#thought about echo too hard and made myself cry

[the-bi-space-ace]

I just have so much love and affection for these characters. So much has happened. There’s so much left to say about them. My brain is overwhelmed by the amount of happiness I’ve gained from watching this silly little show.

#the bad batch #thought about echo too hard and made myself cry #like. my heart is so full. #I always feel a little teary on Thursday morning not gonna lie #tbb echo #tbb crosshair #tbb tech #tbb wrecker #tbb hunter #I still miss my boy echo tho maybe that’s why I’m so weepy 😭

[dantakeyoman]

Hi! I wanna cry out my heart tonight so is it alright for you to make a neteyam x reader where neteyam comes back home after the war but hears that reader is mated/bonded with someone else?

Btw I love your works omg! 🥹

Neteyam Returns From the Metkayina and Falls In Love With You Again After Seeing You (SFW / Comfort)

Reader is Fem! Omaticaya

CW: i'm sorry but i couldn't bring myself to do it :'), i had it all planned out but it was just too sad, i hope you're alright with the change tho, fluffy fluff, simp Neteyam appearance, reader is one too, Lo'ak and Kiri are, yet again, Lo'ak and Kiri, skeezy is when someone is weird or creepy, figured I’d slide some black slang in there

"Someone's excited," Kiri giggles, turning to Neteyam as her and Lo'ak's ikran approached the entrance to the Omaticaya Stronghold.

The boy had had this childlike expression plastered on his face nearly the whole way home, which grew in giddiness the closer the family drew to their forest home.

Even in the earlier days when they had stopped for rest, she clearly remembered how much he mumbled your name in his sleep, as if it were a prayer.

It made her want to swoon and gag at the same time.

He's so hopeless.

"Yeah. We all know what your excited to see," Lo'ak smirked, pulling his ikran closer to Neteyam's, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Or should I say...who?"

Neteyam scoffed, rolling his eyes at their antics.

Ever since their journey started, the teasing had been relentless. So much so that it didn't even faze him anymore.

What's a few more minutes of it anyway?

Seeing you again would be his greatest reward.

Four years of pining and longing would all be worth it. 

The hard days, the cold nights, the times where he felt like he couldn't anymore. You came to him, be it a dream, or a memory, and told him you could.

It was what made him love you so much.

Even if you weren’t there, you were there for him, easing his body, mind, and soul.

Back when he lived with the Omaticaya, you two had a special spot that one would go to if they were sad, mad, tired, or simply overwhelmed.

The other would comfort them, hold them close, say sweet nothings, make the other feel loved. 

It became a regular thing. And now that he was coming back, it was the very first thing he wanted to do with you.

He wanted to feel you run your hands through his hair, he wanted you to trace his glowing freckles, he wanted you whisper how much you loved him into his ear.

Fuck.

“You know what would be hilarious? If she found a mate already,” Lo’ak poorly joked, turning to Kiri.

This quickly brought Neteyam out of his reverie, a nervous frown quickly replacing his smile

Kiri was quick to catch this.

“Don’t joke like that, skxawng!” she scolded, flicking him harshly on the head, earning an angry ow! from him.

“Last I checked, (y/n) was obsessed with Neteyam. She wouldn’t shut up about him. I highly doubt she would ever find someone else.”

But the words went through one ear and out the other.

The thought you would mate with someone else never crossed Neteyam’s mind. But now that it did, it made perfect sense.

Four years was a long time, and you were a beautiful woman.

No doubt some skeezy warrior tried to snatch you up the moment you came of age.

The thought made his blood boil, and his heart wrench.

This couldn’t be the case.

After all he’d been through throughout these four years, the only thing that was keeping him going was the thought of you waiting for him at home.

Now that there was a possibility of you no longer being his, he was truly contemplating turning back.

“Look alive kids. We’re here,” his dad smiled, pulling his ikran to the front of the pack.

“Yay! Home!” Tuk cheered from her spot with Neytiri, earning a laugh from the woman.

She was quite excited to be home, too.

They swooped into the cave, perching the ikran on the stone ledge before dismounting, the entirety of the clan running towards them, crowding the family.

Shouts and cheers of excitement echoed throughout the cave, the cave happy to see their former Olo’eyktan had returned, hopefully ready for him, or his son, to resume the mantle.

Despite the thick crowd, Mo’at managed to make it to the front of the mantle, along with the new Olo’eyktan.

“Jakesully, oel ngati kameie,” Mo’at nodded, pointing her hand from herself to Jake.

“Mo’at, oel ngati kameie. Olo’eyktan, oel ngati kameie,” Jake did the same, turning to the Olo’eyktan as well.

Once the formalities were out the way, Mo’at smiled, enveloping her family in a large hug.

“Welcome home,” she greeted.

The entire family hugged her back, the children happy to see their grandmother again.

“Grandmother! You will never believe what we have seen! All of the sea animals and the plants! Oh, and the tulkun!” Tuk happily rambled, hanging onto her grandma a little longer as the rest of the family broke away.

“I am sure you will tell me all about it tonight. My, you have gotten big!” Mo’at assured, hugging her granddaughter tightly.

While Neteyam was happy that his family was fully reunited once again, he still found his eyes scouring the crowd, looking for a familiar face.

Your familiar face.

“She is in the healing tent,” Mo’at whispered, recognizing her grandson’s distress.

He smiled, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before running off through the crowd, down the familiar path that always led him to you.

Visions of the day he left flashed through his head, reminding him what he was coming back to.

“Are you sure you have to go?” you tearfully asked, cupping his face in your hand.

“I must. My family will put everyone in the clan in danger if we stay,” he sighed, pulling you in closer by your waist, resting his forehead on yours.

“Well if you must,” you sniffled, quickly wiping a tear from your eye. “Then I support you. I will wait for you, Neteyam. For as long as it takes.”

When he snapped himself out of it, he was already at your tent flap, the piece of cloth the only thing keeping you two apart.

He was about to grab it, but stopped mid-way, hesitating.

What if you had really found someone else to love?

“I will wait for you, Neteyam. For as long as it takes,” your words repeated in his head.

He sighed, steeling his nerves, before yanking open the tent flap, walking in.

“Tsahey! How many times have I told you, Ateyo! You have to be more careful when climbing trees. If you had fell any different, you would have cracked your skull open,” you scolded, smoothing a mushroom salve over a large cut on a young boy’s forehead.

You back was turned, and you didn’t hear the flap sound over the boy’s complaints.

“Hitxoa, (y/n). I tried to be extra careful this time! But a syaksyuk came out of no where and shook the branch!” Ateyo whined, wincing at the sting of the paste.

The air caught in Neteyam’s throat as he got a good look at you, his eyes raking up and down your body.

You had grown so much.

Your hair had gotten longer, your chest had gotten larger, and your hips had gotten slightly bigger, with a slightly deeper curve to them.

It was making something stir in his stomach.

The feeling reminded him of that word he had caught his dad calling his mom once. The one that Neytiri hissed at him for when she realized the children were around.

What was it?

Sexy.

When you stopped rubbing the salve on him, the little boy opened his eyes, only for them to land on the tall, warrior behind you, who gave him a polite wave.

The boy gasped in shock, his eyes growing wide with awe.

He knew exactly who he was, every Omaticayan boy did. 

Neteyam the Warrior, brother to Lo’ak the Warrior. 

Stories of the brothers’ adventures were known throughout the clan. And they practically became legends to the children. 

You cocked a brow, slowly turning around. 

“What are you-.” Your breath hitched when your eyes met that of the warrior before you, his smile growing at the sight of your face.

You had gotten more beautiful, too.

You slowly stood up, looking the boy...no, man, up and down, a dark shade of blue growing on your cheeks.

He had gotten incredibly tall, and beefier, too. 

And with new muscle, came new scars, which now littered his body, in a good way.

In an attractive way.

You would enjoy hearing stories about them as you traced them later tonight.

“Oel ngati kameie, my love,” he smirked, doing the gesture along with it, deeply hoping those words were still true.

The biggest smile you had smiled in four years found their way to your lips as you broke into a run, tackling the poor man in a bear hug.

“My Neteyam! You have returned!” you exclaimed out of pure happiness, throwing your arms around his neck and going on your tippy-toes to kiss him on the lips.

You were no longer tall enough to kiss him normally.

He laughed into it, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you closer to him ( if that was even possible ).

After your display of affection, he felt foolish to think you would ever mate with someone other than him.

As the two of you broke apart, he looked into your beautiful, honey eyes, and smiled as saw they held so much love behind them.

You were looking at him as if he hung the stars right before you.

And he recognized this because this was the very same look he would give you.

When you weren’t looking, of course.

“Look how beautiful you have grown. You must be the most sought woman in the clan,” he smirked, sensually tucking a stray braid behind your ear.

You smirked right back, bringing your hands to rest on his chest.

“Ah, yes. It has come to that,” you playfully sighed, leaning in closer so your mouth lay just outside his ear, bringing your voice down to a whisper.

“But I have saved myself for you.”

Neteyam quietly growled, the stir in his stomach increasing tenfold as he thought of what would happen if he took you to Utral Aymokriyä tonight.

“As have I,” he huskily whispered back, giving your neck a quick peck.

His tone made you shudder, suddenly begging for eclipse to come so you two could sneak off.

“GROSS!” the little, forgotten boy exclaimed from the corner, holding his stomach as if he were about to throw up.

“Disgusting! You’re a warrior! You’re not supposed to like this lovey-dovey stuff!” he groaned, pointing to his mouth and gagging.

“Get out of here!” you scolded, turning around and placing your hands on your hips.

But not before Neteyam pulled you into him, your back resting on his strong chest.

“Yeah. Before I start kissing her again,” Neteyam teased, placing a long, dramatic kiss on your cheek, making you giggle.

“GROSSSSS!” the boy loudly groaned in agony, covering his eyes as he ran out the tent.

The two of you laughed at the boy’s antics before you turned around, wrapping your arms around his neck once more.

You both stayed in comfortable silence, having a silent conversation as you stared into each others eyes, taking in every detail and committing it to memory.

Just in case you two would have to separate again.

“You know,” you started, smirking as one of your hands find it’s way to Neteyam’s hair, rubbing it in the way you remembered he liked.

“I was being serious before. I have saved myself.”

You gave a light tug to some of his hair, and the man let out a strained groan, using every ounce of his strength to keep him from closing his eyes in pleasure.

You massaged his head so well.

“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to hold you again,” he sighed, tightening his grip around your waist.

You smiled, inching your face closer to his, to the point where your lips were a hair away.

“Then what are we still waiting for?” you purred.

That was his tipping point.

With a growl, he enveloped your lips in a passionate kiss, and you kissed him back with just as much fervor.

Hooking his hands under your thighs, he picked you up, carrying bridal style as he took you the back way out the tent.

“Neteyam!” you squealed, pulling out the kiss and tightening your grip around your neck, keeping yourself from falling.

“Quiet, my love. Or people will hear us,” he smirked, placing a quick kiss on your lips before running the both of you out the back entrance of the Stronghold.

Sure, you were serious about what you said. But past Neteyam would’ve never been bold enough to actually go through with it.

He had changed in these four years. He had grown confidence.

It was making something stir in you, even more so as you knew your destination would be Utral Aymokriyä.

This is going to be fun.

#avatar #avatar 2 #avatar the way of water #na'vi x reader #na'vi x y/n #neteyam x reader #neteyam x y/n #atwow x reader #atwow #omitacaya

[ghoulie-67-baby]

One too many mistakes- Criminal minds.

Summary: You’re a member of the BAU and have been captured by the unsub. You know they’ll save you but you have to be patient.

Prompts: You escape captivity and start running, only to run into your saviour.

Warnings: Blood, mentions of murder, kidnapping, language, crying, vomiting.

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x fem!reader.

Word count: 1,068.

"You're sick." I spat up at the unsub, my hands aching from being tied up. "Why do you do this?" I watched as his chapped lips curled into a sickening grin, revealing rotted teeth and the stench of blood on his breath.

"Maybe I am sick, maybe I'm the normal one." He shrugged, attacking a tube to the cannula in my arm. "Either way I enjoy it." My eyes widened at the horrifying chuckle that filled the room. Silence overcame us as he fiddled with his equipment. I knew what would happen soon enough. He would collect as much of my blood as he wanted, drink it, and repeat for a few days. When he wanted fresh blood he would dump my body just like with all the other women. Two nights had already passed and I knew my time was limited.

"Rest now sweet pet, ill be back soon." My body slid down the wall as I feigned exhaustion.

A few hours had passed since he left and I had been working hard to escape the ropes. I just about managed to fray the one around my ankles using a nail sticking through the floorboard. My hands shook in my lap, the locks on the door echoing through the room. With my head hanging, I faked sleep, holding back a grin when he left the door wide open.

'That's your first mistake asshole.' The thought made me shiver with anticipation but I waited patiently, knowing timing was imperative. Once he turned back around, I readied myself. His second mistake.

Scrambling to my feet, I yanked my arms from the cannulas and sprinted for the door, not giving him the chance to react.

Pains seared through my limbs as they screamed in protest. The ground was uneven and the lack of light from the dense foliage proved it more difficult to guide myself. Heavy boot falls sounded from behind me as he began the chase. Using tree trunks and bushes as cover, I hid myself and tried to figure out my direction.

"You bitch!" I could tell he was stalking closer, his voice getting louder. Taking an unsteady breath, I stumbled through the threes, trying to ignore the dizziness clouding my head. "You can't run forever!" He was right, especially with the state I was in, but I'd give it a damn good go if it meant a better chance of surviving.

"I can hear you," he sang into the darkness, his sickening grin flashing through my head. "I can smell you, almost taste you. All that fresh blood going to waste." My heart raced in my chest, cementing my fear that he could actually hear it.

Tears clouded my vision as I staggered through branches and rotting leaves. The tree roots seemed to latch onto my feet as I ran, making me trip and struggle for balance. With my captor's voice converging on me and my senses overtaken by panic and pain I didn't notice the figures ahead of me.

The howl of a dog broke me from my panicked stupor and I fell back, eyes wide and blurry as the animal barked at me.

"Y/N?" A figure called my name and I scrubbed my eyes with the heels of my bound palms. They focused a little better, revealing the angry face of Hotch and the concern and relief of my team. My body flooded with relief as my knees shook, teeth chattering in the autumn air. "Hey, you're okay. Y/N walk to me."

I followed the voice, tears streaming down my face as I tried to stay on my feet. My face came into contact with a bulletproof vest but from the cologne, I could tell it was Hotch. Seconds passed before he pulled away from me, hands holding my elbows as his eyes inspected me for injuries. My bound wrists pressed against his chest as his eyes rested on the bleeding wounds on my arms.

"Tell me sweet pet," the yelling made my head snap up as Hotch untied the rope from my sore wrists. "How close am I? Close enough to taste you yet?" A shiver passed up my spine as I gripped my boss's sleeves, tears still falling as the team moved to shield me.

"He won't touch you again, we won't let him." I faced the direction of the voice, hands clutching Aaron's behind my back as the grimy man came into view.

"Tut tut sweet pet, thought we were exclusive?" Hotch's hands flinched slightly as I shook. Third mistake.

"You can't go anywhere now, man, put down the weapon." Morgan's voice was hard and tense as agents surrounded the unsub. "Put it down!". His eyes stayed locked on mine as he put his shotgun down, a sick smile on his face, and knelt amongst the autumn leaves.

The agents closed in quickly, Morgan snapped cuffs on him before hauling him to his feet. I motioned for him to bring him over.

"Why?" My voice shook no matter how hard I tried to keep it steady. "Why did you really do it?"

"I already told you pet," he leant closer, ignoring Morgan's pull. "Because I enjoy it." With a wave of demented laughter, he was dragged off, laughter mixing with Morgan's commands.

what little colour was in my face drained as I doubled over, hurling up the bile in my empty stomach.

"I've got you. JJ, alert the medics." My hair was gathered back as I heaved what little I could, retches shaking my body.

"M'sorry didn't mean to do that." I chuckled weakly, not even trying to make it sound real as I dragged myself upright. Aaron shook his head, wrapping his jacket around me before guiding me out of the forest, the flash of the ambulance calling my name.

"Don't apologise. I'm just sorry we weren't here sooner. He didn't do anything else did he?" He trailed off, not wanting to imagine what else that monster could do.

"No, he didn't do anything else, just the blood. I'll never look at a doctor the same way ever again." I sighed, sitting on the ambulance step, moving so he could sit with me. "You were here in time, that's all that matters."

Resting my heavy head on his shoulder, exhaustion stopped me from caring that he was my boss, let alone closed off. Instead, I chose to revel in his warmth.

#criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds x reader #aaron hotchner #aaron hotch #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotch x reader #x reader #reader insert

[stargirlrchive]

folklore: this is me trying ✩ jake sully

masterlist ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ folklore masterlist

summary: widowed!jake sully x female!reader, no use of y/n, angst, marriage of convenience, jake being mean? but he is a grieving boy!, mentions of death, TW!! it is not explicitly mentioned in this chapter but in this series it is eluded to death during childbirth, it might be mentioned later on, but i will do my best to not go into too much detail

word count: 1,898

sempul (n) - father ; sa’nok (n) - mother

‘ite (n) - daughter ; ‘itan (n) - son

comments: hi honeys, i am really excited about this series, i hope you enjoy it as much as i do. that being said, with what i mentioned in the summary, if anything seems like it will be too hard of a read, pls skip past this, your mental health is far more important! but i will do my best to not dive deep into the topic. but ok tysm, love you all!! byeeee mwaaaah ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

next ✩

- pandora, omitikaya forest, 2162 -

You swallowed roughly when you felt a lump form at your throat, desperately trying not to cry as the tears swelled your eyes. How did you end up in this situation? Why was Eywa punishing you this way? “When we mate-I do not wish to create Tsaheylu. That was reserved for Neytiri and I.”

Jake’s words continued to echo in your mind, “What?”

You could feel the frustration seeping out of him, tense and angry, as if what he said made perfect sense and you just didn’t understand. It was not fair, not to you and he knew it. “You-that is taking so much from me.” Your bottom lip quivered, it felt like someone had shoved a piping hot metal down your throat. “I understand we do not love each other, but-but this is something we look forward to our whole life and you will not even give me the courtesy of mating with me properly? Hold no true loyalty to me, nor I to you?”

Your tears began to fall in the next instant, bursting out as you refrained from holding back and sobbing loudly. Mo’at had come to both of you separately, informing you that Eywa had called upon her after the passing of Neytiri. The Great Mother wanted your path to cross with the Olo’eyktan.

Jake’s ears felt hot as they pressed down flat against his head, he was angry. Angry that the world had taken his mate from him, angry that the clan was forcing him to move on, angry that you did not understand where he was coming from. Besides his four children, there would never be anyone he loved more than Neytiri.

The thought of bearing his soul to you was too much, he would not risk his heart again. “I love Neytiri, you and I-we don't love each other, you said it yourself. I would never disrespect her by giving that part of myself to anyone else.”

He was being mean, he knew it too. “Many words have been used to describe you, but no one ever said you were mean. You are being cruel.”

Jake let out a deep breath, eyes starting to leak tears of frustration as he watched you cave in on yourself. You were mourning your future, what could have been for you, what you were never going to have.

“I had to let you know before this continued any further. Eywa has given us signs, I will respect her wishes and treat you with dignity as my wife, the kids-they love you. Neytiri loved you. And I am sorry I cannot give you a life filled with love but I can protect you. I will stand beside you through every moment.”

You said nothing, heart heavy with grief. “I know it is a lot to ask, but I need your help. Please.”

Your eyes caught Jake’s, tear stains down his face and as he pleaded with you, begging you. “You understand I will be giving my life to you. Depriving myself to find someone who loves me?”

Jake’s ears turned downwards, still pressed tightly against his head and he felt the guilt web it’s way through his entire body. He felt the rejection coming and he did not blame you. It was not a fair trade, he got a wife to look over his kids, care for him and his family and you got a love-less union, being upheld for appearance sake only.

Your throat dried up as he stayed silent, tears never ending from your eyes as they flowed down to your neck and chest.

“I’m trying, look-I cannot do that to Neytiri. I have never loved someone so deeply, when she and I promised ourselves to each other it was because we both knew that was right. We both knew we were meant to be by one another’s side-and creating Tsaheylu with you, it would rob the sentiment because we do not love each other, you said it yourself. I-I do not know how to phrase that gently, I do not wish to hurt you, only to be honest.”

There was a beat of silence, it was so defining that Jake's ears started to ring uncomfortably. You owed so much of the person you were to Neytiri and because of that you would not let her children suffer, “I will do it.”

Jake’s head snapped up, fear and gratitude on full display for you to see, your eyes had concealed themselves, your stare was cold and devoid, resignation as you came to terms with your future. “How will we go about this? I-” You paused and let out a breath through your nose, “I cannot stand in front of the clan and lie, celebrate as if this is normal, or joyous.”

You grumbled out quietly, “Feels like a death sentence.”

If Jake heard your last comment, he said nothing. His brain was still trying to process you agreeing to do this, why you would, he does not know.

It was as if you were reading his mind, “I am doing this for the children only. I know Neytiri would want someone to raise her kids, she would never want them to lack the love of a mother. And although I am not one, I loved Neytiri as if she were my sister, and for that the kids will never not know kindness from me.”

