#So now you all have to deal with the fact that Smith is almost identical to JB | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jtl-fics · 5 months

Text

Fluent Freshman - Part 45

Renee Walker stands next to two of her best friends in the entire world holding up a hand drawn sign. There's an, admittedly crudely drawn, Fox on the sign that Allison had made up.

Renee had seen it and smiled from across the airport as she made her way over to where Dan and Allison were standing waiting for everyone to come. The team had managed to coordinate their flights to land all within about two hours of one another and Allison had exactly zero desire to go back and forth from the airport so her driver was waiting out at a nearby cellphone lot to come and get them once everyone was there.

"Is it nice having a driver again?" Dan asks Allison.

"I sometimes miss driving around in my car but it's a lot easier to do my makeup with him driving." she says with a shrug as they continue to catch up. Renee is holding up the sign since Allison had complained that she had lost so much of the muscle she had previously had.

"Yeah, New York City seems like a major pain in the ass to drive in too." Dan agrees as her phone buzzes. She pulls out her phone and looks at it before a huge smile fills her face, one that means she's talking to Matt, "Oh! They just landed!" Dan says confirming Renee's suspicions.

Allison looks at her watch, "Wow, 20 minutes early. They must have gotten through boarding quickly." she comments.

"Or some good tailwind." Renee offers.

"When are Neil and Andrew due up?" Dan asks looking at Renee who smiles back at her friend.

"Andrew said they're going to take a break halfway here so they'll be here tomorrow morning." Renee says.

"Get it Neil." Allison nods and it had been a wonderful thing last year to watch Andrew and Allison make peace with one another. Their mutual desire to dress Neil up a bridge towards....maybe not friendship but camaraderie.

It warms Renee's heart to see her friends get along.

"The plane got tailwind, Neil's getting tail." Dan jokes.

"I'm looking forward to meeting the new kid that I've heard about." Renee says gently moving the topic on from their friends getting together. It didn't bother her at all, but she knew that Andrew would prefer no one talk about what he and Neil got up to.

"Oh! Yeah, uh..." Dan visibly buffers.

"Dan, you're the only one of us that's met the kid. His name's Smith." Allison says with eyebrows raised in judgement.

"Look, when Coach and I went to recruit the kid my brain was like 90% on the fact that I needed to go to my interview." Dan defends herself.

"So he wasn't that memorable for you?" Allison asks.

"Yeah, I'm surprised that he's getting along so well with the guys." Dan says. "Getting stabbed over Thanksgiving feels more like a Neil move than the quiet kid Coach and I met." she adds.

That had been an interesting phone call from Andrew. Renee hadn't even realized that she had become Natalie describing the best way to get rid of the body until Andrew had clarified that it'd been an accident and Smith was alive. Renee had been a little ashamed.

She was excited to meet the kid who Andrew had spoken to her about. Glad that their strange found family was growing just a little bit bigger.

They wait around continuing to talk about plans for the break together. Allison wants to go shopping and she wants to do it once Neil and Andrew are back. Dan wants to skate at the Rockefeller center. Renee would love it if they could do Christmas Eve Mass.

They're sure that Kevin is going to want to check out an Exy game. They're mostly sure that Matt will want to check out the LEGO store in downtown manhattan and that Aaron will be as excited for that as Matt is but pretending not to be. Nicky wants to catch a drag show and has made it clear that he will be going regardless of what anyone else wants to do. Andrew and Neil will probably just want to be alone when they have the chance though Neil had expressed some prior interest in the EXITES superstore and Andrew will more than likely enjoy the day Allison has planned to go shopping since she wants to update Neil's wardrobe.

The new kid, Smith, will be a mystery, but they're more than willing to be flexible.

Eventually they hear the tell-tale sign of most of the boy's arrival. "Babe!" comes from across the airport and Dan's head shoots up and spots the sight of Matt Boyd approaching his arms out wide almost clotheslining four different families on his way to Dan.

Dan is not much better as she rushes to him arms as wide.

They embrace like they always do whenever they have to spend time apart from one another and Renee knows that part of the reason that Dan took her job as assistant coach where she did is that the Washington State Congress Team had been looking at Matt the year prior to scout him.

She looks beyond the passionate reunion and sees Kevin, Aaron, and Nicky. She frowns brows furrowing...

Weren't they going to bring-

Nicky throws his arm out and it wraps around a kid she hadn't even realized was there. She blinks startled by his sudden appearance and blank expression as Nicky was pointing them out. He points to her and he can see her name on his lips she gives a wave and a smile.

Smith nods back in greeting.

He seems quite nice.

***

Renee is at the end of her proverbial rope.

This kid is a threat and she doesn't understand how she's the only person who can see it.

Being a threat isn't really an issue when you're a Fox. It's almost a given that there's some part of you that can be dangerous when backed into a corner but no one seems to be treating him like a threat.

She watches as Nicky and Matt throw their arms around him. As Kevin pushes smoothie after smoothie into his hands as he blankly sips. As Andrew and Neil sit with him quietly. As Dan pinches his cheeks. As Aaron ribs him for being bad at MarioKart.

She can't feel anything from him, no joy, no anger, nothing.

She can't even track him.

Renee has always prided herself on her ability to keep track of those around her. Spacial awareness was incredibly important when you're in a fight and it had always been one of her strongest points. She always knew where she was in relation to everyone else.

Except Smith.

The kid had given her no shortage of heart attacks as he appeared and disappeared seemingly at random.

She had finally gotten Andrew alone to ask, "Smith's quiet, non-intrusive." Andrew says with a shrug.

There's just something about him that makes the hair on the back of Renee's neck stand on edge and she hates feeling like she's the only one. She hates it even more that there's no real evidence that there's something amiss with this newest Fox.

So she settles in to watch.

They're out shopping and Allison is doing her best to get Neil a proper wardrobe with Andrew's considerable help, AKA nodding in approval when Neil comes out. She's not skimping on any of them but Neil is her main focus.

"Smith, what's a color you like?" Allison asks as she's looking at hoodies.

"I like purple." Smith answers and Renee barely manges to stop herself from flinching as his voice comes from right next to her.

"Pass." Andrew says as Neil comes out in a charmingly orange sweatshirt.

"I like it!" Neil argues.

"You have 10 sweatshirts that are that exact shade of orange." Andrew dismisses. "Try the blue one." he says pushing Neil back into the dressing room.

"Which one?" Neil asks.

Andrew sighs dramatically in a way that lets Renee know that he's doing exactly what he wants to be doing, "I'll show you." he says going into the dressing room with Neil.

"I still don't know how it took Baltimore for me to realize they were together." Nicky says as he's holding up two different purple sweatshirts to Smith's body. "You look good in a more purpley purple." Nicky says putting the more indigo colored sweatshirt back on the rack.

"Pants are coming up next, I'll get a lay of the land. I know everyone else's but Smith what's your height?" Allison asks.

"Five feet, nine inches." Smith answers as Nicky pushes him towards the dressing room. "Nicky it's a sweatshirt, I can put it on out here." Smith says.

"I know but I need an excuse to go back there and make sure Neil and Andrew aren't defiling a dressing room." Nicky says with a grin that implies he'd be more happy if they were.

"Gross." Aaron says as he takes a picture of himself to send to Katelyn to approve of the new outfit that Allison was pushing for him to get. "Wait," he pauses turning to where Allison was looking through various men's pants, "you know our heights? Like you've memorized them?" he asks.

"Yeah." Allison says looking at a pair of black slacks. "Everyone's measurements." she says nodding to herself.

"Even bust sizes?" he asks, voice not as quiet as he likely thinks it is.

"You're such a boy." Allison laughs not even looking up from the very different rack.

"How much longer are we going to be here?" Kevin asks with a sigh.

"Well, at least the time that it took you to ask that longer. We'll be done when we're done Kevin." Dan says long having given up on stopping Allison when the woman is on a spree.

"She knows that EXITES closes at 5 PM right?" Kevin asks.

"More importantly," Matt leans in, "that the LEGO store closes at 8 PM right?" Matt asks.

"How is that more important? The LEGO store is open later?" Kevin asks.

"Because we're not going to EXITES today, but we are going to the LEGO store." Matt says.

"If we don't spend the whole day here we can do both-"

"We're not going to EXITES today Kevin." Dan says with a sigh.

"But-"

"We're not going to EXITES today Kevin." Renee says with an apologetic smile.

"But-"

"Kevin, we're not going to EXITES today. Just sit down and let me find pants that'll make your pin-up days look tame in comparison." Allison says.

"That's not what those posters were!" Kevin argues with a blush on his face.

"Sure." Allison dismisses

***

Renee is quite happy with the sundresses she found even if they won't do her any good here in New York City during the Christmas break. Their next stop on their shopping day is over to the LEGO store where Matt makes no attempt to hide his enthusiasm as Aaron very valiantly does try to pretend like he's not utterly entranced by the sets and builds.

Renee thinks it's all very charming.

"We could have gone to EXITES." Kevin says with a frown as he looks at a build of an Exy racquet. "Can you take my picture with this?" he asks but he's not quite looking at Renee.

"Sure." Smith says from beside her, where he had apparently been.

"Thanks Smiths." Kevin says and stands next to the Exy racquet of LEGOs and crosses his arms and leans back.

"Kevin, stop posing like this will be for the cover of a Forbes Magazine." Andrew says with a sigh as he comes to stand on Renee's other side.

"Shut up, it's a picture for me!" Kevin says and continues to stand with his arms crossed.

"Oh, can you get a picture of me next Smith?" Neil asks coming up eyes shining in excitement as he looks at the racquet.

"Sure. As an apology for letting Nicky-"

"Don't talk about it." Neil and Andrew say at the same time.

Kevin gets his picture and then Andrew hands his phone to Smith for Neil's since Neil had broken the lens on his camera ages ago.

They wander around and Kevin finds a set to build the National Court that he grabs without a second thought. Neil and Andrew find a little LEGO man of Kevin that they buy as their 'preferred Kevin'. Kevin of course threatens to buy their LEGO figures once they have them and refer to them as his 'preferred Andrew and Neil'. A threat that neither of them comment on but Renee does buy the little Jean Moreau she finds. She'll paint it Trojan colors and send it over to him as a little gift.

As she continues to browse with her purchase in hand she hears Nicky, "Smithy, if you like it you should get it!" Nicky insists.

"Is it the price?" Allison asks.

"Yeah, I don't want to spend that much." Smith says with a nod expression still worryingly blank.

"When's your birthday? It can just be an early or a late present from me." Allison asks.

"March 1st, but really I'm fine not getting it." Smith shakes his head. "It's not that I'd like it just my little brother liked trains." he says and Renee watches Nicky's face turn from joyful teasing to intense determination.

"We're getting this set." Nicky says grabbing it and marching over to the counter even as Smith followed after him.

Interesting.

***

They finish off their day with some ice skating.

Matt, Aaron, Andrew, and Kevin all fall into the 'challenged' category.

They get on the ice and all four immediately fall. Renee stifles her laughter as Andrew and Aaron scowl. "Are you okay?" Smith asks and Renee almost loses her balance as he skates by her.

"Why the fuck are you good at skating?" Aaron asks scowling even as he takes Smith hand. Renee skates over and offers a hand to Kevin as Matt and Andrew are being helped up by their respective partners.

"Oh," Allison says skating by, "have you been up to Canada or something often?" she asks.

"I've been to Canada a few times. It's more that there was a rink I would go to every once in a while." Smith answers before turning back to Aaron, "I can help you keep balanced." he says offering his other hand.

"Smith, I don't want to hold your hand. That's kind of gay." Aaron huffs letting go of Smith's hand only to immediately beef it again when he tried to move forward.

***

Skating was fun even if Aaron kept blushing as Smith helped him skate since he never really got his 'ice legs'. The rest of them all more or less skated on their own by the end or, in the case of Andrew and Matt, seemed fine to keep skating while holding on.

Renee was warming herself by the fireplace in Allison's home enjoying some hot chocolate as Allison took a seat next to her. There was a lot of commotion in the kitchen as the team was working to make dinner together. Renee had excused herself after Smith had startled her while she had a knife in hand and she'd almost stabbed him on instinct.

She's just relieved that no one seemed to notice the near murder.

"You okay? You seemed tense in there." Allison asks.

Well, almost no one.

"Yes, I'm fine." she smiles and hopes that Allison will believe it.

Allison looks at her and Renee does have the benefit that Allison is slightly drunk since she was told firmly not to help with the cooking since she'd paid for the majority of the day.

"I'm glad I got you alone, there's something I want to hear your opinion on." Allison says deciding, apparently, to let it go for now.

Renee relaxes smiling at her friend, "What's that?" she asks wondering what purchase or thing unpurchased Allison was regretting.

Allison looks at Renee, expression utterly serious. "Don't you think there's something...weird about this kid?" she asks.

Renee straightens up glad that Allison had also felt like something was off with the kid that her friends had brought along. "What do you mean?" she asks wanting to hear what Allison thought.

"Look, he seems really nice. I mean a little too nice to be a Fox to be honest but I mean I guess you're a Fox as well so..." Allison rambles slightly taking another sip of her wine.

"Yes, go on." Renee nods.

"Yeah, he seems nice and Matt said he's got his own stuff even if he didn't wanna go into what that stuff was." Allison continues and it's a good thing Allison is drinking white wine considering the white carpet and her gesticulations. "But...it's just.. okay you can't make fun of me. Even though this is about to sound crazy." Allison says.

"I would never do something like that." Renee swears.

"Promise me." Allison says expression grave as she lifts up a pinky.

Renee smiles despite herself and hooks her pinky with Allison's, "I promise to not make fun of you." she swears other hand over her cross.

"I think he's Justin Bieber."

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

#Fluent Freshman AU #I would like to thank Emry #Since I was talking with them about commissioning a pic of Smith #I searched 'bland white guy' and Justin Bieber popped up #and it has been my head canon.... EVER SINCE #So now you all have to deal with the fact that Smith is almost identical to JB #He's got the hair #he's 5 foot 9 #Born 3/1 #Brown hair #brown eyes #Smith just completely lacks JB's stage presence / confidence / rizz and it mostly renders him very distinguishable #Nicky absolutely bought that train lego set for Smith #and is like 'this summer you and me are gonna fucking build this for your brother'#Andrew and Neil were also like 3 hours later than they said they were going to be #due to late check out reasons #Kevin may have looked for a Riko figure out of habit but didn't find one #Neil and Andrew may have also looked for a Riko figure but they wanted to burn it #different strokes for different folks i suppose #Renee got some nice paints to do her little project for Jean #She's heard from Jeremy that he's recovering from the meatball head injury quite nicely #Jean keeps saying to stop calling it that #Jeremy: “but you almost bled Bechemel all over the place.”#Jean: “For the love of god stop saying that. I was concussed from the meatball.”

221 notes · View notes

dameronology · 2 years

Text

dating eddie munson hcs

a/n: general dating ones were requested by quite a few of u! i tried not to go too ham on these but i have a lot of thoughts...there may be a part two because half of this is just how you start dating lmao oops

you can't really remember when you met eddie; it was definitely in high school, but he was just sort of no-where and then everywhere. like...he had the locker next to you, your timetables were practically identical and every time you turn a corner he's breezing past you

his crush on you is pretty instantaneous. he can admire a hot person when he sees one, but it's not until you call out jason carver for staring at your ass one time in gym class that he's like "yeah ok i'm marrying this person"

yours is more of an...admiration. like a "that guy is cute" sort of thing. it's hard to like him for anything more than his looks because you barely know him & without mutual friends or shared clubs, it's a little hard to find the opportunity

the funny thing is you don't actually get together until the summer after you graduate. you're acquaintances by that point and you say hi if you see him in passing but then one day you both reach for the same smiths record in hawkins local music shop & that's when you have a proper conversation for the first time

you insist the record is yours bc you saw it first; eddie is adamant you're wrong but he manages to barter his way into a trade from his own collection. you don't doubt that he owns hundreds of records and that's not a bad deal

so the next day you swing by the trailer park, your shiny new smiths record in hand, about to trade it for whatever the hell you want

almost instantly, the thing that catches you off-guard is how easy and calming his presence is. within seconds of being in his living room, he's offering you a drink

"i have tea, coffee or weed"

you guys start to hang out more & more after that; you kind of regret not making more of an effort with him in high school but it's nice not to have the pressures of that social construct all around you.

you get close, pretty quickly. after a few weeks of smoking together and hanging out, he confides that once incident with jason carver and his little crush, and you tell him about yours

it's not long after that you just kind of...realise you're together. it happened so organically that the day you take a step back and say "i guess i'm dating eddie munson" is no surprise

and honestly?? it's fucking amazing

it's a little scary how quickly you become inseparable; it's only a matter of months before he's like your whole world and you can't get your head round the fact he sat next to you in english class for four years and you never said a single fucking word to each other

most the time, you hang out at the trailer. wayne is always out, either at work or at the bar down the road, so you pretty much have the place to yourselves

with that said, he was a weird thing about taking you places he knows you're gonna see people from school, just because he likes to see their faces when they see you two are together now. honestly he just finds it really funny

he's very big on p.d.a, but like...low key p.d.a?? that sounds contradictory but 99% of the time, he has his arm around your waist and his hand hooked on your hip, or your fingers interlinked, or even just a hand on your ass

eddie isn't easily put out by others. if there's a guy hitting on you, he knows you can deal with it - if you want him to get involved he will, but save for just moving beside you and putting an around you, he's not gonna get into fist fights with a man just for looking at you

if someone disrespects you though, he's more than happy to defend your honour

eddie will never, ever throw the first punch though.

but even though he's not easily jealous, it doesn't mean he doesn't get insecure. he went through years of shit in school & even though hawkins isn't exactly bachelors fucking paradise, there are still decently attractive guys out there with subjectively good senses of humour

he's not weird about it though - the one good thing about eddie munson is that he is so bluntly honest that he'll just bring it up to you. he's not accusing or forceful about it; he's just open about his feelings. the man doesn't even want reassurance. he just has this innate need to tell you everything ever

you try not to laugh, because what the fuck. maybe eddie doesn't see himself the way you do, but when you take his face in your hands and press a kiss to his nose and say "you're never getting rid of me, dumb ass" he starts to feel a lot better

eddie is always lending you his jacket; he has a seemingly endless supply of leather & denim and there's nothing he loves more than the sight of you in his clothes

any clothes; whether it's his band t-shirts or boxers or literally anything

he's not exactly elitist about his music taste, but it takes him a lot to listen to artists outside his genre

so when you make him a mix tape that has abba, george michael, elton john & billy joel and he low key loves all of them it's a little life changing for him

you have a lot of songs you both love but the one he considers to be your song is vienna by billy joel; the world is moving really fast around you, almost suffocatingly so, and eddie is always the one who encourages you to just slow down and enjoy things for a moment

his main names for you are pretty basic - babe and sweetheart but when he really wants something, it's baby

you just call him eds or edward but funnily enough, very rarely just eddie

eddie is one of the funniest people you've ever met; it's mostly just how witty he is and how quickly he responds to things with a well-thought out joke

but he's also capable of coming out with some really deep and insightful things

on top of that, he's literally the best at comforting you. he always knows exactly what to say and he gives the best advice

on the whole, eddie is just your best fucking friend & everything you need tbh

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson headcanons #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson imagines #eddie munson reader insert #eddie munson fan fiction #eddie munson #stranger things x reader #stranger things headcanons #stranger things imagine #strangers things imagines #stranger things reader insert #stranger things fan fiction #stranger things

130 notes · View notes

greensaplinggrace · 3 years

Note

do you have any darklina fic recs?

I certainly have a few! But first I want to clarify that I don’t really read fic when I’m writing it, and since I have so many fics in the works right now, I haven’t really been reading a lot of fanfiction. So this list probably won’t be as extensive as it could be.

Here are some other great fic recommendation posts, however:

DARKLINA FIC RECS by @vicioux

DARKLINA FIC RECS // part ii by @vicioux

Darklina Ruling the World Together Fic Recs by @clubofthestarlesssaint

Tumblr Ficlets

Aleksander’s First Memory by @kestrafagnor

Fivan Talk About Darklina by @jomiddlemarch

a little light in the great, big dark by @valkyrhys

Alina tells Mal she’s with Aleksander by @lorsanbitch

Darklina week day 5: intimacy & touch by @starlesscne

AO3 Fanfiction

if it ain’t me by larry_hystereks (Incomplete - 10/13 Chapters)

alina’s in her second year at Yale when she meets aleksander at one of his frat parties.

a hookup with the potential for more, only if alina wasn’t still struggling to piece herself together from last year’s breakup.

or: alina, zoya, their trust issues, and the men that fall for them

---

I’m only at about chapter 6 of this fic currently, but so far it’s one of my all time favorite Modern AUs. The characterization for Alina and Aleksander is incredibly well done, and the entire fic itself is so feminist and queer in such a refreshing way. Aleksander and Alina are bisexual as fuck, both with their own separate complex lives, and much of Alina’s own traumas and relationships are explored outside of Aleksander.

There’s some Zoyalina, with Nikolina friendship and endgame Zoyalai. There’s some mystery and some tension, but nothing too extreme, and a lot of the fic is merely an exploration in growth and overcoming one’s history and learning how to move on in healthy ways. I love it.

She Wears a Collar (With My Name) by Ceris_Malfoy (Complete)

She is immortal, and whatever lingering hints of humanity she may have once had have long been bleached from her heart.

I will grant you one wish, boy, if it is in my power to do so. What does a Shadow Smith most want?

"You," he answers.

Written for Darklina Week 2021 - Day 2: Role Reversal

---

This piece is just exquisite. This author’s writing style is one that I particularly enjoy. Their stuff is always so uniquely composed and crafted, and this one especially is a work of art. The way Darklina as a relationship is portrayed in particular is fascinating to me because it’s a role reversal but it’s still so complex. Aleksander’s character is nailed.

the bright sun was extinguish’d by athousandwinds (Complete)

Somewhere, deep in the dark forests of Ravka, a boy grows up on stories of Sankta Alina of the Wastes, the Sun-Scorched Saint.

---

This fic is just straight up magnificent. It’s so engaging and I love love love the way a role reversed Aleksander who joins the army is portrayed. He reminds me so much of Demon in the Woods Aleksander, as if he’s exactly what a grown version of that young boy would be. When I say I adore his characterization in this I’m not lying.

If I wanted any completed fic I’ve read to have a second chapter, it would be this one.

Winter in the Little Palace by redisxwing (Complete)

Written for Yuletide 2020.

Baghra and Alina's wildly different perspectives on the Darkling, and how things could have gone if nobody listened to Baghra.

Warning: Baghra is written as a harsh and arguably abusive parent, and this is darkfic about that relationship, with a side of shipping. Everything is terrible (except the parts that are pretty much okay).

Canon divergence pretty much as soon as Alina gets lessons in summoning.

This fic is likely not compatible with King of Scars (or any subsequent work).

---

As is said in the summary, this one makes Baghra a bit more extreme. If you’re a fan of Baghra, this fic probably isn’t for you. But since I’m not a fan of Baghra, I had no problems with it.

