#but its cool things fell into place in the long run- for the most part
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ménage à quatre
or, missa runs into tina on the way to see phil. and pac. and mariana. and-
CROSSPOSTED TO AO3
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Missa thinks he’s decent at being sneaky.
He at least doesn’t knock things over. Their new and improved underground base is well-lit despite the dark stone that makes up its walls, and Missa skirts the farms and chairs and chests with ease. Getting out isn’t so simple, but he’s nearly there. It’s nighttime, and while most people don’t always sleep through the night in this place, it’s easier to hide under the cover of darkness. Easier to get away with things, to see people. Missa also knows if he runs into anyone who isn’t his team or Phil that he’s absolutely dying, so going out at night is a necessary risk. Risk, because mobs, but once he reaches the meeting spot in the woods he and Phil had talked about, then he’ll be okay.
He misses Phil. With every aching beat of his heart, he misses him.
Missa hadn’t known how strong his feelings had run until they’d been separated like this. It was physically painful, like love had wrapped tendrils around his heart and gut, squeezing every time Phil pops into his head.
And so the occasional midnight rendezvous must happen. It has to happen, because otherwise Missa thinks he would die if he didn’t get to see his husband in a relatively safe, stress-free space.
Careful not to catch the attention of any of his teammates, Missa creeps through the base and watches every step. He doesn’t think they’d crucify him for it, but he doesn’t think they’d like it either. People have become different, and fast. Personalities have shifted and everyone, Missa thinks, has gotten a little more ruthless. Even Missa himself thinks it’s affecting him– although he tends to isolate instead of lash out. He’s frozen to death on beaches more than once, staring out at the ocean lost in thought until his eyes had clouded over and he’d woken up in their base with fingers stiff from cold. Others, though. BBH has a look in his eye every time Missa sees him, a look that makes him skirt around the man like he’s got the plague.
It’s unsettling. He hates feeling uncomfortable in what’s supposed to be a safe place. He hates sneaking around like this when he should just be able to see his husband whenever he wants– he hates it.
But it’s fine. He’s nearly out, anyway. He enters the darkest part of his exit, a long corridor, and hurries forward. Just another couple steps and–
“Oh!”
All the air is forced out of his lungs, half from terror and half from the collision. He bounces backwards into the cold stone wall and shrieks, then shoves a hand over his own mouth to stifle the sound. Across from him, there’s a thud and someone gasps. Missa blinks into the dark.
“Missa?” Tina says after a second of silence. He takes into stock what just happened– a warm body bumping into his, shorter but strong, and the strong scent of tea leaves and cool soil in the air. Tina. Just Tina.
“Sorry,” Missa says out loud after a second, lowering his hand from his mouth. Tina laughs, and Missa can’t see her very well in the dark as he pushes himself up off the wall. “I didn’t mean to–”
“No, it’s okay!” Tina says. They’re both whispering, but even then each word sounds like a gunshot in the tunnel. It reverbs, echoing around them and twisting in the air like smoke. “I didn’t expect you– oh, man, I fell down and dropped my bag, can you–”
“Yeah, one second,” Missa says, getting her intent instantly and dropping to his knees to feel around for the knapsack. “You okay?”
“Fine, thanks!” Tina giggles, high and breathy. Missa’s hand knocks against fabric and he grasps it triumphantly.
“Got it!” he says, raising his clenched fist into the air– only for it to come into contact with skin and bone, the crack echoing around them louder than their words had been.
Missa is almost impressed by how Pac doesn’t swear. He hears a thump as someone sits down, a soft hiss of breath, and then a long exhale.
“Oh my god,” Missa breathes, before he knows it’s Pac, “I’m so so sorry–”
“All good,” Pac grits out, and Tina gasps.
“Hey!” she says. “It’s like a party in here!”
“Are you bleeding?” Missa asks, and Pac mumbles an affirmative. The next thirty seconds is spent looking for a piece of cloth to hold to his nose, and they end up having to improvise with one of Tina’s shirt sleeves. “I’m so sorry,” Missa apologizes again. “Bro, bro, I swear I didn’t know you were there, I didn’t mean to, I was just getting Tina’s bag. I’m so sorry, man.”
“It’s dark,” Pac says, his voice slightly muffled and sounding as though he’s got a bad cold. “All good! All good, my friend.”
“What were you even doing down here?” Tina asks. She’s kneeling by Pac on the other side, and Missa has finally gotten used to the dark. They’re all mostly on the floor, staring around at one another– Missa can see the whites of their eyes, and that’s about it. It’s the strangest situation he’s been in for a while, honestly.
“Well, I was trying to leave,” Pac says, sniffling once and grunting in pain. “But, ah– you were here first.”
“Wait,” Missa says, blinking as he realizes something. “Tina, why were you here–”
And then someone lights a torch, the spark and resulting flame causing all three of them to cover their eyes or cry out. Missa blinks back tears from the sudden brightness and glances back– standing a few feet away is Mariana, torch held up as he stares at the three of them with an indignant expression.
“The fuck are you bitches doing?” he asks loudly, and despite their various states of distress, Missa, Tina, and Pac shush him quickly. Mariana goes quiet, pressing his lips together before stalking forward and crouching beside them. In the torchlight, Missa can see the blood on Pac’s nose now, and winces. “Why did none of you have a torch?” Mariana asks.
Tina hums. “That probably would’ve been a good idea.”
“Why are you here?” Pac asks. “Did you hear us?”
“No,” Mariana scoffs. “But I should’ve. I was going to see Slime–” He clearly didn’t mean to say it– his eyes widen a fraction and he snaps his mouth shut quickly, staring at the three of them before clearing his throat. “I meant, I was going to kill Slime.”
“We all know what you did in the fountain,” Pac says, his voice nasally but dry. “You know?”
Tina breaks out into big, bubbly laughter, heaving for air between gasps of breaths. She giggles, high-pitched and frantic, and Missa can’t help but snort either, covering his face with one hand. He can see Mariana between the bars of his fingers, and the way his face goes a bright, brilliant red.
“Yeah, well–” Mariana only stutters for a moment, composing himself and snapping. “What are you three doing anyway?”
“I was going to see Bagi,” Tina practically wails. She’s on her back on the floor, hair spread like a halo around her, and Missa thinks it’s a miracle she hasn’t passed out from laughing yet. Pac is laughing too, still pinching his nose but grinning and cackling. Missa bites his lip, then drags his hands down his face and comes out with the truth.
“Phil,” he says, cursing his husband’s name into his palms. “Phil and I–”
“I won’t say who I was going to see,” Pac says proudly, and Tina stops laughing at that. She sits up and points a finger at him.
“We all know about Fit, Pac! We know! Nothing is a secret!” Between her words she hiccups giggles. “This is so dumb, we’re all so dumb!”
Missa leans back against the stone wall of the tunnel and slumps, his knees slowly giving out until he’s sitting fully on the cold floor and staring at the rest of them slowly losing it. Tina and Pac are holding onto each other, giggling and rocking back and forth slightly, while Mariana is trying his hardest to look disgusted with them and notably failing to hide a smile. Missa lets out a breath and knocks his head back, covering his eyes with his elbow and snickering.
“Well, I’m going,” Mariana finally says, stepping over Missa’s outstretched legs and past Pac and Tina. He’s still got the torch in hand– the shadows against the wall stretch and warp with his movement, making the whole tunnel feel unsteady. He turns back. “I have a date to keep.”
“Oh gosh, so do I,” Tina gasps, finally getting a hold of herself and scrambling for her bag. Missa nudges it closer to her with one foot and she grins at him. “Thanks! Don’t want Bagi to be waiting up for me.”
“Have fun on your date,” Missa says, mouth a little dry. “Dates.”
“You too,” Tina chirps, standing up and slinging her bag over her back.
“Wait, I need to get up too,” Pac says, and he and Missa stand together, gripping each other’s shoulders and arms as they do. His nose has, for the most part, stopped bleeding.
“Sorry again,” Missa says apologetically.
Pac grins and shakes his head. “No biggie.”
“Are you coming?” Mariana calls. The shadows have gotten longer and the light dimmer as he’d started walking away, but he waits now near the end of the tunnel, looking back at the three of them with mild irritation. “Or can I ditch you all yet?”
“Oh be quiet Mariana,” Tina says, catching up with him easily. They both wait for Missa and Pac, which makes something warm blossom in his chest where the cold has sat so easily the past few days. “We can go together now, as long as we stay away from Bad!”
“That would be not good,” Pac mutters, glancing back. Missa winces.
“We’ve gotten this far,” he says.
“This far without waking the guard dog,” Tina says, and they all make their way the last little bit out into the faint light of the stars. Around them the air is cold and crisp, and it takes Missa’s breath away. For a minute they all stand there, taking in the sight of the moon glistening across the oil-slick sea, light refracting off the ice and snow and making the whole world a soft, delicate shade of blue. Even the light from Mariana’s torch doesn’t last, barely casting out onto the pockmarked and scarred beach ahead of them.
“Well,” Missa says, equipping some gloves. He doesn’t want to stand here for too long. He wants to see Phil. The ache is back, something about the sight in front of him and the people beside him making his heart ultra aware of Phil’s absence. He thinks of Phil, worrying about him being late; he thinks of Phil laughing when he hears what delayed him. “See you in the morning, guys.”
“Hey, Missa?” He glances over at Mariana, who sticks his torch down into the sand and shoves his hands into his pockets, nonchalant. “Do you want to go together? Might be easier. Mobs and stuff.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea! Pac, let’s go together!” Tina chirps, and Pac nods with a smile. She grabs his hand and he lets her.
“Sure,” Missa says, a little startled. “That’s– yeah, yeah. Okay.”
“Okay,” Mariana says. “Bye, guys.”
Pac and Tina wave as they deploy their separate boats, hopping in beside one another and parting into the cold, choppy sea. Mariana drives, Missa sitting passenger, and he stares out over the ocean as they leave their team base behind them in the cold. When he looks over at Mariana, the other man is staring out across the horizon in front of them, hands gripping the wheel of the boat and a strange look on his face. When he notices Missa looking, he glances over and catches his eye.
“What’s the matter?” Missa asks.
“Bad Boy Halo totally was watching us leave,” Mariana says, dead serious, and that is finally what sends Missa into hysterical laughter.
#qsmp#q!missa#q!tina#q!pactw#q!mariana#pissa#bagina#fitpac#slimariana#team soulfire#qsmp blue team#they're in a comedy#actually#my writing
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DYNAMO | Steve Rogers x Reader | part 1.
HYDRA has made their share of human experiments. You're just one of them. One of the least successful ones. One of the least functional ones. At least your life in the facility gave you a few things: unwavering resilience, cool(ish) superpowers and a great sense of humor. Steve Rogers would strongly disagree with that last one. A single chance encounter with him reluctantly brings you into the Avengers Compound, and you're determined to make his life as miserable as you can. Feeling's mutual.
AO3 | Masterlist | Playlist (coming soon!)
notes: starting off a steve x reader/oc that I had lying around for a long time to cleanse our palates.
(warnings: mentions of human experimentation, violence, cursing, stressed!steve rogers) (2.5K words)
1: THE CATALYST
In The Adventure of the Dying Detective, sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote: “I wonder how a battery feels when it pours electricity into a non-conductor.”
Well here’s how she feels, Doyle: exhausted – drained, if we’re getting scientific – and with a massive migraine. Sometimes nosebleeds, too. That’s how you feel whenever you use your abilities. It’s never a good time, and lately it’s been getting worse.
That’s why you’re back in this godforsaken place. Not exactly back. You’ve never been here; this specific facility was basically only an archive of sorts, and when you were still HYDRA you were confined to labs and larger, safer bases.
This place is really under everyone’s nose. It sits under a parking building in Detroit, right at the corner of a busy avenue. It’s a smart choice of location, because amidst the bustle of people coming and going for their cars, nobody looked at you twice as you went in, dropped into a maintenance hatch and ambled around until you found the heavy vaulted door you were looking for.
You’re positive there’s some information about you and the experiment you were a part – the shining star, truly – of, in here. When HYDRA fell and all of its secrets were leaked to the internet, you weren’t very worried about backing up your own records. You just wanted to live.
When you’ve spent most of your life being trained and turned into a human weapon, only ever seeing the real-world during the few missions you’ve gone on, places like McDonald’s and department stores become a whole new world of wonders once you get to experience them.
But now you needed them. Soon after the fall, however, most of the data was erased by hackers that were still affiliated with the organization. Lucky you.
However, every good terrorist knows to keep physical copies for safekeeping. And if the manila files stamped with your name were anywhere, they had to be here. Or in at least 3 other places just like this one, but you had already checked the first couple of them, and the other was blown to shit by Tony Stark and his little avenging friends.
They were really very good at that – blowing things up and causing havoc everywhere they went. Aliens, HYDRA, murderous crazed robots – whatever the enemy might be, something was sure to be exploding. And in the end, they’re still revered as heroes. Must be fun.
Anyway. Back to the files.
There’s immensurable amount of them, and they were meticulously organized, thank god, but you still decide you’d go through each one just in case.
You’re not in Assets. Also not in Agents. Or Work in progress.
Either way, it has to be here somewhere. Just maybe misplaced. Or concealed.
This place is basically your last hope, before you’re obligated to hunt down the hackers you know of and squeeze the information out of them instead. One of them has to have kept a copy somewhere, but these people were hard to find, and you are starting to feel like you’re running out of time.
The migraines and nosebleeds are getting more frequent, lasting longer, and hurting more. Not to mention the amount of times you lost control and fried every electronic on the vicinity. You could walk into a hospital, but that would probably mean getting dragged to the Raft as soon as the American government took notice of your existence.
And you seriously doubt any regular doctor would know how to deal with… whatever is going on with you.
You don’t miss your former life at all – but at least the scientists and doctors in HYDRA kept you somewhat stable. You survived this far, so someone is to blame.
It must be the adrenaline, but right now you feel great. No spots, no headache. Bouncing on your heels, bobbing your head to the music on your earbuds, while you rummage through an ocean of paper. The archive has been long abandoned, a thick layer of dust covering every surface you hadn’t touched. It’s dead quiet, too, and you start thinking you might spend the night.
It’s been a while since you’ve rested your head in a quiet place, where you didn’t have to look over your shoulder every two minutes. Yeah, that’d be fucking nice.
You’ve been on the run for god knows how long. In fact, you do know – it’s been a little over a couple of years since the public downfall of HYDRA, and everyone you used to know was either arrested, dead, or had gone underground like the rats they were.
You like to distance yourself from your former peers, mostly because if you knew they were all a bunch of Nazis – or if anyone had told you they were actually the bad guys – you probably would have found a way out sooner. Imagine your surprise, finally being free to live in the real world and finding out that everything you’ve been taught was fabricated. Still, authorities weren’t about to make that distinction so, like a HYDRA rat, you also went off the grid.
It’s safe to say you don’t really trust people these days.
You hate it, having to live in hiding. You’re not really very good at it, to be honest. It’s hard being coy, and you wear your heart on your sleeve; your face betrays you when your lack of skill for lying doesn’t. Half-truths and misdirection are the only things keeping your anonymity intact lately, and it works as long as you lower social interaction down to almost zero.
Having to decide whoever looks like they would ask the least amount of questions is exhausting. So is dodging those questions. Dodging bullets is easier. You’d backflip your way out of a full cartridge before facing a 10-minute conversation with someone.
You huff in frustration. The dust that now swirls in the air makes your eyes dry and your nose itch, you’ve already been through what’s probably a good fifty files and still, you found nothing. Not even a mention to your name or your identification number.
You scratch their faint marks on your forearm absentmindedly.
It should be here.
You’re starting to get a little offended, even.
“Can’t find what you’re looking for?”
A male voice coming from the door gets you to stand in alarm. Its owner is tall and wears a navy tactical suit, and you can make out his striking blue eyes even in the dim light of the room. He’s carrying a shield, painted in red, white and blue.
You stare at Captain America, and he stares back. He’s blocking the door you entered from. From your earlier survey you know there’s a possible exit to your left, but you doubt you can get there before that oversized dinner plate of his slices you in half.
“Who are you?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know, Cap.”
He scowls at you and you give him a smile, a crooked thing that makes you look a little crazy. “Are you HYDRA? Nat— Yes. We got company.”
So, he came with a team. Cute. Just like the comics.
“Used to be, technically. I’m done with that life.”
He cocks his head. His gaze pierces through you like laser sight.
Now there’s someone you don’t want to be trapped in a conversation with.
“So why are you here?”
You sigh. Too many questions, not enough fucking off to wherever sunny green fields he lives with his superhero friends in.
“I must’ve left my library card in here somewhere. You’d think no one would care that much about Tolstoy, but they do.”
“Do you really think this is the time for jokes, agent?”
You watch him as he tightens his hand around his shield, and moves his feet towards you a few inches. “Ah ah – I wouldn’t do that.”
He takes another step, and you narrow your eyes.
“I don’t feel like fighting today, so. Don’t.”
“Aren’t you done with the life? You shouldn’t be considering me your enemy.”
“Do you rehearse those lines or what?”
Cap clenches his jaw. It brings you a strange kind of satisfaction to annoy him. A small victory, knowing you can get to him like that.
Yet you still feel like you’re a gazelle being hounded by a lion.
There’s still a considerable distance between you, but you know he’s strong and fast, stronger and faster than you, especially when you haven’t trained properly in so long.
And Captain America hates HYDRA. He wouldn’t hesitate in kicking your ass.
“This doesn’t have to end in a fight. Come with me, and share your intel.” He puts his shield down, and you furrow your eyebrows.
He’s wrong. It always ends in a fight. That’s just how the world works.
“You might even get a lighter sentence.”
Of course. That’s what this was about: you giving them everything you know and then getting locked up. As a treat.
“I’ll pass. I do value my freedom, I’m sure you’ll understand. Considering.”
Gesturing vaguely to his outfit, you dip down to continue rummaging through the next box of files, even finding one with the 2006-7 New Year’s Eve Party planning, but nothing about your program. Priorities.
“I can’t let you walk out of this. I’m sure you’ll understand, considering.”
You snicker.
So much for having a good day with no headache.
On the wall to your left there’s an outlet. You put your hand over it, and the electric current floats towards your palm as if it was liquid. The lights start to flicker.
“What—” You hear Captain America stammer, and you chuckle. So blissfully ignorant.
He has no idea of the freak of nature you are. Well, not really of nature. You’re more of a synthetic made kind of freak.
More energy flows into you, and the room goes dark. You rise to your feet and watch electricity crackle around your fingers, illuminating your face with a blue glow. You don’t see the Captain anymore, but you do see the glint of the shield as it’s being lifted up.
You’re sure he sees you, but he’s probably too stunned trying to process what you just did.
“Apologies in advance.”
When you extend your arms in front of you, palms aiming to the spot where you think he might be, you can’t see much.
After power flashes out of you, everything is clearer. The bolts light up the space between you and him, much narrower than you calculated, and you have to adjust your position so you can hit him.
He gurgles and shakes like a fish out of water once it reaches him, blinding blue and white encasing his body like a cocoon. He drops to the ground.
It feels like hot water in your veins until it’s burning.
