#oh also I accidentally punched my brother and my dad trying to get my coat back on lol

[onionsaremeansstuff]

Can I request a Dean fanfic? Where he and the reader broke up and the reader finds out he’s pregnant with Deans baby (yes mpreg) and a few months later Dean finds out and tries to get back together with him. The reader didn’t want to be around Dean and advoided him as much as possible but Dean is determined to prove that he is fully committed to him and their baby and won’t stop until the reader and his child are his

after weeks, i wrote it! (sorry, for the 3th time)

sorry for the implicit Cas x reader, i wrote it and just noticed it later.

anyway hope u like it!

Pairing: Dean x reader

Gender: Male

Warnings: Yandere behavior, MPreg

Summary: Dean discovered that he have a son and he will do whatever it takes to get his child and you

I dont own the character or the gif

You were walking towards the motel room door. The rain mixed with your tears as it soaked you and your backpack.

Frustration, sadness, and anger formed in your heart as you remembered what had happened a few hours ago. 

How Dean had broken your heart and ruined your relationship as if your relationship was nothing to him at all. 

Upon entering the motel room, you sat in front of the door, your hands on your face as you cried and thought about what you were going to do now. 

What you were going to do without Dean, without your home, and without your friends. 

You didn't feel that your future would be a promising one. 

-

Weeks had gone by since you had left. 

Right now, your life mainly consisted of going out to buy something to eat, head back to your motel room and watch some cliche movie. 

Until one day, you woke up feeling sick to your stomach. 

'It must be the crap I ate for lunch or my body just decided to punish me for just crying.' You thought, as you vomited in the bathroom toilet. 

Unfortunately, this was a repeated cycle for you every day. Waking up in the morning and throwing up in the toilet. 

You even thought about eating healthier food, but it didn't help the vomiting problem. 

That's when you decided to call Castiel. 

You knew that you shouldn't be calling him since you were probably just sick which is something that everything human goes through, but you couldn't take it any longer. 

When you heard the sound of wings fluttering, you felt the angel wrap his arms around your body. 

"Y/N, have you been staying here all this time? You were gone for weeks and I was worried sick about you! Every time I asked Dean where you were, he ignored me and left the room." The angel said, tightening his arms around you. He pulled back from the hug to look you in the eyes, "Why did you disappear like that?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. 

You looked down at the floor and let out a sigh, "It's complicated, Cas but I need your help." 

"With what?" 

Lately, I've been feeling sick. Every day I wake up and I've tried everything to stop the sickness, but it won't go away. So, could you maybe, cure me?" 

Castiel nodded, and put two fingers against your forehead. 

"What the-" Castiel muttered after removing his fingers from your forehead. You were confused by the angel's reaction. He lifted your shirt up slightly and put his hand on your belly, rubbing his hand over it. 

"What are you doing, Cas?" You asked, feeling the angel's warm hand against your stomach. 

"This makes no sense," He spoke in  confusion as he removed his hand "This shouldn't even have been possible." 

You were starting to get a little scared, "Cas, what's going on?"

"Y/N... there's a baby inside you." 

You let out a laugh and punched his arm lightly, "Oh my God, Cas. You actually scared me for a second. Who taught you how to make jokes?" 

This is too funny. A baby inside you? A guy? Yeah, right.

"I'm not joking around, Y/N. There's a fetus inside you." 

"But, that's impossible, Cas. I don't have a uterus." You pointed out. 

"There is a baby inside your stomach. I felt a baby's presence when I was healing you." Castiel sat on the bed and mumbled words under his breath before disappearing and reappearing a few seconds later with a red-haired woman you recognized all too well. 

Rowena. 

"What's going on here? And why did you bring me to this hotel room, angel?" The witch asked. 

"We need your help." The angel said. 

"Cas, what are you doing?" You asked him. 

"Rowena, Y/N is pregnant and we don't know how it happened. Would you be able to find out?" The angel questioned.

"You could have just asked me for help instead of kidnapped me, angel." Rowena said, approaching you, "But, let's see what happened, shall we?"

Rowena started to speak words in a language you didn't understand while touching your stomach, "Ah, did you face a witch recently?"

"Yes, about three weeks ago." 

"Did she have a red book with a fish and goat drawn on it?"

"Yes." You answered. 

"I already know what happened!" The witch exclaimed, "That book is from an ancient coven that was very pure and strong, but extremely sexist. They did not accept women there." She sat down by your side, "To continue the purity of the coven they created spells to allow male pregnancy, thus maintaining the male-only lineage." She explained. 

"Okay, the story is cool and all, but what would that bitch gain from making me pregnant?"

"Spells can be completely different and just have the intonation of a different letter, dear. Maybe she tried some other spell but ended up doing this one in particular accidentally."

"And how can we get rid of it?" The angel butted in, wanting to help. 

"You can't. Trying to end the pregnancy would cause Y/N to immediately die." 

"Great. Just fucking great. I'm alone, emotionally unstable and pregnant. Oh, this is just fucking great!" You said sarcastically, throwing yourself on the bed. 

"I imagine that you would want to tell Dean the good news."

"What does Dean have to do with this? And besides, we're not together anymore." You replied, sitting up and looking up at Rowena.

"Ah, pity my dear. The spell allows you to become pregnant, but It still needs insemination, meaning the child is Dean's." 

"Just great." 

"Y/N," Castiel approached you, "I know you are scared and worried, but I will be by your side and will always accompany you at all times. If you want my help, of course." The angel offered, a hopeful look on his face. 

You looked at the angel and the hopeful look on his face made you feel like everything was going to be okay. 

"Thanks Cas. I really appreciate it."

---

During the following months of your pregnancy, Castiel remained by your side. Taking care of you and bringing what you needed. 

Even bought books on pregnancy and learning how to take care of the child. 

Rowena came by every month to check on you and the baby. You weren't close, but she knew what a pregnancy was like and wanted to help you, and she also wanted to know how the pregnancy spell worked, but you ignored the fact that you were her little lab rat. 

When the time came, Rowena prepared the spell to take the child out of you. Fortunately everything was painless and soon the baby was sleeping in your arms. 

"I'm glad everything went well," Castiel said, sitting next to you, "Have you decided on what to name him?" 

You looked at Cas in confusion before it dawned on you. You had completely forgotten to think of a name for the child. 

"He's a little angel." You commented,  "Nothing is more fair than receiving the name of one, too. Castiel, meet Castiel Junior." You smiled at him  

"M-My name? Why?" Castiel asked, fumbling over his words slightly in surprise. 

"You helped me with everything, Cas. If it weren't for you nothing would have worked out the way it did, so I wanted to name him in honor of you. The super protective angel." 

"Thank you so much, Y/N. I'm very honored, and I promise to always look after you both." Castiel kissed your forehead before getting up and fetching a bottle for little Castiel. 

---

Five years have passed since the birth of Castiel, or Castie which is what you called him. You moved to a small town and started a new life with your child, away from hunting and monsters.

Castiel still visits you both regularly at least four times a week, honoring his promise to take care of you both and honestly, you're happy that he did.  Looking after a child alone is really difficult.

It's been years since you had contact or heard from the Winchesters. Castiel just gives you news about Sam who you miss a lot. 

Everything was peaceful and you were finally happy. True happiness. 

---

"Are you sure this is going to be a case, Dean?" The angel questioned, "This city doesn't seem to be dangerous. Maybe we should go back."

"What's your problem with coming here, Cas?" The younger brother asked, "Ever since we told you the case was in this town you have been complaining." 

"It's nothing, I just don't think there's a case he-" Castiel couldn't even finish speaking because something or someone hugged him. 

"Papa Castiel!" The child said, "I missed you! Daddy won't let me eat chocolate anymore!"

Cas turned and saw Castie there. He  smiled and picked up the child. 

"Hello little me. I missed you too.  Where's your daddy?" He asked as the child hugged him, and the brothers looked confused. 

"Castiel, what the fu-" Before Dean could  finish his sentence, Sam put his hand over his mouth and looked at him with a disapproving look. 

"Castie! Where did you go?" The three heard a voice that sounded familiar. 

"Daddy I'm here. Papa is here too!" The child yelled back, letting his dad know where he was. 

You recognized Castiel's coat and soon calmed down before you saw that Dean and Sam were there, too. A lump formed in your throat as you approached them. 

"Hello Y/N." Castiel and Sam greeted simultaneously as Dean just stared at you. 

"Where have you been all this time, Y/N?" Sam asked and you could see that hurt look in his eyes. 

"I'm sorry I haven't talked to you in the last few years, Sam. I've been a little busy as you can see." You gestured to your son and picked him up. 

"Yeah. I can see that, but a text message wouldn't kill, you know?" He suggested, and you gave him an apologetic look.

"That's very true. I'll remember that next time, but I'll be taking my leave now. I don't want to disturb you or anything-"

"You are friends of papa and daddy! Come to our house! I have several toys!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Castie, they are busy now." You said.

"Oh, we're not busy right now. And a place to stay would be great." Dean spoke up for the first time since being there.

"Yay! Come on daddy, they want to see my toys!" He spoke excitedly and you found yourself giving a defeated nod. You knew that something was about to go down and you we're not prepared for it.

You each went to your cars and went to your home.

---

Dean wasn't stupid.

You left him five years ago and now you show up with a 5 year old child who has the same eye color and freckles just like him.

He didn't know how it happened, but he knew the child was his.

And knowing that you hid it from him made him more angry then he cared to admit.

---

You were at your house, Castiel and Sam we're playing with your kid while you made coffee with Dean watching you.

"Papa, can you please get me my puzzle so I can play with the giant!" Castie asked, and you smiled at Sam's bitchface.

You went to Castie's room and were looking for the puzzle when you heard the bedroom door close and turned around to see Dean standing before you.

"Are you psychotic or something? How did you do that?" He pushed you up against the wall with his hand around your throat, "Is he a clone of mine or what?"

His large hand tightened around your throat, "What are you talking about, Dean?"

"The child. He's a copy of me. Did you do any sick spells to copy me?" He questioned, anger getting stronger and stronger.

The tightness in your throat made it difficult to even answer the question.

"Dean let him go, NOW!" Castiel's deep voice came out of nowhere and pushed Dean off you, "The child was the result of a spell, but not done by Y/N himself. He was a victim of the spell." The angel explained and Dean gestured for him to keep going.

Honestly, you would have rather let Dean continue to hate you than know the truth.

"Five years ago, Y/N was hit by a witches spell. The spell was supposed to kill him, but she mispronounced it and ended up casting an old spell that allowed male pregnancy. That's what happened. It wasn't his fault." The angel explained. 

Dean looked back and forth between you and Castiel and you could see pain, hatred, and sadness in his eyes. 

"Leave the room, Cas. I want to talk to Y/N alone." The hunter ordered and started pushing the angel out, or at least tried to. 

"I'm not going anywhere!" Cas stated firmly. 

"You can go, Cas. If anything happens, I know that you're only one prayer away." 

The angel looked at you hesitantly  before nodding and leaving the room. 

Dean closed the door and looked at you.

"We have a son and you never even thought of telling me. The child's father?!" He yelled at the top of his lungs angrily at you for not even bothering to tell him that he has a kid. 

You sighed, "Look, I didn't want to see you after what happened. I was already confused and stressed out about having a damn baby inside me." You sighed again, "I really don't want you here." 

He was so angry that he punched the wall and you flinched slightly, "Dammit, Y/N. He's my son for crying out loud!" 

"Oh, please. Your son my ass." You scoffed bitterly, "I raised him for the past 5 years with Castiel. If he's anyone's son, it's Cas's son." 

"No, Dean," You denied, "You were the one who made me leave you, or don't you remember what you said that night." You stalked forward towards Dean who stood right there in his spot, "Oh Sam, Y/N is just a temporary thing. A way to get free and easy sex. He is not who I want in my future. He is only there until I find someone I really love." You imitated  his speech from that night before walking away and sitting on the bed as Dean stayed silent. 

