#this idea I've sat on for a Long time. bc I think I just. finally feel ready for it

[bacchuschucklefuck]

caps from comic Im doing

[moonselune]

You're like one of my FWVEEEE authors!! And I'm so excited to see ur RQ's are open, because I've wanted to rq this for a bit.

Maybe surprising the boys, after you've given birth, with the babies name being something meaningful to them? Or something they wanted but didn't say anything bc they would assume you didn't like it. My sister recently did that with her husband, and I just am obsessed w the idea. Like, maybe with Wyll naming your daughter Francesca, after his mother? And Ulder hearing that? UGH I'm very sentimental lately.

ahhhh thank you so much !!!!

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Gale:

The quiet of the early morning hours in the tower felt almost sacred as you cradled your newborn in your arms. You had just returned to the tower after a long and exhausting labor, and Gale had been nothing short of a perfect partner, by your side for every moment, but you had made sure to keep one small, precious detail to yourself until now.

Your eyes drifted to where Gale sat near the hearth, engrossed in the flames that flickered softly in the fireplace. His expression was contemplative, lost in thoughts that you couldn’t quite read. He had been gentle and supportive throughout the entire pregnancy, but there was something he had held back—a hesitation you had sensed but never pushed him to express. You knew it had something to do with the baby's name. You suspected that he had a name in mind but hadn’t spoken it, perhaps because he thought you wouldn’t share the sentiment.

As you rocked your baby gently, you decided it was time to reveal the surprise you'd been holding onto for these precious first few hours. With a quiet sigh, you stood, cradling your newborn in your arms as you approached Gale. The soft glow of the fire illuminated his face, and he looked up as you neared, his expression instantly softening at the sight of you and the baby.

“She’s finally asleep?” Gale asked softly, his voice barely louder than a whisper, as though he didn’t want to break the serene quiet that enveloped the room.

You nodded, sitting down beside him, the weight of the baby still comfortably nestled in your arms. Gale leaned in, brushing a gentle kiss on your temple before glancing down at the tiny bundle. His eyes shimmered with pride and awe, as they always did whenever he looked at your child.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” you murmured, your voice tender as you watched Gale’s expression shift to one of mild curiosity.

“What is it, my love?” he asked, his brow furrowing slightly, concern flashing briefly across his face. “Is everything alright?”

You smiled at the worry in his voice and reached out to take his hand, intertwining your fingers with his. "Everything is perfect. I just wanted to tell you her name."

Gale blinked, his eyes widening slightly as he realized you hadn’t yet shared the baby’s name. He had been patient, never once pressing you on the subject, but you had seen the way his gaze had lingered on your daughter with a quiet longing.

“I know we talked about a few names,” you continued, your voice soft as you leaned in closer. "But there's one name I think is perfect. And I know it’s a name that means a lot to you."

Gale's breath caught in his throat, and for a moment, he looked almost vulnerable, as though he was afraid to hope for what he thought you might say.

His eyes searched yours, filled with unspoken emotion. "What… what name?"

You smiled gently, your heart swelling with love for both Gale and the tiny life you had created together.

"Her name is Morena," you whispered, the name falling from your lips like a promise. "Mora, for short."

For a brief moment, Gale just stared at you, his expression frozen in shock. The name—his mother’s name—hung in the air between you, filling the room with its quiet significance. You could see the emotions flickering in his eyes: disbelief, joy, and a deep, aching sense of gratitude.

"Morena," he repeated softly, almost as if testing the sound of it on his tongue. His voice cracked ever so slightly, and you saw the shimmer of unshed tears in his eyes. "You… you named her after my mother?"

You nodded, squeezing his hand gently. "I know you never asked. I could feel how much you wanted it, but you never said anything because you didn’t want to push me. But Gale… the name is beautiful. And I want our daughter to have something meaningful to you. Something that connects her to the part of you that’s shaped who you are."

Gale let out a shaky breath, his chest rising and falling as the weight of your words sank in. His free hand reached up to wipe at his eyes, and when he looked back at you, there was such overwhelming love and appreciation in his gaze that it nearly took your breath away.

“You…” Gale began, but his voice faltered. He swallowed hard and tried again. “You don’t know what this means to me. I… I never thought you’d want that. But… Morena, Mora.” His voice broke again, but this time with joy. “It’s perfect. She’s perfect.”

He reached out tentatively, his fingers brushing the soft blanket that swaddled the baby. Mora stirred slightly, her tiny face scrunching for a moment before relaxing again. Gale’s breath hitched as he looked down at her, his daughter, named after the woman who had given him life and shaped so much of the man he had become.

"I hope she’s as strong and as kind as your mother is," you said softly, watching as Gale gently stroked Mora's cheek with the back of his hand. "And I know that she’ll be loved just as fiercely."

Gale exhaled shakily, his eyes never leaving your daughter as he spoke.

"She will be," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "I’ll make sure of it. And you… you’ve given me more than I ever thought I deserved."

He leaned in, pressing a tender kiss to your lips, his touch full of reverence and gratitude. When he pulled away, his eyes were shining with unshed tears, but his smile was full of warmth and love.

"Thank you," Gale whispered, his voice barely audible as he looked at you, his heart clearly overwhelmed. "Thank you for giving her this name. For giving me this family."

You rested your head on his shoulder, watching as Gale’s gaze returned to your daughter, his fingers gently tracing her tiny hand as she slept soundly in your arms.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Astarion:

The soft glow of candlelight flickered across the stone walls of your shared room, casting long shadows as you sat by the fire, cradling your newborn in your arms. The long and arduous process of giving birth had taken its toll on you, but the sight of your baby’s peaceful face nestled against your chest filled you with a joy so deep that the exhaustion seemed to melt away.

Astarion had been supportive throughout the pregnancy, doting on you in ways you never imagined he would, but ever since the birth, he had become quieter, more reserved, as if he wasn’t sure how to step into this new role. He had gone out earlier that evening, likely to clear his head, as he often did when faced with unfamiliar emotions. You hadn’t pressed him, understanding that this was a profound change for him, one he likely never expected to experience.

Now, with your baby in your arms, a surprise lay in wait for him. You had chosen a name—a name that held deep meaning, not just for you, but for him. A name that would connect him to this new life in a way you hoped would touch the very core of who he was.

The sound of the door creaking open pulled you from your thoughts. Astarion stepped into the room, his pale skin catching the firelight, making him look even more ethereal. His red eyes found you immediately, softening as he approached, though there was still that cautious distance he had kept since the baby’s arrival.

He was hesitant, not out of disinterest, but out of fear—fear of this new chapter, of his own ability to be what you and the baby needed him to be. You smiled warmly at him, your heart swelling with love.

“Astarion,” you called softly, beckoning him closer.

He approached cautiously, his eyes drifting to the small bundle in your arms, and you saw the flicker of something vulnerable cross his face. His hand twitched as though he wanted to reach out, but he held back, unsure of how to move forward.

“I don’t want to intrude,” Astarion said softly, his voice tinged with uncertainty. “I… I’m not quite sure what to do in all of this.”

You shifted slightly, making room for him beside you. “You’re not intruding. You’re her father. Come sit with us.”

His eyes widened ever so slightly at the word father, but after a brief hesitation, he sat beside you, careful and measured in his movements. His gaze flickered from you to the baby, then back again, his usual confidence overshadowed by a nervous vulnerability that you had rarely seen in him.

"She’s so tiny," he whispered, almost in awe. "So… fragile."

You nodded, adjusting the baby gently so Astarion could get a better look at her. “She’s strong, though. Like her father.”

Astarion gave a soft, breathless chuckle, though it was clear he was still overwhelmed by the reality before him. "I’m not sure I deserve that comparison."

You reached out, gently taking his hand and placing it on the baby’s back, encouraging him to feel the steady warmth of her little body. He flinched slightly at the contact but quickly relaxed, his expression softening as he felt the tiny life beneath his palm. The look of wonder in his eyes made your heart swell.

“I named her,” you whispered, watching his reaction carefully.

His gaze snapped to yours, a flicker of curiosity and trepidation in his eyes. “Oh? What name did you choose?”

You took a deep breath, feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness at the surprise you were about to reveal. “Her name is Astra.”

Astarion blinked, his face momentarily blank as he processed the name. Then, slowly, realization dawned on him, and his red eyes widened in disbelief. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out, his breath catching in his throat as the meaning behind the name sank in.

“Astra?” he finally whispered, his voice barely audible. “You… named her Astra?”

You nodded, smiling at him with all the love you felt. “Yes. Astra, the female version of your name. I wanted her to carry a part of you with her, always. I know how much your name means to you—how it’s the one thing that’s truly yours after everything you’ve been through. I wanted to give you something else, something between just you and her.”

Astarion’s eyes glistened with unshed tears, and for a moment, he seemed utterly speechless. His gaze dropped to the tiny baby in your arms—his daughter—and the depth of emotion in his expression took your breath away. His hand, which had been resting so gently on her back, now trembled slightly, as though the weight of what you had done was almost too much for him to bear.

“You named her after me,” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. “I never… I never imagined…”

He trailed off, his usual eloquence failing him as he struggled to find the right words. His eyes shimmered with a vulnerability that was rare for him to show, and you could see the mix of awe, disbelief, and gratitude that swirled within him.

“Astarion,” you said softly, leaning in closer. “I wanted her to know where she came from. Who her father is. And I wanted you to know how much you mean to both of us.”

A single tear escaped the corner of his eye, and Astarion quickly wiped it away with the back of his hand, as though embarrassed by the show of emotion. But when he looked back at you, his face was alight with something that could only be described as love—a deep, profound love that he rarely allowed himself to express so openly. He leaned in, pressing a tender, lingering kiss to your forehead.

"You never cease to amaze me, you know that?" he whispered, his voice still thick with emotion.

When he pulled back, he looked down at Astra again, and a soft smile spread across his face—a smile that was filled with a mixture of pride and wonder. He gently traced a finger along the baby's tiny hand, and when her fingers instinctively curled around his, he let out a soft, breathless laugh.

"She’s perfect," Astarion said, his voice filled with awe. "Absolutely perfect."

You leaned against him, feeling the warmth of his body beside yours, and together, the two of you watched over your daughter, named in honor of a man who had been through so much yet had found love and light in the most unexpected of places.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Wyll:

The sun was just beginning to set over the horizon, casting a warm amber glow through the windows of your shared room. You sat by the window, gently rocking the newborn in your arms, her small body bundled up in soft blankets as she slept peacefully. The past few days had been a whirlwind of emotion and exhaustion, but every time you looked down at your daughter, you were filled with a deep sense of love and pride.

Wyll had been nothing short of incredible during the birth—strong, reassuring, and steadfast, even when it seemed the weight of his emotions might overwhelm him. But despite his joy, you had sensed a subtle hesitation in him when it came to naming your child. He’d mentioned nothing specific, always deferring to your wishes, but you knew there was a name that held deep meaning for him, a name he hadn’t suggested because he didn’t want to push his own desires onto you.

You had been planning this surprise ever since you realized what name would mean the most to him. And tonight, after all the love and sacrifice he had shown, you were finally going to give him that gift.

The door creaked open, and Wyll stepped inside, his posture weary but his face lighting up when he saw you with the baby. His dark eyes sparkled with a mixture of relief and adoration. He had spent the day attending to his responsibilities, making sure the city was safe and handling the myriad of duties that came with being the Blade of Frontiers. But now, here in the quiet of your home, he was just Wyll, your Wyll.

“Hey, love,” he said softly, approaching you with a tender smile. “How are my two favorite ladies doing?”

“We’re doing well,” you replied with a soft chuckle. “She’s been sleeping soundly.”

Wyll knelt beside you, his eyes fixed on your daughter. His expression was filled with awe every time he looked at her, as if he still couldn’t quite believe she was real, that she was his. Gently, he reached out, brushing a thumb along the baby’s tiny cheek.

“She’s beautiful,” Wyll whispered, his voice filled with emotion. “Just like her mother.”

You smiled, your heart swelling with love for him. He had been so patient, so selfless, never once pressing his own hopes or desires. And now, you were ready to surprise him with something you knew would touch his heart in a way that nothing else could.

“I’ve been thinking about her name,” you said softly, watching as Wyll’s eyes flickered with curiosity. “And I’ve decided.”

Wyll’s eyebrows raised slightly, his face a picture of attentive concern, but also restraint. “Oh? Have you? I know it’s been a difficult decision, and I didn’t want to rush you.”

You held his gaze, feeling the love you had for him radiating in every word you were about to speak. “I’ve named her Francesca.”

For a moment, Wyll didn’t react. It was as if the name hung in the air, sinking into him slowly, its meaning unravelling. His eyes widened, and his breath caught in his throat. He stared at you, his expression a mixture of disbelief and overwhelming emotion.

“Francesca…” he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper. “After my mother?”

You nodded, your smile soft and loving. “Yes. I know you never mentioned it because you didn’t want to sway me, but I’ve seen the way you talk about her. I’ve heard the love in your voice every time you’ve told me stories about her, that your father passed down to you. I wanted to honor that, and I wanted our daughter to carry that legacy with her.”

Wyll blinked rapidly, as though trying to hold back the sudden rush of tears. He stood up slowly, his hand coming to rest over his mouth as he turned away for a moment, struggling to compose himself. When he finally turned back to you, his eyes were filled with tears, but there was a smile on his face—a smile so full of love and gratitude that it made your heart ache.

“I… I don’t know what to say,” Wyll whispered, his voice trembling with emotion. “I never expected… I never thought…”

He knelt beside you again, this time more tenderly, as if the weight of your gift had overwhelmed him. Gently, he reached out and touched his daughter’s tiny hand, watching as her fingers instinctively curled around his. His tears finally spilled over, but he didn’t bother wiping them away. Instead, he looked at you, his eyes shining with gratitude.

“I promise you,” he said, his voice low and filled with emotion, “I will be the best father to Francesca. I will make sure she knows who her grandmother was, and I will teach her everything my mother taught me. I will protect her, love her, and cherish her, just like you’ve done for me.”

You smiled, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his lips. “I know you will, Wyll. I never had any doubt.”

For a long moment, the two of you sat there, watching your daughter sleep, the room filled with the quiet warmth of your love and the promise of the future you would build together. Wyll wrapped his arm around your shoulders, pulling you close as he whispered into your ear.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice filled with awe. “Thank you for giving me this gift. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world.”

The next morning, a warm breeze filled the air as you and Wyll prepared to visit Ulder Ravengard, Wyll’s father, with your newborn daughter. The weight of the decision you had made—the name that carried such profound significance—still lingered between you both like a quiet, shared secret. Wyll had held you close the night before, murmuring his love and endless gratitude. Now, it was time to share that gift with his father, a man whose stoic exterior hid the deep love and pain of having lost his wife, Francesca, so many years ago.

As you dressed your daughter in a soft blanket, Wyll stood by, watching with tender pride. His hands trembled slightly as he straightened the collar of his tunic, clearly nervous about the conversation ahead. He hadn't told his father yet. No one knew of the decision except the two of you.

"You look beautiful," he said softly, his voice filled with love as he gazed down at you and your daughter. "Both of you."

You smiled up at him, sensing his anxiety. "She’s going to love hearing her grandfather’s voice. And she’s already wrapped around her father's little finger."

Wyll let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "If she’s anything like her mother, she’ll have me wrapped around hers in no time."

With your daughter safely bundled in your arms, the three of you made your way through Baldur's Gate. The city was bustling with activity, the markets alive with voices and the scent of fresh bread filling the air. Wyll walked close beside you, his hand occasionally brushing your back in a quiet gesture of reassurance. You could feel the weight of the moment in his silence.

