#also i should probably say. i tried to look into it further and i haven't seen hard hard evidence that they do this on purpose

[fesenmoon]

no fucking way

[whoresidentevil]

Leon and Your Hair

a/n: I haven't written in years so this is very experimental 💀 I'm open to constructive feedback!

Also, I wrote this with the reader having type 4 hair in mind but I tried to make it as texture-inclusive as possible :)

General: 

Leon himself takes pride in his hair and appearance in general which is one of many ways you guys relate to each other.

 I imagine your shared bathroom would be full of hair products and tools more than anything else, though most of it is yours.

Leon isn't ignorant, he knew how important hair is to your culture way before you got together. Because of this, he respects how much effort your maintenance requires.

RE2:

This man 100% uses all your stuff every time he comes over. You start wondering if these containers have a hole at the bottom of them or something. Eventually, Leon just starts buying the shampoo/conditioner combo you use for himself at home because it's doing wonders for his hair. Plus the scent reminds him of you, it's a win-win.

Leon had nice hair before, but your presence in his life introduces him to products like deep conditioner, hair oils, etc that just elevate it further.

When you get your hair braided or styled Leon always wants to be the first person to see it! He even goes out of his way to pick you up from the salon so he can shower you with compliments right after. 

If he has time I can see Leon sitting in the salon with you for however many hours it takes the stylists to be done. He sits there flipping through the hair magazines he took from the waiting area, turning the pages over to you every couple of minutes. "Babe, you should try this next time." with the most genuine smile on his face. Even if it was some atrocious 90's editorial style, you smile and nod at every single one.

RE4:

Once Leon starts going on long missions he's unable to be your personal chauffeur 24/7, so he'd definitely want you to text him pictures every time you get your hair done. He always sets them as his phone wallpaper to have an updated photo of you everywhere he goes.

During his training I doubt he'd have the luxury of technology though, instead opting to get a Polaroid of you every now and then in the mail. He always makes sure to compliment you on something in the letters he sends back and keeps the latest Polaroid somewhere in his pockets while the older ones are tacked to his wall. (poor guy misses you so much)

When he's home with you he realizes how much he missed your silk pillowcases and bed sheets. He didn't think they were actually helping his hair and skin until he had to sleep in crazy locations during training/missions and noticed the difference. he silently thanks you for that.

RE6/ID/DI:

After so many years of being together, Leon knows about all your hair preferences, favorite styles, and even things he hasn't seen you in yet. (our boy is educated 👏🏾).

Sometimes you ask him to help pick what you'll do with your hair next which either ends with him saying "You look beautiful no matter what" or showing you very specific photos he found on Google.

It's been years since you've paid for your own hair because Leon insists on taking care of that for you. It doesn't matter how much it costs, he has no problem with it as long as you are happy.

He'd go into the beauty supply store with you and know exactly where to go and what to get, even reminding you not to forget some things along the way.

Leon has a huge soft spot for your natural hair, whatever texture it may be he's whipped for it. Loves being able to touch your hair (with permission) and probably asks to help you on wash days so he has an excuse to do so.

speaking of which, I can see wash days becoming an intimate thing for you two as you get older. He'd help you shampoo in the shower as a form of affection, or you're sitting in his lap while he helps you detangle when your arms get tired.

If you have locs I can see Leon looking up a tutorial on how to do retwists to help you out. Even if you tell him time and time again that you'd rather have your loctician do it he insists you give him a chance. Turns out he's not half bad at it and you let him do it a few times a year.

[marvelwitchergilmore]

Freak Like Them

Summary: Anthony Lockwood x Fe!Reader -> You haven't spoke to your parents in years, and have never once mentioned them. One day, they decided to come and see you.

Disclaimer: This is more of a Lockwood and Co Platonic thing though I guess something could be shown as 'romantic'...kinda. Not proof read. Terrible parents, abandonment, shitty parents though some 'redeemed'. Swearing, angst, tears, found family kinda stuff.

You had been frantically running about all day, cleaning. 

Whilst Lucy (tried) to eat her toast in peace, there you were, cloth in hand, taking her unfinished plate from her. 

“Hey!”

Lucy watched you for a further moment before saying; “Do you mind?”

“Can’t have a mess. They’ll already find things to comment on.”

“They?”

“Do you know who she’s talking about?” 

“No clue.”

“When did she even wake up?” George asked whilst himself, Lockwood and Lucy watched as you cleaned yet another already clean kitchen countertop. 

“5, I think. She was up before me.” Lockwood stated. 

You had actually been awake since 4, but figured you better start cleaning from 5. It gave you time to wake up, get ready and make sure the whole house was spotless before they came. 

“Also, who’s they?”

“They?”

“She said, ‘they’ didn’t she?” Lucy asked, leaning into the duo. 

“They are my parents.”

“What?”

“My parents.” you stopped for a moment to look at all three of them huddled together at the end of the table. “They called me last week saying they were coming down for a visit. Only, I completely forgot until last night and now nothing is clean and I don’t know what to do to avoid them saying something.”

“But I thought your parents didn’t like you being-”

“An Agent?” you finished Lockwood’s question. “They didn’t. Probably still don’t. I get a postcard from them every year but other than that, I don’t hear from them. And then, out of the blue they called.”

“And you forgot?”

“Well,” you sighed, looking at George. “I was a little busy trying to stop you three from committing an accidental murder in the Winkleman case last week.”

George remained silent. 

“Either way, they’re coming today and I still haven’t finished-”

Lockwood stated your name. “The house is spotless. In fact, it hasn’t been this clean…ever.”

“I know, but I just need today to go well.”

“Why?” George asked, before realising he probably should have remained silent in his questioning. 

George and Lucy didn’t know much about your parents, just that you had to have some somewhere. Lockwood knew a little more, but still not much. He knew why you came to London all those years ago. He knew why you left them and why they told you to leave, but other than that, he knew nothing more. 

You refused to talk about them. 

Anytime family came up in a conversation, you’d steer the conversation onto another topic or deflect it onto somebody else. You’d do it subtly but the others were slowly picking up on it. 

“Please,” you begged. “Just…help me make sure today goes well and then they’ll go home and we can get back to normal.”

Neither of the trio knew what they were getting themselves in for when it came to your parents, and it would be too late for them to escape by the time they turned up at the front door. 

George had made dinner that night, making sure to follow the recipe you gave him, to a T. Especially since it was your parents’ favourite meal and if he did it well, which you doubted he wouldn’t, then they would accept George and be kind with him. 

That just left trying to get Lucy and Lockwood on their good side. 

So, when the doorbell rang, Lockwood greeted them at the door, offering to take their coats. 

Your mother thanked him and mentioned to her husband, your father, how kind he was. 

So Lockwood was in their good books so far, until…

“Ah, my dear.”

Your mother spotted you as you came out of the kitchen and into the hallway. She took both of your hands in hers and kissed the air around your cheeks. 

“Couldn’t greet us yourself?”

“Sorry, mum. I was just-”

“Nevermind. There’s always another chance. Are those-”

“Garlic potatoes? Yes. I gave George the recipe. He’s an amazing cook.”

“So are you, dear.” your mother told you. “I should know. I paid for the lessons.”

You could do nothing more than smile and nod before looking at your dad. “Hi, dad.”

“Munchkin, how is my little girl?”

“Goo-”

“She’s well, dear. Can’t you see? Nevermind that. Show us around. We’d like to see how our daughter is surviving after all.”

Your mother forced her way into the living room, your dad following her call whilst you remained outside the room for a short moment to take a breath. 

“Are you-”

You nodded quickly at Lockwood, “I’m fine. Can you help Lucy finish the table?”

Lockwood nodded, his gaze wandering into the living room for a second before giving you a slight smile and heading into the kitchen. 

Letting go of your forced breath, you entered the living room to find your mother judging every corner she could of the room. 

“For London, I would have thought the rooms would be bigger.”

“Well, they are. We’ve just rearranged the furniture to make it cosier for the colder months.”

“And how long do you spend the day being lazy here.”

“Well, we’re not actually in here all that-”

“No need to lie to your mother, dear. I know you can be hard working when you want to be, but I also know children your age.”

Your mother wandered over to the fireplace before rubbing her finger over the top of it. 

She hummed, and not in a good way. It was more…disappointment. 

“You haven’t polished, I see. I can see now where we come on your scale of importance.”

“Mum, listen-”

“Would anyone like anything to drink?” 

You made a mental note to hug Lucy as tight as you possibly could, later. 

Your mother’s face lit up. “Oh, my goodness. You must be Miss Carlyle. I have heard so much about you. All from the papers, of course. Our daughter tells us nothing. Aren’t you much prettier in person? Perhaps one day you girls can have a talk over make-up. Perhaps you could teach my daughter a couple of things about presentability.”

Lucy didn’t know how to respond. 

Usually, she’d fire back a snarky comment, but this was your mother. 

And only now was she beginning to understand the reasons why you didn’t talk about them all that much. 

Lockwood appeared behind Lucy for a moment. “Dinner is ready, if you’d like to take a seat in the kitchen.”

Your mother smiled at Lockwood and dropped Lucy’s hands. 

“That will be wonderful, Son.” your father replied before all five of you made your way into the kitchen to see George. 

The food was plated up perfectly, everything smelled just like how it did at home. 

“Mismatched plates, how very…cute.”

You knew your mother didn’t mean that as a compliment. 

“This all looks lovely, George.” your father told him before digging in. “My god! The potatoes, how did you-”

“I added a little bit of milk along with some spices left over from the chicken.”

Your father began telling your mother about how they should try and cook it like that when they got home, but your mother was more focused on you and your fellow Agents.

“So, tell me Lucy. When did you become an Agent?”

“W-When I was…eight…I think?”

“I remember the papers. It was awful what happened to those children. But that wasn’t your fault.”

Lucy didn’t know what to say, other than to nod and say an awkward, “Thank you.”

“Mum, can we please not talk about this?”

“I’m only asking a question, dear. Don’t attack me because you don’t like me wanting to get to know your friends.”

“I wasn’t-”

“Don’t talk back, dear. You know how I feel about you talking back.”

The room went silent for a moment before your father coughed and looked at you. 

“How has the life of an Agent been treating you? I’m sure you’ve all got some strange stories you’d like to tell?”

“Dear, she just said she didn’t feel like talking about it.”

“No, it’s okay.” you felt a little spark of joy when hearing your father wish to talk about your job. 

“Oh, so he can talk about it, but I can’t? Well,” your mother threw down her fork. “All I wanted was to spend time with my daughter and her friends and now suddenly I’m the villain but he’s the saint for asking questions.”

“Mum, I never-”

“I have a story!” George piped up. 

All eyes turned to him and he swallowed nervously before telling his story about a case you were all working on a few months ago. 

By the end of the story, you could have sworn your dad had pride in his eyes when looking at you. 

Your mother, however, was a different case entirely. 

“So you just went after them like that?”

“I was saf-”

“If they ran into a burning building, would you follow them? I understand you wish to prove yourself, but didn’t you have a good job there?”

You nodded. “I did, but I-”

“She’s happy now,” your father tried to explain lovingly. “And that’s all that matters-”

“Yes, yes, Dear. So, Anthony, tell me about yourself.”

The following 40 minutes passed in a similar fashion. Your mother asking questions, people answering and then her making a comment about you. Then, your father tried his best to support you. 

Even if he didn’t support you when you decided to move to London to join Lockwood and Co, he was supporting you now. He seemed proud, even. But your mother didn’t. 

“Did I tell you the story about when she decided she wanted to be an agent?”

You worried but continued to smile. It started out like a nice story. 

“She was 14, and just got home from her maths tutors. I paid in full too, so no refund either.”

Oh, no.

“Dear, perhaps we don’t have to-” your father tried interrupting but it was no use. Your mother carried on and so, your father placed his hand gently on your arm whilst your focus remained on your mother, however your other hand found his and gave it a gentle squeeze. 

This didn’t go unnoticed by the trio who then endured the story your mother told everyone. 

“Can you believe that, my little girl, deciding to become an Agent instead of seaking her talents in-”

“Why don’t we move onto dessert?” your father announced, turning his attention to George who seemed to visibly give a sigh of relief. 

“Yes, Lucy will you-”

“On it.”

Lucy led everyone into the living room with Lockwood, although yourself and your dad held back for a moment. 

“I’m so sorry, Munchkin. I told her not to-”

“It’s okay, dad.”

“It’s-”

You took his hand on your arm again. “It’s okay, dad.”

As your dad followed Lucy and Lockwood and your mother into the living room, you let out a controlled breath and beside you, you saw a beer bottle. 

“Not yet. If she smells it on me, she’ll hit the roof.”

“Maybe it will get her out quicker.”

“Don’t tempt me.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

You remained still, your gaze fixed on the door. “No. But it can’t be that long until she leaves. Keep that on ice for me?”

“In the hidden corner of the fridge already.”

“Thanks, George.”

Being careful of your steps, you made your way into the living room where you found your mother in the middle of another story. 

Lucy was pouring your dad a drink meanwhile, Lockwood looked at you for a moment, giving a silent questioning look. 

“Are you okay?” 

You gave a small nod and sat on the arm of the chair beside your dad, listening to another story that your mother told people. All that flashed across your mind was the amount of times you cried yourself to sleep in the nights after a dinner party where she provided people with evidence of what a disappointment you were to her then. 

God only knows what she tells them now. 

“Oh, please, tell me how my dear daughter is working in your fine establishment?” your mother asked, sitting on the edge of her seat. “And don’t worry, I know she’s not perfect. You can be honest in your review.”

Lockwood stuttered for a moment, understanding full well that when your mother said “she’s not perfect”, she didn’t mean it to be everyone is imperfect but rather you were…terrible. 

“She’s doing very well. She’s one of the best…any of us have ever worked with.”

“You’re kidding! Oh, my dear.” your mother was laughing, with tears. “Oh, how cute. Dear, did you pay him to say that?”

“Wait a minute-” Lockwood was about to say something but then your mother looked at her watch. 

“It’s getting late, we should go. Come on, dear.”

Your mother stood and thanked everyone, not once making eye-contact with you, before ushering her husband into the hallway. 

“What the-”

“Not yet, Luce.” you whispered. 

However, as you stood and walked down the hall, you saw your mother fussing over your father’s coat whilst he tried to stop her. 

“What’s going on?”

Something in your gut told you what she was fussing over wasn’t his coat, but rather something she would get off her chest and your father was trying to stop her. 

“Nothing, Munchkin.”

“We think you should come home.”

Lockwood, Lucy and George sprang into the hall when they heard your mother. 

“What?”

“Just until you get better.”

“Better?”

“Clearly you paid Mr Lockwood to say that about you. I am your mother after all, I should know when your boss is lying.”

“I wasn’t-”

“Why should I come home? This. This place. This is my home. It’s been more of my home than a house with you has ever been.”

“No need to be spiteful, dear.”

“Just stop it!”

“See, look, she’s making me the villain again-”

“Enough!” you shouted out. “Can’t you see I’m happy here? I love my job and I love these people. I understand you don’t like the fact that you can’t say to your friends that I’m some fancy accountant doing peoples taxes until three o’clock in the morning, but it should be enough for you that I am happy. I am doing a job I love and I have people that I love.”

