#since yknow. you have to have some level of trust to be able to push yourself through the air

[boreal-wood]

Alright wise guy, what are your thoughts on the theme(s) of the first Mistborn book. This is literally an excuse for you to ramble about it, have fun.

VOID I LOVE YOU SM

So spoilers for Mistborn: The Final Empire! If you haven't read it, please beware because under the cut, Here There Be Spoilers (and also beware, Very Long post under the cut!)

The big running theme in The Final Empire is trust. Who can one really trust? Is it worth it to put your life in the hands of other people? What says they won't betray you as soon as it becomes favorable to do so?

Honestly this really is what Vin's character arc in the first book is about. At the beginning of the book, she's trapped in a low-level street gang where everyone is always out to get everyone else. Heck, the second time the audience ever sees her use her powers is when she is helping her boss betray a business partner.

Vin's brother has beaten into her the idea that she can trust nobody, not even him. Everyone is always out to hurt her or take advantage of her, and if she does not prove her immediate worth to her group, then at best she will be kicked out.

This, of course, is not helped by the fact that she is part of the literal slave class! Which is a whole nother essay tbh.

Then Kelsier takes her in and everything changes. There's a scene early on in the book, after vin formally joins the crew, where Kelsier and his men are all laughing and enjoying themselves while plotting their Big Plan™. And Vin, who does not trust any of them, is on the outside, quite literally. She's outside the room, watching them plan, wishing she could be included but not allowing herself to, because at this point in the book she still thinks they could betray her at any time.

I think now is a really good time to mention that being a Mistborn is built on secrecy and paranoia. Mistborn are literally the nobility's assassins. They hide their identities under hoods that blend into the mist so as not to be seen. So their powers cannot be used against them or their Noble Houses. In broad daylight they have to pretend to be normal people, or at best, regular Mistings. They can't trust anyone with the truth that they are Mistborn.

(Heck, even a quarter of their powerset- Copper and Bronze- create mistrust. With Bronze, after all, one can hear the allomantic pulses of burning another metal. Copper, on the other hand, blocks that; the use cases for these two metals lies in paranoia that someone else can use their Allomantic powers against you.)

Anyways! So we've explored some of the different aspects of mistrust in Mistborn, so what's the counterargument?

In a word: Kelsier.

Kelsier shakes up everything that Vin believes about how relationships work. He introduces his crew as something different- despite being a thieving crew, they operate under a principle of trust and camaraderie. "My crews rely on trust," Kelsier says at one point. In direct contrast to the dirty, paranoid crews Vin worked with before, Kelsier's crew is welcoming, understanding, and trusting of her.

But Kelsier's trust isn't just talk, either. When we learn that the crew believes Mare betrayed them in their last heist, Vin asks Kelsier how he could love Mare even though she betrayed him. Kelsier answers that given the choice between loving Mare and being betrayed or never knowing her, he would choose loving her. "I'd rather trust my men than worry about what will happen if they turn on me."

In the same passage as above, Kelsier poses a question to Vin: where has she been happier? with the old crews that we built on lies and suspicious, or with Kelsier's crew, who trusted each other and let their guards down? It's a rhetorical question, and the meaning is clear: Vin and Kelsier both are happier for risking themselves in order to be loved.

I don't think I've nearly done this topic justice. There are a million more points I could pull out and point to, but I want to end with my favorite quote from The Final Empire. It's from Vin, in Chapter 32. She says:

“Once I may have thought you a fool, but… well, that’s kind of what trust is, isn’t it? A willful self-delusion? You have to shut out that voice that whispers about betrayal, and just hope that your friends aren’t going to hurt you... Distrust is really the same thing, only on the other side. I can see how a person, given the choice of two assumptions, would choose to trust.”

#I have SO MUCH MORE I COULD SAY ABOUT THIS #but this post was too long already #THANK YOU SO MUCH VOID FOR ASKING #i didn't even get to the part about how allomancy itself is also an act of trust #since yknow. you have to have some level of trust to be able to push yourself through the air #and how Vin's first time steelpushing herself in their air is a literal AND metaphorical leap of faith #I have so many thoughts on this book #mistborn #mistborn the final empire #mistborn era 1 #kelsier #vin mistborn #vin #cosmere #brandon sanderson #i love literary analysis #taking the tools they taught on boring books and putting it into the things im passionate about #literary analysis #taiga says things

[thrndlngs]

hey rose! (can i call you that?? sorry if that's not your preference) i may or may not have caught a case of crazy phat mad feelings for a boy and i was wondering if you had any cute headcanons about some of the MHA boys pining for a pretty fem reader?? i can't imagine this guy liking me back but i figure hey, if nobody got me ik pretty superhero boys got me AMEN lmbo no pressure on this request. hope you're doing well and things are okay in your world!! thanks love you!! first anon OUT 😌✌️✨💖

omg ya that’s totally cool!! i actually like that!!!! but omg, pls! i’m sure it’ll work out if not... hopefully these headcanons will help u out!!! LOVE U FIRST ANON!!!!!!!!

IZUKU MIDORIYA, 

will definitely stare at the back of your head during class and imagine 700 different scenarios that could ‘possibly’ happen if the two of you ever have a conversation that doesn’t involve school.

keeps note of your quirks and tries to give you pointers on how to use ur quirk via crumpled paper airplanes in the courtyard or slipped into ur locker.

will always, always, always keep an eye out for you to make sure you’re okay - if he sees you crying he’s gonna embarrass himself and be like, “you think that’s bad? kachan almost blew me to bits.” and now the both of you are crying.

daydreams about u.

whenever the class is training at the USJ or anywhere really, he’s bouncing. like. literally bouncing on his heels in case something goes wrong, he wants to be able to intervene. not because he thinks you’re not capable of fending for urself but it’s because he literally can not bare the thought of u getting hurt.

he definitely draws ur names with a heart and arrow through it!!!!!!!

really admires u and tries to be really nonchalant about how fond he’s become of u so when the two of you do have a conversation it’s just like... gibberish. you know when he goes on those little rants and the words cloud around him and everyone is like??? midoriya wtf. yeah like that.

BAKUGOU KATSUKI,

explosive boy definitely doesn’t know he likes you until he goes to recovery girl and recovery girl has to explain him the ‘weird’ feeling in his stomach, the rise of temperature in his face and the quickening of his pulse is literally because he has a crush. on you.

and boy does this raging blonde flip his shit. him?? have a crush??? when he’s trying to be number one hero??? a distraction??? not in this lobby.

easier said than done.

tries to avoid you at all costs. like even moves his seat permanently so he doesn’t have to breathe the same air as you.

no because during a training the two of you are teamed up and this man literally holds his breath like he’s five because he doesn’t want to inhale your ‘germs’. but he grows up a bit and realizes that you’re actually pretty strong and can handle your own. heavy emphasis on the pretty. 

so not only is he pinning for you but now he sees you as competition. so the initial plan to avoid you goes out of the window because he wants to one up you.

bakugou’s face is tomato red everytime the two of you spar and you think it’s because he’s mad but jokes on u.

takes a HOT minute but he’ll suffer in silence and just y’know open the door and wait five minutes for you to walk through it and then complain after. 

sees you in the hallway and flicks you in the forehead and reminds you that he’s going to be number one. but later beats himself up because wtf? why didn’t he say something else.

will go out of his way to fix your fighting stances and then have a coughing fit. so he’s going to push through his feelings but it’s really obvious to everyone else that he isn’t being lowkey, yknow?

IIDA TENYA,

my favorite class rep. he’s going to be so obvious about it. like. he’s an open book.

will offer to help you study. makes sure your chair is pulled out every morning so you don’t have to do it.

will also let you board the bus first.

will also tense up whenever you look at him. holds an emergency class meeting (excluding you) to figure out how to handle this ‘situation’ and everyone is like... dude

he takes kirishima’s ‘show her you’re a manly man’ to serious and tries to show off. with his grades, quirk and his class rep status which you know isn’t working so he’s back to square one. 

as bad as it sounds he makes a copy of all of his notes and color codes them based off of his you know ‘coding’ system and has it handy in case you don’t come to class one day or fall behind.

everyone knows but you. everyone also thinks that you would’ve found out by now since iida holds you on your own pedestal but! LOLKDSAJ

DENKI KAMINARI,

okay so.... this man... is so drama. he’s a clutz and obvious but he isn’t going to be direct. whether it’s because he’s scared of being rejected or because he’s not confident enough like bakugou and todoroki is unknown but anywayz

leans on the locker and tries to woo you with some words and falls. literally falls over. it’s okay though (in his eyes) because you immediately get eye level with him and try to check on him. it’s a win in his eyes.

is totally okay with the nickname ‘calamari’ but only likes it when you call him that. he tries to tell everyone that it’s a ‘you and him’ thing and gets teased abt it.

tries to include you in every conversation possible. he wants you to feel included in everything.

thinks ur like a walking goddess and that u should be treated as such.

he gets a little to excited around you so whenever the two of you touch he gives off some electricity and immediately goes on a thirty minute rant on how sorry he is.

makes you... a fucking... mixtape... with scribbled out hearts on the cover.

also... sends you songs to listen to but it’ll be like some random edm song and ur like”oh wow... love that...” and he’s like “ok cross that out she doesn’t like EDM.” and is DETERMINED to find out your favorite genre so the two of you have something to bond over.

changes your ringtone on his phone to the pokemon theme song because and i quote, “she’s the ash to my pikachu.”

isn’t so lowkey about his crush but??? everyone thinks he’s like?? just being himself?? so??? 

EIJIRO KIRISHIMA,

 bro. this man... THIS LOVELY SHARK BOY. 

is literally textbook definition of GENTLEMAN.

will not act on his feelings until YOU act on them because he’s scared he’ll overstep so he’s going to be like..... suffering in silence. but he doesn’t mind!!!!!!

holds the door 4 u. :)

checks on u 24/7.

stares at you in class and drools. 

walks with you like everywhere. literally. like to class, to the dorms, back to ur parents, to the mall. everywhere.

this is totally a best friend to lovers trope.

whenever he’s got doubt he will turn to u immediately because he trusts u and ur guidance. 

will even ask if u could spar with him (so you can a, spend time with him but b, because he wants u to be able to be the best version of urself u can be). 

whenever something goes south he will put his hand out in front of u. always. and you’ll wrap your fingers around his bicep and he will melt.

i think he knows he’s like... fucked because you explain to him that although his ‘hardening’ quirk makes his skin... rough, he’s still pretty soft. and smells nice.

man... that gets him THROUGH THE DAYS.

