#sorry I've just been sent something by a friend titled 'this is so powerful' and it's literally just

[inkabelledesigns]

Sorry for coming in so late! Can I get a snippet from Searching the Depths? Or Drew's Last Hope? Thank you!

No need to apologize Nemo! I'm happy to see you. ^^ Hmm, I've been debating what piece would best suit your ask, but I think I'd like to give you a snippet of Drew's Last Hope.

So, context: Drew's Last Hope is the tentative title for the BATDR section of Searching the Depth's story. I consider The Heart of the Studio to be mostly BATIM, Richard the Keeper to be the interlude between BATIM and BATDR, and then we get Drew's Last Hope. Here's a snippet with Audrey and Bella, from inside of Lord Amok's prison. (Programming note, this was heavily inspired by Hermes in Epic: The Musical.)

The sound of slow applause echoed from the back of the chamber. “I have to say, I underestimated you.” 

Audrey jerked her head around, the voice surrounding her, but she couldn’t place where it was coming from. “Who’s there?!” “An ally, if you’ll have one.” A gleeful cackle pierced the air, as the candlelight danced across the rocky walls of her prison. Forming together, a shadowy figure pried itself out of the wall. It was none other than the shepherd she’d run into before. 

“You! What are you-how are you-” She stammered. 

“Shhhh.” The shepherd laughed as she sauntered over, putting a hand on Audrey’s shoulder as she put a finger over her own mouth. “My dear sheep, we wouldn’t want them to hear us, now would we?” She giggled. “Did you really think they could keep us contained?” 

“I-augh.” Audrey shook her head and tried to catch her breath. “How did you get in here?” 

“Took the back route. The front door would’ve been faster, but uh, I don’t think Amok would’ve liked that.” She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “What, you’ve never Flowed through a wall before?” 

“That…was Flow?” Audrey looked her up and down, her eyes scrunched together in doubt, and maybe just a little bit of fear. “But…why? How can it do that?” “Simple. We don’t like staying cooped up. Gotta learn to get away.” She smirked. “Porter really didn’t tell you anything, did he?” “No…” Audrey sighed and looked to the ground. She closed her eyes and shook her head, clenching her fists. “He was off pretty quickly, and I didn’t think to ask…how do you know him?” “Oh, we were roommates, once upon a time.” She leaned against the wall, resting a bare foot against its stone. “We took him in when things got hectic. He helped us find supplies, we helped him stay alive.” 

“So…you’re friends then?” Audrey cocked her head to the side curiously. 

“Something like that.” She smirked. Somehow it felt less cocky and more…genuinely playful. “Porter’s practically family at this point. Then again, there’s very few people here I wouldn’t say that about…” She looked to the ground and sighed, shaking her head. “I know every lost one, searcher, and toon like the back of my hand. But I don’t know you. And I’ll be frank with you, Audrey.” She stuck her hands in her pockets as she looked up at her, ever so slightly menacing. “Your first impression left something to be desired. What’s your story?” 

“My…story?” Audrey took a step back, her arms slightly raised, as if ready to defend herself.” 

The shepherd nodded. “You aren’t like anything I’ve ever seen. You came in here and immediately started thrusting souls back into the puddles. And, well, if I’m to be brutally honest, you’re making my life harder.” The shepherd narrowed her eyes. “Why are you here? Were you sent to torture us further? Or are you really that unaware of the power you hold?” 

[chronicas]

I've been following you for so long but I know nothing about your OCs (how? Idk.) so how about a basic rundown or something? Who's on the roster.

Ooooh man we've got a menagerie of guys over here in the Noxsylvaniaverse. Sorry I went overboard.

WELCOME TO THE NEW REQUIRED READING (joking)

ARRAY OF CICADAS Akira Akamatsu -> Devan Ranim -> Karma Gjalleon

Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi Core themes: Comradery, grief, and redemption

Array of Cicadas is about a girl struggling with grief and the adventure that helps her come to terms with it. Akira is the protagonist (but not the main character) of AoC. Growing up in the magical realm of Genesis, Akira was raised as a Fire Mage, hiding from her family and everyone she knew that in reality she's an extremely rare Elemental Mage. She hid her power solely because she REALLY didn't like the son of the dragons (Ryuji, he's on this list in spirit) who would've become her teachers had she revealed herself. She moved from her magical homeworld to live on Earth and go to college after her sister's death. Family drama gets her thrown into Hveske where she meets her soon-to-be best friend, Devan! Devan is best described as Positive Change Personified. As the true main character of the story, there are very few people who's lives aren't improved by having this little guy in it. He meets Akira in the middle of his own personal quest to help his friends take down the Izebellian Empire, that's currently threatening to take over his home realm Hveske. Devan might still be just a kid, but he's always coming up with bright ideas that've gotten him and his friends out of dozens of scraps. Karma Gjalleon is the main antagonist of AoC. An unknown threat looms far greater and more powerful than that of the Izebellian Empire, that is the Regicidal Regent, Karma Gjalleon! She was once ruling regent of Hveske a few thousand years ago, but decided to broaden her horizons and now plans to conquer the entire universe! Her desire is to eradicate all tyranny by becoming the ultimate tyrant, once she has successfully done this, she wishes to be taken down herself by a righteous hero.

Array of Cicadas: Cryptadia Serendipity Grace Vulcan -> Salem Graves -> Qwynn Vandale

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Mystery Core themes: Identity, love (DIFFERENT from romance), stress/pressure

Array of Cicadas: Cryptadia is the second installment of AoC, taking place at the same time as the first. Akira disappears from the small Coloradian town of Adderdeen, kicking off a series of events that binds three of the town's most extraordinary people together to solve an interdimensional mystery. Serendipity is a teenage vampire who's adoptive family sent her to Adderdeen to study under the renowned Master Alchemist James Emperor. Serendipity lives with a poorly understood condition that makes it difficult for her to use her own magic, therefore she had to give up the family trade of witchcraft to learn about a more external magic like Alchemy. She struggles best she can to keep up with her magical studies as well as her high school studies as a foreign exchange student at Adderdeen High School. After she's found out as a vampire by her classmate Qwynn, she gets roped into a whole new world of mystery. She just hope her grades don't suffer too much as a result. Salem is a local celebrity in Adderdeen as host of a popular local radio show he titled The Nightwatch, a show cracking down on local supernatural sightings. He also balances his job as a mortician on top of it as well as raising his teenage sister single-handedly.. all while not letting it slip he's West Virginia's Very Own Mothman! After an encounter with an old moth-like spirit and a chaotic interdimensional entity at 13, Salem has to deal with being a towering moth monster when he's not in his glamored human form. He also takes on the daunting task of keeping the supernatural hotspot of Adderdeen a simple tourist town without letting the truth of the supernatural slip up. Qwynn is a simple teenage girl with simple aspirations. She wants to keep up her honor student status, get a good scholarship, get into a good, local, college, and also help her parents with their Monster Hunting Gig. Daughter of a human mother and a werewolf father, Qwynn is the only of her three siblings to not inherit lycanthropy from her father, much to her annoyance. Without claws or fangs to take down some of Adderdeens more unnatural inhabitants, Qwynn has to improvise with quick and flashy magic and even faster blades. All for the good of a town that will ideally never know the service her family provides. She makes it a point to investigate any strange happenings in Adderdeen, so it doesn't take long for her to figure out her new classmate is secretly a vampire or that the mortician who works with her mom is Mothman.

Array of Cicadas: [REDACTED] Penumbra -> Aranea Weltgeist -> Izebel Lucifer Walpurgis

Genre: Fantasy, Sci-fi Core themes: Knowledge, war, hope

Not much I can say about this installment as it would spoil the mysteries I'm setting up for AoC and AoC:C. But I CAN say this third and final installment of this story sets up the final confrontation and brings all our previously introduced characters together. Penumbra is a force by which many things have come to an end. Two thousand years ago she was merely a scientist who aspired to know more about the world around her. Her drive to learn more was inevitably her downfall. Her lover and enemy, Kirke, would later go on to use her findings to create a curse meant to Destroy the Universe. Aranea is a teenage visionary Created by her Father Out of Love using Alchemy. Her father, Issac Weltgeist, was found and murdered by the Izebellian Empire for his reasearch as a Master Alchemist. As a homunculus herself, Aranea was kidnapped in case she hid any secrets of her fathers research. Quickly dismissed by Kirke as useless to the empire's research on homunculi, Aranea was told to watch after the child Empress Izebel, who was only a few years younger than Aranea herself. Aranea spent the next two years searching for a way to escape the empire. Her plans where put into motion early when she found they had acquired the legendary sword Excalibur. Stealing the sword, Aranea made her escape. Izebel is a bit more of a figurehead as Empress of the Izebellian Empire. She was created by the sorceress Kirke to be the vessel for her curse. While she is a living source of destruction, Izebel is treated with respect by her underlings. However, the only person to truly show her kindness, was Aranea. Izebel quickly took to viewing Aranea as an older sister, and demanded she be treated with the respect an Empress' sister deserved. She did her best to give Aranea everything she wanted to make her happy, but refused to let her leave. When Aranea finally escaped, she left Izebel confused, heartbroken, and enraged.

Mother of the Apocalypse Alexios -> Asterius Polaris -> Armageddon

Genre: Cyberpunk, Fantasy, Tragedy Core themes: Family, lies, perseverance

MotA has nothing to do with AoC, and is instead it's own independent world. It's a story about a prophecy told by the Goddess of Fate to her oracles. That entails the end of the world at the hands of the Mother of the Apocalypse, only able to be stopped by the Savior of the Rim. How this prophecy ends, is up to Fate. Alexios is the son of Kepus, the Goddess of Life and Death, and himself, the Savior of the Rim. He much despises his own title. All he did to earn it was stop a Colossus that was bent on the destruction of a Spire. Now he's wrapped up in probably the dozenth prophecy in a life that's lasted over a millennia. Problem with this prophecy is that it wants him to kill someone to save the world, and he put such violence behind him centuries ago. With his newly adopted child to take care of, Alexios can't think much on how he'll save the world while sparring it's vessel of destruction. Asterius is the son of Taphion, the God of the Crypt, and Septentria, the Northern Star. However he spent the first 13 years of his live believing himself a demigod who had a human mother he never hat the opportunity to meet. Once his true identity was revealed to him, as well as his role in the prophecy as the Beast of the Crypt, a monster born to stand as the guardian of the Mother of the Apocalypse, he ran. He landed in the care of a hero, who he would later discover was the very man destined to kill him, the Savior of the Rim. After Alexios became determined to find a way to break the "curse" on Asterius (a clever lie the kid fabricated so he didn't have to reveal to his would-be murderer who he really was), the man came to see Asterius as his own child. As much as Asterius loves his new father, he can never bring himself to tell him the truth. Armageddon is the titular Mother of the Apocalypse. Daughter of Ignarus, the God of Destruction, she is destined to raze civilization to the ground. Unfortunately for Ignarus, she would rather die than have any part in the Apocalypse he curated for her. When the Savior of the Rim does finally come for her, she and Alexios' mutual interest in stopping the Apocalypse though means different than Fate has offered draws them closer together. Armageddon comes to believe that maybe their love will prove stronger than Fate herself.

LIZ and the Biohazards Logan Griffiths -> Samantha Griffiths -> Miriam Riveria

Genre: Horror, Sci-fi Core themes: Rebellion, survival, girlhood

Oh man I would love to tell y'all ALLLL about this comic, but as I am literally working on the script rn, you'll have to wait and see for most of it. But MAINLY, it's a story about a teenage science experiment who grew up in a lab and decides to break free and experience all the world has to offer. (Previously titled Unchained Phenomena) Logan Griffiths is labeled by most of the people who know him as a crazy conspiracy theorist, but Logan knows what he's seen and what he's heard. His son was sent to war almost 18 years ago and never came back. The last letter he received from his son detailed the horrors he had seen on the front lines, saying he fought beside people who "weren't people anymore". Ever since Logan has worked to crack down on the government's experiments on humans, and expose what decades of propaganda and coverups have worked so hard to hide. One disaster strikes the government base he's spent a decade studying, and his answers are delivered right to him with one phone call from some friends. He just didn't expect them to come in the form of a young girl. S-072, or Sam, as she prefers to call herself now, was created in a government lab after the Bio War ended in an attempt to bolster Texas' defenses as it stands on the brink of independence. S-072 was designed for espionage, with the original intent being to create a human who could alter their physiology to mimic anyone. However, while she can indeed alter her physiology, the raw-looking flesh and bone she is able to warp and change isn't going to pass as anyone alive. After the initial failure, they found that S-072 was better suited for just slaughtering things. She could withstand bullet wounds after training, she could warp herself into her own weapons, and was overall the perfect killing machine. Too bad someone started putting ideas in her head. Miriam is a survivor of war. She wasn't a soldier, but she was a sister, and a daughter. Her hometown was hit with a biological weapon and she lost her family and was left sick, disabled, disfigured, and traumatized. She did her best to survive, but unable to work, living on fixed income wasn't cutting it. When the government offered her an experimental cure for her illness, she took it without reading the fine print. Subjected to many experiments, but never a real cure, Miriam plotted a way out.

THE MIXED BAG OF RANDOM GUYS! "Charlie" -> Caelum Ketch - Jinlong

Dream Journal: The Central Mind

Genre: Horror, Sci-fi Core themes: The unknown, death, grief

This story is from a dream I had that I've reworked to make a story that I'd love to make into a short comic someday. The basic idea of the dream (maybe nightmare) was there was a family that lived on an island who were studying an interdimensional entity. Shortly after they moved to this island, their daughter died. Something, someone else.. came back. "Charlie" is the name of the person who is distinctly NOT Charlotte to anyone who looks close enough. A fragmented piece of a much larger entity with the mind and memories of the late Charlotte, Charlie is just trying to solve the mystery of why her family keeps acting so strange around her.

Cache of Sybaris

Genre: Sci-fi Core themes: Idk man it's just fun Space Pirates babeyyyyyy

The Sybaris Galaxy celebrates the many rich cultures that exist within it, art and culture is a top priority of the Galactic Union! So when the entirety of the latest Trivlexian exhibit on the planet Nik is stolen by Captain Wretch and her band of pirates, it becomes a Galaxy wide chase to steal it back! Especially to other pirate crews who might never have the chance to catch a better score. Ketch is one of such pirates who's crew is after Captain Wretch and her recently stolen goods. While most are after the art that was in the exhibit, the crew of the Red Death is much more interested in the Trivlexian technological artifacts. Namely because Ketch, the crew's finest mechanic, is Trivlex himself. Ketch knows well enough that anyone who isn't rich enough to be able to conveniently ignore is knows all Trivlexian artifacts are stolen, but he has no noble ambitions for his people's artifacts. He just wants to make better weapons and improve his crew's ships. Regardless of how many bounties it gets on his head in the process.

Shifting Stars and Moving Mountains

Genre: Fantasy Core themes: Grief, change, culture

SS+MM is a story that takes place in the same universe as Array of Cicadas, but remains mostly disconnected from the main story. It follows the dragons of Genesis, their politics, culture, and how they influence the rest of the realm. Jinlong is a young dragon, just a few decades over 500, who grew up during the Great Dragon Hunts. Jinlong lost both of his parents in the hunts, he survived the only way he could in such a time of hostility towards dragons, he lived as a human. A human family took him in and treated him as their own. Jinlong spent so long as a human he slowly lost touch of what it meant to be a dragon. After his youngest human sister died at the EXTREMELY impressive age of 200, Jinlong was taken in by Sage Ragnormr, an ancient dragon who advised him to rest. And rest he did, for 2000 years, Jinlong slept, regaining the strength he expended from holding his body in human form for so long. He awakes in the modern era, things have changed drastically, and this little dragon needs to learn what it really means to be a dragon again.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND I have 400+ other ocs that I won't cover on this post, but if anyone is ever curious about my silly little guys, there's nothing in the WORLD that brings me more joy than getting to talk about them with other people :)

[buckyismybicycle]

I don't know how terrible this quality will be on Tumblr, but the higher resolution/original can be found on AO3!

Title: swim for the music that saves you Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers Tags: ShrinkyClinks, Social Media AU, WIP/teaser Summary: It all started when he sent a video singing Happy Birthday to his sister, not knowing that she would post it on her social media.

Now, JBuckyBarnes has millions of followers all hearing his story, following his recovery, listening to him sing. Little does he know, he's going to change the life of one follower in particular.

Steve Rogers, chronically ill and spending most of his days inside, has to live vicariously through others. He longs for adventure, trying new things, feeling the sun on his face. A/N: This fic has been sitting in my drafts for some time now... Thanks to @buckybarnesevents: Alternate June-iverse giving me a little kick, I've decided to post an excerpt/the beginning and the rest of it will come in due course.

