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viasblogs · 4 months

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Pointless - Abby Anderson

Picture by cowboycomet on pinterest!

-> Summary: you and Abby had a rocky relationship, always bickering and taking breaks. You’re sick of it, and one night she tried to call you out for lying to her.

“I wanted to be your woman, I wanted to be your man. I wanted to be the one that you could understand.”

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-> warnings: cheating, toxic relationship, sensitive subjects? Alcohol usage, strong language, arguing, 1k words, rushed soz guys bare w me

You shut your front door, your girlfriend eyeing you from your apartment living room. You smile drunkly at her as you walked sloppy over to her.

You kiss her cheek and try to hug her, but before you can get too close she’s shoving you away. Her muscles flex as she looks down at you disgustedly.

“Where have you been?” She asked, mother-like. You gulp and avoid her impaling gaze.

“To my parents house,” you lie, “dads birthday.”

She knows you’re lying, she knows your dads birthday isn’t until another four months. She cringed at how stupid you thought she was. She walked out to the kitchen, you following behind her and sobering up with every step.

“Don’t fucking lie to me.” She seethes.

“When have I ever lied to you?” You yell at her strongly, your hands coming to grip the kitchen counter in anger. After everything she had put you through, she had no right to be acting like this.

“When have you ever told the truth?” She interrogated your further, now accusing you. You hated how she painted you as an evil person. You didn’t have a cruel bone in your body until she placed them there.

“You’re playing that game?” You laughed, your head spinning, “how many times have I forgiven you, Abby, for fucking lying to me?”

“You’re fucking insufferable.” Abby stated firmly, “this is why I don’t like being around you.”

“You make me miserable, Abby.” You laughed. Your eyebrows were raised at the shock of her audacity. It was dark out, and you’d just gotten in from a night out with your friends. Clearly, she knew that.

Maybe you were a bit drunk, but if Abby had came with you she would be too. You couldn’t count the amount of lies Abby had told you on both hands, just within the last couple months.

“Yes! All you do now is get drunk and fuck me off for your friends!” She yelled, her voice strained as she found herself yelling too often recently. You rolled your eyes and you could almost see steam coming from Abby’s ears.

“So it’s okay when you do it, but when I do it I’m the worst person ever?” You screamed at her, your fist colliding with the fridge door. You looked at her with bloodshot eyes and watched as she huffed.

“Whatever, I’m going to bed.” Abby sighs as she picks up a cold bottle of water, the plastic almost crumpling under her heavy grip. She was unable to accept responsibility for her actions.

“Oh so you’re just going to leave and avoid the problem, again? This is your problem, Abby, you always expect me to chase after you!”

You watch her walk out, your elbows resting on the kitchen island. You laid your head in your hands, forcing the salty tears to stay in your eyes. Deep down you knew this relationship was over even before it started.

You still remember when you arrived home after a long day at work, wanting to relax, and found Abby upstairs with your best friend. Your heart shattered, but not enough for you to say no the next time she came crawling back.

Before you realised it, hot tears were rolling down your cheeks, dripping onto the counter from your chin. You were lost, with no idea where to go.

You heard the creaking of the floorboards and turned your neck to look. Abby walked towards you, her eyes blood shot, with a pitiful look plastered onto her face that you knew was fake.

You put your head back into your hands after wiping remaining tears from your cheeks. You couldn’t even look at her. You felt her strong arms wrap around your waist and tensed at the feeling.

“I’m sorry, baby, I love you.” She whispered, kissing your earlobe gently her demeanour was completely altered into someone you hadn’t seen in ages.

You push her arms off of you, “don’t, Abby, please don’t do that.”

You sighed, her eyebrows creasing as she trapped you between her arms. Her lips came to your neck, and if you were the same person you were eight months ago you would’ve let her continue.

“Abby, stop it. Stop it. You’re being mean!” You push her arm, making her lose her hold on the counter, and walk into the living room, the bend of your thumbs in your eyes. A part of you hoped you could poke them out.

She followed you in, wanting nothing more than to just lay down in bed and forget about it. You couldn’t do that this time, you felt used and abused at this point.

You pull on your jacket and your shoes, sniffling as you grab your car keys. Abby’s jaw falls opened at the sight of you leaving.

“Where the fuck are you going?” She wonders, following you to the door frame. You walk into the apartment corridor, “It’s one in the morning!”

“Don’t do this, please don’t walk out the door.” Abby pleaded again. Your back is turned to her, you knew looking at her face would kill you.

“I can’t stay, Abby,” you cried, “every night you spent with other girls, lying to me, and ignoring me are nights that I spent wondering why I loved you.”

You could hear a sob pull from Abby’s throat. You’d never seen her cry before, at least not over you. It almost made you feel worthless, not worth crying over.

“Please,” she calls as you take a step, “I can’t lose you.”

This time you turn around to her. Her dark grey shirt had spots of black from where her tears had fallen, and her nose was red. You assumed you looked the same, you knew your eyes always got puffy when you cried.

“You already have.”

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honeygrahambitch · 4 months

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"Everything okay?" Jack asks and Will feels like his head is completely underwater. The question comes as blurred.

"Yes."

"You don't look okay. Do you have a fever?"

"No."

The fever would have felt better. He would have chosen the fever in this situation. He has to pull himself together. Just 6 more hours to go and then he could go home and drown everything in a glass of whiskey.

"Will. Are you even able to look at the crime scene? You are not going on the field until you tell me what shook you."

He wants this questioning to be over already. He doesn't want to dive into it. Not again.

"A dog got hit right in front of me while I was driving to work."

"Oh, I thought something else happened. I'm glad you are healthy." Jack says and pats his shoulder. "Man up, the crime scene won't be pretty either."

Will smiles and nods.

A crime scene would at least take his mind away from it. He knew no one would give it that much importance. Accidents happen every day, right?

"What's the deal with that look on your face?" Alana asks as she watches him sit at his desk in an empty classroom. "Was Jack too salty?"

"No, nothing to do with him. Today." Will says and fakes a polite smile. "I'm just tired."

An excuse which always works. He is the tired guy who looks at the worst crime scenes in the country. The fact that a dog got hit is nothing, right? There are more terrible things.

Alana would absolutely be more sympathetic than Jack but he doesn't need the sympathy nor the pity. He only needs to go home.

The time finally comes and he goes home. First thing he does is to poor himself the whiskey he has been waiting for. His dogs greet him happily. He feels like a traitor. He feels a burden he has never felt. Not even when he had to reconstruct a crime scene.

Maybe it's the exhaustion, maybe it's the whiskey but he ends up dialling Hannibal.

He is surprised by Will's call. And for the first 10 minutes Will doesn't even get to the subject. He talks about his day, about the crime scene, about Jack being annoying.

Hannibal knows he is avoiding something deeper. He tells Will he is a little bit busy and that he will come back to him in a little.

Will doesn't protest. It was stupid anyway. He and Hannibal would often discuss heavy stuff, the idea of telling him something so childish felt pointless.

Maybe it is heavy, but just for him.

The time passes and Will doesn't go to sleep. Maybe he is waiting for Hannibal's call or maybe he is just afraid to go to sleep.

He leaves his armchair when he sees a car in front of his house.

"I apologize for the late hour. I brought apple pie to make up for it." Hannibal says as he gets out of the car and greets Will.

"Thank you." He mumbles and remembers to invite him inside. He also remembers to grab a glass for Hannibal too. His mind is not so alert after the amount of whiskey he has ingested.

And that is something Hannibal learns after he glances at the bottle.

It's funny that he is so tired that he doesn't even ask Hannibal what he is doing in his house at this late hour. Not that it matters, part of him is relieved to see the person he is the closest to.

"Healthy coping methods." Hannibal notices and accepts the glass. It's high quality at least.

"My psychiatrist won't prescribe me any medication." Will teases him. "And I noticed I can't avoid sleep for more than three nights in a row."

"What happened, Will? You look haunted and it's not because your cruel psychiatrist is not prescribing you Xanax."

"Bad day at work. An ugly crime."

Even though he is tipsy, he is aware his sentences sound stupid. And that his masking is not...well...masking.

"Worse than the usual?" Hannibal says, not convinced at all.

"Yeah...it was..." He can't even properly recall what it was. "Violent."

They both stare at each other.

"It's stupid." Will says, talking about what he was trying to avoid. "Can't be worse than what I do for a living."

"But it feels like it is worse." Hannibal completes his sentence. He is curious about what could have wrecked Will so bad. They both know well enough he wouldn't be so down about a crime scene.

Will's eyes fill with tears and he blames the damn alcohol for making him emotional. At least it's Hannibal and no one else in front of him.

"I ran over a dog. And then he died in my arms before I could do anything." His voice is shaking and his eyes are instinctively on his dogs.

"I am sorry to hear that." He says. He is genuine. He understands.

"Maybe I was tired. Maybe I wasn't careful enough. I didn't see him coming, I tried to stop the bleeding but..."

"It happened, no matter what was the cause."

"I was the cause." He whispers and the tears are finally leaving his eyes. He hates it because he knows they wouldn't stop soon.

"The average person wouldn't have thought too much about it, you know, Will? And I don't think that means it's less important or that it's childish. Or that your job makes you face things that are worse. I think "worse" is a very relative term."

Will sobs quietly while violently gripping his glass. His knuckles are almost white.

"I think that for someone who has such a beautiful stray family," Hannibal says as he looks at the dogs who are watching them "it's actually quite a traumatic experience."

"I should have been more careful."

"Maybe." Hannibal replies and they sit in complete silence for a few minutes. If Will needs to sit in complete silence, then he would sit with him.

"I am not very entertaining tonight." Will tries to crack a joke.

"You are not my TV. I don't need you to be entertaining. I need to make sure you are not spiraling too deep."

"Is this your way of making up because you are not prescribing me meds?"

"No, it's because I care about what happens to you. And you sometimes need someone "to fish" you from your dark thoughts."

"Have you ever held a fishing rod, Hannibal?" Will asks trying not to show the fact that he was touched by the first part of Hannibal's statement.

Hannibal rises an eyebrow which feels very funny to Will.

"What gave me out?" Will asks curious about the reason why Hannibal paid him the visit after their phone call.

"You were talking too much about Jack."

Will found that amusing too.

"You know, Will, the things we lose come back to us. In some sort of different form."

They talked more, until Will fell asleep. Hannibal put a blanket on him and left after he made sure he was sleeping deeply enough.

And maybe his words were somehow related to the fact that Will found a new stray on his porch the next morning.

