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#overheard death star conversations
captainkirkk · 2 months
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✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩
All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.
Shadowhunters
Enthrallment by smilebackwards
It does look a little bad, Parmela thinks, looking at it from outside. As more specialists had been called in for consultation, they’d decamped to one of the larger conference rooms—eschewing attendance at A, B, AB, & O: The Impact of Blood Type on Non Subject Specific Blood Magic, because this was vastly more interesting and potentially important—and there are a round dozen high-level warlocks clustered around Alec, poking at him with magic.
Or: Alec attends the Magical Inventions and Advances convention in hopes of recruiting warlocks for another Downworld Cabinet. The warlocks, however, are more interested—and concerned—by the blue magical aura following Alec around.
DC
temporal fraternity by envysparkler
Damian clears his throat. “I require your assistance.”
The words come out easier with the benefit of practice and the knowledge that no one will remember them tomorrow. Today. Tomorrow-today.
The Umbrella Academy
cut me open and i still bleed red by aletterinthenameofsanity
Part 1 of the odds were never in our favor
Ben knows his fellow mentors pretty well, for how long he's spent here, behind the screens of the Games, watching as his tributes die.
Allison, from District One, has a way with the sponsors. Just a word placed here or there, stealthily dropped into conversation, and she can get her tributes the shit they need.
In his time as a Mentor, Klaus has developed a habit of drinking to get through the Games, and through the rest of his life, really- anything to avoid the truth of what's happening, the ghosts of the children he and Ben have sent to their deaths.
Very few people remember what Five’s name was before the Games. Caesar Flickerman and the Gamemakers nicknamed him that when he took out the entire Career Pack on his second day in the Arena.
Vanya’s the newest Mentor, the victor of the Seventy-Third Hunger Games.
Diego’s one of Ben’s oldest not-quite friends. A Victor from District Ten, he’d gone into the Games knowing how to kill an animal.
All the other Mentors Ben knows try never to get attached. Luther, on the other hand, doesn't forget a single name.
(A story of seven victors of the Hunger Games and the lives they live as Mentors.)
Danny Phantom
The Promised Land by redrobin1989
Danny Fenton has been running for years, from his abusive parents, from Vlad's experiments, from his freakish powers. He expected to be running his whole life until he found his way to a small town that felt like the home he'd never had.
M!ik
Study Dates Are Not Real Dates by StormySteady
A very important exam is coming up, and Asmodeus is trying his hardest to get Iruma and Clara to study for it. But his soulmates have other ideas.
Star Wars
Starlight, In All Its Forms by Soap_And_Lye
When Luke was eight, he was taken from his home on Tatooine and delivered into the hands of the emperor and his right hand.
When Luke was sixteen, he overheard the emperor's plans to steal a tiny Force sensitive child and saves him first, before being caught and dragged back to his masters' keeping.
When Luke was eighteen, he finds that same child on Gideon's cruiser, and spares both him and his family, including a silver clad Mandalorian.
And when Luke was twenty-four, he is captured by the Rebellion (captured or did he just let it happen? Really up for debate) and secretly sent as a prisoner to Mandalore, where Mand'alor Din Djarin rebuilds his planet and raises his son.
And the rest was history. Or the beginning.
Clone Wars
will you be an anarchist with me? by a_alene
Once the Kenobi floodgates are opened, they cannot be closed. Cody has apparently been keeping an itemized list of disagreements, and he is determined to tell Rex each and every one of them.
Kenobi refuses to listen to Cody’s input. Kenobi throws himself into battle with no regard for previously established battle plans. Kenobi uses the Force so recklessly and obviously that every undercover assignment is blown within the first few minutes. Kenobi is a hypocrite who berates Cody for sidestepping protocol, but flouts it himself at every opportunity.
CT-7567: bet you wish you had skywalker now
CC-2224: I wish for nothing but the cold embrace of space
Right. And he says Kenobi’s dramatic.
(Marshal Commander Cody and High General Obi-Wan Kenobi of the 212th cannot stand each other. Rex doesn't know why this is his problem.)
poetry is what you find (in the dirt in the corner) by fivecenturiesverse
(In which Cody becomes an anonymous poet after the war and his brothers find out.)
Rex launches forwards immediately and so does Bly, because he can admit to himself that he likes gifts. He likes gifts a whole lot more than Cody and Wolffe, anyway, who both act like martyrs who don’t need any material love. “Poetry, vod?” Bly asks, incredulous. “Cody’s right, you are going soft.”
“It’s by a clone,” Fox says, defensively, “it’s quite good, actually. For poetry. It made Sergeant Hound cry at the service.
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haesunflower · 10 months
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to hell with the stars | royalty au with ricky and zhanghao
(written in the stars chapter 3)
✩ chapter 1, chapter 2 ✩
genre: romance, angst
pairing: reader x ricky, queen oc x zhang hao
about/tags: you're back in astoria where you feel love bloom again. among other things, the queen of mariposa's relationship with king hao worsens. (4k+ words)
y/n is a princess, infidelity, cursing, mentions of death, slight slutshaming, these characters live such hard lives
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The sky is a beautiful orange, with pinks blendings purples to welcome the impending setting of the sun. Celeste and Citrine are busy drinking from the water trough after a long day of riding. Ricky tosses you an apple meant for the horses, but you don’t have much of an appetite. 
“I hear you’re leaving tomorrow.” The prince takes a bite into the red fruit, as he sits down next to you under the tree where you’ve been planted for the past twenty minutes. Your mind was all over the place, thinking about your sister – how you and her husband, the king, spent over an hour crying and getting closure, how you eventually shared a kiss with him. 
That would have been enough reason to leave the following day anyway. So when you received a letter from your parents in Astoria asking you to come home, you were a little bit relieved. It saves you the agony of coming up with an excuse to tell your sister. 
In true avoidance, you spent the whole day riding. You rushed to the stables that morning, without even letting Chaehyun know. Everyone was looking for you the moment they realized you disappeared with your horse. Which is exactly why they sent Prince Quanrui to look for you, and he successfully found you crying by the pond. 
With no one in sight, he hugged you, arms embracing your torso as you sobbed into his chest. His head rests atop yours, as he soothes your back trying to get you to calm down. Even in your misery, a part of him is glad that he gets to hold you like this. 
You don't want to return just yet. So again, there you were sitting under the tree. Just thinking. You haven’t said much to Ricky at all, he didn’t pry. Instead you both moved in silence. Grateful for his perceptiveness to your emotions, he deserved a decent conversation. “Yes, tomorrow morning. The King and Queen have summoned me.”
Ricky nods slowly, but he’s undecided on whether or not he wants to believe that answer. He sets the apple down, and sighs loudly. “Since you’ll be gone, I have no purpose staying here any longer than you are. I’ll leave tomorrow as well.” he says matter-of-factly. 
You can’t say you’re not surprised. In fact, you’ve suspected that he favors you more than any other royal because he likes you to some degree. And you like Ricky too, how could you not? 
You spent every year of childhood playing with him around the castle, he was your favorite guest at your tea parties, he was your escort for your first royal ball, he taught you how to paint, and he made you laugh. And you once overheard both your mothers joke around, saying perhaps their children will marry each other one day. You weren’t sure if that meant you. But if it did, you wouldn’t mind. Ricky is a friend above all things, a really good friend – who is also a welcome distraction from your thoughts. 
“You spent almost all of Spring here in Mariposa, did you not tire of my company?” you playfully nudge him, and the tip of his ears turn a little red. He breaks into a smile as he turns to you, eyes locking “it wasn’t dreadful”, he jokes back.  
“I knew it. So you do like me a little bit, Prince Quanrui?” you tease. 
“Love. I do love you Princess Y/N.”
There is no more joking undertone, just a declaration. He says it confidently, his voice unwavering. He looks to your lips, then to your eyes before he looks away – staring at the sky instead, “but I can wait, however long you need, Y/N.”
You think about what he just said, and you’re scared to ask “Ricky, you know something, don’t you?”
“Well…” he begins. “I knew there must have been a good reason as to why you didn’t come to Solaria when I invited you, perhaps you were occupied with royal matters too. And because I was at your sister’s wedding, I figured you weren’t in attendance. Perhaps you were sick, as there was no way you would have missed an event that involved your family. I also know that you were trying to get away from that dumbass King after your dance with him –” he wants to continue, but he glances in your direction. 
Your head is down, ashamed. So he was right, it is about the King. 
“I’m a horrible person. Yesterday, I kissed him.” you whisper the confession, barely audible. You check on Ricky, who is no longer watching the sky, and is instead gazing at you.  He seems unphased. 
“Do you see me differently now?” you ask, feeling hopeful that maybe he doesn’t think you’re a disgrace, a slut, a traitor. He one ups your expectations when he responds with “I see you exactly as you are. The same from when we were kids. Beautiful, terribly unfunny, but fresh like air. Nothing you do changes my love for you.”
For confirmation, you ask once again – “you love me?”
“In every way imaginable, Y/N”. You smile as you realize how easy it was for Ricky to answer that question, and compare it to how difficult it was for you to answer Hao the night before.
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—--
When you leave the next day, Ricky is the one that brings you to your carriage, opening the door for you. He tells you that he’ll visit Astoria after he gets his political affairs in order. He removes the glove that you had on, and kisses the back of your hand sweetly. It’s intimate, sweet, and in Solaria – reserved for only husband and wife. 
You want to tease him, but you don’t. Instead, you remove your necklace, a golden chain with a sun and star on it, and place it on his palm. You enclose his fingers around it gently, and your hands stay in that position for a while. You’re afraid this is the last time you’ll see each other as just Crown Prince Ricky and Princess Y/N. 
“Don’t keep waiting for me, okay? Thank you for the past few weeks”. You place your hand on his cheek, and swipe your thumb comfortingly. 
Those are the last words you speak to him before the carriage door is closed. Ricky is watching as the carriage smalls to the distance. The necklace is safely nested in his clasped hands, afraid he’ll lose the precious item you gave him. Rather, afraid he’ll lose you entirely. 
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—-- 
When you return to Astoria, the first thing that you are alerted to is that the crown prince’s condition has worsened. Crown Prince Hanbin has been sick since the middle of winter, and everyone had assumed he would eventually get better. He always does. But an entire season has passed, and his condition has only worsened. 
You enter his room, and he’s laying in his bed. Your mother and father, the queen and king of Astoria, are seated on chairs by the side of his bed. For both of them to be here at the same time, it must be really grave, you think.
You close the door gently and walk to your brother to take his hand. He’s coughing but he manages to smile when he sees you. “What took you so long, sister?” he asks, his voice is hoarse. 
“Don’t speak, I am here now brother.” You place your hand on his head, feeling his temperature and wiping away the layer of sweat that rests on his skin. “What do the doctors say, mother?” But she doesn’t respond to your query. 
“Y/N, let’s speak outside....” Your father commands.
Hanbin interrupts, “no, let me be the one to tell her.”
You’re looking at both of the men in the room, waiting for them. “Sister, listen –” a roar of coughs erupts before he gets the rest of the sentence out  “– you know that if anything were to happen to me, you’ll be queen regent right?” You’re nodding, “starting tomorrow, your official title will be crown princess.”
Your world spins, and you think you might faint. You were right, that was going to be the last time you would be seeing Ricky as just, princess y/n. Tomorrow, you duties begin as crown princess, the next in line to the throne.
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—--
In Solaria, Prince Quanrui’s mother asks how his trip to Mariposa was. And if he has already proposed to you, like he said you would. He shakes his head, and tells her that it isn’t the right time. 
“I always knew that both of you would end up together,” she says quaintly. “You begged to visit Astoria almost every year, even when we didn’t need the diplomatic meetings anymore. You studied her interests, her country, and you know the Astoria government more than anyone in our parliament. Son, you even painted a portrait for her,” she scoffs “you’ve never even painted for your own mother. And remember when you were devastated when she didn’t visit us last year?” The current queen of Solaria pauses to take a sip from her wine, watching the expression on her son’s face. “Am I right to believe you’ve loved her ever since?” 
When the prince nods, she nags at him, "then why are you in Solaria and not Astoria?"
He has a small smile on his face, and he thinks of you as he touches the gift you left him, currently clad on his neck. 
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—-- 
A letter from Solaria announcing Prince Quanrui’s intent to visit Astoria arrives a week late. Now, the palace staff are in visible panic, making last minute preparations. You haven’t seen them make this much haste since the last time a crown prince stayed in Astoria. 
It’s a bright day, and the gardens are littered with fully bloomed stargazer lilies this time around. As if timed perfectly, a carriage slows down the moment you leave the palace doors. A footman opens the vehicle, and Prince Quanrui steps out dressed in all black. On his right hand, a dozen red roses. 
As you walk down the stairs to greet him, he bows at you. And out of habit, you curtsy back. “Your favorite, Princess Y/N”, he hands you the flowers. Roses don’t grow well on Astoria soil, so Ricky has made it a tradition to gift you a dozen every time he visits. They’re usually yellow or white. You wonder if these red ones hold any special meaning, and you decide to read on it later. 
“They’re beautiful as always, Prince Quanrui.” He takes your ungloved hand, and plants a delicate kiss from his lips. It feels familiar, it feels sincere, it feels nice. 
“I hope the King and Queen are not too offended about my sudden desire to visit the Astoria palace.” You’re walking side by side, back to the grand doors. “Don’t be silly Ricky, they’re elated that you’ve come here again.” 
Ricky is glad to hear that he’s still in your parents’ good graces. Because he plans to ask for their blessing for your hand in marriage soon.
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—-- 
The palace staff are instructed to not speak anything about Prince Hanbin’s debilitating condition, nor are they allowed to address Y/N by her new Crown Princess title around guests. They have not made the royal decree public, and they only plan to do so once things have been made final. Everyone hopes that it doesn’t have to come to that point. 
Silently, you’ve been preparing to take over. Hanbin’s responsibilities have been passed on to you, along with additional education from his royal tutors. It’s exhausting to be a ruler. Thankfully, all of that takes a backseat for the first few days of Ricky’s visit. 
At first, you enjoyed your usual activities. Strolling by the garden, painting together, visiting the new museum artifacts, riding Celeste and Citrine, having meals together. You threw a tea party for fun, and he willingly participated, joking about how you must have no better company because he’s the only one present. “I’m in disbelief that your idea of fun is throwing tea parties and rotting away at the library.” 
Faking offense, “excuse me, that is no way to talk to your host.” He laughs, uninhibited, gums showing. Your favorite. He often puts on a cool and cold demeanor around strangers, but you know who he is. So in rare moments where he allows himself to genuinely laugh, even with palace staff around – you treasure it, tucking a memory of this moment.
“Let’s do something that’s actually fun. I’ll come get you later this evening.”
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—-- 
“Are you certain about this?” you ask Ricky, as he tucks the rest of your hair into your cloak. Underneath, both of you are sporting commoner clothes that you rarely use. 
“Unfortunately, I’m not taking no for an answer. Come on.” He grips your waist tightly and hoists you up the palace walls, the ones near the staff entrance where it’s much, much shorter. And therefore, very climbable. Ricky follows after you, and you’re both giggling at the excitement of sneaking out past curfew. 
The stars are littered throughout the sky, acting as a soft source of light. You mount your horses, and ride towards the central area of Astoria. The night market at the town square feels so alive. There’s a weekend festival that the tavern owners like to host, and you hear old men as they clink their mugs and cheer for the free drinks. Children are still up, enjoying the Astoria delicacies being sold by vendors. At the center, near the fountain, a traditional square dance ensues. It’s mostly old couples and young teenagers. Ricky drags you in, and you’re both welcomed into the chaos of music, laughter, and sweaty bodies. As he dances with an old lady, you can’t help but stare at his beauty that surely rivals your own. He’s holding both her hands, encouraging her to go along with the beat. He’s smiling wide, as he teaches her the steps. That damn smile that you love so much. 
You’re walking down the food vendor lanes when you buy Ricky an Astorian strawberry delicacy. To put it simply, cow’s milk that’s been pasteurized with strawberries. “Try this, you’ll like it.” you excitedly bring the cup to his mouth, and he takes a sip. He says it’s the best thing he’s ever tasted. 
You try a lot of new things. There’s a sketch artist that offers to draw the ‘lovely couple’ in charcoal, and you both pose on the chair attempting to keep your laughs at a minimum. He buys you a little doll made by a local toymaker, saying it looked like you when you were younger. Both of you even try winning a game of hopscotch against the children. He doesn’t want to, but when you tell him to lose on purpose to make them happy, he obliges.
You’re walking back where you came from when you tell him “your idea of fun is certainly better than mine.” You slow your steps, and decide to go to the railing of the bridge overlooking the lake. There are fireflies dancing around the swans. 
“Thank you. For taking me out of the palace today”. Your hands are glued to the railing, but you’re looking up at him. Ricky’s gaze is heart-stopping, and you struggle to maintain eye contact with him.
Meanwhile, he thinks that you shine the brightest at nights, with the moon illuminating your face – like you’re the only thing that matters. To him, it holds true.  He doesn’t know if it’s because he missed you, or if it’s purely from the way you’re looking at him. But he places his hand atop yours on the railing. You don’t move, not because you’re frozen, or nervous, but because it feels – natural. You look to his hand, safely enclosing yours when you notice the necklace you’ve given him, now repurposed as a bracelet that he’s wrapped thrice around his wrist. “You kept it…” 
“I treasure it as it’s from you.” And there’s an increased fondness that grows in your heart for the boy that loves you. You regret the words that you uttered to him when you gave it to him. 
“Ricky, I take back what I said.” He looks confused, “about you not needing to wait for me. I take it back. You’ll keep waiting, right?” You look up at him, desperate and glassy eyed. Ricky thinks your eyes look like they’re sparkling, but he knows it’s because you’re on the verge of tears. 
“I didn’t plan on stopping anyways.” To assure you the only way he knows how, he moves your hands from the railing to wrap it around his shoulders. As if letting you know that it’s okay to rely on him. Then, he inches down closer to you, so that your noses touch. Your lips are merely milimeters away. He searches your eyes, and asks “may I?”
You give a tiny nod, and he places his lips on yours. It’s not as gentle, it’s unlike what you’re used to. But you find it exciting, and there’s an electricity that you’ve never felt before. He swipes his tongue against your lower lip, and you slightly open your mouth to let him kiss you more fervently. Your stomach drops and you hold on to him tighter. You’re both out of breath.
And as you stand there at the bridge overlooking the lake of fireflies, you feel that you’re just Y/N and Ricky. Two people, no titles. 
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—-- 
It’s a rude awakening, to get yelled at by your mother for disappearing into the night. Work piled up over the last few days, and you’re struggling to catch up. Prince Quanrui sends you little letters or drawings that he slips under your study. Cute, you think. You start to feel terrible that you haven’t been seeing much of him anymore, so you invite him to join you in your royal duties. 
You’re in the middle of studying the star patterns, something you did weekly as a requirement in your crown princess education. Previously, you did this as a hobby. It's a sudden whiplash to start viewing your favorite activity as duty. It’s burdensome.
Ricky is surprisingly very willing and interested to participate. He’s quick to be useful, though you’ve only taught him once at thirteen years old. He seems to have taken notice of your change in demeanor though, he knows something is troubling you. So when it’s just the two of you, he asks “I’ll speak candidly, Y/N. Is something wrong?”
