#magic is so smug.... like a regal cat | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

breitzbachbea · 3 years

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📒💖

Emi, I'm kissing you on the mouth right now, you're so sexy. In general but also for taking the bait.

Put “📓” or some other version of a book emoji into my inbox and I’ll explain the plot of a fanfiction that I haven’t written but daydream about.

The Constantinople AU

This AU is from 2017 and came about because I watched a TED-ED video about Constantinople's walls, relistened to the Aladdin soundtrack and because I had earlier talked with a friend about how I had not really seen people make a genie a woman. I came back years later to explain it to my friend Jonah and add new stuff and this year I showed it to @amber-isnt-a-precious-stone to add even more things. It's one of my favourite AUs for sure.

Dramatis Personae:

- Herakles Karpuzi (APH Greece) as Son of the Roman emperor and heir to the throne - Sadık Adnan (APH Turkey) as Soldier in the Ottoman army and Imposter Prince - Dilan Taş (Human OC) as Jinn and Sadık's unsuccessful wingwoman - Athanasios Karpuzi (Human OC) as the Roman emperor and serial skirtchaser - Salvatore Vento (Human OC) as Advisor to the emperor and Fuckface McBadDad - Michele Vento (APH Sicily) as Herakles' childhood friend

The Happenings™:

- It's set in Constantinople in an alternate Universe, close to ours. It’s the late High Middle Age/Early Late Middle Age (depending on how you want to periodize. I am working with how the German Middle Ages are divided, which is arguably a very bad method for classifying Byzantine. But this is my silly Hetalia AU, not my term paper). Around 1300, I’d say.

- Athansios Karpuzi is the current Roman Emperor, which makes Herakles the heir to the throne. Athanasios is desperately trying to wed his son off to any available suitors to form new alliances, but two things keep getting into the way: 1. Herakles is thoroughly uninterested in playing along with Athanasios’ plans. He’s not a chess piece on his father’s board if he's got anything to say about it. 2. Salvatore Vento is Athanasios’ closest consultant and protests any marriage for whatever reason he can find. For the sole reason that he has been eyeing the throne for himself the entire time and wants to marry his own son, Michele, to Herakles.

- Like in my Hetalia AU "Like Father Like Son", Salvatore and Athanasios trust each other as far as they can throw one another. There is no genuine trust here at all, no sympathy, really, they just stick together because they know the other is useful. Have some assorted banter as result of this:

Salvatore: "Immortal what a name! What a title to bear! Although immoral would have fit you much better." [Athanasios’ etymology is “immortal”]

S: "Maybe you wouldn't have to struggle to find a suitable bride for your son if you stopped dragging every young woman within and from outside Constantinople to bed." Athanasios: "He's into guys too, problem solved." S: "Oh, yeah, me dumbass thought you needed stop whoring around, how silly of me."

A: "If he is into anything at all. But if I have another child, they might keep this empire going." S: "No legitimation to the lineage's claim to power like a gay loner and a bastard child." A: "Ah yes, I hired the man whose wife ran away with his son so he could berate me about family life. How I value your opinion, Salvatore." S: "She didn't run away." A: "No, she just hides and sends you people until she can get her divorce. I'm very inclined to give it to her."

S: "They're childhood friends! They'd make a great couple!" A: "All I can hear is what a great emperor you'd make, ruling on my corpse."

- So. Herakles is staunchly resisting any marriage to anyone and minding his business one day, walking along the great walls of Constantinople. He stops to look out into the surrounding area and suddenly, hears a noise. Confused, he looks down and sees someone scaling the wall. Sadık looks up and sees the most beautiful man he has ever seen … spotting him trying to get into the city.

- Sadık is part of the Ottoman Turks, who’re conquering the area around Constantinople these days. He’s some nobody in the army and thought he’d give it a shot and get into the city by himself to earn some fame (and money).

- Herakles is seriously impressed Sadık managed to actually almost scale the famously impenetrable walls of the city. Not impressed enough to actually let him in. So these two banter a bit, Sadık now distracted by this hunk in front of his nose. Herakles correctly assesses that he’s a Turk and says of himself that he’s the emperor’s son. Sadık: “Hey, hot stuff, if that’s true and it’s so impressive, why don’t you let me in as a reward?” Herakles: “Yes, of course. And then I’ll open the gates for the rest of your people, so that you can just walk in and take the city. What impossible thing do you want to happen next, a kiss on the mouth?” Sadık: “What’s so impossible about that?”

- Either way, Herakles threatens to sick the guards on him, which leads to a “Oh no you wouldn’t” - Herakles grins and definitely would, so Sadık has to retreat. (#Don’tSickTheGuardsOnMyAssYou’reSoSexyAhaha).

- He goes back to camp, having gained nothing but a crush. He gets in real trouble for rummaging around the booty, where he finds an oil lamp and WOULDN’T YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. Dilan, a Jinn, pops out and Sadık uses his first wish to get out of trouble. Once that is done and the two have a moment of peace, he's thinking about what to do next and his mind circles back to Herakles.

- Dilan: "Ah yes, they always want something with love ... so who struck you and what's the problem?" Sadık: "Well ... I don't really know if it's true but he said he was the son of the emperor. He certainly looked the part! And I didn't really want to wait for him to call the guards to confirm it." Dilan: "Wait ... so you want to get with the son of the Roman emperor?" Sadık: "If that handsome little shit didn't lie to me, then yes." Dilan: "Isn't that a little out of your ballpark?" Sadık: "What, is it out of yours? Can't help me in that case, magic lady?" Dilan: "Psht, don't make me laugh! I can make the impossible happen, just tell me what you need." Sadık: "I dunno ... I guess getting inside the city?" Dilan: "That's it? That's all you need? That's less than a no-brainer -" Sadık: "Oh yeah, if it's so easy then, save that second wish for later. I got past one of the walls already once, I'll figure that out without your magic." Dilan: "Alright, alright ... and what about the wooing of your sweetheart?" Sadık: "That we'll see to once we're there ..."

- Dilan and Sadık chitchat while they make it to Constantinople. Dilan spends some time in the lamp, because walking is boring, but she does tell him that she's pretty sick of being in there. So that's where Sadık learns about her wishing to be free. Dilan in turn learns that Sadık doesn't have such a rosy life either (especially because now he can't return to the army, after he basically deserted).

- So they get to Constantinople and decide to actually factcheck if they got the right guy - and if yes, some general information about the emperor's son. Luckily enough, a friendly trader/tradesman tells them a bit about the city and the imperial family. Dilan: "So, did you by any chance ever see the emperor's son?" Trader: "Oh, well, that's an odd question, isn't it? But since you don't seem to be from here, I can understand the curiosity. Well, let me think ... You often see him only from afar ... during a triumph where he had accompanied his father during the campaign I got to see him up close. What a regal figure there at the head of the troops!" Sadık is too lost in the vision of his crush all decked out in military gear on a horse. And then taking all that gear off and being a regal figure while he fucks Sadık into the sheets … Dilan: "Yeah, yeah, yadda yadda, we need something more concrete. Height, hairstyle, haircolour, what does the dude look like?" The trader/tradesman is a little baffled but does provide a description that lines up with who Sadık saw. So with that information, they start to wonder how to woo a future emperor.

- Luckily, now that the trader/tradesman thinks they're here for imperial gossip, he actually mentions the fact that Emperor Athanasios hopes for his son to follow his footsteps and is currently looking for a suitable match, so that Herakles can be of political use even while he's still in charge. So Dilan and Sadık get an idea how to get into the city and Herakles heart. Or his pants. Milestones are still up for negotiation.

- After the grand entrance happened, where Herakles definitely took offense at either "Heard your prince was a sight lovely to see" or "Heard your prince was hot, where is he?" because either question was accompanied by Sadık's flirty looks, Athanasios actually lets Sadık and Dilan into the palace. There he and Salvatore discuss the entire thing, aka if whoever Sadık pretends to be is a good match.

- While they talk political stuff and snark, because of course Salvatore is against it, Sadık continues to feel very smug in his new princely identity and makes flirty eyes at Herakles. Herakles is just like "ugh" and much more happily plays with his cats. Which tbh sounds like they're 16 or something, but they're not that much younger than in canon (I think they'd be 22 and 24 here).

- Hijinks ensue. Herakles tells his dad that he’s a Turkish soldier that tried to sneak into the city and Athanasios doesn’t believe him, thinking Herakles is now lying badly to not get married. Dilan and Sadık are developing a friendship that is best described as hoes being bros.

- Dilan: "Look, you like cats. Cats are furry. Hairy, if you will. You know who else is hairy? Sadık. He's juuust as hairy as a cat - shhhht, I'm wingmanning for you and it's working great, you can thank me later."

- At first, Dilan mostly employs her magic for some silly little things with Sadık to woo Herakles. It doesn't work very well. Herakles: "I know it's magic, that's not impressing me - Okay, it is kinda cool, but you're still a dick." Dilan: "But a dick with a cool sidekick, come ON! What else do you want me to do to make the nerd viable?!" Sadık: "You call that wingmanning?!"

- Once Dilan realizes dickbags Athanasios and Salvatore are, she also uses little magic tricks to continously make their lives worse. Ironically, this may be what finally endears her and Sadık to Herakles. (If you haven't noticed, he doesn't like his father very much and Athanasios doesn't care for him aside from being a political pawn).

- At one point, Michele shows up at court! Herakles is overjoyed to see his childhood friend, which he hadn’t seen in years! Sadık is absolutely not, because it looks like just when he and Herakles almost had something, this twat shows up and steals the show!

- Dilan: "Well, I can't make him not love this dude, but I could beat the dude up." Sadık: " ... keep that in mind."

