#silly thoughts (which are probably gonna be overlooked considering the

[nightowlstardust]

Might be just wishful thinking but

I really really hope that stolas never comes to know about blitz being sold to be his playmate 25 years ago. Or that blitz tried to sneak into his bedroom only to nick the grimoire.

Ok maybe that sounds wrong, and probably he is going to find out, but I hope that it happens atleast after they (maybe?) get together. Cause I know it would be very hard for stolas to digest such information, and I need to see blitz comfort him.

Gahhh i just can’t see my boy sad and depressed any more >:(

[signanothername]

Exploring character dynamics: Blades

Blades and Heatwave: Very Older Brother, little brother dynamic. They would die for each other and brag about it later. They would also definitely roughhouse if Blades didn’t any know better. Also Blades trying so hard to imitate HW in part 2 of double villainy. He wanted to be a good leader too

Blades and Chase: Autisim vs ADHD if robots. They balance each other out perfectly. Just put them together and I’m already smiling cause I know I’ll have a good time. “What’s sooner than immediately?” “I have no idea” 

Blades and Boulder: ADHD vs AuADHD. These two are a menace. They always do the craziest things together. I’m honestly surprised the writers didn’t exploit that more. These idiots kidnapped a lion. I love them. I’m also pretty sure that Boulder learned a lot about first aid from Blades since more often than not he’s the one acting doctor.

Blades and Graham: Their episode together makes me so soft 😭 They’re their both the “weakest” members of their active teams and can sometimes overlook how essential they are “At least they found you… that’s important”

Blades and Kade: Imma be 100% honest, I don’t think Blades could take much of Kade, him considering Mr. Pettypaws a better partner says it all. He wouldn’t get angry, just more and more annoyed and sassy.

Blades and Cody: Watching the show, I noticed that Heatwave and Boulder are closer to Cody, while Blades and Chase dare closer to their partners. Still though, this bot was fresh on earth, dealing with the fact that he would have to fly despite his fears and still said “For Cody”.

Blades and Chief: Dad and son. He was so exited to be paired up with the chief, adorable.

Blades and Dani: HSKEBSKA THESE TWO HOLY SHIT!!! Sassy as all can be. Big sister - little brother, man you can feel the love in this relationship. Dare I say it’s the most develop? Like, it doesn’t grow the same way Heatwave and Kade do, but you can feel this closeness. Blades is extremely protective of Dani and Dani is so encouraging of Blades, even when she considers something his doing as silly she’s there for him 🥹 ARGH, when she left for her space mission and he had to transform and didn’t get to say a proper goodbye, that shot of him as a helicopter just there, when she cried the moment she heard his voice 😭😭. How they’re very verbal about their affection and bring the better out of each other (Dani becomes kinder and Blades is always developing his skills) I love them so much. They’re gonna be great leaders in China and I WISH WE GOT TO SEE THAT.

AAAAA THANK YOU FOR THIS ANON THIS IS BEAUTIFUL 😭❤️❤️❤️🌷✨

Allow me to share my thoughts as well :D

Blades and Heatwave: I agreeeeeee!!!! I feel like Blades looks up to Heatwave and admires his skills, and i wholeheartedly believe he tries his best to make Heatwave proud, something he doesn’t actually need to do, cause Heatwave is already proud of him, HW just never says it outright, but you see it in how protective HW is of Blades and how he’d actually do the things Blades ask him to

Heatwave is protective of all his team, but he’s even extra protective of Blades, their relationship reminds me of the lil bro who gets bullied but keeps it a secert only for the older bro to find out and go beat the shit outta the bullies, getting hurt in the process

You know for a fact HW has been in so many fights just to protect Blades, he probably fought people just for looking Blades the wrong way <3333

Blades definitely imitates HW sometimes, probably without actually realizing it chchhc, that one episode of him trying to act hardcore and slaming his fist on his palm only to go “ow” is so adorable and i wholeheartedly believe he’s trying to act how Heatwave does

The leader role kinda doesn’t fit Blades, cause he doesn’t know how to act when pressured which the leader role is full of, it’s a role with so much responsibility tied to it, not to mention Blades is more of a free spirit, putting him under a restrictive role can inhibit his outta the box thinking and creativity, and that’s why in part i believe he tried to imitate HW, cause HW is an amazing leader and Blades doesn’t exactly know how to lead, so he goes for the next best option, imitating his own great leader <3

That obviously doesn’t mean Blades can’t lead, in fact I wholeheartedly believe he can and would be really great at it, he only needs a bit of time to find his own footing, to find himself in the role and to adapt to it, he’d definitely be a lot more carefree as a leader, a leader who makes his team always feel safe to approach him with any problems they may have and it’s heartwarming to think about :D

I think the fact Blades can adapt to so many things no matter what life throws at him is his greatest strength, so you can imagine my joy when Blades is assigned leader to his own rescue team in China <333

———

Blades and Chase: YOU GET ITTTTTT!!!!!!! Their characters balance so well for a variety of reasons cause you have Blades, who’s always anxious and thinks of the worst scenarios that could happen with Chase who’s always calm and thinks logically, which means Chase is the best candidate when it comes to helping Blades deal with his anxiety

Meanwhile you have Blades who understands social situations and innuendos and is very invested in pop culture and you have Chase who literally could never grasp social situations and innuendos for the life of him, and isn’t very good at learning the culture he is in at all, so you have Blades sometimes filling that gap

Their personalities contrast so much and that contrast is what i love the most about their relationship!

Also can I talk about how much I adore how they always take care of each other??? There’s a reason I like to believe these two are Amica Endura!!!! They look out for each other and you can tell they’re really close, they always help each other out and it’s always so damn heartwarming <3333

✨Adhd and Autism solidarity✨

———

Blades and Boulder: NO LITERALLY WISH THE SHOW EXPLORED THEIR DYNAMIC MORE!!

They have a lot in common both are artists, one who loves to paint the other loves to make signs and decorations, both love to explore the world, one through learning about the culture and nature, the other through pioneering, and both are very chaotic, these two probably love to go on adventures together sometimes

And as you said, the fact Boulder knows first aid?? He probably got Blades to teach him, i feel like Blades actually tries to let Boulder teach him about engineering too, kinda like listening to each other interests, but the boredom is infinite and his adhd brain can never allow it gugujgvjvj, it probably goes with Boulder talking for hours only for Blades to admit he didn’t get any of it, Boulder completely understands and is happy Blades gives him a chance to ramble regardless <3333

Hope you don’t mind but- *snatches the AuADHD Boulder headcanon* it’s mine now :)

Also can I talk about the fact Blades is good at dancing and Boulder loves dancing but his size doesn’t help? I like to think these two have dancing sessions sometimes!!

———

Blades and Graham: AAAH SO REAL!!!! Y’know I love how they have that in common, it makes a great connection point for the two

Blades and Graham aren’t physically strong, but that’s not where their worth or importance lies, Graham’s strength is his brain and his knowledge in engineering, he literally saved the lives of the entire island multiple times due to his input, whether by stopping his family from doing something that could potentially be a disaster or finding the source of what is causing problems to begin with (like finding the source of the earthquakes that were happening because of the speaker in “shake up”

Blades is agile and fast, really light on his feet and while all that’s good this is not what makes him important, what truly counts is his quick thinking and his amazing sense of the situation, he’s creative and that’s important in a rescue team where rescues always take an unexpected turn, his loyalty to the team is boundless and he always does what’s needed of him even when it’s completely outta his expertise, and this might seem strange to say, but his anxiety is actually a good thing, cause he sometimes does bring up really good points, his anxiety make him think of how a scenario can go wrong in so many directions that the team wouldn’t usually think about and asks them out loud, making the team stop and think, and that’s also really important

So when Graham and Blades don’t really realize how their existence is so damn important it hurts my heart, cause their perception of themselves isn’t the best, they think they aren’t as important which isn’t true at all

They both think low of themselves when they fail and it hurts to see cause everyone fails from time to time and that’s ok

I adore these two ughhh 😭❤️🌷✨

———

Blades and Kade: TELL ME ABOUT IT CHICCJJV

Like the mere idea of being partners with Kade was completely outta the question for Blades

HW’s and Kade’s personalities clash head on and that’s actually why their dynamic works, an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, therefore canceling each other

And it’s honestly kinda funny considering how similar HW and Kade are, they obviously differ in some things, but overall their similarities exceed their differences

Yet we see that Blades is very comfortable dealing with HW, but wouldn’t be comfortable dealing with Kade, and i like to believe it’s in part cause Blades can’t handle really intense people like HW and Kade, but can adapt to them if given time, which Blades did have a really long time to adapt to HW but not so much time to adapt to Kade, so dealing with Kade seems like a nightmare, but we see he does consider it when Kade gives a really good idea only for HW to tell him to “think again”

Overall, I think it would’ve been amazing had we gotten an episode in which Blades and Kade worked together, it would’ve probably been a fave hcchchch

———

Blades and cody: oooh that’s a nice note, I didn’t really notice that!! Tho i’d say Blades definitely loves Cody and loves to spend time with him, “Virtual disaster” is definitely one of my favorite episodes, and I ADORE Blades’ and Cody’s dynamic in that episode

I feel like Cody and Blades get along so well, and Blades definitely acts like an older bro to Cody

Not to mention Cody seems the best at calming Blades when he’s upset, get his mind off the thing that upset him, like when Dani leaves for her pilot testing and Cody tells him “come on, let’s find enough paint for your sign” and we see how that immediately makes Blades feel a bit better :D

Cody seems to understand that Blades is driven by his emotions and that’s what he focuses on when interacting with Blades, and tbh that’s something I feel like Cody and Blades have in common, they both got really big emotions that require someone to acknowledge, and that’s why Cody always acknowledges Blades’ feelings and vice versa

———

Blades and Charlie: I don’t have much to add to what you already said cause that’s literally it hcchchchvjcj

But i’d love to talk about how Charlie seems to entertain Blades’ desires and child like wonder, gives him a chance to explore his world in his own way and helps him live the role <33

Charlie is an amazing dad, both to his biological and Cybertronian kids <333

———

Blades and Dani: OH MY FUCKING GOD THEYRE MY FAVORITE PAIR OF PARTNERS!!! And i agree! I think they’re the most developed!

I think Blades’s and Dani’s relationship is the most complex, Dani loves flying, Blades doesn’t, Dani is a risk taker, Blades has saftey as a priority

Their personalities are quite the opposite of each other, but that’s why they work! Blades teaches Dani patience and kindness and Dani teaches Blades to open up more and accept the danger that comes with his work

Their love for each other is literally radiating through space and time zhhxhdh

You can tell Blades becomes really attached to Dani, the episode where Dani goes to space is proof of it, Blades becoming upset at the idea of her leaving is so damn heartbreaking him going “I hate when she leaves” literally tore my heart in two

But what truly gets to me is that by the end of the episode when they have the talk Dani promised? He says “I hope you get it” he’s so supportive of her no matter how much it hurts him or how much he hates the idea of separating

AND I AGREEEE I WISH WE GOT TO SEE THEIR JOURNEY 😭❤️🌷✨

Goddammit I really wanna say more but know when you love something to the point it’s genuinely hard to put into words??? That’s me with Blades’ and Dani’s relationship they’re SO DAMN ADORABLE AND ID DIE FOR THEM

And since words betrayed me here’s one of my favorite scene of them just HSHSHSJHZHSJSJSJSHHSKAKS

———

Damn this got way longer than what I meant for it, hope you enjoyed regardless dhhdhd

[thefanficmonster]

Matured

Corpse Husband & Little Sister Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: Sibling Fluff, Humor, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: Corpse’s search for a roommate ends shortly after his little sister calls him, telling him she’s moving out of her high school dorm in the suburbs following her graduation to attend college in San Francisco.

Requested by @bugger2002  Hi darling! Thank you so much for this adorable request, I had such a fun time turning it into a fic! Sorry it has taken me so long to complete it but here it finally is and I hope you enjoy the read! Love, Vy ❤

Alright, it’s been a month since Y/N announced she’d be moving in with me - no, she didn’t ask if she could nor if I’d want her to, she straight up casually informed me she’d be moving in with me since she’s starting college. I’m lucky she even thought to tell me, knowing her it wouldn’t have been so strange for her to just show up on my doorstep with a grin like “Alright, I live here now.” Having a six years younger sister who can act both younger and older than me - sometimes both at the same time - is a bit complex. Obviously, my protective and nurturing brotherly instinct kicks in whenever she complains to me about something, but seconds later she tells me she’s taken care of it already and I feel like a fool for overreacting even if it was only internal. She’s calm and rational when she needs to be and a reckless airhead whose only goal is to have fun when she wants to be.

And judging by her and her friends’ main methods of obtaining said fun I can see how much alike we are: playing drunk video games, drunk darts, drunk pool. You see, there’s a lot of drinking involved and that’s something I’m greatly unhappy with and have scolded her on countless times just to get a fake promise, probably with fingers crossed behind her back - that she’ll cut down the alcohol. Not to mention she’s not even old enough to drink so I’ve been very insistent on her cutting her bad habit. She’s tried calling me hypocritical at times but she can’t do so rightfully since I’m, you know, of drinking age. So she’s basically bound by law to follow my advice and orders.

At least now that she’ll be staying with me I’ll be able to keep a better eye on her. A rascal high school student will either mature-up in college or go even more downhill. I aim to make her fall in the first category, but I’m making no promises - she’s very unruly, just like me. Damn, never did I think my own traits would come hitting me in the back of the head like a boomerang but here we are.

Regardless of all the crap I’ve just spewed about her, she’s a wonderful girl. She’s always been my pillar of support and never gets tired of it. She never misses a call of mine and has never not replied to a message of mine, no matter how drunk she’s been. She’s never skipped a Saturday night Skype call, no matter how busy she’s been. She’s never let herself forget she has a brother who often times needs her by his side.

Once she even talked one of her friends who has a car and a driver’s license drive her all the way to my apartment complex when I was having a really bad anxiety attack and legit couldn’t talk on the phone. She went door to door to find which apartment I live in and stayed with me the whole weekend she was supposed to spend at a music festival or something. It’s not wonder she’ll be a med student - she’s always wanted to be a nurse and has practically been my personal nurse since she was twelve. She maybe wasn’t always physically present to help me, but she’s a great instruction giver for when I need her and she’s unable to come to my aid.

Well now, we’ll both be there to aid one another.

“BEEP BEEP FUCKER!“

I nearly flip off my chair at the distinct yelling coming from directly below my window. I’d recognize that voice anywhere, and it’d always bring a smile to my face without fail.

I rush to get up from my desk chair and open the window but when I do so, she’s no longer on the sidewalk. There’s only a car I recognize to be the one of the friend that drove her here during that nightmarish episode I explained earlier.

Before I can ever back away from the window, I hear my front door swing open and a yell echo from down the hall, “Corpse! How many times do I need to tell you to lock your door, damn it!”

“The same amount of times I’ve had to tell you to cut down on the al- WHOA!“ She doesn’t let me finish the sentence and jumps me the second I step out in the hallway.

“Missed you, stupid!“ She says, her legs wrapped around my waist as she ruffles my hair, “I’ll trim your hair later. Why have you let it get so long?“ She questions, furrowing her brows at me while running both her hands through my mess of a hair - she has a point, I’ve let it get out of control. While doing so, she seems to get an idea all of a sudden so she quickly climbs down, reminding me of the huge height difference we have now that her feet are on the floor. “I know you two have met before, but I think you need to re-meet...“ she says, turning to look at her friend who’s smiling timidly at her. She sends the flustered girl a wink before turning back to look at me, “Corpse, I’d like you to meet Abbey, my girlfriend“ she says proudly, skipping over to the blue haired girl and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Y/N pushes up on her tiptoes and places a kiss on her girlfriend’s cheek. It’s adorable to see her shorter than yet another person she clearly adores to annoy.

I smile at the two girls, holding back a chuckle as to not embarrass Abbey more, “Well then, nice to meet you Abbey. You should know you are one strong soul to be putting up with all that.“ I purposely don’t look at Y/N as I motion towards her, earning me a pissed off “Hey!“ as a response to my remark, “Stick around for dinner, don’t worry neither of us will be cooking.“ I point at myself and then at Y/N as if to reassure her she won’t be a victim of food poisoning.

“Actually...“ Abbey says, tilting her head to look my shortie sister in the eyes as if taunting her to say something.

She finally caves, raising her left hand as though she’s volunteering, “Ugh fine, I may or may not have taken a cooking course and may or may not know how to cook a decent meal. It’s whatever, really.”

To say I’m impressed would be an understatement. I’m impressed, shocked, surprised and flooded with joy that my sister has finally decided to start maturing. “Cooking course, huh? When did you decide living off of takeout isn’t a nice way to live?”

She rolls her eyes at me, “Oh no I still go full weeks with only takeout and cereal, I just needed a distraction because...well...” she trails off, her gaze dropping awkwardly as she fishes for words or perhaps already has them found but doesn’t want to spit them out.

Abbey huffs, taking Y/N’s hand and lifting it to show off her wrist where I catch sight of a batch of colorful handmade bracelets, “Because these aren’t gonna earn themselves.”

I raise an eyebrow, puzzled as to what exactly she’s referring to.

Y/N sighs, taking one of the bracelets, playing with it nervously, “I have one for every month I’ve spent without getting drunk - Abbey made them for me. I need a distraction to stay sober so...I took up cooking.“

I can’t remember a moment I haven’t felt proud of my sister. Y/N’s always been on top of her shit, drunk or sober she knows what she’s doing. She’s mindful even when she’s reckless, thinks soberly even when she’s been drinking heavily. She’s always proved herself to me and to the people who think of her as a lowlife without even trying. She lets the world breeze by her without thinking too much of it and yet she still mesmerizes me and many of the people she meets - Abbey has now officially joined the club.

But, all things said and considered, I think I’ve never felt as proud of her as I do right now, seeing those six bracelets on her wrist - half a year without getting drunk. I know she wouldn’t lie to Abbey, she rarely lies to me too, so those bracelets have been earned and well-deserved and that makes me feel like the Y/N I remember is not the one standing in front of me right now. That silly girl is still in the suburbs, making a shitty-ass choice of messing up her liver. A grown woman, a responsible adult has taken her place though, and I couldn’t be more glad.

“Y/N...“ I finally manage to utter her name, making her gaze meet mine, “I’m so fucking proud of you.“

A smile slowly stretches the corners of her mouth upwards, her eyes shning in a way that has nothing to do with the lighting in this hallway. She’s not a crier though, I know those tears are gonna stay right there, stubbornly refusing to escape her eyes, “Thanks, Corpse. I’m proud of you too....” she says, nodding her head slowly, “I can overlook the untrimmed hair.”

Sigh

Y/N will always be Y/N no matter what I guess. That’s a good thing - I love her just the way she is.

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[latraviesascott]

What kind of dreams (or nightmares) do you think the Avatar characters have? Obviously Aang's got some wild ones and Sokka dreams about food eating people xD but what do you think The rest of the gaang and the Fire Nation kids dream about?

Okay so this is just my opinion but, even if Aang's dreams and nightmares in Season 3 were funny, they all came from the fear of failing that Aang had. So if the dreams/nightmares are influenced by the character's feelings/ insecurities then this is what i imagine each of them would dream about:

Katara- even though the fandom jokes about it a lot, she does mention/talk a lot about her mom in the series, and that is completely understandable considering the fact that she's dealing with that trauma since she was a kid. The North and South comics begin with Katara dreaming of her mom back in the SWT, and the dream was both happy and sad for her. She even woke up feeling nostalgic. Therefore i feel like Katara's more significant dreams consist of memories of her mom , and the good times she had in the water tribe before the Fire Nation altered that forever. Her nightmares could be heavily influenced by the amount of stress she has with being the "mom" of the group. She truly does act motherly with her friends, but it's all because she cares and she's has been doing so with Sokka since she was a kid. The idea of not being able to protect them probably haunts her dreams..

Sokka- i sometimes feel so bad for Sokka. Many people often overlook the fact that he was also a child personally affected by the war. In Season 1 we see that he feels this big responsibility to protect his tribe. After all, he is the oldest "man" left. That's a huge responsibility! He also has this need to prove himself as a warrior to Hakoda. Not only that, in the episode "Sokka's Master" we see that he also has this issue with being a non-bender in a group of powerful benders. This doesn't come from him being selfish, but he feels bad when he sees that he can't help people as much as the rest of the gaang does. So if you add that to his usual easy going, fun personality his dreams could honestly range from silly things like him being eaten by food, and him being awesome with Suki, to more serious nightmares that involve him not being/doing enough to protect those that depend on him.

Toph- out of all of the Ember Island players i feel like Toph's representation is most accurate 😭 that kid is tough as nails. The many statues she makes of herself in both Imbalance and later on in Legend of Korra make me think her dreams mostly consist of her being awesome in super badass scenarios! Or her being MELONLORD!!! Her nightmares however are the complete opposite. In "The Blind Bandit" she says she hasn't had a single friend in the 12 years of her life! like omgg bby let me give you a hug!!! And I thought it was super interesting how vulnerable she looks in the episode "The Avatar and the Firelord" when she asks if its truly possible for friendships to last more than one lifetime. She found more than friendships, she found a family with the gaang. In The Rift, her own father denied knowing her, which proves that family is not defined by blood ties. So letting go/ losing those friendships is a concept that seems to scare her. I feel like this is something she might have nightmares about.

Suki- because Suki is part of the gaang!!! She does have her own group with the Kyoshi warriors, not trying to erase that, but i consider her to be a part of the gaang too! With that being said we really do not know much about this queen, and i am so glad that she's getting her own comic! Hopefully we learn more about her! But from what we know, she began training since she was 8 years old! She is a brave warrior and a great friend. I feel like she takes her job as a Kyoshi warrior super seriously and is honored to be their fearless leader. I imagine that her happy dreams consist of her meeting Kyoshi herself. As for her nightmares, we do not get a lot of her (unfortunately) to really perceive her fears, but if Azula's taunting in "The Day of Black Sun Pt.2" are true, then Suki has been waiting on Sokka to rescue her for some time now. Seeing that time passed must have been hard for her. Her nightmares might have been influenced by her feeling abandoned, or her worry about the other Kyoshi warriors. (Also i love Azula, but Suki probably also dreamed of dragging Azula's big head on the ground.)

