#I don’t know their ship name it’s very sad

[pixiesfz]

It make me so sad that’s there is not much lotte or Teagan content on here 😭

I’m gonna mix my two requests for teagan together!!

take the punch t.m

plot: you take a hard punch in a corner kick, turns out it’s from the girl you’ve been talking to for months.

warnings: injury, aggression from teammates, Player gets hit in the face and player is only given a yellow also I am NOT a doctor

You stared at your phone and the messages that were on it.

More specifically the girl behind the messages.

You had met Teagan at the start of the season on her debut as Liverpools goal keeper.

She had been a pain in your ass.

saving your shots left right and centre, it annoyed you but impressed you so much that you went up to her afterwards.

“Teagan is it?” You ask, walking up to her and she nodded “uh yeah, your y/n” she responded and you nodded “you know your really good” you told her “wasn’t fun for me but you know” you laugh and she laughed with you.

“I was honestly very scared to go against you” she admitted and you rose your eyebrows “really?” You ask and she nodded “watched you in the World Cup when Australia versed you, got those goals past us like it was nothing”

Oh yes, you remember that day.

“Sorry for kicking you guys out” you said softly and she shook her head “nah it’s all good, had me mesmerised to be honest”

You blushed, “yeah?” you ask and the goal keeper nodded “definitely”.

Before you could response you felt the hands of your teammate drag you away “Chloe!” You complained as she smiled at you

“No fraternising with the enemy y/n/n”

“Shut up”.

When you went to bed that night you didn’t expect to wake up to a dm from the Australian.

‘I really hope this is your account and not just a very popular fan account’

And for the first time in a while you woke up with a smile.

After a month or so of talking online with the girl your teammates noticed a change in your behaviour.

You were smiling in the morning, trying new things for breakfast and pestering Mary and Alanna for Australian facts.

One day Alanna turned towards you “Alright who is it?”

“Who is what?”

“Who is the girl that is getting you all…giddy”

You stepped back “there is no girl”

“There is such a girl, who knew our little German could find love?” She grinned and pulled you into a loving headlock.

“Fine” you grunted “there is a girl” you admitted and cheers filled the room.

“Who is it?”

“Does she play?”

“Do we know her?”

“Please don’t let it be a physio”

You turned to Jill weirdly “what?” You asked and she just shrugged before you turned back to your teammates.

“I’m not going to tell her name yet just in case it doesn’t go well, yes she plays and yes some of you know her well”

You gave away your hints before the team realised it could literally be anyone in the WSL.

“Can you at least tell us the team?” Mary asked, using her power of being one of the younger, cuter members of the squad.

“No.”

You were on a FaceTime with the Australian when she made the first move “Do you want to go on another date with me?” She asked after the topic of your worst date ever came up.

You smiled bright, a blush burning on your cheeks but you were so ever happy “I would love to, we can walking on the beach again”.

“Well we have the Liverpool vs City game coming up next week so after that” she declared “nah, I was thinking something fancier, we can go on a nice dinner and-“

“I want you to surprise me” you cut her off “I want to know what your creative Australian mind thinks of”

“Well mostly it’s you” she chimed in and you groaned, rolling your eyes “oh shut up”

Teagan laughed at your reaction, smiling at the way you reacted to her cheesy pick up lines.

Texts back and forth between the two of you did not help your nerves for the game ahead of you. But mostly you were more nervous for the activities afterwards.

You had ended up confiding to your national teammate Lena about your situation ship with the Aussie, not letting your club teammates know just yet.

But when the game ends and the girls see you walking out the doors with Teagan they'll find out who your mystery girl is anyway so with your blood rushing and head spinning you finally and well accidently tell your man city teammate and unfortunately Teagan's international teammate Mary.

"Really?" she responds to your quick words as you laid them out quickly, you just blushed harder before she gives you a thinking face "well that makes sense".

You furrow your brows "how-why- how does it make sense?" you ask, your arms moving with your words "well last international break she seemed much happier and that was after we versed Liverpool and if we weren't at trainings she was like stuck on her phone"

You stepped back at your friends words, You and Teagan had only successfully been able to go on one date together by the time the first international break came over, it brough a smile to your face realizing that she was in a similar state as you afterwards.

"I can help you two!"

"Mary I will not allow this to become a primary school relationship!"

Soon the game was here, you were lined up with your team in the tunnel, not in the starting XI but still in your gear as a sub. Mary was behind you, still the only teammate who knew about Teagan.

"look who's watching" she teased and you turned red, quickly turning around and smacking her arm "stop" you instructed and turned towards Teagan who was near the front of her line, she was already smiling at your interaction with Mary but gave you a small wave which you copied before you all walked out.

"that hurt" Mary rubbed her arm "deal with it".

You weren't subbed on until the second half, City were up by one as Lauren sent one through Teagan's fingers and into the net. You saw Teagan dust herself off as you ran on, her eyes fell on you for a second before going back onto the play which you joined in on quickly after.

Jess had scored not long after and you cheered after her, jumping onto her back with a smile. You wanted to look back to Teagan to see if she was doing okay but you were in your element, playing the sport you love and in this case winning!

In the 87th minute Kerstin weaved through the midfield and in between defenders as you lead towards the goal, her eyes darted towards you and sent you the ball, you jumped to header it in and then black.

The crowd watched as you jumped in the air, the ball hitting the front of your forehead and unfortunately the fist of Teagan's hands hitting the back, causing you to fall forward straight on the floor which you stayed.

Teagan all of a sudden didn't care about the ball that hit the back of the net and quickly dropped down to you, rolling you on your back so you faced up to her. "Oh my god-"

Teagan was cut off as your teammates pulled her away "Get off of her Micah" someone called out, Mary, cringing on the sidelines as she couldn't split her teammates and her friend apart. The words were catching your ears as you stirred awake to whatever had just happened to you.

Teagan ignored the man city players pesters and kept her eyes on you "please I just want to see if she's okay" she told them but Alanna pulled her back as medics ran on "Teagan she's not going to want to see you" she told her and Teagan crossed her head "I was supposed to ask her to be my girlfriend tonight" she told Alanna and the tall Australian stepped back and looked back over to you with wide eyes.

"let her go over".

Teagan ran over to you as the medics sat you up, The referee also showing her a yellow card but she didn't care.

"Hmm- Teags" you slurred as the girl came into your view "what happened?" you ask and the girl pursed her lips.

"Kinda punched you in the face"

"Oh" you said, not really gaining the information, a clear concussion on your behalf

Teagan watched as you were taken off by medics and went back into her box, the game quickly changed in the last ten minutes, the crowd was quiet and the teams weren't playing as hard, Liverpool excepting their defeat and man city not celebrating their win.

Not without you.

You were taken into the medics room before they quickly decided to take you to the hospital for a CT scan.

Meanwhile at the game, some of the players skipped the walk around the field to talk with fans and checked to see where you were. Hospital was what word was heard and Teagan along-side with Man city players were on their way.

Teagan drove herself, maybe going a bit faster than usual but you were on her mind, this was her fault.

She had had a concussion before, a bad concussion, it took her out for months on the team. She didn't want the same for you.

She was the first to arrived still in her kit, your teammates walked in five minutes later, quickly seeing the girl and walking up to her "you don't have to take pity on her" Kerstin said, Lauren quickly following "a quick DM would have been fine for her", their words were filled with pettiness which Alanna and Mary quickly shut down.

"They're not strangers" Mary said quickly and they all turned their heads "what?" Chloe questioned, Leia still stepping up to the Goal keeper "then what are they?"

"She's the girl".

Leia stepped back as Chloe gasped "oh my god, we are so sorry" Teagan just nodded, she ignored their comments her mind strictly on you "she was gonna tell you today after the game"

"before you punched her"

"useful information, thankyou Mary"

All the girls sat down, waiting for you "do you think she'll be mad?" Teagan asked Alanna who shook her head "she knows what she signed up for when she took that header, she knows the game" the blonde said and Teagan just nodded, still not convinced you wont cuss her out when you see her.

You sat in the room, looking at the scans, you would have a month off which you nodded your head at "I know it's not ideal but you have to be on a bed rest for about a week and you will have to miss the next international break for Germany" the doctor told you and you once again nodded your head.

"But you will be well enough for the Olympic but if you don't make it to the finals then you'll be out until the end of the season"

You sniffed, rolling your head back to stop any tears. You were sure Man city would make it to the finals with how they were playing, but if you missed a month you weren't sure if you would get any minutes on the film.

You had seen how time off had done for others, you didn't want that to be you.

You walked out of the room looking defeated as ever, your teammates were the first to walk to you, checking up on you with little questions before Kerstin gave you a hug, silently apologizing for her kick which you told her was not her fault.

It was nobodies fault.

When they all walked away, Mary softly turned your head towards the Liverpool keeper who had left to grab flowers from one of the stalls nearby.

"I thought you would have gone home" you said, relieved at the sight of her "and go to the dinner by myself?" she joked and you softly laughed.

You touched the back of your head "I don't think I look nice enough for a fancy dinner right now" you said and Teagan stepped forward her arm raising towards yours "Well personally I think you look amazing"

You blushed as she she tucked your hair you had taken out behind your ear "how long are you out for?" she asked "only a month" you smiled "that's really good Y/n" she started before looking down "I'm really sorry I just wasn't thinking and-"

You cut her off y quickly pecking her lips, distracting her completely as she widened her eyes "I don't blame you Teagan" you said, grabbing the flowers with one hand and grabbing her other hand with the other.

"So you're not mad?"

You creased your eyebrows "of course not" she let out a sigh of relief "well that's good, might have to cancel our plans though" she said and you smirked "how bout we order take out at mine?"

"yeah?"

"yes."

[jar-of-maise]

incorrect quotes with my new fav trio

starring wriothesley, clorinde and neuvillette bc i said so

Wriothesley: What do you think Neuvillette will do for a distraction? Clorinde: They’ll probably, like, make a noise or throw a rock. That’s what I would do. *Building explodes and several car alarms go off* Clorinde: ... or he could do that.

...

Wriothesley: How's the sexiest person here~? Neuvillette: I don't know, how are they~? Wriothesley: I- Clorinde, from across the room: I'm doing great, thanks!

...

Clorinde: Do you ever want to talk about your emotions, Wriothesley? Wriothesley: … No. Neuvillette: I do! Clorinde: I know, Neuvillette. Neuvillette: I’m sad! Wriothesley: We know, Neuvillette

...

Neuvillette, to Wriothesley and Clorinde: *holding knife out in front of them* Are you or are you not an enemy of the people?! Wriothesley: ... Clorinde: ... Wriothesley: That is such an open-ended question. Clorinde: Yeah, it really depends on a lot of different factors-

...

Wriothesley: We need a diversion. I say Neuvillette gets naked. Neuvillette: No. Clorinde: Who are we trying to distract again?

...

Clorinde, at Neuvillette: Would you like to stay for dinner? Wriothesley, from the kitchen: Would you like to stay forever!?!

...

Clorinde: Ooh, somebody has a crush Wriothesley: Pfft, I don’t have a crush on Neuvillette I just think they’re cool, it’s not like I stay up at night thinking about them. *Later that night* Wriothesley, very much awake: Uh oh.

...

Neuvillette: There's no way they like me back. Clorinde: Wriothesley would throw himself in front of a moving car for you. Neuvillette: Wriothesley would throw himself in front of a moving car for fun.

...

Neuvillette: Why is everyone so obsessed with top or bottom? Honestly, I’d just be excited to have a bunk bed. Clorinde: Clorinde: I'm gonna tell them. Wriothesley: Don't you dare.

...

Wriothesley: Is there a cactus where your heart should be? Clorinde: What’s up your ass this morning! Neuvillette: *walks in* ...Hey. Clorinde: Hmm… nevermind. Wriothesley: WAIT NO!

...

Wriothesley: Do you cook? Neuvillette: I made a cake once. Clorinde: Yeah, it was good. Neuvillette: Really? Clorinde: Don’t make me lie twice, Neuvillette.

...

Neuvillette: Is letting someone win at chess sapiosexual bottoming? Clorinde: Can everyone in this godforsaken group please learn the skill called "Think Before You Speak"? Wriothesley: Ya know... it might be.

...

Clorinde: Did Wriothesley just tell me he loved me for the first time? Neuvillette: Yeah, he did. Clorinde: And did I just do finger guns back? Neuvillette: Yeah, you did.

...

Wriothesley: Where are my fucking keys? Clorinde: Wriothesley, Neuvillette is around, can you say it a little nicer? Wriothesley: May I ascertain the whereabouts of my FUCKING KEYS?!

...

*Neuvillette dies in a game with ships* Wriothesley: This ship is no longer a ship of love, it's a ship of vengeance, a gavel of justice against all that is wrong in the world, showing no mercy, as no mercy was shown to us. Wriothesley: The spark of love will now fuel the fires of destructive glory as I wage my war across the world with righteous fury. Clorinde: Legend has it that Neuvillette still haunts the ship, stealing my fucking drinks. Neuvillette: Of course I do.

...

Wriothesley: How do you tell someone that you wanna have sex with them in a polite way? Neuvillette: Excuse me [insert name]. Would you give me the honours of indulging in sexual activities with you? Clorinde: What the fuck is wrong with you two?

...

Clorinde: Hey, no, you stay out of this, this is between me and Wriothesley! Neuvillette: So Wriothesley knows about this? Clorinde, walking away: No, this is between me and me!

...

Neuvillette: *is wearing silk pants* How does this look? Wriothesley: Like its slips on and off really easily. Neuvillette: Wriothesley: No, I didn't mean it like that- Clorinde: We know what you meant.

...

Clorinde: What have you done with Neuvillette? Wriothesley: Nothing. Why, do you think I should?

...

Neuvillette, gardening: Hey, can you bring me the hoe? Wriothesley: Yeah, sure. *A few minutes later* Wriothesley: Here you go. Neuvillette: Wriothesley: Clorinde: Why am I here?

...

Wriothesley: I’m this close to falling in love with Neuvillette. Clorinde: Your fingertips are touching. Wriothesley: Exactly.

...

Neuvillette: Would you take a bullet for me? Wriothesley: ...yes? *Clorinde angrily burst into the room* Neuvillette: *running away* Great, thanks!

guys i love them a healthy amount i swear. NOW DIE ON THIS HILL WITH ME

PART II is now up!

[zwhoreo]

Luffy would be a fun lovable boyfriend, but I just know that he would be a bit forgetful and even selfish with reader’s needs.

The kind of boyfriend that you tell him not to do something, and he's like "ok :)" but proceeds to do what you said not to do. But at the end he apologizes and promises not to do it again when he sees your sad face.

tysm for the request!! this story ended up being so alabasta-coded in its themes because I looove alabasta

broken promises - luffy x gn!reader

angsty fluff

summary in request. whenever you dock on new islands, luffy runs off without telling you where he’s going, or saying goodbye. even though you’ve made him promise to a million times.

words: 1.6k

________________________

He means so well, and he tries in so many ways, very hard, like how he’s the first to help you or defend you if you’re upset or in pain, how he holds you at night (and all the time), he puts your needs first in nearly every way but for the life of him he can’t remember half the things you tell him, even if you beg and cry about it, even if it distresses him and fills his heart with guilt in the moment, he has a hard time remembering.

Like how he never tells you where he’s going, or when he’ll be back, and how he doesn’t say goodbye.

Last time, he ran off without telling you and even though the rest of the crew assured you he’s alright, he’ll do fine on his own, stop worrying, you felt off and you did worry and you got a lecture about trust. But in the end, it was Sanji who dragged Luffy back to the ship, because he’d fallen into the ocean by accident when he was exploring the docks across the island and it was only because Sanji happened to be at the waterfront getting supplies that he was rescued.

This, of course, upset you greatly. You weren’t angry with Luffy at first, only so grateful that he was ok. You helped him take a warm shower to soothe his frozen nerves, you fed him, you cuddled with him in bed even though he complained a bit that he wanted to keep exploring. But then you started crying because you felt heartsick inside and he grew quiet, he wanted to cry too, he said he was sorry as he fidgeted in his seat and didn’t really meet your eyes because he felt extremely bad and didn’t know how to help.

But you went easy on him because you were reminded of how easily he could be gone, in just the briefest moment. So you held his face in your hands and told him it’s ok, it’s alright, just don’t do it again. You made him promise.

____________________

You’re finally on another island, now. You’re all sick with boredom and you can’t wait to stretch your legs and be on solid ground, and so does Luffy. You’re all standing on the deck and talking about what you’re going to do that day, if you should go out to eat first, who is going to buy supplies. But before you can even turn to him, Luffy is jumping off the ship and shooting away into town, not saying goodbye or telling you where he’s going or anything, absolutely anything, that you had made him promise to do.

