a reason to even be pronounced.

"Hah?"

Had she sounded like that in high-school? She shook the thought out of her head just as soon as it appeared. "I'm trying to fall in love with him."

"Why?"

Atsumu sure had some nerve with all his incessant questions. "Because I don't want to lose him." Yet she found herself replying nonetheless. Yes, she was honest with her feelings to both herself and the outside world, but she never laid them down to understand the basis of their existence. She was trying so hard and for what reason?

"It don't work like that."

[Name] blinked repeatedly while slowly craning her neck towards Atsumu. Her frowning glare resurfaced. "Am I really getting love advice from you?"

"Hey, I know a thing or two, you—" His nostrils flared for half a second before he reminded himself he was engaging in this unwanted conversation for his brother. He breathed in deeply to tame his temper. [Name] held back an instinctive grin at the similarities between him and Osamu. Atsumu carried on without paying any mind to the twitching of her lips. "And I know love's gotta be genuine, not interested."

The smile trying to form vanished in an instant upon processing the words he smacked her with. Who would have thought Miya Atsumu, her unspoken sworn enemy, of all people, would be the one to clear up the fog muddling her brain? Her vacant stare strayed through his eyes as her mouth fell agape. Atsumu glanced behind him to make sure there was nothing there causing her expression to morph so dramatically. When he turned back to her, she was boring a hole into the counter once more while contemplating everything she'd ever known. "Okay," she spoke with a pristine clearness in her tone. It didn't slash him as harsh as it tended to do. He watched her nod to herself repeatedly. "I'll keep that in mind."

Silence returned and settled on the stool they used to distance themselves from one another. A fresher mind and a different perspective. [Name] was, surprisingly, fairly easy to reason with; Atsumu could genuinely put his ego aside for the sake of others. The tension faded into nothingness as they replenished their lungs with new ideas about the person sitting beside them. By the time Osamu emerged from the kitchen with their respective snacks—Atsumu's special onigiri and [Name]'s two normal-sized ones—their shoulders relaxed loose and comfortable smiles spread on their faces.

[Name]'s expression shifted immediately when she laid eyes on Atsumu's dish. She glared with wide eyes, horrified as Osamu set the plate in front of his brother. She leaned back, mildly terrified, a new-found fear adding itself to her list. "That's very—That's massive," she whispered out with a trembling voice.

"Wanna see how fast I eat it?" He grinned at her with eagerness in his eyes, hands snatching his ginormous onigiri off its plate.

"I kinda don't. I—I'm concerned."

Chortles slipped from her tongue when Atsumu immediately stuffed his face into the rice. Laughter flowed freely around the shop, ignoring the animosity quietly dissipating through the cracks and outside the door. Osamu smiled softly to himself while he gazed at two of his favorite people willingly interacting without any intent to strangle each other. He didn't know what had happened, but that knowledge was useless when adoring the sight of them getting along.

"You still have a swelling ego."

"Shaddup, ya love me." The tip of Atsumu's shoe stabs her shin.

She hisses in pain, but disguises it as anger, "Swelling ego."

"Wicked Witch."

Osamu shoves his finger onto [Name]'s lips before she can retaliate. "Quiet, both of you, don't ruin my wedding."

"Our wedding, 'Samu."

"Not when I kick ya out of it."

"Hey, 'Tsumu, wanna marry—"

"Moving on."

#Wicked Witch #Haikyuu #Miya Osamu #Miya Osamu x Reader #Osamu x Reader #Haikyuu x Reader

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