#twoish more chapters to go!

[fromthemouthofkings]

Jeeves and the Fox Hunt

Chapter 4

I swung open the doors to the breakfast room, prepared to do my utter best to put on an antic disposish. Now, of course, this was not a natural role for the last of the Woosters. I’d like to envision myself as more of the chivalrous adventuring hero, if I were to be typecast. But somebody had to do the job, and if it would help Jeeves, why then I was game to play the fool absolutely to the hilt.

“What-ho, Prods!” I exclaimed, striding inside only to find the breakfast table empty. So, sadly, was the sideboard.

Puzzled, I rang the bell.

The grim-faced fellow from last night appeared.

“Where is everybody?” I asked him.

“Down at the stables,” he said in a low, growling voice. “Best get a move on, or you’ll be late.”

“But what about breakfast?” I asked pathetically. “I mean I know I’m not much of an early riser, but I didn’t think I’d missed it entirely!”

“The master and mistress don't like to spoil their appetites.” His face split in a wide, pointed smile.

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[violasgamingpalace]

Been theory crafting a version of Three Houses where Byleth makes the route choice at Chapter 12 instead of the prologue, and as part of that imagining the students picking their professor instead of the professor picking the house they want to teach. This is my attempt at figuring out your starting class. Wanted to keep characters similar to their canon personalities. (not the biggest three houses nerd so let me know if you disagree on placements)

Hanneman's Class

Linhardt- Crest research

Edelgard- crests research

Hubert- follows edelgard, but hanneman also knows reason magic.

Claude- Hanneman because he figures he'll learn the most secrets that way? (I'm sorry but no way he picks Byleth, merc knows NOTHING)

Hilda- follows Claude

Annette-Has a support with Hanneman?

Mercedes - Wants to go Hanneman to be with Annette

Ignatz-is here to be a Knight and Hanneman could help with that???

Manuela's Class

Ferdinand- looks up to Manuela

Dorothea- looks up to Manuela even more, obvious choice.

Lythesia- no to hanneman for crests, She likes Faith, so Manuela.

Lorenz- Noble man wants to go Hanneman, but does have support with Manuela? And means he can be with Ferdinand.

Dimitri-goes Manuela to follow Ingrid/Sylvain

Ingrid-manuela, I guess? No knight professor

Sylvain- Manuela? I guess? He has a support and does auto-join F/Byleth. Sylvain wanting to see boobs brings the Blue Lion friend group along

Caspar-Manuela, but just to have a place to be

Byleth's Class

Petra- Sword connection, and dont think petra REALLY would learn much from other profs?

Bernie- too anxious to sign up, so ends up with Byleth

Raphael- forgets to go to signups, Byleth it is!

Leonie- Byleth for sure. Jeralt connection and she wants to be a Merc.

Dedue-Wants to go Manuela to Follow Dimitri but the school said the class was full (Feels vaguely racially motivated)

Felix-Byleth no question

Ashe-no Knight professor, but Ashe is just happy to be here, doesnt really care about professor.

Marianne- Horse girl wants to go with Hannerman but crests are to blame for going Byleth

Things I like- Wanted the Byleth class to feel like the weirdo group with very little going for them, and thats def this class. Everyone is either anti-social, a commoner with low expectations, or racially marked as other. Now white clouds focuses on you replacing them by recuiting the elite of fodlan society teaching to your student's strengths and making them capable.

Three black Eagles in class ensues that Byleth will have to fight their old students if they go on most routes, and if they go Black Eagles they'll still fight old students they taught

Ashe in class for Lonato Chapter

Things i dont like- skill proficiency wasnt set up with this in mind. While we have 1 tank and 1 mage, no one else can REALLY be trained as a reason mage, we have fourish archers, twoish lance users, two speedy sword users (three if ashe goes thief!), and a lot of units that want to go riding.

Its really hard to imagine Dimitri being so casually cruel to Dedue. Maybe we get a scene where Dimitri heroically sacrficies hanging out with Sylbain and Ingrid so Dedue can be with Manuela for a bit?

Edelgard and claude in the same class despite their total lack of connection. But! Edelgard and Hilda in the same class? Let us see how much Hilda HATES edelgard. It would be funny.

[zykaben]

Hi! I’m currently trying to write my Swatch/Grillby fanfic and I currently have 788 words (my goal is roughly 3k a chapter) You’ve already made multiple fanfics with 2k+ words each. How do you write so much? Is there just a headspace you get into? Sorry, I’m just really wondering how you’re able to write that quickly whereas I’ve gotten less than a thousand in twoish days. (Also just wanted to say, really loved the fics!)

First, thank you so much for reading my Swatchby fics!! I recognize your username from the comments you left and I really appreciate the support!

As for your question, I've been wondering that myself.

It's been years since I've written so much over such a short period of time. I think that in the end, it really does come down to headspace. I still don't really know exactly how I got here myself, but I know that the feedback I've been getting (way more than I would expect from a rare pair) has gone a long way into keeping me motivated.

I know how discouraging it can be for me when I feel like I'm not writing fast enough, but it's important to keep in mind that any amount of words that you put down onto the page is a good amount. Sometimes we don't realize how much writing we're actually doing—we get stuck rephrasing a single sentence ten times, we wrack our brains for that one perfect word that we can't quite remember, we get hung up on how dialogue sounds, or we re-read what we already have to make sure that the sentences have enough variety. Even if the word count isn't going up, you're still writing.

You just gotta keep creating and, if you can, find other people who will help encourage you. Sometimes just talking to people about what you want to be writing can be super helpful (and that's writing, too! Planning stuff out also counts as writing!).

TL;DR, the stars finally aligned for me on this rare pair for some reason, and getting to the right headspace is important, but it can be really hard to summon. Writing is hard and takes a lot of time, energy, and creativity. Anything that you end up creating will always be a net positive. Sorry if any of this came off as preach-y xD

Also, I am super stoked to see what your Swatchby fic will turn out to be once you decide to post it!! I'm really looking forward to your fic :D

[thewidowsghost]

Fox - Chapter 17

Previously on Fox:

"When I was little," Natasha begins, "I was taken from my parents and was recruited by the KBG. They told me I was helping my country," Natasha looks down at her hands in her lap. "They trained me to fight, they trained me to kill, and at whatever the cost. After a year or two, they put me in the Red Room Academy. There, they trained me to be a ruthless killer, and," Natasha pauses, a pained look in her emerald eyes, and (Y/n) takes Natasha's pale hands in her own, and Natasha looks up. "When you, well, graduate from the Red Room, they, um, they sterilize you," Natasha sighs heavily, then continues. "After the graduation, I had one last mission. Wait until Fury hired you, then track down you and Clint," Natasha looks up, expecting to see anger in (Y/n)'s eyes, but sees a completely different look in the woman's eyes, a kind, compassionate look that leaves Natasha stunned for a moment. Then she continues, "I think that those agents that attacked you back in Belarus weren't after you. I think the Red Room sent those Agents after me, all of you -"

(Y/n) cuts her off, "And that doesn't matter. You're our friend, and that means nobody gets left behind." Natasha meets her gaze and relaxes slightly.

