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mellifiedprincess · 2 years ago

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hey cutie patooties :) this is very much rushed and as usual i don’t even know if i like it, blah blah blah.

Jack Champion x Reader

Compliments and Confessions

Teen Vogue’s compliment battle. A fan favorite, when it comes to the promotional part of any new tv show or movie. And today, Teen Vougue has asked some of the cast from Scream VI to join them. You were beyond excited to compliment some of your closest friends, wanting to tell them just how great they are.

You, Jack, Mason, Devyn, and Jasmine all cram into the van taking you to the set of the video. Your nerves starting to get to you at the thought of Jacks big brown eyes staring at you, while words of affection spew from his lips.

Yeah, you had a thing for him. Who would have thought?

Jack also had feelings for you, and he wasn’t that great at hiding them either. Well that is to everyone but you. All of your friends knew about the crushes you both had on each other. Anyone could quite literally feel the chemistry the two of you shared. But neither of you would ever confess, too scared of rejection. That’s why your friends were going to help you both.

After a while, you arrive to set. As they’re finishing setting up, Jasmine walks up to you, a mischievous grin on her face, and you already know she’s up to something. “What are you scheming now, Jas?” Her lips purse, and she points to herself in question. “Me? Up to something? Never.” Your eyes squint in disbelief, she was totally lying.

You let it go though, as they call for you all to gather around the table, where there’s a glass bowl full of slips of paper.

You can feel Jack standing behind you, his hands resting on top of your head before placing his chin on top of them. “I’m totally gonna make you blush, hard.” He whispers to you. You turn your head slightly, looking up at him, and a small whine leaves your mouth. “But you know your eyes are like kryptonite. You have an unfair advantage against me!”

“Are you kidding? If anything is unfair, it’s your face! You’re way too gorgeous, and I demand someone put a bag over your head. A paper bag, of course, so you don’t suffocate.” You couldn’t help but laugh at Jacks kind words, already blushing.

“I didn’t know we already started the battle.” You hear Mason whisper to Devyn, but choose to ignore him, as the filming crew tell you to get started.

First up is Jasmine and Devyn.

Jasmine grins as she pulls a slip of paper from the bowl, looking Devyn straight in the eyes. “I am so proud of you, and should be proud of yourself too.” Devyn holds a straight face for a few seconds, but ends up failing at holding back her smile. “How are we supposed to not smile at these?” She groans and makes walks back to stand by you. “I think Y/N should go next.” Mason says, and your eyes meet his. He’s holding that same scheming look on his face that Jasmine held earlier.

“You two are up to something. And I don’t like it.” You stand in front of Jasmine anyway, preparing yourself for whatever they’re planning.

Before you can grab your slip of paper out of the bowl, Jasmine stops you. “I’m sorry, I really need to pee. Can we take a break?” You quirk an eyebrow at that, knowing good and well she went to the bathroom just before you guys started. “I’ll be super quick!”

You take this opportunity to get as much information out of Mason as possible. All you had to do was flash him those puppy dog eyes and he would crumble. “Mase, are you and Jas planning something? You two are making me very anxious.” He avoids eye contact.

“You’re avoiding me.”

“No, I’m not!” His tone raises an octave higher in defense. “Dude, you totally are!” Jack chimes in, coming to stand beside you with crossed arms. “I saw you two whispering to each other earlier. You both were looking at us too!”

“You conspiracists! What are you planning?” You poke his chest accusingly, too nervous to just let this go.

“I’m back, let’s get this started!”

“Perfect timing! I think Y/N and Jack were about to jump Mason.” Devyn laughs to Jasmine. What you and Jack didn’t know though was Devyn was in on the plan that was formed that morning.

They switched the jars. And all the compliments that were once from their fans, was replaced with sappy little lines that you and Jack have said about each other.

“Okay! I think it’s Jack and Y/N/N’s turn.” Mason basically shoved Jack to the table, and Devyn grabs your shoulders and gently guides you to the other side.

You felt like throwing up. The butterflies you felt earlier, were gone. Replaced with the nauseating anxiety that felt like a rock in your stomach.

You think Jack noticed, because he places a hand on top of yours and squeezes it gently. “Hey, don’t worry. It’s just you and me, okay?” His smile was reassuring enough, but his words made all the anxiety you felt melt away.

“I’ll go first! Prepare to fall in love with me, angel.” Jack teases you, grabbing the slip of paper out of the bowl. If only he knew how in love with him you already were.

He reads the words to himself first, and you watch as his eyes widen. What the hell did those idiots do?

“Every time I see you, I have to hold myself back from wrapping you in my arms and confessing my love for you.” You’re definitely blushing. You watch Jacks adams apple bob in his throat as he swallows thickly. He was clearly nervous now, but you had no idea why.

Those were words he once said about you to Devyn.

“My turn?” You ask sheepishly, you didn’t know how much longer you could stand here as his eyes bore deep into your soul. “Uh- Yeah, yeah.” Why was he acting so fucking nervous now?

“Jack? Are you okay?” You ask before slipping out a piece of paper. He smiles at you and nods his head, trying to convince you and succeeding.

As you read over your paper, Jacks smile grows bigger as you giggle to yourself. You finally understood what your friends had done, as you read over words you had spoken about Jack. “This one is really sweet!” You meet his eyes, and there’s nothing but adoration in your stare.

“If someone asked me to paint my dreams, your sweet face would adorn every canvas.” You glance over at your friends, all with goofy smiles on their faces. You turn back to Jack, “Have you figured out their plan yet?”

He still looks confused, the boy is adorable but can be a bit dense sometimes. “Okay, so I’m gonna take this opportunity to confess something to you. I’m hoping that you feel the same way I do, or this is gonna be really awkward…and it’ll be recorded.”

There’s concern in his eyes, and his hand reaches back up to hold yours. “It’s just you and me, right?” Jack whispers the same words from earlier, so only you can hear him, giving a nod of encouragement.

“So.” You grab his other hand in yours, a small smile graces your lips, and he’s looking at you with so much love in his eyes you know now he feels the same way you do.

“I’m in love with you. And I’ve been in love with you since that night you walked me back to my hotel room, after dinner with everyone.” You were trying not to tear up, but you were finally confessing how you felt to the bit of your dreams.

“You knew I was upset about something, but didn’t pry. You just took my hand in yours, and told me that you would always be there for me for anything I ever needed. Even if it was for mundane things like folding my laundry!” You get a laugh from everyone, and Jacks finger wipes a fallen tear from your eye.

“How can someone not fall in love with you?” You tilt your head, still looking up at him, and before you know it, he’s kissing you. He was so gentle too. His hands placed on your cheeks, his thumbs rubbing beneath your eyes. You felt so light, his lips dizzying you a little.

“I love you too. And you know I’m not good with words so I’m not even going to attempt to give you a cheesy speech. Just know that my heart belongs to you, and I think it always will.”

“Okay! Will one of you make it official, now?!” Jasmine all but yells at the two of you, and you couldn’t help but giggle. You were the happiest you had ever been.

“Jack, will you be my boyfriend?” His smile is so big, he almost looks silly, if he weren’t so goddamn pretty.

“Of course I will, angel!” And you both just stand there, staring at each other, looking so in love, it was sick.

“This is really great everyone, but can we get back to the original video?” One of the producers ask.

“Oh shit, yeah!”

“Totally man, sorry.”

“This is way better, but okay.”

——

a/n: here’s a little glimpse at what happened the night you fell in love with Jack.

Jack watches your face fall as you read a text from your phone. He didn’t know what it said, but he knew moments ago you had that beautiful smile of yours plastered on your face, and now you just looked so dejected.

He was just itching to wrap you up in his arms and kiss all of your sadness away. Instead, he grabs your hand and gives it a squeeze. “You okay, angel?” You didn’t realize anyone was watching you, so you hurriedly turned your phone off and put it away. Trying, but failing, to give Jack an convincing smile, you nod your head ‘yes.’

“I think I’m gonna head back to the hotel actually, just not feeling well.” You stand and announce to your friends, all giving you concerned looks.

“You want me to walk back with you?” Jenna offers, she knew how bad you were with directions. She didn’t want you getting lost. “It’s okay, I’ll walk her back Jen.” Jack says and he grabs your coat and bag from your chair.

“Really, it’s okay! I can walk back alone. I don’t want to make anyone end their night early because of me.” Jack smiles down at you at your words. “Sweetheart, if you think I’m gonna let you walk alone at night, in the middle of New York, you’re crazy. Come on, I’m getting bored with these losers anyway!” He jokes and earns threatening remarks from Jas and Jenna.

You give in as Jack holds your coat up for you to slip your arms through, and you bid everyone a good night, placing a kiss to Jenna’s cheek for offering to walk you back.

The cold air of the night was a soothing to the heat you felt on your cheeks. You had moments ago received a text from your parents, letting you know they wouldn’t be coming to the premiere of Scream VI.

You weren’t all that surprised, you’ve never had a good relationship with them after all. But this was your big break. You were an only child, with no other living relatives besides your parents. So, while everyone else would have someone there to show their support, to show how proud they are of them, you would have nobody.

“Hey.” Jacks hand finds yours again, and you feel your skin prickle up at his touch. “I don’t know what’s going on, and I’m not gonna make you talk about it, but I do want you to know that if you do want to talk about it, I’m here to listen. I’ll always be here to listen.” You hide the smile on your face by looking down at your shoes as you both continue to walk. “Thank you, Jack. You’re very sweet.”

“Don’t thank me, I mean it. I’m here for whatever you need, angel. I’ll even do your laundry for you, even though I’m terrible at it.” You both laugh at that, and you move your body a little closer to his. “You being here is enough.” You tell him.

The rest of the walk is silent, but in a comfortable way. And when you get to your door, you found yourself wanting to invite him in. You weren’t ready for him to go yet. “Thank you for walking me back.” “Yeah, of course.”

And with that, you stand on the tips of your toes and place a sweet kiss to his cheek. “Goodnight, Jack.” There’s a furious blush on his face now.

“Goodnight.” He watches you smile back at him, before retreating into your room and closing the door.

You both knew after that night, you were goners.

#jack champion #jack champion x reader #ethan landry x reader #ethan landry #scream vi

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throneofrayllum · 5 months ago

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I Never Stopped.

Part One of my post - season two Timebomb fic. I was gonna post on Ao3 but, there were ✨difficulties✨ TRIGGER WARNING : SLIGHT SELF-HARM

Jinx cursed as she ran down the stairs to the bar. She was preparing for her daughter Felicity's upcoming birthday and had been using every spare moment to wrap gifts and plan her baby girl's special day, but now her boss was yelling at her to "get her ass down here!" Jinx slid to a stop at the bottom of the stairs and tossed her hair over her shoulder, "I'm a busy woman, Masyn, what can I say?" Masyn laughed as she smacked Jinx's ass with her rag, "Get to work, girl." Jinx winked before taking her spot behind the bar. She went about the typical routine; poured a couple shots, made a few cocktails, and gossiped with her mom friends. There was a lot of drama that went down with the PTA at her daughters school. Was Jinx involved with the PTA? Fuck no. Did she love the gossip? Absolutely. She continued to pour drinks without a thought in her mind except for what cake she would make for her baby's birthday. Strawberry was Felicity's favorite, but Jinx made strawberry desserts all the time. She wanted to make something special. Jinx was dragged from her thoughts when she realized she was being watched. She couldn't tell who was watching her, the bar was particularly busy tonight, but she just had a feeling. The bluenette was gonna be fucking pissed if she had to drag another guy out by his ear for ogling her and failing to respect her boundaries. She was in no mood. Jinx pretended not to notice, occupying her mind by counting her tips behind the counter and attending to whoever needed a refill. She felt the presence of the eyes that had been watching her for what felt like hours now. Whoever it was, stood behind the bar, she could feel it. Jinx muttered a prayer to Janna before plastering on her best sickeningly sweet smile, turning on her heel to face her...watcher. The smile was immediately wiped from her face as she took in the man before her. Ekko. Her Ekko. Jinx stared, and took him in. His dreads were pulled back in a bun, there was a faint trace of stubble on his jaw. He looked older. Ekko's hands gripped the counter, knuckles straining, his eyes shining with unshed tears. The sound of glass shattering woke Jinx from her trance. She had dropped a cup. Heads whipped in her direction, Jinx fell to her knees on the ground, hot tears spilling down her face. She sobbed as she grabbed the glass, accidently slicing her hand in all her alarm. "Fuck!", Jinx yelled, wrapping her bleeding hand in her skirt before continuing to pick up her broken pieces. She froze when she felt a someone grab her injured hand. Ekko. He had jumped over the bar and was kneeling beside her, tears running down his face as he took her hand from her skirt and kissed it, so so gently. Jinx let out a broken sob. Ekko brought his other hand to her chest, she could feel her heartbeat against it. Ekko inhaled sharply, "Are you real?" Jinx smiled softly, "I thought I was supposed to be the crazy one?" Before she could register what was happening, Ekko had grabbed Jinx and pulled her into his lap. His grip on her was bone-crushing as sobs wracked from his body. Jinx buried her face in his chest, breathing in his scent. She cried a little harder when she was met with the familiar smell of her boy savior; earthy and fresh. She knew the patrons of the bar were probably staring, she knew Masyn was most likely gonna pry her off of Ekko any second and ask who the fuck this man was (Masyn was extremely protective of Jinx). But, wrapped up in Ekko's arms, she didn't give a damn about the rest of the world.

Jinx picked at the cut on her hand as she waited for Ekko to grab the vodka. She didn't have medical alcohol, a fact that prompted Ekko to giving her a scolding glare. 'She really should have proper medical supplies' and blah blah blah. The Boy Savior had insisted on cleaning her up, Jinx had refused at first, claiming she needed to tidy up the bar. Masyn had shushed Jinx and sent the pair up to her apartment, hollering at Ekko to keep an eye on her as they ascended the stairs. Masyn must have guessed who Ekko was. Jinx had only ever told Lux about him, but she had shared with Masyn little bits and pieces about "Felicity's father". Plus, her daughter was the spitting image of Ekko; same nose, same skin tone, same beautiful brown eyes. The only thing "Jinx" about Felicity was her blue hair, but even her hair was the same texture as her fathers. Her racing thoughts came to a halt as she saw Ekko appear in the doorway through her peripheral vision. She turned to him, her soft smile dropping when she saw his expression; haunted. "What - what is it?", she asked, panic lacing her tone. Ekko closed his eyes and shook his head, "How old is your daughter?" Jinx felt like she was gonna throw up. She should've never let him into her apartment, of course he would notice the evidence of a child. The photos, the homemade mothers day cards, the painting of Felicity and Jinx hung in the dining corner (she couldn't really call it a dining room, it could barely fit more than two people). Jinx dropped her head and continued picking at her cut, this time with more force, causing blood to spill out. Ekko rushed to her side, kneeling down and holding her hands in his to stop her picking, "Hey, Jinx, look at me." He spoke so softly, so lovingly. Jinx sobbed and shook her head. She couldn't face him. Ekko spoke again, this time firmly, "Jinx, Look at me." Pink eyes met brown one's, Ekko smiled and rubbed his thumb against her knuckles. "How old is your daughter, Jinx?" There was a pause before she finally gave an answer, "She turns ten in two days." Ekko gave her a look, and Jinx knew what he was asking. "She's yours Ekko. You're Felicity's father." Ekko let out laugh, "Felicity", he breathed. Jinx nodded, "Felicity Violet. She was seven pounds at birth, her favorite food is anything strawberry flavored, but she doesn't like actual strawberries, which is... fucking weird." Jinx chuckled before continuing, "She's the best in her class; a literal genius, her favorite color is purple, I have to bribe her to let me do her hair, she kisses my tears away if I've been crying, and she's one of the best things that's ever fucking happened to me." Jinx was almost smiling again by the time she finished her rant, despite her tears. She couldn't help it, Felicity was the happiest part of her life. Ekko leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers, "She sounds perfect." Jinx laughed, "She is." After a few moments, Jinx began to let panic seep into her head again. She pulled away and yanked her hands from Ekko's, "Are you mad at me? You have every right to be. I hid your daughter from you, who does that?" Ekko stared at her, not responding to her rambling, a sad look in his eyes. It drove Jinx crazy. "What are you doing?! Scream at me! Tell me you hate me! You should hate me, any sane person would!" Ekko grabbed her hands again, which had begun to pick at her wound once more. "Then I guess I'm insane, because I could never hate you Jinx. God's you should know that, I lo-" He stopped short. Ekko took a deep breathe before continuing, "I chose you, all those years ago, and I'm choosing you now. You did what you thought was best, I'll never understand why you thought it was best, but you did. And I can't change that. I wish I could but I can't. I'm angry, yes. I missed ten years of my daughters life. But I don't hate you, I can't. You're Jinx."