- However, when Dilan goes to investigate what Michele is doing here (and wingwomanning again), this ensues: Dilan: "Hey brah, what's up, why so blue looking? Is it because your boo just told you you ain't his number one anymore?" Michele: "I, eh ... no ... May I ask who you are?" Dilan: "Just one of the servants of the insanely charming and powerful - and hairy - Prince who's here to marry the Prince. Yep, he's sooo gonna marry that guy." Dilan: "There was a whole musical number about it, you should have seen it, I was on top of my game." Michele: "Sure heard about it, you stirred up trouble here. Hope it helps ... I'm not saying that Herakles should marry someone his dad set in front of him, but it'd be nice if he found someone at last. He told me he was very lonely the last years ... I don't want to leave him behind just as lonely again." Dilan: "Yeah, it'd be - Leave him behind?"

- Dilan: "Good news! His loverboy is not here to stay! He wants to go to the west, he's just here because of his terrible dad!" Sadık: "Oh, that's good! Wait ... isn't his father that asshole of an advisor?" Dilan: "Yeah. Why." Sadık: "The guy who wanted to marry his son to Herakles since apparently forever?" Dilan: "Yeah, but his son is not going to marry him." Sadık: "I smell a trap 10 miles against the wind."

- There is no trap however. Herakles realizes that the crush on Michele is nothing but a childhood crush and has to be left in the past … and that he wants to move forward with Sadık. When he wants a conversation one-on-one, Dilan wants to make it a one-on-two, but Herakles asks her if she doesn’t want to keep Michele company in the gardens, it’s not gonna take long, an hour or two at most. Then she can also fetch Michele when they’re done, so that Herakles can say goodbye before he leaves for Sicily.

- Dilan thinks about it, finds it’s not a trap (and if it was, nothing she and her fists couldn’t solve) and goes in the garden. There she talks with Michele and makes the mistake to either show off her magic powers, tell Michele of TurGre’s meetugly (#Don’tSickTheGuardsOnMyAssYou’reSoSexyAhaha) or to be like: “Hey, do you wanna know a cool secret? Sadık isn’t a Prince, all of this is my doing. Pretty cool, eh?”

- Unfortunately, they’re not alone. Salvatore was searching for Michele in the gardens, to get his “fucking rotten brat of a son” to play along after all instead of disappearing once again. So he overhears this. Salvatore: "Oh, so Prince Sadık is not a Prince? That's a funny joke indeed and I'll laugh my ass off the hardest in the end."

- So just when Herakles and Sadık had time to talk about their feelings and confess and, also, you know, make out and fumble for good measure, they get interrupted. Literally when Herakles was finally stripped down to his tunic and Sadık slid his hand underneath it.

- Athanasios: "This is gonna be the last wall you breached, you little rat." Herakles: "Dad! Stop it!" Athanasios: "This man nearly ruined our dynasty. Arrest him." Salvatore: "Arrest the man indeed. Go and get the ex-emperor." Athanasios: "Ex-Prince. It's not the right time for your snark." Salvatore: "I'm not talking about that small fish. Guards - arrest this careless idiot who nearly ruined our city by letting a scammer into its walls! Clearly the emperor's been in on this and can't be trusted!" Athanasios: "You've lost your mind." Salvatore: "You've lost yours and it's actually the thing you'll miss the least when syphilis is going to eat away the last of your rotten brain in the dungeons. So get him! And that ottoman faker, too, just get the trash out of here."

- The scene ends rather dramatically, because I love the thought of Michele and Dilan rushing to their help, but they get held back. Dilan maybe gets restrained by some anti-magic stuff. And Dilan begs Sadık to use his last wish to help him. To solve this problem. But Sadık refuses, because he promised to use it to set her free. So Dilan is just livid and upset, distraught, yelling at him to let her do something while he gets taken to the dungeons.

- So now Salvatore’s in charge and setting his plans into motion. PR is of course the first thing that needs to be done, so there’s a speech to Constantinople’s masses: "But, as you know, I respect and regard the royal family, the entire dynasty, more than any of you! So I am not going to assume power, it'd be a crime against God himself who granted us this emperor, if I had removed him for anything but his unstable condition and his tragic mistake of almost letting his lineage being tainted! Not to mention that this would have been the end of our beloved empire, our city, suddenly overrun and ruled by those barbarians! No, of course I'll give my power to the true heir who was merely a victim to his father's incompetence. To prove I really mean it, I'm even going to give up my son to the Prince, to forever bind my loyality to the throne!"

- Michele: "I hold no more respect for you as father as I did when we left. I'm not going to play along your perverted plan." Salvatore: "Well Michele, if you don't respect me as father, then maybe you'll respect me as the Roman Emperor!"

- Meanwhile, in the dungeons, Athanasios and Sadık have some great chitchat. Sadık: "Guess that's some quality father and son in law bonding time, eh?” S:“Though I'm pretty sure your son would rather call me daddy than you." A: "Once this entire drama is over, I'll have you decapitated. Or just kick you back to your people and let them handle this." S: "Ah, but when I came here as a fake prince, your arms and gates were wide open. Should've listened to your son when he told you so."

- Here’s also some Salvatore content: Athanasios: "And now you strut around in my clothes. I'm surprised they even fit you fatass!" Salvatore: "Oh, the entire imprisonment is really getting to you, ain't it, emperor tightlips? Ah, I meant - ex-emperor tight lips. Now you've sunk low enough to insult me with such details. Is it because you have nothing else left now that you're off your high horse?" Salvatore: "I thought so. At least you're enough of a sound mind to not threaten me with 'once I get out of here' hot air. Because we both know you're not getting out of here in a lifetime anymore. And yes, I’m wearing your rags, since I’ve got no time to waste.” Salvatore to Sadık: "Actually, it's sad that you aren't going to be there to watch it. Although, I think a public execution would just spice the entire wedding festivities up, if I think about it."

- Ah yes. The wedding. Herakles: "You look great today, my love. Like a polished jewel." Michele: "Thanks. I'd never seen a man more handsome than you though. Truly, a prince with all his qualities seen right away." Both: -sigh- Ft. Dilan, who’s just watching the kids sadly and is trying to reassure them she got this, she’s gonna find a way, it’ll be fine!!!

- Herakles and Michele wonder why Sadık didn't use that wish. To which Dilan replies he said he'd free her with it, but she didn't believe he'd actually uphold that promise. And he shouldn't have because now she's useless and he's in trouble. (And Hera only falls more in love with Sadık, because being a good person is HELLA swoony.)

- Dilan also tries to cheer them up and I believe she can still do small magic tricks, she just can't get out of whatever shackles/confinement she is in. So when she isn't despairing or raging, she tries to cheer Herakles and Michele up with some silly little tricks. She shapeshifts into their fathers to make fun of them. Which leads them to an idea ...

- I have no idea what it is though. I only know that the grand final and resolution involves shapeshifting. If anyone who's better at plots wants to give me ideas, please do.

- However they manage to stop Salvatore's machinations, this is what follows: Salvatore gets thrown into the dungeons. Herakles decides to not let his father out and instead take the crown himself. He becomes emperor and marries Sadık. Sadık uses his last wish to set Dilan free. Michele goes to travel to Sicily, promising he’ll write letters to them and come visit some day (Dilan promises the same).

- The end of Salvatore and Athanasios rotting in jail together is SO satisfying to me, bc now that they are useless to each other, there is nothing left to do but be a pain in each other’s ass. They hate each other and they DESERVE EACH OTHER.

Sequel Bait:

- Before we get to the sequel bait, let me give you some prequel bait for a change. Here's a little "what if one of the many suitable matches for Herakles had been one of the Beilschmidt brothers" scenario. Plus free medieval history lesson:

- Now for the actual sequel: Three years come and go. Herakles and Sadık settle in their new rules as emperor and ... emperor's husband. (I don't know if Byzantine empresses were "put into office" in the same way the Emperor was. If someone is more knowledgeable about this than me, correct me).

- Their marriage is going swell, however both struggle in their new official roles. Herakles faces all the administrative problems and tough decisionmaking that comes with being a ruler, while Sadık struggles to be accepted by the people of Constantinople. Where Herakles tends to take care of the court, Sadık tries his hand at being a military leader.

- One morning, Sadık wakes up with Herakles in the room. Which should not be surprising, if it wasn't for the fact that Herakles had left the city yesterday. He's oddly nonchalant about it when Sadık asks him and also ... weirdly chipper? Eager? Kitschy in his flirting? He's at first flattered, but soon very confused by everything and wonders if either he hit his head real hard in his sleep or if Herakles fell off his horse when he tried to make it out of the city.

- Turns out none of it, because after some more eyelash fluttering, his "husband" goes POOF! and turns out to be Dilan, who's on the floor laughing. "You should have seen your stupid face! Really! Wait, I'll show you!"

- After Dilan is done shapeshifting into Sadık, absolutely overacting his reaction and argueing with him about it, they finally get to catch up. Turns out that Dilan was bored by travelling around the world and wanted to check in on her old buddy.

- She couldn't have chosen a more opportune time to do so. Once Herakles returns, he ... at first has a weird reunion with his husband. Sadık is kind of wary around him and starts to list his attitude and general personality traits/ticks as proof for ... something. Takes a while for Herakles to get the news that Dilan is back, too.

- Herakles is very relieved to hear that! He wanted to confide something in Sadık, because after he had returned to the city, someone had taken him aside. Natasa Simonides, an old and trusted courtly advisor, needed help. Recently, her husband Ibrahim disappeared and she's worried.

- Natasa also told Herakles a secret: Ibrahim is a Jinn, which is why his disappearance worries her even more. Herakles informs Sadık and asks Dilan if she knows anything, but she sadly hasn't heard anything either. - Before she can zip off and see if she can find Ibrahim, Herakles asks another favour of her - to educate Natasa's twins, Timothea Farah and Omar Veniam instead. Natasa thinks they may be able to find their father, but they don't know they're half-Jinn, so they'd need some guidance. Dilan happily agrees to be their teacher!