And this is made more frustrating because the day before you had cornered him in a hug on the deck and said “when we get to the island can you please, please tell me where you’re going first?”

And with a happy smile he nodded and said, “ok!” and pressed his face against your cheek as a signal of what you thought was a promise.

But now you’re left totally speechless and near tears because he just left, not thinking about anything but himself.

And in the back of his mind somewhere, Luffy knows that he should have said something to you and at least given you a goodbye kiss, but it was just so much easier not to say anything and he’d see you tonight, anyways! And he wanted to go have fun and he would really, really try not to fall in the water this time, definitely.

But he doesn’t know that now you’re sick to your stomach and don’t even want to go on the island anymore. He doesn’t know that when Nami smiled and rolled her eyes and told you, “[name], he’s gonna be fine, just relax,” you told her to shut up which got her (and Sanji) really angry at you and now you feel worse.

Zoro snaps at you too, thinking less of you right now that you’re supposedly doubting Luffy’s ability to fend for himself, a he’s not a child, worrying’s not going to do you any good.

Trying to lift your spirits, Usopp asks if you want to go out to dinner with him, and you agree even though you’re not hungry. It starts in awkward silence as you two walk, which really isn’t like you, but once you sit down and start eating Usopp really tries to take your mind off things and soon you’re laughing and talking like your normal self over an enjoyable local dinner. Until, while telling you a funny story you haven’t heard before, Usopp mentions Luffy. And you get sad and upset again and get in a state of “please I need to go find him now.”

Usopp needs to go but you run into Chopper who agrees to help you look, you walk around the town together and your nerves are tearing you up inside. It’s now been hours since you’ve seen him, evening darkens and you’re praying for any sign that he’s near, you’ve worked yourself up and thank god Chopper isn’t reprimanding you, at least.

But you’ve looked for so long, now, and Chopper says he’s really sorry but you should just go back to the ship and wait, Luffy’s gonna be fine and he’ll definitely be back soon.

But you really, really don’t want to go back to the ship. So with a lump in your throat you tell him that he can go, but you’re going to sit on that hill over there for a while and be alone. He agrees, a little sad that he can’t do more.

You go and sit in the grass and cry quietly, frustration and worry creeping over you. Trust is the most important thing in this relationship, why is this so hard for you all of a sudden? But no, that’s not it, why wouldn’t Luffy do the simplest thing you asked him to? You have so many emotions spinning in your mind that you don’t notice the voice at first.

“[NAME!]”

And you hear running footsteps, sandals stumbling over the path in a hurry to get to you. You’re knocked into the ground by a tight, sudden hug, Luffy’s lips connecting with your cheek, tumbling over you and quickly swiping your face with his palms to wipe your tears.

“Don’t cry! I’m right here!” He’s inches away from your face, gazing into your eyes. He’s grinning, but an I want you to be ok and smile too type of grin.

“Luffy…” You throw your arms around his neck, overtaken by a temporary rush of relief and joy to see him, quelling your stress at last, the knot leaving your stomach.

“Chopper saw me and told me you were upset, oh [name] please don’t be sad, I didn’t mean to make you cry… I love you so so much…” He climbs into your lap and presses his body to yours.

“I’m really mad at you,” you whisper against his neck, “Luffy, what did I say you had to do?”

“Um…” He looks at you searchingly, but when he sees the sadness and hurt in your eyes he feels truly awful and everything comes back to him. “I… I should’ve told you where I was going, and said goodbye… I’m really sorry.” He leans in to give you another kiss on the cheek, and this time he stays there, breathing softly, quietly against you.

“You said that last time, you promised…” You feel your face getting flushed with frustration.

“I’m so sorry… I wanna be better, I wanna try!” Luffy grabs your shoulders and gazes into your eyes again, eyebrows knit. “I wanna be a really perfect boyfriend to ya, I’m sorry for being no good at it.”

You lean into him, your tears still aren’t quite over. “You are perfect, I just… I need more communication, please? Please, can you try?”

“Mhm! I really promise this time! I wanna make you really happy, ok? Here, look, all day I was tryna find something for ya…” He reaches carefully into his pocket, still looking at you, and he pulls out a pastry wrapped carefully in wax paper.

It smells so good, like warm raspberry and roses, he puts it in your hand and it crinkles into your palm. You unwrap it and it’s from a fancy bakery in town, you realize, and he must’ve bought it for you with his own money. He hadn’t even tasted it, it’s perfectly intact, you know that’s a big deal for Luffy, how he was able to control his restraint for warm food just to give you a nice gift he thought would make you happy.

“C’mon… eat it and you’ll feel better. You can have the whole thing…” he murmurs, rubbing your thigh gently.

“Thanks, Lu…” And you settle against him while he holds you, and you eat in small bites because you’re still emotional and fragile right now. “Hey Luffy?”

“Hm?” He’s sitting behind you now, he rests his chin on your shoulder.

“I really appreciate you. I love you a lot, I just want you to know that…”

“I know,” he says quietly into your ear, and you can hear his smile. He squeezes your hand and you fall into comfortable silence, there on the hill as the sky fills with stars.

[ceneid]

hii!! can i request headcanons for a lyney x reader (gn or fem is preferred!) maybe just headcanons for, like, what he would do for you on a daily basis? just a mix of fluffy fluff fluff? i feel like his love language would be a mix of everything tbh. feel free to take your time!! no rush :>

HIII NONNIE !! and yes yes, of course ! i apologize for the delay, but it’s finally released from my drafts -

pairing : lyney x gn! reader

synopsis : lyney, your ever wonderful lover, loves you to bits. so what would he do for you on a daily basis ?

proofread : ⨯

cw : just fluffy fluff fluff, as requested !

author’s notes : actually kinda proud of this one - either ways, hope you enjoy the read, nonnie ! and this was actually a good warm up for that request my lovely wifey sent lmao - anygays, enjoy ! also, I apologize if it’s somewhat short

LYNEY would definitely, first and foremost, give you a dessert every day. no matter whether it's because you accomplished something, you made him fall for you even more ( if that was even possible at this point ), or you just being you and being there for him, he'll buy you your favorite dessert every day. you can't convince me otherwise. man loves you and wants to show it to you! you better accept it before you're having to deal with a sad and clingy lyney for the rest of the day lmao

LYNEY would also be the typa guy to be fine with PDA. he's a big fan of this one. like, you two will be holding hands as you take a relaxing stroll through the streets of fontaine, he'll give you side hugs while you two are out getting street food - you name it, it'll be on this list.

LYNEY would show you every magic trick that he and lynette practices beforehand - he wants to know your honest opinion on it! that is, if the trick isn’t a surprise for you, of course.

LYNEY would take you out on silly little dates whenever he has the time to! like, if he was feeling particularly happy after a show of his, spectacular as always, he’ll take you out to café lucerne to buy the both of y’all something to snack on and to chat your ear off about his happiness. if you feel like shutting him up, just kiss him. don’t worry, he’s only going to jump up and down in happiness.

LYNEY would, as soon as he knows what it is, give you your favorite flower every day! he wants to see you happy; if you decide to keep them all in a vase, he’ll be even happier. the flower’s not local to fontaine? not to worry! he’ll order it through romaritime harbor’s daily ships that come to the dock. just a quick chat with the sailors, a handful of mora, and boom - your beloved flower is there the very next day, still fresh, too.

LYNEY would give you kissies everywhere - he loves you, and much like two of the previous ones, he wants to show you a tiny bit of just how much he loves you. even if it can’t cover every little bit of how much he adores you, he supposes it’ll have to do until he finds something that can. or, at least, it can try to.

LYNEY will get you a vip ticket to every one of his shows. front row, free popcorn - the whole package. hey, it’s his show, and you’re his treasure - just you being there will pay for it. no need to worry!

LYNEY loves you, and will show it in many ways just how much he’s mesmerized by you <3

© ceneid 2024. please do not steal, repost or translate.

[booksandabeer]

Stucky, Fandom Longevity, and "Primacy Bias"

There’s this post that's been floating around the past few days about how the Stucky fandom in its heyday produced fic and art masterpieces like they were all collectively possessed by an unprecedented spirit of creative insanity. It’s a good, fun post and I agree with the person who wrote it. (not rb'ing because I didn't want to hijack their post with something that's only tangentially related).

It was indeed a magical time and the creative output in both quantity and quality in the two-year period following the release of CA:TWS is—with perhaps a few exceptions—unmatched by anything that I’ve seen before and since. However, going through the notes on that post, I noticed something that left me a little irritated and quite frankly sad since it is in congruence with, and to a certain extent the confirmation of something that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.

For one thing, there are so many people in the notes expressing sentiments along the lines of “it was such a wonderful time; I wish I could go back; I miss these fics; I want to read these fics again,” etc., etc., you get it. And it feels a little silly pointing this out, but…you can just do that? Almost all of these fics are still right there, waiting for you to be (re)read. Yes, a lot of people left the fandom after The Great Devastation of 2019, but their stories didn’t just disappear. It's not like there is now a big, black hole where the Steve/Bucky tag used to be on AO3. So, if you miss these fics and you want to revisit them—just do it. Chances are the authors will be delighted that people are still finding and enjoying their stories all these years later. And—since apparently this needs saying, too, judging from the notes on that post: A lot of people seem to be very concerned with losing ‘coolness points’ for openly admitting that they still miss the ship and often feel tempted to dip their toes back into the Stucky pool. I don’t know how to tell you this, but if someone tries to shame you for simply enjoying or missing something, they are an asshole. Not to mention that all this is happening on tumble.com—'coolness' doesn't exactly live here. And that is a good thing, to be clear. Fandom is not about being cool. It’s about being as enthusiastic, as silly, as absolutely fucking unhinged about the things you love as you want to be. So, stop caring what other people think and enjoy yourself.

The other thing is that there seems to be a pretty widespread misconception that the Stucky fandom hasn’t produced any good fanworks after 2016.

First, that is patently and demonstrably untrue. There is so much incredibly good fanfiction and fanart still out there. Not as much as back in the day, sure, but it still exists. And more is being posted every day! Even some of the OG Big Names are still around. One of the most beloved Stucky series that started all the way back in 2014 was updated as recently as December of last year. The artist, who I believe the op is referring to as creating ‘baroque’ paintings, posted their latest Stucky art not even two months ago.

Second, I find this “primacy bias” more than just a little insulting to the many hardworking and incredibly talented people who are still putting their blood, sweat, and tears into creating for this community. And it’s one thing if people who have long left the fandom believe or say something like this, but it’s frankly irritating when I see people who are still very much active—and therefore definitely should know better—feed into that same false myth. Yes, it sucks that the Stucky ship isn’t as big as it used to be, but that doesn't mean there isn't any 'fresh talent' to be found anymore. I’m also not saying we shouldn’t still celebrate and recommend older works—I do it all the time! And it sure as hell doesn't mean everyone has to reblog absolutely everything all the time, either. Your blog, your rules.

But maybe we should put a little more focus on the good things, on the creators and the community we have now, especially if we want that community to still exist in another ten years. I mean, imagine you’re a person who’s just gotten into the fandom (because yes, there are indeed still new people discovering Stucky all the time) and one of the first things you’re being told is “eh, nice that you're here, but you’re about 7 years late; the big party is already over.” Does that seem like a fun space to hang out in to you?

So. Let’s all—and I do not exclude myself from this because God knows, I love to complain—spend a little less time mourning the ‘good old days’ that are never coming back anyway, and instead focus our attention on enjoying and appreciating both the incredible treasure chest of an archive we have AND the wealth of high-quality art and fic that is still being created by this wonderful community every single day. With this in mind:

🥳🎊Happy Stucky Week 2023!!! 🎊🥳

*I want to make it very clear that this is a general thing that’s been on my mind lately and that I’m trying to work through here—probably not very coherently. I'm not trying to tell anybody 'how to do fandom' and I’m most definitely not vagueposting about any particular incident, person, or group in this fandom. This isn’t a callout post. It’s an I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this and I don’t know what else do with them post.

[moody4world]

In my business pt3

part2

y/n

512.377 views • Liked by jackharlow

y/n TBT TO MY FNF FREESTYLE 😏 @glorillapimp

View all 1.155 comments

glorillapimp 4m

Let’s gooooooo

1.317 likes Reply

luvvr1a 4m

@glorillapimp y’all are fiireeee❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

266 likes Reply

View 4 more replies

shari_n_444 10m

🔥🔥🔥🔥

Reply

diorjada 6m

im like 80% of them views 😭 this is so harddd

333 likes Reply

everybodyhates_tasha 5m

My toddler started bopping as soon as this video played💀 that’s definitely my child cause this is too damn good

110 likes Reply

sarahlopezs 4m

@everybodyhates_tasha imagine having a toddler while its hot girl summer

Reply

everybodyhates_tasha 3m

@sarahlopezs Girl dont do me like that

Reply

justlikeamarah 7m

Now y/n i love you but why you lying??? we know you not S I N G L E NO MORE😭

205 likes Reply

sedanyprince 4m

@justlikeamarah CALL HER ASS OUT!!!

Reply

❤️ 🙌 🔥 👏 😢 😍 😮 😂

add a comment for y/n…

moodymagazine

Liked by djdrama and 380.47 others

moodymagazine Oh moodies! Last year the Louisville rapper #JackHarlow was seen rapping to #y/n FNF freestyle at the club. Do we think this might have been the start of their rumored romance or is it pure coincidence? Let us know in the comments below! ⬇️ Click the link in our bio or head to our tiktok for the full video.

#moodymagazine

View all 730 comments

sneakyshae 3m

man these two never explain shit so we’re gonna be guessing forever unless they post each other

188 likes Reply

liloneder 2m

@sneakyshea You are so right thoooo i hate that about them🙄

Reply

jonah.jay 1m

@liloneder yo aint no way your momma named you oneder💀

Reply

biglolaa 1m

Yeah but even if they post eachother its gotta be a serious post because them mfs don’t take shit seriously. Always trolling so theyd be perfect together now that i think about it🤔

44 likes Reply

cyabiah 6m

now why tf did urban like this post😭😭😭 its a signnnn

55 likes Reply

❤️ 🙌 🔥 👏 😢 😍 😮 😂

add a comment for moodymagazine…

y/narchive

1.805 likes

y/narchive Y'all, call me crazy but i might as well change my user to y/nandjackarchive cause these fits look pretty similar to me 👀👀👀 AND at the same party... yeah they gotta be together. As long as our girl is happy i have no complaints though i hope there's flicks of them together at that party🤭

#y/n

y/ncloset 10m

omg this is definitely a hinttt, she has been very happy and like relaxed lately so i hope he has something to do with it🥹

3 likes Reply

lennymoris 3m

@y/ncloset RIGHT?! i noticed that tooo

Reply

yungkelly 8m

Omg her and central cee are actually over now that makes me so sad cause i ship them BAD but girl got good taste cause jack fine as hell🤤

6 likes Reply

❤️ 🙌 🔥 👏 😢 😍 😮 😂

add a comment for y/narchive…

jackharlow

Liked by y/n and 111.034 others

View all 1.573 comments

nairobi 12m

WHAT ???? JACKMAN DONT PLAY WITH ME😤

22 likes Reply

taylorthesaylorr 10m

@nairobi NO CAUSE WHAT DOES HE MEAN???? AND THE NO CAPTION TOO

Reply

urbanwyatt 7m

and the crowd goes wildski🤪

32 likes Reply

jharlowupdates 6m

Urban tell us the teaaaa

Reply

psycholiah 5m

She liked the post nooooooo

13 likes Reply

stacey2dash 3m

@psycholiah i just fell to my knees in walmart

Reply

tray_. 1m

Just saw somebody fall to their knees in walmart

Reply

bbgrlashly 9m

i recognize that booty anywhere and this is y/n without a doubt man 😩💔im heartbroken rn nobody hit me up

3 likes Reply

zaydadon 7m

@bbgrlashly HAHAHA ASH you so dramatic stop it😭

Reply

bbgrlashly 7m

THE WHITE MAN STOLE MY GIRL ZAY😤

Reply

missionaryjharlow 4m

not you in your stepdad era now 🤭🫣

Reply

m3rcedez 2m

@missionaryjharlow i wonder if he even met them yet and i really wanna know how thats going for him cause her kids dont play abt their dad💀💀

Reply

❤️ 🙌 🔥 👏 😢 😍 😮 😂

add a comment for jackharlow…

[tetsuskei]

notes: repost from my old blog, based on an old post and brief convo w rei @/sir-kuroo. divider by the great remi @/cafekitsune <3

warnings: office au, self indulgent, reader is a few years younger than kuroo

“do you come here often?”

kuroo tetsurou, a colleague, slides up next to you in the breakroom. his personality is suave and carries an air of sharpness, yet warmth and comfort. he’s always gone out of his way to make those around him feel welcome, and you’re no short of that. if you could think of a household name for your company, it would be his. many speak of him but rarely do many actually see him.

you wonder what’s made him grace yourself with his presence—coincidence, or fate?

he grins boyishly, rocking his feet as he looks at you with the most shining (and pretty) hazel eyes.

you blink slowly, processing his words.