Jake’s shoulder sagged with relief, the last few months had been so very hard. He was trying to be a good father and help his oldest three process their grief while trying to not let his own swallow him whole.

You felt so nauseous, something swirling in the pit of your stomach trying to force its way up your throat. This was too much, too raw for you to accept. You pitied yourself but pitied the man before you even more. Jake’s throat felt rough, as if someone had forced sand down his mouth, “I will announce that we have mated at tomorrow's feast, that it happened the night prior.”

Your eyes dilated in fear, “You want me to leave with you tonight?”

“It is the only way I can think of to get Mo’at to stop pressing us. If they know we plan to mate, then they will watch our every move.”

Jake was trying to be sympathetic, trying not to be mean but he needed everyone to get off his case. He needed to start healing from the pain that leaked into every aspect of his life from the second Neytiri was taken from him. And he was right, you were tired of the sympathetic looks being sent your way as you walked by.

Everyone in the clan knew of the love Neytiri and Jake held for each other, you never stood a chance. The whispers were the worst of it, and at times you wondered if it was true. You wondered if Eywa had truly turned her back on you.

“Fine. I wish to let my parents know, they will not expect my sudden departure.”

Your voice and face were void of any emotion, cold as if the flicker within you had died, Jake felt the guilt embed into his soul. Everything he touched burnt out, fizzled and turned to ash. But he would not let that happen to his children, he would not let them feel the loss of a mother and your love for Neytiri drove the both of you to put your feelings aside.

Jake was about to thank you, as much as he did not want this he knew this was a larger sacrifice for you. The words were on the tip of his tongue but he watched your body go rigid as the tent entrance was thrown open. Your mother and father had walked in, followed by all of your younger siblings. The happy chatter died as they saw their oldest daughter and the Olo’ekytan in their family home.

Small streaks of tears down your face instantly put your parents on edge but your father turned to Jake to greet him properly. “Olo’eyktan Sully, how are you?”

Jake's fingers reached his forehead, head tilted downward as his hand extended forward, “I am doing well, and yourself?”

The small talk ensued as you stood by the corner of your home, trying your best to avoid your mother’s concerned gaze. “‘Ite, what is the Olo’eyktan doing in our hut?”

Jake tensed up, fear gripping at his throat as he watched you with careful eyes, he was not sure if you would be able to do it. Lie to your family, from what he had gathered from Neytiri you all had a close bond, even more so after your sister Zewlay was killed by the RDA.

“Sempul-Sa’nok, Jake and I-” You paused, trying to force the words out of your mouth. Jake cut in quickly as he saw your form begin to shake, his legs making quick work as he crossed the tent to you, stiffly wrapping an arm around you to keep you up.

“Your daughter and I have mated before Eywa.”

Those eight words sealed your future and it was deathly quiet besides the gasp that left your mothers mouth as your eyes pooled with tears. “Oh ‘ite! I am very happy for you both.”

The tears fell from your eyes instantly, “Thank you, Sa’nok.”

Your mother instantly pulled you out of Jake’s hold, engulfing her arms around you as your body shook, “Why the tears my sweet girl?” Her voice dropped quietly as she whispered into your ear, “Are you not happy with the union?”

You pulled away from her, eyes jumping to your fathers as she wiped at the tear stains. Confusion evident in his gaze,“No-no I am just sad to be leaving you all. I just do not wish for you or Ma’Sempul to be angry with me.”

Your father said nothing, still trying to process what your mate had said. After a short while he slowly made his way to Jake, your fathers head was held high as he kept eye contact with him. Jake would not be shocked if your father would have strangled him, he was eerily quiet as he approached him, “Take care of my daughter, ‘itan.”

Relief flooded your system, eyes drifting towards Jake’s and you gave him a small nod, reassuring him all was well. “We must celebrate! Let me call on Mo’at and begin the preparations.”

��No!”

Your mother stilled and confusion littered her features, “Sorry Ma’, Jake and I do not want such a fuss over us. That is why our union was kept for just the two of us. He will announce it during tomorrow's communal feast and that is all.”

Your mother was about to protest but your father removed her from you, “If that is what you wish ‘ite.”

You nodded swiftly, moving towards Jake as you refrained from tensing up again, “Yes-I will pack some things and leave tonight.”

Your family was happy for you, they knew with the Olo’eyktan by your side you will always be loved and protected by the clan. “May your union prosper against all odds. Though we know the Great Mother makes no mistakes.” They could not have wanted anyone better to love you, oh how wrong they were.

“Thank you, Sa’nok.”

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

#jake sully #jake sully x reader #avatar jake sully x reader #folklore: jake sully ୨୧ #avatar x reader #avatar the way of water #jake sully smut #neteyam sully #loak sully #kiri sully #avatar #atwow #atwow x reader #neytiri #avatar 2009 #avatar 2022 #avatar 1 #avatar 2

[allsadnshit]

My co worker showed me how to set up my voicemail box after a decade of not having one and to my surprise an entire decade of voicemails started coming in. I was listening to the ones from 2014 and it was so many missed moments. My step mom trying to call me during my dads first intervention. I thought she just never said anything. A really happy loving voicemail of my old best friend singing he misses me was wanted to hang out. A million voice messages from my nai nai saying she just wanted to touch base. My first coffee manager telling me I got the job. My first art curator asking if I had anything I wanted to sell.

It took me all my energy at work not to have a complete mental breakdown.

I've been talking so much about grief this year because to my surprise, finally feeling safe and finally starting to process a lifetime of stunted emotions has been the most painful and joyful thing I've ever experienced. No one tells you when your mind and body protect you from harm with disassociation that when you finally come out of it, you will be left alone with all your feelings and the moment will have passed. I feel like I've let everyone I ever loved down, especially when I got sick. I feel like everyone watched my become emotionally unavailable and unable to trust, and pulled away with every hard thing that happened to me this last decade and now the truth is I don't have any friends. No one made it through the wreckage, and I am second guessing if I even did now. I stopped being able to eat anything, go out, or even look my loved ones in the eye my last few years in my hometown and then I feel like I acted so rashly and so emotionally manic calling crying after not talking for months and they must have thought I was so unstable and selfish and now I am scared that's a fair description.

I feel like I wasn't myself for a really long time and nothing could get through to me even though I was desperate for connection. Family, friends, relationships all passed me by and I left everyone disappointed and confused while my chronic pain got worse and cycled into violence with my undiagnosed ocd keeping me housebound.

I feel like I am a million miles away by the time I am turning around hearing my name called out, and all I can do is stand there knowing it's an echo by now.

I don't understand why I am so bad at showing people I love them and need them. Even as I unravel it all in therapy, does it even matter when it's too late? I feel inconsolable and like I've never once been able to make the people who mattered to me felt like they did and now I am too scared to try.

So I'm gonna go home and eat dinner

#personal

[obxone]

Stranded

Edited-ish. ~925 words.

“This has got to be some kind of sick twisted joke,” you mutter, fingers pressed to your temple as you pace back and forth in the small, cramped space. The lighthouse is tall and slender. The rusted spiral staircase reaching to the top, but neither of you had dared to venture more than a few steps up when it began to creak and groan. 

“Not a joke,” he says way too casually for your preference.

“How are you so calm right now?” You snap, spinning to glare at him.

He shrugs, “freaking out won’t change it.”

You exhale roughly and turn again, nails biting into your palms as you try hard not to snap at him. “This is all your fault,” you whisper, but he still hears it.

“My fault?!”

“Yes, Rafe, your fault!” You finally snap. The blinding anger you feel for his stupidity surfaces. “If we die, it is your fault!”

“Calm down,” he mutters, legs kicking out on the steps. His heels rest against the cracked and dirty concrete floor.

“There is a fucking hurricane raging outside and we are in an abandoned centuries-old lighthouse!” You glare at him. “The fucking boat was pulled out to sea because you did not tie it properly! How the fuck do you not know how to tie off a boat?! Your daddy owns a yacht for crying out loud!”

“They’ll come looking for us by morning, calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” You turn away and slam your palm against the side of the lighthouse. The smack did not dent the lighthouse and only made your hand sting. Your aggression is still pent up in you.

It had been raining for almost an hour, and the wind had slowly picked up until the hurricane reached the shoreline. “If we don’t die in this storm, I will kill you myself.”

Rafe chuckles, and it almost makes you cross the room and squeeze his neck until he turns blue in the face.

“How could I be so stupid?” You mutter to yourself as you resume pacing. One hand on your hip and the other pressed to your forehead. Your eyes squeeze shut. “How could I be so reckless?”

Rafe frowned, watching you pace again.

“I’m supposed to be responsible, I’m supposed to take care of my brother, not be galivanting around with the island’s biggest prick.”

“Topper will be fine,” he mutters. “He does not need his sister looking after him, he’s a big boy.”

“He is 16 and in love with your little sister who does not love him one single bit. He will not be fine, I know him!” You glare at blue-eyed Cameron. “And he’s your friend, although I have no idea why, and you let him get involved with your sister knowing she’d break his heart.”

“Again, he’s a big boy. He made his own decision.”

“You Camerons only care about yourselves. Yet again,” you snap, gesturing widely around the lighthouse. “Dragging the Thornton siblings down with you.”

“I’m not dragging you down,” he says, his gaze hardening, jaw set.

“Then what are you doing?”

He shrugs.

“Exactly.”

You start to pace again, gaze focusing on a long crack running almost completely across the floor. Your mind races with the thoughts of what your parents will think once they realize you are not coming home during a hurricane and how dumb you were to trust Rafe again. He had successfully manipulated you once more. Part of you is so angry at him right now, but the other part cannot help but to ache at being near him again and having his attention all to yourself. You are addicted, and you hate it.

Howling winds echo around the lighthouse. You shiver, your arms circling around you tightly. You were both stuck here until someone came for you.

“Are you cold?” He asked after a moment of silence. You look at him, and he is already staring at you.

“I’m in a bikini with a linen coverup, so yes, I’m cold.”

He exhales and stands pulling his shirt off. “Here.”

“No, thank you.”

“Stop being childish. Take it,” he moves forward while holding it out. You glare at him, but the shakes it while still holding it out. “You used to wear my clothes, remember?”

“I remember,” you mutter, snatching it away from him. You pull it on and lift your hair out from the collar. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Baby.”

“Rafe.”

He smirks, before taking a step back with his hands up in innocence.

“I should have known better than to give you a chance to talk it out,” you whisper, and he sighs before reaching his hand out and grasping your upper arm. “What are you-?”

“Just relax,” he mutters, guiding you into his body. His chest is warm against you as he folds his arms around you. “I know how much you hate storms.”

“This isn’t just a storm, it’s a freaking hurricane,” you mutter with disdain.

He chuckles, tightening his arms around you. “Ward probably already sent out a search team.”

You close your eyes, burying your face in the curve of his neck. “I hope so.”

"I'm sorry, Baby."

Surprise floods you at his apologetic words, and you cannot help but tip your head back and stare at him. He offers a small smile.

"I should have found another way to get you alone."

"Maybe just ask next time," you tease a bit.

He laughs. "You would've said no."

"I would have said no," you agree.

#outer bank #obx rafe #rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron x you #rafe cameron x y/n #obx fic

[websterss]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐄 𝟏/𝟒 — 𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐘  

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: You never thought much of it, Ethan's need to help you, the way he was always nice, too nice sometimes, you never thought much of it until he killed you one night. Not only did Ethan have to worry about your friends suspecting foul play, but he also had to worry himself about the fact he could see, hear, and touch you. You haunt him until he confesses to the group about what he did.

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆(𝐒): A bit graphic, mentions of blood and dying, angst, implications of non-con smut, but no actual smut at the end sorry.

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 2,726

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: Ethan Landry x fem!Ghost!Reader

𝐀/𝐍: I hope you enjoy it! I based this off the song by Lizzy McAlpine - Doomsday

𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

You never would have seen it coming. The knife. The costume, the way you yanked on the mask and met eyes with your worst fear possible. Your trust and confidence in Ethan was lost in the span of a solid night. The night you let him into your tiny apartment. A night you assumed would have been filled with studying, teasing, and eventually a good night kiss because your feelings for the dork grew over the months of getting to know him. You didn’t see it coming because you never believed someone like him could hold so much hate and evil in their heart, in his eyes. The same eyes you felt comfortable staring into, but now, stared into them with fear.

Ethan sat at the edge of your bed, the knife twiddling in his left, the bracelet he ripped off you in his right. He looked at the trail of blood you were leaving behind. Your faint cries and whimpers could be heard down the hall. He closed his eyes, guilt eating him alive for what he had to finish out.

No witnesses left alive, his father's words echoed through his mind. The fucked up part…you weren’t even on their list. You weren’t part of the plan, but you were getting too attached to the idea of seeing a future with him, and his dad didn’t like it. The fucked up conversation he had with him replaying like a broken record.

“She has nothing to do with this!” Ethan argued.

“If you don’t do it, I will and I won’t be so gentle about it. I’ve seen the way you’ve looked at her…It has to be you. Maybe then you’ll learn to listen to me when I tell you not to do something. Do it soon and do it fast!”

“Dad…she has nothing to do with this.”

“I told you not to get attached to anyone and what’s the first thing you did! Get rid of her or I will!” Ethan stumbled back as his dad shoved a ghostface mask into his chest.

He was brought back to the current mask in his hands, he sighed, standing up. Knowing he was only dragging this on further, and making you suffer more than he intended for you to. It was supposed to be quick, but then you yanked on the mask and he lost his mind.

Your heart spiked hearing his boots on the tile. You willed yourself to crawl faster but the loss of blood was draining your energy and strength. Ethan looked left at the wall, it was hard to watch you. He had to give it to you though, you were determined to escape…even if you only made it about ten feet from your room.

“Y/n…” He closed his eyes. His voice was slightly cracking.

“Noo…” You pleaded. Your cries increased as you pushed against the floor. Your hand kept slipping though. The blood gave you no friction to push yourself further. The door was right there…it was right there.

“You’re not gonna get to the door. You’re not, I’m sorry.” He sighed.

“I will, I will.” You cried.

“Not with where I stabbed you. That wound was intentional.” He informed.

It only made you cry harder. Your vision blurred from the tears falling down your face, onto the floor. The door was becoming difficult to see now. “I-I can. I just need to push myself.” You groaned, then screeched when you felt a gentle hand turn you onto your back. You tried pushing him off but it was no use at this point. Your fate was doomed.

“Please.” You pushed against his clothed chest. He leans down to press a kiss against your temple, then you feel the harsh insert of his knife entering your wound once more. Your gasp falls heavily against his ears. You begin to choke on your own blood in an attempt to get a single word out. He pulls the knife out and watches as your chest starts to rise and fall even slower now. “W-Why?” You mustered before your breathing grew shallow, and your eyes dilated. The last thing you saw before the world fell into a dark void, was the fall of a tear roll down his cheek.

-

The group still couldn’t come to terms with your death even as they stood before your casket. The small ceremony was beautiful. Your parents thanked those who came to show their love and respect. The group could see right through your parent's facade though. Trying to be strong but in reality they were torn at the loss of their child. Seeking revenge and justice for you. They had no clue who had it out for you, for them.

The group did though. They knew the real cause of your death. They knew who was back. They just didn’t know who stood behind the mask this time, and why they decided you had to be the first victim to their blade. Ghostface was back, and your smiling portrait staring back at them was enough to send them a message. No one was safe.

They each took turns laying a white rose into your grave. Chad even went beyond the rose and pressed his kissed fingertips to your portrait. Saying his farewells to you, silently promising under his breath. “We’re gonna get this son of a bitch for you, Y/L/N. I’ll see to it.” He shed a tear, his heart heavy for losing his beloved game night partner. For losing another amazing friend in his life. He couldn’t bear being there any longer than he wanted to. He needed to go let off some steam before he himself more than likely pummeled someone into their own grave. The niche joke was probably too soon thought of, but he was so angry for you. He wanted someone to pay. He patted Ethan letting him know that they’d all be at Sam’s and Tara’s if he wanted to join them.

It had been Ethan however, who stayed a few minutes behind. Guilt was all he felt as he was staring at your casket in the ground. Then at your picture that practically mocked him, as if you’d say. “They’re gonna find out eventually ya know.” Ethan’s heart sank as he caught sight of movement from his peripheral. Then the voice kept speaking. “This is some serious out-of-body experience I’m going through right now. Like this shit is crazy.” You tilt your head watching your casket be buried by dirt. “I never thought I’d be attending my own funeral, yet here I am.”

“I’m dreaming.” Ethan finally got a good look at you.

“Afraid not.” You examine your portrait on the stand. Pouting slightly for your own loss. “At least Mom picked a decent picture. High school senior picture. Not bad.” You smile at the picture of yourself and whip around to face the curly-haired man who killed you. The reaction you were getting from him was priceless. It’s like he’d seen a ghost or something- oh wait he did!

“What is this?” He muttered under his breath. He looked around wondering if anyone else could see you.

“I don’t know but I’m enjoying every second.” You smirked.

“You’re supposed to be dead.”

“I am.” You gestured to your grave and picture. Ethan rolled his eyes at your sarcastic smile.

“No. Dead as is gone. Not whatever this is!” He gestured to all of you. “I didn’t ask to be haunted by your ghost.”

“Well, if it isn’t the consequences of your own actions!.” You feign empathy.

“Why are you still here?”

“Hell should I know…All I remember was seeing you cry, then everything went dark. The next thing I know I’m falling face first into the grass over there, and see all of you here, mourning me.” You shrug.

“This can’t be happening to me…” Ethan shakes his head and walks off from your grave. "This has got be be one of worst things to happen to me."

“You’re one to talk…” You shove past him trying to get ahead of his pace. But it was that singular moment of physical contact that had you both stopping in place. Ethan stares wildly at the back of your head, watching your back straighten, and then you turn to face him with eyes just as big and confused as his.

“Did you feel that?” You broke the tension.

“You touched me.” Ethan palmed where your shoulder bumped into his. You copied him.

“I can touch you?” You questioned.

“This really can’t be happening.” His breath labored, his hands feeling clammy. He couldn’t process this in its entirety due to how fast everything was shifting and moving along.

He just watched you get buried and now he was having a verbal, somehow physical conversation with you. He swore he was losing his mind because you shouldn’t have been able to see, speak, or touch him. Yet he had you back for just a moment, or however long this would last, but you could touch him, and he could feel you. No pure thoughts ran sanely through his head. Yet it was one glance at your empty wrist and everything all came back to him. “This can’t be happening to me.” He spoke quickly then dragged you back to his dorm.

You would have questioned him and where he was taking you but you were just as lost and confused as he was, but as far as you knew he was the only one who could help you and see you. As much as you were against the idea of receiving his help, you let him drag you along with him.

-

One minute you were meeting your demise, and the next you were back as a ghost being dragged by Ethan to his dorm. And now your back was pressed up his door as he frantically turned his side of the dorm upside down. You relaxed back into the door, your head thrown back as Ethan went on a rampant search.

"Where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"I know I have it. I took it off you..." Ethan whispered to himself, but it caught your attention nonetheless. You pushed off the door and stepped closer to him.

"Took what off me?" Your breathing quickened as you glanced down at yourself. "Ethan, what did you take off me?"

Ethan sighed heavily as he crawled out from searching under his bed. Then stood up straight again. He looked around his belongings, then at last patted down his jeans. You watched as he dug into his pockets and sighed in relief when his fingers collided with what he had been searching for.

"This!" Ethan pulled it out for you to see. You rubbed your clammy palms against your jeans because dangling from his fingertips was your bracelet, your gold one. The one you never took off. The one you were wearing the other night.

"M-My bracelet..." You gasped. You subconsciously rubbed the empty part of your wrist, not feeling it against your skin because it wasn't there to begin with. You didn't pass over with it on, to where you were right now. Was this some fucked up form of limbo you were stuck in. The in-between. You didn't know what this was, but all you knew was that all the emotions, the fear, knowing you weren't gonna get to see the light of day came rushing back. You stumbled back and slammed into the door, sliding down it, until you were sat on the carpet. You only stared defeated as Ethan fiddled with the small chain. He didn't know what to say.

What does one say to their ghost?

Sorry, I killed you.

"I think you're tethered to it." Ethan came and sat beside you. Copying your position. He offered the bracelet to you, but when he tried to gently place it on your open palm it fell right through you. You both locked eyes, then looked down at the fallen band. "You can't touch it..." No shit, sherlock.

"I didn't die with it." You swallowed thickly. "It wasn't a part of me that night." You assumed. It felt like the only reasonable thing to make sense. "I didn't even notice you took it off...I didn't die with it on, so presumably, it didn't cross me with." You gesture to it as Ethan goes to pick it up again. "It's still mine though, it belongs to me. So if I'm back for whatever reason that may be, that is one of them." You pressed your fingertip to the top of his right hand. Ethan's eyes fell down to your touch because that was one thing he still couldn't comprehend, being able to feel you. It was too much to take in, in one day, but he was even more shocked by your next words. "I'm gonna make your life miserable." You took your hand back and stared off towards the window, letting the sun bask over your form, but you wished for nothing more than to feel its warmth hit you because all you felt now was cold, anger, and hatred for the guy who called himself your friend.