My biggest praise for this fic is in regards to the character interactions and the POVs. There’s a brilliant grasp of unique perspective and how to convey it, and that talent is carried over into the way character interactions are brought to life in the text. Also, there’s a scene where Alina gets kind of protective of the Darkling, which is one of my biggest weaknesses when it comes to Darklina.

Good Ideas by FelixRivers (Complete)

Alina Starkov had a very good idea. Aleksander Morozova would definitely agree. (or: Alina wants to go camping and Aleksander won't complain)

---

This fic is just straight up adorable and hilarious. They’re such a cute couple and Alina’s POV is great. It’s just pure fluff and humor 💕

I’m not a bad girl, but I do bad things with you by SanktaJenya - @sankta-arya (Complete)

Winter had been hard on Old Baghra and Ana Kuya was worried about her, so she decided that Alina should make the trip to her cottage on the other side of the woods to bring her some food and kvas. On her way there, Alina meets a stranger...

Darklina Red Riding Hood/Company of Wolves AU

Darklina Week, Day 4, Fairytales

---

This fic has a splendid grasp of tension and atmosphere. It’s very enchanting and dark and intriguing, and it nails those aspects with absolute precision. I love the style and the way the fairytale is incorporated into the narrative. It’s truly a masterpiece.

The Wretched by @aceofnowhere (Complete)

“We are strangers, but I want to help.” He growls at her, mocking and mistrustful. “I understand,” she said. “You think I am one of them. I certainly look like one of them. But I want to help you. Will you let me?” Prompt: fairytale. Alina saves a dragon.

---

Okay so I’ve mentioned this one before as one of my Top 5 fics of all time and I still stand by that. I can’t even describe why I love this fic so much except that the pacing is amazing and the prose is stunning and the story is beautiful. Aleksander is a dragon and Alina is a witch, and their relationship is just so...interesting and fascinating and lovely. I would literally kill for this fic. There’s such a softness to it as well. Such a tenderness. Idk, I just really love it.

Show Me Who You Are (I Want To Know) by Ceris_Malfoy (Incomplete - 12/?)

Alina takes her future in her own hands and makes her own decisions.

---

This is a great “what if Alina had stuck around after the reveal” rewrite. It doesn’t have Mal bashing and in fact still writes them as close friends, which is something I’m fond of in Darklina fics. Aleksander is allowed to be soft and Alina is allowed to be powerful, and I really enjoyed the take on their dynamics as a power couple wherein Alina is given a lot of control.

There’s something to be said for the way Aleksander is written in the scenes where he must be honest and earnest with Alina. I really enjoy the way they both come to equal ground, and I’m even more fond of the way Alina is allowed to grow darker without losing her light. She also engages a lot with quite a few other characters, developing tons of friendships and alliances on her own that help strengthen her as an individual character.

on this bridge between starshine and clay by @rhea-imagined (Complete)

"His breath narrows for a moment, his fist clenched tight before he forces himself to loosen it. She is his only opportunity for salvation, but vulnerability is not a cape he wears easily. “In those days, there was less prejudice against Shadow Summoners. But everyone fears the dark, in one way or another.” He does not look at her as he waits for the penny to drop, half-hoping it stays suspended in the air."

In which Alexander comes clean to Alina and tells her about his true identity in hopes that this will help convince her to take down the Fold.

A rewrite of the fountain scene in episode four, with a good!Darkling that is trying to make amends.

---

This is my all-time favorite good!Aleksander AU. He’s kept in character despite the major changes made to his motivations, and Alina is given a lot more agency in her own story. It’s the first fic in what might become a series, but it can stand alone beautifully.

I love how Aleksander and Alina’s relationship is allowed to grow tense without breaking, and how it’s a clear sign of change but not abandonment. I love how both characters are able to think for themselves and become self-aware and are given the chance to think critically. I love the character interaction so much because it’s honest and fresh and engaging. Everything from the smallest action to the most off-hand thought is in character and meaningful and incorporated with an amazing style of writing. It’s a very refreshing piece, and the writing only makes it that much better.

Bunnies of a Feather Stitch Together by Ill_Ratte (Complete)

"Just as Alina called to the light, gathering and twisting it into a ball in her hands, the door swung open.

Kirigan blacked out the door frame. His appearance enough would have surprised Alina, but there was something clutched in his arm, something dark and floppy. It almost looked like the stuffed toys that had been passed around to the younger Orphans." - Alina and The Darkling bond over a love of soft things

---

Soft stuffed animal shenanigans. Bits of trans!Aleksander, which I’m very fond of, as well as just a lot of fluff with a bit of something bittersweet and sad in a good way.

Half Lie by Ill_Ratte (Complete)

"Baghra always talked of the demon that had stolen her daughter." Or, Alina learns the hard way that the Darkling isn't the only one who deals in half-truths

---

This one is trans!Aleksander, and it handles it in a very interesting way. It’s quite sad, and deals a lot with Baghra & Aleksander’s relationship through Alina’s POV. I want to give a warning for transphobia, because it does center around that a lot as the premise, but it really is worth the read if that isn’t a trigger for you. This is one of my favorite trans!Aleksander fics, and the way it handles emotion and grief and pain is quite extraordinary.

The CEO and Helioseismologist by mrthology (Complete)

Aleksander Morozova doesn't get sick. He's the CEO of one of the most successful companies in the world, one that he had built from the ground up with blood, sweat, and tears. He exercised daily (usually), maintained a healthy diet, and kept himself fit.

He wasn’t sick.

Too bad no one believed him. And too bad Genya decided to call Ivan to take him home before also calling Alina to take care of him.

Maybe, just maybe, being sick wasn't so bad. Especially not when he has such a wonderful girlfriend.

---

Both of the fics in this series are great, but I love this one in particular because I’m an absolute sucker for hurt/comfort. Anyone who’s been on my blog for a while knows that it’s my all time favorite trope to read, and this fic fits the hurt/comfort trope to a T in the best of ways. It’s very tender and in character, and Aleksander and Alina are so soft with each other. It’s adorable and really makes you feel for Aleksander, and the caretaking is done perfectly.

All the different layers of dark (thousand little suns) by Anuna (Complete)

One month after the Winter Fete, Aleksander returns to the Little Palace, and Alina has been missing him.

Episode five canon divergence in which Alina had never left Os Alta.

---

This one is soft emotional hurt/comfort smut. They’re both so open and vulnerable with each other, and it’s so beautiful to read. I love the writing style and the emotion in this one. It makes my heart ache in the best way.

An Honourable Man by liviy695 (Complete)

A reimagining of the scene after the winter fete. Alina catches a glimpse of a caring Darkling after he returns from integrating the Conductor. Plus, no Baghra interference.

---

This one is what it says on the tin, in that Baghra doesn’t interfere and they’re allowed to talk after the Darkling interrogates the Conductor. But more than that, it’s a great imagining of how a scene where Aleksander reveals Marie’s death would have gone. There’s a sort of quiet to it that I appreciate, with grief and solemnity weighed against care and vulnerability.

I see the real you (even if you don’t, I do) by Anonymous (Incomplete - 8/?)

A series of questionable decisions lead Alina to meet the Black General a bit earlier. Butterfly effect ensues.

---

I’ve only read half so far (I hadn’t realized it had updated!! 👀👀) but I’m already in love with this fic. Alina’s dialogue and perspective is perfect, her relationship with Mal and the other cartographers is great, and I really enjoy how much personality she has. Aleksander is so smitten, but more than that, his characterization is soft but not weak. It feels almost as if he’s swept up by Alina, instead of the other way around, and I quite like that.

Of parenting by Anuna (Complete)

Alina finds out how her husband handled yet another parenting situation.

---

This is pure adorable Darklina parenting fluff and I live for it. Yet it doesn’t lack depth and in fact explored Alina and Aleksander’s relationship with parenting quite well.

i have a longing by LRCee - @ladylyannastark (Complete)

“So, Alina Starkov, risk-taker, how did you end up being editing’s newest wunderkind?”

Alina Starkov is rising in the publishing world. Singlehandedly responsible for editing (see: rewriting) the hottest book of the year, she lands a coveted spot at Morovoz Publishers. It's the position she's always wanted, at the biggest publishing house in the country. Life is perfect. That crush on her boss though, that's gotta go.

---

OKAY! I LOVE THIS ONE SO MUCH!! Let me tell you, as someone who is not too fond of Boss/Employee dynamics, I was very wary going into this fic. But boy did it deliver in a way that was perfect for me.

The relationship that develops between Aleksander and Alina is complex but healthy, and it never feels as if there’s too much of a power imbalance or anything that would make Alina feel forced or unhappy. The tension lies purely in how she fears others will perceive her, and not in how unhealthy her relationship with Aleksander is. For somebody who’s often attracted to unhealthy ships, I have to say that my favorite fics are usually ones that don’t have that type of dynamic between the characters. This fic delivers on that.

Also, Aleksander’s POV surrounding his struggle with his Russian heritage and his feelings for Alina is amazing, and has some of the best writing and characterization I’ve seen.

You receive: an evil demon; I receive: human souls by @aceofnowhere (Complete)

The next morning while she tried to tell herself it was a dream, that of course there wasn’t a fucking demon in her house, she found a note taped to her fridge.

“You might eat this shit,” it had written, “but I would like some fucking souls please.”

Darkling Week Prompt 7: free choice. Alina has a demon in her house.

This is absolute crack, and I have no idea what the fuck is wrong with me.

---

May I just say that this is the most fun I’ve ever had when reading a fic. It’s interesting with a bit of mystery, and Aleksander as a little shit of a demon is hilarious. Alina in this fic is great too. It’s such a unique take on her POV, especially when you reread it after knowing the ending. 10000/10, this fic is brilliant in every way and I love it.

I had been lost to you, Sunlight by BrytteMystere (Complete)

A Girl became a Woman, became a Sankta, became a Goddess.

Or: An Immortal Alina calls upon merzost to reunite with the Prince of Shadows she lost long ago. She may have lost herself in the process.

But then again, maybe time and endless wars did that instead.

---

You really just have to read this one to get it. It is utterly haunting and fascinating in the best of ways. The writing style is strange and novel and fits so well with the story being told. The composition of the fic as a whole is genius.

I Look Inside Myself (And See My Heart Is Black) by Ceris_Malfoy (Complete)

"When is a monster not a monster? Why, when you love it, of course."

Written for Darklina Week 2021 - Day 6: Favorite Quote • King & Queen • Monster

---

Once more, this author comes through with an absolutely breathtaking writing style and story. The imagery is elegant yet brutal, simultaneously horrifying and glorious. There’s a certain way these stories are written, like fairytales, where the beautiful becomes the macabre and becomes ever more stunning because of it. It’s very dark but in a good way - an almost bewitching way.

Afterlife by @aceofnowhere (Complete)

“You are asking me to leave?”

“Not asking, shadow,” she said. “Telling. Time to get unlost, loser.”

Day 3 Darklina Week prompt: Modern AU (I mean, barely)

Alina expels ghosts from purgatory.

---

@aceofnowhere once again bringing the best of the paranormal to the Grishaverse. Literally everything you write is amazing idk why I’m even pointing out individual fics when I could just rec your whole page. But anyways!! This is fun and interesting and Alina is a badass. Aleksander is, of course, compelling and dark and kind of a little shit, and it’s all incorporated seamlessly into an existential paranormal narrative.

Once Upon a Shooting Star by Ceris_Malfoy (Complete)

"But most of all, she was drawn to a vast darkness that reached out above all of them, a void so hungry for companionship that she knew she could fulfill."

---

Let. Alina. Be. Feral!! Anyways, I clearly have a type when it comes to storytelling, and it’s whatever the fuck this person has got going on. Feral!Star!Alina is literally the light of my life. Her interactions with not only other people but the world in general are so well done, but my favorite parts about this fic are the numerous ways her relationship with Aleksander is described and depicted.

I love the dark and light imagery, especially with how it’s portrayed as them filling in the gaps of each other’s lives and supporting each other instead of trying to block each other out. There’s such clear passion and joy and love and devotion between them. The central focus of this fic is on her and Aleksander’s relationship, the interplay between them and their powers and the way her light fills his loneliness, the passing of adoration and trust and reliance between them. It’s very beautiful and I love it.

A Blaze of Light by Keira_63 (Complete)

They discover the Sun Summoner in the burnt-out remains of the Shu laboratory in which she has spent the last seven years of her life.

Or, the Darkling finds himself with a Sun Summoner whose greatest wish is to burn Shu Han to the ground. He is happy to oblige her.

---

👀👀 Badass Alina and Badass Aleksander. The ultimate power couple, and Alina burning a path through Shu Han before they both burn a path through the world together. The darkness and rage in this one are handled very well, and the way that rage turns to coldness and then resolve is done so well. This fic is very cathartic and also very furious, and reading it is certainly a trip down emotion lane.

One more for the Road by Rist (Complete)

He returns to the war room shaken, and finds an Alina that cannot leave without at least having tried.

---

This one hurts so much but its soooo gooood!!! Very smutty but also very tender and very bittersweet. Sad and soft all at once. I just... love the way Alina and Aleksander are written so much, and Alina’s complicated feelings for him are explored in such detail and depth. This one is truly worth the read.

434 notes · View notes

tonystarkbingo · 3 years

Photo

3 Prompt Summaries Game

reunions, masks, body worship - suggested by @polizwrites

@polizwrites - Now that Rhodey was full time military, Tony hadn’t seen him in months. They made plans to meet up in Key West during Fantasy Fest — wearing masks (and very little else), they could finally indulge their own fantasy of being a couple in public.

@psychiccatpanda - Rhodey took the kids trick-or-treating on his own because Tony had been called away on business again. When they get back, Tony's home and has set the place up for a Halloween party for the kids and their friends. When the kids' friends go home and the lights go down, Rhodey takes his time welcoming his husband home.

@somesortofitalianroast - It was 5 years since Steve Rogers had last seen Bucky Barnes, when Barnes left in the middle of the night after they had sex for the first time, leaving the country the next day for a lucrative job, and Steve heartbroken. It had been several years since Steve had thought of Barnes, though he’d recognize the man anywhere, even behind a domino mask at a masquerade ball. Just seeing Barnes made his blood boil, and he wanted to charge across the ballroom, slap the man silly, and then worship every inch of the man’s body. Too bad he was at the ball with clients and there was no way he could do that without losing a very important contract.

@darthbloodorange - (ShrunkyClunks) - He waits in the shadows of an old warehouse, a mask obscuring his identity. No one could know he was here; not only would his reputation be tarnished, but that of the Avengers as their leader. But there was something about the dark assassin that drew him in. Barnes treated him like no other in this world. Treasured him, possessed him, worshipped him. Not like a hero as the world did, but as a man and lover.

Keep reading for lots more!

cookies, mermaid, dancing - suggested by @somesortofitalianroast

@somesortofitalianroast - Darcy didn’t bake for the Avengers all the time, and she never made her mermaid cookies, since they were complicated and she needed to pay attention to the details when icing them with fancy icing. So it was a big deal when she made them, the sort of thing that made you want to dance in the kitchen.

@gavilansblog - Luca AU where Tony introduces mer-people Steve and Bucky to cookies and dancing

@deehellcat - Morgan's eighth birthday party featured a mermaid theme, cookies with sparkly decorations, and dancing.

@psychiccatpanda - Bucky Barnes never dreamed he'd ever be put in charge of kids. Who'd want the Winter Soldier for a babysitter? But this little girl - Tony Stark's little girl - stared up at him, waiting for a reply.

He was pretty sure the last time he'd been this nervous was when he came back to the States after Wakanda. "Yeah, we can do that. Sounds like fun."

Which was how he found himself not-quite elbows deep in blue-green frosting for the ocean reef cookies they had baked (that he had baked) while Morgan spun around the kitchen dancing in her mermaid costume.

@lbibliophile-mcu - Tony looks at the tray of raw cookies in dismay. Whoever had designed the mermaid cookie cutter clearly had no concept of the baking skill of the average parent.

He had managed to press out all the pictures without causing more damage than the occasional lost arm or misshapen head (and a couple of 'defective' cookies are always required for taste-testing straight out of the oven). But the process of transferring the cookies from the bench to the tray had caused the raw dough to stretch and fold and tear; leaving figures better described as some sort of vaguely-humanoid aquatic eldritch horror...

Impatient, Morgan clambers onto her stool and gasps in delight. "Look, Daddy! The mermaids are dancing!"

@darthbloodorange - (Thundershield) - Thor set out on his boat to the middle of the lake. A smile on his face and a song on his lips. People feared the lake and the creatures that dwelled within. He didn't see why. Peering over the edge of the boat, he watched the mermaids dance. His eyes drawn to one in particular; the blond with the silvery-blue tail. He unwraps the cookies and sets them on the edge of his boat, hoping to draw the merman close again.

picnic, dragon, promises - suggested by @psychiccatpanda

@deehellcat - Steve and Bucky slip away from the village every chance they get to spend time together. Their favorite place to picnic is perilously close to a rumored dragon's lair, but they dare it for its beauty. imagine their surprise when one night as they stargaze and promise forever to each other, a dark shadow flies overhead then lands nearby. It's the legendary dragon, who greets them and offers to witness their solemn vows. (spoiler alert, the dragon is Tony, and I'm not sure what his relationship to them would end up being.)

@psychiccatpanda - Tony hated picnics. He'd been on so many for photo shoots with his mom and Howard, then for Stark Industries, and the occasional summer charity event. Picnics sucked. There was either too much sun or not enough, not to mention bugs, screaming kids, or other couples making out.

"You promised, Tony," the love of his life reminded him. "And I got you a surprise." The surprise was a kite in the shape of a dragon. Suddenly, the day was looking better.

@somesortofitalianroast - Steve was walking to a picnic on the beach when he found a baby dragon, abandoned on the side of the road. He picked it up, intending to take it to the local fantasy animal shelter, but as soon as he touched it, he knew he would never be able to let it go. Which is why he was standing on the dunes, murmuring promises to the dragon in his arms.

@rebelmeg - pepper sighed. "tony, you promised you were gonna stop doing that." pointedly looking away from her, the red and gold dragon roughly the size of a large dog pointedly opened his mouth, and stuffed the donut hooked on his claw inside. puffs of smoke emitted from his nostrils and he chuckled in a rough, growly way when a sandwich in a baggie smacked him in the back of the head.

"we're never going on a picnic when you're shifted again, this is ridiculous."

@darthbloodorange - (Stucky, Fantasy AU) - Steve walks up to the den of the dragon; his once best friend and lover. Baskets of meat in hand, and his heart weighted heavily in his chest. He'd kept his promise for over 70 years, and he wasn't about to break it now. "Bucky, it's me. I know you remember me. You're in there somewhere, I feel it," he says in his elvish tongue. Within the den comes a mighty roar, seeming to shake the very core of the mountain. But Steve is not dissuaded.

bread, defenestration, jingle - suggested by @rebelmeg

@rebelmeg - standing at the window and very calmly eating her sandwich, natasha watched as clint climbed out of the bushes underneath and went streaking for the street, where an ice cream truck was driving past. the second he'd heard the jingly song, the idiot had flung his own sandwich in the air and literally dove out the window. wondering if he'd realize he didn't have any money on him, nat smirked.

@psychiccatpanda - (WinterIronHawk implied) To be fair, Clint had not thought about 'costume integrity' or the fact that the Christmas elf pajamas did not count for much in the way of bodily protection. On the other hand, though, he'd just been planning on eating as much of the freshly baked panettone bread as Bucky let him get away with while they waited for Tony to get home. Getting thrown through the window of Tony's Malibu house by some Hydra experiment had not been on his radar at all. (Not Bucky - to be completely clear, he was cute and Clint didn't think mean things about people who baked him a nigh-endless quantity of sweets.) At least he managed to keep the hat with its little bell that jingled cheerfully as Clint sailed through the air.

@darthbloodorange - Stony (probably a 5+1 fic) - Tony frowns as the familiar jingle of his phone drew him away from kneading his sourdough. He groans when he sees who it was that was calling. He nearly doesn't answer, but Barnes almost never calls, so curiosity gets the better of him. "Stark," the man greets, voice as gruff as ever. "What do you want?" he grumbles. "Arm's acting up again. Accidently threw your husband out a window. He's hanging on about the 26th floor? Thought you should know." "Damn it!" Tony cries, armour assembling around him quickly. He wishes this was the first time Barnes' arm had thrown an Avenger out the window... but it wasn't.

@lbibliophile-mcu - Tony likes bread as much as the next guy, but he is this close to swearing off the stuff entirely. He tenses as Clint moves behind him, his humming looping into yet another round of the jingle for the local bakery. He snaps. "Clint! If I hear another note I swear I will throw you out this window! And not send the suit after you." Clint grins, opens his mouth and... shuts it again. Silent.

Werewolves, Gardening, Hurt/Comfort - suggested by @darthbloodorange

@somesortofitalianroast - (preserum!steve/werewolf!bucky) When he moved into the house, Steve was looking forward to growing a garden, with a large vegetable patch, all the herbs, and some flowers for the colors. He wasn’t expecting to get overheated. He certainly wasn’t expecting the werewolf to bound out of the woods to take care of him. He’d think he imagined the entire thing, except the werewolf stuck around. Still taking care of him.

@tehroserose - Steve and Tony had retreated into the woods. Obadiah had taken over Tony's birthright, and Hydra had encroached on Steve's home of Brooklyn. They met there, and lived off their wits. Tony did most of the smithing for the various exiles, while Steve gardened vegetables that were rare and valuable. They were content, and while they wished they could save their homelands, there was no real hope of doing so. No hope until one night, when Steve was doing one last check of the garden before going to sleep, he found a big, bleeding wolf.

@rebelmeg - "right here, honey," pepper pointed to a spot in the dirt, and tony padded over, pawing at the spot a few times before starting to dig. "yep, that's enough." she stopped him when the hole was deep enough, then held out a hand for the flower morgan had cupped in her hands, cradling the ball of roots and dirt with care. "see, now it's perfect! you wanna take a ride on daddy now, morgan? i think he's getting bored with gardening."

"yeah!" morgan jumped up with a shout, and scrambled up onto the werewolf's back with no problems. "go, daddy, go!" with a woof, tony took off at a run, morgan holding tight to his fur as she giggled, and pepper smiled as she watched them. tony hated going through a transformation during the full moon, the pain of it pretty extreme, but they'd found a lot of ways to make up for it.

@psychiccatpanda - Tony had avoided Barnes since Steve had brought him to the compound. The werewolf had done the same. Howard hadn't had anything good to say about weres in general, but everyone knew wolves were the worst. It was part of the reason that part of the Avengers had been politely asked to leave Wakanda. Opening the door to his patio, Tony caught the shine of eyes and Barnes scrambled back from what he'd been doing. Tony scanned the patio and only saw a trowel, some loose dirt, and a flat of plants - wolfsbane. "Doesn't that stuff give you blisters or something?" Tony asked, knowing that it was probably true. "How about you come in and wash your hands and tell me what you're up to."

