#This idea came to me in the middle of the night

[enhasparadise]

LOVE PARADISE. ˒˒ ﹙ enhypen ! ﹚

╰┈⪼ in which you suddenly ask your boyfriend if he loves you to see his reaction

pairing ‎⸝⸝⸝ enha member x girlfriend!reader 𓄷 iηcℓudᥱs 𓈓 none!

genre﹙💬﹚⸝⸝⸝ scenerios/headcannons, soft, fluff

warnings ‎⸝⸝⸝ enhypen member being a wimp for their girl, really cute reaction from the member, use of petnames (sweetheart, kitten, sweetie, darling..), jay doing a proposal to the reader (that’s not a real proposal), niki teasing the reader (kinda funny to write actually), really dramatic Jake, kisses and cuddles.

wc ‎⸝⸝⸝ 3788 words

rain’s note ‎⸝⸝⸝ im in love with the idea of this scenario and I hope that you loved reading all of them ! (jay, Jake and niki being my favorite 🤭) hope to see you for my next post, currently working on "TOKYO ON EDGE" first chapter !!

all feedback and reblogs are welcome! ♡

𓏲 𖧷ˊ HEESEUNG

heeseung had just come back from a long day of training and the only thing he wanted was to be in your arms so he could reunite with his girlfriend.

he simply almost froze when he didn't see that you weren't sitting on the sofa like he was used to finding you like at the end of all his days. this simple change in his habits starting to worry him before he heard a noise coming from the kitchen, and a smile appeared on his lips even though he had seen you cooking.

quickly his arms were around your waist as he placed a soft kiss on your cheeks, but before he even said a single word you had cut him off.

“hee, do you love me?” you asked him and he stood looking at you for a few seconds without understanding why you had just asked that question.

he thought that showing you his love every day was enough to prove the love he had for you, but upon hearing your question he quickly understood that maybe that wasn't the case.

“wait are you seriously asking the question sweetheart?” he ended up saying almost as if he had just found his voice and his arms quickly disappeared from around your waist before Heeseung ended up completely disappearing from the kitchen, leaving you alone wondering what he could do.

but he returned a few minutes later with his phone in one hand, and his bag in the other, which he placed on the kitchen table. “Look at me quickly, sweetheart, please..” he asked before seeing you turn around and a smile appeared on his lips.

he then gave you his phone directly. “look at the wallpaper” and he had barely finished his sentence when you quickly noticed that his wallpaper was nothing other than a photo of the two of you that he had taken during a of your appointments. “my password is your date of birth” he added almost immediately before looking inside his bag.

he searched for a few seconds before taking out a small stuffed animal that you had given him on your birthday a month ago, that he had kept with him ever since and that he had with him all the time since he never left his bag.

then he came closer to you simply to show you one of his necklaces with your initials engraved on it, which he had never taken off without forgetting this ring that you had both worn since the start of your relationship.

"I think you must be kidding me for asking a question like that when almost all I have with me are things that remind me of you. im obsessed with you baby."

following which, you were treated to an avalanche of kisses from your boyfriend to once again prove his love which quickly made you laugh.

“i know heeseung, it was just to see what you were going to say..” you had time to say before his lips pressed against yours.

𓏲 𖧷ˊ JAY

you didn't even have the need to ask the question that strangely Jay had already seen this moment coming and so, throughout the day he had been expecting it, but deep down he was prepared. maybe even a little too prepared in fact.

you were both walking in the middle of the night, admiring the stars while the streets were far too quiet, and without knowing why, this question had come to your mind and obviously, you couldn't not ask it and you then turned to face Jay, who was already looking at you as if he had already understood.

"Jay.." you started innocently trying to coax your boyfriend into the future question you were going to ask him.

"yes darling?" he answered you, and this simple nickname made your heart beat faster and your cheeks turned pink, almost forgetting your question but you eventually came to your senses. "do you love me ?"

a soft laugh left your boyfriend's lips upon hearing your question and he knew perfectly well that your question was asked simply to see his response and reaction. he spent several seconds admiring you, his smile growing as he took in your beauty and his hand took yours, his gaze finally settling on your fingers noticing that you almost never wore rings.

his gaze ended up returning to your face, seeing perfectly well that you were waiting for some kind of response from him, he took the time to make you wait and his gaze went back down to your hand.

"what do you say about a darling ring?" he ended up asking you after three minutes without any response and his gaze returned to you.

hearing his sentence you couldn't really understand what he meant and after a few seconds you seemed to realize what he had just said and didn't even know what to say.

"Jay..?" you asked as you looked straight into his eyes and again a smile appeared on his lips, noticing that his sentence had disturbed you slightly and although you only thought it was a joke he ended up feeling a small black box which you were sure contained a ring.

your gaze was fixed on him, unable to know how he was feeling right before your gaze fell on that small box that was in your boyfriend's hands.

although he didn't position himself as a real marriage proposal you let out a little laugh of excitement imagining it as a proposal, and he knew that with this kind of action he was going to make you happy. when he opened the box and you finally saw the appearance of the ring, which was classic but at the same time with this very atypical appearance a smile appeared on your lips and a few seconds later the ring had ended up around one of your fingers and a smile also appeared on Jay's lips.

"Is that enough to prove that I love you darling?" he asked you even though he knew perfectly well that he had almost made you a real marriage proposal and that this simple detail had allowed a smile to remain on your lips.

"It's beautiful Jay..." you replied, looking at the ring now around your finger before your gaze rested on him and you almost immediately jumped into his arms.

a laugh left his lips before he placed a soft and tender kiss on your lips, holding you against him.

𓏲 𖧷ˊ JAKE

"so my girlfriend really doesn't listen to me when I spend hours talking about her when I'm alone with her.." Jake said, realizing the question you had just asked him while he dramatized the whole thing. situation.

"What do you mean? Jake, I've never heard you talk about me.." you replied, slightly confused about what he had just said.

"oh my god this is not possible.." he began as he knelt on the ground, dramatizing the situation even more. "my girlfriend never really listens to me... what have I done to deserve this.."

a slight nervous laugh left your lips while your boyfriend was still overreacting. your gaze fixed on your boyfriend who was now completely lying on the ground as he slowly began to pretend to cry.

realizing that he wouldn't stop until a few minutes later, you took a seat on the couch and turned on the television, knowing that Jake would soon be his old self again.

"And on top of that I have a girlfriend who doesn't care how I feel right now... I don't understand what I could have done wrong to deserve all this ignorance when I'm the best boyfriend ever.." he continued to complain while you still didn't seem to react to his way of being.

and as you had finally imagined, Jake finally stood up and came to stand beside you, his head resting against your shoulder as he took your hand in his.

"sweetheart.. I spend so much time telling you how wonderful you are that I really wonder if you really listen to me and if you even pay attention to me.." he said almost immediately before slightly turn his head to look at you. "sweetheart.. it's such a stupid question that you asked me every day I leave you post-its on the living room table before I leave so that you have a love message when you wake up in the morning and to go to university... do you realize that every day I find new ways to prove my love to you?"

"Jake.." he started, realizing that if you didn't cut him off he was going to continue for hours and hours. "I know very well that you give me little speeches at the end of the day to tell me how much you are in love, you don't need to react like that... even if it's really funny and adorable to see you react so this way.."

after which he simply raised his head, his drama queen acting disappearing completely while a smile tenderly appeared on his lips and he quickly placed his lips against yours.

"I love you little monster.." he whispered against your lips while smiling.

"I love you too jakey.." you whispered against his lips.

𓏲 𖧷ˊ SUNGHOON

"do you love me Sunghoon?"

when Sunghoon had heard your question, his gaze landed directly on you as he held your hands and gently walked you across the ice with your ice skates on your feet.

"do you really think that's a question to ask while we're on a date at the ice rink, sweetie?" he asked as he directly noticed that look of distress when you understood what he was implying.

"I forbid you from letting go of me Sunghoon you know perfectly well that I won't hold on if you don't hold my hand.." you finally said, begging him with your eyes that he doesn't let go of you.

but, almost as if he had no reason not to listen to you, he let go of your right hand, and you directly felt a slight imbalance on the ice as you looked at Sunghoon again, hoping that he wouldn't Don't let go of your left hand.

and yet, that's exactly what he had done before he disappeared from your field of vision and you felt slightly panicked at the idea of ​​being without Sunghoon on the ice when you barely knew how to stand on your own. without you ending up falling.

then, as you felt ready to fall on your butt on the ice, you felt an arm slide along your waist before a laugh was heard to your left. and you knew this laugh perfectly since it was that of your boyfriend, and he had allowed himself to place a soft kiss on your lips before holding you so that you did not fall and just after starting to skate in making sure you were comfortable with the speed he had, and inevitably he ended up whispering in your ear.

"you shouldn't ask me that kind of question when we're in a territory where you're not comfortable sweetie.." he started as he continued on his way with you in your arms, making sure that your meeting at the ice rink is pleasant and does not spoil the moment. "then if you need an answer of course I love you, otherwise we wouldn't spend so much time going on dates just the two of us and, above all, I would never be so worried when you're on ice cream if I didn't like you then next time think about asking a little less stupid questions."

