#when she said she never had anyone to get stronger for until now i died

[person25]

i try not to think about Wano bc every time i do i begin sobbing uncontrollably.

#pls tell me you understand #one piece #wano #wano arc #monkey d. luffy #monkey d luffy #luffy #one piece luffy #straw hat luffy #gear 5 luffy #vinsmoke sanji #sanji #roronoa zoro #nami #one piece nami #there’s so many good moments i just can’t #yamato #robin #nico robin #when she said she never had anyone to get stronger for until now i died

[dearshelby]

All I can give you (not what you asked for) | T.S

Summary: After being beaten up by Sabini's men, Tommy sneaks out of the hospital to go to London. After coming back home, he has to face his wife, who isn't happy in the slightest

A/N: "Stop writing little snippets your OC as reader inserts, Lora" no <3 I wanted to write something domestic, but at the same time something that showed what being with Tommy is really like + playing around with his trauma and the lack of understanding in the 1920s, I hope I managed to do that. Also, the song mentioned is by American quartet if you want to listen, it surprisingly fits the PB universe. That's it, hope you like it!

She's been visiting him every single day ever since. Bringing soup, cigarettes and books, everything so he wouldn't get bored, everything so he'd heal faster.

The night the phone rang, telling the news Tommy was beat up by Sabini's men, her world nearly crashed. Her lips dried, vision blurry as she sat on the cold floor, keeping herself from passing out. Her Tommy could've died, he would have if Inspector Campbell didn't have plans for him.

Guilt weighted on her shoulders when she saw him lying on the hospital's bed, injured and weak. At the same time she was relieved and pressed small kisses on his forehead, inhaling his scent and avoiding his cut lips. It wasn't then they'd take him from her.

"I'll come back tomorrow," she always said, trusting he'd be there, that he'd be back home soon.

Except that one certain morning he wasn't, Tommy's absence caught everyone by surprise, absolutely no one knew how a limping, beaten up man managed to sneak out of the hospital and in that distressing moment, her world nearly crashed again.

She ran back home, reaching for the phone to call Polly, Arthur, John, Lizzie, anyone Tommy could've gone to, none of them knew anything. However, in a matter of minutes, the phone rang back, Uncle Charlie's voice on the other side, "Tommy went to London, Camden town, he asked me to tell ya', he'll call when he get there,"

Her tense shoulders dropped, eyes burning with tears, a brief thank you was all she muttered before putting the phone down. Running hands through her hair, she breathed slowly in a failing attempt to calm down.

Somewhere in Camden, Tommy wandered around covered in bruises, perhaps unarmed and what for? What could be so fucking important he had to risk his life for?

Without option, she waited for his call, her heart beat stronger to the sound of his voice, he was fine and by then, it was all that mattered, she'd release her frustration once he was home, safe and sound.

More four, long days went by until his return, their daughter greeted him first, lifting her tiny arms with the demand of being picked up, which Tommy happily did.

When the two pairs of blue eyes looked at her combined with small smiles, she could swear her stomach swirled. A week and a half ago she thought she'd never see that scene again, perhaps it was the inconsistency that always got her so bad, that spun her world and brought bile to her throat, how life could change from a second to another, completely out of her control.

"What about you, eh?" Tommy drawled before her lack of reaction, "C'here."

Slowly, she joined the embrace, one arm around her daughter and the other around him. They were all she had, even if in theory she still had a mother and would never be helpless, they were the only people who truly mattered.

Tommy squeezed her shoulder in a soothing manner, the sigh leaving his lungs revealed how tired he truly was even if he didn't want to show in front of his child. He needed a bath, a decent meal and a good night of sleep.

Then night fell on, the house was silent except for the gramophone playing Moonlight Bay in low tone. Woodbine, a big gray cat, napped on the carpet, every now and then waking up to lick himself.

Once the baby - not actually a baby, already a two year old - fell asleep, Tommy walked back downstairs. He insisted on being the one to tuck her in, having missed her dearly in the weeks he spent between the hospital and London.

He found his wife sitting by the window with a cigarette hanging from her lips, an empty bow on her lap made him guess she only had a quick snack instead of proper dinner. Her hair fell on her shoulders, hiding the lace of her white nightgown.

"C'here, you," she weakly smiled, noticing his presence.

Walking to her, Tommy felt himself melting at her tender kiss, the cut on his lips wasn't fully healed yet, but he couldn't hold himself back from wanting more.

"No, Tommy," she faced the other way at his attempt to cup her cheeks, "I'm not exactly happy with you,"

"I know," he sighed, sitting on the armchair across hers, "that's why I got you this,"

Without taking his eyes off her, he took a small velvet box from his trousers pocket, the material alone told how expensive it must've been. Tommy opened it, showing a delicate ring adorned with a green stone.

"White gold and emerald," he explained, "saw it in a showcase, thought you'd like it,"

"You shouldn't waste money on jewelry, at least not for now, while the expansion isn't settled," she stared at the ring with a pout.

"It's not a waste if it's for you,"

"You only bought it because you thought it'd make me less mad at you," she accused, adopting a serious tone.

"...yeah," he admitted with a small smile, not catching up with her posture.

"Tommy, listen to me," taking the small box from his hands, she closed it and put it aside, "do you know how much I worried about you?"

Realizing what they were about to get into, he gulped, he knew leaving the hospital without telling her would have consequences, but he also knew she'd never allow his travel to London. He had no other option, she had to understand.

"Yeah, I do," he answered.

"And did you think some fucking ring would make me feel better?"

Tommy looked away from her, jaw clenching. She knew that face very well, it was a common occurrence after he came back from France, his eyes got empty, incredibly sad, then empty again. As if he momentarily stepped away from there, running away without actually moving a muscle.

"Well, this-" he negatively nodded, looking back at her, "this is all I can give you,"

"No, it isn't! What is it that you gave me?!" she argued, eyes widening in indignation, "Why do you always remove yourself? Isn't this our house? Our family? Our life?!"

He blinked, shallowing the dryness in his throat, "It is, love, it is, and I wouldn't have it if it wasn't for you,"

Rubbing her eyes, she sighed. She hated when Tommy behaved like a provider, as if he wasn't an actual part of her life and his presence didn't truly matter. That wasn't what she wanted from him.

"Well, I never asked for any of it," she blankly stated.

He didn't answer, looking down from her attentive stare.

"Do you even remember the only thing I ever asked for?" she questioned.

"Remind me,"

"You," she drawled, "I wanted to be with you, I asked to be, you agreed, so don't come at me with a stupid ring hoping it'll make forget the fact you could've died,"

"...perhaps," Tommy hesitated, "perhaps something more expensive then?"

"What?"

A tiny playful grin crept into his face, "Perhaps you'd forgive me if I had brought something more expensive?"

"I can't believe you! Tom, I'm not-" she tried to hold back a chuckle, but failed, "Tommy, the point is, I don't want you to think you can go around risking your life, doing whatever you want, then thinking a nice gift will fix everything, I worry about you,"

His face dropped in a quick mood swing, humorlessly smiling, he agreed, "That you do,"

"So, next time you think of doing something reckless, will you consider this?"

With a pout, Tommy quickly nodded, there was no use to discussion. Either way, he didn't have the words to explain the heart crushing feeling he got thinking of his family being vulnerable. He needed a guarantee and wouldn't stop, only be more careful by her request.

"Will you," he licked his lips, "take a look at the ring now?"

"Actually I was hoping you'd tell me how things were in London," she answered with a naughty smirk creeping into her face, "and then, maybe I'd let you take me to bed,"

"Maybe, eh?" he teased, "Or maybe not?"

"Depends on how much you're willing to talk, Mr. Shelby,"

Reclining on the armchair, Tommy lit up a cigarette, he knew her offer was more like an ultimatum, tell me what you're up to or else.

And only with her, he'd never retaliate.

#tommy shelby x reader #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinder fanfic #OC Eleanor Shelby

[brooooswriting]

Maybe some really fluffy fluff with Jenna and R reuniting after Jenna had been filming for so long?

Hope your day/night is going good!

See you again

Jenna Ortega x reader

5 months was wayyyy to long to not see the person you love. You loved how much Jenna loved her job and how happy she was when she accomplished it all, but you hated that goddamn job. You missed her like crazy, sure you knew what you were getting yourself into but still.

When you heard that Jenna was gonna come home in a week you couldn’t be more thrilled. You couldn’t wait to see her again and hear about all the crazy things that she did while filming. You guys had been dating for over a year and a half so you knew what she needed after a while away.

She was coming back from filming in Hungary (just made that one up) and while on the phone you could see that she got thinner and her face was a tad colorless, which meant that she wasn’t getting the nutrition she needed. You figured that in between filming and practice, cooking wasn’t one of her priorities. Cooking her favorite food seemed like the best thing to do, you did everything to the point where you just had to heat it up when you guys were ready to eat.

The fact that she missed her family while she was away also wasn’t new but something that you had learned from the first time is that she needs a day to reset, to chill and sleep. So you scheduled them for the day after she arrived. Her family was more than understanding of the fact that she needs her rest and that you two would need some alone time after not seeing each other for 5 months. They were lovely really.

When you came home from buying groceries you noticed that the apartment was, well, not as clean and organized as it should be. Your girlfriend was a perfectionist at most time and loved to relax in a clean environment, so cleaning was the next thing on your list was deep cleaning.

You decided to surprise Jenna by picking her up at the airport. Normally you guys met at home, less people with less paparazzi and stuff but you wanted to see her as soon as possible.

So you told her driver not to come so you could pick her up. Dressed in mostly black with headphones, cap and sunglasses you made your way to pick up your girlfriend. The feeling of excitement and butterflies getting stronger with each meter you closed in on the airport. It was the same feeling you had on the first date with a person you already like, this excitement, mixed with a bit of fear and a lot of admiration.

You tried to park as close as possible, giving paparazzi less openings to annoy you two. You then waited in your car until her plane landed before walking to her gate, standing in the back so you wouldn’t be too obvious. Your leg was bouncing while you played with the ring she gave you for your anniversary, your excitement was visible for anyone.

“You seem excited to see someone” an old lady next to you said, a small smile gracing her face. You couldn’t help but smile too, a soft smile forming on your lips at the thought of Jenna.

“I am, I haven’t seen her in 5 months” you told her, eyes still dreamy. She turned to you, smiling while looking at you.

“I remember the time I was that in love. It was 65 years ago, I met him on the street on a random Tuesday while shopping. We bumped into each other and it just suddenly clicked. We are still married, we have been for 55 years and our love for each other never died down” she said, now her smile turned even softer and her eyes dreamy as she clearly thought about her husband. Your heart melted, you could only imagine that you had to look like this thinking about the actress.

“That’s very sweet. You know, I met her two years ago, on the street. It was a Thursday though, and she bumped into me, running from someone. It took us a bit to date but now we’re very happy” you shared your story while an elderly man appeared next to the woman you were talking too.

“Oh, this is Henry, my husband and I’m Margret” the woman introduced reaching her hand out for you to shake, her husband following her move. You introduced yourself too, shaking their hands.

The moment you pulled away and looked up you saw a petite girl walking through the doors, immediately recognizing her and jumping up. The movement seemed to catch her eye as she quickly looked over before speed walking to you. As soon as she was close enough she let go of her suitcase and jumped into your arms, her arms tightly wrapping around your shoulder while yours wrapped around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer. Her face snuggled into the crook of your neck, a content hum leaving her throat as she could finally take in your smell again.

You only pulled away when an ‘awww’ was heard from your right side, Jenna leaving your arms to the point she could look at the person who disturbed you two. You giggled as you saw Margret and her husband, causing your girlfriend to turn to you confused.

“Oh yeah, Jen, this are Margret and her Husband Henry. They’ve been together for 65 years” you told her, proud that you could still remember the date and the names.

“You two remind me of us in the good old days, don’t you think Henry?” Margret said, holding a hand over her heart. She was giving you two such a sweet smile as she looked at the way you two were still standing so close to each other that you were constantly brushing against each other. Henry gave her a nod, carefully grabbing one of her hands and giving it a kiss.

You and the brunette couldn’t help but Aww this time, your arms pulling her body closer to you. She pressed a kiss to your neck while your lips carefully brushed her forehead. A small yawn left her lips as she leaned most of her weight against you.

“It was great meeting you but I think I’ll get this one home. She’s had a lot to do lately” you told them, giving them enough time to say goodbye too before carefully pulling the smaller girl with you, her suitcase in your other hand.

“Oh, y/n, don’t let small things like distance or work get between you two. Trust me, you’ll be happy about it later” she called after you making you nod before disappearing through the doors to the parking deck.

“I missed you” Jenna mumbled into you making you chuckle as you parted to put her case in the back of your car. You told her you had missed her too before opening her door for her, then getting in yourself.

“Thank you for picking me up yourself, I know paparazzi can be quite annoying” she said, her head resting against the window. Your hand placed itself on her thigh, thumb rubbing comforting circles.

“No problem, love. I couldn’t wait to see you again. I hated not seeing you for 5 months” you told her, looking at her as soon as the car stood still at the red light.

She mumbled something before leaning over to kiss you quickly. “Oh, your family is coming to visit” you started, already seeing her face fall, “tomorrow. You need to rest today” you continued, her face immediately lighting up. “So, I prepared some things at home. Chill things of course and then we can go to sleep, you look like you need a bit of sleep and food” you chuckled lightly as she hit your shoulder.

“Thank you though, you really do know me” she smiled at you as you parked the car. “I like to think so” you mumbled and exited the car, running around it to open the door for her before getting her stuff out.

“I cooked your favorite, we just gotta heat it up. The next episode of breaking bad is already on, there’s a ginger shot in the fridge and it takes around 20 minutes for me to finish food, so you could shower in that time if you want” you said as you put everything to the side, hugging her again.

“I’ll go shower real quick” she kissed your cheek before running to the bathroom while you returned to the kitchen to finish cooking.

As you were nearly done you turned to get something from the fridge, Jenna using that time to walk to the herd and stir the sauce giving you the perfect opportunity to hug her from behind. The moment your arms wrapped around her waist you took the spoon from her. “Don’t, we don’t want it to burn” you grinned, warning yourself a slap against the forearm.

“Oh my god, that was over a year ago. Will you ever let that down?” She asked dramatically making you laugh. You pressed a kiss to her head before speaking up.

“The fact that it took you 2 minutes to burn the food that I cooked for over three hours on our second date? Definitely not” you unwrapped yourself from her to plate up the food, making sure her portion was extra big. “Now, be quite and eat something” you grinned as you two settled down on the couch to eat, the tv playing.

Once you were done you put everything in the dishwasher before returning to your previous spot next to your girlfriend. Now that you were free she immediately threw her legs over your and cuddled into your side, making your chest warm up. “I missed this, even though everybody was nice and I made friends. I do feel lonely without you” she told you, the tv now only playing in the background.

“I get that, I feel the same. It’s weird coming home without you here, I never got used to it” your voice was barely a whisper as your head rested on top of hers. Quietness now taking over the room, except for the noise of the tv.

After another episode you noticed the small brunette was nearly asleep making you smile. You picked her up bridal style and carried her to the bedroom where you carefully placed her down on the bed before going to get changed. Once you returned Jenna was facing your side of the bed, waiting for you to get in. As soon as your back touched the bed you pulled her closer making her sigh. “Another bad thing about being away, nobody carried me to bed” she smiled into your shoulder before dosing off.

It didn’t take long for you to follow, you couldn’t wait for her to tell you all about filming tomorrow but right now you only wanted her to get all the sleep she needed.