He rolled his eyes and let out a bitter laugh, "So this is it? You and Castiel? Did you leave me to be him?" That sentence through you for a loop and that made anger that you have been trying to hold in resurface

"I'm just doing what I always wanted. I  got out of the hunting life and your life, and I didn't want to add a baby on top of your plate." You got up and went to the shelf, picked up the puzzle for Castie, "You can go ahead and fuck some girl in a bar, marry her and have a perfect family." You opened the door and left the room wth Dean staring at the ground in regret. 

---

The rest of the day you and didn't speak to each other. He looked at you with a sad expression on his features, but you focused your attention on Sam and your son. 

Cas told Sam everything that had happened in the past 5 years and he offered help if you wanted it. 

Obviously, you accepted his offer and said that he could visit his nephew whenever he wanted.

You offered them the guest room and sofa for them to sleep on. As much as you didn't want to see Dean, you wanted to be able to get your relationship back with Sam.

---

The brothers solved the case in 3 days. They said goodbye and soon left after that. 

During their stay, Dean was restless and always seemed to be thinking about something, but you chose to ignore it and just pretend that the conversation between you two never happened.

---

Days have gone after the Winchesters hunt. Your boss for some reason asked you to leave for a few days. They would be disinfecting the building and you weren't complaining. After all, you could have more time with your son.

Castie had been a little weird in the last few days. He was more reserved and closed off a little. You saw him laughing now and then along with talking to himself, but when you asked him he said his only reply was that it was a secret. You just assumed it was something little children went through, but with your former life, who knows. 

You were in the kitchen, baking a pie. 

Castie, unfortunately was just like his dad when it came to favorite foods.  You just put the pie in the oven when you smelt something strange and vaguely familiar. 

Freakin' sulfur. 

You ran into Castie room where you saw the door was strangely closed and locked. You kicked open the door. 

You ran inside and saw a woman with Castiel on her lap. 

"The young child has Winchester blood inside him. He could be very useful." She turned to face you with her black eyes. 

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Just leave him alone, please." You pleaded. 

Castiel seemed to be sleeping on her lap while she pointed a knife at his throat. 

"Why should I? Winchester no-" A demon killing bullet went straight through her head before she could finish. 

"Y/N!" A deep voice called out to you, but you ignored it and ran to your soon and was glad to see that he was okay. 

"Y/N is everything okay?" You heard Dean ask and you nodded 

"Shit, that was too close." He exclaimed. 

"This is a perfect example of why I didn't want you to get too close to him. Now, he is a target. Demons and other monsters will be targeting him." You sighed. 

 "Y/N," Dean started, "I know this life is dangerous with everything that comes with being a hunter, but you'd be safer with me." He said and you rolled your eyes, "The bunker is the safest place on earth and-"

"I'm not going to raise my son with any connection to the supernatural world, Dean!" You exclaimed as Castie started to wake up. 

"Daddy? What happened?" He asked,  turning to face Dean, "Father? You came back!" He ran out of your arms and went straight to Dean's. 

"Father?" You questioned. 

Dean looked down at the ground as he ran his fingers through his son's hair, "I told him." 

You looked at him as if you wanted to kill him, and you kinda wanted to. 

In addition to putting your child's life at risk, he made his way back into your life. 

"He needed to know Y/N." Dean tried to reason in with you. 

"Daddy, father. You'll be together with me now, right?" He looked at you with puppy eyes

"Castie your dad and I have problems and I don't think it would be good for"

"We have problems that need to be worked out. Problems that I will overcome and I will not commit again."  Dean spoke proudly, as he took Castie into his arms. 

"Can we please daddy! Father told me that he lives in a fortress! It must be much nicer than our house! There must be lots of toys there!" Castie said excitedly and you wondered what toys could possibly be in a bunker. 

Trying to hide things from Castie didn't work out anymore. The supernatural world wants his head on a silver platter  now and you didn't know if you would be able to protect him by yourself now. 

You really didn't want to go back with Dean, but the bunker is a safe place and you would do anything to keep your son safe. 

You sighed, "Okay, we're going with him, Castie. Go get your things while I talk to your father, okay?"

“Okie dokie! "He happily picked up his toys as you and Dean made your way out of his room and into your room. 

"Just so we're perfectly clear, I'm doing this for him. Do you understand? I don't want us to go back to being how we used to be. Let alone stay in the same room as you. Got that?"

"If that's what you want, Y/N. But, I changed, okay? I have been miserable without you. You are the light of my life,  and I didn't want to admit it and pretended that you weren't important but, without you all I did was drink and-" 

"You used to do that all the time when we were in a relationship together. Seems that you haven't changed as much as you thought you did." You interrupted him, leaving the room to go help your son pack. 

Dean knew it wasn't going to be easy to get you back or even to trust you again. He expected it to be difficult. But, he would get there and he would win you back and would raise his son together with you. 

He had no limits when it came to getting you and son to move into the bunker to be near him and to get you back into his arms. 

Hell, he already hired a demon to almost kill his own son just to scare you. 

But, he didn't die and now you, and Castie are safe and would be living with him. 

The only thing he had to do now was get rid of that damn angel and he could finally have the perfect family he always wanted. 

#dean winchester x male!reader #dean winchester x male reader #dean winchester x reader #supernatural x reader #supernatural x male reader #male reader #x male reader

[morizoras-cave]

Purple Patches

Benedict Cumberbatch x Teen!Co-Star!Reader, Tom Holland x Teen!Co-star!Reader

Genre: Angst, fluffy ending

Description: Filming the newest Dr. Strange movie (in which Tom would also appear), you grow quite close with the two leads, Tom and Benedict. But you’re hiding something alarming from them. Four months in the entire crew get a week off to see their families for Christmas, and when you return Tom and Benedict can’t help but feel troubled, as your body is rippled with purple patches.

Warnings: CHILD ABUSE, physical abuse, broken family, alcoholism, depression, anxiety??

A/N: I had another imagine written but im ngl its kind of.. weird? its unconventional for sure. and its definitely bad. so, maybe ill rewrite someday or something? ALSO SORRY IF YOU DONT CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS, JUST IMAGINE YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF EVIL CHRISTIAN STEP DAD WHO FORCES IT INTO YOUR FAMILY

The taxi you sat in drove slowly in the New York traffic, as snow fell outside, coating the entire city in blinding white. You couldn’t enjoy it however. Your entire body hurt, and yet you still couldn’t find even a moment to worry about your health. All you could think about was them.

Tom and Benedict. Your sweetest coworkers, and at this point your closest.. anything. Family, friends? Who cares, you had no one else. You’d gone back for the holidays like everyone else, even though you wished you could have just stayed at in your trailer. Your dad, like any other time you saw him, had used this time to pour his anger and alcoholism out on you. Your body which had finally begun to heal, was now back to square one, covered in cuts and bruises. 

You knew what would happen if anyone found out. You’d be taken from your family. But in truth, although you hated being around him, you wanted to wait for your dad. You wanted to wait for him to get over his alcoholism, you wanted him to get better, and then he’d treat you better. 

But they would find out. You were covered in bruises and purple patches. Your face was fine, except for your neck, but the rest of your body was ruined. Ugly. You could hide most of it, but it hurt. Even just sitting there, in the soft and plush taxi seat, you body was aching and wailing like a police siren. 

And what if they noticed you foundation-covered hands? Or the movie required you to wear something more revealing? 

“You okay?” the deep voice of your taxi driver ripped you from your thoughts. A single tear had slid down your face. You cleared your throat and nodded, wiping the tear from your cheek. 

You arrived at the set, and an impossible knot had been tied in your stomach. Nervousness tingled in your heart and your legs, but you got up anyway, trying to calm your breath. The moment you stood up, you winced and stopped. 

You managed to roll your luggage to your trailer, biting your lip continuously in order to keep yourself from screaming. You threw it on the floor of your trailer, whimpering and doubling over in pain. 

“Y/n!” a rapid knock on your door, interrupted you. It was Tom’s voice. You took a shaky breath, closing your eyes, and then opening the door. Tom stood there in your doorway like a smiling idiot. Your lips widened into a smile just from seeing him.

“Y/n!” he repeated stepping inside and wrapping his arms around you in a hug. You bit your lip again, hiding your pain-wrenched face in his chest, before hugging him back. He placed his head on yours sweetly. “I missed you!” he gushed. 

You hit his chest playfully, “I missed you too,” you frowned for a moment and looked away. Tom’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Are you okay?” You simply nodded. Tom stared at you for a moment and then shook his head. “Anyway, um, Benedict asked me to tell you that he’s invited both of us youngsters out for dinner tonight. Just as one last ‘fuck you!’ to work, before officially start back up tomorrow.”

“That does sound like something he would do,” you agreed and Tom laughed, punching your shoulder playfully. You yelped loudly, retreating quickly from him. 

“Woah,” he exclaimed, holding his hands up, “Are you okay? What happened to your shoulder?” 

“I fell,” you said. Nervousness jabbed at your ribs. You’d barely talked to Tom for a minute and he’d already asked if you were okay twice. He seemed to buy your explanation, and apologized for accidentally hitting your sore shoulder, to which you nodded absently. 

Tom was silent for a couple of heartbeats. He studied you. You were not usually like this. Or maybe you had been a little like this those four months ago, when you first started filming. He didn’t understand what caused you to be that way, so distant and unhappy. 

“Hey, anyway, I’m gonna go, I’m trying to actually read the script this time,” he joked, and you laughed because you knew it was a hopeless task. 

“Have fun,” you mumbled, and as soon he left, you body slid down against the wall, and your facade crumbled, tears leaving your eyes.

___________________________

Before the dinner, you took three pain killers. Then, you waited restlessly, hoping that the pills might kick in. They did but your body felt strange and buzzy. You ignored it, a blossoming hope forming in your chest that you might be able to conceal your pain in the pills and the clothing. 

Benedict came knocking on your door around 7, a smile on his face. “Y/n!” he said, and you both hugged. A small smile had formed on your lips, when you actually managed to deal with the ache, now much weaker than previously.

You both then walked to Tom’s trailer, and then the three of you walked to a restaurant, not too far from your filming location.

“So, what have you two been up to in our little break?” Benedict asked once you all sat down, having ordered already. You glanced at Tom, hoping that he’d start. 

“Me and my brothers went back home to our mum and dad. Had a pretty regular Christmas. I gave the best gifts. I got some pretty cool socks,” Tom joked around. You and Benedict stifled a laugh. Then both Ben and Tom looked at you, and you realized it was your turn to tell them about what you’d been up to. 

“Oh, well, I.. I spent Christmas with my parents. My grandparents and cousins also came,” you were lying through your teeth. You avoided their eyes, sipping your soda. 

“Got any presents?” Benedict asked and you cursed at yourself internally for forgetting such a simple part of Christmas. And for making things awkward. 

“I got some clothes, some books. Pretty standard stuff,” you forced a smile, “What about you, Benadryl?”

Benedict rolled his eyes at your comment, making you and Tom fist-bump one another, giggling quietly as he told you about his own Christmas. The night was going alright, except for that rough start. Mostly you avoided any talk of your family, and you could feel yourself getting better, the further the conversation got from your family. Until-

“Y/n, what’s that on your hand?” 

Instinctively, you pulled your hand to your lap, straightening yourself up and gulping. You looked down, pretending to inspect it and then looked up. 

“It’s, uh, it’s dirt. Wow, I should really go wash my hands, haha-” Tom grabbed your hand from under the table, pulling it towards him. Your foundation was wearing off, a large purple patch stemming from your wrist and snaking up your hand revealing itself. 

You couldn’t breathe. Both Tom and Ben just stared at it. You tried to pull back but Tom was much stronger than you. Tears blurred your vision. 

“Y/n, what is this?” Tom whispered, and you felt his fingers rubbing the bruise gently. The tears finally fell, and now both men were looking at you. Benedict looked serious. It was an expression you’d never really seen on his features before, at least not outside of your acting. 

