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callmelittlesunshinefics · 12 hours

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Dancing On My Own (Gambit X Reader, Part One)

Alrighty folks, this was meant to be a quick fluffy one shot that keeps getting longer and more angsty and has been sitting in my drafts for entirely too long now. Still very much a WIP that will be continued this week or next, PG13 for the time being with potential to take a turn for spicy down the line :)

A/N: Some quick background, the reader (Y/N in fic, described with she/her pronouns) is based off of an OC I tend to pull out pretty frequently. Half human, half angel, displaced from their home universe and dropped into this one (in which Lucifer, the tv show, is also cannon because why not maybe do a crossover down the line?). Gambit x Reader is the main ship we're sailing towards, but there's definitely some Logan x Reader if you squint. OH and last last thing, there's a party and I'm shamelessly linking the dress I had in mind for the reader here.

gif credit :) : @counterspelling

Dropping below a read more, don't be shy, come say hi when you're done reading! :)

“‘Stay for the summer!’ they said, ‘quiet and relaxing’ they said!” You throw the words you were told back at Jubilee who looks back at you completely unfazed as you continue untangling string lights to hang in the garden.

“Honestly Y/N if you had stopped for two seconds to think about who was telling you that, you probably would’ve gone back to LA.”

She was completely right, of course. You showed up to Xavier’s school not a mutant, not fully human either, and just looking for a place on the east coast to stay. Your uncle Lucifer made a few calls, found a friend willing to host a universe-displaced nephilim, and the rest was history. You might not be a mutant, but you were a partial human with powers you couldn’t always understand, and even other angels in this universe weren’t always able to help. Charles met and understood you quicker than anyone you’ve ever encountered in this universe or the next, so when you were asked to extend your stay and take on some guardian duties over the summer you were happy enough to agree.

“Jean is the one who told you it would be relaxing, and Jean’s idea of relaxing is staying at a constant level 8 of activity.”

“How is that not like the school year?” You rolled your eyes, dropping the lights.

“Well during the school year she bounces between a 9 and 10, reserving 7s and 8s for the weekend. I can make you a diagram or something if you need it.”

“I’m going to need a lot more than that by the time we’re done here.”

“Maybe Gambit can help you with that?” Remy had sauntered over from the basketball court, at least that’s what you assumed given his current state of undress.

“Unless you’re here to help decorate, I don’t think so handsome. If Jean catches us behind schedule the phoenix might make a reappearance…” You looked around and took a deep breath, realizing that other than the lights, everything looked pretty set. There was a reasonable sized clearing in the garden and Jean had hired a company to install a temporary dance floor. Chairs and tables were scattered around picnic style, and Jubilee had done an amazing job of setting up the bar despite being the only one unable to drink, legally.

“I think it’s actually just the lights,” Jubilee nodded to the messy pile at your feet, “And I think Gambit would be more help with that than me anyway, so?”

“Go ahead,” you nodded smiling and she ran over to hug you, “And if you go to the mall, bring me back a pretzel!!!” You yelled after her knowing it was useless, she’d bring you a pretzel whether she heard you or not.

“Avoiding me, chere?” Gambit eyed you with his usual flirtatious undertone that you couldn’t make heads or tails of.

“In fact, I am. Grab that end?” You handed him the lights as he waited for an explanation, “Okay, I’m going to sit in the tree, I just need you to feed me the lights as we move. Ready?” You didn’t give him a chance to answer, disappearing and reappearing in the branch just above his head.

Gambit stared back troubled and suspicious, so you nodded and gave him the sarcastic, albeit not entirely untrue, answer he was waiting for, “Oh Remy my attraction to you is just so strong and all consuming that I had to avoid you in order to get anything done at all. Every second I can’t throw myself at you is torture. Et cetera, et cetera, please start passing me the lights so I can go inside and shower.”

He laughed and finally did as you said, “You know if you wanted ol’Gambit all you had to do was ask.”

The two of you worked in a comfortable silence passing the lights through the trees. Just as you finished wrapping the last string, your footing slipped and you let out a quick yelp before bracing yourself for a fall that never came.

“I never would have guessed angels could be so clumsy.”

“If we weren’t you’d be short of a pickup line. Tell me honestly, how many times have you asked a lady if she fell from heaven?” Remy laughed and began walking away with you still in his arms.

“Not as many as you think, chere. Are we about done out here?”

You looked around and nodded, “Finally, yes. It was a good catch by the way, but I think I can walk on my own.”

Placing you back on the ground, the two of you walked towards the mansion in another comfortable silence. Remy was probably tied with Jubilee as your closest friend in the school. You could remember the first day you arrived, how he couldn’t stop watching you. It wasn’t until later that same night, you were out in the garden and could still sense him watching you, that you decided to do something about it. You walked right up to him, introduced yourself, and asked him to kindly explain why he was staring at you like he’s seeing a ghost.

It turned out the boy who grew up being told he was a demon had a lot of mixed feelings discovering angels and demons were not only real, but one of them was living under his roof. Remy felt a bit silly admitting it to you, but he owed you an honest answer when you confronted him so directly. And when he told you what people had said about him, what he suspected his own parents must have thought of him, your heart broke. You told him stories of all the demons and monsters you’ve encountered, and reassured him that he didn’t come close to fitting the bill.

“What’s on your mind, Remy?” There was quiet and then there was Quiet. You were still pretty new, but you knew well enough when something was bothering him.

“Are you heading back?” You stopped short, and he stopped to face you.

“Back where, Rem?”

“Anywhere that’s not here.” He was facing you but he wouldn’t quite look at you, as if he didn’t actually want to hear the answer.

You took a deep breath, “The honest answer is that I don’t know. I don’t really feel like LA is where I belong, but I’m not a mutant or a gifted youngster either. I mean, I’m not even from this u-”

“Okay, okay.” Gambit interrupted you with a hug, correctly sensing an impending panic attack from you, “Gambit just worried he won’t get to see you s’all.”

You took a deep breath, sighing into the hug, “Well that’s really stupid.” He pulled back to look at you, full of confusion. “It’s really stupid because if I were going anywhere you’d be the first person I tell, and because it takes me about 5 seconds flat to get anywhere. I’d be back before you even knew I was gone.”

You smiled wistfully and he returned it, “I’d know.”

The two of you continued heading in and you finally felt brave enough to ask the question you’ve really been wanting to ask.

“Well, I have to head up and start getting ready for tonight. What about you, getting ready for your date?” Of course, you weren’t sure he actually had one, but that was as direct as you could bring yourself to be.

“Suppose I should be doing the same. Save Gambit a dance?” He kissed your hand and walked away, leaving you flustered and confused. You immediately pulled out your phone.

Y/N: okay so i said ‘gotta go get ready! what about you, getting ready for your date?’ and he said ‘suppose i should do the same’ what do we do with that??

JB: does he think you have a date??

Y/N: SHOULD i have a date???

JB: yeah, one of you should have asked the other out by now

You dropped your phone on your bed, having finally made it to your room after a flurry of texts. Complicated feelings for your maybe best friend aside, it was still important to you to be slightly better than presentable tonight.

