#he had so many chances to tell her and to fix the conflict

[lieutenantism]

a very interesting (and endearing, at least to me) detail about jean's character is how he tends to fix himself during a confrontation. (long post ahead)

despite the fact he looks just fine, he does it to self-soothe more than anything, because he knows he has no control over the situation. so if he can't get through harry, at least he's in control of how he looks. and he can look BETTER, more put together than harry, so he makes sure to show him that. every time.

constantly readjusting, correcting, dusting himself off every time he's confronting his former partner because i think he has a severe inferiority complex (since harry outranks him and refuses to accept any promotion, which makes jean perpetually stuck as a satellite-officer, tied to a self-destructive man who's also good at what he does + harry has had a chance at a love that's so redeeming that he pictures her as the game's equivalent of God, a love that jean desperately yearns for so he hates harry for blowing it, and hates himself for never finding such a love despite the fact he's more put together than harry, or so he claims) that flares up every time harry's in the vicinity. i don't think jean has problems asserting himself when harry's not around, though. we've seen that here.

jean's perfectly capable of being authoritative, and has power over his colleagues, contrary to popular belief on this website. of course, provided harry's not there.

because he'll start slipping every time. his body language is also incredibly stiff, i'm assuming it's to seem like he's composed, but that falls apart when you notice how many times he struggles with his breathing, how many times he has to collect himself.

naturally, since kim also outranks him, jean behaves the same way with him although less emotional. he loses the spite, turns a little more submissive, though his pride doesn't completely disappear, like authority indicates. i also believe it's because kim didn't address him properly, therefore jean didn't feel the need to extend more than basic respect towards him.

it's very interesting to see, since he seems to have this ongoing inner conflict between his pride and his self-hatred. believing he's better than harry, yet crumbling at his presence. laying down and taking it, then suddenly revolting. being in control until the reason you're forced to take control shows up, then suddenly you're not in control anymore and you have to fix your hair and your tie and dust your suit and cough to look like you have your shit together. to prove that you're better. jean's trying to tell harry that he's BETTER than him! that's why he does all of that shit! he's terrified of ending up like that! he's even more terrified of the fact that despite being the mess he is, harry IS better than him! HELLO!

#lav thinks #he's so INTERESTING!!! i wish all jean discourse starters a very shut the fuck up #i've been seeing some shit takes abt him not having power over anyone/him never doing his job etc n it's sooooo tiring #like give it a rest idk play the game again w your eyes OPEN this time! #i love him he's so interesting.... sososo fascinating #jean vicquemare #disco elysium

[rose-pearls]

Hi there!! If your requests are still open i’d like to make one, btw Im not very good at requesting, so im sorry if this doesn’t make any sense.

Could your possibly write a Clairrise x Hephaestus’s Nb kid reader. Like we’ll make/repair weapons for her, and we weld her flowers with nuts and bolts and cute stuff like that!!

Feel free to skip this request!! Have a good day/night!!!! :D

Hi!! Thank you so much for your request, it was so cute and I loved the fact that it was a reader from another cabin then the Aphrodite cabin! I hope you like it and that it is what you wanted! My requests are open for every fandom I write for!

Main Taglist: @avada-kedavra-bitch-187, @nyx2021, @thestarspangledcaptain, @kmc1989

Percy Jackson Taglist: @niktwazny303

Clarisse La Rue Taglist: @peanutbelley, @abbersreads

Non-binary reader, if there is a mistake somewhere please tell me and I'll fix it! I am always open for feedback :))

When you started dating Clarisse a lot of people were surprised, it wasn’t often that a child of Hephaestus and a child of Ares got along, let alone date each other. But it had just made sense when you had met her during your first day of camp. You had tried to find what you were good at, with the help of Luke, and as you were trying to figure out how to use the spear he had given you a beautiful girl had arrived.

“Why don’t you let the expert teach them, Castellan?”, the brown-haired girl says with a confident smirk, making you blush. Luke had just rolled his eyes at the words before telling you that he would get you at the end of the hour to try something new.

“Now, you should watch your grip when you wield it,” she says before starting to show you how to adjust your hands, making your skin tingle at the touch.

It wasn’t until later that you realized why so many people had been watching the two of you, Clarisse wasn’t really the type to help someone out or to be patient with anyone. When your father claimed you after two days of being at camp the whole camp had been waiting with anticipation how Clarisse would be reacting to the news, after all she was a proud daughter of Ares.

“I don’t care about who your father is and what beef he has with mine, Ares always has beef with everyone. So, what do you say of ignoring who our parents are and just moving along?”, Clarisse had seemed unaffected, but she had been preparing the speech in her head since last night, when one of her siblings had told her who your parent was. She was hoping that Ares wouldn’t ruin this for her either, she only knew you for three days, but you were someone she cared about, whether she liked it or not.

“I would love that,” you had told her and after that the two of you had stayed close friends, much to everyone’s shock and your sibling’s dismay. 

Getting together with Clarisse had been the most difficult part, she didn’t see love as something good or worthwhile. She had seen her mother getting into depressive episodes after Ares left her to raise Clarisse alone and she didn’t want to ever experience that, let alone be that cause of someone’s pain. It had taken you a while to try and convince her that you could be something more than just friends and that love was something incredible to experience. 

“I just don’t want to hurt you or lose you, it would hurt far too much,” she had told you once, when the laughter of the campers could be heard from far away.

“Wouldn’t it hurt more to know that we could have been something but that we just didn’t try? I know that we are demi-gods and that we could die any day but I don’t want to die and regret not having had a chance to spent every single day with you and showing you how much I love you,” there were tears in her eyes at your words, and you could see the conflict in her eyes before she brought you into a soft kiss, as if she was scared she could break you.

“You’re right,” she had whispered before bringing you back into a kiss, this time more fervent as she showed you just how much she loved you.

It had been two years since then and you couldn’t be happier, watching Clarisse spar with her siblings and preparing for Capture the flag while you made some flowers out of a few things you had found around your working area. 

“That for me?”, you hear behind you before your feel a soft kiss on your cheek.

“It is,” you tell Clarisse as she sits next to you, watching the intricately woven nuts and bolts you had found around.

“I love it, thank you,” she tells you before bringing you into a kiss.

“I’ll add it to my collection,” she says with a bright smile, already trying to figure out where she was going to put it.

“I’ll see you after capture the flag?”, you ask her, and she nods in agreement as a pout forms on her lips.

“I can’t believe you aren’t going to be playing capture the flag today,” you smile softly at her words before taking her hand in yours.

“Well, I need to teach every single thing I know to my new sibling but next time I’ll be there,” you promise her and enjoy the satisfied smile on Clarisse lips.

“Fine, but I need a good luck kiss first,” she whispers, and you quickly do as she requests, smiling as she deepens the kiss.

“See you later sunshine!”, she tells you before joining her siblings, making you smile as you watch her putting on her armour. 

It was just an hour later when you heard the door of your cabin slam open, your new sibling looking scared at the sound, as if he was expecting a monster to come in. But it was Clarisse, tears in her eyes and a broken spear in her hands. 

“Why don’t you go to your station and work a little bit on the things I taught you?”, you quickly ask your sibling, who quickly scurries out of the room. 

“Clarisse?”, you whisper as you look at her trembling form, she looks like she is desperately holding back her tears but as you carefully put your hand on hers, she breaks down.

The tears are falling down her cheeks as you bring her into a comforting hug, holding her close as she holds on to you for dear life.

“What happened?”, you ask her softly, hoping not to make her cry even more at your words.

“That new kid, he broke my spear,” she whispers, and a sob leaves her lips at the words, making you hold her tightly. 

“Gods, I’m so sorry Clarise, I know how much it meant to you,” you whisper in her hair, wishing you could go back in time and save it.

“It was the only thing he ever gave me, to show me he cared and now it is gone,” she says, tears falling into your t-shirt, but you don’t care as you try to calm her down.

It takes a moment to calm her down, stroking her hair and letting her talk it all out. You know better than to say it was going to be okay, she had just lost something incredibly valuable to her and you didn’t know what to do. 

“I can try to fix it,” you whisper softly, and it takes a few seconds before she moves her head to look at you, teary eyes looking into yours.

“You can?”, she whispers, hope appearing into her eyes, and you smile lovingly at her.

“I can try, I can’t promise anything about it still being able to burn someone, but it can be repaired. Nothing is too broken to be fixed,” you tell her, and she takes a deep breath, like she is trying to get herself back together.

“If you can do that, I think that I will marry you,” she says with an emotional smile, and you laugh softly at her words.

“Common let’s see what we can do,” you whisper before taking her hand and bringing her to your station. 

It takes time to put it back together, as the metal had been broken by Percy’s sword but after finding the right metal to fix it you manage to bring the two pieces back together.

“And there we go, nearly as good as before,” you tell her as she looks over the spear, watching how it was once again a whole spear and not two broken parts.

“Thank you,” she whispers with concealed tears in her eyes, but you just shrug your shoulders.

“It was my pleasure, now I can watch you train with it again,” you tell her, and she looks excited at the words, she kisses you lovingly on the lips before dragging you to the training ground, an excited smile on her lips. 

#percy jackson x reader #clarisse la rue x reader #clarisse x you #clarisse pjo #clarrise la rue #clarisse la rue #clarisse la rue x y/n #clarisse la rue fluff #clarisse x reader #nonbinary

[chirpsythismorning]

This makes me feel like Mike is lying and knows he’s lying in his monologue:

And…

And dot dot dot…?

El’s literally choking and Mike is frozen.

Will pushes Mike and tells him not to stop, reminding him of his speech in the van.

Then, even as he is about to say it, HE STALLS.

It’s clear Mike is having a serious internal conflict when it comes to saying I love you to El, and for a character whose most important rule is ‘friends don’t lie’ and whose sister had an identical plot line where she couldn’t tell her boyfriend I love you when she realized she didn’t love him and was starting to have stronger feelings for someone else, I feel like the answer is right there.

But the And dot dot dot just does it for me.

Like what is with the dramatics.???

It’s so weird to me because if the problem was as simple as Mike being scared of losing El, he wouldn’t have risked things by not saying it when she was crying in her room during their fight.

As the cop car was taking her away, it wouldn’t have been the perfect moment, and yet the way Mike said everything he could to reassure her but avoided simply saying the one thing he knew she wanted to hear, something that had her crying not even 5 minutes earlier, saying it could have been a way for Mike to comfort her in this moment of uncertainty.

Then there’s the letter, where El says from instead of love, and this is the last semblance of contact they have with each other, which has given Mike the impression that they had a fight they could never come back from. And so, he lost her in that moment. His greatest fear has apparently already come to fruition.

The rest of the season he continues to grapple with his insecurities and his concerns with where him and El stand, with Will reassuring him. He nods his head about someone he cares about not liking the truth. Him constantly talking about his conflict with El as if it’s something that cannot be fixed?? Dude it required 3 words?? And what reason exactly would he have to agree with what Will said, unless there is some truth he’s already aware of that he doesn’t think El will like?

And then their reunion in the desert happens. THIS could finally be the moment he makes clear to El how he feels. He hasn’t lost her, they’re back with each other and she’s safe and alive and happy to see him.

So why when she leans in fully, does he hold himself back (El’s face is perfectly symmetrical vertically with the frame when their foreheads meet, whereas Mike is more so leaning back horizontally as much as he can, doing his best to keep his mouth as far away from El as possible)?...

So, no kiss then?…

After they separate and smile at each other relieved, instead of making a point to say ‘that thing’, Mike decides to shift focus from them, to those around them, seeking our Will specifically.

At Surfer Boy, they get interrupted by Argyle and his pineapple pizza. Leading up to it, Mike doesn’t look like he’s about to confess this deep and emotional reason for why he couldn’t say I love you.

I guess… I dunno… I guess I just wanted to say that—

AGAIN WITH THE DOT DOT DOTS!

If Mike was going to say I love you, that would have been the most anti-climactic love confession in the history of television. He doesn’t sound like he’s about to tell her something genuine from his heart. He sounds like he’s about to say something because he feels obligated to.

And then that leading to the monologue, where there is more stalling…

Mike had soooo many chances to say it, and if he was truly scared saying it would make losing her eventually ‘hurt more’ (words inspired by Will’s speech), then he could have said it any one of those previous instances and could have saved them and their relationship.

Instead he treats it like no man’s land, as if it’s this bad word that isn’t an option, until it’s quite literally the only option.

I think that while it is heartbreaking, it makes Mike a very complex character. While he did lie, it was a pretty selfless act, because he was breaking one of his most sacred rules, he was lying. He put it off for sooo long for a reason. He goes against how he truly feels in his heart, and that’s in large part why they lose .

Another factor to all of this, that makes me think this is very likely, is again the major theme of friends don’t lie. And how there is one scene from s1 in particular that offers up a really good Mike and El parallel we could get for them in s5, that I think would make this whole situation and the buildup to it, just sooooo fucking layered.

Imagine something similar to this conversation in s5, but switch Mike and El around:

Rewatching all the seasons in general opens up a lot of possibilities for brainstorming about potential callbacks we could see in s5. When it comes to the importance and impact of lying in the story, with s4 being filled with characters lying, there is just something so full circle about s4 opening with El’s letter filled with lies, Will’s veiled love confession filled with lies that his feelings are El’s and the season closing off with Mike lying to save the world and as a result failing.

And then in s5, kind of bringing together all of these lies, with the truth this time.

Having a parallel to this, with El calling Mike out, would finally give her the chance to voice to Mike, face to face, how she feels truly about everything, and having it be in a way that will sort of put Mike in his place, in a similar way he did to her, would be kind of insane.

Not only that, but in doing so, along with making byler canon by the end end of the series, this entire scene in s1 could be re-contextualized to something much more incredible than it was to viewers in their initial viewing.

After s5, this scene would never be the same:

#byler #stranger things #Paladin breaking his oath #or whatever #shame and guilt or whatever

[zoeykallus]

Hey, if it isn’t too much trouble and when you have all the energy you need, would you consider making (preferably fem!)reader x crosshair fic where some bad guy takes the reader and then after she is rescued the bad guy says “I should have killed your little girlfriend when i had the chance” id really like to see how you would express his emotions in this one, you capture all of the characters’ behaviour soooo well i love your works <3 ty for considering

Aloha!

This isn't going to end well.

Crosshair x Fem!Reader Short One-shot - The Fatal Mistake

Warnings: Angst/Violence/Tiny Bit Of Fluff

_________________

Forgive me for making something up that isn't canon (yet).

After Crosshair managed to flee Hemlocks facility, he reunited with you, after months of being missing. The Doctor doesn't take it too well, especially since Tarkin is watching this failure critically.

Hemlocks spies know about you, and he gets hold of you. As Crosshair tries to free you, things turn ugly.

___________________

The Fatal Mistake

After the sound of gunshots fades, it is eerily quiet for a long moment. A deceptive silence that seems almost peaceful. Until a voice familiar to you breaks the silence.

Crosshair snarls, "You're in over your head, Doctor."

Hemlock knows what Crosshair can do, and yet he feels superior, his movements deliberate, slow and confident, like those of a predator. His posture carries the arrogance typical of a bully who feels superior to his victim.

He has you handcuffed in front of him like a shield, he is sure that he holds all the cards at the moment, even if Crosshair has taken out his men, and he is facing the Sniper alone.

"I don't think so," Hemlock replies in his calm, low voice, almost purring, "I have someone very close to your heart here, as you can see, and I intend to take advantage of the situation."

Crosshair tilts his head slightly forward, his gaze piercingly fixed on Hemlock, almost like a bull ready to charge at any moment. There's so much hatred in his amber eyes that even you feel it run down your spine, though you know that hatred isn't for you at all.

"Bringing her into this was a big mistake. If you take her from me, I have nothing left to lose, and I will walk over dead bodies to get her back," he growls.

Hemlock has one hand on your shoulder, with the other he points to the dead on the ground, the bullet holes still smoking.

"Yeah, I saw that. You've always been willing to take lives, even innocent lives, without hesitation, from what I've heard."

Crosshair grits his teeth, avoiding looking at your face for fear of the judgment that might lie within. He is well aware of his mistakes, and they've kept him up many a night.

"Those were different times, different circumstances," he says reluctantly.

Hemlock smiles and says unapologetically, "Tell yourself that if it makes you sleep better at night. But in fact, I know you hardly slept in the weeks before you were brought to me. Guilt?"