“I-I fell..” you mumbled, but you knew it was useless. 

“Y/n.. Who did this?” Benedict’s voice was low, gently setting a hand on your shoulder. You flinched. 

“I don’t know.. I don’t..” 

“Y/n!” Tom’s voice was raised. You immediately jumped away from them both, putting your arms in front of you in fear. Several people turned to look at you three. Shaking, you lowered your hands, and saw Tom and Ben staring at you worriedly. Tom had tears in his eyes. 

“Let’s talk about this back at the studio, okay?” Benedict, now afraid to touch you, spoke slowly and comfortingly. You nodded and then two men got up, standing on either side of you, grabbing one of your hands each. 

“Was it your dad?” Tom growled as you walked in the night, moon rising in the sky. 

“Yes..” you whispered, so low you wondered if they heard it, but they did. They both exchanged glances. Tom was furious. Benedict was too, but he was collected. Tom itched to ask you more and help you, console you right there on the street, but Benedict sent him a warning look not to. 

You walked back to the studio in silence. The three of you entered your trailer and you quietly wished you had predicted something like this would happen, because the bottle of strong pain killers was still out and open on your kitchen table. 

Benedict spotted them immediately and grabbed them. His eyes narrowed as he read the bottle description. Then he looked at you and then it again. Tom watched helplessly, holding your shoulders gently. 

“How many more are there? Bruises.” Ben was clearly angry. He was losing his cool, hands shaking as he grabbed your hand to pull up your sleeve. You tried to move his hand away, but he slid the sleeve up to your elbow and just stared at the blue, yellow and purple that littered your arm. Tom was frozen beside you. 

Ben slid up your other sleeve, breathing speeding up as he saw more, and then he tugged at the collar of your turtleneck, exposing the jarring and ugly sight of a red handprint. He pulled away suddenly, walking away from you. 

“Fuck!” he yelled, hitting the wall of the trailer. He hung his head low. You jumped and turned around, but Tom simply embraced you, and then sat you both down on the floor. You hid your face in his neck, sobbing again. Tom’s hands slowly rubbed your back. 

“Okay..” said Benedict after a while. You could hear that he’d calmed down. Ben angrily wiped a few tears from his face, turning to you and Tom on the floor. Tom was simply frowning now. He never wanted to let you go. He never wanted any harm to come to you. 

“I’m gonna call the police and get your dad arrested,” he said, and you heard his footsteps, as he wondered what to do next. 

“No!” you exclaimed, scrambling to your feet away from Tom. Both men looked at you in confusion. “No! You can’t do that, he’s- he’s just trying to get better. If I wait a little longer, he’s going to get better.” 

“Y/n..” Benedict whispered sadly and you ran to him hoping to stop him. “You can’t wait for him. You’re putting yourself in danger..” you shook your head, but Ben grabbed your shoulders and looked into your eyes, “he’s a grown man, Y/n. He doesn’t deserve pity or patience. Not after doing this. Nothing excuses this. Nothing.” 

You swallowed the lump in your throat, lip quivering, but still you nodded. 

“Can your mother take care of you?” Ben asked, piercing blue eyes still staring into your soul. There was no point in lying anymore, you knew. 

“No.” 

“Alright, then you’ll stay with me.” Ben declared, “You’ll stay with me until we can find someone from your family who can take care of you.” You looked up at him with shining eyes. Despite the uncomfortable situation you found yourself in, a genuine smile broke out on your face. 

You hugged him, thanking him breathlessly. Ben and Tom made eye contact, and smiled gently at each other. Tom had cried silently at your interaction. The thought that someone would hurt someone he loved so dearly shattered his heart completely. 

“Now,” Benedict said finally, “we need to drive you to the hospital.” 

You agreed and while Tom drove, Ben was in the backseat on the phone with the police department. You just watched the beautiful neon lights shining in the pitch black night, snow illuminating the ground. People still littered the streets. 

You knew it now. Your father didn’t deserve your waiting, and though it would take very long to finally live with and truly understand, it was worth it to start the fight. You truly owed it to the two jerks you worked with. What would you even do with out them?

#marvel #avengers #dr strange #dr strange x reader #dr. strange #dr. strange x reader #benedict cumberbatch #benedict cumberbatch x reader #spiderman #spiderman x reader #peter parker x reader #stephen strange x reader #tom holland #tom holland x reader #avengers x reader #avengers cast x reader #marvel cast x reader #marvel x reader

[theabominableblogger]

My Reaction to “Pennyworth” 1x1

Yep, this is happening!  We finally have something Alfred-related!

Since the first three episodes have been dropped much sooner than anticipated, the scheduling for this reaction series is gonna be irregular.  Plus I will be starting my senior year in college soon and that will be a big factor in these things.

On with the show!

*Epix jingle plays*  Oooohhh...

*jams out silently to “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones

This color palette is freaking lovely and I’m like 30 seconds in.

Also eff fox-hunters

*Sykes appears*  Whoaaaa!

Also, would never have imagined Paloma Faith as a bad guy

*jams out to soundtrack playing as Raven Society cards are printed*

WAIT THIS IS THE OPENING THEME?!?

*jams out even harder*

[Written by Bruno Heller] [Directed by Danny Cannon]  YESS!

Why are all the officers were black ski masks at the funeral march?

I’ve only met Dave Boy for like a minute and I love his Scottish accent

Jack Bannon’s voice is spectacular.  He sounds exactly like a young Sean Pertwee. 

He even says “tossers” the same way.

All right, I need this soundtrack pronto.  On my desk.  Now.

Wait did we just meet Thomas Wayne?  I think we did.

*Patricia accidentally punches Alfred in the face*  Oooh!

Wait so Thomas is a doctor in this universe!

AN:  Later in the episode, he reveals he’s actually a financial analyst.

“I don’t even know youuuu.... [expletive] youuu...”  *laughs*

*Alfred bluntly asks Esme out on a date and it works*  Oh my God, that’s great

Wait so this show is a little more fruitful in F bombs than its predecessor (Gotham)... m’kay.

“Dark wheels are turning.”  Ooh ominous!

Matte painting!

*Leader of the Raven Society appears*  Director Krennic, is that you?!?

So the Raven Society is this anti-government group in London?  OK, so what exactly is their plan?  I mean, we’re probably gonna learn it sooner or later but what are they doing?

*gasps when one of Alfred’s army buddies gets shot in the face in a nightmare*

Wait so Alfred’s dad is a butler!  Ohhhhhh!

Oh my God, Jack Bannon is so tall and skinny!

That long shot of Alfred waiting on the park bench is gorgeous

Mmm, long walks in the park... how romantic...

The actress who plays Esme [Emma Corrin] is actually really pretty

Oh my God, it’s established that Alfred’s favorite play is “Peter Pan.”  That’s amazing.

*laughs*  Jack Bannon’s widow’s peak is really distracting

“Peaceful life for me.”  *coughs*

*laughs when Esme acts out a scene in front of Alfred*

Oh they went to making out real quick!

I really like the soft trumpets during this love scene though

Oh God, they’re gonna kidnap that little boy aren’t they?

“Would you like a boiled sweet?”  They’re not even trying [when it comes to subtlety]

“Give me the name.”  Who are they looking for?

“Thomas Wayne...”  Oh snap.

“Oh.... did she?”  *laughs*

“Go and tell those useless buggers they missed.”  *snorts in hilarity*

*Sykes picks up Alfred’s card from Thomas’s coat*  Alfred... you need to choose a better font than that.  You can hardly read that.

“You [Esme] make me [Alfred] feel like anything’s possible.”  “That’s a good answer.”  Please God let her live.

*Alfred and Esme kiss*  Yes.  Good.  Excellent.

Oh God they brought up the [Esme’s] dad.  Here we go.

“Es?”  Oh they have nicknames now.  It’s serious.

SHE JUST SAID SHE WANTS THEM TO GET MARRIED!

HOW ARE WE ONLY 30 MINUTES IN?!?

NO THEY KIDNAPPED ESME!!!

*imitates Sykes saying “You got ‘til tomorrow!”

Wait did I just see a “Big Brother is Watching You” sign in the desk sergeant’s office?

“I swear to God...”  Oh my GOd...

That shot of Dave Boy and Alfred facing the farm building is gorgeous

Or is that supposed to be pseudo British Wayne Manor?

These British accents in this show are good that I can’t freaking understand half the cast

I just realized how much the actor that plays young Thomas Wayne [Ben Aldridge] looks like David Mazouz.  Dang.  They have the same hair and everything.

*Sykes puts her hand on Esme’s knee*  Please dooon’t...

“Forgive my bluntness, I [Thomas] don’t wanna die.”  *snorts*

Oh my gosh, this music is straight out of James Bond.

Is this whole show gonna be Alfred playing Keep Away with Thomas?

Dave Boy, I have no idea what you’re saying.

*Sykes has Esme slow dance with her*  Eeeuugghh...

*Esme manages to hit Sykes i the head with a tea kettle*  YES!

So is the Raven Society kind of a precursor or spin off group of the Court of Owls in Gotham?

*gasps when Esme gets slapped across the face*

*Alfred gets knocked out by guards*  Nooo!

Why does the Raven Society want Thomas Wayne?

Alfred is being so freaking casual despite the fact that he’s been forced into a conversation with the enemy

“You know what this country needs?  Love.”  Sure man.

Just realized that Alfred has a scar that splits his left eyebrow in half

His almost Kanan Jarrus level eyebrows

One Man Army:  Mr. Dave Boy himself

*gasps when Dave Boy gets shot*

*gasps when Alfred knocks out Lord Harwood*

“You shot a granny?!?”  Heehee...

Wait I just realized Jack Bannon was in “The Imitation Game”

*Esme knocks on the door*  God no.

Why does Sykes call everyone “sloppy cats?”

*Mrs. Pennyworth beats up Sykes*  YEAAH!

Oh my God, the whole family’s badass!

Let’s gooo!

Oh my God, whoever plays the Prime Minister has a great voice and an amazing mustache.

“Cheerio.”  *does trumpet call*

WAIT are Alfred and Esme back together?  YES!

Welp... I officially really like this show now

AND WE’RE MEETING THE QUEEN!

“Promise me your silence.  You must never tell a soul what you did for your country.”  What now?

*jams out to end theme*

HECK YEAH DAVID RUSSO!!

#Pennyworth #alfred pennyworth #epix #the blogger reacts #pennyworth spoilers #back in the jungle and reacting #Jack Bannon #thomas wayne #paloma faith #david russo

[bluerighthand]

Growing Up A Shelby - Chapter 3: 1901

Previous Chapters: one two three /?

Chapter Summary: Ada starts school, Tommy thinks about girls…and boys, and a furry friend is introduced to the family (much to Polly’s distress). 

This chapter is basically a load of domestic things strung together. Fluff, family shenanigans, minimal angst (but there is a whole storm of angst heading your way).

Notes: Due to recent events I’m taking a break from tumblr/the internet, but here’s me resurfacing to post a new chapter and add more stuff to my queue. I’m really sorry for the wait, but I hope you enjoy <3

Words: 5,654

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15542805/chapters/38607311

Warnings: homophobia, brief mentions of death, gun violence and child abuse

“Oh, will you sit still” Polly groaned, smacking the back of John’s head. He stopped wriggling, for a grand total of five seconds, before resuming his task of trying to kick Arthur under the kitchen table. “John. I will shave your head right off I swear to God” said Polly, attempting to guide the razor across the back of his head.

“I am sitting still!” he protested, bringing his feet behind the chair legs to prove his innocence. Arthur’s legs could still reach however, and he waited until Polly was deep in concentration before sending a hard kick to John’s shin. At his cry, Polly slammed the razor down onto the table.

“Out” she said, pointing Arthur towards the door. She didn’t want to actually cut anyone, despite them both driving her absolutely mad. “Acting like a bloody child”.

“That’s a bad word” John informed her. Not as bad as the ones she wanted to use. Arthur took his time, dragging his feet along the floor and ‘accidentally’ knocking John’s arm on the way out.