#hannibal #hannigram #hannibal lecter #will graham #hannibal nbc #hannibal series

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eskeptical · 4 months

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re-ignition (II)

miguel o'hara x reader word count:1k a/n: sorry about my disappearance, things were super hectic and I lowkey had writer's block. i plan on posting, not as often as i used to, but every now and then when i get inspired (every few weeks or so, though i might post a little more now that i am on school break). make no mistake, i am still not over this man.

There was hardly any consolation you could find in the cluttered closet you were confined to. Faint voices could be heard from the outside, but speaking up would only cause trouble.

After all, you weren't supposed to be here.

Neither of you were.

"Why is Lyla offline? I didn't think you'd be the type to program her to have a vacation break." You asked, maybe with a harsher tone than you had intended.

"She's not."

One thing you had noted, other than the amount of cardboard boxes on the metal shelves you had been counting, was that in the entirety of the thirty-three minutes you had been stuck here, Miguel O'hara had not looked at you once.

He paused for a long while, seemingly as though he had no more to say about the subject, before he finally added, "Lyla's just...being a pain in the ass. She's not going to answer, at least for a while."

"Oh. Okay."

You looked around, before standing up and dusting off briefly before trying to push the door.

"What are you doing? We've already tried that. It isn't going to work." His words were on the verge of annoyance, more on your end than on his own.

"Well, I don't see you coming up with anything better."

"Jessica will probably notice we've been gone for too long."

"That will take too long." You responded, grunting as you tried to push off whatever was blocking the door.

"Please, like you've got anything else to do."

Oh, that one stung. Asshole.

Still, his words were true.

Since your return, all you had been assigned was recruit training in the mornings, a schedule he knew you disliked, and hanging around the lounge, hoping Jessica or Peter felt guilty enough to invite you on their missions.

Which, as you had expected, was not a decision up to them.

This had been your one chance to prove you were capable of coming back to your regular schedules of taking on three, even four anomalies daily. And for some reason out of your control, you screwed it up. Again.

You turned around, hoping the irritation showed on your expression.

"And who's fault is that?" You asked.

"Any lack of assignments are due to your lack of skill and commitment." He responded nonchalantly yet firmly, his gaze fixed on the floor.

"I was only gone two months. And I was still spider-woman there, so it's not like I quit entirely. You're just salty because you wanted to mix business with pleasure, and it didn't work out the way you wanted."

The words left your mouth before it dawned on you what you had just said.

And this seemed to finally grab his attention.

His gaze focused on you, his brows furrowed as he stood up and walked over to you.

(His eyes looked darker, you thought. Maybe it was the dim lighting that had softened the dark red hues, settling for an intense brown.)

By the time he stopped, only inches seemed to separate you, a deafening silence consuming the space between.

"Something like that takes two to work, doesn't it?" His husky voiced lowered, irritation in his tone.

For a moment, he didn't sound at all like the man you had left months ago. He seemed colder, meaner in a way that left a sting on your chest, his words cold sharp ice that pierced through the thick defense you had been building around him lately.

"I've seen you train. You lack the precision and strategy you once had. So, no, I haven't been assigning you on missions, and if you think it's due to other circumstances, maybe you should reevaluate who is the salty one here."

His tone emphasized the last few words.

Fuck.

You couldn't say anything back.

How could you? It was dumb to assume he was still hurt. It had been two months, and he was right: your skills had deteriorated, especially with the lack of crime in your dimension. He had seen it, or so he claimed, because you had never seen him at the training center.

(Then again, you supposed the leader of the Spider Society would be stealthy enough to pass by unnoticed.)

He clicked his tongue as he saw your lack of a response, and turned back to sit down. This time, you were the one who could not look him in the eye. You sighed, and walked over to the other corner of the small space (which did nothing, as there were still a few feet separating you), slumping down onto the floor in defeat.

You hated this.

Hated that he still somehow had this effect on you, that he could be so infuriatingly right and annoying at the same time.

He was over it, he had to be - he was over you, over whatever had taken place in similar settings months ago.

And then again, maybe the problem here wasn't him letting go over you walking away.

Maybe the problem is that you wanted there to be more, when you and him knew exactly why there couldn't be. Why there shouldn't be.

Your actions and your words, despite how indifferent you had thought them to be, had biased roots that tugged at you and made it clear this wasn't just nothing to you.

After all, the fluttering you felt in your stomach had failed to gone away, even now.

A few minutes of silence followed, serving as time for you to finally gather the courage to speak.

"Miguel, I-"

As if on cue, an interruption came in the form of a small figure with heart-shaped glasses and an oversized lab coat, an orange glow surrounding her.

"Hey boss, needed me?" she chirped, filing her nails.

"Lyla, send over someone to get us out of here. Something's blocking the door." Miguel responded, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Lyla lifted her glasses slightly, with a teasing grin on her lips. "Alrighty, did you figure out things with--"

"Enough has been said already, and there is no need. Send someone, now."

"Okay, okay. They'll be there in a sec." She rolled her eyes and disappeared, leaving the closet dim again.

Not long after, a metal pang was heard outside, and you saw light flood into the room as the door swung open. You looked over to Miguel, who clearly looked bothered enough as he quickly stood up and headed towards the exit.

You sighed, and followed after him.

Your smooth return wasn't going to be as easy as you thought.

#miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara atsv #atsv #across the spiderverse #spiderman atsv #spiderman 2099 #miguel spiderman #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel x reader

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katyspersonal · 4 months

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Thoughts about Crucible and conceptual corruption of religion

I've started trying to figure out what Crucible is exactly today while playing Elden Ring and I need to put down my thoughts about it before I forgot 🤔 I think basically it is what happened when the divine met the natural, the lifeforms on the setting's earth. In a way, the original Greattree is somewhat of a Crucible itself! Conceptually it is a very primordial faith that was yet filling life with meaning beyond just survival in a very good sense, but in ER the divine needs us as much as we need it, if not more so. Elden Ring hasn't always operated by Golden Order / Marika obviously; it was initially just a cool thing that fell from space and kind of accelerated everything, especially life itself! Presumably the result of Greater Will wanting to manifest itself in some sort of personality and coherent shape, but before the decision of what the order would be got handed to mortals (Empyreans first of all)

^ In Farum Azula there is a depiction of Elden Ring in more abundant form, very overflowing with life, so alternatively it'd rely on (ancient) dragons, the lifeform of whole other level back then for "order and personality"!

But yeah, uhhh like how do I put it...? Crucible is the result of the divine growing within the earth full of nature, primordial matters and mortal life. The initial Greattree "contracted" it like an influence, nature of life itself crept into it, it became the divine matter turning imperfect but alive! And the way Misbegotten, Omens and alike have animalistic features placed without any logic (and at times these features are useless) is a reflection of how chaotic life in its nature is brought from a concept to a display! Also the evergrowing "horns" were already a thing in simpler times, like what Ancestral guys are associated with! That's why Crucible used to be seen as a sacred thing - it was like a display of the divine matter wiling to live through you! But also Greattree wasn't meant to last forever and would one day die and in turn give the way to new life to replace it (Erdtree). It is a principle the divine naturally adopted upon becoming alive in the way nature knows it through the first big tree; life sprouts from death as much as it sprouts from birth!

So yeah, the problem began when the mortals (Marika?) pulled an ultimate purity wank and wanted that eternity, divinity and "perfection" forever rather than this new Erdtree once likewise dying (even if in turn it would give way to new life and so on forever). The whole DS3 is just Miyazaki being salty about how some people just won't let things die after their cycle expired, why not use what works again? XD But ALSO in these terms, the beastly idiocy nature of life started being seen not as simply something that MAYBE needed discipline to get the best out of it, but as a "disease" or a curse that "dirtied" the divine essence. So the divine in their eyes needed to be protected from being "sullied", from being pulled down to this level, the imperfections that make the life what it is started to just being liability - a bad mistake forms of civilizing (especially religions) keep making.

So Erdtree eventually ran out of its blessed sap and became ephemeral, useless as the holiness that only preserves its "purity" and doesn't sully itself for anyone can be. How it could give the world any more of the sap that was good for it without subjecting itself to it? It is like sharing advices without ever listening to what people's struggles are to BEGIN with. Age of Plenty was over because of obsession with the purity and defending the divine from "lowly" life, Crucible was an evidence that it once got "dirtied" but now never again, when in reality the very worst thing that could have happened with Erdtree is it dying like Greattree once did but giving life to the next tree in turn. I do think that fixation on the idea of eternity is still a larger part of it but I just can't ignore the thing about purity and control in it

^ @val-of-the-north also showed me these shapes when I shared my thoughts with him, to illustrate my point back to me (basically he said he agreed with my thought process). He pointed out that progression of the symbols shows the same thing - modern Erdtree and Fundamentalist incantations notably lack "life" in them in the form of branches and leaves. It could be not just what the Erdtree stopped doing, but also what they wanted to remove from the divine (Floral Crucible is only mentioned in cut content, but still). The latter two are "trapped" in concrete geometrical shapes, reflecting an actual order like what Greater Will wants in the end; it wants some organization, no matter which one. ...but also doesn't, there are enough implications that Frenzied Flame is just another side of the same coin. It even also has the hand as a conduct of the GW! And makes it funnier how they've sealed the Frenzied Flame away too, removing the alternatives- For sure, a decision that is understandable, but what does life mean if you don't have to fight against the essence of existential despair for it?

___________

Hhhhhh I went on a tangent but I was trying to say that I think Crucible didn't "come from space"! Elden Ring fell in this world cold empty and without self-comprehension like the cosmic void it came from, but initially assimilated with what life is here and Greattree was the manifestation! But Crucible also wasn't fully natural for this world too; it reflects aspects of life forms here but they get taken through this assimilation and then boosted with the blessing and given new meaning! Life for the sake of itself and next level magic for the sake of itself both are far from being meaningful but it is when low and high matters meet everything becomes full and complete! But in chasing to make the good things that come from it last forever people will end up demonizing and trying to exterminate natural things and prioritize only the divine.