#reader insert #brooooswriting #jenna ortega x reader #jenna ortega x you #jenna ortega #jenna ortega x y/n

[r0-boat]

TW: MENTION OF LOSING A LIMB/GORE MENTION please be advised.

Hello! I have a prompt where, the reader pushes there lover (warden Ingo, cyllene, laventon, adaman SEPARATE) away from an Alpha Pokemon attack and then get seriously injured (like losing a limb or something) and them crying and telling us off on how we could have died or grieving our death.

(both surviving and dying endings please)

Oh yes delicious angst! 👀

Cw: almost losing a limb/losing a limb, reader death, mourning, depression, angst no happy end.

Reader becoming severely injured or dying saving them.

Warden Ingo

(Close call)

Ingo carried you, blood staining his coat and your outfit. He carried you going as fast as he humanly could down until the nearest doctor, anyone who could help—screaming for help, keeping you warm, and losing more blood in any way he could. When you finally wake up, Ingo is out of breath and on the verge of tears. He holds you close, tight, and protective. He couldn't get mad at you. He could never be mad. He was just relieved you were all right. However I would be lying if I said he wouldn't be a little more protective from now on.

(reader dead)

He stared at a shaky palm, remembering the way you went slack in his arms, bags under his eyes from sleepless nights filled with new and old nightmares. The painful feeling of losing something was so painful; however, what scared him more was that this feeling was familiar to him. The emptiness inside him was only doubled after. He can't even look at himself anymore because whatever stares back is your smiling face and deja vu. Even though he knows he must take care of himself, he has to admit it's hard even to bring himself to eat these days without looking over to your smiling face how he misses you're warmth in his arms. Now, all he feels is the cold, howling wind of Coronet Heights. Once again that loneliness fills him in this time; it will be there till his grave. Ingo cannot love again for he can not feel that love again.

Cyllene

(close call)

Survivors guilt, as you lie there on the ground losing blood at an alarming rate. She's frozen. She's almost in denial as other survey members rush to your limb body. Cyllene finally snaps out of it all. Her panic hits her all at once, barking orders to get you back to camp.

Unfortunately Pesselle running low on supplies and with time running out she wasn't sure she would be able to save you. Upon hearing this Revelation something inside her stoked a fire Cyllene took it upon herself to go out and find every single ingredients she needed helping her nurse you back to health, of course you being unconscious from blood loss for a few days you had no idea all you woke up to was an angry rant from a very very pissed captain.

(Death)

After all she did, she couldn't save you. Sadness and rage bubble into one, gritting her teeth, nails scratching at the cold ground; she wants to scream. Damn it why wasn't it her? Damn, it should have been her! The job of the Galaxy Core was to protect people and she couldn't even protect the one person she cared most. She needed to get stronger she needed to be more so this would never happen again. And that's why her heart grows three times colder that day.

Laventon

(close call)

Laventon drag you outside of Camp to look at some Pokemon well he asks you to ready your pokeballs for a catch, but he doesn't notice the alpha Garchomp that had their eyes on you. Everything was a blur then helplessly sitting still as the rest of Team Galaxy tried everything to use your Pokemon to fight the alpha back off as they get you back to safety. If only he could throw a Pokeball if he were good at raising Pokemon. Laventon felt like a burden to you here he was having you risk his life to do his work any friendly wake up he's on the verge of tears holding you closely his hands shaking the sinking feeling of uselessness does not leave.

(Death)

He drowns himself in his work. It is the only way to make him forget about his constant nightmares of that day. He still loves Pokemon. He does not blame Pokemon for taking your life, but he recognizes more than anyone else that Pokemon are as dangerous as they are fascinating. It'll be a while since he touches one without his heart beating with anxiety. He barely eats. He sleeps. All he does is work on his Pokedex. He has to finish it for your sake, or else all the dangerous work you did, the work you died for, will be for nothing, and when he finally finishes, it will say, "With the help of my beloved, thank you. I will miss you."

Adaman

(close call)

If it wasn't for Leafeon who growled at the large Pokemon making sure it didn't take a step closer as his human brother held you in his arms, blood staining his fingers. Leafeon successfully holding back the Pokemon that threatened your life walks over to Adaman whining as he looks your arm giving him a worried look. Adaman knows the natural remedies around these parts you are too far from the settlement and the village to take care of you so he does all that he can using leafeon's aromatherapy to soothe you as he begins to use natural herbs and revenues to calm the bleeding as much as he can while ripping apart his own clothes for makeshift bandages rumoring through your bag for anything he could use anything at all to help.

Upon waking up, Adaman almost tackles you, holding you close to his body, careful not to hurt you. He squeezes you gently. "You're an idiot..." he whispers, his hand shaking, his voice breaking. "don't you ever scare me like that again."

(death)

If only he was faster and in denial at the fact that your time has ended. If only he hadn't wasted his time, he could have gotten you to the settlement, and you would have been here. He felt like a failure, not only a failure of a friend but a failure of the leader of Diamond Clan. If he couldn't keep one person he loved alive, how could he keep his entire Clan alive? Time is truly short. However, some people, if unlucky, can be even shorter. He'll spend all his days morning into training, getting stronger in your name until he has passed out on the ground. He knows that he's just wasting his time and that no amount of tears will bring you back. He did not deserve you; you did not serve your time being robbed. The Lord Sinnoh is so cruel.

#pokemon headcannons #pokemon reader insert #Angst #pokemon adaman #adaman x reader #professor laventon #Laventon x reader #captain cyllene #pokemon cyllene #pokemon legends arceus #warden ingo #ingo x reader

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck Week 2024

Day 3 - Favorite Dynamic: Fuuko x Feng

As I said on Day 1, I love love, but for as much as I enjoy Gina's affectionate love that is defined through togetherness, I can't help but find the opposite end of the spectrum a lot more compelling

Whether his feelings are romantic is completely up for debate, but the dynamic between Feng and Fuuko is absolutely defined through their emotional and physical distance: without a doubt, what Feng feels for Fuuko can best be described as pining

While L100's Feng was a man defined by despair, the fear of losing everything he had gained, L101's Feng is a man defined by loneliness, the fear that he can never share what he was with anyone. All of his rivals withered and died, giving way to the next generation of strangers who Feng did not know and could not relate to. Though they would challenge him, they could not connect with him, the generational gap being too great to bridge

Until Fuuko came along

Another ageless being, alone and stagnant in a world constantly reshaping itself like riverbanks in the flow of time. At least, that's what he saw; while Feng committed himself to digging his feet in and standing in place, Fuuko committed herself to perpetual motion. While Feng stood still and let everyone pass him by, Fuuko ran up to everyone she could so she could walk alongside them for as long as possible

And whether he realized it or not, from Fuuko's influence, Feng finally uprooted himself. To follow the one person who he felt he could walk alongside, Feng finally allowed himself to change and to let other people into his world

While L100 Feng took Shen under his wing all the same, the meaning of that action was completely different. L100 Feng planted trees to harvest the wood, with the intent of cutting them down at their peak, but L101 Feng nurtured a garden, creating something that gave him a sense of purpose beyond getting stronger for his own sake

"Don't put your faith in the hands of the weak! The weak will die!!" "I won't die. After all, you're strong, Feng. So you'll protect us, right?" - Feng and Shen, ch.166

In L100, when Shen tried to save Mei, Feng simply looked on. If both children died, then that would just mean neither had the potential to be strong enough to push him to greater heights. In L101, though, when Shen jumped over a cliff to save Mui, Feng panicked. He called out to him not to throw away his life, and even jumped after him to keep him safe. He didn't do it to ensure he wouldn't lose a worthy opponent, he did it to protect his son

"The safest spot is right by your side, isn't it?" - Fuuko to Feng, ch.164

Fuuko entrusted Feng with protecting Shen, and Shen entrusted Feng with raising him and Mei. They acknowledged his strength, they believed in him, and he made sure to repay their faith by living up to expectations. The Feng of the past would never be moved by sentiment, but the Feng of the present? A smile from a loved one is sure to move his heart, even if only by a little

I love to joke about Feng chasing Fuuko like a lovesick puppy, but the fact of the matter is that she changed him thoroughly and completely

"You're strong. You may even be the strongest in the world. But you know what? That's all that you are." - Shen to Feng, ch.66

Feng may well still be the physically strongest fighter in the world of Undead Unluck, but that is no longer all that he is. He's a father now. He's a friend now. And that's thanks to Fuuko's influence

Whether he's in love with her is completely up for debate, but she taught him what love is, and that's the best thing you can ask for in a dynamic

#undead unluck #fouryearsandananime #uu spoilers #feng kowloon #uuweek2024

[via-rant]

The next time Leo woke up, it was dark. He was in his prison, like usual. And his lights went out again.

"They have shitty power for a government funded facility." He said and got up to the control panel for the millionth time to fix it. He's been here since he was 8. When his mom died, his aunt took him in. She felt bad and let him in. His cousin Raphael avoided him but he didn't care. He was getting loved by someone.

Until the FBI was at the front door and she pointed at him and cried that he was a freak, showing them a burn on her side. He couldn't control it again and they took him away as he begged and cried, trying to explain that she was lying. That she got that in a grilling accident.

They took him to a giant facility and stuck him in a cell giving him some clothes to change into. He just stood there as he heard the metal doors beyond the gate close. Nothing screams monster more than being locked away in a vault. Then the government experimenting on you for years. Drug after drug, mind trick after mind trick and them telling him he deserved it. He was a freak, a monster, a murderer.

He tried escaping plenty of times but had it on super security 24/7 basically. He hasn't given up yet. He's 13 today and he hasn't given up. It's been 5 years and he hasn't given up.

"Again?" Dr. Marci asked and Leo rolled his eyes when he looked back at him.

"Here to take my blood again? You'll get the same results."

"Maybe you should leave them off for a minute. The cameras over here are cut off too." He said and Leo raised a brow looking back at him again.

"It took me a while obviously but nows the chance to escape. I have all my stuff... and yours. You can get out of here." He explained and Leos eyes widened when he brought out his childhood bear. He looked him straight in the eyes, tears forming.

"If this is a lie. Tell me, right now." He said and the Doctor took off his gloves, grabbing the bear with his bare hands to show him it wasn't drugged, like they've tricked him with before, with other presents. Leo walked to it and poked it ducking down immediately just in case. When it didn't do anything he sobbed and took it from him holding it close.

"Hey. Come on. Let's get you out of here." Leo nodded and started following him, choking back his cries. It was too dark for anyone to notice him leaving so it worked. When they got to the front Dr. Marci asked him if he could carry him to his car so it could be faster. Leo nodded just wanting to leave. So he picked him up easily as he was much stronger.

He ran to his car Leo holding tightly onto his bear. No one noticed until he put him in his car. He sped off gunshots hitting his car. Leo squeezed his bear as he drove down some stairs and hid his car in some alleyway. Marci got him out and lead him further into the neighborhood before getting into a moving truck.

"Isn't this stealing?"

"Nope! This is mine. They won't suspect a thing." Leo got in and relaxed as they drove off. They didn't. They drove by them before turning the corner. Leo didn't relax until a long while later. He stared out the window at the sky in fascination. Stars. He hasn't seen stars in 5 years. He realized he was crying when a tear fell down his face. He looked at Dr. Marci and he seemed relieved.

He stopped at a gas station after about an hour and Leo got out to stare at... everything. To feel it again. He layed in the grass and wiped more of his tears but they kept coming. He held Peanut close, his knees to his chest as he cried.

Marci layed next to him and Leo couldn't help but hug him. The Doctor hugged back and Leo cried like he never has before. He was out. This was real. Marci held him with so much care he wanted to stay this way forever. He cried himself to sleep.

----

Look I know this is extremely depressing but it just kept coming.

#leo valdez #dr. marci #hoo #heros of olympus #rosa valdez #raphael valdez #oc #government au #the government is looking for you au #they won't stop au

[kramaku]

I've heard people say that Izuku is too naive and annoying with his will to save Shigaraki. Let me tell you he's not. (Manga spoilers)

First, he will never ever try to befriend Shigaraki or even just forgive him for all the atrocities he has done like Izuku did for Lady Nagant. He knows that Shigaraki is a monster that needs to be stopped at all costs, so no he won't use "the power of friendship."

Second, when Izuku says he wants to save Shigaraki, he's talking about his soul, not his body. The heroes have already decided that All for one is such a powerful villain who tortured and killed thousands, probably millions of people, that he needs to be killed. Pulling him in prison like they did last time won't do so you think they'll simply keep Shigaraki, who is stronger than All For One, locked up? No way. Shigaraki needs to be killed too. There's no doubt about that. Now, Izuku saw a crying child (Tenko) in the vestiges and will try to extend him a hand, to save his heart before he dies.

Before talking about what I mean by that, let me analyze Shigaraki- no, Tenko's trauma a little.

Tenko killed his entire family with his quirk. After that, he ended up as a homeless starved sleepless kid who needed help but didn't get any. Until All For One arrived and saved him. Tenko was so traumatized by the events that he even lost his memories, but he did remember one thing: feelings. The anger he felt when he was abused, and that feeling of pleasure and peace he felt when he finally got rid of his dad. All for one being the manipulator that he is, he understood that Tenko's brain voluntarily suppressed his memories not to feel guilty toward himself and told him to direct the anger he had for his dad towards the society of heroes, who is apparently all faked and hypocrite, full or selfish people, people who abandon their families. Tenko here is putting the blame of his trauma on the heroes (like Nana bc she abandoned her son, who abused his own son, Tenko, because he wanted to be a hero) because blaming others is always easier than blaming yourself. Now, All for one also told him to become stronger, encouraged him to kill the people that hurt him, and so AFO fed Tenko's addiction for destruction. Since he's so obsessed with the rage that keeps growing, he never feels any positive emotion which is very self destructive for a brain, so as a coping mechanism, he searches for that satisfaction he felt when he killed his dad (since it was mixed with rage, it's a pleasure that became compatible with his anger), killing again and again: his quirk became his own source of serotonin. (that's also why he often smiles while decaying)

Shigaraki doesnt have plans for the future. He doesn't care what will happen of society or anyone, even himself. He even said the league can just do whatever they want.. he just wants to destroy. He only lives in the present moment for that feeling only.

What he needs is someone (Izuku) to tell him that heroes aren't all "bad" (nana had her reasons so she's not really a bad person :/) but more at the source of the problem, that he didn't deserve any of the abuse and that it's not his fault his family died. The accident wasn't the heroes fault, it wasnt his own fault, it was nobody's fault (okay it was AFO's fault since he actually transferred decay to a quirkless Tenko but the awakening of a violent quirk could've totally happened naturally and Tenko wouldn't have the blame either).

Tenko doesn't have to feel guilty about that accident. He needs to hear that.

Now I dont know how things will go on, and even how Izuku may possibly adress Shigaraki's trauma, but in my opinion the best death Shigaraki could have would be after Izuku managed to save the sad, scared, guilt rotten child in the vestiges, as Shigaraki would finally feel at ease, relaxed, kinda comforted. No anger for a very long time, I imagine his death to be very peaceful. He could even chose to be the one to kill himself actually with decay, the quirk that started it all and would end it all. He would give up on life because he had been so filled with anger for so long that he'd just feel like there's no point in living anymore if he doesn't destroy. He'd just feel like an empty shell. His peaceful death would kinda remind me of a certain demon's towards the end of demon slayer, if you read the manga you know who I'm talking about.

So yeah, I really want Izuku to reach Tenko. I'm sure he will. But he'll definitely put an end to Shigaraki's destruction at the same time.

thanks for reading, I love mha so much

#mha spoilers

[clarepreed]

Fade

Part Four: The Bond Which Cannot Break

Story Content and Summary: - 9,263 words. As Deirdre and Archer recover from the events of Part Three, Deirdre lets Archer and his brother into her world. The bond between Deirdre and Archer grows stronger as her health worsens, leading up to the main event in part five. Magical cardioversion, explicit sex.

