#tries to get her to give up on jesse and be resentful just like him

[helmarok]

romeo roleplaying as his favorite OC to beat the shit out of his other OC who he hates very much

[espinosaurusrexex]

Tough Luck

MiguelO'Hara x Spiderwoman!Reader

summary: Miguel is the most agitating person in all universes, but somehow, you have fallen for him still. Too bad he realized his feelings towards you when it's too late. Now he needs to fix his mistakes.

a/n: yup... I caved. So here is this because Miguel is literally the only person my heart is beating for at the moment 

word count: 2.8k

warnings: mutual pining, idiots in love, Miguel is a wannabe tough guy, some angst, and just a lot of fluff, ! I don't know if all the Spanish phrases are correct - please tell me if not !

･ﾟ✫* 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 ｡✭･ﾟ✶ 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐎𝟑 ✧*･ﾟ

picture is not mine - credid to owner

You pushed through the doors of Miguel’s office and into the hallway with tears burning in your eyes. 

You just wanted to prove yourself. You were capable, a good Spider, exceptional if you could believe Peter B. Parker - but he was a little biased. Yet all you ever got from Miguel was resentment and scolding. 

Not once had he complimented you on a successful mission. Not once had he acknowledged your skills and ideas. Not. Once. 

It was bad enough he was your boss, in a way, and you wanted him to see you belonged amongst all the other heroes in spider society. But of course, through the constant pressure and struggle, your heart had decided to fall for the only person so out of reach - you were sure the universe was laughing at how pathetic it was. 

Because you had a big fat crush on him: Miguel O’Hara. The boss, the big bad grumpy so-sexy-it-hurt guy that seemed to hate your guts. The guy that probably only tolerated you because you were a version of Spider-Man in your universe. 

But he was such a hunk, ugh.

His jaw - so sharp it could cut you if you looked at it for too long, his broad shoulders - those arms, and that deep sexy smolder his mouth did when he was concentrating. All of it sent your body into a frenzy, burning you up from the inside as you tried got fight the urge to jump his bones every time you were in a room together. 

You were so sure to have seen a soft side beneath all the frowns and eye-rolls. Just not for you. 

“I should have never recruited you."

It was embarrassing. The way you so desperately tried to impress him, to have him see you as more than the annoying fuck-up he had to welcome because you were a spider. 

Peter always told you that you did nothing wrong, that Miguel was the way he was with everyone. But it didn’t go past you that his frown seemed to deepen, his eyes rolled a little more, his jaw tensed in anger when he talked to you. 

You never said anything to Peter, though. You didn’t need him to feel bad for you. Not when he had some issues himself and not when all of it was entirely your fault. 

Especially today. 

Okay... you admitted that you had tried to provoke Miguel on the last mission. You figured, if you were to get yelled at anyway, you could just as well do the things you thought the smartest - following protocol or not. It didn’t matter. 

And normally it worked. But this time you had gotten a little distracted. Because as you had swung from the beam of the museum and past Miguel and Jess, the light hit his face just right, making you stare as he angrily squinted at you and causing you to not let go soon enough. It resulted in what felt like a broken rib and maybe a minor head injury. 

But, hey. You’d caught the guy! It was just the exit that lacked grace. 

Not that it mattered anymore anyway. You’d been lacking for over a week now - made so many mistakes, that you'd considered giving up the secret identity thing altogether. It was just exhausting you more - robbing you of valuable sleep (in case it wasn’t plagued with nightmares) and just seemed to be the root of all your problems at the moment. 

You heard Jess call out after you when you pushed through the spider people on your way to a quieter place - ignoring her. 

You just wanted to be alone and not talk to anyone - preferably ever again. 

❁❁❁

It’s just his damn tough luck, Miguel sighed as he shook his head, hands ruffling through his hair. It’s not been enough he had to punish you for flunking the mission, no of course it had come with a generous side of emotional mess. 

Mierda. (shit)

He closed his eyes and could see the tears brimming in yours. How you had tried so hard to stay stoic, how you held your head a little higher when he told you off. But he saw the way your lip quivered when his eyes lit up in angry red - a stutter in his heart he tried to suppress when he pointed a finger at you. 

“What did I tell you? You follow orders or you’re off! I should have never recruited you.” The words still tasted bitter on his tongue. He had gotten too good at it.

Miguel didn’t like it - hated it, in fact, despised the way he talked to you, really. But he had to. For your sake and that of the multiverse. There was no other way.

So there was no use in beating himself up about it, right?

But why did he feel so defeated then? Miguel sighed once more. Of course he knew why, but that didn’t help in the slightest. 

“Hey Bossman, there’s someone on the line for you - should I tell them you need another minute to sulk?”

Miguel groaned at Lyla. Dios mío. (my god)

It’s Jess. It’s got to be.

“Now, what did I tell you about making people cry!” Her voice screamed at him through the monitor and he winced.

“I can do whatever I want!” He snapped back, instantly regretting it as a short but pressing silence covered the room.

Yup. He’s in for a lecture. 

“And she put us all in danger.” His jaw was clenched. 

“She’s a mess! You’d think Spider-Man would have sympathy for someone who just lost their Ben.”

“She– what?” Miguel finally looked up, his heart sinking in his chest - Jess’s stare was scolding him through the flickering hologram. 

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”

He didn’t. But he had been so careful, had monitored everything in your universe to make sure you were safe. How could it have slipped past him?

“Oh my god, Miguel!” He could practically see her disappointed, motherly glare. Jess had that one already.

Miguel muttered a curse word under his breath, the Spanish barely reaching Jess. 

“Now’s not the time to beat yourself up about it. I’ll do that for you later.” His eyes squinted angrily. “You need to fix this mess ASAP. I need you on top of your game and apparently, you can’t be without her. So get yo ass up and stop whining!”

“Where is she?” His voice was hoarse, void of the lump he swallowed a minute ago. 

“Her universe–“

“Thank’s Jess.”

“Hey–“ but Miguel had already ended the call. He knew where. He knew everything about you. He knew where you worked, the names of all the employees you associated with, he knew which bagel you preferred for breakfast - he even knew which parts of the paper you read in the morning ...and he also knew where you went to be alone. 

Miguel rose, still kind of catty from Jess’s call-out, and immediately opened a portal to your universe to step through. Miguel knew he needed to apologize. He was determined to - really he was, because the situations he constantly found himself in, the anger and arguing, didn't benefit anyone. 

But when he stood in the streets of your version of Nueva York, pictures of you flashing along the screens on the buildings, celebrating and broadcasting your talent, he came to a startling realization: He couldn’t explain anything without revealing his feelings for you. 

❁❁❁

Miguel watched from a safe distance as you kicked your legs sitting on the edge of the building. It wasn’t the highest building. A rather average-sized one, right by the water with a bakery on the ground floor. 

He analyzed your posture. Hands perched on the ledge and head hanging low, the occasional rocking from the kicking motion. Miguel's fingers itched to reach out and hold you. But he couldn’t. I probably never would.

Because he had spent the last year making sure you’d hate his guts. And - no much to his dismay - he had succeeded. 

He huffed. Miguel had no damn idea how to go about this. He knew the spider society needed you - he needed you. At least close to him. 

The gravel on the roof crunched when his foot stepped from the shadow. Joder. (fuck) You had spider senses, Miguel was wondering why you hadn’t found him out already - then again, you probably just wanted to be alone right now...

His arms wanted to reach forward again, his body emerging from behind his cover ever so slightly. And when he looked back up at you, he winced at your piercing eyes directed at him. ...yes, he deserved that.

You waited, just stared at him - almost daring him to move again.And Miguel felt so small, so out of control. 

He knew he had no right to be here. He had no reason to in your eyes. But he needed to fix things. Or he’d hate himself ...and Jess after she whopped his ass if he came back without you. 

Miguel’s eyes avoided you, willing his rampaging pulse to still. Cállate, corazón estúpido. (shut up, stupid heart)

“What are you doing here?” His hand fell from his chest when you spoke. It wasn’t a friendly question. More of a warning... don’t you come any fucking closer. 

“I–“ But his voice betrayed him. What the hell was he thinking coming here? One look at you told him that nothing would be fixed with a quick apology. He had a year's worth of mistreatment to make up for. And then there was still the thing about his feelings. 

Qué lío. (what a mess)

“I want to talk,” Miguel tried again only for you to become more agitated. 

“I think I heard everything I needed to hear from you.” You spat Turing back around and Miguel nodded defeated. 

“I’m sorry about Ben.”

He saw your shoulders tense, your head hanging a little lower, but you didn’t say a word. 

Miguel knew better than to approach you. You had all right to be angry at him, he had fucked up - big time. But he was too stubborn to accept defeat just yet. You were too important and he hated himself for not seeing it earlier.

“I haven’t been fair to you.” That got your attention.

“Fair?! You haven’t been fair?!” If they could, your eyes would glow red, Miguel was sure. 

He watched timidly as you closed the distance between you - fuming. Maybe this had not been the best approach. 

“You have been nothing but cruel!” Your finger pushed into his chest and Miguel's heart jumped at the touch. “Benching me for minor mistakes, arguing with me about every little decision I make, not trusting me!” You took a breath, your eyes never leaving his. “Yeah, that’s a big one.”

The broad brunette gulped visibly. He knew he was walking into a messy discussion when he stepped through the portal, but his sweaty hands and hammering pulse told him that he was not prepared still. 

“I’m sorry.” It was too quiet, not strong enough to convince you. But he didn’t seem to find his voice in the fire of your wrath. 

“Oh, are you now?”

“Yes, I'm sorry.” Why did he keep saying that? Imbécil. (idiot) It clearly didn’t make things better. 

You shook your head with a huff. “You know what? I’m done with you - with this. You’ve done nothing but made my life miserable.” His eyes cast downward in guilt. He knew that. And he was punishing himself enough already. “And now you come here and think it’s all forgotten with a fucking apology.”

You were right. So right. But Miguel could bring his mouth to open up. It was as if he was cast under your spell. The dreading anger rolling off of you paralyzed him with shame. 

“What I need is respect. Trust. Your having my back.” You smacked your hands against his chest with every word. And Miguel let you. He could have easily withstood, but he deserved to be pushed around. What an absolute asshole he was.

“But you’re not willing to give it to me... to trust me. And the worst part is that I still like you!” 

He wanted to tell you. Show you that he knew he deserved all your rage, but he did not want to interrupt you. Even though his heart– wait a minute. Did you just say you liked him?! 

¡Mierda! (holy shit)

Miguel just stared at you as you kept on punching him, the words you just said seemed to get swallowed in your rage. But he’d heard them. Loud and clear. 

You liked him. Miguel's heart was hammering in his ears, so loud it almost drowned you out. It was as if he had forgotten the situation he was in when his lips twitched upwards and the words just tumbled over them.

“You like me?”

You stopped, looked at him with wide eyes, and then sighed. “Just go please.”

The beating slowed when you turned away again. Miguel tried to call out your name - pull you back. But when he did, he saw the tears falling from your eyes. 

“Please let me explain–“

“What's there to explain? You don’t think I'm capable. Okay fine. I tried to prove you wrong but it’s not getting through your stupid thick head.” Your tears fell relentlessly as the anger covered your features once more. And, again, Miguel just stood dumbfounded and helpless. All he wanted was for you to accept a do-over, to at least settle on neutral ground again. But you were throwing truths at him that hurt more than anything he’s ever endured. It just reminded him how inconsiderate he was. And that there were probably a lot more people that didn't like him. But Miguel didn’t care about those. You were the one important thing. The person he needed around, and safe. And he had messed it up. 

“I don’t know what kind of problem you have with me, why you can’t seem to show me a little human decency, but I’m–“

He didn’t know what came over him when he reached forwards and pulled you into a kiss. The panic had just risen to his head with all the overthinking and screaming. And he knew it wasn’t right to shut you up, but he had tried to think of a way to say what he had wanted to say. But he had come up empty, and the feeling of your lips on his felt a little too good to stop. 

You even kissed him back. He could feel your shoulders relaxing a little - even imagined feeling you tug your arms towards his neck, but before he could register, you had pulled out of his grasp again. 

“What the fuck?!”

“I’m bad at coping mechanisms,” he confessed blushing as you looked up at hun confused and staggered. “I didn’t know how to ignore my feelings for you so I went with the safest option... making you hate me.”

You frowned but at least you let him talk, so Miguel just continued. Whatever the outcome now, he had to get it off his chest. “I wasn’t ready for you. But I can’t hold it any longer it's tearing me apart... hurting you - that was never my intention. I just wanted to make it easier for me.”

“So you made me doubt myself for you to feel better. That’s – wow – not a red flag at all.” You crossed your arms. Though Miguel saw that you wanted him to continue. 

“I am sorry - verdaderamente. (truly) I know it’s not done with these words alone, but I promise to make it up to you... if you'll let me.”

His chest was heaving with nerves when he finished his little speech. And Miguel swore to have seen your eyes soften as you realized how sincere he was. He closed his eyes in the silence overtaking you both and shot a player to the sky. There was only one thing he was wishing for.

“How can I trust you won’t mess up again,” your voice piqued up and his eyes fell back to you. 

“Because it’s tearing me to pieces to see you like this. I know now that it is I who brings misery into everyone's life. For years I thought it was tough luck, but I realize I have fate in my own hands.” He carefully stepped forwards and took your hands in his, squeezing them lightly. He wouldn’t take this for granted. “So, please... let me show you. Give me a chance to change things. Give us a chance.”

You bit your lip debating. Miguel knew the uncertainty you must have felt, the anger and frustration of his ignorance. He would understand if you said no. Shit, he deserved it for all he knew. He wouldn’t stop you, but he would be miserable. 

