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rainbowserenity · 3 years

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royal!AU tag

*shows up a year and a half late with Starbucks* uhhhhh 8D

a lot of people that talk to me regularly know that I’ve been having a hard time with life lately. I started this next part of the royal AU shortly after the last one and just a few days ago finished it because of all the aforementioned life stuff. I really appreciate everyone’s patience and anyone who inquired to whether I would continue this or anything like that. you’re all the best :D

I really should have made this a multi-chaptered fic, but oh well! I would highly recommend reading at least the previous two parts, which you can find in the tag above or in the AO3 collection here. I’ll be posting this one on AO3 soon as well!

Back when she’d been in the Guardian Corps, struggling to survive in Eden’s slums, Lightning’s unofficial nickname had been “Captain Dangerous.” Once she’d completed her training, everyone on the force soon figured out she was, well, a force to be reckoned with. Few people could move as fast as she had, and she was able to push herself through just about anything. She’d done flips on twisted ankles, attacked enemies when she had wounds bad enough to need stitches, and never missed a day at all. She’d been unstoppable.

So when Lightning woke up with a raging headache and her limbs feeling as heavy as stone, it was honestly a new sensation for her...one she could have done without, to be honest.

“She’s awake!” a shrill voice cried, which made Lightning close her eyes again and rub her forehead with a groan. “Mr. Katzroy, the princess is awake!”

Oh, right. Princess. Which meant her. As insane as it still felt, even after quite some time now, Lightning was the recently discovered princess of Eden.

And apparently princesses got people to watch them at their bedside, only to yell for their annoying advisers once they woke up.

Honestly, Lightning wouldn’t have mind hitting the snooze button on whoever had called for Sazh. She had no idea how long she’d been out, but she felt like she’d been hit by a truck.

What the heck had happened, anyway? Her mind was fuzzy and bleary from sleep or unconsciousness or whatever the heck had happened, although she figured that if it’d been really serious, she’d been in a hospital and not her luxurious bedroom in the palace.

A flash of heat on her chest served as a reminder. She pressed at the spot, knowing the brand for the fal’cie Phoenix was scorched on her skin. She’d had a ceremony with it so that she could officially be accepted as the new future ruler of Eden – which was kind of a big deal, considering that the fal’cie Phoenix was the sun that provided for all the other kingdoms in the world. While fal’cie didn’t really care about human affairs, a ruler that could connect with it was extremely important.

Apparently she’d passed the test.

The memories were slowly coming back in her fuzzy mind. Ugh, her tongue felt fuzzy, too. How long had she been out?

Let’s see...

There was all the preparation for the ceremony, Sazh’s last minute advice, the actual meeting where Phoenix accepted her, and...

Lightning abruptly sat up, immediately regretting the action and clamped a hand over her mouth. It wasn’t exactly the motion that sent a wave of nausea through her, though...well, that was probably a good sixty percent.

But the rest...

Her eyes darted around the room, but she wasn’t surprised that her personal bodyguard was nowhere to be found.

Maybe because, as Phoenix had shown her before she’d blacked out, Hope was no bodyguard.

He’d certainly acted as much, though. Or she assumed, anyway, never having had a bodyguard before. Hope saved her from poisoned food, kept her from harm’s way, gave her a moment of peace during her introduction ball and…

Ugh, why did that kiss always come into her memory at the worst times?!

Focus, she told herself. For now, she was in her ridiculously huge bed, dressed in some silk pajamas – though she hated to think of who’d put her in them – and blessedly alone, although she assumed that someone would come in right about...now.

“You’re awake!”

Lightning slowly lowered her hand as the nausea ebbed. Luckily, Sazh’s appearance only filled her with the usual annoyance instead. “So it seems.”

“You, uh - ” Sazh glanced over his shoulder, where a couple of maids were visible through the open door in her bedroom, tidying up the sitting room. Her suite was obnoxiously large. He glanced at her and then jerked his head to the door, to which she nodded, feeling oddly relieved when he closed it and it was just the two of them. Sure, there was always a chance a maid could eavesdrop, but this still felt more secure, somehow.

She sighed heavily once they were alone and rubbed her forehead again. “What happened?”

“You’re askin’ me that?!” Sazh said in that weird sort of whisper-yell that defeated its own purpose. “You came back from the ceremony and passed out! It’s been two days!”

“Two days?!” This was bad. Very bad. A lot could happen in two days, especially involving a certain not-bodyguard…but she couldn’t make Sazh aware of that. Not yet. “Does Serah know?”

“I just told her you were sick and highly contagious. Figured that saying you were on a vacation or something would be a hard sell.”

“You got that right.” Lightning honestly couldn’t remember the last time she’d taken any sort of vacation, unless she counted the days she lazed around the palace when Sazh wasn’t around to tell her to stop slouching. “Does everyone think that?”

“Yep.” Before she could argue, Sazh barreled on, “You completed the ceremony, right? I mean, I guess you’d be, you know, dead if you hadn’t, but a little confirmation’s a good thing.”

“Right.” Lightning pulled down the collar of her sleep shirt a bit. There, on the left, right above her heart, was the intricate brand of Phoenix. She’d seen the brand dozes of times in designs on her gowns, some jewels, coats of arms, but to see it on her own skin was incredibly strange. At least it would vanish once she was officially crowned.

Sazh let out a sigh of relief. “Good. One less thing for me to worry about.”

“For you to worry about?!” Lightning barely remembered to keep her voice down and hissed out, “Don’t play games. Where is Hope?!”

“I - ”

“And don’t lie to me! He was there when I came back from meeting Phoenix, so why the hell isn’t he here now?!”

She knew even as she said it that it was a stupid question. While she was basically positive that Hope hadn’t given Sazh any explanation, she knew that Hope knew that she knew...more or less.

And she honestly wasn’t sure he’d stick around, knowing that she knew.

...Ugh, her head was spinning.

“He managed to sneak you back in here, in your room,” Sazh replied after a pause. “Which, y’know, quite a feat when there’s always someone nosing around. But he hightailed it on outta here once he knew you were safe and I haven’t seen hide or hair of him since.” He raised an eyebrow. “Not that I’ve been lookin’ for him. Gotta keep you outta trouble even when you’re passed out, right? Some bodyguard he turned out to be.”

Lightning just shook her head a little, her fingers gripping the sheets so tightly it was a wonder they didn’t rip. It might have been no big deal to Sazh if Hope had vanished – after all, they could just hire a new bodyguard.

But none of them were Hope.

And none of them...

“Hey hey hey! Just where do you think you’re going?!”

“I have to find him,” Lightning said as she scrambled to get out of bed. Even before she was fully on her feet, she could tell that standing up was just about the worst idea ever. Everything started to spin and her head bloomed with pain. “You don’t understand - ”

“All I understand is that you’re gonna be flat on your face if you go anywhere, and that ain’t a way for a princess to conduct herself.” He forced her back into the bed. “You’re gonna lay there and rest, damnit.”

“Fine,” she muttered, though she knew she wasn’t in any condition to argue. It’d already been two days – what difference would a few more make?

Maybe she’d never see Hope again and this would all resolve by itself. Not exactly the sort of thoughts a royal should have, but what else could she do?

And why did the thought of never seeing Hope again cause pain in her heart that was worse than her headache?

“I’m gonna get a doctor to look you over,” Sazh said once he was convinced that Lightning wasn’t going to try and get up again. “Better safe than sorry.”

“What will you tell them?”

He waved a hand as he headed to the door, his communicator already out. “I’ll think of something. You just stay put, damnit, all right?”

“...Sure.”

She waited until Sazh had left before she sank back against the pillows and closed her eyes. Rest was impossible, though.

Everything was going to feel impossible until she saw Hope again.

–

Most people probably would have enjoyed a week of being pampered and having all their meals in bed, but Lightning had never been most people. Sazh had continued the charade that she was contagious. Not that anyone would think to directly question the princess and her adviser.

The one silver lining was getting to see Serah in a largely uninterrupted visit, once it was 'safe.' Of course, she spent a lot of the time gushing over the Patron of Yusnaan – an idiotic guy Lightning had met at her introduction ball and had been extremely unimpressed with – but it was still nice to feel sort of normal again for awhile, even just a little.

She wondered what Serah would do in her predicament...yell at Hope and throw something at him, most likely.

But Lightning said nothing about Phoenix or Hope or anything, just listened to her sister’s lovesick rambles and asked questions about her schoolwork. It was almost like being at home in the slums, except the slums didn’t have king-sized beds and silk pajamas and sheets as soft as butter.

And when she was finally well enough to get out of bed and act normal, Sazh had to go and drop a bomb on her.

“We’re hosting a ball tomorrow night to commemorate the anniversary of Eden’s establishment.”

“Excuse me?!” Lightning had been puttering around her sitting room, just basking in the marvel of being able to walk without the room spinning. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You haven’t heard the hustle and bustle, even from your room?”

“I can’t hear anything in there and you know it. Those walls are like cement.” She shook her head. “Why would you tell me this now?! I can’t go to a damn ball!”

“So sue a guy for not knowing if you’d be well enough.” Sazh rolled his eyes. “You don’t really have an excuse. People know you’re getting well, not to mention that it’s, you know, being held in your own palace.”

Lightning rolled her eyes right back. “It doesn’t feel like mine. But whatever.” She shook her head, hands on her hips. “This is ridiculous. I can’t go.”

“Look.” Sazh sighed and his shoulders drooped a bit. “This ball’s not just for other kingdoms and all them important people. It’s one of the few events that’s open for the whole kingdom. This thing’s only held every twenty-five years and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a lot of people. Some spend their life savings on tickets. It’s the first chance a lotta citizens in Eden will have to see you, as well.”

As Sazh talked, Lightning felt her anger slowly dwindle. She’d assumed that every ball would just be for all the other royalty and whatnot, but now that she wracked her memory, some faded whispers of conversations tugged at her mind, from when she’d been a child and lived comfortably with her parents. Had her mother gone to this ball twenty-five years ago? She had no idea, considering that would’ve been before she was born, but it was a possibility. Where else would she have heard of such a thing? Not the slums, that was for sure.

“...The tickets cost money?” Lightning asked, and continued after Sazh’s nod, “What’s done with it?”

“Usually spread amongst several charities. Some’s kept in the royal treasury, y’know, for upkeep and salaries and the like.”

She frowned a bit and stared out one of her large windows. The side her suite was on faced the more well-off side of Eden – not a coincidence, she knew. But she knew what was on the other side.

You’ve seen both sides. You’re the one who can make a difference.

“...All the charity money is to be given to the slums,” she said. “It can be spread out according to need, but I’d rather focus on the schools and housing.” When she finally looked at Sazh again, he was raising his eyebrows in surprise, which was how she knew that this was not usually how royal ball profits were spent. “That’s my condition for going to this ball.”

Sazh opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, looking like he wanted to argue, but something changed in his expression as Lightning stared him down. She and Sazh usually got along well – except when he was annoying her – and she usually deferred to his decisions since she still didn’t know much about being a princess.

But clearly she’d picked up a thing or two somewhere. Or maybe it was because of Phoenix’s confirmation that she was, indeed, royalty.

Whatever it was, eventually Sazh bowed his head slightly. “You got it. Want me to send a maid up here to help you with a gown and all that?”

“Sure, I guess.”

He nodded and left the room, and she could’ve sworn he was smiling in approval.

–

Even though this was an event to celebrate the kingdom more than just herself, Lightning still had to be announced. Apparently it was some etiquette rule she was quite sure Sazh had just randomly made up.

Luckily, unlike at her introduction ball, there was way less fanfare and she didn’t have to give a speech. In fact, other royalty was getting announced from different entrances, so not everyone even paid attention to her.

Still, hearing someone call out, “Presenting Her Royal Highness, the future regent of the kingdom of Eden, Princess Lightning,” was weird.

Serah seemed to enjoy being announced much more, although her introduction lacked the ‘future regent’ bit. Lucky her. Lightning wondered how her sister would fare during her own introduction ball...probably way better.

No matter. She let out a breath as she descended down the ballroom stairs into the crowd, knowing the hard part was over, at least. Her dress swished as she walked, which was a fairly pleasant feeling. It helped that she liked the gown quite a bit – it was a gorgeous silvery-gray color that set off her hair beautifully. The bodice was a bit darker, with off-shoulder sleeves and intricate embroidery of flowers and Phoenix’s brand all over that was studded with tiny jewels. Her hair was loose and curled – largely on purpose because it helped hide her Phoenix brand, which she’d covered with makeup besides – but she still wore a tiara that had flower-like designs, all covered in diamonds. She also wore some diamond studs and a bracelet, not because the outfit really needed them, but because it was just sort of expected of her. After all, she was Eden’s princess and needed to look the part in front of the public.

Surprisingly, it was fairly easy to get into the persona of ‘princess.’ Maybe it was because there was a little less pressure this time around, or perhaps because this was the first time since being discovered that she would interact with ‘normal’ people.

It was clear that a lot of them were simply in awe at being in the palace, surrounded by real royalty and such finery. It made Lightning feel strange that she’d been like that not too long ago – someone who would have hardly believed that things could be so grand. Not that she ever daydreamed about stuff like this. Hers were more along the lines being Captain in the Corps someday.

Everyone who spotted her immediately bowed or curtsied or some combination of the two. Weirdly, none of them came very close or even attempted to talk to her. It wasn’t until several minutes later that she noticed two men in tuxedos basically creating a bubble around her, so that people could look, not touch.

Not that she wanted people to touch her, but that was beside the point.

“Excuse me,” she said, moving a bit away from the crowds. “Who are you, again?”

“We’re here for your protection, your highness,” one of them said.

“Protection?”

“Everyone who comes to the anniversary ball is thoroughly background checked and vetted,” the other explained. “But better safe than sorry, your highness. You never know who can slip through the cracks.”

“...I see.” Lightning closed her eyes for a minute, trying to contain her aggravation. She had no doubt Sazh had set this up, but seriously? This was a ball – a glorified, overly expensive dance, and one that he’d basically forced her to attend, at that. What the hell did he think was going to happen? And sure, it wasn’t like she could hide a gunblade in her gown, but she was used to doing the protecting. If something did happen, she could totally hold her own.

“Your highness?”

“I won’t be requiring your services,” she said.

“But your highness - ”

“I’ll talk to Sazh. Don’t worry about it.” She sighed heavily. “Instead, go find my sister. If she doesn’t have anyone guarding her, you can have the job.” She had no idea if the Patron was here, but if he was...no sense in letting him get too close to Serah.

The two men glanced at each other, and after they exchanged tiny shrugs, bowed their heads at Lightning. “Yes, your highness.”

When they walked off, she took a moment to kind of gather herself. This gathering wasn’t like her introduction ball, where she’d been specifically told to schmooze with the other royals and basically get on their good side. No, this one was more like a celebration – celebrating Eden, she supposed. There were many eyes on her – too many – but it seemed to all be out of curiosity than anything.