Zuko- omggg where do i even begin with this boy?! I feel like the Fire Nation teens are just so angsty! But when one's father burns off half of your face then that's the way it is igs. So I feel like the show was pretty in detail when it came to Zuko's character and his personality. Throughout the show, we see how he sometimes gets this flashbacks whenever he's feeling a specific way or when he's reminded of something. This was seen most in "The Beach". Despite being this angsty, emotional guy he is always remembering his early childhood very fondly despite being part of the most dysfunctional family in the Fire Nation. During his fever, we see his nightmares being this representation of the constant fight between good and evil inside him. Therefore i think this is what Zuko most likely sees when he has nightmares. (It is quite interesting how the "evil" blue dragon in his nightmare seems to represent Azula and the "good" red dragon is Iroh. That kind of made me wonder why Zuko seemed to associate the evil aspect with Azula rather than Ozai🤔). But back to the point. If the flashbacks he has are any indication, then his dreams most likely involve the good times he had with his mother and family during their vacations on ember island. (And because of his trauma, he might also relive the Agni Kai with Ozai in his nightmares.)

Azula- i could write essays on this girl. Her character is just so complex! And literally nothing in this world is gonna convince me that she didn't deserve better. Im gonna try to keep it as short as possible with her because quite honestly i could go on forever. But im having a hard time figuring out what a happy dream might be for Azula. Conquering Ba Sing Se?? Mastering Firebending at a young age?? Oh right she did do that! She wasn't like Zuko, in the way that she could look back on the past and remember it fondly. Quite the opposite actually, she refers to their beach house as "depressing". Then, later on in the bonfire, she treats everyone's emotions and confessions as a "performance". It's quite interesting to think that truly the only one who was trying to perform was her. Everyone else was very honest and open with their insecurities even if they didn't realize it. The fact that she thinks showing emotion is a performance of some sort makes it clear that everything she does is a perfectly put-together performance. Her nightmares could consist that facade falling apart, and her status as the perfect daughter being reduced to nothing along with her many achievements. The difference with Azula is that just as she became everything she dreamed of, she also ended up being everything her nightmares doomed her to be. ( I also have this hc that she dreamt of having a cat with ty lee and just living together at Ember Island after she got help and just lived their happy gay life of wtvvvv)

omggg this post is gonna be super long, but i had so much fun answering this! thank you for that! it was a nice surprise 🥰 i can do ty lee and mai later if you'd like just lmk! im just giving my thumbs a lil rest rn. hope this sorta answered the question😌

[sarcasticsir]

No Need To Be Afraid When I'm Here With You

Okay so this fic was entirely self-indulgent. It's also my first fanfiction so that's something. This has been in my notes for a while now so fuck it, I'm posting it.

In which Garmadon and Lloyd traverse the serpentine tombs. The only problem? Lloyd's afraid of the dark.

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As the serpentine and humans had only just recently become allies, someone had to go check on them to make sure they were doing okay in their new home. Lloyd had volunteered, needing something to keep his mind off of Zane, and his dad had decided to accompany him since the ninja had left the week before.

Lloyd had actually been looking forward to this trip. He was curious about the serpentines culture, and what their new home was like. Of course, he had overlooked one small (huge) detail. They're serpentine, so they live underground. Where it's cold and wet. And, more importantly, dark. Very dark. As in pitch black, can't see two metres in front of you kind of dark. The kind of dark where something could be following you, and you would never even know until it's too late.

So Lloyd may have a slight fear of the dark. Slight. He figured it probably first came from that one time the other boys locked him outside during the night in the middle of a violent storm. As a 5 year old, it was terrifying. But for a 5 year old who had already been a little afraid of the dark, it was pure torture. But that's in the past, the past is past and all that. It was fine really. He was fine. That was what he kept telling himself as they entered the new serpentine tomb.

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It wasn't even that bad. It was well lit by glowing torches that lined the walls. The heat they produced chasing away some of the cold. Still, Lloyd didn't like the way the shadows lining the walls would move hauntingly as the torches flickered in a faraway breeze. He inched closer to his dad, telling himself that it was just because of the cold, not because he was scared or anything. He's the green ninja, he's fought darkness before. Ah. There was the other reason he was (not) afraid of the dark. The Overlord.

Lloyd's train of thought was thankfully cut off as they arrived at the serpentines chambers. After the usual greeting and some talking, Lloyd found himself wandering off a bit. His father seemed to have it covered anyway.

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Garmadon and Scales were having the usual dad conversation, as Lloyd had decided to call it. Wait, Scales was a dad now. That was weird to think about. But Scales Jr. seemed nice enough where they played (um, did he say played? No, no, he meant- wait-) on the floor, just within Lloyd's earshot of the pair. Lloyd realised from what the two adults were saying, that their conversation seemed to be coming to a close. He considered getting up and joining them, but decided against it, choosing to continue chatting happily with Scales Jr. about the Starfarer comics he so cherished.

That was until Scales asked about where Garmadon and Lloyd were going. Lloyd noticed his dad hesitate for only a second, before answering truthfully. It was okay. They were allies now. They could be trusted. Scales was now telling Garmadon about a new tunnel that had just recently been drilled that would take them closer to where they needed to go. Oh, cool. That was nice of him. The path they had taken had been pretty far away from his dads monastery. He might even get some training in before it got too late. Lloyd came back from his thoughts to see his father waving him over. He quickly said goodbye to Scales Jr. and promised that the next time they visited, he'd bring some of his comics with him. He then turned and happily bounded (walked) his way over to his dads side. Lloyd pouted as his dad swept a hand through his hair affectionately with a bright grin on his face. Lloyd returned the grin with a small smile of his own. Maybe today was gonna be a good day.

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His bubbly mood was immediately smashed into a billion tiny pieces as soon as he saw the tunnel they were taking home. Lloyd could see what Scales meant now when he said that it was recently made. The hard ground was uneven and rough, making Lloyd trip every few steps. But that wasn't even the worst part. No, the worst part was the lack of light sources. It was the unnerving darkness creeping all around him.

As Lloyd already said. He doesn't like the dark. He wasn't about to show any signs that he was scared though, of course not. He couldn't let his dad, his sensei, know. He's supposed to be the green ninja, the most powerful ninja in all of Ninjago. He shouldn't be afraid of anything. But he is. And he hates that. His dad doesn't need to know that though.

"Watch your step here son, the ground's pretty uneven up here," Garmadon says suddenly, breaking the silence, and Lloyd notices that the floor seemed to be sloping up a bit. Maybe they were almost out? He hoped so. Lloyd stumbles for what must be the 50th time since they started this treck. He barely catches himself before he falls flat on his face, silently thanking Wu for the balance exercises. Lloyd can't see his fathers face, but he can feel his gaze on him and can only imagine the look of concern he's being given.

"I know you're a rebellious teenager, but maybe listening to me now and then wouldn't hurt." Nevermind, Lloyd was wrong about his dads concern.

"Well I can't exactly listen out for all the rocks in my way, now can I?" Lloyd had always been pretty sarcastic, but it only seemed to occur more often when he aged up, much to the dismay of his family.

"That was quick" Garmadon replies, a smirk audible in his words. Lloyd doesn't answer, too preoccupied with the ever increasing pit of anxiety growing in his chest. He really didn't like the dark.

Garmadon must have sensed his son's anxiety, because he slowed down his pace to walk beside Lloyd. "What's wrong?" Lloyd could just about see Garmadons face now, his features painted with worry as he squinted down at Lloyd.

"Nothing." A lie. Great. Lloyd really doesn't want Garmadon to find out about his fear. Yes, he's admitting it, he's afraid of the dark. He just wants to get out of there and into the light, away from the shadows (and whatever could be hiding in the pitch black of the tunnel).

"Lloyd, I know you. I know something's wrong. You can tell me, it's okay," Garmadon says, tone soft and caring. Fuck. Lloyd can't tell him. What would Garmadon think of him if he found out his son, his son who he is actually proud of, is afraid of something so silly as the dark. Lloyd averts his gaze, immediately regretting that decision as all he can see is black. The pressure in his chest becomes stronger, making it hard to breathe, and Lloyd worries that he's going to start hyperventilating. He wants to cry.

"Son, please," his dad presses, and Lloyd hears his footsteps cease at the same time as a weight grips Lloyd's shoulder. In hindsight, he really should have known that it was his father's reassuring hand on his shoulder, but Lloyd was scared and it was dark and he couldn't see. He flinched rather violently backwards, losing his footing and falling on his butt on the cold, hard ground.

"Lloyd, are you okay?" Garmadon is crouching in front of Lloyd now, and Lloyd suddenly feels awful, seeing the look of concern and the warmth that he's still getting used to seeing in his fathers crimson eyes. "Please tell me what's going on, son." Lloyd takes a breath, feeling the jagged floor beneath his hands, attempting to ground himself. He lowers his head and squeezes his eyes shut tight. His dad may be disappointed in him after this, but he can't bear to lie to him when his dad's so worried about him. Well, here goes nothing. "I'm afraid of the dark," he whispers out in one breath, keeping his eyes closed, not wanting to see his fathers reaction. "Oh," his dad is just barely audible, and Lloyd can't really make out how his dad is feeling. He prepares himself for whatever is coming next.

And then the one thing Lloyd didn't prepare himself for happens. A familiar, gentle pressure cups his face. Lloyd slowly opens his eyes, meeting his dads loving gaze. His father strokes his thumb across his cheek, wiping away a tear that Lloyd hadn't even realised was there. That weight in his chest makes itself known again by rising to his throat and Lloyd finds more tears spilling onto his flushed cheeks. His father pulls him to his chest, holding him close. Lloyd burrows his face into the crook of his dads neck as his father strokes his hair comfortingly.

They stayed like that for a while, and Lloyd's sobs quieten to slight hiccups and sniffles. "Please don't leave me," Lloyd's voice is muffled where his face is still resting against the silky, lavender scented fabric on Garmadons shoulder, but judging from what Garmadon says next, Lloyd figures he heard him. "What?!" Garmadon pulls away from their hug to place both his hands on Lloyd's shoulders with a firm but comforting grip. "Why would I leave you?" Garmadon asks, bewildered. Lloyd swipes at his eyes with his sleeve, "because."

"Because why?" Garmadon pins him with a penetrating stare and Lloyd squirms under his gaze.

"Because I'm a disappointment." Lloyd feels the sting of tears again but stubbornly ignores it.

Garmadon makes some noises that Lloyd can't quite understand before taking a breath and asking with a forced calmness, "why- why are you a disappointment?"

"Because, I'm supposed to be the saviour of Ninjago, the green ninja, and I'm afraid of the dark," Lloyd mutters, picking at a hole in his sleeve and avoiding his dads eyes. Garmadon hesitates, choosing his next words wisely. He had forgotten how bad Lloyd's 'I have to constantly prove myself, even at my own peril or else everyone I love will hate me and abandon me' fears were.

"Just because you're afraid of something, does not make you weak, and it certainly does not make you a disappointment, in fact, if you weren't afraid of anything, you'd be a fool," Garmadon answers, giving Lloyd a reassuring smile when he looked up, "I love you, sweetheart, and I am very proud of you, I always will be, no matter what. It's okay to admit that you're scared, that's a very brave thing to do." Garmadon seemed to think about something for a second before saying "How about I let you in on a little secret?"

That got his sons attention. Garmadon chuckled, "you have to promise that you won't tell anyone though, okay?"

"Okay I promise," Lloyd answered, curiosity temporarily taking over what was left of his fear.

"Not even Wu."

"Okay dad, I promise I wont tell anyone."

"Or Misako."

"DAD!" The mischievous grin on Garmadons face melted into a fit of laughter.

"Okay, I'll tell you," Garmadon could see that the suspense was killing Lloyd, he was thoroughly enjoying this, but there was also a point to what he was about to tell his son, "I'm actually afraid of snakes."

"Wha- really?" asked Lloyd, wide eyed.

"Yes, really."

"But what about the serpentine?" something seemed to click in Lloyd's mind.

"I didn't want you coming alone."

"O-oh" Lloyd gazed up at his dad, a small smile forming on his lips after a few seconds, "thank you." Garmadon returned the smile, and quickly moved to ruffle Lloyd's hair, eliciting a groan from the teen and a bat at his hand.

Garmadon stood up, offering a hand and helping Lloyd to his feet. He figured they must be near the surface now, but judging from the slight shake in Lloyd's hand, his son was still scared. "Would you feel better if I held your hand the rest of the way?" offered Garmadon, hoping to somehow make his son feel safer.

Lloyd considered his father's words carefully. A part of Lloyd told him no, that that was childish, but then again, he hadn't held his dads hand since he was a child (which, in his defense, really wasn't that long ago), and he figured he was probably a little (a lot) touchstarved. So it only took him a few moments before shyly responding "yeah." Garmadon took Lloyd's smaller hand into his warm, calloused hand, briefly squeezing it before the two walked side by side through the darkness.

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It didn't take them too much longer to find the exit. Lloyd felt relieved seeing the bright rays of sunlight scattered across the rocky floor. He didn't run ahead, surprisingly, instead choosing to stay by his fathers side. Garmadon still held Lloyd's hand as they walked home, and Lloyd was glad for it. The more time he spent with his dad, the more he realised that it didn't matter what he did or felt or that he was the green ninja. His dad's love was unconditional. And he showed that love through small gestures, like hair ruffles or hugs, and Lloyd was all too happy to return the gesture.

[wordofrecall]

character playlists: ori

so. let’s do this. my playlists are long and scattered, but they make me happy, so i might as well share them and the thoughts behind song choices. so. here’s some songs for runaway knights & wannabe witches, and what have you.

something holy - childhood & riches & wonders

pearl diver - mitski - oh hunter, if you didn’t want the beautiful so badly, perhaps you would’ve found it in your spirit singing softly - look. it's on the nose, considering that her title is "the pearl hunter," but also, like, that rules. this is a song for wren, i think; ori in the present reflecting on her mother and the similarities between them.

icicles - the scary jokes - i can only be forgiven if i’m giving myself up to you on a silver serving tray / must i bare myself to the stabbing of your knife & gnashing teeth while our lovely company appears so entertained? - aaand a song for childhood. 99% of ori's socialization came from her parents having important guests over, so. uh. yeah. show off your reclusive child prodigy like a pageant whenever you have the opportunity. she probably won't grow to loathe you.

life: the cruel interlude (on god) - kilo kish - why do i dare believe in me when i bleed? - questioning was. always a big thing for ori. i don't think she ever believed that the mirzha was god, and i known that she never truster her father's patron, but. in her studies, in her passions, there's always this tiny sense of desperation for something to have faith in something. not herself.

bluejays & cardinals - the mountain goats - the stars come out of hiding for you, & i would too - there is. a lot, in ori's relationship with her brother. she was the favorite child, yeah, the one destined for great things in spite of her... troubles. but he never had those troubles! she didn't, doesn't understand how he went through life so unafraid. there's envy there. i also think that the line i quoted is terribly true, like, canonically. because. she sure did do that stupid shit.

be calm - fun. - take it from me, i’ve been there a thousand times--you hate your pulse because it thinks you’re still alive! - sometimes you have intense social phobia. and that's okay!

country death song - violent femmes - kiss your mother goodnight & remember that God saves, kiss your mother goodnight & remember that God saves - i think andrei is a much less pitiable or even sympathetic man than the narrator of this song, but. like. it's a country song about a father killing his daughter while preaching godliness. i had to.

i’m all bloody inside - liam lynch - inside me, well, it’s dark & gross as hell, i’m not a pretty sight - the family business!

the hazards of love 3 (revenge!) - the decemberists - but father, don’t you fear, your children are all here - fantasies. part of the fantasy is imagining a world where she doesn't feel terrible about the thought.

shankill butchers - sarah jarosz - they used to be just like me & you, they used to be sweet little boys - "blood hunters are ghost stories." "and also, they're fucking terrible. violent, cruel, zealous. the worst."

sparrow - st. vincent - & no eyes are on the sparrow, eyes are on the sparrow, how could that be the case? the lark keeps whistling his number, silly little number, as if he isn't prey - pity for the boy. sort of retrospective, but it's a thought that's been there since she was a child.

something burning - rituals & fire & running

starchild - ghost quartet - but i will transcend & vomit this loser out of me; i will become the next big thing, i will light myself on fire - maybe she is some kind of angel? bursting with radiance and terrifying to look upon.

arsonist’s lullabye - hozier - don’t you ever tame your demons, always keep them on a leash / when i was sixteen, my senses fooled me - oooor maybe she is a sixteen year-old who is having a panic attack and setting everything in sight on fire by accident.

blood - my chemical romance - i’m the kind of human wreckage that you love! - so she's broken.

girl anachronism - the dresden dolls - it’s not the way i’m meant to be, it’s just the way the operation made me - so she's failed and she's broken and she's sick, and there's no time to fucking think.

when the chips are down - anais mitchell - cast your eyes to heaven, you’ll get a knife in the back. - so she does what her mother did before her, and she runs from that which she has always known.

body terror song - ajj - i’m so sorry that you have to have a body / one that will hurt you, & be the subject of so much of your fear - feelings on being built Wrong; feelings on your mind's undue control upon your body.

in corolla - the mountain goats - & no one was gonna come & get me, there wasn't anybody gonna know, even though i leave a trail of burnt things in my wake every single place i go - very good as an ori song in general but this is her justification to herself in the water. under the docks, she says this to herself.

the harrowed & the haunted - the decemberists - will i be so brave? - just to get that oceanic vibe up.

luna - the mountain goats - rise through the flames & end again in flames at last - an inexplicable feeling.

unwhere - reeder - a song for leaving what you've always known.

something lonely - years & woods & dreaming

runs in the family - amanda palmer - run from their pity, from responsibility, run from the country & run from the city, i can run from the law, i can run from myself, i can run for my life, i can run into debt, i can run from it all, i can run 'till I'm gone - she is broken and all she can think to do is get as far away as possible

panic attack - liza anne - i hate that i can be seen like this

black eyes - david wirsig - my hammering heart hears the voices of spirits that tempt us, the scorn that they’ve spoken

for the departed - shayfer james - they will bury me alive, but i’m not inclined to care; i am too far gone now

hurt - johnny cash - everyone i know goes away in the end; you can have it all, my empire of dirt

my body’s made of crushed little stars - mitski - i work better under a deadline! i work better under a deadline!

blood in the cut - k. flay - guess i’m contagious; it’d be safest if you ran--fuck, that’s what they all just end up doing in the end

little pistol - mother mother - i think i might be scared of the world & the way it makes you feel afraid & how it gets in the way

villains pt. 1 - emma blackery - built to create, designed to destroy

the beer - kimya dawson - & the christians gave me comic books as if i would be scared of burning in hell while i was already there [...] i tried to scream fuck you but blood was pouring out my mouth

something safe - family & finding it & fighting together

haunted house - sir babygirl - i’m running just to hide & i’m hiding just to breathe & around every corner is the same night on repeat

your heart is a muscle the size of your fist - ramshackle glory - i love you & you make me glad to be alive; i promise that i’m gonna pay you back / you always know how funny everything is, even when i’m so serious that it’s gonna be the death of me

medicines - the taxpayers - o, but our rotting corpses lying there soon began to leak & grow these lesions that all smelled just like a rose / & all the blood & guts inside us germinated into timeless pages stained with lines of lovely prose

autoclave - the mountain goats - i am this great unstable mass of blood & foam

alligator skin boots - mccafferty - i’m cool to the touch, leap to my death, i’ll die for you all, i’ll die for my friends, it goes like this

100 years - florence + the machine - lord, don’t let me break this, let me hold it lightly, give me arms to pray with instead of ones that hold too tightly

tomorrow will be kinder - the secret sisters - but i feel warmth on my skin, the stars have all aligned

armour - rae spoon - you know i placed was to build a life for you

amy aka spent gladiator 1 - the mountain goats - play with matches if you think you need to play with matches; seek out the hidden places where the fire burns hot & bright / find where the heat’s unbearable & stay there if you have to--don’t hurt anybody on your way up to the light, and stay alive

curses - the crane wives - won’t you stay with me, my darling, when my walls start burning down?

something daring - islands & visions & loss

jane’s dream - janelle monáe

beekeeper - keaton henson - hear me, o woman that has gone astray, gone astray

fire - kimya dawson - i’m reading books about how they’re corrupt [...] as long as i’m burning, i’ll keep on yearning to save the world, not sure how, but i’m learning

cosmic hero - car seat headrest - i love you, but i can’t stand the touch, & of course i’m alright with death

turn the lights off - tally hall - everbody likes to get taken for turns to see how bright the fire inside of us burns [...] should be stronger, books abandoned

eat you alive - the oh hellos - child, i’m afraid for your soul; these things that you’re after, they can’t be controlled

cry for judas - the mountain goats - hallucinate a shady grove where judas went to die

o death - monica martin - no wealth, no land, no silver, no gold, nothing satisfies me but your soul

blood of angels - brown bird - and i would wage my soul to bet that there ain’t no one throwing lightning anyhow

the universe is going to catch you - the antlers - the arms of the universe kept you from falling [...] those arms did not come back

a burning hill - mitski - i am the fire & i am the forest & i am the witness watching it / i stand in the valley watching it

something terrifying - conversations & selfhood & divination

the lamb - dessa - but blood is blood, & what’s done is done; blood is blood, & its burden is a beast

going invisible 2 - the mountain goats - i’m gonna burn it all down today & sweep all the ashes away

the lion’s roar - first aid kit - she plays a tune for those who wish to overlook the fact that they’ve been blindly deceived by those who preach & pray & teach, but she falls short & the night explodes in laughter

the villain i appear to be - connor spiotto - even if you can’t see the good inside me, i don’t have the time to tell you why i do the things that i do, just please hold on & soon you’ll seem

up the wolves - the mountain goats - there’s bound to be a ghost at the back of closet, no matter where you live; there’ll be a few things, maybe several things that you’re gonna find really difficult to forgive

thursday girl - mitski - glory, glory, glory to the night that shows me what i am

at the bottom of everything - bright eyes - we must take all of the medicines to expensive now to sel; set fire to the preacher who is promising us hell

everybody does - julien baker - i know i’m a pile of filthy wreckage you will wish you’d never touched, but you’re gonna run when you find out who i am

tongues & teeth - the crane wives - i know that you mean so well, but i am not a vessel for your good intent 

a pearl - mitski - you’re growing tired of me and all the things i don’t talk about / sorry, i don’t want your touch--it’s not that i don’t want you

[kaydeefalls]

9, 12, 25, 34, and any other you want to answer??

Sweet! Thank you!

9. Which character(s) do you find most difficult to write?

In TOG, Andy, which is strange for me because she's, you know, the protagonist and stuff. This is not a diss on Andy, who I think is a FANTASTIC character, just one that I can't personally wrap my brain around to write well. The biggest roadblock to me adding more desperately needed Andy/Quynh or Andy/Nile to this fandom is the fact that I cannot get Andy's voice in my head at ALL. No idea why. She's amazing and I love her and I never ever want to write from her POV. (I don't particularly like writing Booker, but not because I find him difficult. He's easy enough to write. I just don't enjoy being in his head.)