Tonight was the first time all summer the adults of the mansion could relax and have a good time, and some non-residential mutants would also be joining the mix. You had never really been to anything so strictly social with the gang, and you didn’t take your invitation lightly.

It wasn’t exactly formal, but Jubilee was able to confirm your suspicion that it wasn’t exactly casual either. You showered, taking more time than usual to exfoliate and moisturize, trying to pamper yourself into relaxing and getting excited for the night ahead, trying to ignore Remy’s words from earlier bouncing around your head.

Two simple words that have had you in a tailspin since he said them so casually. ‘I’d know.’

The trouble maker in you wanted to test him on it, and you did a quick assessment of yourself to see if you could. Fresh out of the shower but mostly dressed, you were presentable. Should you take a quick trip overseas, hop over to France for some wine for tonight and back in a blink? You closed your eyes and heard a knock on your door just as you were about to take off.

You opened your door more suspicious than you’d care to admit, suddenly paranoid that Gambit sniffed you out, but you were met with Jubilee instead, weighed down with garment and shopping bags from the mall.

“You never answered me! I have your pretzel and you promised we’d do makeup together so-“ it was all the preamble she gave before forcing the pretzel on you and making herself at home in your room.

“I was showering! And I really thought you were going to be gone longer?”

“I just had to pick up some stuff I ordered for tonight, plus giving you and Gambit some time to flirt didn’t seem like a bad thing.”

You rolled your eyes, “We have banter, definitely, but I’m not sure I’d call it flirting. He flirts with everyone.”

“So you realize that what he does with you is different?” She turns it on you but you’ve heard it before.

“Yes, different as in he’s not interested!”

Jubilee made a sound of frustration before giving up and asking for help with contour. You dropped the subject and fell back into your usual routine, an easy friendship that reminded you more of sisters than friends. You showed up at the mansion looking for a place to stay while you visited old haunts, and you made a friend in Jubilee who was willing to venture into those places with you, even if it meant confronting ghosts.

“Lucky for you I think I found the perfect way to test his level of interest. You didn’t pick out what you’re wearing yet, did you?”

“Well yeah, I was just going to wear-” You started motioning to the dress you picked for tonight, but Jubilee was moving and cutting you off before you even finished.

“Okay so scrap that, I grabbed something for you at the mall,” she reached for one of the garment bags she had laid across your bed, “and if this doesn’t get a reaction out of him, I’m at a loss. What do you think?”

She unzipped the bag and your eyebrows flew up so fast you wondered if they were still there. It was hot pink, sequined, and most noticeably, short and backless. You reached out to touch it and couldn’t deny how beautiful it was. Sure, the pink was a lot and it showed more skin than you were strictly comfortable with, but you couldn’t deny that the striped details of the sequins were gorgeous, or that the dress would hug and accentuate your curves…dangerously.

“Now tell me what’s really going on because there’s no way you were able to afford this dress.”

Jubilee snorted, “You got me, it comes with a letter.” She handed you a small envelope you promptly opened and started reading.

‘Your young friend told me you planned to attend a party wearing some frumpy thing off a rack and that’s simply unacceptable for my niece, I have a reputation to uphold, Y/N ;) Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! Sincerely, your Fairy DevilFather (p.s. TRY to have fun?)’

“Lucifer intervened to send me a dress?? How did you two even contact each other?”

“I answered your phone once when he called while you were showering. We really hit it off, he actually sent me one too!” She excitedly pulled out another bag and showed you an equally gorgeous, albeit much more modest dress. Part of you wanted to argue, but another part of you realized how exciting this was for your friend and you weren’t about to let her down when she was waiting for you to join her excitement.

“I think we might be best dressed tonight?” You smirked and she whooped, celebrating her victory.

“Oh I’m ready, maybe everyone will finally accept the fact that I’m 20 and stop treating me like I’m still 15.”

You knew it was a sore point for her, but you still smiled. The way all of the x-men treated Jubilee as their adopted child was something that endlessly warmed your heart, even if it frustrated your friend. The two of you took your time helping each other get your hair and makeup perfect before donning your dresses and leaving your bedroom, having already started to hear the arrival of a few guests and the slight murmur of conversation.

You stopped just short of the stairs, turning to face Jubilee, “Don’t they say ‘fashionably late’ is a good thing?” Your anxiety was starting to get the best of you, wearing such a risque dress to attend a party with lots of new faces.

“I think we’ve already reached fashionably late, babe, if we wait any longer they’ll think something is wrong.” You took a deep breath and started to make your way down the stairs. The mansion was empty, signalling that everyone else had already made their way out to the garden.

The sun was just beginning to set when the two of you arrived to find the party already in full swing. Jean and Scott were dancing, Logan and Hank sharing a drink by the bar, and around 20 faces you had never seen interspersed with the rest of the team. You heard a low wolf whistle behind you and felt a hand on your lower back.

“Breaking hearts tonight, chere?” Remy was on you before you could even turn to look at the sound.

“If I’m lucky.” You shrugged.

“Think I have enough of that for the both of us.” He winked and you tried and failed to suppress a snort that only made him grin wider.

You turned to say something to Jubilee and your eyes narrowed when you realized the little traitor had run over to greet her friends, leaving you and Gambit alone. She looked your way and winked as you openly glared at her.

“Well it looks like I’ve been ditched so I’ll need to borrow some of it.” You grimaced in the direction of the crowd, not needing to elaborate.

“All yours, chere.” He offered you his arm and you accepted, making your way into the party and jumping right into a flurry of introductions, hugs and handshakes that Remy led you through, guiding you away when it was time to move on.

It seemed innocent enough but you couldn’t stop focusing on the fact that Remy’s hands never left you. Whether it was an arm wrapped protectively around your waist or his hand on your exposed lower back, lazily tracing shapes you couldn’t make out, it was becoming increasingly distracting. He introduced you to Kurt and you only caught 30% of the conversation, too distracted by Remy’s hand tracing the curve of the dip at the back of your dress. You were relieved when Remy excused the two of you to go grab a drink.

“Admit it, not as bad as you thought.” Gambit smirked at you, leading you to a table where Logan and Jubilee were catching up.

You rolled your eyes, “I never thought it would be bad, I just,” You took a deep breath, “I don’t know, I guess I was worried I wouldn’t fit in here, or that everyone would be wondering why I’m even here but too polite to say anything.”

Logan and Jubilee both looked in your direction, hearing the tail end of your conversation that you didn’t bother hiding from them. Logan very openly looked you up and down before chuckling and taking a sip of what you suspected to be whiskey.

“No one’s kicking you out of here looking like that, that’s for sure.” It was maybe the first time the wolverine had ever given you a compliment and you blushed.

“You clean up rather nicely yourself, Logan.”

“Then why are you spending all night with the cajun instead of talking to me?” You were surprised but did your best to cover it up, meanwhile Jubilee was fighting off a laugh herself by taking a sip of her drink.

“Because the cajun knows how a lady should be treated.” Gambit grumbled, leveling Logan with a look before departing briefly to get the both of you drinks.