Which made sense, because it suddenly occurred to her that she’d never held any kind of press conference or something. Everyone knew who she was and they’d showed a picture of her on practically every news station in the world when Sazh had discovered her.

But no one really knew about her thoughts. Her desires. Her ideas.

The only one who had an inkling was probably long gone by now.

People were inching in a little more closely now, probably just for a look at her, although no one attempted to make conversation. Oddly, it didn’t feel as intrusive as she thought it might. Maybe it was because her mind was a million miles away, or maybe a part of her had actually accepted that this was her life now. Nope, no more struggling to survive – from here on out, it was whirlwind balls and parties with gowns and jewels worth more than an entire year’s salary from the Corps.

Ugh, she was getting nowhere with these thoughts. Maybe she needed to find Serah. Pretending that everything was fine was easier when her sister was right next to her.

Lightning walked through the crowds, wanting to just run, but of course that was impossible in her gown and heels. She really needed to insist on wearing more practical footwear next time she wore a gown. Who the heck was going to look at her feet, anyway?

Her gaze idly darted over the crowds milling about, half-listening to the conversations as she passed them. A lot of people seemed to be business owners trying to get loans or investments from the wealthy – which she supposed made sense. On their turf was the best way to approach them, like a soldier scouting an enemy. Then you had to lure them to your side.

It was at the moment she thought this that she saw achingly familiar silver hair out of the corner of her eye.

Of course, it was also at this moment that someone tried to approach her for conversation, but she couldn’t think about etiquette and abruptly lifted her gown so that she had the space to run away...or run as best as she could in her heels, anyway.

She ignored the crowds, though they didn’t seem to pay her much attention anyway. It didn’t matter! None of it did! Hadn’t he just been right here - ?!

Lightning heard a door open as she looked down an empty corridor. Before she could turn her head to investigate, someone grabbed her arm and yanked her into another room.

Naturally, she reacted on instinct by punching the offender in the face.

“Damnit!”

That voice...

“Hope?!”

Instead of answering, Hope – it was definitely him! - kicked the door shut and staggered so that he was leaning against a wall, one hand clutching his nose. There was no light in the room except a dim bulb that illuminated his face.

“I know you were trained in the Corps,” he said, his voice muffled by his hand, “but I wasn’t expecting that.”

All of a sudden, her anger and confusion since the ceremony with Phoenix bubbled to the surface and she let go of any sense of decorum. “Are you serious right now?! You took off and then grabbed me out of nowhere! What the hell did you think any sane person would do?!”

“...Point taken.” He finally lowered his hand and winced. His nose did look a bit worse for wear, but she highly doubted she’d put enough strength in her punch to actually break it. He’d probably just have a huge bruise tomorrow.

Served him right.

“What the hell is going on?” she demanded when he didn’t say anything else. “I know you’re - ”

“Shhh,” he murmured, holding up his hand. His eyes darted around the room like he was looking for something, and his arm flopped back to his side after a minute. “Sorry. You never know if someone’s listening.” He finally turned to face her. “And I wanted to talk to you in private.”

Lightning ignored the way butterflies immediately fluttered in her stomach when their eyes met. This was not the time for that! It would never be the time for that!

“...Phoenix showed me. It showed me everything.”

Hope’s hands clenched into fists, but he relaxed them a second later. “I doubt it showed you everything.”

“You told me when we first met that you built Academia’s fal’cie,” she said, basically ignoring him. She sort of paced a little, thought it was difficult because of her gown and the small size of the room, which she’d just noticed was some kind of abandoned pantry or closet, judging from all the dust she could see on the shelves in the dim light. “I didn’t know what that meant. I knew it was a big deal, but I was barely used to the idea of being a princess. It didn’t mean anything to me.”

“Your highness, I - ”

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped. “Why the hell would you call me that now, when you know I know everything?!”

“Not everything.”

“I told you, Phoenix showed me!” Only the darkness of the room kept Lightning from shouting, like it required her to speak quietly. “You’re not a bodyguard at all! You’re the damn President of Academia!”

Hope opened his mouth a little, then sort of sank back against the wall some more with a groan. “...Yes. I am.”

Even though she already knew that, hearing Hope actually say it out loud caused her butterflies to turn to lead. Because of that was true, then everything else...

“The fal’cie branded you. Right?”

He was quiet before a minute before he lifted an arm and slid back the yellow wristband he always wore. It was hard to see in the dimness, but she could just make out the black arrows – just like Sazh’s – etched across his pale skin.

She stared at his wrist for a long time before looking him in the eye. “Why?”

“Phoenix didn’t show you?” he asked, somewhat sarcastically.

“No, I mean why the hell would you become a l’cie?! They’re stories. Legends. Did you think you were going to be some war hero?”

“I was forced into the branding.”

That actually shut her up for a moment. Every bedtime story she’d ever heard about l’cie painted them as people who’d willingly taken the risk in exchange for power. Even in Sazh’s case, it’d been done willingly. The thought of someone being forced to become a l’cie went against everything she’d ever known about them.

Then again, she wondered, had the same thing not happened to her? She unconsciously touched the spot where Phoenix’s brand burned, still hidden under makeup. Though it was nowhere near the same thing – after all, the brand would disappear once she was formally crowned – she’d more or less been forced into it. Get branded in exchange for royal power that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

But with an actual l’cie, they were given a focus.

“The old family had died out,” she said. “And your focus was to come and take ownership of Phoenix so that Academia would have the power. Its fal’cie wanted you to eventually conquer everything. Isn’t that right?”

Hope shook his head, but it was in that weird, slow way where the truth hurt and you just didn’t want to hear it. “It was Adam – the fal’cie – that sent the sickness to the old family.”

That gave her another pause. Phoenix hadn’t showed her that, but as Sazh had told her, fal’cie didn’t care about human affairs. “What?” Another pause. “Also, Adam? Seriously?”

“My colleague named it,” Hope muttered, then shook his head again. “But it sent a plague of sorts through Phoenix. I’m still not sure how it did that. When I began all the construction, I thought it would run on autopilot and provide, like any other fal’cie. I never dreamed it would get so power-hungry. And I have to fulfill this focus or it’ll just turn someone else into a l’cie and make them do it.”

“So what do you expect?!” she demanded. “Everybody knows now that I’m the princess of Eden, and even if something happened to me, I’m not letting anyone lay a hand on Serah. I survived Phoenix’s judgement. Adam is just going to have to deal with it.”

“It doesn’t work like that. If I fail, another person will just be selected.”

“So what exactly was your plan?” Lightning balled her fists up, all the anger that’d been brewing in her since the ceremony bubbling to the top. “Infiltrate the palace as my bodyguard and get rid of me? Is that it? You were going to find a way to kill me in my sleep before Phoenix passed its judgment?”

When Hope didn’t respond, she knew what the answer was.

Once again, her body moved instinctively, but this time it felt like it was in slow motion. Punching him wouldn’t do much good, but what else was she doing to do with her anger?

“Then why?!” Her fist connected with his jaw, only there wasn’t nearly as much power in it as before, and he barely even stumbled. She wanted to knock his damn teeth out. “You were my personal bodyguard for ages. Why didn’t you do it?”

His gaze, which had sort of been staring off into the distance, met hers instantly. A gasp escaped her before he even spoke the words her heart already knew.

“Because I didn’t expect to fall in love with you.”

Lightning gasped again, which trailed off into a low, totally un-princesslike croaking noise. What on earth could she possibly say to that?

But it didn’t matter, because Hope suddenly cupped her face and brought their lips together with a desperate sound.

Her hands immediately flew to his chest, absolutely intent on pushing him away, but the strength left her faster than even her post-meeting with Phoenix. She instead curled her fingers into his shirt, gripping tightly as though that were the only thing keeping her upright.

And it probably was, because when Hope’s hands slid to her shoulders and one traced the bare skin on her back, everything flew out of her mind except kissing him.

The closest she’d ever come to feel like this was that night of her introduction ball, when he’d kissed her on the balcony. That should have been the knee-weakening kiss that made her go crazy, given that it’d been a much more romantic setting than some dusty old closet.

Maybe it was the relief that he hadn’t left. Maybe it was his confession. Maybe it was finally knowing his story, or perhaps all three.

But when she pushed him against the closest wall and deepened their kiss, neither of them resisted.

Lightning had never really been interested in romance or any of the physical aspects that came with it. There just hadn’t been enough time – survival was the utmost priority in the slums, after all. The most she’d ever experienced was a few innocent teenage kisses with the neighbor boy back before her mother had died.

Naturally, this was nothing like that and she honestly had no idea what to do with all of this...desire. She wanted to be close to Hope in a way she’d never felt about anyone. Gone were all of her princess lessons about restraint and poise and who knew what else. None of that mattered here.

Hope clearly didn’t mind any of this a bit. In fact, she could somehow tell that he was holding back, but she still shivered under his touch and lips and tongue -

“Light,” he gasped out of the corner of his mouth, and as soon as she figured out how, she was going to pass a law forbidding him to say her name like that. If it wasn’t for her ridiculous ball gown, she might have actually jumped on him.

He’s supposed to kill you.

The intrusive thought was like a bucket of ice water.

Lightning abruptly broke the kiss and tried to scramble away from him, but his grip on her was too tight. She stared at his dazed expression, his eyes burning and his face flushed, and wondered if she looked the same way.

No! It didn’t matter! She’d already let this get too far!

Perhaps he knew what she was thinking, because he leaned down and gently pressed his forehead against hers, mindful of her tiara – not that it would’ve really mattered, considering all the hairpins keeping it on her head. Their shaky breaths mingled in the close proximity and all she wanted to do was close the distance between them again.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed out. “Ever since your introduction ball, I’ve been trying to find a way to tell you. And when I saw you go to Phoenix, I knew there was no way I could hide my focus from you for much longer. I wanted to go back to Academia and just accept my fate, but...”

I didn’t expect to fall in love with you.

Lightning shook her head a little and pulled back so she could look Hope in the eye. They’d both calmed down somewhat, but it was hard to think clearly when he was staring at her so intensely.

“Even besides...that,” she said, not quite wanting to address the confession. Sure, she was extremely attracted to him – it was ridiculous just how much – but anything more felt like too much at the moment. “How the hell could you possibly think I’d just want you to give up and die?!”

“You wouldn’t have known.”

“Bull!” She finally tore herself away from him at that. “This whole week that you’ve been gone, I’ve been terrified you were never coming back. The thought of never seeing you again, even after those visions from Phoenix, just...” She wanted to run her hands through her hair in frustration, but the tiara was in the way, so she settled for kind of slapping the wall. “It destroyed me. Or at least wanted to destroy me, but I just kept holding on to the hope that I would see you again. Even if I never got an explanation...” Her posture slumped, and she ignored Sazh’s voice in the back of her head telling her to stand up straight, “...All I wanted was to know that you were alive.”

Hope stared at her like he couldn’t quite believe his ears. “And now that you know,” he finally replied, “...what now?’

A princess was supposed to have all the answers, but from the second she’d stepped into the palace, Lightning had constantly been at a loss. Between dealing with her new reality, all of Sazh’s nagging, the importance of her position, the ceremony with Phoenix – there had only one constant (besides the nagging, which she was fairly sure was eternal at this point).

Him.

“All the storybooks say that a l’cie is bound by their fate,” she said. She clenched her fists and straightened her posture, looking him right in the eye. “We’ll just have to find a way to change it.”

“We can’t.” Hope sighed. “I told you, if I fail, Adam will just pick someone else – someone who wouldn’t hesitate to make a spectacle.” He reached out and gripped her shoulders. “I can’t let anything happen to you. Not just because you’re the princess, but because - ”

“ - Because you’re my personal bodyguard,” Lightning interrupted, and raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that right?”

Something in Hope seemed to relax a bit and he smiled at the corners of his mouth. “Right.”

“Therefore, it’s your fate to protect me.”

“If only it were that easy.” But he was still smiling as he slowly drifted his hands off her shoulders. “Although you don’t seem to care for any other bodyguards, that’s for sure.”

“You saw that?”

“Yes. I, uh, was actually following you for awhile after you sent them off.” He cleared his throat. “I may have used a shroud on you.”

She frowned. “A shroud?”

“It’s an invention of mine I perfected with magic,” he said. “It doesn’t make someone invisible, exactly, but they’ll be far less likely to notice you.”

“That’s why people weren’t crowding me out there,” she realized. “I thought that was odd.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have, but I needed to talk to you alone and I knew that if you got caught up in conversation, I’d never get the chance.”

Though she knew she probably should’ve been mad about it, Lightning couldn’t help but be impressed at such an invention. “Maybe you should get some more I can use for when I need to avoid Sazh.”

He frowned a bit. “You wouldn’t use them to avoid me?”

“You’re not a constant annoyance,” she replied. “Not to mention that you disappeared out of nowhere and now you’re confessing everything to me in a dusty closet. What the hell about that gives off the impression that I want to avoid you?”

“Because of everything!” Hope blurted out, his voice much louder than she’d ever heard it. He snapped his mouth shut and glanced towards the door like someone was going to burst in, but when nothing happened, he let out a breath and closed his eyes for a moment. “I can’t do this. I can’t be around you knowing my focus.” He opened his eyes and stared right into hers. “I promise that I’ll find a way to stop Adam and keep it from branding someone else. You will be the next queen of Eden, I swear it. I’ll keep you safe even if it costs me my life.”

Anyone else probably would have swooned at such a speech, but Lightning knew she wasn’t just anyone.

And neither was Hope.

“Big words,” she finally said after a long pause, “but has it ever occurred to you that maybe that’s not what I want?”

“What?”

“I know that Phoenix accepted me and I’m going to have to rule whether I like it or not.” She gestured to the area where her brand was hidden on her skin. “But it has zero say in the rest of my life. What gives Adam the right to dictate how you’re going to live yours?”

“You don’t know what it’s like to have a focus.” Hope gripped his wrist and rubbed the yellow wristband, like the brand underneath physically pained him. “It’s like a noose slowly closing around your neck. I would never wish it on anyone else – especially if the only way to destroy it is to destroy you. I told you, if I don’t do it, it’ll just pick someone else. I need to stop all of this, and if I have to sacrifice myself to do so, I won’t hesitate.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“I know.”

“No,” Lightning said. “You don’t. Do you think I’d actually be happy if you went and got yourself killed for my sake?” She pointed, nearly poking him in the chest. “I just told you that it nearly destroyed me to think that you weren’t coming back. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?!”

Anyone else probably would have ignored such a declaration, but Hope, damn him, actually smiled. “It does.”

“It does?”

“Yes. And I’m honored. But...” His smile faded a bit. “There’s nothing I can do about it. There’s nothing either of us can do about. I’m bound to a focus, and if word got out about any of it, I’d never be allowed near Eden again, much less you.”

“So throw a shroud on yourself. Isn’t that how they work?”

“Not long term,” he replied, although the look on his face suggested he actually gave it consideration for a second. “Whatever...this is...” He gestured in the tiny space between their bodies, “...it can’t happen. If keeping away from you means that you get to survive, so be it.”