"Thanks (Y/n)," Natasha says and she, surprisingly to (Y/n), wraps her in a hug; (Y/n) hugs back. The two stay that way for a few minutes then Natasha breaks the hug. (Y/n) stands up from the bed and makes her way back to the chair.

"Good night Nat," (Y/n) says, shifting back into the Maine Coon and settling into the chair, resting her head on her paws and resting her tail on the arm of the chair.

"Good night (Y/n)," Natasha murmurs, settling under the covers and turning the light off.

3rd Person POV

At 4:30 the next morning, (Y/n), still as a Maine Coon, slips over to her suitcase and quietly, not to wake Natasha, she opens her suitcase and pulls out a pair of workout clothes and nudges her phone into one of the pockets. (Y/n) sneaks out of the room and heads to the bathroom to change.

After a minute, (Y/n) creeps from the bathroom as herself, down the stairs, and out the front door.

(Y/n) starts jogging back and fourth across the empty field and slowly works her way up to a sprint - back and forth across the field for about twoish hours.

As the sun comes up, (Y/n) catches a flash of fiery red and she stops and jogs over to Natasha.

"How long have you been out here?" the redheaded assassin asks.

(Y/n) glances at her watch, "About two hours, I'd wager."

"You've been sprinting across this field for the past two hours?" Natasha asks, her hair fluttering in the wind.

"That's right," (Y/n) answers and the two turn and walk back towards the house.

"You work to hard," Natasha says and (Y/n) raises an eyebrow at her.

"Do I?" (Y/n) asks. "It takes a lot to wear me out," she continues, the two walking up the steps.

"You want to test that?" Natasha teases and (Y/n) slaps her on the arm.

"Nat, no. There are children in the vicinity," (Y/n) says covering her own ears and the redhead laughs. "You should at least take a girl out to dinner first," she teases.

"I tried to," Natasha mutters.

"And we'll go on that date sometime," (Y/n) tells her as she opens the door of the house. "Miss Romanoff, if you please," (Y/n) bows Natasha through the door.

"Go change, then we can make the Bartons' breakfast," Natasha says, and (Y/n) nods, silently making her way up the stairs.

(Y/n) walk to the room she shares with Natasha and gets a change of clothes - a pair of black sweatpants, and a form fitting light blue t-shirt. She jogs downstairs and sees Natasha in the kitchen.

"Can you even cook, Romanoff?" (Y/n) asks as she walks into the kitchen.

"Uh, no," Natasha answers and (Y/n)'s eyes widen.

"It's time for a cooking lesson Agent Romanoff," (Y/n) says, walking towards the pantry and pulling things out to make pancakes from scratch.

Natasha raises her eyebrows at the (H/C) haired woman as she sets flour, baking powder, salt, white sugar on the counter, then walking a pulling out eggs, milk, and butter.

"Right," (Y/n) says, pulling out a large bowl and a whisk. "Pancakes are easy, mix in all the dry ingredients, in their correct measurements, of course, then add the wet ingredients in a well in the center of the dry mixture."

"How much of each thing?" Natasha asks as (Y/n) pushes the bowl and whisk towards her.

"So, you'll want a cup and a half of flour," (Y/n) tells her and the redhead measures out the flour and dumps it into the bowl. "Three and a half teaspoons of baking powder. A teaspoon of salt, and a tablespoon of sugar." Natasha dumps the rest of the ingredients into the bowl.

"What next?" Natasha asks, watching (Y/n) as she pulls out a skillet and turns on the stovetop.

"Take an egg, crack it, and make sure that their aren't any shells in it, and put it in a little well in the center of the dry mixture," (Y/n) says and Natasha cracks the egg. "Now, a cup and a half of milk, and three teaspoons of melted butter and put it in as well," Natasha puts the milk and butter in the little well in the center of the mixture. "And now you whisk it," (Y/n) finishes.

Natasha whisks the mixture into a pancake batter and passes the bowl off to (Y/n) so she can make the pancakes.

About halfway through, Laura walks downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Morning, Nat, (N/n)," she says, smiling at the two.

"Morning Laura," the two respond in unison.

"I was coming down to make breakfast, but it looks like the two of you have it handled," Laura says, and goes to sit down beside Natasha at the counter.

The three strike up a conversation as (Y/n) finishes the pancakes. Once they are done, Laura goes upstairs to wake her children and her husband. (Y/n) and Natasha set the table and (Y/n) sets the pancakes on the table, along with butter, syrup, and freshly cut strawberries.

The six sit down in the same places from the night before and strike up a lively conversation.

"So (Y/n)?" Clint asks, looking up into (Y/n)'s (E/C) gaze once everyone has finished. "Ever worked on a barn?"

"No, why? You need my help with something?" (Y/n) asks.

"Actually, yes," he answers and the two stand up and move towards the door, Natasha following.

"So, what's up?" (Y/n) asks once the three are standing by the barn.

"I'd like to ask if you could design and help me build a new barn," Clint says.

(Y/n) snaps her fingers, and a pad of paper and a pencil appears in her hand. "Do you at least have a basic design you want?" (Y/n) asks, ignoring the looks exchanged by Clint and Natasha.

"We want more storage, but in a smaller barn," Clint says, and (Y/n) begins sketching the outside.

"Do you want a rustic look?" (Y/n) asks, looking up at Clint.

"I think Laura would like that," Clint says and (Y/n) nods.

"Something like this?" (Y/n) asks and Clint takes the notebook.

"Yeah actually, that's perfect," Clint says, Natasha looking over his shoulder.

"You ever draw?" Natasha asks.

"Again, sketches of designs for buildings and inventions," (Y/n) says, looking over at the shorter redhead.

"So, the inside?" (Y/n) asks, flipping to the next page. "More storage, smaller barn, you said? How do you want that set up?" she asks Clint.

He explains a simple but smart design and (Y/n) starts running numbers in her head.

