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imchoosingnottoexist · 2 years

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The Sims Epilogues 7/MAG 207: The Coming Of Strangers

Statement of Margaret Bead, regarding the invasion of her home. Statement extracted August 7th 2021.

The Sims Epilogues tell the tale of a housewife who begins to get strange visitors on her doorstep.

Statement Begins

Hello. My name is Margaret Bead. I work as a sales manager for a real estate agency. I'm not sure I can disclose which one, although I don't think it's necessary either. Most of my work I do from home so I can care for my children, but there is the rare occasion I have to travel for a job.

On my most recent work trip, I booked a room at the Comfort Hotel London. It's a substandard tourist hotel and frankly I found it quite unpleasant. Everything was covered in a layer of dust and the rooms were full of cobwebs.

Outside the hotel? doors there were odd looking men in clothes covered in words that didn't make sense. The men would try to enter but couldn't seem to get themselves through the door before recoiling back to the front entrance. Everyone who walked through the doors just ignored them. I couldn’t resist staring at their faces that didn't quite move as they should have. Their unblinking eyes looked like glass.

Fortunately, the trip didn't last long. It was only a few days before I could return home. I live in a suburb of Bristol, I like the safety and ease of transport. The city can be terribly dangerous, especially for children.

I had never seen a Jehovah's witness in my neighborhood until recently. A few days ago in fact. I heard a knock at the door at about 2 o' clock. It didn't sound like an actual knock, though, it sounded like a recording of a door being knocked on that was played from the front of my house.

I opened the door to find two men standing on my front steps. They were hard to describe. I have trouble recalling exactly what they looked like. Their suits were white and crisp, and itlooked as if the fabric itself was stitched onto the men's bodies. Their faces were pale and smooth, teeth white as porcelain. Their dark hair was short and the texture of yarn. Aside from their faces they looked almost exactly the same. Their faces didn't quite fit right on their heads that were a bit big for their bodies.

They held bibles that looked cast in plastic. The letters on the cover weren't quite English. I don't think they were even letters, just abstract symbols. The cross on the front was slightly off center and tilted, enough to be noticeable.

I told the pair that I already believed in god. I didn't want whatever they had for me, but they said that wasn't what they wanted. The man with the face that looked older than the other saidthey were looking for "tapes".

I asked what kind and then the man with the younger face clarified: “Tapes. Cassette tapes.” The younger faced man then asked if he could come in. I responded no– but the pair pushed past me anyway. They walked like how a child would make a doll walk - stilted and each step was ever so slightly different, but each one made just as little sense.

They sat down at my dining table, skin tight suits barely moving, even though they had been walking around the house. I decided at this point I would just go along with whatever they wanted so they would leave as soon as possible. I asked the men what they wanted and in unison they said "tapes".

They said they "saw me at the nest" and that they needed tapes, as if I knew what that meant. I would either give the tapes to them or they would take them by force. I once again told them I had no such tapes and that they needed to get out immediately. Then they just stared at me, I could see myself in their glassy eyes. The expression of unease on my face didn't look like my own when it was reflected through their strange lens.

My husband and children were out for the day, going to his sister's house, and frankly I was scared of ending up on the news. So I told the men who were now sitting, smiling at the coffee table that they needed to get out or I would call the police. They simply told me "no".

I reached for the landline and tried to dial 999 but I couldn’t seem to press the right number. Every number looked different. 9 was fuzzy and sat in the place of 3, 3 stood stubbornly in the place of 4. I tried to press the button but the dial tone rang in my ears.

I looked up. The pair of men at the table had their mouths open, the dial tone ringing from their unhinged jaws, pitch perfect. Horrified, I realized then that the handset was unplugged.

I yelled at them. I grabbed the arm of the man with the younger face and tried to pull him out of the chair. His shirt felt like skin. It was cold and slightly smooth, almost slippery, but it didn't bounce back like skin. The core of his arm was rock hard, The skin like deli meat stretched over a mannequin.

His body went still when I grabbed him, it made it easier to throw him out the door. He still sang the dial tone as I dragged him across the floor. When his body hit my front steps the stiffness fell away. He fell almost like a ragdoll, emotionless face staring blankly at the sky.

Lucky for me the man with the older face decided to leave. I yelled at them to never come back and shut the door. Then I stood there for a few minutes, getting my bearings. I had no idea what had just happened other than I didn't want it to happen again. I made sure to lock the doors before proceeding with my house work.

I tried to go about my day as normal. My family wasn't supposed to come back until early the next morning, so I was alone that night. I think I cleaned the entire house by the time night had fallen. It was good to distract myself from what happened earlier in the day.

I had trouble sleeping of courseEvery small noise woke me up. It was about 3 A.M when I heard it, heavy and inconsistent, feet walking across the living room. I knew what it was as soon as I heard the noise. Thosemen had come back, although I was unsure of how they had gotten into the house. I got out of bed and crept toward my bedroom door so I could lock it. Before I could reach the lock the door swung open.

The door knocked me to the ground and as I lay there I looked up to see a figure in a black cloak wearing a bright white mask. I panicked. I begged the figure please just leave me alonem, but it moved forward. I was so scared I just froze while it grabbed me by the neck.

The figure dragged me to the living room and released me on the floor. Around me stood a group of the witnesses. Each one slightly different in height or weight and all bearing different faces on the same ill-fitting heads. I cried out in terror and their smiles grew wider as my screams grew louder.

The figure in the cloak motioned for all of the strange congregation to leave me to him. All of the things in white dress shirts scattered to the different rooms of my house. I could hear them tearing through drawers and chests and racks, looking for something I knew I didn't have.

I took the opportunity to run away from the cloaked thing. A gloved hand reached out in an attempt to grab me, just barely missing me. I scrambled into the kitchen where I could find something, anything, to fight off those things with. But more importantly a phone to call the police.

I made my way to the kitchen knife block and grabbed the largest blade I could find. While the thing in the cloak tried to pursue me I backed into a corner and reached for the landline. I dialed 999 and brandished the knife in the direction of my pursuer but he didn't seem frightened by it.

When the operator answered I tried to tell them my address, but the cloaked figure got too close before I could finish. I yelled at it to go away, that I would kill it if it got any closer. Then he took another step. I raised the knife and stabbed it down into the figure's chest. It started laughing, if you could call it that . A distorted sound more reminiscent of a broken speaker than anything else. I had just stabbed it and it was laughing, right in my face. I screamed and tried to take the knife out and stab it again but its body just… accepted it.

The texture of its insides was like that of a foam stress ball. It collapsed under the force of the knife and bounced back when I released it. I tried to punch the thing instead, I gathered all my energy and hit it in the face.

Instead of hurting it all I did was knock it's mask aside. I stared up at the thing's face. It was screaming. Not the figure No, the figure still laughing that horrible, distorted laugh. But its face was frozen in place screaming. The mouth twisted and stayed like it was stitched on the head of the cloaked figure, forever stuck in the moment it was taken.

I didn't have any more left in me to scream. I pushed the figure away and ran across the floor to the front door. They just… let me. Everything in that house just let me run in terror.

I fell in the front garden and tried to pace my breaths, trying to collect myself. The police arrived to me frozen in fear on the cold grass. I told them that there were people in the house, dangerous ones. The police went inside and came back out moments later telling me there was no one there.

I was interviewed about what happened. The house being turned over was evidence enough that I wasn't going crazy. When I described the strangers the police sketches came back looking like missing persons in the area.

I don't know what they wanted. I don't know what they were. I just don't want them to come back ever again.

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incorrect-astrologyquotes · 2 years

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Since my FNaF phase is back with the new game, I present to you...

🌸✨Zodiac Signs as Five Nights at Freddy's Characters✨🌸

(Note: It's written solely for entertainment purposes, none of these are intended to represent you💖)

(Note N°2: I'm not English so forgive me for any grammar mistakes)

🔥 Fire Signs🔥

• Leo ♌: Glamrock Freddy 👨‍🎤 🐻

Now it might not look like it but Leos have a heart of gold. If you're in danger Leos WOULD come to the rescue and help you out, just like Glamrock Freddy with Gregory. They also are very good at making people feel better about themselves, always hyping everyone up.. it's just how they are! Sweet little lions💝.

"Way to go, Superstar!" -Glamrock Freddy, Security Breach.

• Aries ♈: Foxy the Pirate Fox 🦊

OG Foxy is one of the characters who needs the most attention, wouldn't you say? Aries is no different, they need your attention and if you won't give it, they'll keep pestering you and drain your energy. Just like Pirates, Aries can obtain everything *wink wink*.

"Yar har har! Never underestimate the cunning of a pirate!" -Foxy, UCN.

• Sagittarius ♐: Funtime Freddy 🎈🧸

Most of the time you'll find energetic Sagittariuses that just brighten up the mood, whenever you're near them you'll feel better because their joy is contagious. Fun fact: Did you know that Sagittariuses have a rarely-expressed psychotic side? They often just ignore the conflicts but when it's too much you'll experience their wrath, and we don't want that.. do we🌹?

"I feel so full... Of mischief!" -Funtime Freddy, Special Delivery.

🌬️ Air Signs 🌬️

• Gemini ♊: Sun|Moon Drop 🌞 🌚

Gemini can have two moods: Happy, ray of sunshine like Sundrop and remain calm even in the worst situations + entertain everyone cause they're funny as hell & Scary, mysterious and just that vibe that screams 'RUN' like Moondrop (But don't worry, as long as you don't cross their boundaries you'll be just fine!)✨

"Are ya having fun yet? Are ya? Are ya?!" -Sundrop, Security Breach.

• Libra ♎: Balloon Boy 🎈 👦

Balloon Boy just SCREAMS Libra energy! He seems to be a shy sort of character, looking cheerful judging by his laughter and frankly so are our scales. Libras do cause some troubles, too... But that's because they just want to play! Little pranksters💓.

"Hi. Hello." -B.B., FNaF 2.

• Aquarius ♒: Phone Guy 📞

Aquariuses often appear as nonchalant people, meaning that they don't involve nor care about certain events. Phone Guy, too, doesn't particularly tells what's ought to happen to the guard. Despite that, he tries his best to inform the player about the DOs and DON'Ts of the game. He keeps telling the player that "there's nothing to worry about"... But everything is to worry about💮.

"Uhh... well, if you're hearing this, you made it to day two. Uhh, congrats!" -Phone Guy, FNaF 1.

🌱 Earth Signs 🌱

• Taurus ♉: Chica the Chicken 🐔

Despite the stereotypical "Taurus likes to eat therefore they should be made into a character that spends most of the time in the kitchen" [Which isn't completely true] they really resemble our lovely Chica. They're kind, joyful, nice, harmless and always ready to share. Of course it's recommended to NOT provoke them 💐.

"Let's Eat!" -Chica's Loading Message, FNaF World.

• Virgo ♍: Happy Frog 🐸

Many Virgos have a loud and cheerful personality, which is why they resemble Happy Frog's personality. Happy Frog is shown to be fun loving, childlike, and innocent, although an additional feminine voice in the background is heard during one of Happy Frog's lines, painting an entirely different picture. With their friendly personality, Virgos make a lot of friends. And you know what that means? More friends, more gossip! Amazing isn't it?🍃

"You and I don't get to talk as often as I'd like!" -Happy Frog, UCN.