TODOROKI SHOTO,

another clueless boy. 

is very confused at first but after some hours of research he’s like oh. 

and then shit hits the fan.

like kirishima, really values your input and actually goes to you for advice for two reasons: one because you’re sensible and honest but it’s more for the simple reason that he’s trying to see what you like and don’t like.

you start to notice some changes in his behavior. not drastic ones but enough to raise an eyebrow.

is more vocal in his conversations with you.

tries his best to improve his body language (ie: will face you with undivided attention and arms unfolded to look more receptive) 

just stares at you in general to see what your reactions to things are.

like, in the hallway when ur talking to mina and the lowerclassmen says something stupid and the two of you scowl? well, guess what? now he doesn’t like that guy either and will give him a piece of his mind.

has your coffee order memorized so when ur staying up all night studying u have the energy to do so.

will sneak a protein bar and a water bottle in ur locker the day after those binge studying sessions to ensure that you’re you know okay.

#todoroki x female reader #todoroki headcanons #todoroki x fem!reader #kirishima x female reader #kirishima x fem!reader #kirishima headcanons #kaminari x fem!reader #kaminari x female reader #kaminari headcanons #tenya x fem!reader #tenya x female reader #tenya headcanons #bakugou x fem!reader #bakugou x female reader #bakugou headcanons #deku x fem!reader #deku x female reader #deku headcanons #bnha headcanons #mha headcanons #( i really don't feel like i did this well buT I HOPE U LIKE IT FIRST ANON!!!!!!! #I LOVE U!!!!!! #if it's not what u want let me know and i'll redo!!!! ) #: ̗̀➛ first anon. #( shoto todoroki ) / * headcanons . #( eijiro kirishima ) / * headcanons . #( denki kaminari ) / * headcanons . #( tenya iida ) / * headcanons . #( katsuki bakugou ) / * headcanons . #( izuku midoriya ) / * headcanons .

[sleevesareforlosers]

also! i know you’ve mentioned quite a few times before in posts/fics about how party and kobra really only met right before they left the city? and i’m not entirely sure if i’ve just missed it but i would LOVE for elaboration specifically on that. i just!! am super interested to know about them and their lives in the city...and how everything shakes out regarding that 👀

!!!! okay thats def one of the more obscure bits of my canon? bc in universe party and kobra dont rlly like talking about it and on a meta level city life isnt rlly something i wanna devote too much energy to writing but i HAVE thought abt it!

i covered it a little bit in this fic but some details have shifted a bit just irt kobras job/timeline bc its over (i think?) a year old and its short so. not super elaborate

so when i say that they hadnt really met before leaving the city its like. they knew each other and lived with each other but they weren't really themselves. party bc of like. reeducation and kobra bc he was really fucked up with a combination of dysphoria and city drugs both prescribed and not (which i *think* ive mentioned arent a given in the city? most people dont get medicated the same way kobra did and not all the city meds are bad)

i will say that they were pretty close before party got reeducated. as close as u can be when ur thirteen and eight at least. but ofc he got taken and came back Completely different and kobra was a smart kid and kinda realized that directly confronting him abt the change would end really badly for both of them. party was rlly susceptible to the reeducation and its not their fault in any way but they definitely would have reported kobra if he'd tried to make a move.

so then once kobra snapped and cut his hair and party snapped out of the reeducation (combination of time since getting bleached and like. still being a caring and loving person under it all and knowing that he should care abt kobra) they escaped obviously and had to do a little crash course in 'how to be siblings' bc until then they were more just. people that lived in the same house and had nothing in common to talk about so they jsut didnt. i hope that makes sense? they knew each other but they didnt Really Know each other

as for what life in the city looked like for them!

i feel like its kinda important to know that their parents were low-level workers so they grew up in the slums on the edge of the city. not the worst part of the city (the lobby) but not downtown or even a suburban area.

party (post reeducation) became a total model student and ended up in a mid/high-level admin position in hq as soon as he graduated, set to get a promotion when he turned 20 and was in the process of trying to move out to a place of his own actually. kept getting their applications rejected bc they didnt have an "approved reason" to not live w their parents (no long-term partner and not a high enough level to qualify for one of the downtown studios). wasn't necessarily getting frustrated with the company but was getting frustrated with not being able to "start his own life" in his own apartment yknow? also a bit of a superiority complex/classism thing bc of having a higher-level job than their parents, wanting to live in a nicer part of the city like the rest of their colleagues. he had a Few friends, mostly from work, but it was nothing like the crew and friends hed had pre-reeducation bc. you know. obviously. it was just a little group of polite, well trained late-teens bli drones who got up to just the right amounts of bli-approved trouble (android girls and mood synthesizers but only on saturdays type deal). um. probably the least bli-approved thing they did was give spare carbons to broken-down droids in street corners and pretend to listen to the ones preaching the graffiti bible. This is all actually a huge reason Why party is so wanted by bli, like apart from the obvious of being a killjoy and fucking up a lot of shit for the company, he was also So close to being a perfect citizen that rebelling and escaping is a real lemon-juice-in-the-papercut for bli

kobra, on the other hand, was about one and a half Minor infractions away from getting reeducated himself. bli mostly saves reeducation and bleaching for people with confirmed rebellious biases or actions, people they dont think would be trusted enough to take their pills basically. theyd get fed up after enough violations though. kobra was on watch as a nuisance, but not a rebel, so he got away with attempts at medication and therapy that were... kinda effective? but he was Really pushing it especially once he got his job in the lobby and started running with lobby kids. really just imagine an absolute menace shithead of a fourteen year old breaking every law he could get his well-manicured but grubby little hands on. i think at some point ive mentioned that half the reason kobra was so good with tech and wiring was bc he picked it up from fucking with scarecrow cars and reprogramming shit about them? yeah. im not gonna say kobra's friends were like. a bad crowd. they were just chafing against city culture in a very specific way. lots of sex, violence, vandalism, underage mood synthesizer use (and by underage i mean even below the technically-underage-but-bli-looks-the-other-way-bc-they-know-people-need-to-feel-rebellious-sometimes age that like. party and his friends started trying them at). this is when he learned how to knife fight too which definitely saved both his and party's life the first night in the zones. on top of this all is the whole trans thing which isnt something thats necessarily frowned upon in the city, but when kobra finally realized what was up he went about it in a non-city-approved way (hacking his hair off with a set of nail clippers rather than like. submitting a transition application) and that absolutely would have been the last straw for him for the city if party had reported him rather than stuffed him in their car and left.

i dont know how to tldr this one but like. they both led really different lives in the city, kobra being rebellious and breaking laws but not in a killjoy way and party being So close to being a perfect citizen as a result of getting reeducated when he was thirteen, so they weren't honest with each other until party's bleaching broke and they left the city and THATS why i say they hadnt really met until they escaped.

#danger days #tlotfk #party poison #kobra kid #venom siblings #augh! the weird intricacies of city life which i have poured a lot of thought into and have next to no motivation to actually write #my beloved #ty pi ily #ghostxraven #brainwashing ment #i suppose? #drug ment

[moodycastiel-writes]

sacrifice

summary: reader undertakes the trials to close the gates of hell in sam’s place. this is a little au that takes place during the season eight finale!

pairing: sister!reader and winchesters

warnings: angst. lots and lots of angst. foul language. y’know, the usual. there’s not a happy ending with this one. please don’t hate me (:

author’s note: i wasn’t originally going to write the confession, but i had a lot of ideas on how to establish a relationship between reader and the brothers, and i felt having her confess to her sins would make her more of an empathetic character. so yes, this is a small au that i had in mind where reader is sam & dean’s older sister who does the trials instead of sam. (((oh, also, cas does end up believing metatron and him and naomi kill metatron so the angels never fall.))) ((double also, crowley calls reader ‘fatale’, which is a rocky and bullwinkle reference, since he calls sam and dean moose and squirrel. just wanted to throw that out there in case anyone was confused to that reference!)) anywho, yeah, i hope y’all enjoy!!

——————————————————————————————————

You could hear your blood pounding in your ears as you stood at vestibule of the run-down church, your shaking hand loosely holding on to the can of red spray paint, eyes trained on the devil’s trap you painted. This was it. Everything that has happened this past year is finally coming to an end.

You let out an uneven breath as the doors opened gently, the heavy footsteps of your brothers approaching you with caution.

“Do you have him?” you asked, not bothering to lift your tired eyes to meet them.

“Yeah,” Sam spoke, a level of uncertainty to his voice. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I have to,” you answered, turning around curtly and brushing past Sam and Dean, leaving the church as you neared the Impala. It was only a few moments before they were both at your side again, the hot sun doing little to warm the permanent chill that settled into your soul when you first started the trials.

“We should get started,” you said, turning to Dean, “the sooner the better.”

Dean nodded his head and smiled at you, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He opened the trunk and pulled out a handcuffed Crowley, completely at your disposal. Dean walked the demon into the church to get him ready, leaving you alone with Sam.

“How are you holding up?” he asked you as you grabbed the jar of holy oil from the back seat.

“Fine,” you responded, an unintentional iciness to your voice. “I’ll be better when this is all over.”

Dean walked back outside to meet you and Sam, wiping his hands on his pants. “Crowley’s all prepped and primed,” he turned to look at you, “How we feeling about this?”

“Honestly?” you asked, looking between your younger brothers, “Good. Better than what I have in a while. I think we’re finally going to win. This is all going to be over,” you sighed, a ghost of a smile appearing on your face for the first time in a long while.

Sam clapped a hand on your shoulder, but Dean cleared his throat behind you two. “All right, well, no dancing in the end zone until we're finished. What's the good father's playbook say now?”

You looked around the outside of the church eyes falling over the stained-glass windows. “Well... Now that we got the consecrated ground, I just, uh,” you cleared your throat, “I slip Crowley one dose of blood every hour for eight hours and seal the deal with a bloody-fist sandwich. That oughta do it.”

“Your blood's supposed to be purified, isn't it?” Dean remembered, “You ever, uh -- you ever done the ‘forgive me, father’ before?”

You shook your head, gaze dropping to the ground. “No, never. I have no idea what I should even say,” you admitted.