“I told you she was happy-”

“How can she be? She’s going to be a freak, just like the rest of them!”

“That is enough!” your dad raised his voice. “She has a point. It should be enough that she’s happy and she’s in a job she loves. Maybe we didn’t agree in the beginning, but it wasn’t something worth losing our daughter over! And she’s not a freak. These children are not freaks. They are talented, incredible human beings who shouldn’t have been brought into a world of fear, but are making the most of life all the same. I don’t care what she does. What I care about is knowing who she is. What I care about is if she is happy. Not if your friends and their old minds are satisfied over the stories you tell them. We haven’t seen her in almost three years and you can’t take a few hours to be kind and proud of her! I am not going another three years without seeing our daughter.”

“So what are you saying? Are you staying here?”

“I’m saying either realise what you could lose, or I leave.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Either change or I leave. And I move down here with her and we don’t see you ever again.” your father looked back to you where he found you looking at him with tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Munchkin. It should have taken me this long.” he turned back to your mother. “She was brave enough to make the choice three years ago, and now I’m making it, too. So?”

You and your father waited, watching as your mother stood shocked at your father’s words before turning to look at you. 

“You’ll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But you will.”

“No, I won’t.”

Then she turned back to your father. “I’ll be at Janice’s if you need me.”

“Goodbye, Dear.”

Your mother did nothing other than turn around and close the door behind her. 

“I’m so sorry, Munchkin. I should have said something sooner. Much, much sooner.”

“It’s alright.”

“It’s not. But I will spend the rest of my days trying to make it up to you.”

“Are you really sure you want to live in London?”

Your father paused for a split second. “Maybe a few minutes outside of London.”

You laughed a little, and so did he. “I’m getting a little too old for city life.”

You stood, looking at him for a moment before hugging him. “Thank you.”

“I love you, Munchkin. And I am sorry.”

“I love you, too.”

The following fifteen minutes were spent trying to get your father to consider staying for the night, but he eventually convinced you that he would be okay in a local hotel room - especially since he had a discount from work. 

As the door closed behind him, you locked it shut and as you turned around, Lucy came running over and hugged you. 

“It’s a shit deal.”

“Thanks, Luce. Please tell me George has my beer-”

“Right here.”

“You’re an angel.”

“Was she always like that?” Lockwood asked. 

You swallowed your beer with a nod. “It was a little easier in the beginning, but…yeah. Always.”

“Anyone for donuts?” George asked when a short moment came over all of you. 

“Yes.”

“Please.”

As Geroge and Lucy left towards the kitchen, Lockwood pulled you back. 

“Are you sure you’re okay? Because that was…”

You touched his hand that loosely held yours. “I’m okay.”

Lockwood looked like he wished to say something more, so you waited. 

“If…if there comes a day, when you’re not. Promise you’ll come to me? That you’ll talk to me.”

“I promise, Lockwood.”

[oliversrarebooks]

The Rare Bookseller Part 7: Oliver's Neighbors

Masterlist

September 1925

TW: Imprisonment, mind control, restraints, drugging

"...And I've been working in shades of blue a lot lately. I haven't sold much, but I like the pieces. My mentor says that's what counts."

"I agree."

"The bill collectors don't," she said.

Oliver had been chatting to Emily about her life in the hopes of taking both of their minds off of the impending dread. The vampire guards patrolling the halls didn't seem to care if they talked. It was a small comfort to speak of their lives as something they were going to get back to. 

There was a small commotion down the hall that had him tensing up and snapping back to the reality of their situation. The noises didn't seem to be noises of distress, though. 

"I think it's just dinner," said Emily. "I hope."

"Is the food safe?" The thought of eating a vampire's cooking... although he supposed it might not be the vampires themselves cooking.

"I think so. I've been eating it, and I haven't been sick. It even tastes pretty good, and there's a lot. But if it's been laced with something... who knows? I figure it can't get any worse."

"I suppose not." 

A metal cart laden with meals came into view. The woman pushing it along had a strangely cheerful look on her face, given the surroundings, and was putting a tray into each prisoner's cell. The slightly off look in her eyes made Oliver guess she was likely another human slave. 

When she delivered Oliver's food, he tried to get her attention. "Thank you."

"You're welcome!" she said, not slowing down.

"Wait, can I ask you a question?" he called after her. 

She turned. "Is it about the food?"

"No, I wanted to know -- are you human?"

"I'm a thrall of the auction house!" she replied, just as the man had earlier. At least she was able to talk to Oliver. "I have to finish delivering food! Hope you enjoy!" She scurried to the next cell, clearly not wanting to discuss anything further.

Oliver looked down at the tray of food. There was a large bowl of chicken and rice, a glass of juice, and a cookie, and it smelled delicious. He was half-expecting the vampires to feed them all plain gruel, so this was a welcome surprise. He wasn't expecting to have any kind of appetite after all of that, but his stomach had other ideas, growling with demand.

Emily had said it was safe, and he could hear her picking up her food to eat, so he might as well.

He greedily devoured his dinner in what felt like seconds. There wasn't anything particularly special about the food, and it was about the quality one might expect in a decent cafeteria, but it would suffice. And it really was a large portion. 

Why bother feeding them so well? The only thing he could think of was that keeping them well-fed would make them a more attractive prospect to vampire buyers. Healthy humans were probably more appealing meals. He pushed that distasteful notion aside, lest he regret eating at all.

"How was yours?" said Emily.

"Not bad," he said, declining to share his latest thought with her. Before he could resume their conversation, Cecily and the thrall who had escorted Oliver earlier came down the hall with a larger man in tow. He didn't just have handcuffs and a leash but also ankle restraints, and he was being dragged by the vampire, hardly able to stand upright. He watched as Cecily practically tossed him into the cell.

He must have tried fighting back enough that they restrained and drugged him. Oliver felt a little better about his decision not to. If that's what they did to a much larger man...

Cecily rattled off the rules, and the man softly groaned as a reply. As soon as she had finished and walked away, Oliver went to the other side of his cell.

"Are you okay? What's your name?"

"I'm Joe," he said. "Wha... wha's happening...?"

"Did they drug you, Joe?"

"Mmm, think so. I don't... don't wanna be here..."

"I know," he said, unable to reassure Joe any more than he had Emily. "Listen, you should probably sleep that off."

"...I wanna go home..."

"Yeah, so do I." 

What would happen to his home now? Would it belong to the vampire who purchased him? Would the bookshop that had been passed down from his father fall to ruin and be condemned, unfeeling workers demolishing it and not understanding its worth? All those years curating the shelves, tracking down fine and rare and unusual books for loyal patrons, was it all for nothing, now? No longer able to take pride in his life's work, only valued for his blood?

Would anyone care what had happened to him? Or was he simply a washed-up failure, meeting a fitting end? He'd never be able to make even the small connections he did with customers looking for the perfect book -- never again dream of friendship or love, doomed to a lonely existence chained in some vampire's basement.

"Oliver? What's your new neighbor like?" Emily called, piercing his spiral of despair.

"His name's Joe. They drugged him, and I think he passed out." Oliver knocked softly on the wall bordering Joe's cell. "Joe? Are you awake?"

There was no answer, which he hoped meant that Joe had fallen asleep and not something worse.

"Say, Emily, can I ask a somewhat awkward question?" he said, his recent musings reminding him of something he was curious about.

"Go on. I'm a captive audience, after all."

"Did the vampires tell you that your blood was especially valuable?"

"No. Actually, one told me my blood was very common. I figured she was just trying to get under my skin. I mean, is there actually a difference between blood?" she asked. "Why, what did they tell you?"

"Both the vampire who kidnapped me and the vampire who, uh, processed me told me that my blood was extremely valuable and delicious."

"Really? That's strange. ...Do you think that's good or bad?"

"You'd think it'd be bad, right? That they're so eager to drink my blood?"

"Maybe. But if you're valuable, maybe they'll treat you better."

What would that even mean, being treated better? Would he be more than a glorified, hypnotized blood bag? "Maybe. I hope they treat you well, too, though."

"Maybe I should hope that they kill me fast so that I don't suffer. But the truth is I don't actually want to die. Even if I have to live like that... I don't want to die."

"I don't want to die, either," he said. "As long as there's life, there's hope. We could escape. We could be rescued. As long as we're alive..."

"Right, as long as we're alive."

The lights snapped off above them, and the windowless prison was plunged into total darkness without warning. Oliver could hear people fumbling around in their cells.

"Quiet hour," Emily whispered. "We'd better stop talking. I'll talk to you in the morning, okay?"

"Yes, we'll talk in the morning."

The thought of sleeping in a place like this filled him with dread, but he knew he needed to get some rest when he could, and with the enforced dark and quiet, there was no better time for it. Oliver didn't have any pajamas to change into and was already sitting on top of the cot, so he laid down and pulled the sheets over himself, resting his head on the pillow. The cot was comfortable enough.

Without any distractions, his thoughts drifted towards home, the setting sun streaming through the window of his bookshop. His heart ached. Just hours before, his whole life had stretched before him. If only he had known how precious each day was...! 

If he had closed down shop immediately, would it have made a difference?

Alexander had tried to warn him. Alexander was one of them all along. Frequenting his shop, observing him. Had he played a role in this? But if he had, why warn him? He knew about the auction -- did he also purchase and drink from humans? He must. Yet it was impossible to reconcile the image of the gentle man who loved books with the image of a bloodthirsty vampire ripping into someone's neck.

That's what was going to happen to him, after all of this. A vampire would dig into his neck and drink deep of his blood. And if he survived it... Cecily had said that many vampires keep their thralls long term, and if he was such a valuable commodity, he'd be kept alive to serve as a meal indefinitely.

There was no comfort to be had here. This entire auction house was clearly a well-oiled machine, something that had run for ages. Escape was unlikely, rescue was unlikely. He and Emily and Joe and everyone in these cells would be sold and preyed upon.

He curled up, exhausted, but it was a long time before his racing mind allowed him to sleep.

Part Six >> Masterlist >> Part Eight

Thanks for reading this story about some ordinary people in way over their heads. Tag list - please note if you'd like to be added

@d-cs @latenightcupsofcoffee @thecyrulik

[theothin]

Okay, so.

It's 5:30 pm. As with most Friday nights, I get in my car to drive to a 6 pm Magic the Gathering draft.

It takes a couple of tries to get the car to start. I don't think much of it - the car is about two and a half decades old, and it's had trouble starting before, although not normally this bad. When I start driving, it feels sluggish - I assume it'll function normally soon, but the "soon" keeps not happening.

(I later learn that I really should have taken this more seriously.)

I get onto the main road, and start making my way towards the game store. I start to notice the car being oddly... jittery when it's stopped, particularly the steering wheel. I tell myself, well, hopefully it'll do fine to get me to the MTG event and back, then I can get it looked at over the weekend.

(Horrible idea. Never listen to this instinct.)

On the way, I stop at the red light, then the car has trouble starting back up. I restart the ignition, and it's around this point when I start to smell something funny. Hopefully something from my surroundings, I tell myself.

(Othin, you fucking idiot.)

A bit further, and the smell hasn't gone away. Also, something looks funny. Is that... smoke? Inside the car? Okay, I wasn't imagining it, that's definitely smoke. Emergency procedures, abort mission.

First things first, gotta get off the main road. I take the next turn onto a side road - and it's only two lanes, one in each direction. I go a bit up the road, looking for a proper place to park, and it doesn't take long of failing to do that before I go okay, no, enough waiting, I need to get out of here. The other cars can deal with it.

I park, call my dad, and explain the situation. He says it sounds like I'd had a big oil leak, and if I drove that much without oil, my engine is probably toast. Given how old the car is, that would probably be the death blow to it, although we'd already expected it wouldn't last much longer regardless.

I call Triple A, at 5:49 pm, to request a tow truck. They ask if I'm in a safe location - I interpret the question as being about immediate personal safety and say yes. (I later learn that blocking a two-lane road does not qualify as a safe location. Maybe if I'd said no, things would have gone differently.) It takes a bit of time to figure out how to explain where exactly I am, since I don't know which municipality I stopped in or how best to describe my street location, but after a few minutes they go sure, we'll have someone over there within the next hour, and they'll call when they're on the way.

In the meantime, I call my dad back, for more of his car expertise. He says it should be fine to sit in the car so I'm not out in the cold, I just shouldn't turn it on. It still smells horrible, so on his advice, I lower the windows, and sit there, waiting.

Around 6:30, I haven't heard anything, so I call back to see if there's any updates. The automated message says the expected arrival time is 7:21.

I don't have headphones with me, so I wait until it feels okay to put the windows back up before taking the opportunity to watch anime, and pull up the next episode of Yuyushiki. Meanwhile, my dad texts me, I mention the road, and he goes wait, that's dangerous, you should really wait on the grass by the road instead. I tell him I don't think I'm likely to get hit, but at his insistence, I reluctantly comply, after finishing the episode. Back to shivering as it gets increasingly cold.

Around 7, I call again, and the automated line still says the expected arrival time is 7:21. Around 7:10, there's still no word about the driver leaving, so I call and ask for a live rep. The rep tries to check in with the tow truck, but comes back after several minutes to say that there was no number available for the driver himself, and that he attempted to contact the company they'd contracted for the word directly, but wasn't able to reach them. The rep says the driver is showing me as next on his list, and the only alternative would be restarting the process with a new driver, which would put me further down the list. He suggests waiting at least another half hour before trying anything like that.

I am getting skeptical of these time estimates, and extremely tired of shivering outside. I call my dad and ask him to come, he says sure. He also suggests calling the police to let them know about the road I'm blocking and get their help with keeping other cars from crashing into me, but I say I don't want to do that while I'm alone and wearing a dress. He says he doesn't expect it to be an issue but doesn't push it.

Dad shows up, goes wait, you meant the straight part of the road? I assumed you meant the twisty part further up, no one's gonna crash into you here. (In other words, rather than shivering, I could have spent that time in my car watching another episode of Yuyushiki.) Still, it's getting dark, and he says we should set up the reflectors he put in our cars, for exactly this sort of situation. It turns out they're only in his car, not mine, so we set up his reflectors.

Dad goes hey, want to see if the engine got messed up enough that we can see just from looking at it? I go sure, why not. We pop the hood and, instead, see a huge fucking pile of twigs and leaves, right in the middle. Dad speculates that it's a bird's nest and starts pulling it out. While he does, we start hearing some sort of chirping sound. We both speculate that it's a bird, but he notices that it's not a bird and not coming from the car itself - it's a baby squirrel in the pile of nest he'd pulled out. Doesn't seem like it went well for it.

We wonder if that was the whole problem. Dad doesn't notice signs of significant oil spilling, and he checks the oil level but says it's fine. We give it a shot, and the car seems to start normally. We drive a bit down the street together, but I notice it still feels pretty clunky. I suggest switching cars so he can evaluate mine. He notices the light saying "service engine soon", asks if that's been on since I left home, I say yes. He says he doesn't want to drive it without checking how serious that is and goes to look it up in the manual.

