#but like if a situation arose that might lead to her outing herself she would do it

[navia3000]

b r e a k u p s o n g s

Includes : Matteo Riddle, Tom Riddle, Draco Malfoy, Lorenzo Berkshire, Theodore Nott

Genre : Angst

Warnings : No use of Y/N, mention of break ups, toxic situations A/N : It feels fairly obvious how sloppy I got toward the end of this but oh well. Let me know if you would like a part two!

Matteo Riddle :

“We go ‘round again

We jump back in bed

That’s what you do when you love somebody

These bad omens

I look right through them

That’s what you do when you love somebody”

A knock jolted her from her sleep. She knew instantly who was at her door. She knew why he was there. She knew she shouldn’t get up, she should go back to sleep. She knew nothing would come from her giving her precious time to him. She also knew she would never be able to sleep without knowing what he wanted to say, even if it broke her tattered heart for the millionth time.

And so, she arose from her bed and padded towards her door. She stood in front of it. Maybe he left. No, he knew her better than that. He knew she could never resist him. And so he knocked again. She opened the door less than a second after.

Matteo Riddle stood outside the threshold, fist raised as though he was going to knock again. They stood staring at each other for what felt like eons, neither daring to speak in fear that it would break whatever trance was keeping her from turning him away.

Their relationship started badly, and it ended badly. They were doomed from the start, cursed into an endless cycle of breaking up and making up. They were toxic, a poison meant to kill a person inside out.

She got tired of the silence, and all she could say was, “what do you want, Matteo?” She saw the surprise in his eyes; he didn’t expect her to be so blunt. But she had to be blunt. She had to keep a barrier between them to keep herself safe from his persuasions.

“Can I come in?” his question made her shake her head.

“Matteo, we can’t keep doing this. We can’t keep breaking up. And you can’t keep coming here.”

A flash of hurt flashed across Matteo’s eyes, “what do you mean, baby? I love you. I’ll change, I promise I’ll do better.”

“No, Matteo. That’s what you say each time and each time I believe you. You’re not ready for a healthy relationship, and that’s fine, but don’t drag me into it. Don’t keep leading me on and giving me hope when you don’t deserve it,” she started tearing up while she spoke, Matteo trying to cut her off.

“That’s not true-

“It is! I can’t keep being led on by you, no matter how much I love you. Let me move on. You should too.” She shut the door on him, simultaneously shutting down any hope the boy might have had of rectifying their relationship from the grave.

Tom Riddle :

“But you have more pieces of me

than the desert has sand

And I have less pieces of you

than I can hold in my hand”

Everybody warned her against dating him. They told her he loved no one but himself, that he would break her and leave her in the dust, and yet, she didn’t listen. She threw herself into the belief that he wasn’t like they said, that she could “fix” him. She wanted to believe he could change, that he could love her.

“Did you think this would last?” he had asked. “I don’t love you, I never had,” he had said. And even with his confirmation, she still held hope.

She still smiled at him when he walked by in the halls, she still sat next to him during breakfast, lunch, dinner. And he still walked by as though she were merely a ghost, still refused to acknowledge her presence when she sat with him.

Her friends constantly told her to face reality, told her what was honest. But, she still told herself what she wanted to hear, even though no one else would.

Their love was misaligned. She wanted him, he wanted nothing to do with her. She loved him, he loved that she hurt for him. She was a passing thought to him, whilst he was every thought of hers.

No matter how she pleaded and begged him, he would always shatter her heart into grains of sand.

Draco Malfoy :

“We fit perfectly like milk and honey

But some things don’t mix like

young love and old money”

“I can’t see you anymore,” those five words shattered her. She saw the castles she'd built with Draco crumbling to her feet, the rubble bruising her in the process.

"Why?" she questioned. She couldn't understand why he, the love of her life, was ending their relationship so abruptly. Everything was going well, they were both happy, so, again, she asked "why?"

"Because," he paused, and she watched as tears pooled in his grey eyes. "Because we can't be together."

"Says who?" she questioned. "Is this because of your parents? Are they making you do this?"

"Yes!" He blurted. He seemed relieved to tell the truth, but the relief was short lived.

"So, you're breaking up with me because your parents ask you to. Because you're not manly enough to stand up to them." Her breaths were coming out short, and she found herself digging her nails into her hands. Draco didn't react, he only stared, watching as she unraveled in front of him. "You talk of Potter, of him being a coward, but you lie to yourself. You're the coward, Dray! At least Harry stands up for the people he loves." Still he said nothing, the only sign of acknowledgement were the tears falling from his eyes. "You want to break up with me? Fine. But don't come crawling back once you realize how big of a mistake you're making."

Lorenzo Berkshire :

"We can't be friends But I'd like to just pretend You cling to your papers and pens Wait until you like me again"

"How was your day?" The question made the girl tear her head away from her Herbology homework and turn towards none other than Lorenzo Berkshire, the boy who broke her heart. She was confused as to why he was sitting here, in the library, with her, when only two weeks ago he was telling her they wanted different things and couldn't be together.

"It was good," she said hesitantly. An uncomfortable silence fell over the two.

"Mine was great. I was walking by the lake and thought I saw a mer-"

"What are you doing, Enzo?" She cut him off.

She watched as his face fell, and said, "what do you mean?"

"I mean, what are you doing? You broke up with me two weeks ago and now you are acting as though nothing happened."

Lorenzo struggled to find words, his excuses flying out the window. He couldn't find the right thing to say, but he couldn't tell the truth. "I just thought we could be friends. I thought that-"

The sound of her book slamming shut shocked him into silence. "You can't do this to me, it's cruel. You know we cannot be friends. You broke my heart, Enzo. Why would you ever think I wanted to be friends with you?"

He knew she was right, which is why he let her walk out of the school's library.

Theodore Nott :

"I'm gonna kiss someone else Say 'it's not about you' Pretend I don't care, my arms aren't around you It hurts just a little, that I won't mention The things I would do just to get your attention"

Pansy watched as her friend danced with some random Ravenclaw boy, her knowing the only reason her friend was even giving him the light of day.

The girl smiled her fake smiles, and pretended as though she was having the time of her life. When, in reality, she was trying to catch the attention of a certain Slytherin. She saw Theodore Nott leaning against a wall out of the corner of her eye. His indifference only made her grind against the Ravenclaw harder. All she wanted was to catch his eye. She wanted him to care.

She turned her head, pressing her lips onto her dance partner's. They kissed for a while, breaking apart for a breath. Her eyes moved themselves to the boy who holds her heart, and her heart broke in his hands as she watched him talk up some Gryffindor girl.

Pansy saw her friend's whole interaction, and rushed to save her. They left the party together, her friend balling next to her. They made it to their dorm, the broken girl falling to the floor in tears. "It's alright," Pansy cooed, "it will be okay."

"No, it's not okay," the girl sobbed. "I just want him to notice. I want him to... I want him to hurt the way I hurt."

Pansy felt bad for her friend, for she knew her best friend would never get the attention of the cold Theodore Nott.

#matteo riddle x reader #tom riddle x reader #draco malfoy x reader #lorenzo berkshire x reader #theodore nott x reader #harry hook x reader #harry potter headcanon #harry potter imagine #slytherin boys #slytherin imagine

[house-of-vandernacht]

I think under all Ada's insecurity, she's desperate to be Lenore's friend, and not because of being upwardly mobile. Out of all of them, Ada has sussed out that Lenore comes from money/has station, and isn't tryna blow smoke up her ass like she is Annabel. She genuinely seems to like Lenore.

I think she recognises that Lenore is different from most rich folks. She cares and is accepting of everyone regardless of station. Ada has watched Lenore stand up for the little guy, to show concern equally for rich or poor, to show concern for people in general which is probably not something Ada has experienced much with rich folks.

Ada isn't entirely stupid (just a lil dim), -- until romance comes into the picture, and that's understandable for someone who desperately wants to be loved -- she's shown herself to be smart and astute in a lot of ways, but in this case I don't think she behaves the way she does towards Lenore because she's edging her bets n her allegiances are fickle.

I think when we see Ada with Lenore is when Ada is at her most genuine. She feels comfortable enough to show glimpses of herself around Lenore, which she doesn't do with any of the others, which is a crying shame cause those glimpses we see of her, she seems like she'd be a great girl that's a lot of fun but its buried underneath fear, insecurity and the fingerprints of societal norms of her era.

(right after she punches Lenore in the tit. :D )

We don't know the circumstances of how she became a maid, but we can extrapolate a few things by looking at history available to us.

Maiding was seen as a respectable, nay, if not a sought after job in all eras. It leant you a smidge of social status, but the down side was, yes you might rub shoulders with the wealthy and famous but you were never part of that world. It was like being on the other side of the a filmy membrane. Often you were never noticed at all, and subject to an even stricter societal hierarchy than what was on offer outside the house, but often maids saw factory work as being beneath them or super working class poor. It was a weird skewing of the world. Ada is just as much a victim of circumstance as Lenore and Annabel, has been shaped by it, and its fueling her Nevermore behaviour.

If I'm correct in my theory that she was a scullery maid/ lower house maid specifically, (denoted by her lack of skills of how to prepare a lady for her day) she's on the lowest service rung with little to no prospects of advancement unless a head maid took an interest to teach her how to be a parlour maid. This in time might lead to a head maid track but there was hot competition from all the other maids in the house, esp if there was a large staff (you often had to wait until the head maid died for a promotion reshuffle, OR another house hold offered you employment, and even then you would need to seek permission from your employer to be released from their service.) So this is a girl who needs her position to keep her belly full, and a roof over her head, and is used to having someone (prolly lots of someones) have power over her n hold her life in their hands. She's in a very vulnerable position and perfectly primed to be taken advantage of. Then introduce a young heir dangling that good life and societal advancement in front of her. Its easy to see how she might have succumbed to those romantic advancements even though she's risking her reputation AND position. (and then it ends in the ultimate betrayal)

She wanted more for herself, she wanted to be a has, not a has not. She has been groomed by service n societal norms. And who wouldn't grasp the opportunity when it arose to claw their way from the bottom n grab that perceived good life? She was quick on the uptake in Nevermore, enacting a ruse from the get go. She didn't think she had the luxury to sit back and assess the situation, because it might be her only chance at something better than what she couldn't quite remember. She looked at the game of poker, saw everybody was at the same starting point, threw herself into the gamble and began trying to build her own hand. The shame is that underneath it all, I believe, Ada is a great girl who desperately wants good friends, but she's unable to trust or rely on others due to her own hangups that have been stamped by her pastlife. Think she and Bernice would get along great if she'd just shirked this up stairs/downstairs mentality, realise it doesn't matter, find her own self esteem, and just be herself. If she was just herself, I think she'd find that she'd be accepted which would help her self esteem so much. Welp. this got away from me. I just have a lot of empathy for the silly little twit. The Writer's do a great job of toeing the line with Ada, she'll do something questionable but then draw you back in. You might want to hate her but you just can't.

#nevermore webtoon #nevermore webcomic #ada nevermore

[vikkirosko]

Hello. Can I request Miles Edgeworth, Dick Gumshoe and Damon Gant with child female reader?

Reader is 12 but is already a detective. She's even Miles' assigned investigator when he's on a case. Well, Miles prefer to use her as his little assistant and keep her close to him as much as he can, because she tend to often find herself in dangerous situations, and because she has zero sense of orientation and tend to wander away and get lostwhen nobody watches her.

Gumshoe likes to call her "Edgeworth's sidekick" and Gant wonder if she'll would be a better mascot for the police station.

Thank!

Platonic headcanons Young detective

⚖️ Miles Edgeworth x kid fem!Reader 🚘

When Edgeworth was told that the investigator who leads the case with whom he worked for twelve years, he thought it was a joke. As it turned out, this was not the case. You really were a twelve-year-old girl who was called a genius. You genuinely loved your job and did it well, even though it was hard for Miles to get used to the fact that you were a child

Pretty quickly Edgeworth started working with you a lot. He didn't admit that the main reason for this was that you often got into trouble. You were injured several times, so he tried to make sure that you were nearby and not hurt. He knew that your job was sometimes dangerous, but that didn't mean that he would allow you to be injured, so through his efforts you became something like his assistant, even though officially you remained a detective

One day after a court hearing, Miles was going to take you home and told you to wait for him until he drove up in his car, but when he arrived, you were not there. At that moment, he began to panic. He was worried that you might have been abducted, but an hour later you were found a few blocks from the courthouse. As it turned out, it wasn't the first time you left thinking about something. It was then that he found out that you are completely disoriented on the terrain and can easily get lost

Although the prosecutor did not admit it, but he took care of you as if you were his younger sister or daughter. He was sure that when you had a great career in the police ahead of you, but while you were still a child and he was going to make sure that you didn't get into trouble while he was with you

🚔 Dick Gumshoe x kid fem!Reader 🐶

Dick had been working for the police for a long time when you showed up there. At first, he thought that you were someone's daughter who came to visit her parent, so when you said that you were a new detective, he took it as a child's dream and told you that you would definitely succeed. But when he found out that you really were the new detective, he was surprised. He took care of you like a little sister so that nothing would happen to you at work

When you started working with Edgeworth, you both had more work to do, but Dick was able to breathe a sigh of relief. He knew you were safe with the prosecutor. Sometimes he jokingly called you "Edgeworth's sidekick", but pretty quickly it turned from a joke into your official nickname. Dick didn't want to offend you and you knew it perfectly well, because you really worked a lot with Miles

During the several years that you worked together, Dick drove you home. The reason for this was not only your age, but also the fact that you have absolutely no sense of orientation on the ground. Several times you got lost in the city, lost in your thoughts and Dick was looking for you all over the city. After several such searches, he began to take you home to be sure that you would not get lost on the way. He was even afraid to imagine what would happen when you get a driver's license

Dick understood that for him you will always remain the little girl he cared about, even when you turn twenty. But while you were a child, he continued to protect you from the dangers that often arose at your work and helped you with advice and deed, as a mentor and friend, which he was for you

🚔 Damon Gant x kid fem!Reader 🕶

From your first working day as a police detective, Damon was sure that you would become an excellent detective. You were only twelve, but you were a genius and worked as well as professionals. Even when you started working with Edgeworth, his opinion didn't change

Despite the fact that you worked on a par with adults, Gant treated you like a child. He often ruffled your hair and treated you to sweets. He took care of you as if you were his daughter and he tried to make sure that you didn't get into trouble, even though Edgeworth most often became your protector

When he first came up with the idea that you could become the mascot of their police station, he told you about it and heard your dissatisfaction. At that time, he laughed, turning your conversation into a joke, but then he decided that it was a very good idea. He didn't tell you about it so as not to make you angry, but he and other police officers treated you not only as a good detective, but also as the mascot of their police station

Damon hoped that you would work with them for a long time. You were the secret assistant prosecutor, the mascot of the police station. Gant sometimes drove you home after work, because you could easily get lost due to the fact that you absolutely did not know the terrain. He remembered well how when you got lost in the city he was looking for you along with the others. He could have sworn that he had more gray hair that day. Sometimes he would treat you to lunch to make sure you were eating well. Even though you were his subordinate, he took care of you as if you were his own

#Ace Attorney #Ace Attorney x Reader #Ace Attorney headcanons #Miles Edgeworth #Miles Edgeworth x Reader #Dick Gumshoe #Dick Gumshoe x Reader #Damon Gant #Damon Gant x Reader

[of-naboo]

      The ship moved steadily through space, the only sound she could hear was the shuffling of a Droid moving from one room to another. It checked every one of the rooms to make sure the ship was running in prime condition. Outside of maintenance check, it never spoke to her or offered much conversation. For a moment the brunette frowned, her mind slipping to more… simpler days, With C3PO and R2D2, they always had something to say, and if not to her, then to each other. It made traveling or even working less suffocating. Fingers gently pushed some loose strains of hair out of her face, her eyes watered for only a moment at what else came of that past. It felt like everything had been taken away within a matter of seconds and was forever lost to the ongoing changing of time.

      The Republic was gone, the Empire arose. Everything was changing and Padmé barely had the time to process it all. After all, she spent her life on the move, aiding those she could before packing up and moving to the next planet, or in worse situations, different systems. There were very few who knew of her survival, which meant even fewer to call. Her fingers lingered above the com, moments before making her mind up to call.

      “It’s always a pleasure to hear from you, Amidala.” She smiled weakly at the words before shaking her head, “I’ve told you before, we’re friends, it’s Padme.” Bail Organa smiled from the other end, “Might I ask, what beckons a call rather than a visit? You know you’re more than welcome to see her.” Leia... she felt a pain in her chest at the thought of her daughter, but she knew she was being taken care of by more than loving parents. Her teeth sunk into the inside of her bottom lip, it hurt unlike anything she had felt before to not have her children with her, but she knew their safety was more adequate with their given parents/guardians than with her. “I felt a call was more appropriate, I feel visiting anytime soon would lead to suspicion and too many eyes focused on your guest.” She paused for a moment before continuing.