"No one knows it was me." He turned to you. A dark glint in his eyes cast over the innocent boyish charm he was trying to portray, now you knew it was nothing but an act, and you fell victim to it. He draped an arm across your lap, getting as close and personal as he could. You held his gaze but leaned back the slightest bit. "No one heard you scream that night, and no one's gonna hear you now. So whatever plan you got up in that head of yours. It won't see the light of day, you know why?" He tilted his head, reaching a hand up to caress your cheek gently. "Because you didn't." You wanted nothing more than to smack that twisted smile off his lips.

"You're gonna wish you hadn't killed me." Your eyes didn't falter away from his own, but Ethan shook his head as a tear fell down your face.

"Oh yeah, and why is that?" He pulled away but tugged on your waist, inching you up onto his lap. You placed your hands on his chest to steady yourself. If he was this cynical and twisted as he was showing himself to be, you figured the direction of where this afternoon was heading for you. He wanted you when you were alive, no doubt he wanted you the same now too, but dead. You felt just as doomed the minute you shoved your shoulder into his at the cemetery.

"Cause I'm gonna drive you to insanity. I'll make you confess to what you did. You won't know a peaceful night's sleep after today." You situated yourself better on his lap.

"Is that a threat, baby?" The sick bastard was enjoying this.

"It's a promise..." You leaned down and whispered to him softly.

"I'll hold you to it then." Ethan stood up, making you slip out of his lap. Then stood up, towering over your ghostly self again. To the oblivious eyes, he looked less threatening without the costume and mask, but after knowing everything you did now. His tall build drawing closer as your back hit the door again scared you more than anything. You shouldn't have been so frightened by him, you were dead, and the worst part had passed, but he trapped you in place. You felt just as helpless and vulnerable as you were that night. If his looming frame didn't put you at ease, neither did the words that he spoke in your ear. You visibly cringed as his breath tickled your ear.

"No one heard you scream then, and they won't hear you now. So scream as loud as you want tonight, but no one will come." You felt numb as he started pressing gentle kisses to your neck. You'd have thought that your demise was violent. That the worst part was over, but as you stood there, trying to hang on to any hope that there was still some good in him somewhere. You knew that the worst had only just begun. That you didn't get a choice in this matter and it all started with the death of you. 

#ethan landry #ethan landry x reader #ethan landry x fem!reader #ethan landry imagines #ethan landry imagine #ethan landry oneshot #ethan landry series #my gif #writings by juls

[sterlingsilver-starlight]

Talk Too Much 💘

Pairing: Park Seonghwa x Female Reader

Genres: Hurt/comfort, angst, drama, fluff, romance

Content Warnings: flashbacks of emotional abuse (reader has emotionally abusive mother), self-harm (briefly graphic), implied suicidal thoughts, brief strong language (mild throughout), intimate moments (very steamy makeout session, but nothing further)

Word Count: 3195 words

Summary: When Reader excuses herself to the bathroom, Seonghwa begins to grow suspicious as minutes turn into an unusually long absence. Can he unravel the truth behind her melancholy, and perhaps something deeper?

Inspirations: During the sadder parts, “Kamihitoe” by Uru and this slowed/reverbed version of Lolo Zouaï’s “Desert Rose” were my comfort. And then for the cute parts, BLACKSWAN’s “Cat & Mouse” :)

(I love the title GIF for this 🤭 but I also am still recovering from the Arriba one…I swear, I will not be the same when the full song drops in a week 😩🥵) I had something like an epiphany while writing this…the comforting words resonate on many levels, and I had to remind myself that people like that do exist out there. Even if there is someone in your life who throws harsh words or vibes your way, that’s not to say someone who does the exact opposite might not cross paths with you, too ✨🫶🏼

Also please note: This is in no way supposed to represent or depict the actual Park Seonghwa; this is just created for storytelling/entertainment purposes only :D

A hard swallow, followed by the relentless jab of another burgeoning stomachache. You set your fork down again, barely scraping the potatoes at the edge of your plate. 

“Hwa, I…I don’t feel too good. I can’t eat this right now.”

He gave you a sympathetic smile as you got up from your seat. “It’s alright. Just…let me know if you need something. Okay?”

You offered a small smile, biting your lip. “Y-yeah. Okay.”

The bite dug deep enough to draw blood, but you tasted nothing like iron on your tongue. It was a flavor you had become all too accustomed to, one too bittersweet to fully enjoy or shy away from.

As soon as you were out of your friend’s line of sight, you bolted down the hall for the bathroom, only slowing down once you’d gone inside and shut the door. 

A click at the knob. A snap of the fingers, idiosyncratically, to distract yourself from the sudden echo the lock gave. Did he hear that?

You hoped to God not. 

Seonghwa was your most trusted confidant, but even the strongest of bonds could harbor skeletons in the closet, so as far as you were concerned, it would need to stay that way until you were able to get over this on your own.

Slumping against the door, you let yourself slide down to the ground, hugging your knees as they bunched up against your chest. 

You didn’t know what you would ever do if he found out. About the thoughts, about the self-hatred…

Heck, let alone the self-harm.

Seonghwa was the twinkling star in your life, lighting up any room he entered, constantly finding ways to make you crack a smile from absolutely nothing. He was too precious for this world, you were sure of it.

Which is why, on this otherwise fine and calm evening, you found yourself yet again questioning why in the hell he put up with you as much as he did.

What if you were just fooling yourself? What if this persona you felt from your very core was nothing more than an act, masquerading from the demon that had hidden inside you from years long past?

A silent cry threatened to surface. You took a sharp breath and reached in your pocket, fumbling around until you felt what you had been looking for: a rusted metal nail file.

The lump in your throat made you feel guiltier. It’d been mere days since you’d promised yourself that this wasn’t going to be an option…

Again.

But though time could heal wounds, it could only erase so many still embedded within your subconscious, still playing like a broken record during your moments of uncertainty and vulnerability.

“Do you ever shut up?! I swear, one more word and I’ll rip your tongue off!”

You bit your lip harder, genuinely wanting to taste the pain. What did it matter anymore?

“Sure, keep doing that shit. So we can all feel sorry for you and tiptoe around your stupid feelings? I don’t think so!”

You gasped with every memory, tears blinding and blurring your bearings, the file now slashing oh-so elegantly through your flesh like a knife through butter. 

“Slam your door again and I’ll make sure your head is the next thing that slams against the wall!”

You almost didn’t notice the crimson streaming down your arm, or the way it cascaded onto your other hand, dyeing the creases of your palm in a heartbeat, while numbness continued feeding your indifference.

Maybe there is no purpose to my life. Maybe I’m just meant to be a casualty and —

“Y/n?” You jolted, the three knocks on the door vibrating through your skull.

But you said nothing, afraid even a single syllable would give away your current state of mind.

“Y/n?” Seonghwa repeated, the worry carrying in his voice.

Panic kicked in and you started hyperventilating. Much to your chagrin, however, that only alerted him more.

“Okay, I-I’m coming in.” You heard the twists and click of the knob — darn it, I forgot he has keys for the place — and hastily shuffled over to the adjacent wall as he squeezed his way into the bathroom. 

A sharp gasp hushed within the small room. His eyes widened in shock as he took in the scene before him: the rusted nail file still in your hand, the blood-stained arm, the haunted look on your face — it broke your heart, to have him see you like this.

What you didn’t realize, though, was just how much his heart was breaking.

“Hwa, I…I’m sorry.” You hugged yourself tighter, wanting nothing more than to be a turtle hidden inside its shell. 

“Y/n…what happened?” His voice was laced with worry as he carefully approached you.

You tried to conceal the evidence, quickly slipping the file back into your pocket and attempting to wipe away the blood with the hem of your sleeve. But the damage had already been done. “I…I just had a little accident, is all. N-no big deal,” you stammered, furrowing your eyebrows as you looked away. 

He crouched down in front of you, gently lifting your chin to meet his eyes. “Y/n, don’t lie to me. What’s going on?”

A lump formed in your throat, and for a moment, you debated whether to spill your darkest secrets or to continue this facade. But when you saw the hurt in his eyes, you knew what your answer must be.

“I…I’ve been struggling, Hwa. There’s this darkness inside of me that just won’t go away,” you whispered finally, trying not to cry mid-sentence.

His expression softened, and he pulled you into an embrace. “You don’t have to face it alone, Y/n. I’m right here for you, always.”

The warmth of his hug felt like a lifeline, a tether grounding you in this moment of many that felt overwhelmingly chaotic. Tears streamed down your face as you clung to him tightly, slowly but surely releasing the weight that you had been carrying alone for far too long.

Seonghwa pulled away slowly, his hands holding yours gently. “Let’s get you cleaned up, okay? And then we can talk about this, together.”

You nodded, rubbing your thumbs against his in return. “Okay.”

He helped you to a standing position, and from there you both walked over to the medicine cabinet: you leaning slightly on the sink countertop, him removing a roll of gauze, bandages, and a few creams. Grabbing a nearby cloth to run it under warm water, you inhaled nervously. As he began tending to the wounds on your arm, still streaked in raw red, you hesitated, grappling with the storm of emotions brewing deep down. The bathroom felt like a fragile sanctuary, and you were on the verge of shattering its peace with the weight of your confessions.

“Hwa,” you began hesitantly, “I’ve…heard things. About myself. Terrible things that echo in my mind every day.”

He looked up at you, eyes brimming with a warm understanding. “It’s okay. Tell me as much or as little as you need to.”

With a shaky breath, you started to unravel the web of painful words that had been haunting you, from the cruel insults and relentless belittlement at home to the internalized hatred that had since taken root in your heart.

“I’m a failure. That’s what she says. My own blood mother.” You shuddered. “That I’m a disappointment, a burden…that her life would have been better if not for the presence of such an ungrateful bitch like me…t-that I ruin everything around me.” Your voice wavered as you stopped to catch a breath.

Seonghwa’s expression tightened with anger. “Y/n, believe me when I say you are none, and I mean absolutely none, of those things. You are strong, kind, and worthy of love. Don’t believe those lies. Please.”

You just shook your head. “I can’t accept your kind pity, though, Hwa.” Tears welled and clouded your vision as you continued. “She said I should be grateful that anyone tolerates me at all, that I’m lucky to have friends because I don’t deserve them…that I’m not good enough for anyone out there.”

His eyes softened with empathy. “Y/n, you’re more than good enough. You’re fucking incredible, and I…I care about you deeply.”

Your eyes widened at his choice of words, confusion and hope written all over your face. “Why, Hwa? Why would you care about someone like me?”

He sighed, setting aside the cloth, and cupped your face with his hands. “Because you’re not just someone, Y/n. You’re a remarkable person. Your strength, your kindness — it shines through even in your darkest moments. And…” He chuckled slightly. “I like you. More than just as a friend.”

A gasp caught in your throat, and time became still within the room as his confession hung in the air. Seonghwa’s eyes searched yours for a response, but you remained silent, the weight of his words sinking in. 

A spark of worry flickered across his face. “I-I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said —”

You placed a gentle hand on his cheek. “No, Hwa. I’m honestly really glad you did. I just…I need a moment to process everything. It’s a lot, but I really appreciate your courage to tell me that.”

His shoulders relaxed, a relieved smile breaking through. “I understand. Take all the time you need.”

He resumed cleaning your cuts, all the while as you couldn’t shake the startling but exciting realization that maybe, just maybe, someone as wonderful as Hwa could see past these insecurities, could see you for you.

An almost eerie silence hung between you two, broken only by the sound of running water as you rinsed off spots of leftover blood. Hwa glanced at you, debating whether or not to break the ice.

“To be honest,” you admitted in a voice barely above a whisper, “I don’t know if I’ve ever felt good enough for someone like you.”

He scoffed lightly, covering your hand with his. “Y/n, you’re more than enough. You’re perfect just the way you are.” 

His words lingered in the air, a poignant moment of vulnerability shared in the dimly lit bathroom.

And then something shifted.

With a playful smirk, you couldn’t help but bring up your insecurities, caught in a suddenly desperate vying to test the waters and see how he would take it. “Come on, don’t be silly, Hwa. I mean, look at me!” You raised an eyebrow at him, the hint of a smile teasing at your lips.

He took the bait. “Okay, and? What about it?”

Now it was your turn to scoff. “You gotta be kidding. I mean, for starters, I’m not even skinny, my face is rounder than the boba in that milk tea you were swirling around the other day” — he broke into a fit of laughter at this, prompting you to punch him gently on the arm (“Hwa, I’m being serious!”) before resuming your, he thought, rather dramatic speech — “and my body is far from what’s considered attractive these days.” You sighed, clenching and unclenching your fists before inspecting yourself through the bathroom mirror. “Especially with these…” You gestured vaguely to your rounded backside and thick thighs.

Hwa’s low, throaty chuckle reverberated in the bathroom, his eyes never leaving yours. “Y/n, you really think any of that matters to me?” He shook his head, his gaze intense. “You’re focusing on things that turn me on more than you could possibly know.”

To say you were surprised — curious, even — was an understatement. “W-what do you mean?” you dared to ask.

He leaned in, his lips dangerously close to your ear. “Your curves, the roundness of your face, that body you seem to underestimate so much — they’re all things I fantasize about more when I’m around you.” His words sent a thrill down your spine, and you felt a warmth pooling in the pit of your stomach.

“But why?” you managed to stutter out, genuinely baffled.

Hwa pulled back slightly, his eyes scanning you up and down. “Because, Y/n, it’s those very things that make you uniquely you. There’s…an allure throughout, if I’m being honest…and your body is nothing short of perfection in my eyes.”

He paused, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “And let me tell you,” he continued, snaking his fingers across one of your thighs, massaging it with his thumb, “these parts of you aren’t just attractive. They’re downright irresistible.”

Your breath caught in your throat, desire rushing through your veins as he leaned in again, his fingers tracing patterns that left your skin tingling. “I think about you in ways that would make you blush,” he admitted, his voice a low murmur. “You’re beautiful, Y/n. In every way imaginable.”

With that, he closed the distance between your lips, initiating a kiss that held the weight of his confession. The bathroom seemed to vanish into the distance as Hwa’s lips kept meeting yours in a slow, tantalizing dance, each kiss a revelation of shared desire. His hands, warm and possessive, explored the curves of your body with a deliberate sensuality. Fingers traced the contours of your back, leaving a trail of trickling sensations in their wake. As the kiss deepened, his touch became more fervent, a silent promise of passion yet to unfold.

Your hands found their way into his soft, tousled hair, fingers threading through the strands as you pulled him closer. His tongue prodded your bottom lip playfully until you indulged him, allowing the sensation of his tongue to slide against and around yours, igniting a fervor that sent electrical currents through every nerve ending.

The room seemed to get hotter and hotter, but nothing could have curbed the chill in your spine by this point. Hwa’s touch was both gentle and confident, a melody of desire that crescendoed as his kisses lingered longer and he began sucking your tongue slowly, making you moan ever so softly into his mouth.

Your own hands mirrored his movements, traveling across the edges and ridges of his chest, feeling the rhythmic beat of his heart beneath your touch. The bathroom echoed with intertwined breaths and whispered promises.

As the intensity built, you couldn’t help but straddle his lap, your bodies pressing together with an urgency that mirrored the passion between you. Hwa’s lips trailed from your mouth to your neck, leaving a trail of heated kisses. Moans continued escaping your lips as you felt his teeth grazing gently down the side of your neck. You clung to him, lost in the intoxication of the moment.

Your heartbeats all but synchronized as his lips found their way to your collarbone, his whispers of passion mingling with your soft gasps. He pulled back slightly, eyes looking deep into yours.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, his voice a velvet caress that sent shivers down your spine. He leaned in to place gentle kisses on your earlobe, his breath sending a flutter of anticipation through you. “I want you to feel cherished, desired, and free from any doubt about your body,” he whispered finally, his tone laced with sensual liberation.

His hands, like flames against your skin, caressed the small of your back. The room was filled with the harmony of your shared desire, moans and breaths alike embellishing the melody sounding strong.

As sweat dripped down your foreheads, the intensity reached its peak, and with a shared understanding, you both began to ease out of the fervent exchange. Hwa’s lips lingered on yours for a moment, a final note in the passionate composition.

His arms wrapped around you, nestling you within the sweet scent of his aroma, heaving heavily, slowly, as you both took a moment to catch your breath. You could spot the glimpse of a tender smile dancing on his lips. “See, Y/n, you talk too much,” he teased, his eyes alight with affection.

You chuckled finally, feeling a warmth enveloping you. “Maybe I do,” you agreed, “but I think I like it that way.”

Hwa’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he smirked at you playfully. “Well, you better, because I enjoy every word,” he smiled, leaning in to peck you briefly on the lips.

As you both settled into a cuddle, an air of contentment permeated within your space. Hwa’s fingers traced soothing patterns on your back as he spoke. “You know…I think we should have a date tomorrow. I want to take you out. Just the two of us.”

You couldn’t help but smile at the idea. “A date, huh? Where are we going?”

Hwa’s playful grin widened. “Somewhere nice, but you better promise me you won’t just order a small appetizer. I want you to enjoy the food, Y/n.”

You laughed, rolling your eyes. “Alright, alright. No small appetizers. Got it. But you’ll have to deal with me talking your ear off about how delicious everything is.”

Hwa leaned in, stealing another quick kiss. “I can’t wait. And besides, I enjoy every word, remember?”

The banter continued as you both playfully argued about your plans. Hwa grinned mischievously, glad that you were cutting loose for a change and genuinely enjoying yourself now. “And promise me, no salads as the main course. We’re going for the good stuff if this is a date.”

You raised an eyebrow, feigning offense. “Excuse me? Salads are healthy and delicious.”

He chuckled. “Healthy? Yes. Delicious? Debatable. We’re going for flavor explosions, Y/n, not the world’s best landscape on a plate.”

You countered with a smirk. “Okay, first of all, tabbouleh is to die for. And maybe I like my explosions with a side of greens.”

Hwa pretended to gasp, placing a hand over his heart dramatically. “You’re breaking my heart. And here I thought we had a connection.”

You burst into laughter, eyes watering within seconds. “Oh, we have a connection, alright, but my connection with tasty salads might just outdo it this time.”

He pouted. “Fine, have it your way. But if that’s how it’s gonna be, I’m ordering the biggest, heartiest dish on the menu just to torture you.”

You grinned. “Challenge dutifully accepted. I’ll enjoy my dish while you tackle your food mountain. We’ll see who’s satisfied in the end.”

Hwa leaned in, whispering. “Well, just so you know, if you end up trying a bite of mine, you might never go back to salads again.”

You smirked at him. “We’ll see about that. You can’t deprive me of my greens forever, you know.” You pretended to think hard for a moment. “I know, I’ll revolt! I’ll revolt and you won’t know what’s coming to —”

He pressed his lips against yours in a sudden, actually sweet kiss. When he finally pulled back, he was grinning slyly from ear to ear.

“You were saying?” he teased.

You snorted. “Well, I was going to say that no matter how tempting your ‘food mountain’ may be, my love for salads will endure. Just like my love for you, even if you try to sabotage it with impeccably irresistible dishes.”

He tried and failed to suppress another laugh. “You talk too much.” You grinned in satisfaction.

“Maybe I do, but you love it.”

#ateez #에이티즈 #ateez fanfic #ateez x reader #ateez x you #park seonghwa #박성화 #성화 #seonghwa #seonghwa x reader #seonghwa x you #seonghwa x y/n #ateez fluff #hurt/comfort #angst with a happy ending #angst with a hopeful ending #ateez imagines #seonghwa fluff #kpop fanfic #kpop fluff #romance #deep feelings #hopeful romantic #reader insert #ateez comfort #ateez fic #ateez scenarios #atiny

[kirby0strombolli]

Ghostface | Matt Sturniolo P3

'What's the matter Sidney? You look like you've seen a ghost.'

ghostface!matt x reader

Chapter 3: liar.

P1 P2 P3 P4 P5

warnings: SMUT!, jerking off, cursing.

a/n: I've never written smut before bear with me guys 😭

______________________________________________________________

y/n's pov

"What's the matter, y/n?" he peers at me with utter malice in his eyes . "You look like you've seen a ghost."

I turned to cry out for help, but his hand closed around my mouth, muffling my screams.

Panic surged through me like a tidal wave. I struggled against his iron grip, but it was futile.

My vision began to blur, the world spinning around me as I fought to stay conscious.

'She had a bit too much to drink,' he chuckled to someone in the distance that I couldn't see.

His words echoed in my mind, each syllable a dagger of betrayal.

Lies. He's a liar. I thought in my head, unable to speak from the strong grip he had over my mouth.

No doubt he'd take me to his car and toss me into the trunk like all the unfortunate girls in the horror movies.

My heart pounded in my chest as the realization hit me like a freight train. My life had been turned into a horror movie - a nightmare that I couldn't escape.

Panic surged through me as I struggled against his grip, but it was no use. Matt's strength was overpowering, and I was helpless against him.

But before I could confront him, he removed his hand from my mouth, allowing me to speak. With trembling lips, I managed to stutter out, 'you're a liar.'

After receiving no reply, I gritted my teeth and braced myself for the inevitable, expecting to be roughly thrown into the trunk on his car.

