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victorywithremy · 13 days

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The Confession | Adam vs Remy

"I've been lying."

Remy said simply as he folded his arms over his chest and gazed at some of the assembled demigods before him. He wasn't entirely sure what the reaction would be for some of them- he could see there was some sort of recognition in Atticus and Oliver's eyes, which he wasn't entirely surprised about. Oliver had seen his name tag when he'd come back from the underworld and Atticus was too smart not to least see through some of his lies. A few of the others looked a little more confused, he could see Gabe and Ale furrowing their brows slightly as they peered over at him. As he took a little breath. There was a decent argument he could have made about not telling them- that his experience in...whatever that strange world was with his old dorm room and that figure with the ever-changing face could have been kept to himself. And that his own understanding of his past was enough that he could have left it behind without anyone ever knowing about it.

But was that being fair to the people in this room? The people who'd thrown down their lives to save him or the ones who had shared his bed more than once?

"do you need to be a lie to them to be you, or are you ready to be your most honest truth?"

Those words danced around in his head as he flicked his eyes from Atticus to Oliver, to Romeo and Silas, Rio, Jay and Gabe. Face after face as he felt that tongue still of a moment- even with a sense of peace about his past, it still felt almost unnatural to talk about it. To shatter that web of lies he'd so carefully perfected.

"Not about being a lawyer- nor our experience at the school. I earned both of those things." He said as he nodded towards Atticus because- well, he'd still earned his degree. Just under more...shady circumstances. "I was born Adam Hopkins or...at least it's the best name I could come up with. Pretty sure I just picked the name from two random names in a phonebook once upon a time- " Remy paused because that felt like it was getting somewhat off track. " All I really remember if I think back enough..the smell of burnt ash and just- well, then it's just what my life was beyond that. I slipped through the cracks- I lived on the streets- I...made my way through life the best way I could. I used to change names like someone changed suits. James. Jack. Alexander. Adam. Eric... till I saw a chance to change my life. Though looking back on it I might have had a little bit of help with a few of my bigger lies I've said. From... well.." Remy waved his hand towards the temple. His intention was pretty clear. Nike, his mother, had turned the knife edge of some of his words towards his favor.

"I somehow convinced one of the best schools in the country that a student. That my parents were in the south of France and couldn't be contacted- hell, that any record of me was lost by some foolish administration. That Remy Warren was far too rich to deal with such things. Honestly- at the time I thought It was just such a bold lie big enough that no one would ever question it.- well, who'd try to lie to get into a school like that? Which in retrospect has me left feeling a little foolish From there I used my..skills and my connections, my actual talent to find myself in Oxford. And that's where I made Remy Warren proper- I invented tiny details- every lie became easier and easier. I perfected my accent. I-...

Became exactly who I wanted to be. The man you know. I'm not telling you this to gain some sort of sympathy or shock value. Or to undermine what I have with you. I'm telling you this because I want to be honest with you. I want you to see the scars and know the truth of me. I have cared for people before now and pushed them away when they found that truth.

I am hoping that my name doesn't matter to you- that each of you might know the person I am regardless of my past and those...tiny lies I've told some of you. Or at the very least that you'd be willing to understand some of it.

The core of who I am? The Remy you know hasn't changed. The man who shared your bed. Or fought beside you- it's still me.

I'm still Remy. It's who I made myself and it's who I am. It's the name I've chosen."

Remy let those words settle as he stared out at the group of demi-gods in front of him.

It somehow felt like a weight was on his chest and yet- one have lifted all at the same time.

"That's...what I wanted to say."

@athenianwit, @riointhedark, @raging-ale, @hearthwxrmth, @highfunctioningalcoholic

@hvrricaneromeo @sweatforged @bornatnightt @child-of-demeter

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darthbreezy · 9 months

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''I am not the Angel you knew...''

That's the theory 'doo-Jor' and one I hope with all my heart doesn't happen. I DON'T want Heaven to change Aziraphale into, in short, a dick.

Crowley, for all his 'I'm unforgivable, that's what I am...' has never been, at his heart truly evil despite all the lip service he gives. Even when he's sent to destroy Job's goats he just disguises them as crows at the start. He doesn't resurrect them, he never killed them in the first place. He's one of the biggest fakers in Hell.

Even his conversion of the M25 is more of a giant, long term joke. A twisted one, but a funny never the less. In the former Nunnery, even though he makes the paintball guns real, no one actually dies. Fire a gun? ''Not as such...'' He's more of a Loki of classic mythology than a demon, and ever gentle Aziraphale is the only one who sees right through him. Gabriel? Take away everything that makes him, well, him and you get Jim. Jim who's kind, and sweet and innocent. But Gabriel - he's a dick. A Vain, obnoxious bastard at his core. Crowley had him pegged when he told Aziraphale that ''He probably comes and gazes at it for hours!'' Hell, he even brings a DATE to come look at it (and I have to laugh when Beeze simply says 'Yeah, all right. Pub then?' and Gabe STILL stands and gazes at himself!). Even when he and Beeze bugger off to 'Alpha- Centur-eye', Gabe is focused on the ONE thing that matters to him. His own happiness. So we know who these 'people' are at their core. Which brings me back to Aziraphale. Gentle, loving Aziraphale who gave up his Flaming Sword (and LIED to the All Mighty about it! DO we honest;y believe She didn't know exactly what her little Principality did?) Who lied to a chorus of his 'bosses' to protect both Job and his family AND a demon? Heaven has known and 'tolerated' his relationship with Crowley since The Garden, obviously they didn't care when it really mattered.

Turning Aziraphale into ''Gabriel the Second'' just feels.... insulting.

Aziraphale, the embodiment of love, and kindness and tender-heartedness, being converted onto an Asshole. The one who even at the very 'end' risked everything to protect others... Why not have him just run his flaming sword through Crowley's heart (not only discorperating him. but utterly destroying him) to top it off? Just say that Kindness and Love are weakness and be done with it. I'll be glad when THAT idea goes the way of 'coffee theory'...

#aziraphale #good omens #crowley #good omens speculation #gabriel

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pennylanefics · 3 years

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Deceived - Theo Raeken | pt. 2

a/n: this part is super long, and i’m not really liking how it turned out 🤷🏼‍♀️

•••

The days following your break up with Theo, the pack takes turns checking up on you. Whether that’s to bring you food, ice cream, to have a movie night, or to just talk and hang out, each made an effort to spend time with you.

You were thankful for them all, going through another break-up was tough, especially since Theo lied to you and deceived you. It hurt much more than Isaac leaving; Theo made it seem like he was trustworthy and really loved you.

All of your problems with Theo were solved, though, when he was pulled into the ground by his sister. You felt slightly happier, knowing he wasn’t around to manipulate anyone else or hurt anyone.

Scott could basically feel the joy radiating from you afterwards. You are much more open and willing to go out and have fun, instead of sitting inside, worried about running into Theo or one of his packmates. But at the same time, you missed him. You missed the moments of tenderness spent together, him comforting you when you need it. But then everything that Scott and Stiles told you returns to your mind.

“You seem different, (Y/N),” Mason comments while the pack was over at Scott’s for a movie night.

“I am,” you smile at him. “Theo’s no longer here, he’s being punished for the things he’s done, and I couldn’t be happier.”

Scott grins at you and wraps an arm around your shoulder, tugging you into his arms.

“No need to worry about him. He’ll be gone for a while.”

Scott was right. It was months before you had to worry about Theo again. You were hoping it would be longer, but Liam brought him back to help with the newest threat to Beacon Hills. After Scott told you that Liam was adamant about bringing him back and helping everyone, you attacked Liam.

Though it didn’t do much considering he’s a wolf and you’re human; you barely did any damage, but he understood why you were angry. He sat you down and explained it all, promising that you wouldn’t have contact with him.

Malia was on your side. She even gave him an extra punch when she attacked Theo, just for you.

Scott made sure you were doing okay through everything, with losing Stiles and now your ex coming back. Through it all, he tried to hang out with you at least three times a week.

“Theo’s asking about you,” Scott brings up while you two enjoy some sundaes from your favorite shop. You pause, mixing your ice a bit out of anxiousness.

“What’s he saying?”

“Wondering how you’re doing, if you’re safe from the Ghost Riders, what I’m doing to protect you from them.”

“Why does he suddenly care about me?” You scoff.

“He says he thought about you a lot when he was underground. Your name kept being repeated in his mind, almost as if he was constantly reminded that he hurt you and betrayed you.”

“Sucks for him,” you shrug. Scott sighs and drops the conversation, knowing you wouldn’t be willing to see him anytime soon. And honestly, Scott wasn’t so sure if he could trust Theo this soon.

—

Graduation time finally rolled around. Stiles has been back for a couple months, unharmed, ready to go off to college. You were getting ready to head to UC Davis with Scott at the end of summer, so you two were going to spend the three months with the pack, going on a small week-long vacation with everyone, making sure you make the most of everything.

“Can you believe we did it?!” Scott yells happily as he comes over to you. The graduation ceremony just ended and you and every student was walking outside to search for their families and take pictures.

“I honestly can’t,” you giggle as he picks you up and spins you. “Allison should’ve been with us.” Scott smiles sadly and nods, looking down at the bracelet you got him, engraved with her initials and death date, with an inscription of her writing on the other side.

“She was. I know it.” You hug him tightly for a few moments before Stiles comes up and joins the hug.

“We did it!!!” He screams. You giggle at his energetic self but someone catches your attention. Theo stands not far off, looking around for his real parents that he reconnected with after coming back.

“Hey,” Scott breaks your gaze. “I know you’re doing great without him, but he’s changed a lot. I would give him another chance.” You raise your eyebrows at your best friend.

“He killed you and manipulated the entire pack for power, and you’re willing to trust him again?” Scott nods with no second thought.

“I trust him again. He’s proven that he’s changed and doesn’t want to do things for himself anymore. He saved my mom, he saved and protected Liam, and he helped Gabe pass peacefully without pain. He’s done good the past few couple months and if you have it in your heart to at least hear him out, please do.” You sigh softly and look back at Theo, who was now hugging his parents, a huge smile on his face.

The rest of the night was spent going out to dinner with the pack, celebrating being done with the chapter of your lives that brought so much pain and sadness, for everyone.

“Alright, I’ll see you guys at my house on Friday for the pizza and movie night?” You confirm with everyone in Stiles’ jeep. Everyone shouts in agreement and you get out. Scott escorts you up to your door.

“Hey, I’m really proud of you,” he says before you open the door. “Going through two painful break-ups, especially with the last one, and still graduating with honors? It’s amazing.”

“Same goes for you. Going through three years of school as a werewolf, dealing with changes, breaking up with Allison, her death, and just dealing with the supernatural as a whole, and as an alpha? It’s amazing.” Scott chuckles and hugs you one final time before you head inside.

You remove your gown from your shoulders, finally feeling the cool air conditioning on your warm body. You head to the kitchen for a glass of water and you see your parents sitting at the table.

“Hey sweetie. How was dinner with everyone?” Your mom asks.

“Great. Melissa treated us all to a nice dinner since she got a big bonus at work.”

“That’s nice. Is everyone coming over Friday, like you planned?”

“Yeah, they’ll be over at-” The doorbell ringing breaks your sentence. “I’ll get it.”

You walk back into the living room and open the door without a thought. A soft gasp leaves your lips as you come face to face with Theo.

“Hi,” he breathes. You inhale and exhale for a moment. He has a somber look on his face, still dressed in his fancy graduation outfit, looking as handsome as ever

“Honey, who is it?” Your dad calls from the other room.

“Uh, Scott. He says I left something in Stiles’ car. I’ll be right back.” You push Theo back so you both are outside. You walk over to the porch swing and take a seat. He follows moments later.

“Why are you here, Theo?” You ask, keeping your eyes down; the same sort of situation you were in the last time you two talked, when he admitted to killing Scott.

“I came to make things right. Ever since I got back, I’ve been trying to fix what I fucked up. I made things right with Scott, and with Liam, and Malia, even. I feel like I’m in a good place, but I’m missing one person I really cared for.”

“You didn’t care for me, Theo. You lied right to my face when I asked you if you killed my best friend. I asked you and you told me it was accidental, only for Scott to be resurrected and tell me that you tried to get his own beta to kill him. That’s not accidental.”

“(Y/N), listen. I-”

“No. How the fuck can I trust you anymore? How the fuck can I trust you when I opened up to you, told you about the heartbreak and pain I went through before I met you, only for you to turn around and hurt me even more?! To lie to me about the reason you’re here? Telling me that your dad got a new job, but you’re really here to gain power and rip apart the pack?” Theo sighs and nods.

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t think of you at all. I was selfish. I didn’t think of anyone else but myself. But I know for a fact that I loved you.”

“But...if you loved me, why would you not care enough to think about the repercussions of your actions and how they would affect me?”

“Because in my head, repercussions weren’t a thing. I was so power hungry that I didn’t care for those that I loved, even though I know I should’ve.”

“This conversation is going nowhere, Theo. So, if you would please leave and-“

“(Y/N)!” Scott suddenly appears in your front yard. “Can I talk to you for a moment?” You glance at Theo and he nods his head.

“What?” You groan, walking down the stairs and to him. He takes you to the side of the house so Theo can’t see or hear you, directly. He was probably listening in on your conversation.

“He’s telling the truth. His heartbeat isn’t increasing or changing, he reeks of remorse and hurt, and he’s told all of the same to me. He wasn’t thinking of anyone but himself and he didn’t care who he hurt in the process.”

“But why should I trust him now? What’s changed since he was put into the ground?”

“I already told you he’s changed a lot. Every time you were brought up, his face lightened up, and I could tell he really misses you. Liam mentioned that you were hanging out with some guy from school, and he had a huge fit; he punched a concrete wall when he heard. He came to me crying one night because he wanted to make things right with you, but you seemed so happy without him.” A small smile appears on your lips at the last sentence.