“Hiya folks… Well, it was, uh.” The brunette on screen pauses and then smiles sadly. “Alright, you know I can’t lie to you. I wanna say it was fine and dandy, but it was honestly rough. That’s why this video’s a bit late, sorry ‘bout that, by the way. It took longer than I thought it would to edit so I honestly kind of gave up.”

He lays his head in a propped up hand, resting against his piano. 

“So, I got home Sunday afternoon and crashed. I don’t even remember getting into bed. Didn’t sleep through the night, of course. I never do. But! That’s just me, my body’s not a fan of the meds. I was feeling crummy — you know when you’re so hungry you’re nauseous but you can’t eat ‘cause you’re nauseous? Anyway, so that for like, six hours. Finally got to sleep when the sun was risin’ but only managed about an hour or so. You lot haven’t heard Brooklyn traffic.”

Steve can’t help but smirk at that because he has, and he is in fact listening to the god-awful Brooklyn traffic outside his window. He could always move his desk away from the window, but he needs some sort of sunlight from time to time.

The YouTube video plays on his phone while he takes a break from work, stretching and wincing as his joints crack.

“So, it’s like, ten in the mornin’ and I decide I’m gonna get something to eat. Nausea won that round, unfortunately, so by three o'clock I am starving. I was cranky for the whole day, and I don’t wanna make cranky videos for you guys. So, that’s enough rambling from me. My brain’s been a little all over the place so I haven’t written anything in ages, but how about a cover of the best of the best? Thanks for sticking around! Hope you like this one.”

Steve watches as Bucky lifts the cover of his piano and stretches the fingers on his prosthetic. Today, it’s the metal titanium one, with its beautiful plate work and a small Hydra Industries logo on the forearm. 

You gotta swim… Swim for your life

Swim for the music that saves you

When you're not so sure you'll survive

You gotta swim… Swim when it hurts

The whole world is watching

You haven't come this far to fall off the earth

The currents will pull you, away from your love

Just keep your head above

I found a tidal wave begging to tear down the dawn

Memories like bullets, they fired at me from a gun

Cracking the armor, yeah

I swim for brighter days, despite of the absence of sun

Choking on salt water, I'm not giving in, I swim

You gotta swim… through nights that won't end

Swim for your families, your lovers, your sisters, and brothers and friends

Steve listens to the beautiful voice fill the empty space of his studio apartment, caught up in the soft yet powerful melody. What really hits him are the words, though. 

Bucky’s life is no secret — except maybe his real first name because there’s no parent on this planet that hates their kid that much. Steve doesn’t know exactly how Bucky had started off, but the channel was a newer discovery for Steve. 

Well, there it is. As always, thanks so much for tuning in! Hope you liked the song, and maybe I’ll see you guys next time with something original, huh? Bye!” 

[mneiai]

READ THIS FIRST: Quick About Blog and Fics I'm Working On

I accept asks from anyone, you don't have to be a mutual.

You can also reply to my posts or whatever and talk to me if you're not a mutual (that might be how we become mutuals even).

I do not accept unsolicited fanfic prompts (I will ask for them if I want them), but I will discuss my fics, ships, etc.

Do not ask about whether a fic is still being worked on/is abandoned, that is literally answered in the stuff below this.

I'm in my 30s, non-binary, and disabled. I move back and forth between fandoms often, I very clearly write fics with incest and dark themes, I don't generally post NSFW but may reblog some (but always tagged so it can be filtered). If any of this makes you uncomfortable, it's your responsibility not to follow me.

This is a multi-fandom personal blog that therefore sometimes has non-fandom topics (medical related posts, anti-bigotry posts, anti-capitalism posts, etc).

Fic stuff:

Sorry, I've been depressed as fuck these last few months and so slid into a much less dramatic hyperfixation for a bit and wasn't writing much/at all.

Reminder that fics not posted on here are not abandoned, they just aren't at the forefront of my mind right now. If a fic is truly and fully abandoned, I will actually mark it as such. I have updated multiple fics after years of not doing so before and will surely keep doing that.

New fics I'm working on right now and planning on posting something for in the next month or so (all Dragon Age fics for now):

Untitled DA2/DAI AU (working title "Mercy")

Cullen joins the Seekers after they remove Meredith from power, but finds out a horrible truth that has him running to the one place they can't reach: Tevinter, where the Imperial Divine, no stranger to Seekers, quickly "recruits" him. He thinks he'll be a novelty that quickly wears off, but is, of course, so very wrong. Will be Fenris/Cullen as main ship with some platonic Urian & Cullen and Dorian & Felix & Cullen.

Untitled DAI Time Travel AU

At the end of the world, the Inquisitor and his remaining allies made a desperate deal with Razikale who sent them back in time to try again. But the Old God of Mystery doesn't do anything in a straightforward way and the group find more about themselves changed than they thought possible. Most likely Inquisitor/Merrill and Solas/Cullen with some Hawke/Cullen for main ships.

Untitled DA2/No-DAI AU

Having never been warned about a possible Exalted March, Hawke comfortably (or, as comfortably as he could) took the position of Viscount of Kirkwall and set about rebuilding the city-state with his friends and allies as the world around them collapsed into war, ironically creating a symbol of stability. Main ships probably Hawke/Varric, Fenris/Cullen, and Bethany/Merrill. Past Hawke/Anders and Sebastian/Cullen.

For older fics that I'm still poking at, I swear, really!, they're mostly the ones listed on this prior post, so it's actually just easier to link it:

[bi-bard]

I Wanna Love You 'Till We're Food for the Worms to Eat - Arthur Broussard Imagine (SKAM France)

Title: I Wanna Love You 'Till We're Food for the Worms to Eat

Pairing: Arthur Broussard X Reader

Based On: Everywhere, Everything

Word Count: 1,047 words

Warning(s): mentions of being overwhelmed

Summary: (Y/n) and Arthur were almost attached at the hip. What they saw as friendship was seen very differently by everyone around them. It took years for them to even consider that there may be more between them.

Author's Note: It has been so long since I've written for this character. I've been saying that a lot lately, haven't I?

STICK SEASON - NOAH KAHAN WRITING CHALLENGE MASTERLIST

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I had mixed feelings about lying in silence with my thoughts.

There were times when it would be great. A time to sort through any confusion or anger. I could find my way through all sorts of problems that way.

Other times were hell. When problem-solving became fixating and I found myself dwelling on mistakes I had made. I didn't have any power over whatever stress I had.

I heard my phone buzzing. It was a collection of texts. I didn't want to answer it. As much as I despised the silence at that moment, the idea of having to explain myself made me sick to my stomach.

My phone stopped for a little while. And then, I heard someone knocking on my door. I groaned a bit, running my hands over my face.

My phone buzzed a few moments later.

It didn't take much for me to realize the sounds were connected. I reached over and checked the message.

Arthur: I'm at your door. Let me in.

I unlocked my phone and looked over the texts that he had sent me.

It was a mix of questions about if I was okay and messages about how he was going to stop by. I knew why he was worried. I had ignored him through the end of the day. It was wrong, I knew that. I had just been so stuck in my thoughts that it didn't really click until I got home.

Another message came through and I finally relented, sighing and pushing myself off my bed.

I paused right by the door, handing resting on the doorknob for a moment before pulling the door open. Arthur paused whatever message he was frantically typing when he heard the door open.

"There you are," he said, stepping forward and hugging me.

I expected a thousand questions surrounding what had happened and why I ignored him. I was already preparing answers in my mind, hoping to avoid the additional stress in the long run.

But as I hugged him back, there was only one question, "Are you okay?"

I stepped back slowly, nodding to him.

He closed my front door as I walked over to my couch and sat down. He sat down next to me, frowning a bit at my silence.

"Do you want to talk about it," he asked. I shook my head. "Okay."

"Sorry," I muttered. I ran my hands over my face again. "It's just... it's been a long week. I needed time to myself. I thought I did... it didn't help much."

I always did that. Withdrew when I got overwhelmed. Part of why Arthur was my best friend was because he seemed to fight it. He got too worried to leave me on my own unless I asked. Even then he would send me messages to check in every couple of hours.

I remember my friends digging into that pattern. They would constantly say that there was so much more there than there was. Arthur was my friend. My best friend. And that was all there was to it.

And that was all I would tell them.

"Is there anything you need," Arthur asked. I shook my head. "Are you sure? I could make you something. Or just get some water-"

"Arthur," I touched his arm. "I'm alright."

He slowly nodded and relaxed a bit more.

I grinned a bit.

I wouldn't really mind having more with him. I had thought about it more than I would care to admit. It wouldn't be all that different. Just more affectionate. My skin would sometimes feel like it was begging for someone to just hold me. Having that be Arthur, someone that I knew and cared about, would be the best-case scenario.

Without much thought, I shifted so my head was resting on Arthur's shoulder. He reached out and touched my knee. Silent support when I needed it.

I'm not sure how long we sat there. I just knew the longer we did, the more certain I was that I didn't mind going through such rough moments if Arthur was waiting on the other side of them. I looked at the hand on my leg. I wanted to reach out and intertwine our fingers. I was just too scared to do it.

So, I forced myself to keep my hands in my lap. I picked at the skin around my nails instead of holding his hand like I wanted to.

"Thank you," I mumbled. "For showing up. You didn't have to do that."

"Yes, I did," he replied. I moved my head, so my chin was resting on his shoulder.

"Why?"

He hummed.

"Why did you have to?"

"Because I care about you," he answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I want to know that you're okay. Take care of you."

I grinned to myself.

I moved back a bit. I shifted enough that I could be face-to-face with him. He grinned at me softly. I took a moment to let my eyes bounce around his face; from eyes to cheekbones to nose to forehead to lips.

I took a deep breath before leaning forward and pressing my lips to his.

It was short and sweet and awkward. I started pulling back almost as soon as Arthur started kissing me back. He blinked at me slowly, seemingly stunned by what I had done. I bit back a chuckle at his expression.

"Woah," he muttered.

I couldn't hold back the chuckle at that one.

"Would it sound stupid to say that I've been waiting for years to do that," he asked.

I shook my head. "No... because I have been too."

He smiled at me before leaning over and kissing me again. I placed my hands on his shoulders as I kissed him back. It was like the air around us settled. I hadn't even noticed any tension or awkwardness, but I suddenly felt more relaxed. Like pieces of a puzzle were finally coming together to show the bigger picture.

I knew right then that I could spend forever like that. In that state of happiness. Of loving and being loved.

And I allowed myself to believe that Arthur thought that too.

Silence didn't need to be spent alone anymore.

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[mareenavee]

I've decided to send some asks out about OCs just because, so for Nyenna:

How does she treat people she views as "better" than her, how does she treat people she views as an "equal," and how does she treat people she views as "worse" than her?

Hello my friend :D Sorry this took a mortal age to answer. On the plus side, plenty of writing and editing has been happening, so that's always good. These are excellent questions and a bit nuanced because Nyenna has a bit of internal turmoil regarding her own issues and her own responsibilities. So let's dive into it!

This is for Nyenna from my fic, The World on Our Shoulders.

Nyenna tends to attempt to view most people as equal, from the riches to the poorest. It's naïve, a bit, but she was so used to being seen/ treated as less than when she was young, even in her noble household, and never being able to live up to her title. So she does hold people, especially people in power, in high esteem until they give her a reason not to.

So, regarding people like Jarl Balgruuf, for example -- she might see him and a few of the other Jarls as betters. Usually, the ones who seem to want to turn things around and help people. Or people who want to help her turn things around. In that case, she'll show respect, and use respectful language, wait to be spoken to.

People who have proven that they mean others harm, or stand behind policies that actively harm others, or are just general villains will be who she considers worse than her, for the most part. I have a couple snippets of her attitude toward such individuals in Windhelm:

From a future chapter 29:

Teldryn stood back as Nyenna marched up to the gates of the Palace of the Kings. Already guards had tried to stop her, failed and sent for reinforcements. He had never seen her this obstinate before, but considering the weight of the events of the last few weeks, he couldn’t blame her. This would hardly constitute stress for her at this point.  The guards were gathered at the enormous doors to the place, snow drifting lazily around them as they shouted and drew their weapons. Nyenna stood with her shoulders thrown back, trying to look intimidating, though she barely crested five feet tall. It was difficult to say if this particular group of guards believed her when she said she was Dragonborn. They just looked at her as if she was a spoiled child having a temper tantrum, and did their best to block her way forward. “No, little elf. Ulfric wants nothing to do with the likes of you,” a guard sneered. He stood with his back pressed to the door to the Palace. “We’re in the middle of a war which your kind will never understand.”  Teldryn watched as Nyenna inhaled deeply. He knew what would come next, so it took a moment to intervene before she would get herself thrown in jail.  “Nyenna, let’s just go,” he said, gripping her shoulder. She swallowed hard, but still let out a frustrated yell, which, while it didn’t send the group of guards flying, did manage to shake even the solid, ancient foundations of the Palace. She spat and then kicked snow and dirt onto the boots of the final guard who had frustrated her. With another nudge, she did finally turn with him, fists clenched at her sides. “Little elf,” she scoffed. “I’ll show them all.”  “Take a deep breath, sera,” Teldryn said, casting a sideways glance at her. “They’re not even worth their salt, let alone all your energy.” As they walked back toward the center of town, she did take a few deep breaths, and seemed able to calm herself.  “We’re still left with the problem of getting this dossier into Ulfric’s hands. Not a soul would listen to what I had to say, even while I was waving the thing around in front of their damned eyes. I don’t even know what we should do next. The stupid Nord is going to keep fighting on the wrong side if we do nothing,” Nyenna said.

and from a future chapter 43:

“I knew there was something about you, Elf,” Ulfric said after a moment. He stood up and clasped his hands behind his back as he walked to her side of his table. He was almost taller than Elenwen had been, towering over her purposefully. His blond hair, streaked with more gray than when she last saw him, was plaited on the sides in a traditional Nordic style. His outfit, heavy with rich furs, seemed almost misplaced here in Windhelm. What good was a show of such wealth? He leaned in toward her slightly, casting a long shadow as she looked up to his face. She set her teeth and scowled, trying to seem taller than she was to match. “You will address me as ‘Nyenna’ or ‘Dragonborn’,” she corrected, keeping her voice clipped and icy. She too clasped her hands behind her back, mimicking Ulfric’s pose. “Not, ‘Elf.’ I would also introduce my companion, Teldryn Sero, who will be addressed at all times by his full name, not ‘Elf’ or ‘Greyskin.’” Surprisingly, Ulfric grinned and nodded but once, motioning to Ralof, who pulled out a different piece of parchment and began once again scribbling furiously. “Forgive my impertinence, Dragonborn. Your request has been noted,” he said with a nod. “I had no real idea who you were, but upon seeing you, I was reminded of our travels to Helgen together. I recognized something of your power, perhaps before even you did, though I was not sure at that moment, considering the circumstances.” Nyenna scoffed. Another one vying to claim a spot in her story. She watched as he turned back to his table and picked up the dossier she had sent with Ralof. It seemed tiny in his hands, a thing of little significance. Perhaps kindling for the fire, if that.

She tries to assume most people want to level with her, and that she will be treated as equal if she treats others as such, but she finds more often than not, people in power will expect to be addressed as a better, even if they're wrong and prove themselves to be untrustworthy, or sometimes downright evil.

She has a chaotic good sort of nature to her. Sometimes more lawful than chaotic. She holds herself and her work to certain standards, too, and wants to be seen as good enough to be equal to most people. So it's kind of a complicated question. Better is, what constitutes better or worse in her view?

She prefers when people try to make a difference, I think. She's putting in the effort to do so, and she had been so small before. She wants to believe, I think, deep down, that most people are good and kind, and that she'd only been unlucky so far in finding unkindness on her flight out of Valenwood and through Cyrodiil. It's a difficult optimism to carry; she is constantly disappointed by thinking this way. But it's also a reason others perceive her as kind generally speaking.

She just wants to do the right thing, and make up for not being where she was supposed to be or knowing who she was supposed to end up being early enough to save more people.

It's complicated. It depends on the situation. But, generally, she'll fight for what she perceives is right and try to do right by others as often as possible, even though she's certainly not perfect. Classic hero stuff, really. (:

Thank you for these questions! I hope it was insightful for ya.

[searchingforserendipity25]

has anyone sent star-people for the wip titles asks yet?

Thank you @thalion71, @theworldisquietheretooquiet and @emyn-arnens for asking about Star-People!

This is a WIP I've talked about a bit on tumblr already, based on the idea that Amarie and Elenwe are the same people. Turgon/Elenwe/Finrod established relationship turned to widowhood/separation, with a focus on Elenwe post-reembodiment. It's been left a bit to the way-side, but I do intend to finish it eventually, even if it never becomes the gigantic thing it is in the vibes that dwell in my heart.

