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hailsatanacab · 4 months

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Family Dinners - dpxdc

"Holy shit, you're Bruce Wayne!" Danny gaped, jabbing a finger at the man sitting at the head of the table.

The bustling dining room goes silent as everyone turns to look at him.

"Danny, who did you think was going to be here?" Tim asks, disbelief plain in his voice and Danny feels his face flush red.

"Sorry, I, uh, I guess I just never put it together. Tim Drake-Wayne. Wayne Manor. It, uh, makes sense now." He laughs sheepishly and scrubs at his neck before slumping back down into his chair.

"Well," Tim says with an indulgent sigh, "at least I know you're not just friends with me for my connections."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry, I just never thought about it, I guess."

Danny sinks lower as everyone around him laughs. Come to dinner, he said, the food is the best, he said, ignore the family, he said. Danny really wishes he'd listened to Tim and just ignored them—almost as much as he's regretting accepting the offer in the first place—but... he's having dinner with Batman.

Ancients, that's so weird!

The last time he saw Batman was in the future and, suffice it to say, it was not going well. There hadn't really been time for family dinners there.

Wait. Family dinners?

He peers around the table, openly gawking at everyone as it all clicks into place.

"Everything alright, Danny? Now realising who everyone else is?" Tim asks with a roll of his eyes.

"Uh... something like that..." Danny mumbles as everyone laughs again.

From further down the table, the smallest Wayne scoffs and clicks his tongue.

"I thought you said he was smart, Drake?"

"So, you all do it, too, then?" he asks, ignoring the jibe. Danny's only a little bit jealous as he thinks of how much easier they must have it, how much easier it'd be if his family had been on his side, too. "You all work together?"

"Nah," Dick says from across the table with a brilliant grin. "Tim's the only one that works with Bruce, we all have different jobs. I'm a police officer in Bludhaven."

"Disgusting." Danny blurts out without thinking—because seriously, what kind of self-respecting vigilante would also be a police officer?—before clapping a hand over his mouth. "Sorry."

The whole table laughs again, the loudest being the blonde girl a few spaces down from Dick. Look, Danny wasn't really paying attention to names when they were all paraded in front of him. Dick only gets remembered because his name is a joke.

Come on, Danny, recover!

"That's, uh, not what I meant, though."

"Oh?" Dick asks, cocking his head slightly to the side. Is it Danny's imagination or does his smile tense slightly?

"Yeah, I mean like, you know, in costume. It must make it so much easier to have everyone together like this."

"Costume? What do you mean?"

Yeah, Danny's not imagining it, everyone tenses up at that. It's really only now that he's realising that this probably isn't how he should bring up that he knows about their... night time activities. In fact, he probably shouldn't be bringing it up at all.

"Uuhhh..." Danny looks wildly around the table as he continues making his stupid noise. Think, think, think! There must be a way out of this!

"Danny?" Tim asks, looking concerned.

"Oh, Ancients, this isn't how I wanted it to go at all," he mutters, slipping even further into his chair. He's almost on the floor now and he so, so wishes it could just swallow him up.

His real first meeting with Batman was meant to be cool! He had planned to be Phantom, maybe save them from a tight spot, prove his worth as a mysterious and powerful ally as thanks for the help Batman gave him in the future.

"Danny, what are you talking about?" Tim starts tugging on his sleeve in an attempt to pull him back up from his pit of despair.

Eventually, Danny relents and sits up straighter, hiding his face in his hands and whining all the while.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't expect him to be here and it threw me off so now I look stupid and it's so embarrassing!" he wails, flailing his arms wide. "Why wouldn't you warn me that Batman was your adopted dad, Tim? Couldn't you have let me know?"

"I'm sorry, what? Danny are you alright? There's no way Bruce can be Batman, look at him!"

"Yeah," the blonde girl laughs from the bottom of the table, "look at him! That's a wet noodle of a man! Batman can actually do things, B is incapable of pretty much everything."

"Thank you, Stephanie," Bruce sighs, massaging his forehead.

It's... Those are the first words Danny's heard Batman say since everything went down and it's enough to knock him out of his embarrassment.

It's really good to hear his voice again. Especially now, when it's strong and healthy and full of personality—even if that personality is little more than a tired father right now—far better than how it had been, at the end.

Danny sits up, back straight, and grins. He's got this. He remembers it perfectly. Some people count sheep to fall asleep, Danny repeats his mantra to be certain that he'll never forget it.

"Gamma alpha upsilon tau iota mu epsilon, 42, 63, 28, 1 colon 65 dash 9."

Once again, the whole table falls into silence.

"Holy shit..." breathes the other D name (Duke? Danny's pretty sure he's Signal) from opposite Stephanie. "Isn't that...?"

"The time travelling code." The littlest Wayne says stiffly. "We have met in the future?"

"That's not just the time travelling code, Dami." Dick says, looking between Danny and Bruce. "That's the family time travelling code."

Danny's grin freezes in place.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"1 colon 65 dash 9." Dick explains, still flicking between him and Bruce. "It means you've been adopted into the family and we should all treat you as such, no questions asked."

"Tell you what, I'm about to ask a question." Danny says, dumbstruck. "You just told me it was a code to identify time travellers, not anything about being adopted! What the hell, B?"

Bruce looks about as shellshocked as Danny feels.

"We must have been close," he says finally, after opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water a few times.

"No! Not that close!" Danny reels back, taking a deep breath ready to refute it all, but... "Well, I mean, you found me when I first got stuck, and you helped me get better despite being... And then we fought together against the, uh, bad guy, before he, um, he... before you couldn't."

An uncomfortable beat passes while they all pick up on what Danny tried so hard not to say.

"So, you're not from the future, then, you travelled there and came back?" Tim asks, breaking the tension and leaning forward with a glint in his eye.

"Yeah, it was a whole end of the world thing, but don't worry about it," Danny says with a hand wave, "It's all kosher now, won't ever happen."

"What did happen?"

"Seriously, don't worry about it, we cool."

"How long in the future was it?"

"About ten years? You were pretty spry for an old man, B," Danny laughs, wishing they'd get off the topic of what happened and get back to the adoption bit.

Everyone shares degrees of a cautious smile as they relax out of the shock, and Dick—whose grin is the biggest—says, "No wonder you got the family code, you're already riffing on him like one of us. How long were you there for?"

"A week, before I managed to get back to my present and stop him then."

"A week? Jeez, B, that has to set some kind of record, seriously."

"Oh!" Danny says, sitting bolt upright and blinking in surprise before pointing at Dick and bouncing in his seat. "You're Nightwing!"

"What?"

"That's exactly what Nightwing said when Batman told me the code! Makes so much more sense now."

Dick laughs and claps his hands, delighted.

"You were not formally adopted?" The grumpy small one—Dami?—asks, his face pinched.

"I didn't even know I was informally adopted."

"And your parents? Are they alive or dead?"

"Damian, stop—"

"They were dead in the future, but they're alive now." Danny says, looking down. He fiddles with the tablecloth, twisting the fabric around his fingers as he fights down the pang of sadness that he always feels when he thinks of them now. He forces a bright smile on his face and hopes it doesn’t look too strained. "I just, uh, can't talk to them much, anymore."

"Damian," Dick warns, "1 colon 65 dash 9. Treat them as family, no questions asked."

"This is Damian treating him as family, the little turd has no manners." Tim scoffs, rolling his eyes, but he gently bumps shoulders with Danny to knock him out of his funk. Danny can't help but send him a watery smile.

"I have the most exemplary manners, Drake, unlike some people." Damian spits, crossing his arms with a pout. "I was merely ascertaining his status to see how he could possibly fit into the family."

"I know this is all a bit sudden, Danny," Bruce smiles, ignoring Damian and reaching out to lay a warm hand on his arm, "for all of us. But if I felt strongly enough to give you that code after spending a week with you in the future, then you are more than welcome in this family, if you so choose it. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we'd like to get to know you a bit more."

"I know a threat when I hear it, Bruce." Danny snorts. "But, yeah, I get it. I'm sorry this is all so weird, it really wasn't how I wanted to find you again, but... I'm glad I did."