It hurts, it hurts like a bitch, and as Captain America is convulsing on the floor your groans turn to wails. You haven’t done this in a while, and you forgot how much pain there is when the fuel starts running out.
You stop after a few seconds, dropping your hands at your sides, and stumble into a metal shelf when your balance falters. You could never stand using your powers for very long. But this time you don’t have to. Cap is immobile on the floor, only his eyelids twitching. Maybe you went a little hard on him.
You’d feel more sorry if he didn’t want to arrest you.
At least he’s alive. That’s something.
You taste something ferulic and wet when you lick your lips. Nosebleed.
One. Two. Three.
Your heat starts throbbing, and suddenly even the dim light is too much on your eyes.
There’s the migraine.
You were almost returning to your search when you hear the faint voices coming from his intercom. Cap? Rogers, over. Steve, you there? Over.
Rogers groans, starting to stir up. You had to get out of there, and fast, before the rest of his friends came to the rescue.
Fuck it, you could always come back another time. Or even go after those hackers already, because you doubted this place would be up for much longer, now that the Avengers knew of its existence.
You wipe your nose on the sleeve of your hoodie, grab your backpack and slip through the left exit, leaving America there to deal with his own future headache.
It took a while for Steve Rogers to recover his senses. He gained control of his eyes first, finding himself staring at a humidity stained ceiling. His extremities were tingling, and his insides felt like soup.
The burning sensation on the surface of his skin subsides after a while. His heart is racing, and he can’t really remember the last time that happened. Or why. Right now, it’s because he just got attacked by a human defibrillator.
Steve? What’s going on, Cap? Over.
He needs a minute to realize the voices are in his earpiece, and not hallucinations in his head.
I’m starting to worry, Rogers. Over.
He groans, rolling over. “M’ here. Over.”
Steve hoists himself up, thinking the girl must’ve fried his pain receptors, because his toenails hurt. And his earlobes, and his right leg. He shakes his head as if his ears have water in them.
She’s gone. For a second, he even doubts she was there at all, but there are footprints on the dusty floor, leading all the way to a door on his right.
Who—?
“Damn, you look rough.”
“What the hell happened?”
Natasha Romanoff and Bucky Barnes show up through the same hallway he had come from earlier.
“I—I got electrocuted, I think.”
“You think?!”
Steve picks up the shield, panting.
“There was a— girl. She’s some kind of enhanced. Can’t have gone far. I’ll explain later.”
His body regains its normal functions as he’s trudging through empty corridors, Bucky and Nat at his heels. He still feels a little frazzled, but it could be worse, and he’s thankful it was him and his serum-improved body at the receiving end of the lightning.
It could be so much worse.
As it turns out, the girl is nowhere to be found, not a trace to be followed even after the trio splits up to cover more ground. Bucky insists Steve needs to be checked at the med bay ASAP. Natasha assures him that they’ll clear out the facility afterwards, even if she’s convinced none of the paper files have anything of relevance anymore.
The girl seemed to be looking for something in there, though, and Steve remembers reading frustration and dread on her wide, doe-like eyes.
She didn’t even look like someone who could be an agent, though due to the too-large hoodie she wore there wasn’t much to analyze anyway. That gets him intrigued.
Steve has a hard time letting go of things. Especially open-ended things. He spent nearly two weeks obsessing over the ending of Blade Runner, because he needed a goddamned definitive answer.
He needs to know, like he needed to know if Deckard was human or replicant.
He’ll find her.
You can’t shake the feeling that you’ll be seeing him and his team again. Maybe they’ll hunt you down, since there was a big demand for ex-HYDRA people they could fill jailcells with.
Whisking away along a maze of corridors and endless doors, you manage to find a second vaulted door. You leave the whole facility undetected, hopping out a window and disappearing in a back alley.
Maybe you are a rat.
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For your ask game.
What do you see happening in a world where the Fourth OFA User unlocks the ability to speak to the vestiges?
He's the guy who explicitly trained the quirk to increase its power for future users and thus the most likely to unlock its secrets.
Within a month of getting the quirk, the guy's meditating under a waterfall and now he's in a discord call with the boys, and so will the future users.
I love this concept!
This happened before Hikage met Banjo, so he was really lonely and missed his predecessors. He didn't see the point in meditating under a waterfall, but he remembered how every manga Yoichi liked had a scene like that, so he decided to try it out to honor him. The cool water and white noise were actually really comforting since it also happened to be summer, and next thing you know, he fell asleep and ended up in the void. He thought he was dreaming at first, especially because he was only there for a few seconds before he woke up. Except it kept happening and he realized that OFA must stockpile not only strength, but memories. Eventually, he was able to stay there for a full 8 hours, but no matter how hard he tried, it could only happen when he was asleep. He died in his sleep, so when his body finally gave out, it felt as if he never had to wake up from a wonderful dream. (It was a little less wonderful when the first three got all lovey-dovey and he had to fourth wheel)
Banjo didn't really believe that Hikage could see his predecessors. He just thought that was a product of imagination from his loneliness (in fact, that was part of why he wanted to be his friend so badly in the first place, because he was worried about his mental stability). Imagine his surprise when he falls asleep the night after Hikage dies and sees his friend again. He's so freaked out he wakes up. Then he remembers what Hikage told him and decides to try and go to sleep again. It works, and for up to 10 hours, he had to deal with Hikage going "I told you so!". But even so, he was happy to see him and meet the three he talked about so much. And when he died, Hikage was so happy that he would no longer have to fourth wheel.
En, unfortunately, did not get to live long. He had fun talking to Banjo and meeting that weird forest guy he always talked about, but just a few months after getting OFA, he was killed. He was only able to extend the dream time to 11 hours, but his successor would reach new heights.
Nana got a longer run and along with seeing them in her dreams, could hear their voices in her head. Not always since they had to choose to speak to her and if she tried to hear them when they weren't speaking, all she would hear was static. At first, it was nice to be able to speak to her predecessors, but the unsolicited advice got annoying real quick. When the unsolicited parenting advice started, she went to the void the next night and slapped them. They shut up after that. But when she was considering putting Kotaro in foster care there was a big argument over it. In the end, she still did it, but they convinced her to let Torino and Toshinori check up on him.
Poor Toshinori. At first, it was cool meeting his predecessors and being able to see Nana again, but like with her, the voices in his head got annoying. And after a little while, they could even appear in the real world, though they were more ghostlike and no one else could see them, so he never got a break. At least Nana was able to watch Kotaro grow up after Torino decided to adopt him and Hana and Tenko lived decent lives. Kotaro was still really tough but not as bad as he could have been. And AFO stayed away realizing that with Torino and All Might, Kotarou won't be easily swayed.
And now, Izuku. Honestly, part of the reason Toshinori picked him was that he thought they would bother a kid more often. Oh, and he had heroic spirit and all that. There was certainly arguing over whether a kid should get that power but he argued with "well, I got that power as a high schooler and look at me now." "You're a skeleton." "Only because of AFO and he's dead." "Ugh, fine." (AFO is not dead but only Yoichi knows. He could sense it through twin bond but didn't want to ruin everyone else's celebration). Because they can all communicate Izuku gets better instruction and makes it through the exam with fractures in his legs and a single broken arm. After that he later gets a lecture from Hikage and goes "Oh, I need to let it spread through my body instead of one sole place" "Yeah exactly-" "Like a microwave!" "..." So, he reaches that a lot quicker and doesn't have to break a finger on the first day of school. It all goes well until the USJ happens. The vestiges were out of the void, wanting to observe the training, but no one but Izuku could see them. Then Kurogiri comes in with the nomu and the vestiges are so startled they become visible to everyone. And 7 ghosts appearing around one green haired boy startles everyone else so much they all freeze and stare. AFO (who was watching at home) sees his brother and orders Kurogiri to take everyone back and leave.
I'll stop there for now since I don't want to rewrite all of Mha. But yes, there is no substitute for Tomura since I couldn't think of anyone to take his place.
#middle may ask game#hikage shinomori#daigoro banjo#en tayutai#nana shimura#yagi toshinori#izuku midoriya
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Long, Long Time.
'Cause I've done everything I know
To try and make you mine
And I think I'm gonna love you
For a long, long time
Summary: Irrevocably in love with the woman you can’t have, a wine drunk night over classical reading and a fireplace aids in decision making.
Ao3 version | tess masterlist
prequel fic
Warnings: smut [a tiny bit], reader hopelessly in love with Tess, use of y/n (a couple times); based on ep 3 of TLOU
wc: 13k
A/n: Okay ummm first of all don’t blame me for writing this much on one character that i’ve never written before, but this fic is literally my baby. It’s my favorite thing i’ve written. I thought it was my turn to take a spin with writing for Tess. Since tlou came out i’ve been obsessed with her and… well you can tell by how much I wrote. Here it is, my perfect Tess fic. Enjoy <3
Today was the day.
A warm morning in September, 20 years after the Cordyceps infection sunk into the deepest depths of society, crumbling down its once high, strong walls, to a brittle, cracked dictatorship of community. The Boston Quarantine Zone was one of your least favorite places in the world, but from what you heard about other cities' QZ's, it was a walk in the park.
As a smuggler, you handled runs for more than 75% of the place, with the help of a few desperate FEDRA officers that offered to look the other way for a price.
If risking your life for bottles of pills and useful supplies was the most dangerous thing to do, then so be it; you were the unlucky one.
Most runs, you were accompanied by one of your two partners, Tess Servopolous or Joel Miller. They were older, skilled, smart, and resourceful, and they knew how to kill. Especially Tess. She could handle her own like it was nobody's business. Hard headed and courageous, Tess became a good partner and soon enough, a close friend.
Although, there was another part of you that found her alluring, captivating and so, so gorgeous. She was confident in herself no matter what, which only drew you towards her more.
Ever since the early days of the outbreak, you three had each other's backs, and nothing could come between you. To you, they were the only thing you'd known after being found by the older woman and taken in. The day she found you, beat up and bloody with several injuries, was the day she had quite genuinely saved your life.
Now a part of Joel and Tess's smuggling business, you were off to a town called Lincoln, a five hour hike from the walls of the QZ.
The hot sun glared down on your skin, a chill September breeze flowing in gusts that kept you cooled off enough throughout your journey.
A majority of the trip was spent in silence, lost in your enamor for Tess, eyes trailing over the back of her figure. She had glanced back once or twice at you, like she could feel your eyes burning into her body.
Some nights you lay awake wondering what it would be like to drag your fingers up and down the expanses of her skin, trailing over her back and caressing the soft skin of her figure till you fell asleep.
Time passed as you traveled behind Tess and Joel, and the image of a metal fence coming into view.
"This is it," Joel stated before approaching the gate. You begin to follow the two older individuals before you pause, stopping a minute to remember something that Frank had mentioned about their gate.
"Wait, I thought you said this thing was booby-trapped or something.. How do we know it won't get triggered?" The concern of your safety was imminent, the unknown patiently waiting behind the metal gates.
"Well we don't, but Frank said if we came from the road instead of the forest that it wouldn't get triggered. They'd see us coming that way, too. Trust me, I know Frank. He wouldn't lie, not when he knows we can work together."
Tess was the expert on the two men that lived behind the gates of the completely deserted town; she was the one who arranged their meeting, after all.
"Alright.." You sighed, walking right up to the gate with them.
There was a box attached to the entry gate with a few buttons on it. You watched Joel walk up to the gate and press a button labeled 'Call'.
A loud buzzing sounded out after he'd pushed the red button in, and a moment later, a male voice responded from the intercom.
"Password."
The voice sounded deeper than Frank's, only assuming the speaker was Bill, the other half of the couple that resided in Lincoln.
"Uh- Ahem," Joel cleared his throat, before stating the code word Frank had given you three before coming.
The feedback rang out as Joel spoke, another buzzing sound coming from the gate as you hear it unlock.
"Alright, let's go. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, since we really don't know what we're walkin' into here."
Tess scoffed at her male partner's words, a smirk on her face saying otherwise from your tense anxiety of meeting new people.
"Tess, hey," you grabbed her arm ever so softly as you trailed behind her, and she looked toward you, "Are you sure we can trust these guys?"
A tiny smile formed on her face as she recognized your nervousness. She thought it was adorable and sweet how you went to her for comfort at any point in time. It warmed her heart and made her feel important to somebody again.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Frank wouldn't hurt a fly. Bill on the other hand.. he might be a bit standoffish at first. From what Frank said, I'm sure he'll warm up to us with time. Don't worry."
Tess rubbed your arm up and down a couple times, hoping it would soothe your worries. As she did, your face broke out into a small smile, nodding before you dropped your grip and continued walking. You could get lost in the hazel of her eyes like it was hypnosis, or something close to that. The way Tess made your world stop by even being in your presence was something entirely familiar to you, and it kept you up at night, pondering about the simplest things.
It seemed the little town of Lincoln, Massachusetts was surrounded by this perfect bubble of safety and security. Like a dream, the familiarity of a place as different from the QZ.. felt a bit unreal. You never thought you'd have the chance to make friends in a world with infected, much less one with access to such a large range of supplies in a deserted town, highly protected by its sole residents.
The feeling surrounding you was oddly similar to how you felt around Tess, her warmth and beauty heart-warming, much like a hug.
Your focus is brought back to reality as you almost bump into Tess's back, her and Joel had abruptly stopped walking.
"Oof- sorry Tess-"
"Y/n.." Joel says abruptly, not realizing they're both holding their hands out to the side, the cocking of what sounded like a gun putting the realization into place.
"Shit.." You whispered, stepping out from behind Tess, arms out in the same fashion as your partners, and you realize there's a man holding a gun out at the three of you.
Then, from the house the man stood in front of, another man came running out. He calls the name of the man who's holding his pistol at you, Bill.
Which means.. that's Frank. You thought to yourself, as the sweater-wearing man approached and tried to beckon the other man to lower his weapon.
"Bill, these are the people I met over the radio. We can trust them.. they aren't going to hurt us. Put the gun down, please? I don't want to scare off people we could potentially be working with.." The man named Frank said with a chuckle, almost having to force the gun down himself. After another moment of brooding stares being passed between Bill and Joel, he lowers the gun and places it in his holster at his thigh.
Your hands drop to your sides after freezing with them out in the air due to fear. It wasn't the first time someone's pointed a gun at you, but it sure as hell was one of the times you thought someone would actually shoot. Relief washed over you as Bill's arms lowered.
"Perfect, thank you," Frank says to Bill, before wrapping his arm around the man's shoulder, "Welcome to our home, I'm Frank, and this is Bill. I'm so glad to finally meet you guys. We have a lot to talk about! Come on, follow me."
Frank had a home-like smile that was warm and welcoming. It was the first time in a long time you'd seen anyone smile like that. So carefree. You guessed it was the effect of not being behind the walls of a QZ for too long. That, or Frank knew how to stay true to himself in such a rugged, rough around the edges world.
The uncomfortable gaze Bill shot your way made you realize that it probably took a lot for him to even agree to let the three of you come into their town, much less want to work with complete strangers.
While being led back to Bill and Frank's home, you can't help but marvel at everything around you. Lincoln was much different than the QZ and open city; a town quite literally frozen in time from when it had been evacuated. A place like this was one you dreamed of settling down in, with a partner before the outbreak; it seemed like the perfect place to do so. Quiet, quaint, and bare of any infected or dangerous militia and resistance groups.
As their home came into view, it was exactly as you thought it'd be: another one of the huge houses a place like suburbia always had. It was one of the biggest you'd ever seen, almost out of a storybook. Except for the leaves blowing through the streets, it was as if the house hadn't aged a day. Everything about their home and its surrounding yard looked as if it had been tended to regularly; a mowed lawn, bushes with budding flowers, and not a single area of chipped paint to be seen.
"This is our place, I do my best to keep it looking its best and Bill... well he's just one hell of a cook. Aren't you, dear?" Frank turned to Bill with a smile, only to look away from his lover and back at you three.
"It's true, one of the many things I'm good at. Including defending my home." Bill's hand went to the gun strapped on his thigh.
"Yes, of course you are. Now, could you whip us up some lunch while I get to know our lovely guests here?" Frank turns his head towards Bill again.
"But-" Bill begins to speak, wanting to name all the reasons he doesn't want to leave his lover alone with strangers. Though, you notice Frank is quick to reassure Bill that everything will be alright.
"I'll be fine, I promise. They aren't going to hurt me, I've been extra careful with who I talk to, you know that. These people aren't dangerous. At least not to us." Frank's smile breaks Bill's resolve, trusting his lover enough to retreat into the house with haste.
Now alone with Frank, he guides the three of you over to the table on their lawn. You sit down next to Tess on your right side and Frank on the left.
"So.. Tess, I assume the lovely man you arrived with is the famous Joel Miller?" Frank turned to Joel with his hand out, receiving a firm handshake and nod from the Texan man.
"And you must be..." He turns to you.
"I'm y/n, the secret.. not-so-secret third partner." You laughed awkwardly, feeling somewhat out of place with the man and woman.
"That's right, I've only heard your name a handful of times, but it is so nice to finally meet you in person." Frank read your nervous state like a book, giving you peace of mind with a warm smile. Your nervous state diminishes when Frank's words set in, easing a smile onto your face and raising your eyebrows in slight surprise.
He's heard of me? I wonder what Tess's told him...
"It's nice to meet you too, Frank."
The four of you conversed with small talk, only butting in here and there to add something in, mostly keeping to yourself and not wanting to make the wrong impression on Frank. Tess and Joel discuss the details of a trading business between you all.
Soon enough, Bill began to come out with plates and silverware, to which Frank jumped up to help with setting the table.
"I can help if-" You started to speak, feeling a little guilty at not doing anything to help out as a guest.
"No, no. Sit, relax. You're our guests here, and I'm sure your trip has been long and tiring. Besides, it's been a while since I've set the table for more people than just me and Bill, and it's something I've always loved doing." Frank's kind smile once again eases your worries. But you swore to yourself you'd find a way to repay them for this.
You nodded as the two men made several trips to set the table, appreciating every little thing they added to it one after another. Spices, napkins, fine china plates and silverware with no scratches or rust on them. It was all a marvelous sight, one that reminded you of the old world and missing little things like this in times like these.
The amount of objects they'd placed on the table made you forget just how many of those material things you realized living without was doable. Even if you wished there were more aspects of the old world in the present one.
Fiddling with your thumbs again, you listened in to Joel and Tess's muttering about whether or not they could convince the two males on agreeing to work together, until you heard an exclamation from Tess.
"Oh my god.."
Your head jolted up towards the woman, about to ask her the reason for her outburst, until you picked up what had caught her attention.
The smell of fresh, hot food surrounded the three of you, hunger scraping at the edges of your stomach, making it even more evident that your last meal hadn't been as much of a hearty one as you'd wished. Dishes with meat and vegetables were all neatly placed in the same portion sizes as Frank and Bill put each plate down.
Before you dug in, you heard a familiar pop of cork from what you could only assume was a wine bottle. Sure enough, as you looked at Frank, the bottle he'd brought out resembled one you'd buy for a nice meal like this.