Lightning wanted to scream, even though this closet seemed way too small for all the noise she wanted to make. Plus, some guards would probably bust in and ruin the moment, as usual.

There was something way better she could do since they did have this moment.

She grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him close, barely giving him a second to register what was going on before she crashed their lips together again. And it really was like a crash; she was totally off-center and he stumbled a bit from the force of her grabbing, so it was a wonder they didn’t actually tumble to the ground.

After the initial surprise, however, neither of them hesitated. Hope gripped her waist and she slid her hands up his chest and into his hair, a shiver going down her spine as he made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a moan. If she heard nothing else for the rest of her life, that would’ve been just fine.

Oh gods, what the hell was wrong with her?!

She was a fool, that was what. Lightning knew she wasn’t smart in every way of the world, but she never would have thought she’d fool enough to lose her heart and head to someone she, in all technicalities, barely knew. Oh sure, it was easy to see that he was smart and handsome and brave and caring and...and...

“Has it ever occurred to you,” she gasped when they paused for breath, only for him to immediately capture her lips again, like he knew what she was going to say. But she had to say it. “That maybe I didn’t expect to fall in love with you either?”

Their faces were way too close for her to see his expression, but she didn’t miss the way his breath hitched and his fingers tightened on her waist. It was enough to make her want to suggest that they just leave everything behind – damn her royal status, damn his presidency and l’cie brand. To hell with it all!

But Hope let out a long, low breath and pressed his forehead against hers. It was an achingly intimate gesture, especially after all of their frenzied kissing a minute ago, and it sent shivers down her spine in a completely different way.

“I don’t know why you did,” he murmured, “or how you possibly could have.”

“I could say the same to you.”

“True.” He huffed an amused breath and tilted his head so they could brush their lips together before he spoke again. “I meant what I said. I’ll do anything to make sure you survive.”

Lightning paused for a second. “What if I did the same?”

“What do you mean?”

“What good is having all this power if I don’t use it?” She shook her head a little. “I know that, for a lot of things, I’m basically a figurehead. But you’re the one who told me that I can inflict change, because I’ve seen both sides.”

“There’s a difference between bettering the lives of those living in poverty versus going up against a fal’cie,” Hope pointed out.

“Right. But even so...” She slid her hands back down to his chest, just kind of resting them there. “Giving in to a fate that was set by someone – or something – other than you is stupid. You decide your fate. And if there’s a way I can use my status to help you, then I’ll do it.”

He shook his head slowly, looking a bit dazed. “There’s really no need. You have far more important things to - ”

She cut him off with a hard kiss and looked him in the eye. “Have I not made myself clear?”

The dazed expression was still there, but now he smiled a bit, that tiny bit of cockiness she’d grown to...love apparent on his face. “Crystal.”

Her shoulders sagged a bit with relief. Maybe the situation was far from ideal – after all, there was always the chance he could change his mind and fulfill his focus – but she felt a little better knowing they were on the same page and he wasn’t going to disappear without a trace again. “I’ll see if I can sneak away from Sazh and look some stuff up in the library.”

“Perfect.” He chuckled. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.”

“You would have eventually,” she replied with a flick to his forehead. “Is there anything else I can do?”

“I’m not sure yet. I think - ” Hope paused when there was a suddenly flurry of footsteps outside the door. She noticed that he held her more tightly against him at the sound...not that she was at all complaining. Was it because of his guise as a bodyguard or because of his feelings for her?

But again, so not complaining.

When the footsteps disappeared, he let out a breath and let her go, just a little. “You probably shouldn’t keep away for too long,” he said with obvious regret in his voice. “Someone’s bound to notice that I kept the princess locked up and then it’ll be off with my head.”

“I feel like I’m the one who’d make those kind of decisions.”

“I hope so. I’m rather fond of my head.”

“I’m sure.” She stepped away a bit more, though still didn’t quite let go of him. There was a tinge of awkwardness in the air now that she didn’t quite know what to do with, but at least now they were more or less on the same page.

And she wasn’t going to lose him again.

“Are you still going to act as my bodyguard?”

“I’m...not sure,” he said after a moment of hesitation. “Everything’s been a mess so far and I don’t want to arouse more suspicion around here, especially since I’ve been gone for so long already. I may need to keep traveling between here and Academia.”

“I see.” Lightning tried to ignore the actual pain in her heart when he said that. This was honestly getting ridiculous – she’d survived much worse than being away from someone she lov – er, liked a whole lot. There was also the whole deal with a man-made fal’cie ordering said person to kill her.

Honestly, it was all kind of a lot for anyone to deal with.

For a moment, Hope merely brushed some of her bangs aside – mindful of the tiara – and gazed at her with a thoughtful expression until his eyes widened a bit. “Wait a sec...I think I might have...”

“What?”

Instead of answering, he let go of her completely to rummage around in his pockets. A few seconds later, he produced a small, round object with some buttons and a tiny screen on the front and handed it to her. “This.”

She took it gingerly, like it was going to blow up, which probably wasn’t the best train of thought. “What is this?”

“A communicator I invented,” he said. “I can make it so that it’s only attuned to your commands. It’ll allow us to talk in relative secrecy – as long as this button’s on,” he pressed the one at the top above the screen, “no one will be able to eavesdrop. If they’re in the same room with you, they’ll be able to hear, but as long as you can’t see them, they can’t hear you.”

“Wow,” Lightning replied, honestly impressed. Hope had invented this? She supposed it wasn’t a stretch to imagine, given that he’d built a fal’cie, but still. “This is...thank you.”

“My pleasure.” He reached for the communicator and pressed a couple of buttons. “Press your thumb on the screen and say your name.”

She did as he indicated, hesitating for a second before saying, “Lightning Farron.”

“Affirmed,” came a robotic, female-sounding voice. After that, the communicator lit up and there was a flash of light that showed what looked like a city. Cars flew around and there were moving walkways lit up and buildings that could touch the sky.

“Academia,” Hope said.

“It’s...it’s amazing.” She stared at the image. “This is a hologram, right?”

“Yes.”

She shook her head a little, still awed. Sure, they had video calls and phones and tons of ways to communicate, but something like this just seemed...more futuristic, somehow. Like progress.

Was this why Adam wanted her dead? In the name of progress?

While she, of course, didn’t really like the thought of being a person who impeded progress, no matter how unintentional, it was kind of sick that she could understand the reasoning of a fal’cie. In a way, it was just an extreme and horrible version of what humans wanted.

“A-Anyway,” Hope said, covering her hand with his and effectively turning off the communicator. “This will allow us to speak when I’m not in Eden. Or even if I am.”

“So that you don’t have to use a shroud and lure me into a closet?”

“Something like that.” He chuckled. “Keep that with you. If you ever find or hear anything that may benefit this situation, let me know right away.”

“Right.”

He nodded slowly, satisfied with the answer, but then continued to stare at her for a long moment. She knew what was coming before it happened and gripped the communicator tightly as he pulled her close for another kiss. This one was deep and slow, completely unlike their kisses from earlier, but still spine-tingling in the best way. It was the way everyone should be kissed at least once in their lifetime.

When he pulled away, he stared at her a bit more before letting go with a sigh. She stepped back a bit, not because she wanted to put space between them, but because she didn’t really trust herself not to just stay in this closet with him for the rest of the night.

Ugh, what the hell was wrong with her?! He was a l’cie! He was supposed to kill her and all she wanted to do was kiss him in a dusty old closet!

Maybe she should have read some of Serah’s romance novels when she’d had the chance. Surely some of the heroines had been in situations like this before.

It was too late for that now, of course. All she could do was watch as he opened the door a crack and peeked out, presumably to make sure no one was going to come rushing down the hall again. When the coast was clear, he gestured towards the hallway with his head.

“Go down and make left, then leave from the door right in front of you,” he said. “Anyone who sees you will just think you came from the powder room.”

“Powder, dust, what’s the difference?”

“Allergies.”

“Good point.” Lightning flicked her eyes towards him at the same moment he did, and there was an instant charge in the air. She couldn’t describe it any other way – it was like they’d been struck by, well, lightning.

This was getting insane. She needed to get out of here.

Hope cleared his throat and looked away with a visible swallow. “The coast is clear.”

“Okay.” When he opened the door so that her massive ball gown could get through, she turned back for just a minute more. “...Thank you. Seriously.”

He shook his head, looking both grateful and sad. “I’ve done nothing worth your thanks.”

“Don’t make me punch you again.”

He chuckled. “Go.”

It was only when she heard the creeeeak of the door closing that Lightning finally hustled down the hall, following his instructions on where to go. Truthfully, it was nice to be alone – actually alone – for a few minutes to catch her breath and let her thoughts settle.

Who the hell was she kidding? Going back to kiss him some more would’ve been way better.

Lightning let out a long, low sigh and smoothed out an invisible wrinkle on her gown, then fussed with her hair a bit even though there was no mirror. Surely Hope would have mentioned if her tiara was askew, although there were so many hairpins loaded in there that it was basically all but cemented to her head.

When she finally collected herself enough to rejoin the fray, to her relief, the crowd had thinned considerably. There were still enough people to make her itch, but it was bearable.

Thankfully, before she could figure out where to go and excuse herself, Serah spotted her and bounded up to her side. “There you are! Guess what?”

“Snow asked me out to dinner!” Serah clasped her hands and twirled in glee, her silvery-pink gown billowing around her.

“Snow?”

“The Patron of Yusnaan, remember?”

“Right.” Lightning touched her fingertips to her forehead. How could she forget about that big oaf? Maybe it was because of a man who was anything but an oaf who kissed her like it was going out of style and -

Wait a sec.

“Sis?”

“He asked you out?”

“Yes!” Serah grinned widely, happiness radiating from her. “He knows about a private restaurant here in Eden where we can go. It’s supposed to have the best steak in the kingdom.”

Later, she honestly wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint exactly what it was that set her off. The idea of some idiot dating her sister? That idiot being another ruler? The steak?

“You can’t go out with him,” she blurted out.

It was like night and day. Serah’s expression immediately darkened and she frowned. “What?”

“How do you know he’s not going to try something? He’s the Patron – he could be after something from Eden.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Serah cried, but then glanced around at some murmuring around them from everyone else still in the room and lowered her voice. “I’ve been talking to him on the phone since your introduction ball and he’s the sweetest guy. It’s just one date – in a private location, besides!”

All Lightning could think about was the reason her feelings for a certain personal bodyguard were all but forbidden. Logically, she knew that not everyone was a l’cie tasked with taking over Eden, but fear gripped her at the thought of someone coming after Serah.

“You can’t go,” she said again.

She knew immediately that it was the wrong thing to say. The dark expression on Serah’s face grew even more intense. “Just because you’re the princess doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do!”

“I’m not - ”

“You’re my sister, not my ruler! I’m going out with Snow whether you like it or not.” She huffed a little and gathered the skirts of her gown in her balled-up fists. “I’m going back to the dorms tonight.”

“Serah - !”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better.” With that, her sister spun around and all but stomped off, trying not to give away the fact that she was upset and angry. It was a walk Lightning knew all too well.

She also knew that going after her sister was useless – not because it would make people talk, but because she knew Serah wouldn’t listen. Not until after they’d both calmed down.

Lightning watched her disappear down the hall, hoping her expression was neutral enough. Some of the other guests were staring curiously, but most still looked to be in awe that they were in the presence of the real, live princess of Eden. Little did they know, she was marked for death by a man-made fal’cie and was supposed to be killed by the only person besides Serah who’d ever really made her feel like she mattered.

How the hell had things come to this?

She forced a smile on her face as she walked through the crowds. “Thank you for attending,” she occasionally said, in the ‘diplomatic’ voice that Sazh had drilled into her. After repeating variations of that several dozen times, the orchestra finally started to play a lively waltz, which actually took some attention off of her and she was able to escape.

Not that it mattered. Where was she going to go?

If she was going to do what Hope had always assured her she could and make changes to the kingdom, they needed to happen soon. She would show Eden she was more than a figurehead that wore shiny baubles.

Everything in her life depended on it.

---

((Lightning’s gown and tiara inspiration for this fic!))

#hopelight #hoperai #hopurai #hopelight fic #royal!au #also just as a warning #this ended up being 9k words.........#yeah lmao #I DON'T KNOW EITHER #THESE THINGS JUST HAPPEN #i'm also attempting nano #i'm not sure how well it's gonna go but #an attempt is already being made!#anyway thank you all who still read my stuff #and care and inquire and comment #and all that good stuff #it really means a LOT #like more than anyone could possibly guess #feels!!!!!!!

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baka-monarch · 3 years

Text

Snake Bites

Here's my entry for the mcyt g/t collective promt from @bittydragon (original post here)

The prompt: The giant has always been the one to save the tiny whenever they’re in danger, but now the tiny gets the chance to save their giant friend from danger.

(TRIGGER WARNINGS: GETTING ROBBED, KNIFE, SNAKE, SNAKE BITES, VENOM MENTIONS)

____________________________________

"Blow torching s'mores is a terrible idea" Ranboo poked his head out from where he was hiding in Tubbo's hoodie, the little naga wrapped around his friend's neck loosely as they'd been walking around town shopping for the past few hours.

"But-" Tubbo tried to argue, petting Ranboo's little head with his finger as soon as he saw it.

"You almost burned down a house the last time you made s'mores Tubbo." The small naga argued, and as he tried to glare he found he couldn't as he leaned into where his hair was being ruffled.

"Well, it's not my fault I didn't know metal could be put in a microwave!" The teen tried to argue once more, pausing in his petting only to look down and see Ranboo giving him an unimpressed look.

"You didn't know. After me Tommy, Techno, Phil- practically everyone told you not to?" Ranboo crossed his arms.

"Uhhhhh…." Tubbo tried to think of an answer, but before he could his arm was suddenly grabbed and the human was pulled into an alley. Ranboo was quick to duck down under the fabric of his friend's hoodie as to not be seen, but hated having to hide as someone cut off a yelp from above by slapping a hand over Tubbo's mouth.

"Shut up, and be quiet." The person's voice hissed, and Ranboo could feel his human friend's whimpering from his place around their throat. "Give me your money, and don't call the cops" Tubbo began to shake his head no, but quickly stopped and whimpered once more when they pulled out a knife…

Ranboo saw the knife from peeking out of the hoodie and froze. No… no not Tubbo. Ranboo would never let his larger friend get hurt if he could do anything about it- and he could. He was a Many-Banded Krait after all, he had fangs and venom, Ranboo wasn't completely useless no matter how many times his human friends had been the ones to save him instead at this point. With that thought in mind, Ranboo slithered under Tubbo's hoodie, feeling the teen's larger muscles tensed as he made his way over their chest and down their arm- he preyed that Tubbo wouldn't start giggling as they'd told him many times that this was very ticklish. As soon as Ranboo was looking out of the sleeve he wanted to bite this guy immediately as he saw how tightly they were holding Tubbo's wrists.