When you finally arrived at Ulder Ravengard's estate, the sun was high in the sky, casting long shadows over the grand stone steps. A guard greeted you and led you inside, where Ulder sat at a large, intricately carved table, maps and documents spread out before him. He looked up when you entered, his stern face softening slightly at the sight of Wyll and the baby in your arms.

"Father," Wyll greeted him, his voice steady but filled with something deeper—something reverent. He reached out, shaking his father’s hand before glancing nervously at you and the baby. "We wanted to come by and… introduce you to your granddaughter."

Ulder’s gaze shifted to you, and then down to the small bundle in your arms. His brow furrowed slightly, his usual unreadable expression slipping into something more curious. He rose from his chair, approaching slowly, almost cautiously.

"She’s beautiful," Ulder said quietly, his deep voice rough around the edges. "You must be proud."

"We are," Wyll replied, his voice tight with emotion. He cleared his throat, glancing at you before continuing. "There’s… something important we wanted to tell you."

You stepped forward, offering your daughter to Ulder. He hesitated for a brief moment before gently taking her into his arms, his hands surprisingly tender for someone so often defined by duty and discipline. He looked down at her, a soft light filling his eyes that you hadn’t expected to see in a man as hardened by war and loss as Ulder Ravengard.

"Father," Wyll began, his voice steady but thick with meaning, "we’ve named her Francesca."

The name hung in the air for a long moment, sinking into the room like a warm, bittersweet weight. Ulder’s hands froze as he held his granddaughter, his gaze locked on her small, sleeping face. His expression was one of shock, disbelief, and something much deeper—a pain that had never quite healed, a loss that had never truly faded.

"Francesca…" he whispered, his voice so low you could barely hear it.

Wyll stepped closer to his father, his hand resting gently on the older man’s shoulder. "We named her after Mother. We wanted to honor her memory, and… we thought it was the right way to keep her close to us, through our daughter."

Ulder’s eyes grew wet with unshed tears, his grip tightening slightly around the baby as though she were the most fragile thing in the world. He looked up at you, his gaze soft but filled with unspoken emotion, before turning his attention back to Wyll.

"I… I don’t know what to say," Ulder admitted, his voice thick with emotion. His usual stoic demeanor had cracked, revealing a depth of feeling that rarely surfaced. "It’s been so many years since…"

He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. You could see the memories swirling in his mind, the image of his beloved wife, Francesca, whom he had lost far too soon, a loss that had left a permanent scar on both father and son. But now, here she was again, in a way—in the form of this tiny life, this new beginning.

Ulder blinked rapidly, as if trying to force back the tears that threatened to spill over. He looked down at his granddaughter again, his large hands cradling her gently as he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Thank you," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Thank you both."

For a long moment, Ulder simply stood there, holding his granddaughter with a tenderness you hadn’t expected to see in him. He was a man of war, a leader, but in this moment, he was just a father and a grandfather—grateful for the chance to remember and honor the woman he had lost so many years ago.

Finally, Ulder handed the baby back to you, his eyes filled with something deeper than gratitude.

"Francesca," he repeated, his voice stronger now. "She will grow up knowing who her grandmother was. I will make sure of it."

Wyll nodded, his eyes shining with emotion as he looked at his father. "Thank you, Father."

As you held your daughter close, you couldn’t help but feel the depth of what you had given Wyll, and by extension, his father—a piece of Francesca’s memory that would live on, carried forward into the future. Wyll wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you close as you both watched Ulder wipe away the last traces of his tears.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Halsin:

The soft murmur of the forest outside your home was a constant, soothing presence as you gently rocked your newborn in your arms. The late afternoon sunlight filtered through the trees, casting a warm golden glow over the room. You sat by the open window, the scent of pine and fresh earth drifting in, mingling with the soft coos of your daughter. The world felt at peace in this moment, and your heart swelled with love for the tiny life you now held in your arms.

Halsin had been an incredible partner throughout your pregnancy. His calm, reassuring presence had been your anchor, his strength your shelter, but also his tenderness, that unshakable connection to nature, was ever-present. Now that your daughter was here, he had been even more attentive—both in caring for you and in gently bonding with your newborn. His large hands, capable of such strength, were so gentle with her, cradling her as if she were the most delicate thing in the world.

But even with all his devotion, you had noticed something in him over the past few days. A slight hesitation, as though something was on his mind that he didn’t want to burden you with. It was subtle—Halsin was never one to impose his feelings on you—but you could see it in the way his eyes softened when he looked at your daughter, a fleeting glance of something unsaid. You had a suspicion about what it was, but you had waited for the perfect moment to surprise him.

That moment had come.

The door creaked softly, and you looked up to see Halsin entering the room, his presence filling the space as always. His expression immediately softened when he saw you holding your daughter, a gentle smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He approached quietly, as though not to disturb the peaceful atmosphere you had created.

"How are my two loves?" he asked, his deep voice as warm as the sunlight streaming in through the window.

"We're perfect," you replied, smiling up at him. "Just enjoying the quiet and some time together."

Halsin knelt down beside you, his large hand resting on the arm of your chair as he gazed down at your daughter with an expression so full of love it made your heart ache. He gently reached out to stroke her tiny head, his fingers brushing through the soft tufts of hair.

"She is perfect," he murmured, his voice filled with awe. "Every time I see her, I am reminded of how precious life is… and how much I have to be thankful for."

You watched him closely, seeing that flicker of something unsaid in his eyes again. It was time to give him the surprise you had been waiting to share.

"I've been thinking about her name," you said softly, catching his attention. His eyes flicked up to meet yours, his expression attentive but patient.

"Of course," Halsin replied, a gentle curiosity in his tone. "It is important to choose a name that carries meaning, one that honors the spirit of life she represents."

You smiled, your heart racing a little in anticipation. "I’ve already chosen it. I’ve named her Thania."

For a brief moment, Halsin froze, his expression one of pure shock. His lips parted slightly, and his golden eyes widened as if he couldn’t quite believe what he had heard. He stared at you in stunned silence, as though trying to process the weight of the name you had just spoken.

"Thania?" he finally whispered, his voice so soft it was almost a breath. His hand stilled over your daughter’s head, trembling ever so slightly. "After Thaniel?"

You nodded, your smile tender and full of love. "Yes. I know how much he means to you. Thaniel was a part of your life in such a profound way, and I wanted to honor that. So, I thought… what better way to honor the bond you had with him than to give our daughter a name that reflects that connection to nature and life?"

Halsin stared at you, his chest rising and falling as emotion swirled within him. You could see the conflict in his eyes—the joy, the disbelief, the overwhelming gratitude that he struggled to put into words. His hand moved to cover yours, his grip firm but tender as if grounding himself in the moment.

"I…" His voice caught in his throat, and he paused, taking a breath to steady himself. "You’ve given her a name that is sacred to me. Thaniel was not just a spirit of the land… he was a part of my soul, a symbol of everything I fought for, everything I believe in. To name her after him… it is more than I ever could have asked for."

Tears welled in his eyes, though he did nothing to hide them. His usual composure was shattered by the depth of his gratitude and love. He leaned in closer, pressing his forehead gently against yours, his breath warm and shaky.

"Thank you," Halsin whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "Thank you for this gift. You have honored not just me, but the land itself, the spirit of life. She will grow up knowing the importance of that connection."

You felt your own tears sting at the corners of your eyes as you leaned into his touch. "She’ll know, Halsin. We’ll teach her together."

Halsin pulled back slightly, his eyes shining with unshed tears, but his smile was radiant. He turned his attention to your daughter once more, gently taking her tiny hand in his and brushing it with his thumb.

"Thania," he whispered, testing the name on his lips as if savoring it. "You are a child of the earth, of the wilds. You carry a name that is tied to life itself, and you will always know the beauty and strength of the world around you. I will make sure of it."

He gently kissed the top of her head, his touch reverent, before turning back to you. Without a word, he cupped your face in his large hands and kissed you deeply, a kiss full of love, gratitude, and promise. When he pulled back, his eyes were full of nothing but adoration.

"I love you," he whispered. "More than words could ever express. You’ve given me more than I ever thought possible."

You smiled, your heart overflowing with happiness. "I love you too, Halsin. "

For a moment, the three of you sat there in the warmth of the fading sunlight, surrounded by the quiet serenity of the forest. Your daughter, Thania, was nestled between you and Halsin.

Halsin gently cradled his daughter in his arms, looking down at her with a sense of wonder and awe. His voice, soft and full of promise, carried through the room as he whispered to her, "You will grow strong, little one. As strong as the land itself. And I will be by your side, every step of the way."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

SO WHOLESOME OMFG; my heart died numerous times whilst writing this. Hope you guys enjoyed this ! - Seluney xox

If you want to support me in other ways | Help keep this moonmaiden caffeinated x

[readychilledwine]

Okay I have like a slightly out of pocket request/idea that I don’t think I’ve seen before and if this is not your cup of tea you can straight up IGNORE but it’s taken over my brain 😂 let’s pretend in this story that eris and mor are mates but it’s a rejected situation bc obvs mor isn’t into males. And helion and the lady of autumn are also mates. This is post Hybern, maybe during or after ACOSF. Beron (I know ew right but stay with me now) ends up finding HIS mate. And she’s like the sweetest thing ever and she’s terrified of him. (Beron is infatuated with her because of whatever power she may have but he’s still an asshole don’t get me wrong this is not a beron redemption request) It becomes public knowledge that beron found his mate and he plans on marrying her. eris REFUSES to let another female be subjected to what his mother went through so this is what spurs the whole murder beron and become high lord plot. I have no thoughts on what happens between but eris succeeds and becomes high lord in the end, but falls in love with beron’s mate during the process and it’s mutual love and it’s angst with a happy ending. Usually fated mates is my jam but I just needed every mating bond to go wrong in this one LOL. Except for Helion and LoA of course 🫡

A Game of Fate

Eris Week - Day 7 - Free Day

Summary - After the bond between Beron Vanserra and Eris's hidden lover makes itself known, the cycle of tyranny in Autumn is put to the test

Warnings - assassination, poison, Beron, mentions of abuse, food and sleep deprivation, beron x reader mating bond.

A/n - I've been holding on to this, and I am so sorry 😭. I played with it a little bit, but I this ultimately was the version I am happiest with! Happy last day of @erisweekofficial . It feels like I'm like leaving a long-distance friend after too short of a visit.

🍂Eris Week Masterlist🍂Eris Masterlist🍂Master Masterlist🍂

The Cauldron was wrong. Eris understood Azriel's claim in every sense now. The Cauldron had to be wrong.

There was no other explanation for why his father was currently signing papers to end his marriage because you were his mate. Sweet, kind, soft spoken you. You dreamed of far-off places, peace. You once told Eris you liked to imagine what the stars whispered to each other late at night.

You were a dreamer, and you were his. Eris had hidden you in plain sight since you became his peace. You were there for him after Mor rejected the bond. You were there for him after every beating, and you loved him through everything.

And now your father had to go and ruin it. You were 505 years old, and he finally felt the need to present you as a lady to the court to be married off however Beron saw fit.

If it was a massive payout your father wanted, he had it. Everyone knew what had happened the second the High Lord of Autumn laid eyes on you. The reactions ranged from jealousy to sympathy to shock. And now, two months later, the reaction was silence.

Without even speaking, you had changed the course of Autumn's history. You had ruined Helion, Rhys, and Eris's plans. You had freed his mother at the cost of yourself and your safety. Your words behind those closed doors would haunt Eris until he died, "I will marry you only if Lady Autumn is freed and allowed to leave to wherever she sees fit, safely and with your blessing."

Eris sighed as the other two High Lords, the inner circle, and his brothers all sat in Helion's war room. Eris's boots banged with each anxious and angry step, "Any ideas," he asked. "I would have to outright declare a blood duel now, which requires gaining the support of the rest of the courts beforehand, and we do not have time for that."

"We can not declare war," Rhysand contemplated. "No other court had claim to the girl, and you have no known claim to her."

"Even if he did, Autumn court law says the mating bond trumps it," Eris's mother, Anala, said. "Especially when it is between two members of the Autumn Court. Our laws allow males to claim their mates without her accepting the bond."

"Well if that isn't misogynistic-"

"Let me know when you actually ban wing clipping, and you can bash my court's laws," Anala spat at Rhysand. "You know, as well as I do change doesn't come overnight with a dictator."

Rhysand blinked at the former Lady of Autumn before glancing at Helion. You entered the room at that moment. The air seemed to tense as you did, but Eris rushed to you, holding your elbows. "Are you alright?"

Beron has been trying to manipulate you for weeks. He played games with your mind no long talks with Eris could prepare you for. Beron was a monster, and this was only your second week continuously being with him.

Helion stared to his love, his long lost mate, and stood, "Give me a week with your mother, and I will do it." The silence was screaming as the former Lady of Autumn shook her head. "There are no other answers, my love." Helion knew the look in Eris's eyes, the ache, the desperation, and the struggle.

He knew immediately what you were to Eris and what you could be to Autumn. Helion, much like Eris, knew he could not let you fall victim next, but you had no intentions to. He had watched his mate suffer for far too long, and the rumors of Beron's so-called adoration for the female in front of him did not mask the concern the Lord of Day felt.

You and Eris held eye contact. The room noticed the wordless communication. It was a bond that could only have been built through love, trust, and years of understanding. "I can not risk you like that."

"I would be careful," your reply was so soft but filled with confidence. "He won't even know if we use small amounts."

Eris couldn't help but hold your arms a little tighter, "I will not risk you." His eyes were pleading for you to reconsider to think this through.

"Would anyone mind including the rest of us in this... touching conversation?" Rhysand picked a piece of lint off his jacket before crossing his arms.

You spoke before Eris could, "There is a plant that grows in a certain place. It is highly poisonous and undetectable. The symptoms are no worse than an allergy. It can cause death within 2 weeks."

You watched as Anala shook her head at Helion, "I know of no such poison."

"That's because I made and grow it," Eris flinched at your admission and the questions it would bring.

Helion started to laugh, "You made it?"

Eris glared at the Day Lord, "y/n has a certain.. gift.. from the Mother."

"I can combine poisons," you rolled your eyes at Eris playfully. "Create new ones with no antidote or cures." Rhys and Helion turned to each other, clearly not assumed by the new information. "I only used it once. And they deserved it."

Anala's whiskey eyes went wide, "The human smuggler. You killed him?"

"Eris did. I just provided the supplies."

Rhysand pinched the bridge of his nose. "Eris, why was this information not provided to any of us earlier? Do you understand how useful she is?" You shook your head toward the red-haired male. He seemed to calm down instantly at the sight of you. "Ah, I see. She's your lover. Not just your friend."

His mother seemed stunned at this information, "But Morrigan?"

You flinched at the mention of her name. "Has the same taste as I do, mother," Eris was only looking at you. "And I do not support this idea," his grip on your arms grew tighter. "He is not a common idiot."

"Nor am I," you declared. "I would be smart. I'll be close enough to him to make sure he gets it every day. Even after just a week-"

Rhysand finished, "He'd be weak enough to call an emergency meeting or for one of us to declare the blood duel."

You nodded at the Lord of Night, not even stopping to admire his dark beauty with the grace of Autumn and Mother Nature stood before you in Eris's eyes. There was no world where you planned to be without him, no world where you could see yourself in arms besides his.