@darthbloodorange - (Ults Stony) - After Steve is infected with Lycanthropy, Tony took him to one of his parents' houses out in the country. Everyone expected Steve would get over it, given time, as he did with the vampirism. But the lycanthropy sticks, appearing to have fused with the serum. While SHIELD's scientists look into a cure, Tony stays with Steve. Growing bored of the overly-manicured, emptiness that was the green fields surrounding the country house, Steve takes up gardening as his current mission. Tony watches, completely enthralled, as Steve slowly transforms the area around the house.

letter, basket, book - suggested by @rebelmeg

@jamesbuckystark - Someone left a basket on Tony's doorstep containing a book, a map, and a magnifying glass. Inside the book was a letter dated 1942. He's curious to find out what this means

@tehroserose - Morgan put down the letter. It was the last one. Her father had written her one for every birthday and potential special occasion. This one was for when she became a mother. She couldn't have them hidden away, they were on a basket on her dresser in her room, but that didn't make them any less bittersweet. He left her behind. To save the world, but he had left her.

She went to sit in the rocking chair next to her child's crib and began to read the children's story her mother had allowed all those years ago. "Iron Man and the End of Thanos". Any children she had would know their grandfather.

@somesortofitalianroast - When Bucky decided to become a librarian, he thought it would give him access to all the books all the time, in exchange for maybe some shelving. He didn’t realize how much work went into collections development and management, nor how much time was spent looking books up for patrons on their own system when asked if the library had a particular book. Boring and frustrating. He just had to stick it out until he paid off the worst of his student loans. Until the day the letter arrived on his desk, sitting next to a gift basket from a local fancy food store. A letter letting him know that the gift basket was from his secret admirer.

@jacarandabanyan - After waking from the ice, Steve took to reading voraciously to catch up on what he'd missed. Despite Tony's offers, he never did come around to a screen reader, though, and instead opted to keep a pile of books on his bedside table. When the pile of books got too big, he had a whicker basket to put the overflow in.

Tony feels like the two of them can't have a conversation outside the heat of battle without devolving into arguments and personal attacks, so he takes to slipping notes into Steve's books. Over time, the notes get longer and longer, until it would be more proper to call them letters than notes.

@rebelmeg - tiny!tony is digging through a basket of new books the jarvises got him, a mix of kids books and textbooks and novels. as he digs, one of the books falls open, and out falls an envelope. the letter inside seems to be written in code... but he's also pretty sure that's his mama's handwriting. a grin spreading across his face, he sits down next to the basket and starts working out the code.

@darthbloodorange - (Stucky? Witch/Fantasy AU?) - Steve sits in his chair by the window and opens his favourite book. With careful hands, he pulls out the letter from his mother, which he'd been using as a bookmark, and carries on where he'd left off. Library, his familiar, jumps from her basket into his lap and curls up, butting her head against his hands. Despite the warmth and happiness he felt here, it wasn't complete. A part will always be missing until Bucky returns.

@psychiccatpanda - Whoever had suggested they stay at this rickety, 'quaint' seaside hotel had apparently never seen any island murder movies ever, Tony thought with disgust. The wood floors creaked and the building made weird noises at night. Combined with the crashing waves, it was not what Tony called relaxing. Somebody knocked and Tony assumed it was the room service snack he'd ordered. Instead, he found a basket with a book tucked inside. Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.

"That's not ominous," Tony muttered to himself, flipping through the pages. Then he saw the letter tucked inside.

#tonystarkbingoflash2021 #tsbflash2021 #tsb discord party #3 prompt summaries #party game

10 notes · View notes

venomous--fics · 4 years

Text

Kasady

Summary: You're Cletus Kasady's younger sister, but you've never told anyone. Now his name is everywhere in the news and everyone wants your side of the story.

Warnings: Mentions of past abuse, panic attacks, swearing

Mood music: Lover is a Day- Cuco

A/n: Aaaaye, sorry if this is a dumb idea. I just haven't seen anyone write this type of story? If someone has, anyone wanna link me a fic? Feedback is appreciated and requests are open! My queue is filled with the last batch I got, so expect those soon!

You almost dreaded leaving the apartment anymore. All you saw was his big, stupid, ugly face everywhere. Oh, he did that, oh, he did this, let's remind everyone that he's a monster in prison! Oh, but there's a plot twist; You hated it because you were, unfortunately, related to the guy. Nobody outside your adoptive parents knew.

You didn't like talking about, you didn't even like thinking about it. You had to put up with so much shit because of that guy. You were grateful that you were young enough that nobody knows or remembers what you look like now. You even changed your last name a few times. First, you changed it to Smith when your parents adopted you, then you changed it to Brock when you got married to Eddie.

It shouldn't bother you, you're a Brock, not a Kasady. However, you couldn't help but feel like that was just your identity. Once a Kasady, always a Kasady. You felt even worse because Eddie had taken up on the Kasady story as a huge part of his new job.

You were proud of him for finally getting back to what he loved, but sooner or later his trail would come back to you. What were you supposed to tell him? It felt like the walls were closing in on you, and that there was an anchor slowing crushing you. You had to remind yourself to just take it all in one breath at a time. This is just some fad, some story. It'll all go away.

What if it doesn't?

Your head was spinning and you closed your eyes as you sat on your bed. Everything was so quiet, and even that was alarming.

"Babe? We're home!" Eddie voice rang through the apartment.

You sucked in a breath and hopped up and out of the room, "How was work?"

You just wanted to forget about it.

"Eh, you know." he smiled as he hung his jacket up, "Same shit."

Venom appeared, looking a bit annoyed, "Easy for you to say."

"What's got you in a sour mood, big guy?" you asked, walking over and giving Venom a small kiss before turning to Eddie and giving him a kiss as well.

Venom hesitated for a moment, mostly out of embarrassment, "Well, nothing now, but some guy called us a dick."

"That wasn't very nice of them." you replied, "How about I make some dinner? I was thinking chicken nuggets or- Uh, chicken nuggets."

Eddie looked at Venom, "That's a tough choice. I guess chicken nuggets it is." You preheated the oven, "Why don't you two go get into something a little comfier?"

"Already ahead of you," Eddie said as he walked to the bedroom.

There was barely any noise for a couple minutes before Eddie said, "So, you know that story I'm working on?"

"Of course," you said, feeling the anxiety building back up.

"Well, I," he paused, you assumed he was putting a shirt on, "I've reached a dead end with it."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I was talking to Cletus- Red- Whatever the hell they're gonna call him.. And he was asking me if he knew anything about his sister." Eddie stumbled out of the room as he pulled up his sweatpants, "I mean, everyone was talking about that, but I figured it was a bunch of bs."

"Oh." you repeated.

"so, I spent a majority of my day trying to find any information on this poor woman- And it's almost like he just fell off the grid."

"Well," you awkwardly chuckled as you got the bag of frozen nuggets out of the freezer, "I guess when a serial killer is your family, you'd want to disappear too, right?"

"I suppose," Eddie said.

Venom, meaning no harm, but just wanting to be part of the conversation, "Maybe he killed her, Eddie. People said that too. Maybe that's why we can't find her."

Out of habit, you put your hand over a scar you had on your arm as a lump form in your throat. It wasn't a nasty scar by any means, it was barely noticeably at this point. It was just a constant reminder.

You had lied to Eddie and told you that a biker had clipped you one day when you were coming home from work, but that was far from the truth. You wish it had been an innocent accident like that. The reality of it was that, before you and Cletus were removed from your home, he had attempted to, as he put it, saw your arm off.

Lucky for you, and being the world's biggest crybaby, again, as he would've put it, your mother had heard you screaming. Of course, she always wanted to think that Cletus would just grow out of all of this horrid stuff. You always thought if she had changed her mind, maybe she'd still be alive.

Sometimes you wished Cletus had actually killed you too, it would've been less painful than everything else you had to go through. Growing up, with Cletus always on the news for the shit he'd done, and every thing inbetween, you were slightly grateful that people would make up the rumours that you were dead. Maybe then they'd leave you alone.

You put yourself on autopilot, taking a trip down trauma lane as you put everything into the oven and set a timer.

Cletus wasn't always outwardly violent, but that doesn't mean he was kind. He would always pick on you, or tell you that nobody even wanted you. He'd always take your things and ruin them, whether it be lighting them on fire or just cutting them up.

You were so young, and you tried to believe that maybe older siblings were just like that. Maybe it was normal for them to try to leave you to die in the woods, or maybe it was normal when he'd 'jokingly' push you towards oncoming traffic. You had a lot to unlearn when you got adopted. You never wanted to be around other kids, and you barely spoke, even when you had gone to therapy. Sometimes you'd get angry at nothing and beat up pillows, and no matter what, your adoptive parents also responded with love and understanding.

You never had to deal with siblings again. Your adoptive parents are the only souls, outside the social workers, who ever knew what had gone on with your birth family. you were thankful for that.

The cycle still repeats it self, however. Some days you feel fine, you don't find yourself thinking about it, but then one little thing comes barging in and ruins it all.

You had completely lost yourself in a memory, and not a good one. You could hear your heart beating in your ear, and you must've been staring off into space.

The basement was dimly lit, and you remember your dad said he would replace the bulb, but he always forgot. You were stuck to a chair, and you couldn't stop whimpering.

"You're such a crybaby."

Cletus came into view with a roll of duct tape. He fiddled with it, trying to get it undone. You shut your eyes and tried to keep quiet. Maybe if you were quiet, he'd let you go.

He finally got a piece cut and he was going to put it over your mouth, but you kept shaking your head, calling out for you mom. You were even kicking at Cletus, which just seemed to annoy him more.

"Stop it! Stop! Go away! Go away, Cletus!"

There was something inside Cletus that just made him hate everyone around him. He had no regard for any other form of life. He didn't even feel bad about what he had planned to do to you. In fact, he had blamed you for it, he kept telling you that if you weren't so annoying, or if you were never even born, he wouldn't have to do this.

Finally getting fed up with your struggling, he grabbed your face and put the duct tape over your mouth. This made your crying worse. You could heard footsteps from the floor above you, and you were praying that whoever was up there heard you and was coming to your rescue.

Cletus proceeded to duct tape your arm down to the arm of the chair, making extra sure that it hurt. You were no more than five years old, and you were already telling yourself that this was how you were going to die.

"You know that old bat can't hear you, stupid." Cletus spat as he turned away to get something.

That's when you remembered where you were. You were at your grandma's house for the weekend. You two would get left here every so often, normally when your parents had errands to run. This time, mom and dad weren't coming back. You were stuck here.

You were thinking about all the small details of her house now, to distract yourself from what was about to happen.

Mary Poppins. Your grandmother had an odd obsession with her. She had all this little figurines that she decorated her house with. You were never sure why she liked Mary Poppins so much, but you found it endearing.

She would always hum the songs when she was baking.

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.

You could practically hear her humming along.

Thats when Cletus turned back around and you saw the shimmer of the knife he had. You tried to just think of anything else, but nothing was working now. Everything was so quiet and the only noise was the sligh thum of the old light bulb.

"If you were never born, this wouldn't be happening," he sneered at you as he pushed the knife down onto your arm, "This is your fault."

He kept talking, and you wanted to keep crying, but you found everything so stressful that you were feeling tired. You didn't even have the strength to pay any mind to the burning pain in your arm. It was almost like you'd given up.

Then you heard her voice. It was calling out for both you and Cletus. It was getting louder, Cletus huffed and dropped the knife on the floor.

"One noise out of you and I'll make you suffer." he cackled a little bit, "Doesn't really matter, I was going to make you suffer anyways."

You watched hazily as Cletus made his way up the stairs. You tried to wiggle out of the duct tape restraints, but it caused too much pain, so you gave up. The voices were getting more and more muffled. Cletus was leading her away from the basement.

You wanted to go home. You wanted to be anywhere but here. You felt more tears welling up in your poor little eyes, and you closed them tightly. Just make it go away. It'll go away.

You remember hearing a lot of noise from upstairs. It sounded like things getting broken, and then several big thuds. You closed your eyes tighter. It grew quiet again.

You heard the basement creak open, and you heard the soft whimpers of the family pet, Fifi. You loved Fifi. She was a good dog. Cletus came down the stairs, holding the dog by the collar, and you watched as Fifi wriggled and yipped as she tried to get free.

You were tried to scream at him, but the duct tape muffled any noise that came out of your mouth. Cletus retrieved the knife and dragged the dog back a few steps. You wanted to look away. You didn't want to watch. You were frozen in terror as Cletus held the dog down and lifted the knife.

He was grinning so sadistically.

You felt something warm wrap around you and you jumped ten feet in the air, pushing them away and yelling, "Don't touch me! Just stay back!"

Eddie flinched and held his hands up as he took a step back, "Sorry! Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you."

You tried to catch your breath as you stared at him. You looked like you'd just seen a ghost. Eddie looked a little startled as he lowered his hands and slowly walked over to you, "Are you okay?"

You took another step back as you tried to calm your nerves, "Yeah, I- No- Yes, I'm.. I'm fine. Sorry for- I."

"Why don't we go sit down for a second.. You look like you're about to pass out." What do you do? What do you say?

"Did I cause this?" Eddie sounded a little hurt, thinking that he'd unintentionally caused you any harm, "Baby, I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't you. I just.." you needed to just think of some excuse, "The whole Kas- Cletus thing is just.. Stressful."

Eddie gently put a hand on your lower back and you flinched again, causing him to move it.

"I just mean," you sighed a little, "I see it everywhere. It's- I- Nevermind."

You were fighting with yourself. You were going to say it.

"It's alright. We don't have to talk about it anymore." He sounded so sincere, "And it'll all go away after-"

"That's just it," you wrapped your arms around yourself as you tried so hard to fight those stupid crybaby tears back, "It won't go away."

Despite your best efforts, the tears came running down your face, and Eddie went to wipe your face, but you flinched away and ran into your bedroom. You slammed the door a little too hard behind you, repeating, "It just won't go away." "Y/n," Eddie said, slightly confused as he walked over to the door. He couldn't open the door because you were sitting in front of it, and he could hear you crying. "Baby?"

He crouched down and sat down on the floor. He didn't understand what was going on, and Venom sure as hell didn't know either. They wanted to ask what was wrong, but maybe you'd tell them on your own.

"Sorry," you said between sniffles.

"It's okay." Eddie replied, leaning against the door, "What's going on?" You took in a few deep breaths before wiping your face, "It's a long story." Eddie, being a smartass, leaned forward a little to get a peek at the oven timer, "We have time."

You chuckled a little because you heard the door creak with his movement. Eddie chuckled too as he leaned back into his original position. Venom poked out of Eddie's arm and looked at the door for a moment before looking at Eddie, who just nodded a little. The little symbiote wrapped around Eddie's arm and got comfortable as you started talking.

"There-" you shivered a little, "Eddie, there's a good reason why nobody can find Cletus' sister."

Eddie looked at the door, intrigued. Did you know her somehow? Maybe through work? Were you helping her hide somewhere?

"And why's that?"

"Because, I-" you wiped your eyes again, trying to not burst into tears, "I'm Y/n Kasady."

Eddie tensed a little as he continued to stare at the door. "You're Y/n Kasady?"

You hesitated, "Unfortunately, but I mean, legally, I'm not really a Kasady anymore...Obviously."

Eddie looked down to the floor, taking it all in. Everything made sense now. "How come you never mentioned it?"

"You think I wanna talk about it?" you didn't mean to come off as bitter, "I just- I hated it. I hated everything to do with that name..Nothing good comes from being a Kasady."

"Nothing good comes from bein' a Brock either."

"Eddie." you whined.

"Sorry, sorry. I'll try to save the jokes for later."

"I just never wanted to talk about it." you continued, "Besides, what the hell would I even tell people? You think reporters want to hear a five year old talk about the most horrendous shit?"

"You were five?" Eddie's voice sounded so hoarse. He didn't knowing anything about the elusive Kasady sibling. The fact that it was you,and you were only five made everything worse.

You couldn't seem to stop yourself, "Cletus was a monster. He killed our grandma- He- He.. Oh god, he tortured the dog while I was duct taped to a chair. Not to mention that he tried to cut my arm off right before all of that- Yeah, that scar? It wasn't from some stupid biker."

"Jesus," Eddie sounded mortified, "I'm..Sorry."

"To make matters worse, I almost got lost in the system because he burned down the orphanage we were both at." you paused, remembering that day, "With everyone but us inside of it."

Venom wasn't going to say it, but he felt a little mortified. He had never met a human who was capable of those awful things.

"They had to separate us, because they thought it would stop him from acting out. That didn't work. Cletus just-" your rant broke off into another fit of helpless sobs, "He ruins everything he touches. I know It's been decades since all of that. I haven't seen him since I was five, but I still live in constant fear-" "He can't hurt you-"

"What if he breaks out of prison again? What then?" you sounded very panicked, "I have always been on edge. Cletus is a smart man, Eddie- It wouldn't take much to figure out where I am- Or my parents.. Or-"

"Hey, hey," Eddie said softly, "That's not gonna happen. You wanna know why?" "Why?' you croaked, slouching against the door.

"Because we won't let it."

You did feel safer since Eddie and venom came into your life. You also knew that they'd rather die then to let anyone hurt you. Cletus was nothing but madman, and it wouldn't take Venom very long to put an end to him. "We love you." Venom said.

You slowly turned to sit on your knees as you opened the door. You looked at Eddie and venom with a weak smile, and Eddie held out his arms, "Come here." You crawled into his arms, and Eddie held you close to him, "I'm sorry you went through that, but I promise you that nothing will ever hurt you again."

Venom untangled himself from Eddie's arm and wrapped around yours, "We will eat whatever tried to hurt you."

You curled up closer to him, feeling a lot better, "I know you will...Sorry for being a crybaby."

"Don't need to apologize." Eddie said sweetly, "If it makes you feel better, I can make something up for the story. Just to get it over with."

"You'd lose your job if they found out that you lied."

Eddie shrugged, "Plenty of other jobs in the world, love."

"It's okay," you said, "I think, maybe, I..If it's you, I can talk about it. I'm just afraid of how people will see me after. They'll probably think that I'm just like him."

Eddie rubbed your back softly, "Nobody will think that."

"Who cares what a bunch of losers think anyways?" Venom looked up at you with all the love he could muster, "We think you are wonderful."

"You guys are pretty wonderful too." you replied, smiling at them.

You gave Venom a kiss before you cupped Eddie's face and gave him one as well. Everything felt okay again, and this time you knew they'd remain that way. A startling beep rang through the apartment and you all jumped a little. You then began chuckling as Eddie helped you up. It was just the oven.

"You okay?" Eddie asked as he watched you get the food out of the oven. He saw you differently now. Not in a bad way, but in a good way. He know understood everything he needed to know, and he knew that you were doing everything in you power to get better. He was proud of you.

"Yeah, actually." you said, "I guess talking about it really does help.. I was just afraid that maybe," you laughed a little, "Maybe you'd want a divorce, because who wants an infamous serial killer as an in-law?"

Eddie, seeing the opportunity to lighten the mood with a joke, said, "A what as a what now? I thought you were an only child."

You looked at him with the softest expression, "Thanks."

He smiled as he came over and wrapped his arms around your waist, "Don't worry about it."

You wanted to stay like this forever. Unfortunately, the moment was ruined when Eddie went to grab a nugget right off the tray and yelped as it burned him. "They just got done." you said, trying not to laugh, "You watched me pull them out."

He went over to the sink and ran his hand under some cold water, "Yeah, but..Why are they still so hot?"

"Eddie," you laughed, "They just came out of a piping hot oven."

You got a couple of plates out of the cupboard as Eddie dried his hands. You were putting them on the kitchen island as you saw him go for another nugget out of the corner of your eye. Sometimes its good that not everything changes.

#eddie brock imagine #eddie brock x reader #venom imagine #venom x reader #marvel imagine #marvel x reader

410 notes · View notes

riversofmars · 3 years

Photo

Answers at last! Well, I saw answers... :D

Chapter 7: So We Meet Again

The Library, 52nd Century

“Sorry, am I interrupting something?“ A male figure appeared in their midst. Dark hair and beard, stout frame, he took a twirl, looking around, delighted at the surprise and shock on everyone’s faces.

“It’s can’t be…“ River mumbled, trying to catch up with what was happening. How did he get in here? He was not part of the memory.

“It’s been a while, Professor Song.“ He turned to face her with a wide grin, baring his teeth.

“He’s not the Doctor, is he?“ Anita spoke slowly. She had learned enough about Time Lords during their extensive research to understand about regeneration and River had shown her pictures of all her husband’s faces. That man was not one of them and even on first impressions, he seemed in no way similar to the man she herself had met. He certainly didn’t look at River like someone would look at their wife, he looked at her like she was prey.

“The Doctor? Oh, don’t be ridiculous.“ He nearly burst out laughing as if it was the funniest thing he had heard all day. “Been there, done that, just wasn’t my cup of tea.“ His voice turned to a snarl, it seemed to change ever so slightly; he shushed himself.

“No, this is another Time Lord.“ River said, balling her hands to fists, trying to maintain her composure.

“Of course you get it, you’re clever like that.“ He mused, tilting his head. “I’m difficult to forget, didn’t we have he best of times.“ He interrupted himself, his voiced higher and more excitable. He smirked with a mad sort of glee in his eyes. “No, no, shut up, it’s my turn now!“ His voice turned normal as he snapped angrily. Anita and CAL exchanged confused and worried glances, fearing they might be dealing with a mad man. River, however, already knew for a fact that they were:

“You’re the Eleven.“ She circled around the room slowly, coming to stand protectively in front of CAL and Anita. She didn’t know whether he was really here or just a projection, but she couldn’t take the risk. She had to keep them safe. They had no idea who they were dealing with.

“The Thirteen, actually, but who’s counting.“ He retorted graciously and took a little bow.

“Must be getting pretty crowded in that head of yours.“ River hummed and in response, another personality emerged:

“Long time no see, Ms. Song.“ His face contorted into a grin.

“Hello again, Nine.“ River remained calm. She knew it was the best way to deal with them.

“I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure.“ His voice turned higher, almost feminine.

“Twelve?“ River could only guess, as it was the regeneration of his she hadn’t met before.

“Shut up, the lot of you.“ The Thirteen regained control of his personalities. “Sorry, this is not how I was going to introduce myself, best foot forward and all that, but they’re just so excited to see you again. The Six, in particular, is very eager but we’ll save that for later.“ He smiled apologetically.

“What are you doing here? How did you get in?“ River decided to ignore the games and cut right to the chase. She glanced to CAL, hoping she was paying attention. If they found out how he got in, they surely would be able to get rid of him as well. She would have to regain control of the computer.

“Seven hacked the system, child’s play really; and now I can see why.“ He smirked at CAL who took a fearful step back and Anita put a protective arm around her. “I’m not really here, of course, just a projection, but I liked the personal touch. Better than talking to a screen, you know?“ River felt a little better for knowing he wasn’t actually part of the artificial world of the Library core but hacking the system was just as bad. Who knew what else he was planning on doing?