#arcane #timebomb #arcane fic #arcane season 2 #jinx and lux #Jinx and Ekko #fankid #Jinx and Masyn (OC)#Jinx is so so happy with her life...but the girl still needs so much therapy #Ekko's a girl dad #I don't make the rules #Jinx loves her daughter #notice how I said “one of the best things” to ever happen to Jinx #Y'know #cause Isha #:)

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zzzykiek · 1 year ago

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"Play it Sweet"

2P!Alastor x fem!OC reader

Current chapter is SFW but future chapters will not be so minors please DNI

*please don't repost or share without credit thank you!*

Chapter 1 - Doodled a Demon

The argument was the same every time. “It will corrupt the children!”Blah, blah, blah. Another round of bans for your library.

“Just because it is here doesn't mean they will or have to read it,” your voice went a little louder than you planned.

They continued arguing, completely ignoring you. No longer able to control your anger, you stiffened, breaking your pencil in the process. Your attention was drawn to the symbols you had been absentmindedly drawing, and then to the trickle of blood streaming from the prick you had inflected right before the meeting. Low blood sugar mixed with this idiotic group was not a good combo. You stood and headed for the break room. You halted as you heard moaning… (WTF who the hell…)

You rounded the corner and heard a yip as you registered the blue figure under the break room table, doughnut in hand, white cream dripping from his mouth.

“Aww, don't tell me you took the last headlight doughnut” you spoke softly seeing the almost-scared look in the piercing blue eyes of the young man. Internally you knew what he was, but you always loved to play with the entities you summoned; it was the best way to get a feel for their power and personality. His eyes scanned your frame as a little pink hue graced his cheeks (how cute….).

“I-I, I’m Sorry,,, they smelled so sw-sweet I-I couldn't resist,” his timid, soft, yet slightly static filled voice caused a slight shiver you failed to control. Hopefully, the being in front of you didn't notice.

You gently plopped yourself under the table next to him, causing him to gasp softly as your body settled against his. He had to be fairly tall, as his legs were scrunched up against him but his feet still stuck out from the table edge. You had a good couple of inches to spare from yours and his knees sat higher. Next move planned— that bit of cream was still at the corner of his mouth— you took a moment to take in his form; height accounted for, you noted his attire, blue and white fitted pinstripe suit. He was so thin (maybe you should let him finish that doughnut) and so pale his skin was almost white, which was curious, as most other entities looked like they were made of soot or fire. You couldn't deny he was the most attractive hell spawn you had yet managed to conjure. Soft-looking white-tipped blue hair and droopy ears were punctuated with small white antlers.

“Oh deer,” you gently placed your hand under his chin and were surprised as he sighed and leaned into it. “Can't let that go to waste.” A soft moan escaped him as your thumb brushed his lower lip and swiped the cream from his mouth. You winked as you licked your finger, not prepared that his eyes could get any bigger or bluer. They were glowing now, and you could feel he was shaking slightly.

You retrieved your notebook from beside you, “I suppose I should thank you for answering my call, though for once I didn't plan this one.” You laughed showing the page of doodles that had served as his invitation.

His mouth moved for a few beats, but no words came out; he took a deep breath and reached in his coat pocket pulling out something small and yellow, before throwing it in his mouth (do demons need medicine?) Another deep breath and the tremors radiating from his body stopped.

“Well you had to have some need….. f -for assistance for you to call me here”

“What if I just wanted some company” you teased leaning toward him. His body shivered. (So he liked that idea)

“I-I-I I would be willing to answer a call like..” his face flushed pink as his eyes scanned your face and dropped for a second to the neckline of your dress. He snapped his gaze back to your eyes, releasing the next word in a breathy sigh, "That…..b-b-but it takes more intention than com-com-company to call me forth.” You couldn't help but notice his free hand making a come hither motion as he stumbled over the same syllable. You failed to hide the smirk on your face, and your reaction made him go slightly rigid, his face turning red, emitting an almost purple aura as the blush mixed with the glow from his blue eyes.

You chuckled, “I suppose that aspect will be a bonus to our arrangement. My intentions were driven by anger from the meeting I was trapped in. Should technically still be in there, but they don't listen to me anyway. Hence the unconscious request for assistance. First time I've doodled a demon to earth.” You met his eyes, eager to see his reaction to you calling him out.

To your surprise, he actually relaxed some at your admittance to summoning him. “So you know, w-w-what I am..?"

“If I didn't, I would have ran away positively spooked by the deer man with a commanding aura under the table…. No matter how cute he was.” You brought your hand up to his very rosy cheek, but before you made contact you heard the meeting room doors open.

“Shit! Please tell me you have a human disguise.”

Notes------

2P Alastor originates from the folllowing

https://anic-mj.tumblr.com/post/627521842542936064/2palastorblueberry/amp

#hazbin alastor #human alastor #hazbin hotel x reader #alastor x reader #alastor smut #alastor #2p alastor #2p!alastor

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wardencallings · 5 months ago

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Got possessed by a desire demon and wrote 1.6k words of Rook x Prologue Bartender fic. Rook uses they/them pronouns, and I kept race and faction vague. I actually feel kind of motivated to continue this, so let me know if you like it :)

Rook was half-surprised that the bar was still standing. After the disaster of Solas’ failed ritual swept through Minrathous, they’d assumed the place would be nothing more than a pile of rubble. Perhaps the Venatori had actually been able to hold control of the demons and mitigate their destruction upon their hideouts. Rook thought that unlikely. The Venatori didn't seem all that competent, despite the grand claims they made about their magic. As they got closer to the bar, they saw that they were right.

While the establishment was still upright, there wasn't much else positive that could be said about its state. Windows smashed, the door off its hinges, and some charred wood across the entire base, probably thanks to some unhinged rage demon, Rook doubted it was in any condition to host customers. Still, they could see someone roaming around within. Figuring there was no point in knocking on a splintered and disconnected door, they walked right in.

The woman from before, the one who’d told them where to find Neve, was sweeping glass from the floor on the far side of the bar. Rook was pleased to see her. This was who they'd come to talk to. Before they left the Lighthouse, they had to come up with some excuse as to why they wanted to go to Neve’s hometown alone – they’d said something about wanting to tour the city on their own terms, feeling too overwhelmed for company, blah, blah, blah. They didn't think Neve bought it, but she’d relented after only a few minutes of minor probing. Honestly, they got off easy, if stories about Neve's interrogation skills were to be believed.

When Rook’s foot creaked on a floorboard, the bartender's head whipped up, and her hand went to her side, reaching for the blade on her hip. Rook couldn’t resist watching the curve of her bicep flex with the movement. Feeling a little too lecherous, they forced their gaze back to her eyes.

“Oh, it’s you,” the woman said, her brown eyes fixating on Rook. Her fingers found the blade’s hilt, and she squeezed it.

“You recognized me?”

“I never forget a face, especially not yours, sweet talker,” she replied. She continued to stare at Rook as if she wasn’t sure if they were here to kill her or not. Rook wasn’t sure how things would go either – not yet anyway. They supposed it all hinged on how this conversation went.

In truth, they'd come here just because they wanted to see her again. Something about the way she carried herself, how she spoke to Rook, had been bouncing around their mind for the past few days. They had so many other things more worthy of ruminating on, but for some reason, when they tried to work through those more pressing problems, they could only picture her face. Rook had never been so struck by someone before, and they were going to figure out why. They had reasoned that solving this distraction would better prepare them to handle those other things. Probably.

“I guess the demons found the place,” Rook said, leaning against a part of the doorframe that was still intact. They crossed their arms as they surveyed the inside, partly in an attempt to look non-threatening, partly because they thought it might look cool. The liquor was all but destroyed, the smell of alcohol wafting across the entire place. There was something that looked congealed like blood spilled atop the bar and dripping onto the floor below, leaving streaks almost like spilled wine in its wake. Rook could see the three notches in the floor where Bianca had struck, wielded expertly by Varric, of course.

“The demons, looters, and the Venatori,” she answered, “in that order.”

“Isn’t this a Venatori hangout?” Rook asked. “Why would they trash their own place?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe their leaders weren’t too happy I told a certain someone where to find Neve Gallus.” The bartender gives Rook a withering look. “I got to hear all about your rescue.”

Rook laughed, tilting their head back. They wished that they had agreed to bring Neve with them. She’d get a kick out of this.

“Sounds like your information might have been a little off. I wouldn’t say I rescued her. Neve saved herself and killed a bunch of Venatori in the process, but I guess that still didn’t reflect well on you.”

“Nope.”

“You know, I would think they’d let that slide. I always assumed Venatori took care of their own. It seems very Crowlike to trash someone’s place just because they did something they didn’t like once.”

It was the bartender’s turn to laugh. She placed the broom against the bar and wrapped an arm around her stomach to steady herself. Clearly, she thought Rook’s words were hilarious.

“You think I’m Venatori?”

“Well, you hang out with them, and you knew where they took Neve.”

“I own a bar that the Venatori like. That hardly makes me one.”

“You accept their coin, serve them drinks at your bar, and you let them take Neve. You're closer to being one than I am.”

“That’s a low bar.”

“So why do you do it? Let them crash here, I mean,” Rook asked. “It seems like too much risk. Wouldn’t you prefer a less criminal clientele?”

“They’re liberal with their gold, and when they like me, they keep me safe from robbers and magisters alike. Usually, I can handle them, at least when demons don’t invade Minrathous.” She paused, squinting at Rook. “That wasn’t you, was it?”

“No, not me,” Rook said with a laugh. “I was actually trying to stop that. You can blame this old elf guy we were hunting.” Rook figured that to be a better explanation than the god Fen’Harel returning to tear down the Veil and restore the ancient way of elven life to the world, but they did briefly wonder if Solas would care much for that description of him. They could’ve called him a pompous, selfish ass instead. Either works.

She didn't seem all that interested in Solas.

“So you won? The demons are gone, and I have you to thank for that?” the bartender asked, eyebrow cocked. Rook noticed the look of disbelief on her face, and their lips twitched upward in a smirk.

“Not really, but you can thank me anyway.”

“Is that right?” she said, sauntering over to Rook. “How would you like me to thank you, exactly?”

“I could think of a few ways,” Rook replied. They uncrossed their arms and puffed their chest out a bit as she approached. This time, they let their eyes wander across her body.

“Oh, I’ll bet you have quite the imagination. I could use a bit of fun before the Venatori show up.”

She ran a finger down Rook’s chest and placed her other hand on their lower back. Rook could feel the heat emanating off of her, and they could smell the lavender and vanilla of her perfume. There was a troubling bruise on her jaw, and Rook raised their hand to cup her face, partially covering the mark, gently. As Rook felt the full effect of this sudden closeness, goosebumps raised on their flesh, and they could feel a bit of pressure building between their legs.

Looking into her eyes, Rook felt a strange pang in their chest. Before they could stifle it, they succumbed to the need to say something odd.

“Come with me,” Rook said. “I have a place. You wouldn’t have to worry about them there.”

“You know, I’ve been trying to figure out if you’re stupid or brave. I’ve finally figured it out. You’re both.” There was no malice in her tone, just amusement.

“Oh come on,” Rook replied. “I can’t believe no one’s ever asked you to go home with them.”

“Plenty of times. Ask them how many times I’ve said yes.”

“They’ll kill you,” Rook said.

“And I’d be safer with you?” The bartender asked, shaking her head. “I somehow doubt that.”

“Safer? Probably not, but you wouldn’t have to worry about the Venatori. Plus, I’ll be there.”

“And Neve Gallus.”

“Well, yeah, but she’s not all bad. Very forgiving, in fact,” Rook lied. They had no way of knowing what Neve was like. The two conversations they’d had thus far weren’t very telling.

“Is that right?”

“I could hide you.”

“Hide me?” she asked, an incredulous lilt to her voice. “What are we? Teenagers sneaking each other into our parents’ homes?”

"It's a massive place, and unbelievably beautiful, too. You could have your own room if you wanted. Although, my bed is always open to you, of course."

“I’m not going home with you. I don’t even know your name.”

“Rook. You can call me Rook. Everyone does.”

“Rook? Like the bird?”

“No, the chess piece.”

“Interesting,” she mumbled.

“And you? I assume you have a name,” Rook replied.

“You can call me Raven. And yes, like the bird.”

“Is that your name?”

“Is Rook yours?”

“Touché.”

The two stared at each other, Raven’s fingers still pressed on the small of Rook’s back. Rook could feel them drumming softly on their skin. Her other hand dances up their arm, landing on their bicep.

“Come back,” Raven said. “Visit me again, and I’ll think about it.”

“Here?” Rook asked.

“Where else?”

“And if the Venatori burn the place down?”

“They won’t,” Raven replied with a cocky grin. “I’m the only one in this damned town who can pour a decent ale.”

"How can I be sure you won't sell me out to the Venatori like you did with Neve?"

"You can't," she replied. Rook chewed on the fingernail of their thumb and exhaled a breath from their nose. I must be crazy.

“Fine, but I don’t think I can come through the front door,” Rook pointed out. “I don’t exactly want a knife in the back or a firebolt singeing my hair.”

“There’s a door in the back I use for deliveries. Knock three times, and I'll know it's you."

“Maybe we are teenagers sneaking around,” Rook replied. This time, Raven didn't grin at their joke.

“Oh, to be young again,” she mused. “You should go. There’s a pack of Venatori rounding the corner.”

Sure enough, Rook could hear footsteps rapidly approaching the bar.

“And try not to kill them on your way out,” Raven added. “I need their coin.”

