#none of these colors are right her hand is weird but this was very relaxing

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Funfact! Eros and Psyche are my actual parents and I am their child -Danny Words: 2,182 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Would've Could've Should've' -by Taylor Swift

XXXVII: I Am So Very Extremely Extraordinarily Normal Right Now

Ara scans the crowd of mortals but no one gives her weird vibes yet, these kids look their age but they're here to enjoy the summer. Ara and her friends are here to fight a war, she envies them.

"Are you gonna tell me what you meant back in the ship or—"

Ara hushes him. "It's not safe."

Nico frowns. "Did you hear Nemesis? Or Janus?"

"No. It felt different," she says dryly. "Like it was threatening to hurt me if I didn't come along."

"Are you seeing this?" Jason points at an ice cream cart.

Nico stops and squints. "Maybe we should buy some ice cream."

Ara studies the appearance of the person Jason has spotted: a young man that reminds her of Leo if Leo were some king of wind spirit: handsome with dark curly hair and large warm-colored wings.

"He's not a returned spirit," Nico says deep in thought. "Or a creature of the Underworld."

"No. I doubt they would eat chocolate-covered ice cream bars," Jason mutters.

"So what is he?" Nico asks.

Ara has a bad feeling about him even if the guy looks harmless. He smiles before vanishing, but Jason can track his aura, so he takes the lead. Ara keeps her grip on Almighty firm and ready.

"I'm betting that's the palace," Jason points to the ruins. "Come on."

Her heart starts beating like crazy, she feels butterflies and her hands get clammy, and the symptoms do not match her usual anxiety, this feels like the kind of nerves she felt seated on the porch swing with Leo, all those months ago in camp.

"We've got to catch him," Jason prepares to fly. "Hold on." 

"But—"

The boy seizes both Nico and Ara and flies them to the other side of the tall walls where there are more tourists, none of those mortals seem to notice them.

"A little warning would be nice!" Ara hisses. "Man, you can't just pick me up like that! Where are we anyway?"

"The peristyle. This was the entrance to Diocletian's private residence." Nico turns to Jason and glares at him. "And please, I don't like being touched. Don't ever grab me again."

Jason looks at both teens, both younger and smaller than him and yet more intimidating than he's comfortable admitting. "Uh, okay. Sorry. How do you know what this place is called?"

"I've been here before," Nico responds quietly. "With my mother and Bianca. A weekend trip from Venice. I was maybe... six?"

"That was when... the 1930s?"

"'Thirty-eight or so," Nico hums. "Why do you care? Do you see that winged guy anywhere?"

"No..." Jason says, eyeing the boy intently.

Ara's used to being the bad guy in Nico's eyes, and at this point, she doesn't care about upsetting him further, so she voices what Jason is thinking. "I think it's impressive that you've retained information of such an old memory, considering all you've been through."

Jason doesn't want them to fight when he's the only one around to stop them. "I agree, can't imagine how weird that must be, coming from another time."

"No, you can't," Nico snaps. Ara clears her throat, reminding him they've made a deal. The boy relaxes a bit. "Look... I don't like talking about it. Honestly, I think Hazel has it worse. She remembers more about when she was young. She had to come back from the dead and adjust to the modern world. Me... me and Bianca, we were stuck at the Lotus Hotel. Time passed so quickly. In a weird way, that made the transition easier."

"Percy told me about that place," Jason nods. "Seventy years, but it only felt like a month?"

Nico clenches his fist. "Yeah. I'm sure Percy and Ara told you all about me."

"Yeah, and how much of a nuance you are," Ara replies sarcastically. "I'm planning to kill you as soon as you're done helping us."

"That's not funny," Jason gives her a look.

"No, it's not," Ara agrees heatedly. "It's ridiculous that he thinks we're always trying to make him look bad in front of—"

"Well, you had no problem talking shit about me to Lily."

"That's not—"

"Roman dead are everywhere here..." Nico interrupts her, walking away. "Lares. Lemures. They're watching. They're angry. We shouldn't stay here for long."

"They're looking at us?" Jason tenses, reaching for his sword and kind of glad to have a way to derail the argument.

"At everything." Nico points ahead. "That used to be a temple to Jupiter. The Christians changed it to a baptistery. The Roman ghosts don't like that. And over there... That was the mausoleum of the emperor."

"But his tomb isn't there anymore," Jason responds.

"Not for centuries," Nico agrees. "When the empire collapsed, the building was turned into a Christian cathedral."

Jason swallowed. "So if Diocletian's ghost is still around here—"

"He's probably not happy."

Jason nudges her arm. "That way. The winged guy. Where do you think those stairs lead?"

"Underground," Nico smiles coldly. "My favorite place."

As they enter the passageway, Ara thinks about stuff she hasn't thought of in ages. It could be Athena's blessing, but she's thinking about how ephemeral the world she comes from is. One day it's there, then it's just a fun tourist attraction falling to pieces.

Her dreams, none of that will go anywhere. In the end, she'll die, and all that was precious to her will become ruins. It's pointless. Even her laurel wreath, given to her as a tribute to her sacrifices, will get buried under debris at some point. Nothing matters.

"Ara?"

The girl gives a start. "Sorry, what?"

"The note," Jason tells her. "I asked if you could give it to me, I think this is a good place."

Ara draws out the note from her Octopi bag and hands it to him, he leaves it under a bust of Diocletian.

"Okay, that's done," Ara takes a deep breath, shaken by her disheartening thoughts. "Can we—"

"Hello!" Out of instinct, Jason cuts the statue's head. Ara pulls out Almighty too, finding the wind spirit they'd been following right behind them. "That wasn't very nice," he says. "I mean, what did Diocletian ever do to you?"

The statue fixes itself, and Jason glances at it before turning to the young man. "Uh—It was an accident. You startled me."

"Jason Grace, the West Wind has been called many things... Warm, gentle, life-giving, and devilishly handsome. But I have never been called startling. I leave that crass behavior to my gusty brethren in the north." The guy grins.

"The West Wind?" Nico takes a step forward. "You mean you're—"

"Favonius," Jason states. "God of the West Wind."

"You can call me by my Roman name, certainly, or Zephyros, if you're Greek. I'm not hung up about it."

"Why aren't your Greek and Roman sides in conflict, like the other gods?" Nico frowns.

"Oh, I have the occasional headache—Some mornings I'll wake up in a Greek chiton when I'm sure I went to sleep in my SPQR pajamas. But mostly the war doesn't bother me. I'm a minor god, you know—never really been much in the limelight. The to-and-fro battles among you demigods don't affect me as greatly."

Ara eyes him, his presence makes her uneasy. "And you're here to talk about...?"

"The sarcophagus of Diocletian," he answers. "This was its final resting place. The Christians moved it out of the mausoleum. Then some barbarians destroyed the coffin. I just wanted to show you that what you're looking for isn't here. My master has taken it."

Ara gets a gut reaction that makes her knees buckle. Her back hits the wall, this is far from good.

"Your master?" Jason asks in alarm. "Please tell me your master isn't Aeolus."

"That airhead? No, of course not," he laughs.

"He means Eros," Nico points out. "Cupid, in Latin."

"Very good, Nico di Angelo. I'm glad to see you again, by the way. It's been a long time."

"I've never met you," he steps back scowling.

"You've never seen me, but I've been watching you. When you came here as a small boy, and several times since. I knew eventually you would return to look upon my master's face." He turns to Ara, his smile growing. "He has kept an eye on you too, Princess of Troy."

Ara's grip tightens around her sword, and Nico is starting to look uneasy as well.

Jason looks at them. "Guys, what's he talking about?"

"I don't know. Nothing," Nico says anxiously.

"Nothing? The one you care for most... plunged into Tartarus, and still you will not allow the truth?"

"That's enough," Ara intervenes in a harsh and demanding tone. "My brother has no business keeping that scepter, we need it."

Favonius tilts his head. "You know, long before this was Diocletian's Palace, it was the gateway to my master's court, so you see, it is very much all over his business. I've dwelt here for eons, bringing those who sought love into the presence of Cupid."

"Like Psyche, Cupid's wife," Jason offers. "You carried her to his palace."

"Your favorite myth, daughter of Olympus," Favonius grins. "You know, your brother was always quite flattered. From this exact spot, I carried Psyche on the winds and brought her to the chambers of my master. In fact, that is why Diocletian built his palace here. This place has always been graced by the gentle West Wind. It is a spot of tranquility and love in a turbulent world. When Diocletian's Palace was ransacked—"

"If Eros has the scepter and you're here to let us know," Ara interrupts him again, "that means he's willing to hand it to us?"

"It is one of Cupid's many treasures, a reminder of better times. If you want it..." Favonius looks at her and Nico intently. "You must face the god of love."

"Guys, you can do this," Jason says, oblivious to why this freaks them out. "It might be embarrassing, but it's for the scepter."

"You're right," Nico attempts to look brave. "I—I'm not afraid of a love god."

Nothing in this world terrifies Ara nearly as much as love does. Real love—the one that claws at your insides and brings you to your knees—breaks, wounds, and changes you. Love destroyed Nico's youthful spirit. Love took young, gullible Ara, and ate away every bit that was sweet and tender. Nemesis has no other face but Ara's, because she can only hurt love when she hurts herself.

Favonious's gaze brightens at Nico's words. "Excellent! Would you like a snack before you go? Oh, bluster—I keep forgetting my symbol is a basket of unripe fruit. Why doesn't the spring wind get more credit? Summer has all the fun." He makes a face.

"That's okay," Nico urges him. "Just take us to Cupid."

They land on solid ground and Ara crashes against Nico, he catches her before she falls.

"Yes, mortal bodies are terribly bulky," Favonius hums when he sees their conditions. "Honestly, I don't know how you stand it, day in and day out."

Ara moves away from Nico and steadies her breathing, she doesn't know what Eros will force upon them, but she refuses to look frightened. This is the one monster she's been wanting to fight for years.

"Welcome to Salona. Capital of Dalmatia! Birthplace of Diocletian! But before that, long before that, it was the home of Cupid—Oh, he's not like that," the god says of nowhere.

Jason gives a start. "You can read my mind?"

"I don't need to," the man shrugs, playing with a bronze hoop he's been carrying the whole time. "Everyone has the wrong impression of Cupid... until they meet him. This one seems to be the only one who knows what she's about to face," he points at Ara.

Ara looks around waiting to spot Eros somewhere. Beside her Nico stumbles onto a column, the anxiety of the moment seems to be weighing on him.

"Ah... I don't blame you for being nervous, Nico di Angelo. Do you know how I ended up serving Cupid?"

"I don't serve anyone," Nico growls. "Especially not Cupid."

Favonius sighs. "I fell in love with a mortal named Hyacinthus. He was quite extraordinary."

"He...?" Jason pauses. "Oh..."

"Yes, Jason Grace." Favonius turns to him. "I fell in love with a dude. Does that shock you?"

"I guess not. So... Cupid struck you with his arrow, and you fell in love."

"Jason, be quiet." Ara is freaking out, her mouth is drying, and she knows what this god is insinuating.

The god grins. "Arae Jackson, you were an Aphrodite once, but now you're not fond of love..."

"I'd get along with him just fine if he'd leave me alone," she grumbles.

"Oh, but it isn't his fault, not really. He used his arrows on you, yes, but the arai were the ones who got carried away with you. My master has tried to help, but well, love can't fight itself!"

"Ara, what is he—"

"It doesn't matter," she responds with a fiery gaze. "It doesn't mean he isn't enjoying my pain. He's worse than our Mother."

"Perhaps," the god smirks. "But right now, he's one of the few gods willing to lighten your burden. You want to save your friends, don't you? Make up for what you can't stop from happening."

"Eros!" Ara calls out impatiently.

The air shifts and speeds up around them. Favonius sighs. "That would be my cue. Think long and hard about how you proceed. You cannot lie to Cupid. If you let your anger rule you... well, your fate will be even sadder than mine."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh @ebony-reine-vibes

#twoidiots writing #pjo fanfic #leo valdez fanfic #doo #leo valdez x oc #heroes of olympus #percy jackson and the olympians

[angelsfalling16]

Swimming and Baking

I came up with the idea for this fic while I was in the pool this morning and it's a little rushed and barely edited but it feels so good to be writing again 😁 also, it's very small, but there's a mention of Simon's birthday at the end, so happy 25th birthday, Simon! 🥳🎂

Summary: Simon never learned how to swim when he was a kid, and when he finally decides to learn how, he's surprised to run into an old nemesis/crush.

Word count: 2182

Read it on ao3 or down below

Simon

It’s embarrassing enough that I'm 24 years old and never learned how to swim, but I'm even more mortified when I see who my swim instructor is. Bouncing from foster home to foster home, I never really had an opportunity to learn how to swim - no one cared enough to teach me - and now, seeing Baz pitch of all people, I'm wondering if this was a mistake.

Baz was the hottest guy at our high school. Not that I would have ever admitted that back then. I didn't begin to understand my feelings for him until it was far too late, and then we graduated and I never saw him again. Until now, at one of my most humiliating moments.

I want to turn around and leave, pretend like this never happened, but it's too late. He's already seen me.

He seems just as surprised to see me, but he's very professional as he explains to me the basics of swimming.

"For today, we'll just focus on learning how to float. To start, I'm going to have you lay back in the water, and I'm going to help keep you above the water."

I nod and follow his instructions. He places one hand under my back and the other under my legs. My body feels tense all over, as I try to react to the feeling of his hands on me.

"Relax," Baz says gently. "Just breathe and relax."

 Baz

In high school, I imagined a million ways that I could have my hands on Simon, but none of them were quite like this. It was surprising to see him after all of these years and even more surprising given the circumstances.

He's not the only adult we've had to teach how to swim, but it's weird how things have aligned in such a away that I'm his swim instructor. This is going to be an interesting few weeks.

***

Simon 

Shit. I'm running late.

"Tish," I call out to the front of the bakery, and a moment later, she enters, her blue and black striped hair swinging. Her color of the month.

"Yes?"

"Can you watch these cakes and pull them out to cool? Cal will be in first thing in the morning to decorate them."

They're a last minute order, but I couldn't say no to making one more pride cake. It is pride month after all.

"Of course," Tish nods, but I'm still skeptical. Tish is amazing when it comes to making cool and crazy coffee flavors, but she's the opposite when it comes to baking. "It'll be fine. Aren't you late to be somewhere?"

I sigh because she's right.

If Baz had just given me his number, I could have texted him to let him know that I would be late, but he refused, saying it was unprofessional. And now he probably thinks I flaked because of how terrible I am even though this will only be our third lesson.

 Baz

Simon is late. I shouldn't be so surprised. He was always late back in school, but since he's paying for this, you'd think that he would try to actually show up on time.

Maybe he quit. I can't tell if I want that or would hate that.

Seeing Simon again after all these years has brought up a turmoil of feelings in me. I thought I had gotten over him years ago, resigning myself to the fact that I'd likely never see him again. But then he walked back into my life, bringing those old feelings along with him.

Teaching him has been kind of difficult because I don't want to push him too far or make him feel uncomfortable by touching him too much. A lot of my instruction has been solely verbal, which is a struggle for him, but he keeps showing up anyway.

I should suggest that he find a different swim instructor, but I can't seem to find the words to do so. I don't want it to seem like I'm pushing him away, and if I'm being completely honest, I like spending this time with him and am not ready to see him walk back out of my life.

It's stupid, I know, but as long as he still wants to come, I'm going to let him.

***

Simon

"Who is that?" Sam says a couple of weeks later, loud enough that even Cal looks up from the cookies they were carefully decorating with rainbow stripes. We've been struggling to keep the baked goods that they've been decorating for pride month in stock for more than a couple of hours each day no matter how many I bake or they decorate.

I look up at the door to see who has just walked in and am shocked to see Baz here.

"Uh, that's my swim instructor," I murmur. They all already know I've been taking swim lessons, but it's still embarrassing to admit.

"Damn, he's hot," Sam says, only a little quieter this time. "I would have take swim lessons too if I'd known the instructor was going to look like him."

"Don't you have a girlfriend?" Tish asks from behind the register, where she's ringing up a young girl who is politely pretending not to be listening in to our admittedly too loud conversation.

"Yeah," Sam replies, "but I can still look."

I shake my head and turn my attention back to Baz who has joined the line to order. His hair is down today, falling in loose waves a few inches past his shoulder. I hadn't realized how long it was because he's always got it pulled up into a bun when we're in the pool. It looks really nice like this.

Tish clears her throat, and I jump. "Perhaps we should all get back to work," she says, looking pointedly at me and Sam. I nod and turn to help Cal with a few cookies watching Baz from the corner of my eye.

I can't believe that Baz is here. In my bakery. Well, mine and Tish's bakery. We opened it together a few years ago. But still, what is he doing here?

"I think he's watching you," Cal murmurs with a knowing smile after a couple of minutes have passed, right before Tish says, "Hey, Simon, will you cover the cash register while I make these coffees?"

It's obvious what she's doing, but I play along anyway. Baz is second in line now, and I force myself to keep my eyes off of him until he's standing directly in front of me.

"What can I get for you today?" I ask. At least, that's what I mean to say. Instead, it comes out more like, "What are you doing?"

God, I'm an idiot. No wonder Baz hates me. I can't even talk to him without making a fool of myself.

He raises an eyebrow at me, and one corner of his mouth turns up in an amused version of that oh-so familiar smirk that has my heart skipping a beat.

"My friend was telling me about this place, and I thought I would stop by and try it. I had no idea that you worked here."

"Actually, he owns the place," Tish says from somewhere behind me, apparently not too busy to eavesdrop on our conversation.

"Wow." Both of his eyebrows raise now. "That's cool."

I nod. "I'm not that stupid boy from high school anymore."

The corners of Baz's mouth turn down, and I wish I could stuff the words back into my mouth. Why can't I speak around him?

"I never thought you were stupid. I just thought you could have applied yourself a little more."

"Right." I don't want to get into this. Our past is messy, and I don't really want to relive high school right now. "So, what I can get for you?"

He pauses briefly, and for a moment, it looks like he wants to say something more but seems to think better of it. He orders some really sweet coffee that only Tish knows how to make and one each of our pride cupcakes and cookies.

Tish manages to wait until Baz has finished eating and left before confronting me, but as soon as the door closes behind him, she's dragging me into the kitchen and demanding answers.

"What's going on with you and Baz? And do not say he's just your swim instructor. Clearly, there's more to it than that."

I shrug, my go-to response when I don't know how to talk about something. I try anyway because Tish is my best friend, besides Penny.

"We went to high school together. I had a crush on him but never told him. We haven't seen each other in years. And now he's teaching me to swim. That's it."

"That's not it. There was some serious tension between y'all. Do you still like him?"

I shrug, then nod. Of course, I do. He's gorgeous and kind and funny, and I don't think I ever really got over him. But I know he could never like me back. To him, I'm still that immature boy who drove him mad in school. And now, the boy who never learned to swim.

Tish shakes her head at me. "I love you, but you can be really thick sometimes."

"What are you talking about?"

"That guy likes you. You should have seen the look on his face when he saw you behind the counter. I don't even know how to describe it."

I want to argue with her, but I know it's pointless. She may not be into romantic relationships herself, but she's really knowledgeable when it comes to this kind of thing.

It's hard to believe her, though. Why would Baz like me?

 Baz

I don't stray far when I leave Simon's bakery. I end up walking aimlessly around a small bookstore a couple shops down from it, but my mind is still at the bakery, watching Simon in his element, joking with his friends and relaxing in a way that he hasn't been in the water these past few weeks.

Maybe it was selfish of me not to tell him to find a new swim instructor. I thought that we could work through our past, but if he can't even be comfortable around me, there's no way I will be able to teach him.

Coming to that conclusion, I head back out onto the sidewalk and towards the bakery. There isn't a line this time, and Simon isn't behind the counter anymore. I could still turn back. But I don't.

The girl with the blue streaks in her hair is being the counter, and when she sees me, she rushes through a door to the back. A couple moments later, she comes back, Simon following behind her.

"Hey," he says slowly, tensely.

This is going to hurt like hell, but it's the kind thing to do. I have to let him go and quit holding on to my crush for him.

"Can we talk for a moment?" I ask.

His brows furrow, but he nods. "I'll be right back," he murmurs. Then he makes his way around the counter towards me.

Aware that his coworkers are watching and probably listening, I take a few steps away from the counter.

"Listen, I've been thinking about it, and I think that you should find a new swim instructor."

"What? Why?" He sounds hurt, but I'm probably imagining it.

"You obviously aren't comfortable around me, and I think you would be better off with someone else teaching you."