“So you’re responsible for this?“ Anita concluded gesturing around to the woman and child that had stopped moving. She hadn’t really followed who exactly he was but it was was blatantly obvious that this scary vision was his doing.

“It’s from the Matrix.“ River stated and the Thirteen grinned:

“Indeed. I didn’t really have the means to play it. I needed a bigger computer, something able to convert it. And I needed someone who’d be able to interpret it.“

“So you used the Library, a computer big enough to handle Matrix data.“ River was beginning to understand. They weren’t her memories that had bled into the artificial reality. It was data the Thirteen had fed into the system. In turn it had helped her unlock her own memories of what she’d seen in the Matrix. “What is that memory? What’s the story behind it.“ She asked, drawing his attention back as he seemed momentarily distracted. Not by his other personalities, for once, but seemingly by something outside.

“A missing puzzle piece.“ He answered briefly and gave a dismissive wave with his hand. “Now we best get going.“

“What?“ Anita asked confused while River remained silent, her mind racing. What was he planning? She knew better than to underestimate the renegade Time Lord.

“The shadows will be back in a moment.“ He explained in an off-hand sort of way. “Get your coat, Professor Song. Oh wait, you haven’t got a body to put it on.“ He laughed, then disappeared.

“River…“ CAL reached out for River’s hand but she grasped into thin air, River was gone as well.

——

Glasgow, 2021

“So this is where you went once the Daleks were gone?“ Ryan asked Jack as they started walking further into the underground building.

“Had to go say hi to Gwen here and she filled me in on what’s been going on. I’ve been out in the universe too long it seems. Time to look after the home front.“ Jack explained with a determined nod and Kate smiled:

“We’re glad to have you, Captain.“

“How many people have you got here.“ Graham looked around, marvelling at the size of the place. It could have housed a hundred easily and there was an erie quality to it with how quiet and seemingly empty it was.

“Not as many as you’d hope. Friends of the Doctor’s it’s quite an exclusive club, but it’s not quantity, it’s quality.“ Kate answered leading the way.

“So how do you know the Doctor?“ Ryan asked Gwen who was walking alongside him.

“Only met him briefly, during one Dalek invasion or another. Honestly, it all blends together.“ She chuckled.

“Ms. Cooper is one of Torchwood’s finest.“ Kate interjected and Gwen sighed:

“And only remaining member…“

“Hey!“ Jack took offence and elbowed her.

“You don’t count, you’re off doing other stuff all the time.“ Gwen slapped his shoulder affectionately and carried on to explain: “I have been trying to rebuild the Torchwood Three hub as well, seeing as it’s closer to home, but it’s slow progress.“

“Torchwood, like UNIT, is like an agency, is it? To ward of aliens?“ Graham asked, trying to wrap his head around it.

“In a nutshell, yes.“ Kate nodded as she lead them down some stairs. “If you come through here, I will introduce you to the rest of the team.“ The steps opened up into a large room. “I know it’s late but they have been waiting up for you.“ They reached a big communal living and working area. There were several tables, desks, computers and such and amongst it all: four people.

“Mr. O’Brien, Mr. Sinclair, let me introduce Dr. Martha Jones and Mr. Mickey Smith, two of UNIT’s finest field agents and former travelling companions of the Doctor’s.“ Kate gesture towards a couple who were lounging on a sofa, currently devouring a Chinese take away with great enthusiasm.

“Nice to finally meet you.“ Martha smiled at them warmly and Mickey, his mouth full of food, couldn’t speak and just gave a wave with his chopsticks. They got up to shake hands as the group approached.

“Likewise, I guess.“ Graham managed an awkward smile as well. During their travels with the Doctor, they had never really stopped to think how many more people had taken trips in the TARDIS before them. It was strange to think that there were other people out there who would understand what it was like, experiencing the vastness of the universe like they had.

“And these are the Osgoods, the scientific hearts and minds of UNIT.“ Kate carried on and gestured to two women, apparently twins, who were sharing a work station. They simultaneously looked up and smiled in greeting.

“I’m Ryan, this is my granddad Graham.“ Ryan introduced them. “We don’t usually do, like, formal…“ He looked around the room awkwardly. This was a lot more official than he was used to. “Like if you don’t mind, first names are fine.“ Graham nodded in agreement.

“Petronella.“ One to the Osgoods smiled.

“Petronella.“ The other Osgood smiled.

“So… you two have the same name? How do we keep you apart?“ Graham asked, confused, wondering what their parents had possibly been thinking.

“You don’t.“ Kate answered in amusement. “That’s the whole point.“

“Right.“ Ryan decided it was best to just accept that. They had just been recruited into a secret organisation to fight of extraterrestrial threats and entered what looked like a very fancy underground bunker… identical twins with the same names really wasn’t top of the weird-list right now.

“Care for some Chinese?“ Mickey offered. They had ordered way too much as usual.

“Don’t mind if we do.“ Graham grinned since they hadn’t had time to eat before setting of on the long drive. He had been eyeing it up, hoping that was where the evening would be going.

“Ma’am, if we might have a word…“ One for the Osgoods demanded Kate’s attention as everyone else settled down to eat.

“What is it?“ The UNIT chief asked and walked around the desk to be able to look at their computer screens.

“We have found another two bodies.“ The other Osgood answered, pointing something out on the computer and Kate frowned:

“Same MO?“ She asked, leaning closer.

“We fine-tuned the algorithm, running through police data bases and found two matches.“ Osgood confirmed.

“Where?“

“Greater London.“ The other Osgood answered. “Pulled out of a lake. It was fortunate that a couple was walking nearby and spotted movement by the water. Otherwise they wouldn’t have been found for weeks probably.“

“Captain?“ Kate looked up to Jack who was currently recounting to Gwen, Martha and Mickey how he had met Ryan and Graham. “Two for pick up.“ She announced.

“On it, will be back in a flash.“ He gave a dazzling and apologetic smile to the others and came to join Kate and the Osgoods. “Just tell me which morgue they’re in and you’ll have them on your slab momentarily.“ He looked at the screen and skimmed the report.

“So… not just people disappearing from time, murders too?“ Graham asked, listening in.

“This is not your garden variety homicide, I’m afraid, Mr. O’Brian.“ Kate retorted thoughtfully. “You’ll see when the Captain returns with the bodies.“

Jack gave a nod and engaged his Vortex Manipulator.

——

Orbit around the Library, 52nd Century

“Here we go.“ Jenny slipped her hand into her wife’s. She had a bad feeling about this but it couldn’t be helped. They had come out of hyper speed a few minutes ago and had fallen into orbit around the Library.

“A whole planet full of books?“ Yaz couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer size of it. The idea of having every book ever written together in one place was overwhelming and beautiful.

“And shadows that can kill…“ Dorium couldn’t help but point out. The idea that a world so beautiful was forever lost made Yaz’s heart feel heavy. What a waste.

“Right, here’s what we’re going to do: your UV grenades, Strax: our best bet would be to send one down ahead of us.“ Vastra looked to her butler who grinned with excitement as he proudly presented the grenades. “We arm ourselves to the teeth with torches and such. We won’t have to stay long. Just contact the Professor, ask our questions, fill her in, and be on our way.“ Vastra gave her wife’s hand a reassuring squeeze and looked around the room into determined faces. “Strax, Jenny and I will go.“

“I want to come, too!“ Yaz insisted immediately, she thought herself just as capable as any of them and she didn’t want to be left behind.

“That’s not part of the plan.“ Vastra shook her head.

“I have been in tight spots with the Doctor as well, I can handle myself.“ Yaz retorted, frustrated.

“I don’t doubt that but someone needs to teleport us back. Mr. Maldovar sadly won’t be able to.“ Vastra pointed out. She had no doubts about Yaz’s ability to hold her own but they needed someone to stay behind. She refused to be split up from her wife and Strax was best placed to handle the weapons equipment. It was the logical solution. “We all have a job to do and we need you to keep us safe from up here.“ She carried on to explain.

“Fine.“ Yaz huffed after brief consideration. “Doesn’t mean I like it though.“ She could see her point but she still felt like she was being sidelined.

“We will be back in no time.“ Vastra assured her.

“Right, let’s get this over with… before I change my mind.“ Jenny sighed feeling anxious. She ran her hand along the hilt of her sword despite knowing it would be useless against shadows.

“Oh, well that’s a surprise.“ Dorium pipped up, drawing everyone’s attention.

“What is it?“ Vastra frowned, confused.

“There is an incoming transmission! Someone in that Library is trying to reach out.“ Dorium explained quickly. He closed his eyes, trying to focus with the help of the communications chip connected to him.

“How do they even know we’re here?“ Vastra asked, worried. That didn’t feel right.

“Beats going amongst the shadows, doesn’t it.“ Jenny pointed out and Strax huffed in disappointment:

“I have been looking forward to this for hours…“

“Put it on screen.“ Vastra ignored his complaint and turned to the large screen at the front of the ship. Yaz turned Dorium’s box around so he could see as well.

“River! River! Where are you!“ A small girl appeared on the screen, looking distraught. She couldn’t be older than ten years old, taking everyone by surprise. “Who are you?“ She demanded to know before any of them could get over their shock. Her eyes jumped between all of them. Her message clearly hadn’t been meant for them.

“I’m Madame Vastra, these are Jenny Flint, Strax, Yasmin Kahn and Dorium Maldovar. We mean you no harm.“ Vastra raised her hands appeasingly, trying to reassure her. What was a little girl doing in the Library? And why was she looking for River Song? “You were calling for River, I can only presume you mean Professor Song, we’re here to talk to her.“ Vastra carried on, hoping to explain and gain her trust. She seemed scared.

“You’re too late.“ The girl sobbed, getting more upset.

“What?“ Yaz asked, with a frown. They all exchanged confused glances.

“She just left, I was trying to reach her but it drains the power, so much energy…“ The screen flickered. There was a blip in the transmission, it wasn’t stable.

“Hang on, hang on, you’re in the computer?“ Vastra asked to clarify.

“I am the computer.“ The girl answered, taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She was not as little as she looked. “I’m CAL.“

“And Professor Song, she’s not with you anymore?“ Jenny deduced and her heart sank. This was the one eventuality they had not been prepared for.

“She was taken.“ CAL confirmed, nodding, wiping her tears away.

“By whom?“ Vastra gripped the back of the pilot’s chair and dug her claws into the fabric. Wherever they turned, it seemed as though they were one step behind.

“A Time Lord.“ CAL answered, after brief consideration, seemingly deciding to trust them.

“What did he look like? Did he give a name?“ Yaz asked quickly.

“He called himself the Thirteen.“ The girl said quickly, as the transmission stalled again. “I’m sorry, I can’t maintain this much longer. Why are you looking for River?“

“We’re friends of the Doctor’s. There are some terrible things going on out in the universe and we need to talk to her.“ Vastra rushed to explain.

“Please find her, he… “

The connection broke and for a moment, there was stunned silence.

“How is that possible?“ Yaz turned to the others, slowly finding her voice again. “You can’t just, like, download a consciousness onto a USB stick or something…“

“Don’t underestimate Time Lord technology…“ Vastra mused, mulling over what they had learned. This was far worse than facing the Vashta Nerada. They had fallen another step behind in a race in which the goal posts seemed to keep moving.

“We need to find her.“ Jenny said, shaking her head to herself. If only they had been a little earlier, they could have prevented this.

“Who’s the Thirteen?“ Yaz looked around the room, hoping for an explanation. Was this another of the Doctor’s enemies she didn’t know about?

“Doesn’t mean anything to me either, I was hopeful you might have come across them?“ Vastra retorted with a frown as they exchanged confused glances. They had each assumed the other would have the answers but the alias was familiar to any of them.

“Oh no…“ Dorium mumbled, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Can you shed some light on this, Mr. Maldovar?“ Vastra asked, turning his box around to face them again.

“I’ve heard of a Time Lord that goes my numerical designations… The Nine, the Ten, the Eleven… depending on which regeneration he is on…“ He answered slowly. The reluctance in his voice gave them all pause.

“Stands to reason this is a new regeneration then?“ Yaz nodded, relieved that they weren’t completely in the dark after all.

“Why change the name though with every regeneration? Must be quite… disorienting, mustn’t it?“ Jenny asked.

“He is a very unique case…“ Dorium hummed thoughtfully.

“How so?“ Vastra could already tell she wouldn’t like the answer but she asked anyway.

“From what I have heard, he suffers from a strange affliction… called regenerative dissonance. While the Doctor and other Time Lords retain a sense of self and just change their appearance, he becomes a new person every time and when he regenerates, the other selfs are still present.“ Dorium revealed. He had never actually met them but he had heard enough stories to make sure he never would.

“Like a schizophrenic?“ Yaz asked, unsettled. That didn't sound like the kind of person they wanted to be dealing with.

“Anything else you can tell us, Mr. Maldovar?“ Vastra asked and Dorium gave a wary smile:

“He is a thief, a killer and utterly mad.“

——

The TARDIS

“Do you always leave the door open like that? Anyone could wander in.“ The Doctor found the Master leaning against the console as she reached the control room. Dark hair and beard, stout frame, he hadn’t regenerated, just looked a little worse for wear.

“Master…“ Her voice was barely above a whisper. All sorts of emotions boiled up in her: Disbelief at finding him alive. Worry for having him inside her TARDIS. Hate for all the things he had put her through.

“Hello, Doctor.“ He smirked pushing off the console to step closer. “Nice of you to finally show up.“

“How are you not dead?“ It was the most prominent question on the Doctor’s mind.

“Dying is for other people, dear.“ The Master laughed at how ridiculous that notion was.

“How did you survive the death particle?“ She pressed through gritted teeth as they started circling each other slowly. She was assessing her option for subduing him.

“Did you really think the Cyberium would let its host die?“ The Master’s grin was patronising, as if the answer had been obvious.

“Is it still inside you?“ The Doctor hadn’t even thought about the Cybermen AI that resided inside the Master. She had assumed it dealt with, just like the Master themselves but she should have known they wouldn’t be that easily destroyed.

“Nah… Fizzled out.“ He gave a dismissive wave with his hand. “The effort of creating a force field to protect me was a bit much… Plus, I expelled it and electrocuted it until it stopped moving. I was getting fed up of sharing my memory space.“ He snickered and the Doctor couldn't help but feel a little relieved; one thing she didn’t have to deal with at least.

“You’ve been here this entire time?“ She questioned.

“Where was I gonna go? I destroyed everything! No TARDISes, no space ships left… I did start fixing up a TARDIS but turns out your death particle wiped out the organic components in there as well. I’d have to grow a new one but where to start when every living thing has been destroyed!“ He started rambling in a maniacal sort of way, snapping with increasing anger.

“How long has it been?“ The Doctor asked, hoping he had at least suffered in the meantime. She wasn’t proud of it but after everything he had done to her, she felt he deserved it.

“Oh… a few years, blink of an eye. Ten, twenty? Not sure. Anyway, nice of you to turn up.“ He smirked and his eyes flickered to her reaching for something on the console. “Oh no, you don’t!“ He snapped and pointed the Doctor’s own sonic at her. That’s when she remembered leaving her coat; what a stupid thing to do. And to leave the door unlocked… “So why are you here, Doctor?“ He asked as she raised her hands appeasingly.

“To see if you’re still alive.“ She answered slowly.

“Well I am. What difference does it make to you?“ He snarled.

“And you haven’t left Gallifrey?“ She carried on, hoping to at least get her answers.

“I already told you, are you going soft in the head?“ He snapped.

The Doctor remained silent, unsure how to respond. Should she believe him? Did he have reason to lie? But why would he be back here if he had managed to escape in the meantime?

“And what’s this, Doctor?“ The Master demanded her attention again and held out another item he had found in the pocket of her coat: the green prayer leaf.

“Give that back.“ The Doctor exclaimed, quick to anger. She tried to snatch it off him but he pulled away, putting the sonic between them again.

“Oh, is it personal by any chance?“ He hummed, delighted.

“Give it here.“ The Doctor’s voice turned low and threatening. In her mind, she ran through the possibilities of what the Master could do with her sonic in here. There was so much sensitive technology, a blast at the wrong thing and they could either be thrown into the vortex or explode.

“A prayer leaf from the Gamma Forests if I’m not mistaken… traditional gift for a child… tell me, Doctor, are congratulations in order?“ The Master was quick on his feet as always.

“That’s none of your business.“ The Doctor bit back.

“I take that as a yes. But where is the little devil? And where is the wife?“ He asked feigning surprise. “I presume it is the Professor’s child, isn’t it? Not a little bastard born out of wedlock?“

“Hand that over.“ The Doctor demanded again, holding her hand out.

“No, I think I’ll keep it for the time being. Return it to the little one myself… Like Maleficent taking a gift to little Aurora. Why don’t we go see them.“ He suggested circling around towards the console but the Doctor didn’t move away, instead she stepped right up to him. “Come on, Doctor, I know how much you like your Disney movies. That was funny.“

“Where is he?“ She demanded to know, ignoring his giggling.

“Who?“ The Master frowned.

“My son!“ The Doctor practically yelled, losing her temper at last.

“Ohhh so he is missing? Let me guess, someone took him while you weren’t looking?“ The Master grinned and the Doctor couldn’t tell whether he was pretending not to know anything or if he really didn’t. “Was he getting ice cream across the street and a stranger snatching him away?“

“Don’t play dumb with me, Dorium saw you, you have something to do with this!“ The Doctor wasn’t thinking now. Anger and pain were overshadowing her rational thoughts.

“Dorium? Doesn’t ring a bell…“ The Master shrugged, unimpressed.

“You told him about the Timeless Child, that’s how this whole thing started!“ The Doctor yelled and gave him a shove.

“The Timeless Child? Why would I tell anyone about that dirty secret? Give you all that power? Elevate you? I don’t think so, that secret died with the Time Lords and it’ll die with you.“ The Master spat, suddenly furious as well. They were done doing their dance and playing games.

“You and me are the only people who know about it and I sure as hell haven’t told anyone!“ The Doctor snarled stepping into his personal space again. She wasn’t scared of him anymore. He had no power over her.

“Why would I tell anyone?“ The Master seemed genuinely disbelieving of her accusations. “I killed everyone that could possibly have known about it. And I’m gonna kill you, too.“ He jabbed his finger at her.

“You just try.“ The Doctor pressed through gritted teeth. “Where is my son?!“ She shoved him again and he stumbled backward.

“I haven’t got the faintest idea.“ The Master laughed and the Doctor could tell he was speaking the truth. It threw her for a moment, until a more horrifying idea occurred to her: What if she was just enabling this whole series of events to start? What if she was the reason the Master managed to get off Gallifrey? What if this was how he found out about her child, about Dorium, about the whole thing?

So, just to clarify, the Thirteen (well their previous regenerations), plays a huge part in the Eighth Doctor's audios but you really don't have to know them to (hopefully) follow this story. I fully intend to write it like he's a new character and weave all the information necessary into the plot as everyone else, the Paternoster Gang in particular, learn about him. Originally, I intended to just use Time Lord OCs but as I thought about it, I realised how pointless that would be seeing as there are so many interesting Time Lords in the extended canon. So, if anything is difficult to follow, please let me know! <3

8 notes · View notes

ghostiewriter · 3 years

Text

meet theodore montgomery | character inspection

This is an insight into Theodore Montgomery, a character commonly used within my outer banks fanfictions. He’s portrayed as Pope’s boyfriend, and to save myself from having to explain his personality in each piece of work, I decided to make this post where you could learn all you like about Theo and still enjoy the fanfics he’s in!

Theodore Montgomery is a loveable, coffee-addicted teddy bear that stole the heart of Pope Heyward. He grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with his mother. His father in and out due to his work in the military, however, when Theo was 8 years old, he lost his father in the line of duty. Theo tried to hold onto the good memories he had of his father, but the loss of a father figure in his life did has some lasting effects. It definitely made him a much more protective, cautious person in relationships. It takes him a while to get close to people, but once he does, he is a very affectionate and caring person who has no shame in expressing how he feels.

In most pieces of work, Theo will either be someone who has moved to Outer Banks or will be someone that Pope has met during college. His interest lies with Art History, which is very clear when you see his general aesthetic. He wouldn’t say he’s prestigious but he definitely has a lot of opinions. He is generally quite outspoken and extroverted, the type of person that thrives being the centre of attention.

Theo and Pope’s relationship is almost like the definition of “opposite’s attract”. Unlike Pope who struggled to accept and figure out who he was in such a small, judgemental town where uncertainty was seen as a weakness, Theo always had a sense of surety in his identity. It was an odd concept for him, that realisation at a fairly young age that these feelings he had weren’t deemed as “normal” at the time. Luckily with such an accepting mother, he had a safe environment to find himself and figure out who he was. It is something he is incredibly grateful for, and he wished his boyfriend had a similar experience. However, Pope has definitely grown and learnt to accept himself better with the help of Theo, who acted as a strong support system for him.

Theo did struggle slightly trying to fit into the Pogue dynamic. He didn’t want to oppose, but Pope was adamant that he fit in with his best friends. Theo was worried that his relationship with Pope would change when they were around his friends—an insecurity which developed after a few bad relationships—but he was pleasantly shocked to find out that Pope’s friends were very different. It took a little bit of working out but Theo soon felt like he had comfortably fit into Pope’s life just as well as he did with his.

Also a few wee random facts about Theo: he is sucker for young adult fantasy books, Jacob Black from The Twilight Saga was his gay awakening, he is a big dessert person, his favourite colour is yellow and if he had to be stuck on an island with any celebrity it would have to be Ryan Reynolds or Will Smith.

Theo is known to have quite a strong personality which can be a bit off-putting at first. It’s just that he has a lot of emotions and has always been taught to express them as he sees fit. He knows he can seem like quite a lot at first, but he would like to think it’s all a part of his charm. Once you get to know him and befriend him, you will see how caring and protective he can be. He lost his father at a young age, it gave him slightly commitment issues and so sometimes it can take a while but if you’re friends with Theo, then he sees it as a long-time contract. You guys are in this together now, no getting out of it. It sounds daunting but he can be a bit clingy. He’s one of the best friends you’ll ever have, blindly loyal and will follow you to the end of the world.

He is aware of his flaws though. He is stubborn beyond belief, and I mean it when I say that this boy has a memory like no one’s business. He may not hold a grudge for long but he will remember every way you’ve wronged him. And if you get into an argument with him? Well, good luck buddy, because he will be bringing up any sort of wrongdoing from three years ago. It took him a while to find that self-love and realise his own worth, and now that he has it? He won’t be letting go of it anytime soon.

He naturally an extroverted person, constantly being able to talk and entertain anyone no matter where he is. He believes that is one of the things that attracted Pope to him, beyond his own intellectuality (even if he isn’t as scientifically and analytically viewed as Pope). Theo loves to be the person to make people smile and laugh and think and just have a generally good time. It goes quite healthily with Pope’s much more subdued vibe.

Overall, Theo seems like the type of person who would be quiet, sombre and generally keeps to himself. Hate to tell you that you are wrong. Theo has a large, expressive soul that he most definitely isn’t keeping hidden. But he is a loyal, trustworthy friend who you can trust with your life.