It wasn't until you heard the same cocking of Bill's pistol that you froze in your place. You watched as he placed it on the table for you all to see, a statement of protection and untrustworthiness he clearly still saw in the three of you.
Maybe not you or Tess specifically, but Joel, most definitely.
You decide to ignore the firearm's presence on the table, and begin eating the food that's so delicately placed on each of your plates. Instead of scarfing it all down like some rabid animal, you savored each bite of the flavorful, nutritious food and sip of wine like it was your last.
It might as well have been, since you had no idea whether or not you would be working together.
You wondered how people even ate on china plates that were as delicate and prettily detailed in the most extravagant ways. The silverware and wine glasses were also detailed and etched in such a beautiful way. It made you appreciate the smallest things before you had to go without them again.
A while passes, and everyone's finishing their food up. Light gusts of wind flow through Tess's hair as you look over to her, holding the glass of wine in her hand.
"Well, this really is just-- it's amazing." A slight smile on her face brings warmth to your chest, heating your body despite the cool air.
"Right?" Frank looks from Tess to Bill, who still has his pistol on the table, "Can you not please?"
He reaches over Tess's glass to fill it with the dark red alcohol, then reaches over to yours to do the same as you smile at him.
"I'm the same way," Joel states, understanding where Bill's actions are coming from. You realized in that moment that Bill and Joel are more alike than you thought.
"Oh, you're a paranoid schizophrenic too?" There's a slight chuckle that sounds out from you and Tess as Frank speaks.
"I'm not schizophrenic." Bill suddenly retorts, knowing the validity behind the methods to his madness.
Tess clears her throat, attempting to break the awkward tension that's so clearly grown between Bill and Joel.
"Well can I just say, gun aside, which I get, by the way, how nice this is to have a civilized meal in such a beautiful place? It's been so long. I mean it, I just- I wanna thank you. Even if we don't end up working together. I really needed this."
Her words seemed genuine, a slight twinge of silent and repressed pain in what she said. You only knew an extent of Tess's emotional wounds, ones she pushed down to do her job better.
As Frank lifts his wine glass to Tess with a small smile, he states, "We are working together."
The two clink their glasses together, making you raise yours to do the same.
"Cheers." Tess and Frank clink their glasses, and then Tess turns to you in the same fashion, quickly lifting your glass to clink together.
You all finish up your meals, occasionally glancing over to Tess with appreciation that you got to share something this special with your best friend.
And then the realization hit you, she was only your best friend, and you'd wanted to be more with her since she'd revealed a different side of her to you throughout the years. It was a kind, warm, caring side of Tess that made her feel like the familiarity of those strawberry candies that were hard on the outside, but soft, sweet and gooey on the inside. Tess was rough around the edges, but when she was alone with you were the times she revealed a softer side of herself.
Frank hadn't glanced anywhere other than Tess and Joel, picking up the way they discussed with one another, as if they were good business partners and friends. He'd been blinded by the fact that you sat furthest from Joel, barely even glancing his way for a split second.
The moment Frank gets a good look at you at the table is when he picks up on the way you look at Tess; it's different than the way you look at Bill and Joel, and by god does it open his eyes a mile wide. He only hides it behind his all-knowing warm persona and recognizes a light in your eyes that he saw similarly in Bill's the minute before he'd kissed him, that one day in 2007. Three years later, he saw that same spark of light in you, whenever your eyes glazed over to the only other woman at the table.
The warm younger man looks to his partner, who's anything but, to reassure you all again.
"We are." A moment passes as he sips from the wine glass and speaks again, "You know what? Let's go inside. Tess and y/n, I wanna show you something."
Frank begins to stand, lifting his wine glass from the table, Tess following next before you stand as well.
"Oh yes, it sounds amazing, I'd love to see inside." Now more sociable with the two glasses of wine in your system, you catch your balance before pushing your chair out from the table.
"Actually, I have been wanting to see inside, thank you."
Your words and Tess's overlap at the same time, chuckling a little at the synchronized movements and words between you and the older woman.
"Bring your wine. There's more inside."
"No, not inside. Frank.. Frank!" Bill's voice echoes from the table, as Frank holds the front door open for you two.
You're looking down at your feet as you walk up the porch and into the house, unaware that Tess was glancing back every few seconds to see if you followed. As you step inside, you wipe your boots off on the mat and Frank shuts the door behind him.
Your eyes finally pull away from the mat you've wiped your boots off on, to the inside of Bill and Frank's home. A deep breath of air fills your lungs to the brim as the sight of it all is a bit overwhelming.
"Wow..." you sigh, Frank stood behind you, Tess a few feet ahead, "I haven't seen anything like this in so.. long..."
You trail off as the sight of it all renders you speechless. There's candelabras with fresh wax from candles and picture frames with black and white photos. The image of inside makes it feel like a home, something you haven't felt in a very long time.
"Come on, it's right over here." Frank speaks out loud to the both of you, only you're still standing a few feet in front of the door, as the two walk into the open room just right of the stairway.
"Oh wow, look at these photo albums! I haven't seen one of these in forever.. Are they all Bill's?" Tess's voice carries to you from the other room, noticing her slight chuckle as you gaze over to where she's flipping through one of the albums.
"Yeah, yeah they are. Just don't tell him I showed you.." The two continue to giggle to themselves over the old pictures.
"Oh my gosh, I didn't even notice the extensive vinyl collection.. You know, I used to have a turntable back in college. I'd play the same old records every day, annoyed the hell out of my roommates.." Tess chuckles as she talks about her past life, something you always enjoyed hearing about when she brought it up.
With you, she could bring up anything from her old life, and you'd listen to every word.
You still had the suspicion that she and Joel had a thing going on, and your not-so-little crush on her was doing more harm for you than good in that aspect.
Tess and Frank are looking through the collections of vinyl and photos while you nonchalantly watch from afar, eyes glazing over to the massive shelves of books. Most of the ones on lower shelves were Bill's books on survival and guns, but the ones resting on the higher shelves were classics.
Before the outbreak, you'd been a sucker for those. There was something about the art of classic literature, the subtext and deeper meanings under every word. The beauty of those stories was unmatched.
I'd love to read one of those over some wine.. Matter of fact-
"Hey Frank? Where's that other bottle of wine?" You call out to him from the doorway, with your glass still in hand. Frank glances over to you from a few feet away.
"It's in the fridge, wine opener is uh- somewhere in there. You'll find it."
"Okay, thanks."
You finally break off from the two, eyes glazing over every single picture Bill and Frank have of themselves in their home, as well as the paintings Frank's done of Bill and himself.
Striding into the other room, the kitchen was in a state of what looked freshly used; pots and pans were everywhere, the scent of once heated oil lingering.
Your curious eyes peel over all the older pictures, then notice one in color that's stuck to the fridge with a rainbow magnet.
A twinge in your chest comes as well as joy for the two men that happened to find each other among a world of infected and dictatorships.
You just wish it would have happened to you already.
Bill must have had some vintage cameras lying around, ones Frank knew how to use, or learned to use for things like this. You crouched closer to look at the picture of the two men, bodies pressed together and hands clasped in each other's like they never wanted to let go.
And in such a world, why would they want to?
You pull the refrigerator door open, spotting the unopened bottle of red wine in the door. Reaching for it, you read the label, Beaujolais.
Huh, fancy name for a wine. It'll get me drunk all the same though.. Now where is that damn cork opener?
You're rummaging around in the kitchen drawers until you finally find it, oblivious to the fact that Tess has walked up behind you in your haste to find the damn thing. Her grey shirt is unbuttoned, with a white tee underneath. She always had the simplest style, but it didn't stop her from looking fucking stunning in anything she wore. Tess makes her presence known to you, arms folded across her chest as she leans against the doorway. Picturesque light chestnut strands of hair frame the soft features of her face.
"Whatcha got there?" your body whips around, wine bottle and opener in each of your hands (and almost slipping from them), to which Tess smirks a little at the sight.
You were surprised to not have heard the sound of her boots on the wooden floor, but Tess always had a way of surprising you like that.
You smile sheepishly, raising the bottle and wine opener in both your hands. Truth was, Tess popped in at the perfect time; you could never get the hang of opening things like this.
Opening bottles of liquor for you was always Tess's thing, since you didn't have the skill or strength for it. Your hands were just naturally smaller than hers as well, which meant it was only a job for a person with bigger hands.
How you wished you could hold them.
"Just in time. Could you open this for me? It's more your thing than mine.. Please? Before I drop it or something.."
Tess strides towards you and grabs both objects from your hands. She inserts the opener into the cork and twists until the similar pop from earlier indicates she'd removed it, the wine's aroma filling the area between you two.
Her strength was so attractive, the way she could make the simplest things such as opening a wine bottle look hot. The veins in her hands protruded when her grip strained, making you wonder what her hands would look like doing different things.
Tess lifts the cork to her nose, smelling the wine more intensely now, looking angelic as she breaths it in. Then, she lifts it to your nose, the gesture so familiar to you, but yet you've never seen Tess in a moment like this before.
The scent of the liquor paired with how Tess looks in the sunlight peering through the window is intoxicating in itself, as she places the bottle on the counter. Glancing outside, the golden light began to fade fast, darkness approaching quicker than you'd like it to.
With a smile, you walk over to the countertop and pour yourself another glass of wine.
"Thanks... you'll have to teach me that sometime." You couldn't tell if the flush on your cheeks was from the wine, or the gesture Tess just did for you.
"Yeah, but then what would you need me for?" Tess cocks her head to the side, a slight smirk on her face again. That damn smirk.
Rolling your eyes, you scoffed.
As if I could ever go without you, Theresa.
"Oh, please. I'll always need you, Tess."
"Right.. So, Frank said we could stay the night, since it's more dangerous to travel when it isn't daytime. Our visit was longer than expected.." Tess's eyes move from you to outside, where Bill and Joel were still sat, discussing in what looked like a more civilized way than earlier.
"They have enough room for us?" You asked, sipping at the red wine.
"Yeah, they've got two extra bedrooms. So, I figure you and I could share one and give Joel the other room for himself. Plus they said we could use their shower," Tess shuffled closer to you and lowered her voice, "I hear they have hot water.."
Your eyes widened at the thought of a hot shower, something you hadn't realized was accessible anymore. Though, before speaking, you cleared your throat to minimize any indication of nervousness in the fact that you and Tess would be sharing a bed tonight.
"You sure you wouldn't rather room with Joel? I.. move around a lot in my sleep."
A confused look displays itself across Tess's face.
"I mean- I wouldn't want you to wake up with me on top of you or.. anything.." A nervous chuckle erupts from your chest as you laugh your awkwardness off.
"I think that second bottle of wine is what I should be worried about, not your restlessness." She smirks again, "But have fun with that. I'm gonna go wash up. Talk later?"
You only nodded, not wanting to embarrass yourself in front of your best friend any more.
As Tess left the room, the strain of your journey finally set in. Soles of your feet began to twinge with pain, carrying you to the next room with the wine bottle and glass in hand.
You saunter into the living room, the amount of wine you've consumed making your cheeks, not to mention your whole body, flush with heat. The weight of your figure flopped down in a corner of the room as you placed the wine bottle down.
You gulped at the rest of the liquid in your glass, putting it on the side table. Gazing around the room at all the vintage items in perfect condition, your eyes meet the tall shelf of classic literature once again.
Pulling yourself from the chair, you pick up the bottle of wine by its neck, instead of pouring yourself another glass.
They're not gonna miss one little bottle... they've got a whole vineyard to themselves.
It's then you hear the front door open finally, Bill and Joel coming in, their discussion a little lighter than the one they were having earlier. You hear a chuckle fall from Joel in his Texan accent and your eyebrows raise.
Wow, they're finally getting along. Maybe we will have new business partners after all..
You stumble over to the bookshelf, about three glasses of wine making your bodily strength diminish with every sip you took. You were in a more tipsy state than usual; not having drank alcohol for years had more of an effect on you than it usually would.
The higher bookshelves are littered with dust, not having been touched since who knows when; you're just tall enough to drag your fingers across the top shelf on your tippy toes, the one below it littered with the many classic stories.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence, Emma by Jane Austen.
You read the titles off in your head, fingers trickling over the necks of each hardcover novel, stopping at Little Women and pulling it from the bookshelf. You also grabbed Pride and Prejudice, planning to ask Frank or Bill in the morning to borrow them till your next visit.
Slumping over in the chair again, you open Little Women, pages crinkling as the smell of the vintage book hits your face. It almost makes you sneeze, but you stifle it and begin reading.
You're mumbling to yourself in the little cozy corner of Frank and Bill's house, perched in a red armchair, and it's the most domestic you've ever seen yourself be in a long time. Granted, you were becoming more intoxicated with each gulp of the bitter alcohol you ingested. It floods your insides with warmth, your train of thought sidetracking from the story in your hand to the thought of the gorgeous woman that was Tess Servopolous.
She felt like home, the sweet smile she revealed to you your favorite thing about her. Her hardened exterior cracked and withered away bit by bit with every day you lay in her apartment healing from your injuries.
You're pulled out of the daydream when footsteps descend down the stairway, until the figure turns the corner. Frank's face comes into the warm lamp light, silently walking into the room and fiddling around with a few things before making his way over nearby where you sat.
Over the edges of the book, you watch him grab a few logs of firewood, placing one in the brick fire pit, before lowering your eyes back to the book. A few more minutes pass of his fidgeting before you realize the fireplace has come alive with flames of light.
Waves of heat flood the room, completely bringing your attention away from the book in your hands.
"No way..." Your voice draws Frank's eyes to you.
"Way. You know, my favorite thing to do in the fall is make fires.. Bonfires, campfires, any kind of natural warmth feels so home-like and safe. Don't you think so?"
"Yeah.. my childhood home had such a nice fireplace like this. It's really nice to see and feel again after so long." The two of you share a smile and look at the fire. Flames crackle and burn high, popping at times, the same way it used to before. Silence is adamant throughout the room, clutching the novel in your arms as the flames continue to burn.
"So.. you gonna tell me what's got you slumped over in a corner reading classic literature? I can't imagine it's that riveting.." Frank's tone tells you that he's joking, but you can't help from being at least a little offended in your drunken state.
"Classic literature is actually my favorite genre of novel, for your information. And you wouldn't get it…" The irony of your words slaps you in the face the minute they manifest themselves because.. Frank does know what it's like to feel the way you do. He’s just still in the dark about it.
"Hey, hey. You can tell me what's going on. I may or... may not have any experience on what you're going through."
Then the realization sets in that he's probably felt the way you do his whole life.
It's at that moment you decide to trust him. You close the book over, and look Frank in the eye.
"Okay, but this stays between us. Promise?"
"Of course."
A sigh leaves your chest and you begin to tell him how you feel about a certain one of your smuggling partners.
"Tess saved me... however many years ago it was... I can't remember how long it's been now. I've just always been around her since then. She's done things for me and- and I've done things for her... But I never knew why I always wanted to be around her.. until one night when I had a really, really rough day and she comforted me. I never wanted to leave her arms, and that's when I realized.. I liked her. She's my best friend, Frank.. What would I do if she doesn't feel the same? I don't think I could live with myself if I ruin our friendship because of some stupid fucking crush."
You finished speaking, letting out another sigh like you'd just thrown up all the thoughts reverberating in your head the second you made it out of the QZ walls.
Frank's silent until he speaks, analyzing and connecting dots in his head about this afternoon and the way you'd been acting.
"All that... doesn't sound just like a little crush to me, hon. You love her.. and you want what's best for her. Protecting yourself from the hypothetical hurt of her not feeling the same is valid.. but you're not gonna know how she feels about you if you don't tell her. Take the night, and think on it. Or... go ahead and keep on reading your classic literature while the love of your life goes to sleep upstairs. I'm just saying, if you don't try, then what's the point?"
The next time you look Frank in the eyes, they're filled with kindness, and you can tell he sees you for who you really are. There's no hiding your true self around him, he reads you the same way he read Bill the day he fell in that hole in the ground.
"You know what, you're right. I'm gonna take the night to think about it, thanks, Frank. I don't know what I'd do if I was alone in this."
Frank places his hand over yours in a compassionate and friendly way. He understood where you'd been coming from, especially with the way you both were.
The rest of your night is spent cuddling up under a blanket Frank had placed over your legs before he headed up to bed for the night. The wine drunk put you in an exhausted state, eyelids as heavy as weights until you ended up falling asleep curled up in the chair, fire dwindling away to nothing but embers.
A nudge to your arm slightly pulls you from your slumber, wine bottle abandoned on the floor from earlier. The next thing you feel is a strong grip lifting your body from the chair. With a groan, your arms flail weightlessly to the side, as you're picked up bridal style, the creaking under the wood indicating you were being carried up the stairs.
It's probably Joel who's lifted you like this with no effort at all, no chance it was Frank or Bill. Tess was already asleep too, and once she rested her head, there was no waking her. She slept like a rock.
You figure you're finally up the stairs as the steps steady, pushing the door open silently to the dark bedroom. Finally, you're placed down onto the soft bed, boots being tugged from your feet and placed on the floor. Rolling over a bit, you groan at the comfortable state of the bed.
Already comforted by the blankets, the heat of your body diminishes in the cool, dark room, as you doze off to sleep for the night.
As morning peeks through the shades of the cool bedroom, a pounding headache rammed behind your skull as your eyes inch open. Fluttering profusely, your pupils adjust to the rays of sunlight slowly, head still spinning.
Groaning at the pain, your eyes shift from the window to the side table, where there'd been a glass of water and two pills of Tylenol placed next to a small piece of paper. You sit upright in the bed, truly unable to recall the events of the previous night. The only thing you remembered vaguely was that second bottle of wine, one you regretted even picking up.
You reached for the note, headache only pounding harder as you attempted to read it.
For your head, since you really thought that second bottle of wine was a good idea. We've got breakfast made when you feel well enough. - Frank
It's at that moment you realize your mouth is bone dry, concluding on the fact that you hadn't drank one drop of water last night. As if a desperate plea for the quenching of your thirst, you drop the note in your lap abruptly, gravitating towards the very full glass of water sitting just a foot away.
The liquid slides down your throat as you desperately gulp it down, only stopping for a moment to pop both Tylenol into your mouth. After finishing the glass of water, you look down at the note again.
Signed Frank, but I've seen this handwriting before. Somewhere.. My hungover brain cannot remember right now for the life of me.
A yawn breaks through your chest, your hand instinctively going up to cover your mouth. When the smell of your breath hit your nose, it became apparent to you that you should probably take advantage of the hot and running water in the home.
Quickly, you threw the covers to the side, glancing down at your legs, body covered in the same clothes as yesterday. You didn't even dare attempt to sniff those articles of clothing, knowing how sweat stained they had become on the hike yesterday.
Yeah, you really needed to shower.
Standing from the bed now, you reach over to grab your bag, when you realize you've left it downstairs. Only when you look around the room is when you see a plain grey t-shirt sitting on the arm of a chair.
Tess's shirt, no doubt.
You pick it up and hold it in your hands, the scent of her sure enough surrounding your head.
As tempting as it would be to head back to sleep, you walk over to the bedroom door, opening it to the hallway. It seemed there was nobody remaining upstairs, evident due to the light conversation coming from downstairs. Your socked feet patter across the hall, peeping around a corner before b-lining straight for the bathroom.