"You said Laura likes rustic, right?" (Y/n) asks. "I'd go with an alder wood, then sand and use a waterproof finish," she advises. She scribbles down about how much wood that she thinks they need and all the materials to build the barn. "This should be all," (Y/n) says, handing the notebook to Clint.

"You sure this is right?" Clint asks and (Y/n) nods.

"I'm a little smarter than I look," (Y/n) teases.

"She's right. You should see the secret lab she built from a self-made closet elevator," Natasha says. "Very impressive."

"Aww, thanks Romanoff," (Y/n) says, nudging the former assassin, then she turns back to Clint. "If I call in some favors, I could go and have the materials by tomorrow before lunch."

"Sounds good," Clint says and (Y/n) nods.

"I'll take this back and make those calls," (Y/n) gestures to the notepad, and Clint hands it to her. "I'll get right on it," (Y/n) sits down in the place she was standing and pulls out her phone.

"I'll go ahead on in and tell Laura about your plans," Clint says and walks back over to his house.

Natasha settles down beside (Y/n) and (Y/n) dials her father's number, and leans back resting her head on the ground as it rings.

"Hey Dad," (Y/n) greets, "how's it going?"

"Alright sweetheart," he answers.

"This is a really weird question, but can you fire up the teleporter?" Natasha looks at (Y/n). 'I'll explain later,' she mouths.

"What for?" Tony asks.

"I need these materials," (Y/n) rattles off the materials.

"Okay, where to?" he asks.

(Y/n) tells her father the coordinates, "One thing though, when you send these, please just have JARVIS delete the coordinates from all the databases?"

"Why?" he asks.

"Please Dad," (Y/n) says, "Or I will hack into JARVIS's system and do it myself," she threatens.

"Okay, okay," he says hastily, "I'll delete them!"

"Thanks, talk to you soon Dad," (Y/n) says.

"Bye sweetheart," he responds and ends the call.

"You have a teleporter?!" Natasha immediately asks.

"Dad and I designed and built a teleporter a couple of years back," (Y/n) explains. "Normally, I could just make things disappear out of thin air, but not this amount of materials and weight. Oh, and by the way, my dad doesn't know I have powers. So, the next time, don't say anything about it unless I tell you too, okay?" (Y/n) asks, looking into Natasha's green gaze, and after a moment, she nods. "Thanks, Nat," (Y/n) says quietly, then she stands up, holding her hand out to pull Natasha up. Natasha takes it and (Y/n) gently pulls her to her feet.

(Y/n) expects Natasha to let go of her hand, but she doesn't. Only when the two reach the front door does Natasha drop her hand. (Y/n) sends her a smile as she opens the door and Natasha walks through the door, (Y/n) following just after.

"I'll be right back," (Y/n) tells the redhead. "I'm going to ask Laura about the barn design."

(Y/n) walks into the living room where she sees Laura reading a book. (Y/n) sits down beside the brunette and Laura looks up. "I was wanting to know how you thought of the designs for the barn. Clint said you liked rustic designs." (Y/n) shows her the sketches and Laura studies them for a second.

"Did you draw this yourself?" Laura asks and (Y/n) nods. "I love the design," she says and (Y/n) nods.

"I should have all the materials here my tomorrow," (Y/n) tells her.

"That quick?" Laura asks.

"I made a call," (Y/n) says. "The person I asked unusually works pretty fast."

"So," Laura lowers her voice. "You and Natasha..." Laura teases.

"We talked about this yesterday," (Y/n) groans, leaning her head against the back of the couch.

"I'm just teasing you," Laura says, handing (Y/n) back her notebook. "But it is very cute," (Y/n) stands up, sending Laura a smile as she reaches the stairs.

"Do you want this back?" (Y/n) asks, turning back to Laura. "I have to make blueprint anyway," she adds.

"Sure, thanks (Y/n)," Laura says and (Y/n) nods.

"No problem. And I do agree with you, it's very cute," (Y/n) says, then jogging up the stairs and to the room she shares with Natasha.

The redhead is in the room, reading a book when (Y/n) enters the room. "What are you up to now, (Y/n)?" Natasha asks.

"I need to make a blueprint for the size of the barn," the (E/C) eyed woman answers, rummaging through her suitcase. She pulls out her laptop, a blank blueprint, and a few pencils. "I'm going to sit on the front porch if you wanted to come out and give me some company," she offers.

"Maybe in a little bit," Natasha responds back.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you later," (Y/n) leaves the room and jogs back down the stairs and to the front door. She opens the door and settles on the floor of the porch. She sets the blueprint and pencils on the ground and pulls her laptop into her lap. "Right," she murmurs, opening the laptop and pulling up a 3-D molding software that she had designed. "We'll go forty by sixty feet and seventy five feet tall," she types the size parameters into the software and she sees a box appears. "(M/n)?" she asks her A.I. "Can you transform this into a rustic barn design with smaller structures coming out of each of east and west sides?"

"No problem, boss," the A.I. answers. After a minute, a holographic design of a barn appears above the laptop.

(Y/n) grabs the blueprint and pencil, and uses the holographic design to make a blueprint for the barn.

"How's it going?" Clint asks, walking out and settling in the chair behind (Y/n).

"Pretty good," (Y/n) says, showing him the blueprint. "I figured that the smaller structures you could use to store a lot of well, whatever you need. For other things, I was thinking about adding a loft," (Y/n) explains, pointing to spots on the blueprint.

"That sounds really nice," Clint says. "How'd you get all this done so fast?"

(Y/n) stands up and sits beside Clint on the seat. "I've got a photographic memory, so I remember everything, no matter how small the details are," she pauses, "sometimes it's not a good thing," she murmurs. She clears her throat before continuing, "So, materials and wood should be here tomorrow morning."

"Thanks, kid," Clint says, pulling the (H/C) haired woman into a side hug.

"No problem Hawkeye," she smiles back and Clint ruffles her hair. "Hey!" (Y/n) exclaims, swatting his hand away playfully and standing up, collecting her laptop, pencil and the blueprint. "Oh, Laura wanted this," (Y/n), with one hand, pulls off the top sketch from her sketchbook and hands it to Clint.

"Oh, thanks (Y/n)," Clint says, smiling at the (E/C) eyed woman.

"No problem," she says again, walking in and running her things upstairs. Thinking for a moment, (Y/n) settles down in the chair in her shared room with Natasha and pulls her sketchbook and pencil closer.

Thinking, she begins to sketch out a fox. It takes her about an hour and a half, but finally, (Y/n) is satisfied with the drawing.

"That's really cute," Natasha says, coming over and sitting on the arm of the chair.

