#also it's been a month since I drew this but I only just realised the other day I forgot kyo's fangs 😭

[momentarysilence]

I was happy to see my fave boy and fave girl collab one more time 🥺

[afterglowkatie]

secret admirer | l.w.

leah williamson x reader | 1.4k | leah had been on the receiving end of your anonymous letters not having the courage to talk to her until you get caught out

ˏˋ°•*⁀arsenal/lioness!reader - a little leah fic bc mainly leah and alexia have been living rent free in my head all day today :') but yeah! also i work 10 hour days the rest of the week so a little something until i can not be too tired to write again!

‘Ooh, Leah’s got a secret admirer,’ Keira sang out, teasing Leah while they crowded around the bouquet of flowers and note that was left sitting in Leah’s cubby. Keira took the note from Leah’s hand reading it out loud, if any one was around they’d be able to listen in to the contents.

For the last few months Leah had been finding little notes of admiration left around in places that only she would be able to find. The notes started appearing around in places when she was anywhere with arsenal. At training, their home games and also their away games. At first she thought it might’ve been a supporter anonymously giving her support and admiration from afar. It could’ve looked like that especially with some of the shorter notes being pretty generic, ‘your laugh is my favourite sound’ and ‘your smile is pretty just like you’. 

Until the longer notes made their appearance, taking the place of the shorter notes. After a month of leaving the shorter notes around for Leah to find, she hadn’t figured out it was you which made you decide to be more brave. Well as brave as you could be hiding behind anonymous letters and gifts. Your letters got longer and more personal and in depth which made Leah clue in that it wasn’t a fan and the likelihood it was some crazed stalker was quite low. 

With how personal some of the things were and that she was still receiving flowers and notes even while on camp with England, Leah started considering that it was one of her teammates who Keira had deemed her secret admirer. Even if she was unsure of who was sending and writing her these notes, Leah still thought some of them were beautifully written and even gave her the comfort she needed especially after tough games.

‘I really have no idea who is leaving these for me. Could it be someone here?’ Leah voiced the thought she had been having for a little while now, that it was one of her teammates. They both pondered the thought, realising that it was probably the only reasonable explanation on how these letters always seemed to reach Leah no matter where she was.

‘Our next mission, finding out who your secret admirer is,’ Keira laughed, slightly wiggling her eyebrows, teasing Leah even more.

‘Our next mission is training,’ Leah rolled her eyes, shaking her head and gently pushing at her best friend.

Already out on the pitch you watched as the pair walked out joining the rest of the team before training started. Ever since you met Leah you had been infatuated with her. The way she was kind and helpful to you when you started at arsenal and when you got your first call up for the lionesses, it instantly drew you in. The only problem was that you had no idea how to properly talk to her. It wasn’t unknown that Leah can be intimidating, she definitely intimidated you. Whenever you could be around her within a group setting you were always there, even from slightly afar your feelings towards Leah continued to grow. 

It frustrated you how you didn’t even know how to befriend Leah, only being able to be around her whenever other girls from either team were there. At first you weren’t even going to leave her the letters, only writing them for yourself as a way to get your feelings out. Feeling like you would implode from how greatly you were feeling for Leah, luckily writing it out had helped you. Unlucky for you that one of the letters had slipped out and fallen in a place where Leah would find it. While you never wrote your name on any, all the letters were addressed to Leah so there was no mistaking that it was for her when she eventually found it. 

When you saw Leah holding up the coloured paper you knew you had used to write out your feelings, your heart started to race. Immediately trying to think of a way you could get far away from Leah just in case. But the small smile that ghosted her lips melted your heart a little. So you continued to leave more hoping that same smile would always make its appearance, wanting nothing more than to make sure Leah was happy. In some way you could still be in her life.

Nights before matches weren’t great for you, always ending up struggling to sleep from the build up of nerves. Eventually you’d be able to push the nerves away enough to be able to sleep but tonight proved to be the hardest you’ve faced since your first national camp. Finding yourself scribbling out a little note for Leah as a way to distract you from your nerves at the match the next day. 

Not wanting to keep the letter on you knowing it would be more risky with everyone on top of each other in the hotel and thinking everyone would be asleep by now you decided to deliver the letter. Sneaking out of your room and down the hallway towards the room you knew Leah was staying in, you made sure to be quiet enough so no one would wake up and find you out in the hallway at this time knowing you couldn’t make up a lie to save your life.

Though you didn’t account for Leah to still be awake having gotten lost in all different kinds of puzzle games on her phone. You shuffled around a little outside the door to her room contemplating whether you should actually slide the letter underneath the door or throw it out and make your way back to your own room. 

Leah had heard some noises outside the door in the hallway and had gotten up to check it out, to see if it was any of her teammates needing help. She was about to open the door when she saw the familiar coloured paper and knew it was another letter. You were still standing outside the door lost in your thoughts, wishing you had more courage to actually talk to Leah, when you suddenly came face-to-face with the girl that clouded your thoughts. Leah’s face matching the same surprise and shock as your own.

‘You were the one who wrote me all these letters?’ Leah was the first on to break the silence between the two of you, quickly stepping out into the hallway beside you and quietly shutting the door, ‘Why didn’t you just come talk to me?’ 

Leah’s eyebrows furrowed a little. While she had caught your interest, little did you know that you had caught Leah’s interest. She found the way you could instantly light up the room and change a sullen atmosphere into a lighter more joyful one quite endearing. Always wanting to get to know you and talk to you more but she could never seem to get you alone, always with a group of people whenever the two of you were around each other. Leah always watched you from afar, she’d become quite proud of the footballer you’d become since she first met you. After a tough match she’d always be looking around wanting to catch a glimpse of the smile you’d always be wearing to try and cheer everyone up. Leah was relieved knowing you had been the one writing her the letters.

‘I think I practised talking to you and asking you out a couple hundred times in the mirror,’ You sighed out, softly laughing at how ridiculous you felt sharing this with Leah. But she’d already read so many letters from you so you might as well confess everything now, ‘But anonymous notes was all the courage I could muster,’ You whispered out, looking around a little fidgeting with your fingers.

‘You practised asking me out? On yourself?’ Hearing the amusement in Leah’s voice, you looked up seeing her slightly smirking at you.

‘Of course that’s what you focused on,’ You shook your head, a small smile starting to creep it’s way onto your face when it suddenly dropped and you took a deep breath, ‘Well Le, now you know that it’s me…would you want to go out with me some time?’ You raised your eyebrow in question, your eyes glimmering with hope that Leah would agree, hoping that maybe she felt the same way.

‘Hm let me see,’ Leah pulled a fake thinking face, but it made your heart deflate not realising she was setting you up and just messing around with you. Leah saw your face drop and instantly reached for your hands, interlocking your fingers with hers while she smiled softly at you, ‘Oh stop the frown, I’d love to go on a date with you,’ 

[reasonsforhope]

"When Ghana’s parliament voted to decriminalise suicide and attempted suicide in March, Prof Joseph Osafo felt a weight lift from his shoulders.

Osafo, head of psychology at the University of Ghana, had been engaged in a near 20-year battle to abolish the law – brought in by the British – which stated that anyone who attempts suicide should face imprisonment or a fine.

“It was a very good feeling. I felt like a certain burden had been removed. I was extremely elated,” he remembers. “Then the next morning, I realised we had a lot of work to do.”

Four countries decriminalised suicide in just the past year

Ghana is one of four countries to have decriminalised suicide in the past year – Malaysia, Guyana and Pakistan are the others. More could soon follow, which campaigners say is a sign of greater awareness and understanding of mental health. Kenya and Uganda have filed petitions to overturn laws and members of the UN group of Small Island Developing States have committed to decriminalise. Discussions are also being held in Nigeria and Bangladesh.

“There seems to be a domino effect taking place,” says Muhammad Ali Hasnain, a barrister from United for Global Mental Health, a group calling for decriminalisation. “As one country decriminalises suicide, others start to follow suit.”

“It is quite unusual,” adds Sarah Kline, the organisation’s chief executive. “It’s a huge sign of progress and an important step forward for the populations most at risk, as well as the countries as a whole.” ...

A large number of laws were introduced by the British during colonial rule. Suicide was decriminalised in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the 1960s – it was never criminalised in Scotland...

The results of these punishments can be “devastating” and present “a huge barrier” to addressing the problem, says Natalie Drew, a technical officer with the mental health policy and service development team at the World Health Organization. Health experts and advocates argue that suicide should be treated as a public health issue rather than a crime.

Criminalising suicide denies people the right to access health services and discriminates against them because of something they’re experiencing, Drew adds. Research shows that in countries where suicide has been decriminalised, people can seek help for mental health and rates tend to then decline.

Next Steps

In September, the WHO is due to release a guide on decriminalising suicide for policymakers, with explanations of how countries have managed it...

“[Ghana’s decision] should have an impact on the work ongoing in other countries, especially in the Africa region,” says Osafo. Within the past couple of months, he has set up a mental health working group with representatives from about 20 African countries, and one of the biggest issues on the agenda is decriminalisation of suicide, he says. “Nigeria is active, Cameroon is active … Kenya has joined and is doing fantastic work. We have Uganda. People have been asking us how we did it.”

Since suicide was decriminalised in Malaysia last month, Anita Abu Bakar, founder and president of the Mental Illness Awareness and Support Association (Miasa), has already seen things change. Crisis response teams and helplines are expanding, and money from the mental health budget is being given to organisations who work in the community. “This is the shift we’re so happy to see,” she says. “It was such an archaic law.”

She adds: “I’m a person with lived experience. What does decriminalisation mean to people like me? We feel supported, we feel this conversation can go to a different level. Obviously decriminalisation is not the only way to prevent suicide, but it’s a big one. I’m happy for this progressive move – better late than never. I’m excited to see what happens next, not just for Malaysia but for the rest of us.”"

-via The Guardian, July 20, 2023

[emssturniolo]

phone charger

pairing: christopher sturniolo x reader

summary: going to get your charger from chris's room escalated to a love confession

a/n: not me spending two hours on this

you and the triplets had become friends last year after meeting at a movie premiere. you were sat next to nick, who knew who you were, and immediately became best friend with him and madi, who was sitting next to him. the movie had taken a long time to start, and in that half an hour you got to know nick, madi, and nick's two triplet brothers, matt and chris. you had exchanged numbers at the end of the event and kept in touch, which eventually led to you five become extremely close friends. you weren't originally from la, but you spent quite some time there, and it quickly become more of a frequent habit to stay longer as you grew closer to your new friends and spent your time in la at their house, instead of staying at an airbnb. the five of you were inseparable, and as much as you loved the first few months of getting to know each other, you enjoyed their company much better now, a year later, that you knew all of them inside out. yet, though you loved all of them equally, there was something which drew you to chris from the very start

you hadn't taken notice of it that first day, but you eyes kept drifting behind nick and madi while you were talking to either of them to catch a quick glance at chris. the way he was so effortlessly angelic to you was baffling, and that feeling of wanting to get to know him never left you, even now that you were close friends. it took you a while to admit to yourself that you were in love with him, but once you did the attraction that drew you to him only became stronger. you couldn't explain it, really. it was just there. your body became dependant on the warm feeling he gave you, but you had no idea how to tell him that without freaking him out

right now, you were sitting on the couch of their living room in their house in LA on your laptop, while the boys were out filming a car video. you checked your phone for the time: it was around two in the morning. you realised your phone was about to die, so you got up to get your charger but you couldn't find it. remembering you had given it to chris earlier that day since he had left his in the car, you went to his room to get it. as soon as you entered his room you got a comforting feeling from the strong scent of his cologne. it was a quest to say the least, to find your charger in the mess of his room. while you were looking for it, you heard a sleepy ‘hey’ come from behind you. you jumped and turned around:

“shit chris, you scared me!” you said, heart still beating fast from the fright he gave you. he laughed tiredly, and walked to the bed to set his phone down. “came in here to grab my charger. how was filming?” you asked, noticing his tired demeanor. “good,” he replied “just super tired. didn't sleep much last night..” you furrowed your eyebrows, asking him another question, “how come?”. he sat on the bed and closed his eyes: “i don't know, i couldn't shut my brain off” you gave him a sad smile, internally wishing you could have been lying next to him to comfort him, little did you know you were the one keeping him up

see the thing was, you had accepted the things you felt for him, he however, did not know what to do with the things he felt for you. he was so down bad in love with you, and neither of you had ever experienced romantic feelings for anyone before, but he didn't know how to handle it. it killed him to think that there was a chance that he could lose you because he felt something he couldn't control. yet, it also killed him to think that if he didn't do anything about the way he felt, he could still lose you to someone else. so he was just left confused, because he was a little slower with realising that what he felt for you was more than just close-platonic-friendship-love

he patted the space next to him on the bed and you obliged, setting the charger you initially went in for down on his desk and crawling next to him on his bed. you wrapped his arms around your torso and rested his head on your stomach. you melted to his touch, but thought nothing of it, since he always got very affectionate at night. your hands found their way to his hair automatically, like they were made with the intention to do so. you lightly scratched his scalp and he let out a content sigh. in that exact moment, you wished you could see the yourself and him from another person's perspective, and paint a picture of the two of you to hand up in the louvre, because to you, this was the most perfect piece of art. and it truly was, unbeknownst to the two of you: just two oblivious lovers molding together by the touch of one another

you were quickly brought out of your train of thought when chris lifted his head to look at you, his pupils so dilated they had almost fully swallowed the blue. he smiled softly and spoke in a fragile voice: “i love you” he said. his words shocked you to say the least, but you tried to keep calm. “i love you too” your voice was shaky, but you hoped he wouldn't notice

“i want to say something but i don't know if i should, don't want you to hate me”

“i won't can hate you, chris” you say, slightly giggling

“not even if i told you i couldn't sleep last night because of you, like in a good way?”

“what do you mean?” your cheeks started to tint pink

“you know what i mean, goof. don't make me say it”

“i might, but i'd like to heart you say it”

“stopppp” he dragged out, covering his face with one of his hands. the other still resting between his head and you stomach

“no, say it” you giggled as much as you could, since he was still lying on top of you

“i love you, you goof. i'm really tired right now but i just can't stand not being able to kiss you when i'm tired and sleep in your arms like this...”

“yeah?” you teased him a bit, the way he teases you whenever you're tired

“i want to be your boyfrienddd” he says, his lips melting into a smile

“you can be my boyfriend,” you said “but only if i can be your girlfriend”

“word” he said “now stop talking kid, i'm tired”

without a word, you shifted your bodies so you were both under the covers. your heads resting on his pillow, you gave him a small kiss on his lips (which were soft, and perfectly made to fit yours) and you spent the night there, your phone long forgotten to be charged, but you appreciated your phone for having the need to be charged, or else none of this would have happened

[poppadom0912]

Would it be possible to please request a Halstead!Sibling piece where the reader is the sibling, and during the late hours of the night, they get a really heavy nosebleed, so they come out of their bedroom to Jay and Will in the living room watching some TV with a few beers, and all hell breaks loose when they see reader is covered in blood and can't get the nosebleed to stop? Thank you!