      “This may be the last time I can call for quite some time. I believe a report of my survival may have been put out. If that’s the case… I fear the worst could happen. I do not wish for you to be dragged into this by any means, the Empire’s grasp is already tight on so many worlds. You do not need to bear the stress of becoming a target.” She watched his expression change but quickly turn to that of an unreadable one, “I… understand. We will respect your choice as well as be grateful for your consideration of our people, our home, and our family.” Padmé offered a smile. “Farewell, Organa. “ – “Wait, Padmé.” – “Yes?” “…Be safe out there.” A nod was offered before the call was cut off.

      Silence met her ears, and for a moment she sat there, tears built in her eyes, yet they refused to fall. There was no time, she had too much to do, and this was not on that list. “C245, how are the rations?” Clanking carried before a robotic voice carried through. “A day or two worth. Might I suggest making a stop at a nearby planet to refill?” The ex-senator nodded, “Of course. Let’s see which is closest…” Her voice trailed off as the planet's name appeared. “Guess we got no other choice.” A planet heavily run by troops of the Empire.

      “Easy.” She mumbled to herself as the ship landed on the dock. “C245, I'll be back shortly, Keep the ship running in case of a hurried leave.” – “Yes Miss Amidala. “

@corruptedforce

#corruptedforce #• verse: love lies bleeding. | #• love lies bleeding. | #i hope this is okay!

[leeholtwrites]

Magical Girl Reunion Tour: Chapter 7

Magda

This morning had not gone as Magda expected. She had hoped to convince Shonda to take over as leader, but after seeing her, leaving her to fight Omira on her own didn’t feel right. Shonda didn’t know what Magda had experienced last time, just the aftermath after her little truth mirror trick. She had kids and a husband. Magda would just have to tighten the straps on her trauma backpack like a big girl and pick up the leadership mantle again. Even if she really, really didn’t fucking want to. Just the thought of transforming into the short little skirt again made her want to stomp her feet like a toddler and scream.

Then she had seen Chloe. Magda had tried to make light of the whole situation after Chloe tried to slug her, making jokes, breaking ice, and the rest of that nonsense. The truth was, the whole thing had rattled her, especially after Chloe had pointed a sword at her. A sword of all things! She had never expect her friends to be so mad at her for not speaking with them in fifteen years. Sure, a little cold maybe. The kind of irritated with her where they wouldn’t even give her the time of day, but to both assault her. Well… damn. If they were going to defeat Omira, they might need to talk, and not the easy kind.

There was not enough booze in the world to make Magda okay with telling them the truth.

For now she would just have to wear enough truth on the surface to make them happy. Hell, if they defeated Omira quickly enough, she would never have to tell them. She wondered if they would be okay with getting only Christmas cards, even though Kelsey was Jewish.

At least Sarah might not try to kill her. She was always the nice one.

When the light faded, they stood behind a parked car in a lot behind a brick building. The day was sunny, but not too warm, and filled with screams.

“What the hell?” Chloe said. “Why are we in a parking lot?”

Magda turned on her, half panicked. “That is what you’re focused on? Not the screams?”

Shonda peeked over the car they stood behind to see people rushing by. In the distance, iridescent light flashed against dark, darting figures. “Remember when we said how lucky we were that Omira hadn’t attacked yet? I think our luck has run out.”

Magda joined Shonda, narrowing her eyes to see if she could get a better assessment of the situation. The flashing iridescent light came from a figure dressed in blue, brown braid whipping around behind her. “Sarah’s already transformed. We should join her.”

She whipped around to face Shonda and Chloe, holding out her wand, her face carefully controlled to hide that she couldn’t believe those words had just left her mouth. In her logical mind, she had told herself that she was here to lead, to stay, to help her friends and those in trouble. The part of her that still broke out in a sweat whenever she smelled the sickenly sweet scent of some teen girl’s body spray, or even the occasional strawberry desert, fought to shove her wand back in her purse and run for it.

Her wand thrust up into the air, she swallowed the lump in her throat and shouted, “Dress me in love!”

Warmth and light passed over her. The pull of the magic for white gloves. A hot magenta robe, mantle, and boots. The most ridiculous pink bow imaginable on a thirty five year old woman. Magda struggled to move with the magic, to let it guide her through the dance. The panic arose, choking, stifling. Every muscle strained with tension as the sweet strawberry scent bathed her, dragging her back to eighteen in the cavern made of prisms. It passed, leaving her sweaty and wide-eyed. She gingerly touched her forehead, the feel of her gold band under her gloved fingers. Another swallow and a sigh. Shonda and Chloe couldn’t see her panic. They weren’t allowed.

They would ask too many questions Magda wasn’t ready to answer.

Luckily for Magda, she had plenty of external distractions from the internal darkness threatening to break her down into a sobbing, hyperventilating mess. One of those many distractions was the great variation between what all three of them were wearing now versus what they looked like as a teenagers. Their primary colors were still pink, orange, and green, but there weren’t miniskirts and midriff bearing tops and many other fashion details that would have looked embarrassingly young on them in their thirties. For one, Magda didn’t have her tell-tale pig tails no matter how she had styled her hair that day. Second, they now looked more like some costume designer couldn’t decide if they were part of some fantasy show or some sci-fi show.

Shonda’s transformation leaned more towards the sci-fi side with a white full-body suit as the base with no definable shoes. Instead the soles on her feet were a low wedges of a vibrant orange, the only feature on her feet that didn’t make her look like she was wearing footie pajamas. To help flatter her wide hips, a multitier peplum starting with a top layer of vibrant orange, each shade moving lighter until the bottom layer was white, hung almost to her knees. An obscenely fluffy bow of bright orange started at the hollow of her throat and covered most of her chest, a feature that it seemed none of them could escape. Same with the gold band across the forehead. They all had it, except Shonda had a nearly transparent visor floating over her eyes. It couldn’t hide the ombre eyeshadow that tastefully complimented her vibrant orange lipstick.

Chloe was almost a complete one eighty. Her whole body was covered in a sleek white plate mail armor that looked simultaneously futuristic and archaic, like the Ren Faire version of Storm Trooper. Under the white armor was a layer of spring green. Her long black hair was tied up in a green ribbon the same shade as The Bow – which Magda could not escape thinking of despite her best efforts as the most tacky thing that just had to carry over from their original transformations. Her makeup matched Shonda’s – except green – which means Magda’s was the same only pink.

Magda looked down at herself. Shonda gets a future cat suit. Chloe gets armor. She gets a hot pink robe with slits down the side to show off white leggings. A robe. As their fearless leader, she was a tad offended. At least she had a stylish gold belt to keep her from looking like Gandalf’s daughter. And no sleeves longer than the mantle over her shoulders. She didn’t know how she would feel if her sleeves were long enough to smuggle kittens in.

Shonda snorted. ”Wow. You both look like LARPing rejects.”

Chloe scowled and commanded her wand to transform. “Do not mock me. I have the sword.”

“You have armor.” Magda waved at herself with a sweep of her empty hand. “I look like I repurposed some little girl’s sheets.”

Before Shonda or Chloe could respond, there was another scream. They all whipped around toward the sound. “I’ll keep complaining later. Let’s go help Sarah.”

They charged around the cars in the parking lot and out into the street, Magda calling her wand to its true form. Ahead of them, Sarah had rolled behind an outdoor cafe table she’d knocked over for cover and was firing periodically at four identical parasites closing in on her. Sarah jumped to her feet and shouted “Concussive Comet!” A bright streak of light the size of a softball smashed into one of the parasites. It staggered, but didn’t fall.

As Magda and the others neared, the parasites spotted them. Each had a little satellite orbiting them. Pinpricks of green light appeared, seeming to gather from the air around each satellite. Before Magda could say anything, Chloe charged in front of them, her shield up. The specks of light flashed, sending bolts the same color through the air at Magda, Shonda, and Chloe. Chloe shouted “Sunshine Shimmering Shield!” A glowing, golden convex wall flew up from her shield, deflecting the green bolts back at the parasites. The bolts smashed into the parasites, staggering them, but they still didn’t go down. All three of them slid behind the table, joining Sarah, Chloe keeping the shield up.

Magda cleared her throat. “So, what’s going on?”

Sarah seemed to finally see them, drawing her wary eyes away from the circling parasites to turn wide eyes on them. “You’re here,” she shouted excitedly, but then her expression morphed into confusion. “Wait, you’re here.” That last bit, was obviously not addressed to anyone but Magda by the intensity in Sarah’s eyes.

“I’ll explain later,” Magda responded, happy that for Sarah had yet to try to punch her or use her powers on her. “Can you give us an update?”

She shook her head as if to clear whatever shock at seeing Magda had wreaked on her. “It’s my friend, Michelle. I went to invite her to lunch because I hadn’t seen her in a couple days, and I found her looking unwell. We argued, and her computer mouse turned into one of Omira’s little toys. Of course, that can’t be right, Omira is dead.”

“No she isn’t. We were coming to tell you. Please, continue.”

Sarah looked like she wanted Magda to explain more, but decided that could wait till later. “After she transformed, she stole bits of tech to make those little satellites, and then multiplied. They have a wickedly strong shield, so I haven’t been able to deal a lot of damage, even with my strongest attacks. I was actually getting a bit worried. I don’t have any purification spells and I’m running low on energy.”

There was no doubt Sarah had been working hard to keep this thing occupied. Her hair was falling out of her poof and braid, and her skin was covered in fine sheen of sweat. She was breathing hard. There was even the suggestion of bags under her eyes. Of course, her magical makeup still looked flawless, which was strange considering how tired Sarah looked.

Magda adjusted her position so she could assess her team. Chloe was standing, holding her shield, but it started to flicker. Sunshine Shimmering Shield was such a high energy spell there was no way for Chloe to maintain it much longer. “Shonda, we need to figure out if those additional parasites are physical copies, or just illusions.”

Shonda nodded curtly, her gesture of agreement. She called her want to its true form, then held it out over her left forearm as if looking scanning it. The mirror melted without a command, conforming to Shonda’s arm like it were made of mercury. Except mercury didn’t harden like cooled silver. Her mirror had turned into a bracer of near white metal that gleamed in the midday sun. With a wave over it, a command panel appeared above it. It too had changed. Where once the panel had been nothing but garish colors, it had matured, taking its colors from the sunrise shades of Shonda’s transformation.

She poked at it with her right hand while peeking over the table. Shonda was silent for a beat. “They’re illusions being protected by the satellites. It looks like those satellites are projecting the shields as well as firing the beams. If we destroy the satellites, then Maggie should be able to cast her purification.”

“I’ve tried,” Sarah said. “They move like they know what’s coming next.”

“You’re going to have to use Sterling Stars,” Magda replied. It really was the perfect option. “We’ll cover you while you get the lock.” Chloe’s shield flickered again. “Everyone good with the plan?”

Sarah nodded, gripping her bow.

Shonda nodded.

Chloe nodded without taking her eyes off her waning shield.

“Right. On my mark. Go.”

They all sprang to their feet. Chloe stayed with Sarah while Magda when right and Shonda went left. Sarah raised her bow, her own visor appearing to float across her vision. Chloe dropped the shield spell and drew her sword. Magda needed to draw the parasite’s attention from Sarah. She extended her empty hand toward the nearest parasites and shouted “Miraculous Myriad Meteors!” Magda ignored the little part of her that shriveled inside from how absolutely ridiculous she felt saying the spell as silver streaks of light shot from her hands, smashing into the parasites. They staggered, their shields shimmering. They continued to advance.

Shonda threw her own spell, a web of shimmering light that wrapped around each parasite, lines of rainbow light extending from Shonda’s fingers. She had positioned herself next to a light pole and was using its leverage to keep the parasites from advancing, one foot on the pole as she pulled. “I really need to stop skipping arm day,” said through gritted teeth as she struggled.

Magda struggled not to laugh as she sent another scattering of silver light to pepper the parasites.

“I can help you with that,” Chloe replied before she shouted, “Glimmering Edge,” her blade cutting through the air. An arc of sparkling white light smashed into the parasite nearest to her. “Well, that’s new.”

“A sword and a new spell. You bitch,” Shonda tried to snark despite her obvious discomfort trying to keep the parasites tethered.

“Sterling Stars!” finally came the cry they were waiting for. Sarah released her bow string. Multiple sliver arrows of light shot through the air, each one streaking into the orbiting satellites. The exploded on impact, and Magda was ready.

Moonlight Purification was a performance. She can’t simple say the words and the spell is cast, problem solved. Her staff held out before her in both hands, she closes her eyes. Suddenly, she thrusts out her left arm and left leg behind her, spinning the staff in one hand as she rotates on one foot. A circle of light forms around her. She stops once it’s complete. She places both feet back on the ground, one foot in front of the other, continuing spinning her staff with both hands now. Then she stops, and with her right hand waves it from left to right as she calls with all the conviction she can muster, “Moonlight Purification!”

A wave of pulsating white light washes over the parasites. Unearthly screams emanate from them as three of them melt away, the copies. The last one keeps screaming, its armor peeling off and turning to dust in the wake of the pulsating light. Slowly a woman is revealed, shook, but alive. The light will sooth away the nightmares and horrors. She will only lose a few days. A pang of jealousy strikes Magda, and the light waivers, but by this point the spell has done its job. She lowers her staff, and weariness over takes her. She’s glad she has something to lean on as she surveys the aftermath.

Sarah runs from her place over next to Chloe, who was supporting her, to the woman kneeling on the ground. “Michelle,” she asked softly.

Magda frowned. That woman knew Sarah. What was the chances that the first parasite to pop up would know one of them?

She didn’t have long to dwell on that though. The people that had been in the area, the ones that had hid, started to reemerge from the shops and other hiding places they had found during the battle. Some of them even started whipping out phones.

Sarah was on the ground now, embracing the freed woman – Michelle if she recalled right. While many people could interpret their reunion as just a hero checking on a victim, Magda didn’t want to chance it. She rushed over and promptly dropped to her knees next to them. Sarah didn’t look up, and she had to touch her shoulder. “Sa-Blue.”

“What is it, Pink?” The distain in her voice was unmistakable.

“Do you have any plans you need to get to? People have their cell phones out, and I think we should work on maintaining our cover,” she whispered.

Sarah shot her a side-eye glare. There was a pause before she said, “I do.”

“We’ll take care of her.” Magda met her eyes. “I promise. I’m not going anywhere. We’ll meet up again before we go speak with Purple.”

Shonda and Chloe stood behind them now. Magda wasn’t sure she was grateful for their presence so she didn’t have to be alone with Sarah, or if she was feeling a tad ganged up on.

“Go, Blue. We’ve got your friend,” Shonda said.

Sarah glanced around at all of them, before standing and running off. They would have to send her a text later so they could meet up.

Magda stood, guiding Michelle to her feet. Flashing lights and the wail of sirens grew closer. She sighed. “When this is all over, who wants coffee?”

#magicalgirlreuniontour #magical girl reunion tour #first draft #writing #original work #female protagonist #women over 30 #nanowrimo projects

[miyacreampie]

Lenny sensei's night class has begun!~♡

“Senpai~♡”

synopsis 💭;; Tanaka gets jealous bc some bitch talking to his man.

note 🖋️;; IT TOOK A WHOLE FUCKIN WEEK TO WRITE THIS. WHY DOES WORK ALWAYS PREVENT ME FROM DOING THE THINGS I LIKE? WHAT THE ACTUAL FU- by the way, ‘Isayama Misaki’ is based off of some asswipe I used to know- also, I ran out of ideas at the end, so it kinda cuts of lf at the good part. I apologize to the anon that requested this.

Requested by anon ♡

Male pronouns used

Tanaka wasn't a jealous man. Or at least he'd like to think so.

(Y/n) was pretty popular around campus, so it wasn't a surprise to see a few fangirls here or there. It kinda reminded him of Oikawa—except (Y/n) didn't exactly pay his fangirls any attention. (And he didn't have an ass as flat as printer paper.) But did that stop them from trying to get into his pants? No.

In all honesty, Ryu felt lucky that he had someone like (Y/n) as a boyfriend, although he didn't like the fangirls—who paid him no mind whenever they were together. It annoyed him that they kept surrounding (Y/n) who clearly wanted nothing to do with them, begging him for dates, one night stands, anything.

To say that Tanaka was mildly uncomfortable was an understatement.

🌇🌇

Today was a bit different. Instead of a crowd of women rushing towards (Y/n), it was just one—; Misaki Isayama. The woman (almost) every guy considered perfect. This was...manageable, but what did she want? Well—at least it was only one girl. He had only woken up a little over an hour ago, and wasn't exactly ready for his simps just yet.

“(L/n)-chan, can you help me study for the science exam that's coming up?”