“um…i work here. we’re coworkers.” you answer slowly, nodding to your work badge before resuming your activity of making your daily coffee. your heart starts to race at being watched and you try not to spill anything.

you don’t blame kuroo for not knowing exactly who you are. you work in the art department while he does promotion. you’re like two ships sailing past each other in the night. you’ve crossed paths a few times during brainstorming sessions and kickoffs for projects, but you never fully interacted before. at least not directly. only short pleasantries have ever been shared between each other.

the man’s face pales, smile faltering as you unintentionally dismiss his—quite sad—attempt at getting with you. he quickly regains confidence, though.

you hear him laugh softly before he shifts his weight to his opposite foot. “well just as i thought. i guess that means we work together, huh?”

kuroo watches your nose crinkle cutely as you frown and then laugh nervously, “kuroo-san, i don’t mean to say this with any disrespect, but if you’re still confused, i can contact HR for you.” maybe because you’re new he doesn’t know you’re a full time employee. did he think you were a temp? a freelancer?

and as crushed as kuroo currently is, his heart flutters at the way you say his name. he doesn’t know how, but your obliviousness is endearing and wholesome. he only wishes to grab you by the shoulders and shake you, to make you see what he’s trying to say.

the reality is, he’s seen you around many times. only just now did he work up his own courage to start a full fledged conversation with you. you’re very cute. shy, he can tell. but that only makes him more intrigued and persistent in getting to know you. you remind him a lot of kenma, actually.

said best friend implied kuroo was being shy himself, but he’ll deny it to the grave. he’s too stubborn to take his advice on how to approach you.

and the result? an embarrassingly horrible joke he came up with due to word vomit. he didn’t expect to run into you, but by the grace of god, you’d been right where you are, and he did not want to miss this opportunity.

he rubs the back of his head. “ahh no. i don’t need that, but thanks. i appreciate it.” he says, ending his reply with your name.

your eyes widen in surprise. “you…know who i am?” you blink, tilting your head.

kuroo thinks he’s acquiring cute aggression.

he nods, “of course i do. i know the names of practically everyone here.”

“oh.” you say, deflating a little, hope dissolving from your heart. your fingers tap your mug in thought. “right. it was just that…it seemed like you didn’t know i worked here, so i was confused.”

he clears his throat, noticing your dejection, “no! i definitely do! sorry, i worded myself wrong earlier. i-it’s just that—never mind.” he runs a hand over his face, and you’re shocked to see how nervous he suddenly appears. he always seems so confident and sure of himself, you wonder what could be going on now.

“no worries or hard feelings.” you laugh, and his shoulder sag with relief. did you know your voice could be so calming?

the tall man exhales, releasing the rest of his nerves. “allow me to start over. hi, i’m kuroo tetsurou, i work in the promotion department.” he shakes your hand, “i’ve seen your work. it’s really impressive.”

you palm is clammy as you return the handshake and introduction, but the smell of his cologne makes you feel more at ease.

“it’s nice to formally meet you, kuroo-san. you work for the jva is nothing short of amazing.” you reply.

“oh,” he quickly becomes bashful, a humble smile on his face, “it was nothing, really.”

he changes the topic, “but enough about me. back to you. i’ve been meaning to tell you all of that for awhile, but never worked up the courage to. i really should have sooner, i appreciate all that you’ve done to make the jva as successful as it is.” he continues, smiling. he hopes and begs that you don’t see his cheeks turning red.

your expressions lifts again, and kuroo can’t help but notice the small dimple in your left cheek. “thank you! that’s very kind of you, kuroo-san! you didn’t have to thank me at all, i’m just doing my job.”

“that’s true, but you’re very talented. needed to at least acknowledge that.” he nods.

“i guess so! the last project did require a lot of late nights and hard work…” unbeknownst to yourself, you start to ramble about your process.

his perceptive nature looks over your features. he notes the way you hold yourself, fingers fiddling with the sleeves of your sweater–a pink one he’s always been able to identify you by. your eyes seem to travel when they hold contact with someone for too long. you purse your lips when you’re lost in thought. but when you’re comfortable, you use your hands to gesture, expressions surprisingly animated, which make you seem more animated than your usual reserved state.

noticing the way he stares at you, you quickly stop, feeling embarrassed.

“oh! i’m so sorry, i’ve been talking your ear off. you probably didn’t want to know all of that…i bet you’re busy anyways.” you say, bowing out of apology.

kuroo only shakes his head, “ah it’s not a problem at all! you’re truly mistaken! it’s nice listening to how you work. i don’t have a creative bone in my body, so it helps me to understand better. plus, you have a very nice voice.”

wide eyes blink up at him and another smile pops up on your face. you giggle, “thank you! you’re very kind!”

“no problem,” he steps back slightly, clearing his throat, “i know this is the first time we are really talking but…would you…like to get lunch sometime? to get to know each other better?”

you think about work and your connections. as a new employee this would be good for you, right? to build more healthy work relationships. the more people you can know, the better. especially across different departments.

a smile appears on your face and you nod. “why not? should we invite anyone else to join? i think—“

he laughs, shaking his head, “no sweetheart, just you and i.”

you’re stunned. “o-oh…”

“you can say no, i won’t be offended.” he assures.

panic resides in you and you frantically wave your hands. “it’s not that! i’d be more than happy to! i mean, i’ve been looking to get to know you better anyways!”

a hand flies to your mouth and your eyes widen once you realize what you just said.

“w-what i meant was…it’s better to get to know someone 1 on 1 anyways! yanno?” you correct, heart pounding out of your chest. you’re screwed. he’s going think you’re weird.

kuroo smirks, a small hum of appreciation escaping him as he nods, “right, of course. well, i’m glad to hear that. why don’t we exchange numbers ahead of time so we can talk details later?”

after typing each others numbers in, he notices you just entered your first name into his phone.

he softly says it out loud , and a weird, twisting feeling forms in your gut. a small part of you wishes he’d say it again.

“um…you can call me that if you want, but don’t feel pressured to.” you tell him. “i’m just not too big on formality.”

he shakes his head. “not a problem at all. it’s a very lovely name.”

“thanks, kuroo-san.” you beam.

“call me tetsurou. it’s only fair, right?” he winks, patting your shoulder. it shocks you how big his hand is, but you quickly peel your eyes away from it.

he steps back, pocketing his phone before looking at his watch. “well, i should be off now. but we’ll catch up later? i’d love to pick your brain about an upcoming idea.”

“s-sure!” you call, waving after him. “see you, tetsurou!”

he waves back, saying over his shoulder, “do me a favor, yeah?”

“what’s that?”

“remember it’s okay to be proud of your work. you worked hard, so own it.” he says, sending you a warm smile.

“right, i will!” you nod. your heart is full from his advice, and you cling onto his sentiment.

“‘tetsurou’, huh?” your coworker, kazuma, walks up besides you as soon as the rooster head is out of sight. “when did you start getting buddy buddy with the head to the promotion department?”

you raise a brow. “what do you mean? that’s the first time i’ve actually had a full conversation with him. i don’t know why i was so scared to! he’s a very nice guy!” you explain.

he laughs, nodding. “right, ‘nice guy’…”

you blink. “what? did he do something to someone?” you lean in, whispering, “did he like…beat someone up?”

kazuma rolls his eyes, sighing as he fixes his own coffee, “nothing of that sort. you’ll figure it out.”

before you can question him, he turns on his heel and leaves. you start after him, but he’s too fast for you so you give up.

“weird…” you mumble. you shrug before deciding as unfortunate as it is, you should get back to work.

throughout the entire duration of your walk back to your desk, you realize two things.

1, you left your coffee in the break room, and 2–

you notice that under the notes section of kuroo’s contact, he’s put, ‘prospective work husband’.

oh. shit.

that’s what it was.

kuroo was flirting with you the entire time.

reblogs and interactive appreciated!

[franksoceanwrld]

STAR SHOPPING

modern! aegon targaryen x fem!reader.

notes: first time writing hotd or any x reader, anyways i hope this isn’t that bad lol, also i just made up your girl bestfriend (raven), kinda based on star shopping by lil peep?? also i was listening to godspeed by frank ocean while writing this. also you might ship jace x reader oops.

summary: you’ve always had feelings for your bestfriend aegon, but then your other bestfriend raven and you get invited to a party.

warning (s): ANGST (we love angst), sad reader, your other bestfriend being a bitch, toxic friendship, alcohol, jace kinda being friendzoned?? idk if there’s others..

“come on! don’t be a pussy!” your bestfriend raven spoke, laughing in almost a mocking way.

you met raven on the first day of university, that was three years ago. there’s been guys that you’ve liked, but she’d always date or hook up with them. you confronted her about it three months ago and she promised that she would stop, and she’s lived up to her promise. so far.

she’d known of your little crush on aegon, she always flirt with him but he’d always shut it down which was surprising because aegon craved every females attention but you.

“raven.” you looked at her, giving her a disapproving look. “we went to one last night.”

“so? and the one last night was boring.” she huffed, “and aegon is going to be there.” she nudged your shoulder.

you looked at her, “fine! but if you get drunk, i’m not driving you home again!.” you sighed, but you knew that you’d drive her anyways.

“yes!” raven exclaimed, raising her arms above her head. a sense of dread filled your stomach a sense that the night wouldn’t end good.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

when you guys both arrived to the party, cars littered the streets, the pounding of the music left your head aching almost. you looked around the house, familiar faces from kings landing university littered the house.

raven screamed happily, and ran over to someone. aegon.

you walked over there, grabbing a glass of something but you didn’t care. something stirred inside your stomach as you watched raven put her arms around aegon’s neck.

aegon looked suprised almost, and he looked uncomfortable. which was surprising. he looked over to you and smiled, the smile that only you could see.

you’d normally never drink at party’s, normally looking after raven or aegon or both. you put the cup to your lips and drank out of it, a burning sensation going down your throat. you shook your head at the feeling and drank some more.

“y/n!” a voice called you over, you looked away from aegon and raven, seeing jace. his real name was jacaerys velaryon but ‘jace’ seemed more easier.

“jace!” you smiled to him, and quickly ran over to him and hugged him.

“i didn’t think think you’d come.” jace smiled, stepping away from the embrace. the vibrations of the music seemed like deja vu from the night before.

“well, raven kinda made me come.” you took another drink of the cup.

“well, she looks very occupied right now.” jace raised his eyebrows. the curls on his head bouncing with every step he took.

you looked behind you and saw raven smiling at aegon. that same smile she did when she found out you liked cregan stark.

raven wouldn’t take aegon like the rest of the boys you’d like. right?

you tried to take another sip of the drink only to realize that it was empty and suddenly you needed more alcohol.

“where’s the drinks?” i yelled over the music getting louder. jade pointed to the kitchen and you hurriedly went there.

you didn’t know how long it had passed, the more alcohol you’d consumed the more you felt yourself drifting away from reality. hours felt like minutes and the party seemed to get louder with every second. you were surprised the police hadn’t been called yet.

you found yourself stumbling in a dim lit hallway, bumping into people who looked at you like you’d said various insults to them.

you wondered where aegon was, you’d hope he wasn’t with some girl but you knew that wasn’t true. after all he was aegon targaryen.

when you got to the main area, the music got louder and louder, people trying to speak over it but failed, there were people making out on walls and couches but no sign of aegon or raven.

amongst the chaos, you saw the backdoor. you needed air, the smells of sweaty bodies and the lack of fresh air make it feel claustrophobic to you.

you stumbled around the sweaty bodies, some asking if you were okay. you finally got outside and a sense of peace filled you.

you walked outside to the middle of the backyard, you weren’t alone tho. there were people who talked to each other and some making out with each other, and some were crying with a friend. typical party tho…

you breathed in the fresh air, happy that you didn’t smell sweaty body’s, you took a drink out of your cup, the burning sensation you liked so much filled your throat again.

you looked up, the stars and moon illuminated your face.

as you looked at the stars, the music inside the house seemed to get blurred out.

you smiled to yourself, feeling the effects of the alcohol.

you wondered how dumb you looked, standing outside a party looking at the stars smiling to yourself.

someone tapped your shoulder, bring you out of your trance. “are you good?” jace asked, looking almost concerned.

“y-yea.” you hiccuped. “why would i not be?” your words were slurred, it was a miracle that jace understood you.

“i just-you.” jace paused, trying to find the right words. “you normally don’t drink this much..”

“it’s fine!” you slurred out, placing a weak hand on his shoulder. “go bother someone else!”

jace looked almost hurt when you said that. jace nodded and left you with your drunken thoughts.

“whatever.” i muttered to myself.

you continued to look at the stars, not caring who saw. you wondered how much minutes went by.

when you tried to take a sip out of your drink again, nothing came out.

the rain slowly started to come down, people running to get inside, the party still going on.

you cursed to yourself, and ran inside. wanting to get another drink, your head was starting to pound now.

you tried finding the kitchen, but bodies were blocking your way of seeing. you stumbled into the front of the house, it was less crowded but it still had people making out, talking and other things.

you pushed through the crowds of bodies, desperate almost to find the thing you were craving. then you stopped.

you saw the familiar head of silver locks, pushing a dark haired woman on the wall and kissing her.

aegon started to kiss the woman’s neck, the woman smiling in pleasure. raven.

your gut twisted in a way of betrayal, shock, hurt and jealously.

you felt like crying. raven always got her way with guys, the guys that you liked.

suddenly you felt sober already. raven looked at you with a look of shock and proudness. she knew you’d always forgive her.

you ran out of the house, throwing your cup into a pile of trash.

you ran down the driveway, the rain felt heavier this time, drenching your hair, your mascara going down your face.

you stepped onto the street, trying to get the image out of your mind.

your tears mixed with the rain, your clothes were now soaked to this point it was sticking to your skin.

the more you walked away the quieter and quieter the party got. you didn’t know where you were going but it didn’t matter.

you continued to walk down the street, the sound of the rain hitting the ground and nearby cars and the image of raven kissing aegon and the smug look on her face when she saw you, corrupted your mind.

the more you saw that image the more you wanted to run away and never to be seen again.

[oreosmilkshakes]

Pulchritudinous Promises

Summary: Sometimes, love can be found in the most unexpected places

Pairing: Namor/K’uk’ulkan x reader

Fandom: Marvel- Black Panther Wakanda Forever

Word Count: 8,262

Warning(s): !!There are/maybe spoilers!!, canon divergence, violence, slight/sort-of Hades-Persephone trope (I hope ☹), fluff

A/N: There are details in the story here that don’t exactly follow canonically, per se but I hope I got this right! I came across this post by @beautybyfire​ and I thought of giving the idea a shot. This is a very loooong piece too.

A/N 2: I hope I didn’t overdo it on the suit because I tried my best to keep it true as to the movies. And tbh, this isn’t exactly my best piece. But, enjoy and comments are appreciated! ;-;

Taglist: @beautybyfire​

The day was solemn, the skies were shining ahead brightly yet the air was heavy. [Name] hung her head low, the white veil covered her expression from the others. Mother held Shuri as she sobbed on the black casket before them. She felt the tight squeeze in her heart, eyes closed as she took a step forward. A hand placed on Shuri’s shoulder while another on her brother’s casket. “Death is never the end, brother. May Bast grant you peace in the afterlife with the ancestors,” She muttered. Mother wrapped her arms around both of her children, gently tugging them back as the Royal Ship took away T’Challa’s casket. Mother moved a hand to [Name]’s chin, her eyes filled with so much sadness after the loss of her son. The princess leaned into her mother’s shoulder, her cries silent as she mourned for the loss of her brother.

Life has to go on. T’Challa would want that.

A year has passed since T’Challa’s death. Everyday, by the river of her getaway home, [Name] prayed to Bast, praying that her brother was well with the ancestors and that She gave her the strength to push on every day. Life was hard after T’Challa’s death but she had to move on. As the middle child to Queen Ramonda and the older sister of Shuri, Princess [Name] was next in line to be Queen and the next Black Panther. She felt that it was too quickly for her to take up the mantle but she cannot leave Wakanda defenceless. So, she and Shuri got to work over creating a synthetic heart-plant. The siblings would spend days and weeks on the creation and even with the help of Griot, it was time consuming and everyday, [Name] prayed that their formula would work.

Her prayers did not fall on deaf ears because when they finally got the right formula, Shuri immediately instructed Griot to print the plant. Mother was present too and [Name] thanked Bast for the absolute miracle, Shuri bringing over the plant that was cupped in her hands.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Mother asked and the princess looked up. She nodded, shedding her coat and folded it on a nearby chair.

