been thinking a lot about what I think happened to c!BBH post-egg finale

waayy to classic but having to share a bed while they were 'just friends' ? Yk where they actually like each other but too shy ore prideful? MAYBE WITH MEGUMI cu he's my our pretty boy ANY ANY OTHER CHARACTER YOU WANT

THANK YOU THANK YOU I LOVE YOUR WRITING

Okay, that escalated quickly. This might be a classic, but I simply love the idea! I added a little twist to each character so it isn’t always the same. I’m thinking about writing this for every character, so let me know if you’d want to read that. Hope you enjoy <3

JJK men sharing a bed with (y/n)

Pairing: Megumi x reader; Nanami x reader; Yuta x reader

Word Count: 3k

Notes: Part ll (Gojo sharing a bed with (y/n) at a love hotel

Part lll (Toji, Geto, Haibara, Choso)

Megumi Fushiguro

You hated big parties. To be honest, you hated every kind of party, although it’s comforting that Megumi is here too. A glimpse into his grumpy but forbidden stunning face is enough to perceive the fact that he dislikes it here as much as you do.

“I don’t know why I’m even here. How did she manage to pull us with her?”, Megumi grumbles, arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Well, I guess Nobara can be quite persuasive”, you remark while watching Yuji play twister with a screwed up face.

You sign. The music blasts so loud that it threatens to rip your eardrum apart, your head began to ache the minute you stepped into this big house. Who lives here anyway? It doesn’t matter. If you don’t come out of here within the next few minutes, you’re going to throw up on the expensive looking carpet in front of you.

“Hey (y/n), are you alright? You look quite pale”, Megumi comments while eyeing you intensely.

Fuck. Your heart hammers against your ribcage. He is so close to you that you can take in the sight of his gorgeous face in great detail, only one look at his lips is enough to change the color of your face into deep red.  

“To be honest, I don’t feel so good. This is just too much for me I guess”, you whimper, eyes glued to the ground in a despairing attempt to stop yourself from staring at him so ruthlessly.

“Why didn’t you say something sooner? Come with me.”

He grabs your hand and pulls you with him, through the endless crowd of people, the blasting music and stinging scent of alcohol. Is he…really holding your hand? He’s touching you. Megumi Fushiguro is really touching you. You feel like flying and drowning at the same time, tired while being wide awake. Of course he touched you from time to time, after all he is your training partner mostly. But tender contact like this is very rare. You know this is actually your fault, given the fact how shy you act around him. But something about Megumi Fushiguro just makes your heart skip a beat and turns your senses upside down. Maybe you will tell him some day. Maybe…

“Nobara, is there a place where (y/n) and I can rest? She doesn’t feel well”, Megumi literally barks at her.

“Um, I think there’s a guestroom down the hall on the right. It’s a little quieter there I guess.”

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he turns on his heels, your hand still intertwined with his own, and dashes down the hallway.

“Finally”, he mutters and opens the door to a small but cute guestroom.

You close the door behind you and take a deep breath. Finally no loud music, drunk people and scent of alcohol that stings in the air. Megumi flops onto the bed, gaze set upon you.

“What are you waiting for? I thought you don’t feel well, lay down.”

Your eyes widen. There is only one bed in this room and he’s lying on top of it. Could you possibly…lay beside him? It would be big enough to fit you both, but with very little space. This means you are forced to touch each other, even if only your skin brushes against his. Your head turns pink all over again, eyes pressed closed to get the image of him holding you in his arms until you slowly drift off to sleep out of your dirty mind.

“B-but there’s only o-one bed”, you stutter.

“So what? It’s big enough to fit us both. Come here.”

He pats the soft mattress beside him invitingly. Can you really do this? It seems like there’s no other possibility anyways, so…

You let your worn-out body fall next to him, arms slightly brushing against his. It feels so good to finally breathe and to rest your head a little. You curse yourself for coming her in the first place even though you know well enough that you absolutely hate big and loud parties.

The reason for you being here lays right beside you, though.

“Are you feeling better? Maybe I can get you a glass of water or-“

“No”, you interrupt him.

“I’m absolutely fine, thank you.”

“You look a little red, almost as if you have fever. Are you really feeling alright, (y/n)?”

He places his hand on your forehead and you swear you can see the sparks that evaporate from your skin the second he touches you. You wish you could tell him how you feel, that you want to stay with him like this forever, but you are too shy to even admit your feelings to yourself. Megumi is a friend, a colleague. Nothing else, right?

“Let’s just rest a little, okay? Maybe you’ll feel better after a good nap.”

“Do you really think we can just…sleep here?”, you question.

“Sure, why not? It’s a guestroom with a bed in it”, Megumi replies dryly and shrugs.

“Only one bed though”, you blurt out.

Megumi shifts his weight beside you and now faces you completely.

“Is this a problem for you? I can go if you’re uncomfortable.”

“No I’m not! You’re not the problem here! It’s just…”

You can’t find the words. In fact, you feel like your whole head is empty.

“Let’s just nap, shall we? We can talk about this tomorrow when you’re feeling better”, Megumi suggests.

You simply nod and turn to the order side, heart still racing inside of your chest. Maybe a little sleep wouldn’t hurt after all…

______________________________________________________________

“Quiet Itadori, (y/n) and Megumi are in there.”

“ALONE!?”, Yuji cries out.

Nobara rolls her eyes and hits him roughly.

“How dumb are you actually? Shut the fuck up, idiot. We need to be quiet.”

Slowly, she opens the door to the dark room. There you both lay, bodies intertwined with each, your steady breath being the only sound that fills the rooms.

“They’re cuddling!”, Yuji screams and turns on the lights before Nobara is able to stop him.

“What the hell?”, Megumi’s sleep drunken voice mutters.

You open your eyes and blink against the harsh light that invades the whole room. What time is it? Why do you feel so warm and cozy? Did you still get home somehow? Oh, that delicious smell that tingles your nose. It reminds you of…

MEGUMI.

Megumi’s hands are wrapped around your waist, his broad chest pressed against your back. Your eyes widen, suddenly your body feels on fire. And even worse, Nobara and Yuji stand in the doorframe and stare at you with their mouths wide open.

“Did I miss something?”, Yuji cries out.

“We just shared a bed. You’re embarrassing me in front of (y/n)”, Megumi mumbles, his hands still resting still against your body.

“Hey, you owe us an explanation! You never told us there’s something between you both!”, Nobara speaks up, her finger pointing directly into Megumi’s face.

“So sorry about that”, he whispers into your ear, his warm breath against your ear sending shivers down your spine.

“N-no p-problem.”

Your voice isn’t more than a fade whisper, still completely in shock by the fact that you are held by Megumi Fushiguro. In presence of his friends. In. A. Bed.

Nanami Kento

You toss and turn in your sleep. How many nightmares did you have this week? You lost count. Over and over you repeat Haibara’s death in your head and the way you just stood there and didn’t do anything about it. That was over 10 years ago, but the death stare in his eyes still haunts you to this day late at night.

Your whole body is covered in ice cold sweat, whimpers escape your mouth as you desperately try to shake away the scorching pain that repeats the second time around.

“Why are you just standing there, do something (y/n)!”, Nanami’s voice screams at you.

It isn’t true. Nanami never raised his voice at you like that.

“You are absolutely useless. Do you really call yourself a jujutsu sorcerer? You should have died in his place.”

“N-no”, you mutter, shaking your head over and over again.

Nanami is a light sleeper anyway, but the sound of your whimpers and silent screams wake him up immediately. He sits up in bed, feet carrying him automatically to your doorstep. It isn’t a secret to him anymore that you are plagued by nightmares since the incident with Haibara. It always feels like a knife in his throat to see you this broken after so many years.

“(y/n)”, he softly whispers.

There you lay, completely covered in sweat, body shaking uncontrollably while you sob in your sleep. He kneels down next to your trembling frame, gently caressing your face with his thumb. God, why do you have to suffer like this? It isn’t fair that you have to feel so miserable because of some fucking curses. You don’t deserve the pain that dreadful day caused you.

“It’s just a dream, (y/n). Wake up, I’m here”, he speaks into the unforgiving darkness of night.

“Nanami, I-…so s-sorry…All my fault…”, you mumble, tears streaming down your disturbed face in a river.

His heart clenches. What are you dreaming about? Nanami’s grip tightens around your shoulders, softly shaking you in a frantic attempt to wake you up.

“Hey, none of this is real. I’m here, (y/n).”

Your eyes snap open and dart around with no aim. Your rushed and sharp breathes ring through your ears, heart hammering against your ribcage.

“There you are”, a familiar voice next to you comments.

“Nanami”, you breathe out.

It was just a dream. All of the things he said, the things you saw over and over again weren’t real.

“Fuck, I’m sorry”, you mutter and bury your face in your hands.

Was he here the whole time? Your cheeks feel puffy and soaked and tears, embarrassment consumes you entirely. How much you hate it when he sees you like this, vulnerable and weak. It’s not the first time that Nanami puzzles you back together after a nightmare.

“Don’t be, come here.”

His strong arms embrace you in an instant and slowly but surely push your nightmares away.

“What was it this time?”

“It’s like my brain wants me to think that you hate me I guess”, you mutter into his arms while holding onto his shoulders for dear life.

This situation is so common that you lost count on how many times he visited you already over the last few years. The second you open your eyes, you stare into his brown orbs that make your world whole again. Since the day Haibara lost his life. Since the day your nights turned into nightmares.

“But I’m right here and I’m telling you that I don’t hate you at all.”

You let out a silent laugh. Oh, how much you hoped this would come to an end. You aren’t even able to remember the last night with proper sleep.

“Would you mind staying here for a while?”, you shyly request, avoiding eye contact.

“Scoot over.”

Your back rests against the cold wall while he wraps one arm around your shoulder and places your head on his chest. The way his heart beats steady against your ear seems to calm you down immediately, almost therapeutic.

“I hope you don’t mind having so little room. I’m slightly taller than you I’m afraid”, he murmurs, gently stroking your back.

“I’m the one who should ask you that. After all, I woke you up and now force you to stay with me”, you reply with a nervous grin.

“Wouldn’t be a problem to put in some ear plugs or leave you alone. Come on, (y/n). I’m here because I want to be and not because you force me to. You are my friend, I hate to see you like this and I’ll do anything I can to make you feel at least a little better.

You bury your head in his soft t-shirt and hold onto him a little tighter. How do you deserve that this great man is lying next to you in your very own bed night after night? You really don’t know. All you hope is that it doesn’t stop though. Maybe, just maybe he will someday stay here with you forever…

Yuta Okkotsu

“Are you alright (y/n)?”, Yuta’s worried voice shouts over the blizzard that mercilessly haunts both of you this late at night.

You feel like dying. Hands and feet? No more feeling. Your nose? Running like a river while being numb at the same time. Your limbs feel like they’ll fall off any given minute while you want nothing more than a warm bed, a cup of tea and to watch some Netflix. How the hell did you end up in this living hell? Oh right, that stupid mission. Well, at least Yuta is with you. Otherwise you would have gave up already.

“Actually no. Everything just hurts”, you choke out.

Yuta takes you in his arm, hand covering your face from the unforgiving whipping of the wind.

“I know this is rough, but we have to hold on for a little longer. Gojo-sensei told me that the cabin is only a few minutes away”, Yuta assures you.

“He also told us to bring bathing suits with us…”, you grumble.

Do you have any other choice than to rely on Gojo’s word and Yuta’s sense of direction? Absolutely not. Your feet carry you on their own trough the snowy street, eyes glued to the ground underneath while you can’t shake the comfortable feeling of Yuta holding you in his arm away. God, let this hell end. Otherwise you’re really not sure if you’ll stay conscious within the next hour.

“There it is!”, Yuta announces.

Your eyes dart up. The last house of the street, rather a small cottage to be exact.

“That doesn’t look inhabited at all. Are you sure this is the right house?”

“We’ll have to find out! And to be honest, do we have another choice? I don’t want to spend another minute outside if I’m being honest”, Yuta replies while scratching the back of his head.

Fair enough. You follow him to the doorstep and watch him turn the key in the lock. At this point it wouldn’t be a surprise if the door doesn’t open, but it does. You enter the dark cabin.

“It’s still fucking cold”, you hiss through gritted teeth.

“Let’s see if there are some blankets or even better a heater.”

You can’t help but stare at the boy next to you. A few months ago he was so shy and unsure about himself. But now it seems like his confidence never wavers as well as his cool head. At the moment he’s definitely the more collected one.

You do as he told you, searched the tiny cabin for a heater only to find a small bed and one single blanket.

“It’s not much but it’s more than nothing. Go ahead, you can have the bed and blanket.”

“That’s completely out of question, Yuta. Your lips are totally blue and your whole body shivers. I’m not taking that blanket alone”, you reply, shaking your head violently.

But what is the solution, then?

“You can have it.”

After all, Yuta is the one who guided you here. You’ll get through this night somehow.

“I have an idea, but it might sound dumb…”, he begins, voice showing no sight of his new grown poise.

“Just say it”, you demand while eyeing him.

Why does his face suddenly turn even redder and why is he fumbling with his hands this nervously?

“You know, we…we could share the blanket and bed…But only if you want to and are comfortable with it!”, he blurts out.

Huh. Your heart skips a beat when the consequences of his suggestion hit you.

“So like, cuddle?”, you question with your eyes bored into him.

“Please forget I ever said that.”

“I mean, you’re kinda right. In this cold it’s better to warm each other up…”, you stutter.

Thick silence hangs in the air between you two and makes you want to go back into the blizzard. Fuck, the fact that you caught feelings for him doesn’t make this easier at all. Normally you are outspoken, self-assured and centered…What the hell happened to you? Why are you just standing there like an idiot, staring at him with your eyes wide open?

Yuta is the first who dares to move. With a swift motion, he takes off his shoes, positions himself in bed and puts the blanket on top of him.

“Then come here. Maybe we’re even able to get some sleep!”

You hesitate. This is the first time you get so close to him apart from training sessions. Yuta never touched you, let alone shared a blanket and a whole bed with you. But your body screams in icy agony and begs you to take his offer desperately. Jump over your shadow, just close your eyes and lay down beside him.

The warmth of his body seems to swallow you whole the second your body brushes against his. God, you never realized how good he actually smells. Has it always been like this? And that look in his eyes seems so…different.

“You know, I’m glad to be stuck with you, (y/n)”, he confesses, his hand sliding down your arm and leaving a trace of prickling fireworks under your skin.

Fuck it. You bury yourself against his warm and large frame, face resting on his neck while his arms immediately take your invitation. While it’s still cold, the adrenalin that rushes through your veins and the heat that radiates from his body are more than enough to keep you warm in this adventurous night.

“Me too, Yuta”, you confess shyly.

What? What’s that I see? Is it- is it another heist fic??!? :O

Heisting Yet Again

Characters: Aguni Morizono, Hatter, Niragi Suguru, Last Boss, Chishiya Shuntaro, @a-simp-20 , @niragis-right-hand-rabbit , and your local bread pentagon, Me

Genre: Crack. We're fucking heisting again.

2.3k words

Well what do you know! There is :0!!! Looks like we're at it again guys, causing havoc to Hatter and having fun while we're doing it!

And look, there's even a guest joining us! How fancy! What have we stolen today folks? Well, guess you'll have to find out!

Hatter thought they were gone for good after they stole his precious couch. It was peaceful at the Beach, as peaceful as it could get anyways, and the days were going by swimmingly. He even got a new couch to replace his old couch, which soon became just as loved as his previous couch. He still hadn’t forgotten the robbery, of course, and if he ever saw those three ever again he’d give them a stern talking to before he set the militants loose on their asses. They were traitors after all, and everyone knew what he did to traitors.

If they were smart, they’d stay out of the way of the Beach’s wrath. Hatter was sure they’d try to evade him and anyone with the bracelet that noted them as members, but there was only so much of them compared to the hundreds of people under his beck and call that could bring them kicking and screaming back to his land. Why come back to the place they had forsaken except to die, after all.

But alas, he was sorely mistaken in that thought, as he wakes up in bed to light humming, and rather itchy wrists. He tugs his hand closer to his core without making a sound, the coarse and familiar feel of rope around his wrist telling him all he needed. For good measure he tries to pull his legs, but his ankles seemed to be under the same type of bounds.

The humming continues on, undeterred, as if they knew Hatter was unable to do anything. He turns his head, and in the darkness of the room he can make out a vague silhouette trodding around his room without a care in the world, and the song was somewhat recognizable, but nothing Hatter could name.

Keeping his cool, he whistles to catch their attention, the person yelping and whipping around. That earns a chuckle out of him, followed by an annoyed whine by the other.

“ That was mean, you know! You scared me!” They whined, Hatter still chuckling.

