Merlin figure skating au where Merlin Emyrs is Totally Most Definitely just a rink staff who works at the rink where his friends train and is highkey their main advisor when it comes to technique and planning programs so much so that everyone defaults to going to him for advice. He's practically Gwen and Lance's choreographer. Oh and Arthur Pendragon is the in universe equivalent of ilia malinin technique wise but his artistry is kinda ass. And Uther is a nag and Morgana drags Merlin to help Arthur's sorry arse. Hijinks ensue.
(You had kicked everyone else out of Ramos’ room as Dr. Gina Joy did his work. Your group had probably been giving him more work than he had all week, gems. . .)
(You stood nearby as the doctor checked every part of Ramos’ body. You had your notebook out, taking notes whenever Gina talked. But, in honesty, you were more looking at your past notes, to calm yourself.)
(. . . . A couple months ago, your notes on mind craft started. Your notes on Ramos. It was your distrust of Ramos.)
(Why would you trust them, back then? You had met them just that day, and you had seen what happened to Siffrin because of what they did. You remember the first thing you ever said to them. You found them when they were recovering, and you had a moment alone.)
(“Do you know how to hide a dead body, Ramos?” You had asked. And they answered honestly, “No, I don’t. Why?”)
(And you replied simply. “I do.”)
(It was a simple threat. If they harmed your family, your people, those who you would give the world for, they’re dead.)
(. . .)
(You regret it, now.)
(Gems, that makes two then. Two people who you thought would backstab you, and two you were wrong about. And now they're dating! Ha!)
(. . . Ha. . .)
(. . . Once Ramos was better, you can apologize.)
>>>
(Bonnie)
(Soup n’ sandwich. You couldn’t get more boring with your brunch, but the doctor said so, so here you are. Boring old soup n’ sandwich. . .)
(. . . You nibble at the sandwich. You weren’t hungry.)
(Is ‘Oz gonna be okay?)
(You dunno, they said something about a fight in ‘Frins brain, right? And, and ‘Oz. . .)
(. . . You remember when you first met ‘Oz. You were going to where ‘Za used to work, met ‘m, seemed okay, smelt weird. You ran off for mint, few minutes later. . .)
(No that wasn’t it!)
(Huh?)
(It was th’ market!)
(Oh, yeah. ‘Oz was disguised, took you, but they weren’t in control, was bein’ controlled. They apologized a lot for that)
(. . . You wish you met ‘Oz a nicer way.)
(Yeah. . . You wanna know more about their gardening. They knew a lotta ‘bout gardening, and you wanted to know to get nice, big, juicy veggies! Getting all dirty and finding worms!!)
(Heheh! Yeah!! You could also ask about, uhm, uuuuh. . . Oh!!! What ‘Za was like!)
(Boooooriiing you KNOW what ‘Za is like. No you could ask about uhm, uh. . .)
(Heh, outta ideas?)
(Shut up!)
>>>
(Isabeau)
(You tried not to bounce your leg as Siffrin lay curled up, head down in your lap. They were hidden beneath one of their many hats. Who knew who was fronting, but you don’t think it really mattered at this point.)
(. . . Complete ego death.)
(That’s what Gina and Odile hypothesised anyway. The doctor had gone back to the medhouse to do what he could, but apparently all Ramos needed was, time. Time to rest, recover, and to piece themself back together.)
(Ha. . . Funny thing about time, huh. You gently pat Siffrins hair. A very, very funny thing about time. You found Sif not long ago chucking their dagger out the door. They tried to loop back. They DID loop back. But, whatever kinda checkpoint system they had, it was too late. After that they curled up on you. . .)
(. . . Your buddy. . . And your partner. . .)
(Why couldn’t life be simple again? You liked just swapping jokes with Sif, letting him take all the blankets when you shared a bed, eating together. You liked studying for the big exams with Ramos, always so anxious, always getting great grades. You liked going on jogs, you’d be done after a few miles and they could go for more. You liked wrestling with them, even though you always won.)
(. . . That's what Change is about huh, breaking something, killing something. You both changed. You returned to Jouvente to find that yourself and Ramos were, different. You were more confident in who you are, and Ramos has changed into who they wanted to be.)
(You really wish you could have been there, though. You should have seen how anxious they were about doing good, always asking to study and train with you. You should have helped them with more inside stuff than outside. You should have said a proper goodbye. You should have done a lotta things. . .)
(And someone else took advantage of the fact you didn't. Reach. Out.)
(So, you, reached out.)
(You talked to them, asked what was going on, why they were doing this. . . You were worried for them. And, you got through you them! They felt terrible, and wanted to fix things but. . . But for that fucking archeologist in their head!)
(Seeing your buddy, your best friend, your bestie, morphed into a sadness. Seeing them hurt, seeing them trying so hard, reaching out to you. You couldn’t imagine what it must have been like. . .)
(. . . You hold Sif a bit closer.)
>>>
(Mirabelle)
(You breathe in. . . And, out. . .)
(It was the next day and you had gone on a walk. You know it’s a bad idea, you know it’s reckless, and unnecessary, and, and just stupid. But, you needed to go on a walk. A walk out of the city gate and into the woods.)
(You breathe in. . . . . And. . . Out. . . . .)
(That’s where you are now. A small clearing, away from the city, looking at a little rabbit sniffing around the clearing. You were here because you were still afraid. You were afraid of not being good enough, strong enough, brave enough. Perci could read minds and was an ace with those swords. Merlon could explode waves of sadness with a snap. With Ramos, Ramos like they are right now. . .)