"Yes Sunghoon I understand and I know you love me I'm not stupid.." you replied and you noticed a second time that Sunghoon had finally let go of your waist making you panic slightly before he returns to its initial position when you want to meet at the ice rink, that is to say in front of you, ensuring that where you were moving forward.

but this time, as he took your hands in his he pulled himself against him, and quickly placed a kiss on your lips, a smile forming on his lips.

"now if you want we can resume the romantic aspect of our romantic date.." he told you, although he knew that meeting up here was not particularly romantic, but as long as you were with each other you considered it romantic.

𓏲 𖧷ˊ SUNOO

You and Sunoo were in the middle of a movie, in each other's arms while a blanket covered your bodies so you wouldn't get cold. a bowl of popcorn was on your boyfriend's legs as you snuggled up to him, using any excuse to be close to him.

everything was truly perfect, Sunoo had an arm around your waist to hold you against him while you both completely focused on the movie, only the sound effects of the movie being audible in the room as you enjoyed a real little nice romantic evening since you didn't do it as often as you would like.

but quickly your mind was bothered by a question that refused to go away until you felt compelled to ask it. and after ten minutes of fighting with your mind not to have to ask the question your gaze quickly came to Sunoo who was still completely focused on the movie, and a small smile appeared on the corner of your lips.

"Sunoo.. do you love me?"

hearing your question his heart skipped a beat just before his gaze left the television to land on you, and he observed your cute face and that beautiful smile before simply coming to kiss you, almost as if he didn't didn't want to answer the question but right after he whispered against your lips.

"it would be stupid not to love such a beautiful and incredible girl like you sweetie, so of course I love you. and I love you even more than you can imagine in your head."

then he focused back on the movie as if nothing had happened as your cheeks turned red at the confession he had just made to you, your head returning to rest on his shoulder as you focused back on the movie.

"then you are so magnificent that it would be a shame not to be able to tell the other members of the group that you are already taken just to see their faces when they find out.. I am very happy to have you by my side for let you go and I intend to make sure that you stay by my side as long as possible, hopefully for the rest of my life."

your cheeks had become a little redder when you heard him continue his little confession and simply because he seemed to be going into a very complete monologue you were obliged to come and silence him by placing his lips against yours before a small smile fakes between the two of you.

"I understand Sunoo.. and I love you just as much you know.." you ended up saying while taking his hand in yours and you finally continued watching the film while being in each other's arms.

𓏲 𖧷ˊ JUNGWON

Jungwon had his own ways of showing you how much he loved you, so obviously asking him the question meant having to listen to a monologue from him about the many gestures he did just for you to prove his love. but even that didn't stop you from asking him the question anyway.

putting your phone away when you arrived in front of him, you displayed the most beautiful smile of yours just before realizing that he was unfortunately focused on the screen of his phone and therefore that he did not see you. but that also meant you could ask him so you sat next to him, pretending to be curious about what he was doing on his phone by resting your head on his shoulder.

"Jungwonie.. do you love me?" you asked and only two seconds later his phone screen had gone black as he moved slightly so he could look at you fully.

his hands had slid down your cheeks as he looked at you for a few seconds, and just by seeing his look you could imagine that your question had somehow disturbed him.

"Are you sure you're okay sweetheart? You know perfectly well that I love you with everything I do for you.." he began to explain.

and while he seemed to have gone into a monologue about all the things he loved about you, his right hand came to rest on your forehead to check that you weren't sick and that you didn't have a fever but absolutely no signs of illness.

so he looked at you without really understanding your question since you weren't sick, but, even with the confusion he was still monologueing about everything he did for you.

then suddenly, you noticed that he had gotten up leaving him alone in the living room while you didn't even know where he could go since you were also in the living room.

"Jungwon where are you going?" you had asked but absolutely no answer had been heard and you began to wonder if asking him this question was the right thing to do even if it was still for fun, and simply to know the reaction he was going to have.

a few minutes later, you saw your boyfriend come into the living room again, this time with a box in his hands which he placed in front of you. "I'll let you look inside and you'll understand for yourself that yes, I am madly in love with you, sweetheart."

your hands had gripped the box, curious to know what was inside and as soon as you opened it you discovered many letters all containing Jungwon's writing and, reading the contents of one you understood that They were love letters that he had taken the time to write himself simply for you, and you felt your heart warm just by reading them.

but your surprise didn't stop there because apart from the love letters, the box that jungwon had given you was filled with all kinds of things that you had given him, little notes that you had written to him yourself or even tickets to a concert you both went to. there were also many little red paper hearts, and noticing the effort Jungwon had put in just for that you understood.

he was very much in love with you, and he was certainly the most adorable boyfriend you could have ever had so inevitably, when the box was closed and put aside for his safety you found yourself directly in Jungwon's arms, t having fun then placing numerous kisses on his cheeks or his lips.

so much so that he started laughing when he saw the reaction you had with this little box which certainly contained far too large a dose of love just for you.

"you're adorable Jungwon!!" you said with the most beautiful smile on your lips.

"I imagine that you have understood that I am very much in love with you.." he replied with a laugh before taking you in his arms, and following this action a cuddling session had started.

𓏲 𖧷ˊ NIKI

"niki do you love me?"

no sooner had the question left your mouth than he looked up from his phone to look at you, knowing it was a stupid question you had just asked.

"No." he replied almost instantly with a rather disturbing sincerity.

and as soon as you heard his answer, which of course you absolutely didn't appreciate, you came to his side, taking his phone in his hands to put it next to him, forcing him to look at you, something he had done.

"sorry? you don't love me?" you asked a second time to make sure you heard the answer your boyfriend had just told you.

and, bringing his face closer to yours, almost as if he was about to kiss you, Niki looked at you, keeping a serious look as he repeated that same word a second time. "No."

it didn't take much for you to quickly leave his room, showing both your annoyance and your annoyance at the answer he had given you, but instead of reassuring you he let out a slight laugh, amused of your reaction.

and for the rest of the day you found yourself wanting to avoid him after the answer he had given you, not expecting Niki to answer "no" in that way which had annoyed you but also frustrated because, if this was the only moment where Niki had a good chance of saying yes, it was on this type of question.

of course, Niki, seeing your reaction, he couldn't help but remain in his role as a mean friend who had answered no to your question, and he obviously enjoyed annoying you no matter what he could say to you or do. after all, Niki found any excuse to act like a child when he could, and your question being stupid he was going to act even more stupid for the rest of the day.

it was only in the evening, when you were both under the covers that he slipped his arm around your waist to pull you back against him, knowing full well that you wanted to show him your displeasure but it wasn't working.

he placed a kiss on your cheek before whispering in your ear "you should have asked me how much I loved you instead.. the answer would have been easier and it would have saved you from scolding me all day kitten.."

but no response from you, you just remained silent not wanting in any way to show that you were about to just turn to face him.

"kitten... ask me the question, I promise you will get a positive answer" he whispered in your ear again as he placed a kiss on your cheek again.

"okay.." you finally responded, knowing perfectly well that niki wasn't going to leave you alone until you spoke. "How much do you love me Niki?"

"Really bad kitten... really like crazy"

and this simple answer made you blush almost immediately while a smile appeared on your lips.

"your question this morning was stupid... so obviously my answer was going to be just as stupid"

after which he just left many kisses on your cheeks just to tease you.

"I'm in love with you like crazy and I'm a little more in love with you every day so never doubt that sweetheart.."

thanks you for reading all of this it’s really sweet ! hope that you liked each of the members scenarios and that you enjoyed reading !

anyways loves you, see you soon !! 💗

[monimccoythings]

The Way We Were

Word Count: 791

tags: f!Reader, dark!logan (past), threats, mentions of blood, past abusive behavior, implied alcoholism.

"Stop. it." His voice came out in growls.

His claws are so close to your skin you almost feel a thin line of blood running down your neck.

"One more word. Just one. And I'll show you what these can do."

You couldn't move. You couldn't speak. Too terrified and heartbroken of the man that had once mattered to you the most. The one you'd have willingly sacrificed your entire life for.

"Never look for me again. Don't call me. I don't want to see you." The rage in his eyes, the coldness, was a sharp contrast to the soft hazel orbs you had fallen in love with long ago.

*SNIKT* As fast as his claws had appeared, they were gone. You finally allowed yourself to breathe. It's short lived, because he's soon up in your face again, a disgusted sneer on his features.

"Now. Get out of my life." His breath smelled like tobacco and alcohol, all mixed together. He had been drinking himself to oblivion again. You let the tears fall. You didn't recognise the man in front of you. Your husband.

"GET OUT." He roared in your face, making you wince.

He turned around and left you behind without sparing a single glance, in the empty parking lot of that dive bar in the middle of nowhere.

That was the last time he would see you in many, many years.

Logan woke up sweating and with his heart hammering in his chest. It had been so long since the last time he had dreamed about you. About that fateful night.

He grips the couch so tightly, he's going to tear the cloth. His hands were shaking as he felt the too familiar hole inside his chest reappear. He needed a drink. He had to drink. This never happened when he was drunk.

Stumbling over his own feet, he made his way towards the fridge, opening it with more violence than necessary. With his heart in his throat, his eyes searched manically until they set on a single can of beer.