He doesn't say anything, just stares at me.

"I'm sorry, Simon," I say, then turn to go. I barely make it a step before he grabs my wrist and pulls me back around.

"Wait. I don't understand. I thought things were fine. I thought I was getting better."

"You are. I just think you would be better with someone you can be comfortable around."

"It's not that I'm not comfortable around you. I just—." He hesitates briefly, and his voice is barely above a whisper when he says, "I'm afraid."

"Of me?"

"No," he says quickly, shaking his head. "Of my feelings for you."

It's my turn to be stunned into silence. His feelings for me? What is he talking about?

"I like you, and I was afraid that you would find out. That's probably why I've seemed so closed off around you."

I don't know what to say, but I don't think words are necessary at this point. His hand is still on my wrist, so I bring my free hand up to cup his cheeks and with paper rainbows dancing above us, I kiss him.

 Simon

I should probably be at least a little bit concerned about kissing someone in the place I work, but I can't seem to find it in me to care in this moment.

Because I'm kissing Baz. The boy I never thought would like me.

I don't think he knows it's my birthday, but he's just given me the best birthday present ever.

#simon snow #baz pitch #carry on #co/ws/awtwb #the simon snow series #rainbow rowell #happy birthday simon snow #snowbaz #snowbaz fic #my writing #swimming and baking

[woundstotheheart]

CHAPTER 1 || JASC

You woke up, feeling groggy and tired. It's strange, you thought as you realized you felt lighter than usual and well, better. You groaned, turning to your side and was about to fall asleep again until the door opened.

Wait opened!?

This startled you, making you sit up your bed quickly, you're sure your vision spun for a quick whole. This made you wide awake as you tried to find a weapon to fight off the intruder.

Who could have entered? You were sure you have locked everything. To the door and to the window, your heart was beating fast when you didn't find any suitable weapon but a lamp which you were sure you didn't have in your room before. But because of the adrenaline, you didn't bother questioning it. 

You clutched the lamp in your hand, staring at the intruder, ready to chuck the lamp at them the moment they make their move. But, you then you saw something unexpected. 

Instead of seeing a cliche man with all Black get-up and mask, you saw a woman, who oddly resembles you, staring at you with a weird look at her face. It didn't help she's wearing pajamas with aprons on, like a typical mom in everyday mornings. 

You questioned everything that moment. Who in the hell would intrude a house with that get up? 

"Put the lamp down Y/N, you're gonna destroy it." She scolded you, her voice stern as she stared at the lamp in your hands. You were dumbfounded, how did she know your name? How did she get in? Who is she? Why is she scolding you?

And most of all, why is your room like this? It was bigger and your bedroom wallpaper isn't totally colored Mauve.

When you didn't do anything, the woman pointed out yet again, this time with a scolding gaze. With your confusion on what's happening, you decided to put the lamp down. Maybe your brain isn't braining that moment and just decided to follow the woman who's acting like as if she's your mother. 

That's when you noticed that your hand had shrunk too and looked like it belonged to a little kid and you're surely not a little kid. You're a teenager that's nearing her debut, not a child in elementary. 

"I have already ran a bath for you, here's your clothes. Get cleaned well ok? We're gonna have visitors today." The random woman said as she picked a child's dress for you. 

You were too dumbfounded. What's going on? Is this perhaps just a dream? If it isn't then you don't know what to call this situation you're currently in.

So it has to be right?

"Huh? Wha-what?" You said dumbly and the woman sent you another questioning look before approaching you.

"Are feeling sick today? You look pale.." She said with a worried tone, putting her palm on your forehead. You flinched at the contact but relaxed when you realized that she's only feeling your temperature. 

"N-no..." You managed to say with a gulp, it feels weird being babied like this. She's treating you like you're her daughter yet you don't even know her.

"M/N, is Y/N awake yet?" Another person decided to enter and it made you more shocked than you already are. It was your father who was now more younger and healthy looking.

He also called this woman your mother's name.

"Ah yes honey, I think she isn't very well though. She's getting pale..." The woman or rather, M/N said as she stood up, running a hand to your hair almost affectionately.

Your father whom you haven't seen for years entered your bedroom and knelt in front of you just like M/N had did a few moments ago.

"I should've not let you eat all those ice creams alone..." He chuckled, squeezing your shoulder tenderly. His words made the woman stare at him with shock as if he committed such crime that deserves death as punishment. 

"You did what?!" The woman shrieked in anger and your father flinched as he stood up, laughing nervously. He raised his hand in surrender, dodging when M/n sent a slap his way. 

"Oh come on, it was only three ice creams!" He tried to reason but the woman had none of it as she sent another slap to your father in the shoulder, this time successfully hitting him. 

"What if she gets sick?" She asked before dragging your father out of the bedroom. It was so weird, so so weird seeing your father again and to see him smiling and giving you affection.

It brings tears to your eyes, this was new and you don't know if you hate or love it. You could have had this life if your mother didn't die. 

"Y/N, change to your clothes ok? I'll be back!" M/N said sweetly before glaring at your father who was getting dragged downstairs and with that the door closed, leaving you alone to process what's happening.

It's silent as you try to process what's happening, it hurts your brain to even try. You shook your head, this might be a dream. 

You stood up from your bed, feeling shorter and walked towards a mirror to see what happened to you.

To your horror, it was you but years younger. You have shrunk into a 9 year old, which I tell you sucks since everything looks so big to you. Humans have turned to titans and it's making your brain spin. 

You touched your cheeks, your legs and to your chest to see if the melons are still there but no, you really are now a child.

You pinched yourself hard that it made you wince and your eyes teary but you didn't wake up either.

You spent minutes looking at yourself and around your new room. Many pictures you're sure you didn't take and remember, were on your wall and at the table placed your bed.

It was you and your father and whom you assumed as your mother. You all looked so happy in every picture. Smiling and just enjoying each other's complete and warm company. You saw some family pictures and to your confusion, your auntie wasn't in even one single picture. 

You gulped as you stopped snooping around, 'your' mother might get here and scold you if you're still standing here without doing anything. 

You could hear your mother scolding your father downstairs and it sent a smile on your face unknowingly. This house where you now stayed is no longer silent nor lonely because your parents sure are loud people. 

No empty apartments, no silent lonely rooms, just a house full of warmth and life. Something you wished to have ever since you were a child. 

You stared at the simple yet beautiful dress your mother had sent in your bed. It wasn't too grand, you could even use it at a regular basis but yet again after all you're only gonna have a visitor not a grand party.

It's been a while since you have dressed in something pretty.

You went to take a bath, almost getting lost in the unfamiliar way along the way. And when you're finished, you slipped the dress in, putting your used clothes to the laundry basket at the corner before finding a comb at the table and began to brush your disheveled wet hair.

"Y/N, have you changed your clothes?" Your mother came in with a smile, it seems she have calmed down.

She sat at your bed beside you and took your comb, continuing to brush your hair.

You couldn't help but turn around and hug her. Even if this is a dream, having a loving mother just hits different. The warmth she emits gives you a foreign feeling of longing as you hugged her. 

Your mother let out a yelp before laughing, hugging you back almost as tenderly as she can, stroking your hair. 

"Aww there there.." She pat your head with a smile as you pulled away. You only realized this but your mother was really pretty, no wonder your father became so sad after her death.

But yet again it was your fault. If you weren't so hard to bring out in this world, you and your father would live a lovely family like this with your mother. 

"The visitors are the new neighbors, I heard they have children around your age so why don't you make friends with them?" She said, combing your hair again before tying it in a single braid and let it rest on your shoulder.

"Really?" You suppose you can just enjoy the moment of having a happy family and a mother.

"Yeah, make tons of friends!" She said before hugging you, guiding you downstairs where you saw your father sitting at the sofa with a very red left ear.

Your mother probably pinched it. Which you were correct when your father sent a hurt look at your mother who only ignored him. This further made him sulk, however when his eyes sent on you, he literally beamed, forgetting his hurting ear. 

"You look absolutely pretty princess." Your father smiled as you were led to sit beside him.

"Thank you.." You're still not totally used to the kind version of your father. You looked over and saw him watching some baseball match, a newspaper and coffee at the table. You had the urge to laugh, yeah a typical dad. Indeed he is. 

"Do you want to watch cartoons?" Your father had the remote in his hand, about to switch channels so you could watch. However you aren't a 9 year old mentally anymore so you declined.

Your father shrugged at this and set down the remote and continued watching. You could hear your mother bustling around the kitchen as she put dishes in the table, probably for the guests.

Then again you would probably wake up soon enough because this was nothing but a pleasant dream. Even if you pinched yourself already. 

Suddenly the doorbell rang and your mother rushed to open it. You're father perked and hastily fixed the stuff in arm's reach. You, who's still confused as ever and not used to what's happening, could only raise her eyebrow. 

Who are these visitors? Ah right, neighbors. 

"Welcome! Please enter." Your mother said cheerfully as she let the guests enter your house. You heard voices and footsteps approaching.

You stood up to greet them along with your father who turned off the TV on the last minute. When you stared at the supposed neighbors, you were too stunned, beyond speechless at the family that possessed extraordinary beauty. 

There stood a beautiful woman with dark deep violet hair said. You assumed she's the mother, she looks like a fairy, a supermodel even. You wouldn't be surprised if she is. The man beside him, was equally ethereal with amethyst eyes, God was he handsome. 

"Kids, why don't you two introduce yourselves yes?" The woman even have such soothing voice. She gestured beside her and your eyes followed. Her children weren't what you expected.

The two children with them looked exactly the characters of the novel you have read. Yet again, you got caught off beyond speechless. You watched as the two of them looked at each other before nodding. The younger girl in your age made her move to introduce herself first. 

With one graceful move, she moved forward and you were embarrassed when you caught yourself admiring her beauty. 

"Hello, my name is Christina Alderich. Thank you for having us." The cute beautiful child introduced herself before bowing lightly with a smile. You're sure the room lit up almost immediately at her smile.

"Mine's Anthony Alderich, you can call me Theo." The handsome older boy introduced himself next. He's almost stoic, slightly bowing as he stood beside his younger sister. 

You felt yourself about to faint.

What is this?

Prologue = LINK

Quotev = LINK

#yandere male #tw yandere #yandere boy #yandere love #yandere #male yandere #x reader #yandere x reader #oc x you #oc x self insert #self insert #reader insert #female reader #anime #reverse harem #isekai #quotev

[the-tf2-gremlin]

WHAT LURKS BENEATH: CHAPTER 2: HUMAN

NO WARNINGS THIS TIME, SMALL AMOUNTS OF BLOOD IS THE WORST AND SOME CLASSIC AUSSIE CUSSING AND PROBABLY A BADLY BOTCHED GERMAN ACCENT... XD SORRY I GAVE OUR LOVELY GRUMPY OLD MAN OF A MEDIC A VERY THICK ACCENT. YOU’LL SEE WHAT I MEAN LATER.

ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN LINK: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42437688

All he remembers was sinking. The crushing weight as the waters grew colder and darker, before his eyelids fluttered closed. Now having lost all his strength and energy, he was unable to keep his buoyancy, which now was sending him seemingly to his demise.

Mother never took him that deep, she warned of all the bigger more aggressive mer folk and the sharks that preyed on the weak within the deeper ends of the oceans. Mother always kept him in close to the shallows of the coat, and chased off any that drew too near to her pup. Some left missing pieces thanks to his mother, which she’d always hug and nuzzle him after such a close encounter. How badly he wished mother was able to do that now. To just hold him close and stroke his hair, tell him it would all be okay….

After several long minutes of nose diving, his body painfully made contact with a grainy sands of the ocean floor, his gills feebly opening and closing. With lidded eyes, he did his best to raise his head. From what little orientation he has left, he thinks his landed on his sensitive nose, and then flopped onto his side, before rolling onto his belly. Not that he has any memory of this. His head swam viciously, leaving him feeling nauseous and scared.

Smaller reef fish swam closer, gently picking off bits of bugs and algae on his skin. Apparently his “relaxed” demeanor was a open invitation for smaller fish to come feast. That truly didn’t bode well if something bigger came alon-

The smaller fish scattered. A strange oddly shaped shadow loomed over his body. Not even with the strength to lift his head or open his eyes, he just laid there. Utterly helpless. It made unsettling noises, like when orcas and whales would blow bubbles from their blow holes, to entrap fish or to communicate. This sounded like a eerily alien sound that made him unconsciously grit his teeth. It made his head hurt, his stomach churn. Weakly, his gills moved, and he pathetically gnashed his jaws in protest and as a threat. A very stupid looking one but a threat none the less.

Whatever made that shadow was now right besides him, possibly just shy of a couple inches. With what little strength he had left from adrenaline, he opened his eyes wearily. If he was going to die, he was going to die staring the beast down, showing he still had fight left. Or at the bare minimum, defiance. The tip of his long sleek tail twitched. He was beginning to regain some feeling in limbs… When he shifted his gaze, he froze up in sheer terror.

The thing, looked like a weirdly stretched out hairless seal, it was utterly horrifying! its colors were all wrong, a painfully dark blue streak running down its shoulders and the rest black. It seemed to have horrid gills that spewed bubbles and were horribly misshapen gills, with some weird single gleaming eye in the middle of its face! It practically ate it’s entire face! What was that horrid thing?! Slowly, it raised it’s “arms” in some sort of pacifying gesture, as if trying to indicate it meant no harm. Unfortunately, the gesture left him incredibly unconvinced.

The strange abomination's hand reached out, before gently touching his right cheek, giving his face gentle taps. He blinked slowly, eyes blearily focusing on the up close movement. It made him nearly blanch. Anything he did with his eyes made his stomach protest angrily, threatening to heave any small fragments of fish he did just eat earlier right back up. No thanks. Weakly, he moved his head to the side, whining softly. 

The creature seemed to give some sort of worried grunt, before its hand went up into his hair. It stroked him gently, doing the same comforting thing his mother would do. Out of reflex his eyelids fluttered, and against his will he leaned his head into the touch. If he had the strength he would’ve bitten that limb clean off from the bone. His blood boiled as his tail gave away how much he was secretly enjoying the touch and attention.

There was a sharp prick of pain down where he felt something stab him when he was at the surface trying to outrun that strange pod. Panic gripped him, his body coming to life in the blink of an eye. All his strength seemed to ignite in his body, as with one slap of his tail he left the strange creature in his wake, doing his best to resurface. His air bladder was empty, and that would make swimming back up topside extremely difficult. Without the ability to resurface and no energy to get enough water flowing over his gills... He would surely suffocate. Granted, he could remain still and breathe. Just, not at this depth. The weight of the water was beginning to already eat away at his body and fragile lungs.

Unfortunately that small outburst inly landed him 2 feet away from the creature, panting and shaking. At least being underwater the thing wouldn’t see the stinging of his eyes and if he were crying. The creature paused, watching him carefully. In it’s hand was a strange small black metal tip, which he hadn’t noticed was there the pain from the surface came from. Weakly, he turned his gaze to the right side of his lower tail.

A small trickle of blood seeped from the foreign object that has imbedded itself in his side…. That was where the numbing sensation and where his energy seemed to start being sapped first. His blood even drifted lazily off the metal thing in the creature’s hand. The creature didn’t move, it’s unblinking eye just watched him, very cautiously. Once more, it did its best to make that “I mean no harm” gesture, before ever so slowly creeping forward to him. Weakly, he just stared, eyes barely focusing on the odd creature. There was little more he could do. 

*** Sniper’s Perspective ***

This time, the shark was half turned to face him, breathing labored. That tranq dart sure did a number on this poor little fellow. Awfully young, he looks so skinny and afraid. It’s gorgeous large blue cat like eyes bored holes into him, watching every move he made very cautiously. It was on the defensive, and being newly weened from its mother it would be incredibly skittish. Strange, this fella was bit of a runt, yet judging from the growth notches in his dorsal fin, it seemed to be roughly 26 years of age... Granted Makos didn't GET big but damn this one is small...

Even netting one this small would’ve meant it’s too small for breeding... But it’s coloration and vibrant eyes would’ve done extremely well as a zoo critter. Such a fate for this lil bloke seemed horrible.. That and sending him to a sanctuary... A soft twitch of the critter’s tail made him jump faintly. Tended to forget this was still a wild animal... And despite it’s runty size it could rip him to pieces.

The reason he wasn’t dead was thanks to it being exhausted. That and it’s air filled lungs that helped it remain at a certain depth in the waters got depleted once the dart hit it. If it weren’t that he’d surely be in it’s stomach right now. Unfortunately, it would most likely die if it didn’t make to the surface and refilled those. Worse yet, he hasn’t seen any sign of the others approaching yet.

Shit. It didn’t have long, and if he came back up without it unconscious and tied up, he’d be the one in the chum bucket. Or as live prey for the next shark. worry began to gnaw at him, as he looked up. Still no sign of them... Why were they taking so long?!

The man grit his teeth, before very slowly creeping towards the mer shark. It flinched, baring it’s teeth as a warning. It was half on its left side now, clearly still struggling from the narcotics in its system and the lack of buoyancy. God this was fucking insane. Why the hell was he doing this?! This was the definition of insanity. He’d be lucky if he kept all his limbs after this, if not his head and throat...

Gently but quickly, he pressed a hand on the bleeding wound, making the creature cry out in distress. Slowly and softly, he stroked its back, just behind its dorsal fin. All it did was flare it’s nostrils, gnashing its teeth at him softly, but besides that it didn’t react. In fact it seemed to relax, as it shivered each time at the touch of its scales being petted. It even arched its back, trying to make contact with his hand each his hand left it’s body to give another pet. This earned a very small smile out of the man, as he watched it’s tail wag very slowly.

This was very common for newly weened pups, their very touch starved and are very used to being over coddled by their mothers. Weening it very hard on youngsters, so he guessed this small amount of touch was making worlds of difference to the pup. The pup made soft what he could best guess and chirping and clicking sounds, close to a dolphin or an orca, but much deeper and more guttural.

It’s eyes were half closed and it’s tail wagged gently, clearly enjoying the attention in it’s half conscious state. He wasn’t gonna lie, this creature was gorgeous. And judging form the build of its face, torso and jawline, it undoubtedly was a male. And the claspers were a dead giveaway. Handsome lil fella he was… The man flushed and shook his head, cheeks burning under he mask. Bloody hell the pressure had to be getting to him…

The man steadied himself, realizing this could kill them both if this failed. Mustering all his courage, he took as deep of a breath he could muster from his oxygen mask, before slipping it off his own face. Quickly he laid right besides the mer shark, who was still dazed and soothed by the sensation of being pet. Carefully, he grabbed at the smaller male’s bottom jaw, very gently prying it open. Oddly, it didn’t react. It seemed to lulled into sleep like state, meaning he easily could be too late. SHIT, if those dumb asses murdered this lil fella in cold blood, their blood would be all over his hands by the time he got back to the boat... 

Despite the fact he could feel the mer sharks teeth cutting his own fingers, he slipped the oxygen mask into it’s jaws, doing his best to get it to close it’s jaws around it. It seemed to blink a few times, as he did his best to stroke its back, hoping it’ll start taking greedy gulps of air. Meanwhile, his lungs were starting to scream at him, begging for that mask back. A huge relief was when he saw the mer shark’s eyes snap open, taking hearty breaths, it’s gills now pumping furiously. It was working! As stupid as this plan was…

It was managing to get its air back, and the oxygen seemed to be what it badly needed. After even a few moments, the shark seemed to lift off the gravelly sea bed, and was regaining its much needed buoyancy. Pups did not have the lung capacity yet to breathe under such deep pressure, and clearly it nearly killed this little fellow. For a tense moment, it locked eyes with him, seeing through the glass of his diving goggles. It’s eyes seemed to bore and search into his, all fear seemed to be erased with curiosity.

The creature stared, and tilted its head. Slowly, it released the oxygen mask apparatus from its jaws, before gently nudging it back onto his face. With extreme gratitude, he hastily grabbed it and slipped it back on with shaking hands. Seeing was getting hard and he felt incredibly dizzy. Taking greedy hungry gulps of air, he felt his lungs scream and writhe for holding his breath over 3 minutes under immense pressure.

How his heart, lungs or brain didn't burst he wasn’t sure. The man sat there for a few moments, busy trying to regain his his breathing and lower his heart rate. While he was distracted he didn’t notice the mer shark move besides him. Gently, it reached its clawed hand out to caress his face. He flinched, eyes widened with fear. Their eyes met. They just stared.

For the tense time he was busy feeling the pressures of the waters nearly crush him, he forgot he was LITERALLY pressed side to side with a fucking mako mer shark. This… was so incredibly awesome and yet so utterly horrifying.