For X-Men, Shaw. Fuck that dude. Worst villain ever. Incredibly boring and difficult to write.

12. Tell us about a WIP you’re excited about.

...oh shit, I have no active WIPs right now and I don't know what to say! I mean, I will damn well finish the Poe/Finn soulmark AU, that IS going to happen even if it kills me. But I feel like the past few months have just been me powering through all the looming deadlines and refusing to indulge in any other fic ideas, and now I'm just about over that hump and my brain is an absolute wasteland. I have a few vague ideas knocking around that I'm hoping will come to fruition, but they're still at the fragile don't-look-at-me stage. So! I am super excited to finish my Festivid this weekend so that I can start thinking about WIPs again!

25. Have you ever daydreamed about side adventures/spin-offs from your fic? Tell us about them! LOL, all the time! For example, I ABSOLUTELY know what the next plot for The Conspirator's Gift (Charles/Erik medieval mystery AU) verse would be, but I will never write it because no one cares except me, and also the entire thing would unfortunately hinge around the reader not knowing Rogue's mutant power so obviously that wouldn't work so much as a mystery anyway, alas. There are also "scenes I never got around to writing" from various fics that play on loop in my brain, because they just didn't fit in and I knew that before I bothered starting them. So, like, I know exactly how Charles/Erik originally hooked up in Boden's Mate well beyond the fragment actually shown in the flashback (along with BUCKETS of CIA backstory with Inception characters). 

For TOG, there are a number of sections in lessons exquisitely crafted that were not from Nicolò's POV, and therefore his perspective was never explained, but 1. that time they died of thirst like 20 mins from an oasis, only Yusuf actually died, Nicolò just pretended to have as well so that he could save face; 2. Nicolò absolutely had sex with Yusuf's ex-twink on the road to Mecca, and probably had a few other one-night stands over the years but was VERY good at hiding them from Quynh and Andy because he's capable of fucking discretion, thank you very much. I also never found a way to include the conversations Yusuf/Nicolò definitely would have had about all their near misses and weird shared connections over the years apart, but like, they definitely talked all that shit through, and Nicolò told him everything about the meeting with Maryam and her son, and Yusuf cringed his way through the conversation about their mutual twink friend Robert-the-physician.

34. Copy and paste an excerpt you’re particularly fond of. UGH I'm terrible at picking these things, but this is a kind of silly and overlooked exchange from Travellers from an Antique Land:

"Well, you look damn good for forty," Nile tells her. "Or, you know, three thousand and forty, whatever." Quỳnh laughs at that, the sound bright and sparkling, and it warms something in Nile's chest to have made the boss laugh. "Man, it's weird to think about, though, you know? I'm twenty-six. My body is gonna be twenty-six, forever. I mean, most people would kill to look this good for the rest of their lives, right? But the thought of being a crotchety old lady someday, still stuck in the body of a twenty-something…" Quỳnh regards her thoughtfully. "It's not quite like that. Yes, we grow ancient in our own ways, with the sheer weight of those years of experience. But…" She shrugs. "In another sense, we don't age. Not just in appearance; I mean that our bodies are constantly healing, rejuvenating themselves. It's not that you will always appear to be twenty-six; in a very real way, your body and your mind remain twenty-six. Our brains do not decay with senility. We still learn and adapt with the ease we had at our first deaths. You don't realize," she goes on, somewhat conspiratorially, "how lucky we are that the boys died at the ages they did, and not as younger men. Can you imagine being stuck with twenty-year-old male hormones for the rest of eternity?" This is something Nile genuinely had not considered, and it is absolutely horrifying. "Oh, my God. They would just be fucking all the time." "All the time," Quỳnh agrees, world-weary. "You don't even know. Lykon used to--"

This is kind of a primary thesis I have about how age works for the immortals, though. Like, I find all the takes on how they're grumpy old people in young bodies entertaining, sure, but I genuinely think fundamentally they're not. They are as young as they were when they first died, just with a fuckton more lived experience than your average thirty- or forty-something. Lykon was twenty years old forever with all the godawful hormones that entailed and he would just fuck all the time. This is crucially important information.

[plus-size-reader]

Under your Skin

Negan x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 1890 words

Warnings:none 

Summary: Reader takes care of Negan, but for some reason...she's the only woman he hasn't proposed too.

———————————————————————————————————

There was a lounge, a big room decorated from floor to ceiling in lavish trinkets. On one side were huge, wide windows that overlooked the cement courtyard, while the other walls were lined with paintings and decorative lamps.

It was quite the display but you didn't really care for it.

For you, the lounge felt like more of a prison. All of the women Negan 'married', all the women he called his wives spent time in that room. At any given time someone else was there, sitting around with the same black dress dressing their curves.

A dress that you would have looked terrible in, for the record.

Not that you cared. You were much more comfortable in your jeans than you ever could have been in something so flashy and ridiculous. Dressing that way was impractical, for any reason.

Besides, the last thing you wanted on a Tuesday morning was to be reminded of what you didn't have.

Negan enjoyed your company, that wasn't a secret.

The two of you spend quite a bit of time together, both inside and outside the compound. He asked you when he had concerns about how things should be done, or when he wanted your opinion.

However, the more time you spent in the man's vicinity, the clearer it became that he was running out of excuses to talk to you.

Eventually his real reason for being so infatuated would have to come out...and that was the day you were waiting for. That would be the day that you could ask him the question that had been nagging in the pit of your stomach since you moved into the saviors compound.

You wanted to know why he hadn't asked you to become one of his wives yet.

Sure, you weren't their biggest fan by any means but perhaps that was because they had something that you didn't. They had the man that you loved in the palm of their hand and you didn't understand.

It was practically nothing for Negan to propose marriage to someone, but for some reason, he wouldn't ask you.

Naturally, you took it as a direct insult. Maybe it was because he wasn't attracted to you or the way you looked? Maybe it was because you didn't have anything to offer him in terms of worth? You had no idea what reason he could have...but you were over it.

You were always there for him and you would have done anything for him. In every way, you were completely devoted to Negan, more than any of those other women he called his wives.

-But, that didn't change a thing.

Unless Negan wanted to marry you, it wasn't going to happen.

You couldn't exactly just ask him why he hadn't proposed to you yet, could you? There was no way that would go down well.

You knew that but it didn't make it any easier to accept the simple fact that Negan just didn't love you like you loved him.

~

You knocked on the door casually, as you did every morning. In one hand you had a single cup of black coffee, in the other-a chocolate chip cookie. It was breakfast time and Negan chose to have his breakfast in bed, like the divine leader he was.

He liked feeling like a king, on occasion...and you didn't mind.

By all accounts, your love for him made you blindly obedient in a way that would have been completely mortifying for another.

"Come on in" he called, his voice still bold and commanding, even this early in the morning. You did as he asked, opening the door and closing it behind you. You had gotten this down to a near exact science, a routine that you did every single day, without fail.

Usually, it was just the two of you, so that you could enter without fear of having to deal with 'Leader' Negan. That was the title you'd given to him when he was in front of other people.

That was the side that he showed to other people but you'd gotten to know a slightly softer side, that actually cared if he was doing the right. The side that cared for his people and just wanted to keep them all alive.

However, there were odd occasions when it wasn't just the two of you.

There were times when you would accidentally walk into something that you didn't exactly want to see-like this morning, for example.

As soon as you entered the room, you were greeted not only by the sight of Negan curled up in bed, his naked torso exposed to the light, but also Frankie, covering up with the sheet.

...Awesome.

You couldn't help but let your smile drop as you made your way over to the side table, setting down the breakfast you had brought. Out of habit, you felt your eyes flick up to glance at Negan but you dropped them quickly to the floor.

You didn't want him to see how much this was affecting you.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you had company...I only brought yours" you hummed, turning to leave the room entirely but before you could, Negan caught your wrist.

You should have just left, and caught up with him later but you knew better than to ignore Negan. He may have had a bit of a soft spot for you but that wouldn't make it okay for you to blatantly disrespect him.

"Frankie, give us a moment" he suggested, gesturing haphazardly to the door with his free hand, that wasn't currently holding you in place.

The redhead looked unhappy about the order, glancing between you and her husband but didn't argue. Instead, she took the sheet that was currently shielding her from your eyes and wrapped it around her body before making her way into the hallway.

Whatever Negan had to say probably wouldn't take long, anyway.

As she moved, Negan's eyes stayed locked on you. His gaze didn't waver but his expression was blank...he was having fun.

Negan actually thought that this was funny.

As soon as she was gone, the facade cracked and he smiled at you, his eyes sparkling. "Good morning doll face" he purred, finally releasing his hold on you, once he was sure that you were going to stay put.

You tried your best to still an eye roll, willing yourself to smile back, even though you didn't really want to. Unlike Negan, you didn't see the humor in the situation.

"I would appreciate it if you warned me next time, I thought you were alone" you grumbled, folding your arms across your chest. You really had no ground to stand on but you didn't care. It didn't matter that she was his wife and you weren't.

There was no reason that he should have done that to you.

After all, when he told you that you could come in, he knew exactly what he was doing. He knew that it was you at the door, and he knew what seeing Frankie in here would do to you, but he didn't care.

In fact, he was almost curious what you would do.

He’d never known you to be afraid of a little confrontation, and it could be funny to watch you get all pissy. In some ways, he was playing with you, like a wind up toy. ALl he did was twist the nob and wait for something to happen. 

 “You didn’t like that? It’s just Frankie. You know you’re my number one girl” he winked, sitting up further in bed to take the cup of coffee from the side table. Your confidence didn’t waver as you stared, knowing he was full of shit. 

If you were his number one, you’d be a wife...hell, you’d be the only wife. 

“Why haven’t you asked me to marry you?” you asked, the words escaping past your lips before you even meant for them to. You almost couldn’t believe that you’d said it but Negan didn’t waver. 

He only smiled, looking at you with that look, that smug look that you could have slapped off his face if not for the circumstances. “I just don’t get it, are you not attracted to me? I mean, I do everything for you...way more than the rest of them do” you continued, crossing boundaries that you would normally respect. 

You had just been holding this all in for so long. You had no clue what was giving you all this nerve, but you were almost glad for it. Even if he did just reject you, at least you wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. 

You spent so much time just worrying about why he didn’t love you.

Something had to give. 

“You either care about me or you don’t, but I can’t do this anymore” you grumbled, your face flushed with heat as you finished your rant. Your blood pressure was through the roof and you were probably gonna give yourself a heart attack but you didn’t care. 

Right now, all your focus was on Negan, waiting for him to say or do anything. You needed him to set you free of all of this. You needed him to tell you how he felt because he rarely shared before now. 

Though, all the man did was laugh...which didn’t exactly make you feel any better than you did before. In fact, you could practically feel your blood boiling beneath your skin. You had been so level-headed before all of this, you never even raised your voice…

What was it about Negan that made you this way? 

Luckily though, before your head could explode, he laughed again. It was a much deeper belly laugh, more than enough to pull your attention from the pounding in your head. “What’s so funny?” you groaned, really not believing him. 

As angry as you were, it didn’t even phase him. 

“If I asked, would you really say yes?” he hummed, not even worried about further upsetting you. 

You were shocked by his question...You’d never even really thought about it. The idea of him asking always seemed like it was too good to be true so you’d never considered how you’d react if it happened. 

In fact, his question was a pretty good one. Right about now you would be happy to refuse his offer but you knew that you would regret it. You had always cared about him, you loved him, but you wouldn’t want to marry him if he didn’t feel the same. 

“If you loved me, and only if you really loved me” you allowed, shrugging. You couldn’t help  but feel silly saying it out loud but it was the truth. 

Negan nodded, thinking over your words for a moment. After a second, he scooted over in the bed, taking over where Frankie had been with her body. His motion left room for you where he had been laying but before you could question it, he spoke again. 

“Have a seat. I think we have a lot to talk about if you’re gonna be my wife” And as much as you wanted to argue, you couldn’t make yourself do it. After all, who would deny a man like Negan when he had such a delicious offer?

[therealchoreanese]

Ch. 1 - As Luck Would Have It

A/N: fanfic in progress inspired by @kceedraws‘s prompt & art about this lovely crossover ship, gonna put it up on ao3 soon hopefully

The penthouse was absolutely gorgeous. Wide windows that faced San Fransokyo’s bustling streets on the north wall, a balcony with a table and two chairs overlooking the bay on the opposite side. The tub in the restroom had twenty options of different flower-infused waters and whether or not you wanted bubbles, and the kitchen came with a fridge that could list recipes based on your taste, personal health, and whatever was inside it. Not to mention the flat-screen in the living room, or the marbled coffee table and fancy-looking leather couch, and the bedroom’s silk canopy bed and massive walk-in closet and -

“I can’t possibly accept, sir!” Marinette protested. “This is all too much. I’d be fine at the institute’s dorms, they’re cozy and with enough space for my designing-”

Gabriel Agreste tsked and waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t make a fuss. You’re here on my scholarship, and this is simply a benefit of it. Besides, a dorm is not inconspicuous enough for Ladybug activities. Here, you’ll have all the privacy you’ll need.”

“He’s got a point, Marinette,” Tikki agreed. “On-campus would be the worst place to transform, there are so many things that could go wrong and - oh, there’s even a little bed for me!”

Marinette sighed. If Tikki thought it well, then she definitely wasn’t getting out of it.

“One more thing,” Gabriel Agreste said. “Follow me, ma chère.”

Marinette fell in love the moment they stepped inside - it was a fashion designer’s dream come true. It was the least fanciest room in the entire penthouse, with only five blank mannequins and a worktable and empty racks where fabric rolls were supposed to be. But Marinette could make the space hers, fill it with life and love and all her ideas. And for a moment, she couldn’t speak.

So she threw her arms around Gabriel Agreste and squeezed him tight.

Mr. Agreste blinked rapidly, and he awkwardly patted her shoulder, but he seemed to understand. “Well, then. I’ll leave you to get settled. Keep me updated, yes? If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask.”

After Mr. Agreste left, Marinette fluttered around the suite, doing her best to make it feel like home. She taped pictures of her friends and family next to her bed, unpacked her things - even with three whole boxes of clothes and accessories, the closet still wasn’t full - and spent a weirdly unnecessary amount of time exploring the restroom amenities. She emerged from the tub hours later, the grime of the airplane washed away by a lavender bubble bath. 

“You smell lovely, Marinette,” Tikki complimented. “You know, it really is so kind of Mr. Agreste to do this for us.”

“I know!” Marinette’s voice was muffled by her rummaging through the closet. “Who would have thought that one year after defeating him we’d be here - in America, on a scholarship in his name, and him being a Ladybug supporter. My supporter. It feels almost like a dream.”

“A dream in which Ladybug leaves Paris.” Tikki sighed wistfully. “I wonder how Adrien will do without us?”

“That silly kitty will be fine. He and Master Fu have the other Miraculouses to help them out. Besides,” Marinette added, “’Ladybug’ is looking forward to meeting San Frasokyo’s superhero team on a night patrol. When do you think we’ll get to see them?”

Tikki fixed Marinette with a stern glare. “Not until you’re settled in. You need to adjust to the time zone, and get ready for school, and make some friends who have your back before anything else. I can’t stand the idea of you getting hurt because you feel out of place.”

“Okay, okay.” Marinette wriggled on a jacket. “Done! Let’s go exploring then, Tikki, we can see what’s around. I want to find a good bakery as fast as possible.”

“Homesick already, Marinette?” Tikki teased.

Marinette glanced at the photos on the wall and smiled. “Something like that.”

~

A bell jingled as Marinette pushed the door open to the Lucky Cat Cafe. The large cat above the doorway had reminded her of home - her mother had a statue similar to it next to the cash register. There weren’t that many customers in today, it seemed; but Marinette’s attention was caught by a curious white balloon-looking thing holding a tray of buns. To her surprise, it waddled up to her, and - were those two black dots supposed to be eyes? - it spoke. 

“Hello. I am Baymax. Would you care for a red bean bun?”

“Um, sure.” Marinette plucked a golden-brown pastry from the tray. “Thank you. Are you a waiter, or. . .?”

“I am Baymax,” the balloon repeated. “A personal healthcare companion. I am responsible for the wellbeing of patients assigned to me. Anyone who comes through that door is now my patient. You are my responsibility. Please, follow me.”

Baymax waddled towards an empty table and, with the pace of a snail, dragged out a chair. The scriiiiiiiitch made Marinette wince, but she sat when Baymax looked at her expectantly. It didn’t seem like it could smile, but Marinette thought she detected pride in its voice for successfully taking care of her. She had to admit, it was kind of cute.

“Please take your time to browse the menu. I must report that a new patient has arrived, but your order will be taken care of shortly.”

Baymax shuffled off, occasionally knocking around tables and chairs and a customer, and disappeared into the kitchen. 

“That was so weird,” Tikki whispered. “Do you think all cafes are like that here?”

“I don’t know, but I thought it was funny,” Marinette said as she flipped through the menu. “What d’you want, Tikki? I’ll get it to-go for you.”

Tikki peered out of the bag. “Ooooh, those strawberry cookies look good!”

“Okay, cookies for you, and . . .” Marinette flicked through the pages. “Oolong tea to go with the red bean bun. Oh, just in time! Here he comes again.”

After Marinette had placed her order, she pulled out her sketchbook. It was a new one she’d bought just to celebrate her move to San Fransokyo, its pages crisp and creamy-white. The Lucky Cat Cafe, cute and colorful and beautifully quirky, seemed like the perfect place to start brainstorming new ideas. But she’d just barely touched pencil to paper when a voice called out, “Order for Marinette coming through!” followed by, “Shit, no, Mochi, bad cat - nononono SHIT!” then -

Whump.

CRASH!

Splshhhhh.

A middle-aged brunette poked her head from the kitchen, looking mildly concerned. “Everything okay, Hi - oh. I suppose not. What on earth happened?”

“Sorry, Aunt Cass.” A guy with unruly black hair in an apron looked up at Marinette, soaked in tea and mouth agape, and then at the tray, shattered teacup, and scattered cookies from where he lay sprawled on the floor. “Mochi happened. You okay, miss?”

“What?” Marinette blinked herself out of her shock. “Oh, yes. I’m fine. But your fall looked worse than - oh no, my sketchbook!”

The guy scrambled up and leaned across the table, wincing at the sight. All the pages were soaked and stained brown. Even after it dried, there was no way Marinette could use it. 

“I am so, so sorry about that,” the guy apologized, abashed. “I’ll give you the money for it, no problem. And a fresh batch of those cookies to take with you, since I’m sure you’ll never come back here again. But, uh, would you like to have a change of clothes before you go? We’ve got t-shirts and stuff, totally free of charge, of course.”

Marinette held up a hand, trying to bite back a smile, her indignation and fury fading. She knew she should be angry that her sketchbook was ruined, but it was really sweet that the guy was trying so hard to make up for it. It was hard to stay mad at someone who looked so ashamed of himself.

“It’s fine,” she assured him. “You don’t have to pay me back. I’d appreciate the change of clothes, though. But I’ll pay for them - no, please, if you’re giving me the cookies for free, it’s the least I can do.”

The guy whistled. “Damn, I don’t think we’re ever going to get another customer as nice as you. Too bad you won’t be coming back after this.”

“Nothing could keep me away from those red bean buns.” This time, Marinette did smile. “They remind me so much of home.”

“I’ll let Aunt Cass know, then. She’ll definitely want to adopt you after hearing that.” The guy collected the tray and shards of ceramic, then motioned Marinette to follow him up a staircase behind the coffee bar. “Come on, I’ll get you the clothes. Baymax will take care of the cookies.”

“Are all cafes like that here?”

“Like what?”

“Do they all have balloon robots as waiters?”

The guy laughed. Okay, he was cute when he laughed. Pretty cute in general, actually, with warm brown eyes and bedhead hair and a crooked grin and dimples . . . 

Which Marinette was not staring at. No way. 

“Baymax really isn’t a waiter. He’s a healthcare companion. He just likes helping out from time to time.”

Marinette frowned. “But shouldn’t he be at a hospital or something like that?”

“It’s kind of a long story.” The guy shot her a smile that, to Marinette’s dismay, made her heart flutter. “But if you’re really set on coming back, we could swap next time you’re here. Mine for yours.”

“What makes you think I have a story?”

“That’s what I’m hoping to hear next time I see you.”

How was this bastard so smooth? Just minutes ago he’d been an apologetic, bumbling mess, but now Marinette was the one under the spotlight. Thank God for all that time spent with Chat Noir, or else her face would be as red as a strawberry right now.

“It’s a deal, then.” She stuck out her hand, and the guy shook it.

“Through here.” The guy ushered her into a bedroom, threw a set of clothes at her, and backed out quickly. “Just come down when you’re done. I’ve got to go soon, so I’ll probably be gone when you’re finished, but it was nice meeting you. Well, all circumstances considered. I’ll be waiting on that deal.”

And with one last crooked smile, he shut the door.

Tikki zipped out of her bag, giggling. “Well, he was certainly nice, hm? Not to mention good-looking.”

“Oh, hush,” Marinette scolded. “I barely know him. Besides, anyone that smooth with a stranger? He probably does it all the time. I am curious about Baymax, though. And like you said earlier, it’d be nice to have a friend around.”

“So you’re going to cash in on the deal?” Tikki wiggled her eyebrows. “The way he said it, it sounded awful lot like a date to me. Or, at least, he wanted a date.”

“All I want is a friend, Tikki,” Marinette said, exasperated. “I’ve dealt with enough love problems for the past few years. I don’t need them to follow me all the way to America.”

“Whatever you say, Marinette.” Tikki kept quiet until they exited the cafe, and Marinette was worried she’d somehow offended her Kwami when she piped up with:

“You have to admit, you really liked his dimples, didn’t you?”

“Tikki!”

[boarix]

Wraith in the Ruins: A Fallout 4 Story Part XXII

The Crown of the Monster Queen

Trigger warnings: canon violence, language, gun, drug and alcohol use. Mature/sexual content.

Please enjoy!

…..

…..

It was his turn at watch, but when Wraith checked the bedroll, Danse was nowhere to be found. His power armor was gone as well, “What the heck?” She pushed down a brief surge of fear, “Probably has the internal military clock and is already up… off having a pee…” The two of them were on their way to Breakheart Banks to clear a super mutant camp, and the little nervous voice in her head was suggesting that he had taken it upon himself to scout, or even worse, engage the pack without her. “He doesn’t strike me as the impetuous type… goddammit.” She waited patiently for all of five seconds before suiting up and going to look for him.