That would have to do. For now.

He tried to calm his overwhelming thoughts with a single gulp, nearly drinking more than half of the can; focusing on Althea's snores from across the hall. Whatever distracted him long enough to avoid thinking about-

You.

Your soft smile. Your encouraging words. Your endless support through all his mishaps and hardships.

How gorgeous you had looked in that white dress when you walked down the aisle towards him. How great you had made him feel, like he was the luckiest man on the planet.

How he had completely fucked things up.

No matter how hard he tried to keep his memories of you at bay, his treacherous heart kept going back to you.

He wondered how you were doing. If you got that promotion you wanted.

Did you still kept your endless collection of air fresheners that drove him insane? Were you living in a better apartment than the one you had?

Did you remarry? Were you two actually divorced? He didn't remember signing anything at all. His teeth clenched at the thought of anybody else having you.

He shook his head.

What right did he had over you? After everything he had done, all the pain and trauma he pulled you through, what made him think he had any say on who you choose to spend your life with?

He wasn't the man he wished he was for you. The one that you deserved.

Yet...

He was here. He had been given a second chance to pull his head out of his ass and do the right thing. Out of all the better suited Wolverines there were out there, Wade picked him and turned him into a different man.

He was a completely different man from the one he was back then. The one torn with rage and grief. That monster, murderer, he was long gone, locked away, he would make sure of it.

He looked towards Wade's bedroom. He knew the sneaky bastard hid some of those dimension-travelling tablets somewhere in his bedroom. Knowing him, it would be probably the dirtiest and grossest corner where he would be sure Logan would never look.

He titled his head. A dangerous idea forming in his mind.

Could he?

Would he actually dare?

What if he just took a small peek. Just to make sure you were alright. You didn't have to see him. And he could return home with the knowledge that you were alright.

It was a terrible idea. A dangerous idea. But if the Wolverine was known for anything, it was for barreling into danger first and asking questions later.

He just needed to find the right moment.

[cl0udy-wolf]

Here’s an idea I’ve had in my head

so the reader (m or f) and Liu Kang are sleeping together, the reader wakes up in the middle of the night to find Liu not next to them. But as they look around the room they see Liu Kangs glowing white eyes in the corner and it scares them LOLLLLLL but he’s just like “hi there” 😭😭😭😭😭😭

THIS IS SO SILLY. thank you for this.

His glowing white orbs

(I didn't know what to name this 💀)

Trigger warnings?: none unless you count Liu Kang's headlights. also gn reader/no pronouns are used for the reader

You had finally convinced Liu Kang to watch horror movies with you. In particular, the Paranormal Activity series- Johnny had recommened them. You weren't too excited to head to bed right after watching people get killed by demons and ghosts and the like, but you had already stayed up past your usual time, and required your rest in preparation for the next day.

As always, you pulled the covers over yourself and snuggled right next to Liu Kang, soothed by his warmth and by the protection he offered during the night.

But that warmth was gone a few hours in.

The bed was cold, next to you, which pulled you from your restful sleep.

And so you rose from bed, rubbing your eyes as you let out a sleepy call for your beloved.

"Liu Kang?"

You glanced around the room. Your eyes were still adjusting to the darkness, but then-

"By the Elder Gods!"

You exclaimed, placing a hand on your chest.

Two little...glow-y things stared at you from the corner. And after those movies you had just watched...

You were a little shaken, to say the least.

But then you heard a very familar voice.

"My love, is everything alright?"

Liu Kang sounded slightly worried but also a little amused.

He quickly did away with that grin on his face.

He had to admit, it was a little funny.

Even a god could admit that.

Once you realized it was just him, you let out a deep sigh of relief and lightly punched his shoulder once he came to check on you.

"You scared me."

"I'm sorry, my love." And he gently kissed your forehead.

"Don't do that ever again...I thought it was one of those things in our room."

"There is no need to worry. Perhaps next time we shouldn't watch those types of films before bed. You seem to have an active imagination." He smiled, and instantly you felt any negative emotions disappear, replaced with fondness for his cute little smile.

"Maybe you're right." Or maybe you just like to torture yourself. I mean, who watches scary movies before bed?! (I do.)

You both finally got back into your cozy bed, and Liu Kang promised not to scare you again.

But even a god could be a little mischievous at times.

Thank you so much for the request! And I hope you like what I've written for you :)

divider from this post.

[mandoriana]

Alternate universe where Merlin slept with Arthur while they were both drunk and now needs to hide her magical pregnancy.

That was an idea that came to me one night after watching Merlin. The thought of them having children stuck in my head, but Merlin could never be happy, so I thought how interesting it would be if Merlin spent the first three months of gestation not knowing what was going on, like, he doesn't really know why he's having odd nausea or desires, he also starts stealing Arthur's clothes to make a kind of "Nest" on his own bed. Only when Arthur realizes how hungry and very emotional Merlin seems to be does Arthur take Merlin to Gaius and Gaius find out about the pregnancy. (I imagine the excuse Gaius would give Arthur is that Merlin has a parasite, maybe more than one or two.)

Desperate and weeping Merlin runs to Arthur in a desperate need to have his king around, but Gaius must stop him before Merlin does so and remind him that Arthur can't know the magic, at least not as long as Uther is still alive. Merlin cries a lot and Gaius calls for Lancelot, Gwaine listens to Gaius' concern and runs to see Merlin.

When Lancelot and Gwaine meet Merlin and discover about Gwaine's gestation (and magic) Lancelot worries about Merlin and starts thinking about a plan, while Gwaine plans to castrate Arthur, after all how that princess dares to get her best friend pregnant!

In the end they decide that Merlin will have to leave when she reaches 4 months and goes into hiding for the rest of the pregnancy, but this only serves to make Merlin suffer even more because, despite being the most sensible plan, Merlin is not thinking about reason but about her emotions outlined by pregnancy, he does not want to go away and hide, he wants to lie in the arms of his king and spend nights planning the birth of his babies!

From that moment on, Gwaine and Lancelot become the knights of Merlin. Did Arthur order everyone to prepare for a mission? Sorry, but Merlin needs our company more. Did Arthur convene a meeting? Sorry, but Merlin...

Arthur goes mad with anger when the knights ignore him, but mainly because he wants to know about Merlin's state and no one wants to tell him how his servant is! Arthur is going mad with worry and everyone can see that, but Gaius has given the order not to let Arthur approach until Merlin can leave Camelot, is unfair and destroys Merlin and Arthur being kept apart, but it is necessary.

When the fourth month arrives Lancelot arranges the horses for Merlin and Gwaine and promises to cover up the two as they leave, he planned to go along with them, but Merlin needed the assurance that his beloved prince would be safe while he was away and Lancelot was the only one he would trust to take care of Arthur.

Gwaine and Merlin flee in the middle of the night and travel as far away as possible in search of a safe place.

Merlim - Gwaine, do you think Arthur will be mad that I stole one of his knights? - Ask with one hand about his prominent belly. Gaine laughs.

Gwaine - Nah, the princess would probably wish I were with you... - Gwaine sighs rubbing her neck - or, well, he'd like him to know about you...

Merlin fungates and then starts crying and Gwaine becomes worried, he thought that after a month of going through these outbursts of feelings Gwaine would be prepared to deal with it, but he'll never be ready to deal with Merlin crying.

Gwaine - Hey, Merls, what happened, why are you crying now?

Merlin - I miss him so much! I wish he was with me now!

Gwaine - Aw Merls, you know he can't know...

Merlin - I KNOW! BUT WHEN HE KNOW HE WILL BE SO Bored TO MY!! - Merlin cries so much that she starts sobbing and needs to get off her horse before it falls to the ground, Gwaine decides they need a break and sets up camp while feeling increasingly distressed to hear her best friend cry and ask for Arthur.

When the camp is ready and the fire hits Merlin finally stops crying and just low sobs.

Merlin - Gwaine?

Gwaine - Hey, Merls, what was it, does it feel better?

Merlin - No, but... do you think Arthur would be mad if I stole another knight from him?

Gwaine arched her eyebrow.

Gwaine - Why do you need another knight? I'm the best you have!

Merlin laughed.

Merlin - But I don't have a Lancelot! Gaine, I want a Lancelot!

Gwaine - Oh I also want a Lancelot, but Gwen has already caught it then...

And the two can laugh together at least a little. I imagine that after all this the Druids find the camp and take them to hide with them, there they take care of Merlin and give all the necessary support until the day of the birth of the babies, yes, babies, in the plural.

The first one born is called Godric, he has brown hair like his grandmother's hair, Hunith, and blue eyes like Arthur's. The second is called Rowena, she has large ears, black hair and blue eyes. The third is Helga, with dark blond hair and greenish blue eyes. The last to be born is called Salazar, but Merlin calls him only Sal, his cocoon was born small and pale, with black hair and green eyes, he looks like Merlin, but much smaller and sick, unfortunately Sal came weaker than his other children, but the Druids were able to keep him alive.

