crimson_graces | open post 2017

( this isn't a romcom. she's past the point in her life that meet cutes were charming. wait, were they ever charming? no, actually, they weren't. or she's managed to so thoroughly convince herself that just because she needs to be a hero more than she needs people in her life, that she is no longer affected by things she might have once found cute.

so the hand that presses at her spine as someone nearly walks into her with a tray of coffee doesn't affect her in the slightest. the fact she's getting saved for once does not really do anything to sway her attentions one way or another. the reality that she totally had the reflexes to avoid that (and not to avoid being swept up in someone trying to protect her sweater from at least three different pumpkin spice lattes?) means it's not as romantic as it might look to passerby.

she's still stunned enough by the moment that she gapes, for a moment.

she gapes longer when she realizes who it is. ) MJ? From Midtown? ( you don't forget a face like that, and god damnit, recognizing the hottie she'd chewed through pens daydreaming about doesn't add anything to this moment, either. She Refuses. and... god, she's still just standing there, in his arms, isn't she? she scrambles back with absolutely no elegance, trying to push up glasses she's not even wearing right now. well, this is going super great. ) Ah. Thanks. I guess. ( she shrugs, as if her heart isn't beating a little faster, and her cheeks aren't suddenly a little brighter.

nope. didn't affect her at all. )

[ It's just Emma's luck; knocked up by the godlike equivalent of a golden retriever, and the kid has to take after her. Of course she does, because how else would she get to experience all of the miserable sleepless nights she missed out on the first time by giving up Henry? (And even then, she had plenty of sleepless nights out of sheer guilt, so it's not like she missed all that much.) Seems like the little girl screaming in her arms is determined to give them more than their share of new parent memories, and that would be easier to take if she wasn't running on two hours of sleep to begin with.

To no one's surprise, Thor's been handling all of this better than she does. He's approached fatherhood with bright-eyed enthusiasm instead of crippling fear, and maybe, to their daughter, that makes all the difference. Her cries get a little softer when he takes the baby in an effort to try to soothe the child's mother, and it's not lost on an incredibly exhausted Emma that their daughter seems impossibly smaller in the arms of a man who could practically balance their kid in his palm.

She should be nicer to him, she knows she should. Thor's seen the best and the very worst of her during the year he's spent in Storybrooke, but they were only together a handful of times before she was sending her mother to the drug store to buy her a pregnancy test so that the rest of the town wouldn't find out before he did. When telling him she was pregnant didn't end with a disappearance or an eleven month sentence, she took that for what it was worth and tried to convince herself that she'd be fine no matter what Thor decided he wanted to do.

Over the last few months Emma has tested him, argued with him, let her moods take her in nearly every direction, and ended up a tearful mess of I don't know if I can do this again when he saw right through it. Maybe they can do this after all, because no matter how hard she's tried to push him away, he's still here. Smiling. At three in the morning.

And their grumpy, nameless new daughter is about ready to fall asleep in his arms.] You can stop making this look easy at any time.

[ Resigning from the hospital was difficult since Matthew enjoyed being able to help people, even bring smiles to their faces when possible. But it was too difficult to keep seeing David there. Too... painful. And Emma was right in warning him against getting involved. David was a married man. That's all there was to it. He would eventually remember what he needed to and Matthew couldn't interfere with that.

He had seen the lights for David's welcome home party as he walked back home and tried to busy himself as best he could, not wanting to think about the other man. Reading wasn't working neither was watching anything on tv so hanging up new bird houses at night it was.

He certainly didn't expect to hear David's voice nearby, nearly making him fall off the ladder in his jerking from surprise. Head whipping over to see and yep. There he was. On the other side of the fence. Matt feels blindly for the bark of the tree with one hand. ]

David.

Edited 2017-02-23 04:27 (UTC)

You are not supposed to be in here.

( it's just facts. it's after hours, the factory is cold and dark and silent, and yes, perhaps a little creepy. he doesn't quite understand why teenagers find it so alluring to break into, it seems to be some rite of passage over at the high school, and it just makes James think the teenagers of Storybrooke need better coming of age traditions.

the girl startles, and that's fair. the whole sneak into the brewery thing is supposed to come with nobody there to notice. sorry to disappoint there, blondie, he is indeed still here. he clicks a torch on, illumuniating her in her absolute lack of stealth, looking less angry and bothered and more ... tired? disinterested? hey, at least catching an errant teenager is some distraction from his mind-numbing routine. )

What's it you're here for again? A six pack, isn't it?