A/N: I feel like I haven't written in years so I apologise in advance if this is rubbish. I also apologise for not writing this earlier, this was requested quite a while ago.

I am also aware I have posted in nearly three months but life is very stressful. I promise I'll try posting more once all my exams are over which is technically mid June. I'll try to get out all my finished drafts so you guys aren't starving.

Warnings: Blood, fainting/nausea, mentions of hospitals.

*****

For once in a long time, things were good.

Jay was mentally handling things and was starting a relationship with his detective partner whose name you kept forgetting but you remembered how pretty she was. Will wasn't making Ms Goodwin's life miserable and he was accepting that he was moving on from Natalie. And with you, school was better than ever with your grades and no longer letting anxiety stop your life.

Overall, things were the best they've been since your dad died and you couldn't be happier.

Neither of your brothers were at work and upon your incessant pleas, the three of you found yourself settling on the same sofa watching a movie.

At some point, you had to excuse yourself when your best friend messaged you in a rush about homework that you completely forgot existed.

Ignoring the darkness of the night and the comfy pajamas you wore, you completed the homework to the best of your abilities and shared it with her when she expressed her struggle.

Eventually, you lost track of time and found yourself tucked under your duvet reading the intense story on your kindle; homework safely in a folder in your bag for the next day.

Totally immersed in the heating up plot, you were oblivious to the very clear signs that you would usually catch onto had you been much more alert.

You only ever realised what was happening when several single droplets of blood plopped onto kindle screen, obscuring you from reading any further.

Confused, you let go of the kindle, letting it sit on your covered lap, your hands went up to your face, trying to find the source of blood but deep down you kinda already knew.

Removing your fingers from your nose, you glanced down and sighed in defeat, shoulders slumping at the sight of blood coating your fingers.

Rolling your eyes in annoyance, you kicked off your sheets and scanned your bedside table for the tissue box you always kept because of you hayfever and nosebleeds like this. But, it wasn't there and that threw you off because it was literally there the other day.

Huffing, your mind drew a blank at what to do as blood continued to fall steadily but it seemed that as the seconds ticked away, the stream only increased in speed.

In hopes of not ruining the rug under your feet, you held up your shirt to your nose, using it just like how you would tissue in this case.

Then, all of a sudden, your nose felt ticklish and the urge to sneeze became all too strong that you couldn't even say pineapple to prevent yourself from sneezing.

With no control, your grip on your shirt fell and you sneezed thrice. The pain in your nose throbbing and stinging, your eyes pricking with tears from the onslaught of everything happening all of once.

You were far too gone now. Dragging your eyes to your alarm clock, it took you more than a few seconds to read the time and work out whether or not Jay let yet but then you remembered Jay wouldn't have left without bidding you goodbye.

Well, even if he had gone which he should've seeing as it was nearly 1am, Will would've been the most useful in this situation.

Opening your door with your elbow so you wouldn't get blood on the handle, you walked towards the living room even if you were in a daze. You knew the layout of the apartment by the back of your hand.

Your feet pattered against the wooden flooring, alerting the other two inhabitants of the apartment that you were entering. Taking into account the late time, Will turned around ready to question why you were up at such a time on a school night when he froze upon laying eyes on you.

"Y/N? What happened?" Will asked straight away, getting onto his feet and coming up to you, lifting your chin in his hand so he could get a good look at your face.

Jay turned around to see why Will was asking you such a question when his eyes widened in alarm at your figure, pajamas practically drenched in blood and blood smearing your nose and upper lip.

"What the hell!" Jay shot up. "Why are you covered in blood?!"

"I'm having a nosebleed." You said plainly, boredly gesturing to your very bloody nose that Will was inspecting. "Duh."

"Jay, can you go grab my bag?" Will asked the middle Halstead sibling, not once taking his eyes off you.

Without any rebuttal, Jay did as the doctor said but not without mumbling under his breath about how using manners would get people so far in life.

"I have no idea. One second I'm reading and the next I'm bleeding everywhere." You shrugged, answering Will's question. "And then I sneezed three times."

Will hummed, your chin grasped lightly in one hand while the other was held out to Jay. Will asked Jay for certain things which he was given without a second thought.

"You most likely burst a vessel when you sneezed which made it much worse." Will said so nonchalantly, not at all bothered by the blood that was staining the gloves he put on with way too much ease.

"Alright, just hold that there for a few minutes." Your oldest brother told you, letting you take over from where he was holding the gauze. "Let's sit you down but don't get blood anywhere, I cleaned yesterday."

You looked at him dumbfounded but followed him to sit down anyways, Jay scoffing in disbelief at his words.

"Wow, you love me so much." You said sarcastically, a tight lipped smile on your chapping lips as you went back and forth with snarky remarks.

"This is a lot of blood though Y/N." Will addressed seriously, looking at just how much blood was covering your pajamas. "How long have you been bleeding for?"

"Like literally two or three minutes." You gave a very rough estimation, grimacing as you actually looked at the damage on your clothes, groaning in disbelief. "Ugh, these are my favourite pjs."

"Don't worry about that." Jay said, watching you closely from behind Will's shoulder so he wasn't in the way. "You dirtied your sheets or anything?"

You hummed in thought, squinting as you tried to remember. "I got blood on my kindle but I don't know about my bed."

"I'll go check." Jay allocated himself the job, finding himself useless as Will wasn't going to remove himself from your side.

"Okay, let me take a look." Will said under his breath as he carefully took the bloodied gauze away from you so he could replace it with a new one.

It was only a few seconds period of having nothing for the blood but it seemed that it wasn't dripping as it was. Alas, the uncomfortable urge to sneeze overcame you and you found yourself overwhelmed with the need to sneeze.

Without even registering what was happening, you sneezed twice, covering your mouth with your inner elbow instinctively.

You groaned, dragging it out at the sight of blood on the sleeve of your cotton shirt. Yep, there was definitely no chance of salvaging it now.

"Ooo, okay." Will winced, being as gentle but using as much force necessary when pinching your nose. "Either you're getting the flu or your hay fevers suddenly acting up in the winter."

Your shoulders slumped against the back of the chair, tired with your bleeding nose that wouldn't stop. At this rate, you'd be up all night because of your stupid nose.

"Woah!" Jay exclaimed, freezing in his steps as he entered the kitchen, eyeing the new mess that he luckily missed out on seeing. "What'd I miss?"

"I'm going to die."

"She's not going to die."

"Jay, Will's lying." You whined like a baby, dropping your head in exaggeration. "I'm going to bleed out and not live to see either of you get married. What a miserable life."

Both your brothers rolled their eyes at your dramatic self. Sharing a knowing look, having a silent conversation with just their eyes you groaned again.

"I want black flowers at my wedding and I want Trudy to do my eulogy because at least she'll miss me." You said, starting your funeral arrangements very seriously despite what your brothers were thinking.

"Perfect, I'll go on holiday then."

"You're not going to die Y/N."

You sighed dramatically, your voice was nasally, as if you had a severe blocked nose when in reality, it was just a really bad nose bleed that you were trying to stop. "This sucks."

"Yes it does but as long as you don't sneeze or blow your nose, you'll be fine." Will said, tossing the bloodied gauze and replacing it with another, letting go when you held it on your own.

"This is going to be a long night."

[xo-rihanna]

Forget Him Part 2 - Neteyam Sully

A/N - Oh my fucking god its been like too many months since I've written something, god damn I apologise. I've been going through a bit of a storm lately and genuinely forgot that I had this account and these drafts🤭 I’ve had a few submissions so I’ll be getting started on them soon🫡 ALSO I FEEL LIKE THE ENDING OF THIS IS SHIT AND IF IT IS PLS LET ME KNOW AND I'LL REWRITE IT OR SOMETHING THANK YOU

All characters are aged up. Warnings - arguing, swearing, p in v, oral (f receiving), fighting, Lo’ak is a dick but I’ll make up for it I promise🫶🏻 also this is not proof read so ignore any spelling mistakes or errors🩷 MDNI

"You're mine now." Neteyam whispered against your bare skin. The thick wilderness enclosing you gave the impression that it was just the two of you on the whole of Pandora. Just you and Neteyam, in your own bubble of lovesick air and wet kisses. You hummed gently as Neteyam once again found your nipple and took it into his mouth, your fingers found his braids and threaded themselves into them.

In the fog of the moment, you couldn't shake away what Loak's reaction to this would be. Rage is all you could think of. Red hot rage, no doubt he'd start on Neteyam straight away. You had no regrets, you realised in your first kiss with Neteyam that you'd be in love with him all along but you couldn't wash the guilt building in a pit in your stomach.

Like an instinct, Neteyam's firm hand found your hot cheek and his thumb stroked against the soft skin gently knowing your thoughts were creeping up on you. "Don't think about him, Y/n." He breathed into your neck, planting kisses along your jawline. Your body submitted to him in ways it never did with Lo'ak and you relaxed under the gentle rain of kisses.

Neteyam knew your body immediately and you finally understood the meaning of being someone's mate. You were emotionally, mentally and physically on the same level as him, and you now understood why you never mated with Lo'ak. You weren't compatible, you shared only a common sexual desire which could never be quenched. With Neteyam you were whole, you would never go thirsty. Lo'ak had some maturing to do but Neteyam was already there and that's what you needed.

Neteyam's eyes glinted and he rose, gently settling you on the forest floor. His fingers trailed your body, over every bioluminescent freckle and fluttered around the strings of your loincloth. You hadn't even noticed the slick pooling beneath it. A warm fire kindled in your womb and the thirst to feel him inside you crashed over you. Neteyam smiled, your desire for him was evident in your eyes which looked into his desperately. "Patience, tiyawn." He savoured every second of this, watching how your body reacted to his touch. Wanting this night to last forever.

With his eyes locked on yours, he took his time to undo your loincloth and drag it down your legs and finally completely off, disregarding it in the wilderness. You drew a sharp breath as the cool night air hit your bare core. Neteyam was almost in a trance, his breath hitching in his throat. He parted your legs, and kissed your stomach. "Don't be afraid to be loud." He gave you a small grin as you rolled your eyes and answered, "You wish, Teyam."

With a strong hold on your thighs, Neteyam explored your soaked pussy with his tongue. Tasting the nectar of your body and finding out exactly what you liked. Your sweet moans and whimpers forced their way from your throat. Your back arched off the cold forest floor and you clung to Neteyam's braids in desperation. Neteyam’s iron grip on your thighs made it impossible to escape his beautiful tongue as it worked on your sopping core. Your cries filled the humid air and Neteyam moaned as your juices filled his mouth and followed lusciously down to your cheeks, finding just as much pleasure in this as you did.

“Holy shit, Neteyam! I’m gonna cum!” You managed to let out these words between your uncontrollable moans, feeling a coil tightening in your stomach. Neteyam hummed and the vibration fluttered against your sensitive clit which was being rolled against his tongue, sending throbs of pleasure through your body. Your legs began to tremble and your mouth hung open in bliss as your release washed over you. You came into Neteyam’s welcoming mouth and he lapped up the excess like a thirsty puppy. When he resurfaced, his eyes were golden, the lust practically spilling out of them as they locked on your own which fluttered as you came down from your high. The evidence of your orgasm was still dripping luxuriously down his chin.

The warm fire in your womb was now raging and the pleasure from your first orgasm made you hungry for another. Neteyam released your thighs and they wrapped around his waist, pleading for his touch. A grin found his lips and they found yours, the desire to feel you around him now evident in his eagerness. “Think you can take me, baby?” His voice was cocky and you bit your lip, nodding your head.

“Use your words, yawne.” Your pussy clenched around nothing and you moaned at how he was dragging this out. “Yes Teyam, now please fuck me I can’t wait any longer.” The connection from your bond heightened your emotions and you could feel yourself losing it. Neteyam’s eyes darkened and while one hand cupped the side of your face, admiring your beauty in the reflecting light of the bioluminescent plants, the other untied his loincloth and let it drop to the ground. His cock sprung up already dripping pre cum.

Out of curiosity, you peered down at it and found that while he wasn’t much longer then Lo’ak, he was almost twice as thick. You shuddered, that’s never gonna fit. Neteyam must have read your face because he kissed you comfortingly and started to gently run his tip between your wet folds, “Don’t look so scared, I won’t ever hurt you.” He assured you. After making sure his cock was covered in as much of your slick as possible, he pushed himself gently into you. Only allowing the tip, to let yourself start to adjust. Your back arched significantly off the thick forest floor and a shocked gasp escaped your plump lips.

Neteyam groaned watching your face screw up in pleasure, but remained composed and resisted the temptation to slide the rest of his length into you. The hot feeling of being stretched to the brim quickly subsided and pleasure took over. You whined and wrapped your legs strongly around Neteyam’s waist trying to pull him further into you.

Neteyam chuckled and gave you what you want, “Someone’s needy.” He groaned. He was giving you slow, hard thrusts. Sweet sounds escaped your mouth when his hips made contact with your skin, a small slapping sound filtering into the echo of the wilderness. “Neteyam please don’t- I need you so bad.” Your eyebrows knitted as frustration set in, desperate for him to pick up the pace.

Neteyam hummed and kissed your neck, sucking at the skin so dark purple hickeys formed. Marking you as his. Neteyam’s slow thrusts began to quicken, pushing himself into you until he had nothing left to give. His tip kissed at your sweet spot effortlessly. Immediately, you became a hot mess under him. Your soft whimpers turned into intense moans and you felt your stomach bulge with every thrust.

Neteyam watched you in awe as he admired the faces you made, his own pleasure rippling through him. He groaned and felt a shudder of pleasure hit every nerve in his body, your beautiful faces we’re gonna send him to Eywa. “Fuck you’re so pretty tìyawn.” He moaned, unwrapping your legs from his waist and lifting them to his shoulders, thrusting passionately into you as you practically screamed his name into the night.

“Fuck Neteyam! You’re s-so deep!” You cried, your stomach felt tight like it couldn’t take anymore of Neteyam’s pounding.

“I know, I know baby. But this is what you wanted wasn’t it? You want to cum all over my dick, hm?” His voice was like velvet and his words sent you closer to your release. Neteyam rubbed his face into the crook of your neck biting down gently as he fucked into you relentlessly, your walls tightening around him was driving him crazy. Your hands clawed at his back, scratching at the beautiful blue skin.

“Neteyam p-please I’m gonna cum!” You moaned, losing yourself as your legs started to shake on his shoulders.

Neteyam nodded, biting his own lip as the pain from your scratches and the pleasure from his thrusting was threatening to finish him. “Cum baby. Cum all over my fucking dick.” He commanded.

With a loud trail of moans and whimpers, your legs began to shake violently. Your stomach contracted and you gushed all over his dick. Neteyam followed swiftly after, groaning as his thick cum coated your walls. He thrusted lazily to help you through your high before withdrawing, a river of cum oozing out of you, and collapsing onto the forest floor next to you.