"Thanks," (Y/n) says, smiling up at the redhead. "Maybe I should take up drawing?" (Y/n) murmurs.

"Yes, you should," Natasha says, gazing down at the drawing.

"You want it?" (Y/n) asks, gently tearing the drawing out of the notepad and handing it to the former assassin.

"You should sign it," Natasha says, handing it back.

With an amused expression on her face, (Y/n) signs her name in the top left-hand corner then hands it back to Natasha.

"Now, you have a famous piece of artwork," (Y/n) jokes and Natasha gives her a small smile.

Word Count: 2811 words

I literally have nothing but love for this book!

Can we also talk about how freaking cute Natasha and (Y/n) are together!!!!!!!! ❤😍 I love it! Also, can we talk about how (Y/n) is literally me, but not because (Y/n) is everything I am not?

I just realized, that made no freaking sense 😬

I'm definitely not taking that away.

For all of you guys that have Netflix, I recommend watching Agents of SHIELD. It basically follows up after the Battle of New York from the first Avengers movie. It's really good, I highly recommend it! Hint, hint, hint, you might want to watch it after the Battle of New York because I have something big planned that involves the first season of the show.

Love, Kaitlynn 😍❤

Imma tag peoples now: @confusinggemini612​, @gay-disaster826​, @thelastavenger-3000​, @osugahunnyicedtea​, @night-howl199​, @minicastle​, @happilyeverafterfantasybooks​, @billiebanner​, @me-and-sweatpants​, @scottjudah​, @scarlet-raccoon​, @whore-for-charlynch​, @nyx-aria, @night-howl199​, @brittanyrenne2004​, @juegamiri29​, @minicastle​, @peggycarter-steverogers​, @gay-disaster826​, @guitargodme, @avengers-avenging​

[filisaceaf]

Eeeeeee only one chapty today - please can I ask what your upload schedule is? I'm absolutely bloody in love with this fic I cannot even! I am obsessed with Dan's possessiveness and Phil's total cluelessness 💕💕💕

Now that we’re into the thick of it (sorry TikTok users), I’m going down to one chapter a day until the 31st. But, with the exception of twoish chapters, they are all at 5kish words each. So still some good food, just more time to digest!

I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying the fic!

[rose-blooms-red]

Fault Lines, I know it's been a while since you updated, but that's still the fic that comes to mind when I think of your username.

Jffjjfjfjf oh God fault lines. My precious, my neglected child jdjdjdjjjd

Uhhh oh God okay so secret for that one that is Not So Secret is that I meant for it to be a oneshot originally. I never went in with a multichap plan because I 1.) Don't plan and 2.) Don't longfic, there were one or two attempts In The Beginning of my writing but I've come to accept, mostly, that I'm Bad at longficcing XD also I don't like the first twoish?? Chapters much anymore, because I was an Itty Bitty trying to write and It Shows.

Anyways, now an Actual Secret about it. I almost didn't include a Lot of the scenes in it, it was originally just a short little vent fic because I was Going Through Some Things.

But it Evolved, as things tend to, and now it spans way more than I meant it to and is a multichap (which I swear I will finish one day ndndndndnd please be patient with me chapter is being written just jdjdjd at a Snails Pace because SW Brain Rot).

[ettadunham]

A Buffy rewatch 6x01 Bargaining Part 1

aka friends who resurrect their other friend together, stay together

Welcome to this dailyish (weekly? bi-weekly?) text post series where I will rewatch an episode of Buffy and go on an impromptu rant about it for an hour. Is it about one hyperspecific thing or twenty observations? 10 or 3k words? You don’t know! I don’t know!!! In this house we don’t know things.

And today’s episode starts us off on what’s decidedly the most controversial season of the entire show. I’m so excited!!!

Now that I think about it, I’m not sure I ever watched Bargaining Part 1 on its own. The show has plenty of two-parters during its run (some named, some not), but Bargaining has the distinction of also being aired on the same night. As a result, many of its digital copies you can find will also have Part 1 and Part 2 together as one single episode.

So for me, talking about the first half of this season premiere only, feels even more stranger than usual, but that’s mostly because of that viewing history. This episode really isn’t worse at being the set up for its next chapter than a What’s My Line Part 1 for instance; in fact, it has its work cut out for it as far as set ups go given the time jump. As a result, even if the story is incomplete, there’s a lot to chew over still.

Let’s see some of the things we got here.

First, I want to address a costuming choice that I absolutely adore and that I tried to draw attention to in my chosen screencap as well. Willow and Xander are both wearing numbered shirts with sequential odd numbers on them. Meaning that there’s a missing number between them.

See, this is exactly the kind of on-the-nose visual storytelling that I love in this show. Buffy is layered with meaning and themes, and sometimes that just means adding tiny details for your audience to interpret with the text.

I’m not sure if the numbers themselves have that much meaning - but no one can stop me from assigning meaning to them if I want either, so... 11 and 13 are both prime numbers, and as such can only be divided by themselves and 1. Possibly a foreshadowing to one of the season’s theme: this year the Scoobies are their own worst enemies.

And if 12 is Buffy, then we can take that as a reference to the fact that she’ll be resurrected at midnight. Or, we can also dig even deeper into the number 12, because oh boy. While 11 and 13 are prime numbers, 12 is a superior highly composite one with no less then 6(!) divisors. That means that unlike its neighbors, 12 can be divided and expressed through a number of combinations of its prime factors.

(Also, apparently 12 is also a “sublime number”, which of course it is.)

In other words, you can take 12 apart and put it back together in multiple ways.

Which brings us back to the show from our weird segment of me trying to math interpret costuming decisions. What the gang does here will have lasting consequences on Buffy’s mental health, and she’ll internalize that by believing that she ‘came back wrong’ for quite a while.

So it brings up the question. Why do it?

We don’t really see how and when the gang decided to bring back Buffy of course. Which as far as a storytelling device goes, is the right choice, but I still kind of wish that we knew more. Resurrection was broached as a subject in Forever back in season 5, and Tara then was like “No, no and also, NOPE” while Willow seemed to have been already considering the logistics of it all.

In the present, Xander appears to be the most uncomfortable about the idea, backtracking as the actual reality of what they’re about to do starts to hit him. Anya seems hesitant too, but she doesn’t argue. Tara still maintains that it’s wrong, but she also says that it’s what they agreed on, and so she stands by it now.