He’s standing by the telescope when you retract yourself from the eyepiece. You look at him, and he seems genuinely worried. His brows are furrowed, and he’s slightly biting his lip anxiously waiting for an answer from you. Ricky is never nervous. But nowadays, you have been the exception. Ricky fears you're actively avoiding him, thinking he’s scared you with a confession of love, or if he’s come on too strong since he’s arrived at Astoria. Maybe it was the kiss you shared. Or perhaps you’re still in love with Hao. 
“Can I tell you when I’m ready, is that okay? It’s not anything you did, I promise.” It’s like you read his mind. So he nods, and decides to patiently wait until you are ready to confide in him. To wait, just like you asked him to. 
This time, you’re the one that steps closer towards him to rest your head on his chest. He wraps his arms around your back, and you feel safe. You don’t want to tell him anything just yet. You’d rather stay in his arms, an ignorant state of bliss.
Because you feel that if you tell him, you’ll speak it to existence, some sort of manifestation. It scares you. Because you might be Queen of Astoria, and Ricky is meant to be King of Solaria – thus, you aren’t free to love him either. The damn stars, even at a second chance of love, there is no hope for fruition. 
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—-- 
In Mariposa, things are more dreary. Hao smells like whiskey, and the alcohol’s scent follows him as he barges into the queen’s quarters. It’s been several months since Y/N left, meaning it’s been several months where the king spends his evenings drowning himself in liquor.  
The queen has been holed up in her room since she found Hao and her sister in the second floor library. She didn’t even say goodbye to her when she left, making up an excuse about pregnancy pains. It’s been a few months, and she’s since given birth to a daughter, Yeseo. 
Amidst motherly responsibilities, Knight Jiwoong has been a distraction for her. In Astoria, he swore under oath to protect her with his life. It helps that they’ve known each other forever, and that comfort of having someone know you equally, or maybe even more than yourself has been saving grace for her. So when the queen found her husband and her sister that night, the first thing she did was run to Jiwoong. She cried, and cried, and cried – and he silently listened. 
The palace talks, and word must have gotten around about the Queen’s secret rendezvous with the Astoria Knight that guards her door. When there is a change of the guards, Jiwoong makes sure to come back outside right before anyone catches them. Sometimes, his uniform is in disarray. 
It’s unsurprising, yet terrifying when Hao makes a beeline at the Knight who is currently standing by the Queen’s window. His hands are grasping at his armored collar, in an attempt to intimidate him. “How long have you been fucking the queen?”
“Hao! Let him go.” The queen rushes to the two men, and pushes the King away. Jiwoong is silent, and he kneels down before his King, but doesn’t respond. “I demand an answer, knight Kim Jiwoong. How long has this been going on behind my back!” his eyes are fueled with rage, as he stares down at the man that’s knelt before him. 
“Do not answer him Jiwoong.” The queen puts a finger up towards him. “Hao, if you want to play ‘timelines’ we can. So now I’ll ask you – how long have you been in love with my sister?”
This time, Hao is silenced, but he breathes heavily.
“Is this,” gesturing to you and Jiwoong “the reason why you were okay with all of that? Even asking me to dance with her. Were you pushing me towards her so that you could enjoy your little play thing? You knew this whole time?” Hao is visibly angry at the story that unfolds in his head. An angry King Hao, it’s a sight that is rare to even the oldest of staff in the castle. His chest is huffed out, and his eyes are wide. 
The queen, luckily, is not one to back down. “I know that you kissed my sister while you are still married to me.” The queen walks past Hao and takes a seat by the fireplace. She’s staring at the fire when she says  “I know that you do not love me. I know that ever since we’ve left Astoria you’ve been different.”
“Do not guilt trip me. I am devoted to you, I chose you!” he’s yelling. 
There’s venom in the queen’s voice when she says “you are devoted to me but you do not love me. You are devoted to the country, you are devoted to your children. And yes, you will choose me each time because I, as queen, am also Mariposa. But you do not love me.”
He walks up behind the chair of the queen, and accusingly he says “you speak of the children, but are they even mine? – Yujin & Yeseo, are they even Mariposa blood?” His anger blends into sorrow, the thought of not being the father of his supposed heirs is more heartbreaking than anything else. 
It is only then that the knight speaks. “Your Majesty, I am impotent. There is no doubt that the young heirs are Your Majesty’s”
And just like that, Knight Jiwoong’s secret is out. Hao pours two glasses of whiskey and takes a seat next to the queen. 
—--⋆⋆☆⋆⋆—-- final chapter here
✩ chapter 1, chapter 2 ✩ ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა
A/N: these chapters just keep getting longer and longer also i'm sorry i made you impotent jiwoong TT
taglist: @en-ct @honghongbri @beomibeom @jiaant11 (and tagging other people that left comments on other chapters @cherriegyu @annoyingbitch83 @missuszabini @aleinasstuff @wtfhyuck @zhanghrt @flwrinn @xiaoting999 @xmxcris @seokmthw @kyrjnie @dimplewonie @leoonoa) @kflixnet
-> join my taglist so you don't miss out!
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karmaisakhaleesi · 1 year
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Hello,
I saw your Neteyam x human reader story, and wanted to see if I could request something similar for Loak maybe? A general idea would be a human girl who was born on Pandora like spider, maybe they're siblings? I don't know, but they end up taking the reader with them to the Metkaniya Clan.
omgs of course! i was actually writing something similar earlier, so here it is~
masterlist~
warnings~ use of y/n, language, violence, blood, death mentioned, please lmk if i missed any!
summary~ you're the twin sister of Spider, and after nearly being captured with your brother you are brought to the Metkayina clan with the Sully family.
wordcount~ 3.8k+
my star~
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Your hands clasp the now crushed flower in your hand as you walk with the others. Your brother rushes past you, nearly knocking you down as he tries to keep up with Lo'ak.
"Come on, we're gonna leave you! if you don't hurry up!" he calls out as he runs ahead.
Sighing you smile and jog to catch up, dropping the now crushed flower to the forest floor. The sound of the insects buzzing, and animals distracts you, and you walk face-first into Lo'ak, "What is that?" he questions as Kiri walks forward.
Standing on your tip toes, you try to see past them but to no avail, "What's what? I can't see!"
Lo'ak walks forward and you follow after, your mouth opening in a gasp when you see what lies on the forest floor. A large footprint was imprinted in the mud.
"It's way too big for a human," he whispers as he crouches down to observe it.
"Avatars?" your brother questions as he joins Lo'ak.
"Maybe..." he trails off, "but they're for sure not ours."
You slowly walk after them as Kiri stands, "What are you doing?"
"Tracking," Lo'ak shushes her as his eyes flick back and forth across the ground.
After following Lo'ak and your brother for a moment he puts out his hand to stop you and Kiri.
"We are never supposed to come here," she comments as you look over his shoulder, and feel your blood run cold.
At least three Avatars were walking around the long abandoned and forgotten trailer as they talked in hushed tones.
"Dad is going to ground you," Kiri says her voice dripping with sarcasm, "For life."
"Let's go," Lo'ak whispers, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he stalks forward with your brother in tow.
Groaning you grab his arm, "No, what if they see you?"
Pushing your hand away Lo'ak ignores your plea and continues to the clearing.
Lo'ak draws his bow as he peeks through the leaves of a tree, watching as the avatars move, seeming to scout the area.
"Bro," Spider whispers, his voice full of awe, "that's where your dad and my dad..." he trails off and turns to face Lo'ak, "fought."
Lo'ak's eyes widen as he looks closer at the clearing, "That's your dad's actual suit!"
"Holy shit."
You grab the small knife from your waist and hold it in front of yourself as you move towards them, "We need to go. Now," your voice is stern and cold as you glance over at the avatars, one with a familiarity that you just can't place.
"I gotta call this in," Lo'ak whispers as he turns to follow you back to Kiri and Tuk.
Your brother rushes after him hissing under his breath not to be overheard by the intruders at the old shack, "No bro we're gonna get in trouble!"
Your hands tremble slightly as you sheathe your knife, not seeing much of use for it now as Lo'ak tapped his communicator, "Devil Dog, Devil Dog. This is Eagle Eye, over."
You can't help but giggle a bit at the code names. Sure it was supposed to be serious so that if anyone hacked the comms or got a hold of one, information wouldn't be leaked but you still found it a bit silly.
"I got eyes on some guys. They look like avatars, but they're in full camo and carrying ARs. There's six of them, over."
You can hear the frustration in Jake's voice as he asks your location and Lo'ak responds, "We're at the old shack."
You twist another flower around your finger as you zone out, not noticing the conversation was over until Lo'ak grabbed your hand tightly and began pulling you into the trees, "Keep up," he whispered, voice shaky as you stumbled over the roots of trees.
You try to keep up as Kiri whispers, "You're going to be in so much trouble."
Shushing her Lo'ak's grip on your hand tightens and he pulls you along faster, "Kiri, stop."
"It's almost eclipse, come on!" Tuk shouts before an avatar shoots out from behind the tree in front of her and grabs her.
She screams as Lo'ak and your brother both notch their bows and you grab your knife. The metal hilt is cool in your palm as you grasp it tightly, glaring at the avatars now surrounding you.
"Put it down! Put it down!" a man screams as you drop your knife.
That voice, it was so, familiar. But you still couldn't place it, and it made your head ache when you tried. Gripping your temples you groaned in pain as one of them yanked you backward. Screaming you try to pull free but they yank your hair, making you hiss in pain.
"What have we here?" interrupts a voice.
Turning your head to the voice you look up and feel another wave of pain rush through your temples. He squints at you and then turns away as the man holding Kiri holds up her hand.
"Hey Colonel, check it out, four fingers. We got a half-breed."
He looks at Kiri before turning to Lo'ak, "Show me your fingers."
Lo'ak raises his hands, flipping off the Colonel as he glares at him.
The Colonel laughs, "You're his, aren't you?"
Lo'ak only hisses in response, baring his teeth as the Colonel smiles, "You're his alright."
You shout as he grabs him by the neck and lifts him up, "Let him go!"
The woman's grip on you tightens as you snarl at the man, "If you hurt him, I'll kill you!"
He ignores you as he tightens his grip on Lo'ak's neck "Where is he?"
"Sorry, I don't speak English," he answers as the Colonel bares his teeth.
"Where is your Father?" he hisses, voice full of annoyance as he yanks Lo'aks hair.
You can feel your blood begin to boil as your foot taps against the ground in search of your knife.
"Really? This is how you wanna play it?" asks the Colonel as he tosses Lo'ak to the ground, and approaches Kiri.
The woman's grip on your arm loosens as she grabs onto Lo'ak, and you use the opportunity to dive for your knife as your brother calls out, "Hey! Don't hurt her!"
He hisses as the Colonel turns to him, "What's your name kid?"
"Spider... Socorro," he reluctantly answers.
A boot stomps down on your hand as it wraps around the metal handle of your knife. You hiss in pain, looking up at the man, whose eyes are now lit with curiosity, "And you?"
Glaring you grit out, "y/n, Socorro."
His foot leaves your hand and he waves the man away from your brother. A look of confusion washes over his face as he crouches down next to you.
"Miles, y/n?"
"Nobody calls me that," your brother says as you move to stand.
"Well, I'll be damned," he says, his voice hollow and his eyes unreadable as they move from your brother to you.
"Well, I figured they sent you back to Earth."
"You can't put babies in cryo, dipshit," he snaps as you tuck your knife back into your pocket.
He motions for the man to grab him again, and you feel the woman yank you up by the arm, her grip tight enough to bruise.
"What're we doin' boss?"
"Iron sky blue one actual," he says ignoring him.
You can feel Lo'ak's eyes on you, so you turn your head to look at him, "Are you okay?"
Your voice is quiet and hoarse from the screaming as his eyes narrow, "I should be the one asking you that. He almost broke your hand, no wait- did he?" his voice is heated as he glares at the Colonel's back, "If he did I'll-"
Shaking your head you give him a tight smile to conceal the pain in your wrist, "No, I'll be fine. I-" the sound of helicopter blades interrupts you and you look up.
Four helicopters in the distance, mere specs now, and you feel your stomach drop. Where were they planning on taking you?
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You blew a stray piece of hair out of your face as you saw your father, could you really call him that though? out of the corner of your eye pick up a skull from the AMP suit on the ground. His AMP suit.
"You want us to recover these remains?" the man next to him asked as he pocketed the dog tags.
You bit back a gasp as he crushed the skull in his hands, the powder and pieces left now falling to the forest floor.
It didn't take long after that for the sun to set and for the plants to give off their bioluminescence. You flinched as the woman yanked your head back and clenched your hands into fists.
The woman communicating with the Colonel had said she would be here in three minutes, but your mind still spiraled thinking about what they would do with you once you were aboard their ships.
Hearing a small clicking noise you looked to the trees and smile, it looks like you wouldn't be leaving with them after all.
Lo'ak's eyes met yours as you heard the calling grow closer and he gave you a reassuring nod as the rain started to pick up.
You could hear Kiri pray to Eywa as the man holding onto her Tsaheylu screamed for her to shut up, "Shut u-"
His words were cut short when an arrow pierced his skull and you gasped as the woman let go of your arm. You fell to the ground as the opened fire on the trees and unsheathed your knife, burying it into her leg. Screaming she aimed her gun at you, but before she could pull the trigger a cloud of green smoke surrounded you.
Stumbling to your feet you felt a hand grab your arm and pull you forward, "Run!"
You stumbled through the forest, trying to keep up with the figure dragging you along. You couldn't see much through the thick green smoke, but you could hear the sound of gunshots and screams echoing behind you.
"Come on, you need to run faster!" Lo'ak shouted, but his voice sounded distant, as if you were in a dream, or your ears were filled with cotton.
Stumbling again, this time your feet tangled in the roots of a tree, sending you face first to the ground, a feeling of warmth spreading through your abdomen as you felt someone lift you up.
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Lo'ak's blood ran cold when he felt your hand go limp in his. Turning back he saw your body laying half over a log, crimson spreading across your torso.
Cursing under his breath he quickly lifted you into his arms, "y/n?" his hand moved to take your pulse when a stray bullet flew past.
Lifting you into his arms he quickly caught up to his parents and siblings, his Father's face falling when his eyes landed on you.
"What happened?"
Lo'ak's eyes lingered on you as his grandmother began treating your wound, "If you keep staring like that, you won't be able to help," she scolded him.
Lo'ak quickly shook his head and looked away, his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn't lose you, not after everything you had been through together.
As his grandmother worked on your wound, Lo'ak took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He needed to be strong for you, to make sure you would live.
Hours passed as you lay unconscious, your breathing shallow and weak. Lo'ak refused to leave your side, his hand holding yours tightly as he prayed to Eywa.
Finally, as the first light of dawn began to filter through the cave opening, you stirred. Lo'ak's heart leaped in his chest as he saw your eyes flutter open.
"Lo'ak?" you murmured, your voice weak and hoarse.
"I'm here," he said softly, his relief evident in his voice.
You smiled weakly at him, and Lo'ak felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. He had never been so scared in his life.
"Where's my brother?"
His hands caught your arms as you tried to stand, "You'll tear your wound if you move too quickly."
Averting his eyes as you question where your brother is he laments and whispers, "They have him."
You looked at Lo'ak with confusion and concern in your eyes, "Who has him? What do you mean?"
Lo'ak took a deep breath, trying to steady himself before he spoke. "The RDA," he said, his voice shaking with anger. "They took him. When they had us captured, he got separated," he trails off as you stand, hobbling to the entrance.
"Hey! No, you need to rest, lay down-"
"No!" you cut him off, your voice still hoarse from the previous days' events, "I'm going after him, this is just a flesh wound, alright?"
His grip on your hand tightens when a voice clears their throat. Standing at the entrance is Neytiri and behind her Jake. You flinch as her eyes narrow at you, and take a step back.
"We need to talk," Jake says, his voice stern as you take a seat in front of the fire.
His eyes are cloudy as he regards you, "We are leaving," his voice strains as he continues, "Norm will be here in the morning to get you."
Your face twists in confusion, "Leaving? Where are you going, to get my brother back?"
You snap the last part and Neytiri hisses at you her eyes narrowed as her ears pinned back against her head, "Ignorant child."
Grumbling you snap, "I can hear you," Lo'ak coughs to cover a nervous laugh before turning to his father.
"I want to bring her with us," he laces his fingers with yours and you feel your face heat up.
Shaking his head Jake sighs, "No, it's too dangerous. And besides, the Metkayina won't accept a skyperson."
His eyes meet yours as he stands to leave, "Mo'at will tend to your wounds until Norm gets here with the chopper tomorrow," and with that, he and Neytiri leave, leaving you alone with your thoughts and Lo'ak sitting beside you.
His hand gently pushes your hair away from your face as you look up at him, "So, you're leaving," you trail off before pulling the furs closer to your body.
He frowns before exclaiming, "I'll take you with me," his hands clasp yours as you look at him, confused.
"No, Jake said-"
"Norm won't be here till' morning and we leave tonight, I'll sneak you onto my Ikran."
You hesitate, unsure of what to do. On one hand, you want to stay and find your brother, but on the other hand, you don't want to put yourself or anyone else in danger. You look into Lo'ak's eyes, searching for any doubt or hesitation, but all you see is determination and a fierce desire to help you.
"Are you sure?" you ask him, your voice barely above a whisper.
He nods, his grip on your hand tightening, "I won't leave you here alone, not after what happened. We'll find your brother together."
You take a deep breath, nodding in agreement. "Okay," you say, your voice stronger now. "Let's do it."
Lo'ak smiles at you, relief evident in his eyes. "I'll go get everything ready," he says, standing up from the fire. "Just stay here and rest."
As he leaves the cave, you settle back onto the furs, your mind racing with thoughts of what's to come. You know that this decision could be dangerous, but you also know that you have to do everything in your power to find your brother. Especially when he's in the hands of your... father.
The day flies by and in no time, it's nearing eclipse. Soon enough, Lo'ak returns, carrying a small pack on his back. "Are you ready?" he asks you.
You nod, standing up. Lo'ak leads you to the edge of the cliff, where his Ikran is perched, waiting for him.
As you approach, it lets out a low hiss, eyeing you warily. Lo'ak places a reassuring hand on its neck, whispering something in Na'vi you don't quite catch. The Ikran seems to relax at his touch, and he motions for you to climb onto its back.
You hesitate for a moment, unsure of how to do it. Lo'ak notices your hesitation and helps you climb up, settling you in front of him. He holds onto the Ikran and leans forward when he hears the sound of his family coming forward, concealing you from their view.
You hold onto Lo'ak tightly as the wind rushes past you, the stars shining brightly above. As you fly farther away from the forest, your thoughts turn to your brother and your father, wondering what he wants from you. And why you feel such pain when you see him.
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You feel the cold glares of the Metkayina as you come to a stop beside Lo'ak and Kiri, your eyes on the ground.
"We seek uturu," Jake says as he greets the Tsahìk and Olo'eyktan glance at each other, their expressions unreadable.
You can feel yourself shrinking down, praying they don't
Ronal steps forward, her eyes scanning you carefully, "What is the reason for bringing a skyperson here?" she asks, her voice calm but with an edge of anger to it.
Lo'ak steps forward, his hand still clasping yours tightly, "She was injured, and we couldn't leave her behind," he explains, his voice soft.
She nods, her eyes still fixed on you, "Her wounds are severe. But that is no excuse to let a demon in our presence, let alone grant one uturu!"
You flinch at her words as the Olo'eyktan Tonowari steps forward, "We must consider the potential consequences of granting uturu to a skyperson. They have brought destruction to our world before, and we cannot risk them bringing their war here."