Rook nodded, slowly moving their hand from her face. For a moment, they thought of kissing her. Thinking better (for once), they slipped out the window and onto the road. Before departing, they looked back at Raven and waved. She rolled her eyes, but after a moment, returned it with her own.

Rook knew it was going to be a long road ahead with Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain on the loose, and a collection of other, less terrible but still not great problems providing further annoying obstacles. But there was one bright light on the horizon, and she was about to serve overpriced beer to a murderous blood magic cult. Neve’s going to be so pissed.

#okay i had a lot of fun writing this #i should be working on my papers but WHATEVER #dragon age #dragon age: the veilguard #veilguard #i dont even think i need to tag this as spoilers lol #datv #da:tv #rook #my writing

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sephirthoughts · 11 months ago

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Vincent's New Kid Just Dropped CH7: Back in the present, Nero, Sephiroth, and Cloud go to the grocery store.

rating: mature (for now) CW: implied/referenced incest

(right after Deepground Flashback Part 2. maybe i should start properly numbering these)

EDIT: I PROPERLY NUMBERED AND LINKED THEM YAYYY

🕷️🪽🥀 the Valentines 🥀🪽🕷️

Nero had never been to a grocery store, but he knew of them conceptually. Not that he had any burning desire to experience one firsthand, now, but Sephiroth made it clear he didn’t have a choice, and told him to go get ready.

With as bad a grace as possible, he went upstairs and came back down again, dressed in some of the clothing the obnoxious blonde man purchased for him. In the face of Nero’s utter indifference and flat refusal to choose anything for himself, Cid had evidently decided the young man’s theme color would be purple, and made his selections accordingly.

Thus, Nero now wore a dark-purple hoodie, black, acid-washed motocross jeans, purple converse high tops, and a black turtleneck, to hide the Shinra-made restrictive collar, which supposedly prevented him spitting out clouds of people-eating darkness miasma, or at least reduced the ability somewhat.

“Ah-guh!” the hyper-alert noise machine announced, over the shoulder of the little blonde (as Nero uncharitably thought of Cloud, despite the fact that they were the exact same height), alerting everyone to Nero’s entrance.

He shot the baby a glare, then his eyes fell on Sephiroth, and his lip curled. “Why do you look like that?”

“Keeping a low profile,” Sephiroth said tranquilly.

His boyfriend smirked. “Meaning, he’s the most famous war-criminal in the world. He can’t be seen in public looking exactly like his wanted posters.”

The hitherto silver-haired giant was dressed in his usual white v-neck t-shirt and black jeans, with the addition of a leather jacket, but his long hair had changed to jet black, and his eyes were now crimson, like those of the rest of the Valentines. With their coloring coordinated, Sephiroth’s resemblance to Vincent was downright unnerving. He looked even more like him than Nero did.

“Look at your brothers, Ollie. They're almost as pretty as you,” Cloud cooed to the baby, who gurgled and drooled about it.

Nero gave a ‘hmph’ and went to lean on the wall, with his arms crossed, unconscious of the fact that this was among his father’s most characteristic behaviors, and one highly recognizable to his associates.

Cloud and Cid looked at Nero, then at Vincent, then at each other, and had to cover their mouths to stifle laughs. Vincent appeared bewildered and asked what was so funny, which only made them laugh harder.

Before the young men could depart on their errand, there was the ordeal of transferring the baby from Cloud’s arms to Cid’s, which took a measure of sleight-of-hand and trickery, and to which she took great umbrage. She made her displeasure known by turning bright pink from head to toe and howling like a banshee, despite Cloud’s assurances that he’d be back soon.

“Nero,” Vincent said, as the three young men walked out the door.

Nero stopped and turned back sullenly, prepared for the highly unsurprising lecture about behaving himself and not harming civilians and blah blah blah.

Vincent, however, failed to produce the expected admonitions. He only pushed something into Nero’s hand. It was a pair of dark-lensed sunglasses. Nero looked down at them and back up at the man, in blank perplexity.

“It’s bright outside,” Vincent said simply. “The polarized lenses help.”

Then he turned around and went back in the house, without another word. Nero stared after the man, as the door swung shut, muting the baby’s raucous wailing inside.

His vision went red, teeth clenched tightly and hand shaking, around the black sunglasses, as a big, ugly knot of pain and rage and other unidentifiable emotions surged up in his chest, choking him and making his eyes sting with tears.

He wanted to smash the stupid things to fragments, hurl them at the door and scream curses at that man. Rip open his bleeding chest and force his so-called father to look at the mangled insides of the ruined creature he brought into this world, and then tore away from the only person in it that he’d ever loved.

Then the cold reason of his dark side rose up, black flowing into red, and cooled the rage. Calmed the storm. Reminded him of his objective and the tasks before him. He needed to gain these people’s trust, if he was to get back to Weiss. Childish outbursts would only hinder his purpose. Patience. Patience.

“Nero, are you coming?” Sephiroth called out, drawing him from his ruminations.

Nero shoved the sunglasses onto his face, to hide his pink-rimmed eyes, and stalked gloomily to the vehicle.

The little blonde had arrived on a motorcycle, but that was an impractical means of conveyance, for their errand, so the three of them were to drive to town in one of the many vehicles that belonged to the Valentine-Highwind household.

This one was a small work truck, with a pickup style bed and cab that technically seated three. Technicality butted heads with reality, however, when Sephiroth was one of the three involved.

Cloud was driving, since neither of the others had a license, and Sephiroth’s six-foot seven-inch frame was already pushing the limits of the truck's capacity, even in the passenger seat. As a result, Nero wound up packed like a sardine into the middle seat, between his ostensible elder brother, and his brother’s former-nemesis-slash-current-boyfriend.

He very quickly began to suspect this was some method of psychological demolition. Because, if the entirety of the prison system had coordinated its efforts, it could never have contrived a more devilish torture for him, than this exact situation.

Not only did Cloud drive like a lunatic, causing Nero to be constantly bumped and jostled about between the two, but Sephiroth kept reaching over him, to fiddle with the radio dial, simultaneously invading his personal space, and causing all kinds of disjointed snippets of songs to blare briefly from the vehicle’s speakers.

Finally, much to Nero’s relief, Cloud smacked Sephiroth’s hand away. “Cut that out. I’m driving, so I get to pick the station. Besides, you have the absolute worst taste in music.”

“I do not,” Sephiroth contended.

“He does,” Cloud intimated to Nero. “He was raised on nothing but classical music, for optimum cerebral development, and now he’s taking revenge by soaking his super-brain in the most atrocious, top-forty pop garbage imaginable.”

“The music you claim to prefer is full of screaming, and instruments that sound like rusty bandsaws,” Sephiroth put forth. “I simply do not enjoy music with such an aggressive sound and violent themes.”

“Said the most violent man on the planet.”

They went on like this for the remainder of the drive, with Nero seething silently between them, his eyes squeezed shut behind his sunglasses (for which he was very grateful, now), and darkness tendrils stuffed into his ears, against their affectionate banter.

At long last, they arrived at the grocery store. It was a massive, fluorescent-lit, commercial monstrosity, that a corporation had christened Mid-Mart without a hint of irony. They paused, just inside the entrance, and Sephiroth tore the grocery list into three parts, handing a piece each to Nero and Cloud.

“We can get this done more quickly and efficiently if we spread out,” he explained. “Everyone take a basket, gather your items, and we will rendezvous at the Mt. Nibel Dew display, in thirty minutes. Understood?”

Cloud returned a jaunty salute, and before Nero knew what was happening, he was handed a red plastic basket with black handles, and then left on his own, in a grocery store full of innocent, unarmed civilians. Him. The known terrorist, official enemy of society, and former de-facto leader of Deepground. Like his custodians were mentally deficient.

Luckily for them, now was not the time to make a move. He had his own plans, and no intention of playing his hand, just yet. Storing the sunglasses in his hoodie pocket, he studied the list of items, and began the daunting task of searching for them, in the glossy, chaotic fever-dream that was a modern grocery store.

Shopping was not as difficult an undertaking as had it seemed, at first blush. The aisles, though arranged according to no logic decipherable by man, were labeled with their general contents, and items tended to be grouped together with other, similar items.

Following this pattern, he quickly gathered the first several things. Next, his list had ‘maple syrup’ and ‘strawberry jam’ on it, which were in the same aisle as breakfast cereals and granolas, but not the peanut butter or honey.

As Nero turned into the aisle, he encountered the little blonde, choosing canisters of something called ‘rolled oats.’

“Hey,” he hailed, as Nero approached. “Finding everything ok?”

“Yes,” Nero answered, putting a jar of strawberry jam into his basket. “It isn’t a particularly challenging task.”

“So, um. Sephiroth told me a bit about you,” Cloud ventured. “What happened with your brother, and all that.”

Nero’s crimson eyes flickered to his face, then away. “And?”

“And…nothing. I’m just sorry you had to go through that. I know what it’s like to lose your only family member.”

Ugh. Concerned sympathy from a fellow griever. Nero was repulsed by this kind of thing. He knew how to shut it right back down, though. “Weiss is more than just a family member. He is my lover.”

“He’s…what?” Cloud asked, confused.

“Weiss is my biological half-brother. He is also my lover,” Nero said slowly, pronouncing every syllable clearly, as if defying Cloud to take issue with it.

Cloud balked, blindsided by his frank assertion. “Y—you mean…”

“Yes. I mean exactly that.” Nero narrowed his eyes and tilted his head questioningly. “Is me sleeping with my brother—the only person who has loved me and taken care of me, in my entire life—somehow stranger than you sleeping with the man who burned your hometown to the ground, and murdered your mother?”

Cloud’s golden brows lowered angrily, but he swallowed whatever sharp retort was on his tongue and took a deep breath, before he answered. “Look, I didn’t mean to come off like I was judging you. I don’t know about your relationship and it’s none of my business. I was just caught off-guard, is all.”

“I'm not offended, I was merely illustrating a point,” Nero said serenely.

“Which is?”

“The heart can be neither ruled by law, nor governed by reason. Thus, reason and law have no place in the dominion of love, which will reign over a man’s heart, one way or another—whether it is as a ruthless tyrant to a captive slave, or as the benevolent sovereign of a willing subject.”

Cloud blinked. “Uh…”

“Pickles.”

“Huh?”

“Pickles are the next item on my list,” Nero clarified. “Do you know where they can be found?”

“Right. The ones Cid likes are pickled cucumbers, in the refrigerated section, with the cheese and cold snack foods. The ones Vincent likes are Wutai-style pickled vegetables, which are in the international foods section, on aisle thirteen.”

For the briefest moment, Nero’s curiosity got the better of him and he paused. “Is he—”

“Half Wutaian. Grew up bilingual. That’s why everyone in the house speaks Wutaian. You didn’t wonder?”

“I don’t bother myself about what others are doing,” Nero replied, with a haughty toss of his head. “If learning languages amuses them, then so be it. It’s nothing to me.”

“Maybe you should try learning a little, too,” Cloud suggested. “It’s part of your family’s heritage.”

“Those people are not my family,” Nero said icily.

“Yeah, sure,” Cloud snorted. “Whatever you want to tell yourself.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean you don’t know them as well as I do. Once they’ve decided you’re one of their own, they won’t ever give up on you, no matter how much you kick and scream. Trust me, I speak from experience.”

Nero gave a mirthless laugh. “Yes, well, thank you for the sage advice. If you have nothing further to add, I am going to collect the rest of the items on my list.”

With that, he turned on his heel and strode off, leaving Cloud feeling flustered and annoyed, and rather glad to be rid of the intractable, unpleasant young man, who seemed so much older and wiser than himself, but was actually several years his junior.

In aisle thirteen, where all the Wutaian foods were grouped together in one section, Nero found the pickled vegetables, without much trouble. To his exasperation, however, there were spicy and regular varieties, and no one had specified which was wanted.

On the other side of the aisle, as he was deliberating, there was a woman near a partially filled cart, with a girl of around two years old, sitting in the child seat. The woman was talking on her cell phone, whilst perusing the products on the shelves, with her back to the child.

As such, she failed to notice that the little girl had got loose of the safety restraint, and was reaching for something on the shelf, stretching her little hands out further and further, till all of a sudden, she toppled out of the seat, headfirst.

Quicker than sight, Nero’s darkness tendrils shot out and caught the small girl, just before she cracked her skull on the tile floor. He was setting her gently back in the cart, when the mother turned around and let out a bloodcurdling scream, dropping her cell phone and snatching up the child. The child, startled by the scream and being yanked around so abruptly, immediately burst out sobbing.

“My baby!! Help! Help!!” the woman shrieked. “This monster is trying to take my baby!!!”

Nero sighed and placed the jar of pickled vegetables (spicy variety) in his basket, now deeply regretting that he hadn’t just let the child fall and break its stupid neck.

Meanwhile, footsteps came clattering from every direction, as the store employees, manager, security guard, and curious onlookers stampeded over to see what the commotion was. Fortunately for all of them, Sephiroth and Cloud arrived faster, and got between them and the extremely volatile bio-engineered weapon, in a purple hoodie.

“What’s—what’s going on, here?” the rather portly manager panted. “Ma’am, are you alright?”

“He’s a monster!” the mother intoned, clutching the bawling child to her bosom. “He tried to snatch my Sally, right in front of my face! He grabbed her with these horrible tentacle things, like some kind of demon!!”

The gathering crowd turned on Nero, muttering and glaring at him, with open hostility and disgust. There were cries of ‘damn freak!’ and ‘arrest him!’

“Everyone shut up!” Cloud bellowed, in his rather impressive command voice, giving the manager and security guard (who were already sweating, looking up at the towering Sephiroth) a jolt. “Did anyone here actually see what happened?”

There was general murmuring from the crowd, but it was apparent that no one had.

“I saw!” the mother said furiously. “I already told you what happened! Were you not listening?”

“Ah…ha. Let’s not be hasty, ma’am,” the security guard attempted, in a conciliatory tone. “Is it possible you saw wrong, or—”

“Why are you questioning me instead of arresting this man!” the woman interrupted. “Look at him! Look at his eyes! He’s clearly dangerous!!”

“Nero, what happened?” Cloud asked, while the manager and guard were attempting to soothe the woman.

“Didn’t you hear?” Nero sneered. “I’m a dangerous freak. I tried to snatch a baby with my monster tentacles.”

“That attitude isn’t helping,” Sephiroth told him, in an undertone. “If the police get involved and assault charges are filed, you’ll be in violation of your house arrest, whether you’re guilty or not.”

“Fine,” Nero sighed, as if he was being sorely put upon, and pointed to the mother. “That idiot was on her phone, not paying attention to the child. It fell out of the cart. I caught it, before it landed on its head, and put it back. Then she started screaming nonsense at me and making a scene. In hindsight, if she’s going to raise it to be another fool like herself, it would’ve been better to just let it crack its skull on the ground, and end its misery.”

“How dare you!” the woman scolded. “You’re calling me liar and victim blaming?! And wishing harm on an innocent baby?!”

“Sir, this store has security cameras, correct?” Cloud asked the manager. “Shouldn’t a review of the feed clear all of this up?”

“Ah…ah, yes! In my office. W—we can look at the footage in my office,” the shiny-faced, balding man stammered, nodding like a chicken pecking rice.