Mother pulled away, taking the plant from Shuri. “I will get the plant ready for the ritual,” she said, leaving shortly.

“I want to, Mother. T’Challa made me promise him. A promise that I would always keep you, Shuri and Wakanda safe. How am I to fulfil his wishes if I do not take up the mantle of the Black Panther,” [Name] replied softly and her Mother smiled. The Queen moved around the table, bringing her daughter into a hug.

[Name] sighed softly, returning the hug. She didn’t want to break her promise to T’Challa. After all, she was ready. All of her time spent training beside her brother led to this moment.

“To me, you will always be that adorable little girl,”

[Name] sat on the bed and Shuri approached her with a sad smile. The elder princess took Shuri’s hand, recognising the look on her face. “I know that look, Shuri. What’s wrong?” And at that, the genius woman sighed.

“I’m just..I’m just afraid that I would lose you too. Taking up the Black Panther mantle..it’s a big responsibility, you know? What if you run into battle and never return? What if you fought and didn't survive? You and Mother are all I have left,” Shuri confessed. [Name] smiled widely at her words.

“Shuri, little sister. You won’t lose me. I promise you this. Whatever happens in the future. Whatever threatens our kingdom in the future, I promise you this, Shuri. I will never leave you or Mother alone. Okay?” [Name] gently pinched her sister’s cheek and the princess grumbled at the gesture.

“Why do you keep doing that? I am not a five-year-old anymore,” Shuri rubbed her cheek and [Name] laughed.

The siblings shared a laugh as Mother returned with a bowl in her hands. Shuri stepped back and [Name] laid on the bed, exhaling deeply. “You know what to do if this doesn’t work, right?” she looked at Shuri. The young princess nodded, removed her Kimoyo beads and placed them on her sister’s chest. Mother brought the bowl down onto [Name]’s lips and as the liquid seeped past her lips and down her throat, Mother and Shuri began chanting.

[Name] shut her eyes, praying to Bast that this would work.

[Name] awoke with a loud gasp, looking up into the purple skies. She swallowed, the sound of water caught her attention first as she stood up slowly. She noticed she was dressed in white, raising her head to face the river. [Name] took a step into the water. It was cold and shallow and the peace she felt was beyond anything. She wondered who she would see. Would it be an ancestor? Her father? Or perhaps her brother? She leaned down, her fingers dipped into the cool water. Her eyes fluttered shut, easing her mind and body.

But the silence was soon broken by a low growl behind her. [Name] furrowed her brows, regaining her posture as she turnt. A tall figure stood before her, a goddess, one with the head of a Panther.

“Bast!” [Name] gasped, moving to kneel before the Goddess but she was stopped by a hand under her arm.

“Please, my devoted child. There is no need for that,” The Panther said and the woman stood back up.

“You have suffered greatly, [Name]. The loss of your father, losing your family to the universe cleanse and now, you have lost your brother. Yet, with each turn, you sought me for help. Child, I admire your strength and your devotion towards me. You seek power in the heart-shaped plant and I am giving you so much more so you shall keep your promise to your brother. Your protection to your family and your kingdom will last endlessly,” Bast said, laying a hand on [Name]’s head. At her words, the princess allowed her tears to fall, tearing down her walls as she silently cried.

“Thank you, Goddess..Thank you..,” She wiped her tears, closing her eyes.

“My brother..is he with the ancestors?” Her voice was quiet.

“Yes, my child. He rests with the ancestors. He is very proud of you and Shuri, little one. Though he may have left the world, he still resides in all of your hearts. Never forget that, child,” Bast’s voice faded, leaving the woman alone.

[Name] sat up from the table, gasping hard. Mother and Shuri had their hands on her as the princess slowed her breathing.

“Who did you see? Did you see T’Challa?” Mother asked and she shook her head.

“No, Mother. I saw our Goddess. I saw Bast,”

Shuri gasped.

The mannequin was shoved backwards, hard, wedged into the wall.

“But how is that possible? How could you see Bast?”

[Name] swallowed, shaking her head.

���I don’t know either. I thought I would see our father or our brother but Bast herself came to see me,” The woman moved, swinging her legs off the bed. She flexed her fingers, feeling normal so far.

“If I met Bast..this would mean that the ritual worked, right?” [Name] questioned, approaching a mannequin. Examining it to ensure it was sturdy, she gave it a hard kick.

[Name]’s jaw dropped, snapping her head towards Mother and Shuri.

“Woah..,” she said, attention turning to the small glass of water on the table. She furrowed her brows, moving a hand up in the direction of the glass. [Name] moved her fingers and the contents within the glass moved along with it.

“But…But that is impossible,” Shuri tilted her head. Mother too had a shocked expression but it returned to a smile.

“Bast has granted you the power of the Gods indeed. The Black Panther lives!”

“The Black Panther lives!” Shuri copied and [Name] knew this would be the beginning of her heroic life.

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

The testing lab was bustling with technicians and engineers, Shuri’s minions, of course. The youngest princess was busy working on the final touches of [Name]’s new Vibranium suit while the newest protector had spent her time assisting both her mother in the royal duties as well as her sister in testing out the new suit. Truthfully, apart from her new strength and enhanced abilities as well as water manipulation, she did not know what else she got.

“The suit is ready,” Shuri set down her holo-tablet, picking up the metal bangles from the table. [Name] approached the table as well. “This is still very new but I can promise you that this suit is perfect,” Shuri fastened the Vibranium bangles on each of her sister’s wrist. She stepped back, activating her Kimoyo beads to record.

“How do I activate the suit?” [Name] adjusted the bangles, stepping back just in case anything happens.

“I simplified it. Cross your arms over your chest,” Shuri instructed.

The princess nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. The bangles touched and soon enough, she felt her body engulfed in the nano-suit. The helmet covered her head and [Name] opened her eyes. They widened, looking down at her hands. Shuri was cheering loudly, ending the recording momentarily.

“Damn, sister. You look good,” Shuri took one of her sister’s arms and dragged her to the mirror.

Shuri clicked her tongue. “Anyway, I designed this suit specifically to match your abilities. Strength, agility, durability, all the usual stuff. Flick your wrist for me,” [Name] did as she was told and claws shot out from the nails as well as her toes.

[Name]’s jaw dropped, looking at Shuri’s new masterpiece. Her suit reflected most of the past Black Panthers but it came with many modern twists. The nano-tech was the first example but the colours, while it was traditional, instead of the usual black and gold or black and purple, her suit was black, blue with some bits of silver-white. There was a short cape that connected to the fur around her neck.

“You know, maybe I should start getting you to design everything for me because Shuri, by Bast, this is amazing,” The nano-helm retracted back to reveal the wide smile on [Name]’s lips.

“The suit is water-sensitive. Which means, once it touches water, it will power up the suit. You will get stronger. Of course, in addition to your new water bending powers,” Shuri chuckled as the older princess relaxed her fingers. The sharp vibranium claws retracted. She brought the bangles together and the suit quickly disappeared back to the metal bands.

[Name] exhaled softly, the excitement slowly dying down upon realising that the first anniversary of their brother’s passing is in a few days time.

“Shuri..,”

The younger stopped, turning around.

“Do you remember what’s coming up soon?” Her voice was quiet as she approached her sister. Shuri’s expression faltered, a frown clear on her face.

“One year since brother’s passing,”

“Yes..Do you have any plans for the day?”

Shuri pursed her lips as [Name] took her hands. It was clear the pain still rests in her heart.

“No. Not at the moment. I’m afraid that If I do something, I will reopen the wound,”

“I know. I’m afraid too. But Mother says she has plans and she wants the both of us to come with her,”

Shuri gave a muffled reply.

Shuri raised an eyebrow. “Where?”

The older one shrugged. “Mother didn’t say,” And Shuri nodded, leaning in for a hug. [Name] sighed softly, returning the tight hug. She knew how Shuri felt, sympathising with her sibling. “I love you, Shuri. I won’t ever leave you, okay?”

The fateful day arrived and Mother had brought them to the Wakandan Rivers. Shuri had started a fire while [Name] gathered the stick for burning. The skies were dark but the moonlight above shone bright. The sound of nocturnal animals was somewhat comforting during this dark time.

Namor approached the three, Mother and Shuri had the spear tip pointed towards him.

[Name] stood by the water, kneeling before it as she prayed silently to Bast. Mother was speaking to Shuri. [Name] felt minor vibrations from the water, looking up to find a small herd of elephants approaching the water for a drink. She moved a hand into the water, feeling the vibrations. The water was calm, ripples light until the ripples got faster and heavier. Her head snapped up, a figure hovering over the water.

“Mother!” She called out, alarming the older women and Shuri. Both moved to grab their spears and [Name] stood guard as the figure hovered to land. Water dripped from his body, the jewels he wore glinted under the pale moonlight. [Name] wore a calm expression, studying the potential threat before her. His ears were pointed, wings on his ankles which gave him flight. He wore nothing but a green short decorated with gold. His pectoral, a gorgeous shade of blue and gold, fulgent under the moon. He glanced over to the woman, his own eyes studying the woman’s form.

“Stop right there!” Mother hissed. Namor raised a hand up, running his fingers through his dripping hair.

“Who are you and how did you get in here?”

Namor inhaled deeply, looking around. “This place is amazing. The air is pristine,” He faced the river. “And the water..,” The King turned back to Mother.

“My mother told stories about a place like this. A protected land with people that never have to leave, that never have to change who they were..,” Namor turned to [Name], keeping his eyes on her momentarily before returning to Mother.

“What reason do you have to reveal your secret to the world?”

Mother gripped her spear, [Name] was ready to defend her in case he decided to attack.

“I am NOT a woman who enjoys repeating herself. Who are you?!”

Namor had a smug look on his face.

“I have many names. My people call me..K’ul’ulkan. But my enemies call me Namor,”

“I need your people to do something for me. It is something..important to me and my people. Surface dwellers intruded my waters, bringing their technology to my sea in search of Vibranium. They talk of a scientist in America. I want you to bring her to me,” Namor stepped forward, placing the conch shell down.

“Should you have acquired this American scientist, speak into the shell. I will come. I leave that in your hands,”

Namor gave one last look to [Name], jumping back into the water.

The tension in the air left as soon as he swam away. [Name] looked ahead, a large piece of equipment sat on the grass. “How did they do that?” Shuri thought aloud as she laid the spear down.

“Mother, what should we do?” [Name] turned to the Queen, who visibly relaxed. The silence indicated that she was deep in thought, possibly planning out future situations should they not comply.

“We will take the device back to Shuri’s lap. Both of you will work on this together. This changes everything,”

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

Work could never be finished especially when the many lives within Wakanda are under threat. Shuri took apart the machine, examining each part closely to find out more about the device. She was impressed at the fact that this machinery was mostly made out of everyday materials. Garbage, to say the least. ‘Whoever made this is a genius and resourceful,’ Shuri made a mental note, pulling up the protective goggles as the piece of metal she was cutting fell off the side.

Meanwhile, [Name] was working on decoding the device’s internal drive, digging deeper on where the device came from.

“This is some impressive coding. Whoever did this..it’s clearly above their paygrade,” She told Shuri. “The codes are simple but they work so perfectly in what they do. How is it possible that that piece of junk can even detect Vibranium?” [Name] leaned back on her seat, tapping the tip of her pen against her lips.

“All of this is made of..trash,” Shuri set down a piece of equipment. She hadn’t realised Mother had entered her lab and was talking to Okoye. [Name] wheeled herself over to the big machinery, looking up.

“What do you think they’re talking about?”

Before Shuri could reply, both had turned to the siblings.

“Okoye is insisting that she takes the lead in the investigation in America and she wants to bring Shuri and [Name]-,”

“When are we leaving?” Both asked, interrupting Mother. The older woman sighed, lips pursed as she turned to Okoye. She worries for the wellbeing of her children going on his mission but she trusts the General and her oldest daughter.

“We leave as soon as possible,” Okoye nodded.

Just when [Name] thought things couldn't get any worse..

The trio had managed to track down Riri Williams, a student studying in MIT who had apparently made the Vibranium detection device. Shuri managed to persuade the young girl to follow them to Wakanda and she had agreed, not wanting to succumb into the hands of her supposed water hunters.

The team hid in Riri’s warehouse, red and blue lights flashing through the tinted windows.

But, she snapped back into reality when a sudden force struck the car.

“We meet at the rendezvous point. Shuri, get in the car,”

“No, sister. I think it’s best if we separate. Don’t make us easy targets,” Shuri reasoned. [Name] thought her reasoning. It was true. Okoye was about to protest but the older princess raised her hand up. “General, take the wheel. Shuri, ride safely. Riri, watch the skies. Let’s get out of here,” [Name] got into the car with Okoye, the car revving to life with the help of Griot. Shuri had rode off with Okoye’s car following suit. The American authorities were hot on their tails. “Griot, follow Shuri. Don’t let her out of our sight,” Okoye instructed. A HUD formed on the windshield of the car, directions to their rendezvous point clear on the screen. [Name] turned around, bullets struck the back of the muscle car.

“We have to get clear of their guns,” [Name] turnt back, her hands moving around the HUD screen to find their next best route. “Take a hard right into the alley. There’s a road on the other side that leads towards the bridge,” She swiped the GPS back to Okoye. The General swerved the car, the wheels skidding hard against the asphalt as she turned into the alley. [Name] was focused on her sister and planning on their escape route, the bridge was in view and the authorities were falling behind.

“Shuri!” [Name] screamed, the impact threw the bike mid-air. The car overturned, slamming down on the hard floor with a loud bang. The princess groaned, knocking her head to the side of the door upon impact. Something felt damp on the side of her head and she knew it was blood. “Shuri!” [Name] groaned out, tugging on the seat belt. It wouldn’t budge. In the distance from Shuri, she could see the authorities had stopped, guns in their hands as they approached the site cautiously.

Okoye groaned, lifting her head to assess the situation. “[Name], are you hurt?”

“I’m good. Check on Shuri,” Okoye carefully crawled out. A hook grabbed onto Riri’s unconscious form and the warrior woman didn’t hesitate to cut the wire with her spear.

The wire was pulled back over the bridge. Okoye rushed over to Shuri, shoving the helmet off her head. “Griot?”

“The princess is well, General. She should return to us in a few minutes,” The AI confirmed, the Kimoyo beads on the woman’s hand lit up, showing Shuri’s stable heartbeat.

“Call for extrac-,” [Name] stopped, the sound of water splashing harshly. Five Talokanils jumped off the back of a whale and onto the bridge, weapons ready. The princess stood, rushing over to defend her family with Okoye doing the same.

Meanwhile, [Name] still couldn’t get the seat belt off. She growled, flicking her wrist. The nanotech formed around her hand. She flexed her fingers, blue claws ripped through the belt easily. She fell with a soft groan, slowly crawling out of the car. Her eyes looked around, the cold wind bit on her skin. Shaking her head slightly, the princess moved to Riri, cradling the young girl’s head on her lap. She felt a pulse on her fingers and sighed in relief, turning to Okoye.

“She’s well, princess,” Okoye reported and she nodded.

[Name] had her eyes on the pair of blue-skinned people, studying them. They certainly did not look like some common soldiers. They wore elaborate garments and guessed that they should be Namor’s champions.

The large male looked at the woman, speaking in a language she didn’t understand. The female nodded, joining the other three soldiers to fend off the authorities. Okoye raised her spear. “How should we do this?” Behind, Namora and her soldiers easily incapacitate the men. “I’ll take on the four. Can you take the big one?” [Name] crossed her arms. Okoye removed her coat and threw it aside. “I got him,” She held her spear in a defensive position as the two circled one another.

[Name] had to help the Americans. She ran towards the four Talokanils, her suit wrapped around her like a glove. She lept in the air, swinging a kick to one of the unsuspecting warriors. He was knocked back, slamming on the side of the bridge. The next noticed her presence, twirling his own spear towards the Black Panther. She knew better than to hurt them so knocking them out was the better option. The second warrior yelled, jabbing his spear forward. It grazed [Name]’s side, her heart racing with adrenaline pumping in her veins. She grabbed the spear, pulling the Talokanil forward towards her. Then, she dropped the spear, a foot on it to prevent the Talokanil warrior from taking his weapon back. She rammed her shoulder into his chest, knocking him back with ease.

The third warrior lept in the air, slamming the spear on [Name]’s shoulder. She hissed, leaping away and landed on the hood of the car in a stalking position. The female spoke in her language but the Panther waved her hand, a wave of water grabbed the three and threw them into the water, hard. She doubted it would do much but hoped it was enough to stun them.

Namora whipped the end of her spear onto the last American, turning to the Panther. [Name] flexed her fingers as Namora slammed her spear down, both women facing one another.

“Túun, k'a'abéet a beel le leti'ob guerrero Wakanda,” (So, you must be Wakanda’s own warrior?),” Namora spoke, her head tilted, anticipating the fight to be a good one.

