#verse: two birds; one destiny

[daughterofhighever-blog]

❛   we’re more ghosts than people.  ❜  

Elissa fiddled with the rim of her cup while she contemplated what her fellow Warden had just said for a moment. Bracing one boot on the edge of the table, she pushed back, tilting and balancing her chair on its back legs.

"True enough, I suppose. Though there are worse things to be."

[nocompromise-noregrets]

Writers' Month 2024 masterlist

Here's the full list of the fics I wrote for @writersmonth this year! The series is here - 40,965 words!

destiny - destiny, unbroken, Tolkien, G, 623 words, Legolas thinks about Aragorn and his destiny, and that he has managed to achieve it against all the odds.

running - run, Tolkien, G, 363 words, the Three Hunters have one goal - to rescue their friends from the Uruk-Hai. There is nothing more they can do for the others, but they can yet help Merry and Pippin - and so they run.

laughter - lost no more, Tolkien, G, 605 words, the twins are reunited with their mother at last.

fairy | stage - light show, Tolkien, G, 295 words, Sigrid stands in the wings, utterly entranced, watching Tauriel and the rest give the show of their lives, lit up by the most spectacular light show Sigrid has ever seen.

choice - really no choice at all, Tolkien, G, 2103 words, a messenger arrives in Rivendell and the twins must make their choice at last.

flame | forest - off his guard, Tolkien, G, 1188 words, Aragorn, camping alone in the wilds and waiting for any sign of the Halfling nearing Bree, suddenly realises he is not alone in the woods.

tattoo parlour - together, completed, Tolkien, G, 453 words, after thirty-odd years, Bard and Thranduil finally manage to make something permanent together.

dawn | castle - away, away, Tolkien, G, 870 words, Legolas stands on the balcony of Imrahil's bedroom and watches a ship sailing North as dawn breaks.

clock | museum - set the record straight, Tudors OT3-'verse, G, 696 words, The weekend after the John Norwich episode airs, Ellie and Ahmed give a talk at the Town House.

season - a little box of salt, Tolkien, G, 1230 words, Sam has lost something dear to him, and Legolas offers to help him get it back.

snow - an ill omen, King Arthur (2004), G, 692 words, the unseasonal snow north of the Wall does not bode well, Gawain thinks.

birds | library - the birds know, Tolkien, G, 707 words, the birds are behaving strangely, the twins notice, in their last weeks in Rivendell, flocking and calling, fluttering from tree to tree, landing sometimes on railings and rooftops, and watching, always watching.

dark - get the real story out, Tudors OT3-'verse, G, 901 words, an actors' panel interview in the OT3-'verse.

college | lonely - all part of the service, original (but Tolkien-adjacent), G, 983 words, Bran has had a very long and trying day; thankfully Rowan is there to make sure he switches off.

glow | lake - the last light of the sun, King Arthur (2004), G, 786 words, there’s a tarn not far from the Wall, where the people of the fortress sometimes go to swim when the weather is too hot to do anything else, and one long summer evening Gawain and Galahad steal away…tonight they don’t want to be disturbed, or to share the water with others.

ache | ship - the last ship to leave Middle-Earth, Tolkien, G, 852 words, the twins, waiting for the last ship to cast off, are in two minds as to whether they're doing the right thing.

red - red, Tolkien, G, 249 words, his cloak is lined with red, the colour of blood; he is all silver, silver and red, ice and blood and a love he can no longer bear to let himself feel.

bell | attic - Edward Bear, Tolkien, G, 1120 words, Tilda has found something in the attic of Greenwood Hall that brings back memories for Thranduil.

chess | park - lucky indeed, Tolkien, G, 1358 words, Thranduil and Elrond mend some fences.

stone - ever further into danger, Tolkien, G, 1973 words, Pippin cannot resist the Seeing Stone.

hospital - in the meantime, you've got me (chapter 1), Tolkien, G, 1381 words, Théoden awakens somewhere he had not expected.

beast - allow the light back in, Tolkien, G, 2816 words, Thranduil senses an intruder in his forest.

lost - in the meantime, you've got me (chapter 2), Tolkien, G, 3038 words, Théoden, Ioreth and Merry talk about many things, including loss, hope, and being far from home - and come up with a way to distract themselves while they wait for events to be decided, and to give two of their loved ones a chance at happiness into the bargain.

petal - golden flowers everywhere, Tolkien, G, 3501 words, Glorfindel's grave, covered in flowers, no longer exists, and its occupant is reborn and returned to Middle-Earth. The earth, trying to catch up, rather overcompensates.

faith, bar - stairs of wood, stairs of stone, Tolkien, G, 1968 words, Hilda talks Bard out of his despair one evening in Lake-town, and a month or so later, in Dale, talks him into accepting what he has achieved, and the light he has found in the darkness.

fur - something to look after, Tolkien, G, 2146 words, on their way back from the Grey Havens, having seen Elrond and Galadriel and the others onto their ship, the twins and Celeborn stumble upon a rather snappy bundle of fluff…

lightning | office - a storm on the horizon, Tolkien, G, 1179 words, Elrond observes a storm on the horizon, just beyond the boundaries of Imladris, while he waits for news of Frodo and the Ring.

sketch | plane - business class, Tolkien, G, 2381 words, Bard, on his first business trip abroad since his wife died, gets an upgrade to business class, where he finds himself sitting next to someone very intriguing indeed.

sense - corridor of stone, Tolkien, G, 453 words, Legolas is the only one who does not feel fear at the thought of entering the Paths of the Dead.

mischief - laughter in the mountains, Tolkien, G, 694 words, rumours begin to reach the Woodland Realm of something in the peaks of the Misty Mountains, mysterious disembodied laughter - or is it a lament?

double - Wayward Nephews, Tolkien, G, 3359 words, Ioreth has well and truly adopted the twins.

Thank you as always to the @writersmonth mods, and to everyone who prompted me, commented, bookmarked and kudos'd - I have had a whale of a time and I couldn't have done it without you! <33333

[dalgursbate]

make a mess, lioness (1/1)

Summary:

It's much easier to get the upper hand in a negotiation when you're the one on top. Or, Tav reads Raphael's diaries.

WC: 3,173 Pairing: Raphael/Tav Rating: E

Raphael knows how to wait.

The most intoxicating sins are those left to ferment, after all, to grow sweet with the flavor of futile remorse.

He smirks as he watches her leave, trailed after by her little party of yapping dogs. What pity that a soul as ripe as hers keeps such underwhelming company. In his mind, he is already rewriting their witless objections to his deal in verse: Oh, please, mistress Tav, how we beg you not sign – it’s the fate of your soul and the world on the line!

But she, oh, she is clever. Raphael knows she is. Clever enough to return to him, pen in hand, to take his deal and seal his destiny as the Archdevil Supreme of the Nine Hells. The mere thought of it is enough to make his toes curl.

Once he has the Crown of Karsus in hand, he thinks he will dine with her. For a mortal, he finds her to be surprisingly… tolerable. Perhaps she might even have a tale interesting enough to be worthy of his impeccable authorship. The smile on his face stretches a little wider.

Yes, right up until the end of the world, he will wait for her return. The quick sparrow may be able to fill its belly, but the patient cat will still catch it.

Raphael has never been so happy to be proven right as he watches Tav cross the threshold into his room once again, naught but two nights later. He is especially pleased to see that she has arrived alone. The little sorcerer has doffed her armor, electing instead for a tight outfit that boasts a rather plunging neckline. Clearly she is intending to talk, then, rather than fight. How utterly delicious .

He wonders if perhaps she had come prepared to enjoy the services of Sharess’ Caress, given the amount of smooth, dark skin she has left on display. Whatever the reason, Raphael finds he can’t complain. He is simply too delighted at how quickly she has succumbed to the temptation of his offer.

He smiles at her in the only way he knows how – devilishly.

“Ah,” Raphael sighs indulgently, “The curtains have drawn, but which play shall we stage?” The lyric dances off his tongue, and he finds himself repressing the urge to circle her like prey. “The one where the bird flies, or stays in its cage?”

“Cute,” she replies, unimpressed (feigning it, obviously), and as he watches her he sees the effort she has clearly put into her appearance tonight: hair neatly pulled back and a subtle black pigment smudged artfully around her eyes. Lips especially glossy. Part of him hopes that the foolish little girl has dolled herself up on his behalf, rather than for an evening of pleasure in the brothel he has made his office; how easy it would be, then, to persuade her to sign. Tav continues, “how long did you spend practicing that, exactly?”

“Little mouse, with you, the rhymes simply jump off my lips,” Raphael says easily, gesturing smoothly with one arm as he does so. “Do tell, have you finally been made to see reason?”

“Oh, I certainly have,” Tav replies, smirking, and she takes a deliberate step forward. Interesting, he thinks, that she seems so cocky. Interesting and annoying. “And I’m ready for you to give me the Orphic Hammer.”

“Marvelous,” Raphael says, and claps once. “I always knew you were clever. Then let us skip straight to dessert, shall we? All I require is your signature.”

“Hmm,” Tav hums in faux consideration, that infuriating smirk still gracing her lips. She clasps her hands behind her back and takes another, swaying slightly as she steps forward, moving toward him in a teasing, girlish manner. “No, I don’t think I’ll be signing anything, actually.”

“Hah!” Raphael barks a laugh, his good mood quickly becoming replaced by irritation. “Don’t tell me you think you’re going to fight me for it?” He expected more from her.

“Don’t be foolish. Of course not,” Tav says, voice playful and condescending as though she knows something that Raphael does not. She continues moving toward him, slowly, deliberately, looking for all the world as though she lacks any sort of fear or respect for the devil in front of her.

When she is about a foot away from him, Raphael finally smells it. 

“You little rat, you reek of the House of Hope!” He snarls, his face contorting quickly into a mask of anger and loathing. The pieces slide into place for him, and he goes from irritated to livid in a single moment. “What, did you steal it and come here to mock me, you contemptible little wretch? Surely even you wouldn’t be so stup–”

Tav interrupts him with a finger to his lips, and he silences himself in surprise. He hadn’t realized that she had gotten so close to him, standing only a scant few inches away.

“No, why on earth would I do that?” Tav asks, still grinning despite Raphael’s blatant fury. She drops her hand, moving it to rest on his chest, and leans forward, her breath ghosting his ear. “I would much rather have you beg for the privilege of giving it to me,” she whispers.

“I–you–why,” Raphael splutters, and he suspects his face might be beginning to turn purple. “What in the Hells do you mean by that? Just what did you take from me?”

“Nothing, Raphael,” Tav laughs against his ear. The feeling of her hot breath tickling the skin of his neck sends a shiver of disgust through him, and his vision almost goes white with rage. “But I did read your diary.”

“You–you read–I,” his brain takes a second to catch up to his mouth, the words tripping over his tongue clumsily in a manner unbefitting of his station. He pauses long enough to breathe and consider her words. So she had read his diary? That alone was reason enough to burn her into an ash so fine it could be used as planting soil, but he still didn’t understand. “And, what, you think you can blackmail me?” Raphael asks, huffing a scoff laced with antipathy. “Nice try, little mouse.”

“Can you really not tell?” Tav pulls back to stare at him incredulously. Then, her face shifts again and she is looking at him from under her lashes, eyes half-closed and smirk once more on her face. “No, I think I can seduce you.” The hand on his chest shifts so that she can trail one finger slowly down his doublet.

Once more, Raphael laughs, and finds his anger dissipating somewhat as he realizes he still has control of the situation. My, she really is foolish. But, he has to know, “What, exactly, makes you think this idiotic plan will work?”

“So many of your entries were about me, Raphael,” Tav smiles sweetly, almost pityingly, and Raphael has to smother the snarl that longs to return to his lips. “ Never have I been so attracted to a mortal,” she recites, quirking an eyebrow. 

“I didn’t mean it like that, you imbecilic creature!”

“Gods, it was chock full of words like ‘quiver,’ ‘squirm,’ ‘writhe,’” she continues as though he hadn’t spoken. Her obvious amusement makes him long to throttle her, to silence the inane drivel that is pouring out of her mouth. But she just keeps talking. “Mentions of tastes to savor,” she purrs, before snorting, and he decides that he is going to kill her as slowly as possible, actually. “Raphael, there were metaphorical references to sperm. Dreams about me, even. I’m flattered, really, that you want to be the one to rescue me.” 

She pauses then, to look at him with genuine curiosity. “Or did you not realize how badly you want me?”

“You think very highly of yourself, mortal. As though I would ever deign to bed you.” Raphael is shaking now, spitting out the words through gritted teeth, practically apoplectic and barely managing to stop from launching himself at the girl.

“Oh?” Tav asks, and leans back toward his ear. “Then why haven’t you pushed me away yet?” And the fingers dragging over his chest continue their path down his stomach, dipping ever lower until the tips of them reach the hem of his trousers and push just underneath, brushing against his abdomen.

“I–” Raphael starts, before realizing that he doesn’t actually have an answer for that. He frantically searches his mind for a justification, for anything that explains why he is letting her touch him like this.

Tav curls her fingers to scrape her nails lightly over his skin, teasing him, and raises her eyebrows in an insulting mimicry of innocence. “If you want me to stop, I will.”

By the Hells, why can’t he make himself say anything? Why is he not putting an end to this? Raphael swears that he will stop at nothing to claim her soul so he can punish her for this indignity for all eternity.

Her deft fingers unbutton him. “I need an answer, Raphael. Do you want me to stop?” He is horrified to feel himself growing hard as Tav runs her fingers along the waistband of his smallclothes. 

Make that two eternities.

“No, damn you,” Raphael hisses, and then swears as she cups him through his briefs.

“Good boy,” Tav smiles, and Raphael thinks he would have preferred it if she had just killed him. That would have been less humiliating than the way a shiver runs through him at her words. And then he thinks of almost nothing at all as she pushes his clothes down his thighs just far enough to wrap her hand around him.

The drag of her fingers up and down his shaft is light, teasing, enough to drive him mad but not enough to offer any satisfaction. He distantly hears somebody whimper and the blood rushes to his face as he realizes it was him.

He does not have time to dwell on it, because Tav is lowering to her knees, smiling up at him while her lashes flutter prettily, and oh . Yes, Raphael likes the sight of that. Likes it so much his heart pounds with it. Likes it so much his cock twitches in her hand.

Tav grins triumphantly, but mercifully says nothing before licking slowly up the length of him. She runs her tongue over the tip, circling, before sucking it into her mouth. Raphael’s hand moves to her hair without his permission, and he finds himself tangling his fingers in her updo. He does not push, just enjoys the feeling of her soft tresses against his fingertips. For an absurd, repulsive moment he longs to card them through the strands, wants to pet her like some beloved cat.

She continues to tease him, alternating between sucking on the head of his cock and showering his shaft with little licks and kisses. Impatient as he to feel her hot, wet mouth engulf his cock, the sight of her like this — lavishing attention on him in an almost adoring manner, eyes closed and long lashes fanning out over her cheeks — is breathtaking.

Maybe, Raphael thinks, he will not torture her for eternities after all. It seems there may yet be better reasons to keep her soul.

Then, Tav opens her eyes to meet his, bright with mischief, and sucks him down to the base. Raphael curses, hand fisting in her hair, and at the roughness of it she lets out a little moan that he can feel, Gods.

His hips buck inadvertently, and Tav just takes it, so good and so perfect, and as his grip on her hair loosens she begins bobbing her head up and down in earnest.

Hells, he is not going to last long.

Tav must realize that too, because she pulls off and leaves him bereft, the cool air of the room brisk against his damp skin.

“Would you like me to ride you?” she asks, as though it is merely an innocent question and not, Raphael thinks, possibly the only thing he is ever going to want for the rest of his life. This stupid, clever sorcerer, and her stupid, perfect mouth. Her stupid righteousness and the stupid, innate magic that emanates off of her impressively. And stupid, stupid him, for letting himself become her gods damned fool without even realizing it.

“Yes,” he bites out, and tells himself it sounds more authoritative than desperate.