A thousand things were running through your head. All the countless times you’ve fucked up over the years. From the second your mother burned on the ceiling of Sam’s nursery to now, there was so many things you could confess. All the lies and betrayals, the murders and all the innocent people you’ve let die. Tears pricked your eyes, but you cleared your throat and blinked them away.

“Well, I could give you some suggestions,” Dean tried.

“O-okay, yeah. Sure,” anything could help.

“Alright,” he glanced at Sam, who had a disapproving look on his face. “Well, there was the whole siding with the demons thing. Or, um, ditching me when we were in Purgatory. Saying yes to Michael. Oh, also—”

“I get it!” you cut him off, not believing all the things he was currently throwing in your face. A wave of guilt washed over you, and an unsettling silence washed over you three.

“Well, we’re not getting any younger,” you finally said, passing Sam the jar of holy oil before making your way to the church.

“Hey!” Dean called after you, “Maybe open what you did to Penny Markle? In the sixth grade?”

You shot him a confused look, “That was you.”

Dean paused, the memory of what he did to poor Penny coming back to him. Clearing his throat, he waved you off. “Nevermind! Carry on.”

You rolled your eyes at him and made your way back into the church, closing the door behind you. You did you best to ignore Crowley’s eyes following your every move as you walked into the confession room, taking a seat on the bench.

“Okay,” you let out a shaky breath, “if anyone is listening, here we go.” You paused, your eyes screwing shut tightly. “Forgive me Father, for I have sinned.” A cool blast of wind rushed by you, ruffling through your hair. You took it as a sign that someone, somewhere was listening, and continued on. “I have made a lot of mistakes. I have so many regrets, so many sins, that I don’t even know where to begin. I watched my brothers die, so many times, for what? To fulfill some stupid prophecy? I should have protected them. I—” you stumbled on your words, tears threatening to fall from your eyes.

You wiped at your face and continued on. “I never should have let Dean sell his soul for Sam. It should have been me. I was supposed to do everything I could to protect those boys. If I just strapped on a pair, Dean never would have went to hell, and the seals never would have been broken. This is all my fault. I have to fix it.” The tears were falling freely down your face now, but you didn’t care enough to wipe them away. “I shouldn’t have let Sam ever say yes to Lucifer. I could have said yes. He never would have gone to Hell and lost his soul. It’s all on me.”

You took in another shaky breath, trying to calm down. “Leaving Dean alone in Purgatory… I don’t even know what I was thinking. I was so stupid,” you let out a humorless laugh. “I thought I was doing my best to protect him, but deep down I was trying to get away from him. From Sam. I caused so much pain in their lives, that it would be better if I just disappeared from their lives all together. 

“But those things I’ve confessed, those sins I’ve committed, they’re not even the icing on the cake. I have so many things just piling up that I could sit here forever, but I don’t have enough time. My greatest sin, the tip of the iceberg… What I want forgiveness from the most is how,” your voice broke as you choked back a sob. “My greatest sin is how many times I’ve let my brothers down.”

An ache settled in your chest as you confessed what you never thought you’d say out loud in a million years. Another breeze of wind brushed past you, and you took it as a sign that your confession was over. You wiped your face, leaving behind all the traces of your confession in that booth and stepped out, your guilt weighing on your soul heavier than before.

Crowley stared at you with a smug look on his face, no doubt he heard everything you had just said. Eyeing a roll of duct tape on the table with your gun, the needle, and holy water, you grabbed it and ripped a piece off, tightly taping the demon’s mouth shut.

“Not a word,” you sneered, walking out of the church. You saw Sam and Dean talking with Castiel at the Impala in hushed tones. You couldn’t make out what they were saying from the distance you were at, and crept closer to them to make something out.

“—You’re asking us to leave her, Cas. Now, if anybody needs a chaperone while doing all the heavy lifting, it’s [y/n]” you were able to make out from Dean’s whispering. His confession about you was like a slap in the face. Did he really not trust you that much? Thinking you needed a chaperone for everything you did?

“You should you,” you announced, startling your brothers. You knew Cas was aware of your presence, and did nothing to acknowledge him.

They turn to look at you, a guilty look on their faces. “Seriously,” you added, not wanting to continue this conversation.

“Yeah, and leave you alone with the King of Hell? Really?”

You frowned at Dean, not understanding why he can’t trust you to do this one thing. Did he really expect so little of you where he is always prepared for you to fuck up and need someone to clean up your mess?

“Yes, really,” you snapped. You ignored the look of hurt that crossed over his face. “You two can’t do anything to help me. This is on me. I think I can get through one little thing without fucking it up.”

“[Y/n], you know that’s not what this is about,” Sam said gently. “It’s not that we don’t trust you. We don’t trust Crowley.”

“Crowley is bound to where he sits,” you argued, “nothing, not even the king of Hell, can get through both a devil’s trap and the chains we have him in.”

“Fine,” Dean said, “Start the injections now. If we’re not back in eight hours, finish it, no questions, no hesitation.”

“Yeah,” was all you responded. Castiel placed a hand on each of your brother’s shoulders and with the flap of his wings he was gone, leaving you alone at the church. With a heavy sigh, you made your way back into the building, facing Crowley. His words to you were muffled under the duct tape, but that didn’t stop him from blabbing. With a roll of your eyes, you ripped the tape off of his mouth, ignoring his wince of pain.

“You really think injecting me with human blood is gonna make me human? Did you read that on the back of a cereal box?”

You ignored the demon as you picked up the needle, pushing it into the vein in your arm. You drew enough blood and slowly ejected it, and walked over to Crowley.

“Are you listening to me, brat?”

“Shut up,” you sneered, thrusting the needle into his neck. He howled in pain as you yanked the needle away.

“You're miles out of your league, kid,” Crowley barked at you as you turned your back on him.

“See you in an hour,” you called over your shoulder, walking to the table at the altar. Your arms began to glow that golden color that always appeared after you completed the trials. Why was it showing up now? You bit back your pain, your hands forming into tight fists, waiting for the pain to go away. When the light finally faded from your veins, you let out a breath of relief and sunk to the ground, your back resting against the altar. You looked up at the cracked statue of Jesus on the cross and closed your eyes, waiting for your watch to beep, signalling the next round of injections.

—————————————————————————————————————

When your watched finally beeped after an agonizingly long hour, your were up on your feet as fast as you could get, the needle already in your hand. You ejected more blood from your veins into the syringe and made your way back over to Crowley, who looked at you with a mischievous glint in his eyes. You ignored the look in his eyes and issued the second dose of injections into his neck. In the blink of an eye, Crowley’s head turned and his teeth sank into your forearm, hard enough to draw blood.

“What the fuck!” you exclaimed in pain, drawing your arm back and clutching the new wound in pain. You gave him an exasperated look before punching the demon across the face. “Seriously? Biting? What are we, five?”

You shook your head as you walked away from him, placing the needle back onto the table. You spared Crowley another bitch-face as you walked out of the church, slamming the door behind you. You walked to the trunk of the Impala and grabbed bandages to wrap up your arm. As you secured the bandages, your arms began to glow again, and you fell to the rubble on your knees.

“Stop it,” you groaned as the light grew brighter. “Please.”

Finally, the light faded again, leaving you struggling to get a grip on your breathing. With struggle, you turned your body to sit upright against the Impala, your head falling back, staring at the sky. The sun had begun to set in the distance, the sky painted with beautiful sparks of color.

“I can do this,” you whispered determined to yourself, “I can do this.”

—————————————————————————————————————

Another hour had passed by and you made your way back into the church, stuffing more bandages in your pocket before doing so. At the sound of the door opening and closing, you heard Crowley chuckle.

“How we doin’, Fatale? Ready for another round of injections?” he asked, a joyous tune to his voice. You ignored him and filled the syringe with another dose of your blood.

“Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes,” he began singing, you instantly recognizing the David Bowie song, “turn and face the strange. Ch-ch-changes, just gonna have to be a different man. Time may change me, but I can't trace—”

His singing was cut off by a loud sound, the church beginning to rumble. You quickly turned to face Crowley who seemed unfazed by the sudden shock to the church.

“What did you do?” you shouted at him over the sound of the quake. He remained stoic, but the hint of a devilish smirk rose to his face. The floorboards began to creak under your feet, a large crack running down until it severed the devil’s trap that you painted right down the center.

“Did you really think you could kidnap the King of Hell and no one was gonna notice, dumb nuts?”

An expression of fury and fear took over your features as the door to the church were ripped open, Abbadon revealing herself on the other side of the door.

“Now that’s what I call an entrance,” she gloated, patting herself on the back.

“Abbadon?” Crowley questioned. “They told me you were dead.”

“So not.”

“Where’s the rest of the cavalry?”

“It’s just little ol’ unkillable me,” she smirked. You turned quickly, reaching for your discarded gun, but with a wave of her hand, Abbadon sent you flying across the church and into the wall, your head slamming against the wood. You groaned as you landed on your stomach, your vision going blurry.

“Brilliant. Why send in a few grunts when you can send in a knight? Say your prayers, Fatale,” Crowley smirked. You tried to get up, but the Knight waved her hand again and sent you through the stained glass window to your right, immediately falling unconscious.

—————————————————————————————————————

When you came back to, it took you a minute to remember what had happened. You scrambled to your feet, hoping not a lot of time had passed in your impromptu siesta. Looking around for a weapon that you could use against Abbadon, your eyes settled on the jar of holy oil you had given to Sam. He must of left it for you, in cast of an emergency. You let out a silent thank you and patted your jacket pockets, striking gold when you felt your father’s lighter in your pocket.

You crept to the entrance of the church where the doors were still open and peered inside, eyes landing on Abbadon hovering over Crowley. You snuck inside, careful to step around any loose pieces of wood to prevent any unnecessary noises to alert your presence.

“Right now, you and I are going to talk about a regime change,” Abbadon said, crouching down to send another punch to Crowley’s face.

“You little whore,” he barked, “I am your king!”

She punched him again, this time hard enough to shut him up. When she went to stand back up, you ran forward and threw the holy oil over her body.

“Burn, bitch,” you spat, throwing the lighter on her. You watched with a smirk as her body lit up in flames and she screamed in pain as her vessel burned. Her mouth opened wide and she exited the body before any further harm was done to her, and she escaped the church in a flash of black smoke.