His arms found you and brought you to lay on his chest, his heart thumped softly in your ear. A sudden tiredness washed over you and you almost fell asleep on Neteyam’s warm chest. “Neteyam.” You whispered.

Neteyam’s ears perked at your voice and he hummed in response. “I love you.” You murmured. A massive smile found its way to Neteyam’s face and he kissed the top of you head sweetly, soaking in your scent. “I love you too, tìyawn.” He told you.

The stars twinkled down onto you as you took a moment to just appreciate the night together. It couldn’t be more perfect. “I just wanted to tell you that before your likely death at the hands of Lo’ak when we go back.” You sighed, you didn’t want to go back. You were happy in your little bubble with Neteyam.

“Not gonna happen. I just got you, I’m not letting him ruin that.” He laughed slightly before sitting up and running his eyes over the marks he made on you.

You spent another hour cleaning each other up. Bathing each other in a hot spring nearby. You turned Neteyam around to run water over his back and gasped slightly when you saw the sight of his marked back. Hot pink scratches ran down his skin, and you traced them gently. “Don’t you dare apologise. I like when you mark me. It’s fair game. Plus it’ll just remind Lo’ak of who has you now.” You smiled and kissed his back tenderly.

You watched Neteyam intently as he cleaned you up, taking extra care when lifting your legs. You had never seen Lo’ak be so gently with you, but every movement from Neteyam was delicate. The way he wrung out the cloth that he washed you with, his fingers against your skin, the way he patted you dry. You didn’t think it was possible to fall even more in love with this man, but you were.

And when you finally had to return to the village, Neteyam engulfed you in his warm body as you flew on his ikran to keep you warm against the biting wind. As you saw the flickering fires of your village approaching in the distance, a nervous feeling settled into your stomach. “Can you stay with me tonight?” You asked Neteyam, just loud enough for him to hear above the flapping of wings.

Neteyam kissed your temple and nodded, knowing you must have felt nervous about confronting Lo’ak. After a few minutes, all the while your stomach churned with anxiety, Neteyam landed his ikran softly in front of your lonely hut. “We don’t have to tell Lo’ak tonight baby. I’ll stay with you and we can just tell him tomorrow.” Neteyam proposed, stroking your arm comfortingly before jumping gracefully onto the ground and helping you down.

You nodded, feeling some unease evaporate. You took Neteyam’s hand as you led the way into your hut. You quickly realised Neteyam has never really been in your bedroom. You blushed at the thought of him seeing your childhood toys you kept for sentimental reasons. As you opened the flap and stepped into your main space, your smile fell as you saw Lo’ak sat on your couch, glaring daggers into you.

Neteyam walked in after you and was just as shocked to see Lo’ak. Lo’ak smiled at his brother, “Thanks for bringing her home bro. You can go now.” He told his brother, his gaze returning back to you. How he hadn’t noticed your hands intertwined together you didn’t know but you were just waiting for him to explode.

“Where have you been Y/n?” Lo’ak asked, stretching I comfortably. It made you mad, seeing how comfortable he was intruding your home when you thought you had made it clear earlier you didn’t want him here. “Lo’ak I think we need to talk.” Neteyam spoke for you.

Lo’ak caught glimpse of your hands wrapped together and his chest visibility shuddered. You could see his jaw clench from where you were stood. To your surprise, he laughed gently as he stood up, his braids tied back in a ponytail. He approached Neteyam and pushed him slightly on the shoulder with a smile firm on his lips still, “Did you fuck my girl?” His voice was like venom and you felt the anticipation of a fist fight lingering in the air.

“Lo’ak please-“ You tried to push Lo’ak gently away from your mate. His skin was hot against your skin like it always was when he was raging. Neteyam pushed you back with his arm protectively, his eyes locked on his little brother. Lo’ak eyes faltered on the dark marks on your neck and chest, the sudden scent of his brother on your skin now pungent in the hot air. Lo’ak lipped his bottom lip. “Lo’ak we need to talk like adults here.” Neteyam spoke calmly but you could feel a hint of a threat in his voice.

Lo’ak nodded and smiled, it was a smile you recognised, a smile he gave when he was about to blow. “Talk like adults. Mhm. Okay. That’s fine.” He finished his sentence with a firm punch to Neteyam’s jaw, sending him stumbling back before regaining his balance.

“Don’t fucking touch her! She’s mine! Hear me! Mine.” Lo’ak roared, veins in his arm popping with rage. Neteyam dropped his jaw, moving it to assess any injuries. He knew his brother never intended to hurt anyone, he was a rebellious teenager who couldn't control his anger. He just needed some guidance. Still, he couldn't lie and say that it didn't sting. "Lo'ak enough! Please. We are mated, its done! There's nothing you can do now. I love him." Your voice softened as you reached the end of your words.

Hearing the word "mated" was a slap in the face to Lo'ak. The severity of the situation set in. He watched as you rushed to Neteyam, checking him over affectionately. As much as he hated to admit it, it felt right. He had no intention of mating with you, he couldn't give you what you wanted and he couldn't love you as much as Neteyam could. It was like you said, he had some growing to do.

"Y-you're mated?" He said softly, like he was trying to get it through his head. Neteyam nodded, "Yes Lo'ak. I'm sorry, but I don't regret it." He told his brother. You felt guilty, like you'd abandoned Lo'ak when he needed you. You bit your lip and wrapped your arms around him, allowing him to hug you. Lo'ak felt the realisation and buried his head into your neck despite the scent of your new mate flooding his nose. "I'm sorry Lo'ak. You'll make a woman very happy someday." You let him go and smiled, kissing his cheek innocently.

Lo'ak smiled ever so slightly, nodding to his brother. This didn't rid him of the betrayal he was feeling nor the anger which was now more directed at himself but he had come to terms with it. It was Eywa's will.

"We'll talk later?" Neteyam suggested to his brother, wanting to mend things over. Lo'ak nodded, looked to you and smiled before walking himself from your hut leaving whatever feelings he had for you with it.

Neteyam wrapped his arms fluidly around your waist, studying your features up close. "He'll be okay, we'll help him. Like you said, he'll make a woman happy someday. Just not my woman." Neteyam ended with a smirk and kissed you.

You were ready for this new chapter in your life. You were where you belonged all along.

[owl-with-a-pen]

“Are you sure about this? Because, if not, I can still cancel the reservation.”

Nia rolled her eyes. This must’ve been the third time Alex had asked her that same question since picking up the call. She shook her head, adjusting her phone against her ear. “No, no way Alex, you’ve been talking about this dinner with Kelly for weeks, you deserve this date. You need this date.” She drew in a breath, closing her eyes. “I can still take Esme for the night, it’s not a problem.”

“I just don’t want you to have to deal with any more stress. Not after—”

Nia winced. Well, there it was again, the big ol’ elephant in the room that Alex had deftly skirted around this whole conversation. Well, technically. She supposed the elephant wasn’t so much in the room with her than he was in the room over, committed to bedrest until further notice.

It wasn’t exactly ideal, but nothing ever ran according to plan when it came to the whole superhero life. Two weeks ago, Nia and Brainy would have been more than capable of taking on Esme for the night. Then, less than forty-eight hours ago, an alien with insane super strength had decided to ruin that by throwing Brainy through a cement wall and over a balcony.

To anyone else, it might have been dumb luck, except Brainy wasn’t anyone, and differential calculus usually kept him at least three steps ahead of an opponent. Nia hadn’t seen it coming either, and her dream instincts had only been getting stronger these last few months.

It was only after the alien had been formally logged onto the DEO database that they realised the species was capable of sending out otherwise undetectable frequencies that affected higher brain function.

Dumb luck indeed, although Nia wasn’t convinced. Neither was anyone else, which was why the DEO had been having a hell of a time drawing up possible tie-ins to recent criminal activity ever since. It was also why Alex was in desperate need of a night off.

And, as for Brainy? The only reason he’d stopped working was on account of the back trauma and three broken ribs.

Nia had to admit, the bruising was pretty gnarly. She’d seen it first while Alex had been bandaging him up, like a pale-yellow rash that stretched across his whole lower ribcage. Since then, the bruising had developed, darkening into the crevices of his broken ribs, spreading out and over his spine like a spilled paint jar. Alex had told him he was lucky he hadn’t punctured a lung, and though her tone had been light, Nia had seen the worry in her eyes.

Brainy had been signed off on medical leave that same day, and he wasn’t expected back until he’d made a full recovery.

The good news? Coluans healed fast, although even Brainy had to admit he couldn’t work through this sort of an injury. For starters, he was barely able to walk, and that was with the alien grade pain meds Alex had prescribed. He was in for a steady recovery at least, but Nia understood where Alex was coming from. Neither of them had expected this when they’d agreed to babysit and, like it or not, Brainy’s assistance tonight was way out of the question.

“It’s fine,” Nia assured her for what felt like the millionth time. “He’s fine. Besides—he’s resting, so actually, I could really use the company.”

“You’re sure?” Alex didn’t sound convinced.

“Totally. Nothing wakes him up in the restorative cycle, so unless Esme comes home with earthquake powers--”

“I mean, that is a real possibility,” Alex warned, although her voice had started to soften, “but I get your point.” She sighed. “Okay look, if you’re really sure, then fine. I’ll drop her off at five-thirty, which still gives you both plenty of time to change your minds if--”

Nia rolled her eyes. “I’ll see you at five-thirty,” she said flatly, hanging up before Alex could argue otherwise.

Nia leant heavily against the breakfast bar, snapping her phone against the cold surface, lowering her head.

She’d meant what she’d said about wanting the company. With Brainy out of commission, the apartment was uncharacteristically quiet. Keeping herself busy was never this difficult when Brainy was out of town or off-planet, but with him so close-by, Nia couldn’t help but gravitate towards the bedroom whenever she didn’t have something else to occupy her time. Aside from bathroom breaks and mealtimes, Brainy didn’t need anything from her - his restorative cycle took care of that - but that didn’t stop the persistent itch underneath Nia’s skin, driving her to do something, anything that could help.

At least having Esme there would give her just that.

In the meantime, Nia found herself back at the bedroom door, hovering just outside. It was dumb, and even though she knew she wouldn’t wake him, she still felt like an intruder when she shouldered open the door. She kept it open just a crack, enough to spy Brainy’s face in the dim light, exactly where he had been that same morning.

He was curled in protectively on his side, one pillow propping him up with another clutched tightly to his chest. His free arm cushioned his head as he slept, the muffled glow of his life projectors casting long shadows over his closed lids.

Brainy’s life projectors always shone a little brighter when he was locked in a restorative cycle - something about his consciousness retreating that bit deeper into his AI core – but whenever he was sick or hurt, Nia noticed that the glow was especially potent. Like right now; even beneath layers of bandages and bedsheets, they shone as fiercely as ever, burning away like tiny suns.

The restorative state couldn’t disguise everything though, and Nia knew that Brainy was still in a lot of pain. There was a sallowness to his green skin, and his blond hair was tufted to his brow, odd ends clinging to his face by a sheen of cold sweat. The meds were helping where they could, but they couldn’t take away all of his discomfort, which was why Nia was relieved he’d managed to slip into the restorative cycle at all. Usually, it only triggered on his back, but the bruising on his spine made that position pretty impossible right now. Thankfully, his body had compensated, making the necessary adjustments to give him the best opportunity to heal.

It didn’t make it easier to look at, and Nia could still hear the impact Brainy’s body had made with the ground every time she so much as closed her eyes.

She only wished she’d been dreaming of it before, not after. Guess she had their alien prisoner to thank for that.

He looked peaceful at least, and she knew the longer he stayed in the restorative state, the faster he would heal. This was a win - she had to remind herself of that. Besides, Brainy had been the one to assure her that Esme was still welcome to stay over. As crappy as things had turned out, he was of the same mind as her:  Alex and Kelly needed this.

It wasn’t like Nia had any hang-ups about babysitting solo, she’d done it plenty of times before. Esme was a good kid and as much of a handful as a young Dyralian could no doubt be, Nia knew she had nothing to worry about.

And yet, that nagging dream sense wouldn’t leave her alone. The one that called out to her at her lowest, that liked to whisper what if, what if, what if…