“ Aww, but it was necessary! So! Do tell, dear, what are you doing in my room, hm? I’m in quite a predicament here-“ He tugs again at the coarse rope that bounded his arm to the bed, “ And while I don’t mind whatever comes to be in bed between me and my partner, I don’t believe I’ve ever met you~ Or have I? I’m sure you look lovely in the light.” He purrs in an inquisitive manner. The person just stays still, and from what limited light Hatter had, they were actually fidgeting a little, as if willing to walk out and leave him there.

He had to tread lightly. Whoever this was, they couldn’t be here for a rousing game of Bed Twister, seeing as he was still dressed and there was not a single inch of mood lighting. Scandalous to just do it without even a little festivities and scenery slapped in, with only ropes to keep him company.

“ Well, actually that’s just so I don’t, like…. die. Anyways, it was nice talking to you, but I have things to do!” The person approaches, and Hatter tries to get a glimpse of their face, of anything recognizable. He only gasps as they get closer and the only thing he picks up is a closed unslutty version of his kimono and an obviously printed picture of… wait is that his face? Was his rope tying captor wearing his iconic face and kimono? In his room?

“ Oh, is that what I think it is? I dare say, I wasn’t aware you liked me that much that you’d imitate me~ I’m flattered~” The person actually snorts at that, and pats his entire face with their unnaturally cold hand, fingers splayed and in short bursts, Hatter not expecting it and jerking his head away with a laugh. “ Oh my, what did you do earlier to make them that cold-” “ Exist! Anyways, here you go!” They chirp, and there’s a faint quack noise as something is plopped on his chest and they walk away, Hatter watching them go with a pout.

“ I do think you’re forgetting something, what are you to do about my rather…… prone position?~ You can not simply leave me like this!” “ Uuuhhhhh…….. get that cool steak-looking guy to help! Okay bye, have fun!” They call out to him before opening the door and starting to leave, Hatter getting only the barest glimpse of the back of their head.

Only, this also lets him get a glimpse of whatever was placed on him, and once he saw the tiny goose on his chest coming up to his face, honking softly, he can only lay there bound like a prisoner as it comes closer with murder in its eyes before the light was snatched like his couch.

" Oh sweet toma- AH IT'S GOT MY NOSE-"

Morning comes, and Aguni comes in to Hatter’s face being used as a nest, the goose happily settled over his eyes. Aguni pauses for a second, confused, the goose napping.

“ Uhh…. should I come back later-“ “ Oh, Aguni, a little help here? I have been ravaged like no other!” Hatter calls out the moment he hears Aguni, the man coming over and looking down at his friend, Hatter’s wrists still tied to the corners. He quickly gets to work untying them, Hatter shooting up the moment he was free, the goose honking as it was launched off Hatter’s face and left to fall down onto his lap. Hatter pushes it off of him, not at all caring at the moment of its safety in favour of his own, taking off the covers and untying his poor ankles free. Aguni watches from the side of the bed with folded arms, Hatter getting up and rubbing his sore wrists with a frown.

“ Oh, you wouldn’t believe the horror last night!” “ Did another one set you up?” Hatter shakes his head, and wanders around the room and making sure everything was still in place. “ Even worse! I woke up to such a position, and without something there to keep warm in bed, and yet someone was here with me! Imitating my looks, but without the sexy factor, can you believe the horror? Oh, woe! I didn’t think it was possible!” Hatter held the back of his hand to his forehead, dramatically dipping back as if to faint. He remains on his feet, and smiles a little when Aguni puts a supporting hand on his back to help him back to a normal stand, Hatter looking at him with a now serious glint. “ I do believe they’re back, Aguni.”

Aguni cocks an eyebrow, face staying stoic. “ The ones that stole your couch?” “ That’s the one! I’m sure of it! After all, why else would they come in here and take the time to assure I could not apprehend them myself? They’re here to steal something.” Hatter grabs Aguni’s shoulders, staring deep into his eyes as his face falls into a crazed smile. “ Death to traitors, after all. We need to find them before they get away.” Aguni nods slowly, and Hatter lets go, pushing Aguni away as he marches out of his room with a totally not unhinged giggle. Aguni rolls his eyes and follows after, Hatter marching his way down and knocking on all of the executive’s doors to wake them up. There was no time to waste after all!

It takes a while, but eventually everyone is up, sitting or standing where they preferred, Hatter briefing all of them on the situation at hand. Niragi looked rather annoyed, leaning back in his seat and combing what hairs he didn’t managed to pull up into his bun out of his face.

“ Why the fuck would they come back? That’s a fucking death wish if I’ve ever seen one.” Niragi groans. “ It’s fucking too early for this." “ Well, who’s to say they haven’t already left? Didn’t you say that this….. imposter of yours entered your room possibly hours before? It would be stupid to stay this long.” Chishiya says with that all knowing tone in his voice, Hatter nodding.

“ Yes, but there’s a chance they haven’t! They must’ve been scouting out what to take next before the actual heist!” Hatter rebukes, and gives Chishiya a warning glance when Chishiya looks unconvinced.

“ So you need us to patrol the entire Beach for them, got it. Let’s go, time’s wasting.” Aguni gets up, looking at Niragi and Last Boss, Niragi getting up with a grunt and grabbing his gun. The three of them leave, and Hatter soon shoos the rest of them out to help search the entire Beach again for the three musketeers and see if anything looked out of place.

Hours pass, and yet when they regroup, nobody could offer anything of use. Ann even questioned if they were even there to take anything, but Hatter had a hunch, he just felt it in his bones. So they separate once more, Hatter making sure to comb every single place in his domain. How dare they, really, coming back here to try their luck once more.

The sound of what at first sounded like gunshots catches his attention, but he dismisses it at first, believing the militants were just doing something. Then when he hears it again followed by terrified yells, he looks up towards the source, only to see a rather giant grey dinosaur with an orange beak.

“ Hah….?” Hatter comes over to take a close look, and the dinosaur was in fact not a dinosaur, but might as well be one, the bird looking at Hatter’s direction and fluffing up its wings. Hatter stares at the massive grey mass of feather and the tiny crown that seemed to be held by a thin string around its head, the bird raising its head and making that gun-like sound again.

“ Oh, well then hello to you too- Where did you come from-“ Hatter takes another step closer, and the bird just bows its head with a head shake and then wanders off, Hatter watching it go. People around it were catering away, staring at the beast of a bird and giving it distance.

“ Strange bird….” Hatter mutters, watching it wander away. Something in his gut begged him to follow, and Hatter was a man of will, so he starts to follow this creature wherever it was heading.

It was good that he did, as he sees a very familiar trio of people, one of which was still wearing his face and kimono. The other two were wearing normal clothes, one in a different robe and petting the giant bird with a fond smile while the other was more modestly in simple street wear and a head covering. “ Hey! There you are!” Hatter calls out, and they all look in his direction.

“ Oh hewwo!” The one wearing his face waves to him, the other two waving as well. “ Don’t worry, we’re just gonna…… RUN! Go go go!” They gesture away from Hatter in three rapid hand motions. They’re all running away as fast as they could, and Hatter was not about to let them get away, chasing after them as fast as he could. With how he generally appeared, he looked like he wouldn’t have much stamina, but they have also never taken him to bed on a good day.

And today was gonna be a fucking beautiful day.

The three were still within Beach territory and therefore still had people to deal with, even if they had congregated in a less populated area, and Hatter pretty much knew the layout like the back of his hand. They ran through the space, Hatter having to move this way and that to keep them within sight. That bird was actually following them rather obediently, seeming content, Hatter internally thanking the bird for leading him to their little meetup spot.

Niragi and Last Boss appear around the corner just as they were coming up, Niragi laughing and raising his gun, fully intent on shooting them down. Even Last Boss got ready to attack, grabbing ahold of his sword.

“ Oh hi there you two!” The woman that was petting the bird earlier greets. The third of their little squad immediately just separates from the group to avoid Niragi and Last Boss altogether, the remaining two still running head on towards them.

“ Hah! You think that’s gonna stop me? I’m gonna shoot you right-“ He doesn’t get to finish as the girl leaps up and grabs his head to pull it closer, giving him a kiss right there on his cheek and slipping past the crispy raisin cake.

“ Bye you sexy giraffe! Stay sexy!” She calls out as she runs off, the second somehow slipping past the two militants along with the bird.

“ Remember to practice safety procedures you two! Don’t let your ankles get eaten!” The other yells, Hatter rushing past them as they stood there stunned by the act that just occurred.

Hatter was intent on catching them, and yet they seemingly had too much energy and nothing in their hands. Perhaps it was something small, like all the bathroom mints, or maybe even a hidden pistol underneath their clothes. Either way he had to stop them and put an end to them.

They make it out to where the cars where, and Hatter finally sees just what they stole:

“ Hey! That’s my wine cabinet!” Hatter yells, absolutely appalled by this egregious crime, the poor cabinet strapped onto a new car like it was nothing more than a box of wood as the three infiltrators climb in, the bird joining in the backseat. The one wearing the head covering peeks out with a smile. “ Oh, that’s not all! We also took all of your instant pancake mixes I hope you don’t mind!”

“ Excuse me, I do mind, thank you very little!”

The driver, now the woman that had kissed Niragi’s cheek like no big deal, pokes her head out and waves.

“ Oh well! See you later! This was fun!” She shouts before the engine rumbles to life and they peel away with his cabinet.

“ Oh you three……!” Hatter stares as they drive away with their second successful heist, shaking his head in disbelief and thinly veiling anger in his smile. “ You three are in for it now!~”

20, 35 for aLiN, 50 and 54 for the writer asks!

Thanks! XD

I answered 54 here!

20. Post a snippet of a WIP you’re working on.

Completely unedited, but a snippet from the Kate-centric, post season 3 fic. (although this has been edited for here because it holds some potential spoilers for later on in the fic and at least one misleading line)

“You need to find a way to reclaim your body for yourself,” Kisa continues as if Richie had never spoken.

“Is that what you did?” Her voice sounds lost and she doesn’t like it, but she can’t stop herself from clinging to the thought that she won’t always be like this, the hope that she can get better.

“Yes.”

“How?”

“I had sex with Richard.”

Seth chokes on his drink, coughing loudly into the suddenly silent kitchen. Kate can’t see Richie’s face, can’t take her own stunned gaze from the woman before her, but he must be doing something because Kisa looks past her with a softened eyes and parted lips, before returning her attention firmly back to Kate, effectively ignoring both brothers.

“I cared for him and wanted him. But most importantly I trusted him. Physical connection with someone you trust can be a very powerful thing.”

“I don’t trust a lot of people,” Kate blurts out, clinging to the last part like a lifeline as her cheeks burn.  

“Now hold on,” Seth cuts in, words spilling forth in a rush to take control of the conversation. “Let’s just take a fucking breath before we make any rash decisions here.”  

“Kate?” Richie says quietly, a warning and a question and a promise all at once. And Kate knows, has seen the darkest depths and bright, blinding edges of Richard’s tortured soul, has the taste of it etched into her very existence. 

Kisa must hear it too, because she almost freezes, thoughts shuttering behind her dark eyes as she carefully holds her body in a practiced state of relaxation. Seth’s protests grow louder.

“I don’t think sex is what I need,” Kate says slowly, and the room goes quiet, Seth tapering off from where he’s been holding a one-side argument against the whole conversation with the room at large.

35. Tell some backstory details about one of your characters in your story ________.

Let’s see, who have I not given background details on yet? And that won’t also give away future spoilers....

Scott still sets a party with his lacrosse team in this, but since Kate shows up a day later in this fic than in canon, it happened before she gets to Bethel. Under all that desire for revenge (a lot of which is misplaced anger from being a kept chained up at Narciso’s feet for three months) the core of what Scott wants is acceptance so the party goes a bit different. Scott leaves, for starters, when his hunger starts to threaten his control, snagging a neighbor’s pet and then hiding from the sun at home. So while Scott hasn’t killed quite so many people that Kate personally knows/knows about, he’s still the angry little murder bean he is in canon.

Mild-ish spoilers: Kate’s return to Seth has had positive ripples (Seth doesn’t keep Sonja around, Richie is forced to take off his blinders and see how actions affect other people, Kate has someone else backing her for her confrontation with Scott), because Kate is observant and sees the good in people. But a less-than-positive result is that Freddie’s still all alone in his own journey and will be worse off for it.

50. Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had.

Hmm, gotta think about that.

Probably my weirdest-yet-serious fic is a body swap BtVS fic with the whole scooby gang. I actually wrote a good chunk of it out before I lost it all in a computer death and decided not to rewrite it. It got weird in how I decided it was more of a conscious swap over a soul/body swap and so Xander (who was in Willow) had to figure out how to do the spell to get them back to normal, and Dawn (who was in Spike) had to deal with not having a soul, or rather everyone else had to deal with her not having a soul, etc. I’m sure I’ve probably had weirder ideas, but if I can’t write something for whatever reason (like it being too weird) I typically just leave it be.

I did write a The World Ends TBBT fic, which I suppose can be seen as weird, but I think that has more to do with my love of post-apocalyptic stories. (I’ve written a lot of them, lol)

Less serious, but I don’t know how “weird” it is vs plotless and cliche and an utterly self-indulgent FDtD “fic” (it’s more of an exploration in What If) involving time travel that I’ve never written a single word of, letting it exist entirely in my head, but will also happily ramble away about because, like I said, its a very self-indulgent story and I’ve thought about it a lot.

Happy rambily mess that just skims over it while still being really long:

Post-series!Seth and Kate find themselves at the Dew Drop Inn inside the RV moments before a very human Richie comes in with a very human Scott at gun point. Confusion abounds all around and all seven of them, including past!Seth and past!Kate, end up traveling into Mexico with bickering and arguments and everyone’s confusion over how comfortable and familiar future!Seth and Kate are with each other, but Richie’s the one that notices his brother’s new tattoo and puts two and two together, which leads him to decide that he’s Making That Happen. Future!Seth immediately declares they are not going to the Twister and past!Seth does NOT react well to having anyone, even himself, barging in and trying to take charge and becomes a stubborn irrational bastard over it (they may come close to blows on several occasions). Richie and Scott have a bit of geek out over timelines and alternate realities, and future!Kate decides they still need to go to the Twister but she is going to do everything she can to protect her family.

Once at the Titty Twister they find future!Scott and future!Richie (because my brain went humans at the Inn and culebras at the Twister for semi-justifiable reasons), and a big debate begins on who is going in and who is staying in the RV, which is an entire scene that reveals a lot all around. (Jacob notices future!Kate and Scott’s reaction to seeing him and realize what it means that there’s no future him popping up.)

Before all hell breaks loose, things go a little different, with future!Seth sticking by Jacob’s side and past!Richie still playing matchmaker with his time’s Seth and Kate (no Richie and Kate kiss here, which I actually don’t mind in the show, but for some reason do end up getting rid of a lot in season one AUs. But it just makes sense that a Richie that’s trying to hook a girl up with his brother would not kiss said girl), etc. Once the culebras come out, things go much the same as they did the first time, only this time future!Scott rats out Tanner for being on Carlos’s payrole and future!Kate lets slip that he tried to sacrifice her after past!Kate says that he hit on her, and future!Seth decides the future doesn’t really need him anyways and shoots him.

Future!Seth insists he’s the one who’s going to go into the heart of the labyrinth after past!Richie (who still gets shot and bit, but he expects it this time) since he knows how to handle that shit, and since they don’t need to find Scott this time, the Fullers, Freddie, and past!Seth all end up in a different area that still shows them moments of truth/their past, but makes everyone else witness it too (because self-indulgence!) which gives a nice glimpse of the future and insights.

Meanwhile, future!Freddie left the Dew Drop Inn and is with his family trying to explain what’s about to happen to Margaret and fix his marriage before his past self fucks it up. Because Freddie/Margaret have my heart.

Newcomer

Ponyville’s mailmare Eventide Twister meets an unusual new resident in town.

