#I HAVE WANTED 6/6 MAGIC BAD KIDS SO LONG. ALMOST SCREAMED.

[allthecastlesonclouds]

hi something something bad kids all magic users now something something everyone learning how to save each other something something they've all got friendship bracelets and they're gonna make it through this year if it KILLS them

#dimension 20 #fantasy high #riz gukgak #fhjy #kristen applebees #fig faeth #the bad kids #I HAVE WANTED 6/6 MAGIC BAD KIDS SO LONG. ALMOST SCREAMED. #and i'm talking i guess #but like. riz switching to arcane trickster to be better in combat. #fig learning revivify and other non-bard-centric spells because she's afraid of what will happen if kristen goes down. #kristen better studying her own magic to figure out how she could've saved everyone before and deciding never again. #the first thing gorgug does with artificer magicTM is healing the hangman and 3 of his 4 spells are literally to save something/someone #adaine expanding her magical pallette. fabian reaching out to each of his friends. i could write an essay i LOVE them

[jinmukangwrites]

@damianwayneweek 6 (6-18): Baby Damian | Family bonding | First crush

Warnings: none

Notes: Short, sweet, barely edited cuz it's 1am. Please enjoy some de-aged Damian and frazzled Dick. Yes I'm back on my Damian and Dick bullshit. I just love them so much.

-o-o-o-o-

Three days, according to Zatanna. The magic that hit Damian isn't permanent, and should wear off on its own within three days.

Dick already doesn't know what to do with himself. He was hardly prepared to take over and raise a ten year old, let alone a toddler.

But here he is, sitting in the manor living room watching as a small version of his already little brother toddles around on chubby baby legs. He can't be more than two. He can walk around on his own well enough—though Alfred did block off all of the stairs in the manor anyways—and every so often he'll point at something and say... Something that sounds like a demand.

Dick wasn't really ever good with understanding baby gibberish. It doesn't help that Damian seems to have reverted in memories as well... so the things he's demanding probably aren't in English as it's not his first language.

Damian wobbles up to Dick, holding out a toy train that Alfred dug out from the attic that used to belong to Bruce. Dick takes it and thanks him, but Damian pays him no mind and returns to his toys, babbling about something only he understands.

It's so weird seeing him like this. All small, chubby, soft, and bright eyed. Dick doesn't know everything Damian has gone through... growing up in the League... and as much as Dick dislikes Talia, he knows she was the best mom she could be to him. She's raised him to be a smart, strong young man, and taught him to be able to protect himself in his dangerous surroundings... and of course Dick has known Damian long enough to have gotten through his walls and see the wonderful boy underneath, but as he watches this toddler squeal as another toy train turns on and runs on its own...

He cannot help but mourn the child Damian could have been. Should have been if every child in the world had the privilege of growing up in a safe home and no worries besides homework.

He shakes his head. He cannot think like that. Whatever child Damian could have grown into if he hadn't been raised by the League is still in there. Just a bit harder to bring out. Dick can feel himself getting closer every day.

Damian notices him shaking his head and makes a curious ah sound. He walks over to Dick, lifting his arms, and Dick assumes he wants to be lifted. He smiles at the kid and grabs him under the armpits and lifts him into the air perhaps a bit quicker than what he was expecting. The kid screeches as Dick lifts him over head and let's go for just a moment to catch him and bring him back down to his face.

Damian scowls a familiar scowl and hits Dick on the nose with his stubby little fingers.

"Bah," he scolds, and a laugh bursts from Dick's throat.

Yup, Damian is still in there.

-o-o-o-o-

"I'm beginning to understand why B adopted all of us when we were already in elementary," Dick complains as baby Damian screams in his wooden high chair—yet another thing dug up from the attic that probably belonged to Bruce.

Alfred hands Dick a rag with a smirk. The thrown bowl of mac-and-cheese is all over Dick's shirt.

"Master Bruce always had a tenderness for infants," Alfred replies as he uses another rag to wipe off the still screaming and complaining Damian. "He always found joy in finding whatever excuse he could to hold and play with a baby. We used to go to a church when he was still a child himself, and there was a woman there without a husband who would always bring her infant. He would always offer to hold the child for her during the sessions to give her a break."

There's a twinkle in his eye when he looks over at Dick. "I imagine that if this had happened to you, or your other siblings, when he was still around, he would have loved every second of it. Food throwing, tantrums, and all."

Dick can't help but smile. He looks over at Damian who's now kicking his legs and waving his now clean hands in a fit. "Still, I wonder what's making him so mad."

"He might not like the taste," Alfred says, "or the texture. Perhaps some experimentation is due."

After some expiration and a lot of screaming through baby lungs that couldn't possibly hold that much air, they find that Damian really likes tomato soup, apple sauce, and broccoli.

-o-o-o-o-

"Master Dick," Alfred speaks up on the first evening while they were showing Damian Pooh's Heffalump Movie. Dick was relaxing and watching the movie, trying to remember if he's seen this one or not, while Damian was on the floor playing with an old kitten stuffed animal.

"Yeah?" Dick asks. He looks over at Alfred, only to see Alfred raise an eyebrow down at Damian. Dick follows his look, then his stomach drops when he finds that under the recently shopped for infant clothes, is a full looking diaper.

Dick looks back up at Alfred.

"Please, god, no."

Alfred drops a diaper, a bag of wipes, and a cloth into Dick's hands. "Good luck, sir."

-o-o-o-o-

Dick's about to lose his mind. He did everything Alfred told him to. He read a bedtime story—Where the Wild Things Are, as it was Dick's personal favorite as a child. He made sure his diaper was clean. He turned on some white noise. He even gave him Zitka. Yet, everything he did, Damian would scream and sob in his borrowed crib until Dick picked him up and started to sing the lullabies sung to him as a child. He sings the ones from his own native language, and even though there's no way Damian understands Romani, the kid calms down and reduces to exhausted little hiccups and almost seems to fall asleep with his little fingers curled in Dick's shirt.

And the second Dick puts him down, the crying rekindles.

Dick doesn't know what to do. Damian cries and cries until he's held and sung to, but Dick can't hold and sing to him all night. He paces Damian's room, bouncing the aforementioned kid-turned-infant in his arms, mumbling tunes to whatever lullaby decides to leave his lips.

Alfred told him he has permission to wake him up if he needed anything with Damian through the night, but Dick can't bring himself to. Alfred already works so hard during the day and night, keeping the manor in shape and making sure Dick doesn't get himself killed during patrol... He shouldn't have to be relied on to take care of a grumpy baby that won't go to sleep.

No, no Dick can handle this. Damian is calm when he's held and sung to, so that's what Dick will do. He walks to the cradle and pulls out Zitka, then goes to his own bedroom to sit on his bed and holds Damian close to his chest, singing and bouncing him gently.

Eventually, Damian goes completely still against his chest, snoring slightly, but Dick's too fearful to risk anything now. He stops singing though, resorting to simply holding Damian and trying to keep his own eyes open.

He fails, but he wakes up in the morning with Damian laying on his chest, still fast asleep and drooling all over his shirt.

Dick doesn't look a gift-horse in the mouth. He shifts into a better position, then allows them both to sleep in a little longer.

-o-o-o-o-

Alfred discovers the problem quickly when Dick tells him how hard it was to get Damian to sleep. Turns out, Damian's teething. By noon, Alfred had returned from the closest grocery store with a few tools to help with that. He puts a few water filled plastics into the fridge, then gives Damian one to chew on in the meantime. And chew on it, Damian does. He gets slobber everywhere, but at least he's no longer so upset, especially once a cold one is exchanged into his grubby little hands.

-o-o-o-o-

"That's absolutely adorable," Barbara says over the phone. Dick's just finished sending her a massive amount of pictures he's taken of Damian after taking him outside to play in the backyard with the dogs. He's sent her the pictures mostly because he needs people to see how cute Damian is while trying to tackle a dog twice the size of him... but also partly because he gets the feeling once Damian's back to his normal age, he will make sure all evidence of this is destroyed.

Barbara is someone Dick's sure can keep pictures hidden in a safe place... just in case Dick wants to see them again after lying to Damian he deleted them.

-o-o-o-o-

Dick's beginning to understand why people like babies. Like, they're cute, yes. The sounds they make are cute sometimes too. The things they find funny are usually very goofy and enjoyable to watch. Their laughs are contagious, and their babbles are enjoyable to try and decipher...

But nothing beats watching them sleep, curled up against your chest. Full trust in you that you'll keep them safe. It's nap time, and instead of trying to peel Damian off from him and put him in the crib, he's decided to just let the kid pass out in his arms and use the opportunity to take a nap himself.

Apparently it's bad to always let babies sleep with you, but Damian's not going to be this small forever. Might as well enjoy holding him like this in pure peace while he can.

-o-o-o-o-

It seems Zatanna was generous with her prediction, as he wakes up with his breath being knocked out of him. Damian, his rightful age and dressed in his full Robin uniform, scrambles off of Dick's chest. It's all knees and elbows, and Dick's left rubbing his ribs as Damian pats his body, as if making sure he's really a 10 year old boy and not an infant.

"Good to have you back," Dick grunts, rubbing his eyes and holding back a grin.

Damian whirls on him and points an accusing finger. "I don't remember what all happened," he hisses, "but you will delete any photos immediately."

Dick bursts into laughter, grabbing Damians pointed hand and tugging him into a proper hug. Damian squawks just a little, but relents when Dick squeezes him tighter than what he would to an infant. Yes. This feels right. Baby Damian was cute and cuddly, but he really missed the prickly attitude of this rascal.

"Okay," he says, releasing his charge. "I'll delete the photos, after we tell Alfred you're back and you've changed out of the suit."

Damian huffs and nods. "That was horrible."

"I don't know, I thought it was fun," Dick teases. Damian glares at him and Dick grins back.

Yeah, he missed his kid.

#damianwayneweek2021 #damian wayne #robin #dick grayson #Nightwing #dc comics #jin writes #fanfiction

[cheelduh]

How to tie up a cute boy

(Highschool Au)

Pairing: Childe x fem!reader

Parts: 1  2  3

Word count: 4K

Warnings: Swearing, Scaramouche abuse, no Signora slander this time, shit humour.

Synopsis: "Why are you doing homework?" Childe groans, rolling off to the side and kicking off the blanket to expose himself in nothing but a pair of boxers. "I'm literally right here, naked and defenseless. Why aren't you taking advantage of me?"

Note: Unedited yet again besties. Tysm for reading :) I got Childe after losing him to mf MONA, istg it was the most stressful moment of my life.

The clock ticks with its pendulum, ridiculing you as it holds the time. The gentle whirring of the air conditioning in the background serves as the icing on the cake to your pent up aggression.

You try not to glare at your phone too much after receiving a text from Childe that told you not to worry, that his dad picked him up and that he was in the comfort of his home, letting the flu blow over.

It took a lot of convincing from his part earlier that morning to get you to go back and actually attend the rest of your classes, making sure to check up on him every break plus the additional "bathroom breaks" you usually never take while in class.

"I can't let you get in trouble for me." He murmured with a small smile that pumped your blood a little faster than usual. "I'm fine, really. Don't worry your pretty little head."

You do exactly that.

You don't even know why you're so worried. He's sick, not dying. Not to mention, you aren't even his girlfriend let alone his friend to care so much. 

Your intrusive thoughts don't waste any time. You latch onto the one thought that takes over. He's probably dead. Lying in his bed in a heap of pillows, passing peacefully while his parents are in the other room. He's dead.

Okay, he's not dead. You intrusive thoughts sure do one hell of a job. He'll be fine, and in no time he'll go back to being a reckless distraction in your life that you need to surpass. Just another obstacle to add onto the list of things life has thrown at you.

But for an obstacle, he sure is kind of cute.

You refrain from bashing your head on the desk. School isn't really a preferred environment on your list of top ten places to shrivel up and die.

Speaking of death and all that is evil, why is Childe always on your mind? He takes up every nook and cranny of your day, constantly, and truth be told it's starting to boil your piss.

Every time you close your eyes you see his smug smile, and hear his stupid laugh. He's an annoying little prick who gets a rise out of exasperating you. Yet here you are, terrified by the warmth that blossoms in your heart when you so much as hear his name.

The final bell rings at long last, conveniently before you bite your tongue to avoid screaming, and not another second is wasted once you launch yourself out the door. You dodge through the crowd of students in the hall that are buzzing in excitement from it being a Friday afternoon, and you would be too if you weren't so damn hung up over a ginger with a battlekink.

Locker in view, you make a beeline and spend the next two minutes fumbling with the lock in your hands.

"Woah there cutie," Lisa speaks up playfully. "At this rate you'll break the poor lock with your bare hands."

For a moment you're surprised at her sudden appearance, but then remember that it's normal for her to worm her way anywhere.

"It's just—this lock is being dumb okay? It has no reason being a pain in my ass but it wakes up every day and chooses violence." You hiss through your teeth, a sharp metallic ring invading your ears when you lose it and jostle the combination lock against the door of your locker.

Lisa winces, but smiles teasingly nonetheless. "Want me to give it a try?"

"Please."

Lisa has the door open at record speed.

"I love you Lisa." You confess wholeheartedly, gripping at your chest. "I love you so much—"

"Yeah yeah," She waves you off with a grin. "Now hurry up and go save your boyfriend from the common flu. Archons knows he won't make the night."

You flush at the word "boyfriend" and don't give much thought to the insinuation that lies within the rest of her sentence.

Sliding your skateboard under an arm, you spin on your heel just to bump straight into Scaramouche, who's won the scowl of the century on his face. He's the last person you want to see right now, but apparently the universe wants to have a pissing match with you.

"Give this homework to that idiot Ginger." He shoves a stack of papers into you. "Tell him that once he's done circling the drain, I'm gonna kick his ass." He then leans in, murderous glint in his eyes. "And if you ever touch me again I'll take a shit in your cereal. That's not a threat, it's a promise."

You shiver at the thought of him squatting on your Cheerios, hands becoming clammy as you try and justify yourself. "It was an accident."

Your pitiful excuse earns you nothing from the navy haired boy. "It'll be an accident when I murder your entire family, three generations over."

"Hi Mona!" You wave excitedly over his shoulder at the body of students that are totally not Mona. With elation he fails to conceal, Scaramouche turns to look at the speed of light.

You take the chance to make your escape—not before waving to Lisa, chuckling to yourself. He's down bad.

With great expertise you file your way through the flock of students chattering near the entrance. , you confidently place your skateboard down on the sidewalk, ready to—

Wait—where does he live again?

You sigh heavily, ignoring the sadness as you thank the universe internally for pulling the reigns on your disastrous plan. Checking up on Childe at his house? With his family present? Making a complete fool out of yourself? What are you thinking? The possibilities are horrendous. He probably doesn't even think of you like that, he just likes a challenge and you pose as one.

You turn away to make a run for it in the direction of your home, all the while ignoring the nagging worry in your chest for Childe. He's probably fine anyways, you don't need to check up on him, and if you did he'd likely find a way to spin it and tease you relentlessly.

Although somehow, the thought of being teased by him isn't as dreadful as you'd like it to be.

Suddenly, an idea graces you, one that guarantees your misery by sating your obligation to check up on Childe. A litany of curses escape your mouth. Genius really, the amount of ways you can think of doing something that'll end in your demise.

"Adeptus Xiao." You whisper apprehensively, already regretting your decision. "Adeptus Xiao." Glancing around your surroundings, you barely notice the shadow that looms over you at your backside.

"What do you want mortal?" Unbeknownst to you, he strikes out of nowhere, making you jump back several meters. You manage to muffle a surprised shriek.

Xiao is Venti's -6 ft boyfriend, the vicious epitome of an eboy. He has a scaled tattoo covering up the majority of an arm, a few piercing holes in his ears, all matched up with a disinterested look. Somehow, he always appears out of nowhere if you call out his name. It's sort of disturbing in a way.

His amber eyes pierce through you, forcing a shudder of fear and dread to lace your blood, almost as if he can sense you shittalking him in your head.

With shaky hands, you ask, "Can you tell me where—"

"No."

"You didn't even hear me ou—"

"No."

"Please?"

He refuses to at least pretend to think about it for a moment.

"No."

"Why?" You frown, stomping your foot on the ground childishly.

"Because." He retorts with a lack of interest, but doesn't further explain his point. English teachers must love this kid.

"Okay," You say slowly, casually inspecting his form as you come up with an idea, briefly remembering Lumine mentioning it to you. "How about I give you my share on almond tofu Tuesday."

The lack of interest on his face wavers slightly. Bingo.

"What do you want mortal?" Xiao mutters gruffly, arms crossed, face morphing into subtle annoyance.

You wrack your brain for a proper answer. You can't just outright ask him or it'll seem like you have a thing for Childe, which you unfortunately do, but you'd like to keep a semblance of integrity. Ah yes, the homework!

"I gotta deliver these to Childe." You outstretch the pile of worksheets in your hands. "Except I don't know where he lives. Can you tell me?"

Xiao's eyes glint with danger. "Did you summon me for the trivial task of giving you an address?"

You nod furiously.

"Do humans have no shame?" Its rhetorical. Expressionlessly, he closes his eyes with intent focus, doing what you assume to be locating Childe's exact location.

He blinks an eye open, reaches a hand out. "Give me your phone." Palm waiting.

You hand it over to him almost desperately.

One glance at your bubbly phone case and he doesn't even try to hide his distaste. He taps a few times, then hands it back to you almost immediately.

On the screen is maps, and Childe's home is about a fifteen minute walk away.

Your jaw drops in disbelief. "How did you do that?"

"Easy," He mutters, leaning back against the school gate as the remainder of students walk past the two of you. "Locating demons that need subjugating is but a simple task."

There's a pregnant pause. Demon.

"Childe's a demon?" You gasp, even though you've always had your suspicions. Hence the reason you invest so much in demon-cancelling charms.

"What? No." He mutters with a roll of his eyes, and you note that his irritation grows the more questions you ask. "I had a physics project with him last semester."

That's why the charms don't work.

Your mouth forms an o, in fear that if you keep this conversation going on any longer, he'll snap at you. Especially when your next line of interrogation involves how he's able to appear and disappear into thin air.

It's a magic trick you'll want to master whenever Il Dottore has another conniption fit in the middle of the hallways after Kaeya tells him he looks like he has skid marks.

"Thank you." You say instead, trying to preserve his regard, but by the time you meet his gaze he's already gone with the wind.

—

Childe's home is surprisingly humble, considering the amount of fat stacks of cash he carries around in his fanny pack so care-freely. It's a normal suburban home from what you can tell, a little bigger than normal with a double garage, neatly mowed lawn and a few forgotten decorations from the windblume festival. A series of water guns lay forgotten near the entrance, making their presence known when you stumbled upon them.

It's hard to remain unphased. Especially since such a normal looking home has bred someone as ruthless as Childe.

Maybe it not the home, you think. Maybe it's the way he was raised. You recall a few glimpses of his mother in middle school, but because of your worse for wear memory retention, you can't ballpark her personality type.

As your thoughts wander further down to his parents and early childhood, villain origin story and what not, you're pulled out of your concentration when the door opens. The possible implications of being here are most definitely not in your favor.

Childe's mother is a stunning woman in her mid-forties who sure as hell doesn't show it in that jaw-dropping sapphire dress, topped off with a brilliant smile that makes your knees weak. Like mother like son, you suppose.

With her sudden appearance, strangely enough, you can remember how good her tiramisu bites are.

You take a moment to respond, swallowing thickly, only to stare at her stupidly.

His mother doesn't waste another second before ushering you in, oblivious to your star-struck expression. "Y/N? L/N Y/N? My have you grown. I remember when you were only this tall." She lifts her hand up a little above her waist, the jewels on her fingers dazzling with every movement. "How is your mother doing?"

"She's doing alright, busy with the clinic." You're able to find your words, smiling back at her, able to get somewhat familiar with her warmth. "I hope I'm not intruding. Childe forgot some homework." You say, heaving the short stack up.

"Ajax?" She laughs, shaking her head in disbelief. "I can't believe he's going by that now. I wonder when this phase will be over. He may act tough but he's such a softie, has the biggest heart."

You, in between concealed emotions and giggles that threaten to leak, try to hide the oncoming grin but it's impossible. "Well he's got you to thank for it."

"You flatter me too much Y/N," She fixes the up do, pinning back the blonde hair that deftly frame her familiar cerulean eyes. "I can see why he can't stop talking about you."

Her words make you waver momentarily. The fondness you've refused to share, the drawn out stares in the halls, the lingering touches, you don't want to acknowledge it but it's there. Whatever it is.

"I'm so sorry for cutting this short dear," His mother sighs, grabbing her keys off the counter and placing her wallet in an elegant handbag. "My niece is getting married and we're already late. I told Ajax I'd stay if he didn't feel too well but he said he could handle a headache. That boy, I swear, always tries to power through."

You nod in understanding, but wait a minute. A headache?

Scrunching up your face, eyebrows furrowed, you ask. "Headache?"

She frowns, applying another layer of her rouge lipstick hastily in a nearby mirror. "I know dear, how unfortunate. The school nurse said it's a migraine, and I shouldn't fret much, but a mother can't help but worry. If only he weren't so stubborn, like his father."

As if on cue, a loud honk comes from outside.

"That must be him!" She exclaims, hurriedly sliding in her heels, turning back to look at your awkward figure. "Ajax is in his room, it's the second door to the right upstairs. I've made some lasagna for the kids, you ought to have some as well, I'll be upset if you don't—" Another annoying honk cuts her off, to which she scoffs, shaking a fist. "That old man, I'll strangle him in his sleep. I must be going now, goodbye dear." She reveals a twinkling smile at you one last time, waving a slim hand before picking up her heels and making a run for it.

The door closes with an unceremonious thud, gust of wind in its trail, leaving a bewildered high schooler in its wake.

Snapping out of your haze, overwhelming tides threaten to drown you whole. Being in Childe's home, alone, with him a handful of stair steps and a wall or two away, your cheeks are set ablaze.

Now that his mother's gone, you take a second to really look. There are a few toys littered in front of the TV, home covered in with soft throws and coordinated cushions, a lazy sectional plopped right in the middle. The marks on the furniture with all the stories, the light hued mismatched frames hanging on the walls and on all the table, so many pictures of those that resemble him, his brothers, his sisters, his family. You can almost hear the echoing laughter in the halls, the childish squeals and pitter patter of tiny feet slapping the hardwood floor.

This is where he grew up. This is where he retires to after a long day full of gratifying fistfights. This is where he was raised to be who he is today, ambitious and reckless, with the absurd dream to one day rule the world. This is his home.

It's...like being wrapped in blanket, safe and cozy, surrounded by all the love in the world.

Absentmindedly, your fingers trace the outlines of a younger Childe, two missing teeth and eyes full of dreams, hugging the side of his father's shoulder because his small arms can't wrap around them. Not just yet.

You make your way over to the staircase, which has even more frames littered across the wall, one that falls short of hiding the marks of a green crayon—another slice of domesticity you aren't quite accustomed to.

The reality sets in, and you come to a conclusion. This home is definitely not an environment for growing psychopaths, Childe just beats the odds like he beats up kids on the daily.

Your fist hovers over his door as you contemplate abandoning the sheets on a nearby table, but his mother was so sweet and polite, so incredibly hospitable, you wouldn't have the heart to make a run for it.

"I can see why he can't stop talking about you."

Three consecutive knocks. If he doesn't answer, you'll leave them at the door.

"Mama," Childe's muffled groans stem from the other side, and oh, you want to revel in the grave undertone of his voice because it's certainly not a common occurrence. "I told you I'm fine. You can go okay? I don't want you to be late, just need to sleep it off."

You blink, lips curling, and then knock again.