The woman tossed her head. “Hmph. I know what I saw, but fine. It’ll just prove I’m telling the truth.”

“Right this way, right this way,” the manager said, directing the involved individuals toward the back of the store. “Gerome, disperse the, uh…other guests, please? Thank you.”

The security guard waved people along, as the group followed the harried manager back to his office, which as turned out, was a rather tight squeeze, for five adults and a baby. Everyone wound up inelegantly clustered together, over the bank of monitors, while he scrolled back through the international foods aisle footage, to a few minutes ago.

The video showed the incident more or less as Nero described it, save for the fact that his darkness tendrils didn’t show up on cameras, so there was a bizarre moment when it looked as if the child stopped its fall and hovered in midair, then floated back into the cart, of its own accord.

“Ma’am, is that satisfactory?” Sephiroth asked, looking down at the woman, who was packed in between himself and the manager.

The woman’s lip trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes again. “I—I thought…I just saw tentacles grabbing my Sally, and this man with scary, red eyes. I can’t be blamed for thinking the worst, right?”

Sally, meanwhile, seemed to be enjoying all of the excitement, very much, and was busily yanking on Sephiroth’s long, inky-black hair, with both tiny fists.

“Sally, no—we don’t pull hair,” her mother chided, gently prying the baby’s hands open. “Sorry about that, she grabs everything these days.”

“It is quite alright,” Sephiroth replied mildly. “My little sister is about the same age. I have to wear my hair in a braid at home, unless I want it all to wind up in her mouth.”

“Oh, I can imagine, with long hair like yours. That’s why I’ve cut mine short. It’s just easier that way,” she smiled, softening at finding common ground with another (sort of) parent. Then she hesitated, glancing awkwardly at Nero. “Look, I apologize for overreacting. We keep hearing these horror stories about people coming back from the frontlines deranged and with all these horrible mutations, and attacking people right in the streets. I lost my husband to the war, and Sally’s all I’ve got now. If I lost her too, I just—I don’t know what I’d do.”

Nero, however, was looking the other direction, studiously ignoring the conversation.

“All’s well that ends well, so there’s no sense in dwelling on it,” Cloud answered for him. “I’m sure we’d all just like to finish our shopping and get home.”

After the woman and baby had gone away, the manager apologized and sweated profusely, at the three gentlemen, for a few more minutes, and even went so far as to offer them a twenty percent discount on all their purchases today, by way of compensation for the trouble, though it looked like it cost him a pang to do it.

“So. Your first foray out of the house, and you saved a baby from getting seriously injured,” Cloud remarked to Nero, as they drove homeward, a little while later.

“I didn’t mean to,” Nero scowled, behind the dark sunglasses that he’d put back on, the moment they exited the store. “I acted without thinking. Needless to say, I won’t be making such a foolish error again.”

“Our father will be very pleased to hear of your good deed,” Sephiroth put in, looking exceedingly smug. “It seems you’re already making progress toward becoming a productive member of society.”

Nero crossed his arms disconsolately, shrinking down in the cramped middle seat. “I hate this stupid family.”

“It’ll grow on you. You’ll see,” Cloud chuckled, as he swatted Sephiroth’s hand away from the radio, yet again.

NOTES:

Sephiroth picture: user screenshot by MrsPika with a mod for black-haired Sephiroth. No idea what they used for the eyes when ollie says "ah-guh" that's ollie for "er-ge" which is mandarin affectionate for "second elder brother", pronounced like "ahr-guh"

LINK TO CHAPTER 8

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persephones-journey · 2 years ago

Text

Okay, here is one of my last two prompt's from @emilyhufflepufftlk Em's 500 Follower Challenge.

This prompt was It's Nice to Have a Friend... and I went all sad and angsty with it, cause I was just in my feels.

So, it's about the Coccham Squad being together and there for each other, even in death.

Read here on Ao3.

Tagging: @medievalfangirl @morosemagick @blah-blah-blah-bla @solinarimoon @93xdiagonxalley @lauwrite1225 @still-with-you

Have My Back, Yeah, Everyday

It's Nice to Have a Friend...

Osferth liked to believe he stopped fearing death years before. He was a warrior and as Finan said, death was a hazard, so every battle Osferth prepared himself for death.

There was still, that small part of him, that whispered to him over and over, usually in the dead of night when he was almost asleep, that he was a bastard and as the monks had told him in the monastery, he would not be able to go to Heaven as a bastard.

He had feared that fate. At first because he was a good Christian boy, but later because it meant he would be apart from those he called his family; Finan and his nephew, Athelstan. But Osferth also did not wish to be separated from Uhtred and Sihtric, either for they were his family as well. He did not wish for them to be in their Valhalla away from him and Finan.

Osferth thought he would have more years to figure out a way to fix that. A way to keep his makeshift family together.

But it would seem God, of the Gods, had other plans.

The fight in the streets of Rumcofa was not something any of them could have planned on. Uhtred and Sihtric were away, as was Athelstan. Which left Finan and Osferth to defend the village and its people.

Finan and him tried. Osferth had never fought as hard in his life. He was sure he would be fine.

And then the man he was fighting, no doubt Aethelhelm's man, stabbed him right over where his chest plate was. Osferth felt the burn of the knife. He sucked in a breath, and could not catch another one.

“OSFERTH!” Finan scream seem to echo in Osferth's head.

Osferth felt himself falling. The man had ripped out his knife and was running away. Finan caught Osferth, like he had done hundreds of times before. Osferth laid on the cold ground and felt Finan press his hand to the wound.

“I don't want to die, Finan,” he said. Because it was the truth, he did not want to die. He wanted to live. He wanted to be with his family.

“Hush,” Finan said, his voice soft but Osferth could hear the worry and fear, “you'll be fine. You'll be fine.”

Osferth looked up at his friend's kind brown eyes. He ached to say so many things; thank you for being my friend, thank you for being my family, I love you, Finan, I love you so much.

Words failed him as did his lungs. He coughed and choked.

And he thought no more.

...Covered in snow

Uhtred knew he was dying. As he walked away from the table where his family sat, and down the hall. He leaned against the wall and swore he could hear the hall of Valhalla calling to him. He stared at the window and saw the snow covered roof of his birthright, Bebbanburg.

“Lord?” Finan asked as he and Sihtric walked around the corner into the hall. Finan stood on one side of him while Sihtric stood on the other side.

Uhtred looked at Finan. “I am dying,” he said simply.

Sihtric nodded. “Yes, lord, you are,” he said softly.

“Do you wish us to help you back to your bed?” Finan asked.

Uhtred shook his head. “No, help me to the ramparts,” he said. “I wish to look at the sea, one last time.”

Sihtric and Finan nodded. They wrapped their arms around him and carried him down the hall towards the door to the ramparts. Finan pushed it open and Uhtred breathed in the cool sea air. They walked out about a foot from the door and Uhtred grabbed the stone wall. Sihtric and Finan leaned him against it and he closed his eyes.

He breathed in the air again and again.

And then he didn't.

He opened his eyes and saw the hall in front of him. But it was not Valhalla. No, it looked like the hall in Coccham. The hall that held so many happy memories for him.

“Lord,” he heard a voice he had been aching to hear for twenty years or more say. “It is good to finally see you.”

Uhtred turned and smiled. Osferth stood there, wearing his monk's robe and a big smile on his face. Tears came to Uhtred's eyes.

“You should be in the Christian Heaven,” he said.

Osferth smirked. “And miss all the trouble you would cause here in Valhalla?” he stepped closer to Uhtred and hugged him. “Not a chance.”

Uhtred laughed and hugged him close. He closed his eyes and felt Osferth hug him tight. He was where he needed to be.

To Touch My Hand...

Sihtric coughed and closed his eyes. He could feel the rattle in his chest and the pain with every breath he took. His heart ached with every beat.

Death was coming.

Sihtric was slightly surprised that he had lived for as many years as he had; that he had outlived Uhtred. And Athelstan.

It did not make sense to him.

“Ah, there ya are,” he heard an Irish brogue say as the door to his room was pushed opened. “Resting and sleeping, are ya? Isn't there a battle somewhere that needs winning?”

Sihtric smiled despite how he felt. “Finan, I think we both know, you and I are past fighting any more battles.”

“Well, ya aren't, that is for sure,” Finan muttered as he walked further into the room.

Sihtric laughed and coughed more. A moment later, Finan sat on the chair by Sihtric's bed and took his hand. Sihtric held Finan's hand tightly in his. He turned and looked at Finan. The man still looked the same, his hair was going greyer but Sihtric could still see the man he had fought beside for decades there.

“Finan,” Sihtric said smiling as he fought to breathe. “I did not think you would come,” he said.

Finan frowned. “And let ya venture into Valhalla alone?” Finan squeezed his hand tightly. “Not going to happen. I will be here, the last face you will see.”

Sihtric groaned. “Your ugly mug? The Gods have cursed me.”

Finan chuckled at that a bit. But Sihtric could hear that it was not his friend's usual deep robust laugh. Finan sighed and held Sihtric's hand tighter.

“I will be the only one left,” he whispered.

Sihtric squeezed his hand. “You will not be alone. Our children will be here.”

Finan snorted. “Oh aye, do ya see our children around here?” he cursed. “They are all busy sucking up to Edmund. We never sucked up to Alfred or Edward.”

“We didn't have to,” Sihtric answered. “That was Uhtred's job.”

They both smiled a sad smile at that. Sihtric held tight to Finan's hand while his other hand held his dagger. They fell into the silence; but not an uncomfortable one. They had sat silently together many times before so this time was no different than the others.

As the hours passed, Sihtric's breathing got worst. Finan sat on the bed beside him and leaned in. He kissed Sihtric on the forehead.

“Go be with Uhtred and your family, Sihtric. Go be with your Gods. I will be all right,” Finan whispered.

Sihtric held tight to Finan's hand and closed his eyes and took his last breath.

He looked up and saw that he stood on the dock outside of Coccham. He walked up and heard laughter coming from the village. He hurried and walked under the gates. He stopped and smiled.

“About time you got here,” Osferth said as he got up from the table and walked towards Sihtric. “Lord and I thought you would be here sooner.”

Tears came to Sihtric's eyes. “I would have if I would have known you were waiting for me,” he yanked Osferth close and held him tight. “I have missed you so much, my bastard brother.”

Osferth held Sihtric tight. “I missed you as well,” he pulled away and patted Sihtric's cheek. “It has been very trying being here with just lord. You know how he is.”

Sihtric laughed and saw Uhtred cross his arms on his chest. “I do not know what he means,” he answered.

Sihtric shook his head. He looked at Uhtred and Osferth. He remembered Finan then. He looked at Uhtred.

“Finan,” he said softly.

Osferth wrapped an arm around Sihtric's shoulders. “Finan will join us when it is time,” he said softly.

Sihtric nodded. He walked with Osferth towards Coccham. He hoped Finan did not join them that soon, but he also knew they would all miss him until he was with them again.

...Sleeping in Tents

Finan knew logically he was too old to hunt alone. But there was no else he wished to hunt with. His companions, his friends, his family, were gone.

Uhtred's children, grandchildren were there as were Sihtric's children and grandchildren, and his own.

But it was not the same.

He missed Uhtred, Sihtric, and Osferth.

Osferth had been gone almost longer than Finan knew him and that did not sit well with Finan.

It was why he had gone out to hunt by himself.

He wanted to quiet and the peace of the forest to deal with his emotions.

So, he rode out into the forest and set up a camp with a tent. And slept in it for a few nights. And he must have caught a chill, because he began coughing. Coughing so bad he tripped while getting fire wood and fell the wrong way on a branch. The branch stuck him right in his side and through his tunic and cloak.

Because he did not wear his leather armour anymore. He saw no point in pulling on the heavy armour; he was no longer a warrior. He no longer rode into battles. He did put on his sword belt, more out of habit than an actual need for them.

Swords were not very useful now though.

“Well, shite,” Finan muttered as he coughed and blood came out of his mouth.

He dropped the firewood and managed to push himself up. Pulling the branch out in the process. Curses fell from his lips as he stood and half walked, half dragged himself back to his camp. He managed to get himself into the tent. He grabbed his blanket and ripped it before he shoved the blanket against the wound. He hissed and cursed.

“I've really done it this time,” he muttered to himself.

He sat back and rested his head on the post of the tent. He closed his eyes and felt the piece of blanket he had pressed against his wound getting damp and sticking with his blood. He slumped over and his head dropped from the wound.

He stopped breathing not to long after.

He opened his eyes and was shocked to see Coccham in front of him. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

“You are not seeing things,” he heard a voice he had ached to hear for years say.

Finan's eyes snapped open. He saw Osferth standing there in his monk's robe with his hands behind his back. He gave Finan a little smile. Tears came to Finan's eyes. He made it to Osferth in three strides and yanked him in his arms.

“God, baby monk, you have no idea how happy I am to see ya,” Finan said holding him tight.

Osferth chuckled. “I have an idea,” he pulled away and looked at Finan. Finan saw Osferth's blue eyes get serious. “It was not your fault,” he whispered.

Finan placed his hand on Osferth's cheek and patted it. “It was. I should have been by ya side.”

“And we should have been with you,” Finan heard Uhtred say.

Finan turned and saw Uhtred and Sihtric walk out the gates of Coccham. He was surprised to see them here. Osferth was not surprised though.

“About time you joined us,” Sihtric said smiling. “I was getting worried you had decided to live forever.”

Finan felt his surprise slip away; relief replaced it. He pulled away from Osferth and walked over to Sihtric and Uhtred. He hugged them both. He had missed them so much. He pulled away and laughed a bit.

“So much for the Christians and Danes having separate Heavens,” he said.

Uhtred smiled. “Yes, so much for that. It would seem that families are kept together when they die.”

Finan smiled as Osferth walked over to them. He looked over at Coccham. His breath caught in his chest as he saw Gisela and Ingrith walk out of the gate laughing.

“Ingrith,” he whispered.

“Go say hello,” Osferth said. “Lady Gisela has missed you as well.”

“I do not know why,” Uhtred muttered.

Finan walked past Uhtred and shoved him. He smirked and winked. “Ya know why, lord, all the ladies love me more.”

He heard the men behind him scoff and snort. He walked over to Ingrith and Gisela.

“Both of ya are both a sight for these tired old eyes,” he said.

Gisela smiled. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “It is good to see you, but we can talk later,” she said as she walked away.

Finan nodded. He looked at Ingrith. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply before she could say anything.

He was home.

He was with his family again.

They were together forever it seemed.

...It's Nice to Have a Friend

#the last kingdom #the last kingdom fic #em's 500 #the coccham squad fic #the coocham squad

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sunyandmony · 2 years ago

Text

I am not fine...

May contain triggering themes, read at viewer's discretion.... All of that blah blah, enjoy- It's wonky and definitely not worth the wait.. And is also probably nowhere near the yandere category, so-- Uhhh.... I failed myself and the people that waited for this-...

(Despite the subtle hints)

"𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝕒𝕟𝕕 ժׁׅ݊ꫀׁׅܻ݊ɑׁׅժׁׅ݊" |finished BBU drabble|

When was the last time you had actually felt alive? Free? Not tired?....