Looking back at real humanity history, yeah I can see the relevance with how religion has been developing as a concept. How it started simple and fulfilling as a (successful) attempt to add higher meaning in existence than just surviving, was full of joy and wonder and freedom. And how in the end it came to incredibly suffocating and corrupt systems of control, purity wank and denial of normal parts of life 🤔

#elden ring #elden ring headcanons #thoughts #use later #sorry if I forgot something or worded something awkwardly aaaa #it is 2 AM I woke up and tired in a way no sleep can heal hghjhjh

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captainzigo · 3 months

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Luster Dawn should've been the first villain of G5

Opaline is fine, but Luster is WAY more interesting as a potential villain

Then again, maybe I'm just salty over Luster being forgotten about after G4

now personally i don't think she is evil. i think she's just a loser. also i dont know if timelines line up for her to be a bad guy in g5 unless she is extremely old, or immortal somehow.

however

that would be awesome if she was evil. or at least misguided. i think her evil plan / evil ways would be unethical friendship experiments. like forcing people to be friends to power a laser. figuring out how to put friendship in jars for later. studying friendship in a lab and putting the test subjects through like science rat mazes. kidnapping people to study their friendship. using friendship magic for evil stuff. making people do weird shit to harvest their friendship more efficiently. that kind of thing.

and in the process of defeating her people would have to like convince her subjects that their contrived super friendships aren't healthy. or that friendship is cooler when a machine isn't sucking it out to use for evil. or even that their friendships are cool, but that they're being used to hurt people.

at first our heroes might even help her because some other threat vaguely justifies having more powerful friendship magic. and the experiments would start out being ethical and kinda cool. like learning how to be better friends by putting it to the test in a lab. or just general social studies. but the whole time leading up to them realizing she is evil, she'd always be ready to take things too far.

she would be unstoppable by even super friendship magic because she would have some of her own. she would keep a few friends of hers in a bunker somewhere to power her with their friendship. she would keep them in a plato's cave truman show style situation. every so often she would visit them to foster their relationship and like give them a bunch of gifts and love. and they would have no idea what she did when she left their cave. a little friendship cult to make her immune to the the-elements-of-harmony-were-just-symbols style friendship blasts even when all else fails.

she's described as twilight's best student, and that's certainly not because of her friendship skills. and if we pretend that that must include starlight, then that probably makes her the most powerful unicorn of all time. so if she goes super freak style with the friendship alchemy then she'd be unstoppable. beating her would mean they'd have to go rainbow power again but this time it's like nebula power, or aurora borealis power or something like that. which would be great for toys

I’ve always thought it would be cool to have a my little pony villain who was like doing friendship, the right way, and had all of this friendship magic stuff as a result, but was also bad and evil. and like the whole lesson can be like some people can be really good friends or even do really nice things and even be really nice people but still do bad things and stuff like that. a lesson I’m sure they’ve had before, but they’ve been going for nine seasons. What lessons haven’t they had. I think luster is a good candidate for this role based on her like two lines from the finale lol.

#I should really write a fanfiction but watch me not do that.#maybe I’ll end up making like one or two spoof comics that vaguely imply this stuff but are horribly limited in scope like I always do lol #this would have to be g4.5 i think #it fits the vibes of g4 better than those of g5 #my little pony #luster dawn

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dailycass-cain · 6 months

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Birds of Prey #3 had Cass but it was her smallest role in the series so far to date. HOWEVER, there was A LOT to digest.

So let me get into my thoughts on this issue...

Again this issue was AMAZING even not pertaining to Cass. All the members clicked this issue with Zealot doing her thing with Maps and Dinah/Harley hijinks abound and of course...

Everything keeps escalating from the hidden force subtly playing the Amazons to Wonder Woman doing her best impersonation again of a freaking Nemesis from RE3 (the last time I was this scared of WW was in DCeased: Unkillables).

I'm really curious where the next issue goes other than the obvious fight the team will have with Diana. Not only that but what occurred in Future Map's timeline. The hints writer Kelly Thompson keeps laying out got me curious in how she ties into the threat the BoP are trying to stop.

The issue delivers a moment many of us were hoping would occur last year, and it kind of makes the whole Red Canary angle just more disappointing (many thinking it was Sin then it was a OC who hasn't done much).

So there was A LOT of things that made me love this issue even with the lack of Cass. Because in those few pages we got crammed in of course this golden gem.

We're just gonna add that to the "Cass should be Batman" evidence for a future story. 😝

Though maybe I'm reading more into #1 the lack of bonding with the team (save Barda) is just how socially awkward throughout. We did get it in Batgirls, and well she was one in Spirit World. But here it's more front and center.

She's there just reacting to the team's antics and being like, "Um how am I supposed to react or do with this?" It's a little nugget that I am enjoying.

The real meaty nugget I enjoyed in this issue was Cass vs Amazons. It's a subject many a fan debated how she'd fare against one? Well, we get an answer in this issue (and the next).

Which feels like a better answer than what Red Hood & the Outlaws #15 ever gave us. A fight between these two titans and we only see the final blow. 🙃🙃🙃

I wasn't as salty at it back then (I was happy for the small bones I got). Now? That issue just feels dated.

This one? She takes out two nameless Amazons with little effort (and we get to SEE HOW via artist Leonardo Romero showcasing it all) and the next issue teases a bigger fight?!

GIMME!

I wanna see the limits.

It's also a funny side note how many fans wanted to see Cass on Themyscira. It's a story element the character NEVER had. Somehow, the character has visited the island in the main DCU (at last) and two other properties in this year alone (Harley Quinn: Legion of Bats mini and Dark Knights of Steel).

It feels pretty GOOD seeing the character thrown into elements never used prior, and it kind shows the potential for even more stories.

So yeah, BoP #3 while not giving Cass much to do, still gave the character a lot of elements I truly enjoyed in the issue. Beyond that, the team bonds (or shows the tears within that might cause some more trouble), reunions we longed for, and a BIG fight coming next issue.

#cassandra cain #dc comics #my thoughts

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hebuiltfive · 5 months

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Irretrievable

Last night, I couldn't get this out of my head. So I wrote it. Thought I'd give Virgil a whirl this time and give Scooter a little break from emotional pain.

Bonus points to anyone who can guess which song inspired this one. It's not entirely subtle from the start.

Edit to add the AO3 link.

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

"You're losing me, Vee."

That gut-wrenching pain that only came when hearts shattered into a million pieces tore through Virgil's entire being. This wasn't supposed to be how the night ended, it wasn't supposed to be how their story ended. He hated how he couldn't control it, how he had allowed it all to simmer under the surface and break apart this way.

"I don't understand..."

"I know you don't."

"Come on, Harper, let's just talk about this!" He would beg, he would plead, because he couldn't let it go. He couldn't let him go. The ache, the loss, the pain would tear him apart bit by bit. Virgil could already feel himself breaking.

Harper stood firm, retreating a few steps when Virgil tried to close the distance, trying to make it right. "I can't."

"Please don't just walk away. Whatever it is, I can fix it. We can fix it. You've just got to talk to me."

"Talking is all I ever try to do!" Harper snapped. The salty stream of tears continued to run but it was clear he'd turned his own heartbreak into rage. Maybe it would make it easier for him to deal with. Maybe it was truly how he felt.

Either way, Virgil felt baffled by it. Never had he seen Harper so enraged, and to think that it was his fault... if his heart hadn't already been shattered, it would have in that second.

"I always tried to talk." Harper continued, seemingly not caring for how Virgil would take his words. Apparently he was done trying to tip-toe around the subject. "You never listened. You were always busy."

That wasn't... entirely true, surely? Virgil would have defended that he was a brilliant listener. He was certainly the best out of his family, and he had worn that honour with pride. For Harper to claim he hadn't been listening to them.

"Do you know when we last had an actual proper conversation, Vee?"

The question very quickly had him stumped. Virgil attempted to answer but had to close his mouth quickly to avoid looking like a fish out of water — something he very much felt in this given situation — because the answer evaded him.

"Two weeks ago." Harper put him out of his misery with a scoff. "You don't even remember!"

"Hey, I've had a lot on my plate!" He didn't snap — Virgil never snapped — but he was beginning to get irrate. Harper accusing him of things Virgil would very much disagree with? It was ludicrous and borderline over-dramatic.

"With International Rescue? Yeah, I know."

Virgil bit back a retort as he watched Harper roll his eyes. That single action seemed hurt him more than any of his other accusations had thus far.

"When we first started seeing each other, you said you were fine with International Rescue."

"That was before I saw the truth!"

Virgil blinked. "What the hell does that mean?"

Harper, as though he was stating the obvious and Virgil was too dumb to catch onto his meaning, sighed. "You promised it wouldn't get in the eay. You promised you'd have time for me, for us. You lied."

"I didn't lie!"

"You lied, Virgil! Or, at the very least, you didn't keep those promises."

Harper was back to the heartbreaking crying now, the rage passing over like a dark storm cloud that was now content it had flooded a region.

"I didn't... It's not... International Rescue is important, you know that. It's important to my family, to the world, to me."

"You pushed me down the list." Harper accused sharply.

"There's never been any list! You're acting as though I've been cheating on you!"

"I guess it kind of feels that way."

"For fuck's sake, Harper, it's my job!"

"Well, maybe I don't think you should do that job anymore!"

The truth leaked out in Harper's yell, his arms perching on his hips. Virgil saw the pain in his partner's eyes, saw the raw, honest hurt that had clearly been pushed below the surface more than once to avoid such a confrontation.

Noticing it helped to dull the betrayal Virgil felt in his soul, but only by a fraction.

Harper didn't relent. "You'd cancel on me, go out on those ridiculous, death-defying missions and I wouldn't know if you'd ever be coming home. You'd say we'd rearrange our dinner, but I never knew if you'd ever make it back."

He took a deep breath, continuing in a whisper that was broken up by uneven sobbing. "You're killing me, Virgil. You're killing me and the worst part is you don't see that."

Harper had been wrong earlier. Virgil wasn't losing him. Harper was already lost, because Virgil didn't know how to fix it.

He wasn't going to give up International Rescue. He loved the job almost as much as he loved to paint. It was his last connection with his late-father and was a pillar of his family.

Above all else, he saved lives and gave hope to people when every other resort failed.

No, he wouldn't give any of that up.

Virgil knew that Harper already understood that. The conversation would have taken a different turn had his boyfriend thought their relationship was at all salvagable.

"I love you." Virgil said, knowing it would be for the last time. He'd spoken those three words to Harper on so many occasions over the last twenty months. Never had they stung so badly.

He hadn't expected Harper to respond in kind, but the lack of hearing the words "I love you too, Vee" had Virgil's heart disintergrating.

There was no love left.

Harper had left that night with all his items stuffed into a suitcase and a dufflebag. They hadn't exchanged anymore words. Virgil watched as Harper exited the penthouse suite for the last time, not even looking back to offer him one last glimpse of those hazel eyes that would now haunt him for the rest of his life.

Alone again.

Without love again.

Virgil didn't sleep that night, too caught up in his mind. How had he not seen the signs? How had he not caught this before it had become too late? Was he truly so absorbed in his work to have so blindly stumbled down this path instead of his happily ever after?