“Strip, and get on the bed, then.” 

Raphael does, quickly, and by the time he is lying flat on his back, head propped up by the pile of plush pillows,  he sees that she has removed her clothing as well. And dignity be damned, because he cannot help how gorgeous he finds her. How his eyes rake hungrily over her perky breasts and the dark, hardened points of her nipples, over the taut musculature of her powerful body, over the delicious curve of her shapely ass. 

Tav allows him to stare at her for a moment before she approaches  him. She gets on top of him in a smooth, practiced motion, and uses a hand to position the tip of his cock at her entrance.

Gods, she is so very wet . 

Raphael takes some solace in the fact that his unseemly lust is apparently reciprocated, before he begins to grow impatient as Tav remains still above him.

“Well?” he asks, petulant.

Tav shifts her hips then, rubbing him along the slick heat of her. Teasing her clit with the head. She throws her head back for a moment with a gasp before returning her gaze to him. The look in her eyes is very serious, even as she bites her lip and uses him to pleasure herself.

“You know what I want.”

“You can’t be serious,” Raphael protests, because she can’t . The little tramp can’t do this to him. He will not allow it.

“Oh, but I am. Give me the Orphic Hammer, and I will ride you so filthily they will have to invent a tenth hell,” and Raphael can’t do anything but close his eyes and groan at the mental image that conjures. He takes a deep breath to calm himself, opening his eyes and leveling her with a glare.

“No.”

“Okay,” Tav says simply, shrugging a little, and begins to climb off of him. Raphael’s hand fly to her hips, instinctively trying to drag her back onto him.

“Wait, wait–”

Tav merely raises a single eyebrow and continues to pull away. “It’s really quite simple, Raphael. If you want me to fuck you, you’re going to give me the Hammer.”

“I–” Raphael starts, and curses her internally. Who knew the little mouse would play so very dirty? He thinks that underestimating her might just be the gravest mistake he’s ever made. “Fine, fine, just get back here.”

She doesn’t. A slow smile grows on her lips. “So, just to be clear of the terms here, you’ll give me the Hammer if I bounce up and down on your cock?”

Must she be so crass? It is extremely distracting. “Fuck, Gods, yes, just come here, you blasted tease.”  Somehow, he is even more ashamed of himself for being brought so low as to swear aloud than he is for giving up his precious bargaining chip.

Tav returns to her position above him, and once more he can feel the warm, wet promise of her dripping cunt against the head of his cock. She braces herself with one arm to the side of his head, and he thinks that finally, finally she will fulfill her end their contract.

But she doesn’t, leaning down to brush a feather-light kiss against his lips instead. Something in his chest tightens.

“Say please,” she whispers against his mouth.

Raphael is going to have an aneurysm.

“Please,” he begs, and Tav takes enough mercy on him to finally sink down, slowly, onto his cock. He cries out at the feel of her, how gloriously tight she is. The walls of her sex flutter around him as he stretches her out, and he takes a moment to be thankful that all she wants is the Hammer. Raphael does not think he would be able to deny her anything right now.

As she seats herself against him, Raphael’s hands flex where they still grasp her hips.

Tav kisses him again, like she means it this time, deep and passionate and filthy. Raphael moans into her mouth, helpless to do anything but kiss her back. Later, he will seriously need to figure out who, exactly, this woman is and what it is that makes her so special. But for now, he cannot even string together a semi-coherent thought. 

Tav ends the kiss and pulls away to begin riding him, slowly at first and then in earnest. She plants her hands on his chest, nails digging into his skin as she angles her hips so that he slams into the most sensitive parts of her. She throws her head back as sweet, plaintive moans erupt from her throat, and Raphael wonders if he could craft a spell that might allow him to capture those sounds in a bottle so he can drink them in forever.

Raphael can sense his release building, quickly, and he wants to tell her to slow down, wants her to let him savor this for as long as possible, but the pace she sets is brutal and unforgiving and too, too good. His orgasm washes over him and he cries out, shuddering as Tav squeezes rhythmically to milk as much spend from his cock as possible.

Tav climbs off of him once more. Raphael watches, speechless, as she swipes two fingers through the mess he made inside her and sucks them into her mouth. His cock twitches with vain interest at the sight of it, too drained to do anything more.

“Mmm,” she hums. “You taste good, you know.”

Raphael isn’t even sure how to categorize the noise that leaves his mouth.

“Anyway, I’m headed off back to the House of Hope to collect my earnings,” Tav says nonchalantly, seemingly unruffled by what was, for Raphael, completely life-changing. She begins to dress herself. “Besides, I promised Haarlep I’d come back anyway so he could take my form. In return for the diaries, I mean.”

A rush of warring emotions fills Raphael at once. Fury at the betrayal and a ghoulish sort of possessiveness over Tav, primarily, but there is also no small amount of joy at the thought that he will have access to her body in perpetuity through his incubus. And that he will get to cum again through Haarlep’s use of her.

Tav begins to leave, and Raphael lets her. He is powerless to stop her. But as she reaches the door, she spares one last look back at him.

“Oh, and when this whole business with the brain is sorted out, maybe we could get dinner.”

Raphael swallows. Nods.

He is so entirely, utterly fucked.

[rantsandsparkles]

My Most Anticipated Movies of 2023

Honorable mentions that didn’t make my list in no particular order : Killers of the Flower Moon (if it actually comes about this year. how many years have we been saying this is coming out?!), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Napoleon, John Wick 4,  and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. And now to my top 10! 

10) Barbie

A lot of people are losing their shit over Barbie. I didn’t really care until I saw the photos of Ryan Gosling as Ken. I’m not the biggest fan of Greta Gerwig, I mostly enjoyed Little Women (although I am still BAFFLED at her decision to make it seem like Jo decided to be with Laurie and then got rejected like umm what ?!) , wasn’t too crazy about Lady Bird. And I won’t get into her non-performance in White Noise lol, but  she is a competent director so I’m intrigued. I think Blake Lively would have made a better “Barbie” but Margot Robbie is always delightful so I’m looking forward to this one.

9)  Creed III

I’ve never seen any of the Rocky movies, but for some reason I watched the first two Creeds, and I liked them both. Jonathan Majors looks isancely ripped in this trailer and yes i’m shallow enough to let that be enough to get my butt in the seat lol.  But more seriously, this is Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut and I’m very excited to see his directing chops.

8) Wonka

I am still scratching my head over who at Warner Brothers decided to cast Timothlee Chalamet as a Wonka, and make by default a Wonka that fucks. But here we are. When I heard about this casting news a couple years ago I literally said ‘wtf’ out loud, but when I saw the pictures I was sold. He has that mischevious Wonka smirk down pat. I am a little nervous about this after hearing the reaction to the footage that played at CinemaCon , and I’m like one of the few people on earth that didn’t love the Paddington movies, so the Paul King element isn’t comforting to me. But I’m excited to see Timmy in a musical. And the goddess Olivia Colman gushed about his performance, so I have faith.  Although if the rumors are true that it was between him and Tom Holland , and Timmy isn’t good in this I will be so upset.

7) Oppenheimer 

This cast list is insane, and the fact that he allegedly got to set of an actual nuke is absurd and suck a yep Christopher Nolan still a jackass thing to do lol.  Don’t know much about the plot, and haven’t read the book, but looking forward to this one for sure. 

Its also fun that this movie is coming out same day as Barbie. That is going to be a wild double feature day 

6) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

James Gunn’s first Guardians of the Galaxy is probably my favorite of the MCU movies. The second one , was uh , definitely not. I’m hoping that the trilogy ends on a high note and this one captures more of the charm from the first. Even if its bad, I know at least it will have a killer soundtrack. 

5) The Super Mario Bros. Movie 

I know the internet hates Chris Pratt , but I still like him. I think if he was truly a trash person then his co-stars wouldn’t speak of him so highly, and I’ll take the word of people that actually know someone over the opinion of the internet any day. But with that being said , I think it is almost INSANE that he was cast as Mario. Like it makes me laugh every time I think about it. I think its hilarious that multiple studio execs agreed , “yep, he’s our Mario.” I have no idea what this movie is going to be about and I don’t care, just going in with zero exception

4) Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Ant Man’s Scott Lang is one of my favorite of the marvel characters and I really enjoyed Jonathan Majors’ Kang in Loki. I’m excited to see what’ll happen in this one and hopefully it’ll have better muliverse content than DS Multiverse of Madness. I have to admit however that the trailers have been disappointing in terms of visuals - I’m not paticialry looking forward to an entire movie essentially filmed in the volume.

3) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lsFs2615gw

The fact that this movie’s title is Mission colon  Impossible dash Dead Reckoning Part One is ridiulous , and I hope the movie is just as ridiculous lol Tom Cruise is a freak of nature , and seeing this clip in Imax last month got me hyped. And anything with Rebecca Ferguson? Absolutely. 

2) Challengers 

Zendaya as a milf in a love triangle with Josh O’Connor and Mike Fiast? Ummmm Sign me the fuck up.  I will admit though I am nervous about this movie though because I didn’t love the script that was posted online, and although I know he’s widely known and respected as a great auteur filmmaker , I can’t say that I’ve ever really loved any of the Luca Guadagnino’s films that I’ve seen. I’m hoping that Zendaya gets to play this as a femme fatale kind of sex bomb character, and that it cements her as a movie star that can open a big movie. 

1) Dune Part 2 

I have truly have no idea why, but I have become almost obsessed with Dune over the past year. I watched it when it came out in 2021 and I thought it was fine , but I didn’t have an urge to revisit it. Then all of a sudden I got an urge to to watch Dune and after seeing it again I got really into the story. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Denis has planned for the second part of this adaptation, particialuar how he’s going to handle the trippy spice /water of life stuff, how they’re going to do Alia, ect. And everything the cast had crew has said about part 2 , that its bigger more cinematic etc has me so excited. And it seems like ever day we are getting another 🤯 cast announcment. I’m counting down the days for this one - November can’t get hear soon enough :) 

[storm-and-starlight]

Death and Destiny, Heroics and Heartbreak

(It’s onion)

Second verse, same as the first.

Beginning / Read on AO3!

2

He doesn’t die.

Instead, he spends a long and rather damp night leaning back against Geralt’s shoulder while the rain continues, slipping in and out of an uncomfortable doze while Geralt meditates behind him and Roach occasionally makes displeased noises about the water dripping onto her.

In the morning, he extracts himself from the tangle of fabric and rushes to change out of his still-damp doublet into a slightly-less-damp one, keeping his mouth shut because he’s not entirely sure that any words he tries to say wouldn’t come out as some variation on “gods just fuck me already,” and that would be guaranteed to send Geralt running for the hills.

After all, Jaskier has been flirting with the man for two years now, and he’s gotten barely a twitch in response. And he really, really doesn’t want to risk being left behind on the gamble that Geralt would take him at his word.

Geralt, true to form, never says a word about much of anything beyond blunt contradictions whenever Jaskier says something blatantly untrue, and they… don’t talk about it. They never talk about things like this -- not the time that Jaskier spent sweating and praying to gods he barely worships that Geralt wouldn’t bleed out from the cuts of a wyvern’s claws, and not the times they’ve had to sleep back to back because the inn they were staying at didn’t have a spare bed, or it was cheaper to share, or simply because it was cold enough that another body under the blankets was the only thing making it bearable...

They don’t talk about a lot of things, really.

They keep right on not talking about it until they’re in the middle of Velen at the end of autumn, making their way north so Jaskier can hole up in Novigrad for the winter and Geralt can… disappear to wherever it is he disappears to when the snows come. Some city in Kaedwen or other, though why anyone would want to winter in Kaedwen of all places is beyond Jaskier. Not even the Kaedweni want to winter in Kaedwen -- they all go south for the horse fairs instead, like a bunch of birds or something.

Velen, though, is a shithole of a place in a shithole of a country -- Temeria’s been plagued by insecurity for years now, some… unrest in the capitol or other, and there’re rumors of something dark at the heart of the bog that would make for an excellent ballad if it weren’t for the fact that Jaskier is currently in the middle of said bog and those rumors are beginning to feel very much like fact.

The ominous splashing noises coming from around the lonely patch of dry ground they’ve camped on aren’t helping either.

“Drowners,” Geralt says when Jaskier asks him, and goes back to pointedly sharpening both his swords. “They’re common here.”

Commoner than everywhere else? Jaskier wants to ask, because sometimes it feels like half the contracts Geralt takes are clearing infestations of drowners out of the local millpond or wherever, but the quantity of splashes here is significantly more than he’s heard anywhere else, and it goes on all night.

The quickest way through the bog is right on through the heart of it, across a series of old rotting bridges that some ancient king had built and then forgot about, but they’re sturdy enough as long as you go one at a time. At all other times, Jaskier sticks as close to Geralt as humanly possible, sheltering behind the reassuring bulk of his shoulders.

There’s an eerie humming sound coming from up ahead now, like the beating of thousands and thousands of tiny wings, and Geralt clicks Roach to a stop, even though they’re standing in ankle-deep water near the edge of a deeper channel, one that Jaskier’s sure he’s seen stark white eyes in from time to time.

Goddess, this place is creepy.

“Wait here,” Geralt says, unnecessarily, and hauls open one of the saddlebags, the one they (well, it used to be Geralt, and then Jaskier kept sneaking his in until Geralt gave up on tossing them back out) keep all their clothes in. He digs through the layers, ignoring Jaskier’s protests -- he’s wrinkling things! -- and tugs out an old black shirt of his own.

“Put this on.”

“Hang on, sorry, what?”

He shakes the shirt at Jaskier, as though that will somehow make the too-large, worn-through, dirty piece of clothing more attractive.

“You need to wear this.”

Jaskier blinks. “Geralt,” he says slowly, because he’s really not sure what’s going on here, “I have a shirt. I’m wearing it.”

“‘S not what it’s for,” and is that a faint trace of embarrassment Jaskier detects? “Your scent.”

“My scent.”

“It’s human.”

“Geralt, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m human. I’d be more surprised if it wasn’t.”

Geralt huffs, locks his jaw, looks away and then back again. “You smell human. Like something to be hunted.”

“And wearing your shirt will somehow fix that.”

“You’ll smell like me,” and oh fuck, Jaskier hadn’t realized that was a turn-on before now but it really, really is, Melitele’s heaving bosom it is, and now he’s having to rest his arm casually onto Roach’s neck for support because his knees have turned to jelly.

“Most monsters avoid witchers if they can, and if you smell like one--” Geralt is saying, and oh, that makes… sense, actually.

“Right, right. Yeah,” and he holds his hand out for the shirt, trying to surreptitiously slow his heartrate down. “I’ll, uh, I’ll go do that, right-- right away,” and then he realizes that there isn’t anywhere else to go change out of doublet and undershirt into Geralt’s fucking shirt, and yes, he’s been shirtless in front of the witcher before, he’s not that prudish, but there’s a difference between stripping down to smalls in the dark to sleep in and between changing into Geralt’s shirt after being informed it would make Jaskier smell like him.

A very, very big difference.

“Right,” he says, and looks at the shirt. “Um. Turn around.”

“Hm?”

“Turn-- turn around, I’m not changing while you watch, I do have some self-respect.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Geralt says, but he turns around anyway.

Jaskier wiggles out of his own shirt and into Geralt’s as fast as humanly possible, and it-- it really does smell like him, sweat and leather and horse and something hazy and musky and deep underneath all of that that brings to mind cold nights spent curled up underneath Geralt’s cloak and the warmth of him at his back when there’s only one bed, and he’s not going to survive this, is he.

“Jaskier!” Geralt snaps, and Jaskier whips around, because that tone of voice only shows up when there’s something big and toothy and mean in the immediate vicinity, but there’s nothing he can see, only the dead quiet of the bog and that same eerie humming from up above.

“Get on Roach.”

“What?”