- My only more in-depth infos on Jinn and their children with humans comes from this Monstrum video by PBS Storied. I don't think Thea & Omar would need to be taught by anyone to be seers and how to be in communication with non-human spheres, but it makes for a better story.

- So Dilan is off to teach the kids while Sadık volunteers to go and search for Ibrahim. Herakles resumes his imperial role in the city.

- It's not really fun and as the people become more and more agitated with the status quo, more and more people "remember" that the old emperor is still around. Enough people are going "What's that kid knowing anyways?! All those highfangled ideas and useless reforms, for what?" that a select few decide to stage a coup by releasing Athanasios from the dungeons.

- Now, I still haven't decided if Salvatore also gets let out. The problem is that I really would begrudge him his freedom ... but I also begrudge Athanasios his freedom! It doesn't feel fair that one bastard gets to walk free and the other doesn't!

- Out in the field, Sadık isn't having much more luck. No Jinn in sight and the trouble he has with a few of the men that accompany him keeps him thinking about the acceptance problems again. He really wishes at one point that Herakles wasn't emperor at all. You can imagine how terrible he feels for these thoughts when news of the coup catches up to them. Be careful what you wish for and all that jazz. On top of that, he gets into trouble as well - betrayed by some of the men he had taken along. He gets stuck in some place like a cave or an abandoned house he was investigating ...

- Sadık finds a large sealed bottle and thinks 'Well, what's the worst that could happen?' He is greeted by a GIANT cloud of smoke instead of anything edible/drinkable. By the time the cloud is human-shaped, he already has a giant grin on his face. Sadık: "Hah! I have a sixth sense for this kind of stuff!" Jinn: "Greetings, mor-" Sadık: "Yeah, yeah, quick question, is your name Ibrahim? Or do you know one of your kind called Ibrahim who's been passing through recently?" Jinn: "My name is Ibrahim - " Sadık: "Great! You know a Greek lady called Natasa? I take that look as a yes. Okay, so first wish is to get us out of here, second wish we'll see, third is like freeing you from the whole servitude bit - You do the three wishes thing, right? Anyways, your wife and kids are wishing for dad to come home, so get us out of here, you'll get explanations on the way back."

- In the meantime, Dilan and her protégés, along with Natasa and Herakles, have been trying to figure out how to solve the problem at court. It doesn't help that the news of Sadık's troubles also reached them (I know the speed of spreading information may be historically hella inaccurate, but I need it for the drama). So Dilan is torn between helping her best bud and helping the rest at court. The Greeks cook up a plan and assure her that she should go and help Sadık, they've got this.

- The plan is to get Athanasios to do something incredibly stupid that would immediately turn the people against him. They exploit the fact that Athanasios likes to listen to words that fall from pretty lady's mouths. So Timothea flatters her eyelashes and promises to tell him something of a vision she had ... that the divine has something to tell him through her. (Don't worry for her, she may have to endure his fingers under her chin, which is infuriating and nauseous enough, but no more skin contact than this). Thea gets backed by her brother to lend it more credibility once Athanasios considers with his head and not his dick.

- And we can all appreciate that Dilan has been sent away, otherwise the scene would have been like this: Thea: "The spirits are talking to me about you ... " Dilan: "Mhm, mhm, indeed, I can hear them to. They're saying that you're a bitch!"

- Dilan in the meantime reaches Sadık, Ibrahim and those of his troop that haven't betrayed and abandoned him as soon as they heard of the coup. A little happy reunion before she immediately fills them in on what's happening.

- They come up with a plan themselves to finally get rid of Athanasios and the Simonides and Herakles have begun to sweat a little back home, because Athanasios mistake of listening to the twins' advice has bought them time, but not really solved the problem yet. Which is when Dilan and Ibrahim sweep in, concocting an illusion powerful enough to wrap up everyone in Constantinople and make Athanasios seem like the literal devil. Some mass-hallucination miracle bullshit, truly, to assert that he doesn't deserve the throne.

- Maybe for good measure, Athanasios disappears after the illusion is over. Dilan and Ibrahim have no idea where he went, they say with a smile.

- Another grand finale! The four lovers are reunited, Thea and Omar are overjoyed to have their dad back and he is overjoyed to have his kids back. When Dilan tells the Simonides twins that they did a great job, she's a good teacher after all haha!, Ibrahim and Natasa invite her to stay. Dilan says that they don't need her, surely, now that Ibrahim can teach them, but Ibrahim says he could use some help. Herakles also encourages her, saying that he'd love to have her at court - and Sadık also bullies her into staying. "What do you wanna do, see the world again? Didn't do much for your peanut brain the first time around, maybe hit the books together with Hera so that you'll be a passable teacher some day."

- Dilan and Omar also have evolved a crush on one another during this entire mess. That's what I'll leave you with - all well that ends well.

Also hey you! Thanks for reading all of this! Here's a little bonus content if you made it this far!

A wonderful fanart of Michele and Salvatore by my beloved friend C0FFINATED over on twitter!

Here's an amazing commission of the Greeks and Turks by @captkirkland ! I'm not sure if I'm allowed to repost the pictures myself on tumblr & you shoud reblog it from him anyways. Show him and his amazing art some love! From left to right it's Timothea, Herakles, Omar, then Dilan, Sadık and Havva (who's not featured in this AU, rip. Things would have worked to well with their brainpower).

Thanks for reading this! Hope you have a wonderful day!

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the-evil-authoress · 3 years

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GX Month Day 21: “Crystal Bond”

Everyone has a special bond with their deck, but arguably no one more so than the Crystal Beast wielder himself, Johan/Jesse Anderson! Show off that colorful bond today.

This was gonna be longer, and require another apology up front, but then my brain took a vaca before getting the actual angsty part so here ya go - pain free! (mostly)

I won...?

The adrenaline of that final combo wears off and he stands in stunned silence as his opponent climbs back to their feet. His ears are ringing. He honestly hadn’t expected to get this far.

“Little King.” Athena’s voice snaps him out of it; he turns to the warrior spirit smiling proudly at him and realizes his ears aren’t ringing- the crow is cheering, screaming someone’s name-

His name, the one he chose before entering this tournament.

Smiling, Jesse throws his hands in the air.

Athena walks next to him as Jesse exits the duel arena. He feels wired and giddy, like he could step right off the ground and float through the air. His fairies chatter animatedly, praises and congratulations and reminiscing moments from the duel.

Jesse jerks to stop in the hall. There it is again; that weird...pull, like something is calling out to him. He barely takes a step toward the source when-

“Ah, Jesse-boy! Just the person I was looking for!”

His shoulders hike to his ears with an embarrassing yelp as he spins to face the speaker. ‘Jesse-boy’? Who the heck- Oh. Oh god. Maximillion Pegasus?! “Me?” he squeaks, gawking at the living legend before him.

“Yes, you.” Is it wrong to think the man’s expression looks something like a kid in a candy store? Because it does and it’s kinda weirding Jesse out. “I have something rather special for you, I believe. If you’d come with me.”

Jesse glances at Athena who nods her head. Well, if Athena doesn’t think this is a terrible idea, how bad could it be?

Pegasus leads him down the hallways at a brisk pace, talking animatedly all the while. “A few years ago, I created a new set of cards based on some artifacts from one of my expeditions. But as soon as the cards were complete, they sealed themselves in stone!”

To anyone else, Pegasus would probably sound like a madman; but to Jesse - glancing back at the duel spirit following them - this sounds entirely in the realm of possibility. “Couldn’t you just break it?”

“I tried. I broke one of my best chizzles,” Pegasus says. “And that’s when I heard a voice - ‘You are not the one we seek’. I’m afraid I don’t have you gift,” - Jesse’s shoulders tense as the man turns to smile at him once more - “but I do have some affinity for magic and the spirits.”

“That would make sense,” Jesse says, slowly relaxing. It would be weird if the creator of this game had no idea about its secrets, but Jesse’s never met anyone else who could see duel spirits. “Why are you telling me all this? Why are you here?” Any event where Pegasus makes an appearance will usually announce the man as a guest to the entire crowd.

“A fortunate coincidence! I was in the area from some other business and decided to check out the skill of the locals. I was not disappointed.” Pegasus almost sounds smug. “As for you, Jesse-boy, I tend to keep these cards with me in case I run into the person they seek. Today, a light shone from the cards when you took the field.”

Hold up. Is he saying these ‘special cards’ chose Jesse or something?

“So I want to see if they’ll break their seal for you.” Stopping before an unmarked door, Pegasus unlocks it with a key and pushes it open.

Seven card shaped gemstones sit on display on the single table, forming a rainbow. Jesse’s heart leaps as he realizes this is the source of the feeling he’s been getting all day. Something about their uniform edges strikes him as wrong, but the colors are undeniably familiar.

“Go on,” Athena whispers. “They’ve been waiting for you.”

But why me? Jesse wants to ask except his heart is in his throat and his body reacts before his brain can, reaching out to touch the nearest crystal card. The crystal shell cracks and crumbles under his fingertip, setting off a chain reaction from the other cards as all seven shed their shells in a colorful burst of light.

“Rubii!”

Jesse jerks as the purple cat-like creature leaps toward his face - carbuncle, she’s a carbuncle, his brain supplies - landing on his shoulder to nuzzle his cheek with an odd sounding purr. A pegasus shakes himself like a dog while a large cat stretches her legs before rubbing affectionately against Jesse’s.

“Finally. It’s been too long.”

A tortoise peers curiously out of his shell. A white tiger prowls the room. An eagle flaps his wings before perching on the table. A mammoth trumpets his awakening and Jesse’s hands fly over his ear. He knows all of them, their presence washing over him and settling somewhere deep inside him like it was always supposed to be there but something’s missing.

“This set isn’t complete, I’m afraid.” Jesse spins back toward Pegasus, only just now remembering his presence in the room. “From what information I can gather, there’s an eighth card, a dragon, that can only be summoned by possessing all seven gems. But its soul was sealed in stone and hidden somewhere centuries ago.”

