Quarantine made me go on hiatus

expectations: it’s gonna be fun!!! Mindy Kaling is the creator so it’s gonna be good!!! it’s a netflix show, so I’m going to want to adopt the three protagonists even if the have good parents!!! dumb teenage fun!!!

rules: you can usually tell a lot about a person by the type of music they listen to! put your music on shuffle and list the first ten songs, then tag ten people. no skipping!

1. Always Remember Us This Way - Lady Gaga

2. Zombie - The Cranberries

3. As Good As It Gets - Galavant Cast

4. Bring It On Home - American Authors (ft. Phillip Phillips and  Maddie Poppe)

5. Meri Luis - Lucio Dalla

6. Tutto L’Amore Che Ho - Jovanotti

7. Get Lonely with Me - George Ezra

8. Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

9. Stop! In The Name Of Love - The Supremes

10. Part of Your World - The Little Mermaid

You know how in Much More Geralt saves a merchant who tells him that, to return the favor, he could invoke the law of surprise?

Geralt refuses, but then we find out that the merchant is the husband of the woman who takes Ciri in.

And hence Ciri would have been the thing the man had without knowing it yet.

Sorry for being late and thank you for the prompt!

Pride

Royalty au in which Cisco is a prince, and Hartley is the most Renaissance man ever (well second only to Leonardo but yeah). Cisco’s father becomes Hartley’s patron and invites him to the palace to create inventions and whatnot.

Cisco is not the heir to the throne, since Dante is, and would want to invent things himself, but whenever he tries his father reprimends him for not acting like a royal should. So Cisco is excited to have a famous inventor in his palace, an emotion that dies as soon as he meets Hartley. No one should be that rude, not only to royalty but in general.

The thing is that Hartley takes great pride in everything he makes and is extremely critic of his research, his inventions, his poems, his paintings. He takes his own judgement just fine, but any critique that comes from others? Unacceptable. Which is why he can’t really stand the stupid prince and his unprompted comments on Hartley’s work. 

No matter that sometimes the prince’s ideas are not that stupid.

After some months and despite all the bitckering, Cisco feels like they have become friends. Not that Hartley would ever admit it, so Cisco says nothing. He says nothing even when visiting nobles clearly flirt with Hartley right in front of him making Cisco feel weird. If he didn’t know better, he would say he was jealous. Which is crazy, because why would he?

On the other hand, Hartley starts to realize that Cisco’s presence in his workshop makes him angry less and less, even if he has to keep up appearances. Because the prince should not get the wrong idea. They are not friends. Hartley doesn’t have time for friends. He barely has time to roll in the hay with the occasional visiting noble, he can’t do friends. 

Even if it does bother him when Cisco is not around because some lord’s daughter is at the castle and both princes are forced to spend time with any eventual young and unmarried lady that comes to them.

And it shouldn’t bother Hartley at all. Because Cisco’s absence should make him work faster, not distract him like, however, happens more and more frequently. And when Hartley can’t focus on an invention or on a book he has taken from the amazing library he now has access to, he writes poetry. Which is not new, but he has never written so much in his life before, because poetry was a way to spend time, not the job he loved. And his mind always goes to the pince. And it should’t. It really, really shouldn’t, because... well. Because he’s a prince. And Hartley is not exactly princess material.

Everything changes, however, when Dante’s engagement is announced, and the king tells Cisco that it would be good if he got married as soon after his brother as possible.

Thank you anon :)

A new world

Arthur wants to go hunting, even if, from different sources, there is the news that some powerful sorcerer is making his way to Camelot. Merlin isn’t exactly thrilled at the idea, but he follows his king, complaining the entire time and scaring off all the wild animals.

Of course, Merlin’s prattle doesn’t only scare off the game, but also attracts unwanted attention. In this case, the sorcerer’s.

Merlin and Arthur have barely the time to realize that he’s behind them before he starts casting a spell. With no time to react, Merlin throws himself in the way, shielding Arthur from whatever the sorcerer has casted, taking a direct hit.

Once Merlin regains his senses - because apparently he has passed out - he realizes that he is still in the forest, even if he is in a different place, closer to Camelot. Arthur is right next to him, cradling him softly, something that makes Merlin turn as red as his neckerchief. The proximity is not exactly new, but the care Arthur is putting in it, the attentions he is giving to Merlin? They’re new, for sure.