The previous evening Danse had frowned at Wraith’s suggestion to camp on the river, “In light of our power armor, it is ill advised to bivouac with water to your back.”

His pushback irritated her, “I thought you said you’d follow my lead on this trip, considering it’s for the Minutemen. Besides, in light of the existence of mirelurks, we would be more likely to retreat inland. Plus,” she folded her arms and smiled at him, “it’s pretty here.”

Your stupid blimp is at the airport. The airport is on a peninsula. With water around it!

He raised a voluminous eyebrow and glanced around, “I suppose the visibility is optimal at this location. And this outcropping of sandstone should provide concealment for a smokeless fire as well as a vantage point,” he gave her a slight smile of his own, “to watch for said mirelurks.”

The small cove had a clear view of the river as well as a relatively easy escape route up and into a small cluster of sheltering trees. Wraith and Danse collected dry driftwood along the shoreline and while he started the fire she disembarked her power armor to start meal prep.

“You should practice doing more tasks while in the armor.”

“Okay, but after I finish setting this tripod up, I’m going to go water those bushes,” She gave him a significant look, “and that’s not a task one does in the suit, correct?”

His eyebrows knit, “That’s too close to camp for a latrine, knight.”  

Proud of herself for choosing such a great campsite, Wraith sported a large grin while she made dinner. She was in a good enough mood that she turned her radio on low and hummed tunelessly along with the music. She noticed Danse watching her, an inscrutable look on his face, “You need something, Paladin Danse? You’re just kinda spacing out o’er there.”

He blinked and shook his head, “Negative,” He lowered his eyes and his voice, “I was simply lost in thought.”

Mama Murphy had told Wraith that she could “save a soul lost in steel” and she had taken that to mean Elder Maxson. To that end she had reconsidered her previous rejection of Danse’s invitation to join the Brotherhood. Now, she figured the best way to gain the elder’s ear and remain in his good graces was to play friendly with his apparent favorite. Initially she had been put off by Danse’s stiff and formal demeanor and had put him in the same category of irritating as Rhys, but after spending more time with him her opinion had begun to soften. Somewhat.

“No problem. You know, if there’s something bothering you, I’m happy to listen.”

He looked surprised, “Oh! That’s not... Thank you. I’m going to do a perimeter check, if time permits…”

“Chow will be ready in about ten.”

Can’t wait to get away from me, huh?

“Acknowledged.”

They hadn’t spoken very much after that and the silence was less than comfortable. Wraith had volunteered first watch and had been relieved to put some distance between them.

Now she was worried for him (underneath the irritation) and she set a brisk pace as she stomped southward along the shore. She hadn’t gotten very far when she heard a shrill whistle from behind her. Whipping around, she lost her balance. The shoreline had angled upward sharply to form a cliff and she had a scary moment where she attempted to pinwheel her arms as she teetered dangerously close to the edge.

Danse came charging to her rescue, “I got you!” He whipped off his helmet, a glare created from worry on his face, and immediately launched into a graphic lecture on the finer points of drowning in power armor, “… and furthermore the joints and cockpit are not water tight. Ha… although this allows for a greater mobility… ha… it will fill quickly,” As he spoke a grin kept pulling on the corner of his mouth as the image of her flailing arms kept playing over in his mind, “and so standard procedure maintains you must keep a level head and wait until the water has completely filled… ha… the quick release… ha ha…” The smile had gotten free and now there was no denying he was laughing.  

Wraith was not amused, “You picked a helluva time to develop a sense of humor!”

“You…” He stopped trying to fight it, “your arms!”

Wraith sighed and chuckled, “Yeah, yeah.” She shoved him playfully, “Where were you?! I don’t think it’s standard procedure to disappear like that.”

He pointed back toward camp, “You walked right past me, knight. I hailed you but you must not have heard me over the noise generated by a quick march.”

“Okay, but why were you up already?”

He kept a perfectly straight face, “Morning constitutional.”

Wraith’s laugh came out like a bark, “HA!” She shook her head and smiled, “Okay. Okay.” Turning away from him, she headed back to camp. “Paladin Danse, I think we have been working next to each other but not with each other.”

“Agreed.”

“So we need to communicate better, right? No more one-word answers…”

“Agreed.” He smiled at her when she turned around to give him an incredulous look, “That was a joke, knight.”

“That’s another thing; call me ‘Wraith’, please.” They were back at the campsite and she exited her armor, kicked off her boots and crawled into the bedroll.

“That’s too…”

“You call Haylen and Rhys by their names. You guys are a bonded team, right?” She yawned expansively, “We need to be a team too. So start bonding.”

He chuckled, “I believe that works both ways, knight. I’m going to patrol now; we can bond over super mutant eradication later today.”

“OORAH!”

“AD VICTORIAM!”

That afternoon the pair scouted the super mutant camp before falling back to work on a plan. To her surprise, Danse was all for just the two of them clearing the site and not calling for reinforcements.

Maybe he’s more reckless then I thought…  

On the eastern edge of the former farm was a small lookout tower with a single super mutant in residence. After Wraith quietly dispatched the occupant, they set up a perimeter of mines then both took up position in the tower. Picking their targets, they began their first volley.

The mines were quickly exhausted as the humanoids swarmed the tower. This was all part of the plan and Wraith, whose armor was modded for melee, vaulted over the rail to smash and chop their opponents; keeping them clear of her teammate. The two of them stayed in constant communication: calling encouragement and tips back and forth to one another. It was working out fairly well until the alpha, a huge and imposing primus, got a couple of hits on Danse. The mutant called his two remaining pack mates back to him at the encampment’s main structure, and ducked back into cover before Wraith could return fire.

“Are you alright?!” Wraith retreated back toward the tower, crouched as low as the armor would let her.

“Affirmative. Taking cover.”

She put the tower between her and the primus and removed her helmet, “What’s your status?”

“Shoulder’s a little hot, but no stimpak required. This monster has fought the Brotherhood before.”

“Or, at the very least, opponents in power armor. Can you get a shot on either of his brutes?”

“Both, actually.”

“Okay, pick one.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m gonna kill the other one, silly.”

His small grunt indicated his annoyance at her oversimplification, “I understand. What I’m asking is ‘then what’?”

“Well, we’ll see, but I’m hoping the big guy will be motivated to come out of cover once he sees how much fun wrestling with me can be.” She winked at him.

He chuckled, “Put your helmet back on, knight. I’ll take the one on the left.”

“Fantastic. I’ll signal you when I’m in position.”

To get within striking distance, Wraith looped right, part way down the steep, rocky hill that overlooked the river while trying desperately to be stealthy in the power armor. Rather than stare at her intended target, she kept her eyes on a tuft of grass just in front of them.

You don’t feel me. I’m not here. You somehow can’t see this large, metal suit coming to kill you…

Once satisfied with her position, she uncovered the small mirror on her gauntlet and sent a ray of light back toward Danse. After counting to three she launched herself at her intended victim. She could hear her teammate’s plasma rifle hit the brute on the left just as she slammed her gauntlet’s bayonet through her brute’s closest knee. The impact forced their legs together and when Wraith raised her arm to flip them onto their back, the incredibly sharp instrument sliced right through, severing the leg completely. A quick chop at the neck beheaded the humanoid and Wraith was satisfied to see a large puddle of green where Danse’s mutant had been standing.

All according to plan.

“TIME TO DIE, HUMAN!”

The primus, on the second level of the farmhouse, took several shots at Wraith through the floorboards, clipping her helmet while she attempted a somersault which she couldn’t complete, “DammitFUCK!” She was able to roll away to the other side of the structure and get to her feet, but dropped her rifle and was shot two more times in the process, “Fucking ARMOR! Now I know why Deacon fuckin’ hates this shit!”

The primus laughed at her, “HA! BUCKET HEAD IN THE DIRT LIKE A MOLE RAT! HAHAHAHAHAA!”

“OH YEAH? WELL, PUNY GREENSKIN IS AFRAID TO FIGHT ME WITHOUT A GUN!”

The primus howled in rage; swinging his fists as he thundered down the shack steps to prove her wrong. Just as Wraith moved to meet him, an alarm sounded which indicated her fusion core was low.

Gotta wrap this up quick.

The alpha was an excellent fighter and Wraith, having some small difficulty adjusting to the suit’s more limited range of motion, got her bell rung a couple of times. She backed away as they grappled, hoping to bring him into range of Danse’s rifle, but when she cleared the building, she could see the paladin was no longer in the tower.

Gotta wrap this up quicker!

She trusted that her partner would circle around the other side of the building as soon as he lost sight of her, probably even taking the same route she did, so she didn’t panic. She was tired of being bashed around though so she caught up her opponents arms at his wrists and held on for dear life.

“GAAAAAARRR! LET GO, BUCKET HEAD!” Flexing powerfully, the great mutant lifted Wraith a couple of feet off the ground in his attempts to free himself from her grasp. He shook her back and forth but when that didn’t work, he raised his arms even higher before slamming her violently back to earth.

She was able to keep her feet and her grip, “HA! Can’t get rid of me that easily!” She heard a gasp behind her and was able to turn her head just enough to see Danse was watching them, “Don’t just stand there being impressed! Help me!”

Danse flinched guiltily before blasting the primus to green goo, “Are we clear, knight?”

Wraith doffed her helmet and patted her sore head experimentally, “Yeah, he was the last of ‘em.”

Danse removed his own helmet and was beaming at her, “Outstanding! Are you sound?”

“I hear ringing, if that’s what you mean.”

He chuckled, gave her a hefty pat on the back and ducked into the shack staircase, “We should check to see if they had any valuable equipment…” he turned back to her when Wraith didn’t immediately follow, “Are you seriously injured?”

“My core’s spent.”

He frowned, “You should still be able to move…” He smiled at her when she stuck her lip out at him, “I’ll just switch it out for you. I didn’t realize it was so low. I thought you said you went through the checklist I gave you…”

“Danse, I really like working on power armor…”

“As do I.”

“But, fighting in it…”

“Practice makes perfect, knight.” He gave her another pat, this time more gentle and affectionate, “You’re all set. AD VICTORIAM!”

“Oorah.”    

…..

…..

“Emogene…” Hancock narrowed his eyes as he repeated Wraith, “Emogene…” He turned away from her and looked to MacCready, “Emogene? That Cabot dame? Isn’t she…”

“Dead? Yeah. I’m pretty sure.”

Hancock looked down at Infamy who had flopped backward and was lying on the floor, “What the hell’s she mean?”

Panting, they weakly waved him away, “I couldn’t begin to guess.”

Hancock knit his brow and briefly entertained the images of choking the life out of the glowing one as he walked past them on the way to the staircase, “Nicky… I need Valentine...” He took the steps two at a time with MacCready, Deacon and Danse hot on his heels.

“You’re thinking you got something?” MacCready tried but failed to keep the desperation from his voice.

Hancock paused before picking up the Radio Freedom receiver, “What I’m thinkin’ is that we need to find out where Wraith hid the alien artifact that started this shit.”

“Alien artifact?” Deacon’s eyes widened, “Like, UFOs? I leave for a little while and you guys are picking fights with aliens?”

“Why are you looking at me?”

“Well, MacFeisty, I just assume it was you…”

“WHAT THE HECK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!”

“Will you boys be quiet?! I’m on the phone!”

The minutemen operator who answered was less than courteous, “It’s the middle of the night and I’m not your errand boy, Mayor Hancock. Furthermore, this line is strictly for Minutemen personnel, and not for your personal use.”

“May I?” Danse accepted the receiver and lit into the unfortunate solider at full volume, “SPECIALIST REGIS, THIS IS CAPTAIN DANSE. THIS IS AN URGENT MATTER AND YOU WILL PERSONALLY COLLECT NICK VALENTINE AND BRING HIM TO THE RADIO AT ALL SPEED OR I WILL PERSONALLY SEE TO IT YOU ARE ON LATRINE DUTY UNTIL THE DAY YOU EXPIRE! IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?!”

MacCready smirked at him, “Well, I guess you’re useful to have around after all.”  

In a few short minutes, Valentine’s worried voice came through the speakers, “John? What’s going on?”

“Tell me everything about what went down with Emogene Cabot.”

…..

Mama Murphy sighed, “Child, I know I can be of use. The Buffout won’t kill me. It’s my choice regardless.”

Sofie prickled at being called a child, “Ms. Murphy, what you do with your free time is none of my concern. That being said, I will not condone the recreational use of chems. As for your being of use,” her smile was forced; her perfect teeth a stark contrast against her scarred lips, “I’m sure Wraith wouldn’t want you to risk your health to help her.” The tiny ghoulette returned her gaze to the reports on her desk, brooking no further argument.

Murphy sighed again as she rose stiffly to her feet, “Thank you for seeing me, then.” After she left Sofie’s office she had fully intended to go home to her chair, but found herself walking through the door of the clinic instead. “Hello? Noah? Are you in here, son?”

The handsome young man poked his head out of a supply closet, “Hiya, Mama! How can I help you today?”

“I need you to give me some Buffout and then write down everything I say after.”

He blinked rapidly for a moment, “Uh… I’m a medic, not a chem dealer?”

“Semantics.”

He frowned, “I think the subject matter is a little more complicated…”

“Wraith needs my help. Our help. I can feel it…” She half closed her eyes and reached a hand out toward the ceiling as if the vision was tangible and she could pull it from the air, “I can just see…” She let her arm drop, “Please. I’d prefer if someone is with me; my memory ain’t what it was when I was young. But if you won’t help this old lady out, I’ll still find my own way to what The Sight wants me to see.”

Williams bit his lip, his dark eyes troubled, “This goes against what the doc taught us… but I seem to remember her also telling us to explore and discover new science, so… loophole?” He ducked back into the closet, “How many do you need?”

“Just one, child. Get ready to take notes.” She settled into the office loveseat, tossed the pill into her mouth with a casual negligence and closed her eyes, “Ohhhh, that’s the stuff. Feels like I could tear down a building, ha ha.” After a few seconds her eyes opened and when she spoke her voice was different: a cadence closer to chanting, “The one who can’t speak will tell them where. I can see them descending into the deepest dark where there is no air. Power’s lesser, ravaged twin calls to it. Guarded only by an ancient, unseeing eye, they seek and find their sorrow at the very bottom of the world.”

Williams felt compelled to the edge of his seat. After a few moments of silence so absolute, he could hear his heartbeat in his ears, he touched the elderly woman on her arm, “Mama Murphy? Are you okay?”

She sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye, “I… think so. Oh dear. Oh no…” Alarmed, Williams half stood but she waved him back to his seat, “I’m okay, son. Oh, Noah, I didn’t see him come back. Child, I fear he’ll be lost to the darkness.”

…..

…..

“DARN IT, GERTY! MOOOOVE!” MacCready shoved at Bossy’s brahmin, “How can you have two heads, BUT NO BRAINS AT ALL?!”

The caravan from Goodneighbor to Sanctuary had been ambushed by super mutants near Lexington and in her attempt to flee, the terrified bovine had trapped the merc in the doorway of one of the town’s many dilapidated buildings.

“Damn it, MacCready, will ya stop playin’ with Gertrude and give us a hand?! The hell I’m payin’ ya for?!”

Diving between the brahmin’s front legs, the young man had to roll to the side as one of the mutants attempted to stomp him with a large green foot. He unsheathed his bayonet as he went and stabbed viciously, piercing the limb. When the humanoid involuntarily lurched downward, MacCready vaulted to his feet and slashed their throat from ear to ear before spinning away and shooting two more mutants who were closing in on the bawling cow.

Bossy nodded at him, “Now, that’s caps well spent.”

“Hancock’s caps, you mean?”

“Bah…”

Just as MacCready felt they were making a dent in the mutants, a mob of ferals, attracted by the commotion, attacked as well, “What is going ON TODAY?!” He dodged a roundhouse from a super mutant that when it made contact with the feral behind him, all but annihilated the ghoul’s misshapen head, “Thanks!” MacCready smiled at the mutant then shot him in the eye. He was knocked flat a moment later as a tangle of ferals verses mutant crashed into him. He got the breath knocked out of him and panic settled in as he realized they were being overwhelmed by the sheer chaos.

“CHOOOOOO CHOOOOOOOO! HERE COMES THE PAIN TRAIN!”

Wraith, wearing her power armor and wielding a rocket sledge, came crashing into the middle of the brawl; scattering ferals and mutants alike. Danse followed right behind her, strategically reducing the mob’s numbers to green puddles as he came.

There was moment when Danse nearly shot a caravanner, but for MacCready slamming his rifle butt into Danse’s arm, forcing him to miss.

“SHE’S NOT A FERAL YOU DUMBASS!”

Wraith stepped in between the two men as it looked like it might come to blows, “Easy boys. We’re all allies here…”

“Yes, it’s fortuitous that we happened by. Otherwise this group of… wastelanders, would have surely been killed…”

MacCready stepped around Wraith to hiss in Danse’s face, “We were doing just fine…”

“Must’ve been hard to get an accurate assessment from your back…”

Wraith saw the deadly look in MacCready’s eye and quickly intervened, “Whoa, whoa! Knock it off, Danse.” She turned back to MacCready, “I’m sorry about that…” She was interrupted by a message from Radio Freedom and after listening intently to her Pip-Boy for a moment she smiled apologetically at him, donned her helmet and left with Danse as quickly as she had arrived.

It was much later that night when Hancock crossed through the mostly empty bar and poked his head into the V.I.P. section of the Third Rail. There he found an extremely morose MacCready, well into his drink, “What’s the good word, little brother?”

After answering with an impressive burp, the young man patted the couch seat next to him, “Comere ‘nd cheer me up.”

Hancock slung an arm around to squeeze his shoulder as he sat next to him, “I see yer drinkin’ with purpose. Bossy said ya had a bit of a dust-up today…”

He waved the comment away, “’Snot that. I saw Wraith.”

Hancock made a face, “Still stomping around with the full metal jackass?”

MacCready laughed, but it tapered off to growl, “Can’t believe she ditched me for that tin can. What the heck’s she doing helping the Brotherhood of Squeal for anyway?”

“Well, I think she’s mostly touring ol’ rusty bottom ‘round the Commonwealth helpin’ Minutemen settlers. She wants him to see the plight of the people on the ground so when he flies up and reports to that balloon-wielding clown they call ‘Elder’, maybe he’ll have a more down-to-earth sensibility, you feel me?”

MacCready guzzled the last half of his beer and belched again, “I feel they should’ve mindeded their own busses… boise… butts, back to the Captinnal…”

“Or, better still, puncture their zeppelin on Trinity Tower and,” Hancock ran his thumb through the air while blowing a raspberry, “cast themselves out to sea in one long fart.”

MacCready laughed so hard he nearly fell off his seat, “Whew! Isneedsome air!”

Hancock helped him up the stairs, but hesitated when they opened the door to a substantial storm, “Oops, looks like this air’s damper than usual…”

The merc gently pushed off of him, removed his cap and stepped out into the torrent; closing his eyes and lifting his chin to let the rain wash his face, “Feels good…”

Hancock caught his breath as the young man turned and smiled at him just as lightning flashed across the sky; turning his eyes a brilliant aquamarine. He stepped out into the deluge, caught MacCready under his arm and led him past the doors to the bar and into the Old State House proper, “Can’t have you getting’ sick, now…”

Once up the winding stair, the ghoul led him to his bed and eased him down on it, “You can sleep it off here…” he helped him out of his gear and stooped to help with his boots as well.

“You gonna take my pants off too, big man?”

It would be so easy. Hancock could picture it in his mind: pushing MacCready onto his back, his mouth on his, hands exploring the young man’s warm, lean-muscled skin in search of scars… But when he brought his dark eyes level with MacCready’s brilliant blue ones, he hesitated. Yes, there was lust there, but it was the bleary-eyed-non-specific lust of someone lost in drink. He leaned in close, pushed his damp hair from his brow and planted a kiss on the merc’s forehead, “Ask me again when yer sober.”

When the ghoul turned to walk away, MacCready caught at his hand, “Please… just… I don’t want to be alone… Would you read to me? I… wanna to hear your voice.”

Hancock’s sigh was weary, but he smiled kindly down at him, “Whatever you need from me.”

…..

…..

“I need you to stop naggin’, that’s what I need!”

“It might be that Strong is the only thing keeping her at bay, and now you’re running off on a wild goose chase…”

“Nicky, I’m not…”

“When you know you have people who can go for you!”

Hancock stopped his jog, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “Valentine, you have my permission to shoot me if Radiance turns me feral, alright?!”

“Christ, John!”

“I should be able to restrain you in the event that you are mentally incapacitated.” Danse’s armor squeaked slightly as he pantomimed a hug.

Hancock chuckled at him, “Thanks, brother.”

After much debate, Hancock and Danse had left the Peabody Safehouse, stopped at Diamond City to pick up Valentine and were now making their way to the Cabot’s home.

“Besides, Nicky, she’ll have more of a fight on her hands: I’m stone sober.” He resumed running, “I think the closer you are to being out of your mind the easier she can get in it.”

“I can see that being a possibility; you said most of your people just had headaches, but the ones who were steady users went feral.”

“Were you imbibing on the day in question?” Danse tried to phrase the question as politely as possible.

“Well, no. I was watching my grand baby. But, I wasn’t exactly in the best frame of mind, you feel me?” Hancock picked up the pace, “Wraith missing, and Preston named General as if she had died. Not to mention that my people were going feral all around me and I had no idea why.” He grunted uncomfortably, “This is all getting a little too touchy feely…”

“So, high mental anxiety paired with what? Your being a ghoul? Still feel like we’re missing a piece of this puzzle.”

“According to Mother Isolde, some of the human Children of Atom were suffering from headaches as well. No doubt from when Radiance was in the Glowing Sea gathering feral ghouls.”

Valentine was breathing hard trying to keep up, “When I questioned Infamy, they said most of the horde had been from their efforts and that Radiance had stolen them.”

“The piece we are missing is that alien headband…”

“There’s no way, Hancock.” Valentine talked louder when the ghoul tried to object, “There wasn’t enough left of anything after Deegan shot Emogene!”

“Well, if I see what’s left lying cold and still in the ground instead of floating around terrorizing the neighborhood, then I’ll have nothin’ more to say ‘bout it!”

Valentine took point when they reached the Cabot House and the patrolling sentry bot seemed to recognize him as he was allowed to ring the intercom, “This is Nick Valentine calling, and I was hoping to talk to Jack, if he’s available.”

Edward Deegan’s tone was cool, “What’s this about?”

