#this could have and perhaps should have been several pages but i needed these jokes to live together | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

quotemenevervore · 1 year

Text

I keep talking about the other parts I’m working on but hang on because I wrote this in like three days because I liked the idea

Content warnings: temporary unsafe vore, fearplay, injuries to pred, safe, soft g/t vore.

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

He’d been chasing Dream down, the former not having shrunk yet. They’d agreed to do some training for the upcoming manhunts, and though neither of them really needed it, Sapnap felt that if he got to store his friend in the end then it was justified. At least then he wouldn’t have to deal with the nagging of ‘you can’t just store your friends all the time’. He’d been right on his tail, so close he could have grasped the back of the other’s hoodie, when suddenly he’d disappeared. Bewildered, the fireborn looked around, trying to see ender particles or a glimpse of the other, simply assuming that the other pearled away.

He was so, so wrong.

He saw a peek of lime green from behind a tree, and grinned, stalking towards it. “Oh Dream~” he called, smirking as the figure began moving away. The chase began once more, Sapnap not getting a close enough look at the figure he was chasing. It only occurred to him that he was getting led far away when he came across a temple, hesitating to follow the other inside.

It was exquisitely made, deepslate and quartz combined to make a beautiful structure similar to that of a jungle temple. But then the green hooded figure slipped into the temple’s entrance, and he stopped staring in awe to pursue.

Once he’d stepped inside, the temple became pitch black, and for a heart-stopping moment he thought he was encountering a warden several levels higher than he should. Even his night vision had been wiped out, and he quickly picked up a torch from his inventory and held it out. It helped, if only slightly, and he hesitantly began to search for the other. “This isn’t a funny joke, Dream. Come on.” He huffed, turning a corner and narrowly avoiding an arrow from a triggered trap. He cut the string quickly to avoid another arrow dangerously close to the head and continued onwards, the dim light from his torch being the only thing that kept him from pitch blackness. Turning a corner, he was almost blinded by a new light, one of the power levels of a lamp, or a lantern. It lit up a small chamber, completely made of black stone, with a lectern and book in the center of the room. As he stepped in, the darkness faded, and he could see properly again. The hooded figure he’d chased in here was nowhere to be seen, and Sapnap let out a frustrated groan as he looked around, trying to spot where he could have gone. Without a glimpse of the figure, his attention turned back towards the lectern, the book catching his eye. Curiosity got the better of the fireborn, and he stepped closer to look at the open page.

Instantly, the building rumbled, cracks forming on the walls and ceilings and raining debris down onto his hair. He didn’t hesitate to run, leaving the book and pedestal and trying to sprint to the exit. Something caught onto his leg, and before he hit the ground, his vision left him once more.

When he came to, he could tell was dangling by his leg, but..

hadn’t he passed out in a crumbling temple?

“Finally awake?” Only then did it register in Sapnap’s head the slight warmth radiating from the thing wrapped around his leg. Eyes snapping open, he was face to face (despite being upside down) with a gigantic, smiling mask. Unlike his friend’s however, the smile was made out of an X for eyes and a D for the mouth. Before the fireborn could even open his mouth, the mask changed, cracking and breaking in places to reveal a gigantic smirk beneath. “Perhaps you don’t recognize me?”

“…Dream?“ an amused hum was the first response he got. “Not quite. Most call me XD, though not many know me or tell the tale.” Sapnap did not miss the intention of the sentence, the fact that people didn’t say anything about the presence before him either from not living to speak of him or being too scared to. Trying to swallow his nerves, despite being upside down still, he debated what he could say to get out of this dangerous situation. “I can see how you became confused, though. We do look somewhat similar.

What I’m curious of, is why you’d follow me into a temple you know nothing of.” Fuck. “I told you, I thought you were Dream, my friend. We were training.” “Hm. Haven’t you ever heard the phrase, ‘curiosity killed the cat’?” “I have…” “Then you should be aware as to what comes next.” A wicked grin, sharp teeth the size of his arm, widened the face of the being before him, forcing himself not to shudder. “Accidents don’t count?” His voice was slightly higher thanks to nerves, and the other’s eyes narrowed, glowing a poisonous green. “Perhaps… we can have some fun. I’ll give you two minutes.” And he was dropped to the ground, choking back a yelp as the impact sent a jolt of pain through his arms. Forcing himself not to lose any more time, he took off into the foliage around him, trying to zigzag and push the god off his trail. Despite his attempts, the pit of dread in his stomach told him it was futile.

~ ~ ~

“What happened to him?” Dream was watching the areas around him, desperately trying to see any glimpse of his friend. One moment, Sapnap had been on his trail, and the next it was like he vanished. He hadn't even gone that far since he’d lost sight of his friend. He began moving away from the point he lost the other at, walking forward and keeping a sharp eye out. At least, until he came across a structure he’d never seen before. And with it, a familiar presence made itself known to him.

Oh, shit.

He didn’t think twice before sprinting in the direction he felt its presence in, praying he’d be fast enough to save his friend from the clutches of the chaotic god.

~ ~ ~

Sapnap was still running when he could tell that the god called the time up, and despite the exhaustion plaguing his body, he forced himself to go faster. He couldn’t stop, if he stopped he knew that he wouldn’t be seen again. His vision was beginning to tunnel, each breath stabbing at his lungs as his feet kept hitting the ground. He couldn’t tell how long he’d been running for, but he did know when fingers wrapped around his leg once more, the fireborn barely able to protect his head from hitting the ground before being tugged upwards.

He thrashed wildly, trying to get out of the god’s grasp, only to be lifted up once more with a tsk. “Funny, I thought you’d try harder to survive.” Fury filled the other, blood beginning to run hotter as his eyes flashed. “I fucking tried! You weren’t ever gonna let me leave!” The larger being looked at him with neon green eyes, contemplating his words before a wicked grin stretched out from under the broken mask. “The feisty ones are always the funnest. It’s been too long since I’ve last interacted with a mortal this interesting. Maybe I’ll keep you.” Suddenly the fingers released him, and he was free falling for a heart stopping moment before he was almost choked as the back of his shirt was grabbed instead. He was lifted closer to the being’s face, scrambling to try and grab at his shirt as he swore he could hear it tear. “Or maybe I’ll just eat you now.”

“Don’t!” XD froze, and Sapnap shuddered at feeling his cool breath washing over him. Turning his attention to the small voice, he was shocked to see- “Dream?” “Don’t eat him.” “Why not? I haven’t eaten in ages. What could you possibly want with him that would be more useful than what I need?” “Because,” the blonde forced himself not to falter at the harsh tone. “I was going to.” The fireborn froze completely, processing the words that just left his friend’s mouth. What? “Aren’t you a little small to do that?” When a verbal answer wasn’t received, he was brought even closer to the god’s maw, flinching when he was suddenly yanked back. The god looked angry as Sapnap started to process that he was not in his hands any longer, but Dream’s. He had to have used a growth potion and made himself larger, as he could fit in the other’s hand, just like if he had drank a shrinking potion.

A noise similar to growling echoed through the air. “If you’re going to eat him, get on with it, then.” The blackette looked up, unable to see his friend’s eyes and figure out what he was doing. He.. he wasn’t actually going to follow through with that, right? Surely he knew it would kill him. On Dream’s side, the unmasked terror in his friend’s eyes stung. Not all of it was directed at him, he knew, but it didn’t make him feel any better with what he was about to do.

Ever so hesitantly, the blonde raised him up, using his other hand to push his mask up just enough so his mouth was exposed. Sapnap usually had blood so hot it made poison ineffective against him, but he swore he felt it turn into ice as he was lifted closer and closer to the other’s mouth. “Dream?” No response, except for a light nudge of his fingers as he was gently pushed into the large, open maw. Before he could even orient himself, he was trapped, teeth sealed shut to prevent his escape. “Dream!” He tried to claw at the other’s gums, only getting himself squished to the roof of his mouth in retaliation. Writhing madly did nothing but make his exhausted body ache more, and help get himself soaked in warm saliva. He couldn’t even be thankful for the warmth melting away the cold of outside, too concerned with the fact that his friend apparently planned to eat him alive. He really wished he could put more trust in his friend, but he knew it was too dangerous. They were in the middle of the forest and he knew Dream wouldn’t immediately spit him out. If he got swallowed, he was done for. Desperately trying not to hyperventilate, he continued to yell out at his captor to release him.

And release him he did. Sapnap suddenly fell down as the other lowered his tongue, not given the chance to orient himself or do anything more than squirm before he was pushed back quickly and swallowed.

Outside, Dream glared at the god, feeling guilt claw at him from his friend’s blatant fear. He wasn’t screaming anymore, and he was too wet to attempt to set himself ablaze and hurt him, which Dream was thankful for. But the frantic yet faltering movements of the other was all he needed to know how badly he’d scared him. “Are we done here?” “I suppose, since I have to find a new meal now.” With that, the god was off, and Dream counted to ten before using a splash potion of shrinking. Frantically, he tore through his inventory to find the purple potion, downing it as fast as he could.

Sapnap was scared, betrayed, but most importantly, pissed. How dare Dream throw away all their history just to piss off a god!? The second he was released from his throat, he lashed out, clawing at the nearest wall. Instantly, he felt the walls tense up and his captor yelp in pain, only making him swipe more at the walls around him. He was only interrupted when a new liquid joined him, surprised to see it wasn’t a healing potion, but a purple liquid. An unhappy growl rattled the organ as the potion began absorbing into the walls, and Sapnap didn’t have the luxury of thinking for more than a second about it before throwing himself back into attacking the walls around him.

If he had thought about it, he may have recognized the mint smell to it, or the fact that drinking it seemed to upset the user’s stomach. He would have been able to piece it together that he wasn’t in any danger. But it wasn’t like he could stop, panic and adrenaline forcing him to continue. He knew he was hurting his friend, but he didn’t want to die.

“Sapnap!” His friend’s panicked yell reached his ears, and he faltered only slightly. It was enough for his surroundings to help significantly smaller, robbing the shrunken man of the ability to move. It did not rob his voice, however. “What the fuck, Dream!? Do I really mean this little to you!?” “Sap, stop, you’re safe, just stop clawing.” Looking down at the wall pressed against him, he could see the blood dripping from the wounds he’d inflicted. Gritting his teeth, he bit back, “Why should I? To make myself an easier meal for you?” “You’re not! You’re not going to die, you’re not even going to get hurt! You really don’t recognize the potion?”

Potion? There was a good amount of it left in the organ around him, and only then did he recognize the scent and color of it. He.. really wasn’t in danger. His friend wasn’t trying to kill him. A shuddery breath left the smaller, very similar to the shaky breaths he could feel his friend taking. Looking back down at the wounds as his space increased again, he couldn’t help the guilt that flooded him. “Do.. are you going to drink a healing potion?” “Can’t. Once I drank that potion, I lost the ability to absorb anything until I drink milk to deactivate it.” “..oh.” “It’s not your fault, Sapnap. I can’t really blame you for your reaction.” “Still. I.. should have trusted you more.” “You know good and well if I had claws I would have done the same the first time you stored me. Granted, they’re different circumstances, but.. yea.”

Sapnap couldn’t do much about the wounds he’d inflicted, but there was something he could try to make them stop bleeding, at least. “Dream?” “Yea?” “Do you want me to try and cauterize the scratches?” There was a long period of silence, and he could tell the other had stopped moving. “I.. don’t know. How badly do you think it’ll hurt, if you can even do that?” “I’m hoping not too bad, I wouldn’t know. I can’t use fire, but I can heat my core temperature up as high as it can go, maybe it’ll stop the pain?” “I.. no. Because it could open back up when I let you out and it’ll just be worse. I’ll be okay, I just gotta get back to base. Just sit tight.” It’d be easy to, honestly. His exhausted body relaxed near instantly, and through his attempt to settle his breathing, his consciousness flipped off like a light.

~ ~ ~

For the first time, he wasn’t woken up by being released. When he did wake up, it was on Dream’s couch, clothes dried and back to normal size. And when he woke up, George was sitting on the chair across from him waiting for him to awaken. “Good morning.” “Morning?” He tried to prop himself up on his elbows, wincing at the soreness of his body. The brunette rolled his eyes. “It’s actually evening. I’d say we have supper waiting, but Dream couldn’t really eat so I didn’t really make anything.” Sapnap cringed at the reminder of what he’d done. “Fuck, I don’t know how I’m gonna make that up to him.” He ran a hand through his bangs, looking down in shame. “Nothing, really. He’s not mad, and he doesn’t blame you. I don’t either, he told me what happened.” “About that fucking weird guy in the forest?” “You mean XD?” Sucking in a breath through his teeth, he nodded.

“Why don’t I make us something to eat? We can talk a little more about XD after we get some food in you.” As George stood and headed to the kitchen, the fireborn began to do the same, only for his communicator to begin ringing. Opening it up, he didn’t even get a chance to say hello before a loud yell disrupted him. “Where the HELL are you!?” “I’m at Dream’s.” “You went over there this morning! Why haven’t you said anything to anyone!? Karl’s damn near having a panic attack and I’m stuck in Las Nevadas! I had to send Wilbur to go get him!” Guilt flooded his body at the avian’s words. “I.. sorry, Q. It’s been a fucking rough day, I promise I’ll make it up for both of you when I can get home.” The rough shape of his voice seemed to snap the other out of his anger, and his next sentence was spoken much softer. “Not tonight?” “No, I just woke up, and I’m really sore. I can barely move. I promise I’ll tell you both what happened.” “Shit, man. Just take care of yourself, okay? I’ll stay home tomorrow so I can be with you and Karl, okay?” “It sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow, I love you.” “I love you too. I’ll tell Karl for you, okay?” “Thank you.”

The call ended quickly after that, and George came back into the room with a sandwich. “Something easy, I don’t know how well you’re doing after everything today.” “Thanks, George.” “You’re welcome.” Now that the other was sitting up, he sat down beside him. “So, I encountered XD a while back. At first I thought he was just a curious god, kinda like how Foolish was when he first came to our SMP. But when I tried to leave, he knocked me unconscious. He wanted a toy. I’d been missing for like a week, with him treating me like an expendable doll before Dream found us. And he was pretty pissed.”

“That’s why he came to find me so quickly, because he knew who it was?” “Yeah. It’s not my first time dealing with him.” Sapnap’s head snapped to the side to look at the blonde who’d just walked in. “How’re you feeling?” “Better. I got a healing potion, so I’m alright.” He took the other seat beside the fireborn, a bittersweet smile on his face. “XD’s kinda fucked up in how he thinks of humans. I’ve tried talking with him about it, but he just got mad at me in return and treated me a similar way he’d treated you. I knew he was gonna take an interest to you, so I had to get you out of there by any means necessary.” “And George?” “George isn’t brave enough to try taking on a god by himself.” “More like I’m not stupid enough to.”

“I’m sorry again, Dream.” “It’s not your fault, Sap. Don’t even worry about it. We have plenty of healing pots. You didn’t even do nearly as much damage as I thought you were going to.” “So now what? If he’s coming back this quickly, then there’s no way any of us can just go wandering about.” “At least I know for sure he won’t come after us in a larger group. Why do you think we haven’t seen him anywhere near the manhunts since we’ve added more hunters.” “But what about when me and Sapnap need to go back to Kinoko kingdom? We can’t just stay here.” “He shouldn’t bother you guys if you use the nether trails, I can walk you two to the portal if you want me to.” “I mean, I planned on staying here tonight but if you want me to go-“ “No, you can stay, George. But I probably should go home, the boys are worried about me.” “Understandably so. You sound like shit, Pandas.” “Here, Sap. I’ll walk you to the portal and call Karl-“ “No, Quackity called earlier and said he’s panicking. But I should be able to run into Wilbur in the Nether, he had to go check on him because they’re not letting Q leave.” “Alright, I’ll call Wilbur then. Let’s go.”

As they set off from the house, Sapnap couldn’t help but look around warily as they walked, despite the confident aura his friend had. He’d pulled his communicator out and held it to his ear. “Hey, Wilbur. I hear you’re on your way to Kinoko.” A beat passed, and Dream then responded. “Can you meet me at the nether portal? Or, the one in the nether at least? Sapnap’s heading home but he’s still not in good shape.” They walked up the steps towards the nether portal, and Dream sighed. “Thanks, Wilbur. We’re going through now.” Ending the call, he noticed the other’s hesitance, holding a hand out for him. Taking it, they walked through the portal together.

~ ~ ~

The door was opened softly, Wilbur calling into the house before stepping in. Karl was curled up on the couch, in his human form and eyes a dark blue. Tears had long since fallen, but his breathing finally had evened out. “Wil?” “I brought someone.” “Is it Q?” He hesitantly uncurled, eyes meeting with the tired eyes of the fiancé he’d been so scared about. Flashing an icy blue, he jumped off the sofa, running into the fireborn’s arms. “I’m sorry I scared you, Karl. It was a rough day, I meant to come back sooner.” “What happened? You didn’t even reach out to us.” “I.. can I wait for Q before I tell you? I'm sorry, I just.. don’t want to say it more than once.” Looking at the other, he felt his tension ease as the other’s eyes became a sympathetic and loving rose shade. “Of course. I can tell you’re tired.” “I bet you are too.” “I’m going to go back and see if I can get Quackity to come home. I know they’re gonna be mad, especially with him taking off tomorrow, but this isn’t about them.” “Thank you, Wilbur.” The revived man offered both of them a smile. “It’s the least I can do. You two have a good night.” “You too!” A happy golden took over the other’s eyes for a minute, as the other took his leave. Sapnap was tugged towards the bedroom, and he didn’t fight it, letting the other help him lay down and trying to find a regeneration potion for him before laying down himself. He gratefully took the potion, drinking it down before he settled into the taller’s arms. And in the morning, when he woke up and found his other fiancé cuddled on his other side, he smiled despite the discussion bound to come. He knew, with his fiancés and his friends by his side, he wouldn’t have to worry about what happened the previous day.

Bonus: Sapnap was laying on the grass near the prime path, relaxing with Dream and George. “Out of curiosity..” peaking both of his friend’s interests, he continued with his question. “I’ve always woken up when someone was letting me out. So, how come I never woke up when you let me out?” Logically thinking, he’d have to be released similar to Quackity releasing him. “Oh, that’s because I went in to get you out.” Sapnap sat up to look at the brunette after the causal way he said he let Dream eat him. “I’m sorry?” “Yeah, I shrunk and Dream tied a string around me so I could get you and he could pull us out without hurting himself worse.” The shock on his face was enough to pull a chuckle out of George, and Dream joined in. “This isn’t our first time doing this, Sapnap.” “…What?”

#shrunken manhunt #mcyt g/t #mcyt vore #mcyt gt #safe vore #soft vore #g/t vore #fear play #unsafe vore tw #temporary though

35 notes · View notes

angelsandarsenic · 2 years

Text

As the Fates Decreed

Word Count: 13000+ words

Summary: The three fates of Emperor XD's pantheon have officially declared Tommy a dead man. On the one hand, he'll finally be with his brother again. On the the other., Tommy isn't ready to die yet. The vigilante has given up on any chance of being saved, but Tubbo has always been willing to take a long shot chance if it's to save his best friend and the Antarctic Empire might have exactly what they need.

TW: cursing, shouting, lots of death mentions, panic attack, fighting (but no blood), mention of losing limbs (let me know if I need any more)

Requested?: no

Notes: I’ve been so excited to post this!! I hope y’all like it :)

Sol 17 was the day I died, Tommy wrote. He started this page in his journal the night The Fates told him his future, that being that he had none.

As he flew from planet Olyms 23, officially named the Pantheon, he wondered why he bothered. When The Fates told you that you would die, you will die. There is no escape (though many have tried). He’s just glad that he was the only one who got caught, not Tubbo or Ranboo.

The simple fact though, was that Emperor XD's fleet didn't even need to follow him this time, he would meet his end either way, as the Fates decreed.

The feel of his soft leather journal would usually be comforting, but now, as Tommy sat writing, his beautiful ship on autopilot (perhaps he could at least save Clementine), it was just a book. He ran his fingers along the familiar grooves on the cover anyway. The tree of life, he thought ruefully. What a joke. The journal had been a gift from Wilbur before he died. He told Tommy that their father and brother had wanted him to have it as protection and as a promise that they'd find each other again. Not that that ever happened. It was worn and almost smelled old, it's pages were permanently wrinkled slightly from the time it got dumped in a river. On a couple pages his handwriting was smudged or scribbled out and on several you could see where the ink in his pen had been running out, yet he couldn't get a new one.

To be fair, he had gotten through his fair share of rough scrapes, including ones he didn't think he would get out of, but even the tree of life couldn't get him out of this one, he guessed. But if it had done anything in the first place, it wouldn't have gotten him into this mess with The Fates to begin with and it wouldn't have gotten Wilbur killed.

He hoped Wilbur couldn't see him now. Supposedly, he was with the stars, watching Tommy from light years away that he could never travel too. He wished they had gotten to go on that last trip together. Wilbur had been so excited, twisting his ring every time he talked about it. That was his tell. Tommy wished Wilbur hadn't kept it a secret, then he could go and at least bring that ring and pretend his brother was still with him.

Tommy would be with him soon enough though. Unless he went to Valhalla. It wasn't incredibly likely, Tommy didn't think, but Wil had been rather interested in that planet system with their own supposed afterlife. He fit the bill to get in as well--Tommy hadn't met many folks from the Antarctic Empire, but what he had heard was that the only requirement was to die a warrior's death. Wilbur may not be a hero to the rest of the universe, but he was a hero to Tommy.

He must have known he was going to die. He spent nights on end pacing and muttering to himself when he thought Tommy was asleep. He never fought with Tommy beyond their play fights in his last days. He must have known he was going to die when he cuddled Tommy close and preened his wings and pressed the journal into his hands, a fond smile on his face and promised everything would be ok. Tommy should have known something was up. He should have asked more questions, fought harder and died with his brother in the explosion.

That was seven years ago. Tommy spent six of those years raining vigilante hell on the Essempi Empire in Wilbur's name. He wanted to start earlier, but resources were hard to come by as a broke eleven year old with a high bounty and a missing arm. Thank the stars for Tubbo. With nothing else use the notebook for, Tommy filled it with his adventures, detailed accounts of how he, the amazing and most pog vigilante Theseus, continued to screw over XD and his "Pantheon" and how they could never catch him. Only the best one's thought, (there were few that weren't "the best") he didn't want to waste it. Not to mention, physical paper books were hard to come by. Whoever his family was must've been filthy rich. Not that it mattered. He had yet to reunite with them, Wilbur had never gotten to either.