"Mama," He whines again, and it has you grinning mischievously. He's a mommy's boy, he has to be. The thought envelopes your heart with a newfound fondness. "Just come in and hurry."

You eagerly take in the room once you slip in, eyes scanning over every little detail, until they zero in on the heap of sheets smack dab on the single bed, a pair of feet dangling off the edge, topped with a comforter thrown over leisurely.

Childe's facing away from you, head dipped in between his shoulders, probably trying to find a position that's more comfortable. He's shivering, sweating at the same time. His mother must've been too preoccupied to notice. This isn't the first time he's used his exceptional bullshitting finesse.

"I can't believe you lied to your mother," You cross your arms, leaning back against the door.

With a jerk, Childe flings into a sitting up position, wide awake and aware of everything that is going on, a stark contrast from nearly seconds ago.

He blinks at you in shock, once, twice, rubs his eyes a bit, relaxes, then leans back, out of it completely. "For a sleep paralysis monster, you sure are kind of cute."

"For and idiot you sure are an idiot." You snort back.

"Wait a minute," He mutters slowly, jaw dropping. "You're actually here?!"

Ignoring his question, you opt to slap the papers on his desk to ignore your clammy palms. "Homework."

"And here I thought you came here all this way to be my personal nurse." He smirks, recovering from his momentary shock fairly swiftly. Doesn't refrain from giving you that shit stain of a bad boy grin, even with a flushed face and concavity under his eyes.

"I can be your personal mortician instead."

"I didn't know you were into role play babe, but I'll take what I can get." He winks, but is punished by a sequence of coughs that earn a wince from you.

"Headache?" You tease after he quiets down, but he remains as cavalier as always.

He sighs, sides of his lips still arched upwards. "My parents barely have any time to themselves, it's so hectic with the kids. What kind of son would I be if I couldn't even give them this?"

He must've threatened Barbara.

"You're," You inhale, briefly letting the silence hang between you two, mulling over what you wish to convey. sweet.

"Irresistible? Hot? Sexy?" He starts casual, arrogant smirk widening.

"Kind of not a complete asshole, is what I was going to say."

"Careful girlie," He narrows his eyes on you, playful lilt in his tone. The comforter is allowed to slip past his shoulders to reveal the goods that lie underneath, the complete naked chest of a post-puberty highschool boy who sprays too much axe. Full pectorals are something to pay for, stringed with smooth muscles that ripple their way over his toned shoulders. "If you keep teasing me like this, I can't promise I'll be the nice guy."

"One more time from the top," You bite back, avoiding staring at him for too long. "Without the congested nose this time."

With great expertise, he weakly throws a pillow at you, and you watch it exceptionally land at your feet, barely grazing the tips of your socks.

"Impressive," You whistle, not impressed.

He pouts, shivers, then is dunking his head back into the welcoming embrace of his plush collection of pillows.

With a sigh, you plop down on his chair, grab a pen and begin calculating derivatives.

"What're you doing?" He doesn't even turn your way, voice muffled.

"Homework," You reply nonchalantly, trying to calm your nerves. "unless you want me to get you something to eat, considering you puked out your gogurt on Barbara's shoes earlier. Congrats by the way, you're hit listed by her fan club."

"Why are you doing homework?" He groans, rolling off to the side and kicking off the blanket to expose himself in nothing but a pair of boxers. "I'm literally right here, naked and defenseless. Why aren't you taking advantage of me?"

He really has an IQ below room temperature.

Burying the formidable obligation to clock him in the face on behalf of society, you slowly get up to approach his bed, to which he grins widely in disbelief.

Apprehensively, you climb onto his bed, and he scoots over, excitement as clear as day. His hair's a wild mess from all the shifting, almost makes you want to card a hand through it. Your heart nestles it's way in your throat at the sight of his blazing blue eyes.

You pity him for what you're about to do.

"Relax Childe," You lean over him with confidence you never knew you had to begin with, face hovering inches before his. Your fists strategically grip the comforter on either side of him. "We have all day after all."

Although you attempt to pay no heed to his quivering hand that snakes up to find solace on your hip, you momentarily shiver at the tenderness.

He's eating this up and leaving no crumbs. Closing his eyes in anticipation, his lips tremble when he tries to close in the distance.

Abruptly, you cross both handfuls of sheets over his body, tying them securely in place to keep him docile. He struggles in your grip, eyes snapping open in surprise. "Wuh-What."

"Did you really think you had a chance?" You cross your arms, stepping back to get a good look at your handiwork.

"Honestly?" Childe huffs, struggles some in his restraints. "I wasn't really thinking."

"Typical," You scrunch your nose up, unscrunch, and then exhale. "You stay here and I'll go make you some soup. Well, not that you can really move but you get the idea."

"You're really going to leave me here like this?" He pouts cutely, melting you, and the sick bastard knows of his power.

"Relax," You wave a hand, "I may be evil but I'm not Scaramouche."

Meanwhile, Scaramouche sneezes as he tries to ask Mona out, falling straight on his ass from the kick back, making a complete fool out of himself. Mona doesn't mind though, finds it endearing.

Back at Childe's room, he raises a brow, expectant.

Going through the five stages of grief, you do something you've been wanting to do for a while, succumbing to the immense feeling.

Closing in the distance between you two, you suck in a breath and gently tilt Childe's head to the side. He blinks quickly, not quite expecting your sudden forwardness, about to say something that doesn't matter as soon as you place a tender peck on the side of his cheek.

Time stops, the world coming to a halt completely. A moment made in history, one you won't ever forget, fresh in both your minds from forward on.

And then you stagger away as if you've been stabbed.

"Soup!" You squeak, appalled by the sheer boldness of your actions. "I'll go make soup while you rest."

Childe, frozen, stares at you incredibly confused, and then beams.

Dear Archons, what have you done.

#genshin impact #genshin impact oneshot #childe x reader #childe #fanfic #genshin oneshot #kaeya alberich #dottore #genshin tartagalia #tartagila #lumine genshin impact #mona genshin impact #aether #barbara genshin impact #ajax x reader

[harper-hook]

Into The Woods | Harry Hook x Reader

Request: Can I request a Harry X reader where the reader is Peter Pan's daughter and they hate each other at first but then things get really heated between them and it turns into full on smut?

Warnings: Oral sex

Author’s Note: This almost killed me to write tbh

The familiar scraping of metal on metal made you groan mentally and slam your locker. “what do ya want now, Hook?” You snapped, unfortunately used to your father’s enemy's son bothering you. “Just came to see me favorite little sprite.” He replied with a wide grin, seeing how it got under your skin.

You stopped yourself before you yelled at him and caused a scene. It was the day right before Spring Break and you didn’t want to damper your spirits by earning after school detention as soon as you got back. “Well you saw me. Now back off.” You ordered.

Harry stepped back, faking a wounded look. “My plans don’t involve backing off.” He smirked. “Quite the opposite in fact, seeing as you’re heading back to Neverland.” You groaned and rolld your eyes. This again. 

“If you let me tag along, I’ll make it worth your wild.” He practically purred, getting up in your personal bubble. You sneered at him. “Listen, Hook and listen good.” You poked him chest with your finger. “You will never! Set foot in Neverland if I have anything to say about it!” You hissed.

Harry’s smirk dropped and he adopted an angry glare. You were a bit nervous but you couldn’t back down now. “Then we’ll just have to hope nothing happens to ya!” He hissed. You growled, getting in his face and bawling your fists.

“Hook! Pan!” You snapped out of your rage as Fairy Godmother came bustling around the corner, catching you both. Uh oh...

One long and infuriating detention later, you were finally packing up. “Stupid Hook and his stupid face...” You ranted to Ben over the phone. Ben sighed as you leaned against the side of your car, trunk still open. “Didn’t you think he was cute when he first came here?” Mal asked, joining Ben on the other line.

The good thing about being over the phone was no one could see you roll your eyes. "That was before he opened his mouth." You huffed. “So you’re gonna talk to Tiger Peony about the trade deal between Neverland and Auradon, right?” Ben changed the subject.

“Yeah I’ll do your job while on my spring break, Ben.” You rolled your eyes. "I appreciate it, you know?" He said. "Uh huh. See if you can lower my detention sessions when I come back." Ben sighed, confirming that he said he would see what he could do.

You said your goodbyes and promised to call once you arrived; Ben always the worrier. Hanging up, you quickly slammed your trunk shut and climbed in the driver's side.

Taking one last look at Auradon Prep in the mirror, you pulled out and started on your long 6 hour drive.

-----

The first couple of hours of the drive you didn't mind. Plenty of sunlight and good music made the time fly. But thanks to Fairy Godmother's detention, you'd left 2 hours late and now the sun was going down quick.

Driving at night didn't bother you but driving through Summerwoods at night bothered you. You turned your music down and took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. Now you really regretted turning Herkie’s invitation for a ride. “(Y/N), you’re a fucking moron.” You hummed to yourself.

Then it sounded like a gun shot went off. You let out a small shriek, thankfully not swerving your car off the road. You slowed considerably, still confused and terrified. Then you heard it, what sounded like a horse’s snort, the spluttering of air. Your heart sank, grip tightening on the steering wheel. “Are you fucking serious right now?!”

Slowly limping your car to the side of the road and putting it in park, you practically threw yourself out of the door, mood souring at the telltale signs of a popped tire. You glanced to the right and saw the back tire, flat as paper. 

You groaned, you held your head in your hands. Ok, keep yourself together, you thought. I’m a strong independent woman and I can change a tire, that’s what I keep a spare for, you reminded yourself. 

You ran to the back and popped the trunk open again. “Hiya!” You screamed, stumbling backwards and falling on the ground. You laid there in complete shock, breathing heavily and heart thumping. You could hear Harry wheezing in laughter.

After a few seconds, you sat up, gasping for air. “What the fuck?” You rasped out. Harry climbed out of your trunk, still shaking in mirth. Shakily, you stood to your feet, narrowing your eyes at the boy in front of you.

“What in the actual fuck do you think you’re going?” You screamed, no longer shaking in fear but in anger. “I’m going to Neverland, what does it look like?” He said with a slight eyeroll like you were stupid. This just pissed you off more.

“It looks like you’re some kind of fucking stalker!” Harry stopped laughing, looking at you with a positively poisonous glare. He stomped up to you, clearly trying to intimidate you. You were too angry to care. 

“You might wanna loose the attitude, lass. We’re all alone out here.” He sneered. It was your turn to roll your eyes. “Just get out of my way.” You pushed past him, peering into your trunk. “Where’s my spare tire?” You questioned, looking back at Harry who looked like a pouty kid caught in the cookie jar.

“Was awful cramped in there with that thing.” He muttered. He continued at your deadpan look. “Threw it out at the school.” You took a sharp, deep inhale, fists clenching and unclenching. You turned and slammed your trunk shut, putting your arms and head down on top of it. 

You couldn’t help but laugh. The whole irony and bullshit of the situation was honestly laughable. It would’ve been funnier if it hadn’t been you. “Pan?” You heard Harry call. “What?!” You snapped, raising your head. 

“Ya okay?” Your eyes widened as you spun around. “I’m gonna pretend you didn’t just ask me that when you literally ruined my entire evening!” You screamed at him. Harry marched up to you, forcing you back against your trunk. “I thought I told you to loose the fucking attitude.” He snapped. He grabbed the hair at the base of your neck and practically bent you over backwards on your trunk.

He leaned in close to you, cocky smirk on his face. You snarled and bared your teeth, leaning closer to his face. “Am I supposed to be scared of you? There’s 1000 things in these woods alone that are scarier than you.” You and Harry’s gazes locked. His eyes were so... blue. You really hadn’t noticed before. 

His glare softened slightly and he released his grip on your hair, stepping back. You straightened up, keeping a close eye on Harry. You’d never admit that he scared you a bit. Never.

It was silent now. You looked away into the forest. It was completely dark now. Crunching sounds from the forest made the hairs on your arms raise. You and Harry shared a look to confirm you both heard it. A nearby wolf’s howl made you gasp and reach out, a firm hold on Harry’s shirt. He held your wrist.

“C’mon. C’mon.” He ushered you to the backseat and practically shoved you in and climbed in after you. You sighed and tucked your knees under your chin. Fuck, this was bad. “Call Princey. See what kinda magic he can work.” Harry murmured, like he was afraid to talk too loud. 

“Hey, finally a smart suggestion from you.” You said with a sarcastic smile and leaned forward to your car’s center panel. You had both knees on the middle storage compartment, waiting on the phone to ring. 

“Hello?” Ben answered after three rings. “Ben!” You were instantly filled with relief. “I need some help. My car blew a tire in the Summerwoods.” You explained. “What about your spare?” He asked. You turned to glance at Harry who gave a sarcastic wave. You flipped him off and turned back around. “It was a bad spare.” You lied. “Can you send help?” 

“Uh, yeah. It’s gonna be a couple of hours though.” Ben said. You groaned at the fact you already knew. “Thanks, Ben. I’ll make it up to you one day, I swear.” You smiled at Ben’s laughter. “Yeah, just hang tight.” With that, he hung up and you tossed your phone back into the center console.

You moved to sit back down in the backseat, instead moving into something solid. While you were preoccupied, Harry had slid into the middle seat right behind you. “What are you-” You squeaked as Harry pulled you down into his lap. 

He wound his hand into your hair again and bent you backwards, leaving your neck exposed. His other hand had a firm grip on your hip. You gasped as he licked a stripe up your neck, blowing on it to make you shudder. “W-what are you doing?”

“I can see it, ya know? I saw it earlier. Ya look at me the way I look at ya.” He murmured, low and close to your ear. “You lie and say you hate me but have still fantasized about this. About me.” He placed a kiss on your neck. Your shaking hands found their place on his knees. 

“Say you want this. Say you want me. Or I’ll let you go and we never have to speak again.” Your heart hurt in an unexplained way. This bickering love-to-hate routine you and Harry had fallen into naturally, for it all to stop one day? It seemed Harry Hook had somehow managed to worm his way into your heart.

“Harry...” You murmured, looking up at him. “I want you. Now.” You said with more confidence that you’d anticipated. He looked surprised but quickly adopted his signature cocky grin. “Atta girl.” He helped you turn around to straddle him.

You bent down to kiss along his jawline before planting one on his lips. It started innocent but quickly turned rougher and more passionate. Harry raised his hand and brought it down hard on your ass. You gasped into the kiss and pulled away, looking at Harry with an indignant look. 

“That’s for the fuckin’ attitude you’ve been giving me for the last 4 months.” He growled, voice deep and husky. “You’ll get a lot more later.” He said, his tone of voice making you realize you were in for a world of hurt later.

He tugged on the bottom of your shirt before pulling it off. He grinned and pulled you back for another kiss, slowly grinding his erection against your leg. You scratched his shoulders as you pulled away. 

“I’m not fucking you on the first date.” You said matter-of-factly. He looked at you, confused and a bit annoyed. “Technically it’s not even a date. More of a car invasion.” You crossed your arms, smirking at Harry. He narrowed his eyes before grinning himself.

“Either way, I’m still gonna rock your world, luv.” He smacked your ass in the same spot, making you hiss in pain. You climbed off his lap and leaned up against the door, Harry right on top of you.

You gripped the seat as Harry kissed down your neck, teeth scraping your skin. Your head was tossed back as he moved lower and lower. "Look at me." You glanced down and could barely make out Harry kneeling between your legs.

He started tugging on your jeans and you lifted up to help him. In one fluid motion, your jeans were tossed into the front seat. You whimpered, feeling exposed. Harry shushed you, breathing close to your lower belly. "Trust me."

Your heart lurches in shock as cold metal dragged its way up your leg and hooked into your underwear, tugging them down. You felt like your face was on fire.

You took a deep breath as Harry threw one leg over his shoulder and the opposite leg was pushed to dangle over the floor boards. You flushed again as Harry kissed gently up your thigh. You shrieked as he nipped your inner thigh.

"Fucker..." You stammered. Harry laughed before he leaned down close to your heat. He slowly dragged his tongue up your slit. You moaned loudly, one hand reaching to Harry's head, pushing him down.

You sighed and moaned into your hand as Harry continued his ministrations. "I- I wanna hear you." Harry murmured into your thigh. "I wanna hear how good I'm making you feel." His voice barely more than a whisper.

"Harry!" You moaned loudly as Harry blew cool air over your slit. "That's my girl." And he went back down on you, more aggressive this time. The air in the car felt thick and foggy, just like your thought process.

Harry moved to your clit, clearly tracing a pattern. He used one hand on hold your bucking hips down as he continued. "Are you-" You trailed into a high pitched whine. "Tracing your fucking name?" You shook violently.

You could feel Harry grin against you. He moved up into your face, noses nearly touching. "Yeah. And what are ya going to do about it?" He sneered, attack your neck again with a rigorous fever. "Mine." That one word sent a fire burning through you.

One of Harry's hands moved you your slit, two fingers slipping in easily. "Harry..." You moaned, tears coming to your eyes. He was still sucking and biting at the base of your neck and collarbone, clearly trying to leave a mark. You dug your nails into the back of his neck, making him let out a few curses.

Harry curled his fingers against your G-spot relentlessly, your legs shaking and your hips bucking wildly. "Harry!" You sobbed as you finally came, back arching and world going still.

It was quiet for a moment and the only sound was both of yours heavy breathing. Harry pulled his fingers out and wiped them on his pant, sitting back on the other side of the backseat. You sat up and pulled your legs back to you.

You winced, pain shooting through your body. "What the fuck did you do to me, Hook?" You muttered. Your legs and back were cramped up and it felt like you'd been punched in the neck. He laughed heartily. "Fucked ya up good, huh?"

You rolled your eyes but couldn't help but agree. Between your dried tears on your cheeks and messy hair from rubbing against the window, not to mention all the bruises.

You glanced over at Harry who was looking at you curiously. "What?" He asked. You smirked at him, leaning over him. You ran you hand down his chest and iver the bulge in his pants, making him buck into your hand. "It's my turn now."

#disney descendants #descendants #descendants imagine #descendants harry #harry hook x reader #harry hook imagines #harry hook

[xaibaugrove]

Everyone in the Krew is Problematic

I was inspired to go on this rant by someone who recently brought up a question in a server I’m in, asking why so many people in the fandom seem to hate Mako and Makorra and why. This wouldn’t be the first time I defend Mako and it most likely won’t be the last, but it might be the first time I tear him and everyone else in the Krew down in the process, only to bring them back up. Hear me out though.

I think I’ve totally accepted that a lot of people in this fandom will always hate Mako and that I will have to perpetually defend him, I understand that this is the relationship I’ve chosen with this world. But what I still will never understand are the reasons why people hate/dislike him because compared to how much they love other characters in the Krew who honestly aren’t that much better than him (in some cases, even worse!), it doesn’t make any sense.

Let me also preface this by saying, I love these characters with all my heart and soul, probably more than I should love fictional characters, but this is the life I live and with that being said, I am going to tear them apart just to prove a point. Okay, here we go.

MAKO

Most of his detractors list the usual criticisms, which are valid when isolated. He cheated on Asami, he lied to Korra, he was a terrible boyfriend and essentially he treated the women he claimed to love or care about horribly. Gee, it’s almost like the man was a teenager with no experience in having long-lasting, healthy relationships and was raised in the streets by gangmembers while doing anything to survive and provide for his younger sibling after seeing his parents killed right in front of him and suddenly being orphaned…

I think Mako has been torn down enough, so I won’t get too deep into the tearing down part for him. It really does baffle me how someone can claim to be woke and not comprehend how someone coming from poverty could possibly be a product of their environment. Like, does everyone think that poor people automatically have hearts of gold and turn out like Little Orphan Annie? Why are people surprised that when someone has a shitty life, they might do shitty things?

Also, sooo many people love Zuko, who actively tried to cause harm to Aang, Katara and Sokka numerous times, and sympathize with his troubled past. But like, sure Zuko had an abusive father and his mother peaced out of his life for whatever reasons but at least he had his uncle. Mako had his parents for maybe 8 years before they were murdered in front of him and then had...no one for the next 10 years? Except for Bolin, sure, but no other parental figure in his life. Dude literally had to become him and his brother’s own parent and joined a gang to survive, and after all that, the worst he does is acts as a bad boyfriend toward Korra and Asami and he is instantly thrown to the wolves. Something doesn’t add up. It’s just...I don’t get it.

Yes, the way he treated people was bad, but people can grow? That’s a thing humans can do. And he was a teenager, my god. No, we cannot allow our past to be an excuse for how we treat others, but we have to be aware that there is a growth process to being human. And being human in and of itself, isn’t pretty. You think Mako is problematic? Don’t get me started on your fave.

KORRA

Ok, I love this woman to death but she is ridiculously problematic. She pursued someone in a relationship and essentially forced Mako to cheat on Asami by kissing him against his will, that’s already pretty awful and shows a lack of empathy on her part, also kissing people without their consent is no bueno. But also I just have to say it for the people who might not know this. One of the fundamental reasons why Makorra didn’t work was because KORRA WAS ABUSIVE. Okay? It wasn’t just that Mako was inadequate at relationships and didn’t know how to people, it wasn’t that she was secretly confused and wanting Asami the entire time (biphobia at it’s best) one of the main problems in the pairing was that Korra was crazy abusive towards Mako. Seriously, why don’t I see this more often in those discussions??

If we need examples, I have dozens. Honestly, it’s really easy to see how terrible Korra was to Mako, I’d actually argue that she treated him worse than he treated her. I mean, they were both terrible to one another, but in Korra’s case she went through the motions of being completely infatuated with your first teenage crush, getting with said crush, then crashing and burning once you realize that you have no idea how to treat a romantic partner so after the butterflies wear off you subject them to all the wonderful aspects of your anger issues. Not only did she scream at Mako during every argument they had, she also threatened him with bodily harm if she got really angry. Remember how their relationship crashed and burned in Book 2? Here are the things that Korra did during that time. Let me reiterate, this was not okay.

Mako is visibly shaken by this!

This woman burst into her boyfriend’s place of work and violently kicked his desk out from in front of him with all his coworkers present. That is not normal behavior. That is a red flag. And after she came back, had amnesia or whatever and forgot they broke up after that scene, let’s not forget that Mako was legitimately Afraid to break up with her again. Korra made her partner frightened that they might suffer bodily harm if they upset her. Again, and I can’t stress this enough, this is not okay!

The little scene in Book 3 when Korra is lifting Mako like 100 feet off the ground with airbending while he’s screaming in fear just to make Asami laugh is cute, right? I’ll admit, I loved that little moment too, it’s one of the only instances of Korrasami development that we got, but also, there were sooo many things wrong with that scene lol. Not only does Korra terrify Mako for literally no reason, it’s also sort of just her continuing to exercise some degree of power over him for her own amusement. Almost like a subtle reminder to him saying, “I am stronger than you in every way and I can break your femur like a twig if I wanted to… but I won’t, so look how much fun we’re having!”

Now of course, there are reasons why Korra acts like this. She was isolated for almost her entire life and never learned how to treat people and be around people. The Avatar is human because they must live amongst the people they protect and that helps them develop empathy and cherish life. The White Lotus deprived her of that fundamental aspect of her duty as the Avatar and it showed throughout the beginning of the series. Clearly, she was young, didn’t see how her actions could negatively affect others and hurt the feelings of not just her partner but also friends and family (she was really awful towards a lot of people in her life!). But as the series went on, we see her having less outbursts and learning to control her temper more.

One can only assume that she does not have the same behavior with Asami because for one, I don’t think Asami would play that shit, she seems like she would electrocute a bitch in a heartbeat and not hesitate if needed, but also Korra is not the same shitty partner she used to be as a teenager. Again, kids do stupid things. Adults do stupid things. And we learn and we grow. Korra will probably make some more mistakes in her relationship with Asami. I don't think anyone can have one bad relationship and suddenly learn all the lessons they can from it and have a perfect one the next go around. I can totally picture Korra losing her temper and raising her voice at Asami if she gets frustrated and forgets who she’s dealing with. Managing anger issues is hard, I know this from experience, and it doesn’t magically get easier. Of course, if Korra does pop off, Asami would definitely put her in her place because she’s a bad bitch who doesn’t take anyone’s shit, next character.