Not yet… he reminded himself. If this were to work he would need to go somewhere more lethal, he didn't have very strong poison, it was just enough to make someone become very itchy- but in the right place it should scare this person into leaving. So, Ranboo stealer his nerves and started to slither up the guy's arm, trying his best to not squeeze the fabric of their shirt too hard so they wouldn't notice him yet.

"What's wrong with you! Hand it over all ready!!" As the guy yelled Tubbo flinched. He was trying his best to not look at Ranboo. He didn't know what his smaller friend was doing, but whatever it was he didn't want this guy to find them… "Hey look at me!!" They shook Tubbo, making the teen whimper.

Oh Ranboo was going to bite this guy so hard. Ranboo finished slithering his way up to their neck, he hadn't done this in so long after not needing to hunt since he ate human food with Tubbo and Tommy- but right now, he wasn't about to let his unarmed friend get stabbed. Ranboo found a vein and bit down.

The reaction was almost instantaneous. The guy screamed and Ranboo was promptly grabbed into a fist and painfully ripped off of their neck and thrown at Tubbo, who caught the naga easily. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?" As the man screamed Tubbo seemed to snap out of his moment of fear and put on a mask of confidence.

"This is my friend, a venous naga." The human teen smirked and gently wrapped Ranboo around his arm, he'd have to get the first aid kit out later seeing as Ranboo was already flinching in pain from where they'd been grabbed. "I'd advise you go to a doctor."

"What the fuck!?" The guy backed away, suddenly scared now, his wide eyes watching Ranboo as if the small naga wasn't already going limp after having been grabbed and pulled so roughly. "F- fuck you and you're weird pet!" With that the guy ran off, leaving Tubbo alone to worry about this bi-colored friend.

"Boo, are you okay?" Tubbo asked, his mask falling as he gave the naga a worried look.

"Maybe a bit bruised.." Ranboo winced, putting his full weight onto Tubbo's arm, not feeling strong enough to hold himself up right now. "But otherwise f-fine…"

"Alright…" Tubbo held Ranboo to his chest. "I'll text Wilbur to come pick us up so we can get home faster.." the human pet Ranboo's head, getting a lazy smile in return. "That was very brave of you Boo"

"Of course I had to protect you Tubs…" Ranboo relaxed into the petting he felt and let his eyes close. Happy that his Tubbo was safe.

Mcyt g/t tag list:

@nomynameisanon @trashpumped @loriepoptale @encaos @i-am-a-weeb @wyforyu-gaming @shy-septic-dragon @5unfl0writ3r @colorfulsiren @moonmwah @iwasgoingtohellanyways @echoslime @wilbur-simp @trouble-off-grid @the-misfits-system @lilsyxx

#gt collective prompt #mcyt g/t #mcytg/t #tiny!ranboo #naga!ranboo #g/t tubbo #tw robbery #tw knife #tw snake #tw snake bite #tw venom mentions

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is-that-another-soulmate-au · 4 years

Text

Alright let's try this Soulmate body switch AU I'm also attempting this whole "make a tag" thing... bare with me, ive only actually used this app for like 4 days now im gonna go with "RayMakesSoulmates" for now... uhm, idk what else to go with uhhhhh yeah, names Ray btw...

Okay here we go. The idea of switching bodies is something a bit strange to me so let me make this work for me.

Basically it happens once a year after you either turn 17 or meet your soulmate. If its the latter then there has to be alot of turmoil and confusion on one side to trigger the first switch because it does not happen at the first encounter. However after the first encounter you'll sometimes have little blurry dreams that are in fact core memories of your soulmate. But theyre always too blurry to point out who's involved and sounds are too muffled to pin point any specific noises words or what have you.

Now, the dreams don't happen every night but they happen often enough that you are made aware that you have met your soulmate at some point recently.

So after Zuko visits the south and they begin their cat and mouse game around the world Zuko often has blurry dreams of white with black falling what he thinks is people screaming and what he knows is muffled crying. While Sokka has random dreams of what he thinks is someone moving away into the darkness and someone screaming out to them but he can't figure out what they're saying. Another dream he has is a blurry glow of bright blue and crying. There's also one that shows up more often than the other two, its when he sees what he believes is someone moving towards him saying something, but its muffled, then a bright light and muffled screaming and crying.

However after Ba Sing Se Sokka has a dream that's clear and vivid, not muffled and not blurry. After he takes a moment from shooting up to a sitting position he realizes that this is not a dream, he's switched bodies. Standing up and moving the blankets off of him he looks around and sees the there are fire nation items everywhere, it looks like he's in a royal bedroom. He elects to keep calm as he moves towards where he thinks is a bathroom, he is correct and when he looks into the mirror he freezes. His heart drops into his stomach. Sokka can hardly believe what he's looking at. Staring back at him is not his face, but Zuko's. He reaches up to touch the scar on Zuko's face. While yes he has control over his body and he doesn't exactly know how to act 'firenation' let alone 'fire nation royalty' he stands straight. "This won't last longer than 3 hours." He reminds himself

"What won't last longer than three hours?" Azula's voice breaks through

Instantly on edge and irritated Sokka- ahem Zuko turns to Azula "what do you want Azula?" He says in a voice thats much less irritated, theyre siblings right? So they have to be chummy right

"Oo! You sound so much less angry!" She muses "disgusting, anyways, Mai wanted me to let you know she's leaving today"

Why would he care about that? Oh they must be friends? Maybe they're dating? Okay, don't screw this up "uh, okay"

"Aw don't be so sad Zuzu~ you two would have never worked out anyways, her and Ty Lee switched bodies just three days ago. It was honestly was kind of amusing watching her string you along" This is not how siblings normally talk to eachother. He just glared at Azula "alright alright sheesh, ill leave you alone" he found something to write on and quickly jotted down the conversation because if he was given that information Zuko would need it.

Meanwhile Zuko shot awake and found himself lying next to appa Katara and Aang, so he is alive huh? Confused he figured he must be dreaming until he realized his vision was clear and nothing was muffled. He was below deck on a fire nation ship. He paused a moment before he stood and noticed Sokka's boomerang beside him. He lifed it and saw Sokka in the reflection. His reaction seemed to mirror(haha get it) Sokka's when he saw Zuko in the mirror. But he dropped the boomerang and it made a loud bang which woke the other two up "Sokka what are you doing, the sun is barely up"

He paused and cleared his throat. Okay, sure he's been chasing them he needs to not blow this "uh, sorry, nightmare"

Katara shifted and turned to him, a genuine look of worry in her eyes "do you want to talk about it?" She asked in a tone that reminded him of his mother. Genuine love.

He forced himself not to tear up at the memory and just shook his head "no, I honestly can't remember it. Just scared me is all" the hesitation in Katara's expression before she responded was strange to him

"Alright, if you say so, do you mind going and asking dad to change the course? We need to stop and get supplies"

His hesitation and expression probably made her realize what happened "okay, youre not Sokka right now are you?" He froze and nodded slowly "alright, you dont have to tell me who you are, but I'll help you through the motions, Aang and I switched back in Ba Sing Se, that was the day when you questioned why I said I'd fly around, er- or that was when Sokka questioned me" okay she was a little more accepting of this than he thought.

"Uhm, okay, yeah, right, uhm, I don't want to blow this so can you just uh show me around? I'm sure Sokka knows all the people he's- oh agni he's gonna meet my dad" zuko internally cringed.

In that moment it seemed to click with Katara "alright, so you're telling me your Zuko"

Zuko flinched and backed up against the wall "look I dont know what you want me to do about this, but I promise you that I'm not going to ruin anything, I know I messed up, hell Sokka's probably noticing that my family doesn't work like yours does. I've been so confused my whole life okay, I'm sorry I betrayed you in Ba Sing Se, my sister has a way of manipulating me. I just hope he doesn't get hurt, he probably doesn't know he needs to keep his mouth shut in my family." Zuko was panicking when Katara reached out

"Zuko, zuko what do you mean?" Her voice shaky

"Look I cant tell you everything, I cant tell you my life story not right now, I need to get through with this. If we meet again, which I hope we do, ill tell you then. But right now, please just show me what Sokka goes through day to day. I know he's not gonna like what happens on the other end, I just hope it doesn't go too bad."

Katara nodded "alright well. Let me walk you around and let you learn the peoples names, ill just say hi to them and say their names." She paused "but first, tell me about your mother, i dont know if I believe it anymore"

He sighed before telling her the entire story.

Meanwhile at the palace Sokka was sitting in a war meeting knowing to keep his mouth shut unless spoken to. He didnt want to set people off or let them know he wasn't actually Zuko. The topic of the earth kingdome came up and Ozai turned to him "Zuko, you've spent time among the Earth kingdom citizens. What information do you have?"

"Uh, the Earth kingdoms citizens are strong willed and hopeful, as long as they have hope they will not yeild"

"Hmmm, I see, we need to crush their hope"

"Well, thats not what I-"

"I think we should take their precious hope and burn it to the ground!" Azula cuts in

"Yes, yes good idea Azula" Oh no

About an hour after the meeting the switch flipped, Sokka made notes about everything that he found important in time before the switch was over.

After they switched back Sokka found his sister and grabbed her shoulders "Katara, I have to tell you something, I just got back from a body swit-"

"And your soulmate is Zuko? I know, he cried when I was nice to him, what happened on your end?"

"Well, his whole family is mean to him"

"Figured"

"I was in a war meeting and found out their plan for the comet"

After relaying the information he found they discussed it with Aang.

Let's skip ahead to after the failed invasion and to the air temple when Zuko shows up.

"Hello, Zuko here"

No fighting it in this one

"Get your jerk bender butt over here" Katara and Sokka said practically in unison.

>im gonna wrap it up here. And yes Katara would notice its not Sokka and would totally pick up on Zuko, she's observant

>and no Azula wouldn't notice at all because she's used to Zuko being stand offish with her. Plus Sokka is so much better at impersonations than Zuko

@chaoticidiott @roman-does-nothing @bisexuallsokka @transzukostanblog

I dont know if I did this AU justice, I tried.

#RayMakesSoulmates #atla sokka #prince zuko #sokka #sokka x zuko #zukka #zuko #avatar the last airbender #so gay #omg #tw: caps

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the-resurrection-3d · 3 years

Text

Re: last post -- Funnily enough I was rambling about this same topic this morning, too. Most of my pro-published material right now is deeply personal creative nonfiction, and as I’d told my friend, publishing this kind of revealing stuff and receiving LITERALLY no feedback after its release is like having it be put up in a small museum with no idea who's walking through. If anyone even is. Like I said, at this point I only care about the editors and their thoughts, so it’s not a big deal to me.

Though it’s important to note how we severely downplay the role of platforms themselves in our interactions with content (or lack thereof). Obviously this is limited to a magazine-publishing perspective for the time being, but most of them don’t have any comment sections open, so if anyone wants to say anything, they’d have to either email me or go back to twitter, find my username, and then either DM or tag me in a tweet. If you’re reading a print copy, you’re having to change mediums entirely to contact me. None of this is hard to do, of course, but it’s still a barrier between readers and authors. On ao3, you scroll down to the bottom of the fic and the comments are open right there. Despite this, the actual social features of ao3 are uhhhhh lacking! Lacking is a word that we could use. Most people don’t even bother filling out their profiles; it’s not a place to make friends.

(This also says nothing about how many people are outright afraid to leave any kind of feedback on Certain Types of Fics because they don’t want it traced back to them-- we can get into that later.)

One last note on fanfic, though: some of y’all are WAY too comfortable with the idea that fanfic writers should have to literally beg for comments. I’ve even seen people suggest revealing your medical history to prove how “grateful you are for comments.” Are you people fucking insane?

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dear-alex-chill · 4 years

Text

Ducktales Story from Discord #1

Louie: what's the one thing mark Beaks doesn't have?

Webby: a brain?

Gyro: originality.

Scrooge: as much money as me

Fenton: Morals

Huey: an honest plan

Dewey: these sweet dance moves!!

Louie: all correct, but no.

Louie: he’s single

Scrooge and everyone: ooooooohhh

Mark beaks walks in: what’s so funny?

Everyone: nothing-

Louie and Gyro: your depressing life.

Webby: you tell him!

Scrooge: I’m too old for this-

Mark: Hey!! I- I HAVE MORE FOLLOWERS ON QUACK CHAT THAN YOU!!

Louie: oh please, when you’re the nephew of the richest duck in the world—*hold up phone*

Everyone wants to be your friend

Gyro: then how come you can’t get somebody to love?

Mark: speak for yourself robot dude

Fenton: well actually-

Gyro: Uh- yeah-

Mark: oh. Oh wait! Ohhhh!!! This is so going on my feed!

Louie: ha look at that.

Webby: never would’ve guessed

Louie: really?

Webby: no it was so obvious

Gyro: Why are you posting about something you don’t have?

Mark: it's just the way the world works nerd

Louie: got ‘em

Fenton: blathering blatherskite *summons arm

shoots phone*

Gyro: Yes, get him.

Mark: Hey!! Not cool Chico! Thankfully I have my backup phone..

Mark: y-yeah well I don’t see any of these kids having love lives!

Webby: actually *holds lena’s hand*

Louie: oooooOooooh what’re ya gonna do now Mark?

Mark: I am so not accepting your friend requests now!

Fenton: bold of you to assume any of us want to be your friends to begin with

Louie: you’ve been blocked

Gyro: ->- and plus, we actually have more with our lives other than looking at a screen all day.

Dewey: Yeah. Who wants to be friends with this jerk?

Huey: a masochist

Dewey: what now?

Louie: you mean like duckaplier?

Huey: yeah..

Mark: At least I have a social life. Unlike some Chicken I know..

Gyro: Excuse me?

Scrooge: alright Goldie stole the fountain of youth let’s go kids, before this..”thing” keeps talking

Mark: whatever old man. I got a business to run anyway

Louie: actually you’ve just been canceled

Mark: WHAT?!!??!

Louie: yeah, apparently you’re..just too “Mark beaks like”

Mark: *storming out of the room*

We'll see about that

Louie: hmm the moment he tries to tries to become trending I’ll cancel him again

Gyro: snickers

Dewey and Huey: Louie!

Gyro: No, please keep going green nephew.

Louie: whatttt? Im just doing what need to be done

Webby: looks like gyro has a favorite nephew

Louie: and now he’s been canceled again.

Gyro: I do not! All of you are equally annoying!

Fenton: what about me?

Huey: your his boyfriend-

Louie: and? He’s probably annoying to some extent

Gyro: You’re the most annoying! *mumbles* In the best way-

Mark: Awww #ship it!

Fenton: awwww

Gyro: WHA- Where did you come from!?

Louie: here comes the bride- all dressed in...uh tech

Gyro: ->- green nephew, I order you to stop

Louie: yeah alrighty

Webby: I swear I have no idea what’s going on anymore this conversation is just madness

Louie: uhh he’s trending somehow- and it looks like it’s just a bunch of picture of you and Fenton. He’s calling it #fenro

Gyro: What? Give me that! points to Louie’s phone

Louie: *hands it over*

Gyro: Oh this is ridiculous.