Crosshair doesn't dignify that question with a response, but instead demands, "Let her go."

You listen to the men, nervously. You know that your life or death is being decided here. You feel Hemlock's hand on your shoulder and the handcuffs cutting into the skin of your wrists.

A few minutes ago you thought you were lost, but Crosshair really showed up, he really came to save you. Fear and joy mix. You trust him, you trust that he will do the right thing. You force yourself to take a breath, to trust that Crosshair has the situation under control.

"Tell yourself that if it makes you sleep better at night. But in fact, I know you barely slept in the weeks before you were brought to me. Guilt?"

"Let her go."

You know about the conflict Crosshair still fights with himself regarding past actions of his. You don't judge him, even though the realization when you first learned some things was a shock.

Crosshair raises his rifle and Hemlock's hand shoots from your shoulder to your neck, pulling you closer to him. He doesn't strangle you, but the grip is firm enough to be uncomfortable. Both men are more than tense.

"Get your hands off her, now!"

"I'm inclined to take them from you just to see how far I can break you," Hemlock says, laughing softly.

You hear a gunshot, you feel Hemlock flinch behind you the next moment and let you go. Hastily, you dash forward and behind Crosshair, who hastily comes towards you and pushes you behind him.

The sniper growls, "There's a reason my name is Crosshair, you should know that, Hemlock. You didn't really think you could use her as a shield, did you?"

Hemlock lies on the ground, one hand, on the side of his neck, looking up at the two of you. He's not mortally wounded, probably would survive this. He looks at you, a biting smile on his lips as he says, "You cost me so much, the respect of my superiors, my project, everything. I should have killed her when I had the chance, only to see in your face how you are breaking inside."

Crosshair growls and slowly leans over him, like a predator sure of its prey.

"You won't get another chance at this"

The muzzle of the rifle tilts toward Hemlock's face. Hastily, you look away as Crosshair pulls the trigger several times at once. You smell burning skin, and flesh, and shake yourself. Automatically, you take a few shaky steps away from Hemlock, who is now lying dead on the ground, to escape the smell.

Crosshair hurriedly follows you, you hear him close behind you, "Are you hurt?"

You shake your head and say softly, "No, just still in a bit of shock."

Very slowly, almost tentatively, Crosshair grabs your shoulder, turns you around to face him and looks at you scrutinizing. His amber eyes roam over your face.

"Are you sure?" he asks gently.

You nod and say just as gently, "Thank you for saving me."

Crosshair relaxes a little, a small smirk twitching at the corners of his mouth, barely noticeable, but you know him well enough to see it. He kisses your temple, long and tenderly, maintaining contact for quite a while, a rare gesture.

"Of course. Anytime, Kitten."

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

@meshla-madalene

@chxpsi

@thebahdbitch

@nahoney22 @ladykatakuri

@darkangel4121

@ttzamara

@arctrooper69

@padawancat97

@agenteliix

@allsystemsblue

@palliateclaw

@either-madness-or-brilliance

@ortizshinkaroff

@andy-solo1

@hunterssecretrecipe

@heyitsaloy

@greaser-wolf

@extrahotpixels

@hated-by-me

@hunterxcrosshair

@malicemercy

@bebopsworld

@echos-girlfriend

@cpnt616

@dangraccoon

@jediknightjana

@starwarsnerd111

#crosshair x reader #star wars #the bad batch #clone force 99 #tbb #sw tbb #bad batch crosshair #clone trooper crosshair #commander crosshair #crosshair #crosshair bad batch #crosshair tbb #crosshair the bad batch #crosshair x you #tbb crosshair #tbb crosshair x reader #the bad batch crosshair #ct 9904 #tbb crosshair x you #the bad batch fanfic #star wars the bad batch #star wars: the bad batch #the bad batch fanfiction #the bad batch x reader #oneshot #Crosshair saving reader #Savior trope #hemlock

[yuugen-benni]

LET YOUR IMAGINATION FLY !

Random incomplete scenarios with BSD characters (based on the mayoi cards)

Kunikida - Medieval AU

[…] ''Where did I go wrong?'' you ask yourself. The answer is: From the beginning. You were just a simple mercenary with a simple mission to kill a king… who was known for his strategies in battle, for his rigidity that accompanied his strong sense of justice. Somewhere on that battlefield, in that snow, in Kunikida's eyes full of anger and seriousness, in the reflection of the weapons of the soldiers beside him, there was a seed of doubt that had germinated.

As you pursued your mission, a shadow of admiration began to form in your heart. You admired not only his military prowess but also his commitment to justice and the well-being of his people. As you approached the king, an internal conflict was installed in his mind. On impulse, you deviated from your goal, secretly giving your hearts to each other… But unfortunately fate was already certain of the war that would start.

Awareness of your actions began to weigh on you. What was once a personal mission now became an internal battle. The conflict between duty and passion wove in your mind, questioning your motives and convictions.

Now, on that frozen battlefield, where fate intersects with the love of two different people, a choice must be made. Which ?

Chuuya - Detective AU

The year was 1885, a great but hotheaded detective, Chuuya Nakahara, was trying to solve ''The Case of Successive Pieces''. Three pieces of value were stolen on the same day, at the same time but in different places and one of the main suspects was Dazai Osamu, the biggest thief in the city.

You were just a half-assed thief from Yokohama who was running from the police, looking for a place where you could hide and accidentally entered Chuuya's office. Fortunately, he was so focused that he didn't notice you.

As Chuuya perused the details of the thefts on her desk, you crept around corners, trying to remain invisible, but something caught your eye: The suspect board.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, he turned and his piercing eyes scanned the figure in front of the board, full of distrust and surprise.

"Who are you?" asked-shouted Chuuya, his voice filled with annoyance and caution.

Startled, you found yourself in a sticky situation, having been caught in the act and now gazed by the prestigious detective. Gathering his courage, he decided to tell him the truth, betting that perhaps he could be a supportive ally.

"I'm [name], I'm just a half-assed thief, wanted by the Yokohama police. I came in here accidentally while trying to escape from them…But the places fixed on this board caught my attention…''

Chuuya frowned, analyzing your words. He was known for his brash nature, and despite having a hot-headed confidence, his deductive skills were valuable.

"Are you saying that you know something about the theft of the three pieces?", asked Chuuya, skeptical, but also intrigued by the possibility of an unexpected clue.

''Maybe yes, maybe not… You'll only know if you help me too'' You played your joker, realizing that maybe this was your chance to escape the clutches of the police and maybe even get a valuable reward.

He sighed with annoyance and nod. ''Okay, but if you screw up, it won't just be the police that will crash you!''.

So Chuuya Nakahara, the hot-headed detective, and you, the half-assed thief, have come together in a binding alliance, ready to unravel the mystery behind the lost piece and capture Dazai, a thief…with many connections to Chuuya ?! You will found out.

Ranpo - Poker Dealer!Reader

Wearing a wine waistcoat under an impeccable black suit, Ranpo Edogawa, one of the Agency's Sharpest Detectives stepped into the bustling casino. His sharp eyes took in the glimmering lights, the excitement that emanated from the gamblers and the clinking of chips.

His steady steps joined the noise of the hall as you and the others Dealers' keen eyes watched Ranpo carefully, knowing he could spot their subtle tricks easily.

As Ranpo approached your table, taking a seat, you noted his childish demeanor, the mischievous glint in his eyes. Ranpo had a way of charming those around him, effortlessly bending them to his will. The other players regarded him with a mixture of curiosity and skepticism. They knew of his abilities, but they had also heard stories of his unconventional methods and childish antics. It seemed inconceivable that someone with such a demeanor could truly possess the ''ability'' he claimed to have.

As the night progressed, Ranpo's playful banter filled the air, occasionally disrupting the calm and intense atmosphere. The dealer found it hard not to be captivated by Ranpo's charm, his infectious energy somehow making the game more enjoyable. ''So...what are your tricks ?'' He asked, looking at the cards in his hands

''A dealer never reveals their tricks'' You replied with a low chuckle while a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes.

"You must have quite the story to tell" He said, his voice laced with curiosity. "Being a witness to countless fortunes won and lost, secrets unveiled, and lives changed...''

For some reason his words created tension between just the two of you and your mind started to race...

"Perhaps someday I'll share my tales-''

''In the police interrogation room, or at the Armed Detective Agency ?'' He interrupted

your eyes widen, and the cards you've been shuffling fall to the floor. What you will do know ?

#benni #sorry for my bad english #bungou stray dogs #bsd #bsd x reader #bungou stray dogs x reader #chuuya nakahara #chuuya x reader #kunikida x reader #kunikida doppo #kunikida #chuuya #ranpo edogawa x reader #ranpo #ranpo x reader #ranpo edogawa #bungou gay dogs #au #medieval au #mayoi cards #bsd mayoi cards #bungou mayoi

[sophfandoms53]

I wish Hazbin had more than 8 episodes this season bc 1) the pacing is all over the place (outside of episode 4) and 2) it would’ve been so nice to actually see when and why Alastor started to genuinely care about the hotel.

The pilot and the first episode of the show characterize him as sticking around for the entertainment because of how silly the idea of redeeming a sinner is to him but then episode 5 has him fully backing up Charlie’s wishes for the hotel and even tells Mimzy she’s welcomed to stay if she actually wants to try redemption and was upset she had put the hotel in danger with her presence.

I think that turnaround in Alastor’s perspective is so interesting but when did that happen? Why did that happen? How did that happen? What made him care?

He clearly still has ulterior motives, there’s 0 denying that given his scene with Husk in the same episode, but he does seem to actually care about Charlie and her hotel. Which can be connected to the leash Husk claimed Alastor is bound by but Alastor is also the most distant from the cast.

We never see him around everyone for more than a few minutes at a time. Everyone went out to the club in episode 6 but Alastor is nowhere to be found in the entire episode.

That bond with anyone in the hotel, even Charlie, that would explain Alastor’s sudden support in the hotel has not been shown on screen and I really wish the show had more time to do that.

That’s really what Hazbin lacks. Time. Time to slow down and just let the characters breathe. Everything is moving so fast because they probably didn’t know a second season was coming until later which I can understand but that also means the plot takes priority over the characters and a majority of the cast is suffering from it.

Angel’s the only character who’s gotten an episode solely about him and exploring, expanding, and developing his character and his bonds in the hotel are what we see the most. This makes sense given he’s the main guest in the hotel but no other character has been able to have their own character and arc be explored the way Angel has.

The show needed more episodes like Masquerade to explore the cast before diving headfirst into the Heaven vs. Hell redemption conflict. That was always going to be the direction the show went in but they needed so much more time to do it because there are so many characters to juggle and so much is happening. Big moments that are supposed to matter don’t hit as hard as they should bc the cast is overstuffed and everyone is fighting for screen time.

This isn’t the teams fault, they’re doing a decent job with the limit time they were given but 8 episodes is not enough time for a show this ambitious with everything it’s trying to do. Doubling the episode count to 16 would’ve done wonders for the pacing and the show could slow down and take its time.

A lot of what Hazbin presents are good ideas. It’s all interesting but none of it is given enough time because the big Heaven and Hell plot has to take a majority of the shows focus. I do hope season 2 fixes this but that’s also gonna depend where the show is going after season 1 is over. We’ll see next week.

My main wish for the show going forward is each character gets their chance to be explored just as Angel has.

#hazbin has the millie problem of helluva boss but like everyone is millie #you understand who they are on a basic level but that’s kinda it #there’s not enough depth beyond what little we know #the show tries especially with Vaggie and Charlie #and i think Charlie is handled better than most of the cast outside of Angel #but oof Vaggie #i see what they wanted to do with her but again the pacing of it is a mess #everyone else in the hotel has their moments for sure #i utterly love husk and i wanna see more of him #but he needs his own episode that explores him and his whole deal with alastor #which would in turn explain some of alastor’s stuff #ik he’s supposed to be a mystery and that’s fine #but we can still learn more about him as a person without knowing all of his past y’know #anyway all I thought as i wrote this post was wow i’d get jumped on twitter for saying this #just wanted to talk about thisss #i love hazbin and helluva but they are never beating the pacing issue allegations #helluva’s pacing is actually more annoying for different reasons tho #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel spoilers

[annaloveshjp]

dream girl•♡

muggle!au

post-war (19yr)

pairing: Harry potter x fem!reader

word count: 3k

!warnings!: a few cuss words, emo Harry.

a/n: this is a little story I thought of a while ago. if you listen to any cigarettes after sex song, that’s basically what the vibe of this story is.

(This is kinda short, let me know if you’d like a part two <3)

summary: harry, the boy who works at the local cafe has been having one recurring dream of this mysterious girl, until one day he finally meets her.

————————

Opening his eyes, he sits up, groans, and drags his hand down his face, questioning if he’ll ever get a new dream.

Harry has been having the same recurring dream for the past 2 weeks: a girl with Y/H/C hair who is always lost in her books comes up to him and asks his name, but he never gets the chance to answer before he wakes up yet again.

At first he thought nothing of it. Just a dream, no special meaning. until he continued getting it for 4 more days, then he became confused. Does this mean something? Should he research recurring dreams?

•~

Many theories agree that recurring dreams are related to unresolved difficulties or conflicts in the dreamer's life. The presence of recurrent dreams has also been associated with lower levels of psychological wellbeing and the presence of symptoms of anxiety and depression.

•~

Great. Harry thinks to himself. Just what I wanted to hear.

He wondered if he had seen this girl before, but anytime he racked his brain for a familiar face, he could never find her.

Harry has never been the type to believe in soulmates- Well, he used to be. love is stupid. he thinks to himself when he sees happy couples enjoying eachothers company.

He had one relationship in the past. Ginny Weasley was a kind, fierce, confident girl, Harry loved her and truly believed they belonged together. That was until she unexpectedly decided they didn’t.

“Harry, there isn't any easy way to say this, but i think we should stop seeing each other,” She said, avoiding eye contact with the 17 year old boy.

“I- What?” He stuttered, “Why? Did I do something wrong? Tell me how to fix it i swear i will—“

“You did nothing wrong Harry,” She reassured him “It's not you, it's me. I Promise, It's just—My feelings have changed, I Don’t know how to explain. I’m Sorry.”

With that said, and nothing more to say, she walked away, leaving him sitting in the Coffee shop alone.

And since then, he decided that love wasn’t his thing anymore. Not worth wasting years on something for it to just fall apart so easily. He truly didn’t want a repeat of his last relationship.

But deep inside, he wishes to have the kind of love that puts you at ease, the love that makes your breaths easier each time you hold your lover in your arms, the love that he almost had.

Each of his days are the same: Wake up, go to work, go home, question life, is any of this worth anything in the end? Will I just be stuck in this loop of nothing forever? go to sleep, and dream of that girl.

These dreams tend to annoy him when they occur several nights in a row, he always feels her right at his fingertips, his name on the tip of his tongue, waiting for its escape into her ears so she can finally find him, but he always has to wake up.

Little did he know, the girl in his dreams is real, living in the same city, having the same dreams, about a boy her age with raven hair and beautiful jade eyes, from her point of view, waiting to hear his name, never succeeding.

Unlike Harry, she believes in soulmates. She believes that the boy in her dreams is the one for her, waiting somewhere for her out there, longing to meet his one just as much as she is.

And also Unlike Harry, she has never been in a relationship before. But instead, reads about love… And Heartbreak, but mostly love.

Every time she has this dream of this mysterious boy, she wonders. Will I ever meet him? Have I already met him?

She sighs, lying on her bed shortly after waking up from that dream.

Getting up, she walks over to her bathroom to start her day, shower, get dressed, brush teeth.

Looking up from her bathroom sink, she looks into her mirror examining her appearance.

Calm but energetic resting face, ghost of a smile always lingering on her lips. When upset, her frown is prominent, but Beautiful. light freckles scattered across the bridge of her nose and cheeks, which are dusted with a dark rose color.

Her makeup, light but noticeable, consists of dark mascara, lipgloss and concealer.

Lately she has found concealer very helpful, as she has been waking up in the middle of the night to write about anything slightly different that happens in her dream.

For example; the first night she had this dream, it was sort of a blur, just a boy and a girl —the girl being her— sitting next to each other on a bench, a simple wooden bench. You might expect this bench to be somewhere like a park, or a sidewalk, but this bench was nowhere.