Part One Part Two Part Three

--

“They’ll keep you overnight, but I expect you’ll be discharged tomorrow.” Asa pitched his voice low, both of them mindful of Deirdre’s shallow rasp coming from the chair in the corner.

She looked small and fragile, her knees drawn up to her chest and her head tipped to the side and resting on her knees. Even wrapped tight in the blanket Asa had finagled from the nursing staff, she appeared cold. And weak, her face drawn and pale in sleep, with dark hollows beneath her eyes. At shift change, his new nurse had given Deirdre a hard look before looking at Archer’s chart. If it were up to Archer, Deirdre would be in bed with him, curled up in his arms. Or, better yet, in her own hospital bed. But he’d gone for a CT scan and come back to find her asleep in the uncomfortable-looking visitor chair.

“Are you listening?”

Archer winced and looked at his brother. “No. I’m sorry.” His voice still sounded hoarse.

“Your head?”

“Yeah, I have a terrible headache. But I’m mostly worried about her, Asa.” Archer’s eyes drifted back to Deirdre’s sleeping form.

“I was thinking I might take her home. To your home, I mean. Since you said that’s where she’d planned to stay the night?”

Archer darted his eyes back to his brother. “She’ll want to take care of Fae. Her cat. She’s at my place now. But, Asa, I don’t want Deirdre to be by herself—”

“She won’t be. I’ll stay in your guest room.” Asa reached out and gripped Archer’s forearm. “You scared the shit out of me, Archer. But you seem to be okay, and you’re in the right place. I’ll take care of your girlfriend for you until you’re discharged.”

“You’d do that for me?” Archer’s hands curled into the sheets. “I know you’d rather be here, but she’s important, Asa. Important to me. And she should get the same medical care I’m getting.”

“Archer…” Asa released him and crossed his arms across his chest. “You… barely know her. And don’t contradict me. It’s true. But I’ve never seen you like this with anyone, and that’s completely ignoring the… er, elephant in the room.”

“Do elephants fly?”

The ghost of a smile passed over Asa’s face. “I will take care of her. If she’s on beta blockers, her anatomy should be familiar enough. I’ll check on her throughout the night, and I will bring her back with me tomorrow. I won’t grill her, either.”

Archer watched as Asa suddenly unwound his arms, swinging them wide and then gripping his head with both hands. His brother’s dark eyes darted from Archer to Deirdre and then back, widening. Then, to Archer’s relief, Asa’s lips pulled into a slow, wondrous smile. “What?”

“You were right, little brother.”

“Right?”

“When we were growing up.” Asa chuckled and shook his head as he turned toward Deirdre. “You were right about magic.”

Later, after Asa’d woken Deirdre and taken her home, Archer lay in his hospital bed with his eyes closed. He felt odd, like something had stretched inside him. It wasn’t painful, certainly not compared to his head, or even compared to the burning sensation in his lungs. The elastic feeling had gotten worse during the half hour it would have taken Asa to drive to his house, then leveled off. 

Archer adjusted his flimsy hospital pillow and closed his eyes. His brain crowded him with images from the lake, when he’d come to and focused his bleary eyes on Deirdre, unconscious and not breathing. The memory made him shiver with cold. He didn’t care so much about what had happened to himself, other than his head hurting quite a bit. His headache, and that Deirdre could have died saving him. 

Oh, Asa had already told Archer it wasn’t his fault, that the fault belonged with Asa, or the legal loophole that had allowed Asa to purchase the home in such a condition. Archer didn’t even remember walking out onto the deck. He remembered intending to do it, and then he woke up sprawled on the grass next to Deirdre, laying so still aside from the breaths Asa forced into her.

He’d noticed that before he’d noticed her wings. 

Tell me more about your book, Archer.

What made you choose fairies?

I’ll name her Fae.

Archer rolled onto his side. He’d only shared a bed with her once, but he missed her. She would be in his bed now if they were home together. He thought about the text she’d sent him a text not too long ago. Asa has listened to my heart and lungs and declared I can go to bed. Fae is keeping me company. Please rest, my heart.

Sighing, Archer crossed his arms and tried to sleep.

***

Asa snagged a pair of shorts and a T-shirt from Archer’s chest of drawers. “I’ll be out of your hair in just a moment, Deirdre. Though…” He closed the drawer and straightened, turning toward the bed. Deirdre sat on the edge of the mattress, looking unwell with puffy, bloodshot eyes and white lips. Her legs dangled over the edge of the bed, and her sleepwear sat folded in her lap. A small gray kitten lay curled up there. As he watched, one sleepy blue eye opened and peered at him.

“What is it?” Deirdre asked, sounding as hoarse as Archer.

“I would like to check on you throughout the night.” He nodded at the small medical bag he kept in his car, which he’d sat on the nightstand earlier. The earbuds of his stethoscope peeked out from the top.

“You won’t get much sleep that way.” 

Asa shrugged. “It’s fine. I promised Archer I would. And I want to.”

Deirdre eyed him for several long seconds before nodding her assent. “Human hospitals aren’t an option for me. It’s not… it’s not that much of your education wouldn’t be appropriate. I respond to many human medications. And many so-called human medications were developed by fae. But my heart, amongst other organs, is just different enough that it would cause comment. On top of that, my problem is, in part, magical. Human treatment might kill me or block my magic. It’s not great odds.”

“I’m afraid I didn’t go for the magic residency,” Asa murmured. 

“If I am dying, you may call an ambulance.” She spoke matter-of-factly, even as she gently stroked the kitten. “I don’t wish to die. But it really must be that bad. We… cannot hide from the human world. It makes us sick, for reasons we can discuss another time. But too much exposure is equally dangerous. Some humans have a tendency to exterminate people who are different from themselves.”

“I…” Asa’s voice trailed off as he mulled over the implications. An image of Deirdre flying above the surface of the lake came to mind; an avenging angel searching for his brother. He forced himself to let out the breath stalled in his lungs. 

“I’m sorry,” Deirdre whispered.

“Why are you sorry?” Asa asked, genuinely confused.

“I would have preferred to show myself to Archer first. I imagine he’d want to tell you. We could have worked on it gradually.” She shook her head. “I’ve been a terrible shock.”

Asa made his joints unlock and walked over to the bed. Then he sat down a few feet from Deirdre. “I won’t insult you and deny that you’re a shock.”

She said nothing in response, waiting patiently for him to continue. His eyes danced automatically from her pale lips to her bloodshot eyes, assessing. Then he shook his head.

“A shock, yes. But, Deirdre… My brother is right. You’re wonderful. I am amazed.” Asa hesitated only a half a second before he reached out and rested his hand on top of hers. He squeezed her cold, delicate fingers once before letting her go. “I think if it weren’t for you, I might not have my brother. Thank you. Thank you for Archer.”

Her cheeks colored, bringing temporary health to her cheeks. “I owe you thanks as well, Asa. I did not have the stamina to get myself out of the lake after all.”

His brow furrowed inadvertently. “Yes… I was worried about that. I would have been worried anyway, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to tell Archer. He’s very attached, you know.”

“And we haven’t known each other very long.”

“No.”

“I…” Deirdre sighed. “I would like to talk to Archer about that before you and I discuss it. If that’s something you can accept.”

“I can,” Asa said, his voice firm. “Archer is an adult. An adult who typically shows good sense. I can trust him to handle his own affairs. And… I do like you, Deirdre.”

She smiled, a genuine one that reached her light eyes. “I like you as well, Asa.”

Asa smiled back and stood. “I’m going to go to bed. I’ll be in regularly to check on you. But if you have difficulty breathing or palpitations between my visits, or any other alarming symptoms, I would like you to promise to come find me. You have my cell number if you cannot walk.”

“I promise. I’ll be fine, but I promise.”

“I will keep an eye out for Fae on my treks back and forth. Archer made a point of saying I needed to watch where I stepped.” Asa reached down and ran a finger down the length of the kitten’s spine, smiling when her back end popped up and her tail curled slightly over her back.

“Archer is very sweet,” Deirdre said. Her eyes grew liquid, and she stared off somewhere over his shoulder. “I wish I could have stayed with him.”

“He’ll be okay. Goodnight, Deirdre,” Asa murmured, leaving her to her reverie.

Asa made his ablutions quickly, hoping to get some rest before it was time to check on Deirdre. He set an alarm for an hour later and closed his eyes, falling asleep with surprising ease.

The first time he looked in on Deirdre, she remained asleep. She’d left the bedside lamp on and lay on her back, snoring gently with Fae tucked up against the side of her neck. Asa, eschewing the stethoscope, reached for her hand on the pillow. He slid his fingers down to her wrist, his eyes on his watch as he counted out the beats. Deirdre murmured but didn’t awaken, her resting pulse a solid sixty beats per minute. 

He’d considered driving her to his office for a checkup there before taking her back to Archer’s, but she’d been okay at the hospital and he thought she needed rest more than anything else. Asa released her and eased away from the bed.

Back in the guest room, he typed a quick message to Archer. Hope you’re sleeping! Deirdre is fine. She’s resting with her kitten.

Then he set himself an alarm for two hours later and slipped into bed, where he lay awake, staring at the ceiling. The film in his mind resumed. Deirdre flew above the surface of the lake, an orb of light descending from her outstretched hand.

***

“Do they really have to wheel me out of here?” Archer asked plaintively.

Deirdre, Asa, and the orderly all answered simultaneously.

“They do, love.”

“No doubt it’s policy.”

“Those are the rules!”

Deirdre smiled, and Archer rewarded her with a smile that stretched across his wan face. “Wheelchair it is.”

“I’m going to go get my car and bring it around,” Asa said. “Are you okay to walk with Archer, Deirdre?”

“Yes, thank you. I feel much better today.” Deirdre clutched Archer’s discharge papers in her hands. “I’m so glad they released you, Archer.”

“Me. Too,” Archer said emphatically. “It’s hard to sleep here. Though… last night you were managing in that chair, somehow.”

“I can usually fall asleep anywhere.” Deirdre shrugged. “I make my family jealous.”

Archer gave her a sidelong glance, his eyebrows lifting.

“Yes.” Deirdre tipped her head, one of her own brows arching. “Many members of my family have insomnia. But that’s just them.”

He nodded and flushed, his shame leeching some needed color into his skin. Deirdre slipped forward and kissed his cheek.

“Don’t feel embarrassed for wanting to know more. We can talk once we leave here,” she murmured, close to his ear. He turned his head and kissed her, one of his hands clasping her above the elbow and pulling her closer. Deirdre placed her hand at the back of his head, her fingers gently stroking his hair.

A not-so-subtle throat clearing broke the kiss, and now Deirdre was blushing, taking in the scrubs-clad orderly unlocking the brakes on Archer’s wheelchair. “Y’all folks ready to get out of here?”

“Yes, sorry,” Archer replied. His eyes were still on Deirdre, though he spoke to the orderly. “This woman saved my life, by the way. Kept me from drowning in a lake. And before that, she stopped someone from stabbing me.”

“I’m not sure if that’s sweet or if you should just stay home, man,” the orderly said, shaking his head and grasping the wheelchair handles. “Let’s get you out of here before something happens to you on my watch.”

The trip out of the hospital was short, with Archer spinning a public version of the lake story for the orderly’s benefit. “I don’t actually remember much, but my brother filled me in.”

Deirdre pressed the button by the exit doors, opening both sets so that the orderly could roll Archer through the vestibule. Listening, while Archer waxed on in his much-improved voice.

“She jumped in after me, got me breathing again, and kept me above the surface until my brother could swim out. She nearly d-drowned herself.” His voice cracked, which he covered with a light cough.

“Sounds like she’s a keeper.” The orderly applied the brakes. “Alright, Archer. Is that your brother pulling up right now in that Musk Machine?”

Archer sputtered and then guffawed. “Oh, I’ll have to tell him you said that, but I’ll wait until we are well on the way.”

“Please do,” the orderly said. “Can’t have a doctor with admitting privileges hearing that I was mocking his car. Though, I have an electric vehicle myself. Just not a Tesla.”

“Asa is extra,” Archer said. “But I love him.”

Archer looked up at her, and whatever expression he found on her face made him beam. “What is it?” Deirdre stepped closer and let her hand fall on his shoulder.

“I am very fortunate to have a brother like Asa and a girlfriend… like you.”

That slight hesitation brought the realization that of all their conversations, they hadn’t had that one yet. Deirdre bent close. “Yes. You are. As am I, to have a boyfriend such as you.” She pressed a kiss to his temple, low enough to avoid his bandage.

“Ready to go?” Asa asked, climbing out of his car and jogging around to open the doors. “Who’s riding up front?”

“Deirdre,” Archer said, just as Deirdre replied “Archer.”

“Well, I might get pulled over if you both sit there.”

Archer pushed himself up out of the chair and stretched a hand out to Deirdre. “Sit in the back with me, love?”

“I will.” She took his hand, and they both turned back to the orderly.

“Thank you,” they said simultaneously.

“You’re welcome. Stay safe!” The orderly released the brakes and wheeled the chair back toward the building, tapping the button to open the doors.

Deirdre heard the front passenger door close behind her. A cool breeze ran through the hospital porte-cochère, sending her hair whipping up and back. She shivered as the wind caressed the back of her neck. Archer’s arm slid around her shoulders, and he guided her toward the open car door.

“You should get in first,” Deirdre protested. “I’ll go around. You were just discharged from the hospital!”

“You should have been in there with me,” he said firmly. “I’m fine to walk around. I’m not cold.”

As Deirdre climbed into the car, Asa went around and opened the other rear door. Archer leaned in and took her chin gently in hand. “Kiss me,” she whispered. His mouth came down to hers, and she reached up to curl her fingers into his shirt. His fingers lightly stroked her face before sliding down her neck and splaying across the skin of her upper chest. She shivered from the contact or the breeze slipping in around him, she wasn’t sure. 

Archer grunted and broke the kiss, grinning ruefully. “The door. I need to close the door. I’ll be around.”

Once he’d seated himself beside her and buckled in, he reached for her hand.

“I feel like a chauffeur,” Asa muttered from the driver’s seat.

“I’m sorry, Asa,” Deirdre called to him. “But as you pointed out, we couldn’t both sit up there.”

***

“Who fixed my basil?” Archer asked, standing at the kitchen sink with a glass of water. The aforementioned basil sat on the sill above the sink, transformed. Trimmed back, apparently, but missing the seediness of the previous day. And yet it looked lush and dark green, with perfect leaves popping out in every direction. The change called to mind the plants in his bedroom.

“You need more plants,” Deirdre spoke up from her seat at the kitchen table. She had her hands wrapped around a steaming mug of peppermint tisane. He kept a small selection of teas and tisanes in his cabinet, but he made a mental note to separate out anything Deirdre couldn’t drink and store it separately.

“He does not,” Asa piped up, shaking his head. “Every time I’m over here, that one looks worse.”

“But…” Archer stared at the basil for a long moment, then turned to eye Deirdre. Her hair looked soft and touchable, and she wore a light blue cashmere poncho. She looked cozy, and he wanted to cuddle up with her.

After he got answers about the basil.

“I’m not sure this is the same plant,” he continued.

“I took care of your basil,” Deirdre explained, not quite meeting his eyes. “Is that… okay?”

“It’s… Of course it’s okay.” Archer walked over to the table and sat his glass down. He slid into the seat next to her, tapping her foot gently with his.