Feat.  Eventide Twister,  Dreamaria Flow

Story and Description Under The Cut

In the messy backroom of Ponyville's own Post Office, Eventide Twister reached into one of the wooden mail cubbies lining the wall and slid the last few envelopes into her mail saddlebag. A press of her hoof and soon the bag's flap was snapping in place. With the delivery truck having already departed and her coworkers now on lunch after the sorting, it was finally time for her usual daily mail rounds. Giving the cubbies one last glance over, Eventide pushed through the room's door and flew into the main lobby of the building. There, behind the front desk to her immediate right, a merry pegasus mare stared almost unblinkingly at the entrance door. A smile was plastered on her muzzle as she waited for any residents to enter. Only when the door behind Eventide creaked as it closed did the blonde mare turn to look at her. "Oooh, heading out~?" Derpy Hooves asked with her soft and floaty voice, perking up at the sight of her employee. She clapped her hooves excitedly. "Have fun, Eventide!" Eventide never quite understood that well-wish of hers. Perhaps the mare assumed Eve's quick wings made her task more entertaining. Dipping her head in farewell, Eve flew forward to exit out of the front door as usual- "AAH WAIT, I ALMOST FORGOT!" The outburst caused Eventide to jump, nearly crashing into the door in her surprise. With a frown, the young pegasus landed on the floor and turned to shoot her boss an inquiring glance. Derpy rummaged through the papers under her counter, muttering inaudible things as she seemed to search for something. As she threw unrelated papers onto the desk, naturally a few strays scattered and fell. Quietly, Eventide walked over to to grab the sheets where they landed. Ms. Derpy had a bad tendency to misplace things. The last thing Eve wanted was for her boss to lose an especially important note or document. Eventide neatly placed Derpy's stray papers onto the countertop just as the older mare let out an 'aha!', pridefully whipping out an envelope. "Here it is! Um..." Derpy immediately pulled the envelope straight to her face, hovering it centimeters before her eyes. Squinting, Derpy mumbled to herself as she read. "Mmnnmm...RIGHT! We have a new address to deliver to!” Derpy lifted her head from the paper to beam at Eventide.  “Oh goody! Somepony new moved in!" 'New address?' A few months had passed since anypony new had moved in. She supposed the new year could bring about new residents. The slightest bit of unease prickled in her, however. A new resident only meant another pony she would inevitably have to meet, due to the nature of her job. Pushing that thought away, Eventide found it rather curious that Derpy had the envelope separated from the rest of the mail. With the mail being organized by house number, it wouldn't have taken long for her to realize a different number had appeared in her bag. "And somepony sent our new resident mail with special instructions!" Derpy continued, her irises shifting unevenly. "I set it to the side so I could make sure you knew! And so I wouldn't forget, eheheh!” ...Eventide knew that probably hadn't been the best idea, but her employer meant well. "Anyway! Here!" Derpy chirped, shoving the envelope towards Eventide's face. Without missing a beat, Eve pulled her head back just before the mare could accidentally smack her face with her grey wing. Taking the letter into her own wing, Eventide turned it to scan the face for herself. A special large label was there, listing not only names and addresses, but the instructions Derpy had mentioned: From: Serein Paleo To: Dreamaria Flow Instructions: "Please deliver to the recipient personally. If she doesn't answer her door, leave a pickup notice and bring back to office." Reading the label was a little surprising. Directions of this sort were typically for packages. These instructions gave Eve the impression that the sender had worried about their letter not reaching the receiver. Granted, seeing as her boss had almost forgotten it under her desk, those concerns weren't entirely unfounded. It was almost as if the sender knew someone in their office could potentially misplace it. Tucking the letter into her satchel, Eventide once again dipped her head before flying for the door. Hearing Derpy's bubbly giggles, the young pegasus glanced back one more time to see the sweet older mare enthusiastically waving both arms at her. "Have fun out theeeereeee!!" This time, Eventide smiled at the sentiment. At the end of the day it was a genuine one, and the mare would always appreciate that from her boss. After giving her own wave, Eventide sped out of the door and into Ponyville's clear skies. -------------------------------------

As Eventide whizzed through the air, she practically found herself on auto-pilot as she effortlessly flew from one house's mailbox to the next. Even after only seven months, Eventide' s job had become a mindless routine. Sort the mail, deliver it, head home; rinse and repeat. The Hearth's Warming season had been rough, but aside from that? Her work was straight-forward, despite the few bumps often caused by her boss's clumsiness. She was ungrateful or even bored. Eventide was good at what she did, and she was glad that despite how she was, she had managed to land herself a job. Thanks to her work, at least she could prove to her family that she wasn't a complete waste. Yet there were times where she wondered if this was how her day-to-day life would continue to be; empty. Blurring. Nothing stirred her anymore. Nothing excited her, and if she really thought about it, rarely did she ever look forward to anything. Sometimes Eventide wondered why that was the case, when she was putting her talent to use like everypony around her. After all the work she and her parents did to pull herself back together, why did she still feel like such a pitiful excuse? Watching the ponies below her gave her an answer. Their groups, the laughter, and the effortless chatter. A familiar lingering emptiness made itself known once more at the sight. It reminded her of lost days and made her wish she could just be happy and...functional, like everyone else. Left alone with her thoughts, it was times like this she wanted to think back on those days years ago and let that anguish-turned-bitterness wash over her. Because if those things hadn’t happened, she could be normal. A normal pony in her town, and a normal daughter for her parents. Eventide shook her head hard in her effort to clear it. She still had a job to complete, as well as a day to finish. At the very least, small changes to her everyday routine helped her mind refocus on the present instead of her negative inner voice. Landing, Eventide pulled out the letter Derpy had handed her, rechecking the house number displayed on the envelope. 'House 201...' As she expected, the newly inhabited building was closer to the outer edge of town. It was in the area Princess Twilight had funded construction in when Ponyville's population rose and the mayor settled on a town expansion. The houses here were a bit more spaced apart. While they weren't as big as the structures at the center of town, Eventide thought they all looked modern and comfortable. Locating the number, Eventide found the corresponding mailbox attached to a white and cream colored house, completed with an orange tiled roof. Approaching the white door, the pegasus gave it a few knocks before waiting. From the corner of her eye the curtain of the nearby window moved, though before she could catch a glimpse, the pony on the other side disappeared. Eventide shifted uncomfortably. The last time somepony had moved in, it took several weeks before she had met them face-to-face. Not to mention said pony ignored her from that moment onwards, after their initial awkward meeting. Eventide wished she didn't know what to expect this time, but then she would be lying. She just had to persevere, she guessed. The door opened before her and Eventide stood alert, ready to face Ponyville's new inhabitant. To her surprise, a blue unicorn mare that couldn't be any older than her peered out with wide, curious eyes. If the mare's two-toned irises hadn't caught her attention, then her wonder-filled expression certainly did. "Are you my mailmare?" Giving a nod in response, Eventide watched as the unicorn suddenly appeared delighted, clapping her hooves together. "Wonderful! My name's Dream Flow! It's so very nice to meet you!" As Dream Flow beamed at her, Eventide wasn't sure whether to be relieved or nervous that the mare was of the friendly type. That and Eve had never seen anypony this excited to meet their mailmare before. Eve managed a faint smile, bowing her head in polite greeting. As she straightened, she realized Dream Flow was smiling expectantly at her. 'Ah, right.' Eventide unfurled her wing to present the envelope to the mare. Curiously enough, Dream blinked at it.  "Oh, yes! Thank you!" An orange magical aura enveloped both Dream Flow's horn and the letter as she took it from the pegasus. But even then, the friendly mare's eyes stayed focused on Eventide. Dream Flow tipped her head to one side. "So what's your name~?" Luckily, this wasn't the first time Eventide had to respond to this question. It wasn't like she could rudely leave it unanswered. "Eve." At least with her nickname, she didn't have to repeat her mouthful of a name. It wasn't an easy one to remember anyway, so she figured there was no point in sharing it. Dream hummed cheerfully in response. "So how's your day been, Eve~? I hope it's been a good one!" That familiar unease grew within her. This always had to be the dreaded question that outed her. "Mhmm." She hummed back, including a nod and hoping it would make up for her lack of words. Nervousness crept into her anyway, the feeling doubling as Dream seemed to pause, the seconds passing between them. With a small frown forming on the mare's muzzle, a part of Eventide grew anxious. She could imagine how rude she was appearing, or how uncomfortable the growing silence had to be. But even as her mind considered adding in more words, to recover this exchange with somepony she was meant to be serving, it was like a section of her brain refused to transfer the words to her mouth. Like others before Dream, Eventide expected the unicorn to question her or awkwardly back out of the exchange. What Eventide didn't expect, however, was the patient, calming smile that pulled on the mare's muzzle instead. "Good to know!" Dream Flow declared. "You look like you're working hard~ I'm sure your job is tiring, so I appreciate what you do!" Eventide tensed, anticipating the mare to make the mistake of attempting to push the conversation. Instead Dreamaria glanced behind her at the unpacked moving boxes in her living room. "Well hey, I shouldn't keep you from your work and I should get back to unpacking!" Taking a few steps back into her house, Dream gave a playful small salute to Eventide. "Thanks again for my letter~! I'll see you then!" With that, the door closed. And while Eventide took off into the air, leaving the new residence behind her, she took her time to steady herself and refocus. She couldn't completely take her mind off of the exchange, however. There was no initial surprise, confusion, or discomfort. There wasn't even an attempt to pull her into conversation, like some ponies who once believed they could be the one to "make Eve talk". It was almost as if the mare had noticed she was nervous. That wouldn't be as surprising if Eventide hadn't grown accustomed to appearing as calm as possible whenever her nerves and anxieties bubbled up to the surface. Perhaps her feelings had shown, anyway. Or perhaps this friendly newcomer was simply good at reading ponies. ------------------------------------- Dreamaria Flow was a unique case. After a month of deliveries, Eventide noticed that the new mare received two letters per week from Mr. Paleo - her uncle, Dream had informed her. And from that first day onward, the mailmare didn't even have to knock on Dreamaria's door anymore. Every time she landed at Dream Flow's doorstep, Dreamaria would without fail answer the door only seconds later. Eventide would always hear the telltale clacking of her hooves approaching before the blue unicorn would open the door, offering cheerful greetings. What Eventide couldn't understand was how Dream Flow always seemed to know exactly when she was present. It wasn't like Eventide was a noisy flier, and Dream's curtains were always drawn closed. Not only that, but even after Mr. Paleo stopped including special instructions to his envelopes, Dream Flow still came to her door instead of letting Eventide leave the letters in her mailbox. The unicorn could easily grab her mail once Eventide had flown away, so Eve couldn't imagine why Dream would go through the trouble. If Eve could drop off the letter, then at least Dreamaria wouldn't have to keep up her friendly pleasantries and polite question of whether the mailmare's day was going well. Dream wouldn't have to waste her energy and force herself to keep the one-sided conversation going at all. If she thought about it, Dreamaria could be like her uncle in the sense that she wanted to make sure her letter didn't get lost. Eventide believed that kind of worry was understandable. She’d be the same way if her own parents had to write her letters and there was a risk of one never arriving. Regardless, Eventide tried to distance herself from her pondering. It wouldn't be long before the mare would eventually get used to their routine and trust Eventide's ability to deliver. She would have to grow tired of her mailmare's silence at some point and come to prefer the company of friendlier residents much like the unicorn herself. And for Eventide, those thoughts weren't an attempt at being melodramatic. It was the usual progression of things, and something she had long accepted. She wasn't exactly a pleasant pony to attempt conversation with. She knew that. While silence brought comfort and safety, she knew it was no different from self-isolation in such a social-heavy world. And speaking...well, every extra word spoken felt like a dangerous gamble. There was no winning either way, but it was clear what she would choose if it meant never experiencing that day ever again. Never again would she embarrass herself or have her own words be used against her. It was better for her and everyone this way. Eventide huffed, her mind honing back in on the ground below. Another downward spiral of her thoughts. Flying mindlessly and giving her brain a chance to think truly was a bother. Thankfully, a certain blue mare's house was directly below her.  Eventide flapped her wings a few times as she descended to Dreamaria's doorstep, easily slowing down before lowering herself to the ground. Pulling the letter out of her satchel, she stared at the door, waiting. It took a few more beats of silence before Eve realized there was no sign of movement from within the house. 'Oh.' While she was a little surprised by the break of routine, it was, as she had thought, to be expected eventually. Dream could be out in town, or even leaving Eventide to her job. It wasn't a hard thing to shrug off as Eve opened the cover of Dreamaria's mailbox for the first time, dropping the letter inside. How odd, though. A part of her had almost expected something more gradual. Eventide turned to leave- "-aaaaAAAAIT, WAIT, HOLD ON!" Various distant sounds of falling objects, crashes, and yelps reached Eventide's twitching ears as clumsy hoofsteps grew louder and raced towards the door. Eventide stared behind her wide-eyed until the door finally swung open. Before her Dreamaria stood panting, wide-eyed and appearing rather disheveled. Her mane was a mess, unbrushed and giving Eve the impression that the unicorn had literally fallen out of bed recently. Eventide would have pondered over the fact that it was well into the afternoon, but it wasn't like she herself hadn't slept into the late hours in the past. Besides, settling into a new town had to be a tiring process. "Sorry, hi! I woke up late!" Dream laughed, attempting to brush back her messy blue locks with both hooves. "Good thing I sensed you when I did!" 'Sense?' Although curious, Eventide brushed the comment off. More importantly, was the mare so worried about getting her letter that she would outright run to her door? Did she think the mailmare would walk off with it? Even more bewildering, Eventide didn't have to say anything about the envelope before Dream's magic aura shone around her white horn, the unicorn pulling her uncle's letter out of the mailbox. So she had even known that the letter had been dropped off. 'Then why did she stop me...?' Suddenly Dream settled her multi-colored gaze onto the mailmare, a sheepish smile crossing her face. "Was that weird...? Sorry, I just really like seeing you!" Dream's smile shifted into a sunny one. "You've become a normal part of my new life here! And it's nice to have that normality!" Dreamaria then placed the back of one hoof on a hip, swinging her opposite arm in an arc in front of her as she winked. "Besides! I think you are, as one would say, 'quite swell'!" Eventide could only stare blankly, confused and unsure of how to react. Dream Flow seemed to pick up on this, because after a period of silence, her confidence seemed to falter as she nervously laughed, dropping the pose to rub her neck. "J-just kidding! No one really says that phrase anymore..." 'S-she's backtracking...??' The pegasus wished she could do more than stare puzzled, watching Dream look away embarrassed. It wasn't long before Dream met her gaze again and smiled apologetically. "Sorry! I'm getting used to some things." In seconds Dream's embarrassment seemed to fade away, replaced with her usual cheer. "But I really do think you're neat! Don't mind me if I sound a little weird sometimes!" And just like that, the conversation ended as it normally did. With a kind farewell, Dream retreated into her home with her letter in tow, and Eventide extended her wings for take off. Though, she couldn't help giving Dreamaria's home one last glance before flapping away. No matter how much she tried to focus, the strange conversation refused to leave her mind as she flew. Dreamaria greeted her every time because she enjoyed seeing her? She thought Eve was 'neat'? As Eventide was now, she couldn't pinpoint what about her could be enjoyable. While Dream's comments were kind and brought Eventide some unexpected warmth, it made little sense to her. Ever guarded, Eventide pushed her conflicted feelings out of her mind. For the average pony, words were easy to throw around. It was easy to say those sorts of words to just about anyone. Ponies did it all the time for one reason or another, and often times, they were fleeting sentiments that didn't actually carry any weight. She wasn't special. She knew it was best to remind herself that. ------------------------------------- Eventide Twister being out in town on her days off was a rarity, except for when she had to pick up her medication from Ponyville's pharmacy. Walking out of the store into a rather warm afternoon, Eve slid her bag into her saddlebag. Indecipherable chatter buzzed in the town's air as shopping ponies walked about, carrying parasols or fans to cool themselves down in the summer heat. While the heat was already discomforting her again, thankfully Eventide had no other business, ready to head back to the cool comfort of her home where her parents waited. Just as she began to unfurl her wings, a voice rose above the chatter, along with the ringing of a bell! "Ice Cream! Come cool off with Sugarsocks' Ponyville-famous freshly homemade ice cream!" Eventide turned towards the source and found a pink unicorn mare behind a cart, waving a bell with her magic as she looked around with a friendly grin. Almost instantly murmurs of interest followed as ponies trotted over and lined up at the cart. Eve glanced from the cart, to the sky, and to the cart again. She had tasted Sugarsocks' ice cream before in the past. Aside from getting a few cones with her mother when she was younger, her father would sometimes bring back a cup for her during her secluded years. It was easy to say that the mare's desserts were heavenly. The only real reason she hadn't been able to try Sugarsocks' treats again was thanks to a certain high-energy party pony who always seemed to handle the cart for her wife, at least whenever Eventide spotted it. Talkative, unpredictable Pinkie Pie was always intimating to her. The earth pony's mere presence had kept Eventide from even attempting to approach the ice cream cart. But for once it was down-to-earth Sugarsocks herself who was running it. Not only that, but thanks to the heat, most ponies were inside their homes to cool down, so the line wasn't as long as she was used to seeing. This was her chance. After a short while of watching Sugarsocks' business with her customers, Eventide quietly made her way to the back of the line once it had shortened. After spotting the pricing on the front of the cart, the pegasus reached back into her saddlebag, holding her bits in her wing in preparation. "Hey, fancy seeing you here!" If the voice hadn't sounded so familiar, Eventide would have assumed that the greeting was meant for someone else. Instinct had her glancing behind her, and there, Dreamaria was shining one of her friendly smiles at her. Almost immediately, Eventide found her usual sense of awkwardness come over her. This was the first time Eve had ever seen Dream anywhere but the unicorn's own home. There was something odd and weirdly personal about running into the mare outside of professional work hours. Eventide shyly smiled and nodded back in greeting, regardless. And that was that. Eve turned her attention back to the two other customers ahead of her. However, she couldn't shake off the tension in her, far too aware of the mare right behind her. She knew this pressure. It was the pressure to engage in conversation. Eve wondered if anyone else in the line had noticed their greeting and if they were judging her for ending the run-in as quickly as she did. Was she coming off as rude to them or to Dream Flow? Thankfully it didn't take long before it was her turn. Sugarsocks gave her a kind, motherly smile once she stepped up to the cart. "Hey there Eventide! What can I get you?" Eve glanced at a list of flavors at the top of the cart, relaxing at the sight. It made things a lot easier. Lifting her hoof, Eventide pointed next to one line: "Neapolitan". "Orange Creamsicle? Coming right up!" Eventide blinked. One quick glance down and it wasn't hard to realize the mare had misunderstood where she had pointed, with 'Orange Creamsicle' being the option below her actual choice. Even though Eventide knew Sugarsocks had gotten her order wrong, she uncomfortably watched as the mare whipped out her scoop and expertly scooped out each flavor for the cup. Eventide couldn't bring herself to correct the mare, and it was too late anyway. While Sugarsocks' cheerfully passed the ice cream cup over to her wing, Eventide held out the bits and let the unicorn levitate the currency out of her hoof. Walking away, pretending to be satisfied with her order, she had taken barely two steps away before a voice called out to her. "Ah, Eve, wait!" Behind her, Dream Flow was now standing before the cart, her bits floating in the air with her magic. With a hoof she pointed at the list of flavors, shooting a curious look at her. "Can I have your opinion? Which one of these would you usually order?" Both of Eventide's eyebrows raised. She never would have expected anyone to ask for her opinion. There was always a chance Dream wouldn't like her suggestion and would choose something else, but there was something nice about having her thoughts requested in a way she could answer. Taking a moment to step back, Eventide pointed once more at her actual preferred option, the blue mare letting out a soft "ooh" in response. "Neapolitan...okay!" Dream happily hummed, smiling gratefully at the pegasus. "Thank you!" Smiling back one more time, Eventide once again set off, leaving the unicorn to order on her own. With her ice cream in-wing, Eve walked back home on-hoof, staring down at her treat. She didn't dislike the flavor Sugarsocks gave her. Fruitier flavors just weren't her preference. And as silly as it was, she was somewhat disappointed that she couldn't get the one she actually enjoyed the one time she had the chance. That was her fault, though, and ice cream was ice cream- "Hey Eve! Hold on!" For the third time that day, Eventide found herself turning around. To her surprise Dream was running to catch up with her, her floating ice cream cup encased in magic aura following her. Once she was hoofsteps away, Dreamaria tilted her head inquisitively. "Say, have you taken a bite from your cup yet??" Despite finding the question odd, Eventide shook her head. For some reason, Dream appeared relieved. "Great! I haven't either. In that case, would you like to trade?" For a moment Eventide stared, thoroughly confused. Though it was within the realm of possibility, she couldn't imagine Dream Flow regretting what she had ordered so much that she would trade cups with the very pony who had suggested it. With seamless timing, as if to answer her thoughts, Dream perked up. "Ah! I think Sugarsocks accidentally gave you the wrong flavor, right? That's what it felt like at least." Dream Flow gazed at her kindly. "It looks like it can be really awkward, correcting someone when they get what you want wrong. So I thought it would be easier to order the one you wanted and switch?" There was a moment of genuine disbelief for Eve. As much as the offer almost seemed too unbelievable, the unicorn's earlier request for a suggestion now made more sense. However, despite how touched she was by the gesture, Eventide found herself hesitating. This was an unfamiliar level of thoughtfulness she was finding hard to register, leaving her conflicted. '...does she feel bad for me? Is that what all of this is?' "Ah...sorry." Eve's eyes flicked from the floating cup to Dream Flow's face. To her surprise, the usually cheerful mare had her ears pulled back, her gaze self-consciously glued to the ground. But even then there was a smile -albeit a nervous one - on her muzzle. "I'm sorry if I'm overstepping. My magic picked up on what you were feeling and thought I could do something about it." Rubbing her cheek, Dream Flow closed her eyes and offered a sheepish smile. "But I'm also probably trying a bit too hard to make friends here! I really didn't mean to come off so strong." Eventide lifted her head hearing that, taken aback. Friends? She was trying to become friends with her this whole time? ...it was another idea that was still far off to Eve. It didn't take long for her mind to remind herself that the mare could easily make other friends. Better friends. And yet, there was one thing Eve was now more certain of. 'She...genuinely means all of this.' Dream's eyes shot up as Eventide held out her wing, the ice cream cup balanced on her feathers. Brightening, Dream levitated the cup and replaced it with the one she was holding. "There you go then...thankfully I'm a fan of the more colorful ice creams! Though I never really liked that pink flavor." Dreamaria bit into a spoonful of orange creamsicle, the mare melting with a look of content on her face. As if catching herself, she straightened and gave an embarrassed smile to Eve. "N-not to insult your favorite! I like chocolate, and that white one's alright!" '...pink flavor? White one?' Eve didn't have much time to question the odd word choice. Dream Flow pushed her spoon into her treat and moved to turn around, though not before shooting Eve one last apologetic smile. "Anyway, sorry for bothering you! Enjoy the rest of your day!" Without waiting for a response, Dreamaria began to walk away. Though for the first time, as she stared at the back of Dream's head, Eventide found words willingly forming on her tongue, her lips parting. "Thank you." Dreamaria practically jerked to a halt, whipping her head around to look at her in surprise. Instinctively Eve averted her gaze, her eyes flicking back and forth between Dream and the trees to one side. Only two words and already a part of Eve struggled between reading Dream‘s expression and wanting to be oblivious to it. When she finally managed to keep eye contact with the mare, she found Dream beaming brilliantly at her, a shine to her eyes. "Yeah! See you later, Eve!" With a bit more pep to her step, Dreamaria trotted off. Even as she turned a corner and left Eventide's sight, Eve couldn't help but watch her with a newfound sense of curiosity. Maybe...she would let herself get to know this newcomer after all.