While I'm waiting in Dad's car, I call Triple A again, and explain that we've moved the car slightly. By this point they've ditched the first contractor and are sending a new tow truck from a different company. While I'm talking with them, Dad comes back with a question about my car, I say I don't know and that I'm on a call. He keeps trying to get more of an answer from me but I'm not sure what else he expects, eventually he gets frustrated and goes back to my car.

I'm waiting on hold for the rep to try to get more info from the new driver, and text my dad to ask what he wants. He says I should hang up and we should just drive the two cars home. I ask if he's sure the car is safe, he says no but he doesn't want to keep waiting.

Around 8:30, we start driving in each other's cars. Dad takes the lead, and is in the middle of driving my car up a steep hill when it gets stuck. He instructs me to carefully drive past him, then turn around to meet him at the bottom of the hill. He decides it really isn't fit to drive home but that it should go somewhere that isn't in the middle of traffic, and finds an area that's blocked off for construction. Dad speculates that in addition to the nest getting caught in stuff, there may have been other issues from things like wires getting chewed on.

(While he was driving, I could smell that awful smell from his car, behind him. I swear I can still smell it.)

I call Triple A yet again, to explain where we moved the car this time. They say it might take another couple of hours for the tow truck to arrive. We go, no, we're not waiting that long. Dad asks about the procedure for unassisted towing, and we end up putting the keys with the car to leave for the tow truck to use. Dad also has me call the police's non-emergency line to tell them about the car we're leaving and why, so they won't take issue with it in the meantime.

Around this point, Dad asks about the friend I was talking to. I go, what are you talking about. He says, on that phone call. I say, I didn't have any phone calls with friends here, all my calls were to him or Triple A. He says, wait, that's who you were talking to? I say of course. He says, so when I told you to hang up, you hung up on Triple A? I say yes, that's what you insisted I should do. He says whoops.

We return home around 9 pm. I get out of the car first, spend a while waiting by the door for my dad to catch up, and remind him that I no longer have a house key with me, since it was on the same key ring. He goes wait, you left your house key with the car? I point out that really, it was both of our mistakes, since he was using the key ring as well, and was the first one to stash it.

Dad says we'll need to go back for it, after a much-needed chance to pee and eat dinner. I also use the chance to start making a document of things to remind myself to keep in mind about cars: supplies to keep on hand, warning signs to watch for, things to keep clean, and also the value of having someone else in your car every once in a while so they can point out things you've overlooked. Bunch of things he'd been trying to get me to keep in mind forever, that never seemed as important until I'd gotten a chance to really see the consequences first-hand. Once I finish the document, I'm thinking of printing it out and taping it somewhere visible while I drive, so that maybe I'll remember to think about it more often.

It's a pretty quick drive back to the car. In part, because my dad drives really fast. While zooming down the hills we'd been stuck on, he points out that this is why he'd really wanted me to be careful, because people sometimes drive like this on them. I point out that maybe he should not do that.

We get the house key back around 10 pm. While we're driving home, I get a call back from the police, saying it's fine to have the car there for now, but it will get in the way of the construction vehicles, so we've gotta deal with it by 7 am if we don't want to risk the police towing it instead. Dad points out that tomorrow is Saturday, the cop says it'll be fine if the construction isn't happening that day, but we do need to make sure it's gone by their next work day.

Back home, I call Triple A again. They say they've switched to using a third contracting company, but this one finally has someone dispatched, along with a tracker. Next time I check in, they say they've picked up the car. Around 11 pm, I get a notification saying it's been successfully delivered to the repair place we asked for.

A learning experience, in a number of ways. But also, man, what a mess.

[allycat75]

Happy April Fool's Day, Boston Dumb Fuck! But then it is no longer just a day for you anymore, is it?

You really gave it the office over the past few years, haven't you? Made a joke of your life, your family, friends and fans and look at where it has gotten you.

In honor of this most sacred of days, let's take a quick look back down Untrustworthy Lane, shall we?

You saying you loved love in your SMA article, then taking this massive dump on it. That was awesome!

Also saying you hated yourself in the same SMA article. Too bad no one close to you believed you or intervened. Maybe this mess could have been avoided

Your then fake girlfriend, now fake wifey, crashing the Thanksgiving family celebration at Disney World, where you pretended to be creepy niece-creepy uncle. I am sure your family laughed and laughed at that one

Tried to convince us jump scares were cute beyond brothers and could be easily staged

Also thought it would be fun to hide a misogynistic snuff film behind a dumb chin puppet video

Tried to trick us into thinking being good at Mario Cart was a noteworthy feat, and being bad at it was worthy of derision

Proved Valentine's Day is a joke by releasing a few handfuls of unflattering photos, plus some obvious photshop fails and even 2 or 3 photos that had absolutely nothing to do with the day of forced love. The joke was on you, however, since all that accomplished was to murder so many lady-boners it doomed you to only finding pleasure in your own hands, or perhaps a realistic fleshlight, for the foreseeable future. But you are a big "alone guy" so that should suit you well!

Extending this shameful stunt to the "Ghosted" premiere. That was a double whammy- the little racist, clout chasing twit thinking she was going to walk the red carpet and Ana and Dexter thinking they could save that festering turd of a movie from further embarrassment. Are they still talking to you after that prank?

Orchestrating two ghost kinda ceremonies using only vague descriptions of locations and pictures from family and friends in the vicinity of possible kinda locations, including a very real and special birthday party for a young lady that was probably ruined, but all in the name of a fun manipulation, right? Pepper in some online quotes about getting mentored by RDJ (he's doing a bang up job, by the way), as well as a line in the online version of the disaster of all disaster interviews in GQ, (that if people truly cared, would have put a 5150 hold on you and your dissociated life) and voila! Sham marriage complete.

Continuing with the joke-in-and-of-itself ASP. I mean, having a discussion on antisemitism where your guest chides those who normalize this behavior, just as you shove that poison ring in the camera, symbolizing the unholy union between you and the Nazi wifey. Great job, man!

Almost as good as you wearing the colors of the Nazi flag for your red carpet debut with your charming anti-semetic "bride", fake kisses and all

The best jest, however, was you not even getting to catch up with your more successful friends at the Vanity Fair party because you and that prize woman of yours were shuffled off immediately to the pick up line to be taken home, alone to your fleshlight

But you should be used to not getting into parties. There was the pathetic loitering in front of the CAA and UTA pre-Oscar bashes, but the best prank on yourself had to be the SNL Christmas party, where the wifey recreated the bratty niece look from the first pap walk and you tried to drive a wedge between one of your best friend's marriages (at least Colin has gotten in some good jabs at you on the show), all while the two of you probably were hid away in a dimly lit basement room for 20 minutes, then let out a back door to go home, alone to your fleshlight. And Alec Baldwin and his wife were actually invited. That's gotta hurt!

And just recently being called a "car enthusiast". More subtle than some of your other hoaxes, but still hilarious!

Now I don't know if you signed onto this because of duress or the promise of something great (hopefully not the Gene Kelly movie, because that was never going to fly- that was another trick on you, and even if it was miraculously offered to you, after this, it would not be a good look playing a male chauvinist who preferred young women).

I am sure you have had your fun, but let's hope this time next year you will have long hung up the jester's hat and become a real life boy!

[solangelo]

I was wondering, do you have any recomendations on some long fics? Like, not just one chapter? Sorry if you had already posted something abou that. Anyway, thanks!!! (Really like your blog <<3333)

Absolutely!! I pretty much only read on Ao3 anymore so all of my recommendations are going to be there, but if others want to tack on their own recommendations in the comments they're always welcome to do so :)

A few things,

I tried to put content warnings on the bodies of work as I see fit, but some of these I read over a year ago and haven't looked at since so I apologize if I've missed something!

Additionally speaking, I've marked anything in which contains characters having sex with a red heart emoji ❤️ as it should be viewable on light and dark mode, across multiple forms of devices (ios vs android, etc) and should be readable to screen readers as well; As per previous notes on this blogs, any explicit depictions of characters having sex will also have them being explicitly over 18. Now without further ado-

I'm a huge fan of rabbit_soup's "Healing Takes Two" series, it's 13 pieces in total some of them are oneshots and others are multichapter but they all fit together making it a large body of text. The plot extends from Nico's three days in the infirmary to the early stages of their relationship and still seems to be ongoing with the author taking on rewriting some of their older pieces.

arum scarce by GalwayGirlo [16/20] AU ❤️:

Nico wakes up paralyzed following a motorcycle accident. Maybe Will Solace can help him get some feeling back?

(cw: suicidal ideation, a suicide attempt, adult having a relationship with a minor, "mafia stuff")

When I Get Home to You by 2nd2ndalto [10/10] Canon Compliant, Time Travel ❤️:

Will’s brow furrows."N - Nico?"

It’s impossible, this boy can’t be Nico, but the name falls from his lips without real conscious thought. Nico is 38 years old and probably sitting at home in their living room, hopefully having figured out how to fix the clogged dishwasher line, which is what he’d been planning on doing when Will left early this morning.

(cw: conversations about suicidal ideation and related topics, and young nico is involved so canon compliant trauma of his comes up as well)

talk your talk and go viral (i just need this love spiral) by wrongcaitlyn [34/34] and a part 2 currently at [2/?] chapters, Celebrity AU ft. Trans Nico:

“Keep telling yourself that,” Will says quietly, because even though the door is closed, speaking any louder would seem wrong. “You’re too harsh on yourself. If you wrote songs or something, you’d easily get on the Billboard Hot 100. Dad would help you. I would, too.”

“Promote it to your seven followers?”

“Yes!”

Nico laughs, and then Will is joining him, and they’re closer than before, but it’s nothing unusual. It’s been this way since before stupid feelings and stupid crushes, and Nico would be damned if he let it change just because of that.

(cw: alcoholism, childhood abuse and neglect, character death, car accidents, transphobia/homophobia/generalized queerphobia, gender dysphoria, suicidal ideation and related topics)

peach tea by ghosttotheparty [5/5] AU ft. Latino Will:

Will brushes his thumb over the side of Nico’s hand gently. His skin is soft. Nico’s fingers tighten on Will’s. It kind of feels like neither of them wants to move. Will doesn’t mind.

He sits up after a moment, but Nico doesn’t let go of his fingers, so he lifts the arm that’s awkward between them and sets it behind Nico, leaning back to rest on it. Nico just looks at the tapestry.

or; Will falls in love with the new kid.

(cw: mental health struggles, ptsd, anxiety/panic attacks, depression, grief, and character death)

What Could've Been Lights by athaleablaire [18/18], AU - I can’t remember if they have sex in this, rating is teen and up and all characters are over 18 but enter at your own risk:

In Will's eyes, he really has it all. A job as a surgeon at an amazing hospital, great friends-- what more could he ask for? Everything is going great until a man walks into his emergency room half-dead. In the mission to save his life, Will gets a little more than he bargained for.

(cw: injury and recovery, accusations of substance use)

a shadow in the rising sun by demigodbeautiies [9/13], AU Royalty, Arranged Marriage:

This is a story about the Ghost King.

Will Solace (crown prince in the Seventh Kingdom, politically useless as it may be) does not particularly want to be married to a thing of nightmares. He doesn't really have a choice, though. When does he ever? He allows his father to push him led into this politically advantageous, beauracratically necessary arrangement without too many complaints, and resigns himself to the fact he will be marrying a tyrant out of the tall tales his mother used to tell him when he was a boy.

Except then he meets his husband - a boy, and one younger than he is at that! - and realises that he has absolutely no idea what to expect. All he can hope for is that no one tries to kill him.

(cw: character death, character injury?)

NICO Centric:

Lethe by Eridans [8/8] Canon Compliant with a part 2 at [16/16]:

He's ten and ninety simultaneously, his mother was murdered and his sister is a stranger. He's got a deck of cards that he holds onto like a lifeline and an Italian-English dictionary that's old as hell and crumbling, but it's not as old as he is, and that makes him laugh.

The River Lethe was supposed to take away their memories, but Nico remembers his past, his days at home, the times he spent with his sister and mother at parades Mussolini hosted, where Maria sang the national anthem. The river tried to take away everything Nico cherished, and it could have been pure desperation or grief that made him remember his past.

Nico didn't know.

(cw: I started reading this fic over 8 years ago and haven't read it since it's last update 3 years ago, expect canon compliant events and themes to occur but otherwise proceed at your own risk, exercising caution and compassion for yourself where necessary <3)

WILL Centric:

Solace by solisaureus [11/11], Canon Compliant:

solace (n.) comfort or consolation in a time of distress or sadness.

solis (n.) the Latin word for "sun."

(cw: author includes their own content warnings at the start of each chapter!)

sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes by whimsicalMedley [13/26] Canon Compliant ft. Trans Will Solace:

Contrary to his general disposition, William Andrew Solace was born in the middle of an October hurricane.

Or, Growing up is hard. It’s even harder when you’re the son of the sun god.

(cw: author includes their own content warnings at the start of each chapter!)

Hopefully this is a good place to get you started, nonnie!

[lastflowerofyourhouse]

ok so i'm gonna try posting fragments of longer fics that probably won't see the light of day elsewhere.

this one is from a fic about cytherea's ascent to lyctorhood, from loveday's point of view.

this particular scene is titled "cristabel being a manipulative weirdo" in my drafts.

Loveday had yelled at God. It was an accident. Mostly.  

She had gone to talk to him about Cytherea. It was preposterous to her that there was nothing he could do. He was God, wasn’t he? He was supposed to be able to fix things. God should be able to keep one girl from dying.  She had tried to reason with him, and then she had begged, and then she had called him a series of increasingly blasphemous names, and then she had thrown one of his teacups at the wall. Now, she was curled up in a disused corner of Canaan House, like a child, trying not to hyperventilate too loudly. 

She knew she had made a mistake. She knew that she had been stupid and impulsive and maybe ruined Cytherea’s chances of staying here. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she got Cyth packed off back to the Seventh.

But goddamn, that teacup had made a good sound. 

She heard footsteps behind her. She dug her face further into her knees, which was useless, she was in full view. Just her fucking luck, she supposed, that she would be caught like this. She could tell who it was, too. Cristabel Oct’s weighted net clinked when she walked. 

“There you are,” said Cristabel. She passed by Loveday’s shoulder and then turned and dropped, cross legged, in front of her. Loveday’s forehead had been pressed to the tops of her knees, but she lifted her chin to look at her. Cristabel was smiling at her. Cristabel had a very sweet smile, actually. It was a smile that spoke of kindness and wisdom, with pleasant crinkles around her stormy eyes. Part of her dared to hope, for a moment, that she was actually about to be comforted. “I heard about what happened,” 

“From who?” It was a genuine question.

“I just thought we should talk about it.” Cristabel paused. “I’ve heard your adept call you ‘Lovie’. May I call you ‘Lovie’?”

"Nobody calls me that but Cyth."

Cristabel cocked her head, birdishly. "Understood."

Loveday had nothing to say in response to that. Instead, she said, "You talked to John, didn't you? He's the one who told you about it. Did he ask you to talk to me?"

"You've really been struggling to settle in here, haven't you? It's understandable, given the circumstances."