• Capricorn ♑: Ballora 🩰

Of course I'd turn our lovely Capricorns into Ballora and here's why: Ballora is seductive and deadly, seemingly calm and composed. Their Poker Face (or Resting B*tch Face, however you prefer calling it) is often just a mask to hide their true intentions. Capricorns have a sharp hearing (speaking from experience) which is often used for gossips and other things 🌺.

"I could hear you... Breathing." -Ballora, UCN.

🌊 Water Signs 🌊

• Scorpio ♏: Mangle 👾

Scorpios often have this strongly built emotional wall around themselves. Mangle is shown as a malicious, twisted and sadistic animatronic because it searches for revenge after what they had to go through in the Kids' cove. Scorpios tend to protect their emotional walls from unwanted guests, that's why they can appear as menaces to some people [Even tho they aren't, I love y'all Scorpios so much remember that]💘. On the bright note - they're the best friends you'll ever get, a true treasure!

"I wanted to wait until just the right moment to drop in!" -Mangle, UCN

• Pisces ♓: The Puppet/Marionette 🎎

It's no wonder and no surprise that Pisces would be The Puppet with their unhealthy obsession with music and constant need to keep an eye on everyone else. But don't get on their wrong side! Fishes are slippery therefore won't hesitate to get out of the box and give you a lesson💖.

"The others are under my protection..." -Puppet, UCN.

• Cancer ♋: Bonnie the Bunny 🐰

Cancers are one of the best listeners in the world (talking from experience) and when you look into their eyes you just SEE the warmth and the understanding. So are Bonnie's eyes - they emanate comfort. They also look very huggable 💗.

"I remember how I used to talk to Bonnie... I used to complain to him about my parents." -Jessica, FNaF: The Silver Eyes.

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jamestrmtx · 3 years

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Wish Upon a Night Sky - [Beastars | Various x Reader]

[Female, Sheep Reader | Slow Burn]

Act Two | Down to Earth

[First] | [Previous] | [Next]

"What are you standing there alone for, (Y/N)? Come sit with me!"

While you expect Juno would rather have lunch with people she already knows well, you see her stand up from her seat and approach your side when she spots you nearby. She holds the tray firm in one hand and waves with the other. In response, you smile and grab your own tray tight before following her, all while ignoring the ever-growing feeling of everyone's eyes on you, regardless of almost all the students around being too busy eating, talking, and walking to notice your presence. So far, and -- close to what you expected -- you've only talked with the wolf and the dog; the latter you hadn't even come across with since yesterday afternoon. Truth be told, you want to take up his offer and knock at the door of his dorm, but more than one reason restrains you from doing it.

First, you'd only known him for a day, and even if you really did only need to ask him more about the school, you couldn't gather sufficient courage to do it. Second, you didn't want to risk making your parents worry by telling them the very first thing you'd done was run off to the boys' dorm without a care in the world. Third and most important of all right now, you didn't know how to keep up a normal conversation with Juno without worrying about your word choice every few seconds, so merely thinking of doing the same with Jack made you retreat on the idea without thinking it twice. Having to share a room with someone else and the impending need to form small talk and prevent yourself from seeming rude or awkward was already draining enough -- mentally, most of all. You're aware you're far from prepared to tackle any other, larger issues without having an internal meltdown over them, so it's best to set some limits for the moment being; perhaps eventually, you could handle a bigger crowd, but today's not that day.

Being homeschooled weights more as a con the more hours you spend at this school. Not only do you have a hard time being social and getting adjusted to such a large campus, but you barely have any knowledge of the relationship between carnivores, herbivores, and those in-between. If you didn't wish to be classified as ignorant or naïve, you would soon need to ask either Juno or Jack to tell you where the library is. Starting off with some basic research is about the least you can do to break out of that shell -- once and for all.

"...Earth to lamb?"

You flinch and almost topple the juice box on your tray.

It takes you a second to process that you've already made it to a table, and a few more to acknowledge Juno's now sitting down -- and with an empty chair waiting across from her, too.

"Sorry," you say, mouth and ears drooping just as much as your courage. Your head spins as you rush to sit down and shrink away in your seat, avoiding eye contact with her by all means possible. Then, you take your drink, open it, and sip some of it, hoping to ease the tension out of you. "I keep... spacing out lately."

Juno smiles and tilts her head to the side, while her ears perk and her gaze lights up. Her eyes are intent on you, and these carry the same brightness as when she talked with you about love. "Someone on your mind?" She looks behind her -- as if expecting to see your source of interest from close by; her smile remains intact as she goes back to looking at you. "Is it Jack?" she asks, winking. "You looked like you were getting along pretty well with him yesterday."

You smile back, though you still end up shaking your head to let her know otherwise. Having a crush on someone so quick and suddenly was unlikely for you, but the reminder of how passionate she seemed about this particular subject yesterday makes you believe she's the type to fall fast and love lavishly. You fork some of the salad on your tray and toy with it for a moment, mind yet to return from its journey as you consider her words and just how different your view on love is when compared to hers. "I was thinking of him, but not like that." You take in some air and brace yourself for any incoming questions. "I was actually wondering if… if you knew where the library is? I know he offered to help, but-"

"So there is something going on with you!" The wolf interrupts you with her excitement and stands up from her seat. Her gaze is now as wide as the smile on her face, and her energy almost rubs off on you. She places her hands on the table, leans in, and suspends herself over it. "Was it love at first sight? Don't skim on the details, (Y/N)!"

You scratch your throat and prepare yourself with a deep breath, at a dire need to tell her the truth.

"Ah, n- no." You set the fork down and look up to meet with her eyes. The desire to clear things up grows stronger, and you can't ignore it for much longer. "I just want to make friends, but I'm not sure I'll be too successful in that, considering how… who I am."

Juno's excitement falls. Her gaze knits as she sits back down, and a frown replaces her smile, overpowering her previous attitude entirely. "What do you mean?"

You gather wit to be blunt, not wanting to sugarcoat how you feel about yourself and this recent change. "Frankly, I'm…" Your words trail off and you hesitate with a deep breath in, along with one out. "I feel I'm too... ignorant to understand how to get along better with others at this school." Hunger stays absent -- even when you stare down at your plate and breathe in its scent. Your confidence from yesterday proves to be little and outright superficial with how different you feel today, reaching towards a level of self-consciousness you haven't experienced since your early teens. "I only ever went to kindergarten, and the rest of my years were taught at home." You grab the juice box and drink from it in an attempt at finding your appetite again. When you gulp, it feels worse than before. Nausea arrives with how much you dwell over a single topic. "To be honest, It… It surprised me when I noticed I'd be staying in the same dorm as you. Jack heard me say something… rude about it, though I'm not sure if you heard me, too."

"Oh, I heard you," Juno replies, a laugh leaving her mouth. She takes a bite from her food before continuing with, "But I pretended not to."

"Why would you do that?" you ask, now your turn to frown. "You were so close by when I yelled that…" Your face turns hot the longer you think about that memory. "It was rude of me. A terrible first impression, that's for sure!"

A grin forms on her face, though she doesn't say anything yet. Rather, she takes another bite off her meal, almost emptying the plate in the process. How fast she eats prompts you to start eating from your tray, against wasting any food and risking the chances of feeling hungry by your next class. "Maybe it was, but I wanted to see if you would bring it up someday." She sets the cutlery down and glances behind you, grin growing. "And you did," she adds, words as confident as you wish you could be. "Much earlier than I thought you would." Juno gazes behind you again; her tail wags and her eyes spark with what looks to be mischief. "Look behind you!"

You do as suggested and almost end up falling from your seat when you come face-to-face with Jack, his knees currently bent to match with your sitting height. His snout is nearly close enough to brush with yours, and that same excitement and joy from yesterday remains in his stance. "How's your first day going?" he asks, tail wagging at a similar pace to Juno's, although his smile proves to be more genuine rather than teasing. "It's nice to see you making friends already!" His eyes shift towards the wolf and turn back to you once more. Then, a slip of paper is offered out to you, this one folded neat and compact for you to carry. "Here's my number, in case you ever want to hang out."

"Being bold again, aren't you, Jack?"

His hold on the paper stays even as you take it; a hint of embarrassment shows up on his cheeks when he looks at Juno. Her comment -- slowly, but surely -- dawns on him and leads to him staying frozen in that same spot for a while. "It's not like that!" Jack exclaims, snapping out of it. He finally lets go of it to stand up straight and meet the wolf with a flustered gaze.

Juno, on the other hand, laughs it out with just as much glee as the first time "Sure, it's not," she replies, giggling. Her teasing nature returns in an instant, hardly giving him a chance to recover from the previous blow. "First, you invite her to your place, and then you give her your number, too? I'm the person you can least hide these things from."

That's enough for her to shut his mouth.

Jack's forced to find a distraction by facing you again, with a less confident look now present in his eyes. "Think we could talk later? I'm meeting up with some friends today." He stops for a second; fluster falls from his face as a cheery expression makes its return. "And maybe I can introduce you to some of them, too. I'm sure they'd like to meet someone new!" He takes a final glance at the paper before leaving the table, an act done while avoiding Juno's gaze from all angles.

"Y- You can still keep that, by the way."

With that last, stuttered sentence, he runs off -- but not before waving goodbye.

You wave back and watch as he disappears from your sight, leaving you alone with Juno once more, who smiles in response.

"So... Friends, huh?" she jokes, letting out a laugh.

Your tray almost ends up on the floor when she says that, hands shaking to the point where you can't bring much control over them anymore.

While you're aware she's not being serious and that it's all done in good fun, you can't help dwelling too much on whether you're supposed to be here, and if someone like you would only cause more trouble to the school and all its people.

"I'll take your word for it, (Y/N)."

[First] | [Previous] | [Next]

• • •

Updates will be weekly on Mondays from here on out!

#various x reader #legoshi x reader #legosi x reader #haru x reader #jack x reader #juno x reader #rouis x reader #louis x reader #beastars x reader #female reader #sheep reader #slow burn #romance #mystery #thriller #lgbt #lgbt themes #long fic

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zutaraplatter · 3 years

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Avatar: The Last Airbender Critique

There are already a million of posts like this one, and I might be saying things that’ve already been said a million times but I’ve recently become reheated about the ATLA ending and wanted to let it out -_- No one asked, this is true, and this may or may not be a way to stall from this final project I still have to complete, but here’s 10 things I didn't like and/or would change about the show that likely shouldn’t need changing because they should have been done in the first place.

1. Katara should have apologized to Sokka after TSR

It should have happened and it didn't. In my canon-avoiding mind, Katara and Sokka have a heartfelt conversation where she apologizes for the awful things she said, Sokka says he forgives her and he's sorry if he wasn't as there for her as much as he should have been, which he follows up with "but I'm happy you listened to Aang and took his advice," leading into my next point

2. Katara should have said that not killing Yon Rha was her choice

And thats why it was the right one. Not because Aang already said it was wrong. No no. It was the right choice because that's what she chose. I love my mom to death and can't imagine losing her in any way, let alone the way Katara did. And I can't say for sure that if I was in her shoes that I know what I would have done f that yes I do I would have killed that motherfucker. But I also know that if Katara decided not to kill him, then that was one of two correct choices because they were Katara's choices to make. Not Aang's or anyone else's and this should have been clarified. I know it's a kids show but I said what I said. Next point.