“Does he?” Logan asked you while you sat to join them, shooting him a quizzical look before he continued, “Know how to treat a lady?”

“How much have you had, Logan?” You asked, eyeing his drink.

“Not that much, darlin’. Answer the question.” If there was one thing you loved about Logan it was his lack of bullshit, and judging by the look on Jubilee’s face as she waited for your answer, right now it was probably her favorite thing about him too,

“He’s been a perfect gentleman, but we’re just friends.” You tried to say it in a way that wouldn’t reveal how much that bothered you, but both of them knew better. Gambit returned a second later with your drinks and you only got two sips in before Logan insisted on a round of shots.

One round turned into two, turned into three, turned into…you lost count. Jubilee was swaying happily in her seat, having convinced the two men to let her join in with half shots somewhere around round three. Everyone’s judgement was impaired by that point, but she made a great argument about drinking for the first at home where she’s safe or something else you couldn’t remember anymore in your happily inebriated state.

A song came on and you gasped, turning towards the dancefloor and excitedly announcing your love for the song. What it was called? You couldn’t remember if your life depended on it, but you needed to dance. You locked eyes with Remy who smiled but shifted his eyes away awkwardly, causing you to quickly deflate.

“Have you even had a dance yet tonight, Y/N?” Logan asked you suspiciously.

“Not yet.” You pouted, considering heading out on your own, dance partner be damned.

“Knows how to treat a lady my ass.” Logan grumbled in Gambit’s direction, shooting a glare at him before getting up and begrudgingly but kindly offering you his hand.

“Oh. my. GOD.” Jubilee squealed, far too gone to contain her excitement at the drama, as she would say.

You beamed at Logan, accepting his hand and making a run for the dance floor, pulling him along behind you.

“That crazy cajun might try to take my head off later for this.” Logan grumbled, settling his arms at your waist while you threw yours around his neck, getting closer than was strictly necessary so the two of you could continue your talk while dancing. Your eyes shifted over to where you just left your friends and you felt a stabbing pain in your chest when you looked for Remy just to see he had also made his way over to the dance floor, with Rogue.

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Logan.” Your eyes were starting to tear up and you looked up trying to stop it as Logan became worried, turning to figure out what made you so upset. His eyes landed on Gambit and he growled, holding you a little closer as he actively tried to calm down.

“I’ll kill him.”

“You won’t.” You laughed, “He’s allowed to be with whoever he wants.”

“Yeah, but he’s not allowed to follow you around all night like a lovesick puppy just to ditch you when he catches another scent.”

You smiled sadly, “He was being a good friend earlier, that’s it.”

Logan pulled you closer and leaned down to whisper in your ear, “I watched his hands stray all over you, Y/N,” He touched your bare back to emphasize his point, “He’s not a friend, he’s a coward.” You couldn’t take it anymore and hugged Logan, hiding your face in his chest to let a few tears escape, hoping you would feel a bit better if you could get some of your distress out.

“Might have to kill em for making you cry.” Logan grumbled and you laughed, smiling up at him despite yourself.

“Believe it or not you’re helping enough like this.” The two of you continued dancing and Logan’s discomfort wasn’t wasted on you, but he’d be damned if he let the two of you leave that dance floor before Gambit and Rogue. He was making a point.

The music began to slow down and Rogue and Gambit finally went their separate ways. You watched as Remy found Jubilee again and made their way back over to the table, you turned to Logan.

“Think we should head back?” He looked behind you and shook his head.

“We finally get a song that’s more my speed and you want to leave?” He shook his head no and pulled you closer, making you laugh and rest your head on his chest as the two of you swayed lazily.

“Thank you, Logan. It’s not how I expected the night to go but I wouldn’t have gotten through it without you.”

“Dancing with you looking like that isn’t exactly a punishment.” He snarked and you chuckled.

“Mind if I cut in?” You looked up to meet red eyes, Remy looking between you and Logan harshly before addressing you again more quietly, “Didn’t Gambit ask you to save him a dance?”

You hesitated and Logan took that as his cue, “Bad timing cajun, Y/N just said she was getting dizzy, we’re heading back to the table.” Logan put his arm around you and lead you out of there, leaving Gambit to grumble and trail the two of you back.

Jean had joined Jubilee to rest and eyed the three of you quizzically as you made your return.

“Y/N!! I found out that shots of vodka with cranberry juice is amazing, look!” She held out a shot for you and you grabbed it and threw it back before Logan and Remy could even finish their protests.

“Chere! Didn’t you say you were dizzy?” Gambit took the shot glass out of your hand, leading you to a chair.

“From the dancing, Rem! I definitely haven’t had enough to drink yet.”

Jubilee whooped and passed you another shot, clinking it to her own before you both threw them back. Jean looked at you even more confused and you tapped your temple with a wink, an agreed upon gesture inviting her to read your mind.

“Rough night but I promise everything is okay, just need to drown my sorrows a little with you guys. Logan’s been doing his best.”

You heard Jean’s response in your head, “Fair enough. I’ve been cutting Jubilee’s shots with a lot of cranberry juice. Seriously, a LOT.”

You struggled to mask your laugh, “As I was saying, definitely not enough to drink, I’m gonna go-“ You stood and made your way to the bar on your own before anyone else could say anything, but you could feel a few sets of eyes watching you leave.

Someone had been manning the bar, but as the night wore on and the guests dwindled, those of you remaining were left to fend for yourself. You assessed your options and reached for the gin, giving that a generous pour before adding sprite, a splash of cranberry juice, and a lime wedge before you can talk yourself out of it.

“That looks amazing, can you make me one too?” Jubilee had appeared at your side and you smiled before making her a much more restrained version of yours. “Now I need you to tell me eeeeevery detail of you and Wolvie dancing I mean I neeeever-“

“To be clear,” you interrupted, sipping at your drink, “It was a pity save when it became painfully obvious Remy wasn’t going to ask.”

“After spending literally all night following you around and basically growling at anyone that tried to get near you, what’s up with that??” She made a good point but you weren’t sure what she meant by that first part.

“Pause, rewind, what are you talking about ‘basically growling��?”

“You seriously didn’t realize how handsy he got with you when Kurt started getting friendly?”

You realized you were drunk when you couldn’t stop the words from coming out of your mouth, “I was so distracted by him being handsy I didn’t even hear whatever Kurt was saying to make the connection.”

Jubilee nearly spat her drink in your face and she started smacking you excitedly, “Can you please please go tell him that??”

“But then he didn’t ask me to dance!! He pointedly looked away!!”

“So Logan? What happened there?” You were starting to suspect your friend wasn’t nearly as inebriated as you thought, her tone sounding surprisingly sharp shifting gears.

“I really don’t think there’s anything more than his mother-hen instincts going on there.”

Her eyes rolled and she shrugged, “I’d agree if it was just one dance, but-“

“Again, pretty sure that was to save me from being zeroed in on Gambit’s dance with Rogue..”