( seriously. they needed a cooler coming of age tradition. )

[ in the spirit of scientific inquiries, let's review a logical puzzle. lois lane can't have superman's babies because her body can't handle the supersperm. kara can't get sick because her superbody has a ridiculously talented immune system. so, dear reader, we ask you this: how can kara have a baby?

the answer, funnily enough, comes from pink kryptonite. it's synthetic, most likely a mistake; "douchebag of the year" award winner maxwell lord's experimental castoff found floating in the local waterways in unreasonably high quantities. local police had been alerted by the university's environmental watchdog groups, and when it couldn't be identified, the deo had been called in.

really, it was all clearly just an excellent opportunity to expose supergirl to a metric fuck-ton (winn's words, obviously scientifically accurate measuring) of baby-crazy-inducing synthetic space rock. which would explain why, at three in the morning, kara danvers can be found sitting in front of her computer, teary-eyed, watching a documentary on baby animals in the wild. ]

Ollie!

[ oh no. here come the waterworks. ]

Edited 2017-04-05 18:54 (UTC)

[ Thor has spent rather a lot of time on Midgard lately, so the Warriors Three sent Hogun to go check up on him. He arrived outside the dwelling where Thor has been staying, and a man named Darryl allowed him entry and told him to wait for Thor to arrive home.

So there is a large, armored Asgardian sitting in the living room, flipping a throwing knife idly while he waits. ]

[ the bad: the avengers are no more and wanda is in hiding again.
the good: thor has come to visit.

obviously the majority of the time spent together in the early stages of knowing each other involved wanda trying to..... destroy his squad. but she's bettering herself now! atoning for her sins, etc. plus, she has taken a real shine to the big guy, especially as the both of them navigate the ins and outs of american culture while incognito in true avengers style ( most of them in sunglasses and hats ).

scott had the wild idea to visit this storybook theme park while incognito, mostly because he wanted to bring something home to his daughter. wanda, the secret softie, can't protest that, which leaves her and thor standing at the entrance.

so. how to begin. ]

Where do you want to go first?

1 2 3 4

[ BRING ON BODY GUARD EMMA. ]

[ it's hard to believe in something good. Emma knows, because she's tried. she listened to her friend who told her not to give up on finding a better home than her last one, but sometimes she thinks they're all the same. she's eight years old now, and eight years is long enough to know that she's getting too old to find a family who might want to adopt her. this is her third group home and it's just like her first (but maybe slightly better than her second), maybe they're all the same. maybe this is her life now, and she just needs to get used to it.

she's glad it's quiet for now, while the other kids are at the park. Emma decided to stay here and read instead, since it's the only time there's any silence to be found here. most of the time it takes a pair of headphones and a tape recorder to block out the noise of everyone else fighting, so she has an hour, maybe an hour and a half, to get through as many chapters as she can. she probably won't finish the book, but it's due back at the library in a few days and she's set her mind to getting through it.

for a while everything is the way she expects it to be, while works her way through the pages of Andersen's Fairytales. no one bothers to check on her when it's quiet, so she does her best to make herself comfortable on a bed that's a little too hard for her liking. it's better than sleeping on the ground, especially when it's cold out, and it's not like she's gonna complain. she's been on her best behavior here, trying to change; wanting to transform the way her friend told her to.

in the end, it's her closet that transforms instead of Emma. one moment her room is silent, and the next there's a crash and the shuffle of a person moving through the clothes in her closet. her headphones fly off and she swings her feet over the edge of the bed, staring up at the space with her mouth hanging open. not a person, people. two voices first, and then they step forward and she jumps up, hands up defensively - like she's the one who's gotten caught instead of them.]

How the hell did you do that?

[ honestly, Emma knows better. they've talked to her about language before - about how it doesn't sound good, and the little kids might learn it, but she's scared and she'd rather sound tough than terrified, so a word that's not too bad might just cover the fact that her eyes are as big as saucers and she looks ready to run or scream or both.]