"So are we, Danny." Dick says, with a warm smile. "And formally or not, 1 colon 65 dash 9 means you're family. Welcome to the fun house! No take backs or refunds, sorry. You're stuck with us."

#dpxdc #dcxdp #dc x dp #dp x dc crossover #batpham #hailsatanacrab🦀🦀writes #look. this has been in my mind for so long guys so long - and idk if its canon that the batfam have codes for time travel situations or what #but i feel like ive seen it before and if its not canon it should be #so here - how i think that would be funny to go down #i have so many thoughts about TUE and its place in a dpxdc crossover like holy shit there's so many ways it can go!!#i have another wip in the works thats kinda similar to this but with superman and i cannot wait to work on it again #there are so many ways i wanted this to go but i just couldnt get there - i wanted to keep it on the shorter side but like #perhaps ill have to expand #i just love the idea that like. theres a stranger at your table who knows you and knows you well. who knows the secret that youd die to keep #there's a stranger at your table and he says something and you know he's family. you know you're strangers but now...#now you have to be something more #oh man theres so many juicy ways it can go and I KNOW I DID NONE OF THEM #i want to write this whole plot again and make it angstier #(me with everything)#anyway! sorry love you all hope you enjoy it!!

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beescake · 3 months

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Is Solkat the last two braincells in your brain or something/pos

yeas

stupid crush

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bucketsofmonsters · 2 years

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Willing Sacrifice

cw: vaginal fingering, penetrative sex, an attempted sacrifice of the reader, non-human genetalia, getting lost in the woods, a monster in heat

male monster x fem reader

Word count: 9k

“You can’t do this to me!” you screamed, knowing it was pointless but too full of anger to care.

“I’m sorry, my dear, it has to be done.” The people you used to call friends tightened your bindings as you struggled and thrashed against them, refusing to go down without a fight.

“It doesn’t!” you protested, unable to understand how they could be alright with doing this. “We can fight or move or anything, I don’t know, anything but this!”

It was futile. As they hurried away, eager to get far away from you and forget about your cries of protest, you wondered how long ago they’d decided on this. When had they decided that you were the one they would sacrifice.

In all honesty, it had probably been a long time ago. It was probably because of exactly this kind of behavior, you absolutely refusing to let this go on. You’d never been alright with any of this, with how they sent people into the forest to die in an attempt to save their own hides. If you’d kept your head down 5 years ago, the last time they’d tried this, odds were you’d be safe at home right now but you hadn’t. You hadn’t been able to stomach it, wracked with grief until you could stand it no longer.

In the middle of the night, praying you were not too late, you ran to this exact stone and removed the restraints, telling the poor girl a few years older than you were now to run to a nearby village and never turn back. They probably wouldn’t even have noticed you’d freed her if they hadn’t caught you on your way back. It didn’t take long to piece it together, your guilty face running from those woods. You’d been kept on a tight leash since then.

For every person that died in those 5 years, every single one, the blame was placed squarely on your back. “Was it worth it?" they’d ask, “All these souls for one person?”

You said yes every time.

And now here you were, after every attempt to get out had failed. You had no real hope that you’d survive this, the odds that there was another quiet savior in your village was nonexistent. You were alone. It was kind of fitting, that you were going to die in the forest that you loved so much, sacrificed to the beast that lived within it.

Every time you heard movement in the trees your memories flashed back to all the horror stories you’d been told about the monster in these woods, how it would tear people limb from limb, leave their bones for people to find.

The further on the night ticked, the less jumpy you got. After hours and hours had passed, the cold and the restraints digging into your skin making your limbs go numb became harder and harder to ignore. One can only wait in terrified apprehension for so long before even the fear becomes monotonous.

You wiggled as much as you could, trying to get blood flow back into your arms and legs. At this rate, even if the creature didn’t kill you, you’d lose your limbs by the end of this. Not that you thought there was any real chance you’d make it out but it was better than just waiting.

As you moved your arms the few inches that you could, you heard something move behind you and you were almost certain that this time, it wasn’t just your imagination. As much as you struggled, you couldn’t turn enough to see what it was, left completely in the dark. However, the deep, echoing footsteps gave you a pretty good guess at what was coming.

You took a deep breath, promising yourself you wouldn’t scream. If you were going to die here, you might as well do it with dignity.

A short huff came from behind you and you could feel hot breath wash over you, making your skin crawl. The air shifted as it moved closer, and you desperately tried to flinch away, despite knowing you couldn’t move.

And then, all of a sudden, you could. Your restraints were ripped open, freeing your arms first and then your legs. You didn’t even take the time to think, immediately throwing yourself from the rock you’d been tied to, desperate to get away. You assumed this was what it wanted, for you to give it a chase, but what other option did you have? You certainly weren’t going to just lay down and die.

As you pushed yourself from the rock, the gravity of the situation set in as your numb and strained arms and legs gave out on you. You collapsed to the ground unceremoniously, letting out a desperate sob as you realized you wouldn’t even be able to attempt an escape. You lay there, crumpled on the ground, racking your brain for anything you could do. So much for going out with dignity.

“Are you an idiot?” The voice that came from behind you was deep, barely above a growl, with something deeply animalistic to it. It set off some instinctual fear in you; the sound alone being enough to make the hairs on your arms stand on end.

You tried to pull yourself back but your traitorous arms and legs wouldn’t allow for it, barely managing to turn yourself enough to see the creature. He was massive, probably seven or eight feet tall, it was hard to tell from the ground. He was standing on two feet, which aided his height. You’d always imagined the beast of these woods on all fours, more animalistic and unspeaking than this. Thick fur covered him head to toe, he looked almost wolfish, with ivory antlers growing out of his head.

Your heart told you to scream and your head told you to try and reason with him but all you managed to blurt out was, “You can talk?”

He plodded over to you, familiar, echoing footsteps approaching you before picking you up from the ground like you weighed nothing. You could feel his sharp claws, not piercing your skin put pressed up against you as he lifted you. You quietly made your peace with your imminent death before he plopped you down again, leaning you against the stone you’d been tied to.

“At least gather your bearings before you try and run again, little idiot.”

No matter how much you tried to calm yourself, your breaths were still coming short and fast. At this rate, even if you could stand you would pass out if you tried to run anywhere, you needed to pull yourself together, as difficult as that was in the presence of a figure you’d had nightmares about for years.

“Is that what you want? For me to give you a chase?” you spat in his direction, trying to sound as frightening as you could while unable to stand properly.

He didn’t even dignify you with a response to your question, which angered you even more. If he was going to kill you, the least he could do was not ignore you first. He glared at you accusationally, as if he had any right to be angry, and snarled, “After the last one wasn’t here, I thought maybe your stupid village was done but you never fail to disappoint me.”

“After the last… I freed her.” You assumed he was talking about his missing sacrifice, the one you’d worked so hard to save at the cost of your own life. You sat up a little straighter at that, proud you’d be able to tell him that you had taken one sacrifice away from him, even if you did end up here yourself. At least you’d have that, a small victory but one you were proud of nonetheless.

His head cocked to the side, looking at you with a newfound interest, actually responding to your words for the first time. “You freed her?”

“To save her from you,” you spat. You could barely look at him, knowing the blood of your friends was on his hands. The only reason you forced yourself to look was to watch his reaction to your little victory. He didn't seem angry, though, more intrigued than anything, if you were reading his face correctly. You dismissed it, you probably just weren’t understanding him properly, you weren’t accustomed to reading wolf-men’s faces anyways.

“Your friends did not need saving from me. Despite what you little parasites seem to think, I have no interest in you, as sacrifices or otherwise.”

You shook your head. “No, that’s not possible, you killed them!”

“That is what you all think, isn’t it. Every death is blamed on me, every attack by a wild creature. You send your own to die here, by my hand, and yet I’m the monster. I’ve done nothing to you but exist near your home.”

That couldn’t be true, this must be some sort of trick or game he was playing with you. “You expect me to believe you?”

He scoffed. “I don’t expect a human to believe anything but their own self-centered worldview.”