“We’d like to talk about the unfortunate events that took place on the day that Ms. Cabot passed…”

“You’ve a lot of nerve, Valentine…”

Hancock gently pushed Nick aside, “You been keeping up with this Radiance business?”

“Hancock? Uh, yeah sure. Why?”

“Wraith says she’s Emogene.”

The door practically flew off of its hinges and Deegan, backlit yet clearly enraged, stood huffing in its frame, “HOW FUCKING DARE YOU?!”

“Edward?!” Jack’s voice came drifting down the stairs, “Who on earth are you bellowing at?!”

“It’s Nick Valentine, Hancock and some Minuteman-In-A-Can…”

“Well, let them in!”

The angry ghoul stabbed a finger at Hancock, “Just you watch yourself. You hear?”

As he listened to Valentine briefly outline Wraith’s current plight and the subsequent revelation that Radiance was Emogene, Jack grew increasingly agitated, “I question the validity of any claim made by the former general as she is clearly insane.”

There was a heavy, ominous silence as Wraith’s three friends were shocked to speechlessness. This was followed by absolute bedlam, as all five of them started yelling at and to each other. After a few minutes, the noise took on yet another layer of volume as Jack’s mother Wilhelmina walked into their living room banging two pots together. Then silence reigned again as they all stopped to stare at her.

“Gracious! Five grown men yelling like little boys. What on earth is the matter with you all?”

“Please, Mother, it’s nothing I can’t…”

“Hush now, Jack. Don’t presume to tell me it’s ‘nothing’.” She turned to Valentine and gave him a toe to crown look, “Who are you, young man?”

He chuckled at her choice of words, removed his hat and dipped his head respectfully, “Mrs. Cabot, I’m Detective Nick Valentine, P.I.”

“Oh, that’s right. You were with my Emogene…” She fell in on herself for a moment then straitened and gave him a hard look, “What do you want with what’s left of my family?”

Doffing his helmet, Danse dropped to one knee, “Apologies, Miss, but we would like to pay our respects to your late daughter. Such a tragedy was her passing we would lay a laurel on her gravesite, but only with your approval.” As all eyes turned to him, he maintained a look that was a masterful mix of chivalry, humility and sorrow; the perfect personification of a knight.

Wilhelmina was completely entranced and stood gazing at him for a moment, “Yes. Yes of course. She’s entombed in the family crypt at Wildwood Cemetery.”

“Mother! These ruffians fully intend on disturbing her grave and you just told them where to go!”

“Now, don’t be ridiculous, Jack. Why should they want to do that?”

Although he was irritated by the pomp of the Cabot household, Hancock wasn’t without sympathy for a mother who had lost a child. He followed the example set by his companions and removed his hat, “We’ve no intention of desecrating a quiet grave, ma’am.”

Jack glared daggers at him, “I shall be going along to make sure of it.” He turned to Deegan, “Edward?”

The family guardian sighed heavily, “Yeah, Jack, me too.”

The group left almost immediately yet the sun had set by the time they arrived at the cemetery. They paused at the broken gate and crouched low, expecting to see feral ghouls wandering around. However, all was quiet and the only thing moving was a swirling mist that had settled into the graveyard.

The scene sent chill fingers up his spine and Valentine found to be very fitting, “Like the set of a horror flick…”

Jack scoffed at him, turned on his flashlight, stood up abruptly and briskly led the way through to the mausoleums built in to the eastern embankment. His pace slowed as the beam of light reached what was meant to be his sister’s final resting place, “How…”

The concrete building had been blasted apart from within.

“Looks like she’s not in at the moment. Perhaps we should check back later?” Hancock was smug.

“Fascinating!” Jack turned to Deegan, “I was shocked that any part of her head remained. The bullet must have fully struck the artifact! I gave what I thought was the total remains of it to Wraith, per her insistence, but I must have been mistaken. A small portion must have remained. Perhaps the combination of radiation…” He spun away from Deegan and grabbed Valentine by the arms, “I must go and speak with Wraith!”

Valentine blinked a few times before looking over at Danse and Hancock, “Anyone else just get whiplash?”

…..

“I don’t trust you…”

“Naturally.”

“And I don’t like you.”

“Oh! I’m terribly hurt.”

Once again Wraith and Infamy were together in the void of her consciousness. No longer pure white, there was a yellow-green haze overhead that bent down to meet with the horizon. Wraith theorized that because none of it was technically real, the coloration was a way that her mind had come to terms with Radiance’s barrier. It gave her something to push against so she had grudgingly admitted that Atom’s Assassin was apparently helping. The glowing one had danced around her gloating and so she wanted to make sure they understood what their relationship was.

“Once I’m free of her then I’m going to make sure I’m free of you.” Even though it wouldn’t take her away from them, she turned her back and walked away anyway.

Infamy followed behind, skipping, “And here I thought I was beginning to grow on you, hahaha!”

“I’m pretty sure there’s a cream for that...” Wraith trailed off as she felt a change in the void. If air existed there it suddenly became heavy and hot. She turned back to tell Infamy off if it was something they were doing, but the words died on her lips. Radiance was standing right behind them.

Infamy turned as well and took a few steps backward to get outside of striking range, “Looks like your chaperone is here. Curfew already? Hmm. Seems sooner than usual…”  

“Infamy, you should leave,” There was something different about this Radiance: something more solid. More like the version that tormented Wraith with the memories of Marie’s death. More like the one that had burned her, “I don’t think this is a proxy…”

Radiance had locked eyes with her opposing glowing one, “You. I thought I could ignore someone as weak as you.” She glanced at the barrier, “You’re becoming a problem, I see. I’m close enough now though. Close enough…”

“Infamy! Leave! Leave NOW!” Using all her strength, Wraith ejected her ally before Radiance could destroy them. Then, left alone with her tormentor, she lifted her chin defiantly.

Wraith’s display of strength and nerve thrilled the monster queen, “Yessss. Beloved, you are strong!” She took a step closer, her arms out wide, “Imagine how much more powerful you could be if only you would join with me. Give yourself to me, my love. I could give you such pleasure…”

Wraith growled at her, “Never. You don’t love me. You don’t love anyone.”

“You’re wrong! From the moment I met you when came to rescue me from that silly preacher, I have loved you.”

“Prove it. Let me out.”

Radiance seemed to flicker out of focus and just for a moment, an image of Emogene Cabot flashed in her place, “We can’t. You have something we must have. We are incomplete without it.” Now the glowing one turned up the heat and sent tendrils of chartreuse flames crawling across the unseen floor toward Wraith, “You must tell us! Tell us where we can find the rest! Tell us where our crown is!”  

…..

…..  

“Ah, here you are.” Danse had been looking all over the Prydwen for Wraith and it had been Proctor Ingram that suggested he check the forecastle of the airship. “I take it your audience with the elder didn’t go as you had expected?” The wind was intense and he practically had to shout in order for her to hear, “It’s certainly bracing out here!”

Wraith stood at the very tip of the narrow beam. She was in her power armor, but had removed her helmet and was staring at the city, “No. It went pretty much exactly how I expected.”

“What was that? I couldn’t quite hear you, knight.”

She chuckled humorlessly, and turned her head to smile sadly at him, “I’m on the precipice, Paladin Danse. I’m going to have to make decisions soon. Hard choices…” She could see he was confused and concerned. The concern was genuine and she felt a guilty tug at her heart. “I’m having a hard time getting through to him. I thought that I should… find it easier. He doesn’t want to hear me.”

“Take the time to remember why we’re out here; the elder has only the highest concern for the citizenry of the Commonwealth…”

“All her citizens?”

“You mean ghouls?”

“Don’t make that face.” She walked back toward him and had a brief moment of disorientation as she wasn’t used to looking down to talk to him, “Daisy. Remember Daisy?”

“The shopkeep in Goodneighbor? What about i… her?”

“You very much enjoyed speaking with her… don’t shake your head!” Wraith let herself sound angry, “Your elder would have her ejected from any B.O.S. settlement and forced out into the ruins.”

“Simply to protect any human citizen from the day when it… she, inevitably goes feral...”

“No human has ever acted spontaneously out of passion and hurt or even murdered someone? Besides that, there is a distinct lack of evidence that all ghouls would go feral given enough time.” Saddened, Wraith swallowed a few times to prevent herself from crying, “I guess I’ve failed with you too.”

Danse looked slightly panicked, “Failed? How do you mean, knight?”

“I’ve grown to like you, Danse. I feel like we’ve become friends. How do you feel about us?”

He opened and closed his mouth a few times. Unaccustomed to heart-to-heart conversations, he was struggling to articulate how he felt about her, “I’ve told you off-the-record, personal information. Things I’ve never told anyone. You’ve become a confidant; a true friend.”

“I’m glad.” Her smile was sad. She let her eyes drop to the airport and was quiet for a moment. “Do you know where I got this?” She drew Kremvh’s Tooth and held it aloft so that the setting sun glinted off the wicked-looking blade; making it seem as if it was made of fire. “Hancock and I were responding to a Minutemen call at Dunwich Borers. There was a raider clan there. Bedlam. That was the name of their leader.” She sheathed the ornate knife and returned her eyes to the ground below, “After the fight we pushed forward. I guess we felt like tough shit and were looking for trouble. I saw some stuff. Never could explain… anyway,” She looked back at Danse who was listening intently, “There was a well… or something and I decided I was going to show off for Hancock. I dove in and swam to the bottom which is where I found the knife. I can hold my breath for a very, very long time, but I didn’t tell him that. About half way back I saw him. He had jumped in, fully intending to save me. Except now he was half drowned and I ended up towing him to the surface. After he caught his breath, do you know what the first thing he said to me was?”

“I couldn’t begin to guess.”

“He said ‘Whoa! That’s a badass knife!’ and asked if he could hold it.”

“Knight…”

“He risked his life in an attempt to save mine…”

“I don’t see how that’s rel…”

“Of course it’s relevant!” She wasn’t shouting just because of the wind anymore, “He’s a ghoul, yes, but that doesn’t preclude him from being a caring person! A citizen of the Commonwealth! Why should his wellbeing be any less a priority?” She pushed on when he didn’t answer, “I hope that you will spend some time thinking about what I’ve said. For now, we should go our separate ways.”

“I’m afraid I don’t quite understand…”

“I know you don’t, Danse. And that’s upsetting.”

“I’ll… verify if there’s a vertibird available for you…”

“No need.”

“No! Do not jump from here. If you land in the water…” He trailed off as Wraith had already vaulted over the railing. He saw her land safely and was impressed despite his frustration. He stood at the rail for a long while; letting the harsh wind buffet him as the sun went down.

…..

…..

Infamy stood, dazed, “She kicked me out. She kicked me out?! She kicked me out!”

“Stop saying that! What the heck are you even talking about?”

They acted as if they couldn’t hear MacCready and ran up the basement steps, “Ohhhh, Strong! Where are you my great green galoot?”

“STRONG IS NOT YOUR ANYTHING!” The massive humanoid had been sitting in the doorway cleaning Smashy but now lurched to his feet to glare at the glowing one.

“Never mind. Radiance is here! Somewhere…”

“How do you know?” MacCready ran out into the yard with Strong. Peering through his binoculars he rotated in a circle.

“She crashed my session with our problem child.” They scrunched up their face, “Wraith just might have saved my life. Not sure if it was just self-preservation or if she genuinely cares what happens to me. She is the sort who would act automatically altruistically. Yet again, I like to think I have a way with people, you understand…”

“Will you shut up?! Jeez! You’re making it hard to concentrate!”

“Never realized one might need their ears to see. But, then again, you are the professional.”

“GHOUL’S SKIN WOULD MAKE A NICE BELT AND HAT!”

Infamy took the hint.

“I don’t see any glowing lights. I think you should still go out, Strong. Even if we can’t see her we want her to see you.”

He nodding then threw back his head and bellowed mightily, “RADIANCE! STRONG WILL RIP YOU APART AND PRESENT YOUR GUTS TO ALPHA!”

Deacon, haven taken an earlier shift, was napping on the couch when he heard their commotion. He joined MacCready on the lawn with his own pair of binoculars just as the super mutant jogged away, “Infamy, what‘s Radiance’s range?”

“For me it’s a few hundred feet or so. Might be more, might be less with your caged monster.”

“I don’t see Radiance but I do see our intrepid trio… Looks like they brought guests.”

The two groups came together and brought one another up to speed. Danse woke Curie and afterword they moved en masse to the basement. Rather than greet them with her customary threat display, Wraith gazed vacantly off into a shadow-filled corner. Apart from Deacon, who stayed near the staircase, they fanned out around the cage and stood in silent uncertainty.

“You thinkin’ she might be duking it out right now?”

“Could be. It’s hard to tell…”

“I suppose I should try to get back in. As much as I love being here this close with you all, breathing in your various body odors, no sense standing around waiting for something to happen.” Infamy sat cross-legged on the rough-hewn floor and closed their eyes.

To the shock of all, Wraith suddenly lunged across her prison, reached through the bars and grabbed Infamy by their foot. They struggled helplessly as she lifted them completely off the floor before violently slamming them to the ground as if she were cracking a whip.

Hancock and Danse leapt to an attempted rescue; each grabbing ahold of one of her arms. She laughed manically as they struggled. Jack, Deegan and Deacon joined in as well while MacCready ran up the stairs for the syringer.  

“Emogene! It’s your brother. Please stop.” Jack pleaded with his sister, “If that’s you, then talk to me! Tell me how I can help you. What do you want?!”

She let go of the unconscious glowing one and shook herself free. When she spoke it was still Wraith’s voice, but the tone and enunciation were just different enough, it was if someone was doing an impression of her, “What do I want? I want it all, you simpleton!” She spread Wraith’s arms and spun in a circle, “I want power and love and to indulge in their delights for all time.” She came to a stop and leveled a murderous gaze at her brother, “I want the artifact. All of it. You will tell me where the rest of my crown is or I will burn Wraith from her mind and leave you all with her broken husk.”

“It won’t make a difference either way, you hag. You’ll still try and kill us all; even if we give you what you want.” MacCready leveled the rifle at her but didn’t pull the trigger.

“O’er my dead body.”

“That’s the idea, Hancock.” She smiled at him evilly, “Though in your case, I’ll be making an exception. I will see you dance for me, just like you did for Wraith.”  

“I don’t know you, sister. I’m thinkin’ I don’t want to. And I don’t think you thought this through.” He spread his arms and gestured to the group, “Ain’t a one of us who knows where your dime-store crown is.” He leveled a finger at her, “There’s only one person on this entire planet who knows, and you’re squatting in her brain!” He shook his finger back and forth, “I would think that you’d play this a little nicer; you get more with sugar than salt.”

She yawned, “Ugh, what a bore. I forgot how much you like to hear yourself talk.”

“He’s talking a lot of sense, Emogene.” Valentine stepped over Infamy’s prone form and stood just outside of her reach, “Give this up. There is a chance we could still help you. Curie here is an excellent doc. Not to mention your brother…”

“MY BROTHER?!” She gripped the cage bars and leaned forward to shriek at him, “MY BROTHER HAD ME KILLED!”

“I… no… I…”

“NO!” Deegan wouldn’t let that stand, “Your brother sent Valentine and Wraith to try and help you. I… I shot you, Emogene. I thought you had killed everyone. That you’d become a monster. And the only way I could save the memory of a girl that I’ve known since she was a child…” The ghoul closed his eyes and looked away, unable to continue.

“Oh, poor Edward. Poor sweet fool; I am a monster! And just to prove… what?” She took a step back, her eyes confused “How? How did you find me?!” Confusion turned to fear, “NO! GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU BRUTISH, GREEN…”

As suddenly as she had become Radiance, Wraith returned to herself. She shook her head a few times before leaning into the bars, “I could really use an aspirin.”

Deacon stepped over Infamy and reached out a hand to touch her, but caught himself and pulled it back, “How much time do you have?”

“Ah, the eternal question.” She was happy to see a few half smiles on her friends’ faces, “I’m not sure. I don’t even know all of what just happened.” She popped her chin at Atom’s Assassin, “They alright?”

Hancock nudged them with a boot and seemed satisfied that their groaning was indicative of good health, “Yeah, I’m sure they’ll mend.” He pushed his tricorn back to clunk foreheads with her, “You sound better, sunshine.”

“She must’ve dropped the barrier completely. How did you manage that?”

“I sicked Strong on her.” MacCready came to give her a kiss, “I hope he eats her or, whatever.”

Curie passed a bottle in-between them, “Excusez-moi, Madame, but please drink this.” She beamed as Wraith drank it down without question, “You see, Monsieur Deacon; it does not taste like frowns!”

“That’s… not exactly what I said.”

Danse made a mental note that Deacon had once again taken a step back so the others would have room. It irritated him but he wasn’t sure why. He waited until Wraith had finished chugging Curie’s health drink before reaching through the bars to give her a bear-hug that was almost crushing. He didn’t trust himself to speak so held her quietly for a few moments while gently patting her back.

Wraith caught sight of Jack and pointed an accusatory finger at him, “You! You made this mess. You had better damn well help me clean it up!”

“I’m not entirely sure…”

“Tell me how to block the artifacts effects!”

“I’m not sure…”

“How about a goddamn tinfoil hat?!”

“Block nothin’,” Hancock was holding one of Wraith’s hands, “destroy is more my thinkin’, you feel me?”

“Unfortunately, that is quite impossible. The artifact is simply too powerful; it cannot be destroyed by any means…”

“Clearly, it ain’t.”

Valentine nodded and gestured to Wraith, “I was wondering about that too. You mentioned that it was indestructible, but maybe it only makes you think that it is. It’s proven to be vulnerable against an AMR, at any rate.”

“It’s sentient, then?” Danse was making a face.

“Absolutely.”

“Well, then, let’s go get it, strap it to a mini nuke and call it a day.” MacCready turned to Wraith, “So?”

“So what?”

He blinked a few times, her confusion having confused him, “So, uh. Where’s it at?”

She released Hancock’s hand and folded her arms, “Nope!” She started to laugh and shook her head, “Ha ha. You almost had me, Radiance.” She took a few steps back away from her friends and shook her finger at the ceiling, “There’s no way I’m telling you where it is so you can just sit and spin.”

“She thinks she’s… that we’re…”

“Not real.” Hancock was crushingly disappointed.

“But of course we are real. Why should this not be so?”

Once again Wraith’s eyes glazed over and she growled lowly. There was a collective groan and Curie began to softly cry. Danse held her and whispered soft words of encouragement into her ear.

MacCready clenched and unclenched his fists, “She went someplace by herself.” He seemed to be speaking to the ceiling, “No, that’s not right. She took Dogmeat!” He turned to Valentine, “Wraith went off someplace, just her and Dogmeat, right after you got hurt. That must’ve been when she ditched the alien thingy!”

“So the dog knows? Maybe. Does that help us?”

He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by someone yelling through the Radio Freedom speakers. The group trouped up the stairs to hear better, leaving Infamy in the tender care of the concrete floor.

“I’m not sure if you heard me; this is Mama Murphy. Noah, dear, I know how these work. Probably better then you, sweetheart, so stop pushing buttons. Hello, kids? Is anyone at home?”

Hancock picked up the receiver, “Murphy? What’s happening?”

“Hancock, I’ve seen the way to help Wraith.”

.....

Thank you so much for reading! Like what you read? Looking for more? Please see my masterlink post tagged under Wraith in the Ruins (also my pinned post). As always, if you have any questions/concerns/comments please drop by and send an ask. Anon too. =^..^=

[nat-20s]

PROMPT! the first time the s1 archive gang hangs out outside of work (any variation of the group, doesn’t have to be All of them)

This is only the Archive Assistant sqaud, bc I’m sorry Jon, but no bosses allowed. Also it’s VERY silly and soft bc sometimes u just wanna write nice things u know

(also also fuck I lovecompletely missed that this said “first time” they hang out but uhh. I hope u like it anyway.)

Tim Stoker like to think that, sometimes, not to toot his own horn, but he can be something of a genius. When a cousin’s cousin had offered to let him use their cozy little cabin for a night or two in exchange for help with moving, he had been struck with what could only be humbly described as “inspiration of the most divine nature”. For, as nice as a Friday evening away from it all by himself sounds, it’s so much nicer for a Friday evening away from it all to serve as Archival Assistants Bonding Time™. Or well, more like Tim and Sasha, Who Are Already Best Friends Forever, Figure Out What Martin’s Deal Is, Because For A Guy So Chatty, He Sure Is Mysterious Time™, but that’s not nearly as catchy. Truly, his plan was brilliant, bringing two compatriots and an excessive amount of food and drink to a spot away from the prying eyes of the world and bosses, and feast in the openness and silliness that comes from having a great fucking time.

His plan, and his genius, were tragically derailed. While he knew on their drive up that the air was rapidly getting cooler, Tim couldn’t have even pretended to predict that an hour into their stay would bring a freak blizzard that means they’re snowed in for the next three days, which was 3 times longer than he had accounted on spending with his coworkers/friends. There was more than enough food to last them, and almost enough alcohol, but as Sasha so kindly put it:

“First you make us reenact the first scene of every bad teen slasher movie, now there’s a fucking white out. If we lose power, I’m telling you, there is absolutely going to be a murder.”

“Pfft, no way. The guy who owns this place is one of those weird ass prepper types, there’s a back up generator for the back up generator. And even if we did lose power, we’re all much more the “huddle for warmth under a shared blanket in front of the roaring fire” types than the “get panicked and stab someone in darkness” types, right? Back me up here, Marto.”

Martin, who at three shots in is both hilarious and mean, directs his response to Sasha. “in the event of a black-out I vote we kill Tim. I can take him down and you can finish the job.”

Sasha tips her cup at him, saying, “I like the way you think,” at the same time that Tim yells out, “Hey! Why am I the one dying?!”

Sasha tells him, “Duh. This whole thing was your idea, which makes you the Dr. Black* of this situation. Any good mansion murder mystery dictates the the host dies first. Then, in a moment of entirely unplanned synchronization, her and Martin start chanting, “Host dies first! Host dies first!”

“Okay, you know what? Fuck both of y’all, it’s not my fault that you’re both thoroughbred city slickers that can’t handle being in a cabin with plumbing and running water and electricity. Didn’t either of you go camping as kids?”

Sasha replies “No I’m far too pretty for that,” while Martin bursts out laughing. It takes about 20 seconds for him to settle down. Wiping away a tear, he elaborates, “Sorry, sorry, just. Can not imagine my mother on a camping trip.  I mean, sure, she probably hoped at one point or another that I’d be lost in the woods as a child, or maybe even now, but I think that’s a bit different.”