[ her parents would hate this. the idea of her marrying for anything other than love would make both of them so disappointed in her. it's everything her father told her not to do; a sign of complete and total desperation. if there was any other way then she would still be at home in the Enchanted Forest, but Regina's made it so that the entire realm isn't safe for her anymore. she needs an alliance, something stronger than a prince from a neighboring kingdom or a wizard from another land.

all of that works out well for Asgard, because they happen to be in need of a savior, and from what she's heard, she's it. she'll marry their prince - a god - in exchange for their support in defeating the Evil Queen. he's the heir to the kingdom, a warrior named Thor - she's never seen him before in her life, but she looks a little incredulous when he steps into the room where they've agreed to meet. it doesn't seem like this guy would have any trouble finding a wife, but what does she know? she's not all that interested in having a husband.

at least Odin's given them some time to speak by themselves. she'd like to have a little more optimism for their agreement, but this isn't the marriage she wants or how she'd like to achieve one in general. he's not the first suitor she's wanted to roll her eyes at upon arrival, just the first she'll say yes to, because she's out of options and her people need her.

she's silent as he approaches the table, taking in everything from the way he walks to the sound of his boots hitting the marble. he makes an entrance, some women might appreciate that. all Emma does is make sure that she greets him the way she's expected to, with a curtsy and a smile that passes as polite. she'd like to know what she's gotten herself into before she makes any judgements, but right now she feels like she's screwed and tall, blonde, and cheerful over here isn't helping.]

You must be my future husband.

[ she'd introduce herself, but what's the point? he knows. besides, she's not entirely sure if she should go by princess or queen these days. one is the title she had when she left the enchanted forest, and the other is the one she intends to take when she returns. it is, after all, rightfully hers now.]

Edited 2017-04-17 06:24 (UTC)

Edited 2017-04-21 01:30 (UTC)

[seven years.

its been seven years, and yet somehow, he's still here. still alive, in the loosest sense of the word. forced to make his way through life with a piece of his soul missing. without a drive there to have him do anything more than make it through each day. he has no goal, nothing to be heading towards. all possibility of a future died along with her, and there's nothing he can do to change that.

(they were meant to get married. to settle down. to have children, grandchildren, a family. they were meant to grow old together--)

he's in the time vault when the alarm sounds. the cortex may not be the hub of activity that it once was, but there's enough running in the background to keep him informed of any changes within the grounds of the lab. he may not be the flash anymore, but that doesn't mean he's prepared to ignore whatever this newest interruption is.

but despite how immediate the threat could very well be, he still takes the time to shut down gideon first. to lock away those memories, at least for the time being. they aren't ones he wants to share with anybody else. ones that he has to keep covered up until his own weakness sets in and he has to give in. again.

one last look at the now sealed wall of the time vault, and barry speeds off to the basement. to the anomaly forming. to the--

breach?]

[ Let it be said that they gathered at Granny's and nothing exploded, nothing came out of a portal, no one tried to murder them. For the first time in their lives, it's calm and as Snow looks around at this group of people who are her family, she can feel it in her heart, spreading like sunshine: they're all going to be okay. Days do pass, then weeks and loft life just isn't cutting it anymore. She knows it; she knows where David would rather be and she knows exactly what she wants.

They move onto their farm just after Neal turns one and it's like a dream finally coming true. They had to fight for it for so long, and now here it is, including Wilby, and it's perfect. Neal's never seen so much space and to watch him take those awkward toddler baby steps and run toward David with arms outstretched across their yard is amazing. Waking up every day to birds singing and going off to school is the most perfectly normal thing she could ever think of. She could have been in the Enchanted Forest, rebuilding with David by her side and that would have been fine, but this is so much better than ruling a kingdom.

During her summer break, she gets up just as early as her husband to help with the chores, and it's so early that more often than not they're done before their son is even awake. On this particular morning, Snow takes the eggs they've gathered and begins to make breakfast for her family all while humming softly before looking at David. ]

Charming, I have a question for you.

[ She says that with a small smile as she beats eggs, looking down at what she's doing before meeting his gaze again. ]

How would you feel about turning one of these empty rooms into another nursery?

( idk pick your fave, throw something at me. bonus options: a, b, or c. )

[Most mornings, Charming is the first one up in the loft and that means that he makes breakfast for the whole lot of them most every morning too. Some days he makes a little less because Henry is staying at Regina's. Or Snow wakes up earlier than her alarm and comes out to help him. Once or twice, Henry skips down the stairs and stirs the pancakes.