He finally stopped his recount of the "trial". "My empire," An echoing voice boomed. It sounded like several voices layered on top of each other. The room itself wasn't incredibly large, but he knew they were being broadcast to the entire galaxy and beyond. "Today we finally unmask the pesky flea that had been biting our great people." Tommy sneered. How fucking dare XD try to belittle him down to nothing but a bug?! Tommy lunged for him, watching the entire rest of the courtroom startle before remembering he was chained, even the big twelve bristled and readied their weapons. The massive winged creature before him didn't even flinch, but Tommy thought he might have seen Dream's halo flicker. Perhaps XD could pretend to squash him underfoot and forget about him, but the entire Olyms system and whoever else was watching had just seen a captive who was barely an adult, intimidate the big twelve of the Pantheon, the iron willed and fisted guard of XD himself.

When the emperor reached down for his mask, Tommy had to be careful not to flinch. Neither the emperor, nor Dream's eyes betrayed any form of recognition, that was what had stung the worst. Even more than when Drista, head of The Fates, swept into the room and pointed a golden ringed finger at him. Switching his notebook and pencil to his prosthetic left arm, he used his right hand to type in some coordinates. He shuffled a bit in his seat to situate his grey wings around the back of the chair. There was no way to change the fact that Tubbo had surely already head the news and wouldn't rest until he found a way for Tommy to survive, but he would be damned if he didn't see his brothers again before he died.

After that…he wasn’t really sure what to do.

Tommy flew. Logstedshire was almost four sol cycles from here, that's where he would go first. All that really mattered right now was seeing Tubbo and Ranboo again.

-----

3rd sol of being a dead man walking- If he was being a little dramatic, blame it on Wilbur. Tommy had picked up so many of his habits and mannerisms before he died. Frankly, Tommy thought he was well within his rights to be dramatic. -A strange ship has been following me since yesterday evening. Now that the galaxy knew what his ship looked like, Tommy had seen progressively fewer and fewer other people over the last three cycles. That only made it easier to figure out when he was being followed, like now. The lack of companionship was already getting to him, so he was almost grateful for the dark, vaguely pointy blob that had been tailing him, but he knew it was going to be far more trouble than it was worth, especially if the strange way the ship seemed to disappear in the inky space around it was anything to go by. How does it even do that?! More importantly, what kind of asshole won't just let a guy die in peace? It was probably some honorless bounty hunter who thought he wouldn't put up as much of a fight now that he was condemned to death anyway. Anyone with half a brain would realize that Emperor Pissface would never give them the reward now though, moron.

Fuck this guy, Tommy was busy doing big man shit, he couldn't be bothered with this right now and he couldn't bring the guy back to Tubbo and Ranboo. That means it's time for some evasive maneuvers.

Just in time, Tommy and his stalker came up on a long asteroid belt. It was far below his ship, floating above a large moon. Tommy waited until they were already part way over it to flip on the thrusters and nose dive. He peeled away from the incoming chunk of rock and into a void in the belt, slowing slightly to watch the dark ship spark to life and attempt to follow him. He kept slowing himself down, making it easy to swerve around the obstacles with all his experience, but the alien ship held its own. He cut left above one and barrel rolled around another, barely making it between two that were slowly drifting towards each other. Expecting that was enough to shake off his tail, as usual, he accelerated and started aiming for the top of the belt again. Glancing in his rear view camera, his smirk dropped and his wings flared. How is he still following me?!

This can’t be one of the Pantheon, they wouldn’t bother with me anymore and that isn’t any of their ships. Who the fuck?? The ship behind him started to close in and Tommy’s heart jumped. No no no no no! He dove again before immediately pulling back up, turning around an asteroid as he went for good measure. When he flattened out he was still being followed. Tommy’s hands flew over Clementine’s controls, guiding his beloved ship through a jagged zig zag, side to side and up and down, horizontal and vertical, but it wasn’t enough. The longer this went on, the closer the other ship got and Tommy couldn’t help the way he kept staring down at his external cameras. His breaths were beginning to come short and at one point his hand slipped off the control panel, almost sending him careening into a stray asteroid. What the fuck?! This was familiar territory—he’s had to throw off followers more time than he can count, he was just that popular, so why was he getting so shaken up?!

Tommy forced himself to take a deep breath. Think, what else can you do? Eliminate the threat, scare them so bad they’ll never want to look at you again. What size is the ship? Only slightly smaller than Clementine, a one passenger fighter. He looked back up in front of him. The other ship was getting far too close for comfort, he had to get rid of it now.

With the press of a button, Tommy brought up on rod Tubbo’s best improvements to his ship: a 3-D map of whatever was surrounding Clementine for two miles. There, dead center of the field. There was an asteroid just big enough to wreck his ship is he ran into it, but small enough that he could shield it from view if he flew right. The stalker would have to be directly behind him.

Good thing he was leading this chase then. Taking a sharp right turn, Tommy brought them around a long strip of debris, watching his map to determine when to curve back around. Just after another large chunk of space rock, he made a precise 90 degree turn, heading straight for the target. With how close the other ship was, he wouldn't have been able to see around Tommy's wing even if he wasn't matching Clementine's path yard for yard. Tommy sped up. The other ship sped up. Tommy waited.

He kept waiting.

The other ship didn't hesitate to follow. At the very last second, Tommy peeled up and around and absolutely gunned it out of the asteroid belt, hoping to make a jump through hyperspace before his stalker could recover.

-------

Sol 3--evening

Planet Martiys 64--Abatojour

A landing bay is the most dangerous place for a traveler. Smugglers and criminals and opposing systems all come together in one massive area, hidden by their own ships and loading and unloading cargo and they could steal your ship or break it or follow you into the city and kidnap you in your most vulnerable time of travel.

A landing bay is the most dangerous place for a vigilante. Smugglers and criminals and bounty hunters and everyone could recognize you or your ship and either kill you or get you arrested.

If you were more careful you wouldn't be in this situation.

On every planet he went to, Tommy's face was plastered to every holoboard, every TV screen and every poster.

————————DEATH WATCH—————————

He cringed and ripped one of the paper ones down as he passed by. It didn't change the fact that as soon as someone saw a curl of his blonde hair (it was pretty rare out in space), he would be done for on this planet, no one would even come near him, much less trade with him and he needed food. He hadn't cut his hair since Wilbur died, so it was pretty easy to pull it back out of his face and tie it, then pin his hood in place. His usual mask was too well known, so he left it in Clementine's bay and found an old grey scarf to wrap around his face instead. With avians being decently common in this galaxy, he didn't need to bind his wings up, but he still peppered some dark tinted powder over their top and rubbed the stain into his feathers to make them seem like not his. He hasn't seen the small, dark ship since he lost it in the asteroid belt, but still remained highly on guard. At this point, it was second nature.

Stars, he would kill for an apple right now. He wondered how hard it would be to find them on this planet. He was close to the Ygdris system, surely it would be easier than anywhere else. This area was famous for their apples, it was part of what made the Antarctic Empire so rich. Tommy stalked the streets, eyeing the various vendors and not getting a second glance from the passers by. Dried meats and fruits from all over the galaxy were proudly displayed, plump and bright against the myriad of rainbow fabrics and dangling jewels also for sale. Carefully displaced from the more perishable items, blacksmiths with glinting blades and pyrotechs meticulously monitoring their blaze powder and various other explosive goods from wandering hands called out their wares, side by side with the apothecaries and potion masters. Tommy loved small merchant planets like this. Sure, he had used them as an early hunting ground for thieving skills, but he genuinely appreciated the lack of massive buildings and excess tech, not to mention the generally cheerful and amiable nature of the occupants.

When he spotted his prize, Tommy hardly debated his choices--not that he would have made the more responsible one on any other day--deciding to go for the apple before any other food, rationalizing it with the admittedly dark argument of ensuring himself a final treat. It wasn't like it mattered if he ate full meals now anyway. (He still hoped the delicacy wasn't too expensive this close to it's main distributor, he didn't like being hungry.) At the stall was a rather tall being, pure white eyes kind, but somehow glinting with wry knowledge. Thick curly hair fell to their shoulders over a gorgeous cloak, a few strands framing a light smile as they sent another customer on their way. They looked familiar...

Wilbur had had a friend once. It was rare that his older brother went out without Tommy, but this friend had a ship and now the pair were leaving more and more often. Sometimes Tommy asked why the friend--he couldn't remember their name, Eren maybe? Eret?--couldn't just take them both away from this awful planet. For only the second time since meeting them, the friend turns to look at Tommy. Their eyes are solid white and sadden when they see him. "I'm sorry Tommy, it's...complicated."

"She is helping us get away sunshine, it's just not that simple."

"Because we're in debt," the child mumbles. He's heard this before. He's not sure how they got this way, or why it's such a big deal, but Wilbur said they'll be hunted down if they run. They've had this conversation before.

It was never meant to be.

The sales person's voice was smooth and melodic, the closest he'd ever heard to Wilbur's voice and he might have gotten teary if it wasn't so deep. "Good morning, what can I get you?"

Tommy suddenly remembered he barely had any money. Real money at least. "How much are your apples?"

"Ah, good choice. Only 170 credits." He had about 100 real, 150 fake. He handed over all the real ones, hoping the merchant wouldn't notice the rest weren't right. He had good fakes, it should be fine, but higher valued goods always checked more thoroughly. The person let them leave before going through all the bills, so Tommy gladly pocketed his snack and moved on to a food stall several booths down. The actual restaurants were tempting, especially when he had enough for a delicious meal, but he needed food to last. He had one more anonymous job he could collect money from, if he acted like he was going to be around long enough to leave Tubbo and Ranboo again, but those didn't pay as well usually and after that, that was it.

He could probably keep taking jobs, find a new mask and start a new identity, maybe even become another vigilante again, because wouldn't that be a reall kick int he balls to the Empire of Essempi, but maybe this meant it was time to settle down, live the rest of his life for himself, the way Wilbur had wanted him too. Surely that would be ok now, surely the Goddess wouldn't be disappointed in him if he quit--it wasn't even quitting, it was...retiring.

There was a garden back home, he remembered. If Tommy was around more, they had thought about getting animals. They always made sure to keep one person back at Logstedshire but unless one of them was going to retire--they had always talked about Tommy. The others could too, he insisted, but even having brought up the idea of dropping his vengeful vigilantism once, his brothers had seemed to be determined to get him to relax, live his life--they wouldn't actually get any because animals were a lot of work and attention. Tommt wanted a cow. Cows were cute, he could name it Henry, and he could learn how to take care of bees for Tubbo. Ranboo never had the same enthusiasm, but they said they were happy to help with the pets and they were excellent at growing things, being half the reason the garden was so well maintained. It only grew potatoes and carrots right now, sometimes turnips, but maybe he could bring some other seeds home. They could learn to make bread, make the garden bigger, build that barn Tommy's been imagining...

The blonde whipped his head around, scarf almost coming undone with the abruptness of the action. Eyes locked on the corner of a building, he stared, then shifted focus to scan the area, keeping a side eye on where he thought he had seen it. There was something there...he was sure of it. Just a moment ago, a dark blob that looked vaguely like a person.

Eventually, he had to relax. There was nothing there, it must've just been his imagination.

That thought didn't sit right with Tommy. Surely he couldn't be hallucinating, he'd always been wary of wayward shadows, it came with the territory of being a criminal.

Did Wilbur ever seem more paranoid before he died?

Tommy couldn't remember. Instead, he let the smell of dinner lead him away.

------

The entire rest of the way back to Logstedshire, Tommy kept his external cameras on. Clementine didn't have any of the fancy upgrades that would alert him to other ships or movement around him, so he had to keep an eye out on his own, but thankfully, he never seemed to see anything. He still took a short detour before closing in on their little planet. He did that sometimes anyway, it didn't mean anything.

There was no air traffic control around Logstedshire, and as far as they knew, it being a tiny dwarf planet, He, Tubbo and Ranboo were the only occupants. The real trick, was knowing just where to land in the crevice of a ravine that they used as their port and then finding the hidden button that opened the tunnel to the cabin.

It was dimly lit and a little damp, chilly seeing as it never saw the sun, but Tommy ran his hands over the stone, doing his best to memorize every divot and bump that he feels like he's never known before. The trek felt both longer and shorter than ever at the same time and Tommy had to stop before he opened the trapdoor at the top of the stairs. Breathe in, breathe out. They're your family, you can do this. He wasn't sure what he was so nervous about. It wasn't like they'd give him any grief for getting caught, or get angry with him. Even Tubbo--mr.-I-show-how-worried-I-was-for-you-by-getting-upset-Underscore wouldn't pull that card with him now.

The way the trees seemed to actively reach out to touch his hand back, as if they were saying love you too glad to have had you don't be afraid made him realize that it was the looks in their eyes he didn't want to see.

He was glad Ranboo was the first one he met. They weren't really sure where Ranboo came from; they didn't look like any planetary creature Tubbo or Tommy had ever seen, nor even anything Tommy had read about. Their existence was frankly more like a piece of the universe--the Milky Way galaxy specifically--had broken off and taken bipedal form. Ranboo's freckles looked like tiny stars (and they had about as many as the skies above), skin and hair pitch black except for the slight shimmer of blues and greens and purples of deeps space, mottled with white patches that covered almost half their body. The fluffy end of their slender tail turned wispy like smoke more often than not and disappeared into the world around it. As he does, Tubbo had simply picked them up somewhere (not even Tubbo quite remembers where) and they soon became a part of the crew. At first, Tommy hadn't liked Ranboo, but he doesn't know what he'd do without them now.

As soon as he stepped through the door of the trio's little shared cabin, Tommy was practically tackled in a hug. He knew it was Ranboo from the way a tail wrapped tightly around his waist and a head of soft hair was pressed up against his chin, tickling his nose. "Ran- Ran please-"

"Shut up! You're dying, why are you dying Tommy this was never supposed to happen! How did you get caught?! Tommy I- I'm gonna miss you, I can't- we can't- Why-?!" The poor creature broke down into stutters and ceaseless questions. Tommy knew they weren't going to stop anytime soon, so he let them go on without bothering to interrupt, just attempting to get comfortable on the floor.

Ranboo hugged him for what felt like hours, and if Tommy wasn't still so emotionally numb (or whatever strange state he was in), he probably would have cried until he ran out of tears. Instead, when they pulled themself off, Tommy simply gulped and offered them a grimace. "I- I'm sorry, Boo, I don't really know what to say..."

Ranboo's eyes widened. "Of course! Of course not, oh Tommy I'm so sorry! This- this must be terrifying..." They would do anything in the universe to help you right now. The thought made him smile, just a little bit.

He shook his head. "Honestly, right now all I want is some food-" Just as he knew, Ranboo leapt at the opportunity.

"We have eggs! And ramen and some bread. It's not much right now, I'm afraid, but-"

"That sounds great Ranboo, thank you." They grinned. "Where's Tubbo?" He figured he knew the answer, but "outside" was incredibly vague when you were on a mountainous forest planet. "I have an apple we can split too," he added.

Their grin dropped and they gave him a lopsided frown. "He's...by the river I think? The far one, in the canyon." They frowned deeper and their eyes tilted upwards in sympathy. "Good luck."

When Tommy glided down over the ridge and saw Tubbo, he was curled up into a ball, holding himself tightly, one hand fiddling with the ring on his left horn, the exact opposite of the way the Fauyn usually looked when he came to this spot.

When Tubbo saw Tommy, he cried.

-----

Are they going to forget me when I'm gone? Will Tubbo and Ranboo move on without me? His breaths were coming faster and faster. The thick wooden walls of Logstedshire were familiar but currently discomforting. The carpet was thin and hard underneath him. Tommy had moved from his bed to the ground for the solidity, like he could somehow attach himself to the world around him and not disappear, but it hadn't helped. He wanted to leave Clementine with his friends, he decided. If they ever had to scrap it for money, he wouldn't mind, but he wanted them to remember him. He needed to know he wasn't simply there and then gone, that his life meant something to someone.

"Today we finally unmask the pesky flea that had been biting our great people." XD was going to snuff him out like he never mattered. His breaths turned into a shaking whine. The universe was going to keep going, he hadn't left anything behind. He was going to be forgotten. His life will have meant nothing, his work will have meant nothing, his brother's death will have meant nothing. The world was a buzz around him, static noise and blurred colors. His cheeks were wet.His wings were hitting something hard, again and again. Trapped! Trapped trapped trapped trapped- He thinks he wanted to do something after his vigilante-ism, he didn't want to be angry forever. He didn't spend enough simple time with Tubbo and Ranboo, he had worked too much, he had never let himself live. And I'm never going to get too.

Tommy Big Man Innit was scared, he realized.

He had always said he didn't fear death. He had always thought that was true. "If I die, I die," he kept telling Tubbo and Ranboo. He wouldn't entirely mind, he missed his brother. He was going to die eventually anyway, right? Was it going to hurt? He was only 18, why did it have to be now? Couldn't he have a little longer? His brother's ring pressed dully into his skin. What was it going to be like? Dark? Empty? There wasn't anything after this, was there? That couldn't be right, this couldn't be it. This didn't feel like the end, please don't let it be the end!

He hadn't realized how much he was shaking until Ranboo's hands clamped down on his shoulders and held him gently in place, carefully guiding his wings away from whatever they were bumping into. He hadn't realized how loud he was being until Tubbo was almost shouting to get his attention, hurrying to crouch down in front of him when he and Ranboo should have been in bed. "Tommy?! Tommy it's ok! It's ok, you're safe here-" He wailed. No he wasn't safe, he was going to die! Tubbo faltered, then slowly reached a hand into his hair, gently beginning to scratch his scalp and twist the curls around his fingers. "Tommy we're here with you. You're still breathing, just breathe, you're alive I promise." Ranboo let him rock, but kept his hands steadily on his back, rubbing around his shoulders and down his spine. He was so strange, switching between almost normal body warmth and pure chill on a dime, like his skin can't hold the temperature. He was starting to slow, pushing his head into Tubbo's hands, thankfully beginning to get enough air to sob instead of the panic of hyperventilation. His hands still drummed wildly on the ground, occasionally up his legs and curling in and out of fists. "There you go, good Tommy, good job. Just breathe, we're right here, ok? We're never letting you go."

That was how he broke. With a loud cry, Tommy collapsed in on himself, falling into Tubbo's lap and wrapping his arms tight around his best friend's waist. Immediately, the other two were all over him. Ranboo's tail wrapped around his leg as they curled themself around Tommy protectively. He could feel the rumble of their chest against his back as they made that almost purring sound they do for comfort. It really did work, Tommy almost laughed. Tubbo's hand carded fully through his hair, brushing warm against the back of his neck on every run through, while the other took over stroking circles around Tommy's shoulders and back. He sobbed. He didn't want to die, he was still so afraid, yet somehow his tears were slowly beginning to run dry.

------

They had mac and cheese today. Tommy eagerly made himself a bowl and went to sit on one of the plush chairs in the common room, carefully dodging the mechanical parts of one of Tubbo's latest projects scattered on the floor. Since getting back home with his friends, he'd been smiling more and more and almost forgetting the nag of the ticking timer in the back of his mind. "Tommy, have you ever heard about the Antarctic Empire?"

Tommy's gaze slid over to his friend and he scoffed. Tubbo wasn't eating, just fiddling absentmindedly with his spoon. His horns needed to be trimmed. Ranboo could probably do that for him when they woke up from their nap, Tommy was no good at it. He wished he was, now more than ever. "Of course I have, everyone has. They're the only force that could possibly stand up to Essempi."

"You know about their, well, I wouldn't say religion, but their practice, I guess? The one about eternal life?"

The line of Tommy's mouth hardened. "Tubbo that's not real. That's just how they gain citizens without and territories without having to forcefully take planets."

"What if it is?! We don't know for sure that it's not possible, there have been accounts of revival after death, isn't it worth a shot?"

"That doesn't mean anything! People will say anything, everybody lies and cheats, you know that."

"But Tommy-"

"It doesn't work Tubbo! If it did, Wilbur would still be alive!" He was on his feet in an instant, charging past the Fauyn and back into the kitchen.

The air around them rang with the echo of Tommy's shout. His mouth was still stretched into his cheeks, baring his teeth. Tubbo didn't answer. It wasn't until Tommy started to relax, letting out a long exhale through his nose, that he heard a sniffle. Then another. Slowly, he turned around and immediately his hard expression broke.

Tubbo wiped his tears away, but they kept coming. He was hunched in on himself, staring at the floor. "I- I just want to try. Please, I don't want to lose my best friend, Tommy...was Wilbur even for sure set up to revive with both of you living on Olyms 19?"

His heart sank, regret and sorrow and guilt all accumulating in his chest in a dark, heavy pool. "He- n-no. I'm sorry Tubbo, I-"

"Then can we please try? Please Tommy, I'm so scared and I know you are too. What if it does work? What if you don't have to die? I- I couldn't live with myself if you died and there was something we could have done about it."

Tommy swallowed thickly. "Alright. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you. If you want me too, I will."

-----

Tommy's favorite part of the Ygdris system was easily the sun. He didn't know how it was possible (he was a vigilante pilot, not a scientist, fuck off) but the sun--maybe it was a sun, maybe something else, he wasn't sure--was always cleaved in half, permanently split on the horizon giving the vast emptiness of the space around it a perpetual sunrise or sunset appearance, depending on where you were looking at it.

The Antarctic Empire, on the planet Ygdris 5, was positioned directly below it, just barely in reach of it's rays. It was notoriously frozen and the shimmering crystal blue sheen of ice and clouded frosty air hovering in its atmosphere confirmed it. Ranboo made a quiet, pleased trill, leaning over Tommy's shoulders with both claws placed neatly on his shirt. They liked the cold. Tommy knew Ranboo was surprisingly cuddly, which worked fine because Tommy was too, but since he had returned to their little dwarf planet they used as a home base, the creature had hardly stopped touching him. It got to the point that even Tommy was starting to find it annoying, but he wouldn't comment. If he thought about it for even a moment, he knew he was glad for it. It was comforting, it was grounding and if he didn't want to freak his friends out any more than they already were, he'd be asking Tubbo for hugs every ten minutes too.