In which Eventide meets a Canadian. Dream you oddball. This chapter makes a lot more sense when read with Dream Flow’s talent in mind! Anyway. Here we get a look at Eve’s new negative, self-deprecating psyche in the aftermath of the past. While she continued to participate in poetry therapy to express her thoughts and emotions on paper, in her adult years Eve gave up on psychotherapy altogether. She believed that her own unwillingness to talk about past events or talk at all was just a waste of time for everyone involved. Because of this, Eventide allowed herself to develop a much more negative outlook on her life and herself in general. At some point her long days began to blur together, becoming dull and empty. As it turned out, new resident and Emotion Counselor Dream Flow posessed unique abilities that allowed her to bypass Eve’s silence. For the most part she could determine Eventide’s “responses” solely based on her internal emotional reactions and shifts. With permission, Dream began keeping her magic activated whenever she spoke to Eve, relying on it as their unique way of communicating. In the aftermath of this story, Eve became more accepting of Dream’s genuine kindness. While a part of Eve tried to stay emotionally distant out of habit, waiting for the day Dream would lose whatever interest she had, she was constantly surprised as Dream actively spoke to her and tried to make her feel included. With time Eve began to relax bit by bit, finding herself caring about this odd but incredibly sweet mare. After more time she even started accepting Dream's invites for ice cream outings and hang outs outside of work. For the first time in years, despite her fears and self-doubt, Eventide found herself wanting to consider someone her friend. Even if she wasn't sure how long their bond would last, and even if it ended up being short-lived, Eve decided she'd appreciate their moments together and the warmth they brought. Next chapter will be the technical end of Eventide's past arc~

The crowning ceremony of the High Raj Avitej Sharma, First of his Name.

[ Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 (x) | (x) Part 4 ]

@danisavin / @faye-andrews / @thatwhichbindsus / @bumblingbrujo / @mayaparker @scarlettxruby / @avitejsharma / @xxtuaharjunaxx

Iann stayed the night in the Castle, mostly because he already had his things here for the Coronation, but also because he met a Duchess who needed attending to for the night. He'd left her chambers early though, getting his ablutions in ocean water and change into formal attire done first, before he wandered back into the courtyard in the hopes that the servants hadn't completely cleared the feasting table from last night. He was glad to find some mead still remained. It was Honeywild, but it would do. Besides, that meant the Forty Isle casks had been drained last night, while Honeywild's remained. The drink of desperate men. Iann smiled, pleased at the thought. He sipped the mead and nibbled at handful of berries, slowly surveying the Castle. Inside the main part of the castle would open up to the Grand Hall. That was where the Sunlit Throne sat, where the Bluesprings crown would be, guarded by Rajisthangard day and night. The coronation would be happening in a few hours, once nobles managed to get their heads out of their cups, or off the thighs of a lover. Iann was looking forward to it. Or rather, he was looking forward to it finally happening, so that he cold return to his Flagship and continue his travels. Back up North, to release the White Lady back into the northern wilds, and to visit his son in Blackspire. And then perhaps a trip back to the Forty Isles. Perhaps the sight of his eldest son would encourage his dear father to die faster. Plans for the future; but for now, he waited, patiently. Iann drank his mead and ate his berries and leaned against one of the spired columns, watching the servants and Cloverry members hustling around him.

Miguel was surprisingly well rested for someone who had gotten so little sleep. Before he went out into the public eye, he skittered toward his own room and changed into something a little more subtle. Not the outfit for the coronation itself, that would come later - and it would look like his mother dressed him. Which he wasn't looking forward too, so he enjoyed the course fabric and easy movement of the warrior's garb he donned. The only item that was a bit more ceremonial were the obsidian and gold daggers he kept close to his chest. It seemed most people were sleepy or hung over, so Miguel lidded his eyes a little - no one needed to know how good he felt, or how ready he was to conquer the day. He bumped shoulders with Iann and took some of the berries he had in his hands, payback for the apple. "Have a nice night, Iann?"

Iann "Somewhat. A ruined red dawn though, at the sight of you," Iann said, but at the same time offering Miguel a sip from his cup of mead. "See how they move and bustle. The people move forward, eager for someone to be crowned. Even in the light of yesterday's incidents," he murmured thoughtfully. "Then again, plenty of 'incidents' happen with the commonfolk, that is beyond our knowledge." Or care. "We only remark about this because it's affected our own. And I believe what happened to the Grand Lady and your Witch of the Wilds friend, is what slipped through the cracks of a rather tightly held ship. Imagine how much more 'incidents' surge around us noble few..." Iann looked around the empty courtyard (aside from the servants and guards). "Trying to break into this peace and shatter it for good."

Miguel grinned and took a little mead from his brother's goblet. The only time they took food from each other was when it had obviously been eaten of drunk from the other. But the false brotherly intimacy amused Miguel to no end. "The sight of you fills me with joy I can hardly express," he crooned to Iann. "What would I do without you? Get my own drink? Unthinkable." The mention of the incidents with Cassandra and Lady Lacroy dampened the mood somewhat. "Hmm. True, I wouldn't spare a thought for these incidents if it involved parties other than our darling sister-in-law. But there are plenty of things I don't know, and I don't bother myself with the knowledge of not knowing," Miguel chuckled a little at his sentence, at the sheer absurdity of it. "In fact, it hurts my head a bit to think of. I'll leave the mind and tongue twisters to you."

Iann snorted. "You forget who you're talking to, Miguel. Drop the hapless clownfish act." He didn't believe for a second that his brother's head 'hurt' from thinking too much. That was his brother's problem, half the time - he overthought things, far too much. The youngest Cardero was incredibly intelligent, in ways that Iann didn't dally in. It was Miguel's cunning that Iann paid more attention to. "What I'm saying is that this is all to be expected. A few desperate attempts to stir up trouble, and discontent in people's hearts, now that we are all collected here to be admired and to admire. The problem with desperation is that it's a very dangerous weapon on its own...." He pressed his lips together tightly. "And both incidents certainly gave the commonfolk a show, spectacles that they've been denied by the Cloverry's austerity. I'm not sure which they'll be talking about more for weeks after: the actual Coronation, or the glimpse of frilly underclothing they got up Cassandra's pretty dress while she was being whisked down the streets of Upper City."

Faye almost hadn't returned to the capitol after the previous evening's debacle. Her pride had been viciously bruised, her trust betrayed, and her hope that maybe, just maybe, /he/ would be different shattered. So Faye had took the glaringly obvious hint that she was as unwelcome with him as with any other, and taken her leave. But as she'd gotten further and further away, that bruising hurt had turned to anger. And that anger had turned to something else. Something that had spurred the actions of her ancestor. Revenge. Though on a much less murderous scale. So Faye had stopped in a tavern, freshened herself and changed clothes, and headed back towards the Capitol for the coronation. She'd been invited after all. She was still of a noble House, despite everything else. And she wasn't going to whine about it. Nor was she going to let some... man... keep her from representing her family name. None So Fierce, was the motto that hung above her hearth. It was time to live up to her name. After stabling her horse, Faye made her way up to the palace, dressed in stark contrast to the black robes of the day before.

Miguel let out a soft harumph. "I'm not a clownfish, more a squid I suppose." But he listened to what Iann said. "There's no way to make everyone happy, but I think giving people a show is one way to ease desperation. If they're talking about the incident with Cassandra, they're also talking about how quickly and efficiently we dealt with the issue - I'd say not a soul left alive is one way to discourage any..." he waved his hand, unconcerned with whatever could come from a common peoples' discontent. "If House Kesley can't stand against us, then what chance do the urchins of the city have? I thank House Kesley for their buffoonery, they make my job easier."

Iann clapped Miguel on the back. "My little brother," he proclaimed at Miguel, and it almost sounded like praise. As of Miguel had finally set his sails properly, figured out the wind, and almost caught up with his eldest brother's ship. Not quite caught up, but close enough that they could cheerfully hail each other from on deck, while their crossfirebows made aim at each other in the decks below.

Maya spent the morning baking an elaborate celebratory gingerbread. Once it was complete, she headed upstairs to see where else she might be needed. While technically she was only in Lord Savin's employ and only a kitchen girl, as far as anyone knew, it would still do well to see what she might be able to overhear upstairs. While baking she'd already gotten the full gossip report from the Capitol's servants. She slipped into the back of the room, quiet and likely unnoticed.

High Raj: ~bells started tolling, slowly at first then carrying down through the city. It didn't last long. It was merely an announcement for the start of the Coronation, for the nobles to assemble in the Grand Hall of the Bluesprings Castle~

Miguel blinked at Iann in surprise, where did the sudden praise come from? If he didn't know any better he would think Iann was proud of him. But the bells distracted him, and he ducked his head to excuse himself. "I must change before the coronation proper, see you soon." He pat his brother's arm in response and ran off toward his room.

Faye heard the tolling of the bells, so she didn't bother stopping to speak with anyone. Not that anyone tried to strike up a conversation anyway. She would be leaving after the ceremony, and wouldn't be coming back. There was nothing for her here. There was nothing for her anywhere.

This was it. Ciara felt a momentary thrill run up her spine. Truthfully, there was no Council until there was a High Raj. Her role did not truly exist until it did. She walked alongside others, keeping pace with them, her hair twisted carefully to hide her scars and exemplify her status. Every person had a position in the Grand hall, dictated by centuries of tradition and years of warfare. Hers, as representative of House Florent, was far back and far to the left. She could hardly see The royal throne, but could just well enough. It was, however, a perfect vantage point for watching everyone else. Even the best men and women in the kingdoms had momentary flickers of expression in response to things. Tiny, often imperceptible flickers, but she knew them, and planned to record them. The reception was as critical as the coronation, and her mice had made her well aware of the doubts in this hall.

Iann "You look beautiful, you vain thing!" Iann called out, his voice echoing (and slightly mocking) as Miguel hurried off to change. He laughed then, and drained his mead, strolling towards the Grand Hall. He was in no rush. He'd probably be the first one to arrive before anyone else anyways, and Iann always loved the idea of being first.

The coronation ceremony started at high noon, when the sun shone directly above the throne perched on the dias. The Grand Hall of the Bluesprings Castle was grand, with high arches and domes of beautiful wrought metal and glass that allowed light in from strategic angles, all of which subtle directed people towards facing the Sunlit Throne. Today the glasspanes were removed, allowing the much-needed seabreeze to flow and circulate through the room, as it gathered with nobles, courtiers and their various entourage.

The members of the Cloverry took their places to the sides of the Hall. The crown itself perched on the seat of the throne. it was heavily guarded by six Rajisthangard for two days now, as it was warmed and imbued by the sun's power as per traditional dictates of a Bluesprings Coronation. It had been decades since anyone had even seen the crown itself. A dense, heavy but beautifully crafted thing, not ostentatious but certainly eye-catching in its gold and jewels.

No one was appointed to crown the High Raj. The crown was a representation of the High Raj's responsibility to the people, a reminder of the heavy burden being placed upon that human brow. A reminder through duty and strife (and headaches), the ruler would need to think carefully but quickly for any decree that would affect the realm. The throne was different from the crown - it was large and elaborate, intended to remind the people: this was their High Raj, and the Raj commanded respect and honour. When the High Raj sat , it was raised higher than those assembled - not only so that the Raj could see them, but also so that they could all see their ruler.