In terms of overall relationships, Theo is fairly well off. Even to strangers, he is always acting as though he has known the person for longer than five minutes. He does his best to make sure no one feels awkward or uncomfortable, even if you are passing him in the street or have been his best friend for three years. Theo thrives to make sure that it’s a mutually rewarding relationship between you two.

In his more personal relationships, it’s deeper than this. His relationship with his mother is one that he views as very important. His mother is his best friend, and he has no shame in admitting that. For a very long time, they only had each other. Theo learnt very quickly that no matter what happened, his mother was one of the few constants in his life, and he never took it for granted. Cassie Montgomery is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet in your life. She is always happy and smiley, going out of her way to bake people cookies and help out at local charities when she isn’t working. She is literally an angel and Theo couldn’t be prouder to call her his mother.

His relationship with Pope is one that would surprise people. Due to the contrasting personalities and interests, people tend to assume that they clash a lot—art vs science? Never a good combination in people’s eyes. But Pope and Theo exceed those expectations. They just click. Opposites attract and all that jazz. Theo helped bring out a more expressive, open side to Pope. His sexuality was definitely a struggle to come to terms with whilst growing up in a small town where your business was everyone’s business and breaking from the norm was like social suicide. But with Theo, all these feelings and struggles felt…insignificant. He validated all emotions, made him realise that these fears and worries were not worth risking his happiness and hiding who wants to be. And Pope helped be Theo’s anchor (not in a teen wolf way, lads, Theo ain’t a werewolf). Theo is known to have his thoughts run, his mind go wild and his life just be put on high speed. But it’s Pope that puts a hand on his shoulder and helps him calm down, stay grounded and in the moment. Their relationship is one of the purest and equal ones you could ever ask for, and it’s beautiful.

Theo’s relationship with the Pogues is an interesting one. It took some time but Theo found it easy to slip into the dynamic. Sarah was definitely the easiest for Theo to really get to know and bond with. She was on the same level as him with his extravagance, and it was amazing to talk to someone about different broadways and musicals—Pope was never a huge fan, even though he pretended to be. John B was just happy to see Pope happy, and so he instantly took a liking to Theo. It took him a while to get used to the hugs—Pope didn’t lie when he said JB was an affectionate guy—but he knew that John B was someone who you could always rely on. Kiara took a little bit more effort than the other two, purely because she just didn’t want Pope to get hurt. Theo was the first boyfriend Pope had ever brought to the Pogues, Kiara just wanted to make sure that Theo was as into the relationship as Pope was. Once she saw the love between them, she gave Theo the greenlight and happily accepted him. JJ was quite difficult as well. Theo was this city boy—a little too kook-like for JJ just to accept him right away. Gradually, he saw how happy Theo made Pope, how much brighter and cheery Pope was, and realised that Theo was a genuine guy. After that, Theo was accepted into the Pogues’ dynamic with no problem.

In terms of physical health, Theo has few issues. He is quite fit—not a huge fan of exercising but he does enjoy running or basic cardio, especially when he is stressed or in the need to clear his mind. He is also quite a picky eater (that is also because he has a few allergies), so in terms of his diet, it is very consistent and healthy. However, he does suffer from asthma (which is somewhat ironic with his hobby of running) but it was far more serious when he was younger. As he got older, it became less of an issue. It only tends to get bad when it’s particularly cold or he is has been doing some serious exercise. Otherwise, Theo remains physically healthy.

His mental health is a little different. It isn’t the most obvious thing necessarily when you meet Theo or see his ostentatious personality, but he has dealt with a general anxiety disorder for majority of his life. He has an annoying wee habit of constantly overthinking and feeling the need to prove himself. It was something that affected him as a child and still does now. Over the years and having went to therapists and councillors, he has learnt better ways to deal with all these emotions and thoughts. There are still days where it’s particularly bad, but he is grateful that he has people like his mother and Pope who understand what he is going through and do whatever they can to help him through the bad days.

Theodore Montgomery was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 31st July on a bright, summer morning. He was the only child of Cassie and Richard Montgomery, but he was their pride and joy. A bright and jolly kid, he rarely cried and caused any ruckus—except during meal times, the picky eater within him was there from a young age. Life was great for the Montgomery’s for the first few years of Theo’s life, fine and dandy until his dad got shipped off again for duty. It was a hard concept for him to grasp onto as a child but one he got used too—dad being away for months and then coming home for a few more before he was shipped away again. It was a routine young Theo had grasped onto.

What he didn’t really understand was when his mother opened the door and the man on the other side wasn’t his father, they wore the same clothes but this was not his dad. Admittedly, explaining the situation to Theo was much harder than actually receiving the news. It was hard for Theo to realise that his father wasn’t coming back. It was harder when he heard all the other kids talk about their dads on father’s day and such.

It was hard but he had his mother to help him through it, and he helped her.

This was also around the time where Theo’s struggles with anxiety and panic attacks were prominent. His mother put him in therapy quite early on and it was definitely something he appreciated in the long-term, even if he didn’t at the time.

Overall, his experience of school was a rocky one. He enjoyed elementary and middle school—he was a bright boy and never had issues with the academic side of things. It was near the end of middle school and his transition into high school where problems began to arise. Hey, teenagers can be really fucking mean and these ones were no different. There was a variety of things he was picked on for, and though he tried to not let it get to him, it was the fake friends that really bothered him. These ‘friends’ that were just pretending to mock him and whatnot, set him up with a guy just to humiliate him and so on. It was really fucking mean. He was happy to escape.

Depending on the timeline of the works Theo is in, his story goes generally in two directions. For his senior year, he transfers to Kildare County High School where he eventually meets Pope and the rest of the gang. Or more commonly, he doesn’t meet Pope until college where they both attend Boston University, with Theo studying Art History and Pope doing a Biomedical Forensic Science degree before medical school. Theo’s first encounter was seeing Pope on the other side of the communal courtyard where he was giving a fellow student some serious side glare and from that moment Theo just knew this boy was the one for him.

And the rest is in the fics!

#character inspection #theodore montgomery #outer banks fanfiction

8 notes · View notes

nctzendreamz · 4 years

Text

HOMECOMING • PROLOGUE

Prologue / Part l / Part ll / Part lll

Summary: The year is 3030, and the divide between the rich and poor couldn’t be greater. Wildwood University is the most prestigious school in the entire world, but it isn’t only because of the impeccable flying cars that can be seen best during the fuchsia lit nights, or the dexterous education everyone receives. It has secrets. A lot of secrets.

Genre: Gang!AU, Futuristic!AU

Warnings: Vivid descriptions of violence, foul language, drug use, and murder.

Author’s Note: I love you all. I hope you will love this rollercoaster of emotions as much as I do.

Once upon a time, there was a boy. This boy was gentle, and loved to explore. Sometimes, he’d even allow his imagination to posses his body, pretending he was something he knew he’d never be, such as a racecar driver, a superhero, or his favorite—loved.

Now, as that boy travels down the dark corridor that lead to his instructor, he can’t help but to smile. His left hand caresses the mangled brick wall, reminding him of every waste of space that had been dismembered in his sanctuary. Even the two men who were unnecessarily escorting him down the dimly lit space seemed frightened at the way he lightly chuckles to himself, but they know if they look at him wrong, he’ll simply kill them too.

As they approach what was known as the “black door”, he knocks a familiar tune, informing the man on the other side it was one of his own.

With an almost cinematic effect, all of the locks audibly unravel, and a flashing light blinks onto his face, silently giving him permission to step in. He looks around, trying to see if any new souvenirs had been added to the otherwise plain walls, but he sees nothing fresh. The picture of all of the boys of NEO rests in the center of the large room, and as always, he spots himself first.

“Lee Taeyong.” A deep voice addresses, obviously coming from the leather chair which was turned the opposing way.

“Mr. Sooman.” He bows, although the man couldn't see him. They didn’t have the technology for such a myth, but there was always a fear he had eyes in the back of his head.

The chair slowly begins to turn, revealing the only person in this world that brought fear into Taeyong. His current sadistic smile was a testament to that, as well as the sweat that began to form under the arms of the boy.

“Why so stiff? It’s just me, your father?” He teases.

“My apologies.” Was all Taeyong could muster, now wanting nothing more than to get straight to the point. He wanted his mission.

“Did you take your pill today?”

“Of course I did.” He lied.

“Then why are you so jittery? He eyes the slim boy suspiciously, standing up now.

Taeyong decides on silence, as he doesn’t want to speak his truth to his father figure. His eyes once again fall on the photo hanging, and he tries to relax himself by focusing on his hair color. He can now vaguely see it’s raging orange print, probably the most color he’d ever see in his lifetime.

His meditation is interrupted with the sound of two precise claps, and a tiny robot now at his feet projecting light onto the blank wall. What seemed like millions of photos appear one by one, and so much color. Even though it was faded, he was still incredibly fascinated.

His eyebrows are raised ever so slightly, and his mouth waters, yet, he can still sense his elder approaching him. It ran through his blood to do so. He always had to be on guard. If anyone was able to run up on you, and hurt you even slightly, you’d most likely be murdered by the others because—how can you be so dumb? How can you sleep at night without the feeling of someone watching you? Your hairs stand up, a chill stretches against you. It’s very simple, actually.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of Wildwood?”

Taeyong snaps his focus back on the man who’s eyes were watching him intently. “Yes. Founded in 2002 by Lobos Smith. Known as the most prestigious, and honorable university in the world. They specialize in futuristic science, and were the first school to perfect the seemingly impossible flying car. In short, rich motherfuckers.” He spat, feeling his blood pressure heighten at the mention of wealthy.

“Very good, boy.” Mr. Sooman continues to circle his apprentice, as the wood floor creaks with his every step. “As you know, we’ve always had buisness with the Smith’s.”

Taeyong nods confidently, showing with his body language that he was genuinely aware of this fact.

“Well, I want you to kill them.”

The screen zooms into four faces, none of them familiar to him. A man, a woman, a girl, and a boy.

“This is the Smith family. Maleen Smith, President of Wildwood. His wife, Bianca, his son Johnny, and your most important target, Y/N.”

“Why is she the most important?” Taeyong questions, finally getting comfortable in his element. You could say what you wanted about him, but you couldn’t deny his manipulative talents, and serious approach for his job. He was always thirsty for blood.

“Because she is their pride and joy.” Mr. Sooman responds with a devilish grin, clearly knowing more than he was revealing. “Sweet girl, smart girl, naive girl.”

“So what? You want me and the guys to meet them for dinner or something? Blast their heads off?”

The team of NEO was a dangerous one, and everyone who lived in this hell knew it. Their kills were always vicious, but the handmade masks they wore during their greatest hits hid their identity. All of them were specifically designed to the personalities of the boys, and their set skills. Taeyong, for example, always spotted a bedazzled fox, labeled red although he had yet to test that to be true. It was a metaphor to his sly nature, always able to easily grab the attention of clueless street-walkers. They were so awful at selling, and making deals for drugs that made people go off the charts. So easy to take advantage of.

They were essentially target practice. Something to play with. A pure rush; giving them their fix of killing and feeling superior because in any of situation, they were powerless. They were poor, and every fucking day did they have to watch projections of news from the other side. So many new inventions. More ways to protect the earth from falling back to its horrid ways. The way NEO looked. Dirty—dull.

Taeyong’s hand naturally reaches for his weapon that was always stashed in his pants, and quite a few scenarios run through his brain; different approaches that could be taken. “Call the meeting and consider it done, sir.”

“While I do appreciate your hungry nature, boy; I’m sure you’ve noticed that you’re the only person in this room right now, haven’t you?” The undertone of his voice reads nothing but menace, and Taeyong is truly trying his hardest to prevent his eyes from squeezing shut, or letting a mere drip of sweat dazzle from his forehead onto the ground. It would reveal he did indeed lie about taking his pill, and that would mean he’d have to double up.

“I have noticed, but I figured that I was in here because I’m the most superior.”

In reality, he wasn’t such a cocky bastard. At least, when he wasn’t high off of Indigo. That was the drug Sooman kept pestering him about, and it was what seperared NEO from the rest of the poor souls who lived in this baseless city. That’s what they were told.

Indigo made them strong, and it made them unstoppable. The more they took, the greater their kills felt, and the more their talents shined. Some were more addicted than others, and didn’t care about the black and white scenery that covered their headspace. Others, like Taeyong, planned to sneak up to the rooftop of the building tonight and see the sky, even if it would be half colored, half gray. At least that was the plan, before now.

They were always told that if they didn’t take their pill, the side effects would be deadly. Taeyong now knows this to be true, as his anxiety couldn’t be more intense in an environment where he was usually light and easy, and his mind is spinning. Random spurts of color can be seen everytime he moves his eyes in another direction, and even the colors on the projector are incredibly detailed.

“So you did take your pill today.” The man laughs, patting him on the back. “You’re right, you know.” His voice is light now, almost like a switch removing his dark demeanor. The sound of the floor creaking was practically making Taeyong lose his mind, but he can’t show it. “You are the best. And that is why this mission isn’t going to just be a ‘get the job done’ kind of mission.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying,” He reaches for his back pocket, pulling out a sheet of paper. It was folded into three, and Taeyong can feel his eyebrows basically touching, and his petite nose scrunching as he opened up his mail.

“Congratulations on being excepted into Wildwood University! Founded in 2002, it’s always been Wildwood’s mission to accept the best, so the future can be bright! Lee Taeyong, we cannot wait for you to transfer to our school of futuristic science, and see all you have to offer the brightest side of the world!”

That was all he had to see before he looks up in shock, clearly unable to believe in such an opportunity.

“I’m going—

“Yes. You, a poor boy, going to their world.”

“And I’m going to invade.” He seemingly finished.

“You’re not just going to invade. You’re going to make that girl fall in love with you, and you’re going to make those wealthy pieces of shit trust you, and then—when they finally accept you as their son, and that girl would die for you, you will bring them to me.”

“Like a parasite.”

“No. You, my boy, were born to eliminate the parasites. They don’t deserve to multiply, or reproduce.”

Maybe it was because of the lack of intoxication, but Taeyong feels himself getting too excited about this. The manipulation was excellent, and the plan couldn’t fail. He was charming in all aspects of the word.

“What did they do to you?” Was his final question. He once again is in a stare down with the older man infront of him, who had returned to his seat now.

“They took something from us, and they have to pay. No mistake goes unseen in NEO. You know that.”

“I won’t let you down, sir.” Taeyong bows, just as he did when he originally walked in. The respect was clear, even if the roots of the plan seemed eerie. He trusted his leader with his life, and if he said someone needed to die, it was the truth. He was going to bring their heads back on a silver fucking platter.

#nct #nct 127 #nct taeyong #taeyong #nct series #nct imagine #nct imagines #nct scenarios #nct scenario #taeyong nct #homecoming #kpop #gang au #nct gang au #kpop gang au #kpop imagine

70 notes · View notes

multifandomhaven · 4 years

Text

Tip Part III

Grocery shopping was high on the list of things Sarah hated to do most in the world.

Cooking, she loved - she was good at it, she enjoyed it immensely. Shopping was a different story all together.

It wasn't so much the fact that she didn't like the selection offered at the stores around her. They were great, they really were. No, what she despised was making the choices - decisions between two fruits that looked identical, shape, smell, everything, and yet every time she cracked one open it was like a game of chance. Would this one be fresh and or was it two seconds away from being putrid. How was one to tell?

It was embarrassing, really, but what could she do? As far as she knew they didn't offer shopping classes at any of the colleges nearby.

She sighed and, for reasons unknown to even herself, she did what she'd seen every middle-aged woman do when they approached the cardboard box of melons. She reached into it, hopelessly knocking her fist against a few of them before picking one at random. Placing it in the shopping cart she shook her head and just knew that she'd be throwing it out in a matter of hours.

Once she was finished shopping she threw all the bags into the trunk of her car, carefully placing the melon to the side, hoping that if she took care with it it might bless her with a just-right-ripened inside.

She dropped herself into the driver's seat of her car, turning the key. She winced when she heard the loud sputter of her engine.

"C'mon," she urged the vehicle before trying to start it again. She turned the key, pressing down on the gas pedal slightly, and the car revved to life. She moved to back out of the parking spot when the car began to hiss angrily. Sarah decided against driving in that moment, and instead sat in the parking lot for a bit, not wanting to risk breaking down in the middle of the road if the engine stalled again.

She didn't know much about cars, but she knew that her limited knowledge - putting gas or window cleaner fluid in - wasn't going to help in this situation.

It was stifling inside the car, the heat of a summer day seeming to have reached it's peak, and Sarah sighed and turned the air conditioner on. She let the cool air wash over her, her bare legs breaking out in goosebumps at its contact. Shivering in delight she pressed her forehead against the steering wheel and simply waited. She didn't know how long she sat there, her eyes closed as she relaxed, but when she opened them she was met with a very unwelcome sight.

As if appearing out of thin air, thick plumes of smoke billowed from under the hood of the car, dancing in the scorching, desert wind.

"Damn it," Sarah groaned and turned the ignition off. It was instant, as soon as the air conditioner stopped the heat wrapped her in its clutches once more, threatening to steal the breath right from her lungs.

Leaning over she grasped her purse, pulling her cell phone out. She scrolled through a few of the contacts and selected 'Ignacio'. Her thumb hovered over the call button momentarily, not wanting to bother him - he gave her his number in case of an emergency at work - not to be at her beck and call for minor inconveniences. She weighed her options, going back and forth between her decision, and finally, when a bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face, she relented and pressed call.

After just two rings he answered. "Nacho."

"Hey," she greeted back, a wave of guilt squeezing her chest. "Hey, Nacho, it's Sarah."

She heard a sharp clink in the background, metal on metal. "Sarah? Everything all right?"

"Not really," she admitted. "Nothing horrible. It's just - I know your father owns a shop, and hopefully you can help me... if you can't it's totally fine, I completely understand, it's just - my car is smoking..."

"Smoking?" He repeated quietly. "Where are you?"

She squinted her eyes against the bright sun, reading the swirling red letters of the store's sign. "Smith's."

"Smith's," Nacho reiterated. "The grocery store? You need me to come pick you up?"

"Listen, I'm not putting you out, right?" She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "I could figure something else out if you're busy, no big deal."

"You're fine," he assured her gently. "I'll be there in twenty, alright?"

Sarah's lips curled into a smile and she looked down at her lap, her fingers picking at the frayed hem of her shorts. "Thanks Nacho, you're a lifesaver."

"Of course," he said. "See you soon."

She didn't know how long she was sitting there on the sidewalk in front of the store, in reality it couldn't have been long, but with the bright sun beating down onto her back it felt like hours. The pavement under her burned, and her legs were tinted red from the fury of summer. She glanced over to her car, still sitting in the parking lot, smoke still streaming from it in thin tendrils, almost taunting her.

Just then a two-toned van pulled beside of her, shielding her from the sun, and she saw Nacho lean over and push the passenger door open.

Sarah peeked around the door, grinning at him when she met his dark eyes. She stood up and climbed inside. "Hi."

"Hey," he said back, his eyebrow raised in amusement. "So, where's your car?"

She huffed a laugh and pointed to her black sedan in the middle of the lot. There was a couple standing near it, pointing at the hood. "It's still smoking, see?"

Nacho made a noise in his throat, his eyes instantly finding her ride, and the he glanced back over to her. "I see. And how long's it been doing that?"

"This is the first time," she told him honestly. "I've never had a problem with it before."

He narrowed his eyes slightly, and then shrugged. "I'll get one of the guys at the shop to come pick it up. We'll look at it for you."

"Nacho, I don't know," Sarah sighed. "I can't really afford another big bill right now. Not that I'm ungrateful or anything-"

He shook his head, pulling his van around and parking right behind her car. "I'll look at it myself. I won't charge you."

Sarah blinked, touched by the gesture. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." He nodded and stepped down out of the van. "I'm sure. Unlock it and we'll move your stuff into the back."

They worked quickly to transfer the bags from her vehicle to his and in almost no time they were back at her apartment. She showed him which parking space to pull into and he glanced around the place, his eyes curiously taking in the surroundings. It wasn't the worst place he'd ever seen, and definitely -

"It's not the nicest," she surmised when he spotted the graffiti on the wall. "But it's home."

His eyes found hers momentarily and then he stepped out of the van and began loading his arms down with every bag she had. Sarah's eyes widened and she tried to take some of them from him, but he just shook his head and told her to lead the way. Thankfully, she lived on the bottom floor and her apartment was just a few doors down from the entryway. She shoved her key into the lock and swung open the door.

Immediately, she heard the scratching of nails on the hardwood floor and then was met with a flying ball of fur, jumping and whining at her feet.

"Just put them on the floor in the kitchen if you don't care," she told Nacho, moving so that he could enter.

She watched as he moved effortlessly, and, for the first time, took really notice of his arms - specifically how big they were. Sure she'd seen them when he was covered in grease from the shop, but there he was, standing in her kitchen, bags hanging around his lower arms, thick with muscle and veins and she suddenly found herself unable to look away from him.

She blinked in surprise, a tightening growing in her lower belly.

"That the infamous Lola?" Nacho asked, leaning against the counter. He gave a small nod toward the dog. "Squeaky little thing, isn't she?"

Sarah furrowed her eyebrows in mock hurt. "Hey, she takes offense to that."

Nacho's lips quirked and he shook his head. "Sorry, but I don't apologize to dogs."

"Well, lucky for you she isn't good with apologies anyway," Sarah whispered, as if the dog could understand what they were saying. Lola scampered back to her dog bed that sat just beside Sarah's spot on the couch, spinning not once, but twice, before settling down onto it.

Sarah chanced a glance back toward Nacho from the corner of her eye, surprised to find him watching her. She motioned toward the sofa and he gave a quick nod, strolling over and sitting down. He took in the pictures and knickknacks that littered the apartment. "You want something to drink?"

"Sure," he said without turning. Sarah saw him look at a picture of her when she was a kid. "Whatever you have will be fine. I'm not picky."

She grabbed two waters and sat down beside him, on the middle cushion, her breath catching when she felt the heat of his thigh against her own bare one. Again, she felt the tightening of her stomach, and wiggled slightly, her cheeks flushed. "Hey, thanks again for coming to get me. You're like my knight in shining armor."

Nacho shook his head, and uncapped the water, taking a quick drink. "I've gotta say, I don't think I've ever been called a knight before."

"I aim to please," Sarah teased, knocking her elbow into him gently. They sat there, stone silent, staring at each other before Sarah cleared her throat and began to speak, "So, do-"

Her sentence stopped, as did, she feared, her heart, when Nacho leaned forward and placed a hand just on the underside of her jaw. Her eyelids fluttered and she inhaled deeply, his palm threatening to scorch her skin. He rubbed his thumb across her cheek gently, simply watching her react to his touch. Sarah swallowed thickly and reach up to grasp his wrist, her fingers weak against him. His thumb stopped moving and Sarah grinned, her heart still thumping in her ears, and then turned her head slightly to press a soft kiss onto his hand.

