#people were thanking ME for staying calm and not forgetting them?? which never happens?

[xan-izme]

Dubble Life (ACTSV x reader x Batfam) 4

Summary: Reader made a promise to never let Spider-Woman out. Knowing the dangers of putting that mask on. Reader is starting off fresh now, and they will be damned if anyone tries to have you pull that mask down your face again.

Part 3 Part 5

TW: break downs, mentions of past trauma, mentions of mental health

"Just listen to me!" Gwen was following you as you were still franticly searching for Damian.

"Bug off Gwen. Don't need the society's shit right now." You spoke harshly. Gwen sighed as she watched your stressed expression switch between worry and frustration.

Gwen stopped and spoke. "I know your probably still hurting. But New York needs Spider Woman. Your uncle and Miles can't hold Brooklyn down forever." You paused and turned your head to the blonde.

"More anomalies are showing up. The Prowlers aren't fit to control them. If this keeps up, who knows what will happen." Gwen was staring at you with those big blue eyes of her's.

You always used to like looking into Gwen's eyes. Her eyes always held this kind of sadness in them, sadness you and her connected with. But no, you see no connection. At least not the same as before.

". . .I'm sorry Gwendy. But I don't have time for this."

You made sure the coast was clear before shooting a web to a nearby building and land in an alleyway.

After nearly two hours of searching for Damian and nearly having a break down. Alfred was able to find you and inform you that Damian was safe and was currently with Bruce. Damian had wanted to stay with Bruce. And you decided to go back to the manor.

"Don't do that again Damian. You can't just leave your sister like that." Bruce scolded his son for making you worry. Knowing you must have been freaking out with the way he had disappeared. Damian sighed.

"If she's cross with me, then I'll tell her I went back for this." Damian lifted up an album. Bruce frowns in confusion. Because how the hell is a Boney M album going to calm you down?

"Lady Y/n. Is there anything you need before-"

"No Alfred! I just need some rest; I'll be in my room." You rushed up the stairs. And slammed your room door.

You finally took a seat on your bed. A second passed, and your breathing started to pick up, a minute passed, and your eyes began to sting from the incoming tears that seem to build up until your eyes couldn't hold them any longer, letting the tear drops fall.

It wasn't long till you became a sobbing mess.

it was too much. Emotions you didn't know were still in you started to burst out of control. You were a crying mess.

Why?

Were you stressed?

Or is it that you miss your family back in New York?

Were you upset seeing Gwen? Was seeing her bring back memories that you didn't want to see? Memories of people you don't want to remember?

No. . . that's not it, is it.

It was what happened with Damian. How he let your hand go, and just disappeared. It's funny, you don't really like the boy. Well, his attuited is what you distaste the most. But you were crying, because you thought you almost lost him.

You were scared you almost let someone who was your blood, your kin, die.

What a silly thought. Don't be thinking these things. Suck it up, you keep doing this and let these feelings show to the family. They won't be happy. If they aren't happy because you're not happy. You'll ruin the mood.

So, suck it up, you thought to yourself. Forget those silly thoughts, forget that knot you feel in your chest. Because your Y/n Morals- . . . Wayne. Y/n Wayne.

And this family, this manor. Is your fresh start. Your new beginning. And in order to make sure this new life of yours is to keep them safe. Make sure Spider-woman is never involved in their lives. Make sure they live.

Hours passed. There was no dinner time tonight. Which you were thankful for. You washed up and got yourself ready for bed.

Your phone began to ring. You stared at the contact number.

Miles👾

You took in a shaky breath and answered the call.

"Hey. . .you good?"

You smiled in relief from hearing your cousins voice.

"Yea. . . did you need something? Is Tia Rio, okay?" You questioned. Worried by the way Miles spoke.

"No- I mean yes! yes Mami's alright, It just . . ."

Your eyes squint, getting curies, and a little worried as to what was the matter.

"Just what?" Your voice seemed to have snapped Miles out of whatever train of thought he had.

"One of those people, a woman. Jess, she said her name was. She stopped by here. Saying she had a package for you."

You felt your heart stop for a second. Why the hell was Jess there.?

"A-and I heard her talking to dad. She claimed she was a doctor you and your mom used to go to. Sis, she was saying some shit bout you being mentally ill. And it looks like Dad and Mami bought it."

You began cussing at whatever caused this to happen.

"I just wanted to give you a heads up. Mami's going to drop off the package tomorrow at noon. She'll most likely bring it up to Bruce."

You sighed. You can handle this. You just have to observe, be patent and don't jump too early. Make sure to make the right moves. One wrong move, especially in front of Tia Rio. It's game over.

"Thanks bro. Goodnight, love you." You say as you lean on your desk. Your posture made it clear that you were absolutely exhausted for the day.

"Love you too. Good luck."

Miles hung up and you were once again alone with the silence in your room. You grabbed a CD and popped it in the CD player. You had to keep yourself distracted.

You needed to be distant from those silly thoughts. But don't float away now, you have to plan on how things are going to be tomorrow.

You want to jump and go straight into why in the hell did Jessica Drew go to Miles's house. A place you had made clear was off limits. You had informed Jess and Peter B that the places where your family is, are off-limits. Meaning Uncle Aarons apartment, Miles's apartment and the Wayne Manor in Gotham.

But for now, focus on the challenges that are in front of you now.

The next day came around. Damian had apologized and gave you a album as an apology.

You ended up forcing him to watch a horrible rom com just to get something out of it. And you did.

"That was stupid, and I'm never doing this again."

You laughed at Damian's words. The boy was truly fun to watch. A second past before you two heard a knock. You both look at the doorway to see Alfred.

"Lady Y/n. Your aunt is here to see you." The man said.

You began to mentally prepare yourself as you stood up and walked off to your room, that was where Alfred led Rio to wait for you.

As Rio was waiting for you. She took a look at your room. Your books were organized on the bookshelf. Pictures of you and Miles when you two were younger on the walls. One picture was on your nightstand. It was of her sister, your mother.

Rio didn't know you were seeing a therapist. Well, after what happened with that friend of yours a few years back. You did need it.

You just seemed so happy, even after that incident. But Rio now knows that you were only so happy because of your mother. After she died, Rio hasn't heard your laugh in a while.

The door to your room opened. You smiled, walking towards Rio with a smile.

Rio hugged you tight. She pulled away and saw how tired you look. She cups your face in worry.

"Oh, my baby. You look tired, have you been sleeping? Are you eating well? How about Bruce? Is he being good to you? I sware if he is not-" You chuckled and held both of her hands and kept them close to you.

"I'm okay, Bruce is nice. He's been spoiling me actually."

Rio calmed down and nods "And sleep? Hija mía, parece que no has dormido."

"Ah, I fell behind my studies last week and have been working to catch up. Don't worry I'm good now. My grades are safe!"

Rio smiled and sighed in relief. "I came here to drop this off. Your Therapist, Mrs. Drew?" Rio took out a box that was a size of a jewelry box. You took it and set it down on your nightstand.

"Honey is-. . ." You waited for what Rio was going to say. Was she going to ask about that 'theripist' of yours? Whatever Jess said, it seems to have made Rio upset.

"Is Bruce here? I need to speak to him."

You sighed and shook your head "Sorry, he's still at work." Rio nods and just smiled again as she gave your hand a squeeze before letting go. You and Rio went downstairs so you could walk her to her car.

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. Your uncle has got a new position now. He's going to be captain!" Rio smiled widely as she told you news.

You smiled and grabbed her hand. You kissed the back of her hand gave it a tight squeeze "Thats amazing"

You were spacing out. It looked like you were staring at something but thinking of nothing. But you were thinking of a lot of things. You wanted to live peacefully. Is that selfish?

Being Spider-Woman was amazing. You felt strong, felt like you could overcome anything that came your way. And protect loved ones made you feel safe. Knowing that you could protect them, made you feel safe.

But after your mother. After finding out the truth from Miguel. You didn't feel safe, you no longer felt like you could keep your loved ones or anyone around you safe. Not when you have that mask on.

So, you gave up the mask, made sure that without a Spider woman in your universe, things wouldn't go to hell. But every time, every time you thought things were okay, thought that everyone was safe from Spider Woman. The society keeps coming to ruin it. You had to find a way to stop them.

"Y/n? Hello?"

You snapped out of your train of thought. "Huh? Oh, sorry Damian, what were you saying?" You leaned in on your palm and gave your brother a smile.

"Movie. I'm bored." The boy bluntly said. You paused and began to process what he said. You smiled warmly and walked with Damian to the screen room.

You swear to all the gods, you won't let the mask take what you have left.

#atsv x reader #miles morales #miguel o'hara #mental health #gwen spiderverse #batfam x batsis #bruce wayne #bruce wayne x daughter!reader #x daughter!reader #damian wayne #dick grayson #rio morales #alfred pennyworth #slight angst

[authormars]

I forget how many of you don't know the extensivity of my universe for obey me. Hell, my gf (love her to death) doesn't know all of it. And I've been telling her stuff for a literal year! So, in honor of this, I'm going to put some silly headcanons here!

Lucifer is amazing with children and has been known to be able to calm any crying child. Diavolo witnessed this when they were in the human realm for important business (I'll talk about it after this) and Lucifer saw a mother attempting to calm her baby down. He simply walked over, asked if he could hold them, and in less than 3 minutes the baby was calm. Diavolo asked how he knew what to do and Lucifer simply responded "When I was in the celestial realm, I was assigned to the Sun room when Michael was too busy to train me. I learned a lot there"

Once a month, Diavolo and Lucifer disappear for the day on "important business." If you ask them what they were doing, they'll simply respond "tempting souls." Though that isn't lying, it isn't the full truth either. Every month, Diavolo sets aside one day to go down to the human realm with around 2k Grimm, exchange it for whatever the currency of that country is, and go out and buy food and walk around giving food and money to homeless people. Lucifer comes along to tempt souls (they go to mainly major cities) of major corporation higher ups so Diavolo can keep his adventures a secret and Lucifer can tempt a soul or two.

Lucifer didn't choose his own nail color. When Satan was younger, the way Asmo would connect with him was by painting his nails. One night, everyone was in the living room and Asmo was painting everyone's nails (to make Satan feel included in the family) When Asmo got to Lucifer and asked him what color he wanted, Satan knocked over a bunch of open nails polish containers on the carpet and stormed off. Lucifer sighed, cleaned up the mess with a spell, and followed him.

Satan was self destructing in his room (like he did a lot back then) and someone sat him down and got him to stop picking at his neck and pulling at his hair. When he looked up, he found Lucifer staring back at him. Lucifer simply motioned to the bed beside Satan and said "May I sit?"

"What happens if I say no?"

"I won't sit down, I suppose"

"..you can sit"

Satan and Lucifer had a long talk. Satan talked through his identity issues (which he'd never done before) and Lucifer told him he wasn't him, he was his brother. Or child? Satan decided brother. Lucifer also admitted some flaws, showing Satan that he wasn't the perfect god he pretended to be. Eventually, they sat in silence.

"Are you ready to go back?"

"..what if I say no?"

"Then I can stay here with you or I can leave and let you be here alone"

"I'm ready to go back"

Satan and Lucifer walked back together. When Asmo asked Luci what color he wanted, Lucifer asked Satan what color he wanted him to wear. Satan chose red. Every time Asmo repaints their nails, Lucifer always chooses red, as a sort-of truce.

Sorry, that last one was a drabble lmao. Thanks for reading if you've come this far! I post Dialuci, so if you like that, I post a lot lmao

#obey me shall we date #obey me #obey me lucifer #obey me diavolo #dialuci #obey me dialuci #obey me headcanons #obey me satan

[romanestuffsposts]

I love your page so much! You are so sweet and a great writer 💓💓💖💖

If you feel comfortable, if possible, 🥺 can you do one with daddy’s and the reader on the way from somewhere and they get into a car accident? 🥺 the reader gets hurt

Hi there love! 💜

Ohh thank you so much sweetie you're so kind!

Of course i'll write it for you, i'm sorry if you had to wait to see it written. I hope you'll see it ^^

Oh and if you want to go take a look, i already wrote something like your request, right here ❤️

Enjoyy <33

****

Warnings : car accident, blood, panic, hospital, traumatic, wounds, broken bones, comfort, pet names, emergency, mention of surgery, mention of being paralysed, accident happens during the night, shock state,

Pairings : Daddies!Stucky ; Daddy!Bucky x Papa!Steve x Little!Reader

Summary : you come back from a birthday party at the tower but end up in a car accident with your daddies

****

you were coming back from the tower. It was Kate's birthday today so eveyone came over to celebrate it with a delicious meal. Everyone came with something to eat or drink and everything were dropped on the dinning table to be eaten afterwards.

You had so much fun, you love everyone that’s there so of course spending your afternoon with these people is a good planning for your day. You couldn’t help but be sad when you had to leave. It was getting late and even tho it’s a party day you can’t forget your daily planning at home.

Your Daddies were talking while you were busy watching the side road passing by as you speed through the road. Your ears were concentring on the soft music playing at the radio. Everything were perfect, the day was, the moments spending with the family were, the drive back home was perfect and relaxing.. yea, everything were good. So why ?

Why do you find yourself on the middle of the road, in the middle of the night with no car to protect you from the cold night ?

You look around you, your vision is blurred, your ears are buzzing and your head hurts too much to ask yourself questions about what happened.

You can see your Daddy coming toward you, he has blood trickling down his left temple and his eyes are glassy. He cups your head in his hands and you see his lips moving but you don’t hear him. You just stare into his eyes.

‘’Steve she doesn’t react!’’ He yells panicked, his gaze never leaving yours ‘’is she still awake ?’’ He asks more calmly.

He’s used to event like this from his past in the army. He knows he has to stay calm for the three of you, if everyone is panicking, nobody will be able to help each others.

He tried to move but he’s blocked in his seat. He groans from frustration, he can’t move so he has to talk to explain what Bucky or you has to do and he hates it. He hates the fact that he can’t help manually.

‘’Bucky you have to listen to me’’ he breathed out ‘’Do not move her, even tho she seems fine you’re not sure of it so don’t move her’’

‘’but what do I do then ?’’

‘’You still have your phone on you ?’’ he hears Bucky says yes ‘’alright then call an ambulance, tell them where we are and explain the state of emergency we are in’’

‘’Steve she’s freezing cold, her shoes are gone and her t-shirt is completely worn and wet’’ he worriedly says

‘’the only way you can help her is if you call help!’’ Steve hears Bucky on the phone and he takes this time to breath out and check if he feels all his body. He knows his upper body is fine because he moved but he doesn’t know for his legs.

He wiggles his toes inside his shoes and sigh in relief when they move. Good he think to himself.

Secondes later, Bucky is at the window looking at Steve ‘’they’re sending someone.’’

~

The next morning you open an eye, it was hard at first but after some minutes you finally come back to yourself. You look around you, everything is white and it’s too much light for your tired eyes.

You moan in discomfort which is followed by other noises. Secondes later your daddies are by your sides ‘’easy baby’’

Oh, your daddy’s voice. It was a nice sound to your ear.

You open your eyes to see your two favorite heads looking down at you ‘’take the time you need, princess. We have water if you want to’’

‘’What happened ?’’ You quietly ask.

‘’We got into a car accident yesterday night but we’re all fine. The doctors took good care of us since we’re here’’ your Daddy smiles

‘’You had to go into surgery for your arm because it was broken and you hurt your ankle too but you’ll be back on your feet quickly. The doctors aren’t worried about that’’ your Papa reassures you. ‘’You hit your head pretty bad too, you had needed stitches’’

‘’And so did i’’ your Daddy shows you his temple where he had stitches with a smile to show you it’s nothing serious. It reassure you a bit more but it���s probably because you don’t have your eyes on it.

You look down at your ankle and see something white that start under your toes and that stop near your knee. You never had something like that before. You look at your arm and see the same thing. Your eyes start to tear up about the fact that you won’t be able to run around, or taking bath, or playing with your friends. You scared of the pain too.

‘’Hey babydoll don’t cry, you’re not going to have it forever, once it’s fixed we remove it. You will be able to do il the funny things you usually do I promise you’’ your Daddy kisses your forehead

‘’Yes and plus, during the time that you’re like this we’ll have to do everything for you. We’ll have to carry you, to let you sleep with us in the bed, to massage you’’ he sighs ‘’it’ll be horrible’’

You giggle through your sniffs. Your Daddies shared a look, they were scared to not be able to cheer you up.

‘’what your Papa said is good things for you but we also have some privileges while you’re like this’’ your Daddy grins, he walks toward the end of the bed as you watch him ‘’what ?’’ You ask

‘’Well’’ he sighs and looks down at your pink toes who are peering up from the plaster ‘’we can tease those little toes whenever we want and you couldn’t do anything about it’’ he lightly wiggles his index finger under your toes.

The sudden feeling make you laugh and then try to retract your feet which is impossible.

He laughs and stops ‘’yea, I’m sure we’ll have all lots of fun during this time’’ he winks

#@aagn360 #little!reader #bucky barnes x steve rogers x little reader #daddies!stucky #daddy!bucky #papa!steve #little space #steve rogers #stucky x little reader #bucky barnes #james bucky buchanan barnes #bucky fanfic #steve x bucky #james bucky barnes #bucky x reader #bucky x you #winter soldier #captain america #bucky x steve #bucky x female reader #bucky x y/n #bucky x daughter!reader #stevebucky #steve rogers fic #steve fluff #steve x little!reader #steve x you #steve x female reader #steve x reader

[wh0reforcoriolanussnow]

Jealousy, Jealousy || D. Targaryen x oc

GIF by @lukearys DIVIDERS by @straywords

summary: Rhaenyra Targaryen was known as the Realm’s delight, but her best friend Elys? She was given the name as the Realm’s desire. A story full of jealousy and envy; what happens when Elys takes the one thing away from Rhaenyra?

a/n: im so sorry for being away for so long but i just realised that part 2 was completely skipped and forget this was in my drafts.

