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gremlin-bot · 1 year

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Growth of Trial and Error

So, I lied about this being put on the back burner apparently. It feels so good to post this after working on it for like two months. I hope y'all enjoy this 5 + 1 fic that was bate read by the wonderful @half-dead-ham !!! This fic also connects my other fics in my 'Petals and Arrays of The Dead and Those Yet To Be' series.

AO3 Link: here

—------ 1

Danny and Tim have been dating for a little over a month and a half. In that time they have tried to have a date night once every week… It ends up once every two weeks with random visits for a cuddle date. Danny blames the Observants and Gotham rogues for being bitches. There's only so many times that the restaurant they have reservations at somehow gets hit in an attack before they just give up on restaurants all together.

This is one of those cuddle dates. Danny was laying with his eyes closed on Tim's couch with a star pattern blanket wrapped around him. He's waiting for Tim to get back to back with popcorn so they can watch the Knives Out movies. Why would Tim want to watch murder mysteries when he literally helps solve crime as his nightly activities Danny would never get, that being said he had no room to talk. He himself often fights ghosts for fun now. It's good stress relief from royal duties.

Speaking of royal duties, Danny was sick of paperwork and meetings. Being Ghost King was one almost useless meeting after another with even more useless paperwork to go with each one. He swears, if the Observants ask for another meeting about making more court trials he will find a way to revive them from never being alive and end them himself. All that doesn't matter at the moment because he has a tired boyfriend to cuddle, once he stops taking so long in the kitchen.

Danny opens his eyes to see Tim with a small loving smile on his face. One that Danny can't help but return.

"Aww, it's almost like you got flowers in your lungs for me again!" Danny teases

"Hey! You have no room to talk, Mr. Blood Blossoms!" Tim's blush only gets worse with Danny's light laughter.

"Yeah, yeah and I'll never live that down." Tim rolls his eyes at the pun. Why did he have to bring another person who likes puns into his life, wasn't Dick enough? Danny lifts one side of the blanket.

"Come on sweetheart, get in here." Now how can Tim say no to that? He sets down the popcorn and the veggie tray Bruce insisted they have. Tim dives into Danny and settles in for a good old murder mystery.

They get half way through the first movie when things go wrong.

"God these guys are assholes, you'd think that after hearing one person getting excluded they would worry about the possibility of it happening to themselves!" Danny says, grabbing a handful of popcorn from its bowl.

"I hate that I've met people like this at galas." Tim groans.

"I hope they crash and burn. Marta deserves the inheritance at this point." Danny ends his point by popping pieces of popcorn in his mouth.

As the scene on screen changes, so does the one in Tim's living room. Danny really can't have a nice day off.

A ripping sound is hard over the cacophony of the TV. A portal to the Infinite Realms appears next to it, effectively ruining their cuddle date night. As the Observant floats out into the living room, Danny can't help but feel like he is forgetting something.

…Oh, oh no.

Danny realized what he forgot to tell Tim.

He is the ghost king and Tim has no fucking clue.

Oh Ancients, Tim is going to kill him a second time. That's a future Danny problem, present Danny has to handle an Observant with an uninformed vigilante boyfriend laying on top of him.

Tim has yet to move as he is in his civvies but Danny can feel him tensing. In an attempt at comfort and making sure Tim stays in place, Danny squeezes Tim to his chest and lets out soft rumbling from his core. A signal to the other that everything will be okay, he still doesn't relax.

The Observant was impatiently waiting for Danny's acknowledgement. It doesn't wait long, not because Danny answered but because it ran out of the little bit of patience it had in the first place. The mutual disdain the Observants and Danny hold for each other is great, but Danny will always commit more than the Observants. So yes, Danny could make this easier for himself and Tim, but no. He has principals!

"King Phantom, us Observants wish to schedule a meeting with you regarding the court-'' the eyeball in a sad imagination of jello didn't get to finish its request. It got cut off by Danny's sigh.

"If it's about the same thing as before, no. As stated in the Court Acts section 12a, you can't give out Court hearings without proper approval by an Ancient and myself. Nor can a trial proceed without a pre-approved Ancient or ghost of similar position from outside the Observant branch." Danny's blank stare fixed itself on the unwanted goo encased eyeball, daring it to rebuttal.

"Yes, of course King Phantom. I will tell the others." The Observant grits out. Its goo flesh scrunching in a poor imitation of a disgruntled face. It rips open a portal to the Infinite Realms and leaves without further pestering.

Danny lifts his arm. He can hear Tim's mind trying to piece together what happened.

"Hey, Tim? Beloved? Are you good?" Danny is starting to think that this might have broken his boyfriend. It's been a good 30 seconds since The Observant left and Tim hasn't moved. Maybe he's rebooting? As Danny is pondering the mental state of the man he's supposed to be cuddling, said man decided to roll off of him landing in a crouch.

Tim looks Danny in the eyes and says with all his heart, "What the fuck, Danny?!"

Oh Danny might be a little fucked.

—--------

Tim is going to kill and revive his boyfriend for a second time, if he doesn't explain right now.

"So, I may have forgotten to tell you something important." Danny placates.

"Oh! What gave it away? The probable high powered ghost that portaled into my living room and broke the TV in the middle of our date, or the fact you responded to them with higher authority!" Tim's sass is amplified by the TV blinking to life and giving a static scream.

Danny breathes in through clenched teeth, face slightly scrunched. It was adorable, making it hard for Tim to stay upset. "I'm sorry Tim. I didn't mean to keep anything from you, I just forgot you didn't know already and I just don't talk about it by default. You know I'm not used to not being around my parents and they don't know about any of-"

"Danny, hun, you're starting to ramble. I know how it is with your parents but please explain now.”

“Sorry, I’ll start at the beginning. So, you know how I told you how I became a teen hero after my half-death.”

“Yeah…” Tim switches from crouching to sitting on the floor, eyes squinting at Danny with suspicion. He doesn’t like where this is going.

“So, there was this one time my town was pulled into the infinite realms by the old ghost king. So I had to fight him. I won in the end but, Oh the consequences of these actions."

"Oh no."Tim said quietly, reeling at the possibilities of what the downfall of a king could be.

"Fun fact, the right to the throne is earned through trial by combat. It would have been fine if not for the Realms showing affection for me. You can't argue with the semi-sentient realm between realms," Danny sighed.

“Semi-sentient in what way??! How did it show affection for you?? What do you mean it would have been fine??" What exactly was Danny involved with? Tim thought it was just ghost wrangling. He knew he should have tried harder to contact Constantine about ghosts. Doesn't matter at the moment, nothing could have prepared him for this.

"I don't know how but the Infinite Realms are just like that. It might have to do with the fact that it's where all the dead end up, so technically all lands of the dead, but I just work there." Danny shrugged, all too used to the Infinite Realms' brand of being.

"Danny, Alnilam, my dearest boyfriend, I mean this with my entire heart and soul, what the fuck?" Tim lets his head slump into Danny's arm. He was done for the day and the next two after that. He just wants to watch some murder mysteries with Danny and deal with the Ghost King shit later. It was the first day off of both Wayne Enterprises and any major case he’s had in weeks.

The TV's static increased in volume for a moment before setting down, as if mocking him. He side eyes the TV.

"Sweetheart, if you stop glaring at the TV and give me like 5 minutes, I can fix it." Danny lightly chuckled.

"Fine, I want to see if I'm right about what is actually going on." Tim knows who did it, he's just waiting to be proven right.

"Hey! Don't spoil it!! Not everyone is a smartass." Danny sheds the blanket as he stands, "Are you going to join me on the couch when I'm done, or are you brooding?"

"Yet here you are calling me a smartass." Tim rolled his eyes. Switching from the floor to the couch and stealing Danny's blanket in the process. He's allowed to be a bit petty. It's what he deserves after this ordeal and the ones to come when they talk in depth, but that's for later. Right now, he gets to go back to watching murder mysteries with his boyfriend.

—------- 2

Danny woke up the next day with Tim's head on his chest and a crick in his neck. That's what he gets for falling asleep during cuddle night. Carefully, he reaches for his phone, trying his best to not wake up Tim. Ancients knows how much that boy needs sleep.

Checking the time Danny sighs. He has a meeting with the Ancients in half an hour. Looks like he will have to wake him up… or turn intangible and let him be. Danny debates for a minute before deciding fuck it. He makes himself intangible slowly, eventually Tim is laying on the couch still peacefully asleep.

He carefully floats out of Tim's space and onto the floor. Turning tangible turns into a problem, as Danny apparently can't watch where he pops into existence. His foot ends up in his water bottle. Losing his balance he falls and hits the floor hard, this of course wakes up Tim.

"Danny, what are you doing?" Tim groggily asks.

"Trying not to wake you up while I leave for a meeting. As you can see, I failed." Danny says from the floor, not having moved yet. "I'm just going to transform right here on the floor in shame"

"Transform?" Tim blinked, adjusting so he could fully look at Danny.

"Yeah, so I can get to the meeting on time... Wait. Tim, did you forget that I can transform?" Danny sits up, making eye contact with Tim.

"No I didn't forget, you never told me!"

"I told you the night we started dating," Danny laughs.

"Okay maybe I forgot, but it's not my fault," Tim counters.

"Oh, and how is that?" Danny teases.

"Well someone told me that he was getting severely injured by the Blood Blossoms that were in his lungs. So, forgive me for missing some details!"

"Okay, okay, you win. I did go to my ghost doctor after, you know.”

"Good. Don't you have a meeting to get to?"

"Oh shit! Close your eyes, my transformation is a bit bright." Danny shoots up and transforms in the process. Grabbing his things around the room he almost missed Tim's reaction. If it wasn't for Tim's gasp.

Danny turns to face Tim, his face is flushed as his eyes take in Danny's ghost form. Danny's growing smirk just makes Tim's blush darker.

"See something you like?" Danny teases, his smirk growing wicked.

"Shut up and go to your meeting!!" Tim throws a throw pillow at Danny, only for Danny to turn intangible. He didn't even have the decency to dodge.

"I'm going now, goodbye sweetheart." Danny rips open a portal with his claws, diving through just as he hears Tim's goodbye.

—---------- 3

It took two weeks for Tim to succumb to the need for information. Danny should have expected this from one of the world's greatest detectives, but the call he received at 4:16am was still a jarring surprise. He almost fell out of bed trying to answer his phone. Tim is lucky that he wasn't asleep yet.

After a slight struggle, Danny finally answered the call "Tim, sweetheart, what could you need at this fine 4am?"

"Are you technically a god? Because according to this glowing book I got my hands on-" Tim sounds like he's been on a research binge for an unhealthy amount of time.

"Please tell me you didn't use your vigilante status to steal a book about the Infinite Realms from the Justice League's magic team or whatever they’re called."

"I may have but anyway- wait." Tim stopped mid sentence, like he was reviewing information. Danny has no clue what it could be, but he did know that it would make the conversion complicated. "I didn't tell you I was a vigilante. How did you figure it out?"

"You don't change your voice at all when ordering coffee as Red Robin." Danny says flatly.

"That's fair and also explains why you were okay with me canceling dates last minute. I should invest in a voice changer or something."

"I think you'll be fine, sweetheart. I have a habit of remembering voices of people I’m crushing on, and heightened hearing makes that a little easier."

"If you say so… I'm still gonna look into it." Danny can hear Tim's typing pick up. At this rate the both of them won't be going to sleep anytime soon.

"I'm not going to ask how long you've been awake, but for your own health and mine please stop researching and get some rest. Even the dead are asleep right now." Danny pleads. He knows that they both have things to do later in the day, and Danny doesn't want to fall asleep during his classes.

Tim sighs, "Fine, but after your class tomorrow can you actually answer all my questions?"

"Yes, Hun. Now get away from the computer and go to bed." Danny lightly chuckled.

"I’m going, I'm going." Danny can hear the eye roll in Tim's voice. "Night Danny, sweet dreams."

"Goodnight Tim." Danny smiled as the call ended. Glad that he could get his workaholic boyfriend to go to bed, he relaxes back into his own bed and lets sleep take him.

—------- 4

Tim was on the fire escape connected to Danny's apartment. Hoping to break in and set up his notebooks and other things he collected in his research into the Ghost King and by association the Infinite Realms. Unfortunately for him Danny's last class ended early, as can be seen as Danny entering his own apartment the same time Tim crawls through the window. Tim knows he looks like a kid caught red-handed faking a nonexistent Uncle, Danny's deadpan stare didn't make it better.

"Hey, Danny…" Tim drawls as one of his notebooks falls from his grip to the floor.

"Tim, you could have used the door like a normal person." Danny sighed as he set his bag down. Tim took this time to set up on the floor with his notes spread on the coffee table. "Notebooks? That's not usually your style?"

"Yeah, I would have done my usual spreadsheets and docs but apparently Infinite Realms information crashes any and all tech. So, it's old school for now."

"Oh! Yeah, I forgot about that. I can fix that problem for you while we talk, just give me your tablet, or would you prefer your laptop?"

"Tablet please. Would you mind explaining what you're doing to it while fixing it?" Tim was ecstatic, he loved watching Danny work on his inventions. The methodical way Danny assembled work is a wonderful contrast to how they were made; chaotic and from almost nothing.

Danny's smile was absolutely smitten when he turned back to Tim with his tools. "Of course sweetheart. What do you have to ask me?"

"Okay, so I have a lot, so this is going to take a while." Tim starts as he opens a fresh notebook, pen at the ready.

It was hours of revelations and notebook after notebook. Danny was patient and explained everything the best he could. Tim was pretty sure Danny would ask for his notes after this with how thorough he's being. He honestly wouldn't be this thorough unless it was for a case, but Danny can't remember to tell anyone anything important for the life (death) of him.

"Yeah, parts of the Realms are just kinda ocean-like randomly, so if you visit we have to watch out for that." Danny explained with little fanfare.

"Why are the Infinite Realms like this?" Tim groans emphatically.

"I don't know, man. I just accept and deal with it," Danny replies with a shrug.

"Speaking of things you deal with, you can get summoned, right?"

"Yeah, I can ignore them, technically, but it's like a ringing that keeps getting louder and more annoying till I answer it."

"Huh, interesting. So, does that mean it can be used as an excuse to get out of meetings?" Tim asks with mischief lacing his words

"I… holy shit, I think it can!!!" Tim can see the excitement spread across Danny's face at the realization.

"We are trying it for our next cuddle night, if what is in this book is correct." Tim hands Danny the book he took from Justice League Dark. It's open to a summoning array with instructions underneath it.

"Oh, this is wrong. The array itself is good but the instructions on placement and gifts are either wrong or too vague."

"Oh? I should tell JLD, then."

"Nah, don't. It'll keep me from getting summoned, plus they can always ask you if they need to summon me. Seeing that I'm giving you the correct one."

"Fair, but you better give me all the materials for it then."

"Tim, if it's you summoning me all you need is a small offering and a drop of your blood." Tim looks at Danny in confusion. Danny shakes his head in amusement. "The closer I am to a person, the less required to summon me. At some point all you need is the array and a bit of your blood."

"Oh, that's pretty smart and seems like a perfect way to cause trouble for others" a sly smile spills onto his face, thinking about all the possibilities this could bring.

"Oh, yeah! The amount of times Sam has summoned me at galas is too many to count." Danny's grin is unnaturally wide, with too sharp canines that make Tim swoon as Danny launches into a story of gala shenanigans.

—----- 5

Danny was curled around Tim in his ghost form, acting as an ice pack for his boyfriend's sore ribs. The idiot was overtaxing himself on patrol and took one too many hits. Danny doesn't mind some ghostly cuddling, but he would like it if Tim looked after himself more.

Tim relaxes into Danny more as he types away on his computer. Danny glances at Tim's screen to see that he is looking into the effects the Infinite Realms has on the mortal realm. Which would be sweet if he wasn't using it as a distraction from being banned from current cases.

"Tim, you're supposed to be resting. You know, off the laptop?" Danny lifts his head from Tim's shoulder to actually look at him in the eyes.

Tim sighed, not stopping his typing. "This is resting, I'm barely even hacking into the government."

"Why are you like this?"

"The trauma,” he replied sarcastically. “But anyway, it looks like the government was doing experiments at one point but stopped." Tim hummed as the clicking of the keyboard picked up speed.

“Oh, that’s just the Ghost Investigation Ward.” Danny lets his head drop to his boyfriend’s shoulder, closing his eyes. Tim’s typing only quickened with time and the new information given to him.

“Danny, why are there files about their multiple attempted captures of you, and different files detailing experiment plans that involve vivisecting you‽” Tim was no longer relaxed against Danny’s body.

“I thought they deleted those.” Danny srutines the screen, looking for anything to tell him what has happened to the plans. There in the top right corner is what he was looking for. “Sweetheart, the plans have been defunct, like we worked out when they were getting their shit together.”

“They hunted you for sport,” Tim’s unimpressed stare bore into the side of Danny’s head.

“They got better… morally.Not at the hunting thing,” Danny sighed. “Look, before senior year Tucker, Sam, and I spent the whole summer essentially reforming them. It took a lot of effort but they are ethical now, and even helped fix the shit they wrecked. I promise you they aren't a problem anymore.” Danny pleads.

“Fine.” Tim relents for a moment. "How did you even get them to reform? From what I've read they were pretty biased."

Danny's carefree smile turns sharp. "Blackmail and aggressively shoving evidence to prove them wrong in their faces."

Tim lets out a fond huff as he rolled his eyes, as if he hasn't done worse as Robin. Tim finally lets himself relax, body goes limp against the cold form wrapped around him. A yawn escapes as he feels the pull of sleep cling to him.

“Tired enough to sleep now?” Amusement colored Danny’s voice.

Tim closes his laptop and sets it on a part of the couch not occupied. “Yeah, carry me to bed?”

Danny chuckled as he gently picked up the injured boy and floated them to Tim's bed.

—----- +1

When Tim walked into Danny's apartment he didn't expect to see him putting what was probably Lazarus water into small vials. It looked like he had been doing this for a while. There were several different bags full of the glowing vials with the one he was filling now being one of the last.

"Danny, what are you doing?" Tim asked the dark haired boy, already expecting what the answer might be.

"Remember how I'd said I would look into the Lazarus pits for Jason?" Danny replies as he reaches for more empty vials. Tim hums and moves the vials closer to him. “Turns out to do that I need a shit ton of samples for Frostbite, so here we are.”

Tim sets his things down and settles into helping his boyfriend. "How was dealing with the League of assassins?"

"It was fine. They didn’t notice me, surprisingly.” Danny shrugs, putting more filled vials away.

“I wouldn’t say it was surprising they don’t know about ghosts.” Tim points out.

“Fair. I had a look around, they have a lot of interesting things in their base.”

“Oh, did you take anything besides the lazarus water?” Tim wonders what caught Danny’s attention. From what he remembers it could be just about anything from swords to priceless pieces of art.

“No, but I did see what I’m pretty sure was a spleen in a jar!” Danny’s smile grew almost inhumanly big. “Tim, get this! It was fucking labeled! Labeled!” Danny’s excitement is clear in his voice. Tim couldn’t completely focus on it. He only knows of one spleen that was removed under the care of the league.

“What was it labeled?” Tim asked, nervousness creeping into his voice. Please don’t be his spleen.

Danny’s giggling was barely contained as he answered, “Ra's al Ghul’s emotional support spleen. Outsourced from RR.”

“HE PICKLED MY SPLEEN!!” Tim shouts, startling Danny into almost dropping the vial in his hand.

Danny looks at Tim in confusion for a solid five seconds before Tim saw a look of realization bloom on his face. “Oh Ancients, RR stands for Red Robin. What the fuck! Wait, you’re missing your spleen! How did your spleen end up there??” Danny’s distress only rises as Tim doesn't answer him.

“So. I may have forgotten to tell you something.” Tim says as his clearly innocent smile wobbles with hidden laughter.

“You think so‽” sarcasm dripping from Danny’s voice. “Ancients Tim! Is this how you felt with me?”

“Yes. Suffer.” Tim didn’t mean for this to happen but he will take this happy coincidence for everything it has.

----------- Tag List

@kyrianclawraith , @alice-hazelwood , @phoenixdemonqueen , @may-rbi , @mimilikey , @undead-essence

#dpxdc #tim drake #danny phantom #danny fenton #ghost king danny #5+1 fic #tim drake x danny fenton #Petals and Arrays of The Dead and Those Yet To Be #dp x dc fic #Writing on the walls

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thelittleliars · 1 year

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P.S. I Want You | Chapter 1

Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Warnings: Mentions of being sober (alcohol), fluff?