“Just because you're my upperclassman, doesn't mean you can call me that.” (Y/n) said quietly, rubbing his eyes, then yawning. “I'm on my way to the lecture hall though, so maybe after that? I should be fully awake by then..”

Misaki smiled and nodded her head. “It's a date!”

“No. No it's not.”

🏙️🏙️

Tanaka let (Y/n) lean on him during the lecture. That turned into one sided cuddling from the sleepy man. Ryu thought it was cute how (Y/n) always clung to him when he was sleepy. He was a little sad when (Y/n) fully awoke, and let him go, but it was for the best.

“Oh, Ryu-san. I'm tutoring the rumored ‘perfect woman’, and it's gonna be awkward with just the two of us, so can y—”

“You headin to the library? I was on my way there anyway. I'll join ya.”

The (h/c) haired man nodded, and they both walked all the way to the other side of the schoolyard to the library building. Tanaka even held (Y/n)'s hand to flex on the girls they passed by. Some of the girls were noticeably annoyed or a little angry, which pleased him.

When they finally arrived, Misaki was standing by the door. Upon seeing Ryu, she scowled. But it was only for a second.

“Ah, (L/n)-kun..who's this?”

(Y/n) smiled, oblivious to Misaki and Tanaka glaring at each other. Needless to say, the intense atmosphere went right over his head. “This is my boyfriend..Tanaka. He'll be joining us if that's okay.”

“‘Perfect woman’ my ass..the only ‘perfect woman’ I know is Kiyoko-san.” Tanaka mumbled under his breath. (Y/n) may not have known, but Misaki and Tanaka were always competitive with each other. Other times he wouldn't have cared, but now that (Y/n) is what he's fighting for, he wasn't gonna back down.

“Oh, it's fine.” Misaki said through gritted teeth.

🏙️🏙️

Isayama and Tanaka were left sitting at a table alone, while (Y/n) searched for the science books. They sat in complete silence, but it was almost as if you could hear their thoughts—mentally arguing with one another.

(Y/n) returned with three books, seating himself between Isayama and Ryu. “Okay! Let's get started!”

***

As (Y/n) went on explaining the laws of physics (because Tetsurou used to tutor him), Misaki and Tanaka continued their epic staring battle. The battle ended once they noticed that (Y/n) had stopped talking. He was chewing his tongue in thought, trying to figure out how to pronounce a word.

Misaki didn't notice, but (Y/n) had gone from physics, to microbiology. In less than five minutes.

“Something wrong?”

“How do you say this word again..?” The (e/c) eyed man pointed to a bolded word in the textbook, leaning back a bit so the other two could see.

A suffocating silence reigned over the three of them, but only for about three seconds.

Isayama squinted a bit before she spoke. “Endothelial?”

“Oh yeah. Thanks, senpai.”

Isayama smiled smugly at Ryuunosuke. The said man had a visible tick mark (💢) on the side of his head, symbolizing his annoyance. Tanaka only wanted (Y/n) to call him ‘senpai’—even if they were the same age (if not, then (Y/n) might be older). It made him feel like he was a dependable upperclassman, maybe even a bit turned on in certain situations. But hearing (Y/n) call someone else senpai..made him a little sad.

His thoughts were interrupted by his phone vibrating. As Tanaka reached into his pocket to get his phone, he caught (Y/n) putting his own phone in his jacket pocket. Tanaka turned on his phone to see a message from (Y/n) in his recent notifications.

Pretty boy💖: Go to the bathroom. I'll join you later.

Although he was a bit confused, he got up from his chair. “‘M gonna go take a leak.” Ryu said as he started to make his way towards the men's restroom.

Almost five minutes pass before (Y/n) goes into the bathroom after Tanaka, telling Misaki that he was checking on him. As soon as (Y/n) had passed the first bathroom stall, he was yanked into the second one, the door locking almost immediately after it shut behind him. He wasn't given any time to react before he felt a familiar pair of soft lips violently smash against his own. (Not violent enough to make his mouth bleed or anything. Chill.)

A heated battle for dominance arose between the two, (Y/n) quickly taking the lead as he gently bit Ryu's lip.

They didn't want this to end, but eventually Tanaka had to break the kiss because he couldn't breathe. He stood there, breathless in his boyfriend's arms, not wanting (Y/n) to let go.

“Ryuunosuke..” Tanaka flinched upon his first name being said—even though (Y/n) said it many times before. His reaction brought a smile to (Y/n)'s face. “I love you~..” He said, drawing out the three words in a sing-song voice.

Ryu felt his legs getting weak, and held onto (Y/n) for dear life. (Somewhat out of fear that he might fall.) He wasn't actually feeling like this because of three words...right? “Babe..am I supposed to be kinda horny right now?” It was a bit of a strange question, but hey, it never hurts to ask.

(Y/n) chuckled. “Well, yeah. I might have to carry you out of here once we're done.” His warm smile from earlier didn't falter as he spoke.

‘How can he say something like that so casually? If I say something like that, I'd get d–’ Ryu's thoughts were snapped away when he felt his chest touch the stall divider and his pants being pulled down. He let out a soft moan as (Y/n) stroked him through his boxers.

🏙️

‘What the hell is taking them so long?!’ Isayama got up from where she sat, and went to the men's bathroom. There wasn't anyone around, so no one would see her going in. She opened the first stall's door. ‘If they ditched me, I swear to go–’

“W-Wait, (Y/n)!~ Haa!~♡”

“Geez senpai, you're so wet inside~..♡”

Misaki froze. She couldn't be sure that it was (Y/n) and Tanaka in there—but those were definitely Tanaka's pants hanging over the second stall's door. Now she felt more..curious than angry. Isayama slipped into the first stall, carefully and quietly closing the door behind her, and slowly locking it so it didn't make noise.

Ryu tried to keep his breathing steady as (Y/n) fucked him with his fingers—even though that did absolutely nothing to help his current situation. Hell, he couldn't even process words anymore. The only actual word he could say was his boyfriend's name. He eventually remembered how to speak after about two minutes of being finger-fucked.

He wanted to sound more demanding, but his voice came out more whiny than what he'd have liked it to. “Fuck me already..ya fuckin– Hng!~” It may have been that he couldn't process it, or that (Y/n) had moved at the speed of sound, but Tanaka wasn't able to register how fast (Y/n) pulled his fingers out, and shoved his cock into his still tight hole. He wanted to say something, but all that came out was a choked whine.

“You were saying?~♡” (Y/n) asked, though it sounded more like a demand than a question.

Tanaka wasn't given a chance to answer due to (Y/n) ruthlessly fucking the poor man senseless. His loud whines and moans echoed throughout the bathroom, much to (Y/n)'s pleasure. He wanted everyone to know that he was a taken man. He wanted everyone on campus to hear Ryuunosuke's pleasurable cries.

Hearing the two men fucking in the next stall turned Isayama on to no end. (Even though it was more of (Y/n)'s voice that made her wet.) But she resisted touching herself because she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she masturbated to her rival getting fucked. (A kinda stupid reason, but okay.)

“Fu–fuck, (Y/n)!~ So good..it feels so good!~” Ryu babbled, the words almost incoherent as he attempted to push back against his boyfriend's cock. “More!~ Give me more!~♡” He begged, voice broken and choking on his own breath.

The (e/c) eyed man didn't say a word. As his senpai had politely asked of him, (Y/n) drove his cock so deep into Tanaka that the said man let out the loudest drawn out moan (Y/n) had ever heard from him. If it weren't for the cum spewing from the teary eyed man, (Y/n) would've thought he had hurt his lover. He wasn't entirely sure until he felt Ryu continue to push back against him, desperate for more friction.

“Aww..you're so cute when you act like a bitch in heat, senpai~..♡”

He only got a choked whine in response.

“I'm pretty close anyway..do you want it inside?~♡” (Y/n) asked, pulling the shaky man up to his chest. Again, only a whine. (Y/n) parted Ryu's lips with his fingers, those fingers soon being coated in saliva. “Use your words~..”

Finally, Tanaka spoke, despite his unintentional dry heaving. “Fuck me- please~..”

“As you wish~♡” (Y/n) almost whispered, gripping Tanaka's cock firmly, earning another broken moan from the said man. “You're the only person I'd fuck like this, you know that, right?” He said, as he rubbed the shorter man's stomach.

“Y-Yeah..that makes me happy~..”

Lmao this was like- 80% highschool drama (in a college setting), and the remaining 20% being me getting horny for no reason. Also, I'm aware this made no sense. None of the stuff I write makes sense. :)

The class session is now over!~♡

#tanaka x reader #tanaka x male reader #haikyuu x male reader #anime x male reader #m!reader #x male reader #top male reader #seme male reader #ryuunosuke x reader

[comehomeducklings]

Present [Part 1] (Obsession)

A/N: Please don't copy, redistribute, and/or post my work on this site or any others. This has taken my time and creativity to come up with the story's characters and plot.

Also, I swear my writing gets better. It's a little rough right now but I'm planning on rewriting them.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Tom Riddle's Moodboard

Main Character's Moodboard

~////////////////𓆙////////////////~

1943 ~ 6th year

No sound above whispers could be heard throughout the great hall. The food on the table hasn't been touched by a single hand. The very thought of eating churning all our stomachs. Not during these times. Our heads turn every now and then, afraid of what might sneak up behind us. The death of Myrtle and others has shaken the entire school. A murderer is among us, trust is such a foreign concept now.

Dark purple eye-bags lay beneath every single student's eyes. No one is allowed to go home for the holidays. They aren't allowing us to leave, we are stuck in this cloud of darkness and uncertainty. No owls are supposed to be sent out. As the head girl, I'm responsible for every student's life and responsibilities. I have to know where everyone is at all times. It gets tiring at times, but necessary nonetheless.

A nightly routine consisted of all my dormmates huddling around each other. No sleep would come to us all night. We wouldn't move from the same spot until light shown from the windows. Our beds are all pressed together in the farthest corner of the room from the door. Our wands never leaving our hands in case of danger. Every little sound made from the outside provoking us. Even to the point of going mad. Potions used to stay awake, slowly wearing off as the morning arose. No sleep, we can't afford that luxury anymore.

I would leave the dorm to wait at the portrait for our assigned house professor to come. They would tell me it was safe for everyone to head to the great hall to get breakfast. As soon as they were done I quickly went to everyone's dormitory to wake them up, if they even slept at all. I would then inform them that it was safe to step out of their dorms. After everyone got situated I would have the students form a line and lead them towards the great hall. 1st-3rd years would occasionally hold the folds of my robes. Fearing that when they blink I would be gone. Leaving them alone to deal with the dangers that lurk in the school.

Not once have I lied about how they are going to be all right. That would be cruel. These students don't seek pathetic nurturing words, they want a protective force watching over them. So many clubs and activities have been canceled. Hogsmede and quidditch proving as a prime example. No one complained though, quidditch players too afraid to even step out of the castle's walls even if they were allowed.

Back to the present, I hold my good friend's hand as she slightly shakes from anxiety. I can see it in her eyes, the doubt of making it alive eating away at her brain. The spark once present in her shiny green eyes being blown out. Amelia, her name being. She's been biting her nails again, to the point where it had bled. This can be backed by the dried-up blood that is present at the tip of her finger's nail.

A booming voice can be heard, "You are now being dismissed to head to class, your houses head girl and boy will be assigning the group you'll be heading off with."

First period has been removed from every perfect and head's schedule. During this time we search the whole castle for any wanders. We make sure everyone is where they are supposed to be. If someone got lost or went to the wrong class we escort them to where they need to be.

After every class, students have a limited amount of time to get to their next lesson. Although, perfects and heads get more time to make sure everyone is where they are needed quickly. Then we hurry to our class after scanning the halls swiftly.

The once safest school of the wizarding world giving birth to the dark ages. More bodies have been found littering the schools. Most of them not found until their ghosts appear before us. Every single one not knowing how they died. Like the murderer is invisible upon meeting the victim. I originally suggested it could have been done by poison. When the bodies were checked, no traces of poison had been traced.

Professors have been waiting for the person who is responsible to slip up, to give us a clue. I don't think that will happen though. The process of these killings has been too thought out and well planned. I wouldn't be surprised if these mass killings have been planned months before, even maybe years. I've been talking to the ghosts to try and gather all details, even the potentially useless ones. When our headmaster made us heads keep tabs on everyone, the killings stopped for a short amount of time. It was like the mastermind was creating a way to best us, to get past the "little inconvenience." It didn't take long for them to find the weak parts in the plan.

What we have got though, is that every single student killed has been a muggle-born. A classic case of an unfair stigma around the poor wizards and witches. They never were able to catch a break. Amelia, one of my close friends in the friend group. She's a muggle-born, hence the shaking of her hands. I've been keeping a closer eye on her, she doesn't leave my side. She comes on my patrols so I can keep her in my sights, with of course the permission of the teachers. There are only two times that I can not watch over her. Those two times are covered by my other friend Devyn, a pure-blood. She also helps keep her safe, not letting her go anywhere by herself. The two times are because she's in two different classes than I am. One of them being a study hall.

~////////////////𓆙////////////////~

"Professor, how will this class help us now? Reading teacups for predictions should be the least of our worries right now," a student at the back of the room exclaims.

"The said predictions could lead us to the future before it happens. Our worries lay exactly what will happen in the future. If anything, this is one of the most important classes we'll take this year," I say, continuing to read the teacup.

"Precisely, thank you. Now go back to studying, I'll be coming around to view your interpretations."

My tea leaves look more like a blob with a cross going through them. A weirdly shaped blob. I already know there is a cross, but what about the blob? I tried shaking it a little, looking at the leaves from different angles. I already crossed off a club, falcon, and the sun. It could be an acorn, but I see a slight hole in the blob.

Could it be...

"A skull that is." I jump at the sudden voice near my ear. My teacup almost falling from my grasp.

"Pardon, a what?"

She points towards two holes in the blob, one of them I just mentioned, "I saw you already found one hole, there's the other. How it's shaped could be a little difficult to see since the cross is through it, but it's there."

The professor takes the cup from my hand and lays it on her desk. Some of my classmates look at me in curiosity, but they soon lose interest and go back to their own tea leaves.

A cross and a skull, that sounds about right to how my school year is going so far. I scan my book to see exactly what they mean.

A skull, danger in your path.

A cross, trials and suffering.

"What d-did you find?" A Hufflepuff boy to my right asks.

I don't want to scare the poor boy, he's already frightened enough as it is. If my future got around to the school, everyone would start being concerned about me. I'll barely get any of my duties done if I didn't already get it taken away for my safety. Last thing I need right now is even more panic.

"Nothing much, the future is still a little foggy."

"That's, um, good. I couldn't really read mine either," he chuckles lightly, almost seemingly forced.

Our professor claps her hands together, "Class is dismissed, read up about your predictions if you haven't already. No homework today."

I gather my books and push in my chair. Right before I could reach the door where other students are waiting, the teacher stops me.

"I'll have to tell the headmaster about this, I shouldn't keep it a secret."

"No, please don't. If you must, only tell Albus. I can't have this messing anything up, I'll become vulnerable."

The professor looks around the room, her eyes wandering franticly. I'm sure I am asking a lot from her. I really need her to keep this a secret.

"Oh alright, you're my best student. I just would hate to see anything happen to you. I'm informing only Albus to see if he can keep an eye on you."

"Thank you so much, I swear I'll be careful." A huge weight is lifted off my shoulders. I can't be worrying about my future when I have to worry about everyone else's.

I leave the classroom and start heading to my next class. Potions have always been one of my favorite classes. Mixing a bunch of toxins into a pot is a specialty of mine. I'm quickly scanning the halls for any wanderers, making sure everyone is at class. My feet take me to Potions in a hurry. I don't want to miss much, trying to make the class as informational as possible.

"You shouldn't be running, you still have 3 minutes of checking the school."

It's always him, I even tried changing routes to avoid him. His idiotic smirk, thinking he actually did something. All he did is waste my time and train of thought.

"I'm allowed to run Riddle, it's not a rule. I already checked the halls I was assigned, did you?" I really have no energy for this.

Tom peers down at me, somehow still wearing that infamous smile. Eyes bright, filled with mischief and knowledge.

"I have, double-checked as well. I'm sure you only checked once. Such irresponsible actions, I still wonder how you nabbed the head-girl spot."

I choose not to answer, not giving in to his baiting. Does he think I'm that stupid? That easily bothered by a simple test of my patience.

"You could have just said you wanted to walk me to class Riddle. No need to be shy with me."

"Shy, a concept I would not know of. Might as well bring you to class, since I'm heading there myself. Wouldn't want you to be in danger, since you consistently prove you can't handle a simple check of the hallways."

"I told you Tom-"

"Once is not enough, you should know that by now," he interrupts me, feigning a sudden serious facade on.