Something inside Jesse aches. Ruby presses herself more firmly against the side of his face. Amethyst growls.

“But I’ve got my best team looking for it, and I won’t rest until that dragon is found!” Pegasus announces with enough enthusiasm to power a whole city block.

“Please remember to sleep,” Sapphire murmurs.

“Ey, if man wants to run himself ragged lookin’ for Rainbow, who are we to stop him?” Cobalt shrugs.

Jesse smiles despite himself. “Thanks, but...remember to sleep.”

Pegasus laughs. “Of course. Now then, I think I’ve taken enough of your time.”

Oh shit! Dad will be wondering where he is! Jesse gathers the Crystal Beast cards and Pegasus hands him the rest of the support for his new deck - weird to think of it that way, he’s been playing pretty much the same deck since he started dueling - and Jesse makes a break down the hall only for watapon to screech at him and headbutt him in the right direction.

“I see that hasn’t changed.” Topaz chuckles.

“Johan.”

Jesse jerks to a halt. Athena doesn’t use his name often, which means this must be important.

“It’s time for me to move on.”

“Move on?”

“My task is done, little King,” Athena says, voice as gentle and firm as it's ever been as Jesse stares up at the spirit that’s been his guidepost for years. What doesn’t she mean ‘move on’? “You have the ones who were always meant to be at your side now.” She nods her head at the new deck box clutched in Jesse’s hands.

His grip tightens automatically. “But-” Athena was his first duel spirit, someone he looked up to from the moment he opened that first pack of cards. He built his whole deck around her! How is he supposed to-

“Now I must find my true place.” She turns to look over he shoulder and Jesse forces himself to follow her line of sight. At the end of the hall next to a cross section, a little girl in pigtails stares at the two of them, eyes wide and mouth partially open, a monster plushie clutched tightly in one arm.

Jesse jerks, looking quickling back at Athena. “Can she see you?”

“Yes.”

Jesse looks back at the girl as his heart swells and clenches in the same instant. The first person he’s ever encountered who can see duel spirits too and Athena is asking him to-

Fingers tight around the deck box that houses the Crystal Beasts, Jesse swiftly swaps it with the one on his belt, hold it close while he steels himself, and approaches the little girl. Crouching in front of her, he holds out the box full of fairies. “Hey, can you hold onto this for me?”

The girl’s eyes widen. She reaches for the deck with tiny hands as if expecting Jesse to yank it back. When he doesn’t, her eyes light up with glee and she spins on her heel to run down the adjacent hall. “Mama, mama!”

A shaky breath. Jesse stands as she disappears with the only deck he’s ever played. So this is it. With a regal bow, Athena turns to follow the girl, and Jesse swipes a stray tear from his cheek. Ruby nuzzles his face.

“I’ll be okay,” he mumbles, automatically reaching to pet the ghostly creature.

#gxmonth2021 #jesse anderson #johan andersen #crystal beasts #ygo gx #yugioh gx #yu gi oh gx

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chronicallylatetotheparty · 3 years

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Two Gods, One Braincell Ch.5 Reflections

Summary: You must pass one introspection check to move on.

---------------

Kagami eyed Nino as he flew just behind Adrien and herself. Tail twitching as she contemplated whether she was more amused or annoyed.

"We're not going to do anything, Nino," Adrien called back, paws skimming over the air currents. "You don't have to keep following us."

"Uh-huh," Nino replied, unconvinced. Not looking up from preparing his tea, which laid in front of him on an extra large hexagon. "That's what you always say."

"What reason have we given you to doubt us?" Kagami snorted, exhaling a small cloud that drifted into Nino.

Nino wiped the specks of moisture that clung to his hair and face with one hand. Flicking his other wrist, a scroll appearing and starting to unroll. "You want the short version?"

"I can't believe you have a list!" Adrien pouted.

Kagami wondered how he did that in cat form. "You know the council insists protectors keep a record of their interventions."

"I know, love. I meant: I can't believe you brought a list with you!" Adrien eyed the scroll as it kept unrolling. Fluttering in the wind as it went on and on... and on. "Isn't this a bit off?"

"These are just the natural disasters." Using his free hand to hold his tea up and sip from it, Nino looked rather smug.

A mischievous gleam sparked in Kagami's eyes. "Like that volcanic eruption you and Alya were intimately familiar with?"

Nino choked on his tea. The now kilometer long scroll shot back into his hand and vanished. "Th-th-that was one time!"

Kagami was only mildly disappointed he didn't spray tea everywhere but the rest of his reaction was incredibly satisfying. "Yes. It was very memorable."

Sidling up to Nino, Adrien shifted, hand reaching for the teapot. "Such passion, you were lucky that tsunami dissipated before hitting any of the inhabited islands."

Cheeks darkening in embarrassment, Nino sat up straight. "You wanna talk volcanoes? What about- Oh, no, you don't!"

Nino snatched his teapot out of Adrien's reach and pushed him away with his foot. "Tea is for best friends who behave!"

"Aw, c'mon, Nino! Please?" Adrien widened his eyes and added a subtle halo to his hair.

Eye twitching at the assault on his resolve, Nino forced himself to shake his head.

Shifting, Kagami knelt opposite Nino on his hexagon. "Adrien, initiate Plan Neko."

Grinning, Adrien shifted and laid his feline head on his paws. Large eyes sparkling as his ears drooped pleadingly.

Nino tried to hide behind his hands but it was too late. He could feel those big, feline eyes staring at him. So innocent and trusting and- "Alright, fine! Just stop, god!"

"Yay!"

Adrien materialized his cup and held it out to Nino. Kagami following suit. Glaring at both of them, Nino reluctantly poured them tea.

Eagerly bringing the hot liquid to his lips, Adrien gasped. Sticking his tongue out as it burned him.

Nino scowled, arms crossed. "Why're you so darn cute?"

"Adrien is significantly larger than a lion and his claws can tear through the fabric of reality," Kagami pointed out as she blew on her tea.

"I know! It's adorable!"

Well, she couldn't argue with that. "Agreed."

Adrien beamed like the cat who got the cream at their praise. Then reached for the container of said cream.

She eyed him with mild displeasure.

Noticing this, Nino smirked. "If you're going to be together you'll have to get used to Adrien taking his tea with milk."

Kagami waved this away. "Just because Adrien has terrible taste in tea doesn't mean I love him any less."

Sticking his tongue out in a decidedly more deliberate manner, Adrien exaggerated the motion of adding his milk.

Smiling at her chosen partner's foolery Kagami sipped regally from her own cup. "... It was Marinette's idea for you to follow us, wasn't it?"

Far less embarrassed at being found out than about the volcano incident Nino just shrugged.

"Just like a creation goddess to butt in on another goddesses' business." Though Kagami acknowledged that Marinette was particularly prone to this.

"I mean, Mari's hardly ever wrong, goddess," Nino reminded her.

"It's that sort of thinking that let's her get away with it." Kagami pointed a finger at Nino for emphasis. Dragons had long memories and Kagami was no ordinary dragon.

"As opposed to you, Ryuko," Adrien teased her. "You never let anyone get away with anything."

"I accept your gratitude for preventing the formation of bad habits."

Adrien's eyes softened as he smiled at her. Kagami taking a careful sip as pink dusted her cheeks. By the heavens those eyes were dangerous.

"Gods if you could not make me the third wheel that would be great!" Nino protested.

Turning to face his best friend, Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Oh, like you and Alya were so subtle."

"Subtler than you two."

He thought that wasn't being subtle? Kagami leaned forward and pulled Adrien close to her. Then planted a kiss firmly on his lips. The wind picked up along with their heartbeats. Thunder booming in the distance. Clouds swirling together.

Breaking apart with a gasp, Kagami glanced at Nino and- The smug little turtle was grinning! Chin resting on his cupped hands as he gazed happily at them.

"Oh, no. Please stop," Nino protested sarcastically.

Blinking to clear the surprise and passion from his eyes Adrien looked from Nino to Kagami. A single name passed between them. "Alya."

This is what Kagami got for being friends with love goddesses. She was used to Alya and Marinette's shenanigans, though. And gave as good as she got.

"I warned you," Adrien intoned.

"Doesn't count, god!" Nino protested.

Instead of replying Adrien gently turned Kagami's face and gave her a kiss of his own. More prepared this time, the only reaction was sparks of lightning between them. The stormclouds they accidentally summoned already dissipating.

Letting their breath mix together, Kagami asked. "What was that for?"

"You caught me by surprise." The 'I barely had time to enjoy it' came across as clearly as if Adrien had spoken aloud.

Stretching as he stood up, Adrien rolled his neck. Eyes locking onto Nino's. They grinned at each other.

Nino shot off the hexagon as Adrien pounced after him.

Kagami traced her name on its surface to stabilize it in case Nino's magic was directed elsewhere. Considering the way he ran across floating, hexagonal steps with Adrien at his heels that was very likely.

Her scales itched to be a part of the hunt but two against one was hardly fair. She'd ask to spar with Adrien later to make up for it. And if he thought 'Ryuko' would go easy on him just because they were together... No, Adrien never insulted anyone by going easy on them. It was one of the reasons she liked him so much.

Case in point, Nino was Adrien's best friend. He was barely keeping out of Adrien's paws but Adrien didn't let up.

Kagami stared at the reflection in her cup, thinking about her friends. Marinette liked to think she thought things through more than others. This was inaccurate. She was simply annoyingly good at thinking on her feet. While Kagami was arguably the better combatant, Marinette was invariably the best strategist.

And Nino kept his wits about him when even Marinette had trouble finding hers. As demonstrated by the momentary shift into his large turtle form to rebound Adrien from his magically reinforced shell before scampering off again.