ASAMI

You know her, you love her, you fantasize about her and you probably have her on your list of fictional characters you would totally bang if you had the chance (I know I do), yes, even your best girl is problematic. It’s interesting to me that a lot of people sympathize with Asami and very few openly criticize her (so few that I’ve never seen anyone say a bad thing about her). What’s there to criticize though? The poor girl was cheated on by Mako, had her feelings disregarded by Korra, who claimed to be her friend but pursued her then-boyfriend behind her back and then made up for it by simping for her for the rest of her life? Also her mom was murdered when she was just 6 years old, her father threatened to kill her once and physically abused her, then died right after they started repairing their relationship, essentially making her an orphan at the ripe age of 22. Suffice it to say, Asami has been through it.

So, how could she be problematic, you ask? Why, of course, through the classic Bryke technique of romance progression in storylines called Kissing People Without Their Consent

To be honest, I did gloss over this with Korra, simply because there were sooo many other issues with that woman and I just couldn’t go through every single one in as much detail but that doesn’t negate how serious this whole sneak attack kissing thing is. Sure, Asami is very emotional and lonely and sort of desperate too, (it's a little sad, really) but Mako is clearly uncomfortable and completely caught off guard by the kiss. This is also the second time this happens to him in the series! There are a couple factors that might contribute to why Asami does this and acts this way, maybe Korra’s general awfulness rubbed off on her (don’t make a dirty joke) but this is still wrong.

AND that’s...pretty much it. Kissing people without their permission is a big no no, though. Not wanting to gloss over that, but Asami really is a good person who just did a not-so-great thing. Getting burned by Mako twice probably made her a little less inclined to be as forward with anyone though, and it looks like she now takes her time and is patient in her relationship with Korra. It even seems like Asami is the only person Korra is afraid to upset, as Korra does seem more gentle and calm when around her. And who knows? Maybe Asami living a life where a majority of the time she got whatever she wanted when she wanted it might have also influenced her to be more assertive or even imposing within her relationships.

If anything, those three fools getting into relationships with each other just showed how not ready they were to be in relationships in the first place and also how not okay they were.

BOLIN

Originally I titled this as “Everyone in the Krew is problematic (except Bolin)” but then I remembered that Bolin totally kissed a woman without her consent so I deleted the shit out of that!

This asshole looks genuinely pleased with himself after essentially assaulting Ginger. Not a good look.

Sure, Bolin is baby. He will always be baby to me. But that does not erase the fact that he also actively supported a fascist dictator. Not only was the kissing without consent thing bad, but there’s also that. No matter how many times people around him warned him about the fact that he was on the wrong side of things, that he was helping someone who was putting people into concentration camps...Bolin wanted to believe the best of Kuvira. He ignored obvious signs that the woman was a dictator committing human rights violations like crazy and you know, there’s gotta be a reason for that too.

Maybe Bolin wanted to feel like he was doing something good for once. When you think about it, with his role as the comic relief in the Krew, and sort of constantly being infantilized by his older brother, I wouldn’t be surprised if the man developed some insecurity in his ability to do anything good or useful for anyone without screwing it up in some way. In Kuvira’s army, it seemed like he was actually taken seriously, he felt like he was doing something that mattered. Korra had being the Avatar, Asami had her business and mindblowing philanthropy (honestly, her ability to be as charitable as she is profitable is insane) and Mako had his police work (ACAB, tho). Bolin had...the role of being a joke. A superficial actor. A former pro-bending meathead.

Bolin lived his entire life following after his brother that once they were adults and Mako finally decided to live his own life for once, it left Bolin completely lost. And lost young men are perfect recruits for fascists.

So, in conclusion, my whole reasoning behind destroying the integrity of my favorite characters is to prove a huge point. All of these characters are problematic. They have flaws, some bigger than others (looking at you, Korra. Just...wow), but ultimately, even if your fave is problematic... that’s okay. A lot of people, mostly younger people it seems, are really obsessed with being right about everything that they do and stan. And that’s a wonderful thing, so much change has come about by the younger generations calling out people who do fucked up shit, don’t want or try to improve, and get away with it. But it’s also caused a lot of people to be unforgiving and completely unwilling to acknowledge when people do improve and try to be better.

Personally, I love my problematic Krew because having issues that you’re constantly working on internally is human. It’s human to make mistakes, it’s human to grow from those mistakes. And it’s inspiring to me, who is wholly imperfect, to see myself reflected in fictional characters who aren’t perpetuating unrealistic ideals of human nature, characters who are messy, crazy and ultimately human.

As one of my favorite manga artists and queen of impeccable character creation Rumiko Takahashi once said:

“I think that perfect people are not very interesting.”

And I will always wholeheartedly agree.

#long post #rant #tlok #the legend of korra #korra #asami sato #mako #bolin #avatar: the legend of korra #back on my random bullshit i guess

[cherripeach]

Chapter 15

Little Match Maker

Summary: Your life motto is “I have the power of god and anime on my side, don’t mess with me,” and you stand by that with your life. No human, magician, or random creature could ever stop your firm belief in it.

However, getting transported to this world that seemed to turn your already bad luck worse was not what you wanted to be in your life story, but you made the most of it. Making friends, enemies, and disasters, you were in your prime in this world, and so you decided to help as many people as you could flourish, at least what you believed to be.

Chapter 1:113 Two Shots of Vodka

Finishing up the tarts with a little twist.

Warnings: Language, violence, insecurities

Words: 1.7k

Relationships: developing but future twstxreader

You don’t think you ever saw Deuce’s fists leave the two kids before their faces turned purple and their legs gave out on them.

Deuce landed one final hit before the white haired boy pulled as far away from him as possible and screamed while whipping the blood now on his face from his bleeding lip, “Fuck, this guy’s a total madman! That was more than 6 hits, you liar!”

The red haired student was not faring any better with a black eye and clutching his stomach, “Oh, crap! Let’s run! I’m so sorry, Mr. Chicken!!”

Deuce had no speck on him, standing firm with his hands on his hips, “Apologize to the eggs a hundred times before you stuff your faces next time, dumbass!!”

“Okay uhhhhhh,” You could not lock eyes on anything that was in front of you; be it the two students close to the ground clutching parts of their bodies and apologizing or the kid who you thought wouldn't hurt a fly standing proud forcing apologizes from people.

Grim agreed with you with a shriek and a skirt behind you.

The two boys after bowing their heads for several seconds gathered their last dignity and ran out clutching their stomachs and arms from the beat down.

Deuce, finally, lost his other persona and squatted down and cried out, “Ah!!”

Grim popped out from behind you after he realized that Deuce was back to normal, “What happened to you!?”

Deuce stood up with his hands over his eyes, “I did it again…” He began lightly rubbing his eyes. “I promised myself that I’d be a model student for sure this time, and yet…!” His shoulders finally relaxed while he let out a breath.

Grim stood still confused, “Eh?”

“It’s okay, Deuce. One mistake will not kill your reputation,” You knew this kid was freaking out about nothing, “Also, in my opinion, I think honors students would fight those who prey on the weak.” You winked at the sullen looking boy, walking closer to him.

Deuce huffed, “I wanted to be different from who I was back in middle school… “ He flinched slightly when you placed your hand on his shoulder, “I always skipped classes, and I got into fights every day. I didn’t show respect to teachers and I hung out with a bad ilk of seniors. Even my hairstyle was pretty wild back then, too. I fought with anyone who I could fight with… I used magic even on guys who couldn’t use magic. I was an over-all bad person then.” He rolled his shoulders back to escape from your grip, but he never seemed to lose it.

Grim paid no attention to the air, “It totally doesn’t look too obvious now, though.”

“You can continue talking if you want Deuce. No one is here to stop you,” You smiled light, “I would love to hear more about you.”

Deuce nodded, “Thanks.” He finished up his story now comfortable with your hand on his shoulder, “But one night while I was hiding myself from view… I saw my mother cry and talk to my grandmother about it. She was asking her where she went wrong with raising me, and about whether she was a bad parent for how I turned out. But that’s not it at all. She’s not to blame!” Deuce’s red eyes with some tears in them locked onto yours , “Everything’s my fault! That’s why, when the black carriage from the prestigious Night Raven College came to pick me up, I made sure that I will never take that smile away from my mother again. I made up my mind to become a model student that my mother can be proud of. And yet… Damn it…!” He stomped his foot onto the ground and curled his fists but still none of that anger was even remotely portrayed at you or anyone but himself.

“Deuce, sweetie. I need you to listen to me to understand this. You were a bad person in the past. Past. Not now. You realized your mistakes and now you want to fix them. Is that right?” Your smile never faltered even when Deuce tensed up more or he stepped away from you.

“Well, yeah,” Deuce spilled out.

“Then, I think you are being the best honors student you can.” You reached out your hand to offer some of the bags to him, “No one is born with any traits that an honors student would have. The fact that you now know that you want to change and that you strive for being an honors student proves that you are one.”

Deuce stares at you with widened eyes, “What?”

You grabbed his right hand and opened it in order to place some of the bags into it, “No one is perfect either. Even honors students make mistakes, but fighting for the weak and protecting me who would get hurt if I even tried to fight them even though I wouldn’t be scared, shows you care. Deuce, you are a great person. You just can’t realize it yet.”

Tears spilled out of Deuce’s eyes while he whined, “You make it sound easy.”

You raised your hand to wipe Deuce’s eyes, “It’s not. Believe me. But starting is the hardest, and once you get there, I know you can do anything.” After wiping his tears, you stepped back and grabbed Grim by his belly, “You just have to keep going forward.”

Deuce wipes his eyes one last time before smacking himself on the check, “You're right. Me becoming an honors student won’t happen overnight. I’m not gonna stop because of some stupid assholes.”

“Exactly,” You threw a thumbs up.

Grim smirked, “If it were me, I’d have punched those delinquents ten more times, yanno? But you took care of it before I could.”

“That’s definitely not what we are trying to get at,” You rolled your eyes.

Deuce snorted at the two of you, “You guys…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” You placed Grim back onto the ground and your groceries on a bench before going over to the bag of broken eggs, “Let’s stop the mushy gushy and get back to business.”

“Got it…” Deuce threw his hand up in salute before chuckling, “Hehe, the chicks will probably feel at ease now, too, huh?”

“Chicks?” You turned to face Deuce fully, “There are no chicks in these eggs. Chicks can’t be in an egg that’s not fertilized.”

“Wh-what?!?!?!” Deuce ran and grasped your shoulders, “You’ve gotta be kidding me!!!!!!”

“Why would I joke about this?” You raised your shoulders in a confused gesture.

Deuce, silent, fell to the ground with his knees crashing to the floor.

Grim ignored the crisis, “Let’s just get back to everyone soon.”

You nodded picking up the remaining trash before taking a trip back to the store while Grim and Deuce just waited in the same position you left them in.

The trip back was complete silence with Deuce walking several steps behind.

Ace was the first to react when the three of you stepped through the door, “Oh, they’re finally back. What took you guys so long?”

“That’s a long story,” You sighed.

“Let’s get this over with” Trey clapped his hands, “shall we?”

Everyone besides Deuce who was still in a trance joined in, “Let’s make some marron tarts!”

You laughed, “Damn what simulation are we in?”

“Shut it for once,” Ace scowled before turning around to let out a snort disguised as a sigh.

Trey read over the recipe once more before voicing the next step, “All that’s left is to mix the marron cream into the tart.”

Grim jumped after hearing that, “Will we be able to eat after this!? I’m getting excited already!”

Ace seemed to be the same, “Alright, let’s finish this in one fell swoop!”

Neither of them, however, were hanging onto the words that were coming out of Trey’s mouth, leading to the two of them taking a bit too long in their part of the job.

Trey was still trying to get their motivation going, “Don’t lose focus now, got it?”

Ace’s motivation was there, “You got it!” He dropped the spoon into the batter. His mind was not there.

Grim mimicked Ace, “Yeah!” while almost falling off of the counter top.

“I don’t think you two have full focus,” You continued to add the batter to the crusts.

Grim hissed and did his best to contribute, “Nyaha! What ‘bout that!”

Trey encouraged all of them more, “You guys are good. Keep up that pace.”

Grim boasted, “Hehe, anything’s easy-peasy for the future great magician, Grim!”

Ace countered him, “You get carried away too easily!”

“Quite the hypocrite, Ace.” You joined in the little argument.

Deuce was mumbling to himself through his internal crisis, “Eggs don’t… turn into chicks…?”

Ace wondered about Deuce, “What have you been saying, man!?”

“It might be better to ignore him,” You mentioned to Ace.

The rest of the process happened with relative quiet with some chatter.

Your group finally finished backing the tarts.

Ace had the brightest expression on his face with tall shoulders and a high head, “Alright, perfect!”

Grim eyes the tarts, “It looks so good!”

Trey finished his clean up before thanking everyone, “Thanks for the great work, guys. All that’s left is to put some marron glacé on top.”

“Me, me, pick me! I’ll do it!!” Grim waved his little paw high in the air almost hitting your face.

Ace jeered, “Don’t mess it up, okay?”

Grim took the glacé and began to spread it out on the tarts, “Leave it to me! There we go! As expected from me! This is gonna be the best tart ever!”

You just hoped that this tart was not ruined with how much effort some of your friends put in.

Trey grabbed the glacé from Grim and gave him some powdered sugar, “Alright, the last step is to sprinkle some powdered sugar on top and then…”

Maybe the tarts would be good.

~~

Little shorter than normal, but it okay. Midterms be killers.

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst #twst x reader #twst x you #trey clover #deuce spade #ace trappola #twst grim

[ur-favorite-queer-queen]

Internet Friends

For Maribat March day 4 theme internet friends

Master List

It was peaceful for once in the manor. Dick, Tim, Damian, Steph, Cass, and Babs were all in the living room doing their own thing. However peace cannot last forever and the silent atmosphere was interrupted by one Timothy Drake-Wayne. 

“Guys come check this out!” He exclaimed, his phone facing the others in the room. They all gathered around the phone, some more annoyed than others. On screen was a video and Tim hit play. 

It showed a girl with dark hair, blue eyes, and pale skin motioning for someone off screen to come over. There was music going on in the background and the girl was obviously getting impatient. The figure came on screen and they were all shocked to see it was Jason. Then at the top of the screen the words ‘Doing this trend with my overprotective best friend’ appeared and now they were very confused. Jason had never mentioned this girl before.

The music stopped and the girl repeated the lyrics “Look at my ass, look at my thighs” as she turned around. But before she could turn around Jason picked her up and carried her off screen before the video ended. 

“What was that?” Dick asked after a few seconds of silence. 

“It’s a trend on tik tok that girls usually do with their boyfriends, but in this case Jason and this girl are just best friends.” Steph answered. 

“How does Jason even know this girl?” Dick pointed out, asking the question that was on all of their minds. Unfortunately, no one, not even Tim, knew the answer. 

Cass then spoke up, “Watch more.” She grabbed Tim’s phone and played another video, however this time it was Jason holding the camera. He came over to the strange girl who looked to be baking something. She looked up at him weirdly, asking something that couldn’t be heard because of the audio playing, luckily they could read lips. 

‘What are you doing?’ She asked

Jason responded with ‘Just listen.’ 

She turned her attention to the camera as the lyrics “That’s my best friend, that’s my best friend” played. Jason was moving to the beat and that seemed to convince the girl to also move to the beat. The song continued with more lyrics playing “She’s not my girlfriend, she’s my best friend”. Then suddenly the lyrics “I just fuck her her from time to time” played and the girl whipped out her spoon and started whacking him on the head with it. She was screaming ‘LIES’ just before the video cut out. 

This led to them going on a spree of watching their tik toks. Apparently this was their shared account and both of them had separate accounts they planned to look at later. An hour had passed of them just watching their tik toks before they stumbled upon an intriguing one. The caption was ‘You guys asked for it, so I’ll explain. This is going to be my side of the story.’

It showed Margot, as they had found out her name was, sitting on her bed recording herself painting her nails a blood red as she talked. 

“Ok so you guys have been asking for this for a while so here it is. How I met Jason part one. And Jason will also be doing his side of the story, just so you’re aware, watch that after this. But this also takes place after the whole ‘Hawkmoth and Lila Incident’ so if you haven’t watched that storytime on my personal account, you should probably go do that.” 

One look at each other and they knew they were gonna look at the story afterwards. It was getting too good to leave now.

“So a long time ago I had a venting account on Instagram. Now I had many venting accounts, all with different usernames, including Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, all that good stuff but Instagram is where I met Jason. I posted something about how death could never stop me because I had died by the hands of an akuma before but ladybug’s cure brought me back to life. But then later on in the post I said something about how if this one boy, you all know who he is, couldn’t take a hint then I would rather let death take me than bother living in this mortal realm. Jason ended up seeing the post since we were following each other at the time and DMed me. Now he said and I quote ‘Yo, my username at the time, if you need me to come and beat this guys ass I would be more than happy too. I would gladly let death claim me as well without your shit posts to relate to.’” 

She had tried to make her voice sound deeper and had stopped painting her nails so she could do air quotes. “Looking back on it now, that is such a Jason thing to say, but at the time I was pretty confused and mildly concerned. And time’s up, part two will be posted right now.” 

“Wait, what the heck is an akuma and ladybug’s cure and why did she die from it!?!?!” Dick shouted once the video ended. 

“Dick you don’t know what she’s talking about?” Babs asked in disbelief. 

“Tt, Grayson, and I thought you were one of the smart ones in this family.” Damian scoffed. 

“Does everyone here, but me, know what she's talking about?” Dick questioned, getting yes and nods from everyone in the room.

“Okay Dick,” Tim began, “This is gonna be pretty unbelievable and complicated so I’ll try to explain it as best I can in a short amount of time so we can finish her side of the story before dinner. So while I’m explaining don’t interrupt me.” 

He waited for Dick to nod his head before continuing. “There are jewelry called miraculous that house mini gods that grant powers to whoever has the jewelry. Each miraculous houses a different god thus a different power. Miraculous themselves, including the gods bound to them, are neutral so they can be used for good or evil depending on who wields them. 

Hawkmoth and Mayura used the butterfly and peacock miraculouses for evil purposes and were basically emotional terrorists to the people of Paris. Hawkmoth was able to send out a butterfly with magic to a person feeling negative emotions and manipulate them to do his bidding. These butterflies and villains created by the butterflies were called akumas. If you were or became an akuma you were akumatized. Mayura was able to send out a feather with magic that also used negative emotions to create a monster that aided the akuma. The feathers were called amuks and the monsters were called sentimonsters. 

That was when the heroes Ladybug and Chat Noir also came along and fought Hawkmoth. Ladybug had the ladybug miraculous which granted her the power of lucky charm and miraculous ladybug. Lucky charm gave her an item needed to defeat the akuma and miraculous ladybug reversed all the damage a fight caused. She also had the task of purifying the akuma, turning it back into a butterfly. Chat Noir had the black cat miraculous which granted the power of cataclysm, which made it so he could destroy anything he touched. The 2 worked as a team for around a year before they brought in other temporary heroes who are not that important. Eventually all their temp heroes’ identities were outed and they could no longer use them so they were back to square one. 

However many people noticed that Chat Noir was not taking his job as seriously, he began sitting out battles, flirting with ladybug while there was an akuma, and even getting civilians killed, relying too heavily on ladybug’s cure. We’re not exactly sure what happened, we assumed she snapped because one akuma attack Chat Noir was not there. Instead, there was a whole new team of miraculous wielders including Murder Hornet wielder of the bee miraculous who had the power venom which let her temporarily paralize her opponent, Red Illusion wielder of the fox miraculous who had the power mirage which let him create illusions, Peridot Protector wielder of the turtle miraculous who had the power shelter which allowed him to create indestructible shields, Medusa wielder of the snake miraculous who had the power second chance which allowed her to reset the time line as many times as needed to win the battle, Mustang wielder of the horse miraculous who had the power voyage which let him create portals, and a new black cat holder, Midnight. 

The team took 6 months to defeat Hawkmoth and Mayura, who turned out to be Gabriel Agreste and Natalie Sancour. The Justice League tried to recruit them but they all wanted to live normal lives. Ladybug still checks in every 3-6 months to reassure everyone she still has all the miraculous. I don’t blame them, especially Ladybug, for wanting a normal life. This whole thing started when they were around 13 and ended when they were around 17.”

Tim then clicked on part two of her story, not even waiting for Dick to recover from the huge information dump. 

It was the exact same place she was at in part one, and she was still painting her nails the same shade of blood red. “Okay guys part two of how Jason and I met. If you didn’t watch part one go watch then return to this one. So picking up where we left off I Dmed him back and we ended up having a very long conversation about murder, people not understanding the word no, and spineless cowards. This went on for quite a while of us just messaging each other and eventually we gave each other our emails and then phone numbers. I gave him my phone number just before I moved out of Paris. After like 6 months of texting we planned to meet up at some park in New York that was near the apartment I lived at at the time. Now in hindsight that was a very dumb move on my part so to all the kids watching don’t go meeting up with strangers you meet on the internet. Do as I say not as I did. I almost regretted my decision to meet up with him because he is intimidating as hell! He’s like over 6 foot tall, with muscles the size of my head! I honestly thought that I had put myself in a very bad situation but thankfully he was just as nice in real life like he was over text. We ended up hanging out a lot more and long story short we’re best friends!” 

It was at this point that she looked directly into the camera with a glare that could rival Batman’s, stating, “Literally just best friends to all the people who think shipping us is okay!” And just like that, it was gone, “Anyways see you guys next video, bye!” 

And with that the video ended and the Wayne children, minus Jason obviously, were left wondering how they missed the fact Jason had a female best friend. One where they declared their friendship on the internet nonetheless!

“Well that was certainly something.” Steph commented. 

“Yeah, who knew Jason could have a non hero friend that we didn’t know about.” Tim joked. 

“So are we gonna watch Jason’s part?” Dick asked. 

“I don’t think we have time for that, but we can watch it after dinner.” Tim suggested, “Alfred is probably on his way to get us right now.”

“Tt, what do we do now?” Damian questioned. 

It was then that Cass stole Tim’s phone and started to play a new tik tok. And it showed Margot trying to teach Jason how to do the WAP dance. They were never letting him hear the end of this.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am literally so sorry for that huge information dump with the miraculous. I did not expect to get that carried away while writing and by the time I realized it, it was too late and I had to post. Honestly because of how much I wrote I will probably use the miraculous holders names in a future fic, cause I’m lazy. :P Also if you wanna guess their identities feel free to! Anyways tomorrows prompt fic thing will be like a prequel for this one, it’s basically why Marinette now goes by Margot and why she lived/lives in New York. The prompt “Betrayal" will be connected to this as well. :)  Also sorry this was posted so late, I had things to do, that I still need to do...I hate procrastination

@maribatmarch-2k21

#maribatmarch2021 #maribat #maribat march #internet friends #platonic jasonette #tik tok

[tlcwrites]

By A Nose

Submission for Writer Wednesday 5/12

Summary: If you're going to talk the talk, you better be able to walk the walk. Or, proof Poe Dameron is a terrible loser.

Word Count: 1528

Tags/Warnings: Poe Dameron x Reader, Modern AU. Implied smut but mostly in passing. Some bad words. Poorly edited because as usual I finished this at like 11 and my kids get up at 5 so I need to go to sleep.

Author’s Note: THREE FICS IN A WEEK WHO AM I?