Words: 2.8K

AN: I updated the schedule for this series in the Masterlist post so check it out if you want to know when to expect something! P.S. I Want You Masterlist

You don't easily sweat but today was just so hot that it was almost impossible not to sweat under these weather conditions. It didn't help that you were on the road with your bicycle. You easily could have walked the distance from your apartment to the great market hall or taken the metro but somehow your bike seemed to be the best option that morning. You arrived with hot flesh, sweaty armpits and being out of breath at the gate to your apartment. The heat got to your brain fast, it messed with your brain so much that you almost forgot the code to open the gate door. After messily punching in the code you lifted up your bike and walked the one step up and through the door. It was a struggle to get inside with your bike being heavy and the open bag hanging on your wrist. You sighed in relief, finally back home after a long day in this hell of a heat.

The day got longer though as soon when a person bumped into you, making you loose your balance and letting your bag fall to the ground. Your fruits and the postcards you bought for your family were now all scattered onto the floor.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." The woman who bumped into you apologized. She immediately kneeled down and helped you pick your up your stuff. "It's alright. The weather is making us all a bit-" You stopped talking the second you looked at the woman in front of you. Even though she looked very stressed and in a hurry, her beauty was something else and it just took your breath away. The red hair was nothing you had ever seen before, the same with those stunning green eyes of hers. Words didn't seem like words anymore. All you did was staring at her with a blush arising on your face when you saw her stare at you too. "Hurry up, sestra!" Both of you turned your heads towards the direction the voice came from. There stood a shortish girl with blonde hair. She wore grayish-black pants, a white tank top and a grey suit jacket on top. A one strap backpack was hanging from her shoulders. You turned your attention back to putting the rest of your stuff back in your bag and then standing up. The redhead also stood up, still having some of your postcards in her hand when she looked back into your eyes. "This might not be my best idea to ask but is there a chance you could hide us in your apartment for a bit?" You wanted to say no since your parents always taught you stranger danger but the desperation you saw in her eyes made you give in.

"Get on that elevator to the first floor and wait for me there. I gotta lock up my bike first." They both walked towards the elevator, arguing in what seemed russian to you while you went further in the building and locked your bike up. When you arrived on the first floor the two women stood there in silence. As you walked towards your apartment door you swore you could feel eyes on, you hated that feeling so much, it made you extremely nervous. Once inside the apartment, the redhead handed you the postcards with a small smile on her lips. "Thank you." You nodded. "I'm Natasha and this is Yelena." Natasha didn't know why but she had the need to tell you her real name and not just a made up name. Telling you the truth was important to her. "I'm Y/N. Welcome to my humble home. Do you want anything? Water, coffee, tea..?"

After Yelena took a stroll through your apartment she asked if you had anything alcoholic in the house. "No sorry. I only just got sober so I don't have anything anymore." She then settled on a glass of water which you happily gave her. You turned to Natasha who just shrugged off her black leather jacket, asking her too if she wanted anything. "A coffee would be nice." You took on last look at her form, gulping at the sight of her boobs that were now visible thanks to the black t-shirt she wore underneath that jacket, then went into your tiny kitchen to make her coffee. Breathe, you have to breathe. She'll be gone soon so don't get anything in your head.

You took her coffee in one hand and a bunch of paper with a pen in your other hand. While the two women were sitting on your sofa, you made yourself comfortable, sitting cross legged on the chair at the table that you put in your living room. It was basically your kitchen table just in a different room. They were once again talking in a language you didn't know but you also didn't mind. Instead you took the paper and started writing a letter for your best friend. Non of your family and old friends lived here in Budapest with you. It was such a mess back home that one day you decided to move away. A move to a different state wouldn't have made any differences, you needed to move to another country for the abuse from your family to finally stop. You were just finished with the letter when the voice of Natasha's rang out to you. "I noticed you bought a lot of postcards earlier and now I saw them on a wall in your other room. Do you like to collect them?"

The sight of Natasha standing there with her arms leaning on one of your chairs was not something you were ready to see. It felt as if she had a spell on you. You were mesmerized by every single thing she did. You smiled sadly at the thought of why you even started your collection. "Yeah. It's just always a nice reminder of your stay in the city. One of my best friends collects magnets but it's not for me since they can easily break on your way home." The other woman nodded in agreement. "But I have to say that the magnets here are the most beautiful I've ever seen. Anyways.. do you guys need to stay the night here?" Yelena was already taking a nap on your sofa, you imagined that Natasha also must be exhausted. "If that's not too much trouble for you?" For a complete stranger she was being too nice and cute in your opinion. Sadly she was too good to be true. "Let me make the bed for you two. I'll take the sofa." Your grandpa was probably tossing and turning in his grave right now by your stupidity of letting these girls stay with you. They could be criminals for all you knew but one look at them and all your carefulness and awareness for danger flew right out of the window.

After the bed was done being made by you, they thanked you both and went there to rest. You took a book from your bookshelf before retreating on the sofa to read for the rest of the evening and night. Later that night Natasha came out of the room looking incredible tired. "Ohh, you're still awake." She said with fake surprise that you didn't notice. She didn't want you to know that she still heard you turning the pages of your book. "It's a great book." Was all the information you gave her. She saw right through you thought, how could she not, she was a trained spy after all. "Can't sleep?" You sighed and let your guard down. "Bad case of insomnia. What about you?" Her eyebrows soften up. She knew how awful insomnia could get. "Nightmares." You drew in your feet to make space for her to sit. "I can't help but wonder if you're Hungarian or moved her for different reasons." You almost couldn't answer her after looking into her stunning eyes once again. This won't end well for you if you keep getting distracted by her. "I think my wall of postcards and my great range of only english books on my shelf gives away that I am in fact not Hungarian. You're also not from here nor are you completely english, so which nationality are you?" Natasha was split into two, one half of her wanted to be tell you as little as possible, the other half wanted to be open with you since she felt a strange connection with you. You saw the struggle on her face so you were about to change the topic when she answered the question. "I'm from Russia." As far as she knew. "I'm assuming your partner is from there too?" She was taken aback, she somehow interpreted you saying "your partner" in a romantic sense and not as a companion. "M-my partner? That's my sister. I haven't had the time for romance yet." You couldn't believe that a stunning women like her was still single even with the whole no time thing. "For me it was always that you'll find romance when you expect it at least. So maybe it'll be soon for you even if you don't have the time yet."

"My job is standing in the way. The last girl I dated accused me of being married with my job more than taking time for her." You see a longing in her eyes. Longing for somebody to love, for somebody to be hers. You knew the feeling of longing for somebody too well. The emptiness in your chest never leaves you alone. "What is your job?" She whispered the word Agent, as if she's embarrassed about it. You didn't know that she only said the half truth. It was the truth that she once was an Agent but SHIELD fell two years ago, on top of that she just wasn't one anymore once she joined the avengers. "She should try dating a CEO, then she'd know what it means to be married to the job." You snorted. "That would be hard since there are not enough queer woman in a ceo position for her to date." You nodded in agreement. "There are not enough queer women in general for my taste."

"So.. what's your taste in women? What is your type?" How badly you wanted to tell her that she was your type but you shook your head instead and told her you got no type. Your were awful at flirting so you don't even start with her. She of course picked up on the lack of your flirting, it was disappointing but she hoped it was only a bit oblivious for you. "Listen, I honestly think that I don't have a type but I can be really picky at times. Maybe that's the main reason why I struggle to find love." To make the conversation a bit lighter again Natasha teased you with your own words. "Like you told me, love will come when you least expect it. Don't worry your pretty little mind about it."

"Do you have a favorite color?" The other women was stunned, nobody ever dared to ask her such a simple question. Since she never had to answer the question, she genuinely had to think about it. "Though I like black and red I honestly think that my favorite color is green. What is yours?" Green. Like her beautiful green eyes. You wondered if that was a coincidence or not. "It changes between grey, purple and narancssárga." It took you a second to realize that you said the last color in hungarian. "Oh wait, what's it called in english? Uhh wait a second. I got it in-" Natasha smiled at your struggle to keep simple words in any language. "Could it be orange?" She asked you, thinking about how that word reminder her of the spanish translation. A smile made its way on your face. "Yes, thank you! I want to add that orange is kinda my favorite color recently."

Natasha noticed that since she saw a couple of orange things laying around in your room."I saw an orange hoodie in your room. I have to say it seemed very comfy." Your eyes lit up at the mention of your absolutely favorite hoodie. "Ohh yes it is. I honestly can't wait for autumn to come. Hoodie season is one of my favorites."

"Speaking of autumn, it's great for a Pumpkin Spice Latte, don't you think?" You shook your head. "Never tried it but still no thank you. I rather sit here with a normal coffee and a book than going to Starbucks for that seasonal drink. Starbucks is also fucking expensive!" The way she intently held her gaze on you made you a bit nervous. You weren't used to have attention on you like this and especially not from such an attractive women. The beat of your heart was beating faster with every second that went by where no words were said. The redhead bit her lip, your eyes were immediately staring at her action, the air got more tense when you looked back up into her eyes. But the moment was over the second you both heard Yelena's loud snores from your bedroom. Louder giggles broke out of you, soon followed by Natasha's soft giggles. After hearing her giggling something inside of you had the sudden urge to made her laugh. The sounds she made were just heaven to your ears.

You didn't know how to crack a joke around her so you just smiled at her. The silence between you two wasn't awkward but it still made you uncomfortable to a certain point. You searched in your mind for a good topic to talk about but nothing came up, you were frustrated with yourself so you looked away, your smile suddenly gone dry. Natasha didn't like one bit what just happened, she also did not know what the hell just happened. One second you were smiling at her and the next second you were like this small child hiding herself from the world. "What's your favorite animal?" She knew from previous conversations with the Avengers that talking about animal will always lift up anyone. "What?" You were so in your head that you got confused why she'd bring up animals out of nowhere before you realized that you two were asking questions not long ago. "Oh umm I think it's red pandas or red foxes." Her eyes were on you when you looked at her again. "So you have a thing with red beings huh? Does that mean I fall into that category too?" She teased you not expecting a retort back from you since you seemed so shy at her teasing. "A goddess like you is above them all." You were not sure where the confidence came from and you didn't think about it when you saw the face of women in front of you turned as red as her hair. For once Natasha was speechless and that happened rarely to her.

"Anyways.. what is your favorite animal?" She was glad that you decided to speak up, she knew she didn't have it in her after being stunned by you like this. "I always wanted to have a black cat so I guess cats?" The conversation then turned into stuff about how you saw yourself in the future and which cities you guys wanted to still visit and other things that weren't deep talk. Around 3:30 am Natasha decided to go back to sleep, she also saw that you finally got a bit sleepy and left you to try falling asleep. It took you another hour to finally fall asleep.

The alarm clock on your phone woke you up at exactly 7am. As you walked from your living room through your bedroom to the bathroom you noticed that the two women were already gone. Sadness settled inside you like a brick, you were hoping to see Natasha one last time before you yourself had to go to work. After a shower, brushing your teeth and got dressed for work you walked into the kitchen and made yourself coffee. You were sipping the hot liquid as you walked around to gather your wallet, a bottle of water and some lunch you made the day before. It all went into your bag before grabbing your keys. But right there you noticed a postcard, one you bought only yesterday. You picked it up and turned it around. It looked like someone has written on it in a hurry. It made you smile nonetheless.

Dear Y/N, We had to leave early and in a hurry. I was hoping to say goodbye in person. Thank you for last night, I will cherish that memory forever. Also thank you for taking us in and hiding us without asking any questions.

May we meet again.

~ Natasha R.

Taglist: @dcrogoy , @arcturusseer , @comet-forgot-you , @arualdcg , @kksalexa , @imnatobsessed , @presser24 , @00alycia , @wannabe-fic-reader , @lonewalker17

#natasha romanoff #black widow #natasha romanoff x reader #black widow x reader #natasha romanoff x you #black widow x you #natasha romanoff x fem!reader #black widow x fem!reader #natasha romanoff x female reader #black widow x female reader #yelena belova

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ramenhue88 · 6 months

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Something about cheese 🧀

I love the designs of witches in Madoka Magica. Gekidan Inu Curry, the designer for the witches, is a GOAT. Witches all have that paper vibe going on with them. So, let's list all the witches that appeared in the anime so that you can see what I mean by, "Paper Vibe™" (Also note I'm going by the wiki) + Gertrud

+ H.N Elly (Kirsten)

(Side note for Elly is that we actually see her 2 different forms [Should I call it forms? Idk]. The picture above is when Sayaka killed her and the other one is when she's inside the television. Also, the picture above only shows up for about a second.)

+ Gisela

+ Elsa Maria (Poor her, got murdered by Sayaka)

+ Oktavia von Seckendorff (Seyiku.....)

+ Izabel

+ And of course, Walpurgis!

But wait a minute.... I feel like I'm forgetting someone.... OH RIGHT! + Charlotte!!

[Steppy steppy Homu] See those images? Now those are the #PaperVibes™ I'm looking for! Well except for Walpurgis who has 3D cog wheels instead of a paper vibe™. All witches look like this paper vibe™ but for the one I almost forgot; Charlotte, why is she the only exception to this rule? She's entirely animated like everyone else in the series. No other witch is drawn like this. She's the only exception when it comes to this rule. Well, the only NORMAL witch that is exempt from this rule. Ultimate Madoka's "witch" also doesn't follow the paper vibe™.

It's more drawn than paper bashed. And that's ok since Madoka is the most powerful magical girl thus making this one, the most powerful witch. So of course, it's gonna break the rules, same with Walpurgis. It's also drawn with its difference having 3D rendered cog wheels.

So why does a normal witch get the animated treatment? By Goddess Madoka, EVEN HOMURA has the paper bashed witch.

(Thank God Homura got the paper bashed witch treatment, I am gonna throw hands if she didn't. Look how beautiful that is...)

So why in Goddess Madoka's name does Bebe get the animated treatment, when we consider her, a normal witch? We can chalk this up to the animation team just wanting Bebe to stand out from the rest (Because she's the witch for the #IconicSceneAlert) and nothing more. Buuuuut... That's boring. So let me try to reason out why Bebe looks different from every other witch.

[Let me yoink this witch]

Ok, so about Bebe.... Well, what about her? We have nothing to go on if we're only talking about the main series. We don't know anything about her apart from her personality and design. Her wish? Nothing. Her past? Nothing. So how do we talk about someone who doesn't have anything? Well, we go to another universe silly! Magia!~ Record!~ (Cue the SONG)

Not that universe but another another one!

There we go. MAGIA~! RECORD~! (NOW cue the SONG) The game one.

In Magia Record they expanded much more on Nagisa, giving her an event titled: Nagisa's Wish! (If you want to watch it)

(Me and Nagisa have the same reaction after finding out the event is literally named Nagisa's Wish)

So, let's go back to her witch appearance for a moment. In Magia Record you fight her and EVEN in this game, they decide to make Charlotte look "normal".

Most, if not all, witches still look papery even in the game. I say most and not all because of the NA shutdown and I have no idea of anything past Arc 1 Magia Record (I'm still finding free time to catch up to Arc 2). Doppels and Rumours ALSO follow the papery rule.

There is one exception to Bebe's appearance and that is Nagisa's doppel.

[Now that's the papery vibe™ I'm looking for!]

So why does Bebe have a different art style than ALL of the other witches? Let's go to her MGS in Magia Record (Metal Gear Solid!? No, Magical Girl Story)

So, in her MGS we see that she's being followed by a Pink Kyubey which we can safely assume is Goddess Madoka. Why can we assume that? First, her transformation (when you get her in the gacha). It starts with the symbol of the law of cycles.

Second, it's literally Goddess Madoka pulling for her in her transformation.

[Go get that 5-star girl]

She's also putting make-up on Nagisa and making her look human.

Well not literally making her look human. You can read this as Goddess Madoka, preparing her to blend in because you know. She's half magical girl half witch already at this point. So of course, you gotta blend her in. So, we've made it clear that the Pink Kyubey is Goddess Madoka, watching Nagisa from afar. How important is Nagisa that THE Goddess Madoka, THE concept would get you to do work for her instead of another magical girl. Well firstly, she can't choose any of the 5, because Goddess Madoka is essentially killing the Magia Record version of them by putting another version in their body. Nagisa is the closest choice for Goddess Madoka because.... Because.....

[LMAOOOOO I HAVE NO IDEA WHY. SAME MAMI, SAME. Look I get that Bebe is the closest to them because she killed Mami?? I mean you could say that to Gertrud, Esla Maria, Gisella. Every other witch could have fit the Bebe position. But I'm not complaining that they used Nagisa btw.]

But this does bring up the fact that Nagisa is special in one way or another.

Ehemm... Back to the topic at hand.

So why does Bebe have a different art style than all the other witches. One theory I have is that Charlotte, the witch, has more control over their witch body compared to other magical girls. Like she's more accepting of what happened to her compared to other magical girls. She succumbed to despair, just like any other magical girl. But unlike the others, she chose to bathe in despair. Enjoy it.

[From Magia Record - Nagisa's Wish]

Other magical girls wallowed and grieved in despair. Not Nagisa no. She accepted this despair because there was nothing more she can do, there was nowhere for her to go anymore. She lost everything. So, when she became a witch, she was more in tune with it. She was more welcoming of her faith than other magical girls. (Ehem Homura, ehem...) Can you blame her though?

If everything in your life went wrong and then suddenly for a moment. Everything went your way. Would you not want to stay in that moment forever?

In her witch labyrinth she could eat all the cheese she wants.

For her, cheese was equivalent to her mother's love.

I mean, her mother loved cheese.

She on the other hand, didn't. After becoming a witch, she began to see cheese as a symbol of her mother. She loved chasing cheese; she loved eating cheese.

For her, chasing cheese began to symbolize her wanting to get her mother's love. That is why she's so obsessed with it. All she wanted was to go home with her mother.

Her life was a tragedy and she saved herself from it. By ending her tragedy of a life, she began a new and better life.

She could eat all the cheese she wants.

She could have all the snacks she wants.

She could choose from the varieties of cheese in the room!

This is the HapPiEst she has ever been!

Why would she deny herself this happiness?

The princess has finally found a place where she can happy! The End

Bonus!! So, while I was looking for a screenshot for the end of my post. I saw this happy Nagisa. And I thought to myself... "Wait a minutos, why is she happy? Shouldn't she have memories of everything that happened?" Well, for a fact she does. I mean, Sayaka remembers everything, she just forgot because Homura made her forget. Homura didn't do it to Nagisa. So, it's safe to assume she does remember. So, she's happy because Homura won? Not exactly. In rebellion the scene with Sayaka and Kyoko where she interrupted them, she said.

So, if we go by what she said. We can assume she doesn't care about the Rebellion event. She's just happy that she gets to exist again. Back in 2015, the Madoka concept trailer.

The happiness Nagisa wants is not in Heaven. It doesn't exist there. So, when Homura to dragged Madoka down, she destroyed Madoka's "Heaven" where Nagisa lives. She now lives in reality again. Where she can eat cheese again and experience all the things she never got to experience. So, for her, what Homura did is something that actually goes for her favor. We love a selfish cheese loving character.

#madoka magica #pmmm #nagisa momoe #magia record #charlotte pmmm #puella magi madoka magica

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smolvenger · 7 months

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A Court of Mischief and Purpose Chapter Seven (Loki x fem! Reader, Hiddlesverse A Court of Thorns and Roses Crossover AU)

Word Count: 9K

Series Summary: Inspired by A Court of Thorns and Roses with the Tom Hiddleston characters. As you lay dying of consumption, You make a deal with Loki to heal you in exchange for staying with him every month. You are whisked to a world full of magic...and danger.

Warnings: Discussions of cheating (Not Loki, he'd never) and sex and death.

A03//My Ko-Fi//My Etsy Shop//Masterlist//Wattpad

Taglist: @evelyn-kingsley @jennyggggrrr @five-miles-over @fictive-sl0th @ladycamillewrites @villainousshakespeare @holdmytesseract @eleniblue @twhxhck @lokisgoodgirl @lovelysizzlingbluebird @raqnarokr @holymultiplefandomsbatman @michelleleewise @wolfsmom1 @cheekyscamp @mochie85 @muddyorbsblr @fandxmslxt69 (can't believe I almost forgot to tag you! But now tumblr is functioning and I can tag you🫡!)

Chapter One//Chapter Two//Chapter Three//Chapter Four//Chapter Five//Chapter Six

The next week, it was announced that Lady Sif agreed to train you.

You had butterflies in your stomach walking into the room on the training room. It was normally used for Asgard’s soldiers and guards, but anyone was free to have it when needed. Loki’s clever lies to his parents were that he wanted the mortal guests to take advantage of the opportunities of exercise here to pass the time. He was with you when you walked out for one-on-one training with Lady Sif. Hal and Robert were the ones behind. Jonathan was going to go through the city to gather information about Grendel. Thomas had to be in his workshop, studying the designs of daggers.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise to see another woman rechecking her gear and clothes on the floor. One who wasn't you. In your sportswear, you suddenly felt incredibly overdressed. Her shirt had such short sleeves! You could see all of her arms and she was wearing trousers! Leather ones with daggers sheathed at the sides! But was still every bit as beautiful if she wore a gown. Pale skin and long dark hair with piercing, blue eyes. She could have been Loki’s long-lost sister.