Merlin is delighted to meet her children, but refuses to hold on to any of them, Gwaine tries to convince Merlin to hold them, but Merlin is afraid to cling, now that hormones are no longer controlling her mind Merlin sees reason and knows she could never be a father, he had a purpose, protect Arthur and bring peace to Albion, with Morgana on the loose Arthur needed him more than she ever needed before, where Merlin would make time to be a father!? With these thoughts in mind Merlin asks the druids to raise their children for him, the druids accept it without thinking, after all it was an honor to raise Emrys's children, but Gwaine refuses, tries to tell her friend how ridiculous this was and how much he should stay and raise the children!

Merlin continues to refuse to abandon her duty to Arthur and the kingdom and prepares to return to Camelot the next morning. Gwaine refuses to return and stays with the babies at the Druid camp.

(I thought about writing more of this idea and saying that it all turned out well in the end, that Gwaine convinced Merlin to talk to Arthur and they raised their children together, brought Morgana back and freed Albion and lived happily ever after! But I wouldn't know how to write a happy ending, so to summarize later events: Merlin returns to Camelot and meets Arthur already crowned king, Uther has died, and Arthur is upset with Merlin for abandoning him, takes time to regain confidence, but Merlin convinces Arthur that his departure was necessary. Everything happens as in the canon after Uther's death, with the difference that Gwaine is not around and does not die. Merlin visits at times, but his own children recognize him only as "Uncle Merlin." As we know Merlin doesn't tell Arthur the truth until it's too late and Arthur dies unaware that he had children with the love of his life. Godric, Rowena, Helga and Salazar grow strong and found a magic school called Hogwarts, the end we already know.)

That idea was basically just me wanting to give Merthur children, show the extent of Merlin's friendship, Gwaine and Lancelot, and then make everyone suffer with Arthur for never being able to have a happy ending to that story.

[hannibard]

Geralt: you're beautiful

Jaskier:

Jaskier: witcher eyesight mustn't be as good as the rumors say because it took you over 20 years to notice

[hyperfixatedperson]

Adventure Time AU, because why not.

HEY, LOOK AT THESE MEDIOCRE SKETCHES!

*Throws Litch!Finn in your face and skitters away*

[birddoodles]

witching hour ✨🕰️

[seasononesam]

I know they said the end is near

[royaltea000]

[wip] get your ass off the battlefield and become the twitch streamer cosplay slut you were always meant to be

[saltypiranha]

[whatsagirltoblogabout]

Opposite of an Intellectual

“The opposite of an intellectual… you really think you could do that, Caffrey?” Jones asked, reading through the cover description.

“Do what?” Neal responded, blinking at them in confusion. Instead of the overly innocent smile that would usually accompany a question like that from Neal, his face was just blank curiosity. It seemed that for once the con man wasn’t messing with them; he just hadn’t been paying attention. 

“Be the opposite of an intellectual,” Diana repeated for him with an incredulous chuckle. 

Neal’s brows furrowed lightly in confusion. ‘What’s an… intellectual?” he asked, seeming to struggle to recall the word. 

Diana scrutinized him, but despite all the years she had spent working with Neal Caffrey, she couldn’t find a single tell that he was lying. By all appearances, Neal Caffrey genuinely did not know the word ‘intellectual.’

“On second thought, that’s kinda scary,” Jones decided, taking an unconscious step backwards. “Please stop.” 

Neal finally broke, giving them a devious grin and a theatrical bow. Diana had to admit, seeing firsthand how convincingly Neal could become someone diametrically opposed to his actual self was a bit terrifying. The short demonstration had left her heart pounding and breathing slightly shallow. 

“Remember this the next time you doubt me,” Neal warned cheerfully, winking at them before sauntering away. Diana and Jones looked at each other once he was gone.

“That was scary, right?” Jones asked.

“Yeah,” Diana confirmed, “that was definitely scary.” 

Then an idea hit her. “I wanna see Peter’s reaction!”

[achangeinreality]

Hi it’s been a minute. I started writing this like 3 years ago and then forgot about it so I finished it the other day lol. I’m writing more but this is what I got so far. Hope y’all enjoy, I did a lot of research into the timeline of events so I hope it’s decent. Linda x OC

Encounters Part 1

Draco III 2545

Ira was terrible at this. War, survival, guns. And here she was crawling in the mud, covered in blood and burns, under the fallen ruins of Draco III. Ira wasn’t sure where she was going, but she needed to get as far away from the Kig-Yar and Unggoy as fast as possible. They had taken to savagely tearing apart the humans in this colony. And she had managed to get away. The thing was, she was a marine. A marine who had been sent to protect said colonists. This was her home world and within an hour of fighting, it should have been known that her team didn’t stand a chance. They had fought hard, but their efforts hadn't been enough. As far as Ira knew, she was the only survivor. If she ever made it back to safety, this would be a surprise to anyone who knew Ira. She was barely out of military school, graduating almost out of pure luck. Her aim was sharp but not quick enough. Ranged weapons were her saving grace but even then, she was terrible at staying calm and sometimes missed her shots out of nervousness. Hand to hand combat was the worst for her. She was relatively tall, 5’9, but too skinny and uncoordinated which often resulted in her defeat. So why had she joined the UNSC? Well-

“What in the hell,” she said. Down below, Ira saw flocks of Unggoy and Kig-Yar running and fighting. But from what? There seemed to be some sort of team fighting back but she was too far to tell. Ira had made it very far up the mountain so the movements below were barely noticeable. Shots could be heard that was for sure. It had to be UNSC, which was good news because her chances of getting off this godforsaken planet had just increased. Further ahead she even saw a Pelican. But before she could start heading in that direction, she heard a snarl and the sound of a plasma pistol missing her. Ira screamed and looked up to see a Kig-Yar about to fire his next shot. Ira had been lucky to be under the remains of buildings because it allowed her to roll and hide further. She had shouldered a BR55 Rifle, but at this angle and with all the debris around her it was impossible to try and equip it. The Kig-Yar kept shooting, and the shots were getting closer since they were starting to burn through the debris. But then-boom, the crack of a sniper rang clearer than before and the Jackal’s head was no more. Ira held her breath, not daring to move. She stayed put for about 2 minutes when she heard footsteps coming towards her. Ira looked up from her position to see a massive figure kneel to pull the debris off of her.

“I am Spartan-058 with the UNSC. Are you okay?”

The voice was feminine and level but mechanical. It had a calming effect on Ira, who’s heart beat was currently well above a normal range from her close encounter with death. But she was bewildered, a Spartan? Ira had heard of them, her teammates had mentioned… her teammates. Right, all dead.

“Just a bit burnt up and bloody, but otherwise yeah I’m okay,” Ira replied shakily. Ira had to crane her neck up to look at the Spartan’s faceplate, as she towered over her. Spartan-058 nodded and offered a hand. Ira took it and was gently pulled out of her hiding spot. “Thanks.. I. I’m Private Hagan.”

“You’re bleeding,” Spartan-058 said to her. And indeed, Ira craned her head sideways to see fresh blood seeping through the sleeve of her shoulder. Before Ira could reply, the soldier motioned her to sit down. It was three gashes on her upper arm, right below the shoulder armor. This had been from a jackal having grabbed her as she escaped the carnage but Ira had ripped free of its grasp after shooting it in the face. Ira was covered in caked, dry blood and dirt from head to toe so fresh blood stood out. She rolled up her sleeve as best as possible and Spartan-058 began to clean the wound and said, “The rest of your team was killed by the covenant but we managed to avenge them. That Pelican is going to get us out of here. Do you know any others that could have survived?”

“No. Everyone’s dead.”

Spartan-058 paused and stared at her for half a second, at least, her helmet did. Ira wasn’t sure what else to say. She wasn’t really sure what exactly had happened amidst all the shooting and chaos. And then there were the fucking grunts and jackals who had started tearing into her teammate’s flesh. Tearing them apart and ravaging them mercilessly.

“Although there were a lot of things I didn’t see. Well things I wish I hadn’t seen as well. But there’s a chance I missed if anyone else got away.”

“We’ll check the surrounding area then. I’m done bandaging your wound so I’ll let my team know to do a quick search before we leave. Let’s go.”

“Yes ma’am,” Ira replied quietly. It had felt like a slap to the face hearing of her team’s death. Despite having been there for it, hearing it from somebody else made it much more real. They stood up and Ira followed behind the Spartan as they began to search for others. The shock of almost dying and being saved had begun to clear away enough for Ira to assess her situation and savior. She had never seen a Spartan other than in some propaganda. There had even been talk that they weren’t even real, just a publicity stunt for morale. But during boot camp, she had overheard one of the new drill sergeants discussing his encounter with a Spartan on the field with another sergeant. To say she was impressed was an understatement. Spartan-058 was extremely tall, built as hell, and held that sniper with such ease you’d think it was weightless. She was curious to see the face beneath the goggled helmet. Overall, Ira did her best not to stare and stay focused on their objective.

“I have a contact about 15 meters ahead. Blood on her face, brown hair, and.. a name tag that says ‘Gutierrez’, sound familiar?”, asked S-058 while looking through her scope.

“Yes! She was in our squad!” Ira exclaimed. Sila Gutierrez had been one of the more experienced members of the team. She had been helpful and welcoming to Ira. It lightened Ira’s heart to know that someone else had made it out alive.

“Gutierrez, it’s me Ira, do you copy?”, Ira spoke into her team’s comm system.