P.t 1 P.t 2 P.t 3 P.t 4 P.t 5

previous

“There you are, where were you?” Rhaenyra whispers, eyeing her best friend. Elys was late and arrived during Viserys’ speech, which esrned a hard glare from her father.

Pulling her dress up to keep her modesty, Elys looks to Rhaenyra, “Don’t worry about it” She smiled before turning to the front again. Rhaenyra was stunned as her friend brushed her off, her eyes scanned her outfit.

Typical Elys, she thought. Always had to make everything about her, she wore a deep blue dress that cinched at her waist with a deep cut at the front. Rhaenyra was, without a doubt jealous of her best friend.

This jealousy seemed to have grown at the age of 4 and ten when Elys started changing, physically. But she often reminded herself that she was a Princess, the heir to the iron throne. They were now 22 and Elys continued to grow into a beautiful women.

Turning to the front, the two practically squeal at each other as the knights enter in the arena. From the royal box, Elys could spot her brothers who were also competing.

Her older brother was jousting first so he asked for her favour. Happily, Elys took a flower crown and stood up walking to the edge. She could feel the stares and hear the whispers close by as she smiled sweetly to her older brother. “Good luck to you, brother” She nodded as he thanked her.

It was safe to say that any knights who had asked Elys for her favour, won. Rhaenyra too had been asked for her favour, but Elys was asked more. She had a scowl on her face everytime a knight would ask her for the favour and not the Princess, it was her tournament.

But she kept a calm composure, until her uncle came. Elys watches Rhaenyra get all giddy when Daemon arrived on his black horse. She knew that Rhaenyra had a thing for her uncle, and she knew that the Targaryens practiced incest inorder to keep their bloodline running thick.

But she also knew that it would never be approved. Daemon had chosen Elys’ other brother, as he rode closer to the royal box, she stayed sitting as Rhaenyra happily ran to the edge to greet her uncle.

Elys watched as Rhaenyra talked to him until her face dropped, then she looked to you. “Elys” She called out making you walk over towards them. “Ah, Lady Elys,” Daemon smirked up at her.

“Now I know for certain that having your favour would all but assure me my victory, I have heard that all that asked for your favour has won” He smirked up at her as he aimed his lance towards her chest making Elys hum in slight annoyance.

Elys looked at Rhaenyra who stared at her, she had expected Daemon to favour her, his niece, not her best friend. Grabbing the prettiest flower crown, she watched as it slid down his jousting stick.

“My bestest luck to you Prince Daemon” She leaned against the railing, her cleavage on show more than ever. Daemon wets his lips before taking position.

At this point, Elys was still standing there whereas Rhaenyra sat down with a huff. Her blood was boiling. Why did Daemon ask Elys for favour and not her?

Rhaenyra watched with jealousy at Elys as the people around squealed and waved to her. Yes, Rhaenyra was a Princess, but it seemed even Elys was more popular than her.

Elys would always have knights and lords fawning over her. At every event they were at, they would rush to greet Elys.

The Princess would often remember their younger days, one without jealousy. Maybe it was terrible of her to say but she enjoyed it when Elys was a nobody. She was shy and Rhaneyra enjoyed the spotlight on her.

But then it changed. She would say it had started when Elys slept with Rhaenyra’s crush back then. She was filled with rage, as she was a Princess, she had to keep her maidenhood until she was married, but not Elys.

She was free to do whatever she pleased, her father was lenient with his only daughter. It was unfair, Rhaenyra thought. But she was born into royalty, not Elys. But you would think that Elys was royalty too.

Rhaenyra would watch her best friend stumble into her bed chambers, smelling of alcohol and a disheveled appearance. It was no secret Elys had people to entertain her.

“Are you okay?” Elys asks worriedly as she watches Rhaenyra snap out of her thoughts, “Yeah of course” She gives a small smile. She still loved Elys, there was no denying it.

~

The sun shone on the two girls as they lay on the grads underneath the Weirwood tree. Elys had propped herself up with her arms as crosses her legs by her ankles. She wore a gold, off the shoulder dress.

“I think he’s quite handsome, don’t you agree?” Elys looks down at Rhaenyra, “He’s nearly 10 years older Elys!” She gasped as Elys throws her head back, “So? That doesn’t stop me” She shrugs as Rhaenyra cringes at the thought of her best friend fucking a man almost ten years older.

“You baffle me sometimes El” Rhaenyra shakes her head with a smile. “I should go, my father has his council meeting” She dusts the dirt of her dress as she waves and leaves.

“He’s a cunt you know” A voice startles Elys who sits up. “My Prince,” She slightly lowers her head. “That man you were speaking of? A fucking psycho” He mutters as he steps closer to the women.

“And what if I’m into psychos” Elys mocked leaning back down, her head slightly tilted as she gazed up at the prince. From the way she laid, her boobs were even more defined, nearly spilling from her dress.

“I heard you’re into lots of things my Lady” He crosses his arms as he watched Elys who looked like a goddess. “Mhm, from who?” She questions, already knowing the answer.

“I think you know,” Daemon grins. He thought of her as gorgeous. He liked everything about her. He had underestimated her beauty when he would hear of her stories.

“Tell me Elys, would you like to accompany me tonight?” Elys perked up at this, knowing what the Prince was implying. Seeing her reaction, Daemon smirked to himself. “It would be my pleasure” She replied lowly before reaching up to him.

Daemon pulls Elys’ hand causing her to stumble forward to his chest. She wasn’t fazed as Daemon held her there by her hips. “Come to my room after dinner” He whispered in her ear before walking away, leaving a confused Elys standing there.

next

~

taglist

@lightdragonrayne @lazypinkpig @pearlstiare @cleverzonkwombatsludge @graniairish @stargaryenx @issybee0611 @piceous21 @mariaelizabeth21-blog1 @judewife @hwa-chaeming @deamonloversblog @kodzuvk @mutteringghost @luna-ann @lyannesworld @xcinnamonmalfoyx @sesamepancakes @bregarc @stephaniebalanag @witch-with-the-cat @valsandoval @lyra689 @targaryenmoony @itsalwaysgay @rockerchick05 @oh-no-tia @do-youseeme @esposadomd @lyn07

#daemon targaryen #house of the dragon #house targaryen #fanfiction #matt smith #daemon targaryen smut #daemon x oc #daemon targaryen x oc

[dyns33]

The debt

Little Morpheus x Reader for a sweet week end 

Y/N didn't want to see Mopheus again.

Not at all.

She wished him no harm of course, she even wanted him to find balance, serenity, and happiness, but there were still a lot of things she couldn't forgive.

Their break-up had been difficult. Maybe he had warned her, before they even started dating.

           "My love stories always end badly."

Y/N had laughed. She brushed that sentence aside, convinced that it would be different between them, that she was the one who was going to change him, and that they were going to stay together forever.

And they had been together long enough. Several years. They had been very happy. Morpheus had even asked his father not to pass for her anymore, so that his dear sister would never come to take her from him, and since he never asked for anything, Time had accepted.

She wasn't the first mortal to defy the laws of nature, so it didn't really matter much.

But even though time had stopped for her body, their hearts were still racing, and one day they had started to argue.

A bit, then a lot, more and more often, more and more violently.

He had never hit her, but the words could be as hurtful as the blows.

Y/N had made the decision to leave him. It didn't seem to surprise him. This had offended him a little. Maybe also saddened him, in any case she wanted to hope so. He hadn't fought for her to stay. It was the end of all his previous love affairs after all.

The difference was that there was no punishment. No ban. Morpheus didn't prevent her from dreaming, as he didn't ask his father to take back the gift he had given her.

It had been over a year now, and Y/N was trying to move on. Not necessarily to forget him, he would always haunt her nights, and there were some good memories, but she had to learn to live without him, and forever.

So she didn't want to see him anymore, but she continued to appreciate the inhabitants of the Dreaming. It was for this reason that she suddenly stopped near an alley, while it was raining, taking a few steps back to check that she hadn't been mistaken.

Hiding behind a trash can was a raven, visibly injured, which was painful to see.

           "Matthew ?" she asked softly as she approached.

           "... Hi Y/N."

           "What happened ?"

           "A tiny little accident, nothing dramatic. I'm resting a bit before flying off to go back to... Well, to leave."

           "You can talk about the Dreaming, I don't mind. It sounds serious enough. Isn't Morpheus coming to get you ?"

           "No !" cried the raven, fidgeting nervously. "I mean, the boss doesn't know, and he doesn't have to know ! He's going to panic, and be angry, and sad, and disappointed, saying that I'm not paying enough attention, and that I can't go into the waking world alone anymore, and that it's his fault because he wasn't there to protect me, and he's going to take a new raven which will be better than me and..."

           "Matthew. Calm down."

           "... I don't want him to replace me. I don't want him to worry either. I know he suffered a lot after the death of Jessamy. But it's true that I can't really fly right now, and I'm stuck here."

Y/N sighed. It probably wasn't a good idea, because Matthew was a dream, and Morpheus was very protective of his dreams, very possessive, but she couldn't leave the little bird, and he knew her, so there was no reason for this situation to take a bad turn.

Without saying a word, not listening to the cries of the raven, she took him with her, to her house, where she settled him on a cushion, taking care of his wing and giving him something to regain his strength.

           "You can stay here as long as you need, and when you're better you can go back to Dream."

           "Thank you ! That's so nice ! I knew you were nice, I don't understand why you and the boss broke up."

           "It was not working anymore."

           "Because he's not good with people, he knows it, and instead of making an effort, he sulks, imagines the worst, and ruins everything ? Classic. He does that all the time. It has rained for months after you left, he was inconsolable."

Guessing she wasn't supposed to know that, Y/N said nothing, pretending she hadn't heard anything, and taking care of Matthew until he was fit to fly away.

Quite honestly, she thought this story was going to end there. She had helped an old friend, nothing more.

But when she had just fallen asleep, she was surprised to find herself in the throne room she knew so well. Morpheus was there, staring coldly at her. He hadn't changed, and Y/N tried not to think he was still very handsome.

           "Matthew told me that you assisted him during one of his trips to the waking world."

           "Yes, although I thought he didn't want you to know that."

           "He can't hide anything from me. He's a part of me, and I immediately knew he was in distress. But I saw you were with him and helping him, so I didn't interfere."

           "Good. Why am I here then ?" she asked, suddenly feeling hope deep in her heart, thinking he was going to talk about that rain, tell her he missed her, and ask her to come back.

           "I am in your debt.. As Endless, I must pay it. Ask me what you want, so that we are even."

The request fell on her like a sledgehammer. For a second she almost smiled, then laughed, waiting for him to laugh with her, because it could only be a joke.

           "I didn't do this for a favour. I don't want anything, thank you."

           "You do not understand." he growled as he rose from his throne, huge and menacing. "I have to pay my debt."

           "Morpheus, I don't want anything. Consider us even right now, I don't want to ask you anything."

           "You have to, that's the rule."

So that was the only reason he had brought her here. The rules, the responsibilities. Again This upset her pretty much. Morpheus certainly didn't think she had helped Matthew get anything out of him, but that was how she felt. He wasn't offering her a present as a thank you, but because he had no choice.

           "No."

           "You dare."

           "I won't ask you anything."

           "But you could. You can ask me for anything you want and I'll give it to you.."

Indeed, as she could have made him a totally ridiculous request, like a book, or sweet dreams, or that he just say "thank you" by getting down on his knees, but Y/N was as stubborn as he was, and she refused to change her mind.

Morpheus didn't back down either. He continued to torment her for several nights, before visiting her during the day, ordering her to release him from his debt.

As always, he was selfish, annoying, insistent, but not violent. He didn't touch her once, and he didn't actually scream, like she knew he was capable of. He seemed genuinely desperate about this situation, and Y/N ended up not knowing what to do.

She didn't want him to think she had helped Matthew to get something, and she could have asked for something ridiculous, and at the same time she could be asking for something huge, like getting a second chance. She was secretly happy to see him again, so often.

Because even if everything hadn't been perfect, she sometimes missed him. She missed what they had had.

Instead, as he continued to harass her, even preventing her from sleeping, Y/N lost her composure, being tired and lost.

           "You want a wish ? Fine. I never want to see you again. Never again !"

Morpheus suddenly seemed shocked. Hurt. He studied her for a long time, as if he wanted to say something, before shaking his head and disappearing in a whirlwind of sand.

The wish was immediately regretted, but Y/N tried to call him, hoping he would come back to cancel her request, but he didn't show up.

Luckily for her, the wish was vague. She hadn't said a word about the Dreaming, or its inhabitants, and after several days she finally found Matthew, presumably on a mission in the waking world, standing on a bench.

           "Hello Matthew." she whispered as she sat down next to him.

           "Yeah. Hi."

           "Everything is fine ?"

           "Depends. The boss has been crying since he got back from your place. He refuses to say what happened. I know you were both responsible last time, but I don't like seeing him like this. He's my friend, I don't want you to hurt him."

           "I'm sorry. I made a mistake. I said something stupid, and I'd like to undo all of this, but I don't know if it's possible."

She explained to him what had happened, and the little raven sighed, realizing that they had acted like fools again. However, he sadly told her that there was nothing he could do, because now that she had made her request, he had to respect it.

           "Even if I ask ? I really want to rescind that wish."

           "Sorry, kid. It doesn't work that way."

           "But... I'll never see him again." Y/N sobbed, putting her hands on her heart. She hadn't wanted to see Morpheus again, but she hadn't thought she would never see him again.

Matthew sighed again, shook his little head, before letting out a caw. Without saying a word, he abruptly flew away, leaving her alone on the bench, where she wept softly, thinking he had abandoned her.

Then he came back, hopping on one leg.

           "I had a problem." he declared.

           "What do you mean? You... Your leg is broken ?! Matthew ! How did you do that ?!"

           "A bike."

           "You're totally oblivious. Maybe Dream is right in not wanting to let you walk around on your own. Come on."

Once in her apartment, Y/N did exactly like the last time, taking care of the crow, putting a bandage on his tiny leg, before freezing.

           "... You didn't hurt yourself on purpose to make Morpheus owe me another debt, did you ?"

           "... Maybe ?"

           "Matthew. That's a really bad idea."

           "Indeed."

The voice startled her, but she was still happy to see Dream, who was standing awkwardly by the door.

Y/N slowly turned to him, afraid that he would disappear as quickly as he had come the instant her eyes landed on him. He looked as desperate as Matthew had said, scared, which wasn't normal for an Endless.

           "You… You're not going to get in trouble ? By being in the same room as me, despite my wish ?"

           "I could." he replied. "But I have another debt to you again, which I must honour so, exceptionally, here I am."

           "I see. It's... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ask that. I was sick of your constant asking, I wanted you to understand that I didn't do this for favours, and I refused to abuse your powers."

           "I know. I'm sorry I was so insistent. I never thought you helped Matthew for any reason other than your kindness. But there are rules, I have to offer you something. I... I was hoping you would ask me..."

           "Yes ?"

           "I didn't think you would ask that."

           "And I want to rescind that wish, right now. It doesn't count anymore. I don't want to never see you again. Of course, if you don't want to come back, I'll understand, but if you... You would be welcome."

           "That's it. That's what I wanted to hear." he whispered, moving closer to rest his forehead against hers.

Despite himself, Matthew let out a caw of joy, ruining the moment a bit, but it made the two former lovers smile. Taking his emissary in his arms, Dream thanked her for having helped him again, even if the circumstances were special this time.

Visibly embarrassed, he offered her to come and visit him in the Dreaming, if she wanted to. Y/N said she would think about it, adding that he could also come for tea when he had some free time.

They parted ways, knowing they were foolish enough to never see each other again, and knowing they wouldn't last long before they visited each other. Because even if she had told herself for a long time that she didn't want to see him again, Y/N knew deep down that it was wrong, that she wanted as much as needed to be with Morpheus, stupid, imperfect, beloved Morpheus, who had never had love affairs with the same person twice.

So maybe the second time would be the right one.

#the sandman #sandman #morpheus #morpheus x reader #dream of the endless #dream of the endless fanfiction #dream of the endless x reader

[sunsolii]

Napoleon (2023) Review

I know many of you have posted your own reviews and what I'm going to talk about will cover most of what people have said but I wanna give my own perspective on the movie. As you know spoilers will be said, so if yall still haven't watch the movie go before reading.

Alright first, I would like to say the movie overall wasn't that bad nor it wasn't great. Some battle scenes were a bit confusing, Borodino was the one which I got the most confused because of how quick the scene was. One moment I was watching soldiers fight and then it was done, which I guess they wanted to get to the part of Napoleon arriving at Moscow but I digress.

During the Seige of Toulon, I was a bit confused with Napoleon's reaction throughout the whole battle. He was hyperventilating and panicking which seemed strange to me since he was always calm and collected during stressful situations, especially this battle since it was his 'debut' and was an important plan in getting Toulon back in French hands. I understand him being a little bit nervous, but he had to stay calm for the soldier's sake.