“Where are they then?” you shot back, trying to force him to admit to his lie. “Where are all my friends?”

“Do you think they wanted to go back to a people who would send them to die so readily?”

That gave you pause. If you survived this, where would you go? Not home, you knew that much. You would never go back there. Not after what they’d done to you. Why would the others feel any different?

“Are they really alive,” you asked, wincing as your voice cracked, sounding much more pathetic than you’d intended.

The creature’s demeanor softened at your words and you hated him for it, hated the wave of pity you felt from him. You much preferred when he was calling you an idiot, at least you’d felt like his equal then.

“They’re fine,” he said, his voice more level than before, more like a low growl than a roar. “They’ve all moved on, gone elsewhere. You will too, when you remember how to stand.”

Was that where you’d go? Some town somewhere, filled with more people. A village like yours, one you’d have to hope would treat you better. Surround yourself with people who could betray you just as easily? The idea turned your stomach. You didn’t belong there. There was nowhere you belonged now. “There’s no place for me. I’ll stay here.”

The more gentle demeanor the creature had put on for you evaporated. “You will do no such thing, if you stay you’ll die.”

“Because you’ll kill me?”

You could practically feel his frustration. “No, I’m not going to kill you, get that through your thick skull. You won’t survive alone in these woods.”

“There’s no place for me amongst people anymore. I love this forest, if it kills me so be it, I’m not leaving.”

He looked you up and down and you couldn’t help but shrink under his intense gaze. Finally, he broke the silence once more. “You’re really not going to leave, are you?”

You shook your head, already adamant in your position. He buried his head in his hands, clearly frustrated with your decision

After a frustrated growl left his throat, he looked down at you once again and said, “Fine, I’ll show you somewhere you can stay.”

You reeled back. “You’re going to help me?”

“I already told you, I don’t want you dead. It’s just somewhere to protect you from the elements, it’s nothing much. Can you walk yet or do I need to carry you?”

You absolutely would not be allowing that to happen. You began to rise and he shifted closer to you. You realized that he was preparing to catch you if you fell, which only made you more determined to stand. You managed it, although on shaky legs and while leaning on the rock you’d come to hate more than anything in the past few hours.

He seemed to accept that you were able to walk now, despite a few fumbles as you began, your legs slowly regaining feeling, although he never strayed too far from you and you got the distinct feeling he wasn’t sure if you would keel over or not.

He led you to a cave, not far from where you’d been tied up. It was small, he had to duck a little to ensure his antlers didn’t scrape the ceiling, but he was right. It would protect you from the elements, at least that was something. As soon as you entered he was already leaving, clearly not eager to stick around and chat.

You weren’t entirely sure why him leaving upset you. You’d just met the terrifying creature, the one who’d haunted you for so many years, and yet so quickly he had turned to some kind of comfort for you. Without him there, the silence of the forest felt overwhelming.

You laid down on the cold, stone ground, as far from the entrance of the cave as you could get. You weren’t sure how you were going to sleep here but you definitely needed it, emotionally and physically exhausted from the night you’d had. You didn’t need to worry, despite your concerns about being able to fall asleep on the hard ground, your exhaustion rapidly took over.

When you woke up, something heavy was draped across you and you sat up in a panic, feeling smothered. As you got up, you realized it was a fur of some kind, keeping you warm. Next to you and the fur was some food and you quietly thanked the beast you’d been so afraid of the night before.

You saw him on occasion, amongst the trees. He was shockingly stealthy for his size, you could tell how no one had ever managed to get a good look at him. You, however, did manage it. He wasn’t hiding from you anymore, there was no use for it.

Despite his demeanor towards you, he was very helpful. He never admitted to being the one to help you, of course, but when you found supplies around you when you woke up you knew exactly where they were coming from.

The day you’d awoken to the peace offerings from the beast, you’d also awoken to blue and purple marks covering your arms, right where the bindings had been. You found yourself rubbing them absentmindedly, the ache a reminder of your first night here. You almost missed them as they started to fade, the last real tie to your village.

You inspected them thoroughly every night, a better marker of time to you than the days. Tonight, for the first time, they were fully gone. No color or pain remaining, just your arms, as they had been.

“Do you really love the forest?”

You whipped around, unsure as to how you could’ve possibly missed the creature’s entrance. You must’ve been too caught up in your reminiscing. You silently scolded yourself, you couldn’t afford to be that careless. “You’re going to give me a heart attack, warn me first!”

“You should be more aware of your surroundings,” he said, amusement tinging his voice.

“Yes, I love the forest,” you said with a huff, “I told you that already, why are you asking me.”

“Most humans who claim that are more destructive. Why did you save the other sacrifice?”

“Because it’s not right, sending someone to die against their will like that. I couldn’t stand for it, even if it meant me being on that rock. Why are you helping me?” you shot back. This interrogation you’d been unwillingly entered into could go both ways.

You expected him to brush it off, to say something rude and move on, but he considered your words carefully before responding. “I don’t want you to die, despite how much of a death wish you seem to have.”

“I do not have a death wish!” Sure, you’d been reckless, but you thought you’d been doing pretty well, all things considered.

“Perhaps you don’t. Your actions make more sense if you do.”

“I can’t have morals?”

“You can, but strong enough ones to die for?”

Of course they were strong enough for you to die for. The other option was letting an innocent person die, you couldn’t stand for that. “Yes. Seems like that wasn’t in the cards though.”

He shook his head in agreement. “Not in my forest it’s not.”

Your head fell to the side, looking up at him curiously. “Is this your forest?”

“I think so. I keep it safe, maintain it. I don’t own it if that’s what you’re asking.”

It wasn’t. You hadn’t even considered the possibility that he owned the forest, that anyone owned the forest. The idea just seemed outlandish to you.

“What’s your name?” It struck you that you hadn’t asked.

“Acacius.”

“Thank you, Acacius, for everything you’ve done for me.”

This seemed to take him by surprise. You couldn’t blame him, you supposed you hadn’t acted very grateful thus far. You were grateful, infinitely so. You weren’t so foolish as to think that you could have survived on your own without him, you were resourceful but not that resourceful, especially not when you’d started exhausted and frightened. Without his quiet aid you would have fulfilled the village’s mission, become a sacrifice to the forest despite Acacius’s initial mercy. “You're welcome, little idiot.”

Before you could manage a retort, he was gone, as quickly and silently as he’d appeared.

You saw more of each other after that. He seemed to have warmed to you in the weeks you’d been here and you enjoyed spending time with him, although neither of you would ever admit it.

As the weeks ticked onwards and the harshest part of winter came, with snow blanketing the ground and temperatures being far below freezing, he just happened to show up more and more often, checking in on you almost daily. And miraculously, more and more pelts kept appearing around your little cave, more than you knew what to with, even in the harsh cold of the winter.

You were convinced that the worst was over. It must be, you couldn’t remember it ever having been this cold before in the village, although admittedly in the past you had been inside next to the warm fireplace for most of those winters, not in a cave covered in animal hides.

The temperatures dropping even further caught you entirely by surprise. You woke up, shivering, hours after your fire had burnt out to feet of new snow outside. You groaned, rubbing your hands together in a desperate bid for warmth so you’d have enough feeling in your hands to restart your fire.

As you tried and failed to warm your hands, you heard a very welcome noise. The plodding of heavy footsteps on newly fallen snow approached you and you turned eagerly to see the staggering figure of your protector.

At the sight of your shivering form you heard a low growl come from him, igniting some instinctual fear in you. You often forgot how imposing he could be, especially when he was upset. You weren’t actually afraid of him, you knew he wouldn’t hurt you, but occasionally, something would happen and something in your biology would tell you that you needed to run.

He pushed past you, completely unaware of the effect he was having on you and already set on starting a fire,

“You humans are so fragile,” he called back to you as he busied himself.

You sniffled quietly, refusing to dignify that with a response.

It didn’t take long before the fire was roaring in front of you, far faster than you could’ve managed with your practically numb fingers that still weren’t getting better.

You sat opposite the fire from Acacius, who was watching you carefully as you tucked your hands between your thighs and curled in on yourself, trying to conserve body heat.