“K ilej bix a meetik justo ti' jump'éel ba'ate'el,” (Let’s see how you fair in a fight).

[Name] circled the Talokanil woman and she mirrored the Panther. Namora ran to [Name], twirling her spear in her direction. The Panther kneeled down, narrowly dodging the tip of the spear as it brushed the pointed ears of her helmet. She twirled around, spinning backwards to get up. A leg hooked onto the Talokanil’s spear, pushing her down from the force. The Panther hadn’t expected Namora to recover so quickly, already whipping her spear in her direction. The hits were sure to cause bruises but her training allowed her to take in every hit. Namor slammed the back of the spear into the Panther’s chest, slamming her down harshly into the asphalt road. [Name] groaned, hands on the body of the spear and lifting it to try and ease the pressure. She growled, waving her hand. 

Water slammed into Namora’s side, sending the Talokanil woman hitting the side of the car. Namora seemed surprised at the unexpected attack. The Panther jumped to her feet, turning around to find Okoye on the floor with the male warrior approaching her. She ran to Attuma, jumping on his back with ease and had both arms squeezing his neck. The Talokanil thrashed around, hands trying to pull [Name] off but she refused to let go. She flexed her fingers, claws on her hairs and dangerously close to Attuma’s neck.

“Enough!” [Name] growled. Okoye slowly stood, grabbing her spear as her chest heaved from exhaustion. Attuma stopped moving, head tilted back and away from the shining claws. Namora and the three soldiers had seemingly recovered and ran towards the end of the fight, the Panther getting off Attuma’s back. The helmet pulled back to reveal [Name]’s damp face, claws retracting back.

Shuri let out a soft groan, carefully standing up. The elder princess turned, running to Shuri to catch her sister in a hug. Shuri let out a soft ‘oof’ as she returned the hug.

“You’re alright, sister. You’re alright,” [Name] patted Shuri’s back as she pulled away. The younger looked behind to find the five Talokanil soldiers.

The Panther turned, looking at Attuma and Namora. She raised her wrist up, activating the kimoyo beads. “Griot, I need translation,”

“Did I miss something?”

“No, not much. I want to make an offer with them,”

“I am a Wakandan royalty. I have an offer to make to your King. Take me to your King but let them go. Namor has no more quarrel with the girl. I wish to make a peace offering with him,”

Attuma and Namora turned to one another.

“Leti' le realeza Wakanda,” (She is Wakandan royalty?)

“Míin le ajawo' aceptaría u ti'ibil óolala',” (Perhaps the King would accept her offering)

Namora turnt to the princess.

“Le ajawo' taak le ch'úupalo'. Yaan k bisikech ta yéetel le ch'úupalo', chéen ba'ale' P'at bin a kiik yéetel a guerrero,”

“The King wants the girl. We will take you and the girl but let your sister and your warrior go,” Griot translated and just as Okoye was about to protest, [Name] held a hand out to prevent her from furthering her actions.

“Fine. We will come with you. My sister and my General will return home. Take us,” [Name] flicked her bangle, her suit disappearing into the metal completely. Shuri grabbed her hand and tugged her aside.

“What do you think you’re doing?! You want to willingly give Riri away? He will hurt her, sister,” Shuri frowned.

“Shuri, please understand. We don’t fully know Namor’s capabilities. For all we know, his army could best us in every fight initiated. I want you to get ready Wakanda just in case my peace offering does not go as expected. I promise you that Riri will return safely to you. Okoye, take Shuri back. I don’t wish to discuss this further,”

[Name] turnt to Namora, a mask held in her hand. She placed it over her mouth and nose, a soft hiss emitted from the mask itself. Attuma had picked up Riri, making his way to the edge of the bridge. The princess felt her vision blur, Namora quickly catching the woman before she could fully pass out.

She could hear Shuri’s faint scream and that was the last thing she remembered.

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

[Name] felt hands on her, eyes fluttering open to the soft, blue light. Slowly, she sat up, finding Riri in front of her with a worried expression.

“Oh, I thought you were dead or something,” Riri heaved a sigh, sitting on the hammock. She pursed her lips, unaware of their whereabouts. It scared her.

“Where are we?”

“What happened on the bridge?” Riri turned to the princess, awaiting some answers.

[Name] rubbed her head, shaking it.

“I..uh..I don’t actually know,”

[Name] furrowed her brows, recalling the events.

“A fight with the people who wanted to take you. I had to end it,”

“A peace off- Are you serious, right now? Man, you are crazy, seriously,”

“And..exactly how are you going to do that?” The young girl crossed her arms over her chest.

“An offer of peace,” She said sheepishly, scratching the back of her neck gently.

[Name] laughed nervously. “Yeah, maybe I didn’t really think this through properly but this man..he has the power to hurt my people and you and I had to do something. What better way to talk, right? War and violence isn’t always the answer..,”

“Oh, I’ll show him violence,” Riri mumbled.

A pair of Talokanil maiden approached the two, one carried a basket of fruits and another held a garment in her hands. The second maiden held up the garment.

“Nook' teechi', princesa. Bey teech u le realeza, láayli' k'a'abéet a beel tratado bey tal way te' Talokan,” (Clothes for you, princess. As you are royalty, you are still treated as such here in Talokan)

[Name] took the garment, the material was soft but the dress itself was hefty.

“K ajawo' k'áato' wilech,” (Our King wishes to see you) The maiden gestured for [Name] to follow her but before she could leave, Riri grabbed her hand.

[Name] was led to a small area where she could change out of her clothes and into the dress. She had to admit, it was the most beautiful thing she has ever seen. A white and blue garment decorated with jade. She inhaled deeply, following the maiden once more towards a secluded part of the cave.

“Wait, where are you going? Don’t leave me here!” She squeezed her hand. [Name] smiled softly, gently taking her hand.

“I won’t be long, Riri. I will be back soon,” The princess released Riri’s hand, following the maiden deeper into the cavern systems.

In the middle, was a small hut of sorts. Inside, she could see Namor with his back facing towards her. The maiden left the two alone. [Name] looked up, glow worms lit the cave gorgeously. There was a pool of water by the step stone and it looked very deep. She slowly made her way across towards the hut, swallowing as Namor slowly turned to face the princess. He had donned a cape to cover himself mildly. He was distracting but the art behind her pulled her attention fully. “It’s beautiful..,” She acknowledged the mural. It was painted in various colours and it told a story, one she couldn’t exactly figure out.

Namor moved to the princess.

“I thank you for your kind words, princess,”

[Name] tilted her head down, eyes meeting Namor’s.

“Thank you for agreeing to this meeting, Namor. I’m just disheartened it had to be under tense circumstances,” She began. Namor gestured for her to sit and she did.

“I don’t want war, Namor. I bring the girl to you to show that I do keep the end of our bargain. But I cannot willingly give her over to you. She did no wrong, Namor. It is her country’s people who have acquired her project for their usual selfish usage,” At this, Namor lit up. Her views were similar to that of his own. He felt his own heart skip a beat at that.

“My warriors told me of a peace offering you had,” Namor adjusted his cloak and the woman nodded.

“I’m doing this for the benefit of your people and mine, Namor. I hope you understand that I would do anything for peace and for my people. As a king to your own empire, I’m sure you share this with me…,” She trailed off, reading Namor’s expression.

“My views are the same. Surface dwellers are the true monsters of our story. They are selfish, destructive and they cause harm to everything they touch,”

[Name] had to thread carefully now. She didn’t want to give Namor the wrong idea.

“What I’m trying to say is that, you have no quarrel with the surface world-,”

“No, princess. I bear hatred towards the surface dwellers,” Namor’s eyes darken and [Name] leaned back, afraid he might do something irrational.

He reached towards the table, picking up a jaded bracelet.

“This belonged to my mother. She gave it to me before she passed all those years ago,” Namor held the bracelet out to [Name] and she took it. She brought it up closely, examining its own beauty. “It’s so pretty,” She smiled softly, fingers dragging to study each carved jade.

“We were not always who we are,” Namor began, looking at the mural on the wall.

“My mother and her tribe were born human, living on the surface world where they thrived greatly. Then, one by one, they fall ill. Strong men would grow frail and die. Children barely reach the age of maturity, dying in the arms of their mothers and fathers. Their tribe was stricken with a sickness brought in by the colonists. As a final resort, the tribe shaman sought help from the gods, seeking for a cure to their ailment. The gods gave him signs, where it led him to a water hole,” Namor moved a hand over the mural of the depiction.

“The Shaman found a blue plant beneath the water hole and made a cure for the tribe. The plant alleviated the sickness but it left them with a gift. A gift you see before you,” He paused, turning to the princess.

“At that time, my mother bore me. Despite her wishes not to consume the plant, the shaman had begged her to do so, foreseeing that the child would not survive if she did not consume the plant. So, she did. I was the firstborn son of Talokan, a hybrid that gave me powers beyond anything imaginable. I was a mutant,”

[Name] stood, joining Namor by the mural.

“But my mother, over time, grew sick. She couldn’t bear the thought that she could not live on the surface anymore. She longed for it. She died not long after and as per her wishes, I buried her on her land. But, what I saw was the seed to my hatred towards the surface dwellers. My mother’s people became slaves, treated poorly beyond anything I have ever seen. So, I killed them all, burning everything to the ground and killing everyone,” He paused again, looking at [Name] in the eyes.

“A Spanish man of faith cursed me as he died by my hand. He called me, ‘El Niño sin Amor’. A child without love. And I took my name from there. Namor. Because I have no love for the surface world,”

[Name] understood his feelings. He was the ruler of a hidden tribe, one hidden for very good reasons. If she were to be placed in his position, she would have done the same thing.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Why? Because you and I are the same. We would do anything to keep our people safe from the outsiders,”

Namor’s hand moved to [Name]’s, fingers moving to tie the bracelet around her wrist. Her heart raced at his sweet gesture, cheeks reddening under the blue light. He was such a strong warrior but his hands felt nothing as such. They were soft, warm and large enough to cover her own hands.

[Name] was taken aback by his words but then, a smile formed on the King’s lips.

“Thank you, Namor,”

Their eyes meet momentarily, until Namor pulls away.

“Talokan is a beautiful city. I want to share it with you but the water down there..it’s enough to kill you,”

“We have a diving suit for you,”

Oh, she couldn’t wait to see his world.

Talokan was unlike anything [Name] has seen. To see a home thriving under the sea, she fully understood why Namor was so driven to protect his people.

She sat by the water, Namor beside her.

“Namora told me of your special abilities. Do you love the water?”

She looked over to the King, her lips pursed to bite back a smile.

“I do. More than anything. When I took my own version of the blue plant, I was met with our god, Bast. I was a devoted pupil of hers and that pleased her. In return for my devotion, she granted me the power of the Panther, alongside with a few extras,” She waved her first finger, a small wave of water brushed against her bare feet.

She hadn't realised that Namor was staring at her, one filled with admiration and adoration.

“K’uk’ulkan, there’s a reason why I offered myself here. I want to have peace between our kingdoms and there has to be a less violent way to do so. Riri, she’s only a child. What she made was merely for a school project. She had no way of knowing that her country’s government had intended to use it for their own. There has to be some other way, K’uk’ulkan. I am willing to offer a peace offering in return for peace. But, you should pick whatever peace offering you wish to have. I believe it’s only fair,” [Name] turned to Namor. He looked relaxed but behind those brown eyes, he already knew what he wanted.

“Anything?” He repeated.

She nodded. “Anything,”

She gasped, wanting to pull her gaze away but kept it firm. Her cheeks were hot and reddening.

Namor leaned forward, a hand moving to cup the woman’s jaw.

“In that case, I believe the best and most traditional way for two kingdoms to form an alliance would be a marriage, no?”

A marriage?

“The marriage is one thing but the other thing..I want you to stay with me,”

Namor wanted a marriage..with her?

The King of Talokan wants to get married to the Princess of Wakanda? What would mother think? What would Shuri think? [Name] closed her eyes, calming her erratic mind. She parted her lips to speak but Namor beat her to it.

Namor gently gripped her hand.

“K’uk’ulkan..,” She began, taking a deep breath. She moved a hand over his, the one that laid on her cheek. She took his hand, placing her palm on his.

“This marriage, I can agree to. But to stay with you? Please, Namor, I cannot simply abandon my family and my people. I am still their protector,”

“Then for six months, stay with me. The remaining half, you may return to your kingdom but once it ends, you stay with me again. Do you agree?”

[Name]’s eyes met with Namor’s. She knew what she was walking into. If she had to do this for the safety of her people as well as form an alliance with Talokan, it would be a win for both parties.

Namor leaned in close and she did the same. Their foreheads meet, eyes fluttering close at the intimacy they shared. [Name] will learn to love the King.

She nodded, a smile on her lips.

“I agree to your terms,”

The times the princess had with the King were well spent. Namor was relaxed around her and [Name] opened up to the King. He became her listening ear when she had to release the emotions she withheld about her late brother. He understood perfectly what it was like to lose a family member. He sympathises with her.

When Namor was busy, [Name] had Riri to go to. Riri eventually eased up around the Talokans but there was still some form of tension between them. She didn’t tell Riri of her arrangement with Namor.

The princess was unaware of the fact that Nakia had infiltrated Talokan. Her eyes darted to the silhouette beyond the far edge of the caves and she stood immediately, stopping her conversation with Riri.

Nakia had a rifle up, pointing to the Talokanil guard.

“Nakia!” She rushed over, the guard held her spear up.

“They’re friendly, Nakia. They are friendly,”

Nakia furrowed her brows. “What? But I was briefed-,”

“Nakia, I have established an alliance with their King,”

At that, the other woman froze. “An alliance? The Queen told me they were dangerous beyond anything Wakanda has faced,”

“Yes, they are but trust me on this..please?” [Name] begged, approaching her friend slowly. Nakia lowered her rifle and the guard, her spear. The princess nodded to the guard, who stepped back. She rushed to her friend, hugging her tightly.

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

“It is so good to see you, Nakia. I know you have your orders but take the girl,”

“What?-”

“Take Riri and bring her to Wakanda. Namor has agreed to let her go and our alliance in exchange for a peace offering. I will stay here but please, tell mother and Shuri that I am safe and I will return soon,” [Name] gestured to Riri to follow Nakia. Nakia wanted to say more but the princess urged them to leave. Soon, the two disappeared from sight. [Name] knew better than to argue with the princess. A soft, sad sigh left her lips as she made her way to Namor’s home. She allowed her mind to drift as she sat on a stool, staring up at the painted murals, thoughts filled with how she yearned to return home and to reveal to Wakanda of their newly formed alliance.

[Name] wore a wide smile on her lips as Wakanda came into view. She wore her suit, protecting herself from the water as she swam. With the aid of her powers, she moved quick, though Namor was quicker. The princess had got into contact with her Mother a few days back and the worries the older woman had almost drowned the princess. She had to assure Ramonda that she was alright and that Namor had done nothing to hurt her. He had finally agreed to go to Wakanda with [Name] and her kingdom prepared for their arrival. Talokanil soldiers rode on whale-back into the Wakandan waters, royal ships hovered overhead to lead them to the palace. [Name] resurfaced, jumping out of the water and onto land. Namor returned to her side.

“Are you ready, sthandwa?,” (my love)

“I am, princesa,”Namor nodded as a royal ship brought them to the palace.

[Name] could see that Mother, Shuri and the Dora Milaje were waiting for their arrival. The ship landed shortly. [Name] was out of her suit, running to her Mother and Shuri.

“[Name]!” Shuri caught her sister in a tight hug, faces buried in each other’s neck as Queen Ramonda approached her children, hugging her eldest tightly. Behind, Namor stood by the ship, his soldiers behind him. The Queen pulled away, her gaze dark as she glanced at the King.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of my child,” Mother cupped [Name]’s cheeks, her shoulders visibly eased up knowing her first daughter had returned.

[Name] pulled away.

“Mother, Shuri, I know you have questions but we have more pressing matters. It is related to the future of Wakanda and Talokan,”

“I know, Mother. I have missed you and Shuri so much. I miss home so much,” [Name] turned, Namor had approached the family.

“Mother, Shuri, you know K’uk’ulkan. He isn’t here as a threat but as a friend to Wakanda,” She moved to Namor, arms brushing against one another.  

“Let’s talk inside, Mother,”

Mother glanced between her daughter and Namor, a frown clear on her lips and an obvious displeased expression. Shuri was confused, following Mother into the gathering hall.

“I hate to see you unhappy, Princesa,”

[Name] turned to her lover.

“Thank you..,”

“For what, my love?”

“For bringing me home. To see Mother and Shuri again,” [Name] reached up, arms around his neck as she pulled the King down for a hug. His hand gripped her waist comfortably, lips brushing her neck as she pulled away.