“H-gn is- you?”, a static voice replied.

“Yes this is Hagan! I’m with a Spartan, she’s got eyes on you,” Ira explained excitedly. Before Sila could respond, S-058 stopped Ira with a hand on her shoulder and joined the conversation, “I see you but you’re not alone. There’s some covenant surrounding you. I will take out the ones closest to you to give you a chance to start running towards us. Be ready to shoot anyone that gets in your way. Private Hagan will be covering you as well. Any objections?”

Ira’s hands grew sweaty. She could do it; provide cover fire. It just made her nervous to possibly miss and hit her teammate. Or even worse, miss and let her teammate get killed by the enemy. But it was a solid, straightforward plan so she couldn’t exactly object to it without revealing how useless she was at her job. At least she had courage.

“No objections ma’am,” both Ira and Sila replied.

“On my first shot then,” S-058 said. She was laying down on her stomach and Ira was crouched next to her at the ready. Then there was a moment of silence.

Boom- cracked the rifle. At that, Ira could see Sila running and Covenant falling. S-058’s rifle kept cracking and Ira heard a few more shots being fired from Sila’s pistol. She looked through her Battle Rifle’s scope and began to shoot at a Jackal that was coming at Sila from her right side. This went on for a few minutes until Sila reached them. Despite being covered in several wounds and running with an obvious limp, Sila saluted S-058 and stood at attention.

“At ease, soldier. Do your wounds need immediate attention?” S-058 asked.

“My ankle’s been shot. The plasma bolt didn’t go through, it mainly grazed me but it still hurts pretty bad and I ran out of first aid supplies after tending to my stomach.” Sila lifted her shirt and jacket up a bit to reveal the lower half of her torso had been wrapped. “The bastards bit and clawed me good before I could get away,” she explained.

“Let me help, I still have supplies,” Ira offered as she pulled out her kit and got to work on Sila’s ankle. As she did this, S-058 updated her team on their situation and announced that they would be returning soon. It didn’t seem as if anyone from her team found anyone else but that wasn’t a surprise to Ira.

“It’s good to see you alive, Hagan. Didn’t expect that from a rookie but you made it through the bloodshed,” Sila told Ira.

“I didn’t exactly expect to make it out alive. I still can’t believe what those bastards did to our team,” Ira replied quietly. Sila didn’t respond, just hummed in response. As she finished up, S-058 announced, “We need to get going, the covenant is going to start glassing the planet in less than an hour. We need to get onto that Pelican as fast as possible.”

They got up and began to jog behind S-058. As they reached the downward slope of the mountain, Sila began to slow down. Ira helped her move down the mountain but she was too heavy for her. S-058 noticed and before Sila could object, she picked her up with one arm and slung her over her shoulder. Ira stared in awe as they started going down the mountain faster this time. It shouldn’t have surprised her with how easily Spartan-058 carried her S-99 rifle, but it shocked her to witness the pure display of strength. Sila, who was now facing Ira, since Ira was jogging behind S-058, looked up to meet Ira’s wide-eyed gaze. She smirked but said nothing, much to Ira’s relief. Though, Ira’s face still burned and she averted her gaze.

It was so quick and it came almost out of nowhere. Ira happened to be looking sideways when she caught a small movement in her peripheral vision. She turned to see a tall, glittering figure a few feet away from them. The only way she noticed was because Draco-III’s sun was now facing them which caused the figure to shine slightly.

“GET DOWN!” Ira yelled. She grabbed at Spartan-058’s armor and pushed downwards, covering Sila’s body as she did. Luckily, the Spartan had quick reflexes and she went down on her own accord almost immediately. But before they had time to turn and shoot or hide, the unmistakable sound of a plasma rifle went off and shot Ira square in the back. Spartan-058 pulled Ira against her front with her free arm as she quickly moved behind the closest rock. Ira breathed heavily. She could feel the plasma shot definitely having burned through her armor.

“HAGAN ARE YOU OKAY?” Sila yelled above the sounds of the plasma rifle still shooting in their direction. Spartan-058 let go of Sila, gently shifted Ira off of herself to the ground on her left and said, “Tend to her while I take care of this Elite.” And with that, Sila scrambled to Ira’s side as Spartan-058 shot back at the Elite a few times. She checked their entire surrounding area for more enemies before turning to Ira.

Sila had already filled the cavity in Ira’s back with Biofoam and a pain reliever. But Ira wasn’t sure she would make it off this planet at this rate. She was in pain, so much pain. And she could feel herself getting heavier and heavier. Blood thrumming in her ears, the sunlight feeling too bright for her eyes, and a terrible nausea stirring in her stomach.

“—said did you hear me? Private Hagan”, Spartan-058 tensely spoke as she grabbed Ira’s face to look up at her helmet.

“oh… hi,” Ira replied weakly. She hadn’t realized anyone had been speaking to her. In fact the only thing that she was acutely aware of was the dull, burning pain in her back and the fact that she was not so slowly dying.

“We’re going to get you off this planet Private, don’t let your mind wander. That was a hell of a thing you did, you saved our asses,” S-058 said as she moved to pick Ira up. ‘Oh, now it’s my turn to be hoisted like a sack of potatoes,’ Ira thought happily.

“If this wasn’t such a shitty situation I’d be making fun of you right now Hagan,” Sila said to Ira through a private channel on their comms. She was referring to the lazy grin on Ira’s face and the way she happily, albeit weakly, clung to Spartan-058’s torso like a koala. Ira groaned, both from the spikes of pain from them going down the mountain and from the embarrassment of her actions. Painkillers always made a bigger fool out of her than she could of herself on a daily basis. “Thank you for having our back Ira. I know we all gave you a lot of shit for being the newbie so when we get back, I’m buying you all the rounds you want,” she added; this time on the regular channel.

“How are you feeling?” S-058 inquired as they kept going down the mountain, almost nearing the bottom.

“Really bad,” Ira replied weakly. But it was comforting to feel the spartan’s strong arm holding her in place-

“… doing good, stay with us. We’re almost to the bottom,” she heard S-058 say back. ‘Wow I’m really high,’ thought Ira. Ira heard Sila snort loudly as she realized that she had said that out loud.

“Oh man I’m never gonna let you live this down Hagan,” Sila chuckled.

“Hey.. I’m injured.. stop that..,” Ira trailed, feeling the nausea swirl around her stomach as she vomited. For once in her life, luck was on her side as she had managed to prop herself up in time, avoiding throwing up down S-058’s back.

“Oh fuck-, it’s gonna be okay Ira, we’re almost there,” Sila said, a slight panic in her voice. This had to do with the fact that both blood and bile had come out of Ira’s mouth.

“Mm really sorry.. missed you at least,” Ira told S-058 in a trembling voice.

“Don’t worry about it,” S-58 replied, voice showing no sign of distress, speeding up now that they were on flat ground.

They were now close enough to see the rest of Blue Team boarding the Pelican. Five minutes later the trio was also getting onto the Pelican. They had made it. Although at this point, Ira was close to giving out. Spartan-058 handed her to a medic. She looked down at Ira, who had passed out by now and sighed.

“Linda you need to get harnessed in, we’re taking off,” John-117 said to her over TEAMCOMM. She nodded and obliged, leaning her helmeted head on the wall of the Pelican.

Ira woke up. She felt groggy and heavy, as though she were wearing a suit of rocks. Moving felt hard and her brain felt like it was lagging. More painkillers I see, she thought. Wait.. I’m.. alive? As her mind continued to wander, she felt a figure standing over her. It was a woman, a very tall woman with short, blood red hair and piercing green eyes. Pale as can be, scars littered across her face, and wearing Spartan armor.

“Welcome back. How do you feel?,” she asked, voice familiar albeit less mechanical.

Ira stared. She looked up in amazement once again. Her brain was too slow to be able to handle any interaction right now let alone with this woman. She grinned at the Spartan and before her brain could process her words she loudly replied with, “You’re really really pretty”.

The Spartan stared back at her blankly and uncomfortably. Linda heard Fred chortle behind her, followed by Kelly cackling. She could feel warmth blooming across her face and walked back to her seat, promptly putting on her helmet. Sila was staring in Ira’s direction with a horrified expression on her face. And Linda just knew that John was staring at her through his helmet.

“Looks like Linda’s got an admirer,” Kelly said over her external speakers, still laughing.

“I didn’t realize wooing young soldiers was in your skill repertoire Linda,” Fred added.

“One more word and I’m going to throw you out of this Pelican,” Linda threatened.

“Leave her alone guys, she’s got a date to plan for,” John added in the most monotone voice possible.

“You too?” Linda exclaimed, swiveling around to face him. John said nothing but shrugged nonchalantly

Fred, and Kelly snickered while Sila continued to stare at Ira in shock. For 4 hours they had been flying. It had been a dreadful mission and the seriousness of the situation had fallen heavy on them all. The sudden break in silence and humorous distraction had been welcome due to the dread that they all felt. Having watched their fellow humans being torn apart by the Covenant had been revolting. The Spartans’s blood had burned at witnessing such a cruel and barbaric massacre. Knowing they at least could avenge their fellow brethren made the grief easier to shoulder.