Now, lets talk about Napoleon and Josephine's relationship, oh boy, it was a mess. I did like how Naps acted a bit awkward during their first meeting since he was pretty shy and weird around the ladies in real life, but after that the whole relationship seemed too toxic than what it really was. Like the scene where Josephine returned to the chateau after Naps came back from Egypt and him yelling at her and basically telling her she was a slut, him threatening divorce because she couldn't get pregnant at the beginning of their marriage, or when Naps got angry at Josephine yet again and threw food at her, or him slapping Josephine during the divorce scene. I literally let out a gasp when that happened. That whole representation of their relationship was a freaking mess, and don't even get me started with the sex scenes! They were so weird and Naps making animals noises before doing it didn't make it better. I think the worst for me was when Naps called Josephine "little one" like don't start with that kinky shit smh. Also the part where Alexander went to visit Josephine at Malmaison was not necessary, they did develop a friendship but it was nothing more than that.

Besides all the negative things I did like a few things about the movie. For starters Napoleon's first interaction with Josephine, that was a nice touch. The lamb chop scene was hilarious and everyone including me laughed at the scene. Naps falling down the stairs after almost getting killed by the Directory and saying "oh fuck" under his breath while standing up was funny. Even the scene afterwards where Naps and Lucien were struggling to get out and keep everyone inside was funny. His facial expression he made while trying to regain himself had me dying.

What caught me by suprise was Junot being in the movie because correct me if I'm wrong but no other movie had Junot included in it, so when Naps first yelled "Junot" during the Seige of Toulon I was like 'huh? Junot? Like Jean Andoche Junot?? THE JUNOT?? I can't believe what I'm hearing!" and sure enough Junot was in the movie! Even though it was only for like 30 minutes but him being in the movie made me so happy because he is never mentioned in any form of media.

Overall it wasn't as bad as I expected. I still wished they would've added other marshals like Murat and Lannes, but I do appreciate them adding Davout since he is also someone who doesn't get mentioned in movies a lot, so props to you Scott (I guess). I did get over the historical inaccuracies pretty quick, but Wellington and Naps meeting did rub me the wrong way knowing that they never met each other in real life. Also, Ney with a moustache...why??

So that's all I wanted to say about the movie. Sorry if this was a longer post, but I wanted to write down everything before I forget. Thank you for reading!

#there was guy snoring behind us which ruined almost half of the movie #we got churros afterwards tho #napoleonic era #napoleon bonaparte #french history #napoleonic wars #napoleon 2023 #ridley scott #joaquin phoenix #movie review #josephine de beauharnais #a mimir

[writing-with-gremworm]

A Bothersome Herbivore

I'm not sure when it happened, this tiny herbivore started clinging to me. It's hard to get a break since they follow me everywhere. When I nap, they nap beside me. When I eat, they follow along. Though, the latter is better than the time they slept so soundly I was able to leave them for a few days. When I went back to my normal napping spot they were sitting like a dejected mouse. They had teary little eyes, and their complexation was terrible.

I learned later that they slept through lunch, so they ended up just not eating the first day, and they refused to move during the weekend when I hadn't retuned yet. The worst part about it is they were so happy when I came back. They were like a stupid dog, so happy to cling to me again.

I let them be for a while. It wasn't really my problem, and they didn't actually bother me most of the time. They were surprisingly quiet.

"Why exactly do you follow around like a lost dog?"

"I dunno. I just like you. So, I stay with you, because you're safe."

It was weird. I shouldn't be safe for them. I'm just a lousy second prince with nothing in my future but disappointment. I am, and will always be, second best in the eyes of anyone else, so why is it that this creature clings to me? I still don't understand it.

The thing that irks me the most is that I started to worry about them. I woke up from a nap as usual, expecting them to be beside me. They weren't there. The little mouse had scurried off somewhere and that made me uneasy.

"This is bullshit."

I must have done so subconsciously, but I ended up looking around the places I usually went, expecting to find them there. I only found them when I returned to the greenhouse. They were sitting, waiting for me to come back.

"Leona!" They sounded so happy, their eyes lighting up as if the best person in the world was standing right in front of them.

"Ah." I had so many questions, but none of them mattered. 'Why did you wait? Where did you go? Are you okay?' They were here, so why did it matter?

We returned to routine. But one thing did change. I started leaning on them. I don't know if they noticed, they never mentioned it to me. This change ... felt necessary.

In time it felt stranger to be separate from them than to be near them. In a way, I guess I must have found them comforting too. So, it felt strange when one day, they started crying.

"What's with the tears?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.

"I don't know. I just- I." They sobbed quietly, sniffling and rubbing their eyes. They tried so hard to calm down, only to sob more. It hurt, hearing them quiet their sobs. I felt like I saw a bit of myself in them. Maybe that's why I spoke up.

"Don't force it, just sob okay?" It was a useless comment. They would probably cry for a while anyways. They did stop trying to choke back their sobs, though they kept sobbing quietly, as if they forgot how to cry loudly.

"I'm scared. I don't know if I want to go home or stay here. I feel unwanted either way. I don't know if anyone would miss me if I left, of if anyone in my world even realizes I'm gone. I'm terrified because it doesn't matter which world I choose. I'll be alone again in either world."

A beat.

Right, they needed to go home eventually. They weren't from this world. I forgot that somehow. Unlike Yuu, who was social, this one wasn't particularly close to anyone. Except maybe ... me.

"Oh? Aren't I right here? Do you think I'll forget you because you vanish for a little?"

"I-I ... I thought you were annoyed by me."

"Then why would I let you cling to me? I could have actively ignored you."

"But you ... you left me alone and I ..."

"So? People can change their minds. I'm not running from you anymore, so don't go running from me, okay?"

"Heh, hehehehe."

"Why are you laughing?"

"Sorry I just- I didn't expect you to say something like that. It's so sweet."

"Don't get used to it."

"Hehe, I know. I'm just ... Thank you."

"... It's fine."

Things were nice after that. We returned to routine.

Or, as close to routine as possible. I found myself gazing at them for longer than I intended. If they were still asleep when I was up, I would pick them up. If they were hungry, we'd eat early, or I'd get Ruggie to buy us snacks.

'Fuck.' I had fallen for them. It was confusing. They weren't particularly pretty, or smart, or even useful. Even so, I found them undeniably breathtaking. I couldn't look away from them.

It was juvenile, but I couldn't help but touch their hand. Just to feel their skin against mine. I wanted to kiss their forehead, to hold them in my arms, to claim them.

I'm no idiot. I know I'm handsome, I know my position, though lesser than my brother's, is coveted. I understand that being a member of royalty limits my options for love. Despite everything, I wanted them to stay with me. If nothing else, I just wanted to continue our days like this. The litte moments of warmth, their laughter, their joy. I wanted to bask in it.

When did my world stop being gray?

No, not my world. Just them.

It's still hard to justify waking up, to find a reason to move forward every day. But even still, I want to be selfish and be beside them. I wonder if this is what it means to feel safe with someone.

"I'm going to graduate this year. You've still got a few years left."

"... Yeah ..." They smile sadly.

"Come to me. When you finish. Find me, and I'll have a napping spot ready to share." It was a stupid promise. They might be blocked from my side. They might not even be able to understand me outside of school property.

But I think their smile was worth it.

--

"You've been sulking in that window every day, brother." A grating voice says, a smirk decorating the words.

"So what?" I glare, irritated by the interruption. I come to this window whenever I think about them. It seems like a spot they'd like. Or maybe they just liked me. Maybe after all this time they forgot me. It would be better that way. For them to forget me, they can live a different life, instead of being tied to the second prince.

"I was just worried. How can I not worry a little when you're my brother?"

"Piss off."

"Ah, I see you don't want company. Should I send your visitor away?" My ears twitch. It's rare I receive visitors. It's even rarer my 'perfect' brother bothers to tell me about them.

"A visitor? Haiz. I have enough sense not to turn visitors away." I shift, hopping down from the window ledge.

My heart is beating faster than I would like. It seems like my chest is going to burst at this rate. It will be disappointing if it's not them, so I shouldn't keep my hopes up.

"Leona?" A familiar voice chimes as I enter the room. They smile warmly at me and walk over, looking at me somewhat reluctantly.

"I'm surprised you actually came here." I hold out my hand. They take it carefully and I pull them into a hug, "Welcome home." I add with a whisper.

They tear up, hugging me tightly.

"Yeah, I'm home." They mutter. They feel warm in my arms. They feel like the keystone of an arch, holding me together despite being so small.

'So, I still love you.' I think to myself, closing my eyes and forcing myself not to do too much. I want to give them soft kisses, I want to whisk them to my room and cuddle with them. I want to tell them how much I love them. But the words don't leave my throat. I can't love them, not as a royal.

"Well, isn't this a nice reunion." That ruined it.

"And you're still here because? This is my guest. I thought you'd leave." I hiss, glaring at my brother.

"There's no need to be hostile. I'm just surprised you have someone close to you."

"Oh? Thanks, I didn't realize I needed to tell you these things."

"I'm not chastising you, I'm glad. Really. Ah, I should probably introduce myself to your lover."

"Lover?"

"Lover?"

"Are you two not? Ah, I'm sorry for misunderstanding." He doesn't sound even slightly apologetic.

"I-It's fine."

"... This is my brother. That's it, don't worry about getting close to him."

"Oh- okay." They smile sadly.

"Well this does complicate things a little. I had just convinced the elders to let you have your lover join you here. But if they're not your lover, then I'll have to clear that up."

"That won't be necessary. It'll be more convenient if everyone assumes we're lovers anyways." 'Though I'm not particularly fond of receiving help from you, I won't turn it away when it benefits me.'

"S-So then- Do I- have to pretend to be your lover?" They seem surprised, their face flushed a bit. It's cute. It makes me want to lick their cheeks and nibble on their ear.

"No, just act like before. Us spending so much time together will get the point across."

"Oh! Okay." They nod, seeming perhaps a little disappointed.

"Last time we spoke, I promised to have a napping spot pick out for us. I think I found one. Though, you'll have to sit on my lap if you want to lean on me." The window ledge wasn't wide enough to sit side by side unless you laid against the window.

'This spot is chosen partially out of my selfishness. If nothing else, then I can hold you tightly. Not that you need to know my reasoning.'

"That's okay. If you're okay with it, I mean. I've always kind of wanted to hug you when napping." They admit wanting to cuddle closer.

'I wonder.'

I pick them up, cupping their rear as they cling to me. They seem a bit surprised.

"W-We could just walk there-"

"We are walking there. What? Did you never wonder how I carried you before?"

"I never thought about it- This is embarrassing. I could just walk with you."

"Hm, no. You clung to me this long, cling to me more, won't you?"

"Leona." They whine.

I can't help but chuckle a little. This was warm. It felt nicer than just remembering them.

"Hey, do you love me?"

"What? I mean- yes. You're the closest person I have."

"I mean, romantically, sexually. How, do you love me?"

"T-This is very sudden- and I don't know how to answer- aah."

"That's fine. We've got plenty of time." I sit down, letting them situate themselves on my lap as we sit by the window. I wrap my arms around their waist, and rest on my chin on their shoulder.

"You're more affectionate than I remember."

"Well, I have to make up for the missed nap time cuddles somehow, right?"

"What? Hah, hahaha. Sure, let's go with that. Leona. I missed you."

"Yeah ... me too."

"I never thought you'd admit it ... so ... the question."

"Do you love me?"

"Yeah, that one ... was it, because you love me?"

"Yeah."

"W-wait really? Um! How so?"

"Hm, I'll tell you after you tell me. I did ask first."

"Hahaha, okay, that's fair." They lean into me, resting against my chest, relaxing in my arms. We sit there for a while, just enjoying each other's company. It doesn't really matter how they answer. We'll stay beside each other anyways. I can tell that much. They wouldn't have found me if they didn't intend to stay.

"Hey ... Leona ..."

"Yeah?"

They turn their head and move so their mouth is close to my ear before whispering their answer. Perhaps embarrassed, or worried that telling me loudly would hurt me. Regardless, the action was cute.

"I'm not sure. I've never felt anything like this before. I've never had the chance. So, I may not get it right the first time. I don't know what type of love this is."

"Okay, then let's figure it out together." I've waited this long, waiting a little longer should be fine. Besides, I'm with them now, so that is enough.

#twisted wonderland #character pov #leona kingscholar #twst leona #leona twst #fluff #warm and cozy #self indulgent #gn reader #reader insert #I let him have like two swears. It's fine. #Have soft Leona #he deserves some softness. #he's just a silly guy #a bean #Anyways #i hope you enjoy #Sorry for not posting

[readerhead]

Invisible string

summary: what happens when you’re in love with your friend? Would something happen? Would there be a perfect occasion? What if you two were predestined?

pairing: Stiles Stilinski x reader (I wrote this thinking of a female reader but I think there isn't any word that imply it)

warnings: some drinking? It’s actually just fluff

word count: 2.7k

a/n: first of all, English isn’t my first language so sorry beforehand if there's any mistake. I obviously did this while I was procrastinating because I thought there are not many Stiles x reader fanfics that are not long series (I think I read all of the ao3 ones) so here I am to contribute and hopefully encourage people to do more because I need them to live. Hope you enjoy it <3

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I remember very clearly the day all started, years ago. You were in Beacon Hills, your hometown, right after the accident. You were in the hospital waiting for news from your parents when you saw the lovely nurse you met before. She was kneeling, trying to calm a kid your age. You walked over there and tried to help.

"Oh, hi sweetheart! This is Stiles. He's having a hard moment, I'll go with you when I finish." the boy stopped crying and opened his eyes, he was met by your comforting smile. He sniffed a little while you introduced yourself.

"Why are you sad?"

"My m-mom, she's very sick."

"I'm sorry to hear that. My parents are here, too. Maybe we could cheer each other. I-If you like of course." your chubby little cheeks turning rosy.

"Sure. That'll be awesome." his eyes were a lot less watery than before.

You too spend all the evening talking and distracting each others from your cruel reality. You really wanted to stay here forever and not confront your life or emotions. But forever seemed like a joke for you after that afternoon and the sweet nurse was coming to you with your aunt. You were sure that meant no good so you took the scarce time with the boy to say goodbye.

"I think they are coming for me, so I've got to go."

"But we were having a great moment." he pouted a little and you couldn't help but smile at him.

"Here." you handed him your bracelet made of gemstones. "If you ever feel panicked again this would help you." The boy looked at the clear and black crystals confused. "The dark ones are obsidian and the other is quartz, my granny told me they would keep away bad energies and attract good ones."

"Thank you very much." He was genuinely happy because, even if it worked or not, he had something to remember you.

"I'll never forget you." as you said this your aunt touched your shoulder and told you that you're going with her. You heard him say something under his breath but you didn't understand it.

Less than an hour later your parents had passed away in the hospital due to the injuries of the car accident. You had to move to the big city with your aunt. Years passed and your aunt found a better job offer in Beacon Hills. That and the delicate health of your grandma made you move back there.

You found yourself being friends with the popular girls of the school which was really strange to you, but they were nice. You also befriend one of his exes, Scott. You didn't want to make them uncomfortable but after a couple of months and some weird shit happening, all of you ended up in the same friend group. You learned that the supernatural existed and you thought the craziest thing that would happen to you here was when you started having a crush on one of your friends.

You lived near Scott, so you went to his house before Stiles picked you two up to the costume party in Lydia's house. You were greeted by his mom, you haven't met her in the couple months knowing him because you only went there a couple of times and she was working.

"Hi, sweetheart! I'm Melissa, you must be Scott's friend." you were paralyzed.

"Y-You-u." your face lost all its color.

"Are you alright?" she asked, reaching for you in case you passed out. You gulped and recovered yourself. When she saw you better she let you in and went for a glass of water.

"I'm sorry. It’s just... You were the nurse that calmed me years ago, the day my parents died."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." she gave you an apologetical look, probably because of the trauma dumping and she not being able to remember you.

"Don't be. It doesn't affect me that much after all these years." she gave you an understanding smile. "I don't know if you remember but there was a boy there with me, his mother was sick. I always wondered what happened to him." In that exact moment Scott entered the kitchen, greeting you.

"Wow, your costume is really cool!"

"You don't know who I am, don't you?"

"Not a single idea, but it's still great."

"Thank you. I'm Padme by the way." you saw his confused look. "From Star Wars?" his face lightened up.

"No chance dude! Stiles is going as one character too!" you blushed, maybe it wasn't a couple one but you'll be matching costumes with the guy you liked.

"They're made for each other." Melissa said in a tone you barely heard because a honk overlapped it.

"That's him, we should get going." Scott made his way to the door while you turned to face his mother.

"I promise I'll tell you about the boy, now go and have fun!" you just met her again but it seemed as if you have known her a long time. You made your way out entering the jeep, not registering the boy at your side until he talked.

"W-Whoa. You're amazingly dressed as Padme." you frowned and turned to look at Stiles. First you notice his eyes wide and lips parted. Then you inspected his costume realizing.

"And you're going a-as Anakin." you surely looked like those cartoons with their eyes out because of the shock.

"What am I missing? Are you guys going like an accidental couple costume or something?" he said laughing but you both faced the windshield with your almost crimson cheeks not laughing at his joke too and he realized.

"No way! You are!" you made yourself little in your seat while you still heard Scott chuckling in the back. Stiles started the engine and his knuckles were white on the steering wheel.

The way was a little uncomfortable, but between their talking, your silence and the music, your desires of drowning stopped. Just when Stiles parked you undid your seatbelt and opened the door.

"See you guys, I'm going to look for Ally and Lyds!" you almost ran until you found them.

"Girls red code!" you said a little too loud when you found them.