She didn’t have a response for that one and she simply clinked your drink before you both took generous sips, “Don’t tell Jean.” You whispered as you topped both of your glasses off before heading back to the group.

Jean had left to track down Scott who was mingling in the small groups that remained, some still dancing but most everyone else was doing the same as your small group. Jubilee bounced into the seat next to Logan and you drifted a beat too long before sitting next to Gambit. The silence that stretched between the two of you was no longer as comfortable as it was earlier, so you broke and piped up first.

“I almost tested you earlier, you know.”

“Almost?” Remy squinted at you, “Been testing me all night, chere.”

You narrowed your eyes back but decided not to engage, continuing your thought instead, “When you said you’d know if I left?” His playful glare dropped and he waited on your next words, “Just a quick trip before the party but still, decided against it.”

Remy chewed on what you were saying and not saying, wondering how the night had gotten so far away from him. Everything started out better than he expected, getting to show you around the party, not letting you too far out of sight in that dress, and then the hesitation. His own doubt sneaking in, reminding him that Y/N is quite literally an angel, he knew her place in the world, but his? He looked over at you waiting for a response and decided that didn’t matter right now.

“Still have sea legs or are you about ready for that dance, chere?” He didn’t leave you much room to answer, already standing with his arm extended.

“You know I literally just sat back down, right?” He rolled his eyes at you, grabbing your hand and pulling you to your feet alongside him. Your night was clearly nowhere near over and you gave in, letting Remy lead you back onto the dance floor and into his arms.

#gambit x reader #remy lebeau x reader #xmen #x men the animated series #x men 97 #remy lebeau #gambit #gambit xmen #light angst #in which reader and gambit are both complete idiots #but we love them anyway #tw drinking

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7more · 16 days

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HERE WE GO AGAIN & the ONE ARMED SCISSOR outro

November 7, 2022 | Toronto, ON

#this has been sitting in my drafts for weeks. anyway #performance of all time i love her so much #this outro should be on streaming it's my favorite thing ever #nine.gif #*#paramore #paramoreedit #hayley williams #hayleywilliamsedit #tw flashing #all we know is falling

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babygirlificationn · 11 days

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#nothing wrong with them 🔥🔥🔥#ace attorney #miles edgeworth #adrian andrews #farewell my turnabout #digital art #fanart #art #my art :D #ace attorney fanart #aa #cw suicide mention #tw suicice mention #just to be safe.#i drew this post to supposedly celebrate me FINALLY beating justice for all. but alas it has been sitting in my drafts for a week #and i havent touched aa in two weeks. oops. anyway we are celebrating me *almost* finishing justice for all !!!! rejoice!!!!

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pensbridgertons · 10 months

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PERIOD DRAMA APPRECIATION WEEK 2023

day 1: favorite adaptation + day 2: favorite tv show

jamie and claire + book to screen (in/sp)

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sisterdivinium · 5 months

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Warrior Nun x Amon Amarth "Vengeance is My Name"

#warrior nun #ava silva #mother superion #areala #you absolutely need to listen to the song to understand the this is my sword part. it goes: THIS! IS! MY! SWORD!#you people with your taylor swift and hozier and ames... meanwhile i think wn is pure metal #(granted maybe not viking metal but this idea has been in my mind forever)#(emylilas suggested i made a video edit but i'm no good at that so gifs it is! thanks for the incentive either way my friend)#anyway. trying something a bit different here clearly #sister makes gifs once in a blue moon #gifs and other visuals #this has been sitting in my drafts for weeks and i guess it's time to release it into the world. be nice now!

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girlcockedandloaded · 1 year

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:^)

#i need a new phone my camera is busted :^(#anyway im cute hii #This has been sitting in my drafts for weeks! Enjoy!

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sandy-shocks · 5 months

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Thinking furilumi thoughts rn

What if Lumine invited Furina to join her on her adventures. Of course she should let her have all the rest she wants first but Furina is what? Early 20s newly mortal and got her whole life ahead of her now, having been trapped as the archon for 500 years I bet she's never really been to another nation. I'd be awesome for Lumine take her outside Fontaine and experience everything teyvat has to offer. And I think it would be good for her mental health to not be stuck in Fontaine all her life.

Lumine showing Furina all her favourite places, introducing her friends and teaching Furina all the recipes she's learned over her travels. Lumine slowly realising that she really likes Furinas company and this is the first time she's had a long term adventuring companion (that's not paimon) and that whoops she may be a little in love with her actually.

Furina for the first time in her life being genuinely 100% happy and not feeling like anyone has any expectations of her or that she has to put up a facade and she can just enjoy herself. She learns more about herself and the places around her, I think it would take her longer than Lumine to develop feelings or realise she's feeling them in the first place.

Also think I'd be rly funny if she just sends Neuvillette bottles of random water from places she's been.

#She would write letters to her friends back in Fontaine and tell them about stuff #Anyway I kinda wished she would become like wanderer or kazuha and just roam around a bit before finding her place in the world #Furilumi #genshin impact #Neuvi getting a letter that just says 'guess where I've been :)' and a bottle of murky ass water from the bottom of the chasm #This has been sitting in my drafts for like 2 weeks and then someone posted a fic on ao3 of this exact concept I am eating good 👍

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monotone-artist · 1 year

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ah! slugcats

(the monarch was designed by @bramblemantle!!)

#rain world #monotoneart #the current #the scrapper #the hideaway #the monarch #monarch's face pattern is a lil different than tala's original one but it woulda gotten a lil squished with my art style :c #anyway ok this has been sitting in my drafts for like a week #ive been bingewatching steven uni/verse (<- wanna keep it out the tag) instead of doing literally anything else. including this post #it's been nice rewatching it. i love the character's dynamics w each other and their development n stuff.

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queer-reader-07 · 6 months

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few things bother me more than people saying that it’s “dumb” or “intentional ignoring” or “impossible” to have interpreted crowley and aziraphale’s relationship platonically.

and look i could go on about all the things that do point to romance but enough people have done that so i’m gonna defend myself here and explain why i read them as platonic for so long and why i think it’s perfectly reasonable to have read them platonically.

and a disclaimer that all of this is from my perspective and my opinion. so if i make a statement as though it’s matter of fact, know that i’m speaking from my perspective and just can’t be bothered to preface every sentence with “in my opinion…”

and it mostly boils down to one thing: their love reflected the love me and my friends have for each other.

so no shit i interpreted them platonically because they looked like my real life platonic relationships!!

i’ve talked at length about how i think there’s a specificity to the way queer people love. i think there’s something special about the way queer people show love, especially platonic love.

here’s the thing. i’ve been mistaken as my best friend of 16 years’ girlfriend more than once. i’ve been mistaken as one of my other best friend’s partner so many times her friends were genuinely shocked when she got a boyfriend because they thought she was dating me.

i understand the whole “being so platonically in love that people think you’re also fucking” situation. i unironically live that situation on the regular. so naturally i assumed that’s what was happening with aziraphale and crowley.

my thought process was basically this

1) they love like i love (specifically, crowley loves like i love). therefore, they’re platonically in love.