She needed wine. And whiskey. In the same glass.

Ten minutes later, John’s hair was done. He scurried off immediately, leaving Polly’s warning about kicking his brother hanging in the kitchen. Cleaning the razor, she called for Tommy, but there was no answer. The imminent return to school (signified by the fresh haircut) must have him up to his neck in summer homework, she thought optimistically. Who was she kidding…

Cutting Tommy’s hair in the past had been a long and arduous task. It was easier now he was older, but he still hadn’t fully recovered his dignity from the baldness incident of 1896, and was therefore extremely cautious when it came to having his head shaved.

She entered the boys’ room to see Tommy leaning out of the window, arms resting on the sill. Thin wisps of smoke curled above his head, and Polly shivered, the autumn air from outside chilling the room.

“Thomas” she said warningly. He jumped, quickly flinging his cigarette down onto the street below, and spinning round. She glared at him in frustration. “Where do you keep getting those from?”. He shrugged, but at least had the decency to look sheepish under her gaze.

“It’s bloody freezing” said Polly, tugging the window down and flicking the latch. “Let’s get your hair sorted and you can go and play”. Tommy followed her out of the room.

“I’m too old for playing” he lied, eyes falling on his wooden horses on the landing even as he spoke. Polly shook her head, remembering a time when nothing could prise Tommy away from his toys. She’d seen the way he stared at older gangs on the streets, his natural curiosity pulling him into something that was very hard to get out of. She pushed the thought away. Tommy was only eleven for God’s sake, he had years before his father’s devilment emerged.

Haircut done and school bag packed for the following day, Tommy returned to his spot on the window sill. Arthur was on the street below, and having tired of annoying John, was throwing a deflated ball up for Tommy to catch. Arthur didn’t play with him as much as he used to, so Tommy was happy to join in, missing the hours they used to spend dreaming up worlds together. Tommy was the first to see Ada and Uncle Charlie heading down the lane, and he waved, grinning as Ada held her new school bag aloft. She spent the rest of the evening buckling and unbuckling the thing in excitement, and hardly slept a wink that night. Tommy didn’t have the heart to tell her school wasn’t nearly as fantastical as she was imagining.

The morning arrived, bright and chilly, and the family gathered in the kitchen for breakfast.

“Our Ada, all grown up” said Arthur, holding Ada’s hand as she twirled, crumpled pinafore fanning out. Not quite a ball gown, but it could have been for the way everyone cheered.

“And you’re going to be in my class Ada!” John cried.

“God help their poor teacher” said Polly under her breath. Tommy laughed, pulling on his jacket. After Polly had extracted three cuddly toys and a plate from Ada’s bag, they left the house, Arthur and Polly waving them off at the door. Arthur had finished school in the summer, and now worked in Charlie’s yard, chopping wood, hammering nails, fixing things. He was good at all that stuff. He wasn’t paid much, but earning three pennies a week was a lot more than others his age were doing for their families.

Polly was ecstatic either way, as Arthur’s income enabled her to quit her cleaning job in the evenings, and enrol in an accountancy class at a night school across town. The first class wasn't for a month or two, but she was already beside herself with excitement. Finally, finally, her life was starting. She was slightly apprehensive about leaving the kids on a regular basis; who knows what trouble they’d get up to, but she’d given Arthur a nice long talk about responsibility, some of which had hopefully stuck.

Jane was there of course, but she’d spent the vast majority of the past few months’ asleep upstairs, which unfortunately Polly didn’t see changing anytime soon. At least there was an adult in the home, in case Arthur decided his friends were more important than babysitting.

Ada kept up a constant stream of chatter on the way to school, about exactly what she should learn and exactly how it should be taught to her. Tommy tried to cut in with some brotherly advice; listen, do your homework, don’t punch anyone with these surnames or I’ll be the one to get it in the neck etc., which was naturally ignored. It would be okay though. Ada could look out for herself, and already had a mean right hook on her if anyone got nasty, much to Polly’s delight and their mother’s horror.

By the time they arrived, the yard was bustling with kids, and Tommy quickly lost sight of his siblings as John pulled Ada off towards the schoolhouse. Spying Freddie and Danny amongst their classmates, he elbowed his way through the crowd to reach them.

“Alright Tommy” greeted Freddie, throwing an arm around his shoulders. “You’ll never guess what Danny’s got”. Tommy looked to Danny, who grinned widely as he pulled him close to whisper in his ear.

“No way” Tommy said when he pulled back, in an equally hushed tone.

“Found it in me dad’s coat last night. He’s gonna sort that Whitton out I reckon” said Danny.

“Or that mad horse of yours” said Freddie, laughing at his friends’ matching frowns.

“Jus’ cause you don’t even have a horse” said Danny.

“When can we see it?” asked Tommy eagerly. Guns were not uncommon in Small Heath, far from it in fact, but he’d never actually held one, never fired one. Blades were far easier to steal, so staring at the outline of his father’s gun through his jacket was the closest he’d got thus far. Arthur Snr had never let his gun out of his sight, even when he was drunk, and Polly used to joke that it was the only thing he could be relied upon for. He’d taken Arthur out shooting once, to Tommy’s jealousy, but his rather graphic descriptions of what he’d do to anyone who stole his gun was enough to put Tommy off.

Danny’s dad was as forgetful as anything, much like his son, making this gun a far easier target.

Before they could make plans however, the bell rang, and the boys reluctantly made their way towards the extension. This building, made for the older kids, was far more makeshift and patchwork than the main schoolhouse, and Tommy wasn’t looking forward to their winter classes. Other than that, things were looking up if Arthur’s time in the top class was anything to go by.

He’d hardly turned up for one thing, and whenever he caused trouble a sweet smile was enough for Mrs Changretta to look the other way. Unfortunately, school restructuring meant that Tommy missed out on Mrs Changretta altogether, and instead ended up with a rather frail looking elderly man called Mr Pearson.

He seemed to live in a constant state of exhaustion, and also looked partially sighted, meaning Tommy was looking forward to bunking off without Pearson even noticing his absence. After ten minutes of silent work only disturbed by the whizz of paper balls Billy was lobbing at the back of Tommy’s head, Pearson went so still in his chair that they all began to speculate whether he was still breathing or not.

Turns out, he was, and Tommy let his daydreams carry him off for the rest of the morning rather than listen to any more drivel about algebra. Lunchtime rolled around, and he, Danny and Freddie entertained themselves by acting out what would likely happen to poor Whitton at the hands of Mr Owens’ gun.

It was strange to see Ada running around the yard. She’d never liked being left behind while her brothers went off to school. And now here she was with them, wearing an oversized pinafore that used to be Polly’s, a wide gap toothed smile on her face and her freshly cut bob dancing around her shoulders. She bounded up to Tommy a few minutes later, holding hands with another girl, and Tommy just managed to catch that her name was Jessie before the two ran off again.

After school, Danny’s mother was waiting by the gates, Danny turning back to shrug apologetically at his friends as he was pulled away. Tommy and Freddie glanced at each other uneasily. They decided to go the pasture that afternoon, instead of playing in the streets…not that they were scared or anything. And if they walked John and Ada home first, nobody had to know.

An hour later, Tommy and Freddie were stretched out on their backs in the field, horses galloping around the paddock nearby as clouds meandered across the sky. It was almost too cold for this now, and Tommy wanted to be outdoors as much as possible before he was forced into Arthur’s old winter coat every time he left the house, which was too thin to keep him from the chill, and merely stopped the free feel of the breeze against his skin.

“Do you like anyone?” asked Freddie. The question came out of the blue, they’d been discussing Danny’s father a second ago, and Tommy turned his head to look at Freddie, his profile clear against the sky.

“I’m not that cold am I?”.

“Not like that” Freddie laughed. “I mean a girl. Do you like any girls?”. Tommy had known what he’d meant. All he heard from Arthur these days was ‘girl talk’, when he wasn’t ignoring him in favour of Irene, or Erin, or…who was it now?

“Do you?” Tommy asked.

“Yeah” said Freddie sadly, “but she doesn’t like me back”.

“How do you know?” said Tommy, propping himself up on an elbow. He didn’t like the sound of this. It was the first he’d heard about it, and he and Freddie told each other everything, didn’t they? Freddie turned his head away before he spoke.

“Because she likes you Tommy” he said, the intonation giving away his annoyance. Tommy frowned, before sitting up fully.

“Is it Greta?” he asked. She was the only girl who ever played with him, other than Ada of course. She was funny, smart, and pretty too. Freddie nodded, not moving from his spot on the grass. “Freddie” groaned Tommy, poking his friend in the shoulder. “She probably only likes me cause I’m the only boy that talks to her”. Freddie shrugged.

“Are you going to kiss her?” he asked.

“What? No!” cried Tommy, realising too late that his reaction was far more opinionated than Freddie was expecting.  “I mean” he tried again, “she’d like you much more if you only tried speaking to her instead of putting worms in her desk”.

“Hey” protested Freddie, “how was I to know Billy had moved seats while I was ill?”. They laughed for a while at the memory, before Freddie spoke again.

“I’d like to kiss her”. Tommy felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. Maybe he was getting ill. But as his eyes flicked down to Freddie’s lips as he smiled, Tommy wondered if there was another reason his insides were full of butterflies.

He’d pondered this matter rather a lot lately.

The first thing he’d heard about homosexuals had been from his father. They’d been walking home from the boxing ring a few years ago, Arthur Snr having had one too many whiskeys, and come across two young men in an alleyway shortcut to Watery Lane. One was leaning against the wall, whilst the other rested his hand on the bricks behind his head, leaning in close. They were just laughing and talking, and Tommy wouldn’t have given it a moment’s thought if his father hadn’t stopped dead in the street, turning down the alley.

The men were already long gone by the time his father had staggered to their spot, but he spent the rest of the trip home muttering about them, and it was the most Tommy had ever heard him speak of the Bible. He’d been too young to understand it then, but now?

He sighed.

He probably didn’t need to worry much about what his father thought anyway. They’d only seen him once since their disastrous trip to London, when he’d turned up one weekend at the boxing ring. He’d bullied Arthur into fighting him, and then left whilst his son was still bleeding on the ground. He hadn’t even gone to see their mother, nor Polly.

Tommy had been close to confronting him, but Arthur wouldn’t let him, holding firmly onto his wrist as blood dripped down his chin. Tommy thought about him sometimes, wondered where he was, but was nevertheless glad to have him out of the way.

The walk home was quiet, both Tommy and Freddie lost in thought. A dark raincloud had settled over Small Heath, and didn’t let up for weeks, sending everyone into an irritable mood. Danny’s father had died in hospital, from multiple gunshot wounds. Of course Tommy knew guns could kill; that was the point of them, but…weren’t they only supposed to kill bad people? The hero never died in his storybooks. Maybe Mr Owens had been a villain after all.

The approach of Christmas and the school holidays cheered everyone up a bit, as did Danny’s return to school at the end of November.

Tommy also had a new hobby; dancing. Smoking around the back of the town hall at night had become something of a habit. It was quiet, as quiet as you could get in Small Heath, as the majority of the pubs and gambling dens were on the opposite side of the town. Tommy liked to lean against the brick wall and smoke, gazing up at the night sky. In the summer, they opened the windows, and Tommy could hear violins and cellos and countless other instruments from within, tapping his foot along with the rhythm.

Freddie often accompanied him, but Tommy wasn’t sure how he felt about Freddie these days. It was nice to spend the evening alone sometimes, away from his siblings and friends. Tommy had wandered across to the hall, hoping to hear the music, but the chill of autumn had been supplanted by a bitterly cold winter, and the windows remained firmly shut. He shivered, regretting this decision somewhat as he saw a mother and son cross the street ahead of him, both decked out in thick fluffy coats and scarves. Night had fallen, and he could feel his fingertips going numb as he deliberated what to do.