Placing the clothing on the countertop, you reach into the shower and start the running water. As it slowly heats the small room, you stride over to a closet, pulling it open to find an abundance of everything you could've ever needed to bathe in the world before. Shampoos, conditioners, body wash, shaving cream and razors.
Wow, these guys really know how to keep inventory. They won't mind if I make use of some of this stuff, I definitely need it more than they do right now.
Steam fills the bathroom as you pull each article of sweat-stained clothing from your body, landing all together in a pile. As you pull the curtain back and step in, the warm water washes over your work-weathered body, goosebumps rising at the comfortably warm liquid.
It was euphoric, the temperature of clean, filtered water paired with the privacy of the shower.
You can only stand still as the dirt and other liquids patter to the tub floor, bringing you lighter in mood and vibrance as well.
As you scrub your scalp with the shampoo, the events of last night finally return to you.
Reading Little Women, admitting how you felt about Tess to Frank- the decision you told him you'd take the night on and think about.
You caught your head in your hands as embarrassment for yourself washed over you, much like the warm water of the shower.
"Ughh, I can't believe I told Frank that stuff.." Although you didn't regret it, not completely. The chat you had actually made you feel better, getting it off your chest after so long of holding it in.
You just wished it would be that easy to tell the person of your affection.
The spray of water from the shower ceased as you turned it off, stepping out onto the bath mat and wrapping a towel around you.
Regrettably, you had no other clothes to change into, so you pull on everything you'd worn the day before, except for your shirt. You put on the grey one for now.
Yep, it definitely smelled like Tess.
Pulling your cargo pants on, you stride out of the steam-filled bathroom, and your feet lead you into Bill and Frank's room.
Though you feel it's trespassing on an already stepped-over line, you head towards their closet, quickly opening the door and taking in the massive amount of flannel shirts hanging there.
Frank had impeccable taste in clothes, deciding to yank one or two of the darkly colored button ups from their hangers. You took a pair of socks as well, since yours had holes in them from their constant use.
You thought about not telling Frank about your thievery, but it's going to become imminent when you walk down the stairs with his shirts in your arms. So you shove them in your bag once you find it resting next to the bed.
Heading back into the guest bedroom, you pull the fresh pair of socks onto your feet, beginning to reach for your black boots sitting on the floor. Reaching down for one, you hear a knock at the door before you can grab it.
Quickly, you stride over to the door, expecting to see Frank or Bill on the other side with a message from your partners about hurrying to leave or something along those lines.
To your surprise, the face on the other side of the door is Tess.
Shit, Tess. The person you promised Frank you'd confess to last night over a drunken conversation.
She looks well rested, wearing a different shirt than the one from yesterday. It's a dark green, that compliments her eye color and the wisps of her caramel hair framing her face. Her hair is in that half up-half down bun, the rest of it resting behind her shoulders.
She looks fucking perfect, and you look like a wet dog, hair still damp from your shower.
"Hey, morning. How'd you sleep? I uh-" Tess is pulling at her collar awkwardly, standing in the same fashion as your eyes finally trail down to what she'd holding in her hands.
She had a plate in her grip, covered in freshly made, very appetizing breakfast foods. Some so freshly made, there was still steam coming off of it.
You're thankful in this moment to have taken those Tylenol earlier, or else the smell of any food whatsoever would've sent you hurling over the toilet like a hungover sorority girl.
"Oh my god, Tess. What is all this?" Your eyes widened in surprise, the smell catching your attention even before you had seen the plate of food in her hands.
"Well, you need a big breakfast for the journey back to Boston today, and I figured you could use it after last night.." A chuckle breaks through her chest, head dipping downwards before looking at your freshened state.
"Come- come in." You move aside for Tess to enter the bedroom, assuming you'd slept alone in here for the night. As she places the tray down on the bed, you sit down, Tess standing a few feet away.
"Tess, did you make this? What the hell- This looks amazing.. Eggs, sausage, hash browns? These are all my favorites.. Seriously, thank you. Wh-what can I do to make it up to you?"
"Well, first of all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And second of all, don't thank me, thank Bill and Frank, it's their food I cooked. Consider it a hangover cure. Once I get so drunk that I fall asleep in an armchair with a classic book in my lap, then you can pay me back. It better be a damn good breakfast." She chuckles again, in that low voice that keeps you up at night when you think about it.
The way it says your name, her low tone when she curses under her breath, the way she sounds in the early mornings when the sun still hasn't risen and she's drowsy enough to not make any sense in her muttering.
Tess went through all the trouble of making everything she knew you favored, the mere thought of her thinking about you as she cooked it all only made your enamor for her grow stronger, a fire of love burning behind your chest for the woman in front of you.
It's then she takes a seat on the bed with you, watching as you poke into the eggs and begin devouring the food on your plate. She wasn't leaving, by the looks of it.
In the middle of chewing your food, you speak again.
"Did Frank tell you I passed out down there?"
Her grin becomes larger now as her eyes move from the plate of food to your face as you consume your breakfast.
I wonder what else he told her. Hopefully nothing I haven't yet...
"No, I'm the one that found you, silly. Carried you up the stairs and put you to bed myself."
You continue chewing as your eyes widen, another realization from last night coming back to mind.
It wasn't Joel carrying you, it was Tess.
"You carried me up the stairs? Wow, I'm gonna have to start lifting weights if I have to do the same for you."
While you speak, you're enjoying every morsel of this delicious food Tess has made you, and you're grateful for her in so many more ways than you could express presently.
"You better," Tess says with a scoff. A couple more minutes pass by as you're finishing up the food on your plate. You notice that she's still sitting in the room with you, taking your silence as a sign of comfortability around her.
"So, what's up, Tess?" You say, shoving another fork full of hash browns into your mouth.
"Well, I came to check on you, since last night Frank told me you were drinking a whole 'nother bottle of wine by yourself.. and reading classic literature? For fun?" She laughs.. "I figured you might be hungover this morning and wanted to bring you something to fill your stomach. I can't have you fainting on me when we hike back to the QZ, now can I? Gotta keep your strength up, hun."
The name melts your heart a little and you smile. It was such a simple thing, one that indicated she cared about your wellbeing and didn't want to see you unwell.
"Yeah, always gotta be nourished and shit. Just human things, I guess. Though, a meal like this never gets old." You said with a smile.
It became more difficult to hold back the thoughts of holding and kissing the woman before you, her green button down shirt just aching to be pulled in order to kiss her. Those perfect hazel eyes of hers that resembled gems when they hit the sun just right, getting effortlessly lost in them every time they locked with yours. Her hands that completed her daily tasks so beautifully, with such care and concern in everything she did making you think she'd hold you the same way, love you the same beautiful way she did everything in her life with.
"I'm guessing you're feeling alright, then? Tylenol helped?" It was cute that Tess was still worrying about how you were feeling from the night before. Putting the fork down finally, you looked up at her.
"Yeah I- Wait, how'd you know I took Tylenol?" You hadn't mentioned anything to her about taking medicine.. so how did she know?
"Well I uh- I just.." She scoffed lightly before continuing, "I asked Frank to leave some by your bedside earlier and I was really worried about you, since yesterday. You don't drink like that unless something's bothering you."
Her eyes focused on you, hair lightly spilling over her shoulder, and she's in the moment with you now more than she had ever been. It's almost like she's reading you when you glance up again, pulling at the collar of your shirt.
"I know, Tess. It's just-" you sigh, thumbs fiddling with each other, palms beginning to prick ever so lightly with sweat.
"You can tell me anything, you know that right?" Her voice was sweet and soft, lowering a bit to hopefully ease your worries. One of her hands grabs yours, and the sensation is enough to make the breath in your lungs hitch.
If there was any perfect moment to confess, this was it.
"Tess, there's something I need to tell you." A slight quiver of your voice tells her that this thing that had been bothering you clearly meant a lot. You keeping things from her wasn't a common occurrence, which only happens when something was beyond frustrating for you to talk about.
"Okay, what is it?"
You're infuriatingly beautiful and I want to kiss you right now.
"It's the fact that I'm over here pining like an idiot for you and you can't even see it.." You mutter, not wanting to look Tess's way for fear of judgment or rejection. She notices, and in that very moment she longs to see the fire in your eyes burn its brightest. "It's the fact that- that I love you, and you probably love someone else.."
"Someone else?" Tess scoffed, "And who do you think that is, huh?"
"I don't know.. Joel, maybe.." Head still hung, your hands shake slightly, chest filled to the brim with uneasiness and anxiety.
Was it just you, or did the temperature in here get hotter?
"Y/n, look at me." You hesitate for a moment, then slowly your eyes move from their locked position on your hands.
Tess's hands are fidgeting in her lap too, you notice.
The second you lift your head, the glossy state of your eyes catches her attention, and her face eases once you're looking directly at her. Tess's bottom lip catches between her teeth for a moment, and she glances down swiftly, then back up at you.
"Joel and I are nothing but friends, you understand? I don't want him, never have." The words hit your ears and it's as if a weight lights off your shoulders.
It's the most clarifying moment that makes you giddy to spill everything onto her lap.
"Tess.." you breathe, closing your eyes for a moment and making a decision, "Please don't shoot me for this..."
You begin to lean in towards her, eyelids hooded as you glance down to her lips, watching intently as she does the same. It feels like an eternity before you're close enough to pick up on her natural scent, consuming your brain and going fuzzy upon the close proximity.
A warm tingling fills your hands as they brush over Tess's thighs and hover just over the dark denim covering them.
Once, twice, three times you glanced down at her lips, pausing to drag your eyes across her flawless face.
"Are you gonna kiss me, or what?" Her snarky tone pulls your eyes back to gaze into her hazel ones, almost getting lost in them before getting the courage to do something you couldn't come back from.
"Shut up," You say, before your hands grab onto her collar, and pull her lips to yours. Her kiss takes your breath away, crawling into her lap, collar of Tess's shirt still in your grip. Sparks flicker in your chest, and they're coming off of Tess's as well, deepening the kiss with another push of your lips against hers.
The weight of you in her lap pulls a groan from the woman opposite you, separating your lips from hers. You almost couldn't pull away, but the thought of hurting her made your worry jump a mile high.
"Shit.. Are-are you okay?" Tess gives you another peck on your lips, before trailing her eyes down your face and neck. The smirk on her face makes the heat from your cheeks travel down your torso.
"Oh, I'm better than ever... you wanna know why?"
Nodding your head fervently, her hands trail up your shirt to your collar, watching as her pupils dilate around the hazel in her eyes. The grasp on your shirt is tight, even tighter when she beckons you impossibly closer to her. The next moment, she's pulling your lips to hers in another passionate kiss. Your lips are pressed together for so long, it feels like you're out of breath by the time she pulls away.
"It's because I love you." The three words fall from her lips like a siren beckoning you with its song. Her voice has never sounded more perfect, and when she says those words to you, it's an indescribable amount of joy that fills your chest.
Her panting is an indication of not being able to breathe, but she doesn't fucking care if she got to kiss you like that.
"You love me, too?" Out of curiosity, you ask again, just to make sure it registers in your brain. Disbelief makes your heart jump, even though you've just kissed her, and you never wanted to stop.
Even though she told you she felt the same way, it was still a dream.
"Of fucking course I do. Ever since I took care of you, those few months you were living in my apartment. How could I not?" One of her hands trails up your face, brushing some stray hairs obstructing her view, so she could look at you fully.
The woman you've pined after for years has loved you all the same, and the realization feels a lot like you've wasted so much time behind a closed door. Sleepless nights went by with you writing about her in your journal, detailing all the ways you would love her if she only loved you back.
Tess adored you, she just hadn't let herself show it or feel any other way than a friend, and she'd been terrified to lose you if she fucked any of that up. The years and years of pining built to this very moment, tension in the room thick as you gazed at her lovingly.
"Tess.. kiss me again..."
It was a desperate plea for that fucking woman to press your lips to hers so you could taste her even stronger than you thought you could handle.
"I don't think I'll be able to stop if I do." Her low voice made your legs tremble, a new kind of desire growing due to her.
"Then don't." Your lips clashed together with hers, tongues exploring each other's mouths in a feverish attempt to taste even more of you than she already had.
The truth was, she had all of you for a long time, and now she couldn't imagine needing anything more.
A soft moan is pulled from your chest as Tess's teeth nip at your bottom lip. The both of you seem breathless as you pull away again, but every time you glance down at her swollen lips is when you want to just press them to yours over and over again.
"God, you're so beautiful, it's hard to look directly at you sometimes." Her words catch you off guard, feeling your eager hands travel up her neck, one resting on her shoulder while the other sneaks your fingers between her soft strands of hair. Twirling a lock of it, the blush on your face makes her smirk.
"Stop it, I mean just look at yourself. You're so hot and intimidating and perfect and-"
"You saying you're not those things?" Her brows furrow in distaste, because how dare you suggest otherwise.
"I'm saying you are. Pretty girl." A giggle erupts from your chest, raking your fingers through her hair with appreciation.
"If you don't say you're all of those things right this second, love, I'm just gonna have to prove it to you. And you know I will."
Your eyebrows raise, wanting to pull a little sneaky trick on her.
"Say that I'm what?" The smirk on your face makes Tess blush a little, chuckling to herself because she knows exactly what you're doing.
"Say that you're..." One of her hands goes to the top button of your shirt and unbuttons it as she places a quick peck on your cheek, "Perfect, intimidating, hot, everything I want.. God, fuck. Look at what you do to me.."
Her nimble fingers trail down your shirt, undoing each button carefully, letting the shirt fall open to your sides. Hands rest on the skin of your sides, just under the shirt you're wearing. Her shirt you're wearing.
"Tess.." You sigh breathlessly, still trying to gain back whatever air was pulled out of your lungs just a moment earlier.
"Hmm? Tell me what you want, baby." She tilts her head ever so slightly, the smirk on her face only enlarging when she sees the desire in your lust-blown eyes. Her pet name all but pulls a squeal from your chest, scrunching your nose upon hearing her low words.
"I want you, Tess. God, I want all of you.. But we can't-" Your hands run up and down her sides, shaking ever so slightly at her intimidating smirk.
"We can do anything we want, sweetheart. I've got you, now. No one's gonna take you away from me, ever. And no one's taking me from you. Got it?"
It's so warm, so Tess, such a loving and nurturing side of her that spills those words into your chest like a goddamn golden light, and it brings tears to your eyes. Sniffling, you try to blink them away every second they threaten to fall from your eyes.
The close proximity of her immediately pulls you into a safe hug, tears dropping on the cloth of her shirt, dampening the fabric bit by bit. Her hand rubs up and down your back, comfort surrounding you in the moment like nothing else in the world.
"So-sorry, Tess, I didn't mean to get your shirt all wet," You say, pulling back from her embrace, "I'm just.. so fucking happy because I love you and- and you're finally mine."
The words come out like the easiest thing in the world, like you could tell her your deepest darkest secrets and she'd still love you completely as you are.
"Aw, you look so pretty when you're in love. 'Bout the most perfect thing in the whole world to me, pretty girl."
"Well, yeah. It's all your fault that I'm crying like a sap, dummy." You playfully punch her shoulder and wipe your face, tears finally ceasing their descent from your eyes.
"You love me that much, huh?" This time, Tess's smile is sweet, intimate and all but this time your eyes lock with hers in a deep gaze.
"Love you even more than that, Tess." A giggle erupts from your chest as her lips press ever so lightly to your neck, ghosting feather light kisses across your skin. Before she pulls back, she attaches her lips to your skin and sucks obsessively, in the same spot. A particularly sensitive spot she gets to pulls a whimper from your chest, the sound making her pull away from kissing you, eyebrows raised with curiosity.
"What was that, baby?" You whimper again, embarrassment washing over you while your cheeks are being painted with a blush.
"Need you, Tess. Need you so bad.." The last word comes out rather quickly, hips rolling against hers ever so slightly.
"I'm right here, honey. Tell me what you need from me, and I'll give it to you." Her words come out like a plead, work-worn hands and fingers trailing over the waistband of your pants. "Come on, we don't have much time. Joel wants to get on the road soon.."
Oh God. Joel. Bill. Frank.
Your thoughts freeze and think to the three other men in the house, or probably somewhere nearby, if not lingering just a few feet away down the stairs.
"Shit, should we-"
"Yes, my love, we should. After all this time, we should."
"But the door-"
The bedroom door; it was swung almost completely open.
"Guess you better be quiet then." She mutters, voice low with lust and the need for you to fall apart for her just once before their travels.
"Tess-" You whimper breathlessly, and before you can speak another word, her lips attach to yours again. Her hair smells like lavender, and her lips taste like strawberries.
"Do you trust me?" She asks, wanting to know you're okay with her going further.
"You know I do. I trust you with my life." You reply, almost immediately. Her soft eyes gaze into yours and she nods.
It's the most perfect vision of Tess you've had your entire life, and nothing in this world could tear you away from that.
Once you feel her hands unbuckling your pants successfully, one of her hands slips down under the fabric, bypassing your underwear right down to where she knows you need her.
Her middle and ring finger slide through the arousal between your legs, and the second she feels you throbbing against her, is when her kisses trail from your mouth to your neck.
"Tess, fuck-" You whimper out, as her fingertips swirl around the most sensitive part of you.
"Needy girl, aren't you? So gorgeous..." The smirk on her face turns devious when her eyes meet yours again, catching how your face contorts with pleasure under her doing.
Another mewl leaves your chest, nodding fervently once again.
"Shit, all wet for me? You really know how to make a woman happy.." The slight laughter from her chest makes you clench around nothing. Nothing, until her fingers pursue lower than your sensitive bundle of nerves. Deep breaths of air make your chest heave, and Tess is only relishing in the way you're falling apart completely for her.
Before you feel her fingers prodding at your entrance, your hand grabs her forearm and she halts her movements.
"What about you?" Your eyes seem to beg for her without saying another word more, and she hesitates for a moment, until she speaks.
"You don't have to, love. You feeling good makes me feel good and-"
She pauses her words, because your doe eyes make whatever was left of her resolve break, the instant she looks into them.
"Alright, baby. Go ahead, touch me.. I need you, too." A smile breaks out onto your face, hands gravitating towards her belt, undoing it as fast as she can complete her sentence to satisfy you.
One of your hands slips down between her legs, watching as her eyes close in bliss at the first light drag of your fingers down her heat.
"Fuck.." Her head gets thrown back while her eyes shut at the amount of pleasure and love you have for her in that very moment. Tess curses under her breath as you begin slow circles on her most sensitive part of her body, goosebumps trailing all over her skin.
"Now who's the needy one?" She glances back up to your eyes, and just like that, her intimidating demeanor returns.
You almost yelp aloud when she pushes a finger inside of you, but her lips press against yours before you could do so. The fervent exchange of moans between each swirl of your fingers, and each thrust of Tess's fingers inside of you makes the moment feel infinite.
Everything you've ever wanted, you finally had.
She was yours to touch, to hold, to please. Tess gave you all of her, completely and irrevocably.