A bench sitting in void, the ground, walls and ceiling all white, no emotions radiating from the room except from the boy and girl. The girl calmly reading another one of her romance books, the boy, with headphones in, occasionally glancing at the girl and her pages.. Until she looks over at him and taps his shoulder. When he gives her a questioning look while taking one headphone out, she asks his name, then it ends.

The next few nights of having this dream were the same, except she started to notice some of the boys features more, like his eyes, which were an enchanting shade of green. Or his lips, pink, soft and slightly chapped; he was beautiful.

She wished everyday that she would see him soon, or even at all. He was the one. She could feel it.

She grabbed her bag then left her bedroom to have breakfast. She opened the fridge and got some strawberries, washed a few and threw them in a plastic bag, then made her way outside to walk to her bus stop.

I wonder if he likes strawberries. she thinks of him. if he doesn’t, then we definitely aren’t for each other. She thought, plopping a strawberry into her mouth as she waited for her bus.

The bus pulled around the corner, and made a loud hiss sound when it stopped. She entered once the doors opened, and found a seat by the window.

She pulled out the book she was currently reading, put her headphones in and began to read.

She liked the bus, it was a nice way of traveling. She sometimes just has her whole day consisting of riding the bus. She sees so many interesting people.

——-

I hate this job, why do I still work here? Harry thought to himself as he handed a warm latte to one of his customers. “Have a nice day,” he told her.

Right, it’s the only job that would take me. He remembered. “Hey, Harry,” one of his coworkers called to him.

He whipped his head around. “Hm?” He questioned.

“Could you work the register for a bit? I have to go do something,” his coworker said hurriedly.

“Yeah sure, whatever,” Harry replied, walking over to the cash register and straightening his name tag.

His coworker left for the bathroom. Harry watched as he saw another person follow them into the bathroom.

Ah, that’s what they meant by ‘go do something’ he rolled his eyes, turning his head back to the register to find a customer looking curiously to where he was previously looking.

“Sneaky little guy, eh?” She joked, turning back to order.

When Harry got a good look at her face, he swore he almost pissed himself. Is that actually her? No way no way no way-

Her eyes went a bit wide too, but Harry assumed it was because of the look of shock on his face.

“Uhm-“ she cleared her throat, “could I have a pumpkin latte with oat milk?” She ordered quickly.

“I uhm- yeah sure,” Harry stuttered, tabbing in her order, his hands shaking slightly.

That definitely looks like her. Her hair is the same, her eyes, she even has the same bag.

Harry saw out of the corner of his eye that she was examining his face for a second, only to stop when he turned back to her.

“2.13 is your total today, ma’am,” he said, watching her search her purse for her wallet.

“Here,” she handed him the money.

Just as she was about to walk away, he quickly said, “Oh and- sorry but, could I get a name for that order?”

“Oh, yeah sure,” she was a bit confused since this cafe didn’t usually take names for orders, but told him anyway. “Y/N,”

“Thanks,” he said, giving her a nod and a smile.

She smiled back and walked over by a window to wait for her order.

That’s a nice name. he massaged his temples. If that’s actually her, I don’t know what I’ll do.

After a few minutes, Harry saw her drink was done. He quickly rushed over to another coworker of his—who had the drink—and said “Hey, I’ll do this one,”

“Okay…?” He responded, before handing Harry the drink and starting to make the next one.

Harry quickly took the drink and walked over to the counter. “Pumpkin latte with oat milk for Y/N?”

She looked up from her phone and walked over to the counter. “Thank you, Harry,” she said, grabbing her drink.

He gaped at her with his lips slightly parted, wondering how she knew his name. She seemed to have noticed his shock, and said, “Your name tag,” she pointed to his chest.

He looked down at it. “Right, yeah,” he laughed awkwardly.

“I’ll see you around, Harry.” She said, giving him a smile and walking away.

“Yeah, you will,” he said faintly.

He stood there for a good minute, taken aback by the whole situation before he heard someone clearing their throat. Harry looked over and saw his coworker nodding his head toward the register where a customer was waiting.

Oops. he thought to himself.

After his shift was over, he started to clean up the store. While he was wiping down tables, he noticed a book was left on one of them.

Hm, I wonder who forgot their book. He thought, picking up the book and examining it.

Romance, ew.

He decided he would store the book in his bag for now, just if the person who lost their book came looking for it some day, he’d return it.

He went home that night thinking about Y/N more than usual. She’s fucking real? He thought while he brushed his teeth. or I’m going insane.

I’m probably going insane, how could I dream about her for months when I only just met her today? He thinks as he lay in bed, biting his nails out of habit.

What the fuck just happened. She thought, walking out of the cafe with her pumpkin latte.

Universe, when I said I wanted to see him soon, I didn't mean today!

I could be going crazy… but his hair was the same! Even his eye colour!

She was so deep in thought for so long, by the time she was back on the bus to go home, she didn’t realize she had forgotten her book at the cafe.

Shit. she thinks, searching her bag for her book. I forgot it at the cafe.

She decided she would just go looking for it the next time she went back to the cafe.

Finally, she was home. She kicked her shoes off, put her bag away, then headed to her room.

Walking to her dresser, she picked out a pair of pajamas, then brushed her teeth, then got into bed.

See you in a minute, Harry. She thought to herself. If it’s even you.

——

“Hey, what’s your name?”

“Oh uhm- it’s Harry. What’s yours?”

“Y/N,”

——-

“HOLY FUCK!”

Both of the teenagers shot up from their beds right when they woke up.

It’s him

It’s her

Y/N didn’t know what to do now. She knows where he works, his name, and what he looks like. But she didn’t feel ready to get to know him yet.

I’m just going to avoid the cafe for a few days. Maybe I’ll cool down and he’ll forget my face. Yeah, that’s a good idea.

I have to see her. Harry thinks, pacing around his room. I have an idea. I’ll just ask her if it’s her book today and then we’ll talk about something. Easy.

He started his day happier than usual. He decided he would have a healthy breakfast. Some oatmeal with fruit.

Ugh, I hate fruit. Why do I have to hate fruit? He thinks, looking at his empty fruit drawer in his fridge. He looked closer and spotted some blueberries. Jackpot.

After he ate his oatmeal—which wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be—he took his bag, which contained the romance novel, and made his way to work.

The whole ride there, he tapped his fingers anxiously on his steering wheel, and glanced at his bag every few minutes.

It’ll be fine, she came in late last time, it’ll be a while before she comes in again.

His day went by as normal. Making drinks all day, occasionally stealing a cookie from the dessert case, and becoming extremely bored. Except today, all he could think about was her.

By the time eight o’clock came around (closing time) he hadn’t seen her come in.

Maybe she’s busy today. He thought to himself as he finished washing the dishes, and closed the store.

He took his bag and got into his car, sighing as he turned on the radio. Maybe tomorrow.

The next few days were the same. No sign of her whatsoever. Harry wondered if she was scared of him. No, that would be weird… right?

He began to lose hope, slowly, but surely. His routine cycled back to normal. Wake up, go to work, go home, question life, is any of this worth anything in the end? Will I just be stuck in this loop of nothing forever? go to sleep, and dream of that girl.

Only his dreams had stopped since that night. I finally told her my name. He thought. I wonder if she’s having the same dreams, maybe that’s why she’s avoiding the cafe.

A week later

Maybe it’s safe to go back now. Y/N thought to herself one morning as she showered. I’ve been wanting my book back…

After arguing back and forth with herself for maybe ten minutes, she finally decided she would go back to the cafe.

It’s fine, it’ll be fine. You were the one who wanted to meet him so badly anyway! Y/N argued with herself again as she rode the bus to the cafe.

He might not even be at the register this time. She took a deep breath. Just get your coffee and go.

She walked into the cafe and got in line. She didn’t see Harry at first glance towards the counter, but she played it safe still and kept herself distracted with her phone until it was her turn to order.

Her turn soon arrived, and she shut her phone off and looked up at the worker who was taking orders.

Phew. She breathed out. “How are you today?” The worker asked.

“I’m good, thank you.” Y/N replied.

“What can I get for you?”

“I’ll just have a pumpkin latte with oat milk, please.” Y/N said politely.

The worker tabbed her order in. “Pumpkin latte with oat milk? Is that all for today?”

“Yes, please. Thank you.” Y/N thanked the worker, then walked over to an empty table to wait for her drink.

See? It wasn’t so bad, you didn’t even see him. She thought, cracking her knuckles. And even if you do see him, he probably won’t even see you, he’ll be working. It’s fine—

“Pumpkin latte with oat milk for Y/N?” A voice interrupted her thoughts.

I- I didn’t give them my name—? She thought before she looked up and saw Harry holding her drink for her behind the counter.

He had a nervous grin plastered on his face, looking at Y/N. Her eyes widened, then she walked up to the counter to collect her drink.

“Hi again, Harry.” Y/N smiled at him, trying to suppress her shaking as she reached for her latte.

“Hi. I noticed you hadn’t come in for a while,” Harry said, “something happen?”

“Oh- no,” she waved him off, “nothing happened, just busy is all.” She lied.

“Hm, Alright,” he said.

“Oh and by the way,” she suddenly remembered her book, “have you stumbled across a book that might’ve been left here a bit ago? I left mine here,”

His eyes brightened, “actually, yes I have,” he grabbed his bag and pulled out the romance novel.

“That’s it!” She smiled wide, “thank you, Harry.”

“No problem,” he handed her the book and grinned. “enjoy your latte, Y/N.”

“Thanks,” she smiled, then began to walk out.

“Sweet dreams,” Harry called to her when she was ten feet away from the counter.

She froze. Oh my god. With a sudden burst of confidence, she turned around and replied, “you too,” with a wink.

Harry’s face flushed with colour as he watched her walk out of the cafe. It's definitely her. Maybe this job isn’t so bad after all…

It’s him. She thought, grinning as she walked outside. Maybe I’ll visit here more often.

———————

#harry james potter #harry james potter x reader #harry potter fluff #harry potter x reader #harry james potter fluff

[piratefishmama]

Live to Serve (You) | Part 6

What followed was by far the most conflicting year of Steve Harrington’s life. On the one hand, he knew exactly what the touch of a woman felt like, it was nice, almost addictive, mind-numbingly good enough to just sink into and let his worries wash away for an evening, but on the other, Eddie seemed to hate him out of nowhere.

Probably for the best that he had all those pretty distractions to keep him busy because otherwise he might have just fallen into a spiralling depression because Eddie wouldn’t talk to him.

He’d be cordial and polite, he’d be respectful with titles, he’d never disrespect the crown, but gone were the lazy days in the library where Eddie would read to him in silly voices, gone were the adventures out in the fields chasing each other on horse back until the sun began to dip beyond the horizon, gone were the mornings where he’d wake to Eddie’s fingers in his hair, dull fingernails dragging a light pressure across his scalp, his deep velvety voice cooing his name to gently rouse him from slumber.

It felt like he’d lost a limb and every day dragged a little more than the one before it, sometimes, when he didn’t have company, he’d sit in bed until the earliest of hours just before the sun began its ascent, unable to sleep, pondering the whys with a deeply seated misery building in his chest because he knew Eddie had pulled away from him, had pulled so far out of reach that he couldn’t pin him down long enough to get an answer out of him as to why.

He was like smoke, slipping through his fingers and his mother only ever gave him a look of deep sympathy and sorrow whenever he asked for her help. An expression followed by a gentle “there’s nothing I can do, Steven… only you can mend this.”

“But how?” He’d ask, desperate for answers and she’d say the most frustrating thing possible in that moment,

“You must talk to him.” As if it were that easy. As if he hadn’t been trying to do that since that first day, since the morning after his eighteenth birthday when everything had changed out of nowhere.

So he tried other options. The maids, he’d fooled around with a few of them, always fun and eager to please, but none were more useful to him than Robin Buckley. One of the maids usually found taking care of the library, keeping it clean, keeping the books organized and in good condition, she knew Eddie! She didn’t respond to his attempts at flirting though, staring at him with an unimpressed expression that had him quickly floundering for another tactic.

She did take pity on him though, a hand held up to stop his fumbled attempt at saving face mid-way through his attempt “can I help you with something, your highness?” She asked, simple, straight to the point and the start to a brand-new friendship that made his Eddie problems just a little easier to bear. He had someone on his side, someone who could get to Eddie, someone who could try and plant the idea of forgiveness into his brain for a crime Steve didn’t know he’d committed.

She wouldn’t tell him why though. “I’m sorry, Steve” she’d shrug her shoulders “some things have to come from the person themselves, it’d never be right of me to tell you what’s going on with him no matter whether it’d help fix things quicker or not. It’s got to come from him.”

“That’s just… fine.” Awful. That was awful, and unfair, and cruel, and… honestly Steve loved her a little bit for it. She was on his side, but it seemed like she was still protecting Eddie.

“I might be able to get you alone together though.” And there was his chance.

It was one of the many guest rooms. It’d taken far too long for Robin to take pity on him to make this happen, far too long with her having servant solidarity to help him just enough to get him this one on one, but there Eddie was.

Nineteen years of age to his own eighteen, yelling at the door because Robin had locked it behind him leaving them all on their own in a room nobody used. At least the maids kept it maintained, the beds were always dressed in fresh linens and the fireplace was always stocked with dried logs for burning just in case a traveller came calling in need. The palace was large, with far too many rooms for a one child royal family.

There was always room for people in need. Always.

“Oh, I’m going to kill her, I’m going to kill her, bury her body in an unmarked grave in the woods, then dance on it.” Excessive, Steve thought, trying to keep the fond smile that threatened to grace his lips at bay. Gods he missed Eddie. He missed him so much.

He couldn’t get lost in fondness though, he had a mission to execute. “Uh-huh, and why are you so against being locked in a room with me? What have I done exactly?” He wished Eddie would just tell him, wished it hadn’t come to being locked in a room with the guy, but… drastic measures.

“I’d be against being locked in a room with anyone against my will” Eddie bit back “you’re not special, your highness.” Steve wished he could say he didn’t wince, but he did. Eddie had a sharp tongue, and he wasn’t afraid to use it, even against him.

“That’s another thing, this your highness crap, where the hell has that come from?” Steve crossed his arms over his chest, a feeble attempt to make himself feel stronger in the face of an angry Eddie “and the morning thing, which by the way, what the hell? You don’t even help me with my clothes anymore! Just breakfast’s ready and you’re gone! You know I hate breakfast first thing! And my mother hates my fashion sense!” Feeble, totally feeble things to throw at the other man but— he missed the smallest of things.

Everything Eddie had perfected over the years had been ripped away from him in one go, he missed things he hadn’t even known he could miss.

“You’re eighteen years old, Steven” another wince, eyes dipping to the floor, Steven, it’d been Steve since the day they met, how had things changed so much? “You should be able to dress yourself and manage your own breakfast schedule by now.”

“Steven? What the—okay. Okay, clearly I’ve done something wrong, so if you could just tell me, because I’ve wracked my brain and cannot for the life of me figure out what I could have done, I can fix it and get my stupid friend back.”

“I’m not stupid.”

“Oh my God, Eddie. Please. Please just tell me what I’ve done, I want my best friend back, and I don’t know how to get you back so can you please just tell me?” 

“This isn’t something you can fix, Steve.” At least it was Steve again, small miracles. “It’s… it’s just got to be this way, alright?” Nope.

“No, not alright, this isn’t alright, I did something, I know I did something, or I’m doing something cause you’d have forgiven me by now if I’d only done it once so… just tell me and I’ll stop.” Eddie just looked at him, his brows furrowed with… something, not anger, not irritation… something else, something that hurt Steve’s heart just to think about. Something that hurt him to think he’d caused it, but he couldn’t quit now. “You’re not getting out of this room until you tell me so you might as well just tell me.”

“You’re such a brat, Steve.”

“I’m royalty, it comes with the territory. This all started after my birthday, after that stupid hunt, did someone say something? Did I drink too much and say something to you?” No, no he didn’t, he knew he didn’t, he’d been sober all night and Eddie had been entertaining guests with the lute, god he’d been so pretty that night, he missed him, god he missed him— there had to be something. “Cause I dunno what I said but—”

“You didn’t say anything, Steve. You haven’t done anything wrong” Steve frowned in confusion and doubt “don’t—don’t look at me like that, you haven’t. This… what I’m doing? I’m doing it for me. I’m doing it to protect myself.” Protect himself? What in the world would he have to protect himself from? “And yes, it might suck for you that you now have to dress yourself but… it’s best if you just allow me to keep my distance.” Ugh, he didn’t get it, it wasn’t about the shallow small things, it was everything else!