We start heading towards Slughorn's room. I'm a little behind his figure. Mostly looking down to make sure I don't step over his feet and fall. He sometimes walks with me, very confusing if I may say. Hating my skills, probably still hates me. You can often find us arguing if we are ever partners in class together. The usual game we play, how many questions can we get right by the end of class. Last time he won by one point, my sour mood not helping the atmosphere.

"You look rested, more than me at least," I smile tiredly. My whole body slightly sagging forward from exhaustion. He looks as proper as someone could be. His skin is a little pale though, brighter than usual. Almost like he was sick, his eyes look darker too. More sunken in, the shape of his skull more prominent. His looks still annoyingly well presented.

"Yes, you do look rather tired. I see other things have prioritized above your looks."

This man, the audacity of this man. The only reason I'm not at the top of every class. Our number 1 student count being evenly split. I have to bite down on my tongue forcefully to not say anything back. I'm too tired to truly come back with anything witty, so I choose to save myself from the embarrassment. Instead, I slightly step on his robe on the ground causing him to trip up a little.

He quickly sends a warning glare my way and then continues walking. I smile slightly, knowing even if it was petty, it was worth it.

Riddle doesn't even hold the door for me when we walk in. Causing it to slam dangerously close to my face.

"There you two are, I was afraid you weren't going to make it," Slughorn exclaims excitedly. "Turn your textbooks to page 246, we are going to learn how to make a Polyjuice potion!"

I glance at Tom, his eyes only focus on the words before him not realizing my gaze is on him. I wonder if he'll make this a competition as well. Knowing him, as well as me, anything but competition is out of our character. He looks up catching my eyes, I tilt my head. Trying to silently communicate from afar.

His head turns to Slughorn, then back to me. He nods his head and that's all it takes for both of us to come to an understanding. Whoever can answer the most questions, and create the best potion gets bragging rights.

I don't intend to lose.

#tom riddle x oc #tom riddle imagine #tom riddle #tom riddle x reader #lord voldemort #hogwarts #wizard #post wizarding war #enemies to allies #enemies to lovers #angst #oc #poc #Oc is any race #horcrux #moldy voldy

[flightfoot]

My ranking of Sentibubbler, Rocketear, Mega Leech, Crocoduel, and Wishmaker

Since it looks like it’s gonna be a bit before we get some new ML episodes (seriously it’s been nearly a month since the last one and we STILL don’t have an exact date), I figured that I’d rank the episodes we already have, giving my reviews of them along the way. I already ranked the first nine released episodes, which is why I’m only doing the next five right now. At the end of the season I’ll probably rank all of season 4′s episodes together, but with less in-depth reviews because that would be INSANELY long and no one would read it.

I’ve enjoyed all the season 4 episodes so far and this was a pretty good batch in general, but some of them still have to be further down the list, sadly.

5. Mega Leech

This one was hands-down my least favorite of the batch. I liked Ladybug’s speech to Mylene about how being brave doesn’t mean being fearless, and Mylene and Ivan standing up against eco-washing corporations, even defying Mayor Andre to do so, was pretty cool. I found it interesting that they’d tried to tell their classmates about what was going on for AGES, but hadn’t gotten their attention until now, and the class didn’t even remember it. Just nice to see Mylene and Ivan having their own problems and goals that, since we normally just follow Marinette and Adrien, we don’t really see.

Personally though, I just found it kind of forgettable. A fun enough episode, but not much more. I’ve always been okay with Mylene, but never found her super interesting, and this episode didn’t change that. The Gabriel and Adrien scene at the ending was interesting, but raised more questions than it answered.

In a season as chockful of plot and character development as season 4, Mega Leech came off as filler.

4. Rocketear

So all four of these next episodes are AMAZING, so the rankings might shuffle around in my final season 4 ranking, since they’re pretty close to each other. 

Rena Furtive looks awesome, and I really love how we got to see Alya and Nino dealing with their own emotional issues, having their viewpoints shown. Poor Nino had the world conspire to make him think that Alya had fallen for Chat Noir. His detective-noir setup was hilarious! 

Got some major bombshells too, with Adrien finding out Alya’s and Nino’s superhero identities AND that they knew who the other person is, that they know each other’s identities. Something which he doesn’t react well too, and for good reason. Gives some delicious drama and angst and exploration of Adrien’s emotions and feelings.

Really appreciated what the episode did with Alya too! She has her own wants and needs. She really wants to be able to show Rena Furtive off, but understands why she can’t - she was the one who came up with the ruse in the first place, after all. Doesn’t stop her from really, really wanting too though. Enjoyed seeing her banter with Chat Noir too, they both give as good as they take.

Best of all, Alya put her own mental and emotional well-being and her relationship with Nino ahead at the end. She tried lying to Nino, she understood why Marinette asked that from her, but it helped lead to this awful misunderstanding. Plus she’s seen how much Marinette’s struggling with keeping all of her secrets, how much it’s impacted her relationships, and decided that she doesn’t want to get to that point.

Reminds me of Gang of Secrets, with how Marinette pushed all her relationships, all her friends away to keep her secret, but then finally caved so she could get some support. Alya hadn’t reached that point, but I can see why she’d try to head it off, not let it ruin her relationship down the line.

3. Crocoduel

I think I’m in the minority with this one, but I had a blast with Crocoduel! Tigress Pourpre was GORGEOUS, we got some of that Couffaine family drama I’ve been asking for since “Truth”, and a bunch of interesting conflicts and misunderstandings, and just... the exploration of emotions was great.

Really loved what it did for Juleka and Luka especially. Juleka got some nice character development, being able to make herself heard. And as for Luka, we got to see that the class are as much his friends as Marinette’s, that they love and care for him and want him to feel better. Seriously, that scene where all of them hug Luka and tell him how much they care for him was great!

Misunderstandings, conflicts, and fears abounded this episode, with Marinette being nervous about talking to Luka, both for her own sake and because she was afraid of hurting him more, Juleka feeling ignored and forgotten by Jagged, Marinette asking Juleka to try to ward Luka away from hers and his birthday party, and Jagged and Anarka’s pissing match. Confrontation and communication saved the day this episode.

I really love complex emotions and conflicts being explored and resolved, so I love this episode!

2. Sentibubbler

This episode might as well be named “Why Alya Is Awesome”. Seriously, Shadowmoth had her on the ropes, with Marinette, Nino, and her family all held hostage, and she played him like a freaking fiddle. And it was HER plan too, something she came up with and implemented herself during an extremely stressful situation! It convinced me that if the need arose, Alya could take over as the planner. Which makes sense, since Marinette’s been training Alya to basically be her backup in case something happens to her.

The fallout from the first half of the season with Chat Noir being sidelined and generally not seeming to be as needed came to fruition this episode, with him getting really frustrated at being left out again, after already not getting to the battle in time in Optigami. A lot of us had noticed him getting less focus and action had really, really hoped it was part of the story arc, that it’d be addressed, so it was good to see confirmation on that.

1. Wishmaker

It was a tough fight between Sentibubbler and Wishmaker, but overall I found Wishmaker to be more fun while still being a really plot and character heavy episode. It made me like Luka and Alec quite a bit more, which I did NOT expect with Alec. He’s always been a bit of a jerk, but that was really explored and explained this episode, and I liked his character development. 

As for Luka, I’m just glad he had more focus NOT centered around his relationship with Marinette. HIs interactions with croco-jagged were hilarious, and it was nice to see what he wanted to do for a living. 

Really interesting that he discovered Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s identities, and DIDN’T tell Ladybug. I’m curious to see where that goes.

Oooh, and Adrien’s dream, or lack of one - that was heartbreaking. The fandom’s talked about Adrien not really knowing what he wants, but to see it addressed like this... it was great. DAMN though, his dream being to be what his parents wanted him to be, and for him to have that dream since he was an INFANT? That hurts.

The akuma was really fun in general, giving us Croco-Jagged and Pickled Banana. I rewatched it twice in one day, and loved it both times!

#miraculous ladybug #ml rankings #mega leech #rocketear #crocoduel #sentibubbler #wishmaker

[traditional-with-a-twist]

xxxii. Beauty and Her Beast

@claudeng80 ha ha ‘a title has not helped Obi express himself better’ - truer words never spoken XD Ryuu just processes too slowly to keep up with things, and you’re so right, everyone is still shell-shocked and twisted around!

@bubblesthemonsterartist awwww, yeah, probably safe to say that Obi and Shirayuki are not doing great at seeing the bigger picture here XD I’m a little chagrined, putting them through these situations that push them so far outside their healthy canon!

@the-pompous-potato hahaha thank you for accepting my slightly contrived criteria for the wedding ceremony XD wish I were one of those authors who meticulously researches culture/history but ANS is such a mishmash! You are too sweet about the writing and feels and everything; makes me so happy to know that you’re enjoying it! <3

<<Previous || first arc || second arc || AO3

The first prince entertained very few visitors in the wake of the intensive administrative outpouring surrounding his public address.

There was too much to do, to rebalance the scales and irrigate the neglected areas of his responsibilities.

After revolving on its hinges in the days leading up to the grand announcement, Izana’s door presented now an unyielding front to almost all callers.

When Kiki Seiran presented herself, however, the guards admitted her at once.

...

She found the prince deep in thought, chin resting on a long-fingered hand. 

Only his eyelids flickered in acknowledgement of her entrance. He knew without asking what she had come to deliver to him.

She laid the report on his desk: her official account of their journey north. 

As she backed away, Kiki inclined her head in deference to his position and to the gravity of the task. He had entrusted her with a deep and dangerous secret, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last time.

He regarded her with that slight smile that was more forbidding than another man’s frown. “Your service will not be forgotten, Kiki Seiran.”

It is a compliment, but also a promise.

...

As she turns to go, her eye catches on a pair of figures, plainly visible in the courtyard below through the prince’s sweeping glass doors.

The woman’s hair flames, while the man’s swallows the light. They linger together before parting.

He slides in the direction of the pharmacy; she starts towards the castle.

...

Kiki’s eyes dart towards the prince, but he is watching her, still with that same slight smile.

Izana is enigmatic as a mirrored window. He let you paint your thoughts onto his facade, inviting any interpretation, any fear, no matter how wild. 

All the while, he revealed nothing of himself.

...

Kiki bows herself out.

She knows without knowing how that Shirayuki wants to speak with her, so she goes to make herself available - to intercept the intended second princess before anyone else in the castle does.

Calculating without conscious effort a range of factors from the relative privacy that they might expect, to the likelihood that Shirayuki will seek her there, Kiki positions herself in an alcove with a view of the forest.

...

As she gazes on the waving branches, Kiki thinks of nothing in particular, content to wait, and see.

It is as if her body remembers for her: riding horseback, side by side, perfectly in synch.

She had known the day she met Mitsuhide that he was the man with whom she wished to spend her life. 

Subsequent exposure had served only to confirm, as snarls arose and pulled smooth in a spiral of increasing intimacy.

...

His awkwardness, his uncertainty around her, had gradually transformed from cause for misgivings into evidence in his favor.

She had weighed and measured each of his qualities, each exchange that passed between them, and found him worthy.

She no longer wondered who would preside alongside her at Seiran manor, whose crest would join hers over the fireplace in the great hall, whose name she would carve into the seal of the wooden chest delivered on her birth.

Now she doesn’t even know where he is.

...

Still that wooden chest waited.

As she grew, she had added to its contents: laboriously contrived needlework, then finer things, and more recently the delicately crafted weapons that one might slip under an embroidered sleeve or wear along with layered skirts.

The chest had accompanied Kiki to the palace alongside trunks of finery which she had made use of perhaps twice since arriving: once at the ball where she met Mitsuhide and once to play charades with Zen in the garden.

Shirayuki is smaller than I am, Kiki thought, but some of the simpler shifts might suit her. She could wear one intended for garden parties, sewn at tea-length, without having to pin up the hem.

Such a dress would easily stretch to cover Shirayuki’s ankles and render her acceptable according to the unwritten yet ironclad rules of the game that Shirayuki had decided to play.

...

Kiki had feared for her less when Shirayuki had engaged to play with Zen as her partner.

He wasn’t - hadn’t been - all wise, or impervious to attack, but he was native to it. He was also by nature brave and generous, and that, combined with his own peculiar insights into the hearts of others, meant that he had known when to bow before the rules and when to break them.

Kki had believed they would find a way together, and she had been proud to walk beside them.

...

Now she felt no such assurance.

She wouldn’t say that Shirayuki and Obi were like the blind leading the blind - despite their carelessness and outright willfulness at times, she knew them better than that.

It was more that neither spoke the language of the court from birth - and on whom could they reply to interpret?

Instead of a loving prince, they now relied for patronage on Lord Haruka, a reluctant and embittered enemy, who would have gladly seen them both vanish off the face of the earth had his duty not impelled him otherwise.

...

Kiki shook her head.

She didn’t like it any more than she had before the announcement, news which she had greeted with the grim resignation of one accustomed to witnessing births, marriages, and deaths all managed like pieces on a chessboard, as it suited the political purposes of those in power.

Shirayuki and Obi might have convinced themselves that the game was over, but Kiki knew that it had just begun.

...

...

Shirayuki saw with relief that Kiki didn’t look busy - she was only standing by a window, as if lost in thought.

She approached the other woman shyly, still more relieved when Kiki greeted her with the customary quiet smile.

Friendship was a strange thing: Shirayuki would have trusted Kiki with her life, as she had while sailing on a ship with an evil captain into unknown waters -- but now she felt nervous.

She had never asked Kiki for a favor before.

...

Shirayuki joined Kiki at the window. The thought crossed her mind that her friend looked sad, even as Shirayuki was preoccupied with churning doubts over how to broach such a sensitive subject.

“I,” she faltered, blushing. “I’ve heard that--at least, here in Clarines--”

“I have a dress that will fit you,” Kiki answered, in unhesitating agreement with the question that had yet to be asked. “You won’t need much more than that.”

“Oh,” Shirayuki squeaked. “Really?”

...

“It will be a small ceremony, and you can keep your underclothes.” Kiki paused. “Unless you want silk stockings.”

“What? No, no!” Shirayuki waved her hands, her face flaming. “That’s not--I don’t need…” She stopped when she saw a twinkle in Kiki’s eye.

Shirayuki smiled back weakly. “Thank you. That’s very kind. Very, very kind!”

...

“This way.” Kiki was already in motion. “You can have it from my chambers now.”

“From…?” Shirayuki stumbled to keep up. 

An uneasy thought struck her. “Kiki...is it...your dress?”

“Tell me if it’s too long, and we’ll find a tailor.”

...

“But!” Dismayed, Shirayuki caught at her sleeve.

Kiki looked over her shoulder, her expression gentle. “Don’t worry, Shirayuki…

“...I won’t be needing it.”

#Akagami no Shirayukihime #obiyuki #mitsukiki #PurePassion #Beauty and Her Beast #girl talk #plus the obligatory ominous politicking #long overdue chapter #a thousand thank you's to everyone staying with me

[jethro-pride98]

With a side of Jealousy

Summary: Reader goes on these little dinner dates with Fornell. One time Gibbs goes to the same place and gets jealous and soon realizes his feelings for her. They have a confrontation then eventually Gibbs and reader get together.

Warnings: angst, fluff, smut.

A/N: it’s my first time writing. Please be honest and let me know what you think!❤️🖤 Thanks @alkow for the title idea and for giving me the confidence to post and start writing again

Y/N always enjoyed it when Tobias Fornell took her out for dinner. She was pretty sure that he knew there was little chance of luring her away from NCIS to join the FBI. For all that he could offer in the way of a well equipped lab and electronic toys to play with, the deal breaker that NCIS had and the FBI never would was Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Although she had pondered more than once that if Gibbs' rule 12 was ever the only thing standing between the two of them, then her leaving to work for the FBI and having Gibbs to come home to at night might turn out to be a girl's dream. But with the likelihood of Gibbs ever seeing her that way pretty minimal she'd settle for appreciating his company at work and enjoying the perks of a slap-up meal at a really fancy restaurant on the FBI dime at irregular intervals. Although Y/N didn't fancy him in the slightest, Fornell was pleasant company and she suspected that he rather liked her company too, they weren't above a little harmless flirting at their meals, both knowing that it would never lead to anything. Whether he realised Fornell was also a goldmine of tiny details about Gibbs, having a shared ex-wife between them, and Y/N was a master at teasing such snippets out of him.

She also enjoyed Fornell's tales of his young daughter. Y/N knew Gibbs had a soft spot for the girl because her mother was the ex-wife that Gibbs shared with Fornell. So as the nights drew in and the weather grew harsher foreshadowing the approaching winter Y/N was delighted to accept Fornell's invite to dinner. It was also an excuse for Y/N to dress up in an elegant and formal way that she never bothered with in her real life. Now the two of them were enjoying an intimate meal at an exclusive restaurant, tucked away in an alcove by the wall, with a very attentive young waiter that Y/N idly noted was getting on Fornell's nerves.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was happy to cultivate his reputation as a bastard, but what he didn't advertise too widely was that he could also be a gentleman when the moment arose. He could be quite charming when he wasn't distracted by little things like his job. So when the widow of one of his Marine buddies contacted him to say she'd be in town for a few days and would he like to take her out to dinner he knew just the place - small and expensive - and when he put his mind to it he could spruce up pretty good. He'd known Amanda - a redhead - and her husband well, years ago when he still had a wife and a daughter of his own, but had not seen her for years.