Speaking of, Tubbo had actually kept his distance more and more. Literally. They would easily slip into times where he would forget that he was supposed to be worried and they would be attached at the hip, laughing and roughhousing and playing just like normal; then it would end and the fauyn would seemingly remember that he thinks he should be treating Tommy like glass. It made him mad, but then Tommy would remind himself that he didn't want a fight to be one of his last moments with his friends, just like Wilbur hadn't. At the moment, Tubbo was pacing the cabin of the ship behind their chairs, chewing incessantly on his lips and occasionally muttering to himself. His hooves clunked against Clementine's floor and Tommy had to resist the urge to tell him to sit down. It was rare that Tommyinnit of all people was bothered by noise, but since he had been put on Death Watch it was like his senses were constantly dialed up to eleven, his brain and body trying to live as much of life as it could get before it couldn't anymore.

"Tubbs," Tommy called. "We're here. You're the one getting us in, we need you on the intercom."

"Ah! Right, right." His tail flicked behind him as he came over and he picked up the radio prematurely. A few minutes later, when they'd officially entered the atmosphere, it crackled to life, a small call profile from Antarctic Empire Official Communications appearing on screen.

"Attention incoming ship, you have breached Antarctic Empire airspace, please state your name and business and ship ID."

"Tubbo Underscore, frie- a-acquaintance? of Technoblade, here on invitation with two guests. Thomas Innit and Ranboo. Ship ID HS-17Clem." He never knew his friend had actually become closer with the one of the leaders of such a powerful system, just that Tubbo seemed to make a lot of tech and weapons for them. Good. They'll be protected when I'm gone. There were a couple minutes of hushed static while they found and processed his and Ranboo's official information. Tommy's heart seemed to beat even faster than before. Neither of them had much official information. Getting Ranboo properly registered in the Inter-Galactic Travel System had been a nightmare, and mainly working as a vigilante, Tommy would look suspicious as fuck as well. Fuck, he hoped they let them in, they were far to touchy about communications and intergalactic travel in this system. Not oppressively, like Essempi, just paranoid. The first time he had taken a job with them as Theseus had been a major hassle. Luckily, it got easier after that, but he still hadn't worked with them much.

Video call requested, showed up on Clementine's screen. Tubbo accepted and Tommy tried to put on a neutral face. They didn't get to see the air traffic controller on the other side, but after a short wait, they said, "Very well. Ship HS-17Clem is cleared for lading, follow the map to bay 3."

A simple topographical map into the mountains appeared on their screen, replacing the call, with a blinking red line of travel laid out. It seemed to lead them right into the side of a mountain. Both Ranboo and Tommy glanced over at Tubbo, who didn't bat an eye. Even as they got closer and closer to the flat sheet of rock Tommy knew that was probably an indicator of a hidden area but they weren't slowing down and no doors were opening-

-until the very last second. Tommy let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. That shouldn't have bothered him. He does shit like that all the time, besides, if Tubbo knew what he was doing, it would be fine.

They stepped out into a massive ship bay, easily big enough to hold 7- no 10 more Clementines. Wrapping his wings around himself because it was fucking cold, Tommy used the excuse to pull Tubbo into his side and wrap him up as well. A large blue hedgehog came waddling up to them, stood up on its hind legs to show that it was wearing an Antarctic Empire uniform and said, "Hi! I'm Connor. Welcome to the Antarctic Empire! The Blood God will see you now."

"Were you followed?"

"F-followed?" Tommy glances down again at the dark shine of the sword blade. The man behind it was no less intimidating; a massive piglin with several more weapons hanging from his belt or strapped to his back, sharp tusks protruding from his lower jaw, adorned with gold, in a pristine Anatartctic Empire uniform, cape billowing out behind him. "No?" He was about to say that at least, he didn't think so, but he had been at a point, before deciding it probably wasn't the best decision for his safety at the moment.

The piglin nodded and lowered his sword. "Good." He motioned to the guards standing on either side of him. They strode off briskly, like they already knew what he was asking. It was mercifully warm inside compared to the landing bay, maybe a bit too warm, but chills still rattled down Tommy's spine.

"W-why?"

Blood red eyes met his own. The piglin wasn't glaring, but his gaze was still piercing and Tommy had to resist the urge to shrink back. "You're on Death Watch," he answered simply. Tommy was about to protest, reminding the man that that doesn't make sense. Since I'm on Death Watch nobody has to follow me and nobody wants too, but before he could, the man continued. "You probably were followed, that's how they get you. The clairvoyance of Emperor XD's Fates isn't real, he made it up decades ago to give him a power that no one could take away. Sometimes people do die on their own, or commit suicide, but that was only after Death Watch became legend. In reality, it's an assassin." An assassin?! Immediately, Tommy's mind flashes back to the dark ship, the way it was small, sleek and sharp edged, made for speed and stealth and like almost every ship in the cosmos, probably had some guns on it. It had been like no ship he had ever seen before. "They call him Nightmare. Only XD, Nightmare, maybe the Pantheon and we know about him and if Sam hadn't come to us before they could kill him, we never would have learned. He claims some magic, unstoppable force kills the people that XD so conveniently wants dead--only the one who have been giving him the most trouble, or it would get suspicious--then he sends his personal assassin after them in a covert operation while he gets to cover everything up and push the empire forward again, neatly moving on from the resistance and scaring the galaxy too badly to mess with him. Well, for the most part." He gave Tommy a feral grin, like they were sharing some kind of secret. It disappeared almost as soon as it came.

Nightmare...

Assassin?!

Holy shit! That cheating bastard was going to kill him and cover it up! Fury and indignation sparked to life in Tommy's chest, making him shriek. Beside him, Ranboo gulped and Tubbo just stared, slack jawed.

"Heh, yeah. Don't trust anything the Empire tells you, kid. Lies and propaganda are the only thing they're actually good at. Anyway, they've been trying to find out home base for almost as long, especially now that we've gotten so used to housing Essempi's most wanted."

The blonde avian behind him stepped forward. He and the piglin wore matching emeralds framed in some larger silver design. His green striped bucket hat seemed out of place with the uniform, but Tommy had already seen several pieces of personal flair or adornment on the other soldiers and officers they'd passed. "Eh, you could give them a little more credit, mate, they've certainly given us some trouble now and then."

The piglin huffed and turned away. The blonde man ushered them to follow as he introduced himself. "Welcome back Tubbo," he greeted, "and this must be Tommy and Ranboo! We've heard so much about both of you!" He smiled a kind smile and Tommy's guard was already slipping. "I'm Philza and this is Technoblade. Welcome to the Antarctic Empire."

Now that he didn't have a sword in his face, Tommy could properly appreciate the humongous room around them. It was the exact opposite of XD's home base; where the Essempi Emperor inlaid marble walls with as much gold as he could find, occasionally with a green decorative carpet or banner here and there, a throne in the main hall and servants slipping inconspicuously in and out of secret hallways and corners, the Antarctic Empire's main hall was dark, almost hard to see in, yes, but much nicer on the eyes and with frozen sunlight streaming in through giant glass windows, not really that bad. Instead of a solid, closed in room, large collumns held up the walls along the sides, allowing people to go in and out from anywhere along the hall and to the rest of the building. The base walls were clearly obsidian, not the most decorative rock in mass amounts, but durable as all hell. It could hardly be seen anyway, with velvet drapes bigger than single seater ship hung fro the walls and deep red banners underneath. a good three fifths of the floor in the middle was carpet, the purplish netherite color first with another red carpet on top in the very center, leaving only the outside edges to the hard tile. The two rulers (leaders? Emperors? He wasn't sure what they liked to be called) didn't seem to mind everybody stepping all over them, only stopping the one person who's boots were still dripping with mud there's a mud room, remember? Please go change before you track filth everywhere. Some people were walking together, chatting amiably, not having to bow or take a respectful silence around their rulers, no strict lines and salutes, bowed heads "yes lord".

There were no thrones at the end of the hall, only more doors, which again, everyone seemed to have free reign to travel in and out of. It was understandable why Tubbo talked about this place so fondly, there was no strict hierarchy, no servitude, just equals--the famous anarchist society really held up in person. There was even a mud room! Like someone's childhood home or something. It was already relaxing Tommy as well.

Philza pointed out doors through the columns on either side as they passed, mentioning thing like, "That's the direction of the wash rooms, if you keep following the hallway you'll be outside near the stables, we have gardens on the opposite side of the building through those doors, one for food and other for decoration, it's a lovely place, I recommend a visit." Tommy wasn't sure how they managed to keep plants alive on this perpetually snowing planet, but they must be good at it. Green houses probably? The two didn't ask any more questions yet, simply took them on a tour of the building. Through the big doors at the end of the hallway to the left were the kitchens (he could hear laughter and good natured banter all the way out here), they went through the right and would circle back around. The training center was the first door after that to the right, with a more gym style room directly after, through that door on the left is the private meeting hall, considerably smaller than the entrance room. Tommy did his best to memorize everything, but he was already forgetting. Well, he supposed he'd either live long enough to get used to it, or die before it mattered anyway.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. If he- if he lived...he wasn't betraying Wilbur at all by not coming to see him again, right? If he lived the rest of his life after this, didn't die a hero's death, like Wil did, would he be disappointed? Tommy had done great things, right? He had lived up to his brother's legacy?Wilbur would want him to be happy, he told himself, he'd want him to live, that's why he did what he did in the first place, that's why he's not here anymore-

Tommy wished he was here. He wished his brother could live with him now that he was retired, take care of pets together and be friends with Tubbo and Ranboo and live in this warm, lively place instead of that rotten Olyms system and their old planet. No one was staring down their noses at each other, there weren't eyes on his back everywhere he went. He wished Wilbur had gotten to see a life beyond lesser beings and more work for you, gràson we're in debt Toms we'll get out of here promise.

Philza's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "Here is the dining hall. It's a community area, you can eat whenever you liek and you can take food back to your room if you wish, but typically people like to eat together. It's connected to the kitchen here," he motioned to an open counter area where food was displayed on shelves and in pots, being served by folks in aprons. Behind them he could see the larger kitchen, food being made and brought up front. Further across the room was a counter with stools, where the diners and chefs were chatting and laughing like friends. "Everyone takes turns in the kitchen, we have senior cooks who make sure the food won't be an absolute disaster or nothing gets burned down, because dear goddess, some of these little shits cannot fucking cook." There were some shouts of protest from nearby tables, but when Tommy and Philza looked over, the darker winged avian just laughed and the fauyn waving a fork at him was grinning. They didn't even hesitate to talk back and weren't afraid of the consequences. Technoblade huffed what might have sounded like a chuckle. Tommy took in the rest of the room and had to stop his mouth from dropping open.

Long tables of dark wood were spread throughout the room, which was large enough to hold two armies and thankfully, well lit. People of every species, even some Tommy had never seen before, were intermingled, shouting and laughing and pushing eachother off their benches. He watched several folks get up and go back in line for seconds and another just walk right through the door to the kitchen, grab something out of the fridge and leave. In addition, the food selection was extensive, offering fully vegetarian and vegan meals, mixed, carnivorous meals, some were solely made from the cuisine of certain planets and others were everything all at once and it all smelled heavenly. Tommy's wings ruffled in delight. People were walking easily between tables, switching seats and food and it was an extroverts dream, he could get used to this.

There was a cry of surprise, and suddenly, something was flying across the room. Someone pointed and laughed when a clump of mashed potatoes splattered in someone else's face. Head whipped around to the opposite end of the hall, with one person climbing up on the table and grabbing a tray. "Oh, it's on!"

"No, no wait-"

Philza's protests were in vain as another figure, a lanky brunette with glasses that flashed in the light, also climbed up on his seat. "Gentlemen, ladies and all other comrades," he began in a pompous voice, the way an old fashioned military general would. "We have been issued a challenge! And it is our duty to defend our great table and all it's inhabitants from these vile aggressors!" Everyone cheered and Tommy's heart had completely stopped, because this couldn't be real. This couldn't be real, he knows that voice, knows that man, knows that body language and tone and-

"What'll we do?!"

"Fight!" The troops had been effortlessly rallied.

"Wilbur no!"

Wilbur laughed as he spun Tommy around in his arms, the boy squealed, partially in delight, partially in terror at the sideways way he was held off the ground. "Wilbur yes!" his older brother laughed.

Somehow, Philza was already standing between the two tables, arms held out on either side and the ceasefire was called before the battle had even really begun. Spoons clattered back onto plates and half hearted groans sounded from around the room, like that of children who knew their mischief wouldn't be acceptable yet tried anyway. "No, no, no food fights. You all know better than that."

"But Phil..." Wilbur--Wilbur whined, still grinning that dopey familiar grin.

"No buts. Besides, we have company!"

Then Wilbur turned to look at him and for a moment nothing was real neither the emperor, nor Dream's eyes betrayed any form of recognition pesky fly nobody important your life or death never mattered his death never mattered Wilbur-

His older brother's eyes widened in an instant that had felt like an eternity. "Tommy..." He didn't forget me

He's coming over what do I do it's Wilbur that's impossible what do I-

Wilbur greeted Tommy with open arms and an ear to ear grin, as if he hadn't left his little brother to fend for himself for seven years, all alone and thinking he was dead. Tommy could only stand and stare as Wilbur approached, tears building quickly in his eyes. As soon as Wilbur touched him, they fell. His brother pulled him into a bone crushing hug and suddenly Wilbur was real.

When he didn't react, Wilbur pulled back, giving him fearful looks with also teary eyes. "Tommy? Are you alright? I- I know it's been a long time Sunshine, but- "

Tommy punched him square in the face with all his might.

-----

It wasn’t so much the fact that Tommy punched Wilbur with his metal arm that did all the damage, but the seven years of built up fury, loneliness, sorrow and betrayal.

Other members of the Antarctic Empire had to pull Tommy off of Wilbur. He thrashed in their arms, screaming and crying, berating Wilbur for leaving him. The only one who stood aside was Eret, head bowed. “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME?! I LOST MY ARM BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU SELFISH MOTHERFUCKER-“

”Tommy! Tommy stop!”

”I WAS MISERABLE WITHOUT YOU! I MOURNED YOU EVERY DAY—YOU COULDN'T HAVE GIVEN ME SOME HINT THAT YOU WERE ALIVE?! YOU COULDN'T HAVE COME TO SAVE ME?!”

”TOMMY!”

People were shouting, Tommy wasn’t listening. All he knew was that he was furious. There had only been one other time that he had blamed Wilbur for what he did—only one other time that he got angry at his brother and that was seven years ago, when everything was still fresh and hurting and awful, but now? Now the wound was torn open and being dug into with red hot metal. Now Tommy wanted to hurt him. He wanted Wilbur to feel just as much pain as Tommy had, all seven years of it. He changed hands, almost being able to dart back to his brother moaning on the floor, but someone grabbed him around the ribs and hefted him all the way up to their head, swinging him over their shoulder and walking away. Tubbo and Ranboo were somewhere, frankly Tommy didn't care where and didn't know when they disappeared. Tommy pounded on the blue cloak underneath him, wild swings almost hitting the green hat off the man who was walking with him and his captor. His wings flapped wildly, but the height of the man carrying him made them almost useless. The two let him scream until his voice went hoarse, struggles rapidly getting weaker and weaker as soon as Wilbur was out of sight.

Finally, they reached a thick oak door. He was unceremoniously dropped onto the plush bed inside the room. The massive piglin glared down at him, flicking two hooves in his direction. "Stay."

The other one didn't leave with his friend. After a moment of assessing Tommy's change in behavior, he deemed it safe to sit down on the bed beside him. Tommy curled into himself and tried to stop crying. Philza's dark wings fluttered around his back hesitantly, before ultimately deciding to fold back down onto the bed. There was silence, like the blonde man didn't know what to say. Then, "I didn't know Wilbur was your brother."

Tommy made a feral noise of discontent and pushed his face further into his arms. "I suppose, that makes you the Tommy then?"

He couldn't help but perk up, though he tried to make it look like he didn't. The Tommy? "...Did he talk about me?"

Philza smiled. His eyes were as vivid blue as Tommy's own, perhaps the only difference being a sharp icy hue. "Oh yes, all the time." Every single one of Tommy's functions stalled. Was that a good thing? It was insulting. He didn't forget about me.

Why didn't he come back? Why didn't he take me with him?!

"It's nice to meet you again Tommy. I can't wait to get to know you. You can just call me Phil, by the way." What? Not wanting to be impolite to the host of his new planet, he accepted the handshake. He liked Phil's smile. Until blue eyes glanced down and the smile dropped, pupils momentarily dilating into slits. His gaze was hard set on the shining obsidian band around Tommy's finger. "Where did you get that?"

His eyes narrowed. Phil wouldn't let him pull his hand away. "It was Wilbur's, before the explosion. Why?"

The grip remained firm as Philza seemed to think about this, then his expression softened into something loving and his mouth split into a grin. "I'm glad you have it," was all he said. Then he let go and stood before Tommy could ask any important questions, such as "what the fuck?". "Well, I'll leave you be for tonight, I'm sure you have a lot to get settled and today was a big day. As you can see, everything has been brought in for you already. All I must say, is please no fighting outside of designated combat scenarios." In only a few strides, he was over by the door, already slipping out of the room before pausing one last time to smile at him. "Sleep well Tommy, I'll see you tomorrow."

That- that was strange. He didn't like it. However, he was much to tired in every possible way to deal with it right now. He wasn't even entirely sure what all he had to deal with anymore, there was just so much so fast, how was he supposed to-

Nope. That was Tomorrow Tommy's problem. He was going to sleep.

Immediately the next morning, Tommy was summoned to the private dining room. Philza greeted him with a delighted smile from the head of the single, mostly empty table. "Good morning Tommy! How are you feeling?" Techno grunted a greeting from beside him, then tilted his head up to eye him curiously.

"Mneh," Tommy answered. Phil motioned for him to sit down across from Techno and Tommy immediately went for the pastries. As soon as he bit into one, a wonderful taste exploded in his mouth. "Holy stars, are these apple?"

"Of course, we have plenty here. Would you like to see the orchards?"

"Orchards?!" Philza chuckled at his amazement and suddenly Tommy remembered to be suspicious. "Hold on, why am I here?"

"We want to get to know you," Philza answered simply. "Don't worry, Wilbur won't be here today. Tomorrow either, probably, you gave him a hell time yesterday, and we didn't think it's be great to put you in the same room together again too soon."

Tommy balked. He almost felt bad, hearing that he had hurt his brother badly, but the image of his face, healthier and older, with those white streaks in his hair sent a wave of resentment crashing over him again. He stuffed his mouth with another pastry.

Why would he be here?

We're causing trouble already, they're trying to fix us. It's not their job, it's not their business fuck off!

They're the only thing keeping you from an assassin right now, be calm.

"Where are Tubbo and Ranboo?"

"Either still sleeping or down in the main dining room, I presume. I promise, they're well taken care of and you'll have all day to be with them later." He nodded reluctantly, for lack of anything better to do. "So, Tommy, how old are you?"

"Eighteen." A chunk of pastry got lodged in his throat and he swears he had a mini heart attack, instantly grabbing his neck with one hand and almost spilling his water with the other, hurrying to guzzle it down. His heart went from a near standstill to attempting to beat out of his chest in only a moment. No, no, no, please I can't- I can't die now, I'm so close, please this can't be the end-

A hand pounded on his back and the chunk dislodged and Tommy filled his lungs with as much air as he could possibly get. He was alive. He wasn't going to die from- from something as petty as that.

Philza's face had fallen when he went to sit back down. "You're on Death Watch,"

"I'm on Death Watch," all three of them chorused. Both men were staring at him intensely, like they could see his heartbeat ebbing away. Tommy swallowed thickly and drank some more water. A sharp pang in his chest reminded him that even when Emperor XD condemned him, for every galaxy to see, Wilbur had still been just sitting here, having a grand old time with his new friends. He scowled and tried not to think about it so heart ache would stop making it so hard to breathe. Philza opened his mouth, like he was planning to say something, then closed it. He did it again. Then, he looked over to Techno with pleading eyes.They seemed to have an entire conversation with their eyes, before eventually, Techno sighed and waved at Philza dismissively.

The blonde pursed his lips. Lastly, he turned back to Tommy. "You came here for immortality," he surmised.

"Yes. Sort of. Not really, I'd just settle for not dying." Tommy wouldn't beat around the bush. He tried not to shrink under the man's icy gaze; he knew that was probably the man reason people came to the Antarctic Empire, he only hoped they would determine that he was worth it.

"You were a vigilante, that's why XD condemned you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Tommy stilled. It seemed silly now. It seemed too personal. Would they care? Would they think he was foolish and overreacting? He had to tell the truth anyway, he was putting his life in these people's hands, he wouldn't hold back. "They killed my brother. Or I thought they did. I don't know how, but we got stuck on one of their colony planets, Olyms 19. We weren't natives of the planet, but we got indebted to the Emperor somehow and repaid that with work. We lived in the government's housing with others, but it was hardly livable. They treated us like scum and we were lesser beings, if they said jump, we said how high and if we didn't, we could die. They were doing it all over the galaxy, trapping travelers and colonizing planets and generally treating people like absolute shit. I didn't really know what was going on at the time, only that we were stuck and miserable, but Wilbur started telling me, he said he was going to change things. Then one day he put me on a ship away and blew up the entire capitol city of Olyms 19. It was a fucking failure, I lost my arm, the Pantheon kept enslaving planets and then I was just lost. I learned for myself more of what was happening while I was on the run and once I got on my feet I wanted to stick it to the Pantheon as well and finish what Wilbur started."

"But if the Pantheon thought you were dead, why not move on with your life? You ended up making them hunt you down and kill you anyway," Technoblade pointed out.

"There were other people stuck in my situation, I wasn't going to not help them. Besides, Emperor Fuckface deserves it."

Both men snorted and Tommy thinks he might have gotten a smile out of Techno. "We've been watching you, you know. There have been other rebellion efforts and other vigilantes, but Theseus was in a league of his own. You inspired a lot of our citizens here, actually."

"Really?"