Sister…you remembered the Prophet’s words. The blue skin and red eyes…why…he was a “son”? But no- now was not the time to ask. Especially as training was starting to begin.

She put strands of cloth around her hands. They looked like fingerless gloves, the kind that Jonathan and Robert would make when they sparred. She flexed her white fingers and checked the tightness. She muttered something and then looked up at you.

“Oh! Are you-”

“I am Y/N, it is nice to meet you,” you introduced with a curtsy out of habit.

“Why, dear Sif! Glad you are here!” Loki greeted.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked. The Trickster god gave another of his theatrical gestures towards her.

“This is the enchanting Sif. She was the first-ever female warrior here in Asgard! When they all said maidens could not fight- she was the first to prove them wrong!” Loki boasted.

Sif flared her nostrils, but she kept a half-smile.

“Eh, give or take a few thousand years,” she replied.

She turned to the two others, cocking an eyebrow.

“And who are these men?” she asked.

Loki gestured to the guests.

“Why- this is his grace, Prince Hal…”

Hal made a gallant bow.

“And this- this is Robert Laing…” Loki continued.

“Oh- Doctor! Doctor Laing- Earned the degree ,” he said with a lick of his lips. He adjusted his tie on his suit. He could wear one since he was not training now.

Sif dropped her smile.

“Oh- and how do those studies prove you’re better than anyone else?” she questioned him.

“Just wait until you’re the one bleeding out half to death,” Laing retorted with his grin still on her.

Sif shot him a glare.

“I don’t bleed. I make others bleed,” she replied.

There was a sudden chill in the room. Robert backed down and Hal chewed the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

“Hmm- we have talked quite a bit. Well, let’s begin-” she announced. “Get a practice sword.”

In the corner, there were wooden poles and then there were normal swords. You nodded and grabbed a pole that was stationed and ready.

“No, Y/N! The ones with blades!” she requested.

Oh dear. That’s different. You had yet to try fighting with actual swords. You nervously took one and got it out, unsheathing it with a schliiiiiiick sound. You swallowed heavily as Sif easily grabbed the one next to you. You weighed it in your hand, watching the end of that blade and how many lives, even your own, could be ended with it.

“I see the look on your face. Do you want to be a warrior? You must learn to fight with a real weapon. You have to be ready, Y/N.” she said.

“Alright…it’s only new…” you said though it was only half your voice.

You walked out into the middle of the floor. The three men stood by the sides with some chairs to watch you both. Hal, the expert on swords too, watched with an examining eye. Robert folded his arms. Loki rested a hand on his chin as he folded his arms.

“Alright now parry-” Sif ordered.

You parried- moving the sword forward as she threw hers down in a heartbeat. You jumped a little from the impact. There was the sharp sound of the blades colliding that rang through your ears.

“Decent. Now don’t think too hard mortal lady- just act,” Sif instructed.

She thrust her sword forward. You managed to block it by raising yours impulsively. She was fast and aggressive. When you tried to move forward she would find a weak point and raise it to you. Then you would jump back. You kept fleeing from her, dodging her. Blocking her constant, attacks, your feet shuffling further back. Would she even give you a second to attack her? You backed up from her constant parries. Her attacks were forward and your defenses backward until your back foot grazed a wall. It then hit you- she has backed you into a corner.

“I’m not sure if you’re training or if Lady Sif wants another fight to win!” Robert quipped.

Sif’s eyes turned towards the doctor, gritting her bared teeth.

In a swift second, Sif reached into the side of her pants. She pulled out a small dagger. She looked at Robert and hurled it towards him. The three ducked out of the way. As Robert moved, it landed on the wall next to him, barely grazing his cheek. His eyes were wide and his face pink- as if he couldn’t tell if he hated this or actually secretly enjoyed it.

You tried to wiggle out, think of a next move as Sif was distracted. Then- a feeling hit you. An odd feeling.

You could sense her. Sense her movement. Sense the movement of everyone. You felt their footprints- where they were. You could sense how many swords and poles were nearby. Everyone’s heartbeat. The other dagger in Sif’s pocket. The guards outside the door. You could feel the feet shuffling in the halls in the next room. As if you were asleep and now awake. You felt your head spin a little and put your free hand to your forehead.

“Sif, I feel…I feel a little odd…” you remarked.

Her feet rumbled as you sensed her right before you and raised her sword in your direction.

“Now- Y/N…what do you do?” she asked, raising your sword. It was right before your face. You backed further up to the wall.

“I…I don’t know!” you confessed.

Sif kept her eyes on you and her sword still pointed at you. You tried to swipe hers away, but she countered it and thrust again forward. You raised the sword up to block it. She pushed forward and you backward. The blades slicing against each other.

“Come on- focus. Hesitation is when the enemy will gut you open-”

“I really don’t!” you cried.

“Come on! What’s your first instinct, mortal?!” Sif urged.

You couldn’t think straight. Only the humiliation of your defeat weighing on you. And the hotness of the room, the smells, and the rumbling of feet as someone walked in the next hall. It was too much, too much. In a wave of emotion, you pushed your sword in front of you to her on impulse with a slight shout. Sif snorted, raising an eyebrow at the weapon you stabbed forward.

You felt everything get white hot inside you. The feeling began at the top of your head and waved down to your hands- then to the sword

“Decent, but-”

It happened in a matter of seconds- so fast, you barely processed it.

Fire shot out. It shot out of your hands and through the sword until it blazed before Sif.

Sif let out a scream of surprise and backed off. Her sword jumped out of her hands and skittered across the floor. Still, the fire kept burning, blazing. Everyone jumped at the sight of it.

“Why…what…what is this?! What is going on?” Sif cried. The fire added another thing of heat to the room and its crackling was the only sound for a second.

It then stopped. But the air still felt scorched and warm. It smelt of sulfur. When you checked the sword, it was partially burnt. You dropped it and checked your hands. Little twinges of flame jumped from it. But your skin was unhurt. Then they slowed down and they were as normal, the small star winking at you.

“I…I don’t know- I don’t. I’m sorry, Sif.” you explained.

Sif regained her composure.

“The enemy is surprised, that’s good. Now what do you do- Y/N!? The enemy is surprised and unarmed. Don’t hesitate!”

As you thrust the partially burnt sword forward, Sif jumped back. Her eyes went to the sword she dropped. She reached for it.

With a bit of shock, you felt that sensation again- focusing on that little practice sword of Sif’s. The white-hot buzzing. Something else poured out - almost like a breath. A whiff of energy.

The sword skittered across the floor, unmoved. Far from Sif.

There was utter silence for a second. The men all stood up with astonished looks on their face. Sif dropped her jaw and turned to you.

“Loki- is this another trick?” she asked.

He shook his head and shrugged.

“No…it seems as if…this was none other than our dear Mortal ladies doing…and there’s only one explanation….magic,” he answered, eyes scanning over every detail of the room and the sword.

You felt dizzy again. You set aside your sword, feeling everyone’s eyes on you, making you uneasy.

“I’m so sorry but it’s…it’s never…never happened before…” you blubbered out. Now the source of all the attention. Like a child called out for trouble in school before her entire class.

Sif urged the men to come over.

“Training is done. Please get the queen- she has something in her. It needs to be checked. Now!” she demanded.

At once, all of you hurried to Frigga in her chambers. She was enjoying the view from her balcony when she turned her head.

“Mother- hurry- we must talk! About our mortal girl-” Loki insisted.

She walked inside and sat down gracefully on a chair. In brief, all of you told her of what happened.

“Why…magic? Our Y/N?” she gasped.

You nodded. She then reached forward and took your hands. She studied the star marks, tracing them with her finger, her eyes bulging wide as she really took it in. She then turned upward, her eyebrows crossed. Her voice dropped to a sharp, strict tone.

“Loki…there is only one spell that leaves a mark like that. Why is Y/N here? Not just out of the goodness of your heart? How did you meet her? Was she hurt or sick?” she asked.

“Yes. Dying, in fact.” Loki reported.

Frigga’s lips tightened.

“And you used that spell?” she asked.

“Yes, I did.” the prince admitted.

“My son, did you read everything the book said about it.”

Loki shrugged. He put on his uneasy, half-laughing smile where only part of a chuckle escaped.

“Only the parts that were important!”

She gave him a stern look.

“That I…thought were important,” Loki admitted. Smile dropping, he folded his hands and looked down, red with embarrassment. For no child was immune to a scolding from their mother, even gods.

“Including the bargain to seal it?” she asked.

“Yes, mother.”

She let out a deep sigh. Then she walked to her bookshelf. She got out a large, ancient book bound in worn, tan leather. She moved it to her desk and flipped through the pages. Finding what she was looking for, she stopped at one. She read quietly for a minute and then looked at you.

“You have Prince Loki to thank for this, Y/N. This spell…since the magic must go inside the person to heal them, it never leaves. In short, you now have magic, my dear,” she announced.

“Oh…oh dear god!” you gasped, moving a hand to your mouth. Glad at least flames did not burst out to burn your face.

“Why, I do like to be called a dear, thank you,” Loki smirked. You gave him a look.

“This is not a joking matter!” you retorted to him.

Frigga folded her hands. Sif, Hal, and Robert all stood watching like they were the audience of a rather suspenseful play.

“Anything else? Other than what happened at training?” the queen questioned.

“I…I’ve had dreams of the future- possible futures…” you explained.

Your mind drifted back to Stella. The dream you had of her future suicide attempt. You did everything you could you took comfort in one fact. She made you a promise and Stella would always honor her promises. You wrote to her regularly as you did your parents, sending Thomas to deliver the letters and head back. Like she said, if she was engaged, you would know. Her letters were not of proposals, definitely, not of any men she had her eye on. They were of the ordinary daily life- visits, occasional dances, farmers with their crops, fishermen with their fish, the most tantalizing piece of news that a small town could offer. She was wise not to discuss what was happening at church with you. But no engagements, at least not for her. Perhaps her tragic future was avoided by now.

Frigga checked the book and tapped her finger on the page.

“It says right there- visions of the possible futures. Occasional-usually in dreams. And have you ever sensed someone near you- far away? Sensed everything around you? Their actions?”

You nodded.

“Yes. It happened today with Sif,” you confirmed.

Frigga looked at her son and then back at you.

“Have voices appeared in your head?” she asked.

“One specific voice,” you answered. “Loki’s.”

“I’m not surprised. Do you hear her thoughts too?” she asked Loki.

He folded his arms and lifted his chin a little.

“As clearly as I hear your words, Mother. Even when I was in Asgard and she in Midgard,” he answered.

Frigga turned a page, her finger gliding down as she found a paragraph.

“Here it is listed- the thoughts of the one who cast the spell and the one healed are linked in their minds….” she read aloud.

She scanned the rest of it, then closed the book. But she went to you, touching your cheek sweetly.

“It could be worse. But this is a mere symptom of the spell. You will learn how to live with it.” she said.

“How? I don’t want to…to…hurt anyone!” you replied.

Frigga softened her face at your words.

“Oh, of course not! Do not blame yourself! No one has been hurt! You see…”

Her eyes turned to Loki with a small smile.

“My son should be the one to help you,” she suggested.

Loki’s jaw dropped and he took a step forward.

“Help her? You’re the expert on magic- why can’t you do it?” he asked.

“My dear boy, you were the one who chose to do the spell on her. And you will face the consequences for it rather than running away,” she explained.

He put his hands on his hips and he opened his mouth to say something, then he closed. Frigga kept a smile as she looked between the two of you. Loki swallowed his Adam’s apple bobbing. You exchanged a look, then he turned to her.

“Alright- then…then I will,” he said.

Frigga clapped her hands together with a smile.

“Good- begin tomorrow with the mind reading. It can be done to where two can speak to each other seamlessly would rather it be clear than disruptive. Now-dear Lady Sif, Hal, Robert- I am so sorry I haven’t spoken with all of you. I’ve been busy. How are all of you? Let’s call for some wine and a little bite to eat before dinner as we all chat, shall we?”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It was when you woke up the next morning that it hit you. You were no longer some ordinary “mortal” woman. No- now you had powers! To think, if you could go back in time and tell yourself as a child, what would she think! Not to mention, what would everyone back home think of a woman who actually had powers by accident? Oh, they would all scream in terror if a flame shot out of your hands. Secretly, you were thrilled. As if winning some luck of the draw.

You walked outside to the gardens. It was right at the start of the afternoon when the sun was the most warm. It wasn’t usually when you liked to walk outside due to the heat, but you wanted to test your newfound abilities. To see if you could figure anything out. You decided to head There was a middle valley in the palace garden grounds. A small grassy part amidst some hydrangea bushes with no trees for shade.

There were many things you expected to walk into the garden to see. The buds open. Gardeners digging holes. Little bugs about the dirt. Pleasant, familiar, comfortable things.

You weren’t expecting to see a naked man.

Pale, and muscular with ripped abdominals and strong biceps despite his lean frame lying down on a bench. A towel on his head and a book over his crotch. They were the only thing on him.

Ripped with shock, you let out a scream on instinct. To your increased horror, he got up the book shifted. You let out another shout and shielded your eyes with your arm. You thought you would see…that part of a man on your wedding night! Not unwarned and unwanted in a garden!

But he scrambled up and set the towel and book over the most offending part of his body. When you peeked up, his hair had a redder sheen, and though he was in the sun he was pale. But you had to admit you did like the sight of all the muscles on him.

“Hello there!” Robert nervously chuckled.

“What on earth are you doing?!” you cried. Your eyes trying very hard to focus on his face.

“Uh- I just- I’m sunbathing! And I fell asleep!”

“People-people really sunbathe in the future in their free time?!” you questioned.

“Well, uh, yes,” Robert replied.

“Bare naked as a babe?!”

“Also yes.”

“Have you gone mad, Robert!?” you cried.

“Not for a month!”

You took a step back, Robert noting the look on your face. He blushed with embarrassment.

“I am so immediately sorry, Y/N. I didn’t know you would be here! I’ll try to keep it in my room. I’ll talk to Loki. Ask him to conjure a-a-a-sun tan machine or something.” he tried to compromise. His feet started to shuffle to the bushes as if he were Adam after devouring the apple.

“People make machines for sun tans?!” you asked.

“Oh, they do! I’ll tell you- my- my robe is near this rose bush-give me a minute…”

He leaned in and got it. You turned away as he put the white, cloth robe over himself. The electricity of the shock still running through you.

“Alright, Y/N, I’m decent!” he announced.

You turned around. Robert tied a knot of the cloth around his waist.

“Sunbathing naked?! Goodness-and did you say…are you sure you’re not still mad?!” you cried.

Robert froze. The joking smile on his face dropped from the embarrassed, cheeky smile.

“I’m not,” he replied sternly.

He took a step towards you, his voice serious.

“Please, don’t bring it up with the others. I don’t like other people discussing it.”

Shame flooded your system.

“Oh-I…I am so sorry…I…I didn’t know…” you apologized, feeling your shoulders slump.

He gathered the towel and book in his hands.

“Well…now you do…Y/N, I….I…I’ll go to my room now,” the no-longer-madman said as he walked out.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Loki did not take you at once into either the indoor or outdoor training grounds. Instead, both of you merely went to a table in a dining hall. He plopped down, his smile never leaving his face as he looked at you. You were dressed in a white day dress with little pink dots all over it, moving your skirt as always so you could sit down on the chair. No one else was around to witness this, only the two of you.

“Well then- to start. Let’s practice the whole thought business!” he announced.

“Aren’t you scared I will scorch the table?” you asked.

He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms with a shrug.

“Why should it be? Tables can be replaced, but not you. And I’ve been able to access your own thoughts quite easily for a while. We both know that by now. You should learn how to send them and block mine. Unless you want to hear my voice in your ears to lull you to sweet dreams at night. I will be happy to oblige.”

You gave him a scowl.

“You’re a scoundrel,” you responded.

“Always have been and will be,” he replied with a smile.

You looked forward at him. You folded your hands on your lap. It was a nice dining hall. Right near an open balcony with tall columns of marble around you. The bright sunlight shone down as it overlooked the skyline of Asgard.

“All right- I’m going to send my thoughts out. To you. I will make them clear.” Loki announced.

Then there was nothing. You heard nothing. You felt the rustle of the bustle on the back of your skirt as you leaned back in the chair.

With a deep breath, you heard Loki’s voice in your head.

“Hello there, Y/N. It’s another lovely day here in Asgard. Wouldn’t it funny if I snipped off a bit of Sif’s hair when she isn’t looking!”

“Don’t do that! It’s mean! And she will scream at you!” you thought back.

He made a gesture with his hands and spoke out loud.

“There you go! That’s far better! You hear mine- I hear yours!” he announced. “All because you let me in, my dear. I read it in the book.”

“What else did it say?” you asked, moving your hands to touch the table. It was long and wooden, carved with ancient runes. You nervously traced one with your fingernail.

“Your thoughts are an instrument one can never stop playing. Only you may play them loudly or quietly. But one can muffle out the music of another., Y/N. Now- try to block out my thoughts to you.”

With a deep breath, you clenched your body. Willing the invisible thoughts of his to not enter your own head.

“Not working.” Loki’s voice replied in your head.

You let out a huff of air through your nostrils.

“How does one block it?” you questioned him.

Loki slightly tucked his chin.

“Hmmm, yes, I see how stiff you are holding yourself, your body. And this time I know it’s not because of this ‘bustle’ thing. Blocking does not mean bracing oneself- body or mind. Think of it like…like a shield…try to put a shield out. Imagine one. And relax a little.” he guided.

You imagined a shield. You saw many among the guards of Asgard. Tall, circular, and bronze. You imagined it up against you, protecting you, bundling up inside it. Warm and safe. Loki let out another small breath. He sat forward on the chair, leaning an elbow on it. His hand touching his chin and grinning. You braced for his voice in your head again.

But the shield worked. You didn’t hear one of his. There was nothing. Finally! Your physical training was slow, but at least that was one thing you could get right!

You imagined lowering it down. Sure enough, there were thoughts of

“Y/N, the dress you have on today looks quite lovely, especially when the sunlight hits it.”

A little flutter began in your stomach. You couldn’t give into his flatter, no. You sent out another one, looking into his blue eyes. One of a pair of many you learned to get used to.

“Trying to recover yourself over the remark about my breasts?” you thought back.

He dropped his smile, lowering his head.

“I apologize. I knew it would rile you- get you to fight back.”

“Thank you for acknowledging that, Loki. You have quite the presumptuous nature- I’ve figured that out so far.”

Then there was no reply. You heard no thoughts. You tried to send something out to him, but there was nothing for a minute. Then two. Then three. You blinked and tried to send it out.

“Loki? Loki-what-”

He waved open with his hands and spoke aloud.

“See, Y/N- now my shield was up. Let’s try this little back and forth, shall we?” he asked.

It went on like tennis. It was shaky- but at least you had a hand at it. It was a start.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The day came to announce the heir. It was all heralded that morning so quickly, that there wasn’t time to process it. It was the gatekeeper, Heimdall, who resounded it out before the city balcony. All of you standing in the back room as he looked down upon the people. Heimdall smiled at them and then announced with his rich, sonorous voice to all.

“Odin has named Thor as his heir! Prepare for the ceremony later today at sunset!”

When you looked for Loki, he immediately left the room. Thor smiled wide before servants ushered him out the other door.

There was so much bustle, servants running to and fro, platters of food delivered from the kitchen, your head spun. And Thor was never seen to discuss this. And not Loki either. It wasn’t that you didn’t want Thor to be happy. But…you knew today was going to be hard for the younger brother. Yes, Loki was cheeky and arrogant and flirted to get what he wanted and fond of getting into trouble- but you had to admit…you felt bad for him today.

The ceremony began as promised at sunset. You were astounded to see so many people about to watch. To think this many people lived in Asgard! Were they gods too? Mortals like you who just lived in a different world? Curiosity bubbled inside you. You were just used to your plain little life in a plain little town where every house was white and you saw the same faces daily. But here- there was life. Excitement. Not even London, you imagined, had this much of a crowd for anything. They crowded around. They gathered around the large, open space before the throne with a walkway.

Everyone dressed for the occasion. Odin wore his silver armor and winged helmet, his eye patch seemed to gleam like a jewel. Frigga was beautiful in her golden dress, with a smile on her face. Loki stood in his deep green with his large, horned helmet. You were in your own russet velvet dress for parties. Jonathan wore his blue suit and Robert his grey one. Hal was dashing in dark velvet, his curls combed back. Thomas was in his black suit, the bronze chain of a pocket watch sticking out across his stomach. Sif herself remained in her armor but was placed to stand near the throne with the other Asgardian warriors.

“Let us now raise a cheer for my son- your future king, Thor!!” Odin announced.