Adrien, when he bothered to use it, had more forethought than any of them. However, his intelligence was usually overshadowed by his impulsiveness. Something Kagami also needed to work on. But his instinctive talent with people was second to none. Kagami often thought that if he had been a love god no one could stand against him.

There was a flash as Adrien shattered Nino's magical shield... Not that standing against him now was an easy task.

He was a contradiction. Adrien the Destroyer. Adrien the Merciful. Countless mortals would never know that he had chosen to spare them judgment where other destroyers did not hesitate.

Kagami... understood what it was like to have a complex relationship between mortals and her sacred duty. Every piece of himself Adrien shared with her gave her a clearer picture of who he is.

Marinette by contrast was more confusing. She couldn't not imagine every possible consequence to a given scenario. It wasn't in her nature. Yet, whenever her friends were involved she plunged in headfirst without bothering to check for rocks beneath the surface. Kagami enjoyed teasing her about that for the next few decades.

Creation goddesses were never satisfied. Even a 'finished work' was merely a stepping stone to something greater. As such, they tended to deliberate. Destroyers were the ax that cut off the infected branch to save the tree. A task that appeared deceptively straightforward on the outside.

Much like Adrien's fighting style. He didn't let up. Didn't give his opponent room to breathe, time to think. A development no doubt spurred by his many sparring sessions with Marinette and, Kagami was pleased to note, integrating part of her own fighting style.

Despite the generally fickle nature of other weather gods' Kagami always knew what she wanted in a way her friends and now partner didn't. Weather had patterns, rules, seasons. In spite of her disregard for the council (and love for an embodiment of chaos) Kagami valued order.

Maybe that was why she was so drawn to them. They broke the rules in different ways. Marinette regarded rules more as polite suggestions. Taking whatever steps she thought necessary in any given situation. Adrien followed all he believed to be fair (another contradiction). If a rule protected someone he would defend it utterly and break it as casually as shifting if someone was harmed by it.

Kagami fell somewhere in the middle. Dragons were creatures of order. Yet here she was, disobeying the council on her way to break a curse that was most definitely deserved when it was cast.

Adrien landing back on the hexagon with his arms locked around Nino's head was a welcome distraction. Kagami had no desire to go over her Mother's lessons on Celestial Law at the moment.

"We talked about this, Nino," Adrien chastised. "What did we say about enabling love goddesses?"

"Can we call it something else?" Nino squirmed in Adrien's unyielding hold. Unsuccessfully trying to push his head out.

"No," Kagami stated simply.

"Aw, c'mon gods! You know things usually work out!" Nino was referring to Marinette and Alya's meddling.

"Marinette already thinks she's smarter than everyone. I won't have Alya thinking it too." They'd be insufferable together (more than usual) and Kagami could not allow that. Her dignity took enough hits as it is.

Twisting his head at an angle to get a better look at her, Nino pointed out. "Marinette is smarter than everyone."

Adrien nodded appreciatively. "He's got a point, love."

"All the more reason!" Kagami knew, intellectually, that she was being silly. But... it'd been a long time since she got the opportunity. "What did we say about enabling love goddesses?" she repeated Adrien's words.

Nino sighed. "To, not to."

Adrien released him after playfully rubbing his hair. "It's for their own good," Adrien reminded him.

"I don't see why-"

"Your tea's getting cold." Kagami pointed at the barely steaming cup.

"Nooooooo!" Rushing forward, Nino quickly downed it before it could cool any further.

Adrien mimicked his best friend but his tea was still quite hot.

Smirking at him, Kagami answered Nino's unfinished question. "I like my privacy."

"It's true. My Ryuko values her alone time." Adrien sighed contentedly as he drank a protector's tea.

Kagami arched an eyebrow the way Adrien had taught her. "Your Ryuko?"

Tilting his head, Kagami could've sworn Adrien shifted for a second. "Am I not your cat?"

Trying to hide her blooming blush, Kagami brought her cup up and subtly lengthened the sleeves of her kimono.

That didn't stop Adrien from purring. Obviously taking her reaction as affirmation. He laid his hand between them and Kagami wrapped her fingers around his.

"Love you, Ryuko," Adrien stated simply, sincerely. For no other reason than because he wished to say it.

"And I love you." In the back of her mind Kagami decided he was far too good at making her blush. The scales had to be balanced... later.

"And Alya thought they needed a push," Nino mumbled to himself, refilling his cup.

Unbothered by the great winds of the upper sky, the three gods flew towards the setting sun. Speaking of events millennia past throughout the night. Their destination illuminated by the dawn.

---------------

@kagamiappreciationweek2020 Super late!

#kagami tsurugi #adrien agreste #nino lahiffe #adrigami #adrimi #ml fanfic #kagami appreciation week

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asrasotherbottom · 5 years

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I really enjoyed the last ask so I'm gonna ask for one more with a familiar if you dont mind. What if MC had a small group of Lionesses (2 or 3) as her familiars. They follow them everywhere. How would the main 6 react?

these are so much fun! im glad you enjoyed the last one too :)

Asra

“Aw thats…so many large animals. But thats okay!”

The biggest problems that arise, from Asra’s perspective, are that its hard to keep them all on the beast on the way to Nopal and the shop gets a little crowded.

He loves curling up with MC in a nest of lionesses because theyre all so soft and he can just cuddle MC and stay warm.

Faust loves riding on top of one of them and walking through town with them like a girl gang.

Nadia

She thinks they’re so fancy! She does have a lot of questions to make sure that they’re being taken care of properly.

Nadia relates to the lionesses a lot, powerful and strong and beautiful, yknow. So she spends a lot of time with them.

The horses get VERY concerned when MC and Nadia start taking them along on their horseback rides.

The poor chamberlain doesn’t get paid enough to have lions and peacocks roaming about the palace.

Julian

LIONS???

You know they can eat people right??? And theyre magic???

But as soon as one lets him pet her behind the ears he’s all putty in their paws tbh.

He gets very smug and loves feeling very powerful walking through the streets of Vesuvia with the love of his life and her multiple large lionesses.

The rowdy raven is NOT big enough for this but they make due.

Muriel

John Mulaney voice: This Might As Well Happen

He’s…going to need a bigger hut. But for the moment, he and MC will take the floor and Inanna and the lionesses can have the bed.

He likes having them around though, they make him feel less Too Big because they’re more proportionate to him.

Inanna is confused but interested. They’re her wives now. Her big buff warm climate wives.

Portia

LIONS?????

Big Kitty Cat Big Kitty Cat Big Kitty Cat Big Kitty Cat Big Kitty Cat this is the best day of Portias life as far as she’s concerned.

Shes so excited she can barely contain herself and just wants to lay around with them and give them belly rubs literally all day every day.

Pepi is super intimidated by them at first, but Portia is INSISTENT that they become best friends (they do..eventually)

Lucio

Regal, Beautiful, Powerful, Perfect. He commends MC’s choice in familiar, they’re very fitting for how he sees her.

He doesn’t even question it, he just braces himself for impact when two or three fully grown lions plop themselves down on top of him.

He finds some way to put gold on them, golden crowns for the queens of the jungle?? Very Likely

M&M are a bad influence on them. They’re both not very trained pets and they both encourage MC’s lionesses to get into lots of mischief with their very sharp teeth.

#honey-ember #main 6 #asra #nadia #julian #lucio #portia #muriel #mine

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dachi-chan25 · 5 years

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GoT Season 8 Episode 1: The Pointy End Recap

Gods I am back on my bullshit but I can't help it 'cause I had too many thoughts about yesterday's episodes.

Disclaimer: So if you know me or my blog you know I don't root for D Targy (I write it like this cuz i don't want this post to pop up in her tag) and that she sometimes annoys the crap out of me, also i don't root for her bland ass romance or anything magical lizard related. I support House Stark 100% so ofc I believe in Pol!Jon (and more over I am a Jonsa shipper so ofc Imma write about that) and if you don't agree or don't feel confortable with any of those things this Recap is not for you (if you come here to troll I'll just ignore you anyway so don't waste your time and energy like that)

With that said let's begin!

-The episode starts with a young boy running to meet the Queen's entourage, we already see a lot of peasants and common folk gathered there, Arya sees the boy and smiles fondly (she is totally reminiscing when she did the same when King Bobby B visited WF) This shots made me feel very nostalgic as they parallel very closely S1.

Another parallel that it's included here is Jon and D arriving all regal couple like, I was just remembering about Bobby B and Cersei, and things are already on a visual side not working for them (d looks totally out of place with that flashy awkward coat, I mean the color, the cut, the red details, all of it makes her stand out like a sore thumb. On a visual level alone she does not belong there). The music is also worth noting, it starts off on a very ominious tone and then gets some heroic B bright undertones as Dr and Jon ride closer to he camera, but again falls into an ominious conqueror-villian entrance song.

The perspective shifts to Arya watching Jon and D riding (she doesn't seem happy to see D she kind of looks confused) but smiles when she sees Jon, we also see The Hound (Arya looks really confused, cuz she probably thought he was dead) and Gendry (she gives the cutest smiles ever,and yassssss Gendyra lives!!) riding behind them.