But to my surprise, I felt Matt's touch gentle, not forceful. Instead of being tossed aside like a discarded toy, I was gently laid across the backseat of the car, my body trembling with a mixture of fear and confusion.

I fought to stay conscious, my eyelids heavy as lead, but the world around me blurred into a chaotic mess of shadows and lights.

My fingers clawed at the seat, desperately seeking something to hold onto, but my strength was waning, slipping away like sand through my trembling hands.

Each breath felt like a struggle, the air thick and suffocating as it filled my lungs.

I could hear Matt's voice, distant and muffled as if coming from underwater. He spoke of things I couldn't comprehend, his words swirling around me in a dizzying whirlwind of confusion and fear.

But one sentence stood out to me, 'I killed him '.

But despite my best efforts, consciousness slipped through my fingers like grains of sand, until finally, I succumbed to the darkness, my mind plunging into the abyss of unconsciousness, and confusion.

______________________________________________________________

Matt's pov

As I drove down the deserted road, the weight of my actions hung heavy in the air, the gravity of the situation pressing down on me like a suffocating blanket.

Guilt gnawed at the edges of my conscience, as I tried to ignore the growing erection in my pants. But, as I glanced at her through the rearview mirror, a rush of desire surged through me, igniting an insatiable urge of lust.

Her disheveled hair framed her face in a tantalizingly tousled manner, her lips parted ever so slightly as she struggled to regain consciousness.

With each passing moment, my arousal grew, fueled by the soft murmurs and faint moans escaping her unconscious state.

It was wrong, I knew it, after the events at the party, the carnage that she had no idea about...

I couldn't bring myself to ignore my now painfully hard cock, stealing glances at her until I couldn't take it anymore.

The tension in the air was palpable, thick with desire and temptation. I gripped the steering wheel tightly, my knuckles turning white as I struggled to suppress the lust and desire I had been battling with.

But with each delicate sound she made, a surge of heat washed over me, eroding whatever restraint I had left.

Closing my eyes briefly, I took a deep, steadying breath, attempting to quell the storm raging inside me. Even as I tried to resist, the pull of temptation was too strong to ignore.

This was wrong- I shouldn't be feeling like this when- I was interrupted by a loud moan, the lewd sounds going straight to my pulsing length.

'fuck it.' I muttered under my breath pulling the car over, wasting no time unbuttoning my jeans.

______________________________________________________________

y/n's pov

My head is pounding.

we're not moving. the car is not moving.

'fuck y/n'

The sound goes straight to my core, and I realise I'm wet before I even open my eyes.

As my eyelids flutter open, and I find myself gazing at Matt, who was pleasuring himself, his eyes screwed shut, his hand is pumping his cock, pleasured whimpers to slipping out of his mouth.

With each word, his tone grew more urgent, more fervent, until he was practically pleading, "Please, baby, I need you."

Unable to tear my gaze away, I watched transfixed as Matt's hand moved rhythmically over his length, each movement making me more wetter.

His soft groans filled the air, mingling with the sound of my own ragged breaths as arousal surged through me.

And then, as if unable to contain himself any longer, he succumbed to the overwhelming need, his voice breaking in a guttural moan of pleasure.

Despite the confusion and fear swirling in my mind, I couldn't deny the undeniable heat pooling between my thighs.

Rubbing my thighs together, I shifted uncomfortably against the seat, my body aching with need as a wave of desire washed over me.

Despite the wrongness of the situation, I couldn't deny the overwhelming hunger that pulsed through my veins.

______________________________________________________________

With a newfound surge of boldness, she mustered up the courage to speak, her voice dripping with seduction. "Need a hand there, ghostface?" she purred, gesturing to the mask that lay on the centre console

A wicked grin spread across Matt's face as he met her gaze, his eyes sparkling with lust. "Ride me, cowgirl," he growled, his voice seductively low.

After throwing off her denim skirt, she made her way to the driver's seat, to be met with the sight of Matt, his red tip now leaking with pre-cum.

With a sultry smile, she straddled him, feeling his hardness pressing against her as she sank down onto his lap.

As she sank onto Matt's lengthy dick, she threw her head back in pleasure, as she, at an agonisingly slow pace, began to rock her hips against his, back and forth.

In a haze of desire, Matt reached for the cowboy hat resting nearby and gently placed it on her head. "You look so sexy, ma," he whispered hoarsely, his breath hot against her skin, sending shivers down her spine

Matt's eyes began to close as he gripped her hips tightly as she quickened her pace, beginning to bounce on his dick, as his lips connected with her neck, marking what was his.

He began to trail his lips down to her chest and let out a deep groan as she clenched around him, bucking his hips up as y/n's eyes began to glaze over in pleasure, her mouth open, small gasps audible over Matt's deep groans.

He leaned in close, his lips brushing against her ear as he whispered, "You're mine," before sinking his teeth gently into her neck again , marking her as his.

Her breath hitched at her possessive declaration, his hands moving down to her ass, and squeezing, making her clench around his cock.

'I'm yours' she whined, her tits bouncing urgently as she chased her climax. That's when Matt became rough, the grip on her ass getting tighter and tighter as he pushed her down onto his cock, throwing his head back in pleasure.

Matt's hands roamed eagerly over her, tracing every curve with a hunger that matched her own. With each thrust of her hips, she surrendered to the ecstasy coursing through her veins, her moans mingling with his.

As Matt thrust into her, his movements became more urgent, his every motion calculated to send waves of pleasure crashing over her.

With each deep penetration, he seemed to hit her g-spot with pinpoint precision, eliciting moans of ecstasy from deep within her throat.

As she felt the climax building inside her, she arched her back, pressing her body tightly against Matt's as . "Oh, fuck... Matt...Don't stop!" she cried out, her voice filled with raw desire.

She arched her back, pressing her body closer to his as she buried her head into the crook of his neck, her breath hot against his skin,"Shit, that's it, baby... Come for me," Matt urged, his eyes closed in pleasure.

As they both tumbled over the edge, curse words spilled from his lips, lost in the throes of ecstasy. As she sighed in pleasure, her eyes fluttered shut.

Impossibly, she slept.

taglist:@lexisecretaccx@itssophiasstuff@junnniiieee07

comment if you want to be added to the taglist a/n: I couldn't write the smut with a straight face I'm sorry 😭

shoutout to @freshloveforthefit and @louiscarrotsxoxo because they're amazing.

#matt sturniolo #smut #sturniolo smut #ghostface #matt sturniolo x reader

[elllisaaa]

hello there!! 🫶🏼 first i wanna thank you so much for reading and rb my gunil fic, i appreciate the support truly 🥹

as i saw your hard thoughts are open i’ll let myself rant about yeonjun, he’s my bias from txt and ughhhhh this man, i go crazy every time i see his pretty face

one thing i LOVE about him is his confidence and how he carries himself it’s so attractive !!! i just need him to fuck me SO rough and deep in doggy style i feel his cock in my throat 😣 and i really really need him to talk cocky behind me the entire time, about how good he’s giving it to me and how no one ever has fucked me this good before, and no one else will 🤤 he’s the only one that can make me cum multiple times till i can’t think straight, and he always makes sure that i don’t forget that

oof, sorry if it’s too much, but it’s what he does to me 😭

hiii sweetie !!

thank you so much for supporting me too, and really i'm so happy to have finally found a blog about xh, and you're also feeding my gunil delulu thoughts so it's a win win 🤭 and it's definitely not too much, because i think this man have such an effect on everyone. even if he's not my bias (i'm a soobin girly), i'm still drooling over him, especially those edits with the weeknd starboy... they have me going feral fr ! thanks for the ask !

and you're definitely right, this man is overly confident and it's hella attractrive. but he has every right to be : one look at him is enough to understand why he's so cocky all the time. this man is talented, successful and so, so attractive. everywhere he goes, he has all eyes on him, including yours, and that's the only thing that really matters to him in the end.

his cockiness translates in the bedroom too, because how could he not when he knows that one word from him gets you on your knees in a matter of seconds ?

yeonjun loves to take you from behind, loves to stare at your ass and loves the way your back arch even more to let him reach deeper into you. with every thrust of his hips, the noise of skin colliding was echoing through the room. every time he got home after a show, he had spare energy to lose, and he was also so cocky, spurred by the way you were crying out his name as he pounded your tight cunt.

"that's it pretty girl, scream my name, let everyone hear how much you love it."

another moan escaped you, and yeonjun answered by a low grunt as he sped up his rhythm, fucking you more and more roughly as you let out more whimpers.

"dumb little slut, cannot think of everything beside my cock, huh ?"

he was so full of himself, borderline degrading you but it made you throb around his dick. if it was every other man, you would've been offended, but when it came out of yeonjun mouth, it was almost a compliment.

"fuck, i'm fucking you too well yeah ? that's why you can't talk anymore ?" and you sobbed at his words, tears streaming down your cheeks as you tried to hold on to something. "shh baby, i know it's so good, i know… so greedy, you already cum two times and you still want more ?"

you knew better than not answer him without his permission, so you nobbed your head as best you could in your current position and headspace. you mewled when his fingers digged into the flesh of your sides, using your body as leverage to fuck you even harder.

"that's alright, i know no one has ever fucked you like that before. i know no one could ever fuck you like that, i'm the only one that can make you feel like that."

and he's right, he's always right. he fucks you as if he exactly knew the right timing, the right pressure, the right rhythm to make you fold.

"say it. say that i'm the only one. let everyone hear how good i'm fucking you." your lack of answer earned you a harsh slap on your ass, making you moan even louder. "say it, or you're not cumming." "yes junnie ! only you make me feel like that." "good girl, now you can cum."

your orgasm washed over you as soon as you heard his order, pleasure so intense your vision blurred. your body became limp, and if it wasn't for yeonjun holding your hips up, you would've collapsed on the mattress.

"gonna give my cum to you baby, i know you want it."

you could only whine in response, unable to even shake your head yes or no. overstimulation was stinging, but it hurt so good. and yeonjun knew that, he always knew what to do. when he painted your walls white, and you were reaching your climax again, you definitely knew that yeonjun had ruined you for any other men.

#yeonjun #txt smut #txt hard thoughts #txt hard hours #yeonjun smut #choi yeonjun #yeonjun hard thoughts #yeonjun hard hours #eli answering your questions #eli's moots

[chucapybara]

reference. [a donna beneviento x maiden short]

frustration abounds in the study of house beneviento. it is not uncommon to hear her groundskeeper and servant in such toil—donna found her to be quite the expressive woman, in truth, even if it is largely only to herself to whom she speaks, as her lady is occupied through many hours of the day tending to her dolls and sewing, mending clothing for clientele—but the nature of this particular instance brings to mind intrigue.

— (an unfinished drabble thing i wrote for a donna x maiden idea, but i never finished it, oops. i'll just drop it here anyway. more under the cut!)

though the walls are stone in the basement (barriers between herself in the workshop and you in the study), donna's hearing is impeccably attuned to all that lies within her home. with her link to her dolls, the lady beneviento often had a good sense of what was going on—though it did not quite provide the context behind your apparent ire.

"hey, what's all that ruckus about over there?" the shrill cry straight from angie's porcelain jaw echoes down the hallway. donna has half the mind to scold the doll, but finds difficulty in denying her own curious itch; and so, she allows angie to patter down to the study, listening to the clack of her animated steps.

your reply is soft, too much so for donna to catch wind of. you did not often raise your voice, and in truth, you rarely ever had any reason to do so; about as soft-spoken as she was, donna found your company pleasant. calming. you matched her energy, and even when you shared a space within a single room, there is a contentment in the silence that never quite brought discomfort.

donna takes a peek through angie's eyes, just for a moment, stilling her hands that cradled a new doll part.

there you sat, curled up on one of the chairs in the study. in your lap was your trusted journal: donna never came around to inquiring about it, wanting to preserve your sense of privacy, but now angie was clamoring up the chair's side and all but shoving herself into your lap.

you laugh at angie's insistence, and donna's heart skips. she feels your warmth through angie, even as the doll prattles on inquisitively about your work.

"sorry! i wasn't interrupting your beauty sleep, was i, miss angie?"

your voice is soft, warm: honey on the tongue, the slightest rasp twined in it. already, the mere sound of it is soothing to donna's craft-addled thoughts.

"i wouldn't be here if you didn't," angie grumbles, but she peers down at the page in your hands nonetheless. "the hell are ya workin' on?"

"a sketch," you respond simply. on the paper is the remnant of a face mildly familiar to donna, the pencil lines erased in multiples, leaving behind the echoes of your attempts at capturing the image of whoever this muse of yours was. "it just… doesn't feel right. i've been at it for an hour! no matter how i go about this, it doesn't work."

(what was that pang in her heart? why did donna's ribcage wrinkle in displeasure at the thought of you thinking of someone else, to be so vexed this way?)

"come ooon, drawing isn't that hard!" angie flaunts. donna catches the huff of protest you exhale, and she chuckles to herself. your interests and donna's overlapped: something the two of you discovered early on in your months of servitude under house beneviento. you wrote more than you sketched, so donna knew that if this page troubled you, it must have great importance to warrant such determination.

"i mean, have you tried it?" you raise an eyebrow at angie. "it can be tough, miss angie."

"that's don-don's job!"

"to make you look pretty in artworks?"

"you're getting it! but what's got your ass in such a pinch, anyway?"

you recline in the chair, stretching out your legs with a sigh. "it's…" swiveling about with quick glances, you check for something that donna can't determine. "i'm… sketching someone precious to me. i've made so many tries, but every time, i find myself unhappy with it. it's already erased before i can look at it for anything more than a minute."

that pinch again. donna clasps a hand over her heart, steadying her breath. who was this mystery person, and how—why did they captivate you so? and why did donna care so much?

when she refocuses, it is to a lapse in the conversation. you seem flustered, a light rose on your cheeks as angie crosses her arms. "if it's nagging at you so much, then just go ask her!"

"i-i can't just ask her! what if she's busy? i know it's terrifying to have to sit there and watch as someone pens a portrait of you."

"not for me it ain't! c'mooon, save yourself the trouble! it'll be easier to have the real thing right up in your face!"

her? who was her?

donna severs the link in the next moment, and when she comes to, the light weight of the doll limb in her grasp and the carving tool between her fingers becomes a grounding anchor. donna brushes a stray hair behind her ear, her brow furrowed.

she ought to ask you, if her curiosity burned this fiercely in her mind; but posing any inquiries would only let you know that she was eavesdropping through angie.

a chord of guilt strums in her chest, and donna breathes out its song in a burdened sigh.

donna is patient. your initiative matters greatly to your lady beneviento, even with your shared nature of quietude. if it truly plagues your soul, this picture you cannot quite capture with your pencil, then it is all she can do to hope that you might approach her about the matter for advice.

edit: i speedran the second part, here! enjoy!

#🌕 chuca writes #donna beneviento #angie beneviento #donna beneviento x reader #donna beneviento x maiden #resident evil village #i might. write the next part to it. maybe #that's a big maybe #haha unless... #this is the first i'll post of donna in writing so don't expect much please adhdlgh

[szasfuckingwife]

PROJECT Z

PT2 of PROJECT X

EREN YEAGER X FEM!READER

WARNINGS: a little fluff + angst, Eren grovelling for forgiveness.

a/n: idk how yall will react to this cuz i genuinely dk if it’s good or bad😩

You vividly remember the moment where you found out Eren cheated on you. Vividly, due the emotional crash you had the the two weeks after.

It was a Thursday and you were in his home. You’d just finished helping the stubborn boy finish his homework. One thing that was clear in memory was how he looked at you. With so much love and adoration, you would’ve never guessed what you’d soon find in his phone after he went to get snacks.

Once he left the room, a plethora of texts hit his phone from ‘LY’. Obviously, you were nosy and there was no doubt you’d try see who it was.

After two failed attempts, you finally guessed your boyfriends password that he seemingly changed.

However, you were met with a sight that changed the trajectory of your high school experience.

LY : Eren stop stringing me along

LY: Ik you said to give you more time but honestly i can’t

LY: you can’t just tell me you don’t love her than go on dates with her and shit

LY: I don’t wanna get hurt, I told you that

LY: whatever. you’re pissing me off n i’m done

Stupidly, you wanted to say sorry to her on behalf of Eren for how he was seemingly treated her. But why? Eren didn’t want you; he wanted her. The texts serving as proof to that. Nor ‘LY’ or Eren cared about you enough to admit to you the truth.

Why should you be the one feeling bad?

A sudden creak of Eren’s door made your heart skip a beat, and not in the way it did before when you saw him.

It angered you. The curve of the lips that you loved to kiss. The red in his cheeks after running upstairs, almost as if ran because he didn’t want you to be by his phone for too long. And his hair, that you had ran your hand through countless of times.

“You good?”, He chuckled, almost confused. That was until he saw his phone in your hand, and the messages with him and whoever ‘LY’ was.

When your eyes met with his, you almost broke down there in front of him. But you wouldn’t let him get that satisfaction, “What is this, Eren?”

The way you uttered his name showed him how helpless and overall done you were. He saw the way your eyebrows raised ever so slightly as if you were a baby, trying not to cry.

“What do you mean what is this-” “Who’s this ‘LY’, hm?”, You stand up just before he sits next to you. Anger was laced in your every movement that you made. You gripped so tightly on his phone that you thought it would snap.

But your face didn’t show that. Instead, an enraged girl was replaced by a heartbroken one.

“He’s…No, She’s some girl in my class. She means nothing to me, [Y/N].” Eren stands, looking down at you, desperately searching for a way to cover this up. “Why are you on my phone?”

His question took you aback. The loving boy was gone and in his place, a lunatic.

You struck his cheek immediately following his question, the sharp sound echoed throughout the room, contrasting the melodic Jhene Aiko playing from his speaker.

There’s nothing but disbelief on your face as you unwillingly tear up, “How can you ask me that?! You cheated on me, Eren. Y-You date me for a whole year and this is how you end it? Like this?”

He refused- no - he couldn’t look at you and see the girl he loved have nothing but hatred in her eyes.

“I trusted you. I let you into my home, meet my mom, my family. I meet yours…I-I show you my body, I trust you but you just don’t care, hm?’ Now, you’re sobbing. Words come out in a shaky rhythm with a voice break following it.

“[Y/N], she’s nothing, okay?”, He sighs and it breaks your heart. You couldn’t tell if it was an annoyed sigh or a desperate one. How was it that you couldn’t even tell if he was lying like you could before? “C’mon, [Y/N], you have to give me a chance to explain myself.”

“Explain what exactly?”

The silence in the room was thick. If you focused hard enough, you could’ve heard the rapid speed in which Eren’s heart was beating.

“If you wanted a relationship with whoever this is, you could’ve just told me.” Your hoarse voice frightened him as he looked at you pleadingly. “When did this start?”

He remained silent, annoying you further, “You owe me that. Tell me when it started-”

“After the party you planned for Sasha!”, He interrupted you.

It was stupid. Believing that he left your little gathering because his brother came back from college. But you did it anyway, because of love.

“This is fuckin’ crazy.” You chuckled, placing his phone on the counter and leaving his room.

When you left, Carla, his mother, looked at you with concern. It was hard to assume that she heard your conversation or if she just saw your tear stricken face.

She’s placed her bag on the coffee table, “Is everything okay, sweetheart?”

You nodded, and left the house.

Once you completed your homework, you felt the need to just sit and think.

What did you want?

Truth be told, you wanted Eren, minus the bad attributes. No gaslighting, no dishonesty, no disloyalty.

Just Eren and the way he loves.

Those nights where you were snuggled together, enjoying each other’s presence with sage wafting around in the air. Or him telling Connie to ‘Fuck off’ after you asked him to get off the game.

This was grief.

Yes, of a high school relationship, but grief nonetheless.

He mattered to you, and still does. You find yourself thinking about him in Psychology or staring at him when he read out a sonnet in front of the whole English class.

All you wanted to do is run up there, slap him him, kick him, yell at him. Then, kiss those bruises and hold him in your arms once more.

Whatever, it’s the weed talking.

Eren was a wreck. The suffocating smell of weed was taking over his room, essays were getting hand in late and he was just, overall, a wreck.

He was in chemistry contemplating whether to leave the classroom, or stay and listen to Mr Ackerman yap about whatever atoms were on the outer shell.

“Eren, bro, chill. You’re acting like a bitch, [Y/N] will come back-”

“No, she won’t.” Lana interrupted Jean, and silenced him. Eren mentally rolled his eyes, realising that if your best friend saw you do that, there was no way you’d get back together.

“Babe, if you cheated on me, I’d take you back.” Jean smooched his girlfriend on the cheek just before she protested.

Connie scoffed, “That’s ‘cause no one else would want your lame ass.”

“And because he wouldn’t find anyone better.” Lana added. She squeezed Jean’s cheeks with her hand and looked at him closely. “You’re also forgetting that I wouldn’t either.”

This was just what Eren needed. The concept of love being so far yet so near. His friends, his brother, nearly everyone he knew was in love with somebody; everyone but him.

“Lana.” Eren spoke. She glance at him, confused on why his voice was so serious. “I want her back.”

No one knew if it was shock or disbelief that made Lana look at Eren the way she did, but whatever it was, she wasn’t happy.

Her brows furrowed slightly, “And let you cheat on her again? Nah.”