Miguel squeezed your hands once more, pulling them to his chest to have you feel his heart vibrating in his chest. Por favor. (please)

And then you nodded with a small smile falling on your lips and his heart began to sing. Miguel smiled, pressing a kiss to your knuckles as a happy tear rolled down his face. 

To hell with tough luck - he was the master of his fate. 

Wanna be added to the Taglist?

@circe143 @valkyrie418 @mirikusashes @noideawhyimdoingthislol @nikkitc0703 @lethallyprotected @erynnnn @misshale21 @wattpaduser200 @buckyseddie @adoreyouusugar

[owengrose]

Blacknatural

I've been rewriting and recasting Blacknatural in my head so here's the updated cast + storylines. Some of these casting decisions have fundamental story changes, but some of them don't have to change at all (gee it's almost like Black people are just as capable of representing the human experience as white people..........)

Mary Campbell Winchester: Nicole Beharie

Mary comes from a long line of hunters who balance hunting and living a life by operating more as defenders than hunters. They never seek out threats, they only defend their community against monsters that do harm. She's good at what she does and loves doing it. When she announces she's marrying John Winchester, a white man her parents have never met who actively enlisted to fight in Iraq, they're understandably against it. She's constantly self-sabotaging the relationship bc "something" is telling her it's not right (it's her free will resisting the Cupid match with everything she's got). The night of the fire, she's finally gathered up the ability to leave them. Sam cries and she goes to comfort her one last time (she does love them even if she never wants them and can't be maternal) and that's when the fire strikes. When she comes back, it’s like no time has passed for her but suddenly her children are adults. She tries to be their mom again, thinking it might be easier since they’re grown, but they still want and expect things from her that she can’t give, so she strikes out on her own again.

When she learns she and John were a Cupid match, she’s both angry that she wasn’t given any agency in her life and relieved that she wasn’t the one who fucked up her life with bad choices.

Dean Winchester: Keiynan Lonsdale

His only frame of reference for masculinity is the middle-class white masculinity shown on motel cable TV and the movies they snuck into (man cave, cars, objectifying women, beer, physical strength, etc). His performance of this + skill at hunting attracted something close enough to approval from John, and raised no eyebrows from almost anyone else, so it let him fly under the radar. But he's cultivated this performance so thoroughly that he's not even sure there is an authentic self underneath it.

Sam Winchester: Storm Reid

Sam has struggled her whole life with other's perceptions of her. The siblings' upbringing is seen by others as very white trash, but she obviously doesn't neatly fit into that category. But being raised by John, who made no effort to celebrate or even recognize their Blackness, gave her no connection to her own Blackness to draw on. At Stanford, she double majors in pre-law and African-American Studies, joins the BSU, and does everything she can to make her narrative #BlackExcellence despite constantly feeling like an imposter. Her dating Jess, a white girl, doesn't make that much easier. She and Jess are a Cupid match, though we don't find this out until later.

Mirroring Mary, she doesn't have a maternal bone in her body. When she's suddenly left with Kevin when Dean and Cas get sent to Purgatory, she does her best but is struggling and resentful the whole time. When Kevin is taken by Crowley, she's secretly relieved and makes no effort to rescue him. The guilt of this haunts her for the rest of the show, even though she's fully aware that she would do it again if she had the chance to do it over. Because of this, she isn't resentful of resurrected Mary being unable/unwilling to be a mother to them the same way Dean is.

Rufus Turner: Steven Williams

Rather than leaving the kids with Bobby, John would instead leave them with Rufus, with Bobby instead being a fellow hunter that Rufus knows (essentially flipping their roles narratively). Rufus and John didn't get along, with John devaluing his years of experience and dismissing his approach to hunting as focusing on defending his town of Greenwood, Mississippi (similar to the Campbell family). With this ideology, he would take the kids hunting for animals rather than monsters, and did his best to plant the idea in them that the only supernatural beings that need to be hunted are the ones actively causing harm, encouraging them not to "chase trouble". While he would never send them out on hunts across the country, he would assist them with advice, resources, and fake FBI verification whenever asked. He also gave both of them The Talk about police, since John didn't know or care to.

Castiel: DeRon Horton

Compounding his difficulty in understanding and interacting with humans is the added layer of racism. White people are less forthcoming at best and outright hostile at worst. When interacting with Black people, he misses most if not all of the cultural references and understandings they expect him to have. (Someone tries to dap him up. This does not go well for him.) This also strains his relationship with Claire; he looks like her father but has no context for family in-jokes and stories, Black cultural references and understandings, or American references.

Because he has no context for these references, but recognizes that they seem to be important, he looks up every reference that someone makes that he misses. Sam is the only person who will explain a reference to him, having had to do the same thing to try and fit in at Stanford.

Eileen Leahy: Treshelle Edmond

Being a Black Deaf lesbian hunter has made her used to taking care of herself, being either infantilized or disregarded by most in whatever situation she finds herself in. Not only is she excellent at taking care of herself, she knows that even the most well-meaning people cannot take care of her as well as she can. Sam's instinct to respect her skill and defer to her understanding makes Eileen feel finally seen, and is why Sam's attempts at being protective feel so smothering to her. They're both independent people who come together by choice, not by necessity. She's thrown by the revelation of Chuck's interference because it calls into question whether she's done so well because of her own merit, or because of his interference. It also means that every fucked-up thing she's endured hasn't been from the random chaos of life, which she can understand and accept, but has instead been deliberate decisions caused by yet another person in a position of power who decided their narrative was more important than her own autonomy.

Rowena Mcleod: Dominique Jackson

Condemned to death by the British for practicing Obeah, which they called witchcraft and devilry, she was able to escape and survive through a mix of cunning and magic. She aimed to survive and thrive despite the colonizers running rampant through her country, and viewed Crowley as an obstacle to that and so abandoned him. As she and Sam bond, she helps her tap back into the abilities that were there that the demon blood enhanced. As Sam, still wrestling with ideas of purity regarding human and non-human, struggles with this, Rowena points out that ideas of purity like that are colonial philosophies. It is pure because it is innate to her, denying it is the real impurity.

Adam Milligan: Jaboukie Young-White

Azazel/Yellow Eyes: Lakeith Stanfield

@daalcuntynatural and I talked about this before. He just has an otherworldly and unsettling vibe that makes him absolutely perfect.

Mr. Tran: Osric Chau

Mr. Tran is a devoted single father to high school student Kevin Tran. Unlike John, Mr. Tran goes out of his way to celebrate Kevin's dual heritage. Kevin's mom passed away when Kevin was a baby due to complications from birth that the hospital staff didn't take seriously. Because of this, Mr. Tran is a bit overprotective because he is very aware that people will not always take Kevin's concerns and struggles as seriously as they deserve. Kevin, in turn, pushes himself very hard (too hard) because he doesn't want all of his father's hard work to be for nothing.

Osric was done so dirty on this show (killed off over and over), and deserves the opportunity to have some fucking dignity.

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

OC Musings #2.5

Today's Musing: What is your OC's relationship with their biological parents like? Cam: Naturally has a great relationship with Jesse, to the point of being a bit clingy with him, but to her he's her first best friend. Also adores her other father Cole, despite being MIA from her life for over five years with another family...but does still feel a tiny bit of resentment on that fact, as much as she tries to pretend she doesn't for everyone else's sake (it's probably the thing blocking her from True Potential—look at her, taking right after Cole <3) Blaire: Out of their siblings, probably has the best relationship with their parents, yet still winds up in the most trouble with them. Would never admit it, but they're trying desperately to please Kai and Skylor, but also ultimately ends up going overboard and tends to get other people caught in the crosshairs). Blythe: Struggles to relate with both his parents, Kai and Skylor, but is a smidge more of a Mama's boy (as Kai tends to annoy him a little too much from time to time snksnk). Mostly keeps to himself and steers clear of any chaos caused by his sisters, but will probably turn into a blubbering mess upon receiving any kind of affection. Briar: Is absolutely a Daddy's Girl, but also has so many self-depreciating thoughts about herself that she struggles to see how much her parents really do care about her. Kai tends to be the one to talk her through some of her worst moments (cuz he can relate and he is DISTRESSED that his beloved child is going through similar things nuuuuuuu–) Lucina: With her biological parents, there was a pretty average relationship—generally positive, with nothing extreme to stand out about it. However, winding up in Legacy!Lloyd's custody required quite an adjustment period, but she comes to love him just as much as her own father (...although eventually, she gets a little scared at the fact that it may just be even moerso). Can't quite discuss her "mother" though cuz spoilers for the main story lol Quinn: Has a good relationship with both her parents, but has a deep-seeded fear of disappointing them both—she has a secret love of "girly" things that would cause Nya to peel paint with irritation if it were her on the receiving end, while Quinn also can't quite wrap her head around the advanced sciency-subjects Jay's always prattling about. But, they've got plenty of other ways to connect with each other–it's just that Quinn feels like she can't always be 100% honest with them (a quality both Nya and Jay and displayed themselves at one point or another) Finn: Also has a good relationship with both his parents, but feels like he had big shoes to fill all the extraordinary things they've done throughout their childhood, and just their lives in general. Nya relates to his desires to stand out and not be "average", while Jay can understand his need to overcompensate when he doesn't really have to. Seven: While as a "child" they were spirited and eager to help and learn, upon receiving their upgrade and a new body, they inherited a bit of Pixal's cynicism about the world, and it kind of manifested into their perspective on their parents. Seven finds that Pixal takes things too seriously, while Zane's sometimes a little too silly, but other than that they know they can always go to them for advice or comfort and both will always be ready to give it (although Pixal is either a little awkward or a little extreme with it sometimes—and Zane keeps trying to crack a joke afterwards to ease the tension and it never lands–)

. . .

Question Inspired from this Prompt List

[ever-fics]

Miguel O’Hara X Reader PT2

Sfw fluff/Angst

2099 Miguel is done for when Miguel ,regular Miguel, Y/N’s Miguel dies…. He tries to avoid it but he cant

Why? Simply because he knew whet it was to loose Y/N and he wasn’t about to let Y/N go through that same grief loosing him.

And he especially wasn’t going to let his daughter have to mourn her father … not when in his timeline he is alone hurt and resentful…. He knows he would be happy here and so would his family. Especially if they never knew what they’d lost.

As soon as Miguel steps into what he knew to be his … his other-selves… home and he sees his Y/N for the first time… Really sees them after all this time. He starts crying when he realizes … this, this is actually real. Everything he ever wanted … needed. Every feeling he had learned to bury for duty and to be spiderman to be alone…. He didn’t need to burry it anymore so it was all just back … his heart came back with y/n of course it did… loosing y/n washow he…lost it in the first place.

So when Y/N Asks Miguel if he’s okay… not knowing their Miguel had passed… Miguel isn’t sure what to say but answers honestly.

“Im Fine. It’s just seeing you in front of me… after so long without you. I never thought Id get to see you again… not even once. This means everything to me.” Miguel chokes out to a confused Y/N.

“Miguel what do you mean I just saw you this morning are you sure your okay.” Y/N is worried

“Im okay we are both here together now.” Miguel replies

“As long as you are alright.” Y/N replies caressing his cheek.

“This might seem silly but I missed talking to you so much… To be able to talk to you… I took it for granted.”Miguel smiles with all the decades of love stored … repressed that Miguel hadn’t been able to give Y/N.

Seeing Gabriella up close … that … that is the second he honestly believed he found heaven.

“Gabriella O’Hara.” Y/N calls in a sing songy way.

“WHAT?” Gabriella replies

“Ven Aqui Bebé.” *Y/N calls.

Miguel just gives Gabriella the biggest hug… shocked for a moment that she is real… For a moment he chuckles because he notices she had picked up on some of the faces Y/N makes out of habbit…

At first he is so afraid to touch Y/N or Gabriella afraid of breaking them like glass

Miguel smiles as he sees his spouse step out of the bathroom … in…. the version of them that got to grow up still liked soccer …

“Miguel … You got it into Gabriella’s head she can best our record….” *Y/N shakes their head and smirks.* “Ive got to go help her practice…. You can come too… but I know your probably scared deep down O’hara.” *Y/N teases.*

Again Miguel got everything he wanted …. Until he lost it all again lost Y/N again…. But more than that his selfishness cost…. Cost their Gabriella…

However Miguel wasn’t going to let loosing Y/N be something that didn’t get justice not this time…And Miguel’s Gabriella wouldn’t be lost without reason. So Miguel … well Miguel wasn’t doing well not without Y/N …. He needed the more outgoing parts of their personality to contrast his so he works on Lyla an AI that … he gives all the best personality traits of Y/N because he cant do this alone…

Miguel finds an odd peace in the purpose the defense of the multiverse … the protection and the memory of his family…

This peace goes out the window when Jess finds you and quickly befriends you brining you to the spider-society … To Well At first Jess asks Lyla to tell Miguel that Jess brought a new recruit …. Lyla who knows Y/N’s face all too well pretends to glitch to malfunction … Jess had never seen her do that. So then how would Miguel react

[kittynomsdeplume]

OC Tag Game

Oooh, thanks for the tag @cleverblackcat. I'm not sure what's gonna shake out here, as I don't really plan my OC's out very well. They sort of slowly emerge as their story grows, so all of them are very much works in progress still. A few of them have started to show distinct personalities though. I'm going to focus mostly on Dragon Age OC's, since they are the ones I'm writing pretty exclusively these days.