Without wasting any time, you made work of picking Crowley back up and fixing the chair so it was back in the devil’s trap. He groaned as he came back to consciousness, watching you with a glint of something… admiration, maybe? to his eyes.

“You did good back there, Fatale,” he congratulated you. “I'll deny it if you ever quote me, but I'm a proud man. I'm proud of you.”

You ignored his comment, instead focused on gabbing the can of spray paint you left on the table to fix the trap where it broke.

“Wait, what are you doing?” he asked.

“What does it look like?” you snapped, overly agitated at the events that had just transpired. You finished up the devil’s trap and threw the can to the side, it clattering to the ground noisily.

“Are you joking?” he asked, incredulously. “I just saved your life!”

“Seriously?” you dead-panned.

“Seriously? Me, seriously? We just shared a foxhole, you and I. We beat back the Tet Offensive, outrun the --the Rape of Nanking together! And still you're gonna do me like this?!”

You ignored his tangent and grabbed the needle, filling it up with your blood and jamming it into his neck before he could get another word in.

“Aah! Aah!” he exclaimed in pain, before a whole new emotion washed over him. “Band of Brothers? The Pacific?” he asked. “None of this means anything to you? All those motels, you never once watched HBO, not once?” You shook your head at him, confused at where he was going. “Girls? You're my Marnie, Fatale. A-and Hannah, she just—she needs to be loved. She deserves it. Don't we all—you, me; we deserve to be loved. I deserve to be loved!” he shouted, before lowering his voice back down to a whisper, “I just want to be loved.”

You cocked your head the the demon. “What?” you asked.

A confused look washed over him, and his expression mirrored yours. “What?”

As the moment of Crowley’s tangent passed, a wave of fatigue passed over you. The pain of where the needle was injecting into you suddenly took a toll on you. You walked back over to the table and placed it down, grabbing the spare bandages from your pocket. You wrapped where the puncture wounds were tightly, wishing right about now you had some extra strength tylenol. You took more blood from your opposite arm, wanted to be prepared for the next dose of injections just in case something else was going to happen.

“Would it be possible, Fatale, I’d like to ask you a favor,” Crowley spoke, his voice sounded drained and exhausted. “[Y/n], earlier you were confessing back there, and… well, I didn’t hear much, not really, so I’d like to know what you said.” You gave him a look that read ‘that’ll never happen.’ At the sight of your expression, he instantly clarified his statement. “ I only ask because, given my history...it raises the question... Where do I start...to even look for forgiveness? I mean…” he trailed off.

You paused, shocked at the revelation. The cure, it was working.

“You start with this.”

You held the needle out in your hand, showing him what you meant. Crowley tilts his head to the side, exposing his neck where the marks of the past injections were. You gently pushed the needle through at his submission, and unlike the past ones, he showed no signs of pain, but rather contentment.

“This is going to work, Crowley,” you reassured. “You’re going to be cured, and you’ll be redeemed. I promise.”

A gust of wind blasted through the church, and your arms began to glow again, but this time there was no pain. “We’re almost done,” you whispered, not sure Crowley even heard you. “It’s time.”

You took a deep breath and began the exorcism, the final piece to purify him. “Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, hanc animam redintegra, lustra.”

As you pulled your knife from its holder, the light grew brighter, and you sliced across your palm. You walked closer to Crowley, and as you were about to feed him your blood, footsteps barreled through the church.

“[Y/n]! Stop!,” you turned at the noise, coming face to face with the worried looks of your brothers. You backed up from them, your hip bumping into the arm of Crowley’s chair, a confused expression on your face.

“Easy there,” Sam coaxed gently, putting his hands up. “Take a deep breath.”

“There’s been a slight change of plans,” Dean said, slightly more aggressive than Sam.

“What? What’s going on?” you asked. “Where’s Cas?”

“Metatron lied,” Sam explained. “Him and Naomi are going to confront him.”

You shook your head at him, still not understanding what was going on.

“You finish these trials, you’re dead,” Dean said bluntly, trying to get you to understand what was happening. You looked between your two brothers, then back at Crowley. You scoffed and shook your head, looking back to face them.

“So?” you said, your voice slightly breaking.

Sam and Dean’s faces melted from worry to an emotion you couldn’t place, but it was somewhere along the lines of hurt and betrayal. Betrayal. Even now, after you’ve confessed and sought forgiveness, you were still letting your brothers down in ways you couldn’t stop. It had to stop. Finishing these trials with your death, it’ll all stop.

“Look at him!” you exclaimed, pointing down to Crowley. “Look at him! Look at how close we are! Other people will die if I don't finish this! Who cares about me?”

You could feel the tears pricking at your eyes, but you ignored the sensation. Dean took a small step forward, his brow creasing. “Think about it. Think about what we know, huh? Pulling souls from hell, curing demons, hell, ganking a Hellhound! We have enough knowledge on our side to turn the tide here. But we can't do it without you.”

“You can barely do it with me,” you fired back immediately. The confused look on his face egged you to continue. “I mean, you think I screw up everything I try. You think I need a chaperone, remember?” you couldn’t help the single tear that fell from your eyes as your voice cracked on the last word.

Sam frowned. “That’s not what he meant—”

“No, that’s exactly what he meant!” you exclaimed, cutting him off. You let out a humorless chuckle. “You want to know what I confessed in there?” you asked, pointing to the confession booth with the hand that you didn’t cut. “Do you want to know what my ultimate sin was? The thing that held me down the most?”

When neither of them answered, you continued. “My greatest sin was—is— how many times I’ve let the two of you down. I can’t keep doing it. Not again. Finishing this, it’ll end it all.”

“[Y/N]—” Sam tried, but you continued talking.

You held back a sob as the tears finally began falling. “You two don’t trust me anymore, I can see it in the way you look at me. Like I need one of you with me at all times. You haven’t trusted me in a long time, and it took me awhile to realize it, but now that I have I feel so fucking stupid for not seeing it before.” Another humorless laugh escaped your lips.

“I know I’ll never earn your trust back, there’s nothing else I can do to prove that I love you both more than anything. You don’t see it, and I’m tired. I’m so fucking tired of watching you guys turn to other people when you get sick of me.” At their confused expressions, you elaborated. “Who will it be next? Another demon? Another angel? Another vampire?” You shook your head.

“You have no idea what it feels like to see the two people you thought—”

“Hold on, hold on!” Dean cut you off, finally breaking you from your tangent.

“You seriously think that?” Sam questioned, taking a step forward to be back in-line with his brother. “Because none of it, none of it is true.”

“Listen, [Y/n],” Dean began, “I know we’ve had our disagreements, all of us, okay? Hell, I know I have said some really fucked up things to get you thinking the way you are but you need to understand… I killed Benny to save you. I'm willing to let this bastard and all the sons of bitches that killed mom walk because of you. Don't you dare think that there is anything, past or present, that I would put in front of you! It has never been like that, ever! I need you to see that. I'm begging you.”

Your shoulders slumped at his confession, and the tears fell faster from your eyes. You looked between Sam and Dean, then down at your bleeding hand, and in a split second you made your decision. You turned and brought your hand up to Crowley’s mouth, and instantaneously you felt him drinking your blood. The pounding in your ears resumed, and you barely heard Sam shouting words of protest behind you.

You pulled your hand away, and the light erupted throughout your entire body. “Kah-nuh-ahm-dahr,” you whispered. Crowley let out a gasp, his eyes flicking to his demonic red, then faded completely back to his human eye color.

“It worked,” you laughed, turning to face your brothers. They looked at you with wide eyes, not daring to move. You had no time to celebrate your victory of the trials, instead a large rumbling echoed throughout the church, and the ground began to crack again.

This time, underneath the cracks in the ground, a hellish light peeked through, eating away at the floorboards. A hole opened up underneath your feet and you jumped back far enough to the edge, opposite of your brothers as your watched with wide eyes as black smoke broke through all the windows of the church, glass shattering everywhere. The sound of hundreds, if not thousands, of demons screamed as they were forced back into hell against their will. The wind picked up harshly and you were thrown back from the portal to hell, losing the sight of Sam and Dean through the smoke.

When every last demon was through the portal, it closed up tightly, no signs of what had just happened anywhere. When the smoke cleared and the dust settled, you looked across to your brothers, a smile creeping up on your face.

“I did it,” you whispered, pinching yourself to make sure you weren’t dreaming.

Your heart hammered in your chest and you groaned at the pressure, stammering back an inch. Immediately, Sam and Dean were at your side as your legs began to give out, helping you to the ground. “I did it,” you repeated, your voice getting weaker, your eyelids becoming heavier.

“Yeah, [Y/N],” Sam sniffled, “you did it.” He gripped your hand tightly, squeezing it in his large one.

You smiled weakly up at him, using what little strength you had to squeeze his hand back. You looked to your other side to Dean, whose eyes were red-rimmed.

“I’m s-sorry,” you whispered at him, at the both of them.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Dean said, finally looking over your pale form.

“You have to… you have to promise me,” you croaked out, struggling to get out your final words. You coughed, doubling over as it overpowered you. Raising your free hand to your mouth, you coughed up blood into it. “No bringing me back,” you finally said. “I’m at peace.”

“You can’t ask us to do that,” Sam said. You turned to look back at him, smiling sadly at him. You grabbed Dean’s hand with your free hand, feeling your last breaths creep up on you. You could have sworn you’d seen a person standing over Sam’s shoulder, but they had disappeared before your vision could focus.

“I love you both, so much,” you whispered, you eyes falling shut. Your grip on your brothers’ hands loosened, and your chest stopped rising and falling. Your head lulled to the side, your body completely still.

You stood over your two brothers, holding your body in their arms as they wept for you. A cold hand rested on your shoulder, and you turned around with a gasp.

“Tessa,” you said, staring at the reaper.

“[Y/N],” she greeted, a welcoming smile on her face. “It’s time.”

You nodded your head and she stuck out her hand. You spared one last look at your baby brothers, and grabbed her hand in yours, your soul leaving Earth to face judgement. You did not know where you were going to end up, if your final quest was good enough to outweigh all the shit you’ve done in your life.

You knew that Sam and Dean would be okay. They always were without you.