Okay, so I cannot be the only one who saw the photo for this week's Writer Wednesday (thank you once more for hosting, @autumnleaves1991-blog!) and went the direction I did. If I am the only one, well, just further proof my brain is certifiable. Make sure you comment on when you figure out where this fic takes place.

There will also be an accompanying headcanon coming for this probably tomorrow, because there was SO much material I wanted to use but couldn't make fit. Thank you @paper-n-ashes for brainstorming with me and being the best hype-woman ever.

“AAAAHHHHH.”

“WE’RE GONNA DIE.”

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!”

“FINN!!” You smack him. “There are small children here!”

But he’s too busy screaming to pay attention.

On the other side of you, Kaydel looks decidedly green. She lets out a pained moan as your vehicle makes a particularly hard turn. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”

You pat her knee as you fly through a kitchy town. “Hang in there, honey. It’s almost over.”

The village elder’s well wishes still ringing in your ears, you pull up next to another idling transport. From the driver’s seat, your boyfriend winks at you.

“You’re going down, Dameron!” you holler at him.

He makes the universal ‘I’m watching you’ gesture. “Eat my dust, losers!”

Finn yells back something that has you smacking him again, shooting an apologetic glance to the second row of Poe’s transport, where Snap and Karé are sitting with their daughter Nora. Snap’s hands fly to cover Nora’s ears while Karé laughs heartily.

Next to Poe, Rey holds her thumb and forefinger up to her forehead in an ‘L’ shape. “Second place is the first to lose!”

Before any more trash talking can occur, you see a flash of red out of the corner of your eye and then both vehicles take off, bursting out of the dark into blinding sunlight.

You both fly over the rusty terrain, neck and neck as you navigate under rocky overpasses and around hairpin turns. From the second row of your car, you can hear Maz lobbing profanities at Chewie in the other ride. He’s yelling back in his native tongue (which you still only understand half of). Beside Maz, Leia and Han are both laughing like kids.

A shriek of joy erupts from you as you fly over a series of hills, the momentary weightlessness thrilling. Finn has both hands in the air, while Kaydel grips the safety handle with white knuckles.

Finally, you come out of a turn to see a sharp drop. You look to Poe, who grins back at you, his vehicle slightly ahead of yours. Damnit, you HATE losing to him. He’s the worst winner.

At the last moment, your ride leaps ahead, crossing under the checkered banner by a nose. The passengers of your car cheer and high-five in victory, while Poe’s passengers groan in good-natured defeat.

As you roll through the red-lit cavern, you laugh as you catch sight of Poe’s face. He’s a terrible winner, but he’s an even worse loser. Even if his loss comes at the hands of an algorithm.

Anthropomorphic cars wave you off as both vehicles enter the unloading zone. On the other side of the platform, Chewie is lifting Rey out of the front seat as she pretends to collapse in agonized failure, her laughter completely destroying the illusion. You accept Finn’s hand as he helps you up, both of you turning to support Kaydel as she crawls out of the car.

A ride attendant watches her warily. “Does she need assistance?” he asks Han.

Han waves him off, wrapping an arm around his wife’s shoulders as Maz and Chewie beeline for the ride photos. “She’ll be fine. No protein spills here.” At the cast member’s astonished look, the charming rogue gives his trademark grin. “Ain’t my first rodeo, kid.” As he and Leia stroll past you towards the exit, he catches your eye and winks. “That, and they haven’t changed the lingo since the 70’s.”

Laughing, you rub Kaydel’s back as Rey swaps places with Finn and helps bracket your green-tinged friend. “Let’s get you some water, yeah?”

Kaydel manages a slight nod, and the three of you make your way towards the exit.

Behind you, you can hear Poe and Finn bickering, as they’re wont to do.

“It’s a ride, dude,” Finn is saying, the exasperation clear in his tone.

“It’s physics, dude,” Poe shoots back. “There’s NO way the car on the outside of the turn would be able to finish first.”

Worst. Loser. Ever.

Your rag-tag alliance eventually makes it out of the exit tunnel. Ben’s waiting across the walkway, those ridiculously long arms crossed over his chest as he leans against the guard rail and steadily ignores whatever Armitage is ranting about.

On the bench next to them, Rose perks up, a smirk crossing her pretty face as she sees Poe’s expression. “Well, I don’t need to ask who won.”

“Don’t wanna talk about it,” the most-competitive-pilot-in-the-galaxy grumbles back, adjusting his backpack. You help Kaydel to a bench, where she quickly curls up.

Rey rolls her eyes as she forces her way into the circle of Ben’s arms. “It’s not like any of us could have actually controlled the outcome, you noodle.”

“Not without some kind of magic,” Ben intones dryly, resting his chin on his girlfriend’s head.

“How cool would that be, though?” Rey’s getting her Down-The-Wormhole-We-Go eyes. You and Rose exchange a Look™️ as she starts gesturing wildly with her hands. “Like, imagine if you could just look at something like rocks and, like, make them fly. Or make someone do whatever you wanted them to do. OH!” She looks up at Ben with a slightly manic expression. “Lightning bolts from your fingers!!”

Well-used to these kinds of rambles, Ben gently captures her hands and wraps her into a hug that doubles as a straight jacket. “No more SyFy channel before bed.”

Rose slides her arms around her husband as Finn joins her on the bench. “Did you behave?”

Nora, in all her 6-year-old innocence, giggles. “Mr Finn said a whole lot of swear-jar words.” She casts a critical eye on the young man. “You probably said enough you could buy an Elsa doll.” The ‘for me’ is unsaid, but implied.

Karé rapidly turns her laugh into a cough.

Finn glances down at his wife as Rose smacks him upside the head. “Hey! That tractor thing is terrifying. And Maz said WAY more than I did!”

“Age before beauty, Finnigan,” Maz says haughtily, waving off Finn’s ‘m'name’s not Finnigan, damn it’.

Giggling, you tune out the ridiculousness that is your found family and turn your attention to your still-sulking boy toy. “You know,” you murmur, wrapping your arms around his waist, “you make that face for long enough and it’ll stick that way.”

He huffs. “This is just how my face looks.”

“Uh huh.” Considering yourself quite the expert in his face, having spent countless hours studying every crease and line until you could have drawn him blindfolded, you call bullshit, but say nothing further.

“It is,” he insists.

“Okay,” you agree.

The King of Sarcasm narrows his eyes. “You’re doing that thing.”

You widen your eyes innocently. “What thing?”

“That thing where it sounds like you’re agreeing with me but you’re really telling me I’m a dumbass.”

“What?!” You bring your hand to your chest. “Moi?! I would never.”

He huffs again, but you can see the hint of a smirk starting to break though.

“C’mon, First Runner Up,” you tease. “No sulking in Disneyland. Let me buy you a drink at Trader Sam’s, and then we can sneak off to the Haunted Mansion and make out like teenagers in our Doom Buggy.”

He tilts his head, considering it.

“Or-“ You brush an inky curl off his forehead and stand on your toes until your lips are just about caressing his ear and whisper, “-we could get back in line right now and go again.”

Even before you’ve finished speaking, Poe’s grabbing your hand and hauling you back towards the entrance, tossing a “See you jerks later!” as he pulls you under the Radiator Springs Racers sign. Their laughter echos behind you as he leads the way through the mostly empty line (thank goodness for parade lulls).

As you wait in the queue, only a few dozen people stand between Poe and his (re)shot at victory. You see that competitive gleam in his eyes start to come alive again.

“Hey.” You tug on his tee shirt until he looks at you. “If our car doesn’t win, tonight I’ll do That Thing you love.”

“Babe.” The look he gives you is one of pure torture. “You are killing me here.” He really loves to win. But he really, really loves That Thing. “What about when we come in first?”

You shrug demurely. “Then you wear Those Pants™️ tomorrow.”

Hm. Poe’s always been quick to calculate his odds, and this is quickly turning into a win/win situation. If you lose, he gets That Thing. But Those Pants™️ turn you about feral, and when you’re in that kind of mood- let’s just say Poe still has the scars on his shoulders to prove it.

“Are those terms acceptable, Flight Commander Dameron?” You smile sweetly up at him.

His licentious grin says it all. “Hell yeah.”

For the record, your car does lose a second time. And the next morning, Poe hardly has Those Pants over his ass when you’re ripping them back down his legs and shoving him backwards onto the bed.

Oh, yeah, he thinks to himself. This is better than any dumb kid’s ride.

…doesn’t mean he’s not going to ride it as many times as it takes to win.

A/N: I almost titled this “Tell me you have children without saying you have children”. I am so fucking sick of ‘Lining McQueen’. Yay 4-year-olds.

Thank you for reading; likes and reblogs feed my soul.

#writer wednesday #poe dameron x reader #poe dameron fic #poe dameron fanfiction #poe dameron x gender neutral reader #poe dameron imagine #poe dameron fluff #poe dameron #hot space droid dad #my writing #modern au #star wars fanfiction #star wars fanfic #poe dameron fanfic

[oz-the-sorcerer]

Create For Thra Day 6: "There are many paths laid before us, some good, most bad."

@createforthra

--

Here's a thing I have written months ago, which happens to be a perfect fit for today's topic!

Excuse my writing skills and enjoy!... Or cry.

🌟

Open Your Eyes

🌟

Kira tried to wipe away some of the blush from her freckled cheeks. She loved her reflection on the dressing mirror, but she thought her mom could do her make up a little bit less.

She heard her mom laugh.

"And here I was wondering how long would it take you to remove some of it."

"But it feels heavy, you know I like how I look."

"Yes honey, but this is a special occasion... Spare me this once?"

Kira rolled her eyes playfully as Brea braided her silver hair with beads. Kira's hair fell from her shoulders, she especially wanted side braids like her gorgeous mother, but had thin side braids instead of thick ones. She made them herself, then Brea offered help attaching the beads. Brea made two braids, connecting into one thick braid at the center.

"Looking good as ever." Came a silent voice. Kira turned to her aunt, whose body, spider body, was sitting on top of the counter. She couldn't help but blush, looking down.

"Don't move your head, sweetheart." Brea said, posing her head straight again.

"Sorry. I am just... Excited." She was terrifyingly aware of her heartbeat, tried to take a deep breath.

"I can sense your fear." Tavra walked with her thin legs and stopped between Kira and the mirror. "You have nothing to be afraid of."

"I can't help it." Kira explained. " I wish I could know what the future holds for me, like Mother Aughra. Maybe then I wouldn't be this vulnerable."

"You are not vulnerable." She felt her mother tug on her finished braid as a warning. She didn't like it when Kira dragged herself down this way. "Do you think I didn't feel afraid? I thought I was going to faint."

"Ah yes, glad that you only puked and didn't faint."

"Tavra!"

Kira started to laugh. Well, this story was new.

"You puked?! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I didn't want my daughter to know this ridiculous fact, thank you very much."

"She was so excited, so she ate whatever she could find from the kitchen and made herself sick." Tavra spoke mischievously.

"I had to keep myself busy!" Brea argued with her big sister. Kira loved their bickering. They were almost never serious with it, that's why Kira even started some of them on purpose.

While they were stating opinions on how to cope with these kinds of excitement, Kira looked at the mirror once more, and decided her fear was a good thing. She would always have her loved ones by her side, possibly talking nonsense like this and she realized, there was nothing to be afraid of. Her future, their future was filled with hope and laughter, she just knew it.

Another deep breath. And a big smile.

"Alright, all done here." Her mother said. For final touch, Tavra brought her golden coronet, which Brea placed on Kira's brow.

A knock on the door which made Kira's heart flip. Only Onica's wild red hair could be seen since she opened the door ajar while talking with someone outside the dressing room. Tavra's tiny body bounced with joy. When Onica came in, they also saw Tae outside, waving at them.

"We are all set. You can come out whenever you want." said the Far-Dreamer.

"Thra's Mighty Hooyim King, you look amazing, Kira!" Tae cheered.

Kira thanked her while she got up from her chair. Her white gown with gold and silver rands fell smoothly behind her. Embroidered with both Vapra and Spriton symbols, she was very proud of this dress she made herself.

One last glance at her reflection, one last deep breathe.

Brea reached to fix her bangs while Onica put out her hand for Tavra to climb on. Tavra wished her a good luck with: "Go get him!" while moving her legs exaggeratively, causing a big laughter in the room.

Then they got out, it was only her and her mother now. Brea's eyes were shining, her little fizzgig was now all grown up, taking another big step in her life.

"Mother, I will be okay."

"I know, baby."

"So, don't cry."

Brea abruptly wiped her tears on her long sleeve, trying not to smear her make up. Then she held Kira's hand and squuezed. Supposedly, they promised each other just this morning as a family that they weren't going to cry.

But all those hardships back in the trines, almost getting killed by a Garthim several times... Brea still couldn't believe it was all over. Skeksis no more.

Another knock on the door, and this time both of their eyes sparkled, as the legendary songteller stepped in to the dressing room with a blinding smile.

Kylan stopped in his tracks and stared at his daughter in awe. Kira laughed and went to hug him.

"Please don't start crying like mother did just now."

Kylan chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her and spinned once. Then he sent a playful smirk on Brea's way and said: "It seems you lost our bet, love."

Brea pretended to be angry with a pout, but when she glanced at her little family, she smiled until her cheeks hurt.

"I want a hug too!" she said as she took big steps towards her husband. Kylan opened one arm for her and immidiately in she was. Kira leaned on her father's shoulder, which always felt like home. After some minutes, Brea sniffled once more, and Kira reached and hugged her as well. This is nice, she thought. It had been a while since they could be like this because of the fussy preparations.

When they let go, Kylan placed both hands on her cheeks and kissed her forehead. Kira could see his eyes becoming misty with emotion as well. She smiled widely with the same eyes she has as her father.

Brea took his arm and started to lead him toward the door.

"Aww, I don't want to give her to Jen yet!"

Brea raised a laugh. "You are not giving her to anyone, honey. Let's give her a moment and take our places at the balcony."

Then she flashed Kira a proud look, and they were gone.

Kira felt aware of her heart again. She couldn't stop this fuzzy feeling inside her stomach and bounced around happily. Calm yourself before you sweat inside the dress, she thought to herself. She let go of the fists she made without noticing, and reached for the door.

Citadel's hallways were empty. As she passed each one, she heard the Gelf folk outside, crowded and excited, just like her. The noise grew louder and louder, then she made a left turn, reaching the last corridor before the Citadel's balcony.

She already could see her parents, on the left side. Brea was already looking at her direction and when she saw Kira coming, she gently elbowed Kylan's arm, causing him to look at her too. And the smile he gave her was everything. Before she teared up, she took a right glance, and saw Rian and Deet, also waiting for her to arrive.

With all the rustling her parents caused, Jen turned around where he was standing at the center and their eyes met.

The flutter inside her chest made her think that she was really about to let go of the lunch she had at noon.

Even if he tried to, Jen couldn't stop looking at her until she was at his side. He awkwardly reached his hand out for her. She took it eagerly.

They both stood straight before her Aunt Seladon, who was going to perform their marriage ceremony. She smiled down at them lovingly, which, Kira didn't experience often much before.

Kira glanced down at all the Gelfling who attended their wedding. Besides the whole citizens of Ha'rar, she could see many faces from every clan. Well, if there is any left, at this point.

Her Uncle Gurjin and Auntie Naia were cheering loudly, as well as her Uncle Amri. As her closest family friends, they had every right to scream.

She couldn't even begin to count everyone she knew when her eyes locked with a figure, at the very back of the crowd. Her eyes widened as the old creature's crane's shard shined with light.

"Mother Aughra..." she let out before she could manage. Jen smiled knowingly.

"I also thought she wouldn't be here today."

Kira, not being sure if Aughra could see it, bowed her head slowly at her direction. Jen followed right after her, thanking Mother Thra for everything she's done for the Gelfling.

When they finally started the ceremony, Aughra snickered loudly.

"These kids..." she said to herself. She ignored the looks of some Gelfling who heard her loud and sudden snicker, and glanced at the endless sky.

"You spoil these children, old friend." She talked to Thra, jokingly mentioning the great weather today. Her tired eyes scanned her every children, happy and bonded with the song of Thra.

They deserved this, she thought.

Their future is brighter than the stars above, she thought.

Then she closed her eyes, listening to her children's voices.

She didn't want to open them. She truly didn't. However, she had no other choice. She counted every star she visited while she was sleeping, just to kill time. But, they also came to an end.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a Gelfling. Laying and unmoving, already returned to Thra. After every slow step she took, she saw another. And another.

She recognized one, two, three... Maybe all. Or maybe she didn't. She didn't know.

She wondered, why Thra showed her this vision now. Which didn't mean anything. She huffed, then coughed, trying to silence her pain.

She knew where she was. In which reality, in which possible future she was in. She had this reality as a vision trines ago, and there they were. Her children, poor children...

And she knew what she was supposed to do. Her feet took her to the right direction as if moving without her consent. But that was she. That was Thra. Already decided fate. Too late to return.

One tear dropped from her eye to the bloody soil as she stood beside the corpse of a certain songteller, his eyes are half open as he clutched into his magical firca, like a last hope.

She leaned down and grabbed it. With delicate care, she fully closed his eyes, careful of her crooked nail.

Without looking back, she made her way toward the already decided route again. She wished all of her children, for them to return to Thra safely, as that was all she could do.

Grunting while she walked, scolding Thra for showing her a vision this heartbreaking, for making her cry, off to the UrRu valley she went. With the firca around her neck.

#create for thra #there are lots of paths indeed #i have to admit i sobbed #the dark crystal #alternative reality #mother aughra #she is tired #kylan and brea being kira's parents is a theory i support #kira #the dark crystal kira #brea #kylan #royalmelody #this family is killing me ;-; #brea x kylan #the dark crystal age of resistance #rian #deet #jen is their son in this #which makes sense #tavra #onica #tdc tae #naia #gurjin #amri #seladon #the dark crystal jen #jenkira #stonegrot

[unmaskedagain]

Irredeemable my foot

Hi everyone, I decided to write a fic centered on Chloe; is a sugar fic. I always liked her character. And I would like to dedicate this fic to Sienna, aka @catsandfanfic. Happy 14th birthday. Her birthday is March 6th. In my time zone it’s March 6 so hopefully you’re not getting this too early. I hope your birthday is amazing, and I really hope you enjoy this fic; i heard you like Maribat. And @justdyingontheinside gives you a shout out on your special day.

Chloe knew how everyone expected it to go. The blond could admit… She was spoiled, selfish, petty, and insecure, with mommy issues galore.

           But she wasn’t a villain. Yet she could understand why people thought she’d go down like one.

           Nevertheless, for people to think she’d ever willingly work for Hawkmoth; a man who ruthlessly used his power to corrupt the hearts and minds of innocents (like her father, mother, Adrien, Sabrina, and everyone else in Paris) and use them to further his own agenda… was too much.

           The people who believed that was basically saying Chloe was irredeemable; that there was no way she could ever be anything more than what she was. Like she couldn’t grow. Like she couldn’t better herself; like everyone in the world had that ability except for her. She was fourteen-years-old.

           Only fifteen!

           Why was it so easy to write her off?

           Chloe Bourgeois was a bully, not a freaking serial killer.

She wasn’t a Supervillain.  However, Chloe could admit, that for one brief moment when she realized she was passed over yet again by Ladybug for the chance to help save the day, hurt and anger had filled her. That if Hawkmoth had sent a butterfly after her that maybe… MAYBE for a second, she’d take his offer.

At least, he thought she could be of some use.

It wasn’t fair, Chloe remembered stomping her foot as jealously filled her.  Why didn’t Ladybug pick her? She was so much better than all those other stupid heroes! So much better than that mangy Chat Noir even. Queen Bee would be a much better partner. If she could just prove it!

           And that suddenly it was like a lightbulb went off above her head, the kind you only see in cartoons. A smile spread over her face.

           The dark butterfly that was headed her way suddenly changed its course.

Yes, Chloe had thought, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll prove it. I’ll show them all. I’m a hero. And I’m going to save everyone!

She could be better.

She would be better.

           (And once she did, maybe Ladybug would think so too)

           Nevertheless, even if Ladybug never knew. Chloe would. She would know she did the right thing because it was the right thing to do; no other reason. That would be enough for her. Even if it meant she’d never be Queen Bee again.

           Chloe was going to prove she was a hero after all. With or without the mask or magical powers.

           The world thought she wasn’t redeemable. Well, she was going to show the world what a real redemption arc looked like.

           The first thing needed to do was plan. Hawkmoth was too strong. He needed to be brought down fast before he becomes unbeatable. Ladybug was perfect but she was still just a kid. She needed more help.

           Outside help. Chloe knew there were other superheroes out there. The Avengers. The flash and his team in central city. Superman and his superfam in Metropolis. The Teen Titans. The Justice League. But to beat Hawkmoth would take stealth. It took intelligence. And people used to dealing with total nutjobs in costumes. Heroes who could help finally crack the mystery of who Hawkmoth was.

           Paris needs the Batfamily.

           Which means Chloe was going to Gotham. But she wouldn’t go alone. She needed an Ally, or preferably Allies.

Chloe decided to figure out who was who on the best board of life.

           The first was easy Ladybug was the White King; a true, just, and kick-butt hero. Chloe made herself the Queen; because whether Ladybug knew it or not, Chloe had just become her strongest protector. (She only just manage to argue against making Chat Noir a pawn; instead named him a Knight.) Sabrina, though had some major insecurity, was a good friend of Chloe. She was smart enough not to fall for Lila’s fool’s gold.

           Sabrina had learned at the heel of her father when it came to detective work. She had mastered computers thanks to her mother who was a high-level computer programmer.  She knew self-defense since her parents shoved her into Karate when she was younger. The redheaded was organized to the point of being OCD. She was loyal to a fault.

           With a little confidence, Sabrina could be a real asset to Team Ladybug. And she would be. Chloe just needed to show that she trusted the redhead, believed in her.            

Chloe wished she could bring Adrien in but he was a civilian with the backbone of a twizzler. He was too forgiving and to sheltered from the real world. It had worked in her benefit before, otherwise, he’d have dropped her as a friend a long time ago. But things had changed. Chloe needed friends who would stand up against her not just threatened to not be her friend anymore. It wouldn’t do any good in the long run after all.

           Hawkmoth was the Black king; pure evil. The Peacock shrew was his Queen. And, Chloe decided, Lila was his bishop. The sausage haired was a manipulative, rancid, liar. And from what she had seen of Lila’s akumatization, the Italian girl was fully in control of her actions. Which meant Lila was working with Hawkmoth willingly.

           And since Lila was the only bad guy she could give a real name for, Chloe decided she would be the key to bringing down Hawkmoth.

           Thus Lila Rossi became public enemy number one.

           Lila was dangerous in a way hawkmoth couldn’t be. She lied and twisted minds with no powers whatsoever. She turned nearly all of Bustier’s class into untrustworthy minions. They should’ve been White; on the side of good. But they had proven to be disloyal and easily influenced. The class couldn’t be trusted.

           They had turned against the one person even Chloe had a hard time not deeming a Saint.

           Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

           Chloe strongly disliked the girl, mostly out of envy. The blond didn’t need therapy to know that she wanted what the bluenette had; a mom that adored her, a dad that actually tried to help and not just throw money at any situation, sheer talent, and pretty much the instant admiration of almost anyone she met.

           However, she was also strong and fierce. Marinette was a force of good hard to reckoned with. Chloe needed all the help she could get.

           Which meant recruiting Dupain-Cheng for the cause.

           That might prove harder than getting Batman to help out.

           When Chloe and Sabrina showed up at the bakery and politely asked to speak with Marinette, she was given a suspicious look by Marinette’s mother (Sabel or something, Chloe couldn’t remember). Still, she called her daughter downstairs.

           Marinette walked into with a bright happy smile that quickly faded when she saw Chloe.