She ignored it. Bad vibes didn’t mean bad visions. She was just working herself up over nothing.

~~~

Brainy hadn’t stirred once by the time Alex arrived with her overactive payload. The second Nia opened the door, Esme beamed up at her, wrapping her arms around her waist. “Auntie Nia!”

Nia laughed, hoisting Esme up just enough to spin her once before letting her loose into the apartment. “Hey, gremlin, how’ve you been?”

Alex and Nia both watched on fondly as Esme shrugged her overnight bag onto the stool by the breakfast bar, scoping out the apartment as she went. She had a keen eye, instantly marking out the box of toys Nia had left out for her.

“Thanks again for this, Nia, you really are a life saver here,” Alex said earnestly once Esme was out of earshot. She leaned forward conspiratorially. “We’re trying to get her down by eight or nine at the latest.”

Nia offered a mock salute. “Got it.”

Alex’s face creased sympathetically. “I mean it though, Nia, if Brainy needs some peace and quiet or if she gets to be too much of a handful, you can call me, and I’ll be right—"

Nia raised her hand, effectively cutting her off. “Don’t worry about that.” She winked, shooing her off. “Now, go and enjoy your date! You look amazing by the way.”

Alex laughed, nodding sheepishly before finally heeding Nia’s instructions.  

Once Nia had closed the door, she turned back to Esme. “Okay, now your mom is finally gone, what d’you wanna do tonight?”

Normally, that would’ve elicited a squeal from Esme, and about a dozen and a half activities she had primed and ready on the tip of her tongue.

Tonight, though, her attention seemed to be elsewhere.

Esme padded quietly across the apartment, exaggerating her steps like she might come across a stray Lego. She stopped at the sofa’s arm, leaning her whole body into it, balancing with one foot in the air as she peered curiously towards the hallway.

She pointed suddenly. “Is that where Uncle Brainy is?”

Nia’s stomach clenched. Clearly, the kid didn’t miss a beat.

She smiled tightly, folding her arms. “Uh-huh,” she said, trying to keep her tone light. “I’m uh- guessing your mom told you about that?”

Esme nodded reservedly, her attention aimed solely at the hallway. “She said I need to be on my best behaviour.” She scowled, pushing herself up from the sofa so that she could place her little hands squarely on her hips. “I told her that I’m always on my best behaviour!”

Nia chuckled, ruffling Esme’s hair as she crossed by. “I know you are, kiddo, and that’s very sweet of you to think of Uncle Brainy.” She perched herself on the edge of the sofa, meeting Esme’s eye at her own level. “He’s, well, he’s resting right now, but you don’t have to worry. Coluans have a cool trick they can do when they have to sleep real deep, so you don’t have to walk on eggshells while you’re here, I promise.” She ushered Esme over, pulling her up onto the sofa with her, meeting little resistance. Nia pressed her chin into Esme’s hair, squeezing her against her chest. “We can watch a movie if you want?”

Esme nodded, although she was still a little on the quiet side.

They settled for an old classic: The Wizard of Oz. Kara had kind of managed to get Esme hooked on it the last time she’d babysat. Ever since, Esme treated it as a comfort movie, especially when she was missing her family. With Kara and J’onn currently off-world on Mars, Nia suspected she hadn’t seen much of her family in the last few weeks.

Esme retreated to her own side of the couch once Dorothy had crossed into Oz, her eyes fixed on the screen. At least it had her attention, although Nia couldn’t help but feel like she had something else on her mind.

Her thoughts were confirmed a little after the Tin Man showed up. “Want anything to eat?” Nia prodded.

Esme shook her head, not looking up from the TV.

Nia frowned, nudging Esme with her foot. “Everything alright?”

Esme nodded.

“Hey, I know!” Nia announced, sitting up. “Wanna play the bubble game?”

Headshake.

Nia’s frown deepened. Esme never passed up the bubble game, it was one of her favourites. Now, Nia knew something was really up with her. She pursed her lips, crossing her legs beneath her. “Esme, hey, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t feel him.”

Of all her abilities, super hearing was not one of them. Nia scooched forward, unsure if she’d heard her right. “What do you mean?”

Esme’s nose scrunched at that, as though she was frustrated. She clenched her hands, twisting them against her lap. “Uncle Brainy,” she said, her voice trailing off like a sigh. She shifted, biting her cheek. “My moms told me that my powers are tele-phony.”

“Telepathic,” Nia corrected gently, taking her shoulder.

Esme nodded emphatically. “Uh-huh. Normally—I feel powers when they’re nearby. Yours.” She pointed suddenly to Nia’s centre. “That’s right there. But I can’t feel Uncle Brainy’s. And I always feel his.” She worried her lip, for the first time letting her eyes wander away from the TV. She looked up at Nia, her expression so open and forlorn. “Is it—is it because he’s hurt?”

Nia’s stomach sank. “Oh, honey, no, no, it’s alright. He’s alright.” Nia squeezed Esme’s shoulder, pulling her back up onto her lap. She could feel her little heart drilling an anxious rhythm into her chest. She ran her hand idly through Esme’s hair, folding odd curls behind her ears. “I should’ve explained, that’s my fault, okay? It’s just—that super cool trick I told you about? It’s sorta… a psychic blocker. When Uncle Brainy’s that deeply asleep, nothing can get to him, not even psychic powers. Like… like my dream powers. Or yours, Esme. Even Grandpa J’onn wouldn’t be able to connect to his mind.”

“That sounds scary,” Esme said softly, her hand curling around Nia’s arm.

“It is a little scary sounding from the outside,” Nia admitted, “but for Brainy, it’s kinda the opposite. Like the deepest, most peaceful sleep someone can have. It helps his body heal from just about anything.”

“Is he hurt real bad?”

“Not really, really, but I bet you get sleepy too when you’re not feeling great, right?”

Esme nodded reluctantly.

“Same.” Nia smiled down at her. “Although, I’m sleepy all the time.” She splayed her hand out in front of Esme’s face, a burst of dream energy erupting from her bracelet, springing across every finger.

Esme did crack a smile at that, her eyes wide and full of wonder as she watched the energy dance. Nia grinned, shaking out her hand. “It’s the same for Coluans, too, just, they have a special sleep state for it, that’s all.”

“Okay...”

Nia pressed a kiss into Esme’s hair. “Now, do you want a snack?”

This time, Esme nodded.

Nia smirked. Progress.

She stood up with a stretch, heading over to the kitchen. “Cool, did mom pack anything for you, or d’you think we can get away with ice cream?”

“Ice cream! Ice cream!”

Nia’s smirk grew into a grin. She was sure Alex wouldn’t mind her indulging Esme’s sweet tooth for just one night. After all, she was a life saver.

Before Nia could dish out the first scoop, Esme launched herself from the sofa, trotting over towards the kitchen and her overnight bag. “Wait!”

At first, Nia assumed there was a snack in there she really wanted. That was until Esme produced a different sort of container from her backpack. It was a clear plastic box, with something that rattled furiously inside.

It looked like some kind of craft kit. Nia raised a brow. “Oh, that’s cute. What is it, Esme?”

“Beads and string,” Esme announced proudly, sliding it onto the breakfast bar. “To make bracelets!”

“Oh, you wanna make one while you eat?”

“Mhm.”

Nia grinned, helping lift Esme the last stretch onto the stool so that she could order out her beads with keen focus. As she pulled the lid off, Nia got her first good look at what was inside.

They were… beautiful. Not your average store-bought bead kit, that was for sure. They came in a variety of colours, most of which had a transparent crystalline centre that wrapped around the whole length. Some had little letters engraved on them, but none from a language that Nia recognised.

“Those are some pretty cool beads,” Nia said, sliding Esme’s ice cream over to her. She leant her elbows on the counter, fishing a bead from the container curiously. It was a little heavier than she had expected, like the density of a tiny pebble on the palm of her hand. “Where’d you get them from?”

“Friend from school,” Esme said around a mouthful of ice cream. She pushed the bowl to the side, pulling out a piece of string. “Her dads are from a planet real far away. They brought lots of stuff with them. Rocks and crystals. To make beads.”

Nia’s eyes popped wide open. “So, wait, these are alien rocks?”

Esme shrugged. “Think so.”

“That’s really cool.”

“My friend told me they have protective hor-hor-uhs”

“Oh, auras?” Nia nodded along. “Yeah, lots of planets have special rocks that can do a ton of things.”

Esme took a handful of beads, evening them out across the table. “She told me these ones protect,” she explained. “So, I made some for my moms, and for Auntie Kara and Grandpa J’onn. And-and I can make one for you, too! And then, I can make one for Uncle Brainy.” She nodded seriously to herself. “Maybe-maybe that’d make him feel better.”

Nia’s lips crumpled into a smile. “Oh, that’s a really good idea,” she told her gently. “Here, I can make my own, why don’t you focus on Uncle Brainy’s?”

Esme agreed, poking out her tongue as she lined her first bead up with her piece of string, threading it into place.

They both neglected their ice cream in favour of bracelet making. Nia had to admit, she may have gotten a little carried away. The beads were gorgeous, and she was even able to find a set with a blue crystal centre that was nearly identical to the shade of her super suit. Needless to say, she could totally see herself accessorising these with all sorts of outfits, which would make Esme very happy.

Although, she did wonder if what Esme had been told held any merit. While the beads were different from anything Nia had ever seen before, she wasn’t so sure they could offer any real protection. Although, as she’d learned, alien rocks could do just about anything, and it would’ve been nice if one could do some good for a change. Most of the time they were out to get people, especially Kryptonians.

Suddenly, Esme tugged on Nia’s sleeve, declaring she was finished.

The second she saw Esme’s design, Nia couldn’t help but grin. “Oh yeah,” she said. “He’ll love that.”

Esme had decorated her bracelet with little green and purple beads, in a sort of three-by-three pattern that mimicked the dot formation on Brainy’s chest, especially when it was pinched in at the sides.

Esme bounced eagerly on her stool. “Can I give it to him?”

“Oh, now?” Nia deflated slightly, glancing towards the bedroom, then at her watch. It wasn’t Esme’s bedtime yet, but time really had flown. Brainy hadn’t surfaced though, which she took as a good sign. As much as she knew the restorative cycle wasn’t going to lift on account of their presence, she was reluctant to put any sort of barrier between Brainy’s most necessary healing function.  

Nia deliberated for a moment. “We can leave it at his bedside, how about that?”

Esme slipped off her stool with a wobble, running ahead to the hallway, beads in tow.

“Wait for me, wait for me!” Nia called out, taking Esme’s hand to still her as she pushed the bedroom door open.

The room was darker since the sun’s decline, the only light issuing in from the steady thrum of Brainy’s life projectors, their intense radiance a sure sign he was still well and truly asleep. Nia bit her lip before letting Esme run ahead.

The glow from Brainy’s light cores illuminated a path straight to his nightstand. Esme followed it dutifully, reaching out her arm to place her gift at his bedside.

At the last second, she stopped herself, spinning towards the bed. “I feel him again!” she announced excitedly.

Nia winced – that was definitely not the indoor voice they’d been practicing. A second later, the mound of blankets shifted as Brainy stirred, his life projectors dulling to a soft white as he lifted his head. Esme must have sensed the end of his restorative state before he’d even begun to wake. Nia couldn’t help but feel a little impressed.

Brainy propped himself up against his pillow, rubbing a hand over his eyes in the low light. “Greetings, Esme,” he croaked, his voice still a little mechanised from sleep.

Esme beamed up at him, holding out her arms. “Uncle Brainy!”

Nia took that as her cue. She rushed over, holding Esme back with a gentle hand. “Steady. He’s just woken up.”

Esme frowned. “Uh-oh, is he grumpy?”

Nia smirked. “The grumpiest.”

“I take offence to that assumption,” Brainy mumbled, a touch of humour in his voice. It was already starting to strengthen, though Nia could detect the strain behind his words. He was still diverting too much energy to his injury.

“How are you feeling?” Nia asked seriously, an arm placed strategically across Esme’s front.

“Improved,” Brainy managed, cradling his chest. He tried to sit up, only to gasp out when the movement aggravated his ribs. “Although not fully… myself. I think I need more time to recuperate.”

Nia watched him carefully. “Can I get you anything while you’re up?”

“I’m fine, just, I should hydrate.” He glanced over to his empty water glass, shifting again beneath the sheets, as though preparing to stand.

Nia spoke up before he could give himself another excuse to exacerbate his injury. “I’ll get you some water,” she said, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. Before he could say anything against her, she turned on her heel, throwing her voice over her shoulder. “Esme, make sure our patient here doesn’t move! Your mom gave him very strict bedrest orders, understand?”

“Okay!” Esme agreed happily, a little too eager to be a nuisance. Nia grinned as she ducked around the corner, confident Brainy would stay put - if only for Esme’s benefit.

Once she was back with the water, she found Esme sat up on the bed at Brainy’s side, half the covers tucked beneath her feet. She watched intently as Brainy took the water from Nia, popping his next round of pills into his mouth before swallowing them down. Nia counted out the hours in her head as he drank, realising belatedly that he must’ve woken himself the second his next dose was due.

When Brainy put the glass down, Esme shuffled closer, nearly knocking her elbow with his. “I made this for you,” she announced, unfurling her fist so that the bracelet dangled from her fingers.

“Impressive,” Brainy observed, making a quick study of the design. His eyes widened. “Those beads,” he said, “they’re from Alteria?”

“My friend gave them to me,” Esme said proudly. “They’re meant to protect you.”

Brainy lowered his head in earnest, taking the bracelet from Esme as though it was as delicate as a pressed flower. “Then I shall wear it with pride,” he said, slipping it onto his wrist. Nia smothered a smile with her hand. It was adorable watching the exchange, especially while Brainy was trying to accessorise in his pyjamas. “Thank you, Esme Olsen-Danvers,” he continued softly, “this gift will be very useful… and fashionable.”

Esme giggled at that, throwing her arms around Brainy’s waist before Nia had a chance to stop her.

Brainy gritted his teeth, but managed to return the hug before Esme pulled away, eyes wide. “Sorry! I’m sorry! Are you okay, Uncle Brainy?”

Brainy nodded, breathing out a quiet reassurance. He’d paled considerably though, his lips pinched with pain.

Nia swallowed around the sudden lump in her throat, taking Esme’s shoulder. “Okay, I think that’s enough excitement for tonight. Uncle Brainy needs to rest.”

“Can I stay and rest too?” Esme asked.

Nia eyed her suspiciously. “What? Am I boring you to sleep, because that’s not how my powers work.”

Esme giggled. “No, silly! But, I wanna stay here with Uncle Brainy. We all should!” Esme held out her wrist, pulling up her sleeve to reveal a bracelet of her own. “Then all our bracelets can protect him, so he won’t get hurt anymore!”

Nia stared at the bracelet for a long moment, not sure what to say. Her heart squeezed sympathetically. “Oh, Esme, honey, I’m not sure that’s-“

“It’s fine,” Brainy said quickly. A little colour had returned to his cheeks, deepening the natural green of his complexion. He was still washed out, and the bruising beneath his eyes really spoke for itself, but he still managed to turn back to Esme, tilting his head in consideration. “That’s… a very logical mindset to have at your age.”

Esme puffed out her chest. “I’m nearly seven!”

Brainy softened. “My error,” he said with wink. “Then you are developing at an expected rate.”

“Heeeey!”

Nia rolled her shoulders out, trying to dispel some of the nervous energy still clinging to her heart. She clapped her hands together. “Alright, Esme, shall we get you in your jammies?”

“Yeah!”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Once Nia had ushered Esme into the bathroom with her change of clothes, she headed back to the bedroom to wait for her, peeking in through the door to make sure Brainy was still awake.

He was.

“Sorry about this,” Nia said softly, climbing up onto the bed. She drew her knees towards her chin, pushing her back against the headboard. “How’s your--?”

Brainy wound an arm around his chest, smiling tightly. “Delicate,” he admitted. “The pills will manage that soon enough.”

“I didn’t realise she was gonna jump at you like that.” Nia snorted, tipping her head back. “I probably should’ve, she’s been thinking about you all night. She made it her mission to make that bracelet for you.” She nodded towards Brainy’s wrist, brows drawn. “Any truth to that?”

Brainy ran a hand around the beads thoughtfully, lowering his chin. “Like many cultures across the universe, faith plays a large part in what precious materials can and cannot do. To the Alteri, their telepathy enables a very real connection to their environment and so yes, I suspect that these beads could to a degree protect those who wear them. Especially if someone with a psychic affinity put them together.”

“Like Esme,” Nia said.

“Or, like you, Nia Nal,” Brainy murmured, leaning towards her. His lips skimmed hers and Nia closed her eyes, sighing softly into his mouth.

When they parted, Nia smiled, glancing down at her own bracelet, comparing it to Brainy’s in the low light. “Well, maybe Esme’s right,” she said. “Maybe three are better than one.”

~~~

Once Esme had brushed her teeth, Nia hoisted her into the bed so that she could nestle between them both. Although she had self-appointed herself Brainy’s personal ward for the night, it surprised no one when she fell asleep first, her head tucked towards Brainy’s chest.  

Brainy lay still in the dark for so long, Nia thought he might have already fallen back into his restorative state, although his life projectors were still muted. She used that soft light to her advantage, studying every inch of her bracelet, the small carvings on the beads she’d selected without knowing which letters they denoted.

After a while, she let a spark of her dreamlight creep up across her wrist, illuminating areas she might have otherwise missed. The crystals appeared to glow under that ethereal swirl, each bead holding within itself a microscopic pulse, a thrum of something more. Magic felt like a silly word for it, but after everything Lena had shown her, Nia was certainly willing to believe it. Maybe it was just a science this world hadn’t discovered yet, or a whole new meaning to the term… life.