He had seen the same story play out time and time again with Scott. Virgil had promised himself he wouldn't end up like his older brother. Then again, according to Harper, he wasn't the best with promises so why was he surprised he wasn't able to keep this one?

Virgil eyed his communicator. He was too emotionally exhausted to work out the time zones but if he called Tracy Island, one of his brothers was sure to pick up. He allowed the call to ring for what seemed like an age, and was about to hang up when John appeared as a floating image in front of him.

"Thought you were supposed to be grabbing steak at that new restaurant?" He asked by way of greeting.

"Harper... he left."

John's face fell. "Did he have a call-out?"

Virgil shook his head, hanging it lowly to hide the new stream of tears from view.

It didn't matter. John clocked on fairly quickly. "Virgil, I'm so sorry."

Comforting words were said, reassurances and love expressed, but Virgil still felt that gaping hole inside him. Harper had gone and he had taken what felt like Virgil's very soul with him.

"Do you ever question the point of what we do?" He eventually asked John once he was tired of hearing his brother's attempts of cheering him up.

"Not really. Our work is important."

"What's the point in saving the world if we have no-one to come home to?"

John didn't have an answer to that. He could have been a wise-ass and noted how they still had each other, but he didn't. Virgil appreciated that.

The question haunted him for weeks, just as the memory of Harper failed to leave him. Over and over again, he'd ask himself what the point was. Over and over again, he'd force himself to ignore the ache in his chest when he couldn't find an answer.

He felt like he was dying. In killing Harper's love, Virgil was certain he'd killed part of himself. The days grew longer and more wearisome, but he kept pushing.

One day, the pain would heal. One day, he'd find someone who understood the workload. One day, his heart would beat again for someone new.

He just had to keep holding out until that day came, no matter how long it took.

#thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds are go #thunderfam #virgil tracy #five fics #fic: irretrievable

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darubyprincx · 1 year

Text

(this work is a continuation of this post! if you haven't read it yet, please read it first for context)

Meanwhile in the Overworld, Xisuma was trying his best to not get K.O'ed by a gaggle of guardians.

He sluggishly dodged a beam in the salty water, turning around quickly just to see another hit him square in the helmet. With a sigh, he clambered out of the water and flew towards the safety of the portal a few blocks above to get some milk. Guardian wrangling was always exhausting, even when you hadn't been going at it for hours. X considered that maybe he needed a day off to take a good long nap. Maybe that day should be today.

The portal behind him whispered, speaking of someone coming through, and he turned around to see none other than Mumbo Jumbo stumble onto the stone platform he had built, holding a shulker box.

Internally, he shelved that thought with a sigh. He'd have to take a break later.

"'Ello," he said, pleasantly surprised. "Anything else you need, or were you just dropping by?"

"Well," said Mumbo, pushing his hair out of his face, "I got really really lost on my way to your portal to ask you this. Like, really lost."

"Are you alright?" asked X with concern. Mumbo did look- well, he always looked at least a little tired, but tireder than usual.

"I ran into your brother," said Mumbo.

"That doesn't answer my question," said X with a (hopefully silent) sigh.

"Okay, so you know how I left the server a few months back to go on vacation?" asked Mumbo, putting down the shulker box and, after a moment's hesitation, sitting down on it.

"Yep."

"Well I got back and uh, well, there's a lot more diamonds in there than I remember putting in," said Mumbo, patting the side of the box. "I figured since I'd run into EX instead of you, he might have-"

"They," corrected X automatically.

"Right, sorry," said Mumbo. "I figured they might have known where the diamonds went."

"Please don't tell me they tried to extort you of your money," said X with a sigh. "I can get you some of what you lost if you need-"

"No, no, they didn't," said Mumbo quickly. "Actually, they said something about it being too easy to just say it was theirs? They're the one who pointed me over here, actually. I think h- they just wanted to be rid of me, to be honest."

Xisuma hummed thoughtfully. "That tracks too," he said. "Anyways, no, I haven't lost any diamonds either."

"Huh," said Mumbo. "Any idea who might have?"

X paused another minute, looking at the shulker box Mumbo was sitting on then back to Mumbo then back to the box. He had a suspicion, but...

"Mind if I take a look at what's in it?" he asked. Mumbo nodded and X walked over and opened it. Inside sat gleaming stacks of diamond blocks and deepslate diamond ore, the blocks hastily assembled.

Ah.

So that's what was going on.

"I have an inkling," he said, standing back up and handing the box back to Mumbo, "that Ren might know more on this subject than I."

"Alright," said Mumbo with a nod. "Thanks for the lead, X. I'll make sure- I'll make sure to ask him."

"Before you go, is there anything else that EX said to you?" asked X as Mumbo stepped back to the portal. "I know they keep to themself mostly, but I'd like to know if they're planning on pulling something."

"Uh, not really, no," said Mumbo, scratching the back of his head.

"Are you sure?"

"Well, there was something about me going to therapy for anxiety," said Mumbo with a short laugh. "I'm not sure if it was actual advice or an insult."

X wanted to sigh so badly in that moment, but he kept it in check for the sake of his guest. "Yeah, that sounds like something they'd do," he said with a nod.

"Do you- do you figure they were right?" asked Mumbo, looking him in the eyes for the first time that meeting. "I just wanted a second opinion on it."

Xisuma took a long look at the man in the suit who was known serverwide as the nervous wreck with a moustach, currently tapping fingers on his pants leg. He had seen the man be confident exactly once in season 6, and never again before or since. Despite their shortcomings, EX was a good judge of character, and... yeah, he agreed with them on this.

"If you feel like it would help you," he said finally with a shrug, trying to keep his tone as lighthearted as possible, "I know either Cleo or Joe have some sort of degree in that sort of thing."

"Huh," said Mumbo. "Never would have expected that from Cleo. Well, thanks again," he said, putting one foot into the portal and giving a wave. "I'll update you if anything happens."

"See you, my friend," called X, giving back a wave of his own. He waited silently for a few seconds after Mumbo was through the other side of the portal before turning back to his rudimentary storage system with a deep sigh and a small chuckle.

"Good Lord," he muttered to himself, pulling out his comms and typing in a message to EX.

<Xisuma> By the way, Mumbo just dropped by and I told him to go to either Cleo or Joe for therapy <Xisuma> Thanks for bringing that up, I think we've been trying to schedule him an appointment under the table but nobody knows how to do that politely lol <EvilXisuma> finally. thank hels <EvilXisuma> that man was giving me secondhand embarrassment just by existing <Xisuma> hey, be nice to the man, he has anxiety <EvilXisuma> no shit, sherlock

X sighed and put his comm back in his pocket. Maybe he'd take that off day today after all.

#ray's tag #mcyt #hermitcraft #mumbo jumbo #xisuma #writing #i love this lil series #might turn it into a fic when i get the energy later #keys' writing

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copias-sewer-rat · 8 months

Text

THE BLOOD DROPPING FROM THE DARK ROSE IS ALWAYS THE SWEETEST

Danger is afoot...

⸸tags: PTSD symptoms, foul language, mentions of self harm and blood. Around 4.8K words.

⸸read on ao3⸸

⸸my masterlist⸸

Enjoy!

IV - LOSING MY RELIGION

There had been no rest for you when Wednesday started. There had been plenty of nightmares though. Father Tebbit’s carcass had risen from the depths of your mind, haunting you during the entirety of the night. There was no escape from him. You had heard the rhythmic sound of his cane beating in your head as he walked right behind you, in the end catching up and dragging your screaming body to the shadows with him.

You trusted Copia to take care of the situation. However, he hadn’t lived what Tebbit was able to do as you had. That was what scared you the most. Bones hurting and head aching, you managed to get up from your bed, going towards your bathroom. The image that the mirror reflected seemed haunted. Remnants of tears running through the face, purple bags under the eyes, a very messy hair that looked almost like a bird’s nest. Then, there were the hands. Some blood had come out of the wounds during the night, but nothing severe. You touched the gauze, a very light black stain laid over the part the covered the knuckles. The kiss that Copia had left there the night before had been the gentlest one that no one had ever given you, not your family, not your previous friends, not even the few exes you’d had. He was truly an oddity, at least in your eyes. Maybe there were more people like him around the world, maybe you just had the worst luck in existence.

Very reluctantly you stepped into the shower, the lukewarm water a welcome sensation. It didn’t only clean your hair, your face and your hands, but also a bit of your worry. Despite that, there was something in the back of your mind, something that you hadn’t been able to shake since the previous day. If everything went wrong, if Tebbit indeed found you, there was no other option than to escape and start over. You thought of leaving all that you had built here: your store, your friendships, your routines and your… relationships. You had been happy for a while, more than you remember ever being, and that thought broke your heart, tears falling down your cheeks, their salty taste on your lips mixing with the water from the shower. You needed to trust Copia, he was your pigeon protector after all.

When you got out of the shower you got greeted with a message from the Cardinal himself:

CC: “Buongiorno, Claire. How are you feeling?” A slight smiled rose from your lips.

Claire🌹: “Honestly? I have been better, but I have also been worse. It is an unexpected middle ground.”

CC: “That is a bit concerning, cara. If there is anything I can do to help, just ask ok?” You thought to yourself that another one of his kisses to your knuckles would make you feel much better, but your brain restrained your fingers from sending a message of the sort.

Claire🌹: “Thank you, Copia. I think I just need time to compose myself. If Tebbit fucked off from this city, that also would help my mental health a lot.”

CC: “It seems to be more difficult than that, sadly. As you said, he has lots of connections that make him untouchable. Nothing is lost however. We are working very hard to kick him out, for good.” There was a sharp feeling in your chest, almost agonizing while reading Copia’s message. You knew that Tebbit was a cockroach, a pest, so nasty and persistent that made you want to run away from your home and never come back.

Claire🌹: “I trust you… but there is a feeling in my chest that tells me that something is going to go wrong.”

CC: “We will take extra precautions. You will be safe from him, I promise.” You needed to believe him, for your sake. It had to be true. “A proposito (by the way), in half an hour or so my assistants will be picking you up to get the flowers, so be ready.” You mentally thanked Copia for changing the subject.

Claire🌹: “Oh! Then I need to hurry. You got me just getting out of the shower so I am nowhere near ready.” In your imagination, Copia was blushing at the idea of you getting out of the shower, naked, dripping water with a small towel trying to cover your body.

CC: “Then I will leave you be, cara. We will talk later.”

Claire🌹: “Sure, have a good morning, Copia.”

CC: “You too.”