3. Katara should have said more after telling Aang she was unsure at the Ember Island Players

Katara hasn't had any trouble saying how she feels, especially when it comes to helping others and making them feel better, whether she was right or wrong. But she holds back or overly softens blows and seems to even shrivel up at times when it comes to Aang. And me no likey. I had a boyfriend who I adored and admired and just genuinely looked up to. I'm also a shy and anxious person who hates confrontation, but because I loved him, I never refrained from telling him when he was wrong. I might have been a little shaky about it but I did it tho because when you want to be with someone you walk through the grass and stomp through the mud. And I personally feel like either in that moment or later on in an added scene that Katara should have voiced to Aang how unheard and disrespected she felt about his words before TSR and his actions on the balcony. I hate being uncomfortable and my secondhand embarrassment is toxic but I would love to see a scene of this. I always imagined Katara saying stuff like "But I'm not you Aang, and I'm not an Air Nomad," or "Zuko could understand why I needed to go, and I'd hoped you would too," or...I'm out of ideas but you get the idea. And you know what, I know I'm a hard Zutara shipper, but them having this conversation would honestly make me respect their relationship a whole lot more should it be believably written to end on a good note (I don't see how it could be but hey I'm an open minded person and I did think they were cute together once upon a time). Basically, all I'm saying is that Katara is no small voice and she should have been written that way when with Aang. Boyfriends can make you shy but should never make you weak. Period. Next point.

4. No rock! ONLY GROWTH!!!!!!!!!!!

I still squint my eyes whenever I remember that rock that unblocked Aang's chakra. What even was that? The laziest writing possible in my opinion. That's what. And Aang deserved better. What should have happened should have been that Aang started to lose to Ozai. And then as Ozai's about to deliver the finishing blow, Aang has flashbacks of everyone he's trying to save and honor, ending with a very prominent flashback of Katara with the guru's disembodied voice reminding Aang to let go of his attachments to become all he needs to be...then BOOM! Baby boy is back on his feet, chakra unblocked, he kicks Ozai's ass, I'm crying hysterically on the floor, as are the rest of us, and he wins. Then at the end of the series, instead of a kiss, he gives Katara an apology. She accepts, everyone else comes to join them on the balcony, cinematic group hug, camera pan into the sun. I don't know lol. Basically what I'm saying is that Aang did not deserve some deus ex machina. He deserved to grow and become his best self like everyone else got to.

5. Aang should have heard differently in The Storm

Katara is a very fate-minded person and this is when I saw potential for her to become a toxic character in regards to Aang. When he admits that he ran away from home 100 years ago, Katara tells him that that was basically a good thing because he was meant to be here and now. Like...no? What Aang did, though understandable for someone so young, was still wrong. Yes he would have maybe been killed but I'm like 10000000% sure they had a plan to protect and evacuate the literal avatar. And what was technically "meant to be" was a new avatar. But hey, what's done is done and kicking Aang while he's down is a no-no in this household. But that doesn't change the fact that Aang needed and deserved honesty. Maybe the fisherman could have said this, I don't know, but I feel like Aang should have been told by someone that although running away was wrong, it's a blessing he and Appa were able to survive and be able to help save the world now with his amazing friends found-family. Maybe this is too harsh, and maybe even outright wrong, but I felt like Aang deserved a truer answer here to support and comfort him.

6. MAILEE!!!!

Do I even need to go into detail?

7. Spiritual sigh*

Don't make me go into detail -_- I will say though that although Aang and Katara are both amazing individuals capable of earth shattering things, they were not a healthy fit for one another. This is evident in the original series and especially in their children from LOK. They both deserved the best but better than one another.

8. ZUTARAAAAAAA

This is a Zutara blog you KNEW this was coming, as it should. There's just too much. There's too damn much. I would give a real paragraph to this too, but, I mean, there's already so much proving that this was the pair. Fics, metas, rants, this site. Scroll through my blog or any of the ATLA related blogs I follow and...dude. These two were meant to be together and I'll mourn the narrative brilliance WASTED for no good reason every day for the rest of my life. No reason these two shouldn't be married with three kids. sob. I will take this part to say thank you to the amazing fic writers that gave Katara, Zuko, Mai, and Aang what they deserved that the writers didn't have the guts to give them themselves. Next point tho.

9. AANG AND ONJI

Good God almighty. Why not this? WHY NOT THIS? I'm putting on my bullet proof vest and I'm going to say this; Aanji is cuter than Zutara. Now before you scorn me or whatever, let me explain. Zutara for me is like steak. No. Chicken parmesan. I like chicken parmesan better. The point though is that Zutara is savory. You know? I don't see them as cute, I see them as Obviously. Aanji on the other hand is like a bag of my favorite candy. They are like a brownie. A cookie. Girl Scout Samoas!...I don't know what words are anymore. This post got way out of hand. I guess what I'm saying is that for Zutara, I scream, but for Aanji, I squeal. I hope that makes sense. But here's the main point I want to make. Onji never knew who Aang really was. And Aang was always, at his core, himself. She very obviously had a crush on Aang for his personality and that was crazy cute and frankly preferable to Katara's "I...guess he is." (you know exactly what I'm talking about) Anyway, I kept wanting more of them together. I wish all the time that we'd gotten to see her again, with a more fleshed out character and all. And in the way that I imagine the show should have gone, she could have been the perfect love interest for Aang, during this episode or way later, even in the comics! Another WASTED opportunity for greatness and I will, again, never recover T-T

10. Iroh get your ass back here

Maybe this is a misguided critique but I hated that Iroh just left Zuko alone in the fire nation at the end of the series. Baby was in trouble in every sense of the word and Iroh was just like "See ya! You got this nephew." I'm expected to believe that? I'm expected to accept that? No no no. He should have at least stayed for a few years to help Zuko stay upright and, you know, alive. And by "upright" I don't mean "good." I just mean been there to support him because Lord knows he needed it, at least in the beginning of his reign. It was cute that Iroh was able to settle down with his own teashop after all those years of violence and mourning and running and this and that. I was more than happy for him for being able to have that peace finally. But I still think it could have waited a little while longer so he could support Zuko.

That's it I guess. I know not everything I've said makes the most sense in one way or another, but I enjoyed putting it together all the same. Thank you for reading and have a great day. I'll go finish my final now.

(Edited for a typo)

#zutara #katara #aang #aanji #avatar the last airbender #uncle iroh #onji #on ji #Im wasting more time with these tags #avatar the last airbender critique #avatar critique #mai #avatar mai #ty lee #avatar ty lee #tylee #avatar tylee #the southern raiders

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boop-le-snoot · 3 years

Text

masterpost ☀️ main masterlist ☀️ taglist

previously on...

Chapter 5. We have stucky, we have stevesambucky friendship, we have a new place to live and strange being a good guy because tony definitely ranted at him. Also, we're beginning the creepy part of the plot. I have decided that sam will be one of the main platonic characters in this story because I love sam.

fun fact: I used to be a creepypasta writer! Going back to my roots here, hehe.

Things had stated changing, for better or worse, much sooner than I had been prepared for - but was anyone, ever, really ready for the next big step? Certainly not me - the view that greeted me after I'd finished my shift at Jeremy's was peculiar and unexpected, so I froze, eyebrows high at the two super-soldiers parked, once again, illegally, right in front of the entrance door.

"Hi, doll," Bucky was reclined against his boyfriend comfortably, his bike standing a pace behind Steve's, who nodded companionably, a sheepish grin on his face.

"G'day," I nodded, eyeing them warily. "I think I know where this is going..."

"No, no, nothing like that," both men frantically waved their hands around, Steve coming up close to approach me slowly. "You're not in trouble. I came out here to say thanks," giving a sappy look to the grouch that was his boyfriend, Steve reached into his pocket and handed me a slip of paper. "Just, uh..."

"Those are our phone numbers. Don't hesitate to give either one of us a call if someone bothers you," Bucky took over the stammering blonde, shaking his head at the soft blush that blossomed on the good captain's face. The brunette wrapped an arm around Steve's shoulders with a shy smile of his own. "Or if you, I don't know, need someone to carry your groceries or something," he snorted. "The punk wouldn't leave it alone until we came out personally to thank you, the sap."

The laughter bubbled up from my chest as I grabbed and pocketed the paper, throughly amused and at the endearing gesture. "Sure, thanks."

"And, uh," Bucky's eyes briefly looked to the side. "We'd appreciate if you keep the status of our relationship to yourself for now. We're not, like, officially out yet."

I froze in place, mouth falling open. Surely they were aware that anybody with a functional pair of eyes could see that they were much more than 'good, lifelong friends'. "No problem, guys. Lemme know if anyone gives you shit about it though, this place," I gestured to the café behind me, "is strictly paparazzi and homophobe-free."

Steve's grin grew even more genuine. "Yeah, we heard all about it from Tony and Stephen. Said 'twas the only place they go these days."

I wasn't aware of that. "It's the paps, isn't it?" I remembered Tony's remarks.

Bucky shook his head, the metals of his prosthetic arm whirring as it recalibrated. "Not only. The public hasn't had the best reaction to a man goin' out with a man," the brunette looked away to the side, where Steve's face had fallen considerably. "And Tony's an eccentric rich man. We're jus' two soldiers. The US Army won't be too happy if we... Came out," both men were crestfallen yet determined.

I had a hunch nothing would be able to separate the two - seeing as not even seventy-odd years and brainwashing and ice couldn't keep the captain and his sarge apart, I doubted that a few government weasels could successfully do the job. Even so, it was unpleasant, to say the least, to see them deny themselves something that technically was perfectly fine in the 21st century.

I chewed on my lip, gathering my wits. "I've clocked out, I can tell you this as a friend- as a person. You don't owe the army jack shit. They do not own you, you are your own person that they experimented their German knockoff steroids on. Respectfully, fuck that shit." I firmly stated my opinion, figuring that there should have been at least someone that told Steve that he is more than his star-spangled uniform and giant metal frisbee.

The blonde scrunched his eyebrows together, fingers gripping onto his belt until the knuckles went white, the hard line of his jaw set firm.

Bucky laugh took me by surprise. "Agreed, doll. I'm too old to be hiding in back alleys and shit," he clapped on his boyfriend's shoulder. "Although I'm happy enough with just not going to prison for bein' in love with this idiot."

"Jerk," Steve's responding pout was downright adorable now that I knew the circumstances surrounding their relationship.

Which wasn't exactly surprising. As a barista, I knew my fair share about my regulars' love lives, their jobs, their kids. The tea was almost always piping hot. "Bye, boys," I smiled at them warmly, throwing a glance at the time, adjusting the strap of my bag for comfort. "Stay outta trouble!"

Steve scrambled for his bike, having noticed my pointed gesture. "Sorry, didn't mean to hold you back. There, I have a spare helmet," he gestured behind him. "I'll give you a ride."

"There's no way in Hell I'm getting on that death trap!" I shouted cheerfully, walking briskly towards my second job, hiding a laugh in the warmth of my scarf as two very offended motorcycle-loving gay fossils sped past me, making truly incredible amounts of noise. Good for them.

Odette was content to let me rummage around the bodega without showing herself more than necessary, taking her appointments and doing- well, witch stuff, I guess, only coming out to poke at the various jars for ingredients.