Loveday wanted very badly to believe this. She had seen Cyth talking with Augustine, the way they got along, the way he offered her an arm when she needed one and the endless tact with which he discussed her illness. Augustine had given Loveday hope, thin and rare as it may be. She had seen Cytherea laughing with Pyrrha, and hanging onto Mercymorn's shoulder, and playing chess with Anastasia. She had seen Casseopeia sit with her while she rested, chatting comfortably as old friends. 

"What do you know about my circumstances?"

Across from her, Cristabel's smile didn't waver. "I know that you love her. You're not the only person here who loves her, you know. She's among friends with us."

But she had also seen the way Cytherea looked after a day spent with these people, rumpled and wilted and barely conscious as soon as she was in the privacy of their room. Loveday usually had to help her into bed, in a way she never had back home. She sagged the second she crossed the threshold into privacy, aged thirty years, was usually unable to speak in sentences. "I know that some of you care about her," was all she said. 

She pulled her hand away. "Yes, it's like that. I just–"

Cristabel reached out and grabbed one of Loveday's hands. Cristabel's hand was warm and calloused and strong. "But it can't possibly compare to how you love her, can it? Cassy loves Mercymorn, but nobody loves her like I do. It's the same for you two, isn't it?"

"You just what?" Cristabel's voice was very gentle. When no more was forthcoming, she said, "You just hate to see her hurting, don't you?"

Loveday found herself nodding, silently. She was choked up, actually choked up. She hadn't cried in front of another person since she was a child.  

Cristabel sighed. It was a sigh which suggested that the heart of the issue had been found; the indulgent sigh of a parent who had discovered the cause of a tantrum, and understood. "I know it's difficult, Loveday, but you have to trust him."

Loveday's head snapped up. "What?"

"Teacher has big plans for her, for all of them, and it might not make sense right now, but one day all our suffering will mean something. I know that. I am asking you to trust him."

"What if it was Mercy?" asked Loveday. "Would you be saying this if Mercymorn was coughing up her own lungs? Would you watch Mercy die, would you watch her lose the ability to take care of herself, would you watch her body eat itself alive, and give me platitudes about faith? Would you sit back and watch her die and trust him?"

Loveday did not deck her, but it was a near thing. Instead she stood very abruptly, taking her sharp, conciliatory pleasure in Cristabel's flinch, and walked away.

Cristabel seemed to genuinely consider this. Eventually, she said, "My love for God and my love for Mercymorn are the same. There is no separating them. If it was his will that I care for her the way you care for Cytherea, then what else could I do? I know that he loves Mercy, and he loves me, and he wouldn't ask us to suffer unless it was really necessary. God demands things, Lovie. It's what he does. It will always be unpleasant, but we have to try."

[savage-rhi]

Friends to Lovers prompt with who other than the Beloved Ardyn!

Sharing clothes in a friendly way.

If you Ardyn lovers say you haven't thought about stealing his coat and wearing it, you're lying. I have had so many people come to the same consensus. We all think about it, HA!

@sillylittlevulpine Okay...I indulged A LOT on this one (in my defense, I needed it as much as it was requested). Hope you like it!

Y/N had been staring at Ardyn’s long coat for what seemed like an eternity, debating with themself. The article should’ve been put up a while ago. Instead, the coat was laid out on the floor along with other garments that had been cleaned and mended. 

Curiosity and resentment had built up in Y/N ever since they were assigned to this task. Folding and tidying up the Chancellors' wardrobe was not what they signed up for. Come to think of it, Y/N believed Ardyn didn’t make the request in the first place. From previous conversations, he seemed to pride himself on taking care of most of his personal items. The only time Y/N had encountered behavior to the contrary, was when Ardyn wanted to indulge in food and wine, especially when he wasn’t in the mood to make anything himself. 

This had to be the Imperial Keepers' idea…Y/N thought bitterly to themself. It made sense the longer Y/N thought it through. If Y/N didn’t know better, the Imperial Keeper probably did it to add further insult to injury them, on account they had come down with a nasty cold during the week and had been slow with duties. There was also the spat that happened between Ardyn and the Keeper. The latter having been slighted, purposefully by Ardyn to prove a rather crude point to his colleagues. In all honesty, with the rotten attitude the Imperial Keeper had that day, Y/N thought he deserved it. 

“The jerk weaponized me as a biohazard to the Chancellor,” Y/N muttered to themself, letting their conclusion sink in. It made sense. Why else send an obviously sick attendant to take care of a higher-ups personal items even though it was out of character for those services to be requested? 

“I should leave. Have someone else do it. Screw points getting docked.” Y/N said aloud, but then they found themself back in the conundrum that had them stuck on Ardyn’s living room floor in the first place. The resentment had come and gone, now curiosity came flooding back. 

Y/N’s tired eyes combed over the material of the jacket, admiring the stitchwork and the different textures complimenting each other. They recalled Ardyn telling them long ago that it was customized just for him. He certainly wasn’t lying. The tiny details here and there was evidence that whoever made it had very careful hands and machine-like focus. 

The coat wasn’t the most expensive thing Y/N had come across while being in service to the empire, but the reputation it got from its owner was enough to make Y/N scared of ruining it by touch, even though the poor garment had seen better days. Y/N lost count of how many times Ardyn had to get the coat mended because he got into an altercation, or didn’t bother to take it off when going into hostile land. One would think he didn’t care much for it, but Y/N remembered Ardyn’s wrath when someone tried to pawn it off for gil after stealing it. He was stuck in his chambers for two whole days while people searched for the thief. It was quite the tantrum over a material good, however, Y/N figured it held some strong sentimental value. Plus, it looked warm and inviting. Something Y/N desperately needed at the moment. 

Y/N’s body shuddered from the fever they had been enduring. They hated this. How one moment their body would feel boiling hot, then would feel so cold it was as if Shiva herself resurrected and brought another age of ice upon Eos. The goosebumps down their arms felt like tiny mosquito bites, and they coughed into their arm horribly as their temps began to cool off once more. 

Ardyn and the rest of the Imperial Council were currently in session. Those meetings tended to last several hours. There were still two hours left before Y/N’s next assignment would be put in place by the Imperial Keeper, so they had plenty of downtime. Maybe…Y/N thought to themself. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt anything if they put it on for a bit, just to get warm again. 

“Gods be damned,” Y/N sighed, closing their eyes and bitterly huffed before grabbing the coat. 

Ardyn let out a deep breath when he approached the doors to his chambers, rubbing his eyes for a moment. After enduring a half hour of old men fighting over scraps when it came to the war budget, he promptly conjured a tall tale to get out of staying put. Somehow Aldercapt approved and he made a beeline for the doors.

“You are not leaving me alone with senile degenerates,” Verstael whispered with contention as Ardyn walked past his chair. The infighting was so loud, that no one paid the side conversation any mind. 

“My dear friend, you're an old-timer among the flock yourself!” Ardyn mused, putting a hand on his peer’s shoulder, earning a raised brow from Verstael as he looked up to meet Ardyn’s mischievous grin. “You might as well be insulting the years of wisdom that show decadently upon your wrinkled face!” 

“Hmpf,” Verstael narrowed his eyes, shaking his head and he slapped Ardyn’s hand away. His right eye twitched from the chuckle that escaped his colleague. “Funny you call me such a thing when you should be dust at this rate.” 

“True as that may be,” Ardyn began. “Between the two of us old men, I’m the better-looking one.” 

“You better leave before we not only have a mutiny among the council, but a homicide as well.” 

“And I’m off!” Ardyn chuckled, giving a sarcastic wave with his right hand before departing. 

The memory had Ardyn amused for a time in the present. It was enough to pull him out of his negative thoughts from before, now focusing on things that gave him pleasure. Taking a nap after nursing a bottle of wine was starting to become more enthralling by the second, and he wasted no time venturing into his abode. 

Ardyn had done this so many times, that he didn’t initially know he wasn’t by himself. He started going through his routine; taking off his vest and discarding it followed by his red scarf. He hung them up on a hook nearby, then started thinking about his jacket; wondering if it had been returned from the cleaners yet. That’s when Ardyn stopped midway taking off his hat, hearing a noise coming from his television set in his living room. He put his hat back on, and cautiously began to tiptoe toward the noise, bracing himself for the possibility of a fight. 

To Ardyn’s surprise and shock, he saw Y/N sitting on the couch, leaning forward toward the TV. His coat snugged around their body like an oversized blanket, as if he had never been its proper owner. To say he was speechless was an understatement. No one ever had the gall to get this comfortable in his personal quarters and he became greatly amused at the sight. 

Ardyn decided to let the silence play out for a little while, making observations while he ventured close without making a sound up until he cleared his throat. 

“I see you’ve made yourself at home.” Ardyn sarcastically stated, making his presence known upon arriving at the back of the couch. 

“Shit!” Y/N exclaimed. They attempted to scramble off the couch, only to fall over themselves in a clumsy fashion, while quickly grabbing for the remote and turning the television off. Panting heavily, they quickly spun and looked up at Ardyn. Y/N watched him raise a brow, smiling like he caught someone red-handed while he crossed his arms. 

“I--can explain this,” Y/N gestured at the coat. “I promise I wasn’t going to steal--”

“My attire looks rather fetching on you,” Ardyn interrupted. His eyes scanned Y/N over and his smile grew. “I’m almost jealous you’re outperforming me.” 

“What?” Y/N flatly blurted and furrowed their brows.  “You’re not upset?” 

“Far from it,” Ardyn smirked. “Of all the things I could’ve come home to, I’d rather deal with an Imperial Help trying on my clothes for kicks than an assassin wanting to present my head to the King of Lucis. Although I’ve grown fond of our conversations, Y/N, I don’t recall requiring your services for the day. Come to think of it, I don’t believe we were to see one another until the weekend. Did you miss me that much?”

"You wish..." Y/N rolled their eyes playfully and sighed, feeling relief wash over them at the fact he wasn’t enraged. Had this been Verstael, or anyone else, the consequences would’ve been costly. 

“The Imperial Keeper said you needed help with your laundry today. I figured he was lying, but I came out of obligation.” Y/N shrugged. 

“How dutiful of you,” Ardyn quipped. He briefly glared, making a mental note to have a word with the Keeper at a later date. Ardyn focused suddenly on Y/N’s features, noting their color looked more dull than usual, followed by their body tremoring under his coat. 

“What’s wrong?” Y/N asked, breaking Ardyn out of his observations. 

“You’re unwell.” 

“Am I that obvious?” Y/N teased, then sniffled and almost felt themself sneeze. 

“You’d certainly give a fresh corpse a run for its gil.” Ardyn chuckled darkly, enjoying the brief glare Y/N shot at him before they began coughing, and instinctively he took a step forward. Ardyn only stopped when Y/N gestured with their free hand for him to halt. 

“I don’t want to get you sick,” Y/N said in between fits. “I can take your coat to the cleaning center, and get it decontaminated.” 

“There’s no need for such hysterics,” Ardyn waved them off and approached Y/N’s personal space. He didn’t give them any time to react before he felt their forehead and then checked their pulse. “I don’t get sick easily like most. However, I am curious as to why the Imperial Keeper would send someone of your ailment my way. Feeling hot and cold?” 

“Uh huh,” Y/N nodded, recoiling a little from Ardyn’s touch due to sensitivity. “I think he wanted me to get you sick if I’m being honest. He didn't take too kindly to being thrown under a bus at the emperor's reception.” 

“Well, he’s going to be in for a rude awakening,” Ardyn said as a matter of fact. His tone was bordering between sinister and playful. He took note of Y/N’s fear, and his expression softened after he finished assessing. “Do you have other obligations today?” 

“I have a councilmen’s filing cabinet to clean out, and a few beds to make.” Y/N breathed. “Why do you ask?” 

“I must implore you to stay and rest here.” 

“Here?” 

“Why not? You seemed to be getting on quite well making use of my home for your own enjoyment.” Ardyn said playfully with a shrug. 

“The Imperial Keeper--” 

“Can kiss both our asses for all I care,” Ardyn finished, leaving Y/N speechless at his bold proclamation. “I’m not sending you away when you clearly have a fever. That wouldn’t sit well on my conscience.” 

“I thought you didn’t like people. You said so yourself a few days ago that company drains you.”  

“That remains true as ever, alas,” Ardyn paused and he smiled while his right hand cupped Y/N’s face. His thumb carefully stroked over their cold skin and his eyes sadly glanced over their features. “You are in no such category.” 

“Oh…” 

Dumbfounded didn’t quite capture how Y/N felt at the moment, but it was close. The only thing Y/N could really focus on was how warm his touch was, and how their pulse seemed to skyrocket at the act. As soon as it began, Ardyn retreated his hand away and took a step back, and Y/N foolishly found themself missing the contact. 

Their eyes focused on Ardyn as his right hand began rubbing at his chin. His gaze became scrutinizing as if he was judging a piece of art. Y/N didn’t know if they should’ve felt flattered or scared. Maybe both. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Ah, it’s nothing too drastic I assure you, but I am finding that although my coat suits you well, it’s missing something that ties it all together,” Ardyn said as a matter of fact. He wasted no effort in taking off his hat, and with care, he placed it on top of Y/N’s head.

“There we go! The wardrobe crisis has been averted!”  

The hat sunk a little on Y/N initially, and they used their left thumb to prop it back up. They laughed, feeling their face turning red at Ardyn’s action. He too chortled, looking impressed with himself up until Y/N appeared to be frightened. 

“You look as if the Gods will smite you at any second.” Ardyn pointed out. 

“You're more open minded to classes mingling than others. I think we both know had this been any other councilmen or the emperor, I wouldn’t be standing. Especially if I was caught trying on their clothes.” 

“True,” Ardyn nodded. “Yet here you are.” 

“Here I am.” 

A calm silence fell between Y/N and Ardyn as they fondly looked upon the other. It was only when Ardyn guided Y/N to the couch did both break away from the spell. He lay down and got comfortable, and calmly guided Y/N to lie against him. He could sense their apprehension and spoke up. 

“I can run cold unlike most people,” Ardyn paused, reminding himself not to get too comfortable revealing his secrets. “Between the coat and myself, you’ll have an easier time resting.”

“Isn’t this overstepping several boundaries?” Y/N murmured against his chest. Sure enough, he was true to his word: it was as if on cue, Ardyn had gone from feeling like a warm furnace to a cold sheet that had been left to dry in the bitter wind. It was eerie, the whole thing, but their mind and body were too tired and miserable to think any deeper about it. The exhaustion from the long day, on top of the excitement from earlier, had Y/N feeling drowsy.

“Yes as a matter of fact,” Ardyn murmured and closed his eyes. “Alas, no one’s here to bear witness so it doesn’t matter. What happens in my chambers, stays in my chambers. However, if you’re uncomfortable, you can retreat to my room. I won’t disturb you while I remain here. I was planning to take a nap anyway.” 

“I can’t hog your bed,” Y/N’s eyes fluttered open and closed. Their mind was being lulled to rest by how cool Ardyn felt, and how cozy his jacket felt against them. “What about the Imperial Keeper?” 

“I’ll deal with it. You won’t receive consequence, I assure you.” 

“What about--”

“Y/N,”

“Yes?”