It’s jaws was fully closed, and it began trying to mimic the same things he was doing to calm the mer shark down minutes ago. It seemed to think his oxygen tank was his strange dorsal fin, as it was gently rubbing/stroking just to the sides of it. It... It was FUCKING petting him?! The entire time it refused to break eye contact, and to be frank he was too scared to.

This entire moment couldn’t be happening. THIS WAS A HALLUCINATION, THERE WAS NO WAY. Humans and the mer folk were in a state of unspoken war, both sides getting more and more hostile towards one another. This was possibly one of the few reasons the others weren’t rushing to his aide. At the moment, the ones who banned the illegal black market selling and dealings had... Turned a blind eye in light of the recent attacks. Meaning, there was less ground for the law enforcement to do anything about it. Sales of living mer people had increased ten fold, along with selling their parts. Truly, he was glad this lil bloke was well off enough not to require him taking it to his animal sanctuary, when he first saw it he feared it was so small and sickly it wouldn’t be of use to the other men, alive.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the mer folk now curiously poking at his sides and touching his cheeks. He was utterly flabbergasted, this sort of closeness between humans and mer folks have ever been recorded. Not for years at least. Once decades ago it was speculated they got along... but... Stupidly, he just sat there, unable to formulate any thoughts in his head. Mostly just how badly he was blushing having his lower back touched by a half human half shark being…

Something startled the creature, as it glances at him before dashing off towards the nearby coral reef, heading to safety. The man looked up. A series of 4 other boats were heading in the direction of the one floating above him. About damn time! Lazy wankas! A lot of yelling could be heard, as the men in the stalled ship began reviving the engine and speeding off, two of the boats further away turning in hot pursuit after them.

He smiled, knowing that his job was successful. Slowly, he turned back to the reef, waved, and slowly began making his way up to the surface, taking it slow as to avoid giving himself the bends. Every few minutes, he’d stop and allow his body to catch up. By the time he got to the surface an hour had passed. He breached the surface, ripping off his mask and breathing in hasty gulps of salty air.

The sounds of voices and loud talking of many men met his ears, and he recognized the thick Scottish accent and a heavy commanding German one barking orders as usual. Ugh. Of course he was stuck with them. Bugger. Slowly and begrudgingly, he swam towards the coast guard’s boat, not sure how exactly what he was going to be greeted with. Perhaps his tip off might buy him some leniency… With the German there, that was extremely unlikely.

Welp, whatever came next would be well worth it. He saved a life today and it didn’t matter if anyone but the little mer shark noticed. Before he grabbed onto the rungs of the metal ladder, he turned out to the sea. His eyes widened slightly, as he saw a very large dorsal fin cutting through the surface, about where the reef was, before quickly vanishing back into the reefs below. Was… was it saying thank you…? Maybe it was just curious of the commotion… The small gesture made his heart hammer against his ribs, his cheeks once again flushing slightly.

His dazed daydream was cut off by a strong red gloved hand reaching down and grasping his wet suit, before he yelped in shock and surprise to be hoisted up and being tossed onto the boats floor, wincing from the impact the scuba tank had against his spine. There was loud yelling, before strong arms pinned his arms behind his back and had a firm grasp on his shoulders, before holding him still long enough for him to glance up at the man’s face. Rigid posture, extremely agitated, and a long scar running over his right eye. Fuck. Oh he was so buggered. 

“AH, mistor Mavoerrich, longh time no see hmmm~? So kind of youh to send us zhat little tip off, about the illegal poaching of zhe local wildlife, vhich vas greatly appreciated... BUT zheeing how youh also are still operating zhat animal sancurary vithout a legal license und and collecting ill creatures for it, doesn't exactly bode vhell in zhe court of law, does it? But, ratting out your comrades, might earn youh some... leniancy. Especially zince these SHCWEINHUNDS have managed to escape zhe law for years... UND mein comrade sees zomethigh in youh as redeemable..” The German man stared down at him, despite him actually being a whole foot taller, the impressive ache in his back wasn’t exactly helping and it kept him hunched over. Maverick kept his mouth shut, glaring daggers at the German. With a faint smile, the German tsked him a few times before shaking his head with a eerie grin.

“Awe, remaining silent again, hm? You’hre taking all zhe fun out of mein job. Seeingh zhat we have nothingh to discuss, toss him in zhe brig. Make SHURE he has NOTHINGH on him! Jetzt Jetzt!” The German motioned a shooing motion with his hand, before turning his back to Maverick. Hastily, the two burly men hauled him below deck, stripping him of his diving and other miscellaneous  gear before confiscating it and aggressively throwing him into a holding cell with a change of clothes. Piss, they were weren’t happy to see him were they...  With a pained whine, he sat up, staring down at the orange jump suit sitting in his lap. Crickey, he wasn’t weaseling out of jail time today was he...

Everything hurt… honestly he would’ve seen this coming. If it was just the Scotsman he could’ve weaseled a conversation out of him. The German, oooh they had history. With a loud and defeated sigh, Maverick shivered as the cold sea air made contact with his sopping wet suit. With a great amount effort, he changed into the jumper, staring at his very cramped accommodations. This was gonna be a very long drive home… And all he could do was sit and wait for the hell that was about to befall him. All he hoped was that little fella makes it out there alright and has a good long life…

The sound of the ocean winds hummed gently at the open window on the other side of the boat far from his reach. There was another sound, too. Faint singing of a mer shark in the distance, being carried along the waves. Haunting, beautiful, and eerie. Maverick gave a tired smile, listening to it. There was a sneaking hunch of which which mer man was singing, and at least it meant the lil bloke was alright.

With that, he curled up best he could on that uncomfortable metal bed with a flimsy mattress and a sheet, doing his best to doze off being sung a oceanic lullaby by the mer man he saved earlier that day. Maybe… maybe he could change… Perhaps after he did his time he could get a legal license, and own a proper sanctuary… maybe… he’d see that quirky little ankle biter again… maybe…. Maybe….

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 medic #team fortress 2 medic #team fortress engineer #team fortress 2 spy #team fortress 2 demoman #team fortress 2 fantasy au #tf2 sniper #sniper tf2 #tf2 spy #tf2 demoman #tf2 engineer #bush medicine #medic x sniper #medic x heavy #we got two medics in this fic #one is human one is a mer man #team fortress 2 engineer #team fortress 2 heavy #mermen #medic is a merman #MEDIC IS ALSO A HUMAN #WE HAVE 2 MEDICS THEY HAVE SEPERATE NAMES THEY AINT THE SAME PERSON #ONES AN OLD GRUMPY MAN ONES A YOUNG HALF FISH #why is there two?.... cuz I like medic ok dont judge #THE FLUFF IS REAL #fluff #CUTE HURT COMFORT BUSH MEDICINE #hurt comfort tf2

[terielle]

Heal the Scars 6/?

Also on Ao3

For today we‘re gonna spent a little time in our soon to be rear admiral. As i mentioned before, I‘m not much into writing fighting scenes but I started this so… and I really want to get the actual storyline forward but here we still are. The ship’s name is as usual from fantasynamegenerator.com. What would I do without that website? <3 I put in a lot of effort trying to use ship vocabulary and I hope I didn’t screw up to much or lost to much in translation. Figured it is called marine as well in englisch so I‘m going with that from here on. Striking colors means taking down the flag and is a signal for surrender.

How long has he been waiting for such an opportunity? Weeks? No, it have been months. For months he tried to catch this crew. He was denied support, quite the opposite: He was told repeatedly to just let it go. It was the great era of pirates. A single pirate crew who barely caused harm but was as annoying as them was just a waste of time and resources. The bounty hunters should handle them. Or maybe a patrol gets lucky. But he didn’t tell that to Elizabeth. No, he even told her the Marine couldn’t tolerate their behavior. Which wasn’t really a lie, as a captain he was an officer and as such a representative of the Marine. But something about Snail Patrol gave him a weird feeling. From the very beginning he had a bad feeling and he wanted to stop them. They were far to organized for his tastes.

As expected, Snail Patrol did try to turn around as soon as they saw the Marine emblem on the sails. Even though they initially sailed towards the Marine vessel they did adjust their speed according to the weather. Due too their slower pace they were less maneuverable and lost precious time turning around. Time, which the Marine ship used to get within fire range.

„Captain! Are we going to sink them immediately?!“ his right hand yelled over the thundering canons.

„If necessary“ he yelled back.

„But… can’t …. Loot …back!“

He guessed she wanted to say something like ‚But then we can’t give their loot back!“ but it was lost in the sound of canonfire. She really tended to be very thorough, but it was a very bad time for elaborated discussion. It was far to noisy, and he really wasn’t in the mood to lay out all his thoughts to her.

He nodded „If they-“ he paused to wait for another blast „escape neither“

She wanted to speak again but this time his look was enough to silence her. He wasn’t quite sure, if she really didn’t know what he intended to do or if she really wanted to know everything elaborated. He hoped for the last, a tendency for being over prepared was a bit annoying, but if she couldn’t grasp simple strategies, it would be way more problematic. He assumed he would find out today, if she scrutinized because she has to dumb or because she really liked to plan as she said herself.

For a moment it seemed if the distance between the vessels would increase, but then they hit the mainmast and the pirates flight was almost impossible. Except they had some secret technique up their sleeve. Slowly but unmistakable the gained up on them. To his surprise they striked their colors.

„Cease fire!“ ordered Drake „We accept their capitulation, but stay alert“

„That was easier than expected“ Elizabeth noted beside him.

Truly a dozen men and women stood with their hand sin the air on the main deck, none of them armed at fist glance.

„Captain Drake, I have a bad feeling. You don’t like this either, don’t you?“ Elizabeth murmured just loud enough for him to hear.

He nodded, since she stood really close beside him she was the only one able to see his tense jaw. „I‘ll search the ship with a few of the men. The ones we are able to see are unarmed, you will handle the arrest with the rest of the crew. If there are any trouble…“ he pulled a mobile Transponder-snail out of his pocket, just far enough for her to see before hiding it again.

„Understood“ she relaxed visibly, as she learned he shared her concerns „Gallagher is the only one with a bounty on his head, right? 16.000.000 Berry, if I remember correctly?“

The said pirate captain glanced crestfallen to the Marine vessel „thank you for letting us surrender. We aren’t out of luck if we get caught by a Marine crew with a sense of honor.“

„It has a foul taste, if a pirate tells me something about honor“ Drake snorted.

„Put them in shackles and put them in the brig“ Elizabeth turned to their crew.

One after another the members of Snail Patrol came on board. At the same time Drake entered the vessel with a giant snail as figurehead. The topic snails was omnipresent, as the big writing Lumber Snail on the ship's stern showed. He was only accompanied by a few soldiers. Should he really get ambushed he wouldn’t have to worry about to many of his men. And his second in command had a strong advantage in numbers. At first there was nothing suspicious. It was only after they were well below the main deck when one of his subordinates notified him.

„Captain Drake, this room is filled with snails“

„Now they‘re really exaggerating“ he grimaced.

„No, I mean all kind of transponder snails, you have to see this!

„What?!“ he rushed to him and looked around. There were truly unnecessary many transponder snails. But not only common Den Den Mushi, also Baby Den Den Mushi, Black Den Den Mushi, White Den Den Mushi and - he cursed - Horned Den Den Mushi.

„Back to our ship! Now!“ he whirled around and sprinted back.

———> Back to Elizabeth

Gallagher, the pirate’s captain was already shackled, when Elizabeth saw Drake vanishing inside the pirate vessel. So were three other members of the pirate crew. Two of them already on their way to the brig. The only pirate with a bounty on his head stopped introns of Cleoma.

„I didn’t hope on getting arrested by such a pretty woman, in this case I enjoy being chained“ He grinned and Elizabeth couldn’t hold back annoyed sigh. He wasn’t the first criminal saying something like this to a female Marine soldier. And he was by far not the worst. But before Cleoma could retort something his grin widened „Do you enjoy bondage?“

Then chaos erupted.

Gallagher swiftly lifted his hands and put this bonds around the brunette‘s neck. One of the pirates pulled a small revolver out of her neckline, another had two knives hidden in his boots. The other still unbound pirates attacked the soldiers who seconds before wanted to put them in shackles, and due to the surprise they managed to take over their weapons.

„Call the Captain! The unarmed retreat and get new weapons!“ she ordered, even is she didn’t address someone directly. She just hoped the soldier the closest to the Den Den Mushi would move on his own.

Elizabeth considered her options. The pirate captain was most likely the biggest threat. And since her captain wasn’t there she should at least try to keep him in check, since was assumed to bee the second strongest. But right now he was strangling Cleoma. She had to push through to her as soon as possible, but between the two women was not only half of the ships deck, but also three more pirates. Of course she could use her halberd as a javelin, but then she would risk hitting her comrade. So she didn’t have much choice but fight her way through them. And hope for the other pirated to get involved in fights with the Marine soldiers.

She attacked the first pirate witch an angry slash from above. Yes, she was fuming. They did not only took hostages among the Marines, the audacity of the ambush alone upset her. Ans the fact, that all pirates were armed by now. Her opponent managed to block her attack, but contrary to drake he wasn’t skilled enough to keep his weapon, when his sword and her halberd got stuck. She quickly disarmed him and swirled her weapon around. With an well aimed hit with the hilt of her weapon on his head he went down. Whether he was unconscious or just stunned didn’t matter to her, it was enough to push forward. Luckily her men pulled themselves together to involve the pirates in battles. So she could get past the other two pirates to dash to Gallagher.

„Put your disgusting hands of her you scoundrel!“ she yelled. But unfortunately he didn’t seem to even think about it. He used Cleoma as a shield, and when she tried to circle them, he just spun the dainty woman around. Elizabeth could see the fear in her eyes, as the younger helplessly held onto the chains around her neck to prevent it from cutting her airflow. Apparently the pirate knew, his hostage was the only thing keeping him safe from attacks. So Elizabeth assumed he wouldn’t do further damage to her, even if the situation was dire enough. In the worst case she had to wait until Captain Drake arrived.

„Master Chief Petty Officer Elizabeth! We can’t reach the captain!“

„What is that supposed to mean?!“ she hissed without taking her eyes from Gallagher.

„We don’t have any signal“

„Fchfchfchfchfchfchfch“ it sounded from Gallagher. If she hadn’t seen his wide grin, she would have taken the wheezing sound as dyspraxia, but apparently it was is laughter „How unfortunate, you seem to be completely helpless“ he taunted her.

„Do you truly think we can’t handle a few measly pirates on our own?“

„Fchfchfchfchfchfchfch… obviously not, you let us even take your weapons. And you cute little girls playing soldier, enjoying braiding each others hair so much you couldn’t risk laying a finger on each other to take down an enemy, Fchfchfchfchfchfchfch“

„We do have morals, opposite to you, social sediment!“ While the pirate taunted her, she looked Cleoma in the eyes and hoped to communicate to her nonverbal. She glanced from Cleoma face down to the sword at her hip and down to the floor and back to the scared soldiers face, hoping she understood.

„That wont help - Arg! You little bitch“ angrily he let go of his hostage and pushed her away, after she dropped her sword on his foot. Cleoma used her opportunity and fled „You re going to regret that!“

He pulled the sword, which unfortunately only grazed his foot and wanted to chase her. But Elizabeth blocked his part and his attack. For someone shackled who just got his weapon he caught surprisingly well. And dastardly. He took something from his pocket and threw it at her. Instinctively she put one arm in front of her face. The missile was a small pouch filled with dust, obscuring her vision. In a fair battle with a properly trained Marine officer he most likely wouldn’t stand a chance. But this was far from fair. Blinded Elizabeth whirled her weapon aimless around herself and actually managed to hit him. With tears in her eyes she tried to blink the dust away. She was cutie carting, she was hardly looking elegant right now, swinging her weapon blindly with tears smeared face. He could have took a chance on the opportunity to flee, but instead preferred to stay and continue the fight. She could see a vague silhouette moving towards her. Due to the foreign bodies she couldn’t open her eyes wide enough to see more, and even if she managed that the tears obscured her vision. But she was lucky, the axe of her weapon got caught in his shackles, at least she gathered that from the sound and took him to the ground. Quickly she kicked the sword from his hands. Due to her limited vision she precautionary kicked both hands, even if she heard the clang of the sliding weapon after the first time. Just to be sure, not revenge or something like that.

With one hand she aimed the tip of her weapon at his throat, while wiping her face and eyes clean with the other.

„Don’t you dare to make a wrong move“

„I‘d recommend that to you, sweetheart!“ a female voice responded behind her, before she felt a slim wire wrapped around her neck, cutting her airflow and her skin „No one moves or she is done for!“

Apparently the pirate with the revolver wasn’t the only one using her bra as an armory. Elizabeth would get upset about them using the same trick twice, but she well aware about the danger she was in. A garrote was a very unusual but properly used a very dangerous weapon. Not made for open combat but in an ambush properly used very lethal. 

Since she didn’t want to Snail Patrol’s Captain a chance to escape, she drove the elbow of the side that had cleared her eyes in her attackers rib cage. Unfortunately this caused the noose around her neck to tighten.

“Release our captain” her attacker growled.

Elizabeths answer was a rattle, she didn’t have enough breath for more. Dark spots danced in front of her eyes and she felt blood dripping over her clavicles. But still she didn’t wont to give in and gave the woman behind her a clout. At that she unknowingly moved her arms as well, still pointing her blade at Gallagher - our more, where Gallagher’s throat had been.

She heard a dull thud and the noose around her neck loosened. She dropped to her knees and gasped for breath. Sadly the pirate captain was no longer laying in front of her, but behind her was a female pirate with a head laceration beside a familiar four bladed axe. The next second she could she the weapon’s owner. And… maybe it was an side effect due to the lack of oxygen, but she could swear he was partly green and lizard-like.

“Captain Drake” she rasped relieved, before forcing herself to stand up “I am sorry, but… now that you are back-”

“Are you alright?” He interrupted her and looked as usual again.

She waved dismissive “We have to get the pirates back under control”

He seemed rather unimpressed, instead he pointed towards her neck “You should get that bandaged”

“That can wait!” She didn’t understand, how he could stay so relaxed. Gallagher scraped her and sleepy as he was he probably caused more damage “Gallagher is…”

“… right over there“ He interrupted “Seaman First Class Cleoma, that should be enough” 

“What?” She took a look around and suddenly understood, why he preferred chatting with her to fighting.

there was no need to fight. While she was busy fighting the pirate captain, her crew defeated the remaining pirates. After the initial chaos they managed to subdue the few pirates. The one attacking Elizabeth fell victim to a single attack by Drake. Seemingly he threw his axe at her head. Gallagher managed to get a few steps away, but then ran into Cleoma, who had recovered enough to repeatedly hit him with the back of a rifle. His right leg had a deep gash. This was caused by Elizabeth’s uncontrolled movement, when she clouted her attacker. If he didn’t get up to flee it would have been his head.

Supported by her halberd she saluted “Captain Drake, I’m terribly sorry that we let them surprise us like that. They waited until you were out of earshot and then attacked us. All injuries are due to my carelessness. We couldn’t reach you via transponder snail, I’ll have that investigated. Some of the pirates had hidden weapons-”

“That’s enough” he interrupted her again “Let your wound be treated, I’ll take things from here on”

“I’m so sorry, I-”

“That was an order”

“Aye” sheepishly she salute before leaving towards the med bay.

#diez drake #one piece #x drake #x drake fan club!! #x drake x oc #no beta we die like men #one piece marines #x drake x reader

[survey--s]

607.

Tell us something that made you happy yesterday. I went to the beach with Susie and the dogs, and then I manage to get Dora to her new home and she settled in right away :)

What were you up to at 8 am earlier today? Walking Archie.

What were you doing 15 minutes ago? Another survey. I'm waiting in for a parcel so there's not much else I can do - I need to be in the house lol.

The last thing you said out loud. "None of you are getting fed an hour early so you can all stop staring at me!"

The last thing someone said to you. "Morning!" to another dog walker who was out with their chocolate labrador this morning.

What have you been drinking today? I had a coffee and a glass of apple juice with breakfast, and I'm now halfway through an iced coffee.

What was the last thing you ate? Toast with butter and vegmite.

What was the last thing you bought? Medication for the cat.

What’s the color of your front door? It's silver/metal with that patterned glass in it.

What’s the weather like outside? About 18 degrees but it's clouded over and a bit windy.

Your favorite ice cream flavor. It depends on my mood, really. I'm not generally a massive fan of ice-cream, in all honesty.

Who was the last person to call you? Uhh. My mum, I think? I don't know.