"Oh yes," Philza smiled. "It was clear to see that XD was having trouble with you as well. I'm sorry that he ended up catching you, but we're glad you're here. We're proud of you, Theseus, and we know Wilbur is too." The teen couldn't help the way his heart swelled at that. The Antarctic Empire was a notoriously anarchist group, staging rebellions across the galaxy. Theseus was just one kid and they thought he did well!

Philza's demeanor changed, though Tommy couldn't read it anymore. "Tommy, do you have a journal?"

"What? Uh, yeah? Why?"

"Would you go get it please?"

The entire walk back to his room, his thoughts were racing. How did they know? Why did that matter? What if they found something inside that they didn't like? What if they were going to throw it away? He didn't know why they would do that, but the thought made his hands shake and he thumbed over the engraving again an again until he returned to the dining room. Somehow this time the room felt larger, Tommy felt more exposed. Perhaps it was because they knew who he was or perhaps the way he was quite literally about to hand over his entire life the last seven years to these strange people. He crossed the long table and sat himself down on the other side of Philza again, trying not to grasp the book too hard.

The older blonde held his hand out. "May I?" Both adults were watching him closely.

Deliberately avoiding hesitation, he handed it over. He tried not to fiddle with his hands. He wasn't hungry anymore.

Philza ran a hand over the cover almost lovingly, like greeting an old friend, dipping a finger into one of the imprints of an apple hanging form the branches of the tree. He took note of the well worn edges and the softness of the leather, the way the binding string was ready to fall apart. Tommy was eternally relieved that he didn't read what was inside, or even so much and skim the pages, only flipped them through his fingers like he was testing the paper. Eventually, he gave it to Technoblade to do the same and held his hand out to Tommy again. "The ring as well please? We'll give it back, I promise."

He wasn't expecting that. he wasn't ready for that. He didn't want to give his ring up, not once since Wilbur gave it to him had he taken it off. It slipped off his finger painfully easily. Once again, Philza looked at it in that strange, familiar way, quickly giving it as well to the piglin who hadn't already seen it. Technoblade turned both items over in his hooves with a critical eye. "The Sword and the sandals," he muttered.

"What?"

Blood red eyes met his own. "Tommy, did you choose your vigilante name based off of the legend of Theseus?"

"No. I don't know who that is. I--this is going to sound so dumb--the night I decided to be a vigilante, a woman appeared in my dream. I think she was a goddess from somewhere, I don't know, I'm an atheist; she was suuuper tall and all dressed in black, with a veiled hat? She called me Theseus and begged me to 'take [my] journey by ship' instead of staying on-planet, so I did. I don't know, it was confusing, but I got the feeling she was talking about the vigilante-ism--that Dream Feeling, you know? Besides, I had no other idea what to call myself, so I just went with it."

Technoblade and Philza just stared for a moment, then both burst out laughing. Techno rose from his seat and walked around the table, kneeling by Tommy's chair. "Tommy, before Aegeus, Theseus' father left for Athens, he hid a sword and a pair of sandals under a giant boulder and told Aethra 'If you bore a son in nine months and if he is able to lift this rock once he reaches manhood, then send him to Athens with this sword and these sandals, for then I’d know that he is, indeed, my son, the future king of Athens'." The piglin took Tommy's hand and slid the ring back on his finger, then pressed the journal into his palms. "When Theseus did, Aethra begged him to travel to Athens by sea, because of all the dangers waiting by land. Theseus refused, wanting to prove himself a worthy hero, instead facing threat after threat until he arrived and was hailed as a great warrior."

"Rather poetic, don't you think, mate?"

Techno nodded, but Tommy was still lost. Thankfully, the piglin continued as he stood. "Phil is my father and Wilbur is my twin; we had a younger brother a long time ago, but in an accident, we got separated. Wilbur and the youngest were lost. Almost a decade ago, Wilbur found us again, on a mission from the Pantheon. He still had mom's ring, that's how we knew."

Suddenly, all the pieces began to click into place. Tommy gaped. "You gave him the journal! When- when he said we'd see our family again-"

"Yes. He told us about your situation and how the Pantheon was would never let you travel with him in order to make sure he came back. We helped him plan your escape. We've been looking for you everywhere, Theseus, we were almost afraid you really had died in the explosion. Yet you were right in front of us the whole time," Phil finished. His eyes were teary and Tommy could feel his own starting to wet. Even Technoblade was smiling.

”So…you…” He didn’t just have an older brother, he had a whole family.

A whole family who didn't leave him on purpose, a whole family who had been searching for him the whole time.

"Welcome home, Theseus."

After the reunion, Techno and Phil led him on a tour around the building, saying they’ll have more than enough time to get to the rest of the city and the planet later. He didn't mind waiting another day to go see Tubbo and Ranboo, they would understand. They ended in the infirmary.

Tommy had been a chatterbox the entire time, but neither Phi, nor Techno seemed to mind. “Wait so, how do you guys do the immortality thing? Is it even real?? It has to be since Wilbur is alive, right?”

”It is real. Frankly, we prefer to keep it more of a legend, especially so others like XD don’t figure it out as well. There are two parts to it.”

”One,” Techno began, “the gapples. Golden apples could bring someone back from the very brink of death, one heartbeat left. They have magical properties that make you more durable and helps wound close faster. Usually the effect is only temporary, but if you eat enough…well, theoretically you could become immortal or close enough at least.” He glanced over at Phil. Tommy’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.

”Trust me mate, it’s not actually that great.”

”Regeneration beds are…complicated. They’re hard to explain,” Techno continued. “Essentially, there’s some spiritual mumbo jumbo that Phil could tell you more about if you’re interested that makes places of rest an anchor for the soul. With some magical intervention, you can anchor a soul there permanently. We have people eat the gapples so that they can reform after death and they don’t just end up haunting us instead.” They pushed open the massive doors to the infirmary, leading into a large white hospital room. “We keep all of our regen beds in here, so if something happens to you, this is where you’ll end up. Using them as a place of healing strengthens the revival factor as well.”

”We also occasionally make protective pendants,” Phil adds.

”You’re not a real member of the Antarctic Empire if you haven’t died at least once,” a voice called cheerfully. Halfway across the room on the right, a girl with pink hair in twin buns turned away from a bed and waved at them.

“That’s not true Nemesis, stop scaring him,” Phil chided.

The girl shrugged, wandering over. She held out her hand with a kind smile. “But you do have to prove yourself a hero and a true warrior. Immortality isn't free. Though, from what I've heard, that won't be a problem for you. Hi, I’m Niki. You must be Tommy!”

"Hi. Nemesis? Or Niki?"

"Oh, you can call me either. Some Syndicate members have codenames. Phil and Tech are Zephyrus and Protesilaus, respectively. You probably haven't heard of Harpocrates, Apollo is the dog, you'll see him wandering around. There are a lot of dogs actually, but he's the one with the golden collar. And then...wasn't Tubbo going to become an official member soon?"

Tommy's head whipped around to stare at the two behind him. His brother, a member of the Syndicate?! "Yeah, we haven't actually offered it yet though, I'm not sure he would want to, but we've been coming up with names for him."

"I can make him!" Tommy declared. "Ohhhh that would be so pog! Can I have a codename?! And can Ranboo stay here too??"

Phil put a hand on his head, effectively calming his bouncing. "Of course, mate. You don't have to live here to be a member of the Syndicate though. Although, we were hoping you would stay."

"Of course! This place is fucking awesome!! So what's my codename?? It's gotta be something cool."

"You already have a codename Tommy, you're Theseus. Ah, but we understand if you want to change it. I assure you though, XD--no one--can hurt you here."

Oh.

That- wow it's been a long time since he's heard that.

No one can hurt you while I'm here sunshine, I promise.

Welcome home Theseus. "Heh, nah. I think Theseus is fine. I just forgot for a sec."

Then, behind Niki, he saw a head of curly brown hair, tucked into a hospital bed. The face turned away when they locked eyes, like he was afraid to be caught staring. Tommy gulped and his feathers ruffled, instinctively swiping one back towards where Phil was standing close behind him. The older avian- Tommy's father reached him hand out to meet it reassuringly and with a deep breath, Tommy walked to the bed.

The other two followed behind, trying to give him his space while simultaneously staying well withing arms reach.

The difference between Wilbur today and Wilbur yesterday was stark. He looked like he hadn't slept all night and the bruises blooming across his eyes and cheek and jaw only made the worn down, pitiful appearance worse. A wave of sickness rolled n Tommy's stomach and he suddenly felt very very guilty because he had done that, he had hurt his own brother--his Wilbur. Even if he wasn't the exact same Wilbur Tommy remembered, even if he was growing a beard and looked just a bit older and had those unnatural white streaks in his hair, he was still, undeniably Tommy's brother.

”Hi Tommy.” Wilbur kept his voice low and soft, prepared for Tommy to go off on him again.

"Hi," he answered quietly.

”Your hair has gotten so long,” Wil muttered, pushing a few curls away from his face. The blonde tried not to melt into the touch.

”Yeah, well, I didn’t have you there to cut it for me.” It was equal parts bitter dig, honesty and invitation.

“Why did you leave me? Why didn’t you at least tell me?”

Wilbur opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, a deafening boom shook the building.

“ATTENTION YGDRIS 5, THE EMPEROR OF ESSEMPI ORDERS YOU TO HAND OVER YOUR LEADERS AND SURRENDER FOR CRIMES AGAINST THE EMPIRE”

”What!?”

”How the fuck-?!”

In an instant, Technoblade had whirled around and was rushing out the door, already unsheathing an axe across his back. Alarms were blaring in Tommy’s ears and Wilbur jumped out of bed, grabbing him before he could do anything else. “Tommy go to your room and hide-“

”No!”

"Tommy I'm not letting you get hurt again, you'll be safe there-"

"No! I'm not running away, they're here for me!"

"He's right mate," Phil interjected.

"Wh- Phil! No. I don't care, I know I haven't been there but I love you Tommy and I'm going to keep you safe!"

"I can keep myself safe bitch, I've been doing it this whole time, haven't I?!" Wilbur's expression broke and his grip on Tommy's shoulders slackened. The blonde couldn't help but feel bad again, his heart aching to just ahve his brother back, they simple way they used to be. "Yo- I- Look, I've got this covered, ok? But I need Tubbo and Ranboo to be safe too, I don't want them dragged into this mess. Wil please, will you go find them? Protect them, that- that's what you can do for me."

Wilbur's eyes widened with something like hope--pained, but hope nonetheless. "Ok. Ok, I can do that. I- I'll keep them safe, promise." He turned to leave but before he could Tommy yanked him back in and crushed him in a hug, this time letting himself cry freely. Wilbur's arms settled perfectly beside his wings and wrapped warm around his body just like they always had, like they had never parted.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too Sunshine."

"I love you."

Wilbur pressed a kiss to the top of his head and Tommy could hear the smile in his voice when he said, "I love you too."

Another boom rattled the building and they practically threw each other off, Wilbur turning and sprinting for the doors with his long legs, but not before twisting back to give him one last joyous smile and wave which Tommy gladly returned. Let's just hope this time-

No, nope not thinking about that.

"I'm glad you made up mate." There was a hand on his shoulder and Tommy looked up to his father, the same bright blue eyes and blonde hair and Tommy felt safe despite it all.

"I'm still gonna fight him later," he answered and Phil laughed. Then, something was being pressed into Tommy's hands. It was Phil's emerald pendant. The silver designs around it were another tree of life, just like the one on his journal, with the emerald set firmly in the trunk.

"Wear that. It'll keep you safe."

Tommy gaped up at him, but grinned wide and clipped the pendant to the hole in the zipper on his jacket's breast pocket and held his hands out expectantly. "So, do I get a sword too, or what? 'Cause you guys kind of took away my blaster." He was practically bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet with excitement, making the grabby hands and Phil was trying not to laugh, staring down at him with unfettered fondness in his eyes already.

"Absolutely not, I don't trust you with one of those yet." Phil rushed over to the wall by the nurse's station and pressed a button and the entire wall opened up to reveal a fully stocked weapons cabinet. Tommy screamed with delight. Quickly choosing a blaster to sheath on his hip and another, larger one to carry around, he practically jumped out to follow Phil out of the infirmary.

Just a few turns that Tommy still couldn't remember later, and they were skidding to a stop in the center of the entrance hall, where Tommy had first met Phil and Techno. He ddn't have to look around for the source of the commotion, besides the fact that soldiers were assembling en mass and already in fights with Essempi soldiers, almost half the roof had been blown open, letting bright white light stream in. Hovering just outside of his enormous imperial ship, was XD himself, with his little piss ant number 2, Dream, next to him.

Dream was on his own ship and didn't look anything like how he normally does. His white face mask was the same, with the same painfully bright halo around his head that mirrored XD's (once again Tommy couldn't help but wonder if they were related) but his clothes were dark and much more suited for tactical operations than even the usual manhunt clothes he wore as the head of the Pantheon. At his side he held a long, wickedly sharp sword, with an equally intimidating dagger at his belt. That was the ship! Tommy realized. The ship Dream is standing on- That was the ship that was following me!

But he didn't have time to gape as someone almost slammed into him from the side. Tommy darted out of the way, only not getting hit by vigilante's reflexes, and realized that everyone was here. There, just a little off to his left was an enraged shout of "Sapnap!" and some more words he couldn't hear and looking over, there was Ares using his blazeborn abilities to blast fire at Hephaestus- no, not Hephaestus, he thought. Sam. The ex-Pantheon member and the only Death Watch not to be confirmed. On his right, he whirled around to see Nemesis viciously slash out at Hermes, a tall demonic looking creature who he didn't know the real name of, Dionysus and Athena were tag teaming a battalion of Antarctic Empire soldiers with the Dionysus, the Platyanas swooping down on them from above with his golden wings and Athena (yet another strange species Tommy had never known, he was starting to think Ranboo's very normal alien existence was actually plausible) using his book to warp the cosmos around them momentarily. Immediately, Tommy moved to go help them, he'd dealt with everyone in the Pantheon before and escaped, they needed him, but Phil grabbed his collar.

"No," They have other friends, they can take care of themselves. We're needed up there." He pointed to the top of the rubble pile where a familiar piglin form was squared off against all five of the rest of the Pantheon, XD and Dream watching with feigned disinterest, yet not moving from their safe positions several hundred yards above. Techno was doing well, of course he was, being notoriously one of the only beings to scare Emperor XD (and everyone knew it, even if they couldn't admit it), but there were bigger fish to fry that he was too preoccupied to take down. Tommy almost feared for his life--honestly, he kind of was afraid. What if something happened to his new brother? This was no easy fight, what if-

Two were unconscious and tumbling down the rubble pile at the piglin's feet, he threw off a third and slashed a fourth, leaving the fifth to zip away out of fear. Tommy was sure they would come back, but it gave Techno a break. He noticed them at the exact same time they had both flared their wings to take off, and grinned savagely. "Welcome to the party! Yer late!" It's ok, it's ok, he's fucking insane, he's got this, no one can take down The Blade.

With a single powerful beat of his wings, Phil was beside Technoblade, darting forward in a black blur to spear the fifth Pantheon member out of the air when they returned. Technoblade hadn't even bothered to look behind him. Something shiny in his hooves caught Tommy's eyes from all the way on the ground. Technoblade held the golden apple out to Tommy with an expectant look and that same wild, sharp tusked grin. "You want to be a hero Tommy? Then die like one."

Without a single thought, Tommy leapt into the air and caught it, ripping a piece out with his teeth in one fell swoop. It tasted better than anything he had ever tried, anything he had ever experienced. It tasted like magic, like victory, like life, shimmering, popping, exploding flavor on his tongue. It tasted like cold metal and blood, snakes venom running down his throat and smelled like flowers and earth and old bones held up to his face.

He leveled his aim at XD's chest as the Emperor was turning towards him and flew directly to his death.

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

I didn’t know the story of Theseus very well before this and I didn’t expect it to match up as well as it did but now I feel like a literary genius. We even got a king Minos parallel at the end with XD showing up for blood and Tommy going to fight for his new country/planet

This whole thing is very greek but celtic/norse antarctic empire is my everything so I put it in there anyway.

IVE WANTED TO POST THIS For FOREVER

-sorta ad astra inspired usually sci-fi isn't my thing

-so tumblr doesn't have a word limit apparently or at least I haven't found it yet

15 notes · View notes

superman86to99 · 2 years

Photo

Earth-Prime: Superman & Lois (April 2022)

We’re taking another time jump because we couldn’t resist talking about Tom Grummett’s return to Superman comics! For one issue, but still! This is a tie-in comic set in the world of the current Superman & Lois TV show, and we’ve known for some time that we have at least one fan of the ‘86-’99 era in the writing staff (there’s no other logical explanation for including freaking Sam Foswell). So, we were delighted but not surprised to see some shout outs to our favorite era in this issue. The comic includes three stories:

The Anniversary

Clark and Lois tell their kids the story of their first anniversary, which happened several days after it should have because one of them is a busy investigative reporter and the other is a busy investigative reporter AND a superhero. References we spotted:

We find out that this Clark shaves by reflecting his eye lasers on (presumably Kryptonian) metal, just like ours does, as established way back in 1986′s Man of Steel #4. Don Sparrow says: “Tyler Hoechlin (who plays Superman) has joked about how fine-tuned Superman’s heat vision would need to be to get his signature 5 o’clock shadow look, and here we see it in action.” Maybe he wants to do a full shave but his heat vision isn’t just as strong as comic book Superman’s?

Also, we see the Planet offices in the panel above and that’s obviously Ron Troupe there, but I wonder if the blonde is Andrea the intern, a secretly fascinating minor ‘80s-’90s character we gotta write an article about at some point (”Andrea” was a fake name; she was actually a supporting character in another comic who ran away to Metropolis).

Don: “Page 10 is a treasure trove of triangle era terrors, as we see not only Toyman, but also Hi-Tech, Killgrave, Barrage, Loophole, (another personal fave) Sleez, and Supergirl TV series Vigilante Philip Karnowsky all in one shot.” Barrage and Karnowsky being there is funny because Barrage’s name in the comics IS Philip Karnowsky, but the Supergirl show turned him into Vigilante. Also, are you sure that’s Professor Killgrave in the back, Don? Kinda looks more like Roger Stern to me.

Don again: “Superman also later faces off with Lobo (making me wonder if it’s the Irish SyFy version of the character, who I’d love to see on a proper Arrowverse show -- along with the excellent Brainiac from that series, while I’m dreaming). Lobo in turn makes reference to a female ‘redhead’ who has hired Lobo to track down Superman, which must be Maxima, given how often one of this issue’s writers talks about her on Twitter.”

Lobo then takes Superman to a place he “borrowed” from an old drinking buddy. Don: “This is it, ladies and gentlemen! Our first Arrowverse reference to Bibbo Bibbowski, albeit in the form of a Bubba Gump shrimp like restaurant, which Lobo steals entirely, Carmen Sandiego-style.” Wait, is this really the first reference to Bibbo in this universe in 10 years?! For shame. I would have started there.

Lois investigates a crooked politician who turns out to be in league with Intergang and the late (in our continuity) Bruno “Ugly” Mannheim. Also, just noticed that the cabbie below looks an awful lot like Professor Hamilton, who perhaps had a harder time finding work after his prison stint in this universe. (It was a missed opportunity not having him say the cab ride was $6,50, but I guess those prices are no longer realistic.)

Finally, the last page continues the long tradition of ending stories with a shot of Superman flying away from the Kent farm, started in Man of Steel #1. Don says this “should have been the issue’s cover” and I agree!

Father’s Day

A short story revealing how Pa Kent (and Robert Redford/Dustin Hoffman) inspired Clark to become a reporter and help people. No specific ‘86-’99 shout outs that we could spot.

Controlled Burn

The previously unrevealed origin of the evil Superman from the reality the show’s version of John Henry Irons hails from, who wears a black costume reminiscent of our Superman’s post-resurrection suit. Speaking of that storyline, we see a familiar scene regarding the DCU’s unluckiest city... Don: “Man, Coast City just can’t catch a break!”

This story includes an important appearance by “Morgan Edge,” but if you’ve watched the show you know the character is very different from his comic book counterpart. Also, a cameo by Magog, but since we’re living in 1994 we don’t know who that is (yet).

Don has much more to say on this issue, including references to other Superman eras and movies! Incidentally: Those who have read this issue, try to guess which page Don had signed by his personal friend/fellow Canuck Tom Grummett...

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):

We begin with the cover by Kim Jacinto, and it’s… bad. Not good at all. I do appreciate that they included Tyler Hoechlin’s signature stubble, but otherwise, it’s a complete turnoff, especially in an issue where the interiors are drawn by the legendary Tom Grummett. To get pedantic: neither Hoechlin, nor Bitsie Tulloch have brown hair in the series. Tyler’s hair has no spit curl, his eyes are green, not blue. Jordan Elsass has light brown hair, not bright yellow, and no human being has faces like the super-sons are shown to have here. But I get that there are just as many readers who would prefer this cover over the interior art, and art appreciation is totally subjective. (And I admit, it’s entirely possible, and likely, even, that I’m just flat out envious, and wishing I could do a cover like this one.)

Inside, we’re thrown immediately into familiar surroundings, as we see the Kent farm in the moonlight, and it’s a great, comforting image to kick off the first chapter.

Everything we see is screen accurate, somehow without just looking like they’re tracing still images from the show. The cast here is a perfect blend of actor resemblance, and classic cartooning, so that you know who each character is, without slavishly looking identical to the performers. If pressed, I’d say Tom’s Lois looks the most like on-screen, but there’s not a wrong note for any character. The page layouts take a repetitive rhythm as you read the book, with the layouts being so similar page to page that it almost reads like an animatic as you turn the pages. The left page always has an action splash page taking up about 3/4s of the page, with a three-panel sequence of either Clark or Lois missing the other as they cover the tumultuous events of their lives as heroes and journalists, while the right side has a similar grid of the couple making plans, and doing their usual sleuthing. There’s no shortage of Easter eggs throughout, especially for a blog as devoted to the triangle era as this one! Page 4 has Superman taking on the Mechanical Monsters, looking for all the world like the ones in the old Fleischer cartoons (even the font on the newspaper on the following page matches the one from the cartoon).