Fenton leans over to see the screen

Louie: yeah it’s gone viral everywhere

Gyro: *Shows Fenton* there

Fenton: grabs phone and stares

Gyro: well can we stop..whatever this is?

Gyro: And hey! I was holding that!

Louie: I’d cancel it, but then I might be canceled myself-

Fenton: scrolling though the tags they made fan art

Louie: I saw some links to fan fiction too

Gyro: WHAT.

Fenton: they made us kids

Mark beaks: Ha! I win

Louie: they do based on these pictures from mark’s new phone

Louie: they’re calling you the bottom

Gyro: I AM NOT!

Fenton: well how do they know that-

Louie: well whatever the truth is, they are now saying that they want a kiss pic from Mark, who probably won’t get that and then they’ll riot

Louie: we could also just give them a cuter couple

Louie: like Webby and Lena

Webby: wait What?

Louie: or Scrooge and Goldie

Huey: penumbra and mom

Dewey: Donald and daisy

Fenton: let’s just calm down, maybe we should just see if it goes away on its own

Lena: oh come on, we are the cutest couple to exist

Louie: doubt that’s ever gonna happen

Fenton: ummm *blasts all the phones in the room* solution!

Lena: well that’s one way to solve the problem ?

Louie: *pulls out another one* yeah you’re still trending

Fenton: *sighs*

Lena: okay never mind

Louie: our motto at Louie incorporated is always have a backup phone, and after that another backup

Mark: hey that was my motto first

Louie: are you sure about that?

Louie: cause now it’s mine and trending

Louie: a lie is simply a truth that has not been repeated enough times yet

Lena: he’s not wrong you know

Louie: ayyyy

Webby: LENA!

Louie: just listen to your girlfriend Webby, she’s clearly got the right idea

Huey: LOUIE!

Dewey: *posts this on Dewey Dew- night*

Mark: your just a kid! You can't possibly *looks down at phone to see Louie trending* Oh YOU-

Louie: wait, how long have you been filming for?

Dewey: the entire time

Louie: *looks over at mark* I told you it was mine

Mark: Whatever. I'll just start a new trend

Louie: too late I canceled you

Mark: *takes a selfie* Canceled Selfie!

Gyro: *sighs* will you ever shut up Beaks?

Mark beaks: i Don’t know Gryo when will you stop making evil inventions?

Gyro: Not until I crush you.

Mark: woah woah. Assassination is not a good look on you

Fenton: who said it was on him.

Webby: I don’t think it’s a good look on anyone

Louie: oh Webby, when you’re older you’ll understand

Mark: 'specially with your little project in tokyolk

Webby: and you do?

Gyro: *punches him*

Louie: uhhhhh yes?

Gyro: Now, what was that you said?

Fenton: oh my god *starts fanboying in spanish*

Mark: who PUNCHES a guy?!?!

Gyro: Me.

Louie: you’re not a guy, nor a man. Just sad little baby

Mark: *disgusted* Augh!

Huey : uhhh Dewey did you get that?

Louie: who relies on his it list mama

Dewey: yeah

Huey: should we be worried?

Dewey: nah

Gyro: No, not at all.

Louie: get out of here beaks

Mark: Fine! But I'll be back!

Scrooge walks in the room

Gyro: uhh, no you won’t

Louie: no you won’t

Scrooge: what in the blazes happened in here?!

Mark: Your children are maniacs!

Louie: Mark was bullying us

Gyro: It was simply business Mr. McDuck.

Scrooge: oh was he now?

louie pulls out puppy eyes

Scrooge: in that case, GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!

Mark leaves mumbling: stupid grouchy old man

Louie: hah! Woo

Gyro: I can now finally get away from it.

Louie: you’re welcome?

Fenton: thanks. *pats on head*

Louie: HEY!

Huey: well with that settled-

Fenton: we should probably get back to whatever it is we were doing

Louie: which is?

Gyro: I actually do not know

Scrooge: Adventure!!

Louie: oh no not again

Gyro: Ah, yes. That.

Louie: *tries to walk away*

Scrooge: Now where are you going lad?

Louie: I- Uh..I’m dying?

Lena: pffft nice

Gyro: What-

Gyro: What am I even doing here, I’m leaving this chaos

Louie: y-yeah came down with the common cold of uh WAIT FOR ME!

*runs after gyro*

Gyro: No, I won’t. *continues to walk away*

Fenton: Wait what about me?

Louie: I promise to not speak or even breathe!

Gyro: hmmmm. No

Gyro: well if you don’t hurry up Cabrera then I’m leaving you

Louie: Fenton can I come? *puppy eyes*

Fenton: yes-

Gyro: *sighs* fine.

Webby: it feels like we’ve been talking for 53 years!

Lena: I know right

Huey: I know what you mean, I feel like I’m being controlled by a teen and typing out unoriginal dialogue in a phone

Credit to the Discord Chat (for making this a proper story), specifically:

@shadybelievercat

Queen_of_bread

Neighborhood Nerd

#gyro ducktales #gyro gearloose #ducktales 2017 #ducktales scrooge #ducktales huey #ducktales #dt dewey #dt gyro #dt mark #mark beaks ducktales #mark beaks

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jwillowwolf · 3 years

Text

Magic and Miracles - Chapter 12

Sanders Sides Big Bang fic, Chapter 12!

< Previous Chapter | Next Chapter > | Masterlist

Summary: “You are all insane,” Everleigh declared blankly.

“We are perfectly sane,” Logan replied.

Remus shrugged. “Well, sane enough...”

Warning/s: food mention.

Characters: Logan, Virgil, OCs, Roman, Remy, Remus, Patton, Janus, Emile.

Tag List: @theimprobabledreamersworld @remy-please-come-back

Read on AO3

12 | Searching

“No! We can’t just close it!”

“Virgil, there’s nothing we can do.”

“We could find the miracle.”

“That’s an impossible quest and you know it.”

“But there is a chance.”

After Remy told Tanya they needed to close the porthole, Virgil had snapped and was now fighting to keep it open. No one else dared to speak up while the pair argued over the matter. Instead, they just stood to the side, watching with growing anxiety over what the outcome would be.

“If you leave it open then that earl will attack.”

“Not if we find the-”

“There’s nothing you can do, why can’t you accept that?”

The room fell into near-complete silence as everyone waited for Virgil’s reaction. For the moment, he was just standing there stone-faced and staring at Remy. Remy looked uncharacteristically angry. Honestly, the students had seen him upset but never this upset. Still, Virgil just watched him.

“...There is something I can do. That’s why I won’t give up on them.”

Remy’s expression morphed into empathy and regret as he realised what he meant. To Virgil, closing the porthole meant giving up. It meant letting his grandmother die alone in that tower. It meant abandoning an entire realm, a race of people, to a power-hungry usurper. It meant accepting that there was nothing more he could do. And Virgil couldn’t do that.

Before Remy could apologise though, Virgil’s wings sprouted from his back and he flew away. The others were simply left in shock to absorb the meaning of his words.

Remy sighed. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

Tanya shrugged. “You could have been a tad more… understanding, but he does need to understand that what he’s suggesting is far too dangerous.”

“...I should go after him-”

“Or maybe it’s better if we go,” Janus interjected, gesturing to the class. “He’s been through a lot. He might not be ready to forgive you just yet.”

Logan nodded. “We’ll make sure he’s okay. Don’t worry.”

“The best thing for Virgil right now would be comfort. You can counsel him later,” Willow said.

Remy sighed and nodded defeatedly. Logan then led Janus, Willow, Patton, Remus, and Roman to where he remembered Virgil’s room was. Or where he hoped was Virgil’s room. He’d been quite overwhelmed last time he was here so he was only 92% sure they were at the right door. Before any of them could knock though, Virgil opened the door and looked like he was leaving with a bag full of supplies.

Logan frowned. “Where are you going?”

“Uh… nowhere.”

“Lying to your friends now, eh? And here we were coming to comfort you,” Janus remarked.

Virgil rolled his eyes. “I won’t be talked out of it.”

“Who said we’re here to talk you out of it?” Remus refuted.

“Are you going to try finding the miracle? By yourself?” Patton questioned.

“Maybe…” Virgil muttered, avoiding his gaze.

“Well, you can forget that idea. Because we’re coming with you.” Roman declared.

Virgil looked at the group disbelievingly.

“Come on man, we were ready to follow you into a realm of magic and mystery. We’re not letting you drop us that easily.” Willow remarked.

“Are you guys sure?”

Logan nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’re here for you. To support any way we can.”

“Thanks, guys. Now, I’m not sure how to sneak us all out of here.”

“Have you forgotten about magic? We can make a porthole.” Janus reminded him.

“Where to go though?” Roman asked.

“Everleigh,” Willow said. “She should know about or have access to some maps that can help us find the Miracle sooner.”

Logan nodded. “She should actually be at the library working right now. I’m sure she’d be happy to help.”

---

“You are all insane,” Everleigh declared blankly.

“We are perfectly sane,” Logan replied.

Remus shrugged. “Well, sane enough...”

“Please Ev,” Willow begged with puppy eyes.

Everleigh squirmed. “Don’t do that face, it makes me agree to anything and you know it.”

“Please~”

“You guys know the Miracle hasn’t been seen in like three thousand years, right? How are you even sure it’s alive?”

“The dream said we needed to find the Miracle, so it must be alive,” Janus stated.

“Come on, Everleigh, this is an important mission. The lives of thousands hang in the balance.” Roman declared.

Everleigh huffed. “Pure pressure and pleading are not going to work, no matter how good you all are at it.”

Logan put a hand on her shoulder. “Please. If not for thousands of lives then just for the Queen’s life. She doesn’t deserve the fate she’s facing.”

Everleigh looked at him then glanced at Virgil for a split second before looking at Logan again. “What was she like?”

“Surprisingly held together for someone near their death. She acted quite strong and accepted that this was the end for her, but… her eyes… They were full of mourning. Full of fear. It reminded me of my mom…”

“I’m sorry you had to see her like that,” Virgil said. “My gran and your mom.”

Logan smiled weakly. “There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

Everleigh sighed. “Fine. I’ll help you guys. But I’m coming too.”

“It will be dan-”

“Dangerous, I know, but if you don’t let me come along then you’re not going either. Someone needs to keep you all from being completely reckless.”

Logan chuckled. “Fair enough. Welcome to the team, Ev.”

After convincing Everleigh to help them, the team jumped straight into analyzing everything known about the Miracle for clues about it. The main problem was that any primary information was thousands of years old and therefore kept away in the restricted area of the library. This meant that only Everleigh, with her apprenticeship, could read through those articles.

The others didn’t stay idle while she did that though. They took to looking through what was available to the public. By sunset, Virgil was starting to worry about Remy coming to look for them, but that was when Everleigh came through.

“I found something!” She exclaimed. A nearby co-worker shushed her, but she paid them no mind. “Here, check this out.”

Willow raised an eyebrow. “Volume three of the Quest of Nigel Hawk? What does that have to do with our search?”

“Okay, so I was looking at the primary accounts from people who had met or knew the Miracle. They don’t normally describe it, but those who did, mentioned things like bright silver eyes, dark skin, and feathery wings. It reminded me of one of Nigel’s stories, the one where ze sails to the Misted Isles,” Everleigh explained, opening the book and searching through the pages for whatever she’d found. “Uhhhhh, here! Look at this sketch.”

She turned the book around for everyone to see, and featured on the page was indeed a lovely black and white sketch of a human-like creature. Its skin was shaded dark and its eyes were a light colour that could be silver, and on its back, there were two sets of wings.

Remus tilted his head to the side. “Isn’t that Nitya, the stranger that Nigel met at the harbour?”

“Yes. Nitya and Nigel were both looking to go on an adventure somewhere. Or rather Nigel was looking to go on an adventure and needed a friend for the journey. Nitya happened to be staying at the same inn as zem and the two decided to go together to the Misted Isle. Except, Nitya never returned, Nigel wrote ‘on the day we were meant to sail back to the mainland, Nitya and I were standing together on the beach watching the sunrise. It looked at me and said it would be staying here. It felt that this was the perfect place to spend the rest of its time.’”

“So then, the Miracle aka Nitya is on the Misted Isle. We must go there at once!” Roman enthused.

“How? We can’t make portholes to places we haven’t been, and none of us exactly own a ship.” Janus pointed out.

“Could we make one?” Patton wondered. “I mean, theoretically, by using our magic we could make anything. So, why not a ship to get us to the misted isle?”

Remus lit up. “That’s a perfect idea, Pat! We can’t teleport all the way to the isle, but we could at least get to the harbour. Roman and I were there when we sailed over from Lyrecrest.”

“And using my proficiency in plant magic, I could grow a tree into the perfect shape of a ship,” Roman added.

“Well then, is there anything we need before we go?” Willow asked.

“Food and fresh water, plus maybe a change of clothes, just in case,” Remus listed.

“Alright then, let’s get everything so we can go!”

Following this, the team split up, Everleigh went to her house to get the things, while the others used portholes to grab things from their rooms. While Logan was getting his things together, he felt a sense of unease settle in his gut as he thought about his dad. Sure, Emile had agreed to him going to the fae realm, but going to the Misted Isle was a whole different thing. He decided that he could at least drop by to fill him in, and made a porthole to his room back at the bakery.

Once he stepped through and looked around, he felt a twinge of nostalgia. The room was just the same as he had left it. Still neat and tidy as it had been when he left all those months ago for his first day at the manor. While he knew it hadn’t been all that long ago, he still felt as if it were a distant memory. Gods know he’s made so many more since.

As he was about to open his door, he heard his father speaking, “You need to calm down.”

“Calm down? Ems, no offence, but I just lost seven kids. Including the freaking crown prince! I can’t calm down.”

“I’m sure they’ll be fine, Remy.”

“But what if they aren’t? What if they run into assassins? Or monsters? Or monster assassins?!”

“Rem-”

“Oh gods! How am I going to explain to Joan that I lost Thomas’s only kid? The heir to the throne!”

“Re-”

“And the other parents. One of them is a freaking dragon! They’ll roast me. Literally!”

“R-”

“What if they end up starving to death? Or getting overly dehydrated? Or poisoned?!”

“Remy!” There was a moment of silence as Emile walked to where Remy was. “I understand. I’m worried about them too. I don’t know what kind of parent wouldn’t be. But you need to calm down dear. Stress isn’t going to help us find them any sooner.”

“...Do you really think they’ll be fine?”

“They do seem to have a… skill for finding trouble. But they always get themselves out of it in the end.”

Remy sighed. “I hope you’re right.”

Quietly, Logan stepped over to his desk and wrote a note for the two adults. Then, he made sure to make a noise that would cause them to come and check the room before he left again through the porthole. He felt guilty for the anxiety he was putting them through, but he hoped that the letter would ease some of their concerns.

---

“You told them where we’re headed?”

“Only that we’ve figured out where and are going to find the Miracle,” Logan replied.