Unsurprisingly, it’s Willow that pushes the idea the most, as the resident elected team leader. (Xander apparently made a plaque and everything? It’s kind of adorable.) Alyson Hannigan really adds on to the emotional impact of Willow’s speech, so me copying in that quote won’t have quite the same effect, but I wanted to have it here regardless:

XANDER:  We saw her body, Will. We buried it. WILLOW:  Her body, yeah. But her soul, her essence... I mean, that could be somewhere else. She could be trapped, in some sort of hell dimension like Angel was. Suffering eternal torment, just because she saved us, and I’m not gonna let... I’m not gonna leave her there. It’s Buffy.

Now, we, who have already seen the show, know of course that that’s not the case. That wherever Buffy ended up, she’s at peace. And one could ask the question, why the Scoobies wouldn’t consider that option and the consequences of their actions if that’d be true?

And the answer is rather simple - because they don’t want to. They miss Buffy and they refuse to move on with their lives without her. They need her, so it’s easier to believe for them that she must need them too.

Back in season 3 I applauded Willow for having self-awareness when it came to her own motivations and biases. But power does strange things to people, and Willow’s been getting worse and worse about justifying and lying to herself about her own intent.

At her core, Willow wants to do good. That’s why she stayed in Sunnydale even though she had the opportunity to go to college anywhere in the world. But she also wants to be special. To be loved. To matter.

Bringing back Buffy is about the Scoobies needing their friend, but for Willow, this is also an exercise of the limit of her powers. Her defying the laws of nature and accomplishing something that’s barely even possible. That’s why she also pushes for secrecy, and why she keeps hidden from the rest of the gang, what she did to get the last ingredient for their spell.

Deep down, she knows that it’s wrong, and she doesn’t want anyone else to challenge her own justifications.

(Also, the CGI snake is really rough on the HD version. Yikes. I really do need to do another rewatch after this with the standard DVD edition.)

On a happier note, season 6 aired on a different network with looser restrictions, and they were allowed to have Willow and Tara kiss every once in a while. The kiss that they share here is actually the SECOND ever we see between them on screen in the twoish seasons they dated so far, so that’s some TV history. It still won’t happen all that frequently, but it’s a step forward.

I also mentioned before that I adore Tara and Dawn’s relationship, and this episode showcases that. Tara made funny-shaped pancakes for her! (Well, she aimed for round ones, but Dawn didn’t mind.)

I love them.

Also, I just noticed that in the above screencap Dawn too has a numbered shirt, and 7 is another prime number? In fact it’s the prime number preceding 11. So I guess the main theme is that they’re all a team, wearing numbered shirts akin to a sport team garb, and yet are all alone? It’s probably not that deep but that never stopped me from overanalyzing.

I do question the flimsy plan of pretending that Buffy’s still alive through BuffyBot, but I guess they were counting on bringing Buffy back from the start. In the meantime, Dawn has two witch moms, a robot sister and a vampire babysitter to look out for her. That’s not so bad.

Plus Tara is wonderful, and was probably able to help Dawn with her grief through her own experience. No wonder that they’re so close now.

Dawn of course still misses her mom and her sister, and I’ve had a lot of feelings seeing her with BuffyBot. When BuffyBot hugged her and you can see all the emotions passing through in Dawn’s eyes... What is Michelle Trachtenberg up to these days?

Plus we’ve got the scene with Dawn cuddling up to the charging BuffyBot when she’s unable to sleep. Gets me every time.

There’s also Xander refusing to announce their engagement with Anya, which... I’ll probably talk about later, and Anya directing her frustrations and anxiety with everything towards Giles, and his inability to make up his mind about leaving.

Now, I used to be frustrated with Giles for leaving, both here and later on; but I think I get it better now. When I think about Giles, I see him as the adult in this group, so it feels like he’s leaving all the kids to fend for themselves. In reality though, the Scoobies are all adults at this point. One can even make the argument that Giles is no more adult than them.

Well, okay, let’s not go that far, they’re like 20-21 at most, but they’re making their own life decisions at this point. Meanwhile Giles is in the middle of a midlife crisis and doesn’t feel like he has a life, independent from these young adults, on his own.

But we’ll get back to this subject later on.

Overall, I like this episode. A lot. There’s plenty of excellent dialogue and interaction between the gang, and we’re setting up things nicely for the season.

I’m ready for Part 2!

[stillebesat]

I, uh, also had a question. I want to post a Sanders sides fanfic I wrote on here, but I dont know how to format things or do multiple chapters. Would you be able to help me? You have a bunch, so I just thought I might ask. You don't have to, but I would appreciate it. P.s. I love your stories so much.

Sure! I can try to help out. :D  Though I do believe Tumblr works differently between Mobile posting and Laptop/Desktop posting.... I tend to do the Desktop posting.  But really what i do (and there could be an easier way)  Is that I open up a Text Post. (The Aa option) Then I type in the title in the top bar. (Aka I would write In These Tangled Webs 3/11 as my title)  And then in the main part of the post I usually copy/paste my story.  Though me personally I tend to do a little “Blurb” Which you’ve seen where I list the Characters Involved, A short summary of the story, what type of fic it is (Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff etc) as well as potential triggers for readeres so they’re not caught off guard. 

-How you choose to set up your story is up to you. Other Authors will just go straight into the chapters, while others will give more details/summaries before they post the chapter. Basically find what you’re comfortable with and go with that. :D  As for the chapter itself. I usually Copy from the document I was working on and paste into the post I’m creating.  -I use Google Docs but i do know that the post formats different depending on if you’re doing Word, Google Docs, or another writing program.  For me none of the ‘special effects’ usually transfer over, so after I copy/paste if I have Bold or Italicized words then I manually have to go through and add those in by highlighting the word and then hiitting B or I (or other options) when those symbols appear above the word I highlighted. (Or Ctrl B, Ctrl I will also do it) 

I sometimes also have to manually readjust paragraphs and spacing between paragraphs as those don’t always transfer well either. :S 

Depending on the length of your chapter, there is also the ability to add a “Read More” to the post (usually I do this if the chapter is longer than twoish pages) so that the length of the chapter doesn’t take up people’s feeds.

To find the “Read More” you want to pick where you want the ‘cut off’ to be at and after that line hit Enter

Then to the side four boxes will appear. (sometimes it takes some messing around to get those four boxes to appear to the side, Tumblr can be fickle some days)  Of those four options you’ll want to hit the one that looks like “...” in order to get your read more. :D 

As to multiple chapters. 

It’s basically just doing multiple posts.

But if you want to link the chapters together you need to have the link to each chapter handy. So usually when I post a chapter I then go to the post itself (so the post’s link is the one that shows up on the webpage) And copy/save it somewhere so it’s handy. 