Tim leans over the kitchen counter, placing his chin in his hands as he says, “Oh shit, Martin lore. Spill the deets.”

Sasha, who’s loyalties tend to sway towards whatever’s most interesting in the moment, piles on with, “You called her your mother, not your mum. That’s means she’s pretty much a right bastard, or a member of the aristocracy, which is just another term for right bastard but you got to grow up as a rich kid. Am I right?”

It’s clear the the two of them have made a grave mistake. All joviality flees Martin’s expression, and he shrinks down both his physical presence and his voice to something that could easily be overlooked if someone wasn’t paying attention. “Oh, um, well, I definitely didn’t grow up as a rich kid. And, it terms of the ‘right bastard’ thing, she’s not- er. That’s to say, she’s- she’s sick and. She’s doing the best she can, given, given everything.”

Martin pointedly looks at his hands while Tim and Sasha panickedly look at each other. They go to either side of him, and when he doesn’t flinch away, they each place a comforting hand on his shoulder. Tim immediately feels the itch to fill the heavy quiet, and he happens to know he has quite the talent for blazing on ahead after these kinds of moments. It’s how he’s survived basically party for the past decade. “Ooookay, I’m gonna go ahead and say that all depressing familial reveals shall be held off until at least the second night of being trapped. While Sasha may have irritatingly few skeletons in her closet in that regard-”

“I have Tory grandparents?”

“We all have Tory grandparents Sash, that’s absolutely nothing. As I was saying, while Sash’s family is boring and semi functional, you and me are gonna do some fuckin’ commiserating on our journey from work friends to friend friends. However, I’m going to have to be 40% drunker, go through a decently strong hangover, and then once again get hair of the dog drunk before I can even start to consider heading down that path. And in that spirit, I think it’s time to start up the drinking games. Truth or dare might end up a bit too heavy for our needs, but Never Have I Ever should suit us just fine. I know I’m gonna regret saying this considering Sasha is 100% going to target my ass, but I think we should establish that whoever puts all ten fingers down first has to chug the rest of the box wine.”

Sasha pipes up with, “Ugh, no, not drinking games, that’s such twenty-something bullshit. I expected better from you.”

“Hey, Martin is a twenty-something, so that still works fine actually-”

“Tim!”

“What?”

Martin’s directing wide, bordering on frantic, eyes at him, and Tim is almost certainly missing something, though he can’t for the life of him figure it out. Sasha’s head is bobbing slightly between the two of them, and shes apparently able to parse what Tim has not. “Oh! Martin, uh, I already know that you’re 2, and it’s cool.”

“Did..did Tim tell you or?”

Tim scoffs out an “I wouldn’t!” even though there’s a distinct possibility that, entirely on accident, he would, and Sasha makes a reassuring coo. “No, no, babe, nothing like that. It’s just that, uh, the Magnus Institute is kind of notorious for not doing any background checks pretty much ever, so when I get a new coworker, I..do it myself.”

Martin’s face blanches, and his eyes somehow get even wider. “Oh god, please don’t tell Jon or Elias, I know I don’t have the credentials, but I really need-”

“Woah, woah, I’m not gonna do that. First of all, archival assistant squad, we ride together we die together in a snowed in god forsaken log cabin, secondly, it’d be hypocritical as fuck if I got up your ass about qualifications. Not a single one of us is qualified for our jobs, not even Jon. Maybe especially not Jon. It’s like, raise your hand if you have a degree in library sciences. No one? Okay, cool, that’s not weird at all for an archive. Actually, maybe bring that up next time he gives you shit. He’ll be all like ‘bluh bluh, you didn’t document this spooky bullshit well enough, it’s not up to the High Standards here at Spooky Bullshit Emporium’ and you can be like ‘whatever buddy, you’re an English major, what do you fuckin’ know?’. It’ll be devastating. He’ll be devastated.”

Martin laughs in the manner of someone who knows that they shouldn’t be, and his shoulders relax into  a lower position. “Why would you want me to devastate him? I thought you guys were friends?”

“We are, which is why we all collectively need to get back at Jon for acting like such a prick. He’s always been a bit temperamental, but I honestly don’t get what his deal is, especially with you. I mean, c’mon, you’re great, being mean to you is like kicking a puppy.”

“Thanks? I think?”

Tim pipes up with, “Oooo, since drinking games are apparently too childish for Sasha, what if instead we play ‘What’s Jon’s Deal Anyway, Featuring, Seriously, Why Target Martin, The Baby of The Archives’-”

“-That feels a bit reductive of who I am and I also I think I’m technically older than Jon?-”

“-Whoever comes up with the best explanation, and by best obviously I mean most entertaining, gets an all expense paid trip from the other two to one of the charity shops I know we all frequent.”

Sasha snorts, “Wow, a whole twenty quid, who could resist such temptation. But also, I’m in, I think I have a winner and I have a violent need to out-cardigan Jon.”

Martin’s relaxation is gone again, which Tim thinks need to be fixed through aggressively passing a glass of wine towards him. He takes it without protest, takes a long drink, and says, “This seems more like 3 am conversation than a 9 pm one.”

Sasha gives an encouraging nudge, prompting another drink, and replies, “Yeah, well, I am not gonna make it to 3 am. I’ve got about an hour until the Alcohol Sleepiness sets in, and I know Tim will be right behind me.”

“Sashaaaaaa, you’re ruining my reputation as a young-at-heart, party-all-night kind of guy.”

“Babe, you’ve complained about your bones aching often enough that you’ve never had that reputation.”

“Surrounded by mean drunks, that’s what I am. I should be pitied.”

Martin shoots a glance towards Sasha, then replies, “You’d be more pitiable if this entire thing wasn’t, you know, entirely your own fault.”

Sasha nods sagely, “It’s true. If you were pitiable then maybe you wouldn’t have to die first.”

“You know what? I am uncomfortable with the energy that’s been created in this room, how about we divert some of that towards complaining about our bosses, as coworkers who are hanging out and having a good time and not bullying me are supposed to do.”

Sasha giggles slightly as she leans down and presses a kiss to Tim’s cheek. “Aw, sorry, Tim. I promise to double cross Martin when if becomes killing time.”

Tim melts a little, even as he’s replying, “Wait, when?” Martin takes another sip and says, “Whatever. I could take you both.”

How the hell are you supposed to resist a set up like that? With an over the top wink and cheesy grin, Tim says, “I bet you could, big guy.”

He’s expecting a slightly flustered reaction, maybe a higher pitched voice and a blush, if he’s lucky. He gets all of those things, but it’s Sasha saying, “Oh my god.” Martin only gives him a raised eyebrow and level stare, and Tim makes a mental note to reevaluate his dedication to only considering Martin in a strictly platonic fashion. Sasha continues talking, cutting through the..tension? with, “Okay, now I am uncomfortable with the energy that’s been created in this room. Tim, tell the studio audience what you think is up with Jon.”

Tim blinks, hard, gives a shake of his head, and says, “Oh, obviously the Jon we know is dead. His ‘promotion’ to Head Archivist was actually Elias killing him off and replacing him with a robot that has the command If: see Martin Then: be dick. Don’t worry Marto, now that Sasha is aware of the issue, she’ll surely be able to reprogram him.”

Sasha hums a bit, then says, “I buy it. I think my explanation’s better, but Elias does seem the “kill a dude and replace him” type. Like if I was gonna suspect any particular person of murder he’s in the top five.”

“Seriously? Elias? Somehow has middle manager vibes even though he’s the head honcho Elias? Mr. ‘I probably wore boat shoes and khaki shorts for the entirety of university’ Bouchard? Voted most likely to put a thin layer of mayo in between two pieces of white bread and claim it’s a sandwich Elias? The area man that’s almost certainly gone on record as saying that golf and networking are his favorite hobbies Elias? He’s far too boring to have committed a murder.”

Tim’s looking at Martin with shock and delight, and he knows Sasha is wearing the exact same expression. “More of this. Please describe more of the things that Elias is.”

“I mean, sure? Uhh, guy that would pay $80 for a dime bag because you told him it’s a premium strain. Person that ironically says things like “kids these days” and “the youths” and you know he’s talking about people well into their 30s. Genuinely believes that if you can afford a cell phone then you shouldn’t be complaining about being  poor, because apparently a one time purchase of around a hundred bucks is the same as trying to pay monthly rent. Tells people to haul themselves up by their bootstraps. Thinks he got to where he was ‘without anybody’s handouts’ even though he’s had a trust fund since he was 15. Writes weekly editorials to the local newspaper complaining about the liberalization of media, and they’re like ‘sir, please stop submitting to us, we’re just trying to talk about Lisa’s gardening club’ because they can’t professionally tell him to fuck off. Thinks salt and pepper are the only spices one could ever possibly need, everything else is simply excessive. Somehow gay and homophobic. Like, yes, he’s taken a male lover, but he’s also seconds away from calling you a slur at any one time. Actually, no, that’s too interesting, and I refuse to believe he’s had a lover. Legally, he cannot have a lover, I’ve decided, so just gay and homophobic, both in theory alone. Has said that Boris Johnson is “a bit much, but really not so bad, and much better than any of the alternatives, really.” All of the cousins in his family banded together and officially got him banned from any sort of major holiday dinners. Basically every shitty boss you’ve ever had, especially if you’ve worked retail, rolled into one.”

Tim lets out a low whistle. “Damn, all right. Get fucked Elias.”

Sasha emphatically agrees, “Get fucked Elias.”

They all clink their glasses together, and then there’s a beat of silence before Martin says, “I’m pretty sure robots can’t get eye bags.”

Tim and Sasha let out a “huh” and “hmm?” respectively, so Martin elaborates. “You posited that Jon had been replaced with a robot. Pretty sure robots aren’t able to look that tired.”

Tim snaps. “Drat, you’ve pointed out the one flaw in my impeccable logic. So what d’you think is up with him? I know you don’t have the Before The Archives comparison, but I think you could provide a fresh perspective.”

“Oh, fuck, I don’t know. Two months ago, I might have had some choice words, but first off, you all genuinely got on, so it didn’t really make sense for him to be awful all the time, and secondly ever since the, um, worm thing, he’s actually been pretty nice? I haven’t heard any snide comments, and whenever I mess something up he’s a lot more, um, gentle about explaining what wrong. He actually complimented my work the other day so. I guess I think Jon’s deal was that he was stressed out and I was very nervous and not very good at my job and he picked up on that?”

“So you think he’s like a horse.”

“Explain.”

“He sensed your fear and he became skittish and irritable in kind.”

“Horses can sense fear?”

“Horses can sense everything.”

“That’s fucked up.”

“Right?”

“Guys, we’ve gone on like four different tangents in one conversation. Martin, I’m very glad to hear that Jon’s changed his behavior towards, because it means I don’t have to yell at him on your behalf, you’re getting to see the person that me and Tim both know who is actually pretty cool, and also mostly because it feeds perfectly into my winning theory.”

“What, you’ve got something better than Martin’s ‘accurate but boring’ reasoning or my ‘super cool but now that I think about it for .5 seconds actually kind of a bummer robot’ knowledge?”

Sasha’s incredibly self-assured when she says, “I sure fuckin’ do. Jon’s secretly been in love with Martin the whole time, and he’s been previously overcompensating by acting like he hates him.” which makes Tim choke on air and Martin emphatically reply, “Fuck off, he is not.”

“No, no, hear me out, I have, I have receipts, as the kids say. First point of evidence: Martin’s stupid hot, and there’s no way that Jon is straight, so obviously he’s not gonna be impervious to that.”

“What?”

“Oh come off it Martin, it’s just a fact. Like, me personally? I don’t even do the whole romance thing, but the first time I ever saw you I blacked out slightly and thought ‘Now there’s a man I could raise some ferrets with.’.”

“I, um, I, well. Is that...supposed to be a euphemism for something?”

“What? No, I’ve just always wanted ferrets, and asking someone to raise pets with you is like the height of romance, I’m pretty sure. Back me up here Tim.”

“On the ferret thing or the Martin hot thing?”

“Either? Both.”

“Aight. Yes, asking someone to raise ferrets with you is basically a marriage proposal if that someone is Sasha, and I hate to break it to you Martin, but you’re incredibly good-looking. We’re all incredibly good-looking, to the point where I think the only qualification for the archives staff is being a straight up hottie. OH! We should name the group chat “straight up hottie squad”. Anyway, yep, point for Sasha.”

“Not a point for Sasha, even if I believe you about about my, em, physical attractiveness,-”

“-Don’t have to put belief in a fact, Marto-”

“-that doesn’t mean anything. By that logic, he’s equally as likely to be in love with either of you, and my money would be on Sasha if it was anyone, because you’re clearly his favorite.”

“Ah, but that’s exactly why it isn’t me, but thank you for the transition into my second point which is: Jon is the kind of person that sees anything that might make him vulnerable and starts aggressively defending himself against it, and what’s more vulnerable than a crush? He’s not crushing on Tim, because Tim’s fucking great, but sometimes he’s also the walking, talking embodiment of sensory overload, and while I myself I love that, Jon clearly gets a bit overwhelmed by it at times. He’s not into me, because he knows better than that, and overall I’m pretty non-threatening to his whole thing, so of course he’s going to be the most relaxed around me. You, on the other hand, are single, hot, kind to animals and people alike, and make a great cup of tea. Incredibly crush worthy, thus incredibly threatening, thus Jon acting like That.”

“Hmm, this still seems like something that comes from watching one too many corny rom coms, and that’ s coming from someone who loves corny rom coms.”

“I also love corny rom coms, but that’s completely beside the point. Because, okay, sure, if Jon had just been a weird asshole to you, I wouldn’t be like ‘oh, yeah, that’s a classic case of covering for something’ but you’re right about him being nicer since the worm thing. So nice, in fact, I shall be bringing in Timothy as my star witness that’s going to blow this whole case wide open. Martin, you may not have heard how Jon has started to talk about you, but me and Tim sure have.”

“God, yeah. Like if we thought he wouldn’t shut up about you before-

“-which he wouldn’t-”

“it’s gotten way worse now.”

“I think the whole life threatening worm woman flipped a switch for him and now he’s all fuckin. ‘Oh, Martin should stay in the archives, let me give him the place that I sleep.”

“Oh, Martin, I don’t think he should go out on too many research trips anymore, I’d much prefer for him to be ~nice and close~”

“Oh, Martin, good lord, did you know that his tea is quite good? I’m think it might actually be the best I’ve ever had.”

“Oh, Martin, his work’s rather improved, don’t you think? It’s really quite impressive, especially considering all the stress he’s had to endure.”

“Oh, Martin, I just want him to take me into his big, strong arms and whisk me away from all of this.”

“He did not fucking say that last one.”

Sasha throws her arms up in the air. “He may as well have!”

Nodding sagely, Tim replies, “This whole thing holds water. I vote Sasha gets the shopping trip. Martin?”

Martin stares at his drink as if it has any ability to give him any sort of answers, then lets out a sigh with his entire body. “You know what? It’s probably nicer than whatever the fuck is the truth, so sure, why not? Let’s get Sasha her cardigans.”

Sasha lets out a whoop. “Hell yeah! Can’t wait for spree, assuming all three of us get out of this cabin alive.”

“Okay, nope, clearly Sasha needs another distraction. Got any suggestions, Martin?”

“Uh, wasn’t a karaoke machine part of the sales pitch for this place?”

“Martey babey, yes! I wouldn’t have thought you’d spring for that sort of thing!”

“If this were a public bar or something where I’d have to listen to drunk strangers and they’d have to listen to me, then no, I’d rather have my brain pulled through my nose a la mummification. But with only you guys and fourish drinks in? I’m down to clown.”

“Sash, you with us?”

“Dunno, what songs are there?”

Tim shrugs, and heads to the storage closet that contains all the various entertainment equipment. It takes a bit of searching, and a bit more digging, but he’s able to unearth the ancient portable karaoke machine. He also grabs some of the jigsaws, mostly on the thought that sometimes a bitch just wants to hang out with their friends and do a puzzle. Also because in light of the fact that they’re stuck inside with no sort of access to the outside world for two days longer than planned, there’s pretty much no way that they’re not going to reach a point where they all say fuck it let’s do a puzzle.

Plugging in the machine, it takes a solid several minutes to boot up, which is the perfect length of time to take it upon himself to take one for the team and chug the box wine himself, with Sasha and Martin chanting in the background. When he finishes, they cheer, and then Martin immediately shoves a glass of water for him to down as well, muttering something about how he wants him to be alive in the morning. Tim can tell he’s well inebriated by now, because the simple thoughtful gesture is enough to make him a little bit misty-eyed, and Sasha can attest to alcohol turning him into the world’s biggest sap. In order to avoid prevent himself from becoming the kind of person who says “I love you” in a gradually more sloppy repeat, he starts flipping through the discography of the now running machine. “Alright y’all, it looks like we got 80s songs or...80s songs. Ooo, they have the Grease 2 soundtrack.”

That gets him a well deserved “No!” from both parties, with Sasha adding on, “Not even if it was Grease 1. I’m putting an embargo on musical theater in general.”

“Oh come on, some musicals are better than other. Right, Marto?”

“I’m with Sasha on this one.”

“Boo. But fine, what do you want?”

Martin and Sasha glance at each other, and Tim’s amazed at how well the bonding night-turned-long-weekend has gone so far, considering they seem to have already mastered the art of silent communication. Martin speaks first, with, “They got Dolly Parton?”

The process of scrolling through individual letters to type is achingly slow, but luckily all he needs to get through is “DO” before she shows up. “They do.”

Sasha says, “Do they got 9 to 5, by Dolly Parton?”

Tim’s eyes light up with realization as he says, “They do,” and in a moment of spontaneous understanding, all three of them know that they’re not simply going to sing 9 to 5. No, they’re going to do a  full blown music video for the benefit for nobody but themselves, because why the fuck not.

The next hour is spent in a very silly fashion. They figure out how to use the cabin’s layout to their advantage, assign various parts of the song to each person, and practice their inexpert choreography a few times with the song tinnily blasting from Sasha’s phone. The final result is hardly of professional quality, but it is of making them all giggle quality. It starts off in a relay like manner, each of them in a different area to coordinate with “Tumble of out bed and stumble to the kitchen” (Sasha on the couch), “Pour myself a cup of ambition”, (Tim at the coffemaker), and “Yawn and stretch and try to come to life” (Martin at the fridge), with them finally crowding around the karaoke machine together to scream sing the chorus. Despite their practice, they quickly go off key, and while they might end up with low points for accuracy, they get full marks on enthusiasm.

When the song ends, it takes them a few minutes to settle down into something less giddy. As they do, Sasha, out of breath, says, “Fuck me, I’m sleepy now. What the hell?”

Tim hums in affirmation. “Goddammit, I’m tired too. Let me guess, Martin, you’re young enough that you could go all night?”

“No? I’ve never pulled an all-nighter in my life. Actually, I know that it was supposed to be in case the power went out, but huddling together under a blanket in front of a fire sounds really nice? I mean, um, if you guys were down.”

Sasha leans her head against Martin’s shoulder and takes on the expression of a deeply content cat. “Mmm, I call Martin, he’s warm.”

“Absolutely not, I also want to leech Martin’s warmth. You good with being in the middle?”

Martin’s practically beaming, but his voice manages to almost fake being put upon. “I suppose it’s a sacrifice I could make.”

With Sasha already half asleep, Martin brings her over to the couch, while Tim gets them all set up. He manages to find the kind of big, fluffy blanket that all cabins should contain and wraps it around their shoulders. Luckily for them, the fireplace is gas lit and can be put on a timer. He sets it for 30 minutes, even though all three of them are going to be long passed out before them. Sasha is already softly snoring away, and Martin’s head keeps drifting down and snapping back up. Tim curls up against Martin’s other side, and even though all three of them are going to wake up with aching backs and worse heads, he thinks he really just might be a genius after all.

*Why is Mr. Boddy’s name Dr. Black in the UK. I hate that. Why would you not have the dumb joke of  naming the victim “boddy”. Hey brits explain your crimes.

[murasaki-murasame]

I’m still a little salty about how few units actually got mana spirals this month, but the ones we did get were surprisingly powerful, and the new banner also introduced some surprisingly meta-changing units, like the sentient potato who just wants to be vored.

There’s a lot to talk about so I’m gonna put my rambling under a cut, lol.

OK so first of all. Pipple. This fuckin’ non-limited 4-star water wand built with defense and energy buff skills, who is LITERALLY A TALKING VEGETABLE, is somehow the actual meta-changing start of this banner. After waiting more than an entire goddamn year for our first 5-star water blade, he ends up getting overshadowed by a goddamn potato. And as much as I love Valerio as well, I wouldn’t have it any other way, lmao.

It feels insane to even say it, but with the way his kit works, he honestly feels like a lite version of Gala Cleo. He can probably do just fine on his own in a normal water team, but if you get four Pipples together and give them something like Odd Sparows, they become a group of tanks who can deal surprisingly high damage, while sustaining themselves with healing doublebuff.

When I first saw his skills I thought that he was basically just a slightly better version of Pia, and that he’d basically just be a meme character, but honestly his passive abilities are enough to make him genuinely great. They give him a really unique play-style, especially with how he approaches energy.

I wasn’t sure what to make of his first ability at first since it’s description is super vague, but apparently it makes it so that his basic combos are 120% or so better than those of a normal wand unit. Which is pretty insane on it’s own. But then you have his third ability, which is basically just the one Yaten already has, where he gets buffs along with his energy level, up to a maximum of 40% strength and 15% crit rate when he’s energized. But unlike basically any other unit in the game, who wants to dump their energy stacks into an attack skill or a heal, Pipple doesn’t do that at all. He doesn’t even have any attack skills or heals, so if you ignore weapon skills and dragon skills, he doesn’t have anything to use energy on like that. Instead, he’s meant to basically stay permanently energized so that he doesn’t lose the buff that comes along with it. So once you get him energized, it basically means that he has a 40% strength and 15% crit rate buff for the entire rest of the fight. Plus he can trigger strength doublebuff with his S1 to give him even more strength.

I don’t think the DPS charts do justice to his true potential because of how weird and indirect his kit is, but I think he’s genuinely really strong. He’ll probably work really well with the eventual water element 6-star weapons, since the skills on those are just buffs, so he can use it without losing his energy buffs.

People have already cleared expert and master HBH with 4 Pipple teams, and apparently it’s not very difficult at all, and it’s basically impossible to get killed with that comp. It’s probably slower than other water team comps, but it seems very tanky.

I think he does enough damage on his own to be very good in a team with other units, but I’m not as sure about that. You’d probably end up designing a team around him like you do with Patia, to make full use of strength/healing doublebuffs.