But for a week you would not have a choice. For a week, you would play the part you were expected to, and it began before you even had breakfast the next day. You were woken up by two handmaiden ripping you from your bed in the former Lady of Autumn's private chambers and throwing your half awake and now naked self into a bath.

Every inch of you was scrubbed almost raw before your hair was washed and scented to Beron's preference of roses. You were dried and dressed in almost no time, the heavy traditional gown feeling like shackles on your figure.

No cotton dresses if this failed.

No more nights in Eris's sweaters and nothing else.

Once your hair and makeup we're finished, you were not taken to breakfast. You were taken to lessons. Beron had assumed you knew nothing of formality, nothing of etiquette. You had not been presented to his courts, so what other assumption could he have made as you were retaught the differences in dinning utensils.

You would not see food until that even came, and then the mood quickly fizzled away as the table for two was filled. The only sound in the room was meat being cut, your breathing. You knew not to speak before the High Lord addressed you. You knew he was testing you with silence.

You did not see Eris in this male. There was no sign of the life that burned in Eris's eyes. No freckle of Beron's seemed to mimic the night sky the way Eris's did. There was nothing special to you about Beron Vanserra. Not even the bond was strong enough to make you want him.

"How were your lessons," his voice was falsely sweet. "I assume based on your manners they went well."

"They were lovely, High Lord," you responded. "A good refresher for everything my mother had already taught me."

Beron glanced at you, "Are you inferring you did not appreciate me setting you up with the finest tutor in my court?"

Eris would be whispering to you to tread carefully. Beron's very body language told you this was beginning to enter dangerous territory. "No, my lord," you said softly, "But I would hate for you to waste time and resources on me when I am sure there are better things to put them towards."

Beron leaned back, a smirk playing on his lips as he cocked his head, "You know how to play. I'm going to thoroughly enjoy breaking you, mate."

And you thoroughly enjoyed watching him drink the whiskey laced with 3 drops of poison.

The next day was different. Beron himself was dragging you places without food right away this morning. He was showing you off to different advisors all day, bragging about your beauty, your ability to manipulate flowering and fruiting plants into harvests sooner.

You had used your magic so much to show off for him that you could hardly stand as he affectionately held your chair out for dinner. "You did wonderfully today," he began eating after forcing you to say a prayer to the Mother.

He didn't get to hear the silent plea you sent her. The silent begging for mercy.

You sid get to hear him start coughing as he drank his tainted whiskey that night, though.

Eris was worried for you the third day. You had been sent to bed late, awoken early. Once again, not allowed food. He had stayed by your and Beron's side in meeting that day.

His amber eyes never left your form. He was openly staring at the way you couldn't help but lean on Beron in your exhausted state.

And when Beron stole you for dinner, Eris made sure to add extra poison to his drink, watching as you played the part of the perfect mate, rushing to help him as he began to cough up blood.

Illness among the fae was rare, but when it struck, it was deadly. By the end of day 4, the Forest House was a much quieter place. Beron was bed bound due to Eris's choice to expose him to the poison morning, noon, and night.

You had warned him that this poison was aggressive in large doses. He had also tested it on more brutal lesser fae tracking to attack innocent children to see that. It was brutal, focusing on getting into the smallest cells of blood before shutting down major organs quickly and painfully. You were sat beside his father, crying, playing the part, and Eris beside you, a distraught son.

Day 5 Eris slipped the poison in a high dose into Beron's pain medication before finding you. He had cornered you into a hall closet. You had been forced from bed far too early again, forced to skip meals again.

Eris knew this tactic. Had Beron been healthy, he would continue this until your brain associated Beron's presence with food. It was a way to make you comply, to rely on him.

Eris put an end to it right that moment. He ordered you to be given food, then rest. His father refused the tea Eris offered him that night. Took weak to even open his eyes.

You had underestimated yourself and your powers, or perhaps the smug male above you had more to with it than he let on, bit day 7, Beron was unresponsive. Eris held you down on the bed you two had shared so many times before, kissing your neck and whispering words of how he'd move the very foundations of this world for you when the knock came on his door.

He quickly hid you, allowing a healer to enter. Eris faked his reaction perfectly. He fell to his knees with a strangled cry, hand on his heart as the healer moved to comfort the young heir.

Beron was unresponsive.

And by night fall, Eris truly fell over. His very blood felt as if liquid fire had been poured into him. His hearth grew brighter, hotter.

It wasn't until your heart-wrenching scream came that Eris knew without doubt what had happened. No one had prepared for the outcome of you losing your mate. No one had even questioned what it would do.

They had been so focused on saving you that they had forgotten the most important part of the bond, Beron was the other half of your soul. Grief. Guilt. Joy. Anger. You had never felt like this. You had never imagined a world where you could feel so deeply it ached and made you sick.

You pushed healers away as you held Beron's hand. You pushed Eris away as he came to kneal beside you. You didn't want to feel this, yet you did. You did as he forced you up and out of the room. You did as Beron's body was burned before his ashes were given to the trees. You did as you watched Eris take his place.

The grief only stopped when Eris concerned you that night, his hands on your hips, and he led you to another room where a separate celebration took place. Anala stood in Day Court attire, laughing as Helion dipped her, laughing as Lucien smiled at her from across the room, Elain safely tucked to his side.

Eris's middle brother stood dancing with his male lover, the two of them just swaying. Mor was there with Emerie, lips by her ear gossiping. "I ache too at times," Eris looked at her, a longing in his eyes as he did. "I wonder if I made the right choice to let her go on my loneliest nights. Then I see you."

Eris kissed your knuckles, "I see you, and I regret nothing. Not even what I did in secret."

You looked at him then, "Eris?"

"I stole the black poison. The one you never tested. Every time he and I ate together, I slipped him that one as well."

Your face fell, "You-"

"Weren't going to risk it. Not with the female I am in love with being involved," Eris drank his wine slowly as he studied your reaction.

"So no big fight needed?"

"Oh, trust me, I wanted that," he clarified. "I didn't realize it would work as quickly as it did. I wasn't sure what you had been crafting. He died before I could challenge him, but before he could break you."

The two of you continued watching Helion and Anala, continued watching Lucien and Elain, his brother, Mor.

The grief did linger, but as you took his hand, it faded more. "Let's go dance, High Lady," he whispered into your ear.

And with each spin, every dip, the raise in laughter, the ache continued to fade.

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[bigassmoonchild]

i like to think ghost have a partner that expresses love by biting { totally not me i wouldnt even think of chomping} but hes so used to it that he doesnt have a reaction when his wife is in nibble mode

but

everyone else loses their complete shit thinkin that a random person just bit ghost { i also love the idea that ghost doesnt tell soap shit jus to fuck with him }

i absolutely adore this bc i definitely do this 💀 (i've had this in my drafts for a few days now, but just finally figured out how i wanted it to go)

🫶🫶

simon would sit in the mess hall, not just to show face but also to be with the rest of his squad. price had to push him to join, but now he came of his own choice. it was something he did, not too often, but often enough.

on this particular day, you had gotten back from a mission all but a few hours ago. simon had been gone for a few weeks prior to you leaving, so you hadn't seen him in nearly a month and a half.

you walked into the mess hall, simon could see you from where he was sitting. you grabbed your tray of food and looked around to find where you were going to sit. he saw you move towards your squad before spotting him, sitting in front of soap and gaz.

so you made your way over, shuffling between people who were standing around and having to take a few different routes to get to them. dropping your tray down, you sat next to simon.

soap went to snag some food off of your tray and you smacked his hand, giving him a face as you did so. the three of you were talking, about what simon wasn't entirely sure of. he was trying to look at you while not completely giving himself away.

god, he loved you. more than you'd possibly ever know. catching his eye, you gave him a slightly confused face and you could see his eyes slightly squint with a little smile.

smiling back, you dove back into your conversation with soap and gaz. '...didn't realize that was something he did,' you said as simon came back into the conversation.

soap gave a little laugh, rolling his eyes. 'oh, gaz is a real charmer. spilled his pint o' beer on a lady once in a bar. you remember that, right ghost?' and simon nodded, giving a little grunt as he did so.

he still watched you, the light shining in your eye and the color slowly returning to your face as everything began to go back to your normal. he knew how much you missed this during missions, and even with the bags under your eyes he still thought you were as beautiful as ever.

the conversation waned, soap and gaz beginning to argue a little. your knee pressed against his, allowing your legs to touch. the only bit of pda he would allow with other soldiers around. with his mask on.

even though gaz and price knew, he kept it a secret from the loud mouthed scot. he knew, as much as he (unwillingly) cared for soap, word would spread fast if he knew it.

and the two of you spoke often about possibly bringing him in on the secret. possibly even just coming out as a couple at the nearest milball.

as much as the conversations happened, that was two milballs ago. three years you had been together, and just six months ago he had popped you the question. he knew exactly where that ring lay, on a long chain sitting just on your sternum.

some nights, he would kiss it. long and hard as he prayed to whatever being would listen that the two of you returned safe from the mission you were next on. other times, he tugged on it to pull you in for kisses.

there would even be a few nights that he would just play with it, feeling the heat of the metal from where it would rest against your skin. he loved that you kept it so close to your heart, and kenw that once the two of you married you wedding band would sit just there.

his own would sit against his heart, as soon as he got it.

a sharp pain from his bicep pulled him from his thoughts, looking down at where you bit him. clenching your teeth a little harder, you finally released him.

'what the hell was that,' soap sputtered out. looking between you, then simon and gaz. gaz gave him a little shrug, looking away as you leaned for another bite.

simon pushed your head away from his arm. 'don't bite me, you little mosquito,' he huffed at you. you gave him a cheeky little smile, winking at him before digging back into your food.

soap gestured wildly. 'no, i want to know what's going on. what the hell. why the hell?'and you gave soap a little laugh.

pulling the chain from under your shirt, you dangled the ring and chain in front of him. 'technically, we are still planning the wedding,' and you grunted as soap kicked you.

'and why wasn't i told?' he hissed at the two of you. you gave a faint shrug, playing with some of the food on your plate. you faught like hell to tell soap, but respected simons decision.

'you've got a loud mouth,'

'i do not!' soap nearly shouted. 'i absolutely do not,' he then whispered. you laughed and tapped your knee against simons.

[dinoace2]

I had a cute little story idea so you all must deal with my sappy ass

This one's just some sweet short astarion comfort fluff bc I need more of that in my life

(AFaB Tav, referred to as She/Her, mention of periods. 575 words)

~~~~~

They were more or less together at this point, mutual pining and spending all their time with one another, though neither said it aloud. Tav let him feed on her neck whenever he needed, though he would only do so if she offered first. This was rarely an issue, however, since she had a tendency to make this offer on a daily basis.

Lately, though, she hadn't. For the last several days, whenever the party retreated to their camp for some much-needed rest, Tav would immediately go straight to her tent and lay down.

Astarion paced outside of her tent, wondering whether or not to ask about it. Was she upset with him? Did he do something wrong? Was she finally fed up with him? No, no, that couldn't be it. Right?

After fighting with himself for a while, he slowly poked his head in, seeing Tav curled up around a pillow, her back to him. "Hello, darling...I just wanted to check in on you. Is everything alright?"

She paused, a low grumble in her throat. "...yeah. just been...I dunno...a bit extra tired. I'm okay."

That didn't sound okay. Tav was usually so strong, so energetic...this definitely wasn't normal.

He cleared his throat. "...does this, perhaps...have anything to do with my, ah...lack of feeding these last few days?" He paused, then shook his head quickly. "I-i would like to be clear, I'm not asking for it at the moment! I was simply...inquiring. Trying to gain an understanding, that's all." He chuckled. "Youre the one who always insists upon honesty and 'no more secrets', after all."

Tav paused then let out a long sigh, sitting up and giving the poor, strangled pillow a break. "...Sorry. I....its really rather silly...perhaps almost selfish..." she turned around, looking up at him from where she sat. "As much as I'd love to share right now, I've been losing enough blood as it is...im not sure it'd end well if I were to give up more."

Losing blood? His face paled, somehow more than usual. Was she injured? She didn't look hurt. He ransacked his memory to try and figure out when or where she could have taken such a hit, all the while looking her up and down for any physical signs of pain.

"I...oh dear...uh...if I may ask, what happened, darling? When did you get hurt? Did you fall? Did someone stab you? Who do I need to hunt down?"

Tav was quiet for a moment then let out a soft chuckle. "Im fine, Astarion...really, it's okay."

She...wasn't hurt? Then why was she...

...Oh.

Oh.

His cheeks flushed as bright as his eyes and he was quick to her side, pulling her into his arms. "Darling, why didn't you say so? I absolutely would have understood. You didn't have to hide that from me." He chuckled. "If anyone here knew a thing or two about blood, it would be me, don't you think?"

His comment drew a giggle from the tired warrior in his arms, and she snuggled up. "Thank you, Astarion."

The following days, the rest of the party noticed that Astarion was especially doting on Tav, (or at least more than usual,) being extra snuggly and, in some particular occasions, downright spoiling her. Despite her insistence that it wasn't a big deal, and he really didn't have to go so far, he was incredibly stubborn to ensure that his darling was as comfortable and happy as possible.

~~~~

Idk how to end it so

Thanks for reading! :]

[purplepixel]

I've sat on s11 long enough. Yes, I finished it. Yes, I'm procrastinating watching s12. But I've had a lot of thoughts towards the last couple episodes of s11 and how they wrapped everything up. A lot of thoughts...

For starters, I can't help but feel the last episode went TOO FAST. The 11min run time finally doing them in. I was begging them to sit on a couple more scenes instead of speed running through it. Flashback to s10's last episode which also had an incredibly RUSHED ending so I hope this isn't the future.

Me when its kai that almost gets zane to remember :0 Nice narratively since these two had more of a focus at the beginning of the fire chapter so I liked that they tied it back this way. I can't believe that they brought up the pink ninja thing. It's a nice season 1 callback and is a reminder to ME PERSONALLY that they still care and remember the earlier seasons. I'm aware this show has been going on for a long time at this point so I appreciate this kind of thing.

On the topic of Zane and Lloyd, there's something to be said about Lloyd being the one to go find Zane and try to get him to remember. The two lone wolf characters. They're underrated to me and I'm not sure how many people have picked up on the similarities (while also being incredibly different) that these two have.

If I had a nickel for every doomed ship lloyd gets, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice. Ninjago writers are arguably better at writing lloyd's ships then the established ones which no im not salty about why do you ask???

Speaking of which, finally some jaya crumbs. For a ship that's canon yall get nothing I swear. I love that despite nya being a badass she was shooketh after taking out the ice dragon with the land bounty. And jay being like "you can let go now" was really cute. I love Jay being an asshole but equally important I love him being a sweetheart. The duality of man. And then Nya looking for reassurance in jay. PLEASE. SEE YOU CAN WRITE AN ESTABLISHED SHIP ALL YOU NEED IS MEANINGFUL CUTE MOMENTS LIKE THIS AND---*gets dragged away*

ok ok SORRY. Ninjago writers really have no idea what to do with jaya half the time when they dont have relationship drama. It should not be this hard...why do they struggle.

I really liked this fight scene vs the ice dragon in general. Kai regaining his fire was epic. Nya protecting her brother. HECK YES FINALLY NYA RETURNING THE FAVOR HAHAH. They both had similar arcs this season and THE THING THAT GOT THEM TO OVERCOME THEIR STRUGGLE WAS WHEN THEY WERE PROTECTING EACH OTHER WAAAAH.

Jay: Nya! You did it!! Cole: HAHAHA I knew you could do it!!