“I never saw Theo cry. Not even when we watched Forrest Gump.” Scott laughs.

“Yeah, he was sobbing like a baby. He wants you back, and I know it may take a while, and it may seem like he’s the same, but he’s not. I trust him more than I ever did, and that’s saying something.”

“What do you think I should do?” You wonder. “You always know what’s best for me. i mean, you introduced me to Isaac, you told me all the bad things Theo did and told me to talk to him, and we’ve been best friends for four years. I trust you more than anyone.”

Scott glances back to the front of the house, seeing Theo peer around the house, clearly listening to your conversation and watching your body language. He smiles and listens to Theo’s heartbeat. It races with nerves and his breathing is staggered.

“I think you should do what would make your heart happy. How have you felt without him?” You think for a moment, running over the past few months in your mind, forgetting how incredibly radiant you were when he was first gone. Recently, you’ve been missing him and longing for his comfort.

Nights were the hardest. He was always there for you when you had nightmares or couldn’t sleep due to anxiety. As much as you enjoyed him being gone at first, after a while, you wanted him back solely to be there for you when you needed calming down at night.

“Sad, happy, heartbroken, lost, glad I wasn’t being manipulated.”

“And how did you feel with him, during the summer?” A small smile appears on your lips.

“Joyful, carefree, warm...cared for.” Scott’s grin only widens as you finally admit and show what you want, deep from your heart.

“I think you belong with Theo. He may have hurt you and deceived you, and lied to you about his intentions but seeing you so happy for the first time since Isaac left, it was wonderful. Your heartbeat was always racing when you were with him, your chemo signals always signaled that you were in love. I know you loved Isaac, but you seemed different with Theo.”

“And that’s the worst thing! He was great the first few months we were together, until things with the pack got in the way and-”

“And I think that proves it. He never brought you into pack business, he never got you mixed up in his plan. The only reason things went down was because Stiles and I told you about what happened.” You pause and think about the statement. Sure, killing Scott affected you in terms of losing a friend for a short time, but Theo never asked you for information on Scott, Stiles, or Liam.

“You think so?”

“I know so,” Scott confirms. “Otherwise, you would have told me.”

“But-”

“Quit with the buts,” Scott laughs quietly. You grin and shake your head. “You’re making excuses. I’m not saying to trust Theo completely, but at least give him a chance.”

This long talk had pretty much made up your mind. As much as you hated Theo, Scott, convinced you he’s different. And you wouldn’t really know that unless you gave him the chance to prove so.

“I’m so glad I have you, Scott,” you whisper, tears forming in your eyes.

“And we’ll have each other in the fall at school. Now,” he hugs you tightly, rubbing your back, “go see him. He’s been peeking around the corner to check on us this entire time.” You giggle and thank Scott before running back to the front of the house.

Theo was just getting ready to leave when you called out to him. In the glow from the streetlight, you could see his cheeks were stained with tears.

“(Y/N), listen. I know you’re really against-”

“Shut up.” His face contorts in confusion for a moment, but when you run right towards him and jump into his arms, everything falls into place.

“I’ll give you a chance, Theo,” you mumble into his neck. He shakes slightly with cries, repeating ‘thank you’ over and over again.

“You really will?”

“Were you not listening in on our conversation?” He blushes, having been caught.

“I did for a little, but it felt wrong, so I kinda just watched your expression for the rest.”

“I’m not saying I’m going to fully trust you just yet, that has to be earned back. But, I do want to hear what you have to say, and maybe reconcile things and go back to the way we were before you killed my best friend?”

A smile slowly tugs at the corners of Theo’s lips as your words settle in. He wipes your tears away with his thumbs, but doing so makes him start crying again. He hates seeing you hurt because of him, and he hates knowing how much he put you through.

“Can I ask you one thing?” He wonders. You nod and grab his hands in yours.

“Can I kiss you?” You can’t help but giggle at the desperate tone in his voice. “I’ve wanted to ever since I got dragged underground. It’s the thing that kept me sane. Thinking about how sweet they always taste, how soft they are.”

You take matters into your own hands and lean up to kiss him. He giggles almost immediately, ecstatic to feel them again. He grabs your hips and holds you close, his tears eventually mixing with yours on your lips.

“So,” he breathes, pulling away. He tightens his grip on you, scared of losing you for a second time. “Can I see you tomorrow for a make-up date? I’ll take you to get ice cream and we can just talk.”

“Or,” you begin, kissing him once more, “you could stay the night, we could talk and catch up, and you could take me out for ice cream tomorrow?” Theo smiles and taps your butt cheekily.

“That sounds great. I really missed you, beautiful.”

“I missed you too, Theo.”

#theo raeken #theo raeken imagines #theo raeken imagine #theo raeken x reader #cody christian #teen wolf #teen wolf imagines #imagines #fanfiction #fanfic

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purrincess-chat · 3 years

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Okay, so I know I said I wasn't gonna comment, and I'm not getting into the discourse, idc, everyone shut up for a minute because I have ideas.

Canon would probably never, but I posted my akumabug LadyNoir set up yesterday, and I've got another one after this episode, so just hear me out:

Feel whatever way you wanna feel about he-whom-I've-forgotten finding out, but as I've sat and pondered what the overall fucking message is here for Marinette after all of these microbetrayals from her friends this season coupled with the building tension between Chat and Ladybug, I've realized that things are not looking great for Marinette. If all of these things came to a head. If she found out that the people she trusted lied, after everything she has been juggling, with how fragile her mental state is rn, she would break. And likely not trust anyone.

So, scenario, say Chat finally snaps at her after a battle and reveals that he doesn't feel included or needed anymore, like they're no longer partners, and runs off. Ladybug on her way home catches Nino welcoming Rena Furtive home on her balcony and is like she didn't tell Nino what we agreed! But she tries to give her bff the benefit of the doubt because that's her mans. He-whom-I've-forgotten notices her being a little sullen at a group hang later and approaches her to talk. She admits that someone she cares about told her recently that he feels like she's shutting him out, and now she's discovered that someone she thought she could trust lied to her. HWIF is like wow oof. That's a shame. Marinette looks up at him and is like "you'd never lie to me, right?" And he's like shit. So, he decides to tell her the truth finally, and Marinette is appalled that he lied to her and has been putting her at risk unknowingly all this time. He tries to apologize, but she transforms and storms off, hurt and betrayed.

Ding dong, guess who's ready to party? It's Shadowmoth, bitches. And boy is it his lucky day. All of Ladybug's most trusted allies failing her all at once. It's akumabug time.

When Alya discovers that Ladybug has been akumatized, she's like ah, fuck, and rushes to Marinette's house to get the Miracle Box, but it's already gone. Alya is like FUCK!

HWIF sees akumabug and is like ah shit, and runs to Adrien. Adrien is also sulking in his room, and HWIF is like, broski, my dude, my guy, Ladybug needs you. I fucked up and found out who you both are and didn't say anything, and now she's an akuma. Adrien asks why Viperion doesn't just go save her then. They don't need him, and HWIF is like, you fool. You two are made for each other, and she needs you more than ever. Please, do the thing. Adrien is like how made for each other? "You love Ladybug. She loves Adrien." Adrien is like okay, that's fair. Let's go get this bug.

Anyway, Ladybug's power can turn the Miraculouses in the Miracle Box evil, so when she hands them out, the users fall under her command, so when Chat and Rena show up, they're like oh fuck.

Chat tells Rena to handle the minions, he will try to break through to Ladybug. Rena singles out Carapace first, dodging through his attacks and appealing to Nino. Vesperia and Ryuko show up to back him up, but Carapace encases himself and Rena inside a shelter to talk. Rena is able to break through to him, and he agrees to help. Together they defeat Ryuko by hitting her with Vesperia's venom, and swiping both of their Miraculouses. Cat don't make your stupid beeatrix pun

Anyway, Rena fuses the fox and the bee and Carapace fuses the turtle and the dragon. Next they take on, Roi Singe and Pegase with a tad bit more ease, shoving both of them through Pegase's portal, then hitting Pegase with Roi Singe's banana and trapping them there.

Next they have to fight Pigella and Tigresse Pourpre, and I'm too lazy to think of a clever solution for them right now. But they both get defeated and become integral to the next phase of the plan.

Meanwhile, Chat has been fighting Akumabug, who is absolutely spiralling. She can't trust anyone, and the only way she can ensure her allies don't betray her again is to have total control over them. Chat tries to reason with her, but she points out that even he turned her back on her. Chat admits that he let his hurt feelings get the better of him, but that he felt like she was keeping secrets and shutting him out. He was just scared that "you and me against the world" was turning into "you and everybody else." He doesn't want to lose their partnership or her.

Akumabug subdues him, pinning him to the ground, and he surrenders. "Being Chat Noir by your side has meant the world to me, m'lady. Nothing will ever change that."

Beeatrix god dammit Cat and Dragonturtle arrive with Pigella and Tigresse Pourpre, now on their side, and Pigella and TP (that's actually an unfortunate abbreviation I've just discovered) use their powers to show Ladybug what her heart really wants and convince her to give in. Ladybug looks around at all of her friends and allies there to fight for her, and breaks loose of Shadowmoth's influence. Rena apologizes for not being honest with her after Ladybug trusted her. She gives back the bee as well as the fox and says that maybe Ladybug was wrong to trust her. Ladybug forgives her and says that secrets are hard to keep, all of this is proof of that. From now on, they'll be more honest with each other, including her and Chat Noir. She apologizes to him for keeping him in the dark, and Chat apologizes for quitting on her when she needed him most. Just because their team has grown, doesn't mean they have to trust each other any less.

Shadowmoth is like fucking hell, so he goes to fight them himself and try to at least steal the Miracle Box, but Ladybug and friends have all regrouped and recharged, and it's time for them to open a can of whoop ass on Shadowmoth once and for all.

Anyway, that's the story about how Shadowmoth gets his ass handed to him by a group of teenage furries, and everyone apologizes for their mistakes. But most importantly, Gabe goes to jail, and Nino adopts Adrien.

I will not be taking questions or criticism at this time. Fuck off and write your own angsty scenario with a happy ending.

#cat spoils #cat why do you want akumabug so badly?#because she would be scary as hell!#honestly if the writers had the balls to akumatize her i would give them mad props

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the-melting-world · 3 years

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Strength | Side B: “Chasing Dials”

Art by @ligiawrites

~ In which a secretive barhand brings in the new year…

The Trio Appearances: Kipling | Khleo | Ozy

Arcana LI appearances: Asra | Nadia | Lucio | Valdemar

Track Origins: “Chasing Dials” by Blanco White

Not sure if this is the right track? The full album can be found here: Strength

Khleo is Non-binary and uses she/they pronouns interchangeably

cw: alcohol, implications of vampirism, mentions of blood

~ 2.3k words

***

Fireworks broke and rained hot glitter over the southern border of Center City and Goldgrave. A handful of bartenders were off duty and on the move.

Khlee von Heine walked among them. She was the only one who hadn’t taken the time to change out of her work clothes. Her coworkers were loud, merry, and prone to recklessness as they stumbled from one pop-up bar crawl to the next.

“Another year,” Gabe managed to roar over the next round of fireworks. “Can you believe we fucking did it?” He took a deep swig from the communal growler. The night was far from young and the barhands had lost track over how many times they refilled it. Gabe reluctantly handed it off to the next coworker so they could say their piece.

Khlee hung back in order to stand under a wooden arch whose sign was eclipsed in dead vines. But Khleo had committed its message to memory years ago.

Der Biergarten.

The plot of land overgrown in weeds and other invasive species was still up for sale, to Khleo’s relief. Though it was out of the way on most of her delivery routes, Khleo did her best to stop by every now and then. Just to make sure no one had bought up the property.

The barhand checked to see that her coworkers were distracted as she stepped up and snatched a flyer with the lot info off the gate. She folded it up and quickly tucked it in her pocket before the arm of a good friend looped around her neck.

Basil leaned on Khleo as he pressed the convex surface of the growler against her sternum.

“Your turn.”

Khleo playfully shoved him off of her, but kept the growler. She took a sip. Basil and the other barhands chided her — she was supposed to make a toast.

“Fine. Fine.” Khleo held up the bottle. “To progress.”

They made a show of peering into the depths of the amber glass. “Maybe this year we’ll get lucky and actually make some, yeah?”

Someone snatched the growler out of their hand. Gwendolyn? Max? The streets were too dark to tell.

Khleo’s friends were off. They blended in with the city’s bar crawlers as they chased down the next booze cart. People wanted refills that night, not whatever Khleo was about to say next.

Later when Khleo had returned to her apartment, she traded her work clothes for something softer and more comfortable. Then she dug through the pocket of her discarded jacket and retrieved the folded up flyer.

It was a short walk from her kitchen to the bedroom. There was no bed frame or vanity, just three lumpy mattresses stacked on top of each other that she rescued from the alley when she first moved in.

The room was already small, but it felt even more congested thanks to the uneven piles of text, of which there two types — loose leaf recipes or pages ripped out of cookbooks and cheap serial novels with depictions of bejeweled dragons on the covers.

The only piece of real furniture around was an antique dresser, the drawers of which were broken and jutting out like crooked teeth.

All except one.

Khleo took a deep breath before crouching and using both hands to work the bottom drawer open. Like always, it did not come quietly, but with a little patience and a lot of swearing, Khleo managed to pull it out.

Most of the drawer’s contents belonged to her late adoptive father, Hans von Heine. However, it was an unmarked jar that Khleo reached for. She screwed it open and tucked the flyer for the piece of real estate between old flyers and newspaper clippings back when the garden used to host events. The jar had cash in it too. Whatever Khleo could spare went into the jar. Most of it came from what was left of her tips after paying rent, bills, and whoever she needed in order to keep certain people off her back and out of her business.