Tagging: @knuttydraws | @raflesia65 | @inquisitoracorn | @retrowondergirl | @thedastrash | @charlatron | @charmcity-jess | @amarmeme | @inky-does-art | @spooky-daggers

Favorite OC: This is basically akin to asking me who my favourite LI is and I really don't know how to choose! I like them all for different reasons. I think I do have a soft spot of Evelyn Trevelyan though, or a strong desire to keep her safe. Out of all my OC's, she's the only one that was not even remotely prepared to be a hero/leader/figurehead. Yes she was born into a noble family, but she was never going to be the head of it. She was shipped off in disgrace to the Circle at the age of 13 -- completely ruining her parents carefully orchestrated plans to marry her off for their own benefit. All my other OC's have spent a good majority of their lives already having to lead/protect/be responsible for others, but poor Evelyn's just so out of her depth. They're all pretty badass too - they can easily go toe to toe with an archdemon, or the arishok, or any adversary you throw at them. Evelyn would just get squished.

Newest OC: Hmm, I think that's probably Maxwell Trevelyan, who began really as just a generic name drop of an Inquisitor for Under Her Mask. He's grown though and I'm honestly a bit in love with the shithead 😆 Because he's brash and aggravating, but he's staunchly loyal to his friends and Blackwall's revelation broke his heart. I don't know if he will emotionally survive Solas' betrayal, not that I plan to write it, but you never know. I do enjoy writing him being cheeky with Cassandra. He might just continue to pop up in the further adventures of Solona and Cullen, so we'll see.

Oldest OC: Oh haha, hmmm that would be going back many, many years now. I think the first story I wrote that was a genuine foray into fan-fiction, was about Garthik the Meek. He was an orc that lived peacefully in his little hovel, deep in the forests of Yew, in the land of Britannia. He spent his days tending to his garden and frolicking with the forest animals that were his dear friends. Unfortunately however, one day he was set upon by a band of glory seeking adventurers, and his humble little life was tragically cut short 😞

Meanest OC: Oh, Enastarin without a doubt. He was tolerable to his companions when he was merely a spirit of Vanity, unable to help his shallow nature. Something dark emerged in him however when he left the Fade -- a jealous, competitive obsession with Solas. Despite his complete lack of empathy for others, Rin sees the true nature of everyone -- can reflect it with uncanny accuracy, which is why he is the most talented shape-shifter in Elvhenan. So he sees all the faults, doubts and weaknesses that Solas hides from others. He hates that everyone always looked to Solas over him. That Solas was always considered more competent, more powerful and wiser than him, and that Mythal openly favoured Solas above all others. It's a resentment that has festered in him, like a sour wound, for millennia. Naturally, in his immense pride, Solas doesn't take Rin seriously as a threat, and that's a blind spot Rin is more than happy to exploit.

Softest OC: Again, all my OC's have been pretty hardened by their life experience. They're all soft in their own ways, in the right circumstances, with the right people. Like, Solona is pathetically soft for Cullen, but don't ask her about Alistair 😬 Though, even that is complicated.

Sulahnean essentially cannot say no to Dorian. She tries to be firm, but if he gives her puppy eyes, she's done for. Which is not the sort of friendship she ever imagined she could have with a Tevinter nobleman of all things.

I don't know that Hawke is soft so much as brittle inside, though she's very good at putting up a tough exterior and ignoring her own feelings. Evelyn probably wins the soft category again, although Blackwall certainly caused her to harden her heart a little bit, but she's probably still the most forgiving.

Most Aloof/Standoffish OC: Probably Sulahnean Lavellan. Though its actually against her natural character and mostly due to circumstances. She was quite warm and gregarious amongst her Clan, but being surrounded by so many strange and hostile humans in Haven, and under their intense scrutiny, had her feeling very out of place and she drew inside herself as a defence mechanism. Then she was held up as this religious icon, an Andrastrian icon, and she was terrified to even be herself. Because how long was it going to be before she slipped up and acted too Dalish, or too outspoken for mage freedom, and got herself burned at the stake as a heretic? Slowly though, she began to forge bonds with others in the Inquisition, but after everything that happened with Cole and Solas, it damaged her ability to trust people at all. She's trying to work through it, to not close herself off entirely from others, but it's a struggle. Logically, she knows that most people have good intentions, but when the pain of betrayal is still so fresh, it's hard to not react instinctively with fear and doubt.

Dumbest (Affectionate) OC: Ok, well probably Marian Hawke. Not that she's truly stupid obviously, but she tends to act without thinking. And sure, she thrives in the havoc that ensues, and in some ways being so erratic puts her enemies on the backfoot, giving her the advantage then in being decisive, adaptable and quick-witted. So maybe she's actually a chaotic genius in the end! To the outside observer though, it just looks like sheer pandemonium, and without a doubt, she's shaved about ten years off the life of all her friends from the stress of being in her orbit. Though at least they've all learned to expect the unexpected and the more insane the plan seems, the more likely it is to actually turn out ok. Realistically though, Hawke just doesn't quit. Ever. Overcoming all obstacles through sheer stubbornness.

Smartest OC: Probably Sileahilan. Overall, she's very well rounded, possessing not just book smarts, but good social and emotional intelligence. She knows herself very well too, and has the good sense to know when she's wrong, or needs help. She also has a seemingly rare quality among other ancient elves, in that she learns from her mistakes 😂

OC I’d Be Friends With: Probably not Hawke and Max. I think they would exhaust me in a matter of minutes. And definitely not Enastarin, for very obvious reasons. But I think I could chill just fine with most of the others.

[manicpixiedgoblin]

Nervous Young Inhumans

Jesse/OC/Jimmy

Chapter Two.

Jesse was smoking a cigarette outside the hospital when she finished her shift. He was wearing his usual oversized hoodie, baggy jeans. His left eye was a little bruised around the edges. Ellie ignored the nervous feeling in her stomach and walked over to him.

"Did Diane tell you?" she asked, taking the cigarette from his hand and smoking a drag from it.

"Dad did, but yeah," he took out another cigarette and lit it for himself.

Ellie nodded, kept smoking and not saying anything. It was dark out, and they both looked like shit.

"You've been back for a while," Jesse started, "you could've fucking called."

"I changed my phone."

"My parents have my number, you know."

"Jesse, you could've called any fucking day," she tried not to sound too upset, "I was across the country not dead."

"You had a life I knew nothing about."

"You knew nothing about it because you didn't call."

"It was always the same when I did! Hey, El, I fucking miss you," he imitated himself mockingly, "are you coming back? Are we getting back together, El? - I was fucking begging, it was-"

"You weren't begging, the answer was always yes."

He sniffed, turned away from her, looking back at the hospital building. He nodded slowly.

"Always?" he looked back at her.

She paused, looking down at the cigarette, half consumed without her smoking it.

"You're still using," she said, matter of fact.

He scoffed. "So always as long as I get it together, as long as I don't stay the loser who didn't go to college, yeah?"

"I don't give a fuck about you not going to college, you know I never did. I told you to come with me, I said it didn't matter if we-"

"If I lived off you and did nothing? Nah," he shook his head, irony all over his face, "no fucking way."

"I'm going home, Jesse."

"Okay."

"Maybe-"

"Yeah, maybe."

He straightened up from where he'd been leaning on the back of his car, closing the space between them for a moment. She held her breath but he just shook his head and got in his car, driving forward so he didn't have to wait for her to move before driving away.

***

He called the next day.

"It really wasn't mine, but I wasn't gonna rat out Jake," he said when she picked him up from his parents house in her car.

"I get it."

"How was work?"

"Slow."

He hummed.

"Your place?"

"Uh, yeah. Thanks. Again."

"No problem."

They drove the whole way there in silence, avoiding looking at each other. She stared straight ahead. He looked out the window.

"You know, I've actually been doing well, uh, with work," he said when they were a block away.

"What are you working on?"

"Well, I mean, it's not work work but, uh, it's good money."

"You're dealing."

"I'm cooking, actually. And it's not shitty ass-"

"Just be careful, Jesse."

The sarcasm came back all over his features.

"Yeah, okay."

She parked in front of his aunt's house.

"Do you, uh," he finally looked at her, gesturing towards the house.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

He nodded, pressing his lips tight.

"Alright, thanks for the ride," he got out before she could say anything back.

Was this it? They'd resent each other for nothing for the rest of their lives? She waited until he got inside. She waited a few minutes after, not really knowing why.

***

The next week went on the same way for the most part. She was busy with work, he was busy with whatever the fuck he called a job these days. Or maybe they could've both made time but didn't. She hadn't seen his parents again since the night he'd shown up, but she'd called them once, just to smooth things over. She felt like ratting out Jake, making them see Jesse in a better light for once.

On Saturday she went to a bar with some of the other residents and surgeons from the hospital. None of them were on-call, so they drank excessively and ended up leaving the place when it closed at three a.m.

Her car was parked right outside but she couldn't drive.

"Ugh," she rolled her eyes.

"Wanna share a cab?" the same surgeon who always flirted with her, Hugh, asked.

"I think I might walk."

"Not sure it's so safe this late."

"I think I'll be fine."

"Suit yourself," he shrugged, got into the cab and drove away.

She sighed. She knew what would happen if she got in a car with Hugh. First a hand on her leg, then a pass at kissing her. Ellie knew she could say no, but avoiding having to seemed easier. She knew she could also say yes. But she wouldn't.

Her apartment was less than a thirty minute walk away, so she wrapped her coat tightly around herself and started walking. Desert nights were freezing, however warm the days were. She thought of where Jesse would be now. Knew if he had the chance to sleep with someone then, he probably would. Knew he was probably high, probably cooking or selling, in any case, living the usual chaos of his life.

And she could forgive him all of that, the lack of a stable job, the strange friends they'd shared. Maybe not the women. But most of it, she could bear. It was seeing how empty his eyes got when he'd been using for a while, the way he'd get desperate when he started to run out, how his life's epicenter became a substance and a feeling he could only ever chase - she couldn't see that and be okay with it.

When they'd used drugs in high school it had been the normal experiences, fun, you think you'll outgrow it and go on with your life. She had. You think maybe you'll keep experiencing the same things together for the rest of your lives, but then you're twenty-something and each person is stuck somewhere different, being haunted by the dissonance between them and their past. She stopped outside the building, pulling out her phone. She could call.

Even if he was with someone, or cooking, or selling, she knew he'd come. But she also knew it wouldn't be just one night. She also knew she'd resent whatever he'd been doing with someone else, and she'd hate herself for forgiving him and he wouldn't believe she did anyways. There didn't seem to be a place and time where things could work like they had before, or differently, but work in any way better than that.

She put the phone away and walked inside.

[kazashiniwielder]

So I honestly don’t know if it’s because I watched Tom and John acting as cousins who were raised as brothers for years or they can actually act like brothers but here we are.

So the story centers around two brothers, an older named Pete and a younger brother named Ray. When they were kids their dad was a strict man who was a lot harder on Ray then Pete because Pete was easy and he has no idea what to do with Ray. They were as close as they could be due to how different they were. When they were still young their dad dies and his partner Al take over watching the two.

A little before the story starts we learn Pete was head over heals for a waitress named Jessie after a bitter divorce and after hanging around her work for two months he asks her out. Unfortunately Pete took her on a double date with his brother Ray. As the dates continue Jessie starts to fall in love with Ray and she breaks it off with Pete before marrying Ray. The brothers have a major rift in their relationship that compounded from all these issues. Both brothers have significant inferiority complexes compared to each other. Ray is intimidated by Pete as the ‘perfect child’ and Pete resents the fact that Al, Pete’s teenage son Mike, and the woman of his dreams Jesse choose Ray over him. Literally Ray didn’t try to ‘take’ any of them. Ray was genuinely shocked when Mike, Jessie, and everyone actually pursued him.

So present time Al wants to make a run in the truck from California to Alaska, delivering a load of toys and special surprise for his home town. Unfortunately he has a heart problem that makes him unable to go so he asks Pete to take it because it is imperative for the future of the town that the truck and Ray arrive in Willow Creek by Christmas morning. Apparently only two people can force Ray to behave for 4 days, Al and Pete. Since Al can’t make the trip he begs Pete to do it instead.

Interesting enough all through the trip Ray actually spends a large amount of time trying to mend the relationship between Mike and Pete while also just being a little reckless in his own sense of justice. Ray sees a guy who started a hit and run on the road for fun and beats the guy up on principle. He sees a guy harassing some girls at a dinner and takes the guy outside to knock him out before paying for the girls food. Ray is impulsive and while he tries to help Mike relate to Pete, he also tries to get ahold of his wife Jessie who ran away after a fight about having kids.

Ray for his part is trying to keep everything on track. He is trying to keep to Al’s schedule, to keep Mike out of trouble, and to get Ray to do the run. But they aren’t making it easy for him and Pete’s response is to be stricter and harder on them, trying his best to control the two. And eventually it causes them to blow up on each other.

So while the brothers are on a long road trip and seconds away from tearing each other apart at any given second, we switch perspectives to see the town they are headed to, finding them falling into despair with the problems in the town just piling on. They’re only source of income, a cannery, is closed. They loose all their lumber contracts, and it becomes apparent that after Christmas the town will be through.

So the brothers continue toward Willow Creek, picking up Jessie along the way. Turns out Jessie ran away because she was pregnant and Ray had no desire to be a father. She ends up having her baby in the climax of the film, just when Ray and Pete finally work everything out. They manage to get the truck to Willow Creek by Christmas morning to find out the big surprise was that Al sent Ray to Willow Creek in order to reopen the cannery there to sell canned chili, something that Ray can do with his personal chili recipe.

In the end Ray, Jessie, and their new baby settle down in Willow Creek and reopen the cannery to give all the residents their jobs back. The kids get all the Christmas presents they wanted and Pete makes up with his son. Al also makes Pete his partner so that Pete can stay locally and not go on long hauls. It’s definitely a hallmark movie but there were some themes that stuck with me.