The reason this hasn't been a very serious operation is because the way I have ended up writing Elenwe, which is, it turns out, not very serious. I didn't expect her to be this irreverent! But she's an outsider to the royal drama, and part of it for her own connections and ambitions, far removed from the events of Beleriand and engrossed in her own psycho-sexual relationship with the Grinding Ice, so this draft has become the thing I write when feeling funny and forget about most of the time.

Have a wholesome romantic reunion (not very):

It was no surprise, of course. Some people were extroverted enough to keep politics afloat after slaughter, language-weregild and awful family feasting on opposite sides with a kingdom out of it; and some people took their ten thousand closest friends and hid away in a secret city without warning, which had ever been Turukáno's favourite daydream during excruciating holiday dinners. It was just as well she was dead by then, because she really had had no inclinations to move South of Araman's latitudinal equivalent point upon Beleriand. 

Elenwë got turned around for a bit, died for a few centuries, and naturally Túrukano went and built a hidden city to challenge and spite the Enemy and shelter their people.

"Typical," said she. "Oh, what an ass my husband is! A mountain city works no worse as a trap than as a safe. Well, he ought not to think he is getting this one over me, merely because of a short absense - I will have this island done decently."

“Will you,” said Finrod, not unpleaseantly. 

“Why,” said Elenwe, very unpleaseantly. “Do you mean to dispute for it, dearest? Point a few of your thatched roofs my way, perhaps?”

“They are very excellent material.”

“Do go on.” Elenwe of the riverside Vanyar, who had dwelled in her youth in floating islands of river-reeds built in the way of Cuivénnen, and had built her first house at twenty. 

They had been academic competitors before they were friends, and had remained competitors in the craft of raising buildings after they wed. It was not often that Noldor of the same craft joined their lives together, for a good reason; but that, they both agreed, was a matter for more foolhardy and reckless people. Competitiveness was something of a set feature, a foundational part of the material upon which their affection was raised, and so they had always liked it to be.

Tol Eressea was right there. Elenwë was very sorry about all the people she had murdered, to be sure, but not enough to feel any compunctions on building a city to rival Alqualonde for the market-power they had lost in isolosiotanism.

"Why are you like this," Finderáto asked, pretending quite badly he did not find her business acumen very charming.

[legionofpotatoes]

worst genre of award-baiting short film: saccharine slice of life vignetting the rich inner world of an idiosyncratic yet likable person, suddenly and violently interrupted by their apartment blowing up from a missile. cut to black, infographic about how war is super bad, actually

[tomwambsmilk]

You're like my favorite TomWamb blog so I hope you don't mind my insanity as I watch through the show for the first time (I already know how S3 ends). <3

I'm watching 2x10 and...

THE '?' !!! THE FREAKING '?' !!!! That's a 'potential successor?' question mark if I've ever freaking seen one! And this is prior to his offer of self-sacrifice and the S3 finale. Our little minnesota boy's gotta have like 5 ?s (or check marks or circled) next to his name by now. Bring on the chicken power play. Bring on the Wambsgans supremacy! *maniacal laughter*

I used to think there was no way Logan would not give it to one of his kids... but does Tom have a legitimate shot?

Thank you!! <3 <3 I do not mind your insanity at all, please keep sending it to me because I LOVE getting people's reactions to the insanity that is Succession. When I make my friends who live across the country watch it I watch it with them and force them to live-text me updates. (I have very indulgent friends). 

I know it took me forever to get to this, but that’s because this particular ask finally convinced me to write the essay that's been living rent-free in my head for weeks, tentatively titled "Here is Why I am a Tom CEO Truther". So thank you and also I'm sorry because I can't imagine this is what you expected when you sent this! (Especially since it took me nearly 4 days to write).

I’m gonna put this under a “Read More” because it’s very long:

First - I actually had not picked up on those question marks!! And that’s REALLY interesting, given everything that’s happened with both Tom and Kendall over the course of Season 2. I suspect that the reason, in that particular moment, Logan had starred them as successors was not necessarily because he’d thought they’d be good, but because he thought they would work well as “puppet CEOs” - people who could continue to maintain control through if he had to step down. Kendall, because he’s spend Season 2 wrapped around Logan’s finger, and Tom, because Logan’s always thought of him as someone without much of a spine, and he knows how badly Tom wants to be on his good side. Everyone else on that list has too many ulterior motives tampering with their loyalty, or too much ambition to be trusted. 

That being said, it’s interesting that Tom isn’t initially on his shit-list, given how publicly he bungled the cruises situation. The second half of Season 2 really does make it seem like he might be being set up to take the fall - although, in my opinion, I think it was less a deliberate conspiracy to send him to jail and more that the Roy family didn’t have a vested interest in protecting him. They didn’t want him to take the fall, but if someone had to.... well. 

And it’s especially interesting that Cyd is on Logan’s shit-list and Tom isn’t. Considering that Logan had them positioned to face off against each other, that seems to imply that Tom is winning that battle. And I think there are other bits of evidence for that - we know that Tom and Greg are working on digitizing ATN, which will be a HUGE boon to cost and efficiency; we see him handle the Ravenhead interview with both delicacy (so as not to alienate him) but also enough shrewdness to get to the bottom of what’s going on; Gerri mentions to Roman in “Argestes” that Logan intially wanted Tom to go negotiate with the Turks (but Gerri convinced him to send Roman). Those are just three examples off the top of my head, but it does seem that Tom has actually proven himself to be competent. (Aside from the cruises thing - but for me, that just increases the evidence that there was something sus in the way the family handled it. I suppose there’s also ‘We hear for you’, but even there, while it’s bad branding it is relatively shrewd of Tom to come up with something on the fly which is nonsensical enough to protect him from personal pushback or legal flack). Now, part of it is definitely that Tom is married to Shiv; but, that shift from Logan not caring much for Tom at all to possibly protecting him is intriguing, especially since the Season 2 finale makes it clear that you can’t actually marry into the Roy family, in a fundamental sense. Tom isn’t really family, because he isn’t blood, and he never really will be. 

Tom’s competency, I think, is important. We don’t get to see too much of it, because the way the Roy family does business has far less to do with competence than with family dynamics, but it is there. 

Now, I think that Tom becoming CEO works not just with the world’s internal logic, but on a narrative/thematic level. But, to understand why I am a CEO Tom truther, we have to take a step back for a second, and look at Logan and his relationships with the kids.

Why doesn’t he let any of the kids be CEO? That’s a complicated question. Right out the gate, there are issues entirely his own which affect that decision - his reluctance to give up control, his lack of a sense of identity outside of Waystar, and his refusal to acknowledge his age and impending mortality. But those aren’t the only reasons; in addition to this, it’s pretty obvious that none of his kids are ready.

They all have strengths, for sure. It’s not that they’re utterly incompetent messes. Kendall understands the tech industry, which is where the money is, and how Waystar can and should pivot to take advantage of it. Shiv understands the political landscape, and the ways in which ATN, in particular, needs to pivot to not crumble and collapse when it’s current audience dies; it also positions her to be able to continue Logan’s strategy of maintaining influence with the White House. Roman understands people, and so is able to build relationships and make deals particularly effectively; Matsson most obviously, but even prior to that he has good relationships with people like Lawrence Yee.

But they also have major flaws, and far away the biggest flaw, what’s going to prevent them from being effective CEOs, is that they just don’t understand the world. They understand a part of it, maybe. But they’ve all grown up so utterly sheltered (as Marcia says to Shiv, Logan has built them a playground which they believe is the whole world), that they have massive blind spots there. 

Kendall I think has the most real-world knowledge, but he’s also not capable of dealing with the kind of stressors that come with it. While the show doesn’t delve hugely into the background of his substance abuse issues, they seem to be triggered by high-stress situations, especially related to Waystar. That leads me to believe that he’s never been given the experiences he’d need to to build good stress-management techniques, especially for operating at the level he’d need to as a CEO. (To be clear, I’m not saying this is the root of all substance abuse issues, or the only cause at play, but I think for Kendall this is a particularly big part of it, and a huge implement to effective functioning). 

Roman has people knowledge, but he doesn’t have the same operational savvy that Kendall does. The fact that so many of his opinions on which films would and wouldn’t be successful (when he was working in LA) were wrong is an early indicator of this. Unlike Kendall, Roman never really has a strategy for how he would operate if he was CEO. There are other issues too, such as how desperate he is to please Logan, and how he lets that cloud his judgment, but that’s circumstantial to the main issue.

And Shiv? Shiv is terrible with people. Just atrocious. Just.... awful. I mean, she’s obviously bad with Tom, but even aside from that - it’s really telling that after she gets a position at Waystar in season 3, she almost immediately alienates the entire senior staff. She has a conversation with Tom about Ravenhead that I think is indicative of how disconnected she is (she thinks that all people need to know is that Logan wants something, and they’ll do it). She’s constantly underestimating the people around her, and that’s a potentially fatal flaw for a CEO.

The tragic irony is that if all three siblings worked together, they probably could run Waystar well, because their strengths compensate for each other’s flaws. But they spend three seasons infighting and bitching and letting every opportunity to unite pass them by, because they all so desperately want Logan’s love and approval for themselves. It’s really, really tragic that in order to unite they need to smash their own hopes of that love and approval, and then at that point... it’s too late.

Taken together, it becomes clear that to be a successful CEO, someone would need “all of the above”: they need business savvy, people skills, an understanding of the political and cultural landscape, and enough stress tolerance to deal with high-stress situations.

And Tom, over the course of three seasons, either demonstrates each of these skills, or demonstrates that he’s growing into it.

In terms of business savvy - while we don’t see a ton of detail, we do find out in 3x09 that he’s “turned ATN citizens into a cash machine”, a feat so impressive Forbes is doing a piece on him. People skills? He’s able to manipulate Greg as far back as season 1 because he immediately clocks Greg’s desperate desire to belong somewhere; he handles the Ravenhead situation in season 2 well, and Logan was going to send him to negotiate with the Turks. Political/cultural landscape? His objections to doing a hard pivot with Ravenhead in season 3 I think belie an understanding of the way in which ATN needs to seems consistent in order to be trustworthy; and when he meets with Cyd at the beginning of season 2 he indicates an awareness of the impending demographic crisis at ATN. And stress tolerance? While it’s not something Tom has in spades at the beginning, the various situations he’s been in over the three seasons has built up that tolerance immensely. You don’t become the face of a national corporate scandal without either learning how to manage stress or go off the rails entirely. 

And most importantly? Tom is an outsider. He has the real-world knowledge that the siblings lack. And, unlike them, he had to work his way up in Waystar in order to even get to a level where Shiv would notice him. He has a proven track record where the sibs do not.

(One interesting detail in season 3 is that Tom is always in the room whenever inner circle discussions are happening, which is a shift from previous seasons. And importantly, everyone else in the room is either family, or in a role where they would need to be present - such as general counsel or CFO. Tom is the chariman of ATN, which is important but not C-suite, and as the season 2 finale makes clear he’s not really family, which means Logan has chosen to include him on individual merit.)

I want to also touch on Logan’s arc, briefly, which I think is not discussed enough but is really fascinating to me. I do believe that Logan built up Waystar with the idea of giving it to his kids, as an act of love, and so the fact that none of his kids are individually able to take that mantle feels to him like a personal betrayal. I think he really doesn’t understand - or doesn’t want to acknowledge - the role that he’s played in his children’s incompetence. There’s a phenomenon that’s common to a lot of people with shitty childhoods, where they know they had a shitty childhood, but reduce it to material factors, and think that if they just fix those material factors their own kids will be happy, not understanding that the key element that was missing was love and emotional support - and that’s 100% Logan. He looked at his own childhood and attributed its awfulness to the poverty and physical abuse he experienced, and resolved to make sure his own children experienced neither. And now that they’re adults, he can’t for the life of him understand why they would turn out this way, because in his mind he fixed the problem. 

The reason why the kids are so upset about Logan selling Waystar to GoJo is because in their minds, this is Logan saying that “you’ll never be able to earn my love”. And the thing is.... they aren’t wrong. That is exactly what Logan is saying. He’s given up on them, he’s rejecting them as his children, because they have failed him and (in his mind) this means they don’t love him, and so he’s done with them. 

With all this in mind, Logan grooming Tom for CEO makes alot of sense. As mentioned above, he has the competence the children lack, so there’s a practical element there. And Tom has more in common with Logan than his children do, considering that Tom, like Logan, spent most of his career pulling himself up rather than getting handouts. Tom has also now demonstrated the loyalty to Logan that Logan always wanted to get from his children; particularly by offering to go to prison and by selling out Shiv. And finally - making Tom CEO would drive the siblings insane. It’s Tom, for fuck’s sake. The “corn-fed basic from hockey town”. I think that Logan would make Tom CEO just to spite his children, and in the process call him the “son he never had”. 

(And I think, on some level, there’s truth to that. Tom’s competency and loyalty do, in a way, make him the kind of man Logan wanted as a son). 

So Tom becoming CEO makes sense for Logan and the kid’s arcs. But, what about Tom’s arc?

Tom’s arc has been a little more difficult to pin down, and I’m going to throw out there as a caveat that it has happened before that I thought a character’s arc was one thing and it turned out to be another. But - so far, a lot of Tom’s arc has consisted of him learning not to love. 

Tom spends seasons 1 and 2 prioritizing Shiv and his marriage. Sure, he tries to play both sides when he can, because he doesn’t want to lose Logan’s favour, but when push comes to shove he always choses Shiv. (It’s one of the reasons Logan doesn’t respect him in those seasons). Shiv, when faced with similar choices, never choses Tom. This continues until 2x10 and the prison conversation, which for Tom is the breaking point. Then, in season 3, he does still try to work on his marriage - but he stops prioritizing it over Logan, and starts trying to shore up his position with Logan independently of Shiv. 

Season 1 and 2 Tom wants, more than anything, to be happily married. He’ll throw his career ambitions out the window (sadly and reluctantly, but he will) if that’s what it’ll take. He’ll play boar on the floor and be the patsy and whatever else it takes. It’s not until 2x10 that he realizes there is no length he can go to in order to make Shiv love him the way he loves her. It’s not until 2x10 that he realizes he will never have the marriage that he wants. 

So he spends season 3 re-orienting and shifting. Now that he’s more or less given up on his marriage, he can start moving strategically to secure his career ambitions. He leaves the door open as long as he can for Shiv to express interest in him, to give him a reason to change course, but she doesn’t. So, he prioritizes Logan more and more until we get the 3x09 betrayal. 

Tom going on to become CEO is a natural extension of this arc, I think. It’s a kind of inverse hero’s journey, where instead of maximizing his potential for good, Tom begins to embrace his more aggressive and machiavellian tendencies in a way he hasn’t before. He undergoes a “loganification”, if you will (in keeping with the idea that he and Logan share a common background). But as he becomes more like Logan, he also suffers the consequences of being Logan. He alienates those around him who love him; Shiv, his parents, even Greg. He ends up miserable and alone, his entire identity wrapped up with his role in a dying legacy media operation. 

It’s possible that at this point he might choose to break the cycle. Tom’s deep desire to love, guide, and protect (which we see come out in his relationship with Greg) also means he’d be a pretty good dad. And I think that might be one key difference between Tom and Logan which would bring down the whole operation; that if Tom has a kid, he’s not willing to treat them the way Logan would. This child, the newest Roy family heir, is not going to be abused and neglected and forced to fight for Tom’s affection. And I think that would be the beginning of Tom’s “downfall”, since now Shiv and the siblings have leverage over Tom in the form of his kid. 

But in the end, it would also mean that the cycle of abuse begins to break. There’s a glimmer of hope for the future, and it comes in the form of Tom and his insatiable desire to love.

[bonnymori]

𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲

Word count: 2760+ (i'll try to keep bigger lengths such as this one!)

Synopsis: You meet a new classmate who's working along Nanami, you think he's fun to be around, it stands the same to him about you. Later, feelings unravel.

Contents/Warnings: (1) Itadori Yuuji x gn!reader (2) FLUFF, TONS OF FLUFF - and some comfort (3) With the small participation of... Ino Takuma!! I really like him too, that's why <33333 (4) This is pretty platonic, but also not? (5) Ending turned sorta cliché... but I liked it u.u

A/N: This boy made me run rampant... to fhe point it's not single attraction anymore I just wish him happiness (smh if only my parents knew...) also next post will be Toji's fic pt. 2! Y'all see the first part is almost reaching 100 kudos????? I'M SO HAPPY EHSODJWKDKSJD- thanks for all the new followers and the support!! <33

Ever since his fake death, Itadori has been training alone with the help of Gojo - and now, he works along a freshly new face, who belongs to a senior, founds out ex-salaryman named Nanami Kento. He's far a thousand times more strict than Gojo. Itadori doesn't really likes the change, because Nanami is a person he can't get along. This whole guy's appearance scream "work 4 life"; he has proved different, now he screams "work is shit - but I gotta do it because others won't".