"Werewolves?" Allyson asked.

"Oh. No, no. I clearly should've not used those words."

"What is it then?"

"Isn't obvious?" the redhead interfered grinning. "Is a boy red code."

"Did Stiles finally kissed you and you did something stupid like run to us?"

"What? No! He doesn't like me. And why do you think I would mess that up?" that offensive supposition made you almost forget about the matter.

"And I'm black haired. Now go on." she said, rolling her eyes.

"StilesandIareaccidentallydressedasacouplecostume." you took a deep breath after that.

"Oh that." Lydia nudged Allyson.

"What? You knew?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I know you've been here long enough to take a shot and there's not even a drop of alcohol in you." you knew they knew something, but you needed that shot.

"Okay, I'll go to the kitchen but we'll talk about it." you went there and took a couple of shots before pouring a drink.

"Hey." you almost poured the cup when you heard his voice.

"Hi." you stopped your actions and took the filled plastic cup in your hand.

"What a coincidence this outfit choice."

"Yeah." you looked over the responsibles of it, even if you didn't know how.

"I mean if you're uncomfortable I have another costume in my house. I can go and change." you saw him looking at the floor and your heart skipped a beat.

"No! I mean, I don't have any issue at all."

"Thank goodness." He looked back at you. "When you ran away from Roscoe I thought you didn't wanna see me all night."

"It was just... Unexpected, but it's kinda nice." you saw the dimple you love appearing in his cheek.

"You look really badass in the Geonosis battle's outfit" he took a step closer.

"You don't look bad yourself, Skywalker" you slightly tugged his dark robe as if you were stretching it. You two were inches apart, your cup long lost on the countertop. He smelled heavenly and his warmth made you lean closer. You could swear he was also inching closer.

"You know, we should do a Star Wars marathon." he pulled apart scratching his nape.

"Yeah, totally." you couldn't help the disappointment slipping between your lips while you gazed at your cup. "You know, this was a lovely chat but I think the girls are waiting for me."

You took your drink and surrounded him, making your way out. You searched for any of your friends until you found someone. Not exactly who you had thought of, but the only one who wasn't inside the house. You sat at Scott's side on the wicker couch near the pool.

"How's it going little pupdawan?"

"You know only Stiles gets those jokes, right?"

"Right. But I was worrying about my friend, so tell me why you're here all alone."

"Nothing, just music sometimes gets too loud when you have super hearing."

"That makes sense."

"And what are you doing here? I doubt you were looking for me."

"Well, I could be!" your mouth opened by the offense.

"Of course, but it's a party. You usually are too drunk to remember anyone." you smacked his shoulder.

"I guess today I'm sober enough." you looked at your drink between your hands and he followed your eyes.

"You don't look in the mood. Is this because of Stiles?" your gaze returned to him, now confused.

"What?"

"I'm a werewolf, I have a pretty good hearing."

"You didn't have to eavesdrop!"

"I didn't want to, is like when you have the TV as noise but they say something that catches your attention." you nodded. "And I also can hear your heartbeat and smell some emotions."

"I guess it's difficult to have some secrets with supernatural friends. So I'm assuming Isaac also knows." It was his turn to nod. "So everyone in the pack knows." you put your head in your hand.

"Except him."

"Except him." your eyes went to the party inside.

"Maybe you should tell him."

"Scott, you're his best friend, you should know that's not gonna work. He's in love with Lydia. He sees me as a friend. That's just giving me false hopes. Like before, I was in the kitchen and he came and I thought he was going to kiss me but he backed out. He probably-"

"He almost kissed you?" he cut off your rambling.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you! He didn't want to kiss me. If he wanted he would have."

"You know what? Wait here." you were confused as you saw him enter the party.

Scott was taking his time so you rested your head on the back of the couch, staring at the stars. You heard the noise of the door closing and supposed it was him until you heard a tapping in the glass. You looked over and saw Scott at the other side of the glass and a very familiar back, knocking the pane.

"Stiles?" he turned around to face you.

"Hey."

"What are you doing here? Why isn't Scott coming?"

"He might have locked us out."

"Why-?" you cut yourself when you realized his not so subtle plan. "Oh my gosh. I'm sorry, this is my fault. I'm going to kill him."

"How could this be your fault? In any case it is mine."

"What? No, I was talking to him about an issue and he decided to handle it on his own."

"Am I the issue? I thought you were cool with the costumes."

"It's not that, it's just... Wait, why do you think this is your fault?"

"I... Uh... He wants me to confront a situation."

"Since we're stuck outside I guess I'm the one you have to confront."

"Kind of."

"So how do you feel, Sti?"

"What do you mean how do I feel?" he looked really nervous.

"I mean that if you have to confront someone is because you're feeling somehow about them, perhaps you're mad at me?"

"What? No, I don't think I could ever get mad at you."

"Then what is it? Did I make something that bothered you?"

"No."

"You don't like something about me? Do I breathe too loudly? I chew too noisily? I laugh too hard?"

"No. No. No. Please stop!" he took your shoulders.

"Is it my rambli-" you were cut again, but this time you didn't mind interruption because he was kissing you.

Stiles was kissing you. After the initial shock you relaxed and let both of your lips melt as if they were one. You thought them fusing would be the sweetest sentence. His hands gently took your face, deepening the kiss, and yours found their perfect spot in his chest. Then both of you slowly pulled away.

"So you had to discuss with me about kisses?"  you had the biggest smile which brightened more when you saw his upside-down one.

"I actually wanted to discuss which day you can come over for that marathon. As a date, of course." you touched your lip as if you were thinking while your heart felt like it was on a race.

"How about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow sounds perfect." and he pecked you.

You were thrilled when you woke up that morning, you were going to have your first date with Stiles. He told you he would go to pick you up, but he needed to pass over Scott's for something his mom made, so you decided to meet there.

"Hey Melissa! Is Stiles here already?"

"Yes, Scott is with him in the kitchen helping him to put the tupperwares in a bag." when you both went there, she called your name.

"Do you want to know what happened to that boy?"

"Oh, yeah. I always worried about how he would be."

"Why don't you ask him?"

"Do you have his number or address or something?"

"What are you talking about?" Stiles' curiosity intervened in your conversation.

"A boy I met when I used to live here. Right when my parents had the accident, he was in the hospital because of his mother's illness and I like to think we bonded. Melissa knows him so I asked about him."

"Wait, you gave him a bracelet?" you were beyond confused.

"Yes, it was made of quartz and-"

"Obsidian." he finished for you.

"How do you-" that's when it clicked to you. "It was you?"

"Yes, he was." Melissa interrupted this time.

"That explains why your name was so familiar!" you always thought you had heard his name before even being so rare, you just couldn't pinpoint where. You two headed out to the jeep to enjoy your date

"So you still got it?" he looked sad when you asked him.

"I wish. It broke the night we went to the forest and Scott was bitten. When we went the day after that I only found some of the crystals."

"I'm sorry, maybe we could do another one. I'm guessing it protected you since all of the supernatural started after." you smiled at him.

"Are you sure you didn't give me something made of rose quartz?"

"It was clear quartz. Do you even know what giving rose quartz means?" you were going to chuckle when he replied.

"Yes, that's why I'm asking." you really were shocked, that was the crystal for love and attraction, he was openly admitting his feelings to you. "That day after I met you, I did some research on crystals." he confessed a little awkwardly, clearly a little embarrassed.

"Wow. That's really sweet, Sti." you kissed his cheek. "So I guess there's nothing I can show you, little padawan."

You two made the way to his home talking about random things and the day before, you even told him the part where you met Scott outside, he laughed at your joke and your heart tightened at the sound.

I love my job, being able to bring two soulmates together, as you two. Making the opportunities happen, like the fact that you two went to the same hospital, you going back to Beacon Hills or even you two choosing the matching costumes. Maybe putting Lydia and Scott in his first full moon was a little far-fetched, but it was worth it. Some people call me Destiny or shorten it to Fate, others say I'm a red thread or even a golden invisible string, but it doesn't matter who I am, the only important thing is you two finally being with each other.

----------------------------------

a/n: I almost forgot to mention that this was inspired Taylor Swift’s song ‘Invisible string’ :)

#stiles stilinski x reader #stiles x reader #stiles stilinski fluff #stiles stilinski x you #stiles stilinski #stiles stilinski fanfic #stiles x you #teen wolf #stiles fluff

[agaypanic]

would it be possible for you to write a fic about benny weir, where something bad happened to the group and he tries to crack a joke to the reader to loosen the mood, but then his laughter turns to crying and the reader comforts him? sorry if its weird its just that i saw a post about this and i kept thinking "benny". thanks if you do!!

As The World Caves In (Benny Weir X GN!Reader)

Masterlist

Request Something!

Summary: Your boyfriend can only go so long being the comic relief.

A/N: I know that the last episode ended on a cliffhanger and it’s kind of assumed that everyone died, but I refuse to believe that lol so this takes places after explosion

***

They should’ve died. They were at the center of some magical explosion caused by their power-hungry vice principal. They should’ve been burned to a crisp.

But they weren’t.

Y/n was the first to wake up after being knocked out. Their head throbbed as they looked around the room. Everything was knocked over from the force of the explosion, and it looked like some things that were close to the source were slightly charred. Y/n wondered how this would be explained to the citizens of Whitechapel.

They groaned as they slowly stood up, walking to where they last saw vice principal Stern. Y/n’s eyes widened at the sight in front of them. The power of the Lucifractor must’ve been too powerful for Stern to fully absorb and survive. His stiff, burnt hands still held the artifact.

“Yikes.” Y/n jumped at the sudden voice next to them, whipping around to the source, ready to whack them. They stopped themself when they saw that it was their boyfriend, Benny.

“You scared the shit out of me, Benny.” Y/n sighed, putting their face in their hands.

“I’m sorry.” He said softly, moving forward to embrace them, which they immediately returned. They stayed in that position for a while, unsure of what to do next. 

“You okay?” Y/n asked, taking a small step back to look at Benny. He was staring at Stern with an indescribable expression.

“Yeah.” Benny gulped, turning away from him to sit down on one of the steps. Y/n followed, leaning their head on his shoulder. There was a tense feeling surrounding them as they looked at the explosion’s aftermath. “Do you think that school will let out early if our vice principal’s dead?” He laughed a little at his own silly question.

Y/n knew what Benny was trying to do. He had a habit of trying to lighten the mood however he could, no matter how intense the situation was. 

“Maybe. They’ll probably want us to have a grieving period or something.”

“Forget grieving. I’m gonna celebrate! The dude was literally evil.” Benny looked back at the man in question before whipping back forward. “I’ll have a barbeque party in his honor.” He laughed again, but something seemed off about it. Y/n looked up to see his eyes glazed over.

“Benny-”

“Get it, because he got barbequed.” His laughter broke into a sob as a tear fell. He covered his mouth to keep quiet, but the sounds just became somewhat muffled. It broke Y/n’s heart. 

“Oh, honey.” They whispered, bringing Benny closer to them. His head fell onto their shoulder, soaking their shirt with tears.

“I thought we were gonna die.” He whimpered, clutching onto his partner. “I thought I would never see any of you guys again.”

“It’s okay.” Y/n combed a hand through his messy hair, trying to give him some kind of comfort. “We’re okay. We’re fine; everything’s gonna be fine.”

“We could’ve died, Y/n.”

“But we didn’t.” Y/n had to bite back a sob of their own. Seeing Benny, of all people, break down was becoming their tipping point, but they had to hold themself together for him. “The worst of it is over, Benny.”

They sat on the stairs, the only sounds being Benny’s heavy breathing and sniffles and Y/n’s comforting words. Ethan, Sarah, and Jesse soon woke up, and Benny refused to look at any of them. He didn’t want his friends to see him broken down like this.

When he calmed down, the group left the church. They had no idea how the events of last night would be explained to the rest of the town. But that was a problem for another time. 

The group reluctantly broke off to go their separate ways. Jesse sped away to God knows where, Sarah left to try to find Erica and Rory, and Ethan went home. That just left Benny and Y/n on the sidewalk.

“Can you come home with me?” Benny asked. “I think the last thing I need right now is to be alone.”

“Of course.”

The two walked to Benny’s in silence, tightly gripping each other’s hands. Grandma Weir didn’t seem to be home when they got there, which was a relief. The couple was too drained to tell her what had happened. They just went to Benny’s room and laid down on his bed.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Y/n asked, resting on Benny’s chest while he held them close. 

“I’m better now, I think.” He sighed, stroking their hair. “This is helping.”

#benny weir #benny weir x reader #my babysitters a vampire x reader #my babysitters a vampire #agaypanic

[yourforeverokay]

What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas (Elvis Presley x Reader) p.2

word count: 1,5k

warnings: this part is a bit angsty, curse words, light violence (the husband is a dick...just a warning)

summary: After getting invited to the backstage, you and Elvis got to know each other. You two clicked immediately but what happens after you fall asleep in his arms and forget your husband completely?

a/n: Hey guys! I just want to stay that I'm so thankful for the love and support I got from you all of the first part! I'm so happy that you liked it and hopefully you're going to enjoy this one as well! Thank you <3

Jerry led you to Elvis' backstage room which was secured with multiple locks. "You can sit wherever you want, miss." Jerry said while opening a bottle of Pepsi-Cola. "I'm Jerry Schilling, Elvis' close friend." He said offering the soda to you. You took it with a smile and said: "I'm Y/N, nice to meet you, Jerry." You put out your hand to give him a handshake and Jerry sent you a small smile while grabbing your hand softly. You then looked around the room and noticed a pile of letters on a desk. You wanted to take a closer look but decided it was better to not snoop around somebody else's stuff. The room had everything in it. A fridge full of soda and beer, guitars laying on the floor with signatures on them and a rack for Elvis' jumpsuits. You decided to sit on the edge of one of the couches while keeping a good posture and your legs crossed, because you wanted to give a good impression of yourself. Jerry was on the other hand sitting on a chair close to the door you came from.

As you were just about to break the silence, the door opened revealing sweaty Elvis with approximately ten other guys behind him. "Hello honey, are you alright?" Elvis said while walking over to you. 'Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm' was all that you thought of but how can you stay calm when there's a literal piece of art in front of you. You stood up trying not to tremble, but you weren't sure if you succeeded. "I'm okay..." You said with a quiet voice looking behind him. Elvis immediately got the hint, that you weren't comfortable with the guys in the room, so he flicked his fingers and in the matter of seconds the room was empty. "Are you sure?" He asked. "Actually, I'm not. I feel a bit disappointed that John, my husband, just ditched me like I meant nothing to him. I don't really want to talk about it. You were amazing though. I have never seen a performance like that. You were everything." You answered with stars in your eyes. You wanted to compliment him because this was a once in a lifetime experience. Seeing Elvis himself but also meeting him and getting to talk to him privately. Your friends would never believe you if you told them about this. "Thank you, dear. And we don't have to talk about him. Actually, I wanted to get to know you. I saw you in the crowd and I couldn't help myself." Elvis said getting comfortable on the couch. 'He wanted to get to know me?' You thought. Your cheeks got pink, and you sat down next to him.

"So, tell me baby something about yourself." Elvis leaned back on the couch. You started out by telling him your name and age. Then you told him that you were a hairdresser located in a small city in Chicago and that you owned a hair salon, but the business was unstable because of people were moving away. He asked questions which you answered with passion. Then you asked him questions about being THE Elvis Presley and he told you everything you wanted to know. The topics also got deeper than just a small introduction. You both started to tell each other about your childhoods and how you both grew up poor in the countryside. You related to him, and he related to you. You started to talk about your dreams, and he listened so carefully and quietly that neither of you didn't even notice the time. With time passing by you both grew more and more comfortable with each other, and you both were sitting very closely to one another. You were facing him with your legs resting over his and he had his arm on the top of the backrest. You leaned on his arm every time he talked, your head resting on his arm while your eyes were deeply focused on his. You felt so comfortable and safe with Elvis. You felt like you two had a connection which you didn't share with anyone else. You both were so interested in each other's stories and thoughts which made you excited. It was like you two were in your own little bubble.

Your conversation just kept getting better and better, but you noticed that your eyes began to get heavy. You were currently resting your head on top of Elvis' hand, which was still resting on the backrest, while he was softly rubbing your leg. It sent shivers down your spine. While Elvis was talking about his Memphis Mafia, you closed your eyes for just a second. "Don't stop talking, I like your voice." you said to him which made him chuckle. "I like yours too honey". He said while continuing rubbing your leg.

-

You weren't supposed to fall asleep but here you were nuzzled up against Elvis's body. His arm was wrapped around your waist while the other one was placed behind his head. One of your legs was over his and your head was placed on his chest. You quickly pushed yourself off him. 'No, no, no no no' You thought. You had forgotten your husband and now you were here lying beside another man while he was probably freaking out. You quietly took your purse off the ground and tiptoed out of the room. You went as quietly as you could, not wanting to wake up Elvis. After you left the room, you felt empty. You felt like you were missing something, but you didn't know what. As you were walking up to your room all you could think about was Elvis. How he looked when he told you about his mother and his love for her. How his touch felt electric but delicate on your skin at the same time. How you got lost in his ocean eyes many times as you were trying to focus on his deep, deep voice. 'STOP it. You're a married woman.' You thought to yourself.