“Now,” and oh, that’s not good, so he hoists himself up onto Roach’s back (she barely flicks her ears back at him, too concerned with whatever it is that Geralt also noticed and that’s really not a good sign) and they set off at a bouncy trot over the softened mud, Geralt jogging along beside while the silence grows deeper behind them and the humming gets louder.

Geralt is noticeably getting more tense, until they cross some invisible barrier and he relaxes all at once, breathing in deep and slowing Roach, flicking a glance over his shoulder before he looks up at Jaskier, clinging to the loose fabric of his shirt like a lifeline.

“Geralt?”

“We’re safe. It won’t enter the territory of a pixie nest.”

“That's, uh good-- hang- hang on, did you say pixies? The, the little buzzy fairies that little girls like to pretend they danced with in the garden?”

“Yes, and they’d rather rip that girl to shreds than play with her.”

Jaskier gulps, abruptly reevaluating his life choices.

“They’re carnivorous,” Geralt continues obliviously, “and they work in packs. They hunt by scent, mostly, though they’re not above tracking you by ear. A lone pixie is easy enough to kill, but you’ll never find a lone pixie.”

“Right. And we’re not going to get torn to shreds by an angry pack of fairies because…”

“They won’t attack a witcher unless I harm their nest.”

“And I smell like you.”

“You do,” Geralt says, and there’s an unfamiliar rasp in his voice. He won���t look at Jaskier but his nostrils are still flaring like he’s trying to catch a scent of some sort, track a beast to its lair and kill it.

It is, frankly, unfairly attractive.

Roach walks on, plodding over marshy ground and the occasional small stream, and it’s not long before the background humming becomes an up-close buzzing and a tiny greyish blur comes darting out from between the trees, wings a humming drone like the world’s largest mosquito and ten times more ominous. Jaskier holds very, very still.

It whips around him in a blur, the whine of its -- their? Her? Do pixies even have genders or are they just things -- wings drawing goosebumps up along his skin, and then flits away back into the murky greenness between the trees like it was never there.

The corner of Geralt’s mouth is drawn back in the faintest of smiles, and for a heartbeat, he rests one warm palm along Jaskier’s leg, reassurance, or-- or something, Jaskier can’t think what because all of a sudden every ounce of rational brain he contains has disappeared in favor of focusing on the fading heat of Geralt’s hand on his leg.

Oh, Melitele, he’s well and truly fucked.

Previous / Next

[insomniiyac]

New Demon Slayer OC: Iniku Tilahun! She is an Ethiopian woman who saved her three students from forced marriage. Bio is subject to updates:

Iniku Tilahun (イニクチラフン)

Weapon: Naginata

Bird: Red-cheeked Cordon Bleu Finch

Breathing Style: Breath of Sand

“Breath of Sand is a Breathing Style that mimics sand, specifically the carefree and loose but earthly strong nature. Most techniques and form utilize the weight of their weapon and winding motions to thorough out their attacks. This Breathing Style is indeed similar to Stone Breathing with the carefree nature of Wind Breathing…”- [https://kimetsu-no-yaiba-fanon.fandom.com/wiki/Breath_of_The_Sand ]

(Forms coming soon…)

Basic Information

Age: 22 (Chapter 1) ; 25 (As of Chapter 28)

Height: 154cm (5’0”)

Weight: 65kg (144lbs)

Birthday: February 23

“I’ve freed you all from a life of eternal servitude. Whether you choose to walk with me down the path of a demon slayer or turn away to pursue your own destiny is up to you. It’s your life to live- live for you.”

Iniku to her students

Personality

Maternal. Very calm and focused. (Has to be due to the nature of her style). Very wise for her age. (People often forget she’s only 22.) Patient and appreciative of nature and kindness. Highly intelligent.

Can be impulsive. Stubborn. Takes too many liberties with her power/position. Anger clouds her judgement and is currently learning to think of the future, not just the present.

Backstory

Iniku Tilahun was first born in Somali, Ethiopia to a medic mother and a father, trained to fight demons after being attacked by a demon in Japan and being recognized for his skills.

Her mother worked from home which also served as a local clinic while her father traveled back and forth to and from Japan as one of Ethiopia’s diplomats.

Her father took two Red-cheeked Cordon Bleu Finchs with him on the way. After being trained by the former Stone Hashira, he developed his own style: Sand Breathing, which combined the might of the earth with the carefree elements of the wind. As much as he wanted to stay and help, he had to return home, but left his finches as a parting gift. When the time comes though, he planned on passing down his teachings to his firstborn and return once things were settled in his homeland.

She had five younger brothers and sisters who lived with them. They were relatively well-off and Iniku was taught basic medicine by her mother while also training to learn Sand Breathing for her father to pass down the style in hopes to go back and help Japan with demons.

As a young girl, she was regarded as a prodigy; being well-versed in multiple languages, learning medicine, and learning Sand Breathing from young. She retained information very easily and this was encouraged by tutors who would visit the home.

At the age of 11, Iniku found herself battling against a stray demon who found their way inside the clinic. Unfortunately, the demon managed the to get the jump on her father, so he succumbed to his injuries. The rest of her family were killed.

She was sent to an orphanage to stay until she was adopted by a “family” who were human traffickers in disguise. She was then forcefully married off at the age of 13.

She endured abuse in the “marriage” for a little over two years up until she poisoned and killed her husband to get out.

At 15, she ran off and joined a group of freedom fighters dedicated to freeing other children from human trafficking. With her expertise in medicine and Sand Breathing techniques, she was a great asset and taught the other fighters many things. The freedom fighters, in turn, had ties to other groups in Japan dedicated to the same causes. Iniku would serve as a diplomat, taking her father’s role of visiting Japan and exchanging information with the Hashiras and other groups. Because of her father’s goodwill, she was invited to return at her own leisure at any time.

At the age of 18, she came across three girls; ages 9, 10, and 14, who looked visibly distressed while she was patrolling a neighborhood that her group took over. While speaking to the girls, she would learn that they, too, were adopted from an orphanage to be sold off to marriage. After seeing bruising on the smallest one, over time, she made a plan.

She swept in at dark, escorting the three girls out and having them hide nearby. Then one by one, she went into each room and killed every adult figure the girls either mentioned or saw that handled them roughly/made them uncomfortable. And with that, she took her girls and left. Those three girls were Fana, Tsehay, and Lidiya; and would soon become her students.

While traveling, she would teach them how to read, write, and speak different languages: most notably Japanese for that was their destination. She also passed down the teachings of Sand Breathing and medicine from both parents, respectively. Lidiya so far is the only one that can actively use Sand Breathing at a basic level. Tsehay has a natural affinity to learning medicine and Fana is still finding her footing.

When she reached Japan, she immediately left the girls her entire life savings and instructed them to live their lives if she doesn’t return in a couple of days. And with that, she headed off to try and complete the Final Selection.

She managed to pass and become an official demon slayer! Kaguya seemed to recognize her as the daughter of someone special because a certain bird came to her: a Red-cheeked Cordon Bleu Finch who introduced himself as “Tej”.

She happily returned to her girls with great news! As of current, she’s a Hashira.

Relationships

Tomioka Giyuu

“If your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe full of beaches.”

Tomioka and Iniku met when they were paired to go on a mission together. She was of Hinoe ranking at the time, but Tomioka found himself impressed with her prowess although his face never reflected it.

During their travels, Iniku opened up about her family and survivor’s guilt- something that she had no idea that Tomioka went through. It took a long, long time for him to open up but he finally did! Iniku’s patience and maternal energy comforted him. Besides, she was, like, the one Hashira that didn’t dislike him.

Iniku’s a HUGE romantic, so the fact that Giyuu is non-emotive does bother her. She’s willing to be patient and to accept him for who he is and to meet him halfway. (Though, she’ll give him a little push if need be). She’s often the one to initiate small touches, kisses, and other physical affections.

Giyuu’s love language is acts of service, so he expresses himself by doing things for her. He’s very attentive to her needs and is an amazing listener. He rarely needs to be told to do things twice. He’s not much of a speaker, but he enjoys being in her presence.

Shinobu Kocho

“Hi Iniku~! Let’s ditch that loser and go out to the bathhouse, yeah?”

One of the first friends Iniku made coming to Japan. She allowed her three girls to stay at the Butterfly Mansion to study higher forms of medicine and help injured Demon Slayers.

(More to come)

Her Students:

Lidiya Hirut

Tsehay Dawit

Fana Belaynesh

[froppy-butterflyfan2000]

For Denki What is their darkest childhood memory?

.......Wow, ok then. I will tell you his darkest childhood memories he have.

Warnings: Kidnap + hostage, animal death, bullying, and transgender hate crime are mention. So if anyone is reading this, avoid it. This ask is a fictional character in a fictional next gen verse created by @princess-lunalu. The verse contains serious topics and themes so be warn.

It was suppose to be a great memorial trip for the Deols to the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, Goa. (Denki love birds. His father gave him a book about birds on his 8th birthday and give facts about them. The Deol Family used to have a pet parrot too.) Denki would have get to see woodpeckers, sandpipers, cormorants, white egrets, malabar trogons and drongos. However they die out, and the surviving newborn chicks are quickly transfer to reservoir because the usage of modern mobile phones, from which the radiation affected the brains of birds and caused mass deaths. (Since the technology are advancing, cities like Townsville and Mumbai are advanced and alot of tech companies like telecom.) There was court investigation on the mass deaths of the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary's Birds, and the investigation ound no violations because telecom companies reduced signal levels prior to government tests to conceal wrongdoing. Denki was heartbroken over what happened. That why Denki is a huge support on having less cell towers in Townsville and eliminate excess cell towers in Mumbai to reduce and control cell phone radiation and ensure that technology does not threaten the lives of living beings. It is why Denki would cancel any electronic his siblings and cousins are using to limits their screentime because he is afraid their health will get worst by the radiation. He is the one to be worry about their health. For example, if he seen Destiny getting headaches when going out and find out that Destiny is staring at the computer screen for too long that he cancel the computer and try to commits her into outdoor activities and reading.

When Momoko was born and Denki was six, they were kidnapped and held as hostages by none other than Lord Balarama, a villain who escape from the heroes rounding up almost all the villains in the world (like Vlad Masters) & crime mob boss well feared and known in India's mob circles for assassinating all the affilated crime bosses in India. They been held in a dark room with no windows and only a chair and crib for two whole weeks. They would have been goners if his parents, Aunt Bubbles, Neel Shaara, Debrii (Deborah Fields), and Indian Taskforce saving them. After his arrest, Lord Balamaja lost his affiliated territories and those who are connected to him either disappear or arrested too. Momoko does not remeber this because she was only a baby, but Denki who moved on from this childhood trauma, will be scare of being in a dark and small space.

When Momoko gotten bullied at one point just because she of her identity of being transfemale. At one point when they threw stones at her, Denki beaten up her bullies till his prosthetic hands are covered in blood. It was after he gave Momoko an advice to take action and be strong, he cannot stand her crying and felt that she did not fully accept it at all. Do not worry the bullies are alive, they just learnt their lesson and bullied Momoko less when Denki isn't with her.

Momoko Deol belongs to @cooltmoney95.

Destiny Grey belongs to @princess-lunalu.

[whitherliliesbloom]

FFXIVWRITE2021 ☆ MY FILLS ☆ PROMPT LIST ☆ AO3 MIRROR (tba)

// COMPLETED! //

total word count: 52,093 words (including bonus) longest fill: fate matrix [5,241 words] shortest fill: sins of the spectator [537 words]

personal favorites: 03 scale - heartbeat concerto 05 fate - fate matrix 14 commend - lights, camera, duty commenced 17 destruct - when the light blinds 22 fluster - in the eyes of the beholder 23 soul - your voice will save me 29 debonair - all like magic to my riddled heart 31 nocturne - to the moon and back

01 FOSTER - taming the stray kayelily // post-shb // 888 words lily still remembers how kaye’s eyes had looked 7 summers ago, when it was filled with naught but distrust and contempt for the world

02 ABERRANT- style over shadow drk npcs // post-shb // 1,037 words sidurgu convinces himself that the black chunks of metal suited the warrior of light far more than pastel pink frills and flowers. rielle is more than eager to dispute that

03 SCALE - heartbeat concerto alphinaudxwol // nodame cantabile au // 2,605 words illya prays to the heavens that the man beside her does not hear the fortissimo that was her pounding heart.

04 BALEFUL - in scornful eyes wol, gaius & alisaie // post-sb // 838 words gaius van baelsar did not fear death, but it didn’t make the warrior of light’s glare, full of seething hatred and fury any less frightening

05 FATE (free) - fate matrix alphinaudxwol // fate matrix au // 5,241 words in a world where the hands of destiny are ones and zeros, at the center of the matrix was a little goddess who would soon find out that she too, isn’t immune to the pull of fate

06 AVATAR - discord-ance spud squad & alphinaud // modern au // 603 words alphinaud infiltrates the spud squad discord server and finds… what else, but chaos?

07 SPECULATE - sins of the spectator alphinaudxwol // post-hw // 537 words at what point does speculation turn into accusation… and accusation comes to cause harm?

08 ADROIT - sweetened tea and midnight ink alphinaudxwol // post-canon // 1,022 words there’s an art to deflection, one alphinaud thought it has fully mastered. unfortunately, his wife is even better at seeing through lies

09 FRIABLE - by the book tataru & alphinaud // pre-endwalker // 666 words the last time alphinaud tasted scones this unappetizing was back in old sharlayan. and though he doesn’t exactly mind, it is absolutely a problem when the one he hopes to gift his baked goods to also happens to be one of eorzea’s best culinarians and the hero of the star both

10 HEADY - fragrant sorrow implied kayelily // wozwald au // 1,805 words even after all these years, the scent of flowers brought the god of death the most amount of pain

11 PREACHING TO THE CHOIR - a house of cards alphinaudxwol // tears of themis au // 1,468 words it takes unwavering conviction, something alphinaud never once doubted stellis’ best junior attorney to possess in strides

12 WANDERLUST (free) - take me to where your heart meets mine alphinaudxwol // post-canon // 1,265 words the warrior of light’s home is often empty, but her heart will ever be full and bursting to the brim with love

13 ONEIROPHRENIA - quietus kaye & illya // wozwald au // 1,858 words in the midst of his delirious, drunken haze he saw her - he can’t tell if it was meant to be his final blessing or an eternal curse

14 COMMEND - lights, camera, duty commenced! illya, g’raha & emet // actors au // 2,263 words behind the scenes of the critically acclaimed long running tv show, final fantasy fourteen, g’raha tia is (almost) inconsolable after he reads the final act’s script

15 THUNDEROUS - if you can hear my tune alphinaudxwol // nodame cantabile au // 1,120 words on a particularly stormy night, when the angry claps of thunder would normally drown out the sounds of the piano, illya wonders if the boy next door would be able to hear the tune of her sincerity and gratitude

16 CRANE - birds of a feather illya & friends // no particular time period // 1,847 words though their species varies as much as the colors of their plumages, birds of a feather flock the warrior of light together

17 DESTRUCT - when the light blinds alphinaudxwol // major shb spoilers // 1,270 words when the light in her shines so brightly that the stars in her eyes have been blinded completely, alphinaud feared that he’d forever lose that which served as his beacon of hope during his darkest moments

18 DEVIL’S ADVOCATE - pearls of wisdom illya & kokomi // post-sb // 1,291 words it just takes a devil’s advocate clad in the form of an angelic surface dweller to convince kokomi to finally leave the coral palace behind

19 LUMINARY - to you who showed me the stars illya & kokomi // post-5.55 // 880 words the soft ripples upon the mirror like water turns the surface beneath their feet into a sparkling, luminescent stage. and in the midst of a meteor shower, a pair of girls who have had all their wishes fulfilled cast their eyes upwards at the star tide

20 PETRICHOR - river flows in you kaye & eulalie // post-canon, alt canon verse // 1,412 words mama wasn’t lying when she said thanalan was often full of unexpected surprises. heavy downpour upon a place named drybone, and an unplanned run in with one of her parents’ long standing allies being two of them

21 FECKLESS - what the heart is to the weak illya & ardbert // early shb // 1,556 words in both their worlds, victory was not decided by power, but by the strength of  convictions. for they who carry the fate of the realm upon their shoulders, conviction is something that must be hard earned with their blood and tears

22 FLUSTER - in the eyes of the beholder alphinaudxwol // post-canon // 2,042 words they say an artists always inadvertently pours their heart’s true feelings into their drawings

23 SOUL - your voice will save me alphinaudxwol // post-5.3 // 2,416 words it’s a long time coming, but alphinaud thinks he should finally tell the warrior of light the words his soul has been yearning to say for thousands of years

24 ILLUSTRIOUS - eyes fixed upon a shiny ray alphinaudxwol // aetherweave au // 2,858 words asking the star student of the most prestigious magic academy in eorzea out to the end of year prom is as daunting as it sounds

25 SILVER LINING - in a place where dreams continue alphinaudxwol // mermaid au // 1,422 words getting caught in a terrible storm and being thrown overboard may just be the worst thing that has ever happened to alphinaud - or the best

26 HEARTFELT - all that glitters alphinaudxwol // genshin impact au // 2,105 words on the first full moon of the lunar new year, liya has only a single selfish wish as she gazes up into the sea of lights

27 BENTHOS - beyond lulled waters alphinaudxwol // nagi no asukara au // 1,452 words where the sea meets the land, a promise is made between a boy and a girl who come from radically different worlds

28 BOW - towards a tomorrow illya & kirishimi // period drama au // 2,062 words kirishimi didn’t care for frilly dresses or etiquette unless it was to make a statement - so she gets lessons from the most ladylike friend she knows

29 DEBONAIR - all like magic to my riddled heart alphinaudxwol // post-canon // 2,415 words on the occasion that alphinaud feels confident enough to perfectly exude his charm, illya never fails to be swept off her feet

30 ABSTRACTED - weaving the present, illuminating the future illya & friends // streamers au // 2,849 words the spud squad announce their indefinite hiatus right after releasing their one year anniversary single, and illya cannot help but to feel just a tad bit melancholic

31 NOCTURNE - to the moon and back alphinaudxwol // pre-endwalker // 1,000 words “what do we have to fear? after all, we’ve come this far.”