Who was the last person you called? Mike, to tell him where we were meeting for lunch on Sunday.

Do you believe in love at first sight? Nope.

Do you sleep deeply? Some nights I do, others I'm up and down.

Do you have nightmares? No. My dreams are weird as fuck, but not scary.

Do you like your job? Yeah, 99% of the time I absolutely love it. Of course there are days when the weather is awful or I feel like shit, or the dogs are just being ridiculous but I'd never trade it for anything else.

Your favorite outfit? It depends - probably black skinny jeans with a nice top.

Your favorite song at the moment? Cinderella Snapped by Jax, or Bible Belt by Taylor Austin Dye.

Who was the last person to sleep in your bed?: Mike and the dog, the same as every other night lol.

What do you see when you turn your head to the right? The dog who is currently chilling out on the sofa, his blanket and then beyond that is our front door.

What are you planning to do next? Probably just surveys until these parcels arrive then I might go and sit out in the garden or something. I don't want to go anywhere as I can't really afford to lol.

Are you right or left handed? Right-handed.

Current mood: I'm fine - just a bit...I don't know, is restless the right word? I can never fully relax when I'm waiting in for something lol.

Favorite candy: Rhubard and Custards.

Clothes you wear at the moment: I'm wearing my usual - black leggings and a black/white floral top.

Summer plans: I worked pretty much all summer up until last week. Since then I've just been chilling, meeting friends, shopping, going to the beach with the dog and going out for some meals.

How many pillows do you sleep with? Two.

Cozy evening in or a night out at the club? Cosy evening in.

Do you play any instrument? Not regularly, but I know how to play piano.

Are you a morning or a night person? I'm definitely more of a morning person.

What’s most important for you? Family, including my animals.

Are you ticklish? Very.

Do you snore? If I'm sleeping on my back, yeah.

Zodiac sign: Saggitarius.

The creepiest, most disgusting insect in the world is: Cockroaches, especially the giant ones.

Messy or tidy: Tidy. And of course I married the messiest person around, lol.

What are you looking forward to right now? These parcels arriving.

#survey #surveys

[andersunny]

Idk what this style is, idk what that pose is, all I know is I’m chillin

#miruko #mirko #bnha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #my art #mha #arent you tired of doing lineart? dont you wanna go sketch lines only? #none of these colors are right her hand is weird but this was very relaxing #we’re chillin over here

[mysticalrambling]

Coming Home (C.E)

Chris Evans Fanfiction (Fanfiction Masterlist)

Summary: dad!Chris Evans. Chris comes home to his twins fighting and he scolds them. But he also takes care of their wounds with you and then you all go out to eat ice cream and have a family day.

Warnings: None. Minimum angst but fluff all the way.

._._._._.

"Where are the kids?" Your husband came and sat right next to you on the couch. It was a shock to him when he didn't see his two little munchkins clinging to his legs the moment he entered the house. It has been kind of their routine from the moment they could walk on their little two legs.

“They are busy playing in their play room. Why are you not happy about it?” You knew that after a full day of shooting, coming home to two energetic kids was tiring and stressful. So you were shocked when he wasn’t glad to have a moment of peace by himself.

“Well, they are a part of my routine now. It feels weird not having them jumping around me.” The three year olds have always been more attached to Chris than you. Initially, you were a little jealous that the twins focused all their attention on your husband but now you were glad. Having a piece of quiet while he handled the children was pretty awesome.

You both had pretty successful careers and when the twins came into your lives, you both decided that you would handle it all together. In the start, each one of your married girlfriend told you that you had to quit your job as the marketing head because being a mom was a full time job. You were scared and when you shared your concerns with Chris, he consoled you and told you that you would both do it all. Having successful careers while being good parents.

“Just spend sometime with me while Emma and Jason are distracted.” Pouring him a glass of wine, you leaned in to him with your head on his shoulder.

“That is a good way to spend my evening. How was your day, sweetheart?”

“It was hell. My boss gave me a project to complete with a bizarre timeline and when I couldn’t complete it on time. He just took it all out on me in front of my colleague.” Today was humiliating for you and you couldn’t wait to get home, drink a nice glass of wine and relax. “Hated it, babe. How about you?

“Well, my co star couldn’t get her part right so we had to do the same scene five times. We are behind on shooting now and I have to get up early tomorrow morning so that we can catch up to the schedule.” Sighing, he took a long sip of the red liquid and felt his muscles relaxing.

There was a moment of silence that enveloped the room and you just basked in it. “A crappy day for us both.”

“Indeed. Let’s do something exciting then.” He kissed you and just when things were about to get heated, a piercing scream interrupted the moment.

“What-What is happening?” He was still in a haze and couldn’t properly interpret anything.

“It looks like your kids are fighting again.”

“Are you going to handle them?”

“Oh no!” Laughing at his incredulous request, you picked up your glass again. “You wanted to spend time with them so go on.”

Chris got up from the couch and went upstairs. Emma and Jason love each other to death but they have been fighting from the womb. Emma is the stubborn one and while, Jason backs out most of the time. Sometimes, he retaliates and it turns real bad, real fast. They were pretty hot headed, just like you.

“What is happening here?” The dad mode was fully in place when he saw his little girl sitting on the floor with hands pressed to a bloody forehead and his little boy trying to console her.

“She pushed me and then I pushed her. Not my fault. But she hurt, daddy.” The panic in Jason’s eyes was evident.

“(Y/N)! Come here, right now!” You scrambled to your feet as soon as Chris’s voice boomed across the living room. “You never hurt your sister, Jason. This is not alright.” The stern voice was new for Chris but the situation required it.

“But, daddy-”

“No excuses, Mister. Now, apologise to your sister and no toys for you for the whole week.” He got in to action with the first aid kit that he took out of their walk in closet. Emma was still crying her lungs out even when Chris tried to console her. She was not letting him touch the wound and was squirming uncontrollably in his lap.

“Daddy, why you always bla- blame me? Hate you.” Hiccuping, he stuttered on the big words and then stomped out of the room. You tried to stop your son but he just ran past you.

“What is- Oh my god!” The blood was now soaking up your little girl’s shirt and she still wouldn’t let Chris touch the wound.

The one thing that your kids inherited from your husband was the fear of blood and stitches. The small three year old knew that a boo boo that hurts really bad will lead to stitches. You knew how to handle all three of your babies in situation like these. Taking Emma from your husband, you hugged her lightly.

“Bubba, I need to look at your boo boo and then you can have the Elsa bandage.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” When she removed her chubby, little hand, you were relieved that the cut was not big or deep. A bandage would just do the trick. You softly hummed a tune in her ears while you applied an antiseptic to the wound and then the band aid. She had tears streaming down her face and she was sniffling quietly. Chris took her from you when you were done and gently rocked her in his arms. He always loved it when both your children seeked comfort in you. It reminded him of how lucky he was to have you. “Where did Jason go?”

“I scolded his regarding this and he threw a tantrum.” When Emma heard Jason’s name, she further curled herself into his chest.

“Give her to me.” Raising her face by holding her chin, you sternly asked her. “Tell me what happened, young lady?”

With a guilty tone, she told you both that she was the one who pushed Jason first. They were both playing with the doll house that Chris bought Emma as her third birthday present. Jason wanted to add his toy cars to the doll house but she won’t allow it. She pushed him first and he hit his wrist on the small coffee table but then he pushed her back. When she fell back, she hit her head on the side of the wooden house.

“You are going to apologise to him, Emma. I told you that this much anger is not alright, bubba.” Chris took her to the twin’s room that had two different themes running through it. Emma was never a fan of the color pink so she went with purple and Jason really loved yellow, so he got that. The room looked like a clown’s den but Chris was never the one to deny his children’s requests. They had his whole heart well, except you.

“Jace, Emma would like to say something to you.” Setting her on her feet, she went towards his elder brother by barely three minutes.

“I am sorry, Jacey. Never should have pushed you. Kiss your boo boo to make up?” He nodded gently when his sister climbed in to the body. Extending the bruised wrist, Emma held it in her hands and lightly pecked on it. Meanwhile, you got a numbing cream for Jason and you stopped in the doorway with Chris and watched their interaction. They were your and Chris’s two little bundle of joys and you both couldn’t get enough.

“I am sorry that I yelled at you, baby. You two will not have your toys for a week. But who wants ice cream right now?” They both jumped at the mention of their favorite treat.

Chris had a way with the children. He completed all their wishes from eating ice cream as dinner or buying the most expensive toys for them. Making them happy was his primary job and he fulfilled it with great joy. However, he knew when to step up. He knew when to tell them no because he didn’t want his children to be some spoiled brats. He knew how to mediate and that was one of the many thing that you loved about him.

“I will get your jackets while daddy will help you with your shoes.” Going downstairs, you placed Dodger’s food in his bowl because you were going to be out for sometime. Chris always turns a simple outing to a full blown family day. A walk in the park, dinner at a high end restaurant and then shopping at the mall.

“Let’s go.” He buckled both the kids in their respective booster seats and made sure that they both had their preferred stuff toys. God knows, if they didn’t have them on their car ride.

The ice cream place on the fifth avenue was your favorite because it was where Chris took you on your first date. Both the children went for chocolate ice creams and Chris cleaned them up after they were done anything. It was so wholesome to watch him perform his dad duties.

“Then Oliver tried to eat dirt and the teacher gave him a time out.” You never understood why your son was friends with that boy because all he ever cared about was dirt.

“That’s why I hate boys. They are dirty.”

“That’s right, bubba. They are all dirty and disgusting. You stay away from all of them.” Gently nudging him with your shoulders, you playfully scoffed at him. He was sometimes very protective of his children.

“Ollie said girls also have icky germs.”

“Yes. You also stay away from them.” Chris was full on laughing at the situation right now because both the kids were in some serious thoughts.

“Okay dadda.” They both started skipping on the side walk and already started bickering about who was their dad’s favorite. He took you in his arms and kissed you on the forehead.

“Thank you for all this, babe. I love you.” He was truly thankful for you and for everything that you brought in his life.

“I love you too. Now let’s buckle them in before they start pushing each other again.”

Hope you guys enjoyed it!!

._._._._.

A/N: Dad Chris Evans is a dream so I wanted to write a little blurb related to this idea. Hope you guys enjoyed it. You guys can send in requests but I will get to them a little bit later because I am focusing on my drafts right now. Tell me if you guys want to be added to the tag list.

Taglist: @justile

Like, comment and reblog.

#rachelleblodgettwrites #my writing #writer #chris evans #chris evans fluff #chris evans x reader #chris evans x wife!reader #chris evans blurb #chris evans imagine #chris evans x kids #chris evans fanfiction #cevans #dad chris evans #marvel #the avengers #andy barber imagine #chris evans x you #andy barber angst #defending jacob #steve rogers #chris evans one shot #family #kids #my imagination

[gabymenma]

Is this Love?

-Part Two-

Peter Ballard x Reader

Warnings: none

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You looked back up to the door handle and notice a pair of hands on the door already, you slowly turn your head to see your father behind you (keeping a safe distance ofc.) 'Dr.Brenner is everything alright?' he asked professionally.

Geez, it sounded so weird your father calling you something else other than sweetie and daughter. 'Oh, yes Papa, just nervous that's all.' you took a big gulp, you looked more further back and you can see Peter smiling at you. Oh God. you thought. Why is he smiling? Is he trying to make me more embarrassed right now?? Your father or Papa opened the door and you saw all the children gather up into 2 lines.

'Children we will begin our lessons today, please follow me. 005, open the door please.' 005 followed Papa instructions and opened the door for everyone, Papa opened the door for them while he was the last one to leave the room.

Everyone followed him into a large room where there was a table with a soda can and two guards near the door. You could tell what was going to happen.

Papa called 002 first to demonstrate for everyone, he closed his eyes for a while and opened them again making the soda can crush. Papa looked excited and was writing on his bulletin board. You also decided to write some stuff down.

'Alright wonderful! Who wants to go next?' Papa said looking around and landed his eyes on 011. '011 why don't you go?' Everyone eyes landed on her, you decided to look at her and give a slight smile whispering 'You can do it!'

She went to sit down while one of the guards put a net over her head, the net could sense her heart beats and write down on a program. 011 closed her eyes trying to focus on the can but it seems she can't do it. You look at Papa and he nods his head. You walk over to 011 and tell her 'It's fine take deep breaths and don't force yourself if you can't do it.' You can hear the kids snickering , 'Ignore them. We can take lessons after this if you'd like' 011 smiled and you walked back to your spot near the machine. 011 tried again but Papa stopped her, 'It's fine 011 go with Dr.Brenner to the study room.'

You and 011 walk out while the others are practicing, you see Peter outside. 'Hello y/n, hello 011.' Peter said formerly with his hands cupped together in front of him. 'Hi Peter' you replied back 011 replied by 'Hello Sir'.

Peter asked 'Where are you guys heading to? Lessons aren't over yet.' Perhaps Papa hasn't told him yet so you informed him how you were going to teach 011 more lessons to strengthen her powers a bit, at-least useful enough so she can crush a can. Peter decided to help as well since he had no more duty for the day until night time.

You accepted his help and walked to your office. Your office wasn't as spacious as Papas' but it was still decent. You had a painting of a cherry tree, which was very pretty to you because of the color. On your desk there was a small fake plant, keeping a real one wouldn't be ideal since there was no sun and you wouldn't have time to take care of it. You had a bookshelf of books you'd like to read during free time and some binders containing files.

You pulled out a extra chair for Peter to sit on but he insisted and we to get it himself. You sat on your comfortable chair and 011 sat on the opposite side. You started to begging your lesson.

'Alright 011, lets begin by clearing your mind.' You played a calm song on the small radio near the bookshelf. 'Relax. Just close your eyes and take deep breaths.' You informed 011 touching her shoulders to feel comfort for her.

You could feel her heart was slowing down. You took out a can from the trash and placed it on the desk. You proceeded to tell 011 to perform the task. She was focusing a little more this time but still couldn't crush it. Peter stepped up and told her, 'Think of a sad or angry memory, that could be a little trick.' You looked at him confusedly. Why a angry memory?

011 closed her eyes once more and this time it was successful. She crushed the can. But there was blood on her nose, you grabbed a napkin from your coat and gave it to her so she can clean it up. 'Good Job.' Peter told her as he was exiting the room. 'Wait.' You said walking to the door behind Peter. 'Where are you going?' he looked back at you. He smiled. 'I have to do something I'll be back soon.' he said. He moved his head near your ear and whispered 'Meet me back here at 8pm.' It was only 6pm. You nodded and let him go do his stuff. You went back to 011 and let her go back to her room since lessons were already over.

Siting back in a small couch in your office reading a book, you wondered what Peter wanted to see you back here again.

There possibly wasn't anything to discuss about other than details about the children. But those were personal and could only be talked about with Papa. Nobody else. You looked back at the clock it was now 7:30. 30 more minutes to go.

You played your favorite song 'Dream a Little Dream of Me'. You continue to read a random book your hand landed on. And suddenly you dozed off. Thinking of a nice and peaceful dream.

————————————————————————

Reminder, you can read up to part 4 on wattpad! My user is shuixhy on there.

#peter ballard x reader #peter ballard #fanfic #wattpad fanfiction #wattpad #001 x reader #001 stranger things #stranger things #jamie bower #jamie campbell bower #henry creel x reader #henry creel

[uwuwriting]

Breaking in w/ Hawks, Shoto and Dabi

Request: I read another post about ppl breaking in your shared house with the boys not knowing that you are inside and hurting you and I was like well this would be interesting with their kids in the mix. So i'm here to provide you with the following request ppl breaking in and immobilizing you while you're still awake and they try to go into your kids’ room with Shoto, Hawks and maybe Dabi or Aizawa- anonymous 

Oh this is a nice little concept. It's very interesting. I’m happy to deliver. I have been devastated by chapter 290, if anyone hurts Shoto imma start a riot and if Dabi doesn’t kill Endeavor i will. I’m thinking of making a double post today so this one and a kny post but we’ll see. Love ya. 💖💖💖

masterlist

rules

warning: cursing, mentions of blood, crying but fluff in the end. 

Hawks/Keigo Takami

-You were waiting for Keigo to come home after a long day. 

-The twins were a nightmare to put to bed today and you were exhausted. 

-Both of them wanted Keigo to tuck them in for some weird reason and they just wouldn’t accept your cuddles or attempts. 

-So after a tiresome two hours of trying and failing to calm them down you called your husband on facetime and they went to bed. 

- “I’ll be home soon, do you want me to bring you anything?”

- “No, no just you.” 

-So after taking a shower and checking on the kids you relaxed on the couch, turning on the TV while scrolling though tik tok. 

-Not even half an hour later you heard jiggling coming through the door. 

-Assuming it was Keigo you got up and went to greet him but who you met at the entrance of your house was a complete stranger. 

-You and the two bulgars stared at each other for a solid minute before you scrambled to get to the kids’ room and lock yourself in there. 

-But one of them tackled you to the floor before you could reach the pastel colored door and pinned you down, binding your hands with a cloth. 

- “I thought you said he wasn’t here man? What is this?”

-They had tied your legs to a chair, putting a makeshift gag in your mouth so you wouldn’t scream as they bickered back and forth. 

-Your eyes kept darting from the front door to your kids’ room.

-He said he was almost home, he should be here at any moment. 

- “Just stick to the plan, she doesn’t change anything.”

- “Doesn’t change anything? You tackled the n. 2 heros’ partner and you think that nothing is gonna happen?”

-You couldn’t care less about their words as you saw the light of the baby monitor light up.

-Eyes widening, you tried to get out of your  restraints to turn it off but to no avail, the soft babbles of your son could be heard coming from the device sending the whole room into an uncomfortable silence. 

-Before you know it, the one that tackled you pushed his partner towards you. 

- “Keep her in check while I go pay a visit to the other room.” 

-Managing to get the gag out of your mouth, your eyes frantic, you tried to reason with him. 

- “I’ll give you whatever you want just stay away from that door, please.” 

- “The number 2 hero has plenty of money. I bet he would be willing to give a handsome amount for that brat in there. What do you say babycakes? 

- “Dude you’re taking it too far-” 

- “Stay away from them!” 

-You realized your mistake a little too late, the new information making the man's eyes light up.

-Two cries came from the twins’ room due to the commotion and your panic rose. 

-But then you saw it. 

-The single feather hovering over the mans’ head, as red and vibrant as ever. 

-You let out a sigh of relief as a wave of red feathers flooded your living room, cutting you free from your restraints. 

-Without missing a beat you sprinted to the door, stepping inside and locking it. 

-Both of them were awake and teary eyed but at the sight of you they calmed down a bit. 

-Taking them out of their cribs, you sat in the far corner with both of them in your lap waiting for the moment Keigo would knock on your door. 

-One would assume that being part of the hero industry, although you weren’t a full blown hero yourself, mere bulgars wouldn’t really faze you. 

-In reality you hadn’t been afraid for your own life, you couldn’t care less about yourself at that moment, but when you realized that they knew about the twins everything slowly fell apart.  

-After what seemed like an eternity a soft knock came from the locked door. 

- “Y/N, dove, open up.”

-Raising to your feet, you almost ripped the door handle out of position in your rush. 

-Once Keigo came into view you didn’t miss a beat before pressing yourself close to his chest, the twins just happy to see their dad. 

- “There are my favorite Takamis!” he said kissing their heads as his wings enclosed all of you. 

- “Dove they are gone, don’t worry. I’m here. We’re alright.” 

-The news report the next morning said that two men were found on the top of the police department butt naked. 

Todoroki Shoto

-Poor man had merely gone to get take out. 

-He hadn’t been gone for that long. 

-But apparently the villains had been waiting for him to leave the house so they could go in. 

-You were still inside with your daughters; the twins chasing each other in their matching onesies while you sat on the living room couch with your youngest.

-You heard the front door open suddenly and at first you assumed that Shoto had forgotten his wallet again.

-But the footsteps were too heavy and his voice didn’t echo through the entrance hall. 

-He always said something when he came in and his footsteps have become lighter ever since the girls were born. 

-Sensing that something was off you placed your toddler in her crib and motioned towards the twins. 

- “Stay with your sister and no matter what you hear you do NOT come into the hallway. Understood?”

- “But what-”

- “Rei do I make myself clear?” 

-Nodding their heads they took their seats in front of the crib, Ren squeezing her hand through the bars to gently grab her sister's chubby hand. 

-Taking a deep breath you entered the hallway and lo and behold, two strangers were staring back at you. 

- “Can I help you gentlemen?” 

-After a few seconds the one closest to the door flung himself at you while the other one started digging through his pockets. 