"Star, I have a proposition for you," right before closing time, Odette's voice filled out the store with its low drawl. "A good friend of mine owns an apartment building, not far from here actually, and one tenant recently moved out. It's a safe space for those who are different," she enunciated the last word, fixing it with a pointed stare. "She's not overly fond of total strangers coming to live there. The rent is reduced and the apartment itself is slightly bigger and more fashionable than yours..."

"Where's the catch?" I found myself interrupting her. I wouldn't lie: the reduced rent and increased size of the apartment did interest me, as well as the probability of a kinder, more involved landlord. My current one was - not the best, but such was life in the NYC.

"There are a few rules to follow, rules that might seem strange at first but they'll make sense in time. And your neighbors might be also a little... Unusual," Odette carefully studied my face for any signs of displeasure.

I sighed.

And then I sighed some more as I was signing my new lease in a few days' time, having spoken with Porter, my new landlord, and his boyfriend who had claws and fangs- after so much time spent around Odette's, I didn't even blink. The couple liked me enough to extend a secure but flexible offer and some furniture to choose from the attic where they kept the spares.

I quite liked the large, vintage couch I placed next to the wide bow windows in the living room. The floors were hardboard and well-kept, the walls a nice, homely shade of green and Porter didn't mind any new holes in them that might arise from hanging up decorations. I scheduled a thrift crawl at the next possible opportunity, happy with the "good employee" bonus Odette had given me after I sealed the deal.

My stuff was boxed up, a sleepless night and a call to a begrudging Jeremy to have a couple of days off to move; I was, thankfully, not late on my schedule and all that I had left was to rent a car to move the boxes of my things and the few pieces of furniture I had decided to keep - my haul in Porter's attic had been incredibly rewarding and my new apartment had all the basics to make it look like a warm, inviting bohemian home in a while.

My phone rang suddenly, startling interruption to the romcom I was watching as I ate my last lunch in my old apartment. "Hello?" I answered the number without looking.

"Hi, doll," Bucky's voice rang out cheerful. "A little witch told me you were moving. I thought you might need a hand?"

I blanked momentarily, the thought of enlisting two very busy super-soldiers to haul ten boxes and two endtables worth of stuff not having crossed my mind at all. "Is this the moment when you stop by my house just to unattach and put your prosthetic arm somewhere and leave?" I asked, hearing distinctive snickering - several more people were with him.

The cheer in his voice blossomed into a full belly laugh. "You're funny," he teased me. "And thanks for the idea. But no, I have a room full of men that have nothing better to do but get on my nerves. Might as well make 'em useful," his accented drawl thickened the more we spoke. Muted cheers rang out in the background.

"Uh, sure," who was I to look a gift horse in the mouth? I rattled off my address and warned them I didn't have a car, after which Bucky assured me it will be taken care of. The last remaining knick-knacks packed away, I went down to take out the trash, and returned to four people standing in front of my apartment building, all except one unrecognisable in their civilian clothes. "Hello," I waved at them, side-eyeing the tallest, grumpiest man of the bunch.

Stephen Strange was there, looking around curiously, hands in the pockets of his plain grey hoodie. I had already forgotten how normal he looked without his robes, and, frankly speaking, I preferred him like that. His title and the attire that came with it were quite intimidating.

"Hey there," a dark-skinned man who I recognised to be the Falcon, raised his hand. I had not met him yet. "I'm Sam, Sam Wilson. You must be the Star we're helping?" His quick once-over and the tilt to his lips; the ease with which he flirted had me brandishing smirks of my own. I led them all upstairs, Stephen's silence being just so loud. Sam, however, had no such reservations. "So, you're a witch, right?" Wow, subtlety was his middle name.

"Yes, I'll show you my broomstick," I deadpanned, wiggling my eyebrows at him with a grim look.

"Woah woah," Sam raised his hands as the three men behind us snickered loudly. "What happened to 'how are you? let's have dinner sometime'?"

I did my best imitation of an evil cackle as I let them through my front door. The four newcomers looked around my nearly empty apartment with muted interest before zeroing in on the pile of things in the corner: a few pieces of furniture and nearly taped boxes. Should be a walk in the park for four men.

A hand on my arm pulled me from the stupor of observing Sam, Bucky and Steve act like a well-oiled trio, bantering and teasing each other as they discussed how to best move the things.

"Look," Stephen Strange had all the appearance of a chastised puppy. "I wanted to apologize for my behaviour that day. I was out of line," the low notes in his voice made the appearance of the apology being somewhat reluctant. Tony probably put him to it after our little burger run.

Irregardless, I wasn't looking to make any enemies. "Me too, I was under stress - not that I'm using it as an excuse," to give where it's due, I nodded at the sorcerer, immediately awestruck by the easy, boyish smile that stretched on his lips.

"You are strong," he added. "If you would like to learn our ways, we would welcome you." There was a spark in his eyes, something belonging to man that respected and collected knowledge. My own respect for him grew immensely just from that one thing.

"I'll think about it," I offered amicably, however, I still leaned heavily towards a negative answer to that particular proposition. I liked my current way of life.

Strange's grin made a momentary second appearance, until Sam's voice rang loudly: "Fire in the hole, Wizard-man," causing the former to groan loudly and look at me.

"Think about your new place for a second," he spoke, briefly touching out fingertips. As soon as that was over, a golden circle with my new living room on the other side of it appeared quietly, Strange's hands immediately going back into his pockets after that. I sighed and pointed the men into it, stepping in a second after. The sorcerer wasn't far behind. "You could learn that, too, you know," he added wryly, having seen my look of mild envy directed at him.

"I think I'll be good with having the 'pissed off the sorcerer Supreme and lived' pass for now," I retorted with an eyeroll, turning around to stare him down.

He had the decency to look somewhat sheepish, at least. "I'm not like my predecessor," his words were chosen carefully. "And, to be honest, I have no clue as to why your... Boss is so hostile towards me- us," Strange looked around the room before unceremoniously beelining for the couch and plopping down on it.

"Not to be a gossip," I started, slightly intrigued. "But Odette and some lady she called ancient had mad beef," I slipped into casual language easily, trying to recall the details of Odette's, quite often jumbled, stories. "Sounded almost like territorial disputes," I shrugged. "And the apprentices Odette took on before me found themselves in all kinds of compromising situations," I chewed on my lip. "Like the Arctic."

Strange rubbed his face with a noisy groan, large hands doing nothing to mask the resignation and slight embarrassment.

I focused on the thin, red scars on his hands - they had to have been something serious, the way slight tremors betrayed the deteriorating state of the nerves in his fingers. I frowned, quickly averting my gaze before he could catch me ogling him. The fact thag Stephen kept his hands in his pockets or covered by gloves at all times didn't go over my head.

He muttered something to himself, something that sounded like he was often forced to clean up his predecessor's mess. "I see," was the only thing he'd offered me, looking slightly pitiful and apologetic.

"Well," I started, noting the last of my stuff was about to be in its rightful place, "as long as you don't toss me into the ocean, I think we can coexist peacefully."

"Tony would kill me if I'd tried," Stephen groused.

"Probably," I agreed. "Considering the fact he hit on me, for you, it would make one hell of a lover's quarrel," my hand pointed towards the kitchen as Steve and Sam carried in the boxes aptly labeled "kitchen", looking around a place to put them down.

"Tony did what now?" Stephen's tone dropped, a wry smirk decorating his lips as he eyed me through his lashes.

"Don't ask me," I raised my palms, feeling my eyes widen. "He's chaos personified and Satan only knows what he's got on his mind."

That squeezed a laugh out of the tall man, followed by a fond, sappy smile as he looked out of my large, panoramic window, probably thinking of Tony himself. There was no doubt, Stephen Strange was utterly and throughly head over heels in love with Tony Stark. Good for them, good for them.

"A-and that's it," Bucky walked in, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel I'd provided them earlier. "I took some liberties and assembled the furniture, Steve is stacking the dishes as we speak," the brunette noisily plopped down next to me, arm carelessly thrown behind me on the back of the couch.

"Oh, um," I stammered, unused to such random gestures of kindness. "Thanks a lot, you saved me a day's worth of time and a backache," I smiled, scooting over to make some room for Sam.

"No problem, not like we had anything better to do than argue which part of the Lord of the Rings is the best," Wilson rolled his eyes, elbowing Bucky none-too-gently.

Bucky elbowed back, thus starting a horsing war between the two, causing me to scoot closer to Stephen as I attempted to avoid any flailing limbs; the sorcerer and I shared an identical, perplexed sigh as to how two grown men could easily bait each other into such juvenile behaviour.

Whatever. It was kind of endearing.

Steve emerged from the kitchen dusty but smiling, having heard the commotion, and quickly herded his guys into a semblance of decent behaviour before all of three of them left, leaving me and Stephen to go back to my old apartment and give the keys to it to the guard. That was done, too, and a portal from an alley behind my old building straight into my living room had me and Strange awkwardly hovering, saying out goodbyes and waving to each other as the golden circle rapidly shrunk in size and disappeared, golden sparks scattering across my living room carpet for a short second before they fizzled out, too.

I used the brief moment of respite to find the small piece of paper containing the rules Porter had insisted I read and take seriously; figuring it might be a good idea to give them a read before beginning to unpack, I popped open a bottle of soda, holding the itemized list written in neat cursive to my face.

The further I read, the further my eyebrows rose:

"1. Keep your door locked at all times.

2. If a person knocks on your door claiming to be the mail man, do not open the door under any circumstances. You are free to ignore the knocking - it only lasts a minute or so. After the person has left, you may open the door and check for any packages.

3. If Samantha from 3B visits you and asks you to babysit, you may do so at your personal discretion. Her twins are a handful and their daily habits are not for the ones with a weak stomach, however, they mean nothin ill and will not harm you in any way.

4. Do not use the elevator between the hours of 1 and 4 AM.

5. There are no apartments under number "7". If someone claiming to be from those apartments knocks on your door and requests entry, come up with a polite excuse to decline and send me a text message. I will take care of it.

6. There is no garden on the premises of this building. If a man approaches you, claiming to be a gardener, don't interact with him and simply walk away. He will leave you alone.

7. You may meet a girl in a polka-dot dress playing in the hallways or in the stairwell. This is Lucy. Always be polite to Lucy - you won't like what will happen if you're rude to her. She does not talk but she knows limited ASL and may request to visit you. Allow her in ONLY if you have fresh meat in your fridge (beef or mutton, preferably bloody). You might want to avoid seeing her eat, however, it might be very beneficial to make friends with Lucy. She knows a lot of things.

8. If, when taking the stairs, you encounter inconsistent numeration of the floors, such as floor 2 followed by floor 5 and etc, simply walk a flight back. It will sort itself out. The building is old and sometimes it gets confused.

Important notice: these rules apply to your guests as well. Please make sure to introduce and educate them on these matters. We will help as much as we can should a situation arise but ultimately, there are fates far worse than an untimely, however swift, death.

- Porter and Lance."

A slow, creeping dread began to gnaw at my nape, curling on like a cold snake deep in chest. As if laughing at me, the warm, welcoming embrace of the green walls and the toothy, wide smiles my landlords had given me encouraged my recently found sense of adventure, all of it mixing into a cacophony of exhilaration and unease, equally steadily driving my running brain insane.