[justalarryblog]

💮give and take by @sky_reid (1k) | Explicit

sometimes louis just needs.

💮One for Luck by @leavingonatrain (96k) | Explicit

The very first time Louis remembers hearing Harry Styles’ deep, deep voice, he’s just won gold at the World Equestrian Games and he’s officially back on Great Britain’s Olympic team. He’s also three sheets to the wind, drunk on victory and champagne, and there’s a gorgeous boy whispering in his ear. Life’s grand.

(AU: Louis and Harry are professional riders on the British Olympic team.)

💮Am I More Than You Bargained For Yet? by @afangirlfantasy (45k) | Mature

“It sounds to me like the people you’ve allowed to be a part of your life, don’t deserve even a fraction of a minute of it.” As they repeat over and over, Harry calls out to fate and destiny, asking them why that can’t be true? Why can’t Harry be deserving of love? Why can’t Harry be as special as Louis argues he is? Louis’ beliefs ring in Harry’s mind like the most hopeful of gospels, and Harry wants to proclaim them as his new religion. But when his hands reach out into the vast emptiness of his flat to grab them, to grab Louis, there’s only a shard of a memory to clutch onto.

Or

AU where Harry doesn’t know what it means to be in love, and Louis’ still in love with somebody else.

💮I Cannot Dream Tonight Series by @afangirlfantasy (50k) | Not Rated

At 16 years old, everyone takes a compatibility test on their birthday. At some point after taking the test, and along with other data collected, everyone finds out if they are a Dom or Sub.

At 17 years old, everyone receives a bracelet that notifies them when they have been matched. Every Dom needs a Sub. Every Sub needs a Dom.

When Louis’ bracelet lights up weeks after getting it, let’s just say that who he is matched with, is not quite what he had been expecting.

💮Birds in Gilded Cages by @graveyardwitch (157k) | Mature

There is a hotel in London where beautiful young men and women are kept like birds in a gilded cage, prisoners bound to satisfy your deepest darkest desires….

After being kidnapped as a teenager, Harry Styles was forced into high-class prostitution by the evil Mr Cowell. Louis Tomlinson is heir to his father’s corporation, set to inherit millions…But engaged to a woman he doesn’t love and deeply unhappy. When they meet at a party sparks fly and they embark on a passionate and dangerous relationship…But can it ever be true love when one of you is being paid? And can Louis ever rescue Harry from The Bird Cage Hotel?

Warning-This story is about prostitution so there will be a LOT of sex. I do not own One Direction etc etc. I do ship Larry but I don’t care if it’s real or not, I just like reading and writing the fanfic.

💮Don’t Waste Your Time On Me, You’re Already The Voice Inside My Head by @afangirlfantasy (28k) | Not Rated

At 16 years old, everyone takes a compatibility test on their birthday. At some point after taking the test, and along with other data collected, everyone finds out if they are a Dom or Sub.

At 17 years old, everyone receives a bracelet that notifies them when they have been matched. Every Dom needs a Sub. Every Sub needs a Dom.

When Louis’ bracelet lights up weeks after getting it, let’s just say that who he is matched with, is not quite what he had been expecting.

💮driving instructor fic by @LoadedGunn (104k) | Explicit

AU where Louis is a 25-year-old driving instructor and Harry is a 17-year-old virgin who’s really awful at seduction, except for the time he gets Louis to fall for him and fuck him senseless and take him on kinky adventures.

💮His Submission Series by tonystankyall (orphan_account) (152k) | Mature

Louis Tomlinson lives in a world where Domination and Submission is a norm. When you are born you are either branded Sub or Dom. Subs get a little pink or blue, depeneding on gender, series of swirls on the back of their neck. Doms get Red or Black, depending on gender, series of swirls on the back of their neck.

Louis Tomlinson was branded with a Blue tattoo and his day has finally come. The day of his 18th birthday where he will be randomly assigned a Dom. This dom could range from younger to older, poorer to richer, and male to female. You never knew what you were going to get. Some Doms were more harsher and stricter than others. Louis didn’t want a harsh Dom to submit to.

Harry Styles was branded with a Black tattoo and he just recieved in the mail that he was finally getting a submissive. Harry was a 32 year old man, settled in, and very very rich. He’s been waiting for an assigned submissive to be chosen for him for a very long time. His Dom friend, Zayn, has gotten his submissive two years prior, a little spit fire irish boy, Niall.

*The rest is in the note*

💮Loving You Is Free by @littlelouishiccups (91k) | Explicit

Louis is a workaholic record label CEO who hasn’t been on a date in nearly a year. Niall and Liam make an account for him on a sugar dating website as a joke. And then Louis meets Harry.

💮sex shop fic (dildornado ‘verse) by @istajmaal, @LoadedGunn (96k) | Explicit

AU where Louis is the most helpful sex shop salesperson in the history of sex shops, and Harry really was just looking for a vibrator with simple instructions (yet ended up getting a hands-on demonstration).

💮Dance Floor Whore by @ropewithnoanchor (7k) | Explicit

Louis and Harry go to a club while on tour to blow off some steam, but Harry gets too drunk and lets another man dance up on him in front of everyone. Louis takes him back to their hotel and spends the next morning punishing Harry, making Harry work to make it up to him.

💮Hold On To The Words You Spoke (Anchored Down In The Throat) by @justletmegohome (13k) | Explicit

“No, no. Louis, just stop. It’s not stupid, it’s never stupid. Believe it or not, I care. I care so much. Do you honestly think I’d still have my dick in your ass if I didn’t?”

Louis chuckles at that, but it’s sad, Harry notes it’s not right. “That will change when I tell you.”

“Never.” Harry kisses every bit of his face he can reach, he has no idea how that can help but he’s going to do it anyways.

“I don’t like the way I sound. ’S all,” Louis says in one breath, going coy as soon as he’s done speaking, his eyes casting downwards.

For a moment, Harry can’t believe his ears. Or the words Louis just said even if he can see them hanging in the air between them. Harry is not even sure if he listened He doesn’t want to believe them, maybe that’s why he’s having a hard time coming up with his own words.

*** Basically, Louis is loud. And then he isn’t. Harry ties him up to find out why. ***

💮I’m Tired Of Using Technology, I Need You Right In Front Of Me by @Phillipa19 (6k) | Explicit

Louis goes away on yet another business trip, but when he stops calling Harry to check in, Harry decides to take matters into his own hands.

OR- Louis is Harry’s sugardaddy who has gone away on business and Harry feels neglected. Louis is possessive and gets a camera installed in their bedroom so he can check up on Harry, so Harry decides to use the camera to his advantage.

💮leave you drowning until you reach for my hand by orphan_account (16k) | Explicit

If Louis told him to do something that he really didn’t want to do, it would be different, but Louis’s never done that, never asked anything of Harry that he couldn’t handle. Except—except maybe this; to obey him without praise, reward, approval, or even mere acknowledgement.

💮Push You Over The Edge (So I Can Pull You Back) by orphan_account (16k) | Explicit

It’s after a long two weeks of interviews and non-stop appearances that have got Harry stressed to the limit of yanking his hair out and throwing a fit and crying that Louis shows it to him, walks in the door with a sleek black bag in his left hand and inconspicuous brown one in his right.

💮smile in slow motion by @istajmaal (24k) | Explicit

“It’s 2011, Niall. People can fuck their friends’ faces without it meaning anything more than that.”

or, Louis is Harry’s dom and maybe also his soulmate.

💮sticks and stones may break my bones but chains and whips excite me by @moonlightlouis (4k) | Not Rated

harry’s been a naughty boy and needs to be punished and louis is there to do it

💮Sweet Dreams by @dormant_bender (5k) | Explicit

When fantasies become reality.

💮To Be Loved To Be In Love by @Angel_Dust (129k) | Mature

At 18, every Sub must take a Match Test to find their Dom.

Poor, Farm kid Louis Tomlinson is matched with Rich, Businessman Harry Styles.

Or, where Harry thinks giving Money, expensive presents and luxuries proves how much you love someone, but Louis is about to turn his world upside down.

✨You can also check My Fic Tags for more fics! ✨

[givemeonebreath]

A big, messy Linked Universe playlist

Link for Links

Heavy on the angst, because of who I am as a person. (At the same time, don’t take it too seriously, man.)

Influenced by canon, manga (TP Link is really Going Through It™ ), my personal perceptions, and popular fandom canon.

A pretty wide variety of genres, with a bias towards metal and prog rock.

I kept snippets of lyrics for most songs, also because of who I am as a person. (Some were particularly hard to narrow down to just one verse or chorus.) Those - and a little more rambling - are under the cut if you really want, in the order of the playlist. But. It’s long.

I didn’t initially make this with the intent to share, but hey. Throughout my past year+ of listening, I’ve been haphazardly adding songs to a playlist I very creatively named Links. If something reminded me of them, whether through the music or lyrics or both, I threw it on the playlist, so some songs might seem odd or vague. Some are really on the nose, as subtle as a sledgehammer. (Sky for Sky? Dude. Sorry.) Some are there because of a fitting line or two that stuck in my head. Ultimately, music - like any form of creative expression - can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. 

My listening habits and tastes are erratic, which is why this is one big, jumbled playlist and not separated for different Links. Not to mention if I did that, some (Wild, Legend) would have a lot and some (Wind, Four) would have none, both because of my own familiarity with them, and because of the general themes of the music I tend to listen to. Most songs are a general ‘hero’s spirit reborn’ mood, anyway - those are the first part of the playlist. The second half is more nuanced to specific Links, plus a few Ganon vibes.

1. Deep Purple - April (Koji Kondo, composer of the original Legend of Zelda theme, was into Deep Purple as a kid, and it shows.)

2. Kamelot - Regalis Apertura

3. Au4 - So Just Hang On, Beautiful One (I’ve posted this here before. I can’t hear it without thinking of LU now.) So I slipped in through the gate almost unknown. All my border stamps were late. Seven days old. Cold hand griped my shoulder blade, broke the bone. Bloody nose and turned away, all the way home.

4. FC Kahuna - Hayling Don’t think about all those things you fear, just be glad to be here

5. Glass Animals - Youth Boy, when I left you you were young I was gone, but not my love You were clearly meant for more Than a life lost in the war

6. Pain of Salvation - Restless Boy A restless boy in a world too slow A flame born into cinder, ash, and glow I've given everything I gave it all Yet find myself alone

7. Haken - The Endless Knot Our design shifted frame by frame! Across the line our cycle starts to fail. Our design shifted frame by frame! Across the line we die to live again.   We need a story to believe in. We need a hero to prevail. We need a challenge we can overcome, it takes a tragedy to make us one 

8. Kamelot - Memento Mori (I particularly associate this with Time and Twilight) I am the god in my own history The master of the game I may believe if she would come to me And whisper out my name Sometimes I wonder where the wind has gone If life has ever been Sometimes I wonder how belief alone Can cut me free from sin

9. Katatonia - Fighters Look I told you so We never stop If we said that We'll back it up For sure You know We're fighters

10. Megadeth - This Day We Fight! (I mean, all Links, but particularly Warriors) For this I was chosen, because I fear nothing With confidence I tread through the dead of the night Off to another war-torn, faraway battlefield Wherein lies a demonic enemy horde

11. Moon Tooth - Igneous Well, the spirit took me And this old broken body leapt up and danced Settin’ out Settin' out with all my heroes in a bundle at my back Hawk am I More wings span in my shadow than overcast Yeah, you know what they say Always need something to look up to, ha

12. Samael - Moongate Destiny, tomorrow is today Destiny, without boundaries How many nights will we spend together traveling infinity back and forth and again How many times will we go together questioning eternity about us about our wonders...

13. TOOL- Parabola This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion

14. Lunatic Soul - Blood on the Tightrope No matter how hard you try To shut down your feverish thoughts They hunt you down with no regret Cause you have to fix it all

15. Hybrid - Keep It In The Family

16. Soul Savers - Unbalanced Pieces Gone, now carry on Through violent seasons I call you mother, mother, mother In vain, absent chain The twilight's bleeding And the playing board has two unbalanced pieces

17. Steve Von Till - Valley of the Moon All she gives is a stone facade Like ill-given flowers at a dead man's wake Here we slave for the dreams of another And fight over scraps like wayward dogs

18. Ludovico Einaudi - Experience

19. Lunatic Soul - Summoning Dance Three stones on the right side Three stones on the left My vicious circle of life and death   “Oh you want it” I hear it again “Oh you want it” My burden Curse to break

20. Lunatic Soul - Through Shaded Woods Run through your shaded woods Run through your shaded mind Run through the night Run away Run through the darkness Run

21. Lunatic Soul - Naavie

22. David Bowie - Nature Boy There was a boy A very strange, enchanted boy They say he wandered very far Very far, over land and sea A little shy and sad of eye But very wise was he

23. The Dandy Warhols - Sleep Well, I could sleep forever But it's of her I dream If I could sleep forever I could forget about everything 

24. Au4 - Everyone is Everyone (and Everything is Everything) Tripping and tumbling, Flipping and fumbling. Flowing on the rivers of sadness That have been forever rumbling.   But from dawn until now Of all the paths that I could have gone down Of all the valleys That I could have been flowing through.   In spite of all the chaos And all that has come between us, How is it I still find myself Here with you. 