"Your hair is down," Nacho noted quietly. He tangled his fingers in the hair at the nape of her neck, and Sarah bit back a groan when he tugged lightly. "First time I've ever seen it down."

Sarah smiled, genuinely touched at his attention, and tightened her grip on his broad wrist. "You notice the smallest things."

He ran his thumb over her cheek again, with a little more pressure this time, his eyes leaving hers, only to travel to her lips and then back up again. Sarah's breathing shallowed, anticipation of what was to come building in her chest like a dam. She slowly raised onto her knees, her hand reaching out to feel him. She planted it near the base of his neck, feeling his pulse beating wildly beneath her fingers.

It emboldened her, to know that she had had an effect on him too. She angled her body toward him and leaned forward, pressing her front against him.

His free arm came up and wrapped around her lower back, securing her snugly to him. Sarah arched into his chest, her eyes fluttering shut as she leaned down and captured his mouth with her own.

The softness of his lips surprised her and she sighed blissfully at the pressure he was applying - gentle, slow. Barely there.

Sarah encircled her arms around his neck and threw her leg over his lap, straddling him in one fluid motion. He made a noise, somewhere between a sigh and moan and she felt his hand travel from her lower back to her thigh by his hip, his fingers kneading and rubbing in time with their kiss. Sarah nipped at his bottom lip, rocking her hips slightly as he lifted her a bit, settling back onto the couch more comfortably.

She heard his breathing hitch and he pulled away from her lips, trailing down her neck with open mouthed kisses.

"Nacho," she whispered, gripping his shoulders tightly. She leaned her head to give him better access and rolled her hips against his own again, pride filling her when she heard his breathing stutter in reply.

He grazed his way back up, alternating between sweet pecks and enthusiastic, searing nips. "This okay?"

"Mmm," she rubbed her fingers over his arms and back up to his neck. "More than okay."

He nodded and leaned up again, slanting their lips together once again. They tangled together helplessly, hands groping and breaths mingling, only breaking apart when Lola jumped onto the couch, licking at the skin of Nacho's hand on Sarah's thigh.

He shooed the dog down, and Sara marveled back down at the man under her. Her breath still left her in heavy puffs. "Wow."

"Yeah," Nacho nodded at her, his eyes half-lidded, pupils blown wide. His hands were still on her, rubbing lightly up her sides under the flimsy fabric of her shirt.

"So." Sarah bit her swollen lip to cover her smile, quirking her eyebrow at him. Her hands were on his chest, fingering a button on his shirt. "Wanna stay for dinner?"

#nacho varga #nacho varga fanfiction #nacho varga x oc #better call saul #better call saul fanfiction #multifandomhaven

38 notes · View notes

amnachil · 4 years

Text

The College Society Chapter 4 Part 8

I’m a little late, but here it is!

Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey Monday April 15

The fucker was flipping through his book. The meeting was in fifteen minutes. I don't fucking know why I came early. The Dean's grandson glared at Brandon. He was the only absent at their previous get-together. Could he be the contemptible asshole who had the idea of the bounty ?

"I'm not." said suddenly the idiot.

"What the fuck ?"

"Regarding what you're thinking. I'm not the one who had a price put on the prey." explained Brandon. "You know I'm a devoted follower of D.R... I even helped to foil my roommate Barbara."

Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey snorted. It didn't mean anything except maybe that he was a smart ass. The fact you're using your brain make you more dangerous than the others.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Stop acting like if you can read my fucking thoughts you moron."

Brandon dared to smile. Jesus he was so annoying.

"I'm sorry. You're usually way more difficult to decipher. But this story seems to bother you."

It's my damn boyfriend we're talking about, stupid ! Yeah except no one knew. The junior remembered his last discussion with Zack. His friend had called him a coward. A coward. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey, the gifted hunter, feared by all, had been called a coward. Zack didn't intend to be mean but ouch. I would feel much better if the cocksucker behind all this was arrested.

"Now that I think about it." mumbled the blond lad. "You are a supposed psychic so you must know something, right ?"

"Yeah. I know I'm innocent." replied the smart aleck.

I swear to god I'll kill him.

"More seriously." he continued when he noticed the Dean's grandson glaring at him. "I got things to tell but we'll have to wait for the others. D.R wants to update them aswell."

Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey grunted.

Archie, Theo and Gabriel arrived right on time. As for this arrogant Matthew and the girls, they all came late. On purpose of course. They want to piss me off. Such a flock of donkeys. Finally, when Samy deigned show up, the meeting officially began.

"Why are we here ?" asked Lucy. "Summer didn't say much but I don't have time to lose. Fallen King, I hope this is serious."

Damn. When did you start shitting by the mouth dickhead ? He remained silent only because Brandon had taken his phone out.

"It's me who summoned you." resonated D.R's voice. "Sorry if we are taking your precious time Lucy. Maybe you want to leave and give up all your privilege as a member of this assembly ?"

The idiot bitch shrivelled up on her chair. Pathetic.

"Get to the point." Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey intervened. "Why are we here ?"

"Because, Brandon and I have made some progress regarding the investigation about the pranktser who is defying our authority." she explained. "First of all, I will let you all know that we get to the root of his website. Much to our surprise, he's based in Canada."

"So it's a stranger ?" was surprised Gabriel. "But how does he know about the prey ? Even I didn't hear about him before all this fuss."

Let her speak. I want a name. Going to Canada to kill someone sounded worse than it actually was, right ?

"We are sure he has an accomplice at the university." carried on D.R. "Probably the mastermind behind all this to be honest. Besides, with some skills, it might be possible to manage a website from Canada while being actually here. That's not the only thing we went through. My team caught some hunters who spied on the prey and sold intel at our prankster, who then put them online."

What ?! Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey was sure he didn't have enough bullets to shot every little fucker who did that. Damnit ! He had been the most careful he could and still, they escaped his surveillance ? And why D.R didn't told him sooner ?!

"Don't be mad." teased Jolenne. "We just got all the infos you spent month to get in a few days. Poor fallen king."

The Dean's grandson almost lost his calm. He was feeling paranoid and irritated. But he didn't need Zack calling him a brute as well as a coward.

"Unecessary comments are not permitted." said codly D.R. "Until now, what has been revealed to the public are mostly practical intels. The prey's greediness when it come to food is emphasized by many people. Also, there are his supposed sexual preference, his work and college schedule and when it is possible to meet him without Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey around. Even his friends are not safe from this search of information. I hope you realize this is craziness."

"Don't worry, we're chasing him by following your rules." giggled Miranda. "We don't need all this shit to catch him."

"Do you have any idea about the identity of the prankster ?" asked Archie.

"Well, thanks to the hunters we arrested, maybe." the head of the hunter announced, making them all quiet. "Brandon."

"As you may know, since my arrival here, D.R usually resort to me when she wants to question people. Here's what I discovered." the guy revealed. "They all received the money the day following their exchange via transfer. What is interesting is the bank making those transfers... The Mason's Financial."

Silent followed. Everyone looked up at Samy. She was called Samy Mason for a reason after all. The name is common but I know for sure she's the daughter of the actual ceo of Mason's Financial.

"My family's banks has numerous clients." she said, seemingly bored. "And this little information doesn't prove anything."

She's right. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey was much more calmer now. And Samy was right. She had the means but that didn't make her guilty. This link wasn't much more than coincidence at this point.

"We'll do further investigation of course." resumed D.R. "Samy, you'll have to pay me a visit at my office very soon. As for the others, you can hunt, you can catch, but always remember there are rules. You have to insure that the others hunters respect them aswell. Is that clear ?"

They all agreed. Of course. But how many of them are cheating behind our back uh ? Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey left the room as soon as the meeting ended. At least he learnt something tonight. Nancy will have some work to do.

The Dean's grandson headed towards his flat quickly. He checked his phone on the way home. One text was from the head of the women defense club. Even outside the get-together, she couldn't let him in peace ? How annoying.

< D.R. : About our other matter, I expect the victim you told me about to pay me a visit soon. >

Of course you do. She was worried. Well he was worried too but he wasn't blowing a fuse about it. Archie seemed fine until now, so what was the problem ? Anyway, he also had a text from his boyfriend.

< The baboon : I'm stuffed !!! uwu >

A picture was attached to it. It was a selfie of Liam from underneath, which drew attention to his belly. His bloated tummy. Well Damian also noticed the tightness of his brief, since it was the only clothes he decided to wear. I hate him so much. Since when is he such a tease ?! At first, these little... provocations looked innocent. A comment about Liam being bottom when stuffed. An invite to touch his butt. The blond lad had thought it wasn't done on purpose. But when the action became repeated, it become obvious that the baboon was way more naughty than he let think. It didn't help that the junior was fantasizing about his boyfriend more and more... He'll be the death of me one day.

Liam Wednesday April 17

The College's library was a dark and secret place Liam had feared since his arrival. Books could harm you kids, no joke. He had yet to find the magical section but he knew it was here, somewhere. Thankfully he was in the history section and not alone. The chestnut lad was looking for a title Nate asked. Apparently, reading helped his bestfriend to distract his mind from any bad thought. I will bring it to him tonight.

"I can't find it anywhere." grumbled Nick. "Are you sure they have it ?"

"Yes." assured Colton. "I checked the website twice already."

It was the fourth time they had this discussion in the last half an hour. Since Nick had decided to follow a diet, he was grumpy most of the time. Probably because the unicorns think it's bad for him. They know more than we do. Colton, as the teddy-bear he was, had the patience to deal with their sullen friend. Liam glimpsed the book they were looking for.

"Found it." he announced. "Let me borrow it and we can go."

The three boys headed towards the exit. And there she was. Of course she would be there : library were suitable for dark ritual so the forces of evil were most likely bound to appear here. The witch was with another girl he didn't recognise right away. Because the lad had friends to protect, he decided to face them. Oh. This is the girl who offered her body to me. So she switched side ? This is bad. He didn't need a demon on top of his problems.

"Hey." smiled the witch when they were close enough.

Liam tried to ignore her and focused on the librarian who was registering his borrowing. Without success apparently.

"I'm Lucy remember ? And this is Miranda. We want to know you three better boys. Do you want a little meeting with us girls outside the university this weekend ?" suggested the pawn of evil. "We can bring a friend along to be even."

Nick pulled a face. Colton smiled prudently. They're falling for her charms... Liam hesitated. On one hand, it was dangerous, and his boyfriend had vigorously asked him to stay away from her. But on the other hand, it was the perfect opportunity to face her once and for all.

"I'm not against it." he eventually replied. "If the others are fine with it too..."

His two friends exchanged perplexed glances. Finally, they agreed and the three boys were free to go.

When they arrived at their place, Liam noticed Dami waiting for him at the entrance. His boyfriend was texting aggressively. He looks angry. More than usual. The others greeted him and went upstair while the chestnut lad smiled. In all honesty, he didn't know what he was doing with Dami. He was well aware their relationship was slowly improving for the better. There was no doubt in his dreamy mind that sex was near. He even had naughty thoughts of Dami while he... had been taking personnal pleasure last time.

"What the hell did you just say ?" asked the junior.

Liam blinked. Did I think out loud ? That would be very embarassing.

"Hum forget it." he muttered. "I've something to tell you."

He related his encounter with the witch and the human sacrifice. He also carefully explained why he wanted to face her. It was important to be clear because Dami was a hero. Hero didn't like when their relatives and friends faced troubles and they had a tendency to take all the blame. Liam knew that, he read it somewhere. But he had a mission from the unicorn.

"I think this is one of your dumbest idea you baboon." declared his boyfriend once he concluded. "The damn horses don't know everything and... Whatever do your thing. I'm not protecting you anyway."

"Thanks you for trusting me." smiled the freshman.

He kissed Dami lenghtily to express his gratefulness. Two hands grabbed his ass and pushed his waist closer. Liam gulped when he felt his crotch react at the gesture. They stayed like this only a few minutes but it was enough to make them both blush awkwardly. It's hot in here right ? (Please unicorns, believe it.) (The magical creatures probably won't like his perveted thoughts tonight...)

"I need to go." whispered Dami. "See you tomorow baboon."

It was almost bedtime when Nate announced he wanted to see a shrink. According to him, it was Dami who suggested the idea.

"He told me she was a professional who could help." he explained. "And Archie sees her too so I guess she knows her job. But I would like you to come with me the first time... Is that ok ?"

"Of course bro." assured Liam.

He could feel the positive energy in the room. His bestfriend was trying. I'll support him the best I can. Nate slipped under his covers, letting only his head visible.

"Say, how did you know you were attracted by men ?"

The chestnut lad made a weird sound. That wasn't a question he had expected at all. They had already talked about that in the past but... He discreetly looked at the unicorns. Were they doing something to Nate ?

"Stop your mental chat with the magical poneys and answer me." ordered Nate.

"Oh sorry... Well I don't really know ?" he said. "As you remember, I was first into chubby girls but well... I don't know it felt nice to be with Kilian. Being in a relationship with another boy is great to me... As long as I love him right ?"

"This doesn't help." grumbled his bestfriend. "I'll try to be more specific : why is Dami attractive to you ? Physically ?"

"He's cute." giggled Liam, remembering their last encounter. "And well, kind of sweet. He's a nice skin. Oh and his eyes are scary, I like that. Why are you asking ?"

"I think I like Archie's hugs." Nate revealed. "But that doesn't mean anything. I'm just touch starved and he feels safe that's it. I'm overthinking little things. Good night."

He covered his head, meaning the conversation was over. And Liam fell asleep the next second. He had unicorns to feed after all.

Nicolas Friday April 19

< Imagenius : Dang ! We lost but that was a close one. >

Nick grunted. Annoying.

< TheSavior : Still a lose. >

< Abeautifulwoman : speaking in terms of statistics, we're in a losing streak. Boss you're the one who made the most mistakes in our last games... While you were the best one week ago. >

Nick ground his teeth. Annoying. They piss me off.

< Abeautifulwoman : Anything on your mind lately ? >

< TheSavior : I 'm on a diet. >

The lad had never expected it to be so hard. How could he focus on his game while all he could nibble was a salad ?! And damnit he missed beer. But I need to lose the weight. Not only four or five pounds, but fifty. Enough to not be disgusting again.

< Imagenius : change of subject but Beauty I think I know who is your bossy friend ! >

< Abeautifulwoman : Are you serious rn ? Just let him be and focus on the bad mood of our boss. >

< Imagenius : He's the most famous hunter in my college right ? The one who has sex with everyone whenever he wants. He's the great son of the Dean that lucky bastard lol >

Wait. What ? Nick re read the text but there was no mistake. A Dean's grandson who sleep around ? The bounty hunt and the very famous prey... Could it be happening here ? It was only his imagination for sure. There could be many great son of a Dean who were also part succubus. (Yes sometimes, Nick fell for Liam's crazy theory.)

< Abeautifulwoman : There is a reason why I'm not talking abut him here and it's called privacy bitch. >

< Imagenius : You're the fake bitch. What if you're working for the Smith Carrey ? I have friends who don't fear him you know ? >

*Abeautifulwoman is offline.*

< Imagenius : such a coward c**t lol >

*Imagenius is offline.*

Now there was no doubt possible.

This evening, Nick arrived at the pool his head full of question. Imagenius was a student here. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey was the best of the hunters. And a mysterious hunt with a bounty interested everyone. Weird. This is so weird. Liam's boyfriend had always been shady but a hunter ? What does that even mean ? Nick caught sight of Colton near the pool. He sighed deeply. Whatever is going on, this is not my business. Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey can do whatever he wants as long as he doesn't hurt my roommate. And I don't want to meet Imagenius in real life. Not when the freshman looked like a disgusting fat cow.

"Everything's fine bud ?" asked his friend.

"Yeah sorry. I guess I'm not feeling very confident about tomorrow."

This improvised date with three girls was another thing on his mind. Something I can talk with Colton. This latter smiled. His whole body irradiated a delicate but welcomed warmth. His attitude only was reasurring. And no, Nick didn't believe in magic but this guy had some strong positive vibe.

"This is not even a date." Colton recalled. "I think one of them is interested in Liam, and she asked help from her friends. You don't have to worry : we'll just enjoy the moment."

"Easy to say for you dude. You're handsome and incredibly nice." Nick retorted. "I'm not at the same level."

"You don't give yourself enough credit." assured his friend. "You made me think about my two bestfriends. They both have low self-esteem despite being amazing. I hope they finally realised it."

Nick detected distress in Colton's voice. For the first time, his expression revealed something esle than happiness. He looks almost sad.

"Now that you mention it, I never heard you talk about your past." noted the geek. "I mean, I don't have any friend from highschool since I was only focused on studies and you already know what I think about my annoying family but you... Even Liam's been more open."

Colton smiled but that was as fake as Rebecca's kindness.

"Stuff happenned. When I decided to follow Barbara, the people I cared about didn't take it well." he explained. "Even my sister is still mad. She was right tho, I got dumped in the end."

"And despite that, you're so nice and all ? Dude you really are half teddy-bear aren't you ? In your place, I would never trust anyone again."

They started to warm-up while talking. Liam would arrive later to help with the swimming lesson.

"I hope my friends will forgive me one day." confessed Colton. "Especially these two... But that doesn't mean I will be dejected until then. I'm sure they don't want that from me."

"You're so positive about everything that's kind of impressive." grunted Nick. "I would like to borrow your optimism sometimes.... Is it because some people have it worst ?"

He was thinking about Nate. That was petty of him to complain about his weight when his friend got raped. I'm ridiculous.

"You're getting it wrong." refuted the other. "You've the right to not appreciate your body but it is important that it is you, and not the opinion of the others, who chose that. As for me, I don't complain only because there is nothing I can do for now but hope. So I'm hoping."

Yeah, seems legit. They went into the pool and Nick focused on his swimming. The rest could wait.

To be continued

Dami is hunting the hunters... It’s a big mess. Who to trust uh?

And now Liam’s trying to solve his problem on his own, what a bad idea! But who knows, maybe he’ll manage ;) Big revelations in the online chat of Nick! Now, he has more info than he should...

Some background info on Colton. I’m not sure they’re very useful for now, but still.

#the college society #cs #Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey #Liam #Nick #Nate is struggling but doing better #Each person heals differently #Liam the hero #Dami is mad again #it's a mood #Nick knows secrets #Nancy is that you?#Chapter 4 #Part 8

3 notes · View notes

redrobin-detective · 4 years

Text

All Together Now

I’ve been feeling nostalgic and watching some Doctor Who again (ah back to my roots) and I wrote so much DW fic back in the day that I thought I’d share an old favorite. A story in which all 11 (this was written in 2013, just after the 50th so no Capaldi or Whittaker) Doctors meet each other in true disaster fashion. It was fun dialogue and opportunity to flex on my ridiculous amount of DW knowledge. (7′s spectrox toxemia comment to 5, still funny seven years later)

XxX

The Eleventh Doctor was having quite a nice relaxing day. He was bored with it already but he was certainly having it. He stared out at the dark purple waves of Atrios wondering where he would go next. He had dropped Amy and Rory off a while back after the scare at the alien motel and he just couldn't quite get back into the swing of adventuring, not yet anyway. He missed them, plain and simple, and the TARDIS just seemed so lifeless without them.

"Oi, you with the bowtie, would you give me a hand?" The Doctor jumped slightly and considered not turning; actually to be honest he considered getting up and running away screaming. Of course he recognized that voice, how could he not? A few centuries ago he had been speaking in that voice. "Really, it will only take a mo and then you can go back to your sulking." The Doctor scowled and turned around to face his previous incarnation.

"I am not sulking; I was just enjoying the scenery." He looked back over his shoulder at the purple waves, he supposes they were a bit dull. The other Doctor, the tenth version anyway, rolled his eyes.

"Right I forgot never to underestimate the entertainment levels of human tourists. You lot act as if you've never seen an alien ocean." The Doctor quirked an eyebrow, rude and not ginger, yes he was totally seeing it now. Well whatever, he was in it now so he'd better get ole Sandshoes here out of the way before a paradox ensued. How the hell did he not remember this?

"So what sort of help do you need so desperately that you interrupt my… introspection."

"I came here with an Earth woman she has red hair and is very, very loud. I seem to have lost her, have you seen or rather heard her?" The Doctor, or really Eleven since there were two Doctors present, was so confused he couldn't even name the thing that confused him the most. First of all, he doesn't ever remember coming to Atrios with Donna. Second, shouldn't Ten have picked up on the fact that this man was not only a Time Lord but a future version of himself and three, Donna. Donna was here, he could see Donna again. He could talk about adventures and laugh with Donna. All three were very good reasons to stick close to Ten and find out just what was happening. He shook his head.

"I'm afraid not, but I could help you look for her, if you want…" Ten frowned suspiciously and Eleven couldn't help but feel vain about the wrinkles that appeared around his eyes and mouth. "You know, to get away from the sulking thing for a bit, you're right, I just said goodbye to some good mates and well-" Ten smiled and clapped him on the back, Eleven was mildly surprised nothing exploded. They began walking down the beach as Ten went off on a long ramble.

"Sure of course, I understand, come on. I do love chatting; I do it a lot apparently. Donna says I've got a gob that just doesn't stop and I tell her that she's not much better what with all her shouting and stuff. I'm sorry I've gone off again haven't I? What did you say your name was again?" Eleven blinked, would John Smith be too obvious?

"Er uh Rory, Rory Williams." Ten grinned.

"Well my name is…" His eyes darted to something over Eleven's shoulder and they widened to the size of saucers. Eleven almost turned but Ten stopped him finishing loudly. "Yes, and I am Wilfred, Wilfred Mott, lovely to meet you." He leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially. "Ok Rory, act natural. I know this bloke but he doesn't know me yet. I'm a time traveler so this is possible, it'll be over soon. So just stay calm and act natural."

"Oi, hold up, I've got a question. Have you two stooges seen a young girl, about 19 or so with curly blonde hair?" Eleven sucked in his breath and bit his lip. This was bad and getting baderer by the second. As if dealing with Ten wasn't bad enough but now Nine pops up out of nowhere?

"Rose?" Ten choked out and Eleven wanted to roll his eyes. He forgot how that incarnation was nearly overwhelmed by his sentimentality for the London shop girl. Eleven frowned, he couldn't really blame him though, he wasn't much better with his little Amelia. Nine walked over to them with concerned look.

"Oh so you've seen her then, that's good. I've been looking for her for a while now, honestly I don't know what part of 'don't wander off' they don't they get."

Ten and Eleven exchanged a look in which Ten mimed a quick shush noise. It made the eldest Doctor want to tear his hair out. Here he was hiding from Ten who was now trying to convince him to hide from Nine. He was fairly certain this couldn't get any worse. Nine glared at them clearly getting impatient.

"If you two are done making faces at each other, would one of you point me in the direction of my companion? I'd like to get off this heap of rubble as soon as I can thank you very much." A discreet glance in Ten's direction told Eleven that his younger self was still too caught up in the thought of meeting his Rose again. He sighed and turned to address Nine.