"Tess.. fuck, I love you.. I- never wanna be with anyone else but you.." Your tone of voice is pitched higher, submerged in the pleasure she brought. She could tell you were inching closer to release with every swirl of her fingers.
"I love you, baby. With everything inside of me. It's you. Only you.. Now be a good girl and come with me."
"Are you gonna-"
"Yeah, I am. Fuck- keep going, just like that. Cmon, baby." The hand that wasn't inside your pants snuck up to your hair, grabbing a handful and pulling in silent demand.
Sighing dreamily, Tess pulled her fingers out of you and rubbed incessantly at your precious bundle of nerves, triggering your hips to rock against hers.
"Tess.." You moan out loud, almost too loud for the people downstairs to hear, but at the same time, you don't care. Not when Tess is giving you the most pleasure you think you've ever experienced in your life.
"I love it when you moan my name.. Say it again." Her fingers swirl to no end, feeling a jolt of pleasure wash through you as your high began to rush towards you.
"Tess, fuck. Oh my god Tess- baby I'm gonna come.." Your sounds are uncontrollable now as your release is beckoning you further.
"Yeah, hun? Gonna come for me?" Your hand speeds up your movements on her sensitive bud of nerves, another low moan leaving her chest, dripping with desire.
"Oh, baby, I'm-I'm.."
"Me too baby, yeah..." Tess calls out, her movements on your clit pushing you over the edge, her high washing over her intensely.
A few more filthy moans leave your chest, release crashing over you like a wave, running throughout your body with relief, your partner helping you ride it out before you finally look back up at her.
Sweat adorns her skin, chest heaving as she pulls her fingers from your pants. You do the same, only watching as she licks her fingers seductively. Another wave of pleasure threatens to overtake you, just by watching her do that.
"Holy shit... that was amazing. I knew your hands were good for more than just holding a gun and punching people." Your head tilts back the slightest bit as you try to catch your breath after the immense pleasure washed over you only moments ago.
"For our first time, that's nothing compared to what I've been thinking about doing to you for months now.." The smirk on her face threatens the rise of arousal again, though you're too exhausted now to even think about doing that, with what a long journey you've got ahead of you.
"You-" Tess raises an eyebrow at your speechlessness, "are the most beautiful woman in the whole world, and you chose to love me. Isn't that something."
Your words make her blush again, leaving a few small pecks on your cheeks, before pressing one to your lips again. Then, Tess's hands reach to your pants once more, doing the zipper up and buttoning them so she could do the same to hers.
"Well, I don't think we choose who we love. But if it was.. it's because you're the most perfect person in the world. Isn't that something.."
You look to Tess with a soft smile, one that makes both of you appreciate the domesticity of your conversation at hand.
"Yeah, it is," You say, taking her hands in yours and interlocking your fingers together, "So, what does all this make us?"
You catch Tess staring into your eyes again, and it takes a second for her to respond.
"Well, I'm already in love with you, so whatever you want, I want it too. I'm all in, for you. That sound good?"
God, you've waited forever to hear those words.
Attaching your lips with hers, it's a slow, soft kiss, almost stopping time with how you craved more every second that went by. As you pull away, Tess looks radiant in the sunlight that's pouring through the window even more now.
Her words turn you speechless, already knowing you called her 'mine' but hearing it from the velvet voice of your lover made your heart swell ten times bigger.
"It sounds wonderful, Tess." You lean in for another kiss, soft and sweet, until you pull back again, "You'll have to teach me how to open wine bottles, though."
"Nah, I think I'd rather just keep doing it for you." Your lips locked in another kiss, one you wished would last forever.
"Oh, one more thing," Tess goes digging in her back pocket, pulling out a blue tube, "Deodorant. You stink like sex."
"And whose fault is that?" You quip, grabbing the tube from her and rubbing it under your armpits.
Tess shrugged, almost pulling you in for another kiss, until the sound of a male voice from downstairs snapped both of you out of the daydream.
"Shit, Joel. He's gonna be mad that I took so long up here.. that-that we took so long-" You begin to speak, pulling yourself from the bed, reaching down to slip your boots on.
"Joel Miller is not gonna say anything when he sees that hickey." Tess mumbles, standing from the bed as well, adjusting her shirt from where you'd grasped it before.
"What mark? Oh, Tess.. you didn't.." You rush over to the mirror hanging on the wall, and pull your collar to the side abruptly to see the darkening purple bruise on your neck. You scoff, only buttoning up your shirt with haste to get out the door.
"I did. Couldn't help myself, you know. You're all mine now, had to make sure everyone in Boston knows you're spoken for."
She walks up behind you, placing her hands on your hips as you continue buttoning the flannel up. You scoff, flipping your head around to kiss her on the lips again.
"Yeah, well did you have to make it so dark?" You questioned, knowing she could've gone lighter but didn't.
"You already know the answer to that. Now c'mon, let's not keep the man waiting." Tess pulls you by your hand to the door, looking back once more as you exit the room and walk down the stairs with her hand in yours.
Just as you thought he'd be, Joel was pacing downstairs with his pack already on his back.
"There y'all are.. was starting to get worried about- Oh." The tall, Texan man clears his throat when his eyes spot the mark on your neck, eyes immediately avoiding yours.
"Yeah.. I'll grab our packs and meet you outside. Cool?" Tess says, before sharing a look with Joel, not saying anything more as he turns to walk out to the front yard. Her hand slips from yours every so slightly, and you already miss the warmth and love in her contact the second it drops from you.
"Hey, wait- where's Frank?" You call out to Joel, but he's already to the gate of their yard before he can hear you.
"In here!" Frank's voice comes from the living room, and you saunter over to him.
"Hey, morning. Listen, I wanted to thank you for everything. What you said to me last night, and just your hospitality and all you're gonna help us with when we start working together. I mean it- I'm really grateful."
Frank looks up from the vinyl he's sifting through, and meets your eyes with a compassionate smile.
"I take it this morning went... well?" He gestures to the mark on your neck, one of your hands going up to sheepishly cover it, a bit embarrassed that you let her go that far.
"Oh, um. Yeah, very well. I did that thing we talked about." As soon as the words hit his ears, he's grinning from ear to ear and throws his arms around you with a tight embrace, one that caught you off guard, but you hugged back, nonetheless. The smile is still beaming on his face as he pulls away.
"I knew it would go well. You two.." He shakes his head, hands on his hips, "Sparks were basically flying over lunch yesterday, every time one of you looked at each other.. Wait- Is that my shirt? Nevermind, keep it. Looks better on you anyway."
Frank laughs at the realization that you didn't have fresh clothes after showering, so he understood.
"Seriously, thank you. For everything, again."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm such a matchmaker. Now go, run to your lover, and never let her go, okay? She's one special woman."
"Yeah, that she is.." Your gaze shifts from Frank to Tess appearing in the doorway with your pack in her hand.
"Oh, one more thing." Frank hands you the books you'd taken down from their shelves last night, Little Women and Pride and Prejudice. "Don't worry, Bill said it's alright. He doesn't read classics, anyways. You'll come back, and we'll trade."
That's the last thing Frank says before Tess beckons you back to her.
"You ready to go? Joel's gonna lose his marbles if we make him wait any longer, so.." Tess asks you, standing a few feet away, but it felt like miles before you could get back to her.
"Oh, God forbid a man wait on two fine ladies, such as yourselves." Frank says, turning Tess's way as you walk towards her, grabbing your pack from her hand and putting the two books into it, before slinging it onto your back.
"You make a good point, but he's gonna be grouchy the whole hike. He'll be done with our lovesick asses once we get back to the QZ." You say with a giggle, pressing a quick kiss to Tess's lips.
"Well, it's been lovely having you here, I'm not sure where Bill's run off to, but I'm sure he says goodbye as well. I'll walk you to the gate, since there's an idea I have as to how we can communicate back and forth on the radio.. I'll tell you on the way."
Frank follows you both out the door, spotting Bill already at the gate, the same holster with his pistol sticking out from his otherwise plain outfit.
As Joel finally spots the three of you coming from the house, he darts right out of their front yard, b-lining for the gate.
"Guess he's got a new friend..." You mutter to Tess, Joel's steps bringing him towards the gate faster than you three were walking.
"Maybe he just doesn't wanna look at the huge hickey on your neck." She retorts, her reasoning better than anything else you came up with.
Chuckling, you nudge her side, hands falling beside each other's before locking your fingers together again.
Frank catches up, walking alongside Tess as he begins to explain his idea for communication back and forth.
"So, I had this idea that we should use codes for the radio, in case anyone's listening."
"That's a good idea. Like, with what?" Tess tilts her head over to the man in curiosity.
"I was thinking, like, the decades. Like- 80's, trouble, of course." Frank states, as if he's put immense thought into something as simple as this.
"Yeah..?"
"70's- for when we get new stuff to trade with.. and 60's for not having anything new. Sound good?"
"Yeah, Frank. That's actually really clever. I mean, I wouldn't have thought of that. Right, babe?" It's the first use of any pet name around people, and you can tell it puts Tess in a lighter mood just by hearing you say it.
"Right. Well, radio back to me when you guys are ready to start our business together." He reaches out to shake Tess's hand, "Otherwise, it has been lovely having you three here, and I'm so ecstatic to have you back whenever." Frank stood still, watching you all walk ahead.
The sound of Joel's boots on the pavement approaching you all force you to turn your heads towards the third partner in your group.
"What are y'all lookin' at? Let's head out, already. Whenever you lovebirds are done.."
Grumpy exterior, but an ally, all the same.
"What are we gonna do with him..."
"Yeah, he's not nearly as much fun as you." Nudging her shoulder again, your bottom lip catches between your teeth for a slight moment. Tess's hair is blowing in the wind slightly, and you can't help but smile at the beauty of the woman you called the love of your life.
You share a look between Tess's eyes and your own, before tugging her along as you walk ahead, attached by a soul tie at your hands, linked together for a lifetime.
#ryesff#devnmon writes#tess servopoulos#tess servopoulos x reader#tess servopolous x female reader#tlou fanfic#tlou#lesbian#lgbt#other characters for exposure:#Joel Miller#Ellie Williams#The Last of Us fanfiction#tlou smut#The Last of Us#anna torv#tlou hbo#pedro pascal#bella ramsey
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heyy so ive read a lot of ur fics and like they are really amazing and i have this request where fem!reader and finney blake have this type of like enemies to lovers and it ends with them like together and stuff if not it’s totally fine!!!
Conflicting Feelings
It wasn't rare for Finney to get bullied. In fact, he was used to it. He was used to girls making fun of him or calling him names, or snickering when he walked by. And not in the "he's so cute Emily i dare you to ask him out!" Kind of snickering.
Finney however was not used to being bullied or teased by someone who he had any remote interest in.
Until he met you.
You were the most beautiful girl Finney had ever laid eyes on. And yet, you showed no interest him. Not only that, but any time you talked to him, you only seemed interested in teasing him. It was nothing he wast used to, the typical teasing or nicknames.
It wouldn't be as bad if you weren't so god damn perfect.
You used to not be so mean. Finney remembers the sweet girl in elementary who would play with him on the play ground or gift him cool rocks that you found, or even watch as he drew spaceships and planets.
But as soon as the two of you graduated and moving into middle school, you found yourself hanging out with new people, and Finney noticed almost an immediate change in the way you treated him and others. Finn longed for the days on the swings where the two of you would rant for hours about all the things you found cool.
Its not like you enjoyed bullying Finney. You didn't get anything out of it except for a guilty feeling in the pit of your stomach when Finney would give you a fearful or saddened look. But you feared what would happen to you if you dared go against the almighty authority of the popular girls.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if you had someone "on the other side" waiting for you. It wouldn't be so horrible if you weren't so lonely.
The weight of your guilt weighed down on you everyday, and it made you feel even more lonely then if you had just ditched the popular crowd and abandoned all of your "friends."
One particular day was horribly difficult. Your "friends" had decided today would be a great day to pick on Finney more than usual.
You found yourself sat on the floor on the side of the school. You figured it would be better to avoid them. Sure it was ironic, the bully avoiding people, but irony was your least concern at that moment.
Your knees were scrunched up to your chest, and your forehead rested on them, creating a perfect little space for you to let your sobs and tears fall into your lap.
The sound of gravel crunching under shoes fell upon deaf ears. Its not like any of your friends would be over here anyways. The only people who came to this side of the school was people looking for drugs or a safe place to hide.
You had paid no mind until the footsteps stopped almost directly in front of you.
You lifted your head up, wiping your tears and mascara from under your eyes to clear your vision.
There standing in front of you was a familiar head of shaggy brown hair. You quickly replaced your frown with your typical sneer and defensive attitude.
"What the fuck are you doing here? Running away from your problems again?" Despite trying to sound tough, the way your voice wobbled and cracked made you cringe. Finney just stared at you for a moment before taking place next to you, sitting down and pulling his knees up to his chest as well.
"What? Coming here to mock me? Surprise surprise, Y/n has human fucking emotions! I'm capable of feeling guilt and sadness." You scowled and rolled your eyes, hoping you could just push Finney away, even though a huge small part wanted him to stay.
"Did I do something wrong? Did I make you like this?" You were surprised to hear Finney speak. You figured he was just going to sit there and stare at you. He had a sort of saddened and guilty expression, and you felt tears pricking at your eyes again.
You looked away from him, staring at the gravel you sat on, picking up small pebbles and tossing them away from you.
"No. Its my fault I'm fucking like this. God, how could you ever think this was your fault!" You sighed and rested your cheek on your knee. "Its not your fault. Its mine. I shouldn't have ever treated you like I did. You didn't do anything wrong." You tried to stop yourself from going further, but the words just kept spilling out like vomit. "God, I miss when we would hang out on the swings and you would nerd out about rockets and space. And I just sat there and listened because you were the only person who ever payed attention to me. You were the only person who made me feel like im wanted. And then I turn around and just treating you like shit because I realize that 'hey, if I bully him, I get more attention from the popular girls. That's got to be great, right?' News flash. Its not. I hate being so mean. I hate that you hate me." You sighed, and a few tears spilled down your cheeks, sliding down and landing softly on the gravel beneath you.
Finney just stared at you, eyes wide like a does. "I-i don't hate you, Y/n." Finney frowned and gently scooted closer to you. He tentatively reached his hand out, brushing a few tears off of your cheeks. "I still want to be your friend. I just- you have to promise you won't treat me like sh- like crap anymore." You chuckled at his cover up swear. It definitely seemed like something he would do. You sighed and sat up a bit, resting your head on his shoulder. Finney tensed up, and you worried you had made things awkward.
"I don't deserve you, Finney." You murmured as you closed your eyes, almost nuzzling into his comfort a bit.
"Everyone deserves to be loved." Finney smiled, before he realized the implications of what he had said. A bright flush spread across his cheeks, but you just chuckled and reached out, grabbing his hand and intertwining your fingers.
"Thank you, Finn."
#the black phone#the black phone x reader#black phone edit#finney shaw#headcanon#finney x reader#robin arellano#vance hopper
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DWC November 2023, Day 1, Party/Chills
Perhaps there was truth in the saying you can't go home. She didn't think it was really saying you couldn't, as in you can't physically show up at the place you once lived. But perhaps that sometimes a home just isn't a home anymore.
Ellissay wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing them as the cool air penetrated her skin. It was cool outside, but strangely, it felt even more cold inside the burrows that used to be her home.
The lamp in her hand cast an eerie glow over the now almost empty room. She moved slowly throughout the living area. The few furnishings were covered in cloth, and dust had settled on the fabric. She yanked one of them off, coughing and gasping as she inhaled the particles that rained down around her. She waved her free hand to clear the air before her eyes settled on what had been under the cloth.
Her father's chair.
Immediately, tears welled up in her eyes. How often had her father sat in that chair and read to her, sang to her, or held her until she fell asleep? She runs her finger over the fabric and swallows hard.
Elly takes a deep, shuddering breath and lets the tears fall. She shouldn't have come back. Nothing was left except memories of a life that no longer existed.
She tossed the cloth into the chair and turned to walk further into the burrow. Every room was dark, empty of items that once made it a home. She wasn't sure when her mother had cleaned out most of their things. Perhaps after they had all went their separate ways. She hadn't seen her now in around how many years? 5? 6? More?
Too long, she imagined.
It wasn't like she hadn't tried to help her mother in those first few months after her father had perished in the fires of Teldrassil. But Eclesia Morningstar had been a husk of her former self. She hadn't just lost her mate she had lost a part of herself. The burns on her hands and wrists have taken away her ability to shoot a bow. Her mother might as well have lost a limb and her heart.
Elly had tried to get her to heal the physical wounds, but it was as if the woman had wanted to punish herself. She pulled away from her children and sat for hours, staring into space with a haunted look. Weeks passed, then months, but nothing brought her back, no matter what they did.
Finally, her brothers decided they didn't know what their mother needed, but it wasn't them. They had heard tales of far-off lands and dragons, and the adventurer's side in them had taken hold.
Elly takes a deep breath and shudders with the chill of the room. She picks up her pace, needing suddenly to leave her once home. It wasn't a home anymore. It was now just a shell of its former self. A reminder of what she had lost. Nothing but a tomb of old memories.
Taking a deep breath with a final look, she leaves, blowing out the lamp and casting the place again in the darkness where she had no doubt it would stay, perhaps forever.
@daily-writing-challenge
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Divulge Under the Stars
Gale x Tav
Act1 - no spoilers - 1000w
Under the stars is the perfect place to tell your crush you tragic backstory, right?
It was a cool night at camp and the breeze felt pleasant against Aerika’s ashen skin. The fire crackled below the blanket of stars that twinkled against the dark indigo night sky. No matter how much time he spent above ground it was still a sight that filled him with wonder.
Most of the camp had gone off to sleep aside from himself. He preferred to take first watch and observe how different everything was from his home. Even the darkness was comparatively bright to what he was used to. There were many luminous mushrooms and lichen in the Underdark, but none could compare to the stars.
Then there was his company, which at present was much more wonderful than the air above. Gale sat on the ground beside him gazing above and happily pointing to each constellation. His deep brown eyes bright with excitement at the opportunity to share, and boast, his knowledge. While his other hand was entwined in Aerika’s behind them, as if it were a secret.
Not that it was. But it was one of the only things they could delight in without worry of meeting an explosive end.
“It brings me joy to see your smile.” Aerika said when there was a pause in Gale’s lecture. Usually he would listen with rapt attention, but it had been a rough few nights for the mage. After learning the means he had been using to keep the Netherese orb at bay was rapidly losing its effectiveness, Gale looked incredibly sad when he thought the others weren’t paying him attention.
“You are too kind.” He chuckled after a brief pause.
“I disagree. I am only telling you the truth.”
Gale pulled his hand away and a disquiet silence fell between them. How cruel fate was sometimes. To light a spark of romance, only to smother it with impending doom. But Aerika wasn’t so easily disheartened. Especially not in odd circumstances that they and the other infectees had found themselves in. Anything could happen.
Spurred by the desire to comfort him, Aerika shifted closer next to Gale, closing what little space there had been until they were hip to hip. Explosion be damned. But thankfully they both remained in one piece, even when Aerika wrapped his arm across Gale’s back and rested his head on the other’s shoulder. Loose strands of blond and powder blue hair fell together with warm brown waves. There was no breeze anymore, as if to perpetuate their stillness as they found equanimity through the soft intimate touch.