-Swiftly dodging the attack, you grabbed his wrist and swang him with incredible force to the wall, letting go of him as you turned your attention to the other one. 

-And then you felt a sharp pain course up your right leg as a heaviness settled on your chest. 

-The room began to spin while the air was knocked out of your lungs.

-You kneeled down, hand over your heart as you tried to use your quirk. 

-Nothing happened though; it was like you didn’t have one at all. 

- “Quirk cancelling bullets, aren’t they neat?” 

-The man stared down at you as ever so slowly your senses came back at you. 

- “I can still beat your ass even without a quirk.”

- “I don’t think you’ll do that.”

-Angry voices could be heard from the other room before the man you had slammed into the wall appeared again, blood dripping from his nose and onto the snow white hair of your daughter.

-Ren looked at you, tears forming in her eyes as a red flash of hair jumped onto the man. 

-Rei was having none of it.

-Taking that opportunity you kicked the one in front of you in the groin before separating the girls from the other, sprinting into the living room, closing the sliding doors behind you. 

-Laying the girls on the couch you grabbed one of the fireplace tools and got into a fighting position. 

-Soon enough the door opened revealing none other than Shoto himself.

- “Are you all alright? Did they hurt you?”

-He looked absolutely disheveled, his hair going in different directions as his gaze frantically scanned all four of you, his eyes lingering at your slightly raised leg. 

-The twins hopped off the couch and tackled his legs. 

-Shoto crouched down hugging them both tightly as they started to sniffle into their dad’s chest. 

- “T-they hurt mama and t-tried to hurt Ren.”

-He shot you a look but you waved him off, deciding to instead check on the baby before joining them on the living room floor. 

- “I won’t let them touch you ever again, even if it's the last thing I do.”

Dabi/Touya Todoroki *I ain't never letting this go*

-In reality the dudes didn’t know you were preggos. 

-You were too early on so you couldn’t tell you were preggo but still. 

-They knew that you had something going with Dabi and that’s why they wanted to fuck with you. 

-They thought that they would gain something from trying * key word trying * to take you.

-They were wrong though because a) they got their asses kicked by you and b) they got fried once Dabi found them. 

-You were chilling at Dabis’ while he was out to get you some mustard and a chocolate bar because cravings, when you heard the door open. 

-Immediately you knew it wasn’t Dabi. 

-You would’ve heard him grumbling under his breath about forgetting to take money with him * bc you have been pushing him to pay for stuff every once in a  while* or he would be shouting at you that your disgusting meal had arrived. 

-Neither of these things happened so something was up. 

-Not bothering to get up because you didn’t give two fucks, you waited for whoever stepped inside the apartment to show themselves. 

-You are a villain hun you ain’t about to stress over some crusty ass dude trespassing into your house because you could obliterate his ass from the face of the earth in negative five seconds. 

-Whispers and a frantic “But what if he comes back?” was all you heard before the ground breaking phrase left their mouth. 

- “Who cares? She’s a woman, how strong can she be anyways?”

-You were livid. 

-It might have been a mix of your hormones along with the fact that that was hella sexist but you were ready to beat some crusty ass. 

-Laying down on the couch and pretending to be asleep you waited for them. 

-And soon enough you felt the three figures standing over you. 

- “See easy as hell.” 

- “And hot as hell, please don’t forget that.” 

-All three of them stared down at you like that pikachu meme for a solid minute before scrambling to activate their quirks. 

- “We don’t wanna hurt a pretty girl like you so please don’t cause a fuss.” 

- “Oh baby you think you can hurt me? Please have you seen who I’m dating?” 

-Slowly standing up you flicked your wrist and one of them dropped to the floor. 

-You made your way to the kitchen pouring yourself a glass of water right when one of them ran into you, pinning you to the counter. 

- “Watch it there bud I’m carrying precious carg-”

- “Shut up you fucking slut! You’ll come with us whether you like it or not.” 

- “The only person who can boss me around is not currently in this room so I suggest you let go.” 

- “Yeah you should probably let her go.” 

-At the sound of his deep voice you knew that they were dead men. 

-The one basically on top of you stared at Dabi in horror as you pushed him off of you. 

-Making your way to your boyfriend you gave him a small peck while he rested a hand over you stomach as a silent ‘are you okay?’.

-Shrugging you took the bag from his hands and went into your bedroom, not caring to see what he was about to do to them. 

-You were hungry anyways. 

- “Now which one of you wants to be roasted first?”

TAG TEAM AY:

@the-arcana-fan-fic​ @angelwritings​  @axerrri​ @reinyrei​ @dnarez​ @bemorefiction​ @ezoyscorner​

#hawks #keigo takami #dad hawks #dad keigo takami #hawks x reader #hawks x you #hawks x y/n #hawks x pregnant reader #keigo takami x reader #keigo takami x you #keigo takami x y/n #todoroki #todoroki shoto #todoroki x you #todoroki x y/n #todoroki x reader #shoto x you #shoto x y/n #shoto x reader #dad todoroki #todoroki x pregnant reader #dabi x you #dabi x y/n #dabi x reader #dad dabi #dabi #dabi bnha #dabi is a todoroki #bnha #bnha x you

[miyuwuki]

Hi there. Would you mind writing about Aomine and Kise from KNBA and Miukiy and Kuramochi with a fem s/o who has a very long hair but next day it was cut short ? Very short and shorter than the boys hair too. I just had mine cut and everything feels weird now but its refreshing 😅.

omg hi!! i bet you look so good with your new hair, anon! :D i love this idea!

warnings: none

KNB: aomine daiki x reader, kise ryouta x reader

DNA: miyuki kazuya x reader, kuramochi youichi x reader

new look

you figured it was time for a change— you’ve had your hair growing for years now, and you wondered what it would look like if it was cut short; and i mean short, almost in par with your boyfriend’s hair.

aomine daiki:

you were waiting for aomine after school since he had basketball practice. you twiddled with your thumbs, nervous of how he’d react to your new look. you knew he loved the sway of your long hair, but it was about time you cut it short. you’ve had a couple compliments from other students during the day, but what was important to you was aomine’s opinion.

“oi y/n, is that you?”

you looked up to see your boyfriend staring right down at you, grinning. “your hair’s nice.”

a blush formed across your cheeks, bringing your hand up to twirl the short locks between your fingers. “do you really like it, daiki?”

“it suits you. though i don’t think i have anything to pull on anymore..”

“daiki!”

“just kidding.” he joked, wrapping an arm around your waist to pull you in, “you look beautiful to me.” he kissed your forehead and then your lips, your emotions happy because your boyfriend loved your new hair.

“but i have to do something first, y/n.” he said lowly, a menacing smile appearing.

“what is it, daiki…”

he slapped your head instantly, and started running away.

“i like your cut, g!”

oh he was so going to get it later.

kise ryouta:

“y/n-cchi, your hair!!” kise yelled when you opened the door for him.

both of you guys planned a date for today, and you figured you’d cut your long hair, that you grew for a while now, short. you’ve always fantasized about it, and you’ll admit, you look pretty darn good.

you laughed at your boyfriend, who was shrieking at your new appearance. “what, you don’t like it ryouta?” you questioned, twirling your locks with your fingers. kise huffed and pulled you into a hug, blocking your airway through your nose and mouth. “ryouta honey, i can’t breathe..” you said, patting on his arms.

“you are too darn beautiful, y/n-cchi!! i have to keep you away from everyone else!” he whined, not letting go of your head. you softly pushed him away causing a pout leave his lips. you caught your breath and giggled at him, “don’t be silly, ryouta. we’ve been looking forward to this day since forever.”

suddenly, kise grabbed your hand and kissed it, leaving his lips on it for a while. your heart skipped a beat, warming up to kise’s affection towards you.

“then i guess i’ll have to show you off for today and let everyone know that you’re mine, hmph.”

miyuki kazuya:

ah, my heart’s beating so fast.

anxiety and nervousness started to fill your thoughts, overthinking about how miyuki would react to your hair. it was one of the hottest summers in tokyo, and your long hair just became a nuisance as it just stuck everywhere. once you chopped it off, you’ve never felt so refreshed.

but you knew miyuki liked running his fingers through your hair, and you couldn’t help but wonder if he’d be upset. will he still think i’m pretty? you thought, your emotions going more to the melancholy side of the spectrum.

then, you heard the door open, hearing your boyfriend softly pant. “ah sawamura, what are you doing in my room?” miyuki asked, putting his things down. a vein popped in your head and you clenched your teeth, annoyed that he didn’t even recognize that it was you. does he think i’m sawamura? this idiot! you cussed to yourself.

“idiot kazuya, i’m not sawamura!” you said, turning around to face him. you pouted and crossed your arms across your chest, staring him straight in the eye. you let out a couple “grr’s,” but once he realized that it was you, his breath got caught in his throat. his eyes lingered on you for a while, ignoring your complaints and focusing on the person that was in front of him. he was in awe of how beautiful you were; i mean he always thought you were beautiful with your long hair, but this just made his heart bounce in ways he never knew it could.

you started to get uncomfortable under his gaze, wondering if he didn’t like your new haircut. that idiot, why is he staring so much? you coughed, interrupting his stare. “if you don’t like it just say so,” you huffed, looking away from his eyes. he made his way towards you and hugged you, bringing a hand to your head to scratch at your scalp a bit.

“you’re so pretty, y/n.” he says, playing a bit with your hair. “it looks so good on you.” you couldn’t help but smile at his profession, ecstatic to hear that your boyfriend loved the new hair as much as you did. your worries slowly left your head as you relaxed in his arms. “thank you, kazuya. it was way too hot for the long hair.”

“mm, i get that. but damn did you look like sawamura from the back.”

“keep talking and i’m not buying you a drink from the vending machine tomorrow.”

kuramochi youichi:

“did you see y/n’s new look?”

everyone was talking about that today since you decided to chop off your long hair; it was your own trait everyone knew you by, so a lot—or everyone— noticed your new cut. some of your classmates liked it, some of them didn’t— but you really couldn’t care less. this was your choice and you were happy with it.

but kuramochi didn’t know about this and was extremely confused when everyone was talking about it. he went up to miyuki, asking if he knew what everyone was talking about. “did you see y/n’s new hair? how come she didn’t tell me about it?” he asked, genuinely discombobulated at the whispers and rumours.

“apparently she cut it super duper short,” miyuki replied, flipping through the pages of the score book. “but i haven’t seen her.”

kuramochi quickly took his phone out to send you a quick text to come to his classroom until he heard his name being called.

“youichi!”

his eyes looked up from his phone and saw you at the door, hair cut short to the head, and styled perfectly in all the right places. he widened his eyes and a pink color blossomed across his cheeks.

“i’ve been looking everywhere for you!” you said, stomping into the classroom, “i bought you milk from the vending machine!” everyone in the classroom stopped talking and kept their eyes on you as you made your way towards your boyfriend.

“wow, y/n’s actually rocking that hairstyle.”

“she’s so cute!”

“y/n-chan is so pretty.”

soon enough, the whole classroom began to chatter again about your delightful appearance, a lot of compliments being thrown into the air. you bowed as a joke and said, “thank you guys!” you laughed and handed the canned milk to your boyfriend, “drink up, buttercup.”

he took the milk and wrapped his arm around you, looking at all his classmates one by one. “listen up, you can look but you must keep a distance. she’s mine.”

you giggled at your boyfriend’s reaction, happy that he liked the new hair on you. you tiptoed to give a kiss on his cheek, leaning into his side more.

“you’re so embarrassing, kuramochi.” miyuki sighed.

OMG I HAD LOADS OF FUN WRITING THIS! would love some feedback and thank you for the support my love! i hope you enjoy <:

#diamond no ace #daiya no ace #daiya x reader #diamond no ace x reader #daiya no ace x reader #kazuya miyuki #miyuki kazuya #miyuki x reader #miyuki kazuya x reader #kuramochi youichi #kuramochi youichi x reader #kuramochi x reader #youichi kuramochi #kuroko’s basketball #kuroko no basquet #kuroko no basket #kuroko no basket x reader #knb x you #knb x reader #knb #kurokos basketball #the basketball which kuroko plays #knb aomine #knb kise #daiki aomine x reader #aomine daiki x reader #aomine daiki #kise ryouta #kise x reader #kise ryota x reader

[goliath-de-senfina-sango]

I’m on mobile, so ya know, but for @five-rivers @floralflowerpower and I just checked, lemme amend to @uwuplasmiusuwu

This is Fathering a Phantom

It was a bright summer day in Amity Park, Danny Fenton was in the grove - no one wanted to say “Amity Park Park” - doing a handstand while braced against a tree. “See? I told you I could do it.”

“You’re not using your powers to float into that position, are you?”

“Sam, I am offended that you would imply that I, of all people, would cheat at things with levitation.” Danny laughed, flopping down onto his belly in the grass. “Appalled, really, how dare you?”

Laughing, Tucker ripped up a handful of grass from his side and sprinkled it down into Danny’s bird’s nest of hair. “No of course, you are the most noble in character there is. As we have seen, you are a superhero through and through. Complete with bedsheet cape.”

Danny groaned while the three of them laughed and shook his head. “Alright, listen.”

“You, wearing black and white alone, looked at me and asked if I was willing to wear bright primary colors, Danny.” Sam patted his shoulder blade and Danny rolled his eyes. “A ghost asked a goth to wear bright colors. You shall never live that down.”

“There are pastel goths,” Danny countered with a pout. “I checked, there are goths who wear bright colors. It’s a mindset, not a fashion statement.” Tucker draped yet more grass on Danny, who turned to stare at his best friend and deadpanned, “Dude that’s kinda gay.”

Tucker snorted and laughed himself back into the tree they were sitting in front of. “H-how exactly is that gay?”

“Grass, in flower language, represents homosexual love,” Sam supplied.

Tucker covered his heart with a hand and gasped loudly. “Oh goodness me, I, a bisexual nerd, cannot be gay good sir and madam, that is simply unacceptable. Truly, this is the end of my world.”

“I will write you a gorgeous eulogy seasoned with memes,” Danny said, patting Tucker’s thigh as the latter flopped over, putting on his best ‘dying’ act. Then a chill completely at odds with the summer sun shining down on them went up his spine and out of his mouth as a cloud of icy mist. “Shit.” Danny braced for impact, a dome of green light erecting itself over the teens just in time for five missiles to strike it and explode.

When the smoke cleared and Danny transformed in a flash of light – pale skin tan, snow white hair, glowing green eyes, black and white jumpsuit, all the staples of half dead teendom – Danny locked on to his attacker. A large, mechanized man with flaming green mohawk was grinning down at him like a predator baring teeth to prey. “You’ll have to survive to his funeral first, whelp, and I assure you that’s not happening. I’ve gotten a few upgrades since last we fought, and The Hunt is on.”

While Skulker popped out a new cannon, Danny turned to check on his friends, both of whom were pulling out their own Fenton ecto-pistols. When he turned back there was an explosion of golden light and the screeching of tearing metal, and Skulker was missing half of his mech before Danny could even quip at him. Danny dropped his shield, turning to stare at the source of light with everyone else, and found his jaw had dropped very literally to the ground.

Something that could be a bear mixed with a goat, an electric eel, and at least three kinds of birds was aiming a bow at Skulker, an arrow made of golden light already knocked and shining brighter with every second. Each feather was a different color, oscillating in intensity, but overall, it was both hard to look at and impossible to look away from. “Hi there,” the ghost said with a voice that could have been a thousand people speaking in tandem. “You are going to leave in the next five seconds, or I am going to traumatize these children by showing them just how one Ends a ghost. Four. Three.”

Danny had never seen Skulker fly away so fast, especially with only one turbine to boost himself. He couldn’t even blame him, not with the burning fountain of energy beating their kaleidoscopic wings in front of him, aiming at Skulker until buildings were in the way. Danny charged up an ectoblast of his own even as the arrow dissipated. “Well, ever since all this ghost stuff I didn’t believe in guardian angels. Get lost in the Zone?” Much to Danny’s pleasant surprise, the angelic ghost laughed.

“Gods, your aura is screaming ‘fight me,’ did you know that?” The ghost turned to Danny and all the animal features melted into each other until Danny was looking at what could almost pass for a regular human being. Blond hair, brown eyes, some weird old-timey robes, and a single pair of feathery wings that reflected the light catching them like crystal glass. In the next moment, Danny was being dragged into a tight embrace, cut off from the world by arms and feathers alike, and he blinked several times, tense as a bowstring.

“I’m gonna need you to back up before I zap you,” Danny said with his hands up and a buzz traveling from his chest toward his fingertips. The ghost backed up, hands held up where everyone could see them, and wings half folded around him like a cloak.

“Apologies, my response to seeing kids almost getting hurt is to hug them. I should’ve asked first.”

“That’s very true,” Sam said with narrowed eyes. “Who are you, exactly?”

“Yeah, we don’t get many new ghosts around here who know how to speak English,” Tucker said. “Or any who help us.”

The strangely human looking ghost took a deep breath, eyes glowing from brown to golden-orange and clasped their hands together in front of their face. “Well, that explains a few things I’ve observed of you in the past two minutes. Right, so, first thing’s first; hi, I’m Tobias Lumano, you kids can call me Toby. He/him and all that.”

Danny shook the hand extended to him, ignoring the fact that a hand was held out to all three of them. “Danny, Phantom currently.”

“Tucker Foley.”

“Sam Manson. What exactly did you observe of us?” Sam still held her pistol, ready for a fight. Toby chuckled and shook his head.

“Well, Danny here is screaming ‘fight me,’ with his body language and if all you’ve ever met are hostile adult ghosts then that makes sense. You’ve got that Still Warm feel to you, like you’re only recently dead. Which makes the rumors about you impossible, of course, cause I’m pretty sure none of you are even close to being adult humans unless people look a lot younger per quarter of their life in this Realm.” Toby settled with his wings crossed over his chest, relaxed but not quite limp, and Danny cocked his head to the side.

“How do you even see with those glowing in your face all the time?”

“What about Danny screams ‘fight me,’ exactly? He’s totally chill right now.” Tucker gestured at all of Danny, bobbing idly up and down on some kind of current that he had yet to identify.

“Oh, my dear summer child, ghosts communicate in ways that non-psychic humans cannot perceive fully. You see this?” Toby brushed a feather against Danny’s glow and the teen made a face, drifting away from the odd sensation. The glow stretched with his movement before Toby backed off. “That’s your aura, little man, and it’s currently positioned in a way that’s sort of giving the finger to everyone around you. How long have you been liminal if you don’t know about your aura?”

“How long have I been what now?”

“I think he’s talking about you being half ghost,” Tucker said, whipping out his PDA and tapping away at the screen. “We’ve never actually heard a term for it before other than Sidney Poindexter calling Danny a halfa. No offense to Poindexter but that’s a really dumb name.”

Toby laughed, covering his face with a hand, and shaking his head. “Right, ok, you’ve got a lot to learn, but I think I can help with that.”

“We should probably take this discussion somewhere a bit more private than the open park,” Sam hissed. “This is supposed to be a secret, remember Danny?”

Danny rolled his eyes and turned his head around 360 degrees. “There’s no one here right now, Sam.”

“Well, if you’re keeping this a secret then yeah, you should probably find somewhere secure to talk about this at.” Toby rolled his eyes and became translucent, spreading his wings and circling around the three of them. “Here, you take this feather and just break it when you feel ready to talk with me. I’ve got some things to figure out around here.” One such feather fell into Sam’s hand, taking on the hue of several leaves in a gradient, and Toby winked at Danny before vanishing entirely from view.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #tucker foley #sam manson #fanfiction #rexy writes #fanfic #OCs #Tobias Lumano #Skulker #get wrecked Skulker #i hope i tagged everyone right

[cant-think-of-anything-creative]

OoooOOooooOooo guess what!!! This scene well and truly won't leave me alone so I have spent another night writing up my Thoughts and Ideas into something somewhat comprehensible!!!! I blame @jackdaw-kraai @darthstitch @bookwyrmie completely, congratulations y'all!!!!! You Did This!!!!!! 🤣🤣

In the middle of a crowded ballroom, Vader and the child currently held in his arms stared at each other. Luke had handed her to him before he fully understood that what he was receiving was in fact both alive and a small child, and not something inanimate and, say, less fragile. While he tried to recall what to do with an infant, she did something that, in hindsight, he should have expected.

She reached up and hooked her tiny fingers into the slots of his respirator.

"I would advise against that, child," he said.

"Aba," she babbled at him, her other hand joining the first.

"This is not a plaything," he gently added. A pop-up on his HUD alerted him to a blockage and the estimated time he could stay conscious with the decreased rate of oxygen. "It is a vital piece of medical equipment. I must ask you to treat it as such."