"Um sorry mate, don't know any Roses here. My friend… Wilfred and I haven't seen anyone else and hopefully no one else unexpected pops along." Eleven said with a strained smile, the last part muttered under his breath. Ten seemed to snap out of his stupor and properly look at him for the first time. Eleven wasn't sure what would happen if they all started deducing identities but he'd rather not find out. While he was curious as to why Nine was here, this many Doctors in one area couldn't possibly be good.

"Pardon chaps!" The three Doctors froze as Eight all dressed to the nines – dear Rassilon he did not just think that- snuck up behind them. They all turned and gave him a thinly disguised grimace while the pretty faced man just kept smiling as if nothing were wrong. So this is before the Time War then, hard to imagine a time when he was that innocent. "Would one of you tell me where the nearest town is? Lucie wanted to do a bit of shopping or she did before I lost her. I suppose I should be asking if you've seen her about. She's about yeah tall, Northern accent, rather brash." Eight said with a small, kind smile.

"Nope, nuh-uh, none whatsoever!" Ten squeaked rocking on his heels while Nine took a few steps back. Eight regarded them all with a funny expression on his face as his gaze sharpened.

"Is everything alright? Are you in some sort of trouble?"

"No!" Nine said stepping forward with a menacing glare. Eleven winced a little; it appeared Nine was still wounded by his previous regeneration's actions during the war or lack there of perhaps. "And I think it's about time you got going you hussy." Eight took a step back in surprise only for a very distinctive umbrella to swing down in-between the two. Eight's surprise shifted from one Doctor to another as he turned to the newest member of the group.

"Now gentleman, I don't know what's going on between the two of you but you're grown men and I'd think you'd better start acting like it." Seven purred pulling his umbrella back and hooking it onto his arm. "Now really, what is going on here? And what are all you doing staring at me for?" Four Doctors turned to look at one another.

What in the name of Rassilon had he been drinking last night?

"Excuse me dear fellows." Seven's eyes widened as Five approached followed by a very pensive Six who hung back a little, probably to observe to his past self. "Is there a hospital nearby?" He asked jovially before subtly leaning forward gesturing his head back towards Six and whispering conspiratorially. "I don't think that man is quite stable, I think it's best if he got some proper rest." The group was all silence but he thinks he heard Nine muttering about the blasted coat under his breath to which Eleven wholeheartedly agreed. Which would makes sense as they were the same person after all. Eight cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry er Sir, but we're all tourists as well I'm afraid so we're just as lost as you are." He said trailing off slightly as he eyed the group before finally settling on Eleven. "Funny, I thought I'd gotten past the bowtie thing years ago." He mumbled quietly and Eleven huffed and indignantly straightened his very cool accessory. Oblivious, Five nodded a bit sadly casting a glance at Six.

"Yes, well I am a Doctor maybe I can do something on my own. I do wish I knew what had happened that would make him so peculiar." He paused and Seven brought his umbrella to his lips.

"A dose of spectrox toxaemeia and a hero complex will do that any day." The rest of the Doctors cleared their throats or coughed or just outright snorted. Five blinked as he eyed Seven.

"I'm sorry I didn't quite catch that, did you say spectrox-"

"-toxaemia, yes it's a poison found primary on Androzani Minor in the Sirius system. A horrible way to go, or so, I've been told and I'm hoping not to find out myself truth be told." The Fourth Doctor interrupted smiling broadly while Five sputtered before readjusting his celery to cover the motion. The Fourth Doctor adjusted his hat and grinned manically. "Hello, I'm the Doctor; might I ask what's going on here?" Six finally seeming have lost interest in sulking, stepped forward and instinctively all the other Doctors reached forward to stop him from acting too rashly. Too late though.

"Well that's a fairly presumptuous question for you of all people to be asking, Doctor." He said, jabbing Four in the chest. "I think we really ought to be asking who you are and are you doing here?" There has got to be a small star exploding somewhere as five Doctors simultaneously face palmed. The Fourth Doctor blinked and not breaking eye contact reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag.

"Why my good man, I think you need a jelly baby."

"I don't believe I do thank you very much!" Six shouted tugging on his lapels. Seven stepped in and held his hands in a placating way.

"Gentlemen please there's no reason to shout." Six turned his glare onto his future self.

"Oh don't I? Just look at your jumper man. Who dressed you this morning? The Riddler?" Nine snorted at this.

"Oi have you looked in the mirror recently, thank God I got over that phase quickly enough." Six's annoyance melted as he took in the rest of large group as if noticing them for the first time. "Wait are you all...?"

"Did it really take you that long to work it out?" Four asked, biting of the head of a jelly baby. "I weep for my future." He rolled his eyes over in the direction of the older Doctors. Ten quirked an eyebrow in annoyance, "what?"

"Oh nothing," Four said tucking away his jelly babies. "Just looking at a future mid-life crisis, practically children you are. Honestly the next one's going to be twelve years old." His eyes slid over to Eleven, "oops too late." Eleven's mouth twitched, oh to hell with the timelines.

"Oh well aren't you just the coolest with your scarf and your candies." He spat, throwing his arms in the air which probably wasn't the best move if the looks on everyone's' faces were any indication.

"Yes thank you for noticing, a trait you seemed to have misplaced young man. Tell me, are your parents coming to pick you up soon?" Four teased.

"Oh I'd get that big head of yours out of the clouds before you take a fall, opps," he mimicked "too late I guess. Celery boy is better than you every day." Five grimaced.

"Please don't draw me into this narcissistic competition." But still the bickering continued as their voices grew louder and tempers grew shorter.

"You should've wiped out the Daleks when you had the chance you maniac! You could have avoided the whole damn war!" Nine shouted

"Oh will you be quiet you! What happen? Did the pretty princess over there swallow glass to turn into such a bitter angry man? My clothes are a disguise but yours show how ugly you truly are!" Six retorted.

"Disguise for what? Your dreadful personality? If you weren't so distracted by your clothes you could have saved Peri you half wit numbskull." Ten interrupted.

"Hey now therrrrrre everyone calm down. What are we fighting for? Can't we handle this as Doctors?" Seven countered.

"I do concur, we are the Doctor and we should be acting like it so if everyone would just..." Eight pleaded.

"Shut up Lord Byron, just because you didn't fight in the war doesn't mean I don't blame you for it! We're all responsible!" Nine accused.

"Oi, big ears! X-nay on the War-eh." Eleven hissed.

"Mmmhmm!" Though quiet, the sound of an older man clearing his throat caused all the Doctors to turn and find, well himself. The First, Second and Third Doctors stood there looking none too pleased at their future incarnations. The bickering Doctors had least at the sense to look ashamed.

"Now then, which one of you is the eldest?" The First asked giving his cane a light tap on the ground. The Eleventh Doctor slowly stepped forward and rocked awkwardly on his feet at the aggravated look his younger counterparts gave him. Honestly, they should know that he couldn't help the face.

"Oh for Rassilon's sake look at that, younger than Susan I'd bet. Oh no matter, no matter, will you tell me what in the name of sanity is happening, hmmm?" One demanded causing the other two Doctors to nod.

"Yes please enlighten us since you're clearly the most aged and experienced." Three drawled out sarcastically.

"Hmm, what's a boy got to say that we don't know?" Two huffed. Choosing to ignore thm, Eleven continued.

"We're not quite sure but somehow we all ended up in this time and place. I came across Ten who was-" he paused as if remembering something important. "Hang on, I came here alone but didn't you all come with companions?" He saw the other Doctors' eyes grow bright with understanding.

"Yeah, like I said before, I came with Donna" "and Rose" "Lucie..." "Ace is accompanying me currently" "Peri, wait what do you mean I could have saved P-" "I had Tegan and Turlough" " the savage Leela who-" "Miss Sarah Jane Smith" "What? But where did Jamie and Victoria go?"

One nodded at the string of names he did not know but someday would. "And I came with Steven and Dodo, yes I see your point young man, where did they go?" The Doctors suddenly looked around as if it would cause their companions to reappear. Seven took a few steps back away from the group.

"Yes, well I need to be finding Ace. I brought her here to let loose some old Nitro-9 and Rassilon knows what she'll do without prrroper supervision." He tipped his hat, "I look forward to meeting you all, well not particularly." Four smirked as he also turned and sauntered his own way.

"Yeah, same goes for Leela. I don't want to know what she's getting up to. Probably murder if I were to guess. Don't worry, I'll be sure to enjoy being an adult while it lasts. Goodbye, my dears." Nine huffed and spun on his heels as he stalked away.

"Forgot how unpleasant that one could be, reminds me too much of you all. Now I'm off to find my Rose, I swear if I see any of you again-"

"I should be going too," Five interrupted leaning forward to shake Ten and Eleven's hands. "Don't worry what they say, I'm sure you're all doing a cracking job. Have a lovely rest of your day." Ten smiled and returned the handshake enthusiastically.

"Yeah you see that's what I'm talking about! A true inspiration, now you sir, are the Doctor. My Doctor I guess if I had to pick a favorite." The two men smiled and wandered off together. Slowly the Doctors dispersed in their own directions, probably searching for their companions until only One and Eleven remained. Eleven tried to ignore One's rather penetrating stare and instead nervously tugged at his collar.

"You said you came here alone?" One began.

"For now," Eleven shrugged. "It's too dangerous to travel with humans for a long time. They get worn out and sometimes-sometimes bad things happen. It's better this way so I don't needlessly endanger lives." One pursed his lips before treating Eleven to a small smile and a light shoulder tap.

"Hmm so you are wiser than you look. Ho it's nice to know I look that good when my eyes are as old and troubled as yours are. So humor me old man, did we ever get around to fixing that old Chameleon Circuit?"

In a bar about 12 miles away

"I'm bored when's the Doctor going to get here? He promised us a pleasure planet but all I see around here is dirt." Tegan moaned sitting her head on the bar. Something had obviously gone astray as there were many, many people here looking for the Doctor but describing all sorts of different looking men.

One savage looking girl even described the first Doctor she had met, the scarf one, almost to a tee. She was busy arguing with a short teenager over explosives and Tegan was sure the place would be blown up in about 5 minutes. It didn't help that this obnoxious red head kept fawning over this Rose girl. Apparently she was important or something. Boy did she ever needed a drink.

A couple others were huddled in groups talking about their Doctors and what they were like but Tegan was just too upset for that kind of thing right now. All she wanted was for that Time Lord who couldn't tell time to get in here so she could give him a swift kick to the behind. She didn't even have Turlough to pass the time with as he was too busy chatting up some of the prettier girls. One girl was so scantily clad even Tegan was embarrassed. Ugh alien or not, he was still a man. She'd have cozied up to the handsome one in the kilt but the way that Victorian lady held onto him said he was off limits.

The sound of the door swinging open caught her attention as an older looking gentleman wandered in and opened his eyes wide in surprise as he saw them all. He muttered something to himself with a wry little smile on his face and took the seat next to her. He smiled sweetly and she realized that he wasn't nearly as old as he looked, just dirty and worn down like he'd been in a war or something. But there was an impish sparkle in her eyes that was terribly familiar... Oh lord it couldn't be.

"Excuse me Tegan," he began in a light voice. "I'm looking for the Doctor." Tegan smirked.

"Well, you've certainly come to the right place."

#doctor who #really should transfer some of FGtT to AO3 #theres some legit good stuff in there

7 notes · View notes

procit · 4 years

Text

Hair Mistakes (And How To Fix Them)

Therefore what exactly do you currently doing to you personally, now? In case 20 20's own hair styles are something to pass, you also are able to go one of two manners: military or cluttered. When some cuts prefer texture and grunge-style lengthy hair others ' are exactly about a sharp back and sides or even no-messing buzz cuts.

From trend months for some operating week, Here is a heads upon the most useful adult men's hairstyles to year.

The Textured Crop

Considering that the Terrible sausage pops nineties along with also the Acne-inducing E Mo side effects of this noughties, smart males have given fringe hair-cuts an extensive berth. Generally in the majority of scenarios that was wise hazard aversion. However this calendar year's large hitter about the front -- that the textured harvest -- is scarily exact nor anti social, only flattering for most of men.

The design, at Brief, is really a remix of this Short sides and back at which in fact the span in addition to works together gravity as opposed to contrary to it. "The cluttered cropped minimize works together your very own all-natural expansion designs," claims Robbie Burt in London's Sharps Barber and store. "It is most useful on people who have thick hair that's natural feel. You ought to request your barber for those makings of the tight and high however request loads of duration to become rendered top that ought to be trimmed for daring, sq feel "

The design is sold from That the woke-up-like-this faculty of hair dressing, Thus in the event that you have got a few thousand hairs outside of spot which could possibly become a very good matter. "Keeping this fashion will involve minimum fuss," says Burt. "By running out a matte adhesive throughout your palms and employing equally during your own hair you may cause a milder, undone look" If you should be more glistening Rick than bird nest, however, you are still permitted employ. "To make some thing having a bright, easier ending with a water-based pomade."

The under Cut Quiff

The quiff is your default option hairstyle of Teens armed with way too numerous hormones along with a lot of purchase hair solutions. This calendar year's variant isn't too try hard, yet. It finds that the quiff input the severe grown up hair-style stadium using a harshly contrasting under-cut along with also a end that awards tender weathered feel within sky-scraping stimulation.

Just before you consider that which Industrial strength hair merchandise may fasten your own hair right into spot, consider the trimming; it's going to make claiming this manner that a hell of lots simpler. "Request your barber to detach the sides out of top in clipper tier zero, developing a dull comparison in span," states Bradley Smith, innovative manager at Bradley Smith Hair Heathrow. "Afterward you're going to want a twist off throughout the throat and neck while still departing span towards the top along with your knee enables place to generate volume and texture at front"

People familiar with Trying to keep a quiff in place is going to learn that approach (plus also a hand that is constant ) is what. "To begin, towel-dry your own hair slightly moist then employ a pre-styling representative," states Smith. "Function with a dab of sea salt spray in your own hair most of the way into the roots, then subsequently divides your own hair fit, with a curved brush to make volume and texture. Adhere to it by running out a coin-sized quantity of clay in your own hair and make texture along with your own palms. To finish the appearance, work with an booster powder to greatly help set your own hair "

The Tapered Higher & Restricted

Are you in to prolonged hairstyles? Can not Be bothered to create your own hair? Do not desire to check to be an egg using individual capabilities? This calendar year's tapered spin to the tight and high looks up your road. This limited, very low care mode takes the buzz-cut's CBA mentality but leaves one something to play with up top.

The tight and high is really that a time-poor, Style-conscious timeless, however to the incorrect mind, it could possibly find yourself a touch overly Essential support. "To get a version of this standard back and sides request a high and tight in clipper shield two or one having a streamlined harvest on top," states Smith. "The cut needs to synthesize heritage but also a harshly textured and cut span towards shirt will steer clear modern; presume Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds."

The Majority of the artistry Of this fashion goes right down into a barber, therefore as soon as you have endured the embarrassing seat discussion, the tough part has ended (even though you are going to need to return often ). "Employ a spoonful of fiber glue to towel-dried own hair, doing work out back distributing the merchandise to make body weight and feel using an general natural however glowing appearance," states Smith.

The Man Bob

Ever since time immemoriallong, cluttered hair gets Been the conserve of rebels and also grungers. It is often considered being a garment which only sort of occurs to your person when dressing proceeds outside of this window. Using a little bit of TLC and elaborate scissor do the job though long guards won't will need to liquefy you personally as a soap dodger. Mid-shoulder-length hair that has slightly messed-up includes a great deal of possibility to accomplish the hallowed mid point between creating an energy and perhaps not. Turn into famous brands Timothée Chalamet and package Harrington as the goto guardians of this cluttered guy vaccinated.

Even though this Calendar Year's T-AKE has definitely Smartened up its action, avert such a thing overly eloquent; that may land you into ABBA tribute ring land. "This fashion may focus with people who have almost any depth or feel, the trick to setting it up is making certain you are requesting your barber for coats that match your own face form and hair feel," says Burt. "sturdy contours ought to be clipped in to the hair's outer levels to generate drop or flow within own hair, making certain the equilibrium and weight has been equally dispersed"

Pleasingly, that trimming Doesn't need the patience of the saint to style, so it might mainly be abandoned to its devices. "Permit the personality tender by natural means," says Burt. "You ought to utilize product or service though predicated upon the conclusion you are later; employ just a tiny salt spray to get a cluttered matte soft or effect wax to boost feel and curl."

The Buzz-cut

Customarily, the Buzz-cut was Already been short hand for rebellion versus'the individual' or perhaps a style of turning you to another quantity. Based upon your own perspective, whenever the clippers turn out, possibly your identity or compliance together with society is going to wind up about the ground. Perhaps not that it can not showcase your great appearances, however this is what -- you still want to truly have the characteristics to this particular.

The unhappy Truth of life is that we are not even all Blessed with proportioned heads. "ahead of obtaining a buzz, you feel that your face to get almost any lumps or lumps because these is going to undoubtedly be observable," states Smith. "I will suggest searching at the mirror and then imagine everything you'd appear to be having a buzz-cut and then inquire is that proper for me personally "

As Soon as You've obtained the most clear to really go Clean upward high, it really should not be an self-shave occupation together with all the hair clippers. The buzz Trimming could possibly be uniform in span however tiny variations in your own clippers' shield can Function as gap among Channing Tatum and Gollum. You will also Require a barber To clean the borders. And since it develops , do not believe you won't Require a Little item. "You also Might Wish to Bring some merchandise to Switch the feel, for example As a matte glue. But to get a glistening polished Expression, a pomade-based Item Is going to perform this secret," states Smith.

1 note · View note

visionofnoxus · 4 years

Note

☮ - for Swain to kill someone trying to verbally hurt Lillithe ❀ - to grab Lillithe by the jaw and force her to meet Swain’s gaze and be possessive~ (suggested setting: High command War Room meeting or High Class Social Event ) || ~♱💒🥀💒♱~ asked as @crucifix-and-the-rosary

// And here we go. I tried my hand at it. Hopefully you find it a nice read. I need to interract more with your muse to get a proper feel for her and Swain. Please do comment. Crucifix-and-the-rosary

It had been years since the last time Noxian High Command had truly assembled. It was rare nowadays, as the empire had withdrawn within itself with the ascension of the new Grand General some ten years ago. After Darkwill’s death, the ever expanding offensives in all directions had seized or at the very least been scaled down severely. Noxus had turned from raiding and conquest to instead solidifying it’s existing areas and building infrastructure that had fallen to ruin or had not even existed in the first place. The Trifarix had taken the highest executive power in the empire and it now mandated the progress in form, pace as well as who exactly was overseeing that particular project.

As such, this group of generals, admirals, warlords and most prominent people of political, commercial and social background rarely gathered en masse anymore. There were no projects so large and complicated, so multifaceted that the High Command would had been needed to be called into session. Which made it all the more intriguing that Grand General had now called for the assembly. Rumors were floating around the gathering’s purpose. Some spoke of a new attempt at the invasion of Ionia, that the Grand General desired to correct the mistakes of the past and bring the island nation finally to heel. Others said that Noxus desired to expand their holdings in Shurima, to destroy the fledgling empire of sand before it could reassert itself. But what of Demacia? And wasn’t this meeting obviously about the situation in Freljold? The most daring guesses were that the Grand General intended to slaughter the High Command and declare himself the Tyrant of Noxus. Rumors were aplenty and any theory one could come up with, someone else had already guessed while downing a tankard of ale.

On the day of the meeting, all those influential people who had the necessary pull arrived to the Immortal Bastion. Some arrived alone, others with hordes of retainers. They all climbed the countless staircases high into the gargantuan fortress’ depths, each group eventually reaching the enormous double doors leading into the High Command’s chamber. The doors were made of black iron, the craftsmanship alien to even the eyes of most talented smiths. The ominous slabs of metal seemed like they’d just been willed into the form of doors, with no help of hammer or fire. Flanking that door on both sides stood Trifarian Legionnaires, draped in cloaks of crimson and onyx colored cloth. Their helms concealed their faces, their weapons glimmered with arcane. Through these doors, passage was only for High Command, the retainers having to remain outside. As was always the case, some did not accept it at first. Personal safety, the need of an adviser, absolutely necessary have a scribe with them… Excuses were plenty. The guards were threatened, attempted to bribe, their identity was questioned. But none who were not of High Command entered. The few who truly did not understand the message were cut down without a second thought, their blood spilling on the dark marble floor.

The inside of the chamber was a large circular room with a grey marble floor. Four tall pillars, eerily similar to the doors in that they seemed to just be singular piece of black iron, reached far into the ceiling that could not be seen, the darkness lurking above the attendees. An enormous table made of smoothed granite circled the room’s edges in the shape of a horseshoe and a map depicting the whole world had been carved into the stone at the center of the chamber. High back chairs carved of onyx were placed around the table for the members to sit down on. There were not enough seats for all, not even third of the entirety of the members, but precious few dared to take a seat. It was a statement to sit down in that table. An assertion that you held the strength to keep it and deserved all the attention that the place around this table brought with it from some of the most dangerous individuals in all of Noxus.

Grand General sat at the center of the arch, his position naturally allowing him to survey the entirety of the room and everyone in it. Unsurprisingly Darius sat just few paces to his right, yet the left remained empty. No one moved to take the free seat though, for while there was no official seating order, everyone knew this chair was favored by the Matron of the Black Rose. And she was an individual nobody wanted on their bad side. Standing up, Swain drew the attention of every single soul in the room, the silvery haired man speaking with low voice, yet each word carried effortlessly around the room. He commanded respect with confidence, directing the crowd’s attention with the ease of a practiced orator as he explained Noxus’ current state and their future plans.

Lillithe stood silently at the back, listening to grand general’s voice and dutifully following with her eyes each time he pointed at the map somewhere. The dark clad woman fought to resist nervousness, her fingers switching between toying with her rosary or brushing against the embroidery of the front of her dress. Every now and then, when the Grand General halted his speech to let someone else bring forth their case, she felt the tiniest spark of fear, her eyes scanning crowd and hoping nobody would ask of her opinion. The fact of the matter was that her position as the High Priestess mandated her participation, but she wanted nothing to do with what was being discussed. Wars, troop numbers, natural or magical catastrophes. All she could hear was the death and misery for men, women and children of Noxus, as well as the rest of the world. The idea of actively contributing to that ruin’s creation was appalling to the woman. But should they give the order, she’d follow suit and beg for forgiveness before, during and after.

“And what of the Kindred’s hags? Couldn’t their matriarch just suck the enemy dry?” She blinked twice, her mind catching up on what had just been said. Turning to face the rude man, Lillithe saw a rough looking admiral, seated on the fringe of the table. There were marks of acidic burns marring his face and he might have been partially blinded judging from the milky white left eye. “Yes you, can’t you just drain ground itself if there is enough life in it?” The man motioned at the map, pointing the location. “And that place is just full of those freaks, the very soil and air feeding them. Why bother with mortars and such if we can just have her strut in there and turn the place into her own little garden of death? Reckon it’d go well with that garb”. While crudely worded and offensive, this proposal earned positive murmurs, Lilith feeling her legs start to tremble. It felt like she was standing on thin ice, her heels causing tiny fractures each passing second by simply being present. These people desired for her to fall into that icy death. No. They wanted her to become that icy death for others.