To Iann's disappointment, there were already quite a few ahead of him. All the courtiers and cronies, and actual nobility that populated the Capital itself. But being a part of the Quiver of Houses, Iann strode easily through the gathering few, to take a place designated for the Forty Isles. The stones on the floor, colour-marked for these positions, had all been finely polished. Some of the stones would have no one to stand upon them, Iann thought. But that only made the Quiver that much more powerful, because each member would then be considered absolutely necessary should it ever come down to that. He did spot Lady Florent drifting her way through the crowd, and wondered if she would even take a stone for herself, or not. Houses weren't required to take their stone, but usually that was a political move. Protest, or disgrace, or mourning, or some other reason. Florent or Phyre? He amused himself thinking of it, as he waited.

Faye took her place in the position of her House. She ignored the fact that at some point it appeared that someone had taken a blade to the insignia, but had given up after the old stone refused to be marred beyond a few nicks and scrapes. She stood silent, hands clasped demurely in front of her, and observed the rest of the gathering.

Tuah nodded his head and walked outside, speaking softly to his confidante on what he was planning during the coronation. When Fane was ready, they walked side by side towards the castle, his confidante on his other side and the Dawnguards behind them. Once they have arrived his eyes trained towards the crowd, studying each face that was present as he took his place.

The Red Priestess entered the hall along with the rest of the invited nobles. While having no official place as did the Cloverry, she found a respectful place to stand that would not draw attention away from those that deserved it. She was merely a messenger. A conduit for the Lord of Light. She still carried no blade, but that was no matter. It would come when it was required. The Priestess stood calmly, looking at all the gathered faces, and hoped that this was the start of something good. The start of a new age of peace.

Fane walked in thoughtful contemplation alongside Tuah, his eyes scanning a few of the familiar figures who opted for fashion trends that were almost blinding. Everywhere you turned your eye there was some emblazoned crest or another to catch the attention, peacocks, Fane thought to himself sullenly. Preening and plumping their chests to be deigned the most attention here. Arriving at the hall his eyes scanned those already assembled noting Iann already in place, Lady Ciara and several other notable figures until his eyes caught on the back of... He blinked as if the act would clear his vision and she would no longer be stood in place looking... resplendent. A part of him wanted to step towards her, to ask why she'd come back after their argument this morning but now wasn't the time. Opting to swallow he dipped his head and made his way over to his place, those of the Guard who opted to accompany him falling in to stand nearby. Their presence a sign that the Guard would also uphold the peace but equally a small peace of mind for Fane.

Maya stood quietly in the back of the hall behind the space designated for Blackspire. She watched quietly, searching the crowd for faces she recognized as well as any potential trouble. Peace had been promised, but Maya knew too much of war to trust that promise. She saw the Red Priestess enter and made a mental note to avoid the religious figure. While Maya was certain that the woman didn't know who Maya was, her looks had been all too calculating to make Maya comfortable. Luckily most everyone's attention was on the other nobles as well as, of course, the High Raj.

Miguel made his way back through the castle, looking just a bit more regal than when he left. He took his spot beside, and slightly behind his brother. People were continually filing into the room and he was thankful for the sea breeze that blew on them - keeping the air fresh and salty.

High Raj Between the nobles, down a deep green carpet that led to the throne, Avitej Sharma walked in slow and measured pace. There was no fanfare; the still hush and occasional rustle of cloth set the sombre but still elegant tone of this particular Coronation. A baby wailed, but the open vaulted ceilings allowed the breeze to carry the sound away, rather than letting it echo through the Hall. Avitej barely heard it, but was glad for sounds of normalcy around him rather than loud trumpets or ominous drums. From up in the Castle, voices from below carried upwards, and all the Nobles were aware of the hustle and bustle below of the people who waited to be ruled while going about their daily lives. That was the point of opening the rooftops, a decision Avitej made with his Council. The nobles were not stashed away in their own world of elaborate and lavish decor, music and the pleasure of their own voices. They had the sea breeze that sometimes smelled of fish, the calling of hawkers and arguments of commerce, the life of everyone come together for this occasion. Even if the commonfolk were not in the Grand Hall themselves, they were still present.

Avitej reached the dias and ascended it slowly, picking up the crown in both hands. He turned, holding the crown high. All of this symbolic of course. He picks up the crown, he holds it aloft, he places it on his head. He makes this choice, and it's his alone to make as he will be High Raj. No one else can do this for him. Avitej stood there for a bated moment, crown held high for everyone to witness this momentous scene that would shift the realm of Bluesprings - hopefully towards a better life. Better than a decade of war and strife.

Avitej placed the crown on his head and he didn't smile. His face was as sombre as the occasion and smiling would only look smug. Instead, he stood there for a few moments, his face carved out of stone but not unpleasant, letting his people see their High Raj for what he now was.

It was just a little 'shhhk' sound, and then the face of their High Raj, stoic and carved out of stone, was suddenly sheeted in bright red blood. High Raj Avitej gasped and stumbled backwards. By the time he sat in the Sunlit Throne, he was already dead.

A Herald of the House Sharma, in a panic at seeing his High Raj murdered before his eyes, cried out in anguish: "THE HIGH RAJ IS D--" But before he could finish the sentence, Iann only needed the two striding steps towards the man, and he sliced open his old throat with his obsidian blade. Maybe he should've just covered the man's mouth - but this was more efficient and Iann was reacting from the instinct of shock. He only realized what he'd done belatedly, and also how it would look. He held his reddened hands up, dropped the dagger with a clatter to the stone floor, then dropped to his knees as the Guards surrounded him with their weapons drawn.

Ciara eyed Lord Savin as he entered with a group of guards at his flanks, and could hardly believe her eyes. She turned her gaze to the elder Lord Cardero instead, so hide from herself her response to the man. No faith in the Rajisthangard, no faith in the peace deal and all for everyone to see so blatantly. For all the world to see bright and clearly, during the coronation of all places, and flanked around him, rather than to the rear. But then Avitej entered. Lord, to become Raj. She watched, with a tight throat and deference. She knew war as everyone else did, and she also knew what made the peace after it. Her eyes were fixed on him, transfixed. He was beautiful to behold. He held the crown, and placed it on his head. And then, he died. Bright, red, crimson. Ciara froze still as the Herald began to yell, as lord Cardero sliced his throat, spilling more red onto the throne. By the time his knife had hit the floor, Ciara had disappeared through a wall, and not even those standing beside her noticed she had gone.

The Red Priestess watched in silence as the man who would call himself ruler placed the crown on his head. She felt nothing, strangely enough, as she watched him look out on the assembled. And when the somberness was cut across with cries of fear and screams of horror as red sprayed across the stones, the priestess of the Light barely flinched. Instead, she let out a breath, her shoulders sagging slightly. The chaos that followed was none of her concern. She turned, and slowly left the great hall.

Maya's eyes went wide with shock at the scene before her. She couldn't find it in herself to be entirely surprised at the High Raj's death, but Lord Cardero's slaying of the herald caused her shock. It was poison. It had to be. Meaning likely suspicion would fall on her and by extension Lord Savin. She slipped from the Great Hall during the commotion to head back to the kitchen to learn what she could from the servants there.

The Red Priestess: watched in silence as the man who would call himself ruler placed the crown on his head. She felt nothing, strangely enough, as she watched him look out on the assembled. And when the somberness was cut across with cries of fear and screams of horror as red sprayed across the stones, the priestess of the Light barely flinched. Instead, she let out a breath, her shoulders sagging slightly. The chaos that followed was none of her concern. She turned to leave, but found the way blocked. The great doors of the keep already closing upon the assembled.

He wasn't going to fight the Rajisthangard, because he knew it would make him look guilty for a murder he didn't commit. His eyes remained glued in disbelief to the Sunlit Throne, and the man - only a man, and young too - slumped into it. Iann didn't know Avitej Sharma well, he hadn't even really cared about who was taking the Crown. But there was a certain hope and relief in the idea of peace in the Bluesprings realm, no matter how tenuous. It was naive, and Iann hated himself for thinking it. So when a Guard roughly dragged him up, tears in the man's eyes as he wanted to turn his own horror and fear on something, Prince Iann looked back at him evenly. "Do what you must," he offered, but then a Prelate instructed the Guard to place the Prince in irons for now and remove him from the Grand Hall. Others might also suspect that Iann had a hand in the death of the High Raj, and the Prelate didn't want any more bloodshed in this accursed Hall today.

Faye didn't make a sound as the smell of blood and the screams of the people assembled filled the air. She froze, hands flying over her mouth to contain the sound that wanted so badly to come out. She took a step back, and then another, and another... as fear swept over her like a flame. She knew that sort of death. Poison. And she'd already been seen using something similar on a man that had attacked her, though to much less harmful effects. She had to leave. She had to leave right now.

Miguel There was a moment of internal silence. And then a giddiness filled Miguel's chest and he bit his lip and looked concerned to hid his joy. What an exciting turn of events. And so fortuitous. He hadn't killed the Raj, but it coincided so well with his own plans, it had to be fate. He watched as his brother was taken away in irons. The sight was honey in his tea. There was work to be done, and Iann out of the way would make that work so much easier.

Fane was left standing in belated shock as the High Raj fell on his throne, crimson staining the flagstones. He'd worried that something would happen, that... something would go wrong, and here it was for all to see. Death was not a new sight in the Inquisitors eyes, he'd seen men far younger die under far more gruesome circumstances. But the High Raj had been a beloved figure. A symbol of unity and peace. A man to bring about a prosperity for ages to come and in one act, that peace was shattered. So where there were gasps and screeches echoing out around him in a world that seemed to have slowed substantially he stood silent. A vigil of passing. Time only sped up once more when he saw the sudden movement to his right, the Crown Prince slaying the Herald, to silence him before his call could even echo, instead, letting it die in a gurgle of blood. The six of his men, who had all come relatively unarmoured and unequipped as a show of fealty to the crown - that the Guard would equally be beholden to the one ruler had all gone to draw their smaller arms. Yet were stopped by a sharp signal at his hand, "no, no weapons and no force, help the Rajisthangard re-establishing some order."

Tuah felt a swell of emotion as he stood among the nobles, bearing witness to such a momentous occasion. His eyes followed each step the High Raj took until he took his rightful place, crown on his head and a sombre expression on his face. He could feel his lips curled into a soft smile, the hope that glimmered behind his eyes that peace between the nations could be achieved under the banner of the High Raj. It would be an uphill battle, he had no doubt, but one he hoped to achieve nonetheless. But the hope turned to shock then horror when he bear witness to the murder of the newly crowned High Raj stumbled backwards, blood splattered from his mouth and life soon left the young body. Tuah gripped the pommel of his sword, jaw clenched as his eyes scanned the panicking crowd, suspecting everyone that was present. He caught the commotion around Lord Cardero, watching with hawk eyes as Iann being dragged by the Rajisthangard, before moving his attention towards Fane. He calmly made his way towards the Lord, his confidante hot on his heel. “I hate it when you’re right,” he muttered under his breath.

Ciara had already begun to head to her own destination, but she was not the only one to slip out. A servant girl, or something of the like, serving Lord Savin. She grabbed a servant of her own, completely unaware of what had just happened two halls away. One of Ciara's mice, but by design not one who often served Ciara herself. "Follow the Savin servant girl. Inconspicuously, now. You have wine to fetch." Her voice was sharp as steel, and brooked no argument. The servant nodded sharply. If Prolate Theodore had any sense, the keep doors were already locked. No one was to leave. And while in this moment she trusted no one, least of all him, she trusted him to hold to expectations. The Lords and Ladies would be trapped here, and Ciara had enough mice for most walls. She would learn who caused this.

Faye watched as the guards descended on the prince as more blood spilled over the stones. She watched as the prince was placed in irons. She watched as a ripple went through the crowd. She watched as the doors started to close. She watched as the Dawnsguard went for their weapons. Watched as they were told to stand down. Watched as it all fell apart. Again.

A random Prelate under Theodore's guidance pleaded with the assembled people to remain calm, the Gates had been locked for their own safety and no one should leave. And what they needed now was to assemble the Quiver of Houses from all representatives present, to decide what was to be done now. The poor man was so beset by grief and the immediacy of this act of violence that he broke down in tears halfway through the announcement.

"You know I am a representative of the Quiver of Houses," Iann said, hearing the announcement made as he was being escorted to the gaol. "When you realize that I was not responsible for the High Raj's death, I expect you to give me a similarly protective escort to the Quiver Hall. If you please." Because the last damned thing he wanted, as he realized just how hasty his actions were, was for his little brother to represent the Forty Isles in the Quiver of Houses.

Maya sensed she was being followed. Since she had nothing to hide about what she was doing though, she walked calmly down to the kitchens. The news had yet to trickle this far down. She asked a few innocuous questions designed to discover who had access to the High Raj's food and drink. The list was too long though. Believing the promises of peace the servants had been lax securing the High Raj's meals. She returned to her work as if that were the most normal thing in the world for her to do. After all the meeting of the Quiver of Houses was likely to go long. The nobles would need sustenance.

Unable to leave the keep, and unwilling to use other methods to dissuade the guards to leave their post, the priestess turned back to the assembled. The Raj's death was sad, yes. An unneccessary act of violence. And people wondered why no one believed that peace could exist. Seeing the young prelate fall to his knees in grief, the priestess came over and lay a hand on his shoulder. "Strength, brother..." Looking up at the slowly panicking crowd, the priestess stepped up onto the dias, uncertain if anything she said would help. Closing her eyes, she pressed her hands to her chest and spoke a prayer to the lord of light to help those in need. Moments passed, and then all around the room, the torches flared with violent intensity. A roar of flame and light and heat that might have been the gust of wind that blew through the hall. Or something else. Hopefully it would get their attention. "Are you not the bravest and strongest of your Houses?" the priestess called out calmly. "Yet you act like frightened children who have never seen death before. The Raj is dead. But peace does /not/ have to die with him. You are the ones that make peace. Not a man on a throne."

Fane frowned unhappy by Tuah's comment "I wish I wasn't'." As his men aided the far more numerous Rajisthangard to secure the room Fane turned his attention to the throne and the Raj's body. "We need to make sure the scene isn't disturbed. And the Raj's body needs to be secured..."

Iann was taken to a cell - not too deep in the bowels of the castle, at least. Something fitting for a Prince, he thought grimly. He couldn't hear what was going on above him, but he answered the Guard Commander's questions patiently, and then the Prelate's questioning as well. Iann couldn't tell how long it took - an hour, perhaps more. Regardless, it was determined that he would be allowed to sit in the Quiver of Houses, but remain cuffed and escorted by Rajisthangard for the duration of the meeting. He wasn't a suspect but at the same time he was a suspect, as much as anyone else in this castle was, it seemed. It was a humiliating compromise, but Iann gravely took it. By the time he was taken back up to the Grand Hall, it was mostly empty, save for other Rajisthangards, and some members of the Cloverry. The body was removed, the crown remained on the Sunlit Throne, bloody now and sullied.

Miguel came forward and nodded to the Inquisitor. "May I inspect the crown?" He knew a thing or two about poisons, Iann had hinted as much already in Fane's presence - there was no harm in inspecting it. Unless he touched it and encountered the poison.

Faye watched from the back of the hall, pressed against the wall of the keep in order to keep herself from trying to flee. The prince was taken away, and the Dawnsguard started securing the room. She saw Lord Savin helping to get the Raj's body secured, and something in the back of her mind screamed to tell him not to touch the crown. Poison worked in many ways, including prolonged skin contact. A brush of a finger might not do much, but one never knew. Miguel came forward to join him, asking about the crown specifically. Faye frowned, but couldn't make the words come.

The Red Priestess stayed in the keep as the lords and ladies were quieted and reassured. To their credit, most did well after the initial shock had worn off. But the death of the Raj - while terrible - was no longer important. Not the the priestess. What came next was important. Who would rule? Who would be held responsible for today's death? She kept her own council until the prince who had slit the heralds throat was brought back in under armed guard. Making her way over, she took a seat near the prince. "You stopped a city-wide panic, doing what you did."

"Perhaps you can vouch for me, then," Iann replied, as he watched, both grateful and seething, as his little brother stepped towards the Throne with the Inquisitor. He looked over then at the Witch of the Wilds, pressed closely against the wall, and then finally at the Red Priestess. He was still standing up, she'd taken a seat on a stone bench next to him. "Are you attending the Quiver of Houses assembly? I think you should. The servants were talking about that grand speech you made, to shake the fear out of people's boots. Did it actually mean anything, Priestess?" He was still shaken up about all of this, truthfully. But Iann knew better than to let it show.