At the very least I think he’s immediately better than Lily. Which probably isn’t a huge achievement, but still, lol. If he ends up being good for regular teams and not just 4-Pipple teams, I think he’ll help let Gala Elly run without Chocolatiers, which could be nice.

I was thinking that, until Thaniel eventually gets a buff, I might use Xainfried for HBH now that he’s gotten his own mana spiral, but once I get a HDT1 water wand, I’m kinda tempted to just play Pipple instead, lmao.

In general i really like units like this who have weird and unique play-styles, and it’s really fun to get some silly and non-human adventurers like this. And since he’s a non-limited 4-star, it’s not a bad thing if he ends up being really meta-defining. Overall his existence is just a net positive for the game and I’m wuv him :) I’ve been kinda bitter lately about how the non-limited water roster as a whole just doesn’t stack up well against limited water units like Gala Elly and MH Sarisse, but Pipple [and Xainfried getting his mana spiral] really helps with that. I feel like Pipple might end up being a popular budget entry point into HBH.

He also might be basically the only unit in the game to make good use of The Petal Queen in order to immediately energize himself, which is fun. I like how these sorts of units who don’t use attacking skills end up benefiting from some weird and niche wyrmprints that you usually don’t use otherwise. It seems like Chocolatiers is better for HBH, but for basically any other fight I think The Petal Queen would probably be better, since the immediate jumpstart on his offensive buffs would probably be better than the immediate defense buff.

And on the topic of the mana spirals we got, I’m still super salty that Norwin didn’t get one, or even any of the other gacha 4-star shadow units, but at least the three mana spirals we got were really great.

Xainfried’s probably getting overlooked by Nefaria and OG Cleo’s mana spirals, and also by Pipple being the hot new water unit everyone loves, but his mana spiral seems like it’s really helped him, and I don’t regret getting him up to around 64MC immediately. I think the DPS sims put him at around the level of Victor and Kirsty, which is a pretty big deal considering how underpowered he was before this. There’s also the fact that we don’t have a frostbite punisher wyrmprint or dragon yet, so his true damage potential probably hasn’t been reached yet. I think he’s probably going to end up being readily accepted into all levels of HBH after this, which would be great. I think he’s always been perfectly viable for HBH, but never ‘meta’. But he seems really strong now. And once we get a frostbite punisher print, he might become a really meta unit since he and Valerio are currently the only frostbite enablers in the game, though I think Mitsuba will probably get frostbite too, and they’ll probably give it to some of the existing water units through their mana spirals. He’ll probably be one of the better frostbite enablers, though.

OG Cleo getting a buff wasn’t exactly a surprise, and it mostly went the way I expected, but her getting buff dispel was a surprise. I think she’s probably the best healer for Kai Yan, but I dunno if buff dispel will be a huge deal in HJP. But since Nefaria also got buff dispel, I think S-Verica is still gonna have a space in the Kai Yan meta. People probably won’t want to run much with Heinwald in that fight, sadly, lol.

Nefaria, on the other hand, was a huge surprise, since it looked like they’d just skipped over her entirely. But she got a mana spiral out of the blue, and apparently it’s made her extremely powerful, maybe second only to Gala Cleo herself, lol. I’m still annoyed at how their approach to fixing her was just ‘slap the poison meta on her existing kit’, but oh well. It did the job with making her extremely good, I guess. I’m happy that she’s finally a good unit, even if I wish they had been a bit more creative about it.

Since they have basically the same kit, and wind also has it’s own poison meta, they’re probably just going to give Hawk the exact same buff [maybe without the buff dispel, though], and hopefully that’d also lead to him being extremely strong. 

The Kai Yan fight also came out, which is it’s own whole thing. I’m currently just grinding standard to get the materials to max out the shadow tree, but from what I can gather, both difficulties are apparently a lot easier than Volk, which is . . . kinda surprising. Maybe it’s just because the shadow roster is stupidly powerful, but it sounds like the requirements to get by in Expert aren’t very high at all. Which probably means that the meta surrounding it will probably be more accepting of a variety of units. But probably with a preference for the 70MC ones.

I was worried that they’d tune the fight too much around Gala Cleo and just make it super punishing and impenetrable, but it feels more like they just didn’t even bother putting effort into designing the fight in a way that shut her down. Which is probably a good thing in the long run, since it makes the fight more accessible. I thought they’d at least make the satellite things absorb some of Gala Cleo’s S1 hits, but apparently not, lol.

I’ll see how expert goes when I get to it, but I wonder if in the long run, it’ll be easier to break into Kai Yan and get a MUB 6-star shadow weapon to take into HJP, instead of doing HZD first to get a shadow HDT weapon. That’d be interesting.

The shadow 6-star weapons also seem to have some interesting effects. I thought that all the 6-star weapons might just get alternating strength and regen buffs, but the shadow ones have attack rate and defense. I guess it’s probably designed with each Agito fight in mind, since healing is important to Volk, while Kai Yan has more unavoidable damage.

I have no idea what they’ll do with the other element types, but one way or another I think, as I said, Pipple’s gonna really benefit from a water Agito weapon, since it won’t have an attack or a heal [hopefully] for him to waste his energy stacks on.

I kinda hope the wind one gives a crit rate buff, since wind needs more of that in general.

Oh yeah, and Valerio also exists, lmao. I still really want him, but I can live without him at this point, especially with how much I’ve come to love Pipple as a character. I do like how unique and interesting Valerio’s kit is, though, and I’m glad that he seems to be pretty strong overall. I wish they’d stop designing blade units that are dependent on high combo counts, though. It’s just not a good weapon type for that, lol.

I don’t think Nimis is particularly amazing at the moment since there’s not many water units who can reliably get high crit chance in the first place, but since Pipple can pretty easily get a more or less permanent 15% crit rate buff, Nimis might be pretty good on him. Basically water needs a unit like Ezelith to really make use of him. And thus far we don’t really have that, but I still feel like Laranoa might end up getting basically the exact same buff that Ezelith got when she gets her mana spiral, in which case she’d probably use Nimis. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mitsuba ends up being based around crits when she comes out, as well.

And on that note, the second part of the current banner should be starting in the next few days, and it’ll almost certainly give us Mitsuba as a 5-star water dagger, and Picaro as . . . some sort of 4-star. Unless they invent an entirely new dragon for the banner, I think they’ll just have Nimis on rate-up for it again, or feature an existing water dragon like Leviathan. In general I’m just not very interested in the idea of the part two banner at the moment. Mitsuba’s a fun character, but I like both Pipple and Valerio more, and in terms of burn res water daggers I think I like Orsem more, too. I also just kinda hate Picaro so I have no real interest in the idea of getting him as a playable adventurer, lol. I’m not even sure what type of unit he’ll be, honestly. I think he’ll be a flame 4-star, going by his character design, but I’ve got no clue about his weapon type. He doesn’t really seem to be holding a weapon in his art like Valerio and Mitsuba are, so it’s hard to guess. I’m also not even sure if the flame roster has any notable gaps that can be filled by a new 4-star. I guess it might be neat if he’s a sleep res healer that has sleep cleanse, but I guess we’ll see.

I still think Pipple’s gonna end up being the real star of his banner as a whole, lol.

Anyway, for the time being, I’m gonna keep grinding Kai Yan, and I’ll probably do a few runs of HMC to get Pipple his HDT water wand. After that I’ll see if that’s enough investment to let me break into eHBH with him. I’ll probably end up having to max augment Odd Sparrows first, but I’ve at least started on that already. I at least have Xainfried as a good alternative option to get into that fight, but I just really really like the idea of taking a sentient potato creature to fight a flame dragon :v

[josephmozzerellaswife-blog]

Best Friends for Life

So this is my first fic ever and i poured everything into this so hopefully you all like it

Warnings: none just pure fluff

Word Count: 1700+

Summary: You and your best friend(who married your husbands best friend) get the nursery ready for you and Joe’s second child.

The loud patter of pouring rain slams against the new nursery window. The cloudy weather prevented the shining sun from blinding you as you painted the boring walls a faint hue of yellow. You and Joe decided that you wouldn’t find out the sex of the baby until it was born and you loved how excited Joe would get about the thought of another perfect mix of the both of you running around the house.

Your first born was a spitting image of his father. Elliot had the brightest auburn hair with huge chubby cheeks just like little Joe in one of his earlier movies Unspeakable Acts. Of course he had your eyes and puffy lips but he would always be your mini Joe no matter what. Ever since Joe got his new role as John Deacon, it’s been pretty lonely but Elliot would always fill in to cheer you up when daddy was gone.

The yellow walls were nowhere near close to being finished and Joe was going to be gone for the rest of the week so you decided to call up your best friend Emily.

She was a life saver especially when you had your little 3 year old running at your feet. As much as you loved Elliot he was completely exhausting and you had another one on the way. Emily has a little girl of her own, Arya, which definitely helps entertain the little toddler. The best thing about Em besides your amazing friendship was that she was married to Joe’s best friend and co-star Ben Hardy which made date nights that much more interesting. Their little girl was absolutely adorable and had the smallest blonde curls to compliment her huge green eyes. She was only a year younger than Elliot which made them being friends that much easier.

When Em came over soon after you called, (god that woman is amazing) it didn’t take long for the toddlers to run off and start re-enacting Jurassic Park with all of Elliot’s stuffed dinosaurs Joe insisted he needed. Em figured you would be hungry with being 6 months pregnant and all which made you very emotional (thanks pregnancy hormones). After she laughed for 3 straight minutes of you crying over take out, you both quickly ate and resumed the regular nursery assembling duties like planned.

Joe had already ordered a few things like a crib and the changing table which was a huge help. So Em started putting those together as you finished painting the main accent wall pale yellow, trying to keep the nursery as gender neutral as possible. As much as you wanted to know the gender, you held back and left the life changing envelop from your doctor taped on the fridge.

After about 3 more hours of painting and assembling the main items of the room, Em and you decided to call it a day and just watch a movie with the kids but when you walked out of the room you saw both Elliot and Arya cuddled up together with their preferred dinosaur. As cute as they looked, you still had to move them from the middle of the living room floor, so trying to be as quiet as possible and holding back both of your giggles, you put the kids to bed in Elliot’s room. Elliot got a little fussy so Em went back into the living room to pick a movie while you finished putting Elliot to bed. Even though Joe wasn’t here to sway with you and your sleeping son you still loved moments like these. The hum of the sound machine in the faint background lulled your little one to sleep and you finally placed him next to Em’s little Ben look alike.

When you were walking back to the living room, you couldn’t help but stop and gaze into the bedroom where you wish your husband was sleeping. You missed every part of him so much as the week went on. He only left a week ago and would be back by Saturday but you still missed his little snores. He would usually call by now seeing as it was 9:30 which worried you but you knew he was probably with Ben seeing as Em didn’t get a call from her husband either.

As you not so gracefully plopped onto the couch, your huge belly acting as a table for the snacks Em got for the both of you to share, you both quickly got invested into the movie. I wasn’t surprised that she picked X-Men Apocalypse considering she missed Ben just as much as I missed Joe.

It was about 10:45 now and the movie was half way through. You noticed yourself dozing off when your phone starts to vibrate on the side table. The dim screen showed an image of you and Joe at your wedding 5 years prior. You quickly scrambled to pick up the phone.

“Hi Honey, I miss you.”

“Hi babe I miss you too. How was the set today?”

“It was great! I got to play Another One Bites the Dust live and they said they were gonna use it in the film!”

“That’s awesome babe. We are so proud of you.”

“So how’s my little munchkins. Hope little Elliot wasn’t causing to much havoc today.”

“He was pretty good actually, Em came over with Arya today so he was pretty occupied to say the least.”

“And what about my love, our mystery baby giving you any trouble?”

“None at all, just kicking me like a soccer player in there. Baseball might not be the sport for this one.”

“I beg to differ. Mazzello’s always play baseball.”

“Well this Mazzello has a major punch. Might be a feisty little girl in here.”

“You didn’t look in the envelope did you?”

“No of course not Joey.”

You wanted to look so bad but you knew how much the secret meant to Joe. Joe didn’t know but you told Em to look in the envelope just so someone knew. You couldn’t bare the thought of no one knowing.

“I’m surprised you answered this late babe. I figured you would be asleep by now.”

“You know I can’t go to bed without telling my favorite guy I love him.”

“But I thought Elliot was with you?”

“Babe, you know who my most favorite guys is.”

“It’s Ben isn’t it. Does Em know?”

“Joe!”

“I know, I know. I just miss your laugh. Heck I miss everything about you love. I miss you so so much.”

“I miss you too Joey. More than you could ever know.”

“Well...”

“Joe what did you do this time?”

“Open the door and find out.”

“What do you mean open the door?”

“Just do it.”

“Ok, ok just give me a second to get my huge belly off this couch.”

You get off the couch trying not to wake Em who you covered with your favorite throw. Walking to the door you couldn’t help but wonder what Joe had planned this time.

Did he send flowers again? But at this time of night, that doesn’t sound right.

You reached for the doorknob and slowly cracked the door open only to find your sexy, jet lagged husband on the other side.

“What are you doing here!”

“I couldn’t stand not seeing you for another day! Oh and I brought Ben cause he wouldn’t shut up about how much he missed Em and Arya.”

“Do you blame him? I mean you’re standing here too silly.”

“I never said I wouldn’t shut up about you three either.”

“He’s right it was way worse than me.”

While Joe and Ben were bringing there stuff inside Em heard the door shut and instantly jumped off the couch. She literally fell into Ben’s arms because of how quickly she got up. Joe and I tried to giggle as quiet as possible but it was no use. Joe heard Elliot’s cries from down the hall and went to go get him and calm him down so he didn’t wake Arya. When he came back, Joe was holding little Elliot in his arms with his favorite dinosaur hanging from his grasp and the green blanket Joe’s mother made him draped across his back. It was like you fell in love with Joe all over again. You told Em that her and Ben were welcome to stay in the guest bedroom for the night considering it was almost midnight.

After everyone was settled and almost everyone was asleep in the house again, you couldn’t help but watch Joe as he held your sleeping son by the large glass window that overlooked the city. You could feel a tear slip from your tired eyes as your heart flooded with happiness. These were the moments you never wanted to let go of. You waddled over to Joe and leaned into him as you both now looked at the sparkling skyline of New York. His kisses varying between you and your now snoring son.

“I never want to leave this. You both are my absolute world.”

“Joey we love you so much you don’t even know.”

“I love you both with my entire heart and more. Y/N you are my love. My everything. You have given me this beautiful family. Only to add one more and however many more after that.”

The tears were flowing from you eyes at this point.

“Joe you don’t even know the joy you give me. Our beautiful children. Your love. Trust. Everything. You gave me a purpose. You gave me your heart and love. You are my world. My soulmate.”

As you now lay in bed next to the absolute love of your life, tears running down from each of your cheeks, you knew that life was only gonna get better. Even through the ups and downs Joe was your person. Your one true love. And your best friend for life.

Taglist:

@queens-n-roses @sevenseasofky @onehystericalqueeen @soberandfurious

I hope everyone enjoyed this little fluff fest, I worked so hard on this and plan on writing more soon!

[arthurs-wife]

hi, i love your writing! i was wondering if you could you please write something where arthur x f! reader are together but get into a huge fight, and maybe dont talk for a few days but arthur tries to make amends because he doesnt want another failed love? with a happy ending preferably! :’)

(i may not be good at smut, but i am good at being an overdramatic asshole)

“Are there more than four words in your lexicon?” you asked, keeping as much venom out of your voice as you could.

Arthur grunted at you, making things infinitely worse.

“Here, I’ll just have the whole conversation for us,” you sniped, standing up and throwing your hands on your hips and doing the worst impression of Arthur ever done, “‘just leave me alone woman, there ain’t nothin’ I want to say to you right now.’ Well, Arthur, there’s a ton of stuff I need to say to you because if you haven’t noticed, we’re not doing too well right now. ‘Probably because you won’t shut the hell up.’ Don’t tell me to shut up, Arthur.”

“Seems like you got it under control then,” he huffed, pulling his hat down and leaning further against the tree.

“I don’t know what I expected.”

“Well what do you want from me?”

“Tell me what’s bothering you, let me help you.”

“You really want to know what’s bothering me?” he asked, standing up and looking down at you.

“Please, tell me.”

“You are.”

“I don’t know why I try with you.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t anymore then.”

“I won’t.”

And you stomped off.

Maybe it was better if you two just went your separate ways. You could probably make it on your own in Valentine. You heard Strawberry was an up and coming town too. Hell, maybe he’d care more about you if you were more westward than here.

You were so caught up in your thoughts you didn’t see Charles and ran straight into him.

“Oh Charles,” you bumbled, steadying yourself as he caught your arms, “I’m so sorry.”

“What’s going on?”

“Just,” you struggled, throwing your hands up, “had it out with Arthur again.” You looked apologetic, dragging people in your business wasn’t your cup of tea.

“He can be a difficult nut to crack,” he smiled and you felt better. Charles seemed so genuine, you didn’t mind talking with him about your problems.

“Maybe I’m not cut out to be with you folk,” you said.

“Don’t say that, y/n,” he said gently, placing a hand on your shoulder, “you’ve fit in better than most stowaways we’ve brought on. We got lucky with you and Sadie.”

“I think I’m gonna go camping,” you said, looking out towards the trees.

“At this hour?”

“Can I borrow your percolator?”

Charles nodded and had the grace to not ask how long you’d be.

Waking up to an open sky was not something you’d done in a while and to be honest, you’d do it all the time if you could. There was a big, outcrop of rocks to the east of Horseshoe Overlook that you loved, so you had gone there. Unfortunately, it reminded you of the first time you and Arthur had kissed. He had been so shy and gentle with you, cupping your face with his broad hand and kissing your bottom lip so slightly he felt like a cloud. That was two months ago.

Charles’ percolator bubbled away and you looked at the sky around you, cloudless and crisp. It was strange, not having anywhere to be. You were a good hunter and were able to grab a rabbit every night, gamey as it may be. You tried to not worry about what Arthur was doing, if he cared about how long you were gone. To be fair, you had not told anyone where you were going and had taken care to cover your tracks.

Part of you just wanted to leave for good.

You did have all your things with you, it wouldn’t be hard to keep going west, maybe as far as New Austin. You couldn’t even remember what you and Arthur had been fighting about originally, just that he wouldn’t open up and tell you what was upsetting him. What the hell made you think you were special? What made you could stroll in and just unlock the secrets to this beautiful man? Stupid.

You angrily packed up your camp and mounted your horse. Valentine wasn’t far, you’d stop and load up on supplies before heading out. No one would miss you.

About halfway there you heard the sound of gunfire, coming just up the road. You hitched your horse on a tree and grabbed your rifle, cresting the hill carefully. There were three men with their backs to you, shooting at someone a ways up.

“Kill ‘im, lads!” you heard one of them say. Damn O’Driscolls.

With ease you dispatched them, one, two, three. When you were sure the coast was clear you stood up and waved to the figure down the road, who was walking towards you.

“You alright partner?” you called.

“Y/n?”

Oh shit. What divine intelligence placed the two of you together again?

“Arthur,” you greeted as the two of you approached. You stopped about ten feet apart.

What did you even say to each other.

“Where’s Rachel?” you ask. Rachel was his horse that he had stolen from the O’Driscolls just before moving to Horseshoe Overlook.

“They shot her,” he sighed, looking back to where she lay, “bastards ambushed me.”

“Arthur I’m so sorry,” you said, and you were. He smiled at you.

“S’alright,” he shrugged, “she weren’t no Bodacea.”

You hummed at him.

“What were you doin’ out here anyway?” you asked.

“Was helpin’ an old friend out,” he said sheepishly.

“Okay, that’s good,” you nodded. Could you stand to be more awkward?

“Her name’s Mary,” he offered, looking at you apologetically. The way he said it made you sad, even though you damn well you weren’t the first, and probably not the last.

“Alright, well,” you said, whistling for your horse, “you need some help, then? Can’t be too useful without a horse.”

“I wouldn’t want to burden you, y/n,” he said, mounting your horse behind you and putting his hands on your hips for support.

“Where we headed?” you asked, spurring your horse.

“Cumberland Forest.”

After riding for a few minutes, Arthur bends down to your ear.

“Where did you run off to, anyway?”

“I went camping.”

“For five days?”

“Why are you so interested?”

“I was worried,” he finally said, leaning back again like he hoped you wouldn’t hear it. You’d help him get the woman he wanted back and then leave camp for good.

The place you were going turned out to be full of loons and it came down to you to chase this poor fool down, Arthur bouncing around behind you as he tried to lasso him. The boy tried to off himself but Arthur was too quick, shooting the gun out of his hand and running to catch him as he fell.

Arthur could say whatever the hell he wanted, but he was a good man under it all.

“You still got your horse, boy?” he asked, holding the kid up.

“Yes, sir,” he replied.

“Good, get him and we’ll follow you back to town to make sure no one gets the drop on you.”

Arthur hopped up on the back of your horse again and told you to follow the boy to where Mary was staying. And you get to meet her, too? This was shaping up to be a great day.

“You weren’t planning on leaving us, were you?” he asked, “you know we have a code.”

“Is that a threat?” you shot back at him.

“No, I just meant-”

“I don’t care what you meant,” you cut him off, “I’ll speak with Dutch when we get back and let him know I’ll be leaving first thing.”

“Why did you help me then?” he asked. There was a hidden question in there, one you didn’t need him to elaborate on.

“Because you silly fool,” you were on the verge of tears, “I love you. And I don’t care who you’re true to or who you are, that’s not gonna change. I will always be there for you.” You stop and consider your actual position. “Which is why I’m stayin’, I guess. If y’all will have me.”

He didn’t say anything for the rest of the ride. When you arrived at Mary’s place, he hopped down and held out his arms for you. You reached out and he helped you down, keeping his hands on your waist and looking at you, finally looking at you.

“I don’t want you to leave, y/n,” he finally said, a smile creeping onto his face, “and I’m sorry for being an ass. You’ll have to teach me how to act in a union like this.”

“What makes you think that’s good enough?”

“It ain’t,” he said, “but stick around and let me be good enough for you.” 

You beamed as he swooped down and kissed you and you didn’t realize how much you had missed him.

“I won’t run off no more,” you said, walking with him up to the house.

“It seemed to work out in our favor this once,” he laughed and slipped his arm around your waist.

The look on Mary’s face would have been sad if you didn’t have the world’s most amazing man wrapped around you.