(. . . You looked at the little rabbit. It’s, it’s alright to do this, right?)
{. . . IT WILL NOT HURT. IF IT FEELS WRONG. BRING TREAT NEXT TIME.}
(O-okay, okay. Okay. Okay. You breathe in, and, hold out your hand sign, staring down the rabbit! You used SOOTHING RESTFUL SONG!)
(The rabbit was frozen in time.)
(You let out a breath, you smell sugar, c-change. . . O-oh that. . . You felt a surge of cold within you, that took a lot of energy, but, it worked. . .)
(. . . Does, d-does, it get, easier?)
{. . . YES.}
(Thank you. . . You, walk towards the rabbit, and clap your hands, unfreezing the rabbit. It bolts off into the woods.)
(. . . You sit down in the grass. You could do it. If you met them again, you could do it.)
(. . . Oh Ramos.)
(Once everything calmed down in Jouvente, you just had to talk to them. To tell them just, how proud you were. They made mistakes, but, they’re working to fix it. They got the confidence to change their body, and the next thing was to change their mind, to get more. . . Confident.)
(This kind of change of mind was. . . Not what you had envisioned.)
(. . . Ramos is going to be okay. They had to be okay, they will be okay! So! Since they're going to be okay, you needed to train up to fight historians! Right?)
{RIGHT. IT WILL NOT BE EASY.}
(Yeah. You know. You stand up. Will frozen time be enough, you think?)
{JUST FOCUS ON YOUR TARGET. CHANNEL YOU EMOTIONS FOR THE STRONGEST ATTACK.}
(. . . That's why sadness like you can do that easily, right?)
{. . . YES.}
(Hehe. Maybe you should fight instead.)
{. . .}
(. . . S-sorry, that was a joke.)
{HA. HA.}
>>>
(Pétronille)
(It was the next day.)
(And you were feeling more useless than ever.)
(Ramos went under two days ago, and since then everyone had been doing their part. Be it moving their limbs so their body doesn't get crabbed up, helping them eat, drink, all that. Right now you were doing your part by staying home while the others went out for supplies.)
(. . . Change, dammit.)
(You were making yourself busy, cleaning the place up, dusting, all that. There were a bunch of random trinkets. Pictures, a compas, binoculars, random bits of brass, candles. . .)
(And the urn.)
(You paused for a second, staring at it. . . Change, you hope that wherever they are, it's a nice afterlife. You woulda loved to meet Eri, someone who'd defend the city in their old age. Someone who'd take a random kid like Ramos off the street.)
(. . . You wish you had someone like that back then.)
(Holding onto that little boat for dear life, little sibling still asleep, waves throwing you around. Finally making back to shore, and stumbling into Bambouche.)
(The people there were all so kind to you. But it was still just you, and Bonnie. You got a job, and Bonnie got a school. You got a house, a small house, more like a shack, but it was yours.)
(. . .)
(. . . Will, this house not have an owner, soon?)
(When Ramos recovers, you gotta give them a big hug. They helped save Bonbon, they asked a god for help AND IT WORKED! They helped reassure you. Crab that's not even mentioning they saved your mind at the inn.)
(From now on, if someone messes with Ramos, they mess with you. You're welded. No getting out that, Rams.)
>>>
(Siffrin) {Mal Du Pays} <Null> |Asterion| [Loop] [(Saffron)]
[. . .]
[Your room. Your own headspace. Up the favor tree, past the canopy, and there you were. A treehouse. Looking out to the distance, the sights of the black sand beach were instead replaced with the house. That same house, still frozen in time.]
[(. . . Well?)]
[What.]
[(Do you feel proud?)]
[No! I don't feel blinding proud!]
[(But isn't that what you wanted?)]
[(The single sound mind in an endless sea of idiotic sailors. You who guides them to a happiness that you can never reach. Who reaches out, yet flinches away.)]
[. . .]
[(Tongue tied? Let me.)]
[(You regret it, but you know it was right. You know even if you didn't mean it, you finally have the trainee out of the way. You could finally rest easily knowing they don't have the host under their claws.)]
[(Because really! Who would believe that the host just falls in love with the trainee so fast! At the drop of a hat! At one little comment! No, no no no, the trainee is using him to get accepted in, obviously.)]
[(That's what you think, isn't it?)]
[. . . . . .]
[I don't want to think that anymore.]
[(So you'll join the idiots?)]
[YES! YES I'LL JOIN THE IDIOTS!!]
[I'LL JOIN ALL THE IDIOTS AND BURY MY HEAD IN THE SAND! I'LL LET RAMOS LIVE THEIR LIFE. KISS MY STARDUST. I'LL LET ASTERION DO WHAT HE WANTS EVEN!]
[AND THEN WHEN WE'RE STABBED IN THE BACK I'LL JUST TELL STARDUST I. TOLD. YOU. SO.]
this is going to be veryy whiny and stupid and specific but i fucking hate when my friends have their mid-monthly crises cause they fuck up their bodies or they hate their jobs or they get in a fight with their partners or whatever and then they go well obviously the world hates me and im the world's poorest meow meow because YOU (user geminipdf)never get injuries. or you never get shit sprained/broken bla bla you're naturally skinny bla bla you don't ever have problem a, b, c bitch the most important person in my life died when i was a teenager. thank fuck i dont get random injuries out of nowhere cause if my body started sabotaging me at all times id really end it so like im sorry your wrist hurts </3 hope your beautiful long term relationship, big family, steady income and general luck will somehow help that terrible ailment