We get Varys and Tyrion riding in a carriage of sorts, and an unnecesary enuch joke *sigh* even Varys calls out Tyrion for it, and he is like idgaf cuz i got ballzzzz!! (Classy dude)

The common folk is not diggin this dragon kween business and obviously don't cheer or grovel at d's feet, she is very upset at this and Jon is like "I told you so", then the dragons approach and the people are terrified, they scream and run, worst of all D smiles and seems so smug (fuuuck her a thousand times, this proves she doesn't give a fuck about poor people unless they adore her, and that fear is just as well for her as respect, cuz this bitch is just like Cersei but dumber) and we don't really get to see Jon's reaction but come the fuck on!! This people Jon knows, some of them he has seen since he was a little boy, these are the people he is trying hard to protect and you think he is not gonna care for them just cuz d is pwetty?? Nah dude, he knows she cares about being worshipped (I meaaaan her long ass list of titles) but he thinks she is mostly harmless (may i remind you he still doesn't know about the TARLYS)

The camera follows the dragons and we see Sansa looking at them with worry (my poor girl, that's the adecuate reaction when you see monsters terrifying your people)

K, now we are seeing Jon in the courtyard, he sees Bran and immediately runs to him (you can clearly see Jorah helping D dismount in the background and that's hillarious cuz 2 seconds in WF and he is already leaving her ass behind in favor of his family), we even get a forhead kiss and Jon is pretty emotional at seeing his baby brother all grown up (tbh i find Bran's deadpan deliveries so funny, Jon looks confused af) he sees SANSA and biiiitch (I wanted to screenshot his face but I just gave up cuz it's very quick) the softness of his stare, the parted mouth, the way he just dives into her arms (Sansa stares at D while they hug like bih fuck off he is ours) . I want to address something real quick, yeah it was a shorter hug than we expected, but not less emotional ( Sansa was smiling and the look on Jon's face when he saw her) still it was 10000x times better than any Aegony scene because the affection is mutual Jon goes straight for a hug and Sansa opens her arms as opposed as Aegony scenes that rely heavily on D. Also I think this hug was shorter (and we see Jon pulling apart first) cuz d is watching, not only that but a lot of people are and i do think this season until the parentage reveal is out in the open they will be trying to keep their distances cuz they have feelings siblings are not supposed to have.

Jon asks for Arya, and Sansa says she is lurking somewhere with a smile (this reminded me of Cat asking about Arya on ep 1) and D approaches with the most forced smile ever, Jon introduces Sansa with her proper title first and then is like she is the kween D Targy forsaking all her thousand titles thank god. Also the first thing Jon says is that Sansa is his sister which I'll talk about later. So D tries (and fails) to be charming, saying how beautiful WF and the North (she says it's as beautiful as Jon said) and compares Sansa's beauty to it which had me wondering stuff.

A) so we never get Jon and D talking about Jon's siblings (another aegony is doomed moment) but he does mention briefly Arya and Bran cuz he thought they were dead, but Sansa??? Unless a thrid party brought her up he never talked about her which leads me to think D had no idea about Sansa being Jon's sister and that is why he breaks the hug and introduces he as his sister frist of all.

B) By talking about Sansa's beauty and how Jon talked about it, it implies they did talk about Sansa and that Jon said she was beautiful ??? Cuz that's the way D made it sound xdddd.

Ofc i think the A to be more like lyrics cuz Jon is playing his cards very close to his chest, but I thought it was funny.

Sansa brushes her of and delivers the WF is yours your Grace bs. Duuuude she is not even trying to be charming (she is corteous enough but barely) like she would have played the modest naive Maiden and said "not as beautiful as you, your grace" (bihhh d would have loved this shit) nor even a gracious thank you. And i wonder whyyy?? As far as she knows she is an ally, and yeah she doesn't trust her damn she doesn't even like her but that hasn't stopped her before like damn she was all charm when she met Roose and Ramsey for the 1st time and she hated them!!!! What I think is happening is that LF'S words are still in her mind about Jon marrying D, and Jon separated too quickly from their hug, and now he is standing beside this woman calling her queen, and yeah I see the jealousy maybe she doesn't know why fully maybe she is just starting to realize her feelings and is all projecting them onto the he betrayed the north's trust but I do feel it goes beyond that and it shows.

Bran interrupts before things get uglier with D and Sansa, with news about the wall, D looks shocked (bet she thought she was the only one who could control dragons) Jon looks like he is about to have a pánico attack.

They have a meeting with the northern Lords in the Great Hall (it is very curious that Jon is seated between d and Sansa, when befitting her new title D should be in the middle, D&D are driving this love triangle home) but from the get go we see that Sansa is the one running stuff and doing everything a queen should, she asks Ned Umbr about his people, he says they need more wagons and horses (I am sideeyeing D so hard at this moment) Sansa bids him to go to Last Hearth and bring as many ppl as he can.

Lyanna Mormont then proceeds to rip Jon a new one (but Lyanna like everyone else isn't really getting the full picture) and Jon looks at Sansa for support (like curious, as Lyanna is talking about D and she is his lady love and stuff you'd think he would look at her to gather strenght or resolution for what he is about to say but nope) but she is like 'dude you deserve it' and I would say she is right but like wasn't Sansa defending him to everyone that would listen last season ??? She literally said she respects Jon's desicions, nah this is her jealousy this is a go on prove me wrong, talk, give them (and me) and explanation of why u betrayed our trust for her. And Jon does look crushed when he sees he is not getting any support from her cuz if pol!Jon is right he did it! He listened to her, he was smarter than father and Robb, he brought an army home, and Sansa the one he did all this for still won't trust him that the North is his heart and home and he would do anything to keep it safe (like still pretty fucking unfair he wants sansa's blind faith without giving her anything in return but I get where he is coming from) and if pol!Jon is not real then they really destroyed Jon's character in favor of the blandest romance ever and I can't get behind that way of thinking because before I even shipped Jonsa I was a fan of both Jon Snow and Sansa Stark and I believe and support them both.

Honestly my boy doesn't even try to sell D, he is just like we need allies!! Tyrion just about gives up cuz he thinks Jon is a bumbling fool with no idea of how the game is played (lmaooo) and tries to sell D plus the idea that Cersei is sending them the Lannister army (I think is very important jon didn't mention this and I will go on about it later) Sansa is just about fed up with this bs, and asks a real important question about how da fuck is she supposed to feed this big ass army plus 3 dragons that she didn't account for and she doesn't have any obligation towards, like that's d's job, even worse d's haughty response (you can see Jon doesn't like this one bit) like honestly I had never felt more annoyed by d she is already a villian threatening Sansa in her own home for daring to care more about her people than about d's lizards, and i don't know how people are ok with that, like dude y'all are entitled to your own opinión and to loving your faves, but this shit was awfull.

We see carts of dragonglass in the courtyard, Gendry is giving instructions and Lord Royce is just leaving Sansa looking at all this activity when Tyrion approaches Sansa.

This is already to long and I have much to say about the Tyrion-Sansa convo, so let's go on in part 2!!

#jonsa #got 8 recaps #episode 1 #part 1 #dachi rants #dachi rambles #anti daenerys targaryen #anti aegony #anti targaryen

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sidhewrites · 4 years

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Chapter 2a. Previous Installment found here, summary page found here. Approx. 1450 words. As always, feel free to send Asks or Messages about what’s written or anything you’re curious about.

Trigger warnings for minor animal body horror.

Noski snored gently, oversized ears twitching. Most likely dreaming of catching mice, or swallows, or whatever it was that useless cats dreamt of. Zorya would be tempted to wake him, if it didn’t mean he’d then be chasing after the loose threads and strings hanging from her coat.

Evening was getting on. By six, most of the witches had completed registration, all lined up single file in the main hall. Tradition stated that the proper examination was to begin at dusk -- approximately seven in the evening at this time of year. But the sun was long since set, nearing eight. The Lesser Witches knew not to break formation or chatter. It simply had to be another test, simple as that. Patience and endurance were necessary for any walk of life, not just magic, and Zorya wasn’t about to shame herself by walking out now.

She ran a hand through his short black fur for luck. He stirred just long enough to let out a low, rasping purr, and go back to sleep.

One of the dogs barked.

A bird relieved itself on its witch’s shoulder.

The candles in the hall flickered, dripping wax onto the floor.

They weren’t to break formation unless dismissed, though Zorya could see a man hesitate, glancing at the mess. A cleaning witch, no doubt.

As the sun set lower in the sky, the Lesser Witches all began growing impatient, some whispering to each other in confusion and concern. The exam was meant to begin when the evening star first appeared in the sky, and end as the sun dipped below the horizon. Even the attendants at the door seemed unsure of what to do.

Finally, finally, the massive wooden doors slid open, letting golden light spill in from the rooms beyond. All eyes lit up with anticipation as a backlit silhouette walked into the room -- but it was smaller than the Grand Magician ought to have been. More feminine. And there was neither hat nor coat nor shimmering golden brooch that denoted the Grand Magician’s status.

A woman walked in, with heels clacking on the marble floor. She dressed plainly, though a purple collar stood out against her white blouse. An attendant to the Magician. A messenger.

She moved to the dais in the front of the hall and cleared her throat, hands clasped behind her back. “The Grand Magician sends his regrets. The exam shall reconvene tomorrow.”

The attendant nodded, walked back down the length of the hall, and left.

Zorya fled before the uproar began. Seven years since the last exam, and they were asking the witches to wait one more day? The indignance was palpable, even as she slipped out the door and slipped into the alleyways of Moscow.

Gas lamps lit the cobblestone streets, casting a warm glow over the late summer chill. The train station wasn’t far from the hall, at least, and Zorya’s room was one of many provided for the workers. She took shortcuts, back alleys mostly, allowing her to cut corners and stay out of sight, should any visitor decide to strike up a conversation. Of course Zorya knew where the best bars and dance halls were. But so did every other young woman in the city with half an interest in vodka and jazz.

Zorya found herself almost hoping to run into trouble just to blow off some steam. The long wait had frustrated her just as much as the other Lesser Witches, whether she wanted to admit it or not, and her hands itched to be put to use. But she knew better than to seek it out herself, especially with how little time she had before work.

Ever since they started using trains on the regular a few decades back, the station’s windows and ceilings had suffered for it. And it wouldn’t do to accept visitors in a blackened train station like they did in smaller cities. And nothing was better for a soot problem than a sootwitch.

Zorya pulled her dark hair free from the elaborate, traditional magician’s braid as she walked, tying it back into something far more practical. It was all senseless waves and curls, impossible to deal with, and made her sallow, freckled skin look all the paler. The movements jostled Noski awake, and he stirred with a sleepy, rasping meow.