While overdramatized, they put most of the emphasis on the relationship between the brothers. Even when they are not getting along, the two brothers still look out for each other. The only detour Pete willingly takes is to take Ray to Jessie because he knows Ray is going to do it anyway and it’s safer on the truck then Ray driving over on his motorcycle. The core of their issues comes from the fact that they are intimidated by the other one. Pete has gone his whole life being the ‘perfect’ child, doing everything he was asked to do. He became the very man his dad wanted him to be, and their dad clearly favored him for it. Yet everyone else who was important in his life choose Ray over him. He feels that everyone will always favor Ray and it’s ridiculous becauseRay is just wasting his life away. He’s lost, only working as a truck driver because Al has done so much for them and he feels they owe it to Al to be there. Pete just sees all the flaws of the things Ray is wasting his time on and is angry about it. Meanwhile Ray is insecure about his place. He sees Pete as the ‘perfect’ son, the “good son”. He knows that his dad favored Pete, he knows that most people see him as the screw up and Pete as the good one. Ray thinks everyone will favor Pete once they get to know them and he thinks Pete can take everything from him. He wants to be a better person but he doesn’t think he should be. No matter what though, they know each other well enough to anticipate how the other will react to situations, to still look to each other and rely on each other when they are confused or scared. Jessie wasn’t what drove a wedge between them, not really. The wedge was already there. Jessie was the excuse and when the brothers realize that they are able to work through the actual core of the issue.

Also, what’s not to love about a movie where a cop tells a town Santa he’s under arrest, the man says ‘no’ and the cop just shrugs and accepts that.

[jetra4ivor]

The admin’s obsession with Jesse is quite fascinating. It’s never really explained why Romeo went mad with power and murdered his friend. But I think a lot of it lies in his resentment that they had their own lives and were drifting away.

Romeo built challenges and gauntlets for his friends to play through. That was his way of showing love for his friends. But when they started to drift away, it probably felt like they were rejecting him and his efforts. So what does he do? He makes bigger gauntlets. Bigger monsters. Bigger challenges. And when that isn’t reciprocated? He gets angry and upset.

That’s how he treats Jesse too. He’s intrigued by Jesse’s love of adventure, so he gives her some challenges. And for him it’s fun and games. But Jesse doesn’t reciprocate. So what does he do? He builds bigger challenges and traps again. It’s almost like he’s trying to impress her with how elaborate and fantastical his challenges are. And when they’re still not reciprocated?

He gets mad. And tries to put the gauntlet on another person and make them his friend. And when that STILL doesn’t work, he goes denial crazy and says “I don’t want ANY of you to be my friend!” while simultaneously hijacking Jesse’s appearance.

Deep down I think Romeo is just lonely. He doesn’t know how to show affection other than through creating his elaborate challenges and he doesn’t understand that life and death aren’t games to ordinary people.

Maybe that’s why Fred tried to stop him. Maybe Romeo was getting carried away and building challenges that were WAY too deadly. Fred tries to talk him down, but it just comes across as more rejection and more isolation. So he lashes out. And without comprehending his strength… kills him.

After that he tries to protect the people he thinks are his friends… by literally locking them up. And when Jesse tries to break out of there too, the Admin just drops all the people there and leaves them to rot.

Romeo is such an interesting villain.

[darthwheezely]

okay im backkkkk 💌 anything kinda angsty for fred pls (like a break up but theres a bit of making up at the end pls

resentment and reconciliation- f.w. hcs

Warnings: this one kinda hurt to write I’m ngl, I love you Jess but DAMN - cussing probably, mentions of slut shaming, actual smut, a lOT OF ANGST, hateful!fred

THIS WILL BE SO UNGODLY LONG THIS IS BASICALLY A PSUEDO ONE SHOT

people that might like this(?): @whiz-bangs78 @vogueweasley @theweasleyslut @loony-loopy-lupinn @lupinsclassroom @vivianweasley @oh-for-merlins-sake @kitwalker02 @tatesimper @gcdric @slytherinsunrise @lumosandnoxwriting

you and Fred were friends...

...simply friends

yep

mhm

only friends

friends that liked to casually dominate each other multiple times a week

sometimes multiple times a day

but regardless of your entirely messy relationship, you were best friends

...weren’t you?

“Fuck, Y/N, you’re so goddamn tight me,” Fred hissed as he was pounding inside of you, determined to release some kind of frustration from seeing you with George for the whole day when you both knew you had really just wanted to spend the day with Fred. Right?

“Freddie, you feel so good” you said airily as he hiked up one of your legs onto one of his shoulders.

“Yeah, princess? You like the way I fill you up so good, make you fucking mine?” When you moaned in response he threw your other leg onto the opposite shoulder, determined to show you just how much you were his, and what that meant for him. He had been watching you for months pretend nothing was happening outside this room, and regardless if you knew it or not, it had been killing him the day he agreed to your rendezvous the first time.

“Yes, Freddie, fuck, yes”

“Gonna come for me, sweet girl?”

“God, yes, Fred-“ and with a harsh thrust to your g-spot you clenched around him tightly, your body releasing onto him in a massive wave. He put his free hand that didn’t have your arms pinned above you to your clit, determined to have you as overstimulated as possible.

“Fred, please-“ you whined vehemently at his rough touch.

“I’m coming baby, I’m right here” and with a final pound he had smoothed your walls with him, the throbbing finally subsiding. He rolled his hips slowly to ride out his high, and he then pulled out, falling to your side and pulling you into his arms. He could feel your heart pounding as your breasts heaved against him, desperate for air flow where he had rid you of it all.

“We haven’t held each other like this in a while, Freddie...it’s...it’s really nice.” You whispered against his bare chest, pressing a kiss or two there. He nodded and buried his mouth in your hair, fluttering his eyes.

“I promise I’ll take every opportunity to hold you, okay?”

that was tuesday

let’s skip to Thursday morning

you had only told one other person about your complicated relationship with Fred, and that was Hannah Abbot

you trusted her, you saw her as your BEST friend

but unfortunately, good ol’ hannah didn’t really feel the same

she had it out for you when Roger Davies had confessed he had a crush on you at the Yule Ball, kissed you even, against your consent

see, he was Hannah’s date

and she didn’t like that very much

to top it allllll off?

she had been casually crushing on Fred ever since she had her heart broken by Roger

so now here you all were, seventh year and you assumed as per usual that everything was fine

when clearly, unbeknownst to you

this bitch saw you six feet under

so Hannah did what she knew would hurt you the most

she told Roger :)

“Please he’s absolutely balls deep in love with her, but poor thing doesn’t know she’s using him for a roll in the sack.” Said Hannah, filing her nails in the courtyard. Roger looked at her absolutely dumbfounded.

“No, Y/N, isnt like that. And besides, Fred’s a good mate of mine and...She just wouldn’t do that to him. Feelings or not, she’s not one to use people.” He shook his head starting to get up from the tree he’d been leaning on.

“Well, she used you, didn’t she?” She purred demurely. He turned to look at her, jaw clenched.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He gritted out.

“She’s making him her personal whore, exactly like she did when she rejected you at the Ball...I mean...cmon, Rog. Don’t people deserve to know who she really is?”

everyone had heard the next day how Y/N was fucking Fred Weasley like an Olympic sport

and how he wasn’t the one coming out on top for the first time

at first he didn’t know what he did when he walked into the Great Hall to stares and whispers

George had tried to get him to go back to bed so he could bring him food

but fred demanded answers

and when he found out what it was

...he was crushed

You walked into the cascading staircase, bounding up the stairs. It was Thursday night, you and Fred’s night to be alone while George and Lee would be hanging out. You walked into the room to see Fred, throwing things onto his bed and looking angry and...hurt?

“Fred, what-what is all this?” He didn’t look at you, just continued to pick stuff up off the floor, and got one of your bras. He threw it at you.

“It’s all your shit, Y/N. Might as well help since this is the last time you’ll ever be in my room. Or around me again quite frankly.” He started to look down again and keep working but he heard you whimper and his eyes flashed up to yours. He started to laugh harshly. “Oh my god, stop.” He rolled his eyes and threw his arms out. “You got what you wanted from me didn’t you, Y/N? Quick shag and no feelings and knowing you had an entire fucking human being completely and utterly devoted to you with, what did Ron say? ‘Half the commitment’?” He smiled at you but it was one with rage, with tears pooling at his eyes, pain emitting off his body in hot waves. He didn’t even know he was shouting.

“I mean, Jesus, I’m in love with you and you got to go on and-and fuck whoever you want because guess what at the end of the day you get to tell everyone that Fred fucking Weasley is your own personal whore and would do anything for you and that just got you where you wanted it didn’t it? Didn’t it?” He had stopped yelling, his heart pounding as he took in the sight of you fully in tears now, flinching at him quietly. He felt immediately then like he was going to throw up, something wasn’t right, you usually were so fiery and assertive and here you were looking like a dog that got kicked repeatedly. He swallowed thickly. “Get your stuff and get the fuck out I can’t stand the sight of you.”

Without looking at him you reached onto his bed and grabbed everything you could carry, and swiftly left the room. Everyone in the Gryffindor common room, except George, looking at you with pure unbridled disdain.

George was the only it seemed, that cared about you at this time for the next couple weeks

He didn’t tell Fred, but it had been George that had been sneaking up food to you in your dorm room

It had been George that had sent you little notes in class that said things like

I love you, Y/N. I believe in you, okay?

He even visited your dorm one day when you couldn’t move so much as one leg off your bed, and he caught you then, while you were sobbing about the loss of Fred and yourself and he held you and put you back in bed

and waited until you fell back asleep and moved the hair out of your face

he needed to tell Fred the truth

meanwhile, Fred was floundering

he had fallen back into his coping mechanism of sex and violence, mostly the first one

he had started hooking up with virtually everyone in his year that he’d ever rejected

after all - fred was labeled as a slut so why not act like one

if there was anything Fred was good at, it was being loud

in bed it had never been an issue - in fact, it was a talent now, yeah?

he’d been hearing it around school for weeks now

how easy he was

how much he would do to get in a girl’s pants

how he dipped his wick in anything that moved

anything and everything

he got it from girls

“c’mon freddie can i take a ride just once”

to the guys

“Oi freddie, you let your mates hit it for free too?”

if it were from a guy he’d usually swing a punch

or 12

he’d gotten in his most fights that he ever had in any of his years at hogwarts

but then Georgie came along:

George had waited on Fred’s bed, as his twin was in the shower. Lucky for Fred, George had been able to trace Roger’s little dip in the gossip system all the way back to Hannah Abbott, who everyone knew was bullshit, and had decided to let his brother know exactly what kind of a supreme asshat he was being to their best friend (and the love of Fred’s life, let’s be super honest.)

“Georgie, what the hell are you doing-”

“About to give you the whip cracking of your life, dear brother.” George swung his legs off the bed as Fred continued to dry his hair in the mirror, rolling his eyes.

“Is this about the last girl I had by? We didn’t fuck on your bed if that’s what you’re so worried about.” Fred quipped and George took everything in his power to not bitch slap the hell out of his older twin. George clenched his jaw and rolled it.

“You fucked up, Freddie.” He said quietly. Fred turned slowly to look at him. “Excuse me?”. “You. Fucked. Up.” George said a bit louder. “Y/N got played. By Hannah Abbott and Roger Davies. She’s had a crush on you this whole time, you absolute dumb piece of shit.” And then George did push Fred then backwards onto the bathroom wall, but he was too dumbfounded by the usually sensible twin’s behavior to do anything back.

“That’s-I don’t understand-“

“Oh my god, Fred. Hannah’s been in love with for ages, she lied. To everyone. Roger did too, he’s wanted to get with Y/N since day 1 you know that just as well as I do.” Fred tightened his arm, thinking about Roger with his lips and arms on you that night last year-

“Your point? She still said that shit about me” he said gruffly, but a pool of anxiety swirled in his stomach all the same

“Don’t you get it? Y/N is in love with you. She didn’t say or do anything to hurt you. At all. She hasn’t been eating, she hasn’t been doing homework, she throws up constantly, she’s barely left bed but to go to the library and usually all she does there is sleep anyway, she cries all the time and it’s been me making sure she still is present if not to just see people every damn day! So quit youre moping and fix this shit or I swear to God, Freddie, I’ll knock your block off.” George was heaving, pools of water in his eyes as he swallowed. “She’s my best friend too, you know.”

Fred looked up at George then and had started to cry. All of those things he said, all of the words he spat at her like they could burn her skin and cause some of the pain he believed she had caused him, when in reality you had-you had done nothing wrong.

“Georgie, I’m sorry” he choked.

“I know you are. But I’m not the one to say it to right now...you’ve gotta find her, Freddie. Please.”

you had been in the corner of the quidditch stands

the wind was blowing against your hair

you couldn’t be in your room anymore, it started to smell like you

and you, prior to an hour ago, didn’t smell too appetizing

you reeked of sweat and tears and your own sick

you took a shower so hot you wanted it to burn you alive

maybe sanitize the last of your fear and your hurt away

you had lost weight, you had lost feeling

you all in all had just lost

and you had never wanted to go home so badly, already considering writing home

you hated being reminded that your best friend and crush hated you

wanted you to be hated by everyone else too

but then, you heard footsteps

“Y/N?” Fred whispered to himself as he saw you in the stands. You looked so worn, so lifeless sitting there - he almost didn’t recognize you from the way your hair, usually scrunched up and bouncy had fallen flatly against your face, further slapped around by the wind outside. You had been wearing an oversized sweater and your sweatpants had pooled around your ankles. Simply put, you were miserable. 