Then to link the chapter’s webpage to the next installment of the story, you’ll want to do write something like Chapter 2. Then like when you Bold/Italicize you’ll highlight the Chapter 2 and a symbol should show up next to the H that looks like a slightly slanted 8. That’s your “Linking” symbol. Click on that, and then paste the weblink into the space provided and hit Done. And tada!! It’s linked! :D 

So Example:  If I wanted to link Chapter 3 of In These Tangled Webs. I would go to the webpage of just that post. Which the link is:  https://stillebesat.tumblr.com/post/186477907848/in-these-tangled-webs-311  But since I don’t want to have that long of script in the story I then write Chapter 3 Highlight Chapter 3 Hit the 8 symbol.  Paste: https://stillebesat.tumblr.com/post/186477907848/in-these-tangled-webs-311 into it and hit Done.  So then if you Click ---> Chapter 3 It should then take you to the desired chapter. :D

I hoped that helped a little! :D  :S If not, feel free to send another ask, or you can always IM me. :D I’m happy to chat either way. <3 

[nobravery]

The Blood in the Rose | 1

« PROLOGUE || CHAPTER 2 »

A/N: Here’s Chapter 1 already. Lol. Also check the numbers/notes!

Warning: Description of corpse.

WordCount: 2,247

       Nineteen past six in the morning. Telephone.

       “Fontana, I'm listening.”

       “Yea, it's me,” her assistant replied on the phone. “Sorry, no rest today, a corpse has been found Place de la Concorde, the État-Major0 just called me. The IJ1 guys are already on the spot. I'm with Beauchamp, we're on our way. Maybe we can pick you up at your place?”

       “What, how so, since when you are the one who’s called?”

       “Apparently, you didn’t pick up the phone.”

       “What a good day in perspective. No, go ahead, I'll join you there in fifteenish minutes. I'll be prompt. See ya.”

       Jordan Fontana hung up and noticed two missing calls from the Ètat-Major. Fuck. She jumped out of bed as fast as she could. She'd been working at the Brigade Criminelle2 in Paris for four years and as a group leader for one year. With an IQ of 172, she had moved up through the hierarchy quite quickly, considering she had graduated high school at fourteen and then had gotten her MAs in Law, History and Psychology six years later, and afterwards her PhDs in Criminology and Engineering two years after. Originally from the United States through her mother, she was following her father's steps, ex-Chief Superintendent at la Crim'2, and ex-FBI agent. Just like him, she entered the FBI as a Special Agent at the Behavior Analysis Unit after having followed her training at the FBI Academy. She'd been staying at the BAU for four years, but had to give up her job due to her father's unsolved murder in 2009. Since then, she had definitively settled in Paris and got a job at the 363, and had eventually been promoted to the rank of Commandant three years later. In spite of her young age, her skills had never been reassessed and mostly worked with her second de groupe4 and good friend, captain Nicolas Mercier, a thirty-nine-year-old cop, originally from Lille, North of France. He had started his career in Toulouse, then used to work at the Brigade des Stupéfiants5 also known as the Stups before being appointed at la Crim' five years ago now.

       After her colleague's call, Jordan hurried to get ready, bruhsed her long brown hair, got dressed carefully although hastily and left two minutes afterwards.

       Within a quarter of an hour later, she got out off her car, a grey Mercedes C320 CDI W204 that she cherished and called Valentine, and headed to the crime scene which was now secure, where Mercier was already waiting for her, blue police flashing lights dancing all around the place. It was still dark, at this time.

       “Good mornin', Commandant,” the latter teased. “First time you're late.”

       “Very funny,” Fontana retorted, slipping her armband on. “I just hope that the staff doesn’t bear a grudge against me. Nevermind, where do we stand? What do we have?”

       “Bouvier just briefed me this instant. I waited for you for the rest. Nothing good, really not, come see this by yourself. This is Laura Delacour, seventeen. She was still living at her parents' home. They had reported her disappearance five days ago. Her photo has been circulating a bit everywhere. She had gone to a birthday party and had to go back home at twoish in the morning, just like her parents had ordered, but she never got back. No news since. It's the guy over there who found her first, along with other passers-by, around six in the morning. They're still in a state of shock. But, you're gonna understand why once you'll have seen what we're dealing with.”

       Jordan had a quick look at the main witness, a certain M. Girard who must be about sixty, questioned by the young lieutenant Éric Belmont, one of their colleagues and cinquième de groupe5, while others OPJ6 were questioning the other persons who found the corpse plus the ones who were on the spot.

       “The guy genuinely passed the enclosure to drop off the body there,” Mercier went on. “He had a hell of a nerve, this chap.”

       “A seventeen-year-old kid who goes back home, alone, in the middle of the night? It doesn't really surprise me that something bad happened to her.”

       “I really appreciate your optimism, Fontana. Perhaps she was accompanied by someone but then their paths diverged?”

       “That's our job to determine this.”

       Jordan observed the place, gone through with a fine-tooth comb by the specialists of the Identité Judiciaire by photographing the place, searching of possible clues; then the two agents joined Doctor Bouvier, the medical examiner dispatched to the scene, still examining the body—at least, what it remained—, along with Prévost, one of the Identité Judiciaire specialist. The corpse was lying at the bottom of the Obelisk of Louxor, sitting on the ground. Bare and lacerated from all sides, the victim, whose long brown hair was tousled and covered with blood droplets, had her abdomen completely open. Her bowels were removed, as well as her liver and her stomach, put down by her side. Bowels and stomach on the right, liver on the left. I don't like this at all, Jordan was thinking.

       “So, what do you say about that?” she asked Bouvier.

       “Look, the carotid has clearly been severed, what definitely caused the death. Also, at first sight, the girl has been tortured. And not only a bit, it's obvious. The lacerations seem to be ante-morten and the killer surely used only one weapon, whether it's for the carotid, the lacerations, or the evisceration. As for the face, some mutilations as well, at the cheeks and the forehead; but this is truly nothing compared with all the ones all along the body. For the rest, you need to wait for the autopsy.”

       “The killer has been really violent with her. It may be personal,” suggested Mercier. “When may the death date back at?”

       Bouvier pulled a face at the question, somewhat embarrassed.

       “At first sight and considering rigor mortis, I'd say she died two or three days ago. To be confirmed.”

       “And she was left there only this night?” Mercier questioned.

       “Visibly.”

       “And also, Commandant, Captain, we found this, just next to her.” Prévost added.

       The latter reached out a packet to Commandant Fontana in which one of the only exhibits who've been found: a rose, with bright red petals.

       Mercier frowned.

       “What the heck is this?” he wondered about what he was looking at, intrigued.