Virgil nodded. He had been feeling a bit guilty about leaving the adults in the dark, so Logan leaving an explanation at the very least eased his conscience. “Well, looks like there’s no turning back now.”

“Technically, we could turn back. The shore isn’t that far away, and with Patton using his water magic proficiency to guide the ship we’re sailing much faster than any normal vessel,” Logan stated.

Virgil smirked. “It’s an expression, L… what do you think the isle will be like?”

“Similar to how Nigel described it. Full of mystery and magical creatures. Maybe we’ll see a unicorn,” Logan mused.

“Would you like to see a unicorn?”

“Perhaps. It would be an interesting encounter.”

“How long have you wanted to see a unicorn?”

“Um, what?”

“I know you like to think of yourself as some emotionless rock, but I can see right through you. You definitely want to see a unicorn for more than because it would be an interesting experience.”

“Seeing a unicorn would be an interesting experience. And perhaps one of the things I’ve always dreamed of doing,” Logan admitted sheepishly. “My mom used to tell me stories about them when I was younger. They were my favourite.”

Virgil nodded. “I’ve never heard you talk much about your mom.”

“Well, I was very young when she passed.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“No, but I shouldn’t pry.”

“Perhaps… but I don’t mind talking about her with you... I only remember a few things since I was so young. Her stories about magic and adventure. The way she disliked singing but still loved music. Her light laughter and tender voice. How she always comforted me when I felt down.”

“She sounds like she was a wonderful mother.”

Logan smiled softly. “The best… if you don’t mind my asking, what are your parents like?”

“Well, Papa writes a lot of songs in his spare time. Mostly sappy love songs though occasionally he just makes up silly rhymes about any nobles he doesn't like. Dad likes singing too, though he loves acting even more. Whenever he told me stories as a kid he used so many voices and expressions. It was the coolest experience,” Virgil recalled fondly. “...Logan… do you… do you think they’re really gone?”

Logan frowned. “I don’t know. But they must have gone somewhere and wherever that is we’ll find them and bring them back. Until then though, you’re not alone Virgil.”

“...thank you.”

Nothing much else happened that night. The kids slept in shifts aboard the ship as it smoothly glided through the waters in the direction of the misted isle. When the sun rose over the waters to the east, everyone woke up and together ate a small breakfast of their supplies. They didn’t have much to do apart from telling stories or play sitting games as they waited to arrive at their destination. Before noon though, they saw looming on the horizon, an island strangely covered in a mass of fog that made it nearly impossible to actually see the island.

“Here we are, guys. The Misted Isle.”

---

A/N: thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this. I'd love to hear what you thought about the chapter if you wouldn't mind commenting. Thanks again for reading! Here's hoping you have a magical day 💜

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woulddieforperrytheplatypus · 4 years

Note

Okay so bc of how Meapless in Seattle would play out in the Relocation AU, Doof would have no reason to drink the liquefied cutonium. Cause he drinks it while trying to deny that he was there on a coffee date with Peter. Everyone is just playing keep-away with the container. (That said, it'd be funny if he DID drink it for some reason bc of the bit where the gang picks up the cutified Doof. They'd probably be like ._. "... That you, Dr. D?")

in general, the entire episode would play out way differently because the a- and b-plot gangs would inevitably end up joining forces. perry would definitely end up knocking mitch and balloony's robot suits around if they dared threaten phineas and ferb. (also i want to know what candace would think of balloony. i'm sure she'd have Words on that whole situation and it'd be super fucking funny to see.)

I should really start tagging posts about this au now... welp, live and learn lmao

Sooooo I’m going to stay up until 3 am waiting for the new Taylor Swift thing to drop on Disney+ so I can watch it with the rest of the fandom on twt, which means I have more than enough time to go off on tangents and I apologize in advance

I definitely think if/when I write this, I definitely want Heinz to drink the cutonium just for shits and giggles, but it didn’t occur to me until you said this that there wouldn’t really be a reason for him to do it, so, naturally, I rewatched the entire episode just to figure out that one scene and because I love that episode and I have a general idea of how it might go down:

It’s kinda the opposite of the actual episode, where it’s Peter and Perry are at the coffee shop and Heinz is outside (idk what he’s doing there tho bc he’s not visiting Peter uhhhhh help), and Heinz does something loud and stupid (probably falls over or something idk he’s clumsy he would totally do it) and everyone in the coffee shop looks out the window to see what happened, and Heinz looks through the window to see if anyone noticed (and they did). Obviously, Heinz sees Perry (and Peter but mostly Perry) and he’s like :))))))) and my original plan had been that Perry runs out to see him and gives him a hug or something cute like that, but my new plan is that Perry actually runs away because he’s afraid that if OWCA finds out that Heinz saw him, he’ll be relocated again and he was just starting to get used to Seattle.

Heinz runs around the building and tries to catch up to him, and he after Too Much Yelling, he finally gets Perry to stop around the same spot they were in the episode (with Peter slowly catching up). Idk what he’s gonna yell but it’s gonna be something really pure and heartwarming ig idk words are hard, but Perry’s gonna freeze and Heinz is gonna run towards him while paying absolutely no attention who his feet whatsoever and whoops he falls in one of the kids’ ditches.

*casual switch to present tense bc there’s literally no reason to write this in future tense*

Perry turns around and looks down at him and he can’t help but smile because he knows he shouldn’t be here but this man is just so freakin adorable and he absolutely remembers why he loved their nemesisship (not that he’d ever forgotten, of course, but it’s hitting him harder now that he sees him). Heinz’s just like “You gonna give me a hand?” (in a lighthearted way obviously) and Perry is absolutely not going to give him a hand because Heinz would end up pulling him in instead, but it doesn’t matter anyways because Heinz makes a really big gesture when he asks and he ends up knocking the cutonium loose. Perry hops down with him to check it out (and Heinz is lowkey offended that he’s more interested in this cup than his ex-nemesis) and then Mitch shows up and he’s like “Hey gimme the cup” and Heinz is like “nu-uh my cup” and Mitch is like “GIMME DA CUP” and Heinz is like “fine, take the cup!” and then downs the cutonium right in front of him out of pure spite and that’s why he ends up drinking the cutonium (and subsequently gets kidnapped by Mitch (after being tossed around like a game of hot potato))

Ngl I don’t really know how the rest of the fic is gonna go at all but you’re absolutely right that things are different so I’m gonna do some spitballing here,

For one, I feel like the kids would stop heading to the Flynn-Fletchers as much because it was just so sad, but for the sake of this fic, we’re gonna say that everyone was at the Flynn-Fletchers when this started so now Buford and Baljeet are there with them. They end up getting hold of Heinz the same way they do in the show, and Phineas absolutely does say “... that you, Dr. D?” (purely because I love when the kids call him “Dr. D” it makes my heart happy). And Heinz is like, “Perry the platypus is here!” and the kids are like 0_0 and even Phineas isn’t quite sure wtf is happening, but The Man Of Action Ferb pushes him out of the way and follows Heinz’s instructions (all while ignoring Meap talking about the cutonium bc this is far more important) and they find Peter and Perry still over by the ditch and someone yells down to them (or, more specifically, to Perry) and Perry looks up and sees them and starts tearing up, and they let him and Peter in and Perry just jumps up into Phineas’s arms (he can’t exactly jump up into Ferb’s because he’s driving) and it’s a very heartwarming moment and Ferb hands Buford his handkerchief and everything and then someone ruins the moment. Idk if it should be Meap being like “Someone wanna fill me in on wtf just happened?” or Heinz being like “Wtf Perry you ran away from me but not them?” but it sure do ruin the moment, that’s for sure

Uhhhh idk that’s all i got on that. I guess Mitch gets Heinz back and then the kids team up with Perry (and Peter this time) and go get him and stuff happens? And there’s a running “gag” ig where Buford is the only one that thinks it’s weird that Heinz drank the cutonium out of spite and he keeps bringing it up and everyone else is like yeah that sure did happen whats your point

Oh my god tho I need the kids to see Ballooney. Literally everyone else would be like “oh no it’s an evil balloon ex-best-friend we should be scared” and Candace is like WHAT THE F U C K IS THIS THING and she is the only one to question why the fuck there’s a sentient balloon man there fdhfsjadfhsjkad

#look i have an ask #at2d relocation au #look i have an ask AND a tag for it #too lazy to add the tag to the other posts yet tho #but if anyone has any ideas about literally anything related to this au #(or not related to this au)#please hmu!

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rockethorse · 4 years

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I was tagged to do this meme by @roguebotanist ! Sorry it took me so long!

1. If you could travel one place in the world where would you travel?

Probably be to the USA to visit all my friends there, and my partner's extended family! I'm planning to go to Japan again soon with my partner, too, but because Australia is closer to Japan, that's a lot more attainable than visiting the states. So if I had magic-genie-travel-vouchers, I'd definitely pick the US. Just... maybe not for a few years, lol. It's a dream of mine to be able to take the two of us on a kind of foodie driving tour down through different American states, visiting a bunch of people we know, and tasting all the stuff we see on Instagram, LOL.

2. What do you do in your free time away from Sims?

I draw, cook, dabble in writing (I'm not very good but I really enjoy it), translate/subtitle videos from Japanese and close caption videos/podcasts in English, and work on eventual-someday comic ideas. I also keep meaning to get into gardening and sewing - I have all the equipment, but the attention... not so much.

3. What other games do you play besides The Sims?

Animal Crossing, Pokemon (even though I still haven't finished SWSH), Stardew Valley, a little bit of Slime Rancher (highly recommend, I think a lot of y'all would really like it), and the Ace Attorney series though I haven't played much beyond the original trilogy even though I really like it. Since we got our Switch I started playing Zelda BoTW too, which is my first real "gamer" game and I really, really liked it, so I'm sort of dabbling in more games of those kinds of genres that I used to be intimidated by.

4. How tall are you?

5'11"/180cm, last time I measured.

5. One random interest of yours?

I collect/love to pore over retro cook books with really terrible photography. I have a small collection of them. Some of them are genuinely good and others are hilariously bizarre. I daydream about starting a YouTube channel some day and I think about making a week's worth of breakfast/lunch/dinners from these old books and recording the process. My current favourite is all about what you're supposed to like to eat based on your star sign, from the 1990s. There's a lot of the word "moist".

6. Current favourite bands/artists?

“Current” is hard to say because if I actually manage to get attached enough to an artist/group to specifically like them, they become my favourite for a loooooonnnnggg time. So I would have to say my "current" favourites are exist†trace, Go-Bang’s, BARBEE BOYS, and Yes.

7. Something you’re looking forward to?

I'm looking forward to getting my life back together now that I've finally been able to finish a really stressful irl project, lmao. I'm looking forward to having enough money saved up to hopefully travel to Japan as early as next year and surprise my friends there. I'm looking forward to breakfast tomorrow and painting my nails :9

8. Current favourite films?

I have the same problem with this as I do music, LMAO. I really liked Birds of Prey! The most recent new-to-me film I saw that left an impression on me which I can remember was the Ghibli film "Only Yesterday". If you're a little older and a bit stressed about the pressures of adult life then this movie is a real treat. Also saw Big Eden for the first time semi-recently with my partner and was really sweet and pretty funny. Now that I think about it, it had a lot in common with my cook books.

9. What food could you not live without?

I was thinking of all the foods I love and would hate to go without, like tofu (for real), but I'm actually watching my diet right now and as it turns out I can apparently live without a lot of stuff, LOL. But I'm trying to eat "healthier" not just change weight and the only thing that's really tripped me up is the idea of forgoing sugar-free drinks. I knoowwww Pepsi Max probably isn't """good""" for me or """a substance human beings should consume""" but I grew up on it, I drink a sugar-free energy drink every second day (used to be every day but my heart said don't do that), and I like black coffee but even that has its limit. So I guess the answer here is "terrible, bad, laboratory-constructed soda", lmao. Can’t live without it, questionable if I can live with it.

10. Favourite series (book or movie)?

If I'm allowed to pick a TV series then this is where I slide in and say the 2003-4 Sailor Moon live action series (shoutout to Lady Bane for making excellently niche Sims 2 content for it, too). If not, I'm stuck again with not really knowing and not wanting to say Harry Potter since I haven't really engaged with it for a million years. Hey! Maybe you guys should recommend a new book or movie series to me! Especially if the book is available as an audiobook, because I have more patience/attention for them than reading these days.

I don’t know who to tag because I don’t know who’s already done it - let’s start with @afro-sims-for-you, @didilysims and uhhhhh @katatty-main ? Plus anyone else who follows me and wants to do it! Tag me back so I can read ‘em :0

#nonsims #roguebotanist

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willowcatkinblossom · 5 years

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I was tagged by @greenjudy , thanks so much 💕

your name: willowcatkin :)

fandoms you write for: Hmmm I write for Guardian mostly, and then I have a ton of really short ones for Original Sin. I’ve also written a few things for MDZS.

where you post: AO3 and tumblr

most popular one-shot: wishes are hopes we want other people to listen to....which I didn’t really expect? Also I’m still thinking of adding to it someday. I feel like people assumed that it would have a happy ending.

most popular multi-chapter story: overcast. Okay, this one isn’t really multi-chaptered, but I added an epilogue, so it has 2 chapters now.

favorite story you’ve written: Definitely overcast. Part of the reason is that this is the only story I’ve written that is over 2000 words but actually finished. It also kind of felt like I was slightly obsessed when I was writing it, and I just had to keep writing it even though I wanted to just write like...300 words of fluffy nonsense. It ended up over 7000 words! I also really liked writing Lan Wangji’s perspective, and I think writing this fic made me like his character a lot more.

story you were nervous to post: Winter Jasmine was really hard to post because it was the first piece of creative writing that I had done since idk 8th grade language arts class? And I never thought I was very good, so it took a lot of courage I guess :D

how do you choose titles: Titles are so hard! I’m terrible at deciding on titles. I tend to just go with a word that I randomly decided I liked the moment I posted it...or I take a really long time to think of one. Overcast was one that I thought about for a while. I probably went through at least 30 different titles for that one. Also, on a related note, summaries are even harder??? I usually just cheat and use a random section of the actual fic.

do you outline: No...but I really should. I did write an outline for one of my fics, but now that I’ve thought it all out, I’m somehow less motivated to actually write it, because in my mind the story is already complete. I usually start writing a fic with a goal in mind, and then the rest of the fic is just written to reach that designated scene or idea. I tend to scrap a lot of the stuff I write too. For example, the current one that I’m working on I’ve rewritten like, 3 times already because I’m indecisive.

how many of your stories are complete: Uhhh technically 20 out of 28 on AO3 are complete, but the only ones that are complete are just the really short ones haha.

how many of your stories are in progress: 8...ish on AO3 and then I have around 5 others that are currently running around as half-formed thoughts in my head right now.

coming soon: Maybe one of those WIPs on AO3, I should probably update one of them soon. And then I’m writing a Guardian fic that’s filling a prompt someone sent me :D

do you accept prompts: I do! I have 2 prompts sitting in my inbox right now...sorry I haven’t forgotten about them, one of them is from way back in May, I’m just taking a while to figure out how to go about writing it. Feel free to send me one anytime! I feel like receiving prompts somehow motivates me more, because I know for sure that at least one person really wants to read it. And that’s enough :) I reblog prompt lists sometimes, but you can also just send me something anytime!

upcoming story you’re most excited to write: It’s untitled, and a Guardian Historical/Arranged Marriage/uhhhhh something else AU. I’m not telling because I’m really confused right now about where I’m going with it. I’ve rewritten the beginning a few times now and I think I might have to delete it again ugh.