I sighed again, immediately going to the box containing my altar and the rest of the protective items. So much for peace.

Taglist: @couldntbedamned @mikariell95 @letsby @sleep-i-ness @toomanyrobins @mostly-marvel-musings @persephonehemingway @schemefrenzy @lillsxd @bluecrazedandbeautiful @slothspaghettiwrites @xoxabs88xox

#practical alchemy #bun writes #tony stark x reader x stephen strange #stephen strange x reader x tony stark #ironstrange x reader #stephen strange x reader #tony stark x reader #stephen strange x y/n #tony stark x y/n #Stephen Strange x you #tony stark x you

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a-swines-baptism · 4 years

Note

🎂 [hewo I'm coming with either Samuel or Bass, whoever you prefer :3]

If we’re mutuals, send 🎂 and I’ll make you a treat!

{For this treat, @the-bastard-entity, I’m going to give us a look at one of many possible futures. Nothing nsfw, but cut for length.}

Amanda was a terribly good killer when she wanted to be. Some killers take too long to get to the kill, some play with their food, and some take the time to try and fraternize with their prey-- though a correction is always quick to follow those contemptible few. But the Pig, she’s industrious. Head down, methodical, ruthless. Even when she toys with the Survivors, placing those brutal deathtraps on their head, it’s always efficient. Not unlike a butcher, just another day at the slaughterhouse. Frankly, it’s for this reason that the upstart Entity usually doesn’t pay all that much attention to her trials. They just aren’t nearly as entertaining as they could be-- and they could be amazing. Her mind is built for cruelty in such a unique and special capacity. But with the attitude she carries out her games with, even watching the timer on a trapped mask go off and rip someone’s jaws apart can get old. The only exceptions seem to be when Jude’s involved. Seeing the way they have to dance around conflict with each other, it’s very dramatic. Pulls at the heartstrings, and when they’re placed on opposite sides like this there’s at least a chance for a trial worth watching. Otherwise, it’s just... old hat.

Anyways, his angel’s not there now. In the trial, that is. There’s no reason for the Entity to be watching Amanda go through the motions again, beyond the slight sliver of awareness he holds across the entire Fog. Or at least, that’s how it seems at first. The only thing that keys him off to any difference is a faint pulse of displeasure, coming from one of their fellow Entities... whichever one of their kin the Pig happens to be feeding this time, no one they’re familiar with. It’s a simple task to shift his awareness away from his personal realm, like looking over one’s shoulder-- and he’s greeted with a grisly spectacle as the pig-headed killer punches her knife through the hand of a screaming survivor, nailing it to their throat and twisting the blade for good measure. A memento mori... from her of all people? Now this is unusual.

As he watches, the Pig stands from her kill and starts to chase after the next one... and kills him the same way. And then the third meets the same fate. The Entity can feel frustration pouring off his brethren, denied food like this, but his interest is too piqued to do anything but watch as she runs down the last victim. What is she doing, what would possess her to break from her habits so hard...? The Pig’s cornered the last survivor now, and this time she pauses before doing anything. Looks around, locks eyes with the nearby crow that the Entity is currently watching through. And then she places a bear trap over their head, sets the timer, and with a deft stroke draws her blade deep across both their wrists.

Now he gets it. Somewhat.

Curiosity piqued, the Entity lets himself draw inwards, appearing out of the fog as the trial evaporates and standing behind Amanda. “That was quite the show,” he remarks, a smug grin pulling across his face as she turns to face him. “I’m sure you’ll be paying for it later. But I’ll admit I’m a little curious, what’s got you trying to attract my attention like this, little piggy?” He half-expects her to bull rush him any moment, not that it would end well for her. The killer is nothing if not headstrong, after all, especially when it comes to what she hates. But the attack doesn’t come; instead, there’s a moment of silence. “Go on, say your piece,” he prompts after a moment of staring down her pale blue eyes through her mask, his own golden eyes narrowed in a mixture of curiosity and amusement. “You went through all this trouble to get me here, there’s no point in wasting each other’s time like this.”

There’s another beat of silence, shorter this time, before she speaks. “Do you like Jude?” There’s a hesitance in her voice, blunting the usual aggression (although it’s certainly still there). “--Not as a plaything, either, you know what I mean.” He raises an eyebrow at the question, the faintest hint of laughter behind his words. “Amanda, dear, I know you hate me, but you can’t possibly be getting jealous, can y--” “Answer the fucking question.” She cuts him off, actually taking the young god aback the slightest bit. Not because of her nerve, but because of the odd lack of malice in her voice. “--Please. I know you’re gonna fuck with me, I know that’s what you do, but I’m asking for a reason. Tell me.” That’s all. No insults, no smartass comments, she’s actually minding herself for once. It’s odd, just adding to the pile of oddness that this entire encounter is. And the Entity finds himself pausing, actually considering her question— purely out of curiosity, mind. He wants to know where she’s going with this.

“Jude is many things... beautiful. Fiery. So very sweet, I’m sure you’d agree with all that,” he responds, tapping his chin idly in mock thoughtfulness. “He is many wonderful things, and these things outweigh his annoyances. So I would say I am fond of him. Does that satisfy you?” He grins a smug, condescending grin as he regards the curious killer. “I’m an Entity, piggy. Caring about his kind is like asking you to care for an ant. But I am fond of him, sure.” Amanda seems to process this for a second, before she sighs and shakes her head. “Fine, then are you ever going to punish him again?” Her tone is still as unusually controlled, but the Entity can hear loathing pulse under the skin of her words. Again, a strange question, doesn’t she understand what he is? Granted... well, surely Jude’s learned by now. “...Not unless it was required.” Hardly a guarantee, hardly safe. But as good as one could expect from such a god. “Now it’s your turn to answer a question, though. Why does anything I say about it matter? Sure, you’re scared for Jude, but your mind’s already made up on me, isn’t it? Tell me, Amanda, what warrants all this?” He gestures again to the trialground, to the bodies.

There’s a very long pause before she speaks. “Yeah, my mind’s made up on you. Kind of hard to feel anything besides hate after you did... what you did, to both of us. To him.” She stops, hesitating. “--But for some reason, whatever you did to him... he can’t feel the same way. I see that, and... I don’t fucking know, maybe this is me feeling like I can keep him safe? Or make things easier... I don’t know. But the fucking tension here is gonna get him hurt one way or another, so... I have to do this.” She seems to direct the last bit at herself, before raising her hands and clenching them nervously. Snap, out comes the blade, and the Entity just watches, bemused. A long claw spiders quietly out of the ground behind her, tensing to strike--

And then she relaxes her hands, and the knife withdraws. And she’s left with her hands up, a gesture of surrender. And it’s just enough of a surprise to cause the readied talon to pause. “--I want to be your killer. If he’s going to go with you... I’m not letting him go alone.” The fog is quiet. And the Entity has a choice.

#[the pig speaks]#[meat to slaughter]#the-bastard-entity #{gods I hope that's an okay ending my brain has been burnt the *fuck* out}#{but if jude accepts bass' offer then}#{well}

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aetherlocket · 4 years

Text

Follow the River

BNHA X READER

Fantasy AU

This is chapter 1. Read the rest on FFNET, AO3 or Wattpad!!

There was a great white palace that was impossible to not catch eye of peering over a fog blanketed summit, where King Enji, Prince Shoto, and Enji's other children resided. Many knights guarded the palace and served under the King, and (Y/n) was one of them.

She was born and raised to become a warrior and serve for one in a higher position. It was something of a family tradition for the women to become something of the sort. Her father was more of a businessman, her grandfather a chauffeur, while her mother was a dragon hunter, and her grandmother also a knight, though not quite so skilled.

Although (Y/n) didn't have the natural talent her female family did when it came to fighting, she tried her best and eventually earned the respect of many skilled warriors in the Kingdom of Yuuei. Every day, she seemed to learn something new in the art of combat, while dedicating her life to the protection of Prince Shoto.

Only few, including her, knew of the corruption underlying King Enji and his family. The blatant favoritism when it came to King Enji choosing his heir went overlooked and uncontested in the community due to his outstanding reputation.

On the road not too far off from the great palace was a white horse. (Y/n) the knight handled the frantic animal attached to the carriage as if it was nothing, and Prince Shoto watched carefully as if he would learn just by watching her armor covered hands move the reins.

"How far is this kingdom?" he asked.

"If you fall asleep, it'll feel like nothing," the knight's voice was echoey and serious inside the steel helm.

"So it's far." Shoto sighed and his eyes fluttered closed as well, sinking into his seat just a bit. "All I must do is speak with this noble's daughter, correct? And then I may go home?"

"Yes. I've forgotten her full name, but your own father is considering a marriage between you two," (Y/n) replied without hesitation.

"I- what?" Shoto blinked. "Why hasn't he told me this?"

There was no response.

"Why do you know, but not me?"

(Y/n) stayed silent, and only swallowed nervously.

"Ah," Shoto sighed. "I see. You weren't supposed to say that."

"Please don't tell King Enji I said anything.." (Y/n) squeaked, not befitting for a warrior graced with the strongest armor and sharpest sword in the kingdom.

"Don't worry about it.." Shoto's voice lowered as he turned his head to the side, watching the trees rapidly pass by him, his hair covering some of his view as a frown made its way to his face. (Y/n) turned her head away from the road for a second to make sure Shoto was alright, and something in his expression flicked a switch in her.

"I.. You know, he isn't sure. It's just to see if she's up to his standards, I guess. Not a guarantee-"

"Won't you get in trouble if you keep talking?" Shoto said with his usual dead tone, but he was just a bit relieved on the inside. He had no intention on marrying anyone, and being forced to would further destroy the already unbearable relationship between him and his father.

(Y/n) nodded without a sound and focused her eyes on the road from then on. But then Shoto pouted. He wanted to know more.

"How do you feel about this?" Shoto asked. "This.. marriage."

(Y/n) hesitated for a moment before answering. "This.. is what the King wants, so there isn't much I can do about it. I just don't agree with it, per say... It's not right..."

"That's all I needed to know," Shoto replied.

(Y/n) always wondered what was going on inside of Shoto's mind, and that moment was no exception. He was an enigma. She didn't blame him for being cold at times, however.

She also wasn't particularly so sure about that area. She hadn't been to their destination before, so she simply trusted her instincts and a ripped map to take her and Prince Shoto there.

Being trusted with such an important figure in the kingdom gave her stomach butterflies. As she began to feel a smile free itself from under her helmet, the carriage came to a sudden halt, throwing both (Y/n) and Shoto forwards.

"Step out slowly. Keep your hands in the air and don't try anything," said a voice, and a battle axe was pointed at the pair. Three, to be exact, one for each silhouette.

(Y/n) knew better than to reach for her halberd, and reassured Shoto with a quick, soft metal touch to his shoulder, slowly leaving the white carriage. "You're challenging someone with armor and a weapon while you're bare? I hope you know that you won't be leaving with the Prince."

"Oh, we don't care about the Prince. We just happened to hear from someone that you're carrying a lot of money in that carriage to offer the daughter of that noble," said a different man, presumably a second bandit. "But we may have to kill him if you resist. There's three of us, and only one has to get close to him. Your armor means nothing."