They've just finished cleansing the outside of a movie theater off a few curses, when Itadori hears shouting from far behind them. Two figures approach, waving excessively. He quickly picks on Nanami's tired sigh beside him.

"Nanami! We figured out you'd be here! Our mission has been finished and we wanted to catch up to have lunch together!" A male clad in a full black outfit shouts, he has brown hair and a beanie on top of his head, looking quite content.

The other person simply trots next to him in silence, approaching with a friendly smile. They notice Itadori faster than the male, smile widening and quickly waving hello, suddenly eager to reach up to them. The gesture makes the pink haired boy perk up, curious to why the other person looked so joyful. His question is easily answered, when they tug on the man's sleeve and motion to him.

"Ino, we have a third buddy!" The dude looks at him with widened eyes. "So nice to meet you, I'm Y/N L/N! It's great to see new faces around!"

Itadori smiles at your energy, knowing already he would click with you very well.

"I'm Ino Takuma, sorry for not noticing you before! Your uniform looks cool." Itadori exchanges a few compliments with Ino, before the man turns to talk with Nanami, leaving him and you together.

"Yes! I'm Sukuna's vessel, Itadori Yuuji-desu! My type of woman is Jenn-"

You turn to him. "So, are you a first year?"

"Geh? Weren't you dead though?!"

"I was!- I am!- Please keep secret."

"Okay!"

"Ahem." Nanami coughs, drawing attention. "I requested you two to not come after me today. Itadori here is the reason why."

"That's no problem, we're very capable of keeping secrets." You threw your arm over Itadori's shoulder, him nodding along with you.

"Oh really, then remember to keep quiet about it. I'll let this slide." The group of students nervously at Nanami's intimidating tone. "But, I'll get to have my break alone."

"Gah!" Ino exclaimed, watching Nanami walk away; he also left the responsability of taking care of Itadori for you two, leaving without a word. "It really had to be today, when Nanami would take us to his favorite bakery..."

"Crybaby." You teased. "Itadori here can't go outside where anyone can see him, he's dead. So, we were to order food either way because he shouldn't be left out."

"Augh okay, it would be unfair."

"So, where are you staying Itadori?"

"At Gojo's state!"

"Whoa, I've never been there before." Ino commented, waiting as you sent a message to Ijichi to pick them up.

"He's my teacher, a very cool one!"

"I imagine! Ooookay, once we get there I'll get the food."

Itadori felt as his chest would burst of excitement, finally there was people around him again, he couldn't be less happy about it.

"Sharing is caring!"

Itadori laughed as you wrestled with Takuma for some fries, netflix long forgotten in the background, as watching the banter was way more entertaining. Most of the time, Ino rambled a lot about Nanami, while he rambled a lot about Gojo. The guy even showed him the cool scar under his beanie. He felt kinda upset after explaining the exchange was just temporary, his stay under Nanami's wing wasn't decisive, and therefore, he was more like a classmate than a partner.

Itadori also learned a lot about you. He was surprised to find out that you, although energetic, was the one to speak the lesser in conversations. His surprisement grew even bigger when you told him you're a exchange student from Kyoto, arriving Tokyo about the same month as him - thankfully, you were to say for good.

Conversations flowed easily in the air, until a voice from the doorway barged in.

"Yuuji-kun! Don't forget about your lessons! Hi kids! Bye kids!" Gojo said playfully, throwing the familiar punching bear to Itadori before leaving.

"What's this thing?" Ino asked.

"It's to help me control my cursed energy. So while I watch the movies, if I don't charge it with cursed energy it punches me square in the face. I thought I had mastered this thing already, but he insist I keep training with it." Itadori grumbles.

"At least it's cute." You commented, taking a sip of your drink.

"Until it punches you in your face without warning!" The pink haired boy barks.

The talks died down, the three of you eating quietly when another movie is played on the screen. Itadori didn't bother reading the title, it was a plain one about a zombie apocalypse that got him extremely bored, yet he kept watching still so the plushie didn't punch him in the face again; he's been keeping a record since all his last cursed energy training lessons were a sucess to this day. When his head started nodding and eyelids dropping Itadori can't remember well, about fourty five minutes of movie perhaps? Make it fifty, the second slumber took over his body completely.

When he awoke once again, it was near midnight, the clock on the wall told him so. He also noticed a soft and warm surface supporting his head, figures, it's your shoulder he's resting into, he feels an arm around his own shoulders and your cheek placed upon his hair.

"Hey, it's late." You immediately notices he's awake, calling out softly. "You should sleep on your room, or something, better to your spine."

He chuckles when you poke his side. "But I'm comfortable here."

"I'm surprised, you just met me today, and now is sleeping on my shoulder."

"I'm not, that happens often to me."

"Sleeping on people's shoulders?"

"No! Making friends quickly." Itadori likes your gentle warmth, your hug, everything makes him feel at home. "I met two more people before you for two weeks, but they can't see me, because I'm dead."

"So I'll keep you company, that's my new mission."

His eyes widen at that, a oh so little blush covering the tip of his ears.

"For how many time I slept anyway?" He asks.

"About two- no, three hours. You missed two movies, and this one is about to end."

"And you stayed here the whole time?" He motions to your shoulder.

"Yep. That reminds me I gotta pee."

Itadori grumbles, but quickly lifts himself off you, respecting your needs. That gives him some time to look around, he notices Ino is gone, and the plushie sits quietly at the other side of the couch, unmoving.

"Y/N! How did you manage to make it quiet down?" He's beyond bafflet.

"...que."

"What!"

"I said!" You arrive quickly at the doorframe, hands still wet from when you washed them. "I used my innate technique."

"Oh! How is it like?"

"It's kinda funny, gimme a moment." You left to wipe off your hands, coming back in a second. "So, just like Shoko, I produce reverse curse energy, but it's quite different than hers, I can't heal people. That's why we often call it positive energy instead. I can use it to soothe off negative energy, so the bear has no cursed energy right now."

"How does it works on people?" He felt very curious about everything, asking away like a kid.

"Since everyone has negative energy, it just makes you sleepy really. But when it comes to curses it's really practical, I can either weaken it or, if the curse is like grade three or four, I can slap them off existence completely by wiping all their energy." You were naturally proud of having a such versatile power, your own energy swirling with pride around you.

"That sounds amazing! Is it why I fell asleep though?"

"Nah, only if I did it on purpose. I guess you were just tired, hope you don't mind I decided to let you rest today."

"No way, it was a good nap."

You nodded. "By the way, Ino left to attend to a drinking party, he paid for our food."

"Drinking? Is he old?"

"Yeah, he's twenty." You chuckled, already expecting that kind of reaction.

"No way! He looks young just like us!"

"That's totally my reaction after I learned he's twenty!"

After that day, you started visiting Itadori weekly to daily, after exchanging numbers he made a little group with you and Ino, naming it the "Nanami trio". But really, he exchanges more texts with you in private, be them memes, cool images he wish to share, etcetera. Although, Ino wasn't left excluded, he ofter brough his xbox to connect to Itadori's tv room and you all would spend hours playing together; he just didn't spend much time with both of you as much. And that was okay.

For a few days, your connection with Itadori died down when he didn't reply to your texts. They would remain unread for some time, the longest being half a day, until he would spam apologies then move on with the topic. That became a routine until one day when you came over to check on Itadori unnanounced, needin to ease off your worries about the boy, only to find him sobbing in the middle of a hallway, staring ahead and beyond, his back to you.

"Ita-?"

"Egh!" Startled, he scrambled to wipe his eyes, turning to you. "H-hey, um, hi."

"What happened?"

"I- he-" His eyes didn't met yours, knuckles white in a death grip. You notice he has a few bandages thrown over his face and arms. The way his shoulders are drawn, as if he wants to shrink into himself is something you've experienced before.

"Something hard to talk about?"

He nods almost immediately, head still facing down.

"It's alright, come with me." You reach for his hands, grimacing slightly when his forceful grip is now on your hand, yet you don't comment on it. He follows you through the state wordlessly.

You two stop on the same tv room, sitting down on the couch. You then guide his head to your shoulder, gently massaging his scalp with the free hand.

"It's alright."

Those two words are chanted like a prayer for the next half hour, at some point, Itadori twisted his body towards yours and unknowingly caged you between him and the sofa arm. He embraced you with a force you didn't have in you, like he didn't want to lose one another. Painful or not, not a muscle moved on your body. He needed a shoulder to cry on.

Thirty minutes passed like seconds, you peered down only to find the boy confortably napping against your bosom; at some point you just became the cold side of the pillow to him. That's alright. It brings you joy to be the mom friend anyways. So you decided to join the sleepland aswell, arms still secured around his shoulders and the back of his head.

It feels like the nap hasn't been long, though, because you can feel Itadori's grip loosening and therefore, you're awake.

"Sorry if I broke any bones, in advance."

"Wow, and you only warn me now."

He laughs at your comeback, hands still secured around your waist.

"I'm surprised you let me uh, cuddle you for comfort - and sleep. I don't understand it? You just make me sleepy." He rambled, keeping eye contact with you while his head still rests on your chest.

"That's a piece of cake when you have younger siblings who seek for you every night they get a nightmare."

"Does that mean I can come to you again if I have a nightmare?" There it is, his togepi-kirby cutesy face.

"Are you four?"

"That's mean!" Itadori blushed, squeezing you on his arms. "I like the contact. It puts me at ease."

"Mm, do you want to talk about it?"

He gulped. "No, not really."

Your peach haired friend remained silent, and so did you. It seems he doesn't intend in letting you go soon, or he just really forgot to mention it. It gives them time to think, your younger sisted used to do that sometimes, back in Kyoto.

"Y/N, wanna watch anything?"

"Sure, have you watched Parasyte before?"

"No, let's give it a try then!" Itadori glances at the remote, then back at you - making you confused over his hesitation to move. He notices you noticed it, chuckling nervously. "To be honest, I don't wanna let go."

"It's hurting my back."

"SORRY I'M SORRY!" He jumped away from you like a cat would jolt away from a cucumber, making you snicker.

"It's okay, I just wanted to change positions."

And to tease you, but he didn't need to know that part.

He glared at you with a small pout, typing the initials of Parasyte on the search bar. Outside his line of vision, you were grinning like a idiot, his sweeteness took a tow on you. All the people of Tokyo you met really held a way different spirit from your classmates in Kyoto, Itadori being the nicest of all. It's surprising him being Sukuna's vessel to begin with; being honest, you felt drawn by it.

"Y/N, it's startiiiiing." He cut your daydreaming short, slumping on your side and propping his head on your shoulder.

"This again?" You throw an arm around his shoulders, very much like the first time he cuddled himself on you.

"Don't blame me, you're the one who wanted to change positions. Guess I'll just make some alterations since I'm awake this time!" One of his arms went behind your back and circled your waist, hand resting at your hip.

"It's definely different, since the other time you drooled on me."

"Hhgh, okay okay! Let me enjoy this." For perhaps the actual first time, you're able to watch without exchanging words with one another.

And this time, it's you who's head loll to the side, nose buried on his soft rose perfumed hair. Itadori doesn't comment on it yet, his free hand moves under your legs to lift your whole body up efortlessly when he senses you have fallen asleep.

"I remember you said it's bad for my spine, I wouldn't mind it... yours however."

The boy makes a beeline to the guest room, he sighs when there is no choice but open the door with his foot. Inside, he places you carefully in the soft bed.

Before he could leave, a hand reaches up for his sleeve.

"Itadori," He turned, looking at you. "Make me company?"

He giggles softly - you think it sounds like a highschool girl. "You should start calling me by my first name!" Itadori rambles as he climbs on the bed, arms wrapping around your waist in a motion you're familiar with.

"Yuuji, I'm tired, let me sleep."

"But I wanna talk more..." He pouts. "Also, are we, um, dating?"

You wriggle around, bringing his head down to peck on his forehead, teasing. "Correction, I want to date you."

"Uh, oh." A blush coats his face so quickly, you'd say someone dumped a bucket of red paint on his face.

"Is that a no?"

"No!"

"So it is a no."

"Christ, will you stop teasing for a second, I'm trying to talk here." He makes an angry version of his togepi-kirby face, you can't help but grin.

"You amuse me, but okay. I'll do it for you."

"Thanks." He blinks, the blush slowly fading away. "You know, I lied, not about the contact, I like the contact nonetheless-"

His hand moves to play with yours, such as tapping his tips against yours, or meassuring the palms.

"-it's you who brings me comfort."

It's also your turn to blush, that line was seriously charming.

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, we're dating now." You respond, a little eagerly. "Can I kiss you?"

"Please."

This is the best person I could ask for, Itadori thinks, keeping his eyes open as yours shut during the kiss, whom I won't change for anything else in this world.

When you both separate, Itadori feels drowsy and sleepy. His face fits perfectly on your shoulder as always.

"Goodnight, my favorite person."

[dreaminlittlenightmares]

gahhh sorry i haven’t been asking anything i’ve been trying to think of more things!! hmmm i got a lil writing request this time- maybe a lil angst/comfort oneshot of the granny and a female reader talking about things in the depths, when suddenly something you say or bring up makes her really upset and start to cry? your choice on what that may be (im a wreck abt her man i like thinking of comforting her cus she deserves it)

It's been so long since I got a writing prompt! Sorry for the wait on this one, (I think I know who this is) Anon! Hope this one summoned the onion ninjas!

Ask box is open for writing prompts, too!

Title: You and the OG Sea Witch Word Count: 1212 Characters: the Granny, Female Reader (though, it’’s more like Ambiguous Reader)

"So, I go back to refill the stupid bucket again, carry it back downstairs to the kitchens, and those stupid twins tripped me! ARGH! I hate them so much!" You weren't suppose to yell so loudly while you were down in the Depths of the Maw, but you couldn't keep the frustration in any more. It was a long and bad day, and the only person on this god forsaken ship that you could vent to was the elderly woman that lived down here. You enjoyed visiting her as often as you could, but traveling down to the most sunken part of the ship wasn't allowed. The current Lady of the Maw forbid it, but it was more that she didn't want anyone to find her former mentor. You accidentally found the old mistress a while ago, and took comfort in her company and opinions.

"Ah yes, the boys like to be pains in the arse when they're not cooking," the Granny chuckled, "I remember the time they tried to serve me lobster, but took out all the meat. It was very impressive, but I got them back."

"What did you do?" you asked eagerly. You loved hearing the sea witch's stories. It was like listening to pirate tales, except hers were real.

"Why, I hexed the shells to grow triple its size and made it chase after them!" She wiggled her bony fingers in the air, like a puppet master pulling strings. "Ahh, the Chefs pissed their pants and hid in the broom closets. That's what you get for trying to cross me!"

Your eyes lit up. "Can you teach me magic, Granny?" If you could use magic, nobody would mess with you ever again.

The Granny sighed. "I cannot, Little Minnow. Ever since the Succession Ritual, I've had little to none of my former power. That wretched successor of mine has it now, as she should. You'll have to ask her to teach you magic."

"Awww..."

"Anyways, the Twins are mere pushovers," the old woman continued, "You just need to scare them a bit and they'll listen to you."

Suddenly, a deep rumbling sound shook the walls and pipes around the Depths. You and the Granny looked over to the garbage shoot and cringed as a torrent of sludge pours out. You already knew the Depths was where the Maw sent its waste. It was barely breathable down here, which was probably why the old sea witch stayed submerged most of the time. She bared her teeth in disgust.

"Bah, I keep telling them to stop flushing things down here!" she hissed.

"I'll tell them!" you offered. It was the least you could do to help a friend.

"That's very kind of you, deary," the Granny smiled, "But, I've been complaining about this for years. I don't think they'll listen to you, too." She looked back at the slime and filth that piled in the corner. "I just will have to clean that again."

You looked at the sludge, too. "Gross. Why is everything in the Depths smelly and gross?"

"You think I'm smelly and gross?" the Granny snapped.

You looked down at her, confused at why she was suddenly so angry; but, the dots connected quickly. "Oh...wait, no!" You took a nervous step back away from the water's edge. The Granny was visibly angry, much angrier than you'd thought possible from an old woman. You knew she hardly left her murky pool, but the way she rose slowly onto the platform reminded you of an alligator persistent of catching its prey.

"YOU THINK I'M SMELLY AND GROSS!?" The hag's voiced boomed so loudly, it made ripples in the water. You didn't like yelling. It made you feel small and weak; so, you ran for it. You could out speed most of the people on the Maw easily, including the Granny. You fled upstairs and only stopped halfway to catch your breath, collapsing into a fetal sitting position and shaking. You didn't mean to anger the Granny, or insult her. She was the only person you counted on to cheer you up on a bad day, and you knew she saw you the same way. You had to go back and apologize properly.