Kiri steps forward, her hand on your shoulder, "But she is not like the others. She has learned the way of the Omatikaya Clan, and was practically raised alongside us," she gestures to Jake, Neytiri, Tuk, Lo'ak, and Neteyam.
There is a moment of silence as Ronal and Tonowari exchange looks before the Olo'eyktan finally speaks, "Very well. We will grant her uturu, but only under strict conditions. She must remain under constant supervision and be confined to a designated area. Any breach of these conditions will result in immediate exile from our village."
You feel a sense of relief wash over you at their decision, but also a twinge of sadness at the restrictions placed upon you. However, you understand their caution and are grateful for their willingness to let you stay.
"Thank you," Lo'ak says, bowing his head in respect. "We will ensure that she follows your rules and does not cause any harm."
Ronal and Tonowari nod in unison, and you feel Lo'ak's hand squeeze yours in reassurance.
You spend the rest of the day getting settled into a mauri farthest from the rest of the village, and having your wound tended to. You flinch as Ronal finishes cleansing the wound and takes her leave without a word.
Hearing Jake sigh you look up at him, your eyes immediately falling to the floor when you catch the anger in his eyes.
"What did I tell you?" he snaps as he crosses his arms and starts to pace.
You cross your legs and rest your chin in your palm, "That Norm would be taking me back to the lab."
"And what did you do? You almost got yourself killed!"
His voice is venom laced as you cower back into your bedding, "What if they hadn't bothered asking why you were here and-"
Lo'ak clears his throat interrupting Jake, "Dad stop, please," he pleads as he steps forward his eyes glancing down at you.
"It was my idea," he whispers softly as his head falls to the floor, "I am sorry."
Jake grunts as his tail flits against the ground, then turns to you, "You will stay here and not leave under any circumstance, am I clear?"
You nod slowly, "Yes."
He grumbles as leaves, leaving Lo'ak standing in the entrance.
He folds his arms behind his back as he takes a step toward you, "How are you feeling?"
You groan, "Better, although Jake's yelling isn't exactly helping. Not that I can blame him though, I should have just gone back to the lab with Norm."
Sighing you cross your arms as he sits down next to you, his shoulder gently bumping yours as he holds out his hand, "Here, I found this in the sea when I was with Tsireya."
In his palm is a small orange shell, spiral in shape, the texture smooth in comparison. Smiling you look up and take it from him, admiring the intricate patterns on its surface.
"It's beautiful," you say, turning it over in your hand. "Thank you."
Lo'ak nods, his eyes fixed on you. "I know it's not much, but I wanted to give you something to make you feel better."
You smile at him, "It means a lot, really."
The two of you sit in comfortable silence for a while, listening to the sounds of the village outside.
After a few minutes, Lo'ak speaks up again, "I'm sorry for getting you into trouble. I should have known better."
You shake your head, "It's not your fault. I made the decision to go with you."
"I appreciate your apology, though," you add with a small smile.
Lo'ak returns the smile, but then his expression turns serious, "You know, you don't have to stay here if you don't want to. You could leave with Norm and go back to the lab."
You contemplate it for a moment, but shake your head, "I don't think that's a good idea," he looks at you, confused.
"I mean, Tonowari said he didn't want Jake bringing war here, and if Norm came, the other skypeople might be able to find us."
He nods and you watch as he stands, your arm shooting out and grabbing his pulling him back. You can feel his breath catch in his throat as he looks down at you.
"Please don't go," you whisper, feeling the weight of the past few days catching up to you. "I don't want to be alone."
Lo'ak's expression softens and he sits back down, his hand reaching out to grasp yours. "You won't be alone," he says firmly. "I'll be here with you."
You smile gratefully at him, feeling a warmth spreading through your chest. "Thank you," you say softly. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
He squeezes your hand gently, "You don't have to worry about that. I'll always be here for you."
You lean your head back against the wall, the exhaustion finally catching up to you. "Can we just stay like this for a while?" you ask, closing your eyes.
"Of course," he replies, and the two of you sit in silence, hands clasped, as the sounds of the village outside fade into the background.
Feeling his lips on your temple you drift into a dream filled with your father and brother, and you hope your brother will be alright.
"Goodnight, Ma tanhì," Lo'ak whispers as he wraps the blanket around your small frame.
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i hope this was okay... i got a little carried away...
thank you for the request! please lmk if you'd like a part 2!'
tanhì [tan.ˈhɪ] n. star, bioluminescent freckle
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eoieopda · 1 year
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the one with seokjin, soju, and all the stars in the sky
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Requested by Anon: Kim Seokjin got really drunk on a members-night-out, so his fiancée has to pick his cute, clingy ass up. ft. late-night wake-ups, gn!reader, and a lot of feelings about science. A/N: I accidentally deleted the draft associated with this ask, so now it's a separate post. Sorry for the wait, anon!
When Seokjin left for the evening, he'd placed a kiss on your forehead and a new book in your hands.
The novel in question was some obscure, independently published thing Namjoon had recommended. You'd mentioned it to Seokjin in passing — weeks ago — but hadn't had the downtime to seek it out since. Even if you had somehow carved out a moment to scour the local bookshops, you wouldn't have had the spare hours to immerse yourself in it the way you'd want to.
Not enough to meaningfully discuss its themes with Namjoon, anyway.
But Seokjin was Seokjin. He'd made some secret, mental note about what you said; hunted down that old single-edition book; and come up with a reason to spend his Saturday night elsewhere. He and his friends would get dinner and drinks — you'd get an overdue bubble bath and the solitude necessary to study for your unofficial, impromptu, two-member book club.
And that's precisely how you'd spent your night before tucking yourself into bed at the beautifully reasonable hour of half-past nine.
When your phone went off four hours later, you thought you were dreaming. You squinted at the screen for so long, trying to wrap your brain around the contact information blaring into your bleary eyes, that you almost failed to answer.
"Namjoon?" You croaked, throwing an arm over your eyes to hide from the offensive lamp light beaming off your bedside table. "I'm gonna need, like, a liter of coffee before I can wax poetic about the —"
"Hey, noona, it's Namjoon-ah!" He cut you off before you could finish. If the delayed, rhyming introduction didn't tip you off, the snorting, self-inflicted laughter would have.
Kim Namjoon, the designated dad of the friend group, was irrefutably ripped, zipped, and zooted.
You scrubbed your hand over your face in a futile attempt to stop your forming grin in its tracks. "Your picture popping up on my phone told me as much," You chuckled through your exhaustion, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this wake-up call?"
You heard him shout geonbae and gulp down some sort of shot before he provided you with an answer.
"Sojin has entered the chat," He announced with an absurd, deepened voice. Immediately, he cackled, "Get it? It's a portmanteau of soju and Seokjin, who is shitfaced — anyways, can you come get your man?"
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It took you five minutes to throw on clothes and shuffle out the door to your car. The drive to the bar took only slightly longer, though it was the traffic lights and not the distance that slowed you down.
Unfortunately, twenty years came and went while you tackled the dreaded, subsequent task: parallel fucking parking.
The stress of it all nearly had you sweating by the time you entered the bar — you'd be hearing all that judgmental honking in your sleep, once you got back to it — but it all evaporated the second you saw Seokjin.
Off in the far corner, he sat on the outer half of a bench. Trapped inside that booth, visibly waiting for the sweet release of death, was Min Yoongi. You couldn't make out the details of that predominantly one-sided conversation, but you could tell by Seokjin's wild gesticulating and pink-tipped ears that he was ranting about something.
Bits and pieces fell into place as you made your away over, but no part of the overheard conversation made much sense to you.
Seokjin hiccupped, "I've said it once and I'll s-say it again —"
"— Hyung, I guarantee you've said it way more than once —" Yoongi attempted to interject, but he was quickly silenced by more of Seokjin's animated hand-waving.
"— Magic. It's magic, Yoongi. I'm tell — I'm telling you, man. There's just — hic — Science is stupid. I don't care about it, you know? And do you want — you wanna know why, Yoongi? Well, I'll t-tell you why —"
As he blinked emphatically at Yoongi, Seokjin must've somehow sensed you across the bar. He stopped dead in the middle of his unsolicited dissertation, wide-eyed with his jaw dropped, and gasped, "Baby!"
Before you could physically brace yourself for impact, he'd launched his clumsy frame out of his seat and collected you in his arms. Within seconds, without time to blink, his warm cheek was smushed against yours. Plush lips fluttered near your ear as he mumbled, "I missed you."
Of course, it'd only been a few hours since he last saw you, but he held you like you'd just returned from years at sea. Breathing deeply and contentedly, likely taking in the scent of your shampoo. Gently clutching the fabric of your jacket in his hands as if you'd float away otherwise. You had no desire whatsoever to burst that perfect, loving bubble, so you simply squeezed him tighter and told him that you'd missed him more.
Over his shoulder, you saw relief wash over Yoongi's face. No longer held hostage, he scooted himself out of the booth and immediately twisted in place to crack his back.
How long had he been stuck in there?
"Thank fuck," Yoongi sighed as he proceeded to crack his neck. He rolled his shoulders while answered the question you were about to ask, "Twenty entire minutes. Barely paused long enough to breathe, so I thought, shit — what if he dies here? I was scared I'd have to spend the rest of my days in this booth."
Seokjin, who still hadn't untangled himself from you, simply giggled. With his cheek remaining flush to yours, you could feel him grinning. He offered nothing whatsoever in his own defense, so Yoongi waved at you and turned to head off towards the restrooms.
You called out after him, prompting him to turn around. "What's so stupid about science?"
Yoongi's mouth stretched into a straight line across the entire bottom half of his face; his eyes narrowed to match. He heaved yet another sigh, gestured languidly to the half-cut fiancée clinging to you like a vest, and smirked, "He's convinced you hung the stars in the sky."
You would've melted into a puddle on the spot, but then Seokjin piped up and promptly shot your unsuspecting, lovestruck heart over the moon instead.
Abruptly changing the subject, he whispered — suddenly serious, as if it was the most important question in the world:
"Did you like the book, baby?"
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Text
Tomorrows Over Centuries || Chapter 2: Stars Present
Summary:
Hob takes Morpheus on a little food trip after their meeting at The New Inn. Along the way, he learns more about what his friend likes, and discovers what he definitely likes about his friend.
He can't help but daydream especially when standing so close to Morpheus, but everything should be fine as long as he kept such thoughts to himself. It's not like Morpheus can read his mind.
Word Count: 6,078
Chapters: 2/3
— —
“Waiting for someone, sir?” Luke smiled as he set down a glass of orange juice on the table.
Hob looked up at him distractedly. Luke was one of the newer staff at The New Inn, and he had no idea just how many times Hob had sat at that table to keep his eye on the front door. Hob never intended to be obvious about it, but the older staff members had definitely noticed and had been known to give him vague words of encouragement on occasion.
“Yeah, just a friend,” Hob smiled. He could call him that now, and he was sure that said friend would actually show up today.
“Can I get you anything else, then? Something for your friend?” Luke asked politely.
Hob thought about it. In all the time he’d known Morpheus, they’ve always had alcohol or tea. He wanted to find out what else his friend would like. Besides, they could always order something else if Morpheus didn’t like whatever he picked.
“A cup of hot chocolate, please,” Hob answered. “But bring it over once he’s already here. Not sure what time he’d arrive, and we don’t want it getting cold.”
“Noted, sir,” Luke nodded and walked away.
When Hob looked at the door again, Morpheus was already walking towards him.
“Morpheus.” Hob grinned as his friend sat down across from him. “Glad you could come.”
“I said I would,” Morpheus smiled.
And how wonderful was that? Now they could spontaneously say they want to hang out the next day and it would happen. It was something that Hob never even dared to hope for back then.
Luke came back and brought a saucer and cup of hot chocolate in front of Morpheus. “Good morning, sir.”
Hob nodded a thanks before Luke walked away.
“New item,” Hob explained as Morpheus eyed the drink. “I thought to add some when this place was first built.”
Morpheus looked at him curiously. “You own this establishment?”
Hob grinned. “Yeah. I found out that they were closing down ‘The White Horse’, so I decided to buy the deed to it and rebuild it here, with a new name and menu.”
“Why go through such trouble?” Morpheus furrowed his eyebrows.
“Had to find a way to still keep seeing you, didn’t I?” Sometimes Hob forgot that Morpheus really didn’t know how much their meetings meant to him.
A smile pulled at the corners of Morpheus’ lips. “And I am grateful that you did.”
Hob relished in the warmth that that smile gave him. “Why were you at The White Horse back in 1389? What business would a dream deity have in a pub in the middle of nowhere?”
“None. But my sister had always been insistent that I mingle with humans. On that day, she all but dragged me into that tavern, and we overheard you talking to your friends about immortality. She was the one who gave you that gift.”
Hob furrowed his eyebrows. Now that was entirely new information; he had always assumed that it was Morpheus who gave it to him. Not that it changed anything, really. It had never mattered much to him why he had been granted immortality. He cared more for the fact that it allowed him to meet with this enigma of a being every hundred years.
“Your sister? Why does she have that kind of power? What’s she a deity of?” Hob tried to recall his vague knowledge of different pantheons.
Morpheus took a moment before answering. “I have told you that I have many names. One of them is ‘Dream’, as I am responsible for ensuring that humans dream safely. My sister’s name is Death; she is the one who granted you immortality.”
Hob’s eyebrows lifted as his mind reeled with so many questions, but he did his best to stay on track with their conversation. “Okay, okay, the actual deity of death gave me immortality. Alright. Uh, why choose me, out of everyone in that pub? And why was it you who told me about the gift and not her?”
“Would you have preferred it if it had been her instead?”
It sounded like a serious question, but Hob knew Morpheus well enough to catch the glimpse of mischief in his eye. “Shut up, you know I don’t.”
Morpheus smiled at that. “I had told her that I didn’t understand why any human would crave an eternity of this life, and her solution was to grant your wish of immortality so I could find out the answer for myself. I volunteered to be the one to speak with you about it.”
Hob took a moment to process all of that. He supposed that that was simply how powerful immortal siblings helped each other understand things, through displays of power that fundamentally changed certain elements of the world.
“Do you? Understand now, I mean, why a human would choose immortality.” Hob had always been curious about the answer.
Morpheus slightly tilted his head in thought. “Not entirely. From what I’ve seen, you wanted to keep living because of you, and how you experience the world. If it were any other human, I do not know if they would have kept choosing to live after each century. Therefore, I am just as interested in you now as in your experiences. Perhaps even more so.”
Hob wasn’t sure if he just imagined the softness at that last remark, but he momentarily dropped his gaze to his drink and took a second to compose himself. Morpheus looking at him with those piercing blue eyes while saying those words did things to him, and if Hob wasn’t careful he might end up doing things to Morpheus himself.
“Have you actually been mingling with other humans, then, like what your sister said?” He asked curiously. “Or do you just go outside your realm every hundred years whenever we have to meet?”
“I do visit the Waking world more frequently now than seven centuries ago, though perhaps not quite as much as my sister would want me to.” Morpheus picked up his cup and took a sip of the hot chocolate. “It’s sweeter than I had expected. I like it,”  he clarified to answer Hob’s questioning look.
Hob grinned. “I’m glad you do. And I know you don’t need to, but do you ever eat or drink anything just because you want to?”
“I do so during our meetings.”
“Yeah, barely,” Hob said, remembering how Morpheus often refused food and never finished his drinks even halfway. “What do you say to walking around and trying different foods, then? It’s part of the human experience that you’ve been so curious about.”
Morpheus blinked, considering it. Before yesterday, they had never met outside of the pub, and a part of Hob was wondering if Morpheus would like to keep it that way. But then again, they had never so much as shook hands before, and Morpheus initiated a hug last night. Something that Hob knew he’d never be able to forget.
“Alright,” Morpheus replied. “As long as you are not late for your work.”
Hob’s eyebrows raised in surprise. That’s what he had been considering?
Hob smiled. “Nah, don’t worry, there’s plenty of time. And the university’s not far, anyway. Let me just finish my drink and we can go.”
He drank the rest of his orange juice, and was glad to see that Morpheus was finishing his drink, too. His eyes lingered on the bobbing of Morpheus’ throat as he drank, and the pink tongue that darted out when he licked the remaining chocolate on his lips. For a second, Hob questioned the sanity of his plan to take his friend on a food trip.
“Shall we?”
“Hm?” Hob blinked distractedly. “Yeah, let’s go.”
They first went to a pizza store that Hob sometimes bought lunch from. Because of their plan to keep moving, they opted for the seats outside. Hob got them each a slice with both meat and vegetable toppings, and two glasses of lemon iced tea because the weather was a bit warm.
“Is this cheese in the crust?” Morpheus had turned his pizza around to inspect the end of it.
“Ah, yeah. Sometimes people don’t like to eat the crust, so some pizzas are stuffed with cheese or meat to encourage people to eat the whole thing,” Hob explained.
“Hm. Curious that humans would need extra encouragement in order to not waste a bit of food.” Morpheus took a bite of his pizza.
Hob chuckled. “That’s not the most ‘curious’ thing about humans by far. Oh! How do you feel about spicy food? There’s some hot sauce here if you like. It looks like a new brand that I haven’t tried before, though, so I can’t say how spicy it would be,” he gestured to the small bottle on the table.
Morpheus picked it up and drizzled hot sauce on his pizza, far more than what Hob would have put on his own.
“Careful, those things can be really hot,” he warned.
“It will not harm me,” Morpheus said as he put the bottle back down. “Besides, this trip is about maximizing the experience, yes?” He smiled and took a bite, chewing slowly with a thoughtful look on his face. “I see the appeal. Though I enjoy the added flavor more than the spice. Perhaps next time I would not put so much.”
Hob felt a fluttering in his stomach at the “next time”. He smiled and put some hot sauce on his own pizza and took another bite–
Then he dissolved into a coughing fit as heat spread through his mouth and throat.
“Are you alright?” Morpheus asked in concern, his eyes slightly wider.
Hob nodded as he reached for his drink and downed it all in three gulps.
He glared at Morpheus, though there wasn’t any malice to it. “That barely affected you!” he accused. “And you put much more on your pizza than I did!”
Morpheus looked like he was trying hard not to laugh, the corners of his mouth lifting. “It would appear that we have different tolerance levels for such things.” He slid his glass of iced tea over to Hob with an amused smile.
Hob scowled at him and pushed the glass back. “No, that’s yours. You haven’t even tried it yet.” He reached instead for the pitcher of water and poured himself a glass, grateful that the water was cold as he drank it.
They finished their pizza and drinks, and Hob had the idea to go to a yogurt shop next. Partly because Morpheus said he liked sweet things, and partly because his mouth was still burning from the hot sauce.
“I thought I would prefer hot tea, but I admit that iced tea has its charms especially on a warm day,” Morpheus mused as they walked down the pavement.
“If the weather gets too warm, you can take off your coat,” Hob reminded him. “Stash it somewhere in the Dreaming so you won’t have to carry it around.”
Morpheus looked down at his black coat as if only just realizing that he was wearing it. “Quite right. Though I would not mind carrying it around.”
They reached the yogurt shop and took their seats at the barstools lined up along the white countertop.
“Have you ever had yogurt before?” Hob asked curiously. “Or ice cream? Gelato?”
Morpheus shook his head. “I have never seen the need to try them. Though I have an idea of what they are like from several dreams I have seen.”
Hob ordered strawberry yogurt for himself and blueberry for Morpheus, in case his friend didn’t like blueberry and wanted to switch.