Clark’s outfits and posture generally look more like Tyler Hoechlin than a traditional comic book version of the character. Page 8 is my personal favourite, as Superman goes toe-to-toe with Superman IV’s Nuclear Man, a character I love, as I’ve shown my young children that movie more than any of the other, more sophisticated Reeve films. That’s why I chose that page to be signed by none other than Tom Grummett himself at a recent signing. I did ask if I could buy the page, but he's hanging onto it for now!

Page 10 is a treasure trove of triangle era terrors, as we see not only Toyman, but also Hi-Tech, Killgrave, Barrage, Loophole, (another person fave) Sleez, and Supergirl TV series Vigilante Philip Karnowsky all in one shot. Superman also later faces off with Lobo (making me wonder if it’s the Irish SyFy version of the character, who I’d love to see on a proper Arrowverse show—along with the excellent Brainiac from that series, while I’m dreaming). Lobo in turn makes reference to a female “redhead” who has hired Lobo to track down Superman, which must be Maxima, given how often this issue’s writer talks about her on Twitter.

The story ends with a couple of great splash images, none better than Superman flying his bride to sunny Hawaii, in a spectacular image, which should have been this issue’s cover.

The next story, “Father’s Day” short though it is, is filled with still more great stuff. The opening page grabbed some headlines, perceived by many as a rejection of the over-protective Kevin Costner version of Jonathan Kent, as the TV Jonathan praises his son for saving a young boy, symmetrically from a bus disaster.

Grummett does a great job on the second page, with a glimpse at an unnamed Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman in their roles as Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in All The President’s Men. While I normally eschew real world politics in these pages, the leader of the free world being brought to justice through journalism is a fitting inspiration for this generation’s Superman, no matter which party to which he belongs.

We get another Easter egg as the helicopter Superman rescues (in a great image—dig the shadows falling from his arm, and bent leg!) recalls the red one from the Lois rescue/meet-cute in the first Reeve film.

The final story in this issue is well-drawn throughout, as loathe as I am to see yet another evil Superman. The story not only hints at the now-revealed Magog as the big crossover villain for this comic series, but also indicates that (spoilers from last season here…) John Henry’s red sun missile didn’t actually kill the Kal-El of his and Nat’s Earth. [Max: Is it me or would this story have rocked if they’d gotten Jerry Ordway to ink it? I’m a big fan of Norm Rapmund but I feel like Ordway’s shades could have added a lot to the atmosphere here.]

STRAY OBSERVATIONS:

It’s a cute callback to both Action Comics #1, and the first appearance of the Tyler Hoechlin Superman, that a green toy car is responsible for shutting down the press at the Daily Planet.

There’s some equal opportunity sex appeal, as both Clark, then Lois, then Clark, then Lois again are featured in a steamy shower conversation to move the plot along. I feel like a lesser story would only have Lois.

I wonder if Lobo’s comment about preferring Superman’s old outfit is a voodoo-doll like nod to fans like me, who miss the trunks on the otherwise perfect Hoechlin suit.

Superman & Lois is by far the best show on TV for my money, and my favourite part of the show is Lois’ journalism (indeed, the only thing lacking from the show is Clark-as-reporter, but you can’t have it all). So naturally, I love Lois in an Alias-like wig to get the scoop on the mayor’s dalliance with another triangle-era figure, Ugly Mannheim.

Plastino’s restaurant is of course a reference to longtime Superman artist, Al Plastino, perhaps best known specifically for his work on Supergirl, the character that birthed this TV show!

There’s an interesting symmetry with the Father’s Day story and the Controlled Burn story—the Clark Kent we know champions the meek reporters defending the world with holding the powerful to account, while the black-suited Superman of the alternate Earth still enjoys the support of the people, despite his growing authoritarianism, at least until he teams with his half-brother and destroys Metropolis.

The inverted newspapers with the cube “globe” are a wonderful and subtle nod to the Bizarro world storyline, even if “square” is misspelled on that second one.

8 notes · View notes

mindmapoffice · 2 months

Text

READ THIS - Dialogue between Filmmaker Mike JUDGE and Angelo THE ERUDITE

[In the cozy living room of Mike Judge's apartment, Mike and his friend Angelo, known as "The Erudite," are engaged in conversation.]

Filmmaker Mike Judge: Angelo, you won't believe the calls I've been getting lately. Silicon Valley megalomaniacs are practically begging to meet you.

Angelo THE ERUDITE: chuckles Oh, really? And what do they want from me?

Filmmaker Mike Judge: Apparently, they think you hold the key to some great mystery of the universe or something.

Angelo THE ERUDITE: sighs Well, I hate to disappoint, but I'm just a regular guy with no secrets to share.

Filmmaker Mike Judge: That's not true! You're the most interesting man I know. Everyone sees you as this fountain of wisdom.

Angelo THE ERUDITE: shrugs I don't see it. My life is quite dull, actually.

Filmmaker Mike Judge: Come on, Angelo. You've got this aura of mystery around you. People are drawn to that.

Angelo THE ERUDITE: raises an eyebrow Mystery? More like misunderstanding. Trust me, there's nothing special about me.

Filmmaker Mike Judge: But you always have the most insightful things to say.

Angelo THE ERUDITE: Insightful, perhaps. But it doesn't mean I have all the answers.

Filmmaker Mike Judge: Fair enough. So, why do you think most billionaires suffer from severe megalomania? They want to meet you, they aren't used to being rejected by poor people. You are a poor man and you are rejecting a meeting with Silicon Valley billionaires, do you realize that? It's something legendary, no one dares to reject them but you do! Can you tell me why you refuse to meet them?

Angelo THE ERUDITE: pauses, then shakes his head I don't know, Mike. And frankly, it's none of my business to speculate about their inner workings. I don't want to meet these Silicon Valley billionaires because I'm loyal to my friend Elon Musk and I have spoken to Elon Musk on the phone many, many times. I'm a loyal friend of Elon Musk. Now you know why I refuse to meet his competitors. Haven't you seen how many times we joke on Elon Musk's twitter page? It's all we do, we are friends, we joke all the time on Twitter. I'm a good friend of Elon Musk, sorry bro!

Filmmaker Mike Judge: You're right, as always. Sorry for prying.

Angelo THE ERUDITE: No need to apologize. But I think our time for deep conversations has come to an end. I need to get going.

Filmmaker Mike Judge: Alright, Angelo. Thanks for stopping by.

[Angelo gives a nod and heads for the door, leaving Mike to ponder the enigma of his friend's seemingly mundane existence.]

Filmmaker Mike Judge: Angelo, before you leave, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about.

Angelo THE ERUDITE: What's on your mind, Mike?

Filmmaker Mike Judge: I've been brewing up this idea for a new movie, something different, something profound. And I want you to be a part of it.

Angelo THE ERUDITE: Me? Involved in a movie? That's unexpected.

Filmmaker Mike Judge: I've always admired your intellect and insight. I think you could write a screenplay that delves into the depths of human experience like no other.

Angelo THE ERUDITE: intrigued Go on.

Filmmaker Mike Judge: Picture this: a story about a solitary thinker, a man who grapples with the complexities of existence, searching for meaning in a world filled with noise and distraction.

Angelo THE ERUDITE: It sounds intriguing, Mike. But why me? There are plenty of talented writers out there.

Filmmaker Mike Judge: Because I believe in you, Angelo. I've seen the way your mind works, the depth of your understanding. You could bring a unique perspective to this project.

Angelo THE ERUDITE: pauses, considering Writing a screenplay... it's not something I've ever done before. I'm working for Beyoncé's Parkwood Entertainment at the moment, you should call Beyoncé and speak to her. I'm her artist right now. Beyoncé is my manager.

Filmmaker Mike Judge: That's exactly why I want you for this film project. You'll bring a fresh voice, a different angle. And I'll be right there to guide you through the process, to direct this vision onto the screen. I didn't know Beyoncé was your manager! Good to know, I will speak to Beyoncé's Parkwood Entertainment from now on, they are your managers, they manage your screenwriting career, noted!

Angelo THE ERUDITE: smirks You make it sound so tempting, Mike. But I'm not sure I'm cut out for it. I've seen the amazing work you did on Silicon Valley TV series, I'm a huge fan of that show. I admire your career Mike, your filmmaker career is awesome.

Filmmaker Mike Judge: Trust me, Angelo. Together, we could create something truly remarkable. What do you say?

Angelo THE ERUDITE: smiles Well, if you're willing to take a chance on me, then I suppose I can't refuse. Let's do it, Mike. Let's make a movie. Talk to my manager Beyoncé.

[With a handshake, Mike and Angelo seal their pact, ready to embark on a journey of artistic collaboration.]

P.S:

Here is the wiki page of Filmmaker Mike Judge, click the link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Judge

#1- Did you know? Tracey Edmonds and Beyoncé made a deal to represent Parkwood Entertainment.

#2- Did you know? Justina Omokhua is the Senior Vice President of Beyoncé‘s powerhouse film and production company, record label and management firm, Parkwood Entertainment,

Here is the IG page of Justina Omokhua, click the link: https://www.instagram.com/justeenahoh/

Here is the wiki page of Parkwood Entertainment, click the link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkwood_Entertainment

0 notes

pesterloglog · 4 months

Text

Nannasprite, Jane Crocker, Nannaspritex2

Act 6, page 7805-7807

NANNASPRITE: There you are!

NANNASPRITE: I have been looking forward to meeting you, dear. :B

JANE: You have?

JANE: Who are you?

NANNASPRITE: I'm you!

NANNASPRITE: But most know me as John's Nanna. Hoo hoo!

JANE: Oh, yes!

JANE: He told me about you.

JANE: Gosh!

JANE: Pleased to meet you... Nanna, I guess I should call you?

NANNASPRITE: Suits me!

JANE: Calling you Jane might feel a bit strange.

JANE: Also, perhaps disrepectful?

NANNASPRITE: And why is that?

NANNASPRITE: It is my name after all.

JANE: Yes, but,

JANE: You are my senior by many decades, I gather.

JANE: And you have so many more years of life experience, and wisdom, and you...

JANE: Seem to be dressed like a clown?

NANNASPRITE: :B

JANE: Not to disparage your fanciful attire. I quite like it.

JANE: I just mean that...

JANE: You've been through more than I can imagine.

JANE: I couldn't call you by my name. It would feel wrong and flippant to treat you like my equal.

NANNASPRITE: But really, Jane, the honor of meeting you is all mine!

NANNASPRITE: I have been looking forward to it so much since I learned of your existence.

NANNASPRITE: Ever since I spent that one day helping John through his session, there haven't been many reasons for me to feel particularly worthwhile.

NANNASPRITE: Yes, I tended to him and his sister for several years, baked for them, lent a sympathetic ear when needed...

NANNASPRITE: But in a way, it's been a lonely life for me since my ashes fell in this silly old sprite.

NANNASPRITE: I've been strictly an auxiliary actor, there only to serve others even during my greatest moments to shine!

NANNASPRITE: So when I heard of you, a version of myself who was a true hero, so young, empowered, and set to embark upon a life filled with consequential deeds...

NANNASPRITE: I was absolutely giddy. I knew that we had to meet!

JANE: Oh... my!

JANE: You,

JANE: You really feel that way about me?

NANNASPRITE: Yes, Jane!

NANNASPRITE: I do not mean to suggest I regret the way my life has gone, of course.

NANNASPRITE: I lived a very humble life, as free of intrigue and adventure as possible, by choice.

NANNASPRITE: You see, I grew up in dangerous circumstances. I knew how cruel the woman who raised me could be, and what she might do to me or the people I loved if I made waves, or demonstrated any sense of defiance.

NANNASPRITE: So I lived simply. I started a family, and operated a quiet joke shop. Though I always knew trouble was brewing, they were the best years of my life.

NANNASPRITE: Yet I always had a little more knowledge than I ever let on, and used my understanding in subtle ways to help those to whom the torch would be passed in this great fight.

NANNASPRITE: But then, I made the transition from knowing some things in life, to knowing a great deal more in death. Being resurrected as a sprite endowed me with a very deep knowledge of the game and its broader circumstances. I was in peak form, a true harlequin wisewoman, and there was nary a question I couldn't answer.

NANNASPRITE: And then, the dear kids scratched their session, and cast themselves into the unknown.

NANNASPRITE: I ventured with them, and so I too lost my bearing on the nature of what lay ahead.

NANNASPRITE: I went from my prime, a state of all-understanding, to a state of absolute uncertainty. For the first time in about as long as I could remember, I had no idea what to expect next.

NANNASPRITE: It was quite freeing in a way! I had a wonderful three years on that ship with those lovely children. I thought little of what challenges were ahead.

NANNASPRITE: But when I did, my thoughts would always drift toward you, Jane.

NANNASPRITE: Thinking about you, and this adventure you were about to begin, it made me feel like a child again.

NANNASPRITE: It gave me the feelings I used to have for the limitless potential of life, before my stepmother snuffed them out, confronting me with the reality that life would have to take a considerably more limited shape if I wished to survive.

NANNASPRITE: So when I look at you now, I see the potential I had as a child finally being realized.

NANNASPRITE: But in a much more special way than I ever would have imagined back then!

NANNASPRITE: It makes me so proud to see you as a heroic young woman, ready to make a difference, and forge your own destiny.

NANNASPRITE: I just wanted to tell you this before you go off to battle!

JANE: Oh jeez.

JANE: Nanna, I don't know what to say.

JANE: Thank you so much for those inspirational words!

NANNASPRITE: Hoo hoo!

JANE: I think John was really lucky to have you as a sprite. Not to mention, a grandmother, of course.

JANE: It's no wonder he appears to have his act together.

JANE: Maybe I would have been better off if I had someone like you to advise me from the start of all this.

JANE: Maybe I wouldn't have felt so lost.

NANNASPRITE: It's normal to feel lost, though.

NANNASPRITE: And believe me, needing to find your own way in time will make you a lot wiser than having an old lady around to spoon feed you all the answers.

NANNASPRITE: In any case, you have me now!

NANNASPRITE: I think it's been quite a long time since John has needed my guidance.

NANNASPRITE: The boy has grown so much since he clobbered me with a joke book on that fateful day.

NANNASPRITE: From now on, I'd be pleased if you would consider me your sprite. :B

JANE: Wow! :O

JANE: Oh my goodness, yes, please!

NANNASPRITE: In fact, I heard from the cat girl that you and she are on healing duty in this spectacular fray coming up.

NANNASPRITE: It so happens that healing is my specialty. Next to baking of course. (And pranks.)

NANNASPRITE: Why don't I assist?

JANE: That would be great too!

NANNASPRITE: Oh! And Jane, one more thing.

NANNASPRITE: Just so you know...

NANNASPRITEx2: There are actually two of me!

NANNASPRITEx2: HOO HOO HOO HOO HOO HOO HOO HOO HOO HOO HOO HOO!

#homestuck #nannasprite #jane crocker #nannaspritex2 #homestuck act 6 #page 7805 #page 7806 #page 7807 #homestuck act 6 act 6 #homestuck act 6 act 6 intermission 5

0 notes

mood2you · 6 months

Text

The Magician's Assistant, by Ann Patchett

Book Review Reviews: answering 1-star reviews questions or formatting them into questions to answer. This has spoilers... go read it and come back!

Is this really Ann Patchett? This is only her third novel.

Why was the story only mildly intriguing? Why 350 pages when the book can be summed in one paragraph? It's basically one long joke, but you need all that time to get the characters to trust each other, so it can't be a short story.

Why was Sabine satisfied with living a half-life? This is a really good question, and several reviewers give evidence: only the assistant, married to a gay man, makes architectural models, not buildings. I didn't notice. I have 3 guesses: she's repressed, perhaps she's waiting for something. She went out of her way to buy men's pants for herself, that's a different thing from wearing Phan's cloths in his memory (or in the memory of Parsifal who bought them for him on a trip etc.) Admittedly a good trans guy would start some of the discord one reviewer complained was blissfully absent from their marriage. Or she's their daughter: Phan is always kissing her forehead, now he's looking after her and reassuring her, and he's the one who wanted kids when Parsifal hates them. Parsifal was basically presenting him a mixed family, when they met. One thing about this book is it barely has any dialogues between Sabine and Parsifal, maybe Paraifal is just that great. forgot my third guess, she's aromantic. A book has 2 gay characters and you stop looking, why shouldn't the whole book be gay? Maybe reviewers are missing... something. She can't date Kitty, that's stupid, but they should stay entangled. Oh I remembered my fourth guess: much like Dot and Kitty, she made a silly choice as a 20 year old and wouldn't let go. Granted, Albert and Howard are abusive.

Why was the literary symbolism so clumsy and obvious? So that I could understand it! The reviewer points to their last name being fetter (like handcuffs, I think, as in, you will never leave our little town... unless? Unless you're Harry Houdini or the wife of Harry Houdini) but that's actually German for feather (like flying, like freedom.) Yet Parsifal doesn't do dove tricks... (I might be taking that personally, I had an OC named Jordan Fetter because I thought it was smarter than Jordan Sylvan or whatever, certainly smarter than Jordan Feather.) I was thinking about something else I noticed but forgot. I think Sabine is what makes the magic work.

How could she make the midwest into a stereotype? This may be worthy criticism. Even I was like, well this family drama is... eh. For a while this year I was of the belief that all contemporary fiction is true. So far, two of Ann Patchett's leading ladies have been from LA and one went to Tennesee and one went to Nebraska (theheretofor mentioned mid-west) when Patchett is also from LA and moved to Tennesee. Maybe I'm right and she will send characters back to the south in Taft. I think in Bel Canto (her 2nd) they go to South America, so...

Was this written by a man, how are all the girls so domestic? Even Sabine, who's always wearing men's cloths, and always living with men. Hm… Very sus to come up with this on your own

What type of woman devotes her entire life to loving a man who is gay and will never love her back the way she wants? What type indeed. And how DID she want? Compared to Phan's fatherliness, Parsifal barely had any lines and wasn't in Nebraska in his afterlife so we don't get any of his and Sabine's real relationship and maybe THAT's a glaring error. Anyways, I make jokes about Phan being jealous and that's why he took Parsifal back, but, um, it is hard to help someone die, maybe it is true that him suddenly dying is better it's like if your dad hid your mail from you, trying not to let it disappoint you, when it's up to you what you make of it.

#the magician's assistant #books #book review review #mfw when im 40 and still not a man. living a half life: grrr (steals your wife)#now this is an essay! this is what I wanted from this series :)

0 notes

anonquack · 3 years

Text

| Give In |

Alex Quackity x Reader, Oneshot!

Word Count: 1858

Warnings: None!

Summary: The twitter trending page brings attention to some feelings you and Quackity had been avoiding, but it also allows you two to admit said feelings.

As a fairly popular streamer, it wasn't uncommon to see your name on the Twitter trending page every once in a while. However, it had never been for something quite like this.

It was currently trending at #6, viewers going crazy over certain interactions that had happened during Quackity's stream.

Now, it wasn't uncommon for you to be on Quackity's streams, and it certainly wasn't uncommon for either of you to act the way you had acted during that night's stream. But something was obviously different this time around.

The trend was regarding a possible relationship between two content creators in the same community, and consisted of people freaking out over certain clips of that night's stream or other people bringing other clips from months prior explaining their theories on how this has been going on for months now.

It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, seeing the world associate you with Quackity in such a way. I mean, he was funny, and he was certainly attractive. But it didn't make it any less strange.

You had been scrolling through the trending hashtag, looking at the tweets and crazy theories some viewers had come up with, nervously biting at your nails, perhaps a laugh here and there at the tweets that were ridiculously far fetched.

That night's stream was like any other, a casual Jackbox stream with a few other content creators in the same friend group, a rather chill, yet chaotic, stream. It had started perfectly fine until halfway through, the jokes and verses shared didn't seem like jokes anymore, nor did they stop coming. It wasn't weird or uncommon for the viewers to witness you flirting with Quackity or vice versa. But it had never gone to this extent.

It was always a fair balance of "I hate you so much" mixed with flirty remarks here and there. That night's stream had just been nonstop flirting though. And at the moment it didn't seem too bad, it felt natural, you were comfortable behaving that way with Quackity.

After stream ended, everybody had said their goodbyes to each other and you'd gone to lay in bed to use your phone. Only to be slapped in the face with the fact that you and Alex were now trending because people were freaking out over the idea that you two might actually be dating or into each other.

How much of the bullshit you two were saying during the stream was actually real feelings and how much was for a bit? That was Twitter's current Hot Topic.

Watching the clips now made you realize how some were really out of pocket, and things that friends do not say to each other. Your hands moved on their own and soon enough, Bad was on the other end of the line, asking if you were okay.

"Bad," you breathed out after hearing his voice, "The people think Quackity and I are actually dating. Or into each other."

"Mm yeah, I saw on Twitter shortly after the stream ended.." He said, as you gently continued to bite at your nails.

"I.. rewatched the clips and I can kinda see why it was taken that way."

"I mean, it was just for a bit, no?"

"That's the thing."

".. What do you mean, Y/N?"

"It started off as a bit.. but lately it's been happening off stream too and.. I don't know. My feelings are all over the place and I'm just so confused."

Your small ramble was met with silence, Bad trying to do his best with this new information, and scrambling to look for supportive words that could help his friend.

"Oh–" He paused, before continuing, "Have you talked to him? Maybe try and see how he feels about it trending? Or just the fact that people think you guys are dating? His reaction could be telling of how he feels."

Bad's words were ringing against your temple. His suggestion was for you to straight up ask Quackity how he felt about being associated to you romantically. That sounded like an absolute nightmare.

After a few minutes and more reassuring words, the call ended and you felt this sense of courage wash over you. Bad had motivated you enough to feel like you were strong/brave enough to confront Quackity. Before anything could take place, you received a message from none other than Quackity.

Quackity Have you seen?

Y/N

Call me

It didn't take even a few seconds for your phone to start ringing.

"Y/N" He breathed out, it was obvious that this was affecting him as well. How, exactly? You weren't too sure. He could be bothered at the idea of dating, or maybe he was confused as well.

"They think we're dating." You said softly.

"They do."

There was silence for a bit before you spoke up again.

"And how do you feel about that?"

"I don't really mind it."

His words shocked you, but they came out with the same smoothness you had grown to like over the last few months. It was a tone he only used with you, whether it be during a stream where you two were bickering over stupid shit, or off stream just randomly talking and complimenting the other.

It was the tone he used late at night on call, the tone that sent shivers down your spine, interlacing and dripping down like honey, yet you'd shrug it off, claiming the AC was up too high.