       “Bah, a rose,” his leader answered nonchalantly, and she seemed as intrigued as him.

       “Thank you, Jordan, I think I've noticed it. Where does this come from?”

       “It was placed next to the stomach,” the crime scene technician objected. “The killer certainly must have let it there intentionally. However, I don't know what it can mean. I mean, I suppose that it's your job to find the answer to the question.”

       Fontana gave the packet back to him.

       “His hallmarks,” she interpreted, speaking more for herself than to the others.

       It's a bad sign.

       “Well, thanks Doctor. Thanks, Prévost.”

       “Commandant, Captain.” Bouvier and Prévost said goodbye to them in accord.

       Together, Commandant Fontana and Captain Mercier moved away from the others, isolating themselves, after having said goodbye to their turn. Mercier had a quick look at his colleague, who seemed to be lost in thought.

       “I can see that your brain is working hard. It's lively, right? C'mon, tell me what you're thinking of.”

       “I think we're dealing with a great sadist,” Jordan declared. “And it's just a euphemism.”

       “I know right? In every case, I've never seen that kind of stuff before. A real carnage! And the rose, what does that even mean? Have you already seen cases as squalid as this?”

       “Hm, as regards the rose, I haven't a clue, Nico. You know, I haven't worked very long at the BAU but in four years, I've seen a bunch of creepy things, even worse than this, believe me. I complained of not having some breakfast this morning, in the end, I'm not hungry anymore.”

      The two police officers were joined by Belmont, who just gathered M. Girard’s statement.

       “Well, M. Girard, don't hesitate to come back at us if you ever remember something either important or not regarding our investigation,” Fontana said, saying bye to the witness, smiling. “Éric, bring him out of the place, please.”

       “Fine, Commandant. By the way, the Boss asked to see you. He just arrived, he's with Le Guen.”

       “Oh no, that's all I needed. I'm coming.”

       Jordan spotted the boss of la Crim', Chief Superintendent Lafarge, and she headed for him, while Belmont rejoined the other OPJ.

       “Monsieur le Commissaire Divisionnaire7,” she said as she approached him.

       “Commandant,” Lafarge replied to her, shaking hands with her after leaving the procédurier8 Le Guen. “Nasty case, right? Poor kid…”

       The two officers gazed at the place with their eyes. Everybody, policemen and gendarmes alike, plus scientists, had been mobilized this early morning as part of the murder of Laura Delacour. An underage, all everyone needed!

       “Apparently you wanted to see me?”

       “Indeed. Nothing serious, I reassure you.”

       “What is it about then?”

       Lafarge took his breath.

       “Do you feel capable of working on this case? I can entrust it to Schneider's group, if it's all right with you. I'm aware that you're also taken by the murder of Caroline Corvalan, therefore if you ever…”

       “No, thank you. It's gonna be alright for me. I guess the other groups have their work cut out too, anyway. Don't worry, Mister,” Fontana assured him. “I'm handling.”

       The police superintendent nodded.

       “Fine, it's you who's saying it. I count on you. We're meeting tonight at the 36 for the briefing of the day. I need to go now, the Proc'9 doesn't like when we make him wait.”

       “Of course. Have a good day, Commissaire.”

       “Likewise, Commandant.”

       Jordan weakly smiled at him before her boss goes away. She then rejoined Mercier, who was a few meters away, in full discussion with two other colleagues.

       “Ah, Jo, what did the boss want?” he asked while the two others were going back to work.

       “Oh nothing, just asked if it would be okay.”

       “What, the case? What a question; you're the best, and he knows it. Of course it's going to be okay.”

       “Hum hum, yes.”

       Fontana pouted.

       “Well, that's enough joking,” Mercier continued. “The killer has had the devil's own cheek to abandon the body there, don't you think?”

       “Obviously, everyone needs to see his masterpiece. Certainly what he wants.”

       “What a crazy guy.”

       Fontana lingered at the place, observing and analyzing everything that was going on around her, frowning; she was having her back to her assistant.

       “Yeah, have you seen the fierceness, the thuggery?”

       “Yah, I saw the same thing as you. This is definitely a crime of the utmost savagery. Never seen this in my life.”

       “It makes me think of Guy Georges.”

       “What, the Beast of the Bastille? It was a long time ago, no? When was it? And what's the connection? He didn't eviscerate his victims, as far as I know.”

       “First victim of Guy Georges, the night of the twenty-fourth of January 1991, Pascale Escarfail, and the last one, Estelle Magd, the sixteenth of November 1997, so indeed, it's been a while. But I was more talking about the savagery. I mean, look at kid right now, no kidding.”

       The police captain glanced at the young girl's body which was just covered.

       “As for me, it rather makes me think of Jack the Ripper, but well, everyone has their own point of view.”

       “Hum, in every case, it smells trouble,” Fontana muttered.

       “What?”

       “What? Oh nothing, I was just… thinking, yah.”

       Mercier didn't insist more and eventually contented himself with this answer, and his gaze fell on the OPJ who were still questioning the people around. As regard Jordan, she spotted the deputy public prosecutor, Bertrand Mousset, and headed for him to talk to him.

       A bit later, the IJ technicians started packing up their equipment. Pelletier, one of them, came to meet the two investigators. Usually always beaming and in a good mood, he seemed somewhat preoccupied and disappointed this time; reaction which displeased the group leader and her assistant.

       “Other clues?” Mercier hastened to ask him.

       “Actually, not much except the rose, Captain. Just some skin micro-fragments taken from certain stakes of the enclosure, but it might have no connection with our case; that said, we're gonna send them to the lab' though. Otherwise, no hair… It looks like our unsub made sure to not leave anything behind him.”

       Fontana remained perplexed.

       “Super, it begins well.”

       “Yeah, not surprising that the case was referred to la Crim',” commented her assistant. “By the way, what does Mousset say about that?”

       “Oh, you know him,” Fontana grumbled. “He says goddamn nothing.”

       All of them sighed.

       “Considering that the kid seems not to have been killed here, it was almost sure that we wouldn't find anything there, the IJ technician spoke, kinda annoyed. Well, I'm gonna deal with the report and I'll pass all that to you. I'm warning you straight away, it's no picnic. We'll be in touch.”

       “Thanks, but don't leap to conclusions, Pelletier, right!”

       While the latter was moving away, Jordan turned towards her colleague.

       “Fine Nico, we need to inform Laura's parents that we found their daughter. They must be still at their home at this time. Let's go.”