Khleo sealed the jar and did her best to ignore the tightness in her chest as she struggled to get the drawer to shut all the way. Once she had, she found that her breathing had become more than a little unsteady. It only got worse when she heard the fireworks going off outside.

Khleo shut their eyes and leaned their forehead against one of the crooked drawers, trying not to dwell too much on where they were this time last here. As it turned out, they were right here, drunk and crying at the foot of this very dresser.

Khleo curled up on their side. Yes, tonight their head was buzzing from the alcohol, somehow both heavy and light. Yes, the tears had found their way to the surface again. Khleo was never one to hold them in as long as they could find the space to spill them.

Things would be different this year, Khleo told themself. They would make sure of it this time.

***

(Lucio’s POV)

Lucio hated the smell of this place. Rotting and damp. It was hard to believe that they were still in Vesuvia.

“You always have such a sour expression on your face whenever I come to feed. Why so, my Count?”

The silky, sardonic voice belonged to Lucio’s host, Quaestor Valdemar.

“Don’t call me that,” Lucio snapped. He wanted to fold his arms and stifle some of the shivers running up his back, but he couldn’t as long as he was hooked up to Valdemar’s device.

“My apologies, Lucio,” Valdemar corrected themself coolly.

Another shiver climbed up Lucio’s neck as he bit back the urge to say, I don’t want to be called that either.

“Tell me, what plagues you?” They added with a chuckle. “Don’t you like your living arrangement?”

Ever since cutting a deal with the scientist turned demon, Lucio had been living out his days in the lowest cellar of the Lazaret. When he was first brought back from the Devil’s realm, he had been too weak to demand anything else. At the time, all he cared about was that he was alive and wouldn’t be devoured by the courtiers.

Lucio glanced at the tube looping around his forearm, its transparent pathways already inflated with his blood.

But at what cost?

Lucio grinded his teeth. It was too late to consider that now.

This was how it always went anyway. Lucio would be presented with an opportunity — a way to improve what he could not on his own. He would leap at it, no questions asked.

Why, after all this time, after all those treacherous dealings could he not bring himself to stop and think things through?

As the last of Valdemar’s toll left his body, Lucio started to wonder what his mother might say about all of this. But he’d rather eat another shitty bargain than go down that road right now.

“Your contribution to our arrangement hasn’t been as satisfying compared to when we first began.”

“What are you trying to say?” Despite his nasty tone, Lucio was grateful for the distraction. “My blood’s not tasty enough for you?”

“It used to be,” Valdemar said. “I’ll be honest with you, Lucio, I agreed to keep you around as an energy reserve primarily for that reason. The notion of devouring you in one sitting and having to share with my dear contemporaries was not nearly as attractive as the possibility of having your flesh to dine on whenever I needed to during this indefinite campaign in your current reality.”

Lucio hissed as Valdemar unceremoniously removed the needle from his vein. He wasn’t sure how to react to what he had just heard. Thanks to Valdemar’s mask, all Lucio could read from their expression was the growing crow’s feet at the corners of their blood red eyes.

“So?”

Valdemar applied a cotton wad to the puncture wound and dug it in with their thumb.

“Ow! Hey – Owie!” Lucio yelped.

“So, my Count,” they sweetly clarified as they kept up the pressure, “I need you to find a way to restore that vitality you once possessed. Technically, you’re in peak physical health. I don’t know if you’ve looked in the mirror lately, but the evidence of your tussle with the plague has all but disappeared from your eyes. Your hair has been growing…” they took a moment to scan their critical gaze over the pale blond patches clinging to Lucio’s jaw. “You could easily blend in with the citizens.”

Lucio swallowed. “B-blend in? Why the devil would I want to blend in?”

Valdemar made a less than human sound as they peeled back their mask and bared their needle-sharp teeth at the former Count.

“Right now you taste like a boneless, gutless, gill-infected inferior breed of mackerel. And I prefer to have rare, mercury-rich, vinegar-glazed bluefin tuna. Captivity is poisoning your blood. So I’m giving you permission to get out there in your beloved city and find a way to sweeten it.”

The Quaestor gave Lucio a not-so-gentle shove in his chair. They replaced their mask as they straightened up. The former Count’s eyes widened as he covered his hand over his arm. The last thing he wanted was to piss off Valdemar. But he didn’t know the first thing when it came to what they were asking him to do.

“What happens if I can’t, erm… make my blood taste better? What if spending time in the city doesn’t work?”

The Quaestor sighed, their emotions back in check. They were already half occupied with cleaning their instruments and storing the sacks of Lucio’s blood in a portable cooler for later.

“Then I will have no choice but to invite my courtier companions over for a nice potluck dinner.” They glanced up. The crow’s feet were back. “And you’ll be the forgettable appetizer that no one asked for.”

Later, when Valdemar was kind enough to row Lucio across the stretch of water to the mainland, they suggested, “You should find some people who are very healthy. Outside of captivity, fish are the most robust when they’re in competition with other capable anatomies.”

Lucio hugged what was left of his royal uniform – a tattered speckled cape – around his shoulders. He grumbled, “Would you, for fuck’s sake, stop comparing me to a fish, Quaestor?”

Unperturbed, Valdemar said, “We’ve arrived.”

Lucio lowered his hood and blinked out at the morning overcast sky. His top lip curled into a distinctive snarl as he recognized where they were.

“Not here. Anywhere but here.”

Valdemar gestured to the nearest dock. “Get out, Lucio.”

The former Count wanted to blot out the images of the slumped architecture and purge his nostrils of the stale watery stench.

“Not the Flooded District. I can’t stand this place. Can’t you see that it’s a failure that I don’t need reminding of?”

“Lucio, don’t be so foolish,” Valdemar said almost tenderly as they nudged him out of the boat. “The entire city is your failure. Much of which is hard to see. Oh, but it’s there. Now go on,” they said as if encouraging a child at the fairgrounds, “go find someone healthy. I’ll come to retrieve you in a fortnight’s time.”

Lucio couldn’t believe he was watching Valdemar row off into the mist. He tried to take a deep breath, but the air was so bad that he just ended up coughing.

Even though Valdemar had been correct about Lucio’s appearance, looking nothing like he did in the days when he was the Count, he still found himself trying to crowd off his features with his hood any time a resident passed him by on the floating, rickety streets. But to his relief, no one seemed to know or even care about who he was or might be.

As soon as Lucio relaxed his shoulders and began walking with more confidence, the inner walls of his stomach suddenly contracted. Then he remembered. He had just given blood. Lots of it. Usually, the Quaestor supplied him with something to eat, but this time they hadn’t.

“Damn them,” Lucio hissed. He cradled his abdomen like it was made of glass as he tried to make his way towards some kind of common plaza. He had no money, but perhaps he would be able to find a dumpster to rummage through.

He was passing by a narrow alley when he caught a glimpse of the impossible out of the corner of his eye.

A lion.

Its coat was creamy and short all over. Its size was nothing short of mythical.

Lucio was tempted to shout at the two idiots occupying the alley with this beast on the loose, but they seemed both aware of its presence and entirely calm about it.

One of them was slumped against the wall of the grimy building. Despite their threadbare attire and weary expression, they were smiling at the other.

“No, Khlee. Please don’t. You’ll be late for work.”

The person squatting before the first seemed to be focused on the task of sewing up what appeared to be rips in a heavy cloak. Even with their short jacket, Lucio could detect the shape of their arms. Their brown curls had enough volume to hide most of the details in their profile.

“Nah. I’m already late. This’ll only take a minute.”

There wasn’t much time to take in the rest of their features before the big cat stepped up, blocking Lucio’s view of them.

< Can I help you? >

Lucio ran. He nearly tripped over himself getting out of there so fast. But he didn’t go far. He gripped the edge of a building and poked his head out, waiting for the lioness and her human to emerge. When they finally did, Quaestor Valdemar’s words from earlier echoed in Lucio’s mind.

Go find someone healthy.

Well, the individual strolling confidently down the street with a full grown lion at their side was definitely looking like the healthy sort.

At the moment, Lucio wasn’t really thinking about what would happen to him if he failed Valdemar’s taste requirements.

Right now, his stomach was hurting.

If the body of this lion tamer was any indication, they knew where Lucio could find himself a meal.

#the arcana #khleo the barhand #arcana albums: strength #arcana albums #count lucio #lucio #lucio the arcana #quaestor valdemar #valdemar #valdemar the arcana #montag morgasson #the arcana fic #the arcana fanfic #the arcana fanfiction #my writing #cw alcohol #cw blood mention #cw vampirism

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lycorogue · 3 years

Text

Some Passing Thoughts on the New Miraculous Episodes

Finally got around to watching the fansubs of the Shanghai special and “Truth” (I’m still waiting for the other episodes to come out before watching Furious Fu).

Miraculous World: Shanghai – The Legend of Ladydragon

I have to say, I might change my mind later if the Prodigious proves to be more crucial to the overall lore of the series, but right now? Yeah. This special is a major skip for me.

I did not connect with Fei the way I fell in love with Jess and Aeon. I am so pissed at the set-up the writers came up with to GET Marinette to Shanghai; her reasoning is the most selfish thing we have ever seen her do and it is such an injustice to her character. Plus, it is like neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir learned anything from the New York trip as they both show up in Shanghai kind of spur of the moment (i.e. didn’t tell the other they were leaving Paris). In fact, Marinette - again, going back to my hatred for the setup to get her to China - didn’t even CONSIDER the fact that Paris would be left unprotected; that Ladybug would be MIA. Granted, it was stated that Hawk Moth was surprisingly inactive, but shouldn’t that put her on hyper-alert; waiting for the other shoe to drop and Hawky to release something big that he was building up to? Instead she just lowers her guard and doesn’t even consider her superhero duties when planning on following Adrien.

Another annoying thing is that the writers didn’t seem to learn anything from backlash against the episode “Kung Fu.” They just once again have Adrien be the one offering to teach Marinette Mandarin; not her mother (whose Chinese name Marinette never even knew), nor her great-uncle. Another writers flub was in the battle against Roi Argent. Ladybug questions Mei Shi’s suggestion that revenge does not equal justice (if that was translated properly), and... I’m pretty sure Marinette already showcased in previous episodes such as “Silencer” that she very much knows that revenge doesn’t equal justice??? She’s the one who corrected Chat Noir that Silencer coercing Bob Roth to admit he stole from Kitty Section and Marinette isn’t justice; it’s revenge. So???? HUH? NOW she magically feels like Fei’s revenge on Cash is justice for what he did to her?

If all of that wasn’t bad enough, the pacing of this special was in complete overdrive as well. You didn’t have any of those emotional moments - both heart breaking and fluff-bombs - that you had in the NY special. The focus was largely on Fei, and I didn’t even really like her. She didn’t have the heart and the fully-fleshed characterization that Jess or Aeon had.

I’m also confused about Gabriel spending the past 15 years planning this whole thing. HOW!? WHY!? This is before Adrien was even born, or VEEERY shortly after if we skipped over his 15th birthday in the series. This was LOOOOOOONG before Emilie’s illness, which is presumably why Gabriel started using the butterfly miraculous in the first place (as showcased by Gabe in Origins asking Nooroo to remind him how the powers even work before using them for the first time in a corrupted state on Adrien’s first day of public school). So, if getting the Great Power of the Prodigious was something he was planning on doing literally all of Adrien’s life, why present it as “I found something that can finally give me an edge against Ladybug and Chat Noir”? I mean, what was his original endgame going to be? He couldn’t have possibly known that he’d be in dire need for the cat and ladybug jewels but struggled to take them from two teenage superheroes. It’s like the writers are trying to set him up as some mastermind akin to David Xanatos from Disney’s Gargoyles, but they are failing miserably. The whole Hawk Moth plot just doesn’t make sense to me.

Honestly? The only things that made this special worth it for me were: 1) Finding out a bit more about Sabine and her family (I love that she probably picked the name Sabine because it sounded like the pronunciation of her Chinese name) 2) Seeing Gorilla be his action figure nerd self a bit more (and the action figures of Uncanny Valley and Eagle) 3) Mei Shi in Renling (?) form, who was hella adorable! I need him as a plushie STAT 4) Adrien being the precious bean that he is. Just every moment he’s on screen was adorable (complete with him STILL having the picture of Marinette that was sent to him in “Evillustrator” saved to his baton and using that to try to find her) 5) Seeing the world through the eyes of a kwami for the first time and learning a touch more non-crucial lore 6) Mei Shi in statue form reminding me of the Dragon costume on The Masked Singer.

(I know, seeing them side-by-side now, they really aren’t that similar after all, but it’s been about a year since Dragon was on The Masked Singer, and he’s still what I kept thinking of as I watched Mei Shi on screen)

While I obsessively watched the New York special at least a dozen times, I’m really only seeing myself re-watch this special once more when it’s in English, and maybe whenever I do a full-series binge (which is super rare that I take the time for that).

Not impressed. Sorry.

Truth

“Truth”, on the other hand? Hhhhhnnnnnngggg. My heart! It breaks! Poor Marinette. Poor poor Luka. I mean, silver linings at the end there, but also BIG OOF. (Also, why wasn’t Adrien around at all whenever Truth made people confess that Marinette’s secret was her love for Adrien? xDDD)

I’m also a bit confused about the Adrien pictures. She had them taken down pretty much since “Troublemaker”, and yet her walls are once more papered with Adrien’s likeness now that Marinette is trying to get over him and date Luka? How does THAT make any sense outside of the writers going “we need an awkward phone call between Marinette and Luka. Oh! I know! A picture of her Adrien-covered bedroom walls is accidentally sent to Luka!” >3> Also.... what is UP with Luka’s animation again!? The kid was so pale it’s like they forgot to add any color to his model in this episode. WHY CAN’T THEY JUST ANIMATE MY PRECIOUS SON LOOKING HANDSOME EVER!? FIRST NO EYELASHES, AND NOW NO SKIN TONE!? WHYYYYYYYYY!? Personally, I prefer “Silencer” to “Truth” both in overall story and in Luka’s akumatized form design. Also, side note, did anyone else notice that Ladybug was hit by Luka’s attack and couldn’t speak for most of the battle both times? And that she needed Chat Noir to help her set up her Lucky Charm both times? And that Luka’s drive both times was to get to the truth?