After a quick trip to the Kitchens to steal some fresh meats, you tiptoed back down to the lower parts of the Maw. As expected, the Granny was no where to be found, not even in her favorite chair. You torn off a chunk of the meat and threw it into the water. It bobbed for a second or two, then was pulled under. You found her. You threw the rest of it into the water with a loud plunk! It sunk, unlike the smaller piece, but then it was lifted out of the depths on one palm by the Granny.

"What do you expect me to do with this?" the old sea witch said.

"I'm sorry," you begin, "I didn't mean to piss you off, Granny. I swear! I just meant...the trash."

"So, you think I'm trash now?" the Granny growled.

"No!" You start panicking. The best and fastest way to smooth things over with the Granny was with flattery, but that was hard to do. You struggled to think of something to calm her down. To your surprise, you hear her laughing.

"Bah, I'm just teasing you, Little Minnow." She swam over placed the meat on the ledge before pulling herself up, too.

"R-Really?" You were too nervous to approach her. She could drown you without a second thought.

"Yes, really. Now, come here..." The Granny invited you over to sit next to her. You obeyed, but took a seat just out of her reach. "I'm sorry for snapping at you, Little Minnow. I'm used to being called smelly, gross, and trash. It's what happens when you're no longer wanted or liked by others." It was hard to tell if she was crying or if it was water droplets falling off her, but she looked down.

You blinked. "I still like you."

The Granny looked at you with surprise. "Really?"

You nodded sincerely. "Yup! You're the coolest person on here! I'm friends with a sea witch! The sea witch! How much cooler is that?" Your were taken aback by her barking laughter, but you remembered that she had a snide sense of humor. Perhaps the enthusiasm was too cheesy, but she perked up again; and, that made you smile.

"Yes, I am the sea witch of the Maw!" the Granny boasted, "And you would do well to remember that, Little Minnow! Or else I'll hex some fish bones to come after you!" She wiggled her fingers to emphasize her point. It was your turn to laugh. You weren't as cowardly as the Twin Chefs, and the idea of a skeletal fish coming after you was kind of funny.

"Oh no! Not the fish bones!" you pleaded jokingly, "Please, o' mighty Sea Witch of the Maw! Not the fish bones!"

The Granny smiled proudly at your attempts to show fear at her former power. "Oh, alright! No fish bones for you. Maybe lobster shells instead." The two of you laughed like you used to, relationship mended, and went back to talking about whatever came to mind.

[kadwrites]

"Dancing on broken glass"

Summary : the reader was always there for Tommy, even when he didn't know.

Warnings : none , other than my terrible writing , a very very bad summary and my grammar. I tried guys.

Word count : 1581 (oh dear god)

Author’s note : So I'm back with another Tommy fic , for some reason I keep wanting to write for him. Please tell me what you think of it your opinions mean the world to me. And if you find any mistakes please tell me. FYI I totally got the title form a website and it doesn't fit the story all that much but ignore that , it just sounded so good to me. Enjoy!

‘How can a person be this beautiful?’ She thinks while she sweeps the floor and trying not to get caught staring at him , again.

‘He becomes more beautiful with every passing day .’ She thinks again , she could stare at him for hours on end , she would if she only could.

He glances at her again, as if he heard her, for a second she thought she said it out loud , she freezes but then continues to sweep the floor , awkwardly.

She's been doing this for years , staring at him as if he was a piece of art. She's been there in that same place even before the war , back when he was a young man , then he came back broken and shattered and yet she was still there , looking at him as if he was the one putting the stars in the sky. Then , he met Grace and she witnessed it all , and when Grace was gone , she was still there . A long time ago they were friends, they were very close but as time went by , Tommy changed , then the war happened and little by little she was no longer someone he knew.

She doesn't know if he even remembers her name , she doesn't remember the last time she heard him call her name.

Y/n isn't a talkative person . She isn't the person to start conversation . She wonders if she ever had a chance with him , that if she tried to be like Grace, would he want her the same way?. No , that is what she keeps telling herself, no he wouldn't . Grace is different, yes she once was the ‘enemy’ but she loved Tommy , and he loved her , with every piece of him. She made him feel content and satisfied. Y/n was happy that he found peace and love , even if it wasn't with her. Until she was taken away from him , and he became once again a broken man.

Sighing she sets the broom aside , there are glasses to be cleaned and new bottles of liquor to be stored. She takes one more glance at him while he is sitting and looking at the bottom of his glass.

She sets on the ground in front of the large box and starts unpacking the bottles gently , trying not to break them . With a barely audible voice she is singing to herself so he wouldn't hear her , or so she thought.

“ I've heard you sing before, you have a lovely voice.” He said , still looking at his glass .

She looks at him , a little surprised that he talked to her and a little concerned for some reason.

“That is very kind of you , Sir” she hesitated. Then went back to her work wondering if he actually remembers her ever singing.

“You don’t like talking , do you?“

He said that as if he forget the fact that they were friends then he moved his glass indicating that he wants more whiskey.

She got up , pouring him a glass

“ I can say the same thing about you , Sir “

“You are right , I am not.” He smirked, showing his dimples slightly.

She nodded slightly and went again to unpack the bottles.

“Why?” He asked while lighting a cigarette.

“I do not understand, Sir. Why what?” She looks at him with a quizzical look on her face.

“Why are you still here y/n?. I hadn't spoken to you in god knows how long but here you are still, the same person that I've known, you haven't even changed a little while I became a whole new person.”

He is genuinely curious as in why she still looking at him with that same warm fondness in her eyes , as if he was a hero when in reality, he is far from it.

“I notice the little things y/n , even if you think that I won't. I noticed that you never serve anyone that sits in my spot even though I don't mind. I know that you stay here late because you want to make sure that I made it through the day. I know that you always keep a bottle of Irish whiskey away because it's my favorite.”

He looks at her so intensely as if he was staring at her soul.

She wipes her hands with her apron and looks at him , she was very calm , she knew that he will eventually catch on and realize what she is doing.

“Why are you here ? Why haven't left Birmingham ? You always told me that you wanted to.”

She looks at him , a little surprised that he remembers her.

“Why haven't you left me?”

He said with a voice filled with emotions that he never thought he would experience once again.

“And where would I go , Sir? This is my home"

She looked around the garrison fondly as if it was a beautiful castle not a place filled with crazy drunk people and smells like a barn.

“Stop calling me sir” He closes his eyes , annoyed with her calling that constantly.

“You are no longer my Tommy , I cannot call you that anymore. ” She said while pouring him another glass . She doesn't even know why would she say such a thing.

“I'm always your Tommy. “ He said , with sadness filling his eyes. Like a sad little puppy.

She doesn't know if he means it , or if he is simply saying that for a one night stand . “No , you are not . Thomas , you are a different man , not a bad one even if you think you are . You are just different , I'm not blaming you , of course , nobody comes back from the war unfazed. I mean change is inevitable “ She rambles without noticing.

“You are rambling”

He smiles , for once . A warm , genuine smile.

“Besides , its not like you put any effort to actually talk to me Thomas. That I do you blame for." She goes back to storing the bottles.

“I am your Tommy”.

Now he was kneeling in front of her.

“No you are not”

She is till not looking at him.

“Well , I am what is left of him.” He sighs and grabs her face in her hands. Her eyes are glassy and looking at him with so much love , he wonders how can she look at him after all the things the he's done. After all the pain that he caused .

“You stopped caring , Thomas. And that is fine , I cannot force you to remember me or talk to me but I am not like you . I could not simply forget you even if I wanted to , and I did , believe me I tried. I even tried running away but I couldn't. I couldn't leave you.” Now tears are streaming down her cheeks.

“ You don't need to forget me . I am here , and I'm not going anywhere” He is wiping the tears off .

“For some reason , I doubt it.” She confesses , she is hurt , how can she not be? They were friends for so long and then he gets sent to a war with her waiting everyday for his return. And when he finally returns , he acts as if she never existed. She is in pain , and he knows it.

“ I am so sorry.” He apologizes , the guilt is eating him up now.

She simply nods , not trusting her own voice.

“Let's start again , please” He presses his forehead against hers.

“I know that it's a lot to ask but I feel like I am missing something and when I look at you...” He stops , closes his eyes and then continues

"I feel like that part of me is there.” He says to her.

“Took you long enough.” He chuckled but then she hugs him with all the strength that she could muster which resulted in both of them laying on the floor.

Tommys back was killing him but for the sake of his own pride he didn't say anything .

She looks at him , and smiles then she laughs and he laughs with her even though there is no reason for him to laugh other than the fact that the sound of her laugh fills him up with joy.

“Wow , you are actually heavy for someone your size” He jokes but she punches him in the stomach.

“And I throw a pretty painful punch for someone my size”

“Careful, I have a thing for powerful tiny things”

“Well then , its your lucky day.”

She looks at him there , laying on the floor not caring that his ridiculously expensive coat is not only wrinkled but probably is very dirty because he is too busy holding his stomach and laughing.

“This is why I stayed” She blurts. He stops laughing but his smile is still there.

“Why?”

“My home is wherever you are , Thomas.”

“I thought we passed the ‘Thomas’ phase” He groans.

“Oh no , we are still very much stuck in that phase.”

[fulcrum-agent]

012. Promises [FFXIVwrite2021]

She seems to be packing up some things into a small pack, many different articles of light clothing.

The Bozjan enters the bedroom by passing through the curtain threshold. Upon seeing her packing something into a small pack, he'd speak up and ask, "What.. are you doing?"

"The Outlaw's got a contract from Dalmasca," she explains as she looks over her shoulder. "We're going into Golmore to rescue a bunch of Rava the Empire's been using as...living incubation chambers."

He crosses his arms over his chest and cants his head curiously. "Living.. incubation chambers..?"

There's a slight nod as she finishes packing.

"Yeah...for clones of a hypertuned sharpshooter named Novinius," she clarifies for him. "The guy we killed in Velciff. They were apparently manufacturing more of him."

"Hmph... If he is.. someone that you've killed before," he considers aloud, "then making sure that.. he doesn't come back in a sense would be.. a priority."

He's given another slight nod in response.

"He broke an oath made to the Creed, a group that some of the crew trained with," she continues as she ties the satchel closed. "Everyone was relieved when he was killed, but now..."

Frowning, the Bozjan notes as he uncrosses his arms, "Now.. you will all need to just.. prevent him from returning."

"Yeah, and kill of the bastard who's doing all this," she adds as she turns to face him. "Who also was thought to be dead. Guy called the Butcher. Friend of my Father's. That should tell you enough."

This gives her lover pause before he quietly asks, "... You have a sense of.. responsibility to this, don't you? Because of this Butcher's connection to your father."

She nods a little.

"So does Lio. The...woman who came to ask for our help was..." her voice trails off as she shivers a little, "...she was more bits and pieces than a whole. I dunno how they got her back into the shape she's in now, short of a Padjali hiding somewhere in the crew."

"I see," he intones before asking, "Will your brother.. be joining you on this mission?"

"This is a whole crew effort, yeah," she explains to him as she nods. "We're...going so far as to take the Arcadia instead of the Outlaw," she confirms for him. "It's...possibly a suicide mission if any of us fuck up."

She sets the pack down on the ground. "If this Butcher's anything like Father...the place is more well-guarded than most castrums are."

He frowns a lot when she says that this is possibly a suicide mission. "Are you... serious?"

"I am. Novinius could shoot a man down from malms away, perfect headshots," she answers quietly with a nod. "His clones may or may not be capable of the same. Variants could be even more dangerous than the original - just look at Merrick."

The Bozjan takes a few steps closer to her, staring directly into her blue eyes with his almost-luminescent green eyes.

"I did not.. ask about a dead man's clones. I asked you... if you are serious about this mission," he gently corrects before asking more questions. "A suicide mission? And Liocyon is going as well..?"

She reflexively reaches down to grasp both of his hands, nodding a little.

"Yeah, I am. So's Lio," she answers, now that he's clarified the question. "It's dangerous, but as long as everyone plays their part...we'll make it back alive...I think."

In a tone that reveals his disappointment, he asks, "... And you were not.. thinking of asking me.. to join you, were you?"

"I...don't have a choice, Leth. Locke's not against you joining the crew, but this isn't just some slaver run," she quietly explains to him. "We got the request last night, not long after getting back from Coerthas. If there were more time, he might agree to it...but..."

"You have just returned from Coerthas.. after spending a lot of your still-growing aetherpool, and now.. you are being sent on a mission.. that is highly dangerous," he shakes his head, and not realizing that his hands had been grabbed yet. "This is.. ridiculous."

She fidgets a little at that.

"I've gained most of it back, and the rest was made up for with aetherwine," she assures him softly, gently squeezing his hands. "We don't always get the luxury of a full recovery."

Sighing, the man relents a little, "No... No, we are not. Not on a battlefield and not even... at home."

Letting go of one of his hands, she reaches up to touch his cheek as she speaks, "You went off to Zadnor alone and came back. I'm sure I'll be fine in Golmore with an entire crew beside me."

He narrows his gaze and opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out besides air. She's got him there. The Hyur closes his eyes and lowers his head, slightly leaning into the touch of her hand.

"... Promise me that.. you will return." He murmurs.

"I-- at best, I can promise I'll do everything in my power to," she replies to the request, frowning, "but there's no way I can promise I will, not with how many unknown factors there are, on top of the known risks."

"... That is.. a fair point," he admits before falling silent for a long moment.

A very long moment.

"If you do come back to me..." he softly states, almost shyly, "then... then..."

Her head cants as she murmurs, "Then...what?"

The Bozjan raises his head and opens his eyes to look her directly in the eyes as he states, with conviction, "...I will promise...that we will...marry."

His declaration causes her to blink a lot. Then, her mouth falls open, and for a moment, the troubadour is quite speechless. The best she can do, at first, is nod faintly. Then, her mouth closes, and she leans her forehead against his, biting her lower lip to keep her emotions in check.

"...I'll fight like hell to come back to you, Leth. Promise."

He took one step forward before leaning in to press his forehead against hers. When they are met, Byleth closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath.

"That...is what I wanted to hear. And I promise you...as well, Quil," he states with a soft smile.

She enjoys the moment briefly, shifting to embrace him as she sighs softly.

"...that aside...why were you upset yesterday?" she asks quietly.

The Bozjan embraces her also but would hesitantly answer her question.

"...I was...upset yesterday because...you were claiming to be...a Bozjan Blade." He keeps her in his arm, but he pulls back enough to look at her. "The title of Blade is...not so easily or freely given, Quil."

"Blades are...given a badge of...honour to show that...they are indeed Blades. You...are not a Blade. You do not...have a badge. If the knight had...called you on your bluff and...you could not prove yourself, then we...might not have been able to enter the castle," he explains quietly. "Carrying Talekeeper...isn't enough to persuade others that are...not knowing of Bozjan traditions. No one but us...would understand the weight of both Talekeeper and... Crownsblade."

She blinks several times, frowning a little as she gazes at him.

"It was just a bluff, though I've always been willing to help continue Jeralt's legacy," she explains to him. "But...we really didn't have many options, and I could have glamoured something to look like the badge they carry."

"It's quite possible, with how far out Lucine was, that he doesn't have any idea what all a Blade would have," she adds as she reaches up to gently brush some of his hair out of his face. "I'm sorry if doing such upset you, but I couldn't think of another way they'd let a Garlean commanding a squad in."

"T'was...a bluff that did work in our favour in the end, but 'twas also dangerous if they did not...believe us and instead...attacked us," the Hyur sighs as the Garlean brushes some of his hair out of his face. "I know...that you wish to...honour and continue my father's legacy. I would not have...given you Talekeeper if...I thought otherwise."

"I did not...understand why I was...upset at first, but...I later realized that...I may have...developed...hm, developed...Ah, a sense of.. pride. As a... Bozjan, I suppose. The title that I now carry.. like the one that.. my father also carried..." he states, nodding here and there before adding, "I'm sorry, Quil."

"You...were made a Blade? Officially?" she asks as she blinks, confused. "When?"

He nods in confirmation before answering with, "Before the campaign in Zadnor...there were other Blades of Gunnhildr before we...had arrived to meet my father. In my father's passing...in the betrayal of a resistance member, the remaining Blades were tempered and transformed...into monsters. Or so...I have read in reports. The ranks of the Blades of Gunnhildr...were incredibly low to empty. New Blades...like myself, had to be...recruited during the...Zadnor campaign."

She just stares at him for a long moment.

"Do...they have any idea that I have Talekeeper?" she asks, rather plainly as she starts to get fidgety again. "Are they going to be okay with that?"

"They...do not know that you are in possession of Talekeeper. Talekeeper and Crownsblade were...entrusted to me after...Bozja was liberated, and...I do not know how they will react...to you having it. But...that is not for them to decide," he says with a shake of his head.

Again, she goes quiet and stares at the Bozjan for a long moment.

"...but it's a Blade's weapon...I'd think they'd have some say over it?" she asks, concerned. "I mean, if they get upset, I'm okay with giving it back. If they don't and still need help, I'm willing to do that too. I just don't want you to have this stripped from you over me."