Morpheus took off his coat and hung it on the back of his chair just as their orders arrived, and Hob was momentarily distracted by the pale skin of his friend’s arms, especially since he’d never seen Morpheus in short sleeves before.
He decided to focus on the task at hand and turned to Morpheus. “Try it, and if it’s not to your taste we can switch. Though I don’t know if you’d like strawberry either.”
Morpheus took the small spoon and scooped some yogurt in it, eyeing the gradient of white and blue curiously. He raised it to his lips and took a tentative taste, eating just half of it and staining his lips with the yogurt. Then he ate the rest of it on the spoon, pulling the plastic utensil out of his mouth with a little sucking sound that was barely audible but made goosebumps prickle on Hob’s skin. He licked the remaining yogurt on his lips, and for a moment Hob was gripped with the imagery of himself licking Morpheus’ lips clean instead.
“Your food is melting.”
Hob blinked and realized that Morpheus was looking at him. He glanced down at the spoon in his hand, stopped halfway between the cup and his mouth, dripping yogurt.
He hastily put the spoon back in his cup. “It does that. Yogurt melts pretty fast in this weather.”
For the rest of their time there, Hob purposely avoided looking at Morpheus or the way he ate. He was happy to treat his friend to these different foods but Christ. Maybe it was a good thing that Morpheus didn’t eat much during their previous meetings.
Hob didn’t have any other destination in mind, so they decided to just walk the rest of the way to the university while they talked about their work; Hob told Morpheus how his students enjoyed learning about ancient artifacts and language systems, and Morpheus talked about the meticulous process of creating nightmares to ensure that the dreamers would remain safe even as they faced them.
The weather gradually became more cloudy and Morpheus put his coat back on as they reached the more commercialized part of the city. Some beeping noises caught Hob’s attention, and he saw that ahead of them there was an arcade with one of those crane games outside. A group of little kids had just finished playing with it.
Hob smiled as an idea came to him. “Hey, have you ever played with a claw machine?”
Morpheus tilted his head curiously. “What?”
“Come on,” Hob grabbed his wrist and tugged him towards the arcade.
The machine had stuffed toys inside as prizes: blue crescent moons, yellow stars with smiley faces, and black and white kittens barely bigger than Hob’s hand.
“You pick what toy you want, and you use this joystick to maneuver the claw around, then you press this button so it can pick up that toy. Or attempt to, anyway,” Hob explained.
He got some loose change from his pocket and put a coin in the slot to start the game. He aimed for one of the moons since it was angled favorably and he hoped that the crescent shape would make it easier for the claw to pick up. Unsurprisingly, the toy was just nudged aside and fell to its side.
“Harder than it looks,” Hob shrugged. “And I’d never been a kid in this century so I have no idea how to win this thing either. Wanna try?”
Morpheus frowned. “I do not understand. Would it not be more efficient to simply buy a toy than to spend an indefinite amount of money on this machine that might not even give you the prize?”
Hob smiled in good-natured amusement. “It’s not really about the prize, it’s more about the winning. Buying a toy wouldn’t feel the same as winning it, no matter what it is.” He held up a coin to Morpheus. “Your turn.”
Morpheus took it and dropped it in the slot.
People usually played these things while slouched and squinting at the prizes inside–that’s certainly what Hob just did–but Morpheus remained in perfect posture. There was the slightest frown on his forehead as he concentrated on the claw, his gaze quiet in its intensity and his chin ever so slightly lifted. Hob imagined that must be how he looked during diplomatic negotiations with other realms.
The claw grabbed one of the stars, and Morpheus’ eyes narrowed, as if daring the star to fall down.
And it did.
It slipped free as the claw was lifting it up, and the machine made the noise to indicate that the game was done, the words INSERT COIN and TRY AGAIN running across the screen on top.
Morpheus huffed indignantly. “The game is not fair. The claw had clearly picked up that yellow star.”
“That's how it usually is, from what I've seen.”
Hob was about to suggest that they continue walking, but Morpheus was still glaring at the machine like it personally offended him.
Hob fought back a smile and held up another coin. “Wanna go again?”
Morpheus wordlessly took the coin without taking his eyes off the machine. He aimed for a crescent moon this time, and the claw didn't even lift it at all.
Hob reached for a coin again but Morpheus summoned one out of thin air and restarted the game. Hob wondered briefly whether the coin would remain here or disappear later like those medical supplies yesterday.
This time Morpheus leaned in close, peering in through the glass as he maneuvered the controls. The claw lifted a star, but dropped it as soon as Morpheus moved the claw sideways.
“I still do not see the appeal.”
Morpheus was pouting and Hob didn’t bother to hide his smile this time. He had half-expected his friend to just magically pull a prize from the machine, but he was determined to experience it like how a human would. Hob loved that about him.
Despite what he said, Morpheus kept summoning coins and playing the game. Then Hob noticed that instead of aiming to drop the toys in the box in order to win, Morpheus was dropping as many toys as he could in one corner.
“What are you doing?” Hob furrowed his eyebrows at the growing pile of moons and stars and kittens.
“Strategizing.”
Intriguing, but it didn’t really answer his question. The pile grew some more, and Hob watched as Morpheus maneuvered the claw towards the pile and dropped it on top. It grabbed a kitten and two stars, and it slowly lifted up without dropping any of them.
Morpheus carefully moved the claw towards the box; the kitten and a star fell down, leaving one star for him to potentially win. Hob sensed Morpheus tense up as the claw kept moving, and Hob found himself holding his breath.
The claw stopped above the box and dropped their prize inside it.
Bells and lights came on from the machine and the word WINNER! appeared on top in multicolored lights.
Morpheus smirked at the machine, his eyes bright with victory.
Getting to see that, even though he barely did any of the work, Hob felt like he won, too.
His friend bent down to lift up the flap from the box on their side and took the toy.
“For you.” He held out his hand to Hob, the star resting on his palm.
“What?” Hob’s eyes widened in surprise, making no move to take it. “But that’s yours, you won that.”
“Yes. For you.” Morpheus was still holding out the prize to him.
“But… why?” Hob looked at the star and at his friend. “Is it because I bought you pizza and yogurt? I wanted to do those. You don’t have to give me anything in return.”
“I know. I want to. For you, Hob Gadling, I will obtain any star.” Those blue eyes were fixed on Hob, as if Morpheus meant what he said despite his playful smile.
Hob swallowed, unable to look away. God, how we would love to wake up to that face every morning. Opening his eyes and seeing Morpheus’ beautiful face next to him. Snuggle against Morpheus’ neck and stay in bed for a few more hours just enjoying each other’s warmth. For that, Hob would give up all the stars.
Stars. Morpheus’ eyes were suddenly filled with them. The previously blue eyes were now entirely black, save for pinpricks of bright light shining and moving around.
Hob was entranced; the entire city could have blown up at that moment and he wouldn’t have noticed. He felt like he was staring into the heart of a galaxy, and it was staring back at him.
“Your eyes...” he breathed.
Morpheus blinked rapidly a few times, and his blue eyes were back, looking surprised. “I apologize. I seem to have lost control of my human form for a moment.”
“W-What?” Hob slowly returned to his senses, like waking up from a dream. “Wait, you mean that’s what your eyes really look like? They’re beautiful.” He could hear the raw wonder in his voice and he didn’t care, Morpheus deserved to know.
A smile slowly appeared on his friend’s face. “I am… happy. That you feel that way.”
Oh, Hob’s feeling all sorts of things. He’s feeling like he wants to push Morpheus against the claw machine and kiss him senseless. He wants to taste the blueberry yogurt on Morpheus’ tongue. He wants Morpheus to teleport them back to his flat again so he could see what else Morpheus could make him feel.
Morpheus turned to look back out into the street, his posture perfect again. “Is the university still far from here?”
“Hm? Nah, it’s just a few more minutes’ walk. Why, you wanna do anything else? We can try the other games inside.”
Morpheus shook his head. “You still have classes, yes? I do not want to take up your work hours.”
Hob checked his watch. Morpheus was right, if they didn’t start walking to the university now, he might be late to his first class. He thought about suggesting that they just teleport over there so they could have more time with each other, but he didn’t want to seem like he sees his friend like a taxi service.
They came across an ice cream cart on their walk, and Hob instinctively wanted to buy one for Morpheus, but he suddenly had an image in his head of his friend eating out of an ice cream cone and decided against it. Maybe next time when he didn’t have to remain sane for his classes.
Hob greeted the guard at the university and said that Morpheus was his guest. The guard handed them a visitor’s ID that Hob clipped to Morpheus’ coat, and they made the walk to the upper floors.
“How long have you been working here?” Morpheus asked as they stepped through the doorway to Hob’s office.
“About five years now, only got my own office two years ago, though.” Hob closed the door behind them.
Morpheus approached Hob’s desk. On one side was a stack of notebooks for keeping records of things—Hob also had those records in his laptop but there’s a certain comfort to him in writing them down—and on the other was a small horse statue and a pencil holder with various writing utensils and a mail opener. The middle of the desk is clear for use.
“Does this serve a purpose?” Morpheus was about to reach for the statue but he pulled back his hand and looked at Hob. “May I?”
“Go ahead,” Hob nodded. “It doesn’t really do anything, it’s just, you know, a white horse.”
Morpheus looked at him again, the statue in his hands. “The name of the tavern.”
Hob chuckled and hoped that the warmth on his face wasn’t too noticeable. “Yeah. I had a bigger version of it back in 1589. Had to sell it for food several years later. Then some time in 1990 I found that in an antique shop and bought it.”
Morpheus furrowed his eyebrows and put the statue back on the desk. “Why in 1589?”
“Well…” Hob scratched the back of his neck, walking to stand beside Morpheus in front of his desk. “That was the year you walked out on me to talk to Shaxberd.” He tried not to say the name like it was a curse, he really did, but he still cringed internally when he heard his own voice. “Dunno if you remember.”
Morpheus took a step towards him, his eyebrows still furrowed. “I remember. I did not think you would mind.”
“Of course I did,” Hob said sincerely. “It was our one dayin a hundred years where we got to see each other and talk. It was our day. So after watching you walk away with that lad, I told my attendants to have a ridiculously big white horse statue made and brought to my manor.” It felt a bit surreal, recalling how he had attendants and a manor. He was a very different person back then. “I just wanted some sort of claim to you, I suppose, a reminder that The White Horse tavern meant more to us than what Shaxberd would ever understand.”
“I’m sorry,” Morpheus said softly. “It was not my intention to make you feel such things.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Hob smiled and shook his head dismissively. “It was a long time ago, and you were well within your rights to spend the night with whoever you wanted. Especially since I was sort of a pretentious prick back then.” He almost cringed again at remembering the way he spoke and treated other people, especially the tavern staff. “I hope you, uh, had a great night with Shaxberd. Shakespeare. Whoever.”
Morpheus looked at Hob curiously. “Are you thinking that I had bedded Will Shaxberd?”
Hob felt himself flush. “No— I mean— Yes I was thinking that but— It’s really none of my business.”
“I do not engage in casual dalliances.” Morpheus subtly scrunched up his nose for a brief moment. “We merely spoke. I said I would help inspire him with ideas, and he promised to make them come alive. He delivered.”
“Yeah, you don’t need to explain it to me, really,” Hob smiled sheepishly, though he did feel relieved at that knowledge. Besides, he didn’t want to think of Morpheus in that situation. Especially since the other person he imagines with Morpheus definitely isn’t Shaxberd. That train of thought is a slippery slope that Hob didn’t need right now.
Something changed in Morpheus’ expression, his cheekbones had a tinge of red, and for a second Hob could see the stars again before the blue eyes returned. They held an intensity now, almost a promise of danger, and Hob was acutely aware of how he felt thrilled about it rather than scared.
“Morpheus?” Hob asked tentatively, wondering what could have caused this change in his friend.
Then the pieces clicked into place.
Morpheus moving to hug him last night just as he was thinking about it…
Morpheus looking away at the arcade after Hob had thought of pressing him up against the claw machine…
And just now, Morpheus knowing that Hob thought he had slept with Shaxberd…
“Some dreams are louder than others and catch my attention,” Morpheus had said.
Did that include daydreams?
Oh no.
In his shock, his treacherous mind suddenly recalled all the things he'd been daydreaming the entire day about his friend. His efforts to push down such images only brought them to the forefront of his mind even more; it didn't help that Morpheus was standing so close to him. The scent of petrichor and old books and honeyed tea made Hob so heady that he wanted to bury his face in Morpheus’ neck to inhale lungfuls of it.
“Hob.” Morpheus’ strained voice held a warning.
“Oh my god, you can really see them,” Hob muttered, his eyes wide. He took a step back as he felt panic rising up in his chest and blood rushing to his face. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean–” He squeezed his eyes shut for a second before looking apologetically at his friend. “I didn’t know you would see— Look, I understand you’re angry, but— We don’t even have to talk about it, alright? I’ll— I’ll stop thinking about those things, just—”
Morpheus grabbed his arm and pulled him close with surprising strength.
Before he could even give a cry of surprise, Hob felt his lower back pressed against his desk. Then Morpheus descended on him, their lips slotting together.
Hob froze, eyes wide and heart thumping in his throat.
Morpheus moved against him, sucking lightly on his lower lip, and Hob’s mind melted into his body. His hands moved on their own and found the back of Morpheus’ neck, pulling him even closer. Morpheus wrapped his arms around Hob’s waist as their tongues danced against each other, soft and slick and perfect. Morpheus dug his fingernails into Hob’s back, and such a moan escaped him that he dearly hoped no one was on the other side of the door.
Hob would have relished all of it for hours, but unfortunately he was still human and needed to breathe. He pulled away just enough to gasp in air, but he kept their foreheads pressed, his hands in Morpheus’ hair.
“I… I thought you didn’t…” Hob panted, trying to remember how to speak English. “Casual dalliances…”
“Oh, there is nothing casual about this, Hob Gadling.” There was a hunger in Morpheus’ voice, and his eyes were black and starry once more.
Hob attempted to speak but what came out was more of a whimper.
The intensity in Morpheus’ gaze sobered a little, and he loosened his hold on Hob. “If you wish to stop—”
“No,” Hob grabbed Morpheus’ coat and held firm. He was still trying to catch his breath and form coherent sentences, but he definitely knew that stopping was not what he wanted. “I just… why? Why are you doing this?” There was so much hope in Hob’s heart that it hurt.
“Because I want you, Hob Gadling,” he said softly, reaching up to caress Hob’s face. “I want your gentle mornings, your long nights. I want your bright laughter that never fails to bring me warmth. The sparkle in your eyes that puts the most luminous stars to shame. I want to give you everything your heart wishes, and hold you in my own. You are not a casual dalliance, my dearest Hob. You are… everything to me.” He traced his thumb across Hob’s cheekbone, trailing it downwards and following the shape of Hob’s jawline. “And it all but overwhelms me to know that you might want me, too.”
Might? As if Hob ever had any doubt about it. As if his skin didn’t thrum wherever Morpheus touched, as if those words didn’t overwhelm him.
He pulled Morpheus by the coat and crashed their lips together. “Oh you beautiful, impossible creature,” he spoke in between kisses, not wanting to part with Morpheus’ lips longer than necessary to get the words out. “You have no idea… just how much I’ve been wanting you. Far more and for longer than you know.”
Morpheus growled against Hob’s lips and lifted him up, seating him on the desk and making him gasp in surprise. Morpheus settled his hips between Hob’s thighs, pushing forward with his kisses until their bodies were pressed together.
Hob’s world spun and nothing else existed but Morpheus’ lips and tongue and touch. They explored each other’s mouths with an increasing fervor, Morpheus running his hands along Hob’s back and trailing electricity with his fingers.
Hob could taste the cosmos on Morpheus’ lips, stars turning into supernovas each time their tongues collide. He desperately clutched at Morpheus’ hair and knew that he didn’t want to be anywhere else—
“Professor Gadling?” A knock sounded at the door. “Are you there?”
They pulled apart, gasping and holding each other.
Morpheus’ hair was a mess, his cheeks were flushed and his lips red and glistening. His eyes had turned back to their human appearance but were no less piercing as he waited for what Hob would do.
Hob swallowed and tore his eyes away from such a tempting sight. He looked at the door instead and made considerable efforts to make his voice sound normal. “Yes?”
“I have the invitation for the book fair. Can I come in?” It was Paula’s voice, one of his colleagues.
Morpheus stepped back and gently tugged Hob to stand on the floor again. With a wave of his hand, they both looked decent and not like they had just spent the last few minutes devouring each other.
“Yeah, come in.” Hob might look normal again but he was still lightheaded, and he sincerely hoped that Paula wouldn’t ask him any questions about his lesson plans or anything that required working brain cells.
The door opened, and Paula came in to see Hob and Morpheus standing a few feet apart from each other. “Oh! Sorry, Professor, I didn’t realize you had company.”
“No, it’s okay.” They could continue whatever they were doing later at his flat, anyway. The thought of that sent a pool of desire low in Hob’s belly that he did his best to squash down lest it manifest itself physically in his trousers. “This is Morpheus. My… um…” Damn, they hadn't talked about that yet.
“Good afternoon,” Morpheus smiled politely. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
Paula seemed surprised at Morpheus’ voice, and Hob couldn’t blame her. She smiled back. “Good afternoon. I won’t be long, just here to give Robert the invitation for the book fair tomorrow.” She handed Hob a white envelope with the university’s logo. “Remember, wear smart casual,” she said with a playfully stern tone, an inside joke that the professors have developed when imitating their dean.
“Yeah, yeah,” Hob waved her off with an equally playful tone. “Oh, we all get plus ones, right?” he suddenly remembered.
“We do,” Paula nodded, smiling and glancing at Morpheus like she already knew what Hob was planning. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said to both of them before getting out and closing the door behind her.
There was a moment of silence between them, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable. Morpheus was looking at Hob with an amused smile pulling at the corner of his lips.
“What?” Hob demanded, though he felt like smiling himself.
“Your colleague was wise to knock. Next time we shall lock the door.” He stepped closer to Hob with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“Don’t do that to me here,” Hob chided, though it didn’t sound convincing even to himself.
“Do what?” Morpheus feigned an innocent tone.
“Talk like you’re temptation on two legs.” Hob pulled him in for a chaste kiss, then pulled away to show him the envelope. “Do you wanna go to the book fair with me tomorrow? I mean, if you don’t have any plans…” he trailed off, still not used to being able to ask to see Morpheus so casually.
“I shall be there. Besides, your colleague is already expecting both of us to attend. I wouldn’t want to disappoint her,” he said playfully.
Hob rolled his eyes. Then he remembered something. “Oh! Sorry I told her your name, I hope that’s alright? I just didn’t know what to say.”
“It is perfectly fine.” Morpheus reassured him. “Especially if it precedes you calling me yours.”
Christ, he did say that, didn’t he? And Morpheus didn’t mind at all. He even liked it. Hob smiled giddily. “How would you like me to introduce you to my friends at the book fair? You know, just in case they ask. I don’t wanna fumble around again like I did earlier.”
Morpheus hummed thoughtfully. “Would ‘lover’ suffice?”
Hob felt his face warm. He was about to explain that it might be too… suggestive a term to say to work colleagues, but he caught the amusement in Morpheus’ eyes. “You enjoy teasing me, don’t you?”
“Very much so.”
Hob shook his head in defeat, a smile forming on his face. Then he caught sight of the wall clock and remembered why they came here in the first place.
“Ah, right, I have a class to go to. Thanks for walking with me here.”
“It was a delightful experience. As it always is with you.”