“Y/N?” He called again once he was standing in front of you. You turned to look at him in what felt like slow motion, but when you locked eyes with him, you immediately felt fearful. 

“I-I’m sorry, I’ll leave now” you sputtered

“No, hey, wait, please” he reached out to grab your arm and you froze, letting him take it. He looked at you, with a flash of fear and worry on your face and he wanted to throw up knowing he was the one that made you feel like that.

“Fred, please let go” you hoarsely whispered.

“No, love, I’m not going to let go I have some things to apologize for.”

You started to cry, eyes dropping again to his hand on your arm and breathing feeling suddenly like a very hard task. “You hate me now: you sobbed and you pulled yourself from his grip, turning away from him and gathering your bag. He started to scramble for your hold again tears starting to stream down his face

“No, angel, please, I could never hate you”

“Oh? What about those things you said to me in your room-” you were walking faster over the benched seats, making your way to the other side.

“I know I know I said those things in my room but I can’t believe them because you have to believe me when I tell you I’m in love with you” and he was sobbing at your body turned away from him. You turned to look at him with a skeptical quirk of your face.

“No, no you don’t.” You spat.

“Yes, Y/N, I do please let me explain” he said earnestly taking in your bright eyes and the furrow of your brow.

“People who love each other don’t scream at them and throw things.” You said flatly. You wanted him to be true but you couldn’t make yourself believe him.

“Just give me five minutes of your time and-and if you hate me you never have to see me again. Please.” He closed the gap between you two and motioned for you to sit down. You licked a tear from your lip and nodded siting on a bench besides him.

“Hannah and Roger told everyone-”

“I know what happened. What they did. I want to hear about you. And what you said. And are saying” you looked at him in the eyes with steel burning behind your irises.

He sighed and rubbed his jaw. “I thought that what we had was purely sex in your eyes. And I was too much of a coward to ever ask you, so when I heard someone tell me that my own insecurities could possibly be true,” he inhaled a harsh breath as tears started to fall “I-I was crushed. By the idea that you saw me as what other people saw me as...as a toy? I guess? Or a sexual prop? To use when you wanted. But I hide my feelings a lot as you know, so even if you did feel that way, it would’ve looked like I agreed because I hate you knowing how sad I am,” he started to choke on his tears, the anguish of knowing he hurt you this much was too much for him to ever be able to handle. “I just wanted to hold you and whisper in your ear and tell you how much I love you and the thought of my own fears being true pushed you away. And you never have to forgive me. I-when I yelled at you like that I wanted to see you hurt, I think. I wanted you to see how sad it made me to think about you with other people like you had been with me and” he took a final breath and you pulled his body into you. “Y/N, my love I’m so sorry.” His sobs shook your body, the feeling and angle of the destroyed boy you love shaking you everywhere. You pressed kisses to his head. “Freddie, I love you” you repeated “I love you here and here and here and here and here” and with every kiss you gave him, you were determined to soothe him. “I-I’ sorry too, for not being as forthright with you about how i felt too. It’s always been you, Freddie.” He choked out a watery smile and he leaned in to kiss your face everywhere he could, his tears stinging against the wind and your cheeks. 

“If-If you could ever be with me I will always be open to it at any time, you know that don’t you? I-I understand if you can’t.” He held his forehead to yours, his nose brushing yours ever so slightly. 

“Freddie, I love you. You were who I missed when I couldn’t get out of bed for fuck’s sake you’re all I want,” and he leaned into you then fully, capturing your wet and chapped lips against his. Your arms wrapped around his neck and he melted into you like this

this

this was fred weasley

[helloprettybb]

all i see

insp. by a soulmate who wasn’t meant to be by jess benko. this song destroys me and almost makes me cry everytime i hear it. i just can’t it makes me so emotional so i had to write an angsty little piece about it.

pairing: steve rogers x reader

description: you loved him with all your being, but that wasn’t enough.

warnings: big angst, not much organization so if that bothers you, sorry, kinda fuzzy timeline that tries to be chronologically, cursing

word count: 1.4k

stranger, who knows all my secrets; can pull me apart and break my heart

He consumes your thoughts all day and night. You hate yourself, truly. You resent your heart for allowing a man to have such a grip on you, but here you are, leaning against your apartment balcony with a cup of tea in your hand. Your tired eyes glance down at the city beneath you. For being the city that never sleeps, New York is pretty quiet at 3 a.m. The cars zooming below you are mostly semi-trucks with the occasional sports car.

You should be asleep, too. But every time you close your eyes, you dip into a dream about him. America’s golden boy, the ultimate patriot, Steve Rogers, your unrequited soulmate. You’re a rather closed-off person, but Steve made you believe it didn’t have to be like that.

“You know you can tell me anything?” he says randomly. It was late and you were at Steve’s apartment with an empty pizza box and a couple of beers. It’s become a sort of routine. Although the food and drink varied, the company never did.

“Yeah, Steve.” You smile, “I know that.” He smiled back at you as if he knew you didn’t completely trust your words.

“I know you’re not really open to people, but I just wanted you to know that,” he adds. 

“Thanks, Steve.” you reply and you mean it.

You had that conversation almost a year into your friendship. Back before space titans came to wipe out half the universe or government contracts were established. It was a simpler time. If only you fell for him then.

You had a boyfriend at the time. A lousy one, but still, a boyfriend. You only felt platonic feelings toward him, but when your relationship fell through a year later, you saw those feelings change.

You were debating on confessing. Perhaps he liked you, too. After all, you’re his closest friend. But just as you were about to tell him your feelings, he told you something else.

“Yeah, her name is Sharon.” You smile wide. Maybe the more your face burns the less your eyes will sting from tears.

“How did you meet?” you ask, but you don’t really care. You’re being a really shitty friend right now, but to be fair, your heart is shattering as you speak. You listen to him talk about Sharon. She sounds nice, great, even. You’re not mad at her. Hell, you’re not even mad at her. No, you’re mad at yourself for being such an idiot and falling for Steve, someone who was never within your reach in the first place.

You watch as he falls for her. It breaks you, but it’s not like you can tell him. So you stand on the sidelines, smile when he looks your way, and cry when he turns his back. It’s the most heartbroken you ever think you’ll be until he tells you-

“I have to leave.”

“What?” you ask. wondering why he’s telling you specifically now. He always leaves for missions, but he’s rarely ever told you. And when he does, he never looks this serious. But right now, with his furrowed brow and anxious determination, he looks like he’s ready for something different, more serious.

“I just-” He cuts himself off. His eyes bore into you and you can almost feel them stare into your soul. “I have to leave and I don’t know when I’ll be back. So I just want to say goodbye.”

He’s leaving you for good. Or at least, that’s what he makes it sound like. You bite your bottom lip to prevent yourself from crying, but it doesn’t work. The tears spill out slowly at first. But when Steve pulls you into a hug, you hold him back. Tears spilling freely, you grab onto him for dear life. Because maybe, just maybe, if you hold on tight enough, he won’t go. He’ll stay with you forever and you’ll be together and happy. But when you feel him start to pull away, you let go.

Waking up from being dusted away was an odd sensation. You were visiting your parents when the snap happened, so you reappeared in their living room. Lucky for you, they weren’t snapped away and the house was still theirs. They were overcome with joy when they saw their little girl was back.

They catch you up on the past five years like how your sister gave birth and now you have a four-year-old niece to meet. You laugh and smile and absorb the abundance of happiness at the reunion.

You go back to your apartment which luckily, you still have because your parents acquired it and put it up for rent. Unlike many of the other displaced people, you were fortunate to come back to a family and a home.

While walking around your apartment, you get a text.

“Are you back?” It’s from Steve. Your heart flutters in your chest. You haven’t heard from Steve since the night he told you he was leaving for good.

“Yes,” you reply quickly.

“Wanna meet at my apartment?” You eagerly accept. Can it get any better?

It’s just like those old Friday nights. Beer, pizza, laughing. It’s perfect. Steve is happy to see you as it’s been seven years. It’s funny because you look the same, but Steve. He’s changed. He no longer has that alert, almost anxious look, but a calmer, gentler demeanor. He looks like he’s at peace. At the moment, you thought it was because of you. But you quickly learned otherwise.

Steve told you that night. He spared you the specifics, only giving you the rough idea, not that you wanted to know more. If anything, you wanted to erase your mind of anything and everything Steve Rogers. You wanted to take back the years with him and go back to the time before you knew him.

When he told you he was leaving again, it hurt you more than you ever thought possible. There were so many thoughts running through your head, so many emotions stinging your heart. He was leaving for her? That woman he knew for a couple of years in the forties? What about everyone here? You wondered if you weren’t good enough for him. You thought about how fucking good she could be for him to go back and time and lose all his friends here.

But then it hit you. He loves her as much as you love him. It hurt so badly not because he chose someone over you, but because you’d do the same. You would choose Steve over anyone or anything. If given the chance, you’d travel back a thousand years to spend your life with him.

That just about broke you. The realization that you may never fall for anyone as hard as you fell for Steve. You may convince yourself that you’ve moved on or found someone else, but it’d be a lie. Steve was the love of your life; you just weren’t his.

That night, you wanted to tell it all to him. Say everything that’s been on your mind and all the emotions building inside. But then you realized it wouldn’t have mattered. What would’ve happened if you said you loved him?

He wouldn’t have stayed, since he didn’t feel the same way. He loved Peggy and your confession would not have changed anything. It would do more harm than good because knowing Steve, he would feel immense guilt and you don’t want that. The last thing you want is to put Steve in that position.

God, you love him. You love him so much it hurts. As much as it pains you, Steve Rogers is your world. He reminds you of everything good and fills your heart with joy every time you see him. You love everything about him from his stupid preference for smaller shirts to his adorable obliviousness to the modern world.  But all your affections, all your hopeful feelings only bring you pain and misery.

So, you don’t confess your feelings, you don’t beg him to stay, you don’t even cry. You make a joke. “Seems like everytime we see each other only ends with a goodbye forever.” You laugh, but it’s more at yourself, not at your joke. You laugh because you’re such a damn fool for falling for him.

[romioneficfest]

I Need You

Title: I Need You

Prompt/Day: 10 - Movie/TV/Book Fusion

Tumblr Name: 

Rating: T / PG 13

Brief Summary: A Romione Ficlet inspired by the TV Show New Girl Season 2: Episode 15 "Cooler"

Any Content Warning: None 

******

“Ron! Ron, please, you need to come quick! I think there’s someone in the flat!” Hermione sends her Otter Patronus off into the night as more scratching turns her attention toward the door of the flat she shares with Ron Weasley, Harry Potter and Colin Creevey. Once upon a time, the Ravenclaw had been wary about living with three Gryffindors that she barely knew, but it was funny how time could change everything.

Of all the nights they insist on going off alone to pick up girls and make me stay home!

Hermione shakes her head as she wraps herself in a blanket and keeps her wand pointed toward the door. She’s been living with her current roommates for about a year now. She and Colin work together at the Daily Prophet, and he’d been kind enough to offer up the extra bedroom after overhearing Hermione pour her soul out to her best friend Padma Patil about walking in on Ernie MacMillan, her ex, with another woman.

That pompous, selfish, good for nothing— Hermione’s thoughts are interrupted as Ron’s Terrier Patronus comes soaring through the window.

“Mione, you’re a fully capable witch, and you can handle whatever it is!” The voice of the terrier hushes to a harsh whisper, “I’m about to seal the deal here. Please don’t ruin this for me!”

The terrier disappears, and Hermione’s heart clenches while her stomach twists in knots. The last thing she wants is to ruin Ron’s night. She wants her roommate—no, friend—to have a good time! It’s crazy to think that they started this whole living arrangement completely resenting each other. Now, Ron’s her go-to if she ever needs anything, despite how infuriating he can be. She knows she can always count on him to help her out and to be honest with her.

Hermione’s not intentionally trying to cock block or ruin his night. No! That’s not it at all. At least that’s what she’s forcing herself to believe even as she attempts to dampen the jealous rage that’s swirling within at the thought of him bringing home some tramp.

Jealousy? What? How can I be jealous when I don’t have feelings for Ron. He’s my best friend! And best friends should answer the call when a friend is in need. It’s not like this happens all the time.

 A loud pawing reverberates around the room, and Hermione yelps in surprise. She closes her eyes and concentrates on her happiest thought—the one where the boys took her to North Pole Place on Christmas Eve to see all the muggle light displays in an attempt to cheer her up after a particularly awkward break-up with Justin Finch-Fletchley.

Another otter bursts from her wand to relay the message, “Please, Ron. I need you.”

She wouldn’t ask him if it wasn’t dire, no matter how much she didn’t want to think about him doing things with someone else. Hermione knows that Harry and Colin have been trying to get him over Lavender once and for all, and tonight is yet another feeble attempt to help Ron find another girl. She’s given up on him harboring any feelings for her by now, despite the awkward tension that seems to build when they’re left alone for too long.

It’s preposterous; I can’t possibly fancy him. We fight all the time. Things would never—

A whoosh sounds behind her from the fireplace, and a figure emerges from the emerald green flames. Relief floods Hermione’s veins as a sense of comfort surrounds her.

“Ron, you came! Oh, I knew you were my knight in shining armor!” Hermione knows she’s laying it on thick, but the look of fury on his face tells her that he needs the ego boost.

“I swear Hermione, it better be bloody Voldemort’s Inferi on the other side of that door! You have no idea what the hell you just pulled me from! Colin said he’d hold Seamus off, but I know he’s already swooped in on her anyways.”

Ron runs a hand through his hair in frustration before taking off his jacket and throwing it forcefully onto the back of the sofa. Hermione can’t help it as she rushes over and throws her arms around Ron.