“She was trimming it this morning when I got out of the shower.” Asa folded his arms over his chest. He had a look on his face that Archer couldn’t quite identify. Knowing, and wonder, and—

“It’s new,” she whispered. Her eyes finally lifted to his. “From the seeds of your old basil. I harvested some seeds, removed the old plant, germinated the seeds, and accelerated the growth cycle.”

“Weren’t you supposed to be resting?” Asa asked, sounding peeved, though the look on his face belied his tone.

“Oh.” Archer reached for his glass and took a gulp, the large swallow painful as it stretched his throat. The room fell silent.

“I’m particularly good at plants.” Deirdre’s soft, careful voice carved through the silence.

Archer stretched his hand out, palm up. His voice came out hoarse. “Sometime you’ll show me?”

She nodded slowly, slipping her hand into his. The sensation was like two puzzle pieces slotting together.

“I would very much like to see you… help plants.” He stroked his thumb over the back of her hand and watched as the tension eased from her face.

“Surely we aren’t going to be awkward about plants.” Asa sounded exasperated. “I saw you fly. I don’t care about plants.”

“I do that as well.” Deirdre’s cheeks flushed pink. “Usually better than I did yesterday.”

“You were exhausted. And, if I could hazard a guess, experiencing an arrhythmia.” Asa leaned forward, his arms slipping loose and his hands coming to rest on the table. “Does flying, or your magic, give you difficulties with your Long QT?”

“Magic is like walking, or it is most of the time.” Deirdre’s eyes went distant. “I use my magic regularly to stay conditioned. But I will grant that I haven’t had to use it in an emergency in quite some time.”

Then she sighed, looking guilty. “It’s not Romano-Ward. It’s a fae condition. Romano-Ward is the closest I can compare it to.”

Asa leaned back in his chair, nodding. “Would I be able to identify the difference, or the problem?”

“Undoubtedly yes to both.” Deirdre squeezed Archer’s hand. “It skipped a generation. It’s a recessive trait. My grandmother died young for our species. We live longer than humans, you see.”

Deirdre’s eyes dropped to their clasped hands. Archer couldn’t read her face, not with it down turned like that. “Deirdre—”

“That’s not always the case,” she continued. Her eyes lifted, then briefly darted to Asa before alighting on Archer. “There are some humans living with fae in a symbiotic relationship that extends the life of the human partner. And villagers in close vicinity to fae towns are known for long life spans.”

Archer squeezed her hand. “Thank you for trusting us with that. I can see how that would be information some people would try to exploit.”

Asa let out an explosive sigh and leaned forward. “I didn’t even think of that.”

Deirdre’s hand trembled, and he felt a wave of anxiety roll over him. The anxiety was strange, detached from himself. Hers. He furrowed his brow and studied her face as she forced herself to take a slow breath. “Hey, whatever is making you anxious, you don’t have to tell me.”

“I want to,” she said, breathless. Archer scooted his chair closer to hers and reached over to rub her back. Stroking gently, he ran his hand up beneath her hair to massage her nape. Her eyes slipped closed and her head dipped, her shoulders visibly relaxing. After a moment, Archer’s eyes found Asa’s. He wanted to ask him to check her out again, but that desire warred with the knowledge that she was an adult and would likely resent being ordered around. Her intake of breath drew his attention back to her.

“Archer, I told you I was twenty-eight.” Deirdre opened her eyes and sat up straight. “I’m older than my grandmother was when she died, and she was nearly seventy.”

His eyebrows flew up, and he regretted that, especially seeing his own expression echoed on Asa’s face.

“Grandmother died birthing my mother and aunt Foraoise,” she continued. Her eyes grew liquid as she gazed up at him. “I was born in 1936. I’m sorry, Archer. I lied to you. I turned eighty-seven in April.”

“You lied?” He blinked at her, dazed by the revelation. 1936…

“I’m so sorry.”

“No, I mean… What? I’m not upset, Deirdre—I’m surprised.” Archer reached out and stroked her jaw with his knuckle. “How old is the oldest person you know?”

Deirdre’s eyes dropped halfway closed as she leaned into his touch. “Three hundred and twenty.”

*;'**

Hours later, Deirdre lay in Archer’s arms in his bed, her wakefulness making her a liar. Archer’s body was deliciously warm, finally chasing away the remainder of yesterday’s chill. She felt him breathing evenly, his arms around her heavy with sleep. Deirdre closed her eyes, listening to that soothing rhythm, trying not to think about how she’d found him unconscious beneath the water, lungs still. She stroked the hair on his arm, traced the bones of his wrist. Her fingers slipped around, found the steady beat of his pulse.

The bedroom door, cracked a few inches for Fae, opened slowly with a soft creak. Deirdre opened her eyes, then stretched out her hand and let a faint pulse of light leave her palm, arcing toward the figure standing in the doorway.

Her light illuminated Asa and the tiny bundle cradled in his palm.

“I’ve come to check on both of you,” he whispered. “And I found Fae in the guest room. On my head.”

“We’re fine,” Deirdre said softly, watching as he gently deposited the kitten on the bed. Fae stretched and padded over to Deirdre, sniffing her hair. “You should rest.”

“You, too,” he murmured. “Good night.”

She waited until he was in the hall before she extinguished the light. Fae tucked herself beneath Deirdre’s chin.

“Was… Asa?” Archer muttered, his arm tightening over her stomach 

“It was. He brought Fae. Sleep, love.”

“Love you, too.” He nuzzled her neck and then his breathing evened back out. Deirdre relaxed in his arms and closed her eyes.

When she woke, Fae had decamped again. Sunlight streamed through the windows. Deirdre stretched and found Archer’s side of the bed empty. She rolled onto her side, noting the closed bathroom door. She lay still, taking an inventory of her body. Warm, with a heart that beat normally in her chest. Her lungs tickled when she took a deep breath, and she wouldn’t have minded another few hours of sleep, but she assessed she was well enough.

The bathroom door opened and Archer stepped into the room wearing nothing but his pajamas pants, a smile breaking across his face when he spotted her awake. “Good morning!” 

Deirdre pushed herself up onto her elbows, lips tipped up in anticipation of his kiss. Archer kneeled on the bed, his big hands cupping her face as he leaned in. He kissed her lips, then her forehead.

“How is your head?” she whispered.

“Better,” he said. He kissed each of her cheeks. “I told you I loved you last night.”

He stroked her cheekbones with his thumbs, his dark eyes studying her face. Deirdre lifted her hands and covered his hands with her own. “You did. I love you, too, Archer.”

His mouth met hers again briefly, and then he kissed the corners of her lips. “Is it…”

“A fae thing?”

He grimaced. “I don’t want you to think I doubt how we feel.”

“I don’t, and it is.” Deirdre stroked her hands down his arms, soothing him. Then she pulled him down to sit across from her on the bed. “We call it ánrhen. It is a mate bond. It can happen between two or more fae or humans. Or any such combination. Some of us believe humans can experience it with each other, with no fae being involved. It happens very quickly, but… This part is important, Archer.”

Deirdre took his hands in hers. He squeezed them, his features serious. “I’m listening, love.”

“To seal it requires Intention. Words must be spoken. Until then, the bond can be allowed to die without consequence, and the lovers may, or may not, find new mates.” She sought his eyes. “Do you understand? We still have free will.”

Archer winced. “Thinking of breaking this is… painful, Deirdre—”

“It is. I just wanted you to know that you haven’t lost your choices.” She released his hands. He sat with his knees bent and his ankles crossed in front of her. She let her hands drop to his thighs. “I want you to meet my family. You’ve technically met Foraoise, of course.”

“Your aunt.”

“I don’t have any siblings, as I told you. But I have aunts, uncles, cousins, and my parents. Friends.” She bit her lip. “I had friends.”

Archer reached out and smoothed her hair, his expression somber. “Why are you estranged, Deirdre?” His eyes trained on her face, taking everything in as she sighed and nodded.

“I need to tell you, Archer. There was a fae man. We were together. We weren’t ánrhen, however, no matter how much he wished it. He wanted us to bind ourselves to each other. This is… possible, sometimes. Between two people who aren’t naturally drawn to each other. I cared about him, but I didn’t want to bind myself to him. He wanted me to have heart surgery. My friends and family agreed with him.” She looked up at Archer’s plants on the windowsill. “I imagine you wonder why I didn’t have the surgery.”

Archer stood silent for a moment, his expression thoughtful. Then he frowned. “It’s dangerous.”

Deirdre nodded. “If I bonded with him before the surgery, I had a seventy-five percent chance of waking up. But I would have lost my access to what you would call magic. We don’t perform this surgery on non-bonded fae. They don’t survive. And even bonded… I wouldn’t want that. It’s dangerous for both partners.”

“And because of your choice—”

“My family was heartbroken. Then couldn’t look me in the eye. My ex was furious. So cold. So bitter. And I was a coward. I fled. I traveled for two decades before I settled here five years ago. Not so far away from home.” Deirdre closed her eyes, her posture sagging. Archer folded her into his arms and pulled her to his chest. She pressed her cheek against his skin, felt the soft brush of his chest hair. “I’ve written, and occasionally someone comes to check in, but I haven’t been back.”

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured into her hair.

Deirdre, growing anxious, took a deep breath. “I can’t have the surgery, Archer. I can’t. It’s… It would be like taking an ice pick to my frontal lobe. I cannot.”

***

Archer curled around her, wishing he could take away her sorrow and fear. Her form felt tense in his arms, a fine quiver overtaking her. “It’s your life, Deirdre. Your… magic. Please, please don’t be anxious.” He rubbed her back, skimming his palm over first the satin of her low-backed nightgown and then the satin of her skin.

Aware of her now in a way he’d never been aware of anybody, Archer stroked her back until her breathing evened out and the fine trembling he’d felt in her shoulders faded away. Then he reached up and ran his fingers through her hair. Her body relaxed against him, warm and soft and supple.

“Your bandage,” Deirdre murmured against his chest. “We need to change it.”

“It can wait a bit.” 

“I need a moment to freshen up.” She leaned back to look at him, her light eyes coy. She ran her knuckles up his abdomen, making him shudder as the air in the room abruptly grew charged. “Don’t go anywhere?”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Archer helped her off the bed and watched her walk into the bathroom, his eyes on her bare legs. When she closed the door, he got up and walked to the bedroom door. Glancing first around the room for Fae, he leaned out and looked down the hall for signs of his brother. Finding none, Archer closed and locked his bedroom door. 

Archer stuck his hands in the pockets of his pajamas pants, shuffling over to the mirror mounted next to his closet. Peering at the bandage on his forehead, he eyed the discoloration in the center. Deirdre was right; it needed to be changed, but he thought it could wait a half hour.

Then he wandered over to look at his succulent and cactus. They both looked as though he could photograph them for a magazine or coffee-table book. Archer ran a fingertip along one of the namesake tails that draped over the side of the succulent’s pot and coiled on the sill. The leaves were smooth and fat under his touch.

The bathroom door swung open, and Archer turned to greet her. Deirdre reached up and casually raked a hand through her hair, tousling her long locks. “You’re feeling well?” she asked him, her voice husky.

“I am.” He met her halfway. “You? Are you okay?”

“I am good.” Deirdre reached up, slipping her hand around his nape. Her eyes looked purple with the sunlight cutting across her face. She peered up at his bandage, then shifted her eyes to meet his gaze. “I love you, Archer.”

Archer, surprised to feel his hands shaking, reached out and pulled her against him. He ran a hand up her body and into her hair, threading his fingers through her soft strands. “I love you, Deirdre,” he whispered, backing up and pulling her with him until his legs bumped against the bed. Archer sat down, and Deirdre climbed onto his lap, her nightgown riding up her thighs.

Deirdre leaned in and touched the tip of her nose to his. “Deirdre Tvaris Anak O’r Perëndierdők Noordttang.”

The unfamiliar words, spoken in her careful voice, washed over him. “What?” he murmured, their breath intermingling.

“It is my name.”

“All of it?” he asked, unable to keep the incredulity from his voice. She giggled and tipped her head, planting a kiss on the bridge of his nose. “Say it again, please.”

“Deirdre Tvaris Anak O’r Perëndierdők Noordttang.” She kissed his eyebrow on his undamaged side. Archer found her hips beneath the nightgown and smiled when he discovered she wasn’t wearing underwear. “It means ‘Broken-hearted Moon Daughter of the Western Forest, Northland.’”

“‘Broken-hearted?’ Oh, love… Will you write that down later?” He traced his fingers across her lower back to her spine. “Please? And a voice memo. I’ll learn your name.”

“Yes.” She smiled and kissed his temple. “Do you have a middle name, Archer?”

“James.” He ran his fingertips up to her shoulder blades and cupped them in his palms. “After my father.”

“My mother’s first name is Tvaris.” The name sounded like Var-ees. Deirdre kissed his earlobe. “My father prefers to be called Liam, though you won’t find those sounds in his fae name.”

“My mother’s name was Sara.” Archer dragged his hands back down to grip her waist. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Midnight green and Prussian blue,” she whispered against his jaw, before rocking forward slightly and kissing the corner of his mouth. “The colors of certain mountain ranges, plants, or bodies of water.”

“I like orange,” Archer said simply, laughing. His laugh died in a soft hiss as Deirdre rocked again, her hands coming up to rest on his shoulders. He’d grown hard sometime over the last few minutes, and the ridge of his erection pressed against her moist heat with only a thin layer of fabric between them.

“Sunsets?” She whispered, rolling her hips. His cock pulsated. “Tangerines?”

“S-Sunsets.” Archer gathered her nightgown up from the bottom. Deirdre raised her arms, and he lifted it over her head with one hand, the other holding her steady at the hip. He dropped her nightgown on the bed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close so that her breasts pressed against his chest. He felt her nipples pebble. “Deirdre…”

“If we decide to seal our bond…” Deirdre moved herself back and forth against him, her arms wrapping loosely around his neck. Her voice fell softly on his ears. “If we decide this, we would go to a private place and speak the words. Our skin will be sensitive. Our emotions fragile. My ánh would cover you; your life force would bolster mine. With me, you will live a long, long time.”

Archer cupped her buttocks in his hands, kneading her, pulling her closer to him. Arousal coursed through him in waves. She gave a low moan. “A long time. With you. With this…”

“I cannot give you a child unless I allow it,” she continued. “My reproductive system is not like a human woman’s. There are no accidental fae pregnancies. And I would not allow it without discussing the matter with you first.”

“Deirdre,” he spoke against her skin, his lips skimming the sensitive side of her neck. “Is that a fancy way of telling me I don’t need a condom?”

“Yesss…” she gasped as he nipped her earlobe. “If you are comfortable.”

“Hold still a second, love.” Archer pulled her up and then reached down, his thumbs dragging down the waistband of his pants. He got them down his thighs, then past his knees before kicking them off. Deirdre laughed as he nearly bucked her off, and he quickly wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her in place. Then he settled her back in his lap and slipped a hand between them, cupping her sex. “You’re so wet…”

“I want you n-now, Archer,” Deirdre gasped, her voice wobbling as she ground herself against his hand. She reached down and took his cock in her fist, his abdominal muscles flinching when she touched him. “Please… Please, Archer…”

Archer grasped her by the hips and guided her over his cock, both of them tensing and letting out breathy moans as she embraced his length and warm tingles ran up his shaft. Deirdre gripped his shoulders for balance as she rode him, her eyes falling closed and her head tipped back. He kept his eyes open, taking in the fall of her hair, the way her lips parted as she moaned, the extension of her neck, the color of her hard brown nipples. She undulated against him, rising and falling, sending shocks of sensation through his body.