It has been a long while, and you were just so tired, everything was going wrong in your life. You lost your job just a few days ago, having lost your belongings and now about to lose your apartment because of the rent you couldn't pay to the landowner.

It all started the moment you moved out from your parent's house, freshly having finished college, you had a bright future ahead of yourself if you wouldn't have trusted your coworker as much as you did. It wasn't something you could have predicted, but something you should've avoided instead.

It was currently late at night, you were preparing for bed, but didn't plan to sleep. You never had a good sleep schedule.

Childhood was just as horrible with the constant bullies at your school, it all went down so fast you don't remember when you lost your innocence at all, it was just a flash and then it all happened.

You shake off the rest of your thoughts, laying face first on your bed and grunting in pure frustration, wishing everything wasn't so unfair, so SO stupid and so difficult. Nothing was easy, when you were warned life won't go easy on you, you didn't think it would go this far to get you to the point of losing everyone and everything that you had gotten so far in your short, pathetic life.

A brief thought comes across your mind, and you shake it off once more. You won't regret anything, everything wasn't your fault, it wasn't... It wasn't.

Heavy eyelids threaten to close, and once you yawn they do, the darkness embracing you as you fall into a much needed slumber.

. . .

A tight knot in your stomach made you groan, and the bed felt oddly ticklish against your skin.You felt around yourself before leaning up, blinking several times to adjust to the sudden light and then a burst of darkness shoved your way. This wasn't your bed. An odd sensation filled your body. Nausea. You felt the world spin around you, trying to come to your senses as you took in your surroundings.

Where are you? What kind of weird fantasy, fever dream is this?? You rub at your eyes, stretching and wobbly legs managing to stand on the soft ground, and you did not have shoes on, so it felt odd and moist against your bare feet. You were in a creepy forest, surrounded by huge pine trees that lined all around you, barely able to see anything past them.

Birds chirp from somewhere around you, and you turn your back to look the other way. More trees greet your view, and you squint to see through them to no avail. You give up, deciding to shift your head and look up at the sky. You could just barely catch a glimpse of the night sky, glittering and shiny stars all over, a crescent moon covered up by darkened clouds. From here you could just barely make out a bird flying by, going out of view a moment later.

There were lots of fireflies around here, all around you and the outer sky, it was a beautiful light show while it lasted. Given you snapped back to the problem at hand. You were so lost, had no idea where you were, or how you even got here. Was it even a coincidence that it matched your image from last night? Probably not. Deja vu was such an odd thing to feel at the given moment. You don't remember having a dream as real as this one. And it might not even be a dream. (You wanna doubt that.)

You sigh to yourself, pinching the bridge of your nose. Well, this sure doesn't feel like a dream, you can feel your hand, so it probably is a very realistic dream? You hope it is, unless you wanna be stuck here, you better start walking and finding a way out. Though, did you really want to go back to your weird, awful and traumatic life? Not really.

With a reluctant exhale, and a mental push, you slowly made your way forwards, stepping into the thicker, much darker forest that surrounded you. An eerie silence settled over everything all at once, and you knew it wasn't a good sign.

You quickened your pace, knowing it's not safe and trying to find a more open, safer area to rest at, your feet aching at how hard they slammed against the grass and sticks on your way. You wish you hadn't taken off your shoes at the last minute in bed, they would've been so useful right now.

Another reluctant step onwards and you feel as if fainting right here and now. It feels horrible, the aching pain in your feet had grown so much worse, and you were more than sure you had millions of small scratches and bruises all along your ankles and feet. Well, it could've been worse, at least. You could've been bleeding, heck, maybe even being watched.

That wasn't such a good thing to say, you knew from seeing so many movies that the moment someone says something of the like, or even the exact thing, would happen to them. You started to lean more against the trees, trying to not be seen, but it was a useless attempt at stealth.

Crouching down didn't help much either, it only made you slower, and the more you realized it, the more late it was. Everything has its eyes on you, there's no place safe here. Nowhere.

. . .

A minute later you slowly get up, hands clawing at the wood of the tree to stand. Once you took the first step it's all fine, the second you took the second step, a branch cracked under your feet and more than likely left a scar on its own. Great..

All the more, eyes turn to you, and footsteps get closer and closer to you until an animal that you've never seen before, bares its teeth at you and pounces forwards. If it wasn't for your brain, you wouldn't have moved, instead, you immediately started running, almost tripping several times before picking up your pace and running through the thick pine trees, avoiding tripping on rocks or twigs as the animal, only gets closer the more you lose your energy. It was tiring. A faint noise in the distance catches your attention, and you turn to look at what seems to be a river, and without a single thought running towards it.

With a lot of luck, you find your way over more twigs and immediately jump on the slippery rocks, getting to the other side without much problems. You turn your head around, seeing as the animal, now stuck on the other side, slowly backs away from the edge and disappears back into the darkness behind the bushes. God let you live another moment it seems..

For what seemed like hours of leaning against a tree, you finally gain enough strength to get up and slowly make your way further into the forest. Seeing as it is, it won't help if you stand in one place too much. Predators can, and will hunt you down at any cost it seems, not like you didn't expect it, given you're the uninvited guest here.

Not even a moment later you once more get out of the forest and almost trip down the now more than visible hill, which leads down down until you can see a big mansion sitting in the middle of… An intermontane plateaus, that is if your Biology classes were paid enough attention to. You might be wrong, but you'd assume that's what this is, because it's not a ravine…

A knot in your stomach says to just stop being so childish, but meanwhile your inner child is firing up. And which do you choose to listen to? Of course, your inner child.

You slowly lay down and then budge yourself until you start rolling down the hill, having the time of your life and giggling all the way until you reach the bottom and now laying on soft, greenery that tickles your skin with the gentle breeze. The night sky is so much prettier here than in the closed and tight pine forest that you hated for being so awfully dark.

Wait….Night sky? You have been up too long, haven't you? Though it is impossible to tell what time it is…You'd just assume it's late at night… And probably, as usual, past your bedtime hours..

A long moment of staring at the glitter stars in the sky, and with a lot of curses flowing through your body, you sit up, rubbing your eyes to woosh the sleep away. It doesn't help, you yawn and stretch not a moment later. Great, tired, lost and probably homeless too.

You get off the ground, looking at your clothes and picking off some of the dirt or dust(?) that stuck to you, letting that thought flow away. A moment later you realize that the big mansion is indeed still in front of you, you just had to turn your head upwards to realize it. Not like it would grow legs and run away, idiot..

Was this breaking in? You ask yourself, seeing as it is, the doors opened up themselves, you didn't even touch them, they just did- A long moment of contemplating before you overcome your fear and step inside, the moment you do the doors slam close behind you, making your arms flail around yourself, thinking it was someone or something behind you, while it was nothing more than the wind, probably. You hope it was the wind.

Calm down, nothing has even happened yet, chill. You took deep breaths. Was it this cold when you got here? It sure wasn't, everything was so much colder. And you felt eyes on you from every single corner you turned. You started exploring a place that is not yours. You just wish whoever owns this place isn't home or could let you stay for the night.

As odd as it is, all you found were some pictures on a few walls when you walked the hallway to your right. It wasn't much, barely helped, and you didn't feel like touching them or going as far as to steal them. You didn't wanna get some kind of curse on your possible future bloodline. You were better than that, not even the gold was much more than useless, given there's probably no way to spend it anyways.

A sudden shift in the air made you immediately turn to gaze behind yourself, nothing. You're getting paranoid at this point. Well, not paranoid, more panicked of getting caught wandering around someone's house without them letting you in or even giving you permission to look at their(?) stuff whatsoever.

With a sigh, you turn back around to the fireplace, only for your whole body to stiffen and drain like you saw a literal ghost. What you were seeing wasn't that far from one though…

A more than tall as you could tell, creature, bird, whatever, was towering over you, eyes scanning you up and down as you shrinked into yourself. It(?) wore a light pink attire adorned with two swirls in the middle, topped with a shiny object, probably as decor, and a bow tie around its neck. Or at least what you assumed, given it constantly stretched on. It was hard to tell.

Many feathers adored its persona, cartoon-ish wings and what you could guess are its paws(?), again, you weren't a genius, and the Biology lessons weren't useful right now, you forgot them all the moment you graduated. It was black as the night sky itself, glinting in the bare light. Yellow-ish to gradient red, wide eyes stared back at you with a wide smile. Was it thinking of kicking you out? It would be fair though, you did just break into its house after all.

The moment you blinked it disappeared, the second you turned to the side, it was there. "Hoo! Hooho! Well, who are you, little friend?" It speaks right into your ear, once more shifting to be in front of you, into a much bigger form, a finger under its chin as if thinking of something, eyes narrowing the slightest bit.

You blur out your name with a lot of hesitation, looking at your hands and then back up at it. The moment you give it your name, it immediately leaves its thoughts to the side, now to your right, in a smaller size, putting its arm on your shoulder with a grin speaking for itself. ", that's my name, what's yours?" You ask back, perhaps it is rude or very rare, but it immediately perks up even more.

A tilt of its head, "Hooo! Little friend, you should know who I am! But, if you don't, you might as well know me as the party host! Or, if it suits your tongue more, well, Barnaby the owl!" It says, backing up from you and bowing down theatrically, eyes closed only for a moment before shooting wide open again. From this point, it looked somewhat friendly, only if you didn't count the constant staring.

A slow nod comes from you, only with the realization that you barely even meant it. Well, it is probably rude to be barely listening, but at least you know his(?) name now! Which is better than nothing. Why is your mind such a mess at such bad times? It is not worth arguing with yourself right now.

A strange sound fills the space, and you look down at yourself to realize it's your stomach. Right, you've been starving for the past, what, half a day, you'd assume. This gets the attention of Barnaby, who chuckles. "Oooh! Are you perhaps hungry, little friend?" A full on head spin and you barely have any personal space. You nod immediately after, hugging yourself. Well, at least you could trust that he won't poison you, which eases your nerves a little. He also doesn't seem to know the concept of 'personal space' from what you can see. Great…

It was very unexpected how well you got along with this owl, and from what he told you, he wasn't any normal creature you'd see day to day. You already had a feeling he might not be a living being, only being confirmed made it much weirder. Not that it bothered you, it was just, uneasy to know you were right about such a thing. Though he doesn't seem to be in any kind of pain, so maybe you're just overreacting over it.

The more you felt you knew him, the further you strayed from the true reality you came from. The fact this wasn't hell or anything of the like was a confirmation you were indeed not dead, and that it was not a dream. The food here was nice though, even the little 'barnaboos' as you heard him call them, we're such adorable little things to converse with, and somehow able to understand a little of what they're saying. Mostly through simple hand gestures.

It was a long ride, mostly staying up late, but you got through with it and survived. You could feel yourself slipping the more you tried to keep your eyes open, it was probably very late if you were this tired. A long yawn leaves you, and you cover your mouth with the back of your hand almost immediately, excusing yourself which gets a light chuckle from him.

Another blink and he's once more at the back of your chair. You really weren't gonna ask how he keeps doing that, just go along and it'll be better. "Are you feeling tired, lil' friend?" He chirps, helping you up from your seat, offering his wing, which is somewhat much softer to grab onto as you balance yourself. A moment later you let go and stretch out a moment, groaning and then letting out a sigh, arms dropping to your side the next second.

You nod, body slumped over as you follow close behind him. You didn't bother to listen much to whatever he was talking about all the way till he finally led you to the guest room. Well, it seems you weren't sleeping on a couch, which is such a relief.

While he didn't seem like such a threat, you couldn't help the twist in your stomach telling you otherwise and that you had to get away from him immediately or something would happen. That wasn't the case, not yet at least. Which just proves further that maybe your instincts are getting rusty the more your adrenaline wears down on you. Another thing to worry about later on.

Was it just your brain or were you really unable to sleep?... Why is it even odd? You always slept late, but something is just off, aside from the fact that this wasn't your room. It was a bit too fancy, but at the same time not, given you coughed several times from the dust that was in the air. The bed itself, while it was immense and comfortable, your gut keeps telling you to not fall asleep yet, not yet.. Eyelids snap shut, but before you know it, they snap back open, and you look around, trying to find what could've been blamed, of course there's nothing.

A tap on the window immediately makes you sit up, looking around only to see the branch of a tree, which just kept on tapping, the harsh wind blow being the only thing you could hear aside from the tapping. This is too silent, the room envelopes in a much darker blanket once the moon is being hidden away by the clouds, a few small water drops announcing the now oncoming rain. Curtains flutter around from the currents, windows barely open, just enough so fresh air slips inside the room.

Maybe you're homesick. That would explain everything much simply. You turn on your side, hands clutching onto the pillow under your head tightly as your eyes slowly slip close, and the world fades to much more darkness than it was already drenched in. You need a better sleep schedule…

. . .

It's been only a few hours, you don't know how much you slept but do not plan on trying to find out, seeing as the rain picked up, pouring loudly outside, you'd only take a guess that it's been longer than three hours because it's the first time you actually had a proper sleep without being woken up by the alarm clock on your old nightstand, now nowhere in sight.

You rub at your eyes slightly too harshly, hissing the moment you lean your hands away. About time you find your way around here, you don't feel like you slept much, even if you probably did. You sit straight, arms held together and stretched upwards, leaning down till they touch the blanket once more with a slight pop from your bones. Well, that's a much better way to start the day… You can only guess it's day given the outside is just slightly lighter, despite the still ongoing thunderstorm.

A groan leaves your throat as you slowly slip out of bed, strolling over only to find that there is indeed a bathroom connected to this room. Much nicer than going out, you assume. With one last look, you slip inside, taking your sweet time with everything.

About a few slips and pouts later you finally got out of what you could only assume is the bathtub, given how it does not look like one you'd see in a normal everyday life but one nonetheless. A quick brush of your hair and some face washing later it's all done, all you leave behind being the dirty clothes from before and now looking around for something to change into.

As expected, you couldn't find much and so the single thing you found was more of a suit than house wear options. But what other choice did you have? A little later of tidying up the cloth you finally managed to slip it on, tying the bow tie to your neck and opening the closet doors once more to look at yourself unexpectedly liking the outfit and shining looks you gave off almost immediately.

A gradient light blue to purple adored your body, clinging onto you quite heavily. Long sleeves adored with gloves hanging onto your arms, just barely shining in the dim light with the same gradient little details hanging everywhere else. A parted dress hung onto your hips, held by another layer of the dress underneath, looking like leaves or even feathers, white fluff tickling onto the long socks that reached just slightly over your knees. Dismissed heels toppled over in the corner as you pick something easier to wear. Boots that reach over your ankles and go just about a few more inches before ending with fluff all around, a comfortable warmth on the inside of them. Exactly as you liked, well, probably liked. It's been a long time since you wore something fancy unless it was for a party or meet up.

Where were you going anywhere with this outfit? Was something special happening that you probably didn't know about? Most likely that's the case. With a long sigh, you close the closet doors, looking away and at your hands for a long time. Thinking it all over again didn't seem to help. How much time did you spend looking at yourself anyways?...