After a moment, you finally respond.

"Yeah? How come?"

"They've thought that for several months now."

"But it doesn't bother you? They're shoving you into a relationship with your friend."

"Does it bother you?"

Silence again.

"No.."

"How come?"

"..don't know."

There was a small pause, you could hear your heart beating rapidly in your ears, scared of what he'd think at the small confession. But he didn't say anything, swiftly changing the topic instead.

"I watched the clips."

"Me too."

"I can see where they got those ideas from."

Silence. Before he continued.

"Y/N, there are clips that are months old. Just you and I flirting with each other. Me offering a kiss, you threatening to take my kiss privileges when I take a joke too far. You telling me to shut up, the random 'I miss you's and interactions on other people's streams, the way your voice softens when you join my late night streams just to talk to me.. so many different things."

As he talked, you couldn't help but close your eyes in- almost shame- nervously biting at your nails as multiple thoughts raced through your head, possible feelings that might have been buried in order to avoid any awkward confrontations. His listing continued and it only made you more anxious.

"I saw them. I saw, Quackity. I'm not fucking blind." Perhaps it came out harsher than you wanted, but he certainly wasn't helping.

His voice softened now, noticing the tone in your voice, but continuing to make his point. "And that doesn't even include the things we say off stream, Y/N."

There was silence ringing through the call once again. It was a moment for both of you to process everything that had been said so far. Try to decipher what it could possibly mean for the both of you.

"What does that mean, Alex?" Your voice no longer held that harsh tone to it, instead there was exhaustion. Having so many thoughts was draining.

"It could mean anything we want it to mean. I'm sorry for pushing all of this on you now, but twitter has just.. let's just say it's got me thinking."

His words made a small laugh escape your lips, and at the sound of your laugh, a small laugh left his lips as well.

"No, it's fine. I've been thinking about it too, and this conversation really helped clear up my confusion."

"What were you confused about?"

"My feelings. Y'know, towards you and stuff." The last part came out more as a mumble as you finally gave your nails a rest, letting your hand fall down onto your lap.

A small hum came from the phone's speaker, as if he was humming in agreement. "Then this cleared up my confusions as well."

Looking at the time, you realized that the two of you had been talking for a while now, and you were definitely feeling exhausted. He probably was too.

"Alex."

"Yes?"

"Thank you. I feel a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. It was.. nice, talking about this with you."

"I should thank you as well, you really.. opened my eyes."

This earned him a small laugh from you, before you sleepily rubbed at your eyes that were now stinging a bit.

"Lets sleep on it, yeah? There doesn't need to be any.. labels, or anything of the sort. We can figure it out along the way." You suggested.

He didn't say anything for a bit before he let out a small sigh. "Yeah, sounds good. But now that I've sort of acknowledged these feelings I was repressing, I'd eventually like to act on them."

"Of course. I do, too. But I'm just saying.. we don't have to do anything about it now. Lets just get some rest, hm? You sound pretty tired."

You lay on your bed, getting comfy with your blankets, half your face smudged into the pillow, phone resting on the pillow, speaker loud enough for you to hear his response.

"I am pretty tired. Are you going to sleep, too?"

"I am."

"Then.. lets fall asleep on call."

This wasn't necessarily strange, or uncommon. It was just that neither of you had really ever said it out loud, it just happened when you two had talked too late into the night and one of you eventually fell asleep. You felt a warmth spread across your chest, nodding before realizing he couldn't see you.

"We could do that."

There was shuffling at the other end of the line, presumably Quackity getting into bed.

After that, you two continued conversation, small talk regarding whether he had eaten today and what he had done prior to the jackbox stream, until eventually the two of you fell asleep.

There didn't have to be any labels yet, or any announcement to the viewers. What mattered was that you and Alex were comfortable, and that you figured out what both of you wanted, and whether or not it was being together.

You were in it for the long haul, as a friend or as a lover, you didn't know, nor did it matter. All you knew was that as long as Alex Quackity was present, everything would be alright. No matter any labels or Twitter trends.

In fact, perhaps the Twitter trends weren't too bad. It had made you realize your feelings for your cute friend that was now sleeping, on call with you, who knows how many miles away. It was a heartwarming thought.

When it comes to Alex Quackity, it is impossible to not give in at some point. Give in to the possibility of love and friendship. At your own paces.

#alex quackity #quackity #quackity x you #quackity x reader #quackity x y/n #gender neutral reader #quackity brainrot #quackity scenario #help pls #streamer #quackity headcannons #quackity imagines #no labels

281 notes · View notes

saphirered · 3 years

Note

I’m in love with your writing and binged your entire page one night lol

Could I request a story with Caleb where the M9 find a wounded reader on the run from people who want to use her for her very powerful magical abilities. She doesn’t trust Caleb at first because he’s a wizard and just as she opens up to him and starts to develop feelings discovers he has been studying her powers - thought with no bad intentions. Some good old angsty enemies to lovers type of beat. Preferably with a good ending but do what you wish ;))

Apparently I'm giving you more stuff to binge as this is looking more and more like a several parter 😅. Prepare for loads of angst and conflict and some good hurt/comfort to come but for now, here comes part 1! 😘

Nobody pays attention to a vagrant dressed in rags, looking about a week past their last proper bath begging on the side of the road for money or standing by a shop, mouth watering at the food. Nobody pays attention to what they don’t want to see in their pristine cities. Not unless they want to chase you away because you’re in their way or you’re tarnishing their image. Speaking about image, sometimes some rich folk will take pity upon you, casting a coin your way to make themselves look good and generous in the eyes of others.

That’s exactly what you became when you needed to disappear. You needed to become unseen, unnoticed and a shadow among a crowd. You succeed casting away all remainders of your previous life because in the end, your life is worth more to you than your earthly possessions. Survival above all. You’ll live this way until you can get somewhere where no one will question you, or where you’ll be under the protection of others, far away where your enemies cannot reach you. Maybe Vasselheim is a good place to go? They’re not fond of the arcane magics. Sure you’ll have to give up using some of your own gifts but it’s worth being able to live your life freely.

You’re still a ways away from Vasselheim and you don’t have the funds to get there yet. Even if you make it to a port, stowing away on a ship is fine but you can’t trust them to not throw you overboard or leave you stranded at the nearest island to save provisions. And that’s if they don’t hand you over to any authorities and risk you getting back to square one. You’ll have to wander around Wildemount until you’re able to book passage or find somewhere to lay low, forever on the move. It’s not the worst and you get used to it pretty quickly.

Weren’t you lucky when you saw the recent champions of the Victory Pit were strolling around town flaunting their winnings. You need food. You need warm clothes. And most of all, you could do with some extra change in your pocket. You wouldn’t be stupid enough to steal all of it of course. Just enough to get by and they wouldn’t notice. So you trail them, sticking to the shadows. They don’t seem to notice you.

Then you struck. You got the coin pouch from the ostentatious one. It was child’s play really. He didn’t even notice you lifting the pouch from his belt when you brushed against his shoulder muttering an apology. You were already amidst the crowd when you heard the tiefling exclaim his coin pouch was gone and he put two and two together quickly, the charlatan he is so before you knew it they were on the lookout for someone fitting your description. You had to move quick, buy your necessities and get out of the market. You know just the place to hide out; the Evening Nip. Nobody asks questions there.

Once you found yourself safely sipping on the shitty ale served at the Evening Nip you didn’t expect the colourful group of strangers to stroll in. It was already too late when you spotted them and you had no where to go. Still your quickly gathered up the coin back into the ornate velvet pouch and put it in your own pocket hidden beneath the layers of your clothes putting your hands behind your back as you tried to make a break for the exit. They did not let you pass, a relatively buff looking woman gripping the handle of her sword stepping in front of you while another one, though shorter blocked your escape by interposing her staff.

“No funny business, friend. You have something that belongs to my companion here, and he wants it back.” The half-orc speaks as you grit your teeth. You’d really hoped to avoid this but you weren’t stupid enough to bring out the big artillery… yet… so you lift your hands in surrender and allow them to lead you over to one of the tables taking a seat of your own accord while you’re flanked by the buff woman on one side, the purple tiefling on the other and the rest of them takes up seating of their own around the table keeping an eye on you.

“Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way…” The half-orc leads as the tiefling next to you holds out his hand brushing his other over your shoulder in a soft push, mimicking what you had done when you pickpocketed him. Are they mocking you? Bastards.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, friend.” You speak innocently. You know they won’t buy it anyway, their minds already made up, but it gives you just a second more to get a grasp on all of them. You’re already plotting your escape, despite the odds being turned against you. You have to try.

“Oh, I think you do, and we simply want a conversation. You wouldn’t want to tarnish this new friendship now would you?” The tiefling grins as you look at him. You can feel the strings of enchantment pricking into your mind but you know how this works. You’ll just have to play along. You smile, like being faced with an old friend, just as the spell would have you have, letting your defensive mannerism fade.

“You’re quite right. It’s no way to treat new friends. Let’s not get off on the wrong foot.” You glance between all of them and you feel a pair of blue eyes stare into you, right through you. There’s just something about him that doesn’t add up and you’re almost afraid he knows you’re not under the tiefling’s spell after all but you do whatever you can to not show that on your face and play along.

“Should we get some drinks to commemorate new friends?” You suggest about to get up but the woman in blue’s staff moves across the table right onto your shoulder urging you to stay in place. You don’t look fazed and merely amused with this action as if it is a harmless joke and not a threat. The tiefling moves the staff from your shoulder as you turn your attention back to him as he smiles.

“I think that’s an absolutely wonderful idea. Drinks on me.” He stands with you and begins leading you over to the bar. Clive takes the order and begins pouring the ale as requested while the tiefling keeps conversation with you, completely oblivious and detached from his friends. You play along and when you reach to the coin pouch, you pull out the coins owed to the barkeep. The tiefling smiles and you can see from your peripheral the red head notices too. Both confirm you have the coin pouch. So once you pay you reach for your pocket grasping for a short iron rod placing it in your hand, whispering words under your breath as the tiefling talks to the barkeep, your hands begin to move according to the familiar motions and before the redhead can warn his lavender companion, the tiefling is frozen in place unable to move and you’re making a break for the door.

Spells fly left and right and you dodge a few, take the damage from others as the fighters dependant on close range rush for you. A crossbow bolt hits your thigh and a large cat’s claw appears in front of you. You try to dodge it reaching for you but it catches you and holds you in place despite your struggling to get free. They circle you, bind your hands, take back the coin pouch and your own limited belongings from you as you fight back trying to keep them away from you but you’re just alone and they are the many.

You feel helpless and desperate. That’s when you make eye contact with the blue eyed wizard. There’s a look of recognition in his eyes. Not for who you are directly, but the way you’re acting and lashing out, like some caged animal wishing desperately to be free, like a creature on the run, like you’re two sides of the same coin. His eyes reveal to you pain and suffering and pity but you don’t need his pity. You don’t need anyone’s pity.

“Why did you steal that coin?” The wizard asks as you glare at him from your seated position on the ground.

“Why does anybody steal anything? I’m hungry. I’m cold and I’m broke as hell.” You spit none too kindly.

“Then get a job. Make some money. Or at least learn to be a good thief.” The rude woman snorts. You roll your eyes. Typical. You know plenty of people like her, maybe you even used to be like her but not anymore. You grew out of that the hard way. She will too, in time.

“None of you noticed until you went to pay for something.” You grin and the woman is about to lunge for you at your provocation. So easy to piss that one off. Funny, actually.

“I don’t think she can just get a job. Not a regular one anyway.” The wizard observes as he stares into you. “You don’t have anywhere to go, do you?” Your silence, biting your lip says enough. You don’t have anywhere to go. Once you did but that’s gone. Torn away from you.

“How about this? You spent a good deal of my friend’s coin but we’ll give you the opportunity to make it back as a repayment. Stick around for a little bit and go our separate ways when the debt is repaid?” There’s some protests but the half-orc quiets them down when the wizard speaks up in your favour. He doesn’t trust you, not after the stunts you just pulled, especially not when the look on your face mirrors his own so closely but perhaps it’s something within him that calls to him to make right a wrong, or prevent another soul to be lost to the troubles he’s faced.

With these idiots bound to make a scene they’ll call attention to themselves and by default that means away from you. This might work in your favour. They’re adventurers and given that they seem somewhat familiar with the Evening Nip, you can only assume they’re not exactly always on the right side of the law. You’re not judging but that gives you some safety and assurance should things go south or you need a quick way out. And if things really do turn in your favour, they’ll be your cover to places and funds to get you far far away from this hell hole.

“Looks like you got yourselves a new companion then, friends.” You don’t smile, only displaying an expression so neutral that makes the wizard think for a second he might have made a mistake but for now you have mutual interests and if there’s anything he can count on, it’s the reliability of a common goal, and a lot to lose should you get outed.

So next you know, you’re somewhat absorbed into their little group, learning their names and where they’re from, chatting happily but you can’t help but notice that yours and Caleb’s stories are similar in some ways, mostly the lack of detail. You’ve been raised within the Empire, but found yourself on a less fortunate path fending for yourself. The only difference between you and him is that he found Nott on his path while you had remained alone. The group didn’t seem to mind your lack of details, going with the excuse you’re not about to bare your life story to the people you only just met and you’re lucky. You hadn’t told anyone what happened since you’ve been on the run and you don’t plan on doing so anytime soon, especially not to people who haven’t earned your trust yet.

Of course you’ve been roomed with Caleb and Nott, finding yourself in one of the most expensive inns in the city, paid for by the group. Unlike Nott, who goes through your stuff when she thinks you’re not looking, Caleb is the perfect roommate. He doesn’t cross any boundaries, ask too many questions or has any annoying habits. He just reclines on his bed, going through his spellbook, transcribing new spells to add to his own collection. Every time he does you get extremely uneasy and snappy and do whatever you can to not be in the same space as the wizard. It doesn’t do your roommate relationship any good and may leave you at odds at times. Caleb may not understand why but it’s not his place to ask questions, nor does he think you’ll actually answer them. Instead you make up excuses, helping Beau with training, letting Jester braid your hair, keeping Fjord company while Molly claims their room for one of his escapades, getting some booze for Nott, or when Yasha is there, watch the storms with the woman, anything to get you out of that shared room with the wizard.

————

Rain hits the window of your room in the Pillow Trove as the redheaded wizard strolls in throwing his backpack on his bed and sitting down with a deep sigh. You look up over the edge of the book you’re reading seeing the wizard soaked through the bone wringing out his hair best he can. With a wave of your hand and words uttered under your breath you grin as the water evaporates from Caleb’s form, leaving his hair slightly more curly and frizzy, and his clothes warm and comfy. He gives you a look as you continue reading as if you’re completely unaware of anything going on in the room, completely absorbed into your book. Ignoring Caleb.

“I didn’t take you for the type that reads smutty romance novels.” He comments and gestures towards Courting of the Crick. You finally look at Caleb as if he only just gained your attention, as if you’re only just aware of his presence in the room. Both of you know better but this is how it is.

“You wouldn’t. But according to Jester you enjoy them very much.” You grin, having gotten to hear all about their little trip to the Chastity’s Nook. Caleb gives you a disapproving look as he begins to unpack his things, taking out the fresh ink and paper, setting out his spellbook and you mark your page, putting the book on your side table as you quickly get up and go for the door.

“Where are you off to all of the sudden?” Caleb asks as you grit your teeth. Can he not just leave you alone? Does he really trust you so little you’re not allowed to leave of your own accord?

“I’m going to see Jester and Beau in their room. Now I will bid you good day unless you think I need an escort for the room two doors down.” You snap. Okay, that may have been unnecessary. You could have at least been neutral. Too late for that now. Caleb waves his and as if dismissing you. Act like a child, get treated like a child. So you leave the room letting the door fall closed a little harder than you normally would in protest and make your way over towards Beau and Jester’s room.

Jester, happily lets you in and while Beau has definitely warmed up to you, things are still rocky. She wouldn’t go as far as calling you a friend, but more that one neighbourhood kid her parents tried to get her to play with despite the two of you never really having been friends at all. At least you can bond over your slightly criminal tendencies. It’s Jester who’s completely accepted you as one of her own, questioning you about anything and everything, preaching to you about the Traveler, gushing about her romance novels, specifically Oskar, which you’re pretty sure is actually reflecting her major crush on Fjord but let the girl dream. Who knows what will come of it?

#critical role x reader #critrole x reader #mighty nein x reader #caleb widogast x reader #caleb x reader #critical role #mighty nein

84 notes · View notes

cafeacademia · 3 years

Text

Flustered

Fred Weasley x Shy!Reader

Summary: Fred Weasley is intrigued by the shy, sweet witch in his class, but when he finally has an opportunity to speak to her, he realises just how much he adores her.

Warnings: Lots of fluff, that’s it!

Word count: Approx 4300

Masterlist

A/N: Hi loves, I had been wanting to write something like this for a long time and inspiration struck the other day after @ickle-ronniekins inspired me with her wonderful Freddie fic Tongue Tied 💖

Enjoy! Please let me know if I could improve on writing Fred, I tried my best 😅

Taglist is open!! Please pop me an ask if you’d like to be added 💖

“Stop staring at me.” Ron snapped at his brother as they sat at the Gryffindor table at breakfast. “I’m not staring at you, I’m staring around you.” Fred countered, George snorting out a short laugh while Harry looked up at them amused, Hermione ignoring the conversation with her head down, fingers idly stirring the spoon in her morning tea as she read the book she had brought to the table.

“What the bloody hell are you looking at then?” Ron asked, dramatically swivelling about on the spot in annoyance. “You’re like this every time we sit here, you are. You stare off into space like ‘Loony’ Lovegood.” Ron rolled his eyes. “Ronald.” Hermione suddenly hissed at him and smacked her book against his arm, perhaps with more force than intended, making the boy recoil and hold his arm away from her, looking rather intimidated as if she had tried to bite him.

And as breakfast went on and Ginny rushed off to her morning duties with Umbridge while the others continued to squabble with one another, Hermione looked up from her book and looked over in the direction that Fred had been staring in and her eyes landed on something that told her that he most certainly hadn’t been doing it to annoy anyone.

“You know Fred, he’s just doing it to bother you, Ron.” Ginny added to the conversation as she pulled up her bag onto her lap and rifled through the contents until she pulled out a paper slip. “Stupid Umbridge has got me doing extra essays this morning.” She grumbled, getting up from her seat. “She better not make me late to potions.” She sighed as George quickly plucked the uneaten piece of toast off his plate and placed it into Ginny’s hands before she had a chance to walk away. “Tell us if she gives you grief, we’ll terrorise her, won’t we George?” Fred smirked over at them both.

“It would be our pleasure.” George replied with a mischievous grin.

And while Fred was reluctant to go all the way to the library and write about a subject that he thought was quite dry, he relented and made his way through the castle.

“Are you allergic to studying?” Angelina had asked in slight annoyance. “Oh terribly, I break out in boils and everything.” Fred teased. “Lovely.” She said under her breath. “Which is why you should kindly allow me to-.”

“You are not copying my notes on talking gargoyles.” Angelina told him pointedly and the Weasley twin pouted across the hall table at her. “A History of Hogwarts is your best bet.” She told him. “But if you keep copying my work, we’re both going to get caught since last time you copied it almost word for word and Binns got mad at me. I don’t want Umbridge on my back.” She scolded him in an amused tone, though she wasn’t actually annoyed at him and perhaps if she didn’t want to actually see Fred go and find a book and do his work the proper way, she would have let him copy from her. But the way Fred saw it, it was a perfectly acceptable reason on Angelina’s part, even if it was a rather large inconvenience to Fred.

Searching through the shelves for a copy of A History of Hogwarts, Fred was becoming more exasperated as he struggled to find what he was looking for, but as he scoured the shelves for the missing book, he peeked his head around the end of a bookcase and his heart fluttered. There you stood, a few rows down with a small pile of books in your arms and he felt himself practically melt on the spot.

It was not very often that Fred found himself in this situation, so captivated by a girl that he felt butterflies in his chest. But half of the problem was that Fred had never actually spoken to you, not properly at least, because as it happened, you were incredibly shy and he was incredibly… Not shy.

The times when you did speak to each other was always very short and it seemed that you were almost afraid to speak to people you were not so familiar with, but what Fred didn’t know was that you desperately wanted to talk to him.

Fred was always so intriguing to you, he was kind and sweet and extremely funny and he was never afraid to try things out of his comfort zone, or at least he made it look that way and that had you very curious.

And Fred was just as curious about you too, because even though you were very quiet and shy, he had noticed you conveniently looking away from him very quickly and even catching your eyes on him when you had been deep in your head and he wondered what you thought about when you looked at him. He wondered what you thought of him and it was so unusual for him to care or even be curious about what another person thought of him, but when it came to you, there was a strange pull he felt towards you.

Slowly, he feigned interest in a few book spines on the shelves here and there as he moved up the rows until he got closer to you, watching as you stood over a small wooden book trolley stuffed to the very seams with recently returned books while you looked for something and he wondered, perhaps the book he was looking for was there too.

When he approached, his eyes dropped to the books in your arms and he suddenly felt as if it had all meant to be and he made a mental note to thank Angelina later, because there in your arms was a very shabby, old copy of A History of Hogwarts.

“Hey,” The greeting left his lips and you quickly glanced up at him and restrained yourself from checking around you in case he was speaking to someone else. “Hi Fred.” You replied in a soft voice and he felt his chest warm at the sound of your voice. You sounded so sweet and gentle and your calm, warming vibe seemed to elate him even more.

“Would it be alright if I took a few notes from that book?” He asked, pointing at the old volume of A History of Hogwarts. “All of the other copies have been checked out and I need to write about talking gargoyles or Binns will have my head.” He joked and you smiled, glancing down at the book in your arms, pausing for a moment as you noticed another copy of the book in the cart, but you chose to ignore it, perhaps this was a good time to spend a moment with Fred.

“We can’t have that, now can we?” You giggled softly. “We can share it.” You nodded with a little smile and Fred swore he had just seen and heard the most wonderful thing ever, quickly making it his aim to get more smiles and giggles out of you if he could because if it wasn’t the warmest and most lovely thing he’d experienced all day, he didn’t know what was.