Thor was brought down on a chariot, wielding a large hammer. His large red cape and long blonde hair flew in the wind. He had a giant smile as he showed it his hammer. The crowd roared for their future king. Everyone was smiling. Everyone…except the younger brother of the future king.

You looked over at Loki. His hands folded before him, the usually mischievous gleam in his eyes dimmed. He seemed far away, small, and alone.

“Loki…how are you? What are you thinking? You can tell me…” you sent your thoughts out.

There was no response.

You couldn’t bother with Hal and Sif trying to outdrink each other at the banquet after. Robert kept trying to flirt with her and she told him to bother off, only she didn’t say the word “bother.” The doctor backed away, hands up in defense. Thomas and Jonathan sat next to each other at the meal. It was hardly a wonder so many Asgardian women made their eyes toward the two handsome men. Many maids offered to refill their goblets with batting eyelashes. Jonathan was polite to them, but never seemed to return their attention. Thomas was a different matter, however. He was smiling, chatting, and charming all of them. Thor was at the center, telling stories and laughing as people lauded their upcoming ruler.

But you had no interest in the celebration going on in the hall. There was one gentleman in green who was missing from all this.

You felt your sensation again. Despite the rumble of everyone’s food digesting, you felt Loki’s presence. Locating him easily. So you got up, going to the stone walkway in the next room. The cool air of the night washing over you. Seeing Loki in a marble corner, staring out at the city. He only looked out at the window at the starry sky and two moons shining through the window. He jumped a little when he turned and saw you.

“I’m not surprised….” he said.

“But it’s still disappointing…” you acknowledged.

He let out a deep breath. You heard Thor’s large laughter from the other end of the hall. God of Thunder suited him- everything about him was thunderous.

“I’m so sorry, Loki…you would have made a decent king,” you tried to console.

He arched up a dark eyebrow.

“Really? Me?” Loki asked. He seemed surprised, not like the other side of him that would say he knew. He turned around to look you in the eye.

You nodded.

“Yes- you would have. You took pity on a dying woman and offered to heal her. You comforted her when her heart was broken. You’re teaching me how to control my magic. You’re planning a quest to defeat a villain to protect others. You…you sent Hal after me. And I hear Robert had...”

You stopped your words. You suddenly remembered Robert asked you not to discuss the time he went mad.

“A…a hard time…” you finished.

Loki gestured with you to walk back to the dining hall. His eyes drifted towards the Baronet in black smiling as a maid refilled his jug for the third time.

“Oh, if you think Robert had a hard time, wait until you find out where Thomas came from,” he replied.

‘Thomas?” you asked.

From the smile, you saw Thomas pull out a small contraption for the maid. It was a music box that could fit in the pocket. The maid turned the knob, grinning to reveal its trickling tune. The maid laughed in delight. One would never guess he ever had a “hard time” at any point in his life.

You turned your focus back to Loki.

“But you are suffering too. Don’t let Odin or a throne determine your worth. We all appreciate you,” you said.

There was some music in the back and people raised their goblets. Many gulped it down and threw it on the floor, crying “Another!” You jumped a little at the sound of so many cups crashing on the floor at once.

“Appreciation won’t make me a hero…or Thor’s equal…” he replied as he walked off.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You couldn’t fall asleep that night. Your heart was still breaking from the last line with Loki. He felt invisible. Unwanted. And it felt like there was nothing you could do about it. Wasn’t there a compromise? Why couldn’t there be two kings or couldn’t the kingdom be divided?

Then there were the thoughts that shot out of you. Thoughts you tried to stifle. Memories you tried to stifle. But stifling them only made them stronger when they arrived. Memories of home. The letters, the field, the white shirt, the-

No, you had to distract yourself. Not dwell. It would only make you miserable. It looks like you would have to ask for the sleeping potion again. You got out of bed, wrapping a pink shawl around your nightgown for warmth, out you went into the halls. Perhaps it would be in the kitchens or you could ask a servant. Your bare feet touched the cold stone beneath, making you shiver.

Then- there was a noise. A shuffling. Your powerful sensing was warning you. Someone was up-about. You turned around to look. No one. As you kept walking, you kept swearing you heard footsteps. Then a breath.

There was someone up and close by. Awake. It wasn’t a servant.

Oh no- could it be a spy from Grendel!? You were going to scream, use what you could. Try to move something- you feel someone there. You felt your hands grip your shawl tighter. You were unarmed- could you somehow summon flames again? Make something move? Frantically looking around, frozen with fear.

Before you could even budge, out from the darkness, Jonathan Pine appeared. He put a hand before you to silence the idea of a scream. He put a hand before his face to shush you.

Like…like…like he would, like what Will would do- no! Y/N, don’t dwell on him. It’s over! you thought. The thought then slipped away in a second. You felt yourself relax knowing it was not a spy from Grendel.

“Shhh- Y/N! It’s okay! I’m here!” Jonathan whispered.

“You scared me to death!” you hissed back, placing a hand over your slowing heart.

“I’m sorry. It’s part of my duties.” Jonathan explained.

“Duties?!” you asked, with a tilt of your head.

“Remember, I’m Loki’s spymaster. I am again- so very sorry about the scare. I’ll make it up to you. Let me take you downstairs- get you something to drink. Does that sound nice?” he asked.

“Yes, yes it does, Jonathan.”

Down you went to the kitchens of Asgard. They weren’t accustomed to tea as much. But they did have wine. And still whole bottles of the special wine that was made for the banquet today. He located two glasses and poured you both some of the red liquid. He handed it over to you.

“How did you become Loki’s spymaster? I’m curious…” you asked.

He paused. He leaned back against the counter, the glass in one hand.

“I…I’ve never talked about it much…but…I’ll tell you,” he said.

He set down his glass on the counter and then turned to look right at you.

“Y/N- you know I’m a soldier…” he began.

“Yes, I do,” you recalled.

You took a sip of the Asgardian wine-rich and dry in its flavor. Jonathan left his abandoned. You his lips tightened, and then in took in a slow breath. His voice was soft, earnest.

“I never had a family all of my life. I lost my parents. Grew up drifting in foster homes around England. The army at least was stable. It felt like I had a permanent family of my own. At first. But…but…the things I’ve seen…the things I was ordered to do…it was too much.”

He shook his short, blonde head.

“After it was done, I had to honorably leave the military. Start anew. I ended up living in Cairo, Egypt.”

“Egypt?! That sounds incredible!” you cut in. How different and far from England! It must have been hot, but he would have seen the pyramids every day!

He bobbed his head in acknowledgment. His eyes soft at your brief excitement.

“It was, Y/N. I worked at a hotel for their night shifts. Then was promoted to manager. That at least gave me something stable. A routine. It was a hotel owned by a gentleman named Freddie Hamid. Then one night…there was a woman who checked in. And this woman was his mistress…”

He looked at your face to observe your reaction. Back home, such things weren’t discussed so openly. But you swallowed the little bit of shock.

Jonathan’s features softened. And his voice became softer, sweeter.

“Her name was Sophie…but her real name was Samira. She liked expensive clothes and coffee. She drank when she was stressed. She was chatty. She had a dog she carried everywhere. She loved to flirt with the staff- even me.”

This was far different, far more vulnerable and tender than you have ever seen Jonathan.

“Did you love her?” you asked.

After a pause, he answered.

“Yes. Yes, I did. I loved her. And she loved me too. Just for that brief time, I loved her.”

“Brief? How come?” you asked.

There was one possible explanation for why. And it wasn’t good. There was a sudden heaviness in the air as he paused. He wrapped his arms around himself and looked down on the floor. Then back at you as he continued.

“Sophie had documents with her. She handed it to me to make copies, but I saw them. Proof that Freddie and his friend, Richard Roper, had access to weapons. Destructive, powerful weapons. Bombs that would wipe out entire cities. Weapons only the army should own. So I alerted the authorities. Freddie found out and beat Sophie… I discovered he and his men were capable of doing more. She was in danger. Now that it was out, she was a target. They were going to kill her- because of something I did. I begged her forgiveness, and she said she would have reported it had she been braver. She asked me for help. So…I hid her. Took her somewhere far away…made sure she was safe…I wanted to whisk her far away. To England…”

He hunched his shoulders.

“Those authorities said she would never be safe in England. That Roper had friends there. That returning her to the hotel was the best option. To curb suspicion. She returned with her head high, confident, and smiling as she checked into her suite. I went to work. I carried about my shift like normal. Then I got word from someone…she was in danger. But when I ran into the room…it was too late….there was…was…she was killed-her blood everywhere…”

A hand flew over your mouth.

“Poor Sophie!” you gasped.

“It never left me. She never left me. She always haunted me…and she always might. The fact I brought her to death, I…I did…She would…would blame me, she probably did in her last moments…”

“But she told you herself that she didn’t resent you for the documents! That she would do the same as you! I…I don’t know if she would…you didn’t beat her like…like her….like Freddie! You were kind to her. You tried to protect her!” you commented, trying to comfort him.

He gripped the edge of the counter, his knuckles turning white.

“Then one day…the British authorities spoke to me. Asked me to help in an operation to bring Roper and his allies down. So…I decided to become a spy to avenge her.”

It was hard, I won’t bore you with the details. But to be brief, I did it. I infiltrated him. Brought him down. I killed Freddie myself- drowned him in his own pool.”

You felt your eyes widen.

“I caught Roper and destroyed his stock. Caught him red-handed and brought him to the government. He ended up in jail, executed for his crimes.”

“How is it you managed to defeat Roper?” you asked.

You found that he smiled, both with his eyes and his smile. It was a smooth, handsome smile. He was elegant so easily and naturally.

“Sheer determination and thorough thinking. That is what will get you through anything, Y/N.”

He put his hands in his pockets.

“And after that, it was done… Loki arrived to me. Told me that he was a copy of me from another timeline, another life. Asked me to be a spy for him. Fight Grendel with him. I had no home. No family. Not even a woman. Not since…since Sophie, no. Nothing to return to…so I have nothing to lose. That’s why I’m here- where I can be useful.”

You cupped your wine glass with both hands.

“That’s quite a story, Jonathan!” you remarked.

You took a step closer. His eyes were still glossy from mentioning her again.

“Jonathan…if Sophie were here…I think she’d be proud of you. For what you did. For avenging her…now that it’s done, and if she can’t be here for you…she’d want you to be at peace,” you consoled him.

His blue eyes shone a little bit, his chest rising and falling with his breaths.

“Thank you, Y/N. If we survive, I hope I can be. I want to live a normal, peaceful life after this. No battles. No bloodshed. Just a quiet, normal life. I want to become a husband. A father. And not worry about anyone getting killed- just love my wife. Love my child. And pour all that love so they will never have to suffer what I did.”

A hand flew over your heart, and you felt your lips curve to a smile.

“That’s beautiful…I hope you do. If we’re careful…that could be your life, I know it.” you said.

He went back and got his wine glass, taking a careful sip. He kept it in his hand as he escorted you back to your room. Finishing your drink, and reflecting on Jonathan’s story, you fell right asleep.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Two days later, Loki brought you again to that wide training ground on the inside. He made no mention of the ceremony. In fact, there was a bounce in his step as you went with him into that room with just you two.

“Alright YN-let’s practice those other little gifts of yours! Starting with the sensing and tossing things around with your pretty little head!” he announced.

You rolled up your sleeves. He pointed at a red X that appeared on the floor with his magic.

“Stay put on this,” he required.

You stepped over it. He conjured a wooden pole and set it several feet before you on the ground.

“Now- move it without touching it,” he instructed.

You concentrated on the pole. Squinted hard. Your body clenched- but nothing happened. Move little pole, please, come on, move- just an inch, please, please please- you urged silently.

Loki raised up a finger and your glance moved up to meet him.

“Ah, I see. You’re trying to force it! Sometimes forcing it will result in nothing- just allow it happen. As you are- breathe into it!” he advised.

You relaxed your body and returned your focus to the pole. Not losing sight of it, but you released your hand to your sides. It began to twitch a little.

Move, you merely thought.

It rolled right to you like a blast of wind. You caught it with your foot, rolling it carefully. You felt yourself smile in triumph. Loki raised an eyebrow, and he smiled.

“Not bad- now turn around, Y/N,” he instructed.

You went around and to your shock, you saw Loki again staying right by a wall. A green door appeared on the wall that wasn’t there before. You turned your head to confirm Loki there behind you- but another Loki in front of you! You didn’t hear him run, but you turned around. There were two of them?!?!

“You have a twin brother?” you asked nervously.

“Oh no- my magic can make duplicates,” he explained.

One could imagine the sorts of trouble he could get into with that trick! The duplicate Loki gestured to the door and you stepped towards it.

“Now- what do you sense is behind that door?” the duplicate asked,, his smooth, baritone ringing across the room.

You did sense something behind it. You could see its outline in your mind. It was tall, thin, and long in shape. It had a sharp point and a handle. Then a picture in your head emerged.

“It’s a…a…a sword,” you answered.

“That is right. The door is locked. Unlock and open it. Then get the sword,” he challenged you.

You concentrated on the doorknob. Relaxing your body and looking at nothing else. It fidgeted. It shook. But it didn’t open. You tried again, but it failed again. Letting out a huff of frustration, you then looked at the keyhole- sensing how it was kept locked. How the gears were turned to seal it.

“Now- unlock,” you requested.

The little gears turned and there was a click. Then the door squeaked open. It revealed a dark room with no furniture or decorations. The light from the training room poured out to it- revealing the sword right on the floor before you.

“Now wield the sword near you without touching it!” you heard the duplicate instruct.

You concentrated, poking at it with your mind. Bringing it to move. Yet it did not. It stayed there. Dull and solid. When you really willed, it budged forward. Then it stayed put.

“Dammit!” you cursed beneath your breath. “Just move to me!”

The light from the windows shining through stopped as if someone drew a curtain over them. Turning, you felt the frustration boiling in you as more grey clouds covered the sky. And out of nowhere for an idyllic, sunny day! The god looked up with an easy smile, laughter in his voice.

“Well, Y/N- you definitely did that! IT didn’t move the sword, but it did move the natural elements! Another effect you may thank me for!”

You felt yourself unclench, your shoulders lowering. The clouds rolled away quickly and there was sunshine again. You saw how if you focused on the light shining on the floor. Curiosity crept inside you. When you willed it, the light stretched towards your feet. Like the waves of the ocean when it would cradle and creep softly right before your toes.

“So your mother taught you?” you asked him.

The duplicate vanished into a bit of golden mist. You turned around to Loki and walked closer to him. He nodded his raven head.

“Yes, she did, since I was small. I remember she’d start with little tricks. Like…like this one here…”

He opened his hand and out came little fireworks. Bright flashes of red, pink, yellow, and blue flying up and exploding into beautiful sparkles from over his hand. You gasped, admiring the bright colors. It was so sweet, so delicate, so lovely. So unlike the portrait of the devious trickster god who called himself anything but a wanted hero.

“Loki, that’s beautiful!” you exclaimed, smiling in delight.

He gave you a smile back. You admired the show as it went on and then it faded away. He folded his palm.

“It’s all a matter of practice- and it will be like swimming to you soon,” he said.

“I just hope so. It will have to be if I’m to fight Grendel….” you sighed.

“You will- just give yourself time.”

“Do we have time?” was something you wanted to ask. But you did not. You merely focused again on the sword, trying to get it to slide to you. It did not.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It was a nice rhythmic routine of your new life in Asgard- training so much in both body and magic. Even if it meant you were almost, always a little sore. Dining with these new people you had to call friends. Even Sif, despite her intense training sessions and sarcastic remarks every time she spoke. There was no report of any progress on Grendel. No news was good news, as the saying goes. It just left you more time to be prepared. It was hard to believe a month had passed by. In fact, you could hardly believe it when Thomas arrived one morning at breakfast.

“Forgive the intrusion, Miss Y/N, but I came to get your mail from home. Your parents begged me to send this over to you,” the baronet announced, handing you a letter. You opened it and read aloud.

“Dear Y/N,

We have not seen you in a long time. Please return home. Just for a little.

All our love,

Your mother and father.”

You folded it in your hands. It was Loki and his variants who sat a the table, all looking at you dumbfounded.

“Do you think you can visit back, my lady? I wonder if you still are sad concerning your betrothal,” Hal said.

“I don’t know if I can bear it alone….” you commented. The others looked at you and each other.

“I doubt I would be much welcome after that wedding fiasco,” Loki commented.

Jonathan stood up from his table.

“I will go with her. Y/N will not have to face it alone…” he volunteered.

You gave him a thanks as both of you beheld the portal to take you back. Trusting that you could alert Loki with your mind when you were ready to return. Just a bit of magic, the flash of rainbow colors bursting over you and the spy.

In a second, you both were right at the front door of your home. You knocked and were let in immediately. Sitting in the living room having an uneasy tea. They passed a plate of biscuits to Jonathan. He took a bite, keeping an uneasy smile on his face. A few crumbs fell on his pants which he wiped off. You felt your parents staring at the clothes from his time. Suppressing questions out of politeness. You only had one bite of your own biscuit, which tasted stale and bland. Looking over, you saw that the flowers in the vase on the table in the kitchen hadn’t changed since the would-be wedding. Shriveled, wilted, and dead.

“Now….Y/N, what is going on?” your mother asked.

“I am staying in Asgard. There is a great threat. A villain- he’s trying to invade. We are doing what we can to defeat him,” you explained plain and simple.

“When will you return home? Please, Y/N,” she begged.

“I don’t know, mama. Not for a while. This concerns all of our future, if not our safety. I…I wish I could…but I promised I would help them. And I will. I’m learning how to fight-”

“To fight!” cried your mother.

“Yes, and we have a clue on how to take care of it. Loki needs all the help he can get…”

Their frowns deepened at the sound of his name. Then your father leaned forward, his plate and tea untouched.

“Y/N- you are about to marry Reverend Ransome. We have to pick a new date already,” he said.

You set down your tea, feeling your hold on the saucer turn to a grip. Your breathing became sharp and your hands shook as the cup rumbled on the saucer. You set it down, but the shaking continued. Jonathan took out a hand of yours and held it in comfort.

“Mother, Father…I cannot be a vicar’s wife. Not anymore.”

Your mother blinked rapidly.

“But Y/N- you love him so much and you’ve loved him for years. You told us yourself. And he loves you!”

Your father looked down on you. His voice deep and serious.

“I remember the day he asked permission to marry you. You should have seen him, Y/N. Heard his words then. I gave him my consent immediately. You should see how the reverend is now- hear how his sermons are lately. He’s eager for you to return. He misses you. He would run right here now if it wasn’t for his errands today!”

Yes, you forgot to ask him what errands he is doing. The bastard is probably pleasuring Cora against a tree again by now. Why hasn’t the bastard asked her to marry him yet and put us all out of our misery? I delivered that letter- plain and simple. He couldn’t miss it in his own stupid church. He must have read what it said… you thought bitterly.

Your senses reached out to the woods. It confirmed what you thought happened in the past. You could sense the bodies. His fingers reached up. Then out. Could sense it when he brought it to his mouth and licked off the inside of Cora.

‘Cora, Cora- how perfect for her name. The first bit rhymes with ‘whore’ and begins with the same letter as ‘cunt,’’ your thoughts bit back impulsively. You swallowed the thought back.

But you looked down into your cup on the tea tray. Fighting the urge to cry, your breathing even faster.

“I have…ended things with him,” you explained.

Your parents nearly jumped out of their seats.

“Ended things! Y/N- consider your future! A stable life with such a good, moral man who loves you! Why?!”

You gripped the arms of the couch with your free hand, Jonathan held you back from standing up. You saw his lips move, to contain getting involved. Only to support you. You felt your heart pick up and your throat tighten. You decided to make the explanation quick and simple.

“Will slept with Mrs. Seaborne while betrothed to me. That was why”

Your father squinted his eyes, his nostrils flaring.

“Y/N- Sarah gave her handmaiden to Jacob. It’s not noble for a wife to be upset when this happens. Your duty is to forgive him and make him happy,” he said.

You glared at your father. Jonathan’s hand broke off from you as you stood up, raising your voice and meeting them where you stood.

“Papa, Will had and consummated an affair. He kissed, wooed, and made love to another woman while engaged to marry me. He has broken my trust and crossed a line. It’s in the very Bible he studies and preaches not to do this- and he did anyway. Even as I was sick and dying, he preferred satiating his lust than comforting me. Is that who you want as your son-in-law? Or your rector? Don’t tell me he won’t do it after we’re married. I don’t trust him to. He has crossed a line once- and once is enough! I will not and cannot marry a man like that! And don’t tell me it’s my duty to let it go and be some perfect vicar’s wife! I will not make myself pure when he cannot be pure himself! I will not make myself into a perfect, pristine doll all for him to throw away for another!”

There was silence. Only the ticking of the grandfather clock. Your mother put a hand to her mouth.

“Y/N…do you realize the scandal even the rumor of this would cause?” she asked hoarsely.