"...Aquila, you...do make some fine points. I find it hard...to protest against what...you are saying, but...It is okay...that you keep using Talekeeper," he insists to her. "If we ever return to Bozja...and meet with the Blades, then we can discuss it with them...about this."

"When I get back from Dalmasca," she suggests to him, smiling softly. "So that no one loses their shit when I'm carrying Talekeeper down the aisle instead of flowers."

He blinks once at that last bit before canting his head slightly. "You'd carry Talekeeper.. because of Jeralt?"

In response, she nods a little. "It's not like my Father's gonna be walking me down the aisle, so Lio and your father should."

"Hmph...Not that we...would allow him to be there.. in the first place," he comments before smiling softly down at her.

There's a nod of agreement to that.

"Yeah. I doubt he'd show up anyways, even if he was invited," she agrees before deprecating, "I am the 'disappointment' after all."

He frowns for a brief moment when she self-deprecates. Then, he would raise one of his hands up to cup the side of her face, and he tells her, "That...is what he may call you... But it is not.. what I see you as. You.. are more valuable and.. precious than you could ever know, Quil."

"I know, Leth," she murmurs in reply, smiling just a little. "Just...in case...always remember that I love you..."

And with that, she gives the Bozjan the most passionate kiss she's ever given him.

"And I love you-" he started to say before he's rudely interrupted with the most passionate kiss he's received yet from the Garlean. A kiss so from out of left-field that it leaves him stunned afterwards.

She lingers in the kiss for a very long time, though there's not much time left before she needs to go - not enough to do more than kiss him. So when she finally withdraws, it's slowly and with hesitance.

He is hesitant to let go of her as well, though he has faith, trust, and her promise that she will return to him...he cannot help but feel, huh.

She's now making him feel again, as she constantly has since introducing him to the concept. Finally, after they both withdraw from the kiss, he says the signature phrase of the Bozjan Blades he's been citing lately.

"For the Queen... Return."

"For the Queen," she echoes, having cited the phrase frequently since receiving Talekeeper, "I shall."

[caranfindel]

Recap/review 14.06: “Optimism”

THEN: Starts out pretty ominous, with clock-ticky music, Jack's grace getting sucked out, "this is the end of everything," and Jack considering himself useless. We're reminded that New Charlie exists (aw, Dean looked so pretty in AU Land) and Jack has "the mind of a hunter." Michael hurting people and Dean feels guilty (aw, Sam's Beard of Despair, how I miss you). Sounds like we're in for a real downer of an episode, friends.

NOW: Nebraska. Happy music. A cheerful librarian opens up shop, and she's cute as can be but I wore that blouse in the 80s and it needs to stay there (JUST SAY NO TO THE RUFFLED YOKE, LADIES). Her name is Harper, and she has a kind-of-date with a guy named Winston tonight, though she is clearly Not Into You, Winston. An (apparent) coworker named Miles hears her "scream" and comes to her aid, brandishing a stapler, and is reminded that he needs to mind his own business. Winston leaves, clearly walking on air, and then STAYIN' ALIVE STARTS PLAYING and we focus on Winston's feet just like the iconic opening scene of Saturday Night Fever (if you're too young to remember, watch this, IT'S IMPORTANT CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE and there WILL BE A QUIZ LATER) and y'all don't even know how much I love this song. YOU DON'T KNOW. I can't help it. My mom was a huge Bee Gees fan, partially because she was very into Barry Gibb.

Coincidence?

What can I say? I am my mother's child.

Now, where were we?

(Pretty much where we always are, so could you please just move this along?)

Sorry for the digression. Anyway. Now I suspect this isn't going to be a downer episode after all. (Turns out it was directed by Richard Speight, which would have been a clue if I'd known that earlier, bless him.) While I've been digressing, Winston has happily bopped down the street, only to have a hand cover his mouth and drag him off-screen. There's a record scratch and a squirt of dark goo and a scream, so I guess it did turn out to be a downer for Winston, but not for me.

Title card!

{Sidebar: I didn't realize Saturday Night Fever was directed by John Badham, who went on to direct several episodes of Supernatural.}

Jack's drinking coffee in the bunker. He takes a sip and then pours a huge amount of sugar into it, which immediately makes me think of this scene from The Fly when Jeff Goldblum, who does not yet realize that he is turning into a fly, does the same thing.

(Spoiler alert: Ahem.)

Dean walks in and asks what he's doing, and Jack explains that everything tastes different without his powers, and he can't get the coffee to taste the way he likes it. That's because coffee is nasty, Jack. (And also, thanks to the Continuity Fairy for remembering that food tasted different to Cas when he didn't have grace.) Dean asks if Jack has seen Sam, because that's what Dean does; he probably walked in the door and felt a disturbance in the Force and realized he didn't know where Sam was. From Jack, we learn that (1) Dean went on an overnight run to Mobby's love shack cabin and (b) Sam went on a hunt with Charlie without telling Dean. Is Dean okay with this? Are we gonna okay with this? Couldn't he have at least sent a text message? He's supposed to be setting an example!

"Explain to me again how you just let Sam LEAVE."

I guess Sam had to go himself, rather than send someone else, because this is one of those times when there's no random hunters in the bunker. (And where's Rowena? Did Charlie abandon her in the Southwest? Did they have a fight?) Jack imagines Sam and Charlie are doing something "really exciting."

Cut to Sam and Charlie sitting quietly in a truck outside Memphis, bored out of their minds. Hee! It's the kind of crappy old truck I always want Sam to drive, so I love it. They're staring at a bus stop with an ad for Pete the Pestinator, who seems to be an insect exterminator. (Spoiler alert: ahem again.) Sam confirms that "this is where all those people went missing," although if he's been sitting in that truck long enough to be bored, he really should have nailed that down by now. Charlie says "yep." More silent sitting.

Back to the bunker. Dean seems surprised that Sam left Jack there alone (where's Cas?) and Jack says "Sam wanted someone around when you came back. He's worried about you."

"Yeah, that sounds like him," Dean grumbles, and hello, kettle, the pot just called, and said you're black. Jack offers some encouragement, telling him no one blames him for Michael, and Dean says "Cool. Well, I blame me, so." His self-flagellation is interrupted by Jack's Cough of Great Concern. "Maybe I'm allergic to sitting around doing nothing," Jack snarks.

Dean sits down for a heart-to-heart, and Jack says he's been hunting with Cas and wants to do more. Dean says "No offense, Cas is an insurance policy on those hunts." Jack looks hurt. I don't understand this at all. Why wouldn't Jack already know that Cas is there to protect him? And why would this hurt his feelings? I'm so confused. But I immediately forget it, because Dean says "Sam's just trying to keep you safe, okay? He's a smart guy." AND THEN WE CUT TO THIS.

Bless you, Richard Speight, writer Steve Yockey, bless you both.

I literally did burst out laughing at Sam and his fidget spinner. Charlie is not amused, and Sam puts his toy away with some embarrassment.

Bunker. Jack's found a report on our dead friend Winston, who seemed to have human bitemarks taken out of his corpse. And others have gone missing in the area. We skip part of a conversation, but whatever it was, Dean says Sam won't like it. "Sam's not here," says Jack. Oh, no you don't, Jack. Don't you go ignoring the Chief's directives just because he's not here. Dean says he'll go check it out alone, but Jack suddenly remembers Sam's Law and reminds Dean about the Buddy System.

We can be hunting buddies!

Okay, uh, (a), don't call it that, and (b), YOU'RE gonna back ME up?

Oh, Dean. You didn't do the (1) and (b) thing that I love so much. Jack gets to be the one to bare a little bit of his soul now, telling Dean that he also feels guilty about Michael, because he could have killed him but he was "distracted and stupid." He doesn't want to sit around feeling guilty all day, he wants to hunt.

Looks like that was the right button to push, because we cut to Sam on the phone, clearly not a fan of the plan and telling Dean to be careful. I assume his reluctance is because he doesn't trust Jack to watch Dean's back. But Sam, if you can trust Maggie to hunt alone, you can trust Dean with a novice backup. (I know, I know, Dean is more important than Maggie.)

Sam asks again if Charlie is sure this is the right place, and she says it's where four people disappeared. And while she was scouting around, she found a mason jar full of goo. Is this the same goo we saw when Winston was killed? (Spoiler alert: no.) And now she's trying to figure out what they're hunting, so she's reading. I'd have done my reading before the stakeout, but that's just me. (I'd also have done some reading instead of sitting there glaring at Sam while he enjoyed his fidget spinner, but that's also just me.)

(I also might have thought of more interesting things to do while I was stuck in a car with Sam, but they would have interfered with the stakeout. And they aren't anything Charlie would have been interested in anyway.)

Cut to Dick's Red Rooster Diner (ha ha, I see you, Speight). According to Winston's obituary, he had breakfast here every morning. Jack agrees with me that it's an odd thing to put in an obituary, but Dean says that when someone dies young, you don't know what to put in those things. (Oh, think of 20-something Dean's obituary.) He introduces them to the waitress as Agents Berry and Charles, and the only thing I can think of is Chuck Berry, so if someone has a better idea, let me know. He asks for details about Winston, and the only detail she can provide is that he's dead. Jack dutifully writes that detail in his little notebook. (BLESS.)

This waitress is wonderfully snippy, knows her rights, and isn't the least bit interested in talking to these FBI agents, but when Dean hands her some cash she changes her mind. She says they should should be more interested in Harper, who Winston just started "courting," and Jack is confused.

What's courting?

It's what you do before you start dating.

Ah, and that's the thing you do before the sex.

Sometimes you just have the sex.

Okay, Dean's wrong, courting is what you do instead of dating, but this is still a wonderful exchange. And the next part is wonderful too, cutting between the waitress and some customers explaining that Harper was popular in high school, but her boyfriend ran off, and now all these men connected to her have died, and she's really into romance books, and ending on I've heard too much Dean and I'm confused Jack.

Love this.

Back at the stakeout, Sam's biting his nails, which I also love for some reason, and of course the only time we've ever seen him bite his nails was when he was worried about Dean. New Charlie picks right up on it. She tells him Dean will be fine, and comments that he's got other friends, right? Which I don't understand, because it doesn't matter what other friends he has, he's not hunting with them. He's hunting with Jack. "He used to have a pretty damn good wingman," Sam says, and I think no, Sam, what are you saying, he still has you. She says he should call "that guy" to check on him, and Sam says "that guy was you." Charlie gives him a look. "No, it wasn't." And she's right, Sam. SHE IS NOT YOUR CHARLIE. And also, was Charlie ever really Dean's wingman? I don't think so. Sam, of course. Cas, literal wingman. But not Charlie. Charlie was the little sister.

Sam apologizes, and then says "I'm just saying, I'm not surprised you survived the apocalypse." Which isn't what you were saying at all, Sam. Charlie is surprised she survived, because she was just a programmer at Richard Roman Enterprises (Dick Roman! I wonder what happened to your AU version), living with the love of her life, Cara. My heart skipped a beat because I was so ready, guys, for the love of Charlie's life to be Dr. Cara Roberts from Sex and Violence, but apparently not. {Sidebar fic prompt: Sam. Charlie. Dr. Cara. Three-way.) Charlie's Cara was a baker. Charlie tells a sad story about waiting for help that never came, and Cara eventually being killed by people, not angels. Society falls apart. (Or, as Dean once said, demons I get; people are crazy.) Sam insists society isn't falling apart here, and Charlie says "not yet."

Just like last week, we're getting some needed differentiation between the characters we lost and their AU counterparts, which I appreciate.

I also appreciate pretty, attentive, sympathetic Sam.

Diner. Dean calls Jack "Mighty Mouse," for some reason, and congratulations him on finding a case. He tries to teach him about the importance of pie, but Jack's more interested in courting. He's never been exposed to off-screen romance, unless Gabriel and Rowena counts (Dean assures him it doesn't, but how would Jack have been exposed to Gabriel/Rowena anyway, since it happened while he was in AU Land and Gabriel didn't make it back?) Dean promises he'll give him The Talk when they get back, but right now they need to concentrate on finding Harper. {Sidebar fic prompt: Dean's and Sam's versions of The Talk. Would Dean's be like Dean's speech from Rock and a Hard Place?} Jack speculates she might not be human, and Dean says they're going to find out, and it's going to work like a romance novel. Hmm!

Cut to the library, where Harper is working. Dean enters and identifies himself as FBI, with questions about Winston. She doesn't want to talk, and he pushes. Then Jack shows up, asking for a book about the area's history, and defends her against the big mean FBI guy. Dean says "why don't you back off, kid" and Jack responds "No, you back off, old man" and DEAN'S FACE. This was clearly NOT IN THE SCRIPT. I love it. Dean slinks off, dejected, to examine his gracefully-aging face in the rear-view mirror. {Sidebar: I honestly think Jensen is aging a lot better than Dean is. Dean looks tired a lot of the time, and I'd like to believe Show is doing that on purpose, but I don't think it's the case. Jensen always looks awesome.} Harper is delighted, and apparently smitten, judging by the music. Jack introduces himself as "Jack Smith" and she invites him to her apartment, where she has the perfect book.

Why does this library have those convenience store perp measurements at the door? Does it get robbed a lot? Also, how many episodes have signs in the background with the title of a different episode? Not very many, I'm guessing.

As they leave, Miles the Stapler Guy follows and asks where she's going. It must be close to closing time, because Harper says she'll come back and lock up. Miles, who's carrying a bag of trash, refuses to shake Jack's hand. As Jack and Harper go one way, he stomps off in the other direction. I'm suspicious, and so is Dean, who gets out of the car to follow him. As Miles puts the library's trash in an inappropriately small residential bin, he hears a noise. We then cut to Dean, who hears Miles scream but just keeps walking? But then a trash can is knocked over and that gets his attention. He finds Miles dead, and we get a monster POV shot watching him.

Stakeout. Charlie's still reading. Apparently she brought all the books. She says she hates hunting, which surprises Sam, because she's so good at it. She points out that she's good at it because the alternative was death. "I mean, no offense, but who wants to be a hunter? This job, just a lot of tears and death."

Sam says "you said something like that to me once, long ago, about hunting." He quickly apologizes for once again conflating her with Our Charlie. At first I was annoyed at him, but then I started thinking about how awful Our Charlie's death was for him, with the MoC, and the fear, and the worry, and the guilt, and his brother saying he should be the one on the funeral pyre instead, and you know what? I'm gonna cut him some slack for trying to forget all of that ever happened. A lot of slack, in fact.

Charlie casually drops that she's glad this is her last hunt. Did you give the Chief your two week's notice, Charlie? I DON'T THINK SO. She plans to get away from monsters and people, and "live on a mountaintop or something... as long as there's good wifi." I'm sure Sam can get you set up with his magical wifi, Charlie, if you stay on his good side.

Harper's apartment. She seems to be all about love, with a decorative "amore" sign in the kitchen and a big red heart hanging on the wall. She suddenly realizes it's weird that she brought him to her apartment, though she's thinking "putting the moves on you" weird and I'm thinking "inviting a potential serial killer into your home" weird. But maybe I listen to too much My Favorite Murder.

She leaves the room to get the book (odd that it's not on the stuffed bookshelves in her living room, but they're all full of romance novels). Jack asks why the FBI was "hassling" her, and she tells him about Winston's death as he surreptitiously puts a silver coin on the floor and splashes holy water all over his hands. A call comes from Dean, but he ignores it. When she comes back with the book, she notices the coin on the floor and picks it up. She touches his hand when she gives him the coin and notices that it's wet. I would have put the holy water on the coin, although a wet coin on the floor might be as weird as wet hands. He just laughs weirdly and then does a fake cough AND SAYS CHRISTO. SOMEONE FINALLY REMEMBERED CHRISTO. Oh, my heart. I've been waiting 13 years for this moment. She doesn't react to it, so she seems pretty human. He says he's nervous, so she sits on the couch and pats the seat next to her.

Stakeout. Charlie has found something in the books called a Musca. Sam already knows it's a man-fly hybrid (IT'S THE FLY; OUR MONSTER IS JEFF GOLDBLUM) and that no one's seen them, so if they do exist, they keep to themselves. She's impressed with his Sammy smarts. He says he's read all the books, but if he'd read this one, he'd know that every few hundred years a male Musca can't find a mate and he "abandons his community and starts using people's bodies to nest, binding them together with a viscous goo." Ew.

As they walk, in the background we see a figure approaching the two women who are sitting on the bus stop bench. It's clothed in black, carrying a black briefcase, and it has a giant head. At first I think it's literally a giant fly's head. But when Charlie notices it, we get a closer look, and it's a large black hood, like a beekeeper's outfit. It sits down and then casually scoots closer to the women, who scoot away, and it's hilarious.