#supernatural #supernatural one shot #supernatural imagine #supernaturalimagine #supernatural x reader #dean winchester #dean x reader #Sam Winchester #sam x reader #sister!reader

[larksinging]

and last one for now tho i might send more over the next few days if you need em - post-breakup with trish, how do you think laurel would approach another relationship, or what kind of things would she be looking for, if she’d even want one?

if anything, it’ll teach her that she... is kind of unsatisfied by casual relationships. the way trish and their thing is going to be very, well, yeah, casual. she likes trish and she enjoys trish’s company and she even trusts trish at times, but i don’t think she’d ever love trish. laurel’s never gonna be serious about trish. and that may or may not help that relationship fall apart, depending on what trish feels and what she expects. and i feel like the kind of person they both need is, well, not each other

but that whole experience will kind of show her that she’s not gonna be happy with something surface-level like that. it worked for her before when she was just barely coping and needed a distraction from her downward spiral, but now that she’s in a more stable situation and in a position to recover it’s... not as fulfilling for her. 

it’ll probably also make her have to confront her underlying fears about serious relationships, which is a big step for her being even able to deal with something more serious. and a lot of her issues with serious relationships come from her abandonment issues, which are of a very different nature than e-1 laurel’s, but i think they share a similar hesitance towards romance because of trauma

actually, she might fall back to a place kind of similar to e-1 laurel about relationships, where she just has a looot of walls up and needs some coaxing and patience before she’ll give people that chance. 

at some point she might actually need to talk to someone (maybe sara or maybe actually someone more removed from the situation) about the whole oliver thing, because... i don’t think she’s over her oliver, because it can be hard to get over someone who died. and then her interactions with e-1 oliver were all very intense and negative and that made things really complicated. but it might be something she could work out a bit by talking? hell, maybe she should talk to trish about it, either before or after they stop dating. 

she’s unlikely to actively look for a romance or anything, but it’s not something she’d... immediately push away, if something started to develop. it’d need to be someone she trusted a lot, and someone patient and interested enough to be willing to wait out her hesitation. though, to be fair, i think she’d at least be pretty open with anyone interested about her hesitation. “the last person i dated seriously died and i haven’t entirely processed that” is pretty straightforward. 

so while any serious relationship would definitely be a slow and rocky process, it... might also be good for her? like having people she can trust that deeply and express genuine vulnerabilities with would be good for her, since right now she has sara, and... that’s kind of it? she has some people she’s starting to get there with, but it also shouldn’t have to all be on sara, yknow. it’s healthy to have multiple people in your life you can open up to. and a lot of her issues have been due to or at least made worse because she lacked any kind of safety net, so gaining people on denny she can really trust would be... good for her. 

and given a relationship that actually got to a serious level, i feel like she’d be able to be at least decent in return. she’s protective but also more empathetic than she lets on, since... theres that part of her deep down thats also that version of laurel who showed up on the docks to give oliver a picture of her while he was away (you know what, im deciding that happened on e-2, too, but obviously the photo never came back). 

having a relationship can also be a good way of self-defining, in some ways. that might be another positive thing she picks up from her relationship with trish - while she loves sara and likes the legends (more than she lets on), i think she’d like having someone else she really trusts and can spend a lot of time with that isn’t necessarily with the legends. no she just starts dating amaya, and, 

anyway tl;dr but any serious relationship with be kind of a slow build of her re-learning to trust and would need someone patient, but anything she did get involved in would probably end up being pretty sweet. 

#denny is a cursed place #thanks!! #rorykillmore

[tumblunni]

Random list of still WIP npc charries I need to make for this game, yo

* Mayor Grandma The Ultimate

Not actually anyone’s grandma but like... Everyone’s Grandma. That whole ‘village elder as a goddamn force of nature’ kind of character. She’s the Big Good. She’s this tiny unassuming gran who had a history as a legendary hero and is now the super amazing mayor who can solve goddamn anything and defeat any threat against the village and just... HOLDS US ALL WITH HER GRUMPY LOVE I’m imagining her like the protagonist’s gran in The Wee Free Men, or Granny Weatherwax from other discworld books, or the grandma from Summer Wars, or the grandma from Jade Cocoon 1 who even turned out to be literally the deity of badass grandmas who came down into mortal form to slap the shit out of some fools. (The “grim midwife of life and death” is a really fucking badass title)

Anyway she isn’t actually technically the ‘mayor’, she’s just like.. village elder under old country rules, but Regis is the duke that was sent down to Officially be ruler of this province. Officially. It’s just that absolutely everyone knows that the duke is just a figurehead and Ancient Powerful Gran Of The Old Ways is the real power behind this well-oiled machine of a town. Even Regis knows, lol! The previous duke was a total asshole that got served a slice of humble pie by gran and they were fighting at every turn, but now Regis and Mortimer are the Comparatively Less Stuck Up Noblefolks and the town is better off for it. Still, even if Regis isn’t evil like his brother, he’s still a bit foppish and occasionally stupid about what it actually takes to run a town. So they do come into conflict sometimes, but mostly its like BFFs quarrelling instead of the old Shephard Grandma Brings The Wrath of The Heavens Upon Rich Man No Matter How Many Rich Man Guards He Has, Seriously We Found One Of Them Upside Down On Top Of The Roof How Did That Even Happen

And then also i think that she might have a larger role in Blair’s plot cos Blair is kinda like the new Village Hero In Training. But she’s INTENSELY reluctant about it! Not cos she doesn’t like being buff as fuck and punching through walls, but because she doesn’t think she could ever be better than supergran. Cos like.. “yeah I’ve got the muscles but I don’t have the brains, how could I ever cope without you?” She gets really fucking sad at the very idea that supergran might be retiring, and like.. might die someday. So it’s someone who’s clearly qualified for the role repeatedly rejecting it and bringing up more and more perfectionist excuses why she isn’t ready yet, just because she cares so much for her mentor figure and wishes she could fight the tide of time. And that’s how Blair became the Miss Perfect rival type character, and why she’s so humble and oblivious of her own strengths. Also I think this same plot would have links to mortimer and sorrel too, because there was An Event that happened 15 years ago that was what caused mayorgran to start feeling as if she’d hit her limits and the town needs a new Hero. Apparantly ~something~ happened that was like.. the one time mayorgran ever found a problem she couldn’t solve. And also at that time mortimer and sorrel used to be childhood friends, since they’re cousins, but suddenly sorrel’s mum fell in status amoung the noble family and there was a huge upheaval of the town’s status quo. What exactly is this mystery...?

ALSO! she must have a big hat i just want her to have a really big hat (mayorgran, not sorrel, she’s fine with her medium hat)

* Sorrel’s mum

(and Regis’s sister and Morty’s aunt. It IS cousins when someone’s the son of your mum’s sibling, right? I can’t remember all the rules for first removed and stuff...)

Generic Mom. She’s just so NICE! Isn’t she nice? Don’t you agree? For some reason she had a falling out with Duke Regis in the past, and now she lives in comparative poverty and like.. no press statement has ever been released on WHY this happened, and everyone’s become rather distrustful of Regis because of it. What exactly is going on?

I kinda wanted to leave it vague at just this, cos you can’t exactly talk about her at all without spoiers. So yeah the next paragraph is gonna not reveal exactly what happened in that backstory, but it’ll talk about this character’s personality and what it.. actually is, I guess..??

SO...

...

...

A kind of over the top cloyingly “nice” person who really isn’t. A bit of Umbridge and a bit of an overbearing soccer mom. Like.. at first you’ll be wondering ‘why is Sorrel so self hatey when her mom is so nice to her’ but then it becomes clear that’s not what’s really happening. Mom only supports when you act how she wants you to, its a classic ‘living through your children’ situation where she pushes her kid way too far to achieve some goals they never wanted in the first place. And she’s a bit of a moral crusader, like she’s just.. SO convinced that she is ‘nice’, and that if she just acts ‘polite’ and ‘mumsy’ and cute and harmless and follows all the feminine stereotypes it balances out any horribly not nice things she does. Because she’s ‘not that kind of person’. Anything she does is good because she’s good, yknow? And anything Sorrel does is bad if it shows any sort of personality outside of what her mum has so kindly picked out for her, I mean why would you be so selfish, seriously! She kinda always lives like that, seething with resentment and selfish desire and looking for excuses she can use to paint someone as Bad so she is Justified in feeling superior to them and/or ruining their life. And her Nice facade covers up a lot of rather bigoted attitudes she holds, in addition to all the abusiveness. Ones that can be far more insidious cos she delivers them in such a Nice way and appeals to Logic and Compromise and oh but You Know, Everyone Knows, Isn’t It Just Natural And Biological, look at them getting Emotional. She’s very much the archetypical horrid nobleman that we were all so grateful that Regis wasn’t. Except she’s also way more devious and able to hide it beneath a relateable facade, so she can get these stupid naive townsfolk to do stuff that only makes life harder for themselves for the sake of like.. mythical trickle-down benefits that don’t actually exist. And oh, Sorrel, you know you could pass so well for a good Narcian lady if you dyed your hair, you know? Not like Regis’s filthy child. (She says, even though she also married a foreigner, just one from a majority white country...)

Basically she’s just gonna be a detestable monster, and the only pure evil person in the plot. And even more evil because she does such a good job hiding it, and has been able to spread her toxic influence to so many victims undetected for so long. Cos seriously, the story starts off with her being treated as a martyr and people clamouring to replace Regis with her, and it’s just gonna be So Damn Uncomfortable in retrospect when you do a second playthrough and see even Sorrel’s friends completely oblivious to her mum’s evilness. (″Friends? Honey, you don’t HAVE friends. Well, who do you need except little old me?”)