“Do you remember when you pulled me out of that portal?” Gale asked, his voice low.
“I do. It was not that long ago actually. I was drawn to the intriguing, but voracious, magic and instead of an illithid relic or cursed artifact I found a hand calling for help. It still baffles me how a wizard of your skill ended up like that, irrespective of that Netherese blight of yours.”
“I’m certain you’ve heard this innumerable times before, but you are unlike any drow I’ve ever met. You revere the weave. Wield it with both passion and skill that would humble many a mage. I can tell it runs deeper than mere devotion to accrue divine power. It is inspiring.”
Aerika smiled fondly in recollection. The memory was more than a century old, but clear as crystal. “Magic saved my life. That is the long and short of it. In my earliest memories I was avidly consuming any material pertaining to magic. I practiced cantrips and invocations I had memorized from books whenever I could. I desired nothing more than to become a famous adventuring wizard. My parents labored to support my passion, but…” he paused. This was the part of the story that still hurt. No matter how much time had passed. It did them no honor to fight the tears that looked in his white eyes. He let them fall freely down his face into the soft fabric of Gale’s shirt. Gale was quiet but gave Aerika a comforting squeeze on the shoulder.
It’s okay, if you need to stop. The touch soothed. But Aerika wanted to share this. Not many people allowed him to get close enough, because they only saw a drow and assumed he was everything they feared. Unlike Gale, who had been cordial and given him the benefit of the doubt.
“My parents were murdered by Loth-sworn raiders, and I was captured. It was a cleric of Mystra that came to my rescue. Her name was Amillia. A middle-aged woman with grey eyes and choppy pink hair. She spotted me bound and bloody, tied to a cart and forced to either keep pace with the rothé or be dragged on the ground behind them. If not for her I would be dead or a slave. We escaped the Underdark, and she brought me to her clergy. A small temple in a port city along the Shining Sea. She’s buried there now. If we both survive this misadventure, I would like to bring you there.”
“It would be an honor to pay my respects to her. Something to look forward to.” Gale said.
After a short moment of quiet, Aerika cleaned his face on his shirt and Gale began to show off small tricks in his palms to lighten the mood. The night ended too soon— they both need some rest to continue the quest of finding a survivable tadpole extraction method— but it concluded with warm smiles, light hearts, and a dream of a future together.
#gale dekarios#gale of waterdeep#galetav#gale x tav#bg3#bg3 gale#bg3 no spoilers#bg3 fic#bg3 gale of waterdeep#aerika dyrr#might and magic#drow tav#cleric tav#cleric of mystra#my writing#fan fic#long post#fluff with angst#look it’s hard to write fluff without angst
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lift with your knees, atlas
an alternate prompt for @febuwhump day 11 - human weapon. Over Sebastian's objections, Siobhan stays awake.
read it on ao3 here
Female Hawke/Sebastian Vael | rated G | 1501 words | CW: emotional manipulation, sleep deprivation, guilt, emotional hurt
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“When was the last time you slept?”
Siobhan didn’t look up. She did not need to see the soft concern in Sebastian’s piercing eyes. She was not in the mood to play the part of his budding beau tonight.
Sections of parchment covered every inch of her desk. Inky lines connected rumors and secrets and weaknesses, a veritable road map to pulling the strings in Kirkwall. The elimination of the Crimson Weavers had refreshed most of the nobility’s affection for their Champion, but casualties included the Selbrech’s sponsored page. A scandal for them if revealed, of course, but they could easily invent a false motivation for opposing her and Siobhan had no actual proof other than her word. Better if she balanced that offense with a favor.
Of course, it was worth considering that the Selbrechs were less than subtle about their distaste for the Knight-Commander’s rule. Perhaps that favor for Meredith first, to preemptively offset that issue.
“Hawke.” Sebastian laid his hand on top of hers as she started to shuffle papers, looking for the most recent letter from the Gallows. With an annoyed huff, she looked up.
As she’d predicted, his concern was palpable and it deepened when he saw her face. Ragged, with circles stamped under her eyes and a furrow in her brow that was permanent these days. She’d pulled her hair from its tie several hours back and it hung in greasy strands, frizzed and mussed from tangling her fingers through it. A half-drunk mug of coffee had gone cold on the corner of her desk and as she blinked, she realized the candle had burned out. How long had she been working by moonlight alone? A while, judging by the cooled wax.
“You need rest,” Sebastian said. “Running yourself into such a state will do nothing for this city.”
“Won’t it? Everyone else disagrees with you.”
“You do not owe them your well-being.”
“Don’t I?” Siobhan plucked at the Champion’s mantle around her neck. “Isn’t that what this means?”
Sebastian circled the desk and clasped her by the shoulders, turning her bodily away from her work. Without the puzzles and problems occupying her mind, it sagged. The dark shadows of her idle thoughts threw Mother’s sutured corpse against her lids and put the stench of burning Qunari in her nose. She pressed her fingers to her temple and willed the thoughts away.
“I can’t sleep,” she lied. “If I’m going to be awake and worrying, I might as well get some work done.”
“Don’t. Don’t do that.”
His hands slid up her neck and cupped her face. “Don’t lie to me, Siobhan. I know you too well now for that.”
She tilted her head back. He didn’t, really, know her as well as he thought he did. That he could tell she was fibbing now was a function of her mounting exhaustion, nothing else. He knew the pieces of her that she allowed him to see, the ones that appealed to his morals and his heart. The ones that would keep him by her side until she’d secured the power she sought here. That meant letting him think he knew her.
But he did not.
“I cannot rest,” she finally sighed. “Not with the state of things. They named me Champion and tied me to the city as surely as my own heartbeat. As long as she is teetering on this precipice, I will find no rest.”
She covered his hands with her own and pulled them away with a squeeze. “Are you not restless every moment Starkhaven’s fate remains uncertain?”
His hesitated, a confirmation in and of itself. “I am, yes,” he conceded. “But I also know that I cannot retake my rightful place unless I am ready—physically, mentally, spiritually—to do right by them. In trying to aid, I could harm.”
“I would never forgive myself if Starkhaven fell because of my recklessness,” he murmured. “And I know you would die before you allowed your hand to slip in matters for Kirkwall. But if you keep on as this, such a slip will be inevitable.”
Hackles rising, Siobhan drew away. He should understand and yet completely missed the point. Perhaps because as much he loved Starkhaven, his standing persisted without it. Her own claim relied wholly on Kirkwall. She’d signed over her soul in the lifeblood of Bethany and Carver. Her security, all of her carefully crafted plans, alliances forged and buttons pushed—it all teetered on just one thing.
Kirkwall. Ideally with Siobhan in the Viscount’s office, but lacking that opportunity the city still had to exist for her to have any traction at all. Every moment, every breath was a battle between Siobhan’s willpower and the relentless forces determined to tear the City of Chains apart. She could not relent, not even for a moment, or she would lose it all.
She didn’t realize she’d been shaking until Sebastian’s hands found her arms again. Not good—her awareness was faltering as her mind frayed at the edges, but she had to press on. She had to keep going.
Like a new blade, imbued with all the expectations of the smith. Champion, named as she was pulled from the hottest part of the forge. And expected, immediately, to go to work for those who would wield her.
Unless she wielded herself first.
Sebastian’s knuckles brushed down her neck, a tender caress that burned bitter in its own right. His fingers caught the ring he’d given her where it hung in the divot of her throat.
“It is not just Kirkwall you’ve made promises to,” he said slowly. Almost reluctant, as though he would have preferred to hold this card. “I would see you save your city and still survive to help me rescue mine.”
“Kirkwall comes first. It always has. You knew that when you gave me this.”
“I know, but—Maker, Siobhan,” he said, exasperated. “If there’s one thing that’s clear from my time here, it’s that everyone in this city will take and use you like—like an object! A tool! They will load you into their cannons and shoot you at their problems and not care that it shatters you into a thousand pieces!”
“You have to care,” he insisted, catching her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “And I’m not entirely convinced that you do.”
Siobhan held his gaze steadily. As steadily as she could, anyway—a staggering level of emotion rolled off of him. Usually she would grasp that, bend it to her liking and point it in a useful direction. Tonight, though, with her neck cricked from bending over the desk and her vision sliding in and out of blurriness, it simply made her head ache.
“I don’t,” she said bluntly. He inhaled, sharp—he hadn’t expected her to be so forthright. Siobhan jerked her chin down and put a few paces between them.
“What is one life, in exchange for a whole city? For peace? There’s no comparison.” She brought her gaze back to him. “If blood could save this city, I would sharpen myself on a blade. But it is people and words and effort that will keep Kirkwall whole. And those things take more of me than a well-placed fireball. But it is worth it.”
“Is it?” Sebastian asked quietly. She glared at him for even voicing the thought.
“To me. Yes.”
Sebastian shook her head. “Maybe. But it’s not healthy, Hawke.”
I never said it was. It didn’t have to be healthy. It just had to work.
“Was there something you needed?” she finally asked. “I have to sort out a plan for the Selbrechs.”
“What I need is for you to come to bed,” Sebastian said with a sigh. “As in all things, I sleep better with you at my side. But barring that—“
He crossed to her and cupped her face, bringing their lips together. He likely meant it to be soft, gentle, cajoling. But as soon as their lips met, the earnest frustration and trepidation flared. His hand at the back of her head pulled her closer so their teeth clacked together and Siobhan tasted blood where he caught her tongue between them.
All of his urgency begged her to care about herself. All of her devotion answered that she cared about Kirkwall more.
When they broke apart, breathless, Sebastian leaned his forehead against hers.
“Come to bed,” he beseeched. She shook her head and he sighed. With a final, soft brush across her lips, he drew away.
“You are more than their weapon, Siobhan.”
If only that were true. She bent over the desk and pinched the bridge of her nose, willing her blurry eyes to focus on the Selbrech’s family tree. Over the years, the facets of her had shifted and honed. She had passed from hand to hand as time and distance and circumstances changed.
She had always been a weapon and, until the pieces of her rusted into nothing, a weapon she would stay.
#febuwhump2024#febuwhumpday11#my writing#sleep deprivation#emotional manipulation#guilt#oc: siobhan hawke#siobhan x sebastian#ws: nothing but my aching soul#sebastian vael#da2#dragon age#dragon age 2#dragon age fanfic
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Christophe listened carefully as Emil listed the rank and file of fey who came and went from the mortal realm. Who had changed forms, who had gained rank, or lost power. They were half way into the delicate discussion of bedlam when a puffing Phichit came running into view. Hands dropping to his knees, he gulped in long breaths until he could stand. Clutching a stitch in his side, he held out a hand, flapping the sticky note stuck firmly to a finger. Plucking it off, Emil looked the note over. With each line he read, his brows disappeared more into his eyebrows.
"Oh..."
"Emil?" Christophe said, trying to bring focus back to the video call.
"I, uh... yeah. Yes. It's just..." Emil turned towards the screen, ignoring how Phichit folded himself backwards, straining his midsection up until a loud popping could be heard. Emil swallowed. "We might have a problem."
Christophe felt his nervous system begin to fire in rapid response. Cold seemed to trickle down his neck, trying to caress his spine in a trickling terror he barely recalled. "Tell me."
"You recall the... No, you wouldn't. You were in the dream at that time." Emil ran a hand thrugh his hair, eyes drifting upwards. A puff of breath escaped him as he shook the memories away. "There was a spat of unusual activity back in January. People died. Mortal people."
Christophe swallowed. "How many dreamers?"
"Over a hundred." Emil sat forward, the chair seeming to pop as he rested his forearms on his thighs, head low. "The damage was done by a volcano. They should have been able to predict it, but..."
"But?"
"It wasn't the usual things. A rift just... opened. No warning. It was just torn. The lava turned itself in the three cardinal directions. Thousands had to move from the aria, leaving it unprotected."
"Wait, three cardinal directions? There are four. Which direction did it not ... Which direction, Emil?"
Emil's bright eyes had a haunted look. "It didn't run towards... South east."
Christophe swallowed. Hard. "All three streams?" Emil nodded. Christophe winced. "South east... What was it reaching for?"
"I don't know that it is. I think... I think it's just trying to gather power."
"Are you sure? From nowhere? I mean, this could just be a mortal thing."
Emil shook his head with a resigned little sound. "No." Holding up the note, he showed the numbers to Christophe. "Type them in." One by one Christophe typed them into his phone, not daring to risk his computer. "Before you put in the last one, be ready to jump away."
Christophe's eye shot up, locking on the screen. Rising, he took a cheep metal chair from beside the refrigerator, setting it up in the middle of the room. A metal mixing bowl was put on that. Ready to spring, he put the last number in, dropped the phone, and jumped back.
The phone began to ring, as if connecting a call. A crackle began to sound thrugh the ring, as if the line had connected incorrectly. Soon the sound became a screechy, dial-up modem, ripping eardrums and tearing flesh. As soon as it started, it ended. The spring fey began to advance, to peak in the bowl. "No!" Emil called. Christophe spring back another few feet. Suddenly the phone began to melt, acrid poison steaming up from it as it broke into its most basic parts. Minerals, sands, and oils congealed in the bowl, foaming upwards. On pure instinct, Christophe reached for the roses on his desk. Petals fell away, dancing about his fingers. A flick of his wrist sent them into ever growing mess. Suspended in air, they began to glow, there colors pulsing with the cool melt of spring warmth. The light pulsed, flickered, faded. The petals ashed, spinning into a tornado of organic magic.
"Les dangers lointains nés du feu me disent ce que vous désirez."
Through the computer Emil watched, eyes wide. He'd not heard Christophe use a bunk in a noticeable amount of time. The rose ash spun, trying to draw an answer out of the melted mass. For to long they waited, the place slowly filling with poisonous vapors. "Christophe... Christophe, you may need to run."
The spring fey frowned. His blue eyes flickered into an impossible hew. Teeth sharper than blades flashed a blinding white. His ears showed his sidhe linage, tapering into a wicked point. His hand flexed as he held it stiffly in front of him, pulling glamour from his dross pouch. It sparked to life, taking on the shape of a crocus.
His voice called forth the winds of change, everything in the room becoming new and old with nary a breath. The crocus bloomed, then decayed, its rotting corps dusting to gold. The wind picked it up as Christophe intoned, "Sannaste form ropar jag ut dig. Skapare, Förstörare, svara på Drömmen. Jag är förresten Vårens rättigheter. Jag är förresten grejen att tro. Svar till mig med det som skapades, svar till mig, en kropp värd att k��nna igen!"
The gold speckled wind threw its force into the rose scented tornado spinning against the frothing bowl, each spark fusing with a fleck of ash. As they flowed, the ash began to form into a wildly organic shape. Then they exploded outwards, stopping just shy of touching anything, stuck in the air like a frozen painting. Christophe lowered the hands he'd raised to protect himself. "Emil... are you seeing this?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, I am."
"Entropy," they both said, cold seeping into their bones.
"Something is endangering the balance."
"We know that," Emil snapped. "Something is making it worse!" Pressing his palms into his eyes, he slid down his chair, proper posture forgotten. "We are so screwed."
part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14, part 15, part 16, part 17, part 18, part 19, part 20, part 21, part 22, part 23, part 24, part 25, part 26, part 27, part 28, part 29, part 30
#fey bois on ice#gay boys on ice#otabek x yurio#yuri on ice#yoi#yuri plisetsky#otayuri#otabek altin#victor nikiforov#victuuri#yuri katsuki#victor x yuuri#yuuri katsuki#yuuri!!! on ice#story time#fan works#WoD frame work#CtD nonsence#Imma mash up so many fandoms#look at this nonsense#primary cannon ship victuuri#secondary cannon ship Otayuri (OTP)#cannon compliant ships#WE SAIL THIS SHIP TO THE FUCKING STARS!#christophe giacometti#phichit chulanont#Emil Nikola#NEVER LET IT DIE#google translate my beloathed
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Stares at you well do you have peach pit recommendations…
ok actually i've had a ask (from @gnarlyimp) sitting around asking me what my favorite peach pit songs AND ablums are so I'll just give it to you :3
ALBUMS
Being So Normal
first Peach Pit album i listened to in full, has the first Peach Pit song I listened to on it (Being So Normal....little did i know this would become a 3 year long interest), has some of my favorites on there (Chagu's Sideturn, Alrighty Aphrodite) and one of their most not-Peach-Pit-songs, Private Presley and Hot Knifer (in a good way) plus my DREAM song to see them play live (Not Me) (plus how they reuse the bridge lyrics in Black Licorice WOW). Also an awesome story about the title (they were criticized for "being so normal" based off their first EP (Sweet FA) so its especially cool to see how they experimented in this one) Plus this was the documentary era where Mike feeds Chris boiled eggs which is awesome....AND ITS GOT TOMMY'S PARTY WHO COULD FORGET...
2. You and Your Friends/From 2 to 3
I CAN"T PICK OK..........YAYF has some bangers on there + lots of improvement from BSN, I love all the riffs and Shampoo Bottles and Black Licorice are ICONIC....plus the guitar on all the tracks is AMAZING but especially Brian's Movie (and Chris' 12 string guitar), Thrusday, You and Your Friends, Figure 8 and Psychics in LA....
BUT FROM 2 TO 3 holds a special place in my heart....I love the story behind Up Granville's riff (Chris reused it from a song he wrote 15 years ago and it saved the track), it was the first album i was there to see them release, I like the different tone they took with it + Mike's harmonica solo in Look Out! is so so so so awesome....
3. Sweet FA
this one is a bit unfair because it was the first EP/Album they released and it DOES have some iconic ones on there of course (Seventeen, Sweet FA (+ the music videos for these are great)) but its also got......the first version of Drop the Guillotine......ew...