The large clock on the building opposite chimed nine, and Tommy made his decision, slipping in behind an elderly couple entering the hall. He ducked behind a column, watching people in their fineries enter the main auditorium. There was a door on the right, marked with that tempting ‘Do not enter, staff only’ sign and when there was a lull in arrivals Tommy crossed the empty hallway and pulled open the door to reveal a staircase.

Pleasantly surprised it wasn’t just a cupboard, or something equally boring, he climbed the stairs to the top. Judging by the amount of dust on the handle, nobody had been up here for a long time. Tommy blew the cloud of fluff away, pushing open the door to reveal the loft. Boxes littered the floor, the sad remains of bent flutes and snapped violin strings poking out. There was a dusty old gramophone, and a few cracked records strewn about the place, but other than that it was all beams and lead pipes and spider’s webs.

The building was old, and the boards creaked dangerously under Tommy’s feet as he made his way across the attic. The screws in the floorboards looked loose and rusty, and Tommy could see gaps where they’d fallen away up ahead, providing chinks of light where the missing tiles in the ceiling offered only black.

Not stopping to consider the fact that this could be a very bad idea, Tommy continued walking, swinging around a beam and crouching down at its base. Through a small gap, he could see the orchestra far below, a few metres ahead. The rows of seats to the side of the dancefloor were mostly full, and Tommy was surprised to see what he assumed were people of standing in the audience. Small Heath wasn’t exactly known as a cultural centre.

He moved further into the room, and decided a stronger looking horizontal beam would be a good place to sit and listen to the music. He clung to a dusty pipe for support, swinging his legs across and pushing himself up onto the beam.

It wasn’t the most comfortable; in order to balance himself he had to twist around awkwardly to grab the post behind him, but when the music started up again and he caught glimpses of the dancers swirling below him, it was worth it.

The sound here was much better than from outside, and the protection of the mostly formed roof prevented the bite of that chilling cold that numbed his fingers and wound its way down to his bones. He swung his feet in time to the music, the thrill of being somewhere he definitely shouldn’t and nobody knowing it putting a giddy smile on his face.

“What are you doing?” came a voice. Tommy started, craning his neck to see a girl standing in the doorway. She was dressed well, too well to be a Small Heath kid, buttoned into a crisp white blouse and a navy petticoat. The long blond hair trailing down to her waist made her look like the princess in Ada’s storybook.

“The door was open” she said. Shit. “It’s staff only, so I thought I should take a look”.

“You’re staff?” said Tommy, disbelievingly. She had to be at least three years younger than he was.

“My mum’s performing” she said proudly. “I can go where I want”.

“What does she play?” asked Tommy, peeking back through the gap in the floor, relieving the strain on his neck.

“Don’t you think we should talk about this after I’ve rescued you?” she said, exasperated. Tommy squawked indignantly.

“I don’t need rescuing!” he insisted, trying to look relaxed in his precarious position. The girl looked at him expectantly. Right, of course. Time to get back without falling through the floor. Tommy scanned the area, noting the spots he’d used to get here, and the surrounding beams. It suddenly looked a lot more complicated than it had ten minutes ago. Steeling himself, and slightly annoyed that this girl had interrupted a perfectly enjoyable evening, he slid off the beam and began to make his way back across the floor. The girl was shifting nervously, and brought a hand up to bite at her nails when a board gave a particularly loud creak.

“Not there!” she cried suddenly, and Tommy flung an arm out to stop himself instinctively, glaring at her.

“You’re not helping” he said. She fell silent for a moment, watching him right himself and manoeuvre around a couple more beams.

“I’m Grace, by the way”. Tommy didn’t answer, more focused on removing his foot from a floorboard that looked as if it had mere moments before it snapped. “What’s your name?”. Tommy jumped, swinging from an overhead pipe for a second, which protested loudly at his weight, and landed in front of Grace. He did a mock bow, and she laughed.

“Tommy”. A smile.

“Your clothes are filthy” she said, gesturing to his dusty attire.

“Yours aren’t, rich girl”.  Brushing himself down, he leant against the doorframe. She held out her hand.

“Do you want to dance?”. Tommy was slightly taken aback by this.

“I don’t know how” he said after a moment.

“I’ll teach you. It’s easy, come on!”.

“Which one’s your mum?” asked Tommy, once Grace had pulled him through the hall, on the right floor this time, and up to the stage.

“The singer, right at the front” said Grace, beaming. “We’re staying in hotels and travelling around England so she can perform. Isn’t she brilliant? They say I could be a singer myself someday”.

“I’d like to see that” said Tommy.

“Come on, let’s dance” she said, pulling him into the crowd. Tommy was stiff and self-conscious at first, treading on Grace’s feet and glancing around the room for any familiar faces. Grace laughed when they stumbled, but not in a cruel way, and Tommy soon found himself smiling and pulled into the rhythm of the music. By the time the orchestra took a break, Grace had taught Tommy some basic steps, and they twirled amongst the other dancers for an hour or so until they collapsed, exhausted, into chairs next to the stage. Grace’s mum came down from the platform to greet them, eyes widening as she glanced at her watch.

“Say goodbye, Grace” her mother instructed, glancing at Tommy distractedly, and waving over a friend to take Grace back to the room.

“There’s another concert next Friday” she said, “this is our last stop before we go back to Ireland. Would you like to come?”. They made plans, and Tommy waved goodbye and slipped out of the door before Grace’s mother could ask any questions.

His walk home turned into a run in an attempt to warm his blood, but his fingers were still shaking by the time he slid his key into the door. Polly had finally been persuaded to get him one cut after she’d found him half way up the house, clinging to several knotted sheets at three am, Arthur half hanging out of the window in an attempt to pull him up. Avoiding the creaky stair, he crept past Polly’s door and into his room.

John was fast asleep under the covers, but Arthur wasn’t home. It wasn’t uncommon these days for him to be gone, but Tommy usually lay awake until he heard his brother’s footsteps on the landing, or the rustle of the sheets as he slid into bed. He didn’t come back at all that night. Tommy caught a few winks of sleep, but woke whilst the sky was still dark, watching the street from his window until the orange sunrise dragged itself wearily over Small Heath, the dark clouds finally dissipating.

Arthur turned up around lunchtime, mostly sober, and Polly, having had quite enough of the lot of them pressed a few pennies into their hands for the fair. Charlie came round in the afternoon to visit his sister, and enjoy a hot cup tea away from the yard.

Polly took advantage of his visit, enacting her plans to rearrange the sleeping arrangements in the house without the hindrance of her nephews and niece. The boys were getting far too old to be cramped up in one room together. In the past year, Arthur had started growing at a slightly alarming rate, much to Tommy’s distress. He could wear his father’s old clothing now, which was useful, but his long limbs were also causing some problems. He'd been shaken awake by an indignant Tommy on more than one occasion, having accidentally smacked him as he rolled over in bed.

But Tommy’s nighttime wanderings and susceptibility to nightmares made it clear he still needed his older brother. However much he’d deny it. John, although small, was extremely messy, and seemed to relocate every single toy in the house to their bedroom floor on a regular basis, which infuriated his brothers to no end. Despite John and Ada bickering at least five times a day, they were inseparable, and so close in age it only made sense for them to share a room.

Polly felt no remorse in chucking out her brother’s old boxes of files, endless sheets of paper and grand business plans, which took up an entire room on the landing. Who the hell needed two offices? Especially if they were never even home to use them?

Curly was called in from the stables to help, and soon John’s bed was squeezed through the doorway and moved into the now clean and empty room down the hall. Ada’s new bed, courtesy of Charlie, followed, and Polly inwardly cheered about having her own space back after four years of sharing with the youngest Shelby. Jane managed to make it downstairs to see the new arrangement, and say a sentimental goodbye to the Shelby cot.

“I remember putting little Arthur in here” she said, running her hand across the wood. Polly smiled at the memory. She was only seven at the time, and was beyond excited to have a baby to look after.

“I reached through and he gripped onto my finger” said Polly fondly. Little teeth marks, John’s handiwork, covered the posts, and Polly had an exasperated smile on her face as she observed the marks where Tommy had actually removed two of the posts and wiggled out. She’d found the empty cot and loose posts on the floor the next morning, and was in complete panic until she found him curled up on the floor under Jane’s bed. God knows how he’d done it.

“I’ll keep it out the back” said Charlie, “then you can have it again if you need it”. He quietened, a deep crease in his forehead.

“We won’t need it” said Polly, firmly.

Jane nodded sadly, before giving Polly a teasing smile.

“Maybe for children of your own, ey Pol?”.

“Give over” she laughed. She’d had quite enough of putting children before her career for the time being. But…maybe one day they’d use the cot again.

The boys’ room looked huge without John’s bed, and they spread out Arthur and Tommy’s, Charlie surprising Polly later that afternoon by delivering a small desk he’d been working on. It slid neatly between the beds, making the room look cosy and far more practical than before.

It was a far cry from a few winters past, where the cold had been so bad, and the price of wood so high, they’d chopped up the beds to burn in the fireplace. They spared the cot; John was only a baby, and Jane’s bed, but the boys and Polly were on mattresses until the following summer. She’d tried to make it fun, like a camping game, but the novelty wore off after a few nights. Even when they had beds again, Tommy would wake up in a cold sweat more often than not, thinking he could feel bugs crawling over his skin.

Later that evening, Polly glanced over her library books one last time. It had been hard to remind her brain how to do calculations after such a long time, but she felt more confident now she’d got some practice in. She couldn’t believe it was finally happening. Practically jumping with excitement, Polly entered the kitchen to grab her bag, stopping in her tracks at the scene within.

The entire floor was covered in hay. Her first thought was that Tommy had brought one of the horses into the house again, but this time the culprits were Ada and John. They were sprawled in the middle of the floor, heads together, giggling at something Polly couldn’t see. Their heads snapped up when she coughed pointedly, gesturing at the mess.

Curled up in Ada’s lap, was a small shivering rabbit. It was white in places, but its paws and sides were a dirty grey, the fur matted and unkempt.

“Ada” Polly said calmly. “Why is there a rabbit in our kitchen?”.

“Because she’s cold”.

“It’s a boy” said John.

“Is not” retorted Ada, cuddling the animal close. To its credit, it didn’t seem to mind. Any other being that could tolerate the Shelby children should be given a medal in her view. That being said, it was still a dirty rabbit, and it was still in her kitchen.

“I don’t care if it’s cold, put it back where you found it. And look at the mess you’ve made” said Polly, moving some hay out of her path with her shoe.

“Aunt Pol, you just destroyed the turret” whined John.

“Turret?”

“We made her a castle to live in” said Ada. “Out of hay”.

“For God’s sake! Get it out, now”.

“No!” Ada cried, “we found her all alone outside, she doesn’t want to go back out there”. Polly pinched the bridge of her nose. She didn’t have time for this. And she would not have her good mood ruined a by a bloody rabbit.

“Ada Jane Shelby, you listen to me. If that rabbit is still in this house when I get home tonight, you’ll not sit down for a week”. Ada glared right back, and would have likely folded her arms if they weren’t full of fluff. John leaned over, holding something orange out to the creature. It sniffed the air, nose twitching, before tucking in.

“That’s not the carrot I bought from the market today is it?” Polly asked in a low voice. John shook his head, the lie written all over his face.

Slamming the door, Polly marched down the lane. Let Arthur deal with the bloody thing, just think about the class, she told herself. Despite her anger about the mess and the wasted food, she was still excited. It was quite a trek to the school, but Polly supposed accountants in training didn’t want drunkards bursting in on them halfway through a lesson. She arrived right on time, and swiftly closed the door on the frigid air she’d left behind.

By the time the lecturer arrived, there were around twenty students, most of whom had clearly travelled from out of town. She was the only girl, which she had been expecting, but it still sent a shiver of unease down her spine as the men turned to stare at her. No worries, she calmed herself, it would only take one woman to put this lot to shame. Deliberately busying herself with her books, she avoided their gazes and glanced over the course overview once again, trying to concentrate. Bloody rabbit. Arthur had better get rid of it.