I did still enjoy this episode very much. It showcases the new stresses Marinette has to face (totally unfair; I agree. However, it’s a standard trope in most teenage superhero stories such as Teen Titans and Spider-Man, so I was expecting it). It showcases how hard it is for her to figure out a balance between life and superheroing (again, re: standard teen-superhero trope). The fans get confirmation on a fantheory that’s been circling pretty much since Luka was introduced (ESPECIALLY after the episode “Desperada”). The Ladynoir shippers are well fed, and it’s great to see LB and CN praise each other - including Ladybug’s love of Chat Noir’s humor.

I hope this isn’t the end of us seeing Luka in the show (that would break my heart even more) and it feels lame to build up the Lukanette “love rival” arc only for it to die off before it really goes anywhere. There was so much story potential there where Marinette could grow to learn what it truly means to be in love, and not just idolize and romanticize someone you’re infatuated with. Instead, all she learned is that she is alone aside from Chat Noir, and I feel like that’s SUUUUPER railroading the Ladynoir ship. And, frankly, I’d much prefer to see the Ladynoir side grow naturally, as it has been, instead of forcing Marinette’s hand because Chat Noir is the only one she can be MOSTLY honest with (secret identities notwithstanding).

It’s been a long hiatus. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to dodge fandom salt, but still get a larger dose than I intended to have in my fandom diet, so maybe my views are a bit tainted from that. However, this special and season premiere feel a bit like the writers are stumbling. I don’t know if the pandemic somehow affected their writing flow, or if they feel pressured by the fans to tell the series’ story a certain way and are scrambling to do so, or if they are rushing to an ending instead of taking their time and letting it naturally unfold as they had with the first few seasons. But, regardless of their reason, I hope they re-find themselves; the ones who told great stories in seasons 1 and 2 and (poor writing for Marinette notwithstanding) really good stories in season 3. I hope they can step up their game for the remainder of season 4.

It’s been a long break, and we all deserve something good to feed us. We don’t need another GoT or HIMYM final season. Especially when this isn’t even supposed to BE the final season of the series.

Guess it’s time to wait for “Lies” to come out, and hope for the best.

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lostbutterflyutau · 3 years

Text

The Best Medicine

Note: While this does fit the first Ship Week prompt, it’s actually an excerpt from a longer fic that I’ve been working on behind-the-scenes for awhile (I’m trying to finish it before considering posting). Context is that when Mateo and Carla get sick at the same time -- a time when Elena and co. are planning for a royal visit and her family is away on diplomatic matters -- Rafa is brought in to care for them. Unfortunately, Carla proves to be a very stubborn and resistant patient until someone else drops by to lend a hand.

Also featuring the smallest bit of Rafa and Mateo family fluff.

*********

Despite the occasional nagging worry in the back of her mind, Rafa had fun putting lunch together. Once she explained the situation to the cook, he gave her free reign of part of the kitchen. The only stipulations were that she kept to that section, focused on only Mateo and Carla’s meals and didn’t get in his way.

She smiled to herself as she finished the tray off, hoped that Carla would at least try what she made. Having never cooked for her before, Rafa wasn’t sure if the girl was picky or not, but figured that the plain dishes she had made were a safe bet, both for Carla’s tastes and health. Unfortunately, despite being up by the time she made her way back to the room, Carla wanted nothing to do with the food. She had looked from it to Rafa and back again before rolling over and refusing to move.

“Come on, Carla,” Rafa coaxed as she sat down, set a hand on Carla’s back. “You have to eat something.”

Carla didn’t respond, only pulled the blanket up and over her head in a vain attempt to make Rafa go away. She wasn’t interested in the food, and even less in arguing, she just wanted to be left alone.

Rafa sighed to herself. She didn’t want to push too far, but also knew she couldn’t just give in to Carla’s stubbornness. Even if she didn’t want to, she needed to eat at least a little something for her health.

“How about you just take a small bite? See if you like it?”

“Go away,” Carla muttered, gripped her blanket tighter in case the older woman decided to try and pull it off the same way Abuela did when she was being stubborn.

“You know I can’t do that,” Rafa replied, moved her hand up and down along Carla’s back.

Carla ignored her, hoped that if she kept quiet, Rafa would eventually give up. Nothing she said was going to make her want to eat, not when her stomach was still turning. She was afraid that anything she ate would just come back up and the last thing she wanted was to experience that again.

Her lack of reaction drew another frown from Rafa as she considered her options. Being forceful wasn’t an option, nor was it her style, but waiting it out didn’t seem like a good choice either. Finally, she gripped the blanket with intent to carefully pull it back and at least make Carla look at her, but before she could even make the first tug, she was stopped by a soft rapping.

“Knock knock,” A soft, masculine voice said and Rafa turned.

“Gabe?” Carla said to herself, pushed the blanket off as she shifted and sat up.

Unable to help himself, Gabe gave a small smile at her ruffled appearance. Of course, he wasn’t happy that Carla was sick, especially not after hearing from Elena how she’d actually gotten worse overnight, but her mussed hair and the way she held onto her blanket were too adorable. Though, the novelty quickly wore off when he caught how rundown she looked. She had already looked bad the night before, but now there was more than tiredness in her eyes. Despite the way she smiled at him, he could tell from the way the smile – which quickly faded – didn’t reach her eyes that she was miserable.

He made his way over, took Rafa’s spot when she stood and stepped aside. “Hi, Cutie,” He teased, gently tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Cutie?” Rafa echoed, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Gabe winced. He wanted to kick himself for not thinking. He’d been so focused on Carla that he forgot for a moment that they weren’t alone, and that she wasn’t in her own room. He rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish look washing over his face. But, before he could even think of an explanation, Carla turned, her narrowed eyes locking onto Mateo’s mother.

“Don’t even think about it. And don’t you dare tell anyone, got it?”

Rafa opened her mouth to speak, but immediately shut it again when realised she had nothing to say in response. The look in Carla’s eyes, as feverish as it was, made it clear how important keeping the secret was to her. Finally, she nodded. “Of course.

Carla kept her glare in place, her eyes roving over the older woman’s, looking for any hint of deceit. While she didn’t know Rafa well enough to say so with complete certainty, she knew enough about spotting lies to know she meant what she said. She thought to speak again, but any thoughts she had of doing so faded away when she felt a hand settle on her cheek.

Gabe smiled at the way she instinctively leaned into his hand, asked, “How are you feeling?”

“Sick,” She replied as she toyed with her blanket.

“Sick like how?” He already knew she was sick. Even without being told, that fact was obvious. But no one had told him yet exactly what she had.

“I’m hot and everything hurts and my stomach won’t stop turning.”

“But you’re not sneezy? No sniffles this time?”

Carla shook her head, part of her wishing that she did have those things instead. She didn’t like being any kind of sick, but a cold was far easier to manage than whatever stomach bug she had caught.

“She has a tummy bug,” Rafa interjected. “And she was already sick twice this morning.”

Gabe blinked, looked from Rafa to Carla – who turned her gaze down to the blanket – as he processed the words. “You threw up?”

Carla nodded, kept her focus on the blanket as the awful memories from that morning came back. She hated him knowing that and hated Rafa for telling him.

He gave her a sympathetic smile, reached over to take one of her hands and whispered as he gently ran his thumb over the back, “My poor, sick Cutie.”

She flicked her eyes up at him briefly and then quickly turned them back down again just as his own gaze fell on the table nearest to them.

“What’s that?” He asked.

“It’s supposed to be her lunch, but I can’t get her to eat. She just ignores me,” Rafa explained. She tried not to take it too personally due to the circumstances but couldn’t help the small sting that tugged at her at the fact that Carla hadn’t wanted to even taste her food.

Gabe nodded once, turned back to Carla. “Carla, you need to eat.”

Carla pretended to be interested in a piece of fuzz on the blanket.

“Carla,” Gabe pressed gently.

“I’m just going to throw it up,” She said.

“I know that’s not fun. But you’ll never get better if you don’t eat even a little bit. Besides, it’s better to have something in your stomach. You’re going to be sick regardless, but it will feel a lot worse with an empty stomach,” He tried to explain, sighing lightly when she didn’t answer. He then turned to Rafa, motioned with his hand for the small bowl on the food tray. “Can I have that?”

Though she was hesitant, Rafa handed over the bowl, watching as he carefully stirred the broth around before taking a small spoonful and holding it up to Carla.

“Come on, Cutie. At least try it,” He encouraged, hoping that using her affectionate name would make her more agreeable. It was more than her stubbornness, though. He knew that she was probably upset about not being in her own bed and all of her usual caretakers being either gone or busy. Her refusal wasn’t meant to be rebellious or annoying, she was genuinely bothered by being looked after by someone she wasn’t used to and he felt awful for that. If he didn’t have so much on his plate, he’d take on the role himself, if only to make her more comfortable.

Glancing up, Carla considered her options. She knew his concern was nothing but honest, as it always was. Rafa’s was too, but there was something about the way Gabe regarded her that finally made her lean forward and accept the spoon he was offering her.

“Good?” He asked, knowing from the way her eyes had widened slightly when she caught the taste that it was. Still, he watched as she nodded and then offered her another spoonful, saying as she took it, “I’m not going to sit here and feed you. But I will sit with you while you eat if that’s what you want.”

“Can you?”

“Of course.” He smiled at the eagerness in her gaze, stood to return the bowl as she shifted around in order to give him room to sit and settle himself. Once he did, she crawled over, slid into the space between his arm and the cushions.

Rafa gave her own smile at the sight, part of her wondering how, with just his presence, Gabe was able to get Carla to cooperate after she’d struggled so much with her. She grabbed the tray, carefully handed it over to Gabe, who held onto it after giving Carla her soup bowl.

Carla ate slowly, carefully, pausing every so often to make sure the food would stay down before either taking another bite or switching dishes. The meal was extremely simple, consisting of only warm broth, plain rice and a banana that Gabe cut into sections for her, carefully handing one over when she asked.

With Carla settled, Rafa resumed her chores from earlier, deciding to leave the couple alone while she bustled around the room, tidying up little things and finishing the laundry she had been folding. Only once that was done did she turn to her own belongings and start unpacking the clothing and various small items she’d brought for Mateo, including a small stack of storybooks that she set on the table she’d moved near her own side of the sofa. Instead of staying in a separate room, she decided that it would be easier to stay with Mateo and Carla and opted for the sofa that Carla wasn’t sleeping on.

She glanced back briefly when she heard clattering dishes followed by footsteps as Gabe stood with the tray in hand.

“She ate about half,” He said when he caught Rafa’s eyes.

“That’s about what I expected,” She replied, moved to take the tray from him. “I’ll take this back. You stay with her.”

“Gabe!” Carla said, reaching over to pull at his shirt when he returned to her side. When he looked down, she pointed over to Rafa’s table, “She has the kitty book!”

He blinked, turned to where she was pointing and, upon seeing the stack of books, finally connected the dots. Sensing what she wanted, he headed over, picked up the picture book entitled “The Lost Kitten” from the top of the stack. He’d learned of her love for it the first time he’d looked after her when sick and caught her flipping through the palace library’s old copy. She had told him then that it was her favourite childhood book and that she actually loved kittens. Then, a few days later, she cuddled up with him while they read the book together since she still wasn’t well enough to attend the first night of Festival of Love and Friendship.

When he returned to her side, she immediately snuggled up to him, looked up with eager eyes as he opened the book.

“Am I reading this to you or with you?” He teased while he brought his arm around and settled his hand on her back.

Carla grabbed the other end of the book. “With.”

He smiled at her enthusiasm and kissed her head before reading the first line, enjoying the way she nestled herself into his side and read the pages in a soft voice as he turned them. Though she was obviously still sick, she was at least relaxed and resting until, just as he finished off the last page, he felt her tense against him, the fingers of the hand that had been gripping the book curling even further around it.

“Are you okay?” He asked as he gently closed the book, frowning when he didn’t get a response as she slunk down beside him. He went to speak again and stopped when he finally registered the sound of footsteps as Mateo made his way around his bed. As he moved into the attached bathroom, Gabe thought for a moment about Carla’s reaction and quickly realised that the whole sharing situation was probably uncomfortable for her, particularly since it was Mateo she was rooming with. If it was one of the girls, she’d probably be more comfortable.

He brought his hand up, ran it over her hair. “This is weird for you, huh?”

Carla nodded, curled into him further. “Very.”

Gabe ran his hand over her hair again, pressed another soft kiss to her head. “I’m sorry. But you know they didn’t do it to make you purposefully uncomfortable.”

He felt Carla’s head shifting as she nodded and mumbled something incoherent. For a second, he thought about asking what it was she had said, but she didn’t seem to be looking for a response.

She wrapped her arm around him, let out a soft sigh as she curled even further into him, the mix between his soap’s faint smell and his natural scent calming her. With his soft t-shirt, he was almost like a big stuffed animal, except with a gentle heartbeat that sent a slow wave of peacefulness through her like a soothing lullaby.

Feeling her relax completely against him, her breathing deepening and steadying as time went on, Gabe decided to stay put for awhile, a warm calmness slowly spreading through him as he closed his eyes, moved his hand down to softly rub her back.

“Why are you two in my bedroom?”

Though the voice hadn’t been particularly loud, both Gabe and Carla flinched when it broke through their peaceful moment. They looked up at the same time, saw a confused Mateo – who had apparently returned from the bathroom – standing next to the sofa. They then exchanged the same unsure look, wondering how neither had registered his presence as he approached.