“I’m sorry. I swear there’s something there!”

Ron pulls away, and Hermione hopes that her tactic has softened him up a bit. He sighs heavily before pulling out his wand. He looks through the peephole before casting Homenum Revelio.

“No one’s out there, Hermione. Are you sure you’re not hearing the ghoul on the roof?” he says through gritted teeth.

Hermione winces as Ron’s annoyance returns. Merlin, he has anger issues.

“The ghoul wasn’t knocking on the door!” she half lies. Hermione never checked on the ghoul, but she wasn’t going to tell that to Ron.

“Hermione, I can’t believe you ruined my night for the bloody ghoul!”

“Well, what was I supposed to do, Ron? You abandoned me tonight! I used to be perfectly independent until I started living here with you three. Now I depend on you all too much! You didn’t even give me a chance to owl Susan to see if she wanted to come over! No! You just expected me to sit here and read a book, wallowing in self-pity. So, you know what? That’s what happens when you try and leave me out of things!”

“Yes, Hermione, that’s what all this was about! Punishing you by leaving you here alone. Last I checked, we didn’t lock the door and force you to stay here by yourself! It’s not like you signed a clause in the contract that states you have to stay here if we go out without you! Why does it always have to be about you?”

The sound of a loud crash ricochets in the air surrounding them, causing them to freeze mid-argument.

“What was that?” Hermione whispers.

Hermione looks on as Ron turns toward the source of the sound, which consequently turns from a crash to the ever-present scratching.

Oh. Maybe the noises were coming from the free hutch I pulled off the street the other day.

Ron turns to look at her. “Didn’t Harry tell you there might be a Boggart in that?”

Hermione smiles weakly. “Maybe?”

Ron’s ears turn red and a thunderous look crosses his face. “Take care of it. Now.”

Hermione has no choice but to walk up to the cabinet. She’s battled Boggarts before. This will be fine. It’ll probably be the image of a late report or a reprimanding from a superior. Nothing Ron doesn’t know about. She opens the cupboard and the creature appears, quickly taking its form to reflect her biggest fear.

The boggart surprises Hermione as it shifts into the three boys, all telling her they don’t like her, they’ve found a new roommate and she needs to move out. Hermione knows it’s not true as she casts Riddikulus, and it changes into her boss firing her. Another cast of Riddikulus, and then the Boggart shifts to Ron with another woman, whose face is masked, and they’re doing things.

Hermione stands there, unmoving, watching the fake scene play out in front of her. “No, I—Ri—” she attempts.

She can’t do it. She turns to run to her room, just like in third year, but as she brushes past Ron, he grabs her arm. Ron pulls her back, and suddenly his lips are on hers. She’s overcome with shock at first, but that quickly subsides, and Hermione’s hands move of their own accord to clutch at his shoulders as she opens her mouth to deepen the kiss. His strong hands move up and down her back, pushing her closer against his body.

They break apart long enough for Hermione to look into his ocean blue eyes. “You know this makes the boggart’s shape even more genuine now, don’t you?” she breathes.

“You’ll never have to worry about that, ‘Mione,” he reassures her. “Bedroom?”

Hermione nods, and in one quick movement, he picks her up and whisks her away to his room.

The next thing Hermione knows is her alarm is sounding as she begrudgingly peeks through her lashes to see sunlight flooding through the window. “What the…” she mutters as she rubs her eyes.

“Everything alright, love?” Ron asks as he rolls over, draping an arm over her stomach.

“Er, yes,” Hermione says as she tries to make sense of her dream. “I think we’ve been watching too much muggle television. For a moment, I thought we’d joined the cast of New Girl.”

Ron laughs. “Don’t tell me you dreamt we were Nick and Jess,” he chuckles into her shoulder, “that’s mental!”

Hermione smiles as she recalls their dream kiss. They were so Nick and Jess, but she shakes the thought from her mind, choosing to keep the images to herself.

“Yes, mental indeed.”

[yugirl]

@gxmonth

Day 1: “Hero Signal”

We’re kicking things off with everyone’s favorite hero Judai/Jaden Yuki’s birthday! Show the fluffy boi some love!

((Well I won’t but the others will show some long over due love))

————-

Aster gasped for air before sighing in relief to see that everyone was ok “looks like we all survived our trials”

“Sure did…” Syrus muttered before looking around “where’s Dyspia and Jaden?!”

The woman in question cackled before emerging from the shadows with a very stunned Jaden in tow.

“Well done children... You’ve been very good... what did you think Jaden...?”

“You... you came to rescue me?”

Dyspia sighed “don’t you see Jaden... if your friends really hated you they would not have come running to your rescue... and as you can see, you don’t need to rely on Jaden for every little thing to help you... you’re all capable of helping yourselves...”

“H-how do you know about that?!” Jaden stammered.

Syrus was confused “Jaden... thought we hated him?”

“I-is this about the dark world?” Alexis finally caught on “w-we didn’t mean it!!”

“Look it doesn’t matter if you didn’t mean it or you were under Bronn’s influence. The bottom line is Jaden **believed** what you said. Why do you think he’s been avoiding you all this time. He thinks you want nothing to do with him”

They looked to see the Slifer Student’s face, hollow and empty with sorrow.

“J-Jaden!! I-I-“ Syrus stammered

“You’re the ones who trapped Jaden in this labyrinth of despair…” Dyspia smirked “I just made it visible for all to see…”

The shadows lingered around as the ominous voices turned into ones that were familiar.

Their own…

“You’re the reason I’m here in the first place!!”

“Guess we didn’t matter to you”

“I thought we were friends”

“You did this to me Jaden! It’s your fault!”

Everyone was so shocked, they barely noticed Jaden sinking into the floor of sludge in despair.

“My fault… it’s all my fault… I’m dangerous… I’m all alone…”

Syrus was crippled by guilt at first, but then he saw Jaden sinking. He had time to pity himself later, his dark self had slammed him for how much of a bad friend he was already.

Without a second thought he lunged for Jaden and held onto him. Trying to pull him out of the sludge.

“Jaden!! I can’t let you die like this but if you do take me with you!! It’s my fault that this happened!! You’ve done nothing but help me and raise me up but all I’ve ever done is drag you down or expect you to get over this… a-and when you went against Bronn and needed the me the most I wasn’t there for you!! All because I was wrapped up in my own cowardice and jealousy… I’m so sorry I let you down Jay… but I’m not going to do it any more… not matter what I’ll be here… by your side!!” He sobbed “so if this really is the end then I’ll be right here… holding on… by your side to the very end because that’s what true friends do…”

Syrus tried to pull Jaden out but despite his change of heart it wasn’t enough. He struggled, He tried, but Jaden’s heart was still so broken.

“Hang on Jay!!” Chumley appeared behind the Slifer slacker and tried to pull him up. “Come in Sy! On three!!… and three!!!” As they struggled to pull him out the koala man poured out his own heart.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you Jay! Distance and burying myself in my work is no excuse!! You helped me realise I’m worth so much more than I thought I was but I couldn’t help you when you were in the same position I was… depression hurts… it’s scary and you feel so alone and isolated… but you made me realise that it’s important to remember that friendship and bonds help you over come anything… so let me help you!! It’ll be hard and it’ll be long but I’m not giving up!! Just like you never gave up on me!!”

Suddenly another pair of arms joined the effort. “You better not die on me! You got that slacker!?”

Chazz teared up as the desperation broke his mask. “I know I’m terrible at opening up. But there were so many times when I was supposed to help you and I let you down!! Getting possessed by the light, becoming a duel ghoul, becoming Bronn’s sacrifice… and not once did you ever resent me for it!! So what makes you think some mind control would make me hate you!! You’re my best fucking friend Jaden!! Never forget that!! I can’t let you die!! You have to get out of this!! So I can be there for you like you always were for me!! I’m sorry I let you down!! I’m so so sorry!!!”

“Hang on Sarge!!” Hassleberry joined in, trying to pull Jaden out. “I need to apologise too!! Not just because of what I said at the duel with Bronn but because I always treated you weirdly about the duel spirits!! I thought you were crazy and that wasn’t fair!! I should’ve believed you from the beginning!! Before we went to the dark world!! I’m sorry for not being the friend you needed Sarge!!! But hang on!! We can get through this together!! Like we got through everything else!!”

Bastion wasn’t too far behind. “Jaden you can’t let this destroy you!! Please!!”

He held onto the other as tears ran down his cheeks “when I became the King of the Light I blamed you for it but that’s not fair!! It takes two to tango!! I’ve should’ve been stronger… I should’ve trusted you more instead of the light… you’re the first person who ever made me feel like I mattered and were so open to forgive me…. So of course I forgive you for the duel with Bronn!!! But I’m also sorry I wasn’t better support for you!! You needed me and I wasn’t there!!! I’m so sorry Jaden!! I won’t let you down again!!”

Alexis reached out as well “they’re right Jaden!! I’m so sorry I didn’t support you… I see how much my words affected you… even if I didn’t mean it that doesn’t matter, I hurt you and I can’t forgive that!! But you have to know we love you Jaden! All of us!! We love you so much and we want to help you… please believe in us”

Aster grabbed at Jaden’s jacket and tried to pull with the others “you better not die Jaden! We have been through too much to let you give in now!! I know I don’t show it but… thank you for always supporting me… you were there when I needed you and when I didn’t!! I’d be a terrible friend if I didn’t do the same for you…”

Zane and Atticus joined in too “it wasn’t fair for me to put the pressure of being the top duelist onto you Jaden, I cracked under the pressure so expecting you to handle it is just cruel!! But you’re so strong Jaden! Stronger than you know… I always believed in you so believe in yourself and us ok!?”

“Zanes right Jay! You’re so strong and because of that we relied on you too much but not anymore!! Now it’s your turn to rely on us! Got that Jay?”

Jim, Axel and Jesse watched on. Seeing these people pour their hearts out, showing how much they all loved this once person. How much those three loved him too.

They join in as well, The whole group working to pull Jaden out of the swamps of sadness. All telling this one person how much he meant to them… then… the floor stopped sinking….

Jaden snapped out of his stupor, looking at them all with tears in his eyes. “D-do I really mean that much to you?”

“Of course you do Jay…” Syrus sobbed, nuzzling his oldest friend with tears in his eyes. “We just didn’t show it until now… we thought it was obvious how much we loved you…”

“But now we’ll show it every day!” Alexis smiled softly and kissed his forehead in a maternal fashion. “We weren’t being fantastic friends before… but we’ll do better from here on out…”

“You’re a part of us Jaden” Axel nodded “always will be”

Jaden started shaking… and then a sob escaped his lips. The others let go only to hold onto him into a tight, loving group hug. Comforting him as best he could.

“I love you all too…” Jaden sobbed. “I love you all so much… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

“We’re sorry too Jaden…” Chazz mumbled, rubbing circles on Jaden’s back.

Dyspia watched the group reconcile, a smirk gracing her black lips.

Mission accomplished…. Her work here was done.

[lovecolibri]

Things that did NOT Spark Joy-4x04

Ooooooh besties it’s salty bench rant time!! If you want to know what I liked, you can find that here, but this is aaaaaall salt mine!

So, after forgetting Mimi exists for a whole season, never brining up her role in Alex’s season 2 kidnapping, why she went to talk to the bootmaker who went crazy after working on the Lockhart Machine/what she learned from him, or what all she knew about what Jesse and Jim were up to at Caulfield and HOW she knew it (logical answer would be her mom told her, but in season 1 she just vaguely alludes to something changing them and it being alien in nature but sounding like she was always on the outside of the information so who knows! Not fucking us, that’s for damn sure), Mimi dies with zero fanfare in the opening with zero clue as to why/what she’s dying of, zero attempts at resuscitation made, and while giving us zero answers to what her purpose has been this whole time. Awesome. 

To top it all off, the only thing the death accomplished was getting m*ria to dig through her mom’s wedding photos where she finds a drawing of an alien tree. Which....easily could have been something she found and kept out when going through old stuff last week. There is literally zero reason for this death except to give m*ria something to do because she continues to be superfluous, and a reason to make everyone feel sorry for her and fall all over themselves for her/beat themselves up about not being there for her more. It’s yet another emotional beat that doesn’t land because we haven’t seen Mimi in ages, and it didn’t actually do anything or truly affect anyone the rest of the episode! Liz has a whole moment like “m*ria’s not talking to me so I must have said something wrong”, like, HER MOM DIED! Maybe that’s why she’s not answering people because it’s too much right now! And Liz has a little trouble focusing, which a) doesn’t entirely track with her because every other time she’s upset she escapes into the science, and b) we easily could have had her being vaguely distracted and worried because Alex is missing but that would require everyone to actually care about him. They don’t ever really commit to grief/mourning, they just have everyone making vague mentions about being concerned for m*ria while doing their own things, and have her being mean to/about everyone for not being there for her even as she’s actively pushing them away. Waste. Of. TIme.

Speaking of, after seeing everyone basically begging her to let them help, we get m*ria rebuffing everyone then complaining about being alone, and lashing out at Dallas specifically while making snide comments about Isobel and Michael’s powers, and Liz and what she’s doing which is *checks notes* teaching a GED class, taking a break after killing herself trying to save Max AND m*ria (who purposefully and selfishly allowed her condition to get worse forcing Liz and Kyle to work even harder resulting in the predicament she’s in now where the cure they gave her couldn’t be fully tested and is now interfering with her powers), plus also now working for Shivani and helping with the new alien stuff going down. But sure, she’s on an “eat, pray, Liz” journey, just screwing around with no cares for anyone or anything at all. Say you resent your supposed bff without saying it 🙄 (Yes, that line from Liz about m*ria’s powers DID feel incredibly out of place, but since the writers just used it to give m*ria an excuse to hate on Liz, it’s even more pointless and dumb. Her visions were of zero help last season, why is everyone so concerned about them now?)  AND THEN, we had to put up with the writers having Dallas concede and say that she’s right!! For yelling at him and trashing her friends when all any of them have tried to do is help! Someone PLEASE free him from this trap! I cannot believe we’re going to waste him this season propping her up instead of doing LITERALLY anything else. Stop. Ruining. Fan. Favorites. To. Prop. Up. m*ria.