“Something troubling you?”.

Polly started slightly, and looked to her left. A man had slid into the seat next to her, leaning on the desk as he smiled. His eyes were a deep blue-green colour, and his dark hair was styled upwards, a few strands falling around his face.

“Just- just a rabbit” she said. He laughed, and Polly faced the front quickly as the tutor called for their attention. If this stupidly attractive boy made her mince her words, she’d have nothing to do with him. She’d learnt that lesson four years ago.

The class was just as she’d hoped. She couldn’t quite process that she was actually here, and the life she’d dreamed up for herself when she was just thirteen was finally starting. Polly was pretty sure she spent the entire two hours with a deranged smile on her face, but she didn’t care. She caught the man’s eye from time to time when he smiled at her, and became more confident, even leaning over at one point and correcting a mistake he’d made. She wasn’t sure how he’d react and could imagine the earful she’d get from her brother if she did such a thing to him, but the man just nodded and listened, eager to learn. She liked that.

The class ended far too soon, but Polly packed up quickly, thoughts of what the kids could be getting up to in her absence taking precedence. She paused near the door, glancing back at the man she’d sat beside. He was engaged in conversation with some friends, and Polly smiled before ducking out of the room.

She was already anticipating the following week, planning to get some practice at the harder problems before the next class. She made it halfway down the dark street, before she heard loud footsteps behind her, instinctively reaching for the pocketknife hidden within her coat. Spinning around, the man from the class had caught up with her. At her expression, he waved his hands in apology.

“I didn’t mean to alarm you” he said, “I just-”

“I should be going” said Polly reluctantly, thinking of the children.

“Stay” he said, reaching for her hand, “have a drink with me. If not tonight, perhaps some other time?”. She bit her lip, enjoying the feeling of his fingers intertwining with hers. Should she go for this?

“I don’t even know your name” she said.

“Edward” he replied, kissing her hand. “Edward Gray”.

#my writing #growing up a shelby #guas au #peaky blinders fanfiction

[alisonwritesimagines]

My Serpent ~Sweet Pea Imagine~

Requested:

Summary: You’re Archie’s little sister and dating Sweet Pea. When your brother goes a little crazy from the black hood, he accidentally threatens your secret boyfriend in the South Side. When the Bulldog and Serpent happens, you try your best to stop it. However, this might cause trouble between your brother and you.

Author’s Note: I miss Sweet Pea. Also, this is really long.

Part Two | Part Three

You’re Archie’s little sister. And by mean little, you are only one year younger than him. You were his best friend and he was yours.

However, you too had a secret that you knew would give your brother and maybe your father a heart attack. You were with a Southside Serpent. Sweet Pea to be exact.

You both met when you needed to drop off something to Jughead at his new school. You loved Jughead like a second brother and Jughead saw you as a little sister since Jellybean left with their mom. 

“Here, Jughead,” You say, giving him some lunch.

“Y/N, what are you doing here?” Jughead asked as you handed him some food.

“Aren’t you forgetting that I take my last two classes online?” You smiled at him.

“Right. Well, thanks, Y/N,” Jughead said, giving you a hug. 

“Who’s the Northsider?” You heard. You looked up to see a cute Serpent with a tattoo on the side of his neck.

“This is Y/N. She’s a close friend of mine,” Jughead introduced.

“Nice to meet you,” You say.

“I’m Sweet Pea,” The Serpent said.

“Sweet Pea? Is it because you’re so sweet?” You joke. Sweet Pea laughed a little. Your phone buzzed making you pull it out from your skirt pocket.

“I have to go. My dad’s wondering where I am,” You tell Jughead as you saw a text from your dad.

“I’ll walk you out,” Jughead said.

“I can walk her out for you,” Sweet Pea offered. 

“Jughead, I’ll be fine with Sweet Pea. I’ll see you later,” You tell him. 

After that small interaction, you and Sweet Pea started to talk more. Eventually becoming a thing. 

“Hey, Y/N,” You heard. You looked over to see Reggie walking over to you.

“Hello Reggie,” You say.

“I was wondering, if you want to get some milkshakes after school,” Reggie said.

“Why me? You have all these lovely ladies around and you choose me?” You asked.

“Why not? You’re pretty,” Reggie said. 

“Very sweet of you but I’m gonna have to decline. I have a thing after school today,” You tell him as you started to walk away.

“Oh come on, Y/N!” Reggie said. You saw Archie and Veronica about to pass by making you smirk.

“Archie, Reggie was trying to hit on me again,” You tell him.

“Reggie!” Archie started. 

When the black hood came along, you started to worry. You saw your father get shot and you watched your brother go a little crazy. When your brother created the red circle, you tried to stay out of it as much as possible.

As you were doing your homework upstairs, you heard a familiar motorcycle sound making you look out the window. You saw your boyfriend walk over to your house along with other Serpents. You walked to see Veronica and your brother talking to him.

“Sweet Pea?” You asked, walking down the stairs. 

“Y/N?” Sweet Pea asked in confusion. 

“You know him, Y/N?” Archie asked you. 

“Of course I do. He’s my boyfriend,” You tell your brother. 

“You’re dating a serpent?” Archie asked in shock.

“You’re dating a gang member, beautiful?” Reggie asked. All eyes were on you now. 

“Yes. And I’m proud of it too,” You tell them. Sweet Pea smiled at you. 

“Y/N, go upstairs now,” Archie tells you.

“What? No. Archie!” You said.

“Y/N, go,” Sweet Pea said. You frowned and walked up.

You waited upstairs for what was going on. Veronica ran up to your room as soon as the boys left. 

“Y/N, you’re the only one who can stop this. Grab a rain coat and come on,” Veronica said. You nodded and grabbed your trench coat and umbrella.

You both made it to the fight where it hasn’t started. You opened your umbrella and ran over.

“Stop!” You yelled.

“Y/N, what the hell are you doing here?” You heard Archie said. You ran over to the middle and looked at each other. 

“You both can’t start without hurting me. Can we all just talk about this?” You asked.

“Y/N, get out!” Archie said.

“Y/N, you’re going to get hurt,” Reggie said. 

“No! I don’t care. I don’t want you guys to get hurt.”

“Y/N! Get back here. You’re already in so much trouble!” Archie said. You looked at Archie and shook your head. 

“Please don’t fight with my boyfriend or his friends,” You said.

“Y/N, how can you date a serpent? He’s dangerous,” Archie tells you.

“He’s not,” You tell him.

You felt a hand on yours making you look up. Sweet Pea leaned down and gave you a kiss on the forehead before pulling you back.

“Fangs, take her somewhere safe,” Sweet Pea said.

“What? Sweet Pea!” You yelled. 

Fangs pulled you back and away from the groups. You watched as your brother threw the first punch. You hid your face into Fangs’s chest as he hid your view from the fight. Once you heard a gunshot, you looked up to see Veronica with a gun. You watched Sweet Pea and the Serpents run back. You closed your umbrella and watched as Sweet Pea come back to you.

“Y/N!” You heard your brother yell. You walked over to Sweet Pea and got on his bike. You looked at your brother who got up.

“If you go with him, you’re not allowed back home,” Archie said. You looked over to Sweet Pea with a sad look.

“Go,” You said, holding onto him. 

Sweet Pea went straight to his home. You both walked in and he got some towels. He handed you one for you to dry your hair. You looked up at Sweet Pea before giving him a small kiss.

“I’m so sorry,” He tells you.

“It’s both to be fault. My brother’s going crazy after this Black Hood thing and you’re just trying to defend the South Side. I’m just scared to loose you both,” You tell him.

“I understand,” Sweet Pea said before giving you another kiss. 

The next morning, Sweet Pea dropped you home. You were in his flannel as it was dry and your wet clothes were now cold and very wrinkly. You walked inside to see your dad and brother by the kitchen.

“Y/N,” Your dad said walking over and giving you a hug. You hugged him back tightly before looking at Archie.

“Where were you last night?” Your dad asked.

“Dad, I was with my boyfriend last night. After what happened last night, he took me to his place and we just talked. Since it was raining and it was late, I stayed at his place,” You tell him.

“You should’ve called,” Your dad said. 

“I know and I’m sorry,” You tell him.

“Now tell me about your boyfriend and how come I’ve never heard of him till now?” Your dad said.

“Wait you’re just letting her off the hook like that?” Archie asked.

“You know what, Archie? I’m done. You’re the one who created this Red Circle thing which is only causing us more danger. Dad, my boyfriend is a Southside Serpent. But he is the most kindest and respectful person I could ever ask for. At least my boyfriend’s dad didn’t ruin multiple people’s lives,” You tell Archie. 

“Okay, both of you stop. Y/N, I’m disappointed that you’ve never mentioned or talked about your boyfriend. Not only that, you were gone without telling at least me where you were at. You’re grounded for a week,” Your dad said. You nodded as you knew you were going to get grounded.

“Didn’t Archie tell you?” You asked him.

“What?”

“Archie told me that I couldn’t come back home,” You tell him. 

“Archie-”

“Dad she’s with a Serpent!” Archie said. 

“But she’s your sister. You should be happy for her. I allowed you to see Veronica. Why can’t I do the same for your sister?” Your dad asked.

“Dad, he’s a Serpent. He’s dangerous,” Archie tells him.

“He’s not dangerous. Sweet Pea pulled me away from the fight unlike you,” You tell Archie. 

“Both of you stop, now! Y/N, you’re still grounded for the rest of the week. No Pop’s and no boyfriend of yours until this week is done. Archie, you apologize to your sister now,” Your dad tells Archie.

“No. I won’t,” Archie said, crossing his arms. 

“Nice to know that my brother doesn’t support me like how I supported him,” You say before walking upstairs. You stopped for a bit to look down at him.

“At least I didn’t fuck a teacher,” You said before going to your room and shutting the door.

#sweet pea #sweet pea imagine #sweet pea x reader #archie andrews #archie andrews x sister!reader #riverdale #riverdale imagine #jordan connor #jordan connor imagine #the cw riverdale #alisonwritesimagines

[nomanicsdak]

New Post has been published on https://manicdak.com/the-face-of-boeetia/

THE FACE OF BOE(etia)

Riddle Me This

I have to talk to a man called Gorgias (who may be this Gorgias?) here in Boeotia. I’m just going to assume this is pronounced like gorgeous before I can hear anybody pronounce it! (Update: it’s not, but I’m still going with it.)

Hello, Gorgias!

After defeating a huntress camp, we find Gorgias in a weirdly modern looking ruin. In it is also the Sphynx. Apparently this quest has something to do with Pythagoras, so maybe it has to do with finding the relics I’m supposed to be finding. Who knew this was a main quest? I probably could have figured that out by looking at my menu, but who wants to do that?

Anyhows, I have an amulet that I am supposed to be finding the matching half of? Seriously, did I just doze off when I met Pythagoras? Because I remember none of this! Haha, anyway, Gorgias is worried about his Pibos, which is not a colourful euphemism, but the name of his missing apprentice. Pibos has the other half of the amulet, I guess. How ‘BFFs’ of them.

I find his body not far away. A creature killed him! Also, it ate the amulet. Why would it eat the amulet and not the guy? Maybe all that heavy metal gave it indigestion. I recover the goods from a lion’s belly in any case and head on back to give Gorgias the bad news. He’s going to be so sad. However, this amulet is the key to awakening the Sphyinx, so— I won’t feel so bad if the Sphyinx comes to life! It probably won’t though; I’m guessing it will trigger some kind of treasure door or doom puzzle or something.

Is this the Real Life?

 Okay, well—the statue of the Sphinx and Gorgias disappeared before I could even get there to test my theory. I try to insert the amulet anyway, but the game tells me to come back at night. Why are you giving away all your secrets, game? It would have taken me a thousand years to figure that out on my own! Anyway, I meditate for a while, come back at night and—

HOLY SHIT, the Sphynx did come to life! I am delighted and terrified. Is it reality, or is Alexios having some sort of fever dream? Let’s see what she has to say!