2) weird, everyone on the internet is convinced they’re dating. something something everyone values romantic love over platonic love

3) well whatever they’re still platonic in my heart

and it stayed like that quite literally until i watched episode 6 of season 2. and you can tell me i was being oblivious all you want, but that doesn’t change the fact that i genuinely believed they were platonic. queer platonic? sure. but definitely not romantic.

i saw all the witty quips and banter between the two of them and didn’t read any sexual or romantic tension, i read friendship. i saw aziraphale damsel in distress-ing himself on the regular so crowley could save him and thought “well it’s the only way he can spend time with crowley. checks out”. and i saw the bandstand breakup and the burning bookshop and “you told my only friend to shut his mouth and die and i did. not. care. for it.” and aziraphale so desperately trying to shield crowley from the horrors of the world and obviously i saw love. a love that is deep and profound, yes. it just never read romantic to me because i would do and say all of those things for and to my friends.

one of the few things i will never cease to find joy in is my friendships. i will ALWAYS love loving the people close to me, i will ALWAYS support them, and most importantly, i ALWAYS want to protect them. even when i know what is going to happen is inevitable, i don’t want to see them hurt. i want to shield them from the cataclysmic experience of the human condition and only have to experience in the moments of joy that await them. i don’t want to see the people i love hurt or in pain or jaded by how fucked up the world is.

because i already am those things. i am jaded by the world, i’m constant falling into the pit of cynical despair that the state of the world can manage to throw you down. and i know how fucking hard it is to pull yourself out of that place, to find hope and move forward and allow yourself to even enjoy the love and support you do have in life.

and the last thing i ever want is for the people i love dearly to experience those things.

so yeah. i related hard fucking core to crowley and the way he loves aziraphale SO. FUCKING. DEEPLY. and of course i read it platonically because it’s platonic for me. so deeply platonic in the best way.

and i could go on about how a lot of this stems from how much i value platonic love. how much i don’t adhere to social norms of love and how people express love. i will loudly proclaim my love for my friends, because i love them. i’m in love with them. but that doesn’t mean i want to date them or kiss them. and that makes perfect sense to me, and if it doesn’t make sense to you. well then, idk what to tell you.

this is longer than i intended but my point is that it hurts seeing people who act like those of us who did genuinely read aziracrow as platonic the first go around are stupid or that we chose to ignore the romance.

because, to me at least, it always felt like people were calling the way i love stupid or that i’m actually ignoring my “real” feelings

#nobody go into the notes and tell me i’m projecting onto media too much THATS LITERALLY THE POINT #it is natural and normal and expected that you read and consume media through the lens of your own lived experience #so this is good omens through my lived experience #and if yours is different that is amazing for you #but it doesn’t discredit mine #anyways i’m probably being more defensive than i need to be but i don’t care #this has been sitting in my drafts for weeks because i was too scared to post it but it is out in the public now #good omens #aziracrow #ineffable husbands #crowley #aziraphale #good omens 2 #ineffable wives #good omens meta #meta #gomens #gomens meta #platonic love

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carnivalcarriondiscarded · 10 months

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Your butterfly Howdy- so so so obsessed!! please tell me you thoughts I love him!! The thought of him simply falling from his chrysalis in a big sopping mess is so real™ , true butterfly moment

i would be Delighted to Talk. i always am. i have many thoughts always about everything. especially This. gonna add a cut so there's not a wall of text on my blog

okay so 1) i don't think he'd give any warning that he's gonna turn into a chrysalis. probably because he wouldn't realize it's happening bc like... those good ol caterpillar instincts took over <3 also it probably made him very very eepy

in his perspective, he took a nap and woke up spontaneously Different. everybody else had to deal with a solid few weeks of him being a chrysalis. and it's not like he was resting inside it - there is soooo much going on in metamorphosis, caterpillars/butterflies Do Not Rest At All

so when he emerges from the chrysalis (as a pathetic wet rag of a man <3) he's just... so out of it. his memory is a little fucky for a bit, he's weak, & he's exhausted to the point where the only time he's awake is to eat (gotta get that energy back!). that's it. he's dead asleep, wakes up, demolishes an entire bowl of fruit, and passes back out. can't even speak coherently.

he slowly gains lucidity until he's functional. he has a small period of time where he's kind of delirious/loopy from an overdose on Sleep, and it's hell on earth for everyone to deal with. i like to think that his main Watchers during this time are Poppy and Barnaby, both bc they're both big enough to wrangle him and bc of obvious reasons. (Poppy is a worrier and Barnaby is in love with Howdy)

when Howdy's loopyness wears off, he's still very tired and a bit spacey, but hey! he reopens the bodega! not that he needs to, since everyone was getting stuff from it anyway. he has a lot of IOU's in the never-used cash register <3 and lots of sweet notes. everyone missed him <3

so for a while when he's functional-but-Exhausted, he's a bit of a grouch. he simply does not have the energy to deal with Shenanigans and Excitement. if anyone walks into the bodega he's basically like "get your shit and get out, thank you, bye". he still sometimes nods off at the counter. eepy eepy bug.

and i don't think he'd really like his new appearance at first? i get the vibes that he Didn't want to pupate OH MY GOD THAT'S THE WORD! I'VE BEEN USING CHRYSALIZE WHICH ISNT EVEN A WORD BC I FORGOT 'PUPATE'. FUCK!, so he was subconsciously putting it off and was able to live for such a long time as a caterpillar.

but oopsie! he lost the battle of biological will! now he's got So Much Fluff and wings and claws and longer antennae and like... he's blue now. that would probably be at least a little unsettling, especially since he didn't realize it was going to happen. also he has to tailor all of his clothes to fit the wings and the Fluff.

plus, i imagine butterfly/moth wings are a Bitch to deal with. they don't fold like bird or bat wings, and they're kinda delicate - though due to Howdy's size, i'm sure they're more durable than a normal butterfly's - so i bet they are Constantly In The Way. (Barnaby probably makes a joke about how "Eddie's supposed to be the clumsy one" after Howdy knocks over a display with his wings for the umpteenth time. cue Barnaby getting kicked out of the store)

it takes a while for Howdy to get them under Control. they'd probably give away ever emotion he has. angry/frustrated? fluttering like crazy. thinking happy/fluffy thoughts or daydreaming? slow opening-closing. sad/pensive? droopy wing cape. stressed/high-strung? closed tight like a book. etc.

(similarly, his antennae are Very expressive! this is not something he can control unless he focuses extra hard. within a week Frank has memorized what each curl and twitch means)

but once Howdy has reconciled with his new appearance & has wrangled his wings, He Is So Fruity And Even More Eccentric. he fell outta that chrysalis and went "im gay now! 🧚‍♂️💅" kidding Kidding. kind of.

idk why, just... i feel like he gets a confidence boost. he realizes hes a Pretty Boy™️. he's like "this is what it must feel like for Eddie when he does drag". he's got that extra fruity Flair yk yk.

and sure, flowers are a little more distracting to Howdy than they used to be, prefers fruit over greenery, and he can't resist taking a short break every day to sun his wings, but other than that things are mostly normal. he's just extra pretty now.