With that, the phone was discarded and it was time to get ready. The choice of clothing was pretty obvious to you: jeans and a hoodie. You didn’t even try to match socks, one had little pizzas and the other was literally the pride flag. However, the idea of your face looking like one taken from a Tim Burton movie was not the most appealing, so a little makeup was needed. After trying unsuccessfully not to look like a zombie, there were still ten minutes left to spare until the cardinal’s assistants would arrive to your apartment, so you decided to make yourself a cup of coffee. There was still a little instant coffee left in the kitchen, but once it was done you regretted preparing it instantly, longing for a coffee from The Rest and Be Thankful. There was no time for that though. Nonetheless, there was time to get a bit of insight on Tebbit’s whereabouts and wrongdoings during the last few years. You would do anything you could to help Copia get the monster that was Tebbit out of the streets, hopefully rotting in a cell if you found something that was juicy enough.

Even searching for his name turned your stomach upside down, the coffee you just drank in danger of going down the drain. There were articles about how he was an upstanding member of the Catholic church, of his investigations on demonic possession, some misunderstandings he had had with a Cardinal from the Vatican for his less than unorthodox methods of exorcism. You also found some pictures of him with some outstanding members of the government, high members of the church as well as some noticeable criminals and drug lords. Those last ones truly shocked you, they were not difficult to find and in them Tebbit could be seen hugging human trash with almost entirely naked women behind them and trails of what you imagined to be cocaine on a table next to them. Of course Tebbit did not indulge in those pleasures, but he did give special permits to those who did so they could still go to heaven. Of course you could be a narc and also a catholic if you offered the right price, duh.

Tebbit’s face was making you even more nauseous, so you let it be for the time being. Just in time because you heard the downstairs bell being called. You rushed downstairs, hoping to be distracted for a few hours.

————

Copia’s ‘assistants’ were two of those silver-masked people you had seen when you first had met him a couple of days ago. You were still not used to those looks. They were in front of a very classy black delivery van. The assistants were silent, you hadn’t crossed a word with them at all so you almost jumped back when one of them spoke.

“Good morning, miss Claire. Cardinal Copia asked very fervently for us to be nice to you, so we will do just that.” Fervently? What an odd choice of word. “My name is Mountain, this is Swiss.” The person which name was supposedly Swiss just tilted their head to the side, as if to find something in you that wasn’t quite obvious at first glance. They reminded you of a black cat. You nodded and without exchanging any more words you entered the vehicle.

The van was nice, there were some seats in the back so you seated there. Swiss and Mountain sat on the front so the back felt a bit lonely. Nonetheless, the trip to Matty’s was nice. Mountain left you in charge of the music, so you pulled your trip playlist from Spotify and you three jammed to the music all the way there. You sang very low, there was not enough energy in you to give a full performance. Mountain was lightly tapping the wheel and Swiss was trying to play some string instrument made of air, probably a guitar or a bass, you were not sure from the back of the car. Curiosity got the better of you and you decided to ask Mountain and Swiss about their odd masks.

“Why? Are you curious? You would not like what is behind here, doll.” Swiss responded and you raised your eyebrow. “We are not precisely your type.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” You regretted asking just as the words left your mouth.

“Oh, don’t act so innocent. You and I know that you aren’t. The Cardinal wouldn’t have chosen you if that were the ca-.” Swiss was interrupted by a very strong punch by Mountain.

“You dumb-fucking-ass! Shut your mouth!” As much as you tried to make Swiss talk about the meaning of their words, they just wouldn’t budge. You pouted the rest of the way to Matty’s. You would ask Copia the next time you talked to him, for sure.

————

When you got to the terrain, Matty was rightfully surprised to see you with such… individuals. You introduced Mountain and Swiss, but Matty’s expression noted that he was having none of it. Once you finished talking, he asked for a word in private. Mountain and Swiss left to pack the flowers in the van.

“Jesus, Clarire, what are you doing with those… weirdos?” Matty asked, brow furrowed. You were not going to lie to him, he was too important to you, so you told him everything. He knew about certain parts of your childhood, but you had your reservations while talking about specific parts of it. You told him about Tebbit, about what had happened the previous night and about what you thought was coming your way.

“My dear girl, you should not face this alone. Let me help, let me talk to rest of the members of the committee. Fuck Shack!” Matty shouted the last part and you jumped.

“Matty, it is too risky. I don’t want you to get hurt. Please, don’t do it, stay here. I have the help of Cardinal Copia and his church, they also have their methods. I trust him.” He lowered his face, took off the glasses he was wearing and rubbed his eyes in a tired manner.

“You are old enough to do what you think best, dear. I just want to give you a piece of advice: trust those that give you the truth. That Cardinal of yours might be hiding something, you don’t know him at all.” Now it was time for you to lower your head. He was right, you had been too careless. Copia had charmed you with nice words and gentle touches, but you didn’t actually know him.

“I-I know, Matty. I-” Tears were starting to sting your eyes. “It just felt nice to find someone that cared for once. He has been so nice to me, and he is so nice to talk to… I feel like I am truly myself when I am around him.”

“My dear, it seems to me that you are falling for him…” You tilted your face upwards, the tears that were about to fall stopped in their attempt. Matty saw your slow nod to his words and then the dry laugh that escaped your lips.

“It seems that way…yes. For now is just a tiny crush, I think.” You lied.

“In that case, take care. Follow both your heart and your brain, as there is truth in both of them.” You launched forward, hugging Matty in an instant. He hugged back. Both of you stayed like that for a minute or so and then parted.

Mountain and Swiss finished putting the flowers in the van and Swiss waved at you. Matty hugged you once more before you left and you told him that you would text him later.

————

As you saw Mountain and Swiss unpacking the flowers and storing them in your shop, you told them that you needed a real coffee and offered to buy them some for their help with the flowers, which they accepted. Mountain asked for a large americano with some caramel syrup and Swiss opted for an iced peach tea.

There was a feeling of tranquility when you entered The Rest and Be Thankful. Sam waved at you when she saw you coming in and you gave her a small smile back. You had a lot of explaining to give to her. You made your order, Sam raised an eyebrow to the large number of beverages.

“Are you trying to sweeten someone up? Maybe a certain member of the committee?” Shit.

“About that… something happened…” There was a worried looked in Sam’s face when you said that. “I couldn’t talk to Mr. Shack. There was someone else with him when I tried to have a meeting about… the thing…” You needed to tell her, but you had talked about Tebbit enough for a lifetime in a single day. You decided to push through the pain in your chest and tell her the truth. “Shack has made a dangerous arrangement with a man from my past.”

“What? Claire I-” You didn’t even let her finish.

“He is a Catholic priest, a high ranking one as well, but he isn’t a good person.” Sam stopped trying to interrupt you and just listened. “His name is father Tebbit. He used to try to ‘take the demons out of me’ when I was a child. Shack has hired him to end the Satanic church that resides in this city. And I know it sounds crazy, and that I should not involve myself and you less in something like that, but Father Tebbit is bad news… I am sorry if you hate me because the hole isn’t going to be fixed, or if you think I am insane…” You were ranting now.

“I believe you, Claire. My relationship with the Catholic church isn’t the best either. I hold them plenty of resentment on my side… I cannot even imagine what you went through. I am sorry for that.” You were about to cry again. It seemed that that was the only thing you could do at the moment. “Is there anyway I can help?” Sam asked, a gentle smile on her face.

“I don’t think so, just be careful.” It hadn’t crossed you mind, but if Tebbit found you, you were probably putting Sam and Matty in danger just by talking to them. “Thinking about it… give me your phone.” Sam blinked a few times but gave you her phone. “If anything happens, if Tebbit by any chance tries to do anything, call this number.”

“Whose is it?” Some heat rose to your cheeks, a bit embarrassed to be answering a question like that.

“Cardinal Copia, a member of the Satanic church. He is a… friend, and he is also helping me with the Tebbit situation…” Sam gave you a cheeky smile.

“So you like a man in the collar, but in an evil way, got it.” You turned from a slight shade of pink to a red tomato.

“It isn’t like that, Sam, please.” There was no use hiding your face, but you at least tried by putting your hands over your eyes.

“Ok, ok, whatever you s-” Suddenly Sam went pale. “Claire... how does that asshole of Father Tebbit look like?” All the hairs on your back suddenly rose, a chilling sensation freezing your bones.

You knew he was close, Sam didn’t even need a description from you to know it was him. Tebbit entered the coffee shop and there was a solemn air following him, as if a funeral was being held in the cafeteria. You turned, you wish you didn’t, but you turned. He looked the same as you remembered him, a short bitter old man, menacing brown orbs, receding black hairline that was turning white in several spots. Some things in him were different though, now he wore metallic frame glasses and he had grown a bit of a mustache and a goatee. There were also things that you would have liked to be different about him, like the limping you had caused him so long ago, instead you wanted him dead. The trusting cane he had sent to be handcrafted for him always by his side, the wasp in the amber looking as menacing as ever, a reminder of your failure to cause him a more serious injury.

Tebbit looked directly at you, as if he had known that you were there. He couldn’t have known, but you were sure that he somehow knew. You froze, beads of sweat falling from your forehead and neck. Maybe you could turn invisible and run if you wished it very hard… it didn’t work when you were a child, but maybe in that moment it would work…

“So… it was you who I saw yesterday running away from Mr. Shack’s office. It is good to see you again Claire.” No words could come out from you, even if Tebbit opened your mouth himself and forced you to move your vocal cords to produce any kind of sound. “Not even a ‘hello’ to an old family friend? Your parents raised you better than that, little bird.” His nickname for you almost made you puke, but you resisted the urge. “Speaking of your parents… I am still in contact with them, they miss you dearly. They will be very happy to know your whereabouts…” He stopped speaking for a second as if he were assessing his options. There was no restrain from you as you dig your nails in your hands once again, letting the blood flow down your hands, little drops falling to the pristine wooden flooring of the cafeteria. Sam took notice of your struggle and grabbed one of your hands, trying to calm you down by drawing circles on the back of your hand, but there was no use. “You know… you could even come with me to see them. I am sure that they will be more than happy to have you home again.” A scream was about to leave your mouth when Sam stepped in.

“Look, sir… I don’t know who you think you are, but my friend here is not going anywhere with you or near you. For all I know you are a drug dealer or a kidnapper, so you better get out of my establishment at once.” You looked at Sam, worry on your face. She was putting herself on the line for you. Even after everything you said about Tebbit and she didn’t even flinch at him. You wished you could have been more like her, but you were not. Tebbit still had you caged, a little bird trapped and trembling just for his amusement.

“I just told you, young lady. I am a friend of the family…” Sam’s eyes were now flickering with anger.

“Yeah, yeah, pedophiles also use that line to lure children. Do you also own an ice-cream truck by any chance?” Tebbit chuckled, but he looked annoyed. The grip on his cane tightening as Sam devilishly smiled.