[meetthetank]

Peccatum Chapter 9: Fireside Chat

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14454675/chapters/43675304 Rating: Mature Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Category: F/M Fandom: NieR: Automata (Video Game) Relationships: 2B/9S (NieR: Automata), A2/A4 (NieR: Automata). Jackass/The Commander (NieR: Automata) Characters: 2B (NieR: Automata), 9S (NieR: Automata), A2 (NieR: Automata), A4 (NieR: Automata), 6O (NieR: Automata), 21O, Jackass (NieR: Automata), The Commander (NieR: Automata) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe, genre typical violence, long fic, Slow Burn, War

“Damnit!” 9S shouts, kicking a charred plank.

Ash billows out over the darkening sky as the wood crumbles into dust. A light gust carried the cloud of soot over what remains of the humble grain village; a few free standing bits of scaffolding, defaced statues of the region’s senator, and blackened remnants of stone structures.

“This is the fourth one in a row…” 32S mumbles, burying his head in his hands.

“But…” 801S stammers, “I was here not...a month ago! I was here and it was fine! Everyone was fine!”

He sinks to the ground, a cloud of ash billowing out around him. 9S wraps his arms around his friend’s shoulders as 801S lists the people he met (or at least he thinks they’re people he met...it’s impossible to one charred corpse from the next) who ended up in a vile mass grave burning in the center of town. His voice chokes on the name of a farmhand he had been writing to for some time.

“Why...Why would they attack here?!” 801S yells, “There’s nothing here but wheat! No soldiers lived here! There’s no walls, no battlements...They were just farmers!”

For a moment, a heavy silence fills the air between them.

“...The demons are trying to starve us out,” 11S growls, putting words to what they had realized when they arrived, “It isn’t just bloodlust that makes them target these defenseless towns. These farms supply food all across the Republic. Cut off the supply…”

“...And the capitols weaken,” 9S finishes. “The armies weaken.”

The scouts remain quiet, either out of respect for the dead or from the icy fear that grabs hold of their hearts. Somewhere in the back of all of their minds they knew they were fighting an uphill battle, but this is the first time where they fully realize they’re on the losing side of this war. Grossly outnumbered, outmaneuvered at every turn, unable to keep up with the rapid evolution of their enemy. The only ones that stood a chance were the Devoted, but none of the Theocratic clergymen were allowed within the ranks of a Republic army.

“...One of us should double back to the Commander,” 32S says, breaking the silence.

A low sigh escapes 9S. “No one’s gonna be happy about this. We’ve been marching for nearly three days straight.”

9S volunteers to be the one to go back while the other scouts press onward. A strictly maintained five mile gap separates the main force from the scouts, but with only flat farmland and open fields to cross, it doesn’t take long for him to see Commander White atop her warhorse leading the troops. He falls in step next to her and Lieutenant Jackass’ horses easily.

“Well?” White asks, exhaustion creeping into her normally level tone.

9S sighs. “No good. That town’s been razed too. No survivors either.”

“Damn…” Jackass rubs her face with one hand. “We can’t push them for much longer, White.”

“We can’t stop,” the Commander snaps and pulls a small map from her saddlebag. “It’s far too dangerous to halt everyone out in these open fields.”

“It’s also too dangerous to make exhausted soldiers try to defend anything. Look at them White, any longer than another day or so and they’ll start dropping.”

She gestures to the irregular lines of soldiers and carts, most nursing varying degrees of injury that come with days of nonstop movement. A few hitch rides on carts wherever they can find space, or double up on the back of a horse just to get some kind of reprieve. Even 2B, who 9S can see peeking around the bulk of the army, sits on the healer’s supply cart with 6O.

“Here,” White says, snapping 9S out of his thoughts. “There’s a proper town half a day beyond the one we’re about to pass. Walls and a militia. If that’s been razed too, we stop anyway.”

“Understood.”

With time of the essence Jackass loans 9S her horse, a brown stallion named Hort, to ride further ahead. With the speed of the ornery beast, he catches up to the other scouts within the hour. Relaying the information brings some light and hope back to the scouts. 801S hops on the back of Hort, sitting close behind him as they ride.

To pass the time, the pair chat idly about whatever crosses their mind, careful to avoid heavier subjects or politics. 801S teases 9S about 2B, and in turn 9S teases 801S about the archer boy he’s been eyeing for a while. They reminisce about old times, simpler times, till they see the turrets of the town’s walls.

“Their wall’s still standing!” 801S shouts, bouncing excitedly much to the displeasure of Hort.

9S is about speak, but the sight of a wooden sign with a crude depiction of a half-demon stops the words in his throat. Though it is devoid of words, the message is clear enough to him. A warning. A threat.

801S’ expression sours when he notices the tension creeping through 9S. “...Stop the horse here. I’ll go ahead inside and let the town know the main force is on its way.”

“Thanks,” 9S says with a shudder in his voice.

Uncertainty worms its way through his gut as he rides back towards the advancing army. It wouldn’t be the first time that he’s come across a town with that kind of mindset, but it always brings risk. It isn’t exactly like he can blame them, either. With the only thing separating the town from the demon hordes roaming around is a few stones, paranoia is to be expected.

At least within the ranks of an army he’s relatively safe.

The sun reaches its highest peak by the time 9S reaches White again, who announces the good news. Soldiers erupt into cheers, energy surging back through their exhausted bodies. They don’t even complain when she announces that the march will move into double time to reach the town before nightfall, in fact it seems to bolster their spirits further.

9S returns Hort to his owner and hops onto the healer’s wagon with 6O and 2B.

“So, what are you ladies talking about? Girl things?” he asks with a smirk.

6O snorts, “We have much better things to talk about than fashion and marriage.”

2B tilts her head to the side in a way that 9S can’t help but consider adorable. “Is that what humans consider feminine?”

“Well, yeah,” 9S says with as much confusion as is on 2B’s face, “What do Coatyls consider feminine?”

“Stoicism, well maintained weapons, and…” 2B pauses to think for a moment. “...A healthy amount of bloodlust.”

“Oh. That...explains some things.”

6O laughs at his expense. 2B just holds that same bewildered expression she has whenever she’s confronted with the novelties of human culture as 9S and 6O trade playful punches with each other.

“Anyway, 2B,” 6O begins once she’s had her fill of punching and laughing at 9S, “as I was saying, my patron god isn’t necessarily evil. None of the old gods are, they’re simply...forces of nature.”

“Oh no,” 9S groans. “She’s doing this again.”

“Quiet, you.”

He sticks his tongue out at her, but lets 6O continue.

“I’m familiar with the pantheon, but why...that one?” 2B asks.

“They’re representative of nature, decay, the cyclical aspects of life; that kind of thing. They’re a bit overlooked compared to some of the other, more powerful gods.”

“Wait, which one is this again?” 9S interrupts.

“Their name isn’t exactly pronounceable by the untrained tongue, and invoking it without warrant can have...nasty consequences. Roughly translated, the name is Infinite Equine, or Long Horse.”

“Ugh, right. That nasty horse skull thing. It’s so creepy!”

“I have to agree with 9S,” 2B says. “It is a bit...off-putting.”

“What did you think the manifestation of life, death, and rebirth was going to look like?!” 6O snaps. “A cute little rabbit?!”

“You’re a cute little rabbit!” 9S shouts, and bursts into laughter a second later.

“That...doesn’t seem like an insult,” 2B says through barely contained laughter.

True to the Commander’s word, the army arrives at the town’s gates as just as the moon begins to rise. 801S and the rest of the scouts, along with a few local guards, greet them as they pass through the walls. The townsfolk who are still wrapping up their daily routines stop and stare at the army nearly four times the size of their haphazard militia marching down their main street.

He knows it’s a fools game, but 9S can’t help but let his mind wander. This town is decently fortified, relatively clean, not destitute but not aristocratic...It’d be the perfect place to settle down once the war is over. To finally stop being a soldier, being a part of an army and live a simple life. Maybe even get married and start a family. His gaze wanders to 2B, who looks around the town and its well maintained brick buildings with wonder.

Well..so long as he’s fantasizing.

He must look like a blushing maid, but at the moment he doesn’t really care. It’s good for the mind to indulge in the ideal future every now and then. Images play across his mind in quick succession, each one more unobtainable than the last. It doesn’t stop his heart from fluttering at the thought.

What a silly daydream this is. Why would a warrior such as 2B have any desire to be a housewife, to raise children, or to settle down entirely? She probably intends to live and die on the battlefield, swathed in blood and glory. He doesn’t pay it too much mind, it is a simple daydream after all. No need to get too hung up on reality.

Until reality hits him square in the chest.

As the army passes through the center of town, 9S comes face to face with the grim truth of his life. In the middle of the open plaza, a crude wooden gallows looms over them, and from this morbid structure hangs a recent victim.

The body, whose face is obscured by a roughspun sack, appears fresh. The skin is only a pale shade of purple and rot has yet to set in. His hands are bound behind his back with thick rope that cuts into the skin, staining them black with dried blood. He’s stripped of clothing, revealing thick brown fur that covers him from the waist down, barely concealing the wound where his genitals would have been as well as the hooves in place of human feet. A length of parchment hangs from his chest, held in place by rusting iron hooks.

“Here hangs…..for the crime of Demonic Parentage.”

The name appears to have been vandalized, instead of identifying the victim, it instead reads slurs and obscenities 9S would rather not read in their entirety.

A number of soldiers, including 21O and Jackass, fidget and shy away as they pass the body. Tension worms its way through everyone, even the horses grumble with agitation.

He pulls his hood around his face and sinks into anonymity within the ranks of the army.

What a fool he is to dream.

The army pitches a slap-dash camp on the northern side of the town, a rough series of tents and bedrolls. It isn’t much, but it gives the soldiers a chance to sit down and rest within the safety of the walls. They eat and drink and sing bawdy songs around a small fire, and despite the dire state of the war levity and joy returns to the army. If only for a moment.

It all proves to be too much for 2B, who excuses herself to river a few miles away when the songs take a much louder and raunchier turn. She underestimated just how social humans were, the constant chatting and the way they move around in groups of three or more, groups of people who weren’t even related. The open air and quiet solitude is something she needed before she starts snapping at people.

This region’s fish are small, too small for her liking. She should have expected it: the water barely came up to her scaled ankles. They’re more like snacks than a proper meal, each one barely larger than her beak. 6O warned her about passersby that might see a giant white dragon and attack, but the only thing that catches her eye is a deer that gets a bit too close for her liking. She eats her fill of fresh fish, something she’s found herself longing for since falling in with White’s army, then flies back to the town.

2B perches on the top of the wall, taking a moment to preen her wings of dirt and grime. To her surprise the camp is silent, save for the snores of soldiers and the crackling of one remaining campfire. The way they were carrying on, she thought they were going to be at it all night. Their leader must have told them the march would resume early. To 2B, someone who possesses the gift of flight, the whole idea of an ordered march seems unnecessary. She chastises herself for thinking this way, these humans and their awful work beasts called horses don’t have the same abilities she does, so they must work around their faults.

The approaching footsteps of a local guard break her from her musings. Not wanting to attract unwanted attention herself, she hops from the top of the wall in the middle of a transformation. A swordswoman out for a quiet walk is more explainable than a feathered beast in a human’s eyes.

As 2B wanders past the last dying campfire, she notices a familiar face sitting alone. Curled into himself, sitting on the ground, is 9S. His face is buried in his arms, but the shock of white hair is unmistakable, even in the low light. A sharp pang shoots through 2B’s chest at the pathetic sight and finds herself walking over to him.

9S looks up at the sound of encroaching footsteps with fear in his eyes, though his features quickly soften once he realizes it’s only 2B. He gives her a half hearted wave before wrapping his arms around himself.

“You seem troubled,” 2B says, sitting on the ground next to him.

“Huh?” He rubs his face. “No, no I’m fine. I’m…”

“A poor liar.”

9S lets out a quiet chuckle. “Yeah. I guess so.”

2B gives him a moment to collect himself. He sits up straighter, kicking his legs out and letting himself stretch and get a few breaths of cool night air.

“I guess it’s...I’m…” He sighs. “You never really get used to seeing a body that…that could have been you.”

“Ah...I see,” 2B mutters.

How could she be so dense? Of course seeing something like that would affect him. She should try to comfort him.

She has no idea how to comfort humans.

“I’m sorry,” 9S says. “It’s...it’s silly to be scared. White’s army is one of the only safe places for people like me...For half-demons. We can live and work and fight without having to fear our friends turning on us. But…”

He swallows a lump forming in his throat and wipes his eyes. “But the moment I step outside the army, the moment I try and form a life outside combat and war...I could end up on the end of a rope. Or worse.”

“You look human, though. Your charm necklace conceals anything suspect.”

“Yeah, but it isn’t foolproof.” He turns the little charm in his fingers a few times. “It’s weak magic, something a child could pull off. Easily detected or disarmed, but discrete and easy to make. Mom-...21O made this for me, it’s like the one she’s got.”

9S taps the jewel twice. With a faint shimmer, small nub-like growths appear just below his hairline, parting his hair slightly. His thin tail curls around his leg, and his eyes fade to nearly pure white.

It’s odd, 2B has only seen this form only once before, but the shock is gone. It’s about as strange to her as seeing him with a different haircut. So instead of recoiling in fear, all she does is tilt her head a little.

He taps the jewel again and the demonic features disappear. “It’s so stupid...everyone’s so scared of a few weird additions. But...We’re capable of...gods know what.”

9S hangs his head in shame and curls back into himself. He rests his forehead on his knees. “Are you scared, too?”

She twists the end of her robe between her clawed fingers. “I...I’ve never met a half-demon before you, I must admit.”

“Really?”

2B shakes her head and stares into the embers. “I’ve only ever had...encounters...with proper demons.” Her hands curl into fists. “They attacked our village one day, without warning. Even our strongest warriors had trouble fighting them off. They killed…I don’t know how many of us. The village was devastated in just an hour.”

“Oh…”

An aching cold creeps its way through 9S’ chest, one that won’t leave no matter now tightly he pulls his cloak.

“I’ve never met a half-demon before,” 2B says again. “...But if they’re anything like you…”

Her fist unlocks itself, and with uncharacteristic trepidation, she places her hand on his shoulder. 9S doesn’t anticipate just how warm it was, its gentle weight more comforting than his old coat.

“Well...I think you’re a good person.”

9S smiles, just a little, and leans into her, his head resting on her shoulder.

“...Thanks, 2B.”

[divagonzo]

Many times I’ve seen comments about how the Harry Potter cast avoided the “child star curse” and I want your opinion on that because I don’t think those kids were being treated well and I always find it shocking how everyone thinks their childhoods in the spotlight were something magically wonderful. Also, I hate how people talk about child-stars gone wrong because the aim is always to mock or attack the kid instead of realizing their behavior is a consequence of trauma and abuse.

Mornin’ Nonnie. Wow. That’s a bucketful of questions this morning.

Lemme get a huge cuppa so I can put some coherent thought into this set of questions.

RE: The Child Star Curse…. you’ve hit on the enormous Pandora’s Box here with this topic. No lie there.

Triggering mentions are in the tags for those who blacklist and don’t want to read on such things on a Sunday morning.

I’m putting all of this under the cut since this got really, really long really fast.

How did the kids avoid it where so many got lost and lost their way growing into adulthood? If you notice (I will speak of Eyebrows separately because her situation is pretty different by comparison)…. most of the main kids had a terrific support net of family at home - who could be wise to keep their kids grounded (as in feet on the ground and not under discipline/punishment). Sure they all had some mis-steps - but then I’ve never known a teenager who hasn’t made a mistake or 10 while transitioning to adulthood.

Dan? Dan had a serious drinking problem ‘til he decided to sober up (and I really commend him for taking that enormous step. It’s hard as hell to choose at such a young age that you have an addictive personality and that you can’t moderate the drinking and it’s smarter/safer to do without. (And it’s much easier to walk away at the younger age than in your late 20′s  30s 40s more when more damage has been done.)

Rupert? If anyone had been the most grounded, I’d say it’s him. His parents are top bants there, with his siblings and friends keeping him from being too much of a git. (And also being so b* smart in investing his funds early into a property owner to have his wealth but also paying his taxes, too.)

Emma? I think her situation was more fishbowl than the others because of the growing objectification of her and also how rude, lude, and crass men were treating her (including the paparazzi). I also think that she took advantage of such for her benefit to try and tame it down, and while it was mostly on point, there were moments where it was painfully obvious that she was there primarily for the male gaze. O_O She did take advantage of her privilege, with the additional benefits, but considering how much she’s been under the spotlight and constant attention of media and more, she’s done pretty well. (I won’t get into the issue of tax avoidance from the Panama Papers since I disagree with the mindset that the uber-wealthy should pay out 90% to benefit everyone else when they are already shouldering much of the social support net for those who need the assistance)

As for Tom and Bonnie and Evanna and the others? I think they have done pretty darn well for avoiding the child star curse.

But I also think the biggest part of it has been that they weren’t necessarily in the California/Hollywood scene, where it’s pretty much a free-for-all with access to anything and everything you’d want to delve into - along with the really ugly dark side of the business. (Yes, I’m tip-toeing around that issue since it’s pretty nasty.)

But how they were treated? I’m sure that the trappings of their situation made it more difficult, with constant media scrutiny and having so many people involved to have them appearing…. more appealing. While I’m sure for every one person there would be 100 who would give their toes and fingers to have that opportunity, it’s truly a Gilded Cage, of all of the pretty trappings and benefits - but with the enormous loss of privacy and anonymity.

Secondly, and more importantly, you also broach a huge issue, one that is constantly overlooked and also attracted the issue of victim-blaming. The ones who have gone off the rails, the kids who got lost along the way, were put under such scrutiny and given so much opportunity with little to no parental discipline to prevent problems, that, once again, media blame falls on the kids rather than the responsibility of the adults who should be there to support, encourage, and if need be, protect the kids.

I’m gonna say it right here in plain words: Being a teenager is Bloody Fucking hard. It’s triple hard if you are in such a position of making money hand over fist and people become blinded by the greed, attention, and privilege from what they have in those moments.  How many horror stories do you hear of where a young actor or actress gets into drugs/alcohol/pills and then crashes and burns spectacularly? For every one success story, there are dozens that crash and burn.

Is it a self-medicating of ones who aren’t necessarily neurotypical? Or is it the craving of the validation that comes from the attention and when not receiving it, needs the self-medication? Coping with trauma behind the scenes? Trauma before getting into acting and using the benefits to dull the pain?

I’ll bring up 3 in particular, just to make the point here.

One is Cory Haim. He was a young actor back in the 80s, in quite a few films, and was one of the teenage hearthrob pin-up boys. While he may have never been an A-lister as an adult (and reading up on his film credits, was probably B lister) he was an A-lister as a teenager. But there are plenty of speculation, especially by his friend Corey Feldman, of abuse when he was a teenager. (I won’t get into it because that’s rumor, speculation, and more) When he quit being cute his roles dried up to C-list roles, in straight to video shows, tv shows and voice-over work in video games.

From one of his interviews:

I was working on The Lost Boys (1987) when I smoked my first joint. But a year before that, I was starting to drink beer on the set of the film Lucas (1986). I lived in Los Angeles in the ‘80s, which was not the best place to be. I did cocaine for about a year and a half, then it led to crack. I started on the downers which were a hell of a lot better than the uppers because I was a nervous wreck. But one led to two, two led to four, four led to eight, until at the end it was about 85 a day - the doctors could not believe I was taking that much. And that was just the valium - I’m not talking about the other pills I went through. 

Did he get into drugs to dull the pain of trauma? Did he get into it out of boredom? We’ll never really know since he died back in 2010, penniless. His star burned out fast after he quit being cute/adorable/a money-maker. Was trauma involved? I sure think so (along with former child actor River Phoenix, who was also mentioned in the dark side of Hollywood, too.)

#2 is Justin Bieber. (Yes, I know. Bear with me.)

He got his break early on doing YT videos and got signed on - and took off like a rocket. But he (now that he’s older and hopefully a little wiser) now admits that he isn’t neurotypical and is pretty darn honest about his mental health struggles. (And yes, this also includes the few years before he was participating in bad boy behaviors, mistreating his girlfriends, etc.) Now? He found some stability in his life, able to admit he has problems and is getting help (and does have some support from his family including his new wife and her family.) (Let me also broach this here in plain language: Being Christian and having Grace doesn’t mean that you have zero problems from there on out. Far from it. It means that forgiveness is there with contrition. It means having a framework to work on being better.)

Will he still make mistakes? Oh sure. Being human means making mistakes. Wisdom is learning from them.

Lastly? Miley Cyrus. (Yes, I know. I’m mentioning those who are fun to laugh at. But these three are prime examples - but also with examples of coming through it all - or not.)

She’s been under the spotlight for decades, now. She’s in a show-business family. Godmother is Dolly “I love everyone and then some” Parton. And she’s one of the Disney Kids, including some spectacular failures on her part (and I’m lumping in her on/off again with her now-husband Liam.)

Did she lose her way for a while? I sure think so. But then the media spotlight x 100 made it harder, with every mistake under intense scrutiny. (This includes some questionable choices in a presentation of herself to the world. O_O)

Was she abused as one of the Disney Kids? Frankly? I think so. Disney isn’t all bright colors and silly shows and enormous paychecks. Rumours run amuck of behind the scenes abuse and mistreatment. Even having a famous father probably didn’t shield her completely from being mishandled by adults in her sphere of acknowledgment.

It’s the utter dark side of the business - that is an open opportunity for adults to take advantage of kids when they aren’t intensely protected and shielded from predator adults - straight and gay. There’s so many quiet mentions of adults abusing girls and boys in their charge - to disasterous results mostly.

But from 2 of the three here? They are examples of hope, where you can make mistakes, get lost along the way, feel the intense grip of imposter syndrome, of mediocre achievements and still succeed - and survive mistakes. They are a hope that whatever has happened, trauma and abuse wise, that you can survive it and, with serious professional help, get through it.

As I am prone to do, especially with those I mentor, is that I won’t tell you what to think - just that you do think. But if a mistake is made (or even a really p*ss poor choice made) I’ll help you survive it.

2 of the three had their family and support net available to help them survive the choices made, leading to wisdom on what not to do - how to cope/endure/survive what has happened.

These kids were probably victims of abuse and trauma, before and during their early acting careers. But 2 of the three are examples of not living a lifetime of being a victim - but a bad-fucking-ass survivor.

To those who have survived abuse and trauma as a child?

I’m gonna tell y’all who might be reading this, including my Kiddos:

It’s not your fault you were abused. Never. Full-stop.

It’s the responsibility of the ones who hurt you. They are to blame. And G_d as my witness I better never run into them. I have zero qualms burning a bitch for hurting a child.