She has a challenge for me of some kind and is totally not here for my awe. Which, to be honest, Alexios probably shouldn’t be that awed. We already found like, three Cyclopses, one should be dead triangle dad, and Athena 4 Real. Literal Sphynx is just another day in life really.

Is This Just Fantasy?

Oh no. She has riddles. 

Well, they are all pretty easy, and when I solve them and touch some symbols on the wall she disintegrates and I capture a giant golden feather inside some kind of ancient Greek Pokeball. For my efforts, I get a Sphynx figurehead for my boat! 

 Sorry, snakes. She is way cooler!

Sibling? Rivalry!

Okay, Sphynx quest done and done, now time to see what I’m supposed to be doing to help out Sparta per King’s request. This cannot possibly be as fun or ridiculous as the Olympics, alas. I am only proven correct when I arrive and the general in charge is my step-bro??? or actual bro? TBH, I am confused about who exactly this dude is to Alexios, but I do know he thinks I killed dear old dad. Naturally, he punches me in the face on sight. Cool. 

OMG!

Well, we have some words, but he gives me a mission anyway and what I have to do is kill Boetian champions, so off we go!

The map tells me to head to Thebes for the one called Drakon, but I can’t find where there at is, so I go to the nearest big city which is actually Thebes! Good guess, self. Here I will be doing a bunch of quests and clearing out all the locations!

In the first spot I come away with a mace called Boetian Rhapsody. Worthy of note because, Heh. Whilst I’m in this pause screen checking out my gear, I also find a most terrifying mask. Where the hell did I get this thing???! Also, since I often talk about the cult family tree, here’s a screen shot of it. I’m just checking these guys off as I roam around. I should probably make a point of it after I finish this quest though, because I need to upgrade my spear so I can upgrade everything else with my unused points.

Cult Family Tree. Also, why does that dude on the top right branch look like the ghost from He Man?

NIPS

Next, I head towards the gym, because this is what the game is telling me I should do. Here I find Melanippos, who is worried about his one true love—Drakon. The dude I’ve been hired to assassin. On the scale of things I want to do, proving myself to my a-hole brother rates very much below reuniting these lovebirds. Let’s see if I get a choice in the matter.

Ok, so Nips over here wants to create a love potion and smear it all over the inside of Drakon’s armor so it gradually seeps into his skin, guaranteeing eternal love. Eternal poisoning is more like it. On the one hand he is wearing a Rod of Asclepius necklace, so maybe he won’t be accidentally coating the armor with hemlock or something. On the other hand, this is just a terrible idea. You can’t make people love you, bro. 

The Unintentional Saboteur

Of course, I agree to find the herbalist who has the ingredients for him. Alexios asks about how vulnerable Drakon’s going to be while he doesn’t have his armor, and the answer is, very.

 I see you, game, sussing out the tips on defeating Drakon. Here Nips is, giving away vital information directly to an assassin. 

We’ll see how it shakes out.

Here are some more clues:

 The herbs are red hot so Drakon’s affections will sizzle. Rowwwr!

How did he and Nips meet? Well, Nips wanted to become the best, so he wanted to train with the best. “But the only muscle he worked on was his heart.”

Please don’t make me kill this dude.

The last bit of info that I get is that Drakon might be at the training ground.

Okay, off to find this herbalist!

I am not surprised to find her farm surrounded by bandits. I get rid of them and talk to the herbalist. Apparently, Nips has been after this for a while. This is kind worrying. Also worrying is the singing he engages in when I get back. I get the feeling that maybe Drakon is not as into Nips as he is into Drakon. Like, did I just enable a stalker? In any case, Alexios double makes sure that Drakon will be without his armor for a time, but none of this helps in finding him.

Oh well. On to the next quest. 

HORSING AROUND & HIPPOKRATES

I’m going to help this merchant get his goods, and his horse back from some soldiers. This too leads back to Drakon, who will be mad if he can’t get his oil for his back. Also another clue: Drakon prefers the flammable oil. 

Dudes, you are making his defeat too easy. Loose lips sink ships after all.

Hippokrates’ Meds Bring All the Boys to the Yard

I get the horse back for the merchant and get another clue about the location of the training grounds. There is still one more quest that will presumably aid in my task. I have to go save and rescue a hunting party from a terrible beast for Hippokrates, who is here for some reason. I thought I left him to deal with the Plague back in Athens? 

Anyway, I find two bears fighting over this poor hunter with the rest of the party dead. I stun the bears until the brown bear goes down. The white bear on the other hand just runs away. Do I get to complete the quest if the mega bear is still on the loose? I guess we’ll find out. 

The answer is yes. I avoid mega bear whilst carrying the injured man back to bald ole ‘Krates. Incidentally, Alexios really hates these Thebans who sided with Xerxes. He keeps muttering at them for being cowards under his breath as part of the ambient dialog. I guess you can’t totally take the Spartan out of the mysthios. 

TO KILL OR NOT TO KILL…

It turns out Hippokrates is having a crisis of faith. The injured guy will survive if treated, but Hippokrates might not want to do that. You see, this fella is a slave trader who hurts and tortures people for a living, you see. Bro. Why did you send me out to save the dude? I could have just let the bears eat him!

Now I have to make choices instead!

I mean—Do no harm, right? I don’t want to be responsible for the Hippocratic Oath not being invented. Of course, this would be a really weird choice for a professional assassin to make. I’m out here stabbin’ all the time. I mean, Hippokrates could always just hire me to ease is conscience. 

LOL, on second thought, actually I don’t have a choice. 

Save him for the $$$, or save him because it’s the right thing to do are the actual choices now that I’m done ruminating on the pros and cons and actually re-read the text.

Save him for the right reasons, Hippokrates. Alexios offers to free the slaves at least and Hippokrates just runs with it. He wants to rehab the slave trader and show him the error of his ways. Well, good luck with that, pal. I have some people to free!

Swimming with the Puppies

So, they are located east of the river in the Malanippos’s camp. Nips has a camp??? Did he escape from there? I’m so confused. Let’s go there and see if we can’t figure things out. The good news is that I free the slaves and also find out Drakon is nearby so I don’t have to expend brain energy misreading the map. Also, one of the attack dogs fell into the water. So now there is an aquatic dog down there glitching, which is hilarious. Luckly, it doesn’t try to fight me underwater.

Anyway, I free the slaves and talk to their leader. I don’t remember anything she said now, but I return to Hippokrates and he is still really bummed out that the bad guy is going to live. This quest did not, however, give me any more clues on how to beat Drakon. 

I guess that means it’s time to defeat him now! Let’s get to it!

I see how it’s going to go though when I reach my destination. There’s no talking to him. I approach; he attacks. At least that’s going to ease my conscious about this task. Hopefully I will never have to see poor Nips again though.

With that finished, I am lost.

I have three other champions to defeat and the only clue the quest gives me is that I must defeat them.

Where are they? Are they all in Thebes? Would that be too easy?

TO KILL OR NOT TO KILL…part 2

Well, Hippokrates has another quest for me, so maybe if I help him out it might give me some clues.

It does not.

I arrive at some house and Hippokrates is fretting because the old man there wants his help to die. He’s old and in pain and wants his son to take over business before their rivals can take advantage of his frailty. Hippokrates, on the other hand, wants to study his disease in hopes of learning some more medicine that can help others.

I agree to help him take out the rivals and lo! I have already beaten them apparently. I love a quest that is finished before I even start it! The guy still wants Hippokrates help though, so I agree to speak on his behalf. I try to convince him to do the man this favor, but Hippokrates does not want to hear about morality form an assassin. Fair enough, my man. Fair enough.

Hippokrates and His Potential Lab Rat

Well, I guess that’s that for now. I will fetch the Hemlock that has been requested of me and see where it goes from there. Also, it’s worth noting, I suppose, that in game, Alexios knows that this is poison. Hippokrates thinks it will work great to ease the man’s pain in the correct dosage though. 

It’s taking a really long time for the cut scene to load which is a bit worrying. When it does, Hippokrates is giving me the power to decide how much Hemlock to add. This was a bad idea, dude. Why are you tasking me with this, you’re the doctor??? I guess he’s just going to have to be mad at me then.

Later, I choose not to lie to my friend and tell him that I did what he couldn’t do, and that it isn’t right to keep the poor guy alive and suffering just so he can be a lab rat… And Hippokrates agrees with me, but he still wanted to do it anyway. Instead, he just tells me of his plans to travel the world now and learn from other doctors around the lands. Will we ever meet again? Perhaps, I mean, I will be playing this game until my golden years, so who knows?

I have to leave this man’s house now though, because his family keeps coming in and gasping at my weaponry.

WHO’S THE CHAMPION NOW?

I manage to figure out that I had to select the specific champion I want to defeat in order to get instructions on how to find them, so I select the next one on the list. She is much harder than the first guy, because nobody is around to drop hints about how much she likes flammable oil and will be particularly vulnerable because some rando is rubbing love potion inside of her armor. Also, she has two companions raining down arrows on me.

I managed to defeat her once I get her alone, and come to find out she is a cultist! Two birds, one stone. Nice!

On to the next! 

Bears, Atop Tents, in the Moonlight

I go to find him and instead of getting to do the deed myself, I find that dear old Wolf dad has done it for me. I thought I told him to gtfo??? (PS. What happens if Alexios dumps dad off the cliff in the beginning? Does he survive anyway? Would I have to beat the third champion myself?? Would I have to fight my un-brother?) Oh, well, I tell him to go to my bro and give him leadership advice. Maybe this will get the dude off my back and he can stop punching me?

I guess I still have to finish the champion quest though, so let’s find the last one!

She is a hunter and has a bear. I stun the bear and then deal with her. I also find a tomb on my way back to my bro, so I complete that location too.

Back at Bro’s camp…his name is Stentor, so I can stop calling him that.

Stentor is predictably unhappy to see me. I mean, what did he expect? Alexios to die, obviously, but my job is the direct opposite of that. And I’m good at it, so sorry, not sorry, Stent. 

In any case, now I have to compete in one of those melee battles, which I am also very good at. I shall return triumphant…eventually. First I head to the armorer, because at least I’ve learned that lesson. I only have enough leather to upgrade my tunic though. Once I’m geared up, The battle still proves to be too much for me, so I decide to blow up some more grain silos and take out the leader of Thebes in hopes of weakening Athens a bit. Turns out this does not help. I do eventually win the day, and when I get back to Stentor, the dude is less than grateful.

Stentor Hasn’t the Time

In fact, he still wants to kill me, and I still don’t know if I’m related to him. We bicker like siblings anyway. Luckily, before we can cross swords and after I try to talk Stentor out of it, dear old dad decides to make an appearance. Took you long enough, dude.

Stentor still hates me, but at least I don’t have to kill him just yet. With that, Boetia is on Sparta’s side and I have to find a new quest. Dad warns me that there’s a ‘shadow over Sparta’, and I don’t want to deal with that until I have to. Let’s go hunting instead. I need to upgrade my snake bottoms. 

HOUSEKEEPING

We’re heading back to the arena for some cultists! I want to upgrade my spear already! Luckily, the cultist I have to defeat is only level 29 and I’m about 15 levels above that now, so nice. Skoura is there also, for sage wisdom about the arena and also to make me suspicious.

He has a daughter and she’s the reason he’s now just the gate guard. They lost touch…or she’s dead? I dunno, either way he looks very sad. We will perhaps get his entire story when I finish this quest, but alas, I am not equipped to fight the rest of the arena participants, so I’m off to find the final cultist I need to do the next spear upgrade! He’s off the coast of Andros, so it looks like we’re in for another naval battle.

Unluckily for me, there’s about four other pirate ships around this cultist’s boat. I try to just go for the cultist right off the bat, but his whole fleet just converges on me and sinks my ship about three times before I decide that this is definitely the wrong strategy. 

Instead, I pick off the smaller boats one by one and that does the trick. 