...now wait damn minute, cole. Oh also fricking. I love these three. Brotp...3? Bro3p? Anyways this trio <3333 (kai in the bg: do i look like a fucking joke to you?)

I still have a lot of questions on Nya being able to control ice tho. If its simply the fact she's able to control it by changing the physical property of ice to water then I'll buy it. But I better not see Nya manipulating ice. That feels....wrong. Like she's a badass but Zane is the ice ninja.

Man ok...Zane....(rant incoming sorry)

Its getting a little annoying how often Zane is written out of the plot. I wouldn't have minded much this season if it was a one time thing but...we already saw this with season 4. And then s5+ they found so many ways to just write him out of the narrative that its kind of a crime now and its PAINFULLY OBVIOUS WHEN THEY DO IT. I was so hyped during the fire chapter bc FINALLY he was getting something to do that was meaningful to the main plot. And then he's fridged. Again. I think I understand why Zane fans are so loud. He's done so dirty by the narrative. Unlike the other characters who the writers hurt and then give an emotional payoff, there is a severe lack of that with Zane. Its never about HIM. When they hurt Zane the focus is on how the other characters feel. It's grating on me. I know he's a nindroid but bro still has feelings huh??? What happened to how you wrote him in seasons 1-3?????

All I'll say is that they better continue his arc in the next season. How they handled zane in the final episode was the main reason it felt rushed to me. I was not satisfied with the closure to that. It wrapped up and ??? ok...so are we just going to ignore everything? We're just gonna quickly move on? Having Nya figure out that Zane was the ice emperor before even entering the fortress was a cheap way to ignore that character drama of everyone finding out mid battle. Like I get they were lacking in time, but uggghhhhhhhHHHH please the main conflict of the whole season GOT UNDERHANDED????

They literally sacrificed anything more with Zane to close off Lloyd and Akita and Cole and Krag. Which ok. They're never gonna see these two again, so I'm glad that they gave the appropriate amount of time and love for this send off.

Hold on lemme just. No. NOO. IM WEAK FOR CHARACTERS SAYING GOODBYE THROUGH PORTALS AAAAAAAAAAAA. Man wth. These two only had what 5 episodes? But Im too attached to them. The writers are afraid to write zane but they're not afraid to write cole. I swear he gets so many little subplots that are meaningful to his character.

Like mmm. My heart breaking over this scene. The internal dread of realizing that your effort to fix a situation was for nothing, I felt that in my fucking soul. BUT THIS DOES BRING UP AN INTERESTING THING.

Cole losing the traveler's tea did not matter in the end. In fact, if he didn't lose the tea those 2 npc's (who are so married fight me) would be dead, Krag would still be lonely and not find a new family, the berry that actually would get them home would not have been found. Like. HUH??? Bob ross there are no mistakes just happy accident moments, WHAT. Part of me does want to be like, oh so you backtracked on the consequences of actions, but hmmm. I dont mind this, it wasn't his fault that he lost the traveler's tea in the first place. Cole just took it upon himself to blame himself fix their situation. BUT CONTRASTING THIS WITH WU??

I love you Wu, but you're the whole reason everyone is in this mess to begin with. His action with aspheera WAS a choice he made, and he CHOSE to push the ninja that set the plot in motion, HOWEVER, unlike Cole the choice to fix his mistakes is taken away from him. And...idk how I feel about that. Wu is interesting cuz he does make an effort to want to fix everything he's responsible for. But the narrative and ninja don't allow him to. I feel they tried to wrap up his arc in the Kaiju Protocol episode, but Wu forgiving Pixal indivertibly felt like he was accepting that he should let other people deal with his mess. Was it the right call for the ninja to go to the never realm and not him? Ya maybe. But from a character arc perspective it feels like the lesson here was "let the ninja fix your mistakes". Cuz unlike Cole, Wu does NOTHING that actually helps fixes the situation. maybe that was the point??? i just don't particularly like that message's implication

Just an interesting thought I picked up on that has me wondering what the writers were trying to say with this. Accidental mistake = no consequences vs bad choices = severe consequences. But the former is allowed to "fix" it and the latter has to let others pick up the slack? Hmm. Food for thought. Or maybe im reading too much into it

Having said that, crying over this reunion.

But ya, long extended thoughts on the ending of season 11. And I didn't go off on the never realm paradox rant once. *forced smile*

[mak-be-ghouled]

Okay so,

I was thinking Aether and Aurora where she has to get dental work done and she’s a mess. It’s just a cleaning, but Rora doesn’t like the sounds and feelings of the equipment.

Aether sits with her, holds her hand and distracts her through the whole process.

No pressure of course I just think it’s a cute lil idea!

I absolutely adore this idea!!! totally not bc I am absolutely aurora in this situation

And bc I can never be normal apparently here's almost 1k words of Aether/Aurora fluff under the cut

cw: panic attack at mention of dentist but dw aeth makes everything ok:)

also this is mostly unedited so if you see mistakes no you didn't:)

“Hey Rora, saw you on the schedule for a dentist appointment tomorrow” Aether says as he walks up behind the chair she’s currently sat in, beginning to rub her newly tensed shoulders. 

“Oh no, yeah, I totally forgot about that…um…is there any chance I can uh… reschedule that maybe? Its just- I already had plans with Phantom tomorrow and then Lus wanted to-”

“Rora, sweetheart, easy, take a breath” Aether interrupts

Aurora does take a deep breath, several in fact, but no matter how many times she tries to breath in through her nose and out through her mouth she cant seem to get a handle on her thoughts, it sounds like everything is underwater.

She thinks she may hear Aether’s voice somewhere in the distance but he sounds so far off maybe he’s gone to another room, maybe hes not even talking to her anymore. He had just gotten off from his shift at the infirmary, hes probably gone off to find Dew at this point, he has no reason to stick around Aurora now. 

Its not like Aurora can see him anyway, her back to him when he walked into the ghouls den, and now her vision was getting spotty and hazy and now that she really thinks about it she cant really see anything? 

“Aurora, you feel me squeezing your hand?” Aether asks, now kneeling in front of her

“Panic attack” Its all Aurora can say, the only words she can get her mouth around. She wants to reach out, to fall into Aether’s arms, to be wrapped up and safe and-

“I know sweetheart, I've got you” Aether says, drawing her to his chest.

Aurora’s never been too big a fan of quinessence being used on her unless absolutely necessary, and even then shes never been to keen on it. Doesn't like not feeling in control of her body and in times like these, already feeling so out of control, Aether knows better than to try reaching out with his quinessence, had it been Dew he would have stopped the panic attack before it even started, but for Aurora he resigns himself to holding the ghoulette and offering soft praise until she comes back to him.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity Aurora’s breathing begins to even out and she’s no longer shaking like a leaf in Aether’s arms.

Embarrassed, Aurora shoves her face deeper in Aether’s chest, she’s a grown ghoul for hell’s sake why is she having a panic attack at the mention of a dentist? Shes not even getting any work done, its just a routine cleaning! And yet here she is, hellspawn sobbing like a kit over an appointment that hasn't even happened yet!”

“Hey don't go floating off on me again hun, ‘m here yeah?” Aether says, trying to pull Aurora from her thoughts as best he can .

“I’m sorry Aeth I just- I cant” Aurora mumbles, just barely coherent enough Aether can make a good enough guess at what she’s saying.

“Can’t do what sweetheart?” Aether asks, he already knows the answer but he hopes that talking though it may make the whole thing a little less impossible sounding.

“The dentist. I don’t know whats wrong with me but i just- I cant do it!” Aurora heaves, working herself up again.

“Deep breath my love. What is it that makes the dentist so hard, hm? Maybe we can try to make some changes?” Aether offers

Aurora thinks for a bit, “I don't even really know that what drives me crazy? I really just… All of it? Its so stupid I mean Im a grown ghoul and I can’t sit still long enough for my teeth to be cleaned? Its all just so loud and theres no way to make it quiet because its all in my head and it all just feels so wrong and i feel so…exposed? I mean in the pits- I know we’re not still in the pits- its just…” Aurora begins to trail off

“Hey you don’t need to justify anything to me sweetheart, those are all very valid and normal thoughts, especially towards something you're not used to.” Aether reassures, running his hand down her back

“Yeah I guess” Aurora sighs, leaning into Aether’s touch, finally feeling at ease in his arms.

“Tell you what, if you'd like, I can go with you to your appointment tomorrow and make sure you can take plenty of breaks and listen to whatever you'd like and make sure everything you stay as comfy as possible, does that sound like it might help?” Aether asks

“You're not too busy?” Aurora asks, as nice as it sounds to have Aether there with her, she doesn't want to be an inconvenience.

“Nope, not in the slightest, I still go with Mount to all of his dentist appointments too, big guy hates the dentist more than any one I've ever met, human or ghoul, but we've figured it out, found things that work, and I’d be more than happy to do that for you too Rora.” Aether says looking the most sincere Aurora’s ever seen him. 

And so, as much as Aurora really doesn't want to, she goes to her dentist appointment with Aether, and sure enough he holds her hand through the entire appointment, its like he has a script of exactly what to say and when to say it, exactly what will make her feel better in the moment, from jokes and dumb off handed comments to reassurances and breaks when things become just too much.Aurora may not have enjoyed it, but with Aether's help, and the promise of ice cream after- of which he fulfilled beyond expectation- she had accomplished it, and that was all either of them could really ask for.

[substantial-exposure]

Introductions (Aka the Hunter and the Librarian Crossover Event!)

A/N: Hi!! I wanted to write something bc I absolutely love this series!! I've had my own modern bad batch verse I've been writing for the last few months and I absolutely needed to crossover w @clonethirstingisreal series!!! I highly recommend it!

-

Tulip had finally gotten what she'd wanted. After an awkward few years, she had finally been elevated to girlfriend status.

Since the day she met him, Crosshair had been 'the cool older guy'. He was practically put up on a pedestal as the more matured man that the guys her age couldn't hold a candle to. For so long she had tried to impress him and now finally it had paid off. Their relationship had started a little out of order and it only made things all the more complicated for her. A one night stand turned into late night calls and trips across town, turned to months of on and off talking up until Crosshair had deployed.

Once he had come home things had changed. Crosshair had no intentions of entering a relationship. He'd never made a good boyfriend in the past, he didn't have much reason to believe he'd be any better of one now. He had no need to have someone constantly talking his ear off every day. He had enough on his plate to occupy his thoughts, he didn't need to spent time thinking about a girl. Let alone one that would sit there, bore him, drain his wallet, and police everything he did. There was no want to spend his nights up dealing with the hassles of a relationship. He quit that game a long time ago.

But all it took to change every preconceived notion floating in his brain was the girl he could never quite seem to shake from his thoughts. It had infuriated and plagued him for weeks.

He had realized it some time ago. Crosshair would meet with this girl every once in a while, he'd take her out and take her to bed. He would invite her around to the house whenever he was alone, and if he closed his eyes, he could almost pretend. Pretend like this was a normal thing. He would sit and think about her every once in a while, truth be told she was never far from his thoughts. She would come around for weeks at a time and then he would let them drift. Whenever he thought she might be starting to get the wrong idea. Or whenever he could feel himself about to crack and finally open up or say something stupid. But once he finally had enough of the running around and the back and forth. Well, he grew frustrated enough to call her up, finally he made progress. Crosshair had picked her up and taken her out for the afternoon, he'd explained things. Well as best as he could. He would do all this, go through all the effort and worry. And yet he still barely knew her anyway. It didn't sit right with him. So, he sought out to fix that. He'd get this right for once.

Crosshair wasn't good at relationships. He didn't want one. But if someone was going to nag him and pester him all the damn time, he wasn't too mad at the idea of it being her. He'd get to find out more about her along the way.

-

The girl peeled herself up from laying on Crosshairs chest. Her black hair was messy and falling out from its original bun she had put it in hours ago. An entire morning spent napping alongside him definitely messed with her original plans for the day.

Tulip pulled the blankets off of herself and untangled her limbs from his, it was never easy sneaking pass Crosshair. There had yet to be an attempt that actually made it passed him. She had sat up and immediately the man had shifted and groggily raised himself to grab ahold of her in an attempt to pull her back into his bed. Tiredly he tried to pull his arm back towards his chest and bring her back to him so they could both return to sleep.

It only made her laugh. She messed with the silver curls atop his head and tried to convince him to go back to sleep without her for a moment. Her voice came cool and soothing, just what he needed to fall right back to sleep and for his grip to slacken fully. "I'll be right back, I'm running to the bathroom, m'kay?" She chuckled faintly. His comforting hold on her disappeared and he groaned slightly in response. He turned back over in bed.

The girl stood up from the bed and walked to the fuzzy black slippers she kept in the corner of his room. They had matching pairs, the only way she could differentiate which one was hers was because of the size of them. Hers were nothing compared to the sheer size of Crosshairs slippers. She wasn't entirely sure how she had actually convinced him to get them, all she knew was that it always made her smile.

Tulips eyes glanced to the clock. It was almost three o'clock. Omega would be home from school within the next hour roughly. Give or take how much time she spent at the library. The house was quiet for the meantime as she shuffled out of his room and into the hallway. Tulip could faintly hear water running as she entered the hallway. As she inched closer, she came to realize it was the shower in the bathroom down the hall. She wasn't entire sure who was home, but she was too tired to think about it. Tulip made her way to the staircase. The downstairs bathroom it would have to be.

In her all black pajamas, the girl made her way down the darkened staircase. Her sleepwear was more or less the same as her casual clothes. She wore a pair of fishnet tights she'd cut up into a shirt and a black tank top over it with accompanying dark printed lounge pants. She hadn't fully woken up yet and she also hadn't turned on the lights that were set above the steps. Thankfully the sunlight was infiltrating through every window. She crept down the steps until she made it to the first floor of the house.

The house was quiet except for the rattling of the washing machine. It signified that another one of Crosshairs brothers were home. Tulip turned the corner and went to pass the kitchen on her way to the restroom.

Immediately she stopped in her tracks. Hunter was with a girl.

Tulip was still half asleep and the presence of someone else in the house, someone new, threw her off for a second. She contemplated going back upstairs and waiting for the bathroom. She wasn't shy, quite the opposite, but meeting new people was always awkward, and it didn't seem any more alluring whilst she was in somebody else's house.

But she knew for certain that she heard the shower running and whoever it was wouldn't be done for ages. So, Tulip decided to be brave and face whatever awkward encounter might take place downstairs.

Tulip shuffled down the rest of the stairs. Thankfully Hunter saved her from the nightmare of introducing herself. She heard her name called from the kitchen.

"Morning, Tulip." Hunter said, though there was a bit of amusement laced into his tone. The reasoning being the late hour. Of course he did the same thing to Crosshair nearly every day. The joke was never funny, but that didn't stop Hunter from saying it. "Late night last night, hmm?" he asked with a chuckle.

Tulip shuffled into the kitchen on her slippers. She seemed to be waking up a little more now, especially now that she had to hold a conversation. She jokingly rolled her eyes at Hunter. "Only always with him" the girl said gesturing loosely upstairs. Her eyes glanced to the other woman. Tulip smiled at her awkwardly and tried to remember if she should know who she was. She was worried that she had already met her and simply forgotten. Tulip was usually terrible with names. She didn't think she ever had met her; she would have remembered this woman, surely.

Tulip was always one for pushing boundaries or expectations. It was prevalent in the way she expressed herself. She'd dye her hair, pierce her skin (ultimately end up hating it and then take them out), get a few tattoos, and usually just do what she pleased in the name of self-expression. She would have remembered meeting someone with such cool hair.