You ponder to yourself before going out of your room, slamming the door close behind you and not looking back as you walk without a clue where you're going in a way that could only be described as tired.You're tired of anything and everything at the same time, yet you don't dare show it, sliding a neutral expression on your face to make sure it wouldn't be that obvious.

It was however more than obvious that you didn't feel like talking to anyone or anything else around here, except for the little barnaboos that are mostly everywhere, seemingly preoccupied with their own things to pay much attention to you as you passed by each room. A while later of walking down the seemingly endless hallway, you finally arrive back at the front where you have been not long ago. It's eerily silent as each of your steps echoes right into your ear drums awfully louder than you expected.

Each time you take another step, you feel much closer to something you can't quite make out in your thoughts, shaking your head as you bump into something, or someone and scramble back, catching your balance just in time as to not fall and make it even more embarrassing that you were once more with your head into the clouds.

A chortle came from above you, and immediately your hands came up to your face, hiding away your expression that was on the brink of exploding into tears. That is, if the person who made that sound wasn't more than obvious. "Hoohoo! Friend! You're awake- Took you sooo looongg! But that does not matter, you're awake now, and we can finally get going!" Barnaby offers you his fluffy appendage as the world shifts all at once, and in a literal instant you're moved.

You feel like literally throwing up, the knot in your stomach too tight for comfort. A stumble forwards and you're immediately embraced by more soft and skilled wings. A chuckle leaves your friend as you struggle to stand on your own while he just abuses the obvious size difference between the two of you. Once you're turned, wings under your armpits, you just give up and pout in defeat. He let's go once you're settled down, leading you down yet another similar hallway like the many others.

Huge doors welcome you, opening before you have even stepped close enough to touch its split handles. Barnaby slouches over, one wing onto his chest as the other is (probably) pointing towards the immense ballroom in front of you. A snort leaves your throat as you bow back to him and enter the room, and of course he doesn't have to follow much, appearing right above you and giving you another good scare.

Without stalling backwards, you just freeze in your spot trying to look unfazed while you would've screamed. You're doing this just to not give him the satisfaction of another screaming charade that you learnt from experience only makes you more terrified the next time he'd do it again. A minute later you finally snap out of your thoughts, waving them to the side to take in your surroundings.

An immense ballroom the size of a whole stadium greets your eyes. While everything was dark, the decorations alone got you feeling nostalgic about this place. Little pumpkin stickers hung onto strings, different expressions on each individual one, and between each of the pumpkins were spiders of different sizes and shapes, mostly out of paper or cartons. To say the side little stars on the dark ceiling weren't a nice addition was just as false as saying the sun is better than the moon, given both are good.

The stars glowed in the dark, which was even better, the white soft yet bright lights able to be seen from even a long distance away.

Actual real spiders hang around the chandeliers on the ceiling, wood creaking with each movement they make. And even a room that's made of wood can be a ballroom, which is incredible to say the least about. Given most ballrooms you've seen were very shiny and much cleaner, this one was clean, too, but not shiny, and it did not bother you at all. As once again, fancy was not what you wanted, and perhaps this would help you more as to remember why you won't miss the ballrooms back on Earth.

. . .

Why was everyone talking about your friend so lowly at times? Was he really bad or was it just them hating him? You couldn't tell, not one bit and it annoyed you from the inside out. Why? You didn't know, but given he is your first friend after your dreams and hopes crashed out the window…you were probably not even gonna need to guess anymore. It was obvious.

Your past explains everything much more simply than you would if you tried. Your trauma adding up onto anything you do and weighting your choices down. It's awful to be aware of it, but you can't do much about it. Your past speaks for itself once more as your feet move without your command as your blocks out every other noises or voices. A particular spider caught your attention, and you approached its shared webs slowly so as to not alarm it.

It hisses slowly at you before silence takes over once more. The spider is about the size of your whole palm, if not bigger than that. It has almost invisible marks on its back, a swirl and a center point where it stops with obviously eight legs that slowly raise and fall. Something to show it is indeed aware you're there even if it can't see you despite having so many eyes that glow a soft white as well.

You slowly approach until you're just two steps away from it, shaking hand raising hesitantly. You weren't afraid of it, you were afraid of what it could do to you. It slowly turned before climbing into your hand, fitting just perfectly on there. Fangs glint in the low light as it becomes nothing more than a fluff ball now sitting on your palm. You would literally melt if you could.

A silhouette hovers over you. "Oooh~ Getting along with all the guests! Aren't you just the most mannered one!!" A voice you already knew speaks from behind you. You don't have to turn to see, he is already in front of you the second you look up. A quick bob of your head and then you let the spider down back on its webs, strolling away as you're once more led to the middle of the room. There was no one here though.

The particular paws you know as Barnaby's cover your eyes and you're not able to see a thing. Great. "Hey! Shoo! Hands down-" You retort to his actions, your much smaller hands coming to grasp onto his own, doing little to nothing as he doesn't budge one bit from everything you try. The world shifts all too quickly as your drowsy self almost collapses once the darkness drains away a second later.

You catch your breath just as quickly, hands onto your knees as you slouch over. When did the air leave you?? Another sharp intake of breath and you feel still horrible, your sweaty hands not helping by trembling so much. In fact, your whole body is trembling as you look up only to immediately stumble backwards and your back to land on some particularly soft feathers.

The room wasn't empty any more, and it was full of deadly things from which some stared at you as if they could sense they're no longer invisible to your human vision. Another deep breath. Several more ghosts and specters turn around to face you. Where did the vampires come from? This place is definitely cursed, or worse yet you probably are cursed now. Perfect. Your heart races in your chest as you catch your breath and balance yourself. Everyone and everything is staring at you much to your dismay.

A cheery voice fills the space all around you, and as much as you want to cover your ears, you can't bring yourself to do it. "Hoohoo! Gentlemans, ladies and people of all kinds! I, Barnaby, announce as the party host, to welcome our little star guest!" Voices whisper all around you before clapping fills the room as you wish to shrink into yourself as much as you could. That's not possible.

Your brain, instead of running or doing anything, decides it's best to just stay..Until it's over…You were not that weak nor scared.. And without seeing the danger ahead of yourself too..

I got Cola and Pepsi while writing this :>

I'm very sane and fine, totally.. 🧍‍♀️

Did anyone get the reference though?...

@hauntedkonton , @the-host-with-the-most-12 , @ieatsoap1 and whoever else enjoys BBU or just Barnaby- idk🧍‍♀️

#bbu barnaby #bbu drabble #gn reader #reader insert #x reader #ig?? Unless you want this to be platonic #I won't stop you to think further out than what I wrote here #This also probs don't count as a fic so it's a drabble 🥲#it's too short to be a fic #unless I'm crazy and that over 5k characters aren't much-🧍‍♀️#count me out I am insane #I was tired making this all the way that's why it's wonky-#hidden reference #long post

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navybluedaisy · 27 days ago

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Debana — Judo fiction writing —

an ; this is the final story i submitted, so i edited some things and moved them around. 🧡

To be honest, I never really thought of myself as a great fighter. It’s a February evening in the cafe where all the fighters go to recuperate, especially after fights.

“Two days before the comp, eh? Thursdays are usually cursed tee bee aych,” Aeri chortles out. “You’re lucky you still have a few days to prepare, princess.” Aeri is my friend I made during training. She’s a belt behind me, orange/green, but we are usually stuck with each other because we are the same size. I shift my position, raising my eyebrow that hasn’t been plucked.

“You know we aren’t texting…this is in real life…why did you say “tee bee aych,” I say as I make an exaggerated look. “…And I’m not your princess.”

“Girl, you know I’m too lazy to speak sometimes, don’t judge.” She says with her raspberry lips. “You will always be my princess."

Ever since I started judo three years ago, my dream has been to get gold at a competition. Kids at my old school would make fun of me for not being competitive enough to fight–That I would be too empathetic to aid my desire to win. Since then, I have kept envisioning myself in the blaring fluorescents, on a brightly colored mat, walking the tightrope of uncertainty. I envision all my teammates yelling at me to keep going, to be stronger. My senses flood like opening gates when I think about the smile he would paint on his face. A smile that could cause an earthquake in my organs. It would be so large I’d get lost in it. The big competition day is creeping up on my team. We are all sweaty with messed up gis on a late summer evening.

“Fix your posture!” My coach explained to me. I wince at the armbar. Shuffling around, breaking grips just for them to be reattached, I can hear my heartbeat. My lungs let seas flow into them, and all I can hear is my coach yelling at me to keep going. To hold on even if it hurts like being dumped into a river rapid. keep the grip break the grip swoop under turn swivel pick up…

Bang.

A few months ago, me and my best friend Aeri just started our Junior year of highschool. Aeri got to skip a grade since her family moved here from Japan, and we met from practice. Today, my mind looks like a painting that was painted over so many times to the point of it being so thick you can’t even tell what’s on it anymore. A sludge of failed ambition.

It is overcast, forty years must have passed. Something about boba, a dojo, a competition, smudged eyeliner, messed up nail polish, matcha, blah, blah, blah-

“Winter? Winter? Earth to Winter?”

I shift my position. “Must have been daydreaming or something…”

Aeri smiles, looks me up and down, then raises her eyebrow. “Ha, you’re good. I've probably done the same thing,” She continues. “As I was saying, are you down to go practice at the dojo that just recently opened at the gym?” She says. “I got excited….and kind of forgot you have your…things.”

“My things?” I scoff, picking at my nails. “Sure, find me there at 8?”

I have always expressed my love for the season of winter. The vibes, the long nights, no obligations to go sweat buckets outside. Just pure bliss. Aeri is probably the only person who knows and understands why I act the way I do. Without her, I probably would never smile.

I shove my key into the ignition lock and plop my hands on the steering wheel, fulfilling my promise I made to Aeri.

“Winter?” I hear a voice say.

I flash my eyes towards the noise. “Mhm?” I try to be quiet to not disturb the other people practicing.

“You dropped this.”

As I look at my belt in someone else’s hand, I panic. This isn’t Aeri. I rarely talk to other people, but especially not to the opposite gender. I look down, sweating, my breaths shortening.

“Thanks,” I say with a shaky, unsteady voice. Then it dawns on me. Nobody knows my nickname except Aeri…

I take a deep breath that hitches at the end. This unidentified fellow judoka is probably expecting me to keep on walking. He makes a step to my left when I raise my voice and widen my dark brown eyes. “How do you know my name…my nickname?”

The unidentified man falters. He looks up to meet my gaze. He sharply inhales; it sounds almost like he cut through his lungs with a kitchen knife. It's almost like the Mediterranean sea full of words bubbles up in his throat. Scratching the back of his head, full of dark brown hair, he stalls even more.

He drops his belt now, and my jaw tightens, eyes focused on a faraway window.

“I don’t think you should know,” he finally admits, shifting his weight from each of his feet. “At least…not right now.”

“But why?” I ask him, a growing pain in my knees.

“You just…don’t.”

“Why don’t you just answer the question? I have this right, you know?”

“Okay, then,” he says. “Are you fighting in the competition this Saturday?”

I gulp. “Yeah…”

He grins. Just a little. “Meet me 2 hours before the competition on Saturday, February 26th, and I’ll tell you.”

I hesitate. Physically. I stare at his shirt for a while, trying to weigh the possible danger I’m putting myself in. I’ll make sure to have Aeri by my side.

“Deal. Sure, whatever.”

Unidentified man turned his small grin into a big one. No clue why. I try to hide my troubled expression.

“See you then,” he says, and bolts off, forgetting his belt on the ground.

“Hey, you forgot your belt!” I say in a voice louder than I expected.

He turns around and runs back, picks the belt up that was at my feet, says a quick, nearly indecipherable ‘thank you’, and runs off into the locker rooms.

My gloomy, dark palette washes over me like overflowing watercolors.

I seemed to forget that Aeri is nowhere to be seen. She would have been next to me, protecting me.

How strange…

Since I was young, fights have been daunting to me. The pressure and anxiety that bred from the expectation to win were why I opted out of competitions.–They’re like this rope I can’t reach…this parallel I can’t intersect. I’ve gone up three and a half belt ranks over these years. Congratulations she said, but I wasn’t feeling congratulations worthy, I guess. I was awarded a green/blue belt, which feels like a belt that only super advanced students can rank to, but me? The competition date was just a few hours away, and all that has been rampaging my mind is where Aeri disappeared. I never completed my practice on that day. I step forward and backward, frantically shifting my position on the damp street. I pour my lungs’ contents into the air, eyes crimson.

“Aeri, where did you go?” I yell, over and over. I hope nobody is out on these avenues. The knot in my chest is tightening more as if there was a master bracelet maker in my heart. Woven threads tangle themselves into my garden, poisoning my crops.

“The competition is more important!”

“The competition is more important!” he shouts.

“Who are you? What is your name?” I frantically whirl around like a distressed gust of leaves.

He exhales. “My name?”

I raise my eyebrow at the way he made his conjunction sound like a question. “Yes.”

“My name is Akil.” He looks at me as if I have neon green skin. “I’m Reis’ brother. Now, the competition preparations are in 30 minutes, so you should probably start thinking about coming inside.”

I enter a tunnel and come through the other end before answering him. “Oh, okay, smarty pants.” My eyes droop low, my mouth forming a line.

He raises his eyebrow and places his hand on his hip. “By the way, my names Akil, not ‘smarty pants.’”

I walk into the competition hall, belt wrapped around my neck, and my skin goes pale. You could fit a small town into this space. I hesitantly check myself into the preparation room, and am met by 30 other competitors, give or take. I throw my bag into the unidentified pile of black, and slowly walk towards my teammates with a bead of sweat dripping down my forehead..

‘Where’s Aeri?” I ask one of my teammates, Nezira.

“Oh, I haven’t seen her in a few weeks…I assumed she was calling out sick.” She says with a flat expression. “You should be conditioning with us though, they’re gonna start calling us out to get paired up.”

I forge up a reply, exhaling and inhaling sporadically. “Alright.”

Belt tied, socks off. Seconds feel like years. It’s almost my turn, and I’m tracing the shapes of my hands. I was so distracted with finding Aeri that I barely used enough time for conditioning, and it will show once I step onto that squishy, slightly torn mat. I’m drowned, drowned in my sweat and the weight forced on my organs.

One more minute…

My name appears on the big screen next to my partner. It reads AERI vs REIS

My mind becomes paralyzed, and time stops.

That’s him. He’s a boy.

I look over to Nezira with wide eyes. “I thought they only paired girls with girls? Was I mistaken?”

Nezira scoffs, the noises around us blaring. “You don’t know?”

“Know what?” My heartbeat is slamming against my chest.

“They changed the policy. That rule became void last week…If you actually came to practice, you’d be up to date.” She says while picking at her nails, a smirk creeping at the tips of her mouth. “Now, go! You only have 30 seconds!”

I get to my wobbly feet and rush down the steps wildly, nearly tripping over myself multiple times. This is actually happening, and I only have one chance to win.

I see him. Reis. The crowd cheers so loud my ear drums crowd with adrenaline. All I can hear are my short, unstable breaths. He steps closer, and holds out his hand. I shake it, my stomach is upside down, the walls have flipped, and the lights turn into shadows. My feet turn into paint brushes, stroking a canvas below. My feet dance, then become brooms. Dust clouds us, blaketing my compass. As generations pass, the fight comes to a quick end as if it was a fleeting moment. My face flushes red, tears flowing down my cheeks.