#FORGOT THIS HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY DRAFTS FOR LIKE. A WEEK OR TWO. FUCKING OOPSIES!#oh my god. Pause The Post. my cat dropped a whisker on my desk... ive been blessed...#her lil pointy whisker... d'aw....#AWWWWW ITS GOT A LITTLE CURL AT THE END <3<3<3 #anyway Anyway butterfly howdy.#i have More Specific thoughts for Scenes and tidbits but this post has gotten long enough #enjoy Enjoy!!#i hope this was coherent!#yassified howdy <3 #rambles from the bog #many laughingstock thoughts as well for butterfly howdy. so many thoughts...

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mrspockify · 8 months

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Old married couple Mareach headcanons no one asked for 💕

In his old age Mario develops arthritis, mostly in his knees and hands from all the jumping and punching through bricks during his adventures

Most of the time he can still get around fine with the help of a cane, but on bad days Peach sits with him while he rests, helping to ice and massage his joints until he’s feeling better. It frustrates him to no end being unable to move around like he used to, but it’s more tolerable when she stays with him

Peach’s eyesight begins to go first, and while glasses help delay the inevitable for a few years, eventually even those fail to help significantly

What she misses seeing most (aside from her husband) is her kingdom. Mario will bring her up onto the mushroom hills and sit and describe the views for hours. It warms her heart, because she knows that speaking isn’t his forte, but he does this for her regardless, even if he struggles to paint a perfect picture for her

Secretly, she fears that her hearing will fade next and she won't be able to have even this anymore. Somehow it’s even better to experience the views like this, listening to his soft voice and his accent, hearing the way he details everything he can see to her like it’s the most beautiful thing in the world

It’s not—he maintains that the most beautiful thing in the world is Peach, no matter how old they get, and he won't let her argue against it

#mareach #Mario #princess peach #smb #fluffy content that I will NOT taint with sad stuff about them dying bc I’m so strong 😌#anyway this has been sitting in my drafts for a week so I’m just gonna post it lol #headcanons

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georgieluz · 4 months

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skip muck: the jolly rancher | modern social media au

cowboy collab: #easy ranch #easy company cowboys

#i figured i'd take a different approach for this one and go modern social media au: rancher by day influencer by night #bobcollab #skip muck #band of brothers #cowboy collab #easy ranch #easy company cowboys #julian made a thing #this has been sitting in my drafts for like a week because with every day that passes i dislike it more and more #so i've got to just post it and get rid of it now #are there rancher influencers? i bet there are #anyway sending this out into the world so i never have to think about it again (the aesthetics rather than the concept)#i enjoyed the concept but it just looks ugly and i cbf to edit it at this point but anyway i do love rancher skip #i've just got one more skip gunslinger moodboard to post for the cowboy collab and then i'm finally done

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crows-home · 1 year

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hey! i hope you don’t mind me asking, but do u have any fics you recommend reading? (specifically sonic fandom ones)

im so sorry anon but im probably the worst when it comes to fic recs. I just started using the bookmark function on ao3 like last month. There's probably tons of fics that i've read and absolutely loved, but never saved and are just collecting dust in my history ToT

i'm going to shout out a few of my favorite authors whose works i absolutely adore and some fics under the cut!

There's definitely more authors and fics i missed, but this is what i was able to come up with!! in general, the sonic community is full of so much talent and i'm just really happy to be here :)

@cozyqueerchaos - I love every single piece they put out honestly and these fics are the reason i dipped my toes more into the sonic fandom years ago. they're THAT good. love them all.

@phantomruby - another wonderful fic writer that everyone should check out. "Slipping Away" makes me cry fr, although i haven't caught up on the latest updates. everything just makes my heart go oshfdsfhd

@chaoxfix - sonic fics are wonderful sonic takes are top notch i dig everything. the understanding of the characters and archie is just phenomenal.

@teamxdark - fell in love with the Tales of Avalon series and fell harder in love with the team dark Boomtober fics and dynamics and aaaaaa, wonderful writing and style.

@rubyiiiusions - every fic is a joy to read and every story really just gets your attention and keeps it till the end. i've bookmarked a few of them since last week :)

I went digging through my history and here are some of my personal favorite Sonic fics!

radio silence under a yellow sky by chaox Summary: Sonic finds out Tails is missing. And more importantly, that no one's been looking for him.

A gen fic about Sonic finding out Tails was MIA during Forces it's so so good i think about it a lot

falling by sonosuke Summary: Shadow likes a boy

sonadow during SA2 I'll cry. so angsty but it makes me :')

Birds of a Feather by SonicaSpeed123 Summary: Sonic has been trapped in Camelot for three years, but he's started to make a place for himself that he can finally be comfortable in with his beloved Lancelot Something has been bothering him, though: If all the people of this world look like the people back home, where is Sonic's lookalike?

Lansoni. Part of a series of SatBK mini fics that i really love, but this one especially because it answers the question of 'what about the Sonic doppleganger?'

you can hardly swallow your fears and pain by chaox and sketchjii Summary: Shadow is usually better at putting up that cold, unfeeling front, isn't he? Or maybe that's him. (or: sonic doesn't need to be in touch with his feelings if he pretends they don't exist in the first place)

One of my all time faves i love it so much i dont think i have the right words. shadow tries to give sonic mental health advice. it does not go well. takes place some time after Forces.

the time has come again for stars by rubyillusions Summary: (five times someone notices sonic and shadow are in love and one time they do something about it)

sonadow, Teen. obsessed with how the characters are written here and the way all of their friends interpret their relationship it's just so cute and sweet and shit and i love it a lot.

against every odd by eggskie Summary: "We're friends?" Nine asks, small and timid, and oh, doesn't that break Sonic's heart. "Of course we are. We always have been. Or we always should have been." Or: Nine isn't used to being cared about

wanna see how hard i can cry? Gen, Sonic Prime fic about sonic and tails and what they should have been.

Dreams Don't Come True by Skyblaze Summary: Short, mildly humorous fic with sonadow flavouring. It also takes the mickey extensively out of the Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 Next Gen game. Warning: not to be taken seriously.

This fic is just really silly i like it a lot :)

A largely platonic cave by mousewritings Summary: "You know I uh, love hanging out with you and all, but do you think we could go somewhere that's not a cave for once?" Shadow stares at him. "What do you mean, go somewhere that's not a cave? Think you're too good for caves?"

Sonic Boom Sonic and Shadow (pre-slash sonadow) my beloveds <3<3 this fic is so funny they're so insufferable

Also, uh. I know you said only Sonic fics but i'm going to add a few more fics that i really really love from different fandoms because i reread them a lot, i hope you don't mind! ^^

Our way by shpeeper Summary: Overall, the mission was pretty simple. Sniper was instructed to track the spy for a week, figure out his daily patterns, then put a bullet in his brain when no one is around. No one told him there would be a kid. An AU in which Spy raises Scout alone, and Sniper is hired to kill Spy.