“This isn’t about dressing myself, Eddie, Lord almighty, I’m—I want my friend back, I want to go riding with you” he missed the spectacular view of Eddie’s hair loose and beautiful, flowing in the wind as they rode through the fields, chasing each other on horseback, missed the way the sunlight caught the happiness that made his eyes glow in the summer sun “and listen to you read” he missed the voices, missed the way he’d turn boring words on a page into a theatrical masterpiece where if Steve just closed his eyes he could picture the people the voices belonged to in his minds eye. “I want to take you on hunts with me cause it’s shit out there without you” a privilege he’d not yet gotten, Eddie never having joined him on a hunt but… the idea of getting to share a tent, watching Eddie make shadow animals on the fabric walls using the lantern as his only source of light, coming up with stories to match how they moved in the light, he wanted it, he wanted it so badly. “I want to be able to tell you about life things, I want to watch you lace up my tunic cause I can’t do it myself” and getting to see Eddie’s eyes through thick lashes so close, god… it made his chest tight and his mouth dry and— “it’s always too tight, or too loose…” he licked his lips to dampen the drying skin “I just want you back and I don’t know how to do that so please, tell me how.”

“I can’t…”

“Why?” He felt like a toddler throwing a tantrum, but he couldn’t stop now, not when he was so close.

“Because it’s not fair! I can’t— I can’t justify it in any way that you’ll understand, in any way that’ll make what I’m doing sound fair to you because it’s not your fault, you haven’t done anything wrong, it’s me, it’s all me, I’m only human and it hurts so I’m protecting myself, please just let me protect myself, just… just call me selfish, or irrational, be mad at me for pushing you away for a bad reason, just… just let me go.”

“Not until I know what the reason is.”

“Ngghh, why? Why do you have to know?”

“Because you JUST said it’s hurting you…” he stepped closer, he knew this was like cornering a wild animal, but he needed to be closer, he’d spent years being held at arms-length and Eddie was right there, his resolve clearly crumbling bit by bit, just a little more, a little more. He’d been complacent for too long, he refused to let Eddie go again “I don’t want to hurt you, Eddie… I don’t want to be the one causing you pain, I don’t know what it is, but… if you tell me, I can fix it… I can make it better again, I can have my best friend back…”

“You can’t fix It, I don’t know how many times I’ll have to say it to get it through your skull, but you can’t.”

“I can try!”

“I wouldn’t ask you to! That wouldn’t be fair!”

“You’re being difficult.”

“You locked me in a room against my will and interrogated me, difficult is the LEAST I can do!”

“Ugh, will you just tell me, please?!”

“No!”

“Why?!”

“Because—Because—!” Something in his friend seemed to snap. He was close, so close, close enough to see the frayed edges of his last vestiges of patience and then it was gone, patience expired, however he didn’t choose violence, there was nothing violent in Eddie’s movements, even the grip of his hands on Steve’s jaw were surprisingly gentle even for the abrupt way he grabbed him.

And then lips. Soft, oh so impossibly soft lips, closed the short distance between them, it took Steve all of a second to catch up. Even if he hadn’t quite figured out what was going on, instinct alone told him to press that boy up against something firm and take his breath away, it was what he wanted, what Eddie apparently wanted and Steve would have given him anything within his power to do so, and as a prince that was unsurprisingly a vast amount of things, so if all he asked for was this, if the only request he had was to be consumed by a mutual want, then Steve would gladly give in.

It was messy, uncoordinated, but Steve made quick work of showing him everything he’d learned, taught through show, how to move his lips, how to lose himself in the hot slide of tongue across tongue. He took Eddie’s jaw within his hands just to gently coax him into the correct angle never once breaking the kiss to do it, only when Eddie’s hands left his own jaw to melt around his neck well, only then did he part from him, a white-hot lance of fire surging through his gut as Eddie tried in vain to chase, his cheeks flushed a warm beautiful pink, lips bruised and shining slick with spit, his pupils blown in a darkened want but eyes wide as though lust and panic fought in his mind for what he ought to be feeling.

“Wh-what...?” Steve breathed, lips still brushing those bruised, spit slicked, plump lips as he spoke “you...” he really didn’t need to ask questions, Eddie clearly wasn’t about to answer them if the building panic seemed to be overtaking the want, Steve didn’t ask any further questions, instead merely groaned out a soft “God, why didn’t you do this years ago?” Before reclaiming the lips he’d dreamed of for years.

Maybe he was being greedy, maybe he was rushing things by allowing his hands to dive for clothes, to fumble with the hem of Eddie’s shirt untucking it from his trousers just to feel the skin of his slender waist within his hands and pulling him closer, hips flushed to hips, maybe he was rushing what they’d have all the time in the world to explore but Steve had years upon years of desire, often repressed, often pushed down, bottled up, and hidden away but Eddie was there, his arms around Steve’s neck, fingers splayed into his hair, breaking the kiss to groan sweet music into the air around them, his head pressed back against the door with nowhere else to go.

Could anyone blame him for rushing?

Steve wasn’t deterred by the broken kiss, there was still so much skin to taste, a perfectly pristine, smooth column of pale skin beneath the cut of Eddie’s jaw just begging to be beautifully mottled with dark, colourful bruises born of desire and it was during the creation of one such beautiful bloom of colour that Eddie managed to gasp “S-Steve...” as his hands feebly gripped broad shoulders, Steve hadn’t even realised they’d left his hair. “Steve… I’ve never—w-we shou—” lord above, never. Never, not even once, his best friend, the boy he’d loved since before he knew what love looked like, had never even attempted to allow himself to be touched.

His mouth watered.

“Shhh” Steve shushed against Eddie’s neck, thumbs gently massaging circles into the dips of Eddie’s hips, “I’ve got you, you’ve looked after me for so long, Eddie... let me—let me take care of you for once.” So many things he wanted to try, so many things he’d had done to him.

So many pleasures Eddie deserved to receive.

He’d never just sat there and taken any of it, enjoyed, yes, greatly enjoyed but he’d learned too, he’d taken their attentions as lessons to be learned and while he’d never been an exceptionally gifted study, that was a subject he excelled at. He knew what he liked, knew how painted lips and talented tongues had reduced him to mush with nought but a saliva slick slide and just enough suction in a bid to impress him.

Not that he needed extra effort to impress. He’d lasted almost all of twenty goddamn seconds the first time, but as he dropped to his knees, not a position a prince should ever really find himself, but a position that still felt so right to be in in that particular moment, so he really didn’t care how long Eddie lasted.

They had all the time in the world, and lots to make up for.

Part: End

#PirateWrites #Live to serve (You) #ficlet #Medieval AU #yay Steve's POV #okay so #i know i said this'd be the end #but... this got longer than expected #so NEXT one will be the end lmao

[kaeyazuha]

𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬

❝ i kinda wanna request comfort with childe (smh iys always him 🙄/j) where we comfort him after he got a rlly bad day (imagine where he lost some mission and got a good scolding. If it possible aha) and yk he's sobbing in our arm and we comfort him. ❞

; Mmmm yummy reverse comfort <33 Thanks for your request, I hope you like it!

; 7/23/22

; Reverse Comfort/Fluff

; CW: strong language, physical touch

There were many words used to describe the 11th Harbinger: eccentric, bloodthirsty, wild, cheery, suave, quick-witted, strong, loud, excitable, even charming and handsome from a few fans he denies having. But, none of these match him right now. Gods, he looked like a ghost. Pale skin almost snow white at this rate, scars open and eyes half-closed, his leg bounced up and down and caused the floorboard below to creak in a rather annoying manner. He stared at nothing in particular, dulled and hazy eyes unfocused when he zoned out. You were almost afraid to find out what happened. Almost.

You hummed quietly, leaning your head against the doorway while staring at him with confliction and pity swirling in your eyes. He was given a mission from the Tsaritsa not too long ago, one that he refused to tell anyone about because it was specifically for him. His chance to prove himself to her highness, an opportunity to show that despite his age, he was top of his game amongst the rest of the Harbingers. You tried to be supportive despite knowing the dangers of this mission, but that glint in his eye looked akin to that of a child in a candy store. But, one after another, fight after fight and gash after gash, the mission slipped from his fingers and into the clutches of the enemies.

He came home two days earlier than he told you, sign one of a change in plans. He refused to look you in the eye, two signs of his ashamement. He went straight to your shared room without a single word uttered despite your concerned questioning, sign three of a mission gone completely wrong. You sighed, slowly walking over to your corpse of a lover with a med kit in hand, and you started to cleanse his dirtied skin with an endearing smile. At first, he resisted, dead eyes remaining fixed on the floor while his arm twitched away from you. However, you persisted and dragged it back to you with a stubborn frown, and he let out a small but dry chuckle at that. “You don’t need to do this.” Finally, he spoke, you inwardly chided. Tartaglia looked over to you, and you winced at the completely lost expression on his face. You’d think you were talking to a puppet rather than your lover had it not been for the human sadness in those blue eyes.

“I want to do this,” You stroked your right hand along his ginger tufts of hair, smiling at the way he leaned into your hand. “I promise.” A moment of peaceful silence filled the air, your legs beginning to cramp with the uncomfortable position of you bent down and his body weight leaned against your hand. He chuckled dryly, shifting around until he could guide you onto his lap. Not even giving you a moment to settle in, Childe rested his forehead on your shoulder while his arms lazily wrapped around your waist. You smiled warmly down at him, playfully ruffling his hair before starting to play with it again. His hair felt soft per usual, but messy and unkempt. The light sound of Liyue ambiance outside (the sound of the wind caressing the trees and distant flutes playing never ceased to sooth you) coaxed your eyes to rest and your head to sway, leaning to one side lazily-- until the sudden quivering of his shoulders and the feeling of your shirt dampening jolted you awake. “Ajax…?” You questioned hesitantly, unsure of his reaction-- you’ve never seen him cry before, he’s never been comfortable with the idea of allowing himself to be so vulnerable.

Gloved, trembling fingers clutched onto the material of your shirt, which dulled the feeling of his nails digging into your back. You could only pray that with how deep he buried himself into your chest, that he didn’t hear the erratic, thundering beats of your heart-- you didn’t know what to do when he suddenly started to cry! Regaining your composure, you leaned back and cupped Childe’s jaw, guiding him to look up at you while you wiped at his wetted cheeks. “Don’t be ashamed, love. Let it out.” Reddened eyes only welled up further at your gentle voice and kind gaze-- gods he works around politicians and professional liars, he’s been trained that the world is cruel and unforgiving, but then you go and make him feel special, it’s utterly bewildering to him. You held him like a green leaf cradles a dew drop; gentle, yet securely with your touch as warm as the sunlight reflecting off the morning dew. 

Your nose scrunched up a bit in confusion, your cheeks feeling oddly hot under his intense stare. As if those crystalline blue eyes burned holes through your soul, you averted your gaze and chuckled almost awkwardly. “No, please, don’t look away.” His grip around your waist tightened and he pulled his head away from your chest just long enough to try and find your eyes, tilting his head to match your position. Ajax smiled up at you sadly, leaning his cheek on your stomach as your hand found solace in his hair. “Looking at you reminds me that I have something to lose after all.” With those words, you grew further concerned, and you sat down before pulling him in to rest his head on your chest again. If it weren’t for the heavy atmosphere, you’d laugh and relish in the way he nuzzled into your shirt.

“What…do you mean?” Not wanting to assume, you questioned him. He was silent for a moment, as were you, and the quiet sound of your hand brushing over his hair filled the silence. His shirt felt soft to the touch, warm against your hand, and with enough pressure you could feel the scars gathered upon his skin like old memories in a photobook. 

Like a flower that’s begun to bloom, he slowly decided to open up to you. After years of internalizing everything, he feared allowing someone else to see his sins and darkest secrets-- but this was a start. “I’m just tired of fighting for one cause. A cause I believe in, but look at me.” He chuckled dryly. “Amongst the harbingers, I’m just a kid. Sure, my lackeys look up to me, but only until they see how great everybody else is.” Childe refused to meet your gaze, afraid of the second surge of watery heat gathering in his eyes. “This mission was a failure, (Y/n). I had one job, and I went and fucked it up. I just had to retrieve certain information, that’s it! But it’s been months now, and they’ve pawned the job off onto somebody else. It’s--I- we've gotten nowhere-- fuck it’s my faul--”

“Enough.” Your tone, despite the sound of his superiors’ cold and spiteful voice etched into his soul, sent chills down his spine. He tensed when your palm raised at his side, expecting something-- anything, after all that whining, you must think he’s pathetic! Of course he wouldn’t blame you for smacking some sense into him, he’d do the same if his superiors hadn’t done it for him. Yet, the impact never came. Rather, he was left confused at the soft feeling of your calloused fingers wiping at his wetted cheeks. “Don’t blame yourself. None of this information involves you directly, correct? Then how can you blame yourself? They sent you on a wild goose chase, for hell’s sake. Besides, 'certain information' in the Fatui could easily be a death sentence and we both know it.” You clicked your tongue at the end of your statement, the bitterness and concealed anger of what the Fatui has put him through starting to show through.

You sighed, grabbing a nearby blanket and wrapping it around his quivering shoulders as he cried into your shirt once more. Best to get some tissues the next time you stand up, you mentally noted. In this moment, you didn’t know exactly how to feel. Happy that he opened up to you, sad for the pain he’s gone through, angry at the Fatui for hurting him this way, pity for the wounds he’s suffered both internally and externally, everything swirled together into one confusing amalgamation that left you with no choice but to focus on him for right now. Not that you were complaining, of course. Instead, you smiled. You smiled at the way he snuggled up into your arms like a child after a nightmare, you smiled when he let out a breathy sigh at the feeling of your hands gliding along his back, you smiled when red eyes met yours with the softest gaze you’d seen from him, and you smiled at the way he held you as close as humanly possible and then scooted upwards to whisper in your ear:

“Thank you, for everything. I love you more than you could ever believe- hell, I can hardly believe it sometimes.” He laughed, resting his head on your shoulder now. 

“Thank you for loving me.”

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚✧˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

Word Count: 1523

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚✧˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

- Ky♡♡

𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧; 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻!

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@storytravelled ; @irethepotato ; @euphoric-author ; @lordbugs ; @straymoon96 ;  @hoshikistarlette ; @lianglee11 ; @sup-zfam ; @myaaki ; @roriver ; @rizakari ; @httpshaolvr ; @leena-shii ; @kaerui-kaisen ; @akaiyuki ; @marigold-petals ; @frenchtoaf ; @fijispritee ; @nejibot

#kywrites #childe hcs #childe fluff #childe angst #childe x you #childe x y/n #childe x gender neutral reader #genshin fluff #genshin angst #genshin comfort #genshin imagines #genshin hcs #genshin headcanons #tartaglia x reader #childe tartaglia #genshin x reader #genshin x you #genshin x gender neutral reader #childe imagines

[empressofthesunwriter]

A little History Lesson

At the most renowned university of Republic City, a classroom full of students from all nations awaited with great excitement the arrival of their History Professor.

Finally, they would all learn about the 100-Year War and its end.

Most of them only picked this course because it was taught by one of the famous War Heroes.

Prologue

At the most renowned university of Republic City, a classroom full of students from all nations awaited with great excitement the arrival of their History Professor.

Finally, they would all learn about the 100-Year War and its end.

Most of them only picked this course because it was taught by one of the famous War Heroes.

Hearing this grand piece of history from one of the people who contributed to the war's end was a once-in-a-lifetime chance!

Nothing could bet hearing the account from an important figure of this time, with the textbook pages.

The door to the classroom opened with a familiar bang and their Professor strolled in.

“Good morning class.”, greeted the elderly woman, swiftly making her way to her teacher's desk.

The students greeted her back as she got their history book out for the lesson.

“Turn to page 394.”, she told them, fixing them with a look from over her glasses. “Today we will start on the End of 100 Year War.”

YasukoTanaka, a young woman from the Fire Nation, raised her hand.

“Ma’am, do we need our books for it? I’m sure you can tell us more than the book. You are a War Hero of the conflict.” 

Many agreening sounds came from the other students.

Their Professor fixed her glasses with one hand while holding the history book up.