My senses black out completely, and the last thing I remember is the sensation of his almost black eyes ripping their way into mine, pulling me into this spiral of blooming flowers and my heart pings with an indescribable feeling.

The next thing I know, people are screaming, cheering, clapping, or a mixture of all. My experiences blend together, and I’m a bird on a branch. The strongest bird. The bravest.

I’m eaten by a squirrel.

I Made it.

#judofiction #fiction #writing #judo

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the-cat-chat · 1 year ago

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March 2, 2024

Self Reliance (2023)

Given the opportunity to participate in a life or death reality game show, one man discovers there's a lot to live for.

JayBell: I think this movie has a great premise, especially for a comedy. I like how the movie uses this game as the trigger to get Jake Johnson to live and feel again and stop accepting isolation as his status quo. I like how the game motivates him to gain closure on past relationships. On the surface, the potential for a good movie is definitely there. I unfortunately think it does fail in execution.

My biggest issue is the behavior of his family. I guess their dynamic with Jake Johnson's character is supposed to be funny, but it just makes them unlikable overall. I get that they think he's lying or genuinely having a mental break, but doesn't that mean they should be more concerned instead of flippant? Instead of trying to get him real help, they bring in this lady with the sole purpose to prove themselves right and him wrong. The whole movie I was just waiting for a satisfying "I told you so" from Jake's character in the finale. But their reaction in the end is also flippant in a way. I think it would have been actually funny to have Jake's character play bits from his episode in the show to his family in the finale.

The romance just doesn't do it for me in this one. Anna Kendrick does a fine job, but the big "twist" for her character is kind of stupid and makes her character seem a bit mean spirited or even clueless.

Finally, the "ninjas" in the game appear too often to give messages to Jake Johnson's character instead of trying to kill him. That just breaks the tension because they feel like less of a threat overall.

P.S. It's crazy that Jake Johnson's character doesn't even ask for a contract or a lawyer or even bring it up or anything. I get that it's an underground game but it's wild that he accepts the terms without any real contract that states he gets money at the end of this ordeal. I would've liked some more clarity before he agrees to the game in the first place.

Rating: 4.5/10 cats 🐈

Anzie: I just wanted to preface this review with some facts.

First. Back in the day- God strike me down- I thought Jake Johnson was so hot. Ok. I watched Let’s Be Cops too many times. Ok. Maybe it’s bc I thought he was cute and funny. Looking back the answer IS CUTE and FUNNY. Bc Self Reliance Jack Johnson is HOT. Ok. Dear Lord pls pray for my soul bc if I find one more man over forty hot I’m going to cry myself into a mental breakdown.

Second. Anna Kendrick. Somehow when I hear her name I think YES. She’s so funny. And I forget shhhee is funny. But I somehow forget every movie she’s been in. Twilight. Mr. Right. Pitch Perfect. The Voices!!!! And Scott Pilgrim. A Simple Favor?? NOW THAT THATS A HUGE VARYING SPECTRUM OF GOOD TIMES? Ok and none of those prepared me for this.

Finally. The premise. Awesome. Entertaining. Would you play? Blah blah blah.

Okkk. First. His family. Annoying. That’s all I’ll say bc if I acted like this and my family reacted like that. Wow. Okkk. Bc they should be concerned. Either he is nuts or people areeeee trying to kill him.

Second. The fact that the whhhole time I couldn’t decide is he nuts??? Or the game’s real. Which I get is the point but it drove me up the wall. And it’s a clever idea and then how he’s working through past trauma and then how you have to understand to survive and be self reliant on your own and all that good jazz with the point they are trying to make through his character. But it’s soo bizarre I don’t even care about the message of it.

And I’m just gonna leave it here about the money part. $145,000 over 200 and something months. Bc it’s a million Greenland $ and not US currency. I’d scream and sue. Like I’m am wanting to scream and sue right now. Uuuugggghhhh. That reallly just made me be entirely done with it all. And I get it he grew blah blah blah. I’m done. Totally done.

Rating: 2/10 Cats 🐈 (And yes 1 whole cat is bc I think he’s hot preknocked out tooth) I’m sorry.

#movie #movie review

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thingswhatareawesome · 1 year ago

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also failing once again to get the daily frontlines done in xiv. not that far from 20, i just need to get that and then 25 to get the outfit and be done with the stupid season (plus get to 90 on pld using the xp so i can say i've got one 90 tank and technically meet my new year's resolution i made in january).

idk i'm just having so much trouble anymore making myself do the job leveling even though i know i want to get them all done. i'm so blah on the dungeons and blah on pvp and just...

idk my fc is nice enough but i still feel barely acquaintances with any of them even after months. i still haven't finished a single variant dungeon, and i miss ex mount farming (we're on hiatus, but also they run them in such a disorganized fashion it's such a mess and no one seems to get mounts ever. seems like ppl in my fc only get mounts by pf which i don't want to do that's what i'm in an fc *for*, and like the guy that runs the ex is only interested in old content if it's done min ilvl. so no preparation bc which boss is decided at time of meet up so no video studying in advance which is something i *need* to do, no practicing and getting better bc they don't stick with one boss until everyone's done, they skip all over every week, and no having old content ever get easier bc this dude wants it to be max challenge every single time and i just want butts on mounts).

and i kind of want to do the unreal just to get the achievement for the clear, but that fc sub-group uses flogs and so i'm uncomfortable with asking to join them. bc i have myself set to hidden from that and i am afraid it would become a thing. and idk, i just feel like people are friendly when i'm around but i don't feel like anyone cares if i'm not there, like there's no one that's like HEY YOU JOIN US AND DO STUFF when i show up on line, there's no one that's like 'hey you need that let's go do that'. idk maybe after having to leave my first group pre ew bc of a friendship gone toxic, and having to leave my 2nd fc early this year bc the lead was such a problem person i couldn't tolerate anymore, idk what to do if a fc doesn't fit but not bc there's nothing actually wrong.

like all i do is the weekly tales journal, and lately making myself participate in blue mage stuff (though i could be starting work on carnivale and i just can't seem to get myself actually doing so). i have that one npc to do the custom deliveries i still haven't finished, and i need to get the blue crafting/gathering gear and wpns with scrips. i have stuff to *DO* i just can't seem to make myself do it. honestly not that hard, not like i'm trying to do the tool relics, it's just time for scrips. i just can't seem to make myself do more than the minimum. and i just feel like i'm drifting solo through the game even though there's people around. i hate it, that feeling of no connection.

idk why i'm still talking about this. i just wish i was still as engaged and as motivated in the game as i was a year ago. i wish i had people i truly clicked with.

#please ignore my xiv bs #and also my bitching and moaning i'm just being a loser dumbass

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threeunrelateddescriptors · 2 years ago

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It's been a day.

It started with my 10am student arriving at 9am. They texted "we're here!" I texted "I have you on for 10am, give me 5min" And so I stopped buttering my toast, ran to put on pants, asked my flatmate to turn off the stove where my, and was ready for my student at 9:02am. The biggest saving grace was that it was a lesson at my flat, rather than at the space I rent (20-25min away, depending on traffic).

They apologized, and I told them it was fine a) because it was [they had a brainfart shit happens and I had semi predicted this would happen so mentally I was slightly prepared] and b) I didn't have another student scheduled so it worked out.

Got a laundry done.

Then it was time for my covid+flu vax appt. I expect to feel like shit. That's how all the previous shots have gone. I get a fever and feel painful and achy. I get exhausted. So far, nada. But that won't last. Lovely if it does, but I prepared my entire Tomorrow for Feeling Like Shit (tm).

Which brings me to something tangentially related that might prove interesting/helpful to others.

Lately (past year or so), I feel I've physically taken a decline. I can't precisely pinpoint how, but vague ~*things*~ which I'd be hard-pressed to go to a doctor and say "I have a vague constellation of inconsistent shit happening that I can't quite tell you where the issue is but I definitely have an issue; do tests and diagnose this and please do not dare tell me it's You're Getting Older disease"

So in light of not being able to determine at least one thing to point to, I've just been sitting in my incrementally failing body. The path of least resistance. I am a huge fan of the path of least resistance. I jellyfish my way through life, and it seems to really work for me.

But, here's where I come back around to vaccines and such.

When I was younger, I learned a fun fact about my body: If I am fighting a virus/infection/whatever, and I get a fever, and my fever goes above 104F, I fight that shit off but my immune system trips a wire and goes into overdrive.

It decides, for shits and giggles, that there must still be a threat. Usually that threat is All Of My Joints. It's like temporary rheumatoid arthritis or something. It can last months.

When it first happened, we had no clue what was going on. We went to doctor after doctor and no one could figure out what was doing and why I had suddenly developed arthritis. Clearly, I was making it up to avoid going to school or whatever.

Then I complained of night sweats and my parent, on the very off-chance, took me for a TB titer. Just to make sure I hadn't managed to contract TB.

I hadn't. But the horrid joint pain? Disappeared. Like...in a day of getting the TB titer.

My parent saw this and went "huh." and filed it away in their brain. I did no such thing because I was not mentally in a place to do that.

The second time this Fever-induced Auto-immune Response thing was triggered, we went to doctors, I was in pain for months. Blah blah.

See, we still hadn't fully put together that the fever (or, a fever going to 104F) was the causal event. Why would we? It seems clear now, but I had a high-as-fuck fever because my body was fighting off Terrible Things. So maybe it was lingering Terrible Things.

Well, we finally got a doctor who 1) believed us and 2) found that every one of my joints was impacted. I had only been complaining about one set of joints because it was the most terrible. [Kind of how if you stub your toe and then someone slams a car door on your hand, it's likely you don't feel your stubbed toe quite as bad.] The doctor didn't know what to do with me, but in finding this determined that it sure sounded like an autoimmune response.

Cue my parent going "Oh fuck me, Bee Sting Therapy" My parent has a broad range of odd knowledge. One of which is alternative and traditional medicines. Apparently, it is a thing to have a bee sting someone who is having joint pain. Don't ask, I don't know.

So, my parent carts me off to the general doctor, says "kid has night sweats (I was not), I want a TB titer to rule-out TB" and doctor went 'sure'

I was given a TB titer. I do not have TB. What I do have is a fucky immune system who can be easily distracted. What my parent figured out was that the fever did something like fucked an auto-shutdown procedure after the initial threat was eliminated. So they introduced a (controlled) threat (TB titer).

My immune system immediately turned its attention to this New Horsehit and "eliminated it" (it's a TB titer y'all, there's no threat). And so it said "Good job everyone, back to bed, our work here is done."

And that is why I am somewhat hopeful these vaccines will address at least some of the decline I feel I've been experiencing.

The End.

#vaccines #autoimmune bullshit #bee sting therapy I guess?

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epictacobird · 2 years ago

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Dorms react to Demon Slayer!Mc

Welcome back! Here’s Scarabia’s part with Kalim and Jamil. So sorry it came out so late. But hey! Spring break! Hopefully the next part comes out sooner. Again, thank you for reading my self indulgent thing. I still love you all <3

No gendered pronouns for Yuu/MC, can be platonic or romantic blah blah

Heartslabyul - Savanaclaw- Octavinelle - Scarabia(here)- Pomefiore - Ignihyde - Diasomnia

Warnings: angsty, ptsd mentioned, dark themes, spoilers for book 4 and 5

Context:

You're a demon slayer, an extremely experienced one at that. You have been fighting demons ever since you were young, and preparing to do so even younger. When you were unexpectedly thrown into Twisted Wonderland and admitted to NRC, you hid your sword in your uniform, and stashed away your clothes once you could. You figured the best way to survive here was to hide your cards. After all, being surrounded by morally questionable strangers with magic was not ideal. In case you really needed it, you figured it was best to pretend to be weak so your strength could cover you when you needed it most.

Now that a few months have passed and you've gained reliable friends, you didn't see a point anymore. You felt safer than you ever have in your entire life. You were no longer on a battlefield, no longer surrounded by the pained cries of the people you failed to save. But the battle was catching up to you. Now that you were no longer fighting constantly, you had more time to think. You're nightmares of battle have been getting worse and you can't escape it. The guilt of hiding such an integral part of yourself from your friends wasn't helping either. Eventually though, you let the dam break. You tell them about your life, the reason behind your scars and show them your sword. There's tears in your eyes and you're shaking like the child you once were long ago.

Jamil

No one can spot a liar better than another, more experienced, liar.

He knew immediately you were up to something. While yes, he didn’t take interest immediately, he definitely did once he realized he could use you.

He noticed all your little mannerisms, your tell-tale signs that you were a fighter of some sort. After all half his job was spotting assassins. And he could easily tell you were trained to fight.

He knew you were strong, and after some small manipulation and careful observation on his end he determined you were actually carrying a weapon. There was a sword on your back, and if he didn’t know any better he would’ve detained you and labeled you an assassin. Of course he knew you weren’t, you being from another world and all.

So he played along with your little “I’m a magicless and weak human” act until the moment came when he could use you.

It was when he was about to overblot, rather than throwing you to the ends of the world with the others he decided to keep you there.

His malicious grin looked down at you, watching your pathetic attempt to continue your lie. You were grouped together with your friends, watching the panic cover your faces as the blot took over his body.

He laughed, “Are you just going to stand there? Prefect?!” He lurched toward you, “You and I both know your capable of so much more! So why don’t you show that off?”

He activated his unique magic, leaving you completely under his spell. You were trapped, in that moment all you saw was a demon. But you were helpless. You blacked out and lost control of your mind and body.

You watched your friends get shot into the sky as Jamil ordered you in the dorm. You stood by his side as he sat on the throne basking in his own victory.

Jamil swirled around his drink in hand, looking down at everyone under his control arrogantly. You were still stuck to Jamil’s side, standing at attention as he sat languidly on his throne. You were no genie in a bottle but you sure as hell could deal with any brat that tried to defy him.

“Show me your sword.”

You nodded, your now bright red eyes never leaving Jamil as you carefully took the sword from its hiding place. You broke the seal and unsheathed the sword. It’s blade reflected the twisted glow of Jamil’s eyes. “A katana? What would you use this for?”

Being forced under his spell, you replied with all honesty. You explained what demons were and what it meant to be a demon slayer. You even were forced to spill your breathing technique.

Jamil is impressed in the way the arrogant and pretentious villain of a fairy tale would be. He found his best soldier, and he wasn’t going to let you go to waste.

When the octavinelle trio, Kalim and Grim came back, Jamil decided to let you free to fight. You hadn’t unsheathed your sword, as it was back in its hiding place, so you were just fist fighting.

And dear god you were winning. They were hesitant to use magic, since one wrong move may mean death to you. And since only Floyd and Jade had any sort of experience fighting without magic, it was a 2 v 1.

They assumed Jamil aided you with magic with they way you made them fly. Floyd was complaining about the bruises you left on him for weeks. But Jamil grew tired bu the way the battle dragged on. So with a wave of his hand he gave you a new order.

“Finish them.”

The opposing team froze, unsure by what he meant. You on the other hand prepared to draw your sword from its hiding place.