Oh my fucking god i could go on about this fic. Sniperspy, Teen, TF2. filled with action and danger. Every time a new character would get introduced, i would have fun piecing together who they were in my mind. the first chapter already had me emotional, it's been in my brain for YEARS. And don't even get me STARTED with the twist at the end. holy shit.

Desmodontinae by Romiress Summary: Kirk wakes up in a Gotham that is not his own. A what-if, where Gods and Monsters Batman winds up in the DCU. Originally intended as a short oneshot, and expanded out into a small story, exploring the differences, struggles, and conclusions. Focuses primarily on Kirk Langstrom (G&M Batman), with a side or Hernan Guerra (G&M Superman), Damian Wayne, and Bruce Wayne. Guest appearances by various other Robins, Clark and Jon Kent, and several others.

The Gods and Monsters DC team means so much to me and oh my god this fic was made with so much love and care for the characters. It's been a while since i read it, but i remember this fic had me staying up literally all night, eagerly going through all the chapters, one at a time. i was in bed kicking my sheets quietly irl lmao.

#answers #fanfiction #fic rec #btw if youre an author and dont want to be tagged lmk! ill remove it no questions #also im so sorry this has been sitting in my drafts for so long anon. i spent a week clicking through my history #to find fics and then trying to figure out how to format this lmao.#i dont mind these asks at all i just wish i was better at answering them!#anyway go support all these authors and more if i could there would be so many people i'd tag and gush about but i dont want to make #this post longer than it already is so ill stop here

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astrangerlately · 1 year

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#i love this line so much. mixed metaphors my beloved #the front bottoms lyrics #pale beneath the tan (squeeze)#black and white #the front bottoms #ann (ep)#eyestrain #i have stitched a mask of confidence and i'll wear it like a glove #my art #this has been sitting in my drafts for like 2 weeks because i couldnt decide if i liked it or not #still undecided but posting anyway lol #self #weird #100

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reneesbooks · 4 months

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the final daily lacuna snippet

buckle up bitches time for chapter 11, the princess. it’s the last one and I’m not about to spoil the WHOLE thing but I’ll give yall a long one.

Keelan stumbles out of the alley and sits on the curb with his head between his knees. His breathing is too fast, something that Annie the bartender has a fancy word for, but he definitely can't be bothered to remember it now. His fingertips tingle and go numb, his head spinning.

It had to have been Birdie. It couldn't have been anyone else. She was older, a young woman and not the child she had been when he saw her last, when he tucked her into her bed with a promise to keep her safe. She survived and grew up and returned, but not to her home.

He's failing at convincing himself that there is a single good reason for her to be with the two most wanted criminals in the city. They'd clearly known her, trusted that she would protect them. She is alive. She is on friendly terms with at least one mass murderer and a serial thief.

He can still hear her tripled voice— "when thieves steal for honor" —he can still feel her hanging off one of his arms.

Levi hadn't killed her—he'd managed to hide her from Maura for years. Why? What had he told her, taught her?

She hadn't recognized him at all. Maybe Levi used memory spells to erase him. Maybe he erased more than that.

"Sir?" One of his soldiers is standing next to him, expression nervous. "Our team completed another sweep of the—"

"Get away from me," Keelan forces out through gritted teeth, "or I swear to Leyna I will gut you like a fish."

The soldier is gone in an instant.

Birdie had disappeared in an instant, in the blink of an eye the way Levi had all those years ago. What else had he taught her?

He is on his feet, walking towards the castle.

Levi had always been obsessed with Birdie's visions, and the prophecy. The one that supposedly predicts Maura's death. And now Birdie is in hiding with thieves somewhere in Morbhard, alive but not coming to tell her sister that. He is not a scholar, but he can connect those dots himself.

He's reached the castle gates. The guard is sending someone out to meet him—he drew the short straw, by Keelan's guess, since he is pale and sweaty when he reaches Keelan. "Captain O’Leyne. You are still banned from—"

"I'm not on castle grounds, so you can spare me the speech." His feet are firmly planted on the cobblestoned road. "I have to speak with the queen immediately."

"Queen Maura—"

Keelan's hand closes around the knife in his belt and the guard quickly backtracks, looking distinctly like he's going to throw up. "Her Majesty has ordered us to turn you away if you come to speak with her."

Keelan grinds his teeth. "Then bring her a message from me."

"Sir Keelan—Captain O'Leyne, I really can't—"

"This is too important for you to get in my way," Keelan hisses, taking a step towards the cowering guard. "You'll deliver a message to the queen for me. You'll tell her that I saw..." He hesitates, suddenly acutely aware of the people walking by, the nearby market, the gutter children collecting pieces of gossip for men like him and Jack. "Tell her I saw the duckling. She'll know what it means."

"Captain O'Leyne." The guard's gaze is fixed somewhere over Keelan's shoulder. "If I disobey orders—"

"If you do not deliver this message, I will be the least of you worries," Keelan says, getting up in the guard's face now. "This is of immediate and utmost importance. It concerns the queen's safety. If you fail to deliver this message, or even if you fail to tell the queen that you saw me, she will find out. I suspect she'll be very angry." He reaches up to scratch the skin under his dead eye. "Do you know what she does when she's angry?"

He sees a small wet spot appear on the guard's trousers. If he was still in charge of the royal guard, he would kill the man for a coward. The guard tells him to wait and he watches him sprint up the front path through the bars of the gate.

Keelan's gaze lifts to the castle towers. He wonders where Maura is, what she's doing. Will the guard interrupt a session of the court? Likely not, there aren't enough liveried servants loitering outside the gates. Perhaps she'll be in the library, studying her spells and curses. She never liked to be interrupted when she was in the library. He wonders if the same guard will even come back.

One of his soldiers finds him after a while and gives him an update on the search for the thieves. Unsurprisingly, they've vanished without a trace. Keelan considers telling him about Birdie, but he doesn't want to do it before telling Maura.

Would she read his memories to see if it was really her?

He sends away the guard with instructions to continue the search and double their efforts and men in the lakeside district.

The coward is returning. The wet spot on his trousers is just a bit larger. Keelan doesn't dare walk forward onto castle grounds until he knows what the man is going to say. He reaches Keelan and clears his throat. "The queen has lifted your banishment." Weight lifts from Keelan's chest that he can't believe he has been living with. "She awaits you in the throne room. I am to escort you—"

"I know the way."

He brushes past the guard and goes home.

The hedges are overgrown, long branches reaching out onto the path at random intervals. There is no one to open the doors for him, and the hinges groan when he pushes through. A few maids scurry through the corridors, but there are no others to stop and gawk as the Knight of Lacuna Lake returns home. His footsteps echo up into the vaulted ceilings, where dusty chandeliers hang half-lit as if someone had pulled them up before they were ready.

The throne room doors swing open easily at his touch.

Maura is sitting alone, her head resting on one hand as she watches him approach. Her favorite green dress hangs off her ribs a bit, as if she'd done the lacing herself. There are deep, dark circles under her eyes and lines around her mouth hardened by years of sorrow and rage. Half the chandeliers are lit and she hasn't raised most of the curtains, bathing the room in shadow.