“We need to talk, Marinette,” Chloe forced herself to say the other girl’s first name. “Its an emergency.” Sabrina nudged her. “Please.”

           It was obviously the shock of Chloe saying please that got Marinette to take them up to her bedroom.

           Marinette tried her best to smile, “So what’ s the emerg-” Chloe cut her off.

“We’re going to Gotham to recruit Batman and his fam,” Chloe told her. “To help Ladybug bring down HawkLoser. You coming or not.”

           The bluenette just blinked.

           Sabrina winced at her best friend’s lack of tact, “What Chloe is trying to say is… We could really use your help. Ladybug could use your help. Everyone likes you. You can convince Batman to come.”

“…Why?” Marinette asked after a moment of silence.

“Ladybug needs help!” Chloe told her. “Chat Noir throws tantrums all the time. Hawkmoth has the Peacock and Lila at his deposal. Ladybug hasn’t called in Rena or Caraprace in almost a year, so there has to be a reason for that. She needs help! She needs us!”

           The Asian girl nodded slowly, “I mean, why come to me? Why help Ladybug like this?”

           Chloe frowned, “Because you always do what’s right; the good, noble thing even if it’s utterly ridiculous for you to do so. I’m doing this, helping, Ladybug, because she needs help. I’m a hero, no matter what anyone says or thinks. And Heroes help.”

           The bluenette looked at the two girls. They had been a thorn in her side for years. But she always thought they could change. She believed they could. And coming to her, Chloe archenemy, was proof that they were changing. “What’s the plan?”

           The blond smiled. “Sabrina managed to outline the patrol routes for the batfamily.”

“They switch who does what route but there is a predictability to it,” Sabrina added. “The idea is to force a confrontation. I’ve gathered evidence to show them so they could understand the gravity.”

“My job is to get us,” Chloe said. “You have plenty of time to come up with one of Disney motivational speeches to get them on board. We leave for Gotham tomorrow.”

           It was after midnight. Three girls stood on top of an old condemned building in the heart of Gotham; dressed in black, shivering from the cold.

“By my calculations,” Sabrina said. She held a computer under her arm. “At least two of the bats should be by monitoring the area during this hour.”

“And we’re sure this is going to work?” Marinette asked.

           Chloe smirked, “Oh yeah.” She took a deep breath and screamed. “AHHHHHHHH!! Help!! Help! Someone please!!” She gave a fake sob and fell to the ground; causing Marinette to jump back in shock. She looked up at Marinette and Sabrina with a wide grin on her face, “How was that?”

“Become an actress,” Marinette told her. “Let me design the dress you wear when you accept the Oscar.”

           There were two loud thuds behind.

“What’s going on?” A tall hero they recognized as Nightwing asked.

“We heard screams,” Red Robin stated.

“Its go time,” Chloe told them as she got up.

           Sabrina nodded firmly as she opened up the laptop and started quickly.

           Marinette smiled at the heroes, “Hi. My name is Marinette. This is Sabrina and Chloe,” She motioned to her friends. “We’ve come from Paris to seek the aid of Batman to stop a supervillain that has been terrorizing our city.”

           Red Robin stepped forward, “A supervillain? In Paris?”

“We haven’t heard anything about it,” Nightwing said. “We know there are heroes there that takedown small-time villain, But nothing too damaging that we’ve seen.”

“Hawkmoth possesses people,” Chloe hissed. “Turns them into monsters. Turns kids into monsters. Literal Babies into monsters. A girl who can control the weather and could end the world.  Another who absorbed energy from people so she could travel back in time. Until the people she steals energy from will freeze and slowly disappear. A man with the power of the Egyptian gods and tried to revive the dead. A villain who could trap people in pictures. Another that can bring people the worst nightmares to life. How about one that caused most of the citizens of the city of Paris to drown. One man caused all that happened. Our city gets destroyed over and over again. People die over and over again. Hawkmoth is behind it all.”

           Sabrina turned her laptop to them, and show the video they clipped together. “This is a news real, videos sent from regular smartphones.” The video showed proof of the fights, the monsters, the deaths, the damages, the terror. “Check any new channel centered in Paris. It will show you. This. IS. Real.”

Marinette fought the urge not to tremble as she remembered every villain she fought. “Ladybug fixes the damage the akuma causes; including bringing people back to life. But the people who die still remember. Ladybug can’t do this alone anymore. Even the help of Chat Noir isn’t enough. If Hawkmoth gets what he wants, it could be the end of everything and everyone.” It hadn’t been for a long time, she thought bitterly. Chat Noir loved the glamor and excitement of being a hero but it was like he never really felt the burden of the weight of Paris on his shoulders like she did. To him, it was all game. Or some stupid action movie. And he was too busy trying to get the girl to realize that they might not be able to save the day.

The bluenette looked hard at the heroes, “We need help. I know it’s not your city. I know you don’ have to care. I know you have your own villains and problems.” Tears burned in her eyes. “But we wouldn’t be here if we had other options; if we could handle it by ourselves. So We’re asking anyway. Will you please help us?”

Two identical horrified looks were on the batkids’ faces. Dick and Tim looked at the three kids, thousands of miles away from home, in the middle of the most dangerous city in the world, at night, to beg for help against what sounded like an undeniable monster. The teen girls were scared, near hopeless, and willing to ask for help from Batman and his family, heroes most civilians were too scared to even cross paths with.

Their situation was dire. Direr than the risk of being three, alone, beautiful, teenage girls in Gotham.

The other bats had been listening and or watching the conversation and were equally horrified. But that quickly gave way to fury.

“Red Robin, I want the intel off Sabrina’s computer,” Batman growled. “Oracle, I want everything you can find on Hawkmoth. We’ll start preparing to leave for Paris”

“On it,” Barabra stated. “I also brought up info on the girls. They’re all clean. Sabrina’s dad a cop. Marinette’s an all-star student, who has quite a few famous friends. Chloe’s the daughter of the Style Queen and the Mayor of Paris.”

“I get to kill Hawkmoth, right, B-man?” Jason asked. “I mean, I’m watching a video where he turned a crying baby who literally just wanted a lollipop into Gigantitan and used him to terrorize people. That’s gotta be a free pass on the killing thing.”

           There was silence. No answer from Batman.

“Holy shit, are you considering it?” Jason asked stunned. “Kids really are your Achilles’ heel.”

           Nightwing nodded. Batman always had a soft spot for kids. But even Dick was considering beating Hawkmoth to death. “Batman has agreed to help.” He told the girls who visibly sighed in relief as weight had come off them.

“May I use your laptop?” Tim asked the redhead. Sabrina nodded quickly and handed it over.

           Nightwing observed the girls, “What else can you tell us about Hawkmoth?”

“No one knows his identity, obviously?” Chloe rolled her eyes. “His Allies include another villain named Mayura, identity unknown. And a civilian named Lila Rossi.”

Sabrina still couldn’t believe Lila stooped so low. “We have evidence that she has been willingly working with the known terrorist Hawkmoth and has allowed herself to be akumatized multiple times.” She pushed up her glasses. “She’s in our class. She has been lying and causing emotional distress to multiple students, increasing Akumas.” Lila had always caused the near break up of Ivan and Mylene, Nino and Alya, and for several friendships to nearly be destroyed. It was awful. “We think she will be the best way to finally snuffing out the villain. She has some connection to him we’re trying to figure out.”

“Suspects?” Damian asked in comms. “Stop being obtuse. We need to know who they suspect.”

“Robin, you shouldn’t be on the comms,” Batman reprimanded. “It’s your day off. Relax.”

           Tim nodded, “Any leads on Hawkmoth’s identity.”

“Just one,” Marinette admitted. “A man named Gabriel Agreste. But we ruled him out after he was akumartized.”

           Chloe snorted, “That’s stupid.” She said. “If Ladybug’s cure can heal the damage of an akuma, including what’s inflicting to her and that Alley Chat; there’s no logical reason, Hawkmoth can’t use his own powers on himself. To think otherwise, would be ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.”

           Sabrina agreed, “Or he could’ve gotten Mayura to use it. I mean Ladybug and Chat Noir switched before. Why couldn’t they?”

           Red Robin nodded, “That’s a good point. We’ll investigate him further.” He told them. “How much are you involved?”

           The girls shared a look. Chloe stepped forward proudly, “I was the Hero, Queen Bee.”

“No!” Marinette said strongly. “She is the Hero Queen Bee; a loyal friend and ally of Ladybug.” She swallowed hard as she fought the nervousness. Tikki and her had talked about what would happen next. Chloe had proven herself as far as two were considered. The blond deserved a real chance to prove she what type of hero she could be.

           Marinette took a deep breath and reached into her bag and pulled out a necklace and a hair comb that Chloe recognized instantly. A series of emotions flashed over the blonde’s face; recognition, understanding, disbelief, envy, embarrassment, frustration, acceptance, and then finally a look of admiration.

“Here,” She handed the comb to Chloe and the necklace to Sabrina. The kawami’s floated out.

“My queen,” Pollen purred as she landed on Chloe’s shoulder. The blonde looked ready to cry.

           Trixx spun around Sabrina’s head, “Kit. I have new Kitt!”

           The batfamily was just confused.

           Marinette straightens up, “Chloe for your show of loyalty, for your dedication to justice, and for your willingness to help from shadows; I name you an official and permanent member of the miraculous team. Keep moving forward. Keeping bettering yourself. I believe in you. And I welcome Queen Bee back.”

“Wha…” Nightwing said only to be cut off by Chloe

           She yelled, “Pollen, Buzz On!" And before they’re eyes, she transformed into the hero Queen Bee. “Eat your heart out, boys,” Chloe smirked at the stunned heroes.

           Marinette giggled. She focused on Sabrina who now realized exactly what was about to happen. “Sabrina, when Chloe brought you, I didn’t know what to expect. It turned out you had spent months researching and gathering evidence. I didn’t there was proof Lila was working with Hawkmoth willingly, you did. You saw through the lies and deception to find the truth despite the danger it could bring you. Which why I give you the kwami of Illusion.”

           Sabrina shakily put on the necklace. Trixx patted her head, “Now say, Trisx let's pounce.” The redhead did as she was told as was instantly transformed into a fox themed hero. Unlike Alya, Sabrina’s look was grey and a startling silver. It was more like an actual combat uniform.

“Truth is neither right nor wrong,” Sabrina stated. “It's not good or evil. It's not light or dark. Truth just is. I am Renarde Gris.”

           Marinette smiled and then said, “Tikki, Spots on.” And was transformed into Ladybug. Her suit was different; darker and better armored. “I am Ladybug.” She told the bats. “And I thank you for help.”

           Nightwing opened and closed his mouth repeatedly.

           Red Robin just pinched his nose, “Did you just make a civilian into a superhero just like that?”

           Ladybug tilted her head innocently, “Why? Isn’t that how batman got you?”

           Jason snorted, “She ain’t lying.”

“You were trained before going into the field,” Batman corrected. “You all were. But let’s focus, Ladybug is a child!”

“You’re just a kid,” Nightwing said. “You’ll all just kids.”

           Sabrina crossed her arms, “Weren’t you the first Robin? And didn’t you start at like ten-years-old? At least we’re teenagers.”

“And we don’t dress like traffic lights!” Marinette and Chloe snapped together, to their surprise, and then high-fived with a laugh.

           Red Robin examined Ladybug in a new light, “You’ve been protective Paris for three years.”

“Alone?” Damian growled in their ears. “Father, you said I was too young. I am the same age as them. I demand to be treated befitting of my status.”

           Ladybug shrugged, “The current Robin has protected Gotham on his own many times. He’s even led Teen Titans on missions. He has proven as I have that age is meaningless in the pursuit of justice. “

           Nightwing shook his head, “You’re just kids. Robin is just a kid.”

“Tell me, what bothers you more?” She asked. “The line of children that followed in your footsteps. Or that current Robin is better than you ever were.”

“…I love her.” Damian said. “Father, I love her and I will marry her.” It went quiet. “Red Robin, tell her of my affections. Superboy wants Chloe’s number. Spiderman requests Sabrina’s. I still don’t understand, why, you thought a ‘kids’ game night’ was necessary, father?”

           Batman just sighed.

           Tim cleared his throat, “Robin would like to, uh, court you.” He said. “Superboy would like Queen Bee’s phone number.” He could wait to tell Conner that Jon had a crush. “Spiderman request Renarde Gris’.”

           The girls all blushed prettily.

“Then he can hero up and ask me himself,” Sabrina smirked in a way that made Chloe proud.

“Same,” Marinette said with a smile. Chloe nodded in agreement.

“…We’re on our way,” Damian said into the comms.

           The sigh that answered that statement clearly belonged to Bruce.

#ml fic #marinette dupain cheng #ml salt #Chloe deserves better #chloe bourgeois #A little bit of Adrien Salt #maribat #daminette

[inkribbon796]

What a Beautiful Wedding Ch. 5: For the Dancing and the Dreaming

Summary: Dark and his family try and get out of their little reality bubble.

A/N: I should have had this out yesterday, but someone *glares at Chase* were being difficult.

Title comes from the song “For the Dancing and the Dreaming” from How to Train your Dragon 2.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

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Channel 2

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The instant Dark mentally came back to himself he pulled everyone back into the Manor. But he also found that Anti and Henrik were within the same bubble as well and grabbed them as well.

The instant he started explaining things everyone started waking up.

“Who knows how long we’ll be here,” Dark finished.

“At least ve’re avake,”[1] Henrik decided from where he was standing with Chase.

Illinois, who had only been away for the past couple of minutes, was trying to remember where he’d been before this before remembering he’d been at his wedding and flying into an immediate panic.

“Eric!” Illinois realized with horror.

He got up and raced through the front door, he planned on running all the way to the park but the instant his feet were outside the door he was already reaching the chain link fence to Eric’s backyard.

But Illinois was not deterred, he was getting his fiancé back if it was the last thing he did. Illinois practically vaulted himself over the chain link fence.

“Eric, dulcito[2],” Illinois called up outside his window before thinking: “screw it!” and used his lock picks to break in and start creeping towards Eric’s room. He’d save punching this fake Derek until he was sure Eric was safe.

Just because he wasn’t real, and more importantly dead, that didn’t mean he could cause Eric a lot of pain.

Eric was asleep when Illinois walked up to his bed and shook him away.

“Dulcito,[2] we’re going home.”

Eric screamed in surprise, and Illinois held his hands up.

“It’s me, it’s me,” Illinois said, already starting to cry in relief. “We need to get home, we got dragged in and . . . please forgive me.”

Eric flinched before letting out a quiet gasp, “Illy?”

He practically threw himself into Illinois’s arms, starting to sob profusely as Illinois held him.

“I’m so sorry, I should have rescheduled the wedding, it should have been the happiest day of your life,” Illinois apologized.

“I wanna go home,” Eric told him, and went to move before he felt a sharp pain stab through his legs, mostly from stress, mostly from not having his actual good prosthetics all day and having to make do with bad ones.

“Eric?” Illinois asked in distress.

“My legs,” Eric sobbed in pain.

“I got you,” Illinois promised, picking him up in his arms.

Eric clung tightly to Illinois’s shirt, and then coiled up when a pounding came from the other side of the door.

The timid young man let out a terrified whimper.

“Eric what’s going on in there?” Derek yelled, trying to break down the door. “Who’s voice is that? Open this door!”

“Shit,” Illinois hissed, prepared to fight Derek.

“Illinois should start walking, quickly before Derek can enter,” the Host spoke up.

Illinois and Eric startled but out of reflex, Illinois began to start walking. He took two steps and suddenly he wasn’t in Eric’s home, he was running into his own. And the whiplash just about made him go unconscious. If he hadn’t been aware he was in a sitcom from hell, he wouldn’t have felt a thing.

“What was that?” Illinois looked around wildly. They were walking into the living room of the Manor.

“The Host used a screen wipe,” the Host smiled.

“This whole place is a shithole,” Illinois snarled as he rushed to carefully set Eric down on the comfiest-looking couch. “The laugh tracks were already giving me a migraine, thanks for stopping them.”

“The Host was not a fan of them either,” the Host agreed.

The instant he realized they were back in the house, Dark checked them over briefly when they came over and then Illinois set Eric on the couch and the two of them almost immediately fell asleep, wrapped up together. Dark stretched a blanket over them and then walked into the kitchen.

Mostly to collect his thoughts and figure out some kind of plan of attack. If it was just himself, Dark would worm his way out and hunt the Actor down. But he wasn’t alone. There was Lunky and Eric to consider, along with the triplets. All of them had no hope of standing against the Actor on their own. He couldn’t see what was out there, and didn’t want to take his chances.

“How yeh holdin’ up?”[3] Chase asked.

Dark was sitting at the large dinner table, he had a coffee in front of him. He wasn’t sure where or when he’d gotten the coffee from but he had it.

The sooner he was out of here, the better. He didn’t like how easily it was for the anomaly to pull him around.

“I’d think you’d want out as soon as possible,” Dark told him.

“Well nothin’s[4] happened yet,” Chase told him and walked over. “Sides,[5] at this point we should prolly[6] stick together.”

“You can do that perfectly fine in any other room,” Dark told him, trying to sound uncaring but he could still remember waking up with Chase in the morning.

“Yeah, but I was worried about yeh,” Chase told him, not taking a seat yet and just leaning against the table. “Sides,[5] Bim was growlin’[7] at me, so I decided ta[8] give him his space.”

“I’m fine,” Dark told him sharply.

“Kay,”[9] Chase agreed, not wanting to push him. The two of them were quiet for a bit.

“What do you want?” Dark growled.

“I told yeh[10],” Chase started.

“No, you’ve given me some thinly veiled plot,” Dark glared, “but not what you actually want. Is it the triplets? Is it boredom? Everyone wants something.”

“What if I just want you? Have yeh[10] thought about that?” Chase asked.

“Don’t play with me, Brody,” Dark scoffed angrily. “What do you want?”

Something in Chase just snapped, something that was always compelling him to take care of Dark. “I’m not fookin’ jokin’. I actually wanna be with yeh. Yeh frustratin’, self-absorbed piece ‘a shite. If I was gonna lead yeh on, I’d be actin’ like Wilf.”[11]

Dark’s jaws clicked shut and he glared at Chase.

Sighing, Dark tried to tune out the anomaly, which was whispering to him. The most tempting of whispers. To just push everyone else out and the anomaly could give Dark what he wanted. Could give him the power he wanted. Could give him a version of Wilford that would never look away from him. Children who would always need him.

It was so tempting, but Dark knew better. The anomaly couldn’t give him that infinitely. It would falter, it just wanted a living battery to feed off of.

“Dark?” Chase whispered, taking a seat next to the Entity. His tone gentler as his anger was fading.

“I can open a portal to let you through, but I don’t know how long I can keep it open,” Dark told him. “I also don’t know what’s out there. We’ll have to be careful. We need to make sure the weaker spawnlings do not go out first.”

“Sounds good ta[8] me, but heads up, Illinois isn’t goin’[12] anywhere without yah[10],” Chase chuckled. “Kid’s a little needy when it comes ta[8] yah[10].”

“Illinois has Eric now, he doesn’t need me,” Dark corrected. “I was safe in here, he was a child again. Once we go back out I have to prepare his territory, I have all these arrangements to make and—”

“Dark, Dark,” Chase urged. “Listen ta yerself. Yer Illinois’s dad.”[13]

“Wilford is his father,” Dark reinforced.

“Bubbles didn’t raise him, you did,” Chase reminded sharply. “Wilf went off an’[14] did whate’er[15] the hell he wanted. You made sure the kids were safe. Granted he didn’t have a choice sometimes but the point stands.”

“I can’t have children,” Dark said, but it was his blue soul that put the words there. “I’m not allowed near them. Demons don’t feel things like love or joy, they just exist.”

“We both know that’s not true,” Chase told him, desperately trying to get through to him. “Yeh[10] adore those kids. E’eryone[16] in this whole fookin’[17] town knows that.”

Dark went quiet, hanging his head, he didn’t have a firm rebuttal for that. “I . . . I’m not . . .”

“Those kids are yers[18] as much as they are his. Our boys an’[14] Tempus are just as much yers[18] as they are mine,” Chase told him. “Yeh can have ‘em an’ see ‘em just ‘cause yeh want ta. Not because yeh need ta pay fer ‘em.��[19]

Chase mentally froze because that last part had just slipped out, he’d never considered . . . He mentally thought about Memento and Mori and how the two of them would show him knives and things Dark had just given them. Of Illinois and his adventurers and power within the city. Or Bim and how Dark just let him literally eat people. “Dark yeh know yeh don’t have ta buy yer own kids’ attention, right? They fookin’ love yeh.”[20]

Dark made a disbelieving scoff.

“Dark, they compete fer yer attention whene’er yer in the room,”[21] Chase told him. “Why do yeh[10] think Bim an’[14] Illinois are fightin’[22] all the time?”

“Siblings just do that,” Dark dismissed.

Chase looked up, “Oh my how are yeh[10] this fookin’[17] dense? Dark, yer[23] lucky yer[23] cute.”

A slightly darker grey blush briefly spread across Dark’s cheeks, he looked away from Chase for a second.

“If that’s how yeh[10] think siblings are supposed ta[8] act, did Damien an’[14] Celine participated in death matches or somethin’[24]?” Chase commented, trying to lighten the mood.

“Something to that effect,” Dark admitted. “Celine was always the favorite because she was able to perform magic. Their father was very harsh with Damien because he was a null. If he hadn’t died the way he did, he would have surely become a demon.”

“Yer[25] old man was a fooker[26],” Chase told him. “Maybe I should have Host use the anomaly ta[8] brin’[27] him back so I can kick him in the dick.”

“Only if I can kill him for keeping me prisoner in his house for decades,” Dark promised.

Chase smiled, before really looking at Dark. “I was serious early.”

“About which topic?” Dark asked.

“I’m exactly where I want ta[8] be,” Chase promised, finally saying when he’d been trying to remember to tell the Entity for months now. “There’s no one else I want ta[8] be with.”

“You’ll get bored,” Dark told him.

“Yeh[10] managed ta[8] keep stuff interestin’[28] in all the years I’ve known yeh[10],” Chase smiled.

“You’re human,” Dark reminded.

“Depends on who yeh[10] ask these days, don’t think I’ve got many ‘a[29] those years left,” Chase confessed. “Henz an’ Marv prolly don’t either. ‘Sides, if someone does manage ta kill me, I’ll make sure my ghost comes back an’ haunts yeh. I’ll bang some pots an’ shite. Make sure yeh know it’s me.”[30]

Dark’s brow furrowed, he was still looking for something. Then, “You’re with the heroes, if you wanted to be with me, you wouldn’t have turned me down when I asked.”

“That wasn’t me turnin’ yeh down, that was me sayin’ no ta bein’ yer hired gun,”[31] Chase told him in exasperation. “I don’t mind the dates, but I’m not killin’ fer yeh.”[32]

Dark wasn’t looking at him, Chase inched a little closer.

“Here, I’ll use my regular equipment, we can make it look howe’er realistic an’ fancy yeh want, an’ I’m there. But I’m not killin’ on yer order. Defending yeh or the kids is one thing. But becomin’ yer private hitman is off the table.”[33]

“That sounds reasonable,” Dark told him.

Chase just about had the urge to lean in all the way and kiss him. But he felt it was all going too fast. This was still so new. So he didn’t.

Instead, Wil broke the silence.

“Awww,” Wilford suddenly appeared next to them, smiling and wrapping his arms around the two of them. “Look at the two of you.”

“Don’t push yer[25] luck, Bubbles,” Chase snapped at him.

Wilford just hugged them tighter, pressing his face closer to Chase’s until the marksman pushed Wil away and kicked him in the shins, cursing at him as he did so. Dark rolled his eyes as he watched them.