You felt elated, though very nervous as you and Fred sat down together at one of the desks between the rows of books. It certainly didn’t help that Fred scooted his seat close to yours so he could easily see the book and the proximity of him, elbows almost touching, made your heart race.

“So, talking gargoyles?” You asked, opening the book and flicking through the pages. “That’s right, don’t suppose you happen to know if there are any around the castle?” He asked. “I would, actually.” You replied with a little smile and Fred looked over at you with curiosity, looking down at you as you flicked over onto a page on the subject. “And what, do you just go around talking to gargoyles and see if they talk back?” Fred asked, quite seriously and you let out a giggle. “No, well perhaps once or twice.” You admitted, rather shyly.

The pair of you talked, not just about Hogwarts and it’s talking gargoyles, but all manner of things and on several occasions, Madam Pince hushed you both with an irritated, harsh shhh, to which Fred just shook his head and chuckled.

“Did you know that there is one in the Transfiguration courtyard?” You asked, looking up at him and the red haired boy looked at you, intrigued. “No, have you spoken to it?” He asked. “Yes, a few times actually. Some of them are very good at listening when you need someone to talk to, but the one outside of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom is very grumpy and ill mannered.” You informed him and while Fred was quite amused by your information, he was grateful to spend some time getting to know the girl that made his heart warm.

He just couldn’t believe he was using talking gargoyles as a way to flirt with a girl.

He was elated, his heart was practically soaring as he packed the last of his writing supplies into his bag, because you were like a breath of fresh air. Fred was unsure he’d met anyone like you, shy yet so sweet and you seemed to have opened up a little bit around him in that hour he had spent with you, he just hoped he had another opportunity to see you open and warm up to him a bit more because it created a feeling in his chest like he had never felt before.

“Thank you for letting me share that book with you, I hope it wasn’t a bother.” Fred said sweetly to you as he pulled his bag onto the table, slowly packing away his History of Magic book, hoping to have just a little more extra time with you. “Never, Fred, let me know if you want to share another book again.” You told him shyly, unable to look at him, because the invite alone falling from your lips was rather an accident and you felt yourself flush with warmth that you’d even said that.

“Definitely.” He winked at you, though he was unsure you saw.

“See you around, love.” Fred said, smiling down at you as he stood up, pulling his bag onto his shoulder. “Bye Fred, good luck with your gargoyles.” You replied, looking over your shoulder at him as he pushed his chair back in and began to walk away.

Walking briskly into the common room with a bounce in his step and an unbeatable smile on his face, Fred walked over to his siblings. “Oi, oi, what’s this?” Fred asked, plucking a piece of paper out of his sister’s hands just as she had taken it back from George. “Umbridge got her in detention with Snape because she made her late to potions again.” George told him. “They’re bloody made for each other.” Fred rolled his eyes, handing the detention slip back to Ginny before dropping himself onto the sofa between his two siblings, Ron and Harry sitting off at the side on a couple of the armchairs.

“Where have you been anyway?” Ginny asked as Fred playfully nudged her away from him on the sofa so he could have a bit more space. “Studying.” He replied with a grin.

“You, voluntarily studying? And why the bloody hell are you so happy about it?” Ron interrogated him. “Oh shove off, can’t a man be happy about talking gargoyles?” Fred asked, Ron and Ginny giggling between themselves. “Talking gargoyles? That’s what’s making you smile like you’ve just won the quidditch world cup?”

“No Ronald,” Hermione countered as she approached the group from behind, circling around the sofa and perching herself on the arm next to George. “It wasn’t the gargoyles, it was a girl.” She announced, while Fred gave her a look of cutting disappointment.

“Ooh a girl, who is it Freddie? C’mon I won’t tell anyone.” George urged, leaning in close to his twin in an effort to get him to whisper it to him. “Yeah, I bet that’s who he’s been staring at all those breakfasts and dinners too.” Ron added. “Well, who is it?” Ginny asked, imitating her brother and leaning in against Fred, looking up at him with intrigue.

“Oi piss off you lot, all we did was bloody study, that’s all.” Fred told them pointedly. “Who is it though?” Ron asked, leaning over himself and prodding Fred’s leg. “None of your bloody business.” Fred chuckled, shoving Ron back and playfully pushing his siblings away from him.

Soon after, Fred and George returned to their dormitory together and Fred knew that George would probably try and pry it out of him somehow. “So what actually happened?” George asked, now that the two were alone in the boys dormitory and they were luckily the only two in the room. “We shared a book, we joked a fair bit and did you know that there’s a talking gargoyle outside of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom?” He asked.

“No?” George replied questioningly.

“No wonder, apparently he’s a right git.”

“Is that what you talked about the whole time? Grumpy gargoyles?” George asked. “Not exactly.” Fred replied, but now that George had said that and made him think back on the conversation, Fred wished he had spent more time chatting about other things and he knew he’d have to try his best to get another conversation with you soon.

“Well at least tell me what she’s like.” George said, sitting himself down on the edge of his bed, looking across at his brother while Fred took in a deep breath and grinned to himself, telling his twin about you.

After that day in the library, Fred took every opportunity he had to chat to you. He’d round on you when your classes together finished so he could swoop in front of you with that cocky smirk that seemed to send butterflies through you and make you even more shy and giggly, he would purposely sit next to you in class, assuming Umbridge wasn’t around to control the seating patterns.

He tried his best to get smiles out of you and he was always passing you notes in classes and pressing them into your hands when he passed you in the hallways.

He was sweet and kind and day by day, Fred managed to get you more and more out of your shell.

You were well and truly falling for Fred Weasley. And he was falling for you too.

“And why exactly did you need to bring me into all of this?” You questioned, feeling a shiver creep across your skin and the Weasley twin gave you a mischievous little smirk. “It’s no fun without someone else and George is serving detention with Filch since he got caught putting stink pellets under Umbridge’s chair before class as payback for Ginny getting detention.” He explained with a proud smile, watching as you laughed, bowing your head, a bit too shy to look him in the eyes.

It was a week later that Fred came hurtling down the corridor with a huge grin plastered on his face and you looked up to see him absolutely legging it towards you and you had half the mind to brace yourself as he approached.

“Bloody hell, Fred what’s-.”

“Shh, quick.” He hushed you, gently but firmly grabbing your shoulders before he pulled you off behind a statue and winked at you as he opened the entrance to a secret passageway and pulled you in with him.

“Fred?” You asked in a quiet voice, a little confused as to why you had been dragged into a freezing cold stone walled passageway. “Might’ve just set off a bunch of exploding flowers in Umbridge’s office.” He sniggered, to which, you couldn’t help but laugh. “She’s furious, bet she knows it was me too.” He laughed under his breath. “Serves her right.” Fred chuckled and his heart warmed when he heard your soft laughter join his.

Fred wanted to kiss you, he felt the urge, the way nearly every single part of him screamed at him to do it, and yet he restrained himself, his warm touch gently tracing down your arms to your hands and taking them into his with a gentle grasp. He wanted to kiss you, but the moment wasn’t right and he pulled himself out of the warm, hazy feeling that had washed over him and back into his confident, louder than life demeanor, giving you a big grin.

It was then that Fred realised how close to you he was and the sound of your laugh, sweet and gentle, relaxed him. Your presence, warmth and beautiful smile relaxed him.

Looking up at him, your eyes met and the way he looked at you with a look you couldn’t quite place, his grin slowly turning into a smirk as he held your gaze, you felt butterflies rush through you and you were sure that Fred, with his proud smile and warm eyes, could see the way he affected you and the very thought made your heart flutter.

“C’mon, let’s get going before anyone misses us.” Fred said, gently tugging you, your hand still in his as he reached out to open the entrance of the passageway.

It was finally the weekend and a particularly chilly Saturday morning at that. Everyone had woken up to the first snow of the year and the castle was practically buzzing with excitement and even though Umbridge had made strict instructions that snowball fights were prohibited, Fred and George had spent the best part of an hour after breakfast having a snowball fight and pelting anyone that walked close enough to them with snowballs.

And as the morning went on and George decided to part ways with his brother in search of some extra layers of warmth, Fred continued to walk further into the grounds, his heart lifting when he saw you in the near distance and he picked up the pace to catch up with you.

“Mornin’.” Fred’s smooth, deep voice caught your attention and you looked up to see him walking alongside you, having caught up from behind and you smiled sweetly at him. “Mind if I join you for a walk?” Fred asked and you quickly glanced up at him, giving him that sweet smile that he loved to see so much and nodding before you looked away again. “I’d like that.” You said, Fred relaxing as he stayed at your pace, a comfortable silence falling between you as you walked, the only sound that could be heard was the soft crunch of snow beneath your steps as you both walked down the hill towards the edge of the lake.

“Not likely, Umbridge really would have my head.” Fred laughed. “But I reckon we can get away with something.” He winked at you, grinning and you wondered what he and George might think up.

The two of you walked along the edge of the lake, most of the middle of the body of water was frozen over, but the gently lapping shores of the lake were still free, at least until the temperature dropped even more in the coming weeks before Christmas. “It always feels more magical around Christmas time, don’t you think?” You asked, looking back over your shoulder at Hogwarts, sitting proudly up on the rocks. The roofs were blanketed with fresh snow from the early morning flurry, it was as if everything was suddenly quiet and still and despite the excitement that filled the castle, there was an air of calmness that came with the first snow.

“Definitely.” Fred agreed. “Reckon they’ll put the tree up soon?” He asked.

“I hope so.” You replied, smiling up at him.

“What are you putting on the tree this year? More exploding baubles?” You asked, referencing the previous year when he and George had made some very pretty baubles that exploded when people walked a bit too close to them, causing half of the hall to shriek at the sudden chain of mini explosions like tiny fireworks and the other half to collapse into laughter.

As you walked a bit further through the grounds, a soft flurry of snow began to fall and the temperature seemed to drop a bit and you shivered as the chill rushed through you.

Without a word, Fred smiled at you, slowly putting his arm around you and you gladly leaned into his side.

Your heart sped up and you could barely look at Fred as you stopped near the forest edge, looking out across the lake with his arm around you. You had never expected to be this close to Fred, especially when you had considered yourself far too shy to even speak to him, let alone take walks with you tucked against his side.

A comfortable silence lingered between you for a moment as Fred slowly reached up, his warm fingers brushing against your cheek and he leaned in, pausing for a moment as his lips barely brushed against yours, his smile widening when he felt you lean into him, hands slowly trailing up his chest to rest on his shoulders and he leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to your lips, your eyes sliding shut as you leaned into him.

“I reckon this is more magical than a snowy Hogwarts.” Fred broke the silence, his voice low as he looked over at you. “What is, Fred?” You asked, unsure of what he was referencing.

“Out here, with you.” He admitted and you almost felt as if you needed to check if you were imagining all of this. “With me?” You asked, glancing up at him and meeting the warmest, sweetest look in his eyes and you practically melted on the spot.

Fred Weasley was capturing your heart and you were more than happy to allow him.

“Of course with you, silly.” He chuckled. “There’s something special about you, love.” Fred admitted, though he wasn’t entirely sure how to tell you how he felt, that being around you seemed to halt the entire world, as if everything you did just made his heart melt and gave him butterflies and not to mention, he felt calm around you and it was wonderful.

And as you parted, you could barely share his gaze until Fred lifted your chin with his fingers, his warm smile capturing you and you couldn’t look away, not when he looked at you so lovingly.

The kiss was slow and gentle and the moment was peaceful with not a single sound disturbing the moment you shared together. Your lips were sweet against his, tentative yet loving, shy yet warming and Fred swore he had never felt so wonderful.

Gently, he pulled you closer against his chest, deepening the kiss, his lips moving against yours slowly and the loving haze he had felt before in the secret passageway, that he felt every time he looked at you, lingered between you both.

“Fancy going back in for a cup of hot chocolate, love?” Fred asked after a moment. “I’d love one.” You nodded, smiling up at him and the twin grinned at you.

Slowly, Fred guided you back along the side of the lake, your hand in his with you against his side. And while you shared a silence between you, you looked up to find his gaze and the way you looked at each other said everything you needed to know.

You were well and truly in love with Fred Weasley.

Fred walked you slowly back to the castle, the pair of you enjoying each other’s company out in the snow, and it was almost strange to see Fred so quiet, yet his smile was wide and beaming as if he had just, as Ron had put it, won the world quidditch cup.

“I knew it.” Hermione whispered, somewhat triumphantly as she watched you and Fred settle down at a table near them in the great hall. “Knew what?” Ron asked. “The girl Fred’s with, Ron. She’s in some of our classes.” George explained. “Gotta say, they were spending a lot of time sitting together recently.” He shrugged. “Why the bloody hell didn’t you say anything?” Ron hissed at him. “I’d never snitch on my twin.” George said teasingly.

“Thank Merlin for talking gargoyles, ey?” Fred said as he watched you take a sip of your hot chocolate, swirled high with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. “Glad there was only one copy of that book that day too.” He said, lifting his own mug in his hands and taking a small sip as he listened to you giggle in response.

“And I’m glad I never pointed out the other copy of the book in the library.” You added, Fred looking at you with surprise and amusement as he let out a breathy laugh.

“You’re bloody sneaky, you are.” He chuckled, hugging you to his side as he pressed a sweet kiss to your forehead.

“What do you say, darling?” He asked after a moment of silence. “Would you do me the honour of going out on a date with me?” Fred asked, his thumb gently soothing over your cheek as his eyes met yours.

Butterflies bloomed in your chest, an uncontrollable smile forming on your lips as you looked up at him. “Absolutely, Fred.” You replied with a little nod and Fred leaned in, his lips gently capturing yours in a loving, tender kiss.

And as he parted from you, beaming at you with the brightest smile you’d ever seen, Fred knew he was in love, just as you were with him.

Permanent Taglist (OPEN):

@kitkatd7 @paintballkid711 @thesewaywardskies @coldlilheart @victorialynn7 @pandaxnienke @megantje123 @loving-life-my-way

#fred weasley x reader #fred x reader #fred weasley x you #fred weasley x y/n #fred weasley #weasley twins #hp fanfic #fred weasley fanfiction #fred weasley fan fic #the weasley twins #fred and george #weasley twin imagine #weasley twin fanfic #weasley twins imagine #weasley twins fanfic #hp fanfiction #george weasley #hp imagines

525 notes · View notes

drwcn · 3 years

Text

maybe after today’s acls training i can finally write that chengqing ER oneshot.

— “Patient male, mid-twenties, motor vehicle collision, eta 3 mins”

— “What no vitals? No GCS? ETA 3 mins? Who’s on the paramedic team?!”

— “No one….Dr. Lu hit someone with her car on her way out of the hospital.”

【A Midnight Conversation in Your Local ER】- Complete

[1]

The night hunt had gone to shits.

That much was undeniable.

Jiang Cheng heard the panicked shout of his disciples just as he saw the array that he had stepped on.

Fuck.

The ghost of an once mediocre demonic cultivator wanna-be was going to bring Jiang Cheng, Jiang Wanyin - the Sandu Shengshou - to meet his maker. The irony of the situation would be laughable, if he wasn’t so irrevocably screwed.

That was his last thought before his entire body was engulfed by a blinding light and the world he knew disappeared.

The ground beneath his feet gave away, weightlessness paralyzing his body though he did not fall. He felt…launched, his body warping and squeezing and stretching, the air sucked from his lungs into the endless black vacuum.

But just like that it was over. Jiang Cheng barely had time to make peace with his death before his feet touch solid earth again.

Or at least….he thought it was earth, this black, tarry hard thing striped with yellow and white. He stared at it dumbly, breathless and disoriented, barely able to react when a loud blare assaulted his senses and his world went blindly bright yet again.

This time there was pain.

Jiang Cheng clutched Sandu, ready to fight, but then his head hit the ground and everything went dark. When he woke up again, an indeterminate amount of time later, he was in a small tube and had a distinct feeling he was not wearing pants, socks or shoes.

How the fuck do you ‘scan’ a cat???

[2]

Method actor. The nurse, from the other side of the curtain, mouthed silently.

“Sir, can you tell me your name.”

“Jiang Cheng, Jiang Wangyin.”

The resident paused, awkwardly contemplating how to continue. “Uh…..which is it? Jiang Cheng or Jiang Wanyin?”

“Jiang Cheng, zi Wanyin.”

“Traditional parents?” The resident tried to crack a joke, but it fell flat. The strange man stared up at him with a blank look in his eyes and a frown that was rapidly deteriorating into a scowl. The resident cleared his throat and cast his eyes back onto his clipboard. “Uh, ahem, just the name on your ID please.”

“My what?"

"Your personal ID….like a driver’s license?”

“Cultivators of the gentry fly on swords or ride horses. We do not rely on carriage valets.”

“Eh… right. Uhm, can you tell me how old you are and what year it is.”

“I’m 39, and the year is jiachen.”

Lu Qi frowned from where she stood by the door, arms crossed, watching her resident and medical student work. 39? He looks like a college student. But he also thinks he can fly, so I guess age is the least of our worries.

“Jiachen.…?”

The M3 fished his phone out from his scrub pocket pocket and typed it in. “Sounds like the ganji system, like an old timey way to record year used in the past.” He whispers clandestinely to the resident.

“….Right. And uh, do you where you are?”

The man scowled at him. “Am I supposed to?”

The resident scribbled something on the chart, and then looked up with a plastered awkward smile. “Well, thank you Mr. Jiang for your patience. Wang Fei here is the medical student on our team. He’s going to stay and ask you a couple more questions if you don’t mind. Afterwards we’ll confer with our attending and the team will be back to see you shortly.”

As he turned away, the R3 grimaced and shared a look with Lu Qi, who was the youngest attending physician in their ER, but was not technically working at the moment and so was not on the case. And technically, as the perpetrator who hit Jiang Cheng with her car, she had a severe conflict of interest.

At least this Jiang Cheng dude didn’t seem keen on pressing personal charges against her for MVA or suing the hospital in general… but that being said…

Yeah, they’re going to need a psych consult.

Unless he’s on acid.

Well… okay, psych consult either way.

[3]

"It’s okay, you can relax.” Jiang Cheng said, waving dismissively at the woman standing by his bedside. “I’m not going to take you to the magistrate for hitting me with your carriage - car. You didn’t mean to, and I just came out of nowhere.”

“....Thank you.”

“You’re not Wen Qing. I know that now. Your name is Lu Qi. You can call off those psychia - psych - psychics - head healers - or whatever, I’m not crazy. It’s not my fault, you just… look so much like someone I used to know."

"Wen Qing.” Lu Qi echoed.

“Yeah. Wen Qing. She was a healer - a doctor - like you, but different.”

“I see. What happened to her?"

"She died. Almost twenty years ago."

"I'm sorry... that's awful.” Lu Qi’s response rolled off her tongue so well, because she had said those word a thousand times during her residency. So much so that it no longer had much meaning to her. Tonight however, she meant what she said. “Were you two close?"

"No, well…yes, maybe. No we weren’t exactly friends if that’s what you’re asking. She...operated on me. Without my consent or knowledge. Took my brother’s golden core and put it in me and then lied with my brother to my face about it. So no we weren’t “close”, but Wen Qing saved my life - well the purpose of it anyway. Saved me from a life of ordinariness.”

Lu Qi did allow herself to dwell too much on what the fuck a “golden core” was, because her gut response was almost instantaneous. “That’s shitty of her.”

She clamped down on her tongue.

God, why did I have to say that? To his face?! He was obviously in love with this Wen Qing person and they were encroaching on some dangerous emotional territories, but Lu Qi swallowed down her caution and plowed on nevertheless. There were things she felt she had to say, and since she’d already hit him with her car, how much worse could this shit get? “What I mean is she shouldn’t have. Not without telling you. Besides...there’s nothing wrong with ordinary.”

Jiang Cheng chuckled bitterly. “Maybe you’re right. Still...she didn’t deserve to die. What her clan did was not her fault.”

Now that threw Lu Qi off. Did this guy...kill her?

Lu Qi half wondered if she stumbled upon a Yakuza-esque member whose psyche finally snapped after years of murder and violence. And yet, he seemed perfectly coherent, no flight of ideas, no tangential thought, no hallucations. Even his delusions seemed...logical.

I must be the one losing, damnit.

Jiang Cheng scratched a little at his chest, as if palpating for the “golden core” that he spoke of. "She saved my life, but when she needed help, I couldn't save her. But, if I were to go back… I can't say I'll choose differently. My clan needed me, my clan who was almost cleansed by hers. No, no I wouldn’t choose differently. I don’t regret my choices, but I am sorry. Sorry to her, sorry to my brother. I'll always be sorry that she died, and that I failed her when she needed me."

Jiang Cheng had no idea why he was telling this stranger any of this, but maybe after twenty years, he was finally ready to address this guilt that he lived with. I mean who else was he supposed to tell? Jin Ling? It was nice, to have that face as an audience, receiving his words of confession.

"She would forgive you."

Lu Qi had no idea why she was offering absolution as if she had authority in this matter, but when she said it, the conviction she felt was so real, it was almost as though some external force was acting through her.

Which was ridiculous of course, but...

"How do you know? You're not her." Jiang Cheng shook his head. “I wouldn’t forgive me.”

"No, but you said she was a physician. So she should know, more than most, that sometimes there is no choosing who gets to live or die."

Jiang Cheng fell quiet at that, and his gaze grew distant. Lu Qi thought perhaps he was no longer seeing her as she was in front of him - white coat, scrubs, stethoscope - but someone entirely different. The tension he held in his shoulders slowly eased, and he sighed. In the silence that stretched between them, Lu Qi hoped that this strange man with his strange past could find a sliver of peace.

[4]

— Did you love her?

— I thought so, foolishly, but maybe I didn’t. Even if I did, it was not well enough.

— Do you love her still?

— No... I don’t know. It’s been too long...but sometimes, late at night when Lotus Pier is quiet, I think I do.

...

— Are you ashamed of it?

...

— No. No I’m not.

[5]

The patient known as Jiang Cheng left AMA, that is, against medical advice. It was the term they used sometimes for people who just up and leave without informing the team.

Lu Qi had gone out to check on his labs, which came back with bonker numbers (I mean really, a hemoglobin of 455, sodium of 200, and a HCO3 of like...3?), but Jiang Cheng was gone from Bay 6 when she returned. The nurse made the overhead page, a code yellow was called, but four hours later, Lu Qi was ready to admit that she was never going to see this Jiang Cheng ever again.