[Name] smiled widely, turning to follow her family. Namor gestured for Namora and Attuma to stay with the other soldiers as he followed his lover.

Mother sat on her throne, Shuri beside her as [Name] and Namor stood before them. The elders were all here in the citadel, surrounding the pair.

“I know you have a lot of questions, Mother, Sister, Elders but what I did, I did it for a good reason. What reason do we have to seek war with Namor and Talokan? Yes, his motive at first may be unjustified but he did it to protect his people, to protect his kingdom from the touches of the outside world. Are we not the same? We protect Wakanda and her resources from the touches of the outside world and we would do anything to keep us safe, don’t we?” There were murmurs going around the hall. It seems the Elders were agreeing with her words.

“Did he force you to stay?” Mother asked, her voice was firm and hard.

This time, it was Namor’s turn to speak.

“No, I did not force her to stay. At her own will, she chose to stay with me in Talokan so we may talk about peace between our worlds. What she speak, is true. Princess [Name] has opened my eyes to the surface world, helping me see that there is more than just war, violence and greed. We share the same vision and the same mission. She made a peace offering with me,”

“And what is this peace offering exactly?” Mother hissed.

Silence fell on the Citadel momentarily.

“To ensure an alliance between Wakanda and Talokan is forged..I have agreed to marry K’uk’ulkan and to stay with him for half of the year,”

Loud gasps and louder whispers went around the Citadel. Mother stood up, horrified.

“What?! No, absolutely not. I am not losing my child again. I will not agree to this peace offering,”

“Mother..,” [Name] approached her mother, a small smile on her lips as she took Ramonda’s hands in hers.

“Mother…K’uk’ulkan has agreed to this alliance. Think about how it would benefit our people, how an alliance would mean that Wakanda would grow stronger. This marriage is for all of us, for both Wakanda and Talokan. I will come back for the next half of the year. I will always be your daughter, Mother..I will always be the protector of Wakanda. You will never, ever lose me. I promise you, Mother. I promise you, Shuri and the people of Wakanda,”

Queen Ramonda looked defeated, clear tears pricked her eyes. Her heart grew heavy, turning to her daughter. Her hand cupped her cheek, tears threatening to fall.

Tears fell as the Queen stroked her daughter’s cheek.

“Is there no better way?” Her voice was soft. The princess smiled sadly, shaking her head.

“I..share feelings with K’uk’ulkan, Mother. He has treated me with nothing but kindness and my heart is for him,”

“I always told T’Challa that you would grow up to become a strong, independent woman who would be fit to be Queen of Wakanda one day.. If your brother could see you right now, he would be so, so proud of you,”

This time, it was [Name]’s turn to cry at the mention of her brother. She hugged her Mother tightly, sniffling into the older woman’s shoulders slightly. Mother gestured for Shuri to join and she did, hugging her family as tightly as she could.

The elders looked at one another, nodding in agreement.

[Name] pulled away, wiping her tears with her sleeve. Mother took in a deep breath, quickly wiping her tears.

“Are there any objections to this alliance?”

All eyes were on M’Baku, the Jabari Clan leader, who inhaled sharply. If all of Wakanda would benefit from this alliance, then it would be the same for his clan.

“There are no objections from the River Tribe,”

“There are no objections from the Mining Tribe,”

“There are no objections from the Border Tribe,”

“There are no objections from the Merchant Tribe,”

“There are no objections from the Jabari Tribe,”

“Then it is agreed. Wakanda sees Talokan and her King as our allies. Therefore..this marital alliance shall be the beginning of our endless alliance,” Ramonda announced.

[Name] turned to her mother and Shuri, a smile on her lips.

“Thank you, mother,”

Ramonda cupped her daughter’s cheeks.

“Will you be staying?” Mother asked and she shook her head.

“It would be wrong of a mother to hinder her child’s fullest potential. It pains me and Shuri to be separate from you for six months. I know you’ll return but the hole still burns in my heart,”

“I know, Mother. I feel it too but I know you two trust me on this. This will work, I know it will..,” [Name] trailed off, glancing at Namor.

“No. There are some matters K’uk’ulkan and I have to attend in Talokan but I promise to keep in touch,” She brushed her fingers on the Kimoyo beads, smiling as she pulled away.

[Name] gave her family a last look before leaving the Citadel.

She found Namor speaking with his people and her presence made him stop.

“Don’t stop on my account, my love,”

Namor wore his beautiful smile, one she grew to adore so much. Her cheeks felt hot.

“Why don’t you start by giving me a kiss and then..we can continue once we reach Talokan,”

“In yakunaj, words cannot express my adoration for you. My heart races whenever you are around and there is so much I wish to do to you,”

[Name] gasped at his words, not expecting his confession. She smirked, leaning close to the King. An arm snaked around his neck, fingers tangling in his hair.

Namor didn’t hesitate next, capturing his future queen’s lips in a soft kiss.

This was a start of a new chapter for both kingdoms and a start of a beautiful relationship between the King of Talokan and the Princess of Wakanda.

[bucknastysbabe]

Let’s Face the Music and Dance - B. Barnes

Rating: Explicit

Tags: Angsty smutty blurb, 40’s setting, subby bucky makes an appearance, takes place night before he’s shipped off to war, Missus wants her boy well fed OKAY, so sappy and soft, he’s just kitty okay? lil kitty big kitty Murder kitty, pnv!sex, cowgirl, man tears

A/N: I don’t proofread I cry and call it a day

His lips stuttered words against your pulsing neck. You held on to his wide shoulders harder than you thought possible— like if you dug in a little more he wouldn’t have to leave tomorrow. Go fight in a war on unfamiliar territory. The cocky Brooklyn boy somewhere in Italy, Germany, hell he probably didn’t know either. Bucky leaned onto his forearms, dark sweaty hair plastered to his broad forehead.

He frowned a bit, soft pink lips pouting, smooth cheeks still puffed with residual baby fat. Too skinny for your tastes. Bucky was meant to be soft, sturdy, cuddly on the outside as he was on the inside. You kissed him gently, lapping at those pouting lips. Bucky murmured, long lashes brushing skin, “Don’t look all sad like that baby, I’m gonna come home to ya’. My pretty wife.”

You nodded, wrapping your thighs around a too-trim waist. Breathing into him you sighed, “Y-you better, then we can do all those stupid couple things we always talked about, ha, and m’gonna get some meat on your bones again.” Bucky softly smiled, eyes crinkling and cheeks dimpled— he couldn’t hide the tears very well.

He stifled a sob, tucking his head between your chin and shoulder, breath ragged and sharp. Cooing and squeezing his flagging length, you rubbed at your husbands shaking back. “Awe kitten, s’okay baby, you’re with me, just me.” He curled tighter into your softer flesh, a hand coming to rest on your cheek. He jerked his hips a little with a whimper, softening cock swelling some.

“Kitten baby, talk to me,” you whispered gently, carding manicured fingers through his dark hair. It was a secret name between the two of you. Always drove Buck a lil’ mad, made his pretty face grow flushed and tongue soft. But your husband earned his nickname— he was a sweet kitten, those big blue eyes and soft lips, always looking for pets and a treat. Flashing irresistible sad orbs and little whines just like one.

The brunette burrowed a little, muffled voice vibrating your flesh. He croaked, “Babydoll, m’so scared.” Your throat tightened and instinctively swallowed down a sob. It was up to you to be the bear now, the protector. It always had fallen to Bucky— he took care of his ma and sis, then Steve, now you.

Tilting his face up, reddened blue eyes met your own. Buck hoarsely joked, “I know, I’m not being very Sarge right now.” A couple of beats and he sobbed again, moaning, “I don’t know what to do.” You held him tighter and sighed, “Don’t need to do a damn thing. You’re strong and capable, smart, a damn fine provider. They’ll look to you on the field I know it.” He sniffled and calmed some, whispering thanks between sweet little kisses.

“Kitten, lemme take care of you, love on my pretty baby,” you cooed, “S’that okay? Just relax yeah?”

He nodded, throat bobbing as he slid out of you and laid on his back, wide blues staring like you’d hung the moon and stars. Sweet boy. Climbing atop his strong thighs and feeling for his half-hard cock, your slick core took Buck in like a thousand times before. Made for you. Bucky’s chest hitched and he whimpered softly, big hands wrapping around your waist. Kitty’s cock was beginning to plump up again, throbbing against your tight walls.

Petting his sensitive nipples and neck you cooed, “There we go, good kitten, don’t think bout’ nothing. Just how much I love you, how blessed I am to meet my handsome husband,” you flexed, “To have and to hold.”

He whined, long and low, thighs jumping beneath you. Bucky stammered, “Mm- oh- I love you so much, love you baby doll, fuck!” He writhed a bit when your soft thighs and ass rhythmically slapped against his pale skin. You moaned and milked him at that same leisurely pace, the brunette’s hands groping weakly at your heavy tits.

Your husband babbled, “Ahhh- Ah- I’ll write you every chance, take l-lots of pictures, be a good little soldier and k-keep my head down! Mmmmm god!” He cried out sharply, cute nose scrunching up, cock spitting a bit. Rolling your hips and leaning forward to press the length of your body to his own, the changing of angle eliciting a moan from both of you. His big hands massaged at your ass, thumbing shakily where you were joined together.

Nuzzling at his delicate nose you purred, “Good kitty, I’ll send you plenty of sweets and updates on ah! Everyone! Right there James, right there!,” you had to pause for the string of helpless whined and curses, “Be that-that good soldier so you can come home fill me up with babies and be fat and happy, yeah kitten?” His eyes flew open, limbs clamping down on your smaller frame as Buck emptied his seed with a desperate cry.

He mouthed dumbly at your skin, balls still pumping, your own climax sneaking up in return, pussy pulling and milking his overtaxed cock. You shivered and mewled, “Oh! James!” Your kitten was a little mushy, smiley and kissing sloppily at your lips, reluctant to let you move one inch. He sighed, “Wan’ that so so bad, oh honey.”

Petting his hair back again you chuckled, “Me too, lemme over so my girls aren’t being squished anymore.” Bucky’s blues lit up in recognition, apologizing and petting your tits as he tucked your frame into his, spooning now. You sniffed at the feeling of his hot seed slipping out of your sore hole— but there’s worse going on.

Bucky puffed, “Thank you babydoll. Sure know how to make a guy feel one hundred percent. Didn’t mean to get all weepy earlier.” You turned to give him a sharp look, stating, “No. It’s okay to feel. Don’t ever forget that Mister James Buchanan Barnes. This is a scary situation, feeling like this is valid.”

He nodded slowly, tears welling back up. Bucky kissed and loved on you most of the night, whispering, “love you, m’gonna come home, I promise, I promise.” You believed him. Buck was a strong boy. He’d make it home— sooner or later. Intertwining your hands within his own you kissed scarred knuckles, asking for some saint’s intercession.

Bring him home to me, to Becs, Winnie, Steve. Please.

[fandomnsfw]

A Gift From Thor - Ivar the Boneless x Reader

(Outfit and hair from this imagine!)

Pairing: Ivar the Boneless x Reader

Prompt: Saved by Lennon Stella and my lack of votes from my deleted poll 😂 sad times man

Description: You are a Viking healer, who travels the world to learn all healing techniques. After an unfortunate tumble from a ship you get lost at sea. As Valhalla becomes more certain you pray to Thor for love and boy does he deliver.

Warning: None really apart from use of a few dirty words for a Manhood.😂

********

“Please don’t let me die here Thor.” You pleaded towards the sky before going under again trying to not swallow anymore water.

“Please don’t let me die here Thor.” You pleaded towards the sky before going under again trying to not swallow anymore water.

When you came back up you realised the storm was spreading around you. You let tears fall down your face as you decided to float on your back for a while. You stared up at the sky suddenly feeling very tired. You tried to fight it but you had been out here for too long.

You knew you wouldn’t survive this despite praying to Thor so you let yourself slip your eyes shut. You hated that you had yet to do so much with your life. You didn’t regret much but you did have one regret swimming through your head as you felt your body slip into unconsciousness.

‘Please let me fall in love once before you take me to Valhalla.’

“Wake up woman! Come on!” You heard someone scream as your body was being shaken. You let your eyes flicker open and the first thing you saw was blue. You thought it was the sea for a second but then realised it was someone’s eyes.

You shot up and backed into a corner anxiously as you looked around the boat your were on. The Vikings on the boat were staring at you curiously as you assessed your dripping wet clothes. You were only in a white night gown which was wet enough to see through making you cross your arms to cover yourself as you curled into a ball.

“What is your name?” The blue eyed man asked with a small glare.

“Y-Y/N.” You stuttered as a cold gust of wind swept over you.

“I am King Ivar.” You stared into his blue eyes and handsome appearance before looking towards the sky with a laugh. Thor couldn’t be serious you thought humorously.

“King Ivar the Boneless.” You chuckled as you shot him a sweet smile. The ruthless Viking that killed his own brother in anger, conquered England and Kattegat.

“You’ve heard of me.” Ivar snorted before staring you down as if trying to read you.

“Yes the ruthless Viking Ivar the Boneless you are a legend. I also know a lot about your condition.” You muttered pointing to his legs.

“I used to treat someone with the same problem.” You whispered softly with a polite smile.

“So you’re a healer?” He asked with a glare almost like he didn’t wish to talk about his illness.

“I have traveled the world learning every kind of healing knowledge I could. My goal was to be the best healer in the world. But it appears Thor has made my fate known.” You chuckled as you recalled your prayer to Thor.

“And what fate would that be?” Ivar asked curiously as he moved closer to you.

“I think I am here to take care of you.” You muttered shyly as you avoided his eyes.

“Maybe you are right. We’re almost at Kattegat, get some rest.” Ivar snorted before throwing his own furs over you as well.

He didn’t say anything and you chose to just accept the unusual kindness with a smile as you drifted off to sleep. You barely registered when your head leaned onto his shoulder but he made no move to remove you so you fell into a peaceful sleep.

Ivar watched you as you slept thinking about how beautiful you were and kind. You hadn’t even been scared of him when you found out who he was and that made him more curious about what kind of woman you were.

He also justified his fascination of you by telling himself you were a healer and could help him manage his pain, but he knew that was a lie. He wanted to get to know you. Find out everything about you and maybe even test your loyalty to him.

Once you had arrived at Kattegat Ivar shook your shoulder gently, rousing you from your slumber. You stood up before bending down to help Ivar stand with the help of his crutch. He gave you a nod before being lifted off the boat.

You followed closely behind as he walked to what you guess was his throne room. He smashed the door open startling the people inside of the room and he was approached by 3 men who looked at him with various emotions.

“Brother thank the gods your finally back.” The one with the same piercing blue eyes said as he approached Ivar with a hug.

“Yes and it appears the gods may favour this young woman here too.” He chuckled as he guided you by you hand to stand in front of him.

“This is Y/N she’s a healer that has traveled the world.” He explained slowly and his brothers looked you up and down. There was a small amount of lust in each of the brothers face which made you step back into Ivar’s space so you were stood in front of him your back pressed against his chest.

“Get your eyes off her brothers she not a slave she’s a free woman who will be my personal healer.” He huffed irritably as his arm wrapped around you waist. His touch was comforting and if made your heart race which was unexpected but you leaned into his touch and his eyes widened a little at that.

“I would like to wash up before we talk about anything else. If that is okay with you my King.” You muttered softly as you turned in his grip, your face was barely a hand width from his, your face flushed which seemed to amuse him.

“Of course love.” He muttered softly, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear sweetly.

You giggled softly at the new pet name, ducking your head shyly as he asked his slave to help you prepare a bath in his room. You were shocked he was allowing you into his room but you nodded as you followed the slave.

******

Once you had bathed you were dressed in the nicest dress you’d ever seen and the slave braided parts of your hair but left the rest hang loosely around your back. Your dress was pure black with blood red lace wrapped around the sleeves, they also gave you a long fur coat that made you feel like a queen.

You smiled down at your clothes before getting dragged back to the great hall. The slave had barely spoke to you which was a little awkward but once you saw Ivar again you felt more relaxed. He looked you up and down before giving a nod.

You approached him slowly and he pulled a stool up next to his seat at the head of the table. You sat down without a word, laying your hands on your lap as you waited for your next instruction. Slave were bringing in the food when someone finally addressed you.

“I have a question if you don’t mind?” Bjorn asked scepticism clear in his voice.

“Please ask away Bjorn Ironside I have nothing to hide.” You gave him a sweet smile which only seemed to make him more sceptical.

“You know of all our stories?” He questioned slowly and you just gave him a nod.

“Are you not scared of any of us? Even Ivar? No offence but you’re a healer not a shield maiden yet you have no fear of us.” He seemed confused but his question had you laughing which made everyone look at you.