You glanced at your watch. It was 7:30 in the morning. You were scared to open the door, not knowing what was going to happen and not knowing if you should tell John where you had been. You took a deep breath before opening the door. You stepped inside and the room was pitch black. "Where the hell have you been?" John asked you in a strict voice. He was standing in front of the window, his back facing you. "I'm sorry I can explain everything." You said afraid of his actions. He turned around and walked over to you. You felt small and vulnerable. "I promise, this is not what it looks like." You said trying to explain. "I was just-" A slap on your cheek interrupted you. You held your cheek with your hand, teardrops falling from your eyes. "Now listen here, you little bitch. If I find out that you have cheated on me your life is going to be hell, understand?" John said in a low voice. He grabbed your face harshly. You nodded your head quickly, afraid what he was going to do next. "I promise I-" You tried to say but he cut you off. "Shut the fuck up." John said letting go of your face. He took his wallet and put it in his pocket, and he walked out without saying anything else. He made sure to slam the door as hard as he could behind him.

You fell to the floor, unable to control any of your emotions. You just sat there; arms tightly secured around your knees with your head resting on them. So many thoughts were running through your brain. What was going to happen next? Would you have to pretend that this didn't happen? Or would you get a divorce with the risk of being kicked out of your own house without much money left. You were scared and lost.

-

Knock, knock, knock. Your head turned towards the door. You had been sitting on the floor for hours at this point and the makeup that was still on from yesterday was running down your cheeks. You didn't want to get up because you knew it was just the cleaners checking if somebody needed room service. Only seconds passed until another knock, knock, knock. Your curiosity rose but you were unable to move.

"Y/N? Are you in there?" A voice came from behind the door, but it was so faint that you couldn't make up who it was. You watched the door with dry and puffy eyes. "Y/N, it's me Elvis, please I know you're in there. I came here to apologize." Elvis said with a soft voice trying not to attract any attention from anyone.

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @moonchild-daniella

#elvis presley #elvis movie #austin butler elvis #elvisaaronpresley #elvis imagine #baz luhrmann elvis #austin butler x reader #austin elvis x reader #austin butler imagines #austin butler #elvis x reader #elvis x y/n #elvis presley las vegas #elvis 2022 #elvis aaron presley #austin!elvis fic

[go-river-flows]

Sweet Visions of a flower

Summary: Syulang (OC), an orphaned girl after the destruction of Hometree. She is constanly reminded of this by her amputated left leg and constantly dreams of her deep trauma. Even when she gets adopted by Toruk Makto and his wife, who she resented for over six years before forgiving him.

Part 3 or ?

I let them up into my tented canopy, The boys looked around as young Kiri, sat between her father’s legs. Jake Sully’s eyes stayed looking at me, as I tried avoiding eye contact.

“I'm sorry, this must sound…rude. Can you tell me your name again?” Jake Sully asked. Though I was hesitant, I told him my name.

“Syulang.” 

“Syulang,” he repeated, falling silent. Though he was repeating that name in his head over and over again like a mantra. “You know, I never forgot about you.”

I scoffed lightly, holding back an incredulous laugh. I know it was a lie. I looked at his children and the human one, who now sat down next to me looking at my false leg. His curious eyes got bigger as he looked at it with great intrigue, staring at the mechanism and weaving. 

“I see the great Toruk Makto got busy,” I didn't mean it to come out so rudely. His eyes widened a little bit. I mentally cursed myself for inviting them in. “You don't have to lie, I already know the truth.”

I didn't have to look to know he grimaced at that. 

“You know, as leader of the clan, I have to lead the people. Take care of them. So can you tell me why you’re not with the clan?” he asked calmly, almost gentle. It made me want to cry, I tried repressing those memories, the destruction of Hometree. The death of my parents, friends. My injury. The aftereffects of war. It was all too much. I have nightmares. I prayed to Eywa to forget, but she never helped.

  So I told him about just that. He sat and listened. His children too. They gathered sitting near listening to the story. I was only ten when this all happened, imagine how traumatised I was. How I couldn't stay with the clan as it was a constant reminder of the many losses we suffered, and how both my parents were killed, not just one, but both. How I cried myself to sleep for days, how my Uncle Pawk couldn't calm me. I decided to leave. I feel ghost pains in my left leg. Toruk Makto listened. After that, he thanked me for talking to him, he gathered his children and they left to go back home. That night I had difficulty sleeping so I went to cuddle with my big cat and her babies.

  The following day I woke up against my thanator, her soft purring and warmth much like a mother’s warm embrace. I thanked her for her comfort as I began my day as usual. Drinking some river water, washing my face, hunting fish for the day, washing my body in the lake. Then Lo’a and I went hunting for some meat. 

  After hunting and bringing back a carcass of a fwampop, also known as a Tapirus. Thanking Eywa for the life of the creature. I pet Lo’a’s head as well, thanking her for being by my side. I cut up the meat and wrapped them into portions with leaves, packing the rest of it in a covered hole I used as storage. For the rest of the day, I did my chores, weaving new baskets, collecting fruit, herbal plants and organising my canopy. 

  What I wasn't expecting was the call of an ikran and its rider, landing on the branch just above my home. A huge gust of wind knocked over my many baskets, which bumped my water pot over the edge of my canopy. Shattering it as it collided with the ground a few metres down, nearly smashing on my resting thanator, who made a startled sound looking up at me. Arrgh, I growled in anger, punching the tree trunk, annoyed. A familiar face popped into view from above my tented canopy, just showing their head looking guilty. If not for the situation I would have found it funny. Toruk Makto, Jake Sully. Oh Eywa! I hissed at him, wanting to scratch his eyes out.

“You owe me a pot,” I snarled at him. Slumping down in defeat, “I just cleaned up, you stupid Toruk Makto!” 

His face scrunching up into a guilty yet apologetic expression, a small voice calling out as another face popped into view.

“Hi Syulang!” Neteyam greeted chipperly. I greeted back with a grunt. “Oh wow, it's messy in here,” he stated at the obvious mess, making me grumble with my ears pinned back, arms crossing over my chest with irritation. There came another call of an ikran, it too landing on the branch above, however, gracefully and blowing gentle wind through my canopy home.

“Can we come in?” Neteyam asked. I looked up at the boy and gave a singular nod. “Dad, help me down.” I watched as Jake Sully lowered Neteyam into my canopy. Then a smaller boy, Lo’ak. Who ran over to me, diving into my lap, hugging my torso as I kept my arms on my chest, my ears twitched in annoyance. Finally Jake himself entered my canopy as another Na’vi made themself known. The warrior and Toruk Makto’s wife, Neytiri, with a babe wrapped around her front. I stood in shock, greeting her. Little Lo’ak still with arms wrapped around my torso hung when I stood.

“Sister, I see you,” formally greeting her, hand to my head and gently bowing. She did the same.

“Lo’ak, let go,” Jake pried the little boy off as he giggled. I noticed in the corner of my eye, Neteyam was picking up the baskets, gently scooping the fallen contents, returning them into it's respective basket even though he didn't have to. 

“Ma Jake told me that there was a young girl living all alone out here,” Neytiri spoke, my eyes shifted to Jake again staring him down as he still held the same apologetic expression, he soon joined his son picking up the baskets, cleaning up my canopy. “I had to come to see for myself. If you were who he said you were. Syulang, I see you. And I want to thank you properly. All those years ago, I heard of a child with a broken leg, dragging my father from our fallen Hometree. Throughout the chaos, no one had asked your name. They only talked about a girl from our Omatikaya Clan. Young, brave, fearless, who sacrificed her own leg for a proper burial for my father, Eytukan. My dear, I thank you. Eywa thanks you. I see you. Come back to the clan.” Neytiri wrapped her arms around my shoulders, bringing me into a hug. I shook my head no. 

“No, I will not. If Toruk Makto told you everything, you would know the reason why,” I told her. Jake’s ear twitched at his title.

“I know, I have heard. I cannot ask you to forgive, but I plead with you to come home. Your mother, your father would want you to be with your clan,” Neytiri begged. I wanted to cry at the mention of my parents. “You don't have to be an orphan, we can take care of you,” Neytiri proclaimed, “Our family have talked, we want to take you in.” She looked at her husband, who gave a soft smile. “You can stay with us in our nest,” she gently hummed. A part of me does. I miss having a family, I miss my mother’s touch, I miss my father’s reassurance. My heart pounded hard, I sighed trying to take it all in.

Pulling away from Neytiri, I though about it. I looked at the two boys, at Jake Sully. My feelings about him have always been mixed, but yet he looked at me with sad and understanding eyes. 

“Okay,” I quietly mumbled. Their ears perked, Neteyam, Jake and Lo’ak’s eyes lighting up. 

“We’ll pick you up tonight, pack your belongings,” Neytiri offered, her hands rubbing my arms in a comforting manner. The boys had finished cleaning up and were standing together.

“Before you go, take some things,” I left my canopy, sliding down the long thick rope. Strolling past my thanator, I opened up the storage hole, pulling all the fresh food from inside. The preservatives remained, just in case. The two adults had climbed down from my canopy, finding me halfway in a hole. Their footsteps alerted me. 

“These are from my morning hunt, and some fruit preserves for the children,” I handed them small closed packaged leaf containers, fashioned into a jar, “These last for a long time.” My ears perked, Neytiri thanked me with a smile. Jake picked up all the wrapped meat, thanking me too. “There are more in this hole, enough to feed a large family, but they are mostly preserved.”

Not long after, Toruk Makto, his wife and children took off back home. Their ikrans screeched in the distance. I began packing most of my belongings, retrieving my bow and arrows. Covering the food storage hole as well. I wove a large basket for Lo’a’s cubs just in case. I decided to keep my canopy up in the tree in case I would return. Finally rolling up my mat, I lay to wait for Jake and Neytiri. Eclipse is coming soon. I looked up at the darkening sky, watching the stars glimmer when I noticed a constellation of new stars. Sitting up properly to take a better look, I realise what it was.

*

How many years ago was it now? A new star descending from the sky. It scarred the land as aliens destroyed the land. The burnt and greying land, a reminder of the destruction that the sky people brought. Not long after, they arrived at our doorstep. Pink flesh, small and carrying weapons, designed to slaughter. Our Olo’eyktan and Tsashik stood and greeted the sky people with contempt, hesitation. Fear. They came in false bodies, wanting to teach the people English, to learn about our culture, everything. To assimilate. There were those who rejected them, and those who welcomed them. But they broke our trust, destroyed everything we held dear. Demons.

*

Sky demons. They have returned. I ignored my mind at that moment, I grabbed my two sling packs and archery equipment, dropped from my canopy to the ground in a rush. Gathering the cubs into the basket and climbing onto Lo’a’s back. Connecting my queue, I told her to run. Run as fast as you can. She sped away as fast as she could whilst holding our weight. The cubs whined in fear as the scorching heat reached us, though we were far away, we could see the flames emitted from the foreign metal creature. The great winds it produced as it landed, burning everything in it's radius, red and orange disintegrating Eywa’s creations. The anger I felt, the agony I felt. I roared out in anguish, the only thing I could do was run. The call of ikrans above me snapped me out of my furiosity. Voices yelling out my name.

“SYULANG!!!” 

“Keep going!” I urged Lo’a, “To the Hallelujah mountains!” Lo’a turned off to the right, running as fast as she could, jumping over fallen logs, not stopping for a moment. We kept going even though the heat retreated.

“SYULANG!!!” the voices screamed out. I looked up, as an Ikran flew over me. I waved up at the rider, Neytiri, who was watching in stunned awe. She lands not too far away and hops down from her ikran rushing to me, Lo’a growls at her as I disconnect tsaheylu, I carry the basket of cubs with me as Lo’a is on my tail.

Neytiri, grabs the basket from me looking down into it. Lo’a produces a low yowl.

“It’s okay Lo’a, we’re taking them somewhere safe,” I kissed the top of her head, she nudged me. The other ikran also arrives behind us, Jake rushing over, checking me over.

“Ma jake, take her things. We’re taking you up to High Camp, we must hurry,” Jake, pulls my bags from me pulling them over his shoulder.

“Hold on,” I turn to Lo’a giving her a hug, resting my forehead on the top of her head, “I’ll look for you. Keep going to the floating mountains.”

“Come, Syulang,” Neytiri pulls me toward her ikran. She climbs up first, pulling me up to sit behind her. “Hold on tight.” I wrapped my arms around Neytiri’s waist, her Ikran ascended quickly, almost giving me whiplash. 

We flew for a while, into the fog. Toruk Makto flying beside us. It was strangely calm here. Quiet. I haven't been in the sky in a long time. It felt freeing, I looked at my false leg, it was a part of me that I couldn't simply let go. It's what keeps me living. If I didn't have it, I wouldn't move freely. I’ll forgive Jake Sully. I'll forgive my Toruk Makto. I understand now. For seven years I harboured deep resentment for the man, every time I saw him I would scowl, eyebrows furrowing in indignation. I think It's time to let go. For the first time, I smiled at him with tears. I forgive you. And he smiled back.

Arriving in the High Camp, we were greeted by the surviving Omatikaya clan. Some gasped when they realised who was with Toruk Makto and his wife. Pawk pushed through the crowd as Neytiri slid off her Ikran. Holding her arms out for me to slide into. 

“Syulang!” Pawk ran to embrace me. The clan collectively gasped at the realisation. Pawk looked me over from head to toe, before he cupped his hands around my face, tears falling from his face. “You're all grown up. You look like your mother.”

Neytiri tugged at my hand and Pawk let me go with Neytiri. She held my hand pulling us through the crowd, the members parting to make a path. They stared in stunned silence. Some looked at me as if they just remembered their missing clan member, the others looking at my legs.

Neytiri brought me to her mother’s tent. Stopping at the entrance as Mo’at pushed open the opening flap. Coming face to face with her daughter. Her eyes widened as they fell on me. 

“Come, come in,” Mo’at rushed us in, closing the flap. As we knelt down in front of Mo’at, she pulled me into a hug. “My dear little one. I see you.”

We talked for a long time, in that conversation she asked me why I left the clan, why I couldn't have come to just talk to my Tsahik. I told her everything, my trauma, how I resented Toruk Makto, and how I had come to forgive him. Some tears were spilt and some breaks were in order. After it all, I was exhausted. Before I left to get some rest, Mo’at retrieved something for me. “I believe this belongs to you,” Mo’at said, unwrapping a cloth. In her hands were three necklaces, and I broke down in tears one final time. My mother’s, father’s and even Rumut’s necklaces. I cried until exhaustion overtook me, I fell asleep in Neytiri’s arms.

<–Previous Chapter | Next Chapter –>

#avatar #avatar x child!reader #avatar x reader #avatar x oc #avatar fanfiction #avatar fanfic #jake sully #jake sully x oc #jake sully x omaticaya!reader #avatar 2 #Neytiri x oc #Neytiri x omaticaya!reader #Neteyam sully #loak sully #kiri sully #avatar x sister!reader #Neteyam x sister!reader #Loak x sister!reader #kiri x sister!reader #tuk x sister!reader

[hawkewatching]

Dark Sun (Arthur Harrow x Reader)

Chapter 1: The Fate of the Blind (6,872 words)

Summary:

"Now, a chance has presented itself to you. Perhaps your last chance. The question is, are you going to stay and take it, or are you going to run away again?”

Arthur Harrow is impossible. In a desperate time where you need help, he has promised to provide that. You know it’s all too good to be true, but what choice do you have? Drawn in by curiosity, desperation, and perhaps something deeper, what will happen when you finally understand him? Do you really want to know what lurks in his unreadable mind?

Rated Mature for dark themes and some strong language.