Hunter seemed to realize the two women looking at each other in silence. He mentally smacked himself. "I'm sorry, Wren" Hunter said turning to the woman he had been sitting with, he should have realized sooner the stress someone new could possibly bring. "This is Crosshairs girlfriend, Tulip." He said gesturing to the girl standing a few feet away.

Wren looked at her, she felt like a deer in the headlights. Figures, Crosshair would have a girlfriend that was as intimidating as he was. That explained the sports car she saw in the driveway earlier. She was convinced that Tulip already didn't like her, with the way she looked and squinted at her, Wren was already scared.

"Tulip, this is-" Hunter didn't know what to say, a date or two doesn't make anything official. And it felt rude to not mention anything. "This is a very good friend of mine, Wren" he introduced with a smile. He shifted on his feet, leaning against the counter.

Wren didn't say anything yet, she was still too caught up in the expression the other girl wore. She wasn't sure if it was disdain? Dislike? Pure old fashioned judgmental maybe? Then again, the girl was in makeup it looked like she slept in, and she was still in her pajamas. Not to mention the bed head suggested that maybe she was just tired.

Her stomach twisted and felt warm. Wren could feel another one of her headaches coming on as the seconds passed. She already had such a hard time trying to win over Crosshair, and that in it of itself still felt like a losing battle. Now she had to win over his girlfriend too? Wren's brain swirled with worry. What had he told her? What could he have said about her? This woman must have disliked her already.

What Wren didn't expect was the smile to pull across the other girls face.

Tulip looked between them and smiled. She'd definitely been getting a few updates about Hunter's unofficial girlfriend from Omega over the last couple weeks. She'd even gotten a phone call of her boyfriend complaining about that little talk Hunter had with him. Not to mention she'd heard a lot of him bragging about how his intervention definitely helped.

"Nice to meet you, Wren." Tulip said simply. She wasn't sure how to introduce herself from halfway across the kitchen. Walking up to her to shake her hand would be way too weird. Tulip opted for an awkward wave. Her thin brows narrowed and looked to the woman. She vaguely gestured to her. "I like your hair." She hummed casually. The girl shifted slightly.

Wren blinked rapidly for a moment. It took a long moment to process. She felt like she was going to word vomit. That or stutter herself into a corner, maybe. She was hyper aware of how she looked right now. Staring. She was just staring at this girl, this girl who Wren had thought was judging her instead just complimented her. And now she was still staring at this girl. Don't be rude, Wren. She said to herself.

"Thank you." Wren finally forced out, her fingers twitched slightly, itching the fabric on the side of her thigh. Not that either Tulip or Hunter could see.

Tulip in turn smiled at her awkwardly and took a step or two back. She pivoted on her feet. "I'll ugh.. let you guys get back to whatever you were up to" she said rather stiffly. She backed up further to the hallway. It was a terrible way to excuse herself. But Tulip was growing more nervous by the second.

Usually Tulip never cared what people thought of her. That was until it was time to meet the family, then she cared a lot. She'd managed to win over most of the family, although she had a sneaking suspicion that Tech didn't care for her much. And if this was the woman that Omega had told her about, Tulip would have preferred to make a better first impression than the one she just did.

Normally the young girl would start to tell Tulip all about it while she tiredly grabbed an energy drink from the fridge and made Crosshair his coffee. Omega would then continue to further explain it whenever Tulip took her out for the afternoon for their sanctioned 'girl time'. She figured being surrounded by that many men, brothers or not, had to be an overwhelming presence of male energy. A little 'girl time' might do her some good. As far as Tulip was aware, Omega seemed to enjoy it.

"Of course." Hunter hummed nonchalantly. That is, up until he remembered what day it was. "Uh hold on a second." He called out, he watched the girl turn around. "Omegas going to be home shortly, are you taking her out?" He asked her. He grabbed his cup off the counter and took a sip.

"If it's alright with you guys, I wouldn't mind. I was thinking about taking her for mani-pedis" Tulip chuckled and shoved her hands into her pockets. "I thought she might enjoy it." She hummed happily. "Besides, I'm not sure if he's waking up anytime soon" she had started to say. As if on que and waiting for her to say exactly that, footsteps echoed down the stairway. She turned her head.

Crosshairs figure came slowly down the staircase. He looked tired still, his face scrunched up the same way Tulips had when she first awoke. However, he didn't seem to wake up as fast. He begrudgingly made it into the kitchen along with the others.

He went to go start the coffee pot, as he moved to stand behind Tulip, he let an arm slink around her waist from behind.

As the girl began to speak, she found herself embarrassed. "I was just about to head up and wake you in a minute" she said feeling a displacement at the top of her head as the man placed a kiss there. This was so embarrassing.

Crosshair was a man that Tulip still couldn't figure out. He would flip flop between his stone cold attitude and this charming display. It confused her to no end. He would sometimes disregard holding her hand when people were around, but at the same time he would throw his arm around her or kiss her in public. The rules when it came to public displays of affection with him were confusing.

Wren found herself quiet. Crosshair and a girl. Correction Crosshair being nice to one. She silently watched as the brother slinked off to the coffee pot. Truthfully, she wondered how anyone could deal with that attitude of his enough to stomach it. In the back of her head she suspected that this Tulip girl might be due her flowers. Wren let herself smile and laughed to herself inside her head.

Hunters voice carried over the noises of the coffee machine that clinked around. "Morning Crosshair" he said cheerily. A little too cheerful for his brother to respond to.

Wren watched as the girl followed Cross farther into the kitchen. Her hands on the counter as she seemed to itch where she stood. Pent up energy maybe? She seemed like a rambunctious kind of girl. Wren diverted her gaze as she saw the girl try and hug him from behind while he tried to actually do something.

Within seconds it felt like she blinked, and Tulip was gone. She had disappeared from the kitchen, probably for whatever purpose originally brought her downstairs. But now Wren was left with Hunter and Crosshair in the kitchen. It was oddly quiet.

She looked down to her cup on the counter. Her fingers were tracing the outline of the glass as the front door opened. The door swung open and quick footsteps followed right after Omega closed it.

She came bolting in as fast as her little feet would let her. She was eager to see everyone. It wasn't every day that she came home and saw both Tulip and Wrens cars in the driveway. She was ecstatic.

Omega entered the kitchen to see two of her brothers and Wren hanging around. She happily greeted everyone. "I missed you guys!" She said smiling. She took her backpack off her shoulders and dropped it onto one of the kitchen chairs. "Hey Wren" she said plopping herself to sit next to the woman. "I stopped by the library, but you weren't there" she shared aloud.

"Pretty rare I know" Wren joked. "I thought it might be good to take the day and just relax though." She said nodding along.

Omega nodded and looked around the kitchen. After a moment of brief silence, right as Hunter was about to ask her how school was and how much homework she had to do. Omega spoke again, turning to Wren. "Did you meet Tulip yet?" She asked quietly. She was smiling wide as she glanced over back to Crosshair and then back to Wren.

Wren nodded and looked to Omega. "I did, briefly." She shared. "She seemed nice."

"Shes super nice, when I first met her I thought she was kind of scary but I promise she's so nice" the child said enthusiastically. She walked closer and sat down next to Wren. "She normally takes me out on Fridays for girl time"

As if on cue the girl walked back into the kitchen, her face seemed to light up as she saw Omega. "Hey kid!" She chirped happily. "How about you get settled with your stuff and we head out?" She asked.

Hunter looked away from his younger sister to his brothers girlfriend. "Before that" he said gently. He turned back to Omega. "What's the homework for the weekend?" He asked

Omega looked at him disappointedly, she could always leave it to Hunter to ruin her fun by mentioning school work. "I have half of a math sheet and a science packet." Omega said sounding rather bummed. She leaned her cheek onto her fist while sitting at the table. Within seconds Omega turned into the physical definition of misery.

Surprisingly enough Tulip spoke up. "Can't be worse than any lecture I've been too lately." The girl joked while looking at Omega. "I can help her, besides our appointment is a little later. We can sit and do it while we wait" Tulip explained looking over to Hunter. "If that's alright with you I mean." She tacked on lastly.

Hunter tossed around the idea in his mind. He let out a breath, ultimately giving in. Tulip would help Omega with her homework most weekends anyway. It wasn't the first time and it certainly wouldn't be the last. "That's fine, just make sure she gets it done" he said with a half smile. Hunter himself still wasn't sure what he thought of her.

Crosshair never spoke about her. He would talk around her existence and never say where he was heading out. He'd come home smelling of a woman's perfume but he never gave a name. That was until he finally broke and made it official. Even then he'd danced around it for a few more months until finally, she demanded to meet the family.

Even now Cross didn't outright speak of her to the others, it wasn't their business. The only things Hunter knew about her were the things she'd told him personally. He knew she was in college, he suspected in her last year or so but he couldn't be sure. He knew she had a part time job in a department store somewhere. And he knew that she wanted to go into a career in the sciences down the line but she wasn't sure where.

Tulip had never not delivered on her word when it came to the family. If she promised Omega something it was always there. If she said she could show up to an event, she was always on time. Hunter had no reason not to trust her.

Omega turned and grabbed a folder from her backpack along with a pen. She placed them on the counter and looked to where Wren sat messing with her drink. She could practically feel the light bulb appear over her head as she had an idea. "Tulip, I was wondering..." Omega started to say.

A few smiles and giggles could be seen across the kitchen.

Crosshair was smirking behind his coffee. He mumbled something into the mug before taking a sip.

Omega turned to look at Wren, she spoke quietly. "I don't know if you have plans for the afternoon" she said to Wren firstly before addressing the others. She looked hesitantly between them all. The young girl looked over to Tulip, hoping she would agree. "Do you think Wren could come with us?"

Immediately though, Omega turned to Wren, small hands resting on her forearm and looking at her. Wren's mouth went dry instantly. Her head snapped to look at Tulip, eyes wide as she quickly processed everything that could go wrong.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to, but I think it would be really fun" Omega explained.

Tulip had glanced to Crosshair for a moment, her own nerves acting up. Of course she didn't mind all too much, but after everything Omega and Crosshair both had told her about Wren's anxiety, it was stressing her out too. "I don't see why she can't" Tulip said as casually as she could. She turned to look at Wren. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I don't know what your schedule looks like" Tulip explained. She tried to give the woman an out if she so wanted.

Wren blinked and looked at Omega and to Tulip. "Oh I... I dont know about that". She looked at Hunter. She blinked quickly, she hated being put on the spot like this.

Crosshair spoke up, surprisingly. His mug clinked against the counter as he placed it down. He jerked his head to the side slightly, he signaled for Tulip to come over to him. "I think it would be nice." he stated simply.

Hunter actually laughed. "Oh Really?" he looked at his brother with his eyebrow raised. The last thing he would have expected was for Crosshair to have an opinion on something like this.

"Why not?" Cross had said as he pulled Tulip to stand in front of him.

His arms draped over her shoulders, hovering closely. Wren thought he looked like a gargoyle looming over her. She rubbed at her side, nervously. Still unsure of what to say.

Crosshair continued talking. "The girls can get to know each other a little, and Omega gets them both to herself for the afternoon. I think it'd be nice for them" He shrugged and pulled back from Tulips shoulders.

Hunter saw the look in Wrens eyes. He'd seen it a lot by now. He spoke quietly to her, his voice gentle. "You dont have to, no pressure." Hunter tried to remind her.

Wren had been pushing herself a lot lately. She'd already had such a hard time getting Crosshair to come around. His girlfriend might prove to be even more difficult but she always had the Omega buffer inbetween.

She felt like she was jumping into the deep end and certainly setting herself up for failure. She gripped onto her side, trying to calm down but it seemed fruitless. Every single second that passed her felt like an eternity. She was going to regret this. There was so no way she wouldn't. She felt like she was going to throw up.

"Why not? This could be fun"

-

Ahhhh thank you so much for reading! I've been chipping away at this and writing it for an embarrassingly long time I hope it was worth it!

And Carol I hope I didn't butcher Wren up too much! I absolutely adore you and everything you write!

[multifandomhaven]

Part I

A/N: So here's the second chapter of Bodyguard. I'm excited to see where this goes, bc honestly right now I don't have everything planned out, I'm just going with the flow. Let me know what you think :)

Y/N pushed her glasses further up on the bridge of her nose, sighing as she attempted to get more comfortable in the chair she'd deemed her work-from-home space. She was pouring through the files that had been sent from her office, signing off on some of the easier cases - shots, medicines, things of the like. She had secured a fill-in veterinary student - the very top of his class - to administer the injections while she healed.

Her fingers were tapping over the keys of the laptop, her eyes never leaving the screen. She was very aware of the presence on the sofa before her, cerulean eyes scanning over her as she worked. She glanced up over the top of her screen, meeting his eyes.

"You know you don't have to stare at me the whole time," Y/N spoke, deciding the silence had gone on long enough. "I don't think I'm going to disappear if you find something else to do."

John shook his head, his hands clasped over his stomach as he sat. "Just doing my job, Miss."

Y/N suppressed a shiver, distaste for the pleasantry. "Don't call me miss, it makes me feel old."

John cocked a brow at her. "You're not old."

"I know," she replied. "But the next thing I know you'll be trying to start with ma'am. Just call me Y/N. Or Bunny."

"Okay," John relented easily. "Just doing my job, Bunny."

Y/N smiled, happy with her win. "Thank you."

They sat in silence for most of the day, the distinct sound of keys being pressed filling the room. John had finally decided to turn something on the television, a more than welcome background noise for them both. He had turned on a soccer match, something that the veterinarian had no idea about, and was thoroughly absorbed.

A deep, irritated groan filled the room and Bunny's head shot up, not expecting the sound that barreled from him. He was sitting straight up, his eyes zeroed in on the screen. "Fuckin' muppet."

"What is it?" she asked, confused by the sudden change. She glanced over at the television, trying to figure out what had happened, but it was just a bunch of players crowded around, pushing and pulling at each other. "Did someone get hurt?"

John shook his head with a sigh. "No, just a stupid call."

"Wow, you're a dedicated fan, huh?" Bunny asks, her brow furrowed. "I didn't take you for a soccer guy."

"I'm not a fan of soccer," John almost glares at her, his eyes flashing. "It's football."

"Not in America," she bites back a laugh. "Maybe across the pond."

John sighs and mumbles. "Where everything makes a little more sense."

A little while later, after the game had finished, a loud grumble came from Y/N's stomach. Her eyes widened and she looked up at John, placing her hand over the offending noise. Her cheeks burned at just how loud it had been - she hadn't realized that she'd gone all day without so much as a bite of food.

"Hungry?" John's lips curled beneath his mustache.

Y/N nodded. "Let me just get a few more cases out of the way and then I'll eat."

"Not happening," John said, authority coloring his words. "I'm here to keep you safe, can't do that if you fall over from starvation."

Y/N rolled her eyes. "I won't starve from not eating for a few hours. I've gone longer than that at work."

"Not with me," John informs her. "Your aunt is trusting me with your care. I don't take that lightly."

"Fine," she grumbled. She saved her work and closed the screen on her laptop, placing the device on the table beside her. She braced herself for the task of getting out of her seat, dread coursing through her veins as she realized it wasn't going to be easy. Her body was aching and, although not completely broken, one of her ribs had been fractured.

"Damn it," she hissed through her teeth as she raised to her full height. Tears flooded her eyes but she blinked them back, the pain slowly subsiding as she stood there. "I swear I'm not a wuss."

"Never said you were," he said, his lips pressed into a tight line. "You okay now?"