When he arrived at the restaurant Gibbs had routinely surveyed the entire room, spotting Fornell at his table, but not quite recognising the dark-haired woman in the elegant dress who sat opposite him with her back to Gibbs. Briefly catching Fornell's eye he had nodded to him as they were shown to their own table across the restaurant. As Fornell had done, Gibbs seated himself with a view of the restaurant - looking out for trouble - leaving his date with her back to the room.

As Gibbs held the chair for his date to sit down, Fornell leaned conspiratorially across the table and indicated across the room to Y/N. "Well look what the cat dragged in." Y/N twisted round in time to see Gibbs seating his date and taking his own seat, neither looking their way while they were occupied. Her stomach flipped and "Wow" slipped from her lips as she took in how handsome he looked and the flame red hair cascading down the woman's back. Fornell smirked, "Yeah, not often we see Jethro dressed like that, must be a special occasion."

Y/N turned back to their meal, trying to put all thoughts of Gibbs out of her mind - which was difficult because this was the last place she would have expected to run into him and her mind was busy trying to parse what he would be doing here and who the woman he was with could be. She had no claim on him, he was her boss, and what he did in his personal time was no business of hers even if she would like the situation to be otherwise. Fornell had been taking Y/N to dinner for a number of years, partly in the vain hope that she might leave NCIS to come and work for him but also partly because he enjoyed a meal in her company and an added bonus was that he could justify the occasional expensive meal with her on expenses. It had become a routine that they shared a dessert, aimless flirting notched up a ratchet or two as they shared a spoon and even fed each other a mouthful or two.

Gibbs' attention kept being drawn to Tobias and his date. There was something familiar about her, but the loose hair and evening dress conspired to confuse him, leaving a niggling familiarity that he couldn't quite place. He wasn't aware that Tobias had a girlfriend currently and was intrigued at the apparent intimacy as the FBI Agent shared a strawberry sundae with the woman opposite him - they had to know each other well to behave like that in public. Sadly while Gibbs' brain grasped for what he hadn't quite taken in about the situation across the restaurant from his table, he wasn't really paying adequate attention to his own companion. It was only when Y/N excused herself to go to the powder room once she and Fornell had finished their dessert, that Gibbs suddenly realised what had been niggling at him, why the woman had seemed more and more familiar. A shaft of what he refused to acknowledge as jealousy stabbed through him and he excused himself from his own table to follow Y/N.

Y/N left the bathroom with her attention on the purse she clutched, snapping it shut, so she didn't immediately spot Gibbs lurking in the darkened hallway, not until he grabbed her wrist far too tightly and pulled her round to face him. "What the hell are you doing here with Fornell?" he growled. His expression was as menacing as she'd ever seen on him, though she wasn't accustomed to it being levelled at her. Years of reading the man came into play and she could sense a possessiveness to his anger. 'Well screw you mister, I might want it otherwise but you have no claim on me,' passed through her mind and before she could stop herself she'd slapped him across the face. He dropped her wrist and took a small step backward in response. She idly noted that he didn't put his hand up to where she had slapped him. "Not that it's any of your business, but I get a free meal from the FBI every now and then in an effort to recruit me. You know all about it and you don't generally care, but if you are going to behave like this then perhaps I should consider the offer. Fornell is always a perfect gentleman, unlike you." With that Y/N brushed past him to return to the table. Pausing to catch her breath after the angry outburst Gibbs had provoked she didn't want Fornell to know about it and start asking questions. Gibbs watched her return to her table, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Only once she had gone did he allow himself to ruefully rub his jaw. 'O.K. Marine, that was a stellar performance.'

Y/N tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep,pondering who Gibbs' date could have been and why the hell he thought he had any right to be angry at her night out with Fornell. She picked up the phone several times only to put it down again - toying with talking it over with Ducky or even phoning Gibbs himself but finally coming to the conclusion that Gibbs owed her an apology. Finally she decided that Gibbs could stew in his own juices the next day while she had a day off to go Christmas shopping. Unless a case came in the next day she was up-to-date on all urgent work, so a day off would work well for all of them - especially with Christmas fast approaching - and maybe she'd be less angry with Gibbs by Monday. If Gibbs was going to apologise she'd make him work for it and if he thought a cup of black coffee and a "Good job, N/N" was going to cut it this time he was wrong. Across town, Gibbs had delivered his date back to her hotel having just about managed to be an attentive companion for the remainder of their evening, and was sanding a little too roughly on one of the ribs of the half-built boat in his basement. He didn't know quite how he'd come to upset Y/N so badly earlier, but every time he thought of her feeding a spoonful of that dessert to Fornell his blood boiled. Tomorrow, he'd talk to her tomorrow.

Finally in the wee small hours they both managed a few hours of fitful slumber. First thing the next morning Gibbs approached Y/N's lab with a cup of coffee in hand by way of apology, only to find the room quiet and lifeless in her absence. Which left him growling and snapping at his team with barely supressed frustration through a slow day of paperwork. Tony's muttered: "Geez, the boss *really* needs to get laid." earned him a headslap from Gibbs hard enough to make him truly see stars after which all three of them kept their heads down below their computer monitors where Gibbs could barely see them.

Y/N spent a pleasant day buying Christmas gifts for all but one of her friends, losing herself in the thoughts of what they would like and successfully pushing aside all thoughts of Gibbs whenever his image or his behaviour the previous evening threatened to intrude. She knew men generally, and Gibbs in particular, well enough to recognise that his behaviour the previous night seemed to be sparked by jealousy. But he'd never had a problem with her having dinner with Fornell before, she'd never hidden it from him, and besides he'd had a very attractive date of his own with him from what she could see, so he had no claim over her, no right to get angry. Every time she thought of it she got angry herself and truth be told a little jealous.

When Y/N returned home, laden down with bags and gifts, and tired from her day out, the very last thing she expected to find was Leroy Jethro Gibbs sitting quietly in the darkness on her sofa. He was so quiet that she'd dropped all of the bags in a corner, hung her coat in the hallway and shed her boots before entering her lounge turning the light on and coming face to face with the man himself. Her Y/E/C eyes flashed angrily when she saw him, the annoyance she'd been trying to squelch all dayreturning in extra force at his unexpected presence.

"So it's breaking and entering now, is it...? Jethro." His uninvited appearance seemed to encourage the informality of using his first name, in the scornful tone she'd heard Director Shepard use on him over the years. Gibbs stood up and took a step towards her, both of them instantly aware that her boots usually made her the same height as him and suddenly without them he had gained a couple of inches advantage over her. For an instant he didn't know what to say or do, he never had been good with words, or with women's feelings and then without a conscious decision he closed the gap between them, placed a large, gentle hand behind her neck and leaned down to press his lips against hers.

Y/N’s first instincts were to fight him off, and she briefly pushed against his chest with her hands, before her brain caught on to the notion that she'd far rather be kissing the man than fighting with him and her anger melted away. She stopped struggling, and opened her mouth to him, tentatively touching her tongue to his lips, at which point his tongue drove passionately into her mouth and his other hand snaked round her to crush her to him in a possessive hug.

There was a very short pause for air, and a growled "Mine," from Gibbs before he continued thoroughly kissing her, leaving Y/N grateful that his embrace was holding her up because she was sure her legs had melted. Gibbs broke away from her again, turning his attention to her jaw line, her ear, nibbling and kissing down her neck and she briefly wondered if he'd eaten during the day or was she dinner. His hands began wandering, his touch setting her skin on fire and driving all other thoughts from her mind. This needed taking to somewhere she could reciprocate his attention, preferably bed and preferably without all the winter clothing that was keeping them apart. With years of lusting after Gibbs behind her, Y/N was getting very aroused at his touch even though it was yet to become overtly sexual and she in turn could feel the effect she was having on him where their bodies were pressed together in his embrace.

Y/N disentangled herself enough to work at the sport jacket he was wearing, pushing it off him from inside and working her hand under his shirts to the warm skin beneath, at the same time stepping between his legs and easing him backwards gently with her body weight. Gibbs took the hint, moving slowly backward and shrugging his jacket off at the same time, allowing himself to be gently manoeuvred backward toward the bedroom, shedding clothes as they went.

Somewhere along the way there was a pause and their eyes met, despite his lust-blown pupils Gibbs blue eyes held a predatory possessiveness that took her breath away. He searched her face for a moment, perhaps looking for her permission to proceed, and with an almost imperceptible nod he seemed to make the decision that Y/N had been convinced that he'd never make. As they continued to the bedroom he made short work of her skimpy top, and callused fingers caressing her buttocks and stroking down her stocking-clad legs, which he lifted up to his hip, somehow removed her underwear as well.

By the time Y/N landed gently on her back on the bed, her bra had gone too and Gibbs had latched onto one pert nipple with his mouth while teasing the other between thumb and forefinger. He eased down her body removing his own shirt and undershirt in a smooth motion that barely interrupted his worship of her body. His hands swept up the back of her legs from her knees, ending by pushing her short skirt up above her waist and out of the way and his tongue homed in on exactly where she wanted to be touched, making her writhe underneath him while his fingertips danced over the back of her thighs. Y/N reached down blindly, needing to touch him and finding only the rippling muscles at his shoulders and the oh-so-strokeable short hair at the nape of his neck. He knew exactly when she was ready for him, standing up from where he knelt beside the bed, belt and trousers already undone, but still on for the moment. She thought he looked ever so slightly sheepish as he gruffed "Condom?", removing his trousers and boxers in one movement as she sat up and extracted the foil packet from the bedside cabinet. He knelt on the bed beside her, giving the base of his erection a firm squeeze as he allowed her to roll the condom on, while she took the opportunity of her first chance to really touch him. He positioned himself between her legs, lining up to enter her gently but with one smooth movement, then he surprised her by rolling them over so that she was above him, until she realised that the position allowed him to stimulate her clit with his shaft as he thrust in and out. He may have been underneath, but as his hips pistoned up and down there was no mistaking who was in control, especially as being underneath allowed his hands to roam everywhere over her skin while he plundered her mouth again. Every thrust of his hips pushed his cock deep inside her, the friction against her clit driving Y/N higher until waves of pleasure washed over her as her orgasm hit and then she was dimly aware of Gibbs' movements becoming more erratic as he too reached his climax.

The caress of his fingertips on her back slowed to a stop as Y/N snuggled into the warm furry chest beneath her, his performance as a wonderful lover only spoiled by the fact that he'd already begun snoring gently, his softening cock still buried inside her. Y/N smiled to herself, she too felt sleepy after the previous troubled night and great sex. She wriggled off of him, disentangling them from each other and removing and disposing of the condom before reaching out and finding some bedding to pull over them and settling under his arm, with her head on his shoulder, allowing herself to drift off - despite still wearing her skirt and stockings.

Y/N wasn't sure if it was the gentle caresses or the rumbling stomach behind her that woke her. It was only a little after 5am, but they'd missed dinner and had a pretty early night, so she'd had a good night's sleep already. "Morning'," said the man in whose warm embrace she lay snuggled, and he leaned over to give her the sort of soft cheek kiss that usually went with a "Good job, N/N". She marvelled at how gentle he could be, compared to the fierceness she was accustomed to at work. He shifted a little behind her and she could feel his morning erection nestled against her buttocks. She briefly entertained the idea of a morning bout of sex, but then both their stomach's rumbled and he kissed her again and said: "How 'bout I buy us breakfast? Seem to recollect missing dinner. There a diner nearby?" "Yeah, I know a good place." Y/N said quietly, moving to get out of bed, but Gibbs' arms tightened around her, stopping her. "Mine," he growled again. "Possessive, much," Y/N grinned at him. He squeezed her gently again. "You've known me long enough..." "...to think that this would never happen." she finished the sentence for him. "What about rule 12, huh? This better be more than a cheap ass style apology, Mister." She was beginning to get angry again, there was so much going on here that she didn't understand - and while Gibbs was pretty eloquent *without* words when he was ordering people around, relationships required a whole lot more finesse than even he could manage with an expression or gesture. "I look like a cheap ass?" He scowled at her "No" He rolled over onto his back on the mattress, his chest bare where Y/N had pulled away from him and wrapped herself in the sheet at the edge of the bed, turning on the light as she did so. Running a hand over his forehead and sighing he said wearily: "Guess I need to revise rule 12 now."

There was a pause, Y/N still couldn't read exactly what he meant and was torn between hope that this was the beginning of something and fear that it wasn't. He didn't exactly sound happy at the idea of revising rule 12. He leaned up on an elbow and looked at her. "I... The other night... when I saw you with Fornell. Don't know what came over me..." She wasn't used to Gibbs sounding so unsure of himself. There was another pause as he grasped for words to explain but then he got completely side-tracked. "Cheap ass -style apology? You been on the receiving end?” Now she could clearly read jealousy in his voice, which at least made her feel better - a jealous Gibbs she could understand, even if she didn't really know why. "No. I've seen it work for Tony, but he knows I don't consider seduction to be an apology." She looked pointedly at Gibbs. "You still owe me an apology for your behaviour at the restaurant. I thought you knew both of us well enough to know that I *like* Fornell but nothing more. And anyway what about your date, shouldn't you have been paying attention to her, not me?"

Gibbs looked down at the covers almost - almost - as if he was hanging his head in shame. Quietly he said, "Amanda's the widow of one of my Marine buddies, she... and Shannon... were good friends. Haven't seen her in years." "Oh." was all Y/N could manage in response, and then the moment was broken as Gibbs' stomach rumbled loudly again. "Breakfast," he said firmly. "Then we've got the whole weekend to figure out how you'd like me to apologize - if you'll let me."

Y/N’s heart soared. She finally had the man she always wanted.

#jethro gibbs x reader #leroy jethro gibbs x reader #leroy jethro gibbs #ncis #ncis reader insert

[shadowsfiguresfigments-blog]

A good place to die Chapter 27

Warning: GORE, violence, harsh language, fluff

This was what he was meant to do. Despite his feeble human body, all his senses were on high alert. The bottomless anger of his prey tickled his nostrils and made his mouth water. A brief glimpse into their thoughts had been enough to trigger his lust for the hunt. There was just so much to draw inspiration from – broken lives begging to be ended.

He might have let them get away, just as he had done so often over the last months, if they hadn’t turned their criminal thoughts to his girl. He had seen what they wanted to do to her – it made their actions towards the previous owner of the store seem like child’s play.

For a fleeting moment his attention turned back to the energy that had scared him so much, but it hadn’t moved any closer. In fact, it was still at the same place, and his prey moved steadily away under his lead. Of course they didn’t know he was taking them into solitude and darkness. Just a couple of words had been enough to anger them and turn their attention towards him, just as he had come to expect from foolish humans. They were too drunk to walk steadily, but their anger gave them the energy to follow him regardless.

Penny turned down another street and finally reached the deserted shore of the Kenduskeag. It was too cold for the usual array of couples and prostitutes, just as he liked it. He came to a halt and turned around slowly. And there they were, like the obedient stupid filthy creatures they were, ready to become his meal. Oh, the multitude of choices to make – should he devour them then and there? Entrap them and keep them for later? Take them to his lair and have fun? The second option was probably the better one, considering that at least one of his enemies was in town. Less suspicious.

They stumbled closer, brandishing their ridiculous knifes like that Bowers boy he used to toy with. If he set them upon his enemy, would they take care of them? Or would they fail? It didn’t matter, Penny was hungry. Better to eat them and then think of something.

Another quick scan gave Penny his first idea. How convenient of one of them to fear drowning and one of them to fear squids.

Squids.

How pathetic.

How human.

Of course not any old squid would do. It had to be something big, with milky blind eyes across all its tentacles, a huge beak he could click menacingly, and wonderfully cold and slimy skin. Also, spikes. Spikes never failed to scare humans (except for his little girl) and the additional injuries they created were very useful in further weakening and terrifying his prey. Just for fun he could emit a strong smell of decaying fish and stale water – involving all senses usually gave the best results, and humans tended to forget how powerful any sort of scent could be. Penny started changing, grinning until his mouth morphed. As a finishing touch he added tiny sharp teeth to his suckers.

His prey had stopped dead in its tracks. One of them peed himself, the other dropped his knife.

“What the fuck, bro…”

Determined to not listen to their disgusting voices any further, he shot his long tentacles forward and grabbed them, squeezing hard enough to rob them of their breath. His suckers drew blood and the ecstasy of that brief taste almost made him lose control. But he restrained himself, and dragged his body to the canal. The river allowed him to travel much faster.