Tags: No warnings needed (for now) but this an extremely self-indulgent writeup on an extremely unhealthy relationship. Oh, and so much slow-burning angst. Apologies I only seem to I write pretentious character studies haha. I'm bad at tagging check the AO3 tags uh-

A/N: Hi hello! I've been writing this fic on AO3 for over a year, (14 chapters atm) and it's still ongoing because I'm really slow at this. I will be posting chapters maybe like every week or so here until I catch up to where it's currently at. Or you could just spoil yourself and read ahead. Your choice. Just wanted to have it here because yall clearly want it haha and who would I be to deny some good people some (maybe) good fanfic? The only other thing I wanna say real quick is that I wrote this chapter in about May 2022 so my writing was less good than it is now. I've chosen not to go back and update it because I hate revisiting these things and also it's a nice time capsule for me. So it gets better than this, I promise. ANYWAY I'll just let you read it now thanks :)

~~~

You’ve made a huge mistake.

Your mind was racing with a thousand self-deprecating thoughts, each cursing you more than the last.

How could you be so stupid? “Avoid the weird cult.” They said. “They may seem nice but it’s a goddamn CULT.” They said.

No matter how often your brain told you to run, your legs were fixed firmly in place. You couldn’t tell if it was defiance or stupidity holding you down. Or perhaps you were just intrigued. The world had a habit of not being around in an hour of need, you learned that from experience.

Nowadays, people didn’t really help each other. Sure, there were people saving the world all the time, but no one was coming to save you. Amazingly, these people seemed to look out for one another, or at least that’s what they advertised. An interesting contradiction from a group calling themselves “the disciples of Ammit”.

You still didn’t know what an “Ammit” was. You speculated that you’d held off doing your research on purpose so that you could go into tonight blind.

Why would you go into this blind, idiot?

You’d fallen for their marketing hook, line and sinker, because you longed for some sense of community, and they’d promised that. They’d promised a purpose too, and while you were interested in that aspect, you couldn’t help but feel that it was probably something nefarious.

You would not allow yourself to forget that this was, quite literally, a cult.

Tonight was simply a trail run. Anyone was welcome to the “ceremony”, but you could tell from the calmness of all of the attendees, you estimated thirty of them, that they were familiar with this event. You resolved at that moment to not stick out. If things didn’t work out, which was seeming more likely by the minute, you would leave at the end and no one would ever be wiser.

That’s it. No one ever has to know about this. Just survive whatever this is and go home, never to think about this again. This really was a mistake.

The people around you engaged in quiet conversation, too focused on each other to notice you trying to compose yourself. They had gathered around some elevated steps, almost like a stage. You wondered what kind of performance this would be.

You took a sharp breath, and in that moment you felt the atmosphere shift. The sound of conversation suddenly began to fade, and you could almost feel a new presence in the area without even having to glance in the direction of a new sound, one that had been entirely absent until now.

The sound could only be described as crunching, but even before you could identify its specifics you could tell that whatever was crunching was something that was not supposed to be crunching. When you finally turned, a delayed reaction emulating what everyone around you had also done, but with far less confusion, you saw the source.

An older man, with wispy brown hair with grey streaks and just touched his shoulders, dressed in a manner that could only be described as plain, a light coat wrapped around a red outfit, moving slightly in the breeze. The strange sound went straight through you, emanating with every step of his sandals. In that moment you realised what exactly this noise was as it became louder on approach: glass. Only a small part of you felt repulsed by that, the rest was distracted. With him drawing closer also added a softer, but equally unsettling tapping of a strange-shaped cane.

With the way that complete silence had fallen over all those in attendance, this was who they had been waiting for: The leader.

First impression: The vibes are BAD. They are very, VERY BAD.

You wanted to have a “first impressions are often wrong” mindset and remain optimistic but in the face of all of this it was difficult. You were brought here by desperation after all, and that was a feeling that didn’t simply vanish at the first sign of trouble, as much as you wanted it to.

As much as you hated yourself to admit it, you hadn’t seen anything remotely like this before. Morbid curiosity tied you down, eyes fixed on the leader as you watched him climb the stairs with a level of awkwardness befitting his walking situation. He wore an expression of benevolence, something that you didn’t quite seem to believe fitted him, and as he glanced back at the crowd out of the corner of his eye, you could have sworn you saw a flash of the truth. The smile was caring, but there was something else behind the eyes. Or perhaps nothing at all.

But you didn’t entirely trust your judgement. It could have been an outsider’s perspective catching what the people on the inside were so blind to, sure, or you were blinded by mistrust. You hated not being able to figure this out. You tried to watch him, trying to be completely sure of what you had just seen, but as he turned around to face his audience, your reading was different once again. If he was hiding something, it was gone now. His air of strange sincerity threw you for a loop.

Without having to speak a single word, he had already lowered your guard.

You watched him with some caution, dreading whatever was about to come out of his mouth, but his first words further puzzled you. They came out quieter than you thought they would.

“Isn’t this a wonderful evening?” His lips curled upwards, affirming you of the question’s genuine, but definitely rhetorical nature. “However, I get the sense that something is out of place.” He paused for a moment, stopping mid-breath as he scanned the crowd. You felt his eyes cross over your face for half a second. Perhaps his words were deliberately chosen, and he’d already set his sights on you, but you couldn’t possibly discern that. The man was unreadable. In that brief moment, he had held you in place. There was no escaping this now, at least not until it was over.

“We have to work towards fixing that.” He continued, and you felt yourself being pierced by his gaze as his eyes swept the crowd again. Your mind begged for that not to happen again, your nervousness unable to take another hit. “Who would like to go first?”

“Me first, Harrow. I need an answer.” A voice from the crowd called out, and a young man took a few steps forward.

Harrow smiled, his face was warm and understanding, but his eyes flashed with amusement. The two contradictions left you to further wallow in confusion. “It’s Arthur, please. Remain patient, through Ammit all things are revealed.” His voice grew quieter as the man approached, and he managed to form a pleasant smile.

It was deathly silent as Harrow began to roll up his sleeve, not even having to glance as his unblinking eyes locked with the man. What was slowly revealed to you was a tattoo that took a little while to identify as strange scales. You could tell that something bizzare was about to happen, as if the man on the receiving end beginning to sweat on such a cold evening wasn’t a good enough indication.

Something in the air shifted. In your distraction you didn’t even notice how Harrow was now gripping his man’s wrists, and in-between their hands was that cane, now swinging in the most unnatural manner. The confusion was overwhelming, so much so that you didn’t even try to rationalise it. There was no rational explanation for how a tattoo could move like that. The way it rocked felt uncomfortably too real for your liking, and you found your eyes trying to dart somewhere else, as if they would do anything to get away from it.

“I judge you in Ammit’s name, with but a fraction of her power.” The unfamiliarity of his words failed to help you rationalise the situation.

You are very much in over your head right now.

Much like the one being judged, you felt yourself paralysed with dread. You had already made up your mind: whatever was going on here was not for you. You wondered what would happen if they knew there was a doubter in their midst. There was something ominous about the idea of failing any test that was given here.

However much time had actually passed was probably about ten times shorter than you felt. The unfamiliar actions stopped, and some peace was restored in your mind. You watch as Harrow beamed. “This is the face of a good man.” His grip immediately loosening, tapping the man on the shoulder encouragingly. Whatever the hell any of that had meant, it was a positive outcome, and just about everyone seemed overjoyed.

The “good man” gave a bright smile, before returning to a group of people within the crowd who bustled excitedly. You didn’t get what was going on here at all, but it was thoroughly weird. You had questions that you didn’t really want to know the answers to.

For what felt like an eternity, the night continued on like this. Every result was the same, and while you gradually became more accustomed to what you were seeing, by the end of it you were starting to wonder what would happen if someone who wasn’t so good was on the receiving end of a magical tattoo. But you sure as hell weren’t brave enough to consider even testing that.

Harrow had turned to his audience, gracing them with another glance that you felt in your soul for only a moment. Every time he looked your way you felt fear, and didn’t quite understand why. “Perhaps I misjudged this evening after all.” As he spoke, that gentle smile back on his face, he stroked the top of his cane. “I’m sure this devotion on display tonight would greatly please Ammit. I wish you all a good night.”

You didn’t understand his next words, the language of them definitely being foreign to you, but the crowd repeated them with a murmur. You caught the word “Ammit” within it.

So whatever it was, it probably wasn’t great.

You tried to blend in, but that had all happened so fast. Still, it didn’t appear that the people had noticed anything, or anyone, out of place. Despite the promises that people on the outside were free to visit, this place felt uncomfortably inclusive. You wondered how anyone even joined this thing at all.

As conversation began to return to the audience, you finally plucked up the courage to look behind you, eyeing your exit strategy. It was a little bit darker than when you had first gotten here, so you needed a moment to re-acquaint yourself with the already unfamiliar environment.

You hadn’t looked away for long, perhaps no longer than half a minute, but when you turned back the leader was already gone. Faster than you thought he’d be. It was unclear where exactly he had gone and that made you nervous for some reason that you couldn’t quite understand.

You figured this was as good of a time as any to take your leave, deciding to take a hard pass on the weird cult like you should have done from the beginning. Strengthened by this resolve, you took a few steps forward on your way out.

“Excuse me.”

You already recognised the voice even before you looked behind you. If you had given yourself time to think about things before turning on instinct, you wouldn’t have done it at all.

Standing only a few paces behind you was Harrow, armed with the same smile from before. It seemed like he never really left. Desperate to avoid direct eye contact, your gaze flashed for a moment to the way he handled that cane in both hands, with a lightness you didn’t really expect. From this distance you could now discern why it looked so strange, tipped with two crocodile heads.

If that’s not freaky, nothing is.

It took him a while to get to whatever it was that he wanted to say, and spurred on by the awkward silence, you finally picked up the courage to look his way, only to see his own gaze cutting straight through you. Immediately, your stomach dropped. What it was in his eyes that you couldn’t identify before became clear to you in that moment, they were deeply, disturbingly analytical. The realisation overcame you that this whole time, he’d been watching you. You already knew what he was going to say.

“I’ve never seen you here before.” The way he spoke didn’t sound like a threat, but more of a casual observation. The way he took a step closer, and the prominent crunch that followed his foot touching the ground did well to put you more on edge, though. The sound cut right through you in the way that it probably did to his feet.

“Y-Yeah, first time.” You stammered, despite expecting this kind of conversation to happen, any plan you had for what to say had completely disappeared in his presence. “This was a test run. Just a taster.”

He nodded his head in acknowledgement, head angled upwards as he seemed to scan you from above, a light breeze catching his hair. Something about that moment presented him as truly intimidating, but the seriousness on his face drops quickly. “Understandable. It would be unwise to just jump into something like this without all of the information.”

That was not what you had expected to hear. You had expected someone like this to be begging for a new addition to the cult, not a take that seemed, dare you say it, reasoned. Reason was not something you had imagined seeing here, especially not coming from the ringleader.

He observed your silence, seeming to take satisfaction in making you think. “What are your thoughts?” He asks slowly. He was patient with what must have been a burning question.

You were afraid to say no, at least directly. The conflicting information you had received about this man had in no way informed you of what to do. “I’m not sure, really. I’ll have to sleep on it.” You tried to sound as sincere as possible, and felt that you did good enough to convince yourself. Whether you convinced him or not was another, unknown story.

His head tilted in response, and in the exhale that followed you saw a shift in him. You suddenly felt as if he had sensed your insecurity and uncertainty, and with that came the horrible feeling that your words hadn’t worked at all.

“Could I possibly have one chance to change your mind?” His face had what could only be described as a half-smile. You could have sworn you caught a glimpse of something else in his eyes for a moment, like a shark smelling blood in the water.

He just knows I’ve already made up my mind.

That felt like a challenge. Why would he ask such a thing unless he had complete and total confidence he could sway you into utter insanity? He was willing to commit himself to a battle of wits that he already knew he was losing. You almost respected it, but the rational part of your mind was begging you to not go that far.

You sighed, giving in to the way he looked now at you. Eyes wide, pleading. Not what you’d expected to see and they made you feel a way you didn’t expect either. He had shifted gears so quickly that it made you doubt everything you’d seen before. You spoke out of pity. “One chance.”

He doesn’t celebrate. The smile he gives is too small to even show his teeth. There is something sincerely grateful about him.

He takes the last few steps needed until he’s right next to you. “Come with me.” He requests, thinly veiling the command with some nonchalance. He walks past you but his head remains turned, watching you with patience, waiting for you to oblige him.

There was no choice left now. You started to leave the scattered crowd behind, walking with deliberate slowness to follow a suspicious stranger into a dark, unknown street. Stories like this never ended well.

He waited until you caught up to him before starting to speak, directing you ahead. “Be honest. Why did you come here tonight?” Once again, his words were innocuous, but he looked at you with a seriousness that demanded nothing but the truth.

Something about him, perhaps the small smile he chose to give you anyway, put you at enough ease to not crack under the pressure. “Honestly? Morbid curiosity.”

He gave an amused scoff. “You could do just about anything out of morbid curiosity. But why come here, specifically?” His questioning felt a little more intense this time. You knew that your words had not satisfied him.

You gave no response, afraid to once again say something that wasn’t what he was looking for. Whatever that was. You didn’t know how far he would go. Harrow was watching you with utmost patience, something that only pressured you further.

“Allow me to take a guess, and forgive me if I’m incorrect.” He took a deep breath which almost seemed to steal the air around you, your throat frozen in nervous anticipation of whatever he would say next.

“You are deeply lonely. You have friends and family but they don’t fill the void in your heart like they’re supposed to. You don’t feel like you belong anywhere, no matter how hard you try, and in your desperation you’ve turned to the one place that your mind is absolutely screaming at you to not go to. You’re here because you’re out of options, and you’re out of options because every time an answer presents itself you run away from it because you are afraid. That’s what you intend to do after tonight.”

Fuck.

Those observations had all spilled out in one large chunk. He might have prepared you by acting like it was only a stab in the dark but his words indicated zero doubt in his own judgement. You don’t know how he knew, but he just knew.

He didn’t wait for you to say anything. You suspected he also knew this was how you’d react, so he continued. “People are at their darkest when they have no options left. I wouldn’t wish that upon you. Now, a chance has presented itself to you. Perhaps your last chance.” He leaned in a little bit, his words going directly into your ear. “The question is, are you going to stay and take it, or are you going to run away again?”

He didn’t need to give you the extra emphasis, you knew exactly what he wanted. The sound of every step he took interrupted your thoughts, and that frustrated you further. At this point, it was unbearable. Your shock began to turn into offence. “Why do you care so much about what happens to me?”

The words that you had spat at him seemed to have no effect. “So I’m on the right track?” He commented, once again, his smile was only small. His humble act was one you saw right through, but his unwavering commitment to it made you wonder why he bothered to keep up that pretence. “I care because I believe that good people deserve good things.”

As much as you hated to admit it, that sounded genuine. You grumbled, refusing to accept the implied compliment. “How do you know I’m good?”

“It’s something you can just sense in people.” There was no hesitation in his reply.

“You might have to test me on that.” For a moment, you became more aware of your surroundings, and your ears fixated on the sound of his crunching steps. You wished you could ignore it, and tried to listen to his voice instead. You never thought you’d prefer that sound.

“I might, in time.” Harrow chuckled, and your heart dropped for a moment, afraid he might actually try that. “I don’t force that on people, though. Please, sit.” As you breathed a silent sigh of relief, he directed an arm toward a bench under a streetlight, located right next to a bunch of apartments. The heart of his domain. The belly of the beast.

You had no choice but to comply, but you felt yourself being genuinely drawn in by what were likely hollow promises. You couldn’t tell for sure, because there was nothing about this unreadable man that you felt like you knew about him. The only thing about him that seemed certain was that there was definitely glass in his shoes, and that in itself was not a welcoming sign.

But you saw an opportunity to better understand the situation, and feeling backed into a corner, you decided to take it. “Let’s say, hypothetically, that I was to stay. What would happen?” You asked, trying your best to sound truly uninterested, despite the wording of the question betraying you.

There was a warmness to his smile, but his unblinking, watchful eyes cancels out the former’s effect. Once again, you found yourself gravitating towards his voice in an attempt to distract yourself. You knew you were giving him what you wanted, because now you were actually listening. “You’d have a new roof over your head and plenty of like-minded people to meet. But you’d still have the parts of your life that you want to keep. You’re still free to see the people that don’t satisfy you, I understand they can be hard to let go. You can live your life as if nothing has changed, if that’s what you want.” You’d expected him to be at least a little demanding, as he had been earlier, but he was totally relaxed, applying no pressure. As a result of that, his next words stuck out like a sore thumb: “All I’d ask in return is for your devotion to Ammit.”

The absurdity of that statement made you laugh. While you weren’t focused on Harrow at all in that moment, out of the corner of your eye you saw his mouth twitch, but that moment was gone in an instant, and just like that you again doubted what you had seen. Regardless, it prompted you to take a breath and compose yourself a little. “That is a very, very large ask.”