Ciara flitted through the halls. She was torn on where to go first, and opted in the direction of his bedroom. There were poisons that took hours to act, and some which could still be timed to the minute. They may have been in the soaps of his bath, and lingered in his hair until pushed into his skull. She needed to see, and she needed to see before the Prelate. It was perhaps her next duty to learn Avi's sex life, and those of his servants. She had only had days to establish herself in this castle, she didn't have the months of knowledge - she needed the Prelate's spies too. She needed to convince Prelate Theodore to let her in. Guards stood before his doors, and did not let her through. For the first time, she flashed the small Council medallion. "Your commander will tell you soon. The High Raj is dead. Assasinated. You will allow me to investigate this room without delay, or I will have you charged with treason." Her stature and status did nothing to intimidate them, but the medallion pinned under her cloak was more convincing. They hesitated moment, and then there was a wail along the hall, pure grief. The Raj had been loved. They stepped aside, and let her in.

Fane checked on the general state of the room now that it was mostly settled (as settled as it could be following what had happened). He looked the Prelate's men also helping to reestablish some sense of order. Following the path of the High Raj he slowly made his way up the steps towards the throne, the stone still bearing the marks of what had happened here. He touched nothing, moving to rest on one knee as he took in the area. There was nothing untoward about the scene specifically, no strange odour hung on the air, only the slight staleness of some disturbed dust the next thing to be inspected he supposed was the crown.

"I can vouch for the truth," the priestess told him, which in this instance was the same thing. At least to her. "Letting that fool scream to the masses about what's happened would've seen the city in flames within the day. You saved lives." She glanced up at him where he stood. "I never speak words I don't mean, Your Grace. These men and women don't have the option of showing weakness. What started with the Raj - may the Light bless and keep him - will only trickle downhill."

"Ah." Was the most he replied for a long while. Then Iann looked down at her, and well - down her dress exposing her cleavage. It was right there, after all. "So that Unnamed Sword of yours, it remains where ever you keep it secured."

Miguel stood with the Inquisitor - and wasn't the title accurate today? He pulled a pair of black leather riding gloves from his pocket's and paused a moment. "Would you like to get a closer look, or shall I?"

Faye knew she needed to move. She had been in the same place for far too long. But going unnoticed seemed the best idea at the time. Though she felt eyes on her regardless. By the time the prince had been brought in - under guard, she saw, with no small amount of trepidation - Faye had at least moved to sit on a bench along the wall. Afraid her legs might fall from beneath her. She watched as the the Inquisitor walked the path the Raj had taken, her breath speeding up slightly as he knelt to inspect the crown. Miguel was there too, thankfully pulling on a set of gloves. He knew of poison. Faye had learned that much from him. Perhaps she should go. People were being allowed to leave the hall, but not the keep itself. But where would she go?

The Red Priestess watched the Inquisitor and the other man as they inspected the crown. She suspected a topical poison herself, but it wasn't her place. Surely between the two of them they could come to a conclusion. The priestess felt the prince's eyes on her at times, but he didn't speak for quite a while. When he did, it was to ask of the sword. "It does. Though I know not where that is."

Fane similarly opted to pull a pair of leather gloves from his belt. "I shall, your royal highness shouldn't expose himself to potential toxins if any happens to be in or on the crown." They'd lost on King today, no need to add a prince to the list. He was neither and therefore it was expected that he say such a thing. With his own gloves pulled on he carefully raised the crown from its resting place on the throne mindful of any hidden contractions or mechanisms by which a dose of the poison might be administered. "A topical toxin wouldn't act as fast as it took for the Raj to fall..." Carefully he turned the crown over in search of some delivery method murmuring under his breath "I wonder..."

Iann: "Unnamed sword in an unnamed location. That bodes well," he replied, then called out to Miguel and the Inquisitor, "Yes, yes we understand that the High Raj is dead. He was killed. We all saw it. We are rulers of kingdoms in this realms - well, I am. And the Inquisitor is. And I'm sure she is, to her own extent," he said, eyeing Lady Faye. "As rulers I think we should concentrate on who should rule. My brother has skills in such things, Inquisitor, Don't sully your own hands with such menial tasks. Come, we should convene in the Quiver of Houses."

Miguel pulled on his own gloves, hands ready if the Inquisitor heed Iann's advice. It wasn't that he didn't trust Fane, but he wanted to touch it himself, to figure out this puzzle with his hands and his mind, without relying on Fane. Miguel didn't mind if the Inquisitor went with Iann and the Red Priestess to talk politics.

"It bodes as well as a murdered King does," the priestess said in return. Though she said nothing of the crown or the two men inspecting it.

Fane looked back at Iann's summoning, "go on, I want an answer here first I'll join you shortly." The crown in his hands he turned it over slowly tilting this way and that in the light of the the Great Hall. There was a subtle metal seam inside, and as Fane applied pressure on the circumferential side of it little barb-like thorns emerged from the thicker rim above. Mechanically designed. Cold and calculated death as soon as it had been placed on his head. Releasing the pressure with his thumbs the barbs retracted back into the frame of the crown. Miguel had his hands out and Fane carefully let him take it. "A cruel death..." but efficient in a chilling sense.

Iann shook his head. "No, Inquisitor, leave this...investigation to the lesser folk. Your duty is now to the realm."

Fane exhaled under his breath, he had the answer he needed regardless. He looked at a few of the Rajisthangard and then Miguel. "The crown is evidence in the Raj's murder... Once it has been fully examined I wish for it to be kept secure. It cannot be tampered with." Noting Dani approaching he gave them a small nod trusting they would see to helping secure the evidence before heading back down the steps.

Faye knew that there were few poisons that could cause death quite so quickly. They would have to be absorbed into the skin over time. Minimum of a few hours. Even the fastest acting poisons took several minutes to do their job. The Raj had died nearly instantly. That only left... "Venom," Faye said without realizing it. She looked up at Fane and Miguel as they inspected the crown. They seemed reluctant to leave it behind, and the prince seemed eager to get them to leave.

Miguel 's jaw tightened to hold in a grin. A cruel death, for sure, but so effective. He fiddled with the mechanism, holding it so Danian could see. Then he held the crown close to his face and took a sniff. There were plenty of poisons that were odorless, and more still that left traces. There was a faint smell of blueberries, but Miguel wasn't sure if that was the poison itself or something used to cover a worse smell. In any case, the dried barbs held barely any evidence. What was more interesting was the mechanics. Either the crown had always been like that, or someone had enough time to tinker with it enough to install the mechanism. Since he doubted this was a fake crown - what with all the guarding of it. Which meant that someone had tinkered with it before many of the nobles had arrived. He took a deep breath before relaying the pertinent thoughts to Danian. "What do you think though? Fake crown or tinkered?"

Maya returned without a word to the Great Hall once she had learned all she could for the moment outside its walls. She'd heard many rumors. although sorting out the true from the false would take time and more information. Standing again at the back of the room, she whispered with one of the guards to learn what had been discovered while she was 'attending her duties.' She knew that she needed to speak to Lord Savin. While she had secrets she didn't expect to be found out and that weren't relevant, she should inform him of them just in case. There was no such thing as knowing too much on a day like today.

Faye: With Lord Savin leaving the room, and Miguel - who was the only other person in the city she trusted even a little bit - standing holding the crown, Faye finally swallowed her fears and slowly approached them. She didn't step up on the dias, merely stood at the bottom looking on, her soft, white robes catching the light from the high windows. "Venom, my lord," Faye said, voice as even as she could manage. "Your likely not looking for poison. But venom."

Iann wasn't so much eager to leave, as he unfortunately understood responsibility. They could spend hours sitting here studying a crown, while the people - the commonfolk - waited and waited for nothing. No news, no Coronation, nothing to give them. Just closed gates and silence. Decisions had to be made that were about the kingdoms and this supposed unity they were supposed to have. Not poring over the murder of their short-lived High Raj. That was important of course it was necessary to determine why the High Raj was even killed. But the little details were for leaders to trust their lessers with. Perhaps the Inquisitor didn't have that trust, or perhaps it made him feel good to get his hands dirty with the details. But in the meantime, nothing was actually being done. "Lady Faye, you should come with us. The future of this realm lies with you too, I'm afraid."

Danian had been wandering around the keep, searching for any sign of suspicious figures that might have been hiding in the crowd, admiring their bloody work. Nothing had turned up, really. So, after several minutes of scouting, they joined the nobles gathered around the king's fallen site itself. They were in no rush to follow them further to the Quiver of Houses. After all-- they weren't even sure they belonged in such a meeting. They weren't the head of their house. Not yet. Instead, they stood themself next to Miguel, studying the crown as he held it for them to see. "I can't say for sure," they hummed thoughtfully themself. "We'd have to get a closer look at the mechanism itself." They paused to glance at the prince once more. "Do you think they would allow us to inspect it- if we asked, of course?" Faye's added point earned a raise of their brow. "How can you tell?"

"Shall we move this to someplace that might do some good, your grace?" the priestess asked just before Iann called out to Lady Lacroy. The woman had finally moved from her spot on the wall. It was true. Dying House or not, she was still of the Quiver.

Faye nodded at the prince. "Yes, your grace. Just one moment, if you please." She turned to Miguel and the person she didn't know, but had seen their face the night before at the celebrations. Taking a small step up the dais, Faye swallowed. "Rarely does a poison cause such... massive hemorrhage." Faye indicated the stains on the floor. "They exist, but they're exceedingly rare. Venom... especially the kind found in certain species of vipers... can cause massive bleeding within moments, depending on the dose and the delivery."

"The Quiver Hall," a Prelate announced, motioning down a path leading off of the Great Hall and into a room. Not far from the Great Hall, still within easy reach. Iann was escorted there, shaking his head once he was situated in the Quiver Hall. "Venom? I wouldn't be surprised if it was my own brother who did this, if he ever got close enough to the crown to do so." There was a time, about a month ago, when the Crown was taken on a tour of the regions, to curry excitement and engage enthusiasm for the Coronation and announcement of the High Raj. People liked to look at pretty things, it encouraged them and allowed them hope.

Miguel felt the need to show off a little, besides - Danian already knew he wasn't the useless muscled clownfish that he pretended to be when it suited him. "Thank you, Lady Lacroy - another hint is in the method of action, a poison would more likely be ingested, while this was jammed into the skin..." He glanced between the investigation party and the politics party. "I won't demand your time if you're needed elsewhere, Lady. But I beg your company when you're finished."

Danian nodded to Lady Lacroy - it was nice to put a name to a face without having to ask - when Miguel gave his thanks to indicate their mutual feeling. "It seems looking into the particular effects of these vipers and the mechanism itself might be a good place for us to start, then." They tilted their head to Miguel. "Would you agree?"

Miguel nodded. "Yes. I assume this castle has a library - do you happen to know where it is?" There were also human resources, but Faye would be busy, and he didn't see the Master of Whispers.

"Careful who you accuse, Your Grace," the priestess told the prince as they walked.

Movie Night

Dean stood at the foot of his bed glaring at his phone like it had somehow offended him.  He knew now was as good of time as any, and he’d already wasted too many years lying to himself. One more deep breath and he hit the send button before he could change his mind.

Movie?

It didn’t take long before his phone vibrated in his hand.

Sure. 😊When and Where?

Hmm. That was easy. It’s not like they hadn’t watched movies together before. It was no big deal. At least that’s the lie he chose to go with. No one had to know any different.

My room? Ready when you are.

Wait, no…

For the movie I mean.

This time it took a little longer for the answer but he was quick as ever to view the response.

Ok brt *thumbs up emoji*

He was such a dork. Dean loved it. He took a minute to glance at himself in the mirror. His face was flushed and his usually styled hair was messy and still a bit damp from the shower. No point in putting gel in it just to fall asleep. But then again he wasn’t going to bed right away, it was movie night. Maybe he should…  *Knock knock knock*  Two strides and he was at the door with his hand resting on the knob. A glance upwards to heaven and one more steadying breath, he opened the door to see one of his favorite faces sporting a small smile.

“Hello Dean” The angel stood leaned against the door frame holding two beers looking more human than Dean had seen in a long time.

“You brought drinks? Thanks man.” He gave the angel a crooked grin and stepped away from the door to allow his friend to enter. Cas immediately walked in and made himself comfortable sifting through the stack of movies Dean had sitting on the bedside table. “Yea I figured we could re-watch one of the classics.” In Castiel’s hands were Tombstone, Twister,3:10 to Yuma, and Pale Rider

“I think we should watch this one again.” Cas held up 3:10 to Yuma  “To be honest I wasn’t paying attention last time”  

“Huh yea you were too busy asking questions and stealing my popcorn” Dean smiled to keep the tone with slight teasing.

“I did not steal your popcorn. You told me that even angels should “like popcorn” because it’s nothing but “salty buttery goodness” and that I wasn’t getting the full movie experience without it.” Cas stood and popped the disk into the blueray player.

“Dude, do you ever get comfortable?” His plan would go much smoother if Cas would lose the accountant get up. “Teachable moment… here, put on some sweats.” Dean tossed him one of his extra pair of black pants. Cas eyed him for a moment then stood and began to remove his coats and tie. Dean knew he was staring and he knew that at any moment Cas could look up and catch him but, for some reason that didn’t deter him. The other man began toeing off his shoes and then moved to slip his belt out through the loops. Once that was discarded he unceremoniously shed the slacks and slipped on the sweats. Dean would be the biggest liar on the planet if he had said that he didn’t try his hardest to catch a glimpse of skin.  “Do you need a shirt or…?”

The angel looked up into a pair of jade eyes. “No, I suppose my undershirt will be fine.” He continued to keep eye contact as he unbuttoned the white dress shirt. As the angel was moving down to the third button Dean had to turn around to avoid an embarrassing conversation that would be the result of his open mouth gaping. He steadied himself with a deep breath and turned back around in time to see the angel lay his dress shirt over the back of his desk chair. Castiel caught his attention and held his arms out to his side gesturing at his state of undress. “I don’t see why I needed to change. My clothing doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable in the physical sense.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Well it makes me uncomfortable. You wear that same outfit everywhere, even when it’s hot outside. Dude seeing you in long sleeves in summer makes me sweat.”

Without missing a beat, “Looking at me makes you hot?”  

Dean made a little choking sound in the back of his throat. “Yea I mean, uh ya know because I do feel *rubs the back of his neck*… I can be affected physically *pinches the bridge of his nose*… It’s a figure of speech Cas. Just put the movie on.” It seemed like everything he said was coming out wrong tonight. He sat on the bed opening his beer and taking a swig. Noticing Cas was nearly done messing with the volume for the movie, he twisted the cap off the other bottle extending it out towards his friend. Castiel nodded a thanks. He hovered for a moment and after taking a drink placed his bottle on the desk and grabbed the back of the chair spinning it around. No, not there….

“What’cha doin Cas?” There’s the head tilt and Dean can almost hear his response in his head. And it’s a little too sarcastic for his liking. Great, now he’s imagining sassy-cas “Come sit with me man that chair is like sitting on a rock.”

“Are you sure?” They’d watched movies together but never in the hunters room. And Castiel was almost certain he was not supposed to be in Dean’s bed with him.

“What? Of course I’m sure. How am I supposed to teach you about being comfortable by letting you sit through an entire movie in that chair?” Nice save Winchester. Castiel was making his way over to the bed just to perch on the very edge almost as if he didn’t want to be there. Dean thought about their other movie nights for a moment. Cas had never seemed awkward and uncomfortable then. He had just picked his seat, flopped down and enjoyed. Sometimes he’d even prop his feet up or recline back. Maybe Cas really was uncomfortable. Maybe he didn’t want this. With sadness to his voice that wasn’t there earlier he gave his friend an out. “You can sit in the chair if you want though. I just thought it’d be easier to relax and see from the bed.”

“I’m ok here.”

He didn’t look ok. “Are you sure, because you’ve barely got half an ass cheek on the mattress? You breathe too hard and you’re going to fall off.”

Cas looked at him with one of his famous I am not amused faces. “I am uncertain of how close to sit. We’ve had this conversation? About personal space.”

Dean felt a twinge of guilt laced with shame. He had never intended to shut his buddy out. He just didn’t know how to handle someone wanting to be that close to him. “That was like, ten years ago Cas. After everything… hell, we are each other’s personal space.” He huffed out a small laugh which seemed to do the trick. The angel graced him with a rarely seen smile and shuffled a bit closer. It really wasn’t like him to be so soft but with Castiel he couldn’t help it.

The movie played on and between making small jokes and discussing certain parts the pair seemed to be gravitating towards each other. During one of the more drawn out scenes Dean excused himself to the bathroom and upon returning climbed up into the bed coming to rest in a new spot which happened to be on top of Castiel. Well, mostly. Their shoulders were touching as well as their knees. “Um, this ok Cas?” The only answer he received was the angel shifting slightly to turn himself further inward so he was resting on his left hip. Dean scooted a little further down in bed and turned so his body was mirroring Cas’. At this point the movie was long forgotten and all he could see is the light reflecting off his friend’s eyes and angular face. Everything was Castiel. Dean could smell the warm clean scent that followed the angel… it reminded him of an early spring morning. He could feel the heat from the other person’s body soaking through his clothes. I wonder what his lips would taste li…

Castiel turned his head sharply to the left to look at Dean. “Um, what?”