You had no time to respond, the door burst open. In were none other than Mr. and Mrs. Harris, and a neighbor, Mr. Brown. Everyone shot up out of their seats, even Jonathan.

“Please! Mr. Y/L/N! Where is she?” Mrs. Harris asked, her eyes full of tears.

“Who?” asked your father.

Their eyes turned to you. Mr. Brown’s face turned red as if he was about to explode onto you.

“Miss Harris has vanished. We fear the worst- a kidnapping. This is no doubt your daughter’s fault!” he said.

He pointed a finger at you. His voice was heavy with venom.

“The Trickster’s God’s Whore,” he spat.

You felt sick again.

“Stella’s gone missing. Where does he have her- where does Loki have Stella?!” Mrs. Harris pleaded, her lips quivering as tears twisted her face and fell down her cheeks.

“Another one to spoil her virtue to pleasure him?! The Trickster God has one- Why isn’t one enough?” Mr. Brown sneered.

“Please everyone- she is not in Asgard,” Jonathan reasoned, putting his hands out to calm everyone down.

“What! Stella! Missing!” you urged. You went to her parents.

Mrs. Harris burst into heartrending sobs and her husband half embraced you. His blue eyes, just like his daughters, still looked at you with careful suspicion, but not outright hate as his neighbor.

“Gone since this morning. We were out visiting, taking care of business. Her brothers were off at work. Her little sister was with a friend. Stella was left home alone. She told us she intended to stay today- letters to write. Our neighbors said they heard her screaming. When they rushed in, the house and her room were a mess…and she was gone.”

“Please, Y/N, she must be with you. Talking of the place you are when we asked her, this Asgard! Every time since you visited! The Trickster god must have enchanted her!” Mrs. Harris fretted.

“Why would Loki do that?” you blurted. “No! I swear to you- as someone who friend of your family-Jonathan is right! Stella isn’t in Asgard! If she was, I would know!”

The mother began to wring her hands. Then she brought out a scrap of paper from the pocket of her dress.

“But she…she must be enchanted…and abducted…why else would she leave a scrap of paper behind with nonsense on it!” Mrs. Harris wailed.

“Nonsense? What nonsense? What’s on the paper?” you asked.

She handed you the scarp of paper. It was big and lined, written in a hurry. As if she was grabbed while writing it. But it was Stella’s handwriting. You exchanged too many letters to know it was her hand.

There was only one word on it. But one word was enough.

It read:

“GRENDEL.”

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mystic-helena · 1 year

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hello! can i request a kuroo x reader where kuroo and the reader are childhood friends but he doesn’t know how to tell her he loves i love your blog by the ways its really cute ok have a great day bb hope you’re doing well ♡︎

Childhood crush ft Kuroo!

a/n: I FORGOT TO POST THIS ITS BEEN SO LONG I CANT EVEN DESCRIBE HOW SORRY I AM OH MY GOD IT ISNT EVEN GOOD

Kuroo had always been there for you and you’ve been always there for him.

Since the beginning of times—okay, maybe not the beginning of times, but the beginning of your life—Kuroo has been there, it could be laughting at you when you fall after helping you get up or simply existing beside you on a sleepover at a half past eleven when you both should be sleeping—because for twelve-year-old kids that is pretty late according to his parents—but are instead looking at the bedroom ceiling and forming constellations with the glow-in-the-dark stars he has over his bed.

Right now, as strange as it may be for you, Kuroo isn’t glued to your side...

...because he’s talking to his reflection in your bathroom.

For the past twenty minutes.

His hands are on both sides of the sink, upper body leaning towards the reflective surface, brown eyes digging holes into it, as if starting too hard would magically put his ideas in order.

“Tetsuro, we both know how the childhood best friend never gets the love interest—he said while pointing at the mirror, eyes fixed in his own face—, but, we also have advantage because our fate isn’t written as if we were mere characters in a book. Wait, maybe that’s even worse”

“Tetsu, you’ve been there for forever, come out already” you practically yell, cheek pressed against the coffee table in your living room “you know I promised I won’t laugh-”

Oh, right. He almost forgot about it. The reason why he was at the bathroom.

“-if you finally admitted you are shit putting make up on and finally let me help you.”

Many ‘make up stuff’ as he named it, was untouched in front of him. All of it belongs to your cousin, who also implanted the idea of downloading tiktok in your head. Which is also the reason why he was supposed to make himself look like one of those people who had glitter almost all over their faces, imitating the Euphoria series look, thing he agreed to do just because you asked him with the only reason of him being ‘pretty’ and having perfect skin. And yes, his heart skipped a beat when you called him pretty.

“I’m done y/n, just give me five more minutes” he says as he rapidly tries to find the ‘black thingy’ they used on videos to ‘paint lines on their eyes and look like a cat’. He thinks he should have paid more attention when you were telling him which thing does what. But five seconds prior that you called him pretty. Not handsome but pretty, how is he supposed to feel about that? He has mussels, has a deep voice, is tall and is very intelligent. Why would you call him pretty? I mean, being called pretty is better than not being called pretty. And now he’s back to staring into his reflection.

With much difficulty he steps out of his spiraling thoughts and finds the eyeliner—that’s what it’s called, he celebrates—and tries to paint a straight line on top of his eye. It’s comes out pretty decent, he’s glad his hands are steady. He goes for the other eye. This one is a little bit wonky but probably you won’t notice, he thinks as he puts down the eyeliner and looks for the glitter. He’s gonna regret this later, glitter gets everywhere when he opens the little container. He coughs and closes the glitter container.

“Are you ok over there? You sure you don’t need help?” you sound concerned and he cringes when he looks at the mirror and sees the glitter got into his mouth. How did he do that? Shit, that will be a pain to take off. Well, another problem for future him, he shruggs and thinks a way to stick the glitter to his face and make it look good. The lipgloss is looking at him and he’s looking back.

Kuroo opens wide the door—he was in there for more than 5 minutes—and looks at you. You were about to fall asleep on the couch but bolt right up at the sound of the bathroom door slamming against te wall.

“Took you long enough” you wipe your eyes and stare at his face for a couple of seconds. He stares back and hopes he’s not turning red, why are you staring at him? Did he fuck up that badly? Are you amazed by his make up techniques? Maybe he should say something. “Take a photo, it will last longer” he winks at you and smiles when he sees your eyes widen for a second.

What were you thinking in that moment? You looked shy for a moment before smiling wide and getting up. You walk towards him and grab him by the wrist and drag him to the couch. Kuroo sat and watched as you did the same next to him, and he knows he should be thinking about what to do on the tiktok you were about to do but instead he was getting distracted by how close you are. Maybe one day he would tell you how he feels but for now being your best friend was more than enough.

#kuroo tetsuro x you #kuroo x reader #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu kuroo #hq x reader #lenawrites but make it ✨haikyuu✨#lenawrites

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nexstage · 7 months

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What happened to Marceline in Winter King’s world?

That's a question everyone has been asking themselves since the airing of that episode and even after the finale of Fionna and Cake. Honestly, the contrast between what would've been of Marcy without Simon and Simon without Marcy is really telling of the effect both have on each other’s lives. Despite the tragedy surrounding the crown which destroyed Simon’s mind and forced him to leave Marcy, both saved each other from becoming the worst versions of themselves. But I’m going on tangents, the real focus is Marcy’s fate in the messed-up world of the Winter King.

Now, while we might never have an explicit answer, I think I came close to, in my opinion, the best one, based on information from the show -Marceline and Bubblegum’s story, the Stakes mini-series-, Marcy’s Super Secret Scrapbook, and even The Winter King episode. And some key elements draw a bigger, clearer picture:

SPOILER WARNING FOR MARCY’S SUPER SECRET SCRAPBOOK.

1. Marcy’s vampire hunt arc

2. Marcy’s relationship with the human survivors in her vampire hunt

3. The mentioned-only-once-and-never-addressed lore of the Ice King being The Empress’ slave

4. The Vampire King’s power and army

5. Princess Bubblegum’s role

Alright! Let’s start with some obvious context. So, as we know, there are two clashing concepts in this image:

According to the Scrapbook, when Marcy was older, she got the Abadeer axe from his father and she kept it with her which, if you ask me, is both a pragmatic choice due to the dangers of a post-apocalyptic world and an emotional/conflictive one because of her rocky relationship with Hunson Abadeer. Much more important is that in Marcy’s flashbacks on the Stakes mini-series, she was shown with her axe turned into a bass already, playing a song for the human tribe.

Now the question is how it got into the hands of the Ice King if Simon had left her. Well, browsing through YouTube I’ve found a video with a fan’s headcanon* about Marcy’s fate showing Hunson Abadeer giving him the axe and explaining what happened to her. But that comes with more questions: how could Hunson and Ice King have interacted if Ice King forgot about him due to the crown’s madness? What could’ve compelled Hunson or Ice King to talk with each other? After all, in the letter Simon left to Marcy after leaving her, their only interaction was watching each other after he opened the portal to the Nightosphere.

Simon even mentioned in said letter this: “After I completed the binding spell on your dad the portal closed and everything went dark. God knows what I did.” It didn’t mention anything about Hunson attacking him for entering his realm, or stopping him from executing the binding spell; therefore, the chances of an interaction between them are slim next to nonexistent. Of course, we also have this scene:

Here Hunson enters unapologetically and pretty violently into Marcy’s crafted little house and then points at something in particular that was on the wall whether it is the portraits of Simon Marcy had drawn or Hambo, my far-fetched theory is that he wondered about the guy on those portraits but again, this is far-fetched so it doesn't have a solid base to keep going.

What's next? Oh yes, Simon and The Empress’ abusive* past relationship. Why past relationship? Because of this line: “Hello, Simon. (…) Wait, you don't remember me?”. Most importantly, maybe this was the first and only time when Marcy and Simon met again after the heartbreaking departure and she had to confront him in his almost-complete Ice King transformation while saving him from The Empress’ hypnosis. Why almost-complete transformation? Because of this piece of dialogue from the Empress: “He used to have more of a silver fox thing going on, with the hair and those cute glasses.” This can mean two things: one, that Simon still was himself but in tiny bits and pieces both in personality and appearance and a characteristic item of his past self are the glasses. Two, those ‘cute glasses’ might signify something ridiculous and humiliating the Empress manipulated Simon into using while he was still her servant.

Now, it's hard to pinpoint how much time had passed between Marceline and Simon’s separation and their encounter when he was serving the Empress due to the unstable count of time on the Scrapbook but, in my opinion, it must have been like several weeks or a few months. With that in mind, perhaps Simon still remembered Marceline albeit in fragments that came and went which was too painful for her to deal with; for that reason, after she saved him from the Empress, she left.

But after that what was next? Well, the last enemy Marcy must kill to ensure humanity’s survival was the Vampire King, and knowing Finn didn't exist in the Winter King’s universe leaves two possibilities: Marceline dies fighting the Vampire King but is unsuccessful in killing him which leads to him rebuilding his army and slaughtering the survivors. However, how could the vampires still thrive in a world where there were no more humans, only penguins and ice creations from Winter King and the candy people from Bubblegum? That would mean extinction for them unless the Vampire king had led his army to search for more scattered tribes. Going further, with Marcy and all her human friends gone, who could be there to give Ice King the axe bass? I doubt even Hunson could sense something this terrible had happened to Marcy.

The second possibility has a few changes although makes more sense. Marcy manages to kill the Vampire King but dies due to her injuries or because he sets her a trap right before he perishes to get revenge. Then after the whole mess is over, the human tribe she had befriended finds what is left of her: the destroyed axe bass and her stake.

Mourning her, they later find Hambo, Schwabl, and her diary. By reading it, they discover two family members of hers are still alive: Hunson and Simon. Obviously, after suffering attack by attack from the vampires, summoning the “Nameless One” would be the last thing the tribe would do. That and according to her diary, Marcy was mad at Hunson for killing the werewolves and eating her fries. The other option is Simon and that is where it gets interesting. If they believe it’s true that Simon has lost his sanity and memories because of the crown, then trying to find him and tell him what happened to Marcy might be a waste of time and a double tragedy. Also, they don’t know what kind of north Simon had gone to exactly, so trying to find him could take them a lot of time they need to escape the next disaster.

That leaves another two possibilities: the first one I have some doubts about because what if Simon, in his bits of memory and old self, is looking for Marcy and finds out what happened to her? But knowing the crown’s madness is leading him to build an ice kingdom, that is again a farfetched theory. The other one that is riskier but makes more sense to me is that, despite the dangers and the time spent, the human tribe travels to find Simon as a way to honor Marcy’s memory and sacrifice. Once they find him, they tell him what she did for them and give him her axe bass. Despite losing his memories and the crown’s madness, a tiny part of his old self reacts strongly to the news.

It’s unknown what happened to her dog Schwabl and Hambo, maybe they were passed on to Ice Marcy and Schwabl died of old age, or both were taken care of by the child of the human tribe Marcy had befriended to honor her memory. Going into tangents again, about the humans, another reason Finn might not be in this world is because either he wasn’t born in the Winter King’s dimension or he was born but never left the island.

Coming back to where I left it, Ice King transformed due to the most important aspect of the crown: the heart’s deepest truest wish. In the show, his obsession with princesses was due to his desire to be with Betty again and be loved by her, although his wish wasn’t taken that far except for the episode where he stole a piece of each princess’ body to create a Frankenstein-like princess. However, Marcy’s death might have caused his grief to be so strong to battle the madness of the crown and regain some of his memories that were related to when he met and raised her.

Because of that, his biggest wish turned from having Betty again to bringing Marcy back and kind of absolving himself from the guilt of not being there to save her. This is connected to another character’s fate: Princess Bubblegum and the fall of her kingdom. As is shown in The Winter King episode she was turned from this:

To this

Winter King had sang to Simon that thanks to his sheer force of will he had overcome the crown’s influence which in this theory of mine is half-true as his grief had its own sheer force of will that resisted the ice power and madness until Ice King found a way to have Marcy back. Of course, we all know he was unsuccessful, he might have found a way to transfer the madness to Bubblegum, condemning her people to the whims and brutality of an insane ruler, but reviving the dead was impossible. It was even established in the show because neither Margles (Magic Man’s wife) nor Betty (fused with Golb) could come back despite Prismos’ efforts.

Still, it didn’t stop Winter King from trying. I think that after he created Ice Marcy, his denial skyrocketed. Deep down, he knew Marceline was gone and in front of him was just a copy of her when she was a child but he couldn’t accept that leaving her behind to protect her from himself led to her death. He couldn’t accept that despite his best efforts: spell-binding Hunson, the ritual to the Nightosphere, believing she could be strong enough to survive, he would find out time later that she had been taken away from him.

And despite this, he doubled down as he “raised” -if you could call it that- Ice Marcy but also kept her isolated as a way to protect her from the outside world. In many ways, Winter King is what Magic Man would’ve become if he had let his grief overtake him to a new level. His madness indeed came from the loss of his wife and his obsession for bringing her back but after too many failures his efforts focused more on making everyone miserable maybe as a coping mechanism. Not so different from Winter King as he let the Candy Kingdom fall into chaos after transferring the crown’s madness to Bubblegum.

As a last detail in this extensive theory, why Princess Bubblegum? Why not someone else? It could be because Ice King’s former obsession with princesses was still alive and it became more of a means to an end than his feelings for Betty twisted by the crown. And maybe that’s also why Ice King is callous about Betty’s memory and calls her “the dead one”.

*Link to the video I was talking about and that inspired me to write this:

https://youtu.be/k2zJKsABi0A?si=em0JMNQYGsA4LPG0

*Yes, the past relationship between Simon and The Empress was abusive as she had tried to hypnotize him to have him as a servant, took advantage of his crumbling mental state to make him do things that might be against his wishes or moral code (for example, killing Marceline in the miniseries), was delighted in how pitiful his madness made him look, and insulted him when he defied her orders

#Fionna and Cake #Adventure Time #Meta and theories #The Winter King #Marcy’s Super Secret Scrapbook #This is like a super dark theory of mine yeeesh #Winter King world is like seeing the worst Au but covered in shiny glitter

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dingochef · 9 months

Text

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x You (OFC)

Warnings: Swearing, Smut (MDNI 18+ Only), Stalking, P in V, oral (female and male receiving), Semi-public sex, light spanking, light bondage, blindfolds, shitty parents

Summary: Your family comes to town for Christmas. Your sister is awesome, your dad is pretty good, but your mom is a whole nother level. Thank God Jake's by your side through it all.

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Chapter 13

Word Count: 3.4k

Chapter 14: On the Level

December after the ball rolls by quickly and it seems like you've blinked and it's December 23, the day your parents and sister are due into San Diego for Christmas.

Jake has picked up on your increasing anxiety as their arrival date got closer. He, as usual, has been supportive and understanding,

"Babe, we'll get through this, together."

You're holding his hand as you wait for them at the restaurant you agreed to meet for dinner at. As you wait for them to appear, you're recalling the phone call when you let your parents know that Jake and you were living together.

You called your mom's cell,

"Hello, Elsa, what's up?"

"Hey Mom, just calling to catch up. How are things in Michigan?"

"It goes, we're almost done cleaning out the house to put it on the market, did you get all those trophies and stuff?"

"Yeah, they made it to the house. So, I've got some good news."

"Oh really, did you get a promotion at work?"

"Nothing on the work front, Jake and I have moved in together, in my house, so more accurately, Jake has moved in."

You were nervous and babbling for some reason.

"Jake….oh, yeah, your boyfriend. I'm sorry I forgot his name. The Navy pilot guy, right?"

You rolled your eyes at your mom's lack of caring to remember the details of the only relationship you've told your parents about in the last five years.

"Yes, Jake, my serious boyfriend of seven months," you answered.

"Don't you think that's moving a little too fast? Plus, who's going to buy the cow if they're getting the milk for free?"

"No, Mom, I don't think it's moving too fast and do we really have to use that tired old cliche?"

"We'll, I'm just worried about you making the right choices for your life."

"Yup, the right choices. Mom, Jake loves me and I love him. He is a very good man who makes me happy. It's so obvious it's the right choice to move our relationship to the next level."

"Okay, honey, if that's how you feel about it. You thought you were making the right choice with Liam and all."

The residual anger that always underlines any interaction with your parents, specifically your mom, rose up. You took a deep breath and pushed it aside.

"Ouch, yeah I might have thought that, but I've got the experience and wisdom from a bad relationship to recognize a good one. I was just hoping that you'd be happy for me and not be all judgy about it."

"Fine, if you want me to be happy for whatever life choices you make, then I can be happy for you."

The way she said 'whatever' made you grit your teeth, like building a solid relationship with another human was a spur of the moment whim.

"Alright, Mom. I've got to go. Tell Dad I said hi. Love you."

"Love you, Elsa."

Your knee is bouncing up and down and you're fiddling with the menu trying not to down the fancy gin cocktail you ordered to calm your nerves. Jake speaks without looking over,

"You know, if at any point you want to bail on this, say the word and we're gone. Just because it's family doesn't mean you have to be miserable. You feel like you're going to explode."

"I don't know, I'm just nervous. For some reason I desperately want them to like you, not that most rational parents wouldn't, but these are my parents."

He looks at you,

"And, what if they don't like me? Think I'm the worst thing ever?"

You don't hesitate for a second,

"Then fuck 'em. If they can't see what an amazing person you are and how good we are together then that's their problem, not ours."

"See, you already have plans in case this goes sideways. El, at the end of the day, we still love each other and we are building a life together. None of that needs a parental stamp of approval."

"I know, but your parents love me. I get texts from your mom any time she sees something Michigan related. I just wanted to reciprocate that back to you."

"It's okay, El. This isn't a balance and ledger sheet making sure everything is equal all the time. If you're worried about it, you can just give me extra blowjobs to make up for your crappy parents."

His last sentence breaks you and you're laughing so hard that you tear up. You wipe your eyes and lean over and kiss Jake,

"Thank you for being the person who gets me. I think that might have earned you a few extra blowjobs."

Your moment is disrupted by the familiar sound of your sister's voice,

"Eww, Mom, Elsa's kissing her boyfriend,"

Lanie says in a mocking kid voice. You jump up and run to the other side of the table to give Lanie a hug.

"It's so good to see you, I missed you," you say as you give her a good squeeze. She looks past your shoulder and sees Jake.

"Introduce me, sis. I want to meet the guy I've heard so much about."

"Lanie, this is Lieutenant Jake Seresin, my awesome boyfriend. And Jake, this is my adorable little sister, Melanie, who prefers to go by Lanie, because she thinks it makes her sound cooler."

Jake reaches out a hand for a handshake, but Lanie just laughs.

"I know way too much about you for just a handshake,"

she says, pulling him into a hug. He shrugs and rolls with it.

Your parents have arrived at the table and you walk over to hug them.

"Hey, Mom and Dad, good to see you."

Jake moves around the table to meet them.