“Lana, he was literally crying towards us on how much he wants [Y/N] back.” Connie chuckled slightly, not noticing the death stare his friend was giving him.

However, Lana just shrugged. “You should have thought about that before you cheated.”

She was right, and there was nothing Eren could do about it. Even if you guys did get back together, there would always be a left over mark on your relationship.

“But, I’m not gonna lie and say she doesn’t miss you.”

Eren’s head shot up at her words: there was hope. “She’s moved on but the fact that she’s still upset means she still cares about you. And, even if I hate you, I know you care about her. And it pains me to say that-”

“What she’s tryna say is that she doesn’t mind if you two get back together.” Jean interrupts his girlfriend, much to her anger.

“That is not what I was saying.” Lana shoved Jean . “I’m saying that if she takes you back, don’t fuck up.”

It was the night of senior prom and you felt awkward with your, or lack of, a date. Sure, it was nice soaking up all the attention your family gave you as you strutted outside in a gorgeous gown, but it was bittersweet.

“[Y/N], cmon lets go dance!” Sasha tried to pull you off your seat.

You smiled, shaking your head, “No, Niccolo will be lonely! He needs you.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, Connies around somewhere.” And as much as you disliked it, Sasha had you on your feet in the middle of the dance floor.

However, you felt no need for dancing. You felt the need to go home and cry.

He was here in a teal suit, contrast to the repetitive black you see amongst the boys. His hair, in a man bun as pear usual. He wore two diamonds stud and a pandora bracelet that you got him after two months together.

You watch him as he heads straight for his boys, basking in the compliments they were giving him. He smiles, pretending to blush as if his friends were spitting some actual game for once.

He looks so fine.

“I know you’re not looking at who I think you are…” Lana sighs as Mikasa and Sasha are on either side of her. “After the week of tears…[Y/N] I swear…”

You look down at your feet as you speak. “You know, he’s wearing the bracelet I got him…”

Your words silence them as they look at you with sympathy in their eyes. If it weren’t for Jean wrapping his arms around Lana at that moment, a tear might’ve fell from your eye.

“Babe, after they announce prom king and queen, I can drop you home if you want..?” He says to her. It’s wrong for you to be jealous, because it’s Lana, your best friend.

But, it reminds you of Eren.

“No, it’s okay I’ll-” Lana stops as you all hear the familiar melodic opening of a song you all know well.

The Lady of My Life by Michael Jackson.

For fuck sake you silently curse whatever possessed the dj to play this song.

Eren introduced you to this song. You remember one day, you were checking out his playlist and giggled at the sight MJ, seeing as Michael’s bouncy music contradicts with Eren’s intimidating demeanour.

But when you first listen to the song, and it’s lyrics, it’s different from how you normally perceive Michael. It’s slow, melodic and soothing.

Eren made you feel these feelings, no one else.

He introduced you to what actual love was, never mind his later regrettable actions.

You start to walk towards your table, deciding sitting down was better than wandering alone on the dance floor.

Until..

“You didn’t seriously think I’d let you sit when this is our song, right?” Eren appeared in sight and he held your hand.

You sigh. “Eren, just move-”

“Let me have this one dance. And then, you can forget I ever existed.” He smirks, digging his other hand in his pocket as if he was waiting for you to make a decision.

That stupid smirk, you thought. It wins you over every time.

Once more you sigh as he guides you to the dance floor. Whilst MJ is belting out how much he loves this girl, all Eren can think about is how, if given the opportunity, he’d be serenading you right now.

You’re all he knows, and hopefully, all he’ll ever know. After the basketball team, weed and his guard gets stripped away from him, all that’s left is a small boy that is trying to learn about love. His mother and father’s early divorce being testimony to that.

As the song plays, you find yourself laying your face on his chest, revelling in his scent.

“This is nice.”

You look up at him. “What do you mean?”

He shrugs, “Being this close with you again. We haven’t had chance to properly talk.”

A chuckle almost left your lips as you find the irony in his words.

Last time you talked, he called you a whore.

“What’s there to talk about, Eren?” You almost want to just ignore him and let bygones be bygones. But of course you don’t.

“The fact that I still love you. Never stopped.” The way that he admitted that, as if you wouldn’t believe him, moved you in some sort of way.

Whether it be the softness in his eyes, or the calming way in which he spoke.

You sigh, “You love me?”

He nods.

“But you humiliated me. You cheat on me, then call me a whore.” You speak bluntly, almost scaring him with your unruffled attitude. Your heart was screaming, ‘He loves you! Can’t you see?!’ but your brain told you the complete opposite.

And, if not your brain, maybe the stares that Lana passed to you.

“You know me, [Y/N], I was wrong. And, I am sorry. I hurt you in the worst way possible. I don’t know if you can forgive me but I promise you that I will stop at nothing if it means you do.” Eren smiled. “Like I said at the party, mom misses you.”

Everything holding your heart together melts at his words. Maybe it was time to forgive and move on. It seems he’s changed; Eren would never be this sentimental when you two were together.

“Okay.” You whisper. “I’ll let you make it up to me. That doesn’t mean we’re back together. Like, at all. It’s just me giving you a chance.”

Immediately, you see happiness radiate on his face as he nods eagerly.

In ten or so years, you’ll smile at this moment: the time you forgave your then boyfriend for cheating. Whether that memory is filled with regret or gratitude is up to him. You’d like to think in those years you’d be married with a kid on the way.

You’d host frequent dinner parties with Jean, Lana, Connie Armin and Annie and whoever else you guys cherished so much.

And, maybe, at the end of the dinner, he’d pull you in, embracing you. Maybe, followed with a whisper of ‘I love you’.

But for now, a sweet little senior prom dance is enough for you and him.

a/n: yall pls don’t bully me if this is mid😭😭

#aot #attack on titan #eren x y/n #eren x reader #eren yeager #eren jeager x reader #eren jeager x y/n #eren angst #eren aot

[ladymarycrawley]

Let me ease your pain - John Stones

As I'm going through some tough days I thought writing sth would have helped me so here we go. I've imagined it differently in my head, it's not proofread so don't expect too much.

This is dedicated to @johnstonesfc who's going thorugh some hard moments to, stay strong bestie 🤍

Warning: mentions of death

Tag list: @masonxomount, @prideofpd, @chelsealover, @stonesyy

Death has been and will always be one of humanity's bigger, if not the biggest, mysteries ever: seeing your loved ones fly away from you, people that shared a significant part of their lives gracing yours being taken away from you is terrible, especially if this happens all of a sudden. The moment you get that hateful news it feels as if the ground under your feet magically disappears and start thinking about everything you could have said and done to let that person feel loved or to make them feel your love and, in the end, you always fear you didn’t do enough while that person was alive.

You were sure most people would have felt that way while acknowledging the passing away of someone close or at least it was how you felt the moment you got the news about your relative.

You couldn’t believe it at first, it couldn’t be real. The way your head started spinning around urged you to sit on the sofa behind you, fearing you might have passed out any moment.

Uncontrollable sobs started shaking your body as well but not a hint of tears down your face, only groans of pain leaving your throat. Desperate cries echoed through the walls of your house but it felt as, at the same time, you couldn’t give enough voice to the grief making his way through your body.

John wasn’t there at the moment, he was with his physio to recover from his groin injury but you hoped with every fibre of your soul he would open that door giving access to your house as soon as possible.

When he came back home from his session he found your figure bent over itself, your head in your hands as your gaze was fixed on the wall before you, staring at it blankly.

His eyes were wide open as he caught sight of your figure.

“Y/N?”

You moved your head to the side and the moment he made eye contact with your glossy orbs it was when he realised something really bad must have happened and therefore got really worried.

He jogged to where you were and knelt down to be at your height, taking your head in his hands.

“What happened?”

“My nan died”

John sighed and pulled you into his chest where you could finally let yourself go in a desperate cry where those hot tears that earlier didn’t happen to leave your eyes now were streaming down your face, soaking your boyfriend’s jumper.

“Shh, I’m here” He kept on whispering in your ear like a never stopping lullaby, while stroking your hair.

“I didn’t get to see her nor talk to her lately and I hate myself for it”

“Don’t, she loved you so much and you know that. I’m sure she didn’t care about it”

“But I feel so guilty” Your cry got even louder, sounding rather desperate.

“Don’t feel guilty baby, don’t have to”

You two stood there like this for a while, him holding you close to his chest trying to calm you down as your sobbing was slowly slowing down.

If seeing John home with an injury always left you with a bitter taste because you hated seeing him being forced away from the pitch, on that occasion you were somehow grateful for it because that meant you wouldn’t have to stay home alone with your negative thoughts pervading your mind.

Not many words were exchanged between you two the following moments as you weren’t feeling like doing so. John looked at you from afar, not wanting to bother you but feeling the need, at the same time, to ease your pain.

“You aren’t hungry, are you?”

You shook your head in denial, still sat in that same curled up position you had been staying in for the past hour or so, the only sound in the room being the tv turned on to try not to make you think about what just happened.

“Maybe I’ll prepare some snacks for later, whenever you’re hungry you can have them”

You nodded and, after what felt like a year, you succeeded in raising your stare to look at John taking some vegetables from the fridge, in the attempt to cook something tasty to make you happy. The way he loved you was moving and you were sure you weren’t deserving of such love but you tried to put aside that thought, for that night at least, and appreciate all of his sweet gestures without thinking if it was alright or not.

You got up and wrapped your arms around his waist, careful not to scare as he was holding a knife. At first he was a bit stiffened up, as he wasn’t expecting your hug but then, when he felt your cheek pressed against his back, he relaxed and smiled.

You were breathing in his scent with your eyes closed, as one of the few things that could make you feel at home no matter where you were.

“Thank you. I love you” You said as simply as that sounded. He put the knife down and gave a quick stroke to your hands before taking the right one and bringing it closer to his lips, to kiss your knuckles and your fingertips.

“I love you too”

You smiled and placed a gentle kiss between his shoulder blades and went back on the sofa, watching the latest Netflix’s teen movie or, better, using it as a background noise as your eyelids were slowly covering your eyes, meaning you were about to fall asleep.

John wanted to leave you your space so he kept on cooking and then doing the kitchen until he saw you with your eyes closed.

He woke you up gently and scooped you up in his arms. “I’ll take you to bed, you fell asleep watching that funny film” He answered sarcastically as he placed your tired body on your mattress, kissing your forehead.

You clutched his arm as he was going away from your shared bed.

“Stay here” The need to feel his touch was stronger than ever and he smiled knowingly.

“I was about to make some tea, do you fancy a cuppa?”

“The way you do it with a bit of milk?”

“Of course, that’s proper tea” He huffed, rolling his eyes playfully.

A little laugh left your mouth, abandoning your head against the pillow behind your head.

“Don’t be long”

“I won’t, turn on the tv and choose a good film…not that shit you’ve fallen asleep on”

“It wasn’t that bad” You protested in a low voice as he jogged down the stairs.

The weight you were carrying was so heavy you couldn’t avoid crying, not even when John came back holding your boiling hot mugs together with the snacks he prepared earlier on.

He didn’t say anything, just left the tray on his bedside table and slipped under the covers with you, pulling you closer to him so his arm was now resting behind your head and his other free hand was caressing your body, his thumbs drying up your warm tears silently.

“I’m glad we can stay home together these days…I don’t wanna be alone” Your sobs began shaking your body again and he promptly reassured you and engulfed you in his hug.

“You won’t. I’ll do whatever I can to make you feel safe and cheer you up”

You smiled and nuzzled your wet face in his chest.

“Including a hot bath, dinner in bed and all those things”

“I might consider the hot bath…”

“I’m included in the bath, for your info”

“Okay” You sighed “I’ll make this sacrifice of bathing with you” You replied ironically.

“Oh wow baby, you’re so kind” You kissed his lips with a giggle plastered on yours, before closing your eyes.

“I love you so much, John. You have no idea how much I do”

He smiled, letting his fingertips travel back and forth your arm wrapped around his neck.

“You have no idea how much I love you” John brushed your lips against your wet ones. “Much more than you”

#john stones #john stones imagines #john stones fanfictions #john stones fluff #john stones angst #mcfc #manchester city #manchester city imagines #premier league #premier league imagines #england nt #england nt imagines #england nt fics #footie fics #football witing #football imagines #football fanfictions

[chimcess]

→ Chapter Two: A Rock and a Secret Pairing: Jimin x Reader Other tags: Werewolf!Jimin, Witch!Reader, Shifter!Reader, Shifter!Jimin, A/B/O Dynamics, Alpha!Jimin Genre: Supernatural!AU, Werewolf!AU, Angst, Mutual Pining, Fluff, Smut, Word Count: 13.4k+ Synopsis: Within the four realms of Lustra lay the Bangtan forest home to the Foxglove pack of the south and known as the “land of magic.” It is also home to the Bridd, a powerful witch from a cursed bloodline who is one of the sacred guardians of the forest. Y/N is the newest Bridd, a young girl who was given her position too early. Now a woman, Y/N is revered amongst the wolves as the most powerful witch they have ever known, but hiding under the surface is a woman who has to battle between her duty and her heart. Warning: Non-con kissing, strong language, blood, self injury, nightmare, PTSD, pining, angst, heart ache, longing, long hair Jimin, I love Taehyung so much, he’s so much fun to write, crying, not much to report here tbh, let me know if I missed anything A/N: How do we feel about the updated versions so far? Yes, I have combined old chapters and combined them so we can have longer (and less) parts. I know some of you liked longer updates so you are getting your wish!

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I could not see past the smoke. It was thick and black with brilliant yellow flames dancing into the night. Shiloh called, her voice carrying through the dead of night, begging for me to come back. Inside screams echoed and I ran, my little feet patting on the ground, and I yelled for Auntie. Behind me, Shiloh grew closer. I ignored her pleas. I needed to get inside. I needed to get to Aldara.

However, the distance grew, the screams got louder, and Shiloh’s begging was in my ear. I cried, yelling Aldara’s name. I could feel the forest weeping, the spirits that had once haunted me were now my only Solace, and I crumbled to the ground. No matter how hard I tried I could not get to the cottage. Suddenly, movement caught my eye, and my breathing spiked.

There it was not even ten yards away. A large, midnight black wolf with red eyes. The glow from the fire illuminated its face revealing a blood-stained muzzle. In his mouth lay an arm. I could see a ring on it and anger began bubbling within me. As red clouded my vision, my eyes continued to stare at the ring- the skull orange and yellow in the flames. Before I could stop myself, I was screaming a spell that echoed through the forest. In the distance, a wolf howled.

I woke with a start, my body shaking, and struggled to catch my breath. It was always the same dream. At least this time I did not have to finish it. At least I got to keep my wits about me. The house was eerily quiet, not a sound to be heard, and I flopped backward. Shiloh had gone out last night and had not returned yet. She had most likely fallen asleep in the tree outside after her hunting trip. I was alone. The thought frightened me, and I knew getting busy would take my mind off things. So, I got out of bed and started getting ready for the day.

I only had skirts and dresses to wear, my aunt had made them for me, and I had become a fantastic sewer in my own right over the years. Aldara wore pants, she always used magic to get ready, but I was not fond of using it for mundane things. I enjoyed the aspects of my life that made me human- even if I was “other.” The chain secured to my leg made it impossible to wear anything if magic was not involved, and truth be told, I loved the flowy fabrics. I threw my skirt over my head and pulled it down low on my hips. I wore yellow today. It was a happy color, and I needed some extra pep in my step to get through the day.  

My jewelry box sat on top of my dresser, and I ran my finger over the rings that were displayed. Each one had meaning to them, and all had different owners at some point. I eyed one of my favorites. It was large, bulky, and impractical for anything involving work, but it was beautiful. The iron band was painted gold but still shined brightly as did the squared, amber stone in the middle. It had belonged to my great-great aunt many years ago. She was far more optimistic and loving than most Bridd. Her gift had been Solar, and like Seokjin, most of her power came from the sun. Within her grimoire, she wrote poetry and bizarre stories during her time in the war within the margins. Her apprentice’s journals always spoke of her fondly. Heidi had been her name. Heidi and Griselda. I brushed against the other woman’s simple silver-painted iron and sapphire band with great care. She was a blue jay with telepathy.  

Finally, my eyes landed on Aldara’s ring and my eyes prickled with tears. Griselda had raised Aldara. She was stricter and to the point with my aunt, something that had been missing in her teacher, but always spoke highly of her. I recalled the story of Aldara’s ring and laughed through the tears. She had come to the cottage sobbing, a dead bird in her hands, and Griselda had to console her. It took over an hour and a long conversation about life and death before the young witch calmed down long enough to hear the words. Aldara, ever the problem solver, decided to honor the bird with a funeral. The head had been decapitated and the young witch decided to keep it. After a few weeks, the skull was all that was left, and she filed and sanded it down to fit her finger. Grisela charmed it so it could grow as she did, and the ring would fit anybody who tried to wear it.

I picked up the ring and slid it on my index finger. I then grabbed my ring and put it on my right finger. Aldara had made it for me before I was even born. The Gods had come to her in a dream, as they always had, and told her that her student was coming in 10 months' time. She took all those months bending and twisting the thin gold into swirls and spirals that wrapped around my finger delicately. The stones were hand selected from every corner of Bangtan and etched with the exact coordinates they were found. If I placed it under the sun, the numbers would project into the shadows like a rainbow.

“I want you to remember the world when you can’t see it.” She had told me. I had finally managed to find each spot two weeks before she died.

Wiping away my tears, I laughed at my blubbering. If she were here right now, I would have been rung up by my neck for allowing my emotions to get the better of me. Aldara said that they were something Bridd never got the privilege of indulging in, and even when I knew she was right, I was also a person with thoughts and feelings that I needed to express. I have learned that my greatest strength was my vulnerability, and even if Aldara could not see that, I knew Heidi would have cherished these feelings. I heard voices in the distance, cackling laughter, and ran to the living room, the rings forgotten.

The door to my cottage was thrown open not a moment later and the scent of wolves invaded my shop. In the front was none other than Namjoon with Hoseok at his right side. Behind the two men, I saw a flash of white and my body stiffened on command.

I had not seen or heard from Jimin since the night I flew to his home. While I felt like a wall had been knocked down, it was difficult to know where we stood exactly. I had always assumed this was due to our difference in the hierarchy but that was dismissed after I became close with Hoseok. Now, after our late night rendezvous the other night, I liked to think he was too shy to come here or was too busy to make the trip. Either way, it was nice to be certain we were on good terms.

An unfamiliar laugh bounced off the walls and I craned my neck to see who it could be. While I was unable to find his face, I could recognize Taehyung’s perfect posture from anywhere. His goofy personality was contrasted by his physical mannerisms. His grandmother was the same way. He laughed again and clutched his stomach. Jimin chuckled beside him, and I wished I could know their little joke. I wanted to laugh along with him, too.

“Good morning, Bridd,” Hoseok boomed, a giant smile on his face.

I returned the gesture. His good mood was infectious and amplified by Namjoon’s dimpled grin. 

With a quick bow in their direction, I replied, “Morning. What can I do for you?”

It was Namjoon who spoke up this time.

“We are getting Taehyung familiar with our duties. I doubt he will come here often, but Jimin suggested bringing him over anyway.”

“It’s better to know where to find you,” Hoseok filled in the rest.

The youngest alpha shyly poked his head out over their shoulders. His eyes were wide and excited, but I could sense he was unsure of himself. It had to be difficult learning how to speak with someone who the council spoke highly of. I was regarded with the utmost respect in all Bangtan, and all wolves were taught to speak to me like they did their chief, but things were different when confronted with reality. Most of the high-ranking pack members spoke to me like we were friends- aside from the Elder Council who believed themselves above everyone, and Sol was one of my closest friends outside of the witches. It had to be daunting the first time around.

Stumbling over himself, Taehyung finally managed to get in front of me. His eyes moved around nervously, and he licked his lips. Suddenly, without warning, he dipped into a low bow. My eyes widened in shock, and I involuntarily took a step back. This was new.

“Hello, high witch Bridd. I am Taehyung Kim, the eldest son of the east Kim clan, and one of the four alphas of the Foxglove Village and protector of the Bangtan Forest.”

The alpha was back into his straight posture and reached out for me. If the bow had surprised me, it was nothing compared to the massive, wet kiss he placed on my mouth. Someone in the room gasped. Frozen in place, I stared at the man in horror. Kisses between wolves were common practice but an alpha only showed submission to his mate and members of the pack he respected. As an outsider, no matter how important I was, this would be seen as disrespectful not only to his pack- but to me as a woman. Taehyung seemed none the wiser and beamed like he had won the lottery.  

His cluelessness was astounding, and I could only imagine the look I had on my face. Glancing at the two alphas directly behind him, both Hoseok and Namjoon looked equally stunned. Behind them, a low growl caught my attention. Finally, I was able to see Jimin’s face and my stomach dropped. His eyes were darker than usual and only faintly amber as the sunlight hit them. His face pulled up in a scowl, and hair practically standing up, Jimin’s anger was palpable. I expected nothing less. The alpha was a stickler for etiquette and respecting others. What Taehyung had just done was a slight at everything the pack stood for, but most importantly, damaging to my relationship with Foxglove as a whole.  