“Miss Tanaka and everybody else seemed to have forgotten that I wrote this book. All I experienced is already there.”

Masanori Takeda from the North Pole said what all the students thought: “No offence, Professor, but it’s clinical. We had hoped for a more emotional and entertaining history lesson.”

The elderly lady made a little amused huff, closed the book and took her glasses off.

“You children want me to speak freely. Is this so? Hearing anecdotes about my friends and family? About the shenanigans, we had while trying to end this long War?”

A lot of yes’s and please’s sounded around the room.

“You know every year I teach a new class, it’s always the same when we reach this point in the book.”, mussed their Professor, leaning on her table.

Kyoko Yonamine, who was born and raised in Republic City, gave her the best seal-puppy eyes she could do.

“Please, Professor! We wanna hear all about how our heroes were when they were young.”

“No need to butter me up Miss Yonami, I’m used to it.”

The Professor turned towards the blackboard, took a piece of chalk and started to draw the symbols of the four elements as she said their names.

“Water. Earth. Fire. Air.”

She draws a circle around the symbols and continues.

“Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.”

Now she draws lines from the fire symbol to the others, splitting them.

The Students were already inrupted.

“Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished….”

#avatar the last airbender #own character #ocs #sapphic #asexual #lgbtqia #aang #sokka #katara #zuko #zutara #uncle iroh

[insane4fandoms]

Not Your Captain | Iswm x reader Pt. 2

Summary: Conflicted, Mack must make a decision of choosing between power or his Captain, with the help of the crew. Wilford takes notice, and decides to make the decision for him.

Length: 1,900 words

Warning: Violence, Jealous crew, Unhinged Wilford

Ready to go, @crazy-obsessed-enby!

꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂

Mack froze, finger hovering over the screen, not believing what Wil said.

“What?” He quietly said, looking at him with a shocked expression.

“I already sent a request to the mothership a long time ago, and they accepted to replace your Captain with another,” Wil replied with a simple wave of his hand.

“I didn’t come to this… ‘ship’ just to visit them,” Wil let out a laugh, as if Mack said the funniest joke ever. Mack had so many thoughts in his head. Did you know? Even if you did, would you leave so easily?

“You didn’t confide with our Captain, they would’ve said something to us about this. What makes you think they’ll go with you?” The amount of venom he had in his voice surprised even himself, but Wil didn’t acknowledge it and continued on.

“They’ll come with me. They’re always desperate to please their Captain,” He shrugged.

“Without them, who will be our captain?” Mack pushed on, wanting to tru and figure out the reason he’s taking his Captain.

“You of course! You have everything under control, you don’t need them!” Wil smiled widely at Mack, taking a step closer to him, which Mack took a step back.

“They’ll only get in the way. They’ve been here for, what? 1 year? And you’ve been on this ship since forever. Let’s face it Mat-” Wil continued with his speech.

“Mack,” Mack cut him off, which made Wil paused for a second, but continued.

“You wanted to get rid of them the moment they got on board,” He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.

“This is your chance,” Mack never felt so cold. How did Wil know about that? Did you tell him? Why would you do that? You said it was just between you and him. Guess you really would do anything for Wil.

“Well then! No time to dilly dally! I’ll be leaving in a day or two, with my sugarplum,” Wil straightened up and fixed his bowtie. He turned to leave, but raised his finger.

“Oh! And worry about your ‘Captain’, after all,” Wil gave Mack a look that made Mack uneasy. There were very few things that scared him, but the way Wil looked at Captain… It worried him.

“They weren’t yours to begin with,”

Mack said nothing as he watched Wil walk away, thinking about what Wil said. He could officially be Captain? Mack felt something in his stomach, but it wasn’t his usual pride, but something else.

“Mack?” He went back to reality once he realized a hand was waving in front of his face. It was Mark, giving him a concerned look. He turned to face him, and noticed that the crew were here.

“You didn’t acknowledge us when we got here, you blanked out. Are you okay?” Celci hugged her arms and gave a worried look. Mack opened his mouth to say anything, but felt like his voice disappeared.

Say something, he thought. But the dark side of him is saying don’t. You always wanted to be Captain, this is your chance! Why bother with them anyways? Because… because…

“Wilford is taking our captain away,”

Then chaos erupted.

Everyone started talking over each other. Gunther angrily shouting, Burt all saddened, Celci arguing, and Mark basically bawling his eyes out. Mack stayed quiet again, not able to say anything.

“Okay, everyone quiet!” Celci finally shouted and calmed everyone down, except for Mark, who was crying on her shoulder.

“It’s clear that Captain doesn’t know about this, they tell Mark about everything and because of his reaction,” She motioned to the sulking Mark.

“They’re unknown to this, so we have time to stop this entire thing,” Celci continued, which made the others nod.

“Mark and Mack, you two find Captain and tell them about what Wilford wants. Now!” She ushered the two head engineers off, which they did and snuck around the ship, wanting to avoid Wil.

Eventually, Mack peered over a corner, and spotted a familiar uniform. He finally saw you in the lunchroom, sipping your coffee with a happy look on your face. Just as Mack was about to speak, Mark was right behind him and shouted, hurting the other engineer’s ear.

“Captain!!” Mark called out for you, which made you turn around and smiled at the two.

“Hey you two, you’re just in time. I was going to show Captain Wil the Reactor, so I need both of you to help,” You beamed at them, setting the cup down and waving them over. The two looked at each other and Mark cleared his throat.

“Captain, about Wil. There’s something you need to know about-” He started, but you gave him a pat on the head.

“There’s nothing I don’t know about my Captain, and I’m finally going to show him how much I’ve grown!” You smiled at him.

“And that’s the problem, you can’t trust him, Captain!” Mark pushed further, but you just waved a hand.

“You trust me as much as I trust Captain Wil. There’s nothing to worry about,” Mack was getting more anxious, see you leaving. What if Wil ambushes you? What if he just takes you by force? Is he going to kidnap you? Like hell he will.

“Captain please-” Mark was going to please more, but Mack pushed him aside and grabbed your arm harshly. You jumped at the sudden pain and turn to him, and he immediately loosened his grip at the sight of your sudden scared expression.

“Captain Wil is transferring you back to his ship!” Mack suddenly shouted, which made you freeze in your steps. You stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out if he was lying or not. You turned to Mark, who gave a sad nod, feeling like he was going to cry again.

That’s when you slowly sat down, not wanting to believe that your old Captain would do that to you. To take you away from your crew, your ship, your little family. The two engineers sat beside you, Mark comforting you with a hand on your leg.

“We didn't know if he told you about it or not, or if he was going to forcibly take you, but we couldn’t let that happen!” He said, sniffing at the thought of you gone.

“He explained all about it to Mack, thinking Mack will take the role as captain, but he warned us about it,” Mark explained, motioning to the other head engineer.

“Mack…?” You looked at him, head tilted, which caused Mack to suddenly feel embarrassed.

“Captain… I don’t want you to go,” That made you stare at him with a surprised look. Mack was avoiding eye contact with you, face turning a little red.

“You’re the best thing to ever happen on the Invincible II. You are so amazing,” Mark piped in, leaning his head against your shoulder. You looked at your head engineers, and at your hands, where the former warp crystal once laid.

“I thought that Wilford changed… but he never does,” You confessed to him, rubbing your face tiredly.

“What he said warped my head, thinking that my memories were wrong. But I remembered what he did…” You remembered what he finally did. At the interview, at the manor, shooting you and… being stuck in that god forsaken mirror.

You felt a hand on your cheek, and turned to see Mark gently wiping tears away from your face. That also made you realize you were crying.

“Captain, it’s okay. We won’t let him hurt you. We’ll do anything for you,” Mark gave a reassured smile. Mack slowly, and hesitantly placed a hand on your shoulder, and gave you a tiny smile.

“We’re here for you,” He mumbled quietly, and you knew he genuinely meant it. You fully wiped the tears away and smiled at him.

You looked outside into the wide open void of space. You were used to seeing all of those corpses floating in space, the corpses of your failed attempts to make things right. And you finally had a loop that you could no longer see them, why should you give that up for one man?

“I’ve spent an eternity in hell, trying to have a perfect reality…” You mumbled, causing Mark and Mack to look at you. You slowly stood up and turned to them.

“And I’m not going let Wilford throw everything away, just for his games,” You gave them a determined look and you cracked your knuckles turning to the door.

“Captain, where are you going?” Mark asked as you fixed your uniform and gave them thumbs up.

“Distract Wilford, make sure he doesn’t get to me at the main controls,” You simply said and turned to run down the hall. Mack called after you, but you were gone.

“Come on, Mack, we need the others,” Mark interrupted him, tilting his head over the end of the hall. Mack gave one more look over to where you ran off to, and sighed.

“Let’s go,”

꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂

“Just distract him, and Captain will do the rest,” Mack explained to the crew, who were in the former warped core room.

“They said that he likes interviewing people and talks about insane things. He also likes to talk about what he does and who he is a lot,” Mark piped in, looking around to make sure Wil wasn't around them.

“So, he’s as egotistical as Mack?” Celci raised an eyebrow, which made Gunther snort. Burt shook his head as Mack glared at Celci.

“I don't think anyone can reach his ego levels,” Mark nonchalantly said, and Mack elbowed him at the side.

“Anyways, let’s go right now before Wil gets to the Captain again,” Mack cleared his throat and motioned his hand to the crew, who got ready to get into action, but a voice was heard across the hall.

“I’m afraid you can’t do that,” Everyone froze, turning around to face Wil, who was standing down the hall, eyes glowing and head tilted as if he was curious.

“We heard your plan to take Captain away from us, and like hell we’ll let you take them away,” Celci accusingly stated, glaring at the man.

“Captain doesn’t want to go with you, they said so themselves,” Gunther took his sunglasses and growled.

“What Captain wants and needs is on this ship. Never on yours to be used for bad deeds,” Burt firmly said, crossing his arms.

“You need to leave now, Captain doesn’t approve of your surprise,” Mack lowly mumbled, clenching his fist.

“I’m not leaving this ship until part 3, because this story is getting longer than expected!” Wil stomped his foot, pouting and took a step closer to them, but Gunther readied his hand at his gun holster, warning him.

“You are leaving, without our Captain,” Mark lowly sneered, glaring at Wil. The man paused for a moment, then gave a dramatic sigh.

“Well then, my dear extras,” Wil mocked a sad look, and took out a gun from his hidden holster. That made Gunther take his own gun out immediately and aimed it at Wil. Burt instinctively pushed Celci, Mark, and Mack back while gripping his wrench.

“Your time of being characters in this story has ended,” Wil giggled loudly and waved his gun towards Mack’s direction.

“Don’t worry, you just have a bug on your face,” Wil grinned, and cocked his gun.

“Now, don’t. Move. A muscle,”

BANG

#in space with markiplier #iswm mack #iswm mark #iswm celci #iswm #iswm burt #iswm gunther #wilford warfstache #iswm x reader

[electromagnetic-moss]

so we know they're going to have to spend at least a night in jrusar (unless they get other means of transportation instead of the staff) so I'm expecting we get some true one on one talks and reunions and by God's I hope we get team issylra honestly telling the others what really happened in one way or another even if its just laudna confiding in imogen or ashton letting chet know out of worry or some other form. then there's also the 2 very different experiences and discussions on the gods that the two sides of the party have had.

god I'm so ready for the inner party conflict and issues here. I feel like we finally need it. we know they'll probably eventually figure it all out because they're such an entangled found family of sorts now but they need this right now because theres so many conflicting experiences and intense thought patterns going on that need to be dealt with and sorted out by airing them out and being said aloud.

I also feel like we're gearing up for some laudna and orym conflict in some way, shes seeming defensive and on guard w him, not quite ready to follow him on this all in mission for vengeance he seems to want, and ofc if the delilah/bor'dor situation comes out and its known that orym and ashton let it happen and that orym especially gave that encouragement, that nod, maybe we'll also get his reasoning for it, that he thinks they need delilah and the ensuing possible debates that might happen because of it all is going to be so so fucking good and so fucking important for the party, I hope it slows them down, slows their pace, forces them to talk and think and fix this and not go rushing in head first into what I expect is going to be carnage.

and just a lil extra: we're all expecting imogen to be mad at him nodding laudna on but I think fearne, fearne who screamed at imogen to stop her going into the storm, is not going to let that pass either, having already lost laudna once, having been the one he confided w when he was worried imogen had the slightest chance she might switch sides, to hear he did a full 180 and let delilah loose. she won't like that.

#critical role #bells hells #cr3 #lil ramble #marisha said she wanted inner party conflict and me too #fearne calloway #orym of the air ashari #laudna

[sometimesrosy]

The 100 2023 rewatch ep 1.4

Murphy's Law

Man I wish Wells had survived. I wish we could have seen who he became. :(

The wall has been built. Good for them. Clarke is outside it in the growing graveyard, mourning Wells. Finn sneaks up on her telling her what to do. (shouldn't be out here) says the guy who spent another night exploring out in the woods. Oh he got her something did he?

And she's charmed by the art supplies. It makes her remember Wells who was trading his own stuff to give her supplies. NOW she starts blaming her mother. I mean, fine it's her mother's fault, but oh she realizes what she can do to make her "feel it." Vengeful child. And feel it she does. The first terminated signal in over a week. She is freaking out over Clarke maybe dying.

Meanwhile, Monty needed a working wristband for the comm signals. "Well be talking to the Ark by nightfall." Monty's such a sweety and so competent.

Look at those delinquents working hard building walls. Look at Murphy being a dick to the kid who stumbles. Look at Bellamy being dad bellamy and teasing little Charlotte. OMG WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU MURPHY??

I forgot he peed on that poor kid who wanted a water break. WHAT A DICK. How in the world did they redeem him. But they did.

O is leading Jasper out into the woods. And she gets grabbed. By one of the Johns. Then he trips and sees Wells' severed fingers. Hello Trauma capital T.

Dick Kane is tracking Abby and wanting to know why he's going to Mecha. She lies and says someone has strep. "We don't want another outbreak." And he backs off. She lies again saying she'll keep him informed. Mecha has Raven fixing the tincan. No pressure regulator and they can't ride in the shuttle.

The metal knife from the drop ship. The grounders didn't kill Wells, it was one of us. Bellamy points out there's more than one murderer in the camp. Ooooh. Bellamy and Clarke conflict. he wants the news quiet. Keep people afraid and they'll work for him. Fear of the grounders is building the wall. Don't even know who's knife that is.

OH really? JM. John Murphy. The people have a right to know. SHe goes RIGHT to Murphy and blames her for killing him. He of course denies it because he didn't. AND BELLAMY believes her. "I don't have to answer to anyone!"

Come again? Asks bellamy. And he says the knife and fingers were found together. Poor murphy. He really didn't do it. The kid he peed on wants him floated. "It's justice." She says revenge isn't justice. WOW that's a lot of delinquents jumping Murphy. O wanted to stop it. She was a lot less blood thirsty in season 1. I wish we coulda stuck with that.

Clarke is saying they can't string him up

Oooh. this is graphic. Clarke says Bellamy can stop this and the peed boy says Bellamy should do it. They start chanting his name. And Clarke says she saw him in the woods and she knows he's not a killer.

OMG they actually drop him. THat is awful. Awful. WOW>

HOLY SHIT. I forgot how HORRIBLE that was in the immediate reveal that Charlotte did it.

Horror on top of horror on top of horror. That's how this show dragged us in. We never had a chance to recover or even process one horror before finding another.

Meanwhile Bellamy REALLY does not want to do this, but he's going with the crowd. He's NOT in control, but he's afraid that if he stands against them he'll lose control.

Nigel's "little bird" needs a pressure regulator. What for? Regulating pressure. She says she has her mother's sense of humor. And she doesn't move machine parts. How bout some moonshine and herb. She tries to pimp Raven out to the chief of electrical. Her mother would have taken that deal. In fact, she did, many times. We forgot about Raven's history, didn't we.

"I was just trying to slay my demons, like you told me."

Little girl never learned about metaphors and symbolism. What that little girl could have used was a good ENGLISH TEACHER!!! That's right, an english teacher could have saved Wells. lol

Bellamy blames Clarke. If she didn't tell then those idiots would still be building the wall. Meanwhile he wants to save Charlotte the actual murderer. "Giving the people what they wanted."