Archer ran one hand up her back and into her hair, his fingers tugging gently on her light brown tresses. She trembled in his arms. “Your hair is so soft. Your skin, so smooth… You’re so beautiful…”

He traced the shell of her ear, then cupped the back of her head and pulled her close for a kiss. Their mouths met open and wet, tongues gliding. She bit his bottom lip, tugging gently as their bodies writhed together. Deirdre’s hands worked on his shoulders, and she fell against him, her panting harsh in his ears. 

Archer held her tight, scooting toward the edge of the bed with her. He intended to turn and lay her on the bedspread, but before he could stand, Deirdre made a low noise and pushed back from his chest, her blue eyes peeling halfway open, lids heavy with desire.

Or… 

Archer felt a cold warning run down his spine. Deirdre’s movements slowed, then stopped. As he watched, the color leeched from her skin. “Deirdre?”

She stared over his shoulder and let out a slow exhalation. Her hands slipped from his shoulders, dropping limply to either side. Then she pitched backward, her eyes fixed on nothing. Archer yelped, tightening his grasp on her, one hand at her lower back and the other at her nape, trying to prop her head up so he could see her face. Her head lolled, features slack, eyes shuttered.

“Deirdre!” he called out, voice sharp. He felt strangely alone, like she’d stepped out of the room, even though he held her there on his lap. Holding her tight, Archer slid off the end of the bed, his softening cock slipping free as her limbs dangled and her head tipped to the side. He stepped once toward the rug and then lowered her quickly to the floor, his hands shaking as he laid her flat.

“ASA!” Shouting, Archer fumbled with her head, his wits slow. After a few agonizing seconds, he smoothed back her hair and rested his hand on her forehead. His other hand tipped up her chin. Leaning close to her mouth, Archer waited.

And waited.

Finally, though he never quite felt her breath against his cheek, he realized her chest was rising and falling in a slow, shallow rhythm.

The bedroom doorknob rattled, and he heard Asa thump his fist against it. “Archer!”

“You’re going to be alright, love,” he whispered, trying not to panic as he took in her pale face and touched her cool limbs. Then he called out: “I’m coming!”

Archer scrambled over to the chair in the corner and dragged the fleece blanket off the back, rapidly draping it over her naked body. Then he snatched his pants off the floor and hurried to the door, unlocking it and jerking it open. Asa burst in, his concerned gaze skimming over Archer before he spotted Deirdre sprawled on the floor, pale and still. Archer stepped into his pants as Asa hurried to grab the medical bag he’d left on the nightstand.

***

Asa crouched beside the unconscious fae woman, setting his bag off to the side. “Deirdre? Deirdre, it’s Asa,” he called, loudly and close to her ear. 

“She’s barely breathing,” Archer said, his voice tight as he crouched at Deirdre’s other side. 

Asa noted the shallow rise and fall of her chest and reached for the plastic case in his bag. He’d started keeping a kit in his car during his residency, after he stopped at a roadside emergency and found himself ill-prepared. He reached for a pair of nitrile gloves and quickly slipped his hands into them. “I’m going to insert an airway device to help her breathe. This will just keep her airway open.” He spoke for Archer’s benefit, and to buy himself time to answer internal questions as to when to activate EMS, knowing what he now knew about the unique woman laying on the floor.

Across from him, Archer took Deirdre’s limp hand. His brother watched as Asa held a curved plastic airway against the side of Deirdre’s jaw, verifying he’d chosen the right size. Then he scooted around to the top of her head, carefully adjusting the tilt before thumbing open her mouth and sliding the airway between her teeth. He turned the device one hundred and eighty degrees before resting the flange against her teeth. Next, he clipped a pulse oximeter to her index finger and turned it on. Cradling her wrist in his lap, he pressed his gloved fingers against her radial artery and turned his wrist to look at his watch.

“If she needs to go to the hospital, call 9-1-1.” Archer’s voice shook. “I… Dammit, I should have asked her what happens if she goes and they notice her anatomy is different. But I don’t want her to d-die because she needed something you don’t have here with you.”

Almost two hundred beats per minute, unresponsive, limbs cool, oxygen at… 92%. Asa dragged his stethoscope and blood pressure cuff from the bag and made short work of strapping the cuff on her slim arm and plugging the buds into his ears. He pressed the bell of the stethoscope to the inside of her upper arm with his thumb, his other hand squeezing the pump to inflate the cuff. The sound of her blood pounding through her brachial artery filled his ears, and he kept his eyes on the pressure meter. As he inflated, the pounding sound vanished. Sixty over thirty-seven…

Asa pressed the button to release the pressure, though he kept the cuff on her arm. He leaned over, the bell of his stethoscope in his hand. “I’m just going to slide this under the blanket so I can take a listen,” he murmured. Asa listened carefully during the auscultation, his ears feeling with whooshing and high-pitched, scratchy sounds. After a moment, he pulled the earpieces from his ears and draped the stethoscope around his neck. Not good.

“She may need to be cardioverted, and I don’t have a monitor and defibrillator here.” He looked at the pulse oximeter again. Holding at 92%. He leaned down and lowered his ear near the airway, his eyes again on his watch as he eyeballed her respiratory rate. “I’m going to call.”

Asa dragged his phone out of his pocket. Archer’s face grew carved with tension, his lips thinning and turning white. But he nodded and pulled Deirdre’s hand up to his chest. “I shouldn’t have—” Archer flinched, his voice slurring and then dying away. Blue light flashed from below. Asa jerked his arm in front of his eyes and felt Deirdre’s arm flop against his legs. He felt suddenly strange, as though he’d stuck his finger in a light socket. Blinking back spots, and suspicion taking over, Asa leaned down and pressed his fingertips into Deirdre’s carotid artery. He barely registered when Archer swayed and caught himself with his free hand.

One-one thousand.

Two-one thousand.

Three one thousand.

Her artery lay still beneath his fingers.

Five one thousand.

Six—

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

Asa let out the breath he was holding and shifted his hand to squeeze her shoulder. “Deirdre?”

“Asa, what—”

Deirdre took a deep breath, then another, and her eyelids fluttered. Asa reached out and carefully removed the airway, ignoring the string of saliva that trailed from her lips. He set the airway to the side and took her wrist again to count her pulse.

“Deirdre!” Archer called out, still sounding painfully worried as he leaned close to stroke her cheek. “Open your eyes, love.” Deirdre coughed and her head tipped toward Archer’s hand. 

100bpm. “Deirdre, I’m going to take your blood pressure again.” Asa slipped his stethoscope back into his ears and reached for her arm. Her blue eyes peeled open, and he heard Archer let out a relieved sigh.

***

“Open your eyes, love!”

Her lids and limbs felt heavy. Someone—Archer—touched her face. Deirdre heaved in a breath and leaned into his touch. The breath caught, and she coughed, struggling to open your eyes.

“Deirdre, I’m going to take your blood pressure again.” Asa. 

Again?

Deirdre opened her eyes. 

Archer sighed, and his hand cupped her cheek, stroking the bone with his thumb. His other hand held tight to hers, gripping her as though she might slip away. She saw an uncharacteristic tightness in his face, imparting an unbearable sharpness to his eyes and mouth. “There you are, love. You scared me.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. She heard the whooshing sound of a blood pressure cuff being inflated, felt it tighten around her arm. Her eyes darted to Asa. His face was serious as he attended to the task. She saw a small muscle twitch in his jaw. She’d scared him, too. “What happened?”

“You fainted.” Archer stroked her hair. “And it took you a while to wake up.”

“Are you familiar with cardioversion, Deirdre?” Asa suddenly asked her, as he released the air from the cuff.

“Yes.” She realized she was lying on the floor, naked but for a blanket drawn across her body. “I was cardioverted twice as a child, and once as an adult. Where’s Fae?”

“I shut her in the guest bedroom when I heard Archer call out. I’ll let her out soon.” Asa held his stethoscope earpieces away from his ears. “I nearly called an ambulance. You were tachycardic, and your blood pressure and oxygenation were on the low side. I believed you might need to be cardioverted. But then there was a flash of light. Blue light. For several seconds, you did not have a pulse.”

“What?” Archer interjected, his face going gray. His hand squeezed hers so tightly that she grunted, and his fingers slackened.

“Then I felt your heartbeat return at a safer cadence. Without having you on a cardiac monitor, I cannot be certain, but—”

“Are you asking me if I cardioverted myself?” Deirdre didn’t mean to interrupt him, but exhaustion robbed her of her manners. She closed her eyes, a headache brewing between them.

“Is it possible?” Asa asked, his voice even. “Lay still for me. I’m going to listen to your heart.”

“I don’t know. Perhaps.” She felt the bell of the stethoscope press alongside her sternum. The floor was cold and hard beneath her back, and she shivered.

“I felt something.” Archer’s voice, hushed. “It was as though, for just a moment, all of my energy drained out of me. It felt like my soul ran down my arm and I thought for a split second I might join you on the floor. It… the same thing happened two days ago. There was a flash of light….”

Deirdre opened her eyes and gazed up at Archer. Asa leaned back, withdrawing his hand from beneath the blanket. “I saw the light as well. This time, I was in contact with your arm. It felt like I was very slightly electrocuted.”

“I’m sorry,” Deirdre whispered. “Are you alright?”

Both men leaned over her, though Asa spoke first. “If you were, in fact, cardioverted, then it may very well be the reason you are alive and talking to us this very moment. That being said, Deirdre, I would be very concerned for a patient whose ICD deployed twice in under forty-eight hours. Especially a patient on beta blockers…?”

“That’s what happened by the lake,” Archer whispered. Deirdre found the strength to squeeze his hand.

“Nadolol.” She could barely keep her eyes open. “None of them work as well on fae as they work for humans. But it’s been the best one. To change the subject, however, I would like some clothes. And to not be on the floor.”

Asa checked the pulse oximeter clipped to her finger. “Your vitals are moving back into normal range. Archer can help you get dressed and tuck you back into bed.”

“And then you’ll see to his head?”

“I promise.” Asa peeled off his gloves. “I’m going to let your kitten out. Archer, you have her?”

“I do. I’ll call if…”

“I’ll listen for you.” Asa squeezed Deirdre’s shoulder. “You need to rest.”

“I will rest. Thank you, Asa.” 

Asa unclipped the pulse ox and dropped it in his bag, along with his stethoscope. He pushed the bag against the wall. “I’ll just leave this here, I think. See you shortly. I’ll want to check on both of you.” He hovered for a moment as though he wanted to say something else, then shook his head and left the room, pulling the door closed behind him.

Deirdre rubbed her eyes. “I’m so tired, Archer.” She heard the plaintiveness in her voice and couldn’t muster any shame. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Archer looking down at her with aching tenderness.

“We ran before we could walk.” He traced his fingers along her jaw and over her lips. “You needed more rest, I think.”

Before she could respond, he took a deep breath and leaned back. “Clothes. Would your nightgown be okay? Or—”

“That’s fine. Just something to cover my parts.” She waggled her eyebrows at him, then made to push herself up onto her elbow.

“Wait.” Archer stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Let me help…”

She watched him get up and snag her nightgown from the bed. When he kneeled beside her, his face was a study of tenderness, the lines of worry temporarily smoothed away. He helped her sit up with an arm behind her back. The blanket slipped, pooling at her waist. Her nipples tightened with the sudden change in temperature.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her thoughts on what they had been doing before she lost consciousness.

Archer guided the nightgown over her head, holding the armholes open one at a time for her to slip her arms through. “What for, love?”

“We were…” she sighed. “Very much enjoying ourselves.”

“We were,” he agreed, smoothing her nightgown down toward her hips. “I think that we will always enjoy each other in that way. But we should have waited a few days.”

“Perhaps so.”

Archer stroked her cheek, then leaned in and gave her a quick, soft kiss. “If I help you, can you stand?”

“Yes, if you would. Thank you.” His arm around her back and a firm but gentle grip on her arm supported her as she climbed to her feet. He kept hold of her, steering her toward the bed. “Are you alright, Archer?”

“Am I alright?” He helped her sit on the bed, his face a mask of confusion beneath the bandage on his forehead. “I’m fine, love. I actually feel much better than I did yesterday. Just a little tired.”

“We are so connected already,” she whispered, her hands clutching his arms. “I believe I drew from you.”

“It doesn’t appear to have hurt me.”

“No,” she skimmed her eyes over his face. “I think you’re right. With mates… the loss of a mate is much more dangerous than the help a mate can provide.”

Archer motioned for her to swing her legs around, so she slipped beneath the covers and laid her head back on the pillow. He tucked her in and sat beside her, the mattress sinking beneath his weight. He took her hand and leaned in, his other hand smoothing her hair back from her face. “I will be even more helpful when we’re… bound?”

Deirdre reached up and stroked the faint lines of tension next to his mouth. “Yes. But you have a choice, Archer.”

“Do you have a choice?”

His question took her unawares; she stared up at him, speechless. After a moment, he took pity on her and spoke again.

“It’s the same with me. I could no more turn away from you now than I could cut off my leg.”

“We will be sealed as ánrhen.”

“Yes. So, we should do this sooner rather than later. If we waited too long, and—” His voice choked off and his throat worked. She saw a flint of moisture in his eyes.

“I love you.” Deirdre cupped his cheek.

Archer swallowed hard, and when he spoke he sounded hoarse. “I love you.”

***

A week later, Archer drove them to a small rental cottage on the outskirts of a nearby mountain town. Fae slept in the soft-sided carrier, soothed by Deirdre’s gentle murmuring in her first language. Amongst the small number of belongings they brought with them, an AED on loan from Asa.

They spent the day talking and laughing, Archer watching while Deirdre encouraged the plants immediately around the cottage to perk up despite the autumn temperatures. “I’ll have to see to them again before we leave; I don’t want to leave them in such a delicate state.”

When night fell, they left Fae inside and built a fire in the pit behind the house. Deirdre encouraged it to grow until it snapped hot and cheerful. Then they disrobed and sat together in a nest of blankets, facing each other with their legs intertwined.

“Ánrhen,” Deirdre whispered. She took a deep breath and pressed her right hand over his heart. Her voice lifted in volume. “As I told you, there isn’t much formality. It’s almost entirely based on intention.”

Archer shifted and cleared his throat. Deirdre looked down and smiled. “Mates who have a sexual relationship often incorporate sex into their binding.”

Archer groaned and reached out, his large palm covering her heart. “Deirdre, love.” His other arm wrapped around her waist.

“A’hada a ánh njikọ mit rhen…” Deirdre’s free hand pressed to Archer’s cheek. Light sparked beneath his hand on her chest, glowing from between his fingers. “… ün eobsda briech mienesi mn beo.”

Archer cleared his throat again, but his voice held strong. “I claim a bond with my mate. A bond that, while we both live, cannot break.”

Blue light blossomed beneath Deirdre’s hand. The light pulsed, then traveled up their arms. Light filled their bodies, and Deirdre’s opalescent wings erupted from her back, trembling as they jerked open to her full wingspan. Archer groaned, his eyes wide and straining, his grip on Deirdre tightening. The light filled them, brimming and shimmering just beneath their skin. She flexed her wings, shimmers dropping to the ground like sparks. Archer’s grip tied to the ground.

Another moment passed, and the light dwindled, sinking into their bones before flashing once and falling dark. 

Deirdre and Archer sagged sweat-soaked against each other, her wings draping down her back, his hand moving from her heart to her jaw. He kept her head upright, his eyes anxiously seeking hers. 

“You’re alright?” he gasped. Before she could respond, he whispered. “You’re alright.”

“You know.”

“I know.”

They kissed then, and before long their bodies joined and they mated by the fire, Deirdre’s wings beating the rhythm of their love.