25. Kingcrow - Everything Goes Your hands again upon the ground Falling rain for hours and hours As you learn the game Time dispels the fog ... Ever been there? Ever felt like prey? Ever thought your mind was feeble? Lot of things that don’t make sense

26. Pain of Salvation - Icon As a child I felt too old And now when I'm grown-up I feel too young A different kind so I've been told Just slightly out of reach and out of time

27. Sophia Loizou - Divine Interference (I got spooky dungeon vibes. Also, the title.)

28. Carpenter Brut - Fab Tool Runnin Gunnin Forward in the phantom shatter so grand Splatter grand, arcanum fuel Wrought iron out of the sky Over me, tells no lie

29. Blue Stahli - Death Will Have to Run All on the open road Where none will ever grow A journey toward the known With countless miles to go

30. Gyroscope - Mistakes & Ladders I am the first? No I can't be the first A continuous nothing, destined for something Tell me who you are and why you trapped me here

31. Queens of the Stone Age - Run, Pig, Run Run, pig, run Here I come

32. Chali 2na & Krafty Kuts - Guard The Fort The swords are drawn and odds are stacked And we clash the impact's a thunderous clap Calm demeanor Even though we are under attack [...my turn to guard the fort ready for combat]

33. The Great Discord - Army of Me (lol)

34. Kongos - Terrified I think I'll start again and change my name You only live once or twice, what a shame Somebody fucked up when designing this game

35. Woodkid - Run Boy Run Run, boy, run! This ride is a journey to Run, boy, run! The secret inside of you Run, boy, run! This race is a prophecy Run, boy, run! And disappear in the trees

36. The Beta Machine - The End A million miles away from you this time I'll do what it takes I'm on my way If lines are in the sand I'll go under If I can make it in time I will bring you back with me

37. Devin Townsend Project - Gump When we last met who was I? I'm sorry we no longer see eye to eye The energy to keep you in while keeping myself out I'm sorry how you'll take this  But I just don't have the patience anymore 

38. Arrested Youth - Riot! I can't get much satisfaction living in this cave It's tough to breathe, I'm in the belly of the beast Can't sleep with all my rage With me and all my generations living in this cage Pick up your guns and tell your sons, tonight we break the cage

39. Led Zeppelin - Friends So anytime somebody needs you Don't let them down, although it grieves you Some day you'll need someone like they do Looking for what you knew

40. Faunts - M4, pt 2 (Wild) Fight your foes you're not alone Holy war is on the phone Asking to please stay on hold Bleeding loss of blood runs cold And I need you to recover   Because I can't make it on my own

41. Faith No More - Ashes to Ashes (Wild) I want them to know it's me, it's on my head I'll point the finger at me, it's on my head Smiling with the mouth of the ocean And I'll wave to you with the arms of the mountain

42. Devin Townsend - Jupiter (Wild) I know you At least I think I do Everything's changed But in the days that are so dark It's wonderful

43. Katatonia - Neon Epitaph (Wild) Shadow of my shadow Cling not to my grief I am long left behind now You are free

44. The Smashing Pumpkins - The Beginning is the End is the Beginning (Wild) Time has stopped before us The sky cannot ignore us No one can separate us For we are all that is left The echo bounces off me The shadow lost beside me There's no more need to pretend Cause now I can begin again 

45. Katatonia - Lacquer (Wild) My voice travelling Soaring bird above your head The house we lived in Ridden with disease ... The levee breaking I can't live to fight once more The road to the grave is straight as an arrow I'm just staying around to sing your song, baby

46. Eskimo Joe - This is Pressure (Wild) There is no romance in suffocation  The walls fall down like your expectations You want to scream  And you want to shout But you've built up steam  And you can't let it out This is pressure 

47. Portugal. The Man - 1000 Years (Wild) We'll wait 1000 years  Until the end of time We'll wait 1000 more Dressed up in gold and white We'll climb the mountain sides  To find what's in the sky We'll dig through mountain sides  To find what's deep inside

48. Au4 - An Ocean’s Measure of Sorrow (Wild) Forgot my name and who I was. Memories of nothing floating up. All of the sorrow we once knew, Colours the ocean's water blue.

49. Band of Skulls - Carnivorous (Twilight) I am corrosive and cohesive Like a chemical bond I'm all together undone I am the broken kingdom I'm just so, so, so  So carnivorous

50. Glass Animals - Flip (Twilight) I wanna go back with a club and attack I wanna take to my guns and break you I gotta make my little foe take his own

51. TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me (Twilight) My mind has changed my body's frame, but, God, I like it My heart's aflame, my body's strained, but, God, I like it

52. Kamelot - The Spell (Twilight) All my demons cast a spell The souls of dusk rising from the ashes So the book of shadows tell The weak will always obey the master

53. OSI - Radiologue (Legend) I was dreaming I was heading west thirty days faster Had a fever woke up in a sweat bailing out the water  Can't go on Can't go back   Heard your voice coming through the noise wrote it in the radio log Hurt my head, wondering what you said so I threw it overboard  

54. Katatonia - Don’t Tell A Soul (Legend) I have been destroyed by the perfection that is a lie see I'm moving soon see my feet are already on the road and if you know where I’m going don’t tell a soul

55. Haken - The Mind’s Eye (Legend) The shape of things to come are closer than they seem Changing your design every time you disappear I'm planning my escape through portals of your mind Where people seem to drop like flies

56. Pain of Salvation - Species (Legend) Sometimes I hate my fucking species Yet most days I'll do anything to please it  My generation was fooled to pursue our dreams But it is not what it seems You never need what you want And you rarely want what you need

57. Euringer - Do You Kiss Your Mama with That Mouth? (Legend) All my life, misunderstood I'm fuckin' too smart, too smart for my own good The last question, before I go is "Hey motherfucka, do you kiss your mama with that mouth?"  Yes! I kiss your mama with this mouth

58. !!! - Pardon My Freedom (Legend) Like I give a fuck, like I give a shit Like I give a fuck about that shit Like I give a fuck about that motherfucking shit

59. Team Sleep - Ataraxia (Legend) Froze asleep Coma deep I dream I'm out with you Alone at sea

60. Oliver Tank - Embrace (Legend) You're in my dreams The world is torn apart at the seams And I don't wanna leave Wearing my heart on it's sleeve

61. Machine Gun Fellatio - The Girl of My Dreams (Is Giving Me Nightmares) (Legend) The girl of my dreams is giving me nightmares I don't know what it means but she's got multi-coloured hair When she stands in the sand I dream of peaches And I'm not sure what that means either

62. Earl Greyhound - Shotgun (Legend & Hyrule) I am nobody, nobody is who I am I am a traveler on this land And nothing, nothing, nothing in my hands

63. TV on the Radio - Staring at the Sun (Hyrule) You're staring at the sun You're standing in the sea Your mouth is open wide You're trying hard to breathe The water's at your neck There's lightning in your teeth Your body's over me

64. Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon (Time) Fate Up against your will Through the thick and thin He will wait until You give yourself to him

65. Sufjan Stevens - Sugar (Sky) Don’t break my heart, don’t break my flow now And all this rage has got to go now Let’s take up this lifeline Come on, baby, gimme some sugar Don’t make me wait Don’t make me wait too long Don’t make me sing the sad song Come on, baby, gimme some sugar

66. Obsydians - Ascension (Sky) Rise above the hardships you’ll face I will sign and keep on rising As long as you are giving me your soul and keep me awake Feel like home and spread your light around I will listen and just be there As long as you are giving me your love I’ll give you my soul

67. Sonique - Sky -_-

68. Enter Shikari - The King (Ganon) Watch your back, my friend I'm about to kickstart a cycle Of never ending revenge And this time it's primal, it's tribal

69. Saul Williams - WTF! (Ganon, Hylia) "You've been polluted, uprooted by time You have been muted, computed but I'm A living vessel of the one, of the moon, of the sun" Hey! You ain't as dead as you seem, what the fuck? Hey! But you keep living your lies

70. These New Puritans - We Want War (Ganon/ Dark Link/ any nemesis I guess) Shadows dance back up, it's happening again If you listen carefully you might hear them whisper: "We hold all the secrets, we hold all the words; But they're scrambled and broken so you'll never know" Can't you see them Floating like black ash? Can't you feel them Crawling down your back?

[honeypirate]

Easy Living part two

Part one

Obi Akitaru x Fem!reader

Obi Akitaru falls in love with the girl at the rock show

Also ducks survived the cataclysm

Song one

Song two

Song three

Song four

Song five alternate version

Obi didn't see you outside of the office where you were doing paperwork. He thought you were avoiding him but you interacted with him during office hours so he couldn't really convince himself at first. You had said you were too tired to eat with everyone and just wanted to rest, which is how you got out of family dinners and could sneak in and eat after everyone leaves.

After a week and a half of this, he plans to find you and talk to you. Oh how he missed your jokes and your presence. You get back from your physical therapy and he meets you at the door “come with me” he says and takes your good hand “we’re going out”

You get ice cream, and just walk the town for a while. You figured he would want to talk soon but to be honest you havent quite dealt with your feelings yet. You didnt know what to say. Hey sorry Captain I’ve been avoiding you a little so i could squash all the romantic feelings i have for you since you only want to be best friends. No hard feelings? Also I feel like a failure because Im useless right now?

No. You couldn’t be that honest, but you would be honest enough

He stops by a bench next to the trees that have started to bloom in the warm spring air. You sit beside him, a little farther than usual and he sighs “talk to me. Please” he says softly and you swallow “about what?” you ask, your voice a little shaky and nervous. “y/n” he sighs “okay, i’ll just ask. Why have you been avoiding me after we had tea?” he leans his elbows down on his thighs and looks over at you.

You swallow hard and look down at your toes, giving your ice cream cone you were nursing a lick to buy some time.

“Obi, i’ve just been really tired. It wasn’t you. I promise. As you said, we are best friends forever. Please dont think im avoiding you i promise im not really. It’s just so hard to not use my arm, i cant do my job like i need, i feel like im useless. And youre my Captain! i dont want to be less than you deserve as a team member”

He brushes your hair back behind your ear and you gasp, looking from your toes into his eyes. “I’m your friend first remember? And so here I am, asking you as a friend, please dont think you have to avoid me. I dont think less of you because youre injured, youre not broken or ruined, youre just hurt. And you’re perfect the way that you are at any moment so dont even start with thinking you’re less than anyone. Youre incredibly strong and smart always. Let me be there for you. Right now as a man and not as your captain. Okay?” you feel your heart rate beat erratically in your chest and you kick yourself form coming along. Those perfect things he said to you from the perspective of a f r i e n d. God you loved him so much it hurt. Hurt because he doesnt love you back. More than a best friend anyway.

You do your best to go back to normal, you talk to him more, forcing yourself to attend dinners and joke like normal, ignorning the growing cracks in your heart.

A few weeks later, after a mission you werent allowed to go on, Obi announces a celebration “Since we just had a successful huge mission, we will be celebrating and inviting the companies we have friends in. so the 5th, 7th, and 2nd, will all be attending.” you dont deny that youre excited. You love celebrations because it meant the best barbeque plus you cant wait to talk to Hibana and Konro.

That night after your physio you talk to Maki and Vulcan, planning to take care of the entertainment for the night. Vulcan on the drums, Maki on the electric guitar, and you on vocals. You spent the next few days preparing and getting all the music sheets for them from songs you all put together. A list of 8 songs that everyone would enjoy, or so you hoped.

Your arm didn’t have to be in a sling anymore, it was healed but the muscles were tight and the scar tissue hurt. you had to work through that but your physical therapist said you would work that slowly and it would be almost 100% again.

When the day arrived for the celebration you felt nervous as hell. “Are you excited to do this?!” Vulcan says and pats your good shoulder and you laugh “I’m nervous and excited” Maki squeals as she does a sound check on her guitar “this is going to be so cool!”

When you guys move out to the stage, you get everyone’s attention by tapping the mic, a squeal going through the speakers before Viktor adjusts some settings on the computer.

“Hey guys. We put together a little entertainment for you all. Hope you enjoy it” you look around at everyone as they make their way over to the stage. Obi’s eyes were wide and he was grinning ear to ear, you didn’t tell many about this so it could be a surprise and you knew that was a good choice with the look in his eyes. He made his was to front of the crowd, whistling loudly as Maki began to strum.

Vulcan hits the drums as you begin to sing

“Scar tissue that I wish you saw

Sarcastic mister know-it-all

Close your eyes and I'll kiss you 'cause

With the birds I’ll share” after the first verse your eyes flick down to Obi and he has the biggest smile you’ve seen. It makes your heart flutter as you wink at him as you sing the chorus

“With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'

With the birds I'll share this lonely viewin'”

The end of the first song everyone cheers loud and you feel proud as you laugh with the excitement and atmosphere. Obi is your loudest cheerleader.

Vulcan leaves the drums to stand by the keyboard for the next song as Maki plays the chords.

“You belong among the wildflowers

You belong in a boat out at sea

Sail away, kill off the hours

You belong somewhere you feel free

Run away, find you a lover

Go away somewhere all bright and new” your eyes flick down to Obi and you smile softly

“ I have seen no other

Who compares with you”

Some people hold up lighters and those with fire abilities hold some fire up and sway side to side, the atmosphere is light and easy, a moment where no one is thinking about infernals and government problems.

You sang the four softer songs Maki chose first before taking a water break then going back on stage to finish strong with four songs you were excited about since you knew they were some of your and Obi’s favorites.

You look down at Obi when the music starts and the recognition in his eyes makes you grin. You know most people in your company know this song because of Obi. “You show us everything you've got

You keep on dancin' and the room gets hot

You drive us wild, we'll drive you crazy

You say you wanna go for a spin

The party's just begun, we'll let you in

You drive us wild, we'll drive you crazy

You keep on shoutin', you keep on shoutin'”

You feel your body feel with pride when the crowd sings the chorus and you realize more people know those song then you thought

“I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day x4”

The cheering at the end of this song makes you laugh before you take another drink of water and move on to the next few songs until you end with the last two you were excited about.

“Okay everyone. Two left” you smile at the boos that are scattered “ We’re glad you liked this show and hope you had fun here. There’s extra food so if you’re hungry make sure you fill up” You wink at Obi again as you begin to sing the song as he whistles loudly when the guitar begins, throwing his fists in the air doing his devil horns.

“This is a thing I've never known before

It's called easy livin'

This is a place I've never seen before

And I've been forgiven

Easy livin' and I've been forgiven

Since you've taken your place in my heart”

This one was one of your favorites and you got into it dancing around on the stage. When it ends you laugh and smile as they cheer. “Okay guys. I dedicate this last song to the companies here tonight thank you all for making this not a complete failure. I was nervous but now.. this has been a dream come true of mine honestly. Anyway. For you” you look down at Obi and he nods and then whistles again when he recognizes the song

“A company always on the run

A destiny, oh it's the rising sun” the crowd cheers and you get goosebumps

“I was born, a shotgun in my hands

Behind the gun

I'll make my final stand, yeah

That's why they call me” you look down at Obi and he sings with you

“Bad company

I can't deny

Bad, bad company

'Til the day I die

Until the day I die”

Your voice fades out and Vulcan and Maki finish their notes and the crowd goes nuts. You bring Vulcan and Maki up and you hold hands and bow before waving and exiting the stage.

A few pats on the back and many people telling you how great that was was a little overwhelming and Obi could tell. He pushes through the crowd and takes your hand “gotta borrow this rock star for a moment excuse us please” he says and takes you with him behind the stage where he could let you take a breather.

“Looked a little overwhelmed with the loving crowd” he says and leans against the side of the wall behind the stage. “Just a bit. Thank you Obi” he hasn’t stopped smiling and his eyes are filled with stars for you. “I didn’t know you could sing Little Duck” he says and you chuckle “there’s a lot you don’t know about me Obi” you say with a smirk and drink of your water bottle. “And I love discovering new things about you.” he says softly and you feel your cheeks flush under his soft gaze “is that right?” You ask in a flirty tone and you cock your head with a smile. “Yes. It is” he says and you stare into each other’s eyes for a moment, soft smiles and a warm feeling growing in your bones.

“Hey y/n I brought you some food since we missed out” Vulcan says and hands you a plate “you’re a lifesaver Vulcan thank you!” You say and take it with a grin. Obi kicks himself for not thinking of that and scowls at the weird jealousy he feels spike in his heart at the way you smiled at Vulcan. He shakes his head and excuses himself to go talk to Hinawa.