Now Murphy is trying to get the delinquents to string up Charlotte. "It's okay to string me up for nothing but when this little bitch confesses, you wanna let her walk." And Murphy slams Bellamy and tries to get the girl. This is jam packed.

Clarke and Finn run off with Charlotte into the woods.

UH OH. The arc medical unit. There's a lot of kids not doing so well. Oxygen deprivation. Raven can't get the part. Nygel has the part, and Abby is going to take care of it. I actually always wanted to see Nygel on earth. She would have been GREAT as a villain. Trading morphine for a pressure regulator.

Charlotte tries to hold Clarke's hand and Clarke is MAD. "Clarke she's just a kid." "She's a killer. Look at me, you can't just kill someone to make yourself feel better."

Finn found a bunker for hiding.Art supply store. "I can't believe you kept this place quiet." Clarke agrees with me. Repurposing and sharing with the group. He bribes her with colored pencils. Jerk. They're using a shit ton of candles. Wasteful.

She thinks if she hadn't told none of this would've happened. Finn says she couldn't have known. "Bellamy knew."

Kane's mom Vera. It's funny whose names i remember. The magic earth tree. It's just a bonsai. Nygel tells Kane about Abby. She sucks. Great villain. He calls her a plague on the ship.Oops theres the morphine.

Clarke fell asleep on Finn's shoulder and she grins, she's got a crush on the worthless jackass. And Charlotte's gone.

Bellamy has found her. It's Charlotte hunting season. Bellamy is trying to help her. "I'm not your sister." She's got your number B.

"Listen to me Charlotte. I. Won't. Leave. You."

She calls for Murphy.

Raven and Abby fixing the shuttle as we wait for Kane to come. She finds out that Kane knows the morphine is gone. They're gonna be here in five and Raven needs 20. "Only one of us needs to get to the ground. 300 people will die if you don't." "They'll float you." "Then they'll float me."

Bellamy is carrying Charlotte over her shoulder before running into the cliff. Here comes murphy. He's ready to take a few of them with her. Clarke arrives. "This has gone too far."

Murphy grabs her and holds a knife to Clarke's throat. A trade for Charlotte. She wants to trade herself. She's feeling guilt. So she jumps over the cliff.

Bellarke's first lost child.

Now Murphy is like, "bellamy..." and bellamy is going to bet him to death. "he deserves to die."

"NO! We don't decide who lives or dies, not down here."

This is when they become partners. "We need rules."

"And who makes those rules? YOu?"

"For now WE make the rules. We banish him."

Bellamy is with her. Threatens him if he ever sees him in camp again. And says the other four can be with him or die with Murphy. THey choose Bellamy.

Finn is all emotional. And useless I might add.

Raven racing against the clock to regulate pressure. And Nygel gave her a bum part. Great villain. She sees a space suit. oh that will work.

Abby tells Kane that she's trying to save "all of us." He arrests her and continues the search for Raven Reyes WHO has just taken off in a rusted tincan. She floated HERSELF bitch.

Clarke and Bellamy speaking to the collected Delinquents and nodding to each other. Partners.

Monty has gotten the wristband working. Morse code. OH no. It fried every last wristband. Fried them all? Then how did they use the wristband in season 3??? Oh it might have been one of the ones the took off before.

Meanwhile O is rewarding "brave" Jasper with a kiss. He picked the wrong girl to have a crush on, I tell yah.

Oh UGH. Finn is destroying the bunker because "we're dead to them." we're not alone. YOURE Not alone. No it was Finn who kissed her not Clarke who kissed finn. Now they have their love scene. Meh. Short.

With his girlfriend Raven coming down AS they're doing it.

Rude. Honestly what a soapy mess. Clarke and Raven shoulda gotten together and left Finn out completely. Damn right.

Anyway. That's a jam packed episode. Very dramatic. High stakes. Life and death on the small scale with the delinquents and the large scale with the Ark.

The hanging scene was BRUTAL. Like it was really violent. And the Charlotte reveal was a gut punch. The acting has stepped up big time. (I still don't love O and Jasper, I never really did, but everyone else.)

Murphy is absolutely despicable in all conceivable ways. Clarke is desperate. Bellamy is floundering. Finn is just standing around doing nothing while Bellarke does it all... sorry, he's judging. He does that. Raven is a super star. Abby is determined. Kane has a stick up his butt but he honestly does think he's doing the right thing, although he's still a dick. Monty is a genius. Jasper is terrified. O is a lot kinder in this episode. She loses that later, too bad. We got a lot of worldbuilding for the Ark in this episode with the politics and blackmarket and health crises and Raven's backstory.

I'm actually really enjoying watching this show for story OUTSIDE of Bellarke. There's a lot that I've forgotten.

#the 100 rewatch 2023 #murphy's law #sorry i'm late with this i had a busy week and didn't get the chance to watch. #hopefully i'll get to watch the next episode today too

[ensemblestarscafe]

T. EICHI > Unfinished story that we called love. <

Female reader, setting takes place in ‘!’ era. TW/CW: falling out of love Order type: 1 shot espresso(Mild angst)

Word count: 621 Written by: KAYU Proofread: not yet…

ORDER: CONGRATS AT 100!!🥳 can i please ask for a mao x f!reader where mao is being overworked and doesn't have enough time for her and what he didn't realize is that she's falling out of love at him because he doesn't pay attention to her? i badly need mao angst im sorry also “!!” era! i hope my request is correct.. also! if you don't mind I'm adding another one, same as mao but this time eichi at “!” era:3 can be scenario or headcanon take your time and congrats again<3 - @uchuustars, 20220705

‎‎‎‎RESPONSE: Hello hello! Nice to meet you :) Sorry for the long wait. Thank you for requesting, and here is your order!

‎

Eichi was, well, in a predicament.

He was sick – which everyone knew, but he was much more sick than before.

He sat on the white hospital bed. The smell of cleansing alcohol and disinfectant emanating from the room alone. 

Not only that, but he had also missed the chance to celebrate your 1st anniversary with your relationship.

You – on the other hand, knew about Eichi’s chronic illness, and had confessed to him knowing that you would need to take more caution with your affections and him in general.

But in short, you were starting to get tired. Burnt out, in other words.

You couldn’t really keep up with it anymore. Sure, you loved Eichi, but the words of ‘love wins everything’ felt so fake, like a lie to you. A slow burning fire that was warm, but dangerous to the touch.

And you, had touched the flame.

Your actions were quite obvious to many people that you were slowly falling out of love. You doubted that Eichi knew, but considering how he could read you so easily, he would notice soon enough.

Eichi’s predicament, you ask?

Oh, you know – his sudden severity with his condition. However, he had also caught on your actions.

He knew that you were indeed, falling out of love with him.

Eichi didn’t really know what to feel – he had a suspicion, and your visits becoming more seldom had confirmed his suspicions.

Should he feel conflicted? Angry? Sad? Disappointed?

He didn’t know. But he knew that it would be a mix of all.

He knew he couldn’t really be mad at you; you had tried your best, but you had your limit. The limit that he knew as well. The limit that felt like a skyscraper to you.

It towered over you, like fear that started to cascade your body and mind when you found out that Eichi had fainted a few days ago. Was it fear? Or was it simply just worry for your significant other? You weren’t sure.

Tired, unhappy, discontent, lack of affection.

That was what your relationship was now.

And it was broken into pieces like dust. You couldn’t fix it. Nor could Eichi.

You had known that Eichi wouldn’t have much time to spend with you as the student council’s president, doubled on with idol unit work as well as his conditions.

And you had always understood him with his busy schedule. Yet, as you look back, you knew that it was only you that gave him affection, you that had taken care of him, you that had helped him with paperwork.

But did he ever help you?

You knew the answer.

He never did.

Eichi never had payed attention to you, he had never let you in as his real friend or a significant other, had treated you like a business partner.

And you had started to wonder – did he ever like you?

You couldn’t really tell. But you knew for sure that you didn’t see Eichi as your lover anymore. 

Oh… such tragedies. Yet, relationships come and go, whether it be familial, platonical or romantical. They will end in someone leaving eventually.

They eventually end up with a farewell.

Your relationship was akin to it; but it only felt like a fever dream.

And now, it was time to end it all.

You didn’t love him anymore, and so did Eichi.

The phone rings on the hospital bedside.

Taking the phone to his ear, he hears your voice.

“Goodbye, Tenshouin Eichi.”

‎

Your love was like an unfinished story.

And you left it as a cliffhanger, never meant to be completed.

You stare at your phone, as you delete Eichi’s contact number.

“And I hope we’ll never see each other again.”

#kayu's orders #this turned out slightly disappointing to my standards... #enstars x reader #ensemble stars x reader #enstars headcanons #enstars x y/n #customer < uchuustars > #enstars #enstars angst #tenshouin eichi x reader #eichi tenshouin x reader #eichi tenshouin #tenshouin eichi #おまかせ event

[writingcold]

Neapolitan Pt. 9

A/N:  Howdy to Pt. 9.  You can find the rest of this on this master list.  

Gotta say this once more:  I do not know any of the gentlemen of GVF.  This is a piece of fiction, through and through.  Jake is just my blueprint to a very interesting character to me.  A muse if you will.

Pairing: Jake (switch) X fem OC (switch) 

Content Warnings: Angst, partying, you know it these guys like to drink a lot, Jake’s strawberry, Jake soft dom, control, sexual situations, sex, smut, outright dirty smut, I’m blushing it’s just …  damn.

Word Nerd Corner: approx. 4800 words

Pt. 9

      Nine in the morning found her stirring and finding Jake gone.  Cleaning up and dressing, she made the bed and headed downstairs, knowing it would be quiet.  Looking out to the deck, she found him, sitting at the table in the sunshine, notebook in hand.  She noticed that he didn’t even have coffee in front of him, so she fixed two cups before heading out.

      “There you are,”  she said softly, setting the cup down before him.

      “Thank you,”  he said with a smile and a kiss.  “I got this idea and needed to write it down.”

      She barely got her cup down on the table before Max’s arms grabbed hold of her.  “I don’t want to go!”

     Violet laughed.  “I’d keep you here forever, sweet girl.”

     Jake snorted as Josh stumbled out the door.  Violet tried not to laugh, but the man’s hair stuck out in so many directions that it was hard to concentrate on anything else.  Max just beamed in her post sex high, not caring who the hell knew about her hook up.  

      “Darling, you hold a hell of a court here,”  he said, sitting down next to his twin.  

      “I do try, Sir Joshua,”  Violet commented, taking note that Jake trained his eyes back to his notebook for his brother to see.

      “Shit, is that it?”  Josh said as he practically ripped the paper from him.

      She listened as they hummed the melody that Jake had lulled her to sleep with.  Josh’s face turned critical, almost like a total shift in person, as they went through it a few times.  

      They continued to work on whatever it was that Jake had in front of them, while Violet waved Max back to the kitchen.  

      “Doing better this morning?”  she asked, her hand warm against Violet’s skin.

      “Yeah.  You guys gave me exactly what I needed.  Thank you,”  she said, dragging out the bowl of cut fruit to set out on the counter.  

      “It was a great night.  Perfect,”  her friend mused with a nod.  “I didn’t get a chance to tell you with all the stuff going on, I got that job in Grand Rapids.”

      Violet smiled wide as Max acted like it was nothing.  “We could’ve been celebrating this whole time?”

      “Well, I kinda did last night,”  she answered with a few pumps of her eyebrows.

      “Shit yeah you did.”  Violet belted out, twirling the woman around in a hug.  “When do you start?”

      “Next month.  I’ve already got the house sold and will be moving out next weekend.  I was supposed to stay with Alison,”  she sighed with a shake of her head.  “Everything that’s been going on down there makes so much more sense now, Vi.”

      She felt conflicted.  “He’s bad, Max.  Really bad.”  Swallowing hard as she looked out across the deck at the men that sat at her table, she shook her head.  “I can’t believe that I’m going to say this, but all we can do is hope like hell the bitch wakes up and knows that we still love her.”

      Max nodded as she wrapped her arms around Violet’s waist.  “That’s why I love you.  You can say things like that even after everything and mean them.  Had I known what was happening, I would’ve castrated the bastard then and there.  How fucked up are we that we’re trained and trained and trained to see this in patients and we can’t see it in our own damned friends.”

      “Okay, enough,”  Violet said, hugging her friend tight.  “We have some planning.  You know you’ll only be about an hour from here, right?”

      The twinkle that shone in Max’s eye solidified the woman’s fairy-ness.  They set out the rest of the breakfast items for the easiest access to those who would mill through.  John was the first to arrive on the deck, followed by Teddy and Julie.  Ollie stumbled up, shaking his finger at Josh and said that indeed that last double mojito was not needed at the end of the night.  They laughed at him while he held his head together.  

      Slowly, they filed out.  Max was the last to leave, having hitched a ride with Ollie and his crew.  She twirled and flitted around with each goodbye until it was her turn.  She plowed over Josh to grab at Violet and soak up one last snuggle with promises of visits on the weekends.  Josh watched after the RV for a long moment.

      “Wow,”  he sighed, his eyes moving to Violet.  “Fairy goddess was right on.”

      Violet smiled at him as he retreated to the deck.  “I should get you two back to your place, huh?”

      “Actually,”  Josh said as Jake handed him the notebook.  “Danny and Sam should be here soon.”

     “Oh,”  she said, beginning to straighten up around the deck.

     The sight of her kitchen startled her.  Ollie and John had cleaned up, but the amount of booze and food in the house was just staggering.  She moved back to the deck to look at the coolers.  

      “What’s going on, darling?  You look a bit frazzled,”  he remarked from his spot at the table.

      “I’m going to pawn off most of this beer on you guys,”  she said trying to figure out how they were all so damn drunk but they did not seem to even go through half of what she had purchased for the event.  

      She began to drag coolers to the edge of the deck.  She had to admit, she was not ready for the house to be quiet.  It would give her too much time to think over the situation that she did not want to address.  She married up coolers, tipping over the empties.  She breezed inside and found some paper and a sharpie.  When Danny showed up with Sam in tow, she quickly wrote on the paper “FREE BEER” and held it up to them.  

      “Hey Sunny,”  Sam called as he got out.  

      They loaded the coolers into the truck before joining them on the deck.  Josh was showing them the notebook and all four of them, heads nearly pressed together, began to debate over whatever it was that Jake had ‘figured out’.  Violet stood in her kitchen, wondering where to start.  She started to set nonperishables on the kitchen table.  Most would go to Chase - starving student and all.  Turning her attention to the fridge, she sighed as her eyes moved to the guys outside.  They did not seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.  Nodding, she took out veggies and the grilled chicken that Ollie had made.  She started to put together a meal.  Pouring herself a glass of wine, she smiled as the guys moved the umbrella around for shade and continued on.  Putting some music on, she continued, putting the fresh veg into a saute pan with a satisfying sizzle.  The chicken she cut into strips.  She twirled around as everything started to heat and fill the kitchen with aroma.  

       She dug a little deeper and found some of the cut fruit and tossed salad from Teddy and Julie.  Violet freshened it all up while Josh was signing and Danny was tapping in time.  She looked out across the deck at the sight.  The soft smile that tugged at her mouth made her heart warm.  The way they felt safe enough in her home to work the way they were made her feel good.

     Jake, Danny and Sam were harmonizing while Josh started belting out notes that blew her mind.  The smile on Jake’s face was blinding as they continued.  She grabbed her wine and continued on.  Pulling plates out and glasses, she started to set up the kitchen island.  She filled a bowl with ice and took beers from the fridge.  There was also some sangria that she discovered in the back.  A little happy dance and another glass later, she started to set everything out for the guys to just grab and go when Jake appeared at the sliding door.

     “What’s all this?”  he asked, stepping in, his face tinged with heat.  

     “Leftovers,”  she smiled as she stuck spoons into bowls.  “I hope to feed you all.”

     “Damn, Sunny,”  Sam remarked standing behind his brother.  “Leave you alone for a few minutes…”

     She stood back as the four loaded plates, grabbed beers and headed back outside.  Jake walked back in when she did not follow.  

     “Hey, you okay?”  he asked, cornering her.

     “Yeah, I’m good,”  she said softly as he pulled her arms up over his shoulders.  

     He swayed a bit, keeping her close.  “What’s going on in that mind of yours?”

     “I’m glad you guys are here,”  she answered as he nipped at her neck.  “You make it seem not so empty.”