--

Part Five

#resus writing #fantasy resus #female resus

[aella-targaryen]

DAEMON AND RHAENYRA. WHY WOULD DAEMON TRY TO CONVINCE RAHENYRA TO GO TO WAR? SPOILERS, THEORIES AND ANALYSIS.

Among the spoilers for Episode 10 of hotd there is one that I found very interesting:

"Daemon is the one who urges Rhaenyra to go to war, while Rhaenyra prefers to surrender to keep the peace"

I want to write this short analysis and my predictions of this spoiler because I know that many people will believe that this scene (if it happens) will discredit Daemon and Rhaenyra's love.

When, from my point of view, it will be totally the opposite:

1.- Daemon respects Rhaenyra's decisions more than anything in the world.

Daemon is Rhaenyra's main advisor and it seems that he has been her whole life. He is the one who points out what he considers the most appropriate path, but it is SHE who decides whether to take it or not.

And so far Daemon has accepted all of Rhaenyra's decisions and even orders.

What is reason?

Well, so far I've only seen one: Daemon loves Rhaenyra more than anyone, more (in my opinion) than his own children and his brother.

And from his love comes his loyalty and her faith in her.

Daemon was able to start the war without consulting Rhaenyra or even trying to convince her.

But he did not.

For any reason, Daemon will always want to listen to Rhaenyra's opinion and he will adhere to her decisions. At least in these first 10 episodes.

For example.

Do you think it would not have been easier to kill Laenor? Wouldn't it have been safer for Daemon and Rhaenyra and their children if Laenor had died? What if something had gone wrong or they had been betrayed? Wouldn't it have been easier just to kill a man? So what stopped Daemon?

Rhaenyra.

She loved Laenor like a brother and Daemon instead of doing what was most logical and efficient acted as Rhaenyra wanted.

In fact, even the spoiler tells us that Daemon doesn't start the war because Rhaenyra hasn't made up her mind to do so. He gets mad at her and even calls her "weak".

But he doesn't do anything else. As always until now Daemon follows Rhaenyra's wishes and orders.

Many may be surprised or offended that Daemon calls Rhaenyra weak. But I don't . They are simply words that show Daemon's frustration and surprise because Rhaenyra for the first time does not seem to have the same intentions as him.

Remember that Daemon called Viserys weak too.

and do we question Daemon's love for Viserys?

2.- The death of Visenya.

The death of Visenya, a babygirl who only existed in the dreams of the people who loved her, will definitely change Daemon and Rhaenyra's relationship.

The death of a child changes a couple relationship. Always. Sometimes it makes the relationship stronger and sometimes it makes it weaker. That does not mean that the parents did not love each other. It just means that pain can transform people's hearts almost beyond recognition.

I have no idea if Daemon and Rhaenyra's romantic relationship will last despite losing their daughter in such a horrible way. But what I have no doubt about is that their love will remain intact. Remember what I've always said:

For Daemon, Rhaenyra is not just the woman he loves romantically nor is she just the mother of his sons, she is the woman he recognizes as his wife (even though their marriage is totally illegal), she is his niece, she is his favorite relative, she is Viserys's favorite child, she is literally the only living part of Viserys that Daemon has been able to keep, she keeps the last will of her brother and also Rhaenyra is his best friend and his most loyal confidant.

Even if their entire romantic relationship goes to hell, Daemon and Rhaenyra will never stop loving each other.

3.- The reason why Daemon wants to go to war.

In my opinion, Daemon wants to go to war to protect Rhaenyra and their children. As simple as that.

Demon has a dream. "Make the house of the Dragon glorious again" and in his dream Rhaenyra is always by his side.

Why does Daemon want the house of the dragon to be great again? I think it's because for Daemon it is the only way for his family to have a safe place to live, with all the necessary power to defend themselves against future threats. He doesn't want to live in constant fear that Otto will one day decide to kill his children, himself, or Rahenyra.

He knows that the house of the dragon will always have enemies and to guarantee the strength of his family to face those enemies it is necessary that it be a Targaryen who reigns over all the Westeros.

4 .- Daemon knows that Rhaenyra "is more than this."

Daemon is Rhaenyra and Rhaenyra is Daemon.

Probably if Rhaenyra had died before Daemon, he would have gone to great lengths to make one of Rhaenyra's sons King.

If he hadn't died in the process I seriously believe that, without Viserys and Rhaenyra, he would have killed himself.

Daemon is Rhaenyra's soulmate and he knows her as well as himself. That's why Daemon's willingness to go to war is simply a reflection of Rhaenyra's will to fight. A will that is inside her but numb by the pain of the death of her father and her daughter, by her fear of losing the only family she has left and by the enormous responsibility of fulfilling the prophecy of Aegon I.

Amidst all the pain, fear and responsibility, Rhaenyra is losing herself.

But who is there to remind her who she is?

Deamon.

A lifetime ago, when Daemon lost himself, who was the person who reminded him of who he was? Who was the person who fueled in him the will to live and fight?

Rhaenyra

Rhaenyra was the one who reminded him who he was:

A man who was born to live and die for love and loyalty.

Daemon trying to convince Rhaenyra to go to war is reminding her who is she :

A woman who faces her life living on her own terms, without allowing anyone to impose their will on hers.

Daemon knows that Rhaenyra is much more than a woman who stays at home waiting for the storm to pass. He knows that she is a Dragon.

In our life it is important to always remember who we are or to have someone by our side to remind us. Because there is no amount of love, happiness, peace and abundance that can diminish the pain that losing our identity would cause us. Daemon showed us that when he lived in Pentos.

#hotd #daemon x rhaenyra #daemon targaryen #rhaenyra targaryen #rhaenyra x daemon #rhaenrya targaryen #rhaneyra targaryen #hotd spoilers #house of the dragon spoilers #daemyra #daenyra

[adri-2022]

Village

Fandom: Chicago PD

Characters: Jay Halstead x FemReader/ OC Readers!Sister

Warnings: slight cursing/ little angst/ little fluff

Word count: 1061

Jay Halstead Materlist

A/N: Hi guys second post today. I hope you all enjoy, this a request from @rosemary2345

Don't be afraid to leave a comment!

--------

To say you felt sad was limiting your pain. Over a year ago your parents died in a car crash, leaving only one survivor, your little sister Emma, whom your parents left with you as her legal guardian. In that horrible day you met the love of your life. He's a detective at the 21st district, he’s older and very mature -so there’s an age gap-, but your parents’ accident made you realize that life is short, and you wanted to enjoy it with who you truly loved -no matter the age difference-.

Plus, he was a really good father figure to Emma, also the person who took care of Emma until you got to the district -before and after you started to date-. In that day you could only feel pain and sadness, the moment you saw little Emma in Jay’s lap, his arms wrapped around her little frame, while he tried to get her distracted, from the agonizing reality -that her parents had died right in front of her- and even though she didn’t understand that important fact, she was still scared. Jay even fought when social services tried to take her into the system before even researching for immediate family – let’s say he was very pissed-. You remember how she hugged to your neck scared by the unfamiliarity of the place and the people around her in that moment. You didn’t know how fast life could turn upside down, you hadn’t think about that, until that day. One moment you were just being hired at Chicago Med as an ER nurse and the very next you were rushing into a police station -with a very sweet and handsome cop- signing the legal guardianship of your one-year-old sister.

Now a year later you were still working at Chicago Med, Emma was turning two next weekend and your relationship with Jay was going stronger than ever. You both had agreed to take it easy for the sake of the three of you -Emma being Jay’s major reason- Jay’s friends and family turned into yours and Emma’s, and you were over the moon to actually have people in your corner every now and then. Jay would often take Emma to the district while you worked, and Hank would usually entertain her -even to the extent of buying her toys to use while Jay worked-. Everyone turned into a big village.

Today was different, because when you went to pick Emma from the district, still wearing your nurse scrubs, you encountered a very familiar and not welcomed face. Your aunt Cristina -who was never around, who didn’t even come to your parents’ funeral-.

“Cristina, what are you doing here?” “I came to take Emma with me! You really didn’t think I would leave with you” right to the point, but that made you confused, Cristina never really had a connection nor communication with either Emma nor you, and she was crazy as hell if she thought that you would just hand you sister over to her -or anyone for that matter-.

“You’re still as crazy as I remember you” “Don’t call me crazy, you bitch….” she was interrupted by a voice you knew all to well.

“HEY, why don’t you repeat that to my face, huh?” Jay said walking the remaining stairs to stand in front of you and Cristina. “This doesn’t concern you, I’m here for Emma and I’m not leaving until I get her” that made Jay’s blood boil -no way in hell he was gonna let his little girl go with this woman-.

“Like hell you are” “What is going on here?” uh huh now she’s in trouble -momma Trudy is here- “Like I said, it doesn’t concern either of you, you hand Emma over” Cristina said pointing to you. To that Trudy took a step in between Jay and Cristina, standing toe to toe with her, with a very intimidating expression.

“You aren’t taking Emma anywhere. Y/N is her legal guardian she has full custody of Emma. Now. Get. Lost. Miss piggy” Trudy said in a very low and steady voice, you had to put your hand in front of your face to prevent the laughter from coming out in this serious moment. Because you had the worst timing when doing this -something Jay was trying to deal with at the moment- as he turned around to give you a “don’t you dare” look and smirking to you.

“She doesn’t even know how to take care of that girl, for God’s sakes. She’s 21 years old and dating an older guy, who is he anyway?” Cristina said throwing her hands around and looking to both sides. At this Jay spoke up,

“Me, and you can save the ignorant talk for some other time, now leave” Cristina was about to speak up when she noticed a group of people in the stairs -that lead to the intelligence unit’s bullpen- staring her down. With Emma in the middle of them as they formed a circle protecting the little girl in case Cristina was crazy enough to try and take a step towards Emma. But you knew she wouldn’t, because a very angry Voight was leading them. Huffing she left without another word to speak.

“You guys, okay?” Adam asked taking Emma’s hand to help her get down the stairs to you. “Yeah, thank you, guys, all of you” you responded while you watched Jay bend down to pick Emma up, who immediately wrapped her hands around his shoulders and buried her face in his neck. It was a sight for sore eyes -and a very attractive one to say the least-, no, stop Y/N you’re in public. Trudy then threw her arms around your shoulders, giving you a kiss in the side of the head, and turning back to her desk. The rest of you claimed the stairs back to the bullpen where Hank took Emma in his arms whispering jokes and making her giggle while walking to his office where they originally were coloring in a book before the whole show your aunt pulled.

“Thanks guys, again, I owe you big time” you said. “Is nothing, that’s what were here for” responded Hailey while the rest nodded. “It takes a village kid!” yep Hank was right it does take a village, but you were grateful that this was yours.

#jay halstead x y/n #jay halstead x you #jay halstead x reader #jay halstead #chicago pd imagines #one chicago fic #fan fiction #jay halstead fluff

[sanrielle]

First chapter now available on AO3 and FFN! Scroll down for a teaser...

Art by Nadiu!

Prologue

Year 200 AG

City lights sparkling in the night hid all evidence of the starry sky above, giving it a gray cast for the lone figure that stood on a hill overlooking the scene—a man in black, invisible to anyone who might be nearby.

He glanced over at the domed, golden building on the edge of the city, then at the statue of Avatar Aang. He felt nothing. There was only the mission. His brothers and sisters would be surrounding the city now, as well as the island in the middle of the bay.

Slowly the sky began to change as if the new dawn had come early. Dark gray gave way to burnt orange—a warm glow that made the energy surge inside him. Blood running hot. Euphoria.

They had said it would feel like this, but he found that words and expectations were not even remotely close to the real thing. And that feeling only grew stronger with every passing moment while the sky burned brighter and brighter. Soon a ball of fire appeared on the horizon. Pulling. Beckoning.

Beep beep beep beep

He reached over to the small device on his wrist and pushed a button to end the faintly irritating noise that pulled him out of his reverie. It was time. 

All was silent for a few seconds, then he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and focused all of his chi into his light chakra. It required intense concentration and a deep understanding of the world around him. A connection unlike any other.

He could feel his brothers and sisters in a ring around the city in the moments before the almost overwhelming energy erupted from his forehead in a blinding stream. It hurt. It hurt so much and felt so good. Relief and pain; they meant the same to him. Even through closed eyes, he could see the flash.

For exactly two seconds, the world was enveloped in total silence. He opened his eyes to see an expanding cloud of dust and debris and then—

BOOOOOOM

The shockwave reached his overlook unexpectedly and the ground vanished beneath his feet. Tumbling head over heels into oblivion, every sense overloaded. His breath was violently forced from his lungs as he reconnected with stone and earth. Bones crunched and shattered. It took a minute for the pain to register while he blinked in the dust, gasping.

A purple-golden light met his blurred gaze, like a bruise on fire. It was horrific—the shape of fear and hatred and desperation. He closed his eyes to block it out, and then he died.

Fourteen Years Later

Well, today was terrible. I can’t believe my parents are making me do these sessions and write in this stupid journal. So far it hasn’t helped at all. I’ve decided I’m just going to stop telling them about Yin. In a few weeks, I’ll tell them I’ve grown out of ‘that stuff’ and don’t need to do this anymore.

Mom and Dad were both working all day so I was on Lia duty and she was such a pain in the butt!! More than usual because she’s been cutting a new tooth. Spirits, I’m so sick of cleaning her up and cleaning up after her, especially now that she’s earthbending and making a mess of everything! Ugh, I never want any babies!! Ever!!

I yelled at Mom and Dad when they got home because I’m just so fed up with it. I mean, it’s not like I want to starve to death and I know they have to work but…it’s just not fair. I didn’t ask to have a sister. And I made the mistake of complaining that I don’t ever have time to go into the swamp to practice my firebending. Oops…

Needless to say, Mom’s furious and I’ve been banished to my room. Now I’m sitting here with nothing to do but write in this dumb journal. I just want to get out of this town! Two and a half more years (if I can even stand it for that long). But Dad promised to give me some money to get started on my own if I stay until I’m eighteen. So…I guess I’ll wait. I know they don’t want to lose their babysitter but, hey, if I’m gone they won’t have to buy food for me anymore, right? (I eat a lot!!!)

I’ve got a plan, though: I’m going to find the Avatar! I know, I know, it sounds like a dumb plan, but wouldn’t it be cool? If Avatar Korra is still alive and just imprisoned, then all I have to do is find her and then she can help us escape from wherever she is. If she died years ago, then I need to look for the new Avatar. Together we can figure out what’s going on with this bender plague or whatever it is. And then we can lock up all the blue sages and everything will be good again.

I never told anyone this before but I kinda used to wish I was the Avatar. But Gran said once that the new Avatar would be an earthbender, and I’m a firebender like my grandad-who-shall-not-be-named (seriously—I don’t even know his name). I always thought it would be so cool to be powerful and important. But…I guess it would be really stressful to have to give speeches and stuff all the time. And solve everyone’s problems and deal with the blue sages.

So now I think it would be better to be the Avatar’s sidekick: all the adventure and excitement without the responsibility. Of course, I’ll never get to do any of that if I’m stuck in this awful town forever!!

Anyway, I guess I don’t have anything else to say. Yay, I killed a whole ten minutes writing this… Time to sit here and do nothing until bedtime.

My life stinks!

Saph underlined the final word with such fierceness that it cut through the page, then she shut the leatherbound book with a snap and tossed it down to the foot of her bed. With an annoyed huff, she flopped over onto her stomach and smashed her face into the pillow to let out a frustrated groan.

It wasn’t unusual for her to think of a certain person when she was upset. Now was one of those times.

I wish you were here, Gran. You always knew the right things to say. You told me being a teenager would be hard but I had no idea just how hard. Why’d you have to go and die when I needed you the most??