He carefully guided her hands away and continued to fend off her attempts to touch either his mask or the unit on his chest. Eventually she settled for his hand, gripping his thumb and pinky finger and manipulating them as much as she could.

"Thank you for your compromise," Vader said.

The child strung together a set of nonsensical syllables that nonetheless had Vader nodding.

He stood there for a while, half-listening to Luke's conversation and letting the child play with his hand until she got bored. His attention was recaptured when she began making small distressed sounds, ones that dredged up a spark of foreboding within him.

"What is it?" he asked her. "Are you hungry, perhaps?"

He looked at the selection of food -- none of it designed for a child. Moreover, he had no idea what kind of preferences or allergies this one may or may not have.

She whined more insistently and stuck her fingers into her mouth.

Vader turned to Luke, still chatting animatedly with his fellows. He placed a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

"I will return," he said.

"Sure," Luke agreed, patting Vader's hand, and launched right back into his conversation. Vader looked to the guards stationed at the perimeter of the ballroom and only then did he release Luke's shoulder.

He walked a little ways over to the buffet tables and took a knife and fork from the offered cutlery.

"Look, child," he murmured, tilting the utensils this way and that so the glinting of the light caught her attention. Her eyes latched onto the shiny metal, reaching for them with the hand not currently occupied. Her distressed coos tapered off slightly, but began to rise again when Vader wouldn't let her grab them.

"Hm, not so interesting for you, I think," he mused. "But you may hurt yourself if I allow you to hold them."

She looked at him crossly, wisps of her brows furrowed in caricature of what she'd observed of others. She took her hand out of her mouth to babble insistently and slap the arm holding her, smearing saliva across the dark leather.

"Very well," Vader sighed. "Perhaps there is a mutually agreeable solution."

A fine ribbon of the Force wound around them, pulled deftly from the fabric of reality by an old weaver's hand -- the utensils rose on invisible strings, twirling gently around each other like a mobile. It had a similar effect, as well; the child returned her attention to them, now silent but for the small grunts she made as, again, she tried to reach out.

"I agree," he nodded. "A tactile distraction would be best. But these have far too many points for you to prick yourself on, child."

He twitched his fingers and the utensils collided midair, bending around and around each other until there was a packed ball of metal. One could hardly tell where fork ended and knife began. The metal squealed quietly as it was bent into shape, and the more pressure Vader Forced upon it the more it began to glow a red heat. The child watched as the color changed to a burning orange and eventually a bright, molten white.

Vader held the condensed ball of silver at arm's length, thankful now for the wide berth people tended to give him at these functions.

"I believe you would quickly become dissatisfied a simple ball. Would you not agree?" Vader asked. The child, now that it was well and truly out of her grasp, was already looking around with a lazy, hooded eye. "Hm. Something more complex, then."

He turned back to the metal and began twisting. Some sections pulled apart, some connected together, until the latticework of a great dodecahedron rested above his hand, spinning on all axes so he could ensure the angles were correct from every direction. A shape that would occupy her for some time, hopefully. He carefully rounded each vertex and smoothed every edge, and double-checked it with precision.

Then, once he was satisfied, he began to wick away the heat held within the metal. Slowly, the silver set and hardened. He had to be careful, so the lattice did not cool in sections and split apart.

The child began whining again. Vader idly tucked her more securely against his chest, mindful of his life support -- but something inside him he could not name seemed to both stir and settle once she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Almost finished," he consoled her. "I have to make sure it is not too hot for you."

Eventually, Vader released his grasp of the Force and the dodecahedron fell into his hand, cooled completely to ambient temperature. He turned it over once more, a last check for burs or points that he might have missed.

"Here you are, child. Will this hold your attention?"

She took it from him and immediately placed a rung into her mouth. If she minded the taste, she did not show it.

"I am glad to see it," Vader nodded. "This is the framework of a great dodecahedron, which is a regular polyhedron. Many are taught that there are only five regular polyhedra, but there are actually forty-eight in three-dimensional Euclidean space."

She looked up at him with attentive eyes and removed the shape to talk to him, waving the latticework about.

"Exactly. Perfectly foolish to exclude all but the platonic solids."

She resumed her chewing. Vader began explaining the finer points of three-dimensional geometry, and her attentiveness as a pupil only wavered once he started on hexagonal tiling. (Which was more than fair, in Vader's opinion -- the tilings were the least interesting of the lot.) He continued as her eyes drooped and she settled in his arms, turning her new toy in her hands as she listened.

Suddenly, the great dodecahedron fell to the floor, clinking softly to a stop a few paces away. Vader looked down and stilled in surprise; the child was laid fully on his chest and shoulder, eyes closed and breathing deeply in relaxed and restful slumber. She seemed unconcerned by the hard metal of his mantle, but he dared not shift and risk waking her.

He looked for the dodecahedron and found instead Luke, already rising with it in his grip and making his way over.

"This is cool," the boy said, twirling it in his hands. "Where'd you get it?"

"I crafted it from cutlery," Vader replied, wincing at the volume of his vocoder.

"Woah, neat!" Luke took a closer look at it. "I can't see any seam lines."

"No," Vader confirmed. By the grin Luke flashes at him, his tone had a prideful air to it. The vocoder interpreted his chuckle as a small burst of static.

Luke's smile turned sweet, looking to the child in his arms.

"How is she?" he asked, still fiddling with the toy. "Sorry I handed her off so abruptly. I got caught up."

"It was no trouble, little one," Vader dismissed his apology. "...She fell asleep."

"Ohhh," Luke cooed, hand to his cheek. "That's so precious. I wish I brought my datapad."

"And I am rather glad you did not," Vader lightly countered.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Aw, come on. If I took a picture I wouldn't share it with anybody."

Vader was about to reply when--

POP!

At the other end of the table, a burst of applause followed as someone uncorked a bottle of carbonated wine. The child flinched awake in Vader's arms, blinked twice at the loud and bright surroundings, and heaved in a breath.

"Oh no," said Luke, right before she began to wail.

Vader hesitantly pat her back -- his mantle was too hard to bounce her on unless he wanted to give her a concussion. He looked to Luke, whose arms were already extended.

"Can I...?" Luke asked, and Vader readily handed her over. Luke started swaying in place, rubbing her back in gentle circles. "You were doing great, it's just--"

"My armor is not designed for comfort," Vader agreed. "I believe you are much better equipped for her, little one."

Luke's eyes stayed on him for a beat longer than he expected.

"Yeah, I guess not," he eventually agreed. He turned to the child still crying on his shoulder. "But wow, you've got a set of pipes on you, huh? Hey, what's this? You remember this? Did Lord Vader make it for you?"

Luke managed to catch the child's attention once more, her cries diminishing to hiccuping sobs once she had hold of the latticework again. After a couple of minutes it was back in her mouth, and Vader went to retrieve a napkin from the table so Luke could wipe her face.

While at the table, he let his irritation bleed into the space around him and the Dark responded, prickling eagerly up his neck. The gathered crowd immediately quieted and scampered off to another, less disruptive location.

"She really likes it," Luke said when he returned.

"Indeed. She is an exemplary student."

"Is that what you were talking about over here?" he asked, smiling. "Weird math stuff?"

Vader crossed his arms. "It is a fairly simple geometrical concept. She grasped upon the context immediately."

"Aw," Luke crooned. "That's the cutest thing I've ever heard. You're gonna be a scientist one day, huh, sweetling?"

He poked lightly at her belly, just enough to make her laugh -- and drop the dodecahedron. Vader buoyed it with a quick reaction of the Force, guiding it once more into her hands.

She stared at it with wide eyes, then brought it overhead and threw it.

"Oh yeah," Luke said as Vader retrieved it once again. "A scientist for sure."

#original #my stuff #the guides verse #the beginning is a little rough because i started writing in the middle #but hey!! it's there lol #no cape sling this time unfortunately :( #i couldn't fit it narratively but you KNOW it happens the next time Vader's handed a sleepy baby #vader steals more cutlery but this time he makes one of those nordic ring cape fasteners #eventually palpatine runs out of silverware #i can't figure out how to add a read more break on mobile I'm sorry y'all 😔😔😔

[dottielovegood]

ASMR - Chapter 6

Elriel fanfiction

About this fic:

Azriel can’t sleep Elain has an ASMR channel Match made in heaven (or you know, on youtube..)

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You can find chapter 1 here, chapter 2 here, chapter 3 here, chapter 4 here and chapter 5 here.

Read this fic on AO3

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When Friday was just around the corner, Azriel was a nervous mess.

He had cleaned his apartment twice, which he understood was a weird thing to do since she wasn’t even coming to his house. He had tried on every item of clothing in his wardrobe. He had googled ‘conversation topics first date’ and written a few down on his phone. He had even gotten a haircut.

He hadn’t been able to sleep at all that week. It felt weird to look at her videos when he had met her and talked to her. It felt like an invasion of privacy, even though it wasn’t. The videos were on the internet for everyone to see, yet Azriel couldn’t bring himself to watch her videos. So he didn’t sleep.

The day before the date, Azriel had decided to get her flowers. But when he stood in a flower shop and the person behind the register asked what kind of flowers he wanted, he just walked out of there. He had no idea what kind of flowers to give to a florist. He knew that certain flowers had certain meanings, and even though he had no idea what any flower meant, a florist probably knew. What if he bought flowers that said ‘I hate you’ or ‘happy funeral’?

Azriel couldn’t risk it, so he bought some chocolate instead. All women like chocolate, right?

But when he came home, his mind did that thing it always did when he was sleep-deprived: it questioned his every decision. What if Elain is lactose intolerant? What if she’s vegan? What if she is the only person on planet earth who hates chocolate? What if the different flavors of chocolate have meaning, just like flowers? Maybe you bought some sort of ‘happy funeral-chocolate’?

In an attempt to get these intrusive thoughts out of his mind, he went to the gym. He worked out for two hours, which was a bit excessive. The gym played shitty gym-music and every single person made weird sounds. It was the perfect distraction. For now.

Azriel hoped that his workout would help with his insomnia, too. He hoped that if he lifted enough weights and ran a few more miles than usual, perhaps he would be able to sleep. It had never worked before, but, as his mother used to say; “hope is the last thing that leaves you.”

However, after tossing and turning for three hours, he could safely say that the workout had done nothing to help him sleep. He couldn’t understand how a person could be so fucking tired, but still unable to sleep. He was almost going a bit crazy at this point. For the past weeks, Azriel had gotten used to falling asleep to Flower Girl ASMR’s videos. He had gotten used to her sweet voice rocking him to sleep. The insomnia was almost worse now that he knew how good it felt to have a decent night’s sleep.

Azriel looked at his phone. It was almost 02.30 in the morning. Fuck, he muttered to himself. He really didn’t want to be a tired mess on the date tomorrow. He had to put his best foot forward, and he knew he couldn’t do that if he hadn’t slept well for almost a week.

Maybe he should just watch one of her videos? She would obviously never know.

After debating with himself for a few minutes, he decided that Elain deserved to meet a well-rested Azriel, so he opened the YouTube app and found her latest video.

Azriel held his breath as her face filled his screen. God, she was lovely. Her smile could light up the darkest of nights, and her sweet voice was like a calming balm for his soul.

He put the phone in his chest and just listened. Slowly and gently, her whispers lulled him to sleep.

Azriel woke up relaxed, but nervous. He only had a half-day at work because Rhys had decided to send everyone home early today to celebrate that Feyre was pregnant. He was taking her on a spa weekend. She was only a few weeks pregnant, but Azriel knew that she would be the most pampered woman in the world during this pregnancy. This weekend was just the beginning. If she suddenly got a craving for pickle smoothies with whipped cream and sprinkles, Rhys would 100% make her one every day. And that is saying something since this man almost threw up every time someone opened a pickle jar in his vicinity.

“Any cool plans tonight, Az?” Cassian asked as he started to pack up his belongings.

Azriel wanted to tell him about the date. He wanted to share the nervousness with someone - anyone. But he couldn’t. Cass knew who she was. Nesta had known her since college. If this didn’t go well, Azriel would never hear the end of it. So he lied.

“No, nothing special. You?”

“I was going to take Nesta out for a date to celebrate that it has been four years since she agreed to go on a date with me…”

Azriel laughed. “After you had panted after her for like two years you mean?”

“Exactly!” He smiled. Cassian sure seemed like a big brute the first time you met him, but he was actually a soft teddy bear. He was never ashamed when people mentioned that he had been trying to win Nesta over for years before she agreed to date him. He just felt like he had won a prize. It was very sweet.

“However,” he continued. “She has to work late. Apparently, one of her authors had plagiarized fanfiction, which Nesta found out about like a week before the book went to print. So obviously, Nesta is livid and I do not want to be close to her until this is resolved.”

Nesta owned a publishing company that focused on publishing romance novels, which didn’t surprise anyone. Nesta had always loved romance books. In her words; the smuttier, the better. Azriel always found them a bit cringy. It was like reading porn. But truth be told, he had read a few books that Nesta had recommended, and they had taught him a thing or two.

“What the hell is fanfiction?” he asked Cassian.

Cassian shrugged. “I’m not completely sure, but apparently this author had just copied something from the internet and changed the names of the characters and sent it in as a manuscript.”

“Weird. I understand that Nesta is pissed.”

“Yeah. So, you wanna do something? Take out and a game?”

“No, I can’t,” Azriel lied.

“You just said that you didn’t have any plans.”

Fuck.

“Yeah, well. I said that I didn’t have any special plans, not that I didn’t have any plans.”

Implying that his date with Elain was “not special” made him feel like shit.

Cassian eyed him suspiciously. “You’re going on a date.”

“What? no.”

Cassian laughed and slapped Azriel’s back. “Yes, you are. You have that date-look all over your face.”

“What the hell is a date-look?” he asked, but Cassian didn’t answer.

“Who are you going out with? Do I know her? Is she hot?”

Azriel held up a hand to stop the onslaught of questions. “You don’t know her,” he lied.

Cassian grinned. “So, you are going on a date?”

“You just said that I had a date-face?”

“Yeah, that was a lucky guess. So, what’s her name?”

“None of your business, Cass.���

“Wow, what a beautiful name,” Cassian teased. “But I get it. You like being secretive. Can you at least tell me how you met?”

“The internet.”

Cassian let out a fake gasp. “Stop the presses and hold your horses. Azriel downloaded a dating app? Can pigs fly now, too?” He made a point of looking out the window.

“Ha-ha, very funny.” Azriel slung his bag over his shoulder and started walking towards the elevator. Cassian was just behind him.

“So, can I see a photo?”

“No.”

“What if you’re getting catfished?”

“I’m not.”

“Well, you can never be sure. One time, this girl, or actually, it was an old man…”

“Cass, please. Just let it go,” Azriel interrupted. “There’s a reason why I never tell you guys when I go on dates.”

“Dates? You’ve been going on multiple dates without telling me? I’m wounded, Azriel.”

Azriel rolled his eyes and stepped into the elevator. When the elevator reached the ground floor, Azriel got out. Cassian had his car in the underground parking garage. Just before the doors closed, Cassian called out for Azriel. “You might need this.” He threw something at Azriel, and Azriel didn’t see what it was until he caught it.

It was a condom.

With a grin, Cassian disappeared behind the big, metal elevator doors.

Azriel shook his head and looked down at the small foil packet in his hand. Cassian really was the worst.

A few hours later, Azriel was almost ready to leave for the date. He was wearing black trousers and a dark grey knitted sweater. And blue socks. Cobalt blue, to be exact. Azriel had a thing about colorful socks. He mostly dressed in black, but he didn’t own a single pair of black socks. These blue socks were his favorites, though. He loved cobalt blue.

Azriel was checking the route to the bar when an incoming phone call made his phone vibrate (he had put his phone on mute and deleted Barbie Girl from his phone, thank god!).

It was Elain calling.

Azriel felt his heart drop. Nobody called just before a date unless they wanted to cancel.

With a sigh, he answered the phone. He tried to sound cheery. “Hello, Elain.”

“Azriel! I’m so happy you picked up.” She sounded out of breath.

“Anything wrong?” Azriel asked.

“Well. Kind of… have you left your apartment yet?”

“No, not yet. Why?”

There was a short pause, and Azriel could have sworn that he heard her swear under her breath.

“Well, I won’t be able to make it. I’m so sorry. And I’m so sorry for calling this late. I was really looking forward to our date, I promise.” She really did sound apologetic.

“Has anything happened?” Azriel asked, suddenly a bit worried.

“No… Or actually, yes. I fell when I got out of the shower earlier. I thought that I just needed to rest, but I can’t walk,” she let out a pained laugh. “I’m such a clutz.”

Azriel hated that she was trying to make light of the situation. He hated that she was hurt. “Elain. If you can’t walk, you should probably go to the ER,” Azriel said.

“Oh, no. I called my neighbor. Madja. She’s a doctor. She said that I had just sprained my ankle.”

“Okay…” Azriel didn’t know what else to say.

“Can we reschedule?” Elain asked. “I really wanted to see you tonight.”

Azriel was used to being rejected. He was used to not trusting new people. But somehow, he trusted Elain when she said that she wanted to see him.

“Of course we can reschedule. I was really looking forward to meeting you too.”

“Really?” He could hear the smile in her voice. It made him smile.

“Yes. I’m av…”

Azriel was interrupted by a hiss from Elain.

“Are you okay?” he asked, ready to steal a car, drive over her to her place, and get her to the hospital. Maybe it was a good thing that he didn’t know her address.

“Mhm, I’m fine. I just.. moved.”

“Elain. Do you have a friend or family member coming over to help you?”

There was a stretch of silence. “No, I’m fine. I don’t need help.” Her tone was too positive and cheery. Azriel didn’t believe her one bit.

“Have you had dinner?”

“I was planning on making some instant ramen.”

Azriel frowned. “And how are you going to do that when you can barely move? Also, that’s not good enough for dinner.”

She didn’t answer for a while. “I’m fine. I promise.” He could hear her voice break on the last syllable. She was not fine.

“Elain. Please, will you let me get you some food? I don’t have to come in if you don’t want me to. Just, let me get you something to eat.”

“You don’t have to…”

“I want to. If you’re willing to give me your address, I’ll be there in just a bit.”

She hesitated. “You probably have something better to do.”

“I don’t. Now please, let me get you some food.”

He didn’t just want to get her some food. He wanted to make sure that she was alright. He didn’t want her to sit all alone in her apartment when she couldn’t walk.

He wanted to take care of her.

After a small eternity, he could hear her whisper “Okay.”

45 minutes later, he was outside her building with sushi (she had said that she liked it) and a bag full of snacks. He didn’t know what she liked, so he had bought a little bit of everything.

A short, old lady walked out the door, and Azriel caught it with one hand. He didn’t want to call her and make her come to the door right now, so he snuck in.

Elain had told him that she lived on the sixth floor, so he quickly made his way up the stairs. He couldn’t risk being caught in an elevator right now.

He found the door with her name on it and raised his hand to knock. And then he froze.

What am I doing? he thought to himself. He had basically asked her for her address and then invited himself to bring her food. He knew that she had a bad history when it came to men. What if she just didn’t want to say no because she thought that it would hurt his feelings?

Azriel contemplated leaving the food outside the door and text her when he was a safe distance away.

“Azriel, is that you?” someone called from the apartment. Elain.

Azriel had to swallow the lump in his throat. “Yes,” he called back. “Do you want me to leave the food outside the door?”

“No, come in. The door is open.”

With a deep breath, Azriel gathered his courage and reached for the doorknob.

He walked into a small hallway that opened up to a quaint kitchen. Elain was nowhere in sight. The kitchen was bright and welcoming. The walls were painted light green and the cabinets were white. Azriel could see a few cookbooks on her windowsill, which made him smile. Most people didn’t own cookbooks nowadays - they just found recipes online.

“In here,” Elain called. Azriel made his way through the kitchen and into the living room. His first thought was that the room really seemed to fit Elain. The dark wooden floor was a nice contrast to the white walls. Not that you saw much of the walls since they were covered by a built-in bookshelf and a gallery wall full of botanical prints. And there were plants in every nook and cranny. There was a dark green velvet couch in the middle of the room, and on it sat Elain. Or actually, she was half-seated, half laying down. Her foot was propped up with a few pillows. There was a coffee mug on the table in front of her, and beside the couch, he could see a worn leather chair.

Elain was smiling at him as he entered the room. When he smiled back, she put the back of her hand against her forehead, which made her look like a damsel in distress from one of those old Hollywood movies. “You came for me,” she exclaimed in an awful fake southern accent. “My hero!”