“Be a dear and hush. You're not the only one who had a long and dreary day dealing with men who are vultures.” He commanded bluntly. 

Y/N’s eyes finally gave into the weight and shut, all the while their lips smiled so big from his remark it began to hurt for a time. The last thing they could recall before drifting off into unconsciousness, was the rumbling of Ardyn’s chest when he laughed at their weak chuckle.

As soon as Ardyn felt Y/N fall asleep, he opened his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose. Frustration graced his amber hues while his right arm wrapped around Y/N’s body. This little friendship wasn’t supposed to get to this point. Ardyn had a feeling Y/N thought the same thing. He wondered how much longer it would be before someone in court caught onto the special treatment he freely gave to them. He also wondered how long it would be before Y/N would discover what he really was. That made Ardyn more uneasy than the former and his mind began to travel. All it would take is one slip-up, one mistake to undo his mask.

It became clear that Ardyn wouldn’t get that nap he yearned for after all, and he resided himself to his fate. 

If you like my work and feel generous, feel free to donate to my ko-fi account or my cash app account!

Cash App: $JayRex1463

[elfwitchtrickster]

Maverick x reader

Y/N's boyfriend breaks up with her on the day they're doing the bandit exercise. So Y/N pulls a stupid move in the air and when Maverick comes to punish her, he finds out and comforts her.

Y/C/S: your call sign

Y/L/N: your last name

Alex: your ex boyfriend's name

———————————————————————

Y/N woke up and immediately felt the dried tear stains on her cheeks. Her boyfriend, Alex, of 10 months had broken up with her yesterday, and the affair was not pretty. She hadn't gotten much sleep, due to her crying and thinking about her ex but she got up and got ready for work anyway.

That was one of the things she most loved about flying, it had the ability to distract her from everything else in her life. It didn't matter what was going on with her friends, her parents or boyfriend, once she got up in the air it was just her and her plane.

She splashed her face with cold water, to wake herself up and wash away the streaks that ran down her face. There were bags below her puffy eyes and red nose but she ignored them. She changed into her uniform, did her hair and makeup and got downstairs as quick as possible.

She wanted to get out of here as sons as possible. This is where all their arguments had happened, this is where he broke up with her. And as much as Y/N tried to deny it she felt like their break up was her fault. She almost always felt like that.

She didn't even bother to make herself breakfast, she just made a cup of coffee and decided to pick something up on her way to work.

As she walked into the makeshift classroom Hangman waved her over. "Whoa what happened to you?" He asked when she sat down. "You look like you haven't slept all night" he remarked with a laugh. "Not the best thing to say to a lady" Y/N replied turning her eyes down to the papers on her desk.

She wasn't in the mood to tell the Dagger squad about her Alex, and she was certain she couldn't do it without crying. She didn't want them to think she was weak, not just because they were her friends but also considering they were the best fighter pilots on earth.

Luckily Maverick walked in two seconds later, saving her a further explanation of her physical state. "All right guys, we ran through most of the theory yesterday so all of you should know everything you need to get you through that mountain course within the time limit. Now it's just who has the skills to do it" he paused and looked over everyone.

(Maverick's Pov)

As I looked over everyone, I noticed Y/N. Usually she would look up at me, probably the only one who would be engaged while listening to me, but now her head was in her hands as she stared down at the desk. When I stopped talking she looked up expectantly and I noticed the bags under her eyes, eyes that looked fuller than they used to.

No matter how much he searched he couldn't seem to find the light that seemed to live behind her eyes, a light he saw every time she looked at him. Her hair seemed messier and her entire body seemed tense and tired at the same time. He carried on speaking, but kept glancing back at Y/N. Maverick was good at trusting his gut, and he had a strong feeling that something was wrong.

(Y/N's Pov)

Maverick paused for a second before speaking again. "You'll be doing this in 3's, Hangman, Rooster and Coyote. Phoenix, Bob and Y/C/S..." She zoned out once she heard her name and let her eyes fall back down to her desk.

She was jolted out of her daze when Maverick clapped his hands and she heard the scraping of chairs. She tried to pull herself up without looking like she was using too much effort and everyone except Maverick, unbeknownst to her missed the way she rubbed her eyes.

(Time skip to when you, Phoenix and Bob are flying the course)

Y/N shifted her controls, eyes set dead ahead. She had been in the air for a good ten minutes and she couldn't stop thinking of Alex. She was getting frustrated now. She hated feeling this way and the one thing that usually took her mind of it wasn't working.

She had half a mind to fly herself into the mountainside, she couldn't possibly think about him if she was stranded in the middle of nowhere and probably injured as well.

"Unidentified just showed up on the radar" Bob's voice drifted through her headset. "You think it's from our side" Y/N asked Natasha. Before she could answer another voice came spoke. "Good morning pilots" Y/N breathed a sigh of relief when she heard it was Maverick.

"I am going to be playing the role of a bandit trying to hinder you on your mission. You must make it to the course without being shot down by me" he said. He sounded as if he was reading off a piece of paper from the awkward way he said 'hinder'.

A very unlike Pete thing to say. She snorted imagining Mav rolling his eyes after he said it. "Still wanna continue the course?" I asked Phoenix secretly hoping she'd say yes. "Yeah let's do it" she said and I smiled to myself.

Usually I was a careful pilot, I had every method to fly a course and do it safely. I wasn't the type to do something risky, they had rules for a reason and I figured you couldn't go wrong by doing it by the book.

As Phoenix Bob and I continued the course Maverick got closer. He was gaining on us rapidly that I knew we wouldn't make it to the mountain. Maybe I was feeling reckless, or I felt like I couldn't control anything except me and my plane but I ended up doing something stupid.

I dropped low, extremely low between the mountains. I stopped quite quickly and waited for Maverick to pass me before flying after him. He saw me almost immediately and I knew he was preparing for a dog fight. What I wasn't expecting was for him to fly above me and then flip upside down before he shot me.

"That's a lock Y/C/S, you're dead" I banged the seat beside me in frustration and instead of flying back to base I cut in front of Maverick, flying straight up barely a meter in front of him. I saw him flinch and pull back in shock before I flew away and heard his voice through the comms

"What kind of shit was that!" He yelled and Y/N winced but didn't answer. She know what she had done was stupid and she wasn't prepared to deal with it. On her way back to base she heard Phoenix and Bob go down as well, while she had delayed Maverick she certainly hadn't stopped him.

When she got back to ground she ran out of her plane and indoors. She ignored the stunned looks from her fellow pilots and went straight to the locker room. She peeled off her helmet and sat down on one of the benches with her head in her hands. She wasn't sure how long she sat like that until she heard the doors crash open.

Maverick burst into the locker room looking absolutely livid. His chest was heaving and his fists were clenched as his eyes found Y/N. He walked toward her and pulled her up by her collar. "What the hell were you thinking!" He asked and she could practically feel the heat radiating off of him.

"I don't know sir" she said in a smile voice. "That was the stupidest manoeuvre you could've pulled Y/C/S" he spat. The way he said her call sign with such venom sent a pang of pain through her chest. "I know sir" "Oh so we're polite and respectful now, where was that sensibility when we were up in the air!" He yelled and Y/N felt a tear run down her cheek.

Her face was burning, with disappointment and rage and twenty more things. She was pretty sure she had just ruined the one good thing in her life and she felt like sinking into the floor forever. "I just don't understand Y/N, this is so unlike you. Did something happen, is- is there a reason you're acting like this?"

Her mind instantly flitted to Alex but she wasn't about to say that. "N-no sir" she said, barely above a whisper. "I assume you don't want to kill yourself, I mean you're an excellent pilot you've got all your friends, what about your boyfriend wouldn't he care if you got hurt or died because you did something stupid"

She remembered the day Phoenix had told Maverick about Alex. It was about 8 months into their relationship and Ice was trying to convince Y/N to talk to a guy at the Hard Deck. She remembered Mavericks smirk as she blushed when she told them about her boyfriend.

Deep down part of her wondered what it would be like if she could date her captain. But she put that thought aside quite quickly. There was no sense in ruining her relationship because of a crush that was probably unrequited.

Y/N felt as if her heart ripped in two when he said that and she had no energy to keep pretending. "Not anymore" she mumbled but Maverick heard. He sat down beside her confused. "What do you mean?" Her tears were falling hot and thick now but she kept her head down as she had through their whole encounter.

(Maverick's Pov)

I heard her choke as she answered me and suddenly I was confused. It was only now that I noticed I hadn't even seen her face since I had barged into the locker room. "Y/N" I said quietly but she didn't answer. "Y/N look at me" I said. She was silent for a moment before shaking her head. "Y/N" I started, preparing to coax her into looking at me but she shook her head harder letting out a small sob.

I tried once more, I spoke her name quietly and lifted her chin with my finger. This time it worked and she lifted her head, but didn't look at me, instead staring off to the side. Her cheeks were covered in tears, her nose was red and her eyes were puffy. I felt my heart break as I looked at her face and swallowed deeply to try and compose myself. She sniffled still not looking at me.

"What happened?" I asked and she looked down again. "Alex broke up with me" she said in a small voice and I felt a funny feeling in my chest. Like my heart soaring and dropping at the same time. Obviously I hated that she was going through this but there was a little part of me that thought maybe I've got a shot now.

But I put that part of me aside. Right now I needed to be there for Y/N. "I'm so sorry" I said and she took a shaky breath in. "I feel like it's all my fault and I thought flying would distract me from it but it didn't and then I did that dumb move and I know it was stupid but-"

Maverick shushed her and put an arm around her shoulder rubbing it gently. "Listen it's more than okay to feel like this, but it's not okay to put yourself or others in jeopardy" he said firmly and she nodded, wiping her cheek with her sleeve. "I'm supposed to punish you, but considering we can both agree that this is very unlike you and I'm sure you won't to anything like this again..."

Maverick paused to get her confirmation. After she nodded again he continued "I'll let this one slide" he said gently. "Thanks" the young girl said and as she moved to wipe her face again Maverick grabbed her wrist to stop her. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and dried her face softly.

Y/N allowed her eyes fall closed and let out a tired sigh. She felt surprisingly comfortable with Maverick, there was always a sense of trust she had with him that she didn't have with anyone else. Pete stroked a hand over cheek lightly before kissing her on the forehead and standing up. She was so shocked and flustered by his last movement that her face grew hot again.

(Y/N's Pov)

"Take the rest of the day off Y/L/N" he said looking at her from the doorway. "Yes sir" she replied and he walked out. She thought about Pete as she played with the handkerchief in her hands. She laughed to herself.

Only he would be old enough to own a handkerchief and still use it. That was one of the things she loved about him, he both refused to get old and acted like it at the same time. I guess there's a lot of things she loved about Pete. Y/N felt like she had just discovered one more.

[tokoyamisstuff]

Sugar Shock Ch. 2

Hotaru Haganezuka x GN! Reader

Based on this comic by @yuki2sksksk.

Summary: No one - including Haganezuka himself - believed that he would ever get married, let alone be interested in it at all...

...that was until he met you, at least.

[Last Chapter] - [Next Chapter]

A/N: I personally don't like my writing in this chapter, idk why. Also it's not proofread.

Warnings: None.

Words: 1463

"Uh...maybe we should call for help?" a voice behind you asked their companion. "Doesn't the shopkeeper look awfully pale?"

"Yes, and they haven't spoken a single word since we started walking" the other person responded. "Not even when we asked questions or tried to make smalltalk. Creepy."

"Maybe they're just asocial."

You were currently guiding a duo of Demon Slayers to the hot springs, yet your mind was so obviously elsewhere that even those strangers were concerned by your behavior.

Staring straight forwards without any focus, you wouldn't even bid those two a look, let alone listen to their conversation.

It's been a week since Haganezuka's surprising confession, and even though you couldn't to think of anything else ever since, you were just as unable to find an answer to his proposal.

You cringed internally when you thought back to that moment: Haganezuka was rooted on spot right in front of you - closer than appropriate, to add to that - and in the most awkward silence. If Kanamori hadn't come home earlier than anticipated, you would have probably remained frozen forever.

Who knows what he thought at that moment...hopefully he didn't tell anyone, for it certainly looked like Haganezuka had spent the night or something, with the two of you all alone in your shop before the day had even started.

You shuddered a bit at the memory of your friend walking in on the two of you, only further startling the two swordsmiths behind. "I told ya! They've got fever chills or something!"

Ever since then you hadn't seen your odd admirer, and you began thinking that maybe he's mad that your answer is taking so long.

But hey, a decision like that should be well considered!

There's no need to rush, especially since the broken marriage of your own parents had affected you this much.

To be perfectly honest, the thought of Haganezuka of all people wanting to get married - much less to you - was a shocker.

Not that you thought him to be unfitting for marriage or anything, but you barely even knew him and the other way around. Also, the tad bit you did know was certainly concerning.

You have no shared past, no connection whatsoever. Never dated or even had a proper talk besides that one time in the forrest.

Goddamnnit, you don't even know what he looks like! Not like appearance matter, you were not superficial. But it's just such a basic thing to know about someone.

Well, apparently he likes you, right? He asked to marry you, after all. So he has to like you in some kind of way. But why that? And since when? How?!?

A deep sigh escaped your mouth, shoving the turmoil of unanswered questions in the back of your head for a sheer moment.

"Please follow that trail and you'll find a small house near the river" you instructed the two young men as you pointed to the left side of a parting way.

"Man, I really need to be more careful with my sword. I can't keep breaking it." Tzch, they could at least say 'thank you'. You closed your shop just to guide them here, after all.

Well, Demon Slayers sure are wacky characters sometimes. Always having their head in the clouds. To fight those things you probably need to have a screw or two loose.

Just when you were about to turn around and return to the main village, you overheared something.

"Ah, well at least you don't suffer the same fate as that Kamado boy." You immediately recognized that name - it was one of Haganezuka's few customers he once very vocal complained about. "His swordsmith is really scary and chases him around if he breaks his sword!"

Oh dear, your suitor really needs to overthink his actions and their consequences more often...

"Yeah, so I've heard. Must be tough for Kamado. What's that swordsmith's problem anyway? Going around berserk like a madman." That one you certainly agreed to a certain extend, as far as you know he's still a child after all.

Maybe you should talk about his behavior, to you he might listen, who knows?

You snorted at your line of thought, already thinking about scolding him as if you were an old married couple bantering each other.

As if you had that much of an influence on him...or do you?

"If his blade is so perfect, why did it break so easily? He's the one with the skill issue." Subconsciously balling your fist, you turned around and rushed towards the men who wouldn't even notice you were still there.

"Haha, maybe he's getting too old for this. Better retire already. That man is not fit for this type of work anymore."

Breathe, Y/N, don't do anything reckless...

"Please refrain yourselves from saying such things" you exhaled through gritted teeth as you placed a firm hand onto both of their shoulders.

"Slayers and swordsmiths need each other to make it work. Neither of them are more or less important", you preached to teach them some basic morals. "Everyone here works incredibly hard, so don't you dare belittle people who spend their entire lives in this village making weapons for your protection!"

"But-"

"But what?!"