“And why does Carla look like she’s been sleeping here?” He said it as if it was an afterthought, eyes looking first to the sofa – his sofa – that had been taken over by sheets, blankets and pillows in various shades of purple and then Carla curled up next to Gabe in what looked like a nightgown.

“Because I have?” Carla replied, the statement coming out like a question as she tilted her head slightly. Had nobody told Mateo? And if not, then why? It seemed like something he should know, especially considering his temporary roommate was a woman.

Mateo opened his mouth to speak again, but barely got a word out before he was interrupted.

“Mijo! What are you doing out of bed?” Rafa said as she crossed the doorway, laundry basket in hand.

“What is Carla doing here?” Mateo asked, ignoring the fact that his mother even asked a question.

Rafa set the basket down, stepped over and sat a careful hand on her son’s back, explained as gave him a gentle push towards his bed. “Carla is here because she’s sick too. And it’s easier to have her stay here then for me to have to run up and down the hallway all day.”

He gave a slow nod in response, climbed back up into bed and waited while his mother adjusted and pulled up his blanket. Usually, he would do it himself, but she was so happy taking care of him that he let her do it.

“Can I get you anything?” She asked, smoothed the covers down one last time.

Mateo thought for a moment, the sudden realisation that he was hungry hitting him as his stomach grumbled. “I guess I could use a snack.”

Rafa kissed his head “Alright. I’ll get you something after I take care of Carla.”

Hearing her name, Carla sat up slightly, glanced from Gabe to Rafa. “Take care of Carla how?”

“By brushing your hair,” Rafa said, pulling a brush from one of her dress pockets as she descended the stairs. “I want to tie it back so –”

“No,” Carla cut her off, buried her head back into Gabe’s shoulder. She didn’t want Rafa even touching her hair. There was no way she would know how to do it right. And, even if she did somehow know exactly how she liked it brushed, Carla still didn’t want a near-stranger’s hands near her hair, especially when that person wasn’t a professional stylist.

“But, Carla…” Rafa tried to start.

“I said ‘no,’” Carla repeated. Her voice was muffled by Gabe’s shoulder, but they both still caught the gist of her answer.

Gabe turned to Rafa, who looked slightly offended, and gave her an apologetic smile. He knew that Carla could be difficult from time to time and that because she struggled with expressing her feelings, she wasn’t always the easiest to figure out, especially when she was sick or distressed. He wished for a moment that he had the same telepathy powers Carla did, if only so he could tell Rafa what he thought Carla was feeling without betraying her trust. But, since he didn’t, he turned his attention back to Carla instead.

Running a gentle hand over her back, Gabe coaxed, “Carla, look at me.”

Carla stayed put for a minute, seemingly contemplating her options before lifting her head to look him in the eyes.

“There’s my Cutie,” He teased. “Look, I know this hasn’t been easy for you, but if Señora de Alva says your hair needs to be tied back, it needs to be tied back.”

“Then you do it.”

“You know I’m not good at that kind of thing. Just give her a chance.”

“But that’s not even the right brush!”

Rafa looked down at the plain brown brush in her hand, raised an eyebrow. As far as she knew, a brush was a brush. Were there different kinds she didn’t know about? She thought to ask, but was interrupted by Gabe laughing as he played with a piece of his girlfriend’s hair.

“That’s an easy fix,” He said and then turned to Rafa again. “I can show you where she keeps her brush and hair accessories.”

Carla’s face fell as she clung to him tighter. “You can’t go! You just got here!”

Gabe smiled, gently patted her back. While she loved affection and kissing and cuddling in private, it was rare that Carla got so clingy. He’d only seen it a handful of times, all of which were when she was either scared or not feeling well. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t particularly like leaving her like this, especially when she was asking. The way she looked at him with those sad, pleading eyes always tugged at his heart just slightly, in part because he knew how real they were. She might have been able to use her eyes and bat her lashes to trick other people, but not him. Never him.

Instead of resisting, he knew it was best to be soft and play along a little. “I know you need me, but I don’t think you want someone going through your stuff unsupervised.”

Her eyes widened slightly at the idea as she realised that the thought had never crossed her mind. In order to get her brush, Rafa would have to go in her room and look for it not knowing which drawer it or her ponytails and ribbons were in. Finally, she murmured, “No.”

“I thought so,” Gabe said, carefully scooting away as she loosened her grip. “I’ll be back in a bit, I promise.” He left her with a soft kiss on the head, motioned for Rafa to follow him.

#Elena of Avalor #eoa ship appreciation #Carla Delgado #Gabe Nunez #Gabela #fanfiction #My fanfiction #My fic #BringFeedbackCultureBack #Seriously don't forget to comment #no comments no content

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nba24highlights · 1 year

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Honest Gabe. No lies told. #WINNING #gabevincent #miamiheat #shorts #NBA24Highlights #gabevincent #nolie #nolies #noliestold #alltruth #heatvsceltics #celticsvsheat #nbaplayoffs #nbaplayoffs2023 #nba #nba24highlights #whitehot #viral #fyp #fup #fupシ #foryou #foryoupage

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zalrb · 3 years

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I'm the anon who just sent UOs about The Office and literally blocked out Gabe's existence even though I've watched the show a million times :) You're right, he's worse than Andy! So glad you agree about Holly, Jim/Pam, and how Michael is objectively awful but often enjoyable to watch. My friend thinks Pam is like Rory Gilmore (quiet, passive-aggressive, lies to herself and others about her feelings) but I love Pam MUCH more and wondered if you agree with me or my Pam-disliking friend?!

I’ve seen that criticism about Pam before:

Anonymous asked:

Pam and Rory are both so passive - and passive-aggressive, self-pitying, insipid, rarely honest with themselves or others. I don't like either, but that's just me.

Rory, I agree. But with Pam she has an arc over an entire season to be more honest with herself and others and to be more active, that’s why Beach Day was such a big deal and I find she has a charm that Rory doesn’t but I hate everyone on Gilmore Girls and Gilmore Girls as a show so there’s that.

Anonymous asked:

I agree with you! Pam is a lot more genuinely sympathetic and compassionate, attuned to other people's feelings and desires (as opposed to just her own like the Gilmore girls are), and down to earth than Rory. To me the key difference is that Pam's frustrating passivity and aversion to change comes from insecurity and anxiety that a lot of us can relate to while Rory's usually stems from her massive entitlement and willful self-delusion. It's why I find Pam A LOT more likable than Rory!

I definitely agree and we see Pam begin to take charge of her life, like when she goes with Michael when he leaves Dunder-Mifflin but says she wants to be a sales rep, when she decides to submit to art school, when she does the coal walk and we see the way she’s overlooked or undervalued by the people around her, Pam is a very real character with real insecurities and a real development in owning them and overcoming them. Rory is just utterly ridiculous and melts down over the STUPIDEST things. One person, ONE person tells her that she wouldn’t make a good journalist and she ups and quits Yale? Man, if I had quit school every time someone told me I wouldn’t be a writer, hell, that I wouldn’t even get into the university or MFA program of my choice, I wouldn’t get anywhere in life. Her sense of entitlement is absolutely infuriating and it doesn’t change. In the Revival, she thought she was a shoein for a job and didn’t even prepare pitches. Even if she got the job right away, how are you just going to show up to work without any ideas? You’re 32, Rory, get your shit together.

Anonymous asked:

Another big difference between Pam and Rory: Pam was often overlooked or taken for granted by most people (though, as she realizes, she's partly responsible for that dynamic!) Rory, though, is inexplicably, immediately worshiped by EVERYONE---her entire town, the DAR, the Life and Death Brigade, every guy she has even one conversation with. She's so passive and sometimes outright awful in all her friendships and relationships, but it never matters.

Exactly. Pam’s arc is about finding her voice, owning her voice and communicating that voice, it’s literally stated that episode they go to the bar and she was originally going to take a drink she didn’t order and then changed her mind and said it wasn’t the drink she wanted and she tells the camera she’s working on telling people what she wants. We legit see Pam grow. And Rory, as Lorelai puts it, is beloved by everyone and doesn’t really need an arc, even when she hits rock bottom, she never truly hits rock bottom. Dropping out of Yale equals staying in her grandparents’ pool house and joining the DAR and then she gets back into Yale with one conversation. Oh wow. Rory went through SO much. Rory and Dean cheat on Lindsay and there are literally no consequences to that and she basically gets Logan right after. The two really aren’t comparable.

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jeannedarkterraguard · 3 years

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LiS True Colors Chapter 2 Thoughts:

-So they’re already trying to find someone to blame this on huh? but is there someone to blame?... well yeah actually... multiple people... the first obvious answer would be ethan... because if he didn’t try to go into the mine none of this would have happened... then there’s alex... who told them about ethans plans to go to the mine, leading to them following him... also gabe himself is to blame for just standing there when the rocks began to fall instead of running for cover... and lastly ryan... kinda... i mean he did cut the rope but i’m pretty sure at that point gabe was already dead after that watermelon-sized rock hit him square in the face...

okay all kidding aside this does look like an accident to me... for now...

-aaw steph came to check in on alex... and to the surprise of absolutely nobody i’m already in love with her

-Holy fuck the first two rounds of foosball were really easy and then steph just annihilates me in about 20 seconds in the third game what the hell

-also steph has like no chill... asking if i’m into girls and as soon as i say yes she immediately starts flirting

-washing the dishes has consequences? well yeah, no shit. the consequences being that i will have clean dishes tomorrow... that’s why you wash them...

-jed is just great

-Alright steph i’ll help you with your LARP... but just to be clear i’m doing this for you not for ethan

-So eleanor has alzheimer? well that sucks...

-is it embarassing that i needed to try every possible option before i tried the open-sign in the flower shop? I just thought that would be the last thing you do... you know after you prepared everything... My mom is a florist for fucks sake i know you don’t just come in, open the shop, and then start preparing everything while customers are already there you do that before you open the shop

-oh shit! she doesn’t remember gabe died?!?

-i would lie and say that it was suspicious that she wasn’t at the wake but to be honest... her role in chapter 1 was so small that i forgot she existed...

-“If i could just push him over the edge...” Very poor choice of words there alex i actually thought you wanted to push him off the bridge for a second...

-okay mac is definitely an asshole sure... and he thinks everyone and everthing is watching him at all times for some reason... but he is not responsible for gabes death...

-just for the record: now that i can actually see the ravine in daylight (at least i assume that is where the meeting with ryan takes place) i probably would have crossed that log and i would definitely not have used that rope because this thing doesn’t really look that deep. like maybe 10-15 meters. and there’s water at the bottom... sure it would hurt like crazy but it’s definitely survivable... if you’re not crushed by boulders of course

-is this seriously supposed to be the first time someone felt joy around alex?

-okay using blue and purple for sadness and fear respectively is super confusing they look so similar and i’m honestly not sure what diane felt during that ending

Final Thoughts: A nice chapter but there are some things i’m not entirely convinced by yet. first of all: You can’t just put paw-prints somewhere, let us interact with them, making the character mention that she wants to pet the dog and then... not actually have a dog for us to pet! Oh and also It looks like they’re setting up to have typhon as the antagonist. which would be fine but after LiS1′s Jefferson, Nathan and Victoria, BtS’s Damon, Eliot, and James Amber. and LiS2′s... well i’m sure there was someone there and i would know if i had played it, but i haven’t so... yeah... it doesn’t feel right to have some faceless company as the villain. I did however like that mac has been given the chance to somewhat redeem himself. Nathan and Victoria had to wait until basically the end of the game for that.

Anyway now onto chapter 3...

#Jeanne plays #jeanne plays LiS #LiS #life is strange #life is strange true colors

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lucy-shining-star · 3 years

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Second chapter of my carteo fic(don’t ask my first chapter has title and the second doesn’t):