Harper's apartment. She asks Jack where he's from, and he tells her he lives in Lebanon, Kansas. NO, JACK. DON'T TELL ANYONE WHERE YOU LIVE. Jack coughs some more and then notices a picture of Harper with her boyfriend, Vance. She says he left town after high school because he wanted to see the world, and Jack seems astonished that anyone would leave her. And that was when her bad luck started, but she tries to stay optimistic. "Me too," Jack says. "I had some not-so-great stuff happen in my past. Trying to be positive... it can be hard." Oh, Jack, sweetie. They gaze into each other's eyes and it looks like they're going to kiss. Jack's phone buzzes with a text from Dean that says CALL ME NOW.

Jack? Do you believe in love at first sight?

Do you... (music swells)... mind if I use the bathroom?

Ha!

Jack hides in the bathroom to call Dean. He tells him Harper isn't a monster, and he thinks she's in love with him. Although Dean's sure that's not the case, Jack says "but if she is, I need to know everything about sex. Go." Ha again! Dean tells him about Miles's death, which makes Jack wonder if she's cursed. Dean says it's more like all the guys around her are cursed. "Like me," Jack ponders, just before we get another monster POV shot and a strangled shout from Dean. The phone goes dead.

Jack comes back into the living room and Harper asks if he's okay and if he wants to go for coffee. Then the door bursts open and Dean comes in, and I wonder why she's freaking out until I remember that Dean is Bad FBI Guy to her. He quickly blocks the door and tell her they're here to save her from... whatever it is that's suddenly growling and banging on her door. "At first I thought it was a ghost," he says, "but then it punched me in the face." She's freaked out about a ghost, but Jack reassuringly (NOT!) tells her that he's saying it's NOT a ghost. Dean recognizes a photo and it turns out the monster is her old boyfriend Vance, who she didn't even realize was dead.

For some reason Dean isn't carrying a lot of weapons, but he has a silver knife and finds a silver letter opener on Harper's desk. Silver will slow it down, he tells them, but there's only one way to kill the undead boyfriend. Vance breaks the door down before we learn what that is. Dean starts fighting with the silver knife and tells Jack to get Harper out of there.

Stakeout. It's nighttime now. A lone man sits at the bus stop as Sam tries to convince Charlie that she can't drop out of society. She needs people, and also, it's hard to walk away from being a hunter. "I tried. Our Charlie tried." You know, for someone who did want out of hunting, and did try to get out of it, Sam spends a lot of time convincing others to do it, or at least enabling them. I mean, Dean was all "Patience, if you can live a normal life, do it," and Sam was all "well, Claire, if you're gonna hunt, I guess I should show you how to hack." Although that (and teaching Ghoul!Adam to shoot) was more about protecting someone determined/forced to be a hunter than recruiting. So maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. Anyway, if anyone recognized the futility of getting out of the life, it would be him.

Jeff Goldblum shows up again and sits by his next victim. Charlie wants to go for the kill, but Sam thinks they should wait for him to make his move, in case he's just into weird fashion. Look, Sam, if a guy likes wearing a black beekeeper's bonnet and sidling up to random strangers at bus stops, he deserves to be hunted, whether or not he's actually part bee. When the bus shows up, it blocks their view of the duo. When it leaves, the bench is empty. Which could mean they just got on the bus, but we see something disappearing behind the stop. Sam decides it's a go after all.

Let's stick with this story, rather than cutting back and forth between them like the show did.

Sam and Charlie find a door with a bunch of goo on the handle. Sam says Charlie found something in the books that theorized a brass nail dripped in sugar water would kill a musca. Because yes, of course sugar water, WHICH FLIES EAT, would kill a fly man. (Rolls my eyes at this otherwise delightful episode.) Charlie reminds him they have neither of those things. "So we get creative," Sam says. I'm expecting some kind of MacGuyvering involving a can of Coke, or Sam's sugary coffee. (Spoiler alert: I'm wrong.)

{Sidebar: Why are all the methods of killing monsters so weirdly specific? Chopping off the head should kill ANYTHING.}

They go through the door, which surprisingly leads them into an abandoned warehouse. It's full of flies (normal ones, not half-man flies) and smells like pine cleaner and rotting meat. Yum. Eventually Sam finds the briefcase, which is full of what looks like candy wrappers and also has a white cloth, which he sniffs to discover chloroform. Dude. Don't sniff the chloroform rag. Charlie finds the most recent victim, still alive, by a pile of bodies. Something grabs Charlie's hand. She pulls loose, but falls off a low platform (seriously, it's like two feet high) and... loses consciousness? Okay. Maybe he chloroformed her and I missed it. I'm old and decrepit and this would have barely bruised me. He must have chloroformed her.

Sam tries to wake her up, but is interrupted by the WORST MONSTER COSTUME EVER. Oh god, you guys, this fly man head is so bad. SO BAD.

{Sidebar: Did you know that you don't see much of the shark in Jaws because the model was so bad, Steven Spielberg decided he wanted to shoot it as little as possible? And it actually made the movie better because the unseen monster was so much scarier? Just saying, Speight.}

(Um, have you watched any movies that were made before 1980?)

Well, that was uncalled for.

Jeff Goldblum attacks Sam and gets goo on him, and if this were really a fly, wouldn't that goo be digesting him? Isn't that how flies eat? (Why yes, it is.) Charlie regains consciousness and stabs it with something, which gets it off Sam long enough for him to shoot it in the head. Creativity in action! So, I guess I got my wish. Interesting that, just like last week, the guys figured out that there are actions that will kill anything.

Aftermath! Charlie and Sam are driving, and Sam says he feels bad for the Musca, which could have been happy if it had stayed home with its people. Subtle, Sam. Charlie's all, yeah, okay, I'm like the bug, except not so much. As we see the Musca family coming to retrieve their brother's body, Sam asks Charlie not to leave. "If we help people, then maybe they'll help people, and all that, and that's worth it. Even with all the tears and death, it's worth it." Oh, Sammy. {sniff} She says she'll think about it.

Back to Jack and Harper. It was broad daylight when they got to her apartment, so I don't know why it's nighttime now. How long did he spend in the bathroom? No wonder she asked if he was okay. Cut to Dean gleefully fighting the zombie, who suddenly stops fighting and runs off.

Jack and Harper run to the library, where she struggles with the keys until Jack remembers she left without locking the door. They scurry inside and he locks it. As they hide behind the counter, they see Zombie Vance run by. Jack tells her not to worry, because he locked the door, and she asks if he flipped the switch under the lock? Obviously he didn't, and she goes to do it herself. As she stands, looking out the door, Vance shows up. She unlocks the door, which Jack obviously DID lock, and opens it. He hands her the history book - I guess Jack dropped it - and they kiss.

Um. whoops. Vance is actually still Harper's boyfriend. And he has to eat human flesh. Like, Jack's, for example. Vance lunges for Jack, who hides in the stacks as Harper gives him the villain dialogue over the library's PA system. She likes Jack, but he's obviously a hunter, and she comes from a long line of necromancers, so it would never work out between them. She killed Vance to keep him from leaving after high school, and killing every other guy in her sights is just a fun little romantic roleplay for them. We get a little scare when a hand appears on Jack's shoulder (been a lot of that going around lately), but it's Dean. He tells Jack they have to get Vance back into his grave and then drive a stake into his heart to keep him there. And they're going to convince him using another romance novel method.

Jack tells her he wants to do things Vance can't do - walk her down the aisle, raise a family. This draws Vance out, who lunges at him but finds himself facing Dean. Vance gets Dean against a wall, and Harper calls out to him. Dean thinks she's going to call him off, but she says "Baby, kill him!" and Dean's "huh" look is precious to me. Instead, Dean slaps a handcuff on his arm and cuffs him to a pole or something. Jack cuffs his other arm to a library cart, I think, which is mobile and therefore defeats the purpose of cuffing, but good try, Jack. The cuffs burn Vance, so they're silver or enchanted or something. Seems like a successful hunt, but when the guys look up, the door is open and Harper is gone.

Later we see Harper and her suitcase at a cafe, writing a letter to Jack. So she had time to go home and pack a suitcase, and Dean and Jack didn't go to her apartment and look for her? Guys. Come on. She's sorry she's going to have to kill Jack, but it means she can bring him back to life and they'll be together forever. See you soon, she writes, sealing the envelope addressed to Jack Smith, c/o the Lebanon, Kansas post office. I TOLD YOU NOT TO LET HER KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE, JACK. Is Harper going to be a Big Bad this season? Or maybe a Little Bad? I wouldn't mind seeing her again. She's a charming little villain.

Finally, Jack's drinking coffee again, probably with a lot of sugar, in the bunker. This scene, with them facing each other, is a nice callback to the beginning of the episode. Dean tells Jack he did good, and Jack pushes for more hunts, because he was right. It's not about being right, Dean tells him, it's about what you do after you're wrong, after you've made a mistake. And about not beating yourself up, Jack points out. Dean tells him he's pretty smart, and Jack smiles and coughs and Dean promises to talk about getting him on more hunts when Sam gets back (BECAUSE SAM IS THE ONE TO ASK, YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT) and Jack lies about being fine and then coughs some more and shows Dean his bloody palm and collapses on the floor with blood oozing from his mouth and nose and WELL. THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY.

And the episode ends, without Sam and Dean sharing a single scene. Has that happened before? It's unsettling. I like the ep, though. I liked the relationship focus - Sam bonding with New Charlie, Dean bonding with Jack. I liked the humor. I liked that Sam wasn't ignored, even though the brothers had separate storylines. I liked the continuation of things that have been happening this season, the gentle reminder (but not constant siren) of Dean's guilty feelings and Sam's leadership and Jack's issues. And, of course, CHRISTO!

And there was one weird thing I noticed on first watch, but it didn't jump out at me on rewatch so I don't remember when it happened... Dean said "Son of a B." This is the second episode where they said something weird instead of bitch. What's going on there? Is Dean never going to say "son of a bitch" again? Because that's not good.

What did you guys think? And please help me stay unspoiled; thanks!

[thequeensofmemes]

Reign Quotes

I never saw any ghosts.

But what if they saw you?

She had skinny legs, a missing front tooth, and opinions.

My dear, this was not an act of passion. It was treason.

Love is irrelevant to people like us.

I wonder whose face you're imagining in that target.

I would rather have hope with you than certainty with anyone else.

Win or lose, you will answer for it. That's what kings do.

You do have a way of leaving chaos in your wake.

She's not just an alliance. She's a girl.

I'm not sure words mean anything here.

We'll prove to them that our union is strong.

Treat them as friends until they prove themselves foes.

Contrary to public opinion, I do not relish destroying people's homes.

I don't care what you learn, as long as you don't forget.

We have positioned ourselves for the worst kind of pain.

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that.

I take things sometimes. It makes me feel better.

To see you smile is to feel the sun, your grace.

Do you flirt with everyone?

I'd probably say yes.

Killing isn't supposed to be easy. If your hands weren't shaking, you'd be him.

Close to death, apparently.

I'm glad that my unhappiness gives you so much pleasure.

Don't let fear keep you from greatness.

It could cost you your head.

If servants are gossiping about your unmade bed, it is too late to rectify the situation.

Men must find something to kill from time to time.

Accept that I have lost. I have.

I'm in a nunnery of one.

That's the kind of talk that gets bastards--and mistresses--beheaded.

History is written by the survivors. And I am surely that.

Tell me when you want me to stop.

Happiness is the one thing we queens can never have.

Arming yourself against me? Am I really that frightening?

Am I really stupid enough to find out?

My mother, she was behind this as well?

All her crimes against me were because she loved you.

I grow weary of your threats.

I grew weary of you a decade ago.

That half-blind portrait artist didn't realize I was sitting in a chair while my sister was standing, and now half the kingdom thinks I’m a dwarf.

Love is irrelevant to people like us, a privilege that we do not share.

There are two things I can't abide, betrayal and stupidity.

Next time you see a threat large or small, you cut it down like a weed.

I don't want to do this to you.

Too bad you didn't see this one coming.

When the ax falls on your neck, I will be there.

Off with you child. You've killed me enough for one day.

I don't 'attempt' to do anything--I do it.

Nature is not malignant.

Must I do everything? Shall I catch my head in my own hands, too?

So I sent you here to wed a king and find you engaged to a bastard.

Despite what you may think, I never intended to harm your family.

Sooner or later, blood will be spilled. It's just a matter of whose.

So he is mad...and a mad king incites chaos and rebellion.

I don't make love to you because I want a baby. I want a baby because I love you.

Those who look upon it are taken. And those who are taken die.

We are royals. We have the power to do terrible things. Without trust, we're nothing.

You? What do you have to complain about? You're now married to a beautiful woman of noble birth.

I won't pretend I love you, but we should probably start liking each other, at least.

My first duty is not to my mother.

Don't you think a royal crown suits me?

I'm too rich to care what people say.

Look where our hearts have led us. We've brought you shame.

I suppose innocence is all relative.

I always want to be there for you.

Don't beg. It invites pity and disdain.

Do all married couples have these struggles?

I think you've redefined marital discord.

Nothing bothers me more than problems I've already solved coming back to be problems again.

Am I the only one in this bed with something to forget?

I never dreamt that I'd be wed to a bastard with an imaginary title.

Losing bothers me.

Trust is a luxury I can no longer afford.

You shouldn't have to live like this.

What happens when being a good king means being a bad husband?

I don't need to be part of your schemes.

You no longer have the privilege of obeying your heart!

It isn't fair, the privileges we are given...or the prices we must pay for them.

When you are alone and miserable, remember this was the moment you threw your happiness away.

This marriage is no longer something that happened to me...you are what I want.

Don't get sentimental about a father who was never sentimental about you.

His life was there for the taking. So I took it.

Royals are always at war.

An interesting choice. Assuming you let her know she has one.

All I have to offer you...is me.

I've come to offer you something. The destruction of our mutual enemy.

Common lore is that your teeth are filed into points and your eyes are black with rage.

Ruling requires that your hands be drenched in blood.

What else could I be but a witch?

You are my husband and my king.

You crushed the rebellion by yourself.

If we die, it is at her hands. And if we live I will never forgive her for this.

I'm saying that should anything happen to either of us I hope that you'll remember me not as the man who lied or betrayed you, I hope you'll remember me as the man who would have cherished you if he'd had the chance.

And real love never fades, not truly.

Just know whatever happens, this is not the end I dreamed for us.

I refuse to surrender. My reign will not end without a fight.

Whose blood concerns you more, your husband or your lover's?

All that stands between him and the crown is my head.

Is this how it's going to be from now on? Both of us constantly wondering what the other is up to?

Long live his majesty.

Contempt alone is not enough to condemn a man. Even the contempt of a king.

We're all basically fallen women.

Our love will die here.

It was rather a miracle.

Just don't expect a fond farewell from me. Or my trust. Ever again.

Do not test my power and do not tempt my fury.

If I'm as responsible as you say, I will never forgive myself.

I never imagined you'd kill him by breaking his heart.

The truth of your betrayal was the last thing that he heard before he collapsed.

I will spill blood to defend what's mine.

So you're my new keeper.

You are a necessary evil whose orbit I can't seem to escape.

But you have to know, that no matter your choices, you still have a husband who would do anything to make you happy.

I opened my heart to a liar.

And now I am lying for you, lying even to my brother, protecting you as you take comfort in the arms of another.

Build a future controlled by you, not the changeable heart of a woman.

When you were a child, there were dozens of little girls whose families begged me for that position, but I chose you because you played well together, because you didn't hurt or throw mud at her. But now you have done both.

You are on the cusp of losing your country.

You poisoned a king and a queen and I helped you get away with it. We each hold a noose for the other.

What I meant is your official mourning period is over.

You say that as if I just won a prize. You can't be serious.

Thank you for pointing out the obvious and will you please stop doting on my mother!

Thank you for pointing out the obvious and will you please stop doting on my mother!

Because I love you. And one of us should be happy.

There are those who merely believe they have power, and there are those who actually have it.

Oh, is that caring? It sounds to me like a man trying to tighten his grip on a woman.

Such haste! I haven't properly mocked you for saving the life of your mother's worst enemy.

Congratulations, you've used your knowledge of the heart's noblest emotion to manipulate and destroy someone.

I don't feel strong. I feel like I'm sleepwalking and I don't know how to wake up.

I will be your wife in name only.

Look where that love has brought us.

At least my family will cry at my funeral.

She sent you to woo me, didn't she?

The only alliance I'm interested is temporary, delicious and bad.

Do not seek to take before I can give.

here are some lines I will not cross even to save myself.

I wanted to give you the chance to do the right thing and I still believe you will.

It's a very romantic story, actually. Father threatened to kill them both if they didn't marry.

I need to handle this on my own and to do it my way. What I need from you is to be patient and to believe in me.

My dear, never give up a crown to anybody.

Are you seriously, seriously suggesting that you want to watch me bathe in return for getting my dowry back?