"Mom, Dad, this is my boyfriend Lieutenant Jake Seresin. Jake, my parents Don and Betty Matthews."

Jake gives each of them a handshake and says,

"Nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Matthews."

Your dad luckily is feeling social today,

"You can call me Don and she probably won't say it, but you can call her Betty."

Your mom gives your dad a little bit of side-eye for his comment.

You all sit down at the table. The cocktail menu is passed over to the newcomers and the server appears to take their orders.

You start the conversation by asking Lanie how her tattoo business is going. She used the inheritance from your aunt to start her studio in Chicago.

"It's going really well, we're actually expanding into space next to because we have so much demand and have a list of artists that want to be a part of our collective. You can see it when you come to Chicago for your next tattoo."

"I haven't settled on what my next one will be yet, I'll let you know when I do."

Your mom scoffs across the table,

"I'll never get the appeal of permanently scarring your body in the name of art."

The eye roll that Lanie and you return is perfectly synced.

"Mom, we've been through this before. If it's not your cup of tea then it's not," Lanie replies back before you can.

Your mom continues,

"Jake, what do you think of tattoos? Surely as a sailor you must have some."

Jake rolls with the question and you recognize that smooth confidence that can come across as the cocky Hangman sometimes.

"Aviator, I'm technically a Naval Aviator, not a sailor. And no, I don't have any tattoos. Yet. I appreciate the artistry and skill that goes into them. I think the ones Elsa has are very beautiful and have a lot of meaning to her."

You look over and smile at him for his answer. He reaches over to grab your hand under the table. The conversation lulls and you start it back up again,

"How's the condo search going?"

Your dad perks up and goes through the various locations that they've looked at and the problems with each which is enough conversation to get through ordering and a few minutes after.

Your mom enters the conversation with questions pointed at Jake, which puts you on high alert.

"Where did you grow up Jake?" she asks.

"Austin, Texas."

"Family?"

"The usual, two parents and one older brother."

"Where did you go to college?"

"The Naval Academy in Annapolis."

"I didn't think that was a real school, what did you study besides flying?"

"My bachelor's degree is in Mathematics with a focus on data analysis and statistics. I went through flight school and the aviation training program after graduation."

You joke,

"I think Jake might be one of the few people on earth that has taken more math than me."

Your mom drives through the small moment of humor like a bus,

"So, what does one do as a Naval Aviator?"

She pronounces every letter in naval and aviator.

"At the moment, I'm teaching at the Fighter Weapons School on North Island. I stepped back from active duty to be in one place with Elsa. Prior to teaching I was on various deployments around the world, providing air support for Navy operations."

"So, you gave up something as exciting as saving the world to settle down, interesting."

Your hand grips Jake's at her condescending tone. He rubs his thumb in soothing circles on the back of your hand in response. Before the comment can escalate the food arrives, you've never been happier for a mushroom risotto in your life.

Lanie jumps in after the group starts eating to deflect your mom's inquisition.

"So, Jake, what embarrassing stories do you want to hear about Elsa from childhood?" she asks, her face full of mischief.

Jake laughs,

"Any that you want to tell me."

Lanie proceeds to tell everyone about the time you made her a lightning proof suit out of aluminum foil, gave her a metal rod to hold, and sent her to stand at the top of the swing set during a thunderstorm to test it out. Luckily your mother had seen her before she became a human lightning rod.

"In my defense, it was a very rudimentary Faraday cage, which in principle could work to protect you from lightning,"

You offer trying to defend your childhood self.

Jake is laughing,

"You even tortured your sister like a little engineer, no wedgies for you. That was too pedestrian."

Dinner has finally wound down without any more interrogation from your mom. The plan is for your parents to go to the rental house and Lanie is going to go out with you and Jake for a drink and spend the night at your house. Everyone says their goodbyes and you get in your car with Jake driving and Lanie in the back.

The doors are barely shut when Lanie exclaims and pats Jake on the back,

"Congrats, you survived a round of dinner with our dysfunctional parents."

You look at Jake and he is looking at you with a concerned look,

"You okay, El?"

"I'm good, are you okay after that grilling in there?"

"You forget that I'm specifically trained in resisting torture techniques, which I've never had to use before tonight. Man, your mom is intense."

Lanie just snorts in agreement from the back seat.

"Let's go, I could use a margarita the size of my head and the Hard Deck isn't getting any closer, chop, chop, Jeeves."

"Yes, Madam," Jake replies in a cheesy French accent.

Soon you are parking at your house for the short walk to the Hard Deck. Jake and Lanie have been talking the whole time and are engaged in a lively discussion about naval tattoo history. You're a few steps behind them and it makes your heart full to see how well they get along.

Jake stops and waves his hand for you to catch up when he realizes you've fallen behind. You run up and take his hand and Lanie's hand and you practically skip the rest of the way to the Hard Deck.

The rest of the evening is fun, in the simple way a night out of drinking just the right amount is. Lanie and you tell stories from your childhood that leave Jake laughing so hard he is out of breath. You all end the night pretty early as you are due at the house your parents are renting for brunch and general hanging out for Christmas Eve the next day.

Lanie crashes on the futon in the extra room that you had already made up for her when you get home. Jake and you are in bed not long after.

December 24, Christmas Eve

The three of you wake up at about the same time and quickly suck down a pot of coffee. No one is hungover per se, but everyone is a bit sluggish. The coffee helps everyone get in gear. We all pile in your CR-V and drive over towards the rental house. You're about halfway there when Lanie gets a text.

"Mom says to get more champagne and orange juice if we want mimosas," she reports.

"I don't know about you, Lanie, but I think I'm going to need a gallon of mimosas to deal with our parents all day," you respond.

"10-4 on that idea."

There is a Ralph's grocery store conveniently placed so you pull into the parking lot. Jake hops out and runs in for the items. While you're waiting for Jake, Lanie speaks,

"Elsa, I just wanted to tell you that I think Jake is perfect for you and my god, you two are disgustingly in love. I'm happy you found someone who makes you happy."

You're sure you have a lovesick look on your face,

"Thanks, it means a lot to me that you guys get along."

Jake appears at the tailgate with shopping bags and loads up the car. You make the rest of the quick drive to the rental house.

You find your parents on the deck overlooking the bay reading.

"The intrepid trio has arrived,"

your dad stands up and announces. He takes the grocery bags and you all walk into the kitchen and dining area. Your mom has laid out a little breakfast buffet with various pastries, fresh fruit, and some yogurt and granola. We all take a small plate and get our fill. Your dad occupies himself with making up mimosas for the whole group. Everyone heads back out to the deck to sit and eat.

Your dad is feeling peppier today and starts the conversation out,

"So how's flying with the Navy these days, Jake? I imagine it's changed a lot since my day."

"Yeah, it sure has. El and I went to a historic fly-in over in Chula Vista and they had a few of the Phantom IIs from Vietnam on display. There's a lot of the same instruments, but man, has the technology changed. What was your call sign, Don?"

Your dad laughs and smiles as he thinks back to days long ago,

"Mitten, my squad made fun of me for doing the Michigan hand thing every time someone asked where I was from, and Michigan is the Mitten state, so that stuck as my call sign. Elsa said yours is Hangman, how'd you get that Jake?"

It's Jake's turn to laugh,

"The catapult broke on my first attempt to launch off a carrier so I ended up tangled in the line and hanging off the side of the carrier for an hour while they figured out how to get the plane back up and me out safely."

Your dad laughs,

"So that part hasn't changed, stuff breaking all the time."

Jake and your dad continue talking about their respective experiences in the Navy. After about an hour you propose a walk on the beach and Lanie and Jake are the only ones to agree to the offer. You make your way off the deck and down to the sand and take your shoes off. The sand is cool as it is December, but it's still pleasant.

You wander back in to see your parents reading on the couch inside, although your dad looks like he was napping more than reading. You sit down and your dad is quick to grab drinks for everyone. You settle in on an overstuffed loveseat next to Jake and contently sip on your gin and tonic while Jake drinks a beer. Your mother is having her standard cranberry and vodka, Lanie has gone with a beer, and your dad is also enjoying a gin and tonic.

The room is peaceful until your mom throws out a mortar shell of a question,

"Have you been in touch with Liam lately?"

You nearly choke on your drink,

"Liam, as in Liam fucking McAllister, ex fiance and general piece of human dog shit?"

Jake is snickering quietly next to you.

"Elsa, language, yes that one. He friended me on Facebook the other day and we exchanged a few messages. He's in the Dallas area and still single."

"That's a little weird to be Facebook friends with your daughter's ex, don't you think?"

"He was a nice young man, seemed good for you and on your level."

You look over at Jake and his eyebrows are about to take off from his forehead, he's raised them so high.

Lanie dives in before you can formulate a response,

"Mom, do we have to refresh your memory on what a terrible human being he is?"

"Fine, fine. I won't bring it up again," she finally relents.

The atmosphere of the room has shifted and for once your dad reads it correctly and launches everyone in a conversation about your cousins in Michigan and extended family in general. Jake and you talk about your trip to Texas and meeting his giant Italian family. Your dad laughs at your description of all the food and the heavy duty circuit breaker required for all the crock pots.

It's starting to get close to dinner time and you suggest takeout.

"People good with Chinese?" you ask and get enough nods that you pull up a menu on your phone and get the order put together and call it in.

You all hang out in the kitchen as you wait for the food to be delivered. Jake and your dad have dutifully kept your drink filled all day so you are feeling the right side of tipsy. Your dad asks,

"How is work going for you, Elsa?"

"Really good, just got notice that another patent was approved and even better the life support systems I've developed are going to be licensed to other manufacturers. So, I get to go to a conference and present on them in New Orleans in February," You look over to Jake,

"You should come with me, I'll give you the dates later."

"That's really awesome, kiddo. How many patents are you up to now?"

"23."

"That sure beats my four. You deserve it, Elsa, you've worked so hard to get where you are and I'm so proud of you."

You're a little shocked to hear the words out your dad's mouth.

Lanie laughs next to you,

"I'm loving this nerd competition."

The doorbell rings indicating your food is here. Jake and you go to the door to grab the bags. You lay it out on the kitchen counter and people serve themselves.

Lanie asks Jake,

"So, what places around the world have you been deployed to?"

"I was in Afghanistan,spent some time in the Philippines, Italy, and various states in the US including Hawaii."

"That's a difference, Italy versus Afghanistan," Lanie replies.

"A whole lot of different work too Italy was mostly NATO patrols and other routine stuff. Afghanistan was a lot more intense, providing air support to ground troops and actually engaging with the enemy."

He doesn't elaborate more, and you recall the story that Wolfie told you about getting shot down. You squeeze Jake's leg under the table to let him know you're there.

Dinner winds down and Jake and you say your goodbyes for the night and head back to your house. The moment you're in your house you flop on your couch on your stomach and let out a long sigh.

"Well, that wasn't as awkward and awful as I thought it was going to be, although my mom did throw a sneaky play in there mentioning she has friended Liam on Facebook. Also, what was that comment about him being on my level?"

You let out your frustration in one long verbal outburst.

Jake just pats you on the back as he heads to the kitchen.

"Your dad is pretty cool, your mom I can't get a read on,"

Jake replies. When you finally sit up he hands you a glass of water.

"My dad has always been a little more easy going, plus you two were bound to hit it off being Navy pilots. And by the way, I still can't get a read on my mom and it's been 30-something years, so don't worry about it."

He laughs,

"So, how about a cheesy Christmas movie? Like Die Hard, because you insist it's a Christmas movie."

"It is, it takes place during a Christmas party," you argue glad that Jake has distracted you with something less heavy than your mom.

"Fine, we can watch it because it is a classic piece of 80s cinema."

Jake pulls up the movie from one of the billion streaming services you have and soon you are cuddled up watching Hans Gruber fall off the Nakatomi Plaza.

Chapter 15

@kmc1989

@starswholistenanddreamsanswered

@mayhemmanaged

@callmemana

@dempy

@hangmanscoming

@lanie-k

@callsign-viper

@senjoritanana

@djs8891

@atarmychick007

@memoriesat30

@midnightmagpiemama

@mygyn

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carcrash429 · 11 months

Note

HI you read the circle of magic books??? I am so excited I love that series (although haven't read them for quite a while)

YESSSSSSS I love that series

HONESTLY everything by Tamora Pierce lmao all of it was so so so formative for me

she does SUCH a good job at portraying people who just go absolutely "FUCK society's expectations I am going to be my best authentic self" and it's SO inspiring and gratifying

Like Okay, Sandry - -constantly treated like she should be a delicate flower noble and instead uses her nobility to stand up for people she cares about LITERALLY starting like the first time we see her?? where she's like hey Daja I know everyone else is a racist asshole here, how about we be friends -called a stitch witch derogatorily and then OWNS it like "Yeah I do magic with stitching WHAT ABOUT IT" and then uses those same skills to do absolutely UNPRECEDENTED magic things -Genuinely wants to just help, CALLS IT "JUST HELPING" WHEN SHE'S BASICALLY RUNNING A KINGDOM FOR HER UNCLE Briar - -legit the little scene where he decides his name?? Briar to be outwardly tough and then MOSS BECAUSE SECRETLY HE'S A SOFTIE even though he pretends otherwise for at least like the whole first couple of books lmao -uses his "street urchin" skills for extreme good, liberating a dying plant cause he could feel it was sick, maintains contact with the girl that ends up sick and works himself to the bone trying to keep her from dying 😭 -goes through a FUCKING WAR comes out the otherside with serious PTSD and STILL shows SO MUCH compassion and empathy for Zhergorz and Tris when other people are like wtf Daja - -loses her whole family, horrifically, loses her whole PEOPLE, devastatingly, somehow does NOT give up goes on does her thing becomes an absolute LEGEND to those same people who outcast her -probably ALSO has PTSD from that whole thing where she made a thing that someone she cared about used to hurt people 🙃🙃🙃 yet never stops CARING: see again, Zhegorz (a legend in his own right, but this is already a long ass rant and I'm sticking to the main 4) -falls in love stays in love GIVES UP THAT RELATIONSHIP to stay true to herself and her morals and her family TRIS - (Probably my favorite although it's close between her and Briar and ESPECIALLY the way they complement and reflect pieces of each other is so so so cool) - has a fucking TEMPER and I love her for it because she's fucking RIGHT like 90% of the time go off girl - got bounced around her family 💔 got betrayed by her family 💔 makes her OWN family dammit and cares about them when by all right she could've just hardened her heart (see reflecting briar in being outwardly tough and inwardly a softie) - is so SO absolutely powerful and REFUSES to contradict her morals and use her power for what "people" think she "should" use it for and plans to just get a regular medallion and do regular magic - ALSO has PTSD from the fucking pirates and their slaves that she smashed to absolute smithereens please someone give these kids A BREAK

oh my god I could go on for ages lmao thank you for this ask honestly if you have the time the books are Well worth a reread, especially the Circle Opens and Will of the Empress imo

wait shit I almost forgot to mention:

not only does she show all of these people being amazing and incredible

BUT ALSO

THEY ALL MAKE MISTAKES

THEY FUCK UP

and then they realize, or someone calls them out, and they apologize and/or *change* and get better

Like DAMN that just feel refreshing you know??

#circle of magic

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georgiapeach30513 · 2 years

Text

More Than You Know, Part 1

Summary: Charles Blackwood just had to show off his fiancé.

Pairings: Charles Blackwood X Reader, Angel Reyes X Reader

Rating: explicit

Warnings: explicit language, explicit sexual content, unprotected sex, PIV sex, creampie, cheating, death of a major character, 18+ ONLY

Word Count: 2.8K

Series Masterlist

*divider created by @firefly-graphics

Charles lifts up your hand, kissing your knuckles, and giving you a satisfied smile. The two of you pose for all the pictures, and you move to hold him, sinking into his embrace.

This wasn’t something you were used to, a big show and ordeal. Wanting to get your picture in the paper for all the right people. Charles Blackwood was.

Charles was everything you weren’t used to. Steady, patient, debonair, suave, but there was no passion with him. You didn’t have to worry about if he would come home injured, or worse dead, but he was just safe. Boring.

Even though Charles was kind, you weren’t sure what his need to go to your old stomping grounds was. The need to show everyone you were taken, or just to check out your hometown.

The two of you stuck out in your freshly pressed and pastel outfits. And he loved letting the people who recognized you know, that you were getting married. That he had tamed you and was moving you to the suburbs.

Visiting an old bar that you at one point went to regularly, your eyes scan the smoky atmosphere. Recoiling and terrified of who you might see. Or worse who might see you without your knowledge. Charles gives you a soft kiss to your lips, his crystal blue eyes looking all around yours and sighs.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just…I don’t want to be here. You know why.”

Charles tsks you, spinning you away from him, before pulling you back into his chest. “He was the one that pushed you away. He should know that you weren’t going to sit and sulk, waiting on him.”

You give him a nod, wishing he was right. But the sea of Mayan cuts and tattoos were blinding your senses. You just knew that he was there. Spotting EZ quickly, and he gives you a regretful grin. “I need to freshen up,” you tell Charles quickly before retreating to the bathroom.

Looking at yourself in the mirror, trying to tell yourself that he had left you. You had every right to move on. And while Charles wasn’t perfect; you were satisfied. You splash your face with water, trying to get the coolness to calm your nerves.

Almost choking on air, when you struggle to breathe. A knock on the door slightly takes you out of that moment, “I’m almost finished.”

“As long as your decent, just open the fucking door.”

You sling the door open, and jump into his warm embrace, “Ari! Oh my god!” pulling back only to take a look at him. Your hands run over his cut, noting a few of the missing rockers. “You’re nomad?”

“Things aren’t quite the same since you left,” you move back into his embrace, resting your head on his hard chest. He always did have the ability to calm you. His arms circle around you tightly. “He’s here.”

“Didn’t need to hear that,” you groan on his chest.

“You saw EZ. Wherever he is…”

“I know. I gotta get back to my fiancé.”

Ari pulls you back smiling, “That shit sounds weird. You look good Stepford Wife.”

“Oh, shut up,” you give him a playful smack. Rolling your eyes at how vastly different Charles was from him.

Walking back out, you can’t help to have your eyes scanning the bar. You tell yourself it’s to find Charles, but you had already spotted him. The truth is, you’re looking for him, Angel Reyes. The man that stole your heart and soul.

You feel those dark eyes on you before you see him. The stare that still haunts you. Left you wanting more. And left so much unfinished business. With a sharp chill running up your spine, you spin around, spotting those deep brown eyes.

Nearly glowing in the haze of his cigarette. His ringed fingers tap on the table, and Angel forgot everything he had previously been talking about. Right now, it’s only you.

Only you brought that amount of sunshine to his world. He takes a drink from his imported beer, only stand up. His tall gigantic body walking closer to you. His long legs get him there way too soon, and you nearly bolt towards Charles. Seeing him making too many unresolved feelings bubble out of you. Feeling weak in the knees, and your stomach in knots.

Leaning around you, he orders another beer, and you think he’s just not going to speak to you, “Marrying up, huh?”

“What?” you ask. Anger already lacing through your words, as you try and remind yourself that he left you.

“He looks like a real catch.”

“Angel, you left me.”

“I left you, for you. That is what you deserve,” his eyes finally look into yours, and you’re ready to abandon this whole situation. “It looks good on you. Probably comes home the same time everyday. Has a picture perfect house, good job, doesn’t leave you worried.”

“You made the decision Angel. I didn’t get a say.”

“Go back to your fiancé and stay away from Santo Padre,” you give him a final once over, and regretfully so. Your mind on anything but your fiancé now. Only on the way Angel’s hands felt on your body.

Angel can’t ignore you though. Grits his teeth every time he sees Charles’ hands all over you.

The way Charles’ hands barely caress your skin. Or the way that he leans into you, when he has something to say. But really hates the way there’s no sparkle in your eyes. And he would know, he’s seen it before. With him.

Angel knows how wrong it is to be angry about another man with you. Knows that he has no right to dictate how you lived your life now, but he hates every second. Dreading those moments when Charles whispers in your ear, and your singsong laugh makes the bar standstill. Like a train wreck, he can’t look away. Cant tear his eyes from the only person he ever thought about leaving the MC and the life for.

“She still loves you,” EZ sits down beside his brother. “Would leave him in a heartbeat.”

“I can’t do that to her. She’s happy.”

“Naw,” EZ says looking over at you and Charles still dancing. “She’s putting on a show for you. Convince you she’s in love, and she convinces herself.”

“Man, shut the fuck up.”

You didn’t want to stay in Santo Padre, but Charles needed to do something for work. Said that it made more sense for you to just stay at your parents house. Get it cleaned up to sell. You had agreed, but weren’t prepared for the memories of this place. Wanting to just trash everything.

Pictures of you, and all of them haunting your being around every corner. And even your old bedroom.

You stare at the old bed for too long. Still the same memories in your mind, before turning off the light, this room would have to wait. A light knock brings you out of your thought process and you walk confused to the door.