       “OK, it's not going to be joy. Can you imagine that? I wouldn't like to be told that someone has killed my child…”

       As the two agents got in Fontana's car, she dialed a number on her phone, then waited for an answer.

       “Hello, Bailly? Commandant Fontana on the phone. Yes, I'm fine, thanks, what about you? Okay, good. Tell me, could you find and send me Laura Delacour's parents' address? Super, you rock, thank you, see ya later!”

0État-Major : basically the staff.

1IJ = Identité Judiciaire : can be translated has Judiciary Identity in English. It's to do with the scientific police. Their work, on criminal cases, consists in gathering, keeping and showing elements of proof, and coordinating their skills with the investigating officer's in charge of the case and the expert witnesses's.

2Brigade Criminelle = the BC = la Crim' : the oldest and probably most famous brigade, especially in charge of homicides, kidnapping, bomb attacks and investigations involving personalities (such as Lady Di's car accident in August 1997).

3the 36 = literally the 36, Quai des Orfèvres : the Direction Régionale de Police Judiciaire de Paris (DRPJ Paris) is very often called by its address (it's actually the former one, now the brigades have moved to 36, rue du Bastion in September 2017, except the Brigade de Recherche et d'Intervention, aka BRI (Research and Intervention Brigade) aka l'Antigang (Anti-Gang Brigade)).

4second de groupe : there's no proper translation but as a definition we can say that a second de groupe is very often the assistant (just like Mercier in the story) of the investigating officer in charge of the case (who is most of the time a commandant). As well for troisième de groupe (third of the group), quatrième de groupe (fourth of the group), cinquième de groupe (fifth of the group)… as long as la Crim' is composed by three groups of common right, groups themselves composed by seven or eight police officiers. Just remember that the cinquième de groupe and sixième de groupe (sixth of the group) not to say septième de groupe (seventh of the group) are the ripeurs (no English translation existing), that is to say that they are at first in charge of neighborhood investigations and stuff.

5Brigade des Stupéfiants = les Stups : brigade specialized in drug trafficking.

6OPJ = Officier de Police Judiciaire : basically a Criminal Police Officer.

7Commissaire Divisionnaire : French for Chief Superintendent.

8procédurier : no English translation existing as far as I know. This is basically an OPJ in charge of transcribing in writing all the steps of the investigation. There's like one procédurier per group.

9le Proc' = le Procureur (de la République) : basically the State Prosecutor.

taglist: @spencerthepipecleaner @i-keep-craving-craving

[writteninsunshine]

Come Find Me - Luxord/Roxas - SFW

Title: Come Find Me Author: Donnie Fandom: Kingdom Hearts Setting: Luxord’s Room Pairing: Luxord/Roxas Characters: Luxord, Roxas Genre: Romance/Hurt/Comfort Rating: K Chapters: 1/1 Word Count: 611 Type of Work: One-Shot Status: Complete Warnings: Gay, Slash, Yaoi, Age Gaps, Dissociation, Roxas isn’t well, Hurt/Comfort, AU - Canon Divergent Disclaimer: I don’t own anything. Summary: Roxas isn’t feeling like himself, but Luxord can ground what’s left of him. AN: So… I haven’t been right for twoish days, and I figured that writing something just might help me try to cope. I dunno, if it’ll work, but writing Roxas, has been helping a little bit. I hope you guys enjoy it! I usually write them with a 16-year gap, so Roxas is 17 and Luxord is 33.

Kingdom Hearts Fic Masterlist Come Find Me ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ “Roxas?”

The name seemed to stir him, if only slightly, and Roxas lifted his head just enough to be noticeable. His eyes were still vacant, and he didn’t do much more to acknowledge Luxord had spoken. The elder man sighed, taking a sip of his tea, before leaning forward and placing Roxas’ hand on the table, the cards face down. Much as he would have cheated with anyone else, the card game was on the back of his mind. “It’s been your turn for a while, now, darling.” Luxord’s voice was soft, gentle and seemed to be leading Roxas back to the task at hand. While he couldn’t remember what they were playing, he did manage to look down at his hand, and the elder’s thumb still rubbing slow circles into his wrist. “I… Sorry.” Some people assumed Roxas wasn’t sorry for spacing out. He’d do it again in five minutes and repeat the same apology, even if he meant it. His arms, eyes, and head felt heavy, he was dizzy and prickled with gooseflesh. Heat and chill battled for dominance against his skin and he didn’t know which was more concerning. Any second, now, he’d end up falling over or just being cast from life in some uneventful way, he was sure of it. Perhaps his brows drew in, or he frowned more than usual because Roxas was surprised to find Luxord had moved from across the table to stand beside him. “Come here, love,” Luxord whispered softly, holding Roxas’ head against his diaphragm. After a moment, Roxas turned to hug around the elder man’s waist, nuzzling his stomach absently. His hands fisted in Luxord’s shirt and he simply sat there, holding his breath until that seemed to escape him, too. Breathing in the seawater and cologne on the other’s clothes and skin, he sighed softly and finally looked up. “I… Don’t feel like myself, today,” Roxas muttered softly, and Luxord offered him a smile. “Nobody feels like themself all the time, my dear.” He offered sweetly, leaning down to kiss his forehead after brushing aside some hair with his thumb, “It’s okay to feel like nothing. Sometimes that’s just the roll of the dice.” Nodding, Roxas hid his face again, enjoying feeling the other’s hands carding through his hair. It seemed to soothe him until he was finally able to speak. “What do I do about it?” “About which part, dearest?” “About the… Empty, heavy feeling?” Luxord tutted a little bit, softly, and carefully reached down to pull Roxas’ hand from behind his back. He kissed it gently and patted it, before smiling sweetly. “Perhaps we should lay down. I can hold you and you can sleep it off.” “What if it doesn’t go away?” “Then I’ll be here, for you, lovely. I’ve got you, you needn’t be scared. Fate herself couldn’t tear me from you.” The thought of it seemed odd to Roxas, a scene playing through his head that could only lead them to drifting apart, but he didn’t speak of it. Instead, he nodded and allowed himself to be scooped up from his seat, brought from the card table to the bed. Laying down on autopilot, he scooted in closer once Luxord joined him, pulling him in until nary a breath of air remained between them. Their legs tangled together and Luxord hummed to him, petting his hair and cradling Roxas’ head against his bicep. Eyes falling shut, he settled in to try and rest, at least, his eyes heavy enough to lull him into some semblance of sleep. As promised, Luxord stayed with him, even if Roxas didn’t know if he slept himself. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ AN: Sometimes things just need to be written out. Having comfort when you feel like you aren’t yourself helps, even if it doesn’t fix it.