You wanted to yell at them, but instead grumbled with a gruff voice, intimidating for your standards even. "You got the nerve to complain when you're not even Hashiras. I find this to be annoyingly pathetic."

Raising an irritated eyebrow at them was enough to scare them off, only a faint "We're very sorry!" audible when they ran as fast as they could.

Suits them right, you thought.

Haganezuka may be a bit blunt and had an issue with regulating his emotions, but you admired the passion he put into his work. He was certainly a good guy, and did not deserve to be belittled like that.

"Huh" you uttered to yourself, "I didn't mean to scare them off. But young people nowadays..."

A crackling noise startled you out of your pondering. It was the sound of a branch being stepped on, and soon enough you found the source.

"If you run now, consider your proposal rejected!" you called after a fleeing Haganezuka, who you had just caught spying on you from behind a tree.

How long has he even been there? Goddamn, this man has zero social skills...

"Haganezuka, please...I need to ask you this: Why me? How long have you-"

"...because- you're distracting." The swordsmith had his back turned to you as he answered out of a whim, but not that it mattered. With the mask on you couldn't decipher his emotions either way.

Now what's that supposed to mean?! Should you knock some sense into him?

"I don't know since when, but you've been keeping my mind occupied."

Those words had escaped his mouth faster than his mind could catch up on, and ultimatively the usually rather quiet man began speaking from the bottom of his heart.

"In the morning I wake up and think about how you would have risen earlier to open your store. When I go for lunch, I wonder what you have to eat. When I see kids eating sweets, I think about how you probably gave them away for free. When I go to sleep, I imagine you already prepared for another day as you get ready for bed."

He paused, and even through the sounds of nature you could hear his fastened pants underneath the mask.

"Even when I am working on my swords, I still think about you." Something like that had never happened to him, that something is equally - no, more important than his work.

"It's so irritating and annoying. I wanted to stop thinking about you for so long already, but I never could. Then I thought, I might as well just get it done and confess to you. Get it all off my chest."

"I expected you to reject me right away..." His voice was barely above a whisper when he finally turned around. "But then you didn't respond, and told me to let you think about this."

Haganezuka's voice was clearly shaking, and he was stumbling across his own words. "Do you know what that did to me? That you didn't outright reject someone like me, and now even defend me from being insulted?!"

Your eyes widened as the man built himself up in front of you, raising his blistered hand to the mask covering up his face to tear it away just a second later.

He...had incredibly kind eyes.

Not at all what you had expected him to look like, but certainly a handsome man.

Long raven hair cascaded over his shoulders, accentuating the sharp edges of his face. His furrowed brows were more fitting for someone like him, almost making you laugh if the situation wasn't so severe.

And - is Haganezuka really blushing right now?!

"You gave me hope" the man now spoke with a calm voice, in huge contrast to the almost desperate expression plastered on his face.

"So now take a good look at how this hope affected me - the hope that I can make you mine."

[pwincesa0]

BORN TO LIE

PLEASE NOTE!!: There will ALWAYS be someone who disagrees with you about something, and/or doesn't like you. So unless if you have either some constructive criticism, or you're going to express how you agree. Don't bother being annoying and commenting something hateful, it makes you look dumb in the end. Not me.

This post was inspired by the Youtuber: Liam Lestin. He did an amazing job at explaining his video "Born to lie" and I think you all should go watch it as well if you haven't already :) VIDEO Just like Liam said, what if when David met up with Arei and she began to confront him about his secret.. He still thought that his secret was his depression? And instead of confessing his little secret the way he did in the trial, he proceeds to share the fact that he's depressed. Then Arei obviously not wanting to be manipulated any further, choses to not trust him. Then David's worst fear comes to light. He gets pushed away from Arei and doesn't get accepted for who he unfortunately is. And after her confirming that she's not going to accept someone like David, this may make him believe that the rest of his classmates will respond accordingly. So to prevent this, he goes batshit crazy in the trial and completely lies about what happened in order to protect himself. Because if he tells the truth about what really went down with him and Arei then he'll be shoved in a corner where he has no other choice but to confess how Arei didn't believe him when he said that he was suffering from depression. Its very very likely that David hated the way Arei responded to his confession, and probably assumed that Arei never actually changed to begin with. Which is also probably why he went on that tangent about people never changing. You guys remember when David "forgot" the conversation he had with Arei?

Yeah he obviously did that because he's a little bitch boy and him discussing what he and Arei talked about would hurt his pride and ego a little too much. And now take a look at this:

This doesn't make sense at all. Because first of all just as Teruko said, this is very out of character for someone like Arei. And secondly, this doesn't line up with Ace's testimony when he described the scene. However, because David has to back up what he's saying.. He's most likely twisting his words around in order to prove his point. And was probably describing himself too. When he said "she was looking for validation from me", he was likely projecting onto himself. He was the one who seeked out validation from Arei after her meltdown in hopes that he could get the same comfort he was giving. What if she even went a step further to make David feel shitter about himself? David states how he tried to convince Arei to kill herself. But what if it was the other way around? Arei used what she learned from her sisters to fuck David up in the worst way she knew how. She told David to go hang himself with the rope in the storage room. As we can see, David clearly didn't go through with it successfully. But what if he truly made an attempt to and took what she said to heart? And because of this, Arei likely didn't die at 7:30PM. Because if he went to the playground later that night to off himself, then she wouldn't be there. But of course this prideful man can't tell the class this because that would require him to also share his suicide attempt. Therefore he confesses to the murder in order to stop the investigation. That's what I think is going on with crazy boy over here! And tbh this is what I'm really hoping is the outcome too because that would be so sick!!! :)

⛦ IF THERE'S SOMETHING YOU DISAGREE WITH, OR WANNA ADD ONTO THIS THEN GO AHEAD! LEAVE A COMMENT! Just be RESPECTFUL and use common sense.

🦇 pwrincesa

[its-getting-bad-again04]

im smoking less, eating right, exercising, my room is neat & clean, I've started producing a project that has REAL potential, I get 5-7 hrs of sleep each night (which is great for college), my grades are great, I see my friends every day, I call my girlfriend most nights, I call my parents every Saturday. I have plans, I am thinking about my future.

And yet,

I haven't felt any identifiable emotions in WEEKS. If I were to rate how I was feeling on a scale from one to ten, I would say it feels like I am just flesh being piloted by a swarm of angry and confused hornets.. I have to give myself things to worry about because all I have is the body feeling and none of the brain shit. Every day, I wake up at 3 am, and I fight to sleep, but I have this painful, stabbing, debilitating feeling swirling in my gut.

The hallucinations have gotten better and worse somehow. They are happening less frequently, and I am able to identify when it's happening pretty quickly some of the time. However, they are louder and clearer, and smoking triggers the sound I call the whispers.

The whispers suck because it is the most threatening and consistent ones. It's also the hardest to decipher as "not real." As I sit here writing this, I don't fully believe they aren't real. since i can't get myself to ignore it, I freak out and get really paranoid. I can't elaborate further.

So, I should stop smoking. However, I can't because I feel the most myself after smoking. The pain of anxiety is lessoned and I just feel so much more present and aware.

BUT I FEEL GREAT! Genuinely I feel awesome. Everything is finally okay, and I feel great and anxious -but great. The project I'm working on might just like be the best thing ever (i know its not realistic) bc I can do it. I am not letting the project dissolve. Everyone thinks I am an idiot, like they don't mean it in a bad way; they just think I am not that smart. HOWEVER, when I show anyone this, it just elevates me. proves I can do it. that I AM GOOD AT THIS. thats all I want.

And yet-

my girlfriend is worried, Im saying the most bullshit things for no reason, I feel overly-confident in my abilities and then overly anxious and unable to move then next. I feel like my emotions arent like happy, sad, anxious, mad, i think my emotions are just degrees of heat.

I tried telling my girlfriend this yesterday, and she looked at me weirdly. I probably didn't say it right. I said I had "inverse feelings" and that if feelings were a number scale from 0 to 100, I would be at a -100. But I think I just sounded stupid, sociopathic, and "edgy." If you haven't figured it out yet, Im only writing this right now because I want to KILL myself out of embarrassment.

I haven't even touched on having a new imaginary friend I call Coach because some of my intrusive thoughts sound like Omniman became a high school football coach. Usually, I imagine my intrusive thoughts as a little demon named Tic, but my head has been just SO WEIRD. My mind is totally scrambled, and all my thoughts sound intrusive, so the "helpful" one has formed into the coach. So I now have two imaginary "friends" representing my intrusive thoughts, yelling shit at me all day. However, after taking the coach's advice, I am such a functioning member of society. lolz

[slasher-male-wife]

To, I was wondering if you could write a FTM reader x Rick grimes where the reader is really exhausted and depressed and doesn't have motivation for anything and Rick helps him?

I'd love to write this for you. I haven't been watching TWD as much recently so forgive me if this is out of character. I'm also still on season three. But I love writing gay things for y'all. This is also set in the after the prison and in a random location because I don't know where they went after that lol even though I'm decently into season four. Can be read as romantic or platonic.

I do care: Rick Grimes x ftm reader

Warnings: Vague descriptions of readers body, mention of top surgery scars, depressed reader, Rick tries his best, Rick helps reader shower in a non-sexual way

It's been becoming clearer and clearer that you're not doing well mentally. A month ago you were barely able to help out around camp, but now all you can manage to do is stay in bed, and maybe go to the bathroom if you can gather enough energy. Now that you're staying at a farm house it's very clear you're not doing well.

Rick noticed how you've been declining mentally over the past month. When he was a cop he had to do wellness checks and he can see those symptoms in you too. So when he got up extra early one day and found you still awake he knew he had to do something to help you. He pushes your 'bedroom' door open further and walks in.

"Hey uh Y/N. I need to talk to you," He says. You look over at him from where you're laying but you can't bring yourself to sit up, "I've noticed you've been acting like this for awhile and I wanted to know what's going on," Rick takes a seat by your bed and looks up at you, "Is it that uh, feeling you get sometimes where you don't feel man enough?" You'd laugh at his words if you weren't so exhausted.

"I feel man enough Rick. I just can't get myself out of bed right now. If you want to feed me to the walker outside go ahead." You mumble. Rick stiffens and quickly gets closer to you.

"I'd never do that. I'd also never let you die on my watch. Has someone suggested that's gonna happen to you?" He asks, his tone coming off more aggressive than it is comforting. You shake your head.

"No one said that to me. But I know y'all are thinking about it. I mean why not. I'm a burden right now anyway. Why not do it?" Rick runs a hand over his mouth and sighs.

"I'm not going to let you die. I'm also not going to let you waste away in bed anymore. When was the last time you showered?" He asks, his tone still more aggressive than it is comforting. You shrug.

"I don't know, probably a few weeks ago," You say. Rick stands up and holds out his hand for you, "You're trying to get me to shower?" You ask, looking up at him.

"I'm going to make you shower, even if I have to stand behind you and keep you upright. Now make this easy on me." You sigh and slowly sit up. Rick watches carefully and makes sure once you're up, you'll stay up. Once you're sitting up, Rick pulls you up to your feet and lets you lean against him as he walks you to the bathroom.

"Rick we need to save the water we have. I know there's that well pump outside but showering shouldn't take priority." You say and he sits you down on the sink counter.

"I want you to shower because you're starting to smell like a damn walker. Doesn't help you have all that dried blood on you." He says. You sigh in defeat.

"Fine. If you insist on getting me clean I'll shower." You say. Rick smiles and grabs some soap and turns on the shower head. You take off your shirt and start to undo your pants. You notice Rick staring at your top surgery scars.

"I told you about them before Rick. They're just surgery scars," You say, slipping off your shoes and pants. You feel the water and quickly tell you can't wash your body fully. You look back to Rick and he seems to understand what's going on, "Can you help me?"

"Of course I can. Just tell me where I should wash." He says, taking his shirt off and tossing it aside to keep it dry. You slip off your boxers and manage to keep yourself standing.

"Upper body is fine. I can do my lower half if you help me stand," You hold your arms up and stand under the water, letting it wash over your hair and body. Rick starts to wash the soap over your arms, avoiding looking down at you, "You don't have to try to hard to ignore my body. I've already done enough of that for a lifetime." You chuckle. Rick smiles slightly and moves over to your other arm.

He washes over the rest of your upper body, being more careful around your scars, making you chuckle again. He eventually hands you the soap and hold one of your hands.

"I'll uh, help you stay standing." He says, looking away from you as you start to wash off your lower half. Rick keeps his eyes off of you the entire time until you turn off the water. He hands you a towel and you wrap it around your hips.

"Thank you Rick. Now I can go sit in my bed again but this time I'll be clean." You joke.

"No. I actually wanted to take you to go eat something since you haven't been eating much at all." He says. Still holding your hand he walks you back into a bedroom and starts digging through some clothes.

"I thought me not eating was a good thing. We need to ration some food." You say, taking some boxers Rick hands you.

"Carl and Deshawn went out and got more food. Enough for you to eat a small meal. Don't fight me on this or I will force feed you." He says in the tone of a joke, but there's an air of seriousness to it. He hands you some jeans and you put them on too.

"You're really set on me not dying huh?" You joke back as Rick hands you more clothes. You pull on a shirt and flannel. Rick adds a belt with an empty gun holster, socks, and your old shoes.

"I am. Now you'll get your knife back after you eat something," He says. Helping you up from the bed and walking you downstairs, to the kitchen. He sits you down at the table and gives you a water bottle with lots of dust on the outside and an opened can of fruit cocktail and three fried pieces of spam. You look down at the food and he hands you a fork, "You're not leaving this table until you eat at least half of that."

"Alright Rick," You say, picking up the spam and taking a bite out of it. You eat in silence for a couple minutes until you feel it start to become awkward, "Why do you care so much about me?" You ask, opening your water bottle.

"Is there something wrong with caring about you?" He asks. You shake your head and take a sip.

"I just haven't been here as long as everyone else and you didn't have to take me in. You don't have to care about me."

"But I do, and I will."

"Thank you Rick." You say before you start eating again.

[dorn-queen-of-thorns]

"Our future signed in letter"

Chapter 3

High in the air:

The sadness and depression are so heavy in her bones. She just can't anymore. First she lost Eren many years ago and now she has to separate from Armin and his family. The only good thing is that she will have a chance to see him and his family again in a few years, when things have calmed down.

Mikasa has turned away from Onyankopon and leans her head against the window, so he doesn't notice that she has cried herself to sleep. She is not very familiar with the presence of the former anti-Marley alliance spy, even though they worked together against Eren 6 years ago. So she has tried the best to hide her tears, but she probably failed. But sleep lets her sink into a depth that she doesn't notice much any more.

She dreams of Eren and Armin as she always played with them and always had the urge to take care of both . For everything in the world she wanted to protect both of them. Now with Eren she failed miserably. She couldn't protect him from himself, and she is responsible for his death and has to live with the guilt. Back then it was called Eren or everyone else had to die. It was a logical calculation: one life against all life. What guilt was easier to bear: being responsible for the death of a loved one or the death of all of your friends. Very hard to say for her: Eren against Armin and Levi. Ultimately, she decided in favor of the life of Armin and Levi, and death for Eren.