It took some time for Ira’s words to bounce from her ears to her brain and understand what had just happened. She lay there numbly, staring up at the pelican’s ceiling, eyes widening in horror.

“Oh… oh no…” she groaned groggily. Fred had the grace to offer some comfort, “It’s okay soldier, painkillers and all that medicine is hard on me too. I don’t always say what I mean.”

“Well I did mean it, I just didn’t mean to say it, sir.” Kelly wouldn’t stop giggling at the poor soldier’s misfortune and at Linda’s uncomfortable silence. Only until Linda’s leg kicked out in the direction of Kelly’s shin did John intervene.

“Kelly, stop antagonizing her. And Linda, control yourself. You’re Spartans, not schoolyard children so act like it.” John said sternly. “Yes, sir”, both women replied. Kelly’s shoulders slumped a bit as she leaned back in her seat. Nobody said anything for a long time. At least that’s what it felt like for Linda, who was still completely red and burning underneath her helmet. No one had ever given her a compliment based on her appearance, let alone a subordinate. It wasn’t something she sought out or thought about either, what with her profession and the war. But she did feel a deep sense of embarrassment for the poor soldier who was surely going to remember this moment for the rest of her life. However, considering the gravity of their current situation, Linda supposed this should really be the least of anyone’s worries.

To Ira’s misfortune, another god forsaken thought crossed her mind and was already on the way out the hatch when Sila stood up and covered Ira’s mouth.

“Stop it, stop talking,” Sila gritted through her teeth. Ira looked up at her in surprise and said nothing. They stayed looking at each other that way for a moment until Sila moved her hand away. Of all the deployments and missions, never had one been so devastating. Sila had lived on Draco III for most of her life and was proud to call herself a soldier when the time came to defend her home. She had been part of the military for a few years and was well on her way to leading her own team. When this conglomeration of alien races landed on her planet, reality of the situation fully dawned on her. They were being invaded by the Covenant and no amount of training could save them. Not after the Covenant obliterated the planet’s mechanical defenses and completely destroyed any fighting chance that the inhabitants and military force on Draco III had. She fought to protect her home and its civilians but failed in every single way. Only her and Ira survived, and now, only half the planet’s surface stayed intact. The other half had been mercilessly glassed, and here was Ira, this useless fool completely unaware of what happened to their planet flirting with a Spartan. It was infuriating that one could be so carefree and empty of grief in a situation like this. The least she could do was keep the woman quiet for the rest of the ride. If the circumstances were different, this would have been funny. If she hadn’t just watched her entire planet get ravaged by beasts for hours while fighting to detain the same fate befalling her, she would have cracked a smile. Sila couldn’t fault the Spartans for making light of the situation. After all, among the slaughter, she caught sight of their teams furiously hitting back with everything they had. Battle like nothing she could have imagined, raged before her as she witnessed alien after alien fall by their hands and guns. The felled Covenant couldn’t have received a more fitting reprisal to their actions by the Spartans now sitting before her. Everyone coped with grief and anger in their own way. And she suspected they had coped on the battlefield. Ultimately, murderous vengeance was an acceptable form of coping that Sila could get behind. And for that, she couldn’t be more grateful to them.

The rest of the ride was quiet and uneventful. The Spartans remained silent, Sila stayed in deep thought, and Ira had thankfully fallen back asleep. By the time they landed on a space station though, Ira was awake and much more coherent than before. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything to any of them though. When she had woken up for the second time, she thought about the battle that they had all just survived and remembered that everyone she grew up with was now dead. Her home was gone, her friends and family were gone, and now her dignity was as well. The complete and utter fear that gripped her at the thought of being deployed again swam around in her brain. There was absolutely no way that she would survive another fight. This had been pure, sheer, dumb luck. Ira was a coward through and through. She had followed orders and fought back, yes. But when everyone on her team was dead and she was the last one standing, she ran. Ira had seen the Grunts, Elites, and Jackals advance and tear through the lines of soldiers with their bare hands and murder every single one of them. This was not a fate that she could handle falling to. So she ran. Ira hid under the bodies of her teammates and crawled as quickly and quietly as she could in the opposite direction that the aliens were focused on. Then, when the coast was clear, she stood up and ran as fast and hard as her legs could carry her. There was no place or plan in her mind on how she would get off the planet or call for help. The only thing that she could hear was the screaming and gunfire over and over in her head. The ripping and squelching of her teammates flesh The blood gushing everywhere. And the laughter of the enemy. It haunted her. Once she had reached the top of Mount Keldai and her legs finally gave out from under her did she finally stop to think, what now? What the hell was she going to do? As far as her eyes could see, there was no one left fighting back, Until… until, out in the distance, she could see a skirmish of some sort. In the confusion and chaos of the whole situation, some Pelicans must have landed to deploy the force that she assumed was the cause of the skirmish. The last thing she wanted was to go back down there but it was a risk that she was willing to take. And now, she was laying in silence alive and well, absolutely dreading the thought of making eye contact with anyone. It was funny how her life had quite literally flashed before her eyes, yet embarrassing herself and the Spartan that was responsible for her survival was at the forefront of her mind. Gore and guts be damned.

When they departed from the Pelican, Ira and Sila were escorted off to a different part of the station by a Sergeant that neither had met before. Ira was placed in a wheelchair. As Blue Team went their separate way, Ira looked back for a second to see them walking away. Sila smacked her upside the head and growled, “Eyes forward”. Ira frowned and replied, “I wasn’t being a creep, I was just wondering where they were being taken to.” The Sergeant replied to Ira, “To areas of much higher clearance than we can even comprehend.”

The devastation of Draco III hit the UNSC hard. Everyone knew that the Covenant were brutal and completely lethal. But nothing to this level of barbarity was there a record of. Linda couldn’t get the images of all those people being massacred on the surface out of her head. By the time the Spartans were able to land on the planet it was already too late. But this counterattack was not done to try and save the planet, it was done out of pure rage and retribution on behalf of the Spartan IIs. The night that they made it back to the nearest space shuttle, Linda stayed awake for a long time. She was lying on a bunk too small for her size and just barely strong enough to not give out under her weight. This wasn’t the problem, for a bed too small was still a bed and certainly more comfortable than anything she had been allowed as a child in boot camp. Those beds were certainly made out of hard tac. The problem was the noise. The noise that she couldn’t silence in her head. Linda was basically an expert in silence and she could meditate for endless hours. It helped her stay focused on and off the battlefield. Zen often allowed her to quiet the horrors of war in her mind when it was time to rest as well. But not tonight. Tonight she was wide awake and fully aware of her cramped, sore body.

“Are you still awake?”, came a soft voice from another bunk. It was Kelly, who obviously couldn’t sleep either. Linda sighed and rolled over carefully. She answered back quietly, “Yeah, can’t sleep.” Neither said anything for a moment until Kelly replied with, “Sorry for laughing at you earlier.” Linda smiled and turned to face Kelly. “If it wasn’t at the expense of Private Hagan then I might have laughed too.” Kelly grinned and said, “I’m sure she appreciated that.”

“Well, it’s the least I could do. It couldn’t have been easy for a rookie to survive that massacre and then get shot at the end of it. I felt for her,” Linda replied. Kelly hummed in agreement and closed her eyes. “All of those bloody deaths and then out of nowhere a Spartan comes to her rescue. I’m sure she sees you with a lot of esteem.” Linda grumbled out, “Clearly.” Kelly giggled as silently as she could to avoid waking the other Spartans. Linda smiled and reached out a hand to swat at her. “Don’t make a deal out of it at the ceremony tomorrow!,” Linda whisper-yelled. Kelly saluted Linda and said seriously, “Being professional is my specialty sir, wouldn’t dream of insubordination”. This time it was Linda’s turn to let out a small chuckle. “Whatever, go to sleep. Dream of bothering someone else,” she said and laid on her back again. Kelly did the same and closed her eyes with a smile on her face. Linda looked up at the ceiling again with a calmer mind and more relaxed eyes.

0500

Linda woke up to the gray, dimly lit room that she fell asleep in the night before. It was quiet and cold in the room. Her stomach growled quietly as she got up to start her day. Even though it was early and she had only just woken up, her thoughts were already lingering on the day before. After arriving from their mission, all of the Spartan teams had been summoned to a debriefing. It took so long for all of the teams to debrief the counsel that by the end of it, her brain felt like mush. That was probably her least favorite thing about being a Spartan, all of the after battle talking. She much preferred action to words and was more content with receiving another mission as opposed to reliving the last one.

Today would be a respite from the action. An impromptu funeral and award service would be held at 0700 hours. It was an earlier time than usual for this type of service but this was because the next day, the teams would start getting shipped out to different regions to continue the fight. The death toll on Draco III both of civilian and military lives had been extreme though and it was deemed necessary to hold a service for those lost on the planet, and an award ceremony for the two survivors that made it.

Her morning consisted of a quick hour workout, breakfast, and a shower. When she returned to the dorm to get ready, Fred was fretting in one of the mirrors. He never did like the gray streaks that came with their augmentations. It made him oddly self conscious and Linda could see that he was trying his best to tuck them into his military beret. For what it was worth, Linda always thought it looked cool. She approached him and said, “Fred, are you going to join us in the mess hall after the event?”