To stop being forbidden

Chapter 2

: Chapter 2Chapter Text

-Elena?-Mateo started to ask unsurely. -Yes?-She asked, not looking up from the paperwork. -Have you…Have you maybe thought about freeing Victor from spell?- Now she looked up with suspicious face. -Why are you asking about that? -I just thought… -You were talking to HER, weren’t you? -Yes,but listen… -I don’t want to hear any lies she told you. And you shouldn’t listen to it either. We have never disscussed freeing Fiero, we will not be disscussing freeing Victor either. -But…She said that Ash did it to Victor because he said he wanted to stop with dark pursuits, so maybe... -No. End of disscussion.-She stayed, walked towards him and putted hand on his arm.- And Mateo, please don’t be naive. She just wants to use you again. Don’t fall for that.-He walked away with sad face. Elena looked at him worryingly, her hand forming a fist. She went to a dungeon.-Delgado!-Carla turned around hearing Elena’s voice. -Don’t manipulate my royal wizard again! -I didnt manipulate him!-Shouted Carla. Elena raised an eyebrow. -Oh, didn’t you? I imagined the whole Rita thing? -I mean…I didn’t now.-She started to make a curl of one of her hair.- I told him the truth. My father really decided to stop evil pursuits… -I won’t believe your lies. -She crossed her arms. -I’m supposed to believe that your father decided to stop being evil right after he escaped from prison? -Because he decided it’s too dangerous for me! Cause I almost fell of a cliff! And when he said that, mother turned him into a stone!-She looked at Elena with pleading face.- Did you think she did that without a reason? -I still don’t believe you.-She come closer to bars.- And as I said, don’t you dare manipulate Mateo again. He was really hurt last time, and I don’t like when my loved ones are hurt. Don’t you dare play with his feelings. -You think he has feelings for me?-Elena thought that maybe she said too much. -Definitely pity about your father. Stop trying to make him feel more sorry for you. Listen if you do manage to manipuate him, it’s just gonna make more angry, and prison may be the least of your problems when I finally catch you then.-Carla swallowed.-Bye. Elena went to Mateo’s room. He was just looking at aquarium. She come closer. -Are you anry with me?-He asked, not turning around. -No, I’m angry with her.-She answered. -I’m worried about you. And I’m gonna be honest, I’m worried what you are going to do. She wants to use you again. And I’m afraid of you believing her. She definitely is just lying again.-He turned to her. -You talked to her? -Yes, I did. And I don’t believe her. -But there must have been a reason why Ash… -I don’t care. Maybe they were fighting who will get some power. Mateo, stop listening to her. Why did you go there anyway? -Cause she is so lonely…She is sitting there alone for weeks. -Guards bring her food, she is not alone all the time. -I don’t think they are talking to her? -Which is good. She managed to pretend to be another person for so long, she will manage sitting alone. Maybe she could talk with her made-up persona. -Elena… -No, Mateo, stop. First of all, I…I already lost one..kind of two people. I don’t want to lose another because he let himself be manipulated.-Mateo looked at the floor.-Second of all…She already broke your heart once. Don’t let her do it again.-Mateo sat on the sofa. -I…I’m not… -Don’t lie.-She sat next to him.-But remember, she was pretending to be another person. You didn’t have crush on Carla, but on Rita. And she is completely different than who she pretended to be then.-She put hand on his shoulder.-Please, remember that. -Listen, she was really heartbroken when we found here then. She …she couldn’t pretend this sadness. -Just because she was sad doesn’t mean she stopped being evil.-She got up and went outside. *** -I don’t know what to do. I’m really afraid he hasn’t let go of his crush. Was it that serious then?-asked Elena when talking to Gabe later that day. -Well, from what he said, it was his first crush, so…I guess it as least felt serious.-said Gabe.-And he thought it at least got a chance of being reciprocated so. -First? Didn’t he have crushes as a kid? -Too busy learning magic and hiding it from Shuriki and guards. And your cousin. -Oh, yeah, forgot Mateo didn’t have a normal childhood. Because of Esteban. Wow, as I needed to have more reasons to hate him.-She looked at Gabe. -You didn’t really have normal childhood either? -Not to this level. I mean my parents own bakery, Shuriki didn’t outlaw cakes. Anyway, I kind of got impression Mateo felt a little too sorry for Carla when we catched her. -Can you talk to him? -Okay, I can try, but I don’t know if I would manage anything. I feel Naomi would be better with this. -Well, she isn’t here, is she? I don’t know if I should write to her about this. Maybe we will manage to do something about it before letter even go to her. -Will not hurt trying. -Okay, so I’m going to write to her. *** Later that day Mateo went to see Carla again. Carla looked at him with surprise. -Listen, Carla, I know Elena talked to you…Anyway, as I said, I can’t do anything without her permission, so sorry. I won’t help you.-He said with sad voice. -I understand. Mateo…I didn’t see you in that robe before. What is it?-She asked. Mateo looked down at his master wizard robe. He forgot that he didn’t have it on him when he went there earlier. -Oh, it’s…I became a master wizard. -How? -I…- He told her about getting his grandfather from a book, his death and later duel. -So you lost your grandfather because of my mother…I’m so sorry.-She putted her hand on his shoulder. -Well, that’s not your fault. -Doesn’t change the fact I’m sorry. -She looed at the floor. – Good you get rid of Zoopitole. I really hope you will catch her. -We will for sure. Now I have to go. Goodbye. -Goodbye. When he was going out of dungeon, he walked into Gabe. -Gabe! I was…uhm…-He started to panic. -I know you were talking to Carla.-Gabe said.-Let’s go to your room, we need to talk. When they were in Mateo’s room Gabe started talking. -Mateo, what are you even doing? -I just…I felt sorry for her. -You can’t feel sorry for enemies! Especially the ones who manipulated you once already. -But.. -Listen, you can’t be even sure that Victor getting turned into a stone isn’t some part of another evil plan. And she is malvago, you know you can’t trust her. -But… -Mateo, please. I told you you need to be prepared for different scenarios while in battle. And we are currently in battle non-stop. -He sighed.- And…You said yourself how dark magic and it’s user are dangerous. And I told you how afraid I was of magic. And that I was afraid of you because of it. I trust you know, but please, don’t associate yourself with dark magic user, cause I’m gonna lose that trust again. You understand? -Mateo looked at the floor. -I…,yes, yes I do.-Gabe ruffled his hair. -That’s good. And Mateo, please, just generally be careful. You can got hurt again easily if you are not.-He walked out of the room. Mateo layed down on the bed and looked at the ceiling. He started to think about Rita and Carla. ‘Are they right? If the person is had crush on didn’t exist, does that mean I never actually had a crush? Or are they wrong and I actually had a crush on Carla? Had? Still have? No, I can’t, that’s too dangerous…And if had or have a crush on villainess…What does it say about me?’. He got up and took some random book to read to stop thinking about it. But he couldn’t. ‘Maybe it mean nothing, I mean, it just could mean I think she is pretty. And that’s probably because of unique appearance. I mean, purple eyes are really rare…’He realised what he thought and hide hitted himself in the face with the book. ‘Oh no, so I definitely think about Carla, not Rita!’

#elena of avalor #carteo #mateo de alva #carla delgado #long post #i realized that read more doesn't work for everyone

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rena-rain · 5 years

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Adrien’s advice makes sense...to him

A lot of us, myself included, have been on Adrien’s case for giving Marinette bad advice for dealing with Lila in Chameleon.

But if you think about it from his perspective, I completely understand why he said what he said.

Things we know that Adrien doesn’t:

Lila threatened Marinette

Lila’s eager to get akumatized for the superpowers and team up with Hawk Moth

Things he does know:

Lila lies pathologically

She got akumatized when Ladybug called her out and humiliated her in the process.

I suspect he recognizes Lila’s feelings of desperation for attention. I don’t know if he knows her mother is never around, but I think he empathizes with her about being lonely and wanting to be liked, and that’s why he wants to help her through being friendly and available. He is straightforward and clear with her, though. He’s not excusing her behavior, he just thinks kindness can solve what confrontation can’t.

(BTW I’m starting to think that, with more maturity and training, Adrien could be an excellent therapist someday.)

This line leads me to believe Adrien’s certain Lila’s lies will catch up with her. It’s optimistic, yes, but he genuinely believes she’s not as dangerous as she is and will inevitably face natural consequences if she doesn’t clean up her act.

He’s also been conditioned to be non-confrontational. Gabriel shuts him down if he misbehaves or makes a mistake, and does so even more forcefully if he talks back. He couldn’t even assert his wishes to see his mom’s film in Gorizilla, because when he (timidly) asked to talk to his dad, our dear old Gabe was like, “make an appointment.” Given Adrien’s isolation, this would have been a huge percentage of the total amount of treatment he received from people for years. He’s learned that being well-behaved and gentle is how you get results, not standing up to people.

As far as Adrien knows, Lila’s only done real damage as Volpina. Again, he does not know about the threats. So his existing belief about confrontation was strengthened when Ladybug humiliated her. She got akumatized and kept lying afterward, so it obviously did no good.

If you look at Marinette’s body language here, she’s obviously about to call out Lila none-too-nicely. That posture is distinctly aggressive. (Not that I blame her.) Marinette knows how dangerous and conniving Lila is, and her own experience taught her that assertiveness gets results - not gentleness like Adrien learned.

I suspect Adrien mentally drew a comparison between what Ladybug did and what Marinette looked ready to do and naturally guessed the situation would end with the same result. They have completely different backgrounds and, accordingly, differing views on the world. Marinette has empathy for innocents and victims while Adrien has empathy for everyone. Yet she trusts Adrien, so she took his advice despite Lila’s threats and her feelings about bullies.

And confronting Lila here would be humiliating. Look at all the other kids surrounding Lila in this scene. Either Lila would deftly avoid Marinette’s accusations again, or she’d get hurt and embarrassed and Adrien thinks that would perpetuate the cycle of mistreated => bad behavior. He has called her out, earlier in the episode, but he did it in private and with every ounce of respectful diplomacy in his body.

So yeah, Adrien has some issues that contributed to his passivity in the matter. But he also had a natural optimistic kindness and lack of knowledge that influenced his behavior. He’s not a complete pushover; later in the season, in Oni-Chan, he rebuffed Lila after she crossed one too many lines with him.

As I stated earlier, he was absolutely clear with her about his expectations. “Be honest with me.” Once he’d seen, with his own eyes, multiple counts of her lies actually harming people he put his foot down. Gently, but he still did. If he knew all that Lila was capable of (like Gabriel does) and how vicious she is (like Marinette knows) I’m certain he wouldn’t treat her behavior as innocuous like he did in Chameleon.

Especially since Lila told Marinette she’d leave her with no friends - something Adrien is particularly sensitive about. This is a bit of a tangent, but in Weredad Chat Noir made a poignant argument about how isolating Marinette would hurt her more than anything. He fought tooth and nail to protect her from that. So, yeah. If he knew about the threats he would have taken a different view.

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takadasaiko · 4 years

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Clever Minds and Strong Wills (a Captain America fic)

FFN II AO3

Summary: Steve and Howard have a late night chat in the labs in which Steve learns more than most about Howard's family and his past. WWII fic.

Clever Minds and Strong Wills

There was rarely any warning when they showed up at the command center in London. Word filtered through the ranks that the Howling Commandos had arrived and the lab went into overdrive. It was a race to get the equipment repaired and upgrades implemented, often just in time to shove them right back out the door with only the Hydra tech they left behind as proof that they were there at all.

Today was different, though. They still hadn't had much warning, but at least they had a few days to work with the team to make sure everything functioned as it was designed to when they were out in the field. It was a shame that it took half the team in the medical wing to keep them there. From what Howard had heard, Gabe Jones, Dum Dum Dugan, and Steve took the brunt of the hit. Cap was, of course, already back on his feet like nothing had happened by the time they'd arrived back at HQ, but the others would need a few days minimum of time away from the chaos they functioned in.

Howard had thought that he'd have to drag Cap into the labs to stake claims on even just a few minutes, but Steve had stuck around longer than he'd expected. As the hours stretched on and the others filtered out for the evening, the two men sat in the quiet of the space. The conversation started and stopped, ideas bounced around for a bit before Howard lost himself in the work only to be pulled out of it by Cap's voice after an undetermined length of quiet.

"You know, last time I got any say in the designs was from a few thousand feet in the air."

Howard's hands stilled and his lips twitched into a lopsided smile. "Last couple. I snag the time when I can get it."

He heard Cap snort a soft laugh. "I always got the impression you offered to fly us when no one else would because you like the thrill."

"I have been told I get bored too easily," Howard chuckled and reached for a wrench.

"Do you always stay after everybody else is gone?"

Howard glanced around, realizing that they were the last two left in the lab. "Most nights." By accident, most of the time. He'd dive into a project and forget to surface until the wee hours of the morning.

He heard a soft acknowledgment from Cap, but then nothing more for a long moment. Finally he glanced back before swiveling around in his chair to look directly at him. "I doubt you need a lot of sleep, huh?"

"Not since the serum."

Howard tilted his head, studying him. "Had to have been a hell of a turn around. I saw your records before the procedure. Looked like you had every health complication in the book."

He wondered if the question was a step too far as he watched Steve expression shift. With the exception of the occasional conversation about Peggy Carter, they really didn't discuss personal matters, much less Cap's life before the serum. Slowly, though, the other man's tense expression softened a little. "It's amazing how little I think about it now. You'd think I would, but one mission to the next, I don't really have time for it."

"Your buddy Barnes doesn't give you hell about it?"

"Only when the other guys aren't around, which isn't much."

Those sharp blue eyes were fixed on him and Howard had to crush the urge to squirm. He wasn't used to being the one under careful observation.

Finally, Cap drew in a breath, settling back in his chair a little more. "What about you?"

"What about me what?"

"You've seen everything in my file, probably know my whole life story, but about all I know about you personally is that you have a successful company, you're the best pilot I've seen yet, and I still can't place what part of New York you're actually from." He stopped, amusement flashing through his eyes. "Oh, and you hate being called Mr Stark."

"Mr Stark's my father," Howard answered automatically, not liking where this was heading. He liked Steve. Respected him, but he had found out a long time ago that letting people get too close - letting them learn too much - was a dangerous business. He'd stuck his foot in it by bringing up the other man's past though, hadn't he?

"Is he still around? Your father?"

Yep. Up to the kneecap and sinking fast. His own curiosity had gotten the better of him. "I imagine so."

Howard saw Cap's face twist up like he was trying to find the missing piece. "Don't you talk to him?"

"Not if I can help it." He risked a glance over, a frustrated sigh escaping at the expectant look he was on the receiving end of. Yep. This was on him. Never should have brought it up. He waved his hand in the air, doing his best to keep his time casual. "We never saw eye-to-eye."

"On what?"

"Anything."

There was a long, likely thoughtful pause before, "He has to be proud, though? Everything you've accomplished? Everything you've done."

Howard wanted nothing more than to dive back into his work and ignore the question. He could kick him out, true. Come up with a semi-reasonable excuse or just be an ass to ensure Cap got the hint. He had no problem handling others around him that way, but there was something obnoxiously honest in those blue eyes. Rogers wasn't an idiot - far from it. He might not have had the same training or scientific leanings that Howard did, but the man was clever and one of the quickest learners the engineer had ever come across - but he was naive in a lot of ways. Sheltered. Fathers were proud of their sons. Families were close. That was just the way his world worked. Must have been a nice place to grow up. Safe.

"Nah," he answered at last. "He thought I was lazy. Wasting my time."

"That can't be true," Steve managed, almost as if hoping he'd misunderstood something.

Howard glanced around, re-confirming that they were alone. He spun his chair so his own dark eyes met those bright blue ones. "My earliest memories of my old man are of him chasing me out of whatever hole I'd found to tuck myself away in to read. Thought I was lazy and useless because I wasn't just like him. My guess is he's still selling fruit from the same overpriced vendors from the same rickety old cart on the same corner in the Lower East Side."