“Alright, you better leave before I start having daydreams again,” Hob said pointedly.
Morpheus laughed, a soft one that brightened his face and shook his shoulders just the slightest bit. Hob decided he would do everything he could to hear that sound again.
“Tomorrow, then?”
Hob smiled. “Tomorrow.”
— —
Author's Note:
Chapter 3 will be posted sometime in January! I hope you liked this one ^_^
<- Chapter 1
Chapter 3 ->
(Masterlist)
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makur0 · 1 year
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hello!! Is it alright if I request rei with a shy fem!reader who is sexually frustrated but doesn't know how to bring it up to rei? Also the reader would love creampies and encourages for rei to impregnate the reader ahaha sorry if it's too weird it's my first time requesting 😭😭
I like need help— this close to deleting it (I was only accepting sfw requests 😓) but I got an idea for this
Building off of my second year rei string
You never wanted him to know about your frustrations solely because you knew he would tease you to death. So you kept it to yourself, but it wouldn’t be long before you just couldn’t handle it. Plus you wanted to badly to feel him inside of you, pumping you full of his seed…
So how would you bring it up?
Rei overhears you and Kaoru talking.
Venting to Kaoru, saying how much you want Rei to absolutely destroy your pussy, to fill you up until his seed drips down your legs (Kaoru is slightly concerned lol— he’s never seen you, a shy person, this amped up)
Neither has Rei, but he’s enjoying it so much. He would never think you were into that type of stuff, but now that he found out your secret it’s just limited time before he finds you and pins you down.
You’re extremely embarrassed that he overheard your conversation, and you were right, Rei can’t help but tease you endlessly. And remind you— this is second-year him. He has so much more energy.
Taking you to a open dressing room, throwing you over the couch and fucking you so harshly you’re literally seeing stars. It feels like heaven to you, but you have the little devil degrading you right in your ear.
“You like this, slut? Of course you do…”
“Such a pervert, trying to hide your horniness from me… such a bad, bad girl.”
“Running to Kaoru before me, ranting about your frustrations— such a terrible little whore.”
Will also use this to fully mark you up- I mean he’s a literal vampire we’re talking about. Pulling out and decorating those dark purple bruises with his cum has him folding immediately.
Oh? You want him to come inside of you? Darling, he already knows. He just wants you to beg for it.
This is asking a lot from a shy person, but after fucking you even more, slowing down so he won’t come, your sanity snaps and pleas just start flowing out, ringing like music to Rei’s ears.
So when you feel his hot load fill you up to the brim, you’re on cloud nine. If only you could see the fluid drip out of your cunt as his cock was still sheathed into you, splattering on the dress room floor.
As I said once again, we’re talking about second-year Rei. He’s not stopping here; he’s either going to breed you until your little tight pussy explodes with his cum or you pass out… then again, he might just keep going while keeping your limp body close to him…
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Text
Drabble: “I wouldn’t mind if you ruined my life, Granger.”
“Quit following me, Malfoy.”
Hermione walked to the back wall of the Manor’s library. She heard the door close behind her and presumed that Malfoy hadn’t listened to her demand. 
“Why did you run away from the party?”
She had - quite literally - run from the room, but after what she’d overheard, she was no longer in the mood to be surrounded by any more of Lucius Malfoy’s cronies. 
“According to your father, I’m just some silly girl out to ruin your life.”
She turned to see him strolling towards her. Even in her angered state, she couldn't help but admire how good he looked in his suit. Bespoke and fit to the black tie occasion, he’d garnered stares from nearly every woman he passed tonight. It was the same at every party his parents threw. He was always the star.
Malfoy didn’t stop walking until he had her back pinned to the wall of books behind her. 
“I wouldn’t mind if you ruined my life, Granger.”
This wasn’t the reaction she had expected. She searched his eyes for their usual twinge of mockery, but it was absent. On the contrary, his look was pleading, silently asking her to understand the position he was in.
Pitted between his father and his secret girlfriend must be a tough spot. 
“I’m not in the business of converting ex-Death Eaters to the good side, but you might want to go let your father know that. He seems concerned.”
Malfoy sighed, running a hand through his neatly styled hair. He started to pace in front of her.
“Look, I don’t know what you heard but -”
“I’ll tell you exactly what I heard. I heard Lucius telling you to start distancing yourself from me. ‘She’s bad for your image’. Something along those lines, if I remember correctly.”
He stopped his stride and began to remove the cufflinks of his shirt. 
“I’m begging you to understand. From my father’s perspective, you and I are not supposed to be together - you go against everything my family believes in. To be associated with you romantically would completely ruin me and everything I've worked so hard to build -”
“Don’t you think I know that? Don’t you think I’m reminded of that at every. single. one. of these parties I attend?” She wanted to yell it, scream at the top of her lungs how much those truths hurt to hear, but she despised the thought of any more Malfoys listening in to this conversation. 
He shook his head, clearly frustrated at the direction their conversation was headed.
“You didn't let me finish. Those are his opinions, Granger, not mine. I couldn’t give a damn about any of those things -”
He reached to touch her face, grazing his hand across her cheek. Without thinking, she leaned her head into his palm, habitually, her eyes closed. She wanted to believe that what he was telling her was true.
“I want to be ruined by you.”
His voice was music to her ears, but his words were music to her heart.
“I’m done trying to be someone my parents want me to be. I’m not that person. I’ll - I’ll burn every bridge I’ve built if it means that you’ll be with me.” He let his finger slide lazily against her skin. She reveled in his touch. “Ruin me. If it means you’ll belong to me, I’ll destroy every part of my life that doesn’t accept you in it.”
She could feel his suspense as he waited to hear her thoughts, but she kept her eyes closed. Could it be that the future that she’d wanted for so long was finally achievable? It felt as though, if she were to open her eyes, reality would come and force their love back into hiding.
“Hermione.”
The use of her given name caused her to meet his gaze. If looks could burn, she would have been an inferno. 
“Please, tell me what you’re thinking. I’m begging you.” He removed his hand from her cheek and found her arm. He brought her hand to his lips, placing chaste kisses along the tender skin of her wrist.
“It’s become exhausting,” she said. 
“What has?” he asked between kisses.
“Pretending to hate you.”
Draco paused for what felt like an eternity. Hermione felt the weight of the moment - like the fate of their relationship hung in the balance of his next words.
“Then let’s stop pretending.”
She let out a sigh she hadn’t realized she’d been holding in.
“You’re serious? You’re willing to risk - everything?”
He grabbed her hand, pulling her into him. His hold felt sure and strong, like no matter what they were about to face, they would face it together.
“It’s time we let everyone know that you’re mine.”
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idunnoanymore7 · 1 year
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Warming Up
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Description: You and JJs looks at each other keep getting longer. What happens when you need him to warm you up?
Content: bad writing, JJ Maybank x fem!reader, friends to lovers, fingering (f!recieving), reader wears a bikini
Authors Note: Lowkey planned this with a super smutty part 2 in mind…thoughts??
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You didn’t want to go camping.
You are not a fan of bugs and outdoor toilets, and were perfectly comfortable with the idea of never going. 
But when your parents overheard your friends asking about it, it was all over for you. Soon enough, you found yourself in the back of the Twinkie trying to decide whether to cry or scream.
“C’mon y/n/n, it’ll be fun!” Pope says, gently slapping your shoulder.
“You were just warning us about the dangers of hypothermia Pope!” You respond.
“Yeah, that’s not gonna help anyone feel better,” says Kie.
“I think it’s important everyone knows preventatives! Drying out clothes, conserving body heat-“
“That sounds like the start of a porn,” JJ chuckles in the passenger seat.
You cant even laugh.
“Anyway, we’re here for you,” Kie says. 
“I didn’t want to go on my first trip either,” Sarah chimes in.  You smile at them.
“Thanks, guys. Just don’t want this to end up like Blair Witch or any other camping movie.”
“I’ve been to this campsite a million times,”
John B says as he turns the wheel. 
“Because my family owns it,” Kie rolls her eyes. “It’s barely in the woods.”
“Totally flat,” JJ says around his blunt. “Can see hot people from far away.”
“Very crucial,” you say dryly.
The conversation shifts away from you to the failed camping hookups. You think over your friends’ words in your head. Especially JJ’s.
You turn to look out the window at the passing trees. Your eyes catch JJ’s in the sideview mirror. He winks at you and you smile back, not quite reaching your eyes.
He spins back in his seat and calls your name. “You want a hit?”
“Yes please,” you say, needing any escape from your brain you can get. You reach forward and take hold of the smoke, careful not to touch his hand; you had enough going on right now.
“Damn JJ, thought you were saving that weed,” John B said to the rear view mirror.
You pause before your inhale.
“It’ll help calm her nerves man! Get off my back,” JJ retorted.
You smoked the blunt and secretly let Kie have a hit before John B had stopped whining about JJ not giving him any. 
You had handed it back when the van rumbled onto the gravel parking lot of the campsite. 
“Fuck, you had a lot,” JJ said looking at it.
“Sorry. Lots of nerves,” You grin sheepishly. 
“Let’s go!” John B hollers, jumping out of the van and walking around to open the door for sarah. They kiss and the rest of you make gagging noises.
“Aww you’re just jealous of how much body heat we’ll have,” Sarah says.
“Ewwww”, we chorus back. 
JJ has already lifted the trunk, tshirt blowing in the breeze. 
He hands you your backpack first, but when you go to thank him he’s already moved on.
You shake your head and stick with Kie to follow her directions on setting up your shared tent. Sarah and John B also shared, Pope had his own, and JJ insisted on sleeping outside.
“How often do you see the stars like this, baby?”
“He’ll be crawling in my tent at the first breeze,” Pope grumbled.
With everyones stuff packed away, it was time for the beach. You struggled getting on your swimsuit in the cramped tent, but succeeded and laid out your towel to read on the sand. 
“Whatcha reading?” Sarah says, her sunglasses pushed up on her head.
“Beach Read,” you reply with a grin, showing her the cover.
“Nice,” she smiles back before john b hauls her up and runs toward the water. 
He checks if she’s okay before jumping in, the shallow water coming up to their calves as they laugh. Your mouth bitters from jealousy.
“C’mon y/n/n! I’ll race you in!” JJ raps your shoulder.
“And freeze to death tonight? I don’t think so.” You tease.
“I’ll keep you warm, m’lady,” his sharp canine appearing under his smirk.
“You better keep that promise,” you grin and allow him to grab your hand and pull you  into the lake. 
The warmth traveling up your body from the connection only vanishes once JJ pulls you both fully under.
You come up, gasping. “Fuck you,”
“You wish!” He splashes water above his head and you smile at the joy on his face.
Soon enough, you’re all in the water. 
Your friends call out to start a game of chicken, and you call dibs on JJ as fast as you can.
“Come on!” Kie groans.
“Hey!” says Pope indignantly. “I can do it!”
You shrug at Kie and smile. “I’m just being strategic,” 
“Ouch baby, I thought you just wanted to tug my hair,” JJ says.
“You’re the most intense about chicken,” you refute.
“Really it should be called ostrich or something-chickens are too short for this,” JJ says.
“Guys let’s go!” John B calls with Sarah already on his shoulders.
JJ squats down. “You ready?”
“Yup!” you pull your bikini up on your hips and place your hands on his shoulders. Sliding your right leg over, then your left, you timidly place my hands on his head, flatly.
JJ shakes his head at you. “C’mon y/n/n you gotta grab on! That’s how we win!”
“Okay jay, okay,” you say, getting a better grip on his hair. You tried not to think of the implications, grabbing his hair as he-
“We’re ready!” JJ says, getting a better grip on your thighs. That doesn’t help you focus, but you try to keep calm as you look at the competitors: Kie on Pope, Sarah on John B.
You lean down to speak quietly into JJ’s ear.
“John Bs still got that right forearm from that fight with topper-if we push sarah that direction he won’t catch her.”
He grins and looks at you. “Dirty. I like it.”
You pat his shoulder and sit back up, getting situated. JJ bites your knee and you laugh.
Kie and Pope finally stop bickering and Sarah claps her hands to start the game. 
“And…go!”
You clamp your feet harder on JJ’s back.  He moves towards John B and Sarah, trudging through the water. 
JJ and you share a smirk as you divert to John B and Sarah’s left side. You immediately lock arms with her and began to shove. 
“I’ll get you!” Sarah squeals.
“C’mon y/n get her!” JJ says.
With a final shove, you send Sarah reeling back into the water. She squeals as she goes down, John B scrambling to keep her on his shoulders.
“Our turn!” Kie challenges you.
JJ turns to her and Pope.
“We got this,” you say.
“Hell yeah we do,” JJ replies, bouncing on his feet.
Kie and Pope lunge at you, but JJ sidesteps the attack. You grab Kie’s shoulder and tug to the left. Pope squeaks and they topple over. 
You raise your arms and cheer as the other four begin to grumble. It was a group of sore losers, but it was hard to care when you came out on top.
“Okay, game over.” John B says, rolling his eyes. 
“What, don’t want to lose again?” JJ teases. 
You whoop again to be annoying. JJ chuckles and leans down to let you off. 
You turn to him. “We did it!”
“We did it!” He repeats, and wraps his arms around your waist to swing you around. “Dream team!” He screams.
“Dinner time!” Kie yells and splashes to the shore. You all follow her, the heat of JJ still lingering on your back and down your legs. 
After dinner, we sit around the fire and drink JJ’s cache of warm beer he forgot to put in the cooler.
Everyone slowly breaks up: Sarah and John B heading to their tent with their hands all over each other, then Kie heading to your shared tent, and Pope to his. 
Soon, you and JJ are the only ones left.
“Losers,” JJ says. 
“Both in chicken and in being teens,” You say, taking a swig.
JJ chuckles and shakes his head. “Like, what now?”
You jump to your feet. JJ looks at you confused as you place your beer can down.
“Screw them. Let’s go night swimming.” You reach out your hand. He grins and grabs it, standing up.
“Like, skinny dipping?”
“Up to you!” You giggle, running towards the shoreline. 
“What, really?! Wait up!” 
You’re already pulling your shirt over your head when JJ reaches the water. 
“Jesus christ,” JJ says, eyes trying not to look at your bikini top.
“I wore this earlier,” you laugh.
“Yeah, but I was focused on winning..damn…”
You pull your shorts down your legs. “You coming or what?” you ask. 
“Yeah yeah working on it,” he said, crossing his arms to pull his shirt over his head. You try not to look as his abs appear, a happy trail down the bottom. You wade in instead. 
“Oh fuck it’s cold!” You yelp as your toes touch the lake. 
“Don’t be a chicken,” he said, now in just swim trunks. 
“Oh yeah?” you retort. 
“Oh yeah. I’m jumping all the way in.”
“Then i will too!”
“Okay, 3, 2-” JJ dives in before finishing the countdown.
“You dick!” you yell, running to jump in after him.
Unable to see anything in the dark water, JJ catches you completely by surprise when he jumps out and pushes you in.
You scream when you hit the ice cold water.
“Fuck!”
“Yeah, it’s fucking cold. You were right,” JJ says, shaking water out of his hair.
“You think?!” you say, trying to be angry but just laughing in the end. 
He smiles in agreement. “Yeah, I think.”
“Ok we’re gonna get hypothermia…let’s get out.”
“We’ll be fineeeee,” JJ responds. 
“Maybe you will, you living furnace, but I’m cold.” 
“I’ll keep you warmed up,” JJ gives you a toothy grin. “C’mere,”
“What?” you say, getting closer.
“Just c’mere-” suddenly he jumps forward, pushing you in again.
“You ass!!”
“What, you like it?” he turns to show me his ass.
“Hmmm lemme take a closer look,” you say. He backs up and you shove him.
“Fuck!” he resurfaces, looking at you with big hurt eyes. You can see the gears turning in his head on how he can get you next, so you end it there and head back to shore.
The two of you giggle and whisper on your way up the beach. But when you peek inside your tent, Kie is sprawled out asleep across both your sleeping bags. You groan to the sky.
“What’s up?” JJ says.
“Kie’s all over my stuff and I don’t want to wake her up.”
JJ leans in beside you and grimaces. “Yikes.”
“The fuck do I do now?” You say, already beginning to shiver in your wet clothes.
“There’s room in my sleeping bag, and body heat and all that.”
“What?”
“I said i’d keep you warm-sleep with me,” JJ replies.
You could feel my skin begin to buzz at the idea of being so close to him. “Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude…”
“Yeah totally,” he shrugs. “These stars cant be appreciated alone.”
“Okay, but feel free to roll me out if i’m a bad bag-mate,” You say. 
He laughs. “I don’t think that’ll happen.” 
I grab my pillow, which Kie thankfully had not gotten on. “Thank you so much…Popes hypothermia talk has got me freaked out.”
“I won’t let you die, babe,” JJ says, unzipping the sleeping bag. Your heart pounds at the nickname.
JJ pauses once the bag is open.
“Are you sure about-“ you start.
“Yes, i am,” he cuts you off. He climbs inside and lays on his back, shuffling to the side.
You approach slowly, until he pats besides him.
“Roomy! 5 stars!”
You laugh. “Is there room service?”
“Whatever you request, milady.” You feel your face getting warm as you slide your legs in next to his. He was right-there was a good amount of room for a sleeping bag. That didn’t mean you weren’t in incredibly close proximity.
You sit on your elbows to put your pillow down.
“Oh good, I forgot to bring a pillow,” he says.
“JJ. What? How?”
“See! This arrangement works for both of us.”
“Did you plan this just to steal my pillow?” you tease.
“Oh, absolutely,” he responds. You both shift to get comfortable, putting your heads on the pillow. Whatever space the sleeping bag may have granted is stolen away by you both resting your heads on the same small pillow. 
Your breaths fan over each other as you lay there. 
“Thanks for helping me win chicken today,” he says quietly, looking into your eyes. 
“Thank you for getting me my first ever victory,” you smile back. Before you can stop yourself, you drag a piece of his hair behind his ear.
He freezes. 
You scramble to apologize but he stops you. He slowly reaches his hand up to brush your hair behind your ear. His hand doesn’t move, instead resting on your jaw.
Your knees knock. 
You can feel the heat building between your legs, and try to squeeze your thighs tighter.
“Y/n,” he whispers.
“Yeah, jay?” your eyes dip to his lips, and he lets out the smallest whimper.
His fingers weave more desperately into your hair. “Can I kiss you?”
“Yes, please.”
He groans and pulls your heads together. You moan into the kiss, hands going to his hair and gripping it harder.
It was everything you had imagined and more. You could feel him wanting you just as desperately as you wanted him. The lake water still lingered in his taste.
When you pull back to breathe, his eyes are on yours immediately. His thumb traces your lower lip, sending shivers across your face. You trace his cheekbones.
“I lied earlier,” you say.
“About what?” he says, concerned. 
“I did pick you in chicken to tug on your hair,” you giggle.
He groans again and kisses you harder. His open mouthed kisses expand to your jaw, and your breathing gets heavier.
His breath gets raspy. “Do you know how I felt seeing you in that bikini?”
“You can see as much of me as you want,” you reply breathlessly.
“Not here.” He kisses you again. “It has to be right.” 
You don’t get a chance to respond before his lips are on yours again, hands grasping you desperately. You slip your hands under his shirt to feel his stomach, almost gasping when you feel the hard lines of his abs.
“Jesus, JJ, fuck..”
He took advantage of your gasp to slip his tongue into your mouth, exploring you with fervor wherever he could reach.
“Please, JJ..”