“Come here,” he said, beckoning you towards him. You stared back at him, wide eyed and uncertain. He didn’t give you the opportunity to flounder, speaking once more. “You’re cold. Come here.” His tone didn’t leave any room for argument, saying it so matter-of-factly, as if it was the only course of action. You obeyed, shuffling towards him, an uncharacteristic timidness coming over you at the idea of being close to him.

As soon as you were within his reach he pulled you into his side, next to the newly lit fire. Your body went stiff, unsure of what to do with this newfound contact. You’d never actually gotten the chance to touch his fur before, even unmoving against it you could tell how thick and soft it was. Unbidden, your mind conjured the idea of how it would feel to run your hands through it, wondering if anyone had ever done that for him. This did not help how flustered you were, absolutely refusing to move just in case you messed this up somehow.

Acacius seemed to find this deeply amusing, a low chuckle rumbling through his chest. “Relax, little one, I don’t bite.”

This did little to help your nervousness but you managed to relax against him, leaning into his surprisingly warm side, feeling the cold slowly leave you.

“You’re so tense around me.” You could feel the rumble in his chest as he spoke, his voice particularly low, making it almost seem as if you were feeling his words instead of hearing them.

It was a fair observation, you were tense around him. You understood why you were at first, you were scared and upset, of course you were going to be on guard against him. He didn’t seem to mind that, he understood your fear and did his best to prove it unwarranted. But as the fear and anger dissipated and you got to know him, that tension remained. You didn’t understand it yourself, let alone well enough to put it into words. There was just something about him, something that made you more conscious of yourself, a thick tension that always hung in the air.

Not that you’d ever say that to him, admit to that tension you didn’t understand and couldn’t quite manage to shake. So you did what you did best, you deflected.

“Of course I’m tense. It’s been quite the adjustment, having to sleep on the cold, hard ground,” you said with a dramatic sigh, trying to keep yourself from giggling.

He was having none of it. “Oh please. With all the furs I’ve given you, you’re sleeping like a princess.”

You continued on, undeterred by his accurate assessment. “And no kitchens, or even houses at all, I think I’ve been doing incredibly well considering everything I’ve had to deal with.”

“Do you always complain this much?” he grumbled.

“When there’s things to complain about I do,” you responded, absolutely refusing to back down.

Then he got quiet and you worried you’d pushed things too far. Just as you opened your mouth to say you were kidding, that you appreciated everything he’d done for you and that you were doing just fine, he started to speak, cutting you off completely. “Things wouldn’t be so difficult for you if you’d just go to another town, where you're meant to be. You’d be happier there.”

Your heart dropped. You knew he was partially right, that things would be easier if you’d just find somewhere new to stay, live like you always had. But happier? “No I wouldn’t. I belong here, I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’re lucky I’m here and willing to take care of you.”

“I am.”

“You are?”

You knew he was just trying to get you to say it aloud. He wasn’t even trying to hide it. But right now, cuddled into his side, feeling more content than you ever had living in that god forsaken village, you couldn’t bring yourself to care. “Yeah, I’m lucky to have you.”

He pulled you closer into him, almost protectively, and you could feel your face heating up. Between his body heat and the fire and whatever emotions you were experiencing right now, at least you didn’t have to worry about being cold anymore. That problem had long since been solved.

You hadn’t realized until now how tired you were. You hadn’t let yourself realize, so focused on other things but now, warm and safe, you found yourself nodding off.

You didn’t know how long you’d been asleep, unwilling to open your eyes and check how light it was. You could tell he was awake beside you, could feel his eyes on you as you avoided opening yours for a little longer, content to remain where you were.

The dripping of the icicles outside indicated a much needed end to the cold. You hoped it wouldn’t be too long, you missed the green of the forest. Although, if this was how you got to sleep when it got this cold, maybe you wanted it to stick around a little longer.

“Spring’s coming, isn’t it?” you said, breaking the silence and slowly opening your eyes. “I’ve always loved spring, all the baby animals around and all the flowers.”

He seemed bashful at the idea, although you couldn’t fathom why. “It’ll be easier for you when the cold’s gone,” he said, avoiding eye contact as if he hadn’t been staring you down moments before.

“Yeah, it’ll be nice and warm again. Do you like the spring? I guess I don’t actually know what most of the seasons are like when you’re actually living out here.”

In a frustrating return to form, he refused to answer your question. “I’ll be gone for a while during the spring, you’ll have to fend for yourself.”

You were sure he hadn’t meant for it to hurt you, to seem like he was pulling away. You were sure he had a good reason, something important he had to attend to. It still felt like a slap in the face. You were tucked into his side, trying to talk with him, to connect with him, and all he could think about was leaving. “Right, okay. I’m sure it’ll be a welcome break. Do you know how long you’ll be gone?”

“Should be no more than a few days, I’m sure you’ll manage.”

You nodded, hoping you looked reassuring, and hoping even more than he cared enough to notice. “I’ll be fine, no need to worry about me.”

It had not been a few days. In fact, it had been almost a week and still there was no sign of Acacius. No matter how many times you told yourself that he was more than capable of handling himself you couldn’t help but worry. As frustrating as he could be, it wasn’t like him to just go missing, to go against his word like this.

Once a week hit, you went looking for him. Not too far, you didn’t want to be away in case he returned, but you started traveling further and farther from your little portion of the woods.

You weren’t good at self-regulating. Every time the little voice in the back of your head said it was time to go home, that you’d strayed too far or that it was getting late, you couldn’t help but push on. Just a little further, just a little longer. What if you were right there, so close just to turn back at exactly the wrong moment.

When you finally did decide to return home, the sun had fully set. You realized your mistake as you tried to make your way back. You were unfamiliar with this part of the woods. In places you’d traveled since you’d arrived here or even back in your time at the village, you could navigate at night easily, but that was well traveled ground. You could find your way through those trees blindfolded if you needed to.

Out here, on the other hand, you barely knew right from left. The moonlight struggled to make it through the branches and the only real thing you had to guide you was the vague memory of how you’d gotten here. Unfortunately, you had decidedly taken at least one wrong turn and were now in entirely new territory.

Your single focus was attempting to get to familiar ground. As soon as you panicked you were done, you just needed to get your bearings and then you could get yourself to safety. As you realized that you’d lost even your sense of direction, your priorities changed. If you continued on, the only thing that would happen was you would get entirely lost and at that point, even daylight might not help you. Your best shot was to find somewhere you could hunker down, stay until the sun came up and you could hopefully find your way back.

As you searched, the only thing you could do was think, stuck going over your mistakes over and over again. Your one task was to keep yourself safe and what had you done? Decided you needed to help and set off straight into danger. It was a stupid mistake, one you hoped you’d live to regret.

Finally, you found a small cave, which would hopefully be your shelter for the night. You were exhausted and you mind was slow with fear and regret and you didn’t think to check it first, not until you heard a low growl.

Something was in here and now it felt cornered. You couldn’t get out of there fast enough. You barely had time to register the noise before a sharp pain shot through your side and you were keeling over. Chaos broke out around you but you couldn’t make any of it out, the panic and the pain in your side clouding your view just as much as the darkness was.

You weren’t sure what eventually knocked you out, if it was blood loss or the shock or something else entirely, all you knew as you fell was that you were certain you wouldn’t be waking up.

But you did, finding yourself somewhere unfamiliar, on dozens of animal pelt laid out below you. Your hand drifted down to the throbbing pain in your side, finding your pulsing wounds wrapped up tight.

Then, a familiar voice echoed off the walls and you felt relief wash through you. “I asked you to stay out of trouble for a little while, was that so difficult?”

“I didn’t almost get eaten by wolves on purpose!” you snapped back, immediately regretting the harsh tone you’d used. He’d saved you and those were the first words you said to him? “No, sorry, I should be thanking you, you saved me again,” you said, biting down your pride. “What even happened? It was hard to tell.”

“You got attacked by some wolves. I almost didn’t get there in time to stop them, they would’ve torn you apart.”