The third bandit made his way behind the carriage, closer to the Prince, just in case. Shoto gave (Y/n) a look, though she couldn't tell, facing away from him. She was already sweating in her armor from the sun and quite worn out from training, so this wasn't the ideal situation for her. And yet, she didn't downplay herself.

The knight lifted the front of her helm, exposing her face, riddled with sweat. "Yes, there is money. There's a bag next to where the Prince is sitting," (Y/n) said, taking the chance to look at Shoto. He shook his head, as if reading her mind, diverting his gaze to the bandits, his hands inching closer to his sword by the second.

"Before you go and do that," (Y/n) said, stopping the second bandit from walking past her, "Who gave you this information? Only us, the King and the noble were informed of this."

"I won't say. You'd have them executed. They're a big help, so we can't have that," he said, and smiled. (Y/n) cursed mentally. Was it one person, and the bandit refused to reveal their gender, or is it another group of people?

As the second man placed his foot on the edge of the carriage, (Y/n) halberd left it's holster, its tip barely making its way to the second man's neck before the edge of an axe was placed dangerously close to Shoto's neck as well.

"You're risking the life of your Prince? I don't understand you. Some knight you are," said the second bandit.

"I apologize," (Y/n) said, moving her halberd away from his neck.

"Thank you for the distraction," Shoto said, and before anyone could process it, blood fell down like a fountain to dirt. The second bandit tried to speak, only to cough up blood. "Speaking with a sword through your heart proves to be difficult, doesn't it?"

The loud thud of the large man hitting the floor made even the knight flinch, watching the man writhe in agony, holding his fist weakly against his heart for his last few moments. She then realized; she wasn't doing anything to help whatsoever.

"Fuck!" The other men had tried vigilantly to swing their axes at the Prince, who jumped back off of the carriage. It seemed that they had completely forgotten about the money, and focused their attention on the death of the Prince.

The knight missed her attack, but they couldn't even reach the Prince before a clean slice to their necks were delivered by who they were trying so desperately to kill. They went into a stiff paralysis and fell over, holding their necks and drowning in their own blood.

(Y/n) could only stand there mesmerized, lowing her bloody halberd, almost forgetting to wipe the acidic substance coating it.

She was also, frankly, ashamed.

The blood on her halberd wasn't because she had killed them, saving the Prince. It was splatter from the Prince having to defend himself with an incompetent knight by his side.

"I assume we'll have to reschedule this little trip," Shoto said, wiping some blood off of the edge of his lips and softly running his fingers through the docile horse's mane. "Turn the carriage around."

****

Many could tell, simply by watching (Y/n)'s face in the rare times she had her helmet off, or even completely covered, simply from her body language, that she didn't enjoy working in the palace. Even Shoto could tell how much energy wearing the heavy suit and sparring with the others as training took from her each day.

No one could blame her. No one liked working for Enji Todoroki. Ask anyone in the palace for their opinion of him, and it will be some variation of 'bastard' or 'good for nothing.' Ask people outside the palace, and it will be something positive or indifferent, because they believe whatever the newspapers tell them.

Shoto had asked his knight once: "What do you think of this idea; I run away from this place and start a new life."

To which (Y/n) blinked and removed her steel helmet, a way of expressing her concern. It was then that Shoto knew she was serious. "Are you really considering this?"

Shoto only nodded. He felt often like he had said too much, basically, whenever he spoke. His father did a great job of making this point around him.

"I understand," said (Y/n), to his surprise.

He expected a, 'You're delusional. You're a rich prince with everything you could ever want!' or, 'Don't take your position for granted. I'd kill to be in your place.'

"I doubt that," Shoto replied, attempting to provoke her into speaking her mind a bit more, hoping for more encouraging words.

"I can tell why you do, my Prince," (Y/n) said. It wasn't working.

Shoto sighed. "I can't talk to anyone without them treating me like a Prince. I'm just a normal kid on the inside, damnit.." His voice was as low as a whimper, but (Y/n) could hear every syllable as they left his mouth. She pretended not to hear and kept her head down.

***

Shoto hadn't dared to enter the knight's quarters without permission once before.. but he had made up his mind that night about something.

Shoto chuckled as he saw (Y/n) with her helmet still on as she slept. He removed it as slowly as possible, and wasn't surprised to see that her face was sweating uncontrollably with rosy cheeks, and her hair messy.

He almost forgot why he was there as (Y/n) began to wake up, presumably from the sudden influx of cool, fresh air hitting her face.

Shoto held his hand out before the girl could fully awaken. "Come, I'm leaving tonight."

"Prince? What do you mean leaving? Why are you in the knight's quarters? I-"

"Just get your armor and weapons and come," Shoto put a finger to her mouth, lightly squeezing her arm. She didn't dare protest any further. If it was the Prince's will, then she was meant to follow it, no matter what. But there was something off this time. He seemed happy, in a way, for once, without smiling. Shoto helped carry parts of her armor out of the quarters while she carried her halberd, most dangerous areas facing the ground as Shoto led the way.

"So what's happening exactly?" (Y/n) asked, stuffing some leftover yen into her pocket.

Shoto only walked into his room and gestured for the knight to join him. He was already wearing what he usually did, his royal attire embroidered especially for him along with his holstered sword. "I told you, we're leaving."

"You weren't kidding..?" The knight chuckled. "I understand you want to leave this place, but think about it. Your dad will do anything to get you back-"

"I don't care. I'd like to see him try," Shoto replied coldly, polishing his weapon and slipping on a few bracelets, hiding them under his sleeve. "I'm not going to that noble's place. I'm not marrying his daughter either, so I'll have to leave before the trip is rescheduled. Easy as that."

***

"So where.. exactly.. are we going?" (Y/n) asked the Prince.

"To a certain mountain," replied he.

"You don't mean.. That one.. right?"

After a brief moment of silence, (Y/n)'s worst fears were confirmed, and her tongue began to feel heavy in her mouth. "Sir.."

"Is there a problem?" Shoto asked, looking straight ahead as he walked.

"I'm.. not sure if I can protect you, if anything happens, if that makes sense."

Shoto stopped and turned to face the knight. "What are you talking about?"

"Well.. a few days ago.. those men trying to take the money.. and how I was basically useless.. You had to do everything yourself. It doesn't make sense-"

"You were tired," Shoto interrupted her, then continued walking.

(Y/n) stood there for a moment, staring at the ground before picking up her pace to match the Prince's again, until they reached the base of the mountain.

"Why are there steps?" (Y/n) asked.

"Mount Hosu used to be a tourist attraction.. it's closed because of the dragon rumored to live here now."

(Y/n) shivered. "Dragon."

"Did you say something?"

"Nope."

They continued forward, climbing up an unholy amount of steps before it split into two different paths. One of the paths was dry and bare, while the other had a stream of water beside it.

"Just follow the river," Shoto said, and walked along the path with the stream of water.

"How come you know this place so well, Prince?" (Y/n) asked. As far as she knew, Shoto stayed locked in the castle all his life, and only left under supervision from her or another trusted knight.

"It's not Prince anymore, just Shoto," the boy dodged the question expertly.

***

It took a while, but they finally arrived at the top. (Y/n) immediately used her survival skills. (Y/n) gathered dry wood and use a spindle stick to light a small ember. Shoto tried himself but failed, only giving himself some splinters from the wood.

With the knight's guidance, Shoto successfully managed to roast a wild animal. Of course, Shoto had really understood none of it, but nodded in silence, and hoped that she would help him later.

"Now that I've helped you.." (Y/n) began to trace her finger across the dirt. "How about you teach me more about fighting? A knight should know more, if not just as much, as their Prince. It only makes sense."

Shoto hummed. "You're already known as a strong warrior. I don't believe you need extra training."

"Please?"

"I'm nothing special.. I can't really teach."

"Please?" (Y/n) pleaded.

"... Tomorrow, maybe," Shoto relented. He walked over behind a tree and took out two folded tents.

"Did you plan this or something?" the knight asked.

"I've been considering it for a while, let's say."

As they settled, a teenage boy had just finished climbing up the same steep mountain as the Prince and the Prince's close knight, and he was exhausted. Then, as he caught his breath, he repeated his goal over and over in his head; to hunt down the dragon perched somewhere on this godforsaken mountain.

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husbandomail · 4 years

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[1/3]Hi! i'd like an Obey Me! Matchup. I'm a INFJ-T, female, virgo. I'm 5'11 and very insecure about my height, because of that I'm very awkward around people even people I'm comfortable with. I'm very shy and reserved, frankly judgmental with people I don't know. it’s something I'm trying to work on. those who I feel are trusting enough or even really worth of me as a friend, I cherish completely. I'd do anything to protect the people I care about.

[2/3]I’m a little different around my friends, i'm much more bold and open with myself. I find myself to be a little annoying given how loud I can get. I like to pick on my friends, playfully of course. little pranks, stealing things only to give it back. I worry sometimes I go too far. but I trust they'd tell me that. I'm very protective over the people I care about, I've been told I 'mother' a lot. I enjoy artsy things, and I draw and write occasionally.

[3/3]Though I'm very critical of anything I'm interested in or create, not to mention obsessive. Once I'm interested in something I kind of suck the life out of it until I know everything about it, or just lose interest. I do tend to get clingy with people I care about though it's something i'm trying to work on. I do tend to procrastinate on things but motivations aren't hard to find for me. most say I have a shortish temper, but really I just have a variety of pet peeves. have a wonderful day!

I’d match you with Belphegor!

I think he’d be able to understand you easiest out of all the brothers. Although he keeps up a pretty apathetic facade, it’s clear that he’s very emotional, and it’s something he also struggles with— he certainly wouldn’t think any less of you for your own negativity. He actually admires your determination to grow past your judgemental nature; you’re always welcome to vent your most venomous thoughts to him, and he won’t judge you in the slightest.

He’d think you’re cute in general; shyness and boldness can both be attractive in their own ways, so he considers himself lucky to see both sides of you, although he won’t admit it openly. He also doesn’t mind clinginess— he’s equally clingy, so you wanting a lot of his attention makes him happy. He teases you a lot about it, though; you’re already cute, but he adores watching you get flustered. You’re both pretty mischievous, and could easily drag each other into pranks on everyone else— it’s probably up to you to rein him back in, since you seem to be the one with a conscience about those things.

Your motherly nature is very appreciated, both by him and by everyone else in the house. Belphie in particular needs a lot of prodding and guidance, because if left to his own devices, he’ll just sleep all day— since he loves you, and you can be gentle with him, he’s more likely to listen to your advice or instructions than anyone else’s.

Your tendency to get obsessive with things and then move on wouldn’t shake him at all; he’s lived with Levi for millennia, after all. He wouldn’t consider it “sucking the life out;” if anything, he enjoys hearing all the thought you’ve put into your learning and creating. He’s not a writer or artist, so he had trouble understanding why you might dislike any of your own work, because he thinks your stuff is cool. He’s interested in most anything you make, because clearly it has to be important to you; he wants to hear all about it, even if you’re shy about discussing it.

Getting close to him would definitely be the biggest issue; he’s no longer keen on humans, so it takes a lot of effort to get him to take you seriously. Once the two of you are together though, he’d move Heaven and Hell for you if that’s what you wanted!