“Oh, good,” she said, shrugging her shoulders and shuffling him about more. “You’re finally awake.”

He grumbled at the shaking, and hopped to the ground indignantly, letting out a long and dissatisfied meow. It was as unpleasant sounding as he was unpleasant looking -- more like a goblin out of a story than a cat, truth told, with his too-long face and too-long legs and many snaggled teeth. His fur was black as Zorya’s hair, short and sleek save for his white paws -- thus earning him the name Noski. Socks.

“You’re complaining?” Zorya braced her hands on her hips, scowling as the cat stretched with a long, loud yawn. “Shut up. Maybe if you bit the doctor instead of just making me look like I dragged some stray cat out of the gutter, we wouldn’t have even had to wait.”

Noski paid her little mind. He looked around the narrow alleyway, ears swiveling in search of any stray footsteps. There were no onlookers, no windows, no chance of being seen. So he stepped forward, out of the shape of a cat and into the shape that had earned him his title. Nezhit. Undead.

He was solid as smoke now, long and thin, something that Was Not and Had Never Been a cat. Almost humanoid, though he was dark as night, save for his bone-white hands and feet, each with too many long fingers and toes. He tilted its cat-skull head down at her, curling its two rope-like tails in curiosity. His pale eyes blinked open out of the darkness, all six turning and rotating in the air around the skull until they found focus on Zorya’s face.

“Good morning.” His voice was nothing more than the whisper of wind through a narrow alleyway, footsteps scuffing on cobbled roads.

“It’s dusk.”

“Hm.” Noski’s eyes glanced upwards while he turned his head this way and that. “Lovely moon tonight. Crescent. Excellent for wyrdwork. You should go home.”

“You should have just bitten the doctor if you wanted me in bed before dark.”

“Oh, now there’s an idea.”

“Thank you, by the way, for making me look like some filthy street rat who dug my familiar out of the gutter.”

“They’d take me away if they knew the truth of me.”

“It’s times like that where I almost wish they did.”

Noski wound his neck once, twice, and half over again until his head was upside down, eyes cast downwards, save for two that were looking her way. Pouting. ”I think only of your safety, little Kotyonoka. Speaking of which...” Two of his eyes rolled upwards, though his head remained still. The moon reflected against them almost as brightly as if they were a mirror. “The moon, my dear.” His final eye focussed back on Zorya, floating in place.

It was almost enough to make her forgive him for earlier. Almost. Noski spoke the truth — he did care for her above all else. She wouldn’t have survived her childhood without him, much less the war. It was enough, at least, to make her half-sympathetic to his worries, and put a reassuring hand on his too-thin arm. “There’s less than five wyrdwitches in Moscow, Noskenkya. I’m not going to run into one tonight.”

“Most witches listen when their familiars have a bad feeling in their gut.” He righted his head, stepping forward and into the shape of a cat once more.

Her sympathy fled the second he looked at with that smug, feline face of his, and scoffed. “Most familiars actually have guts. And they don’t talk.” Or metamorphose. Or live centuries past their original witch. They were to serve as an anchor to the mundane, a tether to keep their mind in their heads, instead of casting it out alongside the spell. They also tended to look rather more regal as well.

Noski looked more like a goblin out of a story than a cat, truth told, with his too-long face and too-long legs. His fur was black as Zorya’s hair, short and sleek save for his white paws -- thus earning him the name Noski, and his true form had earned him the title Nezhit. Socks the Undead, more or less. She’d always giggled at his name as a child, ruining any intimidating mystique he might have once held for her.

Noski hopped onto her shoulder with a meow, then off once more, stalking around the alleyway in search of something to eat. Zorya sometimes wondered if he even was her familiar -- or if, perhaps, she and her father before her had always been his.

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#writeblr #nanowrimo #writing #wip #historical fantasy #wyrdwitch #wyrdwitch chapter #wyrdwitch chapter 2

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fandom-collective-writers · 6 years

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Halloween Prompt

Prompt: #21 (“Oh my gaud, I think the crystal ball is working. The spirits are telling me you’re a dumbass.”)

Pairing: None?

Warnings: None (for once)

Author: @sleepyfoxspirit

Alice had brought Halloween to Cradle. She had insisted on throwing a party for both armies and had thrown herself into the preparations the second the two kings had agreed. After explaining what she wanted, both armies set to work on creating costumes, decorations, and food for the event that would start when the sun went down on Halloween. Her excitement was infectious and the armies found themselves enjoying the idea of it more and more as the party drew near.

The night of the party, the Red Army officers entered the Central Quarter in their costumes to find that most of the Black Army officers had already arrived. Luka was arranging food on an overflowing buffet table, clad head to toe in orange with a green stem for a hat, orange and black makeup converting his soft features into those of a grinning jack-o’-lantern. (Jonah squeaked something about how adorable his precious little brother was at the sight.) Seth stood at the top of a ladder, arranging the last of the lights, resplendent in opalescent white, his hair loose down his back and a pearly spiraling horn strapped to his brow. Sirius, dressed as a wolf with ears, paws, and a bushy tail, appeared exasperated already as he watched Ray (dressed in cat ears, paws, and a long tail) and Fenrir (covered in bandages that trailed behind him) chase Alice (wearing a Black Army uniform that looked suspiciously like Ray’s) around the fountain.

Blanc sat nearby, wearing a pair of long white rabbit ears, a pale blue bowtie at his throat, and an elegant white suit, watching the goings on with amusement. Oliver stood beside him, tall and dark in a cape that swallowed the light around him, his usual green silk hat exchanged for black. Alice attempted to hide behind him and he curled his lip in irritation to reveal a pair of fangs. He sighed and tugged his cloak away from her when she tried to hide under it and Fenrir grabbed her around the waist, lifting her up and throwing her over his shoulder with a whoop, running back over to the fountain with Ray racing behind him. Sirius buried his head in his paws, defeated.

The Red Army officers exchanged looks. They didn’t often get to see the antics of their darker counterpart, but when they did it was always an interesting sight to be sure.

Kyle, wearing his usual lab coat with the stethoscope slung around his neck ambled over to the buffet table and immediately found the beer. Lancelot moved with the same grace he always did despite the thick golden mane, ears, and the golden crown on his head. His usual cloak flowed behind him as he took a seat beside Sirius, who immediately handed him a beer. A tall man wearing a shimmering black cloak and a matching floppy hat sat on Sirius’s other side and after him bounded Loki wearing a patchwork cat ghost costume and he immediately began chasing after Fenrir, Ray, and Alice (who had somehow managed to escape Fenrir’s arms and was running away again). Jonah (a knight in perfectly polished armor) attempted to visit the buffet table but was immediately glared at by Luka - who really couldn’t look threatening when dressed as a pumpkin but he was trying - and so he backpedaled and sat near Lancelot instead.

Edgar somehow managed to look regal despite his duck costume modeled after the Creeks, although the effect was rather ruined the moment he started walking and had to resort to waddling because of the costume. Zero rolled his eyes and shifted the crystal ball in his hands. Dressed in black slacks and a black vest over a brilliant crimson shirt, a colorful silk scarf tied around his neck, and a magic crystal hanging from each ear, he was regretting the prop he now had to carry around. It was simple glass but it was large enough to be rather heavy after carrying it through Cradle. Resigned to his fate, he followed after Edgar and then veered away as soon as he realized that the Jack of Hearts was already raiding the sweets part of the buffet.

Kyle lifted his beer in salute, having already scowled at Edgar and been ignored for his troubles. Alice finally managed to escape Ray, Fenrir, and Loki and frowned at Kyle. “Why are you wearing your uniform?”

“I’m a doctor.” He sounded entirely too smug saying this and it only made her frown deeper.

“I guess…” She tilted her head and then stepped closer, fingers deftly undoing several more buttons on his shirt, tugged the hem out of his pants and undid two of the bottom ones, too. She stepped back and eyed him critically, not seeming to notice the crimson blush that colored Kyle’s cheeks. Seemingly satisfied, she nodded and gave him a brilliant smile. “There! In London, if you’re going to dress the part of a doctor you have to be a sexy doctor. That should do it.”

Kyle swallowed thickly, staring after her as she walked away, completely oblivious to his gobsmacked expression. It took Edgar placing a candy in his open mouth for him to finally snap out of it and bring the beer back to his lips, finishing the bottle in one go. He didn’t seem to notice the candy until he had already swallowed it and then he spluttered, spewing beer on the cobblestones and a bit on Edgar’s costume, much to his irritation. Edgar brushed away the beer with a wing, a look of disgust on his face. “How rude.”

“Did she call me sexy?”

Apparently Kyle hadn’t gotten over it yet. Edgar picked up another candy, eyeing it critically before popping it into his mouth with a satisfied hum. “She never said that. Just that your costume was of a sexy doctor.”

“She was stripping him,” Zero said and fought back a laugh when Kyle’s face turned as red as his hair again.

A sharp gasp sounded behind them and Zero turned to see Alice running up again, petting Edgar’s wing with stars in her eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t notice before, but this is so cute!”

Edgar preened under her scrutiny, holding up an arm for her to pet more of the feathers. She grinned at him and grabbed a handful of candy before skipping away again, almost immediately caught up in the arms of Loki who pulled her into a wild dance that consisted of spinning in circles. They were soon joined by Fenrir and Ray and then the four of them were spinning in a riot of laughter, Alice being passed from one to another.

“She said I was cute!”

Zero rolled his eyes at Edgar and smoothed a hand over the smooth glass of the crystal ball, looking into the glittery depths, and intoned, “I think the crystal ball is working. The spirits are telling me you’re a dumbass.”

Kyle burst into a fit of drunken laughter, having finished a second bottle of beer in an effort to hide his embarrassment, and Edgar sighed. “You’re so rude to me.”

Zero passed his hand over the crystal ball again, barely containing a smirk. “The spirits speak only the truth, and the truth cannot be rude.”