You winced. “It wasn’t their fault, I was stupid and I cornered them.”

“I know it wasn’t. I don’t blame the wolves.”

He blamed you. As he should, it was your fault. You’d been stupid and you’d put yourself in danger and it wasn’t anyone’s fault but your own. “I’m sorry,” you choked out, feeling the sharp pain above your ribs as you spoke.

“You don’t need to apologize. I just… I need you to be more careful. If I wasn’t there…” His body was tense. You could tell, even from here, that he was still ready to fight, even at the memory. “What were you doing out there anyways?”

You wanted to lie, to save your pride and say anything but the truth, but you didn’t. He deserved to know what had happened. “You were gone a long time and I got worried about you, it’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid. You’re two sweet for your own good, little idiot.”

This time, you felt like you’d earned the nickname, just this once. “I’m lucky you got back when you did, where have you been?”

“Here.” He was still keeping his distance from you, turned away and as far from you as he could be while still being inside the cave.

“What? But you said…”

He remained hunched over in the corner, back to you and keeled over himself. You could tell from the rise and fall of his shoulders that his breathing was slow and heavy and your heart sank. “Are you hurt?”

He responded immediately, his tone final. “I’m fine. You stay there.”

You didn’t think he’d lie about being injured, he respected you more than that. If he’d gotten hurt he would’ve been tending to it, not trying to protect you from a consequence of your actions. So why was he hiding like this, both in this cave for days and even now, standing far away from you, in your presence but still hiding.

It was like he didn’t want to be near you or even look at you. You weren’t sure what had shifted as the seasons had changed, why with the beginning of spring he’d needed to spend some time alone, still here but unwilling to see you, set on staying within the privacy of his own home.

You verbalized your thoughts, trying to make sense of all of it, to piece it together. “So what, you just have a week in spring where you have to…”

Oh.

Your hand flew over your mouth as everything clicked into place. A sigh echoed off of the cave walls and you knew he understood what had just occurred to you.

You wanted to tell him it was alright, that he didn’t need to be embarrassed or upset, that he could have told you what was going on.

Instead, the words that came out of your mouth were, “I want to help”

“You have no idea what you’re saying”

“I think I do.”

He stopped and for the first time in this conversation, he fully turned to face you, leering over you. You could see it in his face, he was considering it and as he stared at you, mulling it over, you let out a shaky breath. But then he backed away from you again, leaning fully against the opposite wall and you shrunk in on yourself, unsure if you’d imagined it. “You need to heal.”

“And what are you going to do during that, just sit in the corner the whole time? I’ll be fine, I’m stronger than I look.”

“I’m aware of that, trust me. You need to heal, nothing is happening until you’re no longer actively bleeding.”

It made sense. You couldn’t fault him for it. If you’d been in your right mind you would have said the same thing, but right now you were a cocktail of conflicting emotions and you decided you didn’t particularly care for rational thinking. But you had no real argument to make so all you managed was a little huff.

He seemed to find it more amusing than anything, letting out a soft chuckle as he sank to the floor opposite you, putting his face closer to your eye level. “You know, my heats don’t normally last this long. I think my body registered that I was courting you and it was going well but I don’t know how the timelines of human relationships work, I didn’t want to push you into anything.”

You reeled back. “Hold on, you were courting me?”

He seemed just as confused as you felt. “Of course I was. All the furs I put on you while you were sleeping, and the supplies and food. I held you to keep you warm and you fell asleep on me. Is that not how humans court?”

You shook your head but suddenly you weren’t so sure. He’d brought you gifts and taken care of you and you had fallen asleep on him, perhaps that wasn’t as platonic as you had assumed.

He seemed horrified by the revelation. “You had no idea this was coming. We shouldn’t be doing this, I need to give you time and space, I-”

“No, wait!” You lurched towards him in an attempt to make him stay but instead you doubled over, clutching your side. Immediately he was next to you, making sure you were alright and that you hadn’t reopened your wounds.

As you caught your breath and he ensured you were alright, he started to move away again. Your arm shot out and caught his, silently pleading for him to stay with you. Despite your grip on his arm, you knew that if he wanted to he could pull away, you were no obstacle to him. And yet, he didn’t even try, settling down next to you.

When he sighed this time, you could feel it and you’d never been more grateful for the proximity. “I’ve gone about this all wrong. Why are you so confusing?”

“Were you really courting me?” Your voice was low, as if you were worried you might scare him off if you spoke too loud. You couldn’t keep the grin off your face, no matter how hard you tried.

“Clearly not well enough. How do humans court people?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know, weird ways.

“What ways?”

You struggled to find a way to explain it. “So men will…” your sentence was caught off by a fit of giggles. “Men will like… they’ll give your father a goat. Or other stuff that’s worth stuff. And then you marry them.” You couldn’t stop laughing, it sounded so absurd when you explained it aloud.

Acacius did not seem any more convinced of the legitimacy of these methods. “So you’re not involved in this at all? Are you sure they’re not courting your father?”

“No, that would make too much sense. Noone wanted to pay my dowry because they thought I was mad, freeing sacrifices and running around in the woods. If only they could see me now.” Another fit of giggles overtook you and you buried your face in Acacius's fur. As you did you felt a low growl rumble through him, drawing another smile out of you. “I prefer your way.”

“Your presence is making it worse, you know. I haven’t felt this way, haven’t felt this much, in a long time. I can barely think.”

That probably shouldn’t stroke your ego as much as it did. “Then stop thinking.”

“I’ll stop thinking when you can stand properly, how does that sound?”

To be honest, it didn’t sound ideal but you had a feeling it was the best deal you were going to get.

Two more days. That’s how long getting better apparently took. At the end of the next day, you proudly showed him that you could walk and even jog just fine, that you were all healed up and still it wasn’t enough for him.

He was supposed to be the one in heat so you didn’t think it made any sense that you were this desperate, desperate for anything. Every time he’d say you needed to heal more, that he wouldn’t risk hurting you. None of your arguments managed to sway him.

That didn’t stop you from arguing, far from it. It felt like there was endless bickering between the two of you but in your defense, you were being kept inside and you were bored and desperate and definitely healed enough.

So on the second day of being forced to sit around for hours on end, you decide to try once more.

“You know, it barely even hurts anymore.”

“You can barely move without wincing,” he said, which while fair, didn’t feel entirely relevant to you right now.

You rolled your eyes. “I’m just being dramatic, don’t worry so much. I feel fine.”

He walked over to you, towering over you, and you prepared to be told off once more.

“Strip.”

Your voice immediately lost all its confidence. “What?”

“You want to do this so badly, so strip.”

At a loss for words, you did what you were told, pulling off your clothes under his quiet attention, doing your best to not become self conscious. Soon you were covered only by the bandages wrapped over your ribs and your arms that you folded over yourself, feeling exposed and uncertain, in entirely new territory.

Acacius stepped closer and pulled your arms away from your chest, a pleased noise escaping him as you allowed him to move you with no resistance. As soon as you weren’t covering yourself anymore, his attention shifted down to your bandages and you wanted to scream. Was that really the most important thing right now?

His hand ghosted over them, inspecting them carefully. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

You nodded eagerly, words still seeming a bit difficult at the moment.

Concern still wracked his features but as he stared at you, chest heaving up and down, you could tell his patience had finally run out.

“Alright, lay down.”

You followed his orders, reclining on the furs that were sprawled across the floor while he remained where he stood, staring down at you. Normally if he bossed around like this you would have given him hell, but right now you appreciated the commands. You weren’t sure you could manage a coherent thought if you’d tried, with two days of working yourself up behind you.

“I can’t, I have…” he nodded towards his clawed hands, the ones he’d always been so careful about around you. “I need you to help me open you up, can you do that?”

You nodded, your breath catching in your throat as you did.

Slowly, you pushed two fingers inside you. His intense gaze fell on you, unwavering, watching your entrance, eyes darting up to your face as you gasped when you hit a particularly sensitive spot. Your eyes locked and you felt yourself clench around your fingers, perfectly content to just lie there, touching yourself as he watched until you remembered your mission and started scissoring yourself open.