“That was weird” Vulcan says and you raise an eyebrow in question, mouthful but he understood you “he looked at me like I just flirted with his girl. How weird is that?” You laugh and your cheeks dust slightly pink “I’m sure there was something else on his mind, we’re just friends” you say and take another bite of your barbecue, moaning a little about how delicious it is. Vulcan just shrugs “that was really amazing. Great idea y/n! It was so fun. If you ever wanna jam again I’m down” you smile and nod “I’ll take you up on that sometime”

“Are you sure you don’t have feelings for her?” Hinawa says, acting like it’s annoying him that he has to have this conversation to hide the fact he finds it entertaining that his Captain is so blind. “She’s been my best friend for so long. Wouldn’t I have had feelings for her before today?” Hinawa sighs “are you sure you haven’t?” Obi feels like his mind expands as he connects the dots. “Well damn” Obi says with a slight smile teasing the corners of his mouth and Hinawa shakes his head.

After that night you didn’t see Obi outside of work for a week. It was weird. Like the tables have turned and now you don’t know why he’s avoiding you. He calls you into your office and you feel a little worried.

“You wanted to see me sir?” You said as stood at attention in front of his desk. Outside of this room you felt like he was your Obi but every time he calls you into his office you feel completely different. The atmosphere he held in that room for you, powerful and commanding, you were intimidated and slightly turned on but you never would allow yourself to think of that.

“I wanted to check in on how your therapy is going” he says, his face was stoic and level, but you see there’s something in his eye, something has changed. “It’s going well Sir” you raise your arm and show your limited range of motion “she says I’ll be back to good and cleared for duty soon, since I’m well enough now to have more frequent appointments.” he nods and makes a note on his small pad of paper. “Are your ignition abilities okay? Do you need training there?” You shake your head “no Sir. My abilities haven’t been effected” he nods once and then smiles, a soft smile that shows way more emotion from him than your used to “that’s all. I’m glad you’re doing well. Dismissed” “thank you Sir” you salute and then turn and leave, feeling extremely confused at the emotion you saw in his eyes.

You chew your lip as you pace the walkways of the company, pacing and thinking, (more like overthinking amirite) and trying to decide if you should talk to him. You somehow end up in the tallest room of the building, looking out over the town and the sunset. You get a flashback to your first day as a fire fighter, walking back to the truck with your team you were in the back of the group by Obi and he stopped to look at the sunset for a moment. “Remember y/n, take a moment to appreciate the beauty around you. It’s always taken for granted” that’s what he said to you that made you admire him. The original seed your feelings grew from. You smiled and turned, running down the steps to try and find him, to tell him.

“Hey Arthur have you seen the Captain?” You asked when he was the first one you saw “oh yeah. He just left with the girl from the flower shop” you raise your eyebrows “left with Margret? Why?” He shrugs “I don’t know. Probably a date. She seemed really happy” you laugh once in shock “huh” you say and he just shrugs, going back to his pretending to be a knight with his plasma blade as you walk out of the room.

You pace the halls again until you eventually give up. You won’t tell him. He’ll never know. You hope he’s happy with Margaret, she seems like a lovely woman.

Every day being around him sucks, you wish you could take some time off to go away for a little bit so you wouldnt have to see him, wouldnt have to feel the pain anymore. It made you look forward to your physio appointments but even those are ending soon, only two left before you're cleared. Dont get you wrong, you are excited to be cleared to work again, paperwork was beginning to annoy you, but you were going to miss the excuse to get out every once in a while so you wouldn't have to see him anymore. At least until you have gotten over him.

He notices you pulling away, avoiding him again. He doesnt understand everything was going so well. He was planning this big confession and spent forever with the florist planning the perfect bouquet and getting her help on what girls would like in a confession, he has the whole thing planned out but now you wont even look at him uness you have to. He’s so frustrated! When did communicating with each other get this hard?

You get back from physio and he meets you at the door again, this time hiding his emotions and just giving you a look that tells you to follow him. He takes you to the same empty room you were in yesterday, at the very top of the company. “Captain?” you ask softly, your eyes on the ground and your hands gripping the strap of your bag that is across your chest hard enough to lighten your knuckles. “Little duck” he whispers softly, his voice held something you couldn't place, something you never heard from him before, and when you realize what it is your eyes meet his. It was pain.

“My little ducky” he says softly “why?” you feel your walls break, your hard work to build them up and forget about your love for the captain turned to ash as you cover your face with your hands, tears burning your eyes. “I.. I just” you swallow hard and pull yourself together, you wont cry in front of him. You sniff and grit your teeth, dropping your hands and controlling the emotions on your face “I hope you are happy with Margaret” you say and look behind him, knowing if you saw his pain you’d for sure cry.

“What.. who the hell is margaret?” he says and you furrow your brows as confusing fills your mind. You look to your feet “Arthur said you’re dating Margaret, the florist” he laughs “her name is Margaret? I thought it was Molly, that’s awkward. But no, I am not dating the florist. Why would you believe aAthur? He thinks he's a knight ninja king or something”

“I uh, i gota go” you say and turn to leave but he takes your hand, pulling you to his embrace. “No you dont” he whispers and gently holds your head to his chest. “Tell me. I need you to tell me what is going on. Right now on this roof we are going to tell each other everything we’ve been hiding, starting with how you have been avoiding me again” you feel your eyes burn again, this time because of how frustrated you were with your stupidity..

“I feel so stupid i dont want to say” you mumble into his chest and he laughs “my precious ducky, please tell me” he says softly and you pull back, deciding to look into his eyes when you tell him the truth. “I couldn't deal with being around you knowing how much I love you since I thought you were with someone else. It hurt too much to see you. I thought i lost my chance”

He laughs softly “how could i fall in love with anyone else when the best woman is right in front of me?” you look up at him with a shocked expression and you almost turn to look behind you to see if there was anyone else there but you controlled yourself. You just cleared your throat and asked “what?” he laughs and cups your cheek, his strong callused hands holding you gentler than you could have ever imagined after seeing him crack a jar of pickles when he was opening it.

He leans down to your ear and whispers “I love you. I've loved you since the beginning. My little ducky” you gasp and turn your face to connect your lips to his. You melt into him as his strong arms wrap around your waist, lifting you to his chest as he kisses you deeply, his tongue swipes at your lip and you meet him with your own, making him hum in approval as you runs your fingers across his short cut hair on the back of his head, the shaved hair tickling your palms before you move higher to get his longer lengths in your fingertips.

You didn't even remember him picking you up until your feet touch the ground again. “You love me?” you ask when you pull back, right up against his lips and he sighs softly, pressing his forehead into yours. “I love you y/n” he says and you feel your stomach flip as a slow grin spreads over your face before your hands move to his shoulders as your bag falls to the ground and you jump, wrapping your legs around his waist as he catches you easily with a laugh

You kiss his lips again, overcome with happiness, pecking them a few times quickly before peppering kisses around his face “i love you” you whisper between kisses and he laughs as he holds you tight, his heart fluttering to know you feel the same. You pull back and smile down at him “i'm sorry i was such an idiot” you whisper and then hop down from his arms. “you’re not an idiot sweetheart. If i found out you were dating someone else and not me, that would hurt. I would have to avoid you for a while too. I dont want you to be with anyone else but me” he says and you blush, your heart melting as you take his large hands in your own “so when ya taking me out on a real date big guy?” you ask with a blush and he smiles “since you asked, sweetheart, that’s kind of the reason i was with Maggie to begin with” “margaret” “yeah margaret. She was helping me plan the perfect way to confess to you, i had this whole pan. So this friday, you and me, 7pm. I have a reservation downtown and will be getting you the best bouquet of flowers you ve ever seen so get ready” you laugh a little awkwardly “sorry for ruining your plan” you say and he smiles, kissing your forehead “you haven't ruined anything. you love me, nothing is better than that. Plus this means i can kiss you sooner than i was hoping” he leans down and presses his lips to yours softer than before shooting tingles down your spine “and it’s so much better than I imagined” he admits and you grin “then dont stop” you whisper and he smirks “anything for you sweetheart” he says before his lips are crashing into yours again

BOONNUUSSSSS

“So whats this about a duck”

Shinra asks at dinner and you groan as Obi laughs hard. You look pointedly at everyone there “okay but this does not leave this table and if it does i will beat ALL of your asses, so its more incentive for one of you to not say a thing because imagine how the rest of you will feel about the one who spilled” they all nod with a laugh and Hinawa rolls his eyes, knowing you’d never dare to beat his ass.

“Back when Obi and i were greenies” you look to him and he has a shit eating grin on his face as he lays his hand on your knee under the table. “We were just normal fire fighters, so calls like getting a cat out of a tree was nothing new. But this was a call about a duck. I answered the phone and it went a little bit like this” you put your hand to your ear like a phone

“thank you for calling the Fire Defence Agency, my name is Y/n how may i help you today?”

your voice changes to sound like an older gentleman “yes, my duck is stuck, please help.”

voice is yours again “your duck sir?”

“Yes. Herbert the duck. He cannot fly. Come immediately. 2836 the street name rd”

“Then he hangs up. Obi and i were the only ones there since we were greenies and had to man the phones during lunch hour so we roll out and get to his house and sure enough a duck is stuck on top of this mans roof” you hold your hands up and try to shape it out for them “he had this house where the top was sort of curved like this just above his front door” you bring your hands up and around in an arc. The truck we have doesnt have the laddder but it’s not too high so Obi puts me on his shoulders and as i go to grab this little bastard he screams in my face and pecks my eye” Obi is laughing remembering it “hush let me finish” you say to him with a smile

“So this damn Herbert the duck, my eye is watering and it hurts and i'm cursing up a storm as Obi laughs his ass off and tries to hold me steady. i get a hold on Herberts back, holding down its wings so i can easily lift it into my arms and as i pull it towards me he pecks my OTHER EYE” Obi is holding in cackles, he knows whats coming and can hear the mans voice as clear as day in his head “then Obi brings me down and im crying uncontrollably, my eyes burning as this duck watches me smugly hand him over to his care taker and then the gentleman goes”

You change your voice to mimic the mans again “watch out, he’s a pecker” Obi is laughing so hard along with Vulcan and Shinra, the rest chuckling along with.

“And i'm standing there, eyes leaking unctronably from being pecked in both eyes, and he just takes his duck and walks inside his house. I had to go to the doctor and get vaccines for all these diseases that ducks apparently have.” Obi catches his breath and wipes his tears “you should have heard her on the way back from the doctor, two eyepatches on and going on a tangent about how ducks should have gone extinct and left the geese since they are much cuter. I couldn’t stop laughing the whole drive home”

You slap his arm playfully “you saw that picture at the museum they look so cute and kind!” he smiles and holds your hand “I wonder how Herbert the duck is doing” he asks and you smile “probably not as well as I am” you smile around the table at your team and friends, all smiling and still chuckling softly imagining your story.

(Later)

“I can’t believe that one of the first things you liked about me was my tangent about ducks” you say as you crawl into bed beside him. He laughs and wraps his arms around you, hugging you to his chest “you were so cute and funny. I knew I needed to keep you around me because you made life fun and wonderful because that’s who you are” you kiss his cheek as he continues, rolling over and holding you “I knew I wanted to have you forever but I was too dense to realize I loved you” he nuzzles into your neck and lays on your chest, his weight and warmth comforting. “I love you” you whisper and he kisses you neck softly “I love you sweetheart”

[narniagiftexchange]

                         THE SPRING NARNIAN GIFT EXCHANGE.

                 for: @narniadynasty from @tiriansjewel.

the honor of love.

setting: Calormen

characters: Zardeenah, Aravis, Lasaraleen

Zardeenah has a way about Her, always watching with a gentle gaze, always reassuring with a tender touch, always guiding with a kind counsel. She dances across the sweltering deserts and through the humid grasslands and into the bustling cities to meet Her kin, her younger brothers and sisters, in the moments of their greatest feeling. As the sun begins its descent into the jagged mountains of the west, so too does Zardeenah begin Her work amongst the cool air of the night and under the soft light of the moon. Tonight, She watches over a young Tarkheena with bright eyes and a girlish naïveté underneath the grown-up refinement she has cultivated in the last few months. This is not the first time She has visited Lasaraleen with a fond catch in Her throat at the heart and passion of Her sister for all things holy, but this is the first time She has visited Her sister to counsel her in the matters of love.

This is because Lasaraleen’s closest friend Aravis has ridden into Tashbaan atop her kind mare for a visit, and underneath the Tarkheena’s refinement there is also a nervous thrumming in her veins at the fiercely sweet brushes of her friend’s fingertips and a stilting headiness at the affection of her friend’s words and stories. These are all telltale symptoms of love, and Zardeenah has seen them in many of Her siblings before, from the earnest awkwardness of the firsts to the familiar sweetness of the lasts, from young people to the elderly, from the beginning of time until now. This love feels different though; it is stronger, as though it is meant to last throughout time in different fonts and forms, as though it could save a nation from self-destruction. She marvels at the beauty of it all, and wonders what words may reassure Her sister, who fumbles with her hair and jewelry and questions how she should speak to Aravis. 

Lasaraleen turns to Zardeenah and speaks in a frantic way, wondering how on earth she is going to impress her friend, who she is sure is far braver and well-spoken than herself. It is a rare moment of insecurity for Lasaraleen, who is usually bubbly and sure of herself, if a bit childish at times. The setting sun frames her as she paces about in the garden explaining herself in anticipation, and Zardeenah reaches out with a soft hand to calm Her sister, weaving Her sentences in the traditional Calormene verse and breathing a fresh confidence into the Tarkheena. 

“It is an honor to love, and it is an honor to be loved,” she says. “To care so intensely for someone is great evidence of your character. Don’t be afraid to let it grow into something beautiful.”

Lasaraleen smiles, clearly reassured by this advice, and Zardeenah slips away into the night after a warm embrace, just in time to hear Aravis arrive in a fumbling bustle of horse tack and servants, and just in time to see the girls greet one another, blushes flooding across their cheeks and knowing grins and looks threading between them like some sort of precious secret. 

***

Years pass and things change as they often do, childlike infatuation and exploration developing into something deeper and softer, their relationship quiet and trusting as new challenges present themselves. Zardeenah is there through it all, listening to their prayers, their hopes and fears, watching them grow from lanky girls on the verge of womanhood to tall, beautiful young ladies adorned in bright fabrics and dazzling jewelry, their steps graceful and meaningful and their smiles full. Now, the world has changed. Now, it is time for a new chapter. 

Aravis flees. Zardeenah wishes to weep for Her sister, trapped like a caged bird, but instead she holds hope in her heart for Aravis’s future in the North, knowing that all things have their reasons. She follows Aravis on her journey through the sticky summer air as she meets a boy with a noble brow hidden behind the dust and dejectedness on his face. Times will change, indeed. She sends Aravis on a race across the desert, and watches as Azaroth follows close behind. She is going to meet her destiny, Zardeenah thinks.

She turns back to Tashbaan as the night fades, as Aravis and the boy who is called Shasta arrive at the hermit’s. Lasaraleen is sitting in her quarters, a rare, quiet contemplation on her features. The girl so joyous, so frivolous, so gay, given over to pondering. It is a sight Zardeenah is proud to see; a sight Lasaraleen seldom shows anyone. 

“Is she safe?” she asks, a measured hope in her voice. 

Zardeenah nods and takes a brush from the table, sitting next to Her sister and beginning a steady trail through her long, black locks. The gesture has always been one of comfort to Lasaraleen, who loves to braid and style her own hair. She loves to be beautiful. She is beautiful, Zardeenah decides. 

“She has arrived in Archenland,” she replies as she separates Her sister’s hair into strands for braiding. 

Lasaraleen smiles, relief on her features. “I think I always knew she would run further than I would.” 

Zardeenah agrees silently as she begins to weave delicate patterns. 

“But I am glad of it, I think,” she continues. “That kind of wild…freedom suits her well, anyways. It always has, even if it exasperates me sometimes. I hope she finds a true home there.”