Suddenly, Merlin remembers the sorcerer, and he stands up, abruptly, asking Arthur where the sorcerer is. Arthur reassures him, telling him that there was no sorcerer around, and that Merlin had passed out after falling from the horse.

Truth be told, their horses are peacefully waiting for them not too far from where Merlin was resting. Yet it doesn’t make sense, because Arthur and him had gone hunting without horses. 

Merlin tells Arthur exactly this, and Arthur laughs, saying that hit might have scrambled his head more than first thought. No, they hadn’t gone hunting. They had been having a pic nic.

Which is something else that doesn’t make sense, because it’s only the two of them, and they don’t have pic nics. Not without a princess that Arthur can woo in the mean time, anyway.

Merlin’s reply makes Arthur laugh even more, even if Merlin fails to see what’s so funny about it. But the way Arthur says he hasn’t had the intention to woo a princess for years now, Merlin makes the poor manservant blush again.

They decide that Gaius will be the only one able to tell if Merlin is safe or if he has a concussion, so they get on the horses (and Arthur, who has never in his life helped Merlin on a horse to take the pleasure to make fun of him while he tried to get on one, is right next to Merlin to make sure he’s safely on the saddle).

During the way back, Merlin studies everything around him. It feels just so real. If Arthur hadn’t been that weird around him, he might even have believed the story of the fall. Yet, he didn’t feel like someone who had fallen from a horse. He had no aching bones, and even his head didn’t hurt that much. His chest, a little bit. Because he had been hit with a spell. He knew it. The burn he felt where the impact had happened was proof enough of that. Yet, everything around him seemed to prove that Arthur was right.

Arthur even helped him to get off of the horse, something that no stable boy appeared to find unusual. The only one who thought it was out of the ordinary was Merlin.

It would have helped if Arthur had stopped fussing over him on the way to Gaius’ chamber, and if he hadn’t used his royal prattness to make his way into the room, interrupting a consultation, only to demand that Gaius visit Merlin immediately.

A quick check from Gaius told that Merlin was well, at least physically. To apologize for Arthur’s behavior, Merlin offered his help to gaius for the next patients, promising Arthur to come into his chambers with dinner later. Merlin tried not to dwell on Arthur’s “Yeah, where else would you want to have dinner?”

Once they were without Arthur, Merlin explained the situation to Gaius. They both come to the conclusion that the spell must have brought Merlin into a whole new world, that both to Gaius and him felt real, but that probably wasn’t.

Merlin leaves Gaius only after his promise to help him, and he gets into Arthur’s chambers. To find out that they are also his chambers.

Because apparently, in this world, they are a thing. A kind of an official thing, considering that Merlin is wearing a ring he hadn’t noticed until that moment, as if his body had been used to it.

Sleeping next to Arthur, who insists on cuddling on all things, is one of oddest experiences in Merlin’s life. And waking up in Arthur’s arms, knowing this is not true, is nothing short of torture.

But the biggest surprise is that not only Arthur knows about his magic, but he also insists on Merlin training him in said art, otherwise how could he ever defend himself?

The moment Arthur shows Merlin that he can actually summun flames out of thin air, Merlin passes out. Which is a reaction that scares the shit out of Arthur, to whom Merlin is forced to confess everything.

Arthur takes it on himself to find a way to return Merlin to “his Arthur”. It’s very sweet, Merlin thinks, or at least it would be if it wasn’t the complete opposite of what his Arthur would do. This Arthur tells him he’s wrong, because if Merlin’s Arthur is even half of who he is, he is doing everything he can, in the real world, to have Merlin back. Even if maybe they’re still king and manservant and not king and consort. No matter who Merlin is or where he is, he is the most important person in Arthur’s eyes.

Gaius, Arthur, and Merlin spend all the afternoon looking up in the books they have available for something that they could do to bring Melrin back, something that makes tears get in his eyes. 

Well into the night, finally, Merlin feels a tug in his chest, exactly where the spell had hit him. Gaius says that someone in the real world must have found a way to reverse the spell, and all they have to do is wait.

And that’s what Merlin does, and the world around him fades slowly. The last thing he sees is Arthur, the love and the tears in his eyes squeezing Merlin’s heart. The last thing Merlin remembers about the new world he has visited is something Arthur has whispered in the last moment possible: “Tell him the truth.”

Arthur’s eyes are the first thing that Merlin can focus on while coming out of the fog in his brain. They’re almost exactly the same, with tears and love - but that might just be Merlin seeing things - and worry in them. 