Whatever it was, Esme had sought it out just for them. All because…

“Nia?” Brainy mumbled, his voice half smothered by his pillow. “You okay?”

“Huh?” Nia looked up, closing off her dreamlight with a snap of her wrist. “Yeah… fine.” She cleared her throat, flexing her hand out in front of her. “I guess I was just thinking… about…” She glanced down to the young Dyralian bundled between them, her thumb tucked beneath her two front teeth. Nia sighed, folding in on herself with a shrug. “It just can’t be easy when not just your moms, but every adult in your life are superheroes. All this time, Esme’s believed that her family were the safest they ever could be, because they’re the most powerful, y’know? But she’s never seen any of us get hurt before.”

Brainy shifted uncomfortably. “Ah,” he murmured. “Until now.”

Nia picked at her bracelet idly. “You know she made one of these for every single one of us? And yours—she was determined to get it to you the second she was finished making it. She wants to protect us, just like we protect her.”

“It is a noble thing to do,” Brainy mused. His dark eyes flickered to her when he noticed her hesitation. “You have concerns?”

Nia shrugged again. “I dunno, she’s just a kid! She shouldn’t have to worry about that stuff.”

Brainy frowned, pushing up from his pillow. “Nia, no matter how hard we try, she will discover these things organically. That knowledge will help her better understand this life as well as her own abilities. That, too, will protect her.”

“I hope you’re right.” Nia sighed, finding her gaze once again trailing back down to Esme. At how peaceful she was. How perfect. She swallowed, that same dream sense from earlier twisting her stomach into knots. “I guess I never thought about it before, but… Alex and Kelly are the first of us to start a family. Every time I see Esme struggle with something like this, I think… what if— when we—you know—eventually—”

Brainy kissed her again, and Nia’s eyes fluttered, welcoming his warmth. She felt his knuckles against her jaw, working their way beneath her chin. When Brainy broke away, he held her gaze firmly, his breath a buzzing reassurance against her lips. “Then I suspect our child will be the most loved and adept of us all.”

A bubble caught in Nia’s throat and she laughed, nuzzling her nose against Brainy’s. In response, Brainy’s lips continued their path along her jaw, trailing lazy kisses towards her ear. “Esme will fair just fine,” he breathed, a smile curving against her cheek. “After all, she’s already found ways to look out for us, even if she doesn’t understand the power she carries quite yet.”

Nia kept her head inclined towards Brainy even as they settled back onto their respective pillows, careful not to jostle Esme in the process. “She’s strong, that’s for sure,” Nia admitted, stroking a few stray hairs away from Esme’s nose. “In more ways than one.” She reached out her hand for Brainy to take, his pulse a grounding presence on her palm. “Thanks.”

Brainy squeezed her fingers, his lashes fluttering to a close. He was more tired than he would have ever admitted with Esme in earshot, Nia could see it written all over him. She kept her fingers threaded through his, their hands joined on the pillow above Esme’s head.

When Brainy’s projectors intensified as the restorative cycle successfully took hold for the second time that day, Nia let herself relax, allowing the dreams teasing the edges of her subconscious to finally flood through.

One thing was for certain: Alex and Kelly definitely didn’t need to worry about cutting their date short tonight.-

[kokomiin]

I didn't want to have to do this but I am currently being harassed by somebody I worked for with no sign of letting up, so here it is. Some of you might remember me working on an RPG called Moonatic since last month. I was contacted by this person in early December to be the artist for the game, after seeing how many people were working on it I decided to accept, but everyone involved was working out of goodwill under the promise that we would eventually be paid. I was encouraged by the director to work at maximum capacity every day, I am aware that I have an especially fast art output compared to some people, but this still takes work and energy as I am a human being. If I was only able to complete one piece in a day, he would comment on that being "a shame" and would point out if I finished my work day earlier than him due to exhaustion even if I had actually gotten things done. I kept working hard every day because I genuinely believed in the project and thought this kind of crunch wouldn't be permanent, and I didn't want to cause friction between myself and the director by complaining which I now realise was a huge mistake. Whenever I took a day off I had to announce it, there was no set schedule and I believe he would have me working every day if possible.

My friends can attest to the decrease in my physical and mental health before I even realised how I was being affected by this. The director also initiated a friendship with me as well as me being his employee, I accepted but over time personal boundaries were crossed, he made judgements about some things in my personal life and just two days ago, the day before I decided to resign, he implied a romantic interest in me knowing full well that I'm in a relationship. This was a breaking point for me and I had to reevaluate everything, after discussing with many people I decided it was best for everyone if I left. But when I gave the director my resignation, explaining to him the stress I was under and how I was uncomfortable with how he spoke to me, but that I would still let them use my work for the project, he immediately reacted with a mental spiral, blamed me for the project failing and even now still refuses to contact me directly.

A few weeks ago he insisted on purchasing a VR Headset for me, which I declined multiple times due to the cost and because I didn't ask for it in the first place, but around my birthday when he kept insisting I decided to accept, considering it my compensation for the month's worth of free labour I had done. I drew many character design sheets, environments, a comic, promotional artwork, helped to finish the trailer's storyboard and had begun animating it, with only a few days of breaks. I left the project because of stress and a lack of personal boundaries that were caused by him, and now this person is spamming me with payment requests to give him back the money for this gift. He claims it as a work tool, but when we talked about him getting it for me he treated the 'work' aspect as an excuse and said he really wanted to hang out with me in VR after work. Now he is declaring it as a work tool that needs to be repaid if not shipped back. A VR headset is not at all a necessary tool for this project, which is an RPG game developed in game maker.

I'm genuinely afraid about what else this person might do as he is blaming me for the project failing as though it was my own, and refusing to take responsibility for his treatment of me. If you are an artist, in the future please avoid any company with the name Andel in it. If I end up being forced to pay back the price of my free labour :') I'll open emergency commissions, ok?

screenshots under the cut (i'm pretty shaky right now so I forgot to add some, the ones related to my resignation have been added now)

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

i drew Diana. not quite sure how i feel about it but oh well.

goth girls, y'know.

since I've made aaron's fur pattern white, i thought his goth girlfriend deserved the red and black fur pattern he had.

some other Diana hcs:

she can sing really well, but avoids it unless its for a gig. She doesn't want to wreck her voice. She has a very soft singing voice too, so thankfully it's not too much on her vocal cords 80% of the time. But you can never be too safe. She will hum along to music occasionally.

I have lore about a dog-goth style in my rewrite which Diana slowly starts getting more interested in towards the end of college, though he's more vamp-goth before that. I could get into the Dog-Goth of my rewrite but oh you don't want me to. Because then I'd have to get into the werewolf punk scene i made up in my head.

She's always been very slight, but she's trying to bulk up some muscle mass. She's also quite tall ( about 6'3) but is the smallest in her band. Since they're all werewolves. And werewolves can casually be like 6'5 and no one bats an eye at that.

He grew up with punk parents, and therefore punk ideology. They were very supportive of him, and so he had a pretty nice upbringing.

She speaks quite monotone in her day-to-day life (though her singing is quite expressive). and so her and Aaron are matchy matchy with that. Autism-bonding and all.

He does not dress up every day. He usually slaps on some eyeliner, maybe some light makeup, and leaves it at that. and just throws on a nice shirt and skirt. He's got no time to make himself look fancy if he's tryna get through college with any shred of sanity left.

She shaved the tails of her eyebrows off. which are why her eyebrow piercings are BELOW her eyebrow (which she draws on). She carries around tweezers to pluck the hair that grows back in when she's bored in her lectures. Or in a dull conversation.

He's transfem, and uses he/her pronouns. People tend to over-correct and only use she/her pronouns for him but nah. BOTH. Obviously only using one or another in a conversation is fine. But only one for like ever? Nah. Nah.

I'm dianron dirt till i die. She occasionally goes through his spotify to judge the music he has on there, or 'make it good'. She put one of her band's songs on his longest playlist and he didn't realise until a few months after they broke up. He still listens to it after because like... Di can sing, y'know.

He self-labels as Queer, sexuality-wise.

She wears platform boots to feel taller. Especially when with Aaron, since it's embarrassing to be rocking around with a human that's taller than her. (She knows he's a werewolf, she just isn't a total dickhead and lets everyone else continue thinking he's a werewolf). He's still taller.

He met Ken when he caught Ken smoking weed in their highschool bathroom. They ended up sharing and talking about cryptids for the whole next period.

Ken is also on the band. He plays drums. Diana once broke his drumsticks because he wouldn't stop hitting everyone like they were drums. She bought him new ones for his birthday because she felt bad.

Him and Blaze are cousins. Their mothers are sisters.

[malachiwardyt]

Hello again, podcast side of Tumblr.

Entities Explained has officially come to a close with the final episode explaining the End. If you didn't know, Entities Explained has been a series where I, over the course of the last year and change, have explained each of the Fears from hit horror anthology podcast The Magnus Archives. This is the longest episode of the series, but I think it's totally worth watching.

Also, this video contains a major announcement: I am currently working on a MASSIVE video explaining The Magnus Archives in as much detail as I possibly can. Hopefully, it'll be a great refresher course before Protocol, and trying to get it done in a month won't absolutely destroy me.

For the art, I decided to draw the moment from Oliver Banks' statement in MAG 121: Far Away where he and the rest of the crew on a research vessel are destroyed by falling satellite pieces. I wanted the whole piece to be very dark and to have this slightly dusty feel to it, which I think I succeeded at.

I went back and forth a lot on what to dress Banks in, but, in the end (pun intended), I went with something a bit more casual, since he is mostly just hanging around a shipping vessel. If I ever drew him as The Coroner, I'd probably go with something more formal (full black suit with a wilted red flower on the lapel?), but this felt fitting. I also wanted to give him a rain coat because, hey, I imagine it gets pretty rainy out there.

Unfortunately, Banks' design doesn't get to shine through too much in this piece, since his back is to the audience but, for one, I think that's sort of fitting for his themes, and, two, it makes the composition, at least in my mind, a bit more interesting.

The falling satellite was something I experimented around with a lot. Using reference pictures of real satellites, I tried to get something that felt small, but also like it could do some serious damage. The motion blur was a late addition, but I can't say I don't like it.

The moon was always going to be an important part of this piece, but it was during the sketching phase that I realised I could make it into a bit of a stylised skull, which is just a subtle enough detail to be fun. The angular clouds were originally meant to cut through it, but I settled on it being in full view instead, which I think looks much better.

Finally, there's the veins themselves. I actually went with less of them than I originally planned because I think it felt less repetitive, but I'm really happy with the way they turned out. My one addition was adding a pop of colour to this very drab and grey piece (which could, now that I think about it, be seen as a parallel to the desaturated people in Banks' dreams) in the form of the red flowing through the veins. This is technically only described as happening when Banks saw Gertrude Robinson in his dreams, but I figured, if there was another time for it, it was in the moment that he was truly in the grasp of Terminus. I also, honestly, just think it looks better.

That wraps up Entities Explained, so I hope y'all have enjoyed this series while it lasted. I'm not going to stop Magnus content, as I have plenty of ideas already and I'm sure Protocol will only bring more, but I am interested to see where my content goes from here. If you've read this far, thank you so much for listening to my ramblings and, if you celebrate, enjoy your holidays. Good night, Tumblr people!

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Don't Go Blindly Into the Dark

Summary:

To hide that he can't read, Jan Van Eck has been forcing his son to pretend he's blind since he was eight years old. Wylan is now attending Ketterdam University, and meeting Jesper Fahey may very well be about to change his life. But is he safe to tell Jesper the truth? And what will Jesper say if he does?

Jesper is struggling to weigh up his life in the Barrel and his life at the University of Ketterdam, and there's a good chance that his growing debt is about to make the decision for him. He hasn't attended class consecutively for months, but maybe that will change when his newest project includes partnering up with Wylan Van Eck. But can he really leave the Barrel behind him? And how long can he keep up the pretence of who he thinks Wylan wants him to be?

Tags: @justalunaticfangirl @lunarthecorvus

If anyone else would like to be tagged let me know :)

Content warnings for this chapter: ptsd, loss of a parent, implied child abuse references

AO3 link

Chapter 8 - Jesper

“Hey, merchling. It’s Jesper,”

Wylan looked up.

“You don’t have to announce yourself every time, you know. I know it’s you,”

“Really?” asked Jesper, in spite of himself.

“Well for starter’s no-one else calls me merchling,” Wylan would have been glaring at him if his focus wasn’t ever so slightly too far to the left, “But also I can recognise your voice,”

“Wow, you can already recognise my voice? You must be smitten,”

Wylan’s cheeks heated, and Jesper grinned.

“I recognise everyone’s voices,” he snapped, defensively.

“Relax, I’m teasing. Anyway, can I sit with you?”

Wylan blinked. For a brief moment no-one said anything, and then Wylan quickly nodded and shuffled slightly further along the otherwise empty bench so Jesper could take a seat. It was a new phenomena for Jesper to arrive at a lecture on time; to decide where he wanted to sit instead of hastily perching on the end of anywhere where a space was free. And he’d come to the recent realisation that, other than Helena Dente and a couple of others, rowdy groups he’d been to the Barrel with or pretty almost strangers he probably shouldn’t just sit back down next to without explanation of awkward conversations, Wylan was pretty much the only person round here he knew. He hadn’t hung around long enough to make any real friends. Somehow though, he trusted Wylan. Maybe that was stupid of him - how good was his track record with trust? Then again, how much of that was his own fault?

The lecture began and droned on for what felt like an awful lot longer than the hour that actually passed. Jesper fidgeted, twisting his rings and drumming his fingers against the desk. When the class finally drew to a close and people began to file out, he turned back to Wylan.

“Okay I’m not insane right, we’ve been in here for like five years?”

Wylan smiled, laughing softly.

“It wasn’t… the most interesting lecture we’ve ever had,”

Jesper laughed in agreement, like he’d know. 

“We’re both free the rest of the day, right? Do you wanna go to the library to work on the-?”

“I can’t,” Wylan breathed, almost nervously, his smile dropping “Sorry. I have to get home,”

“Fancy dinner party?” teased Jesper, “Journeying to a royal wedding, perhaps?”

Wylan didn’t laugh.

“I just… I’m not supposed to stay out too long,”

Jesper raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything.

They walked out into the corridor together, and Jesper found himself watching the end of Wylan’s cane tapping from side to side against the glossy wooden boards so distractedly that he almost walked straight into a wall. He spent the evening on a job with Kaz - nothing big, intercepting some shipment of jurda so Kaz could sell it on; they’d repackage it, line the boxes with coffee grounds to hide the scent, and move it out in their own illegal shipments, but that would be someone else’s job - and the night solidly losing at Three Man Bramble and buying drinks he couldn’t afford. He missed his whatever-subject-it-was-supposed-to-be lecture the next morning, but managed to run back to the University District in time to meet Wylan.

“So come one then,” Jesper said, at some point, tapping the end of his fountain pen against the table, “You had to take the business class, but what do you actually want to do?”

Wylan shrugged.