“What, baby?”
You moan softly at the nickname and the intensity of his eyes. “Want you..wanted you for so long,”
“Me too, baby, me too,” he kisses you. His hands grip at your breasts, their sensitivity making you arch closer to him.
“Fuck, love,” you mumble, scratching his scalp.
You lean to his neck, wanting to leave a mark of you on his skin. His hands slide up and down your torso as you work on the bruise, his pinky sliding along the hem of your bikini bottom.
Your buck your hips, and he takes the sign to slip his hand lower. His palm slips over the hair there and reaches your clit.
You groan into his neck, trailing your hands from his abs over his shorts to palm his cock. You took him in your hand but he stopped you. 
“Sorry, I should’ve asked-“
“No no just…let me take care of you,” he says, sliding your hand back into his hair. 
“I knew you liked your hair tugged,” you grin. 
“I knew you liked thinking about me in bed.”
“I-I didn’t-“ you’re cut off when his thumb circles your clit.
“What was that?” he smiles.
“I-okay, I did,” 
“What did you think about?” his middle finger begins to gather the slick around your hole, as his thumb continues its rhythm.
“I-if you-“
“If what?”
“If you liked praise-if you-if you’d let me sit on your face-“
He groans into your neck. “Yes and yes.”
He slides his middle finger inside you, curving it to hit your spongy spot. You groan.
“God J, you’re a dream,” you babble.
“Oh yeah?” he says, beginning to pump his finger. 
“Did you - think about me?” you ask.
“All the time,” 
“What do- do you want to know?”
“I wanted-“ he trails off.
“Tell me, please,” you moan and grab his bicep.
“I- fuck- I wanted to know what pretty sounds you make, if you’d let me get you  cockdrunk, what you taste like-“
You moan and kiss him again. He pushes another finger inside you and you break, cumming over his fingers.
You feel his strangled gasp beside you, and a wet spot on your thigh.
“Fuck, JJ, did you come too?”
“Yeah,” he says sheepishly.
“That’s so fucking hot,” you groan, shoving your lips into his again.
He pulls his fingers up and holds them between you.
“Look at this mess you made,” he teases. He puts his fingers in his mouth and groans, tasting you.
“God you’re perfect…I knew it. Taste yourself.”
He puts his fingers in your mouth, and you swirl your tongue to get every taste of you and him combined.
“Did I keep my promise?” he asks.
“Definitely. I am very warmed up.” you smile.
The sleeping bag is much more comfortable once you wrap your arms around each other, and you fall asleep tired and smiling. 
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labella420 · 2 years
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Ethereal (Prologue)
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Starring: Actor!Ari Levinson x Plus Size!Fem!Reader
Summary: TBD
Warnings: TBD
Divider by @firefly-graphics
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Prologue:
As cliché as it was, it happened so fast.
If he had the time to react, the irony of the situation would have given him a good laugh, much like the predictive nature of any romantic comedy script his agent had sent him to review. Unfortunately this wasn’t a film. There was no crew to ensure the safety of the stunt when he reached for the last beer on the floor and his car swerved off the road and flipped over the barricade and into the ravine.
The headlines scroll through his mind as his car skids to a stop on its roof, the smell of gasoline burning the hair in his nostrils. “Troubled Actor Dies in Alcohol-Fueled Car Crash.”
“At least the pain would stop.” Ari thought as he lost consciousness.
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Startled when headlights whipped around the corner you gasped when the vehicle swerved, convinced it was going to careen into you head on, instead the trajectory sending the car through the safety barricade and over the side.
You didn’t even think, you knew you needed to help. Maybe whoever was in the car was still alive, and you raced to the edge, smoke billowing from the sides of what was left of the hood. Branches scratched at your arms as you slid down the hill, the sweatshirt tied around your waist getting caught on the brush as you rushed to the driver's door.
The smell of alcohol and gasoline slaps you in the face through the broken window, the man inside not moving, but you could see he’s still breathing, although labored. Blood pours from a laceration on his forehead where his head hit the steering wheel, and his nose looked broken. You need to get him out of this car.
“Sir, can you hear me?” You scream through the broken glass as you tug on the door. It’s smashed into the frame, you’re not going to be able to get it open. “Can you hear me!?”
He stirs, groaning as his eyes blink open. “I can’t breathe.”
“I’m going to get you help.” Reaching through the glass you grab his hand gripping his large palm in yours. “I’m right here. I’m not leaving you.”
Reaching into your back pocket, you pull out your cell, dialing 911. You give dispatch your approximate location, and the last mile marker you saw on the winding highway. In between relaying information to the person on the phone, you talk to the man. He’s barely responding, but you just want him to know you’re there, and that he’s not alone.
Finally, you hear sirens, the road glowing with flashing lights. “They’re here!” You tell him excitedly, rubbing your thumb along the back of his hand. “You’re going to be ok, they’re going to get you out.”
You let go of his hand, moving out of the way to let the rescue team get to work, giving details of what you witnessed to the officer that pulled you aside. All the while you kept an eye on the man in the car, hoping that he wouldn’t make you a liar, and that he would make it.
Relief floods you when he’s freed, the paramedics carefully rushing him up the embankment to load him in the ambulance to get him to the nearest hospital. It’s only when you yourself climbed back up the hill that you overheard the conversation between the cops left over to investigate the scene.
“It’s Ari Levinson the actor,” one stated flatly to the others while writing notes down. “Dumb bastard was drinking and driving. He’s lucky to be alive.”
You don’t know what compelled you, but you followed the caravan to the hospital, parking yourself in the waiting room, hoping to hear any updates on the troubled man you kept company not knowing if he was close to death.
It’s funny how one moment can change the course of a life, bringing people who were on separate paths together. Unbeknownst to you and Ari, that moment was tonight.
Part 1
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artoutoftheblue · 3 months
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AE Lore tidbit
Monty was stuck as a Servant as well, and tried to brainstorm with Sun and Moon on how to get the star back and get everything back to normal. Lunar overheard one of the conversations and told Eclipse. Eclipse then ordered Bloodmoon to basically maul Monty to death and forced Sun and Moon to watch to make sure theyd be too scared to ever even think about trying to overthrow them again. It also sparked Eclipse to set up audio cameras around the place
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squashfics · 2 months
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All Remind Me - Halsin x (Named)Tav
Halsin’s always looking out for Theia, especially when she keeps singing that song.
Pairing: Halsin x OC
Contains: grief and discussions of violence and death
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The anxieties of the kind of woman Theia Dhaes might turn out to be had ebbed away to nothing now. Halsin wanted nothing more than to be by her side, to be with her in a way he hadn’t allowed himself to be in a long time. Responsibility and isolation from nature’s gifts kept him tethered to the grove. Knowing she was quick to run and leave her temple when she’d found herself in his shoes put things into perspective: he should have found a successor long ago, or at least given himself a break. More time to grieve his fallen leader? Just leaving at the first “I don’t think I want this job?” Anything would have been preferable to this.
They weren’t so different, him and Theia. But Theia was all new to this, and like anyone else who had their fair share of backstabbings, she preferred to deal with herself alone. And while she’d been with Astarion for a while now, she rarely used him as her rock. Halsin overheard a conversation about some wounds on her back being reopened, but she should have gone straight to a healer then (he would have gladly treated those), and she ought to seek help now. But that was it, and Astarion had dealt with that already. When Halsin asked about it the next day, she told him she was fine.
The time Theia had spent away from home was not kind to her, even when she got a break. She did not rest. She did not grieve. She barely mourned. The illusion of resilience was a fragile one, but she fought to maintain it, still not realizing that she could still be resilient, but only if she allowed her friends and loved ones to help.
Halsin was more than just a healer or a leader or an ally. He sought to help achieve balance. Balance. Theia understood that concept well, but the scales could tip and she might have a longer road ahead if no one could nurture her, guide her, soothe her. She was burning the candle at both ends now that they were this close to the end, and Halsin feared every day would be the day it burned out.
For now, Theia was content with helping Shadowheart’s parents settle in, bringing them food and giving them bedrolls to sleep in. She put Yenna to bed earlier than the adults, tucking her in with Grub like she’d done with the other children in camp. Arabella, Thaniel, Oliver, she always made sure they had everything they needed before bed. She was so gentle and motherly, Halsin had asked if she had children of her own. She didn’t, but she frequently assisted with the younger students and lower ranking martial artists, part of her duties as a senior rank. Of course, being a mother was something she hoped for, but obviously not anytime soon. Especially because there needed to be a world for her children to live in first, and as long as the elder brain remained undefeated, there was no guarantee of that.
Theia was finishing up some chores when she heard Yenna sobbing. Halsin was nearby, finishing his dinner as he listened to Theia calm Yenna down and sing her to sleep.
“Dance upon the stars tonight
Smile and pain will fade away
Words of mine will turn to ash
When you call the last light down”
That song. Alfira was working on it when Halsin left with Aradin and his crew. A beautiful tribute to a dearly departed loved one, and although Theia didn’t have the same high singing voice as Alfira, every word was sung with love and care, especially as Yenna’s eyes closed again and her tight grip on Theia’s hand loosened.
“Moon reminds me of your grace,
All the love I can’t repay
Rest and know that I will pray
Farewell, my dear old friend
Moon, sun, all remind me—“
Theia noticed Halsin and stopped singing. “Oh, Halsin. Did you need something?”
“I didn’t know Alfira finished her song,” he said. “She must have gotten out of that creative rut while I was gone.”
“Oh, she did, and it was beautiful. I haven’t gotten it out of my head since,” she said. “It really… struck a chord with me.”
They both laughed, Halsin in earnest and Theia very purposefully. Halsin knew that song was about a recently deceased mentor, something he was painfully familiar with himself.
“We should talk, my heart,” Halsin said.
“Alright. Just let me finish up with Yenna,” Theia replied.
Halsin waited patiently by the fire as Theia made sure Yenna was going to be alright for now, and to give them some privacy he dug a spare shirt out of the camp chest (Theia’s idea of camp attire was the same as Lae’zel’s and Karlach’s) and took her for a walk, away from camp, away from her duties, away from the city and back into the wilds where just last night they’d been exploring each other’s bodies. He held her hand, mostly to warm it, she was so cold, even when dressed more appropriately.
“So what did you bring me all the way out here for?” she asked, giving him a suggestive look.
“We have to talk,” Halsin said. “I’m worried about you. You were overwhelmed with responsibility before you came to the surface. You’re overwhelmed now. You haven’t been allowed or able to rest, not for longer than a single night. Your sister is forever trapped in the hells, your fallen instructor haunted your dreams every night for weeks, and the illithid behind the illusion is the only thing standing between you and a fate worse than death.”
“That and the imprisoned githyanki prince whose power it harnesses to protect me,” Theia said nonchalantly. “But I’m alright. Shale has Hope. She’ll be a better sister to her than I was. And my master will rest well, knowing I’ve prevented a great disaster.”
“Theia, please, just listen to me!”
She looked up at him, visibly ashamed of her actions, and Halsin saw an old habit come back, one of showing deference to any leader she was allied with, himself included. He’d gone from “Master Halsin” to just “Halsin” with her after much discussion, and were they not already so closely bonded with each other this moment might have reset that back to his old title. Theia averted her eyes in shame, but Halsin knelt before her to hold her hands and look into her eyes.
“Listen to me. I am not mad at you. I did not bring you here to scold you like a disobedient student. I brought you here because your heart was heavy when you left your monastery, and it’s only gotten heavier with each new burden you’ve taken.”
“I’m fine,” Theia insisted. “Thank you for your concern, dear heart.”
“No, you’re not,” Halsin said. “I see it in your eyes. This is too much for you to handle alone; you know it to be true.”
“I’m used to this. I do what I’m told, I don’t ask how much is too much,” Theia said. “Besides, how could I have a heavy heart when I have such lovely company? My friends, Astarion, you…”
She stroked his hair affectionately, giving him a sweet smile. A genuine gesture, no doubt about it, but still not what she needed to admit. Halsin knew she loved him. He needed to know she loved herself, enough to admit she was struggling.
“You may have attained the rank of master, but you are still so much a student. Shadowheart recited Shar’s teachings without considering their meaning. You follow instructions without considering how they affect you. You’ve been a wonderful leader, but you submit to duty at the cost of your well-being.”
“I’m a martial artist. I’m a soldier. I submit like a guard dog, not a worm.”
She sighed. “Perhaps now you’ll tell me what this is about?”
“Like I said, I wanted to talk. I still think we have a lot in common. We both like ‘The Weeping Dawn,’ for example,” Halsin said, getting to his feet.
Theia’s eyes lit up. “Isn’t it beautiful? I promised myself I wouldn’t sing it, it’s not mine and I can’t carry a tune to save my life, but that first line, well, I may be biased, but if the Dark Dancer is pleased, then...”
Halsin nodded.
“And of course, there’s my instructor,” Theia said. “I always think of her when it gets stuck in my head. I think of her… quite a lot, if I’m honest.”
“Oh?”
“Everything reminds me of her. ‘All remind me?’”
Halsin nodded in encouragement.
“Everywhere I go, I see a part of her. I see her in Wyll teaching the tiefling kids how to defend themselves. I see her in Zevlor’s endless pleas for peace. I see her in the shadowed masonry of Reithwin. In the weavemoss that grows in the astral prism. In you, every time you tell me I’m too by-the-book and I need to loosen up or relax.”
Theia sniffled and laughed. “She always said I was my own worst enemy. That our monastic code was too stringent for nuance and it would be our downfall. I agreed, but still I had my moments. And when I told myself I’d break or bend a few rules, I ended up just… sleeping with my companions. Even back then!”
Halsin chuckled.
“The former archdruid used to say I was my own worst enemy too,” he said. “I was hesitant to lead after his death, same as you. I thought I couldn’t handle it. I was afraid too, just like you. But leaving never crossed my mind. Not back then.”
He stroked her cheek.
“I’m not mad at you for leaving them. I don’t want you to think you’re a coward or a traitor to your people. Your actions are only a symptom of the pain and grief you haven’t been allowed to deal with. Your duties kept you from achieving enlightenment, just like mine kept me from connecting with nature. So please, just for tonight. Take this time to rest. Don’t be Master Dhaes. Don’t be a hero. Don’t be afraid to let me in. When I said this doesn’t have to be your burden alone, I meant any and every burden you carry.”
Theia leaned into his palm and held onto his wrist. Her tired violet eyes closed and she seemed to be torn between drawing on her training to calm herself and releasing a lifetime of pent-up emotions. This was not the first time she’d addressed this fragile side of herself, certainly not the first time with Halsin, but these were old habits.
“Dance upon the stars tonight,” Halsin sang.
“Nope, don’t do it…” Theia warned.
His thumb lingered just under her eye, waiting to dry her tears if she let them fall. “Smile and pain will fade away.”
“Dear heart, you are truly testing my patience…” she warned, trying to keep her voice from cracking.
“Words of mine will turn to ash…”
“Gods…”
He smoothed a hand over her hair. “…when you call the last light down.”
Theia let out a sob.
Halsin pulled her into a hug. “Moon reminds me of your grace,
All the love I can’t repay
Rest and know that I will pray
Farewell, my dear old friend.”
She hugged back and clung to his tunic, face buried in his chest.
“Moon, sun, all remind me of your grace
Faith, care, all the love I can’t repay
Moon, sun, all remind me of your grace
Faith, care, all the love I can’t repay…”
He took a moment to pull her away just a bit and check in on her, clean her face up a little bit, and give her a gentle kiss on the cheek.
“Gods, I must be a sight,” she said. “I never cry. If I was always like this, I’d never wear my eyeshadow again.”
“I’ll clean you up at camp,” Halsin said. “How do you feel?”
“Tired. I don’t know if I feel better. I’m just tired.”
“How tired?”
She flirtatiously batted her eyes at him and swayed in place playfully. “Tired enough to need a tall, strong, handsome sweetheart of a druid to… carry me? Please? Just this once?”
Halsin chuckled and lifted her into his arms. He did promise to help carry that weight, after all.
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Thranduil and Josie Part 107- Riders On The Storm
Summary: The storm is upon the ocean liner but it appears there's a bigger storm at bay. A misunderstanding and unresolved issues causes a heated discussion and intense reactions are thrashed about which leads to an almost admission before all hell breaks loose. Another suspected loss is suffered. Raven makes a shocking discovery. Thranduil is in his own hell as Jareth has unleashed his jealous wrath upon him and Raven too. Another unexpected event rocks everyone's world as the riders on the storm make landfall. WWJD...what will Josie do?
Notes: *Major Angst* *language* *violence* *death*
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The storm proved too fast for Narcisse's ship as it was right on the the vessel's starboard side. The ominous clouds were as black as the sea and permeated with lightning and thunder, overtaking the golden hour. The gale winds impelled the waves to increase and rapidly accelerate as they jostled against the hefty watercraft's hull.
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If prior events would not have occurred, all of you would have been well ahead of the sinister squall and probably close to Dorwinion. Asher was going to pay severely for this and you couldn't be more thrilled. Hopefully Narcisse would allow you to assist...or at least watch, but that was dependent on if you all survived the next few hours.
Narcisse had walked up behind you where you had sat at the stern for the past hour in solitude with nothing but Thranduil consuming your thoughts. You had been searching for the great star to wish upon but the black clouds muddied the sky, obscuring the blazing heavenly body.
"Jo...you should come inside now. It is too dangerous to be out in the open. We don't need you being struck by lightning or pitched overboard again." Stephane's hand laid gently on your shoulder. "I...I am worried about you. You have suffered severe trauma, both physically and emotionally. Please....come below deck and try to eat something and hydrate yourself. I have plenty of sustenance."
He removed his hand from your shoulder and placed it in front of you in an offering to help you stand. Your eyes flowed to the side and up his body until they met his genuinely concerned observational organs. You slid your hand into his and he then offered his other limb that you instinctively also grasped. As Narcisse hoisted you up, you lost your balance and gasped as you tumbled against him. Stephane's hasty arms flung around you and supported you against his firm towering body. It wasn't from the rocking of the boat but from just being flat out drained of all energy. The warlock was right, you needed to eat.
"Are you alright?" he asked in a soft whisper as his pearly blues angled down his nose at you.
You were planted against his chest with you palms flat on his pecks and your forehead almost touching his chin. Your eyes crept up and locked with his, but before you could answer, you felt other eyes upon you.
What a sight it must have been for Legolas to see as he stood there confused like a deer in the headlights. His bewitching blue eyes seemingly judged you both as they traveled down your bodies and back up.
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"Legolas I....I almost fell, that is all. Narcisse caught me."
"Yes. I was helping her to stand and she lost her balance, so naturally, I did not want her to fall and harm herself." Narcisse felt like he was rambling and left it at that.
The unconvinced Prince lowered at Stephane. "And yet you still cling to her."
"Oh...yes, that...I apologize. It was not intentional." he muttered with a shamed smile and quickly released you.
"For the life of me, I don't know why you are apologizing Narcisse. You have done nothing wrong and furthermore, you do not owe Legolas any explanations." you huffed as you folded your arms and rested them on top of your baby bump.
Legolas' eyes fell. "You...are right. It is none of my concern....but your well being is. I overheard part of your conversation and I must agree, you need to eat. You are having symptoms of malnutrition."
"You mean you were eavesdropping? You certainly have your eyes and ears on her now when it was much more necessary earlier." Narcisse flatly remarked.
An all too familiar nose flare was blatantly visible to you as Legolas' eyes froze on Narcisse. The same one Thranduil would make when he was envisioning freeing someone's head from their body.