You felt so small under his gaze. There was always quite the size difference but you’d never felt it as much as you did right now.

You knew he could see how wet you were. It must be obvious, even from where he stood. You pushed another finger inside, set on opening yourself up as quickly as you could. You whined as you did. It still didn’t feel like enough, you needed more. You needed him.

Caught up in your frustration, you didn’t even notice him approaching you until you felt him, leaning over you. You immediately grabbed at him, hands leaving yourself and rooting themselves in his fur in an attempt to pull him towards you. “So impatient, little one,” he muttered, and for a moment you were worried he was going to keep teasing you.

He was so much bigger than you, leaving you to bury your face in his chest as he lined himself up, his head far above yours. You could feel his tip pressing up against you and if you hadn’t been so worked up, you might’ve thought that you should’ve worked yourself open for longer, this was going to be quite the stretch. You weren’t even sure if it would fit, desperately praying it would.

He waited at your entrance, giving you a chance to protest as you felt him but instead, you bucked your hips, your desperation only growing. Finally, he started to push in. Your arms flew around him. He shushed you in his low, rumbling voice as he paused for a moment to let you adjust to the stretch. You focused on breathing, trying to match your breaths to the slow, steady rise and fall of Acacius’s chest. He seemed better at controlling his breathing than you, clearly measuring his breaths in an attempt to maintain his control and composure as he entered you, which were two things you couldn’t seem to manage right now. It didn’t take long before you grew restless again, letting out a pathetic whine, a noise that you never would have imagined you’d make.

A low chuckle rumbled through his chest at your impatience so you decided to take things into your own hands, pushing downward to get more of him inside of you, that stretch returning almost immediately. You heard him hiss above you, his hips locked into place, and you realized he was putting all his energy into controlling himself, into not giving into his instincts and just rutting into you.

Part of you wanted him to.

“You need to be more patient,” he said, through what sounded like gritted teeth.

Any other day you’d have shot something snarky back but right now, you were too far gone. All you could manage was whimpering out, “Need you.”

That was enough to make him start up again, set on stretching you out, making it so you could take all of him. It felt like it would never end. Finally, his hips were flush with yours and he stopped, panting and letting you adjust. Your hand creeped down to your stomach, trying to confirm your suspicion. As it landed on your lower stomach you felt him, inside of you, pushing at your walls so hard you could feel it from the outside.

He felt it too, as you touched it he groaned and you could feel his restraint wearing thin. Good.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice dripping with genuine care. You knew that if you showed any sign of discomfort that he would stop immediately,

You nodded into his chest,

“Can I move?”

“Please.” Your voice was wracked with desperation. The days of anticipation already had you worked up, you needed him.

He didn’t require any more convincing, pulling out to rut back inside, earning a cry from you as he reached deeper inside you than you even knew was possible. It wasn’t a hard thrust and you knew he was getting you used to it, making sure he didn’t overwhelm you, but still it felt like he was splitting you in two. Somehow, every thrust felt like it was going deeper, him pushing harder and harder every time. Your hand dropped to rub your clit, desperately chasing your high as he started to use you in earnest, chasing his.

He pulled you closer to him, your chest flush against his as he thrusted into you. It seemed like he couldn’t get close enough to you, like even while he was inside you needed more. Your hands knotted themselves in his fur, both aiding him in his efforts to bring the two of you ever closer and giving you something to hold onto as everything became rapidly overwhelming.

The way you clung to him only seemed to spur him on. The way you were holding desperately to him as he ruined you, both overwhelming you entirely and bringing you comfort. The way you trusted him entirely, were giving all of yourself over to him and still trying to draw him closer. You could tell it was driving him crazy, both his instincts and his heart pleased by your behavior.

The longer it went, the more it seemed like he was losing control, measured thrusts turning into something much more primal. He was letting his instincts take control. His words of praise, telling you how well you were doing, had faded out, replaced by grunts and growls as he hammered into you.

At a particularly hard thrust, you let out a choked sob, a coil winding in your stomach as he rutted into you endlessly, focused on marking you, on making you his.

You could feel it coming, feel yourself tightening around him as he pounded into you. Your fist tightened in his fur, giving you something to grab as you found your release. You gasped his name, barely even aware of what you were doing, unable to focus on anything but the white hot pleasure that was ripping through you.

Even this didn’t deter him, his thrusts made even easier by the new wave of wetness that had coated him as he desperately chased his own pleasure, pushing you through yours. Now that you'd come, that he was sure he’d made you feel good, something in him snapped, fucking you harder than you would have imagined possible.

You were certain he was close, that he just needed one last push. Unable to move in his tight, protective grasp, all you could do was speak, choking out the words, “please… need you,” through the haze of sensation. His movement stuttered and you clenched around him again, pushing him over the edge as he gave you exactly what you’d asked for. You could feel him come, painting your insides as he held you close to him, his thrusts slowing.

Even as he finished, he didn’t pull out of you, insead wrapping his arm around your waist and flipping the both of you around, leaving you resting on his chest. You still felt full, him seated inside you. You wondered if this was part of his mating instinct, a bid to try and get you pregnant even if you both knew that wasn’t possible, at least not between the two of you. Or maybe he just liked being inside of you and the closeness it brought. Either way, you weren’t complaining, feeling satisfied and full and frankly, exhausted.

“Please stay,” he asked, his voice low and hoarse, and you knew he wasn’t just talking about you spending the night here.

“Of course. I told you the first time we met, I’m not going anywhere.”

This seemed to satisfy him, his hold on you loosening slightly so you could get comfortable, snuggling into him as you got ready to succumb to your exhaustion. You managed a muffled, “You’re warm,” still not feeling completely coherent. You were sure you wouldn’t be able to stand if you tried, your legs feeling wobbly already, even as you just layed there, and for the first time, you didn’t mind it.

You could feel him chuckle to himself, the laugh sending vibrations through his chest. “Will you stop complaining about sleeping on the ground now?”

You murmured happily into his chest. If this was where your complaining had gotten you, you considered it quite the success. “As long as you keep letting me sleep here, with you.”

“I think I can manage that.”

#terato #terato writing #teratophillia #monster x reader #monster x human #monster boyfriend #monster bf #my writing #I love the human doesn’t understand they’re being courted trope #Also Irl wolves snuggle to court one another which is adorable #Ofc im gonna make my forest god do that too #the monster started as a werewolf when I was plotting and then shifted into a sort of forest god #I want to do some more shorter stuff with these two if I’m honest #More for the WIP pile ig lol

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aziraphale-is-a-cat · 10 months

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When Nightwing was just breaking off on his own, one of the first cases he managed by himself was that of a circus come to blüdhaven to steal valuables off the wealthy residents. Dick eventually realized the connection, and with the strained and sporadic help of a cheerful white haired performer, manages to realize their ringmaster Freakshow was controlling them with a crystal ball staff. He breaks it to set them free and arrests Freakshow for possession of stolen goods and that seems like the end of it.

That is, until years later when he's working with the Justice League and they seize a truck full of those self-same crystal balls.

With a national uptick in seemingly impossible crimes, Dick has to somehow get back in contact with the Mysterious white haired boy from Circus Gothica and ask for his help to stop who's responsible for mass producing these orbs and freeing the secretive species of people they seem to control.

#danny phantom #dp x dc #dc x dp #dpxdc #dcxdp #dick grayson #nightwing #danny fentpn #freakshow #circus gothica #i have too many plot bunnies i need to work on my wip

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neopuppy · 2 months

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preview: lonely day

pairing. alpha Jeno x unpresented female reader

♡︶♡︶♡︶♡︶♡︶♡︶♡︶♡︶♡︶♡︶♡

“Jeno?” Squinting, you eye the Alpha shifting from foot to foot outside of your house, his gaze wandering over the mesh net masking your distinct features.

Nervously clearing his throat, he steps forward slightly, noting the gasp you let out before lifting a hand to wave in a feeble harmless manner. “Uh yeah, I.. your school work..”

He motions to a stack of books and papers squished under his bicep. “I overheard Kim complaining about how you hadn’t come in to pick up your assignments..”