Azriel couldn’t help but laugh. Elain was wearing black leggings and an oversized shirt. Her hair was gathered into a ponytail. She was beautiful, Azriel thought to himself as he sat down in the leather chair, giving her all the space she needed on the couch.

“How are you feeling?”

“Oh, I’m fine. Madja said that it seems to be a mild ankle sprain, and I should be up and running in like one to two weeks. Honestly, I feel more stupid than anything else.”

“Why?” Azriel asked.

“Well, I didn’t want to cancel our date. And who falls out of the shower? I really am the clumsiest person in Velaris,” she joked. “Yesterday, I dropped a full cup of coffee over my new, white shirt. And the day before that, I poked my friend Nuala in the eye with a flower.”

“You… poked her in the eye with a flower?”

Elain laughed. “Yes. Her eye was red for hours.”

Their eyes met for a brief moment, and Azriel thought that he could drown in those eyes. He wanted her to look at him forever.

But he didn’t want to intrude. “Do you want me to leave? I could just leave the food here with you.”

Elain bit her inner cheek, suddenly looking very nervous. “Would you...Didn’t you buy food for yourself?”

“I did. But I don’t have to eat with you if you want to be alone.”

“I…” she took a deep breath. “I don’t want to be alone.” It was barely a whisper.

“So, you want me to stay?”

Elain nodded, a lovely pink color spreading across her cheeks.

“Okay.” Azriel unpacked the sushi from the bag and offered her a choice of drinks. “We have lemon, elderflower, and regular coke. I didn’t know what you preferred.”

“Elderflower, please.”

She was still blushing. Azriel couldn’t tell if she was uncomfortable or just nervous.

Azriel handed her the drink and opened the coke for himself.

Elain sat up slowly and reached for her chopsticks. Since she had to sit with her leg raised, she couldn’t exactly lean over the coffee table, so Azriel placed the sushi on a pillow in her lap.

“Thank you,” she said and put a few pillows behind her back. From where he sat, he could only see the back of Elain’s head now. He wanted to move the chair so he could look at her, but he didn’t want to come off as creepy.

And he was actually quite happy that they couldn’t see each other when she took a bite of her food and let out a sigh. It was just a sigh, but somehow it was the most erotic sound Azriel had ever heard. He blushed and made a point of looking at his food.

“God, this is so good, Azriel. Thank you. I was really hungry.”

“When was the last time you ate?”

“Lunch,” she said under her breath and took another bite of sushi. Azriel looked at his watch. She hadn’t eaten in more than seven hours. And she was going to make instant ramen if he hadn’t shown up. Suddenly, he felt a bit better about the situation.

When Azriel looked up from his food, Elain was looking at him over her shoulder.

“Is this weird?” she asked. “Is it weird that I asked you to stay? I know it isn’t fun…”

“I kind of remember that I was the one who asked for your address, and then showed up at your doorstep with food. I promise that I wouldn't have done that if I didn’t want to. If anything, I’m weird for showing up like this.”

She laughed, but it was a sad laugh. “No, you’re not weird. You’re kind. I’m just not used to this.”

Azriel frowned. “Not used to what? Kindness?”

Elain looked away, but Azriel didn’t miss the slight nod. “My ex never came over when I was sick. He said that I was boring and that he had better things to do…”

Azriel felt his hands curl into fists. “Is this the same ex that cheated on you and now leaves hate on your videos?” he gritted out.

Another nod. “Yes. But there has been almost no hate since you helped me block those words.” She smiled at him, and he could tell that she wanted to change the subject.

“That’s good to hear.”

Azriel wanted nothing more than to ask where this asshole lived so he could go and kick his ass, but he tried to act civil for Elain’s sake.

“I’m sorry for talking about him,” she said. “You should never talk about exes on dates and…” Her eyes grew wide when she realized what she said. “Not that this is a date or anything,” she corrected herself. “I mean, it would be a pretty shitty date.”

She was flustered, and Azriel couldn’t hide the big grin on his face. She was so cute.

“Elain. Do you want this to be a date?”

“Do you?”

He knew that she needed to hear him say it. “Yes.”

A shy smile played on her face. “Me too.”

“Then it’s settled. This is our first date,” Azriel declared.

Elain’s smile grew. “So there’s a chance for more dates?”

“Don’t be greedy,” Azriel teased. Elain stuck out her tongue and turned around again, facing her food.

I want to taste that tongue, Azriel thought.

Damn those intrusive thoughts.

“I can’t believe that I’m wearing leggings on our first date.”

Azriel didn’t say anything to that. He could complain about anything that tight.

God, what was wrong with his brain tonight?

“You look so good, and I look like this,” she pointed at her hair. “I had even bought a new dress for tonight.”

This piqued Azriel’s interest. “Really? Tell me what it looks like and I can imagine you in it.”

Or out of it.

Stupid fucking brain.

Elain pointed somewhere behind Azriel. “Well, it’s right there.”

On a door that Azriel assumed led to her bedroom, hung a blue dress.

Cobalt blue.

His favorite color.

He grinned and pulled up one pant leg and showed her his sock “We would have matched.”

Elain let out a heartfelt laugh, which made Azriel all warm inside. He loved seeing her happy. He liked knowing that he was the reason for said happiness.

“I didn’t take you for a man that wears colorful socks,” she said, still laughing. “First Barbie Girl, and now colorful socks. I’m starting to think that there’s more to you than meets the eye.”

“Oh, I’m full of surprises.”

There was a stretch of silence again. It wasn’t uncomfortable though. Even though they didn’t know each other well yet, Azriel could already tell that Elain was one of those people that he just instantly could relax around.

“Elain, this might be a weird request. But can I move this chair so I’m not staring at the back of your head?”

Elain turned around, cheeks pink again. “Yes,” she answered quickly, almost as if she had thought about the same thing.

He picked up the chair and quickly moved it to the other side of the couch. When he met Elain’s gaze, she was staring at him, mouth agape.

“What?”

“You’re strong.”

Azriel scratched his neck and laughed nervously, feeling a bit self-conscious. “Yeah, I work out.”

Wow, what a stupid fucking answer.

But Elain didn’t seem to mind. No, she was looking at him more intently now, and her eyes were not focusing on his face anymore. No, they were most definitely looking at his chest. “I can tell,” she said playfully. This felt very much like flirting,

Azriel wondered what she would think of the tattoos covering his skin underneath the shirt.

Azriel tried to remember the conversation topics he had written down on his phone, and after a few minutes, they were talking as if they had known each other for years. Azriel was surprised that she was so easy to talk to. Most of the time, he struggled with social situations. But with Elain, he felt comfortable. At ease.

“You’re very easy to talk to,” he told Elain. She rewarded him with a smile.

“So are you. It feels like we have known each other forever. I never thought that someone that slid into my DM’s would ever be this nice.”

At those words, Nesta’s face popped into Azriel’s mind. He should tell Elain that he knows Nesta. If it wasn’t for her, he would never have known that Elain lived in Velaris. If it wasn’t for Nesta, he wouldn’t have happened to run past her store that morning.

“I have a confession to make,” he said before he could change his mind.

Elain raised her eyebrows. “Oh? Please don’t tell me you’re trying to get me to join a cult.”

“Has that happened before?”

Elain shrugged. “More often than you think.”

“I’m not trying to get you to join a cult. I just… I wanted to tell you that I think that we have some mutual friends.”

She didn’t look surprised, but she didn’t say anything either, so Azriel continued.

“You know Nesta, right? I think you went to college together…”

Elain nodded.

“Well, she’s getting married to my best friend Cassian. I didn’t know that you knew them when I wrote to you, I promise. But it felt weird pretending like we don’t have people in common when we do. I’m sorry for not telling you earlier. I found out last week when Nesta saw one of your videos on my phone and asked me if I was a stalker.”

Azriel was blushing now. He was expecting silence, or maybe questions. But instead, he was met with laughter.

“She thought you were a stalker?”

Azriel shrugged, unable to find any good words.

“Well, I might also have a confession to make,” Elain announced. “I actually knew that you were friends with Nesta. That’s why I even answered your DM in the first place.”

“What?” Azriel couldn’t find better words than that.

“Yeah, when I scrolled through your Instagram I saw a photo from Rhysand’s and Feyre’s wedding, so I kind of figured out who you were then. Nesta had mentioned you once or twice before, so I knew you weren’t a creep. And then I saw that selfie when you were carrying a lasagna, and you looked so good, so I answered your DM.” Her blush had almost turned a deep red.

Azriel couldn’t help but grin. “You answered because I looked hot? You said that the lasagna looked tasty…”

She bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Want to hear another confession?”

Azriel nodded.

“Well, I kind of understood how to block words from the link you sent me, but I really wanted to talk to you more.”

Azriel’s mouth fell open in pretend shock. “Sneaky girl.”

“I’m sorry for not telling you earlier. I just…”

“No, no. It’s okay,” Azriel interrupted. “Do you want to hear another of my confessions?”

“Yes, please.”

Azriel put his elbows in his knees and leaned forward. He could tell that her eyes went to his biceps. Good.

“Well, when I first saw one of your videos, I thought that you might be the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

Elain blushed even more, the color spreading to her chest. Not that Azriel was looking there.

“Really?”

“Yes. And when we talked on the phone, you know, that time when you lied about needing my help,” Azriel winked at her. “I hadn’t laughed that much in ages. I was so bummed because I thought that you lived on the other side of the country or something.”

“But I didn’t.” She smiled.

“You didn’t.” He smiled back.

They spent the entire night in Elain’s living room, just talking. Without even noticing it, a few hours went by. When they finished the sushi, Azriel made a snack buffet on the coffee table, which made Elain laugh.

“We are going to be so sick if we eat all of this.”

“Well, someone told me that she might be bedridden for more than a week, so maybe you could save some for the upcoming days of rest and relaxation.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she said and reached for the popcorn.

They continued flirting for the rest of the evening, but nothing explicit happened. They didn’t touch. Didn’t kiss. They just talked. It was all Azriel could have dreamt of. He had never felt so comfortable so quickly with anyone before. When it was close to midnight, he could tell that Elain was getting tired. After her fifth yawn, Azriel told her that he should probably get going.

She protested and then yawned again.

“Okay, I admit defeat,” she said and stretched. Azriel could see her stomach when her shirt rode up from the motion. It looked so wonderful and soft and…

He didn’t even have time to finish his thought, because Elain was trying to stand up by herself. Trying, and failing miserably.

“Could you help me to the bathroom?” she whispered and nodded to a white door just by the kitchen.

“Of course,” Azriel put his arm around her waist and supported her. She didn’t complain, but he could see the pain on her face. It hurt him to see her like this.

“I’m just gonna brush my teeth. Don’t go just yet.” She closed the door. Azriel leaned against the wall next to the door and dragged his hands through his hair.

He looked around the room, not quite believing that he was here. In Elain’s home.

This date had been even better than he could ever have imagined. He was actually quite happy that they hadn’t gone out, but he obviously didn’t like that the reason for staying home was that she was hurt.

The door opened again, and Elain looked at Azriel with a pale face. She was so obviously in pain. Azriel grabbed her around the waist again and held her up.

“Do you have any painkillers?”

She nodded. “By the bed. Could you help me? Just to the door.”

Azriel started leading the way, but after two steps Elain winced.

Azriel couldn’t take it anymore. “Hold on,” he warned her, and then he picked her up. She gasped and flung her arms around his neck. This was the closest they had ever been. One of his fingers graced the hem of her shirt. He could feel her skin there. He had to take a deep breath. “Is this okay?”

“Mhm,” she breathed, and he walked her to her room. He stopped at the door. It was a cozy bedroom. The walls were painted a dark blue and above her bed hung a giant painting with a floral motif in a gold frame.

“Nice room,” he said. He didn’t put her down. She had said that she only needed help to the door, but he couldn’t see her walking to her bed all by herself,

“Thank you.”

“Do you want me to...” he started, but he was interrupted when Elain said his name.

“Azriel,” she repeated.

He looked at her then, her face just inches from his. He could see every freckle on her skin. He could count every eyelash. His eyes went to her plush lips, and then back to her eyes.

Had she noticed?

She had his attention now.

“Azriel,” she whispered. “Are you going to kiss me?”

Azriel was taken aback. He hadn’t expected that question. He didn’t mind, of course not. he was just surprised. She could probably see that in his eyes, because she quickly tried to smooth over it. “I mean, we don’t have to. I completely understand if you don’t want to, and I..”

Azriel kissed her temple to make her quiet. It worked very well. “You’re hurt.”

“Just my ankle,” Elain pouted. “Also, haven’t you ever heard the saying ‘kiss it better’?”

Azriel rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty sure that it means that you should kiss the place that hurts,” he teased.

“Eh, semantics. I think a kiss on the lips might do wonders.”

Azriel leaned in, almost touching his lips to her. Almost. “Oh, is that what you think?” he teased.

“Mhm,” she breathed.

Azriel stayed like that for a while, his lips just out of reach. He wanted her to beg. He wanted her to go crazy with want. With need.

But that was for another time. Right now, he just needed to kiss her.

Elain was tilting her head to get closer to him. Her mouth was slightly parted and her eyes scanned his before fluttering shut.

Offer and permission.

Azriel leaned in slowly and brushed his lips to hers. It was a feathery light touch. He could feel Elain shiver in his arms, and he held her closer. Tighter. He touched her lips with his again, and he knew he needed more. He tasted her lips once more, his tongue teasing her lower lip. Elain opened up for him, letting him in. She moaned when he deepened the kiss. When he pressed his lips more firmly to hers. When her tongue joined his. They were both panting, unable to stop. Elain’s hands went to Azriel’s hair, gently scraping his scalp while her tongue tangled with his. The sensation made Azriel crazy, and if she hadn’t been injured he would have lowered her to the bed and continued his kisses down her body until she was writhing underneath him, begging for more.

But she was hurt. And it was late.

Unwillingly, Azriel slowed down before breaking the kiss.

“More,” Elain panted and kissed his jaw.

Azriel chuckled. “Don’t be greedy.”

She pouted when he walked over to her bed, and it was the cutest pout Azriel had ever seen. It was so cute in fact, that he had to lean in again and kiss her lower lip. He didn’t know how it happened, but he was suddenly sitting on Elain’s bed with her in his lap. He was still holding her tight, her fingers still in his hair. Their lips were locked in another kiss. This one was even hotter. Even deeper. Azriel thought to himself that he didn’t need air if he could just taste these lips for the rest of his life.

After a small eternity, they did have to break apart though. Turns out the human body needs air. Stupid body.

Elain leaned her forehead against his.

“I should go,” Azriel said, even though every fiber of his being protested that statement.

She nodded. “Okay.” She was still out of breath. So was he.

Elain kissed his forehead, which made him feel oddly safe. “So, can I have a second date?”

Azriel chuckled and nuzzled her neck. She smelled divine. He wanted nothing more than to taste her there; just below her ear.

“You can have as many dates as you want.”

“Good to know.” He could hear the smile in her voice.

After a few minutes of catching their breaths, Azriel helped Elain into bed. He fetched her a glass of water for the painkillers and made sure that all her windows were closed.

He leaned against her doorframe, trying to memorize the sight of her in bed. She looked so cute. So vulnerable.

“Could you lock the door when you leave? My keys are on the kitchen counter. You can just put them in the mailbox.”

“Of course.” Azriel walked into her room again and leaned over her. He kissed the top of her head and caressed her cheek with his thumb. “Sleep well, Elain.”

“You too, Azriel.”

She was already drifting off.

Azriel walked quietly through the apartment and made sure that the door was locked behind him.

Azriel was walking home on clouds that evening.

In his bones, he could feel that this was the start of something wonderful.

When he climbed into bed that night, he saw a new message from Elain. She must have sent it just after he left her place. He opened the message, and there was no text. Just an audio file.

He pressed play and was immediately met with her heavenly voice.

“I thought that this might help you sleep,” Elain whispered, and Azriel could feel tingles up and down his spine. “Thank you for a wonderful date, Azriel.”

And then she repeated his name. For five minutes, she was whispering “Azriel, Azriel, Azriel,” over and over again, and it made Azriel both sleepy and aroused.

It was actually a very pleasant feeling, he thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep.

That night, he dreamt about brown eyes, golden hair, and the sweetest lips he had ever tasted. Azriel had never felt better.

#elriel fanfic #elriel #elain x azriel #elain archeron #azriel x elain #azriel #acotar fanfiction #acotar #dottielovegoodfanfiction

[lucyintheskywithxanax]

Butterfly Wings In My Heart

Pairing: Wilhemina Venable x Fem Reader

Requested by @sapphicsarahpaulson “ “can i stay here tonight?” and “i love seeing you smile” for mina x reader? “

A/N: I’m so happy with how this piece turned out. I hope you’ll like it, too  ❤️️ As always, English isn’t my mother tongue, so expect a few weird sentences. x

Word count: ~ 4 500

You leaned forward to adjust the purple fairy lights you had just hung to the ceiling, and almost lost your balance and fell off the ladder.

“Careful,” Venable called.

You glanced down at her with a grin. “It’s so nice to know you care,” you sang.

Venable’s jaw tightened as she shot you a look. “I don’t. I’m not particularly eager to have you crash down into me.”

“Then don’t stand there,” you quipped. You leaned forward again, fidgeted with the lights until you were satisfied. “I’m done anyway.”

Clumsily you climbed down the ladder and planted yourself in front of Venable. You couldn’t help the grin that stretched across your face as you met her eyes and she glared, squinting slightly at you, her right hand clutching the knob of her cane.

“Those are so pretty don’t you think?” you said, nodding at the string of purple lights. She glanced up at it.

“Mutt and Jeff asked for red lights,” she said in that deep, cold voice of hers.

You shrugged, looked down at the floor.”Too bad. I thought you’d like these better.”

You eagerly looked at her out of the corner of your eye to gauge her reaction; nothing. You were about to roll your eyes at her when the corner of her mouth twitched and stretched into a small, fond, almost shy smile – and your heart sang with joy.

She didn’t smile a lot, Ms Venable. There were the small, incredulous smiles when someone said or did something that scared her. There were the mean, condescending smiles, like a predator baring its teeth. Those smiles no one was eager to see, for they presaged bad things. Cruel things. They weren’t really smiles at all, you thought.

But once in a while she would smile a smile that was genuine and fond. Those were as rare as seeing the moment a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. What made them even more special was, she seemed to give them to you only. Your heart had stopped beating, actually stopped beating, the first time you had seen her face soften and her eyes light up and her mouth curl up. You had felt so grateful, and so honored, to be allowed to witness such a sight. Since that day you had been starving for it.

It was so beautiful, that smile. So you decided it was your own sacred duty to find what would conjure it every single day of the rest of your life.

Stupid jokes didn’t work. They would only make Venable glare at you condescendingly. One day you asked one of your coworkers to hit you in front of her, to see if it would make her laugh, as you knew that worked with babies. Venable gave you a look as if you had gone mad – maybe you had. Infatuations tended to turn your brain into mush.

You tried to compliment her – you only got a snarky comment or a contemptuous look in return. You tried to bring her gifts, a cup of coffee she didn’t ask for, a book you loved, a lavender scarf you had spotted in a shop window and which had reminded you of her – a polite, if slightly cold, thank you.

And then one Monday morning as you told her about your weekend while she made coffee, she glanced sideways at you and here it was – here it was, the sparkle in her eyes, the curling of her lips, the fondness and the beauty and the colorful butterfly wings that made your heart flutter.

Casual conversations. Just you and her, talking about nothing in particular. Not you goofing around, not you putting a gloss on your personality to try and please her. Just you being yourself. That’s what made her smile.

You had to run to the nearest bathroom like a fool, your chest bursting with emotion. With one hand on either side of the sink you stared at your reflection in the mirror, your eyes wide and glassy, not quite daring to believe what had just happened. You could have burst into tears. Your head and your heart were full of her.

You tried again the day after, just to make sure you had not been dreaming. You walked to her office during your lunch break, leaned against the doorway, asked her a few questions about work. She looked up from her computer and locked eyes with you. She always listened to you with attention, never cutting you off, nodding to what you said, asking you for more details. It made you feel so special, so appreciated and understood. Most people always seemed bored with you. They would start talking to someone else even though you were in the middle of a sentence, or only hum and change the subject, or never raise their eyes from their phones while they had lunch with you. You had grown used to it, accepted it, thought it was okay and normal. No one liked having to spend time with boring people.

But Venable always listened to you. She seemed genuinely interested in what you had to say. And she smiled – oh, she smiled, for no reason at all. As if the mere sound of your voice was the most beautiful, the most charming thing she had ever heard. And just as she liked hearing you talk, so did you: she was smart, sharp-witted and educated. You could listen to her speak for hours.