#matchups #save a horse #ride a cow boy #anon

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honeysuckle-venom · 4 years

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hii, it's me again! i'm sorry some of your psych ward experiences were bad! i have another question - you have psychosis, right? are you ok with sharing how that affects you? i'll have an assessment for it sometime soon so i was curious, especially when dissociation is in the mix. have a nice weekend! -vulpix

Hey vulpix!

I do experience psychotic symptoms, with no particular diagnosis attached to them. There was a period when I was 15 and experienced them, although I didn’t have the words for it, and then I started experiencing psychosis again almost exactly a year ago. My psychosis comes in waves, I’ll go weeks or even months without any, followed by days or weeks of psychosis. It does tend to have specific triggers, but they’re specific to my situation and likely not applicable to anyone else.

Mostly I experience delusions and severe paranoia. The main things I experience are beliefs that others can read my mind, that those around me have been replaced by robots/aliens/imposters, that I’m in a simulation, that people around me are plotting to steal information about me, that people are trying to poison me, that institutions are performing human experiments, and some other really specific graphic things I’m not going to include. I also hallucinate insects, occasionally seeing them, mostly feeling them crawling on my skin, and I see dark Shapes moving out of the corner of my eye. And I experience illusions (distortions of reality), for example once I saw pine cones that were really there coming to life and crawling towards me.

Telling the difference between what is psychosis and what is dissociation is very difficult and often it’s not clear. Frankly, I don’t usually bother to distinguish, I deal with what I’m feeling, not why I’m feeling it. A lot of my delusions could be classified under derealization, such as the belief that I’m in a simulation. For me one of the main ways I can tell the difference is if it’s dissociation causing that belief, it’s just kind of distant and weird but not overly upsetting. When it’s in a psychotic episode it’s accompanied by a feeling of extreme terror.

Psychosis also often comes along with other symptoms that aren’t present with dissociation. One of the big ones that I experience is disorganized thoughts/disorganized speech. I can usually tell when I’m entering a psychotic episode because my thoughts will stop making sense, I’ll have trouble holding on to them/following a train of thought, my sentences won’t come out right, my affect with be seriously affected, etc. To me it all feels kind of frantic. All of my psychosis is accompanied by a sense of panic and terror that isn’t usually present when I dissociate.

It’s often very difficult to disentangle symptoms. My psychotic symptoms overlap significantly with my dissociation, my PTSD, my OCD, and my phobia of insects. Honestly diagnoses are given way more import than I think they should; I experience symptoms, and I try not to get hung up on which disorders they’re connected to. That’s different from not caring what causes them, for example it’s important to know when things are caused by trauma so you can treat them appropriately. But whether I’m experiencing psychosis or dissociation or something else is only occasionally important.

I don’t know what being assessed for psychosis entails; I just started experiencing and reporting these symptoms and it was agreed that I was experiencing psychosis. Psychosis presents really really differently for different people, so I don’t know if any of this was helpful or not. But I hope your assessment goes well, and feel free to let me know!

#answers #vulpix #psychosis tag #Anonymous

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zuzkyblog-blog · 7 years

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You Can Tell Me (Credence Barebone x Reader)

Summary: Reader, a younger sister of Jacob Kowalski, is in a relationship with Credence. Over the time spent together he overcame some of his problems and turned into a much more cheerful and open person, and is totally comfortable with you. Now that he is more or less alright, he begins to worry about your own problems, although you never share your troubles with him. He decides to do something about it.

Pairing: Credence Barebone x Reader

Word Count: 4166 (sorry?)

Warnings: TOO MUCH FLUFF. A lot of it. Mentions of stress and possibly a hint at eating disorder (?), some smutty undertones at the end (more like naughty fluff though)

Comment: This imagine is dedicated to all the creatures that have problems dealing with stress at work, school or just life in general, and have no one to share their worries with. I know I am one. Also, happy Credence is what I breathe for.

It's difficult to describe how relieved you were when you finally reached the front door of your apartment at quarter past eight in the evening. The day you spent in the office was getting the best of you, squeezing you dry as if you were a juicy lemon used to prepare fresh lemonade. Every day was the same and it was getting progressively worse. The pressure and responsibility you had to deal with on daily basis was too much to bear and it quickly started to show on your personal life.

You entered your apartment, took of your coat and switched your heels with comfy slippers, and followed the delicious smell coming from the kitchen. Resting your exhausted body against the doorframe, you glued your (y/e/c) gaze to the back of your significant other, Credence Barebone. You watched him cook for a while. His movements were a bit disorganised and panicky, but he was always like that when he tried to manage many things at once.

"Hey," you said quietly and he jerked and dropped a wooden spoon into a pot with chicken soup. The soup splashed against his apron and the wall, leaving oily stains. It was both adorable and funny and normally you'd laugh like mad, but you weren't exactly in a mood for that.

"Geez, (y/n), you've startled me," he frowned at first, but was just for a show and his glare was quickly switched with one of his adorable smiles.

"I'm sorry," you apologised and watched him as he quickly walked over to you to give you a peck on the lips.

"I missed you," he murmured and once he heard a soft, obligatory purr from you, he returned to the stove. "The dinner will be ready in half an hour, maybe a bit longer," Credence informed you and asked, "how was work today?"

"I-I… don't want to talk about it," you mumbled, dropping your chin to your chest. You were glad you got home to your love, but you wished you wouldn't bring all the stress with you. Credence didn't look at you, but he stopped moving for a while, knowing too well what was going on. "I'll take a bath or something."

That was the last thing you'd said before leaving the kitchen.

You and Credence have been living together for slightly over a year now. Last year during the autumn you were searching for someone to share your apartment with to split the costs. You were originally thinking about finding a girl your age, but it turned out completely different when your older brother Jacob asked you to consider taking Credence in. Reluctant at first, you knew you wouldn't be able to say no as soon as you saw him.

Things were tough at first; there was a plenty of small and bigger misunderstandings and as you slowly got to know the boy, you realised how troubled he really was. Soon enough, he opened his heart to you and you two fell madly in love. As you nurtured his closed-off personality with your feelings and care, he turned into a different person. He was still shy and mistrusting, but also much more cheerful and open to you and your friends.

The thing is, as Credence's confidence and self-reliance grew, he began to notice your own problems. He knew your daily job in the office was getting really hard on you lately. You were a bit of a perfectionist, but the need for perfection came hand in hand with very low stress tolerance. To be honest, he strongly believed you should just quit your job and get one that would be less stressing to you. After all, Jacob had offered to employ you in his prospering bakery. You'd get to meet a lot of nice people AND you would work together with Credence, as he was helping Jacob with baking.

Unfortunately, you were also stubborn and secretive one. Credence knew he could never persuade you to do anything unless you saw the reason behind it and made the final decision on your own. That's why he never spoke to you about it, and when you got home feeling terrible - often with your eyes red from crying - he never approached you to cheer you up. He had no idea how.

Yet for the last week it felt like the situation with your job was getting worse and he couldn't ignore your sulking any longer. Today was the last straw. When he was nearly finished cooking, he decided to give you about five minutes to leave the bathroom and when you wouldn't come out, he mustered all his courage, approached the door and knocked.

"W-What?" he heard your startled voice. It was shaking and coarse; you'd obviously been crying your heart out.

"The dinner's ready."

"Honey, eat without me. I'm not really hungry," you replied dismissively. You wished he left you alone. After all he'd been through it felt wrong to push your troubles on him.

"Can I come in?" Credence asked, his hand tentatively resting on the door handle.

"I'm—I'm naked," you panicked, blurting out the first silly excuse that came to your mind. Yes, occasionally it felt like your brain was melting down under all that stress.

"I… I know. We sleep together. I've seen you before," Credence replied and you could say by the sound of his voice that he was smiling.

"Alright then," you sighed and sank deeper into cotton candy-like foam surrounding you, prepared to avoid any eye contact. He entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him as if he tried to separate you both from the outside world.

"Can I?" he pointed at the edge of the bathtub as he walked up to you. It was maddening how he always asked for your consent. Always. It didn't matter if you were cleaning the apartment together or shared a steamy, intimate moment in bed. He would always ask.

"Sure," you nodded and exhaled into the water, creating a few bubbles. As you managed to steal a few peeks at him while he sat on the bathtub, you noticed how peaceful and gentle the expression on his face was. You wondered what he wanted from you.

"What's the matter, doll?" he asked after a few never-ending seconds of silence. Despite high temperature of water in the tub, a single shiver ran down your spine. He'd started using these affectionate nicknames fairly recently and you still didn't get used to it. It was doing weird things to you and frankly speaking, you had a creeping suspicion he was aware of that and used it on purpose.

"It's just my job…," you started and then remembered what you'd said earlier. "But I don't want to talk about it," you added stubbornly. Credence sighed.

"Why not?" His voice sounded so patient and caring. You felt it was slowly cracking the little shell you hid yourself in.

"It—It's none of your concern, Credence," you objected and your eyes met for a few seconds before you looked away again. His gaze was hypnotising.

"You were crying," he said after another silence.

"I wasn't, I'm just tired," you shook your head. Credence could tell the difference between your eyes looking tired and flat-out weepy, but your stubborn self just wouldn't give up, would it? He needed to make another step, closing the gap between you.

He leaned down a little, reaching to you. His fingertips grazed your shoulder and followed your arm to your wrist, till they finally nestled in the palm of your hand, and then he pulled your hand out of the water. Gently squeezing your hand, he carefully observed your face for any reaction. A few droplets of tears ran down your cheeks before you could stop them. Credence inhaled sharply. He rarely saw you cry and he couldn't decide if it was disheartening or magical. Probably a bit of both.

"Come on. You can tell me what's wrong. I'll listen," he encouraged you again. All of a sudden your limp fingers woke up and finally squeezed his hand back.

"Oh Credence," you sniffled, "I can't. It really isn't your concern. I don't want to pull you into my personal mess. Y-You've been through so much and this… this is my own problem." You brought his hand to your face and pressed a little kiss against his pale skin. Solitary tears now turned into full streams as you couldn't hold them back any longer. "I'm sorry," you mumbled, and felt horribly ugly and pathetic.

Credence rubbed the back of your hand with his thumb comfortingly. He remembered all the nights he was choking on tears while you held him close, played with his hair and gently massaged his back, and the countless occasions when he was sulking about something and you kept him company, slowly making him open to you and share his thoughts and worries.

And after all that, you didn't want to share your own problems with him? He wanted to be there for you. He wanted to repay his debt, even though he knew you'd never accept it. Hell, even if you were just depressed about nasty weather, he wished to hear all about it.

"You are my concern," he whispered, leaned down and kissed your forehead. A small cloud of bath foam stuck to his hair. No more bowl-cuts; his hair was much longer than before, dark and unruly.

"A-Are you sure? I don't want to be a burden to you," you whimpered comfortably as he caressed your wet hair.

"You could never become a burden," he smiled and kissed you on your lips this time. You found yourself stretching your neck to meet the kiss, like a flower following the sun. "So, will you tell me what's the matter?" he posed the same question again and started to undress out of the blue. It took him only a few seconds to get all his clothes off and climb into the bathtub in front of you.

"C-Credence! W-Wait, the water!" you giggled as he dipped down, pushing water out of the bathtub as he submerged himself. It spilled out and completely drenched a pile of his clothes on the floor.

"Oh, I… I haven't thought of that," he murmured, his confidence flying out of the window. He so wished to be a caring, sexy confident guy for you at least once, not this silly, clumsy and stuttering love-struck fool he'd been ever since he saw you.