“As you know I was stranded in the ocean when King Ivar found me.” They all nodded and waited for you to continue.

“Before I felt myself drift into unconsciousness I begged Thor for something before I died. It appears he listened.” You added with a giggle.

“What did you ask for?” Hvitserk asked with excitement in his eyes.everyone began eating as they waited for your response.

Bjorn and Ubbe were drinking their mead and Hvitserk and Ivar were eating a piece of meat when you finally spoke up. Let’s just say everyone was shocked by your next sentence.

“To fall in love.” You muttered casually as you vegans to eat your own food.

The drink in the two eldest brother mouth was spat everywhere in shock, Ivar dropped his meat and his mouth fell open and Hvitserk started laughing almost choking on his food as he did.

“You think the gods brought you here to meet someone you will love?” Ubbe asked as he coughed awkwardly.

“No I think the gods brought me here to love Ivar.” You answered simply giving Ivar a sweet smile who flushed a little but his eyes were full of amazement.

“Ivar?” Bjorn asked humorously as he began eating his food.

“Why is that so funny?” You huffed angrily suddenly feeling very offended by how they were treating you.

“Yes, why is that so funny?” Ivar asked irritably, his hand coming down to give yours a reassuring squeeze.

“Because you cannot…you know…” Ubbe muttered awkwardly and you shot a glare his way.

“Because you cannot satisfy a woman.” Hvitserk blurted out and you stood up so fast making everyone jump.

“I can imagine you don’t do a great job at doing it either!” You screamed throwing a cup in Hvitserk’s direction hitting him square it the head. He stood up to retaliate but Ivar stood up in warning.

“Don’t you dare touch her!” Ivar growled as he pulled stroked your hair gently making you smile to yourself.

“I apologise I lost my temper but you should not talk about things you do not understand.” You muttered with a pout.

“He is our brother we know more about him than you.” Ubbe huffed in annoyance.

“Yes about him but not his illness! I have treated another person like him and his cock works just fine from what his wife said. In fact last I heard his wife had given birth to their 4th child.” You snorted as you remembered the joy of the first time his wife managed to conceive.

“How?” Bjorn asked curiously as he leaned his chin on his intertwined fingers.

“The first step is actually getting the person walking and seeing as that has already done all he needs is a special herb from China and a woman to warm his bed.” You answered honestly though the last string of words caused your heart to ache at the thought of another woman enjoying him.

“Kattegat has a few Chinese traders who pass through here maybe one of them has it.” Ivar responded with a small amount of excitement in his voice.

You nodded softly as you stared at your hands and tried not to think about the lucky woman who would be held by this beautiful man. Suddenly you heard Hvitserk laugh at your eyes shot up at the sound.

“And you want to be that woman.” He snorted with a smirk and you frowned.

“I would never presume that a King would want to bed me. I said I was sent by the gods to love Ivar I did not say he was to love me. I will spend my life serving him as his healer and loving him silently.” You muttered with tears in your eyes before standing up and walking out of the great hall.

You could not bare anymore snide comments or horrible things being said about Ivar. How could brothers be so mean to their brother. Not to mention he is their King they should show respect despite being blood.

You were strolling round the markets when you came across what looked like a Chinese trader. You gave him a nod before asking in Chinese if he had the herb you were looking for. He gave you a shocked grin at your perfect Chinese before passing you a bag of the herbs. You inspected it and gave him a nod before telling him you’d be back with gold for him.

You slowly strolled back to the great hall with a small smile but as you entered the hall to see the brothers now drinking around the fire you smile dropped and you walked past them to Ivar.

“I found the herb but I have nothing to trade for it.” You mumbled awkwardly as you avoided his gaze.

He stood up, making his way to his bedroom, you followed him slowly and as you stood in front of him he passed you a bag of gold coins. You gave him a nod and turned to walk out the room but Ivar’s hand grabbed your hand spinning you back around.

“Do you truly believe the Gods sent here to love me?” He asked quietly as he locked his eyes into yours.

“Yes. I feel a connection to you. I feel so calm when I am near you.” You answered him, his hand came up to caress your cheek and you leaned into his touch involuntarily.

“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I find it hard to believe you have never loved a man.” He chuckled as if the thought was ridiculous.

“I have spent my life travelling I have never even bed a man before.” You muttered shyly as you averted your eyes from his now wide ones.

Ivar nodded and released you so you quickly ran back to the market and received the herbs. Hopefully this worked because even if it was not you he chose to bed you hoped it would make him happy. His happiness was your only concern right now.

Once you returned you passed the herbs to Ivar who looked at them with a raised brow. His brothers came over to the throne and gave there brother a sign to hurry up. You nodded at Ivar as you took the bag from him.

You took the meat leg in Ubbe hand with a cheeky smile before ripping off a piece of meet and coating it with green herbs. You picked up the coated meat and passed it to Ivar.

“It called Yin Yang Hou. It’s a Chinese herb.” You stated as Ivar threw in his mouth nervously. You waited for what felt like years but really it was only 20 minutes before Ivar’s eyes widened.

“It works.” Ivar laughed as he stood up.

“Yes we can see that.” Ubbe laughed as you all looked at his noticeable erection.

“Very clearly.” You giggled as you looked at his size through his pants.

Ivar hobbled over to you with a smile before he pulled you in for what felt like a hug from a lover. One hand was in your hair while the other was very low on your back. You actually felt his hardened member pressed against your stomach as he held you.

“Thank you.” He whispered in your ear before stepping back.

“So who shall I bring to your room?” Ubbe asked joyfully as he patted his brother back.

“No one.” Ivar answered and your eyes shot to his.

“But you are finally able to bed a woman.” Hvitserk laughed evenly as he frowned at Ivar.

“Y/N would you excuse us for a moment.” Ivar spoke, you gave him a nod before leaving the Greta hall and waiting outside. Ivar watched as you walked out before turning to his brothers with a smile.

“You’re going to bed her aren’t you?” Bjorn snorted with an approving nod.

“No I am going to make her my wife.” Ivar grinned and his brothers laughed and congratulated him.

******

Later that night there was a meeting called by Ivar, saying everyone must attend. You were already by Ivar’s side as everyone started pouring into the great hall with chatter. You could here people asking each other if they knew what was going on but no one seemed to know except Ivar and his brothers.

Ivar stood up and everyone stopped talking, listening to whatever he was about to say. You bowed you head in respect before lifting it to watch him address his people.

“I have brought you all here to inform you I have found a woman that I wish to make queen.” You stomach dropped as the words left his mouth. Your heart squeezed painfully as you looked down to hide your tears.

“Her name is Y/N and she is a healer.” Your eyes shot up to him who was staring down at you. The tears that had escaped seemed to shock him and he approached you carefully.

“What is wrong my love?” He asked gently and you wiped your eyes with a smile.

“I thought you were going to marry some random beautiful Princess or something.” You sniffled with a pout and he just laughed before cupping your cheek and leaning down.

When his lips touched yours it was like a million sparks exploding behind your eyes. It felt like the most amazing thing you’d ever felt. It was your first kiss and you wished it would never end. He pulled away to look at his people who were smiling.

“Meet your future Queen of Kattegat!” He cheered heartily before leading you to the queens throne. You blushed as he made you sit down.

If someone would if told you as a year ago that you would one day be a queen you would’ve laughed. Yet here you were with the most beautiful man you’d ever seen holding your hand as he tells you he wishes to marry you.

“I am shocked you wish to marry me my King.” You whispered to him as he laced your finger together.

“Why? You are beautiful, kind and know how to handle my legs among other things.” He smirked as he brought your hand to his lips with a lustful gaze. You flushed under his gaze but gave him a smile to show him you were happy.

“I wish to make a sacrifice to Thor as a thank you to him for leading me to you.” You chuckled happily and he nodded his head in agreement.

“And maybe to Freya so she might bless us with a child.” He added making you giggle returned his nod.

You could not believe everything that had happened and how quickly you fell in love with this man beside you but no matter what you knew your life together would be adventurous and for that you could not wait.

[photogirl894]

Hi Morgan!

I don’t know if you’re taking more than one request per requestee for your 1000 follower celebration, so if you are, you can disregard one of mine, I just thought I’d submit another because I love your writing! I thought of this story: Hunter/reader, what if reader gets amnesia from something that happened to her so she doesn’t remember Hunter. It can be a relearning to fall in love and or/big memory reveal like they’re in the rain or something and that sparks her memory. Could do the forehead touch from your prompt list?

Thanks again for all your stories and sharing your talents <3

You know I love getting any requests from you, my dear 🥰 Especially if it involves our beloved Sergeant, as well 😍

"Muscle Memory"

1. Forehead touches

Pairing: Hunter x fem reader

***

Everything about your world was a haze right now.

You could only remember up to a certain point in time: waking up on a ship with a group of men you didn't recognize. Anything before that...was just darkness in your mind. You didn't know why you couldn't remember anything else at all. One of the men on the ship, who wore goggles and was called Tech, informed you that you had taken a bad fall, suffered a blow to the head, had been unconscious for a few days and now, seemed to be suffering a case of amnesia. You weren't sure what scared you more: the fact that you had amnesia or that you were doing something dangerous enough to make you fall and get a bad blow to the head.

The men tried explaining things in a way that would tell you who you were before without overwhelming you. They were a squad of Clones fighting in a war and you were also a trained soldier who had joined up with them. On their latest mission, an unexpected explosion had happened and had sent you flying over a steep hill, which was where things had gone wrong.

Wow...you were a soldier? Fighting in a war? That was definitely not what you were expecting to hear. They made you sound pretty badass. Even though you couldn't remember any of that, you were determined to get your memories back somehow and the Clones were willing to help in any way they could.

The others' names were Wrecker, Crosshair, Echo and Hunter. Though, of all of them, Hunter seemed to be avoiding you the most and you weren't sure why for a while. He seemed sad and closed off whenever he even looked at you. You would try to talk to him and his responses would be brief before turning away or walking away. Later on, you were told by Echo that you and Hunter had actually been an item before your accident and that it was hard for him at the moment being around you when you didn't remember any of that. You couldn't help but feel an ache in your heart for him. He was handsome, for sure. You wished you could give him back what he'd lost, but it didn't feel right when you couldn't recall anything about him.

Maybe one day.

A couple weeks passed and only tiny details would return to your mind every so often, but nothing really substantial. The Clones had suggested, once you seemed okay enough, to maybe try your hand at your combat skills to see if maybe that would awaken anything in you. You tried shooting a blaster and, even though you managed to land a couple shots, it didn't seem to work. However, Wrecker suggested sparring with Hunter. Apparently, you were better at hand-to-hand combat before and Hunter was the one who had taught you. You blushed immensely at the thought of trying to fight him and Hunter looked pretty uncomfortable, too. Though, the rest of the Clones pushed for it, too, and eventually, you both relented. With that, the two of you went outside, thinking the sparring might not last very long as the sky was getting dark with rain clouds.

"I'll uh...I'll try and go easy on you in case you don't remember how to fight," Hunter said to you timidly.

"I appreciate that," you replied, bringing your hands up to a defensive position. Hopefully, this wouldn't end too badly.

After taking a moment to psych himself up, Hunter stepped forward and went to throw a punch. For a split second, you panicked, but then your arm moved of its own accord and blocked Hunter's oncoming attack. You both stopped and looked at each other in astonishment.

"How did I...?" you asked aloud.

"Looks like your muscle memory might be kicking in," Hunter observed. "That's something."

That got you almost excited in the moment. "Come at me again," you told him.

Hunter gave a nod and went for a couple more punches and your body kept reacting before your mind could process things and you blocked both hits. A smile slowly crept up on your face. Your memories might not be coming back, but this was still progress. Your body hadn't forgotten the training instilled in you. You decided to take a chance and went for a hit at Hunter, going to fight back. He blocked and parried your hits and things began to heat up between you as your sparring increased. Punches and kicks were being thrown about at each other and parried with ease on both sides.

At one point, you could see a pleased grin on Hunter's face and strangely, it brought butterflies to your stomach...which felt both foreign and familiar at the same time. That small distraction was enough to give Hunter the upper hand and, getting too caught up in the moment, he swept his leg into yours, knocking you onto your back and suddenly, he was above you, pinning your wrists to the ground. His face was only inches away from yours, the two of you breathing heavily and fanning each other's faces with your hot breath. Along with that, you could feel a sprinkling of rain drops starting to fall on your skin from above. His brown eyes looked down upon you with an intensity that made your heart race...and the feeling of him above you, his face so close to you...this was something you thought you had experienced before...

There was a bang in your head and you let out a pained cry.

Hunter had pinned you down to the ground in your first sparring match and you groaned in frustration at him beating you. You had felt so confident that you'd best him. He had your wrists pinned down and he was only inches away from your face, his eyes gazing into your very soul.

"Maybe next time, sweetheart," he taunted you, his nose brushing yours.

Determined to not let this be the end, you decided to play along and said, "All right, fine. You win."

When you felt his grip on your hands loosen, you pulled them free and pushed back on him, flipping him over onto his back and you moved to straddle him, a cocky grin on your face. His eyes were wide in shock for a moment, but then his lips curled up in a smirk at seeing you on top of him like this. The flirtatious look in his eyes made your breath catch and finally, after keeping your feelings to yourself for a long time, you couldn't wait any longer. You bent over, took his face in your hands and kissed him firmly for the first time. After a brief, stunned moment, you felt him kiss you back and his arms wrapped around you, holding you tight like he'd never let you go.

Suddenly, your mind was flooded intensely with a wave of various memories in almost an instant.

Meeting the Bad Batch for the first time. Your first mission with them. The first time Hunter ever complimented you. Getting drinks with the boys at 79's. The first time Hunter held your hand. Crosshair teasing you about staring at Hunter from across the ship. The safety you felt with the boys. Them telling you that you would always be one of them. Hunter admitting to you that he had wanted you since the moment he met you. Your first night of passion together where you both ended up confessing your love for each other. The last mission you and the squad had gone on and then the explosion that had sent you falling....

A sharp, heavy gasp escaped you and your body convulsed, causing Hunter to rear back in shock.

You remembered...you remembered everything!

Fearing he had accidentally hurt you, Hunter asked with worry, "(Y/N), what's wrong? Are you okay?"

After taking a second to catch your breath, you gazed up at him, all-consuming joy overtaking you at remembering the man who held your heart, the man who cared so much for you, the only love of your life. You then decided to do the same thing you'd done in the first memory that had returned to you: you pushed him over onto his back and moved on top of him. Just as Hunter was about to question what you were doing, you took hold of his head, leaned over and crushed your lips against his. For a moment, he didn't move, but then you felt him relax and his arms wrapped tightly around your back. There, on the ground in the middle of the rain, your lips and his engaged in a dance you knew well that you'd thought you'd forgotten forever and it felt heavenly to be kissing your Sergeant again. Your back was getting cold from the rain that was now drenching you, but you couldn't have cared less.

Finally, Hunter broke the kiss and stared up at you, eyes wide with both surprise and relief as a hand came up to trace your cheek. "Sweetheart?" he asked, a trace of hope in his voice.

You nodded and exclaimed, your voice breaking, "I remember! I remember everything!" Then you leaned down and touched your forehead to his, your hands resting on his cheeks. "I remember you, Hunter, and I love you! I love you so much!"

He tilted his head up and kissed you once more. "I love you, too," he replied before flipping you over, putting himself on top this time. "Welcome back, my love. I missed you terribly." Then he resumed kissing you again, overjoyed at having his love back.

Back in the Marauder, the others were about to call out for you and Hunter to come back in because of the rain when they saw the two of you kissing passionately on the ground.

"Well...I think it's safe to say that the sparring idea worked," Crosshair remarked.

"I think we should just leave them. They'll come in when they're ready," said Echo, ushering the rest of them away.

They all were glad your memories had returned and you were yourself again, but at that moment, it was Hunter that needed you the most.

Photogirl894's Physical Affection Prompts

Photogirl894's 1,000 Followers fics

[marlynnofmany]

Irrational Attachment

I directed the delivery guy to put the last high-tech crate next to the others in our very full cargo bay, and I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. This was a big order. I noted the final count with a good old-fashioned Earth pencil.

The delivery guy, a fellow human much beefier than I was, smirked at the pencil and clipboard. “Really living in the space age, there,” he said. “Don’t you guys have tablets and scanners?”

“Oh sure,” I replied. “But one has a cracked screen and the other's got a faulty battery. You know how it is.”

His response was eclipsed by the arrival of the sparkly purple conglomeration of limbs that was my coworker Zhee. I was used to bug aliens by now, but I was amused to see the brawny human edge back a step.

Zhee didn’t notice. “What is ‘pack bonding’?” he demanded, clicking to a stop and looking at the two of us expectantly. “They were telling jokes that made little sense.” He waved a pincher arm over his shoulder. “Then it occurred to me that I have a pair of qualified humans here I can ask. Why do people joke about humans caring too much?”