SONGS
ok here comes the hard part....first I'll do honorable mentions that just didn't make the list
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Figure 8 - this one was pretty close, I'd swap it out most likely with Private Presley because they're on the same level (I just love the slow intro in the live performances + the guitar of course)...live version makes me cry everytime i listen to it
Pepsi on the House - this is probably my 10-8th favorite Peach Pit song, big fan of the lyrics anf guitar
Look Out! - love the beginning part, plus the music video is great (Chris fell off the truck while they were recording so instead of panning to a beautiful sirene landscape, it just shows Chris running really fast)...THE HARMONICA SOLO....
honestly From 2 to 3 just in general has some really good songs
Brian's Movie - this one is an EXTREMELY CLOSE 5......the slider/Chris' guitar playing.....the lyrics........Peter in their live video....its all so good
THE FINAL DECISION
1. Hot Knifer
honestly this one hasn't ALWAYS been my top song....but recently, with the addition of Dougal's violin in their live performances AND Chris' beautiful solo has me captivated...plus Peter's vocals and bass playing during the chorus + with the solo is BEAUTIFUL..!!!!! PLUS PLUS PLUS IN RECENT LIVE PERFORMANCES MIKEY'S BEEN PLAYING A HARMONICA SOLO......this song literally could not get better...i kind of doesnt sound like a peach pit song but thats what makes it good..ITS DIFFERENT.....AND IN THIS VIDEO Peter and Chris play together and its so sweet. The world is a beautiful place
2. Up Granville
This one is mainly because its just so beautiful....the music video makes me cry everytime i watch it, I love the slow beginning of the intro and then all the instruments joining at once....the whole thing is about loving your friends.....its the origin of the album cover..the fact that the riff is reused from when Chris was 15 and thats how the whole song came together......WHAT IF I CRIED.....i love hearing the croud sing the chorus too.. thats how its supposed to be heard in my opinion
3. Not Me
some of my favorite aspects of this song are similar to hot knifer (the non-peach pit sound, catchy riff, the lyrics that they reused in Feelin' Low (F*ckboy Blues) will never NOT be cool to me) but i ADORE this distortion and lead up to the solo.....definitely one of my top peach pit solos. Sadly they've never played it live (that i can find anyways) but it seems like SUCH A COOL SONG to see live. but who knows. a man can always hope :) OH AND THE SOUND CLIP IN THE BEGINNING IS GREAT. I love when songs intro with a clip. and the outro is sick as hell
4. Private Presley
pretty similar to Not Me and Hot Knifer in terms of why i like it. its based off Elvis Presely which is cool. Dougal also plays violin in this one......GODDDDD the solo means everything to me. I love seeing them play it live and how much they move around. man and just seeing Chris shred the solo is the most inspring thing in the world...he moves up and down the fretboard like its BUTTER. and the distortion...who could forget
5. Being So Normal/Alrighty Aphrodite
I'm counting this as two because these songs are connected when they preform them live OK......Being So Normal has such an iconic riff and the lyrics are SO FUCKING GOOD..............I <3 the transition from Chris' loop to the bass line like WOW!!!!!!!! + the bass in Alrighty Aphrodite is definitely one of my favorites, plus the solo that Chris does is AWESOME and i love Neil's dancing in their live performances...!!!! ALSO THE TRANSTION FROM RAINING BLOOD TO BEING SO NORMAL IS SOMETHING THAT WILL NEVER NOT BE COOL TO ME....
Grins at You Thanks for asking Scott....i love Peach pit so much❤️ now im going to go listen to their songs a billion times
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So I’ve been having some thoughts about Fire Emblem Engage’s DLC and Their Version of Elyos
So I’ve kind of been sitting on it for a bit, but does anyone else kind of find the alternate world of Elyos more interesting than the original one?
Like okay Fire Emblem has done this to me twice now, where I sorta am coming to terms with the game I played and while there are parts (particularly the plot and world building) that I felt were under baked or not given the attention they probably should’ve, but ultimately I come to accept that there was likely time issues and that the stuff that I like is outweighing the stuff I didn’t. But then just drops a DLC adventure that introduces a bunch of concepts and lore that feels like it should’ve been the actual plot or could’ve been incorporated into the main plot in some way beyond just bonus content (Yes, the first time was FE3H and Cindered Shadows).
Look let me just put in this disclaimer right now, I like FE Engage for the most part. I like the characters and general tone of the game. The existence of Fell Xenologue doesn’t negate the enjoyment I had with what I was given, but man did it make me kinda wish I had a full game of this Elyos.
I’m not saying that because it’s more serious and angsty and that FE needs to be grim and depressing, therefore it’s good or something like that. I just found that something about the FX version of Elyos felt more like a unified world and concept, with a conflict that was more than just “Fell Dragon back so bad stuff happening.” The world of Elyos is mostly a nebulous one, its a very bare skeleton as to keep things simple while also giving us a bunch of cool set pieces and maps while emulating on a bunch of “greatest hits of FE” moments. That is until we get to Brodia and Elusia. Up to the point, I was perfectly fine with accepting that Elyos is just generally a more peaceful place thanks to its structures with a pretty benevolent dragon god and twelves god-like rings. As opposed to places like Tellius, Valentia, or Fodlan, where the inequalities and injustices of their world inform and effect both the plot and characters. But then you get to the conflict with Brodia and Elusia and find out how long its been going on. And how despite Morion seeming like a pretty cool dad, he’s a pretty authoritarian King thinking it okay to conquer other’s land just for their religious beliefs. While Elusia is this kingdom of magic that has cultists and a royal court that plays mechavelian style game of thrones, A “snake den” as Ivy calls it, but are clearly pushing back against invading forces that run on a system of power over everything.
Like excuse me, this this come from a different game?
Im not saying that this stuff is bad or anything, but this feels like a completely different game’s worth of material that’s ultimately sacked and shelved because we have to keep going on our ring hunt. And then we just sorta assume everything works out because the Fell Dragon is a dick and that Alear unifies all the lords under them? Problem solved I guess? This was just a very disconnected feeling from the rest of the game. Where Lythos, Fierene, and Solm are all varying levels of chill. I guess it could fit more if it was “Elusia is the one bad guy kingdom and they first attacked Brodia and they’re defending themselves.” But no. They go out of their way to be like, “these two kingdoms fight with each other over stuff that goes beyond Emblems.”
Then we get to the Elyos of the Fell Xenologue and yes, the general atmosphere is very dour and somber. But this clearly hostile world where all four lands are suspicious and willing to let the others die for their safety, feels a lot more connected. Plus, in this world, we have the context for the fact they were all unified once so now their breakdown after the death of the divine dragon and the balance of power of each land having a single Emblem, but all of them wanting the other for a different reason (like Brodia wanting it for security or Elusia wanting it for the divine dragon) feels a lot more cohesive and uniform. There’s even some stuff that can be fascinating like the Fell Dragons being born as twins. Imagine if Alear found out they were the Fell Dragon child by meeting their twin? I initially thought the twist of FX was going to be the one summoning the corrupted was Red Alear and in this world while Divine Alear died, as the child of Sombron and a fell dragon, they had a twin.
Its not just the world, but also to say some of its characters. The Four Winds felt a lot more organically included into the story with their introductions, unlike how Engage basically kept handing you three characters at a time and only really characterizing the lord that was part of them. People like the Yunaka chapter, because its just a focus on Yunaka. The map and small chapter about her serve as both a good impression of her and makes the player want to utilize her skills through gameplay. There are a bunch of characters who ended up becoming my favs like Lapis and Merrin, but their intros are really just standing there as their lord character gets the focus of that chapter, The Four Winds feel much closer to Yunaka with you only really getting one per country. So you don’t just get all four of them at once, and then when you have all four you have a pretty good idea of their dynamic and who they are.
That’s not to say FX is without its problems. Like yeah I don’t think the Emblems being previous characters from other games doesn’t really factor into the plot. And while I like the Alternate Universe Royals, their personalities and pasts are just glimpses, not really fully fleshed out. But I’d still argue it did some stuff with that was more unique than in Engage like the corrupted Emblems actually able to talk and have some level of awareness even when they’re red. And something like Emblem Veronica actually being weaved in really well with the pacifist Diamant just using the power to summon heroes from other world so he doesn’t need to fight to be cool implementations of the Emblem. There was also just less Emblems which kinda made them seem more special and not just “they can get stolen from a vault.” And yes the Alternate Royals are only briefly seen, but I still think there is ideas and depth there that can be built upon.
And look, I get that Fell Xenologue is ultimately just a DLC episode. Its seven chapters with concepts that are not completely explored and exists to be a complete story that can be done and dusted with no real consequence for the actually main game plot. But again, I just felt very compelled by the plot that we got and wanna kinda see a whole game with a similar setting or premise.
If you made it this far, I want to reiterate, I like Elyos of the main game just fine. I just felt as though the Fell Xenologue introduced me to a type of Elyos that could’ve been more interesting than the one we got. I wouldn’t have minded seeing some of these ideas being incorporated into the Engage world or even potentially in future installments of the franchise. It’s just something I’ve been thinking about for a while.
#fire emblem engage#fire emblem#fe engage#fell xenologue#alear#fe alear#fe diamant#fe ivy#diamant#ivy#alfred#four winds#nel#fe nel#brodia#elusia
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Azure Gleam Ch 6
Dimitri fans stay winning. The only route where I actually feel the need to put spoilers in the title - at least for anyone who's played Three Houses.
STORY
Oh, wait, we DON'T fight at Arianrhod battle? Count Rowe falls off screen? Man, Edelgard taking Ls all over the place.
I love how Arianrhod is unconquorable but fell right away. Lamo.
Is Edelgard keeping Aruendel imprisoned? I thought she had no clue where he was.
Dimitri struggled with his revenge issue for a moment there.
Annette is so smol. 😭
The way Dimitri says "Imperial snake" with so much venom.
Someone came with terrible news. Count Rowe escaped. Should've just killed him.
Oh, wait, they got attacked by mages. That's TWSITD? And Dimitri knows they're behind Duscur? Suspecting Cornelia is behind it. Glad that we'll get to deal with her again. She's a great villain.
MAP & SIDE BATTLES
Mannnn between the hurricane, not having internet, and last week being a nightmare for work, it's been sooooo long since I played AG. I had most of GW Ch 6 done when the hurricane came through, so it really has been like 2, 3 weeks? (not that I'm complaining, the flooding is just getting even worse in some areas)
Ahhhhh, I'm always so happy when I remember Flayn and Seteth are on this map.
Man, thinking about Post-CF Flayn makes me so sad. Like I know some people think it's oh so great she and Seteth can live, but they'll spend the next few hundred years on the run, terrified to trust anyone with their true identity. And Flayn hates that. She wants to hang out with friends and go to school. The fact she gets that teased and gets tossed into an even worse way of life if she survives CF is so sad. And she has to see everyone celebrate Rhea's death and act like her race is responsible for human greed too.
Ingrid knew Miklain was abusing Sylvain 😭
Dimitri's no nonsense. He's like "if Miklain acts up, kill him" to the soldiers. Like, that's hardcore.
Mannnn, Sylvain is interesting here. He's supporting Dimitri's decision with Miklain I'm betting in no small part because he wants to undo the reliance on crests and knows Miklain could help that.
The bubble over Felix says "It really pisses me off." So Felix being Felix. Annnnd Felix is annoyed with Dimitri for not telling him everything. So more Felix talking about Dimitri, lamo.
Man, the Blue Lions are always so intense. Everyone here is talking about Miklain or Ashe finding a way to deal with Lonato's death or Duscur generals talking about murdered family. AG goes hard.
Ohhh, if Dedue trusts Duke Infan, than I do too.
I was right about Dimitri and Count Gloucester, he just admired Rowe for surrendering quickly and sparing the people.
I get to kill Count Varley. Cool.
Why does Dimitri know so much about which plants you can eat 😅
ASHE & DEDUE C SUPPORT
Ashe is such a cinnamon roll. He's already wandering around while it's late outside and stopped to pick some yarrow because of its healing properties.
Gardening bonding incoming. Ashe noticed Dedue's hobby.
They're both missing the greenhouse :(
Dedue wants to visit Lonato's garden. He also wants to know why Lonato knows so much about herbs. Good question.
Dedue's into medicinal herbs.
These two are too sweet 😊
FELIX & MERCEDES C SUPPORT
He better be nicer to her than last time. I'd love to see her chew him up, lol.
Ohhhh yesss, we're finally talking about Felix's cat thing. Felix really is a cat in human form.
Felix taking in injured stray cats 😭. Mercie and Jeritza did too 😭😭. And they had to hide it because they wouldn't killed it 😭
Mercie "We left my brother behind. Next sentence. "Still, I wonder what happened to that cat." 🤣 Jeritza found dead.
Cat is attached to Felix and won't leave. 🤣🤣🤣 People (and cats) ignoring Felix's being tsun is what I live for.
Mercie is like "quit whining, Felix. You have a pet cat now." lamo.
FELIX & SYLVAIN C SUPPORT
Oh, this time it's Sylvain calling Felix out for fighting reckless. It's a reverse uno from their Hopes' supports.
"You don't look like a man who's achieved some fantastic new enlightenment." Sylvain just slayed Felix.
Now they're arguing about who got in trouble more as kids. I love that, lol, makes them really feel like childhood friends.
Ten bucks says Felix got in the fight defending Sylvain's honor (or Dimitri's).
Sylvain's like you can't die because you mean too much to Faerghus and Dimitri. And then talks about how much Felix means to Dimitri.
Wait, wait, wait - important line here "reforming the entire social structure of pretty much everything . . ." Sylvain on Dimitri. Eat shit "StAtUs QuO dEfEnDeR" argument.
Soooo the "Sylvix" support so far is all about . . . Dimilix 😅
I don't mind this in the slightest, but I suspect someone on the writing team was a shipper on deck OR they were as sick as I am of people saying "CF Felix makes sense because he HaTeS dImItRi."
Felix throwing the same arguments at Sylvain. Good on him.
"You're the complete opposite of integrity." Felix, that's your friend 😭😭.
So Sylvain did some growing up it seems.
SHEZ & RODRIGUE C SUPPORT
Finally got Rodrigue's C support. Took long enough.
Shez complaining about the cold brings back memories lol. I used to live in the North.
Hearing her talk about lamp-lit streets covered in snow makes me miss winter sooooo badly.
Cool detail that messengers ride pegasus during the winter. I think someone mentioned that on here before.
Lamo, Dimitri and Felix followed a pegasus and nearly froze to death as kids. Poor Rodrigue.
Man, this is why the Blue Lions are the best. All these little stories from the past in the supports. Other houses don't get this.
SHEZ & DEDUE B SUPPORT
Shez looking out for Dedue. Good.
Soldiers giving Dedue shit 😭😭.
Shez can sympathize with the soldiers. Wtf. No way. I'm questioning them. (I could either agree with them or question them)
Dimitri put Dedue in a position often given to nobles. Good. Deserved.
Shez says she naturally get's under people's skin, and Dedue's just like "true." lamo.
Commoners bonding over the resentment nobility feels towards them for Dimitri elevating them.
I like how Shez's solution is to just prove themselves. It feels very shonen lead and like what Shez would say.
This was a good support balancing being about both characters.
FELIX & INGRID C SUPPORT
Nooooo, not Glenn 😭😭😭😭
Ingrid found a spur. It's Felix's, but actually Glenn's.
Ingrid's calling Felix out for being a softie for keeping hold of a memento.
And now he wants to give it to her 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 I'm actually tearing up in real life over this. I'm so over attached to this group.
Glenn told Ingrid before anyone else about his promotion 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
I was not expecting that support. That support needs a warning. How did that??
Felix being sweet is my weakness, though.
Not going to lie, sometimes going through support after support feels like a chore. But never with the Blue Lions lol.
SHEZ & SETETH C SUPPORT
Fodlan's #1 husbando support incoming.
Seteth thinks Shez could've impacted Fodlan's future if she continued to study at the Academy and it wasn't shut down.
Seteth admits he's suspicious of Shez. Which . . . I mean it's Seteth.
Man, every time someone doesn't trust Shez, it just makes me love Dimitri's take on her powers even more.
Seteth defending Rhea. You love to see it.
Lamo, he wants Shez to stay away from Flayn and Rhea.
What's funny about that is Shez doesn't have a C support with Flayn (B & A though), so it's almost like she listens until they're more familiar with each other. And OFC Rhea doesn't have supports . . . . again . . . .
MAIN BATTLE
I love how Byleth sides with whoever you're not playing as lol.
Dimitri wants to help Shez achieve her goals (defeating Byleth), and Shez is like "appreciate it, but focus on the war" lamo.
Dimitri is obviously projecting. Shez is explaining how they're not THAT upset about Byleth killing their former teammates. And she's like "you gotta get used to death when it happens all the time or it's too much weight." I think we ALL know where this is heading.
Shez is like "you've let things weigh on you too much" too true.
Though it's kind of sweet that he's trying to help Shez out lol. In his own way.
Awww, yeah, Dimitri over here suggesting they recruit Byleth now. I'm pro-Dimileth, tbh. Even IF I may prefer other ships a bit more, I still think it's pretty sweet.
Dimitri's like "what if we pay more than the Empire?" Like, Dimitri, WHERE ARE YOU GETTING ALL THIS MONEY??? Lamo. He's already in the poorest nation taking in all the refugees from Edelgard's mess and paying an army. Like he must have a finance genius working for him or something.
Kinda cool that AG suggested recruiting Byleth first.
Time to recruit Bernie. Never again will I leave her alone with Edelgard when I'm not monitoring her.
I feel like this is the most tactics I've seen a Fodlan leader use in a map battle ever. Dimitri's giving orders to explicitly ignore Byleth, which is different from every other route that says to attack Byleth before pulling back. He's doing it because he knows Byleth is too strong. Same for the Death Knight, who they trapped. It's pretty cool, actually. No one else has done anything like this.
Dimitri forced Jeralt to retreat right away, lamo. And then beat up Alois. I think . . . my Dimitri might be a tad over leveled. He's level 30. Everyone else is level 20. I may . . . use him a bit more than the others lol. But he just . . . kills everything.
Pretty smart tactics actually. Dimitri had all the strongholds captured, then focused on getting the Death Knight, then on Byleth. So securing the area, then picking off the threats.
Oh, cut scene. Sothis! I think Shez woke Sothis up. But let's be real. It was actually Dimitri who did all the work. Legit I had everyone else picking off Jeralt's reinforcements. My Dimitri took Byleth on by his lonesome.
Oh, Byleth and Sothis fighting??? Ohhhh. What's going on?
Sothis kicked Arval's ass lamo.
I'm sure I'll eventually get this discussion on the other routes.
Shez's rivalry seems so low key. Shez prioritizing recruiting like Dimitri suggested, lol.
Sothis is being a dick to Byleth. ngl. Kinda treating Byleth like a car she's driving.
Arval and Sothis seem to hate each other more than Shez and Byleth do.
I just . . . can't get beyond Alois abandoning his family to follow Jeralt around.
Oh, Byleth hair-color changed. Don't know if that just happened or not. Yep, Byleth just said something. Jeralt seems alarmingly unbothered his kid now has mint-colored hair and eyes for no actual reason. Like what if you woke up one day and -bam- you're a redhead. Wouldn't you be a bit, um, concerned?
Alois saying nothing about having to fight his old friends. Oh, there it is, finally. Man, they really stripped Alois of all his character and turned him into what the fandom claims Leonie is, a mindless Jeralt simp. But he has his jokes, I guess??
Nice to see Jeralt isn't interested in fighting Rhea. Just ignoring her. Fair enough.
Wait . . . Dimitri is leaving? Does that mean I don't have him? OMG. I need him. He's my OP unit. No.
Oh, Sreng. That's cool. They're actually getting involved. And Gautier is in trouble :( Will Sylvain leave too? Or is this the next battle?
Ohhh Annette called them peaceful. Ouch. Sylvain was quick to correct her, though. Poor girl just didn't know. Appreciate they gave them a realistic reason to attack though. Needing fertile lands was a real world reason stuff like this happened.
Yes, Shez, tag along. Please. Don't make Dimitri leave all on his own. I need him ahh. Oh, great, that's not where this is going.
DEDUE AND RODRIGUE. NO. Why. This sucks. Ugh. I lost 3 units this chapter???? WHYYY? Unless I am with them?
Leaving Felix in command is cool, though.
Dimitri just said "protect every last one of them." Oh, the change there lol.