She let herself cry, lying there face down like a corpse. Gran had always said it was okay to cry, that the tears were good for her skin. ‘You’ll come out of it feeling better—and glowing, to boot,’ she’d say, wiping Saph’s cheeks with her thumb.

That had been almost four years ago, only six months before she’d passed away. It felt like yesterday. Thinking of her, Saph drifted off into a deep sleep.

“I’m gonna be the best firebender in the world!” A much younger version of Saph jumped between the vines while she shot little spurts of fire from her fists. The flames were quickly extinguished by the heavy, humid air. 

“I don’t doubt it,” the old woman said. “But remember—it has to be a secret.”

“I know, Gran.” She stopped and turned her face up, pouting. “I don’t like it.”

“Neither do I. It’s just the way it is.” Her wrinkled hand lifted into the air and sent a spiral of mud around Saph’s small body, eliciting a shrieking giggle. “Don’t worry, you’ll learn other ways to firebend that won’t get you into trouble.”

“Boring ways! I wanna fight!”

“Come, sit down. My old bones are hurting from trying to walk through this place.” They got settled on a particularly thick vine, side by side. “Who do you want to fight, hm?”

“The blue sages! I hate them! I want them to go away!”

“Well… If you really want to change the world one day, remember this: It’s not as fun as it appears to be. Being a hero comes with a heavy price.”

BAM BAM BAM

“Saph, get up! Now! You’re gonna be late!”

“I’m up, I’m up!”

But she wasn’t. At the moment, she was still face down on her pillow. Tired. Sweating. Tears lingered in her eyes from the dream.

I miss you, Gran.

A minute or so later, she reluctantly pushed herself upright and wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. A mighty yawn made her jaw crack and pop painfully.

The door flew open and banged against the wall, revealing her mother and the screaming toddler in her arms. A stranger would’ve assumed the still-youthful woman was Saph’s older sister, and the child her niece rather than her baby sister. All three had the same black hair and blue eyes.

“If you want breakfast, you better be out here in the next thirty seconds!”

“You could try knocking!” Saph shot back. 

“I did knock! Multiple times!”

“But you can’t just barge in! What if I’d been naked?!”

“The horror!” Mara said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and walked away.

Saph finally got up, grumbling wordless complaints under her breath, and went out to the kitchen. A steaming skillet of scrambled eggs caught her attention immediately and she hurried over to fill her plate, the argument forgotten.

“Not so much,” Mara said, her tone gentler now but holding a distinct weariness. She shifted Lia to her other hip and tried to placate her with a wooden toy. “Your father hasn’t eaten yet. There’s some bread to fill you up a little more.”

The only response to her words was an audible growl from Saph’s stomach while she dejectedly put a little bit back in the skillet. It was the same every day. She’d grown like a weed in the last year, surpassing her petite mother in height, and there was never quite enough food for her.

Her dad emerged while she ate, planting a quick kiss on the top of her head before serving his own plate. Like Mara, he was far too young to have a teenage daughter, but there they were—a weird little family.

Saph noticed a folded piece of paper sticking out of his pocket right before he sat down at the table.

“Is that a letter?” she asked around a mouthful of food, thinking of the other person she considered family and who was due for a visit. “Is it from Nani??”

“It sure is,” Jojin said, green eyes smiling. “She’s coming this week and plans to stay for at least a month.”

“Yes!” Saph was instantly filled with eager excitement and shoveled the food into her mouth as if that would somehow make Nani come sooner. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mother frown. “Mom? What’s with the face?”

“Hm? …Oh, it’s nothing. I was just…thinking about my day. Trying to plan. Make sure you come straight home after your session because I have to work.”

“Hmph. If Lia tears up the floor again, it’s not my fault, okay?”

Mara was crouching to set her down and didn’t bother to turn around to respond. “I’ll fix it when I get home. Just make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.”

“And feed her and change her and entertain her and everything else…”

“We’re a family and we’ve all got to chip in,” Jojin said pointedly, though he softened it with a smile. “You don’t have to like it but you still gotta do it.”

Once her plate was empty—which was about ten seconds later—Saph was chivvied back into her room to get dressed. A small, dirty mirror sat atop her dresser and she looked into it with a sigh while she brushed her hair and hastily put it up. 

It wasn’t that she was ugly. Just…normal-looking. Her face still had the roundness of childhood and she was beginning to think it would always be that way.

She wanted to be beautiful. She wanted people to stop and look at her with awe and envy when she passed by. But most of all, she wanted to live in a world where such a thing wouldn’t be dangerous. Blending in was a blessing. She knew it well. And she hated it.

A few minutes later, she was practically shoved out the door.

‘You can’t miss any sessions,’ her mother had warned at the beginning of this tribulation, weeks ago. ‘It’s too expensive.’

Then why are you making me go in the first place?! Saph thought furiously for the umpteenth time as she walked through the muddy streets of Dao-Shu. The sprawling, ramshackle town on the edge of the swamp wasn’t exactly bustling, but there were enough people out and about to make her uncomfortable.

A blue sage with her signature tattooed forehead came around a corner and Saph flinched, giving her a wide berth. The inked third eye was eerily similar in color to her own blue eyes. It was deeply unsettling. But the woman paid her no mind and kept walking. 

Fortunately, Saph’s destination was the next house. She didn’t even need to knock; the door opened as soon as she approached the threshold.

“Good morning, Sapphire,” Yura said warmly as she stepped back to let her pass before closing the door. She had wild gray hair that was kinked into tight curls. Faint wrinkles on the corners of her eyes and around her mouth became more pronounced when she smiled. 

“It’s Saph.” How many times did she need to say it?

“Of course, my apologies. How are you today, Saph?”

“Okay.” She shrugged and awkwardly wrapped her arms around herself as if it would shield her from the upcoming conversation.

“Let’s sit down and have a cup of tea. And I know how much you liked those tea biscuits last time, so I made sure to make extra today!”

Honestly, the only reason Saph even put up with these sessions—however reluctantly—was for the snacks. Every little bit was appreciated.

“So,” Yura said once they were settled in the living room. It was a cozy space—small, but with a lived-in feel and enough decor to betray that it’s owner made a decent living. “How is your journaling going?”

Another shrug. She reached for a biscuit to dunk in her tea, which was far too hot to actually drink. “Okay, I guess.”

“And have you had any more dreams about Yin since we last talked?”

“Of course. I dream about her almost every night.” Saph paused with a pensive frown as an ache spread out through her chest. “Not last night, though. I– I dreamed about Gran, instead.”

“Mm. You must miss her.”

“I’m okay.” She wasn’t, but that was beside the point. It still felt so fresh some days, despite having been years.

“Do you want to talk about her?”

Saph considered the question. The last thing she wanted to do was get emotional and start crying, but… The only other option was to talk about Yin, which was the whole point of these sessions, yet not something she was eager to do, given the fact that—apparently—it was ‘unhealthy’ and ‘concerning’ for a teenager to have an ‘imaginary friend’.

She internally rolled her eyes at all the words used by the adults in her life, spoken in shadowy corners when they didn’t know they were being overheard. They would never understand.

When she didn’t answer, Yura said, “Why don’t we talk about Yin?” So predictable. “How about you tell me about your last dream about her?”

“It was the same as all the others. A large meadow with mountains all around. She was sitting in the grass and I sat across from her.” 

Saph tried hard to remain neutral. Simple descriptions only. It was so embarrassing, talking about Yin now that everyone was making a big deal about it. Before, she had happily gone on and on about her best friend—her only friend, really. All the silly little games had been met with support and enthusiasm because they kept her entertained. 

Not anymore. Now everyone just thought she was weird. 

“Have you ever seen her clearly?” Yura asked. “Or is she always hazy and vague when you dream of her?”

“Always the same. Like flames and smoke from a fire.” It was something that flowed from her mouth automatically, as often as she’d said it.

Yura looked at her silently for a few moments, a placid smile on her face. Saph really didn’t understand what the point of all this was. The woman had so far done nothing to make her feel better about anything in her life. She’d just asked questions, mostly.

“Fire…” she mused as if to herself. “I wonder if that’s significant. Subconsciously, I mean. You’re a firebender, after all. It’s no surprise that there might be a correlation in your mind.”

Whatever that means… “I guess.” 

“Do you think that the rumors these past several years of the sickness affecting benders might be connected in some way? Perhaps a latent worry manifesting? Some way for you to try and have some control over your life?”

At that, Saph scowled, not pleased by the implication that Yin was just a hallucination that she’d conjured. “No. Yin has always been there.”

Her stomach growled in the heavy silence that followed and she grabbed another handful of biscuits. She thought she caught a glimpse of something in Yura’s expression—a hint of consternation—before it was replaced once again by an amused smile.

“I bet you eat your parents out of house and home with an appetite like that,” she joked. 

“Yeah,” Saph agreed around a mouthful. “Dunno why they’re paying for this when they could’ve spent the money on food…”

The smile slipped once again and Yura fixed her with a penetrating gaze. “May I say something to you in confidence?”

“Okay…?”

There was a brief hesitation before she continued. “Your parents didn’t pay for these sessions.”

Saph swallowed hard, surprised by the admission. “Who– Who did? Nani?”

“No, it wasn’t her. A different woman, tall with black hair. She didn’t tell me her name.”

That didn’t make any sense to Saph whatsoever. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I just wanted you to know that you don’t need to choose between food and talking to me. It’s all taken care of.”

“But why wouldn’t my parents have told me?”

“I’m sure they have their reasons. Perhaps they were simply embarrassed.”

The rest of the hour passed slowly, Saph trying her best to pretend that she was fine and didn’t really need to be doing this. 

Yura was apparently unconvinced. “See you next week,” she said cheerfully, once it was over.

“Yeah. See ya.”

Despite her mother’s command, Saph didn’t go straight home. She was hungry and knew it would be hours until lunchtime, so she headed to the marketplace to steal a meat pie. It wasn’t difficult; she was well-practiced and the blue sages didn’t pay much attention to crime. The only problem was that she had to be careful not to do it too often in the same place or the sellers would start to recognize her.

With her hands in her pockets as she casually strolled past the cart, Saph ‘tripped’ and swiped the nearest pie as she fell.

“Hey, watch it!” the owner yelled, steadying his cart as it rocked from the slight impact.

“Sorry!” She quickly stashed pie and got up to run off, hiding a smile at her stealthiness.

She didn’t even make it around the corner.

“Nice try!” a booming voice said as it reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Saph yelped as she was jerked backward. Her heart began to pound furiously, feeling herself get wrapped up in a thick, muscled arm while the man’s other hand began rifling through her pockets.

He was so strong and squeezing so tightly against her neck. Black specks began to appear in her vision and panic set in.

Gotta…get…away… Reason was lost to her. She couldn’t breathe. The only thing in her mind was escape, at any cost. She brought her hand up to his forearm and let the chi flow. The heat was already built up within her, adrenaline pumping. It was so easy, really. Without thought, she released the energy and he growled in pain. It was enough for him to loosen his grip and let her wriggle away.

Run. Run, Saph. Just run!

But something caught her ankle and she hit the ground hard. There was no temperance left—no caution whatsoever—and she blindly rolled to spew fire from her palms in a desperate attempt to get away.

The shriek of pain from the man was far louder than the last one, drawing unwanted attention. Boots crunched in the gravel and Saph—still trying to get her bearings and grasp what had happened—found herself being hauled to her feet.

A burlap sack was shoved over her head as someone wrenched her arms behind her and tied them with coarse rope.

“Let me go!” she screamed, struggling in vain to free herself. “I didn’t mean it! I’m sorry! Please, let me go!” It was no use, though: She was well and truly trussed. Pure fear began to overwhelm her and tears spilled from her eyes. Why did I do it?? Why did I firebend?? 

Through her sobs, she tried to ask where they were taking her, but nothing resembling actual words made it out of her mouth. They were half-carrying, half-dragging her away to an unknown location.

She’d heard the stories. Her captor was a blue sage, she was almost certain—maybe even the one in the street earlier. Using bending to fight almost always resulted in a swift punishment if one of them happened to witness such a display, but it was rumored that the young ones were occasionally apprehended for some mysterious purpose.

Some told tales of being taken to a jail cell, questioned, roughed up, then released. Others said they had friends and family members who mysteriously vanished. Almost none got away unscathed.