Given what you saw from him, you expected a bad reaction, but he tilted his head a little, almost looking down at you as if eyeing you up. You shuffled in your seat as you watched him do this, his unknown reasons for this making you even more nervous. When you saw a smile appear on his face, you felt your worries being alleviated on the spot.

“That’s a normal response to that part. So many are reluctant to hear that out, but you’d be surprised how many people see their mistake.” He didn’t seem offended at all. You couldn’t even sense some other emotion hiding within him this time.

Everything about this man felt deliberate. For the first time, him being completely unreadable scared you to death. You thought back to all of the times where you thought you understood him for a moment, wondering if perhaps, this was all simply what he wanted you to see.

One thing was especially clear: you should not have given this man a chance at all.

But- and you hated yourself for thinking this- something about him was fascinating. A walking contradiction that somehow seemed to know everything. A little too much, probably. The centre of his own bizarre universe that, by all accounts, sounded beyond your comprehension. The more pieces of the puzzle you were given, the more you felt compelled to solve it, no matter how deep into the unknown he was going to drag you.

And besides, you knew he wasn’t wrong. You did need something in your life to change, and no matter what came of this, it would be a change. You knew you were letting him win, and you’d been playing right into his hands from the moment he spoke to you, anyway. Perhaps it was too late to escape all of this even if you wanted that. He’d barely had to do anything at all to achieve that outcome.

Did he know this would happen?

The way Harrow watched you was as if he was reading your thoughts. You had taken a little too long to respond. When you made eye contact with him, you gave him a glare, as if warning him to stay out of your head. The threat didn’t seem to faze him at all, either that or he didn’t notice. He must have noticed.

In humiliation, you chose to be standoffish. You couldn’t look at him again. “You ask people to derail their lives to worship a god?” You grumbled, you knew you were not asking the most productive question when it came to getting the answers you wanted, but you were too mad to care.

“You don’t even have to eat, sleep and breathe in her name. Only genuine belief in her and real care for her cause. That is all we require.” You had the feeling that his answer was very much tried and tested. He had known exactly how to respond, but that was probably a side effect of the unwelcoming nature of the idea of a strange cult.

It all sounded so absurd to you. Too absurd to possibly be real, despite all the evidence to the contrary that you had witnessed. However, you decided to try and take it seriously. “How do you know if someone really believes?”

“You don’t. It’s something you just sense in people.” He seemed to take satisfaction in the repeated phrase.

You couldn't help but doubt his ability to ‘sense’ that kind of thing, but that was not something you had any interest in testing. “I don’t think I could commit to that. It’s all too much.” You commented with brutal honesty.

“That’s a shame.” Harrow clicked his tongue, and as he continued, he sounded almost like a parent reprimanding their child. You deeply disapproved of that comparison, enough so to look him in the eyes, but the calm energy he exuded removed any motivation to dispute him in the moment. “You really are struggling. Run away if you think that will help, although I have to say from experience that it does not.” He tilted his head suddenly, as if eagerly awaiting whatever you’d say next.

“Experience?” You asked, the sudden inquisitiveness of your question utterly giving away your desire for information.

That piqued your interest. Of course a guy like him had his trauma. That part made far too much sense. You wanted to know how someone could go from being in the real world to being in… whatever this world was. His very presence seemed to warp reality into something unfamiliar, where the rules were a complete mystery.

But from the way he’d worded it, and you were unsure if that was intentional, it almost made it sound like he’d experienced something similar. You’d taken some comfort in knowing that the two of you couldn’t have been further apart but that barrier seemed to be shattered in an instant. You wished for someone to understand, but perhaps your wish should have been more specific. You awaited his next words with bated breath.

He seemed to look at you instead of through you. With a sigh, he spoke quietly as if imparting some great secret. “There was a time where I was afraid to make any more commitments because I was so afraid of making another mistake.”

Why did it have to be him that understood?

You felt both extreme ends of emotions at once at this revelation, and once again unable to look him in the eye despite his best effort, you found yourself staring into the night, watching the windows of the buildings, seeming some life inside. “I know that feeling.” Your words trailed off, unfocused.

He took a deep breath for a moment, appearing to pinpoint your distraction. “I can’t imagine any mistake of yours being on the level of my own.” After that, he leaned inwards, enough that you could faintly feel his hot breath. “But we are all controlled by our own anxieties at some point in our lives. I overcame mine by finding a new purpose. Perhaps that is your solution too.”

“Perhaps.” You replied, still distant, taking a moment too long to latch on to his comments about his past. If you had put more thought into your answer, you probably would have prodded him for information, but something told you that he didn’t seem keen on giving specifics.

“However you choose to do it, you need to take a leap of faith at some point.” He spoke as if he were speaking facts, not merely giving advice. The conviction toyed with your mind, still reeling from the possibility that he might actually understand you.

You faced him again, taking a moment to recover upon finding that he was closer than expected. That had made you jump a little, and he’d observed that too with a smile. Unsure of what to say, you hoped and waited for him to continue. Whatever his advice was, you wanted to hear it. If that was down to curiosity or desperation was something you hadn’t yet decided.

“It worked for me. For a long time I…” Harrow’s words trailed off as, for the first time, he didn’t look at you. Instead he stared down at the hands that held the cane between his legs, watching his fingers caress over its heads. He scoffed before continuing. “I didn’t have one foot in reality. My past tried its best to break me. But I got out of it alive, and I see clearly now. I have a goal, the means to achieve it and people who understand. I never had those before, and the feeling now?” He let out a drawn-out sigh, and it was his turn to also be fixated by the night, smiling bigger than usual at nothing in particular. “It’s liberating.”

Still, no specifics. You had spotted his promises of a way to get better, but you also spotted the irony in his words. It would have been easy to get distracted again, but you weren’t passing up on the opportunity to get what you wanted twice. You raised an eyebrow, starting to find the confidence you needed. “What is that goal, anyway?”

He looked back at you, and you caught a triumphant glint in his eye. “The eradication of evil.” The way that he was in that moment, the combination of him staring, unblinking, his hair beginning to fall over his face and armed with a slightly larger smile than usual, all worked to unsettle you. You hadn’t seen him like this before. Passionate. Weirdly passionate.

Once again, his head tilted, and while his expression didn’t change, it seemed to indicate some confusion. You hadn’t quite given him what he wanted. “Not as sinister as you expected, no?” He grinned, his attempt at some kind of joke threw you off, as if it was something he wasn’t meant to do. However, you found it oddly endearing, even in the awkward moment.

That wasn’t what you thought he’d say, but you knew fully well that you couldn't trust his word. Or at least, you shouldn’t, but you had kept on indulging him. In your scepticism, you refused to let him win. “It still sounds slightly sinister.” You joked, despite knowing that there was no chance he'd find it funny. The more you dwelled on that, the more you believed that sincerely. There had to be a catch. There always was.

He shook his head. “No, it’s not.” The smile was still present, completely unflappable. He moved in a bit closer to emphasise his next words, which you were prepared for this time. “Like I said before, good people deserve good things, simple as that.”

“I’m sure you’re one of those good people.” You replied, not even trying to hide your sarcasm.

For the first time, you sensed that your words had actually stumped him. That felt like a personal achievement. He shuffled awkwardly, and you noticed him hold on tighter to that cane, once again his glance drifted towards it. He took the moment in his stride though, forcing a smile. “That’s a little more complicated. I don’t really know about that.”

You wonder how that made any sense, trying to hide your own confusion. That would require more thought that you couldn’t put in at this moment. He was keeping you occupied enough as is.

Harrow seemed to know this too and gave you no time to process that, immediately resuming his words. “What I do know is that heaven on earth can be realised, and I’d like to achieve that.” This was an extreme casual air to those words that felt contradictory. He made it all sound so simple.

“And this is how?” You questioned quietly, your confidence fading. He was throwing too much at you too fast, and you didn’t understand any of it. Once again, the feeling of being in way over your head returned.

His face dropped. In an instant, he’d returned to how he was before. The passion wasn’t gone, but hidden only inside those eyes. Now, he only looked at you with disappointment. You expected him to change course and try something else. “No tree may ascend to the light of heaven if it doesn’t descend to the darkness of hell.” He recited with a sigh, but you weren’t sure what exactly he was referencing. ”Unfortunately, that’s how it is.”

The eradication of evil… with evil. Of course, it all sounded like insanity. Despite how well he’d taken your arguments, you felt that this was one subject you shouldn’t dare challenge him on.

“Is that…” You were at a loss for words, unsure of how to proceed. “Really right?” You couldn’t get out much, and regretted that you weren’t more precise almost immediately.

Despite everything, he was patient. He blinked slowly, and the way that his gaze drifted past you seemed to suggest that was greatly contemplating his next words. “Honestly,” he took a deep breath, making you suspect that he really did mean that word, ”some nights, I just don’t sleep. It’s at those late hours sometimes when my sins catch up to me and it all becomes a bit too much. I pass that time cursing those that put me here and myself, and that’s not too productive, but what keeps me going is the knowledge that everything will be set right, eventually.” The whole story seemed to amuse him, smiling to himself.

There were too many questions, and he seemed to only be giving one vague answer at a time. For a moment, you hated him for that. He knew what he was doing. You felt that he was probably stringing you along on purpose, but you just couldn’t help yourself. You had to keep asking.

“And how would that happen?” You questioned, watching him intently. As he spoke of these things, he seemed to not quite be there. Just bringing up these topics appeared to turn the gears in his mind to a distracting degree.

He scoffed. “It’s not actually up to me. I’m simply speeding up the process.” Finally, he looked at you again, this time truly unreadable and with no expression to discern. “This is a world of gods and monsters and we are but pieces in a game.” He tapped his foot, a sound that you didn’t actually hear, but you did catch the accompanying glass, which distracted your thoughts for a moment.

You didn’t quite know what to say immediately, wanting to challenge him but not quite knowing how. “So what, you’re running all of this entirely on faith?”

Harrow’s eyes narrowed, perhaps that question striking offence in him. “And that surprises you?” His response had great disapproval more than anything else. You knew he wanted you to feel bad. “You’re really not understanding what this is, are you?”

A religious cult.

“I get it.” You insisted, feeling suddenly defensive. “I just-”

You getting worked up seemed to immediately calm him down. “It’s just that you’ve never experienced anything like this before. Being afraid of what’s unknown is perfectly natural.” The way that Harrow explained that to you felt a bit too patronising for your taste. You knew this already. He must have known that you knew this.

You were sick of him trying to read you, and equally sick of him actually succeeding. “Why do all of this, anyway?” You asked exasperatedly. “Why focus on me? Am I important or do you do this to everyone who strolls in here?” You looked at him with desperation, needing him to finally give you a straight answer.

Now you really need something off of him. You’ve fallen right into his trap.

He finally pushed his hair off of his face, allowing you to look fully upon it. You began to realise that there was nothing you could do that would faze him as he gave a tiny smile. “That’s something I haven’t quite figured out myself. There’s something about you that tells me it would be a waste to let you go.” He sounded sincere. Somehow more than usual.

That answer stopped every thought running through your mind. You began to remember everything else he’d said. This wasn’t about evil and gods and some incomprehensible goals. This was about trying to do better. This was about finding anyone who would understand. Somehow, that was him. These thoughts overwhelmed you. “Really?” You inquired, trying to hide this struggle.

You imagined that he saw right through it. His words were slow, his smile was warm, and his whole demeanour was genuine. You realised you’d never actually caught him in a lie for certain, deciding against a tiny corner of your brain screaming otherwise to trust him for a moment. “Now is the time to stop being afraid. I implore you to stay with us. You don’t have to be alone any more. People will look after you.” He took in a deep breath, as if unsure whether to proceed, and he smiled to himself before doing so, watery eyes locked with you. “I will look after you. I will help you if you help yourself.” There was a great certainty to his words, and it was exactly what you needed to hear. All doubt faded from your mind.

His hand graced your back, his touch startling you as you jumped a tiny bit. You weren’t sure why, because you didn’t particularly mind. The brief moment of contact felt surprisingly warm. You felt yourself lean into his touch on instinct, allowing him to stay.

You didn’t know if it was his words or his actions that disarmed you, but your emotions flooded out all at once. You felt your eyes watering in the overwhelming moment. “I want to be better.” You choked out your words.

His smile grew bigger, as if encouraging you. “That chance is here. You don’t know when it will come again.” His words had a deep certainty to them, and he leaned in closer, his voice coming out almost in a whisper. “Are you going to let it slip through your fingers?” That question had total finality to it, as if he knew exactly how you’d answer.

“I don’t want that.” You responded with a shaky breath, overcome by everything.

“Good.” Harrow stood up with surprising quickness, especially because you were once again subjected to that unsettling sound of glass. You only imagined the pain that must have come from that, but concluded that there was no way he really felt it. Despite what he said, he sounded relieved more than anything, not pleased or proud, and he continued like that. “In that case, please come with me.”

He held out a hand for you to take, and you didn’t even have to think. You accepted the warmth, drawn to it, needing it.

Most of this insane cult stuff didn’t matter. You weren’t completely won over, but you had been on what did matter. Unbelievably, this hadn’t been a mistake. All you had wanted was support and understanding, and the world truly was beyond saving if you’d found that answer here of all places.

You followed, eyes wide, deadly curious. A small part of your mind felt like a fish on a line, hopelessly caught. He had done the impossible: completely changed your mind, and he knew from the moment his eyes first laid upon you that he could do this. That thought unleashed terror in you, but you felt yourself supress it almost as fast as it came because for the most part, you didn’t care.

What have I done?

No, stop it. This is going to be fine. You’re going to get better. You’ll be happy now.

#arthur harrow #arthur harrow x reader #moon knight #ethan hawke #i've never posted anything like this on here before please go easy on me

[spencermyangel]

Can we have young Reid sharing a room with Morgan and Hotch and Reid having a nightmare? But like a nightmare about his dad abusing him, and the others present being super comforting and validating while Reid is ashamed about them seeing and what happened originally please? Also I hope you’re doing okay.

Thank you, I'm doing okay :)

CW - CSA

Morgan grabbed his bag and grumpily made his way up the stairs of the small bed and breakfast they were staying at. The town they had a case in was tiny and he, Hotch, and the newest member of their team, Spencer would have to share a room.

Spencer seemed to have already won over and impressed the other members of his team, but Morgan was not so easily persuaded. He quickly pegged Spencer as a spoiled, privileged, and sheltered boy. Probably coming from a family of wealth, and never having to face any real challenge in his life. 

When the three met at the hotel room, they opened the door and Morgan's jaw dropped. There were only two beds. 

“Looks like two of us will have to share,” Hotch said, giving Morgan a meaningful look.

Morgan internally groaned before grimacing and turning to Spencer. “You better not kick,” was all he said before turning away from him, not seeing the hurt look on his new team mate’s face. 

When Morgan had left to use the bathroom, Hotch approached Spencer, who was still standing with his head down and arms limply at his sides. 

“It just takes Morgan a little to warm up to people, don’t take it personally,” Hotch tried to comfort him. He reached out his hand and placed it on Spencer’s shoulder which he startled at and pulled away. “Sorry.” Hotch hadn’t quite figured out or gotten used to all of Spencer’s quirks and differences. 

Spencer ignored Hotch’s apology and only whispered, “why does he seem to hate me?”

Hotch sighed, “he doesn’t… just give him time to understand you.” 

Spencer shrugged and finally looked up, with immense sadness and hurt in his eyes, “people never understand me.” and then he walked away, leaving Hotch standing there feeling unbelievable sympathy for this young man. 

*

During the night, to Morgan’s annoyance Spencer started to kick and toss and turn. Morgan rolled his eyes and tried to shuffle as far away as he could. But then he heard something that made him pause. He heard Spencer start to whimper. 

Morgan turned over and shook Spencer’s shoulder.

“No, please daddy, I don’t want it,” Spencer cried out, still not awake. 

Alarm raised in Morgan and he shook Spencer harder, “Reid, wake up!” 

Spencer jerked awake and stared at Morgan with wide, scared eyes. Morgan observed his body language. The trembling, his eyes filled with tears. Morgan was shocked, Spencer was absolutely terrified. For the first time Spencer didn’t seem like a sheltered privileged boy, he seemed like a young man who had been deeply traumatized. 

“Hey,” Morgan soothingly said, “you’re okay, Reid, you just had a nightmare.” 

Spencer scammered toward the headboard, curling in on himself. 

“Morgan?” Hotch suddenly spoke, having been awakened by the commotion “what’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” Morgan whispered, his eyes not leaving Spencer’s trembling form, “I think he had a nightmare.”

Hotch slowly approached the bed, “Spencer,” he gently spoke, seeing how Spencer was clearly panicking, “you’re okay. You’re on a case in Oklahoma with the team. You’re safe.” 

Hotch continued the gentle reassurance until Spencer seemed to calm down. He leaned his head against the headboard, his eyes closed in exhaustion.

Finally Spencer opened his mouth, “I’m so sorry I woke you guys.” 

“You don’t have to be sorry, Spencer. Everyone had nightmares,” Hotch told him. 

Morgan eyed him, his mind unable to forget what Spencer had said before waking. “What was it about?” Morgan asked, without thinking.

“Morgan,” Hotch interrupted as Spencer shrunk in on himself, “Reid is under no obligation to tell us.”

Morgan opened his mouth to apologize when Spencer cut him off, “it was about my dad,” he mumbled.

Hotch and Morgan looked at him, waiting to see if he would continue. 

“Sometimes, when I would go to bed, he would sneak into my room. Then he would… use me for what he wanted,” Spencer turned his head away in shame, “he left when I was ten. I got too old for him.” 

Morgan and Hotch were speechless. 

“Spencer, I’m sorry that happened to you. But you don’t need to be ashamed, it wasn't your fault,” Hotch tried to assure him.

Morgan nodded in agreement, it was something he tried to remind himself regarding his own trauma. 

Spencer shrugged in a dismissive manner. Morgan swallowed hard and reached out his hand, placing it on top of Spencer's. 