”Maybe after a haircut,” he replied glumly. She frowned and turned him to face her, the physical contact being rare between Spartans. “Your hair is fine Lieutenant. Would you rather bright red instead? Besides, it makes you look mysterious.” Fred gave her a small smile and replied with, “Some things never change I suppose. And you’ve got great hair by the way.” Linda let him go as she reached for the comb on the counter. “I know,” she replied. Fred snorted and started to walk towards the door, “I’ll see you in a few, thanks for the pep talk.” And with that, he left. Linda looked at herself in the mirror for a second. She never disliked her hair, it was unique. None of the other Spartans shared the same combination of features. Bright red hair, green eyes, pale skin. Though, the culmination of scars and bruises were commonalities amongst her brothers and sisters.

Linda had never been interested or versed on the topic of makeup. As of late however, Kelly had come across some mascara that she coveted in secret and reserved it for special occasions. She was careful to apply a very thin and clean layer of it. Linda smiled at the memory of the first time Kelly tried applying it. She had covered her eyes in black, sticky splotches and only made it worse when she tried to rub it off. As the years went by, Kelly tried to convince Linda to give it a try. It wasn’t that she was against the look, it was that she did not like the idea of sticking a wand full of black goop so close to her eyes that one mistake could cost her her greatest asset. Until finally, one day, Linda gave in during a mission when all hope seemed lost. She told Kelly, “If we make it out of this, I’ll let you put that black stuff on my eyes for the next ceremony we have.” Unfortunately for Linda, this was said ceremony and not only did she remember the promise, but Kelly did as well. She was standing in the back of the room next to her trunk, watching Linda with an unhinged look on her face. Linda made eye contact with her through the mirror and rolled her eyes, not even bothering to argue. She walked over to Kelly and sat down on the bed with a huff.

”Just don’t blind me.”

0700

The funeral part of the ceremony had just begun and Linda was sitting in the back, surrounded by several different Spartans. They were all noticeably taller. Linda’s eyes felt heavy and uncomfortable. Although Kelly had only put a very small amount of the stuff on her eyes, she wasn’t used to having anything on them and was insanely aware of the shift in weight. Every nerve in her body was begging her to rub her eyes but she fought the urges and sat quietly through the service. The death toll was incredibly high and a weight settled in Linda’s chest as she thought about the current planets that were currently at risk for the same fate. Her hatred for the Covenant burned deep inside her as saw the pictures of the victim’s faces. While she had been fighting on the planet, not one person looked like this. All of the remains were shredded, bloodied, torn apart, or completely indescribable. It sickened her to witness the sheer, pointless slaughter. What was the point? Why? What did humanity do to deserve such a terrible fate? She may never learn the answers to those questions, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that she would do everything in her power to fight back in the memory of the lost and butchered.

The funeral was lengthy and there was a short intermission before the award ceremony. That would not be long for it was only to recognize Private Hagan and SPC Gutierrez. As Linda settled back in her seat, she looked over to the front to see a tall, young, shapely woman in formal attire with black onyx hair pulled tightly into a bun. She had tan olive skin, soft facial features, and familiar hazel eyes. She too was wearing an appropriate amount of mascara. The woman was using a cane to stand straight, though she looked pained. It took Linda a second to realize that this was Private Hagan. It’s not that she was blind, but the amount of grime and gore that covered Private Hagan when Linda found her had been so much that she had little to no idea what the woman actually looked like. SPC Gutierrez was standing next to her. A slighly older woman with a light brown, short bob. She was shorter than Private Hagan though her features were much sharper and her blue eyes seemed haunted. Linda could see that this had not been her first time on the battlefield, but it had likely been her worst experience. Admiral Parangosky presented Ira with a Purple Heart medal. She gave a short speech about valor and courage, and then moved on to present SPC Gutierrez with a Medal of Commendation. As the ceremony ended, Linda made her way over to Pvt. Hagan. She tried to make herself as small as possible as she became acutely aware that she was at least a foot taller than the Private. The Private’s eyes widened slightly and her skin paled as she saw Linda approach her. She began to salute Linda but she waved the salute away.

”This is your ceremony, no need for formality,” Linda said. ”Yes, sir. Thank you sir. What can I do for you?”, Ira replied quietly. ”I wanted to thank you for what you did. It was very brave of you to take a hit for me and your fellow comrade,” said Linda. Ira’s mouth fell agape, obviously taken aback by the response. She said, “I would do it again, sir. If it weren’t for you, I’d be one of the mentioned dead at the funeral.” Before Linda could reply, Ira added, “I also want to apologize to you for my insubordination. What I said to you was completely out of line and I must have embarrassed you just as much as I embarrassed myself.” Linda looked at her for a moment. Ira’s pupils were dilated and she looked tense. No doubt the memory had been gnawing at her. She replied, “Don’t let it bother you any longer, Private. I understand you were under the influence of painkillers.” Ira gave her a small smile and then looked away quickly. She let out a small breath and said, “I… yes. I am very susceptible to the side effects of painkillers. However, had the circumstances been completely different, and my rank a lot higher, I would have still meant what I said.” This time, she blushed visibly but her eye contact held strong. Linda felt a warmth crawl up her neck and ears. She was taken aback, completely unsure of how to respond. Her silence must have spoken volumes because Private Hagan’s shoulders dropped and she looked down at her cane. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to go back to the infirmary. The doctor only cleared me for the ceremony. I won’t take up anymore of your time.”

Ira walked past Linda, limping as quickly as she could on her cane. Linda felt so out of her element that all she could do was watch Private Hagan leave. It was frustrating, there were thoughts and feelings that she wanted to express but couldn’t find the right words for them. Was she being hit on? No one in her 34 years had ever declared such a thing and then stared right into her soul while saying it. How was someone supposed to respond to something like that? She wasn’t exactly in any sort of position to entertain the woman, rank and career path the culprits. Her training as a child was tailored to survive and thrive in any sort of situation. It was a ruthless, cold, perilous, and frightening childhood but it made her who she was today. However, a course in courting was not one she had been provided with and it showed.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kelly making her way over to her. Oh no she thought. Spartans were graced with superior hearing due to their augmentations. And she knew for a fact that Kelly had heard every single sentence. She didn’t say anything, just looked at Linda curiously with a raised eyebrow. Kelly hand signed, want to take a walk? Linda nodded and the two walked out of the room. She could still see Private Hagan making her way towards the infirmary in the distance. Kelly and Linda walked to their rooms and changed in silence. Afterwards, they made their way to the training center towards the running track. Instead of running though, they walked. Kelly couldn’t take the silence anymore. Finally, she burst out, “What the hell was that about?” Linda sighed and looked up at the ceiling hoping for interplanar transcendence. She answered back, “I have no idea.”

”No I mean what’s wrong with you? You left the poor woman hanging, that was terrible!” Linda risked whiplash with how quickly she turned to look at Kelly and asked, “How was I supposed to respond to that? I’m not exactly versed in the art of charisma.” Kelly raised an eyebrow and looked at her in disbelief. “What?” Linda asked. Kelly didn’t say anything, just kept looking at her. Finally she said, “Oh my god do you- BOOM! A loud, resounding roar shook the station and knocked both Spartans down. The ground shook and dust from the ceiling rained down on them. Alarms blared and over the comm system could be heard, We are under attack, all personnel report to your stations. Both women sprung up and ran towards the exit. As they ran, they received a personal comm from John-117. “Report to the bridge. I'll brief you all soon.” They acknowledged him and kept running. People were running and yelling orders all around Linda. As she arrived at the bridge, the only thing she could think was, here we go again

[blueflyingturtleontheway]

So, I've heard some voices here and there lamenting how little Gabe content - especially new Gabe content - there was and you know what? I completely agree, so I thought why not, I can try to add my little droplet into this tiny sea of Gabe appreciation we have here on tumblr.

Summary: Elena visits Gabe in his house for the first time and learns something new about his past.

Word count: 1937

AN: just some friendly fluff really, headcanon heavy, from Elena's POV but Gabe centric

"Oh, watch out, the first step is-" Gabe turned around just in time to catch Elena when she started to fall backwards. "-loose."

"Thanks for the warning." Elena shot him a glare when she regained her balance. In response Gabe only sent her an unapologetic grin and pulled her up on the next step.

"Everyone's so used to it by now that we keep forgetting to fix it with my dad," he explained as they finally reached the first floor.

The stairs led to a narrow corridor, with the same room placement as the bakery beneath it. Two doors on the right, one on the left and a wide opening to the living room at the end. In a few brisk steps Gabe opened the door on the left and invited Elena in with a courteous gesture.

"Welcome to my humble abode, your highness."

Her highness graced him with a nod and slipped by him, into the small room. Elena gave it a quick one over. It was indeed small - in fact, there probably wasn't much more space than what each guard got at the barracks - and the decor wasn't much fancier either. Cream colored walls, a thin bed by the window, a wardrobe opposite of it, one wall taken up by a bookshelf and a small cabinet by another made up basically all the furnishing of the room.

"Humble is a good word." She nodded solemnly, earning herself an eye roll from her friend. They both chuckled.