The delivery guy straightened up, all bluster. “Oh, it’s a bunch of radiator wash, really. Lots of species are social. Really, we wouldn’t all have space ships out here if everybody couldn’t cooperate!”

“Well, sure,” I said. “But there’s a difference between cooperating and getting attached. Didn’t you have a teddy bear as a kid?”

“Yeah, as a kid,” he scoffed. “We’re talking about grownups here.”

“Grownups do it too,” I told him, barreling on as he started to object. “We give names and personalities to ships and cars and space probes. We put googly eyes on machinery, and keep pet rocks. We build people out of snow, lending them our own clothes, and we’re sad when they melt away. We have ancient history of granting a bear military rank, and recent history of doing the same to a cleaning droid. We care about things.”

He was still shaking his head and looking stubborn, so I pulled the pencil from my pocket. I held it in front of his face with an intense stare.

“I can tell you that this pencil’s name is Steven,” I said. “Then I can do this—” I snapped it in half. “—And I can watch a little bit of you die inside.”

His expression was that of a person shaken to his core. “What the f— Why would you do that??”

I looked down at the broken pencil. “You can’t tell me humans don’t care.”

Zhee clicked a pincher. “But it’s just a pencil.”

“It was,” I said. “Now it’s Steven.” I pulled a roll of tape from a different pocket. “And now I have to nurse him back to health and apologize.”

~~~

The ongoing backstory of the main character in this book. No pencils were (permanently) harmed in the creation of today's story. 

[shankschewtoy]

idk if you’ve done this before but can you do either zoro or luffy finding out that their s/o is actually alive? like they watched them die and stuff and then a while later, they just come back like

a/n - I woke up at 3am today and I’m very motivated for some reason :) thank you for this request anon!

Warnings ⚠️ - angst, g/n reader

You had died a while ago, and Zoro still hasn’t recovered from it. Your death was… Enough to break the unbreakable man. Everyone in the strawhat crew knew how much you meant to him, he would die for you.

He still had little pictures of you laying around, little things to remember you by. It was sad, feeling how the bed you two shared was now one for only him. How when he trained, you weren’t hanging out with him. You didn’t save him from the pervert cook ever again… Nor did you help him deal with Luffy’s recklessness.

it was so… empty with you not there anymore. As if his life wasn’t complete. He was with his best friends for life, on his way to fulfill his dreams, and help his captain fulfill his. It was everything he could’ve wished for. Except you. You weren’t there anymore.

On the next island, zoro reluctantly came along with Nami and Robin to help with the supplies shopping. They thought it would be good for him to get out of the ship for a little while. He walked, his head hanging low, his hand perched on the hilt of his katana in case anyone dared to attack him.

Suddenly he heard a familiar voice, he could’ve sworn it was yours. How could he ever forget it? Your tone that always brought comfort to him, whenever you spoke, it put him at ease, no matter what you were talking about. He looked up to see a hooded figure speaking with a merchant, negotiating a price.

His body moved for him, walking towards the person quickly, taking off their hood and staring at them to see if it was you or not.

It wasn’t.

“What the hell man?! What’s your problem?!” The man yelled at him angrily, swatting his hands away. Zoro sighed heavily, great, now he was hearing things.

“Zoro?!”

He looked up at the merchant. No fucking way. It was you.

He literally jumped over the stands of fruit and tackled you, wrapping his bulky arms around you so tightly you couldn’t even breathe. No, what are you thinking? He totally wasn’t crying!

“Y/n- where the hell were you? And how did you survive? I saw you-“

“Die? Yeah nope that didn’t happen. I’ve been waiting here for a while since I know you guys had planned on coming here.”

“You could’ve sent a letter dammit! And there’s things called den den mushis where a literal fucking snail can call me?!!”

He was mad, happy, sad, confused, but most of all? Relieved, to see you alive, safe, and in his arms again. “Sorry Zoro- but I’m too broke to afford one! I can barely pay for an apple in this expensive town!”

He chuckled a bit, kissing your cheek before leading you out of the stand. “Ahem?! My fruit?!” The hooded man asked before Zoro shot him the nastiest death glare he’d ever experienced. Anddd- that shut him up pretty quickly, sending him running away with fear.

“Come on, I bet everyone’s going to be excited to see you again.. don’t ever do that again or else I’m going to kill you.”

“Ok ok- sorry babe.”

Luffy was never- truly the same after your passing. Watching you take that hit for him as you fell off the cliffs into the steep waterfalls. God he remembered it as if it was yesterday, it kept haunting him, following him, stalking his life.

He still smiled, had his rambunctious attitude, reckless behavior, and meat loving self. But whenever your name was brought up, he wasn’t smiling anymore, in fact, he never could find happiness in hearing about you anymore.

All he could think about was how he let you die. Just like he did with ace. Everyone knew, everyone saw the changes from his old self. They hoped that this new island would help cheer him up, since it had been known for its very delicious meat.

He obviously tagged along with Robin and Sanji to pick out the “best” meat. When he was standing around, struggling not to eat it before Sanji even got a change to cook it, he saw a glimpse of someone he used to know. They looked- just like you!

It took him not even a moment to start running towards the person, turning them around to see that it… it was you!

“Y/N!”

He tackled you down, his arms wrapping several times around you, his face nuzzling into the crook of your neck. “LUFFY!”

Oh god you missed him so much- just to be able to hug him like this again was more than enough to bring life back into your heart again. “How are you here?! I thought you- fell off the cliffs?”

“I did, and Luffy. It wasn’t your fault ok? I’ve been wanting to tell you that for so long. Don’t blame yourself, I was the one that was too angry, and just attacked with no plan. I was the one that got myself almost killed ok? Not you.”

You kissed his forehead, you definitely knew Luffy had been blaming himself this entire time for your “death”. He grinned, peppering your face with his kisses, tickling your cheeks. “Sanji picked out some yummy meat, tonight we’re gonna have a feast!!!”

You smiled at him. Finally, you were home.

a/n - this was adorable help

[thedeviltohisangel]

Spook and John have my 🫶🏼. Maybe for a prompt “who did this to you” John asking Spook? I just think with her background as a spy and his protective nature, it fits them!! Can’t wait for more 🙌🏻

All The Things I Did (Interlude): I'm Such a Fool

a/n: broke my own heart with this one. introduced a very curious dynamic with harding, a little bit of solo cass and a few little fluff crumbs so you all don't hate me too much. send romance/fluff/ post-war spook and bucky??? prompts to ease my soul. i'll be waiting to chat...

The moment Colonel Harding was the one behind her office door and there was no smile on his face or flirtatious joke on his tongue, Cass knew. 

“Anyone?” 

“Rosenthal’s crew just landed. I was on my way to interrogation.” Her heart was struggling to know what to do. Seize with sadness over the loss. Hammer in her chest to keep her mind moving. Slow down so she could have a moment to think. 

“I’m coming with you.”

----

She sat silently while they went through each plane until they got to the one John had been on. The tapping of her toes only sped up when the navigator announced he saw ten chutes. “About where was that drop, Lieutenant?” The men looked over at her, Colonel Harding already gathering his breath to tell her to stand down.

“Somewhere over Westphalia, maybe, ma’am. It was…I’m sorry I don’t have anything more specific.”

“It will do just fine, Lieutenant. Thank you.” Cass tucked her notebook, she hadn’t even opened it, under her arm and barely made it out the door when Harding started calling after her.

“Cassandra! Lieutenant!” She kept walking, knowing exactly what he was going to say and knowing with certainty she was not going to listen. “Lieutenant Egan!” That made her pause.

“Who told you that?” She kept her back to him. She wasn’t sure quite yet what game he was playing.

“You don’t think your counterparts were keeping an eye on you over there?” She rolled her eyes. Men and their egos.

“Your feelings about the situation are irrelevant, Colonel. I have work to do.” Cass was going to grab her bag and go get John. 

“You’re grounded, Lieutenant. You try to leave this base and I’ll have you shipped back to the States on the next available flight.”

“Then good thing the OSS answers directly to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colonel.” 

----

“You shouldn’t be here so soon, Ingrid.” Cass had spent the night in an emergency safe house close to her drop site before setting off to the nearest town where Peter lived, her contact she paid to help get around Germany. Ingrid was the name he knew her by.

“I wouldn’t if it wasn’t for a good reason.” She looked around the beer hall, empty at this time of day. “I’m looking for a pilot. American. Dropped over here a day or two ago.” Peter got quiet and stopped moving the rag over the bartop. 

“Ingrid, asking about American pilots is very dangerous around here.” Her fingers flexed tightly around the glass of untouched beer she had politely paid him for. Tipped double.

“You don’t need to take me to him. I just need to know how to find him on the way to Stalag Luft.” 

“Two men were here this morning on their way to pick up bodies.” 

“Bodies?” 

“They have a spot in the middle of the woods where they bury them.” Cass closed her eyes and fought to maintain composure. There was no chance John was dead. She would have felt it. She would know in her soul. 

And when she rode the horse Peter lent her to that clearing and she saw a lifeless body lying directly in the sun like God himself wanted her to find it, she almost started to think he was gone. 

“John?” She practically fell from the horse as she realized it was him. Dropping to her knees, she grunted as she rolled him over. Her breath stopped when she got a good look at his face. Cass felt around frantically for a pulse and almost cried when she felt one thrumming against her fingertips. “Baby, you got to wake up.” She deduced he had run away from the men that were here to bury a pile of American bodies. It meant that it was only a matter of time before they either found them or sent for German soldiers. 

John thinks he heard her voice. Thinks he felt her presence above him. Thinks that meant he was dead. 

“Cass,” he moaned. His head wasn’t supposed to hurt this bad if he was dead. “Please.” Please just take me away from here, he was asking. Take me somewhere where I can be with you again.

“It’s me. You’re going to be okay. I’m going to get you out of here.” There was no chance she was going to be able to get him on the horse without his help. She draped his arm over her shoulder, his head lolling weightlessly into the crook of her neck. 

“You’re real.” 

“We have to get you up, okay? Can you help me, Johnny?” Her arm wrapped securely around his waist, steadying herself to lift. With a grunt she pushed up but only made it a few steps before she collapsed under his dead weight and hit the forest floor. She rubbed her knuckles as hard as she could against his chest in an attempt to wake him back up. “Come on, come on.” He coughed a little and his eyes fluttered open completely. 

“Cass…you can’t…be here.” She ignored him, propping him up into a sitting position and readying herself to lift him once again. “Cass, please. Go.”

“Not without you.” She had him. They were so close. She couldn’t go back now. 

“I love you, Cassandra Ann Egan.” He was saying it like it was goodbye. She wanted to respond. She wanted to cry and scream. Wanted to burn the entire world down for getting her here but not letting her have it.  Have him. But the sound of a gun cocking and a cold barrel placed to the back of her head made her freeze.

“Get away from the prisoner.” Cass willed herself to think of a way out of this. There was no way this could be the end.

“You want to point a gun at someone, point it at me.” John was sitting up straighter now. Adrenaline reaching all parts of his body. His instinct to protect simmering inside him. He reached for Cass’ arm in an attempt to drag her behind him.

“I found him bleeding while riding out to the market. Was only trying to help.” She slowly stood with her hands up, the gun lowered when the officer heard the German words coming out of her mouth. Keep talking, keep diffusing, keep distracting. 

“He’s coming with us, no need for your help.” For his part, John was using the tree he had been leaning against to pull himself up. He got his wish, the guns right back up and in his direction. 

“You get on that horse and you get somewhere safe.” He was pleading with her. Have never asked her for anything since he met her but was asking her for this. To give him the peace of mind that she was safe. 

“Ingrid, there you are!” Cass looked in horror as Peter entered into the clearing. “You’ll have to pardon her, sirs. She gets lost sometimes.” The two men from the carriage had returned to the beer hall to radio the local security forces. Unable to stop his curiosity, he had followed them to make sure she was alright.

“Enough!” One of the soldiers drew back his gun and brought it down on John’s back, his legs giving out and causing him to drop to his knees. She lurched forward with a scream, Peter grabbing her and pulling her back.

“Stop! Let me go!” 

“Get your hands off of her you son of a-” Another blow, the wind knocked out from him this time. She kicked at Peter’s legs but his grip only tightened as he began to drag her away. 

“John! John!” she screamed as tears flowed down her face. 

“Let her go! Don’t fucking touch her-Cass!” He crawled a few feet in the direction she was being dragged, kicking and screaming and writhing with the pain of leaving him behind. The next blow knocked him out cold.

----

He was certain she was dead. Certain that that was the last he would ever see of her. John had wanted to ask the interrogator. He had shown a grainy image of Cass, called her The Little Sparrow, and asked if he knew her. Knew her real name. Location. He had only smirked. That was his girl. John knows she would have been all too happy to know just how far under their skin she was. He had half a mind to ask the guards to kill him too on his way to the cell. What was the point if she wasn’t there to get home to? To fulfill the life they were foolish enough to let themselves dream about. 

Seeing Buck and the boys numbed him for a little bit. But then Buck asked about London. Asked if John had finally told Cass he loved her. If they had made plans for when this was all over. The words were lodged in John’s throat. He wanted to tell Buck he had told her he loved her over and over again. That she had finally said she loved him back. Endlessly. That they had felt in their guts they were running out of time so they had found their way to a bombed out Abbey and made it all official. But he couldn’t bring himself to talk about the good times.

“Major John Egan.” A guard appeared in the doorway. “You’ve been called back to interrogation.” He had been here a couple of days but knew enough it didn’t sound like a positive. Cass had told him of her encounters with the Gestapo. Maybe they had learned of his connection to her. Maybe that were going to try and torture the truth out of him. 

The guard led him out into the yard, passed the nicer huts where the Germans stayed and toward the remote corner where more housing was being built. It was starting to look more like a good spot for an execution. At least he would see her again. 

“Do I get my last rites?” he asked as he was ordered to stop. There was not a single other soul in sight. 

“Five minutes.” The guard walked away and John looked around in confusion. Maybe he could try and climb the fence. Maybe he could-

“Excuse me, but I’m looking for my husband.” Oh. 

“What kind of husband leaves a wife as ethereal as you all by her lonesome?” There was a chain link fence separating them but she was there. She was alive and she was there. “I thought I’d lost you.” Cass’ fingers curled into the fence and resting her head on the cool metal, his skin finding hers in one of the openings. 

“Me too. But we’ve been fucking with all plans the Germans have for us, haven’t we?” He smiled and wished he could touch her more fully. Wished he could kiss her and twirl her hair around his finger and feel the rise and fall of her breath against his chest.

“We should never have left London,” he whispered. 

“We’ll get back there-” Her words paused as she sucked in a breath of pain. John gripped the fence tighter. She lifted her shirt and John noticed a deep purple bruise along her ribcage. “Definitely broken,” she wheezed.

“Someone do that to you?” 

“You’re not supposed to be worrying about me, John.”

“Who did this to you?” 

“I had a run in with a guard on my way in. He propositioned me and didn’t like that I turned him down.”

“Would you be mad if I killed him?” There was no humor in his tone. His request for her permission was actual. 

“I don’t want you in here any longer than you already are. We made a lot of plans we have to follow through on.” Cass couldn’t help the tears that pricked at the corners of her eyes. 

“I owe you a real wedding,” she hummed in agreement, “some little Bucky’s and little Spook’s,” she leaned in as close as she could, “and that house by the ocean.” She had talked about a house she walked by every summer as a little girl. Thought it was a castle and dreamt of living there with her books and her farm dogs and her own family. Bucky was going to buy it for her if it was the last thing he ever did. 

“I’m going to visit as much as I can. I’ll write to you everyday.” She had noticed the guard approaching again. Their time together was coming to a close. “I love you more than anything else in the entire world,” she said the words as if they were the most sacred. After John had jumped the gun with his feelings weeks ago, she had made him work for the words to be echoed back. He was more addicted to her love than cigarettes.

“I love you, too, Cass. Promise me you’ll always know that. No matter how long it takes for me to get back to you.” 

“I’ll be right here waiting for you. I promise.” Their lips met in one of the diamond gaps, both of them trying to portray everything they felt in the soul. 

“Time’s up.” 

“Let me look at you. Just one more minute.” He wanted to be sure he was able to commit her to memory. Every little detail. Didn’t want to forget a single beauty mark. A single scar. The curve of her top lip or the way her eyelashes looked when they fluttered closed. 

“Now, Major.” The grip on his arm was firm, John practically being dragged away as Cass just pressed herself closer and closer into the fence. He never took his eyes off of her, silently mouthing his love for her one last time before he was around the corner and she was out of his sight. 

“Do me a favor, sir?” The guard stopped and looked at him. “Point me in the direction of the guard that put his hands on my wife.”