"You're too much, Credence," you laughed and pulled him closer, pressing his right cheek to your chest. He marvelled at the sound of your laughter, but he didn't want to stay in this position for too long, or you'd turn all protective and forget about your determination to tell him what's wrong.

"I wanted to… wait…," he got up, realising he climbed into the bathtub on the wrong side of your body. He meant to end up behind your back. You immediately blushed because you got a clear view of his crotch as he stood in the bath tub.

"W-What are you doing, honey?!" you whined when Credence literally stepped over your head, making you switch positions. His plan to pull off his big 'supportive and caring boyfriend' act required him to rest his back against the bathtub so you could rest your back against his chest in turn. Stepping over your head might not be the best way to initiate it.

"T-There, all set," he purred happily as he finally got into the position he wanted. "You big dork," you chuckled a bit nervously as he hugged you from behind and pulled you to his chest. There was a certain amount of hesitation as you were unsure about the unusual situation, but soon you gave in to his warmth and allowed him to have his way with you. Looking down your body, you watched as it lied between his bent legs, and your heart was beating violently in your chest.

"This is quite nice," you commented eventually and slowly placed your palms on his knees as if they were armrests.

"Now you can tell me why you were crying," he whispered in your ear. You took a deep breath. Credence knew it meant you had to eat through a huge portion of reluctance. "Take your time," he cooed.

You did. It took more than five minutes and a lot of comforting touches and sweet words before you finally opened up, but once you started, it was impossible to stop you. You told him everything.

How your boss was a real tyrant; how he kept giving you more and more tasks and although you knew you were good at what you were doing, you couldn't deal with the heavy burden of responsibility; how you often forgot to eat snacks Credence prepared for you every morning at work and how it broke your heart to throw it away on your way home, but you always did it anyway because bringing it home and seeing his disappointed face was even worse; how you were basically starving for the last few days because you couldn't eat anything without throwing up...

Credence listened and listened as you turned into a shivering pile of tears and sobs. He'd never seen you so vulnerable before, but he was glad you allowed him to see you at your lowest point. Now that he knew what was going on, he could help you deal with it.

"A-And that's about it, I g-guess," you stuttered when you were sure you didn't forget anything. The guilt you felt about some of the things, especially throwing away Credence's snacks, was making you feel sick even now, but you were also quite relieved you'd told him. You knew he wouldn't judge you.

"Thank you," Credence said pensively and nuzzled the right side of his face to your left ear.

"Aren't you… Aren't you mad?" you wondered; surprised he didn't even sound disappointed.

"I'm not," he replied and squeezed your chest from behind. "But you know you have to eat, right?"

"Yeah," you nodded. "But--"

"Remember when I moved in?" he jumped in.

"Of course I do. You refused to eat because of the unfamiliar environments," you said. Credence stopped nuzzling to your ear and snickered. "What? That's what Newt said!" you frowned. You clearly remembered Newt talking about Credence's timid demeanour as if he was one of his magical creatures.

"Actually, I couldn't eat because I was so nervous about living with you. You were one of the nicest people I'd ever met and I thought you looked pretty from the start. And I guess it affected me a lot," he laughed. You turned your head as far as you could just to see his laughing face. Credence took the chance and pressed a sweet kiss against the corner of your eyebrow.

"That's so adorable," you droned and relaxed in his embrace even more.

"(Y/N), I was thinking about it, and… if your job stresses you so much, why don't you just get rid of it?" he proposed and laced his fingers into your own.

"Oh, I can't, sweetheart. I have a lot on my plate, true, but the money is really good. I wouldn't be able to make such money anywhere else," you argued.

"Is it really worth it?" he sighed. "Mr. Kowalski has offered you a position in the bakery, right?"

"He has, but I've spoken to him about it already. I can't afford to lose my current job," you mumbled. Just thinking about the office and a mountain of paperwork was giving you headache.

"Why? It's not like we need that much money anyway," Credence said. It felt dull to argue about it. Money wasn't everything, was it? So why were you so bent on your current salary?

"W-We don't, that's right," you admitted and took a deep breath. "I-I wanted to keep it a secret, but I guess it can't be helped. You see, I'm trying to save money for a little house somewhere in the countryside or maybe for travels."

"R-Really?" Credence gasped. Both options sounded amazing. He thought about it for a second as you looked back and enjoyed all the excitement in his face, till it suddenly died out. "I still think you should quit," he decided and the resolution in his voice made you shudder.

"B-But think about it, babe! We could go to Europe, pay Newt a visit, see all the nice places… I've heard Paris is really nice! Or we could settle down in a small house with a big garden, keep all sorts of animals, we would grow our own vegetables and fruits, eventually we'd get kids…," you spilt out all your ideas and dreams and then corrected yourself: "W-Well, maybe not kids, but you get my point, right?"

Credence was blushing about your mention of children. It was a lovely idea, one that had crossed his mind before in a rather wild dream, but it still belonged to a far-off future. He had to concentrate on matters at hand - how to make sure the love of his life doesn't break down because of her job?

"I get your point, doll," he said softly when he thought about it for a second, "but my point is… I would rather see you smile every day than have you come home crying late in the evenings just for some extra money, you know?"

Your chest tightened at his words. You still had your plans and dreams, but what he'd just said deeply affected you.

"I don't deserve you," you murmured in disbelief. Credence chuckled and tickled your belly.

"Just promise you'll give Mr. Kowalski's offer another thought, ok?" he asked and you simply nodded, which didn't make him very happy. "Come on, say it," he prodded. You sighed as if it was some kind of bother.

"I promise I'll give my brother's offer another thought," you chanted and then looked at him. "Happy?"

"Happy," he smiled and his hands unexpectedly travelled south, past your navel, reaching a small triangle of curly hairs.

"Credence," you whimpered his name as his fingers slipped between your folds. He knew your sweet spots very well by now.

"Relax, doll," he purred into your ear like a big tomcat, rubbing the sensitive bundle of nerves. That nickname again! You swear he had to do it on purpose.

Even if you wanted to reject his advances at first, it seemed utterly impossible now that he began to pleasure you, or so you thought. Then, your nose noticed an unpleasant smell mixing with the lavender of the scented bath foam, a smell of burning meat.

"H-Honey, did you turn off the oven?" you asked just to be sure. His movements stopped and you could feel all his body stiffen under you.

"O-Oh no!" he whined and started to clumsily climb out of the bathtub, carefully pushing you away in the process. You began to giggle because his face was bright red, and when he finally got out of the tub, he ran off to the kitchen completely naked.

You finished bathing and got out as well, putting a dressing gown on. All the windows of the apartment were open wide to get rid of all the smelly smoke. He was still naked and apparently oblivious about it as he was taking care of the burnt chicken. He looked a bit like he was about to cry.

"Need my help, Mr. Barebum?" you joked as you approached from behind, placing a hand against one of his butt cheeks.

"T-That's not funny, (y/n)," he mewled and desperately checked if there was any part of the chicken that was still edible.

"I mean it, let me take care of it. Hurry, put something on or you'll catch cold," you smiled at him and patted his butt cheek playfully. He sighed and all of a sudden hugged you.

"I messed up," Credence uttered and rested his chin on your shoulder.

"It happens. Let's make a salad instead," you calmed him down. Having his naked body pressed against yours was so nice you could stay like that for hours.

"A salad… I wanted you to eat a proper meal this evening," he complained and looked at you.

"My stomach is still a bit tense, it's probably better if I start with simpler meals," you explained. He put on a disapproving expression for a second. Quickly realising you might get sad about it, he smiled instead, but you've noticed his little disagreeing pout right away. Of course you starving yourself worried him, but you wished to leave the things you had discussed in the bathroom - for now.

"Besides," you grinned, one of your hands moved from his lower back to his lower front, found his manhood and gave it a light squeeze. "I'll have the main course later, in the bedroom." You said those words in one of your sexiest tones while giving his penis a few delicate strokes. Feeling it come to life in your hand was truly a divine feeling.

"(Y/N)," he gasped for air as you set his cheeks aflame. "C-Can we maybe skip the salad?" he asked eagerly. When your eyes met his, you saw passion and lust.

"Nope, the salad comes first. You wanted me to eat something," you teased him and let go of his dick. "Now go and put something on!"

"Meanie," he frowned, pressed his lips to your forehead and then finally did as you instructed.

You watched him scuttle around the apartment in search for his pyjama or something else he could quickly put on. He looked so funny, running around with a boner. Your cheeks started to hurt because of your wide, happy grin. He'd come a long way from the timid, scaredy cat-like boy that crossed the threshold of your apartment a year ago. And in all honesty, it felt like you'd come a long way too.

*a month later*

"Good morning, how may I help you?" you greeted a pair of young boys, street ruffians that were surely up to no good, from behind a bakery counter. You nervously squeezed the cash register, your throat choking. Even though you'd quitted your office job and started working in your brother's bakery, you still couldn't deal with stressing situations very well.

"Hey, missy. We want the fat one," one of the boys said and the other one laughed. You frowned and came to the display where the store kept some of Jacob's weirder creations.

"The one that looks like a rhinoceros or the duck-mole thing?" you asked with a shaking voice.

"No, THE FAT ONE!" the kid repeated.

"L-Listen, I d-don't know what you mean," you mumbled nervously.

"Are you dumb or something?" the second boy asked.

"H-Hey, I'm not dumb," you looked away, completely forgetting about your job.

"Where's the fat one?" the first kid insisted and you got a hint about what he really meant.

"Guys, no bullying!" you heard from behind your back. Turning after the voice, you saw Credence leaning against the doorframe. His hair was tied in a messy short ponytail and covered with a cap, and his left cheek was smeared with flour. The image immediately refreshed you.

"Oh! Hi Credence," boys cheered in unison, remembering the young man from days long gone when he helped to feed them with Mary Lou Barebone.

"Mr. Kowalski's not here today," he explained, "he has a delivery to manage."

You chuckled at his play with words. It was true, Jacob had a delivery to manage - a delivery of his first born child.

"That sucks. Who's this anyway?" the first boy gestured towards you. Credence reached for a paper bag lying in a basket by the door. It was full of yesterday's leftovers that didn't sell.

"Mr. Kowalski's sister," he replied and handed the paper bag over to the boys.

"Oh wow! The fat one has a sister?! I had no clue!" the second boy beamed and looked at you with newly discovered admiration. Credence came over to you and kissed you on a cheek.

"Gross!" both boys pretended to get sick and then laughed. "Anyway, thanks! We'll be back tomorrow!"

As quickly as they came, they were gone. You stood next to the cash register and seemed frozen solid as you tried to calm down from the meeting. When you stilled your heart, you looked at Credence, your mouth opening to spew your worries at him.

"I know what you want to say," he spoke before you could. "You're doing just fine. Trust me on this one." His words left you frozen again, your mouth agape. It took a few seconds before you processed them and relaxed.

"Alright," you smiled, came closer and embraced him, getting your clothes dirty from flour. You had come a long way and knew that with him by your side, you could walk to the edge of the world.

***

Moral of the story? Remember, sometimes it’s the best idea to take a step back.

#credence barebone #credence barebone x reader #credence barebone imagine #credence barebone fluff #fantastic beasts imagine #fbawtft #long post

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