“I don’t believe we will need to worry much about that, sister.” 

“No, me neither. Yet, I hope… I hope she remembers that she has a home here, too. She is my dearest friend.” 

Lasaraleen sniffs, her eyes cloudy and her cheeks glistening with a natural kind of adornment, and Zardeenah can do nothing but soothe with Her fingertips and Her words.

“Do you remember what I told you about love those few years ago?” 

“Yes.” 

“Truths don’t fade even as time passes, Lasaraleen. Your love for Aravis saved her life, I think. And now she is saving our nation. That is a beautiful thing.” 

“Yes, I suppose it is,” she agrees. “An unconditional thing, as well.”

Zardeenah smiles to Herself as She thinks of the two Tarkheenas laughing in the not-so-distant future as they traipse through the Archenlandian hills or the Calormene sands. Separation never truly endures for long between friends or lovers with a steadfast spirit. 

Lasaraleen laughs brightly, her playful mood returning as Zardeenah ties the last of the strands into the braid. 

“I am so proud of her,” Lasaraleen says finally. “She has always been the brave one of the two of us.” 

“Yes,” Zardeenah agrees. “Aravis is carving her path, and you must carve yours. We all must, in the end. Yet, I believe your care for one another has afforded you both such dignity that you won’t have much to fear. After all, it is a special thing to be loved, and in turn to love just as gracefully.”

Lasaraleen smiles, another tear hanging from her eyelashes like a string of diamonds. 

“I understand that now,” she says softly. “Thank you.”

Zardeenah finds herself reaching out to hold Her sister yet again before she must float back into the night to meet her other siblings. Lasaraleen clings to Her, gratitude pouring off of her, and Zardeenah cannot help but feel all soft at the fact that She has helped Her sister. After all, loving her countrypeople is Her honor, just as loving Aravis is Lasaraleen’s. 

[milesmentis]

WIP title Ask Game

I was tagged by @5lazarus and @thedascharlatan! I’ve never done these before because I’ve never really had wips but HERE GOES!

rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of  how non-descriptive or ridiculous, and then tag as many people as you  have WIPs. also, if you’d like to know more, feel free to send an ask about any of these fics! (All Dragon Age ... all part of the Fusion Verse series)

Fusion Verse (The first actual fic of which is “From the Wreckage”)

Fusion Verse Drabbles (breaking this down into it’s actual parts below)

Ostagar

On the Shores of Lake Calenhad

Damsel in Distress

Mabari Dominance

ZevDaren

The Pearl

Lemon Twist

Two Birds, One Stone

Build a Home

I’m not sure if all of these people have active wips (and I know some of you have already been tagged) but here goes: @joycrispy @do-you-have-a-flag @lazyadmiral @wedgie-of-destiny @thegreatfoxking @sparkyyoungupstart @lehufflepug @thunderbot @risenphoenixthings @purple-crow @lyrium-spa

[ducknotinarow]

“Heyyy Nina, do you think dad would be mad that I bought a Parrotlet? Do you think he’d be even madder that I bought two?” 

She bites her bottom lip, fiddling with the necklace Nina had given her. Brooklyn’s gaze flickers to the floor briefly before looking back up at her big sister,

“You think he’d ground me because for the passed month I’ve been sneaking in cages, toys, and all sorts and setting up the corner of my room for two Parrotlets?” 

Brooklyn could not make it more obvious that she had done something ‘bad’, or well, without permission. She couldn’t help it, Brook saw the two Parrotlets all alone in the pet store and wanted to give them a home, and the pet store promised to hold the two until she was able to get everything she needed. Hands grabbed Nina’s wrist, Brooklyn grinning proudly, 

“You wanna meet them Nins? Their names are Destiny and Dream.” 

| Muse interactions "Alright, Cooper get ready for this one!" Nina yelled out as she put in a bit of strength behind her throw as she tossed the tennis ball out for her dog to chase after, three legs were not enough to keep him from playing around like any other dog could do. Smiling to herself as she kept an eye on the dog as they ran after the ball. "Woo good boy!" She hollered out when he lept and caught the ball, prompting him to make his way back to her. Kneeling down to reward him by petting the dog happily and giving him some praise for be a good boy, taking notice they had company now as Nina turned to look and find her sister. "Oh hey, uh something wrong?" “Heyyy Nina, do you think dad would be mad that I bought a Parrotlet? Do you think he’d be even madder that I bought two?” Nina turned her attention to her sister now curiously as she thought over the sudden question, watch how they messed with the necklace around their neck out. A habit when they felt nervous it seemed as she bit her bottom lip. You would swear Brooklyn had done something bad with how she was acting right now. She didn't have much chance to answer that though before Brooklyn continued on to speak, “You think he’d ground me because for the passed month I’ve been sneaking in cages, toys, and all sorts and setting up the corner of my room for two Parrotlets?” Nina blinked at that, then again her sister could be sneaky when she needed to be so she likely could get away with finding a way to get that all smuggled in without anyone noticing a thing. The brunette couldn't think of a reason Steve would be upset really though? considering he love Coop himself and was a big fan of animals. pursing her lips in thought when Brooky took hold of her wrist seemed her concern faded a moment as she went to speak on about the birds she had snuck in to her room, “You wanna meet them Nins? Their names are Destiny and Dream.” Nina just smiled and slightly breathed out a light laugh as she went to stand up now. "Of course I want ta meet your birds and don't worry about pops mans a big old softie after all. I'm sure once he gets to meet them too he'll be just as happy as you are. Sides, if you flash him with your starry eyes I think it'll work even more so." Nina was well versed in the puppy dog stare herself to get their father to fold. Steve Rogers was no match for his daughters at the end of the day after all. Gentle whilst to Cooper so he knew they were heading back in now as Nina let her sister lead the way, "Gotta say I'm impressed how you managed to sneak them in and all an' are now only making a mention of them." Smirking as she slung her arm around her much shorter sister pulling her into a slight "Looks like I'm rubbing off on ya kid," she slightly joked just wanting to mess with her sister a little. "But seriously you know Dad isn't gonna be mad, I mean you don't really need to ask permission sure but I'm sure he would have happily help ya get them and what you needed if you just asked you know? all we care about is that you feel comfortable enough to speak up about things like that." Nina felt a need to point out, she knew Brookyln grew up in a bad situation before hell the girl wouldn't even just go to the kitchen to get food when she was hungry for a time. So sneaking to get what she wanted to make some sense as well when Nina put some thought into it. "And I don't mean so you can be given the okay just well families talk to each other it's what we do were here for you know support and shit." playing it off as simple as she could to not sound too sentimental in her point. "look my point is you can tell pops anything he won't get upset or deny you something like a pet, hell he's the reason I adopted Coop after all." Nina said gesturing to the dog following beside them, "I know it may be hard to get used to it" hell Nina knew first hand, not all living situations were the same after all, "But in this family, you can at least know one thing. You can always find someone to say whatever you need to, too. Even it's just hey I wanna get

so birds." Smiling letting go once it seemed she made her point, "I know you got a lot to adjust to still but I'm sure you'll come to find you place as well."

[rebrandedbard]

The Music Box (1/3)

A porcelain figure on a music box sits alone in an abandoned attic until one day he is granted the gift of life. He strikes out on a quest of self discovery, giving himself the name Jaskier, and learns about what it means to be living. As he goes about playing his music, he hopes one day to find the one who made him, and learn why destiny should give him a soul and wait so long after to grant him the blessing of life.

Alt - Jaskier used to be a figure on a music box before wishing to be real.

(wc: 3232)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Music drifted into the attic, soft and mellow, rambunctious and spirited, earnest and poor. Children’s poems and great ballads of adventure and love lit up the forgotten corners, clearing the shadows from them if only for a moment. At such times, the emptiness and forgetting and damp disappeared. The cobwebs became gossamer curtains. The dust was nearly like snow. For the length of a bar or two, there was life in the abandoned place.

How long ago had it begun, the little porcelain figure wondered? When the music played in the world beyond, his little heart stirred to life and reached out longingly to be a part of it. When did he first have a heart to stir? He thought it must have been long ago, a century or two. It was impossible to tell the passing of the years.

He thought it must have been then, when the little boy turned the key on the box for the first time. The little boy had stared up at the figure in wonder as it sprang to life, spinning round on the lid of the box. Tinkling music, sharp and sweet and sure poured out from inside, enchanting. The little boy asked someone, an old man he thought, if the figure might be a faery in disguise, and if he’d had wings the figure would have fluttered them with joy. He would like to be a faery. He thought he might have seen them in some of the far markets, their eyes shining brighter than they ought. If he were a faery, he might dance or play. But no. He could only ever turn, and only ever in one direction, never singing or dancing. Never playing.

As the years passed and he was exchanged in colorful paper wrappings from hand to hand to hand, he’d grown tired of his song. Always the same notes over and over, without even words. He envied the harp. He hated the violin. The flute mocked him, for they had no such limitations. And oh, how he might shed tears to listen to the people singing! How could any one instrument play so many songs? He could not cry, and he had no voice—why should he have a heart to ache and break for such things at all?

But now, alone in the barren waste of things packed away and left to rot, he wished he might have the company of his song again. He’d been in the attic so long, he’d forgotten the very last of the notes, and there was none to wind his key. Even if he had no music, he might at least be allowed to turn. It was not true dancing, but he could pretend. He did not know why he was allowed such a blessing as to pretend or to feel, but he tried so very hard to use it.

Outside, it was coming on evening. A nightingale perched somewhere nearby, singing its song. Hateful pest! He wanted to rip the heart from his chest and push the broken pieces back together, but his hands would always remain poised. One lifted above his head, and one so tauntingly to his chest. His mouth would always be open to sing, and he could never utter a sound. And here came the nightingale once more to mock him, singing pretty verses and trilling in the fading light.

Once, long ago, a nightingale had flown in the open window to nest among the abandoned rafters. It sang and sang as it built its nest, and there were two. How dare anything come to this place, throwing freedom and music and love in his face, flying and parading around him! He wished they might have the mercy to fly low and knock him from his perch. If he might fall and break, perhaps he might then die and be rid of his longing.

It was a joke. Perhaps he’d watched a faery too closely and it had cursed him for it. He would always live with longing, never dying. For the sin of seeing too clearly, someone in Faerie had cursed him with unfulfillment. He was only a toy, just a simple, decorative knick-knack. He must always look wherever he was turned. He could not help staring.

The night came, bringing darkness with it. He was afraid of the dark, for it was so much quieter when the sun went down, and he knew he was truly alone. He was grateful for clear nights when the moon and stars offered their comfort. Though he was surely faded by exposure to the light, his clothes turned white and grey by the dust, he was the more fortunate for being left uncovered, allowed to see through the small attic window into the heavens. It was his spotlight, bathing him in a single ray of warmth when the sun was high, a pale beam of silver light when the moon rose. It asked him to perform and fill the room with life, and he wished to comply.

The house had long been empty, no audience to perform for. He wondered what had happened to the family. Had they moved on? Had they died? The corner of the roof sagged from years of heavy snow, and the beams creaked in the wind. He wished the house might have ghosts at the very least, but it was depressingly without haunt. There had once been rich furnishings beneath the dost cloths, he remembered. The attic was quite expansive. Maybe the family had been comprised of peers, turned out during some great revolution. He thought of such romantic stories often to pass the time, and it made it difficult to remember. Surely he would have heard the fuss of fighting below. He fancied the rebels would have tried to burn the house down and that only the attic was spared the flames. He would like some looter to come scavenging in his lonely domain. Perhaps then he might be taken and sold, then he might at least see something new of the world. Even the patch of sky outside his window had become too familiar.

Then, there came something new. A brilliant streak of light across the sky. His heart leapt at the sight and he knew if for what it was. A shooting star.

His left hand always reaching, for once in his life he felt it was with purpose. He wished to tangle his right hand in his shirt, for his heart ached with a terrible hope. He reached with his left, beseeching, for once he’d been owned by a little girl who wished on such stars, and he knew the most earnest came true in stories.

He wished. Oh, how he wished!

Living. I want to be living!

He wanted to leave this place. He wanted to sing and play all those instruments that taunted him before, show them who truly knew the depth of music. Who knew music better than the figure on a music box? He wished to taste those songs on his own tongue which the people sang and hummed and whistled! He wanted to frolic! To dance! He wanted to just once—only once!— turn counter-clockwise.

The star disappeared before his eyes and he waited, staring up at the place where it had been. And he waited. In the deafening silence, his heart began to beat painfully in his chest and he willed the star to return. He outstretched arm trembled and he wished to call it back. The attic blurred, tears prickling his eyes. He sobbed, knowing the star would not return, and brought his knuckles to his eyes, wiping away the hot tears as they began to fall.

He stopped.

He slowly tilted his head down and looked at his hands. They glistened in the moonlight, wet with tears. They’d moved. He moved them again and found he could. Quickly, he looked at his feet and saw not a box, but the bare floor below him. His heart beat again—it was beating! What a wonder!—and he laughed, felt the smile on his lips for the first time. He wobbled as he attempted his first step and fell onto the arm of one of the old chairs. Giddy with joy, drunk on this sudden euphoria, he ripped the dust clothes and threw them into the air. At long last, he could move! He danced around the room, exploring all that he could never dream to touch or feel beneath his fingers. In an old chest, he found beautiful festival costumes. He threw off his old tatters and dressed in them. How long had he envied the birds for their changing plumage? Or humans for their ever-changing clothes?

He found a mirror and stood awhile, watching himself so full of life. He smiled, frowned, scowled, and made a hundred funny faces. “Hello!” he said, then he tumbled back from his reflection, startled by his own voice. He’d heard something like it in his own mind, but it had never been anything so loud or concrete. Very quietly, he whispered, “Hello,” again, peeking up at the edge of the mirror from his knees. Shyly, he waved back at himself.

On shaking legs, he stood again. He made a courtly bow. He’d been on the mantle once of a great room in some manor, and he’d seen many a bow and curtsey. It was clumsy at first; he did not yet know how to move properly, but his heart was full to bursting for joy. “A pleasure to meet you,” he said, and his words were almost steady. “And what is your name, good gentleman?”

Here his fun came to a halt, for he had no answer.

“Oh. I … who will name me?” he asked. He had no mother or father. He did not even know who had made him and his box.

His box!

He turned round, searching for it. How odd a thing it was to be able to look from this new perspective. And there it was, where it had always been, sitting on the old end table among the clutter. He picked it up, turning it over and over. On the bottom there was writing, but he could not read. He’d never had the chance to see it, though he’d known it sat beneath this feet. It was carved and painted with wildflowers, gilded on the edges. There was some chipping here and there, and the color had faded, but he could not help loving it, for it had so long been a part of himself.

The mechanical bits clicked as he wound the key. He bit back a sob as the music poured out once more. It had been so long. The notes came to him at once, though they stuck now and then, and he could remember how they’d sounded once so very long ago. The little platform on top turned round and round, empty. He turned, spinning very slowly in the opposite direction as he clutched it to his chest. When the spring had wound down, he wiped his eyes and leapt to his feet. He scrambled to the window and threw it wide, reaching out into the night sky.

“Thank you!” he called. “Oh, thank you! Thank you!”

One day he would find the words with which to express his gratitude. He swore he would put his heart and soul into such an expression of thankfulness, and he would bless the sight of the generous stars until his dying day! Could he die? Did he eat? There was so much to discover!

He finished his exploration of the attic and collected a bag and change of clothes. Belongings. He had belongings now. There was something grand about owning things. He carefully wrapped his box in a bit of cloth and put it into his bag. When the sun rose in the morning, he’d be off on a journey. Very soon, he’d be part of the world. What song would be the first to greet him? Through the window, he’d seen the beginnings of spring. A seasonal ballad, he hoped.