I might never see Mom and Dad again… Or Lia… Or Nani… 

Thoughts of Yin swirled around her head as she felt herself being loaded up into a cart full of straw. Whoever they were and whatever they wanted, no one could take Yin away from her. She was only a dream away.

~~~~~

Read the rest of the chapter on AO3 or FFN!

#atla #lok #lok fanfic #daughters of mara #ao3

[eurydicees]

idk how I missed all of ur posts about the hq pacrim au until this morning??? but now that ive been exposed im so excited oh my god (I am Very Normal about both of these things)

anyway what does raptor three look like? is it just a crimson typhoon kinda setup? who works on her? (ik u said hanamaki and matsukawa were jaeger techs but these r big ol bots and I can't imagine those two work on All of them especially when they designed Blue Castle so they know her specifically in and out)

also kuroken k-sci division, pls tell me more about kuroken k-sci division🙏🙏🙏

oh my god SO sorry this took me a hundred years to get to! i got busy and lost track of this au…but it has been reborn in the form of my nanowrimo project LOL. you (and anyone/everyone) should continue to ask me about the pacific rim au please and thank you. so many things have changed since my first posts !!!!! 

also this ask did remind me that kuroken were going to be the scientists, which i had lowkey almost forgotten about when i restarted the fic on april 1, so ty ty ty for that. here’s some more about them and the jaegers under the cut ! 

kuroken: 

first off, they didn’t know each other before coming to work at the shatterdome together! the only people who knew each other before coming together in tokyo were iwaizumi and oikawa, the rest of the haikyuu characters involved have never met before. there will be no explanation for this

kenma was recruited in his first year of university because he was posting his theories and amateur research online and it caught the attention of people with resources who wanted to see if he could find anything if given access to more tech and info than his dorm room gamer setup 

turns out that yes, yes he can find things if given more resources. he’s the one who comes up with the theory about kaiju attack patterns and the increasing rate etc etc 

kuroo, for his part, became a researcher in the science dept after incessantly sending his findings to whoever he could get in contact with, knowing he was On To Something and needed resources to share it

kenma is one of the people he gave his research to (twitter besties!), and kenma invited him to the tokyo shatterdome to work together

turns out that working together is frustrating sometimes but they love nothing more than to constantly annoy each other <3 but they do respect each other’s work even if they don’t always agree on methods or conclusions 

ex. kuroo’s research was founded on samples he got from the black market; kenma’s research is all too theoretical for kuroo; etc etc 

daichi and suga’s jaeger 

so ngl i forgot that asahi was originally a part of this

he is not longer a part of this

rip raptor three

anyways daichi and suga now pilot a mark-3 together called raptor flight. i’m imagining something like saber athena, which is from uprising but who cares. i can do whatever i want 

most important features of raptor-2: fastest model to date, extremely acrobatic/dextrous/agile, equipped with ionic twinblades (she gets two swords <3 ) that can be synced/combined into one stronger weapon (are you seeing the references i am making. are you seeing them), and an n-16 particle charger (plasma cannon thing) 

i’ve decided that asahi is the main tech for raptor-2 (hey he’s still here! yay!). he was also the main designer and tech for daichi and his sister’s jaeger, ursa juliet, before his sister dies and the model is ripped apart 

daichi is on the right in both raptor-2 and ursa juliet; suga is on the left in raptor-2 

iwaoi’s jaeger

blue castle is going to be vaguely modeled after striker eureka 

trivia fun fact of the day: striker eureka was planned to be the main jaeger in the movie until they were like well actually this robot is too cold and arrogant appearing to be the hero robot. this is deeply funny to me and also why it is perfect for blue castle 

blue castle is a mark-2 and was an experimental design by two intern jaeger tech development scientists, hanamaki and matsukawa (who get promoted to active jaeger techs as soon as blue castle is successfully put into use) - as the years go on, this design becomes a pretty common basis to design off of for future models 

most important features: extremely strong, aerodynamic, stable, and agile, equipped with 4.211 brass knuckles (exactly what it sounds like) and assault mount 3.25 sting blades (two swords attached to arms), missile launcher mounted in the chest, and advanced displays in the conn-pod which allow them a 4-way view of their surroundings

also not unexpected, but worth saying: iwaizumi is on the left, oikawa on the right 

jaeger visuals

ok so i wrote all of that out and then i found the pacific rim: uprising jaeger design maker thingy online here and i decided i’m bored enough to do that actually. these aren’t , like, exactly what i’m imagining, so kinda mush together the canon jaeger references with these generated images lol. i’m gonna try so hard to describe them in the fic. we’ll see how that goes. 

anyways, blue castle to the left and raptor-2 on the right! and below is striker eureka to the left and saber athena to the right. anyways i’m having SO much fun with this jaeger generator from 2018 lmfao can you tell 

overall. aaaaaa.

im so excited to be coming back to this. anyways more in my #hq pacrim au tag (though much of that is outdated) or eventually also in my #april nano 2024 tag !!!! and pls pls pls come talk to me about it !!!!!

#ask #hq pacrim au #april nano 2024

[nerd-chocolate]

So I decided to make some angsty headcanons because it was originally for bit of revenge but then I had fun with them and now I want to show them to the world. Also I would like to thank @aganyan (who was the reason I made these) and @jespers-rambling for some of these headcanons. Now enjoy The Austins ( @artzychic27 ) angsty headcanons!

Austin Q:

The reason Q hates André and his ice cream is because he got his heart broken by the same person that Andre predicted through his ice cream. He started resisting Andre to the point where he hopes André’s Ice Cream Vendor shuts down forever.

Once in kindergarten, someone put a fake scorpion in his favorite lunch once and Austin has been afraid of scorpions ever since.

He used to have a necklace that his late grandpa gave to him before he died but lost it, thanks to some kid stealing it. He never saw that necklace again and felt like he made his grandpa disappoint and never let himself down because of it.

He felt like no matter what he does, he thinks his brother will always be better than him at it. So he does everything in his to one up his brother even if it means hurting himself, getting into trouble, or others to do it

Austin A:

He has tons of allergies including one with tomatoes. So he has to make sure he isn’t eating or near it so he won’t have a painful reaction to it.

The reason he hates being called ugly so much is because of his mom. One night, his mom comes home one night, a little drunk since she was out with some friends of hers. He was feeling a bit down since some of his classmates were picking on him because of his gap tooth . When he tried to seek some comfort from his mom but since she was a bit drunk, she called him ugly and said he should try to cover his gap tooth. From that moment on, he always worried about his looks and tried to look beautiful even if he didn't believe it.

So when he was little, he asked his mom if he could get his gap tooth closed. She wasn’t paying attention at the time, so she said yes and took him to get his gap tooth closed. A part of him regrets that his gap tooth closed but another part of him thinks it was worth it so he wouldn’t be ugly to himself and mom.

Austin was bullied for being “weaker” than most of his peers so to appear as stronger, he started bullying others to make him feel stronger and better about himself. A small (and like a really small part of him) regret doing it.

Austin B:

The reason he is afraid of thunderstorms is because one night when he was a kid, neither of his parents were home respectively (his mom having affairs and his dad doing some illegal shit). The thunderstorms made a loud bang that made lightning, which hit a tree and caught on fire it almost hit the window of his bedroom. He got scared and tried to find his mom. Calling out for her but couldn’t find her. So he was all alone and only Elizabeth, his cat, comforted him though the scary night.

Austin got a scar on the right side of his arm because he was playing in his dad’s office and broke something that his sister gave him. His dad was so mad that he got a glass shard and scratched him with it out of rage. Austin learned one time from that moment and it never made his dad mad.

He used to love clowns until he saw one kill someone for their money. He never told anyone because he was petrified with fear. It is the reason he is afraid of clowns, well other than their creepy makeup.

He sometimes wishes he had a different family because his family is fuck up in so many places. He always wondered what would be different if he had a different life with a good family.

Austin T:

Austin had a childhood crush on Austin Q since Q was his first friend and he was always protecting him from the bullies. But every time he thinks about it, he ends up hating it because well Q is an asshole nowadays. Even have some dreams about that memory.

One time during picture day, someone poured actual vomit on him which made him not only feel disgusted but almost made him throw up as well. He hated vomit ever since.

Even after breaking up his friendship with the other Austins, he still misses them. Sure they’re complete assholes not only to others but to him especially. But they’re friends for the longest time and he wishes that wasn’t the case and they were still friends. But he isn’t too sure about that happening anytime soon.

He is super envious of people sometimes. Like having good friendships and not picking on by them. He just sometimes wants to take it himself but realizes that isn't a healthy mindset to have.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #miraculous ocs #the austins #💖💙💛💚 #angst headcanon #angst headcanons

[merv606]

The Mr. Miyagi’s room scene.

We know Daniel doesn’t deal with anything - doesn’t process it, but this really hammers that fact home.

“Amanda I don’t go in there”

Not - you know I don’t go in there or Amanda I don’t go in there, you know that.

A blunt statement / absolute almost.

He doesn’t go in there and that’s a given - everyone probably knows that - she does.

It’s like a time capsule in here / yeah because I’m willing to bet time stopped for you when Mr. Miyagi died and didn’t ever flow properly after.

Grief distorts everything it touches and nothing ever works quite the same after, does it.

No matter how much we learn to go through the motions.

Meanwhile he hasn’t dealt with anything really - not his issues from his past or Miyagi’s death. He pushed it down and away from him / the safest thing to do because he needs to be strong for his mother and miyagi and then his family.

But the worst part is he thinks he has dealt with it / and made peace with it - probably convinced himself he was fine, but he wasn’t and hasn’t been.

Probably why cobra Kai returning was so jarring and caused him to do some things he did.

What was it he said to Kumiko?! Felt like I he had no tether and is just spinning with no answers while everyone looks to him to know what to do?

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. There is something very draining about being the one to always bear responsibility and take on that which no one else wants to do. To always be expected to do the right thing while being mocked for it.

The sad thing about Daniel is his suffering is that it isn’t obvious - oh he has the perfect life / loving family (gorgeous wife the two kids) and is successful and as such any problems he has have always been pushed aside.

But the man is hanging by a Thread - literally held together with bits of outdated glue.

And Terry silver comes along and grabs that sting / a string that I swear is connected to his own.

Becasue make no mistake Terry and Daniel are similar in some regards.

Both capable of such violence and anger …… lying restrained under their surface, both just needing the right circumstances (or excuse in Terry’s case) to bust free.

Difference is one uses that violence to do what is right - to right a wrong or vanquish evil - one uses it for fun and to ensure he gets what he wants - a means to his own end.

Their anger is also different - Daniel’s is more quick to burn and fizzles out almost as quickly as it started, and causes him instant regret after. This I believe ties into why he’s so willing to forgive when apologies are given.

Terry’s is like a slow burn - he enjoys it, until he’s tipped too far and then it’s a blazing fire that can’t be put out, consuming himself and anyone in it’s path.

The thing is also, Daniel knows when to stop - when to pull back - when to not let it get to far / Terry not so much.

So two men (similar in some regards but still different in those similarities nonetheless) held together by bits and pieces but to the outside world completely whole and normal; they have it all.

Does Daniel see parts of himself reflected back and doesn’t like it and same for Terry, but in his case does he see what could have been.

Neither would probably like the implications.

Cobra Kai - what it represents, what is did to him, what it is capable of doing - gets under Daniel’s skin but Terry the individual gets under his skin in another totally different way.

Terry comes back and Daniel spirals the worst we’ve seen and it briefly causes him the loss of his family.

Like Amanda said he got in his head in a way she didn’t think was possible.

What he learned under Terry allowed his defeat (finishing off with the first move Miyagi taught him / the roots Miyagi helped him plant are still there and stronger than ever) and we know that although Terry tried to break him / and he brought him to the brink - he never gave in. Didn’t then and didn’t now.

Daniel benefitted from his time under Terry - what it cost him though, was almost everything.

#daniel larusso #cobra kai #terry silver #the karate kid #the karate kid 3

[timaeusterrored]

(Meet the Kane Twins)

“Linder?”

V calmly looked up at his sister, saying nothing. An easy scan would tell anyone that V’s full name was Vax Eurodyne-Linder. A simple look at the dog tags around his neck would tell people it probably wasn’t V’s last name. But not everyone was that observant, Vex was though.

“Yeah?” V said slowly, fixing a bracelet around his wrist. She knew the bare minimum of the engram situation, and knew it was over and V was healing. And Kerry said if he was fixing himself for his family, V had to do the same for Vex and Victoria. And Vax agreed. Now he was here.

“Who’s Robert-“

“Johnny.” Fuck.

“Johnny? As in Johnny Silverhand?” Okay now she was looking at V like he had lost his damn mind. And he probably had. Johnny wasn’t technically married to them, but Kerry and V still wanted his name at the end of theirs.

“Okay listen. We aren’t married, Ker and I just.. he means the world to us, V.. we couldn’t not have him involved. And he’s cool with it.”

“He almost killed you! And nuked Arasaka-“

“Like 56 years ago!” V groaned, standing up.

“So what? You’re married to Kerry Eurodyne and dating Johnny Silverhand?” Vex asked, standing with him. Her heels made her almost taller than he was.

“Yes. And I’m happy. Nothing else matters.” V knew this was going to be a fight. Everything was with these two. She was too protective over V and V was too protective over her, and they both rarely saw eye to eye.

“If they hurt you-“

“Hurt me? Kerry fucking saved me from your stupid space station. I was unresponsive for two months after!” That wasn’t fair. Vex didn’t work for Arasaka anymore, she was a merc now. But still, V hated when people questioned Kerry.

“And Johnny.. it was complicated.. but now we are together.”

“And a little codependent?” Vex asked, crossing her arms. V huffed, that was fair. He, Johnny, and Kerry were rarely seen without each other now. V and Johnny’s shared emotions made their feelings for Kerry about ten times stronger, and they wanted him around them constantly.

“Okay maybe. But you weren’t there.”

“You didn’t let me be there. I didn’t know what was happening until you went to fucking space. And then went quiet for six months up there. Then I get a call from Judy Àlvarez saying you were presumed dead! Then a call from Vik saying you were safe but not talking to anyone, not even Kerry. Others called me. Not you. Oh and I’m just supposed to find out my brother is dating Kerry Fucking Eurodyne from his friends and the screamsheets?”

V swallowed the lump in his throat, because he knew his actions hurt Vex just as much as hers hurt him. God they were awful at this whole family thing.

“..I’m sorry.” V said softly, making Vex stare at him.

“You’re what?” She asked, because V never fucking apologizes.

“I’m sorry. For being an asshole.”

“You could have died, Vax. And I would have had to find out from Vik. I could have fucking lost you. You’re always gonna be an asshole but you’re my asshole brother. I know we don’t get along but I would have hopped you’d call me. And tell me you were sick.” Vex said softly, her arms crossed defensively over her chest.

“I know.. I should have said something but.. there was so much going on and everyone was just.. I needed to do things before it got worse.”

“You needed to become a legend before you died. Yeah, Vik mentioned that too.” She said softly, her hurt evident as she walked away, her heels clicking against marble floors as she left the mansion.

#family dramaaaa #also they are in the sun ending mansion bc I like it and fuck canon #cyberpunk 2077 #street kid v #cyberpunk streetkid #Vex and Vax Kane #vax eurodyne #vex kane #corpo v #cyberpunk corpo #male v cyberpunk #cyberpunk v #male v #cyberpunk female v #female v #kerry eurodyne #cyberpunk kerry #kerry x v #kerry eurodyne x v #kerry #ker x v #johnny silverhand #kerry eurodyne x male v #cyberpunk johnny #kerry x male v #silverdyne #silvervdyne

[takigawa]

Message from the actor Keanu Reeves (translated back to English from Japanese version of his message, so the words are probably different but you get the sense of what he wants to say.) We are so caught up in the daily grind that we forget to look at the beauty in life. We live like zombies. Look up and take off your headphones. Say hello to someone whose eyes meet yours or give a hug to someone who looks like they are having a hard time. Help someone. Live each day as if it is the last day of your life. A few years ago I was depressed but never told anyone else so no one knew about this and I had to find my own way out of depression. The only thing that was preventing me from being happy was myself. Now, each day is precious, so live each day as a precious day. There is no guarantee that there will be a tomorrow, so live today! Most people know me, but they do not know about my life. When I was three years old, I watched my father leave home. I went to four different schools for high school, but struggled more than most others because of my dyslexia, making it more difficult for me to get an education. When I was 23, my closest friend, River Phoenix, died of a drug overdose. In 1998 I met Jennifer Sime and we fell in love with each other at first sight. In 1999, Jennifer became pregnant with a girl. Sadly, however, eight months later our child was stillborn. Her death left us both too terribly discouraged and this ultimately ended our relationship. Eighteen months later, Jennifer died in a car accident. After that, I began to avoid serious relationships and having children. My sister had leukemia, but she is cured now. I donated 70% of my earnings from the Matrix series of films to a hospital that treats leukemia patients. I am probably the only Hollywood star who does not live in a mansion. I don't have a bodyguard and I don't wear expensive clothes. I am a star worth $100 million (¥10 billion), and I still ride the subway, and I love it! In the end, I think we can all agree that great people can live powerfully in the midst of any dire situation. Whatever is happening in your life, you can get through it! Life is worth living. You are who you are today because of all that you have struggled through in your life. Times of hardship only make you stronger, so be thankful for those times. My friend's mother has eaten healthy throughout her life. She never consumed alcohol or "bad" foods, exercised daily, was very flexible, very active, took all the supplements her doctor recommended, always wore sunscreen when in the sun, and spent as little time in the sun as possible. I was very active. In short, she took her health as far as anyone could think of. But now, at age 76, she has cancer, bone marrow cancer, and very serious osteoporosis. On the other hand, my friend's father ate tons of bacon, butter, and fat, never really exercised, tanned himself until he was bright red every summer, and lived life to the fullest without listening to anyone else's instructions. He is 81 years old and, according to his doctor, his health is at the level of a young man. You can never completely escape poison. Poison is everywhere and will not miss you. The mother of a friend of mine who is still alive said, "If my life was going to end like this, I would have done all the things I was told not to do and chosen to enjoy life more!” No one is alive when they leave this world, so please stop treating yourself with too much seriousness. Eat good food. Walk in the sun. Dive into the ocean. The truth is that you carry your heart like a hidden treasure. Do silly things. Live gently. There is no time in life for anything else. I was raised to show respect. I was taught to knock before I opened the door. When you enter a room. Greet them. Please and thank you. please and thank you. I was taught to be respectful to those who were older than me. If I am sitting in a seat and someone else needs a seat, I will give it up. If someone needs help, I don't just stand there and watch, I offer my hand. Hold the door for someone coming in behind you and say "Excuse me" when necessary. I love people not because of what I can get out of them, but because of who they are. Most importantly, you were raised to treat others the way you would want to be treated by others. That is respect. If you were raised the same way, please share this with us! It doesn't matter how big your house is, how nice your car looks, or how much money you have in your bank account. Our graves are all the same. Let us continue to live humbly.

#keanu reeves #life #message