“You should not annoy people that you don’t know, miss. Maybe their intentions are not the best.” Sam’s grip of your hand tightened a bit, and you slightly hissed from the pain. “Well, it was good seeing you little bird. We will surely meet soon.” Then, Father Tebbit left.

Sam looked worriedly at you and with reason. As much as you tried to, you were not able to breathe, or at least that’s what it felt like to you. Sam’s voice turned into a muffled sound. You heard words that’s sounded like help and phone but nothing else. She helped you seat on a nearby chair and then started calling someone on her phone.

————

“Hello? Who is this?”

“Hi! Em- you don’t know me, but something happened with Claire. Are you Cardinal Copia?”

“Excuse me? Who the hell are you?”

“I am Claire’s… friend, Sam. I own the coffee shop on the same street as her flower shop. She gave your number in case something bad happened. But there is no time for that! Father Tebbit has found out that Claire is in this town. He has made some disturbing comments about him getting her back to her parents and has threatened me. I told him to fuck off, but I am guessing it is not safe for her to leave the establishment alone.”

“Figlio di puttana! (son of a bitch) Ok… some of my assistants are nearby, they will pick Claire up and take her to a safe place.”

“Please, take care of her. She is very shaken up at the moment.”

“I can imagine. Grazie for calling Sam, you are a good friend to Claire.”

“… Bye.”

————

Mountain and Swiss were there to get you five minutes later. Sam was at your side, kneeling down, hand on your leg, squeezing gently. There was no memory of you getting back into the van, no recollection of your trip to the Abbey. Suddenly you were in Copia’s arms, clinging to his red cassock as if your life was about to end. Tears streaming down without any control.

With all the gentleness possible, Copia was there grabbing your side, helping you walk towards your destination. The next thing you remembered was a small room dimly lit with a small bed to the side. He let you sit on it and in an instant you were putting your hands on your face, trying to cover the sobbing mess that you had become.

Copia knelt in front of you, overwhelming worry on his face. You couldn’t tell with your hands covering your eyes, but tears were starting to flourish from his own. Sadness wasn’t the only expression on his face though, there was also unadulterated and pure anger. Anger for the man that had made you cry and feel like that. If he could, he would tear him apart limb by limb if that made you smile.

“Cara, per favore, look at me…” A sob escaped your lips but you complied his request. “Eccoti qua… Per favore non essere triste mia dolce (there you are… please don’t be sad my sweet)”. You blinked, not understanding a word of what he was saying, but it sounded romantic enough to make you stop crying. “That’s it, good girl. I am sorry about you encountering Tebbit like that, but…” He stopped speaking, not sure on how to explain what was going to happen next. He then started cleaning your hands and putting them in bandages, you hadn’t even noticed that they were there. “Listen, Claire… you are going to need to stay here in the Ministry for a few days, only until we figure out what to do with Father Tebbit. All your needs and even all your desires will be our utmost priority, I promise.” Your hands were now completely cleaned and protected as if soft white gloves were covering them.

“B-but…” Copia looked at you with big, glassy eyes as you suddenly spoke. “W- what about the f-flower arrangement, all the flowers are in m-my shop…” You managed to say between sobs. Copia laughed, a compassionate and warm laugh that made your chest flutter.

“Oh, cara. You still worry about your job even during the most unfortunate of times, you are very responsible. Adoro questo di te (I love that about you).” You blinked, once again not knowing what that last part meant, but somehow you could feel it in you. Maybe it was that your emotions were already exposed, maybe letting Copia seeing you cry a few times had made you not care about what he thought of you or maybe you were desperate for the comfort. You leaned forward just a bit, so you were at face level with Copia. Your hands went mindlessly to cup his cheeks, and you looked into his eyes. Copia’s face matched his cassock and he felt like melting butter under your grasp. His expression was that of a lost pup that didn’t know what to do. You were expecting for him to pull back, a reason to convince yourself that it was a mistake, but Copia looked at your lips and then back at your eyes with a new found hunger. Convinced, you closed the gap between you.

The kiss was gentle and sweet, the lingering aroma of coffee and mint present in Copia’s mouth. He tasted so familiar and sweet that a lonely tear escaped your eye. The newfound salty taste almost made you pull back, afraid of what Copia might have thought. Surprisingly, his response was to deepen the kiss, as if doing that he could take your sadness away, and in some way it did. When you finally parted in need of air, the look on Copia’s face was one of worry. Maybe he thought that you would regret the kiss, but you smiled at him.

“I have been wanting to do that the entire week.” His face relaxed at your words.

“…Me too, cara.” His words came with a hint of hesitation, but his expression was the sweetest. A slight smile adorning his mouth, his hair a bit messy, some of his lipstick smudged and a blush adorning his cheeks and… freckles? You were surprised that you hadn’t notice until that very moment, but you couldn’t stop looking at them. There were like a map of the night sky and you wanted to kiss every single one of them. With a newfound confidence after the kiss you proposed something.

“I don’t want to sleep alone, can you stay?” Copia blinked very quickly, surprised at your request.

“Are you sure?” Copia asked.

“I just need someone to hold me, and I need it to be you…” Copia’s red tint reached his ears.

“As you wish, mia principessa (my princess).”

You both took off your shoes, Copia helped you with yours, not wanting to reopen the wounds on your hands. He left the cape of his cassock over a chair on the other corner of the room and you took off your hoodie. Copia went back to your side and put your hoodie beside his cape.

Once everything was in place, Copia held your hand and helped you lie on the tiny bed. Your back was pressed to the wall but you didn’t mind. He soon followed you into it, his back facing the room. Very gently Copia pulled a blanket that was at the feet of the bed over the both of you and he grunted due to the effort and the little room to maneuver. Once he was pleased with how covered you both were, you reached for his hands and got even closer to him.

“Thank you, again. This time for staying here with me.” Copia sighed.

“Dear, there is no need to thank me. I would do whatever you asked of me.” Copia’s fingers gently brushed your knuckles. “I know you worry about what others think of you and about how you present yourself as a very professional and competent person, which you are, but cara, you shouldn’t worry at all if that puts your happiness in danger.” You exhaled deeply and when you were about to speak Copia continued talking. “However… I have asked Mountain and Swiss to bring all the flowers for the arrangement here, to the Ministry. You can work on it tomorrow if you desire, with help, of course.” Hearing such good news made you launch yourself forward, hugging Copia as best as you could. He hugged you back, smiling into your neck.

“You are perfect, you know that, right?” A giggle escapes Copia and he tickles your cheek with his moustache when he speaks again.

“By no means, you on the other hand…” Rolling your eyes you broke the hug to look at Copia with a serious expression.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I am the most faulted person to exist.”

“Then we can be faulted together…”

“I would actually really like that…” You smiled.

“It is a deal then, cara.”

Everything gets silent after that, only the even sounds of Copia’s breath can be heard. You allow yourself to relax, getting closer and closer to him, setting into his broad chest, your ear close to his beating heart. The steady beat became a nice rythmic lullaby that sent you into the deepest of slumbers. For the first time in a very long time there were no nightmares, just peaceful dreams.

————

Next chapter is going to be very nice *winks without shame* and the following one is the ritual... Who is excited!?😈

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always let me know what you thought of it.

SR🐀

<<PREVIOUS CHAPTER

FIRST CHAPTER

NEXT CHAPTER>>

————

TAGLIST: @strawberriiblossoms @funfetti-furby @rightintheghoulies @liefleifleaf @somuchnerdiness-solittletime

*If you want to be added to the taglist, interact with THIS post.

#the band ghost #ghost #papa emeritus iv #cardinal copia #papa secondo #papa emeritus iii #papa terzo #papa nihil #papa primo #cardinal copia my beloved #cardinal copia x reader #ghost the band #ghost bc #ghost band #gonst

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bentosandbox · 2 months

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I don’t know if anyone had asked this yet but I wanna know your opinions on vernal wind(after reading ur qiubai skin review) and what do you expect the story to go on after the event?

WOW sorry i took so long to reply this the next sui story already came out (although i haven't read it yet) but i did just finish reading silberneherze and it reminded me of vernal a lot so i finally managed to frame my thoughts(?) also did i review her skin i can't find the post so sorry if i repeat anything ive said before lol anyway

disclaimers: 1) didn't reread before typing this so i prob forgot a load of stuff 2) subjective as hell

Vernal was so aarhhhhgggg not bad but it was so... Traditional Wuxia which I thought I would be happy to read but bruh. they played every trope a bit too straight imo. i think the main thing that stuck with me was the crazy levels of filial piety which isn't a bad thing per se but come on. waaifu's dad. shakes my head i think ya01 should have destroyed him. i think wei should also have been bedridden bare minimum or something from the early encounter just from main story karma. only rat king gets to go scot free cause hes actually a nice dad to lin so i guess it makes sense she's like no no 'i'll continue the family business' i remember reading the story for the first time and being like (woozy emoji) over lin saying she'll take over because it was so.. girl youre probably not even 25 yet and you just put on some heavy af shackles which was so very 'the Right thing to do' great character flaw(?) for someone supposedly morally 'Not Good' i suppose

this avengers ahh looking CG... everytime i think about the context its just SIGH they really just girlies gang up!! and then Ya just 'aight cya' maybe im just salty du yaoye isn't in it and still isn't playable just undercooked as fuck banger image but weak setup and payoff there was no satisfaction to be gained other than 'nice art' (for me)

like... basically every girl in the picture's main motivation in the story is related to some guy which was so zzzzz to chew about when thinking about a bigger picture. actually maybe even every woman even jieyun's teacher i think only lin gets to go off the hook because of that lungwrath scene (probably my fave part of the event) so pathetic... so human... ok i know im bias

Chongyue: honestly i was kinda zzz-ing at the boss fight idk i guess there is a kind of 'damn even now when fighting he's alone lol' but other than that i was just like 'okaaaaay'

anyway silver lake spoilers below

leto's dad sucks but he's still at least 50 times better than waaifu's and i feel like degenbrecher is in a similar place where chongyue was except she basically goes idgaf and i enjoyed that very much

and just the littlest thoughts on Here A Peoples Sow (will they fix this title for global) because... funny i said how vernal was so 'traditional'. they literally flipped 男耕女织 (Men Till and Women Weave) basically feudal era? traditional division of labour with Shu and Jie lmaoooo

#bentoask #Anonymous #arknights

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rosavulpes · 3 months

Text

Continued from here ( X )

" Immediately , follow me when you're ready to begin "

As her friend , Shuichi would have wanted to say tomorrow . Maybe even the day afterwards if she felt that she needed more time to center her emotions but with times such as these ? They called for a distinct lack of such empathy , maybe even what some would consider cruelty .