Without a single moment of hesitation, Jimin was on the youngest alpha. Gripping the back of his neck, the young man yelped before being forced to his knees. Another long, deep growl ripped through Jimin’s chest, and I shivered. Even when his anger was not directed at me my bird begged for me to fly away. My heart rate increased as did Taehyung’s. Taking two deep breaths, the anxiety turned into shock and then pity. He did not mean any harm.

“Apologize. Now.” Jimin demanded, grip still tight around the other alpha’s neck.

“I’m sorry,” Taehyung whined, dejectedly.  

“That’s it?” Namjoon scolded.

“You’re sorry?” Hoseok exclaimed, voice hard. “That’s the best you can come up with?”

Jimin snarled, “Properly.”

“I-I-”

“Enough,” I shouted, my anxiety making it difficult to regulate my emotions. “Just, let him go. Please?”

Taehyung stumbled up while Jimin took a step back. While I was pleasantly surprised the older man followed my request without a fight, I kept my focus on the alpha in front of me. He looked like a wounded puppy, and I was struck again by his lack of awareness. It was difficult to remember he was only 18-years-old and came from a low-ranking family within their society. Taehyung likely had to kiss and bow down to many before me. I hated the thought and wanted him to never feel like this again.

“I’m sorry if I-” He began.

“Hush,” Taehyung’s mouth snapped shut. “I understand you did what you thought was right. I know you think I am far more important than I really am. Am I right, Taehyung Kim?”

He nodded. I heard Jimin make a sound of disagreement. I almost smiled. Jimin really did think very highly of me.

“I’m deeply... honored that you thought I was of enough importance to submit to me but I’m just a woman. A woman, might I add, that does not kiss anyone- ever. Are you following?”

He nodded again and I noticed his ears turning red. I would imagine, if he could, he would have tried to convince the Earth to swallow him whole. This boy had a lot to learn.

Sighing, I rubbed my eyes in embarrassment. “Why on Earth did you think that was a good idea?”

“I didn’t know what to do or say!” Taehyung expressed, his hands moving boldly. “Everyone kept telling me how important this was, and how honored I should feel, and blah, blah, blah!”

Unable to fight the urge any longer, I giggled. The alphas looked at me as if I lost my mind, but the laughing did not stop. Clutching my stomach, I began to run around the kitchen in search of a particular stone. Kim Taehyung had earned the right to a present. 

I tried to gift all the alphas something upon our first meeting. Hoseok received a Lapis Lazuli bracelet I had beaded earlier that morning, his warmth and bubbly attitude giving me hope for a new friendship. I had given Namjoon a hand-bound notebook I had made after he kept talking about his travels, and I thought it would be better for him to write about them so he would never forget the magic they held. I gave Jimin my favorite book at the time. I doubt he still had it, and it had been so long I could not recall the name, but I do know he had said something about wanting to escape his duty and I suggested reading a book. Now there was Taehyung, and this rock was the perfect gift- if I could find it.

“Bridd?” Taehyung called out; his voice weary.

“Ah ha!” I cried, the stone sitting on one of my cupboard shelves.

I rushed to find a polishing tool for the large stone. It was a spherical carnelian, something considered semi-precious in human towns, that I had found in the forest years ago. Aldara had been equal parts shocked and excited to see it when I brought it in. They were a symbol of courage and Taehyung would need plenty of it in the coming months. After cleaning it off, I admired its bright red color and the way the sun brought out the beautiful orange and yellow swirls within it.  

“You have to be the most courageous man to ever step foot in my shop,” I teased, giving the stone to the alpha. “This is my gift to you. It’ll give you courage and strength when you need it.”

“A...rock?” Taehyung’s eyebrows pulled together as he studied the sphere.  

Jimin growled in warning. I waved him away and the sounds stopped. There was no need for any bad feelings around here; it had been a simple miscommunication. Nothing more and nothing less. Handing the stone to the youngest alpha, I smiled when he finally decided that he liked it. Holding it in the sun, Taehyung marveled at the beauty it held. 

“Ask a woman in the village if she can turn it into a necklace for you. If not, then I can. These stones have healing properties.”

Hoseok peeked at the stone and smiled. The bracelet from all those years ago never left his wrist after I had given it to him. The blue stones shined brightly in the sunlight. Behind it was a woven bracelet with a hand-carved wolf dangling from it. Hyuna had given it to him as a gift once they were engaged. Both meant a lot to Hoseok, and I smiled to myself. I had a feeling Taehyung Kim and I would become as close as Hoseok and I had. Smiling, Taehyung gave the stone back to me.

“No one in town would know how to bead this without destroying the stone.”

I laughed, “I can’t promise that I won’t, but if you insist, I would be happy to do it myself alpha.”

Namjoon’s boisterous laughter came soon after and he clapped Taehyung’s shoulder in good faith. “You made quite an impression, cousin.”

Jimin was still eyeing the younger wolf wearily. Fearing I would give myself away, I quickly stopped looking at the wolf. In the distance, I heard a familiar laugh and an equally familiar voice shouting. Rolling my eyes, I felt a warmth in my chest. It had been a long time since I had both Yoongi and Seokjin in my house.

Jin, Yoongi, and Wendy were my closest friends, but when we were younger Jin developed feelings for the sea witch, and Wendy had always looked at Yoongi as if he hung the stars in the sky. I stayed out of it for years and for a while none of them seemed bothered by the elephant in the room. It was not until Jin confessed to Wendy and the two started to date that an issue started. She was Jin’s girlfriend but never stopped herself from flirting with Yoongi even if the kitchen witch was not interested. After a huge fight, a nasty break up, and hurt feelings, the two men did not speak for a long time. I was happy to see them trying to repair their friendship now that Wendy was keeping her distance from them both.

“It seems I have other guests,” I put down the stone and flicked my wrist to light my stove. “Have a seat, gentlemen. I’m making tea.”

Seokjin’s squeaky laugh could be heard from the other side of the door, and as he always did, the witch threw the door open with too much enthusiasm. The wood slammed into the wall and Yoongi yelled at the older man for being so loud. They were night and day but adored one another regardless. I placed my kettle on the fire and took out various ingredients for everyone’s cup. The wolves and I would all have plain, black tea, but I knew the witches would prefer something different.

“Good morning, darling!” Seokjin sang, chirpy as ever.

“Dear God, why are you yelling?” Yoongi complained, rubbing his ear.

Seokjin gasped, “Wolves! How are you all doing?”

Both bowed in greeting. The alphas returned the gesture before sitting back down at my too-large table. The wolves dwarfed the size of my furniture. Seokjin used magic to bring my reading chair into the kitchen area while Yoongi sat on the floor. The kettle screamed and I quickly got it off the heat.

“Good morning,” I calmly replied and started preparing the tea.

I placed black tea into all of the cups before starting to add the extra ingredients that made Yoongi and Jin happy. Yoongi was a simple man, as was Seokjin, and always enjoyed the same cup of tea every morning. Honey herbal tea was his favorite, so I searched through my cabinets and found a container of dried blueberries from the top of one of my shelves. I bit my lip to stop myself from grinning and threw a few in Jimin’s cup. Going back to Yoongi’s tea, I tossed in chamomile leaves and a cinnamon stick before adding the honey and blueberries. Seokjin liked citrus flavors, so I added orange peels and freshly squeezed orange juice.

Behind me, the men were talking. Seokijn’s voice carried, and I was sure the entire forest knew what they were talking about. Patto would fill me in on the new forest gossip tonight, if Shiloh did not drag me out to Morla’s herself, and I wondered how many birds disliked Seokjin now that the owl had gone on a smear campaign about his dog. The thought made me laugh as I gathered up everything onto a serving tray.

“Thank you, Y/N,” Yoongi murmured when I gave him his cup.

I smiled at him softly. I always liked my given name more than the stupid title everyone had given our kind. I understood it was a respectful choice, but it did not make the depersonalization any easier to stomach. The wolves and animal shifters that had lived in Bangtan over a thousand years ago had called Rosette ‘Bridd’ since it was the word for ‘bird’ in our language. Now, it was only held up by tradition. 

It usually meant little to me if someone found out my real name, but I was worried how the wolves would handle this information. I did not believe anyone else knew my first name in their village and it was best if it stayed that way. I did not trust their Elders as far as I could throw them, and Lord knows what they could potentially do with this kind of information. Ahn was greedy and power hungry enough to make a deal with the ielfen if they let him live forever- or whatever his heart desired.  

“Manipulative, greedy little minxes,” Aldara would say, scowling into her cauldron whenever the ielfen were brought up.

I had never had a run-in with one of them before so I was unsure if it was true or not, but I would always take my aunt’s word for it. She had seen things beyond anything I could ever imagine. During her youth, she was slaying beasts that ran rampant in Bangtan. I would not be surprised if she had taken on an ielfen and walked away unscathed. Taking a breath, I shrugged and decided I would have to deal with that situation if it ever came to that. Really, if Ahn was dumb enough to talk to an ielfen without understanding how their rules work, it was far more dangerous for him than me.

“What did he call you?” It was Namjoon who asked the question.

“Y/N,” I laughed, waving my hand lazily even though my blood ran cold. “It’s the name Aldara gave me. I don’t think she ever called me by first name unless she was mad at me, but I had a lot of nicknames, too.”

“Remember Bibbles?” Seokjin exclaimed. “Mama Min still calls you that shit.”

“Who’s Aldara?” Hoseok asked.

“The previous Bridd.” Yoongi clarified, ignoring Jin’s obnoxiousness.

“You have names?” Taehyung asked awestruck. “Like real names?”

“Of course, they have real names,” Seokjin exclaimed, “They are people, you know.”

Groaning, I grit my teeth in frustration. Leave it to Jin to throw jabs at the alphas. He had no problems with the wolves, in fact he never gave them much thought, but I had complained about Ahn on more than one occasion and his views of them were slightly affected. I glanced nervously at the wolves, but they seemed more amused by his attitude than angered. 

“We had names before this, yes,” I forced a smile, glaring at Jin, and took a sip of my tea. “Bridd was a nickname for the original shifter, but your people have kept it alive for tradition. I don’t find it offensive, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Wow, cool.” Taehyung sipped his tea and sighed.

The boy was a joy to be around, and it was humorous to see how much his personality clashed with the other alphas, and I was playing around with the idea of him being a pack alpha. Sol would more than likely enjoy his company, he was very funny and had a carefree outlook on life, but I could see a potential strain within the council. His boyish and forgiving nature was not something Ahn would think of as valuable. My eyes naturally drifted to Jimin when the picture-perfect alpha looked like, and it bothered me. As much as I would have loved to see him in his rightful place as the leader of the pack I did not like the idea of him having children with Sol. Bitter, I took another sip of my tea to rid my mouth of the foul taste.

“I hear your Luna will be of age soon.” Yoongi casually mentioned, stealing a look at Jin before turning his eyes on me. I never wanted to punch the witch in the face more in all my life. He smirked. “Her birthday, I’m assuming?”

“Her birthday is at the end of this month,” Namjoon always sounded stiff and proper when he spoke about Sol. “She will be 18.”

They were the least compatible in my eyes. While they got along, I knew Sol had a softer spot for the white-haired man beside him. Who could blame her? They grew up together, were the closest in terms of friendship, and she relied on him for just about everything she could. While Namjoon was the heart of Bangtan, Park Jimin was the heart of the pack, and everyone knew it. I was not sure what the Luna would do if anyone else was chosen just as I was not sure what I would do if Jimin was. Looking at Taehyung again, I prayed he would be the one she chose.

“A little young for you, wouldn’t you say?” Seokjin remarked, a mischievous grin on his face. “Or do your people not care all that much about unhealthy age gaps?”

I flushed and looked away quickly. Seokjin had always been more observant of my fascination with Jimin than anyone else. Not even Shiloh had quite grasped my situation the same way the witch had, and he loved to bring it up any chance he got. This, however, was a tad too far for my liking. Who in the world asked someone a question like that? My ears burned and I had to steady my breath before responding.

“Their age gap won’t matter if they are meant to be together,” My voice was hollow but convincing enough to not raise suspicion. I did not want anyone to think I was as angry as I actually was. “10 years means little to the Gods. You should know that.”

Again, my eyes drifted back to Jimin without much thought. He looked nice today. His hair was up in a loose bun, his clothes loose but well-fitted, and his snow-white skin ever so slightly flushed from the summer sun. I noticed he had a small scratch on his eyebrow and frowned. It bothered me to see him injured and I could not figure out who on Earth could manage to hit him. Namjoon comes to mind, but he was clumsy on his feet, and it could not be Hoseok or any of the copiae. None of them were fast enough.

Eyes flickering to Taehyung, I shook my head instantly. It was most definitely not him. The boy could not hurt a fly let alone Jimin. With my questions still unanswered, I got up to make another round of tea. Black tea and sugar would have to do. I was not going to go through the effort more than once- especially on a normal day. Maybe for Yule, they could convince me to go above and beyond more than once. The cut on his eyebrow continued to stare back at me.

“Êow rôðres earfoðlic ætstillan,” Seokjin piped up to no one’s surprise. 

Rolling my eyes, I turned the flame back on and began boiling more water.  

“I just noticed a cut on Alpha Jimin’s face and was just curious.” I joked, hoping that I sounded casual enough to pass Seokjin’s teasing unscathed.

A small ‘oh’ was all I heard. It was the first time Jimin had spoken since they first arrived. I filled up the teacups again and began making the tea. Hoseok snickered and I knew I was in for a story. When the two two alphas joined in on the teasing, my annoyance with Jin melted away, and I waited patiently for them to start talking. Jimin scoffed but I could hear the tiniest bit of embarrassment in the grunt that followed it.

“Do you want to tell her or shall I?” He teased.

My ears perked up. I quickly gathered our cups and made my way toward the table. Jimin looked down bashfully, his face serious and neck red. I sat the tray down and bent down to get a better look at his face. The cut was red, puffy, and inflamed from the looks of it. I walked to my cabinets and searched for some healing salve. I had made more after my wolf visited just in case he got into any more trouble.

“He was fighting with Jungkook and underestimated how agile the omega is,” Namjoon said. 

The alphas began yelling over one another, teasing and spilling information back and forth. I was so attuned to Jimin’s voice that I knew he did not say anything. I loved the way his blushing spread across his entire body, and I wondered, briefly, how far it went. I took a deep breath and pushed that thought to the very back of my brain. My intrusive thoughts about Jimin were usually not so primal in nature so it caught me off guard.

After a few minutes of looking, I finally found the salve I was looking for and closed my cupboards. The other men were progressively getting louder, and Seokjin and Yoongi had joined in. No one noticed when I arrived, or they did not care. Gently, I tapped the table directly in front of Jimin. The alpha’s head shot up instantly and I stifled my smile. He looked so cute when he was surprised.  

“I’ve got something that’ll help.”

He nodded and scooted towards my body. I moved my chair to his side of the table and opened the jar of salve. The men were still yelling. We ignored them. I took a generous amount of the salve and used my other hand to steady the alpha’s face. Jimin’s breath hitched when my fingers gripped his chin, and I tried not to let my emotions get the best of me. The last thing I needed was another mental picture of his chest red and hot from my touch. I almost groaned in annoyance at how abysmally I was failing.

The salve was sticky and transparent. It smelled heavily of peppermint and moss, but the alpha did not seem to mind. I began to add the ointment to his scar, taking special care of the red skin around it, and briefly looked around for any more cuts.  

“It’s the only one.” He said, his voice so soft I could hardly hear it.

I nodded and continued to rub the salve in. We sat in silence while I applied it, and the room up was in an uproar around us. The men were laughing and yelling in tandem. It made me smile. If there were nowhere else for the wolves to laugh, I would be glad if my cottage was somewhere they felt comfortable. After diligently working in the ointment, the scar was gone along with any traces of it having been there. Despite his words, I still looked around for any other marks and spotted one on his jaw.

The small scratch was located right at the crook of his neck leading to his ear. The thin, red line traveled to his collarbone and behind his ear. I forced his head to the side and began rubbing the salve in even as Jimin protested. Ignoring him, I tried to keep my composure and focus on the task. Instead, my eyes continued to drift to the rest of his neck, and I licked my lips when his Adam’s apple bobbed. He was very red around his ears, and I wanted to scream.

I was less meticulous on this cut than I had been on the previous one. It was difficult to concentrate when he was this close to me. I could feel his breath on my hand and his eyes staring at the side of my face. The cottage shook with the force of Hoseok’s laugh.

“At least I have a mate, Namjoon,” He shouted in hysterics.

“And I will be the Luna’s.” The man shot back cockily.

I disagreed. I knew the leader of Bangtan was under my fingertips. No matter what anybody said, Park Jimin would be the Foxglove Alpha and I would be a heartbroken fool. Taehyung was nice but after this morning there was no way a man like that could rule, and Namjoon was so wrong for Sol it was laughable he even wanted her. The Gods would think twice before allowing that to happen, and Jin’s comment earlier rang true in my head. Sol and Namjoon had nothing in common while Jimin was her closest friend. I applied more pressure than necessary to Jimin’s neck and began to sing under my breath. After the healing spell was recited, I removed my hands as though they were burned. I was going to be sick.

“Please,” I heard Taehyung pipe in. “We all know Jimin is the alpha.”

I stalked back into the kitchen and tried to figure out what I wanted to bake. I needed the distraction from my own thoughts and this conversation was not helping me at all. The arguing started up again. Both Hoseok and Namjoon demanded the opinion of the other witches and I waited with bated breath for the inevitable. It came seconds later, and I turned to Hoseok with a large, forced smile.

“If anyone was going to be the alpha,” My voice was off to my own ears. “I would have to say Alpha Jimin, I’m afraid.”

“Why?” Namjoon seemed genuinely confused.

“He’s the only person I know who could handle the pressure,” Taehyung and Hoseok high-fived and from the look on Yoongi’s face he had also chosen Jimin. “Of course, I can’t see the future so I could be wrong.”

The men did not seem to know how to respond. After coming across a bag of dried rose petals I had forgotten about I decided on rose and cardamom shortbread cookies. My good mood was gone, and I was unsure how to get it back. Yoongi soon joined me in the kitchen while the others moved onto lighter topics. I set the rose petals aside to begin boiling, and I got to work on the shortbread while Yoongi handed me the ingredients I needed. I made these so often when we were kids that I knew the recipe by heart.

“Êow d hnot pîslic these lâstlange under,” Yoongi commented.

I shrugged, rolled out the dough and handed Yoongi my cookie cutter. He liked this part, and I enjoyed indulging him whenever he was over. I turned on the stove and took out a cookie sheet. 

“Normally I’d chill the dough for a few hours, but I didn’t feel like it today,” I put the cookies on the greased sheet as he cut out more. “They might have a different texture than normal.”

“Who cares?” I laughed at Jin’s outburst. He was never the type to complain where cookies were concerned and would have been upset to wait. “Shortbread is delicious.”

The cookies were fine, not the best they could have been, but maybe it was just me. The wolves ate them without complaint and Hoseok asked for the recipe. Hyuna loved roses and would enjoy them very much. They stayed until sunset, long after my friends had left, and I worked as they joked around. I was not sure why they decided to stay for so long, but it was nice to hear all of them got along so well. I hoped today was relaxing enough for all of them to get through the rest of the month. It was nearing twilight when I finally asked them to leave. Placing the knife, I had started working on down, I went to the wolves to let them know it was time.  

Taehyung stood up immediately. “Thank you for allowing us to stay for so long.”

I gently pat his head, “Anytime, pup.”

He scowled and childishly folded his arms over his chest. Hoseok laughed before giving me a proper bow that I returned in kind. Namjoon and Jimin followed suit. Begrudgingly, Taehyung finally bowed. His expression made me laugh, but this only made him frown deeper.

“Lighten up,” Hoseok slung his arm around the man. “See you in a few weeks, Bridd.”

“See you then,” I replied cordially.  

The men saw themselves out. Jimin bowed another time before closing the door. The look on his face had been troubling, and I hoped whatever bothered him would sort itself out. I hated the idea of him being in any pain or discomfort. I watched his back as he walked out of the cottage and gently closed the door. I did not like to see him go.

A small knock on my door broke me from my thoughts. Quickly fetching a large knife from the mantle, I steadied my breathing and listened. I did not get visits at night so this was out of the ordinary. My eyes never left the door, and I quietly approached it. The last time we had a late-night guest ended in tragedy. Enchanting one of my winter gloves, I ordered it to peek outside the window and let me know if it was safe to open the door.

I could faintly hear the screams at the end of my dream and flashes of red eyes clouded my vision. I shook my head and fought back tears. There was so much blood... so much…The glove raised its thumb. I mouthed ‘who is it.’ The glove replied in sign language, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Jimin must have forgotten something. Tossing the blade onto the dining table, I quickly opened the door to let the large man back inside.  

“Did you forget something?” I asked, picking the glove up from the windowsill.

I placed the purple fabric into my coat pocket and pet the thumb. The glove held onto my hand clearly enjoying the affection. Jimin stood in the foyer and stared at me in wonder. I could admit I was more unorthodox in my creations, so this did not displease me. When I noticed the glove becoming lazy, I snatched a handkerchief from another coat of mine and tucked it in. The glove tugged the cloth up before relaxing and falling asleep. The magic should wear off soon.

I looked at the alpha expectantly.