“Well, I can’t exactly do that.” You scoff, wiggling your ankle to display the bracelet. The Alpha can only make out a blur of green light amongst the anklet clashing with your sock covered foot, leaning down for a better look. “He did this on purpose to ensure I fail..”

Jeno nods, hoisting the books up with a nod. “I mentioned to him that I live nearby, uhm.. it’s no problem for me to grab your things until you can return to school.”

He squirms awkwardly as you silently observe him with a tight grip on the door dividing the two of you and sigh. “Why would you do that?”

Shrugging, his eyes flicker back and forth over the porch ground beneath his feet that won’t stop shuffling from side to side. “So that you won’t fail this semester?”

“Yeah, but why do you care?” You ask, cocking an eyebrow in confusion. “Didn’t even know that you knew we’re neighbors.”

The Alpha huffs at that, his arm becoming tired the longer you interrogate him. Sweat trickles from his nape into the back of his shirt under the remnants of scolding end of summer sunlight, excusing the change in temperature for why he currently feels anxious. “I’m just trying to be nice.”

Jeno steps back in surprise, nearly tripping over his own foot as you finally push open the screen door with an annoyed expression scrunching up your face. A baggy oversized t-shirt hides your figure, hair still messy as if you haven’t brushed it indicating that you hadn’t planned for a visitor.

“Why?” You ask— again, with a roll of your eyes and arms crossed over your chest, leaning against the door frame. “Since when have you ever cared to be nice to me?”

The Alpha noticeably deflates, letting out a shaky breath as he nods again with tightened lips disappearing into a thin line. “Whatever.”

Moving forward in a rush he shoves the stack of books toward you, eyebrows furrowed together wrinkling his handsome features. “I’ll drop your assignments off next week right here. You don’t have to come get them if you don’t want to.”

Making to exit toward the three steps leading up to the porch, he fixes the strap on his bag, turning to glance at your lost expression. “Leave your completed ones out.. unless you want to save my number and text me whenever you finish?”

“Uh..”

It’s Jeno’s turn to roll his eyes, swiping his phone out of his pocket. “I haven’t got all day.”

“Uh—okay.. yeah sure.” You say, still too bewildered to process what’s happening, and why. “Let me grab my phone, one second.”

Quickly moving back inside, you set down everything and pat around the couch for your phone, realizing how shallow your breaths have become as your screen lights up to 0 notifications.

Jeno waits, using your absence to wipe off the beads of sweat above his eyebrow; avoiding eye contact when you return and stay lightly pressed to the screen door with a hint of fear flicking across your iris.

“Here’s my number,” he mumbles off, watching you add in a new contact, failing to insert a name for your neighbor. Couldn’t even name him with the title of a classmate, the Alpha from your history class, something more than an empty auto generated contact. Not like you’ve been attending school together for the last five years. “Shoot me a text the day before class if you remember.”

“Yeah sure. Thanks.. Jeno…”

The Alpha’s teeth grind slightly from the lack of rank recognition, unpresented or not you knew better than to not address an Alpha properly. Swallowing his pride down, he nods, averting his attention to your ankle. “You know, what you did..”

Jeno smiles softly, forcing himself to brush it off with a shake of his head. “Everyone’s still talking about it, Kim had a shiner the rest of the week, bet that really bothered him every time he passed a mirror.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” you scowl, shaking your leg annoyed. “Asshole pulled his connections with the judge to make sure I’d receive some type of punishment. Made it seem like he was letting me off easily for not pressing charges. Been having to listen to my mother praise him everyday as if he’s some saint.”

Jeno studies your mannerisms curiously, from the way your voice changes in pitch the more irritated you sound— almost whiny even; never looking toward the Alpha as you rant.

“I’m sure it was the first time Kim’s had anyone stand up to him like that.” He pauses momentarily, tugging on the strap of his crossbody again, something to control the urge to fidget where he stands. “For what it’s worth..”

The Alpha finds your equally curious gaze, continuing to watch you as he begins to back away and head home. “I thought it was cool how you didn’t sit there and take his shit.”

He smiles, shoulders bunching up signifying shyness? And if not for the golden rays of sunshine highlighting his defined cheekbones you’d almost miss the bright pink hue coating his cheeks; pushed up to beneath his scrunched together eyes as he waves with a muttered ‘Later’ and finally turns to disappear inside of his house.

Cool?

You have to laugh, breathily as your arms tighten over your chest in shock. Jaw hung open and unable to stop your gaze from dragging over to your neighbors house.

Jeno Lee just said you did something cool..

Unknown Contact- ‘Forgot to mention, we have a test Friday covering chapters 28-30.’

Fuck, and now he has your phone number.

The back of your phone feels like it’s on fire where it rests on your fingers, rereading the texts on your typically blank screen. Disbelief crowds your thoughts the longer you stare, unwilling to unlock the device in case this is all some dream, you had become rather— obsessed with watching the Alphas daily life from your window the last two weeks.. not that he knew that, right?

Swiping up, your text messages come into view, most from bots or reminders of appointments. A few relatives pestering with questions of your rank with disappointment after your last Birthday, and amongst all of them sat Jeno’s new unopened message.

“What the actual fuck.”

#WIP #LISTEN——#dont knock it until u try it #I KNOW WHAT IM DOING #a nice little plot twist to this one ofc

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aerknight · 7 months

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snek sun design for my au!

he would give the best hugs <3

#squish his dumb lil face #this is from an au of mine that has no name but has the most concrete storyline of all of my wip aus...#someday i will sit and write it #idk how to draw people still but i am trying #moon soon mayb #naga!sun #but he actually isn't a naga #but thats part of the plot #snake!sun #fnaf au #fnaf sun #sundrop fnaf #fnaf daycare attendant #my art

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suzukiblu · 3 months

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5 headcanons meta for Plot Bunny, who wanted to know what Ma and Pa are currently thinking in the one where Kara gets to Earth on time and the Kents get a two-for-one special on free kids.

Ma and Pa aren't sure if their new kids are alien shapeshifters or bodysnatchers or just weird government experiments or whatever, but they're not really worried about it. Worst-case scenario, they'll be raising terrifying goop-kids, they figure. Or maybe crab-kids or something, after the possible larval stage. Lots of things end up crabs, right?? Crabs make sense. It’s whatever, the kiddos both still like pie and Kara is adorably helpful around the farm and Kal is just adorably ADORABLE.

The whole dang town thinks Kara is Kal's mom, and Ma and Pa don't know either way and so have been politely vague about answering everyone’s questions in case they're actually siblings or something. Those El eyes are VERY distinctive, though, especially on a planet without any other Kryptonians on it, so they’re pretty positive they’re related. They just don’t know how to ask a kid they’ve just met if she’s a teen mom or not with an intergalactic language barrier in the way. She’s just their foster child! Their totally legal foster child from . . . Norway?? Maybe???? Sure, Norway. They’ll go with Norway.

Martha is zero-reservations delighted to have a free baby (grandbaby??) AND a free daughter. She has been rewarded for her patience in life, and it is a DELIGHT. She wants to buy Kara all the pretty dresses and cute jewelry and braid her hair and teach her how to make every single baked good in the entire Midwest, but she’s doing her best to not be overwhelming. She is very easily destroyed by both Kara getting excited to learn new things and Kal’s giggles.

Jonathan is a little more uncertain about how to bond with a daughter and a maybe-grandbaby for about five seconds before deciding, actually it’s fine, he’ll just treat Kara like he would’ve treated a son and . . . well, he’ll follow her and Martha’s lead on how babies work, he supposes. Then he takes Kara out back to play catch while Martha watches Kal on the porch. They lose several baseballs in the back field just IMMEDIATELY and he wonders if suggesting his new kid join the baseball team once they get her in school is, like, a normal parental thing to do? Maybe?? He might just MENTION the idea if it comes up, he decides privately, and then buys a few more baseballs.