#ikemen discord writers #sleepyfoxspirit #halloween weekly prompt 1 #ikemen revolution #red army #black army

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d-uyen · 7 years

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38!!!

Post | Not accepting!

“You fainted…straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes.”

Heat surrounds the landscape long after the flames have subsided, called back to Sasuke and retreating like he can absorb the fire. There’s still a crackling in his fingertips, his blood hot and muscles coiled tight, too tight. It’s hard for him to control his magic; it’s too reckless, too destructive, and too ravenous. Fire is dangerous and uncontrollable, it’s not to be leashed, but to be allied with, and that is the talent and grace of a fire mage. Fire magic is one of the rarest gifts a mage is blessed with, children born with an affinity for it are few and far between. It is also one of the deadliest, second only to electricity. While it is powerful and serves its wielder well, it takes its toll, and the price is hefty.

Sucking in a breath, Sasuke can taste ash at the back of his throat, as if the fire still burns inside him. The smoke inside seems to make its way to his head, fogging his mind and making everything around him morph into fuzzy fields of greens, blues, and browns. Through the haze he can hear a distant shout, then orange blurs into his swimming vision. “That was cool as hell! I didn’t know you could do that, I’ve never seen fire magic up close before!” the shouting has lowered into a somewhat less jarring exclamation as the voice continues babbling, but Sasuke’s ears stop keeping up. Everything in him is shutting down, having fed so much of his energy into his magic. Fire magic, like fire does in nature, consumes near everything it can. With its mage, it takes all of what they can give, and then it steals a little more. Sasuke has put too much of himself into this battle, too much of himself into his magic, but he didn’t have time to worry about it. He didn’t.

Sasuke can feel his senses shutting down, one by one, and he sways on his feet when it all snaps into sudden darkness. It lasts all of a few seconds, hardly enough time to be worth the embarrassment, before Sasuke’s consciousness claws back to the surface. He expects to wake up with his body sore and his mouth full of dirt. Pleasantly, (or not, he isn’t sure) he finds himself still relatively upright, his cheek cushioned by softness, and his body supported by a strong…something. Startled, Sasuke rights himself, still unsteady. Everything is slightly less blurry now, including the very surprised, wide blue eyes he’s faced with. Distantly, he remembers Naruto had been talking, but Sasuke can’t remember what happened after. “What—what happened?” Sasuke asks, everything in him throbbing, and the confusion isn’t helping. His partner, though it had been quite a reluctant partnership at first, grins broadly. It doesn’t help Sasuke at all.

“You fainted…straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn’t have to go to such extremes.” Naruto chuckles, winking at Sasuke with all the smug mischief of a thieving dragon-cat. “I thought elves were more, yanno, conservative about that.” That makes red bloom onto Sasuke’s face. He stumbles away from the annoying warrior, hoping he looks more composed than he feels. Sasuke needs to rest, to let his body heal, but that’s unfathomable to him. He wants to keep going, there might be more enemies stationed nearby.

“Get off me,” he mutters, lacking the commanding regality his kind is so known for. “We need to move, there may be more danger.” Sasuke brings a hand to his forehead as he talks, painfully aware with every word of how dry his throat is. Ahead of him, he can hear Naruto snort. He doesn’t look up, not until he feels the strong hands that were just holding him up wrap around his waist. Sasuke starts to pull his hand away and demand Naruto do as he’s told for once, only to let out an undignified sound as he gets hefted up off the ground. The entire world shifts and Sasuke’s stomach drops as Naruto lifts him with all the ease of a sack of flower. What do they feed their men in that village? “Unhand me, you animal!” Sasuke snaps, entirely too worn to put up a real fight.

Naruto scoffs, blowing air against one of Sasuke’s pointed ears and watching it twitch. “Fat chance,” the blond says, “you’re practically dead on your feet! I’ll find us a haven for the night, you need to rest.”

Sasuke started off this war leaving home to protect his kingdom, how did he end up with someone protecting him?

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ralphspina-blog1 · 7 years

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Sappy Line Prompt: #16

16: Why haven’t you kissed me yet?

ACES I HOPE THIS IS OKAY! i remember once you said you’d enjoy guarnere/toye as much as luztoye (or maybe not as much, but very much indeed,) and that’s what came to me first. it’s post-bastogne, set in the hospital, and does work its way around to fluffy i s2g. also behind a cut for frank speculation on sobel’s love life.

The thought occurs to Bill when they’ve just finished chasing a nurse they would likely call Ratched, had they George Luz’s encyclopaedic pop culture knowledge and two more decades of film magic under their belts, right out of the hospital and onto one of the wooden picnic tables like a cornered housewife shrieking at a mouse. Everyone at the hospital has a nickname for these two wild men: alone they may still be Bill and Joe, but together they’re always Hell on Wheels, or the Speed Demons, or, as one young doctor has so cleverly coined, the Curra-hell-raisers. Neither of them really knows how they get away with quite so much, but Bill suspects that most of the staff are just relieved to see such badly wounded soldiers still in the highest of spirits.

Lately Joe’s been down in the mouth, though, and Bill knows that’s because he’s started more intensive physical therapy and training with a prosthetic. No amount of progress could ever go quickly enough for Joe Toye, not when he sees himself as having been hobbled, rendered nearly useless and yet left alive with that blindingly intense flame still burning in his spirit; he won’t lose determination, at least not where anyone can see it, but his frustration’s getting bad enough to be a concern all its own.

“Well, I would hate to see how you two treat your enemies, I have to say,” Nurse Prissypants declares with such regal disdain that both Bill and Joe immediately burst out laughing. “We’re all here to help you.”

“Lady,” Joe chokes out between peals of laughter, “we came here from the war, how do you think we treat our fuckin’ enemies? Treein’ you like a cat is fun, not payback.”

“An’ I don’t think lookin’ down on us counts so much when you’re - excellent turn of phrase by the way, Joe - treed like a cat,” Bill adds with a smug smirk.

But look down on them she does, shaking her head with weary disappointment. “I suppose some people really will take any excuse to shirk their duties as productive members of society. We could have you both walking by now, if only -”

“Hey, shut your fuckin’ trap,” Joe snarls, and Bill knows there’s no more fun to be found here; as much as he wants to snap at the bitch that this hospital could also have them bed-ridden and staring at the blank white walls with miserable, near-suicidal hopelessness if each didn’t have the other to keep him entertained and sane, she won’t understand. She’s a rules type, and only rules matter, to hell with morale.

“It’s like we got Sobel’s fuckin’ sister breathin’ down our necks, ain’t it?” Bill mutters as they wheel back toward their shared room, hoping to whip up some levity in shared animosity if nothing else will work. At first he thinks even that’s a loss, but then Joe turns to look at him with a wicked smile and an even wickeder gleam in his eyes.

“Sobel’s wife,” he says darkly, and Bill lets out an agonized groan at the idea of either of them consummating, never mind together. “And he only fucks in quick time. Takes a cool half a minute for him to get from at attention to at ease.”

“Joe, I ain’t doin’ this, that is too far -”

“And you know what he says when he blows his load -”

“JOE, I SWEAR TO FUCKIN’ GOD -”

But they both end up hollering “Hi-o, Silver!” in perfect unison despite Bill’s protests, and the laughter carries them all the way to their room. All they need to do is exchange a glance for each to know the other doesn’t want to be back in bed with their stump up in a sling yet, so they pull their chairs up to the little window instead, looking out on the hospital’s austere grounds.

After a long silence, not exactly uncomfortable but Bill does feel an odd charge in the air around it, Joe suddenly blurts out a question that makes Bill’s whole world turn upside down: “Hey, Bill. Why haven’t you kissed me yet?”

Bill cranes his head around to stare at Joe, wild-eyed, searching for the trigger on this strange, utterly inexplicable trap. Why would Joe bait him like this? If he really does know something and hasn’t blown his lid over it yet, that must mean he’s as invested in keeping it quiet enough not to drown out their all-important friendship as Bill has always been. Antagonizing him now, calling him out, makes no sense.

“I just mean,” Joe continues, and Bill is just able to make out the words over the roar of his pulse in his ears, “I always thought you were gonna. Sometime. And it’s not like we got fuck all else to look forward to around here, so why not start now?”

Bill’s mouth drops open in disbelief, the entire inside suddenly dry as sandpaper. “You really talkin’ about this like we oughta take it up as a fuckin’ hobby or did they slip somethin’ extra in my OJ this morning that’s got me hearin’ things? This is how you open the discussion?”

What he means by that is: are you really telling me you want me so casually when this thing’s been living behind my ribcage and nibbling on the bones from the day I met you? When my heart could’ve burst free and destroyed everything at any moment, or I could simply have imploded when they gave way?

“Forget it,” Joe says in a tone that leaves Bill 100% certain he’s misunderstood, and sure enough, he follows up with: “I know I’m not all the man I used to be, but -”

“Oh, don’t you fuckin’ pull that with me. I got the same amount of leg as you, jackass, and it sounds like you still wanna suck face with me. No pity parties allowed. Hey, while we’re on this topic: if you been waitin’ so impatiently, why haven’t you kissed me yet?”

Sometimes Joe’s eyes are so big and dark that a startled expression can give him real, honest to God doe eyes, and this is one of those times.

“Christ sake, Joe, it don’t take two legs to be enough of a man to kiss somebody if you want. Come get it.”

It’s an awkward reach with both of them in their wheelchairs, each forever trying to lean in and capture more of the other’s lips, but Joe’s right about one thing: this’ll give Bill a hell of a lot more to look forward to if they keep it up. If they can tree a nurse on a picnic table like this, they can work out necking, heavy petting - the sky’s the damn limit.

Maybe the nurses’ll even get a break from Hell on Wheels from now on. At least a little one.

#fic prompt meme #guarnere/toye #aces-low #bob fic

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