Somehow, she was okay with that. She had said what needed to be said.

Her chief had given her a call on her cell and told her to go home and sleep. The guy didn’t look like he was gonna press charges, let’s count our blessings and move on. But the night had just been too damn strange that Lu Qi was all wired up from it and couldn’t possibly fall asleep. She had handover at 10 anyway. There was a change of clothes and toiletries in her bag. She could always take a shower in the anesthesia staff’s on call room and sleep until then.

Dr. Sun was the anesthesia staff on-call tonight and was currently stuck in trauma OR. They were buddies since medschool; she’d understand.

Sighing, Lu Qi took a seat on the bench across from the bougie cafe in the lobby of the hospital. At this hour, it was the only one still open in the entire facility. The drinks they sold cost an arm and a leg, but Lu Qi needed the pick-me-up after the night she had.

As she nursed the last bit of her matcha latte, two bickering voices pulled her attention to the front entrance.

“Aiyo, A-Liang I already said I’m fine! I don’t need to be here!”

“Fuck out of here with that bullshit, Chen Zhaoxi. You fell off the fucking roof! If Wu Kun hadn’t called me, you’d have gone on -”

It was him! Lu Qi shot up. It was Jiang Cheng!

But no...no it wasn’t him. The well-dressed man dragging the second man (dressed in red pajamas) into the hospital was not Jiang Cheng. He had the same face - chiselled, handsome, scowling - but it wasn’t him. For one, his hair was trimmed short and neat, unlike Jiang Cheng who looked like he walked straight out of a BL xianxia tv drama. Secondly, his face was softer, eyes younger, and he couldn’t have been older than Lu Qi herself in her early thirties.

“I was just trying to get to the litter of kittens trapped -”

“Yes, yes, and it was very heroic and I’m sure it would’ve made Wu Kun very horny, and you morons probably would’ve fucked once he got home had you not made a valiant attempt at breaking your neck -”

“Excuse me,” the security guard manning the information desk chastised sharply. “It’s 4am. This is a hospital! Lower your voices, sirs.”

“Sorry.” The men apologized sheepishly.

Then, A-Liang, Jiang Cheng’s doubleganger asked, “Could you please direct us to the ER? This is my brother, he fell off a roof.”

Lu Bin had no idea what possessed her to interject. “I can take you there.”

All eyes fell on her. She walked towards them, heart pounding.

This can’t be happening, this kind of thing just can’t happen...

A-Liang’s face broke into a grateful smile. “Thank you, Miss -” Then his gaze trailed to her badge, and he corrected himself, “Dr. Lu. I’m Shen Liang. This is my brother Chen Zhaoxi. I think he fractured...well multiple things, please help him.”

“Of course, come with me. Let’s get him a wheelchair. If he fractured is leg, he probably shouldn’t be walking.”

“I didn’t fracture -”

“You, you shut up.” Shen Liang rolled his eyes. “Don’t listen to him. He can lose three out of four limbs and say ‘ t’s but a flesh wound’.”

Lu Qi couldn’t help but chuckle as she put an arm under the complaining Chen Zhaoxi and helped him towards the wheelchair.

Shen Liang’s smile widened.

[Extra]

“Holy shit, took you long enough!”

When Jin Ling and Lan Sizhui finally dragged Jiang Cheng to their portal site, Jiang Cheng realized that the transportation talisman had created a channel through realities between what looked like two metal garbage dumpsters in a back alley behind a food establishment marked by giant yellow bunny ears.

Standing guard there, Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen were each munching on a strange layered bread and holding tall drinks contained in...what was it called again? Right. Styrofoam.

“What is that?” Jin Ling wrinkled is nose at it. Brat.

“It’s a Big Mac.” Replied Lan Jingyi as if Jin Ling was stupid. “And this is a milk shake.”

Jin Ling scowled. “I said the bag of gold I gave you was for emergencies.”

“Yeah but we were hungry.” Ouyang Zizhen defended. He neglected to tell them that the cashier had refused to accept the gold and instead asked for “cash” or “card”, neither of which they had, so Zizhen used a liiiiil confounding talisman he learned from Wei Wuxian. They did leave more than enough gold though...and that ought to cover the restaurant’s cost for their “burger”lary . Reaching into the brown paper bag he held under one arm, Zizhen pulled out a little box that opened to show pieces of... something. “These are chicken nuggets. They’re delicious! Try one! They’re really good with this sauce....hold on...”

Lan Sizhui sighed. “We don’t have time for this. The portal will close soon. Let’s get Jiang-zongzhu home and we can sample these exotic food later.”

The boys agreed.

Jiang Cheng shook his head and huffed.

#cql #the untamed #chengqing #wen qing #jiang cheng #a midnight conversation in your local er #cql ficlet #corie fics

288 notes · View notes

a-libra-writes · 3 years

Note

hello, i am here! Stannis with the prompt: a diary where you can communicate with your soulmate, please. it can be hc's or scenario; however you choose to quench my thirst for him, I will be grateful.

hi molly, thank u for giving me such a treat!!! bc this was my first prompt and it... uh ....................

really got away from me

(LOTS OF ANGST BUT ITLL BE OK I PROMISE MAYBE)

The first thing he felt about it was annoyance. The six year old second son of Lord Baratheon looked down and saw that someone had doodled all over his book. He figured it was Robert, though he'd never seen a quill in his brother's hand unless it was being forced by the maester. He set the leather bound book in front of his mother expectantly, silently waiting for an explanation. When she looked at it and gave him a curious glance, he finally spoke.

"Robert's been drawing in it," Stannis said. He placed it right on top of her embroidery so she'd see. Lady Cassana wasn't bothered, rather, she was curious. She picked up the book and flipped through the pages.

"Did you see him do it, sweetling?"

"No." The lack of evidence didn't deter him - no, this was evidence enough. He didn't understand what his mother was so amused about.

Lady Cassana stopped on one of the pages. She smiled at the messy drawing of what was probably a cat catching a mouse. Under that was a tidy little castle with a series of smiling figures. "I don't think it's your brother, Stannis."

Stannis frowned, ready to argue that fact, but she asked, "Do you know what a soulmate is, sweetling?"

“No.”

“It’s a special person that only you can speak with this way,” She touched the book. “It's a special thing, I did it when I was your age. It’s the will of the gods, my love. You should write something back."

He hesitated. “Do I… have to?”

“Not if you don’t want to. But perhaps say hello, give it a try.” Lady Cassana said. She was smiling broadly now. “Enjoy it while you can.”

"What if they're not literate?"

Maester Cressen looked up from his papers, surprised the usually quiet boy was speaking during lessons. Stannis repeated, “What if my… soul mate doesn’t know their letters? You said the smallfolk don't."

The Maester stood and walked over to the leather book. Two years later, and it still looked in good condition. Stannis took care of this things, especially this. As usual the page was covered in whimsical drawings.

“Have you tried to write to them, my lord?”

“Not yet.” Stannis was furrowing his brow already, wanting his questions answered. “What happens if one soul mate can’t write, but the other can? What if both can't?"

“My lord, there's no need to worry about things that are irrelevant to you.”

“What do the smallfolk do?” Stannis pressed on. “Draw pictures like this? How do they find each other? How do they know what the other person looks like?"

Maester Cressen was already turning back to his papers. “Soulmates don’t always find each other, my lord, nor should they expect to.”

“Why not?”

“Distance, lack of communication, familial duties.” The maester said dismissively. “If you’ll return to your lessons—”

“I finished. What’s the point of soulmates if they can never meet?"

Maester Cressen sighed. There was no escaping this anytime soon, he feared. “It’s the will of the gods, my lord, and a great mystery we maesters have studied for centuries. It’s best not to think much of it, however. Draw or write back in the book, if you wish, but do not spend too much time with it. It’s best not to get expectations of someone you will likely never meet.”

Stannis looked down at the book, startled by a new drawing already appearing. He couldn’t see them being made, only when they were finished. It was a school of fish, or maybe a flock of birds. Wouldn’t it be simple to ask where this person lived, and go see them? What was the point of all this if he was just meant to ignore it? He wanted to ignore it, but this mysterious person kept drawing all over his notes and it was distracting.

“Mother said it’s 'the will of the gods', too. Does that mean it’s bad to ignore it?”

The maester stood up and closed the leather book. He replaced it with a chart of various colorful coat of arms and a map. “I daresay it’s time to move on to the next lesson."

It took him a few days, but the lordling decided to write in the book. Stannis wasn't much of an artist, so Hello seemed like a good start. He was relieved when there was a simple ‘hello!’ written back within a few minutes, and later, a scribbly flower with a long stalk underneath. Seeing the words form on their own so quickly, and in response to him, unnerved Stannis. He closed the book and tried not to think about it the rest of the day.

He checked a week later, where more drawings were present, with more words: whats your nam?

He wrote back, Name has an 'e'.

And before his eyes, a minute later, there was a name… and a house, and a title. Caspian.

She was a highborn lady? Stannis looked at the page, not sure what to think about it. It’d be alright to write to a lady, wouldn’t it? Maester Cressen was the one worried about this soulmate business. Perhaps it was because a lord and peasant couldn’t be together? Stannis knew that rule already. He knew the decorum and niceties his parents rehearsed him through, even at his young age. He walked to the library to find a map, and in the time he finally located it and rolled it out, there was more on the page.

A drawing of something weird and arrow-shaped. this is our sigil. its a manta ray.

Stannis had never seen one, but he had a sense that wasn’t what they looked like. He tried looking through the map, but words kept appearing.

whats your nam where are you from? ?? are you a boy or girl do you like horses ? I like swiming and horses! im good at it

He considered closing the book again, rolling up the map, going back to whatever he was doing before. If there was no point, then why bother with this? ... Then again, he’d have to go back to the training yard, and Robert was there swinging around a huge wooden sword.

Stannis frowned, deciding this was the less annoying (and painful) activity for now. He found an ink pot and quill, held it tightly and wrote in a fine penmanship—

My name is Stannis Baratheon.

The last part smudged, and it didn’t look exactly how his father signed it, but it was his best. The response wasn’t immediate, and he quickly saw why. A drawing of a stag appeared on the paper before the words did.

Its good to meat you! lets be friends

Friends? Friends. He thought about it. Stannis didn’t have friends, just brothers. He didn’t think he needed any. This didn’t have to be so bad, though, he could try. If it was too tiresome, or too... strange, he could stop. Maester Cressen wanted him to stop, anyhow, and his mother said he didn't have to.

It’s spelled ‘meet’. We can be friends.

Lady Cassana patted his mess of black hair, and Stannis didn’t flinch away this time. Instead, he asked, “Were you and father soulmates?”

“No,” She answered honestly. She was always honest, and he liked that. His father joked too much. “Do you remember what I told you about duty? Sometimes we have to set aside our hearts to best serve our realm. Sometimes we have to set aside this.”

She gave the leather book back to him. Maester Cressen had taken it, and he was determined to accept the punishment, but it bothered him more than he wanted to say. He was grateful his mother returned it, though he was struggling to meet her eyes. His ears were still red from embarrassment, but she wasn’t upset, or teasing, or scolding.

“It hurt me to set my own down, but I knew it wasn’t meant to be. Your father had one that he never wrote to. The idea of having it and setting it aside was too much for him. And yet, we love each other very much, and we love our sons.” Lady Cassana stopped touching his hair when he finally squirmed away. Stannis ran his fingers along the leather spine and the uneven parchment bound inside the book.

When he took a long time to answer, she spoke softly. “It’s your decision, Stannis.”

That night, he wrote in the book, asking what she’d do when they grew up. When she'd stop writing. The response was instant. There was a drawing of a sad girl next to her words.

your my friend! i like writing to you. do you want to stop?

I don’t. Stannis decided, and that was it.

The talks still came, though. It happened before, several times, and here it was again. It didn’t matter that he stopped bringing the book to his lessons, or that he only wrote in the privacy of his room. Maester Cressen always seemed to know.

“It’s for your own good that you begin to set it aside, Stannis,” The old man said. He always seemed old, but when he was scolding it was especially so.

Stannis wasn’t one to talk back, but he still struggled to hide his scowl. This wasn’t the first time the maester made him set his jaw and tense it up. It wasn’t his business. She never discouraged it, so he didn’t understand why Maester Cressen had to.

“It’s not inappropriate,” He said. “She’s a lady. I never write improperly, it's like sending letters."

“Sending a strange lady letters is inappropriate,” The Maester sighed. “Especially without the knowledge of her family. What would they say?"

“She could tell them at anytime."

“Do you tell your lord father and lady mother all that you write, then?”

Stannis gritted his teeth and turned away. At ten and three, Stannis could already see over the old man’s head, and he didn't feel like a child, so he didn't appreciate being talked to like one. “You don’t speak to Robert about these matters.”

“Robert is at the Eyrie, no doubt being told the same by Lord Arryn. Stannis, do you understand why I say these things? Do you understand the trouble it could cause you, and worse, her?”

Maester Cressen often referred to ‘her’, or the girl, even if she was just as grown as Stannis. He didn't ask her identity, and Stannis didn't give it. He hated having to hear this conversation again. Of all the trouble Robert was already causing in the Eyrie — he saw those letters, it was his duty to attend to them while his parents were at sea — Stannis felt like his own actions were hardly important. There would be weeks where he couldn’t write to her at all, or she was busy as well. If anyone tried to read what they wrote, gods forbid, it was mostly idle talk and drawings.

Lots and lots of drawings, she still had that habit. She was getting very good at them. Stannis brought his mind back to the present. “I understand.” He said, in a tone that made it clear he didn’t actually intend to stop.

Case in point, he pulled out the worn leather book that evening. It was the second, or maybe the third one. If she didn’t draw so much they’d have more room, but sometimes Stannis wrote a lot, too. She made it easy to do that. It was alright if she didn’t answer right away, or if at all. It was good to just write it.

He frowned as he moved to the most recent page. It was a short, curt sentences, which wasn’t like her. There were no pictures.

My cousin died this morning. We were riding together, and she fell from her horse. I couldn’t help her. No one blames me, but I feel terrible. I’ve been crying all day. I’m going to the Godswood tonight to pray for forgiveness. I might be quiet. I'm sorry.

‘I might be quiet’. ‘I might not write tonight.’ ‘I’ll write to you tomorrow’. ‘I’ll tell you about it when I can’. Those were phrases the two of them were used to. It was expectant. They may not write every day, or every week, but eventually they will.

Take the time you need. I’ll be here for you.

It made his chest hurt to write that, but he knew it was the right thing. It’s what she would always say to him, and without fail, he’d eventually come around and tell her. She was the only one he really told… anything. He wondered if the same was true for her. She mentioned visiting ladies now and again, a knight’s daughter she played with, and… this cousin.

He kept the book beside him the rest of the evening, knowing she likely wouldn’t respond. By the time she did, the earlier conversation with the maester had left his mind.

The longest they’d gone without writing was during the following year. It took months before he could pick the book up again, even look at it. It was months using all the willpower he had to get out of bed and carry on. There was Renly to look after, and Storm’s End to attend to, and the duties that Robert neglected when he returned to the Eyrie. He should have stayed, but he didn’t. So Stannis took care of it. He did what was right.

When he was finally able to pick up the book, when the choking pain keeping him up at night had dulled to just a constant ache that allowed sleep now and again, he hesitated.

The latest page was inquiries of how he was, where he was. There was a variety of pictures, black and some colors she’d managed to get ahold of. Her manta rays looked like proper rays, and so did the stags she had become so fond of. She drew some ships she’d seen in the harbor, a cat that liked to hide away in her bedroom. Then the pictures stopped.

My father told me what happened. Stannis, I’m here. You can write to me, whenever you can. I’ll always be here.

It hurt again. He closed the book, listened to the fire flickering loudly in the hearth in his room. It was becoming stuffy, but he didn’t want to open a window. He could hear the waves and the crashes against the rock from his window, and that would lead to the sounds of broken wood and screams in his sleep.

He moved closer to the fire, away from those sounds. Flipping through the old book’s pages, looking at the art and some of the sillier things she wrote. Apparently when he’d make her laugh, she’d screw up some letters. She told him as much. When he corrected any spelling, she liked to make the same mistake and circle it. She liked to draw little figures that were supposed to be them, but it was awful on purpose, and they were usually doing something ridiculous like riding a dragon.

Looking back on those gave him the strength to flip to the newest page. He stared at it, wondering if he should stop. He was acting Lord of Storm’s End. Wasn’t his duty even more important than this, and wasn’t her reputation in danger? ‘Willed by the gods’, they said, but he no longer believed in those. What gods would smash his parents and their great ship against the rocks of their own castle? The same stupid gods that would create this... this connection in a world where it would inevitably be severed.

He gritted his teeth, feeling the pain shoot up across his jaw and straight to his head, where a headache would start. The fire was right there. It would be easy to …

His hands moved on their own. The words were sloppy and left heavy ink blotches on the paper. I’m here.

I am too. I missed you.

The response was near instantaneous. Perhaps if she waited, he could’ve done it. He could’ve burned it, if she hadn’t wrote that. Maybe it didn’t matter what she’d say. The sudden longing and loneliness hit him all at once, but it was easy to respond.

I won’t do it again. Being gone for this long.

A pause, a heartbeat, and a tensing of his jaw that made his head ache again. He added in an anxious scrawl, I missed you too.

It was another sleepless night, but for once, it wasn’t because of the nightmares and the crashing waves. The sun came up as he wrote in the margins of the last page, promising to find a new book.

There was modest wooden box he kept them in, hidden under his bed. He was good at hiding it now. No one had bothered mentioning Stannis’ old habit anymore, assuming he’d grown out of it. He’d dated all of them to the best of his knowledge, though he rarely went back to read them. He used to, but that simple act flustered him horribly. They were still in good condition, except for one that had been partially chewed by a hunting hound. The one time he was careless.

The hound was no longer around, and he regretted that. He liked dogs. He liked that one, upset as he was when she chewed the diary years ago. She was still a good, loyal dog. He had to butcher her with the rest.

Stannis tried to remember when they ate the dogs. Thinking was a slow, laborious process now. He had to sit down to do it, and getting up was even worse. He stayed standing as long as possible, afraid of what would happen if he stopped. He couldn’t stop, not while his men needed him, and Renly, and Robert.

He moved slowly. It was hard to tell if it was to conserve energy or if he simply had no energy left. Stannis carefully unwrapped the small leather strap that kept the diary bound and closed. His shaking hands struggled to grasp the paper and turn the pages, but he managed. It was the writing that was the hardest. At least there was plenty of paper and ink, only because no one could eat it.

When he looked at the page again, the lighting was different. The candle was lower than before. He’d dropped his quill on the floor — no, he was on the floor, leaning against the cool stone. Stannis didn’t remember falling. He wasn’t sure if he passed out, or fell asleep. Again he turned to the proper page and picked up the quill. He tried to write before he remembered he needed ink. The ink dragged across the page as he wrote languidly, Are you there

The question mark was more of an ugly splotch that spread across the paper.

Yes, always.

Her family supported the rebellion, being sworn to Eddard Stark, and outraged at what the Mad King had done to his father and brother. Stannis told himself it made writing easier, not that he’d ever give her any information that could endanger her. Early on, they didn’t speak of it. Especially now, he couldn’t. He couldn’t…

He couldn’t… think. Stannis struggled for words. He mentioned what day it was, how many men he had left. A log that helped keep him grounded, something he hated to subject her to, but he needed the clarity. Sometimes she corrected him on the day, and that startled him. As he finished his short report, his hand trembled, and he dropped the quill again. Stannis exhaled, forcing the air through his lungs, then struggled to breath in again.

Not for the first time, he wondered if this was dying.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed before he looked at the page again. She wrote a lot, and he couldn’t remember when it was there.

When you make it through this disgusting siege — and you will make it, Stannis — I’ll be there. I swear it, I’ll sail down to Storm’s End with my family’s ships. I don’t care anymore. I want to be there.

She’d said as much before, when this started. Stannis discouraged her. He didn’t have the strength for that anymore. Instead, he fought to keep his eyes open, fought to think about it, difficult as thinking was. Thinking of their meeting used to be a surefire way of a day full of anxious thoughts, but now it was… grounding. He couldn’t see the end of the rebellion, or the end of this siege. He just had to endure it. That’s what Robert said: Endure it, brother. Hold it for me.

But he could see her, in his thoughts. He could try. Some years ago, she asked what he looked like, and he responded as such: Blue eyes, black hair, like his father and brothers. Asking the same of her felt… strange. She didn’t answer right away, so he panicked. He said she didn’t have to do such a thing. It was inappropriate. She told him to wait, which he thought was odd.

Several hours later, she took up nearly a whole page with a ‘messy’ self-portrait: her words, not his. It was only a bust, but it still transfixed him. It was clear from the drawing she had looked in a mirror, and it was messy, and it was surrounded by words describing her hair color and her favorite dress and her eyes. Stannis couldn’t look at the page for days after that. He’d break out in a sweat just thinking about it.

It was comforting to think about the old picture now. Maybe 'comforting' wasn’t the right word, but she was the one who was good with words, and pictures, and little fantasies like this. She liked to write about what they could do if they met.

Maybe he took too long to respond again. She had written more. We’ll meet and you’ll show me the drum walls around Storm’s End. You promised. I’ll bring my best paintings, I made one for you. I don’t care if it’s allowed or not, it’s a gift. I want to see you so badly it hurts.

Stannis touched the letters. He was startled by how his pale hands seemed to blend into the parchment. He didn’t recognize the knuckles sticking out. He wondered what she sounded like, and how she laughed. He didn’t think he could manage it now. Stannis glanced around for the quill, dipped it into ink with a great deal of effort, and slowly slid it across the paper. He stopped abruptly, ruining the words.

You’re the strongest, most noble man I know. You will make it through this and the rebellion will end, and I’ll be with you. I swear it before the old gods and new.

The ink seeped into the paper, the quill trembled in his hand as he tried to hold it properly. He was dying, he decided. Only dying men ate disgusting leather they tried to boil into water and infected rats. Even the latter was becoming scarce. He scrawled a response, struggling to pull the words together.

I miss you.

I miss you too, Stannis.

#tihs is so self indulgent kfskfks #pls dont expect the other prompts to be this long haha i just went kinda nuts!!#stannis baratheon x reader #libra fics #libra minis

88 notes · View notes