So today when you had offered to help decorating the room for the dance, and your gaze had fallen on the purple fairy lights tangled in a cardboard box, all you’d been able to think about had been Venable, and that maybe if the universe was kind enough she would be grateful, and maybe, just maybe, she would hold your hand, or stroke your cheek.

“I appreciate your intention, Y/N,” Venable said. “But as you already know I won’t be attending the dance, so who cares if I like the decoration.”

You pursed your lips to hide your annoyance and disappointment. “Are you sure about that?” you asked, assuming a causal expression, as if you were starting a conversation about the weather.

“Sure about what?”

“Not attending the dance. It means so much to Jeff and Mutt, and it’s not every day a company turns fifteen. Besides, you’ve done so much for Kineros, you should come and enjoy the fun.”

“Idiots prancing about all night long isn’t exactly my definition of fun,” Venable retorted.

“What if I asked you to go with me? As my date?”

What on Earth had made you bold enough to ask her that, you didn’t know. But she looked so damn beautiful under the fairy lights with that fiery red hair and those eyes and those cheekbones, you couldn’t hold your words and your admiration back. But maybe you should have, because now she looked mad.

“Excuse me?” she said, her voice laced with outrage.

You lowered your chin sheepishly, heat flooding your cheeks.”I mean… if you want to, of course.”

“I don’t,” she snapped.

Something in her voice, or maybe in the way her eyes widened slightly and her grip on her cane tightened, made you bold again.

“Are you sure?”you asked, taking one step towards her. She held her ground.

“I’m sure.”

You raised one hand, twisted a strand of your hair around your finger.

“Because I was thinking we could go together, and maybe dance together, and when we’re tired of all those ‘idiots’ I could drive you to my place and make you some dinner.”

Venable was glaring at you as if you had insulted her. But then, very slowly, part of her anger melted and her eyes seemed to veil over with an almost wistful look.

“Think about it,” you smiled.

Venable scoffed. “There’s nothing to think about. My decision is made.”

“Maybe so. But can you think about it?”

And before she had time to retort, you leaned in and planted a kiss on her cheek, then fled the room before she could cane you.

**

“You’ve been staring at the same page for half an hour.” A hand, closing around your shoulder; red hair, tickling your neck. Venable leaned over your shoulder and whispered in your ear, “Do you think I hired you so you could waste your time daydreaming?”

You gulped, heat flooding your cheeks, and squirmed on your chair as your whole body tingled and suddenly came alive in her presence.

“I’m sorry, Ms Venable.” Your voice was raspy; you cleared your throat. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”

Venable hummed. She tapped one finger on your shoulder and blew hot air through her nose on the skin of your neck.

“You’re standing awfully close to me,” you rasped.

Venable smirked. “That’s rich, coming from someone who has no respect for personal space.”

Her fingers curled on your shoulder, nails raking the fabric of your shirt, and then she straightened and left, leaving you with your heart beating madly in your chest and heat pooling between your legs.

Before you left that day, you knocked on her office door. She looked up from her computer and smiled, before she remembered to school her features. Then she glared, and you couldn’t help but grin giddily at her.

“What do you want?” she snapped. “I’m busy.”

“I was just wondering if you had changed your mind about the dance tonight.”

She didn’t even bother to answer you and focused her attention back on her work. You waited for a few seconds, listening to the sound of her fingers tapping on the keyboard. Then you leaned against the wall and crossed your arms on your chest.

“Do you plan on going back home before it starts?” you asked. “I can pick you up at your place at 7, and then we can –“

“What part of ‘I am not coming’ does your feeble brain not understand?” Venable said, raising her head to look at you, her eyes cold and mean.

“Why not?”you retorted.

Anger flared in her eyes. “That is none of your business.”

You waited a few moments, and then said in a quiet, soothing voice, “I’d really love to dance with you.”  

Her fingers froze above the keyboard. She shot you a surprised look over the rim of her glasses, and you gave her a warm smile.

Something in her face softened. It almost looked – almost – as if some of her walls had crumbled down. For a moment you saw her as she must look like in the morning, relaxed and peaceful, eyes soft, limbs heavy with sleep. Your heart swelled and fluttered with affection. But then she reached for her cane and wrapped her fingers around the knob.

“I hate dancing,” she said sharply.

“That’s fine. We can still enjoy each other’s company.”

She squinted at you, jaw tightening. “I do not enjoy your company,” she mocked, imitating your intonation.    

You pretended that did not hurt. You shifted your weight from one leg to the other and tried to smile again, but it looked more like an ugly grimace. She noticed, and her expression softened.  

For a long moment there was only silence. Her eyes were scrutinizing you, dark and unreadable. Just as you were about to give up and leave, she tapped her cane on the floor, making you jump. “You can meet me here at 7:30,” she said. “Be prompt.”

**

Your hands were sweating. Your heart was beating madly in your chest, as if it wanted to free its way out of you. You smoothed your hands over your clothes, over and over again, as you made your way towards Venable’s office. You had changed into evening wear, nothing too fancy, sprayed perfume on your wrists and neck. The corridors were buzzing with the excited voices of your coworkers, happy, carefree for a night. It almost felt like prom night.

You stopped in front of Venable’s office door, swallowed, took a deep breath for courage, and knocked. The door opened immediately, startling you.

Venable was still in her work clothes, ponytail as neat as ever, face beautiful. You couldn’t help but gaze at her in awe.

“Hello,” you muttered after a while.

Venable shot you a disdainful look. She closed the door and said, “Let’s go. I want to get it over with.”

“Always a pleasure,” you muttered. She didn’t reply.

Side by side you walked to the room where the dance was to be held. It was already crowded with people, people calling each other and waving, people gathered around the buffet, people guffawing and laughing. You spotted Mutt and Jeff in the middle of the room, faces flushed with pride. Two huge pink and yellow balloons, in the shape of a 1 and a 5, hung from the ceiling.

You scanned the crowd, excitement and joy gradually seeping into you. You had always loved parties, always loved the feeling of belonging and of freedom, the heat of bodies all around you. It made you feel strong. You started bouncing on your toes, smiling at familiar faces, laughing as one of your coworkers made a face at you on his way back from the buffet. How you loved parties.

Venable, on the contrary, had tensed up the minute she had stepped into the room. She stood tall and proud, head held high, posture impeccable, but you noticed how tightly she was gripping her cane, and caught a glimpse of the fear in her eyes. Someone brushed past her too close for comfort and she almost recoiled. She was nervous, ill at ease. Her eyes darted from one face to another as if she were expecting a slap or a jeer from anyone.

“Come on,” you said, nodding to a table in a corner. “It’ll be quieter over there.”

As you reached the table, the music started; Blondie, Heart of Glass. Mutt threw his arms up in the air and gave a happy yell. Venable shot him a contemptuous look.

“Are you hungry?” you asked her. “Sit down, I’ll go get us something to eat.”

You threaded your way through the crowd to the buffet, grabbed two plates and piled food on them. You had no idea what Venable liked, so you chose a bit of everything: vegetables, meat, rice, a thick slice of bread. One of your coworkers came up to you and made a few jokes before her partner dragged her to the dance floor in the middle of the room. You watched them wistfully for a few seconds, then made your way back to Venable, holding the plates as close to your chest as you could to avoid they be knocked over by someone’s elbow.  

Venable looked even tenser than when you had left her. She was sitting very, very straight, eyes shooting daggers at no one in particular, one hand gripping her cane. You slowed down as you got close and watched her. She looked exactly like an animal, a predator, trapped in a cage surrounded by a curious crowd, baring its teeth every time someone tapped on the bars, trying to find a corner where to hide. She met your eyes, and visibly relaxed when you sat down at the table and handed her one of the plates.  

Things got easier from then on. You both ate your food in-between bits of conversation. You had to bend over the table to hear each other speak over the music, heads only a few inches apart. Lights danced across Venable’s face, shadows shifting, sparkles in her eyes. At one point you laughed, and her eyes flicked to your lips and lingered there a second or two. You bit your lower lip, shot her an amused look. She picked up her glass and hid her reddening cheeks behind it as she took a few sips.

Warmth was spreading inside you. You told yourself it was the food, or maybe the music, or maybe the party. You told yourself maybe it was the combination of those three things. But then Venable brought a hand up to her ear to play with her earring as she listened to you talk, her gaze fond and intense; her lips parted in a smile that made joy fizzle in your stomach.

It was her, without a doubt.  

You leaned closer and said giddily, “I love seeing you smile.”

She didn’t hear you. The music was too loud. So you said it again, almost a yell. She frowned, narrowed her eyes at you.

“It’s true,” you went on, grabbing your empty glass and pressing it against your mouth to hide behind it, just as Venable had done a few minutes before. “You have such a beautiful smile, but I guess you must hear that all the time.”

Venable opened her mouth, closed it again. There was a strange look in her eyes you could not quite identify. Her hand came up to play with her earring again, and then she raised her shoulders and jerked her head to the side like a child trying to hide the fact that they’re lying. “Thank you,” she said.”I do hear that all the time.”

A man who was waltzing drunkenly almost collided with your chair. You shoved him back into the arms of his friend, laughing. When you glanced at Venable, laughter still on your mouth, you caught a glimpse of her fond smile before she had time to compose her features. Your heart swelled. Beaming, you raised your glass, forgetting it was empty – “To Kineros’ fifteenth birthday!” – forgetting you didn’t even like the company, forgetting everything that wasn’t her.

The music changed. The quick tempo faded and was replaced by a slow melody, a piano and a violin, a deep, melancholy male voice. It soothed your heart and made it ache at the same time. All around the room couples found each other and pressed their bodies against each other and started slow dancing. You glanced sideways at Venable.

She was staring at the dancers with a sad look in her eyes, her thumb tapping distractedly on the knob of her cane. Her gaze fell on one of your coworkers’ face, happy and beaming as she twirled and twirled and laughed. Her partner wrapped one arm around her waist and dipped her. Venable’s grip on her cane tightened, knuckles turning white, and the sadness spilled from her eyes and spread across her face.

You cleared your throat to draw her attention.

“Shall we?” you said, gesturing towards the dancers.

Venable straightened her shoulders, raised her chin and shook her head. “I told you I don’t like dancing,” she said.

You hummed, studying her face. “Then why do you look so sad?”

She shot you a surprised look, eyes widening. You were expecting a mean retort, but instead she stared at the dancers again, and her lower lip trembled.

And then it finally dawned on you. The problem wasn’t that she hated dancing. The problem was that she couldn’t.

You swore you heard your heart break over the music. You had to dig your nails into your arm to stop yourself from reaching out and pulling her into a hug. For a moment you kept silent, and then as the violins swelled and the lights danced on Wilhemina’s face, you wrapped one hand around her wrist and pulled her up and towards the dance floor.

Her mouth opened in protest, but the words died in her throat when you laid one hand on the curve of her waist and used your other hand to guide hers to your shoulder. Her fingers stuttered over your skin, wide eyes meeting yours. You gave her a reassuring smile, brought your hand down and gently laced your fingers with hers around the knob of her cane.

And then you started to sway under the purple fairy lights.

Slowly, carefully, giving her time to adjust, guiding her movements with your hand on her waist. Moving one foot, then the other. In rhythm with the lazy lament of the violins.

Wilhemina’s body slowly relaxed. She found her pace, her eyes never leaving yours, the lights making them glitter. You smiled, and gazed at her as her face softened with gratitude and something else that maybe, just maybe, looked like love. Her eyes lit up as she returned your smile and you swore – your heart was singing louder than the music.

You watched as the sadness melted and genuine happiness bloomed from her smile.

You pulled her closer and pressed your forehead against hers. You felt her breath hitch, saw her eyes flutter closed. So you allowed yourself to sink into her presence, sink into the music, sink into the moment.

And you prayed for the song never to end.

But it did, too soon, too abruptly. Another song started, upbeat and fierce. Wilhemina stopped moving and squared her shoulders. You took her hand, gave it a squeeze and led her back to your table.

She didn’t say thank you. She didn’t have to. The look in her eyes spoke plenty enough.

**

“Well then,” you said as you pulled up in front of Wilhemina’s house – small, white walls, perfectly mown lawn. You paused. You didn’t know what to add after that.

Wilhemina did not move. You glanced sideways at her, swallowing around the lump in your throat. Every nerve in your body was screaming for her to stay. Maybe you could take her on a drive, find a secluded spot, lie down in the grass and watch her as the stars slowly moved in the sky.

“That was nice,” you said after a while.

Wilhemina nodded. “Thank you for the lift,” she said.

“You’re welcome,” you smiled.

Still she did not move. Both her hands were wrapped around the knob of her cane, and she was staring straight ahead at the trees bordering the sidewalk. Her eyes shone faintly in the dark.

You cleared your throat. Your whole body was tingling with the need to touch her, to be near her, to feel her warmth again. You wondered if you would dare, if you would ever be bold enough. But you had been bold when you had invited her to the dance, and she had said yes; so you would be bold again.

“Can I stay at your place tonight?” you asked.

She turned her head to look at you. A small, incredulous smile – afraid to be hurt.

“No you may n – “She cut herself off. Scrutinized your face. You waited, barely daring to breathe, your heart drumming in your ears. Wanting to be near her, now and always and forever.

“I can sleep on the couch,” you added quickly, averting your gaze. Your cheeks were starting to burn, and you were oh so grateful for the darkness.

Silence. Out of the corner of your eye you saw her reaching for the car door handle.

“I guess you can stay,” she said in an expressionless voice. “I don’t see any harm in that.”

**

“I have some clean pajamas you can borrow for the night,” Wilhemina said without looking at you.

“It’s okay,” you teased. “I can sleep naked.”

She shot you a look, then averted her gaze again and turned to rearrange a stack of papers on the coffee table, but you still saw it – the soft blush that bloomed in her cheeks. You sat back on the couch, grinning, and folded your hands behind your head.

“So,” you sang, “tonight wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be, was it?”

She hummed. She was still pretending to rearrange the stack of papers, so you stood up and planted yourself in front of her.  

“Was it?” you repeated, fighting the giddy, smug grin that tugged at your lips. She straightened her shoulders, narrowed her eyes at you. You couldn’t quite decide whether she was amused or outraged by your behavior.

“What do you want me to say?” she retorted, her voice just a little bit raspier than usual. “That you were right?”

She was so close. You took her hand, laced your fingers with hers and kissed her knuckles. Her breath hitched. You grazed your lips on her skin, never breaking eye contact.

“I’d really like to dance with you again,” you whispered.

“But there’s no music,” Wilhemina answered in a breath.

You hummed, slipped one arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “Who needs music to dance?”

She seemed to consider your words for a minute. Her eyes drifted to your lips. She inhaled shakily, then closed the space between you and pressed her chest against yours.

Your breath caught in your throat. Your body simultaneously tingled with life and combusted to ashes. Your eyes fell closed as you pressed your forehead against hers, just as you had at the dance, except this time it felt even more special. Maybe it was the privacy, or the silence, or how warm and firm her chest was against yours. Maybe it was the way she touched her nose to yours, or how, when she let out a breath, you felt it hot on your mouth and you had to stop yourself from capturing her lips in yours and kissing her senseless.

You didn’t even realize you had started slow dancing. You were too focused on her and on the way her body felt against yours to notice anything else. You wrapped both arms around her waist and held her tight, fingers digging into the fat on her hips. A moment passed, and then she, almost angrily, pushed her pelvis against yours.    

You stopped breathing entirely.

Every inch of you was burning. She had set you on fire, and you were melting, melting into her, core aching, head buzzing. So then you did the only thing that felt right. You tilted your head, crashed your mouth against hers and devoured her.

She whimpered, brought a hand up to your cheek, pressed herself even closer into you. You were pretty sure by now your insides had turned into molten lava. Her hand slid up to tangle in your hair, and you heard a clang as her cane fell to the ground, felt her other hand press on the small of your back, grip the fabric of your garment, boldly slide down to knead your ass.

“God, Wilhemina,” you whined into her mouth. She was going to be the end of you. She had cast a spell on you and now you’d die if you had to spend a single second away from her. You felt her smile, that beautiful, bewitching smile of hers that had started it all – and suddenly you needed to see it again, so you pulled away, eliciting an angry groan from her. You put one hand on her shoulder to hold her back.

She was breathing hard, cheeks flushed and lipstick smeared, eyes so dark and so predatory it sent shivers down your spine. You ran your thumb over her mouth, giggled when she nipped it. Her lips twitched, and your eyes widened in expectation, heart racing, heart singing – and then she smiled, that smile that softened her face and made her eyes light up, that smile she only ever smiled for you.

#ahs #ahs imagines #sarah paulson #sarah paulson x reader #wilhemina venable #wilhemina venable x reader #fics

[schleierkauz]

Cornelia Funke Q&A - St. Nicholas’ Day Edition

... Right. I forgot to make a post about it, but the traditional Cornelia livestream happened today. Here, as always, are some highlights.

Misc.

- According to Cornelia the covid situation in Italy is pretty under control - the bookstore people, on the other hand, unfortunately Live In Germany where Everything Is Hell

- Cornelia read us part of one of her christmas stories (Als der Weihnachtsmann vom Himmel fiel) and when she yelled some of the dialogue her dogs thought something was wrong and came running (side note, I love that Cornelia speaks English with her dogs)

- Cornelia’s favorite color is red (and green), though she’s not too fond of blue

- Since a conversation about German words, one of Cornelia’s friends refuses to call her egg whisk anything other than “snow broom” (which is what theyre called in German)

- It’s not christmas until Cornelia and her son have watched “A Muppet Family Christmas”

- Whenever she’s not working on one of her 745837305 projects, Cornelia has been felting little dragons for her christmas tree

Reckless

- In general TV show news, they have everything they need for a pitch document now and one of Cornelia’s friends is currently putting it all together. They will probably send it out in a month or so to see if anyone is interested.

Q: Will Nerron be in the TV Show?

A: He will be if a) it gets made and b) it is successful enough that they get to the second book

Q: How will Will and Nerron spend Christmas in the Mirrorworld?

A: Cornelia pauses and asks if the person asking this has read the 4th book yet...? While Nerron and Will have “a very intense connection”, they “proooobably” won’t be spending christmas together. Actually, she thinks Will is going to be with someone none of us expect...

Q: Where can one find the English version of the “Mirrorworld App Book” (meaning that one book in which the short stories from the app are printed, Spiegelwelt in German)?

A: Unfortunately, there is no English version of that one or the other book “Palast aus Glas” - so far only one short story collection is available in English

Q: Will Hentzau ever just chill?

A: God willing. Cornelia promises to try and give him a chance (but doubts he really wants to relax).

Q: When will the next Reckless book be released?

A: Probably around 2025 “if I’m still alive then”, Cornelia says

Inkworld

Q: Will the first 15 TCoR chapters be released in English as well?

A: That was the original plan but ultimately the translation just wasn’t good enough and multiple English-speaking friends of Cornelia said it didn’t sound like her at all. So it will still take a long time until it’s done - especially since the chapters have already changed quite a bit since last year

- Cornelia is currently listening to Inkspell and Inkdeath again to make sure there are no continuity errors in TCoR (... 👀)

- Bookstore guy asked if she could show us some new TCoR illustrations but Cornelia didn’t have any on hand :(

Q: Does Cornelia ever base her characters on real people, like Fenoglio did with Mo?

A: She tries not to do that because, as Fenoglio has shown, it can get weird and dangerous. Mo actually was based heavily on Brandon Fraser and while writing Inkspell Cornelia would sometimes stop and think “wait, Brandon Fraser wouldn’t do this?” She does steal dead people’s faces from old photographs for her characters, though. It can be very helpful to have a real presence to base characters on.

The Wild Chicks

- Unfortunately, so far there have been no good offers regarding the movie yet. Cornelia would love to just make it herself but unfortunately movies are very expensive and, I quote, “at the end of the day I am not J.K. Rowling :/”

#cornelia funke #reckless #inkworld #mirrorworld #info #it's so nice to hear cornelia read #also idk how to feel about cornelia holding back the english version of the tcor chapters for well over a year now #meanwhile i was translating three chapters a night with only god and some red bull as my witnesses #different standards. different realities. #i really hope they do get released at some point here's hoping #how's winter treating everyone so far? #personally my life keeps trying to kill me and i keep not dying #moving in december sucks tho #...i meant like moving houses but tbh moving my body has been unpleasant as well #it's too cold out there #and everyone has the plague because germany is dumb as hell #ah well #i'll listen to scottish dustfinger some more he would never hurt me