The location he'd begin to walk towards would be to one of the derelict isles near Watatsumi Island . Away from the general populace , away from the soldiers , and far enough away that what was to come would not disturb those that had been put to rest .

" ... May I share a theory I have with you ? I've always wondered why it was that those who bear visions are not subject to the same repercussions of using such elemental energy as one without a vision would be . When one has a vision of pyro they can cast , and channel flames at such an intensity that it's a miracle they don't suffer from burns in any degree . Yet ... if a non vision wielder were to attempt the same ? they certainly end up searing themselves alive wouldn't they ? The same could be said for the other elements . What grants vision holders such immunity , if even only partial ? "

For the time being , he'd allow Lumine to have the question as food for thought as they'd walk . He'd already come up with his own answer long ago , but was interested in hearing what she'd think of .

As they'd arrive , he glance around the area . An isle almost completely surrounded on all sides by the ocean save for the small path that lead inwards into it that connected it to the rest of Watatsumi . The taste of the breeze that lightly ruffled his long scarlet hair salty as his hands , which had been at his sides would reach into his pockets .

Turning to face her now that they were sufficient distance away from the singular path that lead inwards towards the island . He'd hold open his palm out for her to see . Two sets of simple seeds , no different than what one would find growing off of a dandelion , or grass and that would be because that was where he'd picked them up from .

" My answer ... is that visions appears only to those that have enough potential in utilizing their own spirit energy that the vision acts as a focusing point . A catalyst . A window for one's own energy to escape from "

What did he mean by this ? Well to illustrate his point , he'd now pluck off the vision of dendro that he kept secured to his waistline with a ribbon . Placing it into her hands for her to examine . If she looked at it closely , he was certain that she'd be able to deduce something peculiar about his vision of dendro . Just like the ones Ms. Yoimiya had shown her earlier on in her adventures , Shuichi's was fake .

Closing his eyes , an aura of violet would soon begin to outline Shuichi's form . Energy , pure , and unfiltered through any elements . Energy , that was undoubtedly his own if she desired to attempt to touch it for herself to see . This life energy of his , would begin to accumulate around the sets of seeds in his open palm , which would soon be tossed overhead behind Lumine .

Burrowing into the ground of their own accord . Causing the earth beneath their feet to tremble somewhat as great , spiked stalks of greenery would begin to erupt upwards like marble columns . Delineated by their thorns , and bulky stature as they quickly encircled the isle . Blocking off entry , and prohibiting escape via all means except aerial albeit ... he wasn't expecting Lumine to be foolish enough to attempt to climb the stalks with so many thorns present there to prevent such a thing . Though ... she wasn't the one thorns were meant for .

" But ... if you can learn how to tap into your own spirit energy , without the need for an external catalyst such as vision . You'll soon come to see that your potential is far greater without one , than with "

@nagareboshiko

#nagareboshiko #ooc. hope you don't mind me moving this to a separate post in case you wanna make a short thread out of this !#ic. shuichi minamino

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spiderdramaqueen · 1 year

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i’ve been thinking about this for some time now, but after watching mumbo’s new episode i just can’t hold this thought in anymore. so. hear me out.

what if ren doesn’t feel any guilt about what he did as a king of the hermitcraft?

[DISCLAIMER: 1) in this essay i talk about rendog’s character/minecraft persona, NOT ABOUT CONTENT CREATOR;

2) i’m not trying to make ren look evil or to make anyone think he has any ill intentions towards other hermits. i just found the thought about ren not feeling guilty interesting and decided to dwell on it for a little bit just for fun.]

back to the topic.

yeah, we can all agree, that it seems kinda out of character, at the first sight. after all, ren is a kind soul, always ready to help his friends out and all that jazz. but i think there’s much more to it.

firstly, let’s go back to rentheking dethronement. episode 20 of ren’s season 9. when hermits find out their diamonds are nowhere to be found, ren just... changes the subject. he doesn’t try to explain everything or fix it, no. he just goes on about how he will banish himself to the cage of shame, and then quickly leaves the scene.

later on, he indeed spends some time in said cage and seems to regret his actions.

hermits forgive him pretty quickly tho. and there probably wouldn’t be a need to doubt ren’s sincerity, unless...

let’s move forward to hermitcraft/empires crossover. episode 21. after going through the rift, ren is awake in the grave, where’s “the kings of old” are supposed to lie. upon hearing about that from pixl, ren says: “i’m not a king anymore, they took it away from me”.

even tho ren didn’t confront pixl directly, it seems pretty obvious that ren is upset and salty about the fact that he was dug out of the grave by pixl. he expresses his annoyance about it many times to viewers and other emperors. he even sells his giblets to emperors just to piss pixl off, because ren knows he would want to collect them all.

“thou he is a gentleman and a scholar, i think doctor pixlriffs needs to pay an annoying price for exhuming us a few weeks back. don’t you guys agree? i mean, seriously, it was so peaceful and quiet in that tomb before he rudely awakened us from the dead”, - rendog in ep 23

“he [pixlriffs] awakaned me from a deathly slumber; i was fast-asleep in a tomb, having a lovely time in the afterlife, he ripped me asunder from my slumber” - ren to shubble in ep 24

why are you upset about being dug out of the king’s grave, ren? is it because when you lie in the grave that is supposed to be the last resting place for the kings of old, at least you’re still considered to be a monarch? do you miss your kingship that much that you would prefer to be a dead king rather than alive peasant?

well, you can say, this proves nothing. yeah, he might be missing his time as a king, what’s about that?

let’s talk about ren’s reaction to other hermits bringing up his past deeds.

when keralis brings up missing diamonds in ep 26 and blames king, ren immediatly denies his responsibility. when keralis presses, he is quick to accept his guilt and turn the whole conversation into a joke. what could cause such reaction? one could say, that maybe he feels so much shame, that it’s hard for him to even listen about what he’s done, but what if he just can’t accept his defeat? what if he thinks he’s in the right?

let’s hear out what ren has to say about his kingship.

“i was just telling sausage, pixl, that a great and wonderous king used to live here, before he was dishonorably removed”, - ren to sausage and pixl in mythicalsausage’s empires s2ep33

and, finally, the dialogue between mumbo and ren in mumbo’s ep 7:

mumbo: i mean, are you happy with what you did as king? it sounds like... you weren’t the best king

ren: i was a great king to start with, i sorted out hermitcraft economy, and then, mumbo, they partied in my private area and that just changed everything.

all things considered, i don’t believe ren feels any kind of remorse about his time as a king. he calls his king self a great king. he blames hermits for his downfall and spiral of madness. he thinks his dethronement was unfair.

he misses his kingship.

...or maybe he’s just being dramatic and i hyperfixate and think too much

#hermitcraft #hermitcraft season 9 #hermitcraft spoilers #rendog #renthedog #rentheking #uhhh do i tag others...#you know what #might as well #hc x empires #pixlriffs #mythicalsausage #shubble #keralis #mumbo jumbo #so. remember i once said i will never be over ren's king arc?#i'm still not over it #i literally dropped everything i was doing to write this #i hadn't even finished mumbo's ep because i got too excited

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altair214 · 1 year

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It's kind of a thing at this point that Hob Gadling has an irrational hatred for hatred of Shakespeare born of jealousy because Dream walked out on one of their meetings with him. But what if Hob actually loved Shakespeare’s plays because he used them to try to find out more about his stranger and just got obsessed. Obviously, Hob had put together that his stranger had probably helped Shakespeare write better plays.

So what if when Shakespeare started to get recognized, Hob decided to see what all the fuss was about, after all he used to be shit. But when he saw that his plays were actually good, he put two and two together. He suspected that his stranger had something to do with this, exactly what he wasn't sure. But in order to figure out what was going on, Hob spent the twenty years afterwards watching as many of Shakespeare's plays as he possibly could, trying to get to know his stranger through the plays. Of course, he wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for because he knows so little about him. But nonetheless, he tried to find Something and inadvertently became almost an expert in Shakespeare's plays and grew to love the play, though he was always rather salty that Shakespeare had stolen his stranger’s hard earned attention away from him.

When he lost his fortune, he was not able to see many plays or read much for a long time, but in the time that he was on the streets he would recite what he could remember of the plays to those who would hear it and he would occasionally make some small amount of money that might feed him for a little while.

After their conversation in 1789, he had confirmation that his stranger had helped Shakespeare and his passion in trying to find out more about him through Shakespeare’s work was reignited. He doesn’t have confirmation for anything but he does have a few theories.

1: Hob wonders if his stranger might be fae, this is inspired by the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, he wasn’t sure. It didn’t seem quite right but it was a theory.

2: He wasn’t sure what sort of deal the one with Shakespeare was, other than that it wasn’t for his soul, but he could use the information that he had gained immortality at no cost to himself. So perhaps the deal was something similar. Hob only met with his stranger once a century to tell him about the last 100 years as part of his deal, (and he wasn’t even sure if that was required anymore, regardless he was happy that they were still meeting as he wanted to get to know his stranger more). So perhaps the deal was similarly benign, maybe Shakespeare had to do some task for him. Maybe he had to dedicate a play to him.

3: The fair youth sonnets were a subject of Hob’s fascination, if for no other reason than the possibility that they might have been about his stranger. He had no proof, nor was he sure, but he thought it a possibility and it both delighted him that his stranger could have been the subject of such work, and inspired jealousy in him. Still, Shakespeare was long dead and he was alive and so was his stranger, even if they met only once a century.

4: There were certain lines in Shakespeare’s works that with some irrational certainty, for he knew very little about his stranger, he felt his stranger’s personality and feelings about the world shine through. Such as, “We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with sleep” from The Tempest, or “There’s nothing in this world that can make me joy. Life is as tedious as a twice told tale, vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man;” from King John. His stranger had never struck him as someone in love with life and had always seemed to Hob as other worldly.

There were other quotes that reminded Hob of his stranger such as, “How like a winter hath my absence been from thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year. What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen, what old December’s bareness everywhere!” This quote in particular struck Hob especially during the years he spent in poverty 20 years after their meeting in 1589 and when he was stood up in 1989.

Fast forward to 2022, Hob is a history professor who specializes in medieval English history and he’s quite well known as the guy around the campus as the guy you go to when you need any help with anything regarding Shakespeare. He’s known for having an odd relationship with Shakespeare, complimenting his work and then insulting him for being an attention stealing twat in the same sentence.