//////~~~~//////~~~~//////~~~~//////

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Outside the bubbles, the heroes were busy popping the next one they’d jumped into. Freeing Nate, Mare, Marvin, and Quackity among the other heroes, villains, and civilians they’d pulled free.

Phantom was a bit disoriented and started looking around, trying to find an easy escape.

“I had awesome power, this better be worth it,” Quackity rolled his eyes as he looked around. “Where’s Dream?”

“Still in one of the bubbles,” Punz answered.

Quackity stared at Punz for a little bit before smiling, “Hey Punz, how much would I have to pay you to have us just leave Dream in there?”

“Twice what you pay Purpled,” Punz told him, checking his guns.

“Fuck!” Quackity hissed, kicking some rubble. “Come on, dude!”

Another rumble passed through the area as one of the bubbles began to ripple violently and two tendrils snapped out of it, one shot out like lightning and attached itself to the bubble Dark was in while the other snatched up Phantom and pulled him in.

When the first tendril latched on it dragged Dark away from Chase and Wil and before anyone had any time to think it yanked him in and Dark’s bubble popped. The bubble started rapidly growing in size, and it yanked the smallest bubble into it and consumed it. It stopped swelling when it was twice its former size.

“The fuck was that?” Illinois shouted from where he’d dropped to the ground, looking around wildly. “Was that the Actor?”

“No, the Actor does not have the anomaly,” the Host said as he began inspecting the area with his own aura. “That bubble contains Techno and Phil and with the absence of other stories, the anomaly is desperately trying to keep what it does have. Its hold is weakening. Which means the Host will not be able to keep the Actor at bay for much longer.”

“Do you know who are in the other bubbles?” Ponk asked. “Be really nice to have fucking Skeppy right now.”

“I’m right here,” Marvin shot at him.

“I give you one of these books and Skeppy will kill me,” Ponk told him.

“Hey, wait a second, is that one ‘a[29] the,” Marvin recognized the spell book he had as one of the cursed tomnes he’d been trying to get from the Server for months now.

Ponk held the book to their chest, backing up, “Uh . . .”

Sam shouldered his way in-between, shoving Marvin back as he summoned his trident. “We don’t have time to wait around.”

Ponk just stared up at Sam, leaning into him before they looked back at the Host. “So who’s where? Where’s Skeppy and Bad?”

“That one,” the Host gestured to the bubble higher up, “however it needs to be loosened by another two bubbles before it pops. There are too many powerful demons in there powering it.”

“Okay,” Ponk sighed in frustration.

“Techno, Philza, Big Man, and Ghostbur,” the Host pointed with his aura to the largest bubble that Dark and Phantom had been dragged into.

He continued to the farthest one, “That one has the Actor and all of Silver’s friends.”

“Fucker,” Silver spat, trying to fly towards that bubble at top speed but bounced off. “Give me my friends back!”

“And the last one’s got the Sides in it?” Bing asked from where the Google androids were encircled around him.

“That’s the strongest one,” Nate grumbled in frustration. “Why’s he in that one?”

“Because the entire legate is in there, it is likely it will be one of the last to pop for that reason. On its own it’s indefinitely sustainable.”

“Shit, he’s like a living battery,” Nate hissed.

“I’m going in,” Illinois decided, looking at the bubble Dark was in.

“Stay here with Explosion Boy,” Chase told Illinois, gesturing to Eric.

“My dad’s—” Illinois started to shout.

“Let us handle it, we can’t have all ‘a[29] our magically powerful people in one easy ta[8] capture area, stay with yer[25] fiancé,” Chase told him. “I’ll make sure nothin’[34] happens ta[8] him.”

“If I see there are any problems, I’m going in,” Illinois told him.

“Fine, that’s fine,” Chase told him, then he looked back at Jackie. “Jackie, come on.”

The Host lowered the bubble Dark had been dragged into and then ripped a hole in the bubble long enough for Jackie and Chase to go in.

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Channel 6

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Jackie and Chase walked in and a wave passed over them as their outfits changed. Snow buffeted them as they stood in thick warming fur coats and wool clothes.

Jackie was still in his mask but their clothes colors had changed to deep purples and dark reds

“Let’s go,” Chase yelled over the snow as they followed the road and hoped it would lead to a town.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Accessibility Translations:

1. At least we’re awake.

2. sweetheart

3. How are you holding up?

4. nothing’s

5. Besides

6. probably

7. growling

8. to

9. Okay

10. you

11. I’m not fucking joking. I actually want to be with you. You frustrating, self-absorbed piece of shit. If I was going to lead you on, I’d be acting like Wilf.

12. going

13. Listen to yourself. You’re Illinois’s dad.

14. and

15. whatever

16. everyone

17. fucking

18. yours

19. You can have them and see them just because you want to. Not because you need to pay for them.

20. Dark, you know that you don’t have to buy your own kids’ attention, right? They fucking love you.

21. Dark, they compete for your attention whenever you’re in the room,

22. fighting

23. you’re

24. something?

25. your

26. fucker

27. bring

28. interesting

29. of

30. Henz and Marv probably don’t either. Besides, if someone does manage to kill me, I’ll make sure my ghost comes back and haunts you. I’ll bang some pots and shit. Make sure you know it’s me.

31. That wasn’t me turning you down, that was me saying no to being your hired gun

32. I don’t mind the dates, but I’m not killing for you.

33. Here, I’ll use my regular equipment, we can make it look however realistic and fancy you want, and I’m there. But I’m not killing on yer order. Defending you or the kids is one thing. But becoming your private hitman is off the table.

34. nothing

#superhero au #masks and maladies #darkiplier #ahwm illinois #illinois the adventurer #eric derekson #chase brody #wilford warfstache #the host #darkaverage #darkstache #angst #feels #what else are they supposed to do with these feels? #dark’s got a lot of issues

[rosiegeee]

Best Equestria Girls/Unconfirmed Couples in MLP

This is once again going to be a heavily biased list. I literally like all these ships the same except #10 but it would be a weird list to have a nine way tie. these couples were either only hinted at in the final season of My little pony, were in the comics, or were from Equestria Girls. They will be ranked on how much of a romance they seem to have.

#10:  Applejack and Rainbow Dash

There is nothing wrong with these two being a couple, as they are implied to be in the final episode of MLP, I just never shipped them and never found there was any romantic tension between the two, just friendship. The only romantic thing I can think of is from the scene the picture shows where they are friendly bickering about how Rainbow should be allowed to help Applejack with her farm chores.

#9:  King sombra and Radiant Hope

I love these two so much. Through flashbacks we see how these two met, were the best of friends growing up, and than Sombra falling in love with Hope. Even in his monsterous shadow pony form Sombra wants Hope to be his queen, and Hope still loves him, and when he is turned into a full pony they run off together side by side to explore Equestria finding Amore shards to restore her. Hope risked her safety and her freedom to save Sombra and there love oozes from the pages. However, the reason they are number 9 and not number 1 is because of Sombra’s treatment of her as a shadow pony. He emotionally manipulated her to stay by his side, screamed and yelled at her, threatened her, and kept her basically prisoner in the castle, he changes in the end but that doesn’t change what he did to her.

#8: Flash Sentry and Twilight Sparkle

They used to be my favourite ship when I was young, they were so cute and I found it funny seeing a blushing embarrassed Twilight, something the normal show didn’t have. However I was like 13 at the time when I watched this and Rainbow rocks for the first time, and have since seen some flaws here. There relationship is sweet in the first film and and you can tell how good of a guy Flash is, and Twilight returns these feeling, and the quick showing of them being at the dance together was adorable, but than Rainbow rocks happens. It is made clear to use that the entire time Twilight has been gone Flash has missed her(so cute) but from the show we know Twilight hasn’t thought or mentioned human Flash or pony Flash since, and continues not to think about him until she literally runs into him, and awkwardly the cuteness fades as Twilight no longer seems to know how to interact with him, which upsets Flash. Than as the sirens work there magic they become increasingly hostile towards each other and don’t really get a lot of screen time together for the rest of the movie, and than they literally never see each other again, but Flash still waits for her to return. In Everfree Forest he starts to move on.

#7: Curly Winds and Wiz Kid

I don’t know enough about these two to give them a true ranking so they get this neutral spot, but from the images above I’d say they are a pretty sweet couple. And Being LGBT, I always love representation in tv shows.

#6:  Timber Spruce and Sci-Twi

Sci-Twi was never meant for Flash Sentry, and I’m glad they did not get together, but Timber and Sci-Twi is a different story. He was so sweet to her, and there chemistry seemed natural, and he actually asked her out, something Flash never did, that and the almost kiss. This Twilights reaction to having a crush is different from Princess Twilights, and I love how well she gets along with him. The only reason they are not higher is because he was covering for his sister who planned on doing dangerous and illegal things. That and she’s in high school and he is an unmentioned amount years older who seems to have done this camp at least once before so it could be anywhere from a year difference to six.

#5: Yona and Sandbar

Oh my god, they are so cute. The episode that first shows hints of a romance between these two is also one of my favourites because Yona is worried that the Pony’s attending the dance (aka Sand Bar who is the one who invited her) will judge her because she does not look, act, or dance like a pony(because she’s a Yak) and she tries to make herself more pony only to make a fool of herself and mess up the dance. However when she runs off Sandbar finds her and comforts her and tells her that he liked her for being herself and that he doesn’t care that she is a yak. He than asks her back to the dance where they spend the rest of the night together. Also they are seen holding hoofs in the big fight at the end, and are seeming living together at  Carousel Boutique.

#4: Hoofbeard and Jewel 

If you didn’t read the IDW comics you would never know these two, but the mane six go on an adventure with Captain Hoofbeard and try and find his treasured Jewel, but the X on the map keeps moving, in the end its revealed that Jewel isn’t a gem, but a seapony and an old girlfriend of Hoofbeard. He confesses that he still loves her and wishes they could be together but knows that she breaths water and he breaths air, but Twilight uses a spell that gives him gills and some fins. He traveled the ocean, like how Cranky Donkey traveled the land, to find his love again, and faced many dangers to do so.

#3:  Fluttershy and Discord

I always thought these two should stay friends, especially considering he’s immortal ad she isn’t, but in the later seasons it was impossible to deny the romance forming between the two. Discord loves Fluttershy and gets giddy anytime he thinks about her and has pictures of her, and they have tea parties(dates) every week. For Fluttershy she knows Discord like the back of her hoof and is deeply hurt when he sort of betrays the group in the finally, but before that Angel(her bunny who knows everything about her) while in Fluttershy’s body stated how it was Fluttershy’s wish to MARRY DISCORD. In the finally Discord drops Fluttershy at Twilights and gives her a lunch, implying that they live together and during Fluttershy’s part of the song The Magic Of Friendship Grows, as she sings the line, “And because the love that I feel, For every single living creature is something that is real , Friendship happens so naturally ” Discord comes out of a portal and they stare at each other and se extends her wing out to him as he flies just off screen. The writers say there relationship is up to the viewers interpretation, but they are obviously in love and married by the end. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImsTS1Kb9ww

#2:  Flash sentry and Sunset Shimmer

Here’s where the bias comes in. In the first film its said how these two used to be a couple but that they broke up not long before the series because of how bad she used to be, and than its never mentioned again until Everfree where Flash and Sunset have a momment where they confide in each other because they still know each other in ways the other main characters don’t know her. Flash even asks her if she’d like to start over, than awkwardly adds the friends part but its obvious hw they look at each other that there is still a spark there and it will most likely be rekindled soon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI5lTaUahfU

#1:  King Sombra and Princess Celestia

This was the Romeo and Juliet is Romeo and Juliet where literally from other worlds and actually loved each other. This comic pulled at my heartstrings so much that I could never look at Sombra in the TV show the same way again. In this four part series its revealed that before Luna even became Nightmare moon Celestia had been visiting this other Equestria where its ruled by a kind Sombra and the two fell in love and have secretly been visiting each other on and off since. But there travels is ripping the barrier between the two world apart so they can’t see each other as often. In the end Sombra restores the barrier, saving both there worlds, by sacrificing himself by absorbing the evil of the alternate versions of Luna and Celestia, becoming just like Sombra in Celestia’s world. His final act is telling Celestia to leave him(So he won’t do anything he’d regret to her) than on the final page Celestia alone says how much she still loves him, and in his own dimension, despite being evil, admits how he still loves her as well. In the end they are never allowed to see each other again, but there love still transcends dimensional boarders. 

#MLP #Friendship is magic #My little pony #gay #love #romance #couples #Applejack and Rainbow Dash #lesbians #Applejack #Rainbow Dash #King sombra and Radiant Hope #King Sombra #Sombra #Alternate Sombra #Hope #Radiant Hope #Radiant #Flash Sentry and Twilight Sparkle #Flash Sentry #Twilight Sparkle #Curly Winds and Wiz Kid #Curly Winds #Wiz Kid #Timber Spruce and Sci-Twi #Timber Spruce #Sci-Twi #SciTwi #Yona and Sandbar #Yona Yak

[dreamescapeswriting]

Hopeless Romantic ~ OT7 [Request]

➳➳➳Word Count: 2.5K

➳➳➳Paring: ot7 x reader

➳➳➳Genre: Floffy with a tiny bit of angst

➳➳➳A/N: I hope this is okay sweetie!! As a secret lover of the romance books I appreciated this ask lmao

To everyone else on the outside of the relationship, you were just close friends with BTS, which was partially true you were close friends but it went deeper than that. Somehow you'd managed to get yourself into a polyamory relationship with the best seven guys you'd ever met in your life. You'd been friends with Yoongi since you were kids and you'd always had a crush on him but ignored the feelings wanting to stay friends with him instead of ruining your bond together but as you grew older and closer your feelings began to grow and became mutual but so did the feelings that the other members had for you. Then one very drunken night lead to a whole night of long conversations and confessions, talking through emotions and how much you liked them all and that was it...You were in a relationship, but sometimes it did just feel like a friendship it wasn't as it was portrayed in movies or TV shows. It wasn't all sex all of the time with all of them, it was movie nights while you cuddled up to one another, going out together as a group but acting as friends until you got home, date night with one of them every day of the week. Being there for one another when the other one needed it, it was just how a normal relationship would work but with 6 other people involved. You'd been together for a year and so it was a well-oiled machine and it all worked perfectly fine with no problems, sure there were the occasional fights like in all relationships but they were resolved quickly.

"Y/n? Are you coming?" Namjoon asked waving his hand in front of your face to get your attention, you snapped your attention away from your phone and looked up at him to nod.

"Sure, sorry. World of my own." You laughed locking your phone and sliding it into your handbag, it was date day with Namjoon and he was taking you out book hunting which was a good thing because your favourite writer had just released a new book that morning and you had been dying to get it.

"You're always in your own world, it's cute." He mumbled kissing the top of your head and handing you your car keys, you looked at him and then walked out of the front door without a  goodbye since all the boys were asleep still.

"You need to learn to drive you know, I can't keep being your little chauffeur all your life." You giggled looking at the paparazzi that were waiting outside the gates of the dorms to get a glimpse at the boys. Namjoon laughed at your poor attempt of teasing him and helped you into the car. You could no longer act like a couple now there were cameras watching so you just poked your tongue out at him and pulled out of the driveway heading in the direction of town.

"I'll never get used to seeing them out there," You laughed trying to make light-hearted conversation, Namjoon had strong feelings about being seen in public with you he didn't mind being seen with you but there was to be no hugging or acting in any way a couple would it was the same with all the boys but Namjoon was the most strict on it whereas Taehyung would hug you all day long cameras or not.

"Yeah, it's still a little surreal to me, where are we going first?" He questioned looking over at you as you pulled onto the highway,

"I have to stop at the main bookshop first but then I'm down to go to the market for the rest of them," He nodded in agreement with you and you drove with music playing softly in the background.

"Hey what are you getting? I can't seem to find anything I like in here," Namjoon said coming over to you with a smile on your face, you clutched the four books you'd picked up into your chest not wanting him to see the first one you had.

"Just some psychology ones and a true-crime one for me and Yoongi to read tomorrow." Which was all true except you neglected to mention the new romance novel that was situated the closest to your chest so he couldn't see, but he knew there was something off because your cheeks were getting hot and you kept looking away from him something you only did when you were lying.

"I'll get them for you, my treat." He went to take them but you clutched them tighter,

"What do you have in there? Erotica?" He laughed looking at the line as you moved down a space, the elderly lady in front of you scoffed at you both and you rolled your eyes at her. If it was erotica you would feel less awkward about carrying it, but it was a secret guilty pleasure you had. You were a sucker for the romantic books, all of the classics and all of the new cheesy ones you would find stacked up in charity shops. You couldn't help it, but it was a secret you were going to take to the grave, you didn't want anyone to know about it.

"It's not Erotica." You giggled looking around the shop for something to distract Namjoon with,

"They have your guys book in here, go and check that out." He looked over his shoulder to see Into The Magic shop sitting on display and he left you in the line.

"You should never hide your favourite books." The elderly lady from in front of you said, turning around to look at you she was smaller than you and was carrying a basket full of them.

"It's just a guilty pleasure." You told her showing her the new romance novel you'd picked up, then she showed you the same one sitting in her basket.

"You go before me dear, I'll be here a while." You stepped in front of her and began getting served, asking for a bag so you could hide the books inside.

The day continued as normal you found smaller bookshops to go and explore and walked through the market with Namjoon to find smaller bookstalls with second-hand books that needed a home. You had a problem, you could never walk past a book shop or stall without going in and buying something. It was impossible. By the end of the day, you were home with four bags full of books ready to add to the neverending bookshelves in Namjoon's study upstairs in the dorms.

"We might as well own our own library at this point." He pointed out looking at the now full four floors to ceiling bookshelves.

"Hey! It's not just me that enjoys these, we all do. I caught Kookie reading one of your art history books the other morning." You told him as you hide the bag full of your secret books outside the door, Namjoon was so distracted he hadn't noticed but the action hadn't gone unnoticed by Jin who was standing outside of the door.

"What's this?" He picked it up and you screamed at him not to look inside,

"What's inside the bag?" Jin asked lifting it up in the air so you couldn't rip it from his hands, you jumped up in an attempt to grab it from him but he smirked holding it up higher.

"I think our little girlfriend is hiding something from us Joonie." Jin teased watching as you desperately tried to retrieve the bag.

"Please, I'll cook dinner tonight if you just give me the bag." The bag was put back in your hands by Jin who was supposed to be the cook for the night, gladly giving it to someone else for a change so he didn't have to listen to the boys complaining again.

"Jin!" Namjoon scoffed watching as you ran out of the room to hide the books in the spare room you always slept in whenever you went to a sleepover at the dorms. You lifted up the loose floorboard under the double bed and stashed them inside with the others getting up a couple of seconds later to go and prepare dinner for them all.

"Hobi can you help me?" You asked as you walked through the living room, he was watching Taehyung, Jungkook and Jimin playing video games and nodded following you into the kitchen and asking what needed doing first.

"Can you wash all the vegetables and start cutting them? I'll work on the meat then." You gave him a quick kiss on the lips before getting on with your work.

"Jungkookie you put that piece of pork down right now or so help me God I will stab you with that chopstick," Jungkook stared at you,

"You're not even looking at me how did you-"

"She's got eyes in the back of her head," Yoongi said to Jungkook before he could finish his sentence, you sighed looking back at them and sitting down on your chair,

"What's taking Namjoon and Jimin so long?" You questioned looking over your shoulder,

"Just eat, the food will get cold soon." You mumbled looking down at your plate they were never late for food.

"Guys?!" You called out getting up from the table and walking over to the staircase,

"Food!" You heard chuckling and then footsteps so you walked back into the dining room and sat down to eat, Taehyung handed you some water and you began to drink it.

"We know what it is." You heard Jimin announce as he walked into the room, he sat down at the table and pushed pork into his mouth.

"You know what, what is?" You questioned looking just as confused as everyone else at the table, a bag was dropped into the middle of the table and you almost choked on air as your eyes landed on it.

"Your favourite book." You stared up at Namjoon as he rushed your shoulders with a giant smirk on his face,

"You went into the guest room?" Jin asked looking at the boys who were chuckling to one another, Yoongi reached into the middle of the table first to see what was in the bag but he caught a glimpse of your face and stopped himself.

"She doesn't want us to see." He mentioned looking at Taehyung who went to look anyway,

"It can't be that bad." He pulled out the first book and read through the blurb before turning to you,

"So you like cheesy romance novels, what's wrong with that?" The second part of his sentence was directed at Jimin and Namjoon who were still laughing heavily together. It didn't make you feel any better than they were all staring at you and taking out books, only making Namjoon and Jimin laugh harder at you.

"Okay! I get it!" You yelled pushing the chair back and making Namjoon move away from you,

"I like cheesy books! Okay! I like the idea of being swept off my feet by someone, or falling in love by one touch." Your eyes were filled with tears as you explained yourself,

"I liked the idea of meeting a stranger in a bookshop and falling hopelessly in love! I loved the sound of falling for someone without knowing them!" You began crying and walked out of the dining room and sprinting up the stairs and into the spare bedroom where you cried into the pillows.

"See what you did!" Yoongi yelled looking at Namjoon and Jimin who were hanging their heads low, Yoongi walked up the stairs to talk to you but the door was locked.

"Y/n...Y/n talk to me, it's just me." He knocked on the door but all he could hear was your broken sobs as you cried into a pillow, it was stupid to cry about but the way they were laughing at you really hurt your feelings.

"Y/n, let me in," Yoongi begged but you weren't going to move, you felt awful for singling him out but he would want you to go and talk to the boys and right now you just wanted to cry. Yoongi had always been the kindest towards you, though he came across as cold to everyone who didn't know him he was the sweetest guy you'd ever met and was always there when you needed him.

"Text me when you want to talk." You heard his retreating footsteps and you sniffled against the pillow, wanting to leave the dorms but you knew you couldn't because it would mean facing all seven of them at once.

A couple of hours later Jimin heard your door unlock and the bathroom door close so he knew you were out,

"Joon, she's up." They waited at the bottom of the stairs to see what you were doing and when they heard you go back into the spare room without locking the door they made their way up to go and see you. Namjoon knocked first,

"Y/n?"

"What do you want Joonie?" He pushed the door open to see you sitting on the bed, your hair was up in a messy bun, your eyes were bloodshot and you were wearing one of Jungkook's oversized shirts that looked like you were swimming in it.

"We didn't mean it the way it came out." Jimin spat out walking into the room and sitting beside you on the bed, Namjoon followed sitting on the opposite side and watching as you laid your head on Jimin's shoulder.

"I shouldn't have overreacted-"

"No, you had every right. We were mean and we shouldn't have gone into your room without asking." Namjoon whispered holding your hand and rubbing his fingers along your knuckles, you sniffled and looked at him.

"We're sorry," Jimin whispered kissing the top of your head and linking his hand with your free one, Namjoon sighed looking at you.

"Are you hungry? I'll order you some food and then we'll watch a movie together, me you and Jimin?" You shook your head, your head was pounding from crying so much and you honestly just wanted to fall asleep.

"I'm tired," You answered, Jimin looked at Namjoon and started getting up from the bed. It was his night to fall asleep with you but in all honestly, you wanted to fall asleep beside them both. It wasn't something uncommon between you, you'd fallen asleep beside Yoongi and Hobi after a night together,

"C-Can Jimin stay too?" You asked Namjoon who was laying down behind you,

"Sure." He whispered kissing the base of your neck, Jimin got back into the bed and you snuggled against his chest letting Namjoon cuddle you from behind.