As a young girl, she runs after Eren and Armin playfully and somehow tries to reach them. She stretches her right arm forward, only one meter, two, three ... She just can't reach either of them. They move further and further away from her. Until they both turn to her and both wave to her with a big smile . But she just doesn't get a step closer ... And when her despair threatens to overwhelm her, she wakes up in horror and holds her chest, breathing heavily.

She looks over at Onyankopon with sleepy eyes. "You finally woke up, you slept through half of the flight," he smiles, "at least you have at least a good night's sleep."

Mikasa assumes he is referring to her former captain. "Seems so", she says with a dry mouth. Onyankopon hands her a canteen with water, which she gratefully accepts and drinks a generous sip. "We have to make a short stop in Cairo to fill up with kerosene and water. Otherwise we make an involuntary landing in the Mediterranean Sea and go swimming or pass out due to dehydration. "

Mikasa has never heard of such places and Onyankopon understands her questioning look, “Gabi and Falco are also in London with the captain. They often help out in our tea shop and Falco is trained to be the next successor of me and Levi. The two have a globe and literature on the geography of the world in their household. The two will show you and teach you a lot. "

“Gabi and Falco have a common household?” Mikasa finds this hard to believe. Both are at least 7 years younger and should therefore be around 18 years old. “Yes, for half a year. You can't blame either of them. Both are children of war and are looking for their peace with each other, "says Onyankopon thoughtfully," the captain makes dry remarks about the fact that both are only engaged to exchange their first sexual experiences with his dirty mouth. But he is not entirely wrong about it. We all expect that Gabi will soon announce the good news that she will be pregnant with her first child. "

Mikasa looks at Onyankopon with wide eyes. She can imagine how Levi's remark about them sounds in her ears and laughs inwardly. A giggle derails from her lips.

“The captain should take care of his affairs rather than give advice about Gabi and Falco. Isn't it Mikasa? ”He winks at her mischievously. She is embarrassed again.

"I'm afraid he'll send me away because I haven't said a single word of farewell to him," she says thoughtfully.

Onyankopon understands her concern, “From what Armin said, you were in shock at this point. Levi knows that too. "

"It's not that," she bursts out emotionally. She casually wipes away the moisture in her eyes, "I left them all because of Eren and made it appear that the others are unimportant. I left him badly injured and then the remains of a corpse were more important than an injured person at that moment. He could also have died and I just accepted it ", she alludes to the captain.

“Mikasa, he was not alone and he is now in the best of health as a war veteran can be. And he said it once , that he didn't know , how he would react, if he had stood there with Erwin or Hanji in your place. You were in a state of emergency and he shows understanding and is not resentful towards you. I think he could forgive you almost everything. You are important to him. More than you probably realize, "he looks at her empathetically.

Mikasa is embarressed when he says this confirmation , "he is also important to me," she says softly with a smile on her face. “It's good that that's been clarified and you should tell him personally when you get the chance. There will be plenty of opportunities for you in the near future. By the way, he doesn't know that you are on your way to see him, "Onyankopon mentions," you can decide , when you want to see him for the first time and he just knows that I have an important job to do. If you want, you can take a room first to think about how you want to proceed. But be prepared that as soon as he sees you again for the first time, he won't want to let you go. Can you handle it?"

Onyankopon looks at her expectantly, Mikasa’s eyes start to shine. He understands why the captain fell in love with her many years ago and he is happy for both of them that she seems to reciprocate her feelings for him. “Now prepare yourself for the landing. We will slowly lose height now, but don't be afraid. "

They land on an airfield in Cairo with a strange feeling. Mikasa has never seen so many "flying boats". Onyankopon notices her overwhelmed look, "You should see the airport in London. Cairo is nothing against it. It takes an hour to refuel the kerosene. In that time we can have a drink. We can sit down together in the next café and take a short break. "

They sit down together in a café with a large viewing platform. Onyankopon noticed Mikasa's surprised look. Among them is a huge river landscape that Mikasa has never seen before. At the river banks she sees small forests that are fed by the water and then these forests are again surrounded by a sand landscape. A surreal picture.

“Is that a sea? I only saw so much water near the Sea of Paradis ”, Mikasa is always overwhelmed by so much water. Armin would certainly have enjoyed this view.

“It's a river,” Onyankopon explains to her. He sips a dark drink that looks like coffee, only much, much darker, “we call it the Nile, and it's the second largest river on earth next to the Amazon. And extends over there the Saharan desert, the largest desert on earth. ”With so many unknown names, Mikasa becomes completely confused and she cannot believe that this is supposed to be a river .. The waiter brings Mikasa the same drink and a sweet pastry. She sips the drink and it tastes a little like those foreign spices that are sold dearly in the market in Paradis . The pastry is filled with dry fruit and is so sweet it sticks to her teeth.

“The locals call this drink mocca and it's a mix of very strong coffee and cinnamon and cardamom. But you should be careful and not drink the last bit, "this objection came too late to Mikasa's facial reaction. She feels too late how the coffee grounds migrate down her esophagus and has to gag and cough at this feeling. Customers look at her disgusted at the next table she is uncomfortable to attract attention again. Be it not for her appearance this time, but for her behavior. Onyankopon gives her a handkerchief so that she can calm down and soothes the neighbors at the table and explains that this is her first time drinking this drink After this incident, Mikasa wants to go back to the plane and Onyankopon has her takeaway rations packed and pays for everything.

Ashamed, she sits back on the plane and sadly eats her pastries. Onyankopon carefully touches her shoulder, "people would treat you very differently if they knew that the" savior of mankind "was standing before them. Armin didn't want to be portrayed as the sole hero with his team and that's why he made many things clear that you saved us all. However, he didn't want people to look for you because you need your time and want to determine when the time is ready.“

She looks at Onyankopon questioningly. “That's your nickname in the world. You are a heroine here and cause many to write songs and stories about you. The young girl Mikasa, who saved the world and the rest of humanity from Eren Jaeger ... "

"PLEASE STOP !!!" Mikasa cannot hear such nonsense and closes her ears. Images of her and Eren come back to her and how she kissed his cold lips. She trembles at the thought and all memories come back to her. The long unspeakable dream with Eren and all that blood ...

"Shit !!!", Onyankopon curses at his own stupidity and he gently strokes her back, "I didn't want to hurt you and remind you of things that you haven't been able to process yet." Tears of grief come again in her high. She actually didn't want to cry again, "I wish Armin was here ...", she says sadly. He could surely have brought her back out of the deep.

“Mikasa, he's not here and he's trying to protect his family. You don't know how afraid he is for them and for you too ", Onyankopon sighs sadly," it's just not fair. After you all gave so much from the Alliance and risked your life and the 14th Commander died in the process ", On the mention of Commander Hanji Zoe, Onyankopon seems emotional," You, Armin and his family are being persecuted on Paradis and accused of murdering Eren. Are you aware of that? "

Mikasa is not stupid and lately she has been receiving solace in the marketplace. She nods in understanding and a deep fear builds up in her, “But why did he take care of me first and not Annie and Jonathan? Onyankopon, hopefully the others will make it ... "

Onyankopon can empathize with the fear, “Mikasa, they will make it. Do not worry. Annie is heavily pregnant and the journey is even more difficult and dangerous for her than it is for you. She had to make important arrangements with her midwife again today. But now Annie and Jonathan should be away from the island and on the way to her father in Marley and Armin will be on his way tonight. ”Mikasa tries to calm down slowly and with that ends the conversation. Onyankopon decides to get some sleep again, as the flight is a total of 14 hours and a 28-hour flight within 48 hours is simply a strain. Flight experience or not. Neither of them are in a hurry to get to London, so Mikasa watches the people for 2 hours. She sees young families walking with their children and imagines her new life in London.

So Gabi and Falco are engaged now ? , she thinks. Will I feel the same way with Levi? The thought fills her with a warmth that she knows from time to time in times of being alone. She imagines how Gabi and Falco are expecting their first child and how she is again the aunt of a newborn. She thinks of Jonathan at the thought. Who was always inquisitive by her side and wanted to know everything possible when they were out in nature together. She has to smile at the thought.

After about 2 hours, Onyankopon wakes up feeling refreshed and indicates that the flight will continue. They still have a 7-hour flight ahead of them and in the end they both arrive at Croydon Airport in South London late at 10 o'clock in the evening. Since Onyankopon is too exhausted to drive again and he notices Mikasa's growing nervousness, he lets them both take a carriage to Levis Tea Shop. The climate in London is completely different. It is very warm here and many of the residents have the same color as Onyankopon. Mikasa has never seen so many dark-skinned people. Everywhere she sees construction sites and the reconstruction of the capital, for the destruction of Erens rumbeling is responsible.

Mikasa is depressed by the sight of the city and sees something good in this world, to have stopped Eren. Otherwise everything would have been completely destroyed here. Erwin once called such a warlike act leaving scorched earth. Interested, she lets her gaze wander everywhere, the lanterns go on in the late evening and a romantic atmosphere arises. Onyankopon slept the whole trip. He is too exhausted, he has almost 30 hours of flight behind him and then the worry of being caught on Paradis.

After a 20 minute drive through South London they arrive at the small tea shop. Onyankopon wakes up tired, “we are there, Mikasa.” Mikasa sees the little shop from the outside. It has a large shop window called "Levi‘s & Onyankopon‘s Tea Shop". From the outside, Mikasa sees a small but apparently muscular person in a wheelchair wiping the tables in the shop, Mikasa's heart leaps and bounds. She also sees two younger people, clearly Gabi and Falco. Both clean up the outside area and move the chairs. Onyankopon unloads her luggage and gives the driver the fare.

“Are you ready?” Asks Onyankopon, examining her. Mikasa nods to him. Onyankopon goes ahead and she follows him across the street. As with every meter, Mikasa feels that she is losing courage. She just has to go or vanish into thin air. The distance to Onyankopon slowly increases and in an unnoticed minute on his part she disappears into the next best alley. Discouraged, she lets herself slide down the wall of the house. What am I doing here, dressed up like a doll? , she thinks. She looks into her likeness of a shard of mirror that has been carelessly thrown away. . . Mikasa crosses her arms and she hides her head behind them. Above her she hears the chirping of a sparrow jumping happily around on the gutter of the house and she is surprised that there are wild animals in a big city like London and thinks, what is a sparrow looking for alone in the middle of the late evening? But the thought quickly evaporates, just as the sparrow has disappeared again.

Onyankopon arrives at the shop with the luggage. Gabi greets Onyankopon beaming with joy and looks surprised at the large suitcase he is lugging around with him. She thinks her part and knowing that Onyankopon has been to Paradis, Gabi is happy: "Don't say now, you brought her with you?" She looks curiously behind Onyankopon's back, but doesn't see anyone. During that time, Falco and Levi have started to settle today's daily income and have not yet noticed the excitement.

Onyankopon looks behind him and is shocked to find that Mikasa is no longer with him. Crap!!! Is the only thing he can think of now. Beads of sweat form on his forehead, startled, "Gabi, help me to look for her, she can't be far," he says quietly to her. Levi looks skeptically at the huge suitcase at the cash register and just snorts: “ Oi! Onyankopon! Send your visit to a rented room. We are not a hotel here! " Levi sees Onyankopon walking down the street with Gabi. Levi thinks, What the fuck?

Meanwhile, Mikasa sits in hiding and hears his voice again after so many years. It is his wild puss again, but it is clearly his deep, dark voice. She comes out of the dark alley. Pull yourself together, Mikasa. It won't be that bad, otherwise you will take a room and then think about how to proceed. With this idea, however, it occurs to her that all the money and papers are in her large suitcase with Onyankopon. That can't be true, she thinks and holds her hand to her forehead in frustration.

Then she hears quick steps on the street and when she notices someone trying to hold her by the arm, without looking who it could be, she throws him to the ground without thinking. "Damn it, Mikasa!" Onyankopon curses in pain. “Onyankopon!” She cries out, startled, “I'm so sorry! I didn't want that! ”And helps him back on his feet. The others will be there when the noise occurs, now she has to face her fear and reality. Gabi is with them first, she sees them both. At the sight of Mikasa, she tears, "Mikasa!" She calls out with joy and storms her in her arms.

Meanwhile in the shop:

Levi looks at the big suitcase skeptically. In terms of size, it can only be a woman's suitcase. I swear to you Onyankopon. You have a few things to explain to me. Only without a word of your absence and then you come to the funnel to quarter your women acquaintances here, he thinks.

He drives to the front door and in the distance sees three figures in the darkness who are apparently involved in a fight, but cannot see anything with just one functioning eye. Except that one person skillfully knocked the attacker to the ground. He whistles appreciatively to those who know how to defend herself. He has to think about his brat again, how they worked together really well for the first time in the Reis family coup. Good old days are his nostalgic thoughts. Then he hears an animated murmur. He clearly hears what was said and her name. There are Onyankopon and Gabi and a second woman. He recognizes her stoic voice unmistakably. His eyes widen and begin to shine.

I'm dreaming, it can't be! , is his thought and he feels his emotions, which he has been suppressing for many years, come up. He immediately sets off and pushes himself outside to the small group of people. Always faster, faster ...

Mikasa frees herself from Gabi's stormy embrace and then looks frustrated at the damage she has done and helps Onyankopon to get up, "I'm so sorry, Onyankopon!" Why does something like this always has to happen to her. She wants to sink into the ground. Best to get out of here, you're not looking for anything here, right? She brushes her skirt smoothly, then she sees Gabis and Onyankopon's faces, Onyankopon smiles knowingly and Gabi is close to tears. Both reveal in their own way that someone has to stand behind her.

She hears his deep voice: "Mikasa ?!" She turns to him and sees the captain walking towards her on shaky legs. Levi is simply too proud to drive up in a wheelchair the first time they meet in so many years and tries to receive her standing up, which he only half succeeds because his sick leg fails halfway. Mikasa sees that he is about to fall and catches him before he hits the ground. He hugs her tightly and can't believe that his brat is with him again.

He feels that this type of touch is inappropriate because he is too close to her luscious bust. His body gives him clear signals that he knows from his youth and has never allowed himself to give in to this need. He feels disgusted at the thought, but at the same time he missed her closeness so much. Mikasa makes no move to push him away on the contrary. She also seems to have missed his closeness and is holding him for the moment.

"Come on Gabi. We should leave the two of them alone. They will be all right, "Mikasa hears Onyankopon say softly to Gabi and with that they both disappear.

Mikasa then carefully puts Levi back in the wheelchair. Levi looks her up and down. She has grown a little. With her longer hair that goes up to her shoulder, her appearance is significantly more feminine. She is a little uncomfortable standing in front of him in this elevator. He just stares at her dreamily.

“What?” She asks him uncertainly, “should I change my clothes. I know it's a little unusual ... "

" No! Stay like that! ", He searches for the right words," it is appropriate. "He caresses her cheek carefully," you have changed. "

She looks shyly to the side, "Thank you, Captain!"