“I’m good at chemistry,”

“But do you like chemistry?”

“What does it matter?” asked Wylan, shaking his head, “Just doing something I like won’t get me anywhere,”

“You don’t need to get anywhere,” Jesper couldn’t help but reply, “You could sit around your fancy house doing nothing for the rest of time, if you wanted to. So why are you here?”

Wylan flushed.

“I wanted to learn,”

“Learn what?”

“Anything. Everything,”

He looked almost earnest in it. Almost.

“Come on, there has to be something specific you want to do,”

“Well why are you here?” asked Wylan, “You said you hate economics, but it’s the only subject we’ve ever talked about. What else do you study?”

Jesper wasn’t actually even sure.

“I’m in the midst of switching around my classes,” he admitted, remembering suddenly that he was supposed to meet the dean tomorrow with his new ideas, “Everything I’ve ever tried wasn’t for me - on the farm, at a gunsmith. I was supposed to come to Kerch to find my direction,”

Wylan nodded, slowly.

“And… have you?”

“Saints, no. I don’t know what I want to do - what else do you study?”

“Chemistry, mathematics, biology,”

Jesper sighed.

“Well they all sound boring as hell. I have to volunteer some ideas of what to study by tomorrow, and at this rate it’s gonna be absolutely nothing,”

When Jesper did show up to his meeting - ten minutes late, but at least that was a considerable improvement on last time - he didn’t actually know what he was planning to say until it came out of his mouth. But then the next morning there he was, sitting next to Wylan at the back of a biology classroom. 

“What happened to this being boring as hell?”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it will be,” said Jesper, lightly, “But you’re smart, and I’m sitting next to you,”

Wylan shuffled and Jesper was trying to figure out if he’d said something wrong, when the figure of Nina Zenik appeared in the doorway. He grinned as she waved and sauntered over. He hadn’t noticed that Wylan had all but completely frozen. 

“Hey gorgeous,” he moved along a little so she could sit down, “Where’s Inej?”

“Doesn’t take bio,” said Nina, at the same time that Wylan said:

“You know Inej?”

Jesper used the second he needed to process that question to introduce Wylan and Nina to each other. Uncomfortable wasn’t a strong enough word to describe how Wylan looked, but Jesper couldn’t tell why. 

“Nina and Inej just moved here from Ravka,” said Jesper, smoothly, “We met the other day. But you know Inej?”

“She’s in my chemistry class,”

Wylan fidgeted with his sleeve whilst Jesper gave Nina a furious, questioning look that she pointedly ignored. What were they doing honing in on Wylan? Jesper definitely didn’t trust that Kaz had any kind of good intentions, and he didn’t want them to get the kid mixed up in whatever scheme he’d concocted this time. 

It also turned out to be pretty annoying to sit in between Wylan and Nina during a biology class, because they both cared. The professor was apparently a big fan of making everyone discuss the topic with each other and they seemed to have to do it every ten minutes, which meant that every ten minutes Jesper had to sit there trying to wrap his head around the size differences between DNA and genes and alleles and chromosomes he was also stuck listening to them both going on about the action of RNA polymerase in the process of transcription. Eventually, he murmured to Wylan:

“I don’t get it; what does the enzyme do?”

“Enzymes are like natural catalysts,” Wylan replied, “The DNA helicase enzyme catalyses a reaction that unwinds the two strands of DNA, and the DNA polymerase enzyme catalyses a reaction that forms a new phosphodiester bond to make a new strand. That one’s like welding; the two pieces of metal you want to connect are the bases, the backbone is what you’re going to use to form the link, and the enzyme is the torch,”

It was like he knew exactly how to explain it in a way Jesper understood. He didn’t know how he did that. Jesper smiled.

“Okay, so when they make the protein it's like welding again, right? Just between amino acids, instead of bases,”

Wylan nodded.

“With peptide bonds, instead of phosphodiester,”

“Well, that’s kind of interesting,” said Jesper, in spite of himself, “It’s just like metalwork. And if you unwound it all without damaging it - that’s what the helicase does, right? - you’d be able to know what all the bases were. So it’s like a code, you could figure out any protein the DNA can make just by reading the bases,”

“Yeah,” Wylan smiled, “That’s the proteome,”

Jesper did his best to listen to the rest of the lecture, trying to follow along with the descriptions of mutations in the order of the bases and what they could lead to. It was an overview, the professor told them, of what they’d be studying in a lot more detail over the coming weeks. As the lecture drew to a close and the students began to file out, he called:

“Do we have a Miss Zenik, in here? Might I have a word?”

Nina glanced back towards Jesper and Wylan, frustrated, but then smiled her way to the front of the room. Jesper looked at Wylan.

“Do you, er… do you think that maybe we could meet up some time to talk about some of the biology stuff from earlier this year? 

“Yeah,” Wylan smiled a little nervously, “Yeah, we could do that. Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow. I guess in the morning again?”

There was a pause, and then Wylan ventured:

“I guess it couldn’t hurt to be late home one night, right? We could go to the library after lunch,”

Jesper grinned.

“Sounds like a plan,”

His good mood lasted him all the way to the door. He waited alone in the corridor for Nina to leave the lecture hall, and soon as her foot was over the doorstep he pounced.

“What the hell are you doing with Wylan?”

“My job, Jesper,” she said lightly, tossing her hair over her shoulder as they began to walk down the hallway together, “And anyway what do you care?”

“Don’t turn this around on me. We both know there’s no good intentions behind this, and I’m telling you to leave him alone,”

“Well if you want to take it up with Kaz then be my guest,” she replied, “But I think we all know how that conversation would go,”

*

Jesper didn’t realise how long he and Wylan had been in the library until they left and discovered the sunset was waiting for them. They’d sat downstairs on some of the comfortable sofas beneath the towering bookshelves in a far corner, opposite each other, Jesper cross-legged with a notebook open in his lap. Wylan started by describing mitosis, which Jesper already vaguely knew was how cells replicated. He didn’t stop Wylan though, even when he was going through topics that Jesper already understood. There was something wonderful about watching him explain it.

“The entire world is a puzzle,” Wylan said, “And sometimes you get to learn one bit of it, you solve one piece or one equation, and it’s like it’s clicked into place. Like you won something, by figuring out this tiny piece of the puzzle. I feel like I’ll never know enough about anything, there’s always something new,”

Jesper smiled slowly, watching him, the sunlight warm through the window and drifting over them. 

“Like when I went to the Ice Court,” Wylan was still saying, “All I could think about was the Ice Moat.It’s just a layer of ice over water, but the court is on top of a hill and there’s no aqueduct - where does the moat come from?”

“You went to the Ice Court and that’s what you were thinking about?” Jesper shook his head, “What were you even doing there?”

“I went to an embassy dinner,” Wylan’s voice drifted a little, like he regretted bringing it up in the first place, “When I was a kid,”

Jesper didn’t know why he asked, but his curiosity was piqued so he continued:

“You travel a lot?”

“I used to. Before…” he gestured vaguely towards his eyes, and Jesper found himself wondering again about the little scar above his cheekbone.

“Where did you go?”

“Lots of places; my father used to take me everywhere with him. We went to the Shu oil fields, Elling, the jurda fields near Shrifport,”

“They’re beautiful,” Jesper murmured, thinking of the orange fields at home and forgetting what a stupid thing that was to say, “I mean - sorry,”

“It’s okay. And anyway, that was before the accident. They were beautiful. I’m glad I got to see them. But we don’t really go anywhere anymore, not anywhere that isn’t in Kerch anyway,”

“Why not?”

“This, mostly,” he shrugged, gesturing to his eyes again. Jesper wasn’t sure why that should stop them, “But we lost my mother not long before the accident, and I guess… I guess my father just felt like he was losing us both,”

Jesper wanted to say that was stupid; he hadn’t lost Wylan, Wylan was sitting right there and maybe if his father didn’t suddenly start treating him differently than he used to then l it wouldn’t feel like they’d lost anything at all. But all he said was:

“I’m sorry. I…” he breathed, “I lost my mother too, when I was a kid,”

For a strange, stupid moment Jesper reached out and tried to take Wylan’s hand. He didn’t even really know why. But as soon as they touched Wylan flinched near on violently and Jesper drew away.

“Sorry,”

“No - sorry, I -” Wylan fidgeted with his sleeve, “I can’t see it coming; you took me by surprise,”

There was a pause.

“Biology?”

“Biology,”

“Right,” Wylan smiled, “So, erm, meiosis has two specific mechanisms that add more to the daughter cells not being identical. The first is where the homologous pairs cross over each other…”

And on he went. 

Jesper could hardly believe how late it was when they stepped outside, the sky above turned a thousand shades of pink and orange as the sun began to sink over the horizon.

“Gorgeous sunset,” he said, eyes focused above him as he hopped down the last few steps.

He turned back and realised Wylan was still a short way behind him, with one hand on the railing and the other keeping up the rhythmic beat of his cane as he searched for the edge of each step. Jesper was slightly glad he could see him blushing as he bit his tongue and said:

“Oh. Sorry,”

There was a long silence, even after Wylan had reached the the base of the stairs and stood for a moment beside Jesper, before he murmured:

“What does it look like?”

“I don’t…”

Jesper swallowed.

“Okay here, can-” he hesitated, thinking of Wylan flinching away in the library, “Can I take your hand?”

A brief moment passed before Wylan nodded. Jesper closed his hand slowly over Wylan’s, giving the merchling time to pull away if he wanted to. He didn’t. Jesper lifted his arm and pulled Wylan’s gently with him, and pointed out to the horizon.

“Right here, this is soft pink - like spring and cherry blossom, when you can kind of feel it in the air. Then this bit,” he moved their hands slowly, “This is like the jurda fields, and over here it’s a kind of gentle warmth, like late summer evening sitting outside. When the air starts to cool but it’s still comfortable and light. But then here - this is like sitting in front of the fireplace in winter. It’s warm, and you need it to be warm, and it makes you feel…” Jesper looked down at Wylan, and realised that if Wylan could have been staring straight up at him he would have been, pale lashes caught in the light and curls glowing ever so softly. His voice had somehow become a whisper when he finished: “safe,”

Jesper’s breath caught in his throat. He studied Wylan for a moment; those eyes that should have been a slightly brighter shade of blue but were dazzling even as they were, the freckles scattered across his cheeks like lost stars, the curls still shimmering in what was left of the sunlight. It took him a long moment to realise that they were still holding hands.

“Safe?” Wylan whispered, tilting his chin up slightly.

Jesper let his hand trace slowly higher up Wylan’s arm, ready to move away if he stopped him. But he didn’t stop him. Jesper breathed slowly, leaning in, his free hand moving to push one of Wylan’s curls away from his face.

“It’s a pity you don’t know how beautiful your eyes are,”

Wylan blushed as Jesper ran a hand over his cheek and gently tilted his hace up towards his own. He leaned forwards, reading to close the space between them, but Wylan squirmed and Jesper tensed as he pulled his hands away. 

“And me, of course,” he added, letting his voice take on a teasing lilt to brush past the moment, “It’s a shame you don’t know how gorgeous I am,”

Wylan almost smiled, but he had stepped away.

“I - erm,” he brushed his fingers through the lock of hair Jesper had moved and cleared his throat, “Excuse me,”

And then he was gone, and Jesper was standing alone at the bottom of the stone steps, the sunset above his head continuing on impassively.

Dammit, Jesper. What have you done this time?

[chenziee]

Hopeless

No I don't keep forgetting to post these, whatever do you mean?

This is the first of the five pieces I did for @truffyfest! This one is for @nimudae's adorable prompt #164:

Law tells Onigiri all about his crush on Luffy and Onigiri decides he's going to be the best wingdog a pet can be and get them together

Don't forget to check out the full free Truffy fest zine!

[ Read on AO3 | Ko-Fi ]

----------

It wouldn't be an overstatement to say Onigiri knew everything about Law. He knew what time Law woke up, so he knew exactly when to start stepping impatiently next to his bed, begging for his walk. He knew what time he came back from school, so he knew when to start barking at his food bowl, asking for lunch. Not only was Onigiri observant and a great listener, patiently letting Law rant and ramble on and on about his day, school, music, his friends, and his annoying uncle Doffy… he was also neither blind nor stupid.

And so when Law had sat him down one evening, looking all nervous and jittery as he started explaining how he recently realised his feelings for one of his classmates might not be as platonic as he thought, Onigiri wasn’t surprised.

Instead, it left him flabbergasted that it took Law until now to figure that out.

After all, Law was nothing if not completely obvious when it came to Monkey D. Luffy—or Straw Hat-ya. Honestly, what did Law think the cute nicknames were about? Why did he think he ended up blushing whenever Luffy would tell him how cool his outfit for the day was? Why he kept texting him until the wee hours of the morning after promising Cora-san he’d go to sleep early this time every single day? Or why he made Onigiri’s walks longer than necessary every time just so they could pass by the convenience store where Luffy was part-timing? Or—

Onigiri might not have been stupid but sometimes… Sometimes, he had to wonder whether his master was.

As Law babbled on and on about how pointless things like love were (they were not), how senseless falling for ‘that absolute idiot of all people’ was (look who’s talking), and how there was no way Straw Hat-ya even felt the same way (he didn’t even have words for that one), Onigiri came to a decision. 

Seeing how completely hopeless Law was, someone else was going to have to take charge.

Onigiri didn’t have any matchmaking experience—if you didn’t count those two cats he purposely chased onto the same tree last month—but he’d be damned if he had to listen to this love-sick mess of a word-vomit more than once.

----------

Onigiri got to work the very same day. It wasn’t hard dragging Law to Luffy’s neighbourhood since Law always gravitated there without seemingly even thinking about it; the hard part was getting this idiot to actually meet Luffy while there, not just steal glances while he led Onigiri around the grocery store three times. But Onigiri was nothing if not resourceful.

And by that he meant he sat by the door to the store and barked until Luffy noticed them.

“What are you doing?” Law hissed quietly, sounding nearly panicked when Luffy looked their way. 

Onigiri simply barked again. Just because he could.

Immediately, the other boy perked up, his usual bright grin spreading on his lips easily as he jumped away from the register, completely abandoning the place—as well as the customer he was in the middle of ringing up—to skip over to them.

“Onigiri! Torao! You’re walking here again? Isn’t it kinda far from your place? Hey, Onigiri, how are you?” Luffy fired one question after the other as he crouched down to scratch Onigiri’s chin.

“Shouldn’t you be working?” Law asked, keeping his voice level while he raised his eyebrow, scolding Luffy. Acting all cool while his gay little heart was undoubtedly racing his chest with happiness. Onigiri almost rolled his eyes at him.

But, Luffy laughed, seemingly finding Law’s fake confidence hilarious. “Eh, it’s fine~” he drew out, looking up at Law with a carefree smile. “I’ve been working for hours, I can take a break once in a while!”

“And how many breaks have you taken so far?” Law asked, unimpressed, before pausing and adding, “And how many snacks have you eaten without paying for them?”