"I'm sorry I cried." You whispered as you closed our eyes listening to Jimin's heartbeat,

"No, we're sorry we made you cry," Namjoon whispered in your ear rubbing small patterns into your exposed arm. Jimin kissed your head softly and you stayed there until you all fell asleep.

tagline: 

@yoongisdumplingcheeks @snowy-meowl @lynnthevirgo @jooniesdarlingdimples @kpopfanfictionhoes @lyoongx @callingmyangel @fan-ati--c @mitzwinchester @rjsmochii @btsiguess-kpop 

#bts #bts x reader #bts x you #bts x y/n #bts imagine #bts imagines #bts ot7 #ot7 x reader #kim seokjin #seokjin #seokjin x reader #jin #min yoongi #yoongi #yoongi x reader #suga #jung hoseok #hoseok x reader #hoseok #jhope #kim namjoon #namjoon x reader #namjoon #park jimin #jimin x reader #jimin #kim taehyung #taehyung x reader #taehyung #jeon jungkook

[blossom-hwa]

Danger: Onyx |2| - JUYEON

Pairing: Juyeon x gender neutral!reader

Genre: fluff, angst, fantasy, royalty!au

Triggers: death, semi-graphic depictions of blood

Word Count: 4.4k

Lesson 6: when all seems lost, do not falter. Just because it seems hopeless does not mean it is.

Previous: Ruby >> Onyx: Part 1 | Part 2 >> Next: Crown

TBZ Masterlist | Danger | Kingdom

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Juyeon cannot breathe.

Physically, there’s a blade right at his throat. Though killing isn’t allowed in duels, the metal is close enough to his skin that it makes taking a breath a bit difficult.

But that’s not the biggest problem. The issue right now is the recognition that has just sparked in Jaehyun’s expression, surprise and realization creeping over his face the longer he stares Juyeon straight in the eyes.

Castling queens.

Jaehyun’s arm drops, the blade falling to rest at his side. Almost as quickly as the realization came, it disappears under a blank mask as he extends a hand.

Juyeon stares at it for a moment. Tries to think. Jaehyun knows who I am he knows who I am he definitely saw it this is the worst thing possible I thought he wouldn’t recognize me –

Shakily, he takes Jaehyun’s hand and shakes it once, twice. His skin feels clammy and cold even under the afternoon sun. He almost wants to look at Jaehyun and see if that blank look is still on his face, but fear keeps his eyes averted as he retracts his arm.

He needs to get out of here, needs to run, needs to find Kevin and Jacob and get away from this place immediately. That much is clear. Juyeon darts his gaze around, still studiously avoiding Jaehyun even as raucous screams and cheers begin to rise from the crowd.

Then a sweep of ivory skirts flashes in the corner of his vision.

Somin.

Queens, he needs to leave, now.

Jaehyun bows low, seemingly unaware of Juyeon panicking not two feet away from him. “Your Majesty,” he says smoothly.

Belatedly, Juyeon remembers he should be echoing Jaehyun’s manners. Dipping down, he murmurs a quiet greeting, hoping against hope that she won’t be able to recognize him, won’t make the same connections Jaehyun did just moments ago.

Oh, queens.

Jaehyun.

What if he says something?

“Esteemed general.” The sweetly familiar voice makes Juyeon’s skin crawl. “Congratulations on your victory.”

Juyeon misses the next exchange. He���s too busy darting his gaze around the arena, looking for a single exit where he can slip into the crowd or just book it because there’s no way Somin won’t recognize him the second she looks into his eyes, assuming she hasn’t already figured him out already –

Guards line the perimeter of the arena. People crowd every space between the ivory suits.

Somin turns to him just as Juyeon comes to the worst realization possible.

There’s nowhere to run.

“Kim Jiyoon.”

Raised eyebrow. Wide smirk. Evil eyes.

She knows.

Juyeon takes a tiny step back, bowing low once more. “Your Majesty,” he mumbles, praying for a miracle, praying for something, anything, anyone to save him from this, maybe Jaehyun will turn out not to be an Ivory bastard and will say or do something –

Blank eyes meet his frantic expression. Something twists in Juyeon’s heart as Jaehyun purposely averts his gaze.

So much for old friendships.

A hand grasps his chin. Juyeon gasps as Somin jerks his head up, fingers curling around the ivory fabric that covers his nose and mouth.

For one moment, they lock eyes. Somin’s glitter with manic satisfaction.

Then she rips the mask away, leaving his face bare to the world.

It takes Juyeon several seconds to realize the entire arena has fallen quiet. Eyes widen, hands fly to mouths, fingers begin to point as Somin’s smirk grows wider and wider.

Jaehyun didn’t need to say anything, after all.

“Prince Juyeon.” She spits his name like dirt on her lips. “What a surprise. Long time no see, yes?”

“What a blessing,” he replies, hiding his racing heart behind a bland smile. “I always liked the former queen more than you, after all.”

The smirk turns to a sneer as she waves a hand, almost dismissively. Footsteps sound on the hard-packed dirt of the arena and Juyeon barely has a second to ready himself before two pairs of hands grab his arms and pull them tight behind his back.

He thrashes. Snarls. Tries to bite, even, the way Changmin used to when they were kids –

Changmin.

The breath leaves Juyeon’s chest in a gasp. Pawns and kings, this is just how Changmin felt when he was trapped in the shrine, unable to use magic, unable to fight.

Helpless.

“Isn’t that perfect, then?” Somin mocks, oblivious to the bile rising in Juyeon’s throat. “You’ll be seeing my lovely sibling tomorrow when you’re executed at dawn.” Her sneer grows as she leans in to whisper something against his ear. “And if you’re lucky, you might reunite with that gray mage of yours as well.”

Vomit splatters over the front of Somin’s dress. Through the rotten taste in his mouth, Juyeon takes a tiny satisfaction in her screech of disgust, even as the guards tighten their hold uncomfortably on his wrists. “If you’re lucky, that’ll wash out of your dress,” he snipes, spitting leftover bile onto the dusty ground. Some of it spatters onto her shoes.

Somin breathes in once, twice, her face red. Juyeon allows a smirk to grow on his face, even as certainty of his execution looms nearer with every second that passes.

So close to death, he might as well have some fun.

“Take him away,” Somin snarls. “And begin a search for his two little friends. Don’t let them leave the city!”

Kevin. Jacob.

Smirk gone, Juyeon frantically scans the crowds for the faces of his two friends as guards begin to march him away. They can’t come after him, can’t do anything, queens, what if Kevin decides to do something like break him out of prison, that can’t happen –

Terrified eyes meet his, nose and mouth covered in a familiar cloth. A red cloak peeks from behind the man standing next to Kevin.

Juyeon shakes his head subtly. Don’t follow, don’t do anything stupid, don’t come after me, hide, leave –

Strong hands drag him forward once more. Juyeon loses sight of his friends.

And for the first time since the start of the journey, he is alone.

Completely alone.

. . . . .

Kevin nearly falls forward the second he stumbles out of Jacob’s door. He manages to catch himself against the wall right in front of him, where he leans, trying to breathe.

Failure.

Failure.

Failure.

He never should’ve agreed to this idea, never should have brought it up in the first place. It was always too risky, too dangerous, and no matter what slim, small chance there was at success, Kevin never should have hoped they would be lucky enough to fall into that sliver of luck. Nothing’s been on their side since the coronation, so why start now?

How many people has Kevin let down by now? How many people has Kevin killed by now? First Sunwoo, who wasn’t supposed to be here, who wasn’t supposed to be part of this fight, who Kevin called on because he really had the nerve to believe that they would succeed without pain, without death. A single stroke of idiocy in following the amethyst’s pull resulted in a knife pulled across two necks, one by accident, one in revenge.

Kevin squeezes his eyes shut, breaths sharp and ragged. Two deaths, then. Not just Sunwoo. Mage Han, too.

And now he has a third name to add to that list.

Lee Juyeon. Royalty. Best friend since birth. Almost a brother – if not in blood, then in friendship.

He’s the reason Juyeon is about to be killed.

“Kevin.” Jacob’s voice snaps him out of his spiraling thoughts, forces him to open his eyes. His ashen face looks about as bad as Kevin feels. “We need to get out of here. I shifted us to the first place that came to mind, but –”

“Yeah.” Kevin takes a shuddering breath. His words sound shakier than he would’ve liked. “Yeah, I know. Let’s go.”

Never mind that neither of them knows where to go in the first place.

Jacob moves his hands in the air, creates another door against the wall. They step through to the space just outside the tiny, abandoned house – more like a shed, really – that they’ve been using as a hideout since they entered the capital. This time, the second Kevin exits the door, he collapses to his knees.

This is his fault, all his fault. If he’d never suggested it, they wouldn’t have any leads, but at least Juyeon would still be here, not sitting in some dungeon awaiting his execution tomorrow morning.

Execution. Kevin almost throws up at the thought.

Jacob stumbles next to him, falling onto dirty grass as well. They sit in silence for a moment, only ragged breaths escaping into the air.

“We need to get him out,” Kevin finally whispers. “He needs to escape, we can’t leave him there…”

It isn’t even just the fact that Juyeon is Kevin’s best friend. The heir to the king’s crown can’t die. It would leave a gaping power vacuum in the Onyx Kingdom – there’s no trained next in line, no one as capable as Juyeon is.

Which is exactly what Somin wants.

“I know.” Jacob swallows. “I know. But…” He gestures vaguely, helplessly. “How?”

How, indeed. Kevin may have been to the capital many times, but he’s never seen any of the several prisons. He couldn’t direct Jacob anywhere without a map, without something to guide himself, and since Jacob has never seen them himself, he can’t shift there either.

Queens, he’s a failure. Juyeon and Sunwoo rescued him from Bom – Sunwoo even died in the process – but Kevin can’t even think of a plan to help Juyeon escape. Not even the most improbable idea springs into his mind, an idea that definitely won’t work but that he would be desperate enough to try anyway.

Silence falls as Kevin tries to rack his brains for something, anything that doesn’t involve another possible brush with death. There’s nothing, absolutely nothing –

Then a twig snaps.

Kevin whirls around, knife already whizzing through the air. There’s a sharp yelp and a thud of metal sinking into something decidedly not flesh.

A young man – more of a boy, really – steps forward. Though his hands are raised in surrender, the calm, sure look in his eyes tells Kevin that the gesture is more for show than anything else.

Unconsciously, his hand grabs Jacob’s wrist. He takes a step back, dragging the mage with him as he slips a second knife from his sleeve. “Who are you?”

“My name is Eric.” He nods at the knife between Kevin’s fingers. “You can put down the knife, I don’t mean any harm. Jaehyun sent me to find you.”

Jacob sucks in a sharp gasp just as Kevin’s blood runs cold. “Jaehyun?”

“He’s breaking Juyeon out tonight.” Eric puts his hands down to point at them. “You two need to come with me –”

“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Jacob snaps. “How did you find this place? I shifted, there’s no way you could have followed us from the arena.”

“Jaehyun recognized Kevin the first day at the contest registration,” Eric replies. His calmness is starting to get on Kevin’s nerves. “Well, he wasn’t sure, so he asked me to follow you back. Lo and behold, you were traveling with the prince, which meant Jaehyun wasn’t wrong. When Juyeon was arrested, he sent me to find you.”

“You could be lying.” Kevin grits his teeth, fingers clenching around the knife even though something tells him Eric would be able to dodge easily. “You and Jaehyun could be working with the queen to root us out and catch us. We have no reason to trust you.”

Eric’s lip curls. “You don’t,” he snaps, “but you could at least trust Jaehyun. Haven’t you known him much longer than I?”

“People change,” Kevin retorts. “None of us ever thought Somin would kill her family for the throne, did we?”

No one argues, not even Eric. For several moments, they only stand in silence. Then –

“Jaehyun’s breaking the prince out tonight,” Eric says lowly. “That’s why he told me to find you. And I know you don’t know me at all, but I can tell you that not all of us in the army support the queen’s agenda. Jaehyun and I are only two of many more.”

There’s nothing to support his claims, no evidence, no testimony, absolutely nothing to back up his words. With every second that passes, Kevin feels the growing urge to tell Jacob to create a door, to shift them away from this so that they can figure out a plan that doesn’t rely on a certain general who may or may not be on their side.

But something tells him that Eric speaks the truth. Maybe it’s his eyes, which are clear, or it’s the weird feeling Kevin got when he spoke to Jaehyun that one time. Maybe it’s just blind hope. Either way, he feels his grip loosening on Jacob’s wrist, his shoulders relaxing, ready to take Eric’s invitation and leave.

He glances at Jacob. Do we trust him?

Jacob’s lips press into a thin line, but he nods tersely, almost imperceptibly. Yes.

They have to.

Kevin steps forward. Narrows his eyes. “One sign of betrayal and I will not hesitate to put a knife through your back.”

“And Jaehyun said you were the nicer one,” Eric mutters.

“There isn’t a lot of room for nice at the moment, in case you didn’t notice.”

Eric smirks. It reminds Kevin a little too much of Sunwoo. “You’re not wrong,” he says blithely before his smile turns into a frown. “Now hurry. We need to get to the forest by nightfall.”

. . . . .

Blood has begun to stain Juyeon’s hands by the time he finally gives up on somehow trying to wrench apart the bars of the dark cell. Even if he can’t see the redness dripping down his skin, he can certainly feel the stinging pain of cuts reopened and wounds made afresh.

What was he even thinking? Juyeon slides down the back wall to the ground, burying his head in his arms. Not even a mage can cut or bend metal with their bare hands – how could he?

He sighs. It figures, just as soon as they managed to find four of the jewels, they would get screwed over on the fifth. And not even the normal kind of screw up – he got caught by the queen herself and has a nearly one hundred percent chance of dying within the next twenty-four hours.

Nearly. Not completely, because there’s always the tiniest chance that Kevin will come up with something in that crazy brain of his to break him out, which will undoubtedly be messy and dangerous and possibly result in even more death, but there’s the smallest sliver of a hope that it’ll work.

Hope means nothing, though. He had hope that he’d be crowned king. He had hope that they’d find the jewels. He had hope that they’d return home (relatively) unscathed.

And for what? All it got him was this tiny cell with not even a candle for light.

Juyeon brings a hand to his face. Too late, he remembers it’s covered in blood, which is now spattered across his forehead. It’s even around his eyelids, assuming the wet feeling there isn’t from tears.

Maybe it’s both.

He sighs again, closing his eyes again as he wipes a sleeve against his skin. It doesn’t make much of a difference. The cell is so dark that his eyes may as well be shut even when they’re open.

Pawns and kings, Juyeon didn’t even know there was a prison in this part of the capital. Apparently it���s for the most dangerous prisoners, those who need to be kept completely out of sight to rot away in darkness.

Juyeon has exactly one night to rot. Probably won’t be enough to make himself skeletal enough that Somin jumps when he emerges into the light tomorrow.

A tiny smile stretches across his lips as he remembers vomit splattering onto ivory skirts. Gross, but effective.

It disappears as soon as he remembers what awaits him in the morning.

Morning. Juyeon almost snorts. Down here in the darkness, it’s all but impossible to monitor the passage of time. Has it been minutes? Hours? Has the night passed? It could be morning already for all he knows, considering his drooping eyelids, but that’s a common occurrence at this point, with how little sleep he gets on a daily basis. And he definitely isn’t about to sleep now – who knows what nightmares will come, dreams of shades and roses and corpses of dead friends?

So when he hears a slight noise down the prison, a tap-tap-tap of footsteps on hard stone, Juyeon concludes that dawn has broken, that he’ll be marched out to the town square and presented with a sword or a noose from which to choose his preferred method of death. A sword would probably be quicker, but if the executioner isn’t skilled, then hanging might be better –

Wait, tapping?

Juyeon listens more closely. The footsteps sound light, almost weightless – definitely not those of a guard’s heavy boots. Shouldn’t guards be the ones bringing him to his death? He strains his vision, peering into the darkness, but he can’t see anything.

The footsteps grow closer. Someone finally stops in front of Juyeon’s cell. He frowns. Why is there only one person? Not that he particularly cares, but Somin wouldn’t just send one guard to get him. He’s not unskilled, and she’s not dumb – she knows he can overpower one guard easily –

A soft whuff sounds as the figure slips a bundle through the iron bars. “Hurry up and get changed,” a familiar voice hisses. “Your ivory is too noticeable in the dark.”

Juyeon almost stops breathing.

“Jaehyun?”

“More time for that later,” Jaehyun snaps. “We have five minutes, get yourself together.”

Shaky, bloodstained fingers pull off the white shirt and trousers, messily replacing them with the black clothes Jaehyun dropped onto the floor. As he fumbles, a click and the rasp of metal on metal sounds at the front of the cell, and the iron door groans open.

“Don’t talk,” Jaehyun whispers the second Juyeon steps into the dark hallway. “And follow me exactly.”

Juyeon wants to snap, wants to say something about how it can be possible to do that when he can barely see one foot in front of himself, but Jaehyun sets off without another word and Juyeon is forced to use his ears to figure out where the general is going.

They wind around dark staircases and pass empty cells, ducking into tiny passages that Juyeon is sure he never could have found even if he was looking. He itches to speak, itches to ask Jaehyun just what in the name of the Board he’s doing, why is he breaking Juyeon out, what are his loyalties, and where is he taking him, if not to his execution? But every time he opens his mouth, Jaehyun either shoves him into a room or someone passes by a little too close and he has to hold his tongue.

Finally, finally, Jaehyun opens a last door, dragging him into what smells like a stable. They tramp over dirty hay and other things Juyeon doesn’t want to guess from the stench, and then they’re in open air under a cloudy sky, only the palest hint of moonlight shining through.

Juyeon blinks. The white marble of the palace glints faintly in the distance.

“Follow this path,” Jaehyun says, pointing at a trail of dirt through the grass. “It’ll take you to the woods just around the capital. Kevin and Jacob will be waiting for you there –”

“Wait.” Juyeon takes a breath. Breathes in, breathes out, trying to make sense of everything. “How did you know where to find them? How did you know they were here?” Because if Jaehyun managed to find them, others also could have, which means Kevin and Jacob might be in even more danger –

“Juyeon.” Jaehyun’s voice jerks him out of his mind. “The only reason I knew Kevin was here was because I talked to him the day of registration. I wasn’t sure of it at first – he’s gotten better at acting – but I sent Eric to follow and when he told me you were also there, I knew it was him. No one else knows besides us.”

“Who’s Eric?”

“Subordinate.” Jaehyun’s eyes turn steely. “I trust him with my life.”

Pawns and kings, this is too much for Juyeon to take in. Closing his eyes again, he tries to breathe. “Queens,” he mutters. “Okay. Fine. Wow.” He rubs his forehead. “I really thought you were following Somin.”

Jaehyun snorts. “I never liked her, not even when we were kids,” he says, rolling his eyes. “You think I’d like her now?”

“You’re a knight,” Juyeon retorts. “You’re supposed to be loyal to the crown. I couldn’t even fault you for that, it’s what you’re supposed to do –”

“But when said crown is abusing their power, do they deserve my support?” Jaehyun interrupts.

Juyeon falls silent.

“That’s what I thought.” A ghost of a smirk flutters across Jaehyun’s face as he pulls something out of his pocket. “This is the stone I was given when I won. I hope it helps.”

It doesn’t call to him. There’s no pull of magic from the onyx, not even as Juyeon takes it between his fingers. It looks like the real thing – it’s been perfectly copied, down to the slim white bands marring the black stone – but if he can’t feel anything…

It’s fake.

Disappointment drops like a rock in Juyeon’s stomach, but he wraps his fingers around the jewel anyway. Jaehyun’s broken him out of prison. He’s still alive. If the onyx really is a fake, Jacob can at least get the magic traces out of it.

All isn’t lost. Not yet.

“Thank you,” Juyeon replies, slipping the stone into his pocket. “Are you going to run, too? Somin won’t exactly be excited if she figures out you were the one who broke me out.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Jaehyun’s smirk becomes more pronounced, though it’s tinged with bitterness. “I’m still playing the part of the perfect general back at home. Haven’t been given the assignments at the front, since I’m still young, which is honestly a good thing. Leaves me room to mess things up.” He snorts. “And none of the guards I knocked out today will remember a thing when they wake.”

“How can you be sure?”

“A different weapon goes a long way. So does a mask.” Jaehyun smiles. “Kevin’s a good sewer. I really almost didn’t recognize him, what with his acting and all.”

Juyeon almost laughs. “I’ll let him know.”

Jaehyun smirks. “You need to go,” he says then, smile gone. “Follow this path, find Kevin and Jacob, then get out of here as fast as you can. It’ll be a bit before they figure out you’re gone, but Somin still has people looking for your friends. They’ll be looking for you, too, soon.” He half-grins. “Good luck.”

It feels like hours have passed by the time Juyeon finally reaches the edge of the woods, though it’s probably only been some minutes with how fast he’s run. He nearly barrels right into Kevin, whose black clothes nearly blend in with the night, but Jacob catches him just before he does and they all fall in together, collapsing on the forest floor with choked cries and hysterical laughs.

“Queens,” Jacob gasps. “Queens, we thought –”

“We thought you might be dead,” Kevin finishes.

Juyeon wipes his eyes. “I’m not,” he replies, smiling shakily at his two friends. “I’m alive.”

No sarcastic remark comes from either of them. Kevin just swallows, looking pale as Jacob brushes a hand across his face. “We’re not doing anything risky like that ever again,” Kevin says. “Never. If you had died…”

“I didn’t, though,” Juyeon protests, but even he understands where Kevin’s coming from. If any of them had died, Juyeon would’ve broken down. He can’t imagine how Kevin or Jacob must’ve felt when he was taken away. Instead of arguing, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the onyx stone. “Jaehyun gave this to me. Pretty sure it’s fake.”

Jacob barely even needs to look at the jewel before he nods. “It’s definitely a fake,” he says, taking it from Juyeon’s hand. “But there’s magic on it. Strong magic.”

Kevin glances over. “Do you know where it leads?”

Wordlessly, Jacob stands. Closes his eyes. For a moment, he stays silent. Then he points out of the forest, back into the capital.

Queens.

“By all the higher orders, we just can’t catch a break,” Kevin mutters, pinching his nose. “Seriously? In the capital?”

Jacob nods, eyes heavy. “It’s there.”

“Well.” Juyeon stands. “Looks like we need to break that rule of not doing anything risky.”

Not funny. Juyeon understands that even before Kevin shoots him a look of absolute judgement, before Jacob bites his lip so hard it’s a wonder it doesn’t bleed. He steps back, apologetic, but he knows he’s right. “We need to follow it,” Juyeon says, trying to harden his gaze. “We’re this close. We need any lead we can get, and we need to go now, when no one knows I’ve escaped.”

“Then we stay together,” Kevin says, eyes solemn. “No one goes anywhere alone. No splitting up.”

Juyeon casts his friend a strange glance. He can understand being cautious and worried, but the desperation in Kevin’s tone doesn’t feel normal. Why does he look so high strung, so anxious?

Whatever. Juyeon shakes his head slightly, ridding himself of the thoughts. No time for that now. “Yes,” he replies, setting his jaw. “We’ll stay together. Jacob, can you shift us somewhere discreet?”

“Yeah, there’s the alley Kevin and I hid in at first. I’ll see if I can track the trace from there.” And within seconds, they have a door, a door of polished white stone that shimmers under the moonlight that manages to pass through the trees.

Juyeon puts his hand on the handle, swallowing hard. This is going to be dangerous. They might be walking into a death trap, what with all the soldiers who must be looking for Kevin and Jacob. It’ll only get worse when they realize he’s escaped.

But they need to do this. For themselves, for their kingdom, for Sunwoo, for everyone who’s died so far for Somin’s delusions of power.

Jaehyun told him to get out of here as fast as he could.

Juyeon twists the handle.

He’ll have to pass that advice for now.