Levi grunts offended that she is addressing him with his former title and had hoped that she would have understood the hint in the last three letters. Maybe she doesn't dare to speak to him directly either, "Levi," he says. Mikasa remembers the wording of his last letters and how he said goodbye to her , “Capt…. Levi ... I wasn't sure how to address you in my next letter ... "He carefully takes her hands and he notices how delicate they are, a slight smile suggests itself on his lips, " we have cleared that up with that. Let's go. The roads are not safe at this time. "

So Mikasa pushes her former superior back into the shop. In which Falco and Gabi are already waiting for them. Falco approaches Mikasa, not so sure how to greet her. Mikasa knows the feeling of letting new strangers into her circle. Especially since she will be the new one in the group. She offers her hand to Falco as a greeting and he gratefully accepts it, "We haven't seen you for a long time, Falco!"

She also notices how tall he has become and it reminds her of her own height. Falco towers only a few centimeters above her. “Watch out , Falco! She can throw you to the ground without further ado, "jokes Gabi.

Mikasa is inevitably reminded of the Onyankopon incident. Ashamed, she holds a strand of hair in front of her face. Falco notices that Mikasa is embarrassing, "Gabi, that wasn't necessary." Gabi notices Mikasa's behavior when Falco makes a comment. She takes her hand, “don't worry about Onyankopon, he's recovering. Besides, he could have said something instead of touching you and he knows that himself. By the way, that looked so cool the way you threw him on the floor! ", She looks at Mikasa with shining eyes and understands that her remark from the moment was not meant to be angry.

Levi speaks up: “Leave her alone. She has a long journey behind her, " he turns to Mikasa, " you know them both from before. Oh yes, if Gabi talks too much. Just tell her to be quiet. "

"Hey! That's not nice, Levi! ", Protests Gabi," but something important has to be clarified. "A big grin forms on her lips, " where are you going to stay tonight? "

Mikasa is considering simply staying here is not appropriate for her. She really should have planned everything better and discussed this with Onyankopon. “I think I'll get a room in the next hotel…” Levi interrupts her quickly, “You won't!” He immediately notices that his words are too direct and scratches his neck, embarrassed, “I have a guest room upstairs . You can live in it as long as you want. ”Please forever! he thinks embarrassed.

Mikasa smiles gratefully at him for his offer and remembers what Onyankopon said to her: " Can you deal with the fact that he doesn't want to let you go as soon as he knows about you?" And this answer is easy for her to meet, "I like to stay with you." Levi smiles at Mikasa and he had that smile a long time ago. Mikasa saw it only once and her heart leaps a little, for the fact that this smile only apparently applies to her this time.

“Oh my god, Falco! Do you see that? ”, Gabi and Falco also seem to be surprised. Mikasa and Levi look over at the two of them and before they say anything, Levi raises the floor: “You two, what are you standing around there? Look up in the guest room again to make sure everything is clean, bring the suitcase upwards and then get out of here! Oh yes, come an hour later tomorrow, for staying longer today. "

After Gabi and Falco have finished their last task of the day, they say goodbye to Levi and Mikasa. Gabi says quietly to Mikasa conspiratorially and winks at her: "And you should warm each other's bed, right?" Mikasa doesn't really know what to say because of her embarrassment.

"Oi! Now finally go and make a good baby at home !!! “, Levi snorts at Gabi to say goodbye. With that, both of them are caught and both of them wave at them.

Mikasa looks after both of them and a grin happens to her: "So the two are engaged?"

Levi pours her a cup of tea, "seems so," he mentions casually. Mikasa looks at him curiously: “What about you? Have you found someone? ”She notices that Levi is getting nervous about the subject,“ tch ”she only hears and he rolls over to the kitchen to hide his red face. He thinks, I found you. But he feels, it is too early to talk to her about it. He starts washing the dishes to distract himself a little.

Mikasa sighs that the conversation is going nowhere and sips the tea, which tastes like fine dried oranges and rose petals. She remembers, White Beauty! And Armin's remark about Levi wanting to see her again and apparently trying to tell her with this tea. She tries to remember the other type of tea, Lovely Herbs. She realizes that he tried to share these teas with her. She is sorry that she was so blind and tried to downplay everything. She feels so stupid for her behavior. She goes to him in the tea kitchen and decides to help him wash up by drying the dishes.

"You don't have to do that, you are the guest here," he looks at her. "I know, but I like to do it," is her answer and just wants to spend time with him, even if it's just doing the dishes .

Levi looks thoughtful: “How do you like the tea? Do you like it? "

“I love it !” She blurts out. Levi looks at her with wide, shining eyes. Mikasa takes a strand of hair and covers her embarrassment with it: "I like it, thank you!"

Levi shows a slight smile on his face, “ it should too. Come on ‘I'll take you to your room.” He accompanies her to the stairs and shows her the direction of his bedroom. “It's the first door. You come towards it directly after the stairs, ”he explains to her.

" What about you? “, She asks and thinks, come with me! “I still have something to do in my study and am trying out a new type of tea. I guess it's going to be a long night for me, " he replied.

She looks at him again urgently, “but don't take it too long. Do you hear? ”Levi nods calmly to her and then she walks slowly upstairs. “Mikasa!” He says. She turns around and looks at him questioningly, "yes?" He looks at her with eyes full of emotions, "It's nice that you are here!" Mikasa gets red cheeks, "I'm happy too, Levi," and she goes to her guest room.

[ghostsunderstoodmysoul]

How talking to your plants might improve your happiness (Farah “The Fern” Dowling x Reader)

Fandom: Fate: The Winx Saga

Summary: You swore you would support your wife in sickness and in health. Unfortunately, she had other plans for your relationship and she made you a surprise. At the same time, she forgot that she had married a person who could not keep even a cactus alive. The marriage vow is now under threat.

A/N: Hello! To start with, I would like to say hello to anyone who wants to read this. While until recently I was quite often active as a reader and fanfics lover, now I decided to create something myself. The idea itself does not belong to me, the plot of this story is based on an absolutely brilliant post created by: @simplytheevebest. I am so grateful that she allowed me to write my own version of this story based on it.

I would also like to thank @multifandomfix who has been a writing inspiration for me for a long time and offered to help as a beta reader to increase your reading comfort.

Enjoy! :)

People face many difficulties and challenges in their lives. They raise doubts about the correctness of the decisions they made, which led them to a given moment.

Until now, I used to think that my life was going well, aside from functioning in a relatively dangerous reality, and I had nothing to regret myself, except when I had to admit to my wife that I accidentally flushed my wedding ring down the toilet. 

But yeah, so far I haven't had much to complain about, which has further aggravated my anxiety and stress in the present moment. Usually, in moments of doubt, I reached for some professional guide containing answers to the questions that haunt me. Sometimes I was looking for solutions on the Internet and thus I discovered how many people there are who know as little about life as I do. It happened to be uplifting, and I remembered it at times when all other methods had failed, and I had to refer the matter to my wife.

At this point, I was in a situation where I was trying to implement plan number three. With an emphasis on tried because all the signs in heaven and earth indicated that I would not succeed. What's more, I can bet on that wedding ring I pulled out of the sewer before, that the whole universe is now treating me like an idiot. It’s not every day you see a person persistently trying to get any answers from the fern sitting on the desk.

No, I'm not trying to solve a criminal case, and this plant isn't the prime suspect in a drug smuggling case at all. Although you never know with Farah, after five years together I don't think anything will surprise me anymore.

Oh yeah, Farah. My lovely wife, whose health and happiness are my top priorities in life. As a result of an unfortunate twist of events, she became my nuisance, because she took the form of things that I cannot take care of, no matter how hard I try.

At times I think that she did it on purpose to make fun of me. How else could I define the current situation in which the person turned into a fern is dependent on a human who would probably be able to kill artificial flowers?

I looked at the pot and tilted my head to judge the angle of the sunlight.

“Honey, could you please let me know if you are burning alive right now?" I asked with some uncertainty in my voice.

No reaction. I didn't even notice the slightest movement of the leaf that would mean… I'm not sure myself. Confirmation? Negation? Expressing your last will, moments before facing painful death at the hands of the worst florist in the history of the world?

There was a reason why we never gave each other flowers as a gift, as somehow my very person automatically took away all the plants' will to live.

However, the current situation was serious, so I armed myself with techniques to overcome my problems. They mostly relied on all the books I was able to collect, the knowledge of specialists on the Internet, and Terra's phone number on a speed dial should I inadvertently create a deadly threat. Which initially happened at least once a day, but with time I started to cope better with caring for the fern.

I wouldn't consider myself a specialist, or even an expert, but nothing has burst into flames - either from my magic or my incompetence.

I was already able to deal with this one particular type of plant, which gave me the opportunity to look for ways to restore Farah to her human form. What could have gone wrong?

5 minutes later

The students were just walking through the school corridors to move to their next classes or meet their friends during the break. There was no indication that anything would disturb the peace and quiet of the day.

Some of them, however, were close enough to the teachers' dormitory wing that they could hear a desperate scream.

“HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO CHANGE YOUR FORM? I CAN’T LOOK AFTER ANYTHING BUT FERNS!”

~.~.~.~

I studied the plant in front of me.

I've spent the last hour trying to find the species I'm dealing with. How did Farah choose the plant whose form she just took?

“My love, if you are able to control what flower you become,” I started, bringing an open book close to the pot, “then please, please turn into something easier to keep alive. According to this book, you are currently an azalea. The name may be cute, but do you realize that providing you with ideal conditions is almost impossible?"

The plant in front of me was still imperturbable, but I was sure Farah was laughing at me right now. Can plants make fun of you? My life has become a jumble of countless questions combined with a total lack of answers.

However, I realized that this is the moment when I have to face another dilemma.

Should Farah change her location? Would that mean moving somewhere that I can't keep an eye on? What's worse – should I give my wife a temporary vacation in a greenhouse or garden?

What does that say about me as a human?

Probably nothing good, and I myself will be reborn as a plant after death, and end up in the hands of my future heir. One who will inherit my stupidity and lack of talent for plants, which will make me follow the fate of many of those whom I have tried to take care of myself.

On the other hand, I should mainly be thinking about the present form of Farah. I looked at her and muttered under my breath.

“Hope you still enjoy traveling more than – wait for it – putting down roots in one place,” I said proudly, clearly finding my joke successful.

At that moment, one of the flowers of the azalea in front of me fell, and I swallowed nervously.

“This situation will end in divorce at best.” I sighed heavily and took Farah to another part of the school, hoping that she would at least consider it a trip on a par with flying to Iceland.

~.~.~.~

I felt like a proud but still incompetent parent. I was able to educate and learn a lot about the care and meaning of flowers. I had reached the stage where I felt equipt enough to face this challenge. Ben and Terra stopped seeing me in my pajamas in the middle of the night in a panic trying to get answers to new questions that kept multiplying.

No no, end of bad moments, I stopped posing a direct threat to my wife's health and life.

I had a set schedule of classes and activities that I did in her company so that she would not feel completely excluded. I was just returning from my classes to her office, where she had been staying for a week, after being turned into a peace lily. I decided that she has transformed into such an elegant plant to proudly welcome students and other guests.

So I was heading towards the office to clean up the paperwork in Farah’s company and eat a meal together, because it was the day of watering her.

Nothing could spoil my mood that day.

Except for one detail.

Upon entering my office, I quickly realized that Farah wasn't where I left her.

I took a deep breath and walked briskly towards the west wing. I knew our friend Saul should be there now. We recently agreed on alternating care to give Farah more variety in her free time. And she had too much of it and was starting to be picky about how she spent it.

I turned into a corridor on the left and almost collided with someone who was just passing by. I was relieved to recognize Saul, and without unnecessary prolongation, I asked the question that haunted me.

“Saul, did you take Farah with you to class today?”

The man looked at me a bit worried, then shook his head no. I suddenly felt faint.

We felt it would be best to ask students who sometimes helped with caring for her. We didn't have to look long, because before we got to their dormitories, we ran into Sky and Riven, holding a flowerpot with a peace lily in their hands.

I breathed a sigh of relief, then walked over to them and asked what the situation actually meant and why they abducted Farah without asking.

“We wanted to take her for a walk outside the school and show her what has changed over the last few months,” Sky replied, then added, “We're sorry for forgetting to mention it, but we couldn't find you.”

I nodded and took the pot with a lot of relief and little satisfaction that the boys had good intentions. But something didn’t feel right to me. I smelled the pot and noticed a fairly strong smell of tobacco or some similar substance.

The boys were already starting to make their way towards the other end of the corridor, so I called after them, “Guys, why do I get the impression that you smoked something in front of her?”

Sky quickly replied, “Riven wanted to see if, as a peace lily, she was actually purifying the air of toxic substances. If you were curious, the answer is yes!”

"Wait, WHAT?"

But they were already gone.

~.~.~.~

The sundew was standing proudly on Saul's desk, and it seemed as if she was staring at him.

I shrugged, letting him understand that in some ways he might have expected this to happen.

“I didn't say anything wrong,” he tried to defend himself, which probably only made the situation worse.

I sighed loudly, rolling my eyes in the process, “Saul, by this point you should know by now how important the no-spoiler rule is when it comes to Farah. The Winx girls showed her this series, and she was clearly drawn into the plot. You spoiled her fun for the next 15 episodes.”

The man felt bad, thinking that his chatter had spoiled the pleasure of watching some soap opera for his friend. It was evident on his face that he would like to apologize somehow and compensate for his mistake.

Meanwhile, I was walking towards the exit door with the intention of leaving the room.

“Wait a minute, where are you going?" Saul asked, clearly confused

“You brought her to this state, now it is your responsibility to provide her with food," I replied seriously, “You can also try to bribe her with music to change her form.”

I smiled broadly and as I left I added, “She has a taste for country recently, so... good luck, my dear!"

~.~.~.~

The Halloween party was an amazing experience. The students outdid themselves, preparing both decorations and original snacks. Loud, slightly spooky music was coming from the loudspeakers, which only intensified the atmosphere.

I reached for my glass of soda, which was a slightly weird green color. I decided that you only live once and at worst I might wake up in the morning in the form of an ogre.

I exchanged a word with a few people standing nearby and decided it was time to go back to my room.

On the way, I passed a few students who dressed for the occasion and used their skills to create beautiful makeup. I have barely recognized some of them. I decided that the next day I would ask Stella what makeup tools she used to look so convincing as a vampire.

I opened the door to my room and turned on the light. I headed towards the windowsill with a large pumpkin.

“I hope you were able to see anything out of the window. Forgive me for not taking you downstairs with me, but I was afraid someone would mistake you for a real pumpkin and start carving you,” I replied almost apologetically, because the very thought made me cringe.

I started to wash off my makeup, and when I was done, I looked at Farah with a big smile on my lips.

“I have good news for you. You have great timing with taking on new forms. Terra's cousin, Flora, returned to school. You probably remember her. She shared stories from her travels. She also told about a friend named Mirta. And I have more good news for you. There is a chance that you will regain your human form soon.”

I had the impression that the plant in front of me had taken more color. Just the thought of it as Farah's excitement made me smile to myself.

I put my hand on the pumpkin as if I wanted to stroke Farah's cheek, then added, “Luckily we're not part of some teen show. And you are definitely not played by a certain actress who currently has other professional commitments. So we'll see you again soon. But remember, no pressure. Take your time if you need it. I... We'll all wait as long as it takes for you.”