Not once has Emma been the first one up but that's just part of his daughter's charm.

So imagine his surprise when he's barely started getting the ingredients down from the cabinets when Emma bounds down the stairs and no. She isn't dressed for heading into the station at the crack of dawn, which is good because he might be upset at not being informed they had work to do before now.]

Emma?

[ so this new place, with the new school, and the entire life do-over? Emma isn't a fan. her new school sucks, she doesn't have any friends, and she's still waiting for Neal to show up and make things interesting. somehow, life is more boring in Boston than it was in the last place she actually called home, but it's freed her up to take on a few special projects.

since it's father's day, she went for a do-it-yourself puzzle picture block, complete with the earliest picture of the two of them that she could find. she also sprung for a card, and has started making dinner without consulting him first. hopefully he likes spaghetti and meatballs, it's one of the few things she can make on her own without a visit from the fire department.]

[She'd been impatient to see her half-brother ever since arriving back home, after hearing he had claimed as King of the North. But he'd been off dealing with the undead, with that Daenerys woman and her dragons or something. Whatever it was, she hoped he'd be back soon.

In the meantime, Arya had enough to distract her with. Keeping up her training with her sword, reminiscing to Bran and Sansa about things that seem like they happened to someone else, about their lives before....before everything changed when King Robert showed up.

But when Jon does return, she's to be found near the Godswood, sitting cross-legged and speaking softly, as if their father could actually hear her as she recounts some of her adventures since she left King's Landing. How much she misses him, how she and Sansa were getting along better now, that she imagined he'd be proud of them for that much.

She's so preoccupied, feeling so....safe, being back home, that she doesn't seem to hear footsteps approaching.]

[Honestly? There is still a lot to work through. They've all been through a lot, through so much since the last time they saw each other. It taking time, to slowly get the details of what happened to each of her siblings. Some being harder to talk about than others, understandably.

So it's hardly a surprise that sometimes information might come slowly, from comments here and there that help fill in the gaps, so to speak. It's a work in progress, really. Even if Arya thinks she gets the basics, some of which she heard even across the sea.

Really, it's taken a long time, but the Stark children, the sisters in particular, are finally taking on board what Ned used to try tell them. That they were stronger together. That they could fight and hate each other all they wanted, but at the end of the day, they were family. They were siblings and that would never change.

Arya knocks on Sansa's door. The door that used to be their parent's room. She's still adjusting to that, not going to Sansa's old room to find her sister.]

Sansa?

[Because, yes, Sansa may be the Lady of Winterfell now. But she's still Sansa. Still her sister, who Arya remembers flicking dinner at from across the table and all.]

[Merlin's had a pretty decent time of it in uni so far. He's made a few friends, gotten good grades-- he really enjoys all his pre-med classes, which is a good sign he's studying the right thing.

Only problem is, all his friends paired up for room assignments or had gone to live off-campus, so he'd been left to the roommate-matching whims of the university, with no idea if fate would give him some complete arsehole to live with for at least the next semester, if not two.

He'd hoped to get to the room first so he could stake out the best side of the room, but fate, that fickle bitch, threw everything she possibly could at him to make move-in day as much of a hassle as possible for him.

He had car trouble, it took them ten minutes to find his dorm room key at registration, one of his packed bags had simply burst open, spilling clothes all over the sidewalk, on the way up to the dorm building, he'd wasted another ten minutes trying to find the bloody elevator...

It's been a rough sort of day. He no longer cares about getting the best side of the room, he just wants to shove all his things in the vague direction of where they're supposed to go and collapse onto his bed with his laptop until he's ready to properly pass out.

He shoulders open the door, sending a last prayer to whoever was listening that his dorm mate wouldn't be too much of a jerk.]

Hullo, hi! I'm Merlin. Yes, I know it's a weird name. Moving day's hell, yeah?

U KNOW WHO.

if they had a boy it would've been kirk, so.

charming~ /storybrooke angst from s1 yo

i hate myself

i offer no explanation or apology.

u know what i want

no subject

no subject

pick one.

tap dances in

taketheswanandrun.au

arrangedmarriagesarecool.au

but who could i want

no subject

welcome to the future...

hubby~~~

hello, husband.

the charmings first father's day

no subject

For Jon

For Sansa

@clodpole