Also, MAYBE the first mention of Alex and people being worried about him answering his phone should NOT be days later and all about m*ria? Just a thought. Also, it’s...pretty darn gross to force Michael to be bending over backwards to help m*ria with that ILY he gave her still hanging out there because the writers refused to let the characters discuss season 2, and Malex still aren’t allowed to say it to each other, so it still feels like a dangling “if I could have her...”, while his ACTUAL soulmate is eating dirt in a hole and no one has noticed or cared that he’s not in contact. Until he fails to show up for THEM, and then people notice. Anytime the writers want to stop kissing m*ria’s ass about everything and forcing every single character to do it too, that would be just great.

Oh, but she’s her “own savior”. Right. Definitely has not spent the entire series doing things she should not be doing and forcing other people to rescue her at great danger to themselves. 🙄 Do the writers even WATCH this show? Also, pushing away everyone who is genuinely concerned and refusing help so you can prove you can “save yourself” is....not the serve the writers apparently think it is.

Loooove how Jenna gets to be in all the alien meetings when we can’t even get Alex showing up to the strategic planning meetings to take down the big bad, or actually help take down the big bad, or even be shown seeing his boyfriend who was stabbed and left for dead, stapled together, and specifically went to Alex to get something from him after Alex was threated by the big bad for being close to Michael 🙃🙃🙃 I enjoy Jenna and all but her being more involved in the main plot and in more group scenes, and scenes with other characters than Alex has ever been allowed to be is my villain origin story.

But speaking of Jenna, I was SO weirded out with her saying she still wonders what would have happened if she had made a move and told Max she loved him, like??? Girl, you know how that man looks at Liz! How it has always been her! And you DID make a move! And he stood you up for Liz more than once! Just a bad choice on the writers part because you know she’s not the type to waste time pining over someone who doesn’t appreciate her value. Also I was loving her friendship with Max, but now it’s going to feel all weird and awkward because she apparently still loves him? 🙄 whatever, let her and Dallas hook up and free him from m*ria and her from Max.  

I want to care more about Anatsa and Isobel but we have used up almost HALF of Trevino’s episodes (unless they extended his contract this season) on Isobel being with someone else and I am tired. And once again, we have the alien saying ILY and getting broken up with leaving ANOTHER soulmate being made to look like second choice. Jail for the writers! Jail for one thousand years! Stop. Undermining. Your. Own. Narrative.

Just....A+ writing there with the “Clyde is like my brother” after naming the duo after a very famous romantic couple. Also not digging the Creepy Religious Cult vibes with Clyde, and how Bonnie talks about him too which is giving me very Noah/Isobel grooming vibes. (Jones was more fun to me personally when he was doing Just Vaguely Unhinged Beardy Man things, instead of Space Dictator things, but that’s more just a “me” thing. That said I am SO ready for him to come back because they made him Too Evil and then killed him off too quickly instead of letting him be the bad guy they have to call when they need help with other bad guys. I NEED the Michael/Jones banter!)

For someone who is banging on about "excess" and "extravagant living" Clyde a) sure is casual about trashing that very expensive phone for no reason when they could have just...left it behind, and b) wearing some pretty pricey looking snakeskin boots which are for sure more expensive than just some casual shoes or even some regular ol' work boots. Just saying 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

The weird juxtaposition of the aliens being "new" and therefore unsure about earth stuff, with them also being super aware of earth stuff and earth's issues, and what all the aliens names were on earth and choosing to go by earth names even when talking to each other is all just....very weird and makes it hard to really get into things. They have supposedly only been out of their pods for 6 months while chilling in the NM desert and we see Clyde cooking them a snake over a fire but they both look waaaay too clean to be roughing it so where have they been staying? Where were their pods hidden? Tezca seems to have come from Mexico, but Clyde said they were on the ship with Jones that crashed in NM. Why do they have all this knowledge about both the Oasis and earth but the pod squad had nothing? I’m hoping we will get answers to these questions, but knowing this show, I’m not holding my breath. It’s just jarring when the aliens go from “oooh, we’re sooo unsure of these strange earth things! What are “burgers”?” to spouting off about economic disparity and knowing all about Jones when he barely had a chance to get a message out. It’s jarring because I can’t land on how much they are supposed to know.

I already talked about it in some asks but Liz just...destroying full samples of alien...tissue? (IDK the first one was supposed to be skin cells but the second one looked exactly the same but was from tears?) TWICE without bothering to save part of the sample back is just 🙄🙄🙄 The woman has multiple degrees and has been headhunted by multiple people looking for the best of the best when it comes to science. Stop making her look stupid because you’re not smart enough to write around her brilliance! (the same trap Alex falls into honestly, which why they just... don’t include him) Also, how did they explain where/how they found that lady’s truck? Also also, do we even know why they needed her or that truck or was that just Tezca’s ride she hitched to NM? Which circles back to my question above about if/why her pod was in Mexico if the others were supposedly in NM and their triad were on the ship with Jones?

I’m also confused why an entire lab crew investigating an area where they found a suspiciously alien looking skin sample, would just pack up and leave without scouring the area for more samples. I don’t know why Liz thought the area would a) be free of the scientists that were just working there, and b) still have additional samples they didn’t find before they left. Aaaaaall of this just so they could find the truck and question the driver about her blue eyes? Even though they could just...be told that? I’m sure it was in the report she made about the Weird Things That Happened? Whyyyyy is the show like this?! 

THEY FOUND SOMETHING BURRIED IN THE DESERT BUT IT WASN’T ALEX! 0/10.

Speaking of Alex, can we STOP USING MALEX THINGS FOR EVERYONE ELSE?! The turquoise has zero significance to Max and Liz, but was a big thing for Malex last season. We’ve already had to deal with Bonnie and the music thing and Echo using “cosmic”.  Stop it

They have like, 10 people in on the alien secret at this point, who TF let Kyle run off to Mexico ALONE?! Have we learned nothing?! (This would have been a nice time for Rosa to come back, just saying. Her being there to spend time with her brother, and then crashing his time with Isobel when she shows up and they’re looking into things? Delightful. But we have to have another new character added I guess 🙄)

Probably my biggest gripe which I have already expounded on quite a bit, is that all these pieces of alien glass and whatever this is that Nora supposedly built that is supposedly going to take the aliens home is stuff we should have been finding pieces of in previous seasons and had our mains trying to figure out what they did and had that simmering in the background until they find the base. These pieces should have been things Alex found in his dad’s bunker, and Kyle was left by his dad because Jim smuggled it out of Caulfield, and something Eduardo had a Deep Sky. These things should have been centered on our main characters to tie them into the story instead of inventing two characters to do bank robberies just to steal these things we’ve never seen or heard of!

Tied into that and also something I’ve discussed in some of my asks, why is Liz getting pep-talks from some stranger instead of someone who knows her? Why are all our mains so scattered and having scenes with needless outside characters instead of each other? It wouldn’t be so bad for this one conversation if it wasn’t a constant issue the show has constantly struggled with and I’m tiiiiiired. 

I feel like the kiss has been talked to death so I’m not gong to go on too much about it. I didn’t hate it since I pretty much saw it coming and it definitely could have been worse, but it was also so unnecessary. We could have had a million other ways for Michael to bring up his love for Alex. Like, every time he and Bonnie have talked about music and the guitar he has that Alex gave him. Or she could have noticed he was worried and has been checking his phone and he mentions his boyfriend is out of town and he thought he’d have heard from him by now. There were other ways to let Bonnie know about Alex (because I feel like that’s ultimately the reason, they needed her to know about him so she can connect the dots on who they are holding hostage), without it having to be a kiss as a way for Michael to “prove” he’s staying true to Alex even when he has the opportunity not to. 

We been knew that wasn’t Eduardo Jenna ran into but like, she’s never met him before? How would she know if he had a “suspicious” tattoo or not or anything about him really? I get they needed to have someone Max would follow over to where Jones was but it just once again feels like poor planning and ending up using characters for scenes where a different character would have worked better. Like Alex, but he’s stuck in a fucking hole still, or Rosa working on her alien tracking skills and also getting to see her uncle and notice it’s not really him, but she’s god knows where doing god knows what and I’m pretty sure she was never allowed to meet Eduardo last season even though he’s...her uncle. 🙄

And finally, this post about how time doesn’t work in Roswell. Maybe my theory about it actually being Night Vale is true!

Soooo, this ended up being longer than intended. I think knowing it’s the last season is killing my patience for pointless/unnecessary scenes and characters taking time away from scenes/characters I’d rather be seeing than being told about. And after getting to the end of season 3 only to find out they really did waste so much time on that vision plot and expected us to believe THAT was actually Kyle’s funeral, I’m having a hard time putting any stock or faith in the show that most of this was actually needed and not some convoluted set up that wasn’t needed resulting in ultimately, a waste of multiple scenes. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’m hoping we get answers and find out the reason for all some of the loooong pointless setups to get information but it just doesn’t seem likely since this show has continually had pacing issues and issues wasting time to show us unimportant things, while telling us about important things that just happen off screen.

Link to previous episode posts: 4x01, 4x02, 4x03

[pastelwitchling]

Cinderella (1/?)

“The death of Alex's mother changes his father for the worst. Jesse no longer sees his little prince, but a reminder of all that he has lost.

Cast away to the attic, Alex grows up under the harsh reign of the wicked man his father has become. He begins to lose hope that he will ever have the love of a family again . . . then he meets Prince Michael, and everything changes.

When Michael announces a ball, and Alex is forbidden to go, it takes the magic of a fairy godmother to make his dream come true.”

read on ao3

I have no idea how many chapters this will be, I just know that I want to do this story justice, as Cinderella is one of my favorite Disney princesses. If you enjoyed reading this even a little bit, please comment and share, as it always makes the world of a difference ❤

tags: malex, malex cinderella au, malex fluff, malex angst, malex happily ever after, so much magic, and kindness, and courage

***

               “Mother!” nine-year-old Alex called as he ran through the halls of his home. “Mother!”

               He followed the lovely sound of humming, like a river in the midst of sparkling spring, and found his mother in the kitchen, standing before the stove, her dark hair pulled back with a blue ribbon and her even darker eyes shining with the sunlight pouring in through the open windows.

               She smiled. “Calm yourself, darling, before you wake your brothers.”

               “But, mother!” Alex whined, tugging at her apron. “I’ve just had the most wonderful dream!”

               His mother laughed, her voice like honey as she picked him up and placed him on the counter next to her. “Have you? And what was it about?”

               “The mice!” he said eagerly. “In the gardens! They were talking to me!”

               “My, that sounds exciting!”

               “It was! Jacques and Gus and Marie – all of them spoke to me! We were having a tea party, and the birds poured the tea for us –”

               “How very helpful of them,” his mother said with an approving nod.

               “The mice thought so, too! And then they said so! And then they gave me a gift for being their friend!”

               “Goodness, what did they give you?”

               “A new coat!” Alex said happily. “Wasn’t that nice of them?”

               “So very kind,” she agreed, and laughed, folding Alex into her chest. “Oh my darling, I’m so happy you enjoyed your tea party.”

               Alex melted against her, breathing in her scent of lilacs and the leftover meat she was cooking for breakfast. She was warmer than usual, but it comforted Alex in the cold of morning. He giggled. “Mother, it wasn’t a real tea party. It was only just a dream.”

               “Well,” his mother pulled back, placing her hands on her hips. “You know what they say about dreams, don’t you?”

               Alex blinked, and shook his head.

               His mother smiled knowingly. “A dream is a wish your heart makes.”

               “But what does that mean, mother?” he asked.

               “It means, my dear, that if you are good and kind and wish with all of your heart,” she winked, and poked his nose, making him laugh, “then that dream that you wish will certainly come true.”

               A door opened somewhere down the hall, and Alex nearly fell off the counter in his excitement. “Father!” he called. “Father, good morning!”

               Jesse Manes’ low chuckle sounded in the hallway before he stepped into the kitchen. There were spots of mud on his trousers where the boots had not reached, and he was barefoot.

               “Good morning, my beautiful son!” Jesse exclaimed, raising Alex up above his head.

               “Honestly, you two,” Alex’s mother laughed. “You will wake the boys!”

               “Good!” Jesse said promptly, keeping Alex on his hip. “They ought to be up early, like Alex! What’re they sleeping in for?”

               She shook her head, her eyes fond. “Oh, Jesse . . .”

               “No, father!” Alex said. “We must be kind to them! Isn’t that right, mother?”

               “My prince,” Alex’s mother cooed, taking him from a laughing Jesse’s arms. “Aren’t you wonderful?”

               “It’s because he’s so much like you,” Jesse said, and kissed his wife’s cheek before kissing Alex’s as well. “My queen, and my little prince. How I treasure you.”

               Alex rested his head on his mother’s shoulder, listening to his parents’ recounting of their mornings, the loveliness of the weather, the absurdity of the chickens.

               If I can have one wish, Alex thought happily, then I wish for this moment to last forever. Alex closed his eyes, eager for the dream that would follow.