Annette comes to like Dimitri's elbow lamo.
XXX
#azure gleam#fire emblem#fire emblem three hopes#three hopes#three hopes spoilers#azure gleam spoilers
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Been pondering things about Android Therion- specifically how his and Alfyn's relationship develops. I feel like up until now Therion hasn't really been in a place to even consider thoughts of romance (or proper friendship, for that matter- so he's been dealing with that too with the entire group).
MANY THOUGHTS HEAD FULL
The concept is COMPLETELY foreign to Android!Therion, absolutely. All his life he's been a tool. Maybe there were a few sympathetic scientists, but like. That's not exactly friendship, is it? Maybe he thinks he knows what it is, just for a bit. Maybe he thinks whatever he has with Darius is friendship. Maybe something more. He doesn't know. The only way he really learns about what love is supposed to be is through media, and media doesn't really explore romance from an android's viewpoint. He doesn't have a heart that can pound, he doesn't have sweat to make his hands clammy, he doesn't have blood that can make his cheeks flush. So, like, Darius keeps calling him 'partner', and there's a lot of times he's genuinely happy being with him, and they do things that feel good (something something equipped with Certain Parts to aid in deception and coercion, maybe, idk), even if he doesn't always want to be doing them. so like. Is this romance? Darius won't give a straight answer. Not that it matters when he rips open his maintenance panel, forces emergency shutdown, and shoves him off a cliff.
So naturally he's less than trusting when the next person he meets is Alfyn, who he first sees messing with a bunch of his components removed on a table. Bad first impression, would've given him a heart attack if he had one (he doesn't, he has a soulstone battery), the only reason he can't run away is because the motor components below his neck have been disabled for repair. And this engineer is like, weirdly understanding of how upset he is, offers to get him anything he wants, needs, catch him up to speed with however long he's been out. Therion could ask this dude to shoot himself to prove that he's trustworthy and he would've done it. Weird dude. But, like, he seems harmless enough. He doesn't really know what he wants to do. He didn't have time to process Darius's betrayal, being essentially dead for however many years. And what's with this Alfyn guy?? Why does he keep insisting that he stay with him and then saying he doesn't want anything in return?? That's not how that's supposed to work???
Anyway. I think most of Therion's character arc in this story is navigating his upbringing and trauma and expectations around how relationships (of any sort) are supposed to work. What true unconditional love and care looks like, what a healthy give and take is supposed to be, identifying certain things within himself (maybe one of the other travelers is also an android? or a major npc more likely). It's a weird, difficult road but it's one he's better for at the end, being able to say that he has friends, has real connections and isn't just a tool. He's a person. Not a flesh-and-blood person, but still just as human as any of his friends.
as for the ROMANCE which is what you sent the ask in the first place about LMAO. I think it's a matter of 'therion fell first, alfyn fell harder', Alf is still a hopeless romantic but GODS therion is pretty and cool and interesting and he just canNOT stop thinking about him. he's smitten. alfyn is the type who falls super hard and its still a slower build than past crushes but he's very much pining. Therion unfortunately has zero benchmark to compare his feelings to. Alfyn got him out of danger and away from the Ravus agents and told him in no uncertain terms that he's never ever gonna leave him behind, that he'll always be there for him, and that made him. feel things. he is not sure what those things are. He hangs on to them for a good long time before he finally manages to put two and two together but even then, because he has no point of comparison for what AI love feels like, he's not sure. He likes the guy, he's attractive, knowledgeable, kind, fun, but like. he does not have the words. And even if he did he has no idea what he'd do about them, his only prior experience with anything even remotely like this being...Darius. And he does not want that again. Primrose is trying her best to help him navigate this but there's only so much she can do.
Maybe at some point it actually. fucking DOES click. And it's a whole mess, way messier than anything in canon. Avoidance, anger (at himself, at alfyn, at primrose, at everyone), learning that they installed tear ducts in his face. Of course they did. Why wouldn't they. Anything to make his little performances more convincing, this tool, this machine that isn't supposed to emote except when ordered to, this hunk of metal that doesn't have real feelings, only simulacra, only cheap imitations of humanity, only shallow copies made to fool flesh and blood into thinking he's one of their own. The reckoning- the confession is loud, and messy. It's an argument, they're yelling at each other, Therion is screaming, his tear ducts start acting up, he is so- fuck, he's so- GODS, he can't love Alfyn. He CAN'T. He's a machine. He's not capable of giving him everything that a human can. He's a machine with masters who are trying to retrieve him. He puts everyone even tangentially related to him in danger. His emotions aren't real, and nothing he could ever give Alfyn would be worth the pain of knowing that his emotions are just lines of code, that just being associated with him puts a target on his head, that all he's made for is theft and deception and murder.
And by some divine fucking miracle.
Alfyn does not care.
He doesn't care! He doesn't care that Therion can't feel 'real' feelings, whatever a 'real' feeling even is, he doesn't care that just continuing to be there is a massive risk, he doesn't even care that at any time Therion could flex an artificial muscle and inject him with an untraceable poison.
It's...he doesn't know what this is. Relief, happiness, frustration, whatever. He'll take it, as long as Alfyn is willing to give it.
After all, if Therion is capable of nothing else, he's capable of taking.
#spitblaze says things#hugnsgdhughsn posts that make me wanna write longform fiction about an au#android therion au#spitblaze writes things
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Scars
Posted on ao3
Words: 1,522
Rating: Mature
Summary: Scully's memories involving a desk at the Unremarkable House reinforces one specific decision.
Enjoy! =)
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The worn-out couch from when they first moved in felt cold as she sat down, but she was soon reminded of how cozy it could be, as if it had just needed a few moments to get accustomed to her again.
She hadn’t expected to be back in this house, she hadn’t expected to want to be back in this house, but here she was.
She laid her head on the backrest and her eyes fell on the desk that, after all these years, was still glued to the stairs.
She couldn’t remember exactly why they had bought it in the first place. Was it for Mulder’s office? Was it so she could finally have her own desk somewhere? All she could recall was that she tried to do away with it several times after realizing it would have no use whatsoever. It was just sitting there, more as an ornament than anything else, still trying to find its own purpose in life even after being neglected for so long.
She smiled as she corrected herself in her own mind: the desk had had its purpose; many, many purposes, actually. Maybe not the usual purposes of a regular desk, but when had anything been regular or common in their lives?
It still had that dent from when they tried to bring it in through the front door and the slightly off angle made it hit the edge of the door.
I’m sorry I screwed it, Mulder said then, when they finally came to their senses and realized that the sandpaper they’d been using to try and fix it was useless, that their brand-new desk would be scarred for life.
He was always apologizing back then, always worried that, just like they had come to their senses about the desk, she would come to her senses about the irreparable damage her own life suffered when she ran away with him; he was always afraid that she would run away from him.
She did eventually run away, but not back then. Back then she just took half of the responsibility for the dent because she too could have avoided it.
They agreed to leave the desk by the stairs that night and get some rest, and they had all the intention in the world of moving it to a more appropriate place later but, as with all things you leave for later in life, moving the desk became a future plan, a future that never found its way into the present.
It was how the desk became a place for the flowers they bought sometimes, for the car keys to be dropped whenever she came home from work, for cold beers that always rested there without a coaster.
At some point, she just stopped caring. Scratches, round spots, dents… what’s one more scar? Besides, a couple of vases could cover those small flaws easily – that is, when said vases weren’t being constantly broken by a careless movement or by I-need-to-have-you-on-that-desk-right-now moments.
She smiled. Those special moments were hard to forget.
The most vivid in her mind was that day when she got the job at Our Lady of Sorrows. The cool of the wood touching her backside as Mulder thrusted into her, the noises the desk made due to their combined weight, their almost-fall when one of the desk’s legs decided there was only so much pounding it could take…
She sighed. Good times. Amazing times. So amazing that only much later did they realize they had completely forgotten about the poor injured desk. The solution to that problem was simple, though: old books under the broken leg would be enough to keep it standing still for a while.
It was about that time that Scully started thinking it was time for the desk to go. There were too many broken parts, too many things that needed fixing, too much effort to be put into it, and she wasn’t sure it was worth it.
Mulder, on the other hand, was in favor of it staying. He said he was either going to try and fix it himself, or find someone to fix it. Although she didn’t know why he didn’t want to let it go, she didn’t ask. Maybe Mulder was just being Mulder and not letting go of things when he should.
But night turned into day and the desk remained unfixed. First for a week, then for a month, then for a year, then for a couple of years, and then she stopped counting because she left and the desk wasn’t her problem anymore.
Now she was almost back, almost sure of her decision, and the desk was still there — almost broken beyond any mending, but still there.
Hasn’t your relationship been restored?, the desk seemed to reply to her thoughts, why can’t I be in top shape once again too?
A hopeful smile took over Scully’s face, and she only realized Mulder had come back from the kitchen when a hand put a mug right under her nose. She thought he was going to make a joke about her undeniable daydreaming, but instead he looked at the same place she had been looking.
He stood beside the couch and rested his free hand on its arm while he spoke, in that self-conscious way he could never hide from her.
“I’m going to throw it out, I promise. When you come back for good, it won’t be here anymore.”
She took a sip of her tea before replying.
“Leave it.”
He looked at her with a shadow of a smile and a raised eyebrow.
“Are you sure? You were always so adamant about having it gone that I thought…”
She placed her free hand on top of his, stroking it slightly.
“There’s too much history in that desk to just throw it away like that. Its scars are what make it special. I don’t know how I didn’t see it before, but now I do.” She sipped her tea once again. “Is it why you never wanted to throw it away?”
He held her gaze for a while before shaking his head and looking at the desk once again.
“It is just that… it has always reminded me of you.”
He took a sip of his tea before continuing, but she was the one who felt her entire body warming up as she waited for his next words.
“I never gave you a desk at our old office, so I thought giving you one in our new life would be a good start. My plan went down the drain, of course, but it was kind of comforting to look at the desk and just see your car keys, the vases with the flowers you liked… it was you there even when you weren’t in the room, you know?”
He paused again, still looking at the piece of furniture, in that Mulder way of getting lost inside his head before translating whatever sad thoughts were going on in there.
“And then you left, the flowers withered, your car keys were gone, but the scratches left by your nails, the somewhat mended leg, the small S you wrote with your key once just to claim it as yours… all those things were still there. They made me beyond angry sometimes, but they made me smile for the most part. I wouldn’t be over the moon getting rid of it now, but I knew this might be a way of showing you that I am learning to let go, that you’re not making a mistake by coming back.”
He looked at her hesitantly then, eyes moistened, just like hers.
“I know I’m not. Making a mistake, I mean. Desk or no desk.”
She stood up slowly, took the mug from his hands and placed it along with hers onto the very desk they were talking about, no coasters to protect it, just like old times. Then, she cupped his face and rubbed their noses together, brushing her lips on his afterwards as he wrapped his arms around her.
“I’m ready,” she finally whispered. “I’m ready to call this my home again.”
Mulder smiled slightly as if in disbelief, but his eyes sparkled.
“For real?”
She nodded slightly.
“These wounds we caused each other… it’s time they became only scars, don’t you think?”
As he nodded, she closed her eyes, then let herself be carried away by the soft touch of his lips on hers, his tongue entering her mouth slowly, his thumb tracing small circles at her nape in tandem with the movements of her thumbs on his cheek. It was their slow-motion, I-love-you-beyond-words kiss, the type of kiss that usually led to sweet love making in bed instead of rough fucking on the desk.
That meant the scarred piece of furniture could rest assured all its parts would stay together for a while. That is, until Scully made Mulder write an M next to her S; until cold beers were forgotten there without any coasters under them once again; and until it eventually had to prove it could still bear some good, heavy pounding.
#mulder and scully#msr#the x-files fanfiction#dana scully#fox mulder#mulder x scully#sculder#todayinfic
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The first thing he saw was his lover’s sarcophagus.
Then he realized he could see. Dust motes floated in the air above him. Some unseen light filtered through them, creating spears of light that stabbed his eyes.
The tomb must have been opened. On shaky legs he stood, letting sticky bandages fall off of him. Wait. He had skin, actual skin; but his zombie had mummified him. He glanced over to where the skeleton of his undead servant lay. It must have died once its last command was complete. His fingers twitched up to his throat. Unsliced.
No time to question that right now. Whoever opened the tomb was likely still outside. He straightened his back and picked up his sword. The blade fell away from the handle immediately, clattering uselessly onto the floor. Nothing but his wits to protect him, then.
Only the cool winter air greeted him. A quick scan of the area revealed nothing but snow and mountains nearby. Not even trees or small animals, and certainly no people to be found in this desolate valley.
No matter. It was time for the final part of the ancient ritual. The gods had resurrected him, no doubt about it. No necromancer could restore him to life like this. He felt like he was in the prime of youth again. It was time to serve them again. And…his stomach flipped. It was time to wake him.
Almost grinning, he quickly made his way back into the tomb. First, he pushed the heavy, concealed door open wider so sunlight illuminated the entire single room tomb. His heart sank suddenly. How had he not noticed before? He rushed to the sarcophagus and fell to his knees before it, peering inside. Empty. The lid had been removed at some point and set aside. His lover had left him behind.
Did he wake too late? Was his lover already dead? Did he move on? Where did he go? Why hasn’t he waited? Then he breathed, deeply. His lover had likely left to gather supplies or something similar. The spell was designed to wake both of them within three weeks of each other, if not less. He’d performed the rite correctly. Hadn’t he?
No time to waste. If his lover had already left, then he likely wasn’t far away. Immortality didn’t guarantee they’d never need to eat, drink, or sleep again. He was most certainly somewhere nearby. He wouldn’t leave.
Right?
No, no doubts. He needed to move now if he wanted to get down the mountain before sundown. There was a village at the bottom of it, he recalled. Surely his High Priest would be there. Then he snorted. Technically they were both High Priests now. That was something to be sorted once they’d reunited. For now, he needed to leave this desolate, cold place.
———
The town was nowhere to be found. Not even ruins had remained. How long had he been asleep? Fortunately, there was a city in the distance.
He found himself in a bar by nightfall. The bartender smiled as he approached. “Pardon me, but what is today’s date?”
“Why, it’s…” the bartender checked a small book. “13th of Havest. Huh. Didn’t notice myself.”
“And what year is it? My people use a different calendar,” he added.
“Oh, thought that accent sounded a little foreign. No offense. Sure, I can tell you. Year 105 under our Empire’s reign.”
“I see,” he murmured.
The bartender snapped his fingers. “Ah, you’re a scholar of that old cult…what was its name…bah. Your clothing kind of gave you away.”
He smiled and humored the bartender. “Yes, I am a scholar. If I may ask, what year did the cult fall, in this country?”
“Hmm…about five thousand years ago.” His blood ran cold.
“I see. A great first starting point, thank you.” He smoothed over his panic with faux gratitude and politeness. “Oh, one more thing.”
“Do I have a map of the area? Course! Here you go, free of charge too. Can’t have you running around all lost. Wouldn’t do.”
He accepted it with true thankfulness. “You’re very generous.”
The bartender made a dismissive gesture. “Learning to be a cartographer. I need the practice, and travelers need the maps. It’s a pretty bad one, I’ll admit, but it’ll get you where you need to go. I hope.”
“Nonetheless, thank you. It is much appreciated.” Even with the simple map, the ancient priest could tell that nothing was the same anymore. How would he find—
“You remind me of a traveler that came into town this morning,” the bartender interrupted his thoughts. “Fancy speech, looking for someone too.”
“A foreigner as well? Brown eyes and dark, short hair? Dressed similarly to me?” He leaned forward.
The bartender looked surprised. “Yes, actually. Came down the mountain, judging by the snow she dusted off of her. You’re the one she’s looking for?”
She? The priest stopped. “Y-yes. I am. Do you know where I could find her?”
The bartender’s eyes slid to something behind him. His smile widened. “She’s right behind you. Welcome back!”
#you know I should be writing for multi souled right now#instead I’m writing about gay priests except one is reborn as a woman as the other realizes he’s actually bisexual#with a heavy dose of cult thrown on the side#it doesn’t matter if he’s a woman now that’s his lover type deal#also I’m making the reincarnated one a trans allegory and no one can stop me#they don’t even have names#one off story
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what are your favorite comics?
as tempted as i am to just say “i’ll give ya three guesses, and the first two don't count,” and leave it at that for the sake of The Funny, lol—
im not gonna let myself keep going on and on and on for too long, or else this post’ll never get made, but this isn't. like. Everything. brain is just scrampled egg rn so these r a little all over the place but. w/e here r the first “favorite” books that’ve come 2 my mind:
(under the cut because i Ramble*)
(*let us also proceed knowing that classic spider-man/spider-man in general goes without saying b/c i am Not typing that much.)
- Spider-Man 2099 (1992)
big surprise, i know. lay off! it was my first comic! looking back on it, i probably shouldn't have been reading it as, like. a 9-10(??) year old kid. but. y’know. pish-posh. when the chips’re down, sm2099 was what i had during a real rough time that spanned years without letup, and as a result sm2099 has been a Really Important Thing for me ever since.
has the relative decade’s worth of Enrichment ultimately also been worth the requisite Nigh-Obsessive Brainrot? 🤷 i’unno. i’m predisposed to say “well, duh, dude, no shit it has been,” so that's that.
- Spider-Man 2099 Meets Spider-Man (1995)
duh. (in seriousness: fun romp of a one-shot, nd i really like that mig and mj were kinda-friends,., .,,.,)
- Moon Knight (1980)
MK v1 was the run that REALLY got me into comic books as something more than just a passive casual interest, back in, uhh-- early-early 2020, i think? it definitely... shows its age in not a great way, at times, but otherwise i can’t help but feel a fond affection for the first volume of MK.
(Plus, on the art side of things, it’s really cool to see Bill Sienkiewicz developing his iconic signature style over the course of the run!!!)
- Immortal Hulk: The Threshing Place (2020)
.......and tbh, every other Immortal Hulk one-shot, as well, but. Threshing Place especially has some just gorgeous art. I can’t stomach visual body horror very well most of the time, but I otherwise really like what I've been able to read of Immortal Hulk.
- Ms. Marvel (2014)
genuinely a really good book and also the only Inhumans thing i like (in no small part, im sure, because there is not a lot of Inhumans stuff in it). starting to run out of spoons at this point so i’m just gonna be blunt if u hate kamala khan Fuck You
- Unbelievable Gwenpool (2016)
unbelievable gwenpool is Good it’s a Good Comic marvel has just been absolutely massacring the character ever since it ended.
in 2019 the Defiler leah williams took poor gwennie out behind the barn and basically just shot her in the back of the fucking head. we will probably never see the character in any significant or serious capacity ever again :(
- Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane (1958-1973)
culturally important to the medium of superhero comic books As We Know Them Today. also generally batshit insane to an objectively hilarious degree ❤️
+ honorable mention(s): that one green lantern story where hal jordan slipped on a bar of soap and bumped his head so hard he not only was immediately rendered unconscious but then also fell promptly into a coma.
ALSO Blue Beetle (2006) it's been so long that i barely remember what happens in it but i Do Remember that it was Good. i really need to reread the run sometime soon...
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