“I do not recall that location being on potential target list?” Swain’s silken voice cut through the crowd’s debate. Debate that had very quickly been moving towards unpleasant conclusion in the nun’s opinion. The admiral growled back at him boldly: “Yeah it isn’t. Nor was it when we went there the first time. The freaks kept supplying their troops through it anyhow and I had to go and try to deal with it while you were building your fancy trap and Duqual hunted some fishermen on the coast” the admiral said with bitterness and accusation in his voice. “And so you took some of lord Emystan’s zaunite weaponry and decided to try and bomb the village” Swain concluded, his voice dangerously soft, yet lacking any true venom for now. “Marines should fight on water” came the gruff voice of Darius. He’d not been present but knew enough of the situation. And the outcome of the operation could easily be read from admiral’s burn face. “You want revenge. And you wouldn’t even do it yourself” He concluded, the challenge evident in his voice.

But the admiral wasn’t about to let his chance go to waste and the earlier reactions of the crowd must had emboldened him. “This ain’t about revenge Darius! Tis’ bout the fact that this wench” The sailor stood up, pointing an accusing finger at Lillithe who frowned, listening with dread on what might come next. “Has can suck that place drier than a sand dune. We could massacre our enemies with barely any losses. But because she’s part of some damn cult worshiping a bow wielding pillowcase, we don’ do shit”. Everyone could see the Hand of Noxus draw breath, ready to reply in just as crude language, but a motion of hand from Swain cut his action. “I see… Lady Lillithe, would you please come closer?” He asked, the woman blinking few times before nodding. “Of course, general Swain”. For once she felt horrible about her choice of shoes, each click of the heels echoing in the otherwise silent chamber as the tall woman approached her liege, the man standing up from his seat to meet her.

Stopping in front of the man, Lillithe nervously clasped her hands together in front of her, staring straight at the general’s eyes, noting how bronze shade of his irises gave way for unnatural crimson. “I hope you pardon me for laying a hand on you, my lady” He apologized, bringing a hand up to cup the side of her face, the warm, rough fingers meeting with her smooth and cool skin. In almost intimate manner, the grand general moved his fingers to hold her chin, staring intently into her eyes. And then she felt him reach into her mind, soft but determined grip just like his hand’s, tapping into her mind. “Could admiral’s proposal theoretically be carried out?” Swain asked. “Could you drain the life out of the air and soil, as it is constantly being all connected through magic?” His voice was devoid of emotion, not giving away his opinion on the matter. With this prod, she considered the proposal and her mind suddenly took over, conjuring images of death. Nature, animals, the very earth itself dying as she took from it the life, the all connecting magic of the place dooming it to decay as the magic allowed her reach far beyond her normal capacity. Lillithe’s shoulders shook, her lip trembled as she witnessed the dreamlike image flashing in her eyes, her own personal nightmare. And then it was gone, the warm hand of the Grand General moving to cup her cheek again, his free hand wiping away her tears that she’d not even felt forming up. “I see. Thank you. And once more, apologies”.

Swallowing down the clump in her throat, the nun shook her head. “There is nothing to forgive, Grand General. All is for Noxus”. Removing his hand, the man offered tiniest of smiles to her. “An admirable answer, my lady”. With that, he turned around, returning to his seat. Turning his attention to the awaiting admiral, Swain shook his head. “The plan is not feasible. There are too many risks and variables” He stated, a wave of relief washing over the Matriarch. “Nonsense Swain! There’s always risks in war. No pain, no gain! And what risk exactly is there? This witch” The man made an angry motion towards Lillithe. “Is fooling you and..”. “I have made my mind, admiral. And you’ve thrown enough filth around for now” Swain interrupted, his voice velvet smooth but eyes as cold as Freljold’s winds. “What a load of bull! What are you afraid of? That me and my men can’t keep our hands of the pious sister here? Hah!” The Admiral shouted, anger evident in his face at the prospect of not getting his way. “Don’t worry. I promise me and my men don’t touch the witch, we’ll walk this corset clad hag into the valley and let her drain those freaks drier than her whole congregation after mass!”.

Those were the last words the admiral ever said, as a an arcing crimson bolt of lightning struck him the following second, frying the man alive in an instant. The smoking corpse fell against the table, collapsing sideways onto the floor. The high backed chair made of onyx-like material showed no signs of damage though, the seat as if it had been vacant all along. “Enough” Swain ordered to the now deceased, lowering his left hand back on the table, pulling on a long leather glove to cover the crimson appendage. “The target is not a priority. We can not be sure the ability would work as suggested and sending the Matriarch of the Holy Order of Kindred to an active warzone that we do not control is asking for riots across the empire”. The Grand General let his eyes scan the High Command’s members, daring someone else to challenge him. As no such fool presented themselves, he turned back to look at the map. “Now then…”.

#crucifix-and-the-rosary #hopefully you like it #papa burd storytimes #i think it became quite obvious what exactly was being planned tho :P

4 notes · View notes

mittensmorgul · 5 years

Text

So can we talk about this Monster of the Week for a minute?

The white Baby Boomer guy with a boner for how wonderful things were back in the Good Old Days? Who thought inflicting his version of happiness onto everyone else would make HIM happy after his wife died and left him essentially alone and bitter and so averse to any sort of change that he couldn’t even accommodate cell phones into his picture of happiness?

And then rather than allow people who don’t want to live this version of Forced Happiness to just... leave to do their own thing, he literally kills them by exploding their heads with his mind?

Because dude, I know people who think this sort of scenario would constitute happiness. And it’s HORRIFYING.

I mean, of course on Supernatural, any version of this sort of “paradise” is horrifying. All free will stripped away and everyone forced into compliance. This had a very soft, Saturday Evening Post sort of Big Brother vibe going. And it’s no less horrifying for being “picturesque” rather than brutalist.

Because were any of those other people truly happy there? Ripped from their regular lives as if they were all merely players on Chip Harrington’s personal stage, and entirely unaware of the fact, to boot. Their identities were stripped away and replaced, and they were forced into roles like puppets.

I wonder how many other Justin Smiths there were before Sam, and the previous one whose head exploded when he remembered his previous life and tried to run away. There could’ve been dozens, or hundreds, all slotted into the role with a thought and their entire previous lives effectively deleted.

There is so much to unpack here. This is the point in this post where I kinda... start rambling. But I want to note down some important points.

HAPPINESS. And Enforced Happiness, at that. This entire concept reminded me of ever mention of “Paradise” ever on this show, going back to 4.22 and that scene I have quoted over and over that drives Cas to his first true act of rebellion against Heaven.

But also going back to 12.19, and the vision that lured Cas into Jack’s service. Jack showed him “Paradise.” And short of being dead and in Heaven, reliving your greatest hits, paradise like that is just... impossible on a planetary scale without this level of surrender of free will. Because one person’s “paradise” is everyone else’s horror. I personally know people I could NEVER share anything resembling “paradise” with, because their idea of happiness is just so far away from mine. But this is the reality of what it would look like. Not necessarily the 1950′s vibe and the “h-e-doublehockeysticks” sort of cursing, or the same song on repeat all over town, or the milkshake shop being the center of town life... but this level of brain-scrubbing being required to achieve any sort of consensus on Happiness.

And this is so painfully relevant for Sam. He’s run away from hunting several times over the years, and just wanted to be “normal” for the longest time. He wanted to have a normal family, maybe a wife and a nice house, and to never even THINK about the horrors in his past. And here he finally got it, but in order to do so he had to think he was Justin Smith. He himself couldn’t even remember his family or his past or his home. And he DOES think of the bunker as his home, even if those thoughts are painfully tinged with guilt and blood right now. At least they’re real.

And for Cas? Being the only one who couldn’t be touched by this Happiness, both because of his identity as an Angel and because of the dark shadow cast across his life by his deal with the Empty Entity. How much of his inability to be manipulated by Chip’s psychic powers was due to his being an angel, and how much was due to his deliberate choice not to allow himself to feel happiness?

Granted, yes, this was a completely fake form of happiness, and his deal is predicated on feeling genuinely happy, but it’s an interesting thought exercise to wonder just how much he’s avoiding anything even close to happiness right now.

Cas spent the better part of the episode frustratingly trying to snap Sam out of it. I think if nothing else, Cas does know what might make him truly happy, and that 1950′s aesthetic might be “soothing” when he picks up an old copy of the Saturday Evening Post while everyone else is asleep in the bunker, but “soothed” is not the same as “happy.” And he knew that this was not Sam’s idea of happiness, either. Yet nothing he did could break the spell’s hold over Sam directly, so it was up to Cas to find the source and break it that way.

He was close with his reasoning that it was Sunny Harrington (and heck, Chip even named his daughter something cheerfully bright), and she was immune to the creepy town vibe because she’d also inherited her father’s ability to influence other people. She was just unwilling to use it, while also feeling guilted into letting her father do this to other people. Even when she’d fallen in love with someone, she stayed behind with her father both to protect him and out of this sense of duty to keep her father happy, while her lover fled (and eventually died for the crime of trying to leave town).

And that “duty to father” taking precedence over what Sunny would’ve chosen for herself? Yeah, that may have been a kinda strong theme in Supernatural over the years.

Sunny did finally use her gift, though, even as she was both relieved and horrified by it, locking her father inside his own mind where he could live out his happy little fantasy life forever, but without hurting anyone else.

Was anyone else reminded of good old Fred Jones from 8.08? Because I was.

But Chip did eventually get his Paradise. Catatonic in this world, but perfectly happy inside his own mind. Almost like Heaven, yes? Short of dying and ending up in heaven, that’s about as close to paradise as you can get on Earth.

What a horrifying monster.

#spn s14 spoilers #spn 14.15 #spn 12.19 #spn 8.08 #spn monsters #that's what free will is

255 notes · View notes

scotianostra · 5 years

Photo

On July 11th 1274 Robert the Bruce was born in Turnberry Castle, Ayrshire.

I don't like repeating the same old story, especially on posts like this, The Bruce turns up so often in my posts that it isn't any wonder he is part of the Scottish Psyche. In 2006 Robert the Bruce came third in a poll of ‘most important Scots’, behind William Wallace and Robert Burns. Leaving aside what that says about the nation that produced, among others, David Hume and Adam Smith, Alexander Fleming and John Logie Baird, there can be no doubt that a king that ruled 700 years ago is still very much remembered by Scots today and, even more pertinently, that his life and achievements are deemed to be profoundly influential. It is hard to imagine Edward III or Henry V of England being similarly admired.

Not a lot is known about Robert's early life so unfortunately I do end up repeating parts of his life.....

Looking into how he came to be our Monarch, Bruce’s grandfather had come off second best in 1292 to a rival claimant to the Scottish throne, John Balliol, who then reigned for four years until Edward I deprived him of his kingship in 1296. John Comyn of Badenoch, as Balliol’s nephew, had both an arguably better claim by blood and certainly by power, influence and track record than Robert Bruce, for his own ambitions, whether it be just to become King, or for the sake of ridding Scotland of Edwards army Robert had to ‘deal’ with his rival before seeking the throne for himself.

In this fracturing and fevered environment, the would-be king turned to Bishop Robert Wishart of Glasgow, a man who had shown himself consistently motivated since the 1280s by a desire to keep Scotland intact and independent (though he, like most Scots, had on occasions been forced to acknowledge King Edward as ruler of the northern kingdom). We do not know that Bishop Wishart made Bruce ‘swear upon the Holy Gospels and the tomb of St Kentigern’ to pursue the cause of Scottish independence with his life, if necessary. Equally, no chronicler at the time mentions the introduction of elements of sacramental kingship that the Scots had long sought from the pope but been denied thanks to English claims of overlordship on the day that Bruce finally did become king. If you've seen the new film about The Bruce, you will know it is all about the man himself, rather than the historical facts in his reign, and that's why I liked it, I mean come on, we ALL know the story by now and if you don't what have you been doing for the past few years as you haven't been reading my posts! Robert Bruce, was a man possessed with the ability to think laterally and effectively on almost every issue but saddled by his own hand with one of the most dodgy starts to a successful reign as any in history. Some say he learned to think this way after observing William Wallace, I also like to think this, but he had enough savvy himself to be his own man.

The problem with looking at Scotland in those heady days is that, unlike England, we hardly wrote anything down, Edward and his constant war waging meant he had to raise money for these attacks on Scotland and Wales beforehand, so the English always had that extra layer of bureaucracy, while historians can look at some of their records to glean information about Scotland, we mainly have to look at Chroniclers, like Lanecrost, or the likes of Blind Harry, the author of "he Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace" And John Barbour who wrote "The Brus". In the first case Harry wrote his epic over 150 years after William Wallace's murder. At least Barbour was living in an age where The Bruce was alive, albeit for nine of the years, but events and stories were still fresh and must have been repeated often about our Kings heroics in unting Scotland and vanquishing the English. But Barbour was never going to write anything negative about Bruce, it was Robert II, the first of the Stewart line, that asked Barbour to write the poem, it was always going to be a great propaganda exercise.

Okay let's go back a wee bit, there has been some debate about where Bruce was born, some mischief makers even suggest he was not born at Turnberry, after all we have no diminutive proof, but at Writtle in deepest Essex. The Bruce family owned swathes of land down south, and there is no doubt the young Robert would have spent time in the depths of the English royal courts, he was not uncouth Scottish brute, he grew up in a world of fluid identities, no doubt speaking a number of languages, and with easy access to both the overtly powerful and impressively formal English court as well as the highly personal and personable style of kingship still preferred in Scotland.

One of the things Robert the Bruce may very well have learned from the English and used most notably was the commandeering of noble seals to be attached to documents of state in order to present a veneer of unity to the outside world, this is most notable in the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath, it has been argued he took this inspiration from King Edwards, Ragman Rolls, Edward I’s large-scale demand for Scottish seals to acknowledge his right to rule Scotland in 1296. After Bannockburn and the Declaration of Arbroath King Robert’s genius as a lawmaker and diplomat to rival his undoubted skill as a military leader has also been admired, he had a fine line to tread, while he had gained the upper hand against Edward II's army, many Scots fought against him that day, or at very least supported the English. Even after his death some of those families on the losing side that would come back to try and regain lands and titles from the second Bruce monarch, his son King David II.

Pics are the scant remains of Turnberry Castle, and statues at Stirling, Bannockburn and Aberdeen.

#scotlnad #scottish #Robert the Bruce #History

35 notes · View notes

celticnoise · 4 years

Link

DAVIE HAY was in the vanguard as Celtic attempted to halt the 10-in-a-row attempt from Walter Smith’s outfit from across the city.

It was imperative the Hoops imposed themselves again as the best team in the country – and they turned their attention to a Dutchman in their hour of need.

It was a massive challenge for Wim Jansen as he set about putting together a jigsaw of tried and trusted players with an influx of new signings.

Here, in another CQN EXCLUSIVE extract from Davie Hay’s outspoken autobiography, ‘The Quiet Assassin’, co-authored by Alex Gordon, the Celtic legend takes us behind the scenes of a momentous season.

WIM JANSEN had joined the club in July 1997 and Murdo MacLeod, who had been dismissed as manager of Partick Thistle the previous season, came in shortly afterwards as his assistant.

It was around this time that I realised Wim could be good for the club. He was a bit of an unknown and his job prior to joining Celtic was in Japan with Hiroshima. The fans waited to see how the club would react to being turned upside down. Wim and I were busy in the summer as the team went through a massive shake-up. July was a bit hectic on the transfer front.

Striker Darren Jackson arrived from Hibs for £1.5million, Scottish international midfielder Craig Burley cost £2.5million from Chelsea, French left-back Stephane Mahe joined from Rennes for £500,000 and goalkeeper Jonathan Gould was a £200,000 snip from Bradford City. Henrik Larsson, of course, was already in place.

All eyes were on the kick-off against Hibs at Easter Road on 3 August 1997 for the opening day of the league season and, hopefully, the beginning of a glorious new era for the club. Wim sent out this team: Gordon Marshall; Tommy Boyd, Malky Mackay, Alan Stubbs and Tosh McKinlay; Jackie McNamara, Simon Donnelly, Craig Burley and Andreas Thom; Darren Jackson and Tommy Johnson. Henrik Larsson was on the substitutes’ bench, but he would play a major role in the outcome of the game.

It was deadlocked at 1-1 when Wim introduced Henrik to the expectant Celtic fans. The Swede set up the winner with an inch-perfect pass, but, alas, the ball went straight to my former St.Mirren player Chic Charnley. Everyone knew Chic had a sweet left foot and he didn’t hesitate to use it as he ran onto the loose ball and first-timed a ferocious 20-yarder low past Marshall. That was the winning goal. It wasn’t quite the start we were looking for from Henrik or from Celtic, for that matter.

How would Wim react? He immediately displayed a ruthless streak and axed keeper Marshall and he never played again for the club. Jonathan Gould got the nod and he made his debut in front of over 45,000 fans at Celtic Park the following week. Wim showed great reassurance in Henrik and played him in the No.7 shirt that afternoon. Unfortunately, the result was identical to the previous week with the Fifers going home with the points.

IT TAKES TWO…manager Wim Jansen and club owner Fergus McCann on the day of the Dutchman’s arrival.

A rather unkind headline emerged in a newspaper that had a former player stating Wim had been the worst thing to hit Hiroshima since the Atomic Bomb. No-one was laughing, especially our manager who would not be sidetracked from the task at hand. His determination was more than commendable. You only get one chance to make a first impression and two successive defeats didn’t please the Celtic support.

Thankfully, there were signs of things to come the following week when Henrik scored his first goal for the club in a 2-0 victory over St.Johnstone in Perth. As usual, the Swede did things in style with a flying header that almost ripped a hole in the net. Darren Jackson got his first goal, too, and we were on the board. The signings continued with Danish international centre-back Marc Rieper arriving in a £1.8million deal from West Ham in September. He made his debut only days afterwards in a close-fought 3-2 triumph over Motherwell at Fir Park where Craig Burley claimed two, his first league goals for the club.

It was early days, but it looked as though Wim’s jigsaw puzzle was coming together. He was still looking for a bit of extra quality in the middle of the park and that was provided by Paul Lambert when he joined for £1.75million from Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund in November. He had helped the Germans win the Champions League the previous season, beating Juventus 3-1, and he was a first class acquisition. Again, like Mo Johnston all those years before him, he didn’t take a lot of persuading to put pen to paper.

Following the home defeat from Dunfermline in the second game of the campaign, Celtic had racked up eight successive victories. That came to a halt at Ibrox on on 8 November when Paul Lambert made his Celtic debut as a substitute. The team played well, but couldn’t convert their chances and were undone by a Richard Gough goal. A crowd of 47,464 turned out for the following game at Parkhead against Motherwell and were as baffled as anyone as the Fir Park side emerged with a 2-0 victory. That wasn’t in the script. Four days later 49,427 were in attendance in the east end of Glasgow to see a late header from Alan Stubbs give Celtic a 1-1 draw with Rangers. That was to turn out to be an extremely vital point at the end of the day.

Three games and no wins. Were the cracks beginning to show? How would Wim cope with the strain? I used to have a cup of tea with Wim in his office most mornings and I have to say I was hugely impressed by his single-minded attitude. He was utterly convinced that things would come together. We had to keep our focus. The fans were certainly showing their support for the Dutchman. Next up at Parkhead were Dundee United and 48,200 rolled in for the third consecutive home game. A total of 145,091 had turned out over that period. The supporters were backing the revolution. Henrik hit two against the Tannadice men to take his league tally to double figures. He was emerging as a formidable frontman with the happy knack of putting the ball in the opposition’s net.

That was down to a change in his role by Wim. He could see he would be more effective inside and his days of playing on the wing were over.

That was demonstrated once again the following Sunday, 30 November, when the Swede was on target again as Celtic lifted the League Cip – then under the guise of Coca-Cola Cup – by defeating Dundee United for the second successive game. This time it was 3-0 at Ibrox and Marc Rieper and Craig Burley were the other goalscorers while a crowd of 49,035 watched the enthralling action. It was the first time the club had won this trophy in fifteen long years.

READ ALL ABOUT IT…Davie Hay and his co-author Alex Gordon.

It was a bit of a breakthrough for Wim because, after only three months in charge, he had given the supporters some tangible success. He put out this team: Jonathan Gould; Tommy Boyd, Marc Rieper, Alan Stubbs and Stephane Mahe; Jackie McNamara, Craig Burley, Morten Wieghorst and Regi Blinker; Andreas Thom and Henrik Larsson. Enrico Annoni, bought from Roma by Tommy Burns the previous season, Simon Donnelly and Paul Lambert came on as second-half substitutes with McNamara, Thom and Blinker making way. Wim was doing his best to keep everyone involved. Exciting – and dramatic – months were ahead. They were certainly dramatic for me!

Around this time I was told of a Norwegian striker who was making a bit of a name for himself, Harald Brattbakk. He played for Rosenborg and I decided to have a look at him. I had seen footage of him playing against Real Madrid in a Champions League match and I was impressed. However, it is always good to check out the players in the flesh. Agents were unlikely to provide you with a video of their clients skying the ball over the bar from two yards, were they? All the good bits were on tape and the rest were left on the cutting room floor.

So, off I went to see Harald in action for myself. I detected he liked to come in from the left and hit right foot shots at goal. He got a lot of goals in this manner and I reckoned he could provide an x-factor at Celtic. He was something different, not a big hitman who would put himself about. He was actually quite slight and, off the pitch, wearing his spectacles, he looked like an accountant. I decided he was worth a chance and the club prepared to shell out £2million for him to become the eighth player signed by the club that season. Ironically, I lost my job a week or so before the signing was complete.

The fans continued to follow in their thousands and Brattbakk admitted he ‘was blown away’ by the atmosphere when he made his first appearance as a substitute in front of 49,806 fans in the 1-0 win over Hearts on 13 December. Craig Burley, beginning to strike a nice partnership with Paul Lambert in the middle of the park, was the goalscorer.

The fact that Burley and Lambert were beginning to be a perfect foil for each other was emphasised three games later when they both scored the important goals that saw Rangers defeated 2-0 at Parkhead, the first time we had won the New Year fixture in ten years.

Craig got the opener with a neat angled shot low past the stranded Andy Goram and Lambert’s second effort was Goal of the Century material. Goram pulled off a magnificent save from a rasping Darren Jackson drive, but the ball was worked back to the inrushing Lambert who connected perfectly from about twenty-five yards and his unstoppable first-timer raged high into the net.

There was now a genuine belief about the place that Celtic could win their first league title in a decade. What a difference to the glum, dismal outlook at the start of the campaign when the first two games were lost to Hibs and Dunfermline.

It was just a pity I would not be around at the end to participate in the championship celebrations.

WATCH THIS SPACE! CQN will be bringing you some more exciting revelations from Hoops icon Davie Hay in the forthcoming weeks. Don’t miss them!

https://ift.tt/2Ull4TL

#CelticNoise #Celtic #CelticFC #CelticQuickNews

1 note · View note