“Angel?” you ask. Staring at him in this house wasn’t easy. Even he pushes you aside. Walking into the living room, he paces around, only making your breathing quicken even more. “Angel you can’t just come here, and…”

“Do you love him?”

“I’m marrying him.”

His large frame starts to back you down the hall. Your chest heaves with the anticipation of what he wants. “That’s not what I fucking asked. Do you love him?”

You stand there unable to answer. Your eyes never leaving his, but a steady pace still walks you to your old bedroom. “You don’t get to come into my life and dictate how I live it.”

“You came here, Mi vida. And then I had to watch him.”

“Don’t act like you’ve been here the past five years not getting pussy. Does it really bother you thinking about his hands all over my body? He made the fucking commitment. You pushed me away.”

“For you! Do you get that? I did that for you! And then you come here rubbing it in my face how I can’t be that for you. You never should have came here.”

You stop when the back of your legs hit the mattress, and you can’t do anything but stare up at him. “Do you love him?”

You shake your head no, almost wanting to look away from him. “Who do you love?”

“You,” slowly he bends down to meet your lips, before you’re jumping up into his arms.

His hands go to remove everything off of you, that he comes into contact with. His body crawling the both of you on the bed. His lips go to kiss down the expanse of your body, before you realize what’s happening, “Angel, what is this? A goodbye?”

“What?” he asks never stopping his motions.

“I’m engaged.”

“Not anymore,” he says removing your ring. He pulls out another, holding it up to you. “This is a promise to forever. I can’t let you marry him. You love me.”

His puppy dog eyes wait for an answer. Pouting up at you as you try and think. Your mind in a whirlwind. “Do you love me, Angel?”

“More than you know.”

“Tell me,” you whisper. Never having heard those words come out of his mouth, and you didn’t realize how desperate you were to hear them.

“I love you, Mi Vida. Te quiero, mi amor.”

Your hands connect to his jeans, but he pushes you down. Slowly taking off his cut, before he gently lays the leather on your desk. Walking back to where you are and he watches your quaking body as he removes the rest of his clothing. “Say the word, and I leave this life behind. We can start a new fucking life.”

He jerks your body down the bed by your ankle, peering at your weeping cunt, “I mean it. I’ll have to tie up some loose ends, but…”

“Angel,” you nearly growl at him. “Shut up and fuck me.”

“There’s my girl. Glad the suburbs didn’t change you.”

Teasing you, he runs his tip through your folds, gathering your slick. Slapping his fat cock over your clit, and arrogantly laughing when your body arches. Your legs wrap around him, pulling him into your quivering and waiting pussy.

He slowly slides in. Bottoming out, and you can’t remember feeling so full. So completely, and more in love. Nothing had changed with Angel, just space.

He stays still a moment, letting you adjust to him, and his hands pet around your face affectionately. His thumb outlines your features, “You’re the most beautiful,” he pulls out of your aching walls, only to crash back in, and you whimper at the sharpness.

“Trust me, I’ve looked. You ready?” with a head nod, Angel starts his slow, but pounding thrusts. Gripping tight to the headboard, and hissing when you scratch down his back.

His pace picks up a bit, and he slams into you. Feeling like his whole body is splitting you in half with how he pushes into you. Those beautiful eyes smiling down at you. Loving how he’s still able to make you a mess with little effort.

He was what your future was supposed to look like, and with one look at your finger, you hope his mother’s ring is enough to keep him with you. Needing him to keep but one promise. And that was to be yours.

“Angel!”

“Shh, I know. I know. No one feels like this,” when you whimper out, his name, he crashes his lips into yours. Swallowing every one of your sweet sounds.

“You’re still the best,” he whispers on your mouth. Your hands cling tighter to him, when your body heats up.

Unable to even think straight with how good he’s making you feel. Gripping as tight as possible when you start to see stars. “Fuuuuuck! Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!”his voice grunts out. Neither of you taking note of the front door slamming, or Charles driving away, nor do you care.

His pace changes to a rough, deep, and slow jolt as your cunt milks him dry. His warmth, nearly making you cum again. “Angel, don’t leave me.”

“Just one more time. And I’m done.”

You wished Angel would have listened. When Ari came to hand you his bloody cut, he also had to hold your body up before it crashes to the floor. “I couldn’t stop it. We were ambushed, and I told him not to go. Told him, he had something better waiting for him.”

You look at his mother’s ring and want to cry, throwing it away, and pretend this wasn’t real. But it was the one thing that remained of Angel. “They came from nowhere. EZ is wanting a war.”

“I don’t care anymore. He promised. Ari, he promised me.”

You look at your parents house with the sold sign in the front yard. You tried. Tried for a few years, but too many memories remained. You give a final sniffle, before you feel a small tug to your hand.

“Come on.”

“I know Angel, let’s go tell Abuelo and EZ, bye, okay?”

Your new little Angel gets the biggest smile on his face, ready to start a new life in Charming. Even more excited that Ari was going to be his neighbor.

Charming wasn’t too different from Santo Padre. Still quaint. Still the usual riff raff. But, like it’s name suggested, it was Charming. You were beyond annoyed that you had to get acquainted with the local mechanic shop too soon.

Angel holds your hand tightly while you listen to the man rattle off all that’s wrong. “It’s an old car.”

“It was my Abuelo’s,” Angel tells him matter of factly.

“Let me see what I can do, okay? Jax, can you come here?”

A new man trots over, giving you a crooked grin before looking over the paper work. “Is this the only car you have?”

“My car seat won’t fit on the back of my daddy’s bike,” you shush your opinionated four-year-old, looking back up at Jax with an awkward smile.

“I apologize.”

Jax squats down to look at the little boy, smiling up at you before giving Angel all his attention, “One day you’ll get to ride on the back of his bike with him.”

“No I won’t. My daddy is a real angel now.”

“I’m sorry,” you go to pick him up, and Jax stands up. “Can you fix the car or not? And what’s the damage? I have a friend that can…”

“Hey,” he calmly says, “I’ve got a car that will be cheaper to buy than the cost to fix this up,” you shake your head no at him. “I mean, it’s not the nicest. Just nicer than this and the air conditioner works. Looks like the little man gets a bit hot.”

“Okay,” you swallow your pride, because Angel’s comfort is worth more than that.

“Ope, you wanna put little man’s seat in the Caddy? And don’t you dare try and argue with me,” he warns. “You wanna show him how to do that, buddy?” Angel giggles up at him before trotting off.

“I’m very thankful, but honest, I have a friend who is willing to help out.”

“It’s fine. It’s the least I can do for a pretty girl,” you feel your cheeks heat up in embarrassment and you turn to look away. “Your late husband rode?”

“We were never married. And yes. I can’t part with his bike. It was his first child. He never met…how much do I owe you?”

“We can work out a payment plan. Starting with dinner Friday night?” you look aghast at him and he chuckles. “Please?”

Ari follows you around your little house, while Angel plays loudly in his room. “And, our code word is flamingo. You use that in a sentence and I know to come and get you, okay?”

“It’s a date.”

“With your mechanic. Won’t even tell me his name. Im slightly offended.”

“You judge,” you say putting on some boots. He gives you an odd look. “He rides.”

“You have a type,” to which you can only shrug.

Jax pulls up to your home, spotting that green Harley in your open garage. Giving it an odd look before he walks up to the door. Knocking only to be greeted by Ari, and his blood runs cold.

“Hey, Jax. I just need to tell Angel, bye. I’ll be right out. Ari, be nice.”

As soon as you retreat, Ari leans up against the doorframe, sizing Jax up. “Look familiar?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jax answers surely.

Ari leans into Jax’s ear, his voice a low growl, “I know what you did. You gonna tell her?”

Masterlist

#charles blackwood #charles black x reader #angel reyes #angel reyes x reader #angel reyes smut #biker au #jax teller #jax teller x reader #ari levinson

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karmic-vibes · 1 year

Text

Changing Lives

part 4 of nurse steve series!! ft girl dads steddie art credit: Vickie Wade

cw: brief mentions of suicidal ideation, general health issues (associated with AIDS)

wc: 1.7k

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

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Without giving Eddie much of a choice, Steve got him set up with a therapist and psychiatrist to work through his suicidal ideations—to truly get to the bottom of what was causing it all. After about a month of therapy, his providers finally yanked out of him that the pain AIDS was giving him was what made him want to die. He tried hiding the morbidity and anguish his condition gave him from Steve, so he wouldn’t worry, but dear lord was it killing him slowly.

He hid walking pneumonia for several weeks, along with surprise asthma attacks, his joints feeling like they were crumbling beneath him, constant fatigue mixed with chronic migraines, amongst so much more. He didn’t want to burden Steve—but the want to not burden only amplified his pain, bringing him closer and closer to the edge of impending despair.

But, by ‘93, with the help of one Steve Harrington, R.N., Eddie managed to anchor himself back to reality. Between going to rehab for ten weeks, undergoing weekly therapy sessions, and biweekly doctor appointments to stay on top of his illness, he was doing better than ever.

Medications were getting better and better through the years—on top of Eddie’s vast fortune from Corroded Coffin, he was able to really stay on top of his condition, leading a normal life he never thought would be possible again. He was grateful he hung on—he was grateful for Steve.

His gratitude only grew when he made it to 2006—the year adoption for gay couples became legal in Indiana. As soon as they were approved, they were placed on a waiting list for a child. By the end of the year, they had their first child: a baby girl named June Charlotte Harrington.

“She’s beautiful,” Eddie cried as he cradled June against his chest. “Thank you…”

“For what?” Steve chuckled, caressing his newborn’s head.

“Making me stay… all those years ago. I know I didn’t want to. God, I really wanted to go, but… I don’t know. I’m thankful for you.”

“Oh, Ed, you’re the one who made the changes. You’re the one that stuck with it. You did it.”

“Do you remember what you told me when I asked you why you went into nursing?” Steve smiled to himself and leaned into his partner.

“Nurses are the ones who make real change.”

“They are, Stevie… I love you, and I love our Junie Bug.” He mumbled a kiss into her head.

“I love you both… so, so much. Thank you for staying…”

The pair got to bring their bundle of joy home a few days later. They had never been happier and they couldn’t wait to grow their family bigger and bigger. It was almost like they forgot Eddie could go downhill at any moment.

By 2009, they submitted an application to be placed on a wait list for their second kid and by 2010 they had their second daughter: Lucie Caroline Harrington.

“June Bug,” Eddie started. He crouched to meet her gaze. “This is your baby sister… her name is Lucie.”

“But papa,” She pouted, “I’m the baby.”

“You’ll always be our baby, Junie,” Steve reassured. “You knew you were going to be a big sister, sweetheart. You were excited just last week.”

“But I want her to go back in her mommy’s tummy…”

“We can’t do that,” Eddie chuckled. “She’s your little sister. Just try and be nice to her, alright?”

“Fine.” She furrowed her brow.

“Do you wanna hold her?” Steve asked. June shook her head as she grossed her arms in a fit.

“Okay, I think it’s nap time.” Steve picked her up and hauled her onto his hip.

“No!” she whined, kicking his side.

“June, please stop.” She only kicked harder. “Juniper!”

When Steve whipped out the fake full name, she knew she was in trouble. She cowered and rested her head on his shoulder, clutching to his shirt. He brought her up to her room to take a nap, hopefully to eventually bring back a happier toddler.

“Holy shit… we have two kids,” Eddie whispered, feeding Lucie her bottle.

“We have two kids…”

“How many more do you want?” Eddie teased.

“As many as we can have with you still being healthy.”

“Stevie, I haven’t had anything bad happen in nearly ten years. My last hospitalization was in ‘02, for Christ’s sake.”

“I know, I know, but I worry, honey. I know you’re strong and doing well, but I just want you to be able to watch our girls grow up.”

“And I will or die trying. You and our girls are my world, Stevie. I’m doing everything I can, I swear.”

“I know you are, Eds.”

Time went on and the boys grew closer with their family as each day passed. Neither of them thought they could ever be as happy as they were.

Steve worked alongside his favorite people (who all switched to day shift after starting families) day-in and day-out at Hawkins Memorial. Eddie started teaching at he local high school and offering private lessons after school, free of charge, while their girls continued to thrive.

June eventually warmed up to Lucie, being the best big sister someone could have ever hoped for. She was her forever playmate and best friend (even if they still bickered from time to time).

One afternoon, when Steve got home from work, he found Eddie in the kitchen cooking the girls lunch. Lucie was up on his hip and June was spinning around by his feet. Eddie smiled at the little dancer as he stirred the sauce for their pasta.

“Papa, come on, dance with me!” June whined.

“Alright, alright.”

Eddie lowered the temperature on the stove and let the lunch simmer. He walked over to the kitchen speaker, where his phone was sitting, already shuffling through music. He scrolled through his library to a familiar Beatles album.

Picture yourself in a boat on a river…

Eddie took June’s hand as twirled her around as Lucie rested her head on his shoulder. When it got to the chorus, Eddie let out a playful gasp and looked to his sleepy toddler.

“Lucy in the sky with diamonds,” he sang. “Lucy in the sky with diamonds.” He started tossing her up and catching her in his arms. Lucie let out little giggles as she soared through the air.

The three of them had yet to notice Steve. He slowly crept into the kitchen and leaned on the doorframe, watching his adorning partner play with their daughters. It was the little moments like this he was happy Eddie decided to fight.

During the closing chorus, Eddie went back to tossing and spinning the girls to the beat of the music. On one of the final lines, Eddie caught Lucie and it was like the wind got knocked out of him.

He choked on a breath, setting the two-year-old down on the countertop. He dug through the kitchen drawers, searching for his inhaler, but couldn’t find it anywhere.

Steve ran in, panicked that his other half couldn’t breathe. He frantically cleared out the drawers, eventually retrieving Eddie’s medication. He handed it to Eddie and gently rubbed his back as he tried catching his breath.

Unfortunately, his inhaler wasn’t doing its job. Eddie still couldn’t catch his breath. He didn’t understand—he played with his girls all the time and this never happened. He hadn’t had a flare up in months.

June and Lucie had tears pooling in their eyes, never before witnessing Eddie in pain. Whenever he felt something coming on, he was always meticulous about hiding it so he wouldn’t scare his daughters. But this… this hit him like a train going a million miles a minute.

“Hos… hospital,” Eddie wheezed, tugging on Steve’s scrubs. “Plea-plea- pl–”

He went into a coughing fit, unable to collect himself. He was getting paler, sweatier, and dizzier by the second.

Steve scooped the girls up, one in each arm, and loaded them into the car. Eddie was slowly following, managing to get himself in the car as Steve finished buckling Lucie in. Steve insisted Eddie keep puffing his inhaler every few minutes to try and open up his lungs, but it was no use.

Steve pulled into the patient parking lot, collecting the girls in record time. He rushed Eddie up to the front desk, setting June down as he spoke to his coworker. They immediately took Eddie back for an assessment, angering everyone who had already been waiting for god knows how long.

Eddie was given a bed and was soon put on a number of breathing treatments in hopes of soothing his lungs. When none of them worked, he was shipped off to get an x-ray taken, and sure enough, his left lung collapsed for the first time in ten years.

He kicked himself for being so stupid early on in his diagnosis. Why didn’t he just tell Steve he had pneumonia? Why didn’t he grow a pair and ask for help? Now, here he was, with chronically failing lungs, scarred beyond belief, and traumatizing his two young daughters.

Steve sat in Eddie’s hospital room with June and Lucie, desperately trying to explain what was going on. June was sat at the foot of Eddie’s bed as Lucie reclined on Steve’s legs.

“Is papa gonna be okay?” June asked.

“I hope so, Junie, I really do,” Steve sighed, bouncing his leg up and down. “How’re you doing, bug?”

“‘m okay.”

She shrugged and picked the lint off Eddie’s hospital blanket. Eddie smiled fondly at the little one at the end of the bed and gently nudged her with his foot. He wasn’t allowed to talk until further notice, so he just smiled at the girls, trying to reassure them.

“He’s not gonna die, right daddy?”

“I’ll let the sun explode before I let papa die. He’s gonna be okay.” He looked to Eddie with sad eyes, letting out a sigh. “I promise…”

———————————————————————

taglist: @steviesbicrisis @adaed5 @harringtonshairychest @manda-panda-monium

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imaddicted2hs · 2 years

Text

A one shot of enemies to friends to lovers

Another one shot yes because i don't feel like continuing the series i started just yet.

This is not my best work why lie. I could have done way better but i guess i got too excited to just finish it. Though promise, next post will be better than this because i will give it time.

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

Word Count- 2,527

warnings- none

happy reading!!

Nothing is better than a romantic weather with pink skies and soft breeze carrying a sweet smell of wet leaves. But sitting with your legs on the dashboard as you and your friend (with whom you are secretly in love with) jam together to the songs loudly, driving past wide, empty fields, is a cherry on the top really. "Are we ever going to make a stop or our plan is to drive until the fuel tank is empty?" He doesn't answer right away. I stare at his side profile, which I dare to say is perfect, waiting for a response. "I know it's hard for you to stay still in a place like a good pup, but 10 more minutes babe, we are almost at our motel." I dramatically gasp and smack his arm which makes him chuckle.

Long story short, few months back as I was walking past the school lab, my ears couldn't help but listen to someone talk through the paper thin walls. It was that cocky voice which I could recognize from miles away. Harry Styles. My biggest enemy and academic rival. If someone told me at the time that I'll be hanging out with him and secretly even like him a lot, I would have declared that person delusional. He and I had all the same classes and what can I say other than that everyone knew if we got a chance to stab each other to death we wouldn't let it slide. He wanted to be the one to score the most and so did I. We pulled all sort of pranks just to bring the other one down at our level. Ms. Grey, our English professor never gave any of us the chance to answer in class because it all ended with torn notebooks, weird drawings on the faces and the class hooting. Yes we both have had a perfect record other than those countless detentions because of each other. "UGH finally. I have been dying to pee and take a shower." I see him roll his eyes but I don't pay any mind to it because I'm too busy collecting my stuff and leaving the old red mustang. My grandmother was crazy about cars and made sure to leave the best one of her collections for her best granddaughter that is me. "Can we have a room with two single beds for one night? Oh and can you please check if you have the once with a balcony." As the receptionist in front of me does her thing, I look out of the window as Harry takes out his stuff from the backseat and closes the door. Not for a single second I take my eyes off of him until the lady that was long forgotten by me clears her throat for my attention. "Oh yeah sorry." I smile awkwardly as I pick up the key kept in front of me. "Gimme the keys I'll open the door, make the payment and keep the stuff so that you can go collect your stuff you forgot in the backseat and lock the car because you brought the keys with yourself." I sigh and hand him the key and make a quick run outside.

I'm huffing like a mad person as I finally reach the fourth floor because this place didn't have an elevator. My eyes widen as I hear the shower running and I don't waste a second to bang on the door and shout "how dare you, you cheater! You knew I wanted to use the bathroom badly you cruel ass." I whine. I sit angrily on the bed staring at the door so that as soon as it opens I can ruin his pretty face with my nails and maybe bite him so that his body hurts. He opens the door and before I get to throw my tantrum I notice that he is fully dressed and his hair is dry. "But-" he cuts me off "it wasn't in the best condition and you are extremely crazy about hygiene so I just ran some water so that it looks less dirty." I'm embarrassed. "Oh my god I-" "Go use it before you make a mess here" he chuckles and before I turn even more red I leave the room faster than Flash himself. On the first day of the semester last year, he slimed me just because I took his favourite seat and he had to sit in the last row. It was funny to see his face during the whole class and hearing his tone as he introduced himself. Even if I had to face the consequences and get slimed in the end, it was worth it. And today he gave a thought to my pet peeve which has my mind all puzzled. And I even forgot to bring a clean pair of clothes with me inside. I'll have to go out in the towel. I suck in a long breath and open the door to find him on the bed scrolling through his phone. "Can you please close your eyes?" He looks directly at me totally still and the moment I see something change in his eyes he quickly mutters a sure and looks away with his eyes clamped shut before I can figure out the look.