You know that as a Queen, you put on an act. You can't always show what's in your heart. The same is true for being a wife.

We're women. We're not allowed to have things of our own.

Do you worry that I can't bear you a child?

Does it bring us closer for you to know that your failure disappoints me beyond words?

In the name of justice and tolerance you will drive your people to civil war.

My ladies brought this to me months ago. I read it in an hour.

Have you ever been in love?

Don't you turn your back on me. I am more than your friend. I am your Queen!

I can't be ruled by desire. It's nothing to build a life on.

Your figure's gonna go to hell anyway so you might as well eat up. You are feeding the future King.

It's been some weeks now but I wanted to be sure and I am sure. I am with child, our child, at last!

You lie to your guests and then you threaten them with weapons? We will not be treated this way!

Asking you to know your place is like asking the sun not to shine.

It's must be hard. Once a Queen, now the Queen Mother. Decorative, like an expensive vase.

There's a new day coming, and you are on the wrong side.

Are all powerful men so insecure?

Innocent men shouldn't die alone.

You think you're untouchable, that your sins will stay buried, but they don't.

Of all the people you could have slept with, did it have to be one of my ladies? One of my closest friends?

I am your Queen. I command you.

One bedroom for husband and wife. Good luck with that!

Am I really planning a life, a future, without you?

I will not live in fear of her.

Are you trying to blame a woman for a man’s choices?

It was your spies who got that information to me wasn’t it.

I hope your wings are strong you vulture! You will be circling for quite some times.

What’s the cost of a king’s life?

I always knew we would be wed. Even when I first returned.

I see such beauty. Such beauty you have brought me.

You must wed again. You must love again.

I will never love anyone, the way I love you.

I can’t let him go.

Let him go, and hold on to me.

We were suppose to dance under the stars.

I may still a Queen.

Is that it? Our courtship is over. Was I wrong in thinking it was going well?

No matter what you might think, I can’t just force men to fall in love with me.

That is not a strategy.

I am a queen, about to marry a broken Prince for power...

I need proof before the wedding happens.

You two have become thick as thieves.

Do you still hold it agents me that I defended her agents a false accusation of murder?!

It's time to accept my fate

I will not be chased out of my country before I’ve even retuned.

I will fight fire, with fire.

The day may come where we may find ourselves on the battle field. What would you do then?

Impressive. Where did you learn to shoot like that?

Those memories are a part of me.

You love power!

You despise me, yet you expect a free ride!

I think I shall never see you again.

We have to stop them.

Give me your sword.

You took my heart! And now I’ve come to repay you.

I have come for my throne.

Queens do not bow to their subjects. It is in-fact, quite the other way around.

And may God, and your Queen. Have mercy of your soul.

Men don’t like taking orders from woman, they can barely stand speaking to them.

He knows I speak the truth.

Who cares about right or wrong, if you're dead!

I don’t have much to live for these days, but I would still die for my children.

She does have her moments doesn't she.

I’m sorry I wasn’t the mother you wanted me to be. I did my best.

Why would my presence startle you? Oh because you married my lover.

You requested a five course meals, I offer you seven!

Your love, it gave him so much joy, and that's what you must remember.

How can I pray to God, when I am certain he doesn’t not hear me.

My election could mean the end of your nation.

If I cannot disprove these charges I will swing from a rope.

What if he dies?!

We were here! We were playing a game of chess- which I won.

From the moment you were born, our relationship has been complicated.

We live in a word that undervalues woman.

I may be guilty of favouring my sons over my daughters.

And when you are wed, and you leave this home, it will break my heart.

You are offering me a kindness, a consideration I have rarely shown to you over the years.

Is it so unthinkable, a crime might take place in this castle that I had nothing to do with.

The butcher still insists on his innocents.

Just remember. Enjoy him, but never trust him.

I won’t be frightened into your arms by a dead rat, or a dead Cardinal!

If you think you are not going to talk, you are mistaken.

I don’t understand why we have to take time to visit the Generals.

A king should always deliver good news in person. Bad news should be sent by a messenger. Or let them find out on their own.

Go take back your country.

Our union is damaged beyond repair.

That’s the most flattering thing you’ve ever said to me.

Please tell me that wasn't you.

I need you here, too see you, even if I can’t touch you.

I am paying the price. I feel like a prisoner.

I am their Queen. Their whispers are treason.

Your highness, you are a vision.

This thing between us. It must end.

I’m ready to accept his proposal.

If is a fact of our time. A man rules his wife. Even if his wife is a Queen.

And it will be the challenge of my life, not to kill her.

Perhaps I forgot what it means to be a queen.

I shall never name an heir unless it is my own child.

To name a successor is to place a target on one's self.

Perhaps it better to outright refuse him. Be brutal and direct.

Don’t misjudge me. I am my father’s son.

All that’s left now, is for me to enjoy my final hours.

Well, I suppose you’ll have to settle with being the Queen of two nations, not three.

You cannot keep me in a cage. Even one built with love.

We were meant to be happy, and we were. But I have another fate.

Show people you are worthy of the post you hold, and no one will remember how you rose to it.

Love is never simple. Not that I'm any expert.

I was willing to give up so much for you. But now I want you out of my life. Forever.

Why must the fate of nations be decided in a shared bed?

I receive a letter from him nearly everyday. And I haven’t read one.

I can’t image what the night must be without the man you truly love.

Please go. While I still have the courage to say goodbye.

Sons of cobblers, doesn’t get to be with princesses.

I need to believe, that who we are, matters more than our station.

You are who you're born into, and nothing more than people say you are. You can pretend otherwise, but the world won’t pretend with you.

If you go on this mission. I’ll stop loving you!

From now on, you're only allowed to dream about me.

I have many children of my own you know. Some of them turn out quite well.

She is actually dead in’t she?

What is power, without love.

Be grateful for the fun you had, you must have know your time would come.

I expect you’ll be wearing that when we play cards tonight.

She handles tragedy with ruthless clarity.

I will not help you with this

Ask anyone. I’m as fickle as they come.

It's hard for all of us. Being part of this family.

I may be young, and inexperienced, but I promise I’ll give you an heir.

What’s this play about?

It’s a comedy about royals.

I hear the princess is worth looking at.

It's funny isn't in. Both of us here, we already know we've had our one true love.

You must rule your own heart, as firmly as you rule your subjects.

We may be the enemy, but I am not without my manners.

Your light as a feather, I swear!

Would you be interested in anything else? My chambers for example…

There’s the smile I was hoping for.

Allow me to charm you so more, and we’ll work on that next part.

Men forget, that woman have ears.

My child will be heir to her throne, to both Nations.

This is a course you cannot step back from. And if you take it, I fear I am looking at a dead woman.

We all die. The question is what we stood for while we lived.

Have you already named our children? Or did you leave that part for me?

I did not expect to like you. But I do.

Earn my respect then, as I earn the respect of my men. In combat!

Duels only lead to dead men, not respect.

Fists then. A boxing match. If you win, I bend the knee. But if I win, you will withdraw your marriage offer to the Queen.

I let you win that race.

How dare you, didn't you notice that I defied the queen of England for you!?

I’m going to be your husband.

I had a husband! and I loved him and he was murdered in cold blood before my eyes.

Before I met you, I loved someone. In that way that should've lasted a lifetime, but it didn't.

Let the danger come.

You will be my husband in name only. And we will never be happy.

It is my duty, my God-given birthright and my crown. And I will defend it from anyone who attempts to take it.

I had hoped that our marriage would be a partnership in every way. but with your drinking, your cheating, your blind ambition...

I know we hardly know each other, and yet here I am, asking you to risk everything for me.

With or without your crown. I would do anything for you.

I made you King. But we will never be equals.

You can’t expect everyone to be glad you are back at Court, some of us know you.

He will hang. And I will enjoy watching him die.

I didn't kill him, but justice needed to be done.

This vile act will not ease your pain!

Revenge is not meant to ease pain. It is meant to balance the scales.

He was an innocent man!

Men will never willingly bow to the weaker sex.

I put my trust in you, my Lord.

Well surely you don’t blame me.

How nice of you to take time out of your grievance to mock me.

What about the shame you've brought to this family? Not to mention this country and to God himself?!

I've learned never trust the beginning of a book.

I know this isn't what you wanted, but for now, this marriage will protect you.

When the time is right, I can make you a widow.

We need to show them you are not a monster, by showing them what you really are. A King.

Perhaps I shall have your throat slit in your sleep. Or have the villagers do it for me when they come for us to root out the beast we have protected.

I should have your entire family burned at the stake.

He was born first! That's all he has to do.

I have always put my children first. I have done terrible things! I have always done it for their good. But are they worth it?

Tell your son to come to court. Or I will have him dragged here. On his knees.

I will not be remembered as the Queen that drew first blood.

And I can't bear to lose you.

Our affair puts you in danger.

I won't ever tire of you.

He is a long-term confidante. A skilled advisor and diplomat, whose journeys, for the Crown, have met with spectacular success.

I represent something glorious, for everyone. And if you want to banish every person who is dazzled by me, we'll be a nation of mainly women.

You are more precious to me than my nation.

Speak! While there is still mercy in my heart!

I will bow to no man

I will face ever threat to my reign with sword in hand. And any who shall stand in my way shall fall.

I cannot have her blood on my hands. And I cannot let her go.

Look how far you’ve come. Trading your heart to rise in station.

Now that I know how things really work around here. I'm interested in getting to know you better.

Why should I be interested in you?

I was starting to think you didn't have it in you.

But let me offer some advice: next time you threaten someone, make sure you have proof. A theory is nothing more than a feather.

I am on no one's side, but my own.

Get out of my Court!

It’s fine. A daughter joining her mother for an evening stroll is hardly a crime.

The tears might be a bit much.

In a year, everything will be different. I'll have an heir.

I won’t fall in love with him. I promise!! Please have faith in me.

I was almost sent to a nunnery for following my heart!

I lost both the man I love and the man I could have loved.

I'm asking you to marry me. but I’m begging you to save your own life.

Tell me this. Do you think we can be happy together?

Your food is regularity tested for poison.

You're so clever.

Your lies come so easily.

You invited me here because you think of me, as often as I think of you.

He does have his father’s history to overcome.

I am an ambitious man. And if this is my one chance at King, I will take it.

If I am King for only as long as you live, then I say long live the Queen.

I don’t want to find love. I want to be loved.

It wasn’t easy, I paid a fortune.

The inevitable War of Two Queen.

May matrimony set you on a more honorable path.

I am married to the most powerful man in the world.

Stop starting at me witch!

You're a beautiful, ambitious, young woman who's learned to pull the strings of men, and yed can't see when her own strings are being pulled.

Being married to a woman who is in love with another, isn’t exactly the ideal union I dreamed of either.

Bastards and cheaters are not welcome on the Throne.

You will have love or an heir, but not both.

Lie to me again, and I will open you up right here, in your own house.

If you have a baby that isn’t yours, you’ll hang, unless you cooperate.

[bi-bard]

You Both Are Idiots - Dean Winchester and Castiel Imagine (Supernatural

Title: You Both Are Idiots

Pairing: Dean x Platonic!Reader, Cas x Platonic!Reader

Requested: by @gabrielasilva1510

Word Count: 1,158 words

Warning(s): Cussing, angst, implied smut (nothing descriptive, trust me)

Summary: (Season 15x3) After stopping the souls that Chuck released, the team has to try to cope with the losses they've faced. (Y/n) is fixated on not letting those losses tear them apart.

Author's Note: I don't usually write for ships but this person had a very interesting way around that.

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

I was tired. Physically and emotionally drained. I just wanted to help in every way I could but the emotions in the bunker were too strong. Pain and anger. Sadness and... love?

I was nowhere near the most powerful or the most spectacular supernatural creature, but I would say my powers were interesting. I was able to feel other people's emotions on an exaggerated level. If someone was hurting, I would hurt just as badly.

Sam and I had actually been working on the potential of twisting people's emotions. It wasn't going great but that also wasn't important.

The bunker was often a place of strange emotions. There was a lot of confusion during the days and nights. I had always noticed the love in the bunker.

It was normal at this point.

Sam and Dean were siblings. Siblings loved each other. Cas was their best friend. Love wasn't shocking there either.

After all that had happened with God and Jack and Mary and Rowena, I was in a lot of pain. So was everyone else... which made mine even worse.

I was walking toward the library in the bunker when I heard Dean snapping at Cas and felt a wave of anger. I froze in the doorway between the map room and the hall.

"Belphagor was lying," Cas said.

"Belphagor was a demon-"

"Belphagor was using us," Cas argued. I scrunched my face at the waves of emotions. It was a lot. Pain, anger, that strange feeling of love. "He wanted to eat every last soul to take over hell, Earth, everything."

"And we would've figured it out," Dean yelled. "After! With Rowena!"

"The plan changed, Dean," Cas snapped. "Something went wrong! You know this, something always goes wrong!"

"Yeah, and why does that thing seem to always be you," Dean asked.

There was one important lesson I learned with my powers. There were different forms of love. And each one felt different. Siblings and families were different from friends and friends were different from lovers. It was a fact that I had to come to terms with.

Dean and Cas didn't have the same love that Sam and Dean did or that I had with either of them. Dean and Cas had love that wasn't just different... it was some of the most powerful I had experienced.

"You used to trust me," Cas said sadly. "Give me the benefit of the doubt. Now you can barely look at me. My powers are failing and I've tried to talk to you. Over and over. And you just don't want to hear it or you just don't care... I'm dead to you. You still blame me for Mary."

There was a moment of silence.

"Well, I don't think there's anything else to say," Cas turned around. He saw me in the doorway. I now had a hand on my chest and tears in my eyes. He sent me a fake smile and a nod as he went to leave.

"Where are you going," Dean asked.

Cas stopped and turned back to Dean for a moment, "Jack's dead. Chuck's gone. You, Sam, (Y/n)... you have each other. I think it's time that I moved on."

Cas turned and continued walking out. I felt all of the pain and the love.

"Cas, stop, please," I asked, making my presence known to Dean too. Cas was at the bottom of the steps.

"(Y/n)-"

"Please," I said. Cas nodded. "I'm sorry but... you guys are both idiots."

"Sorry," Dean raised his eyebrows at me.

"I don't get it," I explained. "I understand that my powers make me feel what you guys do but how do you two not feel it radiating from each other? It's overwhelming."

"Feel what," Dean asked.

"The love and the pain and the fear," I yelled. "I've felt love between two people but this... this is insane."

"(Y/n)-"

"Dean," I cut him off. "I've seen love with friends and with siblings but this isn't the same. It's stronger and it's scarier. And I know that you know that. I just want you two to talk, for fucks sake."

Cas walked closer to the library. He looked at Dean in silence for a moment. Dean stood with his arms crossed.

Dean sighed, his jaw tensing.

"You know that I've seen love between people," I said, stepping closer to him. "Hell, I've seen your parents together. You and Cas are blinding. I'm not letting both of you walk away from that now."

"Please," Cas asked. That seemed to make Dean's resolve crumble. He nodded and the two of them moved to sit at the table.

"Okay," I smiled. "I'm gonna go check on Sam. Give you two some space."

Dean and Cas nodded.

I waved at them on my way out. I walked down the hall quickly. One problem mostly solved, now to the other. I had to stop for a moment when I felt the love I felt turn into pain.

"Sam," I asked, knocking on his door. He quickly wiped his eyes. "You don't need to hide your emotions from me... especially because you can't."

"Instincts, I guess," he forced a chuckle.

"Scoot over," I nudged him lightly. I laid next to him once there was enough room. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and he leaned his head on my shoulder.

It was a funny sight. Sam was taller than everyone he met, myself included, so when he laid his head on my shoulder, his legs went way farther than mine.

"Do you wanna talk about it," I asked. He awkwardly shook his head against my shoulder. "Okay, we don't have to. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"How are Dean and Cas," he asked back.

"Don't know," I replied. "My powers have a range, Sam."

"So... if we got closer, then you'd know?"

"Yeah."

"Come on," Sam stood up, going around so he could drag me down the hall.

"Sam, this is an invasion of privacy," I whispered as he pulled me along. I stopped about halfway there. Sam went to ask me what it was but I shushed him.

"What," he asked quietly. I held a finger up.

I grinned, "No fear... no anger... there's love and... oh."

"'Oh?'"

"Go back," I said. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Go back. Please"

I started pushing Sam back to his room. He started chuckling when he saw my face turn bright red. I rolled my eyes, just wanting to get away from the whole situation.

"I told you it was an invasion of privacy," I snapped as soon as his door closed.

"You should've seen your face," Sam laughed at me. "That was hilarious."

"I'm glad you're feeling better," I replied sarcastically. He hugged me.

"Thank you," he mumbled. "Now. Let's hope we can stay busy in here long enough to avoid the library as much as possible."

"Forever would be ideal."

Sam just nodded.

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

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