“Oh,” He jumped, “Right.” Jimin cleared his throat and smoothed his hair down. “I wanted to thank you.”

“Thank me?” I raised an eyebrow and drifted back to my bed, comfy chair.

“For the nice things you said earlier,” He clarified.

“Yes, well,” I plopped down, “I was only saying what everyone else already knows.”

“Still, it means a great deal considering you’re... you.”

I glanced out the window. It would not be long now. I was not afraid of this wolf seeing me transform as I knew he was safe to be around. His cold demeanor was ever so softly melted in the presence of a little raven to reveal his kind heart. Sol’s birthday celebration ran through my mind once more and I soured. Even if he never returned my feelings, Jimin was mine through and through. His being with someone else hurt me more than anything. The very thought of it made me feel ill.

Swallowing thickly, I replied. “You think of me far too highly.”

“And you don’t think of yourself high enough.”

This gave me pause. Looking at the alpha, I was caught off guard by his expression. Never in all the years I had known him had Park Jimin looked meek. His shoulders were slouched, and eyebrows knit together ever so slightly. Normally his legs were perfectly straight and now one was bent, his toes tapping the floor anxiously. This was uncharted territory, as going to his home had been, and I was frozen.  

“I-” He started.

The familiar cooling sensation ran up my leg and I scrambled up out of my chair.

“I’m so sorry!” I shouted, the flashes of ice moving quickly now.

The world began to get bigger as I shrunk down to size, and I cried out in pain as the first feathers began to burst out of my legs. Jimin backed away from me and bumped into my dining table. Shame crashed over me first and then guilt. Having seen Bridd’s transformation with my own eyes I knew how horrifying it could be. More feathers ripped through my skin and blood stained the floors.

“You should,” I let out a large caw, “Leave!”

My body burned and twisted in pain. Falling to my knees, I screamed in agony as my beak began to break through my skin. Even after all this time shifting never got any easier. Aldara had said it was the only true pain a Bridd could feel. If I could, I would tell her she was wrong. Flashes of fire invaded my vision and I fell to the ground with a loud caw echoing off the walls.

When I opened my eyes again, I huffed in annoyance. My dress had fallen on top of me, as it did most nights, and I would have to forage my way out of the pool of fabric. Hastily, I used my beak to pick through the fabric and find a way out of the pile. I could hear Jimin’s breathing still and knew I would have to be faster than usual. Ignoring the feeling of blood sticking to me, I finally found a breach and squeezed my way out.

The alpha was leaned against the table unmoving. His eyes still held the same fear and confusion and I felt guilty. No one should have to see such a thing. I hopped closer to him and hoped he would be receptive to me. There was no telling what he would do after this moment. No one, not even Yoongi, had ever seen me transform before aside from Shiloh, she was tied to me in ways no one else was.  

In the distance, I heard an owl hooting and knew my familiar would be here soon. After a conversation a few weeks ago, she had slowly started becoming more independent. It was why she had gone out last night and subsequently slept through the day. Shiloh would go stir crazy if she stayed locked up for too long, and I felt bad for keeping her inside all day. Best friends or not- she deserved to go off on her own when we were on idle time. Tonight, we had agreed to go foraging together. After replying with a few deep, gruff croaks, I turned my attention back to the alpha.

He looked less petrified than he had before, which was a good sign. I was unsure what to do next but thought making myself cute might help. Yes, rolling around on my blood-stained floors would take away the memory of feathers ripping through my skin. I thought of the first time I had seen Aldara shifting and winced. Yes, this was utterly pointless. Still, I marched on determined.

First, I sat prettily on the floor and stared at him. My fight or flight instincts often made physical contact difficult, and I could tell he was tense. My anxiety was manageable, so I pushed forward with my plan. Still unsatisfied with his confused blinking, I huffed before quickly flying to the table beside him. As much as I wanted to be away from him, I was so scared I disgusted him now, the human in me was in awe of his proximity.

Earlier had truly been the closest we had been since his blessing ceremony. I had thought about it a lot during our time apart. Why was I so cozy with him like this? We both knew it was still me, but I think the fact that I could not speak or laugh in a discernible way in this form was comforting. I could not mess up or say the wrong things right now. Basking in his radiating heat, I slowly leaned onto his side and clicked to show my comfort. Instinctually, I began to sing.

It was throaty and hollow, much like the rest of the sounds I made, but different. Unlike the usual bursts of loud noises and warning signals this was gentle. Warbling is what Aldara called it. I used to do it when I was a baby after feeding. Our bird counterpart was always a part of our being, much like a wolf’s wolf was there before they present. She had once told me ravens only make that sound in the company of their most intimate loved ones.  

“Mates sing to one another,” She said whispered, playing with my hair. I was nine and wanted to hear happily ever afters before bed.

I warbled a sweet melody and snuggled into his arm. I felt his eyes on my head but did not care. Closing mine, I sang and waited for Shiloh to get here so I could find a new stone to replace the one I had given away this morning.

“Hey Y/N,” Shiloh yelled, her voice booming in my otherwise quiet cottage. “Yonder forerynel êow?”

Startled, I felt my neck feathers raise and I angrily yelled at her impatience. Flying to the windowsill where her voice had been the loudest, I continued to shout obscenities at her. Shiloh, cheeky as ever, laughed in my face before telling me to hurry up. Apparently, Patto had gathered up a group of our friends at Morla’s to hear all the newest forest gossip. After today, I was sure the group I had over would be at the top of the nocturnal animal shit list. They were very, very rowdy.

“Bridd,” Jimin said once Shiloh flew away.

I looked at him. He understood what it meant.

“Can I trust you to keep a secret?”

I flew back to his side instantly. I would have liked to close the shop up properly, but unfortunately, I was unable to use my magic in this form. Cosette, the third Bridd, had that as her gift. Jimin offered his arm and I happily perched on him.

“To be honest,” He started, sitting down at the table. “I don’t want to be the alpha.”

I cocked my head, an unspoken question passing between the two of us.

He sighed, “I enjoy Sol as a person, and yes she is beautiful, but-”

He paused and looked at me hopelessly. I was sad to see him hurt. I knew the stress he must be feeling, or the future being decided for you without any warnings. All my life had been leading up to a moment and still there was not enough time. Even if Aldara had made it to the evening of my 16th birthday, I do not think I would have been prepared to take on the responsibility. Jimin had an entire pack relying on him, hoping for him; wanting him. And to not want any of it? My heart broke at the thought.

“But she is not who I want to choose.” He finally said.

Again, I began to warble gently only now I preened his silver hair. I hoped it was comforting, or at the very least, felt nice, but I was unsure of myself. I thought of Sol, her skin the color of dark tree sap and deep, dark freckles scattered across her entire body. Until now, only women have been allowed to see her hair, and while I knew it was black and thick, I was uncomfortable to think on it for too long. It would make her uneasy and so it made me as well. When comparing her dazzling hazel eyes to my own, her plush lips as soft as a rose, it was hard to think about her in any way besides a dream woman. She was perfect.

Yet, Jimin did not want her. He does not want to choose her. However, the thought weighing me down as I gently drug my bill through Jimin’s hair, no one chooses their mate. The goddess will have the final say on Jimin’s future, both of us knew that, and making oneself miserable over it was pointless. In the end, if they were mates, he would laugh at this conversation. She would be perfect then, so perfect he would want to strangle himself for ever saying otherwise. Wolf bonds were like that.  

Ravens also mated for life, though a pair bond was built over trust and affection. A wolf bond, a mating bond, ran much deeper than that. Both halves of the whole would be together. Once she smelled him and he did the same there was nothing on Earth that could keep them apart. It was not like ravens, soft and innocent affection that burned through loyalty. No. That kind of love was pure fire, and nothing could put it out.

Not Jimin’s pre-ceremonial rejection. Not Kim Namjoon’s cocky, matter-of-fact attitude. Not even my broken heart if I had to watch it happen. It was a pure, unaltered rush the two of them would never come down from. Deciding I was finished, I backed away from Jimin and nuzzled his forehead with my bill to show him I was trying to be comforting. He gave me a tight-lipped smile in return.

“Can I tell you something else?”

I looked away bashfully but nodded all the same.

“You have been very kind to me-” He stood up with a great big stretch. “-and I told you this because I felt like I owed you.”

Alarmed, I squawked but remembered he could not understand me. I was so frustrated with my curse that at that moment I shouted obscenities in my head. I wanted so badly to talk with him, to reach out and touch him, and to beg him to explain what he meant. Luckily, Jimin seemed to notice my agitation.

“Thank you for helping me the other day.”

I racked my brain in an attempt to understand what he was talking about. When had I helped him? All I had done was bring him tea and give him medicines. What else could there be? I had not left my cottage since Taehyung’s ceremony and the only visit I had was the wolf. Oh. Oh…

Jimin was my little wolf. He was the one who had brought me my lantern, too. Touched and embarrassed, I could not help but feel lighter. He had come back to let me know he appreciated me. No wonder he was so stubborn about shifting back into a human- Jimin was supposed to be the strongest wolf in Foxglove. As much as I wished we could talk about this more, or that I could offer some sort of reassurance, I knew it would have to wait. For now, I would at least let him know that I was not upset with him for keeping himself a secret.

I flew a few times around his head, making sure to do a few somersaults for good measure. Jimin laughed happily on his way out and I was excited to have finally made him smile. I made sure to soak the moment in. Messy hair, slightly flushed skin, and a large, toothy grin that made his entire face smile. I had never seen his dimple before, and I knew I wanted to keep this moment forever.  

“I have to get back to the others,” He giggled happily before bowing. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

Goodnight, Jimin, I replied even if he could not hear me. As he walked away, I began to fly to the place Shiloh said she would be. Even once I was with my friends, sat about laughing, all I could see was the way Jimin’s eyes looked like crescent moons when he laughed.

Sitting at my alter, I breathed evenly with my eyes closed. I had spent the better part of the afternoon praying and meditating. I would need energy tonight, as I had with every previous trip to Bangtan, but moral support from the Gods would be necessary for a successful mating ritual. Opening my eyes, I looked at the grimoire in my lap and sighed. Sol would be presenting tonight, and the pack would know who their head alpha will be. I felt my heart clench but fought through the discomfort to read. 

Each Bridd kept detailed records of each spell they used for ceremonies within Foxglove, and they had proven most helpful. I soaked in the words Jordana wrote, the step-by-step instructions for each part of the ritual, and most importantly- the parts where I was to leave the circle as quickly as possible. Having never aided a Luna through her mating ritual before, I was appreciative of the guidance and wisdom her books taught me.  

My cottage was silent. Shiloh was sleeping in her bed and none of my friends had come by everyone was making themselves scarce. While I appreciated the sentiment, and it was helping me to stay focused, I was not enjoying the emptiness. My mind wandered too often, and it was becoming increasingly more distracting. I was happy that Jimin and I were writing letters to one another now. He said he liked the privacy my mind gave him, and I just liked him. Today, however, we had not spoken. We were both too busy preparing for tonight.

I had stopped pretending my feelings were not hurt a few days ago. I was mourning Jimin before anything was decided, my adoration and love making it physically impossible to be happy for him or anybody else, and the letter had only made those emotions stronger. Now with only a few hours left, I was growing sick with worry and selfishly hoped Namjoon would be picked instead. Even if I would never have Jimin I did not want him with anyone else. Feeling a new set of tears filling my eyes, I roughly wiped them away before closing the grimoire. 

Standing, I looked around my home desperately. I did not want to sew anymore, I had done it all week, and had grown bored of it. Wood carving would be fun but tiring. The same could be said for blacksmithing a blade. I would also wake Shiloh and I knew she needed her rest. Then my eyes landed on the large, red carpet in the living room.  

Slowly, I lowered onto my hands and knees before lifting the only corner not obstructed by furniture. The large black, cast-iron handle stared back at me as did the bear carvings I had dug into the door’s wood many years ago. I ran my finger along the fading lines and sighed. I had done something similar before the fire. Aldara was furious with me when she first discovered what I had done, and yet it had taken her mere minutes to join me. I thought about the missing animals for months after she was gone, staring at the empty floor only solidifying my loneliness, and in a desperate attempt for relief I had started carving bears again. I only got three done before I broke down into tears. I had never tried it again. 

Feeling inspired, I pulled a knife from my belt and began carving. My hands moved easily now, none of my lines crooked or hesitant. Unlike my old drawings, these would never fade. Before I had even realized it, I had carved a wolf’s head and groaned. This was not working. I slid my little knife back into its holder and lifted the little basement door. My furniture shuffled and dragged but with a flick of my hand everything was back in its proper place. 

Looking back at the door, my heart broke when I saw the violent stabs in the wood. It was days after the fire, and I had locked myself in the basement. It was the only place left to sleep. Yoongi, Seokjin, and Wendy had come to help fix things along with their parents. After treating all of them horribly, I locked myself away and destroyed so much of the things I called treasures as a child. The door was almost another casualty, but thankfully it was still here. Aldara drew a fox playing with butterflies that overshadowed all of my simple bears below it.

“Egnis,” I called out and a flame sprouted from my index finger. 

Using the small ladder attached to the floor, I lowered myself into the dark room. The flame floated around aimlessly with little energy in its movements. I remembered a time when my magic danced and sang brightly and was saddened. Once I reached the bottom of the steps, I reached out and stroked the flame. It shied away from me before growing larger. Sighing, I squared my shoulders and focused. 

“Leohtielfent.”

The flame shot out, its body exploding in multiple different directions. On the walls were candle holders and they all lit up brilliantly. The flames flickered and danced normally. A memory from Yule years ago came to mind and I felt sad again. Back then, my flames did backflips and gymnastics vying for my attention. Now they were just as plain and boring as Aldara’s had been. She was right in the end. I did learn that magic was more serious than fun.

Down here is where all of the grimoires and books of Bridd's past were stored. It was the reason the room had been spared in the fire. 800 years ago, Jordana had placed a powerful protection spell on the room. None of the other Bridd were ever able to figure out how she did it or the way to reverse it. I had tried my hand at figuring it out when I was ten but gave up rather quickly. If Aneesa, the 4th Bridd, and someone blessed with absolute intelligence, could not decipher how it happened then I was positive no one ever would.

Walking over to the large bookshelves across the small room, I ran my fingers along the spines and sighed. Even with all of the knowledge in the world at my fingertips I was clueless. What do you do when what you want is unattainable? Uselessly pine or pretend like you’re over it? Cry and weep alone or reach out and talk to someone who understands?

Aldara would say to find a middle ground and go from there. But what middle ground do you find in this situation? Especially since I know Jimin does not want to be Sol’s mate. That thought alone sent a thrill through my body. I felt embarrassed and ashamed of myself for it. 

“Be patient,” A voice whispered into the quiet room.

I smiled sadly. The spirit gently caressed my body and held me close. I had grown used to their presence by now and tried to see if I could figure out who was visiting me today. It was much easier to do if I let them in but I was not in the space to allow that to happen. I had somewhere to be in a few hours and I could not miss it. The spirit ran her fingers through my hair.

“All will reveal itself in time.”

I swallowed thickly, “And if it is what I think it is?”

“You will survive it, little one,” The spirit replied warmly. It had to be Heidi and the thought made my tears well. While I appreciated her reassurance, I wanted my auntie here instead. Aldara always knew exactly what to say. A choked sob slipped past my lips. “You are brave and strong. You have nothing to fear.”

But I had everything to fear. Watching Sol walk up to Jimin, her blindfold on tightly, and falling to her knees whimpering while he held her protectively. Well, that would be too much to bear. To see the man I love so desperately, irrevocably in love with someone else would surely be impossible to return from. I felt the gentle brushing of fingers on the back of my neck.

“I’m afraid,” I whispered.

“That’s what makes you brave,” She replied.

Drawing a breath, I nodded. Aldara always said that. It was more comforting if I thought about it like that. Still, I felt uneasy. Still, I knew I needed to study more. So, I sat on the floor and tried to clear my mind.

“Flotian,” I commanded, and a book went straight into the palm of my outstretched hand.

I had decided to walk to the village today. The memory of the first time I saw Jimin had plagued me on my way out and I wanted to retrace our steps. We were both young, I was no more than 13, and had gotten possessed during Yule. He had walked me back home after his brother found me in the forest. I wonder if he remembered it as vividly as I did, or did he put it in the back of his mind to save for a rainy day? It was hard to say for sure. I smiled sadly when I spotted a rogue ielfen circle. Gosh, I had been so afraid of the ielfen back then.

It was quiet tonight. Shiloh had gone off with Patto when I left. They wanted good seats for the ceremony. Morla was already there, I was sure of it, and the rest of the gossipers were more than likely chatting away. Seokjin was sleeping already, and Yoongi never cared about the pack’s affairs but would likely stay up just in case I needed to be nursed back to health. I stuffed my hand into my cloak pocket and felt around until I felt the letter.

Wendy had written to me just before I had gone off and I did not have the chance to read it. It had been far too long since I had seen my friend. We wrote often, not as often as I would have liked but she was a busy witch and stayed up to date on one another. In her last letter, she had said she was traveling to Northorn with her younger sister. Nixie was meeting with a possible suitor and asked for her to join.

She had stopped visiting after a particularly bad argument with Seokjin. I did not know what it was about, or what had happened prior, but according to Patto it had been pretty nasty. When Shiloh gave me the gossip mill’s version of events, I took it with a grain of salt. However, the two parts that did make sense to me were jealousy and Yoongi. Seokjin was helplessly in love with Wendy, who I knew had similar feelings for him, but the kitchen witch was a roadblock. They had not spoken since, and I had to believe they broke off their relationship.

I heard rustling in nearby bushes and paused. Looking around my feet, I was sure I was paying attention to every detail around me. Readying myself for a fight, I began walking again. Slower this time. However, nothing came of it. After five minutes of waiting for whatever had moved to make an appearance, I grew bored and walked at my normal pace. The bushes never rustled again.

The walls of Bangtan were formidable. Tall and built with stone, it looked impenetrable. Just outside the walls of the city lay a small farm. I knew a human family lived there and worked those fields. While I never knew their names, I had heard they were friendly and gave travelers lodging in their spare house. Most humans were wary of wolves- especially anyone from the north. 

On the other end of the wall was a small stream that led back into the ocean. Connected only by a bridge, the ceremonial cave sat. The town itself was quaint and beautiful. On the back, left end was the church that sat up on the hillside surrounded by trees and foliage. In the center of town was the market with homes and businesses lining the rest of the streets. The copiae stayed on the other end of the wall beside the stream. Foxglove was small but mighty and I adored it.

The streets were empty tonight. Everyone was either at the cave or locked away in their homes. The energy of the moon charged me, and I knew I was about to have a hard road ahead of me. Even if Sol did not pick Jimin I would still be torn to pieces after putting my body through this. I prayed as I walked, asking for the Gods to let me have Jimin, hoping for a healthy recovery, and that Sol would be happy in life for as long as she lived. It was what she deserved.

The cave was silent despite the rows of people inside. The unmated wolves were already lined up and waiting for things to begin. The moon was still too low to bring the Luna inside. I walked forward and began preparing myself for the ceremony.

Just as I had with every other ceremony, I cut my hair and changed my clothes. Today, the body paint would be done differently. After reading through Jordana's grimoire, I knew I had to show respect differently tonight. Getting in touch with my feminine side was crucial, and that involved white and soft lines. 

I started with drawing two large circles around my eyes. Using a puddle of water in the cave to see my reflection, I then began to bring the outer edges down. The shape made my eyes look sad. I cut off the line at my jawline before fixing the top shape. I used my sockets for reference and began to fill in the area that connected my eye to my nose bridge. Afterwards, I made slightly curved lines that went up. They looked like moth wings and I felt happy. It was very similar to the pictures the Grand Witch had. 

After drawing two little lines on my bottom lip and then a large one down my chin, I was satisfied. I looked gentler today than most. I then reached into my bag and took out crushed pearls and tapped it onto the high points of my face. In the grimoire it was an optional step but one that was looked upon favorably. Apparently, it made the pain lessen though not by much. I was happy I had some in the cupboards regardless.

I then began setting up my altar and made sure to keep my eyes on the moon. It was nearly time when I was finished. I did a quick cleansing spell to ward off any bad luck before announcing it was time. Everyone waited with bated breath. I ran around the alphas to make a quick circle around them for when everything started. It would be impossible to do after. Sol was being escorted inside the moment I was back to my original place. 

She was naked and blindfolded. Her dark, golden skin was covered in dark chocolate freckles and for the first time in her life Sol’s hair was out for everyone to see. Even though I knew it was futile, I tried to give her some privacy by not letting my eyes wander too much. She was trembling and looked uneasy. I could only imagine the fear going through her right now. I did not let my eyes wander to the men standing before me. I could not become distracted.

Chief Ahn held Sol with tenderness. He had raised her once it was found that she was the Luna, and no one was allowed to claim her as their child. I always believed he killed them for power but never asked about it. After getting her to the center of the circle, he quickly made his way down. I looked up at the moon through a hole in the cave. It was time. I stepped away from the circle quickly. No one was to be too close. It could confuse Sol or send her into a frenzy. She, or her mate for that matter, very well could kill anyone who they saw as a threat. I did not want to take a chance.