Shit! Did he say that out loud? Oh God… no. He didn’t say it so why is Cas looking at him like he could read his…. Fuck.

Take the defensive. “What?” Now scowl at him. Say something already!

“I uh thought I heard you say something…”  Castiel noticed he was but a few inches from Dean’s face. “The movie is nearly over; if you’re tired I can leave. You need your rest.”

To be honest he was drifting a bit before he almost got caught staring at the Angel’s mouth. But, after that mild heart attack who could sleep. “No. I’m ok. We can watch another movie if you want.” Please stay

“I wouldn’t mind keeping you company a bit longer.” He offered Dean a small smile.

“I don’t really want to get up though, I’m kinda comfortable.” Dean shifted his leg to touch Castiel.

“I myself have the sudden urge to stay sitting.” Castiel paused for a moment inspecting the hunter’s eyes attempting to read the situation for what it was. He feared a misinterpretation at this point would be unwelcoming. They were sitting so close all he had to do was flex his hand and there would be contact. He reached out just barely brushing his fingers across Dean’s knuckles. “I’ve become quite comfortable as well.”

Dean’s cheeks felt warm as he mumbled his response. “How comfortable are you trying to get?” Despite the blatant flirting he was nervous. This was his best friend he was hitting on. What happens if he doesn’t feel the same? Is he taking advantage of Cas? He did sleep with that reaper and he kissed Meg and that one time he was married…  Dean was brought out of his internal debate by Castiel’s radiant smile.

“Dean I need to tell you something.”

Here it comes… he’s about to reject you.

“It’s of a sensitive nature, and may be a bit of a sore spot for you.”

He knows. Dean can feel the lump in his throat. Don’t cry you girl… not in front of him anyway

“Dean, look at me please?” Castiel put his entire hand over Dean’s in a gesture of comfort. “You don’t need to be upset. I just felt it would be wrong to not tell you that… Well, you’re thinking rather loud this evening. And, while not meaning to I’ve been able to hear many of your mental ramblings.”

“Oh.” So not rejection, just an invasion of privacy.

“I did not mean, nor wish to invade your privacy Dean.” Castiel gave his friends hand a slight squeeze

Dean let out a breath he wasn’t aware he had been holding. “I know Buddy, I didn’t mean anything by it. I didn’t mean to think so loud.” He said with a soft chuckle.  “So, uh you’ve been able to-“ Dean gestured his finger back and forth between their hands. “The whole night?”

Castiel looked away feeling ashamed. “Again it was not intentional. I tried to ignore it but your… longing, it was- it is always very forceful”

Deans face was fevered now, his eyebrows furrowed. “My what now?”

The angel turned back to face him. “I don’t know of another word for it. It’s a very strong feeling. I can’t exactly read your mind although there are times when I hear specific words or phrases. You cuss often and loudly.”

“Cas…”

“Right, so um, it’s like a feeling I get.” He was lost for words on how to describe what was happening.

“You got any examples?” Dean was curious to know just exactly what the angel may have heard or ‘felt’.

“Well there’s this,” Cas tightened his grip on the hunters hand. “When I did that just now I got this feeling here…“ He pointed to his chest. Dean gave him a warm smile. “Ok, bad example.”  He searched the hunter’s eyes and found what he was looking for. He very slowly and deliberately leaned in a little more with his eyes trained on the man in front of him. When he saw that his lips were being looked at and he was sure Dean was paying attention he licked his bottom lip and briefly sucked it into his mouth. With his voice barely above a whisper he spoke again. “This is a better example. Earlier when I felt this you were looking at my lips then also. It’s like you’re pulling me in with your mind. It’s an ache and there are times when it makes me feel raw. I can feel your want to be close to me. I don’t always understand it properly but it is there.”

“Does it bother you?” Dean kept his eyes trained on a stray thread on the comforter.

“You’re longing, or how it makes me feel?”

Weary green eyes met the angel’s. “Both.”

“It is overwhelming at times, but it does not bother me.”  He looked down to see that Dean had not moved from under his hand. “Does this bother you?” He flexed his fingers to punctuate his meaning.

“You tell me.” Dean flipped his hand and threaded his fingers through the other hand.

“I can feel your fear and apprehension.” The angel smoothed his thumb along the edge of Dean’s.

“Yea well, got a lot riding on this.” He took a deep breath and began again. “We’ve been friends for a long time Cas. You know me better than anyone, even Sammy.” The angel nodded his understanding. “So yea I’m scared. This ain’t me. I don’t do feelings very well and the fact that you’re another guy spooks me on a level that I can’t….”

“Dean.”

“Let me finish. Please?” Here goes nothing “It isn’t right… I feel, dirty and not in the fun kinky way. You’re an Angel Cas. An honest to God, roam the heavens, lead the lost to the light Angel. It’s wrong, but damn if I just don’t care. I’m trying to be better about it though, that’s why I invited you in here.”  

“I think I understand. You’re questioning who you are. You want to be close to me but feel as if you aren’t good enough… But why does it scare you that we’re friends?” Cas tilted his head.

I can’t lose you “I don’t want to scare you off. I’ve lived without you before but that doesn’t mean I want to.”

Castiel smiled softly at him. “You’re being very open this evening.”

“Well I told you I’m trying.”

After shifting further down on the mattress they stared at each other in comfortable silence. For the first time ever they both felt comfortable just being, existing together and enjoying the others company.  “Thank you for inviting me in.”

It took Dean a moment to answer. He was still caught up in those beautiful blue eyes. “Anytime sunshine.” He smiled and attempted to stifle a yawn.

“You’re tired. I should go so you can rest.” Castiel meaning what he said still made no move to let go of Dean’s hand.

“I can rest with you here ya know.” He looked up through long lashes at the handsome face in front of him.

“Dean Winchester, are you asking me to spend the night with you?” Cas said with a smirk.

“Ok smartass, get out.” He held tight to the angel’s hand. “I just know you’ve never had an issue creeping on me before. At least this way you’ll be next to me instead of looming over me.”

“I did not loom…” He smiled at the good natured teasing. “It is my job to watch over you.”

“So is that a yes?” please don’t leave

“Go to sleep Dean.” He leaned in slightly further.

“Yea I will… just one thing first.” He brought his left hand up to rest on the angel’s Jaw. Please don’t turn away

As if answering Dean’s prayer the angel nodded once. “Yes?”

Holding his gaze steady Dean leaned in and captured the angel’s lips with his own. Castiel closed his eyes and leaned into the contact. It was sweet and unrushed unlike most other moments in their time together.  He melted into it. As it turns out kissing a guy was just as fun as kissing a girl. And kissing Cas, well that was something else entirely. Dean had been to heaven, he had briefly known contentment with Lisa in his time on earth, but this…. This was happiness.  He pulled away only when he needed to breathe. Neither man moved trying not to trigger the freak out both had feared was coming. “Cas…”

“No Dean. We can talk about it when you wake up. It’s nearly 3 in the morning. Rest, and if you wish I’ll be here when you wake.”

Leaning in he gave the angel one last kiss for the night. “Yea I’d like that.” He finally released the hold on Castiel’s hand to turn over. Reaching behind him blindly he felt around. Cas caught on and offered his hand only to be yanked forward. Dean spent a moment getting them settled and then leaned his head back. “Goodnight Cas.”

The Angel pressed a chaste kiss to his forehead. “Goodnight Dean.”

A few moments of peaceful silence passed and then, “Hey Cas, earlier when you said that you didn’t always understand it properly, the ‘pull’ or whatever, is that why you use to always pop in? It was always at the exact right moment…. But if you could feel it then that means you felt it every time I-“

“Shhh go to sleep.”

When noon rolled around and Sam had yet to hear from his brother he went to go check on him. Walking down the corridor of the bunker he saw that Dean’s door was ajar left how he had forgotten it last night. Sam peeked inside to be met with the sight of his brother lying mostly on top of their friend while Cas carded his fingers through Deans messy locks. Cas turned his head to meet the younger hunters eyes.

I hope he knows this is happening

Castiel smiled brightly at Sam’s prayer.

I’m happy for you guys, just remember to keep the door closed He winked at the now blushing Angel pulling the door closed he heard a soft “Thanks Sam."  

Super hero au, baking, After discovering his ability to manipulate flames, Stanley decides to abuse this power by baking the cakes his mother used to make when he was younger. And as it turned out, criminals are less likely to mug people in dark alleys if they're given free food. So now Stan is fighting crime both with and without his mask!

🍰 - baking

In what has become a very obvious pattern, I didn’t completely follow your suggestion nor baking prompt.  Technically, it’s related, and inspired by both those things.  Also, I decided to set this in the Superhero AU where Angie’s a supervillain named Sirocco, bc that was what I got inspired for.  Anyways, hope you like it!

Send in an emoji and I’ll write a ficlet!

              Stan groaned silentlyto himself.

              I hate going to the bank.  Ialways get stuck behind some moldy oldie who insists on paying their bills orwhatever with pennies.  Currently, hehad been waiting for fifteen minutes, and was still at the back of theline.  Stan sighed and looked around thequiet, calm bank.  Man, what I wouldn’t give for a distraction.  Somethin’ to keep me from dying of boredom.

              Crash!  Stan instinctivelyducked at the sound of a glass breaking.

              What the hell happened?

              “All right,everybody on the ground, now!” a voice shouted. Stan’s eyes widened; the voice sounded familiar.  He turned around.  Standing proudly in front of the broken glassdoors was his archnemesis, the supervillainess named Sirocco.

              Fuck!  I don’t have my heroingduds on me.  And even if I did, I wouldn’tbe able to mask up without everyone here seeing.  Stan subtly pressed the “SOS” button on hissquad communicator, kept in his back pocket. Hopefully someone can show upbefore Sirocco takes all my dough.

              “Hey, you!” Siroccosaid, noticing him.

              “Uh, me?” Stanasked.

              “Yeah.  Why aren’t you on the floor?”

              “There’s kinda glasseverywhere,” Stan pointed out.  Siroccostormed over to him.  Stan stood stockstill as she stared directly into his face.

              Shit, shit, shit.  What if sherecognizes me?  Sure, she’s never seen mewithout my mask.  But Shermie recognizedme before I even had a chance to introduce myself as Flamethrower.  Sirocco frowned at him.  Something akin to recognition flashed in herblue eyes.  Stan swallowed nervously.  After a moment, Sirocco took a step back fromhim.

              “You seem familiar, stranger,”she said.  

              “I, uh, I hear thata lot.”

              “Hmm.”  Sirocco looked him up and down.  “Don’t know if I buy that, but whatever.”  She began to make her way to the teller.

              “Hey!” Stan blurtedout impulsively.  Sirocco spunaround.  A hot wind picked up in the banklobby.

              “Are you reallygoing to try my patience?  You know who Iam, right?” Sirocco demanded.

              “Yeah.  You’re one of the Twister Twins.”

              “That I am.  I’m a supervillain.  You don’t want to mess with me.”

              “Okay, yeah, yeah,”Stan said, his mind working furiously to come up with a solution that didn’tinvolve revealing his secret identity to everyone at his bank.  “But…maybe you could, I dunno, not…steal ourmoney?”  Sirocco cracked a half-smile.

              “Heh.”  She sounded genuinely amused.  “You’ve got guts.  But what could you offer me that’s betterthan a bunch of money?”  Stan looked at hisbag.  He didn’t really have anything onhim, except for…

              “Homemadesnickerdoodles,” Stan said.  Heimmediately squeezed his eyes shut.

              Fuck, shit, damn! That was a mistake!

              “Homemade…snickerdoodles?”Sirocco said.  Stan opened his eyes.  Sirocco was completely taken off guard.  She stared at him in confusion.  “What- why would ya offer somethin’ likethat?”

              Hold on, Sirocco has a southern accent? She must cover it up normally. Sirocco’s eyes widened as she realized that she had let her accentslip.  She cleared her throat loudly.

              “Those must be the bestcookies in the world,” she said.

              Aaaand the accent’s gone.

              “Nah, I mean, I made‘em.  I dunno if they’re the best in theworld.”

              “You made them?  You don’t look like the type.”

              “Yeah, but, I, uh, Iam.”  Stan opted to not tell her that thereason he was into baking was due to his heat and fire-related abilities.  Sirocco chuckled softly.

              “You’re aninteresting person, Mr…?”

              “I’d rather not say,”Stan said.  Sirocco raised an eyebrow athim.

              “Oh?”

              Was that the wrong thing to do? Sirocco stared at him for a moment. She nodded, marched back to him, and held her hand out.

              “You amused me, stranger,” she said, emphasizing thelast word.

              Oh, no.  That can’t be good.

              “Give me thosesnickerdoodles, and I’ll be on my way.”

              “Wait, really?”

              “Really.”  Sirocco smiled charmingly at him.

              She definitely knows something. Stan rummaged around in his bag and pulled out the plastic containerwith the snickerdoodles he had planned on bringing to Shermie.  I canalways make more.  He handed her thecookies.

              “Thanks,” Sirocco chirped.  She winked at him, then turned on her heeland exited the bank, stepping daintily through the broken glass doors.  Stan stared after her, dumbstruck.

              How the fuck did that work?

----- 

Six Months Later

              Stan landed at thebrawl just as it was ending.  He huffedand shut off his flames.

              Great, missed another fight. He looked around.  Most of themasks involved had dispersed already, but he caught a glimpse of one of theTwister Twins ducking into an alley.  He ranafter the supervillain.

              “Hey, Tsunami!” Stancalled.  The male Twister Twin froze.  “I know that’s your codename.”  Tsunami, the Twister Twin, spun around.

              “How do you know that?” Tsunami snarled,marching over to him.

              “Sirocco told me,”Stan answered.  Tsunami’s eyes widened.

              Huh.  Gray, notblue like Sirocco.

              “Wha- you know her codename too?  What’s going on with you and my sister, huh,Flamethrower?”  

              “It’s…complicated,”Stan managed.  Tsunami scowled.

              “That’s not goodenough.  Look, buddy, Sirocco might be mytwin, but she’s younger ‘n me.  So thatmeans she’s my baby sister.  I don’t likewhatever weird thing is goin’ on with her and some hero.”  Tsunami was getting upset to the point thathis accent was starting to slip.

              Pretty sure he’d kill me if I told him that we’vehooked up twice.  Masks on, yeah, butstill.  If he’s the older twin…

              “I don’t think you wannaknow the details,” Stan said quietly.  Tsunamifrowned at him, confused.

              “What does-”  Tsunami cut himself off and took a stepback.  “Oh.  Oh, no. No.”

              “Uh…surprise?” Stansaid.  Tsunami slammed a fist against oneof the brick walls of the alley.

              “Consarnit!  No wonder she told me to go easy on ya!”  Tsunami glared at Stan.

              If looks could kill, I’d be six feet under rightnow.  Damn.  This seems like an overreaction to finding outyour sister has an active sex life.

              “Whattaya want,Flamethrower?  Spit it out, so that I cango home and talk to my sister about this,” Tsunami spat.

              “I just- I made hersome cookies.”  Tsunami stared at him.

              “…What?”

              “I, uh, I haven’tseen her robbing banks for a while.  Ipoked around, heard that she’s on some kinda sick leave?”

              “You could call itthat,” Tsunami muttered.

              “And, uh, I mean- yeah,we’re archenemies or whatever, but…I like to think I’m getting through toher.  And even if we punch each other inthe face all the time, doesn’t mean I want her to be so sick that she’s gottatake months off.”

              “Yeah, that soundslike a ‘hero’ thing to do.  ‘Speciallysince ya have a…thing goin’ on.”  Tsunamirolled his eyes.  “Hand ‘em over, BoyScout.”

              “I’m not a Boy Scout,”Stan said, digging the small package of cookies he had stashed out of hispocket.  He gave the cookies toTsunami.  “Pretty damn far from it,actually.”

              “Hmph.”  Tsunami frowned at the cookies.  “These aren’t goin’ to poison An- Sirocco orsomethin’, are they?”

              Wait.  Did healmost slip up on his sister’s name?  Hemust be really putoff by all this.

              “No, they’re normalsnickerdoodles,” Stan said.  Tsunamisighed.

              “I’ll test ‘em justto make sure.”  Tsunami turnedaround.  “Thanks or whatever.”

              “Yeah, no- noproblem,” Stan said.  His heart wasracing.

              I knew I shouldn’t have hooked up with Sirocco.  I caught feelings for her, and she’s agoddamn supervillain.  Stan watchedTsunami walk away.  A sick supervillain.  Really sick.  For three months.  Stan frowned. Yeah, three months.  About a month after we did it the secondtime.  Eh, more like six weeks after thathookup.  Stan turned around and beganto walk away.  He froze, rememberingsomething.  Hang on, didn’t Shermie say something aboutsix weeks, when they had that “surprise” kid?  Ice suddenly filled Stan’s veins.  Itusually takes about six weeks for someone to realize…

              “Shit,” Stanwhispered.