Her eyes dart to the door behind him. He stops at the base of the steps up to her throne. Her gaze returns to him and she clears her throat. "The guard was meant to escort you."

Keelan takes a deep breath. "He's a coward. I would have him killed for it."

The corner of her mouth twitches. "You've risked much to return here, Sir Keelan."

He kneels. "My queen. I had to tell you immediately. I saw...I saw something in the market."

"Yes." He looks up to see her knuckles whiten on the arms of the throne. "The guard said something about a duckling."

"It's her." He can't stay on his knees, can't hold himself back. He is on his feet and halfway up the stairs, his hands itching to reach for her. "I—I don't know how, but it's Birdie. Those eyes..." He's caught in Maura's silver gaze, tears welling up in those same eyes. "I could never mistake those eyes."

He doesn't think he knows how to read her anymore, but he does recognize the way her fingers touch the empty space on her left hand. "Do you...what kind...what was she doing? Who was she with?"

He blinks. "I...I don't know where to start." He hesitates a step from the top. "Do you..." He puts one finger to his temple. "Aren't you going to...?"

Her face falls a bit, different emotions flashing across. "No. Not—I swore I would never..." She grips her left finger. "Not without..." A shaky inhale, her eyes unreadable. "Not unless you want me to."

He thinks of the servants and others that he's watched her curse over the years. The golden light that pours out of their faces. "Does it...does it hurt?"

Maura looks away. "I don't actually know."

He thinks of how her healing spells taste of sweet pea. He remembers the warmth of the golden light that comforted him in the Black Cell. He takes the final step up to her throne. "You can read my mind, if you...you can do it."

"Only if you want." Her eyes burn through him. "Never again unless you want me to."

He inhales sharply, the scars on his chest burning. "I...I want you to."

She rises to her feet and his nose is filled with her perfume. She is so close and his hands are begging to hold her, but instead he stands stock still as she lifts trembling hands to his face. "If it...if it hurts, I'll stop."

He nods and she presses her fingers to his temples.

Golden light fills his vision.

He is eight years old, standing at the front of the chapel in Leyne, evening light shining through the stained-glass windows.

He feels it more than he hears it—Maura's voice, somewhere in the back of his head.

Too far back.

He is fourteen, sword in his hand as he walks away from his burning house, bloody feet leaving footprints in the dust.

It's almost like a nudge, Maura's presence in his head. She sifts through his memories like the pages of a book, searching for the right moment.

She finds him in the market, hearing the squire announce the opening in the city guard. He looks up from his groceries and sees her in her green dress, standing across the crowded square.

He sees her as he leaves the burning flat on Amber Road, sees her as he walks into the city guard headquarters, he sees her standing behind Jack in the lakeside market.

There.

He watches it happen again, sees Birdie appear and disappear in slow motion. The edges are faded, but Birdie is clear as day. Her eyes burn through him, even just as a memory.

Maura steps away from him, her eyes wide. "You think she's here to kill me."

"I don't." He looks away. "I don't know."

"You were right." She presses her fingers to her forehead, sitting heavily in her throne again. "You're right, Levi was always obsessed with the prophecy. He'll have raised her for that very purpose."

"Maybe it's something else."

Her mouth quirks. "Maybe Lacuna Lake isn't bottomless."

The quirk fades and she sinks into thought, her nose scrunching as she stares at the royal seal in the stonework. Keelan puts a shaking finger to his temple, trying to see if there is any warmth left over.

“When you read someone's mind...” he says slowly, and Maura's eyes flick to him with more than a little anxiety.

“It's less like reading and more like watching,” she says cautiously.

He thinks of her standing in the background of his memories, her silver eyes piercing through him. “You could see what I was thinking after I saw Birdie...is that normal? To see what they thought?”

She hums, tracing patterns idly on the arm of her throne. “I get more of a sense of what the person was feeling in the moment. Sometimes thoughts pass through, if they were particularly important in the moment.”

He stares down at her, her words registering slowly. “So you can feel what they felt?”

Her eyes are guarded. “Yes, wh—”

He grabs her hands and presses them to his temples, meeting her eyes fiercely. “Read my memories. Every one that you can find.”

“What are—”

“I never lied to you,” he says, and her eyes fill with tears. “I would never lie to you. I want you to know that. I need you to know that. Read my memories, every single one that you are in, and know that I never lied. I loved you the day I saw you and I have loved you every day since. Send me away again, cut out my other eye, I will crawl back blind and begging. I will always love you, Maura. No matter what.”

She tries to pull her hands away but he holds them firmly, her fingers pressed to his temples. “Keys, please.”

“I will ask nothing more of you,” he says quietly. “You said you wouldn't do it unless I wanted you to. I am begging you to. If you only feel an ounce of the love I have for you, it would be enough. I need you to know that I never lied.”

She inhales shakily, and he lets go of her hands. She doesn't lower them from his temples, but her thumb touches the corner of his dead eye. “I don't...I don't know if I can...”

“Please, Maura,” he whispers. “Please.”

The golden light fills his vision again. He is standing in the throne room for the first time, his eyes caught on the golden princess in her throne. He is sitting in the gardens, his sword forgotten in the grass as her laughter chases away the ghosts. He is seventeen, spinning around her in the ballroom as she laughs and he falls harder and harder. He is in the Black Cell, grasping her golden light as his only salvation. He is next to her in the theater, holding her hand in the safety of the royal box as she rests her head on his shoulder. He is holding her against him in the throne room, feeling her fluttering heartbeat through his shirt. He is standing before her with his knife in his hands and his blood on his face but he is only thinking if this is enough, if this will make her believe him, if he has finally broken the last remaining piece of light in his life. He is exhausted at his desk, marking up a city map in the hopes that he'll find the thief and go home soon. He is standing before her again, his heart breaking as he sees the pain she is in. He is in love.

She yanks away from him like he burned her, her eyes welling up with tears. She won't meet his gaze, hers fixed firmly on her hands instead. She sinks back into her throne.

“I never lied,” he murmurs, reaching to catch her hand. She doesn't shake him off, just slips her fingers into his, and it gives him the courage to keep going. “I...I don't know what I did wrong, Maura, but I never stopped loving you.”

She inhales shakily, her gaze darting up to his missing eye. “You didn't...I need to tell you some things.”

dw abt what those things are. lacuna taglist: @serenanymph @lyssa-ink @oh-no-another-idea @lena-rambles @ashen-crest @tragicbackstoryenjoyer @serpentarii @allianaavelinjackson

#finally reaching the actual conflict of the raedoran cycle. did I mention keelan and maura are the villains?#this has been sitting in my draft for like. a week. embarrassing #anyway! birdie is alive and maura thinks she's in the city to kill her! who thinks that's true sound off!#something something best tragedies are the ones where there was every opportunity to avoid it #anyway birdie and her band of misfits will be introduced soon lol #lacuna #writeblr #writeblr community #original fiction #fantasy novel #keelan #maura #rb original #daily snippet #posting a jack and arthur snippet after this...eyes open

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