"Yeah," she told him. "It just... takes me a minute."

Slowly, she made her way into the kitchen of her apartment. She rifled through her freezer, trying to find the easiest meal she could, and grinned when she found a frozen pizza stashed in the back. She pulled it out, carefully, so as not to upset her rib more. She busied herself preheating the oven and finding her pizza pan, but the more she stood and moved the more the nagging pain in her side intensified. She was all but huffing when John came to check on her.

"Damn it, woman," he tutted behind her, a gentle hand on her lower back trying to guide her back to the living room. "Go sit down, I can make a blood pizza."

Y/N turned her neck to glare at him. "I'm perfectly capable of making it."

"More than," he agreed, his gruff voice right in her ear. "But you need to sit down and rest. Get back to normal as quickly as possible, yeah?"

The woman frowned, knowing he was right, but not wanting to admit it. She felt a twinge of defiance toward him. "If I go sit am I still allowed to work?"

John's stare was blank and he was unamused. "No. You've done enough work today. Isn't your office closed by now, anyway?"

She glanced at the clock on the stove - it was five o'clock, and her office was indeed closed. She pursed her lips but said nothing.

"Go sit down," he all but commanded her. "I'll chuck the pizza in and bring you an icepack."

"Fine," she sighed, stopping by her medicine cabinet and grabbing a bottle of ibuprofen. "Just so you know, I don't like to lose an argument," she told him.

"Neither does Kate," he told her with a grin, "but she also knows when she's wrong. Now go sit."

If she was able she would've stomped her way back to the living room, but the pain prevented her from doing so. She decided to sit on the couch, which was better for watching TV than the chair, and grabbed a pillow, pressing it against her chest to help with the ache. It wasn't long before John came into the room, an icepack in hand. He held it out to her, almost as if it were a peace offering.

"Don't put it directly on your skin," he advised her softly. "Do you have something to take your meds with?"

She shook her head no, reaching out to take the icepack. "Thank you."

"Just-"

"doing your job," she finished for him, looking up at him from her seated spot on the sofa. "It's almost like I've heard that somewhere before..."

"Cheeky," John noted as he crossed his arms over his wide chest, a grin tugging at the corners of his lips. "I'll be back with the pizza."

A few minutes later he strolled into the room, two plates in hand. He had cut the pizza - for a military-trained man a little haphazardly - and threw two pieces on each of their plates. He sat hers onto her lap, making sure she had a hold on it before releasing his grip. "What would you like to drink?"

"A water is fine," she said quietly, a feeling of shame settled deep in her bones. She hated being coddled. John turned to retrieve their beverages when she spoke up. "Could you bring the ranch dressing, too?"

John stopped, his back stiff. He turned his neck to see her, a barely contained look of disgust on his face. "Ranch dressing?"

"You know what ranch is, I'm sure," she said, puzzled by his reaction to her request.

He nodded, turning to face her fully. "Of course I do," he said, "but eating it on pizza?"

Y/N tapped her finger on the side of her plate. "Uh, yeah? What about it?"

"It's a crime," he told her seriously. "A crime against food."

A laugh bubbled from her lips, pain exploding through her torso. She gasped and pressed the pillow tighter against her, "Ow, ow..."

John watched her silently, his hands coming out to steady her. "You alright?"

She nodded. "I'm okay."

"All this over some dressing," he mumbled, his hands still on her upper arms.

Y/N glanced up at him through her lashes, the pain slowly ebbing. "You have no idea what you're missing."

"Fuckin' Americans," he mumbled under his breath, but still loud enough for her to hear, and then straightened his back and disappeared into the kitchen. They ate in silence, watching reruns on the television as they shared their first meal together. John grimaced a bit when she dipped her pizza in the white dressing and took a large bite of it. She chewed it with the beginning of a smile, noticing him watching her eat.

"Don't judge me," she said around her bite of food. "It's so good."

John shook his head. "I'll take your word for it."

"Try it," she encouraged him, holding her plate out to him to dip his slice. "It'll change your life."

He pulled his plate away from her, protecting his food from hers. "I'm good, thanks."

"C'mon," she pressured. "One bite and I'll shut up."

He shook his head. "I've gone my whole life without having it, I think I'll pass."

"A life without ranch," she mused. "What a sad existence."

He shook his head and went back to watching the television as she continued to happily eat her ranch-covered pizza. Once they had finished and John had taken the plates to the sink they simply sat and relaxed. Y/N was curled against one side of the sofa while John sat on the opposite side, his legs spread wide. It was comfortable, Y/N realized, having someone here with her. She didn't think she'd warm up to him this quickly, but she saw what her aunt liked about the Captain.

"So how long have you known Aunt Kate?" Y/N asked suddenly, her curiosity taking over. "She's never really said a lot about you."

John looked over at her, studying her question. "A long time."

"Wow," she said sarcastically, "such an enlightening answer."

John sighed and looked to be thinking about whether he should tell her or not. "It's been over ten years, at least."

"Ten years," Y/N repeated. She was quiet for a beat and then asked, "So how old are you?"

"Old enough," he answered simply. "Why does it make any difference?"

"Because I want to know," she said, tampering down the urge to throw something at him. "Do you ever give a straight answer?"

John smirked and shrugged. "When the situation calls for it."

"That's really annoying," Y/N pointed out. "That's fine, I'll just guess, then. I like guessing games." She hummed as she thought, looking over him. He had flecks of gray at his temples, but his face gave nothing away. "I'm going to say that...you aren't forty yet?"

"That isn't a guess," he chuckled, "that's another question."

"Don't be like that," she groaned. "I'll tell you my age if you tell me yours."

"I already know your age," he told her simply. "Your aunt told me the basics before I came."

"Fine," she huffed, rolling her eyes at him. "Be boring."

John fought back a smile, but he softened under her agitated gaze. "I'm not yet forty."

Y/N gave him a blinding grin, her eyes crinkling. "See, now that wasn't so hard was it?"

An amused hum left him, and he shook his head. "No, but it's so fun to watch you get angry."

She opened her mouth to retort, but a shrill ring from her cellphone cut her off. She dug it out of her pocket as gently as she could and looked at the screen. "It's Aunt Kate."

Before answering the video call she straightened her hair and wiped her mouth, making sure she'd gotten all remnants of pizza off her face.

"Hey Kate," she greeted, fighting the urge to flinch as she saw the bruising on her face.

"Bunny," Kate replied, seated in her office. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling better," Y/N smiled softly, touched by her aunt's concern. "I managed to squeeze in a little work today."

"Don't overdo it, you're supposed to be resting," Kate warned her seriously. "Is everything going okay with John?"

John eyed the phone at the mention of his name. "Everything's fine, Laswell."

"Good to hear," Kate replied. "I'm glad everything is going smoothly."

Y/N took a deep breath, not wanting to ask but needing an answer at the same time. "Have you found out anything about the men who attacked me?"

"Not yet," Kate told her. "Just give me time, Bunny. I will find them."

Y/N's heart beat rapidly, she felt it in every nerve in her body. She swallowed down her anxiety and gave her aunt a small, forced smile. "I know you will."

"I'll call you back when I get more news," Kate assured her. "Get some rest, okay?"

Y/N promised and disconnected the call. She stared at her phone, her mind racing - she had made a conscious effort not to think about the violence that had been inflicted on her just a day prior, trying to push it from her mind completely. She didn't want to live in fear, and while it hadn't been easy she'd managed.

Work and the man beside her had kept her thoughts busy, but now...

"What's going on in that head of yours, eh?" John asked her, genuinely curious. "You haven't been this quiet all evening."

She sighed, picking at her cuticles. "Just thinking."

"Vague answer," he replied.

She looked at him through the corner of her eye. "Like you have any room to talk."

"Touche," John smiled at her. "Really, what are you thinking?"

"I just hope we get them," she admitted quietly. "I don't like feeling vulnerable. Scared in my own home, scared to go to work."

"That's why I'm here," John said, his eyes softening. "I won't let them hurt you, not again."

[lemonhemlock]

so i've finally started getting in more pages of The Shards and the way i would explain bret easton ellis to someone is that he's a gay male gen xer writing dead dove fanfic (self-fic??) about his own life traumas like an unhinged teenage girl posting on ao3. and ofc that if you were to tell him this he'd protest mightily or have no idea what tf you were talking about. but. like. he is constantly repeating the same ideas (WHAT HAPPENED TO ME. TO US. IN THE AUTUMN OF 1981. DURING OUR SENIOR YEAR AT BUCKLEY.) (???!!) (THE HOUSE ON MULHOLLAND DRIVE - this is just his own house, but it's never "home" or "my house", it's always THE HOUSE ON MULHOLLAND DRIVE) (~~~PARADISAICAL~~~), is constantly describing in great detail what everyone is wearing all the time, is constantly referencing songs or movies or pop culture of the time, is constantly horny and jacking off, yearns and daydreams all day, writes in run-in sentences that go on forever bc he gets distracted etc.

like there is an entire scene in which he meticulously describes going to see the shining when it came out, his relationship with the book, the whole anticipation and wait for the movie, who he invited, the car he drove there, how the theater looked like, how long the line was, where he sat etc

there's a lot to unpack here but what's deeply funny to me is that i think i speak his language. i think i get it 😅 to paraphrase him, what this might suggest about me is open to interpretation 💀

[analviel]

I've read manga my whole life and then I sat down and want to make a little bit of art with that feel and realize I don't know what effects to use.

If you're wondering, Wado Ichimonji was purposefully left back in the dojo.

While I imagine Kuina to be a bit traditional though not as uptight as her father, she's also grown up to be largely rebellious. She wants to prove herself. She's got 'a chip on her shoulder'. Might one day write a fic for her, but basically she'd start out challenging marine sword wielders to spars with only her shinai, ends up beating them, is both proud but also dissatisfied to search for opponents that would actually pose a challenge. Discovers the thrill of fighting people with bounties who fight for their life, fighting with their all, and starts chasing that adrenaline while still searching for a sword to carry to the top.

I kinda want her to cross paths with Buggy here -but a Buggy who is still not a pirate and very loud about definitely not being a pirate and never going to Grandline and stubbornly declaring himself a Blue kind of guy definitely, what about Grandline and pirates, he doesn't know anything about that, he's just a treasure hunter, treasure hunter! Ignore the three calling him Captain, those idiots are just his lion he'd decided to bring along, the lion's caretaker and emotional support human, and the lion's caretaker's emotional support human on a unicycle-, which comes from my idea that Buggy has been failing upwards since years ago. Basically, Buggy has shutdown about his whole childhood and the world just thinks of him as a small time ringmaster in a small time circus, that snapped for being too smalltime for so long and became a treasure hunter- and then a pirate. But I digress, that's going to happen later, in about 2 years maybe?

Anyways. As I was saying, Kuina is a solo act, has no navigational knowledge past the basics because she left her home all of a sudden and was barely able to prepare anything so she picks up some unconventional ways of going about that.

She looses the ship not much later, and her encounter with Buggy somehow leads to being told of some such technique of being able to run on air and decides to learn that despite not knowing where to start, bullheading the beginnings of the techniques Buggy very, very reluctantly recounts.

Kuina calls him Buggy-san and this will later comeback as Emperor Buggy-sama Totally Mentoring The Kuina even though no such thing actually happened.

She meets a guy who suddenly looses consciousness on his food, approaches him out of concern, and Portgas D. Ace almost dies years earlier bcs of his bad habit of wiping his face on someone's skirt.

They get into a bit of shenanigans, half of Kuina's hakama burns and she gets a costume update, an offer might have been extended and summarily rejected, and Ace is returned to Deuce and the rest of his still motley crew.

Kuina finally finds a swords and secures it to her hip right beside her shinai, and goes on a final hunt, choosing the Captain of the Black Cat pirates as her prey. Beats fear into him and almost succeeds bringing him in, but unfortunately looses him at the last second, pushing him into hiding. Still tries to find him while she figures out the way for a lone swordsman to enter the Grandline, eventually does discover a method and leaves East Blue, practically forgetting the prey that got away.

I do have art for her clothes and encounter with Ace but neither are done yet.

[writtenx]

Finding You - azngami (part 3)

Hey my loves!! It's been a min, and I'd have to apologize for that! I think the main reason I haven't updated in a while is because I've been TEXTING THIS MAN ON STARYO???? if y'all haven't checked staryo out yet, please do, it's a messaging app where you can literally talk to any member of nsb or all the boys, whatever you want! And it's actually them, it's not like AI generated or whatever! So I feel like because I've been texting him on there, it's been a little weird to write a fanfic because he like...actually knows who I am now?? Does that make sense?? Idk, I'd consider him a friend at this point, and so to write fanfics about someone you're literally talking to, idk if that's just a me thing, but I feel pretty awkward.

At the same time tho, I do think this fic is cute and pretty harmless. I would never write anything uncomfortable and that's not where this is going. I don't imagine this to be a long fanfic and I don't know, the whole idea has been cute so I'll update here and there

Thank y'all so much for reading, part 4 will come by the end of this week, bc this one was kind of a short one!!

Be sure to read part 2 before this one, or even start over since it's been long, imma put the links up!

Happy reading :))

You woke up extra early the next morning from the warmth of the sun and the sound of birds chirping. You groaned, sat up for two seconds, staring at nothing as your consciousness was starting to rise. For some reason, although the day had passed and you and Diana went through shopping, eating, and then coming back home to raid all the snacks that there was for movie night, you still couldn't help but think of yesterday.

It was during the movie that Diana gasped loudly, causing you to shoot her a weird look as you noticed she was on her phone.

"What?"

Diana didn't reply, but immediately shoved her phone in your face. You quickly moved her hand away in reflex because you were convinced that girl was trying to blind you.

"Diana! Turn your brightness down!"

"Sorrrrryyy!" She said, quickly changing her settings. "Looked who replied to my storyyy!!" Her voice was chirpy.

You were curious as you leaned your head against your sister's looking at her screen. "Who?"

And then you saw the username which made you stop in your tracks.

You took Diana's phone and she laughed as you looked. You didn't know why but your heart skipped a beat.

hi diana this is random but did you and your sister go to (high school name)?

You hand the phone back, not being able to hide your smile.

"He texted 41 minutes ago." Diana pointed to the time that the message sent. "Oh my gosh, let me text back, hold on!"

You kept your eyes glued on Diana's phone, being presently there just to make sure she wouldn't do anything you wouldn't approve of.

"Okay...." Diana's voice trailed off and you layed your head on her shoulder, peering.

yes we did! you were in my sister's class right?? did you two see each other at whole foods yesterday?? i think she said she saw you but didn't know if it was you :)

You felt kind of nervous considering the fact that your sister was texting your crush about you, right next to you. You were curious to see what he would say, but you weren't even sure he was online.

And he wasn't. The waiting was the hard part. Because now the thoughts of him went through your mind as you tried to watch the rest of your favorite movie. But how could you? For the rest of the night there was nothing and you finally went to sleep.

It was this morning that you kept wondering if he did text back. But you probably wouldn't find out until after, as you were an earlier bird that Diana. The suspense was killing you, but you knew that sitting in the middle of your bed just thinking about a response wouldn't do anything. You had to get started with your day.

You had two cheat days this last week when it came to your workouts so you knew that you would need to start the routine back again. It was tiring at the start, but you crawled out of your bed, and washed your face and brushed your teeth. When you grabbed your workout mat in the corner of your room, you walked down the stairs and then went to the living room. Moving all space necessarily, you played a home workout video and followed the excersises. You knew lowkey why you were doing this. You wanted to be productive enough to give your mind something else to think about aside from Ryan.