If you enjoyed, please don’t forget to reblog and leave a comment to tell me what you thought! Thank you for reading and have a lovely day <3

(1 reblog = 1 prayer for juyeon to not make a bad decision jfc)

#destinyverse #tbznetwork #kpopscape #the boyz #tbz #the boyz scenarios #tbz scenarios #the boyz x reader #tbz x reader #the boyz juyeon #tbz juyeon #the boyz juyeon scenarios #tbz juyeon scenarios #the boyz oneshots #the boyz imagines #juyeon x reader #lee juyeon x reader #the boyz juyeon x reader #juyeon #fluff #angst #tw death #tw blood #kingdom #danger #danger: onyx #scriptura-delirus

[bitchapalooza]

More hetalia highschool AU, 🌟magic team🌟 edition :)

Under the cut bc it is long ❤️

Vladimir is that one kid obsessed with Twilight but only for the vampires; it was his first ever exposure to vampires thanks to his dad thinking Twilight was an appropriate book for a 11 year old. Team Edward going strong for five years, he'd proudly declare like it actually mattered. He tries his best to dress goth at school even though his uniform gets in the way. Fake ear piercings(his parents won't let him pierce them yet), over the top makeup, he's dyed the top half of his shoes black because his parents were concerned about his obsession with black and wouldn't buy him the black tennies he wanted— "mom look, these are marked down for back to school! Can I pleeeease get them???" "....may I know why the black ones specifically?" "They match the ever nothingness of my soul." "Yep! The white ones it is then!" "Mooooooooooom!"— Vladimir has been dubbed the cringy vampire kid of course.

Lukas is into pretty much anything concerning cryptids and magical creatures because they can't be proven to be fake or real, which intrigues him. He carries a book about mushrooms at all times and info dumps on pretty much anyone about identifying poisonous mushrooms and which mushrooms are safe to eat. His backpack is covered in buttons and pins to show off his interests. He keeps an amethyst in the front pocket of his backpack, reason unknown other than to just randomly pull it out and let Mikkel look at it. He's that kid that always wears his hoodie no matter the season, he never takes it off. Under his hoodie is always a crude worded t-shirt that the school would not approve of, much less his parents. He's relatively quiet and because he's quiet he's considered a weird kid.

Arthur can't decide if punk is his style or if goth is. Either way, his way of self expression at school in addition to the uniform is horrible. Checkered black/red shoes his grandma got him with his older brother's hand me down worn out greying socks—"can I PLEASE just have my own clothes???" "we have perfectly good clothes for you in the garage! I can fix them up to fit you better and everything!" "but I want cool NEW clothes!" "those are cool clothes and as far as the other kids know, they're also new. Now get your transformer backpack and get to the car. I put a new patch on it last night so that should hold it for the rest of the year."— Old Pierce the veil shirt, with holes chewed into the collar from his older brother Dillan, peeking out from under his white polo. A black and red choker to match his black and red slowly tearing apart too big flannel on top of a black pull over. A deep blue beanie, the hoodie of his pull over almost constantly on top when outside the school. He dyes a part of his hair a different color every month. He spikes his hair using too much gel and is convinced he looks good. He talks too much about bands and always gets Vlad and Lukas going on and on about fictional creatures he does not FULLY believe in himself. He does, however, believe in magic and loves Harry Potter, more specifically the Weaselys, to bits.

Natalya is a sophomore, a year behind the boys, and she just kinda pushed her way into the friend group until they eventually accepted her into it. They were the only three she knew who liked occult related topics. She's on the baseball team because she wanted an excuse to hit things with another thing and NOT get detention because of it. She wears the khaki uniform skirt and takes full advantage over being able to wear any kind of tights underneath; skull pattern, plain black, blood splatter pattern, fire pattern. Anything that makes her feel like a badass. She's always talking about antiques and forging weapons, more specifically knives. She has a whole collection of fidget toys but her favorite is this pea pod keychain her father gave her. She's always talking about how she'd like to be a medical examiner and to just prove that she's serious, she'll bring up a picture of a human model and point out the difference between a self inflicted fatal wound and a homicide. She puts up a charade of being able to see and talk to ghosts to freak out Alfred, her extended friend first met through Tolys.

They collectively believe they're cool and that other people know this. They're genuinely blind to the obvious snickers sent their way, being called losers and nerds. They're really knowm for like really pathetic things like; Natalya is Ivan's, tallest and most intimidating member of the wrestling team, weird younger sister by a year. Lukas is just the weird quiet kid that reads by the courtyard garden during lunch. Vladimir is not only the vampire goth kid but the kid who's parents believe the teachers are giving his son low grades on purpose and will yell at them for it. And Arthur is just. He's another Kirkland, immediately assumed to be a massive trouble maker because of his now graduated brother Alistair and one grade above him brother Dillan. Everyone loved his eldest brother Darick and sometimes compare him to Darick.

Compared to what others THINK they do, such as witch craft for some odd reason, the four of them do pretty typical teen activities. Like hang out at the mall. Do their honework together. Play video games and D&D when they have the chance. The boys do have sleepovers still as they have since meeting each other in middle school, Nat not really being a fan of sleeping where she doesn't live but comfortable enough to go to their houses and just chill for the day. They have become friends because of their related interests but thats not what they're ALL ABOUT.

Fun facts/stories about these losers I thought about while bored as fuck:

• Lukas, in his freshman year, went on a nature hike field trip with his lit class after reading Into The Wild. And he brought his mushroom book of course. They walked around, looking at the sights, talked about the book. Lukas just stops at one point, falling behind the class. He picks up a mushroom, goes to the teacher and is like "You see this? Its not poisonous." And straight up fucking eats it without warning. The teacher called an ambulance even though Lukas kept telling him he was fine and that that mushroom was 100% okay to eat raw, but for sure better off cooked. Lukas calmly shows the paramedics his book and they're like "yeah that actually was safe to eat, we don't need the book to confirm that, but um. Please don't ever pick something off the ground and eat it again. Just. Please don't do that, son." .....he did it again before leaving to go back to school but this time he didn't tell anyone.

• In elementary school, Natalya brought in a model of the human brain she asked her dad to borrow. He had to say yes because she was his only child genuinely interested, not bored of, his medical profession and he found it very cute and honoring. So she's at show and tell, its her turn right, and she silently goes up to the front of the class and pulls out the model brain. Teacher tries to step in because, hey, these are 6 year olds—AND WHY DOES THIS 6 YEAR OLD HAVE A PLASTIC BRAIN??? But Nat just shooshes her. In surprised shock, the teacher is just quiet as Nat begins to explain parts of the brain and their function— which was all wrong actually. She knew the words and everything but she didn't get the locations right. She sounded confident and smart and she was telling this to a bunch of 6 year olds so they believed her of course. End of the school day, her dad is having a hilarious conference with his youngest's teacher about the brain incident.

• Vladimir loves reading. He's loved it since he began to learn how, even if his dyslexia gives him grief along the way. So since he loves to read he'll always get excited and read ahead in class or in the public library reading club. One summer, the reading club was reading The Giver and it was getting really good. Vlad was loving the story, so much so that Vlad began to read ahead in his own time when he really wasn't supposed to be, the club was reading it together out loud and discussing it. Now he's read enough and worked hard enough to figure out how to help himself focus better and understand each word and sentence without having to reread it all multiple times over or get stuck. But sometimes the meaning and context to what he's reading doesn't ALWAYS process with the words as he's too focused on reading the words right and it passes right over his head. So Vlad is reading ahead and he's getting to the part where The Giver has given Jonas the memory of the sled again. And Vlad just sits there after reading that paragraph. He rereads it. And rereads it again. And then he leaves his book on his bed, goes to the the hall closet and takes out the ironing board. He grabs a plastic container to use as an ill attempt of a helmet and he just. Rockets down the staircase and hits the wall. He screams and cries and his parents rush in from the livingroom. When asked what happened he just says "I wanted to understand the sled scene better! Now I do and I feel really bad for Jonas!" He just couldn't quite grasp WHY the sled accident hurt, never had a broken bone nor sled afterall, and needed to find out. And that's how Vlad got his first broken arm at the age of 12.

• When Alfred and Matthew moved in with Arthur's family, Arthur didn't like it. He was a moody young teen but he was also just tired of the full house. His cousins were loud and nosey. He had to share a room with his four older brothers already and now with Matthew while Kathleen and Alfred got a room to themselves. Arthur thought this was so unfair. So his solution was to run away. He was 13, he needed a place to have some peace and quiet for once. So he texts Francis and Lukas, the only two of his friends living in his neighnorhood. Francis is not on board with helping him run away at first but then Lukas brings literally all his camping gear for Arthur's use and then Francis is on board because he had the feeling Arthur was going to get himself killed somehow. So as the elder one of the group he accompanied Arthur and Lukas out to the short stretch of woods behind the last street of their neighborhood, intending to go to the big clearing before hitting the roads leading to the airport and whatever else buildings. They're out there setting everything up together and they're done by like 4 pm. They sit down and talk, munch on oreos and other snacks Arthur deemed as essential survival foods. Then Francis looks at his cell and remarks "wow its already 6! Ah, Lukas, we should get home. Afterall, neither of us ran away so we still have supper to eat. Come on Lukas, let's go before our parents come looking for us." They exchange goodbyes, Francis trying his best to hide his cocky smirk. So Lukas and Francis start walking off, Arthur crawls into the tent and eats half a cookie before frowning and feeling too alone. He didn't expect to feel alone because all he wanted was to BE ALONE. Before he knows it, he's running out of the tent yelling after his friends to stop and wait up. "Oh whats wrong, Arthur? I thought you wanted to run away." "I— I forgot I hadn't fed my rabbit is all! I'll run away tomorrow! I'm not... Feeling lonely if.. If that's what you think...." Arthur did not run away the next day. Buuuuuut the three plus Vlad made a tree house together in the Kirkland backyard that they still use today!

#if you thought these four would be cool kids in this au then you thought wrong #hetalia #hetalia au #hetalia england #hetalia belarus #hetalia norway #hetalia romania #hetalia magic team #there should be more content of the magic losers + belarus tbh magic team is a bad group name but so fits their collective vibes so well

[pl-panda]

The vines that bind us - Chapter 8

Chapter 1 || Previous || Next

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“I trust you to act responsibly. And as a Guardian, you probably should start learning magic anyway.”

“Let’s get started then. Please tell me I can curse Lie-la!”

“Mari!”

“Just kidding, alright?” She smiled innocently and Tikki shook her head. 

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Somewhere into the evening, Chloe called her to inform her that she was on her way back and she shouldn’t worry. When the blonde entered the room… it was a mess, using the word loosely. The walls were in all colors of the rainbow sans their original one. The room seemed to be double its size and Chloe was pretty sure her bed just got a fourth dimension added to it. There was also that the plants seemed to have taken over one corner and created their own kingdom. She could even see them raising a flag with Marigold Design and creations logo on it. 

“Figures! I leave you for one afternoon…!” Chloe said with disdain while trying to step over what looked almost like a black hole. 

“Chlo? Is that you?” Mari’s voice came from two and a half directions at the same time. The blonde had no idea how was it even possible.

“Isley! Get your pretty ass here so I can properly scold you!”  

“Um… Kinda tied at the moment,” came an answer.

“I don’t want to hear it. I had a long day of scheming and I need my beauty sleep.” Chloe complained. “Get me my bed fixed at least.”

“Oh fine! Tikki! Spots on!” There was a pink light from two separate directions and suddenly Ladybug jumped out of the small hole in the ground. “Miraculous Ladybug!” 

After the wave of shining bugs settled and the room was back to normal Mari detransformed and smiled apologetically at Chloe. “Sorry. Got carried away with the new book.”

“Picasso’s guide to architecture and interior design?” Chloe deadpanned. 

“Nope,” The bluenette smiled and pulled a rather hefty tome from her bed to show it to her friend. “Someone dropped it inside our room when we were out. Tikki deemed it safe and taught me the basics.” 

“I think you will need remedial lessons, given how our room looked. What exactly was the purpose of making my bed four-dimensional?”

“I might have tried to expand the room a bit, but I miscalculated a tiny bit. There is a surprising amount of math in magic.”

“Whatever. I would tell you how my date went, but I’m utterly exhausted now.” Chloe teased her friend. She expected the girl to beg her for the details. Instead, Mari pointed her arm at the bed.

“Pea and feather go along. Make this bed out of stone.” Her iridescent green and blue eyes flashed for a moment… and nothing happened. Chloe smiled triumphantly and tried to jump onto her bed, only to hit the cover hard. While on the outside, the bed looked like nothing changed, in reality, it was hard as the floor. Funnily enough, she could easily slip under the cover, but it still felt like lying on the floor with sheets of paper sewn together as a blanket. 

“You’re mean!” She cried. “I’m now commandeering your bed.” Before Mari even understood what Chloe meant, the girl jumped under her covers and snuggled on one side. There was still enough space for Mari to join if she was brave enough. 

“Ugh! That’s my bed!” 

“Exactly. You can take mine if you like it enough to modify it.”

“Tikki!” Mari cried, hoping that at least the Kwami would support her.

“Nope. You’re the one that made the bed so now you must sleep in it.”

“Um…” Mari tried to look in the book for a counterspell, but in the end, she just pointed her hand on the bed. “Princes found her prince at last. Take the curse and…” she tried to quickly find some rhyme. “break the glass? Ups…”

The window suddenly exploded, but the bed glowed, and after checking it was okay she picked Chloe to move her over. Except it totally didn’t work and the blonde instead pulled her into the comfortable bed. The tired Mari was too exhausted, both emotionally and physically, to care. She just cuddled closer to her adopted sister for some comfort. And heat since there was now a hole instead of the window and it was February.

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The next morning Mari and Chloe woke up in a similar mess to the day before. And once again they were clothed.

“Ugh… I should probably calm down on magic.” Mari stretched herself a bit to get ready. She quickly changed into the fresh version of her yesterday’s outfit and helped Chloe gather herself a new ‘something’ for the day’s work. Apparently, for the next step of her scheme, she needed to look like a perfect Parisian princess. Something about Media attention. Mari was too busy with her tablet to care. 

She received a mail at 6 am that there was a slight change in the time of the press conference so she needed to forward it to the conference center before she even got to work. While eating breakfast she checked over the summary reaction about the public statement and emotions that accompanied the fallout. Predictably, the pictures served as a nice distraction, but also rallied the citizens behind the company. They treated it as someone making fun of the suffering company and flamed the Lila girl, even though the company said that she was also a victim. Well, there was a footnote about it. 

“You know you don’t need to put so much work into it?” Chloe asked while eating her croissant.

“I do. But if I can’t manage it now, how am I supposed to one day make MDC as big of a brand as Gabriel?”

“By not working yourself into a coffin?”

“Well… Wait a moment.” Mari was interrupted when her phone ringed. She quickly picked the call and her smile was replaced with a frown. “I understand. I will be there soon. Please keep an eye on him and tell the security not to let any more paparazzi.” she hanged up.

“Trouble?” Chloe asked with a grin.

“I’m afraid to ask…” 

“Damian is doing an errand for me. He is such a good sidekick.” The blonde smiled. Mari did not answer but urged her best friend to move on faster.

Since they stayed in their room for breakfast, neither girl wanting to deal with their moronic class longer than needed, they got down just in time… to see the bus leaving them in front of the hotel.

“Are you kidding me?” Chloe raised her hand. “We are in Gotham. Does that… that… Has she got any idea how dangerous is it?!”

“Said the girl that taunted the Riddler.” Mari deadpanned.

“He wouldn’t hurt me.” The blonde answered confidently.

“Anyway… we could call a taxi.” Chloe sneered at the idea, so Mari offered something else. “I could also test that portal spell…” 

“Taxi!” The girl shouted. Mari just shook her head and pulled the mobile phone. After less than five minutes Chas Chandler rolled next to them in his cab.

“I was in the neighborhood.” He smiled.

“Nice seeing you sir.” Mari greeted him before pushing Chloe in the back seat and joining her.

“To the Wayne tower, please. I would appreciate it if you could get us there fast. I need to get my boss to do his work.” She hoped they would arrive before the class to see their faces.

Sadly, the cab got stuck in the traffic and it took them over an hour to arrive. When Mari entered the lobby, she was angry enough to turn into a ‘stern assistant’ mode. Not a nice place to be if you are on her way. She stormed past the security while flashing her badge. They didn’t dare to try to stop her. 

“Get McKinsley to HR. And by the time I arrive I want Lila Rossi and Alya Cessaire to be sitting there!” The second one was directed to the receptionist, who nodded. So far everyone loved Mari, even in her bad mood. It didn’t stop them from being terrified. 

Both she and Chloe got into the elevator. When the doors closed, the blonde grinned. 

“I love it when you finally show your Gothamite side.” 

She got no response from the angry Mari, but through the ride, her smirk did not disappear through the ride. Once they separated, the bluenette continued alone. Angry did not give her emotions justice. She was furious.

Once she finally got on the floor, she stormed through the corridors right to the head of the department’s office. Luckily for everyone, Lila and Alya were already there.

“Who do you think…” Alya started only to be silenced by a death stare from Mari. For the first time in her life, she realized that the bluenette was someone not to be trifled with. 

“Apparently, since this morning I’m your superior.” Mari deadpanned. “Funny thing. I would probably only learn about this from your bragging later on if you didn’t decide, in all your stupidity, to write yourself reference in my name.” It was clear that she did not find it funny. 

“Puh-lease. You bullied Lila since she came. I thought that it was only fair that you’ve repaid her somehow.” Alya babbled, already forgetting her earlier fear.

“So you take full responsibility for forging both your resume?” Mari asked with a raised eyebrow, wanting to have it said out loud for the record. Especially since Madame McKinsley was standing in the entrance.

“Of course. It was totally unfair that such a bully got all the privileges while hard-working Lila had nothing.”

The Head of the Human Resources department sent Mari a tired look that seemed to mean ‘is she for real?’ She was a woman in her thirties with neatly cut black hair and skin in the color of dark chocolate by the name Mrs. Alicia Lynch

“Oh… In that case, you’re disciplinarily fired.”

“What?!” Alya screamed.

“And I will make sure this incident finds itself into your acts,” Alicia said with a frown. 

“You can’t…!” Alya was once more cut off, this time by madame McKinsley.

“They can. And you’re lucky that we are not pressing charges for attempted sabotage.” 

“The security will show you out. The teacher and your guardians will be informed. Since the hotel is paid by Wayne Enterprise for the members of the interns’ program, you will need to find alternative accommodations or simply return to Paris. I’ll leave this to the teacher and parents to resolve.”

“But… But…” Alya wanted to argue. All blood left her face and she seemed close to passing out. A man in a suit, carrying the security badge helped her out of the chair and led her outside.

“Now about you.” Mari turned her gaze toward Lila, who so far was busy checking on her nails.

“Oh! This is ridiculous! I had nothing to do with it. I’m a victim too!”

Marigold turned to McKinsley, who looked dejected.

“We can’t fire her. She was hired for the six months period.”

“Mutual agreement?” Mari asked. She’s been researching ways to dissolve her contract faster. Sadly, she already knew the answer.

“Two months waiting period. Standard to ensure she doesn’t use any of her knowledge against us.” For Mari, it was a year when she couldn’t work for any other company. Luckily, running her own business was still on the table, as long as she stuck to restrictions.

A different idea formed in Blunette’s head. She smirked slightly. “Well, Miss Rossi, looks like you’re in luck. Welcome to Wayne Enterprises. I hope you didn’t have any great ideas.”

Lila gulped. “Was that a threat?”

“No. If I threatened you, you would know. You and your little attack dog forgot that this is not Paris. This is Gotham. Here, we play by my rules.” With that she spun around and left, typing on her tablet. Just before the doors closed, she tossed another sentence that drove the nail deeper. “And this time, there is no minion to do it for you.”

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Marigold didn’t calm down before reaching the top floor. Her emotions subsided a bit, but she was still on edge. 

“Ugh! How dare those stupid witches to try to use my name to sign their references! And that idiot who somehow believed them. He will definitely not get any bonus this month. Or next. At least they had enough common sense to call me. Except after the fact!” She was pacing in front of her desk. 

Tikki peaked from the inner pocket of her jacket. “At least you could do something about it!” She cheered.

“True. I got rid of one trouble. Without her, I will have a chance for some peace…” She barely finished the sentence when there was a crash in the room next door. Immediately, she rushed inside to check. Turns out her boss for some reason decided to move the desk. He ended up knocking the computer over. 

“Ehm.” She faux-coughed to get his attention.

“Oh! Um… I was just…” Tim tried to find some excuse.

“Trying to open the secret stash of coffee?”

“How do you…” he started to ask flabbergasted, but she interrupted him once more.

“I studied the schematics. And Sarah left me a note about it.” A smirk ghosted her stern face.

“Damn! Now I will need another hiding place.” Tim gathered himself from the ground. “Wait! You moved the desk by yourself?”

“Do I look that strong to you?” She asked, her face unmoving. Just because she came to hate liars didn’t mean she didn’t know how to bend the truth a little. And technically, she just avoided answering altogether.

“Whatever. You must’ve ordered the repair crew to move it then. I want my coffee.” He said pouting.

“Sir. I’m supposed to help you manage your time better. I am not simply your secretary.” Marigold informed him firmly. She checked with both Chloe and Nathalie what her responsibilities included.

“But you made that divine brew on Monday!”

“That was a gift for my first day of work.” Plus I had no idea what I was doing.

“But…”

“Enough buts for today. You have a meeting with Mr. Fox about the Friday presentation in half-an-hour. Did you familiarize yourself with the content of the email he sent you?”

“Ah! Of course, I did. I totally didn’t spend my night…”

“Then I would appreciate it if you spent the next half-an-hour on doing so.”

“B…” He didn’t even finish when her glare stopped him. She could pull Batstare better than the original.

“If you act like a proper CEO, I might think about making you some of my ‘divine brew’ as a reward.” She suggested and closed the door, leaving him to his own device. She had several calls to make and set other meetings

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It was two hours later when angry Caline Bustier demanded a meeting with her. Mari didn’t even think before redirecting her to HR. The teacher was supposed to be the chaperone of the group and look after them after work. She was also directly responsible for all of their actions. She was very displeased that now she had to take care of Alya for eight hours a day that used to be free time for her. So of course, she blamed everything on Marinette. This time, it backfired. She had to quickly give up any accusations before she ended up in an even worse situation. 

Luckily, after that little incident, the day passed without any more surprises. She had half-a-mind to search the town for her mother in the evening. Since she was hired, she was now technically independent of the class. Chloe had a slip from her father that allowed her to basically ignore the teacher. The blonde convinced Mari that mindless wandering the city would only get her robbed. Or at least involved in attempted robbery since she could easily kick ass if she only wanted. Instead, Mari spent the afternoon shopping for materials and working on a new outfit for uncle Jagged that he ordered for his visit to Gotham in a month or so.

She also made a quick call to Paris to discuss things with her hire. The girl informed her that she would happily run the store a little longer. Mari promised to even consider to hire her permanently if she did well. 

Chloe had another date scheming meeting with Damian Wayne. At this point, it was unclear what their relationship was. Good thing: neither did the tabloids. Mari promised to the blonde to hold back on the search for her mom until Friday afternoon. She also promised to take both Adrien and Chloe with her when she visited a contact in the local club. They would celebrate her getting a job and the first week over.

All would be great. If she didn’t spot a vigilante on the rooftop next to her (now fixed) window. Even then, it was Gotham. The bats were rather common at this point. It wasn’t like when she left and they were only starting. Batman was still mostly a myth back then, even after six years of work. Except this vigilante was clearly staking her room specifically. he even had binoculars that she was sure had night vision in them. 

She opened the window and picked a pencil. With deadly precision she tossed it. The wooden tool sailed through the air until it hit the binoculars and broke one side of them. She huffed and closed the window before pulling the curtains closed. How rude.

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NEXT

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