Now away from the ceremony and watching on like everyone else, I let my eyes wander to the man I had been thinking about for weeks. Jimin looked stoic and resigned. I could imagine he was feeling nervous. He looked straight ahead and did not waver. I felt myself tearing up. No, I told myself, you cannot do this here.

Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down enough to dismiss my tears. I could cry later. Right now, I would look at him as if he were mine until he was not. Until the air shifted, and his eyes softened for the omega at his feet, I would watch him. Sol suddenly lifted her face into the air and her trembling had become full on shaking. Her body fell to the floor as she cried out in pain. I watched with bated breath. It was happening. Taking a deep breath, I watched as she began to crawl.

My eyes went back to the alpha across the room. His hair glistened in the moonlight while his face was hidden in the shadows. A small breeze made his hair twirl. I heard Sol cry out and looked back at her. She was in agony. I could see it all over her face. From my reading, I knew this was a hard moment for Sol. Her mate was right there and yet she had to seek him out with her senses alone. In a room filled with other alphas no less. Her small body continued to crawl towards her mate. My eyes went back to Jimin.

I was surprised when our eyes locked. The world around me stood still for a moment and I sucked in a deep breath. He looked so… frightened. Of what, I did not know, but he trusted me enough to show me that. I remembered our last conversation and felt my heart break in half. Jimin does not want this. In his letters he worried that he was broken somehow, that he should want Sol but found himself unable to conceive it, and the guilt that surrounded him because of it.

Then, I heard a loud gasp that radiated through the crowd. Snapping back to reality, I looked at Sol. There she was whining and rubbing her face against her alpha’s leg. My shock and joy about it being someone else almost made me forget to check who it was. Quickly saying the binding spell, the other alphas moved away and trapped the newly mated pair in the circle. 

“It can’t be!” I heard someone behind me.

“There must be a mistake,” said another.

There in the middle of the circle lay Sol, her body practically wrapped around Kim Taehyung’s legs. Almost in shock, the man ran his fingers through her hair. This was the first time any man had seen it and I watched as he marveled at the thick, dark waves. I cleared my throat and began to sing.

The pairing spell was not really a spell at all, only a charm for good luck and hope for many children. It was said to have produced strong heirs in the past, so it was tradition. It had taken me many moons to change it to a spell song that suited my magic better. Taehyung had helped the Luna stand and held her closely. She shook and held onto him with all her might. I let my eyes wander after the song to where Jimin was. He looked pleased. 

I could hear whispers and cries of contempt around the room. No one was happy about this save for Taehyung's family. I could hear his siblings cheering with their mother. I glanced at Chief Ahn. If looks could kill, then Taehyung would be dead where he stood, and I was ready for a fight if the old wolf decided to strike. I did not know the young wolf well, but I knew whatever that man had planned for him was not pretty. My only hope was that the others would calm down the storm beginning to rage in Ahn’s eyes.

“Luna Sol,” I said. “The goddess had chosen your other half. Taehung Kim, you are now the rightful Alpha of the Bangtan Forest.”

Taehyung smiled at me happily. Sol was in heaven breathing in her alpha’s scent. Kneeling at my altar, I placed my hands on the robe I had prepared before. After singing a quick protection spell, I placed it into my hands before lifting it.

“Come,” I said.

Taehyung sat before me bringing Sol with him. She sat in his lap with her face buried in his neck. 

“Your robes, Luna,” I said gently, hoping my voice would not reach the ears of others.

She quickly untangled herself, snatching the garment from my hands only to go back to Taehyung without putting them on. The alpha took them from her and placed them around her shoulders. The alphas had their robes on already. 

“It is time for me to give you a gift,” I said kindly, already beginning to feel the burn in my back.

I had researched ways to make my wings sprout out without needing the sunlight. Making a sacrifice to Lilith was one way, but I was not using blood for this. However, another way was to give my feathers during a ceremony. Pippa, the 5th Bridd, talked about it in her spell book, so I tried it myself a few days ago and it worked. It was, however, the most painful experience I had ever gone through. Even more painful than the blood ritual I performed during blessing ceremonies.

Putting my faith into the pearl on my face, I began to sing. My back felt like I was being stabbed with a hot branding iron the same temperature as the sun. Sweat pooled down my neck and I screamed out the last part of the spell in agony. I could feel my blood dripping down my body and pooled around me. Feathers fell into the sticky puddle.

Taking two from my wings, I placed them at my altar with shaking hands. I braced myself against the wood and bit my lip as they went back in. I could taste iron and salt. Crying, I put my hands over the feathers and began to sing once more. Shaky and out of breath, the spell made the feathers lift and spin. As I composed myself, the feathers began to change colors and two pristine, white feathers landed gently on my altar. Looking at the couple, Taehyung looked ill while Sol was still at his neck without a care in the world.

“Nam initiis novis,” I choked out, using magic to hand over the feathers, my accent thicker than normal as I spoke. My hands were still covered in blood and would stain them. Taehyung took them in awe. I blew and used my magic to make the salt circle disappear. Switching to Lustrian, I managed to grit out the rest of it. “Mêowle hîe l¯ædan êow frêod nâðýl¯æs lufen.”

With the ceremony over, the people were loud and vocalizing their woes. No one had expected Taehyung to be the alpha except Jimin, it seemed. Tired and worn, I allowed myself the chance to lay on the ground to catch my breath. Taehyung called out to me, but Chief Ahn was on him before he could do anything to help.

“We must speak, alpha,” Chief Ahn said and then looked at me. “Alpha Park! Take the Bridd back to her cottage and see that she is taken care of.”

“Yes, chief.”

Eyes heavy, I lifted myself up and waved my hands. Taehyung told me to rest but I ignored him. I needed to pick up my things. 

“Bridd,” Taehyung said. “You don’t look well.”

“I can do this,” I huffed, forcing my body to move. 

Strong hands covered mine. Jimin looked upset and I froze. What had happened?

“I will do this,” He said, voice hard. “Lay down.”

“But-” I protested.

“Lay.”

I did as I was told this time. Truth is, I was exhausted, but I was more afraid of what I could do with Jimin now that he was free of this burden. I smiled at that. He was still able to be mine, at least in my mind, now. Jimin placed my things into my bag with great care while the rest of the townsfolk left. Many of them were angry.

“Do you need help?” I heard Namjoon ask.

“No,” Jimin replied, and the alpha left without another word. 

Jimin was swift picking up my things before lifting me into his arms. I knew I weighed nothing to him, but I worried about the blood staining his robes. They were expensive and hard to get made. He did not seem to care about this and held me tightly against his chest. 

“You can’t do that again,” He scolded once we were outside of the village.

“Do what?” I mumbled.

“That feather trick. You look like death.”

I hummed, “I’m sorry if I scared you.”

Jimin sighed, “I forgive you.”

The walk felt shorter now. Jimin, too, seemed to like taking the same path from that snowy night. This made me chuckle. Jimin grinned down at me and I was amazed by the softness in his gaze.

“Care to tell me what’s so funny?”

I giggled, “Do you remember the Yule we met?”

Jimin smiled fully this time. I forced my eyes to stay open to watch it. His eyes crinkled into crescents and his front tooth was slightly crooked. It was contagious.

“Of course,” He reassured me. “I still use your path often. I have to admit, it’s the best one yet.”

I sighed happily, “Except for the thorns but it looks like someone took care of those.”

Before, the trail had massive thickets that cut, poked, and sliced every inch of your skin if you were not careful. However, my walkthrough tonight showed no signs of them anywhere. Looking at Jimin, he seemed shy.

“I did once I began doing my rounds. Trying to doge mushroom circles is difficult when you’re that big.”

I snickered. “I could imagine.”

I was elated. While it was a shock to me that Taehyung was the new alpha, the fact that Jimin was not made it less guttural. In fact, I was so happy to see Sol on Taehyung, I had forgotten to be surprised at all. Now, I am too tired. Maybe in the morning it would settle in.

“I’m glad,” I found myself saying, “that you got what you wanted.”

Jimin nodded but kept his eyes on the path. 

“So am I.”

Shiloh was waiting for me when I got back and fussed over me entirely too much. Jimin had reassured her that I was alright, just as I had, but the owl refused to stop pestering me. Her voice was grating, and I wished she would just go away and leave us be. The alpha took it in stride and asked for a pen and paper to write to one of my friends.

Shiloh took care of that while I was in bed. I was touched that he went out of his way to do that for me, but when had Jimin ever left me to fend for myself in these situations? I heard the owl fly off a few moments later. From the window she used, I assumed she was headed to Yoongi’s house.

“Thank you,” I called out, already slipping into sleep.

Jimin stood in my doorway and smiled softly at me. Walking over, he sat on the edge of my bed and looked at me. I struggled to stay awake.

“Let's get you cleaned up,” He said.

“Drohtian hnot drîfan,” I replied with a yawn. “Yoongi will help me.”

He hummed his reply. I felt my eyes slip shut and quickly popped them open. Jimin chuckled fondly.

“I wished I understood everything you said,” I felt a gentle brush against my cheek, “Get some rest, your friend will be here soon.”

I smiled and closed my eyes.

“I’ll stay with you until then.”

I nodded in response. Moving my hands, I remembered Wendy’s note and sighed. It would have to wait for the morning. And I drifted off soon after that.

Taglist: @greezenini @adventures-in-bookland @kthstrawberryshortcake-main @zae007live @jimin-neverout @nikkiordonez12 @canarystwin @yamekomz @chimthicc @michiiedreamer @amorieus​

P.S. For future reference, I did change Hyun-Jin’s name to Enver. I thought it would fit better since Thelma was naming him, and since it means luminous, I thought it rather fitting. I have always believed he was the light in Thelma’s rather lonely life. Hope you like the wolves and witches having different languages. I thought it would make sense since the wolves came from a different country and would not speak Lustrian at all. We’ll dive into that later.

Translations: Ielfen - FairyÊow rôðres earfoðlic ætstillan. - You are very quiet. Êow d hnot pîslic these lâstlange under. - You have not made these in a while. Yonder forerynel êow? - Where are you? Nam initiis novis. - For your new beginnings. Mêowle hîe l¯ædan êow frêod nâðýl¯æs lufen. - May they bring you hope and peace. Drohtian hnot drîfan. - Do not worry.

© chimcess, 2023. Do not copy or repost without permission.

#jimin #jimin x reader #jimin x y/n #jimin x you #bts #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #bts x reader #bts x y/n #bts x you #jungkook #hoseok #seokjin #namjoon #yoongi #taehyung #jimin werewolf au #bts werewolf au #bts witch au #bts supernatural au #bts abo #bts angst #bts smut #bts fluff #werewolf jimin #witch reader #jimin angst #jimin abo #jimin supernatural au #jimin smut

[breakfastteatime]

hope you don't mind the rant but argh i finally realised why i feel so disconnected to survivor in comparison to how close jfo is to me

spoilers for those who haven't played survivor

but i really dislike major decisions made and i'm gonna babble on a little (i've had like eight panadol and two sleeping meds as of the last hour n a half so if this doesn't make sense that's why)

one that's been swirling around my head ever since i played us that it really felt like they brought cordova back JUST to kill him off. this also ties into my next point that i find bode's betrayal hard to believe as well. every role he had in the story could easily be replaced by someone such as cere, and i felt like the only reason he was there was to have someone for bode to kill to show how really evil he was but respawn didn't want to kill any of the main cast off. he's such a useless character in the plot that killing him off didnt effect anything LMAO

my next major dislike is, understandably, about bode :,) yes i know this can come off as making excuses for a character i was attached to since the trailers dropped but the more i think about it the more i really cannot understand both the timeline and the motive that was behind bode's betrayal. i kind of get the idea he was lax about betraying them UNTIL cal mentioned using tanalorr for the hidden path but according to the echoes you get after the game bodenis plotting and scheming the whole time... plus, you think that his whole motive relies on creating a safe place for kata on tanalorr where no one can find them but also like. you have two (technically three) jedi, a nightsister, and a whole clan of anchorites that kick the empire's ass every day. "will you be able to protect her when the empire comes?" fuckass have you SEEN cal use a lightsaber?? kata is safer with cal then she is bode

dagan was hella underwhelming too which disappointed me tbh i was excited for this high republic jedi to show us all this cool stuff only for him to die in like three seconds 😔

ANYWAY i hope this ain't too long but i'd love to hear your thoughts/criticisms on js bc i love the game and all the little bits are amazing but some of the decisions made have me a bit hrghh

Okay, friend, you asked for it ;)

The decision to bring back Cordova was an unexpected one, but the sight of him makes me cry happy tears every damn time, so it doesn't bother me at all. I take your point re: Cere being able to do everything he does, but part of Bode’s betrayal also hinges on him betraying Cere to Vader, who clearly wants vengeance after Nur (which is SO IN CHARACTER for Vader I can only lol. Petty bitch.), so Bode killing her wouldn't have had quite the same impact.

Because I was so convinced he was dead that him *actually* being dead didn’t strike me as ‘brought back only to die’. I would argue that killing him off did put them at risk of not being able to reach Tanalorr and defintely drove Cal to Nova Garon, but yes… Cordova's character probably lacks development and definitive purpose compared to the others… Although even as I say that, I find myself thinking of the logs he left behind in the various ruins on Jedha and the words of advice and I just can’t get mad. Plus there's that teeny hint that he's been unwell when Merrin asks how he's feeling. I see your points, yes, but I'm not too fussed by any of it.

Moving onto Bode...

So, here’s my interpretation of Bode, based on the post-game echoes and the little nuances that take on a totally new light on a replay. Bode is playing Cal from the very beginning. They are never friends from Bode’s perspective, and he is a master manipulator. He’s a textbook abuser – he lovebombs Cal with compliments and praise to cement their relationship, and does the same with everyone in his family. Plus, he used his knowledge of Cere’s location to further his cause with the Empire.

There’s also a power dynamic at play here because Bode was a Jedi Knight during the war while Cal was still a Padawan. Bode is older and more experienced with the world than Cal. He knows Cal longs for friendship, and he wields that against him more effectively than any weapon. Every action, every word, every choice Bode makes is solely to dig in deeper with Cal so he can and Kata can escape the Empire. Had Cal agreed that Tanalorr would just be for them, *maybe* Bode wouldn’t have betrayed him the way he did, but Bode is well on his way to the dark side because of his attachment to Kata. And Cal very nearly follows him because of his attachments to his family.

To me, this is what the Jedi Order meant by 'no attachments'. Jedi are allowed to love, but when that love becomes all consuming, when it becomes an obsession, that’s when the attachment becomes dangerous. Bode’s story is very similar to Anakin’s, he’s just not as powerful. Hasn’t got those Skywalker genes 😉  

Bode’s motive to me is clear – he *thinks* everything is about Kata, but actually it’s all about him. It’s about his grief and rage and fear because of his wife's death the terrible choices he made. Denvik promises that if Bode gives him what he wants (Cal and Cere), he will reveal which Inquistor murdered his wife. Bode is already in it for revenge, not his daughter's wellbeing. His choices are very pre-meditated. He is a parent, yes, and I can understand that overriding love of a child, but he is also a grieving husband who is so broken by his loss that his love for Kata has become too possessive. He is terrified of losing his daughter, and it eclipses his love for her. Kata is aware of this, and her love is also turning to fear. Bode is neglectful (he's always leaving Kata behind) and bordering on abusive at the end. He trusts no one but himself, and he even asks Cal at the very end if he can protect Kata. Cal says nothing because he knows he can’t – he’s tried protecting so many people, and he’s lost nearly all of them. He won’t make a promise he can’t keep, and that’s what completely breaks Bode. Bode doesn’t believe anyone *but him* can protect Kata because he has become completely consumed with fear and anger. Cal gave him a chance to make a better choice when he disarmed him. In fact, Bode had *so many chances* to make a better choice, and he didn’t. So, when Bode responded by choosing to try and kill Cal, Merrin *and* very nearly his own daughter, Cal had no choice but to put him down – hard. That second shot took my breath away both times I played the game because Cal knows he cannot save Bode and protect the people who matter, and by showing Bode mercy, more people will die. It's also about control - Bode tries to control everyone. Cal knows he can't, so he takes the only option left - killing Bode. Honestly, the more I think about that finale, the more intense it becomes. It's an astonishing moment.

I do wonder if the reason people struggle with Bode is because he is so nice, and he fits in so well, but it’s all fake and it’s all an act. Whether you saw it coming or not, that hurts. Cal – and the player – want so badly for Bode to be better than he is, and that’s the tragedy. Bode’s not capable of that. He has suffered losses just like Cal, but he couldn’t overcome them. It’s a lot to deal with emotionally!

And as for Dagan, I quite like him! Mostly because that final battle with him incorporates my favourite Star Wars thing – WEIRD FORCE SHIT. He’s also a mirror held up to Cal – this is what you could become if your obsession takes over you. I also think his relationship with Santari Khri is meant to show Cal the potential pitfalls of his relationship with Merrin if his attachment overcomes him… but we’ll have to see what happens next…

Gosh this got long. It's always fun to see other people's perspectives and share my own! Hope you've got some rest and feel better soon :)

#jedi survivor spoilers #star wars jedi: survivor #jedi survivor meta #answered asks #bode akuna #cal kestis #dagan gera #eno cordova #long post #breakfast tea has THOUGHTS and FEELINGS #times like this I wish i had a youtube channel el oh el

[exalted-dawn-drabbles]

lmaooo unhinged thought but

"glad to see you haven't become food for the vultures" for the "Talenna and Thalia escape the Circle together" idea?

hehehehehehehehehe you can have a little bit of depressed Thalia and pissed off Talenna uwu ass a treat

for @dadrunkwriting

Rated T: For semi-graphic depictions of the cleaning of dead animals, ~750 words

Carrion | By Exalted_Dawn

“Glad to see you haven’t become food for the vultures.” Thalia started, her head snapping up from where she had buried it between her knees, cradled in the mud-stained, tattered skirts of her robes. Her face was sticky with dirt and tears, causing the strands of her currant-stained hair to cling to her cheeks and shroud her eyes. Through the shredded curtain of tangles, she could see the deep plum color of the Ansburg robes, torn at the knee by the clean cut of a dagger. 

Her lip wobbled and pulled tight, before she dropped her gaze again. 

“I see your plan to be found by the Templars has failed.” 

Maker, why did she have to come back? It had been three days since she left– she should have been miles away by now. Thalia wasn’t sure whether she should feel relieved or mortified. Though, she was probably too hungry, too tired, to feel much of either. 

She just wanted all of this to come to an end. 

“Why are you here?” she whimpered, the weight of her situation coming back to bare. 

Rather than an answer, something thudded to the ground at her feet. A dead rabbit.

“I figured you might be hungry.” 

She was. 

“No- why are you here?” she repeated again. Why would she come back? She should have been long gone. Returned to her clan or whoever was waiting for her. She had made it plenty clear that she had no intention of staying around, and Thalia, she… she wasn’t sure what she wanted. She still wasn’t sure. 

But then, she supposed most of her life had been decided for her. Stands to reason that she would not even be able to pick a direction to walk in.

Another wave of emotion surged against her chest, pressing so hard against her ribs that she felt like they might break. Her body ached with it, the need to simply break down and cry. But what good would that do her?

There was a scuffing of earth beside her. “What do you mean? We need to eat, do we not?” The sound of snapping branches shifted to snapping fire. The hollow thunk of wood being piled on wood. A campfire. 

Her body was bumped as the woman sat down beside her, grabbing at the rabbit and setting to work cleaning it. Well, if nothing else, now she had a good excuse to keep her face hidden. She wasn’t sure watching a rabbit get skinned would be good for her appetite. 

But that begged the question– 

“You came back just to feed me? Why didn’t you just keep the rabbit to yourself and keep traveling?” she mumbled. “I believe you said something about me ‘having an obligation to live for myself’...” The sharp snap of that memory echoed in the back of her head. A snarl. A slap. Disappointed, disapproving eyes paired only by a harsh, scarred scowl.

Now though, even the scoff she made sounded empty. As if she could not even be bothered with derision. “We both know there’s no Void-born way you would be able to survive out here on your own. I was the one that pushed you to leave that tower. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth if you were to die out here now.” 

Great. So she was just a burden then.And a pointless one at that. 

“You would have a better chance of making it back to your family if you just left me…” she grumbled. 

“Aye, probably, but I don’t want to deal with the guilt, and over a shem no less. I’ll make sure you live long enough to make it out of these woods and to some city or something. After that, if you want to give up and turn yourself over to the Templars, then that’s your choice. But until then, we’re stuck together. So do me a favor, shem-” 

Two more ‘thunks’ against the ground in front of her. One dull and the other metallic. 

Thalia lifted her head– it was another rabbit. And a knife.

She, Talenna, was looking at her again. Her eyes were sharp. Expectant. Impossibly, irrationally expectant.  

“Make yourself useful,” she said flatly, and turned her attention back to her own half-cleaned rabbit. “You might not care, but I have no intention of becoming carrion for the birds. And for that-” 

There was a disgustingly wet tear. Talenna took a leg and stabbed it onto a stick. Ew. 

“-we need to eat.” 

#dadwc #dragon age fanfiction #talenna ethera #thalia trevelyan #hopefully I managed to do the girl justiceeeeeeeee #aaaaaaaaaaaaa #poor Thalia #she never asked for this LOL