I’m not tagging anyone, but consider yourself tagged if you’ve seen this :D

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sundaynightnovels · 5 years

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15 Questions Tag Game

i’ve been tagged this time by @kidsarentallwrite and @elizabethsyson ! sorry, it’s been a hectic week so i’m only just getting to this! i find it especially apt that the latter has done the 15 questions game for a character called ‘Death’ (who i already adore), considering what my wip is about, yknow. somewhat. yea. && yes!! new characters from ashleigh!! i’ve previously done this for Zhen & Lu and Ren, Jia & Jun (i like to do these interviews in sets if you can’t tell), so... hmm. i’m going to do this for Shou and Teng -- the two sweethearts ! (as in, they both are adorable -- not that they are together. that would be havoc) the questions that i’ve gotten from my two tags are different, but i’ll use @kidsarentallwrite ‘s set of questions instead (because i can’t really answer questions about species / magical forms). also, be prepared -- these two can talk a lot. 1. What is your full name? Shou: Shou. Teng: Teng Shou: i don’t suppose we have to add anything else to our names, do we? Teng: you should know better than i do! Shou: that’s not fair! i’m a newcomer here too! in fact, there hasn’t even been an orientation -- i wouldn’t even have had a place to live if not for zhen’s generosity! hm. this is a serious matter indeed, i should bring it up to someone. do you know who i can contact with regards to this complaint? Teng: how would i know??? i didn’t get an orientation either! i never thought of it as an issue, but it is, isn’t it???? how did zhen get her kid??? isn’t there a rule on how many men can live together in one apartment?? where does ren live??? can jia just move into someone else’s home just like this? there are so many loopholes! how do we live like this? we need to start up an organisation asap -- [the rest of irrelevant conversation redacted] 2. What does your name mean? Shou: ah! that is the most pertinent question! names should mean something, shouldn’t they? when ren had first returned me my name, i thought it meant ‘hand’ -- and that was particularly interesting! in palmistry, all these lines on a person’s hand means something individually, and a hand in itself is -- Teng: shou, they’re doing that thing again. that thing with their fingers that means they want us to hurry up Shou: -- what? do they not want to understand the deeper meaning behind the lines that they are naturally born with on their hands? do they not realise how a person’s entire life path is marked, since their birth, right in the palms of their own hands? is it not utterly fascinating? Teng: i don’t think so... Shou: then why are they asking questions when they do not want to listen to the answers? 3. What are your nicknames/other names? Shou: i believe that Ren refers to you -- and the rest of your army -- as the ‘Noisies’. Teng: what?? that’s a terrible name! Shou: i agree. but unfortunately, there is certain merit to it. we can use it to refer to all of you as a whole -- which happens quite frequently, considering the three of you never seem apart -- and also, the name seems rather apt. Teng: are you saying that we’re noisy? we’re not! i mean... i’m not! i mean, well... jun... uh.... okay! Yu(m) isn’t! you can’t deny that! Shou: ... 4. What’s your gender? Shou: i believe i am male. Teng: yea. is there anything else to be? uh wait. okay, i think jun warned me about this, said something about not opening up a can of worms... but i don’t get it! is there anything else? Shou: i don’t know. the world has changed vastly compared to when i was alive, so it is not my place to assume anything. also, zhen had also warned me about this, and i think it would be prudent to listen to their advice. Teng: yea, i mean, i don’t know of anything else either. the world has changed a lot (nods sagely) Shou: yes, indeed (nods sagely as well) 5. What’s your sexuality? Teng: Jun mentioned this too. Shou: Zhen as well. Teng: (nods sagely) Shou: (nods sagely) 6. Where are you from? Teng: well, i just came straight from my apartment... Shou: oh, is this what this meant? thank you for the clarification, i had no idea! i wanted to answer that i was born from my mother -- of course, that is such a redundant answer that i wasn’t sure if it was the answer at all! in that case, yes, i just came from the kitchen. Teng: ... the kitchen? you mean, the kitchen in your building? as in, the one zhen cooks in? as in, you came from lunch? after eating zhen’s cooking? is that it? Shou: ... i must excuse myself for a moment 7. How old are you? Teng: how rude! I am young! Young! Don’t listen to any of my boys, i’m not that much older than them! Shou: how old are you, then? Teng: uhhhhh.. well. fine. yes, i’m older than them! but not by that much! they make it seem as though i’m past my prime, but i’m really not! Shou: which is? Teng: uhhhh. i’m 27, i think. about there. 27 - 28. you? Shou: i don’t remember the age at which i died. if you are talking about post-death, however... no, i don’t know either. 8. Any special talents? Shou: he does! he does!! Teng: huh, me??? Shou: yes! you do! don’t be shy now, we all know what you are capable of! Teng: uhhh. i’m pretty good at cleaning up -- even though jun makes it seem like i’m dirty and disgusting. is that it? Shou: no! i’m talking about your imitation of a bear! you are amazing at that! Teng: ????? since when have i imitated a bear?? Shou: all the time! when we met for the first time, you were snarling and growling like a beast! it was amazing! how do you do that with your vocal cords? i have tried many times, but alas it is not a skill meant for me. Teng: ohhhhhh, you mean that, huh? uhh, ahh, it’s nothing, really Shou: please do not sell yourself short. it is an amazing skill worthy to be proud of! 9. Do you have kids? Teng: if you are talking about the boys, then well, yea, i guess. though i wouldn’t really call them my kids. Shou: you mean, your gang members? Teng: what gang?? why do people keep saying that i’m in a gang??? 10. What’s your aesthetic? Shou: i don’t understand. if you are talking about what i am wearing, right now i am wearing one of jun’s many robes. it is very comfortable, though unlike the previous garment that i had donned, it has less of a breeze. Teng: i’m just wearing normal clothes i guess. don’t know how you want me to describe it further.

11. Who’s your best friend? Shou: best friend? as in, a friend above all other friends? that’s terrible! how can you ask me to choose such a thing? Teng: yea! that’s terrible! i can’t make such a choice! Shou: so you don’t have an answer to this as well? Teng: yea! also... well... i don’t know if i... i mean, well, the boys are just the boys, right? outside of them, i don’t even know if i have any friends... so uhh, yea. yea. can’t really answer this anyway. Shou: am i not your friend? all this time i have considered you my comrade-in-arms, leader of the Noisies, an odd man and a great friend -- yet could it have all been my imagination? have we not fought in battle, have we not shared a meal, have we not been tormented by the same slow tale and have we not slept together under the same roof? has this all been one-sided on my part? have we never been friends all this while? Teng: well... you fought against me in ‘battle’... but yes! we have! we have shared a wonderful meal, and we have been tormented by quan’s horrid story, and well, i guess you have slept in jun’s room before so yes! we have slept together under the same roof! i’m sorry, i was too caught up in moping in my own sorrows that i’ve somehow neglected the friends by my side! my answer is you! you are my best friend, shou! you are! i’m sorry for having forgotten you all this while! Shou: thank you! thank you for realising your folly! yes, we are friends ! Teng: ... Shou: ... Teng: ... are you not going to say that i’m your best friend as well? Shou: ... it just seems like an important decision. i don’t want to make a choice so quickly. 12. Would you ever get a piercing / tattoo? Shou: absolutely not! how can you suggest such a thing? our physical bodies are a gift from our mothers! they should not be desecrated just like that! Teng: aren’t those painful? uh, i mean, not that i’m afraid of the pain, it’s just... you know! uh... uh... right! i don’t know what to put on it! where would i pierce, what kind of design would i put on my body -- those are all important questions! Shou: if i could, i would paint an image of the flaming sun on my chest. Teng: i thought you said that our bodies are a gift from our mothers? that we shouldn’t destroy them just like that?? Shou: well, since i am dead, i think it’s right to assume that my mother is as well. and we have long lost our physical vessels, so there is no real damage. furthermore, i have to remember how scary the sun is. (shakes head) it is not simply the glowing ball of warmth you think it is. 13. When are you happiest? Shou: that is an impossible question to answer. how can there be a ‘happiest’ when there is nothing to compare it to? there will always be a ‘happiest’ moment in your future! when you think you are happy in the present -- even, perhaps, the most happy that you can be -- you never know what is coming your way next. there will always be another ‘happiest’ moment. as the saying goes, there is always a higher mountain. you cannot limit yourself your current happiness. you will always be happier! you must trust in that! if there are constants in life, that would be it! Teng: (wipes away a single tear) Shou... Shou: that being said, my happiest moment would be when we are all together. Teng: (wipes away tears from both eyes) Shou! Shou: ah, and perhaps when i’m eating a sugared gourd. that as well. 14. What’s your biggest secret? Shou: what secret??? i have no secrets! i am not lying! Teng: uhhh. i don’t have any i think. shou, you are acting kinda weird though. Shou: i’m not! i’m not!! 15. What’s the first thing you notice about people? Shou: it used to be their names, but now i am not certain. i haven’t been around enough people -- though yes, i am around a lot more people now than i was in the past. it is rather incredible. Teng: uhhh. i notice that they are people? i don’t get it. am i supposed to say something specific? but i notice them as a whole! if someone’s walking towards me, then they’re walking towards me. i don’t know what you want me to say! tagging @insearchof-solace @elliswriting @vhum @thedreamsofthesky @coffehousecreations @snowdropwrites @focusdumbass @chrysanthos-writes @bookenders @inexorableblob @incandescent-creativity @radley-writes @minnowf @thel3tterm @pen-for-sword

#15 questions tag #tag game #like all things out of season #character tag #shou #teng #writeblr #writing tag games #my wip #my OCs #my writeblr #writers on tumblr #character interview

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damienthepious · 4 years

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chuesday. they’re all still stressed! alas...

Going Through Changes, Ripping Out Pages (chapter 9)

[ch 1] [ch 2] [ch 3] [ch 4] [ch 5] [ch 6] [ch 7] [ch 8] [ao3] [ch 10] [???]

Fandom: The Penumbra Podcast

Relationship: Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla

Characters: Lord Arum, Sir Damien, Rilla, The Keep

Additional Tags: Second Citadel, Lizard Kissin’ Tuesday, Established Relationship, (uhhhhh sorta), Amnesia, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, (WE WILL GET THERE…… EVENTUALLY)

Summary: Lord Arum wakes to discover that some things have changed while he slept. Namely, there is a human in his bed.

Chapter Summary: Morning. A little less violent, this time.

Chapter Notes: A bit of a short chapter, but only because I wanted to give the second half a bit more attention, so it wound up getting split into two parts. How many chapters will this end up being? Don't worry about it. We'll find that answer together.

Arum doesn't quite manage sleep again, after that. Despite the warmth, despite the lulling softness of their breath, their heartbeats. Damien falls back to unconsciousness, though, after a surprisingly short amount of time. Perhaps he is too exhausted not to. Perhaps the sleep is easier to bear than the sorrow.

Arum still tastes the salt on the air, the remaining tracks on Damien's cheeks. The other unfamiliar scents are… disconcertingly comfortable. More vivid, more present than the lingering hints in his own sheets, in his own bed- leather, ink, feathers, herbs, soft skin, some gentle soap that clings to their hair-

Arum presses his eyes closed, breathes slow to match their sleeping rhythms. It does little good.

(Amaryllis' mouth pressing hot against his own, her scent sharp with hope and desperation-)

(Damien's lips, trailing up from his heart, up his throat-)

He squeezes his eyes shut, though it does nothing to banish the thought of the look on Damien's face, when he realized that he was not kissing his monster.

Arum does not sleep again, but he forces himself not to move until he senses the earliest diurnal creatures of his swamp beginning to stir at the distant edges of his consciousness. He thinks, judging by how long that takes, that he managed a few decent hours before he and Damien woke. Not an unreasonable amount of sleep, for Arum in the midst of a project. He is uncertain whether or not this… endeavor counts as a project, exactly.

He shifts the covers aside as carefully as he is able. Rilla- Amaryllis does not stir. There is a heaviness to her sleep that Arum almost envies. Damien shifts when Arum does, though he does not wake this time. He simply curls towards the warmth that stays beside him when Arum retreats, curling along Amaryllis' side and sighing into her shoulder.

It is better, Arum thinks, that he is not here when they wake. Between his own confusion the morning before and Damien's half-drowsing embrace- better not to repeat either incident, or to invite some new unpleasantness.

Sir Damien fits so easily, tucked against Amaryllis' side as if they were a statue carved from a single block of stone. Arum shakes his head, and silently instructs the Keep to close the portal behind him, leaving them to their rest.

He frowns when he is safely away, and then he sighs.

"Keep," he murmurs, and the rotten plant pretends to begin to pay attention to him, as if it has not been quietly fretting in the back of his mind for the last few hours. "I imagine… I imagine they will wake soon enough. Prepare something to keep them fed, since you apparently know their tastes so well."

The Keep murmurs an assent, and a gentle addition, and Arum rolls his eyes.

"If I must," he grumbles. "You will forgive me if I am concerned for my mind before my body, Keep."

It warbles something dismissive, denying the separation, and Arum fights the urge to roll his eyes again.

"Fine," he says. "Fine. The lot of us will think better on a full stomach anyway. Prepare some tea, as well."

Rilla wakes to the familiar feeling of Damien's hand caressing slowly, gently up and down her arm, and she knows before she even opens her eyes that Arum isn't still in bed with them. She knows, too, that Damien's thoughts are a million miles away, because he doesn't notice that she's waking, and as she blinks the sleep from her eyes enough to focus on his expression, she can see that his gaze is focused, troubled, distant.

Rilla feels… better. Better than the night before, that is, not that that's a high bar or anything. Waking up with Damien wrapped around her certainly helps, even if he looks totally distracted.

She leans up and kisses his neck, gratified when he jolts and then breathes a laugh, and he squeezes her tighter in his arms.

"Ah- my flower, I hope I did not-"

"If you're up and Arum's already out of bed too, I should definitely be awake," Rilla manages through an insistent urge to yawn, and Damien's mouth curls wryly. "It's not the sort of day I should be oversleeping for. Are you… okay? You looked like… I don't know."

Damien ducks his head. "Well…" he bites his lip, then looks away for a moment, and Rilla's stomach flutters nervously. "I think… when I woke up- well, I was thinking about… about Arum's body-"

Rilla raises an eyebrow, and Damien fumbles his next breath, his cheeks darkening just slightly.