               The following morning, however, was a less cheerful one as Alex ran to the kitchen to find his mother was not there. None of the chefs or servants had seen her. He searched outside where his father was tending to the horses himself, laughing with the stable hands. Alex looked around, but there was no sign of his mother.

               Jesse spotted him, and called, “Alex! What’re you doing out in the cold, my son?”

               “I’m looking for mother!” Alex said. “I can’t find her!”

               He tilted his head, smiling. “Has she not awoken yet? Very odd indeed. Best go tell her the sun is up, sweetheart!”

               “Yes, father!” Alex said, and off he scurried to the grand bedroom on the second floor. The pale-blue carpet lining the long hall was soft under his feet, the walls covered in framed paintings of flowers, green hills, waterfalls – all which Alex’s mother had painted herself in the garden.

               Alex’s father would always ask him for his help pinning them up. “I could never do it without my little helper,” Jesse would say warmly.

               When Alex reached the double doors, he knocked. “Mother!” She did not answer. Alex pulled on the door handle with both hands and went inside. The curtains were pulled back, the morning sun pouring in.

               Alex almost leapt onto the bed, remembered it would be rude to wake his mother so suddenly, and stood at her bedside. Her face was red.

               “Mother,” Alex whispered as softly as he could. “Mother, father says it’s time to wake up now.”

               If his mother could hear him, she was pretending not to. Alex jumped a little bit on his toes. “Mother? Are you all right?”

               He poked her nose, hoping to make her laugh as she always made him laugh. He faltered. It’s too warm, he thought. Alex touched her cheek, and snatched his hand back with a gasp.

               Without another word, Alex ran out. He didn’t dare start calling for his father until he was back outside, afraid his mother would hear him and he would break her rest.

               “Father!” he called, his voice cracking as his eyes burned. “Father, please, come quick!”

               Jesse caught his son’s expression and his smile faltered. “Alex?” he hurried to him. “What’s wrong?”

               “It’s mother,” Alex cried before he could help himself. “Father, her skin is like fire!”

               Jesse’s face fell, and he muttered, “What?” before he ran off without waiting for Alex’s response.

               Alex hurried after him, but stopped at the doorway to his parents’ room this time. He watched, his small hand gripping the doorway tightly, as Jesse murmured something incoherent to his wife, holding her up and pushing her hair back from her face.

               “Darling?” Alex caught. “Darling, can you hear me? That’s right, look at me, there you are. You’ll be fine, sweetheart. Just fine.”

               Alex swallowed. He was fairly certain he was carving into the wood with his nails, but he hardly felt it as he stared at the scene before him. Something that he could not describe with his young mind came over him in that moment, something paralyzing that kept him frozen at the doorway, tears falling silently, even as his father ran to get a physician. Later on, Alex would recognize that dark cloud as dread, for he had known then, though he could not say how, that his mother would not wake again.

                 Alex did not remember much of the funeral. Only that he and his brothers and father had worn black, that several people took their hands and wished them well, that he was hugged by friends of his mother who were always so kind and good to him. He had not cried, for he felt his body had no tears left to give. He stood there, however, long after his father and brothers left.

               The weeks that followed were spent in silence. The windows were always curtained, Alex’s father did not react well to being woken in the mornings.

               “Leave me,” was all he would say whenever Alex came into his room with a tray of tea and butter and bread that he had fixed himself. His eyes were so numb and dark that Alex left his chamber with tears burning, threatening to spill, every time.

               “We have to help him,” Alex urged his brothers who gathered in Clay’s bedroom. Clay and Flint sat side by side, Clay staring listlessly at a page of his book, Flint shredding a daisy between his fingers.

               “Leave it alone, Alex,” Flint always answered.

               “He’s an adult,” Gregory always tried more softly. “He doesn’t need our help.”

               “Everyone needs help,” Alex pleaded. “Perhaps if you came with me, and we all told him our favorite stories of mother –”

               “Stop talking,” Clay murmured. Clay, who was always so kind to him, looked at him now as though resentful. “You don’t understand how any of us feel, you’re just a stupid child. Mother hasn’t just gone to the market, she won’t be back any moment now.”

               “Clay –” Gregory started.

               “—is right,” Flint finished, settling on Alex with the same glare. “Mother’s gone. You’re too young to know what that means.”

               Alex clenched his fists at his sides, and he started to storm out . . . then he stopped at the door. He whipped around, his tears falling freely now.

               “I know what it means,” he said fiercely. “I know that I miss her, too. I know that she wouldn’t want this. I’m not going to abandon him,” he wiped the tears roughly with his sleeve, “or any of you.”

               Alex left without a word from any of them.

               He tried and tried to see his father, to speak to him, even from outside his door, but Jesse did not see anyone. Slowly, more and more of the maids and servants left as Jesse failed to pay them, not that he seemed to mind. Only a few remained, and Alex was glad for the company, for his brothers seemed to rarely stomach the sight of him anymore either, though he could not tell why.

               Then one day, as Alex wandered his room, stripping the dirty sheets and linens for washing – he didn’t mind helping to clean the house and feed the animals, for he felt he was helping his father best in this, the only way he could – he sang a familiar song, the first time he’d found himself able to sing it; a song his mother often sang when she cooked.

               Alex waved to the birds as he passed the windows, and laughed as they flew in circles around each other. He was still singing when the door to his room suddenly swung open with a –

               BANG!

               Alex jumped, whipping around. His father stood there on the threshold, his robe hanging off his shoulders as he panted. His eyes were wide and red-rimmed. It was the first time he’d been out of bed. He looked around the room, frantically searching for something, then his eyes settled on Alex.

               When he didn’t speak, Alex tried softly, “Father . . . are you all right?”

               “I – I thought –” Jesse stammered, his brows pinched. “That song . . .”

               “It was mother’s,” Alex supplied helpfully, his grip on his bedsheets tight.

               His father, to his relief, didn’t seem angered or burst into tears by his words. Instead, he nodded slowly, his eyes on Alex, as though just realizing something. “Yes.” He knelt in front of Alex. “You’re so much like her, aren’t you?”

               Alex’s eyes burned and his words cracked as he whispered, “I am?”

               “She was lovely, too,” he said miserably, and Alex hesitated.

               “Father,” he tried, “a-are you hungry? Would you like me to make you something?”

               “No,” he said, wringing his hands together as he took in Alex’s room, as though it was the first time he was seeing it. “No, my son, no. I do, however, have another small request.”

               Alex stood attentive at once, alert. “Yes?”

               “I was hoping to move your mother’s things,” he said, “but I want them somewhere tidied and proper to her memory.”

               “Oh,” Alex said at once, “I can tidy whichever room you’d like!”

               “I – I know you can,” Jesse said, shutting his eyes as though Alex’s voice was worsening the headaches he’d complained of. Alex pressed his lips together, waiting. “I thought, however, it would be far more meaningful if we could put her belongings . . . here. In your room.”

               “My room?” Alex blinked, and grinned widely. “Yes, of course! I’ll be happy to look after mother’s –”

               “And of course,” Jesse went on, “I wouldn’t ask you to share your comfort with her old things. That’s why I’ve been thinking it may be easier for you to move into a quieter room, one that wouldn’t need so much looking after. One where you may . . .” his eye twitched, “sing to your heart’s content, and not worry about disrupting anyone’s peace.”

               Alex faltered. Disrupting?

               “I think the attic ought to do nicely, don’t you?”

               “The attic?”

               “A wonderful idea, son,” Jesse nodded, no longer looking at Alex as he stood and backed away from him. “Why don’t you gather all of this bric-a-brac and take it upstairs, eh?”

               “Er – all right, father. If you really think this will help you feel better.”

               “There’s my good prince,” Jesse murmured, and, his eyes still unable to meet Alex’s, he turned and left the room.

               Alex clutched his sheets tightly, his heart hammering painfully in his chest. It’s all right, he thought. This is for the best. It’s for father, for my brothers. It’s for the best.

               Alex kept reminding himself of that as he gathered his few things – a flower he’d picked from the garden and placed in a small wooden vase, his favorite book, and his favorite blue blanket. The attic door creaked as it swung open, and Alex heard the faint scattering of tiny paws across wooden floors.

               The window was long, letting in the faint remnants of twilight and giving everything a blue and violet glow. Alex swallowed and stepped inside, setting his things on the floor before climbing onto the narrow bed. The mattress was soft, so he supposed that was good. He looked down and saw a few mice peeking their heads at him before scuttling back into the shadows.

               “Don’t be afraid,” Alex said with a soft smile, though for some reason, he could not let go of the mattress. “I’m a friend. I’m terribly sorry for bothering you. At any rate, I won’t be up here long. It’s only until father feels better, you see.”

               Even as he said the words, Alex’s nails dug deeper into the mattress. Even as he said them, his heart still ached and something like grief filled his chest. Why he felt such sorrow, he could not say, for he could not have known in that moment that his father would never truly ever feel better again.

[aces-to-apples]

Oh man oh man, for the writing prompt: 5 + 17 for either ObiMaul or MaulRex?

5. Enemies to lovers + 17. Sex then love Well now if that aint the most quintessential maulrex experience......

(Warnings for violence and implied sexual content ig? And also past Jessex and unrequited JesseMaul and however you warn for thinking of someone else while banging.)

Ahsoka leaves; Maul comes back. That's what it comes down to in the end.

It isn't abandonment—they agree that it will be safer for them both if they split up—but deep in Rex's heart, it feels like being abandoned. It feels like his only vod left in the galaxy is leaving him, walking away without marching, and part of him resents her for it. It isn't fair, but there it is.

And then Maul, again, alone, without weapons, without even his melodic hissing trying to turn Rex's mind inside-out. He sits next to Rex in the dingy cantina and says, "Lady Tano has left you?" As if it's a question; as if he's surprised.

"Why are you here," Rex mutters, slurs, three sheets to the wind because Ahsoka is gone and his vode are gone and his general is gone and everything is kriffing gone.

Maul hesitates, is the thing.

Not for effect, not to be dramatic or to manipulate. He sounds kriffing careful as he begins, "The lieutenant, Jesse—"

But he doesn't get farther than that because Jesse is dead, they're all kriffing dead, and Rex does his ARC Trooper best to put Maul's head through the damned wall. He gets a few good smashes in before he hits the wall himself, held a few inches off the ground by an immovable band around his torso, pinning him.

Rex wishes, viciously, that Maul was Human or an Iridonian hybrid, so he could see the spectacular bruising blooming all over Maul's face. He knows his own strength, he knows the damage he's done, even hidden by ink and blood.

"I know the lieutenant is dead," Maul snarls as the cantina quickly clears out, and he sounds—angry. Angry in the way that Rex feels; angry in the way that hides grief. "He wasn't meant to. I didn't want him to."

And isn't that a kriffing laugh, since Maul is the one who killed him.

Maul's fierce expression wavers.

"Jesse was already gone," he says, softly, looking tired and wrung out. And maybe that's what gets Rex to slump down, to give up fighting. Probably is, in fact. That even Maul is tired of being angry.  "His body may have been moving, but he was Jesse no longer. That I can promise you, Commander."

Rex looks blearily up at him, on the floor now and when did that happen, and laughs. It sounds watery. But it's funny, Maul making him promises and talking about Jesse as if he knew him, as if he cared.

"Didn't you hear?" he says, laugh turning into a hiccup. "I got demoted."

The cold fire in Maul's eyes warms slightly, and between one long blink and the next, Rex is on his feet, a warm around his shoulders, gripping firmly at one of his elbows. Damned if he knows which one. "Captain suits you better," Maul's soft voice murmurs into his ear, warm breath tickling and making him shiver. "Come now, Rex. Jesse wouldn't want this for you..."

Part of him balks at that. Half-dragged out of the cantina and towards a ship, Rex can still summon up some offense.

"How the—the frip would you know what Jesse would want."

It's too loud, echoing around the little shuttle.

Maul slings him down on a cot and looks down at him, head tilted to the side. He looks... curious, maybe? And still so damnably soft. "Because he loved you very dearly, Rex. Now go to sleep."

“Kark you,” Rex tries to say, tries to snarl, but Maul is walking away and even just a shuttle cot is making him well up. Because it smells like a barracks cot. Because it smells like home.

He presses his face to the pillow and doesn’t bother—pretending, he supposes.

Doesn’t bother pretending to be strong, pretending to be okay. Just lets whatever happens next... happen.

.

Cried out, half-suffocated, and mostly asleep, a body warm and cold slips in behind him. Chilled legs pressing up against his, warm arm wraps around his chest.

It isn’t a vod.

Rex pretends anyway.

.

It’s funny, is the thing. Because he’s pretty sure Maul pretends too. Sometimes, at least.

When he’s not being disturbingly intense whenever Rex crawls on top of him or presses him down—and Maul always lets him, is the thing, always goes with it, never says no—then he’ll sometimes close his eyes, press his head back and let Rex use him. He doesn’t say Rex, or Captain, and that’s how Rex knows.

It’s odd to think about, so he usually doesn’t.

(Somehow, they both lost Jesse. If he thinks about that, he’ll have to break things. And breaking things might turn into breaking people. Rex doesn’t want to break people. Not even Maul.)

.

It takes almost two years, before he realizes.

Ironically, it’s because they both end up saying Jesse. And part of Rex wants to scream, wants to bite and scratch and curse. Instead, he kisses Maul over and over, whispering Jesse all the while, until he’s ready to go again. Maul does the same, touching him with fervor Jesse and Rex and Jesse falling from his lips.

After, Rex realizes that he hasn’t commed Ahsoka in months. Hasn’t even looked for her. He wonders when that happened, and why, then looks over at Maul, covered in bites and bruises, even thought he can’t see them.

And, oh.

It’s because all his vode are gone, but Maul—is here.