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You immediately stood in between them and faced Legolas.
"Take me to the galley below and I promise, I will eat and drink." you blurted out in desperation to deter the prince from his wicked thoughts.
It took a few seconds for Legolas to unglue his hardened eyes from the warlock, but when he finally did and rolled them down to yours, they promptly softened.
Thunder cracked intensely in that moment, causing you to squeal and clutch onto Legolas's arm.
"Come my Lady. I will take care of you." Legolas said with sarcastic emphasis on the I as he glared at Narcisse.
You shared a momentary look with Stephane for a few seconds and then he watched you walk away.
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You stomped through the door of the galley as Legolas followed with his his head down.
"You are...still angry with me about Garrett..."
"And Narcisse...What has he done that is so wrong?" you snapped and spun around. "Was it necessary to humiliate Garrett? They both have done nothing but help us all."
"They have only assisted because of you. Narcisse feels a need to remind me that it is my fault Asher attacked you and you say nothing. You must agree with him."
"Do not presume to tell me what I feel or what I think. No, Narcisse should not have said that to you, but your attitude towards him is very apparent and it sets him off. And that is a bad thing for the reason they help?? Garrett pulled the wolfsbane out of my system and pulled me from the deathly waters among many other acts that have saved me. If Narcisse hadn't come, we would have no boat and be sitting ducks on land for the orcs which by the way, Stephane saved you from!"
Legolas' eyes changed to an eerie darkness and his brows furrowed in anger as he swiftly condemned the vampire and warlock in a continuous rant.
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"Garrett put his own blood in your body and forced you to do unspeakable things, one being to try and kill my father, your husband! Haldir almost paid for that with his own life! The other being of forcing you to have relations with him! And let us not forget that I had to helplessly watch what else Garrett did to you in order for you to get the pendant to save Haldir from the blood he ingested that was meant for the King. Let us also not forget he tried to kill Haldir by weakening him with his venom and leaving him to die in that cabin. He sent those spiders to Rivendell and conspired with Joliel to kill my father. He then turned on her and killed her. He let Kate defile my father. His clan brutally attacked my father at that cabin! He inflicted physical harm upon you by making you clutch onto iron, all to punish you for disobeying him. He bit you in desperation to make you his! He dropped you into the ocean just as Asher did. The majority of all this he did while you were with child! Tell me Josie, have I left anything out? The list is so long, I am sure I have overlooked more of his evil deeds.....and I am sure you will correct me and defend the monster that you have condoned."
Legolas took a breath and a step back then turned back to you, resuming his tirade that had you shaking with tears pouring down your face but that didn't seem to phase him in the moment or even in the least.
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"And Narcisse...I did not ask for nor need his help. You expect me to be grateful to a man my father had no respect for and with good reason of his own. I am not a child like you seem to view me as. I am the son of a King and will now have to accept the responsibility of that role, with or without you but I will never accept Garrett's redemption in your eyes because my father certainly did not! You will have a choice to make if you are to remain in my father's halls."
"Wow...you certainly ARE your father's son! Yandere and all. Do you take me for a fool Legolas Greenleaf?? I know what's going on here and I have not forgotten what Garrett has done, you do not need to shove it down my throat, and yes, in my eyes he has redeemed himself and I will never expect that of you. I never expected it from Thranduil either. What I do expect is for you not to air the details in front of me to everyone just so you can validate his past discretions to humiliate him....or do my feelings not matter to you?? It hurts me...you...hurt me. I have never thought of you as a child. I can clearly see the grown and brave beautiful man before me who will fit perfectly into his father's shoes as the King of Mirkwood. And what choice do I have to make? You or Garrett? Is that it? Let's talk about what this is truly about shall we?? I heard what you said to me...as you were sacrificing yourself to save me."
"I think it is quite clear what this is about as I have just relayed it all to you. You most certainly have forgotten. Do my feelings not matter to you as well? Did my father's not??"
His last words rendered you speechless and appalled. You held your chest and began to hyperventilate, then tried to rush past him to leave.
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Legolas grabbed you. "Josie, I am sorry!! I should not have said..."
"Do not touch me! How dare you say something to me like that about the man I love more than anything in this entire fucking world! My sole reason for existence! and now he's gone! Just GONE!" you screamed and shoved Legolas back. Your anger and pain consumed you and you shoved him again as you cried, then began slapping his chest repeatedly.
Legolas took the heat for a few seconds while you released all your pent up misplaced grief and then locked his arms firmly around and behind you, immobilizing you against his chest. It only angered you more as you punched at his shoulder blades.
"Let me go!! I hate you!! I fucking hate you...I...I...hate....I...." You began to bawl into his shoulder as your body melted against his snug grip and your knees gave out.
Legolas slowly lowered to the ground with you and lovingly held you in his arms as he laid his cheek on top of your head. His eyes were tear ridden as he caressed your back with one hand and your hair with the other.
"I know you do not mean that, for it is only your grief that guides your words. I take full responsibility for this as I wrongly antagonized you. Like you, I have nowhere to release my own grief. We both need each other right now. I am not your enemy...for what you heard me say to you...I meant it with every ounce of my soul. My lady....I..."
You moved back and gazed up into his pained eyes. "Legolas...don't. Please...don't ruin things..."
He brought his hand to your cheek and wiped your tears with his thumb.
"This storm may ruin everything as it is, so I will take the risk, for you are worth it. There are things I must tell you. Things you are not aware of. I cannot suppress it any longer. But first and foremost...I will tell you what you already know... Josie...I....I lo..."
Narcisse barged in, cutting off Legolas' profession of his love.
"What is going on in here? I heard shouting."
You made your way to stand as Legolas assisted. The two of you were locked in an emotional stare until you broke it to answer Stephane.
"Everything is fine Stephane. We just had a...disagreement but we now understand each other. Isn't that right Legolas?" Your eyes pleaded with him to agree and let the conversation go for the time being...although you had caught what he said about things you did not know and you would be sure to relive that statement at a later time...if there was one.
"Yes. All is well. I was just about to prepare something for Josie to eat." Legolas concurred and began opening cupboards.
Just as he did so, the ship went awry, taking a hit from a massive wave and sent all three of you flying across the small chamber, along with loose objects crashing about.
"Josie!!!" Legolas shouted as he snatched you in mid air and broke your fall with his own body.
You all arose unscathed somehow as the Prince frantically checked you over.
"Are you alright?? Are you hurt??" he barked in concern.
"I...I think I'm ok...are you??" You asked in desperation as you took his face into your hands.
Legolas grinned like the cheshire cat. "I am invincible baby...you know that."
Narcisse balanced himself against the wall. "No worries. I'm ok. Thanks for asking."
Suddenly, Narcisse's crew could be heard shouting. "Take cover! Incoming!!!"
Goosebumps crawled all over you as you glanced out the wooden framed window to see the most frightening sight. A goliath wave bigger than the craft you were on was coming straight for you all.
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"Legolas!!!!" you screamed and instinctively tried to shut the window as if that would do one damn bit of good. You didn't even get the window shut nor did Legolas or Narcisse have time to react when the monstrous icy billow hit, obliterating the the wall and plowing you in a backwards somersault to a state of unconsciousness.
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As the cabin filled with freezing water, Julian charged in and scooped you up. Legolas and Narcisse gathered themselves and sloshed through the rising liquid, quickly following him up to the deck.
In your comatose state, you began to dream. Your beautiful Thranduil was there, his long platinum strands flowing loosely as he bowed his violin. The tune was familiar. He had played it to summon Smaug in Lake-town. Dragons love music and that particular hymn called to them like candy to a baby. But why...why would you dream this? Smaug was dead so why would Thranduil be playing this tune? Why on earth would he summon his enemy serpents of the north? How could he when he himself were dead?
Then there was Raven who literally had large black wings just like the bird itself. She began reciting Poe just like she did when you first met her.
"While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, as of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. Only this and nothing more."
A dragon appeared on a rooftop, possibly a castle and breathed a shower of fire below as a figure in a hooded cloak stood and observed the engulfed structure.
There were clocks with a 13th hour....and then you saw him. Jareth, one blue eye and one brown, leering at you....
The entire vision was surreal, so vivid. Like silent lucidity.
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You inhaled the most shrill gasp as you awoke to three faces hovering over you. Legolas, Julian, and Narcisse.
You turned over spitting up water as your father stroked your back. As you came back to reality, you noticed you were now on deck of the rocking vessel.
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Wind and rain plastered all of you so hard, it stung and visibility was total shit, stemming about a mere 3 feet in front of you. You wanted to cry for Thranduil but you knew he was not there.
"Leg...olas!!" choked out of you instead as your hands frantically searched in front of you.
He appeared right at your side, sheltering you with his body.
"My lady, I am here." he shouted over the squealing winds. You clutched onto him as if he were a life preserver. To you, he was exactly that.
"We must move to the bow! The port side of the stern is demolished and taking on water!" Narcisse ordered.
All of the guard, you and the others all made your way through the blistering winds while Narcisse desperately fought with the helm to try and steer his ship towards land. Julian argued with him to give it up, that it was useless but Stephane was determined to fight for his vessel and all aboard it. There was no magic that was going to defeat mother nature....or so you believed.
Out of nowhere came the vamps Garrett, Selene, Lestat, Marius, Maharet and Armand landing on the bow along with Michael, the hybrid vamp/lycan that Selene carried.
You caught Garrett's eyes as he smiled and gave you a cocky wink that told you what you should have already known...that he would not abandon you.
Something was wrong though. You scrambled to your feet as you clung to Legolas for support and whipped your head all around in search for your Marchwarden.
"Haldir!!!!" you hysterically shouted. "Where is he???!!!"
"I am here Jo!" A soaking wet Haldir approached with heavy breaths. "The force of the wave strike knocked me overboard."
"Jesus!! How did...are you alright??" you cried with chattering teeth as you ran into his arms.
"I am fine but Jo, you are freezing! Garrett, you need to keep her warm."
Your eyes popped wide open at his statement as you glanced back and forth at the two of them.
"He is the one who pulled me from the sea." Haldir humbly explained.
"Oh...oh my..god. Garrett?" you smiled in shock.
"You can thank me later little one, now come on baby, light my fire." Garrett joked as he sang The Doors lyrics. Only he could make you giggle in a treacherous time.
Legolas on the other hand, did not find him amusing.
"Over my dead body will you touch her!" The irate Elvenprince stepped in front of you.
"You have got to be shitting me right now sprite?? She needs to get warm! Swallow your dumb ass pride and do what is best for her!" Garrett reeled as his eyes glowed crimson. "I just rescued your guardian and this is how you act?"
"Legolas, please! Stop this! You both can hash shit out later, now is not the time!" you pleaded and pushed your way around him to go to Garrett.
Garrett's hands kindled and he wrapped you tightly in his arms. Within seconds, you were warmed clear through although the wind still spat the ice water over you in pulses.
Legolas' blood boiled in fury as he saw red.
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Once you were far enough out of Garrett's reach, the Prince challenged him.
"No magic, no weapons. You and me right here, right now." Legolas tossed his bow and arrows to the floor.
Garrett laughed. "Are you fucking serious right now? The Rhun is about to shred this vessel into toothpicks which is the only thing keeping you all afloat. That is why we are here. Each of us can fly 2 of you to land along with the volant warlocks who can assist with the remaining crew."
Garrett then blew Legolas off as if he were some annoying child pestering him to play games. You were entirely shocked as you could have sworn that Garrett would have been the one to hold the grudge and come after Legolas for threatening to kill him. The Prince had always been so much more reserved....but Legolas was changing. Envy, anger, guilt and grief combined was a disaster in the making. All you could see was Thranduil....your beautiful disaster.
"No wretched vampire will touch my skin. I would rather perish."
"That's funny because to fight me, I will have to touch you." Garrett chuckled.
"Legolas! Garrett STOP!!" you cried. "We need to go... now!!"
Your cries fell deaf on their ears as Legolas charged the vampire.
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Garrett tossed the elf to the ground like a sack of potatoes but Legolas got right back up unphased and went at him again, only to endure the same result.
"Give it up Legolas. I do not want to hurt you! Do you realize how lame this is? Even Thranduil wouldn't sink this low." Garrett exclaimed.
That was the wrong thing to say even if it were true. Thranduil didn't play by any rules. He played by the blades of his twin swords and if he wanted you dead, you'd be dead.
"Do not speak my father's name maggot."
Legolas barreled at him once more and this time, Garrett put him in a headlock. It was like Legolas was trying to get himself hurt, as if he felt he deserved it or something. He knew he was no match for a vampire's strength and yet he kept trying to provoke Garrett.
"The definition of insanity. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Garrett growled. "Enough Elvenstein."
You were screaming at them the entire time this went on until finally Garrett released him. Haldir tackled his godson to the ground and held him there until he calmed down.
"I command you to stand down Legolas! We have to debark this ship!" Haldir ordered.
Legolas wriggled free and stood up pissed off and panting.
"I will go nowhere with a vampire!" Legolas was as stubborn as his father and it always got Thranduil into trouble when he wasn't thinking rationally...and so it now did for his son.
Legolas stormed off and stood at the bow alone, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. Suddenly the boat took a deep dive and you saw it. Another killer wave rearing it's ugly head and raging in a downward spiral right for all of you.
Garrett grabbed you and launched into the air as the craft took the blow.
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One of the masts snapped in two like a twig and went soaring down....
It was all slow motion to you as you helplessly watched from above. The out of control pole swayed back around and slammed into Legolas with blunt force, sending him catapulting through the air and crashing into the blackened abyss.
'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! LEGOLAS!!!" you screamed until you had no voice left.
All the vampires were in the air with the crew. Selene had Haldir and Michael. Narcisse had the wicked warlock Asher by the neck. He wasn't about to let him die that easily for he had torturous plans for him. Julian was scouring the area searching for Legolas.
'Daddy!" you shouted from above. "You have to find him! I cannot lose him too!!"
Minutes went by that felt like hours. The ship was miraculously still afloat and the storm was now moving on leaving it's path of destruction behind along with a missing Legolas. The waves were still heavy but no longer threatening. Everyone landed back onto the battered boat while Narcisse bound and gagged Asher and strapped him to the bow knowing the left over waves would give him a damn good beating.
You immediately ran to where Legolas had been thrown and watched your father zipping all around over the waves. Narcisse had joined him and Haldir dove into the swell of hell. You feared that Legolas had been knocked unconscious and would drown because he had not surfaced.
"This isn't happening!!!!" you screeched and gasped vigorously as you began to climb over the rail. "LEGGY!!!!!!"
You couldn't breathe as your chest tightened and your heart raced. You were in a full blown anxiety attack. Something you only ever experienced before you met Thranduil as his presence and love seemed to have cured them. But now he was gone...and so was Legolas. Someone grabbed you from behind and drug you back as you kicked and screamed. You could have sworn your heart stopped as everything went black.
You awoke in Haldir's arms as he sat on the deck cradling you and keeping you warm with a large wool blanket draped over you. It was breaking dawn and the ship was cruising at full speed with the main mast still in tact, crashing through the now harmless waves.
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When your memories became clear, you sprung forward.
"Legolas!!!" you shouted as your eyes darted about in a frenzied search for him but all you saw was Haldir's sorrowful eyes as he slowly raised them to yours. He was still wet and appeared to be in a state of shock and exteeme exhaustion. The sight of him told you Legolas was gone.
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"No....n.n.no....no no no nooooo!!" you stammered
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You began to crawl around in circles in a state of severe disorientation. You couldn't see anything but Thranduil and Legolas.
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You began to mumble. "We...we have to go back...we have to go back." Louder and louder you became until you stood up and started hysterically screaming.
"We have to go back!!! We cannot leave him!!! We have to go back and find them both!! We can't leave them all alone!!!"
Haldir stood up and grasped your arms gently.
"Jo...We searched for hours. The vampires are still out looking but...it...it has been too long...Jo...I...I tried so hard....I..."
Julian came running over when he heard you screaming.
"Easy...easy now my child. Daddy is here." The compassionate warlock took you in his calming arms and worked his magic while rocking you.
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The only others that could do that were Haldir and Thranduil. Your eyes felt heavy as if you hadn't slept in days, which in fact you hadn't.
Narcisse came trotting up.
"We are entering the salt chuck to Dorwinion. She's just around the bend. Jo...I...I am truly so very sorry. We did all that we could. I promise you that. There is still hope. The vampires have the best senses. If anyone can find the prince, they can."
You wanted to believe him, that there was till hope...but like Haldir said, it had been too long...apparently hours according to him. You couldn't fight it anymore as your eyes closed.
Raven awoken after the long night of endless rough love making with Jareth to find him gone. She gasped and rushed to dress as she knew where he had went and she feared for the Thranduil. Jareth had vowed they would both pay for her forced playtime upon the Elvenking. Off she raced to Thranduil's chambers only to find it empty. She then raced off and followed her sense of intuition, just like you had. She also could smell Jareth's citrus scent so she pursued that as well which led her descending to the depths of the goblin kingdom under the mountain.
The goblin king's scent as well as Thranduil's lingered outside of a door she had came to. She quickly hurried and opened the door to get a most disturbing vision.
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Thranduil was chained to the wall by his arms and had been severely beaten. He weakly raised his head to glare at her. She knew right then that he remembered what she had done to him.
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She began to speak through the small opening of the door.
"Th..Thranduil...I am so sorry...I did not want this for..."
The door slammed shut, scaring her out of her wits as she screamed.
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Out of the darkness arose a disgruntled Jareth.
"Jareth...I...I was just..."
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"You were just disobeying my orders again, isn't that right my love? Whatever am I going to do with you to keep you in line?"
"I...I was only looking for you...you...you were gone when I awoke. I followed your scent and just thought you...that you were in that room."
"Is that so? And what should I make of your heartfelt apologies to the King? Do not tell me you have come to care for him? Because that would make daddy even more displeased than he already is with you."
Raven became defensive and pissed off.
"And what are you going to do about it? Rape me again? Kill me? Beat me too? I thought you loved me?"
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"I could ask the same of you daring girl. I have given you everything you asked for. I have taken you away from your captivity and all I have asked in return is for you to love me. But it seems your love has been placed elsewhere."
"That is only your twisted imagination. I did what I did to Thranduil purely for revenge against my sister, nothing more."
"Nothing more says the Raven. It appears to be something more after what I have just heard with my own ears."
"That is only because Thranduil has done nothing wrong to deserve this. It was me who took advantage of him. This was not the plan. He will serve you no good in obtaining that book if he is in such conditions. What if he dies? He will be of no use to you."
"Oh my dear lass, I have no plans of killing the Elvenking, but a little torture is necessary to keep him in line, just as it is for you."
He walked up to her, glowering down into her fearful eyes and yanked her head back by her hair. She squirmed and squealed in pain as he gripped her chin tightly with his other hand.
"What do I have to do to make you obey me? If you think last night was torture, my dear child, that was nothing of what I am capable of, and yet you should know this by now. You redheads make me ill with your fiery spirits. Maybe I should remove all of your blazing roots and burn them. You would then fit in well with the goblins. They would certainly find you....alluring."
Raven began to tremble as she gulped.
"You...you wouldn't do that to me!"
Jareth chuckled with an evil grin as he squeezed her lips into a pucker.
"Do not try my patience for I am running out of it. Now go. And do not return to this room or you will suffer a wrath so horrifying, you will beg me to end your life."
He shoved her back by her mouth so hard that she stumbled and fell onto the stairs. Gasping in incredulous fright, she frantically crawled up the stairwell in tears.