When his stranger walks into the New Inn 33 years late, calling Hob his friend, Hob has many questions but is a patient man. Dream introduces himself properly and in as little detail as possible, explains why he missed their 1989 meeting. He also says that he will grant Hob a favor that is within his power as an apology for missing their last meeting, to Dream’s surprise, Hob only asks that they meet more often than once a century.

After their meeting, Hob has some serious suspicions about the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, after all, it had his friend’s name in it. He now knew that his friend was not fae, but the title of the play could not just be a coincidence. After all, it was June when he had met Shakespeare.

One day, about three weeks after they reunite in the New Inn, Hob is teaching a class and happens to be talking about Shakespeare’s plays and inspiration that would have inspired his plays. Then on total coincidence Dream walks in, standing at the back of the lecture hall as Hob rambles on about the plays. One of the students asks Hob what his favorite quote is, to which he replies, “For you, in my respect, are all the world. Then how can it be said I am alone when all the world is here to look on me?” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It was after saying this that he realized that Dream was standing at the back of the classroom with a small but fond smile upon his face. After making eye contact, Hob started stuttering through the rest of the lecture, which was cut short.

Afterwards, Hob went to greet Dream. Dream tells him that he was not aware of his love for Shakespeare. To which Hob, while very red in the face, tries to explain his fascination with his work without giving his obsession with learning more about his friend away. Dream gets the point however, and says that he was not aware of how curious Hob was about his existence, though does not sound at all displeased at this fact. Hob, blushing and stuttering, admits that he is very curious about his friend and would learn all that his friend would tell him. Dream replies saying that Hob need not rely on looking for clues in plays written over 400 years prior. Hob is thrilled and the two of them go on a walk to Hob’s flat together.

Eventually they get their shit together and confess to each other, through Shakespearian sonnets of course.

#as someone who loves shakespeare all the 'hob hates shakespeare' sentiment hurts me #so i wrote this #this is a lot longer than i expected it to be #but that's fine #hob gadling #dream of the endless #the sandman #the sandman netflix #the sandman comics #dreamling #dream/hob gadling #morpheus #is this any good?#i hope it is

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lapinbunwrites · 6 months

Text

Title: Dedue's Home

Ratings: Gen

Warnings: None

Fandom: Fire Emblem Three House

Relationships: Dedue Molinaro/Ashe Ubert

Characters: Dedue Molinaro, Ashe Ubert

Additional Tags: Fluff, Angst, Post-Canon, Post-Azure Moon | Blue Lion's Route, Azure Moon | Blue Lion's Route, My Version of a QPR

Word Count: 1,497

Ao3 Link

Dedue clutched his bedsheets in his fist as he woke up. It had been a long time since he had seen Ashe; he was a little disappointed that he wasn’t back from Castle Gaspard. He knew it would take a lot of time to get everything in order to give his title to his younger sister, but he didn’t think it would take this long. Nonetheless, Dedue was still heartbroken that he had to face another morning without Ashe.

He let out a sigh as he shuffled out of bed, stretching out his arms and shaking his legs. He didn’t have much of a day today: Dimitri forced him to take the day off. If Dedue had a say in it, he would be working. It wasn’t a great feeling for him, especially with Ashe being gone. He tried not to lament on his thoughts as he figured out how to pass the time. He went through a mental list of chores that needed doing, and the only thing that came to mind was grocery shopping.

Dedue quickly changed into something casual, keeping his blue scarf on, before going to the kitchen. He rustled through cabinets, pantry, and icebox, taking a mental note of everything he needed to buy. Before leaving the kitchen, he grabbed a spare basket and left for the town market.

When he arrived into town, he sighed with relief. There weren’t many people today—he could easily buy what he needed and get back home. One of the most frustrating things about the day was finding a good fish, especially trying to find some at a good price.

“Oh,” Dedue said softly, bumping into someone walking towards another merchant.

When he looked down to see who it was, he was shocked. It was Ashe. A smile slowly started to take place on his face. It was short lived; he soon repressed his smile when he realized that Ashe was truly back. Dedue felt his heart sink. Ashe wasn’t supposed to be back yet.

“I’m sorry, Ashe,” Dedue said, coldly.

“Hello, Dedue! I didn’t expect to see you here!” Ashe said cheerfully. His expression slowly changed when he saw Dedue’s face. “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

“It’s nice to see you back in Fhirdiad,” Dedue nodded, deadpan. “Did everything back in Gaspard territory go well?”

“Not as well I was hoping,” Ashe sighed, looking intently at Dedue’s face.

“How so?” Dedue asked as he began to walk.

“The amount of paperwork that I was given to change successors was absurd,” Ashe said, walking along with him. “With all the bickering between the other nobles, employees, and my siblings, it became exhausting. We were stuck at a standstill for weeks. I just wish my sister could take over—she’s better equipped for this than I will ever be.”

“I can see how that would be frustrating,” Dedue said plainly.

“I don’t want to bore you with the specifics,” Ashe said, quickly changing the subject. “How are you feeling?”

“I am fine,” Dedue lied, his voice growing lower.

Ashe sighed, stopping him so he could look at his boyfriend. “Dedue,” he said softly.

“Hm?” Dedue asked, stopping in his tracks.

“I know you’re lying,” Ashe scowled, putting his hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”

“Ashe, I am fine,” Dedue reassured him, deciding to walk to another vendor.

Ashe sighed and didn’t press further, only following him.

Their walk was quiet, only speaking to merchants when needed. It felt odd to Dedue that Ashe was back. Maybe it was because Ashe had never told him he was going to arrive back in Fhirdiad. Maybe it was because he never received any word from him in the past couple of months. He couldn’t figure it out, but that didn’t stop the betrayal and pain that were stirring inside of him.

“So,” Ashe murmured out. “What are you planning on making with everything?”

“Sweet and salty whitefish sauté,” Dedue said as he picked up some tomatoes. He looked over at Ashe’s face and tried to repress his smile at how cute he was. It was becoming increasingly difficult to stay mad at him. “I thought it would be nice to eat today.”

“Really?! I’m so happy I was able to make it here just in time to eat it,” Ashe said, his smile broadening. “Let’s see what we have. We have tomatoes, salt, some spices, hmm…”

Dedue said nothing as Ashe mumbled to himself.

“Oh! We need the whitefish!” Ashe said, snapping his fingers. “I know the perfect person to get fresh fish for a really good price!”

Dedue frowned as Ashe began to walk away.

“Dedue?” Ashe asked, seeing Dedue’s expression. He held his hand out towards him. “Are you coming?”

“Yes,” Dedue replied, taking his hand.

Dedue followed Ashe through town, realizing that Ashe’s perfect fish vendor was Anna. He perused her selection and Ashe was right: all of them were recently caught, and the price wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t great.

“That’ll be 200 gold for those whitefish,” Anna laughed.

“That’s a lot of money for two fish,” Dedue said, furrowing his brow.

“Not for whitefish it isn’t,” Anna told him, her gaze sharpening and her smirk growing bigger.

“I have to disagree,” Ashe chimed in. “These are common fish around here so it doesn’t cost a fortune.”

“Maybe, but not for fresh whitefish,” Anna said, her voice becoming harder.

Dedue stayed out of the conversation and listened to the two bicker about prices. It was terrifying when he heard Ashe’s and Anna’s words exchanged. He was in awe of Ashe’s ability to cut the price of the fish down to something reasonable. How Ashe was able to haggle anyone, Anna no less, was a mystery to him. Not that he minded too much—he got good prices on food.

“Ugh,” Anna sighed, dejectedly. “You really drive a hard bargain, kid.”

“Heh,” Ashe smiled and laughed as Anna wrapped up the fish. “I just know how the game works.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Anna groaned, handing Ashe the parcel. “I hope you enjoy your fish.”

Dedue smiled as he took the fish from Ashe and placed it into the basket.

“Well, now that we have everything, we can go back to Fhirdiad castle and make the food!” Ashe exclaimed, setting off in the direction of their home.

Dedue nodded as he followed. He felt his stomach churn as they walked. He didn't know if Ashe had picked up on his feelings, or if he was ignoring it. Either way, he was still upset, though he made sure his emotions never crossed his face.

As soon as they returned to the castle, they headed straight to the kitchen. Nothing much was said between the two when they cooked. Dedue began fileting the fish as Ashe was preparing the tomatoes.

“Dedue,” Ashe softly murmured as he placed down his knife.

“Hm?” Dedue asked, coating the fish in a spice rub.

“I know something has been bugging you, and I don’t know what,” Ashe said, looking up at him. “I didn’t tell you I was coming back today because I wanted to surprise you.”

“You know I don’t like any kind of surprises,” Dedue reminded him as he coated the fish in his spice rub.

“I know,” Ashe sighed.

“Truthfully, I feel a little neglected,” Dedue added, placing the cut up fish onto a baking pan.

“I am truly sorry that I made you feel like that,” Ashe sighed out, placing his hands on Dedue’s arms to make him stop cooking. He tenderly squeezed Dedue’s arm as he moved closer to him. “I never meant to do that to you. I wanted to surprise you so I could see your lovely smile. I’m sorry, I should have sent you a letter saying that I was coming home early.”

“It would have been nice to see you home, cooking breakfast in the morning after these past couple of weeks,” Dedue reminisced, looking at Ashe’s face. “Even getting one letter from you would have been nice.”

“I’m sorry, Dedue.” Ashe’s face dulled.

“Ashe, I’m sorry,” Dedue apologized. “I didn’t mean to make things strange between us. I wanted to see you and I made it awkward.”

“It’s alright,” Ashe laughed a little. “I should have communicated with you about this. But nonetheless, I’m happy to be home.”

“As am I,” Dedue smiled.

“So, can I have my trademark Dedue bear ‘welcome home’ hug?” Ashe laughed.

Dedue smiled, wrapping his arms around Ashe’s body and feeling his warmth. “Now, let’s get back to making dinner.”

“Of course,” Ashe agreed.

At the end of the night, after they had finished dinner, they cuddled up into bed with each other. Dedue gave a big smile, his heart becoming warmer, when Ashe latched his arms around Dedue’s waist. He let out a little sigh of relief before drifting off into his own slumber. He was truly happy that Ashe was home.

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I can now finally post this up! I got to write a piece for @asheduecookbook a little bit ago and I wrote about a little domestic life between Ashe and Dedue. Yet another ship of mine that falls under being a QPR for me. I have many, and one of them is AsheDue.

#fire emblem #my writing #fire emblem three hopes #ashedue #dedue x ashe #ashe x dedue #dedue molinaro/ashe ubert #ashe ubert/dedue molinaro #dedue molinaro x ashe ubert #ashe ubert x dedue molinaro #dedue molinaro #ashe ubert

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