     “Come on.  Make yourself a plate and come out,”  he said, trying to steer her towards the food.

     “I don’t want to interrupt your work,”  she sighed, picking up the dish towel to start cleaning up.

     “Fuck that,”  he said, starting a plate for her.  “Your company is now required.”

     She smiled as he finished a plate for her and then pushed her outside to the other three and the chaos that was them.

***

     Strawberry.  She had texted the singular word to him Wednesday and had not heard back.  She took a picture of the strawberries on her counter and sent it.  Nothing.  She took a picture of strawberries in lemonade.  Nothing.  She did not have strawberry ice cream, but she did have whipped cream in the fridge.  She put strawberries in cream, took a picture and sent it.  Nothing.  She took a rather large strawberry, dipped it into the cream, angled it against her mouth, took a real close up picture like the whore she was and sent it.  Nothing.  At least when he barraged her with vanilla she had the balls to text him back each and every time.

     Violet groaned, not wanting to wait until Sunday.  She spent the entire day Monday and Tuesday cleaning up after the friend visit.  He had stayed Sunday night and didn’t leave until Monday afternoon, helping out where she let him.  He said that Tuesday was going to be an away day - something about having to conference with ‘people’.

     The quiet of the previous night was the first time that Tim hadn’t haunted her thoughts.  It was the first time that she knew of that the wounds he inflicted did not hurt in their ghostly manner if she skimmed her hand across her scalp or the bump on her collar bone that he snapped, or the numerous other fractures and cuts and bruises that he had caused over the course of three years.  She had even dared to put on music while she read a book and found herself truly relaxed on her own - no need for work, no need for house stuff, no need for another body to be next to her.

      After showering the long day off, she checked her phone to see if she missed a text from Jake.  Still - nothing.  Putting on her jams, she didn’t bother drying her hair.  Going downstairs, she made herself a cup of coffee and grabbed her book for an early evening in bed.  She started locking up when a car pulled into the driveway.  Watching as it parked, she sighed as Jake got out of the car, his hair blowing around in the wind.  Setting her cup and book down on the counter, she opened the slider door and stepped out to greet him with a smile.  His face was serious; his eyes hard.  

      Taking a step back, she knew that face.  The inner whimper nearly screeched in joy as he climbed the couple of stairs and moved right for her.  His hands cupped her face as he kissed her hard, overwhelming her senses.  Backing her up through the door, he closed and locked it while she tried to catch her breath.  He bent, grabbing her around the thighs and lifting her so she went up and over his shoulder.  He smacked her ass with a loud crack.

     “My little whore thought it would be nice to torture me all day long,”  he said firmly.  “I couldn’t answer.  I had to sit with my dick hard while the management droned on and on about whatever the fuck they have to talk about.”

     “I’m sorry, I didn’t know,”  she gasped as she bounced against him.  

      He cracked her on the butt again as he moved towards the stairs.  Violet tried not to giggle as he nearly dropped her.  She slid down his body, landing with a thump right on her ass.  His eyes broke for a moment, his lips rolled into his mouth in an effort to hide his smile. 

     “Upstairs, now,”  he said firmly.  

     She clamored up the steps as he watched her.  He was slow to follow.  She made it into the bedroom, her hands just about to lift her shirt off when he stopped her.

     “I didn’t tell you to take those off, Violet,”  he said in a hard tone.  “My goodness, what a little slut you are for thinking I’m needing you to be naked.”

     She felt her stomach swoon as she lowered her shirt back down.  He walked into the room, authority dripping off his body.  She watched as he opened his belt and undid his jeans.

     “Knees, now,”  he ordered with a jab of his finger.  “You don’t deserve to be fucked by my cock tonight, little whore. Do you understand?”

     “Yes,”  she said meekly, falling to her knees.

     He sat down in the fluffy chair against the wall, just staring at her, like he was plotting something.  “That last picture,”  he whispered, his tone threatening, “that last damn picture sealed it.  You don’t even deserve to suck me tonight.”

     She bit at the corners of her mouth as her heart pounded.  He fell into silence again and her eyes fell to his knee as he leaned back.  When Violet brought her eyes up to his face, she found that a glint was forming in his eyes.

     “So, my dear sweet fuck, what do you think is going to happen tonight for your insolence?  For your temptations when they were not expected?”  he asked in a taunting manner.  “Punishment.”

     The word lingered in the air around her.  Violet felt her core quiver in excitement, and she tried to cover it by turning her chin down to keep her eyes from betraying her thoughts.  He remained silent for a long time, just eyes on her, face hard.  

     “You are going to have to really listen to get back into my good graces, Violet.  You will go into the bathroom and remove all of your clothes.  You will return to the spot that you are in right now with every vibrator and dildo in your possession - except the precious blue one.  You don’t even deserve Jakey Jr.  You will set each one out for me to select from in a nice pretty line.  Do you understand?”

      “Yes,”  she said quietly.

      “You may go prepare.”

      She stood up and nearly tripped over her own feet trying to get to the bathroom in a hurry.  Her brain was racing and her heart was thumping at the prospect of putting on a show for Jake, if that was indeed where he was going with this notion of ‘punishment’.  She was trying to slow her mind down as she opened her toy drawer.  For a moment, she realized that the number of toys she did have was a bit staggering.  What the hell.  Did she really need eight different fake dicks?  She gasped as she realized that she was no different from Margie and her dick pictures that she kept hidden.  She wanted to laugh and cry, perhaps scream a bit at the thought.  

     “I’m waiting,”  he said loudly from the bedroom, his voice annoyed.

     Blowing out a breath, she grabbed the eight, leaving big blue behind and wondering when Jake had named it.  She snapped up a towel in between her fingers on her way out. She must’ve looked ridiculous carrying all the dicks between her breasts and against her belly, but a girl’s gotta do and all that.  His eyes narrowed as she knelt back down, dropping the towel before her and spreading it out before glancing up at him with a smirk.  Violet began to set the fake cocks before her.  At first, she thought she would just set them on the towel and sit back.  But then, she decided it would be better to put them in order - smallest to biggest.  Grinning at her work, she finally sat back on her heels, looking up at him.  

     “Cheeky bitch,”  he whispered.  “I would suggest that you do as you are told, or I will not let you cum tonight.  One more fuck up like that, and I won’t even blow my own load on your tits like I want.  Do you understand?”

      “Yes, Jacob,”  she breathed, feeling the tether to the man tighten exponentially.  

      He shifted in the chair, his eyes drifting across the toys laid out before her like he was picking out chocolates.  He even did a little hum and tapped his chin with a finger.  “I bet you’re already soaked.  Spread them and let me see.”

      She spread her knees apart as far as she could, even leaning back for him to view her.  He tsked her, whispering something for only himself to hear.  

      “I’m surprised, Violet,”  he said lazily.  “I was expecting you to be dripping.  Poor thing.  Am I not exciting enough for you anymore?  I want you to take that mini one and only rub your clit with it.  Let’s light this party, yeah?”

      She lifted the small one as instructed and pushed it in between her folds, circling her clit with just the tip and back round again.  He sat back, legs crossed to hide himself from her, but she was sure he was straining against his jeans.  She pushed the little button that would turn the thing on.  With the faint hum, she grinned as she pulsed it against herself, moving from side to side, forward and back to just ghost her entrance.  He watched in silence as she began to move her hips like she was grinding.

      “Stop.”  

      Violet brought her eyes up to look at him through her lashes.  He was absolutely stone faced.

      “Swallow it.”

      She brought it up to her mouth like she would his own dick, wrapping her lips around it, sucking herself off it and pulling it out with a pop.  She continued to slide it in and out of her mouth as she watched him, trying to get some kind of reaction.  The control he had over himself was amazing.  He almost looked disinterested, but there was a gleam in his dark eyes that goaded her on.

      “Stop.”  

      She pulled the mini out of her mouth and dropped it to her side as she waited for his next instruction.

      “Show me.”

      She leaned back, hand on her low belly to show off how wet she was just for him.  He hummed as the tiniest smirk tugged at his mouth.

      “We’re done with the little fucker.  Take the next one and fuck yourself.”

      She tried not to grin, but she picked the next one up and palmed it before she slid it between her thighs.  Leaning back on one hand, she lifted her bottom to allow her knees to spread even more, giving him the best view possible.  She let her head drop back as she pushed the dick into her, rubbing her clit with the side of her thumb as she did so.  She heard the faint inhale from him as she started to work it, arching her back to give her breasts a lift and bounce. 

      “Faster.”

      She began to pump the dildo into her, trying to concentrate on anything that he may display for her.  Her breath started to hitch.  She made eye contact with him just as she shimmied her shoulders to make her boobs wobble.  The lust that spiked in his face was reward enough to make her continue on.

      “Stop.”  His voice was raspy before he cleared his throat.  

      Violet withdrew the second dildo and held it up as she returned to sitting up on her heels.  He waved his hand for her to put it down.

      “Lay on your back with your cunt pointing at me,”  he ordered, his body not moving.

      Violet moved so that she lay on her back, letting her legs fall open for him.

      “Not nearly fucked enough are you,”  he whispered.  “Pull on those nipples.  Make them bitches stand up all nice and pretty.”

      She began to twist and tug on her breasts, much to his delight.

      “Okay, let’s see if you can fit two dicks in there,”  he said with a wicked smile.  “Take the next two and put them both into your pussy.”

      Her brain fuzzed over.  Two…  Two?  She tried not to make a sound of opposition, but she struggled to hide her ‘what the fuck’ as it passed her lips.

     “Do you require assistance, cock slut?  Because if you do, then we’re done here,”  he threatened.

      Violet moved slowly, first taking one into her with a soft moan.  She grabbed the second one while she was pumping in the first to lube herself up.  She swallowed hard as she lifted the second dildo, this one was thinner, but curved.  Finding her resolve, she began to insert the second one.  The fullness surprised her, but it was delicious.  

      “Goddamn, you’re a fucking goddess,” he encouraged.  “Fuck yourself on them.”

      Bringing her right hand across both, she began to slowly pump herself.  She could not stop the breathy moans that she let go as the feeling was unlike anything she had had before.  Between the two very different shapes, she cooed like the whore she was.  Her eyes sought his, finding him leaning forward, a devil grin on his face.  She watched as he stood, the bulge in his pants looking painful as he kicked his boots off.  He pulled off his socks before yanking his shirt off.  Finally, the jeans and boxers were sliding off his body to slam his dick back onto his belly.  Her eyes began to roll back as her whole body fought against the orgasm that wanted to death drop her through the floor.  

      “Stop,”  he sighed as he palmed himself.

      She ground out a frustrated growl, but she stopped, holding the two dildos in place.  He disappeared for a moment into the bathroom before coming back with her tube of lube.  He stepped over her middle, kneeling down to rest on her stomach.  The smell of his skin made her mind fluster as his heat flooded her.  Her arm was pinned in place by his thigh, holding the dicks inside her.  She tried to calm her breathing as he drizzled the lube over himself.

     “You’ve been so good,”  he whispered, meeting her eyes.  “But not good enough… yet.”

     The soft whine that escaped her filled the air around her.  He began to jack himself off as he palmed one of her breasts.  His fingers twisted and pinched as he moved his eyes from her face to her tits to his dick, and back again like a slow journey that needed to be savored.  He began to up his pace, his mouth hanging open, breath coming faster.  She watched as his beauty just unfolded above her.  With one hand, he reached back, rubbing against her clit, setting her skin on fire.  He was so close.  She slid her tongue across her lips as his eyes locked on her face.  Her mouth started to drop open.  She was not going to be able to stop herself against the tide of her orgasm.  She felt it heading towards her with a proverbial wrecking ball.  She wanted to touch him.  She fought the urge, instead allowing her eyes to drop to his dick as he frantically pumped himself.  The strangled gasp that erupted from her as his fingers brushed against her pinned hand, making the fake dicks shiver within her, excited him all the more.  He did it again, this time slapping at her hand to move the toys within her.  Her eyes rolled back as her whole body began to bend to his whim.  

       He erupted in a wall of sound, cumming on her tits just like he said he was going to.  He was gasping for breath as he looked down at her.  There was something that was beyond her, that he was thinking through.

       “What can you do to make me want to let you cum, my goddess?”  he said, his eyes growing heavy, but looking down at her like he owned her.

      Violet knew it was an opportunity to dazzle him.  She held his gaze for a full minute, allowing him to come down and clarity of thought to return.  With her free hand, she swiped the cum that had begun to pool in her cleavage.  Slowly, she brought it up to her mouth, all the while keeping her eyes on his until his jaw grew slack and his lips parted like he was willing her to swallow.  Instead, she grinned, lifting her fingers to him and gently pushed them past his lips and across his tongue.  Before he could stop her, she pulled him down against her mouth, robbing him of himself.

      “Fucking bitch,”  he whispered before he slammed his hand back behind him, shoving the dildos deep within in a satisfying push.  

      He moved his thigh enough for her to free her hand before he started to pump the dildos into her, slowly, deliberately, so that the wide knuckle of his thumb would push into her clit.  She began to coil, to bend and arch beneath him.

      “That’s it, baby,”  he whispered, his face full of light.  “Cum pretty for me.  You’ve earned this.”

     She blew up.  Her body was reduced to embers beneath him as all the air evaporated from her lungs.  She was sucking for breath as he worked her, his flaccid dick rubbing on her skin.  Her brain grew fuzzy and her eyes squeezed closed as he pumped a few more times, letting her body buckle beneath his frame.  

    With care, Jake moved himself down her legs before taking the first one, then the other dildo from her body and set them on the towel next to her.  The way his eyes shone let her know that the scene was over.  He reached for her, bringing her close to study her face, wiping the hair that was stuck to her forehead back.

     “You okay?”  he asked softly.

     “Fucking blissed,”  she managed as he made his way to standing

     Helping her up, he pulled her against him.  “Let’s get cleaned up.”

     He walked behind her as they both moved into the shower.  She leaned against him as he washed her, a satisfied hum moved through her throat.

     “Guess you really like the strawberry,”  he teased, pinching her bottom.

     “I like it all,”  she cooed as he moved to kiss her.

     Washed, dried, dressed and on the deck with two smokes and two whiskeys, Violet felt like she could sleep for a full twenty four hours.  He was thoughtful as she curled into his side in the wide lounge chair.

     “What’s going on in that brain of yours?”  she asked as she was reaching for her drink.

     “The significant others are going to be up here tomorrow.”

     “Oh,”  she said in a small voice, backing off a bit.  “Do you…”

     “What?  No, I’m not that guy,”  he said with a smile.  “Jess and Calli will be up.”

     “Gotta love booty calls, right?”

     “Pretty much,”  he continued with a soft laugh, but obviously was feeling awkward about it.  “I was wondering if you would like to come over Friday night for dinner.  I mean, the girls are great.  Well, Jess is great.  I think you’d like her.”

     She looked at him.  She looked at how he was running the pad of his thumb across the rim of his glass and how he kept his eyes down and away.  It was really adorable how he seemed nervous at that moment.

     She had a quip on her tongue that she swallowed.  “Of course, I’ll join you.  Then we can come back here and I’ll destroy you with some chocolate.”

      His eyes grew soft as a warm smile pulled at his mouth.  He pulled her back down to him as he held onto her tight.  That’s when the idea hit what she wanted for Friday and it made her heart flutter and her breath to release in a long, slow stream. 

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[thefandomwritersblog]

Ghost of the Ten

Horizon Forbidden West

Hekarro x Fem!OldOne

Action/Adventure/Hurt/Comfort/Romance

Chapter 2

Part 1: Tomb of the Ten

~~

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” - Oscar Wilde

~~

Hekarro paced the chamber, one hand tapping his hip and the other running through his hair. His gaze was drawn upwards towards the occupied tomb every time he reached the head of the room. He could still see her, a faded figure cast in shadow through the glass. Asleep and oblivious to the two strangers who lingered just beyond her resting place. He was rendered speechless for the second time in his life by Anne Faraday's final words. If what she claimed -  that she had put this Old One to sleep for centuries - was true, then it was the discovery of a lifetime.

And he wasn't the only one taken aback by the revelation. Aloy had yet to move from the tomb's base, her gaze fixed on the Old One's face on the other side of the glass. Hekarro was well aware that she was not easily surprised, particularly concerning matters of the Old World. The fact that this caused her concern only added to his previous anxiety and confusion, and he didn’t have all the knowledge she did.