It is still not enough to upgrade my spear. I am frustrated looking for this information on my pause screen, so I just look it up online. I need nine shards to upgrade and I only have seven. I need two more guys, so I pick out the weakest ones, who are only one level below me at this point.

One is on a boat that I can’t find, and the other I have to face during a melee battle while fighting for Athens. I head towards this area, which hasn’t been uncovered on the map yet. Hopefully there will be some juicy quests over here, and maybe one of those statues I’m supposed to be looking for for my sculptor friend. You remember? The paranoid one I hooked back up with in Olympia, who thinks the cult is leaving him clues? 

HOW BOARING

After a few tries at this, I give up. Maybe if I weaken Sparta’s hold on the area that will help a bit, but I can’t find the leader. Instead of noodling around the area, I decided it would be a great time to take out that demon boar from earlier, since it’s just across the water from where I am.

This turns out to be a bad strategy also. How is the first legendary animal the most difficult??? I head back into town after dying a few times. I am absolutely determined to upgrade my bow at least. I do that, and also replace an inscription on one of my weapons to make me even more venomous. I promise, I did not set out in this game to transform into a snake.

I also go to the store to spend my special currency. I buy the phantom steed masthead because it looks pretty cool. 

With my poison bow in hand, I head back to the boar and finally defeat him! Like…this quest is one of those that’s slotted in one of the first areas of the game that you’re clearly supposed to leave open until later in the game after you’ve leveled up, right?? Or am I just that good at this game? Because I return to Daphnae and she gives me a legendary bow and some sweet ghostly arrows that do more damage. Imagine if I had those at the start of the game?

 I also get the option of heart dialogs with her, but I’m so annoyed that she gave me this quest, that I ignore them. I wasn’t going to when this whole thing started, but, well…being tossed around by a demon pig ad infinitum definitely is a mood killer. 

Also, She’s Kinda Rude–

It is time to head back to the melee for the cultist, but when I arrive, it is no longer available! I guess I will have to find the leader after all and burn stuff down after all!

So, I spend the majority of the next bit just wandering around trying to find the damn leader so I can trigger the battle again. I also upgrade my gear as much as possible. This time it takes me three tries to take out the cultist dude that appears on the battlefield. I don’t win the battle, but the guy doesn’t respawn after I lose it, so I will leave it and move on. 

I find the final cultist that I’ve identified on the map (There are more, I just haven’t unmasked them yet.) He’s a boat guy, so I even get to equip my new ghostly steed masthead! I am able to take him down pretty easily, but I don’t get to fight him or get the boat treasure because I sink it with my battering power.

I am all hyped up on success and my newly upgraded spear! I head on over the hill to that Cyclops lair! I have to say my confidence is completely unfounded, so Cyclops hunting is right back off the list of quests I want to tackle.

 There’s not a lot to do unless I go back to Brasidas and my mom to continue on with my main quest, so I just run around doing question marks. Me and Barny wax poetic about our home ports on the boat at one point, but he doesn’t want to tell me his own origin story.

ERRING ON THE SIDE OF GODS

Now we are on the isle of Kythera. Home of some ominous sounding purple thing. (It is dye… the ominous purple thing is dye.) There are a bunch of undiscovered locations and some new sidequest! yay! (I’m sure I will come to regret that ‘yay’ soon) 

I go to complete a fort and accidentally stumble upon my first quest: There is a guy named Empedokles yammering about how the guards stole his robe and that he is a God. I let him out so he will shut up, and this gives me a quest.

At Least He’s a Respectful God

I meet up with him later and he is stubbornly sticking to his story of Godliness. I tell him I believe him, just because I don’t want to risk it. I already met a ghost Sphynx. I am not taking any chances even though this dude seems bonkers. I agree to go meet his Godly siblings for a dinner date after I retrieve the key to his God house from the guards.

I think my instincts are good this time, because I go to select this quest in my menu and it’s a main quest. How??? Why??? I am curious now, let’s go meet this guy right away.

I go to the forgotten island to meet him and immediately fall into a sinkhole. Cool beans. This is going great already! I meet E where he’s ranting and raving at a crumbling door about hearing the gods inside. They sound more like a trapped bear that is going to eat me. Should I further indulge this guy’s ranting? 

I choose to indulge him. Alexios isn’t going to go as far as to actually believe him, but we know there’s some damn thing inside. Let’s see what it is!

 Awww, shit. It’s a cyclops. A cyclops which just straight up squishes E. Damn. I should have told him to wait outside. Well, now I’m stuck inside with this thing, so I have to fight it. The good news is that it’s much easier than the one on spear island. I do exhaust almost every one of my arrows. I do get a cool cyclops eye for my troubles though.

EWWWW

 I now wander around filling out more question marks. I find a legendary bear, which was way easier to defeat than I expected. Also, looking at the quest and there’s another boar? WHY? I head back to Aphrodite’s island for more quests and I what should I happen upon but a random Spartan soldier who thinks I killed Stentor.

Well. That’s a hell of a way to find out your brother is dead. What in the actual F, game? I know he was a douche, but— In any case, I am tasked to kill the actual mercenary who did the deed and it turns out that I already did that. Huh. You see, I’ve been trying to get my bounty up for that trophy, but I can’t seem to get it over 3 assassins no matter how many other mercenaries I take out. At one point I had all three of them and a chicken chasing after me.

Next Time: my chicken fears are coming back to haunt me!????

#assassin's creed #Assassin's Creed #Games #Odyssey

[peridotfanfic]

Peridot’s Even More Flawless Fanfic: Episode 3

Hi.

Pearl is in space with Steven and some others, and Peridot says she’s too busy preparing her next masterpiece to post this one, so she asked me to do it. I’m Lapis Lazuli, by the way. I’m a big supporter of the meep morps.

I wasn’t sure what this was exactly, but I read the previous episodes. The randomness fits perfectly with the way life is sometimes, and Peridot’s portrayal of me is truly flawless. “I’m trapped under a baseball and confused!” I completely understand myself there, it’s very confusing, and I do get trapped a lot. “You like me, I just don’t want you really.” I think that all the time, it’s uncanny.

Anyway, here is episode three, which Peridot says contains both fusion and singing, and also brings back two of Steven’s greatest foes: Bismuth and Kevin!

. . .Who’s Kevin?

Speaking of, I have no idea who I’m even talking to right now.

Drift Alone

Pearl, and the homeworld gems,

That’s always a way we,

Believe the day can’t think!

Amethyst be easy.

That’s crystal and your,

Beauty and,

This world!

We will protect you.

Why you?

Believe this!

The episode begin with Kevin being corrupted and broken. He must dodge the lasers from a blood machine, which makes him laugh. His memories from one past self, with an angry Sadie, then interjects by throwing cans of creamed Steven. That suggests he’s never popped a hug.

As Kevin finishes making mistakes, Steven and Amethyst enjoy their original height. With Pearl suddenly there, he must help set an alarm for their rehearsal. It doesn’t work, and Bismuth then shows up by expressing a statue from space.

PEARL: Bismuth! We’ve got you for 6000 years since no time was gone. Ahahahaha! Come to me, Bismuth, never commit bravo here for someone you shouldn’t have even managed. Shouldn’t you just leave me now, Bismuth?

Bismuth explains to pearl how Rose completely repaired the episode by having fun, because she’s freaking been alive. To get married to Steven, they reluctantly accept a friendly dialog with Kevin and Bismuth.

Bismuth: But you shoulda shattered the Homeworld, and look what happened to Rose’s sword! This sword was made right, but now that’s all real. We walked in pieces, and didn’t even tell ‘em.

KEVIN: Baby, my socks don’t even have time to look at you.

GARNET: She’s still gonna try to kill you, Steven. Bismuth, the planet is your mother ,did you know that? Homeworld did this for breakfast.

But Garnet quickly realizes she doesn’t have any real reason to be with them.

STEVEN: Errggghhhh! Bismuth you should be lost to this place! You wanted to have any fun you wanted, but it’s not right. Sorry Bismuth, I’m sorry to you.

AMETHYST: Yo Bismuth, haha, gonna bury you just using a airplane! You can’t tell Pearl i’m thinking of us.

With Amethyst goofing around, Steven realizes they need electronic distractions. He hands Bismuth a video of his elbow and throws her towards the ocean, exclaiming disbelief. He then hugs the fallen tree with a koala, called Guacacola by Lion. The gems watch Steven encourage Bismuth to learn how to drive a stickshift. Her anger towards Steven accidentally pops a surprised Pearl, who immediately starts becoming younger.

PEARL: Bismuth, you’re perfect because I don’t hate you! You know that I’m glad another planet was gone, but this still was fine. Oh Bismuth, we’ve had no time-based reason.  

Pearl usually starts singing then. Bismuth points to paranormal activity, which makes everyone nervous.

BISMUTH: You lied to everything that I’m just! Don’t tell me Rose Quartz can really do whatever you can.

As Kevin rubs Bismuth bitterly, he gets an epiphany.

Kevin: I’m like a beautiful trench coat, with my tail and my pain. I act so lonely, you leave me a big old man. That’s why I invented the whole two kids and a brother time.

Amethyst: You can’t even be floating, baby war gonna wreck your head! Yo, Steman, what’s a rock?

Steven wakes up alone, and Pearl asks him why he’s wearing sandals. She wants a large yellow ball. In front of the mountain, Kevin coerces Bismuth to see what looks to be a jerk person. Her powers specifically make everything exactly the same thing as the star pattern. They both meet his dad for some cool moves, but then they have lost their identity. A moment of laughing hysterically is better than payment for something different. They don’t need birthdays to go hang out with a koala.

Kevin: So lonely, you’re gonna think that’s impossible to kiss.

BISMUTH: You know you really are the dirt of the body, but you can’t take me without a test. This planet and I didn’t even disappear, did we? Don’t agree to pack a pleasure extra punch that brings the war to you.

The crystal gems’ shapeshifting powers entail the breaking off of itself. They meet with Kevin and Bismuth up in Funland’s air bag system. They have to worry together eventually after reading plenty of ink. They are interrupted by a white bird, but before Steven finds out that he is a lava-like substance, all the gems reluctantly fought that most dangerous monster. It is revealed to be sad.

STEVEN: This crazy state you delivered can’t stay true. I’m turning, like, a bazillion shining stars that kinda looked like mom. So please, can’t you let me just be pretty? I thought you should train like a rich magician.

Bismuth begins chanting, to try various methods with Kevin. They both seem nice. They can form a different person, so they do that.

Bismuthine: You’re gonna show me that effect with our own identities. You think I’d never forget the whole time we stopped a beautiful me? You’re my finest piece of quartz baby, and maybe that’s impossible, but Rose taught this place. Baby, it’s Kevin you really mean. My little old man don’t play a twerp like you!

AMETHYST: Yeah, I’m doing the sky you look to. Just happens like there’s a chicken to win. Bismuth, you feel bad like pearl.

PEARL: Back in 50 years ago, I could have everything that matters. We’ve come to feel and work, oh yes, but you shouldn’t commit a a song to listen to!

Steven then proceeds to sing anyway, because he can.

Steven Sings: “Burning You Might Be”

Don’t like to tell you, we’re gonna make two!

Don’t like to find you, anything I do!

I wanna be great, and you just can’t,

In my fair eyes, you might that!

Burning you might be, wherever you see,

The planet I’m not like, anybody!

Burning you might be, whoever you are,

We’re good and we’re dad, and we’re still not a star!

Burning I will be, frozen in place,

Just like being a star, I’m walking to find the pace!

Bismuth relishes Steven, then kisses him on his speedboat.  Steven says that things will happen if something is too gross. As Kevin speeds in the burning room with multiple beautiful flowers, they awkwardly have another lifetime to do something.

The episode ends with them arguing over who thinks the song was over with. Steven refuses to believe it until sunrise.

#steven universe #Pearl #lapis #amethyst #garnet #bismuth #kevin #fanfic #predictive text