Martha and Jonathan are regularly comparing notes on how “human” their new kids are (or their new kid and grandkid; they’re not gonna be picky). They are increasingly convinced they’re going to have crab-kids sooner or later, but it’s whatever. As long as Kara doesn’t jump that high or pick up anything that heavy or make any of those incredibly weird noises she keeps making in front of any of the town busybodies, anyway. Also, why does Kal sound like a melodious car engine whenever he’s happy? Is that a weird thing? Is that a thing they should be concerned about? Well, it’s fine, as long as he’s happy.

#plot bunny #meta ecetera #wip: kara gets to earth on time

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graceshouldwrite · 9 months

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The Most Powerful Hack to Make Your Readers Cry

You’ve seen it all: show, don’t tell, plant a visceral image in the reader’s brain of the environment/character, write a complex character arc with lots of growth and setbacks, establish deep relationships, high stakes, etc.

All the advice for making readers cry I’ve seen so far is basically that list. But, while those things are absolutely important, I find that the thing that always does the trick, whether as a tipping point or in and of itself, is this:

THE CALLBACK!

Before we move on, this is an ANALYSIS heavy post, so all the book + show examples contain spoilers!!

So, what do I mean by a “callback?” Think of Chekhov’s gun, but, here, you use the gun to pierce your reader’s heart. As a refresher for anyone who needs it, Chekhov’s gun is just a rule in writing that anything you introduce in the book should play some role in the plot.

Specifically, the name comes from the example that if a reader introduces a gun in the first act, it MUST go off later, (maybe, say, in the third act). For example, in the TV show Breaking Bad, the protagonist Walter White prepares a vial of poison (ricin) that he wanted to use to eliminate an opponent early on in the series. After the assassination attempt falls through, the ricin makes an appearance again in the very last episode of the show, when Walt finally uses it to kill another opponent.

Got that? Alright, onto the examples of successful, tearjerking callbacks:

1. The Last Olympian (Rick Riordan); “Family, Luke, you promised.”

Context: The character Annabeth says this line. Years ago, Annabeth had run away from home, and Luke had effectively adopted her into a found family with another kid named Thalia. Common reason for leaving home = parental trauma! Yay! He promised Annabeth that they would be each other’s “family” from now on.

Now: Kronos, the antagonist titan, has possessed the demigod Luke and uses his body to strike Annabeth, injuring her. She’s also holding a dagger that Luke had given her when she joined his “family.”

Significance: her words + the dagger are a mental + physical reminder to Luke of his promise. They force him to recognize the sheer degree of his current betrayal by bringing him back to a different time. The fact that their found family only happened because of parental trauma bringing them together makes it worse—Luke felt abandoned by his Olympian father, Hermes. Now, he realizes that he basically did the equivalent to Annabeth by joining the titans.

2. Les Miserables (Victor Hugo); Jean Valjean’s death

Context: At the beginning of the book, the bishop had caught Valjean trying to steal candlesticks to sell. Instead of handing him over to the police, the bishop told the police that he had given them to Valjean, saving him from arrest and showing him mercy. This changed his life forever, kickstarting his character redemption arc.

Now: Jean Valjean dies surrounded by his loved ones, remembered as a benevolent man who bettered thousands of lives. He’s surrounded by light from candlesticks that once belonged to a bishop.

Context: Valjean had once taken in an impoverished woman named Fantine, showing her mercy and promising to take care of her daughter, Cosette, after Fantine died. Valjean then rescued Cosette from abusive quasi-foster parents (it’s a long story), raising her as his own daughter. This furthered his arc by allowing him to finally understand how unconditionally loving someone feels.

Now: Valjean describes Fantine to Cosette, who never knew her mother.

Significance: Both examples throw readers back to much earlier points in the story before the completion of Valjean’s character arc. In a way, this final scene feels like an external manifestation of his kindness paying off; both he and the reader feels a sense of accomplishment, relief, and just a general “OMG WE MADE IT.” Readers don’t feel cheated, because they were with Valjean every step of his 1,400 page arc. The weight of it all just crashes down on you...

3. Your Lie in April (anime); Kaori’s letter after she dies

Context: Kaori’s entire plot significance is that she helps Kousei, a piano prodigy who can’t play piano anymore due to traumatic parental memories associated with it, play again—but also, just to help him enjoy life again after a turbulent upbringing. She meets him a year before she dies of a medical condition, and her free spirit + confidence influences him to find beauty in life and music again. They basically do a crap ton of crazy funny stuff together lol

Now: Kaori has died, and she leaves a letter to him. Among other general confessions and thoughts, she references things they did and memories they shared: she says, “sorry we couldn’t eat all those canelés,” reminisces about jumping with him off a small bridge into the stream below, “racing each other alongside the train,” singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as they rode the bike together, etc.

Significance: Yes, the nature of the letter is just sad because she’s revealing that she loved him all along, apologizing for not being able to spend more time with him, lying that she didn’t like him (to spare his feelings b/c she knew she would die soon), etc. BUT, these small details highlight exactly how many experiences they shared, and the depth of their relationship. Thus, they emphasize the significance of her death and the emptiness it leaves behind.

4. Arcane (show); “I thought, maybe you could love me like you used to, even though I’m different.”

Context: Character Jinx says this in the last episode to her now estranged older sister, Vi. Without going into the crazy complex plot, basically, orphans Vi and Jinx used to care for each other before a bunch of crap went down that got them separated. They then grew up on opposite political sides; Jinx grows up on the side of the underbelly city rebellion, and Vi grows up working on the side of the richer city that essentially oppresses the undercity. Thus begins the development of their opposing viewpoints and work environments, to the point where they always meet on opposite sides of a political battle, never able to come together as a family or understand each other again.

Now: After a super dramatic confrontation, Jinx reveals that although she wants Vi to love her like she did before their separation, she knows it’s not possible because “[Vi] changed too.” She finishes with, “so, here’s to the new us” before blowing up a political council meeting a few blocks down filled with people Vi sides with. Oops! This cleanly seals the fate of their relationship as something basically irreparable.

Significance: This callback isn’t through literal flashbacks or items like in the previous examples. Jinx’ lines are enough to bring back images of their childhood to the audience’s mind. Now, the audience subconsciously places this image of: 1) two sisters so different, hurt, and torn apart, right next to 2) the image of two sisters as innocent children who loved each other and would care for each other no matter what.

Why do callbacks work so well?

If you’ve noticed something in common with all of them, you’re right: they remind audience of a time BEFORE the characters have come so far on their arcs, developed, and put on so much more emotional baggage.

Callbacks force the audience to SUDDENLY and IMMEDIATELY feel the weight of everything that’s happened. The character’s anguish and overwhelming emotions become the audience’s in this moment. Callbacks are a vehicle for the juxtaposition of worlds, before and after significant development.

This works because we, as mortals, fear IMPERMANENCE the most. We fear LOSS. For us, time gone is time we will never get back; callbacks make us face that exact fact through a fictional character. A lost moment, time period, or even part of oneself may hurt as much as losing a loved one, and nothing makes humans grieve more than the realization of a loss. A callback slaps the audience in the face with the fact that something was lost; loss hurts so much because almost 99% of the time, what’s gone is gone forever.

Of course, a good callback requires good previous character development, stakes, imagery, and all that jazz, but I thought I’d highlight this specifically because of how under covered it is.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

I’ve been binging general media lately: I finished Death Note, Your Lie in April, and Tokyo Ghoul all within like a month (FIRST ANIMES I”VE EVER WATCHED!!), reread lots of Les Miserables, analyzed a bunch of past shows like Breaking Bad, watched a bunch of My Little Pony, worked to fix up my old writing... and that’s not even all! The amount of times I’ve CRIED while enjoying the above media and so much more honestly just inspired this post.

Like, no joke, my eyes were almost always swollen during this period whenever I hung out with my friends and it was so embarrassing help

Personally, I just find that this method works super well for me, and I watched a bunch of reaction videos to these above scenes (and read book reviews on the book scenes I mentioned), and it seemed that just about everyone cried during these parts. That’s when I realizes that the callback might also just be a universal thing.

Anyway, this post is long and dense enough as is. SORRY! As always, hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated <3333

Happy writing, and have a great day,

- grace <3

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