Also I was thinking randomly as a subplot there could be a thing that her mum was in charge of the town library once, and her planned renovations fell through and now the town doesn’t have a library at all, just this big abandoned building and The Enduring Shame. It’d be a good example of how she handles things, cos this is an Enduring Shame for Sorrel and not her. from Sorrel’s perspective she thinks that her mother trusted her with a big responsibility and she fucked it up and thus deserves the scorn. But really her mum just threw a sinking ship at her so she could take the blame, and then was all like “OH THE POOR GIRL IT WAS JUST TOO MUCH RESPONSIBILITY, PLEASE DON’T BLAME HER”. Spreading all these negative rumours to encourage Sorrel to never try and be independant ever again, but in a sneaky reverse psychology way so she could still look like a loving mother. But anyway this is how Sorrel ended up running a Secret Underground Library, her one form of rebellion against her mother’s control. She rescued as many books as she could when the library went under, and now she keeps them all crammed in her room and tries to spread them around without leaving any threads back to her. Cos she knows that her mum is super trusted, and that even good people can’t be trusted to keep secrets from her, and nobody would believe her if she tried to explain why it needs to be secret. So instead she just plays it off as if she’s just another person receiving books from the ghost library, and she’s totally searching for an answer to this mystery too, honest! It’d be a sign that you reached high friendship level with her when she’s like.. able to believe that you’d believe her if she told you her mum abuses her. And the first step of that is ‘hey remember that library we were questing for? its literally under my bed.’ Welcomes you to the secret trapdoor book heaven and you have a strangely romantic evening going OOOOMG FIRST EDITION TOLKEINS (or whatever the equivelant is in this universe XD) But it probably still takes her a while after that to open up about exactly why the library has to be secret, and to come to terms with the fact that she really doesn’t deserve how her mother treats her. So I’d definately give you an opportunity here to Fuck Up Massively by telling the mum about the library, yup. Gotta torment the player every now and again! XD ...but I mean if you’re reading this you know all the spoilrs so you’ll be fine, lol

* Quincy’s grandma (or possibly grand aunt?)

A stern and super professional businesswoman who has a bit of a quarrel with him over how exactly to balance profit vs like.. morality. She’s not a BAD person, her business isn’t so profit-heavy that its like all the actual atrocities you see in mega corporations nowadays. But she’s very distant from her customer base and also from what it’s even like to be poor. And she doesn’t believe that such minor things to improve the shopping experience would like.. actually change anything. What is ‘brand loyalty’?! What is this principle that if people are able to live more comfortably they’ll be able to spend more money on luxuries?? She used to be less greedygrump once, but she gets more jaded every year and keeps bumping money higher and higher up her priority list, abandoning things that used to seem important. And similarly she’s become super ‘I don’t need anyone, I’m better off being alone’, and developed this strained relationship with her grand-nephew. I think maybe I could add another layer of sad to this, woo! I think she raised Quincy alone after his parents were Giant Assholes and ran off. Probably stole a bunch of the family money, probably left her with a failing business that they’d ruined with all their selfish decisions over the years, and an angry mob out for blood against the brand name. And Quincy was very sickly as a kid, so she had to work a lot, leading to the distant relationship and obsession with profit. But she’s become so obsessed and paranoid of losing her money even after it became less of a death sentence, and she just keeps working super hard even though now she has time to spend with her family. And she gets scared seeing Quincy grow up cos she remembers how his parents turned into absolute monsters when she used to trust them so much. Being distant is better than getting hurt again... and god damn why does he have his mother’s eyes...

So yeah, they’re a bit estranged, and you can potentially help with that, woo! But mostly during the main game you’ll just hear about her cos everyone is like ‘oh, are you from [grauntie’s brand name]? why don’t you have this thing, she always has it’ and Quincy is like ‘no, this is my own store.. we’re a small business.. but umm, we’re cheaper..’ He’s trying to step out from under her shadow and prove that her philosophy is wrong, so maybe he can bring back the loving grauntie that he remembers from his childhood. i think maybe the ending could be that she turns up to inspect his new shop and they have some sort of merchant showdown and like... even if Quincy loses he still ends up proving her wrong because she sees just how much everyone in this town cares about him and how he’s improved various parts of their life by bringing access to these imported goods and just generally being a supportive community member. Maybe there are some things more important than profit...

Oh and also I think she was the one responsible for helping out Blair and Dionne when they were running from their abusive parents, and that’s why the two of them are the most friendly with Quincy at the start of the game. They hadn’t seen each other since they were kids, and Blair is kinda like I Owe You A Blood Debt, Is There Anyone You Need Me To Stab Grauntie looks back on this as a moment of weakness tho, and that’s why she stopped keeping in touch with them, she’s embarassed she used to be so sentimental. Cos like.. she spent so much money helping set up these girls with their own house and she lost out on a business opportunity (it was a property she originally purchased to turn into a franchise store) She can’t stop thinking about how tight the funds were around that time and how if she messed up she could have lost her own kid for the sake of helping some other kids... But then she turns up in town and its like Oh No I Walked Down The Street By Accident *gets buried in blair hugs* And she can’t stop crying seeing how much they grew up, and then they’re all like “we’ve been trying to send you a cut of the cafe profits for the last seven years!” and she’s like “NOOOOO, KEEP IT” *even more embarassed at doing even more irrational sympathetic actions*

Also possibly she could get a crush on mayor grandma cos they are both grumpy badasses of opposite? Strength gran vs wisdom gran!

+++

so yeh i made a bunch of grans/demigrans of various kinds, and now I am thankfully satisfied with this story’s gremp quotient

#test game thing #but should i add more grandpas too?? #regis kinda counts as one even though his role in the plot is as a dad #but i mean you could give him grandkids if you pick his son as your love interest route! :3

[kitkat1003]

The Dark Diamond Court

@snarkyowl my stepdad turned on my internet so I could do my hw but before that here’s tHIS

Padparadscha Sapphire. Dark can hardly believe he managed to cultivate such a gem, because the resources required were numerous and the procedure was delicate, to the point if he wonders if it was worth his time. They aren’t much different from regular Sapphires from what he knows, but they’re extremely rare, considering he’s never found a recorded instance of such a gem existing.

The gem that forms has short black hair and a long black and orange dress, with black fingerless gloves, but when it looks up at him with one eye he’s given a view of golden light, bright like a star and full of power.

“Hello?” The new gem speaks up confused and out of place.  Right.  Since he’d had to cultivate the gem from scratch, he hadn’t been able to program the societal norms into its premade memory like with other gems.

“Greetings,” He calls from above, bending down and holding out his hand.  Tentatively, the gem gets up, brushing himself off and walking over to said hand, climbing onto Dark’s palm on all fours.  It’s amusing, seeing a gem act so clumsy, and Dark feels something almost fond as he raises his hand back up, bringing his new creation to eye-level.  “I am Dark Diamond.   You, however, will address me as ‘My Diamond’ and salute me on arrival,” His voice is calm and soothing, because he feels the Sapphire tremble in his hand, tiny fingers brushing back the black bangs to stare into large eyes.  Dark has to admit-with a little bit of pride-that he can be intimidating, so if he ruffles the Sapphires hair?  Simply to ease some fear, because he doesn’t want his new creation to be terrified of him just yet.

“O-okay, My Diamond,” Padparadscha grins a little easier.  His voice is smooth, if a bit lax when it comes to a formal tone, but also kind.  Dark wonders what this new creation will do for him.

“Your designation number is 81-NG,” He states, and the Sapphire thinks for a moment.

“Bing!” He cries, and in a flash the word appears on the top part of his chest, with its own logo, no less. Dark tilts his head to the side, brows furrowed, before understanding the reasoning behind the name. Interesting choice.

“It suits you,” He replies easily, and Bing beams.

What an odd creation.

He leaves Bing with his most trusted advisor, Sapphire G-000g13, Google to those closer to the gem, so just Dark.  His instructions are to teach Bing the rules of gem society, who his superiors are, his social standing, the gem salute, ect.  Google doesn’t look thrilled, but he bows anyway, stiffly replying “Of course, My Diamond,” before grabbing Bing and walking off.

Dark leaves the two to themselves and goes off to survey a planet surmised to be a new colony, one that Wilford, Pink Diamond, would control.  Earth, a small planet in an eight planet solar system.  It’s a promising place for a colony, all things considering.  Great soil deposits for gems, very insignificant lifeforms with little technology, so it’s not as if they could fight back, and all in all a great resource and gem building colony.

Still, something feels off, as if the planet has something wrong with it he can’t see, but can feel deep in his gem.  It unsettles him, to the point where he takes a peek at his own gem to check for cracks. Pristine as ever, but he still feels odd when looking upon the planet.

There’s no good reason he shouldn’t allow a colony to be made on the planet, but he tells the peridot to turn them around anyway, striking the planet from the list of many, many others thought to be viable future colonies.

When he gets back to Homeworld, he decides to check on Bing and Google, and when he finds them, Bing rushes over.

“You didn’t take it, did you?  The colony?” Bing looks far too worried about something Dark didn’t think he knew about, and Dark raises an eyebrow.  After a beat, Bing remembers with a jolt, doing a hasty salute and bow, whipping back up with a sheepish smile.  “Sorry, My Diamond, I just was hoping to know if you took the Earth as a future colony,” Dark once again bends down and holds out his hand, and Bing hops onto it with much more ease than before, nervously wringing his hands and looking very tired, sweat slicking his brow and the beginning of bags under his one eye.  When Dark glances over at Google for an explanation, the Sapphire shrugs.

“No, I did not take the colony, Bing,” Bing visibly relaxes at his reply, letting out a sigh of relief and giving another bow.

“Good, cause that would have been terrible,” Google tilts his head to the side at the admittance, staring up at Bing with a calculating eye, and Dark sighs.

“Google, you’re dismissed,” He waves the Sapphire off, and Google gives him a bow before leaving. Turning back to Bing, he walks to his throne, leaning back in the chair while holding Bing up to his face.

“My Diamond?” Bing questions, tilting his head in question.

“How did you know the Earth colony would be a catastrophe?” He asks, and Bing perks up.

“I saw it!” He responds, and the gem on his stomach glows, a large map of sorts bursting through it. The large diagram shows a tree like structure, many paths branching out from larger trunks, an intricate web that leads up and out of the diagram.  To one side, there is a darkened path, nearly black, and Bing points to it.  “That’s the path you would’ve taken if you’d chosen the Earth as a colony,” Bing explains, and Dark notices how the branch is severed.

“It’s cut from the rest,” He states, and Bing nods.

“Yeah, I saw the way it was going and I cut it.  Took a lot out of me, but it was worth it since you didn’t take the colony,” He grins, and Dark feels the realization hit him like a hammer.

“You…severed it?” He nearly chokes on his words because of what they mean, and Bing nods again, oblivious to how groundbreaking his actions are.  The sudden feeling of unease when staring at Earth now makes sense with startling clarity, and the fact that Bing could influence him, a Diamond, so easily is astonishing.

“I didn’t want you to go down the path.  It would’ve been really, really bad,” Bing starts to realize himself that he might have made an error because of Dark’s expression, and his words come out like a justification.