The series of events has been too embarrassing for my liking and I'm almost at the brink of overthinking. "Meet me downstairs in an hour okay?" "Don't forget the whipped cream for me." "Alright and wear a jacket, it gets cold at night." I hum in response and he leaves. What exactly are we doing here? Well after a prank war, unlimited broken pens, thousands of notes lost, the headmaster was fed up with us. We were called in the office after I had pulled a pretty big prank on him which was dope but he denied that wholeheartedly. He hated cats, what an abomination right? So I came early in the morning, and just before the bell, I put not 1 but 4 kittens and a cat in his locker. More to my luck, he was late that day and didn't take the necessary precautions we used to whenever we opened our lockers because locker pranks were the most common ones. He opened it in a hurry and was met with the smallest kitten ready to leap on him. The look on his face as he shrieked didn't go uncaptured ofcourse. He was horrified and I was grinning like the most evil creature. The other two kittens with the help of his hoody climbed on him and started licking his face as he tried to shoo them out of his locker. The cat was the most stubborn and the dirty looks Harry gave to her were too funny. I just couldn't stop laughing. As he finally managed to get rid of them, they all were not in his favour as they started roaming in the corridor creating noises. Teachers who were teaching with the doors open stepped out just to give Harry the annoyed looks while he tried to escape from the crime scene. Even the universe was against him because the smallest kitten had made his way into his bag and made an appearance while Professor Keith was trying to explain the economics crisis. Whole class turned into a chaos as the kitten destroyed the benches with his scratches and other students pushed each other to pet the little devil. This was the limit I guess because we were both sitting in front of the headmaster as he wrote us a 5 days suspension letter. We argued like crazy until he asked us to settle the matter between us right there right then and promise each other to let the whole school live peacefully. We got rid of the suspension letter disaster and as I started to walk out in the corridor he called my name and said he wanted to talk. "Let's call off the war and make a bet." "I'm all ears." "Whoever has the higher GPA in the semester end will get a fully paid one day trip from the loser." I rolled my eyes at him as I laughed just to realise he was serious. "Okay then it's a bet. Also the winner gets the most expensive drink on the Starbucks menu with all the toppings." I never liked coffee but it was a pretty good idea to make one's pocket hurt. He throwed a terrified look which quickly changed into a neutral expression before he nodded and walked away as I stared at his tall figure.

From that day we still competed but through out the process we actually grew closer by slowly clearing each other's doubt when we were the only ones in the library late at night to offering each other pens and snacks. I heard him listening to my favorite band and I couldn't help but throw questions at him out of the blue. I caught him off guard that day because he stuttered non stop and didn't look at my face for longer than a second. I didn't realize when we became friends but it turned out pretty good. So who's paying? Harry ofcourse. He left one hour earlier to get the most expensive drink on the menu and some other snacks before we go to a view point. I wanted it to be a road trip because that's the best you can do in a single day. I had a 4.0 GPA whereas his was 3.9. Not a big difference but I still won. I glance at the table clock and it's been 50 minutes since he left. I put my hair in a braid, curly hair are impossible to handle. I make my way down stairs and I see him with the mustang in the parking lot. I make my way over and without wasting a minute I open the door, sit and grin at him. It's just a 5 minute ride which I'm thankful for because driving at night at like 10 p.m. isn't my favorite thing. I get out of the car and as soon as I look ahead, I'm stunned. The most perfect view I have ever seen is in front of me as the cold breeze is all I can feel and hear. With tall trees on both the sides of the cliff, a lightened town below us and a starry night above us, I'm breathless. It's so perfect. I turn to look at Harry and he's already looking at me. He's holding everything and he gestures for me to sit on the hood. So I do. He takes a seat beside me with all types of snacks between us. He hands me the drink and I laugh at his same expression. "I don't even like coffee, I just wanted to let the loser lose some money too." He looks at me offended and shocked. "You are cruel. I don't like coffee too." "Well we need to drink it though. Let's share it hm?" I offer him picking up a red cup from the stash. He's hesitant but nods eventually taking the cup from my hand. "So how much?" "This coffee itself was 61 dollars" I gasp wide eyed. "You're kidding???" All I get is a shoulder shrug and a tight lipped smile as I laugh in shock. "Now I feel bad." "We both know you don't." He rolls his eyes as we both give it a try. "Okay it's not THAT bad you know." "Yeah because you got all the toppings and I got only coffee!" He accuses me even if I didn't attempt so. I squint my eyes then I just offer him my drink. "Oh- oh. Uhm. You sure?" He's blushing? Why? "Yeah I'm sure. Here. Give me yours." He smells great. He always does. "So how does it feel to lose?" I wiggle my eyebrows at him. "I let you win babe." I scoff at his response while he sips on his coffee making faces.

"Can I ask you something?" I take the opportunity to ask him something I have always thought of everytime we talked or everytime I saw him. "Go ahead." "Why were you always rude to me?" his shoulders stiffen all of a sudden, "since the day I joined this school, even in homeroom, when we had no classes together you didn't shake my hand when I offered. Everyone was kind to me but you just stared at me." I look at him as he stares ahead barely breathing. "Harry." He whips his head towards me. "Why?" He just looks me in the eyes as I do the same. "I liked you." My eyes widen and I quickly look away. "Wha-" "I saw you and I was so mesmerized by you. By your confidence, by your looks, by your voice. And I was competitive and rude three years ago." I can't believe my ears. This is not happening. It can't be. "I couldn't believe it and thought if I showed you I'm capable too, you will like me. But you didn't spare a single glance at me because of how I acted on the first day." I'm not able to comprehend the words as I listen to him. "But you wanted to be first? The bet too?" I ask him without looking at him. "It never was about the grades. I wanted you. So when an year after that we had all the classes together I did everything to just make you notice me. Even if it included all the pranks, the competition and fights." I'm too stunned to speak. As I turn my head, I look in his eyes and they carry guilt. Like he's trying to apologize. "I liked you too but never knew why you hated me. So I started hating you too." "You still like me?" He's quick to ask after my confession." I nod slightly in response. "Good because I still like you too." Before I get to open my mouth, he cradles my face with his big hand and pulls me towards him. Our foreheads touch as he stares right into my eyes. I can smell the scent of coffee in his breathe and his sandlewood smell. I glance towards his lips and I think he takes the hint as he wastes not even a second in wrapping his lips into mine. He's impatient and fast and he doesn't stop. Neither do I. Our tongues fight for the dominance and I give up easily because he's too good. I let him explore my mouth, I let him bite my lips, I let him devour me. I soon run out of breathe though because I pull away panting as he stares me with those eyes and I feel small under his gaze. I peck at his lips as I move the stash of food aside and come close. I hold on too his arm tightly and snuggle into him. We both look at the beauty in front of us as we feel each other's presence without uttering another word.

Reblogs, comments and likes are appreciated:)

#harry styles imagine #harry styles #harry styles cute #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fluff #harry styles fic #1d memes #harry 1d #one direction #harry styles enemies to lovers

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sasaranurude · 7 months

Text

Okay I am going to go through the upcoming fall anime RIGHT NOW and see what looks interesting, because there's a completely absurd amount of anime coming around now and I need to be prepared. Could they not have pushed a handful of these back to summer which had all of like, one good anime? Come on man. ANYWAYS:

Hypmic season 2: obviously I am watching every episode of this. My mom also wants to watch every episode of this

Paradox Live the animation: I haven't followed paralive up to now beyond enjoying the music, but I am genuinely curious what's up with those characters (I think about checking out the drama tracks all the time but just haven't had the time/impulse yet) so I'll check this one out for sure

Sousou no Frieren: I remember when the trailer dropped there was a fair amount of hype, so I'll try this one out

Spy x Family season 2: I might watch this one with my mom. I can't remember if she finished season 1, though. ...I just asked her: we only watched a little, but she'd be up for more. So... maybe. (But she said that if it's either-or, she'd rather watch hypmic.)

Undead Unluck: I did start this manga, but my interest petered out after a few chapters. I'll still give the anime a few episodes. Honestly, seeing it get an anime makes me want to give the manga another try, because I can't actually remember why I stopped reading.

Kamonohashi Ron no Kindan Suiri: only hearing about this for the first time now browsing MAL. I like mystery, I'll give it a try.

I'm in Love With the Villainess: I read the first volume of the manga and... didn't hate it. I'll give the anime a try.

Disgraced noble lady naughtiness blablablabla: yeah sure man I'm always up for trying the new fantasy romcom shoujo of the season (even if I know I won't last more than two episodes)

Overtake!: wait is this one BL about racing? Fuck yeah sure sounds great. I love the character designs. WAIT AND IT'S TROYCA? FUCK YEAH MAN!!!!! ABSOLUTELY WATCHING THIS

Yuzuki-san chi no yonkyoudai: in "if I see good posts about this one I'll watch it" tier.

Migi to Dali: I only ever read a few chapters of the manga for this one, but it was fascinating, so I'll be checking out the anime mainly to see if it captures the same vibe.

Atarashii joushi wa do tennen: workplace comedy is fun, I'll give it an episode.

Bullbuster: gets an episode just for the title alone

Kawagoe Boys Sing: mal doesn't even have a synopsis. The character designs are cute. Yeah I'll watch an episode

And at this point I'm just hoping that a good chunk of these suck just so thatim not keeping up with 13 series airing weekly episodes oh my god. But also. High hopes for many of these!!!!!!

EDIT: oh my god i forgot tgcf. @zeeloniy will almost certainly be making me watch this

#suchobabbles

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robotstrategy · 3 months

Text

Recalled • Part 4 • 29 - Roland

Previous • Series Masterlist • Part 4 Masterlist • Next

Roland walks down Main Street with an envelope full of cash in his hand. His mom gave him a fat stack of cash to spend on getting a tattoo, checking the envelope it almost seems like she gave him way too much. When Roland thinks back to his old Tattoo he remembers it looking like crap. It was a generic shark which Roland always used to claim was a Tiger Shark, despite being done in a tattoo parlor the design was scribbly and blotchy, it looked more akin to something done in someone's garage with pen ink than professionally. Roland can only hope that his next tattoo won’t look like complete garbage.

He opens the door to the parlour, and the bell above the door rings as he enters. Looking around, the walls are covered in black paint and the floor is filled with a white and light gray checkerboard, it gives it a feel of modernity yet still being a little retro.

Roland shuffles to the side and sits down in the waiting area, he listens to the buzzing of the needle guns while fiddling with the stuffed envelope. Roland hears shoe-tapping coming towards him, he looks up to one of the employees coming to greet him, she pauses once getting a better glimpse at him, she smirks and then goes back onto the employees-only area. Roland holds himself a little, not sure what to feel about that micro-interaction.

Another employee comes out to greet Roland, whistling a little. “Wow, she wasn’t wrong.”

“What? You never seen someone like me?” Roland snaps, feeling embarrassed and offended.

“Oh no, sorry, that’s not- sorry-” The employee tries to apologize.

“Then what was that comment for?”

“She uhh, she thought you were hot.” The employee sighs.

Roland blushes and covers his face, he wants to dig a hole and crawl into it he’s so embarrassed. In the weird way his brain has been warped, he’s become like those girls whom he used to hit on, creeped out and sex-repulsed, it’s made listening to his favourite songs unbearable.

“Hey, don’t be ashamed of being pretty, I’m sure you’ve got someone special who tells you that all the time.”

“I’m not ashamed, I’m angry, I just want to be treated normally!” He snaps again, lucky that there are so few customers today.

“Then, then, I will… If you come on back I’ll get some paperwork ready for you.” He ushers Roland to one of the chairs in the back of the parlor, Roland huffs, getting up from his seat and walking to the back. He looks around him, all the stalls have privacy curtains, Roland frowns, he probably sounded like a jerk to those on the inside of those curtains.

He sits down in the customer chair as the guy comes over with paperwork. “You are eighteen right?”

“I’m supposed to be nineteen.” He replies.

“Umm, right, do you have proof?”

Roland pulls out the specialty health card given to him when he was recalled. His reason for stating that he’s supposed to be nineteen is because when someone gets unwound their body won't age while in the body lockers, therefore Roland is seventeen and nineteen at the same time.

“Ok, well, I’m gonna go with what you’ve told me since you don’t seem to have a parent or guardian around.”

He sets down the paper beside Roland pointing to all the terms and conditions of the tattooing. He flips to the back of the paper pack and points to a line at the bottom. “Alright, and you just sign here.”

Roland grabs the pen and signs, careful not to accidentally sign Roland Taggart.

“Oh wow, you’ve got really good writing for a lefty.”

“The lefties you know can’t write well?”

“Well, there is my little brother, he’s only five so I don’t expect him to have the best calligraphy.” He laughs, making Roland laugh as well.

“Oh my god I just remembered I forgot to tell you my name, it’s Lee, my name is Lee.”

“Nice to meet you, Lee.”

“Nice to meet you too, Roland.”

Lee pulls out a sketchbook and pencil from a bin attached to the wall. “So what are we thinking about doing?”

“Well, I used to have a tattoo of a shark on my right arm before I was unwound.”

“Ooohhh what was I like?”

“Shit, it was shit.”

Lee laughs, “Did you get done in someone's garage?”

“Looked like it, but no, I got it done professionally.”

“Well, I can assure you that I’ve been an apprentice for a long time before being licensed, and I’ve got one of the steadiest hands here.” He gives Roland a little thumbs up, and he then flips open the sketchbook. “So do you want a shark again?”

Roland takes a moment to think, in a way he’s making himself look more like the older version of himself, but he loves sharks so who cares?

“I guess so, I want it to look, interesting. My first one was really generic.” He pauses, “And please don’t try to make one of those smiling sharks with shades, it's funny to look at but I’d never want something like that on my skin.”

“Alright, so creative, but not too creative, got it.”

Lee looks up pictures of sharks and sketches a few out. Roland watches the pencil move across the page, he’s never seen someone draw so well.

“Oh! I’ve got an idea! Have you ever seen those Polynesian animal tattoos? I've seen a shark tattoo done in that style before, and it looked so good.” Lee exclaims.

“I’ve only ever seen those rings of waves.”

“Oh my gosh! We could add that to the design too! Ahem, that’s if you want to do something like that.”

“Sure, why not?”

Roland watches again as Lee flips over the page and starts sketching again. “Y'know when Recalls usually come in, they want statement tattoos, like dotted rings that mimic cutting lines with little words running across them.”

“That sounds cool.”

“Yeah, but we’re usually cringing internally when we tattoo on the words, most of them like putting profanities on their skin. I can understand why they do it, but at the same time they’re showing the public what they want to see, most people think recalling wasn’t the best idea, and here these teens are, with curse words all over their skin.”

Roland looks to the side, “Hypothetically if I were to get that done to my other arm, would you like to do the writing?”

Lee looks up and smiles. “You’d let me do that?”

“Well, I’d have to approve the words beforehand.”

“Oh yeah, of course.” Lee waves his hand, “Most of them, usually get the markings on their legs too, we could add some wave circles to your legs too to tie it all together.”

“That sounds great, but what if one side was the shark and the waves and the other side was the dotted rings.”

“Something more asymmetrical?”

“Yeah.”

Lee goes back to sketching. “How far do you want the rings to go up, I don’t mean to explain the obvious, but the leg cuts go all the way up to the upper leg.”

“Yeah, you’re not tattooing my upper leg.” Roland sneered.

“Right, right only to your knee and ankle then.”

Lee flips over the sketchbook to show off the sketch, and Roland stares at it in awe.

“So what do you think?”

“It’s beautiful!”

“Right?” Lee sets down the sketchbook, he then pulls out a measuring tape. “Now let’s get to measuring your limbs.”

He walks closer to Roland and measures out the length and width of his arms and legs.

“Do you want the lines on your arm to go all the way up to your shoulder?”

“Sure.”

Lee measures out Roland’s left arm, lifting his arm to measure the shoulder cut, he furrows his eyebrows upon seeing how much armpit hair there was. He measures his arm nonetheless, but there’s a look of concern in his eyes. Lee finishes up the measuring and totals up the price for the tattoo job.

“Alright, so since these tattoos won't be coloured and they’re not that detailed, they’ll be priced about 1400$,” Lee says.

Roland pulls out the envelope and forks over the 1400$ leaving 100$ still in the envelope, he’s surprised his mom would spend this much on him. Then again he’s sure that recalling him cost her thousands.

After counting out all the money Lee returns to his station. “Alright, so we could do this all in one day… My next open time slot is next Monday, when you come in I want you to have your legs and arms shaved, that includes your armpits, got it?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

“Great! Here’s my phone number in case you need to reschedule, and you can be on your merry way!”

Roland comes into the tattoo parlour the next Monday, he feels a little out of it with having to shave all his limbs. He didn’t realize it the first time he came in, but the air is really cold, guess that tells him how much hair had been in between him and the elements.

“Hi Roland, are you ready?” Roland looks up to see Lee standing in front of him.

Roland nods, he heads back with Lee to his station at the back.

“Are you alright if I close the curtain?”

Roland nods again, Lee gives him a puzzled look. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just in my second week of these weekly meds, and yesterday I was getting my sense of touch back.”

“Oh like those weekly painkillers, I hear they’re the worst! Must be awful for someone like you.”

“Tell me about it, I hallucinated the surgeons all around me on my first day of taking them.”

“Oh geez, well let me know if you feel uncomfortable at any time. I hear Recalls usually panic at all the sterilization and the needle gun itself.”

Lee closes the curtain and gets out his equipment. Roland looks around a bit, Lee’s certificates are hooked to the wall, he looks down at the needle gun that Lee sanitizes, and then to the chair he sits in. It seems a little like he’ll be doing surgery on Roland, but there are little things around him that remind him it’s all in his head. Even with all the cleanliness the place seems comfortable enough, the needle is attached to what looks like a stuffed sock, and there’s some happy rock music playing in the background. There are also no surgeons observing him.

“There’s one last thing I have to ask you, do you shoot up on anything?”

“No, why?”

“It’s just the amount of body hair you had, I noticed it when I was measuring you, it’s not normal for someone your age.”

“Umm, no, I was born like that, well not born with body hair… When I hit puberty my mom took me to a pediatrician, apparently, I’ve got a testosterone influx.”

“Huh, You don’t usually hear about something like that.”

Roland frowns. “I don’t like it, it makes me moody and stupid hormonal at the worst of times.”

“Oh, like it’s a bad influx,” Lee remarked as he started to wipe down Roland's left arm.

“The doctors said it would never get worse so they never put me on anything, but it still affects me. I think I’ve gotten more timid after being recalled, so at least my personality has a balance with it rather than fighting with it all the time.”

“That’s good.”

Lee fires up the needle gun, it starts buzzing. “I’m gonna start with the cutting lines since they’ll be the easiest, okay?”

Roland nods again as he watches Lee put down the blue ink stencils he’s made before making beautiful straight-spaced lines across his wrist, elbow, and shoulder. He also starts to lay down the writing, ‘Cut here.’ on his wrist, ‘Do it, I dare you.’ on his elbow, and ‘Unwind me again.’ on his shoulder.

“See? It gets the point across without any profanities.”

Lee wraps it up before moving down to the ground focusing on Roland's left leg. “Can I take your shoes off?” He asks.

“Yeah.”

Lee rolls down Roland’s socks and starts laying down the stencils again. “So, any special people in your life?”

Roland scoffs. “If you’re talking about partners, then no, I don’t really want one anyway.”

“Bad dating experiences? Or are you just aroace?”

Roland shakes his head. “I’m the one who gave bad experiences.”

“Oh.”

“That was before I was unwound, I don’t want to do that anymore. I think it’s for the best if I just pull out of the dating pool entirely.”

“Oh don’t beat yourself up over that, you know, I’ve heard most Recalls pull 180s in their personality so maybe you’ll give some a really good time.” He winks at him. “I bet a really pretty girl or a twink would eat you right up.”

“I’m sorry, a what, a twink?”

“Yeah, a scrawny yin guy.”

“You think I’m the type that likes men and women?”

“Roland, you’re wearing a pink sleeveless hoodie, what am I supposed to think?”

Roland scowls, pointing a finger at him “I don’t like that you’re making a fair point.” he pauses, “And I’m not even gonna say it’s salmon, ‘cause it really is pink.” he mutters.

“So you don’t like men then?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never thought about it, I’ve never had the time to think about it.”

“Well, a little food for thought, if you're not completely opposed to it, you might just like it a little.”

Lee finishes off Roland’s left leg, moving onto the right.

“I’m yin myself and I didn’t know it for the longest time, just last year at nineteen I got a boyfriend. It’s hard in America, even with unwinding being done and over with they still haven’t changed their stance on gay marriage, you still have to get wwed and mmarried.”

“I’m not too knowledgeable on it, but can’t you get properly married in Canada?”

“Yeah, that’s what me and my boyfriend were thinking if we stay together long enough, book a flight to Canada and get married there.”

Lee grabs the wrap again. “Do you wanna see what it looks like before I wrap it all up?”

Roland tilts his head down and bends over to look at his right leg; it looks like Lee added in another cutting line across his other knee. “It looks amazing!” Roland exclaimed.

“Glad to hear it!”

For the rest of the session, Roland watches as Lee inks the shark into his arm. He realizes that for the longest time, he hasn’t minded the feel of the needle gun. It feels like a sunburn. Roland hasn’t gotten any sunburns yet in his new body, but he’s got countless memories of having them, it’s like he’s never minded them at all.

At the end of the session, Roland is over the moon about his new tattoos. Lee hands him a pamphlet on how to take care of them. He leaves the tattoo parlour with a sense of joy because this time he knows his tattoos won’t look like garbage.

#unwind #unwind dystology #unwind fanfic #unwind series #sequel fic #roland taggart

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