“Hey! I do pay for them!” Luffy protested, a pout finding its way to his lips.

“With your treasure tab?” There was an undeniable hint of laughter in Law’s voice now. “You do know that’s gonna go straight from your paycheck, right?”

“It’s my money anyway,” Luffy grumbled, turning back to Onigiri. He cupped his face in both hands, his pout getting even bigger. “Onigiri, daddy’s being mean to me, tell him something.”

Onigiri blinked. He wasn’t sure if he was glad or upset he couldn’t laugh because if he could… he would be rolling on the floor right then. Luffy said that. Luffy really said that. He really called Law ‘daddy’ without thinking twice about it and that was the best thing that had happened in Onigiri’s life since Cora brought him those turkey treats on Tuesday.

“Daddy?” Law repeated in a broken voice so quiet and so mortified that it made Onigiri want to laugh all over again—he didn’t even have to look at him to know Law was beet red.

“Yeah? You’re Onigiri’s dad, after all.” Luffy tilted his head to the side as he spoke slowly, obviously completely clueless as to why Law reacted like that.

Onigiri really loved this idiot.

Jumping up a little, Onigiri quickly licked Luffy’s face to show his appreciation of his adorable  naivety. Or well, he wasn’t naive; Luffy absolutely knew what ‘daddy’ meant in context… but seeing as he never bothered to think before opening his mouth and even then not really thinking about what just came out of it and thus completely missing his own accidental innuendos…

And poor Law was usually on the receiving end of these too.

On second thought, was it really completely on accident or just subconscious flirting?

Who knew? What Onigiri did know was that these two needed to kiss already.

“Hey, kid! Can you actually do your job here?!” the completely forgotten customer called from inside the store, understandably completely annoyed. Somehow, it was a wonder he wasn’t yelling and demanding to see a manager…

But there were more important things happening here, okay?

Still, Onigiri took a step back from Luffy, barking once as he returned to Law’s side while the two humans said their own goodbyes, the both of them lingering for a few moments too long to be considered normal and Onigiri shook his little head.

Hopeless idiots, the both of them.

It might have been Friday afternoon… but they would hold hands by the week’s end if Onigiri had anything to say about it.

----------

The next order of business was to actually get them together. That was considerably harder than simply forcing them to meet but Onigiri did have a plan.

Like every Saturday, Law took Onigiri to the large park to play. And like every Saturday, they passed by the cinema right next to it. Onigiri couldn’t exactly read but he knew that whatever posters were hanging in the front, those movies were still playing. Quickly scanning the pictures one by one, Onigiri huffed in satisfaction when he found the one he was looking for. It was still up. Good. That concluded stage one of his plan.

Stage two—make sure Luffy was where he was supposed to be.

It was a warm, sunny day and Luffy hated staying indoors to begin with so Onigiri was pretty sure he would be hanging out at the park as well. He usually did on days like this; it was the most nature in the city and Luffy loved the place about as much as Onigiri and Law did, so unless he forgot he had a family trip planned—wouldn’t be the first time—chances were high he would be there somewhere. But the problem was actually finding him without making Law suspicious.

Being a dog came in handy in situations like this, however. Asking to play fetch as an excuse to wander, using his sensitive nose to sniff out the distinctive smell of meat mixed with the sun and Luffy’s own scent. Onigiri had no idea how Luffy managed to smell that way all the time, but he wasn’t exactly complaining—not when after minutes of searching, he finally caught the trail of said distinctive scent.

Onigiri grabbed the ball and took off—fetching it… but not for Law. Instead, he ran in the opposite direction, letting his nose guide him until Luffy came to view. He was sitting on a picnic blanket, waving his hands around animatedly as he talked to his friends, a ginger-haired girl and a green-haired boy. Onigiri was pretty sure their names were Namu and Zori but Law hardly spoke about anyone outside his own friend circle aside from Luffy so he wasn’t entirely positive.

But this wasn’t about them.

Onigiri ran up to Luffy, barking happily around the ball in his mouth to catch his attention.

“Onigiri!” Luffy called when he noticed him, a wide grin appearing on his face as he reached out with one hand to gesture for the small dog to come closer.

Onigiri easily complied—after all, that was the whole point of him coming—before he dropped the ball into Luffy’s lap.

“Where’s Torao?” Luffy asked then. He was turning every which way, searching the park for Onigiri’s owner like an idiot with a crush. Which was exactly what he was.

“Aw, this is Torao’s dog? How cute!” the girl cooed, her voice full of excitement and adoration. As it should be; Onigiri was adorable and he knew it, thank you very much.

“Yeah!” Luffy said proudly. “Nami, Zoro, this is Onigiri. Say hi, Onigiri!”

Ah. So those were their names. Close enough.

Barking in greeting, Onigiri sniffed the both of them, remembering their scents—sweat and steel for Zoro and for Nami, tangerines and… money? Why did everyone in Luffy’s group smell so weird? It was a mystery.

No point dwelling on it, Onigiri thought. It was time to proceed to stage three of the Grand Plan.

Onigiri turned back to Luffy, nudging the ball in his lap with nose, wagging his tail and barking excitedly to manipula— prompt Luffy into tossing it for him.

Luffy laughed, rubbing Onigiri’s head. “You want me to toss it for you, do you?” he asked teasingly, waving the ball in front of Onigiri’s face.

The dog barked again, getting impatient; what was Luffy playing at? It was only a matter of time before Law found them, there wasn’t time.

“Okay okay!” Luffy finally stood up, tossing the ball in his hand a few times as an evil smile appeared on his lips and he took a stance, getting ready to throw the ball as far as he could.

Just as well, Onigiri thought. The further the better.

The moment the ball left Luffy’s hand, Onigiri took off, chasing after it… but the ball wasn’t his goal. Instead, he sprinted right past it, running at full speed with purpose. Soon, he passed through the park’s gate and crossed the street—only after the light turned green, of course—rushing to his destination; he ignored the startled cries of the people he passed, not slowing down until he reached the cinema. He quickly grabbed what he came for before turning around and sprinting back the way he came.

He was completely out of breath when he finally made it back to where Luffy and his friends were sitting. He wasn’t surprised to see Law already there, looking close to a mental breakdown at having lost sight of his beloved dog while Luffy tried his best to comfort and reassure him—at least that was what it looked like but it was hard to tell when Law was just looking more and more frustrated while on the other hand, Luffy seemed to be struggling to hold back carefree laughter.

“Onigiri! You little shit, where did you go?!” Law asked angrily when he noticed the dog running over.

Ignoring his master for now, Onigiri went straight to Luffy, dropping the item he had brought in front of him before flopping to the ground with exhaustion, panting loudly. Man, why was he so tired? The cinema was so close… He supposed it was the adrenalin of racing with time, trying to get back before Law found them…

“Hm? What’s this?” Luffy asked with confusion, picking up the cinema’s programme pamphlet.

Stage three—complete.

Onigiri sighed deeply. It was going well… so far. The rest really mostly depended on at least one of them not being a complete idiot.

Which was, admittedly, a difficult hurdle to overcome.

“This movie… Where did I see this?” Luffy wondered out loud, his face scrunched up into a deep frown as he studied the picture of an animated superhero, his robot side-kick, and pet seagull. Onigiri was honestly surprised there wasn’t steam rising from his head with how hard he was thinking.

What did he say about someone needing to not be stupid?

Maybe he should just give up if they were both going to be like this…

“Hey, isn’t that the seagull that Torao wears on his bag?” Nami asked, pointing at the bird in the corner and in that moment, she looked like a goddess in Onigiri’s eyes.

Luffy’s eyes lit up in recognition at her words. “Oh! This is ‘Sora, Warrior of the Sea’?! You never showed me what it looked like but Toaro, isn’t this your favourite manga?! Have you seen this movie yet?!” he asked, turning to look at Law with something akin to stars in his eyes.

Oh, thank god.

Onigiri barely finished the thought when a tell-tale click came from behind him. Did he really—

Whipping his head around, Onigiri glared at Law. He was kneeling behind him with Onigiri’s leash in hand as if to incriminate himself of his crime and Onigiri bared his teeth at him.

“Don’t you growl at me, you brat. I’m not the one who ran off to fuck knows where!” Law snapped, tugging at the leash for good measure to remind the dog his movements were now severely limited. As if he were a dumb hamster who couldn’t find his way back once he left his cage.

Rude.

And here Onigiri was, working his ass off and doing Law’s damn job for him.

“Torao!” Luffy called impatiently.

“What?” Law hissed, tearing his eyes away from Onigiri to shoot a dirty look at Luffy. Onigiri almost felt bad for causing Luffy to take collateral damage…

Luffy didn’t seem phased, however, only showing Law the pamphlet where his favourite hero of all time stood proudly, pointing at it eagerly. “Have you seen this movie?!”

Law was quiet for a too-long moment, seemingly weighing his options before he opened his mouth to slowly reply, “I haven’t.”

If Onigiri could, he would have raised his eyebrows at Law because really? Did he not want to admit he had seen the movie four times already so he didn’t seem like the complete nerd he was? How ridiculous—as if Luffy didn’t know he was a hopeless Sora fanboy already. 

But actually… this played right into Onigiri’s paws.

“Oh! Wanna go see it?” Luffy asked, blinking up at Law with his big, innocent eyes.

Onigiri was pretty sure the strangled squeak he heard was Law going through some kind of gay panic at the sight. “Why would I want to—”

“Ehh?” Luffy drew out, a small pout on his lips as he tilted his head to the side to stare up at Law—only worsening the trembles in Law’s little heart. “But you like this! Come see it with me, come on!”

“Don’t go saying stupid shit, you sound like you’re asking me on a—”

“On a… what?” Luffy asked with a confused frown when Law didn’t finish his sentence.

Idiots…

“Idiots,” Nami sighed as she face palmed, perfectly mirroring Onigiri’s thoughts. A kindred soul, sharing Onigiri’s suffering.

“They’re both completely hopeless,” Zoro added.

Before either Law or Luffy could say anything, Nami punched his shoulder instead. “You have no right to talk,” she hissed. “Do you know how hard me and Robin worked to force you and Sanji to stop dancing around each other like a couple of morons?”

“Shut up! Who asked you to do that anyway?!” Zoro protested as he slapped her hand away.

“It was painful to watch!”

As the two continued to bicker, Luffy simply shrugged and shook his head, seemingly used to it, before he turned back to Law. “So about the movie…”

“What about it?” Law asked quietly, defensively, as his eyes turned away. Probably unable to keep looking at Luffy’s face without agreeing to anything that came out of his mouth.

Onigiri sighed. That was it for stage four, he supposed. Time for stage four-point-five.

Before Law could react and pull on his leash to stop him, Onigiri jumped to his feet and took off; he circled around Luffy sitting on the blanket, then back around Law, only to then dash forward at full speed, tugging on his leash until he heard the surprised yelps and fumbling as Law stumbled forward and towards Luffy from where the leash tangled around his knees.

“What the fuck is this, 101 Dalmatians?!” Law groaned, sounding torn between angry and painfully embarrassed while Luffy just laughed, catching Law to make sure he didn’t trip over him and break his neck.

Onigiri barked once, looking Law straight in the eyes when he slowly walked back to the two of them, sitting right in front of the cinema pamphlet that fell out of Luffy’s hand in their tumbling.

“I think the dog is trying to tell you two something,” Zoro said with a raised eyebrow, his fight with Nami forgotten.

“You fucking think?” Law asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“Just go see the stupid movie, what’s the harm?” Nami joined in, sounding about as tired of their shit as Onigiri felt.

“It’s not stupid, it’s great!” Law snapped immediately.

“Oh, so you have seen it,” the girl said, an evil smirk on her lips as she teased Law without mercy.

Onigiri barked in a canine version of a laugh; he really liked this girl.

“I guess it’s decided then!” Luffy announced with a happy grin. “The programme said there’s a showing in an hour, let’s go!”

Law visibly froze, looking between Onigiri and Luffy like a deer in headlights as he tried to process what was happening. “Are you actually serious?”

“Yes.”

“Bark!”

“Are you stupid? I can’t go anywhere, I have Onigiri with me—”

“We’ll watch him, just go have fun,” Nami interrupted him and, as if to prove her point, she got up on her knees, carefully picking Onigiri up and unhooking his leash to free the two boys of its hold. Once done, she pried it out of Law’s hands before clasping it back to Onigiri’s collar. Finally, she sat back down on the picnic blanket, placing Onigiri in her lap and scratching him behind the ears.

Onigiri didn’t fight the temptation to lean into her touch, her slightly longer, perfectly manicured nails feeling like heaven in his fur.

“See? We’re all good,” she said happily… but Onigiri couldn’t help but feel like there was a hint of a threat in her voice.

“How much are you going to charge me for this?” Law asked, even though he sounded resigned to his fate at this point.

Nami smiled in response… and even Onigiri felt a chill run down his spine.

“Oh, I won’t charge anything. As long as you have fun. Got it?”

“Yessir!” Luffy cried, completely terrified. As if he could imagine exactly what would happen to him if he didn’t listen to her.

And just like that, both Law and Luffy were basically chased away, leaving Onigiri behind with Nami and Zoro, and thus ending stage four-point-five.

Now… with stage five commencing…

They could only hope for the best.

“You have it hard, man,” Zoro said once the two of them were completely out of sight, throwing Onigiri a sympathetic look.

Nami hummed in agreement. “If they don’t come out of the cinema holding hands, I swear I’m charging them by the minute of that stupid movie. And then we’re locking them in Mihawk’s hearse until they figure it out.”

“Hey!” Zoro cried. “Use your sister’s goddamned truck, you want me to get killed?!”

“Oh please, the worst Mihawk would do to you is refuse to drive you anywhere,” Nami noted with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, and then I would have to ask Perona to drive me and that is a death sentence!”

“Don’t be a baby,” Nami said flatly. “If you could walk in a straight line without getting lost, you wouldn’t have to rely on your family or Sanji to chaperone you everywhere. And also—” she paused, her eyes narrowing dangerously— “you still owe me money for the restaurant reservations for yours and Sanji’s date last month so don’t try to get out of this.”

“I paid you back, you witch!” Zoro cried.

Nami huffed, waving her hand dismissively, “Ever heard of interest?”

“You’re impossible. Why do I suffer you?” the boy groaned, rubbing at his forehead.

Nami huffed as she tossed her hair behind her shoulder. “Because I’m so cute!”

“Compared to what, a trash can?”

Somehow, Onigiri wasn’t even surprised when Nami’s fist flew forward to punch Zoro full force in the shoulder, her teeth bared as wrath radiated off of her. 

Ah.

Now Onigiri could see why Luffy jumped to attention the very second he felt the slightest hint of hostility from her. This girl was terrifying.

“Aw, I’m sorry, Onigiri. Did the stupid swordsman scare you?” Nami cooed at him, when she noticed how he crouched and huddled into her lap to protect himself.

“Pretty sure he’s scared of you,” Zoro muttered quietly.