              Tsunami was angry about more thanjust his sister hooking up with me.

In Case You Missed It Pt 7-2x02

When Ian goes to pick Mickey up from juvie, notice Mickey’s eyes don’t stray from Ian basically from the time he notices him.

Of course, he has to play it cool so he can’t show that he’s happy Ian’s there because Mandy still doesn’t know Mickey is gay, but let’s consider something: Maybe, despite all of the effort Ian has put into their arrangement and how hard Ian has clearly been pining after Mickey, *maybe* Mickey is surprised that Ian is there to pick him up. Maybe he really didn’t realize how dedicated this little goof was to him and is genuinely confused as to why his fuck-buddy is there.

 Ian has a backup story (however bad it is) to excuse his desire to see Mickey as soon as possible. Of course, it’s completely silly and Mickey doesn’t buy it for a second.

Allow me a moment to point out a teeny detail regarding Mickey’s attitude towards women. He easily could have accepted Ian’s piss poor excuse, but Mickey will not allow his sister’s capability of defending herself to be insulted. He knows full damn well that young woman can kick major ass and as sweet as it is that Ian risked their secret going to see him, Mickey will not allow this piss poor excuse to belittle Mandy’s ability to defend herself because she is fully capable and she’s a Milkovich.

Now of course we need to talk about Mickey’s slight immaturity because I’m sure this next part irritated some people. 

Let’s keep in mind however that these are not only siblings, but siblings who are close in age. And a lot of people seem to forget Mickey’s age at this point in the show anyway (maybe because Noel is significantly older? I don’t know...) But I’ll clarify for you. Ian is about a year and a half younger than Mickey and Ian probably just turned 15 when the show started so let’s assume that Mickey is a fresh 17 right now. Even though we seem to hold 17 year olds to a high maturity standard in our fiction, a lot of 17 year olds (in particular boys) in our reality are still SUPER immature! And that’s just how the cookie crumbles. I will also argue that for siblings this close in age it’s super easy to fall into immature behavior (such as titty twisters and juvenile bickering).  I personally find this exchange hilarious though some people may find it odd or inappropriate.

Next comes the most beloved and hilarious example of Mickey’s immaturity, his clear disregard for authority.

 This kid has probably never had to answer to any authority figure in his life other than his father and perhaps his mother before his stint in Juvie. We don't know if the Milkovich children have been in the foster system as it's already been established the Gallaghers have, we don't know if they have had to answer to authority figures such as teachers (for all we know they run rampant in school or just never go and of course Terry wouldn’t care one way or the other), we already know that shop owners are not off limits, we see Mickey effectively dodging law enforcement.... So who really has been in Mickey's life to show him a need for respect of authority figures? 

No one before now that we can see. 

He's now had to answer to authority figures in juvie and he likely learned how to get around authority figures in juvie from Iggy so he probably didn’t learn much while in there unfortunately. Other than that, it seems as though the Milkovich family has a habit of laughing at authority because they believe they can get around whatever trouble they find themselves in, in their struggle to survive. 

Obviously because this is fiction, him flipping off authority figures is only funny because it’s fiction. If this were real life it wouldn't be, but as we connect these two situations (reality and fiction) let’s try to learn something from this: keep in mind that we know a lot more about Mickey than we would any random kid flipping off authority figures. We don't know why a lot of thugs don't have respect for authority figures because there can be numerous reasons that many of us will never understand. It could be that they have never had one, it could be that their authority figures taught them to be disrespectful to others and only respect them, it could be their authority figures didn't enforcing anything or prove that authority figures need to be respected and obeyed, for them we don't know if they have been raised to laugh at authority figures and believe that they are in fact above the law as I suspect Mickey has been. 

So obviously I'm not excusing his disrespect for authority figures or condoning his blatant disrespect for police, but if we look at his background and we understand why he wouldn't have respect for authority figures, I think we can start to get a better picture of why thugs do not respond to law enforcement and do not answer to authority figures the way we in society expect them to.

Then we get a teeny glimpse of more Gallavich development as Ian leads Mickey away from brewing trouble. Notice at first Mickey allows himself to be lead away by Ian, but then remembers himself...

He seems to start accepting the affection before remembering that wall he’s supposed to have up. Remembering that this is not a relationship, it’s a friendship with some fucking involved. We have officially moved past just fucking into friendship territory...

 So now let's move on to the baseball field scene. Here we are really seeing the friendship that Ian and Mickey have, and they have just bounced right back to where they left off, even developing past where they left off really. It’s possible that Ian visited Mickey a couple of times and what would we expect to happen from their actually sitting down and having no other choice BUT to talk to each other? That’s right, when they have no option to take their clothes off and can only talk it stands to reason that they would develop a true friendship. They aren't just fuck buddies anymore... they are actual friends and we didn't really get to see that in the first season. 

But here we see Ian telling Mickey what he's been up to he's taking a lot of classes over the summer and Mickey’s engaging in the conversation, reacting and teasing him and going back and forth with him.

At first glance it may seem as though Mickey is dismissing Ian’s potential for achieving this goal, but here’s what I see. I see Mickey feeling unconcerned by the looming threat of Ian’s goals because Mickey is still in denial that he cares enough about what will happen to Ian some three or four years in the future since Ian is still too young to enlist and Mickey knows it. Because there is still so much time before Ian can enlist and Mickey is a very in the moment kind of guy, he doesn’t even acknowledge his concern for this kid though I’m sure deep down he’s impressed by Ian’s dedication. Of course though as we already mentioned, Mickey has a huge disregard for authority figures so Ian’s aspiring to not only subject himself to a career in which he’s surrounded by authority figures but then to himself become one is likely an irony that is not lost on this little thug. And if there *is* any anxiety that Mickey feels about Ian’s future, of course he’s going to cover it up with a joke because he’s still trying to convince himself that what he feels for Ian is a lot less than what it actually is.

BUT if we are going to talk about Mickey’s apparent disinterest in Ian, we HAVE to pay attention to The Look. Though hopefully this is the point where most Mickey haters even stop arguing that Mickey is disinterested in Ian, I’m going to show this anyway on the slim chance some people missed it.

 Look at him watching every single move Ian makes. Think I’m crazy or that I’m reading too far into it?

There he is still watching him. Laughing with him, drinking him in.

Now here he is trying to act cool and “whatever” about it, but then look at the way he is drinking Ian in...

Look at how they look at each other here... Mickey is trying to act so nonchalant about just wanting to get to the sex, but look at his face! Look at how he is eating Ian up with his eyes and looks genuinely excited to be with him; there is a glitter in his eye that speaks volumes about how he’s actually feeling. And he maintains eye contact with Ian the. Entire. Time! I will scream until my dying breath that this Look says it all about how Mickey really feels about Ian. I think a lot of Mickey haters are missing the little details that Noel Fisher puts into this character to show that yes he is interested, yes he is falling in love just like Ian is (maybe not quite at the same time or the same pace but it is there) and that this is definitely going somewhere. He feels a connection with him, hence the eye contact, he loves the physical connection and chemistry they have, hence how desperately he wants to move on to the sex he’s been denied for a little over a year.

Now we're going to get into the depressing stuff... We're going to look at Mickey’s self-esteem and how he views himself. This is important for Mickey haters to see because how someone views themselves greatly impacts how they treat others and how they interact with others. So, Mickey values his strength and power above basically anything else and I argue he was raised to believe this both directly and through personal experience. He is an intelligent person despite how many jokes are made at Mickey's expense pointing out his lack of education, so when Ian just starts casually doing pull-ups, Mickey automatically jumps on that and tries to one up, and in fact doubles, Ian’s display, and brags that there's nothing else to do in the joint but work out. 

When Ian suggests that Mickey could read (showing Ian’s value for education to reach goals and potential) Mickey scoffs. 

Why? because we learn in season 3 that he has basically a freshman's education, he has not passed a single class in high school which is probably because of his involvement in his dad’s business, he’s now spent a good bit of time in Juvie and I can't imagine Juvie having a very promising education program (I am completely assuming, if someone knows differently, let me know), and even when he was in school he was paying Lip to write his papers for him so the chances of him taking education seriously in the first place is quite slim. So basically, Mickey never even got a chance to see the value in education and has learned that power and brawn is what gets you places, and anything about himself that does not contribute to those things he views as useless.

Now at first this may just seem like Mickey scoffing at the idea of reading because lots of people of all backgrounds dislike reading (OW my English major heart!!!)  BUT what I even missed the first time, and Mickey haters may have missed, was this really sad and really revealing line showing Mickey’s whole outlook on his life.

It isn’t even so much that he doesn’t like to read (though it’s probably safe to assume there’s that too) but what’s the point of him getting an education? His father has trained him to be the perfect thug, to inspire fear in anyone so he can help out in daddy’s little drug ring despite his young age. All of Mickey’s dreams (if he ever had them) are down the toilet to him because even if he wanted to live a law-abiding life and do things the “right way,” he probably doesn’t even know where to start at this point, because he’s never had to do something “the right way” in his life; and besides that, his father would never let him go. Mickey’s been raised to believe the southside mentality, which is what Lip kept chanting to Fiona in season three, “the only way to make it in the southside is to scam it, or steal it.”

So because he has no trust in the system or in his own ability to make it on his own gifts, he has to develop himself in ways that are familiar, and what is familiar is the thug life. He's accustomed to stealing and scamming and threatening his way through survival, and he knows that book smarts are not going to help him with that. 

So now he’s being forced to act as though he gives a shit about going straight in his life because a condition of his probation is to find legitimate employment. And even there, he has no idea where to start. He has a reputation for stealing and menacing so basically any storefront/retail is out, (could we ever see Mickey bussing tables????). His idea of what jobs he’s capable of doing, or expected to do reveals a lot about him and our society. 

For Mickey his only options are the meat-packing plant and tarring roofs or some other form of construction or dangerous work. The fact that I just automatically sighed in pity for this boy due to these options reveals a lot about how our society views these workers. I feel like in media in particular these skilled workers are frequently stereotyped as having a record or being under-qualified (otherwise incapable) for anything else (ex. Law & Order SVU, most released rapists they question work in meat packing districts or construction), but the truth is if we didn’t have these workers, our country would fall apart real quick. Literally. Anyway, that was off-topic but I definitely felt needed to be said. Food for thought, you’re welcome. :)

This conversation also reveals Mickey’s lack of trust in the system. Keep in mind that Mickey is still young, 17, but the system is treating him as an adult despite the fact that he just came out of a juvenile detention center. Mickey is convinced his probation officer is going to find him a job definitely meant for adults and because it is a dangerous job, this reveals a disregard people feel for released criminals (even child aged ones) who are supposed to be getting rehabilitated to become productive members of society. 

In this country it seems, once a criminal always a criminal. Mickey knows the system doesn’t believe in him, his father is going to make him go back to doing the same old shit, and no one cares about that factor, so why should he care? At this point it seems he’s just going to go through the motions until he gets caught doing something else and gets thrown in prison.

Going back to education, we know that Mickey’s smart (despite the many jokes made at his expense) because he's wicked good with numbers as we see in season 4, plus he is smart enough to skirt around the edges of the law (and whether we like to admit that or not it does show some intelligence. It does actually take a capable and intelligent person to get away with crime as much as we don't want to admit that). 

So the heartbreaking thing about this moment is, Ian still has potential and can still make something of himself in a way that will satisfy society’s standards of a “good” citizen... Mickey doesn’t (or at least doesn’t believe he does). Ian also still has some trust in the system and still sees value in education. Ian’s optimism, while heartwarming, is not inspiring to Mickey because Mickey sees the realistic course of his life and has already accepted it.

Next we go back to examining their relationship development. We are seeing little glimpses of their friendship (the shotgunning, the talking, Ian trying to help Mickey with his probation) and this is super important. I don't think Mickey haters quite understand why this matters so much, but it matters because Mickey is participating in this relationship with Ian now. It isn't just having sex and leaving anymore, they talk they listen to each other, try to be an ally for each other, and that's the start of something huge.  

So here we see another boundary set. Though the line has definitely moved as their friendship has developed, Mickey is still trying to keep a distance and in this case it’s by reminding Ian that talking about community college, making plans in this way is too domestic, too settled. These are the conversations that boyfriends have (at least as Mickey understands it). Ian, luckily, accepts this boundary and drops the subject. Ian, however, is still clearly pining after Mickey and wants to spend as much time with him as Mickey is willing to give.

Obviously this is a strange suggestion, but Ian is at least trying to help. At least working at the store Mickey wouldn’t be working a dangerous job where he could get hurt and they would get to spend more time together; a win-win!

Of course though, because it’s Mickey and he’s missed Ian (though he won’t admit to that at this point) he shuts down the more intimate discussion of jobs and the future, they go back to having sex.

So if anyone is honestly wanting to say Mickey isn’t genuinely into him... Look at that smug little smirk and tell me that boy isn’t smitten.

Moving on to Mickey's first shift at the Kash and Grab I want to look at this scene to further develop Mickey's background because I can't see anything controversial about Gallavich in particular. First and foremost, despite Linda automatically assuming Mickey is going to steal from the store (not that I can blame her, really)

Mickey is actually taking this job seriously. First he stops two kids who think they are going to stuff their pockets

And then Frank.

Considering Mickey has zero sense of control in his life and doesn’t believe that he will ever amount to more than a thug, it actually reveals a good deal that he is taking this job seriously and is putting forth even the minimal effort required.

Next, I’d also like to point out that the reason he feels his life will amount to nothing more than street success, if even that, is because of his Dad. It hasn’t been established WHAT exactly his Dad does. What we know at this point in the series is Terry is a jailbird, he and his children have a lack of respect for the cops, and he and his children sometimes do “runs”. In the future however we will hear some hints that Terry deals with a little bit of every genre of illegal activity from illegal weapon sales, drugs, to possibly mercenary work? In this scene we get a hint at the drugs. 

Mickey quickly tries to set up shop for drugs when Lip and Kev are stocking up their ice cream van.

Mickey has been raised for this and probably is expected to help out in the family business, and has a limited conscience for it due to his exposure to this business. I can't prove that this is influenced by Terry, and I can’t prove that Mickey is being forced, but what I do know is that in future episodes I see some evidence that not only is Terry behind this but that Mickey isn’t too fond of the dirty business he’s been dragged into. 

I also want to pay attention to Mickey's face when Kev says no to the hard stuff and Lip starts talking to Ian about his tutoring.

 It could be that I am reading too deep into this... however just the way that the camera zoomed in on Mickey’s face when he was just standing there, and the way he looked away, he looked a little uncomfortable, maybe even a little sad... All of this makes it seem weighted and a deliberate choice which tells me it is in fact an insight to how Mickey is feeling. It makes me think that maybe he hadn't before consciously thought of what he was doing with his dad’s business; this leads me to believe that his role in this drug ring was involuntary and he probably never even thought of the effects that these harder drugs would have on people (especially young people) and this almost contemplative face makes me think that maybe this is the first time he's thinking about that. 

 Then lip tells Ian to keep practicing the geometry theorems. Mickey overhears this as well and I also think that sadness in his face comes from knowing that Ian has a future, Ian has potential and options, Ian can go so much further than Mickey can and maybe in a way Mickey is a little jealous of that. 

So at first he questions why geometry theorems? Halfway through Ian’s explanation, Mickey gets a little distracted...

 Anyway, here we are again with this foil of Ian's future and Mickey's contrasting futures. Mickey is likely doomed to Terry's life. He's being groomed into a mini Terry and let's be honest how many of us honestly want to become our parents, as in full replicas of our parents, whether you have a positive or negative relationship with your parents? Here Mickey is following Terry's footsteps as far as we can see; he has temper, he is in and out of juvie, and he's already started selling drugs for his father.

Ian on the other hand is the exact opposite of his father, which we see right after this conversation. Instead of following Frank's footsteps, Ian sees what happens when you don't chase after your full potential and so then here Ian is chasing after his full potential and doing everything he can to achieve his goals. I think that Mickey recognizes that and is maybe a little jealous that Ian has options that he will never have because he already has a record and already has a reputation that will keep him from achieving everything that he can achieve.

But of course, that reputation can come in handy too...

Mickey’s reputation commands obedience from lots of people in the south side and that’s because that’s how you get what you want in that community: fear and power. Ian is striving after military power and respect but doesn’t command that south side respect that Mickey does. This is something Mickey has over Ian at this point, despite his knowing that in the future, Ian will have the upper hand by far.

For now, Mickey returns to teasing Ian to re-establish their friendship dynamic.

And for a second, Ian brings it back to their constant unspoken conversation on sexuality. For the first time we do get true insight to what Mickey believes this is. He has definitely reduced his sexuality to a kink, though of course deep down he knows he’s genuinely attracted to men (Ian). This is the first time we see Mickey even starting to accept his sexuality and make it clear that his sexuality will not define him.

That’s all I’ve got for 2x02! Let me know if I missed anything or drop me a line to discuss something further! 

Until next time lovelies! <3

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