“I know it seems like you’re all alone, but you’re not. You’ve already seen how many victims there are out there. It’s not your fault anymore than it’s theirs,” Morgan emotionally said, “Do you understand?” 

Spencer’s eyes darted around as he thought about what Morgan said, “I can try too,” he finally whispered.

#criminal minds #spencer reid #derek morgan #aaron hotchner #spencer reid fanfiction #criminal minds fanfiction #autistic spencer reid #spencer reid angst #spencer reid whump #hurt/comfort

[justrandomfanfictionskh]

Mary Todd pt 10

ao3 Beginning Previous

Marinette landed on her balcony silent and frustrated. Not at Jason, but at herself. Why had she done that? Why had she told him about Hawkmoth? No one knew about that. Not even Adrien? Only Natalie and the kwami knew the truth and they had worked hard to keep it that way, and yet here she was blabbing her darkest secret to a complete stranger.

“Except, he’s not a stranger,” she thought, “He’s my brother.” She glanced behind her as Red Hood landed. Her brother, a notorious crime boss of Gotham, on the top of the at least three governments’ most wanted list, whose only protection was the slim and tenuous connection he had to Batman, and the fact that this was Gotham. She sighed, as she dropped her transformation and led him into the darkened apartment. “What am I going to do with him?”

“Make yourself at home,” Marinette said as she moved to the kitchen. As he moved silently to the couch, Marinette could feel the tension thickening like folding fabric. If it got any thicker, she was afraid that it would be too thick to cut, even with a chainsaw. So, she quickly pulled out the macrons she had stress baked that morning and brought them out into the living space. They each took one, but they only nibbled it in growing silence.

Finally, Jason said, “These are good.”

“Thanks,” Marinette said, although she felt as if hers tasted like chalk, but she reckoned that was just the nerves. Still, she forced her spine to relax, her feet not to tap, and her hands not to fidget. She had been on the edge of several melt downs and panic attacks all night, but if Jason noticed he never acknowledged it. The fact was that she was good at hiding her emotions and disguising them as something else. At this point hiding the sheer flood of anxiety under a calm and casual exterior, was just as natural as breathing these days. It served her well when dealing with the league, but with her brother...

He was just so open. All of his emotions were telegraphed so plainly to her. The anger hid sadness. The rage hid guilt. The gruffness hid protectiveness. If she had doubted his affection, then the last half hour on the roof tops of Gotham had done away with any of that. No this was not about establishing feelings for each other. This was about establishing a relationship, and that started with getting on the same page.

But she couldn’t read his mind. He had to tell her what he was thinking if they were going to move forward. So, she nibbled her macaroon and waited, until he said softly, “Do you want to tell me what happened with Hawkmoth?”

Marinette sighed and set down her cookie. Tikki flew up, landing on her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek. This was hard for both of them, but she knew all of his dirty laundry, (it wasn’t exactly hidden) he might as well know hers.

“I got the Miraculous when I was fourteen,” she began, “It was a normal day just like any other. Except one of my classmates decided to randomly turn into a rock monster. Only, it wasn’t random, sudden, or exceptional. Or well…it wasn’t going to stay that way. I ran to hide in my room, and Tikki’s miraculous was waiting for me…

“I didn’t want to be a hero. Not at first anyway. But then I learned that…I wasn’t normal, and a normal life went out the window long before I ever got the miraculous. Turns out I’m something called an Arbiter. There’s a fancy ancient Mandarin word for it, but I forget it, but anyway…being an Arbiter means a lot of things. It means that I am literally the perfect person to guard the Miraculous. It means I can wear all of them without dying, which can be fun if I’m being honest. But perhaps most importantly, it means that I can…I’m meant…I have to pass judgment on people who disrupt the balance of the universe.

“It’s not something I can control or stop. It’s just…something that I do. Something that happens to me. Like that first day as Ladybug. During that first battle, Hawkmoth challenged me. Told me that I was in the wrong and that for the sake of Paris I needed to give him the Miraculous. I doubt he knew what he was doing, I definitely didn’t, but he was basically calling me to pass judgment on Paris, myself, and him.

“Something just…came over me after that. I couldn’t explain it even if I tried. I was in control, but also…not? I don’t know, but I passed judgment. I declared that he would lose his miraculous and that I would save Paris. Then the Universe began to act, even if I was no longer acting as Arbiter. It pushed and pulled events, not necessarily to my favor, but definitely towards my ultimate victory. For example! The Justice League, whether it was them ignoring my calls, or the government’s media blackouts, the Universe would not let them into Paris, or even acknowledge what was happening, because if it had, then someone---and let’s be honest it would have been Superman, would have been akumatized and the world would have ended. But! Just after I became Guardian, and was way over my head and needed help, Wonder Woman got wise.

“She came to Paris and understood better than anyone what had to happen. So, she helped me. She kept the League out, and she, Wonder Girl, and some other Amazons, popped in on the weekends to oversee the training of me and my team…I owe all of them so much, and it was only because of them that we succeeded.”

“So,” Jason said, still hunched over his knees, eyes fixed on the distant wall, “When you confronted Hawkmoth, you what? Passed judgment?”

Marinette sighed and leaned back. Her exhaustion was getting to her, and the energy of the city was not helping. It had her coiling like a spring, as if something was constantly just about to happen, without anything actually happening. It was frustrating and made it impossible to relax. She just couldn’t understand how anyone could live like this!

“I already had passed judgment,” she said, “That first day with Stoneheart. I passed judgment and declared him the villain. Everything after that was just increasing the severity of his eventual fate until…Mayura, was dying. The broken Miraculous was killing her slowly, but that didn’t stop Hawkmoth from forcing her to use it. Eventually she realized what a toxic relationship was and betrayed him. She came to me and told me everything. So, Chat Noir and I went to confront him with her help. During the fight Hawkmoth got a hold of Tikki and knocked Chat unconscious. But even that was the Universe, directing events so that judgment could be fulfilled, and balance restored.

“I took, Chat’s ring and transformed. And then…it was like that first day again. I was in control. But I wasn’t. I knew what I had to do. But I didn’t want to do it. But I couldn’t stop myself from doing it. But I never fought against…whatever it was. It was like…instinct…you know like how, when someone scares you, so you randomly start punching. Not because you want to punch people, but because everything in your body is screaming at you…telling you that that is the right thing to do. That’s the only thing to do. That’s what you should do. What you need to do. In the end, killing Hawkmoth, Gabriel Agreste, was what I needed to do.”

She met Jason’s eyes, and they were somber. But she could see through the careful stoic façade. He was raging, confused, guilty, and scared. Not of her, but for her. He was beginning to comprehend that she was something…other. Something that was clearly and completely human, but with something else just on the edge of her subconscious directing her to do what was best for the universe. He might not like it. It might tear her, and everyone close to her apart. But it was a part of her. And she couldn’t stop it. She wouldn’t stop it. It was a part of her, and she had chosen it with eyes wide oopen. There was nothing either of them could do about it anymore. And that…was that.

She tried to convey all of this in her posture and expression, and he seemed to get the message, because he finally leaned back and asked, “Who else knows?”

“Me,” she said calmly, “You, Diana, the kwami, and Mayura. Although I don’t know how much longer she has so…so, I doubt she really counts.”

“Where is she?”

“Hawkmoth was Gabriel Agreste, a famed fashion designer. He also had a son…Adrien is a very dear friend of mine, and while he knows I’m Ladybug, he doesn’t know what I did. Natalie, Mayura, said she wants to spend her last days setting everything to right. Making sure the company doesn’t fall. Making sure Mmes. Argeste gets proper medical attention---long story don’t ask and ensuring that Adrien doesn’t become like his father. Although that last one is probably the easiest out of the three if you ask me.”

“Why?”

Marinette debated with herself for a moment before saying, “Adrien hated his father long before he learned the truth. The man was neglectful on a good day. And after everything else…well let’s just say Adrien has been fighting for his freedom long before his father ever dreamed of becoming a supervillain. This…this was just the final nail in the coffin.”

“You shouldn’t have had to kill him,” Jason muttered, and Marinette had to take a deep breath to stop herself from getting angry. Maybe he didn’t understand as much as she thought he had.

“And who should have killed him?” she asked as calmly as she could, “You?”

“I don’t know!” Jason snapped and he began to pace. “It’s just…I’m just…I’m supposed to protect you!”

Marinette froze. He kept saying that. He had always said that. Even when they were kids, it was one of the few clear things that she could remember. And now the Universe was drawing them together, after so many years, after she had fully accepted her role as Arbiter…She shook the thoughts to the back of her mind. She needed to speak to Hippolyta and Shu-Han before she could go down that rabbit hole. For now, she needed to calm her brother down.

“Jason,” she said softly, laying a hand on his arm. He froze and looked at her with such desperate anguish that it broke her heart. She spoke saying, “It’s ok. I forgive you. Can…can you forgive me?”

And there it was. The thing she kept turning over and over in her head. As he swirled and twisted over not being able to protect her. She swirled and twisted on not being there for him. It was getting hard to breathe. And it was all she could do to focus on anything but the fact that she had abandoned him. That she had had a normal, happy, safe childhood, and he had suffered. He had died without the benefit of a Miraculous to bring him back, and they were all just…

Jason must have seen her spiraling thoughts because he immediately wrapped her up in his arms, and just held her. He held her and whispered in his softest voice yet, “It’s ok Pixie. I forgive you. I’ll always forgive you and…and I’m so, so proud of you. You…you are more amazing than I ever thought you could be. And every time I think you’ve exceeded all of my expectations; you go and do it again! I…I…”

“I love you, Jay-Jay,” Marinette whispered as silent tears stained his jacket.

Jason nodded, “I love you too, Pixie.”

Mari chocked on a chuckle and said, “Fairy.”

“What?”

She pulled back and smiled mischievously, “I’m a fairy, Jay-Jay.”

Recognition filled his eyes, and he threw back his head and laughed, loud and full. It made Marinette beam, and she knew, she just knew. That it was going to be ok. She had her brother back. And he was happy. Everything else could wait. For now, this was enough.  

Next

Taglist: @laurcad123 @craftgremlin @toodaloo-kangaroo @blackroserelina @maanae @kitsun369 @idkamt @aksartisticlife @its-maemain @iglowinggemma28 @officiallydarkgeek @meira-3919 @crazylittlemunchkin  @read-fantasy-to-escape-reality @raven-ette

#maribat #mlb x dc #dc x mlb #marinette dupen chang #marinettexroy #big brother jason #jason todd #marinette needs a hug #miraculous x dc #dc x miraculous #miraculous ladybug #crossover #fanfic #fanfiction #dcu fic #batman #batfam #batfamily #badass marinette #red hood

[mino-diabolik]

DARK FATE — Mystic 「Dark 02」

[Dark 01]

[Location: Dungeon — Tsukinami Mansion]

Elle: Right over there.

Mystic: You guys——!

Kou: Look who’s back!

Yui: Mystic!

Elle: Fufu, you’re lucky I’m the one that got ya down here. ‘Guess I’ll just tell ‘em ya immediately got busy. Chat it up. I know the pain it is to have dinner with that bunch of relics.

—Footsteps…—

Yuma: … …

Mystic: She’s married.

Yuma: I didn’t——!!

Yui: Mystic, Mystic! What’s going on? Did they do something to you?

Mystic: Nothing worse than what they did to all of you. Don’t worry.

But I fear… things are gonna get so much worse if I don’t get all of you out of here soon.

Azusa: What… do you mean…?

Mystic: Lamby’s heart.

Yui: My heart?

Mystic: That’s the only thing they were after. They didn’t talk about all the details in front of me, but it seems there was a tiny hole in their plan that they weren’t counting on.

Kou: Which is?

Mystic: It turns out that every time she’s bitten by a Vampire, it taints her blood. It’s only something First Bloods are able to detect, though—

Ruki: First Bloods?

Mystic: …Did I forget to mention that?

Ruki: You have got to be bluffing.

Yuma: Hey, hey, hey. Quit talkin’ riddles.

Mystic: You know, there’s four subspecies in the Demon Realm?

Azusa: Bats, Eagles, Snakes… as well as Wolves, right?

Mystic: Well, you see, First Bloods—also known as Founders—carry the DNA of all of them.

Yuma: What’s that gotta do with anything?

Mystic: You didn’t think it was the Wolves that came after you, right?

Ruki: I assumed. Wolves tend to be territorial. It’s unlike their nature to stir up trouble unprovoked.

Kou: You’re saying… these people are First Bloods?

Ruki: That isn’t possible. Founders were defeated in war by KarlHeinz long ago.

Mystic: Oh, how I wish you were right.

A few survived, and others escaped. I’m the latter.

Kou: You?!

Yuma: What’d a Wolf gain from workin’ for Founders?

Mystic: Huff. Okay, get two things straight—

One, Founders are worshipped like gods all over the realm, so I wouldn’t be surprised if any creature would be more than willing to kiss their ass.

And two, I’m not from the Wolves.

Azusa: You aren’t…?

Kou: You’re not?!

Mystic: (. . . These dumbasses——)

Ruki: I figured as much.

Yuma: Ya knew?!

Ruki: That he wasn’t part of the Wolves, yes. However, I could have never guessed he was a Founder.

From the beginning, Mystic has always resembled a member of the Eagle a lot more…

Mystic: You’re… not that far off.

Yuma: What’s that mean?

Mystic: Enough of me, yeah?! The bottom line is that all of you—especially Yui—are so close to getting killed it’s not even funny!

(Shit… all this trouble… If only I hadn’t been swayed to stay for dinner, I could’ve distracted Kazuha and Shin long enough to help them hide in the Demon Realm…)

(No, knowing those two, they would have surely seen right through my scheme…)

Yui: …Mystic.

—Rustle. Tap—

Mystic: …!

(My cheek… her hands are so cold.)

(I didn’t hadn’t even realized it’s almost freezing down here.)

Yui: Calm down. We’ll figure something out.

Mystic: Mm. Thank you, Yui.

Ruki: … …

——So do you even have a plan?

Mystic: Oh, um—no. Not yet. But first we can start by getting you guys——

—Zzzap!—

Mystic: Ah! Hijo de su pinche madre! (1) What the fuck!?

Yui: Mystic…!

Kou: What was that?!

Mystic: Ah… agh. The—there’s a fucking barrier over the cells…!

Azusa: …

Yuma: Don’t touch ‘em, Azusa!

Mystic: (Second time getting zapped today. For fuck’s sake…)

But… I helped Azusa bandage up his head through the bars before. What happened?

Ruki: That woman from before—Kazuha—she must have put them up after you left. I heard her speak under her breath before also taking her leave.

Mystic: And you didn’t think to mention it?!

Ruki: I hadn’t thought much of it.

Mystic: (She must have known I’d try to get them out of here while none of them were looking. That bitch…)

Mystic: But then how—

Yui: Don’t touch it, Mystic!

—Tap—

Mystic: …? Yui’s cell doesn’t have it.

(Right, someone needed to have access to her all the time. Not to mention Yui poses no threat, even if she managed to escape.)

Okay, Yui. We’re getting out of here first.

Yui: What about the rest?

Mystic: Don’t worry, I’ll get all of you out here in one piece. Promise.

I’ll explain what’s happening soon enough.

(If I explain that here, I’m sure the rest will lose their mind.)

Kou: So you’re just going to leave?!

—Rattle. Creak…—

Mystic: For now.

——Come on, Yui.

I’ll keep coming down here all the time, while I think of something to get rid of this damn spell on the cell.

Ruki: … …

Mystic: Please, believe me…

「 Dark 02 — End 」

[Dark 03]

(1) Son of a bitch (Spanish slang)

#diabolikloversoc #mystic tsukinami #dark fate mystic tsukinami route #dark fate mystic dark 2 #dark fate dar 2

[mostfacinorous]

Whumptober No. 7 THE WAY YOU SHAKE AND SHIVER Geralt & Jaskier Shaking Hands | Seizures | Silent Panic Attack

They’d made it. Barely. 

Geralt had spent the first three hours in Triss’s care vomiting up black sludge, and Jaskier had been horrified and all too certain that it was his partially liquified organs. 

Thank goodness for Triss, who had every drop of emotional maturity and bedside manner that Geralt routinely lacked. She calmly explained what was happening to Jaskier, calmly gave him directions for how he could help, and made sure that he remained calm as well. 

He could tell she had some sarcasm in her, as well as some hurt feelings where Geralt was concerned, but he would get that story from Geralt later– for now she was keeping it packed away, and it was only polite for him to do the same. 

And so he followed directions and held Geralt’s wound together with tremulous hands, silently hoping that his shakes wouldn’t interfere with the healing or cause it to be uneven or make the scarring worse… 

At the end of it, they had gotten Geralt sewn back up and laid out comfortably, and were just waiting for him to recover and wake up. 

“I’m going to go get some rest… I take it you’re going to stay with him?” Triss asked. 

Soundlessly, Jaskier nodded. Triss dropped a gentle but exhausted hand on his shoulder. 

“I’ll just be in the next room. If something changes, let me know.”

“I will. Thank you, Triss.” Jaskier turned to watch her leave, and was not entirely surprised when she paused at the door. “He’s lucky to have you, Jaskier. You saved him. Don’t let him forget it.” 

Jaskier snorted, but turned his attention back to Geralt, stretched out on the table, looking smaller than Jaskier had ever seen him look before. 

It seemed more important that he not forget it. There was something about writing those songs, about traveling with him, that made Jaskier forget that Geralt was still mortal. He slayed the sort of monsters that most people would never even know existed, if they were lucky. He walked away from so many of the types of battles that few ever lived to talk about. And he poisoned himself on the regular, just to be able to stay standing to do so. 

If things had gone just a little differently, Geralt would be dead. And Jaskier would be partly to blame, for having given him the potion in the first place. 

His hands were shaking again, and he folded them together almost viciously, squeezing until his joints protested. 

He had almost lost him, and it had almost been his fault. 

He’d managed to hold it together to get them to this point, but now there was nothing to do but wait, and he found the last ropes of his self control fraying to the point of snapping. 

He stood quickly, lest he knock over the stool he was perching on and disturb Triss or wake Geralt. 

The last thing he wanted right now was an audience. 

He moved to the farthest part of the long living space and put his back into the corner, not really understanding why that felt right. He wasn’t being threatened, he wasn’t in danger, but his heart was thrumming as if he was, and he felt like he was going to go mad, or vomit, or cry, or maybe all three. 

He slid down the wall until he was crouching, his fingers tangling in his hair and pulling at it as he shook, his breaths coming out fast and shallow and his throat feeling tight. 

Geralt had almost died. He’d almost killed Geralt. 

On the bed, Geralt stirred a bit, and Jaskier let out a gasp, which he knew was too loud. 

He shoved the knuckle of his first finger in his mouth and bit down, swallowing the whimper and trying to force himself to remember to breathe out of his nose. 

He concentrated on being as silent as he could. The last thing he wanted right now was an audience. 

He had no idea how long he sat there like that, curled up small, trying to breathe without waking anyone, wishing for his heart to stop bruising itself against his ribs. 

It ended gradually, a slow release, an unclenching, and at last all he felt was empty and exhausted. 

But he’d managed. He did it– he’d succeeded in not making himself a burden for anyone, at least not this time. Not now, when there were so many more important things to be worried about. 

When he could, he stood, his legs feeling weak and like still warm pasta. He made his way slowly, carefully, silently as he could, back to the stool, and sat himself back down beside his friend’s prone form. 

“We’re going to be okay, Geralt.” He whispered. And, selfishly, he knew it was really a reassurance for himself.

#whumptober 2022 #geraskier #geralt #jaskier #thewitcher #whumptober #that writing thing I do