Surely he could have just warped himself to his lair, but where was the fun in that? The water entered the lungs of his prey, slowly drowning them. They tried to fight, the one who still had his knife even attempted to slice himself free, but the alcohol and the shock of the cold made them weak.

Not that they would have had a chance in the first place.

He could taste their panic rise, making their blood sweeter and sweeter and giving him more and more strength.

Despite being completely out of practice, he had planned his water ride perfectly. By the time they reached his lair, the two men were almost dead – but not enough to not be brought back by some more horror. To entertain himself just a little further, he changed into one of their former victims and started jerkily moving towards them. The sight of them trying to recover from their ride enough to crawl away was something that never failed to excite him. His female form only allowed him to move slowly, though. They had violated her so much her body had lost its shape, with her broken bones making her extremities stick out in weird angles. They had also almost flayed her skin off with their knifes.

A brief memory rose in his mind, a memory of his precious girl having her clothes and skin dangling off of her.

Rage welled up inside of him and swallowed his restraint. With a roar his body changed again, this time into his spider self, and he tore into his first victim. His chelicerae dug into its belly, ripping it open. The intestines spilled to the ground, and the twitching body fell into them. Penny didn’t hear it, nor did he hear the screams of the other man. Again he struck, this time tearing of a leg. Blood, flesh and bits of gut covered his head and body. His other victim had composed itself enough to run away. In a flash Penny was behind the man, slamming him to the ground and using one of his large hairy legs to hold him down. He used his pedipalps to pick up the mangled remains of the man he had attacked first.

Surprisingly, he was still alive, although barely so. That made eating him all the more enjoyable. As Penny bit off his head, the blood sprayed everywhere, especially in the face of the man he still held down.

He originally had planned to keep some leftovers for later, but once he started, his ravenous hunger didn’t allow him to stop. Soon, there was not a single shred left, and, for the first time in decades, Penny felt a little full. He had changed back into his clown form, resting in the crater his impact had created eons ago. The familiar sleepiness after every meal slowly crept up, but it felt slightly different from before. He couldn’t understand why.

Had it not been glorious?

Had he not longed to once more strike terror into the hearts of men?

Their fear had made him feel like his former strong, invincible self again, as he had been fifty-four years ago, before those insolent kids had found him. Now, at least one of them was back in Derry. It had been so long he wasn’t sure which one it was – they had to be at least sixty-five years old, and they surely had changed over the years. Also, hadn’t the energy been much weaker? Wasn’t that the reason why he hadn’t picked it up earlier? A strange emotion overcame him.

It was… relief.

Penny watched as his trembling hands became still once more. He hadn’t realized just how tense he had been, and it made him furious at himself. After all he was the devourer, the curse of that feeble human world, a god of fear and pain, way above those pathetic humans.

Except for one.

The mental image of his girl obliterated all other thoughts, and his body reacted immediately. Gone was the fatigue, gone was the fear, and gone was the triumph he had just felt. Instead another need drove him mad, much more powerful than his hunger had been. It had been several days since they had mated, and his body craved hers more than it craved further food.

That realization surprised him. He couldn’t fathom what had caused that change, nor understand it. She had been so tired, busy with that stupid human enterprise of hers, her face becoming gaunt once more. Penny didn’t want to rob her of her much needed rest, so he had satisfied himself with watching her sleep in his arms. She looked so tiny, so fragile, yet utterly comfortable. Just like so many times before he had wondered whether she truly understood just how easily he could kill her if he desired.

But he didn’t desire it anymore. At first only the lack of excitement she gave him had kept her safe. Now she had made both of them addicts to the pleasure of their bodies. He thought back to the last time they had sex. The urge to fill her entire body, every inch of her with him had so easily overpowered him, making him forsake any restraint. Afterwards Penny had been afraid he had done too much, that he had hurt her, injured her.

Curious, considering he had just attempted to eat her only moments before – another situation he still didn’t understand as well. She had tasted only of herself, and he had been determined to follow through with devouring her, just to be rid of the confusion and the uncertainty. But when his true self, the deadlights, had attempted to absorb her soul, something went wrong. There had been an echo of himself in her, an echo that in turn resonated inside himself. He couldn’t do it, and he would never be able to.

She was his, but apparently he was hers as well.

Even the thought of a mere human holding such power over himself no longer disturbed Penny the way it had before his ill-fated attempt to snack on her.

His desire arose once more, and Penny decided to look for her. Surely enough time had passed. She would be home in her bed, and he would pull off her panties so he could plunge his tongue into her, taste her, as she twitched and moaned for him...

A sudden realization shook him to his core.

He had left her at her store, left her in the possible presence of his arch enemy.

What if they knew she was his? What if they did something to her?

He had thought he feared his enemy. He had thought he knew true fear.

But that was nothing compared to the panic he now felt.

He leaped up and flew through the night, rushing as he had never done before. Within a heartbeat that still felt like an eternity he had arrived at her house and saw her window was open. He jumped through it, prepared for the worst –

And was greeted by warm arms that curled around him. His precious girl crushed herself into him, crying desperately. Penny picked her up, nuzzling his nose against the soft spot of her neck, and breathed in deeply. Her scent washed away all the anguish, and her familiar bony frame calmed his racing heart. She buried her fists in his hair in what he presumed was an attempt to hold him even closer.

“Penny, you’re here, you’re okay…” She repeated the words like a prayer, only interrupted by her own sobs.

“I am, I am. What is wrong? Did they hurt you?” Though he didn’t smell any blood, he still tried to look at her body to make sure she was uninjured. But she refused to let go, and he didn’t want her to hurt herself.

“I was so worried you’d get hurt and disappear. I thought they’d gotten to you.” Her voice broke again, a sound that wounded him deeply. “And your phone was dead, and I couldn’t reach you…”

Fuck, he had completely forgotten about the toy she had given him. Now that she had mentioned it he felt the weight in his pocket, but he was pretty sure that the battery had been empty for some days.

She looked up, her hauntingly large eyes overflowing with tears. He licked them away, over and over again, until she finally let out something between a hiccup and a chuckle.

“You’re tickling me.”

“I know.” Penny gave her his most dazzling smile, all gleaming teeth, and she leaned against him with a sigh.

“What do we do about the people who’re trying to hurt you?” Her voice was full of determination. His girl was ready to fight for him, and his body reacted immediately. The yearning was back full force.

“I don’t know yet.”

“You said you’ve encountered them before, right? What’s your hibernation cycle again? Twenty years or something like that?

“Twenty-seven years, to be exact.”

“So they must be at least over fifty-five years old now, right?”

He nodded.

“That doesn’t sound like there’s too much they should be able to do now. They’re not exactly the youngest anymore.”

“Age isn’t important. They were kids when they first nearly killed me.” He couldn’t help shuddering.

“Well, I guess, you shouldn’t come into Derry in the meantime. I think our house should be safe, since we’re very much at the outskirts, but it would be better if we don’t risk you running into one of them.”

He knew what she said was rational, but he didn’t like it at all. It would mean less time together with her. As if she’d read his thoughts she sighed.

“Guess I’ll have to work out a schedule to sneak into the sewers again, huh. By the way, what happened to the two dudes you were with?”

Penny swallowed. His girl knew technically what he was, but he still wasn’t sure how she’d react if he told her. The silence expanded, lasting way too long to be broken. Finally, she put her hands on his cheek.

“Did you eat them?”

Penny didn’t want to look at her. What if she’d turn away in disgust? Somehow his feast seemed much less glorious all of a sudden. He nodded.

“They were bad people?”

He nodded again, and another long silence followed. Jumbled thoughts ran through his mind. Was she put off? Would she no longer be his?

What would he do if she no longer wanted him?

At last, she spoke, and her words pierced the core of his existence.

#pennywise fanficition #pennywise #agptd

[leeholtwrites]

Magical Girl Reunion Tour - C7

Magda

This morning had not gone as Magda expected. She had hoped to convince Shonda to take over as leader, but after seeing her, leaving her to fight Omira on her own didn’t feel right. Shonda didn’t know what Magda had experienced last time, just the aftermath after her little truth mirror trick. She had kids and a husband. Magda would just have to tighten the straps on her trauma backpack like a big girl and pick up the leadership mantle again. Even if she really, really didn’t fucking want to. Just the thought of transforming into the short little skirt again made her want to stomp her feet like a toddler and scream.

Then she had seen Chloe. Magda had tried to make light of the whole situation after Chloe tried to slug her, making jokes, breaking ice, and the rest of that nonsense. The truth was, the whole thing had rattled her, especially after Chloe had pointed a sword at her. A sword of all things! She had never expect her friends to be so mad at her for not speaking with them in fifteen years. Sure, a little cold maybe. The kind of irritated with her where they wouldn’t even give her the time of day, but to both assault her. Well… damn. If they were going to defeat Omira, they might need to talk, and not the easy kind.

There was not enough booze in the world to make Magda okay with telling them the truth.

For now she would just have to wear enough truth on the surface to make them happy. Hell, if they defeated Omira quickly enough, she would never have to tell them. She wondered if they would be okay with getting only Christmas cards, even though Kelsey was Jewish.

At least Sarah might not try to kill her. She was always the nice one.

When the light faded, they stood behind a parked car in a lot behind a brick building. The day was sunny, but not too warm, and filled with screams.

“What the hell?” Chloe said. “Why are we in a parking lot?”

Magda turned on her, half panicked. “That is what you’re focused on? Not the screams?”

Shonda peeked over the car they stood behind to see people rushing by. In the distance, iridescent light flashed against dark, darting figures. “Remember when we said how lucky we were that Omira hadn’t attacked yet? I think our luck has run out.”

Magda joined Shonda, narrowing her eyes to see if she could get a better assessment of the situation. The flashing iridescent light came from a figure dressed in blue, brown braid whipping around behind her. “Sarah’s already transformed. We should join her.”

She whipped around to face Shonda and Chloe, holding out her wand, her face carefully controlled to hide that she couldn’t believe those words had just left her mouth. In her logical mind, she had told herself that she was here to lead, to stay, to help her friends and those in trouble. The part of her that still broke out in a sweat whenever she smelled the sickenly sweet scent of some teen girl’s body spray, or even the occasional strawberry desert, fought to shove her wand back in her purse and run for it.

Her wand thrust up into the air, she swallowed the lump in her throat and shouted, “Dress me in love!”

Warmth and light passed over her. The pull of the magic for white gloves. A hot magenta robe, mantle, and boots. The most ridiculous pink bow imaginable on a thirty five year old woman. Magda struggled to move with the magic, to let it guide her through the dance. The panic arose, choking, stifling. Every muscle strained with tension as the sweet strawberry scent bathed her, dragging her back to eighteen in the cavern made of prisms. It passed, leaving her sweaty and wide-eyed. She gingerly touched her forehead, the feel of her gold band under her gloved fingers. Another swallow and a sigh. Shonda and Chloe couldn’t see her panic. They weren’t allowed.

They would ask too many questions Magda wasn’t ready to answer.

Luckily for Magda, she had plenty of external distractions from the internal darkness threatening to break her down into a sobbing, hyperventilating mess. One of those many distractions was the great variation between what all three of them were wearing now versus what they looked like as a teenagers. Their primary colors were still pink, orange, and green, but there weren’t miniskirts and midriff bearing tops and many other fashion details that would have looked embarrassingly young on them in their thirties. For one, Magda didn’t have her tell-tale pig tails no matter how she had styled her hair that day. Second, they now looked more like some costume designer couldn’t decide if they were part of some fantasy show or some sci-fi show.

Shonda’s transformation leaned more towards the sci-fi side with a white full-body suit as the base with no definable shoes. Instead the soles on her feet were a low wedges of a vibrant orange, the only feature on her feet that didn’t make her look like she was wearing footie pajamas. To help flatter her wide hips, a multitier peplum starting with a top layer of vibrant orange, each shade moving lighter until the bottom layer was white, hung almost to her knees. An obscenely fluffy bow of bright orange started at the hollow of her throat and covered most of her chest, a feature that it seemed none of them could escape. Same with the gold band across the forehead. They all had it, except Shonda had a nearly transparent visor floating over her eyes. It couldn’t hide the ombre eyeshadow that tastefully complimented her vibrant orange lipstick.

Chloe was almost a complete one eighty. Her whole body was covered in a sleek white plate mail armor that looked simultaneously futuristic and archaic, like the Ren Faire version of Storm Trooper. Under the white armor was a layer of spring green. Her long black hair was tied up in a green ribbon the same shade as The Bow – which Magda could not escape thinking of despite her best efforts as the most tacky thing that just had to carry over from their original transformations. Her makeup matched Shonda’s – except green – which means Magda’s was the same only pink.

Magda looked down at herself. Shonda gets a future cat suit. Chloe gets armor. She gets a hot pink robe with slits down the side to show off white leggings. A robe. As their fearless leader, she was a tad offended. At least she had a stylish gold belt to keep her from looking like Gandalf’s daughter. And no sleeves longer than the mantle over her shoulders. She didn’t know how she would feel if her sleeves were long enough to smuggle kittens in.

Shonda snorted. ”Wow. You both look like LARPing rejects.”

Chloe scowled and commanded her wand to transform. “Do not mock me. I have the sword.”

“You have armor.” Magda waved at herself with a sweep of her empty hand. “I look like I repurposed some little girl’s sheets.”

Before Shonda or Chloe could respond, there was another scream. They all whipped around toward the sound. “I’ll keep complaining later. Let’s go help Sarah.”

They charged around the cars in the parking lot and out into the street, Magda calling her wand to its true form. Ahead of them, Sarah had rolled behind an outdoor cafe table she’d knocked over for cover and was firing periodically at four identical parasites closing in on her. Sarah jumped to her feet and shouted “Concussive Comet!” A bright streak of light the size of a softball smashed into one of the parasites. It staggered, but didn’t fall.

As Magda and the others neared, the parasites spotted them. Each had a little satellite orbiting them. Pinpricks of green light appeared, seeming to gather from the air around each satellite. Before Magda could say anything, Chloe charged in front of them, her shield up. The specks of light flashed, sending bolts the same color through the air at Magda, Shonda, and Chloe. Chloe shouted “Sunshine Shimmering Shield!” A glowing, golden convex wall flew up from her shield, deflecting the green bolts back at the parasites. The bolts smashed into the parasites, staggering them, but they still didn’t go down. All three of them slid behind the table, joining Sarah, Chloe keeping the shield up.

Magda cleared her throat. “So, what’s going on?”

Sarah seemed to finally see them, drawing her wary eyes away from the circling parasites to turn wide eyes on them. “You’re here,” she shouted excitedly, but then her expression morphed into confusion. “Wait, you’re here.” That last bit, was obviously not addressed to anyone but Magda by the intensity in Sarah’s eyes.

“I’ll explain later,” Magda responded, happy that for Sarah had yet to try to punch her or use her powers on her. “Can you give us an update?”

She shook her head as if to clear whatever shock at seeing Magda had wreaked on her. “It’s my friend, Michelle. I went to invite her to lunch because I hadn’t seen her in a couple days, and I found her looking unwell. We argued, and her computer mouse turned into one of Omira’s little toys. Of course, that can’t be right, Omira is dead.”

“No she isn’t. We were coming to tell you. Please, continue.”

Sarah looked like she wanted Magda to explain more, but decided that could wait till later. “After she transformed, she stole bits of tech to make those little satellites, and then multiplied. They have a wickedly strong shield, so I haven’t been able to deal a lot of damage, even with my strongest attacks. I was actually getting a bit worried. I don’t have any purification spells and I’m running low on energy.”

There was no doubt Sarah had been working hard to keep this thing occupied. Her hair was falling out of her poof and braid, and her skin was covered in fine sheen of sweat. She was breathing hard. There was even the suggestion of bags under her eyes. Of course, her magical makeup still looked flawless, which was strange considering how tired Sarah looked.

Magda adjusted her position so she could assess her team. Chloe was standing, holding her shield, but it started to flicker. Sunshine Shimmering Shield was such a high energy spell there was no way for Chloe to maintain it much longer. “Shonda, we need to figure out if those additional parasites are physical copies, or just illusions.”

Shonda nodded curtly, her gesture of agreement. She called her want to its true form, then held it out over her left forearm as if looking scanning it. The mirror melted without a command, conforming to Shonda’s arm like it were made of mercury. Except mercury didn’t harden like cooled silver. Her mirror had turned into a bracer of near white metal that gleamed in the midday sun. With a wave over it, a command panel appeared above it. It too had changed. Where once the panel had been nothing but garish colors, it had matured, taking its colors from the sunrise shades of Shonda’s transformation.

She poked at it with her right hand while peeking over the table. Shonda was silent for a beat. “They’re illusions being protected by the satellites. It looks like those satellites are projecting the shields as well as firing the beams. If we destroy the satellites, then Maggie should be able to cast her purification.”

“I’ve tried,” Sarah said. “They move like they know what’s coming next.”