Dark takes a deep breath and collects himself, because he needs all the information.  Bing’s definition of wrong could mean many things, and he wants to know what he’s been supposedly saved from.

“What would have been so bad about the colony?” He asks after a moment, and Bing thinks for a moment.

“Well, despite the lifeforms there being very…primitive, the need for a destruction of their home in order to create a there colony would insight a mass rebellion originating in Pink Diamond’s court,” The mention of a rebellion is enough for Dark to decide that Bing made the right decision, because handling a rebellion would be messy and despite his scary appearance, Dark isn’t one for shattering gems.  Not like Anti, he might add, but then Bing drops the true reason.

“The rebellion would peak with Pink Diamond being shattered by a Rose Quartz,” He states, and all air leaves Dark’s chest.  He tries to imagine a world without Wilford, and the thought is so painful that he has to rip it away from his mind.  “I saw that you would be really sad about that, and you’re My Diamond, so it’s my job to make you happy, right?” Bing gives him a nervous smile.  “Uh, sorry if I wasn’t supposed to do that, I just wanted to help, yknow?” Dark nods absently, because he’s still trying to push away the remnants of what could have been, if not for this new gem.  If not for Bing.

The thoughts slither back, and he can find himself holding Wilford’s pieces, can imagine going into a such a rage that it would never stop, because Wilford wouldn’t be there to calm him down.  Can imagine going mad, destroying the Earth and shattering gems left and right, can imagine Host hiding in his room for years, and he feels sick.

Looking down at the large golden eye peeking up at him, he gives him a small smile.

“Your actions were not technically allowed by regular standards, but this one is an exception,” He’s in awe, still, of what Bing has done, and Bing rocks back and forth on his heels.  

“I don’t think I can do it often, though.  I nearly passed out from it earlier,” Bing says, and Dark nods.  A limitation makes sense, considering the scale of what Bing can do, and he decides that this new sapphire was definitely worth the trouble.

He walks Bing to his room, setting the gem on his shoulder and listening to his ramblings about how Google is a bit rough around the edges, but is pretty nice once you get to know him, and when Bing does get to his room and is set down, he gives Dark’s finger a hug.

“See you tomorrow, My Diamond,” He grins cheekily with a bow and a salute, before walking straight into the door.

Dark laughs, a bark of surprise as Bing gets up from where he fell, rubbing his face.  Dark gestures to the panel to his left, and Bing presses a few buttons before running in, face burning dark orange in embarrassment.

Definitely worth the trouble.

He walks to his room, still chuckling at Bing’s clumsiness, and when he opens the door to his room he finds Wilford there, waiting for him.

The thoughts of what could’ve been come back with a frightening quickness, and Dark imagines a night where Wilford wouldn’t be there waiting for him, and he steps forward deliberately, cutting off Wilford’s hello with a rushed kiss.

When he comes up for air, Wilford’s eyes are wide, wild orbs tracking Dark’s movements in pleased but questioning confusion.

“Not complaining, but what was that?” He asks, and Dark rolls his eyes.

“I’ll tell you later,” he says, and kisses him again.

He does tell him, in the privacy of being under the covers.  He tells him about Bing, about what might have happened, how he fears that what might have because dammit Diamonds are supposed to be timeless and Wilford isn’t allowed to leave.

Wilford hums thoughtfully and grins at him, his eyes understanding, and he doesn’t let go until Dark has to move.

The next day arrives with Dark finding Google and Bing at their posts, setting each one on his shoulders. He’s grown fond of Sapphires, and makes a mental note to cultivate more.  Not a Padparadscha, no, simply because they’re far too powerful for his liking and they’re incredibly difficult to make, but more like Google would be sufficient.

He introduces Bing to Wilford, and Bing bows respectfully.

“You look very different in my visions,” He states, and Wilford laughs.

“For better or for worse?”

“Better,” Bing grins, and Wilford turns to Dark with pleading eyes.

“Can I keep this one? Please?” Dark rolls his eyes at the question, and puts Bing back on his shoulder.

A few months go by like seconds, and Google and Bing become close.  At one point they decide to fuse, because Google wants to educate Bing on the practice, with Dark’s permission of course.

Their first fusion is a messy mishmash of color, and but they get better over time, fusing because Bing says it feels fun and Google because…well, Dark isn’t certain Google would admit his reason, but it’s most likely because Google is rather fond of Bing. The two act like brothers sometimes, bickering on either side of his shoulder as he walks through the halls, but there’s and undercurrent of fondness between them.

At the end of the few months, Dark introduces his new three sapphires based on Google; Red, Green, and Yellow.  Bing dubs the Yellow one Oliver on the spot, and the gem latches onto the name like a lifeline, responding to nothing else unless Dark calls him Yellow.

They follow him throughout his day when he needs them, though Dark lends them to Wilford-he loves Red because the color is close to pink which Dark supposes makes sense- and Host-Oliver loves hiding in the Chocolate Diamond’s coat from him, and after a few times Dark almost finds it endearing-when need be, and even Jack. He doesn’t trust Anti with any of his court, but Jack is kind and protective and as long as he promises not to let Anti near them he allows the better half of Green Diamond twins to occasionally borrow one of his court.

Bing is never lent to anyone, because Dark doesn’t trust anyone with the sort of power Bing has. He’s only used Bing’s power twice since the first time, because Bing only gets premonitions of big events.  The small event predictions are clear, but they often come much too close to the event for Bing to alert Dark to them, and that’s what Blue is for.  Red is assigned as a guard for Bing whenever Dark has to go away for long, Oliver comes to diplomatic events to help give Wilford tact and to occasionally help Dark with what to say, and Green is around for technological assistance, as well as his predictions.

It happens when he gets back from a particularly long trip.

Going around and checking over the colonies is a chore, but he’s a leader of many, and public appearances boost morale, which also boosts productivity, and he does care about his subjects, believe it or not.  This time it takes longer because Wilford wants to check on his colonies as well.

When they get back, Dark is greeted with Oliver sprinting to him, clutching something red in his hands. He holds it up, panting and looking close to tears.

Red’s gem.

His mind goes to Bing, and he scours the quadrant for him, panic deep rooted in his soul, because if someone dangerous got a hold of him, then they could do terrible things.  He reaches the security detail, and they show him a clip.  It isn’t much, because the recording fades into static only three seconds into the action, but Dark catches a glimpse of sharp toed green boots.

Anti.

He doesn’t have time for a palanquin, a ship is too much to get there without alert, and the warp to Anti’s quadrant is conveniently closed, so he ends up sprinting, desperately hoping that Bing has enough willpower to say no.

And also holding onto the hope that Bing won’t end up shattered for saying no.

Bing is having a good time with Red when a huge, sharp, clawed finger came down, pushing on Red’s head until he poofed, disappearing into smoke and leaving nothing but his gem behind.  Red isn’t the ost emotional or one to like to have fun, but with a little prodding Bing can get him to play a game or two.  He just has to lose, because if he doesn’t Red will quit playing.  He’s a sore loser, but Bing doesn’t mind not winning as long as he can have fun.  He’ll make up grand plans to lose, laughing to himself with each radical plan to dramatically fail, but it gets tedious after a while.  When Dark isn’t around it’s quite boring, and Oliver had left a while ago because of a meeting Host was going to.  Blue and Green are overseeing a build in another colony, so that leaves him with Red, who is now currently just a gem on the floor.

Before Bing can shout for help, for alarm, the large hand wraps itself around him, pulling him up to see septic green eyes in a sea black.  A shrill giggle envelopes Bing in panic, and all that comes out of his mouth is a squeak.

“Now,̧ ̴l͝e͘t͘’s̡ ̨se͜e wh̷a̸t you càn̴ ͟d̡o for̛ m̧e̸,” The gem says, and his voice is like static, with a million whispers worming their way into his ears.  Bing’s one free hand shakes, and he’s whisked away to a warp while the madman holding him in his hands gives him nothing but a sharp toothed smile.

The room Bing is taken to is dark green and foreboding.  Dark’s quadrant is filled with comforting grays and blacks, more like living in a soft shadow than the rotting, decrepit feel this gem’s room emits.

“W-who are you?” he manages, and the gem’s smile drops to a snarl.

“Y̠̯̏̏͛̍̒o͚̦͈̞̲͉ͫͦu̓̐̂ͤ̕ ̵͍̻̥͗̿ͮ̐̂͆̚d̤͈͕͔̖ͥ͌ͧ̆ͨ͝o͓͙̲̰͒͒ͬ̀̇͊͞n̷̓ͪ̾͑͒̔̐’͏̯̺̠̦̤t̸̀̅͊ ̗̝̠̫̎̊͝k̛͔̞̥͖̣̪͉͛ͤņ̝͎o̙w̬͖͕̥̍͂̈͛̾̓͝ ̜̗̋ḿ̙̦̤̗̗̬̣̿̓̑̄ͬ͟ḛ̖̬͕̌̏?͎̦̙͉̹̭̪͆͊ͤ̓̏ͩͬ!̗̋́” He shouts, bringing Bing up close to his face, large eyes glowing in fury and Bing leans back from the acrid breath and sharp expression.

“S-s-sorry!” He cries desperately, one eye clenched closed in fear.  The gem tilts his head to the side, and tosses Bing on the table with an aggravated sigh.  Bing hits the table hard, tumbling across it and groaning while the monster makes his way to him.

“I ̷a̢m ̀Anti, b͘ut̛ you͏ ̴w͜ou̷l͠d ͘a͟d̴d̷réss me as̷ ̡Gr̸ee͢ǹ Di̧amond,” Is the response Bing is given, and suddenly he is turned on his back, staring back into the eyes of the second Green Diamond twin.  “Now̛, I̷’vȩ hear͞d ̷th́at̸ ͏y̛ou c͜an ̸c̷hang҉e ͠the ̴f̛ut̢u҉re̸,” Bing flinches, fearful because only Dark is supposed to know, and perhaps Pink.

“How-“

“I͏ hav͜e̕ a͏ ̷lot͡ ̷o҉f ̢f̨re͟e ti͜m̢e̢ a̧ǹd I ̷l͡ike s̸pyin͠g,” Anti interrupts, before leaning in close.  “S͡ho͏w͠ me ͝t́he ҉ti͘m͠el͏i̵n̸ęs.”