The ship had docked on the outer banks of Dorwinion's city. The weather had drastically changed to only a slight cool breeze and the citizens wore only cloaks.
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You all debarked the beaten up vessel and boarded a horse and carriage that had awaited Lord Narcisse's arrival. You were in a state of oblivion to all that had occurred...it was almost as if you had been drugged. Your body was reacting to the traumatic events...a shock mechanism and it was not good whatsoever. Haldir had to carry you to the carriage and sit beside you, holding you close as you would not release him. Narcisse and Julian boarded and sat on the opposing side. The horses were commanded to depart as you weakly peered out the window at the warlock guard hauling Asher off. He caught your eye and if you had been able to use your powers, you would have lit him up like a barbeque right then and there.
You whimpered and hid your face in Haldir's armpit and unwillingly fell back asleep with a thousand thoughts flooding your brain as Haldir was using his magical charms on you to keep you calm. The marchwarden was certainly magical alright for he himself was in mourning but made sure he cared for you above all else. You would be completely lost at this point without him, for he was truly all you had left now besides your father. Sure, you had Garrett but he would never be accepted in your life. Afterall, Legolas had given you an ultimatum earlier about the vampire's role in your life. Something Thranduil had never done. There was also Maharet but she had bigger fish to fry in her world instead of tending to you considering she was a vampire ruler...and Selene...she finally got the love of her life back. You had a feeling you would rarely see her now. What would happen to Mirkwood now with no King? You certainly weren't up for the responsibility of ruling a Kingdom as you had a child to care for now as a widow.
You were awoken by the sudden stop of the carriage. Narcisse leaned forward.
"My lady, we have arrived at my castle. Let us get you inside. I have a special chamber all for you. There are many servants to meet your every need....that is..unless you are compelled to go back to Lothlorien with Haldir."
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You hadn't thought of any of that, how could you? All you wanted was to go home to Mirkwood with Thranduil and Legolas.
"Jo...what is it that you would like to do? Do you wish to come with me? You are most certainly welcome to do so. Galadriel would be thrilled to see you again. Or do you wish to stay here for the time being until you can gather your thoughts?" Haldir sweetly asked as he stroked your straggling hair from your eyes.
"I do not wish to be anywhere you are not, but I just cannot travel anymore. I feel.....I do not even know what I feel anymore..." You began to sob as you covered your face with your hands.
"Come here my Jo. You do not have to make any decisions right now. Stay here with Narcisse. You are right, you should not be traveling anymore. Your body has been through hell and you need much rest. I can always come back to..."
"NO!!" You panicked and clutched his arm desperately. "Do not leave me, you cannot leave me too!!" you cried.
Haldir pulled your head to his chest and cradled you as he glanced at Narcisse.
"My lady...Haldir is more than welcome to stay here with you for as long as you both like if that is what you need. I will allow that for you." Narcisse kindly offered.
You nodded and sniffled. "Will you Haldir? Will you stay with me? Please?"
The Lorien elf smiled and stroked your cheek. "As if you would have to ask. I told you many times, I would never leave you."
"And you too Daddy. I just got you back, you cannot leave either!"
"My beautiful child, you should know I am not going anywhere but where you are."
Narcisse and Julian exited the carriage, then Haldir in which he quickly turned to help you out. As you stepped down onto the stone pavement, a gush of warm water flowed down your legs and pooled around your feet.
You grabbed Haldir's arm as you gasped while staring at the ground.
"M...my..my water just broke!"
@redeemer46
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puffpasstea · 2 years
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Missed your writing so much!!! If you're up for it, do you think you could do a blurb where Matilda misbehaves/is a brat in public, thinking that she can get away with it?
Sure! I hope this is okay. Please let me know what you think!
Warnings: angst (?), dom!Harry
————
I watched as Harry’s cheeks turned red in the glim light of the bar. He shook the woman’s hand, flashing her his irresistible dimpled smile.
“Hi, Claire. I’m Harry.”
My seat between Christopher and Sienna felt like it was getting tighter the longer I watched Harry look at the woman who had come over to introduce herself.
“You’re so much more gorgeous in person, and I honestly didn’t think that could be possible.” Seeing Harry get flustered by this stunning, if extremely forward, stranger felt like a stab in the gut. I was suddenly extremely aware of my hands and didn’t know what to do with them. I tried tapping my fingers against the table for a while, the noise clearly distracting to everyone at our table, I eventually moved them to my lap and clenched my fists.
“I’d love to buy you a drink.” Claire proceeded to announce as she bore into his soul, the way she looked at him could only mean she was undressing Harry in her mind as he spoke.
“I mean- you sh-“ Harry stuttered, blushing again and searching his brain for an answer. Sienna took pity on him and decided to answer for him. “He’s trying to say ‘he would love that!’” I turned to face Sienna with my eyebrows raised. “What?!” She shrugged. “He’s single, no? He should have some fun!”
Harry must have overheard us because his head whipped, fixing his eyes on me to watch my reaction to the word “single.” I did my best to keep a blank expression, chewing on the side of my cheek instead. While Claire had gone to the bar to grab Harry’s drink, he stood up and grabbed an extra chair for her, setting it right next to his.
She was back, drink in hand, faster than I liked. They fell into an easy conversation almost instantly. She made him giggle every few seconds. His ears were practically turning red, the blushing making its way down his neck, his lips curling into a smile the entire time. I was sure he hadn’t spared any of us a glance since she’d arrived. He was starting to act as if they were the only two people in this crowded bar.
I felt the inside of my cheek start to bleed, the taste of my own blood leaving a metallic taste on the tip of my tongue.
“So, Claire. What is it that you do exactly? I mean, other than looking fabulous and hitting on pop stars so brazenly?” I interjected their semi-private conversation in an effort to make it a group interaction.
Christopher’s eyebrows furrowed at my words, putting an arm around me, he whispered in my ear “You alright?”
I hushed him with a hand gesture, keeping my eyes fixed on Claire, eager to her her answer.
“I’m a fashion designer.” She replied keeping her grace and composure.
“Oh, must be a very small one to be living in a tiny college town like this one.”
“Actually, I’m only here for a few weeks. Working with a charity to provide clothes for homeless students at the college. Most of the time, I’m based in LA. But I do travel a lot.”
Fuck. She’s perfect for him.
“That’s - amazing.” Harry smiled at her. Clearly quite taken with her answer. And why shouldn’t he be? Harry loves fashion. And she’s beautiful. Obviously confident, if her resistance to my caustic attitude is any indication. My heart pounded in my chest as I watched Harry and Claire chat all night. It felt like I had gotten a front row seat to the agonizing death of our relationship. Whatever it was, it was going to end soon if this woman decided to be in Harry’s life. The panic set in slowly at first, but before too long, I was practically sweating.
I used every question, passive-aggressive comment, and snide remark I could possibly think of to throw her off balance and get her to behave unflatteringly even for a minute. Just so I could show Harry that maybe she wasn’t as perfect as she seemed, but none of it worked. Defeated and distraught, I felt tears stinging the backs of my eyes. I needed to be alone so I could cry in peace.
“I- umm…need the rest room.” I mumbled and excused myself.
In the bathroom, I stood at the sink, fiddling with my clothes and my hair, attempting to gather myself. I struggled to breathe as the tears threatened to spill, but before I could let go and cry, I heard a loud knock at the door.
“O-occupied!” I yelled out.
“I know. It’s me. Open the door.”
I rolled my eyes, unlocked the door with trembling fingers.
Harry slid in through the gap in the doorway and shut the door behind him. For a moment, he said nothing. Leaving barely any space between us in the small bathroom, he towered over me, his expression hardening by the second.
“What the fuck’s the matter with you?” He hissed. “You’re acting insane, you know that, right? Don’t roll your eyes at me! What’s gotten into you? Hmm?”
No longer able to look him in the eyes, I stared down at my feet, blinking rapidly, trying to keep the tears from rolling down my face.
“I - are you- do you tell people that you’re single?” I asked, my voice strained.
“I am single.”
I felt his eyes on me, fixing me under his gaze. Neither one of us said anything for a long minute.
“Look at me.” He finally spoke.
“She’s not good enough for you.”
“You don’t get to decide that.” He wrapped his hand around my neck, pushing me backwards until I was right up against the door. “You do understand that I’m gonna have to punish you for this, don’t you?”
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azure-blaze92 · 5 months
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⭐star⭐ (enchantedchocolatebars)
Let's talk about Philip's unintended consequences with what happened in chapters 8 and 9. So, it's obvious that Philip was the reason why both Mr.Mansell and Cecilia ended up being killed. So, The reason why Philip did it with Mr. Mansell was because Philip felt like he was "turning Caleb against him." due to how Caleb acted more like a parental figure than his brother. I couldn't find a way or place to add this, but Philip got into more trouble than what I wrote about( I plan on eventually writing one-shots based on ideas that never made it into the chapters). The consequences were never as bad as what happened with the bread incident, but that was the final straw that made Mr. Mansell tell Caleb that he needed to start playing more of a parental role in chapter 7, which Philip, of course, overheard.
The unintended consequence of Mr. Mansell's death was that this sent Caleb into a really deep depression. On top of that, this leaves Philip the only one to try and help Caleb with his anxiety attacks, which Philip doesn't know how to handle or help.
Then, there is Cecilia's death, which has the most severe unintended consequence. So Philip is the one who turned her in. The damming evidence he used when he went to Minister Bastion was that she read Caleb Palms. How does he know that? Well, he was spying on them in the scene in chapter nine. At first, he wasn't really going to do anything with it, but when Caleb chose to spend more and more time with Cecilia. Philip got jealous when Cecilia invited him to come along, but the times he did, Philip was more like a 3rd wheel to them, and in his mind, Cecilia was taking Caleb away from him due to his fear of being abandoned. So he went to Minister Bastion and said that Cecilia was a witch since she was well-read, had extensive knowledge about the properties of herbs and other fauna, and knew how to read palms, which she did with Caleb. Philip also explains that Caleb is enchanted by her since he is choosing to spend more time with her and, in doing so, is slacking off on his duty and responsibility to raise him.
So here is where Philip really messed up: Minister Bastion hates Caleb. We are all quite aware of this. This makes Caleb even more of a disgrace and failure in Minister Bastion's eyes. This is why he has the very one-sided conversation with Caleb after Cecilia's trial, especially when Caleb lies and says, "She bewitched him" to save himself, which adds credence to Philip's claim. This comes a little more into play with chapter eleven.
Then, the other unintended Consequence is played out at the beginning of chapter eleven and sets the stage for the rest of the chapter. Mr. Millis thinks Caleb is why Cecilia was accused since he was the only one close to her. The fact that Caleb chose to lie and say she bewitched him, he had no reason to suspect Philip was the reason, seeing that she never talked about Philip and only Caleb and knew she was around Caleb more, and Philip was usually not with them. You can guess what the unintended consequence was and is the reason why Chapter Eleven is called "Three Steps Back."
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cactusspatz · 2 years
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April recs
A bit late this month since I had to send my computer off for repairs (RIP my stickers, but at least it was mostly cosmetic damage), but I made it! I'm putting the 7 Star Wars fics of various pairings above the cut, and the 5 miscellaneous fandoms (Nirvana in Fire, Life 2005, Lord Peter, The Untamed, Our Flag Means Death) underneath.
STAR WARS
Cody/Obi-Wan
Worth a Thousand Words by @glimmerglanger
“You need to show him what you have to offer,” Fives said, which sounded shockingly like relevant advice. Cody blinked over at him.
“What?” he asked, because, honestly, he’d take any advice he could get, at this point. The war had been over for nearly six months, and he’d made no progress on his own.
Fives slammed back a shot of his own and then--kind of leered over. “You need to give him a look at the goods,” he said, and then, pointedly, dipped his gaze down.
OR, the one where Cody takes some very bad advice and has to deal with the consequences.
*wheezing with laughter* AKA the one where Cody sends a dick pic. Post-war, no Order 66, very funny and sweet. Also, it didn't really hit my embarrassment squick despite being tagged for that, because it's not mean-spirited about it, and has some good perspective about how there's a huge gap between the clones' life experience and their socialization for things outside of fighting a war.
Strong Bones by missmollyetc
We must all start as we mean to go on.
Triptych of stories about Obi-Wan and Cody set post-Order 66, with absolutely GORGEOUS prose. The first two will break your heart (especially #2, how DARE), but the last one will gently patch it.
Din/Luke
Blood Ties by scheidwrites
A few things are slightly different, which means everything is different. Boba and Fennec arrive just a bit later, Din takes his jetpack back up to the temple, and so he and the child are both taken prisoner by the Empire.
Fascinating AU and a lovely h/c series that deserves a lot more hits than it currently has.
Pragmatics by Derkish
Admittedly, this is not the first time Luke has wound up at someone else’s kitchen table in someone else’s clothes. But it’s not breakfast, Luke’s not an undergrad scarfing down bacon and eggs to cure the common hangover, and Din doesn’t strike him as the kind of guy he’d meet at a house party. The baby is definitely a first.
Luke is a grad student trying to finish his linguistics PhD after an unexpected leave of absence. His neighbor, Din, is a single dad and delivery guy at Pizza Parsec. (Actually, Pizza Parsec is just a front for the bounty hunters' guild. But Luke doesn't need to know that.)
Fantastic modernish AU that hit the sweet spot for me regarding Luke being a emotional mess with disaster family issues but ALSO a very smart and competent person in his field. I also really enjoyed how the Skywalker family drama was translated into this setting.
A Warrior Dance by twoseas
Luke reacts strangely to Din’s bared face and an overheard conversation leads the Mandalorian to believe the Jedi thinks he’s ugly. Things spiral out of control from there.
Featuring Mandalorian combat without armor, Han and Leia being a little into Din, and Luke being so much into Din he accidentally makes him think he’s unattractive.
This one has been widley recced already, but I finally read it and it's just as charming as promised without the secondhand-embarrassment I feared.
Obi-Wan/Anakin
if i only knew by wanderlove
Newly knighted Obi-Wan Kenobi and his padawan, Anakin Skywalker, have been sent to Ryloth on a simple diplomatic envoy. While there, an unsettling incident causes Obi-Wan to look at Anakin in a new light and re-evaluate...everything.
The Galaxy will never be the same.
aka: "come for the obikin, stay for the tzai and deep emotional discussions that dismantle every single misunderstanding in the prequels."
Very satisfying fix-it AU on many levels, with lots of time and detailed work on building their relationship in a healthier way.
More recs below!
(Nirvana in Fire, vid) ...One More Time by absternr
Oh baby, baby, how was I supposed to know?
I'm gleefully angry about how perversely perfect the lyrics are for this Jingyan vid, and at the vidder for making it work both on a straightforward editing level and a cheeky 'let me vid this serious historical drama to this iconic pop song' level. I love it <3
(Lord Peter) to translate a passion, to divide a sorrow by nnozomi
Harriet Vane bestows a murder on her college, to the benefit of all.
Lovely character study with Harriet brainstorming a story.
(Life) never thought about love when I thought about home by napricot
“I don’t do undercover,” said Dani. Not anymore, anyway.
“I’ve never really done undercover, or not anything longterm,” said Crews, frowning.
Tidwell leaned back in his chair, unmoved by their protests. “Yeah, gonna be honest, you two are not the preferred undercover picks. You are, however, the only two detectives available who could plausibly pass for a married couple in search of a precious baby to adopt.”
Classic execution of the undercover-married-in-suburbia trope, but perfectly written for these two characters and their whole thing. Post-canon, Charlie/Dani.
(The Untamed) good morning sunlight by @stratisphyre
Next time, Lan Qiren swore he would stay in bed with Xiao Jingfei. Wei Changze could be the one to take their wretched spawn to the market.
AKA Accidental Child Acquisition: The Fix-It Series. So delightful! Low-key Cangse Sanren/Lan Qiren/Wei Changze, which some of you might remember the author writing in a different AU from a prior rec set - that isn't the same continuity and isn't a prequisite though it does develop the triad more if you're curious. This one's all about the (literal) found family and making things happier!
(OFMD) and let your hair hang down by Ark
Stede exhales, warm breath stirring Ed's hair. "Again?"
"Stede," says Ed, "I'd sit on your cock all day for a chair and captain the ship like that if the option was available."
I haven't read a ton of OFMD fic (I think this is gonna be another Old Guard-like fandom for me where I loved the canon but my brain doesn't really want fic), but this one is a gorgeous piece of kinky smut with sharp characterization.
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violentshine · 1 year
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some stuff im adding to the Blazing Star au not editing this into the doc because i simply do not want to look there ever again <3 if you do want to know more about this au i do not recommend the doc. I think it is far too unorganized. You can try but the best way would be shooting some asks about it my way
Fireheart can dreamwalk in the lands of the afterlife whenever he wants basically (should there be a limit ? maybe it could take a toll on him or smth...idk he's fireheart) but he doesn't always get into Starclan - Starclan has to accept him every time he goes and he isn't exactly wanted; most of the higher ups think he too nosy. When his "invite" gets rejected somehow someway, the dark forest is where he goes - This is how Starclan works in terms of who gets in when they did. It isn't entirely relied on if the cat was a decent enough cat, if Starclan finds whatever reason to not let you in/if they cannot think of a reason why a cat should be let in; they'll go to the dark forest - The Place of No Stars isn't really a place of punishment since there are cats who didn't do anything deserving of it. - The reason this ranking system is a thing in the first place is mostly due to the countless leaders who don't like the fact they aren't in control of anything anymore. If Starclan is supposed to be a haven for all, what about those who don't want to just sit around and hunt to fill stomachs that will never be emptied. Or something like that.
Sandpaw and Tigerclaw have a real interesting conversation about how she misses her dad and that she feels like Firepaw's joining Thunderclan set off a domino affect. She's thinks if Firepaw never joined, Redtail wouldn't have died...maybe. She doesn't have much to go off on but she can't wrap her head around the fact Redtail's gone. Maybe it's due to the fact the story she and the whole clan was told about his death has some...gaps - Sandpaw has also overheard Firepaw talking to Spottedleaf & Yellowfang about his dreams with Redtail. The fact Redtail is going to Firepaw for whatever reason, irks her down to core. She feels betrayed Redtail hasn't visited her. - Sandpaw is convinced to bring this up to Firepaw alone. Firepaw doesn't know how to tell her "the story about how your dad died isn't true, like at all. Also the guy you confided in, is his murderer" Firepaw does tell her something, maybe it is about how Redtail's cause of death was a lie but void the part about Tigerclaw.
Redtail can't visit Sandpaw because the higher ups of Starclan, do not like him. He told someone (Firepaw) something (killed by Tigerclaw) he wasn't supposed to know yet instead of letting them deal with the proper way (vague omens, classic Starclan way) of telling the truth. - He does eventually get to talk to his daughter again though
Speaking of Sandpaw & Dustpaw too; they aren't really bullies anymore. Simply since they only bullied Fireheart because he was a kittypet and...stuff like that just isn't included in this au <3 They do have some "antagonizing" moments but it's mostly just kids not knowing how to properly deal with the events they're going through.
I had a scene when Dustpelt was telling Fireheart (& i think Graystripe is also there) that the name "Mapleshade" sounds familiar. He recalls a story he was told when he was a kit that was basically "listen to your parents or evil mapleshade will drag you to the river at night". Fireheart tells Mapleshade about it. She does not appreciate it. (also dustkit, after hearing the story, was too scared to sleep that night. And possibly the next.)
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