“You’re going to have to use Sterling Stars,” Magda replied. It really was the perfect option. “We’ll cover you while you get the lock.” Chloe’s shield flickered again. “Everyone good with the plan?”

Sarah nodded, gripping her bow.

Shonda nodded.

Chloe nodded without taking her eyes off her waning shield.

“Right. On my mark. Go.”

They all sprang to their feet. Chloe stayed with Sarah while Magda when right and Shonda went left. Sarah raised her bow, her own visor appearing to float across her vision. Chloe dropped the shield spell and drew her sword. Magda needed to draw the parasite’s attention from Sarah. She extended her empty hand toward the nearest parasites and shouted “Miraculous Myriad Meteors!” Magda ignored the little part of her that shriveled inside from how absolutely ridiculous she felt saying the spell as silver streaks of light shot from her hands, smashing into the parasites. They staggered, their shields shimmering. They continued to advance.

Shonda threw her own spell, a web of shimmering light that wrapped around each parasite, lines of rainbow light extending from Shonda’s fingers. She had positioned herself next to a light pole and was using its leverage to keep the parasites from advancing, one foot on the pole as she pulled. “I really need to stop skipping arm day,” said through gritted teeth as she struggled.

Magda struggled not to laugh as she sent another scattering of silver light to pepper the parasites.

“I can help you with that,” Chloe replied before she shouted, “Glimmering Edge,” her blade cutting through the air. An arc of sparkling white light smashed into the parasite nearest to her. “Well, that’s new.”

“A sword and a new spell. You bitch,” Shonda tried to snark despite her obvious discomfort trying to keep the parasites tethered.

“Sterling Stars!” finally came the cry they were waiting for. Sarah released her bow string. Multiple sliver arrows of light shot through the air, each one streaking into the orbiting satellites. The exploded on impact, and Magda was ready.

Moonlight Purification was a performance. She can’t simple say the words and the spell is cast, problem solved. Her staff held out before her in both hands, she closes her eyes. Suddenly, she thrusts out her left arm and left leg behind her, spinning the staff in one hand as she rotates on one foot. A circle of light forms around her. She stops once it’s complete. She places both feet back on the ground, one foot in front of the other, continuing spinning her staff with both hands now. Then she stops, and with her right hand waves it from left to right as she calls with all the conviction she can muster, “Moonlight Purification!”

A wave of pulsating white light washes over the parasites. Unearthly screams emanate from them as three of them melt away, the copies. The last one keeps screaming, its armor peeling off and turning to dust in the wake of the pulsating light. Slowly a woman is revealed, shook, but alive. The light will sooth away the nightmares and horrors. She will only lose a few days. A pang of jealousy strikes Magda, and the light waivers, but by this point the spell has done its job. She lowers her staff, and weariness over takes her. She’s glad she has something to lean on as she surveys the aftermath.

Sarah runs from her place over next to Chloe, who was supporting her, to the woman kneeling on the ground. “Michelle,” she asked softly.

Magda frowned. That woman knew Sarah. What was the chances that the first parasite to pop up would know one of them?

She didn’t have long to dwell on that though. The people that had been in the area, the ones that had hid, started to reemerge from the shops and other hiding places they had found during the battle. Some of them even started whipping out phones.

Sarah was on the ground now, embracing the freed woman – Michelle if she recalled right. While many people could interpret their reunion as just a hero checking on a victim, Magda didn’t want to chance it. She rushed over and promptly dropped to her knees next to them. Sarah didn’t look up, and she had to touch her shoulder. “Sa-Blue.”

“What is it, Pink?” The distain in her voice was unmistakable.

“Do you have any plans you need to get to? People have their cell phones out, and I think we should work on maintaining our cover,” she whispered.

Sarah shot her a side-eye glare. There was a pause before she said, “I do.”

“We’ll take care of her.” Magda met her eyes. “I promise. I’m not going anywhere. We’ll meet up again before we go speak with Purple.”

Shonda and Chloe stood behind them now. Magda wasn’t sure she was grateful for their presence so she didn’t have to be alone with Sarah, or if she was feeling a tad ganged up on.

“Go, Blue. We’ve got your friend,” Shonda said.

Sarah glanced around at all of them, before standing and running off. They would have to send her a text later so they could meet up.

Magda stood, guiding Michelle to her feet. Flashing lights and the wail of sirens grew closer. She sighed. “When this is all over, who wants coffee?”

#reader-ramble #magical girl reunion tour #original fiction

[zahneundklauen-retired]

Nightmare On Torrence Street || Leah and Alcher

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @phoenixleah and @zahneundklauen SUMMARY: Leah thinks she has the way to get to the bottom of Alcher’s sleepwalking problem. But one problem turns into another and Leah finds herself in a straight up horror movie. CONTENT: Gore, Blood, Family Death (sibling death mention), Body Horror

The sleepwalking thing was really getting out of control.  Leah was so thankful that it was done and over with for her, but with friends like Nicole and Ada still dealing with aftershocks of it all, something had to be done.  She was determined to help find a solution to whatever was going on, not only to help herself in the future if the situation ever arose again, but also to help anyone in White Crest that might be continuing to suffer from interrupted supernatural sleep patterns.  It had to be supernatural, right?  She and Ada had made quite the set up in Leah’s spare bedroom.  There were little trinkets here and there to signal Leah awake if Ada started sleepwalking, including bells on the door or scattered on the floor, and even some tied to a small scarf around Ada’s neck.  (It was not a collar, she reassured more than once).  For her part, Leah was perched in a big chair in the corner of the room, surrounded by blankets and pillows and too many notebooks to fit just one  nights worth of sleep notes into.  She could barely sleep anyway, too enamored and excited to watch Ada to doze off completely.  She had been in and out all night, but as it approached 3:30am, her head lulled to the side, succumbing to another few minutes before she’d inevitably wake up for more observation.

As nervous as Alcher was for this experiment, sleep had certainly claimed her quickly. Her exhaustion from the past weeks was catching up to her, and her body begged her for rest. She could only hope that nothing would happen tonight, perhaps she wouldn’t even sleepwalk. She couldn’t remember how often it had happened but it had happened enough lately to become concerning. And tonight, as she fell into sleep, her mind drummed up visions and dreams that were unfamiliar to her. Even in her human body, she craved blood. She craved the hunt. In her mind, her feet, human feet, pounded the ground as she chased something through a forest. She could smell smoke in the distance. Fire. Was she chasing or running? She didn’t know. Silver flashed. She roared. Back in her bed, Alcher began shouting. Her body thrashed on the bed as she tussled, in her dreams, with the man holding the silver knife. Hands turned to claws, tearing at the bed sheets, ripping them to shreds in one fell swoop. She roared again, and her body lifted from the bed, teeth and nails sharp, only half wolf, half human. Gold eyes, still asleep, landed on Leah.

Shouts startled Leah awake, and she shot up from her relaxed position in the chair like a bullet.  It took her only a moment of foggy haze to realize why she was in the guest room instead of her own, but almost as instantly as she came too, her eyes fell on the source of the noise.  Ada.  Leah licked her lips, grabbing at the previous discarded notebook so she could write down what she was seeing.  If she started sleepwalking, she’d wake her up, but she just needed to see what Ada did right before to make this all easier to understand. Shouting, violent thrashing, tossing and turning.  It must have been a nightmare.  She let her eyes look away from Ada for a moment, noting that specifically.  Maybe that was the key… nightmares leading to sleepwalking. But then, a noise from the bed caught her attention, and what she saw happening made her immediately regret not waking Ada up earlier.  Ada, while she still resembled herself slightly seemed to be part way transformed into her wolf form.  If Leah didn’t know any better, she might have thought she was having a nightmare herself.  “Ada….”, she tried, sitting up straighter in her chair.  She looked into her friend’s eyes, seeing no recognition there at all.  Blinking rapidly, she glanced toward the door, then back at her friend.  “Ada”, she spoke louder this time, bracing herself on the chair.  “You need to wake up.  Now.”  For only god knows what reason, they had elected to keep the door closed.  If Ada didn’t wake up soon, Leah needed to find a way out, and fast.  

Alcher’s mind was no longer present. It was trapped in the dream, spiraling. Back in Leah’s room, the wolf began to claim more and more of her body, her mind. Teeth cracked in her jaw as they grew sharp. Leah’s voice was lost on her, only drawing the wolf’s attention more. She turned quickly on the bed, gripped the edges, and launched her body directly at Leah, slamming into her with a shoulder. In her dream, Alcher was running down a hallway. Flames licked at her heels. She needed to get out. Hands clawed at the door, wrenching back when they found the knob searing hot. She screamed in both realities. Claws dug at Leah’s door, leaving large scratch marks all the way down, blood dripping from her fingers. Hunt, said the voice inside of her, kill.

Leah flinched, at the sounds coming from the other side of the room, half fascinated and half terrified by what she was seeing.  “Ada, wake up!” She was shouting now, the gentleness she held earlier long abandoned.  If she didn’t get Ada to wake up, it would be dangerous for both of them.  It occurred to her that a sleepwalking werewolf in the middle of the outskirts with no control was the best way to attract a hunter, so Leah’s main priority switched to find a way to keep Ada from leaving.  Get out, keep Ada in, Stay safe.  That was the plan.  It was the only plan. Grab her from behind when she wasn’t expecting it (the only way, hopefully, to counteract the sheer strength Ada held over her), throw her back, heat her up to slow her down, if necessary, and then barricade the door from the outside.  Wait it out until Ada eventually woke up, and then try this again tomorrow with restraints, maybe. She could do that.  There was a bookshelf in the hallway that could be pushed in front of the door, she’d start with that.    In a flash, she threw the blankets off from on top of her, standing up to slowly approach her friend.  The screams that came from Ada were unexpected, and she flinched again, moving back again toward the chair.  She watched as claws dug into her door, and an idea sparked in her mind.  With her focus on the door, she let out a low, slow breath, transferring as much heat as she could to the object.  The searing heat of the door might burn Ada, but it was much better than the alternative.  Once she was satisfied, she realized this distraction might be the only chance she got, and she needed to act quickly.  After a quick release of breath, she ran toward Ada, fully intending on throwing her to the side so she could get out safely.

Flames licked at Alcher in the dream. The heat nipped at her ankle, her hands, her body dragging itself along as she teetered on her one leg. Control was slipping from her. She reeled back from the door and hands planted on the ground as more fur sprouted. By the time Leah made it over to her, she was more wolf than woman, and the stench of ash filled her nose. In her dream, Alcher could smell the smoke, see it now. It was consuming her family-- she could smell that, too. She was scrambling as fast as possible for the chimney, wrenching the flu open. In Leah’s room, her arm swung out, claws bared, and slammed directly into the phoenix running at her. She turned, and pounced, the woman’s voice lost on her ears, muddling into screams of pain inside her dream. She lifted a claw, ready to strike-- the wolf in her craved it, craved blood. And she would take it, from whoever she could. 

Before Leah had a chance to realize what was happening, Ada’s arm rammed into her, throwing her toward the floor with a jolt.  She felt her clavicle snap before she heard it, and the pain seeped into her, slow and steady and intense.  She didn’t hear herself cry out, the white around her vision distracting her focus.  And suddenly, when her focus did come back, there was a wolf on top of her, not the woman she’d come to know and trust. “A-Ada!” she screamed, knowing her pleads were falling on deaf ears.  “Wake up, Ada!”.  The wolf’s claw was lifted, and Leah knew she had to think fast.  Distraction, deflection, escape.  She looked behind her, her eyes landing on a can of hairspray on a shelf next to the chair she’d only just been peacefully sleeping on.  With her shoulder throbbing distractions of pain to her every passing moment, focusing her heat on the object wasn’t as easy as it had been on the door earlier.  Still, somehow she managed to achieve her goal, get it hot enough to cause the pressurized can to combust.  As soon as she heard the noise, she grunted, using all the power she could to knee the wolf over her in the stomach.  She prayed that she would be distracted enough to slither away in time.

The hissing distracted the wolf long enough for it to look up. And when the can exploded, Alcher was ripped from her dream in a violent crash. The knee to her stomach made her tumble over. The smell of hairspray in the air filled up her nose and she howled in pain, sneezing and scratching at her face. The room smelled like burning and chemicals and hair and blood. She howled again, scraping at her nose to try and get it all out. The world was spinning when she tried to look up, open her eyes. Disoriented, she could barely make out Leah on the floor. She teetered, something clawing at her in the back of her mind. Instincts taking over. Golden eyes looked upon Leah again, and this time they were only confused. What had happened? She tried to ask, but she was not sure her message would come across. A blackness ate at her mind again, as if whatever had been possessing her was pulling her away again, back into that dream. Back into that hell. She tried to fight it, she wanted to stay. She needed to get herself away from Leah. Stumbled towards the door, finding it closed. She rammed against it, breaking through the wood and collapsing on the other side, splinters in her haunches. Someone kneeled beside her. “You can’t save anyone,” Klaus purred, reaching down to pet her head, “You couldn’t then, and you can’t now.” And then he snapped, and when Alcher looked up next she was back in the burning room, reliving the nightmare of her family’s death again. And in Leah’s house, the wolf stood and turned its sights once more on the phoenix. It wanted blood.

Something in the wolf snapped, and for a moment, however brief it was, Leah recognized Ada in her eyes.  Kind, protective, giving Ada, was there, and she was safe again.  “Ada”, she said softly, swallowing a hard breath in their moment of rest. There were ways she could incapacitate an attacker that were rather final- she’d been trained to do it throughout childhood, always ready to follow through if the situation was dire enough.  She always knew she’d follow through it necessary.  But she couldn’t do it here- not to Ada, who was lurking just behind the wolf who seemed to be taking control once again.  She shot up as Ada ran to the door, shrieking in pain when she accidentally put pressure on her right arm, reminded promptly of her collarbone.  As quickly as she could, Leah ran to the chair she’d been sleeping at, desperate to get at her phone.  Her good arm  scrambled through the blankets, glancing behind her every few seconds for when the wolf inevitably had full control once more.  Finally, her hand grabbed at it, but another feeling of dread took over when she realized it was dead.  “Fuck”, she muttered, tossing it aside and turning her view toward the destroyed doorway.  Just outside of it, the wolf had it’s eyes upon her again.  “Fuck!” Rapidly, she formed plan C in her mind.  Thinkingly quickly, she focused her attention on the decorative end table at the end of the hall, erupting the object in flames.  She hoped it would be a good enough distraction for the wolf that she could sneak by her and get down the stairs.  She bound down them two at a time, holding her injured arm close.

The wolf howled with its anger and its anguish. Pain was forgotten the second Alcher slipped away and the wolf took over. Something visceral was driving it, something even she couldn’t control. Trapped in a nightmare, reliving the moments of her life that haunted her even in her waking hours. Leah was not safe. Gold eyes set on her. But then flames erupted and the part of the wolf that was still Alcher reeled back in fright. Cinders flicked onto its nose and the wolf scrambled out of the doorway, paws wiping at its snout, trying to wipe away the ash. Loud thumps, feet on wood flooring, pulled it from its daze and the wolf saw the retreating form of the phoenix. It howled and took off, claws scratching the floor beneath it. The wolf did not bother going down the stairs, but leapt, instead, and barreled itself directly into Leah. The two bodies tumbled down the rest of the way, and the wolf landed hard on its side, crashing into a door side table, knocking over whatever had sat upon it. Dizzy and momentarily stunned, the wolf lay still at the bottom of the stairs.

There was this naive hope that maybe she’d get away without being detected; but hope, much like time, was fleeting and feeble, so easily snatched away without a moment’s notice. Leah cried out as their bodies collided, crashing and rolling together down the stairs.  With each new bump and bang along the way, her shoulder became more numb.  She didn’t remember landing, but suddenly, Leah was blinking her eyes open from the floor of her front hallway, blurry and unfocused.  There were new broken bones too, she could tell, new areas of intense, burning numbness that hadn’t been there a mere moment before.  Among them, her right wrist, and if her arm hadn’t been completely useless with her snapped clavicle, it surely was now.  She lifted her head up, searching desperately for the wolf as the world crept back into focus.  It was there, barely a foot away from her, and Leah’s breathing picked up, heavy and uneven.  Grunting, she dragged herself toward the kitchen, the sturdy door to her basement clear in her view.  The wolf had already tackled her down one set of stairs, what was to say it wouldn’t try again?

Miraculously, Leah reached the kitchen without the wolf coming to.  She used one of the kitchen chairs to help pull herself up, groaning in pain as she finally put weight on her legs.  Definitely something out of place by her hip, then.  As quickly as she could, she pulled her sweatshirt off, looking back and forth between the basement door and the wolf, now stirring, as she did so. There was a calculated manner about her; a stubbornness that what she was doing had to work. Letting out a short breath, she laid her sweatshirt over the chair she used to help her stand up, satisfied that it was covering most of it.  Without a second thought, she dragged the chair over to the basement door, opening it briskly.  She placed the chair directly in front of the stairs, held her breath, and closed herself in the pantry on the other side of the room.  This could go one of two ways, and she wasn’t sure she’d breath right until she knew it was the right outcome. 