"Hey, it's your room that's out of the norm, you know?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Elena retorted, thinking about how three or even four such rooms would fit into hers. She walked over to the cabinet and picked up some trinket. "But it's nice to finally see where you grew up."

Gabe couldn't stop a fond smile sneaking onto his lips when he noticed the badge she was examining.

"Yeah and I didn't really get to change much here in the past five years. For example this thing I got back when-"

"Gabriel!" He was interrupted by his mother's voice from the bakery.

"I'll tell you in a moment," he sighed. "Make yourself at home!" He added from the doors and quickly ran downstairs to his parents.

Elena took another look around the room. It wasn't entirely empty, she had to admit that, and the poster of Antonio Agama on the inner side of the door confirmed that Gabe didn't change the decor much since he moved out.

She moved to the bookshelf and moved her hand across the titles - though there weren't that many of them to count. The lower shelves were taken up by some boxes and bags and what could've been a neatly packaged tent. Then finally a whole shelf dedicated to the whole collection of Antonio Agama's books. Elena chuckled to herself when she read some of the more dramatic titles and noticed even one that wasn't in Avaloran. On the next shelf, between other various travel books and biographies, was only one book by señor Agama, titled simply 'The Gecko's Tale'. Driven by a hunch she took it out and couldn't help but laugh when she read the blurb on the back. Although that explained how the whole kingdom found out that she's a bit adventurous too.

Finally her gaze got to the plant on top of the mantle. Hidden so deep in the room, it extended its ivy like stalks towards the sun, climbing a string helpfully hung between the bookshelf and the window.

Down on the windowsill two other plants looked out on the little cobbled square behind the house. Elena leaned in to smell the orchid and noticed something half hidden behind the pot. Slowly, so as not to accidentally damage the plant, she reached for trinket and retrieved it into the light. It turned out to be a wooden doll, painted to resemble a familiar navy and maroon uniform...

"Is this you?" She turned to Gabe as soon as he entered the room and showed him the figurine with a wide smile.

Gabe stopped for a moment. Furrowed his brows as he tried to see what Elena was even holding, and then furrowed his brows even more when he recognised it.

"Of course not," he grumbled, closing the small distance between them. "It's just an old thing anyway."

"It does look a bit like you though." She jumped away from him at the last moment.

Gabe gasped. Elen giggled and moved her hand away when he tried to reach her.

"Why would I even have a figurine of myself?"

For a moment they circled each other, like two lions judging if it's worthy to fight the opponent for a steak, except the steak was now wooden and 15 centimetres high. They both hunched subconsciously and made their steps in the fencing manner.

"I don't know, why does Esteban have a whole wall of his own portraits?" A sly grin slid on her face. "But I see you've decided to match his collection."

"Oh now you've done it." Gabe shook his head to hide his smile and in the split of a second was right by her. Feigning to go right for the prize, he swiped her legs out from under her.

Elena waved her hands in the air giving Gabe just the opportunity he was waiting for. He swiftly yanked the figurine from her hands, giving her the last push to fall backwards completely. He turned his head with a victorious grin, just in time to see her legs rising at the height of his knees. And suddenly the ground was much closer than before.

He folded his arms to his chest, protecting the figurine with his body and rolled on the floor. Though he didn't have to roll far, of which he was promptly reminded by his head crushing into the cupboard.

He groaned loudly and let his body fall limply to the floor.

His pained complaint was answered by Elena's laughter from the bed.

"I'm getting too old for this," he mumbled and Elena's laughter only got louder.

Finally he sat up and lifted the figurine to his face. He carefully examined it for any cracks or splinters, checked if the joints in the limbs didn't fall out and most importantly if the head was still on firm. Finally when he made sure the trinket didn't get damaged, he let out a relieved sigh.

"You're lucky it's still whole," he grumbled, rising to his feet.

"Hey, I was being careful." Elena now sat up too and sent him a playful smirk. "All the way until you decided to trip me like that."

Gabe rolled his eyes again and huffed in pretended annoyance.

"So if it's not a limited edition General Nuñez action figure," Elena continued. "What is it?"

Gabe sat down next to her and thought of an answer for a moment. He changed the position of the little soldier's arms and reached for a pin to put into his hand as a sword.

"It's really just an old toy," he said finally. "But you know, it has sentimental value."

He finally passed Elena the figurine, so she could take a look at it herself. It wasn't as old as she thought at first. The paint was faded, but still held onto the uneven surface of the wood and as she moved her fingers across it, she realized that it must've been all whittled by hand, by someone who put great care in it, but wasn't a professional.

Still the amount of details was impressive, especially in the construction of the thing. She moved the tiny soldier into the proper fencing position and to her delight found out that it fits flawlessly, the wire on the joints creaked quietly, as if it had been waiting for an opportunity to shine for ages.

She glanced between the figurine and Gabe on her left for comparison. The uniform, despite the familiar colours, was a tad different, it resembles more what she remembered from her childhood, than the uniform Gabe was wearing at the moment.

"I got it from my first fencing teacher," he continued.

"The same one who threw coconuts at you driving training?" Elena raised a brow, earning herself a chuckle.

"Yeah, the same one." A sad smile reached the corners of his eyes as old memories resurfaced in his memory. "He was a tough man and always talked about how big an annoyance I am, but -" he gestured to the figurine and shrugged.

"Well, that explains why it looks like you," Elena bumped him with her shoulder. "I'm sure he could've already seen that you'll be a great guard."

"Oh, I don't think he even wanted me to be a guard," Gabe laughed again. "But you know, the situation was a bit different." He pondered something for a moment before continuing. "And to be fair, I didn't even realize that it was supposed to be a guard at the time, I was pretty sure he just came up with the design by himself. I only really connected the dots a few years ago, when I found this old thing again."

Elena nodded silently and put a comforting hand on his arm. She could see that this topic wasn't easy for him.

"Though maybe what you said was the point." He straightened suddenly and his gaze went back to the figurine. "Maybe he wasn't completely against me joining the guard, just... joining the right one."

His smile became wider and it was like his whole face lit up. Elena raised the little soldier's arms to make it cheer. They both laughed at how expressive this piece of wood was.

"So where is your coach now?" Elena asked, caressing the wooden toy one more time.

He only sighed at first and for a moment his gaze became clouded again, before he shook his head to cast the memories away.

"I wish I knew," he sent her a sad smile. "One day he just... disappeared. A few trinkets and one letter is all the proof I have that he wasn't just my hallucination."

Elena's lips twitched in a matching sad smile, but before she could say anything, they both heard a voice from downstairs, calling the unmistakable word 'dinner!'

Gabe clapped his hands on his knees and sprung up to his feet.

"Ah, just in time", he extended his hand to Elena. "I think eating is a much more fun topic than discussing the weird things I did in my childhood."

Elena examined his face for a moment more, but gave up on asking all the questions that pushed to the tip of her tongue. She sent him a smile instead and accepted his hand.

"Oh, you mean you did more weird things?" She made the little figurine gasp.

"I feel like I shouldn't have started this topic," Gabe laughed.

"Oh no, you won't escape now." She poked him in the chest and put the little soldier in his hand. "I gotta know all the crazy stories."

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you something," Gabe raised his hands in defeat. "But you can't mention it to my parents, please, they'll never stop until they tell you my whole life story."

Elena made a theatrical gesture of tapping her lips in thought as she backed out of the room.

"I'll consider it," she sent him a wide grin and in a second turned and ran towards the stairs.

"Hey- wait!" Gabe called out, running right after her to save what was left of his reputation.

[honeyvenommusic]

❗️NEWGLASSANIMALSGLASSANIMALSGLASSANIMALSGLASSANIMALSGLASSANIMALSGLASSAN-

[purplesaline]

If you're prone to nightmares try having some dark chocolate before bed! Any chocolate (except white chocolate) may help in a pinch but the darker the better cause we're looking for the chemical Theobromine here.

Theobromine helps block the production of norepinephrine, which is a neurochemical that triggers the fight/flight response and may be responsible for some of your nightmares.

People with PTSD who have a lot of nightmares are often prescribed Prazosin, a high blood pressure medication that also helps block production of norepinephrine (and likely far more effective than eating some chocolate before bed so if your nightmares/night terrors are bad enough and regular enough to disrupt your life tall to your doctor about this option).

Green tea is also another good option, while it has slightly less theobromine it also contains L-Theanine which an amino acid that helps you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Though the addition of caffeine may offset that despite the l-theanine countering some of the negative effects. There are some low caffeine green tea options which may work better for you.

Even if you don't pre-empt the nightmares, keeping some dark chocolate (or any chocolate as above) on your bedside table may help prevent you from slipping back into a nightmare if you wake up from one in the middle of the night, or at least help your brain steer away from it sooner if you do still slip back into it.

The amount of theobromine in chocolate or tea is pretty minimal compared to the active ingredient in Prazosin so it may or may not be very effective depending on how much norepinephrine your body is producing.

A theobromine supplement may provide better results but check with your doctor first if you want to go the supplement route. Theobromine can cause increased heart rate, low blood pressure and may interact with some prescription medications.

Important note!!

It's always a good idea to check with your doctor before starting any supplements, especially if you take regular medications.

[deus-ex-mona]

s. s ave me, meoto…