He risked a glance to see Cap soaking in more information than Howard had shared with anyone in a decade. Strange. That overwhelming honesty that Abe had seen in him was apparently contagious. He needed to watch himself there.

Rogers loosed a long breath, settling a little deeper into the chair. "We didn't have much when I was growing up either but… all I wanted was to be like my folks. They always did the right thing, even when it cost them. Especially when it cost them."

Howard didn't mean to snort. Not really. "I hate to break it to you, Cap, but no one's perfect." Even Captain America's perfect parents had a skeleton or two Cap just hadn't found. Everybody did. Idolizing then just because they were blood was a luxury Howard had never known. Never wanted to. It was t like he could have ever been what his father wanted anyway. He'd have sooner thrown himself off the Brooklyn Bridge.

"When's the last time you spoke to him?" Steve asked carefully.

"I left home at thirteen. Went to school and didn't look back." He'd left in the middle of the night without even a change of clothes with him. He'd lied his way into the prestigious school, but if his father had had half a notion where he was going he would have found a way to shut his plan down. The senior Stark has come to America at the same age looking for a better future, but instead had settled into society's expectations and had tried to teach his son to be complacent with the same. Howard hadn't had it in him. He didn't have a complacent bone in his body.

"Do you have contact with your mother?"

"A little. Usually get a letter from her once a year or so. Last time I was in the same room with her I had the audacity to offer money. I thought the old man was gonna come after me with his belt like I was ten years old again," he chuckled, shrugging. "Guess that was actually the last time I saw him. She's never without him, so we don't see each other. Her choice. She knows I'd cover the fair uptown."

Cap stared at him like he'd broken him. That look was exactly why he didn't like to discuss it. A look like he'd lost something. Couldn't lose something you'd never had, though, so what was the point? He did well enough. Hell of a lot better than if he'd stayed put.

Howard loosed a long breath and rolled his shoulders back, trying to straighten them out of their increasing slump. "Don't make a bigger deal of it than it is," he muttered. "And, uh….keep it between us, huh, pal?"

"Not a big deal, just a secret?" Steve asked, a quirked eyebrow accompanying his amused tone.

"You know how people are." From the look he received he wasn't entirely convinced that he did. "Born on the wrong street, wrong side of the tracks, you gotta be running a scam of some kind."

"Can't possibly be the fact that honesty isn't exactly you're go-to."

Well huh. Okay. With the physical changes that the serum caused, it was easy to forget that clever, observant mind that drew Abe to Rogers in the first place.

"Lessons learned," he said instead, shrugging.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's life. Coulda been worse, and I came out of it."

"Maybe he'll change his tune after the war's over."

"You never lose that damnable optimism, do you, Rogers?"

"I try not to."

Howard snorted, the sound amused more than not, and stood. Three in the morning. If he wanted even a couple hours of sleep it was time to call it a night. It was probably the easiest way to end this increasingly uncomfortable discussion as well.

"He should be."

Cap's voice startled him a little and he looked over. "Should be what?"

"Proud. You know, Dugan's only alive right now because the body armor you sent with us this last time took the brunt of the blast we were caught in. You've gotten us in places that no one else would touch and make sure we're ready to face whatever tech Hydra throws at us."

He paused and Howard found that he couldn't break the gaze that held his. He'd become accustomed to - and even expectant of in many cases - the high praise that accompanied his work by those around him, but Roger's words dug in deeper. He wasn't one for idle flattery and, unlike so many others, there were no strings attached to this. No quid or quo that exchanged praise for whatever the person wanted in return. No. Cap was just honest. Absurdly honest. Howard wondered if he'd ever get used to that.

The engineer cleared his throat. "Thanks, Cap," he mumbled, not entirely certain that was the right response, but it seemed to work out okay. Rogers flashed that grin that went all the way to his eyes.

The blond didn't leave as Howard packed his equipment away, but he also didn't press any further on the other man's family. They chatted about upgrades and design flaws and an upcoming mission that Steve wanted Howard to fly them in on. When they finally parted ways to catch as much sleep as they could before the next day officially began, Howard felt a strange sort of ease that he never found after his father found a way to bully his way into his thoughts. He had always been a stranger in that man's world and an oddity in the one that he wanted to belong to, but here - surrounded by soldiers and danger and tech he could only begin to unravel - he felt at home. Sure, Cap was right. He did plenty of good around here, but in the end he was fond of the people that surrounded him. Clever minds and strong wills. The Steve Rogers that wouldn't be told he couldn't enlist and the Peggy Carters that would be put behind a desk. The Abraham Erskines that wouldn't bend to oppression. They weren't pinned down by what society wanted to make them.

And to think he almost passed up the opportunity to join the SSR at all.

End.

Notes: I feel like there must have been so much more behind Howard and Steve's friendship for Howard to be so, so obsessed with finding him. You don't develop a life-long obsession like that for an acquaintance, even if you were involved in the experiment that changed their life. I can't help but think there was a piece of Howard, that kid from the Lower East Side, that found a connection with the kid from Brooklyn.

Might be more to come.... We'll see.

#MCU fanfiction #captain America: the first avenger #Howard Stark #Steve Rogers

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fancat-not-fangirl · 4 years

Text

It’s Not You Pt.13

a/n: sorry that took so long! Hope you enjoy! <3

It was the day before Christmas, and Cas was in one of the worst moods of his life. He couldn’t remember a time when he had been this upset or angry. Ever. Yes, he had been disappointed at last year’s Christmas, and yes, it had been a huge let down, but it was nothing compared to the emotions roiling inside him at the moment.

Dean had tried to make him feel better after he had hugged his mom goodbye before she left for the airport. Dean had made him hot chocolate and smores, and had blasted Bruno Mars songs from a speaker and danced ridiculously through the house, trying to get Cas to dance and sing along. At the sight of Dean’s flailing arms and kicking feet and movements that looked more like he was having a seizure than actually dancing, Cas had smiled, but nothing more.

It was three in the afternoon, and Cas’s day hadn’t been productive in the least. After having breakfast with his mother and then saying goodbye, Cas had marched upstairs and dove under his covers, refusing to come out until hours later, and only then it was because Dean had almost pushed him off of the bed to eat lunch. Any other day, Dean’s prepared chicken nuggets would have made Cas’s day, but this day it just served as a reminder of Cas’s missing mom. While Dean was talking away and shoveling food into his mouth, Cas could do nothing but stare out the window and pick at the food on his plate.

After lunch, Dean had smiled softly at Cas and had insisted that he do the dishes. Cas hadn’t objected, and had gone to sit on the couch and turn on Netflix, where he absentmindedly chose a random movie to watch.

Dean had joined him after putting the dishes in the dishwasher, and since then, neither boy had moved from their spots on the couch. Usually, Cas would have cuddled up against Dean and wrapped his arms around him, but today he opted to curl up at the edge of the couch and stick to himself. As much as he saw that that hurt Dean, he couldn’t help it. He was upset and frustrated and, if he was being honest, he didn’t even remember what movie he chose. From the giggles and snorts Dean was letting out every few minutes, it must have been a funny one, but Cas couldn't bring himself to laugh. Not when he was in such a bad mood.

The movie ended, and after a few minutes of silence and Dean staring at him, Cas realized that he still had the remote. Uncurling himself from his fetal position, he stretched out the remote to Dean and turned back to stare blankly at the screen.

“What movie do you want to watch next?” Dean asked tentatively.

Cas shrugged. He didn’t care.

A small smile graced Dean’s face, and he quietly teased, “I don’t think there’s a movie called,” he shrugged. He had obviously hoped that it would have gotten a laugh out of Cas, and was disappointed when Cas made no response.

Dean sighed. “Mask of Zorro it is, then.”

Another hour and a half passed between them, just as awkward and silent as the previous one.

This time when the movie was over, Dean didn’t bother turning on the next one. He just put the remote down and folded his arms, no doubt trying to find a way to lift Cas’s spirits, or, at the very least, get Cas to talk to him.

Cas hated himself right now. He knew he was being unfair. He knew he was being an asshole. But, knowing that he was being ridiculous and actually doing something about it were two very different things. So he kept silent, brooding and fuming, mad at himself and his mother and the world.

When Dean finally opened his mouth, Cas had been expecting a joke. A pun. Maybe even a funny story about Dean’s childhood, which he had so many of up his sleeve. What he was not expecting was the quiet whisper that came out of Dean’s mouth.

“My mother died when I was four.”

Cas froze.

“I never really got to know her.”

“Dean, you don’t have to-”

“It’s fine.” Dean glanced at Cas out of the corner of his eye. “I know your mom problems, so I guess it’s only fair if you know mine.”

Dean never talked about his mother. Never. There were mentions of her here and there, and Cas knew that he kept a photo of her in his wallet, but neither Sam nor Dean ever outright talked about her. Cas hadn’t even known her name until a few months ago.

“I only remember a little about her. She used to make something called the Winchester Surprise.” Dean smiled at the memory. “It was a heart attack on a plate, it was so greasy and fatty, but my dad and I loved it. And her meatloaf.” Dean grinned and closed his eyes, letting out a sigh of content. He opened his eyes back up and looked at Cas. “It was to die for.”

Cas felt himself soften. He knew how hard this was for Dean. He hadn’t asked him to share, but the look on Dean’s face made Cas refrain from stopping him.

“When Sammy was born, I remember her being so happy. We all were.” Dean’s face became sad then. “Until the fire.”

Cas reached out and took Dean’s hand into his own, intertwining their fingers and squeezing.

“Nobody knows how it started, but suddenly my dad was pushing Sammy into my arms and screaming at me to get him out of the house and then he ran out later with my mom. She had burns all over her but she was alive. Barely.”

Dean’s breath hitched.

“They took her to the hospital. I remember we used to visit her every weekend. I hated seeing all the tubes and white sheets on her.” Dean’s voice was growing quieter and quieter. “She was going to get better. That’s what the doctors said. But then the doctor assigned to her messed up her medication and her condition got worse. And they told us we couldn’t do anything about it. We could only watch her die.”

Dean trailed off for a minute, and then took a deep breath and continued.

“My dad started to get really weird. He started drinking, and would leave us in hotel rooms for days on end doing who knows what, who knows where. So basically it’s just been me and Sammy against the world since then.”

No wonder Dean loved his brother so much. Cas suddenly realized that nobody but Dean called Sam ‘Sammy’. Sam always introduced himself as Sam, and now that Cas thought about it, there had been multiple occasions in which someone had called Sam ‘Sammy’ and the taller student had almost growled at them to call him ‘Sam’. Even his best friends didn’t call him ‘Sammy’. That spot had already been taken by the person Sam loved most in his life.

Dean was still talking. He told Cas about his own Christmases, which were usually spent in crappy hotel rooms and with convenience store candy as presents. How Dean had to take random jobs with low pay just to support him and Sam. How Dean had worked and worked over the years for money to give Sam so that his little brother could go to college. How Dean’s father would get drunk and come home without the ability to cook for himself. Dean’s cooking talents made sense now. As did a lot about who he was a why.

Cas was grateful that his mother hadn’t gone rogue the way Dean’s father had after she lost Cas’s father. Cas couldn’t have imagined a life without his mother, or any mother, for that matter.

“I probably talked you to sleep there, didn’t I?” Dean tried to joke when he finished, but Cas could tell that the information revealed to him in the past five minutes was more than Dean had told people over five years. Cas was understood. He knew that he himself didn’t talk about his family much. Maybe he owed Dean that.

“My dad left pretty soon after I was born.” Cas started. “I don’t really know why. He just took off one day and didn’t come back. He left my mom with five kids. Boys, of all things.” That brought a small smile to Dean’s face.

“My older brothers, Mike and Luci, would always fight. I don’t think there ever was a conversation between the two of them that didn’t end in a punching match. Mom went crazy trying to keep them from beating the crap out of each other. Their fights got so bad that sometimes they’d throw things around, both at each other and at anyone who got in their way.”

Cas hesitated for only a moment before pulling his sweater collar down to reveal his collarbone, and the small scar on it. During a particularly bad fight, Luci had thrown a glass plate across the room, and Cas had just rounded the corner to the kitchen when the plate shattered against him and embedded a piece of glass the size of his thumb into his collarbone. He didn’t think he’d ever seen his mother as angry as she’d been that day.

Dean’s sharp intake of breath pulled Cas back from his memories. Shrugging and pulling the sweater back up to cover it, he lied, “I don’t remember much about it.” He didn’t need Dean’s worry.

“Raph was always independent. It’s no wonder he left home as soon as he could. He barely talked, but you could tell that he didn’t like the way things were run. He used to try to be the boss of everyone and tell my mom how she’s raising us wrong, but after being told off one too many times, he just stopped. He’d stay in his room for days on end, only coming out to eat.” Cas didn’t know his older brother very well, but he didn’t like him. If he was being honest, he was glad that Raph had packed up and left home as soon as he got his driver's license.

Cas ran a hand through his hair, sighing. “We drove my mom crazy, the lot of us. With Luci and Mike fighting all the time, Raph trying to be the boss of everyone and then just not talking. And Gabe.” Cas snorted. “Gabe always tried to play pranks on us, not taking anything seriously.” He let out a breath of air. “We were a handful. She worked at a hospital a few hours away, just in case something happened at home. We all knew she wanted to travel, but I guess she couldn’t take a job like that with us around. She couldn’t become a travel nurse, not while we were all living here. I guess we all knew that, too. Luci and Mike left for college as soon as they could, going as far away from us and each other as possible. I don’t think I’ve seen them or Raph in years.”

Dean squeezed his hand.

“I don’t mind, though. Too much drama, if you ask me. Having Gabe over is enough trouble. I don’t think if the entire family was in one house, all of us would make it out alive.”

They both chuckled at that.

“And with them gone, my mom got to get out of that hospital and become a travel nurse. She’s been all over the world, and I’m happy for her, even if it means that I don’t get to see her as often.”