What would he say? You questioned as you went down for pushups. But you shook your head and stretched your body fully on the mat and went into the pushups required for this circuit. Maybe he didn't even say anything yet; it wasn't even a full 24 hours.

You did your workout, showered, and then changed into your clothes for the day. There was a small breakfast cafe you lived across the street from and some days (like today) you would just get breakfast from there. You gave it a solid minute before you shook your head. You wanted to check up in Diana, but then that would be showing signs of obsession.

But you were always obsessed, why stop now?

You went straight to Diana's room. She was sleeping peacefully even thought it was 10am. You had two choices: either wake her up and interrogate, or let her sleep and hijack her phone.

You glanced at her phone beside her and then back to her. Finally, you decided to wake your sister up. She could always go back to sleep.

"Diana..." Your voice trailed off as you gently shook her.

You were grateful Diana was a light sleeper. She slowly opened her eyes and just stared at you.

"Hey, I'm gonna grab a breakfast sandwich at the cafe, do you want anything?" You asked, building it up. You didn't want to just wake her to ask if there were any new DMs or anything.

Diana stretched, rubbing her eyes as she made an inhumane sound. She had the covers over her face so you could just see her eyes.

"Um...can I have the fudge chocolate pancakes?" Her voice was hazy and her eyes were puffy. You kind of felt bad, but you knew that as soon as you left, Diana would go back to sleep.

"For sure. Anything else?" You asked.

Diana let her eyes close as she turned to the side. "No. Thank you." Then she slowly looked over at you.

"Did Ryan say anything?" She asked, half asleep.

You smiled for half a second before keeping a straight face, trying to pretend like the plan was never to find out about Ryan.

"Uhhh...I don't know, I wouldn't know, he texted you." You said.

Diana pointed to her phone as she groaned. You could see that sleep was about to take her in a few seconds. "You can check. You know my phone password, right?"

You shook your head. "Nah, I don't think so."

Diana said the numbers groggily and you thanked her before she went back to sleep. Now that her phone (and potentially Ryan's text) was in your hands, you didn't know what to do. You were nervous for some strange reason. All you had to do was just open instagram and look at the recent DMs. But you were scared.

What if he just left Diana on read? What if this, what if that, there were so many what ifs trailing your mind. But you did remember yesterday. Technically, he reached out first, and he asked if you both went to that high school you guys all went to. It was him, no doubt.

All you had to do was check Diana's dms. That's all. Nothing big. No huge ribbon cutting ceremony. Besides, maybe he knocked out early the night before and was still sleeping. Not everyone was an early riser like you.

No matter what, you had to check.

You took a few steps away from Diana's bed, awkwardly standing in the corner of the room with her phone in your hands. You have it 10 seconds, then 30, then a minute, and then finally you took a deep breath and went to instagram.

You went to her DMs and then saw Ryan Nguyen's name on top, in bold, as there were 3 new unread messages from last night at 2am.

yes she did see me at whole foods hahaha

i didnt know if she remembered me so that's why i didn't say hi

I hope you both are doing alright though :)

You smiled. And then panicked when you saw the little indicator that said that Ryan was now online.

Shoot.

You made to where Diana was still sleeping, now moving her arm. "Diana, he texted back at 2am and he's online right now and I don't know what to do!" You said.

Diana rubbed her eyes once more, squinting as she tried to look at the phone.

"Girl, just..." She paused, now taking her phone back. You watched in anticipation as Diana looked at the screen. She seemed to be looking at it for a while before she started typing back.

"Wait, what are you doing?" You asked, trying to lounge for the phone, but Diana moved it away from your reach. She rolled over to the other side of the bed, pulling the covers on top of her as you tried to get her phone back.

After a good minute of not knowing what Diana was saying, Diana poked her head out of the blanket and set her phone down next to you before flopping back on her bed entirely, turning to the side and closing her eyes.

"There. Now he can bother you." She mumbled, before going back to her sleep.

"What do you mean?" You picked up her phone and stared at the screen, feeling shocked as soon as you saw Diana's reply.

hiii we're doing good thanks!!

awww she told me you reminded her of a guy named ryan in high school but didn't know if it was the same guy!

she doesn't have insta but here's her number if you wanna text her! shed like to catch up!

btw congrats on your success!! Definitely following you on tiktok!! :)))

Oh. My. Gosh.

You didn't know why you kept staring at the messages, as if something new would jump up. No, this was it. This was what your sister sent. And now it was directly sent to Ryan without any way you could moderate it.

There was so much to address. Diana told Ryan what you said about how this guy in whole foods reminded you of him. That was embarassing.

She ALSO gave him your number. Now what????????

You decided to place Diana's phone back on her bed and sat up. You had to keep going through the day. What was sent is now sent and there was nothing you could do about it. He had your number now. If he wanted to text you, well...your phone was right there.