“Aloy?” His voice pierced the silence and reverberated throughout the room as he asked, "What was Project: Zero Dawn?"

That's... a difficult subject to explain," she said, and he could tell by her expression that she hadn't been expecting that question.

Hekarro completed his circuit and returned to Aloy's side, arms crossed and gaze fixed on the wall above the tomb, “I encourage you to try."

She sighed and settled herself on the floor, pulling in her legs to sit comfortably. She looked exhausted, not that he could blame her, “Fine, have it your way. Petra is still working on digging us out anyway so it’ll help pass the time.”

Hekarro joined her, careful to keep himself from leaning against the metal tomb. He waited patiently for Aloy to gather her thoughts. She stared off at the distant wall, thoughtfully picking at her nails until-

"It goes without saying that the Old Ones were at the pinnacle of power in their day. So many of their marvels and wonders still exist today, even after a thousand years. Their ingenuity and creativity allowed them to create all manner of machines. They could travel the stars, heal the natural world around them, and even help the sick.”

Hekarro could hardly fathom such wonders, and if he were being completely forthright, he would admit that it all sounded far too good to be true, “But?”

“But they also created machines of war,” Aloy whispered, and he saw her hands clench into tight fists in her lap, “There was an Old One, a man by the name of Ted Faro. He… he was the reason why the Old World fell. He created a set of combat machines that could replicate themselves, and… that devoured living things for fuel.”

The coil of anxiety returned in full force, like a block of ice in his gut, “Why?”

Aloy shook her head, “Pride, hubris, call it what you will but it was all his fault. He was so sure that his machines were flawless that he made it impossible for anyone to stop them once they were on an objective. So, when an error in the machine's program occurred, and they stopped listening to human commands..."

“They turned into a swarm,” Hekarro whispered, “and began to devour all life.”

Aloy silently nodded, and her revelation rendered him speechless once more. Hekarro was no stranger to conflict; from the Clan Wars to the Red Raid and the Machine Encroachment, violence had been a constant in his life. He was more aware than most of the dangers posed by machines of any kind. That an Old One, this Ted Faro, was responsible for his people's demise did not sit well with him.

“My… predecessor, Elisabet Sobek, was aware that there was no way to save humanity from the swarm, but she was determined to ensure that life had a chance."

“And this was Project: Zero Dawn?”

Instead of a reply, Aloy fiddled with her Focus and he froze in surprise as the vision of an Old One stepped into view. He was far older than Hekarro and held himself with dignity and respect. Even so, he could see the obvious weariness in the old soldier's eyes, and his words carried a profound sadness that shook him to his very core. Still as a statue, he listened to the General confess his lies, the same lies that had caused the deaths of millions of Old Ones in the face of an unstoppable swarm.

He should have been enraged, if not horrified, and yet…

Far be it from him to pass judgment on a man who died a thousand years ago for doing what was needed to save mankind. Above all else, Hekarro was a soldier and a leader. He understood, far better than most, that sacrifice was sometimes a necessary evil. And it was impossible to say what choices he would have made if he faced the same circumstances.

The old soldier faded from view, his words still ringing in Hekarro's ear, but Aloy was not done revealing her secrets. Another Old One appeared from the air, bringing him to his feet in awe. He approached the woman, whose features were so similar to Aloy's that it was almost uncanny. Looking up, he caught sight of the young Nora huntress who was still watching him from the floor, her sad expression reflected in her eyes.

“I’m not sure what to call her sometimes,” she admitted, and she glanced down at her hands still in her lap, “Can she really be my mother if she’s been dead a thousand years?”

Hekarro wasn't sure if he should respond, but the Old One spoke before he could. She, too, exuded an air of solemn dignity and worn wisdom, but while the General's words weighed heavily with regret and guilt, Elisabet's were filled with optimism. Her plan, her dream, to reconstitute the earth after the Vision GAIA finally deactivated the Faro Plague.

“We can't stop life from ending. But if you will help me - help GAIA - we can give it a future. Join me, and help make that future real.”

The veil of ignorance was suddenly lifted from his eyes, and he saw his world with new clarity.

As he stared at the Old One, an agitated scowl etched itself across his face, his nails digging into his palm. He'd lived his entire life following the will of the Ten. From his days as Commander of Thornmarsh to his victory over the Grove, he always tried to act with strength, humility, and honor. To be everything the Ten and Anne Faraday called him to be!

"Future," he snarled angrily, "What future? She speaks of how we were meant to inherit the earth, to learn from their mistakes, but look at us! The machines may have evolved, but we still remain mired in conflict and bloodshed. Why!?”

He turned to Aloy, and she could only shake her head at him, “Ted Faro. Elisabet died to ensure that GAIA launched successfully on Zero Day. Her sacrifice should have given us a brighter future, but Ted Faro twisted it to benefit himself. He believed it was better for humanity if they didn't know what had happened. So he purged APOLLO and murdered the scientists who had given GAIA life and purpose in order to conceal his sins.”

Hekarro couldn't wrap his head around the unwavering selfishness required to condemn humanity to an age of ignorance, and all before it even had a chance to die with a modicum of dignity. If Ted Faro hadn't perverted Elisabet's dream, the Clan Wars and Red Raids, all the innocent lives lost, might never have happened.

"What about the machines? Why did GAIA's machines turn against us if she was supposed to help us?"

“That wasn’t her fault,” Aloy said slowly as if she were choosing her next words with the utmost care, “When we first met you told me you remembered the day you saw Anne Faraday’s message. That thunder rumbled from the east with plumes of black smoke that filled the sky. That was the day GAIA destroyed herself to keep the HADES subordinate function from carrying out its programming, and the day I was conceived in the Cradle Facility inside All-Mother Mountain.”

“So if these ‘subordinate functions’ help GAIA control the state of the Earth, which one is in charge of the machines?”

“HEPHAESTUS is. It’s in charge of the entire Cauldron network, and when GAIA destroyed herself it took refuge in the data network that allows it to communicate between the different facilities.”

Hekarro hummed thoughtfully under his breath just before it caught in his throat, “It didn’t like us destroying its machines for resources, did it?”

Aloy shook her head, “No, it didn’t. It started the Derangement, and as we adapted, it began to create Hunter-Killers on top of all the other problems in the world.

Anger and bitterness pierced his breast as the taste of blood and ash filled his mouth. At his heels, he could almost feel the fires once more. The smell of the burnt corpses and the shrills cry of Regalla’s anguished screams clear in his ear. A night sky reflected in the pale, empty eyes of a boy who died far too young, cradled in his mother's lap.

That it could all have been avoided, that they could have been so much more than war and death, was a tragedy beyond description.

As the image of Elisabet Sobek faded into the background, Hekarro sighed and turned to walk back toward the metal tomb at the far end of the room. He once again found himself gazing at the slumbering Old One through the glass, a million and one thoughts running through his head. Aloy, ever silent, joined him in his vigil and they watched on as the women slept.

“How does she fit into this tale, Aloy?” Hekarro pondered quietly.

"I don't know," she admitted. "At this point, everything I can think of is pure speculation."

"I prefer conjecture to confusion."

She sighed and gestured to the tomb, “The Old Ones made incredible technological advances, and one area of interest was known as Cryogenic Stasis. The ability to freeze live humans for extended periods of time before thawing them out. However, based on the records I uncovered during my delves, the technology was far from complete by the time the Faro Plague reached its peak. Something to do with a flaw that resulted in a high mortality rate."

“And yet, this one persists even after a thousand years.”

Aloy frowned, “I’d hardly count one survivor as a success.”

In unison, they both turned to look at the rest of the silent, dark tombs. He wasn’t a fool; the Old Ones sealed inside were dead, but for how long he couldn’t say.

“Why does this Tomb still preserve the Old One,” Hekarro wondered aloud, “while the rest sit in darkness?”

“It’s hard to say,” Aloy replied, “I’m not really an expert in this exact field of technology.”

He scoffed at that, “I doubt anyone is.”

Aloy froze from the corner of his eye, and he turned to watch a serious and thoughtful expression darken her gaze. She walked slowly and deliberately, absently biting her thumb as a surge of nervous energy compelled her to pace.

“Aloy?”

She didn't respond. Instead, she tapped her Focus,

"Kotallo? No, no, everything is fine; I do need to ask a favor though. Right, can you take my Sunwing and bring Beta back to the Grove? It’s… it’s complicated, but the Chief and I found something and she’s the only person I can think of who might know how to help us. Yeah, well, you’re just going to have to see it for yourself because I don’t think you’d believe me otherwise. Let me know when you’ve got her.”

Hekarro smirked at the satisfied look on her face and raised an eyebrow, "Dare I ask who you're about to bring to my Grove now, Aloy?”

Almost as red as her hair, her blush of embarrassment nearly made him chuckle, “Oh, um, Beta. She’s my… Well, I call her my sister, but she’s like me. Elisabet is our… mother.”

“I don’t know how I feel about having another one of you running around. You’re trouble enough.”

She flashed him a cheeky grin, "I think it'll be fine. We grew up in different ways. Beta may not be as skilled with a bow as I am, but her knowledge of Old One technology is far greater than mine. I know she’ll be able to get us some answers.”

“Well then, it seems I have little choice than to trust your judgment on the matter.”

Hekarro returned his attention to the tomb, watching on while the Old One slumbered. In that icy, rimy prison, he couldn't help but wonder if she was dreaming and, if so, what those dreams might be. Were there loved ones whose faces filled her thoughts? A home where the peace and tranquility of normal life prevailed, as though the world hadn't ended in violence and terror? Perhaps she dreamed of nothing more than a yawning darkness that went on into eternity, a feeling of being closer to death than she wanted while still somehow painfully alive. Aware that something was wrong, but unable to fully comprehend it.

Hekarro suppressed a shudder; either one sounded awful to him.

“We should probably start heading back,” Aloy offered, filled with sudden nervous energy, “Kotallo said that Petra was making good time on digging us out.”

He gave the Old One one last long look through the glass before falling into step next to Aloy. As they made their way through the maze of dark corridors, Aloy's crude markings on each twist and turn, the thoughts of the mysterious woman consumed him even as he tried to keep such her from his mind. Frozen in time as she was, she still posed a unique problem to him and it was one he wasn’t sure how to address.

“Aloy?” As they rounded a corner, his voice cut through the darkness, "What do I tell my people about what we've discovered down here?"

“Honestly? Nothing.” She sighed and came to a halt in front of a stretch of collapsed walls. Hekarro recognized the corridor as the one they'd discovered prior to the cave-in. "We don't know much about the Old One or the technology that keeps her alive. Telling the rest of the Tenakth the truth might cause a commotion. Rumors would spread beyond the Clan Lands and to the other tribes, and that kind of scrutiny could do more harm than good. Not to mention that curious Tenatkh could also unknowingly harm the Old One if they poked around machines they didn’t understand. ”

Hekarro knew Aloy was correct, no matter how unpleasant he found it. The Tenakth were in no condition to handle such attention. Particularly so soon after Regalla's rebellion attempt. He still needed time to recoup his forces and reign in the rest of his clan, many of whom were still swayed by the ideals of a dead woman. Nonetheless, he despised the idea of lying to his people, even if it was necessary.

Heavy movement from the collapsed wall brought him out of his thoughts, and instantly set him on edge. Instead of another cave in, however, the sound of heavy equipment broke through the rubble and allowed lamplight to filter in through the cracks.

“Fire and spit, Flamehair,” Petra called; Hekarro and Aloy as she pushed through the last of the debris, her figure silhouetted against the light in the tunnel, “You sure know how to make things interesting!”

Hekarro snorted, and quickly turned it into a cough. It didn’t save him from the dry sidelong look Aloy shot at him anyway.

“Thanks for digging us out, Petra.”

Petra waved off her gratitude and assisted them in squeezing through the opening and into the tunnel. The Oseram workers dispersed to make room for them and resumed their work once they had passed, and with Petra on their heels, they all departed swiftly.

The scent of fresh air and the warmth of the midday sun was a blessing. Hekarro breathed in deep and allowed it to wash over him, all too happy to be free of the underground and in the light.

“I do believe,” Called a familiar, unamused voice, “That I warned you to be careful.”

"And I believe your warning was not to have you dig out my corpse," Hekarro huffed, looking down at Dekka, who stood near toe to toe with him, clearly unimpressed. "Last time I checked, I am still alive."

She almost laughed at that, the quirk of her mouth a dead giveaway. Instead, she covered it with a scowl, “I hope the scare you gave me was worth it.”

His smirk faded and he turned to glance at Aloy. She regarded him with knowing eyes before giving him a simple, silent shrug. Dekka, whose expression had changed to match his seriousness, was watching him intently.

“I’m not sure,” Hekarro said carefully, “Aloy has advised me to keep quiet about this as much as possible, but I need your help in keeping everything under control until I can figure out what needs to be done.”

Dekka took his stride, her steps matching his. They made their way across the arena floor to the large gate that led up to the main thoroughfare. It would not be an easy walk back to the Maw, but it was the route that provided them with the most privacy, “What is it that you discovered down there?”

He struggled for words, but how could he begin to explain or simplify everything he'd learned?

"An Old One," he finally said, "we found a Living Old One. Asleep, frozen in time, but alive nonetheless.”

Dekka froze in shock, her gaze fixed on him, as if searching for any sign of mockery on his face.

“You do not jest,” she muttered in shock, “This is…”

“Unprecedented. "I am aware."

“Aloy is right,” Dekka said, “We need to keep this quiet. Is that why Marshal Kotallo left in such a hurry?”

He nodded, “Aloy asked him to bring her sister here, as she is an expert on Old One technology.”

“A wise choice. I’ll gather a few of the Chief’s Guard to keep watch on the entrance, under the guides of keeping everyone out of the unstable tunnels until the Oseram are done. How long before Aloy’s sister arrives?”

“I’m not sure; though, if Kotallo is to fly on the Wings of the Ten, then I suspect a few days at the least.”

"All we can do now is wait," Nearing the main road, they turned to head down the path toward the Maw, "Did... did you happen to learn anything about this Old One?"

“I have a theory.” Hekarro replied softly, and the tight coil of anxiety returned as he remembered everything he'd discovered in the underground facility. Dekka waited patiently until he could gather his thoughts before stopping on the road to gaze out over the serene facade of the Memorial Grove.

“I found more testaments of the Old Ones,” He said, “One of which was left by Anne Faraday.”

“She spoke to you again?!”

"Not to me," Hekarro said, shaking his head. "To the Old One, who I believe is sleeping in Anne's tomb. Her testament spoke not only of duty, but also of Anne's own selfishness and her desire for a better future for the woman sealed within."

His Chaplain's expression changed; a deep sadness seemed to wash over her as she nodded gravely, "No truer words were ever spoken by anyone other than a mother. This changes much, because she’s not only a Living Old One, but the Daughter of one of the Ten. Our ancestors given shape, form, and a voice once more.”

She considered the middle distance with him before she exhaled a long and tired sigh, “Far easier said than done, but there’s little we can do now except wait for the arrival of Aloy’s sister. Worrying will do us little good until then.”

Dekka clasped his arm and squeezed it reassuringly before walking down the road. He stood alone with his circular thoughts as he watched her pass through the Gates of the Maw. Of course, she was correct, but her words and comforts did little to alleviate the concern that had settled like a heavy stone in his gut.

Time would tell what the future held for the Tenakth; he just wished it didn't have to come with so much anxiety.

~~

She dreams of a golden field bathed in morning twilight, of an endless horizon cascading in a kaleidoscope of colors she can barely comprehend. Free and flying through the tall grass astride the stallion as it races across the unknown frontier. She can feel its strength as it runs, each gallop carrying her from the beast to her. She urges it towards the hill, her fingers entangled in its mane, her breath caught in her chest. As they crest, she reaches for the sky, her laughter loud, wild, and free.

She finds herself breathless at the dinner table, the faint smell of dinner in the air. She can just make out the gentle pluck of guitar strings above the hum in her ears, and she smiles at the thought of her papá playing music on the front porch again. She pushes the table back, oblivious to the fact that it does not scrape across the old wooden floors.

She only knows she is at home, safe and loved.

#horizon forbidden west #hfw #horizon zero dawn #hzd #ghost of the ten #hfw fanfic #my writing #horizon fanfic #horizon writing #hekarro #chief hekarro