He explored the rest of the house, going from room to room to examine this strange place that had been his home, so detached from what he’d known. It was a grand house, full of once-fine furniture, walls covered with portraits and intricately patterned and peeling wallpaper. He bent to feel the carpets, excited to touch everything he came upon. He discovered a velvet couch, a silk table runner. He ran his finger along the rods of a carved banister, listening to the gentle thump as he did. In another room there was a lamp with a beaded shade that clicked wonderfully and jingled when disturbed. When he realized the short heel of his boots made a clomping sound, he began to tap them as he walked, skipping now and then until his feet had carried him to the most wonderful discovery of all.

It was a music room. There was a great harp in the center of the room, standing under an old chandelier. He eagerly stroked its strings, only to find it horrendously out of tune. Still, he played to hear the sound. One by one he explored the various instruments. It was not such a vast collection, but it was more than he’d ever seen, and he was filled with the sudden desire to take one for himself. But which? He would play them all until he might make his choice.

The pipe was too shrill for his ears, still so sensitive to such noise. He liked the drum well enough, but it made no more than one or two sounds beneath his beating hands. He’d enjoyed the harp, but it was far too bit to carry. Then, tucked in the far corner, he found a lute. He plucked experimentally at its strings and knew he had found his instrument.

He pulled the strap over his shoulder, his heart aflutter. A great mirror lined the wall and he turned in it, admiring himself. Yes, from here he would make something of this new life! With this gift, he would give something wonderful to the world! He would give music that which none had ever known, and all the Continent would sing his songs!

When the sun rose, he stepped out of the lifeless house and into the wider world. Things were beginning to stir, birds rising, wind waking. Even the flowers seemed to turn up their heads to look as he passed. An hour’s walk saw him in a bustling hamlet, men and women going about their morning work. He scurried up to the first person in reach, tapping the man’s shoulder.

“Excuse me—good morning. What is this place called?” he asked.

“Lettenhove,” the man replied, eyeing the brightly-dressed traveller.

“And what,” he asked, “is that house there beyond the fields?”

“The old Pankratz estate, but you won’t find any work there, bard. The last viscount was taken by pox several years ago. The nearest courts are in Falla.”

Bard! Might that be his name, he wondered? Before beginning his great quest, he must find himself a name. He remembered the writing on the bottom of his box. Would it be some name?

“Can you read, sir?” he asked. “Or might you point me in the direction of one who can?”

The man sniffed and stood straighter. “I can read,” he said gruffly. “Trying to make fun?”

The bard shook his head apologetically. “No, never! I have something that needs reading, and I cannot make it out. Would you help me?”

The man looked at the bard’s flashy clothes doubtfully. Such colorful songbirds were surely educated in reading and writing. Though he quite clearly felt he was being made part of some joke, he held out his hand and asked to see the bit of writing.

The bard unwrapped the music box and handed it to him with delicate care. “The, uh, writing is too small. I’ve lost my spectacles,” he excused, feeling a fool. He’d never been taught to read, but he knew there were some who read with spectacles on their noses.

The man looked more friendly at that. “Well, it’s a poem,” he said, observing the writing on bottom.

“Will you read it to me?”

With a shrug, the man recited the short verse:

With the turning of the year

Little friends shall gather near

In the Spring they shall appear

The lovely yellow bloom, jaskier

The man hummed and said, rather importantly, “The rhyme is good, but the spelling of the last word doesn’t match the pattern. It doesn’t rhyme to the eye.” He smiled and stroked his chin, looking very clever.

“What’s a jaskier?” the bard asked. It was a lovely word, he thought.

“It’s … ” the man looked around, then he stooped down to pick a flower from the grass by the road. “It’s this. Do they call them something different where you come from?”

The bard reached for the flower as it was offered to him and made no reply. He did not know where he was from. He decided it might as well be here.

As he turned the music box in hand, the man admired the flowers on the sides. “Ah, here they are as well. It’s a very pretty thing. May I have a listen?”

The bard nodded and the man wound the music box, listening to the tune. At last the bard could hear words in the notes. When the song finished, the man returned the box and the bard wrapped it once more, tucking it in his bag.

“Thank you,” the bard said.

“Julian!” someone called. The man turned over his shoulder as the caller waved him over. “Julian, move your sorry ass along! We’ve got deliveries to make, you lazy bastard!”

“Stop your whining, Alfred, you old cow! If you didn’t walk so slow, I could make the deliveries in half time!” He turned back to the bard and patted his arm jovially. “Well then, that’s my time run out on me. If you’re still around this afternoon, you ought to play for us at the pub,” he suggested.

“Thank you, but I’ve got to be going. I have a delivery of my own to make,” said Jaskier Julian Alfred Pankratz. He’d found a name, found several in fact—spares, just in case he might lose one—and now he had a new quest in mind. “I’ve got to deliver this music box to its owner.”

“Did you need the address read?” the man asked.

“No, thank you,” Jaskier replied. “But if you might point me in the direction of the nearest market, I’d be much obliged.”

“Thataway. Happy travels.”

“The very happiest!” Jaskier exclaimed.

And he was off in the pointed direction, a spring in his step, and an old song in his heart made new. He hummed as he went, then whistled. And at last, the market in sight, he began to sing the little verse aloud. A spectator tossed a coin into his hat as he stopped to bow to her on his way, sweeping his hat politely from his head. His very first wage, his very first song, his very first morning out in the world!

“Oh, destiny,” he sighed. “At long last, you are a loving thing.”

[goldeneyedgirl]

TwiFicMas20 Day 4: Daemons

Greetings! I hope everyone is having a less profoundly irritating day than I am. Also, migraine :( 

Today I bring you a Daemon-verse fic, ala His Dark Materials. Whilst I love the idea of animal souls, and I love Daemon fic, I have never read or see His Dark Materials, so if I’ve messed up on the laws of daemons, I apologise. 

It was intended to follow Alice from awakening through to around her discovery of her past, but I’m honestly on the fence about how the final version will shape up.

The list of daemons is below the cut, which might be spoilery but I think it’s easier to envisage what’s happening when you know what each daemon looks like. 

Onwards! (And thank you for reading!)

--

Cast

Alice – Milo - ??

Jasper – Lula – grey wolf

Rosalie – Beauregarde – white mink

Emmett – Allegra - Sun bear

Esme – Pax – Tree pangolin

Carlisle – Winnie – Giant Anteater

Edward - Khalida - Owl

Bella – Egil - Crane

--

One.

She wakes up in the mud, curled into a ball. Beetles are crawling through her hair, and there is mud – and blood? – dried all down one side of her.

He was curled against the small of her back, and clung to the ragged gown she was wearing as she sat up, blinking confused ruby-coloured eyes.

She does not recognise him at all, does not even know her own name, and he is terrified of her blood-coloured eyes, and what she has become. She has been born anew, and what she doesn’t remember cannot hurt her. She is bright and cheerful and giddy in a way that she has never been before.

“What are you?” she asks eagerly, kneeling before him, smiling.

“I’m you. You’re me. I’m… your soul,” he explains, and her lips into a surprised ‘o’.

“What is your name?” is her next question, one that breaks his heart.

“Milo,” he says. “Me-lo.”

“And I’m …Alice?” she says, suddenly uncertain.

“Yes. You’re my Alice.”

She scoops him up and kisses his nose, and for the first time, he thinks they might be okay.

Two.

They are wrong, and she doesn’t even know it.  

He tries to talk about it, weeks after she awakens as a red-eyed monster.

“I used to be a mouse,” he says suddenly, as they make their way through the forest.

“Really?” she looks intrigued.

“Yes.”

He hasn’t settled. He can feel his skin alight with energy and possibility, and he worries. She was sent away before he ever settled, and then everything happened to them.

Are they broken?

When she asks, he denies remembering ‘much’ from before she woke, remembering their names and the fact that he was a small white mouse with grey ears, which she accepts without question.

He is lying.

He remembers most of everything that happened to them. And whilst he hates her red eyes, and watching her feast on the stray humans that cross their path, he adores this cheerful, joyous self.

She steals a dress in the next town they cross through, a yellow gingham with ties at the back and a pocket big enough for him to ride in, that seems to swallow her up. She keeps the filthy, ratty hospital gown she was found in, wearing it like a cape, until she steals a bag. She carries it in there, along with a little notebook and a pencil, a second dress (dark blue wool, just as stolen.)

She finds a piece of blue ribbon one night, and ties it loosely around his neck, stroking his soft fur, and cradles him, her face so happy.

If this is broken, they’ll be okay.

Maybe.

Three.

They have a peaceful existence for twenty-eight years. They stay in the forests, only sneaking into small towns to steal after she learns that she can hunt wild animals instead of humans. That makes him feel better about what she’s become.

Everything is wonderful to her - the flowers, the weather, whatever her latest outfit is. She would sit for hours, watching a spider spin a web, or sit in the branches of a tree, watching birds build nests, utterly transfixed.

The dreams that made her family turn away from her have become fulling fledged visions of the future, ones that seize her without rhythm or warning. Those visions are for her mind only, though she shares every detail with him - including that of the vampire she calls Jasper.

He’s worried about how she speaks about Jasper, about the look on her face when she’s thinking of him. But Alice promises him that Jasper will only mean good things - like the Cullens.

“We’ll have a family, Milo!” she beams, lying in the soft grass next to a river, stroking him. “A mother and a father and brothers and a sister!”

She had a mother and a father and a sister, and they turned her into this, he wants to say, but he doesn’t. He tucks their lost history in the back of his heart and tries not to worry.

He’s sorrier than he can say when their solitude ends, and they slide into Philadelphia. They break into a hotel room to wash, and Alice seems giddy with excitement; then to a shop where Alice tries on a dozen dresses, and stuffs the toes of a pair of shoes so that they fit properly. She twirls in the mirror, and she’s beautiful. She even steals a bag, little brush and some new ribbon for him, so that he can be fancy too.

“We have to make a good impression,” she informs him, as she pockets a gold tube of lipstick and then some gold hairpins. “It’s our fate."

Their date with destiny goes to plan, though Milo wishes that he had been able to see the visions, to be prepared. This ‘Jasper’ is not just anyone; he’s over six feet tall, with dozens of overlapping scars, black eyes and lank blonde hair. He’s not particularly bulky, but every movement reveals his strength and skill; he practically emits violence - as does the mangy grey wolf at his side.

But Alice doesn’t flinch, doesn’t falter. She gets up and goes to him, her eyes full of him before he ever knows her name. Milo just huddles in her stolen handbag, his ribbon drooping, and waits.

Somehow the impossible happens and Jasper takes Alice’s hand. The wolf - Lula, Jasper calls her - huffs, and Alice scoops up her bag and they walk out into the drizzly night together.

Four.

She doesn’t tell Jasper about them, about how wrong they are. He’s told her before, gently, but she really doesn’t understand, and so it isn’t important. It’s up to him to worry and plan and watch.

Lula keeps her distance, and her eyes see everything. Every odd statement, every little mistake that reveals how broken they truly are. But Lula is not cruel or unkind - she is simply wary, and as more pieces of Jasper’s story comes out, Milo understands why.

The worst day is the one Alice spies a fawn drinking at a stream and stuffs him into Jasper’s hands before taking off.

Jasper audibly gasps, and he flinches but Alice doesn’t even look back.

Milo flickers in and out, and the sugar-glider form vanishes, leaving behind the grey and white mouse form.

“She doesn’t understand,” he manages to tell Lula, trying not to shake at the feeling of Jasper’s hands cradling him, at the faint pulling as Alice strains their link.

Lula whines, and Jasper looks at him carefully, and follows Alice. Her hunt is successful, blood on her mouth, and she beams up at them all without seeing the pity, the new understanding in their eyes. Instead, she splashes some water on her face, and reaches out for him, letting him run up her arm and tuck himself under the collar of her dress. Then she tucks her arm through Jasper’s and smiles up at him.

He wonders, later, if she truly doesn’t understand how broken then are.

Or she just doesn’t care.

Five.

The Cullens seem nice, and Esme is enchanted by Milo, currently a meerkat, who likes high places.

But he worries. So does Jasper. And the Cullens are surprised by the way Lula trails after Alice – the separation is a strain on both Jasper and Lula, but one they bear without flinching to make sure Alice is safe. But Alice and Jasper are connected in a special way, and Alice always jerks slightly when she realises that Lula has stretched as far from Jasper as they can tolerate, always apologetic at her ignorance. She knows that the pull other people experience when separated from their daemons is much more painful than when she and Milo seperate.

She doesn’t ask why, she just accepts it. Sometimes he wonders if she knows, in her heart of hearts, how much they suffered. How there’s no pain now because they ran through all of it - and then some - in the Before.

And then two things go terribly wrong. They are there only a week or so before there is a family hunting trip. He rides in the pocket of Alice’s new coat, and he wants to pretend everything is fine but he can feel the energy under his skin, twitchy and static.

He climbs out and scrambles up her shoulder, around her neck and back again – trying to burn off the manic energy.

He hears her voice – for his ears only. “It’s okay, Milo. Don’t force it.”

He knows. They aren’t settled, it’s going to happen eventually, and they’re going to know.

She still doesn’t understand that they will be ostracised for such a thing. Not Jasper’s warlike history, not his slip-ups, not her gift, but because they are deformed freaks.

It happens with a crack as he hits the ground – from meerkat to pika. He hears Rosalie’s hiss of horror, of gasps and growls at the unexpected shift and he scrambles back to Alice’s ankles, where she scoops him up tenderly.

“Better?” she asks out-loud, gently scratching his neck. He just nuzzles in.

The Cullens are horrified. A splayed-out corpse would be less obscene, less of a tragedy than a vampire with an unsettled daemon.

Jasper is glowering at them, Lula’s glare dark as well. The message is clear - do not draw attention to this. Do not upset them.

Esme’s Pax and Carlisle’s Winnie are both upset, curling together, fear in their eyes. Beau tucks himself deeper into Rosalie’s hair.

Alice looks back up, still happy, still ignorant and no one breathes a word.

The second time, it is an accident, it is instinct and it is terrifying. Jasper and Emmett are wrestling, and Alice is perched on a rock, jeering at Emmett’s attempts to pin Jasper. The rest of the family is nearby – enjoying the peace of the forest.

Emmett and Allegra are nice, and he trusts them. He does.

But Emmett looks at them with a glint and lunges, grabbing Alice around the arms and flinging her over his shoulder with a victorious roar.

A prankster, a gentle giant, a consummate big brother – all things Milo knows about Emmett. But there is a flash of unease in Alice’s mind that he’s not sure she is even aware of, and the way he grabs her is so reminiscent of how they would drag her away back at the asylum… the way she would cry…

Jasper and Lula are pissed, too, but they are a blur as he lunges – a two-pound meerkat that shifts into an almost-seven hundred pound Siberian Tiger that roars at Emmett, whose eyes are as wide as saucers.

Rosalie is shrieking, Esme is clutching Carlisle and Alice is bewildered, but holding her hands out in an attempt to placate him, still upside down on Emmett’s shoulder.

Lula is suddenly at his side, looking tiny and delicate against his new form (and it is entirely new. He’s never been a predator before, never been too big to carry). He growls at her but it is not a threat, but an expression of fear at the way Emmett grabbed at Alice, at that tiny flash in the back of her mind that remembered their suffering.

“Put Alice down, Emmett.” Edward is there, calm and collected. “You startled them. Jasper, can you calm them?”

As soon as Alice’s feet hit the ground, Jasper is by his side, stroking his head and pushing peace and security onto him. Alice is there, too, her arms around his neck and her face buried in his fur. Rosalie and Allegra are clinging to Emmett, who looks shell-shocked.

Esme and Carlisle are having a quick conversation, too low for anyone else to hear.

“I’m sorry, Alice, Milo. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Emmett’s apology is unexpected in the tense silence, and is genuine. His voice is steady and he is sympathetic; Rosalie is giving them murderous looks.

He looks at Emmett for awhile before resting his giant head against Alice’s, his eyes closing and a loud huff leaving his body.  

“Don’t be afraid,” she whispers to him. “We’re safe here. I promise.”

He wishes he could believe her.