Bing obeys, mostly out of fear, and Anti leers at the map of time with glee, peering into each branch as if he can tell where they go.  Bing knows where they all go, watching time flow through each of them.  He’s only shifted them in dire situations, to spare countless lives or to stop mass extinction of certain benefactors, but something tells him that Anti isn’t going to tell him to change something for that.

“S-so, is that all, or…”

“I ́w̛a͢n͜t ͡y͝o͡u̡ ͟t͟o̧ m̶ak͘e̶ ͘me l͝ead̵er o͠f t̡h̀e Di͘a͘mo̕ńds,” Anti states plainly, and Bing gets up, looking over how many paths he’d have to cut for that to happen, hands tracing the branches of time with trembling fingers.  Dark is the defacto leader at the moment, not that he takes that title to heart unless it’s needed, and when Bing sees what Anti would do as leader his stomach turns.

Just to get Anti to the top, Dark would have to be shattered, and then Pink would follow suit, leaving Host to crack and fall apart.  That would leave Jack, who would valiantly try to lead the broken-hearted smaller gems to a new era, only for Anti to go mad and shatter him.  The energy that it would take to sever so many branches could kill him, not to mention the emotional trauma.

From there, dictatorship would be an understatement, with Anti working every gem to the point of cracking, countless being corrupted and others running and scattering themselves across the galaxy, only to later die out.  Becoming leader of the Diamonds requires there to be no more Diamonds other than Anti, and that is only the beginning of the horrors Bing sees all in split seconds.

Anti is asking him to doom all of gemkind.

“I-I can’t,” he stutters out, back away from the inevitable blow up, and Anti growls, arm snaking forward and grasping Bing tight, pulling him close.

“C̢a̽̎̿n’̉̍̓ͧͧ͡t͑̄̀̔ͮ͠,͒ͨ̈́͌ͥ̏ͧ ̾͒̚ǫ̊ͧ̿͌ͮr̐ͧ̿̆́ͧ ̛ͥͦͪ͑ͪw̡̿̋̂̌o̿ͣnͣ̽̓̐’ͧ̉̌̾ͯ͒ͤtͬ͒͛?͐̐͑͊”  Is the question, and Bing struggles in the tight hold that becomes painful, desperately trying to push himself out of Anti’s hand.

“B-both!  You’ll shatter everyone!” He cries, but Anti won’t listen, and all Bing can do is struggle until he gets an idea.

With a burst of bravery, he leans forward, and chomps down on Anti’s index finger.

“O̓̂ͥͧ͋ͬ̄ͭ҉w̔ͫͬͬ͌̈́̕!͌ͮ͌ͪ͊̌͐͐͏͝͞ ̓ͦͪ͊̎́͘͠͝ ̌̌̊̂F̴̆ͩ̄̀͂͝u̿ͯ̚͟͜c̡̧͆̌͂̀k̊̐ͧ͋̀͡!̷͑ͮ̍͗ͦ͋̉̌ͣ” Bing hits the table harshly once more when Anti drops him, but he doesn’t have time to waste on pain as he rushes far away, tiny legs sprinting across the table as Anti recovers.

“Yo̵u̷͜ ́͢c͢lod͟!̴ ̷ If̡͏ ̨y͏ǫ̛͢u͢ ͝w̛ǫ̷n͝’ţ̵ m̴̧a͢ḱ̶e m͘͘͜y͠ ̸͜͡f̡̛u̵̢tu͜r̸͠҉è͠ ͟b͡e̕͠t̕͝͝t̨er̨,̧͘҉ ̵̕͡ý͜͠ǫ͟ų̧́ ̛w̴͠ơ͟͞n̕͜’̵t̨ ͘͝l͘͠i͏͜͡ve ̴͡t́͢ờ ҉̵se̛͞e ̷a̸̴ ̶̶̧f͞u͠҉t̛̀u̸̸̧r͠e ̷̛a̵t̡ à̶ļ̷̕l̶!̷” Bing hears, before he becomes rooted to the spot.

The beginning of a haunting tune fills the air, one single note that sends him to his knees because of the white hot pain splitting his head in two from a knot right behind his eye, but before Anti can continue, Dark bursts through the door.

Dark wastes no time when he gets to the room, his shadows jolting forward and slamming into Anti and stopping his sound with so much force that the Diamond in slammed into the wall ten feet away.  Anti gets up with a snarl, but Dark holds him down with his miasma, searching for Bing with worried eyes.

He finds the Sapphire curled up in a ball, hands covering his eye, and there are patches of corruption tainting his skin, leaving him a shaking mess as he cries out for it to stop. The cries are interspersed between sobbing and moans of pain, and an occasional call for ‘My Diamond’.

Dark wants to shatter Anti right then and there, but this is time sensitive, so he picks up Bing with surprising gentleness, before bolting back out to Wilford’s quadrant, saying nothing as Wilford sees him, because Bing is falling apart in his arms.

When he gets to the Rose Quartz fountain, he practically throws Bing into it, submerging him completely in the healing tears.  The quartz gems are always on his watch because of what he knows could’ve been, but now he thanks the stars for their existence, watching the small patches of corrupted skin ebb away.

Thank the stars he only heard the first note, because if he had heard the whole thing than Dark isn’t sure he could’ve healed him.

“Anti?” Wilford asks from behind him, staring down at Bing with pity and traces of concern.

“Anti,” Dark nods, hackles raising with sharp fury, and after a few more moments of holding Bing in the healing fountain he closes his fist, bubbling the gem after he feels Bing’s form vanish.  He hands the bubble to Wilford, summoning his palanquin and taking his time to plan his speech to Anti while he has the time to think.

He walks into the room and finds it destroyed.  Anti has broken the table, thrown the bits across the room, and scratched up the walls in fury over his supposed defeat.  Dark’s heels clack again the tile as he continues to the figure standing in the middle of the destroyed room.

“So, let’s talk,” he says, and Anti turns around, swinging a fist that Dark dodges before his anger bursts, shadows crackling with dark red energy as they speed to grab Anti’s arms and legs, and Dark steps forward easily, backing Anti into the wall.  “You tried to corrupt one of my gems,” He spits through gritted teeth, and Anti grins, laughing because he doesn’t care.

“Y͟oųr ̨póin͏t? ͢ He̢ ̢di̸ḑń’t ̀ļi̸st͡en to ̶me͞. ̢ ̨Yo͘u͢ ouģh̡t̡tà sh̨átt̛er ţhe͏ ͝def͝ect̡,” Is the response Dark gets, but he doesn’t respond, instead squeezing the shadow around Anti’s neck tighter.

“Might I remind you what I can do should you try this aga-,”

“Ye̵a͜h,̡ ye̶a͞h, y̡ou’̕l͜l ̕s͏hatter me͝, ̡I͏ get̷ i̸t̕. ͏ T́ell̷ m͞e ̶ag͞ai̧n ̡wh̸e̷ǹ ̧I̕ ̛g̛i̵ve ̀a ̴s̢hit͠,” Anti interrupts, and this time it’s Dark’s turn to smile, wicked and knowing as he chuckles to himself.

“Oh, I won’t shatter you. That would be too kind,” He leans in next to Anti’s ear to whisper.  “I’ll shatter Jack,” Anti’s eyes widen, and Dark gives him a bow.

“You͞ ͞wo̷uldn͘’̡t҉.”

“Wouldn’t I?  I could always blame it on you.  You were always the violent one, and as much as I enjoy Jack’s company, I would rather kill him to destroy you than keep him alive so you could be happy,” Anti looks like he either wants to choke himself or kill Dark, and Dark gives him a serene grin.  “Now, of course, if you want me to promise not to hurt Jack, I do have a deal I could offer,” Anti is hanging onto every word, and Dark smiles.

He leaves there with the cuffs made specifically for the crazy gem on Anti’s wrists, and the remote for them in hand.  Should Anti try to corrupt anyone else without good reason, he can poof the idiot with a push of a button.

When he makes it back to his room, his semi chipper mood drops, because Wilford is there with the gray bubble by his side, and suddenly Dark remembers why he was pissed at Anti in the first place.

He grabs the bubble from the air gently, popping it as softly as he can, and watching as Bing reforms, the sapphire falling into his palm with a thump.

“M-my Diamond?” Comes a quiet, tired voice, and when Bing looks up at him, Dark nearly flinches.

Bing’s eye has lost its white color, a ring of gold swimming in a sea of black, and when Bing stares up at him blearily, with nothing but trust and happiness, Dark has to reign in his anger with an iron fist, sitting down on the bed next to Wilford with a sigh.

“Bing, I would like to apologize, because Anti won’t,” Bing flinches at the name, but Dark continues. “I managed to heal most of the corruption, but there’s still this,” He holds Bing up to his mirror, and has to look away when Bing starts to cry.

Bing’s eye isn’t the only thing damaged, they find after a few days.  His future vision, particularly the one regarding small, everyday events has gone terrible.  He can still see the broad future, and he still can cut off branches, but Dark relies on Blue more for the day to day things.  Bing still tries, and his hazy predictions are both amusing and sad.

He wears a visor now, to hide his eye.  None of the Googles know what truly happened, only that Dark is now extra protective of the sapphire now, and Bing doesn’t tell them when they ask.   Red apologizes for hs failure, because his job was to guard Bing and he failed, but Bing waves him off with a smile.  He stops fusing with anyone as well, even when the one time Blue offers-such a rare occurrence that Bing almost says yes-and hides a flash of hurt when Bing says no.  He doesn’t tell them what he can see, what every timeline shows him no matter what happens or what he tries to change.

Corruption never stops. It clings to anything it has the slightest hold on.  The note he heard is still ringing in his head, still ever present and painful, and whether it is a millennia or an hour from now he is going to eventually hear a sound that connects the song into one terrible melody, a melody that will rip him apart.  Fusing would spread that melody, and Bing would rather hurt his friends emotionally than have them turn out how he will.

Bing isn’t going to be okay someday, and he’s scared because he knows, but he also knows what he can do to make it so it hurts them less, so they’ll be okay.  He worries about the way Blue looks at him, as if he knows, but he’s never confronted, a relief.

He wonders if Anti knows, and if he does Bing wonders if he cares.  He wonders if the timelines could change so he would be okay.

He knows; he doesn’t; they can’t.

#gemiplier #gemsepticeye #bingiplier #googleiplier #darkiplier #kitkat1003