In that moment you heard a tiny voice call out your name. It was Grim, and he sounded terrified. Other than Jamil, he was the only one in that moment that knew what you were about to do.

No one knows exactly how, but you had a moment of recognition. The red glaze disappeared from your eyes as the spell broke. You withdrew your hand and retreated to your friends, scooping up Grim and holding him close. You whispered an apology as everyone else sighed in relief.

Of course, Jamil was furious and flew into a rage. Everything followed its course and eventually he was defeated.

At the party, you approached Jamil first. He confessed he had a broken memory of his overblot. You had blacked out while you were under his control, so you had no idea how much you told him.

Overtime, Jamil remembered more about his overblot. He remembered the story you told him. During SDC he’ll end up confronting you about it. His reaction is more of a calm understanding. The pieces of his broken memory came together.

As you finished your confession, you could see the mixed emotions swirling in Jamil’s eyes. Was he upset? Mad? Pitying even?

Jamil didn’t know how to feel himself, on one hand you had a terrible life, on the other he was furious you held yourself back like that. To someone who was forced to do that his whole life, seeing someone do it so willingly was infuriating.

But he saw how tired you were. The way you carried yourself was unnatural for a teenager. The way you reacted to safety and relaxation was frankly depressing. And maybe he had no place to judge, considering he was about to use your trauma to fight your friends.

He settled on a soft smile instead, “So that’s who you really are? I’m glad you can share this so willingly with me considering everything.” He looked away for a moment, “Although I am still curious about what you can do.”

Kalim

Being as carefree as he is, he didn’t see you as anything other than another amazing student at NRC. He did think your entrance was a little odd (he could’ve done without your friend lighting his ass on fire) but promptly forgot about it.

He thought you were so fun to be around! When you came around to Scarabia during winter break, he never enjoyed himself more.

When he and the others were shot into the sky, he was terrified for both you and Jamil. Why would Jamil take you away out of everyone? Why did this happen?

He was so shocked to see you fight the tweels, he had no idea you were that strong! It made a little more sense why Jamil decided to take over your mind.

You helped him a lot with all the trust issues after. You always offered an ear as he ranted. Even if it wasn’t about his troubles, you showed the same care nevertheless.

You two were close friends throughout SDC. You meant so much to him, and he did to you.

You never met someone so genuine and happy in a long time, even outside your stay at NRC. It was refreshing to be around him, you felt as if things would truly be ok.

You were the one who accidentally confessed this time. Over the past week you were just exhausted. Due to your nightmares you’ve been getting less sleep than normal. Getting through classes was hard enough as it is, but now you had the extra responsibility of staying awake.

And as much as you loved being manager of the NRC’s group for SDC, if Vil overblotted you were going to break something.

“I don’t trust this trend Kalim! One or two times sure, but four? I don’t think I can handle another overblot. Especially since I’m so useless! I’m magicless, the only other way I know how to defeat someone is to-“

“Huh? To what?” Kalim urged you to go on.

You waved away your train of thought, “Ah, never mind. It’s a long story anyway.” You laughed it off.

Both of you were laying on the roof of Ramshackle. You had caught Kalim practicing late at night again, except this time you were just staring at the stars relaxing. Once he saw you up there, he completely forgot about his training and ran up to join you.

“Why are you up here anyway?” He asked, turning his head to face yours.

You hummed, “I always come up here when I can’t sleep. I like looking at the stars, even though the constellations aren’t the same, it reminds me of home.”

“You really miss your home huh?” Kalim spoke quietly.

It may have just been the exhaustion, or maybe the way Kalim innocently posed the question. Or maybe it was just Kalim, his pure and unwavering kindness to everyone. His honesty and innocence that broke down your war-ridden walls. Either way, you begun to cry.

It was silent, in fact, Kalim almost didn’t notice even if he was looking at you because it was so dark. But he did, and he panicked.

Kalim shot upright, waving his hands in a frenzy. “Wait! I’m so sorry! I kinda say things without thinking, Jamil gets on me about it all the time! I didn’t mean to make you cry-“ He covered his face with his hands and groaned, “I’m so sorry…”

You wiped away your tears, looking away shamefully, “No you’re alright. It’s just-“ You faltered, “I guess it’s kind of complicated.”

“Oh, well…” Kalim frowned, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“It’s not something that I normally bring up.” You laughed softly, “It’s not a happy topic, but…” You took in a shaky breath, willing your voice to stay steady, “If you’re alright with it…can I? I’ll have to warn you though, it really isn’t a happy story.”

Kalim smiled reassuringly, and nodded. He listened as you confessed your thoughts. You wanted to go back home, after all you still had a duty to fulfill. On the other hand, what crazy person would really want to go back to a place where they faced death every night? You were safe here, living a normal life with friends that you didn’t have to worry about them dying in a terrible way.

You were so conflicted, hurt and guilt clawed at you relentlessly. And Kalim listened to it all, and by the time you finished he was practically crying with you. He wanted to help you, but how could he? His version of helping never seemed to help Jamil, so would it help you?

“Kalim! Why are you crying?” You smiled sympathetically as you wiped away his tears. Laughing quietly to yourself as Kalim sniffled.

“It’s just so sad! But your so brave and- and…” Kalim sighed, “I’m supposed to be comforting you.”

You shook your head, “You’ve already helped so much, Kalim. Just promise to stay safe too and we’ll call it even?”

Kalim gave a toothy smile and engulfed you in a hug, “Alright, oh hey! Why don’t we go on a magic carpet ride? It’ll make both of us feel better!” He laughed, “And whatever happens from here, I promise to never let you leave without a smile!”

*****

#twisted wonderland #twst wonderland #twst x mc #fanfic #twisted wonderland imagines #twst imagines #demon slayer mc #demon slayer #twst jamil #jamil viper #twst kalim #kalim al asim #scarabia #twst x demon slayer #twst dorm leaders #twst mc #demon slayer x twst #twst crossover

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curryandbread · 3 years ago

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Hi, there! I’ve got this funny headcannon in my mind. Remember the scene in KFP where Po imitates Shifu? Can you do the dorm leaders’ fem! s/o imitating them and they suddenly catch her in the act? What would their reaction be? Please and thank you!

Imitating the TWST Dorm Leaders

Sorry for the very long wait! (May contain spoilers)

Riddle Rosehearts

“I am the rule, You’re just magicless,, Your response should only be yEs dOrM LeADeR uUuuGGIIIIIIIII!!!”

You whispered-scream as you were sweeping the floor, mimicking Riddle’s iconic cry. The reason why you chose to act this way was because of Riddle scolding you about your grades. Apparently you were failing, so Riddle took the chance to give you a lecture and take away things that causes distractions.

You were making the weirdest of poses as you used a broom as his iconic staff, putting a hand over your chest, not knowing the very same person you chose to impersonate was behind you.

“Apparently the only response should be what now?” His voice blasted through, you flinch at the encounter, accompanied with a familiar expression that makes his head burst in anger. All you could give was an awkward smile.

Leona Kingscholar

“Tch. I’m Leona and I hate children and veggies. Oi herbivore take this to Trein-sensei.. Nyaa nyaa~ I’m a kitty cat.”

You said with a mockingly low voice. Buffing up your chest as you put your hands in your pockets, before bringing them to the sides of your head to resemble his ‘ears’. You were just simply tired of Leona being himself.

You were continuing your antics not long before Leona was already by the door who could only watch you in disgust.

“Oi. Is that how you really see me?” His voice felt like ice, sending shivers down your spine as you jumped to face him.

“Don’t even start with the ‘kitty cat’ thing. It’s gross.”

Azul Ashengrotto

“Give me your power!! I want it all!! MOUUU IYADAAAAAA”

You thrash around jokingly and make fake crying noises as you find yourself alone in the room. Azul scolded you for failing to meet the daily quota of your job; thus you’re now stuck under his grasps for the next few days.

You lift up your imaginary glasses, making a face to imitate Azul’s memory burning smirk. Yet at the same time, Azul comes in to see what you’ve been doing.

“You know I heard the last bit, right??” He sighed, his face scrunching from cringe. “What? But that’s you wasn’t it?” You pouted until he waves you off.

“Why am I with you in the first place? Just get back to work….”

Kalim Al-Asim

“Nyahahaa!! Let’s have a feast!!!”

You pressed your hands on your sides as you flashed a toothy grin in an attempt to impersonate the dorm leader of Scarabia. What could go wrong?

“A FEAST YOU SAY??” Kalim pops out from nowhere, his eyes practically sparkling.

“Kalim— I was just—!” You shake your head, waving your hands to gesture that it was something to be taken light of, unfortunately Kalim doesn’t pick up the signal.

“You said it!! Jamil! Prepare the food and elephants!!!!” Kalim yells enthusiastically, followed by a “Alright” from the vice dorm leader.

Vil Schoenheit

“Mira mira, Who’s the fairest of them all?? Potato.”

You grumbled at the thought of how Vil still calls you potato, flaunting your lashes and flipping your hair as you pretended to copy him, doing a little strut before seething into frustration.

“The strut was not bad. Needs more work though.” His voice boomed from a distance, catching you off guard.

“So you saw that…” A bead of sweat rolled down your cheek, Vil walking to you.

“Are you that envious of me? Perhaps I can teach you a thing or two.”

Idia Shroud

“Fuhihi! The new series of my favorite game has come out !?!?%^#%!!? Blah blah blah— ugh.”

You blew raspberry after spouting nonsense, just as how Idia seems to talk whenever he gets a little too passionate with something. How can he be so… two-sided without a worry.

“A-are you insulting me?” He grumbled as he peeked from the door, snapping your head towards the direction of his voice.

“I don’t know. I just felt like impersonating you.” You shrugged, teasing him lightly.

“Is that how I really sound..?” The man clad in blue muttered to himself in embarrassment.

Malleus Draconia

“Child of man… You’re very interesting. What’s that you say? Tsunotaro? Fufu. Very interesting.”

You attempted to say his words in a deep voice but to no avail, it wasn’t as good as you expected. You were just outside your dorm to cool off from a stressful day, not knowing that Malleus was there waiting long enough.

“Child of man. What are you doing?” He asked as he brought his fingers to his chin, you flinched before hesitating to look at him.

“M-Malleus!! You… heard that.. didn’t you?” You let out an awkward smile as you shuffled to his side.

“Have I really been occupying your mind lately?” He let out a small smile, feeling a little grateful.

#twisted wonderland headcanons #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #riddle rosehearts #riddle rosehearts x reader #leona kingscholar #leona kingscholar x reader #azul ashengrotto #azul ashengrotto x reader #kalim al asim #kalim al asim x reader #vil schoenheit #vil schoenheit x reader #idia shroud #idia shroud x reader #malleus draconia #malleus draconia x reader

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libbee · 2 years ago

Text

SOME ASTRO MISTAKES I HAVE MADE SO FAR WHILE LEARNING THINGS:

Trying to use astrology to predict longetivity and death of someone. This is really controversial and hard to predict. Perhaps someone with gifted intuition can predict something like this but using just astrology is not a good idea. Astrology cannot tell how long someone will live or when they will die. For eg, contrary to popular belief that saturn in 8th house gives very long life, i have seen many natives passing in their middle ages. Similarly, all inner planets in 8th house have reputation of giving long lives but this is not the case. Sigmund Freud with moon in 8th house taurus died at 83 while Steve Jobs with moon in 8th house pisces died at 56. It was truly my mistake to use astrology for such taboo thing and to try to become God. In Vimshottari dasha chart, a lot of times such mahadasha, antardasha align that may generate paranoia that the native may pass away in that time period but no it doesnt work like that in every time period. In hindsight, when the native has already passed, perhaps it is possible to see in which time period they did pass and attribute that to it but it is risk of cognitive bias and there is no mental work involved. So, i think that it is very hard if not impossible to predict death from astrology. Anyway astrology must not be used for such sadistic purposes. Make the most out of each day you have. No person born will go back alive. One famous astrologer in India Bejan Daruwala passed away in corona period when he himself was doing predictions on corona. How ironic! I have seen astrologers predicting that such person will be alive for next 5 years and it is just a bad time period currently, but the native passed away within one month only. This kind of thing breaks my faith in astro and also makes the whole thing rather scary. I promised myself not to do something like this again in my astro studies. I refrain from doing death predictions.

Trying to read zodiac sign predictions to predict what will hapoen in coming month, year. This was when i was new to astro. I was born in June so my zodiac is Gemini. I used to read Gemini predictions for the coming month and year on random astro websites and blindly trusted it too. I remember preparing for exam and reading prediction that coming month will be good for students blah blah.. guess what? I failed that exam. This was rather stupid thing to do and i totally deserved what i got. 12 zodiac signs is not real astrology. Real astrology is the birth chart, time period of planets, perhaps tarot is also linked to it. But pop astrology and predictions are pure gibberish and commercial money making business. If you want to know how your coming week or month or year will be, take out your birth chart, use a reputed website to create vimshottari dasha chart, take out tarot and use your own energy and mind to come up with possible predictions. It also helps to keep a journal of each planetary time period and what happened during that time in your life so that in future you can use that journal to come up with probably future telling for your personal life path. Trying to predict fortune and success from astro alone is again a gamble. You have to trust in your skills and knowledge and practice. Dont repeat the mistake i did of blindly relying on astro to know my exam result.

Zodiac sign compatibility. This is funny but i used to see the birthday of my crush and match his zodiac sign with mine, read random gibberish on websites and thought "nah, we are not compatible, or nah i dont like this zodiac sign, or nah this zodiac sign is too superficial for me.." Couple astrology is only done with birth charts and nothing else. It takes mental effort to match compatibility. On top of that, friendship, values, personalities and willingness to be in relationship are all factors that are not within your control. You can also not tell when someone is being deceptive, lying, faking until you learn people skills and to read personalities. There is just no shortcuts in relationships.

Consuming a lot of youtube content to know astrology. Astrology has basic foundation that you can read in book and some trustworthy websites. There is nothing else to know. Watching random videos for short term gratification and sembalance that i am learning something or being productive is just not it. Astrology is personal tool. Everybody will have different language to say the same thing. Once you have read the basics, have trust in it and do not change your foundation just because someone else said so.

Astrology should not be put on a pedestal. Astrology is valid and gives answers to questions of life but it is just that - a tool, a subject, a field of knowledge. Dont make it your whole life. Dont worship it. Dont make it your whole personality. Dont use it too much that you lose your sanity. Life is meant to live not to figure out. The more you figure out, the more you will see how much is unknown and yet to be explored. You dont have enough years in your life to explore everything that is unconscious.

The only person you need to look up to is yourself. If you cannot tell the answers, i doubt anyone else can. I use to spend a lot of time watching oracle live streams, using random websites of psychics. Use your judgment to discern between money making business and genuine knowledge. Occult world is not devoid of sociopaths who simply want to make money at someone else's expense and being the nature of occult so abstract, it is easy to exploit people in terms of relationship issues, career issues, mental health issues, health issues. We cannot even blame the victim because in that vulnerable time period they are looking at all possible options to fix their problems. We learn from our mistakes only.

#astro community #astro notes #astro observations #astro placements #astro tumblr #astroblr #astrology #astrology notes #astrology observations #astrology blog #Astrology

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