“I saw pictures of you guys in the basement.” Dean said after a few seconds of silence.

The look Cas gave him must have been one of confusion, because Dean then clarified, “When I was getting the ladder for the lights a few days ago.”

Oh.

“You look a lot like your mom.” Dean remarked. “Even though your hair is different colors. But your eyes look the same. And your face shape. And your ears. And your nose.” Dean was getting funny now, trying to pull the conversation up a bit. Cas rolled his eyes but couldn’t help the smile that crept onto his face. “And your arms. And your hands.” Dean’s voice suddenly dropped to a whisper. “And you butts.”

Cas snorted at that and glared at Dean, smacking him on the arm. “I don’t know if that’s a compliment to me or an insult to her.”

Dean laughed and batted Cas’s hand away. “You’ve got it all mixed up, angel. She should be honored that she has an ass as great as yours.”

Sticking his tongue out at Dean, Cas was secretly glad that Dean had started joking. He didn’t know how much more family sharing he could have done without snapping. Family had always been a sore topic for Cas. People were constantly leaving him. First his father. Then Raph. Then Luci and Mike. Then Gabe. And now his mom.

The thought of his mom brought back a wave of suppressed emotions, and Cas felt himself slip back into that small pit of loneliness and betrayal.

Dean sensed that Cas was curling in on himself again, and quickly blurted out, “Do you have more pictures of your family?”

Cas blinked, surprised. He then nodded, and taking Dean’s hand, led him across the house and down to the basement.

He flipped on the lights and made his way down the creaky stairs that his mother kept promising that she would call someone to fix. If this kept up, Cas would have to fix them himself. Too bad he didn’t even know the first thing about using a hammer and a nail.

They reached the bottom of the stairs and Cas immediately made a beeline for the tower of boxes at the far corner of the room. Heaving one of them into his arms, he brought it to the old stingy couch that Dean had draped himself over. Dropping it to the floor, he shoved at Dean until the older smiling boy shifted his body to make room for Cas.

“That’s a hell of a lot of dust.” Dean said as he traced a smiley face into the layer of dust settled at the top of the box.

“Yeah, no shit Sherlock.” Cas snorted, prompting Dean to chuckle at the sarcasm in his voice.

He pried the flaps open and opened the box.

He was not prepared for the scream that Dean let out, nor the rush of air that hit him when Dean almost flew across the room and up the stairs, disappearing from view. Cas was left wide eyed and confused, hands still holding the box flaps.

“Dean?” He called warily. Was something wrong?

“Is it gone?” Came Dean’s voice from the top of the stairs. “Is it dead? Did you kill it?”

Cas furrowed his brows. Was what dead? He stopped craning his neck to try to see Dean and instead looked back down into the box. Oh.

There was a spider on the first photo album in the box. It had no doubt made the box its home, and was clearly not happy with the commotion going on around it, and was running back and forth along the cover of the album.

“Dean, it’s just a spider. It’s not going to hurt you.”

“You don’t know that! It could be poisonous! It could kill you! Get away from it!”

Cas laughed to himself and shook his head. Who would have thought that the ‘I’m Not Afraid Of Anyone Or Anything Because I’m So Tough’ Dean Winchester would be scared of spiders.

Cas reached into his pocket and pulled out a tissue, softly dropping it onto the spider and then picking it up, careful not to crush it. He got up and padded up the stairs to where Dean was cowering at the top.

Dean’s face was relieved at the sight of the tissue, and he straightened back up, running his hand through his hair. “Thank God you killed it.” He let out a breath.

“Oh it’s still alive.” Cas said, gesturing with the tissue.

Dean’s eyes went comically wide as he realized what Cas meant, and he backed away as Cas marched past him and to the nearest window, opening it and shaking the spider out of the tissue and onto the grass outside.

“There. Are you happy-” Cas’s words got cut off as he turned around and was met by a lung crushing embrace from Dean.

“You could have died!” Dean pulled back and exclaimed. He over exaggerated his movements as he put his hand up to his forehead and pretended to swoon. “My hero!”

Cas rolled his eyes again and made his way back down the stairs, smiling softly. Dean was ridiculous, but Cas couldn’t deny that he was thankful for Dean’s jokes and laughter. They made the room brighter and Cas’s life happier.

It was mere minutes later that Cas took everything back. He did not like Dean’s laughter. Not one bit. Not when it was directed at a picture of baby Cas in diapers, sucking on his own foot. Or when it was aimed at another picture of Cas, this time with his head stuck in a chair.

By the time they were done with the first photo album, Dean was almost in tears at the amount of laughter coming out of his body. He couldn’t seem to stop, getting himself under control only to flip a page and find an even more humiliating picture of Cas on it, driving him into hysterics again.

“You got a what stuck up your nose?” Dean wheezed out as he clutched at his stomach and giggled at the picture of the medical record in the album. “A bead? Why?”

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Cas prepared himself for the bout of laughter after he said the words, “I wanted to know how it smelled so I shoved it up my nose.”

Dean full out started cackling at that. There were tears in his eyes and Cas would have bet money on the theory that his neighbors could hear the hoots of laughter coming from the house. Cas had stopped trying to shush Dean a while ago. Not only was it useless, but he also wasn’t in the mood for it. Not this time.

“And you had to go to a doctor to get it out?” Cas nodded at Dean’s question. “How far up was it?”

“Far enough.”

Dean giggled again. “The doctors must have thought you were insane.”

“No, actually. There have been much MUCH weirder things in their offices. Trust me.” Cas said. He then remembered. “My mom actually had this one guy that had a stick of salt stuck up his butt because he thought it would repel ghosts.”

Dean giggled at that.

“I actually think we might have his file somewhere down here.”

Dean’s eyes suddenly went wide and he sat up from his lounged position on the couch. “Your mom keeps her patient’s old records here?”

Cas nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know why though.” He gestured to some boxes near the stairs. “We sometimes go through them, and she shows me what dumb things people have been checked in to the hospital for.” Seeing the look on Dean’s face, Cas added, “If you want I could show you the papers of this dude who was said to have been mauled by a crocodile in the sewers, but I have no clue to why he was down there in the first place.”

Even before Cas had finished talking, Dean had got up and lunged for the boxes and ripped off the tops, letting out a low whistle at the amount of names and files inside. Looking up at Cas, he winked, and said, “Your mom must have had a lot of patience for all these patients.”

Cas groaned and also got up, shoving Dean in the shoulder as he came up behind him. “You’re not funny, you know.”

Dean pursed his lips. “I think I’m adorable.”

Cas rolled his eyes again and reached down to open another box, the one he knew would have the file with the man with the salt stick up his butt. He quickly flipped right to the Z section, grateful that his mother kept the names alphabetized. Zeddmore Zeddmore Zeddmore he chanted under his breath. Aha! He found it.

He took the file out and was just about to wave it triumphantly in Dean’s direction when he heard a loud string of curses come from behind him and turned just in time to see the box Dean had been looking through topple over, sending files and papers all over the floor.

Great. That was just what Cas needed.

Dean finished cursing and stared in silence at the mess, then looking up at Cas sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Cas tried not to grumble, but it came out harsher than he wanted anyway.

Dean dropped down and started picking up the files one by one, and Cas set the box back upright, soon joining Dean on the floor. Some of the names were familiar. Cas remembered Claire talking about some of them. The name Jody Mills was familiar. So was Donna Hanscum. His mother had liked those patients. In fact, Jody had visited them once at the house after Claire had helped her get better following a hunting accident. She had been nice, and Cas could tell why his mother had talked about her so fondly.

Cas saw Dean reach for another file and add it to his pile. If they kept this pace up, it would be a while before they’d finish. Not that Cas had anything better to do. If he had it his way, he’d be in his room, lying in his bed, staring at the wall. But Dean couldn’t have that. He would make sure that Cas was taken care of and happy-

Dean froze beside him. Cas blew it off as another one of his jokes and went to grab another file from off the floor. Dean still hadn’t moved. Cas glanced at Dean’s face and was surprised to see that it wasn’t smiling or grinning devilishly at him. It was frozen in an expression that Cas didn’t know how to read. He reached for another file.

“What is this?”

Cas almost missed it, Dean had said it so low. If he didn’t know any better, Cas would have thought that it had been a growl. But that wasn’t right. Dean didn’t growl. Not at him. Not at anyone.

“What is what?” Cas asked.

Dean turned his gaze onto Cas, and Cas realized that something was very wrong.

Dean thrust a file at Cas, who barely had time to catch it before it slammed into his chest. Why was Dean looking at him like that? Just a second ago he was laughing and joking and making fun of him. What had gotten him to riled up? What-

Cas looked down and froze.

In his hands was a file with two words printed at the top.

Mary Winchester.

#destiel #dean winchester #cas novak #claire novak #college au #soulmate au #fluff #and angst #cas is moody #it's not you

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claryscott0-0 · 4 years

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When it Rains it Pours

March writing prompt for @gabriel-monthly-challenge @archangelgabriellives @archangel-with-a-shotgun @archangelsanonymous @ttttrickster

Based off of the quote “Sorry, sorry, allergies. I’m allergic to pollen and bullshit.”

Summery: You and your boyfriend Gabe have been spending quite a bit of time apart, but you don’t have any reason to worry after all you trust him. That is until one fateful day in March.

A/N: Written in readers view. Not completely accurate with the show. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it.

-CS :)

Opening my eyes I see the plain white ceiling. Without even looking I know that I’m alone in the room. Which normally wouldn’t be a problem, but it had been that way for weeks. Gabe my angel of a boyfriend (literally) hadn’t been coming home. I understood he was busy but he had missed valentines day. He missed my niece's first birthday. At the time I didn’t think it was a big deal but now I wasn’t so confident that maybe I was missing something. Maybe I wasn’t enough I mean after all he could have anyone in the universe. Hell he could make his dream girl matterlize out of thin air. We originally had a trip planned for Amsterdam but of course he couldn’t make it. He told me to go without him, but it just didn’t seem right.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something crashing down stairs. I trudge down the steps expecting to see something chewed up or broken from our german shepherd puppy Axel. Instead, I see Gabe with some woman with her arms around him. My breath catches in my throat.

“Gabe?” I called out to him to get his attention. He looked up at me surprised as if he wasn’t expecting me to be there.

“Y/N I can explain.” He shakes the women off of him and with a snap of his fingers she’s gone. “You see umm… she’s a new angel and I was teaching her how to fly and well… it didn’t go as planned.” Gabe stumbled out the words knowing full well the lies he was telling me. I turned around and ran upstairs to our bedroom shutting and locking the door behind me. It wasn’t angel proof but he knew when I needed space and right now I needed to be worlds away from him.

I didn’t keep track of time. Hours must have gone by before hunger and the need to eat made me leave our room. I tried to be quiet but of course our little puppy just had to get excited to see me. It was sweet but at a time like this I couldn’t help but start crying again. I sat on the floor burying my face in his soft fur. I didn’t even hear Gabe walk up next to me.

“Y/N are you feeling okay?”

I pulled away from our puppie and of course Axel ran into the other room leaving just Gabe and I. I felt too open and vulnerable this way, so I hid it the only way I knew how, “I’m great.” I made sure to let the sarcasm drip.

“Your eyes are all red and puffy baby.”

“Sorry, sorry, allergies. I’m allergic to pollen and bullshit.” Right after I said it couldn’t hold back the sobs anymore. To think the man I loved was with another woman killed me. Gabe sat on the floor across from me in the kitchen. He put his hands on my knees and just sat there with me.

“You know I would never hurt you babygirl. Never on purpose. I know I haven’t been completely truthful either I’m sorry.” Gabe lifted my chin up so I could look at him but everything was blurry from the tears that still stung in my eyes. He wiped away the ones on my face and waited for me to say something.

After a few minutes I was able to find my voice, “Then please tell me the truth Gabe. Tell me what happened to us because it doesn’t seem like there is one anymore.”

“I guess I’ll start at the beginning then. Heaven is running low on angels Y/N and they have been for a long time. In order to make new angels you need the power of god to make one. Since he doesn’t want to come back I’ve had to take over. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I ain’t no god sweet cheeks.” He tried to throw in something to make me smile and to be honest it kinda worked. I was curious to hear what he had been doing in heaven. “I have to use almost all of my gace to help make them. When I re-charge sometimes I can’t fly down to see you. That woman you saw with her arms around me was there to help me get down to see you. I thought you went on vacation to Amsterdam. When you hadn’t I panicked so I tried to bullshit through it. I’m sorry sugar, but I just thought that by the time you were supposed to be back I would have been fine. Forgive me?”

I look up and look at Gabe. His skin was ashy gray. He had dark rimmed circles around his eyes. He looked terrible. I never noticed how bad he seemed to look. Even if he was trying to smile his way through it there was no hiding how weak he really was, “I’m sorry…”

“For what sugar? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“It’s just what I thought… well…”

“You thought I was cheating on you. He cut in looking shocked I would ever think such a thing, “You know I would never do that to you sweetcheeks. You're my whole world. Why would I want to destroy the best thing in my life?”

“I love you too.” My heart fluttered at his words he was always like this, and even years after being with him I wasn’t used to how sweet he could be.

“So what do you say in getting a snack and heading to bed?”

“It’s almost noon Gabe.”

“I know.” He says smirking at me. His golden brown eyes catching the sun making the little energy he had show through his weakened state.

“I’ll be up with breakfast soon okay?”

“Perfect.” I help him upstairs to our room. Axel laid right next to him on the bed giving a kiss to each of my boys before going downstairs to start making a very late breakfast. Even though I was worried about Gabe and everything going on in our lives I put it aside knowing that right now was the most important thing for both of us. Time together was what we needed. Only heaven knows how in love I am with my archangel and maybe a part of hell. Oops.

#supernatural #gabe #fluff #gabriel #spn reader insert

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