So you left the house and went to the breakfast cafe with a lot of anticipation on your mind.

~~~~~

Thank you for reading!! <33

[wonjinburger]

writing prompt #04

bumping into each other as solo travelers ; park sunghoon

태양보다 찬란한 . . . 그게 바로 나

INFO : : park sunghoon x reader / romcom

wc : <1600

notes : this was lowkey rushed bcs i had an idea at 12am but i had to go sleep but i couldn't risk losing the idea

20 JANUARY 2023 : :

2:04 - it's currently 2am and i've just landed in paris, and i'm now heading to my hotel room to take a long ass nap.

13:12 - jk the nap lasted from around 11 hours. now it's 1pm and i'm going to go out for lunch. i've heard a lot of good word about a specific cafe so i'm gonna go try it out!

13:37 - the weirdest things just happened what the fuck? i bumped into this guy, who was really hot btw, by accident. obviously i apologized for it like a normal person but he just scoffed at me and left?? thanks for that random stranger.

23 JANUARY 2023 : :

12:02 - i just had a quick snack and i'm currently on the train to versailles, i wanted to have a quick look at all the beautiful architecture. i find versailles to be such a romantic and beautiful place lol

12:28 - i've arrived at versailles! i have a tour booked for today at 1pm, so i guess i'll walk around versailles for now.

13:13 - no fucking way, the guy i bumped into a few days ago is here too, like, in the same tour group as me. i said hi and he basically looked at me weird and left me standing. thank god idk this guy and i'll never see him again, he seems like an ass.

14 APRIL 2023 : :

10:16 - hi journal, today i'm in the netherlands, i heard about the keukenhof tulip garden and of course i had to come here. i just had breakfast at the hotel i'm staying in and i'm about to head out to the garden to see all the pretty flowers!

11:11 - THE GARDEN IS SO PRETTY OMG BUT THAT EXPERIENCE WAS LOWKEY RUINED. by who you may ask? by FUCKING FRANCE DUDE?? WHY IS HE EVERYWHERE???? like i was taking photos of the pretty flowers and boom, suddenly i see him through the lens of my camera, please get this guy out of my life

11 MAY 2023 : :

00:01 - i have finally done one of the things off my bucket list, and that is to visit switzerland! i always saw tiktoks and photos of the amazing view and obviously i had to come see for myself, but it's 12am rn and i am really tired so i'm gonna go sleep, then i'll explore in the morning

11:42 - okay i woke up a few minutes ago which is quite late, but i'm gonna go down to the hotel's cafeteria and have some brunch before i explore the town

4:51 - hi this isn't funny anymore, i literally just set foot into an eatery near one of the places i was visiting and i see france dude, AGAIN. can he just get out of my life atp please, i'm so sick of seeing his annoying (but ig good-looking) face. AND WHY IS THE ONLY AVAILABLE SEAT LIKE NEXT TO HIS TABLE???

-- (☆)

i'm going back home to korea today, i think i've been travelling way too much, so i'm going to go home and rest up and spend time with my family and some friends.

i boarded the plane and by that point it was 11pm and i was honestly drained. i spent a whole day exploring the more nature-y side of switzerland and the view definitely did not disappoint.

i sat myself down in my assigned seat and was so ready to fall asleep at this point. a guy walked over and sat next to me, and i bet you won't be able to figure out who was gonna be my plane seatmate for almost 12 hours. yeah it was france guy. he seemed pretty surprised to see me too i think.

after he sat himself down next to me, he looked at me, maybe i was staring too hard.. "hey" i looked at him, question marks practically all over my forehead. "can you stop staring at me" i scoffed at him, this guy is ridiculous!

the plane took off a few minutes later and i was starting to doze off, and unfortunately for me i left my neck pillow in my luggage by accident, so my head was dropping left and right.

i suddenly woke up and it felt like i was lying against something? i sat upright to see what i had been sleeping on, and it was france dude? he woke up when he felt me getting up. "you're finally up, my shoulder feels like it's about to dislocate"

'okay sorry for accidentally sleeping on your shoulder but like, rude much'

"oh shit, i'm so sorry. i left my neck pillow in my luggage and i think i just passed out suddenly" he scoffed and i was so close to losing my shit not gonna lie. but the next moment, he handed me his neck pillow and i looked at him while holding the neck pillow. "just use it, i'd rather you use my stuff than you use me" damn okay stranger. "oh, thanks?" and soon he attempted to go back to sleep.

it was currently 8:59am, which meant we still had probably less than 2 hours left of this plane ride, and i was thanking heavens because 12 hours next to this guy would've been hell if i weren't fast asleep.

france guy was moving around in his seat and i assumed he couldn't fall back asleep. i tapped on his shoulders a little to get his attention "hey, you can have your neck pillow back, seems like you can't sleep, and i'm pretty energized right now" he looked at me and sighed "it's fine, i'll just give up on going back to sleep".

after that it was pure silence. and i couldn't stand it so of course i had to open my big ass mouth.

"so.. you travel a lot?" he nodded his gaze fixed on his phone. "alone?" he nodded again still focusing on his screen. damn talking to this guy is so hard. let's bring up the past! "you remember the first time we met?" he finally looked at me. "we've met?" are you fucking serious right now.

"i bumped into you on accident in paris back in january?" he thought about it for a second before replying. "oh! i remember now, you bumped into me and almost spilt your hot coffee all over me" "hey! it almost spilt on me too okay, and i apologized for it" he shrugged it off and went back on his phone.

"you know, i kept seeing you around while i was travelling and at some point i thought you were stalking me" he looked back at me again, his eyebrows furrowed this time. "what the fuck why would i stalk you, i don't even know you?" "it happens sometimes" "hey, for all i know you could be the one stalking me right now" i was taken aback, speechless, i can't handle this guy oh my god.

"you know, your looks and personality clash a lot" he gave me a look that said 'wtf do you mean'. "you're a good-looking guy, like, i'd definitely date you if your personality was nicer" he stared at me for a while and chuckled a little. "for your information i have a great personality" "it sure doesn't seem that way" he scoffed and put his phone down before looking me in the eyes.

"i'm nice to people i'm close to, last i checked, we don't even know each other." "maybe we can change that" he looked shocked by what i said. honestly i'm shocked too, but i mean, he's pretty hot, it would be a wasted chance.

"you want us to get close?" i nodded. "you're ridiculous lady" i rested my head in the palm of my hands as i kept eye contact with him "it's y/n, lee y/n. and you are?" he looked at me in disbelief for a while. "i can't believe this is happening." he let out a deep and heavy sigh before introducing himself. "i'm park sunghoon."

"nice to meet you sunghoon. oh, i was gonna ask if you were korean, but your name just confirmed it for me" "are you heading home right now?" i nodded to his question. "homesick?" he asked, and i nodded. it seemed like he was feeling homesick too. "maybe we should hangout sometime while we're in korea" i blurted out suddenly, to my surprise he didn't oppose of this idea.

i then pushed my phone towards him, "can i have your number then?" he looked at my phone, then at me. "are you hitting on me?" i don't know, was i? i mean, i am interested in him, so i guess? "yeah i am, so what do you say, can i have your number? and maybe we can go out sometime and maybe even travel together?" he stared at me in shock, but his reply lowkey shocked me too.

"sure, let's go on a date soon"

[valeffelees]

An Ask Game for Writers to Procrastinate Working on Your WIP(s)

thank you kindly for tagging me @shrekgogurt @youarenevertooold, and @monbons i've been seeing this game make its rounds on my dash and was really hoping someone would pull me in!

🦈 Tell us the name of one of your WIP(s)

my main three wips at the moment are without sun, ballad of the final sparrow, which is more commonly known as bitverse, and fragile things (and how to break them), but i've also been fucking around a bit the last two or three weeks with a new (terrible, evil, very self-indulgent) wip called god-forbid.

🍄 Describe one of your WIPs in the format of “___ + ___ =___”  

i think i might be dumb bc i don't understand this question at all.

🌍 What tags or warnings will your WIP(s) need if you intend to share it?

bitverse: heavy angst, psychological horror elements, alcohol abuse, allusions to suicide, unhealthy coping mechanisms, dead dove: do not eat.

🧭 An alternative title to one of your WIP(s)?

ballad of the final sparrow -> baz is typing fragile things (and how to break them) -> there's a werewolf in london god-forbid -> the gap between a tragedy and comedy

⚠️ Which WIP you’re most likely to finish or update next?

i have no idea. i mean, you'd think the answer would be without sun since it's the only fic i actually have posted at the moment, but unfortunately i am an untrustworthy villain.

💾 What is the document of your WIP called? (Not the story title, but what you’ve saved it as.)

same as the fic title. if i start a new wip and don't know what to call it, i'll pick something at random and add (working title) at the end.

🖍 Post any sentence from your WIP

from without sun:

“You don’t like peppermint,” he says. But maybe she does. Maybe that’s one more thing he can add to his growing list of things he got wrong about Agatha Wellbelove. No. 1 — Dislikes peppermint; actually, she is quite fond of it. No. 2 — Likes Simon Snow; him, not so much.

♻️ A scrapped idea for your current WIP

one of the biggest changes i made to the plot of without sun really early on was penelope's role in the story. i had a clear idea of the story i wanted to tell as soon as i saw the prompt for the fic. without sun was always supposed to be about more than simon and baz. the story is about grief and love, and the space we take up in the lives of the people around us. but n e way, in my orig draft, penny was actually supposed to be able to communicate with simon a bit, and there was gonna be a whole sect of scenes in the middle of the fic where they sat around together trying to break simon's curse what we know and what we don't know style via passing notes. i ended up tossing this idea really quickly tho, and i'm glad i did bc one of my favourite moments i've ever written in any fic happens in chapter two of without sun and it belongs to simon and penny.

🤔 What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

so many. or, well—what counts as "haven't even started"? i hate to let ideas sit around in my head bc it feels like leaving raspberries in the fridge for too long, like that shit is gonna get mould on it, so usually the first thing i do is rough out a few scenes and/or script out a very rough outline of the plot (like this / this / this style) so that i have something to come back to later. i have dozens of zero drafts just lying tf around. but otherwise, yeah, so many. one big idea i have is called heart on fire and it's based on fanart, but i haven't started it yet bc obvs i wanna get permission from the artist first but i've been holding off reaching out to them about it until i've knocked a few of my less intimidating longfics off my wip list bc heart on fire is gonna fucking hefty so i don't wanna give'r until i'm sure i can manage it.

🤡 How many WIPs are you actively working on?

LMFAO

🛠 Is there a scene or anything in the WIP you are struggling with right now?

i'm having a real bitch of a time with agatha's main scene in chapter two of without sun, i've been fighting with it on and off for months, but i can't get it to do what i want it to do.

❤️ Not a question, just a second kudos to send.

cheers!

sorry for any doubles but, tagging: @drowninginships @cosmicalart @that-disabled-princess @fatalfangirl @cutestkilla @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @artsyunderstudy @thewholelemon @roomwithanopenfire @hushed-chorus @blackberrysummerblog @imagineacoolusername @nightimedreamersworld @prettygoododds @confused-bi-queer @mooncello and an open tag for anybody else who wants to procrastinate their wips!

[hyperfixationsporfavor]

I saw that your req are open and I've had this idea for awhile and no one has really done this pormpt that went across my feed or tags but what if-

Geto or Nanami, you choose (or both) watches the Barbie movie with the reader who was in awe and tears. Reader dissects the movie for them to understand and just overall lets the reader rant and analyze the movie- later on gifts them a Barbie that finally looks like them bc for so long the Reader couldn't find a barbie that felt like it was them (based on looks).

This is very self-indulgent in a way- but feel free to use this idea, thank you for reading! ^^

Hello there! I know this is super late but I've finally gotten around to writing this. I decided to use the season to turn this into a mini holiday fic. I referenced the movie but took a different angle. I hope this is okay. Thank you for sending in the ask!

Geto had come home to find you sitting on the couch with your old video camera.

“What are you doing (Name)?” Geto asked.

You looked up from what you were watching. “I found this in storage when I was pulling out some of the Christmas decorations.”

He made his way over to the couch and sat next to you. The old tape you were watching was from Christmas several years ago. 

“God, how old are the girls there?” he marveled. 

“About five, look at all the Barbie’s. Why didn’t we keep any of those? I think we gave all of them away.”

“Well to be fair (Name) by the time the girls got through with them they looked like they survived a tornado.”

He chuckled. 

“I don’t think those dolls knew what hit them when Nanako gave them ‘rides’ in the dryer.”

He expected you to laugh along with him but instead he found you glumly staring at the recording. You and the much younger twins were placing their new Barbies in their dreamhouse. Nanako sat in your lap as she set up the furniture and Mimiko leaned against you and watched. 

“(Name)?”

You shook your head and shut off the camera. “It’s so stupid. I’m getting emotional over a doll. Well, it’s not really that.”

Suguru put his arm around you and held you close. “Talk to me.”

“The girls, their teenagers now. And I’m so proud of the young women they are becoming but sometimes I miss moments like those.”

The twins were quickly developing into themselves, making friends, dating, excelling in school and hobbies. 

You knew they couldn’t stay little girls forever. And that being a mother you’d have to let go eventually. 

Even if it hurt so damn much. 

We mothers stand still, so our daughters can look back and see how far they’ve come.

~

“Okay, that’s the last of the presents,” Mimiko announced. 

The tree had been cleared of all the boxes and bags, neatly stowed away with the aid of a hefty bag. 

“Wait,” Suguru interjected. “There’s one left.”

“Where?” Nanako asked. 

Suguru reached behind the couch and pulled out a wrapped box.

“To (Name), from Santa.”

You chuckled while Nanako rolled her eyes. 

“Hardy har Dad.”

“Open it (Name),” he insisted.

So you took the package and tore off the paper. 

“What is it?” Mimiko asked. 

“Jewelry?” Nanako prodded.

You gasped, then laughed. 

“It’s a Barbie. Oh honey, you shouldn’t have.”

It wasn’t just a Barbie. It looked like you, the same nose, the same eyes, the same everything.

“It took some digging but I managed to find the perfect one.”

“It looks like Mom!” Mimiko exclaimed.

Nanako laughed. “Aw I haven’t thought of Barbie in years.”

She turned to her sister. “Remember when I used to give them ‘rides’ in the dryer?”

“I remember a perfectly good shirt being ruined,” Suguru muttered.

“I remember Mom hated it, she always used to hide it,” Mimiko recalled.

“(Name)? Is that true?”

You looked away, trying not to smile. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that. I was too busy playing with my new Barbie.”

The four of you spent the rest of the day reminiscing about the past, the wonderful life you had built. 

You always had to keep going, but there was no harm in occasionally looking back. 

[soleilocverse]

Chapter 26 Commentary

Tried a new storytelling thing this chapter! I jumped around the timeline a lot more than I usually do (and even then. Only managed to cover like. 2 weeks.) But wanted to do this kind of, hand-off baton passing back and forth between the POVs of the others and Soleil's highs and lows (While jumping around the timeline). Also I was a bit more direct to the reader, with things like "but before any of those moments, there's this"

In any case, I'm hoping that it comes off as like a series of vignettes. And ofc there's all the stuff in between like breakfast and watching TV with Ness---all the daily stuff. Which I tend to write quite a bit about so I wanted to break from that while also highlighting some of the ongoing themes / issues / things brought up or laid out a while ago (like Evan existing) and wrapping some things up

Because he is, in their sessions, they’re spending at least half the time now working on ERP—making fear pyramids and sitting and talking about all his uncomfortable thoughts.

Am Mostly skipping going into ERP in detail bc i don't want to focus on it SO much bc it will absolutely eat my time like nobody's business but also it genuinely IS localized to when people are actively sick around soleil so it's not acting up So Much generally

But Soleil urges Ness away with both of his hands on his shoulders and even though Ness looks up when Ray calls to him, ultimately, he scampers off to his room.

I'm not sure how well it comes across to people who Didn't read Sick Days bc i Wrote it and have that character development in mind but i wanted to point a little bit to how ness starts looking to ray for guidance too, and not just Soleil (like. he does for cyrill and athena too, but in this case, ray Very specifically)

Ray stops short, holding his breath for whatever’s triggered Soleil this time. ... “Soleil.” Ray says firmly and Soleil quiets himself, waiting for—he’s not sure what.

I liked the mirror image of both of them waiting v cautiously for the other

“Stop— you shouldn’t—” he mimics raising Ray up, even if he’s sat far away enough that he can’t reach.

So, Soleil being able to say "stop" in this context is very good!!! He still cuts himself and redirects but being able to say the word at all to someone that he perceives as having higher status than him is !! Even if it's just to get said person to stop debasing themself and freaking him out bc now the roles are getting all messed up

But he can’t help but wonder if he ever reacts this badly with Athena, a female beta, or Cyrill, a male hybrid omega.

I don't /think/ this is something I've voiced in fic yet but it's been on Ray's mind for a while now.

--

"one thousand five hundred dollars…”

I put this in specifically!! Because i remember as a kid hearing "fifteen hundred" dollars and being like, huh. Before I clocked that the more common way to say numbers like these is Not saying each place out loud. I still don't think even with exposure to money talk by Grey etc, that Soleil would have cared enough or had the bandwidth to parse this so it's a sign of his immaturity (neutral) when it comes to money and having + using money

“It’s okay,” he says finally, quietly. “I think you probably only had my best interests in mind, right?” He smiles at Cyrill’s vigorous nod. “Then it’s okay. Did you mean it about the budget and going over the other documents?”

I think that Soleil is still uncomfortable with receiving apologies. And he means his forgiveness here, that's why it's so short and simple, "then it's okay." And no stuttering or long pauses this time, but then he Immediately wants to topic change because he doesn't want to linger or give Cyrill the chance to linger.

Also fun fact this was originally Athena doing the card giving but since I wrote that scene in my ideas doc, Cyrill has been kind of very !! about Soleil getting that card so I thought it fitting that he should be the one to give it. (In that version, Athena was much more manipulative from the get-go @ getting Soleil to accept it by talking about some of the things he could do with Ness/for Ness with it)

--

imo, Cyrill's low is the lowest of the lows and that's on purpose! kind of? in that, based on soleil's level of comfortability with the others, his lows reflected that. so in order cyrill (highest stress, newest / least developed anxiety, which he feels comfortable enough w/ cyrill to come to with) -> athena (medium developed anxiety @ asking for things and wow look at how successfully he does it!) -> ray (most baked-in anxiety, retreats to older coping mechanisms)

So ray's suspicions are correct, in that soleil Doesn't act this way with the others and it /is/ because athena is a woman and cyrill is both an omega and a hybrid, whereas ray is a big, tall guy and most resembles his abusers in the past bc of that. but like ray also says, soleil can look him in the eye now etc, there's obvs trust there, soleil just tends to be more antsy around ray

“You should be able to go be with your family for Thanksgiving, especially since you have a mother who actually loves you."

Ofc, the implication here is that soleil's mom does not/did not love him. Also when i started writing this fic I was trying to set it in some nebulous, possibly nonexistent country and then i gave up (bc i don't feel like making up new customs/holidays/traditions and i think just linguistically i out myself as a usamerican w/o realizing it, like by saying cart instead of buggy or w/e) so, here's thanksgiving. AHDKASHKDJSHAJKHDJSHALFHLAKSHF i don't actually do traditional thanksgiving stuff, author lore but my family got into a huge fight one thanksgiving and it caused a rift to the point where i don't even talk to that side anymore so like lol.

And Cyrill, who was busy daydreaming about all the delicious food he’d get to eat tomorrow is completely taken off guard.

I'm so sorry bunny

“I checked her Facebook again.”

HM. I just clocked that i think you need a facebook in order to look at someone else's facebook but i can tell u for sure that soleil does not have one/did not make one so. just, suspend your disbelief i guess

"I worked it out with Rhys that we can do a walk through during non-business hours so you can get a feel of how big the rink is and where everything is.”

Listen. I love a Time Dedication as a love language and Cyrill being like, i know it will lessen your anxiety at least a Little Bit if this place is not Completely New to you so I set up a way for that to not be the case. Am I going to bark over my own fic and the relationships within? YES. BARK.

"And you know that I absolutely chose to stay here for Thanksgiving, of my own volition, right? Because I love everybody here?” Soleil sniffles some more, letting out some weak hitched breaths. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to come in here and,” he waves his hand.

I think Soleil still gets Super psyched out about saying that he loves the others but he's now at least a little bit less deer in headlights about Hearing it. still wants to change the subject tho.

--

The ceiling and walls are painted a darker olive green, broken up by wood beams. She has a cubby bookcase filled with yarn organized by color—a riot of said color and genuinely the opposite of her office. Half-finished projects wrap around their skeins, anchored by knitting needles or crochet hooks.

I think this is a good representation of Athena in general? I think she comes off as very mature, and she is. Her office is very austere, her room is built up of these dark, mature (again) colors. I think the way that she presents herself makes it seem like she is very put together (which again, she is) but then within all that there's this riot of color - her thoughts and desires and playfulness, and I think the yarn and those projects are a good metaphor for hopes / visions / dreams etc of the future and her making that happen with her own two hands. (Though I had made this her hobby without having that in mind, I am just 🥰🥰🥰🥰 about her)

“I think it’s a nice idea, not dumb at all. If you wanted to try some creative writing, that could be fun.” Soleil gives a considering little laugh but doesn’t say anything

Incredibly interesting feeling to write Soleil being like, haha, about creative writing bc he doesn't think he'd be good at it (and probably...wouldn't? be good at it?) when it's like such a vital part of what i Do as a person.

--

“Yeah,” she says with an encouraging smile. “Just like any other week at the park, right? And what’s the best possible outcome?” Soleil blinks hard before he thinks. “Uh. I don’t know. She, uh…is so happy to see me that she uh, doesn’t want me to leave and invites me out for lunch. Or something.” “And you could always set up lunch with her for another time, right? In fact, you can always text her back now. ‘Sorry for the slow reply. Thanks for the well wishes, I’m feeling better. Looking forward to seeing you.’ Something like that.”

Couple of points here: I think it is? a bit sad that the Best Possible Outcome is something that feasible. When I do this exercise I go Way in the opposite direction in the same way as catastrophizing.

Also I think it's so fucking funny when Athena texts like she's on an email chain

“I know it’s been a while since you’ve been outside, do you need me to carry you out to the car?” He asks, knowing full well that’s not the problem, or at least not one that Soleil mentioned to Athena. Soleil blinks rapidly, his scent doing something complicated, before he pulls on the jacket. There’s a dusting of pink across his cheeks as he softly shakes his head. “No, that’s…I’m okay. Thank you, though.”

I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN!!!!!! every day of my life i am rooting for ray to carry soleil again

--

“I don’t even think he realizes he’s doing it. Or maybe, not all the time, he definitely does it on purpose sometimes.” “Does what?” “Makes Ness quiet. Or pulls him into his lap or distracts him, if he thinks Ness might bother us.” “Oh. I didn’t realize he did that with everyone.”)

YAAAAAAAAY I've wanted to address this for so long it's finally being voiced in fic <3333

“Ness wanted to show you something,” he says with…it’s not quite cheer but it’s something like that. And he thinks it’s for Ness’s benefit because there’s something watchful and calculating in Soleil’s eyes.

I think the way Soleil speaks here is ^^ cheer-y BUT Ray is clocking that something is off bc it's very fake cheer. Bc he himself is hesitant but he doesn't want Ness to clock that and is also giving Ray the chance here to prove him wrong. And Ray v much does that!

Soleil will swing his right foot every now and then

i THINK that i have already put this little character habit in for soleil w/ him on the sitting bench outside but he likes either swinging his foot or having his foot swing him ^^

“Wouldn't it be nice if we could make a couple for him though?” His eyes widen just a bit and he gets a bit of sparkle in them. “If you wanted to, you could still play your joke and then show him that you did make some of the ones he likes, that would be funny too, right?” When he makes eye contact with Ray next, he has his tail in his lap, hands resting gently on it, his eyes are happy crescents, and his cheeks are pink with mirth. Ray knows that Soleil can be playful, he plays with Ness every day. But he's never seen Soleil be mischievous.

I think this is sooooo fun and important. Soleil growing out of his shell just a little bit more, and the way that his mischievousness is tentative and a bit unsure but still rooted in kindness and surprise

And ofc the final line line in this chapter: It’s a good, healthy look on him.

Is meant to mirror the final lines in chapter 7, "Soleil is still flushed a pretty pink but he’s smiling easily and happily this morning.

For the first time since he’s arrived at the manor he’s looking like a happy, healthy omega."

And this time!!!! He's got the tail involved too, which has been more and more present the more comfortable he's become. And having his hands on/in his tail is often a self-soothing gesture but I think this time it's just bc he likes the way it feels and he's Not denying himself the urge to mess with it. It's becoming somewhat of an absent-minded habit like Cyrill messing with his hair or a bunny ear.

--

Soleil revels in the ability to plop a kiss on his curls and so he kisses Ness all over until his baby is shrieking with laughter and his own cheeks hurt from grinning.

Baseline Soleil says kissing Ness is allowed again!!!!! Esp since last chapter it Wasn't allowed i wanted to have a BUNCH of kisses.

And it strikes him with awe, as he looks up at the ceiling—lit softly with light from the moon, that he goes to bed with a full belly and he had not a single doubt that both he and Ness would.

Initially, Ray's High moment was meant to be the last section of this chapter but Soleil decided he wanted his own high moment and i think it's just a lovely point to end this chapter/arc with (arc being fall season since i have this fic split roughly into four main parts by season)

Just, the feeling of safety and security, for both he and his son, highlighted by two of the largest points of contention: access to food and having a connection to the outside world

also it just came to me that it would be a good way to bring things full circle since the moon is one of the first things that was important to soleil + ness in Being outside for the first time (freely, not under duress). And when soleil is in his suite in the beginning, he wants to look at the moon but "can't bring himself to look outside" so he gets up and closes the curtain. and is then anxious that maybe he Shouldn't have Touched so he puts the curtain back.

And now!!!!!!! It's just a baked in part of his life. the moonlight, the outside reaching in, is just There and he can look at it freely while basking in this safety and comfort.