Once he comes back to consciousness, Arthur hugs him tight, and even if it feels weird and new, Merlin knows that this is the real thing; how could he have ever thought that the other Arthur had been the real one?

Gaius is there as well, smiling soft and proud at them. Merlin asks him for explanations, but it’s Arthur who answers.

The sorcerer hadn’t been looking for Arthur, as everybody thought, but for Emrys. But he had found Merlin instead. The sorcerer’s goal was to take Emrys away from Arthur, so that he wouldn’t be protected by the most powerful warlock who ever walked the earth. The idea was to trap Emrys in a world where he could have everything his heart most desired, a world from which he would have never wanted to part. But he had got Merlin, and Arthur had thought that he had lost Merlin forever, which explained the very manly tears he was definitely not shedding.

Gaius - and where the hell had Gaius gone? - had said that True Love’s kiss would be the only way to bring Merlin back, but only if Merlin really wanted to go back. And for the longest time Arthur had thought that he wouldn’t come back, because it had taken hours for Merlin to finally wake up, and Arthur was rambling for the first time in his life, adrenaline and relief making it impossible to stop the king from babbling.

Merlin stopped him, asking who was the person who had kissed him back to reality. He was sure it hadn’t been Gaius, but he did want to hear it from Arthur. Who became suddenly silent, averting his gaze.

So Merlin told him the truth. He told Arthur that no, the sorcerer hadn’t missed his target at all. Merlin told him about the world he had found himself in. About their rings. About him training Arthur so that he could defend himself both with his sword and a bit of magic. He told him about what the other Arthur said, that no matter what Merlin would always be the most important for any Arthur Pendragon. And how for Merlin Arthur had been the most important person for many years.

During Merlin’s speech, Arthur slowly turns his gaze to his manservant, never trying to butt in, always quiet. So, Merlin is fairly surprised that, after a moment of silence, all that Arthur does is slowly lean in to kiss him, a kiss so sweet that Merlin feels tears sting his eyes.

Yep, still doing it, slowly but steadily ;)

Once Upon a Time

Since a friend of mine has pointed out to me recently that ouat was hella chaotic in its time and we somehow dealt with that without batting an eye, the natural conclusion would be a ouat au for all of the legends, which could prove hard but oh so amazing. But not only an ouat au because I’ve been having this idea for Gary and John that would fit amazingly well in this.

In Storybrooke, Gary is the bored son of the dentist (even if he says orthodontist because it sounds cooler). When his old high school crush, Ava, becomes the sheriff, Gary insists on being her vice, knowing fully well that Ava would never return his feelings. That ship sailed and burned, and he’s okay with that.

During the first “case” that Ava assigns to him, Gary meets John Constantine, Master of the Dark Arts. Which means he does tarot cards readings, writes horoscopes, and generally tries to scam people who are easily impressed by the powers of a rabbit foot.

Gary is one of those people who are impressed by the powers of a rabbit foot.

He insists that John has to become a collaborator.

Ava is not amused.

John is not amused. But Gary is always at his place for readings, dream divination, tea, any excuse is good for Gary to invite himself in John’s space.

Reluctantly, John starts to collaborate with the sheriff and the vice-sheriff. Nothing to serious, yet he can feel that there is something weird with this town.

Cut to the Enchanted Forest/Fairy tales world/however you want to call it.

John is a young mage who moves to Camelot, pushed by his mother, to study under Damien Darhk, a friend of her mother, who knows about John’s powers.

The only little problem? Magic has been outlawed for ages, and Darhk has been able to live in Camelot because he renouced to his magic, and kept his place as Court Physician. So John, officially, is there to study the art of medicine, not the art of magic.

John is fascinated by Camelot, and becomes soon friend with Nora, Darhk’s daughter and fellow apprentice and witch. He also becomes great friends with Sara and Ray, two of the knights, and he can’t really help to notice how much Nora and Ray try not to stare at each other when the other is not looking.

There is one problem, though. Well, one problem to add to the fact that if anyone found out about his magic he would burn on the pyre.

Prince Gary Green is one of the most stupid men on Earth, and John accidentally saves his life, preventing a woman to take revenge and stab Gary during a feast.

The king, impressed, thinks it’s a good idea to reward John. Which wouldn’t be bad, if the king didn’t think that becoming Gary’s manservant is a reward.