"Not! Not in that way, don't be-"

"Teasing, Damien," she says, and then she kisses his shoulder, soothing. "I know. Keep talking."

He laughs, a little thinly, and shakes his head. "I… I was thinking about- about his feeling of coldness, last night, and I was thinking about… about what his body may remember, even if he himself… even if his mind… what is it that you call it, when one repeats a motion so thoroughly that it becomes automatic, that it comes naturally, without thought?"

Rilla purses her lips. "Muscle memory, you mean?"

"Yes." Damien nods, though he still looks troubled. "That's the one. I was thinking… thinking of what else his body may remember, and…"

Usually, so long as Rilla isn't already busy or in a bad mood, she lets Damien come around to his points in his own sweet time, but- well, considering the subject matter at hand-

"Damien," she says firmly. "Clearly you thought of something. Come on."

"The issue is," he says weakly, "that I think it might be a terrible idea, in fact. I worry that I might simply be so desperate-"

"What is it?"

"Well- well…" Damien bites his lip again, harder this time, and then he hesitantly meets Rilla's eyes. "Lord Arum and I… it is almost second nature between us, our duels, our sparring-"

"Oh, for Saints' sake," Rilla groans, letting her head thwump back into the pillows and pressing a hand over her eyes. "Okay, you're right, that's a terrible idea-"

"I know," Damien sighs. "I know, I shouldn't have said anything, the last thing we wish to do is to make him think we intend to harm him, and I can hardly imagine that he would trust our intentions in some sort of nonlethal combat-"

"We have to try it," Rilla says, growling through her teeth with her eyes still covered.

"… I beg your pardon?"

"Physicality, adrenaline, muscle memory, actual memory from some of the highest-stress moments of your shared history- it's a good idea, Damien, even if I hate it. I don't wanna say it might work because I'm not looking to get my hopes up again, but-"

She doesn't finish the thought. She peels her hand off her face, squinting up at Damien instead.

"You think… you think we should raise the matter with him? See if he will consider…"

"It's literally how the two of you met," Rilla says with a sigh. "And yeah, I think he'll consider. First off, if he thinks you're challenging his skill, he'll be too proud not to accept. He'll wanna prove something. Secondly, I think he might just be frustrated enough to want to fight in general."

Damien hums thoughtfully, and Rilla pauses, considering her own words for a moment before she continues.

"Though… okay. I'm going to ask this, and I hate asking it, obviously, but I'm just gonna- you don't think, if you try to spar with him- you don't think that he'll- that he might-"

"Hurt me?" Damien's voice keens with a combination of pain and sorrow, but he smiles oddly anyway. "I cannot say it is impossible, but … well, even in our second duel, when he bested me, he cut me only to prove the point, I think, and he bound the wound so quickly afterward… even that, perhaps, could be a path towards his memories-"

"Damien I'm not going to let him hurt you for the chance of-"

"I know," Damien says, his smile gone wry, and he squeezes her again. "I was not suggesting that, I swear. In no small part because I know he would never forgive himself, if that did unlock his memories. Besides, my love." He sits up a little straighter, and the expression on his face goes sad and certain at the same time. "I do not think he could if he tried."

"If he hurt you before-"

"I do not think that Arum, this Arum, could defeat me in combat. I managed to best him as he is when I had barely an ounce of experience fighting with a blade such as his, with no knowledge of his specific tricks and tactics. Now? Oh, now- I have danced with him countless times, I know his movements and his mind, I know his footwork, the angle of his wrist in the moment before the strike- I know all of it. I know him. Unfortunately, my love, if he agrees- this will not be a fair fight. I admit I am rather concerned about that, at least, for his own sake."

"Why?" Rilla asks. "It's not like you'll hurt him, obviously." Speaking of someone never forgiving themself. She knows that Damien still agonizes over Arum's scar from their first fight, every once in a while.

"No," he agrees. "I would never hurt him." He pauses. "Physically, intentionally. But- I expect that our current relative positions might cause some damage to his pride."

Rilla snorts. "Okay, point." She shakes her head, then rolls herself to slip from the bed properly, stretching with a grimace. "Okay, okay. We'll float the idea. After we get some food into us, I think, and maybe after we sift through some other ideas first. Don't wanna spook him too early in the morning."

Damien nods, following her ascent, and as he rolls to stand the Keep sings lightly, vines curling at the corner of the room but not forming a portal just yet.

"Ah," Rilla says, hazarding a smile. "Heard me mention food, huh?"

It hums a confirmation, surprised and warm, and Damien manages a little laugh as he takes Rilla's hand.

"How… how is he, this morning?" Damien asks.

The Keep hesitates, then lilts a set of tones that bounce like a see-saw. Rilla meets Damien's eye, and then she shrugs.

"Better than yesterday, at least," she says.

The Keep warbles a wry sort of agreement, and then it pulls open the portal.

[->]

#elle's fanfic #the penumbra podcast #second citadel #rad bouquet #lizard kissin' tuesday #lord arum #amaryllis of exile #sir damien #going through changes ripping out pages #commente pleas

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ilovemygaydad · 6 years

Text

Dance, Dance

Part One: Introductions

Based off this post that you really need to read for context!

Pairings: Analogical and Royality (past sleeplogical)

Characters: Virgil, Patton, Logan, Roman, Sleep/Remy, Deceit/Dominic, October/Toby, September/Ember

Warnings: domestic abuse, swearing, sexual humor, crude comments, bullying, making out, abusive deceit, i can’t think of anything else but tell me if you want me to tag something

A/N: Thank you to @wisepuma23 for being excited about this for me! Also, if the scenes seem weird, it’s because I’m trying to incorporate a bunch of povs because the movie is like that and it’s!!! important!!! oh and uhhhhh sorry for not writing since literally before the new blog but i’m dumb so yeah

Masterlist | Ask Blog | READ ON AO3

The shrill call of the intercom startled Virgil awake. It beeped, but no voice came out. Frustrated, Virgil slammed the talk button and spoke through gritted teeth. “What?”

“Virgil, do not get sassy with me. Your phone privileges are still on thin ice,” Dominic drawled.

“Of course. Sorry.” Virgil wanted so, so bad to bludgeon the damned intercom.

“Get me breakfast. I want eggs benedict and a grande in a venti cup of nonfat vanilla chai tea filled to the top with cream and three Stevias. THREE! Oh, and bring it here in five minutes. And get the twins their breakfasts.” The intercom clicked off.

Great! Virgil thought. What a totally realistic goal for me to accomplish. Fucking kill me.

And, needless to say, Virgil didn’t have the stupid eggs and the even more stupid drink in five minutes, so Dominic made Virgil cough up his phone for the next two months. And then the twins dumped their smoothies onto him because they weren’t right. Virgil had to change his clothes and then make new smoothies.

Virgil barely made it out the door in time due to his chores, and then he almost forgot his skateboard, so by the time that he had rolled up to Patton’s beat-up van, he was late. Patton gave him a quizzical look, but he just shook his head and climbed into shotgun.

Once they started their journey to school, Virgil actually took in what Patton was wearing. The top half was pretty normal looking; Pat’s purple-streaked curls were neatly swooped back, and he had on one of Virgil’s old flannel shirts. On his bottom half, he had—

“Patton, are you wearing a blue tutu?”

The friend in question grinned. “Yeah! I think that it perfectly fits my playful personality!”

Virgil suppressed a smile. “It sure does, Pat.”

“I think I’m going to add tutus to my future fashion line. It’s a winner for sure. And then I’ll get famous, and you’re going to become an all-star dancer, so I can pick you up in my private jet for lunch in Paris!” Patton spoke animatedly, flinging his hands around and ignoring the road. Virgil, practically used to it already, took the wheel in his own hands to make sure they wouldn’t go off road.

“Dude, I have to get into dance school before I can become famous.”

“Yeah, but you’re gonna!” Patton waved dismissively at Virgil’s worries. “Oh, anyway, did you hear that Logan Parker is coming back today?”

“Obviously. I live—turn right—with Toby, Ember, and Dominic. I never hear the end of that shiiii… stuff. Never hear the end of that stuff.”

Patton shrugged. “Fair.”

Virgil rolled his eyes and began to rummage around his pocket for a second, pulling out a pan of black eyeshadow. He flipped down the visor to use the mirror, but as he let go, the whole visor clattered to the floor, completely unhinged. “Fuck, Patton. Would it kill you to fix this thing?”

“Don’t upset her! She’s sensitive, and I don’t want her breaking down on me!” He paused for a second before smirking at his best friend. “Plus, it’s not like you really need the mirror to apply your eyeshadow, anyway.”

“Fuck off.”

“Oh, you love me.”

“I wish you were dead.”

Patton just smiled pleasantly, pulling into the parking lot. “Okay, dear.”

It took a whole ten seconds to swipe on the eyeshadow under Virgil’s eyes. As soon as he was done, he stepped out of Patton’s awful van and took a step onto the sidewalk.

“Honestly, Ember. I can’t believe you still drink those awful frappuccinos! They’re so full of sugar,” Remy Sinclair drawled, driving his silver convertible with his two cronies. “Black coffee is obviously superi—oh.” Remy had spotted Virgil.

Shit!

The black coffee in Remy’s hand flew right onto the front of Virgil’s shirt. The boys in the car all laughed; though, it sounded more like a cackle. “Oh, Virgil. I’m so sorry!”

From the van, Patton started to yell, “You’ll be sorry when I shove my fist up your—”

Virgil rushed to put his hand over Patton’s mouth, and Remy just drove away.

“Loganloganloganloganloganlo—”

“Roman, I swear to god. If you don’t stop that insufferable babbling, I will throw you out the window of this limousine on the 405.”

Roman pouted. “You won’t pay attention to me.”

“Yeah, well,” Logan muttered as he flipped over his schedule again. “I would like to know where my classes are so I don’t look like an idiot on my first day back.”

“You’ve read that thing a billion times! Can’t we get hyped for all of your fans—”

“Roman. For the last time, I am here to learn. You are free to spend your time frivolously flirting with every guy with a pulse; however, I am dedicating this year to my education.”

“Ugh, fine. You’re no fun!” Roman huffed, crossing his arms. “Are you at least excited for school?”

Logan smiled at Roman for the first time during their ride. “Yes, actually, I am. Thank you for asking. Are you?”

“I’m excited if you’re excited. You know how much I love to see you smile, man.”

“It almost sounds like you’re into me, Ro,” teased Logan. Roman’s eyes widened for a second, but when he saw Logan’s tiny smirk, he calmed down.

“Mr. Parker?” The driver was looking at the duo in the rearview mirror. “We have arrived at the school.”

“OH MY GOD, IT’S LOGAN PARKER!”

“Oh my god, Pat, Logan Parker is here. What a surprise! It’s almost like he goes here again,” Virgil mocked, turning as a swarm of people ran to the entrance. When he wasn’t being shoved around, he was able to see Logan Parker’s tall, lean figure looming above most of the students fawning over him. Someone else—a slightly shorter and far more muscular boy in clothes more fancy than should ever be on a teenager—stood at his side, a charming grin on his face. But seriously, who wore black dress pants, a white button up, and a red vest to school? This kid, apparently.

Patton both physically and mentally tore Virgil from the scene. “C’mon, let’s get to class before we’re literally run over.”

Logan shot a panicked glance at Roman as the hoard of kids surrounded them. He was used to crowds, sure, but not at his freaking school! He was trying desperately to be a normal teenager for once, damn it! He couldn’t even arrive at school without making a scene.

“Hey, hey, hey, friends and fans!” Roman shouted. Logan recoiled away from the noise, physically feeling all of the love that he felt for Roman drain out of his body in one fell swoop.

The crowd screamed in response:

”I love you, Logan!”

“I’m your biggest fan!”

“Logan, I wanna fuck you!”

Gross. Why couldn’t people understand that he was ace?

“Right, well, I know that you’re all super excited to see Logan, but we’re here to learn! Well, he’s here to learn.” Roman made eye contact with a handsome boy and winked. “We’ll be doing a meet and greet after school—” Oh, and there was more of that screaming— “For now, though, we’re going to get to class! Part ways, everyone! Roman Ellington and Logan Parker coming through!”

Somehow—and Logan had no idea what kind of witchcraft that Roman pulled—the crowd made way for them to pass. As the pair walked into the school, Logan pulled Roman close.

“What the fuck do you mean ‘we’re having a meet and greet after school,’ Roman?” he snarled. His bright smile never faltered.

“I had to placate them somehow! And it worked, didn’t it? It’ll only be an hour, and then you can go home and do whatever it is that you asexuals like to do.”

“God, don’t phrase it like that—and you owe me big time, Roman. Like, Crofters for a month big.”

Roman muttered something about how expensive that would be, but he cut himself off. “Shit! Logan, watch out—”

SMACK!

All of the books and papers that Virgil was carrying flew out of his hands, fluttering to the ground like snow as he was bumped to the floor. He had stopped paying attention for, what, two whole seconds, and someone just happened to slam into him. Not to mention that he probably had a concussion with how aggressively he was flung to the ground.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” The voice paused for a second, and another one yelped. “Roman, what the hell did you push me for?” Virgil groaned and looked up.

Oh. It was Logan Parker. Great.

“It’s fine. Uh, don’t—fuck, ow—don’t worry about it.” Virgil vaguely waved his hand and shoved himself up into a sitting position.

“Here, wait. Let me help you up.” Logan held out his hand for a moment, but it was pulled away to spin him towards—what a fucking surprise—Remy. Who then pulled him into a deep kiss. Right in the hallway.

“Logan! I’ve missed you so much!” Remy squealed, ignoring the way that Logan winced and tried to protest. “Oh my god, I’ve got to show you the dance studio. You’re going to love it.”

And they were gone in a flash.

The weird dressed guy who was always with Logan stepped into Virgil’s line of view with an apologetic smile. “Uh, sorry about Logan, kind sirs. Things are still very wild after the move, though I’m sure you can tell.”

“Yeah…” Virgil said, rubbing his head.

The boy’s eyes flicked to Patton, and he smiled more genuinely. “Nice tutu.”

“Thank you! Uh, I think…” A light dusting of pink spread across Patton’s cheeks, and Virgil was already loathing having to deal with a crushing Patton.

“Of course! Oh, where are my manners? I’m Roman Ellington, Logan Parker’s best friend and manager. You guys can call me The Prince.” He winked at Patton.

Virgil decided that enough was enough. “Yeah, sure thing, Princey. Oh, and you might want to go after Logan. It looked like Remy was planning to drag him to the studio for some, uh, ‘dancing.’”

“Yeah…” Roman winced. “I’ll see you two later, um…?”

“Patton! And this is Virgil.”

Roman took Patton’s hand gently. “Until next time, dear Patton.” Roman kissed the hand as punctuation and walked away.

“Oh my god… Virge, I think I’m in love.”

“Jesus. Come on, Patton. I need to get you to a cold shower before homeroom.”

Part Two

#analogical #royality #sanders sides fic #thomas sanders fic #m writes things #cinderella!au #dance dance fic #virgil sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders

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