Nami took a deep breath, only shooting Zoro a dirty look to which the man simply raised his arms in surrender. Apparently satisfied, Nami turned back to Onigiri. “Don’t worry, no matter what happens, I am forcing Torao and Luffy to buy you as many tasty treats as you want for doing their damn job for them.”

----------

As Onigiri laid on his bed at home a week later, chewing on a fresh, tasty bone that Luffy had brought him when he came over to see his boyfriend— much to Cora’s delight and Doffy’s amusement—he couldn’t help but thank Nami in his mind for keeping her word. He didn’t remember ever getting this many treats, not even from Cora when Law wasn’t looking.

He supposed with this…

He could declare stage five concluded, and his Grand Plan a raging success.

Whatever would these hopeless humans do without him?

[crimsonlyinglilly]

Day 20 Touch Starved

Several Days late for day 20 of whumpril

the original day 20 developed so much I didn't think it fit anymore.

So here's more Mother's son, from Dahlia Pov so not a positive review of Esther's mothering skills.

----

It takes Dahlia months to realise that the reason her son stills at her touch isn’t solely due to her actions claiming him or the nasty overreaction she had left on Elijah’s mind.

She couldn’t have her child, the boy Esther had made hers, call her sister that, Esther didn’t deserve a child she betrayed to call her mother. Dahlia would be better but still her anger had powered her magic and shaped the spell in a way that had been admittedly harsher than she had planned.

The boy himself had adapted quickly and in response, took to answering any and all of her questions about his family and life in short one word answers forcing her to use the precise wording to learn what she wanted.

Still Freya’s glare everytime Elijah cried out and gripped his head, when he mistakenly used or thought of the wrong word to refer to Esther or herself, had only left her angrier at Esther.

That anger and bitterness grew as she learned that Elijah’s stillness happened around all adults, that even Freya’s frequent surprise hugs caused Elijah to freeze for a moment.

It easy to link Elijah’s wariness around men to the bute Esther chose, and her rage at the idea of that man laying hands on her son was the only thing that eclipsed her disappointment at her sister. The woman who had bargained her firstborn away to have children had seemingly failed to care for all those that she got.

Was Elijah’s issues something only he had developed, had she pointedly kept her distance from the child she had made Dahlia’s, was it solely due to Elijah’s resemblance to her but Dahlia doubted that after all her sister had left a fourteen year old, nine year old and five year old to wander far from home alone, after all.

Elijah viewed praise with confusion and almost distrust, even as she made sure she regularly complimented him as he followed her instructions and learned control with a rigid unwavering focus she wouldn’t have expected of a child his age. 

Far quicker than she had expected when he magic had multiplied at their first touch as their family magic realised that Elijah being her son made him a first-born and delivered the magic he was due. Taking Elijah from barley having enough magic to count as a tapped witch to equaling Freya a few years ago, the shock had been useful to convince Elijah of offer himself and his magic to her, allowing her to add his magic to hers and Freya’s before she had even returned to her niece, but she had been annoyed at the thought of spending years training the boy control.

Elijah was just as unused to any physical affection aside from that she assumed of his younger siblings. He hadn’t hesitated or flinched from tiny Niklaus as she had watched that day, but when she laid an hand on his shoulder or carefully, somewhat stiffly, it had been a while since she had needed or wanted to offer comfort to another, pulled him into a hug he was tense for several moments before he relaxed.  

She also noted the way he hugged Freya back tighter on the times he froze, held on longer, that sometimes he followed her as she drew back, unconsciously following her touch.

Dahlia had felt the way his hands trembled to stop himself reaching back to hold her too, torn between his obvious want for comfort and quiet resentment towards her.

Elijah may never lover her, his first memory of her was as she tormented his older brother and threatened his younger one before stealing him away, she herself had linked herself to pain in his mind. But she was going to undo the damage Esther’s neglect had done.

—--

Elijah hated the way he leaned into mother’s touch, the way even as he reminded himself why he should hate her; he worked to impressed her, to make her proud for the brief gentle touch he got in reward, a hand on his cheek or though his hair, the press of lips to his forehead or stiff awkward hug.

It wasn’t like he was completely staved of positive touch, Freya was always there with a hug or offering her hand, she'd play with his hair and trust him with hers.

Freya was his sister, no matter what the truth of that was, but Dahlia was giving him the attention he had longed for from mother, what he had watched her do with Finn and Klaus and wondered why he never got the same.

Well he knew why now, didn’t he.

He still couldn’t let himself give in, she made sure he couldn’t call her anything but mother but he couldn’t forget how he came to her; not after the last time he saw his brothers, Finn still on the ground recovering from her making him scream and the last thing Elijah heard was his little brother, his Klaus crying begging him to come back.

[writingsofwesteros]

Hi! I love your works so much

i have a request where the reader and daemon were just sleeping with eachother and when daemon left her when he was exiled and he didnt know she was with a child so he was suprised and happy when he came back and found out they had a child together Also happy ending please<3 Thank you<3

AN: Hi, thank you!! I hope you like this x

Requests are closed

It had been a year since you last saw Daemon. You had woken one morning for him to not be in your bed. Which wasn’t unusual but the news of his exile quickly made its rounds around the court. You had never thought a heart could break as yours did. You hadn’t come out of your chambers for days after the news.

It was only when you had slowly become sick with each passing moment that the servants had noticed. The maester had quickly been called and the King took some interest; he knew his brother’s feelings for you and he had promised not to leave you unsafe. The news of your pregnancy shocked you even though you knew the many nights of passion you and Daemon shared surely would have consequences.

You just didn’t think you’d have to face them alone. The soft whine of your baby girl brought you from those memories. “Hey love.” You whispered down to your four year old baby as she grabbed at your finger. You were both cloaked in the colours of House Targaryen as the cold breeze moved over you both.

“How is she?” Viserys’s voice came to the side of you and your head turned to him. “She’s amazing.” You kept her close; paranoid that somebody wanted to take her from you. It didn’t help to not have Daemon by your side. The King could only smile warmly down at you. “I’m glad.” He whispered.

“She looks like him.” Viserys stepped closer as he stared down at your now sleeping babe who was blissfully unaware of anything. “She does?” You couldn’t help but ask as a soft smile came over your face. The King nodded and moved to gently stroke her little cheeks whilst you only grew in happiness.

“If only he was here.” You whispered out without realising it. The King could only smile sadly as you cuddled her closer. “I’ll leave you alone.” Viserys bowed his head as you curtsied and watched him leave. You were thankful to be alone once more as you whispered a lullaby to your sleeping girl.

She really was your blessing, you thought to yourself and slowly moved to turn from the gates you always seemed to be watching. But he never returned and you knew today would be no different. It was those thoughts that haunted you as the noise of the gate opening and Viserys’s shout that had your attention. “Brother!” A soft gasp escaped you when you head moved to the side and saw your Prince returning. Your baby girl wiggled in your arms as if she knew her father was here. She drew your attention away from the situation for a moment. It was enough time for Daemon’s eyes to turn to you.

Not that you noticed as you whispered down at her; bringing the baby against your chest as the rest watched Daemon make his way to you. It was only when the wooden steps creaked under his weight did you look up. “Daemon..” You softly whispered out when he finally came to a stop just in front of you.

“Y/N…” He was breathless and his eyes locked onto your own before they moved down to the bundle in your arms. “My Prince.” You whispered formalities as you moved to curtsy. The hurt you had felt all those months ago rushed to the surface and he could see your eyes turning to anger.

A moment or two passed by in silence before you decided on turning away. You couldn’t handle this. Did you want him back? Your mind raced with these thoughts as you quickly moved through the corridors. You could hear Daemon following and you hoped to be in your chambers before he moved to your side.

“Y/N..please..” Daemon called after you when you finally reached your door and moved into the room. Of course, luck wasn’t on your side as Daemon smoothly moved through the gap and into the room. “Don’t run from me.” The Prince whispered out and the movements had begun to wake your sleeping love up.

Daemon was completely obsessed as he stared at the movement. She was still bundled up and he couldn’t get a good look at his daughter but those tell tale blonde locks were in sight. He couldn’t help but softly smile and you hated how you were falling in love with him even more in that moment.

“But you can run from me.” You whispered out, pulling her closer. Daemon held back smiling at such a mama bear you had become. He knew it would treat you well. “I’m sorry you had to go through it alone.” He whispered to you, ignoring your comment as he stepped closer and finally looked down.

He couldn’t help but gasp as her little eyes seemingly opened just in time for him to look down. “She’s beautiful.” Daemon whispered and moved  to gently stroke her cheek and a soft giggle escaped her. He couldn’t help but chuckle and looked at you in question as he gently picked her up.

You hated to admit how good he looked at holding a child. “You are precious.” Daemon whispered down to his daughter who blinked up at him and reached for his locks already. “She does that.” You giggled and stepped closer. Your hand gently removing her grip from him whilst he could only lovingly stare at you.

“Why did you come back?” You softly asked, chewing nervously on your lips as you looked up at him. “For you..for here.” He spoke and watched your face fall into confusion. “Viserys sent a letter to me.” Daemon answered your silent question as his baby fell asleep against him. “I would have come sooner.” He babbled.

“I know..” You softly whispered and you did. “I’m sorry I didn’t bring you with me..I didn’t want you to be unsafe.” Daemon leaned in and rested his head on your shoulder. And for the first time in so long you could finally relax. You melted into his chest and wrapped your arms around his middle. 

“I’m sorry.” He repeated as you softly sobbed in relief. You didn’t know how you would have done the rest of this life without him. “I love you.” Daemon whispered and you could only whisper it back. A soft babble had you both chuckling as you looked at the baby who was growing more hungry by the second.

TAGLIST

@janelongxox

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[alessandrxs]

HSHQTASK059

when did you join ? what made you join ? what do you remember from the plotlines that were current at the time ? where were you in life when you joined and where are you now ?

i joined back in 2018 , which is crazy to even think about because it's now six years later ! i remember having seen the group a few times in the tags but didn't apply until a few months later ... but when i DID pluck up the courage to join , it was just before the olimpiel wedding which was so fun to be a part of ! i think i was literally just starting a new job too around the time i joined , so it was changes all around , which was really refreshing !!

2. which characters have you written over the years ?

too many ... starting with prycilla , aurora , danilo , amon , kris , ale , renee , aalayna , omari , pretty sure i had a kelsey merrit at one point , eloa , the madelyn cline and drew starkey i had for seconds , i think there was a sofia carson in there somewhere too ...

3. what is your favourite plotline that you've been part of ?

being a part of the italy plotline was so fun ! i'm not good at politics by any means but being around people who had so many good ideas which would always boggle my brain bc i'm dumb as shit was so fun to be a part of ! but also , the egypt plotline will always have a place in my heart ...

4. what about other people's plotlines ?

so so SO many !! the english plotline , the french ..... i was always on the edge of my seat whenever they were written out on the dash waiting for the next person to reply so the tea could be dished out ! but honestly every single plotline was just so interesting and amazing to read that i was always in awe

5. who is your favourite character from the ones you've played ? why ? what made you love them ? what made them so fun to write ?

considering how many times i've brought him back after thinking his time was done , without a doubt my favourite would have to be ale ... i just feel like he became such a comfort character for me , especially since when i've been going through things he's always been the character i've reached out for to write ! but kris was also so much fun to write and then my fool of omari , he really was my comedic relief character !

6. if you could relive a plotline, which would it be ?

kris realising just how much of a prick his dad is and becoming firmly team silje <3 it was a defining moment for him , and now silje has a job and is in college !! she's doing so good !!!

7. is there a plotline that you'd edit now if you could ?

literally not a single one ! i loved all the twists and turns , seeing how things unfolded , it was fun to just be able to write them out and see where they led and go from there

8. what's a plotline you wish you would have been able to finish before closing or just write more of ?

definitely the egypt plotline ... it happened at a time where i really didn't have time to be fully involved in and i think it's just been so unresolved , if only life didn't happen 😔

9. what is your favourite ooc memory ?

the panic in the ooc chat when evy fucked up the counting bot when we were at like 300+ ..... AKJDNFKJDF there are so many moments that i'll cherish forever but this one is the first that came to mind !

10. where can others find you if they want to get in touch ?

i have a tumblr for indie / 1x1 purposes which is @gcdlybehaviour ( currently under co ) and a discord that's with the same name ! honestly feel free to contact me at either of them at any time !

11. what else would you like to say ?

thank u all so , so much for all the memories and making hshq such a special place <3 i joined at a time where joining groups had become such an anxiety inducing experience for me but everyone was so , so welcoming and it soon became a place of comfort and to just get away from everything ! i've genuinely loved writing out every single thread , plotting out every single plot and just being able to be in an environment where everyone has been like a family ! i'm going to miss everyone so much <3

[hiraunia]

Guess who made more fanart? This lil' guy!

@crinklytinfoil 's Series The Best Laid Plans of Crewmates and Imposters has been carrying my mental state(Funny considering how dark and fucked it gets) for the past few months so it was only natural for me to make some more, finally getting out those little scenes in my head on to something.

I know that the uniforms should all be the same but I just couldn't help myself! I just couldn't get the idea that the Emancipator and Parmenides gets special uniforms out if my head, like Parmenides is a special base/mission thing so they get some bulkier, more insulating outfits and the Emancipator is like the best Gaurdien Ship in Mira so they get the cool fancy outfits to signify how important they are. Kinda backwards but I designed the standared Mira suits(Browns) last so I already ran out unique uniform suloetes which is why its skin tight, not what I would typically give to them but the Parmenides ones where already what I would tyically give to an astronaut or whatever but I thought they looked too cool for your average crewmate and Mira sucks so they get the dumb skinsuits. Don't ask why the fancier uniforms are monocolor and basic ones have grey accents, I needed something to make it more intresting.

So I drew this like a month ago and I kinda hate it but also still like it. I figured I may aswell show it since I did work hard on it. This was atcually drawn traditionally, like I inked it and then edited a photo so I could add the colors digitally which is why its a little more janky than the first doodles and theres ink everywhere. I love Yellow so much, that pose made all the bs I delt with with the ink worth it. Also if you hadn't noticed Dani's design is different, yah I made this a month ago and only realiseds like two days ago that Dani was described with black locs not brown curls! Wish it didn't take me that long to realise that becuse locs are SOOO much eaiser to draw than curls, esspecially shorts curls I hate them so much! Atcually I hate drawing short hair in general, this has been a somewhat tourturous experince for me!

This is from another tradtional sketch I colored but it was the only doodle I liked so behold! Cyan and Grey being cute together on the way to the tower(?)

I love this doodle so much, it the only one i have of any one with their helmets on and thats kinda a shame becuse I feel like geting rid of the face makes me give them more expressive body language. I've been struggling to make the helmets with the other uniforms look good so thats probly why. The Parmenides uniform have that tall neck that connects the head to the body better but the other two are having this odd bobblehead(heh) effect. I need to experiment more with it.

Anyways its 3 am and I need to stop staying us so late! Have a good time of day!