The world faded in and out for both Alcher and the Wolf. They fought for consciousness and Alcher fought to pull herself out of her nightmare. But whenever she returned to the surface, she found herself in a waking one. She could smell blood and feel broken bones and taste the fear in the air. The scent of burning flesh, embers and ash, clouding her head. Pictures, flashes, of being in that room. Being in that chimney flu. Walls closing in, flames licking at her feet, burning her leg. Screams of horror. The smell of rotting flesh. Alcher was crying but the wolf would not release its hold. A new scent had wafted through the house. From the kitchen. The bird was still inside. VIsion fuzzy and fading, the wolf picked itself up off the floor, stumbling around. Sleep was no longer holding onto it, but the control Alcher praised in herself was gone-- the beast inside of her had consumed her and she was lost. 

When focus returned, the wolf was able to locate the scent. It stumbled forward, hobbling on one front leg, one back leg. Thumping each time its heavy weight came down on the hardwood floor of the entryway, like a ticking clock timing down. Like a heartbeat, growing louder and louder in someone’s ears. Nails scraping against wood like chalk. Panting heavy with a growl. It crawled its way into the kitchen and paused-- sniffed the air. Two different paths of the scent. It hobbled its way over towards the pantry, vision almost faded to black by now. It sniffed along the floor. Up to the crack. It listened as closely as possible-- a thud as the door to the basement clicked against whatever was blocking it in the doorway. It turned, sharply, unable to tell the difference in its daze, and pounced. Claws and teeth met wood and cloth. The wolf tumbled down wooden stairs to a cement floor, head smashing against the wall-- and then it was still and it was quiet. And even Alcher was yanked from her nightmare and thrown into darkness, as her body finally rest.

Almost as soon as she shut the pantry door, the heavy footsteps of the wolf barreled toward the kitchen with no hesitation.  Leah looked around frantically, desperate to locate something that might knock Ada out if the wolf didn’t fall for her distraction.  Time crept by slowly as she tried to picture exactly what the wolf was doing, and to her dread, it seemed to be inching closer and closer to her direction, rather than its intended target.  She put her hand over her mouth, forcing herself to stop breathing, to not move a muscle.  She was sure she had been found, and at any moment, the wolf would break through the door and it would be over.   She pictured her mother and sister walking through her door in a panic, wondering where she’d been, only to find the mess the wolf left behind.   But then, she heard it- a thud, small and irrelevant, a noise you’d sleep through, normally, but it was enough to send the wolf scrambling toward the basement.

There was a beat after she heard the wolf tumble down the stairs, a serene moment of silence when she still didn’t let herself breathe, but then she didn’t waste another moment hiding.  Leah used all her might to push the kitchen table toward the door with her good arm, using most of her body weight to drag it across the floor as quickly as she could.  The other end caught the door and closed it shut, and she let out a relieved breath, finally feeling safe for the first time since she woke up.  She reached up with her good arm, leaning around the table to lock the door for good measure, and then, suddenly, it was over.  All she had to do was wait- Wait for Ada to wake up or for the wolf to try and break through the door and reek more destruction. She let out a sob, her body leaning over the table as the pain and trauma of what had happened finally took over.  Though there was another being still in the house with her, she was unequivocally alone.

#chatzy #wickedswriting #chatzy: leah #leah #tw sibling death mention #nightmare on torrence street

[charlottewilde]

An Unexpected Wrench | Beckette

Who: Beckett Smythe & Charlotte Wilde @ofrestlessheartsx 

When: August 2, 2021

Where: Charlotte’s dorm

What: Beckett tells Charlotte he’s entering into a trial claim with Ash and it goes as well as one would think

Warnings: n/a

Beckett

This was not a conversation that Beckett was looking forward to having. But he knew that it had to be done. His decision had been made and Charlotte deserved to know what the decision was, why he had made it, and how he was feeling. She also deserved to be able to make her own decision based on this, deserved to feel how she was going to feel, and express that however felt right to her. Standing in front of Charlie's door, he knocked. She had been packing up things from her room as he spoke with Ash, and he didn't want her to have to bring it all over if she was just going to change her mind. This situation already wasn't fair to her.

Charlotte

Charlotte had spent a little bit of time with her sister, helping with unpacking and then she knew she had a bit of time still to pack herself up. The excitement of packing made her feel like she was going on a whole new vacation and she was figuring out what shoes to pack away, knowing that if she wanted to she could always come back to her dorm, when she heard a knock. She was confused for a moment, unsure who it could be, but when she looked through the peephole, Charlotte was confused to see Beckett. Opening the door, she tilted her head, "Monsieur, hi? I'm sorry I didn't see a text from you that it was good to come back. Is everything alright?" She couldn't quite tell by the way he looked what was happening.

Beckett

He offered her a smile, unable to stop the way she made it happen when he saw her. "Can I come in?" He waited for the okay and then stepped inside, gently grabbing her hand and leading her over to the couch. He took a seat and rubbed at his face for a moment before glancing at the blonde. They'd had such an amazing week together and he'd been looking forward to the rest of the summer, part of him was still hopeful, but he couldn't help but feel he was about to completely blow up the one thing that had made him feel like Devereux had been the right choice. He kept his grip on Charlotte's hand, glancing at the bracelet that she was wearing. "I have something that I need to talk to you about. Something that arose when Ash came by this afternoon." He began. He looked away for one moment before his gaze rest on her face. She deserved having his full attention on her.

Charlotte

"Of course," she said when he asked, shutting the door behind him, gladly following his lead towards the couch. Charlotte sat beside him on the couch, smiling at the way he held her hand, eyeing the bracelet, her fingers ran across his wrist in a soft caress before he spoke up once more. His tone sounded serious and she couldn't quite imagine what it was that could have happened in the couple hours that they had been apart. Her brows furrowed a bit, "Alright? Whatever it is, Monsieur, you know I am here to listen." She shifted a bit so she was facing him, giving him her full attention.

Beckett

As difficult as this was, not knowing how Charlotte would react, he had to explain and let her know what was going on. And he knew that he had to, and would, respect whatever decision she made after she knew. "First and foremost, I want you to know that this was far from my plan. Far from something I expected. But it's something I...have to do. If I didn't, I don't know that I could be who I want to be." Beckett began, squeezing her hand. "Secondly, I want you to know that this doesn't change anything that I have told you. It doesn't change what I want for us, and it doesn't change the fact that I do see a future with you." His took another breath, eyes scanning over her face as he took her in. "Ash is in a situation right now. If she doesn't have someone to enter into a trial claim with by August 31st, her father...her brother..have chosen someone for her. They won't tell her who it is. But they've made it very clear what their expectations are. And she came to me today. And asked me to give her more time." He said, using the words that Ash had used.

Charlotte

The way everything was worded made it sound like he was about to give her bad news and she could feel her stomach already start to hurt, but she couldn't quite tell what it was that he was about to tell her. Charlotte appreciated the affirmations, because she did question at times, not because of things he had done of course. But then he started mentioning Ash again, and she couldn't quite see the through line. It took her a moment, she wanted to ask how Beckett would be the one to give her more time when it wasn't like he had any say, and then she realized what he was saying and her heart dropped as she realized he was going to be the someone to enter into the trial claim. Charlotte knew she did a terrible job at hiding her emotions, but she realized what this meant for herself. And she couldn't speak, she gave a nod to let him know she understood what he was saying.

Beckett

Beckett gently let go of Charlie's hand so that he could cup her cheeks between his palms, his thumbs gently dragging over her cheeks. "I want you to know that if there was anyone else Ash trusted to do this...if there was anyone else that she could choose, we wouldn't be here. This isn't because she wants me or because I want her. This is because I want Ash to eventually be able to choose the person that she's going to submit to for the rest of her life." Beckett expressed open, honestly, earnestly. "Because she deserves that. Everyone deserves that." He breathed out, feeling this weight on his shoulders that was hard to describe. He could see the hurt and the confusion and the worry and it was tearing him apart. "I understand, Charlotte, if this is too much. Because I know this was the last thing that you were expecting me to say. And I know that this can't be easy to hear. Or imagine. But I promise you, that I have never lied to you about what I see with us or what I want. Ever."

Charlotte

She felt his hands and it hurt her heart more, because of just how good it felt. Charlotte was making a concerted effort to listen to what he was saying even if all of the thoughts in her mind were wanting to scream all the opposite of what he was trying to affirm to her. Her eyes stung as she looked at him, her throat tightening. It was not as if the blonde wanted this for Ash, even if she barely knew the other submissive, but it also felt like Beckett was using her empathy to reason when of course Charlie knew that everyone deserved to be with someone they wanted to submit to. She could no longer blink back the tears though as she knew what the reality was, "Your parents....they would be happy for you to be with Ash. And...it would please Hunter and her father." The truth was that he was a Legacy and she was not. In all the scenarios that were flashing in her mind right now, she could only ever be the other woman.

Beckett

Beckett blinked slowly when Charlotte said the only words that she spoke and he froze, feeling his stomach swish. "Charlotte, this isn't about me or my parents." He began, eyes scanning over her face. "It's not about that at all." He promised. "But yes, it is about Hunter and his father thinking that I wouldn't be a bad match for Ash. This keeps her safe. For a few extra months. While she figures out what she wants and what comes next. That's what this is about. That's all this is about." He repeated, letting go of her face and gently claiming both of her hands in his own. "I know what I'm telling you isn't easy to hear. And I know what I'm asking isn't easy to imagine. And will doubtfully be easy for you to accept. I know that. But what I'm asking for right now...is your trust. I'm asking for you to hear the words I'm saying and believe that they're true." He felt like he was begging and he cleared his throat, not wanting her to feel manipulated into anything. "Whatever you choose, I understand. But I promise that I'm still here. That I still want you."

Charlotte

"It might not be about them, but you're going along with this elaborate plan and I understand why you're doing it, but to them and the rest of the world, it's real," her voice was wobbly but she had finally found it. "You are going to be in a trial claim with someone else, and right now you're saying it's temporary, but...but you can't promise that." She felt her voice crack as she felt his hands take hers. "A few months could turn into more months and it could be years," Charlotte was hurt because she knew at this moment in her deepest of wants, she would wait for him and hold out hope even if it was years. She couldn't meet his gaze at the moment, focusing on their hands instead as she shook her head a bit, "I believe you, Beckett. But what am I choosing? Because I'm here and I still want you, Monsieur. But, it feels like my only choice is to accept this and step aside and wait for you?"

Beckett

"You're right. To the rest of the world it's real. But there's a reason that I'm telling you the truth, Charlie. And it's not just because we're paired for this program." Beckett shook his head. "I'm not asking you to step aside Charlotte. I'm still invested in spending time with you, in this program, in just you in general. I'm not asking you to stop expecting things of me or wanting things from me." Beckett expressed, wanting her to make her decision with all of the facts.

Charlotte

She couldn't help that she just kept crying and it would be different if Ash was doing the program and they were just all paired together. It wouldn't hurt as much, she thought as she felt so many questions rushing through her head. It felt like her happiness was coming with stipulations and it confused her how he could still do the program and not have suspicion placed on him and his intentions. Charlotte's head dropped even lower as she said, "I just wanted to...." The blonde couldn't find the strength in the moment and instead buckled and started to bawl as the weight of the situation continued to pull her down.

Beckett

As she began to cry more fully, Beckett let out a heavy sigh. His hands let go of her own and he slowly pulled her into his hold, squeezing her a bit more firmly against him. He didn't know what to say or do in the moment, knowing that whatever decision she made was going to have to be a decision that she made on her own. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed his hand up and down gently. If she needed this time to just cry, then that was alright. He wouldn't complain or try to get her to stop, because her feelings were valid.

Charlotte

Charlotte had waited for months to see even if Beckett could feel the way that she had been, and almost got to the point of realizing it was pointless when he had reciprocated feelings. And now that she thought she had him, she felt like she was losing him. She knew that he still wanted her, and she of course still wanted him, but it wasn't like even if she wanted to ask him to call off the trial claim he would say yes. She let her sobs muffle into his chest as he held her for a little bit. Finally pulling away a bit to look at him, "I just..." she was inhaling more than she was exhaling right now, and she was sure she looked so unattractive, but she needed to share, "I just wanted to be...be someone you could be in a trial claim with...I..I wanted to be someone you could...you could love." The submissive tried breathing again as she wondered aloud, "Does...does she know that you're...." She didn't know what words to use. She had no claim over Beckett other than that he was her Dominant for the program. She tried rewording, "Does she know that I am....that we are something?"

Beckett

"Charlie, this doesn't change any of that for me. At all. This thing with Ash is a temporary fix. And I've been clear with you and with everyone honestly that it is possible that I could end up with two claims. So there being two people that people think I'm serious about won't be too much of a stretch for the imagination. You're still that someone I want these things with." Beckett said, eyes scanning over her reddened and tear streaked face. "She knows that it was important for me to tell you. Yes. And she knows that you're the only person that I'm telling. I hadn't really used a name, but I feel like it wasn't a stretch for her imagination because we are doing this program together." Beckett said, rubbing at his face with one of his free hands.

Charlotte

She gave a nod, "I know Monsieur, I know. I just...when you said it, it was all still hypothetical and now it's all very not hypothetical. And I thought I would be the first person you claimed," Charlotte wiped at her tears, as he looked at her, worried that somehow all her questioning would change his mind, especially as he rubbed at his face. When he said he hadn't said a name, she felt a bit hurt, unsure why it hurt but it did. "Why didn't you say it was me?" She needed to know rather than letting her thoughts run wild.

Beckett

Beckett nodded when she said that she thought if things continued the way that they were, she would be the first on claimed. And that was still his hope, but he knew that she wouldn't hear that right now. His hand moved up to her cheek, wiping away the wetness that was there. "I didn't say a name because I was worried about this conversation right here. I knew that it was a really big possibility that you would walk away when you found out about this whole situation. And I think Ash knowing who it was specifically would have made it hurt even worse if that was the case. But of course she'll know it's you, Charlotte. I'm not about to hide you."

Charlotte

Her eyes focused on him as she knew her breath was still shaky but she was doing better than a few moments prior. Beckett's hand was a good comfort and she move to let her hand stay on his arm. "I don't want to lose you Monsieur, leaving isn't something I want to do. I have worries and concerns, but you are telling me to trust you and believe you. I won't tell anyone about the plan. I wouldn't do that to you or Ash." She said as she felt her heart still full with sorrow, "I don't want to lose you." She repeated again, even if she was realizing he had made a decision knowing he had the risk of losing her.

Beckett

"I know you won't tell anyone." Beckett assured, knowing that even if Charlie decided it was too much and left, that she would keep this secret. His other hand lifted to cup the other side of her cheek as well, leaning forward to press their foreheads together. "I know it might be difficult to believe, but I don't want to lose you either. You make me happy. And I want to make you happy. And I'm so sorry that this hurts you." Because he was sorry and his words were true, but it didn't change what he knew he had to do.

Charlotte

Feeling both his hands and forehead, she let her eyes look into his, listening to his words and Charlotte forced herself to believe them. A day ago it wouldn't have been hard to believe him, a day ago she would have said that they were on the same page and that this summer was going to be amazing and that she could not believe how lucky she had gotten. She shut her eyes at his apology, knowing he meant it. Her lower lip began to quiver but she let out a choked up, "It's okay." She moved to bump her nose up against his as she said softly, "Monsieur, is it okay if I just take some time before I come over tonight with my stuff?"

Beckett

The touch of her nose against his would have normally caused a smile to pull his lips upwards, but he didn't think that he had a smile in him. Beckett breathed out slowly and nodded. "You can take all the time that you need. I just ask that you message me when you're coming. Or message me if you decide not to come." Beckett said, clenching his jaw in an attempt to be strong. He pulled back from her and let his hands slip from her cheeks, waiting just a moment more before he stood up.

Charlotte

"I will, Monsieur," she said as she was thankful for the time she needed to clean herself up and maybe text someone for help. Charlotte felt him pulling away and so she made it easier by moving so she wasn't in his way. Standing up, she tugged at the shorts that Beckett had picked for her outfit for the day, smoothing them out before walking with him towards the door again. "I'll see you soon, Monsieur," she said softly as she moved to slide her hand in his for a moment, still wanting his touch no matter how difficult that conversation had been.

Beckett

He squeezed her hand and then leaned in to press his lips against her cheek. "I'll see you later." Beckett agreed, holding her hand for a moment longer before letting go and stepping out of the room. He felt heavy and he was more than ready to just go lay down in his room for the rest of the night.

#thread: beckett smythe #thread: beckette #thread: an unexpected wrench